by Robert Wilkinson
Our Saturday Morning Special features three fantastic Scorpio songwriters who all had a birthday on November 6, each a pioneer in his own way! We have the Sir Douglas Quintet, the man who wrote “L.A. Freeway” and “Desperados Waiting on a Train,” and the Eagles!
These guys are all considered ground breaking talents in what they did or what they do. Each has a compelling quality about their songs, which are some of the most famous in history. While this won’t be a long tribute, I’ll give you a few of their best!
First, Doug Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999). He founded the Sir Douglas Quintet back in 1964 in Texas with Augie Meyer, and that band was unique in its blend of styles. They eventually became part of the Texas Tornadoes, a legendary Tex-Mex group. If you want to know what South Texas music sounds like, welcome to the world of Doug Sahm!
From Hullabaloo in 1965, a live performance of his breakthrough hit modeled on the Beatles’ sound! “She’s About A Mover” (Dig the mid-60s “British look” outfits!)
From the same year on Shindig, you get where they were coming from. “I’m A Tracker”
Here’s one of their biggest! From Playboy After Dark, in January 1969, a live performance of “Mendocino”
On Live in Austin in 1975, Doug Sahm doing a 12 song set of exquisite Tex-Mex! “Crazy Baby,” “One Night,” “Sometimes,” and “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights.”
Here are a few individual parts of that set. “Nuevo Laredo,” followed by “Dynamite Woman” and a medley of “Crazy Baby,” “One Night,” “Sometimes,” and “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights.” The closer of course was “She’s About A Mover.”
Here’s the Sir Douglas Quintet on Austin City Limits doing the rave up hit by the Kinks, “Who’ll Be the Next in Line”
From June 1985, here they are in Germany doing “Mendocino”
From 1990, just after Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers, Flaco Jimenez, and Freddy Fender formed this legendary “supergroup,” here’s an hour and 19 Live From Austin Texas of The Texas Tornados
A classic 40 minutes of Texas music! For your enjoyment, from 1992, another great show by Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers, Flaco Jimenez, and Freddy Fender titled The Original Texas Tornados Live at Gruene Hall
We’ll close with a great 8+ minute documentary focused on San Antonio, Doug Sahm, and Augie Meyer called South Texas Soul: The San Antonio Sound
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We now wish the great Guy Clark (November 6, 1941- May 17, 2016) a very happy birthday. While he’s not really known as a performer on his own, his songs have been made famous by some of the greatest!
First, his most famous! Yes, he actually was the one who wrote this! Live in Austin, “L.A. Freeway”
Here’s Jerry Jeff Walker live with John Inmon on smokin’ lead on Austin Pickers in 1984, performing an incredible duet of "L.A. Freeway"
From Austin City Limits in 1977, one of his legendary tales! "Desperados Waiting For A Train"
An early live performance by Guy of “Homegrown Tomatoes”
From 1993, here’s Guy Clark and Emmylou Harris backed by Los Lobos on Leno! ”I Don’t Love You Much Do I”
From Live in Austin, “Old Friends” and from the same gig, "Desperados Waiting For A Train"Last year I had a performance by Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Nancy Griffith, and more on Letterman performing “Desperados Waiting For A Train" but this year it’s disappeared.
From 2008, “Dublin Blues”
We’ll close with a performance from 1983 on the Austin City Limits stage of his classic "L.A. Freeway"
For the encore, here’s almost an hour of a classic performance on a legendary stage! Guy Clark Live at the Kerrville Folk Festival 1996
For the second encore, if you want an upclose look at Texas outlaw country, here’s 55 minutes of ACL with Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Peter Rowan, Lyle Lovett and others giving up their Tribute to Townes Van Zandt – December 1997
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And now a celebration of Glenn Frey (November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016). One of the founders and songwriters of the Eagles, he helped forge the California sound of the 70s. Here are a few of the great ones he wrote, or co-wrote.
First, from Popgala 1973 in the Netherlands, a full 45 minute audio set said to be the first time the Eagles were headliners! It begins with their first hit written by Glenn and Jackson Browne. This is The Eagles at Popgala in Voorburg – Mar 9 1973
From the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1998, while the full clip is gone, here’s 30 seconds of the Eagles performing “Take It Easy”
Also from PopGala1973, the Eagles performing “Peaceful Easy Feeling” (Glenn’s song “Tequila Sunrise” is nowhere to be found this year.)
