Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
HARRISONGS: THE BEST OF OHNOTHIMAGAIN!
A while ago, I read that a compilation of material from George Harrison's solo years was in the works. This is, of course, long overdue. There have so far been two "Best Of" collections: an embarrassing collection from his years at Apple/Capitol (side one devoted to his songs recorded with the Beatles), and a much better one, now out-of-print, covering his recordings from 1976 to 1989, while his Dark Horse label was distributed by WEA. As a bonus, this one included material not available elsewhere . Luckily, all of George's material is now under the EMI/Dark Horse umbrella, allowing for an easy-to-do career-spanning retrospective. His would be the last of the Fabs to have his label-jumping catalogue represented on one shiny, silver disk.
Since the beginning of this decade, George's catalogue has been slowly upgraded. The affair has been a classy one, and much needed, with improved sound, enhanced artwork, and additional music. This did much to improve the "quiet Beatle's" reputation. However, it has also been a rather stingy exercise, with many opportunities to satisfy a fan's hunger for unreleased material unsatisfied. Perhaps this material will be released in a rarities box set that was once referred to as "Portrait Of A Boot-Leg", a companion to "Portrait of Leg-End", which presumably became "Brainwashed". I hope to address Harrison's re-issue program in more detail in a future blog.
So I was wondering to myself: What would be a better way to pay tribute to George's legacy than by choosing and sequencing material from his solo years into an appealing listening experience for fans and neophytes alike ? This isn't rocket science, or at least it shouldn't be. The most interesting greatest hits albums are the collections compiled by the artists themselves. John Lennon's 1975 LP "Shaved Fish" is a good example. John said some of the master tapes were starting to disappear, and wanted to gather his singles on one album before it was too late. It included a handful of singles that did not appear on any of his albums at that time, making the record that much more appealing. But in many other cases, these sets are puzzling for fans -- with poor song choices, irrational sequencing, lame artwork -- no real thought about what it says about the artist--although it speaks volumes about a lack of respect for the artist's fan base. Yet since they are cheap to produce, and easy to generate revenue, record companies -- being short-sighted--continue pumping them out.
So, I made a preliminary list, trying to choose between one and three songs per album, with two singles per disk being the ideal. There were also "rare" tracks to consider, songs that still have not appeared on any of the recent re-issues. The first ones that came to mind were "I Don't Want To Do It" (a rare Dylan cover from, of all things, the soundtrack to "Porky's Revenge"), "Horse To The Water" (recorded just before his death in 2001), and the three rarities from "The Dark Horse Years" :"Poor Little Girl", "Cockamamie Business", and his collaboration with fellow Wilburian Tom Petty, "Cheer Down". I assume "I Don't Care Anymore" will appear on the re-issue of "Dark Horse". After making this list, I decided that I might include a couple of these, if there would be enough room. And, of course, NO BEATLES SONGS !
Finally, I wondered, what would be the order of the songs? Should it be chronological ? Random? Should it start with the most popular songs ? I decided that someone as spiritual as George should have something special, so my fantasy compilation would start with his first solo hit "My Sweet Lord" (skipping over his early solo efforts, "Wonderwall Music" and "Electronic Sounds"), following his career with his most accessible songs until we reach his last album, then journey backwards to 1970, ending with one of his most moving songs.
It seemed so . . . George.
So here's what I came up with:
1 My Sweet Lord 4:44
2 What Is Life? 4:28
3 Give Me Love 3:32
4 Dark Horse 3:50
5 You 3:30
6 Crackerbox Palace 3:57
7 Love Comes To Everyone 4:56
8 All Those Years Ago 3:45
9 Wake Up My Love 3:36
10 Got My Mind Set On You 3:42
11 Cheer Down 4:07
12 Any Road 3:52
13 Horse To The Water 5:00
14 When We Was Fab (12" Extended Mix) 3:57+ :15 ?
15 Teardrops 4:07
16 Blow Away 4:00
17 This Song 4:14
18 Ding Dong 3:39
19 Bangla Desh 3:59
20 All Things Must Pass 3:47
Unfortunately, by my calculations, it seems to be about one minute too long. What to do ? I like the way it is sequenced. If you are uploading this onto an iPod, of course, it would make no difference - it would all fit. Heck, ALL of George's albums would fit ! But I've given myself a challenge, and I need to figure out a solution. I like how the two "rare" songs flow, but I guess you could take out "Horse", and replace it with a much shorter song. "Teardrops", a relatively obscure gem, was a UK A-Side, but it was an edited version. Maybe if you used that instead, and use the regular version of "Fab", you could fit it all. Or you could take out "Teardrops" altogether, but that makes the disk kind of lopsided. Another option is: you could take out "All Things Must Pass", and make "Bangla Desh" the closing track, or make "What Is Life?" the closer, and end on a much more upbeat note. Or find a shorter, alternate version of "All Things Must Pass", like the impromptu one he did at VH1 studios in 1997 while appearing with Ravi Shankar.
Luckily, I don't have to decide. You could do it all yourself, and do it multiple ways. All I'm hoping for is that if Olivia and Dhani do release a compilation like this, it will do justice to his legacy, as well as to his fans.
Since the beginning of this decade, George's catalogue has been slowly upgraded. The affair has been a classy one, and much needed, with improved sound, enhanced artwork, and additional music. This did much to improve the "quiet Beatle's" reputation. However, it has also been a rather stingy exercise, with many opportunities to satisfy a fan's hunger for unreleased material unsatisfied. Perhaps this material will be released in a rarities box set that was once referred to as "Portrait Of A Boot-Leg", a companion to "Portrait of Leg-End", which presumably became "Brainwashed". I hope to address Harrison's re-issue program in more detail in a future blog.
So I was wondering to myself: What would be a better way to pay tribute to George's legacy than by choosing and sequencing material from his solo years into an appealing listening experience for fans and neophytes alike ? This isn't rocket science, or at least it shouldn't be. The most interesting greatest hits albums are the collections compiled by the artists themselves. John Lennon's 1975 LP "Shaved Fish" is a good example. John said some of the master tapes were starting to disappear, and wanted to gather his singles on one album before it was too late. It included a handful of singles that did not appear on any of his albums at that time, making the record that much more appealing. But in many other cases, these sets are puzzling for fans -- with poor song choices, irrational sequencing, lame artwork -- no real thought about what it says about the artist--although it speaks volumes about a lack of respect for the artist's fan base. Yet since they are cheap to produce, and easy to generate revenue, record companies -- being short-sighted--continue pumping them out.
