takin' a walkThis week in Music History on the "takin ' a walk" podcast 3-24
Join @thebuzzknight and @theharryjacobs at the Music History Desk for a look at the week of 3-24.
For questions or comments write buzz@buzzknightmedia.com.
I'm Buzz's Night, the host of the Taking a Walk podcast, and welcome to another look at this week in music history for the week of March twenty fourth, And let's take a look over and give the high side to the man at the music desk, the music history Desk.
Hello, Harry Jacobs. Well, it's good to be here again for the week of March twenty fourth. Another good week. Got the fiftieth anniversary David Bowie's Diamond Dogs on March twenty fourth, actually nineteen seventy five great great songs on that, not the least of which was Rebel Rebel, one of my favorites.
I'm same here, absolutely one of my favorites. Did you were you a Bowie fan at the beginning?
No, it took it. Bowie was like Neil Young for me. It took him inte.
There were some things that I really loved Pannic in Detroit, Rebel Rebel I always love. There was a single version of Rebel Rebel which was really different, you know, than than the album version back when they were doing that, and I always loved that. But there were a handful of tracks I really liked a lot, and I didn't get into it really into his music until I was in my thirties, and then I really became a you know, a big fan of boys and I never saw him.
Did you ever see him?
I never saw him, And I was not a fan at the beginning. I was around a bunch of folks at the college station that were big fans, and they were fans of Bowie. And let's just say, you know, we put queen in there in terms of glam rock, and it wasn't It wasn't my thing then. And ultimately, watching Bowie and his music evolve and his his art evolve, and the way he lived it, you know, right to the end as a creator, you had to have great respect for his work and and those who intersected his life and his career. Peter Frampton as an example. I mean, how Frampton's career was on the down and out, and when Bowie said you're going to join the touring band and be part of this, Frampton singled him out, certainly at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as really, you know, being one of the people that kind of saved his career. So he seemed not only this tremendous creative, but a really good soul.
The ziggy startus thing always had me scratching my head. You know, when I was a kid, I didn't really get it. You know, there was something just you know, a little a little odd with that interesting fact you're talking about Frampton. You know who else? Another guitar another great guitar player who owes a lot to David Bowie. He played on the album Let's Dance. Remember who played guitar on that album? Yes, I pick you, Buzzy, Yes, yes, mister music history, I think I know the answer. Go ahead, Stevie ray Vaughan for twenty.
Yeah, you get Stevie rayvon for twenty Is it you win? Yeah? He certainly helped a lot of people along the way, so he smoked.
Like it was his job too. I don't know if you I mean, you probably knew that, but he you know big. I don't know if that's what led to his I'm sure it is what led to his demise, but chainsmoker David Bowie. On March twenty fourth, Elvis was drafted into the Army. I just watched the sixty eight concert and this special on him, which I thought was, you know, incredible.
I'm a huge Elvis.
Fan the documentary, Yeah, the Reinvention of Elvis correct oh Man, Yeah, that's the Spencer Proffer project with Steve Binder, and we had them on taking a walk talking about that project. What an incredible documentary that is, and the just the behind the scenes aspects of it, the crowd shots, how they found crowd members, you know, in the present day to talk to them.
It was really a great documentary.
And the person I didn't know a lot about was Steve Bender, who's still alive to this day, I believe is in his early nineties, and what a trailblazer he was as well, so Elvis his own trailblazer, but certainly mister Bender as well. That is a great documentary and it really shines the light on Elvis in a really unique way.
Did you see the sixty eight special that there was a special on it on Netflix?
No? Really good, really good, a lot of surprises. You know.
I'm really fascinated by history the older I get and sort of watch these things, especially that where you know, there was this question about what was going on with him, you know at that point, what direction he was going in, and the whole process of how they shot it and what they did, and you know, to me, I found it fascinating and I just love his music. It's Elvis, baby, and I've lived in Vegas for twenty five years. I've never seen an Elvis impersonator. But I was in Cabo a couple of weeks ago and there was an Elvis and personator.
We went to the show.
It's like every Tuesday night at this you know, this resort that we went to, and it was really good.
It was really, really good.
I had a great time, except, you know, when he started to talk, he had this, you know, Hispanic accent, which was I thought was funny. But the way he sang in the band, it was just it was raucous and it was fun.
I love it. Yeah. Fifty five years from the from.
March twenty fifth is the final recording session of the Beatles at Abbey Road.
