Wow, that is an act that goes back. They had their first hit before I was paying any attention to pop music. And, while Sonny was elected to congress but is now gone, the result of a skiing accident in 1998, Cher survived the hippy days and she is still a top draw. Most people, who heard them, know that Sonny really could not sing. But, he could write songs. Heck, he wrote Needles and … (16 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- Those Jersey Boys
- 07/03/09 07:15 AM
The Four Seasons were huge hitmakers before the Beatles. I liked them, they really are roots artists of pop music. Today there is a show on Broadway, and a touring show, about these Jersey Boys. The guys started out, back in the 1950's, singing backup for Bobby Darin, Freddy Cannon and others. Their name came from a bowling alley, they liked the name, and the best known member of the group was Frankie Valli with his high falsetto -- who could forget it? Their first hit as a group came in 1962, their last hit was in 1976.
The Leiber and Stoller songs include Hound Dog, Jailhouse Rock, Kansas City, Love Potion #9 and so many more. The boys, in the beginning, were writing for R&B performers and that audience. In the end, they became two of the greatest songwriters of the rock era. Leiber and Stoller's all-time biggest hit was Hound Dog as recorded by Elvis. While that was their single biggest … (16 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- Proponents of Blue-eyed Soul
- 06/30/09 04:00 AM
During the 1960's an interesting phenomenon occurred. Caucasian bands and performers were sounding like African-American soul artists. In some cases, these white performers -- at least for the first releases -- were flying under the radar. They did not immediately correct any wrong impressions about race, since the misconception that they were African-American was helping them chart well on both the R&B charts and the Hot 100. Back then we called it Blue-eyed Soul. There was one artist who had such an authentic R&B sound that soul icon, Otis Redding, did not believe that the singer was white. Otis insisted on meeting this performer because he … (13 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- So What's The Most Popular Album Ever?
- 06/29/09 02:08 AM
I have written a number of posts on music and songs. Recently, I have focused on interactive music quizzes that are popular with Active Rain participants. These are usually based on the record charts -- Billboard, sometimes based on Cashbox which was a similar magazine. Recently, I have mainly looked at singles. Let's move to albums this time. There were #1 singles and #1 albums. One thing that might surprise readers is that the singles and the albums charts often have much different entries from one another. For example, artists who have had #1 albums, yet NEVER had a #1 single include elite performers … (14 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- Under the Covers With The King
- 06/28/09 08:23 AM
Two of the, arguably, most successful songwriters of the early rock era describe themselves as a pair of Jewish boys who liked to listen to and write music for the African American audience. We are talking about Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Stoller played the piano and Leiber wanted to write the blues. They got together at 16 years of age and, over the years, wrote some of the most popular songs of early rock music, including Kansas City, Charlie Brown, Spanish Harlem, On Broadway and many others. They wrote top hits for Elvis and songs that were also recorded early … (14 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- While The Meatloaf Was Cooling
- 06/27/09 07:47 AM
Among the most popular albums ever recorded were Meatloaf's two Bat Out Of Hell albums. The second album was released 16 years after the original Bat Out Of Hell. Both albums had phenomenal sales. The original album, from 1977, sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. And, remember, it was not as popular as part II, the 1993 release.
Reviews of the albums have gone from "brilliant", to "the best albums in history", to "the fare of over-sexed teenage boys". With songs like "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" one understands where those latter critics are coming from. A fact about the recordings … (18 comments)
In fact, that was a pretty simplistic comparison in that they did not do similar songs at all. This performer did start out by singing folk and protest songs and he did play a guitar and have a harmonica around his neck. That part was "Dylanesque". Since many looked upon this singer as an imitator, it is interesting to know that he was respected by the Beatles, the Yardbirds and some of the bands contemporary to his times. Even Dylan met with the … (17 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick Music Trivia Quiz -- He Hated to Rock and Roll
- 06/24/09 02:18 AM
In the 1950's and 1960's, there was a man working behind the scenes in the music business. This man, while having another public persona that made him a household name, was also the head of artists and repertoires for Columbia Records.
In that position he had tremendous control over who recorded, what they recorded and what was promoted by the company. He controlled the hit machine at Columbia. This man was a fan and a proponent of classic pop music -- Frankie Lane, Patti Page, Tony Bennett. When rock and roll came rushing onto the scene in 1955, this … (19 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- What's Tops For The Rolling Stones
- 06/23/09 01:50 AM
The Rolling Stones were part of the early wave of the British Invasion. They are called the world's greatest rock and roll band. There is no question about it, they are the longest performing -- as in touring over the years -- rock and roll supergroup ever. I never would have predicted that they would outlive the Beatles by so many decades. The Stones, Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel and Clapton are legendary and a few of the last remaining remnants of the early 1960's. The Rolling Stones have not had a top hit in 20 years but they have been doing concert tours that sell seats. I wonder how many … (8 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- Who Said No To A Billion Dollars?
- 06/22/09 03:11 AM
Big money does not always yield the expected results. This is the story of a band that became very famous. The four members of the group were international celebrities. Their string of hits put the act in the spotlight for more than eight years. Then the band broke up. According to MTV, as reported by Billboard magazine, years later a promoter wanted to put together a reunion tour. He offered the band, and this is not a typo, one billion dollars to perform 100 shows. The promoter knew that he could make a profit off such a tour. After all, the band's greatest hits collection had … (14 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick Music Trivia Quiz -- Who Wrote the Song?
