Micah P. Hinson - Micah P. Hinson and the Gospel of Progress (2004)

"I Still Remember" by Micah P. Hinson


Daniel Johnston had trouble staying in school. He attended both Kent State and Abilene Christian for short periods of time before returning home with his inability to stay in school rooted in his psychological health. Micah P. Hinson is another member of the Abilene Christian Dropouts Who Would Go On to Have Relatively Successful Music Careers Contingency though his reasons for dropping out are due in part to drug abuse and the misguidance of "shady women".

Micah learned to play the guitar at the age of 11, taking after his older brother. Playing music became one of his methods for coping with living in a small community along with skateboarding and drug use. In 2000 while Hinson's life was still unfocused, he recorded a demo and handed it off to musician, record label owner, and friend JP Lapham. Convinced of his talent, Lapham took on the management of Micah's career and began shopping him around to record labels. Sketchbook Records in the UK eventually took interest and signed Hinson in 2003.

Micah P. Hinson and the Gospel of Progress saw release in 2004 along with two singles. The Gospel of Progress (a possible reference to Micah's backing band during these sessions) is a break up album. Each song is lyrically minimal, usually only consisting of one verse, one cry of the heart. The thoughts are anguished, depressed and morbid. They are all searching through different emotional lenses for a love that isn't reciprocated. Musically, all the songs start out just as minimally, just Micah, his baritone, and his guitar, but they all grow new and different layers swelling and filling the songs out with orchestration and overlayed vocals (sometimes his own breaking tenor or the soft, dismissive voice of Sarah Lowes). Micah would quickly follow up his debut album by rerecording his demo and releasing it as an EP The Baby & the Satellite in 2005.

Here is the discography surrounding Micah P. Hinson's debut album:

The Cranes (2003 compilation appearance)
The Day Texas Sank to the Bottom of the Sea (2004 single)
Micah P. Hinson and the Gospel of Progress
Beneath the Rose (2004 single)
The Baby & the Satellite (2005 EP)
Yard of Blonde Girls (2006 single/compilation appearance)

"Beneath the Rose" by Micah P. Hinson


"The Day Texas Sank to the Bottom of the Sea" by Micah P. Hinson


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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Daniel Johnston - Songs of Pain (1981)

"I Save Cigarette Butts" by Daniel Johnston


Beck's loosest demo Beck and Dava recorded in 1990 is an extremely informal session where Beck and Dava simply enjoy the process of recording together. The demo has no real song ideas that'll grow up to be hit singles and everything they do record is off-the-cuff. Mixed in between the songs and half-songs is the banter that leads from one to another. On one particular recording, Beck goes on at length on one of his influences Daniel Johnston. According to Beck, Johnston is a born-again Christian who at one point played with the Butthole Surfers. That's not necessarily true, but he and members of the Surfers did collaborate (with the band holding Johnston in high regard), and Johnston's songs are awash with Christian influence. Whether the songs reflect a faithful or cynical approach to Christianity is another conversation altogether...

Daniel Johnston learned to play the piano and wanted to be just like The Beatles. A few things stood in his way: he couldn't sing and he suffered from manic depression and schizophrenia, but he continued to play. He took classes at a couple of universities but, for reasons most likely rooted in his mental illnesses, he would always wind back down in his parents basement. It's in the basement where Johnston recorded his work on an old boombox. He'd then take the tapes he had made and go down to local record stores, universities, and clubs in Austin to give them out by hand. He gained a certain local notoriety for both his music and his odd behavior.

His first recording titled Songs of Pain and consisted of songs he recorded in 1980 and '81. The recordings are naturally poor in quality and consist of Daniel banging away frenetically on his piano singing his personal songs in his broken voice. Mixed in between the songs are sound bites of field recordings usually of friends and family. The most notable and saddening is a fight between he and his mother on how he'll never amount to anything. She criticizes him for his laziness while he retorts with sarcastic agreement and self-defeatism. The fight is one they've had many times before. The songs, as such, are very difficult to separate from their source material. Most of the Songs of Pain are in reference to a girl he loved who would eventually marry an undertaker. As such, whenever there is a reference to a funeral, a girl he loves, or a girl on whom he wishes ill, you begin to imagine Daniel's state of mind. His songwriting on its own is raw. His piano riffs are heavily embellished and his lyrics take turns of stream-of-consciousness. Still, the riffs are accomplished and the lyrics are deeply honest and find their way to natural conclusions whose notes and thoughts will resonate in the hearts of listeners.

Here is the discography surrounding Daniel Johnston's debut album:

Songs of Pain

"Urge" by Daniel Johnston


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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Beck - Golden Feelings (1993)

As mentioned in the previous entry, Forest for the Trees had a constantly evolving cast of musicians playing alongside Karl Stephenson. One of these members was a harmonica player, Beck, for whom Karl would eventually produce his major label debut and landmark album Mellow Gold. This album, however, was not Beck's first.

Beck is the son of artists. His father is composer David Campbell (previously used as a Tour link between Macy Gray and David Vandervelde) and his mother is ex-David Warhol Factory Worker Bibbe Hansen. He dropped out of high school and began busking around Europe while staying with his grandfather in Germany. After earning his wings, he moved to New York where he became part of the anti-folk movement. He continued his anti-folkie routine in Los Angeles where he also dabbled in a metal band (Loser with Peter Hanft) and started experimenting with recording techniques.

The most common attribute of Anti-Folk is a fervent desire to subvert the ideals of folk music (the voice of the common man, the call for change). Every anti-folkie has a different means of subversion. In Beck's case, he created a ne're-do-well, slacker persona that sang songs about going to moon cars, do drugs, and the possibility of getting out of bed. While folk music portrayed the common man as earnest, hardworking, simple, and wise of the land, Beck sang about the common pariahs of society: uneducated, lazy, and ignorant boys who refuse to grow up and take responsibility for themselves and others. As Beck was originally interested in folk music (he had as healthy an interest in Woody Guthrie as the next guy), his anti-folk music shared the same earnest sounds of the guitar and harmonica. His sound evolved quickly to match his lyrics. His recording process became increasingly lo-fi, his songwriting was more in minor key coupled with purposeful poor playing, and his voice became disturbingly distorted.

All of these elements, after a slew of home demos and experiments, reached a point with his debut album Golden Feelings released in 1993 by the very small label Sonic Enemy. At this point in Beck's musical career, he was still stuck in dead-end jobs and left largely ignored at the clubs and coffee houses he performed at. But with his prolific demo output and "experimentation" as "his only gimmick", it's no wonder such an earnest love of music would produce one of the most respected and critically acclaimed artists of the nineties and aughts.

