Category: The Vinyl Dialogues Book Page 8 of 16

When you get caught between America and Christopher Cross, the best that you can do is fall in love with the music

On January 29, 2017

Christopher Cross
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

There’s a lot to like about Christopher Cross, not the least of which is that I once used one of his songs to impress my then 10-year-old daughter.

My daughters grew up on my music – the Beach Boys, Hall & Oates, America, the Doobie Brothers, Three Dog Night. But like all of us, they eventually developed their own musical tastes and starting following the bands of their era.

In 1997, the boy band NSYNC invaded our family’s musical sensibilities. The 10-year-old girl in our house had a Beatles-like fanaticism for the boys – Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone and Lance Bass. And like our parents did for us and our music, we bought her the debut self-titled NSYNC album on cassette tape.

You remember cassettes, right? They were the preferred technology of listening to music for a time between 8-track tapes and CDs. And our car then, a Toyota Corolla, was equipped with a cassette player. So every time we got into the car, the NSYNC cassette tape went with us.

The first time that happened, it was Christopher Cross that helped me be the “cool dad.” On that first album, NSYNC covered “Sailing,” a No. 1 hit for Cross off his 1980 debut album. The song won Grammy awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Arrangement of the Year and helped Cross win the Best New Artist award that year.

It’s a great song. From my era. And I knew all the lyrics. So when the NSYNC version came on the car sound system, my wife and I started singing along with the song.

“Sailing takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be.
Just a dream and the wind to carry me.
And soon I will be free.”

And from the back seat, we heard an excited little voice: “Mom! Dad! You know all the words to an NSYNC song?”

Gerry Beckley
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Why yes, yes we do. We are just that cool.

It took us a while to explain to her that it was a Christopher Cross song and not an NSYNC song. But once she understood that some artists cover other artists’ songs – especially the really good songs – she became a Christopher Cross fan and has been ever since. (Full disclosure: And I’ve been an NSYNC fan ever since.)

That memory flooded my head and heart Saturday night as I heard Christopher Cross sing “Sailing” for the first time live at the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA.

Cross was on the bill as special guest of the headliner America. It was a wheelhouse concert for me because America is a large part of the soundtrack of my life. I’ve interviewed Dewey Bunnell several times over the years and his recollections about the making of the 1974 album “Holiday” and the 1975 album “Hearts” are featured in “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume I” and “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II: Dropping the Needle” respectively. In addition, Dewey’s recollections on the story behind the hit single “A Horse With No Name” is one of the best read columns on The Vinyl Dialogues website. You can read it here: https://vinyldialogues.com/VinylDialoguesBlog/the-story-behind-a-horse-with-no-name-straight-from-the-horses-mouth/

Dewey Bunnell
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley, who along with then bandmate, the late Dan Peek, wrote and recorded some of the best music of the 1970s – with help from legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin – sound as good today as they did then. America is a band that I’ll go see every single time they perform close to where I live. Reiterate: Every. Single. Time. They’re just still that good.

But is was Cross who stole the show for me Saturday night because it was the first time I had seen him perform live. He sang all the hits – “Sailing,” “Ride Like the Wind,” “Arthur’s Theme” and “Think of Laura.”

Here’s the thing about Christopher Cross: The guy doesn’t have a bad song. It doesn’t matter if his songs are hits or deep cuts, they’re all just really good songs. And his voice is simply beautiful, as much so now as it was in 1980 on his first album. Not to overstate it, but any discussion about the great voices and songwriters of our era should include this guy.

America and Christopher Cross on the same bill. If that ever happens again, buy a ticket for whatever it costs and fall in love with the music all over again. This show certainly furthered the claim that our generation had the best bands and the best music.

The Lords of 52nd Street: We still like them just the way they are

By Mike Morsch

On January 16, 2017

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Original Billy Joel band members Richie Cannata, left, Russell Javors and Liberty DeVitto, rock Havana in New Hope, PA, on Jan. 14, 2017.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Billy Joel had made four albums for Columbia Records in the early to mid-1970s – “Cold Spring Harbor” in 1971; “Piano Man” in 1973; “Streetlife Serenade” in 1974: and “Turnstiles” in 1976. Joel had moderate success with a couple of those albums, but not enough for the Columbia suits. They wanted better sales results.

Columbia thought that Joel needed a strong producer on his next album, which would be called “The Stranger.” And Sir George Martin, the man who had produced the Beatles and was famous enough at that time to be known as “the Fifth Beatle,” was interested. He was coming to see Joel and his band, which included Liberty DeVitto on drums, Doug Stegmeyer on bass, Russell Javors on electric and acoustic guitar and Richie Cannata on saxophone and clarinet, all of whom had contributed to the “Turnstiles” album.

Martin liked what he saw and after the show told Joel that he’d like to produce the next album. But Martin didn’t want to use Joel’s band, he wanted to use studio musicians instead.

Liberty DeVitto
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Bill Joel said thanks but no thanks to George Martin.

Enter Phil Ramone, a producer and engineer who by this time had worked with Peter, Paul and Mary, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and Paul Simon, with whom he won a production Grammy for his work on Simon’s 1975 album “Still Crazy After All These Years.”

