YouTube Stars!

A few nights ago, a rather interesting band was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Their name is BABYMETAL and they were making their US television debut, performing "Gimme Chocolate!" I had not heard of this band. They are metal, and yet they are also J-pop. I like metal and some J-pop but I don't know what I think of the combination in one band!

BABYMETAL was on The Late Show to promote their new album, "Metal Resistance," which just came out on April 1, 2016. Buy it from Amazon using the link at the left! This is their second album, and just entered the UK charts at number 7 -- the highest entry by a Japanese band ever. Their first is self titled and is from 2014. The band consists of three girls who sing and dance in somewhat typical J-pop fashion. Su_metal is 18 while Yuimetal and Moametal are just 16. Backing them is a speed/thrash metal band called the Kami Band, although they have also performed with members of DragonForce.

So what do they sound like? This is a rather strange mix, in my opinion! Even Stephen Colbert was perplexed when he introduced them, saying, "I'm not sure what I'm about to see!" The performance of "Gimme Chocolate! begins with a rather typical heavy metal sound -- fast loud guitars, drums at double speed. But in front are these three young girls in black and red mini-dresses and tights doing dance moves combining Sumo wrestling, J-pop dance and Gene Simmons from KISS. The 4 piece band, dressed in white robes with white face makeup, is headbanging and the girls are doing their thing. Then they begin to sing verse one in Japanese, consisting of rather quick vocalizations, as they continue dancing. The chorus soon appears, and it seems a bit more J-pop structured than the verse. The girls are singing something about Chocolate and they continue to dance with some finger pointing motions. This is followed by an instrumental break that sounds like the fast part of Welcome Home Sanitarium by Metallica. Another verse if followed by an interesting guitar solo, followed by another short verse and the chorus, with some ending ba-ba-ba-ba singing. The crowd goes wild and Colbert greets them with their new album Metal Resistance in hand, as one of the girls says Thank You!

I have to admit, as I watch this again and again, it is starting to grow on me! Have a look for yourself!



Now if you thought that was a bit odd or strange or something you never heard before... let's go back 50 years to the Group Sounds days in Japan when everyone loved The Beatles and the new sounds coming from the UK and US. One of the bigger rock bands in Japan at that time was The Mops. Perhaps they got their name from the Beatles nickname, the four mop tops, referring to their hair style.

The Mops had a song called Blind Bird. It is fairly slow and plodding, with a fuzzy guitar and bass and very little drums during the verses. The singer is singing Japanese lyrics. The song is kind of cool if you like 60s Garage Rock like I do. The very strange and disturbing part comes in the chorus, when the only words in English are sung. The English words are, "Please Kill Me!" I suppose if you are a Blind Bird, you might feel that way. Life can't be good.

Have a listen to "Blind Bird" by The Mops, and ponder on whether this old slice of strangeness from Japan outdoes the new BABYMETAL band or not!

Labels: 1960s, BABYMETAL, Garage Rock, Gimme Chocolate, J-Pop, metal, speed metal, Stephen Colbert, strange, The Late Show, The Mops, thrash metal

posted by KennyCrane at 4/08/2016 04:29:00 AM 4 Comments

Guest blogger Lyn Price is back with her third YouTubeStars post! Lyn is a talented singer who is here to review awesome Music Videos from the 1960s! Read what Lyn says about The Tokens, The Dave Clark 5, and The 13th Floor Elevators.


Classic 1960s Music!

THE TOKENS - Swing 1964

This band is from the early 60's and had one spectacular hit - "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" which was used in "The Lion King". They are from Brooklyn, New York and fit in with the Doo Wop scene. They started out in high school. There was some reshuffling of members and name changes, but the core band stuck together and found two great musicians, one was about 13 years old. Vocally, he was a first tenor and his brother a baritone. The lead singer was Jay Siegel (from 1956 to 1973). There was a lot of excitement around this band - Brooklyn Doo Wop was a great time and place to be.

In 1961, the Tokens released a single for Warwick Records entitled "Tonight I Fell in Love" which scored #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and led them to American Bandstand. After that, more recording opportunities opened up for them. After the TV appearance, they had more offers on the table. Their hit single, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" sold more than one million copies. The band were awarded gold discs.

From 1962 to 1970, the Tokens released nine more songs that scored the Top 100. One of them was "Swing". No one could stay off the dance floor and the video featured here shows baby boomers are still dancing to it.

Beginning in 1963, the Tokens began serving as record producers for other artists, such as the Girl Groups and Randy & The Rainbows. It was called B.T. Puppy Records. In 1972, one of the Tokens (Jay Siegel) did background vocals for a re-recording of Lion Sleeps Tonight with Robert John as the lead vocalist.

