Any Major Dude With Half A Heart

One benefit of living in South Africa in the 1980s — an ugly decade in the country’s history — was access to places where one could hire LPs. At the very well-stocked Disque “record libraries” one would hire LPs for, I think, three days. You might sample them for possible purchase at a record shop, or tape them, or listen to them and decide that they were useless.

Popular new releases were usually out (though you could book them), but the joy was to try out less popular new releases as a way of discovering hitherto unknown music and to delve into music history with the classics. It was through the record libraries that I learned about bands like Little Feat and Poco, and about the Motown catalogue. It was through Disque that I became a Van Morrison fan (the title track of his Immaculate Speech Of The Heart album would feature in this mix if Morrison wasn’t trawling the music blogosphere for his songs). Sadly the record libraries were banned in 1990 because home-taping apparently killed music.

So for much of 1983 I taped or bought many classic albums, and kept up with new pop music through video-recording from the Pop Shop music programme or taping hits off the radio. Perusing this list of songs here, it seems that until September I bought among new releases only the Bob Seger and Pink Floyd albums, and Heaven 17’s majestic Temptation on 12”. I also recall buying the An Officer And A Gentleman soundtrack. A new job I took up must have provided me with the means to purchase albums, because as of October I began buying many LPs. Of the songs listed here, I had the albums of all the artists as of track 15 (the Human League track I bought on 12”).

All of the songs here bring back 1983 to me. Kool & the Gang’s Big Fun reminds me of my workplace; Stephen Bishop’s song from Tootsie stirs up my yearnings for romance, which due to my working hours were impossible to pursue; the Madness song brings up the anxiety I felt when I spilled a bottle of red wine on to the carpet (hot tip: don’t try to vacuum up spilled red wine); the Pink Floyd LP recalls of my abiding hatred of Thatcher and the apartheid regime; the Billy Joel song reminds me of a girl called Pearl (and that line about “feeding the girl a comical line” has particular relevance to me); the Human League and Depeche Mode songs take me back of a New Wave club that I went to but which rarely was full…

Two songs here are South African. éVoid fused African musical styles with New Wave sounds; they had another hit in early 1984 and then faded from the scene when members left South Africa to avoid conscription into the apartheid army (since you ask, I too avoided the draft).

PJ Powers was a white singing star with her band Hotline who in late 1982 did the quite unthinkable of recording duets with one of the biggest African-language singers, the blind Steve Kekana. Those were the days when the charts in South Africa were segregated. African-language artists like Kekana or The Soul Brothers or Mahlatini easily outsold most US and UK artists, but the “official” charts would not reflect them, and the white radio stations wouldn’t play them. So when Powers and Kekana had a hit with Feels So Strong, and it received airplay, it was quite a revolution in apartheid South Africa. It helped that the song was catchy.

A song that should have featured South African artists was Malcolm McLaren’s Double Dutch, which more than borrows from the mbaqanga sounds of the townships. Indeed, McLaren and co-“writer” Trevor Horn were sued for plagiarism by South African group The Boyoyo Boys. An out-of-court settlement allowed McLaren and Horn to retain the copyright. It was not the first time South African act got screwed over by Western musicians.

Finally, an apology to Joan Armatrading. In 1985 I sat in the middle of row 2 in the Hammersmith Odeon in London for her concert. I might have eaten something off before the concert, which I really had been looking forward to. I felt ill, and kept falling asleep. When Armatrading announced Drop The Pilot, which features here, she called the crowed to come forward to the stage. That was highly irregular, indeed a security risk after Bay City Rollers fans had torn the place part a decade earlier. It is said that from the stage, performers can see the first three rows. With that strange chap sleeping through her performance, what choice did she have? So, Joan, if you’re reading this, I am sorry.

So, what did your 1983 look like?

1. Kool & The Gang – Big Fun
2. Hotline With P.J. Powers & Steve Kekana – Feel So Strong
3. Bob Seger – Shame On The Moon
4. Joan Armatrading – Drop The Pilot
5. Tears For Fears – Mad World
6. Blancmange – Waves
7. Madness – Tomorrow’s Just Another Day
8. Nick Heyward – Whistle Down The Wind
9. Stephen Bishop – It Might Be You
10. Pink Floyd – The Final Cut
11. Heaven 17 – Temptation
12. Bananarama – Cruel Summer
13. JoBoxers – Just Got Lucky
14. Malcolm McLaren – Double Dutch
15. éVoid – Shadows
16. Billy Joel – Leave A Tender Moment Alone
17. Randy Newman – I Love L.A.
18. Depeche Mode – Everything Counts
19. Human League – Keep Feeling Fascination
20. Style Council – Speak Like A Child

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After the massacre of last month, the Grim Reaper took it easier in February, though he still managed to claim one legend.

None of the parade of music legends’ deaths this year hit me as hard as that of Maurice White, not even that of David Bowie. You see, White’s music soundtracked many times I have fallen in love: sometimes for a long time, sometimes for a night, once for life. And, of course, I regard Earth, Wind & Fire as only second in my fandom to The Beatles. Of course, White was the driving force behind EWF: founder, co-producer, main songwriter, co-frontman, patriarch, spiritual director and so on. He had a marvellously warm voice which worked as well on ballads (Love’s Holiday, After The Love Has Gone , That’s The Way Of The World) as it did on upbeat tracks (In The Stone, September, Boogie Wonderland).

But he was even more than that: he produced and co-wrote The Emotions’ Best Of My Love, and co-produced Deniece Williams’ gorgeous 1977 #1 Free, and indeed the whole This Is Niecy LP (with EWF producer Charles Stepney, who died before the release of Niecy). Before EWF he was a session drummer, appearing on Fontellas Bass’ Rescue Me, Summertime by Billy Stewart, Betty Everett’s It’s In His Kiss, all of Minnie Riperton’s Come To My Garden LP, including her splendid version of Les Fleurs, as well as tracks by The Impressions, Etta James and other Chess acts. And for several albums he was a third of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, playing on classics such as Wade In The Water and Hold It Right There. A first attempt at running a band, The Salty Peppers, was unsuccessful. The next band was all the more a triumph. And Maurice sported the best receding-hairline afro ever.

The saxophone named Gina, after the nipples of the screen siren Lollobrigida, has fallen silent with the passing of Joey ‘The Lip’ Fagan. Actor Johnny Murphy, who played Joey The Lip in the 1991 film The Commitments, has died at the age of 72. A serious thespian of stage and screen, Murphy was the seasoned veteran in a cast of mostly novices. He was a generous actor, letting his co-stars shine in their scenes with him — his opening exchange with Jimmy “The Bollocks” Rabbitte is priceless — but by his presence alone he stole every scene. Irish president Bertie Higgins turned up for Murphy’s funeral.