So, I made a preliminary list, trying to choose between one and three songs per album, with two singles per disk being the ideal. There were also "rare" tracks to consider, songs that still have not appeared on any of the recent re-issues. The first ones that came to mind were "I Don't Want To Do It" (a rare Dylan cover from, of all things, the soundtrack to "Porky's Revenge"), "Horse To The Water" (recorded just before his death in 2001), and the three rarities from "The Dark Horse Years" :"Poor Little Girl", "Cockamamie Business", and his collaboration with fellow Wilburian Tom Petty, "Cheer Down". I assume "I Don't Care Anymore" will appear on the re-issue of "Dark Horse". After making this list, I decided that I might include a couple of these, if there would be enough room. And, of course, NO BEATLES SONGS !
Finally, I wondered, what would be the order of the songs? Should it be chronological ? Random? Should it start with the most popular songs ? I decided that someone as spiritual as George should have something special, so my fantasy compilation would start with his first solo hit "My Sweet Lord" (skipping over his early solo efforts, "Wonderwall Music" and "Electronic Sounds"), following his career with his most accessible songs until we reach his last album, then journey backwards to 1970, ending with one of his most moving songs.
It seemed so . . . George.
So here's what I came up with:
1 My Sweet Lord 4:44
2 What Is Life? 4:28
3 Give Me Love 3:32
4 Dark Horse 3:50
5 You 3:30
6 Crackerbox Palace 3:57
7 Love Comes To Everyone 4:56
8 All Those Years Ago 3:45
9 Wake Up My Love 3:36
10 Got My Mind Set On You 3:42
11 Cheer Down 4:07
12 Any Road 3:52
13 Horse To The Water 5:00
14 When We Was Fab (12" Extended Mix) 3:57+ :15 ?
15 Teardrops 4:07
16 Blow Away 4:00
17 This Song 4:14
18 Ding Dong 3:39
19 Bangla Desh 3:59
20 All Things Must Pass 3:47
Unfortunately, by my calculations, it seems to be about one minute too long. What to do ? I like the way it is sequenced. If you are uploading this onto an iPod, of course, it would make no difference - it would all fit. Heck, ALL of George's albums would fit ! But I've given myself a challenge, and I need to figure out a solution. I like how the two "rare" songs flow, but I guess you could take out "Horse", and replace it with a much shorter song. "Teardrops", a relatively obscure gem, was a UK A-Side, but it was an edited version. Maybe if you used that instead, and use the regular version of "Fab", you could fit it all. Or you could take out "Teardrops" altogether, but that makes the disk kind of lopsided. Another option is: you could take out "All Things Must Pass", and make "Bangla Desh" the closing track, or make "What Is Life?" the closer, and end on a much more upbeat note. Or find a shorter, alternate version of "All Things Must Pass", like the impromptu one he did at VH1 studios in 1997 while appearing with Ravi Shankar.
Luckily, I don't have to decide. You could do it all yourself, and do it multiple ways. All I'm hoping for is that if Olivia and Dhani do release a compilation like this, it will do justice to his legacy, as well as to his fans.
Monday, July 7, 2008
DON'T WORRY RINGO (YOKO'S ONLY SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! )
YOKO SERENADES RINGO !
Last night, Ringo was interviewed on Larry King's CNN show. It was a perfunctory interview until a "surprise" guest called in. It was Yoko calling in from New York. Yoko did her best to say the right things, especially promoting Ringo's new computer art book "Painting Is My Madness" (which had unfortunately just been covered before the commercial break). The highlight was Yoko singing "Happy Birthday" to Ringo after Larry requested it. It started off conventionally but was "Yoko-ized" when Ono sang "Happy Birthday Dear Ringooooooaaaoaooaooaoooo" as only Yoko can. There definitely seemed to be good vibes between the two of them. Mr. Starkey was also impressed by Christine Aguilera's birthday greeting, and didn't get annoyed with Larry until he asked what Ringo would do when he turned 69. For the full transcript, go here (second half of the show): http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0807/07/lkl.01.html
(NOTE: It will probably be corrected, but it currently says : YOKO ONO, WIFE OF JOHN LENIN)
Last night, Ringo was interviewed on Larry King's CNN show. It was a perfunctory interview until a "surprise" guest called in. It was Yoko calling in from New York. Yoko did her best to say the right things, especially promoting Ringo's new computer art book "Painting Is My Madness" (which had unfortunately just been covered before the commercial break). The highlight was Yoko singing "Happy Birthday" to Ringo after Larry requested it. It started off conventionally but was "Yoko-ized" when Ono sang "Happy Birthday Dear Ringooooooaaaoaooaooaoooo" as only Yoko can. There definitely seemed to be good vibes between the two of them. Mr. Starkey was also impressed by Christine Aguilera's birthday greeting, and didn't get annoyed with Larry until he asked what Ringo would do when he turned 69. For the full transcript, go here (second half of the show): http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0807/07/lkl.01.html
(NOTE: It will probably be corrected, but it currently says : YOKO ONO, WIFE OF JOHN LENIN)
THERE'S A BLOG UPON L.A.
L.A. TIMES RINGO ARTICLE
From Liverpool, with luv
The former Beatles drummer is touring North America this summer to promote a new album that's close to his heart.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-ringostarr7-2008jul07,0,1420213.story
From Liverpool, with luv
The former Beatles drummer is touring North America this summer to promote a new album that's close to his heart.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-ringostarr7-2008jul07,0,1420213.story
Sunday, July 6, 2008
JULY 7: PRESS THE STARKEY
On July 7, the last person to join the Beatles, Richard Starkey, M.B.E., will turn 68. He was the oldest Beatle.
Ringo is the Rodney Dangerfield of music. To non-musicians, he gets no respect. Much like his former drinking partner, Keith Moon, Ringo was known more for his personality than his musical ability. As George humorously noted, both he and Ringo were "economy-class Beatles".
Early live footage of the Fabs shows a smiling, mop-topped Ringo happily bashing away at his drum kit. All subtle nuances were thrown out the window as he tried to keep the beat while watching the other three rock out at the front of the stage. I said "watching" because in those primitive days, the Beatles could hardly hear themselves. There were no monitors, and they only had 100 Watt amps to battle the screams of tens of thousands of teen aged girls.
