By default, my first choice for today's entry has to be Berry Sakharof. He taught me how to say "Happy Birthday" in Hebrew.
First, let me introduce you to Mr Sakharof. He's considered a guitar god in the Israeli rock scene, since the days of his first band, Minimal Compact, in the 80's. Now a successful collaborator, producer, and solo artist, he is a major concert draw in Israel.
"Yom Huledet" ('Birthday') was a song on his 1995 album "Cham al hayareach" ('It's hot on the Moon') that got a trance-y remix from Infected Mushroom in 2002. Here's the Chemical Brothers-esque version:
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
July 6
I didn't expect to return to the world of burlesque, but it's the birthday of Candy Barr, who has been called "the first porn star".
She was born Juanita Slusher, from a small town in Texas. She ran away at 13, to the bright lights of Dallas. She got work as a cigarette girl and cocktail waitress; she even got married (at 14!) but that didn't last... At 16, she got a dancing job at a Dallas gentleman's club, went blonde, and became Candy Barr, the girl that wore cowboy boots and a gun holster - and little else... She became a top draw...
But just before she became Candy Barr, she participated in a 'blue' film, the kind of short film that got shared at bachelor parties and fraternity houses. Today, "Smart Alec" is considered a classic of the artform; a critic for Film Threat called the short "the 'Citizen Kane' of stag films."
No, I'm not showing it here.
Here's a clip from "My Tale is Hot", where the devil tries to tempt someone with a Candy Barr clip. No, I'm not being ironic...
Anyway, her dancing got her seeing the country and making new friends... like gangster Mickey Cohen (who helped her skip to Mexico to escape a drug possession charge) and nightclub owner Jack Ruby (who gave her the puppies that started her dog breeding business... months before he shot the guy that shot Kennedy.) She was Joan Collins' choreographer in the 1960 film, "Seven Thieves," the closest Candy would come to a Hollywood career. (Her life story almost became a Farrah Fawcett movie, but that never got past the development stage...)
Eventually, she made right with the state, served her time, and took care of her family and dogs for a while. She returned to the burlesque stage around '68, made another stir when she posed for Oui magazine in her 40's, and even published a book of poetry. She passed away in 2005. In one of her later interviews, she said she was never interested in arousing men, she just wanted to dance.
Here's another look at a lovely lady, Miss Candy Barr...
She was born Juanita Slusher, from a small town in Texas. She ran away at 13, to the bright lights of Dallas. She got work as a cigarette girl and cocktail waitress; she even got married (at 14!) but that didn't last... At 16, she got a dancing job at a Dallas gentleman's club, went blonde, and became Candy Barr, the girl that wore cowboy boots and a gun holster - and little else... She became a top draw...
But just before she became Candy Barr, she participated in a 'blue' film, the kind of short film that got shared at bachelor parties and fraternity houses. Today, "Smart Alec" is considered a classic of the artform; a critic for Film Threat called the short "the 'Citizen Kane' of stag films."
No, I'm not showing it here.
Here's a clip from "My Tale is Hot", where the devil tries to tempt someone with a Candy Barr clip. No, I'm not being ironic...
Anyway, her dancing got her seeing the country and making new friends... like gangster Mickey Cohen (who helped her skip to Mexico to escape a drug possession charge) and nightclub owner Jack Ruby (who gave her the puppies that started her dog breeding business... months before he shot the guy that shot Kennedy.) She was Joan Collins' choreographer in the 1960 film, "Seven Thieves," the closest Candy would come to a Hollywood career. (Her life story almost became a Farrah Fawcett movie, but that never got past the development stage...)
Eventually, she made right with the state, served her time, and took care of her family and dogs for a while. She returned to the burlesque stage around '68, made another stir when she posed for Oui magazine in her 40's, and even published a book of poetry. She passed away in 2005. In one of her later interviews, she said she was never interested in arousing men, she just wanted to dance.
Here's another look at a lovely lady, Miss Candy Barr...
Monday, July 5, 2010
July 5
Today goes out to songwriter's songwriter Marc Cohn. Cohn's most famous for his song "Walking in Memphis", from his self-titled debut.
If you want to hear that song and its origins, the Iso Tank blog has already done a great job of recounting the Walking in Memphis story, plus they've got a primo recording that starts up as soon as you click onto the page, so adjust your volume first...
The song propelled his album to Platinum status; two more singles made some ripples, but got lost in the noise of 'Memphis'. (If you want to pop the question but don't like making speeches, just play "True Companion" so she hears the words, and then show her the ring in the middle of the second verse.)
