Month: March 2020

Country music was and always will be my first love. My parents listened to Hank Williams, Buck Owens & Johnny Cash records when I was very young and I happily took to it. The honest soul baring that happens in Country songs is what always gets to me.

With that said, Country singer-songwriter Jessi Alexander has a new record “Decatur County Red” that was just released and is definitely worth checking out.  Jessi has written songs for Black Shelton, Trisha Yearwood & Little Big Town. She also co-wrote Miley Cyrus’ top 5 hit “The Climb” and the heart tugging “I Drive Your Truck” which went to number one for Lee Brice. 

Alexander’s husband is Nashville song man and singer Jon Randall. With Bill Anderson, Randall co-wrote the Brad Paisley hit “Whiskey Lullaby” among others. Needless to say Jessi and Jon’s marriage is loaded with song power!

So we travel on to “Decatur County Red.” The lead single “Mama Drank” is SO fitting for our current Coronavirus infected lifestyle which has shut us down fast. People are out of work or struggling to work and keeping their heads above water during the most uncertain of times while trying to stay healthy.  And yes, men too can relate to “Mama Drank.”  The best tie-in to today’s happenings is found in these words:

“HOLDING IT TOGETHER HOPING WORSE GETS BETTER AND THERE’S STILL MONEY IN THE BANK, NOW I KNOW WHY MY MAMA DRANK“

The title track “Decatur County Red” is another as “country” a song as you can get and I’m just starting to delve into the rest of the record.  Recently, Alexander told Billboard magazine, “All the songs are a really good representation of who I am, but the title track is autobiographical. Those words, every single word is true. It doesn’t just encapsulate the music that I grew up around, it also encapsulates the people that I was raised around,” she says. “I hope that when people hear that they feel West Tennessee, they feel the people I was raised around, things I saw, the music I heard, the food I tasted. I feel like all the songs do a little bit of that, but that one especially is so me.”

So if you need some comfort in these weird and unpredictable times, you’ll find it in the authentic country found in Jessi Alexander’s single “Mama Drank” and her album “Decatur County Red.”

NEXT BLOG– Remembering a great Melissa Etheridge concert.

Every once in awhile a concert gets a performance from an artist or band that blows everyone else away and steals the show from all the other acts who played that night.  I’ve seen some of these things happen and my favorite went down during the Dave Edmunds Rock N Roll Revue Tour of 1990.  I was a big fan of Edmunds and the whole English contingent of rockers like him including Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello.  For his revue tour, Edmunds was to play in a multi-act line-up along with famed pub rocker Graham Parker, Fabulous Thunderbirds lead singer Kim Wilson and Dion Di Mucci of Dion and the Belmonts fame.  Di Mucci might have seemed like an odd choice to be part of this particular group of singers except that Edmunds had produced Dion’s latest album titled “Yo Frankie” which was released the year before.

I met up with several friends outside the Riviera for this Saturday night show and told them I could not wait to see how Dion would play with the fans.  The 60’s pop singer seemed to be the odd man out in this line-up of players.  I was way into the “Yo Frankie” album and heard at least three songs that could be released as singles from it.  Besides all these acts, the backing band included the legendary Steve Cropper guitarist for the Stax records house band, Booker T and the MGs. The Miami Horns were also part of this band. 

Dave Edmunds played host/emcee and opened the show with a smattering of his songs like the horn backed retro rocker “Closer to the Flame” and “I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll”, which was written by Nick Lowe. (By the way, Lowe always noted “I Knew the Bride” borrowed heavily from Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” but that’s a story for another day.) Next up was Kim Wilson, minus the Fabulous Thunderbirds but still soulful with his rocking blues singing to songs like Sam & Dave’s “Wrap It Up” and the top 40 hit song “Tough Enough.”  Wilson doesn’t look like your typical rocking lead singer but he makes any song sound hip and cool and lit up the ladies in the crowd too with his voice and confident swagger.

