RIP 2010

Date

January 7, 2010

Miracler

Toby Barlow

Location

Detroit

Prodge archivist Toby Barlow has created a Very Special Episode for us as he did for 2009 to honor some of the Miracle makers who shrugged off their mortal coils in 2010. Light a candle and join us at the pop altar.

Liner Notes

There was more to choose from this year, and I feel somewhat guilty leaving off both Doug Feiger of the Knack (I tried, but it didn’t work) and Teena Marie (I tried her too, just didn’t fit.) So this is what I wound up with. I also wanted to include “Sunny” written by the late Bobby Hebb, but after searching for the definitive version, I gave up. So, here’s the list:

Bobbejaan! Someone tell me about this song and this man! I only know him from trolling through the world wide web uncovering the recently r.i.p’d. But this was a discovery. Surely, I’m late to the party, this is too precious and fun a tune for a Coppola or an Anderson not to have gotten their mitts on already. Such joy! Such a way to begin!

Two members of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes exited this year. This song was originally supposed to be sung by Patti LaBelle but Teddy Pendergrass nailed it for this group. Bernard Wilson was the tenor singing backup.

It’s funny how our 3MPM crowd glosses over the McGarrigle Family Circus, no Wainwrights, not even much from their soul cousins the Thompsons. I find it odd. I really do. They might just be too sincere for our tribe, not a lot of irony here. Too bad for us, really, since Kate was an angel of the first degree. I was lucky enough to be at a memorial concert for her in London this summer. To get there, I first had to walk amongst hundreds of naked bicyclists. Hundreds of them! At the concert itself, I managed to meet Nick Cave and talk to him about how he inspired my book (cross reference: “The Curse of Milhaven”) and I also managed to meet Michael Ondaatje and talk to him about how he inspired my book (cross reference: “Coming Through the Slaughter”) and then I sat alone in the auditorium and wept when they played this song. It was quite a day.

Solomon Burke, listen to this man!

It was hard to figure out which song to put in from Alex Chilton, but this is the one that always gets me, it’s the one I find myself singing out loud. My daughter Rose and I sang it in the car driving around Kauai last week. It is one of the sweetest songs I’ve ever heard.

Captain Beefheart. Oh Captain, my Captain. This and the previous tune are the only ones in the mix that have showed up on 3MPM mixes before. I believe it was Mr Baker who pulled this one out of his hat. I watched a documentary on the Captain the day he died and I took away from it the idea that, in some way, every single one of us is full of shit, except for the Captain.

Night Nurse (Gregory Isaacs). Remember the movie poster for Rockers? Bad Ass! Night Nurse should be the B-Side to “Sexual Healing.”

I’m pretty sure the piano player Hank Jones played behind Dexter Gordon on this tune. I’m pretty sure, I’m not positive. I am absolutely positive that Hank was the one playing the piano accompaniment when Marilyn Monroe sang "Happy Birthday Mr. President" Kennedy on that infamous night long ago. Legend has it that, immediately following that saucy performance, Hank went backstage and had sex with Kennedy.

Kathryn Grayson was in movies with Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Howard Keel. She had a lovely, lovely voice, but I have to admit I never thought much of her as a movie star. But you know who did turn me on?

Lena Horne. Man she was beautiful. I would say she was the black Kathryn Hepburn, except Lena was better, ‘cause Hepburn couldn’t sing. Keith Richards named his Bentley Touring Continental after her.

John Dankworth had respect. People like Cannonball Adderly dug him. He played with Duke and Sachmo. He fought racism. He was all right.

Herb Ellis. He was in the Oscar Peterson Trio on guitar. They did the beautiful music for that John and Faith Hubley film ‘The Tender Game.” Do you know the Hubley’s? You know their daughter Georgia, of course. Ira’s wife. The Hubley’s were animation anarchists. John worked on Snow White and invented Mr. Magoo before being blacklisted for not naming names. You find heroes everywhere, don’t you?

Abbey Lincoln. Listening to Abbey Lincoln makes me sad that jazz is slipping away from us. It was wonderful when it happened. There’s a great Ishmael Reed novel about the Mormons trying to chase down jazz when the music virus first started spreading (Bejesus, someone should turn that book into a musical!)

James Moody. He played with Dizzy before he had his own band. He spoke Italian. He was fantastic.

You get the feeling Pete Quaife was not only the most handsome and the most articulate of the original Kink’s, he was also probably the only one who wasn’t a total prick.

Teddy Pendergrass had quite a life, right? Even the brakes failing on his Rolls-Royce couldn’t stop him.

Kate McGarrigle, encore.

Like a true pop star, Eddie Fisher rose fast and then he was utterly forgotten. But he gave us Princess Leah and he got to Elizabeth Taylor to marry him (the chutzpah of that man! He stole her from the graveside of her ex. Man) This song gives us a nice big finish, and really, what more do we want than that.

Mix is up; same password. See you back here or on our members-only Facebook page soon.

Multigrazzi to Toby

And a big toast to Gerry Rafferty

(who left us Tuesday)

, wherever you are!

Awwwwyeahhhh,

XOK