by Robert Wilkinson
In the past week we had several Libra birthdays we didn’t get to celebrate, so today we do short sets!
The Platinum Era of rock and roll gave us the unforgettable songs of the great Ben E. King (September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015)! He was the voice of the Drifters for some of their biggest, and then went on to give us a couple of monster hits when he went solo! From wiki, “He co-wrote and sang lead on the first Atlantic hit by the new version of the Drifters, "There Goes My Baby" (1959). He sang lead on a succession of hits by the team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, including "Save the Last Dance for Me", "This Magic Moment", and "I Count the Tears.” He left the Drifters in 1960, and then went solo!
From April 1959, the original studio version of the #2 hit with Ben’s vocals out front! “There Goes My Baby”
In January 1960, he scored in a huge way with this classic, which went to #16! “This Magic Moment”
From August 1960, another that hit #1 after Ben left the Drifters. “Save The Last Dance for Me”
This was his last hit for the Drifters in November 1960, and has always been one of my favorites! “I Count the Tears”
After he left the Drifters and was still scoring hits as the tunes were released, he released this in December 1960. Here’s the original studio version of his first solo Top 10 hit, “Spanish Harlem” which he followed with the even bigger smash hit when shot to #1, “Stand By Me”
We’ll close this short set with three performances. First, from 1990 on Letterman, we get this great performance of “Spanish Harlem.”
And now the signature tune! From 1961 in black and white on television, Ben E King lip synching “Stand By Me.” and from Letterman, Ben delivers an absolutely live version of "Stand By Me."
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Next, we have Randy Bachman (September 27, 1943) founder and lead player of the Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive! Here are a few of his biggest!
From The Midnight Special, a great live performance of “These Eyes”
From March 1973, live on ABC tv, the Guess Who perform “No Time”
From December 1969, live on Canadian television, a great live performance of “Laughing”
From 1973, live on The Midnight Special, the very jazzy “Undun”
Here’s the original studio version of “American Woman” and from The Midnight Special, a live performance of “American Woman”A live performance back in the day of “No Sugar Tonight”
From his time with Bachman Turner Overdrive
Live in Vancouver in 1973, “Takin’ Care of Business”
Another great live performance, this time in 1975 of their smash hit “Let it Ride”
From 1974, the video of “Rolling Down the Highway”
From 1974, an early video set to the studio version of “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”
We’ll close with great performances from their 2000 reunion in Winnipeg! Here’s the original Guess Who cranking out “American Woman.” From the same gig “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature,” “Albert,” “Hand Me Down World,” and “Bus Rider”
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For our last set, we celebrate the birthday of George Chambers of the Chambers Brothers!
And now the final tribute of the day to one of the greatest psychedelic soul groups ever to sing a note, the fabulous Chambers Brothers, since today’s the birthday of George "Pops" Chambers (September 26, 1931 - just before 5 am, October 12, 2019), bass player for the Chambers Brothers. They were truly one of the best of the era, and gave us one gigantic hit that set the standard for “more cowbell!” I believe Christopher Walken said it best on SNL: “"Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!"
George Chambers, along with brothers Lester Chambers (April 13, 1940 – harmonica and cowbell), Willie Chambers (March 3, 1938 - guitar) and Joe Chambers (August 22, 1942 – guitar) backed by Brian Keenan (January 28, 1943 – October 5, 1985 - drums) created the Chambers Brothers, one of the first multi-racial rock and soul bands doing crossover music ranging from gospel to straight up psychedelia! So let’s jump straight to the music and more cowbell! Without further ado, the magnificent sound of the Chambers Brothers!
Here they are live in 1969 at the Fillmore East performing an amazing 15 minute version of their truly iconic psychedelic Soul, backed by the Joshua Light Show! Kinetic, electric, and exciting! An amazing tune written by Joe and his brother Willie, the iconic “Time Has Come Today”
Live at the Fillmore reunion in 1986, here’s a great live performance in its short form! “Time Has Come Today”
Here’s their third album in its entirety! The Chambers Brothers – The Time Has Come
From that amazing album, one of their biggest hits, sung by Willie! This version really rocks! “Midnight Hour”
Here’s a great live video performance on Hollywood A Go Go in the mid-60s with the Chambers Brothers in the groove with “Call Me”
From their live performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, the audio-only version of “I Got It”
Here’s their rave up of the Otis Redding Soul classic “I Can’t Turn You Loose”
Live in 1969, an audio only version of the legendary Curtis Mayfield classic! “People Get Ready”
Last year I had an amazing video from the Fillmore East in the Summer of 69, at the same show as our first tune of this set, a 29 minute live rocking performance of the classic “Wade in the Water.” This year it’s disappeared, but I found this live 10+ minute audio from the Fillmore East of “Wade In The Water”
From July 1970, an audio-only version of the Chambers Brothers live at the Atlanta International Pop fest cranking out “Love, Peace, and Happiness”
Here’s a great performance from their reunion tour! Live and grey, the Chambers Brothers giving us “Love, Peace, and Happiness.” And from that reunion gig, here they are live and as good as ever cranking out “Time Has Come Today”
From 1972, the Chambers Brothers groovin’ on the one! The Chambers Brothers live on the Mike Douglas Show
Here’s their very funky 1971 studio album "New Generation”
From 1974, their studio version of the classic Band tune “The Weight”
Willie and Brother Joe collaborated with Jessie Sparks in 2012, and came up with this gem! “Calendar Years”
For our closer, we have an hour and 5 of great live 1994 video footage of the Chambers Brothers playing the Portland Waterfront Blues Festival! The Chambers Brothers Live in Portland 1994
For our encore, we’ll close this tribute with the same tune that brought us in! I still have a fever, and the cure is still more cowbell! Here’s the dynamic original studio version that shook the world in 1968! “Time Has Come Today” (While I do not agree with the politics of the guy who posted this video, I respect that this clip gives us a psychedelic trip into the 60s without using LSD).
Here's a great piece on Songfacts which is a great history of "Time Has Come Today." It was a magical song which wrote itself, and captivated everyone who ever heard it. Columbia was determined that song would never get recorded. Here's the story of how it did. Songfacts - "Time Has Come Today"
Now the time has come (Time)
There's no place to run (Time)
I might get burned up by the sun (Time)
But I had my fun (Time)
I've been loved and put aside (Time)
I've been crushed by the tumbling tide (Time)
And my soul has been psychedelicized (Time)
I believe my soul's been psychedelicized....
© Copyright 2020 Robert Wilkinson
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