The Tokens reunited during 1975 for occasional weeks as singing regulars on the Adam Wade hosted game show/Musical Chairs and in 1978 recorded a song for ABC's Schoolhouse Rock named "A Victim of Gravity".

Afterwards there was more reshuffling and the 2 brothers, Mitch and Philip Margo continue to perform with new members. In the year 2000 they reunited with Jay Siegel, one of the original members. They did a stint on the PBS special, Doo Wop 51. The Tokens were then Siegel, Reid and Eddy Rezzonico. Rezzonico replaced Richie Grasso during the 1990's.

Brooklyn, New York Doo Wop was bluesy, romantic and special. The Tokens colored the skies with their version of Doo Wop.

THE DAVE CLARK 5 - Try Too Hard

When the Dave Clark 5 arrived on US soil, fans shifted their undying love for the Beatles - to the Dave Clark 5. This fashionable group of 5 musicians appeared on the Ed Sullivan show 18 times, more than any UK Rock group.

The Dave Clark 5 were from Tottenham, London, England. They formed in 1958 under the name, the Dave Clark Quintet. After some reshuffling - with new members replacing other members, the band became the Dave Clark 5 or DC5 in 1962. Dave Clark played drums and was the leader of the group. The band's huge hit, "Glad All Over" knocked the Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand" right off the charts. The DC5 appeared to be more popular in the USA than their native UK. But between 1967 and 1970, the group had a "renaissance" in the UK, receiving notice from the rock music community.

In March 2008, the Dave Clark 5 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The DC5 had to their credit - 17 records in the top 40 of the US Billboard chart and 12 top 40 hits between 1964 and 1967. There was a film, "Catch Us If You Can". The song featured here is "Try Too Hard" but it didn't do what it should have in the USA - but in Europe the song was very popular.

The Dave Clark 5 will always be remembered as a feature attraction in the British Invasion. These 5 fashionable young men, all good musicians, would be the object of adoration by record buying fans. Their loyal fans were sad when the group disbanded in late 1970. Their great rock hits, recorded on Columbia (EMI Records), Epic (USA) and Capitol (Canada) will continue to amaze British Invasion fans. This was a group of great Pop Rock hits - and they will forever rock the music world.

THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS - You're Gonna Miss Me, Original Mono

The 13th Floor Elevators were an American Texas based band, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band existed from 1965 to 1969. During their career they made 4 LP records and 7 45's for the International Artists record label. Credited with being one of the first psychedelic bands in Rock n' Roll history, according to the 2005 documentary, "You're Gonna Miss Me", Tommy Hall was credited with the term "psychedelic rock" although a few other artists used the term to describe their music before the 13th Floor Elevators. Contemporary influences are Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Peter Allim (Big Brother & The Holding Company) and Chris Gerniottis (Zakary Thaks).

The Elevators 45 Debut, "You're Gonna Miss Me" reached national Billboard #55 in 1966, and is featured on the 1972 compilation "NUGGETS: ORIGINAL ARTIFACTS FROM THE FIRST PSYCHEDELIC ERA (1965-1968), which is considered vital in the history of Garage Rock and the development of Punk Rock. In January, 1966, the band went to Houston to record 2 songs. One of them was "You're Gonna Miss Me". The two songs were ready for 45 release. Besides the Texas Tour in Spring 1966 they also appeared on live TV to perform on teen dance shows. As the band's musical future took hold, their "touring map" added more locations. The Elevators were very popular outside Texas - especially Miami, Detroit and the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 1967, they returned to Texas. They released a 45 rpm called "Levitation" and they continued live performances in Texas cities. They did a gig at the Fillmore while in San Francisco, and a place called The Avalon.

In November 1967, the band's second album hit the stores. The psychedelic masterwork with the opening track "Slip Inside This House" - critics and fans alike rate this album as their finest work.

There were some heavy problems that the band's line up had to deal with. Arguing among the members over topics such as LSD use and it's effect on the audience became a frequent occurrence. Sometimes the band had to perform without the lead singer.

The very last 13th Floor Elevators record was released by International Artists and was a reissue of the "You're Gonna Miss Me" 45 rpm. The last concert was in April 1968. Drug arrests and hospitalizations were the downfall of the band, as well as mismanagement and arguments over drug use and money. However, despite the band's problems, the original leader Roky Erikson returned to music in the 1990's. With the help of a close relative, he hooked up with a lawyer who helped him get sorted out with royalties.