For a brief while in the 1980s Canadian-born singer Vanity enjoyed some fame as Prince’s latest hypersexy girlfriend/protegé, fronting the Vanity 6 project. Born of mixed-race background as Denise Katrina Matthews, she first had a career in modelling before meeting Prince in 1980. He gave Denise her new name and had her front Vanity 6 — the number apparently represented the amount of breasts in the all-girl trio. They had a few hits, then broke up. Vanity had a couple more solo hits, posed twice in Playboy in the ‘80s (and on the cover of Cameo’s 1982 album Alligator Woman), and appeared in a few films, most notably 1988’s Action Jackson. More darkly, she also entertained a crack addiction. Following a near-fatal overdose in 1994 she became a born-again Christian and evangelist. She died of renal failure, a consequence of her drug abuse two decades earlier, at the age of 57.

Was your mom a middle-aged punk-rock singer expounding on matters of sexuality and gender? If so, then your mom might be Vi Subversa, frontwoman of early-’80s British anarcho-punk outfit Poison Girls. Born in 1935 as Frances Sokolov, she was a 44-year-old mother of two when she adopted her stage name and released her first single with the Poison Girls (whose other three original members were men). Working closely with fellow punk outfit Crass, Subversa pushed a hardline feminist agenda, getting herself assaulted by neo-Nazis for her troubles. She quit recording in 1985 and moved for a while to Israel to do pottery.

US readers will know at least one composition by the arranger and conductor Jimmie Haskell, who has died at 79: the theme to the game show Hollywood Squares. But the rest of us have also heard much of Haskell’s work. Most significantly, it was Haskell who arranged Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water. He changed the song from G major, in which Simon had written it, to E flat major to suit Garfunkel’s voice — a decision that resulted in one of the great vocal performances in pop music. He won a Grammy for this, as he did for Bobby Gentry’s Ode to Billie Joe and Chicago’s If You Leave Me Now (the strings and French horns were conducted by him).

Haskell also arranged on songs such as — deeeep breath (and linked titles take you to mixes previously posted here) — Ricky Nelson’s There’s Nothing I Can Say, Ben E. King’s Don’t Play That Song For Me, Bobby Darin’s Baby Face, Tommy Roe’s Dizzy, The Grass Roots’ Midnight Confessions, The Mamas & The Papas’ I Saw Her Again, Glen Campbell’s Tomorrow Never Comes , Judy Collins’ Chelsea Morning, Cass Elliott’s Make Your Own Kind Of Music, I Can Dream Can’t I and It’s Getting Better, The Free Movement’s I’ve Found Someone Of My Own, The Bee Gees’ Wouldn’t I Be Someone, Clarence Carter’s Patches, B.B. King’s Ghetto Woman, Mac Davis’ Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me , Four Tops’ Keeper Of The Castle, Candi Staton’s great covers of In The Ghetto and Stand By Your Man, The Doobie Brothers’ Real Love, Steely Dan’s My Old School and Pretzel Logic album (which includes Any Major Dude Will Tell You), Billy Joel’s The Ballad Of Billy The Kid, Albert Hammond’s I Am A Train, Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods’ Who Do You Think You Are, Tina Turner’s Acid Queen, Blondie’s The Tide Is High, Kenny Rogers’ We’ve Got Tonight, Sam Harris’ Over The Rainbow and lots more…

The story of Joe Dowell, a pop singer who has died at the age of 76, illustrates the brute power record labels exerted on their acts. Dowell had luck with his first single: a cover of Elvis Presley’s Wooden Heart (in the US it was just an Elvis b-side to Blue Christmas), it topped the charts in 1961 and became a million-seller, the first for the Smash Records label. Having had enjoyed success, Dowell now wanted to be a singer-songwriter, but Smash’s parent label, Mercury, nixed that idea, forcing Dowell to record only songs which Mercury already owned. Dowell never repeated the success of Wooden Heart, bothering the US charts only two more times, with The Bridge of Love (#50) and Little Red Rented Rowboat (#23). His songwriting ambitions came to nothing. And here’s a Joe Dowell fun fact you might use next time he comes up in conversation: he was born in Bloomington, Indiana, but grew up in Bloomington, Illinois.

Finally, tragedy struck two young bands; spookily both in one single day this month. All members of the English Indie band Viola Beach died in a freak car accident in Sweden on February 13, and three of the five members of US hard rock band CounterFlux perished in another car accident on the same day.

Jon Bunch/Johnny Scars, 45, member of rock bands Sense Field, Further Seems Forever, on Feb. 1

Jim Reeves, 47, German singer and TV host, murdered on Feb. 1

Jimmy Haskell, 79, arranger, conductor and TV/film composer, on Feb. 2
Ben E. King – Don’t Play That Song For Me (1962, as arranger)
Mama Cass – Make You Own Kind Of Music (1969, as arranger)
Billy Joel – The Ballad Of Billy The Kid (1973, as arranger)

Marcus Turner, 59, New Zealand folk singer-songwriter and children’s TV presenter, on Feb. 2

Maurice White, 74, singer, drummer, composer, producer, arranger, on Feb. 4
Ramsey Lewis – Wade In The Water (1966, on drums)
The Salty Peppers – Your Love Is Life (1969)
Minnie Riperton – Les Fleur (1970, on drums)
Earth, Wind & Fire – Love’s Holiday (1977)
Maurice White – Children Of Afrika (1985)

La Velle, 72, jazz, disco and gospel singer, on Feb. 4
La Velle – He’s Alright (1979)

Joe Dowell, 76, pop singer , on Feb. 4
Joe Dowell – Little Red Rented Rowboat (1962)

Ray Colcord, 66, film/TV composer, keyboardist, producer, on Feb. 5
Don McLean – American Pie (1971, on electric keyboard)

Obrey Wilson, 73, soul singer, on Feb. 6
Obrey Wilson – If You Were There (1966)

Dan Hicks, 74, singer-songwriter, on Feb. 6
Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks – How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away (1969)

Gilles Brown, 73, Canadian singer, on Feb. 6

Eddy Wally, 83, Belgian singer, on Feb. 6

Rick Wright, 57, country guitarist, traffic accident on Feb. 7

Kim Williams, 68, country songwriter, on Feb. 11
Randy Travis – Three Wooden Crosses (2002)

Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe, Jack Dakin, members of English indie band Viola Beach, in a car crash on Feb. 13

Devin Bachmann, Earl Miller II, Kyle Canter, members of US hardrock band CounterFlux, in a car crash on Feb. 13

L.C. Ulmer, 87, blues musician, on Feb. 14
L. C. Ulmer – Hip-Shake (2011)

Vanity, 57, Canadian-born singer of Vanity 6, actress, on Feb. 15
Vanity 6 – Wet Dream (1982)

Paul Gordon, 52, songwriter, arranger; member of New Radicals, B-52’s, on Feb. 18
Vonda Shephard – Searching My Soul (1997, as co-writer)
New Radicals – You Get What You Give (1998, on keyboards)

Brendan Healy, 59, English comedian and musician, on Feb. 18

Vi Subversa, 80, singer-guitarist of British punk band Poison Girls, on Feb. 19
Poison Girls – Pretty Polly (1980)

Rusty Burns, 62, guitarist of rock band Point Blank, on Feb. 19
Point Blank – That’s The Law (1976, also as co-writer)

Harald Devold, 51, Norwegian jazz musician, on Feb. 19

Betty Jane Watson, 94, musical actress-singer and TV presenter, on Feb. 21

Hans Reffert, 69, member of Krautrock band Guru Guru a.o., composer, on Feb. 22

Piotr Grudziński, 40, guitarist of Polish rock band Riverside, on Feb. 22
Riverside – Celebrity Touch (2013)

Sonny James, 87, country singer-songwriter, on Feb. 22
Sonny James – Young Love (1956)

Johnny Murphy, 72, Irish musician and actor (The Commitments), on Feb. 23
The Commitments – Try A Little Tenderness (1991)

Lennie Baker, 69, singer with Sha Na Na, on Feb. 24
Sha Na Na – Blue Moon (1978)

John Chilton, 83, British jazz musician and songwriter, on Feb. 25
George Melly with John Chilton’s Feetwarmers – My Momma Rocks Me (1986)

Nina Dorda, 91, Russian singer, on Feb. 26

James Atkins, 49, bassist of grunge band Hammerbox, on Feb. 27
Hammerbox – Outside (1993)

Gordon Ranney, 53, bassist of rock comedy bands The Gomers, Zombeatles, on Feb. 27

Merritone Blake, 75, Jamaican producer and sound system engineer, on Feb. 27

Josefin Nilsson, 46, Swedish pop singer, on Feb. 29
Josefin Nilsson – When I Watch You In Your Sleep (1996)

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A few years ago I began a series of posts that followed the itinerary of an American road trip through songs about cities and towns along the way. When it reached New York, the series fizzled out. But now I’m embarking on another road trip.

The idea will be to travel from the East Coast to the West Coast and back east. The journey begins in Boston and will end in Miami. The itinerary will be zig-zagging a bit, but it must be at least notionally plausible. So the Mississippi town of Jackson, which Johnny Cash and June Carter sang about so memorably, will not feature because it is out of our way.

We’ll spend a little extra time in New York: one song about New York City generally, and one for each borough (Dylan’s song covers Staten Island; Queens is covered by the Ramones song).

The songs that represent the towns on our way should ideally be set in those localities, but on occasion that rule may be bent, as it is at the end of this mix, when Keith Whitley puns on the name Charlotte in North Carolina.

Highland Falls, NY might be the smallest town on our tour; it’s a village of just under 4,000 people. The town is included on strength of one of Billy Joel’s finest songs bearing its name. The song doesn’t really refer to Highland Falls — Billy Joel has said it is about manic depression and a relationship falling apart. But Joel was living there at the time, and named the song after his domicile. In this mix I might also have located Billy Joel in Martha’s Vineyard, MA (The Downeaster Alexa), Cold Spring Harbor, NY (Everybody Loves You Now), Oyster Bay, Long Island (Billy The Kid), Hackensack, NJ (Movin’ Out), the New Jersey Palisades (Miami 2017), Allentown or Bethlehem, PA (Allentown), the Pennsylvania Turnpike (You’re My Home) — and, of course, many times in New York City.

Bruce Springsteen might have taken us to Fairview, NJ (Darkness On The Edge Of Town), Atlantic City, Baltimore or, though a bit off course, Kingstown MD (both Hungry Heart), besides many places in NYC. In the end the obvious choice was Asbury Park.

In the first stage, we leave from Boston with a song that features the city’s name in the title and first verse, but isn’t really about Boston but places all over the USA. Sung by Joan Baez (whose version is lovelier than Dave Loggins’), it seems like a good way to set out on our American road trip.

And, yes, the contradiction between the songs for Washington DC and Arlington is deliberate — the latter hints at a mentality I am uncomfortable with, but which is nevertheless part of what I suppose is the American experience.

So, here we go, with a mix times to fit on as standard CD-R. Covers included; PW same as always.

1. Joan Baez – Please Come To Boston (live 1976, Boston, MA)
2. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Woodstock (1970, Woodstock, NY)
3. Over The Rhine – Poughkeepsie (1996, Poughkeepsie, NY)
4. Billy Joel – Summer, Highland Falls (1976, Highland Falls, NY)
5. Bob Dylan – Hard Times In New York Town (1961, Staten Island, NY)
6. Black 47 – Our Lady Of The Bronx (1992, Bronx, NYC)
7. Neil Diamond – Brooklyn Roads (1968, Brooklyn, NYC)
8. Prefab Sprout – Hey Manhattan! (1988, Manhattan, NYC)
9. Ramones – Rockaway Beach (1977, Queens, NYC)
10. Odyssey – Native New Yorker (1977, New York City)
11. Bruce Springsteen – 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) (live 1980, Asbury Park, NJ)
12. Daryl Hall & John Oates – Fall In Philadelphia (1972, Philadelphia, PA)
13. Gram Parsons – Streets Of Baltimore (1973, Baltimore, MA)
14. Parliament – Chocolate City (1975, Washington, DC)
15. Trace Adkins – Arlington (2005, Arlington, VA)
16. Mat Kearney – (Young Love) Virginia Is For Lovers (2011, Richmond, VA)
17. Sonic Youth – Chapel Hill (1992, Chapel Hill, NC)
18. Townes Van Zandt – Greensboro Woman (1972, Greensboro, NC)
19. Keith Whitley – Charlotte’s In North Carolina (released 1994, Charlotte, NC)

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Last week we celebrated reciprocated love in all its giddy black & white glory; today we deal with love on a more twisted basis: the unrequited kind.

