WELL, I'M BACK......for now. Yes, it's 2023 and I am at least starting to continue to talk about and share music with you. Whether this year will finish the same way is still up to my own personal debate, as well as how I will present the music, if I present it at all....not to mention if I'm going to ditch the iPod and get with the current streaming methods. Then again, some of the most successful artists on my blog list in 2022 have new releases coming up in the next few weeks, and a very high debut that's a retro trip back to the late 1950's that somehow has been on the Billboard Hot 100 for over half a year and I never noticed it, is a good reason as any to continue this blog for the time being. So, here we are.
My intention on this first blog of the New Year was to clean up any loose ends from last year, and has often been the case, there have been many passings in the rock world. I was going to touch upon Dino Danelli, who was the drummer for the 1960's pop and soul legends (from New Jersey, no less), The Rascals, who passed last month but during the past week, we also lost guitar legend Jeff Beck who started with The Yardbirds, and played in many bands after that; Lisa Marie Presley, who did record some albums, but is more well known as the daughter of The King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley, and finally another drummer, from one my favorite 1970's bands, Robbie Bachman, from Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
 |
| Over the past month, we lost four music icons. Clockwise from top left: Dino Danelli drummer for The Rascals, guitarist Jeff Beck, from the Yardbirds and other subsequent bands; Robbie Bachman, drummer for Bachman-Turner Overdrive, and Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley. |
So, it's this we will start with. Dino Danelli was born in Jersey City, and originally was in the jazz field, playing for Lionel Hampton, and also was in the R&B field, moving to New Orleans in a band called Ronnie Speaks and the Elrods. Back in New York City by 1962, working various R&B clubs, he met with two future bandmates, Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, and the three of them teamed up and headed to Las Vegas and joined a house band called The Scottys in one of the casinos in town. By 1964, though, they returned to New York City. The three of thethen m teamed up with Canadian guitarist Gene Cornish, and a new band, at the time, initially called The Young Rascals was formed. The band settled in Garfield New Jersey at a club called The Choo Choo Club.
The Young Rascals, with Dino firmly on the drums, released their debut single, "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" which climbed halfway up the charts, but it was the follow-up, "Good Lovin'" that was a huge hit, and it was the first of three number one songs for the band, the others being "Groovin'" (1967) and "People Got to Be Free" (1968). On my own Top 100 for 1968 in fact, the Rascals placed two songs in my Top 5 with "People...." at #4 and my personal favorite, "A Beautiful Morning" at #2.
Danelli stayed with The Rascals until 1972, when both he and Gene Cornish formed a band called Bulldog. That band charted with "No", which hit #44 in early 1973, but the act was short-lived. After a stint with the Leslie West (ex-Mountain) Band, both Danelli and Cornish formed Fotomaker with Wally Bryson (ex-Raspberries) and charted with its debut album, and hit #81 in 1978 with the single "Where Have You Been All My Life" and #63 the following year with "Miles Away". After Fotomaker split, Danelli joined Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul in the early 1980's. Since then, he had performed with various Rascals reunions, including a stint with the other original members on Broadway in 2013.
Danelli died on December 15 from coronary heart failure. He was 78 years old.
Jeff Beck had an astounding career and, like Danelli, played in many bands as well as a solo career and who had crossed paths with other rock royalty. Born in Surrey, England in 1944, his first exposure to music came via a church choir, but it was seeing Les Paul perform "How High the Moon" with an electric guitar, at the age of nine that pretty much determined his aspirations. Other influences included Lonnie Mack, B.B.King and Steve Cropper.
He played in several local bands in the early 1960's and then met original Rolling Stones co-founder Ian Stewart who introduced him to R&B music. By 1965, he was hired as a member of The Yardbirds, replacing another guitar legend, Eric Clapton. He had several hits with that band, including "I'm A Man", "Shapes of Things" and "Over, Under, Sideways Down". His stint with The Yardbirds was short-lived, however, for often being a no show and because of his sometimes-explosive temperament. He was replaced by future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
Meanwhile he formed The Jeff Beck Group, which also included future stars Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood. This band recorded four albums between 1968 and '72 (only the first two included Stewart and Wood). Beck almost became a member of Pink Floyd when Syd Barrett departed, but according to sources, no one in the band had the nerve to approach Beck to join.