"Gettin' Home" by Beck


Here is the discography surrounding Beck's debut album:

Banjo Story (1988 demo)
Beck and Dava (1990 demo)
R-Marcel (1992 demo)
Are U Positive (1992 demo)
Beck, Like the Beer (1992 demo)
Don't Get Bent Out of Shape (1992 demo)
1992 Demo (1992 demo)
Metal Demos (1992 demo as Loser)
Fresh Meat and Old Slabs (1993 demo)
Golden Feelings
Golden Leftovers (1993 outtakes album)

"Totally Confused" by Beck


"Desire (Hollow Log)" by Beck


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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Forest for the Trees - Forest for the Trees (1997)

"Planet Unknown" by Forest for the Trees


Bob Ludwig is one of the most sought after mastering engineers in the business. He's skilled and prolific and chances are he's mastered or remastered one of your favorite albums. Ludwig was recruited to remaster the entirety of Queen's album catalog for their recent deluxe edition re-releases. Ludwig has mastered everything from classical to classic rock from indie to the most mainstream pop. On the extremities of his mastering work lies a strange album by the collaborative project Forest for the Trees.

The membership of the band Forest for the Trees is difficult to pin down. The band was malleable and made common use of that quality. The only cornerstone the band had was hip hop and alternative rock producer Karl Stephenson. I imagine that the makeup of the band was Stephenson (who wrote, arranged, and played most of the music) alongside any friends who wanted to bang around and record with him.

Stephenson began pulling together the band's debut in the early nineties with an aim at releasing it around 1994 (about the same time he produced Beck's Mellow Gold). However, his obsessing over the intricacies of the compositions led Stephenson to a mental breakdown, leaving Forest for the Trees unreleased until 1997.

The eponymous album is an odd hybridization of styles very similar to his approach in producing Mellow Gold (without the novelty). The album is lightly psychedelic more jarring for its juxtaposition of genres (hip hop next to grunge next to celtic music next field recordings) than the minutia of the production Stephenson labored over. The content of the album explores textbook transcendentalism and carries with it fleeting visions of a global community.

The delayed release of Forest for the Trees's debut from Dreamworks Records failed to find an audience. 1999 held the last release from the band: The Sound of Wet Paint EP, loose tracks left over from previous sessions. Surprisingly, b-side "Primordial Soup", the "Dream" dance remix, and especially "The Sound of Music" would turn out to be some of the Forest's most notable songs. Dreaworks dropped Stephenson form their label and, now defunct, are believed to still hold one unreleased Forest for the Trees album.

Here is Forest for the Trees's complete discography:

Dream (1997 single)
Forest for the Trees
Planet Unknown (1997 single)
The Sound of Wet Paint (1999 EP)

"Dream" by Forest for the Trees


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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Queen - Queen (1973)

"Keep Yourself Alive" by Queen


It is very important that listeners not confuse Duran Duran's drummer Roger Taylor with Queen's drummer Roger Taylor.

The origins of Queen start with guitarist Brian May and bassist Tim Staffell. Both were members of the band 1984 in the late sixties that drew some success by recording a demo and opening for legendary acts Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Tyrannosaurus and Pink Floyd. The two dropped from the band in order to pursue further education at Imperial College and Ealing Art College respectively, but decided to form there own band while there. They recruited drummer Roger Taylor (not to be confused with the drumming Roger Taylor of Duran Duran) to round out the trio. Together, they formed Smile in 1968 and earned a record deal with Mercury Records a year later. Their single "Earth" reached no chart positions and Smile was promptly dropped from the label. At the same time, the band Humpy Bong recruited Tim Staffell as their bassist spelling the end of Smile. The band had a big fan, however. Farrokh "Freddie" Bulsara, an immigrant from British Zanzibar who went to boarding school in India, was a pianist and vocalist in and out of bands. He was a friend of Staffell's at Ealing and formed a close relationship with the band. After Staffell's departure, he, May, and Taylor recruited bassist John Deacon to reform as Queen.

Bulsara led the band with an air of the theatrical as Freddie Mercury, a last name he derived from one of his own songs. His influence extended over both their stage performances and songs as he'd provide a bulk of their material in the early years. Queen quickly caught the attention of Trident Studios producers Roy Thomas Baker and John Anthony (who had previously produced Smile's work). The studio connected, with some difficulty, the band with EMI Records and a strong record deal signed with the bad label experience they had with Mercury Records.

Their debut record Queen was recorded during the downtime hours of Trident when the studios were not in use. They already had a solid backlog of live songs to record and did the bulk of recording in mid to late 1972. Their first single "Keep Yourself Alive" was released by July 1973 with the delay due to the search for a record label. The album featured several songs that dated back to the pre-Queen Smile-era ("Keep Yourself Alive", Staffell's "Doing Alright") and Mercury's eccentric fantasy-laden epics ("My Fairy Queen", "Great King Rat"). The band's sound had a strong taste of the contemporary progressive rock and heavy metal movements (with traces of the popular glam and fledgling punk movements). The songs stood apart at the time because of the caliber of the musicianship amongst the members, Mercury's powerful vocals and unique arrangements, and the band's harmonies. The album was well-received by critics and noted for its Led Zeppelin-influenced rock and roll and Brian May's incredible riffs throughout. Certified gold, the album was a promising debut.

Here is the discography surrounding Queen's debut album:

Thames Television Studios Demo Tape (1967 demo by 1984)

Live at the Liverpool Sink Club (1967 live recording by Ibex)
Earth (1969 demo as Smile)
Gettin' Smile (compilation as Smile)
Ghost of a Smile (compilation as Smile)
In the Beginning (1971 demo)
I Can Hear Music (1973 single by Larry Lurex)
Keep Yourself Alive (1973 single)

Liar (1973 single)
Queen
Queen Will Be Crowned (1973 live recording)
At the Beeb (1973 live recording)
BBC Sessions (1973-74 sessions)

"Liar" by Queen


"Doing Alright" by Queen


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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Duran Duran - Duran Duran (1981)

"Careless Memories" by Duran Duran


The Nice's album, despite not selling well, did have a recognizable album cover where the band were without clothes and wrapped in cellophane. Gered Mankowitz is responsible for that picture and many others. He is one of the most prolific and prominent rock photographers today. Although it might be one of his less recognizable pieces, Mankowitz also took the cover photo for Duran Duran's breakout single "Girls on Film".

Nick Rhodes and John Taylor formed Duran Duran in 1978 in Birmingham. Starting work for the Rum Runner night club, they eventually became the house band while they were also busting tables and doing dishes. The group went through several lineup changes (foregoing two vocalists, a bassist, and a drum machine) before coming together: Nick Rhodes (keyboards), John Taylor (bass), Andy Taylor (guitar), Roger Taylor (drums), and Simon Le Bon (vocals). Despite the same last names, none of the Taylors are related. By the turn of the decade, Duran Duran began receiving press as one of the leading New Romantic bands (a branch of late '70s New Wave). The band's connection with Rum Runner proved to be a good one as the owners became Duran Duran's original management and booked the group's first demo recordings. While touring in the late eighties, their marketability was noticed by several record companies resulting in a bidding war. Duran Duran would sign with EMI in patriotic reverence to The Beatles's original label (despite getting an unfair deal).

Their debut album Duran Duran came out in June of 1981 and was produced by Colin Thurston, a man largely credited with developing the classic "eighties sound". The album was accompanied by three singles "Planet Earth", "Careless Memories", and "Girls on Film". Of the three, "Girls on Film" hit highest on the UK charts at #5. It also gained a certain notoriety for its music video that portrayed sexual fetishes and was intended only to be played on pay TV channels. A heavily edited version brought the band to prominence in the United States as it breached the rotation of music videos on the burgeoning MTV.