Most people have had a bout of unrequited love in their lives. If it was infatuation, they got over it fairly soon. If it really was love, they bear the scars forever — or at least until they find another true love.

The trouble with unrequited love is that double kick in the face: the crushed hope of ever finding happiness and the gut-wrenching feeling of rejection. And if one doesn’t get the over latter swiftly, the former executes true torture on the poor victim.

Unrequited love comes in many forms: the object of desire might not know that you even exist, or just doesn’t like you, or thinks you’re not in their league (or you might fear you’re not). Or he or she might be in a relationship that you can’t (and probably shouldn’t) break up.

Perhaps the worst is when you are friends with them. Guys might know that one well: “I love you…as a friend”, perhaps with the soul-destroying addendum: “Why can’t all guys be like you?” as they cry on your shoulder, a compliment that provides a particularly nasty kick.

So this collection of songs deals with various forms of unrequited love; some are still hopeful (such as Earth, Wind & Fire’s Wait), others are realistic about emotional desolation wrought by being in love with somebody who doesn’t want you.

Anyway, if he or she doesn’t love you back, remember to love yourself.

As ever, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R and includes covers made from home-wept tears. PW same as always.

1. Joe Jackson – Is She Really Going Out With Him? (A Cappella Version) (1988)
2. The Band – It Makes No Difference (1978)
3. The Holmes Brothers – I Want You To Want Me (2007)
4. Warren Zevon – A Certain Girl (1980)
5. Wilco – I’m The Man Who Loves You (2002)
6. Damien Jurado – Simple Hello (2005)
7. Ani DiFranco – Untouchable Face (2007)
8. Linda Ronstadt – Long Long Time (1970)
9. Ray Charles – You Don’t Know Me (1962)
10. Sam Cooke – Cupid (1963)
11. The Temptations – Just My Imagination (1971)
12. Earth, Wind & Fire – Wait (1979)
13. P.P. Arnold – To Love Somebody (1968)
14. The Association – Cherish (1966)
15. Cat Stevens – Here Comes My Baby (1967)
16. Bob Dylan – Most Of The Time (1989)
17. The Cardigans – For What It’s Worth (2006)
18. Matthew Sweet – Farther Down (1998)
19. Mazzy Star – Give You My Lovin’ (1990)
20. Nick Drake – Man In A Shed (1970)

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Last year’s Any Major Love mix featured a general spread of songs about being in love. For this year’s Valentine’s Day I’ve created a mix of songs about being in reciprocated love spanning the era between 1933 and 1962 (equivalent to a time span from 1987 to today, if I may make you feel very old).

Many of these are standards performed by the big names of that era, though not all are obvious choices. So we have Sinatra singing a song which 14 years later would be a hit for Dean Martin, and Bing Crosby sings with his wife at the time, both of whom are billed below the bandleader.

So grab your one true love, and get jiggy in the ways of a 1990s romantic comedy. It would work particularly well if you are a Harold and have a Maude.

Next week’s mix will provide an antidote to all the amorous happiness.

As always, this mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R and includes covers made by a sweatshop-full of cupids. PW in comments.

1. Sammy Davis Jr. – Face To Face (1961)
2. Anita O’Day & Billy May – I Could Write A Book (1960)
3. Peggy Lee – Cheek To Cheek (1958)
4. Ella Fitzgerald – I Only Have Eyes For You (1962)
5. June Christy – The First Thing You Know, You’re In Love (1954)
6. Tony Bennett – Happiness Street (Corner Sunshine Square) (1956)
7. Frank Sinatra – Everybody Loves Somebody (1948)
8. Margaret Whiting – Come Rain Or Come Shine (1946)
9. Billie Holiday – Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love) (1941)
10. Lena Horne – As Long As I Live (1944)
11. The King Cole Trio – I’m In The Mood For Love (1945)
12. Victor Young with Bing & Dixie Lee Cosby – The Way You Look Tonight (1936)
13. Mildred Bailey – These Foolish Things (1944)
14. Doris Day – Again (1949)
15. Gene Kelly – I’ve Got A Crush On You (1951)
16. Julie London – You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me (1958)
17. Chris Connor – Embraceable You (1957)
18. Dinah Washington – What A Diff’rence A Day Makes (1959)
19. Ray Charles – It Had To Be You (1959)
20. Eddie Fisher – So In Love (1955)
21. Mel Tormé – Oh What A Night For Love (1961)
22. Billy Eckstine – No One But You (1954)
23. Dean Martin – I’ll Always Love You (1950)
24. Sarah Vaughan – These Things I Offer You (1951)
25. Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra ft. Anna Boyer – I Concentrate On You (1940)
26. Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye – Let There Be Love (1940)
27. Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra – I’ve Got The World On A String (1933)
28. Joe Turner’s Orchestral with Pete Johnson – Baby, Won’t You Marry Me (1948)

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It was utter carnage in January, especially if you add all the thespian deaths to the reaper’s music victims!

In the In Memoriam series I like to feature little-know artists who have died, such as English singer, songwriter and actor David Bowie who started off his career as Davie Jones, made a name for himself as an occasional painter, as leader of early 1960s band The Konrads and eventually as the husband of supermodel Imam.

Well, to be honest, everything that can be said about Bowie has been said. The tributes were glowing and generally paid due respect to the master’s lifetime achievements, right down to his refusal to accept medals and knighthoods from the queen of England. Alas, all that honour will be brutally urinated upon at the Brits later this month. For the occasion a “supergroup” has been put together. Noel Gallagher, Bono, Damon Albarn, Coldplay and Adele on one stage beating the career of David Bowie with sticks. I can hear Bono intoning: “Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with [insert gratuitous lyrics change here with reference to other twats on stage]…” The Oasis goon will perform Suffragette City with that whiny voice, stripping the song of its explosive energy. Coldplay will play… sorry, I forgot, I fell asleep just imagining it. And Adele will foghorn her way through Life On Mars, holding long notes at inappropriate moments. There’ll be an acoustic version of Let’s Dance before they all go on to slaughter Heroes (of course, Heroes!) and do the “we’re not worthy” shtick — bowing for Bowie, so to speak — that always indicates that they think they are in fact very worthy indeed. Bowie’s cremated ashes will flurry in their urn like glitter in a snow globe.