 Third in the line-up was Graham Parker who unlike Edmunds, I had never seen live before.  I liked his pop sensibilities and phrasing and the crowd was into his bite on “Local Girls” and “Under the Mask of Happiness.”  The latter song coming from an album with the great title, “The Mona Lisa’s Sister.”  Parker wasn’t touring with his old backing band the Rumour or The Shot but his voice goes well with whoever is playing with him.

Batting clean-up and boy did he clean up this night, was Dion Di Mucci. Dion got a nice opening reception from the crowd as he thumped out the new song “King of the New York Streets.”  It’s kind of a streetwise updated version of his past hit “The Wanderer.” Dion then segued into “Written on the Subway Wall” which was the lead single from “Yo Frankie.”  These songs were not hits but for at least this night, everyone in the Riviera went nuts for them. Good songs are good songs no matter if they’re familiar or not. I looked up a review of this show from the Chicago Tribune’s Greg Kot who wrote Dion looked “ill at ease” when playing these new cuts but I didn’t see that.  I saw a veteran performer standing up tall to show his new musical wares. Interesting how perceptions can vary.

After the new material was covered, Dion rolled into his past hit “Ruby Baby.” That was followed by the familiar but always fun “Runaround Sue” which got everyone in the place to join in on the “hey, hey, whoa whoa ohh” singing. Dion walked out “The Wanderer” and then came the best song scene of the night as he started up the folk hit “Abraham, Martin and John.”  Dave Edmunds and Graham Parker each took a verse after Dion, all of them stepping up to the same microphone.  This was one of those “Wow, ain’t that cool” extra special moments you don’t see in most shows.  From that point on, Dion DiMucci owned the night as the surprise show stealing star. 

Edmunds returned to round out the show with cuts like the Springsteen penned “From Small Things, Big Things One Day Come”, “I Hear You Knockin” and the revved up “Crawling from the Wreckage.”  Otis Redding’s “Dock of the Bay” was covered then the whole group of singers came out to close things with the Little Richard oldie “Keep a Knockin”.  This almost three hour concert with more than thirty songs played was finally done.  Four singers played their best with one guy shining just a bit brighter than the others.  Dion might have sung “King of the New York Streets” but that night at the Riviera Theatre, he was king of the Chicago Streets.       

NEXT BLOG: The passion of a Melissa Etheridge concert!

“…and somewhere in the darkness, the gambler he broke even but in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.”

Country singer Kenny Rogers has died at the age of 81.  This celebrity passing hits me kind of hard. The reason for this is during my years of producing morning radio at country radio powerhouse US*99 I had a few memorable encounters with Kenny Rogers and he was always a pleasure. A true gentleman and good fun too.

First off, my brother from another mother Bobbo had a brush with greatness involving Kenny Rogers years ago at the recently closed Pheasant Run Resort.  Bobbo and his wife Tammi went to one of Kenny’s famed Christmas concerts there and somehow he got recruited with other fans to be part of a song onstage! If I remember the way Bobbo told it to me, it was during a run through of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”  That was a fun night for Bobbo and Tammi. I always remember what a big deal Rogers’ annual concerts at Pheasant Run were.

My first time talking with Kenny Rogers was in the spring of 1999 when his baseball themed song “The Greatest” was on the country music charts.  US*99 had that tune in heavy rotation and while on the phone setting up to talk to morning hosts Ramblin’ Ray Stevens and Trish Biondo, Kenny was so friendly and cordial with me.  I felt an instant comfort just in my quick chat with him. On the air with Ray & Trish he was aces too.

Fast forward about two months later when the Chicago Cubs promotions office called asking me to assist in putting together their annual Country Music Night at Wrigley Field.  The year before, we helped the Cubs land Martina McBride and Little Jimmy Dickens to be guests for the Country night and they sang the 7^th inning stretch of “Take Me Out to The Ballgame.”  I remember how cute Martina looked in her Cubs jersey, but that’s a story for another day.