Duran Duran quickly became the "prettiest boys in rock" around the time when exposure was at an all time high. MTV had recently gotten off the ground and Duran Duran were one of the first bands to take advantage of the new outlet to American audiences. All five members had photogenic features and worked with stylists to develop their own unique look. Musically, they also remixed their own songs, creating "night versions" in the studio that were more instrumental and dance friendly. In a quickly changing musical landscape and industry, Duran Duran were one of the first bands to exemplify the change and reap a surreal global popularity that would only keep growing.

Here is the discography surrounding Duran Duran's debut album:

Planet Earth (1981 single)
Careless Memories (1981 single)
Duran Duran
Girls on Film (1981 single)
Nite Romantics (1981 Japanese Remix EP)
Live at Club Paradise (1981 live bootleg)

"Girls on Film" by Duran Duran


"Tel Aviv" by Duran Duran


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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The Nice - The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack (1967)

"The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack" by The Nice


P.P. Arnold's backing band was thrown together piecemeal by her manager Andrew Loog Oldham just in time for her to tour the UK. The backing band would take on a life of its own as the group members ended up forming their own band and naming themselves (presumably) after a Small Faces song. The Nice would go from a backing band to a band capable of making waves in the progression of rock and roll.

As The Nice were thrown together by Oldham, they already had the benefit of Immediate Records ready to release their work. The Nice originally consisted of wandering musicians Keith Emerson (keyboards), Lee Jackson (bass and vocals), and David O'List (guitar). The original drummer from Arnold's backing group, Ian Hague, was replaced by Brian Davison to round out the quartet. The names of the members would provide the title of the group's first single and album in 1967: The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack.

The Nice had big Jimi Hendrix inspired, psychedelic guitar riffs and bigger, progressive musical ideas. They were able to play any which style of music so they made good use of their skills by throwing them together to see what coalesced. They could play short, power pop songs or variations on classical or jazz. On their debut, they tackled covers of Dave Brubeck and musical quotations of composer Leoš Janáček. Their second single "America" released in 1968, The Nice covered Leonard Bernstein while adding quotations from Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony. The song's historical context, ad posters for the album that featured John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., its original title "America (Second Amendment)", and its spoken word conclusion: "America is pregnant with promise and anticipation, but is murdered by the hand of the inevitable" helps it fall into an odd place as an "instrumental protest song" as described by Keith Emerson. With O'List's guitars, they had a tinge of psychedlia laced through every song, but their grandiose musical ideas separated them from the pack as their debut album is often considered the first progressive rock album.

Here is the discography surrounding The Nice's debut album:

Blow My Blues Away (1965 single by The Mark Leeman Five)
Portland Town (1965 single by The Mark Leeman Five)
Follow Me (1966 single by The Mark Leeman Five)
Forbidden Fruit (1966 single by The Mark Leeman Five)
Elbow Baby (1966 single by The Habits)
Hi-Ho Silver Lining (1966 single by The Attack)
Created by Clive (1967 single by The Attack)
Try It (1967 single by The Attack)
The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack (1967 single)
The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack
America (1968 single)
Neville Thumbcatch (1968 single by The Attack)
Autumn '67-Spring '68 (1972 live album)
Magic in the Air (1990 compilation album by The Attack)
Memorial Album (1991 compilation album by The Mark Leeman Five)
The Complete Recordings from 1967-68 (1999 compilation album by The Attack)
Final Daze (2001 compilation album by The Attack)
About Time! (2006 compilation album by The Attack)

"America" by The Nice


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P.P. Arnold - The First Lady of Immediate (1967)

"The First Cut Is the Deepest" by P.P. Arnold


Although "The First Cut Is the Deepest" is one of Cat Stevens's best and widely recognized songs, he didn't record it first. Two others got the chance to record it before him. The Koobas performed a mediocre psychedelic version of the song and P. P. Arnold performed a soul version, both earlier in 1967. Interestingly, Stevens never released his version as a single because he believed that P.P. Arnold's take on his song was its definitive performance.

P.P. (Patricia) Arnold began her career in music around 1964 when she and her friends Maxine Smith and Gloria Scott tried out for and won the job of the Ikettes, a backup singing group, for the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. By 1966, the popularity of Ike and Tina faltered in the United States, though it boomed in England. It was during a fateful tour of the UK that she impressed prominent concert-goers Mick Jagger and Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham with her dynamic and powerful voice. With both convinced that she had the potential to be a hit maker, they signed her to Oldham's newly christened recording label, Immediate Records. Arnold quit the Ikettes and remained in London.

Arnold's first big hit came with her second single, her cover and original recording of "The First Cut Is the Deepest". It reached the Top 20 and overshadowed another version (by The Koobas) that also came out about that time. She followed this success with another: single "The Time Has Come, a song written for her by Paul Korda. In an attempt to keep Arnold in the spotlight, Oldham had Arnold perform with other popular Immediate artists like The Small Faces and Rod Stewart. Her singles and a few other filler songs were recorded and packaged into her first album The First Lady of Immediate (a reference to her status as the first signed female artist to the Immediate label). The album didn't share the same success as her hit singles.

Here is the discography surrounding P.P. Arnold's debut album:

Everything's Gonna Be Alright (1967 single)
The First Cut Is the Deepest (1967 single)
The Time Has Come (1967 single)
(If You Think You're) Groovy (1967 single)
The First Lady of Immediate

"(If You Think You're) Groovy" by P.P. Arnold


"Though It Hurts Me Badly" by P.P. Arnold


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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The Koobas - Koobas (1969)

"Mr. Claire" by The Koobas


After Yes formed, they very quickly lost their drummer Bill Bruford who wished to attend university. They found a replacement in Tony O'Riley who had previously played with the recently broken up Merseybeat group The Koobas. Either O'Riley's style didn't mesh with Yes or his drumming skills didn't meet Yes standards, nonetheless, Chris Squire was forced to beg Bruford to rejoin the group as Yes became more successful. Bruford soon came back to Yes, and this left O'Riley to look for a new band.

The Koobas were a band that never found their own sound. The band's roots are in Liverpool and, formed in 1962, they naturally started with a Merseybeat-like sound (think early Beatles). Stu Leatherwood and Roy Morris shared guitar and vocal duties, Keith Ellis played bass, and O'Riley played drums. Much like The Beatles, they played a stint in Germany. And, much like The Beatles, they were managed by Brian Epstein. By 1964, they signed to Pye Records and released their first single a year later. Unlike The Beatles, they were not a success. The lack of hits followed them as they resigned with Columbia. By 1968 after six singles that failed to chart in the Top 20 (though "Sally" did decently on pirate radio), The Koobas called it quits. The next year, Columbia finally got around to unceremoniously releasing The Koobas's only LP, Koobas. Throughout their career, they tried out different styles like beat, blue-eyed soul, and psychedelia. Unfortunately, they never found a sound that suited them or helped them stand out of the fodder.

