Category Archives: Music et al

Festivals, Music et al, Music of the 60s

Detroit Rock Roll Revival

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Detroit Rock Roll Revival

Michigan State Fairgrounds
May 30 & 31, 1969
Sun Ra…”Atlantis”

First Annual Detroit Rock & Roll Revival

Detroit Rock and Roll Revival

1969 festival #9

The First Annual Detroit Rock and Roll Revival is #9 on the list of 1969 festivals . With any of these festivals, one should not look at the price of admission and sigh with envy. Everything looks less expensive, but keep in mind that the 1969 minimum wage was $1.60 and of course, like now, not everyone even earned that minimum. And if you did, your gross pay for a 40 hour week was $64 or $3328 per year [table].

And like nearly every other festival that summer, recording or filming it did not happen. That being the case, we have to imagine what the festival sounded like. Sun Ra is what I placed at the top of this entry. A whole book is necessary to explain the amazing Sun Ra and his many contributions to jazz and the arts.

Ubiquitous Johnny Winter

Johnny Winter was there and as I’ve pointed out in the earlier posts on 1969’s festivals Winter was seemingly at all of them.

Psychedelic Stooges   

The Psychedelic Stooges might not sound familiar, but Iggy Pop and the Stooges certainly will…

MC5 

The MC5 (“Motor City 5”) were the “big” name and their song “Kick Out the Jams” typified their far left in-your-face pre-punk sound. Under the “management” of John Sinclair. Sinclair was the founder of the White Panthers and was sentenced to ten years in prison in 1969 after giving two joints to an undercover narcotics officer. Sinclair was infamously referred to by Abbie Hoffman at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair that August during the Who set. Pete Townshend was not happy about it.

Here is an amazing example of an MC5 performance 14 months later at Tarter Field, Wayne State University on July 19, 1970.

Detroit Rock and Roll Revival

Line-up

First Annual Detroit Rock & Roll Revival

  • MC5
  • Chuck Berry
  • Sun Ra
  • Dr John the Night Tripper
  • Johnny Winter
  • Psychedelic Stooges
  • Terry Reid
  • Amboy Dukes
  • SRC
  • Frost
  • Rationals
  • Teegarden & Van Winkle
  • Lyman Woodward
  • Up
  • Wilson Mower Pursuit
  • 3rd Power
  • NY Rock & Roll Ensemble
  • David Peel
  • Lower East Side
  • Red, White, & Blues
  • Sky-Train
  • Savage Grace
  • James Gang
  • Caste
  • Gold Bros
  • Dutch Elm

While not one that might make a Festival Hall of Fame, it certainly had it’s share of great music.

Detroit Rock and Roll Revival

Next 1969 festival: Sunrise to Sunset Festival

Music et al, Music of the 60s, Today in history, Woodstock Music and Art Fair

CSN Crosby Stills Nash

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CSN Crosby Stills Nash

May 29, 1969

CSN Crosby Stills Nash

CSN Crosby Stills Nash

E Pluribus Unum

The Hollies were part of the British Invasion on the heels of America’s Beatlemania and we first heard them on “Look Through Any Window” without realizing we were listening to Graham Nash.

The Byrds were part of “that” California sound that provided counterpoint to the Beatles. It was Roger McGuinn whose voice we were hearing mainly, but David Crosby’s was an important part, too.

We likely thought Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” was a war-protest song, not realizing it was about teenagers being allowed to stay out late. If someone had said Stephen Stills we may or may not have recognized the name.

Then we found out that Buffalo Springfield was no more; that the Byrds kicked David Crosby out of the band.

CSN Crosby Stills Nash

April 1969

In early April 1969, the brand new Rolling Stone magazine had an article about the three finishing their album. The article gave high praise to this latest “supergroup” : “The album, as yet untitled, is arguably the most talked-about LP-in-progress in Los Angeles, one of the most talked-about in the industry.”