He released a greatest hits in 2006, even though, besides "Memphis", he only made the charts three more times.
In 2005, after a Denver, Colorado performance, he was shot in the head when someone attempted to carjack him. Apparently, it hit him in the writer's block; he was released from the hospital the next day with no significant injuries, and he would end up returning to the recording studio for the first time in ten years, releasing an album in 2007. Here's a TV appearence of him performing one of those songs, called "Live Out the String" (because "Driving in Denver" would have been, y'know, repetitive.)
In 2010, he's releasing his latest album, which happens to be a covers album. In fact, it's all songs released in 1970, which is a pivotal year of inspiration for him. I admit, he picked a lot of winners for his setlist: Cat Stevens, Wings, Badfinger, Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder... Basically, he sang his own mixtape, and we all win. If you're reading this before the album release, and you want a sample, join his mailing list and you'll get a free download of his John Lennon cover "Look at Me".
If you want to hear that song and its origins, the Iso Tank blog has already done a great job of recounting the Walking in Memphis story, plus they've got a primo recording that starts up as soon as you click onto the page, so adjust your volume first...
The song propelled his album to Platinum status; two more singles made some ripples, but got lost in the noise of 'Memphis'. (If you want to pop the question but don't like making speeches, just play "True Companion" so she hears the words, and then show her the ring in the middle of the second verse.)
He released a greatest hits in 2006, even though, besides "Memphis", he only made the charts three more times.
In 2005, after a Denver, Colorado performance, he was shot in the head when someone attempted to carjack him. Apparently, it hit him in the writer's block; he was released from the hospital the next day with no significant injuries, and he would end up returning to the recording studio for the first time in ten years, releasing an album in 2007. Here's a TV appearence of him performing one of those songs, called "Live Out the String" (because "Driving in Denver" would have been, y'know, repetitive.)
In 2010, he's releasing his latest album, which happens to be a covers album. In fact, it's all songs released in 1970, which is a pivotal year of inspiration for him. I admit, he picked a lot of winners for his setlist: Cat Stevens, Wings, Badfinger, Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder... Basically, he sang his own mixtape, and we all win. If you're reading this before the album release, and you want a sample, join his mailing list and you'll get a free download of his John Lennon cover "Look at Me".
Sunday, July 4, 2010
July 4
The Fourth of July is recognized as America's birthday, and while I'm proud to be an American, this blog is about the people who get a murmur while everybody's celebrating the big day. And a real good candidate is 60's musician and blues revivalist Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, guitarist and harmonica player for Canned Heat.
Canned Heat is one of those underappreciated 60's bands with a familiar name but not quite icons. But they're defintely part of the 60's soundtrack - no, seriously, their song "Going to the Country" is the opening theme to the Woodstock documentary, but their concert set was cut from the film for time issues.
In the mid 60's, Wilson was a music student at Boston University and a blues aficionado, trading records and writing academic articles about the artistic merit of the genre and its practicioners. He joined several blues enthusiasts in weekly jam sessions, recreating their favorite songs; these sessions metamorphosized into the band Canned Heat.
The band's greatest commercial success coincides with the summer of love, with "Going up the Country" and "On the Road Again" becoming worldwide hits. But they didn't keep their success to themselves; they brought several classic blues musicians back into the spotlight, including Memphis Slim, Son House, Albert Collins, Sunnyland Slim, and John Lee Hooker. Hooker's double album with the band, Hooker n' Heat, would be the first album in his career to make the Billboard charts.
Hooker n' Heat was also the first Canned Heat album released after Wilson's death.
Wilson died in 1970, at the age of 27, another 'gone too soon' like his contemporaries Joplin, Hendrix, and Morrison. And while he never achieved the visibility that they did, Wilson's contributions to rock and to the blues make him at least as essential to the architecture of American music.
Canned Heat is one of those underappreciated 60's bands with a familiar name but not quite icons. But they're defintely part of the 60's soundtrack - no, seriously, their song "Going to the Country" is the opening theme to the Woodstock documentary, but their concert set was cut from the film for time issues.
In the mid 60's, Wilson was a music student at Boston University and a blues aficionado, trading records and writing academic articles about the artistic merit of the genre and its practicioners. He joined several blues enthusiasts in weekly jam sessions, recreating their favorite songs; these sessions metamorphosized into the band Canned Heat.
The band's greatest commercial success coincides with the summer of love, with "Going up the Country" and "On the Road Again" becoming worldwide hits. But they didn't keep their success to themselves; they brought several classic blues musicians back into the spotlight, including Memphis Slim, Son House, Albert Collins, Sunnyland Slim, and John Lee Hooker. Hooker's double album with the band, Hooker n' Heat, would be the first album in his career to make the Billboard charts.