Ramone watched Joel and his band perform at Carnegie Hall and liked what he saw. In particular, he was impressed with the raw energy that Joel and the band showed during its live performance.

“We had playing down live. We could rock the place,” said DeVitto. “When Phil heard that, he knew how to get what he heard live onto a record.”

Ramone ended up producing “The Stranger” and the rest is history. (An interview with DeVitto about the making of the album is featured in “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume III: Stacks of Wax.”)

The album reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Albums chart. Five singles from the album were released, four of which charted in the U.S., including “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” which reached No. 17 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and No. 14 on the U.S. Cashbox Top 100 singles chart; “Just the Way You Are,” No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Easy Listening chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100 singles chart; “Only The Good Die Young,” No. 24 on Billboard and No. 25 on Cash Box; and “She’s Always a Woman,” No. 17 on Billboard and No. 2 on Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.

Russell Javors
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

The raw energy that Ramone saw live and was able to get onto “The Stranger” is still evident 40 years later. It lives on in The Lords of 52nd Street, the name that Ramone bestowed on Joel’s band back in the day.

And it was noticeably still intact Saturday night at Havana (a great venue with outstanding food) in New Hope, PA, as former Joel band members DeVitto, Cannata and Javors rocked the house. They have been joined by lead vocalist and pianist David Clark, guitarist Ken Cino, Malcolm Gold on bass and keyboardist Doug Kistner, all of whose contributions cannot be understated. Together, the current lineup of The Lords of 52nd Street complement each other superbly.

Still, it’s difficult not to focus on the original Billy Joel band members. They make it clear that they’re not a Billy Joel tribute band. And that’s true. They’re still playing their own parts on the songs that they originally recorded.

Richie Cannata
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

That’s Richie Cannata playing sax on “New York State of Mind” and “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” just as good, if not better, as he did on the original records. That’s Liberty DeVitto with as much energy on the drums as we heard in 1977. That’s still Russell Javors on guitar, with the added benefit of still having some of the greatest hair in rock and roll history. I particularly liked his lead vocals on “Until the Night,” Joel’s tribute to Phil Spector, a song that’s on the “52nd Street” album.

One cool aside from the show. Doug Stegmeyer died in 1995, but his presence was still felt during Saturday night’s show. Stegmeyer’s family had given Doug’s bass guitar to DeVitto, and Liberty brought it along for Malcolm Gold to play, which he did quite well.

“The one thing that we always had when we were with Billy – and me and Lib have been together since we were 15 years old – we click into this craziness and we’re having a lot of fun with each other,” said Javors. “I think it comes across on stage.”

It certainly does. Go see this band . . . they still might be the lunatics you’re looking for.

From Bob to Bruce: The Best Concerts of 2016

By Mike Morsch

On December 31, 2016

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

(Photo by Mike Morsch)

There are many aspects that make a good concert experience. Primarily of course, is the music. How does the artist and the band sound? Is what I’m hearing on stage like what I hear on the vinyl?

Maybe we all have different criteria, though. I am particularly fond of hearing an artist sing the hits live. I want see and hear Hall & Oates sing “She’s Gone” and “Sara Smile”; I want to see and hear Brian Wilson sing “Surfer Girl”; I want to personally witness Elton John sing “Rocket Man”; I want to be in the stadium and experience “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen.

As a music writer, there are several other aspects of a concert that add to the experience for me. Oftentimes, I interview the artist and write a story for my media group advancing the show. Was the interview a pleasant experience and did I get a lot of good information? The stories are personally important to me, so if I’ve had an enjoyable and informative conversation with the artist and written a good story, then I’m even more anxious to see the show.

Also contributing to my concert experience are where I’m sitting and if I’m allowed to take pictures during the show, many of which can be used in the volumes of The Vinyl Dialogues. And then sometimes, I’ll get the chance to meet the artist after the show. That’s always very cool and is a nice bonus to top off a great concert experience.

A special note here: Local artists are the backbone of my concert experience every year, and the Philly area boasts some incredibly talented musicians and performers that I try to see as often as I can. Do yourself a favor and give a listen to Dan May, JD Malone, Billy Burger, Lizanne Knott, Skip Denenberg and Mutlu.

With the close of 2016 then, here’s a look back at what was a great concert season on the national level. I was going to choose a Top 10, but couldn’t keep it to just 10. So these are the Top 12 concerts I saw in 2016:

No. 12 – Bob Dylan
July 13 at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA.

I understand the significance of Bob Dylan. I really do. But his music has never really spoken to me on a personal level. Still, it’s Bob Dylan and I felt the need to see him perform so I could say that I saw him live. There would be no interview on this one, but that’s no surprise. Dylan doesn’t do many interviews.

For the show, I enlisted my friend Ted Wolf, who’s a huge Dylan fan, to go with me. Ted knows every song that Bob has ever recorded and has seen him in concert more than 30 times. I’ve said for years that if I ever decided to spring for a Dylan ticket, that I’d want Ted along with me to interpret what it was Bob was actually saying. The thing is, Ted lives in Illinois. So for this concert, he drove all the way to Philly the day before the performance and drove back to Illinois the day after the show. Ted really, really likes Dylan.

