Category Archives: Music et al

Music et al, Music of the 60s

Stones Come On Chuck Berry

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Stones Come On Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry

“Come On” is a straight-forward tune written by the straightforward rock n’ roll icon Chuck Berry. The Rolling Stones were searching for the “right” first song to release as a single and “Come On” met the criteria.

Chuck Berry, one of their favorite composers and one of British youths favorites as well. It’s about frustrated love, broken cars, and wrong numbers. A fine recipe.              

Stones Come On Chuck Berry

June 7, 1963

The Stones released their inaugural song on June 7, 1963, nine months after their friends, The Beatles, had released their inaugural single, “Love Me Do,” on October 5 , 1962 [a song without cars, phone calls, or by Chuck Berry, but it did have frustrated love].

Stones Come On Chuck Berry

Not quite Chuck

According to an All Music review, the  Stones’s song differs from Berry original in several ways:

  1. the Rolling Stones quickened the tempo
  2. they put more emphasis on off-beat guitar chording and wailing harmonica
  3.  the rhythm came close to reggae
  4. on the chorus, Mick Jagger was backed up by high harmonies
  5. they changed one of the lyrics substituting “some stupid guy” for the “some stupid jerk”
  6. an upward key change was thrown in for the last verse.

I would have never noticed, but some do and find the differences important. You can listen and decide for yourself.

Stones Come On Chuck Berry

Can you tell the difference?

Willie Dixon

The Stones’ B-side of “Come On” was “I Want to Be Loved” by Willie Dixon.  It was written in 1955 and reflects the Rolling Stones’s love of American blues roots.

Here’s their version:

This song’s theme has frustrated love, frustrated dancing, and frustrated attention.

The single did well, but did not catapult them into stardom.

1963 touring

In July, they played their first gig away from London in Middlesbrough, England. They shared the bill with The Hollies.

In the autumn of 1963, they toured the United Kingdom and opened for Little Richard, Bo Diddley and The Everly Brothers.

Second single

They also released their second single, “I Wanna Be Your Man.” The title may sound familiar and it should. The song was written by those upcoming Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The single reached #12 on the UK singles chart.
Stones Come On Chuck Berry
Anniversary, Blues, Festivals

WC Handy Memorial Concert

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WC Handy Memorial Concert

or the official full name…
The Fourth Annual Memphis Country Blues Festival
and the
First Annual WC Handy Memorial Concert

1969 festival #12

Mississippi Fred McDowell – “Goin’ Down to the River”

WC Handy Memorial Concert

WC Handy Memorial Concert

Memphis Sequicentennial Inc

The poster reads: The Memphis Sesquicentennial Inc. in conjunction with The Memphis Country Blues Society proudly presents The Fourth Annual Memphis Country Blues Festival and First Annual W.C. Handy Memorial Concert The Festival will officially begin Friday June 6 and Saturday June 7, 1969 with three daytime concerts and two evening concerts all in the Overton Park Shell, culminating with the W.C. Handy Memorial Concert in the Mid-South Coliseum on Sunday June 8th. Tickets for the Shell concerts will be available at time of performance only Tickets for the W.C. Handy concert will be on advance sale at many Memphis locations ($2.50 to $5.00) Claude Mabel (artist?)

WC Handy Memorial Concert

Some line-up!

Those who played at this comparatively unknown 1969 festival were:   Johnny Winter, Canned Heat, Backwards Sam Firk, Bukka White, Carla and Rufus Thomas, Insect Trust, Fred McDowell & Johnny Woods, Nathan Beauregard, Sun Smith and the Beale Street Five, Elder Lonnie McIntorsch, Sleepy John Estes, Blues Band, Lum Guffin, The World Greatest Jazz Band, Albert King, The Bar-Kays with Toni Mason, Jo-Ann Kelley, Furry Lewis, Slim Harpo, Rev. Robert Wilkins, John Fahey, Southern Fife and Drum Corps, Booker T. and the MGs, Moloch, Casietta George, Sid Selvidge, Soldiers of the Cross, Robert Pete Williams, Rev. Ishmon Bracey, and Wild Child Butler.

Just as white teenagers had inadvertently discovered so-called race music in the early 50s by way of Elvis and other white artists covering black artists’ songs (albeit often “sanitized” to white standards), many white teenagers had wandered into the Delta blues.