In the 1970's, Beck teamed up with Tim Bogert and Carmen Appice, two members of Vanilla Fudge which had just split, to form Beck, Bogert & Appice. This "supergroup" recorded one album in 1973, self-titled which hit #12 on the album chart. Several solo albums would follow. In the 1980's, he continued his career playing with many other legends, including Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Sting, and in 1990, played on a solo album by Jon Bon Jovi.
Tinnitus curtailed his career somewhat in the late 1980's but in the 1990's played with others including Paul Rodgers, Roger Waters and Kate Bush. Beck kept busy in the new millennium, going on various concerts and television shows, including a guest on American Idol and playing with Kelly Clarkson. If that wasn't enough, he played on one of Brian Wilson's solo efforts in the 2010's. His most recent single was in 2020, teaming with actor Johnny Depp to cover John Lennon's "Isolation", and his last known credit was playing on Ozzy Osbourne's Patient Number 9 set in June of last year.
Overall, Jeff Beck accumulated eight Grammys. Beck died from bacterial meningitis on January 10. He was78.
Next was Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley, and Pricilla Presley, at the age of 52, just two days after Jeff Beck's passing. While her musical resume paled in comparison, she did have a couple of top five albums and songs hit the adult charts, but never hit the Hot 100. Still, she got into music especially when she attended a Queen concert at the age of ten. She was married four times, including a two-year stint with Michael Jackson, and two years with actor Nicolas Cage. Perhaps in response to a similar recording that Natalie Cole made with her late father Nat "King" Cole posthumously that became a hit, "Unforgettable", Lisa Marie did the same with "Don't Cry Daddy" which her father had a hit with in 1970, released in 1997. She recorded other singles in recent years, including another "duet" with Elvis on his 1969 hit "In the Ghetto". Ms. Presley most recently appeared at the Golden Globe Awards just a few days before her death. She died of cardiac arrest.
The same day, January 12, we lost Robin "Robbie" Bachman, the drummer for the Canadian rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive. He was a younger brother of Randy Bachman who had been a member of The Guess Who during much of the 1960's. Randy had left that band right after their hit "American Woman" in early 1970, and after a solo album, he decided to form a band with ex-Guess Who lead singer Chad Allan (he sang lead on the 1965 #22 "Shakin' All Over" before leaving and being replaced by Burton Cummings), called Brave Belt. Randy recruited Robbie, who was just 18 at the time and had no notable experience behind the drum kit but practiced frequently growing up. Brave Belt released two albums, but Allan left the band and was replaced by C.F. Turner as well as another Bachman brother, Tim. The next album saw the band name changed from Brave Belt to Bachman-Turner Overdrive (with Tim eventually replaced by Blair Thornton). That band, with Robbie on drums had several hits in the nid-1970's, including "Takin' Care of Business", the #1 "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", which was my #2 song of 1974, "Let It Ride" and others. He also wrote a few songs for the band, most notably "Roll On Down the Highway" (with Turner), my #1 song of 1975. He was also credited with created the band's gear-shaped logo.
After brother Randy split in 1977 and laying claim to the band's name, Robbie and the other members released two albums simply as "BTO" in the late 1970's before calling it quits. While Randy and C.F. Turner reformed the band in 1984, neither Robbie nor Blair joined due to licensing issues, but by 1988 the classic lineup reunited for four years before Randy left again. Robbie continued with the other members until 2004 when they split for good, releasing an album in 1995 consisting of remakes of their hits, a few covers and one or two originals. BTO entered the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2014, but otherwise, Robbie pretty much retired from drumming, but he had shared many pictures and experiences on the Bachman-Turner Overdrive fan page.
