In the concluding part of my Music Memoir I'm rewinding and replaying a few 'Star Tracks' and stories that have come up during our time. 

➤ Firstly I can reveal that the mate who, along with me, was briefly mistaken for a member of Tangerine Dream, was Jon. Read again by clicking here. 

➤ A number of tracks featuring the vocals of Jon Anderson from Yes were favourites of his. The symphonic version of 'Soon' I posted he particularly liked. The video is no longer available on my blog, so here's another link.  

➤ Jon & Vangelis with 'I'll Find My Way Home' - see again. 

➤ And a track from a band less well known but I remember Doddy saying how much he liked it and that he'd downloaded this song by The Records 'Starry Eyes': replay.  

➤ Not to forget 'Suntan and San Miguels' in Spain with The Moody Blues, here.   

And to today's Star Track and my song for Jon "Of memories known and matters long ago, so clear" 

Once, we did run

R e m e m b e r i n g

 -   D A V I D   C R O S B Y   -

The Byrds and Crosby, Stills Nash & Young

“I wish that I could sing like David Crosby/ Or play guitar like Garcia on a bad day” 
Lyrics by Roy Webber, frontman of 1970s band Wally (from England) singing on “Right by Me”

Another music legend leaves us with the news that David Crosby has died. He was famously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice and five albums to which he contributed were included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Replay this track in his honour:-  Bill Blogs (billblogs2.blogspot.com) 

   

Some years ago I attempted to select a favourite band from a given decade (see link here) -  

and invited you to try and do the same. Some of the replies showed how difficult it was (a few of you picking two bands for some decades to prove the point) !

Anyway I have what Jon Dodd selected and can reveal he picked the following: 

60s Beatles

70s Yes   could have been King Crimson if they had stayed together

80s Bon Jovi

90s Nirvana

00s Definitely Killers

10s Definitely Mumfords 

Doddy was a big fan of The Nice and was there the night we all went to the Fairfield Halls in October 1969 to see them, with King Crimson as the support act. The Setlist reveals that after nearly blasting us from our seats with '21st Century Schizoid Man' they quieten things down a bit and played both 'Epitaph' and 'The Court of the Crimson King' from their debut album. 

So picking up on Jon's comment "the 70s could have been King Crimson", here's a shortened version of 'The Court of the Crimson King' (it's missing the ending 'The Dance of the Puppets') >

 

As an album cover this record by King Crimson was a excellent example of a record sleeve that could be spotted from a great distance away, proudly tucked under the arm of it's owner. 

More stories to follow >

-  J E F F   B E C K  -

I woke up this morning to the sad news of Jeff Beck's death.
He has featured large in these pages on a few occasions, a reminder will follow this.

But first an out take from the BBC website :-

Born Geoffrey Arnold Beck in Wallington, South London, the musician fell in love with Rock and Roll as a child, and built his first guitar as a teenager.
"The guy next door said, 'I'll build you a solid body guitar for five pounds'," he later told Rock Cellar Magazine. "Five pounds, which to me was 500 back then [so] I went ahead and did it [myself].
"The first one I built was in 1956, because Elvis was out, and everything that you heard about pop music was guitar."
After a short stint at Wimbledon Art College, he left to play with shock-rocker Screaming Lord Sutch and the Tridents.
When Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds in 1965, Jimmy Page suggested hiring Beck - and he went on to play on hits like 'I'm A Man' and 'Shapes Of Things', where his pioneering use of feedback influenced musicians like Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix.
"That [technique] came as an accident," he later told BBC Radio 2's Johnnie Walker.
"We played larger venues, around about '64-'65, and the PA was inadequate. So we cranked up the level and then found out that feedback would happen.
"I started using it because it was controllable - you could play tunes with it. I did this once at Staines Town Hall with the Yardbirds and afterwards, this guy says, 'You know that funny noise that wasn't supposed to be there? I'd keep that in if I were you.'
"So I said, 'It was deliberate mate. Go away'."

➤ Replay some of his music from my blogs - 

"People Get Ready" with Rod Stewart (click) 

And quite recently with Tal Wilkenfeld (click here) includes Rick Beato tribute link. 

"Hi Ho Silver Lining" Jeff Beck - thanks for all the superb music. 

  

Over the coming weeks I intend to attempt a Jon Dodd inspired trip down memory lane and share some musical moments from our long friendship. Having very similar tastes there's plenty of great music to remember and play again.  

Sometime during 1969 Jon lent me the LP 'A Saucerful of Secrets' by Pink Floyd. This got me started and I became a huge fan and bought all of the Floyd's records from then on. 

The title track from that album was nearly 12 minutes long and ended with this beautiful piece called 'Celestial Voices' 

More memories next week....

Pele

[10]

From 1970 - the memory will live forever.

My favourite footballer ever.

   

The week before Christmas in 1986 this record was Top of the Pops in the UK singles chart. It was denied the cherished Christmas No.1 slot by a re-issue of 'Reet Petite' by Jackie Wilson* - which took top spot on the December 21st chart. 

So many years later this a cappella version of the Isley-Jasper-Isley original, a plea for people to take care of one another, still resonates today. From English indie band The Housemartins 'are you ready' for 'Caravan of Love' > 

* A number one almost three years after Jackie Wilson's death and 29 years after it's original UK chart success in 1957, when it reached No.6. 

 T H I S   D A Y   1 5 0   Y E A R S   A G O

-   A R O U N D   T H E   W O R L D   I N   8 0   D A Y S   -

"After reading in the Daily Telegraph that a new railroad in India had made it theoretically possible to travel around the world in 80 days, Phileas Fogg bet his fellow members at the Reform Club, London that he will make that journey in 80 days or less; the wager was for the princely sum of £20,000 (half his fortune). On the evening of 2nd October 1872, along with his valet Jean Passepartout he set out to win the wager."

The story began serialization in Le Temps, the Paris newspaper, on 6 November 1872. It was published in installments over the next 45 days, with its ending timed to synchronize Fogg's December 21st deadline with the real world. Chapter 35 appeared on 20th December; 21st December, the date upon which Fogg was due to appear back in London, did not include an installment of the story; on 22nd December, the final two chapters announced Fogg's success. As it was being published serially for the first time, some readers believed that the journey was actually taking place – bets were placed, and some railway companies and ship liner companies lobbied Jules Verne to appear in the book.

🎬 A 1956 movie staring David Niven, Cantinflas and Shirley MacLaine won 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture. See music trailer below.

🌍 No idea when I saw this film but it must have certainly fired our young imaginations.  

The book was published in 1873. An 1874 stage version, written by Verne and French playwright Adolphe d’Ennery, was also wildly successful and ran for several decades.  

  

A month or so ago we watched the 2019 film about Harriet Tubman called simply 'Harriet'.

Based on the inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, 'Harriet' tells the extraordinary tale of her escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage and tenacity in freeing hundreds of slaves changed the course of history.

Cynthia Erivo, an English actress, singer and songwriter from London, played Harriet Tubman and co-wrote 'Stand Up' a song that plays during the movie's end credits. The movie received Academy Award nominations for Best Address and Best Original Song. 

Cynthia Erivo sings 'Stand Up' on this: official lyric video including clips from the movie >  

  

An alternative (and occasional) music posting highlighting something out of the ordinary. Perhaps of limited appeal, unconventional, experimental or just far-out ! Call it what you like (or switch it off, if you don't like). 

Thanks go to Dave Lawrence for enthusing about this crazy Croatian cellist duo of Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser - artistically known as 2Cellos. 

Playing instrumental arrangements of well-known pop and rock songs, as well as classical and film music. Check this video out and the many more available on YouTube.

This'll get you started >