Ben E. King was one of the pioneers of Rhythm & Blues music and initially rose to fame in one of the incarnations of pioneer vocal group The Drifters. Hits with that group included "This Magic Moment" (later a hit for Jay & the Americans), and "There Goes My Baby". He soon went solo and had a string of hits reaching into the 1960's. Probably his most famous hit was "Stand By Me", a big hit for him in 1961 which was revived in 1986 after the coming-of-age film of the same name, which utilizes that hit, was released. Of course he was much more than that. "Spanish Harlem" was a big hit for him (and also for Aretha Franklin ten years later). Seventies fans remember him for "Supernatural Thing", a hit from 1975. He passed away on April 30 at age 76 due to heart issues.
And just a couple days ago, we lost B.B.King. He was simply one of the best Blues guitarists of all time, with a career going back to the late 1940's. He was all over the R&B charts back then but his talents really shined through in the 1960's. Pop fans remember him for "The Thrill Is Gone" in 1969 but he was much more than that. Rock fans remembered him featured on U2's track "When Love Comes to Town"; he duetted lead vocals with Bono. He performed almost up to the day he died. King also had his legendary nightclub in Manhattan where anyone who is anyone performed (including SNS fave Rachel Allyn just last year). He was born and raised in Memphis, essentially the home of the Blues as Riley B. King. The "B.B" stood for "Blues Boy". He influenced a couple of generations of musicians. Even his legendary guitar had a name--"Lucille", which, back in 1949 he witness two men in a bar fight over a woman...with that name. He passed in Las Vegas, where he performed many of his shows over the decades. We lost a great one. He was 89.
HIGH ATTITUDE: Last Saturday, May 9th I was in for a rare treat, catching two cover bands, in two different venues, playing similar covers, but in completely different styles: Bad Attitude and The Vinnys.
If you're a regular reader of this blog, for sure you have seen me talk about Bad Attitude, the band based in Central New Jersey, which features my friend Tom Corea on drums. No doubt you have also heard me rave about Corea as well. And why not? The Roselle Park native, who I knew from our days in the high school marching and concert band, lives in Morris County and has his own recording studio called Babyfishmouth. Oh, did I tell you that he has made my SNS top 20 with five different acts, either performing and/or producing? Let's start with the late Thom Sebastian, whose "Not Broken" reached #17 in 2011. Then came Sarah Jean, and produced two albums for the New Jersey native, the latter producing "Hometown" (#3) and "At Last" (#12) . He has recorded many albums, mostly of a holiday nature with The Hounds of Winter, but scored at #2 SNS hit last year with "Amy's World". Just this year, he produced prog-rockers The Wizards of Winter; "Gales of December" reached #12.
And then there's his Bad Attitude, his active touring band for just about 25 years. Like many cover bands, they've been out on the road, grinding out the gigs, mostly in the central New Jersey era. But they've done original material as well; "Merry Christmas Anyway" hit my #2 spot during 2013's holiday season, and recently the band released a St. Patrick's album.
But they say, you really don't know a band until you've seen them live. I had heard from my friend Mitch Lilien that his band was playing during the Hot Rod and Harley classic car show in Rahway, at one of the local pubs, The Waiting Room. As I walked in, there was Tom and his band, playing away. You probably know much of the music by now: Hendrix, Clapton, Allman Brothers, Stevie Ray Vaughn, but they had it going on. I love hearing classics in bars like this, and Bad Attitude puts a whole new stamp on it. And we finally got to meet and talk with Tom for the first time in over forty years. Of course we are all friends on Facebook, so we of course kept in touch that way.
I stayed for three sets which encompassed close to four hours; these guys were raw and awesome. If you are in the central Jersey area, please look these guys up. Click here for their Facebook page.
Then it was on to the Crossroads pub in Garwood, where the band The Vinnys were playing. The place itself was nicer and more "upscale" than the Waiting Room, and I got to meet some more friends from my hometown of Roselle Park, namely the Gabriels, Ron and Gary, as well as Ron's wife Linda. I believe it was her brother that is a member of this band. Like Bad Attitude, they are a cover band, putting their own SPIN on classics from the 1960's through the 80's, with more of a focus on the latter decade. Their sound is a bit more polished but by no means inferior, to Bad Attitude. Some great music being produced. Click here for their Facebook page.
All in all, it was a great afternoon and evening to listen to music you grew up with, presented in a variety of ways. To both the Vinnys and Bad Attitude (as well as others I have seen this year), Rock On!!
LINKED IN?: I am proud to announce that this week, all my songs on my SNS 100 and Tremors list now have links to the songs, usually You Tube videos. It was a bit of an undertaking these past few weeks, but you can now listen to your favorite current song just by a click. I know that many times, a song will be removed or disabled from You Tube; I have tried to get the official audio or video as posted by the artist. If there are any issues, let me know and I can replace, especially if there is an official video where I currently had a fan-posted one.
