Unusual Rock Trivia?

[roccobass]

I didn’t know this until I saw the movie
“Bohemian Rhapsody” and looked up Smile’s original bassist Jim Staffell.
If some of you had kids in the 80s and 90s this might strike a chord.

He left music for awhile pursuing other projects in other areas. One of the main ones was being the chief model maker for the first generation TV series of Thomas the Train and Friends.

 

[Richland123]

Why would Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, Pope Francis, Dr. Anthony Fauci, singer Renee Fleming, Cindy Crawford, Chelsea Clinton, the CEOs of drug companies Pfizer and Moderna, Catholic cardinals, university professors and others be meeting together at The Vatican?

Joe Perry is taking part in a three-day conference about COVID-19 and other health issues at the Vatican. Anthony Fauci.

The conference began May 6 and ran through Saturday, May 8. This conference was originally planned to take place in May 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. The topics that will be covered have since evolved from the conference’s original plans, but the overarching theme of how “science, solidarity, and spirituality” can help address various “global health threats” remains.

So, what exactly is Perry doing at the conference that will also feature video remarks from the Pope and Dr. Fauci? A Harvard neuroscientist is leading a conversation about brain health and rock stars with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry.

Perry isn’t the only celebrity appearing at the conference. Soprano [Renee] Fleming is participating in a panel discussion on the role of music in treating cardiac patients. Supermodel Cindy Crawford has a slot to talk about ‘beauty from the inside out,’ and Chelsea Clinton is teaming up with an Italian public health official to promote equal access to health care.”

COVID-19, of course, will be the big health topic of this conference. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel is speaking about the mRNA technology behind Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, while his counterpart at Pfizer, Albert Bourla, is heading up a discussion on preparedness for future global health crises.

 

[Richland123]

The song "I'm A Believer" was chosen for the Shrek movie strictly for its opening line, "I thought love was only true in fairy tales", which matched the fairy tale theme of the film. Instead of using The Monkees version or Neil Diamond's version (he wrote the song), Smash Mouth covered the song in 2001 as part of the soundtrack to the movie. Eddie Murphy, portraying the character Donkey, also performed a rendition of the song in the film. Weezer also had a version of the song at the end of Shrek's 2010 sequel Shrek Forever After.

 

[Richland123]

The cover picture for Beatles VI on Capitol Records is a cropped photo from this one of them cutting some kind of cake.

 

[SubHuman]

FYI...That must be a Christmas cake of some kind. Those red paper tubes circling the cake are called Christmas "poppers" or "crackers". You pull them apart and they pop or bang and you get a small toy and paper crown. They are an old English Christmas tradition.

 

[Richland123]

The Who's Pete Townshend turns 76 years old today. Townshend says he did not have many friends growing up, so he spent much of his boyhood reading adventure novels like Gullivers Travels and Treasure Island. He then saw the film "Rock Around the Clock," which sparked his fascination with American rock and roll. Not long thereafter, he went to see Bill Haley perform in London, Townshend's first concert. At the time, he did not see himself pursuing a career as a professional musician; instead, he wanted to become a journalist. He ultimately chose to study graphic design at Ealing Art College, enrolling in 1961. At Ealing, Townshend studied alongside future Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and future Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury. Pete dropped out in 1964 to focus on music full-time. It was a good choice.

 

[Richland123]

Many ZZ Top fans have had their mouths water at the sight of the sumptuous feast found on the gatefold photo of 1973's Tres Hombres. Now, an Austin chef has recreated that meal and filmed the process, which included sitting down to eat it.

Thomas Micklethwait, the owner of Austin's Micklethwait's Craft Meats, posted the above video, titled "ZZ Tom," to his Facebook page with the caption, "Sooooo ... I really like Tex Mex and ZZ Top. And I'm a huge nerd. Thanks David Bessenhoffer for making this video! Now, my life is a little more complete."

Color ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons impressed. "It’s crazy – absolutely nuts," Gibbons tells Texas Monthly. "I stand in awe of what he’s accomplished. I have to hand it to him, he recreated every last element that you see in the centerfold with exacting detail. It’s rather remarkable."

As "La Grange" plays in the video, the chef plates the main dish, an assortment of classic Mexican fare including tacos, rice and refried beans -- all topped with generous portions of shredded cheese, with a stack of tortillas to the left. To the right are an order of nachos, and behind it are bowls of peppers, tomatoes, crema, limes and lemons, more cheese, an old radio, and a picture of a woman (who looks a little like Salma Hayek) in front of a Mexican flag. When it's done, Micklethwait pulls the knife out of the citrus, grabs a fork and digs in.

Tres Hombres was ZZ Top's third album and their first to capture a mass audience, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. The meal shown in the original photo was prepared by the since-closed Leo's Mexican Kitchen in Houston, where the band regularly hung out and has its memorabilia on the walls.

Turns out, the photo shoot back then ended much the same way, except for one small detail: The band didn't get to consume that tasty meal. "At some point, we took a 15-minute break," Gibbons remembers, "and when we returned we found his German Shepherd laying on his side gasping for breath. He’d jumped up on the table and consumed the entire lot. He got it all."

Micklethwait's Craft Meats, a popular food truck located in East Austin, began serving barbecue in December 2012. It's been featured in Bon Appetit, Food & Wine and shows on the Cooking and Travel channels. (They also have a four-and-a-half-star rating on Yelp.) But the best, in fact, may still be to come – as Micklethwait's could welcome a new celebrity customer soon.