The show was typical Bob being Bob, singing with a mouthful of marbles. As anticipated, Ted was an invaluable concert mate, both as the interpreter and with identifying the titles of the songs. The seats were fairly pricey and in the second level nosebleeds. So photos allowed, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway from that distance.

Bob Dylan makes my Top 12 concerts of the year list because he’s Bob Dylan.

No. 11 – Art Garfunkel
May 20 at McCarter Theatre on the campus of Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.

I had a wonderful interview with Art Garfunkel, which was good because Garfunkel doesn’t easily suffer fools, particularly those who ask stupid questions, which Garfunkel identifies as pretty much any question about Paul Simon. But I knew that because I had done my homework and was prepared to not ask those questions.

The show itself featured just Garfunkel and an accompanying guitarist. But like Bob Dylan, this is Art Garfunkel. Our parents grew up with Simon & Garfunkel and we listened to those records because they loved those records. And so do we. Simon & Garfunkel were as big as any American artists in the 1960s.

Garfunkel had suffered some serious voice issues a few years back, which he told me during the interview were now resolved. But to my untrained ear, that wasn’t entirely the case at the Princeton show. If you closed your eyes, there were times you could hear that wonderful Art Garfunkel voice and it was truly magical. But there also were times that if you closed your eyes, you could hear what sounded like someone stepping on Art Garfunkel’s throat.

Really though, I don’t necessarily expect a guy that’s 75 years old to sing like he did when he was 25 years old. Garfunkel is also persnickety about photographs and stopped the show at one point to chastise somebody down front who had pulled out a cellphone. So the only usable shot I got was after the performance as Garfunkel was taking a bow.

No. 10 – Boz Scaggs
April 14, Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA.

This show was a pleasant surprise because it was unexpected. The tickets were a gift from The Blonde Accountant (my wife) because we found ourselves with a cooperative work schedule that presented the rare opportunity to go out on a weeknight. Even at the last minute, we were able to get great seats, 15 rows back, and dead center.

There was no interview, but I got some great photos. Scaggs was in great voice, but he’s doesn’t move around much on stage and there wasn’t much in-between song banter with the audience, neither of which was a big deal to me for this show.

Of course, we all sang along on “Lido Shuffle” and “Lowdown.” Those are the songs that I wanted to hear Scaggs sing live. But I was particularly struck with the second encore song, a cover of “There’s a Storm Comin’” by Richard Hawley. It’s a beautiful song and Scaggs did a wonderful job with it. It was somewhat unusual to close the show with a ballad, but it didn’t do anything to dampen the enthusiasm of an appreciative audience.

Paul Anka goes into the crowd at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

No. 9 – Paul Anka
Dec. 16, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, N.J.

Not only was Anka a great interview, he’s got a direct lineage to Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, which makes him . . . just . . . that . . . cool.

But what I liked about this show was Anka’s interaction with the audience. He entered singing through the back of the venue, walking down the aisle shaking hands and stopping to pose for pictures. And then about six songs into his set, he came back down off the stage, went back into the middle of the crowd, stood on a theater seat and sang a medley of songs while people surrounded him with cell phones and hugs.

Paul Anka didn’t mind that a bit. I think the audience can sense when an artist genuinely wants to interact with them on a personal level. The audience responded to Anka with adulation and Anka in turn fed off that energy. It made for a special concert, I thought.

And I liked that Anka closed the show with the song that started it all – “Diana,” a song that he wrote in 1957 and one that became his first hit single. All these years later and Anka hasn’t forgotten the song that started it all for him.

Russell Tompkins Jr., the original lead singer of The Stylistics.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

No. 8 – The Festival of Soul
Nov. 25, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, N.J.

This show had five acts – Ted Wizard Mills of Blue Magic; Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes (which had no original members but sounded fabulous); The Jones Girls featuring Shirley Jones (not the Mrs. Partridge Shirley Jones); The Dramatics featuring LJ Reynolds; and The Stylistics.

I was there for The Stylistics, and particularly for original lead singer Russell Thompkins Jr. and his high falsetto voice. I loved The Stylistics as a kid in the 1970s and Thompkins has been high on my interview bucket list since I’ve been writing about music.

Cross that one off. I had the pleasure of talking to Thompkins for a story to advance this show, and he didn’t disappoint. Look for a chapter in The Vinyl Dialogues Volume IV on The Stylistics self-titled debut album released in 1971.

The show was highly entertaining, my seat was outstanding and I got some great photos. Russell Tompkins Jr. sounded just as good that evening as he did in the 1970s on those great Stylistics hits “You Are Everything,” “Betcha By Golly, Wow,” “I’m Stone in Love With You” and “Rockin’ Roll Baby.”

I did, however, get caught a little underdressed in jeans and a collar shirt. Almost everyone else in the audience was dressed to the nines in some of the most colorful and fashionable threads I had seen in a while. And it made me wish that I still had the pink paisley jacket with the red pants I wore to my eighth grade graduation in 1973.

