I Feel Free

Repeat after me: I feel free. I feel free. I feel free live. I feel free.

please knock first

All of the music that we've heard throughout our lives comprises our life soundtrack. I'm glad I heard a lot of songs like this as a wiener.

Happy Mother's Day

The Runaways perform their 1976 tune in honor of their moms.

Showdown

share-dos

Come on gang. We're off to the salon to finally get our share-styles.

Tell Me All About It...

...when I swing by with my boat. And bring your dancing shoes.

Strawberry Letter 23

Shuggie Otis originally recorded this tune in 1971. I love the bass.
Johnny Otis was Shuggie's dad. Learn about the Godfather here.

mid-60s chicks

Gonna Get Along Without You Now, Tracey Dey, 1964

I Found My Place, Reparata (without the Delrons), 1965

Wanna shag?

Hep cat college kids from 1937 demonstrate the Collegiate Shag.

Learn the Cha Cha Cha

Looking to learn the Cha Cha in German? You're in luck. They dance to the Frito Bandito song at one point which is based on Cielito Lindo.

Bucky Beaver

Great. Now I can't get this jingle out of my head. Hey look, it's Jan.

Pushin' Too Hard

The Seeds perform on The Mothers-In-Law starring Eve Arden.

Did you see me?!

I love seeing audiences being filmed during music programs. The joy and excitement of people viewing themselves on monitors makes me smile. What a blast it must've been living in LA and seeing these shows in person when they were broadcasted. Keep on Dancing, baby!

Music Scene tv show

Despite an incredible guest list, this show only lasted from September 1969 – January 1970. It aired opposite Laugh-In and received low ratings. The music encompassed all genres and comedians hosted.

• Three Dog Night
• tv promo
• complete show
• show opening
• Janis Joplin
• Sly and the Family Stone
• Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Is that all there is?

Here's the recent Sunday Morning segment about Peggy Lee.

I gotta go

Don't Call Us, We'll Call You, Sugarloaf, 1974

So long, Ronnie

Thank you for enduring and for what you brought to the world.

Elvis

Hey Skeeter, give Kadiddlehopper your act. Man, Elvis was good.

I Can Tell

Check out the color footage from behind the scenes of a 1964 episode
of Ready Steady Go!. They're dancing to a remake of Bo Diddley's
I Can Tell. The clip is from a Look at Life newsreel about Liverpool.




I Can Tell, The Zephyrs, 1964

new year, new suit

Let's go get our "got to be with it" suits. And bring your drum set.
As we enter this year, remember that a little lovin' goes a long way. 😃

Mrs. Claus

Santa. Santa. Santa. What about the Mrs.? For instance, she loves to dance to soul music. Join her already and have a Happy Christmas!


Mama's Got a Bag of Her Own, Anna King, 1965

I won't let them stretch their necks...

...to see my little black egg with the little white specks. Thanks to Lost and Found, I'm reminded of The Little Black Egg. I definitely would have bought this 45. The storyline is intriguing. A guy finds an egg and won't show it to anyone. At one point, Mary and Lee stop by. The end.


The Little Black Egg, The Nightcrawlers, 1965

'Tis the season...

...for lots of Christmas music to put you in the mood. Let it snow!

Think For Yourself

Do this, don't do that, be this way, don't be that way. Go along with the crowd or else... "Be yourself and make up your own mind about things" was the advice my parents gave me throughout my life. Follow your heart and do what you want to do, not what others want you to do. Below, is a deconstructed version of Think For Yourself. Rubber Soul was recorded in 1965 with a more introspective outlook and a different sound from their previous work. Yipppppppppeeeeeeeeeee!


Think For Yourself deconstructed, 1965

It's gettin' chilly

Now if I can just find my stash of winter neckwear I'll be all set.

vroooom

Need a teeny car to go with your teeny house? Why not one of these?

Look Through Any Window

I'm not quite sure that if you went around looking in windows that you'd see smiling faces all around. More like people freaking out.
Aren't they encouraging peeping Tom-ism? I love the revolving stage.

The First Cut is the Deepest

What's better than discovering a "new" old song? Finding a video to go along with it. P.P. Arnold recorded the Cat Stevens song in 1967. I knew the 1976 Rod Stewart version first. With the multitude of fine hairdos that Rod has sported, I couldn't choose just one photograph.




The First Cut is the Deepest, Cat Stevens, 1967

Mr. Blue Sky

Don't you love whipping open the curtains to find a gorgeous blue sky?

Happy Halloween!

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat. 👹

The Electric Company

As a grade-school kid in the 70s, I was the target audience for this program. I looooved this show and it helped me tremendously with reading and writing. The music and vernacular were very much of the time – groovy and funky. For me, Morgan Freeman the movie star will always be "the guy from The Electric Company." Right on.

Hold On, I'm Comin'

Sam and Dave (backed by Booker T and the MGs) and Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers perform Hold On, I'm Comin' live.

Stevie Wonder

I need to hear Stevie Wonder this morning. Check out others who
dig him. Music is the universal language of mankind. – Longfellow

Cher

Beautiful, talented and funny. How do you not laugh at this scene?

I'm with them

I always had a feeling that Miss Jane had a savage side. Loud people
are usually all talk but it's the quiet ones who are the wild ones.

Betty who?

My favorites are: Betty White, Betty Boop, Betty Crocker, Betty Grable, Betty Ford and Betty Rubble but my #1 is Black Betty.

Linda Ronstadt

Here are two live performances featuring the most angelic voice.

Justine

Going to the barbershop, gonna have him do me up, gonna get clean for my little buttercup. The Righteous Brothers perform Justine complete with go-go girls dancing The Monkey and the "James Brown." This high-energy tune was originally recorded in 1958 by Don and Dewey.


Justine, Don and Dewey, 1958

Saturday morning dose of 1965

New Musical Express is a British publication (now online) established in 1952. From 1959–1972, NME held concerts featuring the winners from the reader's poll of favorite artists. From 1964 on, the concerts were filmed for tv viewing. Here are some performances from the 1965 show:

The Moody Blues  •  Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames
The Seekers  •  Herman's Hermits  •  Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders  •  The Rolling Stones  •  Them  •  The Searchers
Dusty Springfield  •  The Animals  •  The Beatles  •  The Kinks

backup singing

I've always had a fondness for songs with terrific backup singing.

John Fogerty

I was a fortunate son last night to be able to see John Fogerty and his kids put on a blast of a show in Boston. One huge, sing-along fest.

school dances

As a teenager in the late 70s and early 80s, my school threw lots of dances and I attended most of them. After the 7th grade, we stopped having dances in the gym to preserve the floor. They were then held in the cafeteria and the resident deejay was Mr. Taylor, one of the teachers. Every time I hear Cars by Gary Numan, I remember how impressed I was that he played this cool, weird, new-wavish song at a dance in the fall of 1979. Satisfaction was always played even though it was 15-years-old. Stairway to Heaven was usually the last song.

meet me at the pool

Travel to Venezuela and Israel. Take a dip or squiggle poolside.

Saturday morning dose of 1965

Maggie Thrett has got me goin' loopy with her groovy tune Soupy.


Soupy, 1965 (thanks Funky 16 Corners)

Staying cool?

Get outside, splash around or grab some grub and have a picnic.

Eddie Kendricks

This song reminds me of riding in the car as a kid. It was #2 on the charts in 1974. Check out these platforms and boogie down, baby.