Robin Bachman was 69, and to date, no cause of death was announced.
WHILE WE WERE AWAY: When we last left you, Mariah Carey assumed her annual place at #1 with "All I Want For Christmas Is You", in its second week. It stayed at the top two more weeks, thus its four weeks at #1 is the most since she got to the top spot in 2019. The song now had accumulated twelve weeks at #1. If Ms. Carey repeats that feat for another two holiday seasons, she will have eclipsed "Old Town Road" (Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) for most weeks at number one. And after a couple weeks when debut tracks from Drake and SZA prevented certain songs from reaching prior peaks of past seasons, the holiday songs solidified with 8 of the top 10 were of that ilk, with only Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero" and Sam Smith and Kim Petras "Unholy" (#10) preventing a sweep. Both of those songs had hit #1 previously. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "Jingle Bell Rock" assumed the two runner-up positions as in years past. Wham!'s "Last Christmas" set a new peak at #4, as did Nat "King" Cole's "The Christmas Song" at #9. Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home" rebounded for a new peak at #15 as well.
Well, last week, all the holiday songs had vanished, and Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero" returned to #1, repeating the feat that Adele's "Hello" did a year ago. "Unholy" went back to #2 but now #3. Harry Style's "As It Was" and Steve Lacy's "Bad Habit", which both hit #1 on Billboard and my blog, or back in the Top Ten at #8 and #9 respectively. This week, Taylor continues at #1 for an eighth overall week.
TURNING TO THE FIRST SNS 100 OF THE YEAR, we have a new number one song, "Trouble" by Brooklyn R&B outfit Say She She. The seven-piece band has been heavily influenced by disco-era 1970's band Chic, that was fronted by the legendary Nile Rodgers. The top three positions are close, with Local Natives' "Just Before the Morning" at #2 and King Tappa's "9 to 3" at #3 within striking distance. The rest of the Top 10 is quiet with two songs, "Easy On Your Own" by Alvvays, and "Wet Dream" by Wet Leg reaching new peaks and entering the Top Ten, albeit without bullets.
LOW TIDE? There are only two regional Carolina beach music songs in the top ten this week, the former number ones by Deb Browning & Six Piece Suits, and Rick Strickland, but three if you include "No Body" by Blake Shelton at #5. Although that is the fewest in a while, it doesn't mean the genre is fading. Much of the songs from the past several months hold or even rise in position. That includes Ms. Browning's "3 More Minutes". The former blog number one, Song of the Summer and Year-end blog topper, still at the top of many beach music surveys, jumps back into the Top 20 this week, garnering Impact honors once again (23-17). With her Six Piece Suits duet and her holiday #1 "Here Comes Amazon" dropping down to #16, Deb still has three songs in the top 20. "Hey Girl Hey Boy" by Carolina Dreamers inches back into the top 20 also, and there's a new beach debut this week which I will discuss below.
NEW MUSIC: Ten debuts this week as I check out songs that have been backlogged over the last several weeks in an attempt to displace all the holiday songs still listed. Probably the biggest surprise is the Top Debut, "Until I Found You", by Stephen Sanchez. We have been watching season two of the Netflix series Ginny and Georgia and this cool, retro song is featured, which mentions the name "Georgia" in the lyrics. After I identified it, I put it on my list of new music to check out. But little did I know is that the song had already been on the Billboard Hot 100 for 28 weeks!!!! This week, it moves to its new peak of #23. This song could have come out in the late 1950's or early 1960's and it totally unlike any new pop song over the last several decades. Back in the mid-2000's, the band The Raveonettes did an album in this style, and I fell in love with it. The song is produced in the retro style and Sanchez in the video is dressed in that period garb with the greasy hair and all. The song debuts at a high #35 on the SNS 100. If this song manages to break into the top 10 nationally, watch out! While I am still skeptical of what the current pop music buyer listens to, with the success of artists like Steve Lacy, Harry Styles, and the revival of Kate Bush's "Running Up that Hill", perhaps I should give the listening public credit.
