It Was 50 Years Ago Today! (SNS 2/9/2014)

Hello everyone!  Enjoying winter yet?    It's been pretty cold and snowy the last several weeks, and we had two major winter storms in the past week alone.   I've had car problems and with other things going on, I had to cancel my annual ski trip in Vermont with friends.    It's unfortunate because the conditions would have been ideal this year.   Four friends are indeed up there and no doubt they're having a good time.

It would have been the fourth trip for me getting up there.  One of the best parts of those trips was the music that accompanied the proceedings.   Many recent songs have reminded me of those weekends.  As for my current faves, could one or more of them have made it's mark this weekend.   "It's About Time" by Young the Giant would have been a perfect song for this weekend, but I certainly hope there will be other times.   To my friends up there in Killington, have fun!

The main reason for this week's blog, however is that this weekend marks the fiftieth  anniversary of the Beatles coming to America.    What is even better about it was that the days of the week matched that of 1964.   On Friday, February 7, the four lads from Liverpool, England touched out on these shores; two days later, they appeared live on the Ed Sullivan Show, at the theater that now bears his name (which is also the home of late night talk-show host David Letterman).

This was a very important and crucial time on many fronts, both on a national level, from a music standpoint, pop culture-wise in general, and even for me personally and my family.     I'd like to talk about these aspects of what John, Paul, George and Ringo had on all of those levels.

The early 60's were a unique time for America.    If you had seen the show "Mad Men", it's early seasons took place during this era, and it was still basically a white man's world, and women for the most part, relegated to being in the background supporting their men who were the bread winners.  In a way, it was a continuation of the 1950's, it was also a coming-of-age, self awareness time.     John F. Kennedy was the president and the country had a "Camelot" aura to it.    And although change was swelling (the protest-song folk movement and the emergence of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech in the summer of 1963), it was still a calm time.  Until November 22, 1963.

Kennedy was assassinated and the country was devastated.   Its life and soul were severely wounded.    The weeks afterward were rather somber.    Perhaps we needed something to rally around.    Back in 1956, Elvis Presley emerged to a legion of screaming fans and he turned the world upside down.   Maybe something like that was needed again.

Music had been groundbreaking since the mid 50's with the emergence of Presley and his peers.    Rock and roll, derived from country and rhythm and blues was born, be it in the form of rockabilly, doo wop, or the folk revival.    But by 1963, with the exception of surf-pop and rock (Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Dick Dale), nothing was really innovative in rock music.  Much was more adult oriented or non -threatening pop.   And then the news across the pond that The Beatles were driving fans crazy over in England.    Beatlemania was rampant over there as far back as late in 1962, and there were attempted to break them here in 1963, but were unsuccessful.    "From Me To You" "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100 that summer; a cover version by Del Shannon did go midway up the charts.   The Beatles version got some airplay in Los Angeles, but didn't catch on.

But, in the light of the recent tragedy the time was right.    In December there was the buzz of this long hair band over there.     Capitol Records, which reneged on prior single releases, moved up their latest release "I Want to Hold Your Hand" up to the day after Christmas.   The buzz was beginning.

By mid January 1964, the song hit #1 and stayed there for seven weeks, joined in the top 10 by other Beatles songs, released by smaller record labels that got the rights to the records when Capitol passed on them.      All setting the stage for their arrival in February.

For me, I was still in the dark when it came to popular music.   I was born in the year of Elvis, but spent my first years listening to children's songs.   The first popular song I remember was Brian Hyland's "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"; I heard that on a trip to Lake Mohawk, in the summer of 1961 (the song was a hit the preceding summer).   It wasn't until the 1963 that I had some inkling as to what's going on in pop music.   I vaguely remember the Beach Boys "Surfing USA".  There was Lesley Gore's #1 "It's My Party", basically from that fact that my brother, during his fifth birthday that summer was exclaiming "It's my party......I'll cry if I want to....".     My Mom loved two instrumentals that year, "More" by Kai Winding, and "Washington Square" by The Village Stompers; the former evoked memories of our family vacation down the Jersey Shore in Manasquan, the latter of my 7th birthday party that October. 

