Unusual Rock Trivia?

[roccobass]

More pop than rock trivia. Regarding Nancy Sinatra and her USO tour band The Gordian Knot. ((Not to be confused with the 90s band Gordian Knot)

Gordian Knot was a short-lived “psych” band from southern California, by way of Mississippi. They released only one album,"Tones" a terrific soft rock/harmony pop effort produced by Clark Burroughs of the Hi-Los. The group formed at the University of Mississippi and was led by ex-Mississippi all-American quarterback/guitarist/lead vocalist Jim Weatherly, a native of Pontotoc, MI. The group caught their biggest break after they appeared at a party thrown by Nancy Sinatra, who apparently liked them so much that she asked them to accompany her on a USO trip to Vietnam.

On a side note. Here’s the band again. Not sure if this a movie scene or an actual gig. But that’s Lana Wood (Bond Girl and sister of Natalie Wood) playing tambourine next to the bassist! What good luck!

 

[Michedelic]

In 2009, Go-Go's lead vocalist Belinda Carlisle appeared on the American reality TV series Dancing With The Stars and wound up becoming the first contestant eliminated.

Apparently she didn’t have the beat.

 

[roccobass]

Apparently she didn’t have the beat.

Maybe if she sang “I Got Two Left Feet”, while she danced, she might have further. I dunno..

 

[Darkhorse1962]

In the first 30 years of the Billboard Hot 100 chart (1958-1988) there were at least 31 number one songs with a common girl's name in the title.

In the following 35 years there have been only two such song titles in number one songs.

Bonus points if you can name all the song titles without Googling.
(1958-1988)
Patricia
Sue
Sheila x2
Sherry
Dominique
Paula
Dolly
Rhonda
Penny
Ruby
Judy
Juliet
Rosie
Maggie
Brandy
Angie x2
Annie
Bennie
Mandy
Lucy
Sharona
Bette
Mickey
Diane
Eileen
Billie Jean
Amanda
Sara
Diana

(1989-2022)
Maria
Delilah

Note: Not included on this list: Windy and Sloopy

 

[Richland123]

Although all three have the same last name, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, and Andy Taylor of Duran Duran are not related to each other.

 

[roccobass]

How Phil Lynott picked the bass.

In 1968, he teamed up with bassist Brendan 'Brush' Shiels to form Skid Row.

Because Lynott did not play an instrument at this point in his career, he instead manipulated his voice through an echo box during instrumental sections.

Despite increased success, and the release of a single, "New Faces, Old Places", Shiels became concerned about Lynott's tendency to sing off-key. He then discovered that the problem was with Lynott's tonsils; he subsequently took a leave of absence from the band. By the time he had recovered, Shiels had decided to take over singing lead and reduce the band to a three-piece. Feeling guilty of having effectively sacked one of his best friends, he taught Lynott how to play bass, figuring it would be easier to learn than a six-string guitar, and sold him a Fender Jazz Bass he had bought from Robert Ballagh for £36, and started giving him lessons.

 

[IMMusicRulz]

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Maria McKee, pictured here, is actually the half sister of Bryan McLean, the lead guitarist for Sixties psychedelic rock band Love, and the writer of their biggest hit, Alone Again Or.

 

[MonetBass]

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Maria McKee, pictured here, is actually the half sister of Bryan McLean, the lead guitarist for Sixties psychedelic rock band Love, and the writer of their biggest hit, Alone Again Or.

Maria is best known for her song "If Love Is a Red Dress (Hang Me in Rags)" from the film Pulp Fiction.

 

[SubHuman]

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin, March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar. She was the first great recording star of gospel music, and was among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of rock and roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians including Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Eric Clapton.
According to Cleveland.com, Tharpe "plugged into an electric guitar in the late 1930s and became a rock star before the men considered the pioneers of rock and roll had dreamt of doing so. She's the "Godmother of rock and roll" who influenced every musician traditionally identified with helping launch the genre during the 1950s".
She played a beautiful white ‘61 Les Paul Custom.