Exactly a week after Bowie, Mott The Hoople drummer Dale Griffin died, aged 67. The band, of course, got their breakthrough thanks to a Bowie track, All The Young Dudes. Bowie had known Hoople bassist Peter Watts and upon learning that the band was going to split due to their lack of success, he offered them Suffragette City. The band turned down the track (luckily so: where would ‘70s pop be without Bowie’s frenzied “aaah wam bam thank you ma’am”?). Bowie took the rejection, graciously sat down on the floor and wrote All The Young Dudes for them. It came out just three weeks after the Ziggy Stardust album and was a huge hit. Drummer Griffin, who went on to produce many John Peel sessions for the BBC, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the disease that eventually killed him, at the age of 58.

Colin Vearncombe, who has died at 53 after being in an induced coma following injuries sustained in a car crash in Ireland, was best known by the moniker Black, under which he enjoyed a couple of UK hits in 1987. One of these was the beautiful Wonderful Life which was accompanied by a gorgeous video that looks like a coffee table book of exquisite black & white photography. If you’ve never seen it, you will want to (Click here). He had some success with the follow-up albums to Wonderful Life, but then left his major label to record independently. Last year he released to good reviews an album, Blind Faith, which was financed by crowd-funding. Buy it HERE.

The unlikely figure of the Georgian-born, Swiss-raised Giorgio Gomelsky was instrumental in the success of the Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds. It was his blues club, the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond (near London), where the young blues fans that would spearhead much of British rock first congregated. The unknown Stones were his houseband. When they left for bigger things, he replaced them with The Yardbirds, whom he also managed and produced (including their biggest hit, For Your Love). Other acts that played at Crawdaddy included future stars Led Zeppelin, Long John Baldry, Elton John and Rod Stewart. In 1967 Gomelsky set up the Marmalade Records label which gave starts to Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger and Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley and Lol Crème, who’d become central parts of 10cc.

With Jefferson Airplane, the band he co-founded, Paul Kantner played at the five most important or famous music festivals of the 1960s: The Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival (the first-ever real rock festival) in June 1967 , Monterrey (held a week after), Woodstock and Altamont in the US in ‘69 plus the Isle of Wight festival in 1968 in Britain. The band’s dynamics were complicated at the best of times. In the late ‘60s Kantner was in love with Grace Slick, but she was with drummer Spencer Dryden. But in 1969 Grace split up with Dryden and hooked up with Kantner, with whom she ended up having a daughter, actress and former MTV vee-jay China Wing Kantner (he had two more children). They split in 1975 but would collaborate further musically. Kantner died at 74 from a heart attack but might have gone twice much younger: In the early 1960s he survived a serious motorcycle accident, and in 1980 he recovered, against the odds, from a cerebral hemorrhage.

I don’t think it has ever happened: two members of a band passing away of natural causes on the very same day. But so it was this month with the deaths of Paul Kantner and Jefferson Airplane’s founding singer Signe Toly Anderson, both on January 28. Anderson sang on only the first album in 1966, leaving the band after a final concert on October 15, 1966 at The Fillmore, mainly because she was pregnant and because the other band members didn’t get on with her husband. She was replaced by Grace Slick. Anderson, who had a series of health problems starting in the 1970s, lived in Oregon and performed for nine years with a ten-piece band, Carl Smith and the Natural Gas Company.

The name Otis Clay will be known to some soul fans, but two of his songs crossed over into the pop charts in cover versions. His 1972 song Trying To Live My Life Without You, recorded on the Hi Records label, became a US #5 hit for Bob Seger in 1981; his 1980 song The Ony Way Is Up became a UK #1 in 1988 for Yazz and the Plastic Population. Both originals are featured here.

And if it’s originals you want, this lot also includes that of the early ‘70s hit Mamy Blue, written by French songwriter Hubert Giraud, who has died at 96. More significant than that slice of Euro pop was his 1951 co-composition of Sous le Ciel de Paris, one of the loveliest songs about the city and a staple in Edith Piaf’s repertoire after she recorded it in 1954. In 1958 André Claveau won the Eurovision Song Contest with his song Dors, mon amour. Although he made his name as a composer, Giraud started his career on stage, as part of Django Reinhardt’s jazz ensemble in 1941.

The recent documentary on the Eagles confirmed that Glenn Frey was not an invariably lovely fellow to his colleagues. Of course, I have no idea whether the docu was an accurate representation of the man; he came across as thoughtful man in interviews. I like me some Eagles from time to time, and many of my favourite songs by the group were written or co-written by Frey: Take It To The Limit, I Can’t Tell You Why, Tequila Sunrise, Lyin’ Eyes, Take It Easy, After The Thrill Is Gone, New Kid in Town, Best Of My Love, Desperado… But I do detest his big solo hit: The Heat Is On.

With the death of Kitty Kallen, a voice that began to be heard as long ago as 1936, on US radio, has fallen silent. As a girl Kitty once won an amateur competition and came home with her prize of a camera. Mr Kallen did not believe his daughter had such talent to win singing contests and punished her for stealing the camera. The truth was revealed when neighbours came over to congratulate the family. I hope Kitty took a photo with that camera of her father’s astonished face. She made her recording debut as the singer of the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, scoring a #1 hit with Besamo Mucho in 1944, and had two further chart-toppers in 1945 with the Harry James Orchestra. She enjoyed a million-selling hit in her own right in 1954 with Little Things Mean A Lot, followed by more big hits with Chapel in the Moonlight, True Love and If I Give My Heart to You. She retired in the 1960s due to lung disease.

Impresario Robert Stigwood left his mark on popular culture in many ways by making sure stuff happened. In the 1960s the Australian managed Cream and the Bee Gees, turning the latter into stars. He produced the mega hit movies Saturday Night Fever, which turned disco into a phenomenon that would burn itself out, and Grease. Both soundtracks were million-sellers on Stigwood’s RSO label which, apart from the Bee Gees, also had artists such as Eric Clapton, Yvonne Elliman and Player on their books. RSO released more soundtracks, including those for Times Square, Fame and The Empire Strikes Back. But Stigwood also suffered failures, none more public than the much-derided Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. There was an irony in that: in January 1967 Stigwood merged with Beatles manager Brian Epstein’s NEMS Enterprises management company. At one point Epstein mooted the idea that Stigwood might become Beatles manager, only to face a rebellion from the Fab Four who disliked Stigwood. Epstein learnt to do likewise, though Stigwood left NEMS only after Brian’s death in 1968 — and went on to form his multi-faceted entertainment behemoth RSO.The bassist of what Kerrang! once named as the greatest heavy metal album of all time is gone. Scottish-born Jimmy Bain played on Rainbow’s Rising album in 1976. By early 1977 Ritchie Blackmore had sacked him. In 1978 Bain formed Wild Horses who went on to release two albums in the early 1980s while also doing session work for the likes of John Cale, Thin Lizzy, Roy Harper and Kate Bush (playing on Sat In Your Lap, Leave It Open, and Get Out Of My House on The Dreaming album). He also worked with Phil Lynott, co-writing his Old Town which became a big hit in the 1990s for The Corrs. In 1983 he was close to joining German heavy metal band Scorpions; instead he joined Dio, reuniting with former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio, with whom he co-write some of the band’s best-known songs, including Holy Diver.

