the
From Glam Rock…to Garbo….to Goats
the
HIP QUOTIENT
From Glam Rock…..to Garbo…..to Goats
the
From Glam Rock…to Garbo….
to Goats
The Smothers Brothers - Dick and Tom - are hailed as freedom-of-speech heroes for their battles with CBS network executives who censored, and eventually cancelled, their trippy 1967-69 "Comedy Hour." But few followers of music and TV history are aware that Johnny Cash also stood up to the company men who attempted to police his 1969-71 TV variety show.
Last night I finally got to see guitar wizard and rock-n-roll funny man Joe Walsh play my favorite song from my favorite teenage summer. I dropped a helluva lot of quarters into the Student Union jukebox in 1978 to hear "Life's Been Good," a hilarious, iconic parody of the rich, spoiled rock star lifestyle. Now, the man who once sang, "I keep on going, guess I'll never know why," is back on the road to promote his first album in 20 years, "Analog Man."
With the sad passing of the ever-youthful Davy Jones last week, I beg the question: who was your favorite Monkee? For me it was pixie-faced Micky Dolenz, who turns 67 today. Why Micky? Well, like Ringo, the "real" drummer on which his TV character was modeled, he just charmed the heck out of me with his goofiness.
The protagonist in the movie "What About Bob" attributes his failed marriage to this time-tested rule: "There are two types of people in the world -- those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't. My ex-wife loves him." Well, despite the fact that Neil Diamond is sometimes rebuked by rockers for his symphonic serenades, I'm proud to say I'm a fan. He wrote some of the most memorable pop songs of the 1960s, including "Cherry, Cherry," "I'm a Believer," "Solitary Man," and "Cracklin' Rosie." And he's a good sport, too, appearing in movies ("Saving Silverman") and TV shows ("Saturday Night Live") that have playfully mocked him for his sometimes grandiose anthems and dramatic delivery.
Oh, Jimi Hendrix! Why did you have to swallow those 9 sleeping pills, suffocate in your own vomit, and deprive us of many more years of power-charged electric rock? You died 43 years ago today. We can only imagine what contributions you would have made had you not expired at age 27 in a London apartment.