SLAM DUNK: Alabama Shakes spend its second week atop the SNS 100 with "Gimme All Your Love". It has a wide lead over the previous number one, "Dust" by Omnia Hegazy, although that song is still gaining points. "Love" has 185 points, a objective number I give to favorability to determine the rank of the songs; it shows relativity of how much I like the song as well as from buzz from friends and media. The record for weekly points is still "Out of My League" by Fitz & the Tantrums which had 196 points on March 29, 2013. That song had a special connotation to it, the Shakes song really does not, but its bluesy nature and its etched-in-my-head status makes it come close. The song may stay in the top spot for awhile but coming on at #3 is "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran, just one notch below its Billboard Hot 100 placement peak. There it was runner-up for weeks to "Uptown Funk", it may be "Gimme All Your Love" that may prevent the song from reaching the top on my blog chart, but I can't even predict what will happen in the next few weeks.
AMAZING GRACE: Two noteworthy debuts, both from past faves of mine. Leading it off at #60 is the new Grace Potter solo effort, "Alive Tonight". When I started my blog almost five years ago, its purpose was to try and expose me to new music and new bands. The Vermont native along with her band The Nocturnals did just that, with their "Tiny Light" which reached #16 in the fall of 2010. She then had the song "Paris (Ooh La La)" reach my top 10 and got some airplay in the adult top 40 format. Their next album, The Lion the Beast the Beat produced three top two SNS hits, including "Stars" and "Runaway".
The new release is a solo effort and upon first listen, I am a bit perplexed. First of all, I do love the song, it is catchy and gutsy and rocks; hence the high debut. But at the same time, it has a trance-like beat to it, and is very commercial. Hinted at with the bands previous album, that has been totally realized here. It's a shame in a way, that artists have to stoop down to a lower level in order to get some pop airplay. Pop artists should be looking to indie artists, not the other way around. I love the song and no doubt it'll make the upper portion of my list, but I am concerned.
Although Potter, along with Alabama Shakes, and Florence + the Machine haven't disappointed with their new releases, several bands have. The Wombats, Django Django, Best Coast, The Shins, and a few others have resulted in slight disappointments as opposed to what I was expecting. So when I saw that the Vaccines had a new single, "Dream Lover", I was a bit concerned. The English indie band is three-for-three in top 20 appearances, including "Post Break-up Sex" and "I Always Knew".
English Graffiti is the name of their third set which will be released later this month. I am happy to say that this new single does not disappoint. Beginning with a rock stance, a la "I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett, in fact, it has overtones of early 1980's rock. It's a mid tempo, sometimes haunting gem of a song that just sneaks up on you. A worthy effort from them. Catch them at the upcoming festival in Seaside Heights on June 5.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
May 10,
2015
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:
"Gimme All
Your Love"
Album: Sound & Color
(2 weeks at #1)
|
5 |
| 2 | 2 | Omnia Hegazy - Dust | 10 |
| 3 | 10 | Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud | 12 |
| 4 | 4 | Tennis - I'm Callin' | 8 |
| 5 | 8 | The Decemberists - Calvary Captain | 7 |
| 6 | 3 | Alabama Shakes - Don't Wanna Fight | 13 |
| 7 | 23 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"Ship to Wreck"
Album: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
|
3 |
| 8 | 22 | Calvin Harris f. Ellie Goulding - Outside | 4 |
| 9 | 5 | Jungle - Busy Earnin' | 10 |
| 10 | 6 | Phoebe Ryan - Mine | 14 |
| 11 | 14 | My Morning Jacket - Big Decisions | 6 |
| 12 | 7 | The Black Keys- Weight of Love | 14 |
| 13 | 12 | Kongos - I Want to Know | 9 |
| 14 | 9 | Launderettes - Red River | 15 |
| 15 | 25 | St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Like a Mighty River | 4 |
| 16 | 26 | Mumford & Sons - Believe | 6 |
| 17 | 17 | Catfish & the Bottlemen - Kathleen | 17 |
| 18 | 11 | Corinne Bailey Rae - Bluebird | 12 |
| 19 | 18 | The Big Takeover - Dolphins | 12 |
| 20 | 21 | Alice Russell - Breakdown | 11 |
Tremors:
| 101 | Zedd f Selena Gomez - I Want You To Know | |
| 102 | 106 | Train - Bulletproof Picasso |
| 103 | Fall Out Boy - Uma Thurman | |
| 104 | The Adventures - Heavenly |
| 105 | Alternate Routes - Nobody Else |
| 106 | 108 | Glass Animals - Hazey |
| 107 | A Silent Film - Tomorrow |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more plays on my iPod.
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