Yesterday’s Music Today
It has been windy and somewhat cold.
On “Willesee”, at 7.oo p.m., ‘Colourland TV’ of Melbourne has come under scrutiny for allegedly charging customers around one hundred and fifty dollars for a four years’ warranty, on a make of television set that it sells, when the manufacturer offers a three years’ warranty for free.
The Western Suburbs ‘Magpies’ defeated Canterbury-Bankstown by eight points to five, this afternoon.
We walked to restaurant, Brandys’, at Sylvania Waters, where Tiki embarrassingly told the waitress that I am on a diet, designed to lower my cholesterol. The manager appeared and obligingly said that he would do what he could.
As an entree I was served thinly sliced smoked salmon draped over a lettuce leaf, with a few capers spaced around it at intervals. Tiki, in the meantime enjoyed a prawn cocktail.
Tiki’s main course consisted of fried barramundi served with baked tomato and zucchini while mine was a dish which contained veal, accompanied by some lightly cooked tomato and zucchini.
Dessert, for me, was strawberries with passionfruit. Tiki, of course, fared far better as her pears, in ice-cream, were literally smothered in a chocolate topping.
The bill, with us each having had an orange juice and a coffee, came to twenty-four dollars, which we thought was a little excessive although the restaurant did possess a pleasant ambience.
After walking home in the cold, beneath a cloudless sky, I learned that “Stanley Rio” ( paying $1.40 on the tote for the win and $0.55 for the place; per a unit of twenty-five cents) had won the pacers’ final of the Inter-dominion, at Brisbane’s Albion Park; in a time that has set a new record. He is the first “Enzedder” to win the event on Australian soil since the outstanding “Cardigan Bay”, in 1963.
American “Red” Adair has plugged the blow-out in the oilwell in the North Sea. Tragically, almost thirty million litres of oil had already leaked from the well before he was able to do so.
Until a decade or so ago I had believed that Elvis Presley’s incredibly successful recording of “Hound Dog” was the original. It was then that I came across Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton’s recording of this number, and realised that it was not!
Willie Mae, a rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in December of 1926. Her mother sang in the Baptist Church where her father was the minister.
Following the death of her mother, Willie Mae moved to live in Houston, Texas, in 1948. It was there, three years later, that she began her career as a recording artist when she was signed to Peacock Records.
The prolific composers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, afforded Willie Mae the opportunity to record “Hound Dog”. The single spent seven weeks atop the rhythm and blues charts, in 1953, although she was reportedly to see little of the royalties from its success.
Among Willie Mae’s other recordings was the self-penned “Ball N’ Chain”. It was revived by Janis Joplin, in the 1960s.
http://youtu.be/n-rNX1DKuMI
Willie Mae witnessed the self-inflicted death of blues singer, Johnny Ace, in 1954. Johnny had been playing Russian roulette, with the revolver’s cylinder containing just a single bullet.
Her career began to wane from the late 1950s and she moved to live in San Francisco. Willie Mae’s recordings became intermittent and she earned a living from touring, singing in clubs and at blues festivals. She remained active until her death, from a heart attack, in Los Angeles, in July of 1984, at the age of fifty-seven.
Jerry Leiber died last month (August of 2011) at the age of seventy-eight.
The first day of autumn is as bad as the last day of summer! Torrential rain has drenched Sydney, with two inches falling in one period of fifteen minutes. Although the maximum was nineteen degrees Celsius, this evening it has fallen to fifteen, which is eight degrees below the seasonal average. The rain continues to fall.
“The Dick Emery Show” screened on Channel Seven, from 7.30 p.m., followed by “Love Thy Neighbour”, at eight o’clock. Bill Collins introduced the film, “The Heist” (1971), from half past eight. It is set in Hamburg and stars Warren Beatty, Goldie Hawn, Gert Frobe and Scott Brady ( I laughed when his character drank L.S.D. and died. Not because I’m a sadist but because his acting, at that moment, triggered amusement in me).
Australia won the Second and final Test, at Eden Park, in Auckland, by ten wickets and the series by one win to nil.
Mark Williams was born, in 1954, in the Northland region — which is above Auckland — in New Zealand. When he was sixteen he started a band, The Face, with classmates. The Face finished third in the final of the ‘National Battle Of The Bands’ in Auckland, in 1970.