This time around I told Cubs PR man Joe Rios that Kenny Rogers’ current hit “The Greatest” and its baseball tie in would be perfect for their event. Rios agreed and I played matchmaker between the Cubs and Kenny’s management team. Within a day the plan and scheduling was a done deal. Kenny would play a pre-game concert and was also set to sing the 7^th inning stretch. 

US*99 gave away tickets for that game and my efforts were rewarded with good seats for my mother and I.  Before the concert I got to visit the night’s big attraction in the bowels of Wrigley Field and he could not have been nicer.  I would guess other baseball teams were working in appearances for Rogers and his recent hit but he made it seem like this was the biggest deal in the world.  Kenny knew I was the conduit that helped coordinate this event and his gratitude was obvious and genuine.

Several months later in early 2000 we had Kenny Rogers as an in studio guest and despite so many years in the business his enthusiasm for the work he did was still strong.  He shared great stories with us, had fond words about his longtime pal Dolly Parton and proved to be what I call a “Money in the bank” guest. 

It was during this visit that Kenny learned morning co-host Trish Biondo was engaged to be married later in the year.  On the air he advised us that you don’t tell the bride to be “Congratulations”, you tell her “Good Luck.”  Later after the interview my comment to Kenny on that directive was, “You’ve been married five times, so if ANYONE would know the protocol…”  He laughed heartily at my observation.  Ever since that day, I’ve often tried to tell others about the proper thing to tell a prospective bride.

One more note on Kenny Rogers.  In 2002 he released a fine story song titled “Harder Cards.”  The single only made the top 50 on the Country charts but it deserved a better fate than that.  Collin Raye also covered this song but Kenny Rogers’ version was better. Even before Kenny’s passing I’ve been planning to incorporate that song into a short story idea.  When that comes to fruition, I’ll let you know.

Rest in Peace Kenny Rogers and thanks for all the years of great music and memories. 

NEXT BLOG- Remembering a great concert from 1990.

Note: This blog has been scrubbed, scoured and deemed Coronavirus free.  (Whew!)

Last month social media jumped all over the “Broom Standing Challenge” where folks were using their balancing skills to have a house broom stand upright on its bristles.  There was talk that NASA engineers claimed this balancing act could only happen on February 10^th and it had to do with the earth’s gravitational pull.  Of course this was a complete farce, a canard and silly folklore. Because of its low center of gravity, you can balance a broom on its bristles at any time. Nevertheless, the standing brooms on their bristles pictures and videos ‘swept’ the country. 

So looking at the calendar this coming week, we have St. Patrick’s Day and the first day of spring approaching.   Both of these dates bring me back to scams we used to pull when I was executive producing for Robert Murphy at WKQX FM/ Q-101.  Harmless pranks but ones that still crack me up to this day.

A WEE IRISH LIE

While all St. Patrick’s Day parades around the country have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus scare, I still can think back to some fun we had on the radio when the Irish holiday would happen.

Every St. Patrick’s day, The Murphy in the Morning Show would offer listeners chances to call in for backstage passes to Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Parade. As soon as the morning show faithful heard the term “Backstage passes” they’d blaze up the phone lines, looking to score their parade privileges. Murf would put some of these folks on the air and let em know what they won.  Then a little later he’d cop to the fact that there is no such thing as backstage passes to the parade.    

EGG ON THEIR FACES

A few days later, we pulled the annual Vernal Equinox scam on our listeners.  There’s an urban legend that says at a specific hour on the first day of spring you could balance an egg on one of its short narrow ends.  Something about the gravitational pull with the change of seasons was part of the story in this bogus fact.

Robert agreed to twist up the urban legend and told listeners that at a certain time in the morning you could hold a regular egg above your head, drop it straight down to the floor and it wouldn’t break.  “Go ahead, now’s the time, start dropping eggs” Murf would say, “Get ready to see those eggs NOT break!”  