Here’s a great song from 1964 by the Godmother of Rock n Roll:

 

[IMMusicRulz]

Lita Ford was once engaged in the late eighties to Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, who even produced a solo album for her in the eighties for RCA Records, which has never been released. They broke off their engagement, after Tony allegedly got into a scuffle with Lita on a plane flight and she spent the majority of the flight hiding from him.

 

[roccobass]

In 1964, a then 17-year-old Steve Howe became a member of his first professional band, the North London-based rhythm and blues group The Syndicats that formed the year prior.

The Syndicats occasionally opened for Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds; one night Farlowe asked Howe to step in for Albert Lee at a Wolverhampton gig when Lee was taken ill.

 

[SubHuman]

The Beatles logo transition…

Before 1963

1963

1964

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

Rock Stars Are Just Like You & I!
Do Ya Think I'm Sexy??? Rod Stewart choo-choo-chooses to build model railways in his spare time.
On this day in 2019 Rod The Mod was featured on the cover of Britain’s Railway Modeller magazine. The singer had put the finishing touches to a 25-year project building a railway city, which was modelled on both New York and Chicago around 1945. The model railway which spans 1,500 square feet was housed in the attic of his Los Angeles home.
Speaking to Railway Modeller, Stewart revealed that he has spent almost 26-years building a huge, 124-ft-long intricate model of a city influenced by both New York and Chicago.
Later, after the interview was shared, Stewart rang BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show to refute accusations that he hadn’t made the model railway himself.
Sir Rod said: “I would say 90% of it I built myself. The only thing I wasn’t very good at and still am not is the electricals, so I had someone else do that.”
“A lot of people laugh at it being a silly hobby, but it’s a wonderful hobby,” he continued.
Parts of this story were written by Elizabeth Aubrey at www.nme.com
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[marchone]

Rock Stars Are Just Like You & I!
Do Ya Think I'm Sexy??? Rod Stewart choo-choo-chooses to build model railways in his spare time.
On this day in 2019 Rod The Mod was featured on the cover of Britain’s Railway Modeller magazine. The singer had put the finishing touches to a 25-year project building a railway city, which was modelled on both New York and Chicago around 1945. The model railway which spans 1,500 square feet was housed in the attic of his Los Angeles home.
Speaking to Railway Modeller, Stewart revealed that he has spent almost 26-years building a huge, 124-ft-long intricate model of a city influenced by both New York and Chicago.
Later, after the interview was shared, Stewart rang BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show to refute accusations that he hadn’t made the model railway himself.
Sir Rod said: “I would say 90% of it I built myself. The only thing I wasn’t very good at and still am not is the electricals, so I had someone else do that.”
“A lot of people laugh at it being a silly hobby, but it’s a wonderful hobby,” he continued.
Parts of this story were written by Elizabeth Aubrey at www.nme.com
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I read he recently had the whole layout packed up and shipped to Scotland in a big house move.

rod stewart's model train layout

Links to various articles. It's insanely well done. He's more of an architectural model builder than a model railroader. The full layout is 2852 sq ft. That's a 4/5 bedroom house.

 

[marchone]

Here's another from Jools Holland.

 

[Guitalia]

In the same vein, Monty Python's Eric Idle got Harrison's backing and blessing to parody The Beatles too. If you haven't seen The Rutles they were a rock band that performed visual and aural pastiches and parodies of the Beatles. This fictional band was created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes for a sketch in Idle's mid-1970s BBC television. The Mockumentary is called All You Need is Cash. Very funny if you know The Beatles History.
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Neil Innes wrote the songs and played keys on the Rutles recordings. John Halsey, who played Rutles' drummer Barry Wom in the movie, also played drums on the recordings. The guitar and bass parts were played by Peter "Ollie" Halsall, who also sang the Paul McCartney-esque Dirk McQucikly vocal parts that Eric Idle mimed to.

In fact, Halsall was originally recruited to play McQuickly (he was a superlatively skillful left-handed guitarist and bassist whose doe-eyed looks made him the obvious choice), but producer Lorne Michaels insisted that the only way the movie had a chance of getting sufficient viewership in the U.S. would be to cast Eric Idle in a prominent role---i.e., as a member of the band---despite his being unable to play or sing.