Two of the band's members were continuously debating the issue with LSD. Disputes, poor management, bickering over the use of suggestive drug related lyrics and an overzealous advocacy of LSD "leading" to a higher state - as a result these two members were not credited on the album's sleeve notes. Despite long, hard efforts in the studio, and resources utilized and the studio's legendary status, "Easter Everywhere" did not get the sales hoped for and was never reprinted.

Despite all the issues, the 13th Floor Elevators remained a powerful presence on the Texas Rock music scene. The Elevators were apart from the bands at that time - they had a unique sound. But as time went on, the problems still had their presence and the live shows lost their original energy. Much of this was due to an unstable member lineup.

The 13th Floor Elevators have been covered by many bands and nearly all the covers were a tribute to these wonderful musicians whose music would be loved and considered by other more mainstream acts. In the 1990's, ZZ Top, and R.E.M. would be among the music admirers of the Elevators. Many other musicians were influenced by their music.

The 13th Floor Elevators shone like gold in the Nuggets Collection and their track, "You're Gonna Miss Me" will go down in Rock n' Roll history.

Labels: "Lyn Price", 1960s, Garage Rock, Rock, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Dave Clark 5, The Tokens

posted by KennyCrane at 9/29/2014 03:50:00 AM 0 Comments

Earlier this week, I saw a very cool band on Late Night with David Letterman. The Orwells are 5 guys who are just out of High School from a suburb of Chicago called Elmhurst, Illinois. These sk8er bois are channeling certain 60s Garage and 90s Grunge bands that came before them. The singer, Mario Cuomo, reminds me of Jim Morrison from The Doors, Kurt Cobain from Nirvana and Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam. The music is straight ahead Hard Rock with 60s Garage influences.

The Orwells were on Letterman's show back in January. Dave seems to really love them! They put on an animated performance. Singer Mario was wearing a Black Leather Jacket and whipped his shoulder length hair until it covered his face. He was on his back on the floor at times! Dave asked them for an encore back then, but guitarist Matt O'Keefe was unable to comply since he broke every one of his guitar strings during the schedule number. So Letterman's band, with Paul Shaffer on vocals, reprised "Who Needs You" but with his own lyrics. Watch the end of the video below to see that!

Now on to the performance I just saw. Singer Mario was again animated with a bit of a demented look on his face, as all great rockers do! Half his blonde hair was dyed black, and strands were cemented to his forehead by sweat. The band played "The Righteous One" from their new album Disgraceland. Quite a brilliant rock tune! I think this is right up there with songs like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. Watch The Orwells perform this song on Letterman, then watch the Official Video for it! Both versions Rock! \m/

Labels: Chicago, David Letterman, Garage, Garage Rock, Indie Rock, Late Show, Letterman, Nirvana, Orwells, Punk, Rock, The Doors, TheOrwellsMusic

posted by KennyCrane at 6/15/2014 03:54:00 AM 0 Comments

Guest blogger Lyn Price is back with her second YouTubeStars post! Lyn is a talented singer who is here to review a Garage Rock Music Video from the 1960s, a movie about the 60s and a TV show from the 50s! Read what Lyn says about the Garage Rock song Stop And Listen, the Dirty Dancing movie and the Honeymooners TV show.


Classic Sights and Sounds!

THE SHAG - Stop And Listen - 60s Garage Rock song!



This is a powerhouse of a garage track written and performed by a band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin called at first Shags, then Shag.

The band consisted of 4 musicians. They began performing folk and blues music. However, they became eager to move on when they heard the music of the Rolling Stones and other rock bands of that era. Shag performed their own material and were known for wearing outlandish costumes. They also used special effects After playing parties, schools and small clubs, they moved on and in 1967 they were signed by Capitol Records. They recorded "Stop and Listen" on Capitol.

This track is one of the fist anti-drug rock songs to be recorded. In 1969 they appeared at the Midwest Rock Festival in Milwaukee which featured a number of known musicians.

Shag split up in 1971. But in the 1990's and later, "Stop and Listen" was included on several CD compilations of 60's Garage Band Recordings. On "Boulders" they are featured in Volume I and "Highs in the Mid-Sixties volume 10.

Becoming more current, in 2005, the bands 1969 recordings were released on Gear Fab Records. It's no surprise that the track called "Stop and Listen" has made many rock music lovers do just that.


1960's inspired movie DIRTY DANCING achieves spectacular success



The soundtrack to this film gave a 1960's flair since it is supposed to take place in the Summer of 1963, where the summer wind, the carefree days of ice pops and rock n roll bring people to the hotel for family and friends and activities. One such activity offered is dancing lessons (like Mambo). One of the guests (Jennifer Grey) falls for the dancing instructor (Patrick Swayze) and they begin a relationship.

