Who Pete Townshend

Who Pete Townshend

Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend
Happy birthday
May 19, 1945

Happy birthday, Pete

This is, of course, the Woodstock Whisperer blog and its inspiration was that 1969 festival. Many names pulled me to Max Yasgur‘s field that august weekend, but The Who was a prime attraction.

Some artists became famous because of the Fair (e.g., Santana). Some artists remained unknown despite the Fair(e.g., Quill).

The Who did not need Woodstock to become famous. The Who did not need Woodstock to remain famous, but the festival is one of the many jewels in their sparkling crown’s history.

And arguably, Pete Townshend is the brightest among this fab four.

Who Pete Townshend

Pete Townshend

Peter Dennis Blandford “Pete” Townshend parent’s were both musicians: dad Cliff a saxophonist and mom Betty a singer. Like many relationships with a travelling partner, Cliff (often on tour) and Betty’s marriage had rough stretches. At one point they separated and Pete lived with his maternal grandmother, an experience he described in unsettling terms.

Who Pete Townshend

To the Who

Pete’s path to the famed Who parallels the path other artists have trod. Bullied because of his looks, a loner, a reader, he found music. He and school friend John Entwistle formed a band. And like some other upcoming groups at the time, Lonnie Donegan’s skiffle style was one of their choices.

Another component that guided Pete Townshend’s path was his entrance into Ealing Art College. One of the artists there was  Gustav Metzger who developed a style of art in which the piece destructed itself. It was this influence that eventually led to Townshend’s destroying his guitar after a performance.

Who Pete Townshend

The four Who

Like the formation of a solar system,  Pete, John Entwistle, and Roger Daltrey found themselves in Roger’s band, The Detours.  A drummer left and Keith Moon joined. The Detours began to have some success, but when they discovered that there already was a band with that name, The Who was born (though they briefly became The High Numbers before being reborn as The Who).

With the beginning of Pete writing more and more of The Who’s material, the band gained more and more fame. It was their live show with Keith Moon’s crazed drumming, Roger’s twirling mic, Pete’s signature windmills,along with Entwistle’s statue-like presence that caught fans’ eyes and ears.

Who Pete Townshend

Just a taste

Who Pete Townshend
(photo www.citizenthought.ne)

This blog entry is by no means be even close to thorough. In the mid-60s I slowly became aware of this band with the funny name. In 1969 I heard a lot about their rock opera and being a loyal Rolling Stone magazine subscriber, I re-subscribed and received a promotional copy of the album for free.

Who Pete Townshend

Ah, Tommy

At Woodstock, I had hoped they would play some of the cuts. They basically played all of the amazing album. The sun rose both figuratively and literally on the gathered that Sunday morning. I may not have been able to stick around for much of Sunday’ event (I was a thoroughly conscientious white suburban college kid with rock and roll nerd tendencies), but I snapped a picture with Frank Capone’s 35mm camera.

Thank you Frank and many happy returns Pete.

Who Pete Townshend
Sunday sunrise following The Who’s performance at Woodstock
Who Pete Townshend

Paul Williams Crawdaddy

Paul Williams Crawdaddy!

Remembering and appreciating Paul
May 19, 1948 – March 27, 2013
Rock journalism’s founding father
Paul Williams Crawdaddy

Paul Williams printed the first edition of his rock magazine Crawdaddy! in a Brooklyn basement on January 30, 1966. In it he wrote: You are looking at the first issue of a magazine of rock and roll criticism. Crawdaddy! will feature neither pin-ups nor news-briefs; the specialty of this magazine is intelligent writing about pop music….

Before Crawdaddy! if someone wanted to read a serious essay about the changing rock music scene, sources were difficult to find. Publishers catered to teens with the still-popular magazines like Seventeen.

Paul Williams Crawdaddy

Paul Williams Crawdaddy!

Swarthmore College

Williams had begun writing rock and roll essays while a student at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He wrote about Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, David Crosby, and Brian Wilson among others.

In 1968 he served as campaign manager for Timothy Leary’s run for the governorship of California. Williams , Williams and Leary joined John Lennon and Yoko Ono at their Toronto “Bed-in For Peace”.  It was during that performance art piece that the song “Come Together” was written.  According to the Williams site: Paul’s voice can be heard mixed into the chorus on the original recording of “Give Peace A Chance.” Similarly, on The Doors “Unknown Soldier” he can be heard locking and loading a rifle.” 

