Tag Archives: Norman

1967 Remembered from 2017

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July 1, 2017, will be celebrated across Canada as 150 years since we, Canada, became an independent nation. There are no doubt many, besides myself, who have lived to witness not only our Centennial in 1967 but the sesquicentennial in 2017, and will no doubt look back at 1967 with fondness. I have compiled a loose list of people, places, and events from 1967 that were relevant to me and probably to many others. I hope you enjoy reading this trip down memory lane as much as I have enjoyed preparing it.

This is a composite of album covers from 1967, a very good year for new music and many of these have held up very well despite being 50 years old. For example, Joel blessed me with a copy of Sgt. Peppers remastered on CD for Fathers Day and the music still moves me much as it did 50 years ago when it was first released.

1967 albums

What we listened to:

“I’m a Believer” The Monkees

“Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” The Royal Guardsmen

“Georgy Girl” The Seekers

“Kind of a Drag” The Buckinghams

“Gimme Some Lovin'” Spencer Davis Group

“Baby I Need Your Lovin'” Johnny Rivers

“Penny Lane” The Beatles

“A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” The Monkees

“Canada” Young Canada Singers Canada

“Somethin’ Stupid” Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra

“I’m a Man” Spencer Davis Group

“Happy Jack” The Who

“Creeque Alley” The Mamas & the Papas

“Somebody to Love” Jefferson Airplane

“Windy” The Association

“Up, Up and Away” The 5th Dimension

“White Rabbit” Jefferson Airplane

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” Procol Harum

“Pleasant Valley Sunday” The Monkees

“All You Need Is Love” The Beatles

“Ode to Billie Joe” Bobbie Gentry

“San Franciscan Nights” Eric Burdon

“The Letter” The Box Tops

“To Sir with Love” Lulu

“Never My Love” The Association

“People Are Strange” The Doors

“Daydream Believer” The Monkees

“Hello, Goodbye” The Beatles

“There Goes My Everything” Jack Greene

“Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)” Loretta Lynn

“Walk Through This World With Me” George Jones

“It’s Such A Pretty World Today” Wynn Stewart

“Tonight Carmen” Marty Robbins

“I’ll Never Find Another You” Sonny James

“Branded Man” Merle Haggard

“My Elusive Dreams” David Houston and Tammy Wynette

“I Don’t Wanna Play House” Tammy Wynette

“It’s The Little Things” Sonny James

“For Loving You” Bill Anderson and Jan Howard

The stereo system shown below is very similar to the one my parents owned and thus what I grew up listening to music on. Unfortunately, we do not own the original machine any longer but I did manage to find one that was close to the original.philco stereo 1967

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9th Annual Grammy Awards:

March 2, 1967, in Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York

Record of the Year:

Jimmy Bowen (Producer) & Frank Sinatra for “Strangers in the Night”

Album of the Year:

Sonny Burke (producer) & Frank Sinatra for A Man and His Music

Song of the Year:

John Lennon & Paul McCartney (songwriters) for “Michelle” performed by The Beatles

Best Country & Western Vocal Performance – Female:

Jeannie Seely for “Don’t Touch Me”

Best Country and Western Vocal Performance, Male:

David Houston (singer) for “Almost Persuaded”

Best Country & Western Recording:

David Houston (singer) for “Almost Persuaded”

Best Country & Western Song:

Billy Sherrill & Glenn Sutton (songwriters) for “Almost Persuaded” performed by David Houston

Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Group or Soloist with Group:

Wes Montgomery for “Goin’ Out of My Head”

Best Original Jazz Composition:

Duke Ellington for “In the Beginning God”

Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male or Female:

Ray Charles for “Crying Time”

Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental:

Ramsey Lewis for “Hold It Right There”

Best Rhythm & Blues Recording:

Ray Charles for “Crying Time”

These large console units were also very popular in 1967, less so in 2017 because of the sheer mass of these units. I think many of them are very attractive furniture and they often had decent quality components so the sound wasn’t that bad.stereo 1967

The song that most Canadians associate with Expo was written by Bobby Gimby, a veteran commercial jingle writer who composed the popular Centennial tune “Ca-na-da”. I still have my copy on 45

.ca-na-da

Gimby earned the name the “Pied Piper of Canada” 

One of my favorite ways of listening to music was on a jukebox. Below is one that I own, a 1954 model that would have still been working fine in 1967. Many coffee shops, bars, and restaurants had jukeboxes as well as smaller selection machines at each table.

