Unusual Rock Trivia?

[roccobass]

In the liner notes on the BGO released 2 for 1 cds of all the early
Trower albums was a quote from Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame.

" Robin Trower is one of the very few English guitarists that
have mastered bends and wobbles. Not only has he got inside them,
with an instinctive knowing of their affective power, but they went to live inside his hands.
It is the rare English guitarist who has been able to stand alongside American guitarists and play with an equal authority to someone grounded in a fundamentally American tradition.
Trower has been widely criticised for his influences. This has never bothered me. I toured America in 1974 with Ten Years After top of the bill, King Crimson second, and Robin Trower bottom.
The chart positions were the opposite : TYA in the billboard 160's,
Crimson in the 60's, and Trower climbing remorselessly through the top twenty.
Nearly every night I went out to listen to him.This was a man who hung himself on the details: the quality of sound, nuances of each inflection and tearing bend, and abandonment to the feel of the moment.
He saved my life. Later, in England, he gave me guitar lessons. "

- Robert Fripp, Wiltshire, England November 19, 1996

 

[SubHuman]

The Beatles and Pink Floyd crossed paths at the legendary Abbey Roads studio in a strange coincidence and a sure sign of the zeitgeist, that while one band was recording their debut album the other was recording their eighth and most significant record, both records are considered classic psychedelic records. This occasion will forever hold a special place in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.

The chance meeting between the two bands happened on 21st of March in 1967 — coincidentally, the two bands were both working on their respective albums in Abbey Roads Studios in London; Pink Floyd was working on their debut, Piper at The Gates of Dawn, while The Beatles were recording what many consider one of the best albums ever made, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

They happened to be recording in rooms adjacent to one another — The Beatles were in Studio 2 while Pink Floyd was in Studio 3. Floyd were scheduled to record from 2:30pm until 7:30pm — as it were, The Beatles were due at the studio just as Pink Floyd finished their first shift.

George Martin allowed Syd Barrett and his gang of creative artists to hang out and observe inside the control room and Pink Floyd’s drummer, Nick Mason, recalls the momentous occasion: “We were ushered into Studio Two where the Fab Four were busy recording ‘Lovely Rita.’ The music sounded wonderful, and incredibly professional. We sat humbly and humbled, at the back of the control room while they worked on the mix, and after a suitable period of time had elapsed, we were ushered out again… They were God-like figures to us.”

 

[roccobass]

In 2006, the High Court found Matthew Fisher (the Hammond organist) to be joint-author and co-owner of Procol Harum's song "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by virtue of his contribution to the song in the form of his organ solo, despite waiting nearly 40 years since its release to make a claim. Fisher won the case on 20 December 2006 but was awarded 40% of the composers' share of the music copyright, rather than the 50% he was seeking and was not granted royalties prior to 2005.

 

[IMMusicRulz]

From 1989 to 2014, pop singer Richard Marx was married to singer and actress Cynthia Rhodes, who played in the music video for his single Don’t Mean Nothing, as well as famously played in the feature films Staying Alive and Dirty Dancing.

 

[Bob_Ross]

^^^Cynthia Rhodes was also in Flashdance:

 

[-Asdfgh-]

The Move had a huge hit with Flowers In The Rain in 1967, but Roy Wood got not a penny in royalties. To promote the single a satirical cartoon of Prime Minister Harold Wilson in bed with his secretary was distributed in the Houses of Commons and amongst the great and good. Wilson sued, won, and royalties instead go to charity.

 

[SubHuman]

Not to take away from her stellar career, but like a lot of performers Dusty Springfield suffered the fate of drugs and addiction. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Springfield's alcoholism and drug addiction affected her musical career. Some of Springfield's biographers and journalists have speculated that she had two personalities: shy, quiet, Mary O'Brien, and the public face she had created as Dusty Springfield.

Late in her career a prolific collaboration was established between Dusty Springfield and the Pet Shop Boys, first for the hit single ”What Have I Done to Deserve This?”, released in 1987, which reached very high positions in UK and other European charts and remains as a landmark of her career.

She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two weeks after her death in 1999. Her friend Elton John helped induct her into the Hall of Fame, declaring: "I'm biased, but I just think she was the greatest white singer there ever has been ... every song she sang, she claimed as her own.

