Mariska and Venus

Mariska Veres succumbed to cancer on December 2, 2006. She was 59 years old. You don’t recognize her name, but I’m sure you’ve heard her voice. She was the lead singer for the “one-hit wonder” band Shocking Blue who had a worldwide hit with their 1969 single “Venus.” Younger folks will know the popular cover version by Bananarama.

I used to quite like the song. My first introduction to it was the Bananarama version in 1986. I discovered the original version on a K-Tel triple LP compilation of 1970s tunes. ‘Twas an excellent garage sale find, indeed!

So I did some noodling around on the internet and dug up some info about Miss Veres and her band. Shocking Blue were a rock quartet from the Netherlands. Their name was inspired by Eric Clapton’s song, “Electric Blue.” The group was around from 1967 to 1974 and are often compared to Jefferson Airplane. Mariska Veres was invited to join when the group’s lead singer was called to duty with the Dutch army.

Mariska Veres was discovered while singing with a band called the Bumble Bees. They performed at a party in honour of Golden Earring’s hit song “Dong Dong Di Ki Di Gi Dong.” Shocking Blue’s manager recommended Veres to the band after hearing her sing.

Shocking Blue released several albums over the course of their existence but never saw much acclaim outside of Europe, following the success of “Venus.” At the height of their North American success, they toured with Ike & Tina Turner, Sly & The Family Stone and Three Dog Night.

You know, it’s difficult to think of many groups from the Netherlands. I’m tapped out after the George Baker Selection, Golden Earring, Focus and Stars On 45. But I digress.

After Shocking Blue band split, Mariska Veres embarked on a fairly unsuccessful solo career, except for her minor hit “Take Me High,” in 1975. In the late 1980s, she performed with the Shocking Jazz Quintet. In the 1990s, Veres established a new incarnation of Shocking Blue – with the permission of her founding band mates.

Apparently, Mariska Veres wasn’t the wild women some folks thought she was, per the lyrics of “Venus.” She wasn’t a smoker and claimed to dislike alcohol. Her favourite beverage was tea.

Now more about that #1 hit – a few times now, I’ve read the claim that “Venus” borrowed the guitar riff from The Who’s “Pinball Wizard.” I never noticed that before but it rings true. I think the All Music Guide asserted that “Venus” sounded like a cross between “96 Tears” and “Sugar, Sugar.” More interesting food for thought.

Supposedly, “Venus” doesn’t fully characterize the rest of the album it appears on, “At Home.” The record does have its touches of psychedelic rock but, but there’s a lot of country and folk music on there too. A remastered version of “At Home” is available and I’ve added it to my ever-growing musical wish list. To find it on vinyl would be pretty darn cool, too.

So as I mentioned earlier, “Venus” was covered by British girl band Bananarama in 1986 and became a hit for them. Other Shocking Blue tunes have reappeared over the years, most notably “Love Buzz.” In 1989, it appeared on Nirvana’s debut album, “Bleach,” and was the group’s first single. Ladytron included “Send Me A Postcard” on “Softcore Jukebox,” their compilation album.

For interests’ sake, I discovered that Shocking Blue’s “Venus” hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in February 1970. It was preceded by The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and succeeded by “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” by Sly & the Family Stone. What a lovely musical sandwich they make! Furthermore, apparently “Venus” is the only song in the history of the Billboard charts to reach #1 three times (Shocking Blue in 1970, Stars On 45 in 1981 and Bananarama in 1986). More useless fodder: the first #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” in August 1958. You learn something new every day!

 

Robert Junior

 

Blues guitarist Robert Lockwood Jr. suffered a stroke on November 3^rd then died of respiratory failure on November 21^st. He was 91 years old. This name doesn’t seem familiar to a lot of people but musician “Robert Junior” Lockwood was closely tied with the legendary blues man Robert Johnson. His connection to Lockwood? Around the age of 20, Robert Johnson began a lengthy relationship with a woman 15 years his senior who happened to be Lockwood’s mother.

Before we get into Robert Lockwood, let’s take a moment review the fascinating life of Robert Johnson. He’s been called one of the most important musicians of the 20^th century and the grandfather of rock ‘n’ roll. Considered one of the great Mississippi Delta bluesmen, Johnson is also one of the most obscure. Details of his life are sketchy at best but it is known he recorded 29 songs, died young and only two photographs of him are known to exist.

