Category: #MusicMonday

#MusicMonday – Review of A Very Irregular Head – Syd Barrett

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More of my obsession or “hyper focus” on Syd Barrett.

A Very Irregular Head: The Life of Syd Barrett by Rob Chapman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett is one of the most renowned casualties of Rock ‘n’ Roll. At the cusp of stardom with Pink Floyd in 1967, he had a major breakdown. He was 21 years old. His behavior became erratic (to say the least) and he left Pink Floyd or was dismissed.

Syd Barrett in May 1967, before his collapse.

Syd’s mental collapse continues to be a source of speculation and fascination 54 years later and 15 years after his death at age 60 in 2006. Was it the onset of schizophrenia? Was it autism, as suggested in The Interesting Case of Syd Barrett? Was it LSD, or the more dangerous DOM, as suggested by Men on the Border? Was it temporal lobe damage, as suggested in Julian Palacios’ biography Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe? Or was it just the sixties, man? Our interest in Syd’s mental collapse isn’t merely voyeuristic, it’s also about making sense about what happened.

Rob Chapman de-emphasizes Syd’s drug use, which makes it harder to make sense of what happened to Syd. Syd’s gifts at songwriting left him. His singing left him. His guitar playing left him. His mental health left him. I wept as I read about Syd’s deterioration.

But Chapman makes an interesting point: A rock star’s peak creativity lasts for a very short while: after that, he or she becomes redundant. And being redundant was Syd’s major fear.

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#MusicMonday – Dancing in the Streets – Martha and the Vandellas

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Today’s #MusicMonday video is Martha and the Vandellas’ classic Dancing in the Streets, as performed on The Ed Sullivan Show on December 5, 1965. Crisp video, color (was this colorized from B & W?), and I love the yelllow gowns that Martha and the Vandellas wore.

Martha and the Vandellas perform Dancing in the Streets on The Ed Sullivan Show

Berry Gordy sidelined stronger singers like Martha Reeves and Gladys Knight to promote baby mama Diana Ross. 😠

#MusicMonday White Bird – It’s a Beautiful Day

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It’s a Beautiful Day was a band formed in San Francisco, California in 1967, featuring vocalist Pattie Santos and violinist/vocalist David LaFlamme and his wife Linda.

Although It’s a Beautiful Day was one of the notable San Francisco bands to emerge from 1967’s Summer of Love, it never achieved the success of Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Santana.

It’s A Beautiful Day’s eponymous debut album was released by Columbia Records in 1969. The track “White Bird” attracted FM radio play attention, but nationally, it bubbled under Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 118. 😔

It’s a Beautiful Day – White Bird

This live version of White Bird features a jam and is much more energetic than the studio recording. It was recorded July 7, 1970 at Tanglewood – Lenox, MA, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Source:

It’s a Beautiful Day – White Bird – 7/7/1970 – Tanglewood (Official). (2014). [Video]. Retrieved 7 August 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q918fs4RAto.

#MusicMonday – Echo Beach – Martha and the Muffins

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IS ANYONE LISTENING???

With every post, I put up content that might be interesting to others, but I get few visits/views.

Yep, #MusicMonday has rolled around again. Today’s feature is Echo Beach by Martha and Muffins. Pardon the crapola video content.

Echo Beach – Martha and the Muffins

Martha and the Muffins came out of Toronto in the late 1980s, riding the crest of New Wave. In the beginning, Martha and the Muffins was fronted not merely by one Martha, but two Marthas: Martha Johnson (the redhead) and Martha Ladly (the blonde).

The group chose its name “Martha and the Muffins” to distance themselves from the aggressive names adopted by many punk bands of the era. As founder Mark Gane (and Martha Johnson’s partner) said, “Martha and the Muffins couldn’t be more wimpy.” Mark Gane is the composer of Echo Beach.

Lyrics:

I know it’s out of fashion
And a trifle uncool
But I can’t help it
I’m a romantic fool
It’s a habit of mine
To watch the sun go down
On Echo Beach
I watch the sun go down

Chorus:

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Eye candy – gorgeous Syd Barrett #MusicMonday

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More Syd Barrett pictures:

A rare image of Syd smiling

I captured the above screenshot of Syd Barrett smiling from The Look of the Week broadcast on May 14, 1967, on the BBC (affectionately known as the Beeb). Here he is facing acerbic music critic Hans Keller. This moment was so fleeting that I had to play the video at 25% speed to capture the screenshot.

Beautiful bone structure

This is a screenshot from Pink Floyd’s video for their first video Arnold Layne.

Be sure to revisit my feature #MusicMonday Syd Barrett Playlist and check out my expanded Syd Barrett playlist on YouTube! Also visit my Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett board on Pinterest for more eye candy.

#MusicMonday Syd Barrett playlist

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Syd Barrett is one of the most renowned casualties of Rock ‘n’ Roll. He was a co-founder of Pink Floyd, but contributed in a major way only to Pink Floyd’s debut album Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

Syd Barrett was really handsome. Smoldering, or could it be the kajal that he wore? Even after over 50 years, his looks could melt. 🥰

Gorgeous Syd Barrett

At the cusp of stardom, Syd Barrett had a major breakdown. He dropped copious amounts of acid (LSD), and reportedly, his hangers-on spiked his coffee with acid. He might have also had schizophrenia, although he was never diagnosed as schizophrenic. His sister Rosemary claimed that he wasn’t schizophrenic, but the behaviors that other Pink Floyd members observed were consonant with schizophrenia. Among other things, Syd often had catatonic episodes.