 

[roccobass]

• Kansas started out playing bars in the Midwest. They hated playing cover songs, but had to because the bar owners would not let them play originals. They got around it by playing their own songs and saying they were new songs from The Allman Brothers.

 

[SubHuman]

• Kansas started out playing bars in the Midwest. They hated playing cover songs, but had to because the bar owners would not let them play originals. They got around it by playing their own songs and saying they were new songs from The Allman Brothers.

Ha! We were not Kansas but We played out when bars required cover songs and we mixed our own tunes in saying they were the B sides of popular 45’s. The bartender liked us and we were the house band at a popular College bar for ~3 semesters. Drinking students/patrons will still dance all night as long as it has a driving beat. We were the Stones, Bowie, Kinks, etc. Great times!

 

[Bob_Ross]

Kansas started out playing bars in the Midwest. They hated playing cover songs, but had to because the bar owners would not let them play originals. They got around it by playing their own songs and saying they were new songs from The Allman Brothers.

LOL. My band when I was in high school (mid- to late-1970s) did the same thing: We played almost 100% original material, but whenever someone complained we'd announce "This next tune's by Pink Floyd!" and the crowd would whoop it up

...for about 30 seconds, until they realized they still didn't recognize the song.

 

[SubHuman]

LOL. My band when I was in high school (mid- to late-1970s) did the same thing: We played almost 100% original material, but whenever someone complained we'd announce "This next tune's by Pink Floyd!" and the crowd would whoop it up

...for about 30 seconds, until they realized they still didn't recognize the song.

We got creative and used terms like underground, pre-release, rare un-heard, etc. and that would appease most. The hecklers knew but that’s what volume knobs were for!

 

[roccobass]

Ha! We were not Kansas but We played out when bars required cover songs and we mixed our own tunes in saying they were the B sides of popular 45’s. The bartender liked us and we were the house band at a popular College bar for ~3 semesters. Drinking students/patrons will still dance all night as long as it has a driving beat. We were the Stones, Bowie, Kinks, etc. Great times!

LOL. My band when I was in high school (mid- to late-1970s) did the same thing: We played almost 100% original material, but whenever someone complained we'd announce "This next tune's by Pink Floyd!" and the crowd would whoop it up

...for about 30 seconds, until they realized they still didn't recognize the song.

We got creative and used terms like underground, pre-release, rare un-heard, etc. and that would appease most. The hecklers knew but that’s what volume knobs were for!

Now that’s mixing the sugar with the medicine!

 

[SubHuman]

Samantha (Sam) Brown was born on 7 October 1964, in Stratford, east London, England. She is the daughter of musician Joe Brown and session singer Vicki Brown. George Harrison was best man at Joe Brown's second wedding in 2000; Joe Brown had appeared on two songs on Harrison's album Gone Troppo, and also was featured on a track on Harrison's last album, Brainwashed.

Following Harrison's death from lung cancer on 29 November 2001, Joe Brown appeared with his group at the tribute concert Concert for George, held on the first anniversary of his death. Brown played guitar whilst singing "Here Comes the Sun", mandolin on "That's The Way It Goes," and ukulele on the closing number, "I'll See You in My Dreams".

His daughter Sam Brown's first work in the music industry was in 1978 aged 14, when she sang backing vocals on the final studio album by the Small Faces, 78 in the Shade. She also worked as a backing vocalist with several other bands, including Spandau Ballet and with her mother on former Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord's third solo album Before I Forget.

She has worked with the band Barclay James Harvest (1984), David Gilmour (David Gilmour in Concert) and Pink Floyd, Deep Purple (In Concert with The London Symphony Orchestra), Jon Lord, The Firm, Gary Moore, George Harrison and Nick Cave. She has often appeared as a member of Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and achieved further prominence with her fabulous 2002 performance at the Concert for George, which was a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death, where she sang George’s song "Horse to the Water".
If you have never seen her performance it is worth watching. She has a fantastic voice and is a dynamic performer.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Following Harrison's death from lung cancer on 29 November 2001...

Captain Pedantic wants to point out that Harrison succumbed to throat cancer.

 

[roccobass]

Coven

Most folks remember them from their one hit “One Tin Soldier” from the movie Billy Jack. But they did more.

They are recognized as being the band that introduced the “Sign of the horns” to rock. Their 1969 debut album release ‘Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls’ has an opening track called ‘Black Sabbath’. Yes, they were into the occult somewhat.

