Category Archives: Music of the 60s

Music of the 60s, Woodstock Music and Art Fair

Incredible String Band Mike Heron

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Incredible String Band Mike Heron

Mike Heron

James Michael “Mike” Heron was  born on December 27, 1942. Heron, with Robin Williamson and Clive Palmer, founded The Incredible String Band in 1965 as a folk-song group which evolved to produce an emerging “world music” sound.

From a 2017 The List piece about the band, Heron said, “When they asked me to join the band I was really thrilled…. I joined very much as an apprentice in my mind; I’d been admiring them for ages. I was trying to be accepted by the alien beatniks. It took a little while!’

Incredible String Band Mike Heron

Incredible String Band Mike Heron

Incredible String Band

The Incredible String Band produced over 10 albums including “Five Thousand Spirits or the Layers of the Onion”, the Grammy nominated “The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter”, and “Wee Tam and The Big Huge”.

Their sound and success and “underground” radio’s fondness for their songs led to an invitation to perform at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. After a Friday night postponement, the band appeared on Saturday inconveniently placed between the blues-oriented Keef Hartly Band and Canned Heat.

Incredible String Band Mike Heron

Solo

In 1971 Heron released his first solo album, Smiling Men with Bad Reputations.  Sitting in were such luminary musicians as John Cale, Pete Townshend, Richard Thompson, Elton John, Jimmy Page, Steve Winwood, Keith Moon, and Ronnie Lane.  It featured a much more rock sound very different than Incredible String Band.

Incredible String Band Mike Heron

Mike and daughter Georgia

More recently Mike has been performing with his daughter, Georgia Seddon.

Incredible String Band Mike Heron

In 2008 Mike and Georgia were invited to perform at The Hollywood Bowl, collaborating with American band The Album Leaf for an evening of World music.

His site lists the nine solo albums Mike has released.

Mike and Georgia are now performing with Mike Hastings, and the multi instrumentalist Nick Pynn. Here is a video of Mike Heron & Georgia Seddon playing Mike’s “Feast of Stephen” accompanied by Trembling Bells at The Glad Cafe, Glasgow. October 2013.

Incredible String Band Mike Heron
Anniversary, Music et al, Music of the 60s, Today in history, Woodstock Music and Art Fair

Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding

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Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding

Recorded between October 17 and November 29, 1967, Bob Dylan released his John Wesley Harding album less than a month later on December 27, 1967.

Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding

The cover photograph shows Dylan flanked by brothers Luxman and Purna Das, two Bengali Bauls, South Asian musicians brought to Woodstock by Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman. Behind Dylan is Charlie Joy, a local stonemason and carpenter.

I’ll be your baby tonight
Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding

Beatles?

A long-recurring rumor is that images of various members of the Beatles are hidden on the front cover, in the knots of the tree. This was verified by Rolling Stone with photographer John Berg prior to the album’s release.

John Wesley Harding
Difficult to see, but the faces are there.
Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding

Low Key

Dylan wanted a low key approach to the album’s release. Dylan reputedly said to Columbia Records Clive Davis, “I asked Columbia to release it with no publicity and no hype, because this was the season of hype,” Davis wanted Dylan to at least use one of the songs as a single, but Dylan refused that.

It had been the Summer of Love with Monterey Pop Festival. The arrival of Janis and Jimi. Psychedelic music would find a huge niche in the emerging so-called “underground” FM rock stations.

The Beatles had Sgt. Pepper, the Stones Satanic Majesty, and Airplane Bathing at Baxters.

And here came Dylan, again choosing his own way, leaving the basement in Saugerties, NY and travelling to Nashville, the capital of country music, to record.

Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding

Woodstock?

Less than two years later, Dylan’s appearance at Woodstock was a sure-thing rumor. Of course, he had already booked an appearance at the Isle of Wight and never intended on being in Bethel, but his lead was often followed and his country sound allowed many young listeners to give that sound a chance.

Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding

Rolling Stone review

The famed Ralph Gleason wrote in his Rolling Stone magazine review:

We can all relax now. Bob Dylan isn’t dead. He is all right. He is well and he’s not a basket case hidden from our view forever, the lovely words and the haunting sounds gone as a result of some ghastly effect of his accident.

And his head is in the right place, which, is after all, the best news of all.

The new Bob Dylan album is out and on our turntables and coming at us over the airwaves (though not enough of it is coming at us over the airwaves, God knows) and it is a warm, loving collection of myths, prophecies, allegories, love songs and good times.

Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding
Beatles, Music et al, Music of the 60s, Today in history

Beatles I Feel Fine

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Beatles I Feel Fine

On December 26, 1963 Capital had released the Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (“I Saw Her Standing There” B-Side) It hit number one on February 1, 1964.

Exactly a year later, on December 26, 1964, their “I Feel Fine” was the Billboard #1 single. Their sixth #1 song of 1964 in which they had 30 entries on the chart, giving them a total of 18 weeks at the top of the charts.

Beatles I Feel Fine

Alan W Pollack

Alan W Pollack manages soundscape.info. It is an amazing site for anyone, but particularly for Beatle fans who want to know details.

About “I Feel Fine” his top paragraph points out that:

Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Bridge | Verse | Verse (guitar solo) | | Verse | Bridge | Verse | Outro (fade-out)
CD: “Past Masters”, Volume 1, Track 14 (Parlophone CDP 90043-2) Recorded: 18th October 1964, Abbey Road 2 UK-release: 27th November 1964 (A Single / “She’s A Woman”) US-release: 23rd November 1964 (A Single / “She’s A Woman”)

And that’s just the start. Go here (Soundscapes site) if you want to learn more about the musical structure of “I Feel Fine” than you ever imagined.

Beatles I Feel Fine

What was that?

Beatles I Feel Fine
The 45

For those who first heard the song on November 23, 1964 (its US release), its famous intro, was an odd surprise. Perhaps even confusing. What was that? Was is a mistake? Why would The Beatles put a mistake at the beginning of a song?

Of course it was no mistake but it is, apparently the first time that anyone had deliberately place feedback on a recording. Oh you Beatles you!

Click to hear just one example of the can of sound they opened >>>

No really. Click!

Beatles I Feel Fine

In conclusion…

To finish, Alan Pollack says, “Perhaps the single most exceptional gesture in this particular number is to be found in its unaccustomed display (for John) of such effusive romantic euphoria, completely uncomplicated for a change by even the slightest second thoughts, anxiety, or self-doubt.”

The rule that Paul writes the happy songs and John the disillusioned ones just doesn’t work here. The exception proves the rule.

Beatles I Feel Fine