CHEERS to Bill and Michael in PWM, our Laramie, Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES — a retrospective of the designer’s legacy and influence in an exhibition entitled Dior: From Paris to the World— the first major U.S. retrospective of the House of Dior, with most items never having left Europe — is at the Denver, Colorado Art Museum through March 3rd (now extended to March 15th).
At the Denver Art Museum to Mar 15IT IS GOOD to see reviews come in on the plan by Arkansas to tie access to health care by the poor to work requirements, notably …. “an ill-judged experiment that should go no further”.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Boko the Cat— a Texas kitteh who was able to let someone locked out of the home inside …. by removing the bar on a sliding door.
Boko the CatSCIENCE NOTES — researchers are hoping that the preparation of olives for the table can be shortened by ¾ of the time, and using nasty chemicals eliminated — if the use of tiny resin beads can be made commercially successful.
FRIDAY's CHILD is the late Moose the Cat— a Florida kitteh who greeted people at the local supermarket and his death is mourned by many who shopped there.
Moose the CatBRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC.
YOUR WEEKEND READ is this essay as to how so many Trumpster judicial nominees are hesitant to declare whether Brown vs. Board of Ed was decided correctly …. unlike previous George W nominees.
SEPARATED at BIRTH — film star Laura Dern as well as stand-up comic Maria Wojciechowski.
Laura Dern and Maria Wojciechowski...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… some notable bands have their origins in the Jacksonville, Florida region: such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Limp Bizkit, Molly Hatchet, and even the Allman Brothers. Another is the Classics IV, who were founded in 1965 and — after a hiatus of many years following a 1975 split — have been a part of the oldies circuit this century. Yet as Bruce Eder of the All-Music Guide notes: their revolving-door personnel led to an identity crisis, with a more well-known band spawned from its members. That should not prevent their story being told anew, as we approach their upcoming summer tour.
They began in 1965 as a cover band, with notable members J.R. Cobb on guitar and the Detroit-born Dennis Yost on drums. His drum set brand was “Classic” — so The Classics they were. Yost’s voice was good enough that he (eventually) moved out to be lead vocalist, and one of the band’s influences were the Four Seasons. They became popular on the bar circuit, and were discovered by a management group that included Buddy Buie and Bill Lowery, who urged the band to relocate to Atlanta in 1966 where they signed with Capitol Records.
Their debut single Pollyanna, written by Lowery’s songwriter Joe South (of “Games People Play” fame) was reminiscent of the Four Seasons, which led to two developments. While nowhere near a case of plagiarism: the Four Seasons did prevail upon New York-area radio stations to boycott playing Pollyanna, and they also received a legal challenge to the band’s name (from a different group calling themselves The Classics). So with four band members (at the time) they became the Classics IV, although their Capitol contract was not renewed.
In 1967 (now signed to Liberty Records), guitarist J.R. Cobb and manager Buddy Buie heard a saxophone instrumental tune by Mike Sharpe and — after writing lyrics and a new arrangement for it — Spooky eventually reached #3 in the pop charts. Later in 1968, they had a tune (written by Cobb/Buie) entitled Stormy that made it to #5 on the charts.
It was at this time that the personnel changes began happening: Yost permanently becoming lead vocalist only, session musicians increasingly being recruited for short-time roles and Cobb leaving to become (for the time being) a full-time songwriter. The band continued to have success in 1969, with Traces becoming their high-water-mark single (at #2), and also Everyday With You Girl reaching #19.
By 1970, the band was now being billed as Dennis Yost and the Classics IV (as he was the one constant in the band’s lineup) and they did well on concert tours. But changing musical tastes in the pop world meant their carefully crafted sound did not sell as many records as before, and after leaving Liberty Records: their time at MGM meant one last Top 40 hit, What Am I Crying For? in 1972, before the band split in 1975.
Dennis Yost began a solo career, and J.R. Cobb, Buddy Buie and keyboard player Dean Daughtry had already left to form that (aforementioned) band ... the Atlanta Rhythm Section (who had several 1970’s hits). I didn’t notice back then of their sound that had its origins in the Classics IV …. that became clear later on.
In 2001, Dennis Yost won a court case to win back the rights to the group name Classics IV, which became a regular on the oldies circuit. However, a fall down a flight of stairs in 2006 led to some brain trauma, for which many fellow musicians participated in a 2007 benefit concert for him, held in Cincinnati.
Dennis Yost died of respiratory failure on December 7, 2008 — the 40th anniversary of the entry into the Top Ten of the song “Stormy”. And today there is a Dennis Yost Brain Trauma Foundation, maintained by his widow to benefit others suffering from it.
The early Classics IV (w/Dennis Yost)The band has a nice compilation album of their best work and their three Top Ten hits all achieved gold status. Noted cover versions of them included (for Spooky) — the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Percy Sledge, Martha and the Vandellas, R.E.M. and Dusty Springfield … (for Stormy) — O.C. Smith, The Meters and Carlos Santana in 1979 ….. and (for Traces) — soul singer Billy Paul and an instrumental version by big-band trumpeter Harry James. Traces was also ranked as #32 in publishing rights organization BMI’s Top 100 Songs of the 20th Century in terms of airplay.
The current band (with Tom Garrett as lead singer) released a 2012 album (reprising some of the band’s old work, along with newer songs) and they’ll be performing in the 2019 summer Happy Together tour — along with the tour’s founders The Turtles, plus Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, the Buckinghams, the Cowsills and also former Three Dog Night singer Chuck Negron.
Current band (Tom Garrett center)With all of their great tunes — and you can hear their big three by clicking on Spooky, or Stormy or Traces…. I like a lesser-known tune from 1972 (also a Buddy Buie/J.R. Cobb written song) called All in Your Mind — which the current band performs in concerts — and below you can hear Dennis Yost sing it.
You can move a mountain And never raise your hand Miracles can happen If you believe they can
If they lock you in a prison And throw away the key There's a mighty, mighty power To come and set you free
There's a road you've never traveled To a place where you have never been There's a better way of living And the answer lies within
It's in your mind It's all in your mind What you’re looking for Is what you'll find And it's all in your mind
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