No. 7 – Steely Dan (with Steve Winwood)
July 3, BB&T Pavilion, Camden, N.J.

This easily could have been higher on list. It was the first time I had seen Steely Dan live, and the band’s music is really, really good. I’ve always liked it.

But our seats were pretty far from the stage, which essentially eliminated any chance of getting decent photos. I had not had the opportunity to interview Dan co-founders Donald Fagan or Walter Becker, so there was no personal backstory for me.

But none of that took away from the great music I heard that night. A good concert is a good concert, and Steely Dan is worth the price of admission. I’d certainly go see that band again.

Michael Brewer, Gail Farrell and Tom Shipley at dinner before the show.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

No. 6 – Brewer & Shipley
Nov. 2, Sellersville Theatre 1894, Sellersville, PA.

This show was special because of the great personal story that goes with it, all centered around Michael Brewer and Tom Shipley’s hit single, “One Toke Over the Line,” from their 1970 album “Tarkio,” which was featured in Volume I of The Vinyl Dialogues.

After that song became a hit, it was featured on “The Lawrence Welk Show,” sung by the duet of Dick Dale and Gail Farrell. Because the Welk show and its stars had a squeaky clean image, I tracked down Ms. Farrell to ask her if she knew she was singing a song that featured a drug reference because I wanted to add that information to the “Tarkio” chapter. But she wouldn’t tell me because she is writing a one-woman show for herself and the answer to that question is a prominent part of the show.

I kept in touch with Gail and her husband Ron Anderson, also a Welk Show singer in the 1970s. When I found out that Brewer & Shipley were scheduled to appear in my area of Pennsylvania, I emailed Gail and Ron and suggested they fly out from California and go to the show with me.

To my surprise, they decided to do just that. Gail had actually never met Michael and Tom, so we arranged with their manager to meet before the show. It was a wonderful get-together and all of us were invited to have dinner with Michael and Tom. It was great for me to sit at the table and listen to Michael, Tom, Gail and Ron exchange entertainment stories.

During the show, Michael told the “One Toke” story and introduced Gail to the surprised audience. It was a very cool epilog to a story that began 45 years ago and I was fortunate to be a fly on the wall and experience the whole thing.

Brian Wilson behind the piano at Caesars in Atlantic City.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

No. 5 – Brian Wilson
Aug. 27, Caesar’s, Atlantic City, N.J.

Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys are responsible for my very first music memory – listening to a 45 rpm record of “The Little Girl I Once Knew” around 1965. And I’ve been in love with those harmonies ever since.

I’ve interviewed Brian three times, met him on two occasions and have seen both him and the Beach Boys in concert more times than I can remember. And I have just about every record he and the Beach Boys have ever made. Seeing Brian Wilson in concert is something I experience every time I can.

This show featured a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of the landmark “Pet Sounds” album, which Brian and his fabulous band performed in its entirety.

We had great seats, eighth row stage left, that gave me a great angle for pictures. Brian’s music, and that of the Beach Boys, has been an important part of my life. If this had been the first time I had seen Brian, it would have been my No. 1 concert experience of the year.

Hall & Oates never disappoint, especially in their home area of Philadelphia.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

No. 4 – Hall & Oates
July 10, BB&T Pavilion, Camden, N.J.

Just a week after the Steely Dan show, I was back at the same venue for Hall & Oates, and with much better seats this time, thanks to H&O management.

Next to the Beach Boys, I’m totally in the bag for anything Hall & Oates. I have been fortunate enough to interview Daryl and John several times over the years. Two of the most favorite chapters I’ve written in The Vinyl Dialogues series have been about Hall & Oates albums: “Abandoned Luncheonette” in Volume I and “Daryl Hall & John Oates” (The Silver Album) in Volume III.

These guys are so good in concert. They don’t miss a note or a word, and the band is tight. They sing all the hits, and that’s what one gets at a H&O concert.

This show included a special surprise during the first song of the second encore: an appearance by the great Chubby Checker. Imagine that, Hall & Oates singing “The Twist” with Chubby Checker.

But that wasn’t all. With the second song of the second encore, and the final song of the evening, Hall & Oates stayed true to their Philly roots and did a cover of “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time),” a 1969 single by the Philadelphia group the Delfonics, a song originally produced by the great Thom Bell, who also wrote for and produced The Stylistics and The Spinners.

Hall & Oates never disappoint. We all left in a Philly mood.

Meeting Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. after the show in Atlantic City.

No. 3 – Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.
June 11, The Tropicana, Atlantic City, N.J.

The high ranking of this show may surprise those who know me, particularly because it’s ranked ahead of Brian Wilson and Hall & Oates.

Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. were members of the highly successful group The 5th Dimension, which had some great hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, like “Up, Up and Away,” “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Wedding Bell Blues” and “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.”

The husband-and-wife team broke away from the 5th Dimension in the mid-1970s and had a hit single with “You Don’t Have to Be A Star” from their 1976 album “I Hope We Get to Love in Time.” I had interviewed Marilyn and Billy about the making of that album for “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II: Dropping the Needle.”

