Happy birthday, 45 rpm

When RCA Victor introduced the 45 rpm record on this day in 1949 it didn't fool around. It debuted with a proven hit: Eddy Arnold's "Texarkana Baby," which the previous year had become the singer's sixth No. 1 song.

But if you want to win a bar bet you could claim that Spade Cooley's "Spanish Fandango" was the first country record ever released in the 45 rpm format.  Prior to the release of "Texarkana Baby" (RCA 48-0001) the company sent out a seven-record demo set that was color-coded by genre: black for popular, red for classical, green for country and western, etc.

Only a year earlier Columbia introduced the vinyl microgroove 33 1/3 rpm, or LP (long playing record), which held more recorded music and was made of more flexible vinyl than the 78 rpm shellac records that preceded them. But the smaller 45s were the coolest of all because suddenly juke boxes could hold up to 200 songs -- about five times as many as the old 78s. 

The downside of vinyl (as we all remember): the softer material scratches more easily than shellac, resulting in pops and cracks, and the static charge attracts dust that can settle into the smaller grooves and result in skipping.  Despite these issues, analog recordings are arguably superior to today's digital CDs under ideal recording conditions. Which is the reason we find ourselves shopping for a new turntable today on the 62th birthday of the 45.

Now does anybody remember the first 45 rpm they purchased?  Ours was "The End of the World" by Skeeter Davis, followed closely by the Cascades' "Rhythm of the Rain."

Help Japan, expand your musical taste

Here's the complete track list for Songs for Japan, which will be released on April 5.  You can pre-order the 2-disc compilation at Amazon.com for $10.99, plus shipping.  Here's a link. 

It's an ambitious (38 songs) and eclectic offering, although we're not sure how classics like Bob Dylan's "Shelter From the Storm" and Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" will blend with songs by Eminem and Justin Timberlake.  It's definitely one way to add Justin Bieber to your collection.

The bottom line: Proceeds will benefit victims of Japan's earthquake and tsunami.

1. John Lennon “Imagine”
2. U2 “Walk On”
3. Bob Dylan “Shelter From The Storm”
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Around The World”
5. Lady Gaga “Born This Way”
6. Beyonce “Irreplaceable”
7. Bruno Mars “Talking To The Moon”
8. Katy Perry “Firework”
9. Rihanna “Only Girl (In The World)”
10. Justin Timberlake “Like I Love You”
11. Madonna “Miles Away”
12. David Guetta “When Love Takes Over”
13. Eminem “Love The Way You Lie”
14. Bruce Springsteen “Human Touch”
15. Josh Groban “Awake”
16. Keith Urban “Better Life”
17. Black Eyed Peas “One Tribe”
18. Pink “Sober”
19. Cee Lo Green “It’s Ok”
20. Lady Antebellum “I Run To You”
21. Bon Jovi “What Do You Got”
22. Foo Fighters “My Hero”
23. REM “Man On The Moon”
24. Nicki Minaj “Save Me”
25. Sade “By Your Side”
26. Michael Buble “Hold On”
27. Justin Bieber “Pray”
28. Adele “Make You Feel My Love”
29. Enya “If I Could Be Where You Are”
30. Elton John “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”
31. John Mayer “Waiting On The World To Change”
32. Queen “Teo Torriate (Let Us Cling Together)”
33. Kings Of Leon “Use Somebody”
34. Sting “Fragile”
35. Leona Lewis “Better In Time”
36. Ne-Yo “One In A Million”
37. Shakira “Whenever Wherever”
38. Norah Jones “Sunrise”

But hey, the movies were great

Those of us who were alive and kicking in 1977 must have been listening to something.  But it couldn't have been popular music, judging from the singles that dominated play that year. 

The demon Disco had a death grip on the country, but we can't blame it all on the brothers Gibb. Even country sucked, as 30 different songs made it to No. 1 but few ruled for more than a week (with the notable exception of Waylon Jennings' "Luckenbach, Texas," which spent 6 weeks atop the chart and saved the year for us.)

