One More For the Road
Frank Sinatra will always be the voice of America. It is a voice that pops up in my JukeBox Brain when I least expect it. As a jazz drummer it is expedient to be able to play the Sinatra book of tunes, usually with brushes. He defined an era despite his ongoing conflicts with drummer Buddy Rich. This song conjures late night loneliness and a bartender that wants to go home but instead listens to the heartbreaking story of his customer. This era didn’t have therapists on every corner. Folks had to just live with their sadness and put up a good front. Emotional toughness stemming from World War II resulted in a closed down psychological paralysis for a whole generation. The late night bar was the therapy that was acceptable. Frank was the tough guy to tell his tale. We are about ready to say good0bye to the last of that generation of soldiers, heroes, heroines and casualties, We ought to give them one last thank-you for their service whether it be in an after hours bar or a fox hole in the
Ardennes Forest facing imminent freezing death at the hands of Nazi fanatics. And give thanks for the years of relative peace since then and pray that it doesn’t happen again.
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Wah-Watusi
Wah-Watusi Penned by Kai Mann and Dave Appell in 1962. My JukeBox brain is digging into my preteen memory and replaying this tune on repeat until I want to scream or maybe dance. Recorded by the Orlons. Was that a synthetic fabric? Dick Clark American Bandstand featured the…
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Gimme Shelter
Gimme ShelterRolling Stones nailed the zeitgeist of America back in the Seventies with this song just after the shocking violence at Altamont. The real high point of the song is Mary Clayton’s vocal performance. She put her whole heart and soul into her call and response blending the…
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Fame
Fame David Bowie and John Lennon cowrote this funky hit tune. The groove imitates an original R and B groove maybe from Otis Redding or James Brown. But it has a luster all its own. Lots of angst too. The posturing to avoid fame and glory is appreciated.…
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Chuck E’s In Love
Chuck E’s In Love Rickie Lee Jones penned this great song back in the Seventies and it still holds up. I met Chuck E. Weiss one night in Sherman Oaks at John Herron’s telling how he met Tom Waits at an open mic whereTom sang folk songs; “Five…
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Woodstock
Latest BloWoodstock Joni Mitchel wrote the song without even going to the first and only Real Woodstock festival. Most people who were alive then and still above ground now have a memory of the first time they heard Joni’s lilting yet haunting song. I was in Key West…
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Lookin For the Heart of Saturday Night
Lookin for the Heart of Saturday Night Tom Waits’ first album. It was a song I loved and should have covered it with Tim Buckley, they were on the same label. I was unsure of my producing chops. Don’t ever doubt yourself when it comes to being creative.…
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