This does a disservice to his legacy.
The Beatles didn't become "The Beatles" until Ringo joined for good in 1962. Starr's steady beat gave the Fab's music added energy and excitement. According to Mark Lewisohn, Beatles recording sessions rarely broke down because of the drumming. As the Beatles became more of a studio band, Ringo's drumming became varied and experimental. If anyone mocks Ringo's talents as a drummer, put on "Abbey Road" and ask when his drumming is NOT innovative.
Ringo's solo career got off to an inauspicious start in 1970 with two off-beat albums: an orchestrated album of standards, "Sentimental Journey", and a country album, "Beaucoups Of Blues". At the time these seemed like jokes - after all, he was a Beatle, and we expected better things. However, these albums both have a certain charm, and, in retrospect, seem pretty daring. No rockers were doing "standards" in those days. It was years before it became commonplace. Friend Harry Nilsson soon followed suit. Recently Rod Stewart revitalized his career by recording four albums of songs from the Great American Songbook. Also, in 1970, an all-country album from a rocker was still a new idea.
Soon Ringo started having commercial success with the singles "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo", and the hit-filled albums "Ringo" and "Goodnight Vienna". While being interviewed by Tom Snyder in the mid-1970s, John Lennon said the fabs were most worried about Ringo's career, as their drummer hadn't written many songs, but laughed when he said that now Ringo was doing better than he was!
We are lucky to still have Ringo with us at all. As most of you know, he was a sickly child, missing much of his early school years recovering from a burst appendix and other ailments. As the Beatles were falling apart, Ringo developed a drinking problem, which developed into a drug problem. Luckily, he and his Bond girl wife, Barbara Bach, went into a detox recovery program, and both have been living a happy, drug-free existence for a quarter of a century.
Since 1989, Ringo has been a productive musician, with a steady stream of fairly successfiul albums and tours, which is amazing considering where his life and career was headed in the mid-1970s.
Some random memories:
-- Going to my friend Keith's house, circa 1971, and listening to "Beaucoups Of Blues", as he was the only person I knew who had it. It was a present from his uncle.
--Reading an interview (in Look Magazine?) after the release of "Beaucoups Of Blues", saying he called himself "Ringo", not because of his rings, but because it was a cowboy name.
--Surprised to see Ringo at the very end (after the credits!) of an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
--Seeing Ringo on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In circa 1970, and saying to my sister as we were about to watch a Beatle on TV : "THIS IS AN HISTORIC OCCASION! "
--Reading an interview with Ringo where he said he screwed up the words to "It Don't Come Easy" during the evening performance at "The Concert For Bangla Desh" because it was "darker"and couldn't read the words - even though both shows were indoors.
--Watching Ringo present an award with Harry Nilsson on the Grammys sometime in the 1970s . Instead of taking turns reading the cue-cards, it went something like this:
RINGO: Hello, Harry. How are you ?
HARRY: Fine, Ringo, And you?
with both Harry and Ringo reading all the above lines in unison, including their own names. both obviously drunk and/or stoned.
--Finally seeing my fourth Beatle in concert in 1989, with the first All-Starr Band.
--Getting a call from someone informing me that Ringo was in a fancy clothing store in Boston's Back Bay a few years back, if I wanted to try and meet him. (I decided against it.)
--Taking my oldest son to see Ringo's All-Starr's in 2003, just as my father had taken me to see John and George three decades earlier.
To celebrate, maybe you can watch a movie Ringo was in. Aside from the obvious Fab flicks (most of them featuring Ringo in a prominent role), you could check out "The Magic Christian" with Peter Sellers (and a couple of the Pythons doing cameos). He also directed the T. Rex documentary "Born To Boogie", which featured Ringo jamming with Marc Bolan and Elton John. While you're at it, you could dig out his early solo albums, and check out "Have You Seen My Baby (Hold On)" featuring Bolan, and "Snookeroo" with Elton. Also worth revisiting are "Sunshine Life For Me" featuring most members of The Band, and Ringo's first tribute to his Fab friends, "Early 1970". Or listen to one of his more recent Beatles-related songs, like "Never Without You" or the extremely catchy "Liverpool 8".
If you have the time, you could check out Ringo on Larry King Monday night. Or put on any Beatles album, and check out the drumming. And give the man some respect.
Ringo is the Rodney Dangerfield of music. To non-musicians, he gets no respect. Much like his former drinking partner, Keith Moon, Ringo was known more for his personality than his musical ability. As George humorously noted, both he and Ringo were "economy-class Beatles".
Early live footage of the Fabs shows a smiling, mop-topped Ringo happily bashing away at his drum kit. All subtle nuances were thrown out the window as he tried to keep the beat while watching the other three rock out at the front of the stage. I said "watching" because in those primitive days, the Beatles could hardly hear themselves. There were no monitors, and they only had 100 Watt amps to battle the screams of tens of thousands of teen aged girls.
This does a disservice to his legacy.
The Beatles didn't become "The Beatles" until Ringo joined for good in 1962. Starr's steady beat gave the Fab's music added energy and excitement. According to Mark Lewisohn, Beatles recording sessions rarely broke down because of the drumming. As the Beatles became more of a studio band, Ringo's drumming became varied and experimental. If anyone mocks Ringo's talents as a drummer, put on "Abbey Road" and ask when his drumming is NOT innovative.
Ringo's solo career got off to an inauspicious start in 1970 with two off-beat albums: an orchestrated album of standards, "Sentimental Journey", and a country album, "Beaucoups Of Blues". At the time these seemed like jokes - after all, he was a Beatle, and we expected better things. However, these albums both have a certain charm, and, in retrospect, seem pretty daring. No rockers were doing "standards" in those days. It was years before it became commonplace. Friend Harry Nilsson soon followed suit. Recently Rod Stewart revitalized his career by recording four albums of songs from the Great American Songbook. Also, in 1970, an all-country album from a rocker was still a new idea.
Soon Ringo started having commercial success with the singles "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo", and the hit-filled albums "Ringo" and "Goodnight Vienna". While being interviewed by Tom Snyder in the mid-1970s, John Lennon said the fabs were most worried about Ringo's career, as their drummer hadn't written many songs, but laughed when he said that now Ringo was doing better than he was!