Mark was convinced to become a solo performer, in 1973, and was offered a position as a regular guest on a new television show, ‘Free Ride’.
Towards the end of 1974 Mark was signed to record on the EMI label and, in 1975, released a song, that had been written by Harry Vanda and George Young ( see the post, ‘The Easybeats’), “Yesterday Was Just The Beginning Of My Life”. The single rose to sit at No.1 on the national charts in New Zealand.
http://youtu.be/C_gsh9hfbe0
Regardless, the next couple of years were somewhat of a struggle as Mark sought to replicate this success. It took until 1977 and an excellent revival of the classic track by Buddy Holly, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”, for him to achieve this.
Later that year, Mark relocated across the Tasman to Australia. There he was paid well for singing on many commercials, made for radio and television, while also obtaining work as a session vocalist to established artists.
In 1980 Mark released his first Australian album, ‘Life After Dark’. He formed the group, Boy Rocking, which was based in Sydney and, in 1988, toured with Ian Moss’s band on the highly successful ‘Matchbox’ tour. Mark, in duet with Karen Boddington, recorded the theme song to the extant Australian soap, ‘Home And Away’.
Mark began working on new material in collaboration with Vanda and Young and from his new album, ‘Mark Williams ZNZ’, came the single “Show No Mercy”, in 1990.
Mark Williams continued to find work throughout the years and, in spite of still being based in Sydney, in 2005, was invited by Todd Hunter of the New Zealand rock band, Dragon, to join the re-formed group. Mark accepted the offer.
At my place of work I talked with an auburn-haired Greek cleaner, who emigrated from Rhodes twenty-three years ago. She is married to an Australian-born Greek and they have two daughters and a son.
There were one hundred and forty-nine guests at the party to celebrate their elder daughter’s engagement, at a cost of eighteen dollars per head.
The family is soon to move from a house on General Holmes Drive to a house of two storeys, with a pool, in Sylvania Waters.
As a cleaner, the lady in question works for twelve hours per day on six days of the week.
Ruby Florence Murray was born, in March of 1935, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ruby first appeared on television at the age of twelve.
After being signed to record for Columbia Records she was to become one of the most popular singers in the United Kingdom and Ireland; in the second half of the 1950s.
Ruby’s first hit, “Heartbeat”, entered the charts in the United Kingdom, in December of 1954 and peaked at No.3. It was quickly followed by her largest success, and only No.1, “Softly Softly”. Other releases followed in quick succession: “Happy Days And Lonely Nights”, “Let Me Go, Lover” ( a cover of Peggy Lee’s hit from the previous year), “If Anyone Finds This I Love You”, “Evermore” and “I’ll Come When You Call”. In fact, at one stage, in 1955, five of her hits were in the Top Twenty in the one week.
http://youtu.be/IaPpxT2nuXA
http://youtu.be/1EOA3xyWoD4
Ruby’s immense popularity led her to be granted her own television show. She appeared in a Royal Command Perfomance, also in 1955.
Virtually as the year ended, Ruby Murray’s entries to the charts evaporated. She did, however, secure her one and only screen role when she was cast to appear in the film, “A Touch Of The Sun”, in 1956, opposite Frankie Howerd and Dennis Price. Her only entry to the charts that year was a minor one, namely “You Are My First Love”.
In late 1958, Ruby reappeared on the charts via the single, “Real Love”. A further six months were to pass before, her last entry, “Goodbye Jimmy Goodbye”, peaked at No. 10.
Ruby Murray married twice. She moved to live in England, finally settling in Torquay, in Devon. Her life had developed into an enduring battle against alcoholism; a battle she was to lose, in December of 1996, when she died from cancer of the liver.
Marie Jones, a playwright from Belfast, wrote a play, ‘Ruby’, about the singer’s life. It opened in Belfast in 2000.
“Softly Softly” can be found in my list of favourite recordings, which is located in the suggested playlists.
The members of The Easybeats first met as they were being accommodated in a hostel for migrants, at Villawood, a western suburb of Sydney.