The second highest debut is "Ti Ta Ti Ta Ti Ta Ta" by Rev. Bubba D. Liverance & The Cornhole Prophets, the beach music outfit's apparent follow-up to the top ten "In My '64". The song is on John Hook's Beach Music Top 40, although local stations are still playing the prior song. Bubba and company continue with their hybrid Carolina and Jersey Shore (think Southside Johnny) sound.... until it gets to the chorus, where the title is repeated with an awesome good-timely hook, which pretty much hooks me! Debuting at #50, look for this one to top the #7 showing of "In My '64".
Next is the latest by Miley Cyrus, "Flowers". I have discussed in the past that Ms. Cyrus has gotten a bad rap at times for some banal pop music, but with both "Malibu" and "Midnight Sky" both hitting #1 here in recent years, I was anticipating some new material. "Flowers" is a very good pop song with emotion, and while a notch below the two songs I mentioned, still has enough old-fashioned hooks to go up high on my list, and her raspy voice set to a chugging beat, is in rare form.
A bit further down the list, we have "Spotlight" by Juliet Callahan, coming off her blog #1 "Burning". Ms. Callahan has released singles before and after "Burning"--I had briefly dabbled in "Ghost Girl"--but as the new single was just released a couple weeks back, this will get me up to speed with her current releases. Listening to this, it's apparent that "Burning", with its fuzz guitar alt-rock backing, was a departure for her; her other songs, including "Spotlight" are more in the Billie Eilish, "quiet, sparse" pop/hip-hop with a touch of rock mode. Nothing wrong with that, but to be honest, I have problems getting into that type of music, though I have tried. Donna Missal, who I can compare Ms. Callahan's music to, has done the same thing. "Spotlight" isn't a bad song, and I will definitely give it a chance. Juliet is adept in keeping in touch with her fans on social media, and there is some buzz circling about. She is moving to New York from California, so perhaps her visibility here will be heightened somewhat. I am rooting for her.
K.Flay debuts with "It's Been So Long". The artist, born Kristen Meredeth Flaherty has been in my top 20 before, but this one is in the dance-pop wheelhouse, reminiscent of Dua Lipa. Very catchy, sometimes spoken word, sometimes sung. With many listens, this should score very well.
The other debuts are all new to SNS. Ria Mae, (real name Ria McNutt) is a singer from Halifax, Nova Scotia, debuts with that danceable pop "The Old Me"; Rosa Ann (Roza Kostandyan) from Armenia, with "Snap", winner of the 2022 Eurovision contest; country singer Carly Pearce, one of the growing number of relatively new female artists in the genre, with "What He Didn't Do", also moving up the Billboard charts; Rubberbucket's "Geometry", a light and rhythmic ditty that gets more catchier as it goes along; and The Moss, with "Insomnia", a raw, stripped indie-pop confection.
AND FINALLY....: On my next blog I will examine where this blog will be heading. But, with a slew of new music to discover, it will look like I will keep at it for some time. Released this week is a new song from Lesa Hudson and Rick Strickland as a duo, and a couple weeks away is new music from Deb Browning, as well as an EP from Tim Izzard. And there's a possibility that we might soon finally get a single from Colorjoy, the duo originally from ScreenAge.