WC Handy Memorial Concert

Father of the Blues

WC Handy is called the Father of the Blues because it was his style of the Blues that became the dominant one in America. It happened in Memphis, Tennessee. Specifically on Beale Street. He did all this in the first part of the 20th century.

As festivals became a way to present lots of music to lots of listeners,  it was natural that a blues-themed festival would happen. The first Memphis Country Blues Festival was in 1966 and in 1969 it’s fourth time was combined with the First WC Handy Memorial Concert.

WC Handy Memorial Concert

Woodstock not

Two names that would appear throughout the summer and particularly at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair were Canned Heat, featuring the vocals of Bob Bear Hite and the guitars of Alan Blind Owl Wilson and Harvey Mandel and Johnny Winter. Both were not just blues enthusiasts, but men who studied the history of the blues.

In other words, this festival featured those who had discovered the blues and those who had helped invent it. And while many of the name are far from household names, their contribution to the art is still important.

WC Handy Memorial Concert

 Speckled Bird not impressed

The Great Speckled Bird was an alternative newspaper based in Atlanta, Georgia. had some less than flattering things to say about the way the festival was managed, especially the time when National Educational Television was recording for a future show. “…the TV crew…had no understanding (much less love) of the music and certainly none for the medium of television. Emcee Rufus Thomas had to read insipidly ‘humorous’ announcement before each ‘act’ ; musicians had to stop…so that ‘sound levels’…could be met.” The article continued, “What could have been a groovy, informal recording of the sights and sounds of country blues and electric rock performances…all was lost in a third-rate stage show.”

The presence of uniformed police did not add to the vibe. The article also pointed out that the older musicians were given short shrift sets compared to younger bands who sets organizers allowed to go on much longer.

One young performer that the Bird felt was OK was John D Loudermilk. Many of us know his…

The purpose of the WC  Handy component was to raise scholarship money.

WC Handy Memorial Concert

Next 1969 festival: Cambridge Free Festival

Birthdays, Music et al, Music of the 60s, Woodstock Music and Art Fair

Freddie Jerome Stewart Stone

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Freddie Jerome Stewart Stone

From his Facebook page in 2012…”For Trayvon Martin”
Sly and the Family Stone
Woodstock alum
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
born June 5, 1947
Happy birthday and many more
Freddie Stone, “You’ve Got to Love” from his 2001 Everywhere You Are album
Freddie Jerome Stewart Stone
photo from freddiestone.com
Freddie Jerome Stewart Stone

A true family affair

How that Stone family has added to our musical menu for nearly 50 years!

Today we celebrate Freddie Stone’s birthday. Many more Freddie.

Freddie and the Stone Souls

Frederick Jerome Stewart was born on June 5, 1947 in Vallejo, California and grew up there until he moved to San Francisco in 1965.

According to his web site’s bio, “Freddie studied music theory and composition, and acquired skills on many of the wind and string instruments.”

He later formed Freddie and the Stone Souls,  a top 40 hits band that played in nightclubs, dances and private parties.

Freddie Jerome Stewart Stone

Sly and the Family Stone

In 1967, Freddie and his older brother, Sly , decided to join their bands and Sly & The Family Stone was born.  The original members were sister Rosie Stone,  Cynthia Robinson, Gregg Errico,  Jerry Martini, and Larry Graham. They were Rock’s first integrated, multi-gender band.

Freddie Jerome Stewart Stone

Woodstock

The band had limited early success, but “Everyday People” put them on the map. Their rousing performance at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair put them on the triple album, in the movie, and onto continued success until Rock’s potholes dented this magnificent musical machine. 

Getting out      

By the mid-70s those disruptions had begun to slice the band apart. At at point, according to Freddie, “…I was on stage and realized that I don’t wanna do this anymore. Reality seemed to slip in. I was playing a song and I realized all of a sudden, how out of key everybody was and it seemed like nobody could tell it. People in the audience were holding up weed asking us if we wanted some more weed. We were all loaded and when I came down, I realized that we were all playing off key and when that happened I just said I’m done, I’m through.” (Interview link)

Frederick Freddie Jerome Stewart Stone

Pastor Freddie

In 1994, Freddie Stone became Pastor Frederick Stewart at Evangelist Temple Fellowship Center in his hometown of Vallejo, Ca.

Following the death of sister and band mate Cynthia Robinson, Freddie was part of a celebration concert.

And here’s a video of him with Sheila E…

Freddie Jerome Stewart Stone