After PopGala, the next big performance was on the BBC a couple of weeks later. This year the 33 minute video of The Eagles Live on BBC from 1973 is gone. However, I have these two hits from that production! “Take It Easy” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”
I found this entire show again! From 1974, live on Don Kirchner’s Rock Concert tv show, 58 minutes of the Eagles performing ”Peaceful Easy Feeling,” “Already Gone,” Good Day in Hell,” “Silver Threads and Golden Needles,” “Desperado,” “It Doesn’t Matter Any More,” “Midnight Flyer,” “Twenty-One,” “Ol’ 55,” “Your Bright Baby Blues,” “Looking into You,” “James Dean,” “Doolin’-Dalton”/”Desperado” and “Take it Easy.”
Here’s the closer! The Eagles with the awesome Linda Ronstadt cranking out “Take it Easy.”
From the 1974 California Jam in Ontario, 18+ minutes of “ James Dean,” “Blackberry Blossom,” “Midnight Flyer,” “Already Gone,” and “Take it Easy.”
Here’s a great 1976 performance, live in Houston on Glen Frey’s birthday, cranking up “James Dean.” From the same show, the audio of “Desperado”
All the individual clips of the Eagles live at the Capital Centre MD/DC in 1977 have disappeared. However, I found this link to 5 tunes. It’ll autoload, so have fun…
Live at the Forum in 1980, a song so iconic, I’ll play it again, Sam! Yes, at times in LA “I was thinking to myself this could be Heaven or this could be Hell,” and it is “such a lovely place, where any time of year, you can find it here," where truly "We are all just prisoners here of our own device." “Hotel California”
From 1980 in Santa Monica, a live audio only version of “Heartache Tonight.”
I searched for whole shows from the 1995 “Hell Freezes Over” tour but nothing’s out there. And most of what’s newer are remakes of what I’ve already given you. Better luck next year.
Moving into Glenn’s solo career, here’s a variation of the original music video soundtrack from Miami vice for another song he wrote with Jack Tempchin that went to #2 on the Hot 100, “You Belong To the City”
While he didn’t write it, he made it come alive and took it to #2 on the charts in 1985! From The Arsenio Hall show, Glenn live performing “The Heat is On”
I found it again! Live on Letterman in 1984, backed by “the World’s Most Dangerous Band,” Glen performs “Desperado”
From 1988, a performance in Brisbane with the Little River Band of “The Heat Is On.” From the same gig, “The Night Owls.”
A great live performance of the gentle “The One You Love”
We’re told this was one of his last live performances! “The One You Love”
We’ll go to some performances where Glenn is joined by other great talents! First, from the 2012 NAR Convention, 7+ minutes of Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh performing live! It’s a mash up of pieces of their various hits. Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh medley 2012 (Set list: “Take It Easy,” “Heartache Tonight,” “Life’s Been Good To Me So Far,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Funk 49,” “Rocky Mountain Way,” and an extended solo by Joe.)
Here’s a live performance by Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh of Joe’s hit from the James Gang, “Walk Away”
In previous years there were several videos of Glenn Frey performing “Smuggler’s Blues,” including one with the Eagles in Pittsburgh in 1994 but that’s disappeared. So instead, here’s Glenn and Joe Walsh live in Tennessee cranking out “Smuggler’s Blues.”
Here’s the original music video from Miami Vice which was pretty dramatic the first time we saw it! For your enjoyment, Glenn Frey live performing a great tune he took to #12 on the charts, “Smuggler’s Blues.”
I also found this live performance by the co-writer, Jack Tempchin, of “Smuggler’s Blues”
We’ll close with their first hit which I gave you at the beginning. Written by Jackson who got stumped where to take the line "Standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona," Glenn came up with "Such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowin' down to take a look at me,” and history was made! This has Jackson and Linda Rondstadt and the boys cranking out “Take It Easy.”
Here’s the performance at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! While “Take it Easy” has disappeared, this one was written by Glenn, Don Henley, and Don Felder, and is easily the only fitting close to this birthday set. From the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1998, the Eagles live performing “Hotel California”
So happy birthday to three amazing talents who have written songs that will live for ages! While you all left the stage a while back, as it is written, “you can check out any time you want but you can never leave ...”
Copyright © 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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