Here is the complete discography for The Koobas:

I Love Her (1965 single)
Take Me for a Little While (1965 single)
You'd Better Make Up Your Mind (1966 single)
Sweet Music (1966 single)
Sally (1967 single)
Gypsy Fred (1967 single)
The First Cut Is the Deepest (1968 single)
Koobas

"Shake" and "Take Me for a Little While" by The Koobas circa 1966 on the German TV Show Beat Beat Beat


"You'd Better Make Up Your Mind" and "You Don't Love Me" by The Koobas circa 1966 on the German TV Show Beat Beat Beat


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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Yes - Yes (1969)

"Beyond and Before" by Yes


In their early days before they discovered punk, The Replacements's reserve of cover songs included Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, and Yes. In fact when Paul Westerberg overheard Dogbreath (the original name for The Mats) playing in the Stinson garage, he overheard them playing a Yes composition.

It took several tries for the original lineup of Yes to play in a successful rock band. Singer and primary lyricist Jon Anderson started in a Merseybeat band called The Warriors, sang temporarily for bands The Gun, The Open Mind, and Savoy Brown, and enjoyed a few singles as a solo artist (as Hans Christian). Drummer Bill Bruford played in groups The Breed, The Noise, and shortly for Savoy Brown. Keyboardist Tony Kaye enjoyed the most success in The Federals and a few Jimmy Winston groups. Bassist Chris Squire's first band were called The Selfs until it merged with another local band, The Syn. With The Syn, Squire met guitarist Peter Banks. Banks was briefly recruited by The Neat Change while Squire went on to form the proto-Yes band Mabel Greer's Toyshop with friends Clive Bailey and Bob Haggar. The Toyshop never recorded any singles but did perform a live set for BBC Radio. Peter Banks would eventually rejoin Squire while Bailey and Haggar were dropped from the group. The band contiued, however, thanks to the recruitment of Kaye, Bruford and Anderson into the band as replacements. But Mabel Greer's Toyshop needed a new name, and Yes it was. Squire would later reveal that by forming a band together, it was the only way that the bunch of misfits could ever play (they had difficulty finding session work) and build their individual, untraditional styles.

They began practicing together the summer of 1968. Their live sets began with covers of various vocal groups but given the "Yes" treatment meaning they included many ethereal solos and vocal harmonies punctuated by Jon Anderson's poetic delivery. Their progressive rock would meet its first success and audience approval when they filled in for a no-show Sly and the Family Stone at London's Blaise's club. This performance earned them a manager and ultimately a residency at the Marquee Club. They signed a record deal early in 1969 with Atlantic and released two singles and their eponymous debut album a few months later.

Yes didn't bomb but it wasn't a hit. The singles were not commercial enough for the radio and naturally didn't chart. The album featured a jazz fusion inspired cover of The Byrds's "I See You" and a psychedelic take on The Beatles's "Every Little Thing". They also had six original songs that included more conventional ballads ("Sweetness", "Yesterday and Today"). Of particular note is a spacey and experimental take on Leonard Bernstein's "Something's Coming". For early Yes, any style of music was subject to their adaption and absorption into their overall sound.

Here is the discography surrounding Yes's debut album:

Don't Make Me Blue (1964 single by The Warriors)
Bolton Club 65 (1965 live album by The Warriors)
Never My Love (1968 single by Hans Christian)
Autobiography of a Hobo (1968 single by Hans Christian)
Out of My Mind (1968 single by Hans Christian)
I Lied to Auntie May (1968 single by The Neat Change)
Live BBC 1968 (1968 live performance by Mabel Greer's Toyshop)
In the Beginning (1969 live bootleg)
Sweetness (1969 single)
Yes
Looking Around (1969 single)
Live at Sunderland (1969 live album)
Live at the Big Apple Club (1969 live album)

"Looking Around" by Yes


"Yesterday and Today" by Yes


"Something's Coming" by Yes


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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The Replacements - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981)

"I Hate Music" by The Replacements


When Titanic Love Affair was mercilessly criticized for sounding like a knock off version of The Replacements (often referenced as The Mats by critics and fans), it's more than likely that they were already comfortable with The Mats being such a heavy influence on their sound. After all, they got Chris Mars, original drummer for The Replacements, to do their debut's liner notes.


The Replacements saw themselves as the band that you turned to in case the originally scheduled act failed to show. Before that, they went by The Impendiments, a name adopting the "The ______" format inspired from their discovery of the British punk scene. Dogbreath, however, was the moniker that the band began to form under. The core starts with the Stinson brothers and Chris Mars. They formed Dogbreath in 1979 with the elder Bob Stinson on lead guitar, Chris Mars on drums, and Tommy Stinson on bass (at the ripe age of 12). Paul Westerberg, the band's eventual frontman, rhythm guitarist, producer, and primary songwriter, met the unfocused trio when he overheard them jamming in the Stinson's garage. He befriended the band and eventually sought out the vocalist position which at the time was already filled. This didn't stop Westerberg, however, as he convinced the then-vocalist, that none of the other band members liked him and were aiming to fire him. The singer quit soon after, and Westerberg filled the vacancy. With him, he brought professionalism and an untapped knack for songwriting.

The acquisition of Westerberg was the band's first stroke of luck. A connection with Peter Jesperson was the other. Jesperson ran the local record store and founded an independent record label Twin/Tone Records. He was more than impressed with the band's demo; he believed the band were surefire hits and had an unnatural enthusiasm in getting the quartet recorded. They signed with Twin/Tone in the winter of 1980, and Westerberg went to work immediately on writing material. They soon found themselves in the recording studio laying down the tracks for their debut album. The recording process took its time as they couldn't afford successive weeks in the studio, and even with it finished after six weeks, it took time for Twin/Tone to afford its release.


Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash saw release in August of 1981, preempted by one single "I'm in Trouble". Though the album is filled with an epic-seeming 18 songs, the rare song clocks in at over two minutes so the album is over within forty minutes of pressing play. Sorry Ma captures youthful frustration and raw inability. The Mats's energy is modeled after the anarchy of English punk groups but produce a sound a bit more fun and real aided by the band's own self-awareness. They relish in their trite impulsiveness and their inability to play their instruments properly. At this point, they have no more aspirations than simply having fun together and being in a rock band.

Here is the discography surrounding The Replacements's debut album:

1980 Demo (1980 demos)
1980-12-06 Minneapolis. MN (1980 live bootleg)
I'm in Trouble (1981 single)
Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
Incident on 7th Street Main (1981 live bootleg)

"Johnny's Gonna Die", "Kick Your Door Down". and "Dope Smokin' Moron" by The Replacements live at 7th Street Entry on September 5th, 1981


"If Only You Were Lonely" by The Replacements


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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Titanic Love Affair - Titanic Love Affair (1991)

Pieholden Studio, where Vandervelde worked and where he recorded his debut, was owned at the time by musician Jay Bennett. He co-produced Brie Stoner's debut album with Vandervelde, and Vandervelde would play on a couple of Jay Bennett's records. Although Vandervelde played almost all of the instruments on Moonstation, Bennett threw in his talents on bass to return the favor. Although Jay Bennett is most famous for his work as a member of Wilco during his creative zenith, he was first a member of an early 90s alternative rock band called Titanic Love Affair.