The film was made in 1987 with a limited 5 million dollar budget. So here was this low budget film with no major stars except Broadway legend/TV star Jerry Orbach in a supportive role. It's the Summer of 1963 and the scene is a Catskill Mountain hotel. Actually it was filmed in Lake Lure, North Carolina and Mountain Lake. The weather turned out to be very hot and sticky and a portion of the cast passed out after 20 minutes of filming. Then the weather became very cold. Conditions were not that great and to complicate matters, the film was on a tight schedule - two weeks for rehearsals and 44 days for filming.

Dirty Dancing was based on the childhood/teen years of one of the screenwriters. The next step was finding backing, financial and promotion. They did their rounds and after hearing "no" finally found the company that liked the idea.

The soundtrack really moves this film - "Be My BAby" by the Ronettes, "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, "Do You Love Me" by the Contours, "In the Still of the Night" by the Five Satins, "Hey Baby by Bruce Channel, "Hungry Eyes" by Eric Carmen and more. In the "final dance" scene, the song (I've had) The Time of My Life, a great dance number that became very popular and won both the Golden Globe and an Academy Award for best original song. Also, a Grammy was won for best duet. The "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack generated two multi platinum albums and multiple singles. This was the first film to sell more than a million copies on home video.

On YouTube, "Dirty Dancing" has well over 250 million hits. The music carries the story with the drama that takes place at the mountain hotel. The two stars of the movie, Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swazye, had worked together on other films and had trouble relating to each other. The screenwriter had a brilliant idea. She suggested "parties" that go on after the daily filming, this way the actors began to "feel their roles". Everything fell into place. After the movie was released, a stage version was popular in Australia, Europe and North America.

I think the dancing AND the music brought this film it's great everlasting success. Many who watch the film once, will watch it again and again.


Mama Loves Mambo - The Honeymooners



The show that has a lot of nostalgia is called "The Honeymooners". It can be watched on YouTube, and it's worry free as far as paying for the viewing of the "Classic 39", well - it can be bought in a video store. There is a lot of fascinating merchandise - cookie jars, salt & pepper shakers, posters, calendars and more. The 39 episodes are on YouTube and the average YouTube rating is according to episode. A total of all episodes shows how appreciated the American sitcom is. The Honeymooners was built on The Jackie Gleason Show. Jackie Gleason was a well known comedian and creator of the show and it's sketches from start to finish.The first show aired October 31, 1955. The story is one of the first U.S. TV shows to portray working class married couples living in a rundown Brooklyn apartment house. The final episode was on September 22, 1956. The show was very popular, in it's first season it became the #2 show in the USA. With the Perry Como show, there was competition that pushed The Honeymooners to the 19th spot. Production ended after only 39 episodes. The Honeymooners were filmed before a live audience in New York City, in the Park Sheraton Hotel.

I always loved this show. It opens with a theme song and a beautiful picture of Brooklyn nights, complete with nostalgic brownstones, stars and a full moon. The show is meant to be funny - Jackie Gleason plays a NYC bus driver. He & his wife Alice Kramden live in a run down Brooklyn apartment house but have many friends, a few live in the same building. Alice occasionally works but basically is a stay at home wife. Despite the financially squeezed characters, there is glamour and artistic beauty in the basic story, the episodes and the background. There is jazz music, a new tenant gives the neighbors Mombo lessons in the Kramden apartment, and there is mention of the "Hong Kong Gardens" where Alice likes to go dancing and have Chinese food. The Kramden's apartment faces the back of a Chinese restaurant. The comedy was and still is loved by many. People who weren't born when the show was airing have found it to be interesting in a lot of different ways.

To keep the show going, Jackie Gleason sometimes did hour long specials or sketches until 1978. At one point, CBS network worked with the Honeymooners & Jackie Gleason. Though there were some changes, the show remains strong in the USA. Viewers find it refreshingly humorous and nostalgic.

Labels: "Lyn Price", 1950s, 1960s, 50s, 60s, classic rock, dance, dirty dancing, Garage Rock, honeymooners, Lyn, oldies, sexy, shag

posted by KennyCrane at 5/20/2014 02:20:00 AM 0 Comments

Today we welcome a NEW guest blogger, Lyn Price. Lyn is a talented singer who is joining us to review Music Videos from the 1960s! Read what Lyn says about two Garage Rock videos and a huge Psychedelic Pop hit by rock stars Tommy James and the Shondells.


Groovy Sixties Tunes!