Robert Johnson’s story has reached mythical status – he’s said to have sold his soul to the Devil at the crossroads, in return for musical expertise. At about the age of 27, he was found dead in rural Mississippi and was buried in an unmarked grave. Lockwood was 22 years old at the time. It’s widely accepted that Johnson died from poisoning, although it’s also suggested that he was struck down my complications from pneumonia, syphillis or possibly Marfan syndrome. The coroner’s report stated his cause of death as “no doctor.” As director Martin Scorsese has said, Johnson “only existed on his records. He was pure legend.”

Okay. Back to Robert Lockwood Jr. Geez – this is a lot of Roberts. Anyhoo – in 1915, Robert Lockwood was born in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas. It’s interesting to note that other significant blues artists were all born within a 100-mile radius that same year and they all crossed paths in the future: Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Little Walter, Memphis Slim, Johnny Shines, and Honeyboy Edwards. After his parents divorced, a young Lockwood and his mother lived with Robert Johnson (intermittently) for about ten years. Johnson imparted his knowledge of playing and performing on his stepson, as did Johnson’s friends Sonny Boy Williamson and Johnny Shines. Lockwood quickly picked up Johnson’s skills and would become known for his talents on a 12-string guitar.

A teenager in the 1930s, Lockwood started performing professionally. He began in Arkansas and traveled through Mississippi, Missouri, Illnois and Tennessee, playing with folks like Howlin’ Wolf. In the 1940s, Lockwood and Sonny Boy Williams started regularly appearing together on the Arkansas radio program King Biscuit Time, becoming popular guests. In the 1950s, Lockwood began session guitar work for Chicago’s Chess Records label which included collaborating with Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Roosevelt Sykes, Otis Spann, Sunnyland Slim, Eddie Boyd, Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williams.

Lockwood moved to Cleveland, Ohio in the 1960s and continued to record and perform until the time of his death. In 1980, he received the inaugural W.C. Handy Award for “Best Traditional Blues Album.” In 1989, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. In 1998, his album I Got to Find Me a Woman earned a Grammy Award nomination and was inducted into the Delta Blues Hall of Fame. The city of Cleveland named a roadway Robert Lockwood Jr. Way in his honour. In 2001, his album Delta Crossroads received a W.C. Handy Award and gained a Grammy nomination.

His death marks the passing of one of the last major links to the birth of modern blues. Few performers from the early Mississippi Delta days are left, aside from old-timers like James Cotton and Pinetop Perkins. Just one of the musicians Lockwood inspired was B.B. King, especially during the beginning of King’s career. Mr. Lockwood leaves a legacy of albums and compilations for us to enjoy. A good discography source is at the All Music Guide. His first wife, Annie, passed away in 1997. He is survived by his second wife, Mary and leaves several stepchildren behind.

I was curious about Robert Lockwood’s birthplace: “Turkey Scratch” Arkansas. While researching the place, I discovered that Levon Helm is from that area too (born in 1940). He’s the drummer from one of my favourite groups, The Band. Levon immortalized a friend from Turkey Scratch – Anna Lee Williams – in the song The Weight. Just a bit of trivia for you.

Gwen and Julie

Dear American Music Awards,

Blarf. Again. Like every other year. And guess what? Jamie Foxx can’t sing!

Signed,
There goes a precious hour or two of life that I can’t get back

---

Some “mashups” make sense, like the beloved Liger. Pretty much Napoleon Dynamite’s favourite animal, it is bred for its skills in magic. Everybody wants one.Then there’s No Doubt’s afterbirth, Gwen Stefani. Her big tune of the moment – Wind It Up – samples a song from The Sound of Music. It’s The Lonely Goatherd to be exact. 1965, Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp. 2006, the lead singer from No Doubt. Shat all over it. Gwen performed Wind It Up on the awards show tonight.

Dear Gwen Stefani-Rossdale,

You’ve tarred and feathered The Sound of Music. I hold this movie dear and place it high in the canon of movies from my youth. Shame on you. And yet it could get worse – I have visions of Julie Andrews being drafted in to perform the “Goatherd” parts beside Gwen on some horrible music awards show. Shudder. I’ve seen the future and it hurts.

Signed,
Don’t do anything like this again. Ever.

To recap today’s lesson:
Lion + Tiger = Happy Fun LIGER
The Sound of Music + Gwen Stefani = Where’s the vomitorium?!

p.s. Over at the Stereogum blog, it’s perhaps summed up best as being only matter of time before Fergie tries to sample Edelweiss. Shit.

p.p.s. There’s a No Doubt tribute band called No Duh.

Feedburnin’ with the Roloffs

I think the title makes this sound better than it is.

Being relatively new to the blogosphere and having minimal skills, I’m happy with where WordPress has got me so far. I don’t fully get this whole subscribing to a “feed” thing but I think I’ve succesfully set one up for Cheese and Bubble via FeedBurner. I don’t know exactly what it means. Now I know how God felt after launching the world and leaving it to spin on its own (apparently I believe in a Distant God).