Titanic formed in the late eighties in Urbana, Illinois with the unfortunate fate of making a derivative power pop quartet when power pop was labeled "alternative", or more simply, unpopular. Mike Hartz acted as frontman on vocals and rhythm guitar. Jay Bennett provided back-up vocals and his skill as the lead guitarist. Lars Gustafsson and Mike Hazelrigg rounded out the group on the bass and drums respectively. They released their debut album Titanic Love Affair in 1991 on the Charisma Records label to little success and middling reviews. Their work was confronted as a lesser sounding version of The Replacements. With the album's lack of success, Charisma dropped them from their label to which the band replied with a new EP flippantly titled No Charisma. Although their is not much growth in the band's sound, the EP is marked with a little bit more attitude and a small dose of influence from the soon-to-breakout grunge scene.

Here is the discography surrounding Titanic Love Affair's debut album:

Titanic Love Affair
No Charisma (1992 EP)

"Planet Strange" by Titanic Love Affair


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

David Vandervelde - The Moonstation House Band (2007)

"Nothin' No" by David Vandervelde


David Campbell is a ridiculously prolific composer who has provided orchestral arrangements for musicians of varying caliber from 1970s singer-songwriters to today's Disney Channel Stars (oh, and Macy Gray, too). Look at any of Campbell's output during any given year and you'll find recognizable names from every genre of the music industry. Give him heavy metal, tweeny pop, or country rock; he does not discriminate. He works with mostly big names, too, which is why I was surprised to find that he provided the sparse arrangements for singer-songwriter David Vandervelde's debut.

David Vandervelde moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan and worked as a producer in his basement studio. He mainly conducted recordings for friends and bands with no futures until he produced a demo for singer-songwriter Brie Stoner. As Stoner was picked up by Fronic Records, the label sent her and Vandervelde to Chicago to record in Pieholden Studio. Vandervelde would continue to work there for the next few years working on various recording projects. One of these included working on a soundtrack with Brie for NOOMA short films, a film project promoted by Mars Hill Bible Church that shared Christian life experiences. On his own time, Vandervelde took his songwriting more seriously. His output and experimentation in the studio led to the content and sound that would make up his debut album.

Bloomington, Indiana record label Secretly Canadian signed Vandervelde and released his first single in 2006 and followed it up with The Moonstation House Band and the Nothin' No EP in 2007. The album received generally positive reviews without leaving much of a ripple in sales. Critically, Moonstation received universal comparisons to the sonic experimentation of Marc Bolan and his band T. Rex. There are more influences on the album (Electric Light Orchestra to name one), and Vandervelde sprinkles them carefully throughout as he moves from indie rock songs ("Nothin' No") to ambiguous religious songs ("Wisdom from a Tree") to murderous ballads ("Murder in Michigan").

Here is the discography surrounding David Vandervelde's debut album:

NOOMA Soundtrack (2005 soundtrack with Brie Stoner)
Jacket/Murder in Michigan (2006 single)
The Moonstation House Band
Nothin' No (2007 single)

"Jacket" by David Vandervelde


"Feet of a Liar" by David Vandervelde


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

Macy Gray - On How Life Is (1999)

"I Try" by Macy Gray


Macy Gray followed a long road to become an overnight success. While working as a cashier in LA, she met producer Joe Solo. Together they wrote songs and Gray began performing in cafés under his guidance. She was originally signed to Atlantic Records but was dropped to be picked up by Epic Records. After meeting Solo, it took almost ten years to hear her voice on a label-released record. Her first recording was as a featured guest singer on the Black Eyed Peas song 'Love Won't Wait'.

Her debut On How Life Is followed a year and some months later. On the record, Macy exemplifies Nu Soul. While traditional soul music combines elements of gospel music and Rhythm and Blues, Nu Soul mixes and matches a few more elements like funk, hip hop, pop, and jazz. In 2000, Macy Gray blew up. With the release of her second single "I Try", her album went onto sell over seven million copies worldwide and go triple platinum in the US. The critical reaction was generally unimpressed seeing her debut as an average album. Still, "I Try" infected nearly the whole world with a powerful earworm. Her success led Macy to be sought after by both musicians and directors as she grew into a pop cultural icon.

Here is the discography surrounding Macy Gray's debut album:

Do Something (1999 single)
On How Life Is
I've Committed Murder (1999 Gang Starr Remix)
I Try (2000 single)
Still (2000 single)
Why Didn't You Call Me (2000 single)

"Why Didn't You Call Me" by Macy Gray


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

Black Eyed Peas - Behind the Front (1998)

"Fallin' Up" by Black Eyed Peas


In an attempt to move out of the underground hip hop scene, I find myself still stuck in the underground only nearly a decade removed from when I started. A Tribe Called Quest's and Black Eye Peas's debut albums are connected through one individual. Neither performer nor producer, sound engineer Tim Latham worked on both debuts as a mixer in charge of the recordings' final mixes (at least in part).

Released in 1998 through Interscope Records, Black Eyed Peas's debut album feels a decade late. By this time on the underground circuit, De La Soul and the Tribe's zeitgeist had run its course. As the curtain closes, Black Eyed Peas don't hesitate to follow both groups' themes, style, and diverse sampling catalog from their earliest years. The Peas even déjà vu when they intersperse game show skits amongst their songs, a concept previously used by De La Soul to better humor and success on 3 Feet High and Rising. Behind the Front feels like an album that missed the alternative boat and got stuck on the docks for a good six years.

As generic as that analogy is, that's about exactly what happened to the Peas. Amidst the group's history, they were originally known as A.T.B.A.N. Klann (A Tribe Beyond A Nation). They signed to Ruthless Records and were scheduled to release their debut album Grass Roots in 1992, but the death of Ruthless co-founder Easy-E left both the album and the group in limbo. In a state of flux, the Klann lost three of their members (originally a group of five) with only will.i.am (Will Adams) and Filipino rapper apl.de.ap (Allan Lindo, Jr.) remaining. They would reform as the original core of Black Eyed Peas. In 1995, the duo added a third in Mexican rapper Taboo (Jaime Gómez). A possible reason for the album's dated sound is the fact that the demos from which Behind the Front originated harken back to the Peas's A.T.B.A.N. Klann (early nineties) days. Most of the songs, in fact, simply added extra lyrics from Taboo before being mixed for the LP.

Unlike in other hip hop groups, the jobs of each Pea aren't clearly defined as MC, DJ, or hypeman. All three members of the Peas rap and the DJ work probably comes from the musical mind of will.i.am and the producers he worked with. Although they do sample music, the album also supplements the sound with session musicians, making the album sound fresh with smooth transitions. Although the album harkens back to a more innovative past, Behind the Front was released to positive reviews from critics but barely left a ripple on the commercial charts.

