Stories behind memorable albums of the 1970s as told by the artists

Month: June 2016

Peter Frampton: Ooh baby, we still love his way

Peter Frampton performed June 14, 2016, at the Sands casino in Bethlehem, PA. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Peter Frampton performed June 14, 2016, at the Sands casino in Bethlehem, PA.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

In a conversation with a newsroom colleague earlier this week, I mentioned that I was going to the Peter Frampton concert June 14 at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA.

“Is it an acoustic show or a full band concert?” he asked.
“I don’t really know. I’ll have to check,” I said.

The question slipped my mind until later that evening. While sitting in the easy chair with the computer in my lap, I happened to be looking at Twitter and noticed some tweets from Frampton, whom I follow on that social network.

My experience with artists on Twitter has been mixed. I know, for example, that David Crosby and Howard Kaylan from the Turtles respond to tweets themselves and I have had exchanges with both. But I also know that many artists, like Brian Wilson and Al Jardine from the Beach Boys, Daryl Hall and John Oates, and Peter Beckett and Ronn Moss from the band Player, hire people to run their social networks because I worked directly with those folks.

The tweets I saw that evening by Peter Frampton suggested that it actually might actually be him doing the tweeting. Now I could have easily gone to his website to see if the Bethlehem concert was an acoustic or full band show, but I chose the lazy way out. Since I was already looking at Twitter, I thought I’d just ask Frampton himself.

So I typed “@peterframpton Is tomorrow night’s concert at the Sands Bethlehem an acoustic show?”

Here's Peter Frampton still showing us the way. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Here’s Peter Frampton still showing us the way.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Within a few minutes, I got a response: “Summer shows r w/my incredible band. Spring and fall are the RAW acoustic shows. Can you pass this on pls? Thx ;-).” That little thing at the end is a winking emoji.

“I think Peter Frampton just winked at me on Twitter,” I said to The Blonde Accountant, who was in the kitchen at the time.

“Did you wink back?” she asked.

Well . . . no, I didn’t. But as a chronicler of the stories behind the making of the music of the 1970s, I’m happy to pass along any pertinent concert information to my circle of music friends.

The show was a full band show, and it was the first time I had a chance to see Frampton live. Cross that one off the bucket list. Now all that remains on my Frampton Wish List is an opportunity to interview him for The Vinyl Dialogues series.

Of course, what I remember most fondly about his career was the “Frampton Comes Alive!” album, which is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its release this year. That’s one of the albums I grew up with in that glorious decade of music.

Band members and Frampton take a bow after the show. From left to right are Adam Lester, Paul Peterson, Frampton and Rob Arthur. Not pictured is drummer Dan Wojciechowski. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Band members and Frampton take a bow after the show. From left to right are Adam Lester, Paul Peterson, Frampton and Rob Arthur. Not pictured is drummer Dan Wojciechowski.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Who doesn’t love the hits off that album? I was 16 at the time, and my girlfriend loved to make out to Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” I liked the making out part, but I hated that song. I thought Frampton’s “Baby, I Love Your Way” made a much better background for making out in 1976. Turned out I learned an early lesson on the advantages of compromising for the greater good.

Of course, those of us who grew up with his music in the 1970s recall Frampton’s long, curly blonde locks on the cover of “Frampton Comes Alive!” But the days of being one of the decade’s Hair Gods is gone for Frampton, as it is for many of us. That should be of no concern to him or us, though, as Frampton’s considerable artistic skills and musicianship have not receded in the least.

As for the Bethlehem show, it was vintage Frampton. Lots of guitar and lots of loud rock and roll. Right in his wheelhouse, and exactly what we came to see. And his band – Adam Lester on guitar; Paul Peterson on bass; Rob Arthur on keyboards; and Dan Wojciechowski on drugs – is superb.

I’m big on seeing artists sing their hits live, and we got “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “Show Me The Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do,” along with the talk box effect that we all loved on the latter two singles.

But I also enjoyed the portion of the show where Frampton played three songs from his 2006 album “Fingerprints,” which won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2007.

A lyric sheet of "Baby, I Love Your Way," with Frampton's signature in the lower righthand corner. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

A lyric sheet of “Baby, I Love Your Way,” with Frampton’s signature in the lower righthand corner.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

“I got a Grammy for the only album I made where I didn’t sing,” deadpanned Frampton.

In an evening filled with highlights, Frampton saved a really good one for the last encore song: “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” written by George Harrison for the Beatles “White Album” in 1968. A few years later, a young Frampton would do session recording for Harrison’s first solo album, “All Things Must Pass” in 1970.

On this night – to the surprise of nobody I would guess – Frampton owned “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” And that was very cool for those of us fortunate enough to witness it.

After the show, I stopped at the merch table. I’m in to signed posters now, so I always look to see if the artist has included those for purchase. There wasn’t a poster, but there was a signed lyric sheet of “Baby, I Love Your Way,” which I happily snapped up for the reasonable price of $25. A small price to pay for the fond memories of trying to control teenage hormones in 1976.