"I owe him a visit for sure," Gibbons tells Texas Monthly. "His accomplishment is significant. Next time I’m through, we should invite half the city of Austin to come with us and sample the Tres Hombres platter. He’d make another, right? Tell him I’m coming."




The re-creation

The album inside photo

 

[58kites]

Definitely Salma Hayek in the recreation.

 

[jamro217]

The Leaves/ Turtles/ Mothers Of Invention bassist Jim Pons designed the New York Jets logo in the late '70's.

 

[Richland123]

In 1979, Rob Grill from The Grass Roots, decided to have a solo career and recorded an album called Uprooted that went nowhere even though he was backed up by John McVie, Lyndsey Buckingham, and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac with some other people. It is also said that Stevie Nicks sang backup on the song "Rock Sugar" but was listed on the album credits as Rock Sugar.

As a result of this connection with Fleetwood Mac, Rob Grill toured as a solo act in 1979–1980 opening for Fleetwood Mac's Tusk Tour with a band consisting of other musicians.

 

[Richland123]

Singer and musician Freddy Cannon performed on the American Bandstand TV show more than any other music act with 110 appearances.

 

[58kites]

In 1979, Rob Grill from The Grass Roots, decided to have a solo career and recorded an album called Uprooted that went nowhere even though he was backed up by John McVie, Lyndsey Buckingham, and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac with some other people. It is also said that Stevie Nicks sang backup on the song "Rock Sugar" but was listed on the album credits as Rock Sugar.

As a result of this connection with Fleetwood Mac, Rob Grill toured as a solo act in 1979–1980 opening for Fleetwood Mac's Tusk Tour with a band consisting of other musicians.

Sounds exactly like Fleetwood Mac with a guest singer and none of the magic Lyndsey Buckingham compositions brought to Fleetwood Mac.
It's interesting to me that Fleetwood Mac had three members that just provided a framework for whatever personality their current guitar player brought.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Fleetwood Mac had three members that just provided a framework for whatever personality their current guitar player brought.

Which, in the case of Burnette and Vito, was none.
:::ducks:::

 

[Mildew Jones]

Thought I had posted this before, maybe a different thread (searched this one fer me...nope)

What do Lenny Bruce, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin all have in common? Final US performances in San Francisco, CA (tidbit from Bill Graham biography, an amazing book)
MJ

 

[keyboardguy]

"What was the first song played professionally by Paul McCartney and John Lennon" ?

take a listen:

 

[Richland123]

A story from Burton Cummings about The Guess Who song "Clap For The Wolfman".

Way back in another lifetime, Kurt Winter and Bill Wallace had an idea for a song called "Clap For Napoleon". This was the mid Seventies when the CB thing was fairly new in the world, and all the truckers had nicknames or "handles". Kurt and Wallace thought they'd write something about those handles, having one guy with the name "Napoleon". I always thought it was a stupid idea right from day one. At that time, we were doing several appearances on Midnight Special, and it was my idea to make the song about our "newly acquired friend" Wolfman Jack. So, I worked out lyrics to that effect in my head and concocted a melody..

Here is the original scribbling of those lyrics. It says "who knows when" because I didn't even put down the date. Ironically, Clap For The Wolfman, due to several ensuing circumstances, became a fairly big radio record. I can see from this ancient piece of notebook paper that I didn't change the words from the original idea. At a later date, I came up with the chorus about "Clap for the Wolfman, he gonna rate your record high". As I said, lifetimes ago.

 

[roccobass]

Still on a Guess Who theme...
This from Randy Bachman regarding an early acquisition.

In 1967 he was playing to a small crowd in a church auditorium when a kid carrying a Les Paul guitar case approached him and asked him to look at his guitar. Bachman plugged it in and played it and said it was an amazing instrument.

At the end of the night he was going to give it back to the kid, but the kid thought he was going to trade guitars with him. At that point he asked someone to write out a bill of sale and gave the kid all the money he had in his pocket which was $72 for the guitar.

This is the guitar that is heard on American Woman and many of the Bachman Turner Overdrive recordings. Randy recently had that guitar appraised. With it’s provenance he was told that it was now worth over a million dollars.

This '59 Les Paul "burst" is on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland Ohio. It is one of the few Les Paul guitars made with a Bigsby vibrato as original equipment.

 

[Richland123]

This is the rejection letter Prince received in 1977 from Al Coury, President and Chief Operating Officer, of RSO Records.

 

[GregC]

This is the rejection letter Prince received in 1977 from Al Coury, President and Chief Operating Officer, of RSO Records.

View attachment 4295813

Right, RSO was too busy in 1977 working on stellar product such as this.

 

[Richland123]

Another cool music trivia story from Burton Cummings of The Guess Who.

Long before we had computers or cell phones, I always kept notebooks handwritten in real ink while we traveled the world. I knew I'd be glad later, and quite frankly, I never knew how long the career would last. Found this, the ORIGINAL handwritten lyrics for Runnin' Back To Saskatoon...I was in an airport and I was really missing home, the Canadian prairies. In those days (circa 1972) we were often in five cities a week. I was alone, waiting for my flight to somewhere, and I scribbled these down. It's called "LAERT'S LICK" because Kurt's (Winter) nickname was LAERTIS, and we sometimes shortened that to LAERT...I was "playing" his guitar lick over and over in my head, and the idea for this came into being. You can see here that it was shortened from the Paramount album for the single...two entire verses were left out for the single release. Only later was the title changed to Runnin' Back To Saskatoon. Because so many people have commented on how much they liked the song, I thought you might like to see the original handwritten words...here they are...