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"My brother's back at home with his Beatles and his Stones; we never got it off on that revolution stuff." So lamented Mott the Hoople in their 1972 "All The Young Dudes," a David Bowie-penned anthem about aimless glam-rockers and their disdain for the values of the past. Oh, those boogaloo boys in their eyeliner, glitter and platform shoes! I've enjoyed glam-rock as much as many other genres, from punk to bluegrass. But no matter how many musical roads I've traveled, I always end up "back at home, with my Beatles and my Stones." This summer, my two favorite bands celebrated 50th anniversaries.
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.
Anne Frank, the Jewish teen diarist who documented her experiences hiding from the Nazis during World War II, would have turned 86 today. Her work inspired me to purchase my first diary. We were soul mates; both of us dark-haired and dark-eyed, yearning to be free, wrapped up in our writing as a form of escape and self-therapy. Like Anne, I will continue to write till my stoney end.
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."
Singer/songwriter Bob Dylan just received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Bobby wore shades and never cracked a facial muscle as the Prez heaped all kinds of well-deserved praise upon him. That's our poker-faced Bob, the brilliant, eccentric minstrel that I'll adore forever.