Seriously, how bad was it?  Not quite as bad as the list below suggests.  Here were some albums that spun on our turntable that year: the Eagles' Hotel California, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, and James Taylor's JT.  Not exactly the motherlode, but hey. We weren't into the Sex Pistols at the time but acknowledge today the greatness of Never Mind the Bollocks.  And blues fans were surely giving Muddy Waters' Hard Again some spins.

But if you look at the top singles it's hard not to believe that 1977 was the absolute low water mark for the music of our time.  Jimmy Carter didn't have a chance in the White House with background music like this:

1. You Light Up My Life, Debby Boone
2. Best Of My Love, Emotions
3. I Just Want To Be Your Everything, Bee Gees
4. How Deep Is Your Love, Bee Gees
5. Theme From A Star Is Born, Barbra Streisand
6. Sir Duke, Stevie Wonder
7. Torn Between Two Lovers, Mary MacGregor
8. Rich Girl, Hall and Oates
9. Star Wars Theme, Cantina Band
10.Got To Give It Up, Marvin Gaye
11. Car Wash, Rose Royce
12. You Don't Have To Be A Star, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.
13. Don't Leave Me This Way, Thelma Houston
14. You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, Leo Sayer
15. Dancing Queen, ABBA
16. Southern Nights, Glen Campbell
17. Blinded By The Light, Manfred Mann's Earth Band
18. Hotel California, Eagles
19. I Wish, Stevie Wonder
20. Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky), Bill Conti

Crazy about YouTube

New Sanctuary contributor Al Tays discovered the genius of David Lindley the same way we did -- watching a live performance by the amazing maxi-instrumentalist. Who cares that it took him 20 years longer than us? Tays has been a little  quicker at the switch with YouTube, the marvelous contraption that allows us to discover and share amazing music videos, including this smoking clip of Lindley doing "Mercury Blues."  Please welcome an old buddy to the fold.

By Al Tays

When the iPod came out, I said it was, along with TiVo, one of the greatest achievements of modern man. The idea of no longer having to have a physical collection of music (no more toting those incredibly heavy crates full of albums around), and being able to carry your entire music library in your pocket was mind-blowing. Not to mention the convenience of buying only the songs you liked.
(The down side, of course, was that you often didn’t get to find out you liked certain songs until you heard them on an album, because they never got any radio play.)

So I’ve been a devoted fan of digital music for quite a while (even though, being an old fart, I came to it fairly late in the game).

But over the past few years, I’ve come to appreciate another source of music even more: YouTube.

I started surfing it a couple of years ago, when circumstances forced me to abandon TV and cable, and I had to find other creative ways to waste time. I found that, unlike back in the dark ages when the only time you could SEE bands was to go to a concert or catch them on Midnight Special or Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert, I now could find video clips of virtually any musical performance.

I learned about the great British program, The Old Grey Whistle Test. I re-watched old episodes of Shindig and Hullabaloo and American Bandstand, many of which I probably never watched in the first place. I re-connected with old favorite artists and learned about many great new ones (“new” only to me, as most had been around for years, escaping my notice).

One of my favorite things about YouTube, though, is the comments. Not the flame wars that occasionally flare up, but the genuinely informative and heartfelt comments that more commonly dominate the site.

I recently went to see David Lindley at a small venue in LA. I knew him mostly as a name on the credits of Jackson Browne album covers, and I knew he was a hell of a violinist and slide guitar player. Seeing him live, I learned about the incredible variety of stringed instruments he plays. He finished the concert playing a John Lee Hooker riff on an oud, for crying out loud.

Afterward, I searched out his videos on YouTube and uncovered a wealth of material stretching from the mid-'70s with Browne to today (when he still occasionally sits in with JB). But one clip mesmerized me. It was from the '80s, at a concert in Germany, and he was fronting his own band. They were playing Mercury Blues, and he was just SMOKING on the slide guitar.

I was intoxicated, and I wanted to find out if others were, too. They were. Check out some of the comments:

I wonder how many of us would sell our souls to be able to play like this....lol...