This stuff is what keeps me coming back for new music.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
January 15, 2023
|
This
Week |
Last
Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks
on List |
|
1 |
2 |
NUMBER ONE:  "Trouble" (Single Only) |
9 |
|
2 |
4 |
7 |
|
|
3 |
3 |
8 |
|
|
4 |
5 |
Deb Browning and Six Piece
Suits - It Don't Get Better Than This |
11 |
|
5 |
7 |
13 |
|
|
6 |
9 |
8 |
|
|
7 |
10 |
14 |
|
|
8 |
11 |
13 |
|
|
9 |
6 |
12 |
|
|
10 |
12 |
11 |
|
|
11 |
13 |
8 |
|
|
12 |
16 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  Album: Pollen |
3 |
|
13 |
8 |
18 |
|
|
14 |
17 |
11 |
|
|
15 |
18 |
7 |
|
|
16 |
1 |
7 |
|
|
17 |
23 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  (Single Only) |
32 |
|
18 |
24 |
6 |
|
|
19 |
19 |
16 |
|
|
20 |
22 |
15 |
|
|
21 |
21 |
14 |
|
|
22 |
27 |
9 |
|
|
23 |
26 |
9 |
|
|
24 |
15 |
6 |
|
|
25 |
14 |
5 |
|
|
26 |
29 |
15 |
|
|
27 |
36 |
6 |
|
|
28 |
33 |
6 |
|
|
29 |
32 |
Carolina Coast Band ft Rhonda McDaniel - The Thing About You● |
26 |
|
30 |
20 |
Doyle Wood and Sylvia Johns Ritchie - Not Tonight (I Have a
Heartache) |
16 |
|
31 |
43 |
6 |
|
|
32 |
28 |
10 |
|
|
33 |
25 |
14 |
|
|
34 |
45 |
9 |
|
|
35 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT;  Album: Easy On My Eyes (EP) |
1 |
|
36 |
38 |
18 |
|
|
37 |
31 |
25 |
|
|
38 |
54 |
5 |
|
|
39 |
39 |
14 |
|
|
40 |
30 |
5 |
|
|
41 |
47 |
8 |
|
|
42 |
50 |
31 |
|
|
43 |
42 |
14 |
|
|
44 |
56 |
7 |
|
|
45 |
59 |
2 |
|
|
46 |
60 |
5 |
|
|
47 |
51 |
4 |
|
|
48 |
35 |
32 |
|
|
49 |
71 |
5 |
|
|
50 |
--- |
Rev. Bubba D. Liverance and the Cornhole Prophets - Ti Ta Ti Ta
Ti Ta Ta |
1 |
|
51 |
64 |
5 |
|
|
52 |
69 |
3 |
|
|
53 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
54 |
49 |
15 |
|
|
55 |
52 |
13 |
|
|
56 |
67 |
18 |
|
|
57 |
46 |
11 |
|
|
58 |
57 |
8 |
|
|
59 |
41 |
4 |
|
|
60 |
53 |
13 |
|
|
61 |
75 |
36 |
|
|
62 |
34 |
6 |
|
|
63 |
58 |
3 |
|
|
64 |
68 |
10 |
|
|
65 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
66 |
62 |
18 |
|
|
67 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
68 |
61 |
14 |
|
|
69 |
70 |
13 |
|
|
70 |
48 |
12 |
|
|
71 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
72 |
44 |
4 |
|
|
73 |
63 |
15 |
|
|
74 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
75 |
37 |
4 |
|
|
76 |
66 |
12 |
|
|
77 |
40 |
4 |
|
|
78 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
79 |
79 |
18 |
|
|
80 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
81 |
74 |
15 |
|
|
82 |
89 |
32 |
|
|
83 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
84 |
55 |
5 |
|
|
85 |
73 |
25 |
|
|
86 |
76 |
11 |
|
|
87 |
77 |
16 |
|
|
88 |
78 |
7 |
|
|
89 |
85 |
3 |
|
|
90 |
72 |
Rev. Bubba D. Liverance and the Cornhole Prophets - In My '64 |
25 |
|
91 |
65 |
4 |
|
|
92 |
81 |
12 |
|
|
93 |
83 |
20 |
|
|
94 |
86 |
19 |
|
|
95 |
94 |
28 |
|
|
96 |
98 |
27 |
|
|
97 |
82 |
7 |
|
|
98 |
92 |
22 |
|
|
99 |
80 |
3 |
|
|
100 |
84 |
8 |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week. ●
Songs with
25 or more plays on iTunes/iPods ▲ Songs with 50 or more plays.
|
|
Holiday
Songs
.
No comments:
Post a Comment