Leading guitarist, Harry Vanda (22nd of March, 1947) and bassist, Dick Diamonde (28th of December, 1947) were Dutch, while vocalist, ‘Little Stevie’ Wright (20th of December, 1948), rhythm guitarist, George Young (6th of November, 1947) and drummer, Gordon ‘Snowy’ Fleet (16th of August, 1945) were British.
George Young, a Scot, is the older brother of AC/DC’s Angus and Malcolm Young.
The Easybeats formed in 1965 and tasted immediate success when “She’s So Fine” went to No.1 on the Australian pop charts. Before year’s end “Wedding Ring” (No.6) and “Sad And Lonely And Blue”/”Easy As Can Be” (No.9) had followed it into the Top Ten.
http://youtu.be/JqvRxmjDy_E
Nineteen Sixty-Six was even more sensational for the group, for in the first six months it had racked up three consecutive number one hits: “Women (Make You Feel Alright)”, “Come And See Her” and the 45 r.p.m. EP (extended play), “Easyfever”, which included “Too Much” and “I’ll Make You Happy (Just Like Your Mama Wants)”.
http://youtu.be/KgDM3PfPP_s
Understandably, The Easybeats decided that it was time to spread its wings and the band was soon en route to England. Meanwhile, “Sorry” reached No.4 on the Australian charts.
It did not take long for The Easybeats to realise that it had gone from being a big fish in a small ocean to being a small fish in a big one. Nonetheless, Harry Vanda and George Young managed to pen “Friday On My Mind”, which symbolised the thoughts of many teenagers in the rebellious ‘Swinging Sixties’.
Recorded in London, the single occupied six weeks at No.1 back in Australia, and entered the British charts, peaking at No.6. It even received airplay across the Atlantic, where its zenith was to be No.16.
However, the excesses that could become available to those who achieved success were starting to take their toll on at least one of the group’s members. Homesickness for Australia, and the fame that that country had represented, also became a factor in the unease that had developed within the group, and it was eventually decided that the five should return.
Even there, things were not as they had been and the best result the group achieved, during its remaining three years as an entity, was that of taking the double A-sided compositions of Vanda and Young, “Heaven And Hell”/”Pretty Girl”, to a height of of No.11, in mid-1967.
Harry Vanda and George Young formed their own group, Band Of Hope, and, in 1972, Marcus-Hook Roll Band. Neither was noticeably successful, however, the pair was to become notable as producers of records. In 1974 and 1975 they produced the first two albums by AC/DC: ‘High Voltage’ and ‘TNT’.
They formed and wrote for another Australian group, Flash And The Pan. It experienced two hits in Australia, “Hey St. Peter” (No.2, in 1977) and “Down Among The Dead Men” (No.8, in 1978). Then, quite out of the blue, the band found success in the United Kingdom, when, in 1983, “Waiting For A Train”, reached No. 7.
http://youtu.be/tz48dyXTFpQ
http://youtu.be/bKMAaiJWvTw
In 1974, Vanda and Young resurrected Stevie Wright’s recording career when, as a solo artist, he took “Evie (Part 1)” to No.1 and “Guitar Band” to No.16. In fact, the pair’s compositions were recorded by many Australian artists; with one further example being that of John Paul Young’s international hit, “Love Is In The Air”, which climbed as high as No.7, in the United States, in 1978.
http://youtu.be/In1VeSjsBT8
http://youtu.be/f6L0D0SSmKU
You will find “She’s So Fine” on my list of favourite recordings, located in the suggested playlists. I remember turning the volume on my radio up, to make the single’s introduction as loud as possible.
Some heavy rain has fallen and consequently the maximum temperature struggled to reach twenty-one degrees Celsius.
It took us an hour and forty minutes to drive from Caringbah to St. Peters. All of the telephones were out of order, at work, because of the unrelenting torrential rain.
Former Australian left-arm fast bowler, Alan Davidson, was the guest speaker at this evening’s function, held on the behalf of Rotary, at the St. George Sailing Club. He related a brief history of cricket and then reminisced over some of his on-field experiences, which for the most part centred around an English counterpart, namely “Fiery” Fred Truman, and the late Australian wicketkeeper, Wally Grout. Former St. George and ‘Kangaroo’ hooker, Ian Walsh, was a member of the audience. Tickets were sixteen dollars and fifty cents a head.