When Pink Floyd “made it,” Syd Barrett was about 21 years old. Schizophrenia often manifests itself in early adulthood. His erratic behavior led to his dismissal from Pink Floyd.

Syd Barrett left London for good, and walked 50 miles to his mother’s home in Cambridge. A counselor friend told me that his walk might indicate that he had bipolar disorder: he might have made the walk during a manic episode. I wonder if he was trying to salvage what remained of him. 🤔 He died at age 60 in 2006.

Syd Barrett playlist: music and commentary

The playlist includes both music and commentary. Highlights include:

  1. Classical music critic Hans Keller interviews Roger Waters and Syd: “Why does it have to be so loud?” Syd is lucid and engaged: you can tell by the way he leans into Hans Keller.
  2. Pink Floyd performs its first hit See Emily Play. It is coupled with Pink Floyd’s lip-synching Apples and Oranges on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. Notice the blankness in Syd’s eyes. It’s telling how Dick Clark walked past Syd to engage Richard Wright instead.
  3. Syd and Pink Floyd perform Jugband Blues. The opening lyrics are: “It’s awfully considerate of you to think of me here | And I’m much obliged to you for making it clear | That I’m not here.” Was Syd self-aware of his breakdown?
  4. Dr. Todd Grande dismisses the theory that psychedelics cause schizophrenia, as it is based on old research. He works on the premise that Syd Barrett had schizophrenia, and Syd might have used psychedelics to self-medicate. Or maybe there wasn’t any connection between psychedelics and schizophrenia, after all. 🤔

#MusicMonday Steve Winwood playlist

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Man, I had it bad for Steve Winwood. Fortunately, my family indulged me. Dad actually took me to see Traffic in concert. Later, he mounted a poster of Steve Winwood next to bed. My brother tracked down the three Spencer Davis Group LPs that were released in the U.S. for me to add to my collection. He also took me to another Traffic concert.

Here’s a YouTube playlist of Steve Winwood’s music and interviews with him that I put together:

Steve Winwood playlist

In the 1980s, Steve Winwood had major hits with “While You See a Chance”, “Higher Love”, and many more. Quite frankly, I lost interest in him once he became a chart-topping MOR performer. When people talked about Steve Winwood, I sniffed and I thought to myself “I knew him when … ”

Maybe I put together this playlist out of nostalgia.

Then, there was his marriage to his wife Eugenia. Oh, Steve, why didn’t you wait for me?? I consoled myself with the idea that I wasn’t his type. Eugenia is blonde, as was his previous wife Nicole … and I was a brunette.

#MusicMonday Smith featuring Gayle McCormick “Baby It’s You”

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Gayle McCormick was a singer from St. Louis whose biggest hit was a cover of Burt Bacharach’s Baby It’s You with a group called Smith (not to be confused with The Smiths featuring Morrissey!). Smith broke up after two albums and after that, Gayle released three solo albums

  1. Gayle McCormick, released 1971 on ABC/Dunhill Records
  2. Flesh & Blood, released 1972 on Decca Records
  3. One More Hour, released 1974 on Fantasy Records
Remembering Gayle McCormick

In the mid-1970s, Gayle left the music industry and went home to St. Louis, where she lived a quiet life.

Gayle died of cancer on March 1, 2016 in suburban St. Louis. She was 67 years old.

Gayle’s grave marker in Mt. Lebanon Cemetery, Saint Ann, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA

Many think that Gayle McCormick should have had a longer, more successful music career. What do you think?

Instagram:

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#MusicMonday twin spin: Lean on Me

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The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) posted this tweet:

Here’s how I responded:

John Legend and Stevie Wonder fête Bill Withers at the 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Bill Withers would have cemented his legacy with Lean on Me alone. I’m not a fan of John Legend or Stevie Wonder, but this video gave me the tingles.

And here’s Lean on Me as performed by Bill Withers on the TV series Rollin’ on the River:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw6HeeuvTWo
Lean on Me by Bill Withers

And the shaggy guy introducing Bill Withers? That’s the late Kenny Rogers (d. March 20, 2020)

#MusicMonday – Summertime – Billy Stewart

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Billy Stewart was an R&B singer active in the 1960s.

He met Marvin Gaye through the Rainbows, a Washington, DC vocal group. Bo Diddley has been credited with discovering Stewart in Washington, DC. This led to a recording with Bo Diddley’s label Chess Records.

Amazing: I didn’t know that Marvin Gaye and Bo Diddley had ties to Washington DC.

Here’s Billy Stewart singing what Wikipedia calls his “radical interpretation” of Summertime from George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess. Forgive the blurriness of this video.

Not sure about the 10-gallon hat and the folks sitting around on hay bales. 🤔

Billy Stewart died in an automobile accident in 1970. He was 32.

Shout-out to the Sunday Kind of Love program on WPFW 89.3 FM for introducing me to Billy Stewart.

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