Here’s the thing about Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.: they are not only talented artists and singers, but they’re first-class individuals. I can’t say enough about the class and grace of these two stars. And they’re great interviews. They’ll be featured again in the next volume of The Vinyl Dialogues talking about the 1969 album “Age of Aquarius” by the 5th Dimension.

Not only that, they still sound the same today as they did in the 1960s. Both their voices are strong and vibrant. We had great seats, courtesy of Marilyn and Billy, fifth row dead center. We got to meet them after the show, and they were as gracious in person as they have been in interviews.

This was the one show of 2016 that had all the elements of a great concert experience by my standards: outstanding music, singing and stage presence; some of the best seats in the house; a wonderful interview experience that made for a great advance story; and getting to meet the artists after the show.

It easily could have been the best show of the year. But it took two really big heavyweights to put Marilyn and Billy at No. 3.

Elton John reacts to the the crowd behind the stage at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

No. 2 – Elton John
Sept. 23 at the Giant Center, Hershey, PA.

Elton John performed in the first concert I ever saw, at the Chicago Amphitheater in 1976. I’ve seen him live in every decade since. And I’ve never had a decent seat.

Until this show. And it was planned and executed just like I hoped it would be.

Elton has been a big arena and stadium concert performer during his career. I’m really not fond of stadium concerts. There are just too many people and if you want to get close enough to see anything, you have to spring for the big money tickets.

And Elton is usually a big money ticket, even for the cheap seats. But this time I got lucky because I made my own luck.

The Giant Center in Hershey is a hockey/basketball arena. For this show, the venue sold tickets behind the stage that were reasonably priced at $75. Although I’d never sat behind the stage for a concert, it struck me that those had the potential to be decent seats for the price.

Fortunately, the venue has a virtual seating chart on its website. I knew from past Elton concerts and from watching his performances on TV and online, that he usually positions his piano on the far left of the stage. If you’re out front and sitting to the right of center, you’re looking into Elton’s face as he sits at the piano. But there’s a good portion of an arena crowd that is looking at Elton’s back for an entire show.

So I got on the online virtual seating chart, chose a seat that was stage left behind so that I was looking into Elton’s face, and checked out the virtual view. It looked to be the right angle for photos. I hit the button and bought the tickets.

And it worked out perfectly. Although I was looking at the backs of the band members for the entire show, I had a perfect view of Elton’s face. And he’s used to having people sit in the seats behind the stage because he plays to that part of the crowd quite a bit. I was as close as I’d ever been at an Elton John show and I got some great photos.

Elton has been on my interview bucket list from the get-go. I’ve always been a big fan and I’d love to write about his 1975 album “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.”

Every time I’ve seen him perform live, Elton brings it. And this show was no exception. Outstanding from the first song to the last. And I got a good view this time.

The crowd reacts as one to Bruce Springsteen at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

No. 1 – Bruce Springsteen
Sept. 7, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA.

I’ve come to the Bruce Springsteen party later in life. But now I’m a believer.

Springsteen is a pricey ticket and plays in big stadiums. As previously stated, I’m not not fond of either of those concert experiences. So I had never seen him perform live, much to the consternation and ridicule of the Springsteen faithful among my friends.

But from the first note of his opening song, “New York City Serenade,” I was hooked. I felt it in my heart. I finally got it.

We were fortunate enough to be there the night Springsteen and the E Street Band performed for four hours and four minutes, which currently stands as the U.S. record length for a live concert performance.

And Springsteen and the band left it all out there on the stage. He gave us everything he had, which is how it is for him every time he performs. The guy has an endless energy and it wears one out to just watch him. It was the quickest four hours of entertainment I’d ever witnessed and more than worth every penny spent on tickets.

I had written on The Vinyl Dialogues blog after the show that my first Springsteen experience was so good that my initial reaction was that I would hesitate to go see him again. I don’t want to mess up that special first Springsteen experience.

There’s a reason he’s called the Boss. He’s just that good.

Paul Anka capable and comfortable being the ‘Keeper of the Cool’

By Mike Morsch

On December 17, 2016

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Paul Anka knows how to stand in front of a band during his Dec. 16, 2016, performance at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Paul Anka is a lot of things: singer, songwriter, entertainer, actor, author, one-time teen idol, boyfriend of Mouseketeer Annette Funicello when they were kids and de facto Rat Pack member and confidante.

Add Keeper of the Cool to that list.

Frank, Dean and Sammy would be proud. Anka is a professional, a showman and has always realized the importance of being a snappy dresser. At age 75, he still dances with the one that he brought and closes his show with “Diana,” a song he wrote as a teenager and recorded in 1957 that was a No. 1 hit in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.

Certainly one’s level of cool is subjective in the eye of the observer. And this was my first time seeing Anka perform live. But here’s how cool he was at his Dec. 16 show at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J: he entered the venue through the back, walking down the aisle while singing “You Are My Destiny,” shaking hands and posing for pictures along the way; left the stage after the first handful of songs and went back into the crowd again, stood on one of the seats and sang a medley of his hits while fans crowded around him with their cell phones at the ready; when a lady in the audience named Theresa requested he sing a song in Italian that didn’t appear to be on the original setlist, Anka honored the request, then went off script, stopped the show and called Theresa down to the stage where the two of them proceeded to have a conversation like they were sitting in a living room chatting.