We are lucky to still have Ringo with us at all. As most of you know, he was a sickly child, missing much of his early school years recovering from a burst appendix and other ailments. As the Beatles were falling apart, Ringo developed a drinking problem, which developed into a drug problem. Luckily, he and his Bond girl wife, Barbara Bach, went into a detox recovery program, and both have been living a happy, drug-free existence for a quarter of a century.
Since 1989, Ringo has been a productive musician, with a steady stream of fairly successfiul albums and tours, which is amazing considering where his life and career was headed in the mid-1970s.
Some random memories:
-- Going to my friend Keith's house, circa 1971, and listening to "Beaucoups Of Blues", as he was the only person I knew who had it. It was a present from his uncle.
--Reading an interview (in Look Magazine?) after the release of "Beaucoups Of Blues", saying he called himself "Ringo", not because of his rings, but because it was a cowboy name.
--Surprised to see Ringo at the very end (after the credits!) of an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
--Seeing Ringo on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In circa 1970, and saying to my sister as we were about to watch a Beatle on TV : "THIS IS AN HISTORIC OCCASION! "
--Reading an interview with Ringo where he said he screwed up the words to "It Don't Come Easy" during the evening performance at "The Concert For Bangla Desh" because it was "darker"and couldn't read the words - even though both shows were indoors.
--Watching Ringo present an award with Harry Nilsson on the Grammys sometime in the 1970s . Instead of taking turns reading the cue-cards, it went something like this:
RINGO: Hello, Harry. How are you ?
HARRY: Fine, Ringo, And you?
with both Harry and Ringo reading all the above lines in unison, including their own names. both obviously drunk and/or stoned.
--Finally seeing my fourth Beatle in concert in 1989, with the first All-Starr Band.
--Getting a call from someone informing me that Ringo was in a fancy clothing store in Boston's Back Bay a few years back, if I wanted to try and meet him. (I decided against it.)
--Taking my oldest son to see Ringo's All-Starr's in 2003, just as my father had taken me to see John and George three decades earlier.
To celebrate, maybe you can watch a movie Ringo was in. Aside from the obvious Fab flicks (most of them featuring Ringo in a prominent role), you could check out "The Magic Christian" with Peter Sellers (and a couple of the Pythons doing cameos). He also directed the T. Rex documentary "Born To Boogie", which featured Ringo jamming with Marc Bolan and Elton John. While you're at it, you could dig out his early solo albums, and check out "Have You Seen My Baby (Hold On)" featuring Bolan, and "Snookeroo" with Elton. Also worth revisiting are "Sunshine Life For Me" featuring most members of The Band, and Ringo's first tribute to his Fab friends, "Early 1970". Or listen to one of his more recent Beatles-related songs, like "Never Without You" or the extremely catchy "Liverpool 8".
If you have the time, you could check out Ringo on Larry King Monday night. Or put on any Beatles album, and check out the drumming. And give the man some respect.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
GETTING FAB TICKETS IN THE 70s-Part 1
GETTING CONCERT TICKETS IN THE 1970s -
Part One : The One-To-One Benefit Concert, NYC
August 30, 1972 (Evening performance)
One of the advantages of being a Beatles fan growing up less than an hour away from New York City was the exposure to unique Beatles-related events that the rest of the country - indeed the planet - would not have been able to easily experience. The Big Apple was the host of many legendary Fab appearances - The JFK airport arrival, The Ed Sullivan Show, Carnegie Hall, Shea Stadium, and other iconic events. When George Harrison organized The Concert For Bangla Desh in 1971, he chose Madison Square Garden for the most impact. I did not experience any of them in person. In 1972, that was about to change.
After much transatlantic traveling in 1971, John Lennon, along with wife Yoko Ono, left England for NYC on August 31, once John's "Imagine" and Yoko's "Fly" albums were finished. To Yoko, this had been home for many years, the city where she put on many of her controversial conceptual art exhibits. In England, the couple were treated with scorn, and Yoko was the object of racist threats. John and Yoko stayed at New York's St. Regis Hotel for about ten weeks before settling in at 105 Bank Street, Greenwich Village. With neighbors like Bob Dylan, John Cage, and Jerry Rubin, both John and Yoko seemed liberated by their acceptance in the fast paced artistic lifestyle that Greenwich Village had to offer, where they were not seen as freaks, but as artists.
You never knew where John would show up. During an all day "Beatles '72" celebration on New York's WPLJ-FM station, where Beatles songs and tracks from the brand new "Concert For Bangla Desh" were interspersed with interview snippets, one of the DJ's showed up at the Lennon's home with a tape recorder, and interviewed John and Yoko with Beatles music playing on the radio in the background. There was a 1972 PBS broadcast of Yoko's "This Is Not Here" opening exhibit (featuring John) filmed the previous October in Syracuse-- where Ringo unexpectedly showed up with opened arms. John and Yoko were making surprise concert and television appearances, many times in New York. To have a Beatle so accessible seemed surreal at the time, as the Fabs seemed untouchable, basically holed up in EMI studios since 1966, rarely able to interact with their fans, prisoners of their own fame.
Before 1971, the only news programs I was aware of were very dry, serious, evening broadcasts such as The CBS Evening News hosted by Walter Cronkite, and NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report. Since I was quite young, I preferred watching syndicated reruns of 1950s and 1960s sitcoms like "I Love Lucy" and "Get Smart" , which my whole family would usually watch, even during dinner. Then somehow we started viewing something called The Channel 7 Eyewitness News, hosted by Roger Grimsby and Bill Beutel. This was a new format which became very successful for WABC-TV in New York. While the broadcasts still showed daily robberies, accidents, murders in and around NYC, explicit footage of the Viet Nam War, and other "serious" news items, these were balanced with much lighter fare, such as movie reviews, silly news stories (often delivered by a dead-pan Grimsby before going into the commercial break), and a Friday night cooking lesson at a local restaurant reported by Joel Siegel, where the recipe could be obtained by any viewer by sending in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the station. I had a cat that loved this feature- he tried to figure out how to enter the television to get at the fish dishes.