This one is my restoration project.AMI Jukebox

What we watched on TV:

On April 27 the Expo 67 opening ceremonies were broadcast on CBC, and all around the world. An estimated 700 million people watched in over 70 countries.

Other TV shows that were popular in our household in 1967 are listed below in no particular order:

Mr. Dressup

Rocket Robin Hood

Singalong Jubilee

The Tommy Hunter Show

Gunsmoke

Gilligan’s Island

On August 29 we were all glued to the TV as The Fugitive finale proves to be one of the most-watched episodes of the decade.

Batman

Bewitched

Bonanza

Candid Camera

Get Smart

Green Acres

Hockey Night in Canada

Hogan’s Heroes

I Dream of Jeannie

Lost in Space

Mission: Impossible

Petticoat Junction

The Beverly Hillbillies

The Ed Sullivan Show

Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (a US show so they Americanized the spelling of colour.)

The Carol Burnett Show

Don Messer’s Jubilee

Magnavox_AegeanConsole

The televisions of 1967 were often console models, much like the console stereos and they often had both in one cabinet. There were, of course, many different sizes available as this photo from the Consumers Electronics Show of 1967 shows very well. The very first Consumer Electronics Show wowed visitors with dazzling new gadgets. The show, like the industry, was about to grow huge.1967CES_05

What we watched at the movies:

The Graduate

Bonnie and Clyde

The Dirty Dozen

To Sir, with Love

Casino Royale

Cool Hand Luke

Doctor Dolittle

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: In the Heat of the Night – Mirisch, United Artists

Best Director: Mike Nichols – The Graduate

Best Actor: Rod Steiger – In the Heat of the Night

Best Actress: Katharine Hepburn – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Below is a photo of the movie theater in Wainwright were I spent many a Saturday afternoon.wainwright cinema

What we were reading:

Barbara Gordon is introduced as Batgirl in the Detective Comics series in the United States; when not exercising her superhero powers she uses her doctorate in library science as head of Gotham City public library. A comic book that I may have read that year, Joel has it in his collection now:

rawhide kid oct 1967

On November 9th the first issue of the magazine Rolling Stone was published in San Francisco. Although I missed out on that issue I started being an avid reader of themagazine through the late 60’s to the 70’s.

rolling 1967

Influential New Wave science fiction anthology Dangerous Visions is first published and I am still an avid fan of science fiction, speculative fiction, and science fantasy stories. I just finished reading the 35th Anniversary edition:

dangerous visions

Richard Brautigan – Trout Fishing in America

Alistair MacLean – Where Eagles Dare

Time Magazine Person of the Year, sorry; Man of the Year: Lyndon B. Johnson

time 1967

    What we were doing:

   Expo 67

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The building above is the Habitat building from Expos 67 which is still in use in Montreal.

biodome

Although Montreal was in the spotlight for Expo ’67 there were celebrations of the Centennial all across Canada including the town of Viking that had a parade and fireworks. This is one of the parade entries: me on my bike, I’ve always had a fondness for cowboy hats and boots.

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The picture below is of the Alberta Legislature grounds on July 1, 1967.

1967 leg grounds

The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta was Grant MacEwan. MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta and the MacEwan Student Centre at the University of Calgary, as well as the neighborhoods of MacEwan Glen in Calgary and MacEwan in Edmonton, are named after him.

The Premier of Alberta was Ernest Manning.

The Governor General of Canada was Georges Vanier until March 5 when he passed away then Roland Michener took over the position.

Governor_General_Roland_Michener_at_Alma_College_graduation_ceremonies_1972_(crop)

Our Prime Minister was Lester B. Pearson. During Pearson’s time as Prime Minister, his Liberal minority governments introduced universal health care, student loans, the Canada Pension Plan, the Order of Canada, and the Maple Leaf flag.

pearson

On May 2 the Toronto Maple Leafs won the sixth game of the Stanley Cup final over the Montreal Canadiens to win their last Stanley Cup to date.