Here is the discography surrounding Black Eyed Peas's debut album:

Grass Roots (1992 unreleased album as A.T.B.A.N. Klann)
Fallin' Up / ¿Que Dices? (1997 single)
Behind the Front
Joints & Jam (1998 single)
Karma (1999 single)

"Karma" by Black Eyed Peas


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990)

"Can I Kick It?" by A Tribe Called Quest


"After Hours" by A Tribe Called Quest


Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest went to high school together. Both started rapping in the mid-eighties. They shared classes, they shared a manager (DJ Red Alert), and they shared a worldview informed by their participation in the Universal Zulu Nation. They saw themselves as a tight-knit family and carried this mentality into the formation of the Native Tongues. The Tribe is the third founding member of the collective to be covered on this blog.

The band introduces itself to the listeners after the first track of their debut album. Ali Shaheed Muhammad lays the foundation for the Tribe as "the sound provider" while Q-Tip (Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, formerly Jonathan Davis) fronts the Tribe as the "top of the pyramid". At the top, he acts as the group's creative, intellectual, and spiritual leader and works as the liaison between the Tribe and other mainstream or alternative hip hop acts. Ali and Q-Tip were the first of what was to become A Tribe Called Quest to perform together. The duo sought the addition of another MC, Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), with whom they occasionally collaborated. The collaboration would become permanent only after they recruited a fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, a close friend of Phife's. In the song, Phife is introduced as Jarobi's "right hand man" while Jarobi (the speaker) introduces himself as "the last but not the least, the least but not the last).

The group held influence over the alternative hip hop movement in the late eighties but did not settle on a record deal until 1989. Despite numerous, rich offers from several big labels, they opted to sign a modest deal with independent rap label (at the time, anyway) Jive Records. Jive impressed the Tribe with their dedication to their artists' longevity and attention to grass roots fan bases. They released their first official single "Bonita Applebum" at the turn of the decade (though a promo single was released in 1989) and released their debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm soon after in April. While De La Soul's debut and Jungle Brother's sophomore album were met with raucous critical and commercial success, A Tribe Called Quest's debut was slower out of the gates. The album's sales opened light but slowly gained momentum to eventually be certified gold. Critically, the reviews came out mixed. Critics felt the album was "undanceable" or commended Instinctive Travels's experimental tendencies while reserving judgement on whether or not the experiments worked or not. The trend is that most people didn't know what to make of the album.

If you listened to this album and the two previous albums on the Musical History Tour, you might assume that all it takes to release a Native Tongues album is jazz samples, non-traditional lyrical content, and an Afrocentric attitude. Although these are honest first reactions, to pigeonhole the albums in such a way is to limit each group's individuality that really allow them and their work to stand out. Ali's DJ work sounds honest and fun and embodies the group's experimental nature, a sonic ride where anything can happen just for the sake of trying it out. Coupling the DJ with the MC, Q-Tip's lyrics share the same quality but provide the rhythm with narrative. Q-Tip tells stories. There's no grandstanding or posturing. Instead, he speaks directly to the listener to teach and entertain.

Here is the discography surrounding A Tribe Called Quest's debut album:

Description of a Fool (1989 promo single)
Bonita Applebum (1990 single)
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Can I Kick It? (1990 single)
I Left My Wallet in El Segundo (1990 single)

"I Lost My Wallet in El Segundo" by A Tribe Called Quest


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

Jungle Brothers - Straight Out the Jungle (1988)

"What's Going On" by Jungle Brothers


De La Soul were one of the leading hip hop groups from the east coast alternative scene. Before even releasing their first record, they networked with two other hip hop groups that would form the creative nucleus of a collective called the Native Tongues posse. The posse supported each other, toured together, featured one another on select songs and remixes, and shared a common artistic and political perspective of hip hop and life. One of the other two groups in the collective, a group that also featured on De La Soul's single "Buddy", was Jungle Brothers.

Decked in bush gear, Jungle Brothers expounded on the metaphor of the city as a jungle first introduced by hip hop artist Afrika Bambaataa and his Universal Zulu Nation. Like De La Soul, Jungle Brothers is a trio of two MCs, Afrika Baby Bam (Nathaniel Hall in homage to Bambaataa) and Mike Gee (Michael Small), and a DJ, DJ Sammy B (Sammy Burwell). With the benefit of famous local disc jockey DJ Red Alert being Mike Gee's uncle and the group's manager, they signed with independent label Warlock Records on which they released several singles and their debut Straight Out the Jungle in 1988.

Their debut, like De La Soul's, is considered a landmark for alternative hip hop. Their energetic horn samples colored the album with a jazzy tone while Baby Bam and Mike Gee added light-hearted, humorous, and politically conscious lyrics. Their rhymes spoke out against street violence ("Straight Out the Jungle", "What's Going On"), foresaw ethnic advancement in society ('In time, I see a better black reality' from b-side "In Time"), promoted Afrocentric themes ("Black Is Black"), and parodied hip hop's stereotypical sexual themes ("Jimbrowski", "I'm Gonna Do You"). Still, the album is light and humorous and never takes itself too seriously. These qualities effectively make Straight Out the Jungle a prototype to De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising which came out a few months after. Although it might seem unfair, the Jungle Brothers's debut has since been overlooked by critics as alternative hip hop's landmark beginning in favor of De La Soul's debut. However, 3 Feet is considered a more concise album with better lyrics and a more innovative style of DJing for its time. Besides jazz rap, Jungle Brothers also ventured into "hip house" when they rapped over Terry Todd's "Can You Party". Their debut met to middling success but they were soon brought to national prominence with the success of their fellow Native Tongues members.

Here is the discography surrounding Jungle Brothers's debut album:

Jimbrowski / Braggin' & Boastin' (1987 single)
On the Run (1988 single)
I'll House You (1988 single)
Straight Out the Jungle
Straight Out the Jungle (1989 single)
Black Is Black (1989 single)



If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)

"Eye Know" by De La Soul


Since 2000, the National Recording Preservation Board annually selects a myriad of different recordings from popular songs to historic speeches for preservation in the National Recording Registry. Last year, Mort Sahl's At Sunset and De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising were two of 25 recordings chosen and deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States."

With their debut in 1989, De La Soul heralded an alternative movement that had been growing and solidifying in the hip hop underground for several years. Forming in 1987 when the trio were still in high school, the group consisted of MCs Posdnuos (Kelvin Mercer) and Trugoy (David Jude Jolicoeur) and DJ Maseo (Vincent Mason). Then again, those stage names are only one of several the group could choose when referencing themselves. With the studio guidance of producer Prince Paul, De La Soul's album worked against the standing stereotypes of hip hop. Their sound borrowed samples from non-traditional palettes (country and jazz) and extended their use from not only hooks and drumbreaks to "split-second fills and in-jokes". In attitude and appearance, the trio maintained their own style, promoting individuality, that stood in strong contrast to the burgeoning popularity of the gangsta rap trends of doo rags and bling.

