Category Archives: Music of the 60s

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April 12 Music et al

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April 12 Music et al

Woodstock birthday

Miller Anderson, guitarist for the Keef Hartley Band, was born on April 12, 1945.

Roots of Rock

Bill Haley and the Comets

April 12, 1954: Bill Haley and the Comets recorded “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock.” It was included as the B-side of “Thirteen Women” also recorded that day. The record—with “Thirteen Women” as the A-side, will only be a moderate success. (see May 7)

April 12 Music et al

Bob Dylan

Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie

April 12, 1963: at New York’s Town Hall Bob Dylan recited “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie,” a long evocation of old memories, a youth searching for himself by the railroad tracks, down the road, in fields and meadows, on the banks of streams, in the “trash can alleys.” And, he says, somehow during that search Woody was his companion. There’s this book comin’ out, an’ they asked me to write something about Woody…Sort of like “What does Woody Guthrie mean to you?” in twenty-five words…

And I couldn’t do it — I wrote out five pages and… I have it here, it’s…Have it here by accident, actually… but I’d like to say this out loud…So… if you can sort of roll along with this thing here, this is called… (see Bob Dylan Woody Guthrie Last Thoughts for audio and lyrics) (see May 12)

April 12 Music et al
Mr Tambourine Man

April 12, 1965: The Byrds released their first single, Mr Tambourine Man. It will become the Billboard #1 on June 26. (see May 8) (see also Mr Tambourine Man)

April 12 Music et al

The Beatles

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

April 12, 1968:  after nearly two months in Rishikesh, India, studying Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, John Lennon and George Harrison left the camp. Also with them were Cynthia Lennon, Pattie Harrison and their friend ‘Magic’ Alex Mardas. They had decided to leave after Mardas convinced the others that Maharishi had attempted to gain sexual favours from female meditators at the camp. (2008 Daily Mail article) (see May 31)

Billboard #1

Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In

April 12 – May 23, 1969: “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” by the Fifth Dimension #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado & Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music).

They based the lyrics on the astrological belief that the world would soon be entering the “Age of Aquarius”, an age of love, light, and humanity.

April 12 Music et al

Road to Bethel

April 12 Music et al
Mel Lawrence

April 12, 1969: Mel Lawrence and Tom Rounds arrived in NY. They had organized rock concerts in Hawaii, the Fantasy Fair, and had organized Miami Pop in 1968. (from Joel Makower’s book, Woodstock, The Oral History) (see Chronology for expanded story)

April 12 Music et al

Music et al, Music of the 60s, Peace Love Art and Activism, Today in history

April 9 Music et al

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April 9 Music et al

FREE SPEECH

April 9 Music et al

April 9, 1961: Greenwich Village folk song fans battled the police for two hours in Washington Square. Police arrested ten demonstrators. Several persons, including three policemen, were hurt. Follow link above for more. (see NYC bans for expanded story)

April 9 Music et al

West Side Story

April 9 Music et al

April 9, 1962: 1961 Oscars held. Bob Hope hosts. The Best Picture winner was West Side Story. The film had eleven nominations and ten Oscar wins (losing only its Screenplay nomination) – close to matching the record established by Ben-Hur (1959) with its twelve nominations and eleven Oscars.

April 9 Music et al

(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration

April 9 Music et al

April 9 – 29, 1966: “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” by The Righteous Brothers #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

From Wikipedia:  The song was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil who were part of the legendary Brill Building pop machine in New York City. They first started writing it following the success of the Righteous Brothers’ first single with Phil Spector, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”, a song they also wrote. However, the song was not completed as they thought it sounded too much like “Lovin’ Feelin”,  and Spector chose instead to record Carole King and Gerry Goffin’s “Just Once in My Life” with the duo as their second single.

After leaving Spector’s Philles Records in late 1965, the Righteous Brothers moved to the mostly jazz-oriented Verve label. Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers then made inquiry to Mann about the incomplete “Soul and Inspiration” that the songwriters had previously played to Medley when they first started writing it, and asked them to complete the song. Mann and Weil complied with the wishes of Medley, and the Righteous Brothers then recorded the finished song.

The song was arranged by Jack Nitzsche who arranged many of Phil Spector’s song.

April 9 Music et al

Nashville Skyline

April 9, 1969: Bob Dylan released Nashville Skyline, his ninth album and the last album of the 1960s. He had recorded Feb 12 – 21, 1969.

Like any Beatle release, Dylan’s move toward a more country sound pushed many groups in that direction as well as attracting Dylan fans to bands already in that genre.

April 9 Music et al

“It Don’t Come Easy”

April 9, 1971: Ringo’s “It Don’t Come Easy”  released in UK. It will be released in US on April 16.

Ringo is the only songwriter credited on this, but he had a lot of help from George Harrison, who was very generous in giving his buddy full writing credit. The track (less Ringo’s vocal and horn parts) was already completed when Harrison gave it to him, and it included a scratch vocal by George.

This was Ringo’s first big hit as a solo artist (his cover of “Beaucoups of Blues” made #87 US a year earlier). (see Apr 15)

April 9 Music et al

Phil Ochs

April 9, 1976: Phil Ochs committed suicide.