(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Oh, and he didn’t just sing. He played the piano, he played the guitar, he picked up the baton and directed the 14-piece backing band. He probably would have been willing to sell popcorn if somebody at the NJPAC would have asked him.

In an interview for a story to advance the show, Anka had said to me that the Rat Pack – Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who had epitomized the La Vegas entertainment scene of the early 1960s – were as cool behind closed doors as they were in public.

“Us young guys, we all wanted to be cool like them. We wanted to dress like them. I wanted to stand in front of a band like them,” said Anka. “Oh, it was just amazing. They were the coolest to be around. It was everything that you could imagine.”

The Rat Packers are all gone now. But Anka is still around, and you know what, he’s learned how to stand in front of a band.

And he’s written some really good songs: “My Way” for Sinatra; “She’s a Lady” for Tom Jones; and “Lonely Boy,” “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” “Puppy Love” and “(You’re) Having My Baby” for himself, all of which were No. 1 and No. 2 hits.

“(You’re) Having My Baby,” was one I wanted to hear Anka sing in concert because it’s on the album “Anka” from 1974. We spoke at length about the making of that album and the songs on it during our conversation and it will be featured in The Vinyl Dialogues Volume IV, due out in 2017.

Fans surround Paul Anka as he comes into the audience to sing.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Among the other highlights of the concert for me was Anka’s version – and beautiful arrangement – of Eric Clapton’s 1991 hit single, “Tears in Heaven”; his version of “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore,” which he wrote for Buddy Holly and which became the final song Holly recorded before his untimely death in a plane crash in February 1959, the day the music died; and his versions of “Oh Lonesome Me” by Don Gibson, “Bye Bye Love” by the Everly Brothers and the inclusion of a portion of “Purple Rain” by Prince into the middle of another song.

There was also a nice video tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. singing the Anka-written song, “I’m Not Anyone,” on which Anka accompanied on live vocals. It’s been part of Anka’s show for a while now, but for those who haven’t seen it live, it’s a special part of the performance. And cooler than cool.

One other observation: Anka appears to genuinely appreciate the attention of the fans. I was close enough to the stage when he sang the final song “Diana,” close enough to see the expression on his face as people reacted to that song. Several artists have told me during interviews that they can feel the positive vibes from the audience, and that they feed on that reaction.

It was apparent to me that the NJPAC audience loved Anka and he loved it back.

Anka and his music have remained relevant for seven decades, which to state the obvious, is no small accomplishment. And he’s the closest thing we have left to the legacy of the Sinatra Rat Pack.

Paul Anka seems quite capable and comfortable being the standard-bearer of that kind of cool.

Paul Anka and his band take a bow after the show.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Still stone in love with the music of The Stylistics

By Mike Morsch

On November 26, 2016

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Russell Thompkins Jr., the original lead singer of The Stylistics, performed at the Festival of Soul Nov. 25, 2016, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

It was pretty exciting when my dad got me a cassette tape recorder and a handful of blank tapes. Given the audio technology of the times, my plan in 1972 as a 13-year-old eighth-grader was to record my favorite songs off the radio onto the blank tapes and create my own music library.

Recording songs off the radio wasn’t an exact science. Growing up in central Illinois, I was listening to WLS out of Chicago. If the disc jockey didn’t give the listeners an advance heads up as to what songs were going to be played, one had to be able to recognize a song from the first fews notes, then simultaneously push “play” and “record” on the recorder.

I wasn’t very good at that. And I didn’t want to start the tape during the commercials because I didn’t want the ads messing up my music. Thus, I had entire tapes of songs that were missing the first few notes and/or words because I just wasn’t quick enough on the play/record draw.

That was frustrating. Certainly I could have gone out and bought the records or 8-track tapes, but with no means of income, that wasn’t a possibility. (You’d think that someone who ended up being a career newspaperman might have started out with a newspaper route, but I didn’t have that much ambition then.)

The one song that I wanted to have a full and pristine copy of was “I’m Stone in Love With You” by The Stylistics. I was enamored with that song and the beautiful falsetto voice of the group’s lead singer, Russell Thompkins Jr.

I didn’t know it at the time – and of course I could not have anticipated at such a young age that I would someday move to suburban Philadelphia – but The Stylistics were one of the groups that were helping establish what we now know as Philly soul, or TSOP – The Sound of Philadelphia – in the early 1970s.

Russell Thompkins Jr. and The New Stylistics performed at the Festival of Soul.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

But I became a fan of The Stylistics and their songs. And what great songs they are: “You Are Everything,” “Betcha By Golly, Wow,” “Break Up to Make Up,” “Rockin’ Roll Baby” and “You Make Me Feel Brand New.” All written or co-written by the great songwriting team of Thom Bell and Linda Creed.

When I began writing The Vinyl Dialogues series, I wanted The Stylistics – and in particular the voice on all those great songs, Russell Thompkins Jr. – to be included. But through the first three volumes, I couldn’t make connections with Mr. Thompkins for an interview.