While a gangsta rapper's themes included street violence, profanity, and walking on the wrong side of the law (aka the realities of inner city life), alternative hip hop held a sunnier disposition on city life, promoted individuality, and made relevant social statements. De La Soul's debut in particular promoted the D.A.I.S.Y. Age ("Da Inner Sound, Y'all"), a peace and love mentality that earned the trio an unwanted 'hippie' label. All of these elements put together constructed an album linked together by multiple concepts (a game show transmitted from Mars), featured an innovative sound that strengthened the direction of alternative hip hop, and highlighted by poignant lyrics with definite things to say, underwritten by positive themes, veiled by quick-witted humor. The unlikely popularity of 3 Feet High and Rising and its singles symbolized the expected rise of the alternative hip hop scene out of the underground. A rise that would not come to fruition (at least not then).

Here is the discography surrounding De La Soul's debut album:

Plug Tunin' (1988 single)
Jenifa (Taught Me) / Potholes in My Lawn (1988 single)
This Day and Age (1988 EP)
Eye Know (1989 single)
3 Feet High and Rising
Me Myself and I (1989 single)
Say No Go (1989 single)
Buddy / Ghetto Thang (1989 single)
4 New Remixes (1989 single)
Buddy / The Magic Number (1990 single)





If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

Mort Sahl - At Sunset (1958)

At Sunset by Mort Sahl

With his popularity as a comic rising, Dick Gregory more commonly found his name and work referenced in the papers. And of course, a reporter can't describe one artist without using another as a measuring stick, so Greg found himself being compared to his white contemparies. They described him as the "negro Mort Sahl... Bob Newhart and Shelley Berman". As the joke goes, Greg read a diversity of papers that included the Congo Daily Tribune. In these papers, he could find the likes of Mort Sahl described as the "white Dick Gregory".

Mort Sahl's audiences were highly educated college students and recent graduates who enjoyed his comedy routines in between jazz acts like the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Where his predecessors in comedy relied on solid jokes with deliberate punch lines, Sahl relied on a free flowing set whose topics came from the daily newspaper, recent publications, fliers, and the liner notes of jazz albums and were all littered with a number of subtle punchlines throughout. In order to get his comedy, not only did audiences have to have a certain level of literacy and knowledge of contemporary events, but they had to play close attention because jokes could come at any time. Like Gregory, Sahl's comedy routines took on overt political opinions, a natural side effect of using the newspaper as source material. He was especially critical of McCarthy Conservatives in power but didn't hold out on the inconsistencies of any politician of the day.

Besides being known as one of the preliminary figures of modern comedy, Mort Sahl also holds the distinction of having recorded the first modern comedy album. The album was cut without his knowledge at a jazz club in 1955 and briefly released by Fantasy Records. Briefly because Mort Sahl did not authorize this use of his material, and the record was pulled. Interestingly, his rate of speech was sped up slightly in order to fit the whole performance onto the record.

Here is the discography surrounding Mort Sahl's debut album:

At Sunset

BBC Four Piece on Mort Sahl and the "Cerebral Comedians" (slightly inaccurate)


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

Dick Gregory - In Living Black & White (1961)

"Shoveling Snow" by Dick Gregory


Dick Gregory is not a musician, but he is an artist. He's a comedian, and both he and Chuck Berry attended Sumner High School, an African American high school in St. Louis. Now, I suppose I've purposefully broken my blog's bylaws by covering a comedian when it's clearly called the Musical History Tour, but I think I've always intended on doing so. Although I mostly cover music (and so far a very specific kind of music) and wish to branch out as far as possible within the realm of recorded music, organizing and connecting to artist's through albums predisposes me to a sort of foundational failure. I want to cover composers, for example, but simply getting to them through my system of connections is difficult. Organizing and sifting through the recordings of the composers would prove just as troublesome. It's already proven tedious with the recordings from pre-1957 folk singers I've covered so far, and they don't have their work performed by orchestras across the world. Foreign artists and bands are difficult to get to as well, and I know I've heard a couple requests to delve into the contemporary American and British music scenes. The system also sticks me in long stretches of "movements" or "categories". So far, I've gotten "stuck" in Australia, the punk movement, and several folk/blues movements; the last from which I finally see the light of day. For all of my system's failings, I feel it does open the door to all recorded materials whether it's music, comedy, sound effects, or field recordings (the last two of which have recently been possibilities). The thing is: I don't see where I'm going. I try not to plan ahead, and in doing so, I can use this blog to arrive at unexpected new places or old familiar stations. I just might not have given the blog the most appropriate name.

To cut a long rant short, one new place to discover is the comedy of Dick Gregory. In the early sixties, he was one of a small group of black comedians that began distancing (very quickly) their stand-up performances from what used to be considered black comedy, minstrel shows. He started performing stand-up in the military and eventually took his routine to black audiences after his tour of duty. His jokes could be about anything but almost all of them had an underlying theme of social justice. He made light of segregation, integration, voting rights, the Ku Klux Klan, his Negro Jewish friend Sammy Davis, Jr., and racist behavoir, but made the topics so personable, matter-of-fact, and funny that you can't help but laugh along. His comedy acted as a form of escapism for his black audience as they could remove themselves from the issues he casually brought up, issues they faced every day, and see them from an non-traditional and hilarious perspective if only for a moment.

Greg also made a surprising connection with white audiences as well despite confronting them with these same issues. In his words, he was "the first Negro comic permitted to work a white night club. That had never happened before because no black person was permitted to stand flat-footed and talk to white America." In his case, he talked directly to White America, made them laugh and made them think while pushing the contemporary Civil Rights Movement to the front of their minds. In 1961, Hugh Hefner hired Greg to performe at the Chicago Playboy Club. Soon after, he furthered his success by performing on Jack Paar's The Tonight Show, a financial blessing for any young comedian. After his success with growing and diverse audiences, he recorded his debut album In Living Black & White some time after his Tonight Show performance.

Here is the discography surrounding Dick Gregory's debut album:

In Living Black & White



If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

Chuck Berry - After School Session (1957)

"Maybellene" by Chuck Berry


In 1955, Muddy Waters steered a young Chuck Berry in the direction of Chess Records (his own label at the time). At the time, he wasn't a solo musician, but a member of a band. A band he wasn't a member of when it started. Originally a jazz and blues number, the Johnnie Johnson Trio recruited Berry on guitar after its saxophone player suffered a stroke and could no longer play. With the new instrument lineup, the repertoire morphed from jazz and blues to blues and country with a strong underlying note of contemporary R&B. Johnson (piano) didn't have the bombastic personality and showmanship that Chuck Berry did which inevitably led to Berry usurping the leadership role and the band name (now the Chuck Berry Trio). According to Johnson, he felt there was a greater chance of success with Berry as frontman. The new formula that blended rhythm and blues with country is the winning formula that most rock historians consider as one of the advents of Rock and Roll. The sound would meet the masses when Chuck Berry and his backing band (notice the change) recorded a country classic "Ida Red" but with completely revamped, youthful lyrics, an appropriate name change ("Maybellene"), and a clever re-arrangement by Berry and Johnson.

Chuck Berry's early life took a very strange road. He performed often in his youth but was sentenced to three years in jail after stealing a car while armed with a "non-functioning pistol". After he was released in 1947 at 21, he married, had a child, and took on a series of odd jobs to supply for his new family. He started playing odd gigs in the evenings as a means of making money. He was not the best guitarist, but he had a powerful style that he adapted from blues legend T-Bone Walker. He made up for the rest with his showmanship, his charisma, and his brilliant conversational lyrics. He never played anything too complicated, but that didn't matter because the opted for simplicity was what helped define rock 'n' roll in Berry's mind.

