by Robert Wilkinson
Our musical weekend kicks off with short sets features music spanning the 60s through the 80s, courtesy of two greats who had birthdays on March 10, and two more who had birthdays a few days earlier! We have Tommy James and the Shondells, Boston, and Procol Harem on the jukebox!
We begin the show with the music of Ritchie Cordell (born Richard Joel Rosenblatt, (March 10, 1943 – April 13, 2004), songwriter, singer and record producer who wrote and produced some of the biggest hits of the 60s! Our early show features some classics! Though not well known for his solo work, I figured I’d take you from the beginning to the apex of his career.
We’ll begin with Ritchie performing a song given to him early in both their careers by Jerry Landis, aka Paul Simon. From 1962 in the late doo-wop era, “Tick Tock.” He followed that with this tune he wrote that was produced by Paul Simon, “Georgeanna.”
He then took his songwriting to the next level, and wrote several tunes for Tommy James and the Shondells, where he hit gold! We'll begin with them lipsynching a tune he wrote that went to #4 “I Think We’re Alone Now” and complete with a Nehru jacket and love beads in 1968, “Mony Mony.” (Full disclosure: I wore a Nehru jacket to various events in 1968-69. It was all part of America’s romance with Brit pop culture and Carnaby Street from 1966 to 1970.)
Both of these songs also became hits for other artists! Here’s Tiffany’s #1 hit version of “I Think We’re Alone Now” which we’ll follow with the Girls Aloud UK top 5 version of “I Think We’re Alone Now”
Here’s the rocking Billy Idol version of “Mony Mony”
He also wrote these two bubblegum classics! Here’s Crazy Elephant’s “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’” (I knew the flute and sax player when we were teenage surfers together and he was in his band called “the Fantastic Group!”) and the 1910 Fruitgum Company’s “Indian Giver”
We’ll close this first set of the dance with a classic rock anthem he produced for Joan Jett, the iconic “I Love Rock and Roll” (Put another dime in the jukebox baby!)
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Our second set features the music of Tom Scholz (born March 10, 1947), rock musician, songwriter, inventor, engineer, and philanthropist. He founded Boston, wrote all of their hits and pretty much recorded all the instruments himself in his home studio. On top of that, he invented the Rockman portable guitar amplifier.
From Wikipedia, “Boston has been described as a pivot in the transition of mainstream American rock from blues-based proto-metal to power pop, "combining some of the ebullience of the rock era's early days with the precision and technology that would mark rock record productions from then on." All eight songs—most commonly the album's A-side—are in constant rotation on classic rock radio. Boston's success ushered in the next wave of "producer" rock, and critics accused the band of creating the “corporate rock” sound. Following the album's success, its sound became imitated by several other prominent rock bands of the era. The record created a reference point for production values and studio technology that would stand for years.”
So it’s time to celebrate the music of Tom Scholz and Boston!
We’ll begin with a live performance in 1979 of their iconic breakthrough mega-hit, “More Than A Feeling” and from the same gig, “Foreplay/”Longtime”
Here’s the entire hour and 19 set at Giants Stadium! Boston Live in NJ - 1979
From 1978, a great video of the band at their peak cranking out “Don’t Look Back”
From 1988, another monster hit from their first album, “Peace of Mind”
For our closes, here’s the entire hour and 45 show in Ontario! Boston Live in Ontario – 1988
Our encore is the audio-only full hour and 11 of Boston Live in Long Beach - 1977
Here’s a 45 minute television show done about Tom, the band, and how it all came to be! Tom Scholz Interview – More Than A Feeling
And here’s a short video that takes us inside his studio! Tom Scholz – Sound Machine
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Our third set combines the music of two greats who began their rise to stardom with Procol Harem. Matthew Fisher (7 March 1946) is a songwriter, producer, and organ player most famous for his part in composing “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” Formally trained in music, he was recruited by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid to be the organist in PH in April 1967, "A Whiter Shade of Pale” was created in May 1967, just in time for the legendary “Summer of Love,” and a form of proto-progressive rock was born! After that first mega-hit they brought Robin Trower (9 March 1945) and B.J. Wilson (18 March 1947 – 8 October 1990) into the band. This was the classic lineup which lasted for years.