The opportunity to interview him finally presented itself with the Festival of Soul, scheduled for Nov. 25, 2016, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J. In addition to The Stylistics, the show featured other early Philly soul artists Ted Wizard Mills, original lead singer of Blue Magic, and Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes as well as The Dramatics featuring LJ Reynolds and the Jones Girls featuring Shirley Jones. (The NJPAC is an absolutely first-rate concert venue, by the way.)

And what a great interview it was. Mr. Thompkins was gracious with his time and storytelling. I got a lot of historical background information for a chapter in the next volume of The Vinyl Dialogues.

Mr. Thompkins shared the story of the making of the group’s self-titled debut album, released in 1971, which included the hits “Betcha By Golly, Wow” and “You Are Everything.” The stories behind those songs, the making of that album and the early days of creating The Sound of Philadelphia that Mr. Thompkins shared are fascinating and will make for a detailed chapter in The Vinyl Dialogues Volume IV.

Russell Thompkins Jr.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

And the Festival of Soul concert itself was fabulous. It was the first time I had the opportunity to see The Stylistics live. Mr. Thompkins is the only original member in the group that’s now billed as Russell Tompkins Jr. and The New Stylistics. (There is another group that still performs as The Stylistics that includes original members Airrion Love and Herb Murrell.)

And it was fabulous. I had waited a long time to hear Mr. Thompkins sing all those Stylistics hits – from the opening note, which was very much unlike all those incomplete songs I recorded on those cassette tapes I made when I was a kid.

When he broke into the opening verses of “I’m Stone in Love With You,” it took me right back to 1972 and the radio in my bedroom, me waiting with my fingers on “play” and “record” of the tape recorder hoping the get the entire song.

It was worth the wait. And it was worth reliving the wonderful memory.

‘One Toke Over the Line’ meets the Lawrence Welk Show again . . . 45 years later

By Mike Morsch

On November 13, 2016

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Michael Brewer, Gail Farrell and Tom Shipley met in person for the first time Nov. 2, 2016, in Sellersville, PA.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

In their stage show, Michael Brewer and Tom Shipley are fond of telling audiences that they’re the only guys on the planet – “and probably in the universe” – who have written a song that has been performed both on the Lawrence Welk Show and by the late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.

That song, “One Toke Over the Line,” first recorded by Brewer and Shipley in 1970 and featured on the duo’s third studio album “Tarkio,” became an interesting and unique bit of pop culture. It got the attention of the Nixon administration, which labeled the singer-songwriters subversives to American youth because the song contained a drug reference in its lyrics.

But because it was a hit single, the song also attracted the attention of Lawrence Welk, who liked to feature popular songs of the day sung by Welk Musical Family singers on his weekly television show. In 1971, singers Gail Farrell and Dick Dale performed “One Toke Over the Line” on the show. And after the song, Welk is seen on camera saying, “There you heard a modern spiritual by Gail and Dale.”

“Toking” with Lawrence Welk

That was more than 45 years ago. And now, the paths of Brewer and Shipley have once again crossed with the stars of the Lawrence Welk Show and one of the most unusual bits of music history from the 1970s now has an epilogue.

Michael Brewer on stage at the Sellersville Theatre 1894.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Here is how it happened.

I had interviewed both Brewer and Shipley in 2013 for Volume I of The Vinyl Dialogues about the the “Tarkio” album. During those conversations, they both said they had searched for years for a copy of the Welk show performance of “One Toke Over the Line, finally locating it in the mid-2000s. Shipley posted the video on YouTube and it got viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. Many viewers also offered their comments on the video.

The question I had, and apparently others have had for many years now, is did the Welk singers, perceived as squeaky-clean, know that they were singing a song that had a drug reference in the lyrics?

I eventually tracked down one of the singers, Gail Farrell, living in California, and got her on the phone, where I proceeded to ask the question: What did you know and when did you know it?

But Gail wouldn’t give it up. And for good reason: She has written a one-woman play for herself, scheduled to open in April 2017, and the answer to the question is a big part of the show.

Although we had never met face-to-face, Gail and her husband Ron Anderson, also a Welk Show singer, and I stayed in touch via email.

So when I found out in September that Brewer and Shipley were performing in my area of suburban Philadelphia at the Sellersville Theatre 1894 in Sellersville, PA, on Nov. 2, 2016, I emailed Gail and Ron suggesting that they fly across the country and join me for the show.

Tom Shipley on stage at the Sellersville Theatre 1894.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

I was only joking. Gail and Ron, however, thought is was a great idea. They had never seen Brewer and Shipley perform live. They were coming to Pennsylvania.

Arrangements were made for Gail and Ron to meet Michael and Tom just after soundcheck on the day of the show. After about 15 minutes of pleasantries, Michael invited all of us to join him and Tom for dinner before the show.

What a great time that was. The artists all swapped stories about the music industry and I was privileged to just sit there and listen. Not many people get a chance to be a fly on the wall in a situation like that.

After nearly three hours of sitting around the dinner table, Brewer and Shipley had to go to work. When it got to the point of in the show where they sing “One Toke Over the Line,” Brewer told the story about the song being sung on the Lawrence Welk Show, a story he and Shipley have been telling for decades.

