Video of the Week: How Chicago Rocked The 60’s

Songs You May Have Missed #686

Kris Delmhorst: “Short Work” (2003)

The Boston singer-songwriter explores betrayal and payback on this smart country shuffle.

See also: Songs You May Have Missed #504 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)

On a Lighter Note…

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Why doesn’t anyone talk about Carole King’s other no. 1 album (including her)?

Carole King. Photo: Joseph Sinnott / ©2015 THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC. All rights reserved.

(via PBS American Masters) by Tom Casciato

Music fans old enough to remember 1971 can be forgiven if they remember it as the year of Carole King. That was the year, after all, when the “Tapestry” hurricane hit American culture – hit and never really left. 14 million units sold, four Grammy awards, two No. 1 singles (“It’s Too Late” and “So Far Away”), 25th on Rolling Stone’s list of the all-time greatest albums – you get the point. When its 50th anniversary came around this year, it was rightly hailed by Esquire as “an enduring reminder of how art can stay engrained in our cultural consciousness.”

The thing a lot of people don’t remember, though, is that 1971 was the year Carole King released two No. 1 albums.  She followed “Tapestry” with an album called simply “Music.” Released just in time for Christmas, it hit the top of the charts by January of ’72, and went on to become another platinum seller, the second most popular album of her stellar career.  It would have been an unforgettable milestone for most any other artist…

Read more: Why doesn’t anyone talk about Carole King’s other no. 1 album (including her)? | American Masters | PBS

Songs You May Have Missed #685

Graham Parker: “Long Stem Rose” (1992)

From his atypically ballad-heavy Burning Questions album, “Long Stem Rose” finds the erstwhile British pub rocker chanelling McCartney–or perhaps more accurately, George Martin.

Backed by a string quartet recorded “dry” to give it the intimacy of Macca’s “Yesterday” Parker successfully wrings every ounce of pathos from this pretty tune.

See also: Recommended Albums #37 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)

Ron Dante & Tony Burrows: Two Men, Many Bands

(via CultureSonar) BY MARK DAPONTE

Singers Ron Dante and Tony Burrows are and were not a household name, but for a spell, a family with a working radio couldn’t keep their voices out of their house.

Dante’s first foray into being a household name was singing for The Detergents, who unleashed a 1964 parody of the Shangri-Las’ “Leader of the Pack” called “Leader of The Laundromat.”  Sadly, some people (like the three writers of “Leader of the Pack”) couldn’t take a joke and took the Detergents to the cleaners in the form of a lawsuit.  Five years later, one of “the Pack’s” composers, Jeff Barry, co-wrote (with Andy Kim) “Sugar, Sugar,” the biggest hit Ron ever sang on.  The song’s success compelled Ed Sullivan to ask Dante’s group, The Archies, to appear on Ed’s variety show.  Alas, the cartoon Archies were the Gorillaz of their time: an animated band whose members were heard and not seen which meant Ron sang as Reggie Mantle in his only appearance on Ed’s show…

Read more: Ron Dante & Tony Burrows: Two Men, Many Bands – CultureSonar

On a Lighter Note…

Video of the Week: The 1978 BBC-TV Bread Special

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