Halsey and Halsall had been members of the terrific but little-known early '70s British jazz-rock band Patto. Patto's music and history is a whole other topic, but here's a live-in-the-studio example of Halsall's and Halsey's playing, from a 1972 album. (I bought the album Roll 'em, Smoke 'em, Put Another Line Out when it came out; I suspect that a young Eddie Van Halen did, too. And maybe Randy Rhoads.)

 

[The Owl]

Neil Innes wrote the songs and played keys on the Rutles recordings. John Halsey, who played Rutles' drummer Barry Wom in the movie, also played drums on the recordings. The guitar and bass parts were played by Peter "Ollie" Halsall, who also sang the Paul McCartney-esque Dirk McQucikly vocal parts that Eric Idle mimed to.

In fact, Halsall was originally recruited to play McQuickly (he was a superlatively skillful left-handed guitarist and bassist whose doe-eyed looks made him the obvious choice), but producer Lorne Michaels insisted that the only way the movie had a chance of getting sufficient viewership in the U.S. would be to cast Eric Idle in a prominent role---i.e., as a member of the band---despite his being unable to play or sing.

Halsey and Halsall had been members of the terrific but little-known early '70s British jazz-rock band Patto. Patto's music and history is a whole other topic, but here's a live-in-the-studio example of Halsall's and Halsey's playing, from a 1972 album. (I bought the album Roll 'em, Smoke 'em, Put Another Line Out when it came out; I suspect that a young Eddie Van Halen did, too. And maybe Randy Rhoads.)

Here's Ollie with Tempest

 

[MonetBass]

Neil Innes wrote the songs and played keys on the Rutles recordings. John Halsey, who played Rutles' drummer Barry Wom in the movie, also played drums on the recordings. The guitar and bass parts were played by Peter "Ollie" Halsall, who also sang the Paul McCartney-esque Dirk McQucikly vocal parts that Eric Idle mimed to.

In fact, Halsall was originally recruited to play McQuickly (he was a superlatively skillful left-handed guitarist and bassist whose doe-eyed looks made him the obvious choice), but producer Lorne Michaels insisted that the only way the movie had a chance of getting sufficient viewership in the U.S. would be to cast Eric Idle in a prominent role---i.e., as a member of the band---despite his being unable to play or sing.

Hardly. While not the best singer, Eric Idle can certainly sing (and play).

 

[Guitalia]

Here's Ollie with Tempest

Tempest briefly included both Ollie Halsall and Alan Holdsworth. There's a YouTube video somewhere of the two of them playing live together in Tempest, but Holdsworth's guitar is all but inaudible, unfortunately.

 

[GregC]

Neil Innes wrote the songs and played keys on the Rutles recordings. John Halsey, who played Rutles' drummer Barry Wom in the movie, also played drums on the recordings. The guitar and bass parts were played by Peter "Ollie" Halsall, who also sang the Paul McCartney-esque Dirk McQucikly vocal parts that Eric Idle mimed to.

In fact, Halsall was originally recruited to play McQuickly (he was a superlatively skillful left-handed guitarist and bassist whose doe-eyed looks made him the obvious choice), but producer Lorne Michaels insisted that the only way the movie had a chance of getting sufficient viewership in the U.S. would be to cast Eric Idle in a prominent role---i.e., as a member of the band---despite his being unable to play or sing.

Halsey and Halsall had been members of the terrific but little-known early '70s British jazz-rock band Patto. Patto's music and history is a whole other topic, but here's a live-in-the-studio example of Halsall's and Halsey's playing, from a 1972 album. (I bought the album Roll 'em, Smoke 'em, Put Another Line Out when it came out; I suspect that a young Eddie Van Halen did, too. And maybe Randy Rhoads.)

Lorne was probably right. Python got really big in the US in the late '70s, and Idle was certainly the only cast member I recognized when the movie came out. The other guys were very good, but they were much better known in the UK.