by Robert Wilkinson
This weekend features some great musical birthdays! For our early show we have short sets of classic soul, British Invasion folk, and Oz pop!
We’ll begin with one of the largest soul men ever to hit the stage! Solomon Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American preacher and singer who, along with Sam Cooke, was one of the creators of a sound that became known as “soul music.” His voice was amazing, and he was all over the airwaves in the early 60s! For your enjoyment, the sweet soul music of Mister Solomon Burke!
First, from 2002 on Jools Holland, his #5 hit from 1962, “Cry to Me”
We'll follow that with his MONSTER #1 hit from 1964! In a chair, but still live and exciting in 2003 on TOTP, Solomon Burke giving up “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.”
Go back to when he could still stand and "take us to church," here's da Man standing and delivering in 1987 in Germany cranking out a classic medley of his hits! "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,” "Tonight's the Night" and more!
Another huge one from the era! “Turn On Your Love Light”
Solomon delivers a great live medley of “Just out of Reach,”(#7 R&B) “He'll have to go,” and “It's Just A Matter of Time” From the same gig, “If You Need Me” and “Tonight’s the Night”
Our closer is from Germany in 1987, where the awesome Mister Burke gives us a very soulful performance of “I Can’t Stop Loving You”
For the encore, Solomon and Aretha give us a jaw-dropping duet of the Sam Cooke civil rights anthem “A Change Is Gonna Come”
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Though largely forgotten by history, this duo were one of the biggest acts in the British Invasion in the mid-60s, and are still performing today! Jeremy Clyde (22 March 1941) and his bandmate Chad Stuart (David Stuart Chadwick, 10 December 1941), known to the music world as Chad and Jeremy, are an English singing folk rock duo. They started strong, did some television appearances both as singers and actors, and were very popular for a brief period. So for a blast from 55+ years ago, here are Chad and Jeremy!
Here’s a television performance of their first hit which made it to #21 on the US pop charts in 1963, “Yesterday’s Gone”
From American Bandstand in November 1964, two performances of their biggest hits! First, “Willow Weep For Me” (#1 Easy Listening chart) and from that same show, their biggest hit that went to #7 on the Pop charts, the poignant and wistful “Summer Song”
Here’s one that went into the Top 20 in 1965, “Before and After”
Here’s their studio version of the Jonathan King hit “Everyone’s Gone to the Moon”
From 1966. the studio version of “The Way You Look Tonight”
To show you they haven’t lost their chops or magic on stage, here’s a relatively recent performance that shows they still have harmonies that are tight as can be!
First, an upbeat version of their first hit, “Yesterday’s Gone” which we’ll follow with “Willow Weep For Me” and “Before and After”
We’ll move into “Distant Shores” and then “I’m in Love Again”
Now to a great version of the Paul Simon hit “Homeward Bound.”
Here’s their fantastic version of the John Lennon classic “I’ll Be Back.” Speaking of the Beatles, from early on, their studio version of Paul McCartney’s tune which Billy J Kramer made into a hit! “From A Window”
We’ll close with the tune they’re best known for, the beautiful “Summer Song”
For our first encore, the entire 1967 psychedelic folk album titled Of Cabbages and Kings
For our closer, from 1968, this is the entire second album! ”The Ark.”
The encore are three from that album, including the title track and two more! ”The Ark,” ”Sunstroke,” and ”Painted Dayglow Smile”
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And now, Oz pop! Harry Vanda (born Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg, March 22, 1946) is a Dutch-born Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He started out as lead player for the band The Easybeats, and later on was half of the songwriting team Vanda and Young who did major work in the 70s and 80s writing for other artists. Today we’ll focus on the Easybeats, the first international hitmakers from Oz! Inspired by the Beatles, you can hear the sound throughout their music.
Obviously very early, likely 1966, a very energetic performance of “Friday On My Mind”
From 1965, a video straight out of A Hard Day's Night with the boys running around in various settings as the song plays. "She's So Fine."
Live on Oz Bandstand in 1966, in what looks to be the televised Coca Cola Special farewell show just before they went to London, the Easybeats crank out “She’s So Fine” and “Easy as Can Be.” From what looks to be the same show, “I’ll Make You Happy” and "Too Much."
Also from 1966, a video of “Sorry”
The beat is heavy! “Made My Bed (Gonna Lie in it)”
From 1967 in Germany on Beat! Beat! Beat!,, a great video of the Easybeats performing “River Deep Mountain High” (last year’s clip had “The Batman Theme” and more but it’s gone.)
From their second album, the studio version of their hit “Sad, Lonely, and Blue”
From French tv in 1967, “Heaven and Hell”
Also from 1967, “Lovin’ Machine”
We’ll close the Easybeats’ set with another hit! “Wedding Ring”
For the encore, from French tv, a lip synched video of “Friday on My Mind”
© Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson
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