One of the reporters at the station was named Rose Ann Scamardella, who was said to be an inspiration for Gilda Radner's SNL character Roseanne Rosanadana. Another one of the reporters at the time was a young go-getter named Geraldo Rivera. He was making a name for himself by exposing the inhuman conditions at a facility to house and care for the "Mentally Retarded" (as they were called at the time) known as Willowbrook, located in Staten Island, New York. There had already been other reports about various abuses, and Rivera followed up with both planned and unannounced visits, complete with a microphone and a cameraman. There had previously been a similar scandal captured in the controversial documentary "The Titicut Follies", about the treatment of patients at a correctional institution in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
Another big story Rivera was covering was an updated ballad of John and Yoko. Rivera would visit the Lennons at their home, covering their fight against deportation. It was a monumental battle as Lennon was being forced out for 'overstaying his welcome" and for what we now know was a framed drug conviction, in England in 1968, for possession of marijuana (technically a narcotic) . Lennon, however, felt he was being forced out of the country unfairly because he was a "peacenik", and a possible threat to the re-election of Richard Nixon. Other musicians with similar arrest histories, like the Rolling Stones, had an easier (but by no means easy) time visiting the country. Although Lennon appeared to be paranoid - adding to his already bizarre public persona-- secret FBI files, obtained by Jon Wiener after Lennon's death, have proven John to be right. Adding to the problem was Yoko's daughter, Kyoko, who was kidnapped by her ex-husband Tony Cox, and was hiding out somewhere in the US. If John was deported, Yoko would have to choose between leaving the country with John, or staying alone and continue to look for her daughter.
Being a complete Beatle freak, I watched The Eyewitness News religiously. I become more aware of current events, of course, but I knew that at any moment, Geraldo Rivera might have a report about New York's own Beatle. Not only that, I noticed after a while that if I stayed up to watch the 11 pm half-hour version of the news, they would often use a different soundbite of Lennon outside of a courthouse as he fought for the right to stay in the country. I have no idea how many times the Lennons appeared on Eyewitness News, but a handful of clips have appeared in documentaries and in the hands of collectors. However, one of my favorite quotes seems to have been lost (although you never know when and where rare footage will show up ): it was shown on the late news broadcast, and from what I remember, a reporter asked if he thought he'd be allowed to stay in the country. Lennon laughed and had a different response than during the 6 pm broadcast - and said something like "I don't see why not ? They let Nazis stay here! "
So every weeknight I'd be glued to the set, hoping for some more news about John Lennon. He was an inspiration to me growing up. I admired the way he stood up for what he believed in , proved all his critics and teachers wrong - and, in this case, he even took on the U.S. government. This struck a chord with every young person in America who was sick of what was going on in the country, where you felt helpless--that the country (and the world) were run by dangerous fools that were making deadly decisions that were paid for by everyone, but mostly by the young in the fields of the Viet Cong. It had been a long, difficult decade, full of assassinations, corruption, cover-ups, racism, sexism (feminism still in its infancy), and a war tearing the country apart. In the middle of it all were the Beatles - a welcome reprieve from the death of JFK. Their youth and optimism was the antidote for the repressed, stagnant, drab, conservative, conformist, violent world we were growing up in. The Beatles continued to change with the times, yet still filled us with hope, and Lennon continued to fight for what he believed in after the band split up. Despite all of his contradictions, he was still spouting "Peace" just as the Fabs sang about "Love" the previous decade. Plus, he rocked better than Elvis.
Like Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and the other Beatles, Lennon seemed almost like a mythical character - someone who only existed in recordings, movies, magazines, and television appearances. Beatles didn't really "tour" anymore, especially in the United States - only Paul McCartney's new band, Wings, toured, playing colleges in Europe unannounced. In New York, it must have been almost impossible to get tickets for The Concert For Bangla Desh. And that was just two special concerts in one day. You just waited impatiently for the albums and the movie. You didn't actually see a Beatle in the flesh.
So while watching Eyewitness News in the late spring or early summer of 1972 - a year after Bangla Desh, six years after the Beatles stopped touring, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. While John sat cross-legged on a bed, playing an electric guitar into a tiny amp, singing some rock and roll oldies, with Yoko at his side, Geraldo Rivera announced a benefit concert for the patients at Willowbrook - known as "One-To-One" after the idea of each patient having one caretaker. The line-up would be 50s revivalists Sha-Na-Na, Talma-Motown's Stevie Wonder (fresh off the Stones tour), Roberta Flack (later billed as a surprise guest for some unknown reason), and headliners John and Yoko with Elephant's Memory, a New York combo the Lennon's recently recorded half of their new album, "Sometime In New York", with. A second, matinee show was soon added.
I turned around to my parents (particularly my father) and said (probably in unison with my sister) "CAN WE GO !?!?" Thinking it was futile to even think we'd be fortunate enough to see an actual living Beatle in a rare concert appearance, my father didn't really rule out the possibility. My dad kept a poker face. I hoped for the best, but did not hold my breath.
I didn't hear much about it for a while. It seemed unreal anyway. Me, seeing John Lennon, giving a concert. No way. But soon after, my father announced we were going ! He had three tickets, one for my sister, one for my father, and one for me. I believe they were $10 each. I asked - How did he get tickets? They were available through Ticketron, the defunct predecessor to Ticketmaster. At the time, there were not many Ticketron outlets on Long Island.
So what did my father do ? He called a friend of the family (an older friend who was a neighbor while we lived in Queens, NY) who must have lived near a Ticketron She went to the outlet and bought three tickets, with seats located behind the stage. Turns out we had great sight lines. There were also mirrors above the stage go you could see everything better. The tickets were sent to us in the mail ( I assume). At the end of the summer, right before school started, I was going to see the coolest person on earth. Give a concert. In New York City. At Madison Square Garden. With an all-star line-up !
I went into my room and picked through my Lennon solo vinyl - I wanted to hear the first loud song I could come across. I picked "Well Well Well" from Plastic Ono Band (which he ended up performing) . I was bouncing around my room. I figured it would be a real, rehearsed concert, with lots of solo material, and some songs by Yoko. I didn't need any Beatle songs. I didn't even care if it was one of those experimental avant-garde, feedback-drenched, freak-out events (which seemed unlikely). I was seeing John Lennon. My dad brought his camera and took 20 Kodak slides, half from the Lennon set. He also bought me a yellow t-shirt with a drawing of John and Yoko, with the words "Willowbrook One-To-One" on it.
These performances turned out to be the only rehearsed solo Lennon shows ever did . I've been to many concerts since then, including George Harrison in 1974 and Wings in 1976, but there are none I treasure as much as this one.
