Keener 13

By Bob Berry

I bet if Bobby McFerrin had one do-over it would be this:

Hold on to the marketing rights! Hey, it worked for George Lucas.

But, when you take a simple little idea, create a virtuoso acappella recording that becomes the first of it’s genre to hit Number One, and win Record and Song of the Year at the 1989 Grammys…well, what you gonna do?

That’s right, “don’t worry, be happy“.

Throwback Thursday on Keener is a “whistle-along”. Join in, and ignore the funny looks from the stiffs!

By Bob Berry

It was only 1:57 seconds long, but it’s two of the greatest minutes in the history of 60’s pop.

It’s “The Letter“, by Memphis, Tennessee’s The Box Tops, and it began FOUR weeks at Number One on September 23rd, 1967. And perhaps most remarkable,”the Letter” was the first song the group ever released!

The Box Tops had a string of hits thru 1969, including “Cry Like A Baby”, “Soul Deep”, all recorded with the legendary studio musicians, the  “Memphis Boys“. And lead singer Alex Chilton later became a seminal figure in alternative and indie music, fronting the group Big Star.

But they never equaled the success of “The Letter”.

Click here to read more about the song and it’s writer Wayne Carson, in a blog I wrote when he passed away in July. And here is a video of a live performance of “The Letter” by The Box Tops, recorded at the legendary New York City music showcase, The Bitter End.

By Bob Berry

I have a question.

How did Robert De Niro go from the guy who won Oscars for Godfather II and Raging Bull,  was Martin Scorsese’s go-to guy, recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, and a place on the short list of greatest American actors; to the guy who seemingly mails it in, in B-comedies?

Meet The Parents, Meet The Fockers, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Little Fockers? Really?

On the other hand, Robert De Niro-yeah, I’m talking to you, was brilliant in Analyze This and Analyze That. And even though every instinct tells me all the gags are in the trailer, the film as bloodlines.

The Intern, co-starring Anne Hathaway, opens this Friday (9/25).

By Bob Berry

Next time someone asks “what were the two Number One Songs of September, 1970?”, give ’em the answer they least expect.

It wasn’t a song by The Beatles, nor the Guess Who, Neil Diamond, Simon and Garfunkel or Smokey Robinson and the Miracles; all of whom had at least one #1 in 1970! And it wasn’t The Jackson Five, who had four consecutive Number One’s that year.

It was two of Detroit’s and Motown’s greatest artists: Edwin Starr and Diana Ross!

Edwin was first, Number One for three weeks (8/29-9/12) with his scorching version of the Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong Vietnam-era protest song, “War“. A song that was a much more mellow tune on The Temptations 1970 LP Psychedelic Shack, Edwin sang it with a fury  that reflected the times like few records ever have.

Diana Ross picked up where Edwin left off, and also went to Number One for three weeks (9/19-10/3)! Ironically, Diana’s song was also a cover, of  Ashford and Simpson’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough“. With spoken word, soaring strings from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and an amazing vocal, the song was a remarkable re-imagining of the original hit by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

A Postscript. Motown Records had an amazing year in 1970, with a total of eighteen weeks at Number One! . The “big dog” was The J5’s 10 total weeks on the chart-including five weeks for “I’ll Be There”. Smokey and The Miracles’ “Tears Of A Clown” was #1 for 2 weeks, a plus three weeks each for Edwin and Diana.

Makes you wonder, like so many of the Funk Brothers (and others) have noted.  What might have been, what could have been; if Berry Gordy not moved Motown to Los Angeles.

By Bob Berry

It’s one of the great lyrics.

“I’m easy as Sunday Morning…”.

Lionel Richie wrote it, and he and The Commodores took a song about breaking up, “Easy”, to Top 5 in the late spring of 1977. It’s a beautiful song, sung, like their other smash ballads, “Three Times A Lady” and “Still“, so effortlessly, so wonderfully.

And I’ll venture a guess that one reason Lionel Richie is sometimes overlooked as a great singer, is the simple fact that he made it seem so easy.

Sunday Brunch is served, on Keener 13.

By Bob Berry

I was having lunch the other day, and  “Going To A Go-Go” came over the speakers in the restaurant.

And I started seat dancing to one of the great grooves in Motown history!

Bennie Benjamin fabulous tom-tom back-beat, then James Jamerson’s  bass line locking in with Marv Tarplin’s lead guitar, and The Miracles, Claudette, Bobby, Ronnie and Pete singing the hook smooth as butter.