In 1963, I also took piano lessons, and rather than just learning the classical stuff, my teacher, Mr. Stuart, would give me popular songs of the day.    "Down at Papa Joes", a 1963 hit by the Dixie Bells, was one of them, as well as the two instrumentals mentioned above.    But that was my exposure to pop music up until then.

When we were little kids, when my parents went away (which was rather frequently), they entrusted us to baby sitters; girls who lived down the street, usually Barbara Ehrlich and Christine Johannsen.   They were in their early teens around that time, and by early 1964 they were talking about the Beatles ("Did you hear about the Beatles?" they said).     I also was an avid watcher of "Wonderama", and "Just for Fun"; kids shows hosted by Sonny Fox on Channel 5 back in the day, and there would always been references to them.    In fact, for the first four months of 1964, that's ALL you heard.    It definitely woke up a country that had been somberly put to sleep just a couple months before.

And then, my family gathered around the TV to watch.  You could barely hear them amidst all the screaming fans in the audience.    But it garnered huge ratings.    Beatles songs were all over the radio and the record charges.    My Dad took us into New York City to visit the Empire State Building in March of that year.   We stopped and grabbed something to eat; and when I heard a Beatles song on the radio then, I thought to myself, "this is the place to be" (in spite of the Beatles having left a month earlier).

Unfortunately, and probably not directly because of the Beatles, but maybe because of the changing landscape of the country; my parents split just after that performance.   She took my brother and I to live with my grandmother crosstown for three months.   The Beatles were as hot as ever; by early April, they had the top 5 songs in the country.   One memory I have of that period, was Keith Vail, a classmate who lived around the corner who frequently hung out with the gang on our block.    I can still picture him on my grandmother's front porch with a toy ukelele trying to do Beatles songs, but as he'd strum, he yell out...John (strum), Paul (strum), George (strum).......and   Rin - go!!!!!   (Don't ask me why I remember that, but I do).

Since those months 50 years ago, the country has changed.  Civil rights, women's rights;  the mid 60's were much different from the early years of the decade.   And the Beatles, despite the relative frivolousness of their early hits, started making serious statements about the music and in many ways were spokesman for our generation, John Lennon in particular.   As Bob Dylan (a crucial influence on the band) once sang, "The times they are a 'changing".  I will always remember fondly the time period, when Beatlemania was rampant.  Even in the late 70's, going to a work-related class to learn about new (at the time) laser printing software for my job, I look across the street and saw the Ed Sullivan Theater there and thought of that time.

This year's Grammy awards paid homage to that anniversary as Paul and Ringo performed together.  And on Sunday night, there is another tribute to that magical time, fifty years ago.   Where did the time go?

SHANNON IS GONE I HEARD:   I haven't listened to him in awhile, but it was a little shocking when I heard that radio personality Scott Shannon announced this past Friday that he is retiring.    To me, Shannon was responsible for the second generation of top 40 radio in New York City.     Of course, the first generation centered around WABC Musicradio 77. as well as WMCA in the sixties, and WWDJ, 99X, WPIX and others in the 1970's.   By the early 1980's however, top 40 became more adult skewed and by 1982, after becoming essentially an adult contemporary station since late 1980, became a talk station.

In the spring of 1983, it was announced that the former WVNJ, 100.3 FM, was slated to become a top 40 station, with the call letters WHTZ (for "hits").    The programming director would be Scott Shannon, who had worked, among other things, in promotions at Casablanca Records in the seventies, and had worked as a DJ as well.   He had promised that they would harken back to the WABC era "before it lost its touch with the street".    In the meantime, WPLJ switched over from an album-oriented rock format to top 40, beating Z-100 in the rock renaissance.  

As it turned out, it wasn't WABC, but something completely knew.  Shannon developed the "Zoo" concept of a morning radio show.  There was current music but also comedy bits, and talk about current celebrity doings and pop culture.   It took off like a rocket, and the station became number 1 "worst to first".  There were various call in contests during those morning shows.  In fact, a good friend Bob Groder, along with Stuart Denning, always seemed to win; they had a secret as to how and when to call.

Shannon as well as various co-hosts of the "Z Morning Zoo", not to mention similar shows in other markets, revived the top 40 format (now called 'contemporary hit radio", or "CHR").    He left in 1989 to go to Los Angeles and start "Pirate Radio", but came back in 1991, this time reviving competitor WPLJ, first as "Mojo Radio" then a conventional CHR format.