Also according to the same site, “…he wasn’t only at Woodstock, he rode to the festival from New York City in the Grateful Dead’s limousine [click for more >>> Williams site]

By 1968 two new rock magazines had appeared: Rolling Stone and CREEM.

Paul Williams Crawdaddy!

Parting ways

Williams and Crawdaddy! parted ways in 1968 and Crawdaddy! suspended publication in 1969, but returned as Crawdaddy in 1970.

In 1979 the magazine changed its title to Feature but after only three issues it ceased publication.

Paul Williams reclaimed and restored the exclamation-pointed title in 1993. In poor health after a 1995 head injury in a bike mishap, the magazine stopped publishing in 2003.

On June 28, 2009, various musicians held a benefit concert for him at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco.

Paul Williams Crawdaddy!

Death

Williams died on March 27, 2013, at his home in California at age 64 from complications related that accident which had lead to early onset dementia.

 NPR article on Williams’s death; NYT obituary.

Paul Williams Crawdaddy!

BST Jerry Hyman

BST Jerry Hyman

Happy birthday
Blood, Sweat and Tears
Woodstock alum
BST Jerry Hyman
Dr Jerry Hyman and his trombone
BST Jerry Hyman

Brooklyn born

Jerry Hyman was born on May 19, 1947 in Brooklyn.  I suppose some other people were, too. And I suppose some of them became musicians.  I’m pretty sure that none followed the same path, though.

BST Jerry Hyman

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Jerry Hyman joined Blood, Sweat and Tears after their first album, Child Is Father To the Man in time for their second album, the 1968 Blood, Sweat & Tears.

He played trombone for them from 1968–1970, a time period that enabled him to play at the  Woodstock Music and Art Fair.

As broad and deep (and questionable) as the internet is, Jerry Hyman’s story is a seemingly well-kept one. And that’s fine.

BST Jerry Hyman

Accordian

Luckily, there is a long interview with him that is also linked to from Dr Jerry Hyman’s page [Dr Jerry]. Yes, I said “Dr” and that’s another part of the story.

Hyman’s first musical instrument was the accordion.  In my 1950s grammar school I remember that classmates that played an instrument often played the accordion. I suppose it was viewed as a portable keyboard before there were portable keyboards.

BST Jerry Hyman

Trombone

In any case, Hyman moved to the trombone, another less-than-popular instrument but one he had a facility for. It was that instrument that led him to salsa bands and believe me there aren’t many more fun events to be at than a party with a salsa band.

Jerry became friends with Dick Halligan, another trombone player, and Halligan offerd Hyman a spot in a new band, Blood Sweat and Tears. Hyman wasn’t ready for that scene and declined. He didn’t pass on the second offer.

Life became a much busier one. Besides attending the famous Woodstock Music and Art Fair, there were Grammys, hit records, hit albums, and touring. ““We traveled 250-plus days a year doing one-nighters.”

BST Jerry Hyman

Redirection


From the outside such a life my seem like one happy glorious continuous party and likely one of those adjectives was sometimes true, but such a life takes its toll and if one has the strength it takes a strong will to walk away.

“I think I had had enough,” he says. “I had seen the experience for what it was. I had learned about, shall we say, the art of artifice. It was time for me to follow my heart and my nose. That was a grand experience because it enabled me in essence to get here.”

BST Jerry Hyman

 Dr. Jerry Hyman

After BS & T, Jerry worked in a Pennsylvania antique shop and later LA studios.

Then Bell’s palsy hit. Three times in 10 years. The disease prevented him from playing the trombone.

Luckily he hurt his back and went to a chiropractor. Luckily because as hesitant as he was at first to try methods outside the traditional medical school science, the treatment he received helped.

In 1983 he was graduated as a doctor of chiropractic from the Cleveland Chiropractic College-Los Angeles.

BST Jerry Hyman

Helping musicians

In the early 2000s he began working with musicians whose muscle pain issues he could relate to.

While attached to the life that LA offered, he and his wife Carol wanted something different. After searching they found New Hampshire in 2002, its coast, its art scene, and a way of life that appealed.

In  2017 to they moved to Brevard, North Carolina where he currently practices and Dr Jerry Hyman, chiropractor, helps heal.

For him, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a long time ago (“…shortly after the first Crimean War, yes?“) and royalties from his music don’t seem to know he moved.

As Jerry Hyman says, ‘Vive Bene, Spesso L’amore, Di Risata Molto’

BST Jerry Hyman