by Robert Wilkinson
Yes, all these Leos had birthdays this past week! Today we feature short sets from all of them!
First, Sam Bobrick (July 24, 1932) is an author, playwright, television writer, and lyricist. He wrote for Captain Kangaroo, The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, The Flintstones, Get Smart, The Kraft Music Hall, and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. He wrote over 30 plays, but it’s his musical contributions we celebrate today!
He wrote this for the King! “The Girl of My Best Friend”
He wrote this for Los Lobos! “It Will Never Be Over For Me”
However his REAL contribution to pop music is found in two albums he created for MAD magazine. With such songs as “She Got A Nose Job,” “Agnes the Teenage Russian Spy,” and “I Found Her Telephone Number Written on the Boy’s Bathroom Wall,” you knew it just had to be a winnah! For a few good laughs, here’s the iconic MAD Twists Rock ‘n Roll and Fink Along With MAD The first song “Nose Job” plays, and the rest play after that. Enjoy!
*********
Dobie Grey (born Lawrence Darrow Brown; July 26, 1940 – December 6, 2011) was the hippest of the hip for a brief shining moment in the 60s! This is “Northern Soul” at its best!
From 1965 on Shindig, his biggest which went to #11 on the R&B charts! “In Crowd”
His 7th single which cracked the Top 100! “Look At Me”
He followed “In Crowd” with this one which also went into the Top 100. “See You At the Go Go”
This one wound up being a hit in the UK 9 years after it was released here in 1966! “Out on the Floor”
From July 1974, a live performance of his signature 1973 hit that went to #5 on the charts! “Drift Away”
From 1978, disco heaven! “You Can Do It”
Some country from 1986-87! “That’s One to Grow On”
For our closer, the original music video for “Drift Away”
For the encore, the entire 1973 album! Drift Away
*********
And now, the divine Ms. Darlene Love (July 26, 1941), one of the most distinctive voices in all of pop music. She came to prominence in the Blossoms, the backup singers for Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound,” and graduated to be THE voice of the Crystals! She worked with the biggest of the A listers, including Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, Bill Medley, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones and Sonny and Cher. From wiki,
With the Blossoms, Love contributed backing vocals behind many of the biggest hits of the 1960s including the Ronettes' "Be My Baby", Shelley Fabares' "Johnny Angel", Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash", Frank Sinatra's version of "That's Life", and the Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron". As a solo artist, Love also contributed backing vocals to the Ronettes' "Baby, I Love You".She was also part of a trio called Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, who recorded Spector's version of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", an Oscar-winning song from the 1946 Walt Disney film Song of the South, which got into the Top 10 in 1963. The Blossoms landed a weekly part on Shindig!, and… were part of the highly acclaimed Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special.
Since then she’s continued to give us awesome performances, both on state and on the screen!
Wow! A HUGE voice leading a song with HUGE attitude! From 1962 on Shivaree, "He's A Rebel"
Also with the Crystals on lead vocals, “(Today I Met) the Boy I’m Gonna Marry”
Even before she got top billing with the Crystals, she still sang backup! She’s on the track of this Crystals’ lip-synch to the studio version on Shivaree, with the wailing sax of Steve Douglas front and center at the break! “Da Do Ron Ron”
She also got cover billing singing backup on the studio version of the Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me”
With the Blossoms, she’s singing backup with the Ronettes in Nov 1963 on the studio version of “Baby I Love You” and on the lip-synch performance on Shindig in 1965, “Be My Baby”
She’s all over this album, including the voice of the song voted the number 1 rock and roll Christmas song in history! So welcome to Christmas in July!
A Christmas Gift for You - A Phil Spector Christmas
Other tunes she sang backup on include “Johnny Angel” (We actually survived this era!), “Monster Mash”, and this classic, “My Way”
We’ll close with the song voted the #1 rock and roll Christmas song of all time, performed by the one who brought it to us in 1963. As you know, Steve Douglas and Leon Russell put this song over the top! For your enjoyment, Ms. Darlene Love on the studio version of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
For the encore, 3 appearances on Letterman by Darlene across the years doing this song. Here’s her very first performance of the song on Letterman in 1986, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” We’ll follow it with her 1993 Christmas performance. Wow! “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
Here’s our final Letterman live performance from his 2012 Christmas show. This woman’s voice is awesome! “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” An early Merry Christmas to everyone!
For our encore, a bit of fun! Back in 2005, 4 Saturday Night Live writers got together and wrote one of the funnier Christmas songs ever done. For your amazement and amusement, Darlene Love singing to the animated “Christmastime for the Jews.” Lyrics at this link.
*********
Richard Wright (28 July 1943 – 15 September 2008) was a composer, singer, and songwriter who was a founder member and did keyboards and vocals for Pink Floyd. As I don’t want to have to reinvent the wheel, if you want major PF action, please revisit this celebration of their music! Saturday Night Attitude Dancing at the Happy 2018 Birthday of A Pioneer of Psychedelic Music, Syd Barrett (I’ll be composing the new birthday celebration for Roger Waters in about 6 weeks, but if you really want the post-Syd era, when you’re at you tube have a blast!)
*********
Our final set tonight belongs to the legendary Chicago blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) who died way too young. He played with Dylan, Paul Butterfield, Al Kooper, Steven Stills, and more blues greats than I can name!
Here’s Mike spreading the gospel at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival in the 1967 Summer of Love! These video clips of the Electric Flag are awesome and yes, that’s the great Buddy Miles drumming and singing lead!
From that same legendary concert, some strange dancing footage set to the Electric Flag! “Groovin’ Is Easy”
I found this audio-only clip of the Electric Flag at Monterey! The first song autoloads the rest. “The Night Time is the Right Time”
Here’s their 1968 album! The Electric Flag – A Long Time Coming
This was my first exposure to his guitar playing! From 1966, the legendary Paul Butterfield album East West
And now the best of the best! Mike played lead on this song that generally is considered THE song that broke radio wide open and kicked down about a thousand doors! While I can’t find the entire Highway 61 Revisited album anywhere, here’s the original studio version of “Like A Rolling Stone.” I also found “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”
From the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, 10+ minutes of audio-only blues by the Butterfield Blues Band! Paul Butterfield Blues Band at Newport - 1965
At that show, Bob Dylan used them as his backup band for the legendary electric set! This is the first song of his first electric set at Newport in 1965, where Dylan committed folk heresy by strapping on a Strat with Mike Bloomfield giving us some blistering leads! The end of the folk god and the emergence of the folk-rock god! “Maggie’s Farm”
We also have the last song of Bob’s 1965 Newport performance with Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, and members of the Band of “Like A Rolling Stone” that blew minds and pissed off a whole lot of folk purists. Rock history was made! "Like A Rolling Stone" - the "Heretical Electric Performance" 1965
For our closer, another legendary 1968 album! Bloomfield, Kooper, and Stills - Super Session
For our encore, Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield did this amazing show at the Fillmore West in 1969! For enjoyment, an hour and 35 of The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper
Here’s a 10 part documentary of his life and times! (2 parts are blocked in the US). The Mike Bloomfield Story
Copyright © 2018 Robert Wilkinson
Comments