by Robert Wilkinson
The sign of Cancer features some birthdays of great musicians! Today we continue the weekend musical feast!
Dave Rowberry (4 July 1940 – 6 June 2003) was the keyboardist for the Animals after Alan Price left the group. Dave played on a bunch of huge hits which we have for your listening and dancing pleasure! He also wrote and did backup vocals until the original Animals broke up in September 1966. After that he did session work until joining the Kinks for Everybody’s In Showbiz, featuring his great keyboard on “Celluloid Heores” and “Supersonic Rocket Ship.” From wiki,
In the early to mid-1990s, Rowberry was a member of Shut Up Frank, a band formed by Mick Avory, of The Kinks. The band was composed of Avery, Noel Redding, Dave Clarke, Jim Leverton, keyboardist Richard Simmons and Rowberry. The band toured extensively and recorded ten studio tracks which were released on two EPs. The band also released a live recording from its performance at the Brian Jones Memorial Concert in Cheltenham.
We begin with one of the Animals’ biggest hits from 1965! This was the first big one Dave played on, the #2 UK/#13 US mega hit “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”
Also in 1965 on Hullaballoo, the Animals crank out their next hit which went to #7 UK, #20 US! “It’s My Life”
From February 6, 1966, live on The Ed Sullivan Show, Eric, and the boys with Dave’s compelling organ riff cranking out their next driving hit that went to #12 UK, "Inside-Looking Out"
From The Ed Sullivan Show in May 1966, the Animals perform their #6 UK, #12 US hit "Don't Bring Me Down" From what looks to be the same show, “Shake”
Lousy footage, but definitely a live performance from 1966 of their #10 US hit, "See See Rider."
This looks lip-synched, or at best Eric singing to a backing track. "See See Rider."
Here's the studio material from the time he was with the original Animals before Eric disbanded the group in Sept 1966. He did some of the arrangements of these two albums, which are actually one gigantic set of tracks released in different combinations in the UK under Animalisms and Animalization in the US. Last year I had the extended versions of both, but they’ve disappeared. Instead, I got something approximating it in the first link, and a version of the album in the second. Between them, you’ll get the full sound of the Animals in the period between May 1965 and September 1966. Animalisms and Animalization
Live in Germany in 1967, a 33 minute gem! Animalism Sessions 1967
For the close of the Animals section, one of my favorite Donovan songs done as only Eric Burdon and the Animals could do it, “Hey Gyp.” Here’s a short version of that classic performance at Monterey Pop, “Hey Gyp” and this year I found this longer 8+ minute performance at Monterey of “Hey Gyp.”
For you historians out there, while Donovan did in fact write “Hey Gyp,” he had based it on this 1930 blues standard written by the legendary Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy (who has the same May 11 birthday as Eric Burdon!) under the title of “Can I Do It For You” And yes, this is the duo that wrote “When the Levee Breaks” which you can find at Eric and Kansas Joe’s birthday tribute in the May 24 archives.
Post Animals, on Everybody’s In Showbiz, his organ graces this Ray Davies masterpiece tribute to the classic movie stars! “Celluloid Heroes”
And now, Shut Up Frank, with members of the Kinks and the Noel Redding Band! There is almost no live footage out there of this remarkable band.
That said, I found this clip from the 1994 Brian Jones tribute concert, where Brian’s son sings lead while Shut Up Frank backs him in “Sympathy for the Devil”
We only have two more. Our finale comes from a great almost unplugged session on Swedish tv where they did two great ones! First, a stunning performance of the Animals’ iconic hit “We Got To Get Out of This Place” and we’ll close with the Kinks klassic, “Lola”
*********
Our second short set features a big birthday shout-out tribute to Ervan F. "Bud" Coleman (July 7, 1921 – May 26, 1967), a guitar and mandolin player who was a member of the Baja Marimba Band and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, where he wrote one of their biggest hits, "Tijuana Taxi." He died at the peak of his popularity and creative output, so enjoy the brief but intense flame of Bud Coleman!
He wrote all of these for Herb Alpert!