So there you are, already movin’ in places where most people (especially from outside “The D”) don’t have places-and finally, we get Smokey’s joyful, “come join us” lead vocal: “They come from everywhere, and if you drop in there, you might see anyone in town..”.

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “Going To A Go-Go”!  The Keener Friday Song. “You should have some fun, I’m telling everyone…”, and enjoy this extraordinary “real, live” performance on Hullaballoo.

By Bob Berry

It was a perfectly timed TV show.

The British Invasion was happening, Motown was beginning it’s great run, and within the year the West Coast was more than just The Beach Boys, with Sonny and Cher plus The Byrds leading the way.

It was Shindig!, and we dug it!

It was TV that had the hits, just like turning on Keener. No more waiting for the spinning plates guy to vacate the stage, there was host Jimmy O’Neill and here comes the Righteous Brothers, Herman’s Hermits, Marvin Gaye, Del Shannon and even The Beatles!

Throw in the greatest house band in history, The Shindogs, including Glen Campbell, James Burton, Larry Knechtel and Ray Pohlman.  Mix in The Blossoms, with Darlene Love and Co. adding world-class backup harmonies. And then put dancers, The Shindiggers on the set, and Shindig! was Must-See TV 30 years before NBC thought of it!

Shindig debuted on ABC Television on September 16, 1964. And you had to watch, to be cool in school.

By Bob Berry

51 years later, it’s astounding.

A recording by the greatest group of all-time, with perhaps the most recognizable chorus of all-time, that ultimately went to Number One and was #64 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.

And their record label didn’t want it, radio barely played it and it sold about 1,000 copies!

Such was the fate of The Beatles’ “She Loves You“, released-not by Capitol Records, but by Philly’s Swan Records (Palisades Park) 51 years ago today, September 16, 1963!

Astounding?

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

By Bob Berry

The Queen of Soul, our own Aretha Franklin, will sing for Pope Francis at his Festival of Families in Philadelphia on September 26th.

The Festival, a “celebration of community, family and faith” will feature Andrea Bocelli, rock group The Fray and The Philadelphia Symphony and will be a highlight of the Pope’s itinerary.

Aretha began singing gospel music in her father’s church, the Reverend C.L.Franklin’s New Bethel Baptist Church, on C.L.Franklin Boulevard (Linwood Street) in Detroit-and having sung for you and I, Presidents and paupers; she surely will raise joyous noise for His Holiness.

By Bob Berry

Yoko Ono has a cool idea for John Lennon’s 75th birthday celebration

Rolling Stone reports that Yoko plans to “create” the world’s largest human peace sign in New York’s Central Park on Tuesday, October 6th.

The event will be free, and Yoko hopes for up to 10,000 attendees. Donations supporting the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, and pre-registration can be made here.

Here was the scene 5 years ago, on what was John’s 70th. The video was shot at the Strawberry Fields Memorial inside Central Park. It is a marvelous, magical place, where all ages gather to celebrate and remember.

You should go sometime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31sPNmXm3gA

By Bob Berry

Barry White made, very simply, some of the most seductive, engaging, and joyful music of the disco era.

If you were at a club, and Barry’s music hit the speakers, you danced.

If you were on the way home with a significant other, and Barry White hit the radio speakers, you romanced. And from there, well, you were on your own.

Barry White, who passed in 2002 while awaiting a kidney transplant, would have celebrated his 70th birthday this weekend. “The Maestro’s” music lives on. Enjoy Sunday Brunch Triple Play on Keener!

By Bob Berry

It’s a big football weekend all across the “Water-Winter Wonderland” or “Pure Michigan”, as you prefer.

The Lions  kick off 2015 at the San Diego “Super Chargers”.  Hey guys, win one-plus a lot more, for Mel Farr!

U of M fans are hyped for Jim Harbaugh’s debut in The Big House, as the rebuilding job begins in earnest, hosting Oregon State.

And in East Lansing, Mark Dantonio’s Spartans are re-loaded, and ready for a season defining game, # 5 MSU hosting the #7 Oregon Ducks in primetime. Add in ESPN College GameDay, and it’s fair to say the Banks for the Red Cedar have not seen this type of excitement since the Notre Dame 10-10 tie in 1966!

Add in high school football (shouts to my North Farmington Raiders!), and the level of passion it generates in the barbershops, in the neighborhoods and on the field, and one can make a case we’re having a Pigskin Party!

And with that said-here’s our Keener Friday Song. From Holly Springs, Mississippi, cousins Mel Hardin and Tim McPherson and their Top Ten song from 1969, “Backfield In Motion”. Check ’em out performing at Wattstax in 1972. Sorry there is no video, but man, could they sing!