Pophistory: music, movies, history, and life.
Blues guitarist and singer Johnny Winter has passed away in Switzerland at the age of 70. During his lifetime, he made some great music, including this wonderful full show from Copenhagen in 1970. Check it out.
For more on Winter, check out this story on NPR. RIP.
What is your favorite Johnny Winter performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
In 1964 on the Toronto television show Quest, 23-year-old Bob Dylan performed several of his now-classic songs. At the time, he was promoting his latest album, The Times They Are a-Changin’
In 1964, Robert Whitehead hosted the series. But for Dylan’s segment, the producers offered Dylan the entire 30 minutes for his music with no interviews. So Dylan performed throughout the show in a rustic cabin-like setting with various actors in the background. The music, though, is fantastic.
In the entire 30-minute program, Dylan performed “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” “Talkin’ World War III Blues,” “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” “Girl from the North Country,” “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall,” and “Restless Farewell.” The version of “Girl from the North Country” from this show appears on the DVD release of Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home
According to the TV Talkin’ website about Dylan’s early recorded performances, this Quest show is the earliest video of a full Dylan performance available. The TV Talkin’ website lists the date of the show as January 2, 1964, although that may be the date of the recording instead of the broadcast. Another website, Queens’ Film and Media, lists the date of the Dylan show as March 10, 1964, which is probably the broadcast date.
The audio for the show is available on the 10-CD Man on the Street bootleg (Thanks to one of our readers for this information!). It appears on the eighth CD under ” Quest Canada CBC-TV (Feb. 1, ’64).” So it puts the date somewhere between the January and March dates listed above.
Dylan’s special TV episode was the last one executive producer Daryl Duke did for Quest before leaving the show. He went on to produce The Steve Allen Show, where Dylan would appear on February 25, 1964.
Reportedly, prior to these TV appearances, Dylan had appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in summer or late 1963. But no video survives of that appearance and nobody seems even to know what Dylan sang then. Fortunately, though, this Quest performance from the same period survives.
What is your favorite song in the segment? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
The year 1984 was a busy one for actor Bill Murray. Columbia Pictures released the major hit Ghostbusters in June and the less-successful but interesting Razor’s Edge in October. That same year, MGM planned in September to release another movie in which Bill Murray appeared in a much smaller role, Nothing Lasts Forever. But MGM postponed the release of the film, ultimately deciding not to release it. But you may watch it below.
Saturday Night Live writer Tom Schiller wrote and directed the unusual movie, which stars Lauren Tom and Zach Galligan, the latter who like Murray starred in another 1984 blockbuster, Gremlins. In addition to Murray, the film also features Sam Jaffe, Imogene Coca, and Dan Aykroyd.
You will notice right away that the film features the classic look of early black and white Hollywood movies from the 1940s and 1950s (although some scenes are in color). The film begins with Galligan performing as a concert pianist, and the movie follows his return to a New York City under the control of the Port Authority.
The film then takes some odd turns into futuristic science fiction territory. Murray appears later in the film as a conductor on a bus to the moon. Eddie Fisher shows up on the bus to the moon to sing his 1954 hit “Oh My Papa.” On the moon, you also will see Calvert DeForest, i.e., David Letterman’s Larry “Bud” Melman. It’s that kind of a movie.
So check out the lost film Nothing Lasts Forever here (available here through YouTube for now at least). The video is not movie-theater quality, but it is watchable and I made it through. The movie itself is interesting as it seems to aim for some kind of Wizard of Oz magic. But you also might understand why the unusual film was never released. See what you think. [September 2014 Update: The whole movie is no longer on YouTube, but you can check out the trailer below.]
The making of Nothing Lasts Forever is recounted in the book, Nothing Lost Forever: The Films of Tom Schiller
What do you think of Nothing Lasts Forever? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat has released a new song and video taking on the ridiculous beauty standards imposed throughout popular culture. In the video for “Try,” she and others take off their makeup and hair extensions to reveal the real people.
The lyrics ask about the commercial culture that inspires us to go to stores and go into debt just to meet someone else’s standards of beauty. Ultimately, Caillat asks: “Why, should you care, what they think of you?/ When you’re all alone, by yourself, do you like you?” Check out her video for “Try.”
On Twitter, Caillat explains, “‘Try’ is the 1st video I’ve never prepared for. Didn’t go tanning or diet or heavily workout… & it felt wonderful!” “Try” appears on Caillat’s EP Gypsy Heart Side A
What do you think of Colbie Caillat’s “Try”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On July 12, 1979, the White Sox hosted Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park. The promotional event, however, resulted in chaos and a forfeited baseball game.
The once-popular music seemed to stir a lot of anger at the time. Even songs were written attacking disco. As many others have noted, the disco-hating trend of the late 1970s evolved out of a number of emotions. Some of the hate came from those who consciously or subconsciously attacked the music out of racism and homophobia.
In retrospect, it is hard to imagine how a type of music went from being so popular to being so hated. In fact, the White Sox had hosted a “Disco Night” in 1977, only two years prior to the 1979 Disco Demolition Night.
It is also surprising in retrospect that nobody foresaw how Disco Demolition Night would be such a disaster. The entire idea was based on hatred of something, culminating with blowing up something (records) between the two games of a double header with Sparky Anderson’s Detroit Tigers.
Steve Dahl, a morning DJ for rock station WLUP-FM, was on a campaign against disco music. As part of his campaign, he helped come up with the idea for the baseball promotion where he would blow up disco records on the field.
Dahl’s animosity was both deep and personal. He had lost his job at WDAI-FM on Christmas Eve in 1978 when that station switched to an all-disco format.
As part of the promotion for the game, the cost of entry was 98-cents and a disco record. Thus, there were many in the sold-out crowd who were not there for baseball.
After the chaos, Dahl was surprised at the crowd’s reaction. But the notoriety of the event would help make him a dj superstar in Chicago.
This website hosts memories from folks who were at the stadium that night. And below is a short video about Disco Demolition Night.
Regarding baseball, the event went into the record books. The unplayed game between the White Sox and the Tigers is the last American League baseball game to be forfeited.
Regarding the music, others have noted that while disco was dealt a blow, it lives on successfully today in various forms such as house music. You can try to kill music with hate, but it will survive.
Do you remember Disco Demolition Night? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some Related Chimesfreedom posts.)