Hooker n' Heat was also the first Canned Heat album released after Wilson's death.
Wilson died in 1970, at the age of 27, another 'gone too soon' like his contemporaries Joplin, Hendrix, and Morrison. And while he never achieved the visibility that they did, Wilson's contributions to rock and to the blues make him at least as essential to the architecture of American music.
Friday, July 2, 2010
July 3
Happy Birthday to the Chinese Hercules, Yang Sze, known to English-speaking action fans as Bolo Yeung. Bolo has been one of the most menacing villains ever onscreen, often without saying a word:
That's him in Double Impact; he's around 50 years old.
I'm still trying to verify his age; several sources say he was born in 1938, but his personal website says he was born in 1946. His story goes, he was already a renowned weightlifter in the 60's when he swam from the Mainland to Hong Kong to escape communism. He won the Mr Hong Kong weightlifting title for several years by the time he was discovered by the Shaw Brothers, and his acting career began en force.
Western audiences were introduced to Bolo in Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon", where Bolo plays the mastermind's main goon. Bruce and Bolo had been friends for some time, and Bruce even promised they would have a fight scene together in "Game of Death", but that scene was never to be.
The closest to an on-screen spar between the two are these between-takes photos from the set of "Dragon."
sparring w/ Bruce Lee
"Enter the Dragon" was enough to make him a big star in the East. (He even had a doppelganger, Lee Chun-Wa, who tussles with the like of Jackie Chan in 'Drunken Master.') Bolo's next breakthrough was in 1988's "Bloodsport", as Jean Claude Van Damme's nemesis. He became an action-star mainstay, starring alongside Van Damme, Cynthia Rothrock, Billy Blanks...
He even played a good guy in Shootfighter, cast as the sensei forced to fight for his students' honor. The movie has the bonus of pitting Bolo against the evil sensai from the Karate Kid, That Guy Martin Kove:
Now long since AARP eligible, he lives in California as a fitness and martial arts instructor. He announced his retirement from acting in 2008; with nearly 100 films under his belt, that's plenty for fans to discover...
That's him in Double Impact; he's around 50 years old.
I'm still trying to verify his age; several sources say he was born in 1938, but his personal website says he was born in 1946. His story goes, he was already a renowned weightlifter in the 60's when he swam from the Mainland to Hong Kong to escape communism. He won the Mr Hong Kong weightlifting title for several years by the time he was discovered by the Shaw Brothers, and his acting career began en force.
Western audiences were introduced to Bolo in Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon", where Bolo plays the mastermind's main goon. Bruce and Bolo had been friends for some time, and Bruce even promised they would have a fight scene together in "Game of Death", but that scene was never to be.
The closest to an on-screen spar between the two are these between-takes photos from the set of "Dragon."
sparring w/ Bruce Lee
"Enter the Dragon" was enough to make him a big star in the East. (He even had a doppelganger, Lee Chun-Wa, who tussles with the like of Jackie Chan in 'Drunken Master.') Bolo's next breakthrough was in 1988's "Bloodsport", as Jean Claude Van Damme's nemesis. He became an action-star mainstay, starring alongside Van Damme, Cynthia Rothrock, Billy Blanks...
He even played a good guy in Shootfighter, cast as the sensei forced to fight for his students' honor. The movie has the bonus of pitting Bolo against the evil sensai from the Karate Kid, That Guy Martin Kove:
Now long since AARP eligible, he lives in California as a fitness and martial arts instructor. He announced his retirement from acting in 2008; with nearly 100 films under his belt, that's plenty for fans to discover...
July 2
Happy Birthday to Jerry Mathers, one of TV's first child superstars. Jerry was the star of "Leave It to Beaver," a sitcom that's become synonymous with a decade and a way of life.
By now, the child star life trajectory's become a cliche, and you're probably expecting the same story about Jerry - that's not the case. Maybe it's because his father was a school principal, maybe it was a more naive time, maybe it was because at his audition, he said he'd rather be with his Cub Scout troop... But it seems that he never lost perspective about his career in relation to his life.
"Leave it to Beaver" ran from 1957-1963; after the show ended, he essentially retired from acting to concentrate on school, and used his merchandising residuals to financing a successful career as a real estate developer and banker. He returned to star in a TV-movie sequel, "Still the Beaver", which turned into another "Beaver" series that lasted six years.