Pretty important dates. Oh yeah.
It was a moment, for sure, a big moment, and it's one that can you imagine if you were a fly in the wall during all that, my God.
Would have been something else.
March twenty seventh is the forty fifth anniversary of Russia's Permanent Waves nineteen eighty Again, think about this, Today's trackless Day, but you know Spirit of Radio Free will on there. Jacob's Ladder another fantastic album for Rush, and you've.
Got a little Rush, you know, Taking a Walk news too. Yeah.
Alex Lifsen, the great guitarist who has a new project. Actually it's a band that's had an album an EP, so this would be their third release called Envy of None. He was excited to talk about that project, and he'll be on an upcoming Taken a Walk. I found him to be absolutely exhilarating, creatively fired up these days for the work that he's doing. I guess had recently been through some health challenges and had gone through those and solved those, so it was feeling good health wise. But what a great musician look forward to putting that one out and always been a big fan of Rush through their whole career.
Do you think we see Rush again? I don't think so. I think I think Alex has clearly moved.
I don't see it being a hey, let's put person X in there to fill the void.
My heart says no.
I didn't ask him the question, but I found him to be so into this new project it'd be hard to imagine in my opinion.
Is there a reason you didn't ask him why?
I think I had read that he had said it was great, and I've moved on, so I'm pretty certain I had seen him pretty much distance himself from that. So I stayed focused on Envy of None, which I recommend you check out that music.
It's it's pretty cool.
I wouldn't even classify it as only progressive rock. It's beyond progressive rock. It's kind of indie rock, and it's it's really cool sounding.
Yeah, great great guitar player.
March twenty eighth, nineteen seventy three led Zeppelin's Houses is the Holy Now maybe minus presence. I love their entire catalog, like that's you know, Zeppelin is the is the Holy Grail for me, and Houses was fantastic.
Oh my god.
Yeah, one of my favorites, and I would a great presence wasn't as much, but everything else obviously, you know.
Holds up in a big way. Yeah, and the last one for the day.
March thirtieth marks fifty five years for the Cream Farewellcome film.
It was released in theaters nineteen seventy.
You know, when I think about how people age, I think about Green, I think about Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
And how maybe not the age.
You know, you look at those guys now and it's like, oh my goodness that they make Keith look young.
Yes, you were you and I together when Ginger Baker showed up at the Hatshell in Boston when we were doing one of our concerts because he happened to be in town for some I almost want to say Rugby event or something.
I don't I would have remembered that we did a couple of things at the Hatshell together. I don't think so, but I mean, listen, that would have been in the mid nineties and he still looked one hundred in the mid nineties.
He did, he did.
It was one of these things some handler had told him to come over to see. And when he came over there, I'm not sure he knew why he was there. It was I believe our dear friend Chuck Nolan did an interview with him. We'll have to ask Chuck sometime, but I don't think he got much out of Ginger Baker. Right, hey, I want to before we forget.
You know, it's been you know, a couple of weeks here, but you had the great Bob rivers on you're on taking a walk, and he was fantastic and really told some great stories, and you talked to fair amount about his battle with cancer and on, you know, the week of the thirteenth he ended up passing away. And I want to recognize Bob, you know, as we talked today.
Yeah, Harry, I'm glad you mentioned that you were reading my mind. I was going to mention it as well. It was an honor to have Bob on and what a great talent would an inspiring figure for how he led certainly these last years of his life. You talk about somebody that did not let this terrible illness affect that creativity. It seems as if right to the end he was in creative mode. Just a tremendous loss, and certainly our heart goes out to you know, his family and friends. You know you're one of his friends, and many of the friends who are mourning the death of this this this this.
Great figure, Lisa and Keith and Andrew and you know he I love the expression when someone says, how is your day, and you can I get to say, I took the day for a ride. I filled the day up and Bob literally as you just said, until the very end.
He was making music.
The week before he passed away, he was working on new Twisted tunes and recording with his brothers. He's got a film project with Alan White from Yes. So he just he was going to live out his every day like it.
Was his last. And I love that about him, and he was a friend.
So rest in peace, Bob Rivers, and thanks for everything that you gave us in your career. And Harry, thanks for introducing us and reconnecting us for that past episode so well. Thanks Harry for another look at this week in music history for the week of March twenty fourth, and thanks for listening to the Taking a Walk podcast. You could find us wherever you get your podcasts.
