Bryan Adams - Summer Of '69

Standin' on your mama's porch You told me it would last forever Oh the way you held my hand I knew that it was now or never

Quick Hit

“Summer of ‘69” by Bryan Adams (1985)

I do know someone that sat beside Glen Campbell on a plane. I know someone who was on the deck of a boat with the Beatles when he was a kid and my sister was in an elevator with Duran Duran once. I also know someone who rode with Huey Lewis and the News on a plane once. My daughter saw Dan Ackroyd at the garden center once.  One of my friends saw Van Morrison regularly and had met the “brown–eyed girl’ once.

I was once at this party where someone had met and said they knew Bryan Adams. He was supposed to show up. I waited all night for him - and of course he never showed. I am sure he was too busy making records or writing songs, well at least that is what I tell myself.

Monday, Monday...Can't Trust That Day...

Doobie Brothers - The Captian & Me

The Mama's & the Papa's - If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears.

Toto - Toto

Various - Legacy of Sun Studios

Into the Night- Benny Mardones

She's just sixteen years old, leave her alone, they say, Separated by fools who don't know what love is yet

Sappy Song Department

“Into the Night” by Benny Mardones (1980/89)

Sappy but brilliant, the vocals on this song are phenomenal! Benny’s range and soulful rendering over this catchy melody is memorable. It is really a shame Benny Mardones did not do more material. It is estimated that this song has been played at least 4.5 million times in the U.S. alone.

Carolyne Mas

Still sane... You may think you're crossing the line... Still sane... You may think you're losing your mind

Well Worth a Listen

“Still Sane”, by Carolyn Mas (1979)

In the same vein as “Hold Your Head Up” by Argent or “Don’t Let is Show” by the Alan Parsons Project, “Still Sane” is one of those ‘self-help’ songs. It, like the other songs on her debut album of the same name, has an undertone of defiance, yet vulnerability. It always puzzled me why Carolyn Mas did not have better commercial success.

Born in NY, Carolyn’s father invented the battery charger. I didn’t know that when her debut self-penned album “Carolyn Mas” came out in 1979, but that is a good enough reason for me to listen if I had not already. Classically trained in voice, piano and guitar, in her early years she listened to Cole Porter, the Beatles, Dylan, and all kinds of classical and folk music.

Tom Petty - Breakdown (Live 1985)

There is no sense in pretending. Your eyes give you away. Something inside you is feeling like I do. We've said all there is to say...

Pick of the Week

“Breakdown” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976) 

When I was a teenager my friends and I decided to go skating at the Lagoon. To go to the rink we had to go down this steep hill (85^th Street) that was on the edge of town. It was of course winter, and the road was icy. The cars in those days were huge. The B-52s refer to a ‘Chrysler as big as a whale’ which was not that much of an exaggeration. We were travelling in a Plymouth I think. So if a Chrysler can be compared to a blue whale, it was only as big as say a hump-back whale. The radio was playing “Don’t Do Me Like That” by Tom Petty. For whatever reason the driver of the car (yes, we were inexperienced) lost control of the car and it spun around a few times, plunging down this road. Everyone cringed and grabbed a hold of something. Miraculously we ended up going back down the hill in the same direction, didn’t hit anything and no one hurt. We looked at each other and thought “What the hell just happened?” and down the hill we went. This was all to the tune of “Don’t Do me Like That” mind you, so it is kind of engrained in my memory now. Loved Tom Petty that day and still do.

What I am listening to today...

Chilliwack - Chilliwack

No Doubt - Rock Steady

Supremes - Baby Love

Queen - A Day at the Races

Redbone - Come And Get Your Love

Nothin' the matter with your head Baby find it, come on and find it

70's Pick of the Week

“Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone (1973)

Redbone was influential on the East L.A. music in the '60's and that would follow. Brothers Patrick and Lolly Vasquez, originally from Fresno, California moved to Los Angeles in 1969 to form a band. They were of ‘mixed’ blood (they were N.A. aboriginal and Mexican) and used the Cajun term ‘redbone’ to jokingly refer to their ancestry. Tribal, Cajun, R&B and rock music is intermingled in their music.