To people who have lived in Britain in the past four decades, the name Terry Wogan will mean something. Although well known as an avuncular chat show host or radio presenter or charity fundraiser, he probably was most famous as the commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest, which over the course of more than 30 years the Irish-born entertainer treated with a certain measure of disdain and sarcasm. Among the many one-liners he’d shoot off, the best might be this from 2007: “Who knows what hellish future lies ahead? Actually, I do. I’ve seen the rehearsals.” The irony is that his foray into the British charts, 1978’s Floral Dance, was worse than many of the songs this decent man commentated on. I won’t inflict it upon you; if you must, watch it HERE.

The world’s porniest singer, perhaps alongside the exhibitionist Rudy Ray Moore, is gone with the death of Blowfly, whose record covers tended to feature ladies in states of undress while he wore nightmarish masks and outfits. Among the charming titles of Blowfly songs are: “Can I Come In Your Mouth?”, “Too Fat To Fuck”, “Electronic Pussy Sucker”, “Spermy Night In Georgia”, “My Baby Keeps Farting In My Face” and “The Sperm Is Gone”. In his defence, he did those only for fun, and some of them have killer grooves. Clarence Reid, as Blowfly’s mom knew him, had a serious side: he recorded under his own name and also wrote for and produced artists including Betty Wright, Sam & Dave, Irma Thomas, Gwen McCrae, Wilson Picket, Jimmy “Bo” Horn, Bobby Byrd, Dusty Springfield, Timmy Thomas and KC & the Sunshine Band. Needless to say, the featured Sesame Street Theme is NSFW!

Mark B, 45, British hip-hop DJ and record producer, on Jan. 1

Michel Delpech, 69, French singer-songwriter and actor, on Jan. 2
Michel Delpech – Pour Un Flirt (1971)

Jason Mackenroth, 46, drummer with Henry Rollins Band, Blue Man Group, on Jan. 3

Paul Bley, 83, Canadian free jazz pianist, on Jan. 3

Robert Stigwood, 81, Australian music, theatre and film impresario, on Jan. 4
Cream – White Room (1967, as arranger)
Bee Gees – My World (1972, as co-producer)

Long John Hunter, 84, blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, on Jan. 4
Long John Hunter – She Used To Be My Woman (1953)
Long John Hunter – Lone Star Shootout (1996)

Achim Mentzel, 69, German musician and TV presenter, on Jan. 4

Nick Caldwell, 71, extravagantly bearded singer with The Whispers, on Jan. 5
The Whispers – Never Again (1964)
The Whispers – Here Comes Tomorrow (1972)
The Whispers – Love Is Where You Find It (1981)

Alfredo ‘Chocolate’ Armenteros, 87, Cuban-born trumpeter, on Jan. 6

Amy Regan, 30, folk-pop singer, on Jan. 6

Troy Shondell, 76, pop singer, on Jan. 7
Troy Shondell – This Time (1961)

Kitty Kallen, 94, vocalist, on Jan. 7
Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra – They’re Either Too Young Or Too Old (1943, on vocals)
Kitty Kallen – Little Things Mean A Lot (1954)

Jit Samaroo, 65, Trinidadian steelpan musician and arranger, on Jan. 7

Otis Clay, 73, soul singer, on Jan. 8
Otis Clay – Trying To Live My Life Without You (1972)
Otis Clay – The Only Way Is Up (1980)

Red Simpson, 81, country singer and songwriter, on Jan. 8
Red Simpson – Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves (1967)

Brett Smiley, 60, glam pop singer and songwriter, on Jan. 8
Brett Smiley – Va Va Va Voom (1974)

John Berry, singer and guitarist of Indie band Idaho, on Jan. 9

David Bowie, 69, legend, on Jan. 10
Davie Jones & The King Bees – Liza Jane (1964)
David Bowie – Ragozzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (1970)
David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust (demo) (1972)
David Bowie – Heroes (French version) (1977)
David Bowie – Rebel Rebel (1985, at Live Aid)

Jack Penland, 79, bluegrass singer and guitarist, on Jan. 10

Giorgio Gomelsky, 81, impresario, band manager, songwriter, producer, on Jan. 13
The Yardbirds – I’m A Man (1965)
Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity – This Wheel’s On Fire (1967, as producer)

George Grant, 78, lead singer of R&B band The Castelles, on Jan. 14
The Castelles – Over A Cup Of Coffee (1954)

Pete Huttlinger, 54, country guitarist (John Denver), on Jan. 15

Gary Loizzo, 70, singer of The American Breed, record engineer and producer, on Jan. 16
The American Breed – Bend Me, Shape Me (1968)

Hubert Giraud, 94, French songwriter, on Jan. 16
Edith Piaf – Sous le Ciel de Paris (1954, as composer)
Ivana Spagna – Mamy Blue (1971, as composer)

Dale Griffin, 67, drummer of Mott The Hoople, on Jan. 17
Mott The Hoople – All The Young Dudes (1972)
Mott The Hoople – The Saturday Gigs (1974)

Mic Gillette, 64, brass player of funk band Tower of Power, on Jan. 17
Tower Of Power – This Time It’s Real (1973)
Mic Gillette Band – Put It Where You Want It (2015)

Clarence ‘Blowfly’ Reid, 76, soul-funk musician, songwriter and producer, on Jan. 17
Betty Wright – Clean Up Woman (1972, as co-writer and producer)
Blowfly – Sesame Street Theme (1974)

Ramblin’ Lou Schriver, 86, country musician and radio broadcaster, on Jan. 17

Glenn Frey, 67, member of Eagles, singer-songwriter, actor, on Jan. 18
Eagles – After The Thrill Is Gone (1975)
Glenn Frey – The One You Love (1982)
Eagles – Take It Easy (live 1994)

Alec Wishart, 76, member of New Zealand band Hogsnort Rupert, on Jan. 22

Curtis Potter, 75, country musician and record label owner, on Jan. 23
Curtis Potter – I’m A Real Glad Daddy (1957)