- 06/20/09 08:32 AM
Recently I wrote about Whitney Houston and her famous second cousin, Dionne Warwick. According to the Billboard charts, Whitney Houston holds the record for the 8th most popular song ever. That puts her up above the Beatles, the Stones and Elvis. You have probably all heard the song I am talking about. It was the big hit from the popular 1992 movie, The Bodyguard, which starred Houston and Kevin Costner. What many people do not know is that this song -- I Will Always Love You -- the biggest hit of Houston's career, was a cover of a cover. Costner was in charge … (18 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- Uncovering Whitney Houston
- 06/19/09 02:43 AM
Whitney Houston has been one of the biggest names in the history of pop music. In fact, had it not been for a technicality, according to Billboard magazine, she would have had more consecutive #1 singles than the Beatles. This woman has the genes. It is no accident that she was born with so much natural talent. Her mom, Cissy Houston, was singing gospel with a gospel group, her cousins, way back in the 1950's. Cissy turned professional herself, although she never achieved the lofty heights of her famous daughter. Cissy can be heard as a backup vocalist on hits by Bobby Darin, the … (7 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick Music Trivia Quiz -- Under The Covers
- 06/18/09 02:00 AM
It has happened more than once: A song has been recorded by one party and it had little success. Then, wouldn't you know it, someone else records it and it becomes a monster hit. A good example is Twist and Shout. It was first recorded by a group called The Top Notes. The Isley Brothers then recorded it. The Beatles heard the Isley's version and that Beatle's cover was the biggest hit of all. So some covers come from obscurity and become big hits, and some covers were big hits in the first place and become hits all over again. There is … (9 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick Trivia Quiz -- Who Sued The Mansion Inspector?
- 06/17/09 01:48 AM
I was browsing the news the other day and saw what I considered to be a timely and an interesting story. This involves a recent court settlement over a disputed "mansion" inspection. The settlement amount was not disclosed but a famous "musician" recently settled a lawsuit against an engineering firm that had been hired to do an inspection on a property that was purchased six years ago. The celeb in question purchased the house from nobody other than former ear-biting heavyweight champ Mike Tyson. Without getting too into all of the details, the crux of the lawsuit was that the firm did not give … (14 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- Dylan's Greatest Hit
- 06/16/09 01:42 AM
One of the most famous and respected of the song writers of the rock era is Bob Dylan. He has been called a poet and a spokesperson for his generation. Whether you like Dylan's singing voice or not, there is little doubt about it that he is a legend in a league with few other living performers.
Dylan wrote contemporary protest songs and music that connected with the mood of the country and the world. His songs often had complex lyrics, even confusing lyrics, and the songs were overflowing with social consciousness and sometimes revolution. Once again we have another wonderful … (16 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- A Little Bit of Rasta
- 06/15/09 01:38 AM
Identifying the genre of popular music from Jamaica can be a challenge. There is ska, rocksteady, dance hall and, to most of us, we call all of it reggae. Reggae, specifically, features a rhythm characterized by accents on the off-beat. In this post, not wanting to split hairs, I am going to refer to all of it as Jamaican influenced music. Some of the earliest Jamaican influenced hits came about early. One ska tune goes back to 1964 when a young girl sang about her boyfriend who was named Lollipop. Then, who could leave out Bob Marley? Some music historians believe his influence is as significant as that of the … (10 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick (Music Trivia Quiz) -- American Icon Nudges the Beatles Out Of #1
- 06/13/09 01:08 PM
The year was 1964. It was a year like no other for the fab four from Great Britain. Oh yes, the British Invasion had just begun. It is almost hard to count all of the Beatles #1 songs in the USA that one year. As far as I can tell, the group had half a dozen #1 tunes in 1964 starting with their first giant -- I Want To Hold Your Hand. While some of the Motown acts and Bobby Vinton did well, boy bands from Great Britain began to dominate the American record charts for quite some time. And then it happened -- … (15 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick Music Trivia Quiz -- Liverpool Starsearch 1963
- 06/12/09 02:51 AM
It was Liverpool in October 1963. The sharp music promoters in the UK realized that one of the local pop or rock bands was likely to be big news in Europe and hopefully the world. The question was simple -- which band would be the first to catch-on. A group called the Beatles had a #1 hit on British charts, earlier in the year, with a song called From Me To You. Their next release My Bonnie barely cracked the British Top 50. They stalled and promoters were not so sure that the Beatles knew how to crank consistent hits. These promoters were prospecting for gold.
Some of … (12 comments)
stories behind the music: Twin-Pick Music Trivia Quiz -- Can You Pick the One Hit Wonder
- 06/10/09 11:30 AM
Billboard magazine compiles many esoteric music charts. One of their lists includes a compilation of all of the one hit wonder acts of the rock era. To be considered a one hit wonder, an act must have recorded only one hit that charted. The song need not to have gone into the top 10, but the song had to chart. One of the most famous of those one hit wonders is pictured below. This is your opportunity to tickle your memory gland and display your expertise in the field of pop and rock music trivia. How well do you remember these songs from … (16 comments)
Steven L. Smith, King of the House Home Inspection, provides information for real estate buyers, sellers and real estate industry professionals.
Blog posts emphasize issues commonly found in Bellingham, WA and Whatcom County. Smith is Washington State Licensed Home Inspector #207, a state licensed structural pest inspector, ASHI certified inspector #252760 and one of the most experienced inspectors in the northwest corner of the Pacific Northwest.
Steven L. Smith is lead instructor of home inspection at Bellingham Technical College and teaches classes for Washington State University and the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Steve was a two-term member of the state licensing board.
One of the regular Twin-Pick music trivia contestants, Barbara Duncan, had a good suggestion. She said I should come up with a Twin-Pick on Sonny and Cher.
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