A few minutes later we’d get phone calls from morning listeners.  “My egg broke!”  “What’s going on?”  “Am I doing this right?”  We heard eggs break on the floor while curious people were on the phone asking for help.  One person said they had half a dozen broken eggs to clean off their kitchen floor.  At some point, a listener or two who “got it” and understood our prank would call in. They’d be laughing and would ask Murf, “Why are you torturing these people?”

So come the Vernal Equinox, don’t let anyone snow you with how an egg can be balanced on its short side, and for God’s sake don’t let some wacky radio guy tell you to drop some eggs to the floor because they won’t break.

NEXT BLOG: Remembering a great concert from 1990.

This week’s blog is dedicated to anyone over the age of 50.

MEET THE NEW BACHELOR:  JERRY  ATRIC

The producers of The Bachelor are casting for a ‘Senior Citizens’ version of the show.  The minimum age for participants will be 65.  Maybe dinners can be held during the Early Bird Specials at Applebees, hot dates could include staying home watching reruns of “Matlock” and the elderly participants can play games like “Guess What I Forgot?” 

And if you think Al Flash and I are already working on a music video parody for this new ‘old bachelor’ show, you would be correct!

THE JOYS OF GRANDPARENTHOOD-

As the years roll on, many of my married friends’ kids have grown up and are now having kids of their own. It sounds hard to believe but the same maniac pals I grew up with or worked with years ago are now GRANDPARENTS!  In my younger days I thought of grandparents as being old, gray and, well you know the rest.  This is not the case and every one of my friends (female and male) love their new roles as Grandpa, Grandma, Papa, Nonnie, Nana, etc.  It’s a real kick for them and their love and devotion to their kids’ kids is really fun to witness. 

Me? I’m still looking for the woman I want being the woman who wants me. Until then, I’ll do like Neil Diamond and remain a ‘Solitary Man.’

SAY ‘HEY’ TO THE GRAY!

Years ago, when gray hair first started sneaking into my beard and on my head it freaked me out.  Am I getting old too soon?  What’s the deal here?  But I learned to embrace the gray.  I’m not vain enough to color my hair and it’s interesting to watch the evolution of a new look.  Truth be told, I’m just happy to still have most of my hair.  Many men my age cannot say the same thing. 

Bear in mind there’s no shame on the women who color their tresses but I work with a couple of teachers who let their gray in and these ladies look good with it. Seventy something Paul McCartney finally tossed out his coloring rinse so did Jon Bon Jovi and actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Emmylou Harris has been gray for many years and looks stunning with it. Recently, Sharon Osborne ditched her red dye number 1 hair color and Jane Fonda just transitioned to her natural gray. (Although both Sharon and Jane’s faces has been resurfaced more times than the ice at the United Center) 

I saw recent pics of Sylvester Stallone who stopped coloring his hair shoe polish black and looks much more natural with the lighter tones on his noggin. Finally there’s disgraced Illinois governor and just sprung jailbird Rod Blagojevich; apparently his prison commissary didn’t sell hair dye and he’s all gray, almost white actually.  So gray is O.K. and we should be good with that sentiment.

NEXT BLOG: Calendar events that inspired radio pranks.

I have plenty of memories to share from my days in radio and seeing great live concerts.  Here’s just a small sampling.

DECEMBER 1982- THE WHO-ROSEMONT HORIZON (now called Allstate Arena)

 Friends and I were sitting in the first row of the upper level right behind the stage and pretty much on top of the band as they played.  Perched there, we enjoyed pretty much the same view out to the crowd as Pete Townshend and company had.  So The Who is wrapping up “Baba O’Riley,” their third song of the night with lead singer Roger Daltrey huffing and puffing on his harmonica, Townshend on his Fender Telecaster and John Entwistle thundering on bass guitar.  “Baba” rolls to its close, the crowd goes nuts and Daltrey in the midst of the applause, gives an underhand toss of his harmonica to a young woman a couple rows away from the front of the stage.  She catches it and from our view we spy her priceless reaction to landing the harmonica.  Clutching it firmly, her face was beaming and streaming tears of excitement.  It was a really cool moment and my friends and I kept commenting on how this fan will never forget such a special night!