Cadalack Ron, 34, rapper, on Jan. 23

Jimmy Bain, 68, bassist of Rainbow, Dio, on Jan. 24
Rainbow – Starstruck (1976)
Philip Lynott – Old Town (1982, also as co-writer)
Dio – Holy Diver (1983, also as co-writer)

Zarkus Poussa, 40, drummer of Finnish electro-jazz band RinneRadio, on Jan. 24

Black/Colin Vearncombe, 53, British singer-songwriter, from car crash injuries on Jan. 26
Black – Sweetest Smile (1987)
Colin Vearncombe – Wonderful Life (live, 2001)

Bryce Rohde, 92, Australian jazz pianist and composer, on Jan. 26

T.J. Tindall, 65, session guitarist, member of MFSB, on Jan. 26
The O’Jays – Backstabbers (1972, on guitar)
The Trammps – Disco Inferno (1976, on guitar)

Joe Harris, 89, jazz drummer (Dizzy Gillespie), on Jan. 27

William E. Martin, musician, songwriter and screenwriter, on Jan. 27
Harry Nilsson – Rainmaker (1969, as co-writer)

Paul Kantner, 74, guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of Jefferson Airplane/ Starship, on Jan. 28
Jefferson Airplane – Volunteers (1969, also as co-writer)
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Wooden Ships (1969, as co-writer)

Signe Toly Anderson, 74, singer with Jefferson Airplane, on Jan. 28
Jefferson Airplane – Chauffeur Blues (1966, on lead vocals)

Terry Wogan, 77, Irish-born broadcaster and entertainer, on Jan. 31

GET IT!
(PW in comments)

Previous In Memoriams

Keep up to date with dead pop stars on Facebook

What if The Beatles hadn’t broken up in 1970? In Any Major Alternative Universe the Fab Four stayed together, releasing solo records as they pleased but also keeping on producing Beatles albums.

We’ve already had the double-album follow-up to Let It Be, titled Everest, from 1971, and a live album from 1972. This new effort is also from 1972, including a few hold-overs from Harrison’s and Lennon’s fertile period in 1971. In 1972 Lennon was busy producing his weak Some Time In New York solo album with Yoko anyway, so that was just as well.

Ringo was on a roll and had two songs of his own composition included on the album (both in real life featuring George Harrison, who also played on John’s Gimme Some Truth). Back Off Boogaloo, written by Ringo, was so good that Paul couldn’t object to its inclusion, even though the song addresses him.

In his commendable alternative-history novel The Life And Death of Mal Evans, Peter Lee “produced” his own idea of post-1970 Beatles albums. I followed his lead in calling the 1971 effort Everest. His follow-up album was set in 1974, as will be my next collection. I’ll then use the title Peter used for that 1974 album.

Arriving at a title for this putative 1972 LP was a bit of a challenge. What would The Beatles call an album in 1972? What was the vibe? I went for an easy option, and decided to riff on one of the song titles on this collection. But which one? I was torn between some theme relating to Gimme Some Truth, or maybe It Don’t Come Easy. But I think Smile Away is enigmatic and sounds like it fits to 1972. So that’s the one.

This is a single album, so it’ll easily fit on a CD-R. Covers included; PW in comments.

Side 1
Power To The People (John)
It Don’t Come Easy (Ringo)
Hi Hi Hi (Paul)
Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) (George)
Another Day (Paul)
Imagine (John)

Side 2
If Not For You (George)
Smile Away (Paul)
Gimme Some Truth (John)
Back Off Bugaloo (Ringo)
Behind That Locked Door (George)
Wild Life (Paul)

GET IT!

The Death & Life of Mal Evans by Peter Lee is available in print or eBook from avonypublishing.com or from Amazon or Kobo. Also check out Peter’s blog of the book.

More Beatles stuff
More Mix-CD-Rs

Last week we had 21 songs from 21 mixes posted on this blog in 2015. Here are 19 more songs from 19 more mixes posted in 2015. That gives us 40 mixes, though there were a couple more, in addition to the monthly In Memoriam posts.

Nobody has asked me which was my favourite Any Major Mix of 2015. I will still venture an answer. I think I’ve played the Any Major Roads Vol. 1 mix the most, along with both Not Feeling Guilty mixes, Vol. 4 and Vol. 5, and Any Major Winter.

I dare not ask which mix you liked in particular, since readers of his blog are very shy people, aside from a few comment section regulars, whom I love very much. Still, which Any Major Mix (or mixes, of course) did you particular enjoy the past year — or, indeed, ever?

1. Diana Ross – The Boss (1979)
Any Major Funk Vol. 8
2. Janis Ian – Fly Too High (1980)
Any Major Disco Vol. 2 – Pop Edition
3. Ambrosia – You’re The Only Woman (1980)
Not Feeling Guilty Mix Vol. 5
4. Rita Coolidge – That Man Is My Weakness (1971)
The Jim Keltner Collection Vol. 1
5. John Lennon – How (1971)
Beatles Reunited – Everest (1971)
6. The Rolling Stones – Winter (1973)
Any Major Winter
7. B.B. King – Ghetto Woman (1971)
The Ringo Starr Collection
8. Hall & Oates with Eddie Kendricks & David Ruffin – My Girl (1985)
Live Aid – 30 years ago
9. The Intruders – Rainy Days And Mondays (1974)
Covered With Soul Vol. 20
10. The Ebonys – You’re The Reason Why (1973)
Any Major Soul 1973 – Vol. 2
11. Salsoul Orchestra feat Loleatta Holloway – Runaway (1977)
Any Major Disco Vol. 3
12. Juluka – Scatterlings Of Africa (1982)
A Life In Vinyl: 1982
13. Billy Idol – Hot In The City (1982)
Any Major Summer Vol. 5
14. Sweet – Fox On The Run (1975)
Any Major Glam Vol. 2
15. T. Rex – Metal Guru (1972)
Any Major Teen Dreams
16. The Redskins – Bring It Down (This Insane Thing) (1985)
Should Have Been A UK Top 10 Hit – Vol. 1
17. Depeche Mode – But Not Tonight (Extended Remix) (1986)
Any Major B-Side
18. Godley + Creme – Under Your Thumb (1981)
Any Major Halloween Vol. 2
19. Humble Pie – Drive My Car (1975)
Beatles Recovered: Rubber Soul

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(PW in comments)

More Mix-CD-Rs

This is the second mix of songs featuring the great, prolific and versatile session drummer Steve Gadd — and there will be a third mix, the first in this series of compilations in honour of session players. And still there will be loads of artists for whom Gadd has drummed who will be excluded. I ran that list last time; I do so again here.

