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Farewell, Joe Franklin: My Wizard of Was

Post author:Dana Spiardi
Post category:Film, TV, Stage, Media
Post comments:2 Comments
Post published:February 4, 2015

"Boy, if we ever hit number one, we'd love to be on the Joe Franklin Show!" That's what J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf quipped to the host of TV's longest running talk show, on the night he and his bandmates hijacked Franklin's late-night program. Was the jive-talking rocker being straight, or was he merely mocking the institution that was Joe Franklin? There was no doubt in my mind that Peter "Woofa Goofa" Wolf was dead-on serious. I mean, who wouldn't want to join the ranks of the top-tier celebrities who once graced Joe Franklin's couch? From 1950 through his last show on August 6, 1993, he hosted 21,425th episodes, interviewing legends like Cary Grant, John Wayne, Muhammad Ali, Charlie Chaplin, Bing Crosby, Elvis, John and Yoko, Andy Warhol, and five U.S presidents. Joe was one of the people who helped fuel my knowledge and love of performers - big or small, A-list or D-list - who hailed from an entertainment era that's long gone. Here's my tribute to the talk show king, who died on January 24, 2015, at age 88.

The Capitol Records Tower of Power

Post author:Dana Spiardi
Post category:Art, Fashion, Design
Post comments:1 Comment
Post published:February 1, 2015

On this date in 1949, RCA Records issued the first ever 45 rpm single. So, why am I featuring their rival, Capitol Records, in this post? Because, as we celebrate this anniversary, it gives me the perfect opportunity to show how the little vinyl disc influenced the design of one of the world's most famous buildings - the Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood. This landmark, built to resemble a stack of records, has been featured in countless movies and TV shows filmed in and around Tinseltown, so you're bound to have seen it.

The Boulevard is Not That Bad

Post author:Dana Spiardi
Post category:Brits Beyond The Beatles & Stones Film, TV, Stage, Media Rants, Reflections, Ruminations
Post comments:1 Comment
Post published:January 30, 2015

I was ready to log out of Facebook, with a vow to shake that social-media-monkey off my back for the rest of the day and get some real work done. And then I saw a post about a new video directed by filmmaker Max Weiland, cut to one of Elton John’s classic songs: "Tiny Dancer." It’s a lusciously filmed, finely…

I’m a Believer…in Pop Power!

Post author:Dana Spiardi
Post category:Pop Matters
Post comments:2 Comments
Post published:January 20, 2015

The year is 1967 and you're just out of high school. You're burning your draft card, experimenting with various herbs, and licking acid from blotter papers while listening to "Eight Miles High" and "Light My Fire." And psychedelia-loving hipster that you are, you're ready to pull your long hair out every time the opening organ chords of "I'm a Believer" came piping from the nearest radio. Forty-eight years ago this week, The Monkees' single "I'm a Believer" was getting more airplay than any other song in the country. Thanks to 1,051,280 advance orders, it went gold within two days of its November 1966 release and spent seven weeks at the top of the charts, making it the biggest selling record of 1967. You couldn't escape the sound. Free-form FM was still in its infancy, and most of the nation's gargantuan cars came equipped with only an AM dial. So, even the most musically savvy flower children couldn't escape the pop hits of the day - many of which they considered bubblegum music. But I was a mere child of 7, and I absolutely loved both bubblegum and pop hits!

Carl Perkins: Spreading That Blue Suede All Around the World

Post author:Dana Spiardi
Post category:Cool Country Cats & Fab Folkies Foundations of Rock
Post comments:1 Comment
Post published:January 19, 2015

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Rockabilly King Carl Perkins? Yes, "Blue Suede Shoes." Congratulations. I hope no one out there thinks that Elvis wrote this rockin' ditty. His version seems to be the one everybody remembers. Chalk it up to hair and hips. But it was the El's buddy Carl, the poor 'ol sharecropper's son from Tennessee, who wrote and first recorded it. Since its release in January 1956, there's never been a shortage of blue suede in the world of rock. The song has been covered by everyone from The Beatles and Buddy Holly to Bill Haley and Pat Boone. But I'll bet you didn't know that some rather unlikely artists have also recorded and performed this most sacred of rock tunes. Here's a smathering of some rather outré Blue Suede renditions, plus covers of other Perkins classics.