Besides "Beaver", his most significant role might be in the Alfred Hitchcock film "The Trouble with Harry" (which he did two years earlier):
Jerry still acts occassionally (including a turn on Broadway's Hairspray production), but he's certainly not the True Hollywood Story cliche we've come to expect. To me, it's because he made two important decisions through his life: 1)he built a life outside of his show business career; 2) he didn't declare war on his iconic role. It seems that the cast of "Beaver" became a second family as well, and that had to help. (The guy that played Lumpy, his best friend? He's Jerry's investment manager. The guy that played Eddie Haskell, the troublemaker? He's a retired LA cop...) Jerry's lived the "hip to be square" life to the hilt, and that's not so bad.
The most 'rock n' roll' thing I could find was something from his brief music career: he fronted a garage band, "Beaver and the Trappers". They recorded a few singles on the Arista label, but mostly played sock hops in California, and... yeah, that's as rebellious as I can find.
By now, the child star life trajectory's become a cliche, and you're probably expecting the same story about Jerry - that's not the case. Maybe it's because his father was a school principal, maybe it was a more naive time, maybe it was because at his audition, he said he'd rather be with his Cub Scout troop... But it seems that he never lost perspective about his career in relation to his life.
"Leave it to Beaver" ran from 1957-1963; after the show ended, he essentially retired from acting to concentrate on school, and used his merchandising residuals to financing a successful career as a real estate developer and banker. He returned to star in a TV-movie sequel, "Still the Beaver", which turned into another "Beaver" series that lasted six years.
Besides "Beaver", his most significant role might be in the Alfred Hitchcock film "The Trouble with Harry" (which he did two years earlier):
Jerry still acts occassionally (including a turn on Broadway's Hairspray production), but he's certainly not the True Hollywood Story cliche we've come to expect. To me, it's because he made two important decisions through his life: 1)he built a life outside of his show business career; 2) he didn't declare war on his iconic role. It seems that the cast of "Beaver" became a second family as well, and that had to help. (The guy that played Lumpy, his best friend? He's Jerry's investment manager. The guy that played Eddie Haskell, the troublemaker? He's a retired LA cop...) Jerry's lived the "hip to be square" life to the hilt, and that's not so bad.
The most 'rock n' roll' thing I could find was something from his brief music career: he fronted a garage band, "Beaver and the Trappers". They recorded a few singles on the Arista label, but mostly played sock hops in California, and... yeah, that's as rebellious as I can find.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
July 1
Here's an Australian legend: John Farnham is Australia's 'king of pop', a singer who, thanks to 74 singles, has been on the Australian charts for the last five decades. He's so big in Australia, he's got a statue in Melbourne harbor. He's enjoyed success almost everywhere else in the world - everywhere, that is, except America.
He started as a teen idol in the 60's, bouncing between a recording career and the stage throughout the 70's. In the 80's, he took over the microphone spot in the Little River Band, touring with them and recording two albums. The Little River Band would only make the Top 20 once with Farnhma singing lead, with two other songs making the charts.
Here's a performance of that second single, on the TV show "Solid Gold":
By 1985, he was on his own again. His 1986 album 'Whispering Jack' went platinum in Australia 24 times over; it's the best selling album in Australian history.
A great deal of that success was due to the song "You're the Voice", a single that went #1 in six countries, top 10 in four more. In the US, the song made it to #82 - on a re-release.
Fortunately, the song has a life of its own. (I wish I could have found the clip from the 2007 film "Hot Rod", which uses the song to hilarious effect, especially if you remember the music videos they used to play on VH1. Seek it out...) It's a song that's been re-recorded several times over, although for most people, it's Farnham's version that stays with them...
Here's some famous fans, at a benefit concert, starting a singalong:
He started as a teen idol in the 60's, bouncing between a recording career and the stage throughout the 70's. In the 80's, he took over the microphone spot in the Little River Band, touring with them and recording two albums. The Little River Band would only make the Top 20 once with Farnhma singing lead, with two other songs making the charts.
Here's a performance of that second single, on the TV show "Solid Gold":
By 1985, he was on his own again. His 1986 album 'Whispering Jack' went platinum in Australia 24 times over; it's the best selling album in Australian history.
A great deal of that success was due to the song "You're the Voice", a single that went #1 in six countries, top 10 in four more. In the US, the song made it to #82 - on a re-release.
Fortunately, the song has a life of its own. (I wish I could have found the clip from the 2007 film "Hot Rod", which uses the song to hilarious effect, especially if you remember the music videos they used to play on VH1. Seek it out...) It's a song that's been re-recorded several times over, although for most people, it's Farnham's version that stays with them...
Here's some famous fans, at a benefit concert, starting a singalong:
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