by Robert Wilkinson
Our weekend musical feast continues early and stays late! Like the old fashioned dances, our show features short sets of a 3 hit wonder, soulful country, "champagne soul," and ancient blues!
These great talents were all born on June 26, and we send out big birthday cheers going to Georgie Fame, Chris Isaak, Billy Davis Jr., and Big Bill Broonzy!
We begin the dance with the music of Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell, 26 June 1943), an English R&B and jazz singer and keyboard player who was the top of the pops in the 60s! He went to #1 three times in the only songs that ever charted.
I found three versions of his biggest hit! From Ready Steady Go, the smash hit “Yeh Yeh.” Then from Hullaballoo in 1965, “Yeh Yeh.” And finally, from 35 years later in Nov 2000 on Jools Holland, Georgie pounding out “Yeh Yeh”
From the 1965 NME, Georgie and the Blue Flames giving a live performance of the Rufus Thomas’ hit “Walkin’ the Dog”
From 1968 on German tv, a weird video of another #1, “Get Away”
From Jan 1968, “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde”
From their first album in 1964, Rhythm And Blues at the Flamingo, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames giving us “Night Train”
With Alan Price, live in 1971, a great duet of “Rosetta”
We’ll close this brief set with a live performance on Letterman in 1989, with Georgie and Van Morrison giving us the very danceable “Whenever God Shines His Light On Me” and the very beautiful “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You”
And for the encore, from 1989’s One Irish Rover, Georgie and the Belfast Cowboy giving us Van’s classic “Moondance”
Our second encore is from 2012 in Copenhagen, where Georgie gives us a 10+ minute alternate arrangement of “Moondance”
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Our next set features one of my favorites! Chris Isaak (June 26, 1956) is an accomplished musician and actor, who also happens to be an authentic classic rock and roller, with a style very much like the greats who created it! (I swear he’s channeling Roy Orbison on some of his tunes, like “Somebody’s Crying.”)
From his first album and featured in Blue Velvet, Chris Live in 2006 performing "Gone Ridin'." Also from the movie, here’s the video for "Livin' for Your Lover,"
From 1987, the music video for “Blue Hotel”
From 1991, three versions of his smash hit! First, the music video of “Wicked Game.” I also found two live performances! This one’s electric and moody. “Wicked Game” and this one is from MTV Unplugged in 1995! “Wicked Game.”
From Swedish tv in 1985, “Mystery Train”
Here’s a really good live performance of his 1995 hit “Somebody’s Crying.” Here’s the official music video for “Somebody’s Crying”
From 1999, featured in Eyes Wide Shut, “Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing” (definitely a PG-rated video!)
From 2015, live in Oz, here’s “Please Don’t Call”
We’ll close with a 55 minute show from 2012! Chris Isaak Beyond the Sun - 2012
For our encore, here’s Christmas in July! Even though some of the songs are blocked in the US, if you haven’t heard it before, enjoy the very soulful country rock of the Chris Isaak Christmas Album (cuts 3 and 7 aren’t from the album so feel free to skip them.)
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Our third set takes us into some of the greatest “pop soul” music ever created! If you’re into soul music, the Reverend Billy Davis Jr. (June 26, 1938) needs no introduction, as he and wife Marilyn McCoo were half of the group “The 5th Dimension,” who had a handful of gigantic hits in the 60s and 70s!
They began their run in 1967 with a tune that won 4 Grammys in 1968, the Jimmy Webb hit "Up, Up and Away"
They followed that with a hit written by Laura Nyro, whose life and music we celebrate every October! Here they are in 1968, live on television, singing to a backing track on a tune that went to #3 on the charts, "Stoned Soul Picnic." Very smooth!
Here’s an interesting video clip of the 5th Dimension lip-synching while riding in a British convertible to a tune they took to #13 in 1968, Laura’s "Sweet Blindness."
They then scored a #1 in Apr/May 1969 with the Grammy award winning hit from the musical Hair, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (We really believed it was happening!)
Live in early 1969 on This Is Tom Jones, here’s the 5th Dimension live – no lip synching! - in an extraordinary performance of "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." From the same show, they launch into a Red Foster classic made huge by Muddy Waters with Tom sharing lead vocals! "Got My Mojo Workin’." (For you purists, this song was derived by an earlier one titled "Hands Off" written by jazz cat Jay McShann and Priscilla Bowman which was a #1 R&B hit.).