1967-leafs-team-photo

By 1967 the snowmobile was becoming very popular thanks to Joseph-Armand Bombardier, I spent many a winter’s days riding our friend’s machine.

1967 skidoo

The 55th Grey Cup was played between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Saskatchewan Roughriders on December 2, 1967, at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, before 31,358 fans and was won by the Tiger-Cats by a score of 24 to 1.

TC67

In 1967 we had Sears catalog’s and of course the Christmas Wish Book:

1967_01s

I sure “wish” I still had my guitar and hair!

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1967 also had many other wonderful memories: the 1967 Rambler was to become my Mom’s car and when she sold it to me in 1973 it became my first car. Steve Miller and I drove it to Mexico and back in 1975 and then I sold it. It was a really good car to me and if I ever win the lottery I might just buy another one for old times sake.

1967 Rambler

The introduction of the Cougar in 1967 finally gave Mercury its own “pony car”. Slotted between the Ford Mustang and the Ford Thunderbird, the Cougar was the performance icon and eventually the icon for the Mercury name for several decades.

1967 Cougar

I never owned a Cougar but I did have a 1969 Mercury Montego that was basically the same platform. I hot rodded it and spent way more money on it than I should have, but I justify that because it was quick off the lights!

1969 mercury montego

1967 was a very good year with many good memories, I hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

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Circle of Music

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One listen led to another, or how I got to here from there.

We (Joel Weatherly @ Spill Magazine and I) went to a concert last week to hear a band that we had been following for many, many years. We had been to see them every time they came to Edmonton, we had all of their recordings in multiple formats, we had played a cover of one of their songs in a now defunct band that we played in and we even had a test pressing from one of their recording sessions. In short, we are not your run of the mill fans, we are fanatics when it comes to Rural Alberta Advantage.

Rural Alberta Advantage, hereafter referred to as RAA, were on the last stop of a short but intense road trip to test drive some new material that they will be recording shortly and giving us, the fans, a first listen as well as our first chance at seeing their newest member play live.

On September 12, 2016, Amy Cole, a founding member of RAA, announced her departure from the group. Amy’s shoes, or socks which she often played in, would not be easy to fill. Amy was not just a multi-instrumentalist, she played those multiple instruments simultaneously. It was always fascinating for me to see Amy playing keyboards, singing, playing foot bass and either banging on a drum or shaking a tambourine. She would have both hands, one foot and her vocals all going at the same time and sounding perfect, an amazing talent. And big socks to fill, but Robin Hatch has stepped up to the task, and judging by the teaser songs they have released and by seeing and hearing her in concert, she fits. She sounded comfortable on both the older material, which they keep reworking with little tweaks and the new material which she no doubts contributed to the creation of. http://northernsessions.com/session/jordan-norman-the-wisdom-teeth/

Having said all of that, I can now get to the point I was trying to make. I liked the opening act. As per usual, they were a local act trying to get some exposure and I liked what I heard from Jordan Norman and the Wisdom Teeth. HIs web bio says that Jordan has been playing and writing since he was in his early teens, I would peg him at the late twenties or early thirties now, sorry Jordan if I blew the estimate. He comes across as easy going, comfortable with banter and a competent guitar player. His sound brought back memories of other artists with both the guitar and vocals. I heard faint echoes of early Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in the guitar playing but it was the vocals that stirred the sharpest recollection for me. I couldn’t stop thinking of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks because of Jordan and the two ladies who sang with him. The harmonies put me on the Last Train To Hicksville.

I got off the train before it got to Hicksville, at a whistle stop called Original Recordings. This album has some great call and response between Dan Hicks and the female vocalists in his band, hence the connection to Jordan Norman and the Wisdom Teeth. This album has elements of jazz, swing, country and country swing. A highly listenable album that I find myself going back to revisit on a regular basis.

Listening to Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks put me in the mood for some jazz so I pulled Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers Featuring Woody Shaw & Cedar Walton – Anthenagin. This was a Goodwill bargain bin find but the vinyl plays clean and was a pleasant follow-up to Dan Hicks. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers are an institution in music and this album does not disappoint, it is a good strong listen and the playing of Woody Shaw and Cedar Walton just make it stronger.