“Dale and Gail sang our song on the show. And low and behold, boy do we have a surprise and a treat for you tonight. In fact, we just had dinner with them. Gail and her husband Ron flew all the way from California just to be here tonight,” Brewer told the Sellersville audience. “Life is stranger than fiction. Gail is here. We had dinner with her and it was absolutely wonderful. We normally dedicate this song to Jerry (Garcia). But tonight, Gail, this one is for you.”

Gail and Ron got to spend a little more time with Michael and Tom during and after the post-show meet-and-greet. Back at the hotel after all the festivities, Gail was reflective.

Gail Farrell and he husband Ron Anderson, stars of the Lawrence Welk Show.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

“I’ve read so much about them and heard ‘One Toke Over the Line’ so many times I almost don’t feel like it was the first time I heard it live. But I just was amazed at how much sound they got out of two guitars,” said Gail. “I was pleased and a little surprised because you never know how these things are gonna go. All they know about me is that I’m this little dorky goody-two-shoes wearing a little pinafore with a butterfly on it that all the YouTube commenters say should have been a marijuana leaf.”

Both she and Ron said there wasn’t any doubt that they were going to travel across the country to see Brewer and Shipley when the opportunity presented itself.

“I told Ron we gotta do this. It’s just too crazy not to do it. This was ordained by the universe, it was just too crazy,” said Gail.

Oh, and as for the question of what Gail knew and when she knew it about “One Toke Over the Line” in 1971, well . . . we still don’t know for sure. They talked a lot about the whole thing at dinner, but neither Brewer nor Shipley directly asked Gail the question, at least not that I witnessed.

I guess we’re all just going to have to go see her one-woman show next year for the answer.

Elton John live: A unique perspective from behind the stage

By Mike Morsch

On September 24, 2016

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Elton John live at the Giant Center on Sept. 23, 2016.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

The first time I saw Elton John perform live was in 1976 at the Chicago Amphitheater. It was my first concert.

We had secured tickets from a young fellow named George Jasinski, a Chicago native and a student at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, who was the teaching assistant for the first journalism class I took in high school. He would become a big influence on me becoming a journalist, despite the fact that he abandoned journalism altogether and decided to go to law school to become a lawyer, which he is to this day.

We called him “Mr. J.” and he was Chicago cool. One day after class he taught Mikki Milam and I how to do “The Hustle” dance. Her father, Jerry Milam, owned Golden Voice Recording Co. in South Pekin, Illinois, where the Head East album “Flat as a Pancake” was recorded in 1975. The making of that album was featured in Volume I of “The Vinyl Dialogues.”

After school was out that year, Mr. J. returned home to Chicago. Elton was our tour that summer and Chicago was one of the stops. My then 13-year-old sister was a big Elton John fan, particularly of the “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” album that he released in 1975, and she got word that Elton was performing in Chicago – about a three-hour drive from where we lived.

Some of the details of that concert are now lost to history, but somehow, my dad worked it out with Mr. J. to get tickets to the show. So my dad, sister and I joined Mr. J. and his sister for the evening.

(Photo by Mike Morsch)

I only recall a few things about that show. Elton was still into all the funky costumes then, and he had several costume changes during the concert. We sat on folding chairs on the floor of the amphitheater, and toward the end of show, I recall seeing my dad, in his late 40s at the time, standing on his chair like the rest of us, rocking out with Elton. In my eyes, that made him as cool as Mr. J.

That was 40 years ago, and since then, I’ve seen Elton perform live in each of the past five decades, the most recent on Sept. 23, 2016, at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA.

In all of those concerts, I’ve never had what I would call a decent seat. They were all stadium concerts – a couple were with Elton and Billy Joel together – but I’ve never been close to the action on stage.

That changed at the Hershey concert. My wife – The Blonde Accountant – and I had tickets behind the stage. I actually had planned it that way. The Giant Center website has a virtual seating chart, one where you can get an actual online view from the seat itself. Knowing from past concerts that Elton always puts his piano at stage left, I selected seats behind to be stage right, so that we would be looking at Elton face-to-face from that vantage point.

(Photo by Mike Morsch)

And it worked out beautifully. We were closer to the stage than we had ever been from those seats. And Elton did a great job of playing to and acknowledging the fans behind the stage without taking away from the majority of the crowd facing him. It was a unique perspectively, essentially looking over the shoulder of Elton’s longtime drummer, Nigel Olsson.

Elton played all the hits at Hershey. And he was at the top of his game. He seemed to genuinely be having fun and certainly the crowd was, too.

I didn’t get to hear a couple of my favorites, namely “Little Jeannie” and “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” which weren’t in this set list, but that took nothing away from the show. Elton has such a vast catalog of hits and there’s nothing quite like hearing the Rocket Man sing “Rocket Man” and “Crocodile Rock” live.

Elton John is one of the greatest artists of our generation. He’s at the top of my bucket list to interview and is one of those performers that I’m glad to say I got a chance to see live. We’re fortunate to have grown up in the same era.

And it turned out that the best Elton concert experience I’ve had over the course of five decades would be from behind the stage.