Keith’s lyrics are quite amazing in their imagery, Brooker and Fisher’s keyboards are compelling, making Procol Harem one of the bands that made 1967 unique and awesome in the music that came forth. Today we’ll celebrate Matthew’s and Robin’s work with Procol Harem, so without further ado, here’s the amazing sound of Procol Harem!
We’ll begin with a 30 minute live performance from 1967 in Paris! This is the classic lineup! Procol Harem Live at L’Olympia 1967 (He sings the long version of "Whiter Shade" with a verse that most have never heard!)
From the Midem Festival in Cannes in 1968, a great live performance of their biggest hit, one of the largest selling singles in history, along with their second biggest hit! “A Whiter Shade of Pale” From the same gig, a masterpiece! “Repent Walpurgis” (Last year I had “Kaleidoscope” but it’s disappeared.)
Yet another clip surfaced from that 1968 Festival in Cannes, this time with “A Christmas Camel,” “Conquistador,” and “A Whiter Shade of Pale”
An early promo video that’s very weird! “A Whiter Shade of Pale”
From the previous year, here’s the beginning of the classic lineup. This was their second hit, released at the same time as the first album in September 1967, featuring Robin Trower on guitar and BJ Wilson on drums! It’s a very strange video of the band playing this song at the Beat Club with videos behind them. (You can find the equally strange lyrics at Keith’s link above if you want to read pure poetry.)
Procol Harum at the Beat Club performing “Homburg”
From 1967, a live performance at the Bilzen Jazz Fest of “Conquistador”
Released in Sept 1967, here’s their classic first album! Procol Harum (This is the UK version without “Whiter Shade.” Check out the lyrics to “A Christmas Camel” that begins 17 minutes in. Wow! They're also at Keith’s link. And that’s Robin Trower on the lead. Wow again!)
Here’s their follow-up 1968 album, which got even more psychedelic that the first! Shine On Brightly (Check out the first song, “Quite Rightly So,” a great groove set to great lyrics!)
From 1970, live on Radio One, Procol Harem live doing “A Christmas Camel”
From that era, live at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, here’s their audio only performance of “Shine on Brightly”
Their third album, A Salty Dog, was released in 1969 and was produced by Matthew. I found it on one clip. A Salty Dog
In years past it wasn't available on one clip, so I assembled these tunes and will leave them in.
Here’s a live version in 1969 of ”Juicy John Pink”Matthew left the band after that album, but continued to produce PH. Robin stayed on until 1971. Everything from here on has Robin’s guitar, but not Matthew’s organ.
Here’s their fourth album from 1970, which marked a shift in their sound. While there will still some surrealistic piano and organ driven pieces, on others they rocked a lot harder! Home
I found it again! Here’s a great 51 minute ABC TV documentary from 1970 on Procol Harum called ABC: The Procol Harum Special,
Here's a Procol Harem Beat Club show from 1971, even though neither Matthew nor Robin were still in the band. Here’s the great 9 song set! Procol Harem on Beat Club 1971 (Set list: “Shine On Brightly,” “In The Wee Small Hours Of Sixpence,” “Still There'll Be More,” “Pilgrim’s Progress,” “Quite Rightly So,” “Magdalene,” “Power Failure,” “A Salty Dog,” “Simple Sister,” and “Outro”)
We’ll close this brief tribute with an audio-only live in the studio show from 1971 when Robin Trower was still with the band! Procol Harum Live in NY – 1971
For the encore, Robin live on TOTP in 1974! ”Bridge of Sighs”
For the second encore, two albums! We begin with Matthew’s first solo album! Journey’s End - 1973 and then jump to 1981’s Strange Days - 1981
© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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