Why am I bothering to relay this? I’m gonna vote for boredom. Little People, Big World is on the telly, for God’s sake! Okay – I’ve taken the steps necessary to locate the tv show’s network website and went on to find a website dedicated to the Roloff family farm, where you can buy their t-shirt!

Syd Barrett’s estate up for auction

Live Auctioneers bills itself as “the preeminent site for information on live auctions around the world.” It’s kind of an ebay-type thing. Currently, Live Auctioneers features 77 items from the estate of the late Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett, who passed away on July 7th of this year. The auction closes at the end of November, so this link to it might not last too long.

All sorts of goodies are up for grabs, including Syd’s artificial Christmas tree, some artwork, scrapbooks, home-made furniture and some purchased furniture which he modified & painted. Looks like everything is estimated to fetch 100 to 500 British pounds each.

Syd Barrett is dead. Long live Syd Barrett!

Souvenirs vs. The Real Thing

Michael Hughes from Berlin, Germany has an interesting project up on Flickr.  He photographs souvenirs at the sight of the real thing.  As of today, he has 56 photos comprising his “ongoing book project.”  It’s hard to explain and better if you just have a look at his slideshow here.  I quite like it.

Ruth Brown

I’m quite intrigued by lesser-known artists and their stories. Unfortunately, this means I often discover them once they’re deceased. Case in point: Ruth Brown a.k.a. “Miss Rhythm” a.k.a. “The Girl with the Teardrop in Her Voice.”

Ruth with Blondie’s Debbie Harry on the set of the movie “Hairspray” 

She was born Ruth Alston Weston (January 12, 1928 in Portsmouth, Virginia – November 17, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada). You may not recognize her, but she was a big player in 1950s R&B music who went on to influence many artists. This includes Little Richard, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt (hmmm…should it feel odd to group Janis and Bonnie together?). Ruth sang a range of style from jazz to gospel and blues. She was so successful with Atlantic Records that the label became known as “The House that Ruth Built” (and we’re not talking baseball).

In 1947, jazz enthusiasts Ahmet Ertegun & Herb Abramson started Atlantic Records. Despite a couple hits, the label didn’t feature a “star” until Ruth Brown signed on a couple years later. She was suggested to Ertegun and Abramson by a bandleader named Blanche Calloway – sister to Cab. The song So Long, from Ruth’s first recording session and would become her first hit, reaching #4 on the R&B charts. She went on to attain the greatest number of singles issued by a female vocalist on the Atlantic label, with a total of 24. She remained on the R&B charts for a whopping 149 weeks, from 1949-1955 (and had 6 appearances on the Pop charts).

And yet, Ruth’s popularity would wane and, in the 1960s, she retired to raise a family. All the while, she continued to sing at local clubs and, in the late-1970s, she started performing outside of New York (eventually travelling overseas) and worked in theatre & television. She won acclaim in Allen Toussaint’s off-Broadway musical Staggerlee. Ruth went on to earn a Tony Award for her performance in the 1989 Broadway revue Black and Blue. This led to a Grammy for “Best Female Jazz Vocal Performance” with album Blues On Broadway, containing hits from the play.

Ruth hosted National Public Radio’s “Harlem Hit Parade” and “Blues Stage” programs for many years. She also endured a nine-year ordeal to recoup her share of royalties from Atlantic. This led to the formation of the non-profit Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 1988. Based in Philadelphia, the Foundation dedicated to providing financial and medical assistance to artists along with historical & cultural preservation of the musical genre. In 1993, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as “The Queen Mother of the Blues.”

Ruth Brown portrayed “DJ Motormouth Mabel” in John Waters’ 1988 movie Hairspray (What?! You don’t know who John Waters is? Pink Flamingos!):

This scene could also be referred to as “a rich bitch from Sask Crescent visiting 20th Street in Saskatoon.”

In addition to Ruth’s 1949 hit So Long, other noteworthy songs include 1950’s Teardrops From My Eyes, 1951’s I’ll Wait For You and I Know, 1953’s 5-10-15 Hours and (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean, 1954’s Oh What A Dream and Mambo Baby and 1960’s Don’t Deceive Me.

An excellent source of info about Ruth Brown can be found at Marv Goldberg’s R&B Notebooks.

Exciting inaugural post

Earlier this year, September 22nd, – or One Web Day – was the focus of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority and filmmaker Gavin Michael Booth. Gavin travelled across Canada, asking folks about the internet’s positive impact. His excursion included a stop at Community Radio in Saskatoon…