But 1991, like 1980, brought a downturn in hit radio, and stations again switched to more adult.   Thus WPLJ skewed to an Adult top 40 format, removing any rap from its rotation.     And Scott, along with Todd Pettengill, started up their morning show, "Scott and Todd in the Morning', pretty much similar to the Zoo concept.      Many of the highlights of his tenure were remotes during the year.  For example, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, they would broadcast from Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant Beach, with some name acts of the day performing there.   Then during the holidays, they would go to Blythedale Children's Hospital to broadcast their Christmas show, again, with name acts, including Rob Thomas, the Holiday Express.

I hadn't seen the show in a while, but apparently it was business as usual, until a friend posted his announcement on that show, suddently, that he would be retiring.      Without a doubt, Shannon was the most influential DJ in top 40 radio in the last thirty years.     And with Jay Leno stepping down as host of the "Tonight Show", it's a grim reminder that those we grew up with, won't be around anymore.

LOCAL MOTION:  Without really knowing what the singles are, I decided to pull "Triggerman" as the fourth track featured from Rachel Allyn's "Do It Yourself".  The song enters at #72 this week, and I remember her performance of this at 2012's Maplewoodstock.   Her slow but steady climb has hit another milestone when she was tabbed at the opening act on country star  Jennifer Nettles current tour.  Although Rachel has opened for some big names in the past, I believe this is the first time she's been on tour with one.   She'll of course still play New Jersey dates.   Shannon Marsyada Trio has released a video, their first, for their new song "Stick In the Mud", which I believe it from a forthcoming project.  No word on when the track will be released; "What You Do To Me" from their first set For You falls from the #1 position this week.  I may consider pulling another track from that album if it will be awhile until the new set arrives.    Paul Czekaj, who still has three songs on the SNS 100, including "Elvis In Heaven" which becomes his sixth SNS top 20 hit, and who had released the Sandy-inspired "Even Better Than Before" about New Jersey's comeback from that Superstorm, has released a video of the same song tailored for New York, which recently released it's slogan "Better Than Before".


QUICKLY:  Wild Belle's third single is the top debut, "It's Too Late".  Also, debuting is the new single from Augustines, "Walkabout".  The Brooklyn trio, in 2011, then known as We Are Augustines, had an SNS Top 20 hit with "Chapel Song".  Beck's new one, "Blue Moon" is from his first studio effort in six years, Morning Phase.  And finally, another record has been set on SNS, as Fitz & the Tantrums' "The Walker" moves to the top, become it's third straight number one from their More Than Just A Dream set, and a record fifth #1, breaking a tie with Rachel Allyn.  Meanwhile, their "Out of My League" logs its 49th week on the chart, tying Imagine Dragon's "Radioactive" for that honor.   Both songs figure in the Billboard chart longevity, too.   The Dragons set a record for the longest run on the Hot 100, now in week 75; while the Fitz record has been on the Alternative chart for 51 weeks and counting.


Scenes 'n' Soundwaves 100

February 9, 2014

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	3	NUMBER ONE  FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS "The Walker" Album: More Than Just A Dream	13
2	2	Capital Cities - Kangaroo Court	8
3	1	Shannon Marsyada Trio - What You Do To Me	12
4	7	Young the Giant - It's About Time	10
5	4	Caveman - Shut You Down	10
6	5	Tired Pony - All Things All At Once	11
7	6	Haim - Forever	12
8	20	MOVER OF THE WEEK:    FOSTER THE PEOPLE "Coming of Age" Album: Supermodel	3
9	12	Man Man - Pyramids	10
10	15	Broken Bells - Holding On For Life	9
11	14	Eminem f. Rihanna - The Monster	8
12	8	Wild Belle - Backslider	13
13	13	Field Mouse - How Do You Know	25
14	17	Katy Perry - Unconditionally	9
15	26	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK: PHANTOGRAM "Fall In Love"  Album: Voices	5
16	9	San Cisco - Fred Astaire	16
17	19	Lorde - Team	9
18	11	Capital Cities - Safe and Sound	25
19	23	Paul Czekaj - Elvis in Heaven	5
20	21	Zedd f. Foxes - Clarity	20