Part One : The One-To-One Benefit Concert, NYC
August 30, 1972 (Evening performance)
One of the advantages of being a Beatles fan growing up less than an hour away from New York City was the exposure to unique Beatles-related events that the rest of the country - indeed the planet - would not have been able to easily experience. The Big Apple was the host of many legendary Fab appearances - The JFK airport arrival, The Ed Sullivan Show, Carnegie Hall, Shea Stadium, and other iconic events. When George Harrison organized The Concert For Bangla Desh in 1971, he chose Madison Square Garden for the most impact. I did not experience any of them in person. In 1972, that was about to change.
After much transatlantic traveling in 1971, John Lennon, along with wife Yoko Ono, left England for NYC on August 31, once John's "Imagine" and Yoko's "Fly" albums were finished. To Yoko, this had been home for many years, the city where she put on many of her controversial conceptual art exhibits. In England, the couple were treated with scorn, and Yoko was the object of racist threats. John and Yoko stayed at New York's St. Regis Hotel for about ten weeks before settling in at 105 Bank Street, Greenwich Village. With neighbors like Bob Dylan, John Cage, and Jerry Rubin, both John and Yoko seemed liberated by their acceptance in the fast paced artistic lifestyle that Greenwich Village had to offer, where they were not seen as freaks, but as artists.
You never knew where John would show up. During an all day "Beatles '72" celebration on New York's WPLJ-FM station, where Beatles songs and tracks from the brand new "Concert For Bangla Desh" were interspersed with interview snippets, one of the DJ's showed up at the Lennon's home with a tape recorder, and interviewed John and Yoko with Beatles music playing on the radio in the background. There was a 1972 PBS broadcast of Yoko's "This Is Not Here" opening exhibit (featuring John) filmed the previous October in Syracuse-- where Ringo unexpectedly showed up with opened arms. John and Yoko were making surprise concert and television appearances, many times in New York. To have a Beatle so accessible seemed surreal at the time, as the Fabs seemed untouchable, basically holed up in EMI studios since 1966, rarely able to interact with their fans, prisoners of their own fame.
Before 1971, the only news programs I was aware of were very dry, serious, evening broadcasts such as The CBS Evening News hosted by Walter Cronkite, and NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report. Since I was quite young, I preferred watching syndicated reruns of 1950s and 1960s sitcoms like "I Love Lucy" and "Get Smart" , which my whole family would usually watch, even during dinner. Then somehow we started viewing something called The Channel 7 Eyewitness News, hosted by Roger Grimsby and Bill Beutel. This was a new format which became very successful for WABC-TV in New York. While the broadcasts still showed daily robberies, accidents, murders in and around NYC, explicit footage of the Viet Nam War, and other "serious" news items, these were balanced with much lighter fare, such as movie reviews, silly news stories (often delivered by a dead-pan Grimsby before going into the commercial break), and a Friday night cooking lesson at a local restaurant reported by Joel Siegel, where the recipe could be obtained by any viewer by sending in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the station. I had a cat that loved this feature- he tried to figure out how to enter the television to get at the fish dishes.
One of the reporters at the station was named Rose Ann Scamardella, who was said to be an inspiration for Gilda Radner's SNL character Roseanne Rosanadana. Another one of the reporters at the time was a young go-getter named Geraldo Rivera. He was making a name for himself by exposing the inhuman conditions at a facility to house and care for the "Mentally Retarded" (as they were called at the time) known as Willowbrook, located in Staten Island, New York. There had already been other reports about various abuses, and Rivera followed up with both planned and unannounced visits, complete with a microphone and a cameraman. There had previously been a similar scandal captured in the controversial documentary "The Titicut Follies", about the treatment of patients at a correctional institution in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
Another big story Rivera was covering was an updated ballad of John and Yoko. Rivera would visit the Lennons at their home, covering their fight against deportation. It was a monumental battle as Lennon was being forced out for 'overstaying his welcome" and for what we now know was a framed drug conviction, in England in 1968, for possession of marijuana (technically a narcotic) . Lennon, however, felt he was being forced out of the country unfairly because he was a "peacenik", and a possible threat to the re-election of Richard Nixon. Other musicians with similar arrest histories, like the Rolling Stones, had an easier (but by no means easy) time visiting the country. Although Lennon appeared to be paranoid - adding to his already bizarre public persona-- secret FBI files, obtained by Jon Wiener after Lennon's death, have proven John to be right. Adding to the problem was Yoko's daughter, Kyoko, who was kidnapped by her ex-husband Tony Cox, and was hiding out somewhere in the US. If John was deported, Yoko would have to choose between leaving the country with John, or staying alone and continue to look for her daughter.
Being a complete Beatle freak, I watched The Eyewitness News religiously. I become more aware of current events, of course, but I knew that at any moment, Geraldo Rivera might have a report about New York's own Beatle. Not only that, I noticed after a while that if I stayed up to watch the 11 pm half-hour version of the news, they would often use a different soundbite of Lennon outside of a courthouse as he fought for the right to stay in the country. I have no idea how many times the Lennons appeared on Eyewitness News, but a handful of clips have appeared in documentaries and in the hands of collectors. However, one of my favorite quotes seems to have been lost (although you never know when and where rare footage will show up ): it was shown on the late news broadcast, and from what I remember, a reporter asked if he thought he'd be allowed to stay in the country. Lennon laughed and had a different response than during the 6 pm broadcast - and said something like "I don't see why not ? They let Nazis stay here! "
So every weeknight I'd be glued to the set, hoping for some more news about John Lennon. He was an inspiration to me growing up. I admired the way he stood up for what he believed in , proved all his critics and teachers wrong - and, in this case, he even took on the U.S. government. This struck a chord with every young person in America who was sick of what was going on in the country, where you felt helpless--that the country (and the world) were run by dangerous fools that were making deadly decisions that were paid for by everyone, but mostly by the young in the fields of the Viet Cong. It had been a long, difficult decade, full of assassinations, corruption, cover-ups, racism, sexism (feminism still in its infancy), and a war tearing the country apart. In the middle of it all were the Beatles - a welcome reprieve from the death of JFK. Their youth and optimism was the antidote for the repressed, stagnant, drab, conservative, conformist, violent world we were growing up in. The Beatles continued to change with the times, yet still filled us with hope, and Lennon continued to fight for what he believed in after the band split up. Despite all of his contradictions, he was still spouting "Peace" just as the Fabs sang about "Love" the previous decade. Plus, he rocked better than Elvis.