The Monocles
"I Can't Win"



In Los Angeles, 1967, a songwriter named Jim Newby wrote a classic garage hit - "I Can't Win"

This track stood out among others because it contained all the makings of a great Garage song. In a record shop, in the front row, you could see the song "I Can't Win". Once you hear this song, you want to hear it again and again.

"I Can't Win" is still a winner. One reason may be that elements of Garage Rock are flying high at high speed. This track delivers - Garage at it's best with Surf, Rockabilly, Psychedelic and Exotica. The music flows - makes the listener want to dance.


The Illusion
"Did You See Her Eyes"



In 1969, a band from Hempstead, Long Island, New York got hold of a smoking hot Garage song entitled "Did You See Her Eyes". The song, filled with exquisite drum rolls, earth shaking harmonies and psychedelic heaven, made it to 32 on the Top Forty.

The video, put together by Music Mike, has not lost anything, even a moment of the excitement that this track generates. Illusion are a fantastically good Garage band and this video, with music and pictures, put Illusion on the map.

The video is psychedelic, with colors flowing and images dancing. This song did put Illusion on the map. And it's still there, ready to pick up and move forward.

Do not miss out on listening to this track. It moves.


TOMMY JAMES AND THE SHONDELLS
"Crimson & Clover"



“Hanky Panky,” “Mony Mony,” “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “Crimson and Clover,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” “Draggin’ The Line”... The music of Tommy James is heard continuously, everyday, in every country in the world: on radio, television or a film soundtrack. To date, he's sold over 100 million records and has been awarded 23 gold singles plus nine gold and platinum albums.

Born in Dayton, Ohio and raised in Michigan, Tommy James was modelling at age 4. He formed his first band early on - and recorded "Hanky Panky". Although it achieved success on a local level, it didn't move the way it should have but, several years later, the song was found in a record bin by a D.J. Then the crowds began to request the song again and again.

This song, "Crimson and Clover" is sung with a lot of feeling and was immensely popular. The same goes for all his songs, and "Hanky Panky" is such a good dance record that it's not surprising the crowd responded well to the D.J.'s decision to push it. The response to "Crimson and Clover" was something close to magic. Tommy James, born Tommy Jackson, has been putting music out there for a very long time. Let's give him and the Shondells a large round of applause !

Labels: "Lyn Price", "Tommy James and the Shondells", "Tommy James", 1960s, 60s, Garage, Garage Rock, Lyn, music, Rock

posted by KennyCrane at 2/20/2014 07:01:00 AM 0 Comments

Many of you know that I am a huge fan of 1960s pop culture, especially 60s Music.

In the mid 60s, when the War in Viet Nam was raging and its body count was featured on the TV News every night, there was a need for mindless comedies to take people's minds off the more serious issues of the day.  One such TV show was Gilligan's Island.

Gilligan, the Skipper, the Howells, the Professor, Ginger and Mary Ann were stranded on a remote deserted island.  Sometimes they had visitors from the outside world but incredibly they were never able to get off the island.  In one episode, Rock band The Mosquitos ended up on the island.  This was an episode titled "Don't Bug the Mosquitoes" - Season 2, Episode 12 - and was originally on the air on December 09, 1965.

It seems that the girls wanted to form their own singing group.  So Mrs, Howell, Ginger and Mary Ann created a group called The Honey Bees and sang a song called, "You Need Us".  They performed the song for the guys, and you can see that performance below.

This song, You Need Us, has always been one of my favorite TV show songs from the 60s, right up there with The Alvin Twist and The Bedrock Twitch.  If you want to listen to an MP3 of You Need Us, by The Honeybees, from Gilligan's Island, click here.

I recently came across a simply delightful lipsync cover of You Need Us, performed by a family who shot this video in two takes and posted it to YouTube.  The mother plays Mrs. Howell and her two daughters play Ginger and Mary Ann.  They are all adorable as they lipsync and do The Honey Bees dance moves.  We are Featuring this video this week on our YouTube Top 100 Weekly Chart. Check it out!



Now, here is the original performance of You Need Us sung by The Honeybees - Lovey Howell, Ginger and Mary Ann. This was originally on TV back in 1965 and reflects the kind of Garage Rock music that was popular at the time. The Beatles were huge and every teen in the world dreamed of being in a band that would make the girls scream and chase after them, like they did to The Beatles. It was quite an interesting time for music!



If YOU decide to do a cover of this groovy 60s tune, email me a link to your video and I'll feature it here too!

Labels: 1960s, Garage Rock, Gilligan's Island, Rock, thinkingbeetv, TV, TV Show, worldchang3r, You Need Us

posted by KennyCrane at 5/30/2012 03:14:00 AM 0 Comments