How loud can a person type AWESOME about this guy's playing?! Hell - I might just buy myself a Mercury now...


this song makes me wanna borrow a car and drive it really fast into a block wall!


Fast Cars and Rock 'n Roll ... it doesn't get any better than this !!

They were feelin’ it, just like I was. Hopefully, you’ll feel it too. But if this type of music doesn’t move you, that’s cool, too. Go and find something that does. And type AWESOME as loud as you can.

Judge not, lest ye be judged

Does anybody know how Steven Tyler is doing these days?  As curious as we've been about the latest season of American Idol, we had to sacrifice some guilty pleasure for Lent, so ...

(For those paying even less attention than us: the longtime Aerosmith frontman is an Idol judge, not a contestant.)

But now we're more curious than ever how Tyler is faring, especially since the most popular description we've heard for him is "Icky!" Hey, let's see how YOU'RE doing at 63.  After what Tyler's been through, and we're talking legendary drugs, sex and hard-smacking rock 'n' roll, it's amazing he can answer the bell -- any bell.  At least he is still among the living.

So let us be among the first to salute Tyler on hitting the mondo seis-tres.  Check out today's impressive Birthday Band, and if you you're not on the wagon hoist one for them tonight:

Joe Loco (1921-88): Jazz musician, arranger
Introduced mambo, cha-cha-cha

Diana Ross (1944): Singer
I Hear a Symphony, Come See About Me, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Richard Tandy (1948): Keyboards, Electric Light Orchestra
LPs: A New World Record, Out of the Blue, Discovery, Time

Steven Tyler (1948): Singer, Aerosmith
Sweet Emotion, Dream On, Walk This Way, Janie's Got a Gun

Vicki Lawrence (1949): Actress, singer
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia

Fran Sheehan (1949): Bass, Boston
More than a Feeling, Long Time, Don’t Look Back

Teddy Pendergrass (1950-2010): Singer
LPs: Teddy, Love Language, Workin’ It Back, Joy

Friday on our mind

Is is really possible that Rebecca Black's video "Friday" had 42,586,619 views before we finally saw it?  We acknowledge we are slow here at the Sanctuary with the new stuff,  but that number is startling! (In our defense, at least we aren't manning the control tower at Reagan National.)

More surprising -- and troubling -- is that a harmless video posted on YouTube could generate more than a half-million "dislikes" in such a short time.  Way to go, cyber bullies. It must have been a slow month. 

We're not here to defend "Friday," which is NOT the worst song of all time. But we will defend Rebecca Black, who to us is just a 13-year-old singing a pop song that probably would've gotten her eliminated from American Idol by now. We don't care what she's earning for her part -- we've read $25,000 a week -- she said she'll donate proceeds to the Japan relief fund and her school.

Why must so many people be so annoyed by this?

A throne for a King

Here it is, the first No. 1 record on Billboard's album chart, which debuted on this day in 1945.

The sweet music of the King Cole Trio, consisting of Nat King Cole on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar and Johnny Miller on bass, proved an incredible boon for fledgling Capitol Records.  This first record, which spent 12 weeks atop the chart (it was not updated every week at the start), was actually an album consisting of four two-sided 78 rpm records, and in 1950 would be released on a vinyl LP.

Cole's music at the time was beginning to dominate Billboard's Harlem Hit Parade and his hits were crossing over to the pop charts.  He was an accomplished pianist, but it was his mellow baritone voice that would spark his incredible popularity.  Jack Benny once introduced Cole on his show as "the best friend a song ever had," and we won't argue.

We wouldn't discover Cole until years later when "Ramblin' Rose" made it on radio in backwoods Wisconsin. 

Here were the songs on that first album:

1. Sweet Lorraine
2. Embraceable You
3. The Man I Love
4. Body and Soul
5. Prelude in C Sharp Minor
6. What Is This Thing Called Love?
7. It's Only a Paper Moon
8. Easy Listening Blues