Like Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and the other Beatles, Lennon seemed almost like a mythical character - someone who only existed in recordings, movies, magazines, and television appearances. Beatles didn't really "tour" anymore, especially in the United States - only Paul McCartney's new band, Wings, toured, playing colleges in Europe unannounced. In New York, it must have been almost impossible to get tickets for The Concert For Bangla Desh. And that was just two special concerts in one day. You just waited impatiently for the albums and the movie. You didn't actually see a Beatle in the flesh.
So while watching Eyewitness News in the late spring or early summer of 1972 - a year after Bangla Desh, six years after the Beatles stopped touring, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. While John sat cross-legged on a bed, playing an electric guitar into a tiny amp, singing some rock and roll oldies, with Yoko at his side, Geraldo Rivera announced a benefit concert for the patients at Willowbrook - known as "One-To-One" after the idea of each patient having one caretaker. The line-up would be 50s revivalists Sha-Na-Na, Talma-Motown's Stevie Wonder (fresh off the Stones tour), Roberta Flack (later billed as a surprise guest for some unknown reason), and headliners John and Yoko with Elephant's Memory, a New York combo the Lennon's recently recorded half of their new album, "Sometime In New York", with. A second, matinee show was soon added.
I turned around to my parents (particularly my father) and said (probably in unison with my sister) "CAN WE GO !?!?" Thinking it was futile to even think we'd be fortunate enough to see an actual living Beatle in a rare concert appearance, my father didn't really rule out the possibility. My dad kept a poker face. I hoped for the best, but did not hold my breath.
I didn't hear much about it for a while. It seemed unreal anyway. Me, seeing John Lennon, giving a concert. No way. But soon after, my father announced we were going ! He had three tickets, one for my sister, one for my father, and one for me. I believe they were $10 each. I asked - How did he get tickets? They were available through Ticketron, the defunct predecessor to Ticketmaster. At the time, there were not many Ticketron outlets on Long Island.
So what did my father do ? He called a friend of the family (an older friend who was a neighbor while we lived in Queens, NY) who must have lived near a Ticketron She went to the outlet and bought three tickets, with seats located behind the stage. Turns out we had great sight lines. There were also mirrors above the stage go you could see everything better. The tickets were sent to us in the mail ( I assume). At the end of the summer, right before school started, I was going to see the coolest person on earth. Give a concert. In New York City. At Madison Square Garden. With an all-star line-up !
I went into my room and picked through my Lennon solo vinyl - I wanted to hear the first loud song I could come across. I picked "Well Well Well" from Plastic Ono Band (which he ended up performing) . I was bouncing around my room. I figured it would be a real, rehearsed concert, with lots of solo material, and some songs by Yoko. I didn't need any Beatle songs. I didn't even care if it was one of those experimental avant-garde, feedback-drenched, freak-out events (which seemed unlikely). I was seeing John Lennon. My dad brought his camera and took 20 Kodak slides, half from the Lennon set. He also bought me a yellow t-shirt with a drawing of John and Yoko, with the words "Willowbrook One-To-One" on it.
These performances turned out to be the only rehearsed solo Lennon shows ever did . I've been to many concerts since then, including George Harrison in 1974 and Wings in 1976, but there are none I treasure as much as this one.
Friday, July 4, 2008
HELLO GOODBYE
First of all, I wish to thank Steve at Abbeyrd's Beatles Page (http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/fabnews.htm) for suggesting that I write a Beatles Blog, which he said he would link to his page. I've been a big fan of his website for many years, and regularly sent him links to any articles that I thought he might have an interest in - sometimes moments after he already had added it to his page. It's my number one source for Beatles-related news, and am proud to be associated with it.
Second of all, I wish to say goodbye to someone I never met, or even spoke to.
1998 was a very difficult year for me, with many major changes and losses in my life. On New Year's Eve, I went online for the first time. The first website I visited was http://www.bobdylan.com/. From there I went exploring Bob Dylan-related links for what seemed like hours. I was looking for people to trade with, as a way to get my mind off of all the upheaval in my life. I had very little rare Dylan material to offer at the time, and very few traders would have anything to do with me. However I did get an encouraging reply from someone in England. His name was Pete Baker, and, it turns out, he's one of the world's biggest Dylan collectors.
Pete was very friendly, patient, and generous. In those days we were trading cassettes, and we'd be swapping music fairly regularly. His trader's page is breathtaking in scope ( it only includes Dylan's music, with well over a thousand entries!). It turns out we were about the same age, and had the same tastes. Soon we were trading Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Neil Innes, Robyn Hitchcock, The Beatles, and many others. He was a big fan of The Fabs. Once I found this out, whatever I asked about, either he had it himself, or knew where to get it. When I bought him a rare Dylan CD - a US-only Victoria's Secret compilation - I was repaid by Pete sending me the first 4 DVD-Rs I ever owned : Dylan, Lennon, and 2 DVDs of The Beatles, which kindly Pete redid so that it included a menu. As a music fan and collector, I cannot overestimate the impact of Pete's musical expertise and enthusiasm had on me. Each UK mailer brought something that immediately brightened my spirits, and educated me even more about the music I loved. Needless to say, I soon bought my own DVD burner, and shared this astounding material with my friends, just as I had done with all those cassettes and CDs he had sent throughout the years.
I don't know too much about his personal life - I believe he worked in the music business, which is where he got some rare Paul McCartney's demos from the late 1980s that he thought I'd enjoy. Also, I think he had a brother in London, and I remember him telling me he became a father probably about eight years ago.
Aside from Pete's generous nature, what made trading with him so much fun was his self-depreciating humour (sic). Years ago, in the pre-DVD-R era, I told him I had a rare NTSC video that was not in circulation. It was an early cut of Dylan's mid-1980s movie, "Hearts Of Fire", used for promotional purposes In other words, an inferior version of what was possibly Dylan's most embarrassing career move. I offered to transfer the audio of the VHS tape onto an audio cassette. When I asked if he was interested in it, he humorously replied, "Yes, sad git that I am." (It's listed on his web page under 1986 - one of the few things Pete never bothered to upgrade onto CD) You'd had to have a collector's mentality to understand why he needed the audio of an early version of an awful movie. It's because it was Dylan, and he wanted it all, the bad with the good.