One jazz listen led to another, if I were to take Jordan Norman, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks and put them in a blender I think something like this would come out: Norman Blake / Tut Taylor / Sam Bush / Butch Robins / Vassar Clements / David Holland / Jethro Burns. That is not only the list of performers on the album, it also the unwieldy title. This is a pretty tight set by some very talented individual who are able to leave their egos at the door and work some musical magic as a group. An album well worth looking for.

Listening to the violin stylings of Vassar Clements left me wanting more so I picked Oscar Peterson featuring Stephan Grappelli on the original Prestige recording.

This was another Goodwill pick and the cover is a disaster but the vinyl is like new. Some great swing, some great jazz and above all else: great musicians playing off the energy of each other. This is a really good double album that also features bassist Niels Pedersen and drummer Kenny Clarke. Oscar Peterson is of course an icon of Canadian music and one good icon deserves another so Ian Tyson was next up on the turntable.

Ian Tyson has a deep catalogue and picking a single album to represent him would be an insult to the breadth of music he has released so I narrowed it down to one that sort of covers a good stretch of his career. It even has a nod in the general direction of jazz by the inclusion of “Irving Berlin (Is 100 Years Old Today)”. I did say it was only a nod, and only in the general direction. Anyhow this album does showcase Ian Tyson writing about what he loves, cowboys and open spaces. Having been an amateur cowboy back in my younger days, another nod and only in the general direction, I can relate to many of his song offerings. Those less enamoured of the cowboy music will no doubt find at least one song more pop music friendly; “Four Strong Winds”. A song that is an icon in and of itself, it has often been called the ultimate Canadian song. Originally released by Ian and Sylvia in 1963 it has since been covered by too many artists to list as well as being covered by Ian himself on this album. I prefer the original version myself but this version is decent enough. There is also some almost jazzy violin particularly on “Since The Rain”, once again it is only a nod and only in the general direction.

Corb

One good Canadian cowboy deserves another so I gave Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans a spin. I have had the good fortune of seeing Corb Lund live numerous times and I am never disappointed. He is not only a good musician but he also has a keen sense of history and cowboy culture, combine that with good songwriting and we have ourselves an eminently listenable album. I can relate to “You Ain’t a Cowboy) If You Ain’t Been Bucked Off”, I always got bucked off and that is not a nod in the general direction, it is a fact. I also get a kick out of “Bible on The Dash”, I keep mine in a dash cubby hole, never know when it will come in handy. Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertan bring a different sensibility to country and western music. Much of the sound and even the lyrics owe as much to jazz, blues and rock as they do to traditional country and western. This album covers everything from grave diggers to goth girls, a little something for everyone, except maybe the opera fans out there.

Having reconnected with the music of Corb Lund I just had to dig out my old copy of Waste and Tragedy by the Smalls, the band that broke Corb Lund into the music business. I have listened to this album many, many times and it just gets better each listen. This time I focused on the bass playing by Corb Lund and it was good.

Having come almost full circle back to Edmonton, Jordan Norman to The Smalls who both got their musical careers started in Edmonton I wanted one more full on Edmonton band to seal the circle of music. That belongs to manraygun and the album of choice is Twilight Speak. I had the pleasure of seeing manraygun play live and they are an amiable and musically interesting group. They sing songs that evoke images of rural Alberta as well as emotions that ring true no matter where you live.

So there we have; it a string of musical gems that start and end in my hometown of Edmonton.

I enjoyed Ksenija Sidorova on the accordion at the Winspear with Bill Eddins and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. There were moments during her performance that I was lost in the music. A wonderful place to be.

Play it Again Norman

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I first met the 21st Century Schizoid Man in a small music store in Montreal, November of 1969. The debut album of King Crimson was still hot off the pressing machine and I was a young man looking for a way to…

Well, to be quite honest with you I wasn’t sure what I was looking for and I still can’t quite define it but for a 15-year-old plucked from the middle of a cold prairie winter this album was a revolution.