21	18	Cold War Kids - Lost That Easy	16
22	31	Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know	8
23	30	Eli Young Band - Drunk Last Night	7
24	29	Dum Dum Girls - Lost Boys and Girls Club	7
25	27	Portugal. the Man - Modern Jesus	9
26	22	Emiliana Torrini -Speed of Dark	14
27	28	New Politics - Tonight You're Perfect	9
28	16	Lorde - Royals	23
29	33	Alt J - Tesselate	10
30	25	King Tuff - Sun Medallion	14
31	32	The Fray - Love Don't Die	11
32	35	Ylvis - The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)	11
33	24	Bad Attitude - Merry Christmas Anyway	8
34	43	Those Darlins - In the Wilderness	6
35	67	Hellogoodbye - Everything Is Debatable	5
36	10	Cate Le Bon - Are You With Me Now	12
37	36	Kings of Leon - Temple	9
38	34	Terraplane Sun - Get Me Golden	26
39	49	Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes	5
40	45	Of Monsters and Men - Dirty Paws	8
41	37	Cut Copy - We Are Explorers	10
42	41	Passenger - Let Her Go	27
43	38	Florence + the Machine - Spectrum (Say My Name)	23
44	39	Cage the Elephant - Come A Little Closer	24
45	54	Sara Bareilles - Brave	33
46	40	Fitz and the Tantrums - Keeping Our Eyes Out	22
47	71	Zedd f. Hayley Williams - Stay the Night	3
48	63	Phoenix - SOS in Belaire	3
49	50	Man Man - Head On	25
50	53	The Joy Formidable - Silent Treatment	13
51	59	Jagwar Ma - Come Save Me	12
52	42	Golden Void - Rise to the Out of Reach	24
53	61	Eagulls - Nerve Endings	14
54	52	Wild Belle - Keep You	46
55	56	Imagine Dragons - Demons	19
56	47	Taylor Centers - Alibi	18
57	51	The Satelliters - Where Do We Go	20
58	64	Of Montreal - Fugitive Air	13
59	----	TOP DEBUT: WILD BELLE "It's Too Late" Album: Isles	1
60	44	Valerie June - You Can't Be Told	11
61	55	OneRepublic - Counting Stars	25
62	60	Twin Forks - Cross My Mind	11
63	68	Wild Club - Thunder Clatter	5
64	70	Franz Ferdinand - Bullet	6
65	75	Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Lariat	3
66	77	Vance Joy - Riptide	3
67	57	Avicii - Wake Me Up	20
68	72	St. Lucia - Elevate	6
69	76	Imagine Dragons - On Top of the World	3
70	73	Arcade Fire - Afterlife	5
71	48	Those Darlins - Optimist	16
72	----	Rachel Allyn- Triggerman	1
73	69	Lucius - Turn It Around	7
74	80	Mind Spiders - The Steady	7
75	62	Emeli Sande - My Kind of Love	18
76	66	Paul Czekaj - Wheels On Fire	12
77	84	Grouplove - Shark Attack	2
78	58	Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball	9
79	65	Phosphorescent - Ride On/Right On	14
80	87	Silversun Pickups - Cannibal	2
81	74	Fitz and the Tantrums - Out of My League	49
82	----	Hospitality - Going Out	1
83	88	Avicii - Hey Brother	2
84	----	Augustines - Walkabout	1
85	----	Kongos - Come With Me Now	1
86	93	Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardner	2
87	97	Temples - Shelter Song	2
88	----	Beck - Blue Moon	1
89	46	Paul Czekaj - Christmas Is Forever	9
90	89	Bear Hands - Giants	2
91	95	Lost in the Trees - Past Life	2
92	----	Brick + Mortar - Locked In A Cage	1
93	----	Birdy - Skinny Love	1
94	92	U2 - Ordinary Love	3
95	98	Panquet Courts - Stones and Starving	2
96	----	Basic Vacation - I Believe	1
97	94	Hunter Hunted - Keep Together	5
98	79	Pixies - Indie Cindy	6
99	83	The Veils - Another Night on Earth	22
100	78	Boy and Bear - Southern Sun	6