I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in "Cheers & Jeers".
OK, you've been warned - here is this week's tomfoolery material that I posted.
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 — an exhibition of works by Ida O’Keefe— the younger sister of Georgia, for which there was a definite sibling rivalry (partly due to Georgia’s husband incessantly flirting with Ida) — will be at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts through October 6th.
Ida O’Keefe retrospectiveBOOK NOTES — if like myself you have an interest in the semicolon— and look to use it when appropriate — historian Cecelia Watson (who gets reactions ranging from a woman who says she and her husband fell in love in part over discussions of it … to I’m afraid of it, as her students tell her every year) … has a new book entitled Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood mark.
THURSDAY's CHILD is one of the adoptable kittehs at Alabama’s first cat café— which is called Gatos and Beans.
Now in Birmingham, AlabamaLEGISLATION PASSED IN 1994 entitles German citizens to some compensation for possessions confiscated by the Soviets at the end of WW-II … yet the great-great-grandson of the last Kaiser is receiving a great deal of push-back on his demands (especially in the state governments of Berlin and Brandenburg).
x“This is Donald Trump. We’ve gotten to know him… He wants to be the bride at every wedding, he wants to be the corpse at every funeral, and he wants to be the baby at every christening†- @SykesCharlie w/ @NicolleDWallacepic.twitter.com/Pus22o9102
— Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) August 8, 2019YOUR WEEKEND READ is this essay by Alex Pareene in the New Republic — about how the Beltway press misunderstands right-wing media code words, yet which activate the GOP base: citing his upbringing in Minnesota as just one example.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Squish the Cat— an English kitteh who was a stowaway with her family when they travelled to France.
Squish the CatTHE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at the changing of the guard when it comes to right-wing icons as Ronald Reagan — who was cited incessantly in the not-too-distant past — and now is (seemingly) being consigned to history, in favor of ……... you-know-who.
xMy favorite album of all time .... released (cough) fifty years ago (cough) today. https://t.co/3fCWMZuCpO
— Ed Tracey (@Ed_Tracey) August 10, 2019BRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC.
OLDER-YOUNGER BROTHERS? — Led Zeppelin bassist/mandolinist John Paul Jones and film star Willem Dafoe.
John Paul Jones (born 1946) Willem Dafoe (born 1955)...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… a band that wasn't exactly a supergroup (its members weren't all-star names previously) yet who reached the sky before crash-landing like a supergroup was the blues-rock band Humble Pie - best-known for a release that makes the "greatest live albums" lists in rock. Yet their influence is strong, and its band-members certainly are in the annals of British rock' n 'roll (playing largely American R&B that endeared them to the US market).
Guitarist/vocalist Steve Marriott was tiring of the Small Faces by late 1968. He wanted to bring in The Herd guitarist Peter Frampton but was turned down, and he famously walked off-stage at a New Year's 1968/69 performance. Also on the bill that night was the band Spooky Tooth, whose bassist Greg Ridley was also souring on his band's fortunes.
Marriott approached Ridley with the idea of forming a quartet with Frampton and the 17 year-old Jerry Shirley on drums. Ridley agreed, and in the photo below you see (clockwise from lower left) Frampton, Ridley, Marriott and Shirley. They went into seclusion (for intense practice) before they were ready to emerge - doing so on former Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate Records label.
Humble Pie (circa 1969)Their first two albums As Safe as Yesterday Is and Town and Country were well-received in Britain, with a mix of blues-rock-R&B ("Natural Born Boogie") as well as acoustic numbers ("As Safe as Yesterday Is"). But after a late 1969 US tour, Immediate Records went bankrupt, and they signed to A&M with Dee Anthony.
Anthony prevailed upon Marriott to emphasize the blues-rock sound, rather than Frampton's more acoustic sounds, and after the band's first two A&M albums Humble Pie followed by Rock On (from 1970-71) saw the band develop into a boogie band: Frampton decided to strike out on his own. You may recall that turned out to be a .... well, quite a lucrative move (bringing with him the song Shine On from the "Rock On" album).
But first: the band released Performance: Rocking the Fillmore which was recorded during Frampton's last tour (and by the time it reached #21 on the US album charts, he had begun his solo career). The album made them into stars (and as noted, making the "best live rock album" lists for many years) .... and they began touring the US earnestly.
Replacing Frampton was guitarist Dave (Clem) Clempson - formerly of Colosseum (and back with them again, in later years). Their 1972 album Smokin' solidified the band’s move into the blues/boogie camp - and with songs like 30 Days in the Hole as well as a cover of Eddie Cochran's C'mon Everybody the album reached #6 on the album charts.
Then the band expanded in 1973 to include three backup singers to Tina Turner as well as tenor saxophonist Sidney George. The resulting album Eat It reached #13 in the album charts ........ but 1974-75 releases such as Thunderbox and Street Rats sold much less well. Add to that some creative differences emerging, and the excesses of the road taking its toll ...... and Humble Pie disbanded by late 1975.
The group came back (with some personnel changes) thrice more - Marriott and Shirley were joined by former Jeff Beck vocalist Bobby Tench from 1979-1982, releasing two albums (with modest success; Fool for a Pretty Face reaching #52 in the US singles charts) before disbanding when Marriott developed an ulcer.
In 1989, drummer Jerry Shirley formed a new version of the band which had some success touring, yet never were able to release a studio album and they split in 1999. Jerry Shirley put together a final version of the band in 2001 (along with Greg Ridley) which did release 2002's Back on Track before the band ended for good in 2003.
Back in 1991, Peter Frampton and Steve Marriott made some demo tapes together, discussing a possible original members reunion. Before it could take place, Steve Marriott died in a tragic home fire in April at only age 44.
Ten years later in April, 2001: the three surviving original bandmembers (plus later member Clem Clempson) reunited for a Steve Marriott memorial concert which was later released on DVD and the second photo shows Frampton, Ridley and Clempson (L-to-R) at that London show (with Shirley in the background).
Greg Ridley died of pneumonia in November, 2003 at age 56 (leading to the final dissolution of the band) but several compilation albums carry on the band's heritage.
Peter Frampton was diagnosed with a muscle disease and is currently on an extended farewell tour and drummer Jerry Shirley - who wrote a terrific autobiography in 2011 - has worked in recent years with singer Deborah Bonham - yes, the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's sister.
Frampton, Ridley & Clempson (2001 memorial)Of all of their songs: it's their live version of the 1956 Ray Charles tune Hallelujah I Love Her So that is my favorite. Many others have recorded it, including Peggy Lee, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Eddie Cochran.
At this link you can hear their 1971 Fillmore East version (with Ridley, Frampton and Marriott alternating the vocals) .... and below is the 2001 Steve Marriott memorial reunion concert version - with Dave Clempson in place of Marriott.
Let me tell you about a girl I know She is my baby and she lives next door Every morning before the sun comes up She brings my coffee in my favorite cup That's why I know: yes, I know Hallelujah, I just love her so When I call her on the telephone And tell her: I'm all alone By the time I count from one-to-four: I hear her knocking on my doorIn the evening when the sun goes down, and there is nobody else around She kisses me and she holds me tight And says, baby: it's alright That's why I know: yes, I know Hallelujah, I just love her so
x xYouTube Video