I had grown up listening to my Dad’s small collection of country and western albums, and even a few 78’s, and the staple of radio was CFCW, the voice of the farmers. I didn’t know that music like King Crimson was making even existed. The closest I had ever been to anything remotely close to this was listening to a bit of 630 CHED, the pop station out of Edmonton. The reception was sketchy at the best of times and the rest of the time it was what Dad wanted to hear: CFCW, with your prairie hog report. King Crimson took my music listening to a whole new level.

The 47 Year Old King

That opening riff is killer, it grabs you immediately and then won’t let go. The grinding guitar offset by the soaring brass/organ and pounding drums. It hooks you and pulls you in and then continues to sustain the pressure. The lyrics are easy to comprehend, I’m not knocking some other bands but there are many that I simply can not interpret what they are singing. King Crimson do not make that mistake. But what does it all mean? Does it matter? Just grab that infectious groove and go with it. Just chant “21st Century Schizoid Man” on the fourth bar of each refrain and you’ll nail the song. I don’t have to understand it to enjoy it.

And then it all changes, the rhythm slows, then picks up and we have intense horns. Horns? This is supposed to be rock and roll. Oh wait, the guitar follows the horns in short order so all is as it should be again. But the guitar sounds so different, I mean really, The Beatles don’t play the guitar like that. Or Eric Clapton or anyone else that I know of. This is totally weird shit man but I dig it. It has a driving beat again, and more horns but I like it. And then the song goes all staccato, and it demands attention. I have to listen so I won’t miss anything. There is so much more happening that just a couple of blokes jamming. And then it builds and the vocals return, just remember the chant on the fourth refrain, got it. Whoa, it goes all freaky, the sounds are discordant and not playing the same song, or are they? And then it ends and I absolutely have to play it again, and again.

And so here we are; 47 years later playing it again and again. What gives a piece of music the ability to last that long and not lose its appeal? It has to be something more than an earworm, that belongs to the Archies Sugar Sugar. It must be something more than nostalgia, I reserve that for Hank Williams and remembering my Dad.

I think the 21st Century Schizoid Man was on to something. The creators of him knew a thing or two about music and put that to good effect on this song in particular but on the album as a whole as well, and they continue to do so, especially Mr Robert Fripp, the lead architect and guitar virtuoso. Mr Fripp had been exposed to diverse musical experiences since acquiring his first guitar at the age of 11, whereas I did not get my first guitar until I was 15, giving him a full 4 years head start which explains why he is so much a better player than I.

Mr Fripp has been quoted as being influenced by Charlie Parker, Charlie Mingus, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Antonin Dvorak’s New World Symphony and Are You Experienced by John Mayall among others and this diet of varied musical greats would contribute greatly to his playing style. Fripp, as he is affectionately known to music aficionado’s, uses jazz, symphony and old world influences to great effect and that is very evident in the Court of the Crimson King. Jazz, even free-form jazz, flows smoothly alongside soaring rock guitar and echoes of the symphony can be heard in the way the song builds, fades and moves forward. This album, and the song 21st Century Schizoid Man, in particular, are not an accidental fusion of sounds. It is carefully crafted and intelligently delivered.

I do not wish to patronise Mr Fripp so I would like to introduce the rest of the band: Michael Giles on percussion, Greg Lake on lead vocals and bass guitar, Ian McDonald on woodwinds and keyboards and last but not least: Peter Sinfield, lyrics, illumination and production. I do not wish to belittle Mr Sinfield but it is not every album that lists illumination as a credit. So to expand on this here is Mr Sinfield quoted from Wikipedia: In his own words, “I became their pet hippie because I could tell them where to go to buy the funny clothes that they saw everyone wearing”. Sinfield also came up with the name King Crimson. Sinfield loved working with the band and, in addition to writing the phantasmagorical lyrics that came to be part of King Crimson’s trademark, he also ran the group’s light-show at their concerts.

So there we have it, a group of charming English lads get together and create a piece of music that I still enjoy listening to 47 years later. Well done chaps, well done.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to pay a visit to The Court of The Crimson King where a Moonchild and I will March For No Reason while I Talk To The Wind. It’s not a Dream or an Illusion, or a trick of Mirrors. It is only the Return of the Fire Witch and the Dance of the Puppets in the Court of The Crimson King.