Fast forward five and a half years.  I was producing the Miller and Howell Morning Show at 105.9 FM, Chicago’s classic rock station WCKG.  It was summertime and we were hosting a nighttime listener party on a large passenger boat cruise on Lake Michigan.  John Howell’s band was playing, everyone who won passes to the party was dancing and the drinks were flowing.   Between band sets, I was talking to a couple of female listeners about music and concerts when one of them shared the story of the time she scored a great keepsake at a Who concert back in December of 1982.  You guessed it! This woman was the same fan who caught Daltrey’s harmonica after he rocked out “Baba O’Riley!”  I laughed and told her where I was when that happened and how my friends and I noted her priceless reaction to that happening.  That was quite a coincidence to meet up with that particular fan, years later and have her recall such a cool incident.

 Like comedian Steven Wright once said, “It’s a small world…But I still wouldn’t want to have to paint it.”

OCTOBER 1991 JOHN MELLENCAMP AT THE RIVIERA THEATER

At the time I was executive producing the Murphy in the Morning Show at WKQX, Q-101.  John Mellencamp was a guest on the show one Friday morning and he talked up his new single “Get a Leg Up” from the just released “Whenever We Wanted” album.   So after his visit with us, word got out that Mellencamp and his whole band would be the “surprise” opening act for his record label mates, Material Issue that night at the Riviera Theater.  I was lined up a pass for the gig and sat in the first row of the balcony’s reserved section.  The house lights went down, the place was packed guts to butts and the Indiana born rocker’s band took the stage.  The next sound we heard was drummer Kenny Aronoff as he gave a few stick taps to his cowbell.  I immediately thought, ‘That sounds like the opening to “Honky Tonk Woman.”  Sure enough more drumbeats followed and the whole band joined in with their parts.  Next, out strolls John Mellencamp, lit cigarette in hand and he grabbed the microphone to sing “I met a gin soaked barroom queen in Memphis.”  The whole theater exploded with roars as we were treated to a searing cover of a rock classic!  Lisa Germano’s fiddle gave the tune a great twang and it may be the best show opening song I’ve ever witnessed.  During his forty minute set Mellencamp ran through some of his hits including the new cut “Get a Leg Up” and he added another cool cover, Free’s “Alright Now.”  The set ended with “Pink Houses” which blew the roof off the joint.  

After a short intermission, Material Issue played their show.  Two songs in, lead singer Jim Ellison asked what the crowd thought of that opening act.  Everyone shouted their approval and Jim dryly said he’d put in a good word for Mellencamp and see if he could land the guy a record deal.      

FEBRUARY 1993 THE BO DEANS AT THE VIC THEATER

The BoDeans were playing a three night stand at The Vic and I was at the first two concerts.  The band was working on new material and near the end of their show we got to hear two of those fresh tracks. The first was a rowdy stomp that had Sammy Llanas singing, playing his guitar and having to blow out some notes on a harmonica.  Llanas didn’t have a harp holster strapped to his neck so a stagehand came out on cue to hold the harmonica to the microphone while he did his thing.  Despite being an unknown song, the crowd went nuts for it. That tune was “Closer to Free” which was on their album “Go Slow Down” and became the theme for the TV series “Party of Five.”

The second new song was a frantic rocker and I remember the chorus Llanas belted out was something about “Lay down, lay down and feed the fire.”  This was another tune I wanted to know more about and when “Go Slow Down” came out, we got to hear more of the sexual innuendos of the song “Feed the Fire.”  Later that fall, the BoDeans would perform that cut on Late Show With David Letterman.  It was their best ever live performances on TV as Sammy and partner Kurt Neuman melded so well with Paul Schaefer and Letterman’s great band of players.

So that’s just a few of my favorite live music memories and I have more to get into down the line. 

NEXT WEEK’S BLOG: For those over the age of 50.