From the New York Times:  Phil Ochs, the folk singer, guitarist and lyricist whose music provided some of the strongest notes of protest against the Vietnam War in the early 1960’s, committed suicide yesterday morning at his sister’s home in Far Rockaway, Queens, the family reported.

“Phil had been very depressed for a long time,” a family friend said. “Mainly, the words weren’t coming to him anymore.”

Mr. Ochs, who was 35 years old, had been living with his sister, Sonny Tanzman, since December, according to a family friend. He died by hanging. 

April 9 Music et al
Music et al, Music of the 60s, Peace Love Art and Activism, Woodstock Music and Art Fair

Trumpeter Keith Johnson

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Trumpeter Keith Johnson

June 1, 1940 – April 6, 2021

Internet footprint

In 2017  when I first created this post, I wrote that “Once again a person one would think that information about someone who played in a well-known band–Paul Butterfield Blues Band–and played at what many think is the most famous festival of all time–the Woodstock Music and Art Fair—-would be easy to find.”

That has both fortunately and unfortunately changed. In 2022, I gave the internet another chance and sadly found Johnson’s obituary from a May 27, 2021 article in The Register-Guard out of Eugene, OR.

Much of the other information came from the wonderful AllMusic site which so often rescues inquisitive music fans as well as Annie Painter, whom you, too, will discover in a moment.

Trumpeter Keith Johnson

Musician Keith Johnson

The opening lines of the Guard’s obituary by Matthew Denis was: Oregon native and trumpeter Keith Johnson, who died of cancer, leaves behind a musical legacy as a jazz mentor and longtime sideman playing with musicians such as Paul Butterfield, Martha Velez, Etta James and Van Morrison.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia Johnson found love in jazz, art and life with his companion, Annie Painter. He died  April 6 in Portland. He was 80.

His dad was a lumberman and was sent to Oregon, thus his living there from age four until he left as a 20-something to hit the musician’s road. He attended the University of Oregon for a bit, but left to become a teamster.

Annie Painter and Keith Johnson, were married and then divorced in their youth. In 2016 they rekindled their relationship. Photo by Annie Painter

Keith Johnson was mainly a trumpeter, but as so often happens on the musician’s path, other instruments come into play. Jazz was his niche.

And at 6’5″ he might have been the tallest performer at Woodstock!

He became part of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in time to perform with them a the Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. Released in December 1968, The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw was the first Butterfield album Keith appeared on.

He stayed with the band for their next two albums: In My Own Dream (1967) (an album cover I stared at for many hours) and Keep on Moving (1969). 

A team player, at times Johnson played organ, but the trumpet was always his first and best instrument.

Trumpeter Keith JohnsonDespite the success of “horn” bands such as Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago, the Butterfield band did not enjoy the same success. 

Johnson left the group in 1970 to make a living as a roving sideman. Over the years, he played with Elephant’s Memory, on Mark “Moogy” Klingman’s first solo album “Moogy,” Van Morrison’s “His Band and the Street Choir” [Johnson call Van, Leprechaun]. The song “Domino” is Johnson’s horn chart.

He also played on Martha Velez’s “Hypnotized. A bit of trivia: Johnson married Velez and Martha’s brother was Jerry Velez, the same Jerry Velez who played with Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock!

He also became the musical director for Etta James in her L.A. studio and on the road. He played with her from 1975 to about 1983.

Here’s a YouTube link for Etta James performing Lovesick Blues. And as an example of Keith’s musical versatility, he plays  piano on this cut.

Trumpeter Keith Johnson

Annie Painter

Before joining Paul Butterfield, Johnson was the DJ for a jazz show on KFMY, Eugene’s first FM radio station and in 1961 he married  Annie Painter while attending the University of Oregon. They lived a settled life for 10 years before he landed the Butterfield gig. Keith hit the tour road, but the separation led to their divorce. Painter became a school principal.

She remarried and after the death of her second husband in 2016, she reconnected with Keith.

They would have, as Painter described, “the best years of our lives—the last five  we were together again until his death.”

 George D. Green

Johnson met neighbor and abstract illusionist painter George D. Green and the two hit it off.

Johnson would go on to write music soundtracks for several Green paintings.   Matthew Denis describes the suites as…”a strange, hypnotic blend, emblematic of a man satisfied with his journey, looking to give just a little more beauty back to the world.”

Marooned Music by Keith Johnson for George D Green

Again from the Denis article:  At the end, Johnson accepted life and death with an equanimity indicative of a melodious life. Speaking to a friend just days before he died, Johnson knew he would be leaving the world soon.

“But he said, ‘Hey, man, what are you going to do? This is what happens,’ “ Painter said. “I thought, bless his heart. I hope we can all be that way.”

Keep the Dream Flowing

Keep the Dream Flowing is a great podcast that has interviewed dozens of people who were part of Woodstock, both organizers and performers.

Here is a link to the first of  the three podcasts they did with Keith Johnson.

Not Professor Keith Johnson

At one point it seemed that the Butterfield Keith Johnson as also a Professor Keith Johnson and taught at the college level, including the University of North Texas.  Not so.

Trumpeter Keith Johnson