"Maybellene" met unexpected success as it sold over one million copies and peaked at #5 on the charts. More singles followed (all performing well on the R&B charts) and the next hit came in 1956 with the release of "Roll Over Beethoven" (#29 on the charts). This next hit helped propel Berry into a rising star. He not only sold out venues to both black and white audiences but his performances could also be seen on the silver screen. Disc Jockey Alan Freed's film Rock! Rock! Rock! featured Berry performing his single "You Can't Catch Me". In 1957, Chess Records released Berry's first LP After School Session. It did not chart and for good reason. The track list was made up primarily of Berry's soft B-Sides and lesser singles. What was more notable was what wasn't on the record. His three most successful singles were left off because they were recently used on the Rock! Rock! Rock! soundtrack. Still, Chuck Berry was at the forefront of the burgeoning Rock and Roll movement. "Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll!"

Here is the discography surrounding Chuck Berry's debut album:

Maybellene (1955 single)
Thirty Days (1955 single)
No Money Down (1955 single)
Roll Over Beethoven (1956 single)
Too Much Monkey Business (1956 single)
You Can't Catch Me (1956 single)

Rock, Rock, Rock! (1956 soundtrack songs)
School Days (1957 single)
After School Session (1957 EP)
After School Session

"Roll Over Beethoven" by Chuck Berry


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

Muddy Waters - The Complete Plantation Recordings (1942)

"Country Blues" by Muddy Waters


John Lomax carried out the recording of Lead Belly for the Library of Congress with the help of his assistant and son Alan Lomax. The young folklorist would live to carry on the work of his father and work with and befriend folk musicians such as Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, and countless others. In one case, Alan Lomax brought his recording equipment to Stovall, Mississippi and cataloged the songs of McKinley Morganfield.

Growing up he was known as Muddy. As he began to play the guitar with aspirations of becoming a professional performer, Muddy adopted the stage name of Muddy Waters. He tried his hand as a musician in Chicago once to little success before returning to Mississipi. While there, Lomax stopped by and recorded him on two separate occasions in 1941 and 1942. After receiving a copy of his first recordings, Muddy Waters would return to Chicago with confidence that he could succeed in the music industry.

Here is the discography surrounding Muddy Waters's first recordings:

Country Blues (1941 single)
The Complete Plantation Recordings

"I Be's Troubled" by Muddy Waters


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

Lead Belly - The Remaining ARC and Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 1 (1935)

"C.C. Rider" by Lead Belly


During his time in New York, Woody Guthrie performed often with others in the New York folk scene of the time both on and off stage. He would both record and busk with one particular blues singer and king of all trades, Lead Belly.

Huddie Ledbetter probably got his nickname in prison. This could have been at any point in his youth because Lead Belly found himself in and out of prison a number of times. He paid only minimum sentences each time as he would be let out for his good behavior (in due part thanks to his role as song leader). It was during one of these incarcerations at Angola Prison Farm where he was "discovered" by musicologist John Lomax and his son Alan in 1934. By then, however, he'd already developed a reputation for his skill on the twelve-string and his command of a vast library of traditional (gospel, work songs, blues,...) and original songs. Lomax recorded several performances for the Library of Congress and in return sent a "sung plea" to Governor O.K. Allen from Lead Belly. After his release in 1935, Lead Belly joined the Lomaxes to help them record other folk musicians while still performing for them himself.

The discography for Lead Belly is a mess and has never been properly collected leaving it largely incomplete. Of course, his recordings come from a time before the full length album, so my usual methods of measurement used on the tour don't apply. Instead, I'm pulling together recordings from various early sessions that have been haphazardly collected by different record companies (Document Records and Rounder Records in this case). The recordings come from the earliest he did in 1933, fragments of his Library of Congress recordings for John Lomax, and finally a recording session with the American Record Company. Though rough and poor quality, these recordings reveal Lead Belly at his most relaxed and his most emotive.

Here is the discography surrounding Lead Belly's first batch of recordings:

Field Recordings, Vol. 5: Louisiana, Texas, Bahamas (compilation album featuring seven 1933-1934 tracks)
The Remaining ARC and Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 1 (1934-1935)
Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 1: Midnight Special (1934-1935 recordings)
Library of Congress Recordings, Volume 4: The Titanic (1934-1935 recordings)



If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

Pass the Headphones!!

Woody Guthrie - Woody Guthrie: Library of Congress Recordings (1940)

"So Long, It's Been Good to Know You" by Woody Guthrie


The connection from Bob Dylan to Woody Guthrie is straight forward. Bob Dylan says that the biggest reason for his move to New York was to meet his idol. Dylan would visit a sick Guthrie (from Huntington's Disease) at the Brooklyn State Hospital, learning songs and tricks. As a troubadour and political songwriter, Woody held a strong influence over the folk revival of the sixties.

Guthrie started playing music while in high school. While he didn't prove to be a strong student as he would drop out after four years, his teachers believed him a smart boy, and he was a voracious reader who would spend hours reading and teaching himself in the public library. Musically, he had no formal training and picked up most songs he would play by ear. He cut his teeth by busking in Oklahoma and Texas. With the seemingly apocalyptic Dust Bowl winds tearing apart the heart of the Southern Midwest, Guthrie moved to California some time in the 1930s. Many of his early songs ("Dust Bowl Refugee", Dust Pneumonia Blues", ...) dealt with the troubles he experienced at this time.

In California, Woody worked for a local radio station playing traditional folk songs. Of his time there, the folk singer says that the best thing he ever did there was join the Communist party. Officially, he actually never joined, but instead he was deemed a "fellow traveler": an outsider who agreed with the party platform but did not fall under party discipline. He grew part of Southern Californian Communist circles, played benefit concerts for the Party, and wrote an article for a Communist paper. His writings were not political. Instead, he wrote about his travels and his experiences. It just so happened he lived during political times (noted by Steve Earle).

Guthrie returned to Texas in 1940 after having a fallout with the radio station's political leanings. He didn't stay long and soon moved to New York at the invitation of actor Will Geer, a fellow Communist who he befriended during his time in SoCal. He began performing in folk circles as the "Oklahoma Cowboy" and caught the attention of folklorist Alan Lomax. Alan Lomax's 1940 field recordings were Guthrie's first (though they were never officially released until 1964). Alan focuses on chronicling Guthrie's traditional repertoire, a few of his political songs, and his dust bowl songs. In conversation, Woody also ruminates on his life growing up in Oklahoma, his freight train travels, and his Great Depression experiences. Although he was largely unheralded up to this point, he would quickly grow into the common man's voice within the next few years.

Here is the discography surrounding Woody Guthrie's debut recording sessions:

Woody Guthrie: Library of Congress Recordings

"Talking Dust Bowl Blues" by Woody Guthrie


Conversation Between Woody Guthrie and Alan Lomax on the Blues and Hard Times


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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