When Atlantic did release the album on May 29, 1969 such praise gave it an automatic boost. Unlike today, the group did not tour beforehand nor did  it tour right away.  And by the time they got to Woodstock and sang in front of the half million strong it was only their second gig. And they were, quote, “scared shitless.”

CSN Crosby Stills Nash

Crosby, Stills & Nash album

Though they were new, Crosby, Stills and Nash (no Oxford comma) did not need Woodstock and it’s accompanying movie and triple album exposure (Warner Bros owned the rights…Atlantic by this time was under WB’s umbrella…and Cotillion, the Woodstock album’s label was under Atlantic’s umbrella), but it helped of course.

The CS & N album went on to have two hit singles (” “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” ) and  itself peaked at #6 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It now has had sales of over 4,200,000 copies.

CSN Crosby Stills Nash

Cover trivia

Some trivia about the well-known album cover taken by the famed Henry Diltz. When Diltz took the photo, the band hadn’t settled on a name yet, but did within a day or two. Realizing that the band name did not match the photo, they returned to re-shoot. Unfortunately, the building had been demolished in the interim.

When the jacket is fully opened the “whole” photo appears. At least it appears to appear with drummer Dallas Taylor Prisoner of Woodstock. That part of the photo was pasted in later with a photo of Taylor posed in Crosby’s door.

CSN Crosby Stills Nash

CSN Crosby Stills NashCSN Crosby Stills NashCSN Crosby Stills Nash, CSN Crosby Stills Nash, CSN Crosby Stills Nash

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

John Fogerty

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John Fogerty

Happy birthday

May 28, 1945

John Fogerty
photo: bluejayblog

Proud Mary

I guess “Proud Mary” was the first time I heard Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was pretty good. Straight-forward rock with a taste of, I didn’t realize then, bayou.

I also didn’t know who Creedence Clearwater Revival was: Stu Cook, Tom Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and John Fogerty. The band’s name was confusing, but less so that any Dylan lyric, so I was ahead of the game.

While Creedence was the sum of its parts, those songs, the catchy song after catchy song, was from John Fogerty.

California beginnings

John and his older brother Tom Fogerty grew up in El Cerrito, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

At first the four friends were the Blue Velvets but became the Golliwogs when they signed with Fantasy Records, mainly a jazz label. Their singles fared poorly.

After a stint in the Army Reserve, the four band mates became Creedence Clearwater Revival. And as if John had gone down to the crossroads, suddenly a spate of songs came forth.

An abundance of hits

  • Susie Q
  • Proud Mary
  • Born on the Bayou
  • Bad Moon Rising
  • Lodi
  • Green River
  • Commotion
  • Down on the Corner
  • Fortunate Son
  • Travelin’ Band
  • Who’ll Stop the Rain
  • Up Around the Bend
  • Run Through the Jungle
  • Lookin’ Out My Back Door
  • Long as I Can See the Light
  • Have You Ever Seen the Rain

Woodstock

Despite John Fogerty’s sense that their performance at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was below par due to a sleepy audience, I for one can say that my sense is the opposite and when asked “Who was your favorite at Woodstock?” my somewhat evasive answer is “I went home and bought Creedence.”

CCR’s Nantucket sleighride lasted until 1971 when brother Tom left the band. There are many stories why Tom left; generally it seems that John’s larger than life influence on the band, its music, its direction, and its performance was more than Tom could take.

CCR’s last album, Mardi Gras, did well but comparatively poorly. Stu Cook and Doug Clifford left and CCR was over.

John Fogerty

John continued in a sometimes sporadic way. He released an album as the Blue Ridge Rangers, but there were no rangers. It was only John. Subsequent albums were simply under his name.

Legal issues with Fantasy Records limited his production. It wasn’t until he settled that issue, much to Fantasy Records benefit and his loss, that he was able to move forward.

In 1985 he released the album Centerfield and it became a huge hit.

Brother Tom died in 1990 and CCR was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. John Fogerty did not perform with his former band mates.

John Fogerty continues to write and perform today [site].