I recently saw a Bob Dylan DVD listing online of a concert in France, with Ringo sitting in on drums. It was something I had not seen in any Beatles or Dylan book. I asked Pete if he had heard of Ringo appearing at this show. He got out his copy and screened it to confirm that Mr. Starkey was indeed there. He offered to send me a copy. I said that's OK, there's no rush. We have plenty of time.
Recently we were tiptoeing towards another trade. I had sent him things through the years, and emailed him regularly. He said he was updating his list, and would send it soon. Nowadays, most people just download everything. That's something that I do not do. Yet Pete was still willing to do an old-fashioned trade for a fellow fan. I was hoping to transfer that VHS of "Hearts Of Fire" onto a DVD for him. I know he'd get a kick out of it. Unfortunately, that can no longer happen.
In the early hours of July 4th, I went onto my favorite Dylan site, Expecting Rain (http://www.expectingrain.com/), I saw this listed :
Dylan collector Peter Baker of Chuch Walk, Ulverston died at 49. RIP (North West Evening Mail on 3/7/2008)
It took a while for it to sink in. I felt like I lost a friend I had never met.
As bizarre as this may sound, before he died, I'm glad he got to hear all the recent Dylan New York City soundboards that recently surfaced, from 1961, 1963, and 1993. This was "Holy Grail"-level material. When I found out about them, I was going to let Pete know, but they were already listed on his site. I was then saddened when I realized he wouldn't be around for the upcoming, officially sanctioned "Bootleg Series" or any of the unknown treasures that will be coming along down the road.
Of course all of this pales next to the loss his family and friends must be feeling. I hope they keep his website up as a reference tool, and find something productive to do with his massive collection.
He seemed like a wonderful bloke, and he will be sadly missed. It will be difficult not to type his email address when I'm emailing my friends the latest news about The Beatles, Dylan, and all our other faves.
Plus - I was hoping he'd like reading this blog.
Thanks, Pete. For everything.
Second of all, I wish to say goodbye to someone I never met, or even spoke to.
1998 was a very difficult year for me, with many major changes and losses in my life. On New Year's Eve, I went online for the first time. The first website I visited was http://www.bobdylan.com/. From there I went exploring Bob Dylan-related links for what seemed like hours. I was looking for people to trade with, as a way to get my mind off of all the upheaval in my life. I had very little rare Dylan material to offer at the time, and very few traders would have anything to do with me. However I did get an encouraging reply from someone in England. His name was Pete Baker, and, it turns out, he's one of the world's biggest Dylan collectors.
Pete was very friendly, patient, and generous. In those days we were trading cassettes, and we'd be swapping music fairly regularly. His trader's page is breathtaking in scope ( it only includes Dylan's music, with well over a thousand entries!). It turns out we were about the same age, and had the same tastes. Soon we were trading Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Neil Innes, Robyn Hitchcock, The Beatles, and many others. He was a big fan of The Fabs. Once I found this out, whatever I asked about, either he had it himself, or knew where to get it. When I bought him a rare Dylan CD - a US-only Victoria's Secret compilation - I was repaid by Pete sending me the first 4 DVD-Rs I ever owned : Dylan, Lennon, and 2 DVDs of The Beatles, which kindly Pete redid so that it included a menu. As a music fan and collector, I cannot overestimate the impact of Pete's musical expertise and enthusiasm had on me. Each UK mailer brought something that immediately brightened my spirits, and educated me even more about the music I loved. Needless to say, I soon bought my own DVD burner, and shared this astounding material with my friends, just as I had done with all those cassettes and CDs he had sent throughout the years.
I don't know too much about his personal life - I believe he worked in the music business, which is where he got some rare Paul McCartney's demos from the late 1980s that he thought I'd enjoy. Also, I think he had a brother in London, and I remember him telling me he became a father probably about eight years ago.
Aside from Pete's generous nature, what made trading with him so much fun was his self-depreciating humour (sic). Years ago, in the pre-DVD-R era, I told him I had a rare NTSC video that was not in circulation. It was an early cut of Dylan's mid-1980s movie, "Hearts Of Fire", used for promotional purposes In other words, an inferior version of what was possibly Dylan's most embarrassing career move. I offered to transfer the audio of the VHS tape onto an audio cassette. When I asked if he was interested in it, he humorously replied, "Yes, sad git that I am." (It's listed on his web page under 1986 - one of the few things Pete never bothered to upgrade onto CD) You'd had to have a collector's mentality to understand why he needed the audio of an early version of an awful movie. It's because it was Dylan, and he wanted it all, the bad with the good.
I recently saw a Bob Dylan DVD listing online of a concert in France, with Ringo sitting in on drums. It was something I had not seen in any Beatles or Dylan book. I asked Pete if he had heard of Ringo appearing at this show. He got out his copy and screened it to confirm that Mr. Starkey was indeed there. He offered to send me a copy. I said that's OK, there's no rush. We have plenty of time.
Recently we were tiptoeing towards another trade. I had sent him things through the years, and emailed him regularly. He said he was updating his list, and would send it soon. Nowadays, most people just download everything. That's something that I do not do. Yet Pete was still willing to do an old-fashioned trade for a fellow fan. I was hoping to transfer that VHS of "Hearts Of Fire" onto a DVD for him. I know he'd get a kick out of it. Unfortunately, that can no longer happen.
In the early hours of July 4th, I went onto my favorite Dylan site, Expecting Rain (http://www.expectingrain.com/), I saw this listed :
Dylan collector Peter Baker of Chuch Walk, Ulverston died at 49. RIP (North West Evening Mail on 3/7/2008)
It took a while for it to sink in. I felt like I lost a friend I had never met.
As bizarre as this may sound, before he died, I'm glad he got to hear all the recent Dylan New York City soundboards that recently surfaced, from 1961, 1963, and 1993. This was "Holy Grail"-level material. When I found out about them, I was going to let Pete know, but they were already listed on his site. I was then saddened when I realized he wouldn't be around for the upcoming, officially sanctioned "Bootleg Series" or any of the unknown treasures that will be coming along down the road.
Of course all of this pales next to the loss his family and friends must be feeling. I hope they keep his website up as a reference tool, and find something productive to do with his massive collection.
He seemed like a wonderful bloke, and he will be sadly missed. It will be difficult not to type his email address when I'm emailing my friends the latest news about The Beatles, Dylan, and all our other faves.
Plus - I was hoping he'd like reading this blog.
Thanks, Pete. For everything.
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