For anyone who doubted it, Frampton’s still alive. And he’s still showing us the way to a memorable evening of great music.

Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. give a solid gold performance in Atlantic City

Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo performed all their hits June 11 at the Tropicana in Atlantic City. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo performed all their hits June 11 at the Tropicana in Atlantic City.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo admit that when one of their songs comes on the radio, they turn it up because they want to hear themselves.

“The problem is that we’re listening for mistakes,” said Davis. “Did he hit that note? He’s flat, what happened there? Even years later, we’re always critiquing. We’re always listening for something instead of just listening to be listening.”

If their show June 11 in Atlantic City is any indication, then they’re the only ones who can detect any of those hiccups. But for those of us who aren’t Marilyn McCoo or Billy Davis Jr., Saturday night’s performance wasn’t only flawless, it was spectacular.

Let me state right up front that if you’re looking for an unbiased review of the show, this isn’t the place. The following will be completely biased based on personal interaction during telephone interviews with Billy and Marilyn and from seeing them perform live for the first time.

(Photo by Mike Morsch)

(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. are quite simply . . . outstanding in every aspect. Their voices, individually and together, are as good, if not better, than they were in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The 5th Dimension and later as a duo. Their stage presence – storytelling, showmanship, musicianship – are as entertaining and enjoyable as ever. They have surrounded themselves with a group of superb singers whom they call The Next Dimension and a group of highly talented musicians who give a freshness to their classic sound.

And to top it off, when one gets a chance to meet them in person, like The Blonde Accountant and I did Saturday night after the show, they are warm, friendly as as down to earth as any fan could hope.

They are the real deal, both professionally and personally. (See, I told you this was not going to be an unbiased review.)

I’ve had the privilege and pleasure to interview Marilyn and Billy on two occasions: The first was for a chapter in “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II: Dropping the Needle” on the music and the making of their debut album as a duo, “I Hope We Get to Love in Time” from 1976. That album featured their hit single “You Don’t Have to Be A Star (To Be in My Show).”

(Photo by Mike Morsch)

(Photo by Mike Morsch)

The second interview was just recently, for an advance story on the Saturday show and about The 5th Dimension’s 1969 album “The Age of Aquarius,” which will be featured in a future volume of The Vinyl Dialogues series.

Saturday’s show included all the hits. I’ve always been big on personally sitting in the audience and hearing my favorite artists sing their hits live, those songs that made up the soundtrack of my life. And Billy and Marilyn obliged by opening the show with “Up, Up and Away” and closing it with “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.” In between, we were treated to other favorites like “Stoned Soul Picnic” and “Wedding Bell Blues.”

“Laura Nyro recorded and released ‘Wedding Bell Blues.’ And she wrote it about a guy named Bill in her life,” said McCoo of the Nyro version that was first recorded in 1966. “The song was a hit in California, but it didn’t do as well across the country. So when we were listening to material for our album (“Age of Aquarius”), Bones (5th Dimension producer Bones Howe) had suggested that I record it because Billy and I were going together at the time. He thought it would be a lark. So we said, ‘Why not? Sure,’ having no idea that it would ever be a single.”

Surprisingly – at least to me – was that the songs that first brought the audience members out of their seats were not those by The 5th Dimension or by Billy and Marilyn as a duo, but covers of other artists’ songs.

signedalbumMarilyn knocked it out of the park with a solo on “Never My Love,” which was a hit for The Association in 1967; and Billy followed that up with a rousing solo on “McArthur Park,” written by Jimmy Webb (who also wrote “Up, Up and Away”). That’s the “someone left the cake out in the rain song,” and I have to admit, it’s never been a favorite of mine. But the performances on those two songs convinced me – as if I need any more convincing at this point – that Billy and Marilyn could sing names out of a phone book and make it sound spectacular.

The show also featured a musical tribute to the Beatles that combined a video about the civil rights movement that was especially poignant and pertinent in today’s world.

As guests of Marilyn and Billy for the show, The Blonde Accountant and I got the chance to hang around afterwards and meet them. And they were delightful. It was the perfect end to the evening, and we got a chance to get an autograph and have our pictures taken with them. Since I had previously written about the “I Hope We Get to Love in Time” album, that’s the one I got signed.

billymarilyn1The concert was a sellout, and rightfully so. Billy and Marilyn hadn’t performed in Atlantic City in several years and their return to the East Coast was welcomed by the fans.

Our summer concert schedule is in full swing. We’ve already seen Boz Scaggs, Art Garfunkel and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. And we’ve got tickets for Peter Frampton, Bob Dylan, Hall & Oates, Steely Dan and Bruce Springsteen to fill out the rest of the summer.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if at the end of the year, when I look back on the shows we’ve seen, that the performance by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. in Atlantic City Saturday night isn’t right at the top of the list.

They are just that good.

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