One side note: Keyboardist Rick Durett was in previous band called the Cardboard Bachs.

 

[tangentmusic]

On their eponymous 1973 debut album, the unknown but future famous lead singer is simply credited as Sam Hagar

 

[SubHuman]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the founder and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, Jones went on to provide backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones recordings and in concerts.

Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones also wrote a 30-second "Rice Krispies" jingle for Kellogg's in 1963 (co-written with the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency) and performed by The Rolling Stones incognito.
It was credited to Jones and this did not sit well with the rest of the band, who felt it was a group effort and all should benefit equally.

 

[roccobass]

Early history of the Mellotron…

The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by Wisconsin inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are several models and versions of the Chamberlin. While most are keyboard-based, there were also early drum machine produced and sold.

Harry Chamberlin's idea for the instrument came from recording himself playing an organ, and conceiving its playback as entertainment. He designed the first Chamberlin instrument as early as 1949, intended as a home entertainment device for family sing-alongs, playing the standards of the day.

 

[roccobass]

The Mellotron drama….

Bill Franson was formerly the Chamberlin sales rep. In 1962 Bill Franson went missing for several months. A radio could be heard playing music in his apartment but attempts to contact him proved futile. Franson had left for England by boat taking two Chamberlin 600 models with him (one of these eventually became the possession of Todd Rundgren's studio and appears on XTC's Skylarking album in 1986). Franson placed an ad asking for a company that could manufacture seventy standard playback heads. Bradmatic Ltd. (an engineering company) responded to the ad.

Franson removed the Chamberlin labels and sold the rebadged "Franson" instrument without Harry Chamberlin's knowledge. Refining the 600's design into the MellotronMark 1, Bradmatic eventually became Streetly Electronics and began manufacture of the Mellotron Mark 2 in 1963. In 1965 Harry Chamberlin became aware of the fraud after discovering a copy of his instrument being marketed at an American musical instrument trade show. He forced a legal settlement with Streetly Electronics. After visiting owners Frank, Norman, and Les Bradley in person (and having an intense discussion with Franson), an arrangement was made that Mellotrons would only be sold in the UK and Chamberlins would be sold in the US. Chamberlin would receive royalty payments from the Mellotron company, though this apparently ended in the late 1960s. Through this same royalty system, he licensed the Chamberlin "3 violins" sound to be used as the violins sound in the Mellotron library. This sound was used on much of the British Mellotron music since the mid-1960s. Consequently, it can be difficult to tell whether a recording features a Mellotron or Chamberlin when the three violins tapes are used, other than by the country of origin of the recording.

 

[SubHuman]

The Mellotron drama….

Bill Franson was formerly the Chamberlin sales rep. In 1962 Bill Franson went missing for several months. A radio could be heard playing music in his apartment but attempts to contact him proved futile. Franson had left for England by boat taking two Chamberlin 600 models with him (one of these eventually became the possession of Todd Rundgren's studio and appears on XTC's Skylarking album in 1986). Franson placed an ad asking for a company that could manufacture seventy standard playback heads. Bradmatic Ltd. (an engineering company) responded to the ad.

Franson removed the Chamberlin labels and sold the rebadged "Franson" instrument without Harry Chamberlin's knowledge. Refining the 600's design into the MellotronMark 1, Bradmatic eventually became Streetly Electronics and began manufacture of the Mellotron Mark 2 in 1963. In 1965 Harry Chamberlin became aware of the fraud after discovering a copy of his instrument being marketed at an American musical instrument trade show. He forced a legal settlement with Streetly Electronics. After visiting owners Frank, Norman, and Les Bradley in person (and having an intense discussion with Franson), an arrangement was made that Mellotrons would only be sold in the UK and Chamberlins would be sold in the US. Chamberlin would receive royalty payments from the Mellotron company, though this apparently ended in the late 1960s. Through this same royalty system, he licensed the Chamberlin "3 violins" sound to be used as the violins sound in the Mellotron library. This sound was used on much of the British Mellotron music since the mid-1960s. Consequently, it can be difficult to tell whether a recording features a Mellotron or Chamberlin when the three violins tapes are used, other than by the country of origin of the recording.

It's pretty ingenious how they used loops of magnetic tape with real instruments recorded on them.
I love the sound of the Mellotron! The Moody Blues sounded like a full sized, mini-Orchestra using one and John Lennon also used one on the Sgt. Peppers album.