From 1964’s South of the Border, "Número Cinco (Number Five)"
From 1965’s Going Places, "Tijuana Taxi."
From 1966’s What Now My Love, "Freckles"
From 1966’s S.R.O. "The Wall Street Rag" By way of contrast, here’s the Baja Marimba’s version of Bud’s "The Wall Street Rag"
From 1967’s Sounds Like…, "Miss Frenchy Brown"
From 1967’s Herb Alpert’s Ninth, the beautiful and haunting instrumental paean to the guitar man, "'Bud'"
Turning to his main studio work, it’s tough to find out much of anything about the Baja Marimba Band except for biographical material about Julius Wexler, the founder. And there is no performance footage of the band before 1968. Still, apparently he contributed songs and/or played on these albums during his time with the Baja Marimba Band between 1965 and his death in 1967. So for our closer, more irreverent marimba music, with the guitar and mandolin work courtesy of our birthday boy!
The Baja Marimba Band Rides Again (1965)
For Animals Only (1965)
Watch Out (1966)
Heads Up! (1967)
There’s almost nothing biographical about Bud, except that he died of an overdose of anesthesia during a routine operation. And was well loved by a lot of people. RIP guitar man.
*********
Our last birthday set features the classic clarinet of the great Pete Fountain (born Pierre Dewey LaFontaine, Jr. July 3, 1930 – August 6, 2016). A jazz man of epic proportions, he was considered the “N’Awlins’ Musical Ambassador of Jazz.” He played with some of the best, and through his gig on the Lawrence Welk Show, he spread Dixieland across America! For your enjoyment, the great Pete Fountain!
We’ll begin with 6 minutes of Pete playing with Johnny’s band on The Tonight Show! Pete Fountain Playing a Medley of Standards on the Tonight Show
Back to the early days! His 1957 performance on The Lawrence Welk Show of “Love Letters in the Sand” is gone, but I did find this very early clip of a young Pete wailing on “On the Alamo”
Last year I had a great clip from 1958 on The Lawrence Welk Show of Pete giving up “Dixieland” and “My Blue Heaven,” but this year they’re gone, as are “Tiger Rag” and “Four Leaf Clover.” However, I found these 1958 clips of Pete blowing up a storm with “Wolverine Blues” and from the same year, “Tailgate Blues”
Here’s another clip from his days on the February 4, 1959 Mister Bubbles Show of Pete in the groove with “High Society” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’”
This also resurfaced this year! For you grooving pleasure, the fantastic New Orleans’style jazz of “Mr. Dippermouth Blues”
Here’s ““Struttin’ With Some Barbeque” and we’ll close the live performances of this era with Pete and the boys with the Lennon sisters performing “Mister Clarinet Man”
I found it again! Here’s his original studio album from 1959 titled Lawrence Welk Presents Pete Fountain
On The Ed Sullivan Show in 1961, Pete’s blowing up a storm with “Tiger Rag”
Jumping to 1962, we have Pete on The Bing Crosby Show with Jack Sperling on drums giving us an upbeat “I Got Rhythm”
From The Tonight Show in 1964, Johnny sits in on drums with Pete and the Tonight Show Band on “Marching ‘Round the Mountain”
Here’s a great 8 minutes of Pete groovin’ on “Jazz Me Blues”
From 1992, more sweet blues! “Basin Street Blues”
From 1994 at Piper’s Opera House, the audio of Pete giving us the standard “My Blue Heaven”
We have a couple of whole sets! From May 1979, a great 30 minute show of Pete backed by the Boston Pops! Pete Fountain in Concert with the Boston Pops
Also from 1979, a full 55 minutes of Pete Fountain at the Wolf Trap
He and Al Hirt did the encore of that show together, and here it is! Pete Fountain and Al Hirt Encore at the Wolf Trap - 1979
A fitting close to this brief tribute! It begins with Pete talking about his career, and ends with the most fitting song for a New Orleans Jazz Master! For your enjoyment, “When The Saints Go Marching In”
For our encore, a full one hour 1980 PBS special titled Pete
© Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson
Comments