The string of hits continued with another Laura Nyro tune they took to #1 in November 1969! Here’s another television performance in 1969 with the 5th Dimension at their peak doing Laura's "Wedding Bell Blues." They really were a fantastic group!
Billy sang the lead on these singles!
From their 1967 album, their cover of the Brooklyn Bridge classic "Worst That Could Happen" and “Wedding Bell Blues.”
From 1970, "A Change Is Gonna Come/People Got To Be Free”
Here’s the 5th Dimension’s studio version that went to #21 of Laura’s "Blowing Away," which we’ll follow with a tune they took to #27 in 1970, Laura’s "Save the Country."
From 1970, live on Soul Train,“One Less Bell To Answer.” From the same era, another live performance of “One Less Bell To Answer”
We’ll close this 5D set with the studio version of another major hit from 1972! “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All.” Here’s what looks to be the “official” video for “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All.”
After he and Marilyn left the 5D in the mid-70s, they continued their string of hits with "I Hope We Get to Love in Time" and "Your Love"
For our closer, live on Soul Train, here’s their Grammy winning "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)."
For the encore, “I Believe in You and Me”
For the second encore, from 1977 on the Captain and Tenille tv show, “You Don’t Have to Be a Star”
The final encore comes when they reunited in 1991 and performed their biggest hit on The Arsinio Hall Show, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In"
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Our last act of the night takes us into deep blues territory! For our closing act, we celebrate the life and work of the legendary Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley: June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958), pioneering blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He wrote over 300 songs, and as a contemporary of Son House, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Jimmie Rodgers, is generally considered one of the seminal forces that developed the blues in the early 20th century.
We’ll start with a great live video from 1956! This is his last hit, released in 1951. “Hey Hey” That's part of this longer 16+ minute documentary done toward the end of his life so people could see the impact he had on all the other legendary bluesmen who came after Bill. For your enjoyment, Low Light and Blue Smoke
From 1927, his first record "Big Bill Blues." Here’s the flip side, "House Rent Stomp"
From 1930, “Saturday Night Rub” and “I Can’t Be Satisfied”
From 1934, his instrumental version of “C C Rider.”
This song has been done countless times before and after then. Here are some of the best!
Here’s the first recorded version by Ma Rainey in 1925 with Louie Armstrong on cornet! “See See Rider Blues.”
Here’s a classic version by Lead Belly! He first performed this between 1912-1917 while recording it decades later. “CC Rider.”
This is Mississippi John Hurt’s version, done live! “C C Rider”
From 1943, the Bea Booze version, said to the THE “definitive” version! “C C Rider”
Here’s Chuck Willis’ version, straight out of 1957, when it went to #1 on the R&B charts! “C C Rider”
Finally, in 1966 Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels made it into a hit! “C C Rider”
Back to Big Bill! From 1938, a tune in the running for one of the first rock and roll songs! “Truckin’ Little Woman”
1938-39 were good to Bill, as he filled the slot opened by Robert Johnson's death in these classic concerts produced by John Hammond! For your enjoyment, a snapshot of history featuring Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson, Sonny Terry and other major talents of the time. Here's From Spirituals to Swing - The Legendary Carnegie Hall 1938-1939 Concerts (CD 1) and From Spirituals to Swing - The Legendary Carnegie Hall 1938-1939 Concerts (CD 2)
Big Bill wrote this, which is one of his most famous! "Key To The Highway"
Here’s a live performance by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee of "Key To The Highway," and here’s Eric’s offering live! "Key To The Highway,"
This is the definitive version, done by Little Walter in 1958, with Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, and Otis Spann as the studio band! "Key To The Highway,"
From 1941, “I Feel So Good”
In 1956 he teamed up with Pete Seeger for a one hour radio performance for the ages! "Pete Seeger and Big Bill Broonzy - The 1956 Radio Broadcast"
From 1957, one of his last. “The Glory of Love”
We’ll close with a live clip of the blues Master giving us three! "Worried Man Blues," "Hey, Hey" and "How You Want It Done."
© Copyright 2025 Robert Wilkinson
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