Bette Middler, Bob James, Joe Farrell, Rusty Bryant, Ellie Greenwhich, Jackie DeShannon, O’Donel Levy, Chet Baker, Hubert Laws, Herbie Mann, Deodato, Stanley Clarke, Hank Crawford, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Merry Clayton, David Sanborn, Leon Redbone, Kenny Vance, Chick Corea, Maynard Ferguson, The Brecker Brothers, Jon Lucien, Alessi Brothers, Freddie Hubbard, Ashford & Simpson, Eric Gale, Phoebe Snow, Lou Courtney, Al Di Meola, Harry Chapin, Earl Klugh, Sergio Mendes, Garland Jeffreys, Ringo Starr, Frankie Valli, Lolleatta Holloway, Manhattan Transfer, Weather Report, The Sylvers, Mongo Santamaria, Sadao Watanbabe, Richard Tee, Charles Mingus, Yusef Latif, Meco, Larry Carlton, Herb Alpert, Joe Sample, Jennifer Holliday, Diana Ross, Tania Maria, Paul Shaffer, Laurie Anderson, John Sebastian, Mark Cohn, Edie Brickell, Buddy Rich, Angela Bofill, Stephen Bishop, Eric Clapton, Tracy Chapman, Joss Stone, Randy Crawford, Nils Landgren, Kate Bush — and many others…

This mix is particularly nice. I’ve had it on frequent rotation over the past few months, and enjoy its chilled out vibe every time it comes on. I hope you’ll like it, too.

As always, CD-R length, home-made covers, PW in comments (and do feel free to tell me whether you like this mix, or find the covers of no use, or what you think about Steve Gadd).

1. Tom Scott – Gotcha (Theme from Starsky & Hutch) (on percussion, 1977)
2. Roberta Flack – I’m The One (1982)
3. Melissa Manchester – I Wanna Be Where You Are (1977)
4. Michael McDonald – Playin’ By The Rules (1982)
5. Carly Simon – You Belong To Me (1978)
6. Christopher Cross – Words Of Wisdom (1983)
7. Bee Gees – Nothing Could Be Good (1981)
8. Janis Ian – Do You Wanna Dance? (1978)
9. Esther Phillips – Living Alone(1974)
10. Maggie Bell – A Woman Left Lonely (1974)
11. Kate & Anna McGarrigle – Kiss And Say Goodbye (1975)
12. Paul McCartney – Take It Away (1982)
13. Joe Cocker – I Broke Down (1976)
14. Everything But The Girl – The Only Living Boy In New York (1993)
15. Dusty Springfield – Beautiful Soul (1974)
16. Nancy Wilson – From You To Me To You (1976)
17. Luther Vandross & Patti Austin – I’m Gonna Miss You In The Morning (1978)
18. NYCC – Make Every Day Count (1978)
19. Bob James – Soulero (1974)

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Previous session musicians’ collection:
The Steve Gadd Collection Vol. 1
The Bernard Purdie Collection Vol. 1
The Bernard Purdie Collection Vol. 2
The Ricky Lawson Collection Vol. 1
The Ricky Lawson Collection Vol. 2
The Jim Gordon Collection Vol. 1
The Jim Gordon Collection Vol. 2
The Hal Blaine Collection Vol. 1
The Hal Blaine Collection Vol. 2
The Bobby Keys Collection
The Louis Johnson Collection
The Bobby Graham Collection
The Jim Keltner Collection Vol. 1
The Jim Keltner Collection Vol. 2
The Ringo Starr Collection

In my younger days I was an enthusiastic mix-tape compiler. The lucky girls who were the objects of my affection would be blessed with my carefully compiled cassettes. I have no doubt whatsoever that they profoundly appreciated the education they were receiving, never mind if they liked Whitney Houston and I inducted them into the delights of Prefab Sprout or The Rock Lobsters. Funny enough, I ended up marrying none of them. Not that my future wife escaped my aggressive mix-taping, but by the time we were dating, I had the consideration to compile songs in her favoured genres.

As the regular reader will know, I still enjoy making mix-tapes. I love selecting the music, even as I hate omitting good songs to keep within my set length of one standard CD-R. I enjoy sequencing the songs; it’s perhaps the most creative part of the process. And I love playing the mixes, mostly in my car.

Here is a compilation of songs that featured on compilations that ran during the past year, with a second mix coming next week.

1. Odyssey – Use It Up And Wear It Out (1980)
Any Major Disco Vol. 1
2. Jorge Ben – Taj Mahal (1976)
Copy Borrow Steal – The Collection
3. Bill LaBounty – Livin’ It Up (1982)
The Steve Gadd Collection Vol. 1
4. Michael McDonald – I Keep Forgettin’ (1982)
The Louis Johnson Collection
5. Karl Kikillus – Another Shore (1983)
Not Feeling Guilty Mix Vol. 4
6. Alan Price – Groovy Times (1978)
Any Major Love
7. Tim Rose – You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away (1972)
Help! Recovered
8. The Dells – Dock Of The Bay (1969)
Covered With Soul Vol. 21
9. Margie Joseph – Touch Your Woman (1973)
Any Major Soul 1973 – Vol. 1
10. Bettye Crutcher – Up For A Let Down (1974)
Any Major Soul 1974 – Vol. 1
11. Sammy Davis Jr – Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow (Theme of Baretta) (1976)
Any Major TV Theme Songs Vol. 3
12. Tony Joe White – I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby (1972)
The Originals – Elvis Presley Vol. 2
13. Little Feat – Truck Stop Girl (1970)
Any Major Roads Vol. 1
14. Alison Krauss – Forget About It (1999)
The Jim Keltner Collection Vol. 2
15. Rilo Kiley – The Angels Hung Around (2007)
Saved! Vol. 6 – The Angels edition
16. The The – Heartland (1986)
Should Have Been A UK Top 10 Hit – Vol. 2
17. Garland Jeffreys – R.O.C.K. (1981)
A Life In Vinyl: 1981
18. Paul McCartney & Wings – Maybe I’m Amazed (live, 1976)
The Beatles: Reunited and live
19. Dusty Springfield – You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me (1966)
The Bobby Graham Collection
20. Edith Piaf – Notre-Dame de Paris (1952)
Any Major Paris In Black & White
21. Smiley Lewis – One Night Of Sin (1956)
The Originals – Elvis Presley Vol. 1

GET IT! (New link)
(PW in comments)

More Mix-CD-Rs