Music Before the Money

Music Issues, Musicians, Bands, Gear and Venues

March 26th, 2010

“The Maestro” Passes On


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crestsJohn Peter Mastrangelo was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan on May 7, 1939 and went on to be a star singer in the three decades that defined rock and roll. On Wednesday, March 24th he passed away at the of 70 from cancer.

Mastrangelo was known as Johnny Maestro and his clear voice attained immortality in the words of “16 Candles” when he was the leader of the Crests.

“The Crests were a band of street kids from the Lower East Side, and quite a mix,” maestro once reported. “There were three blacks, one Puerto Rican, and I was the Eye-talian.” As most up-and- coming groups did in the 1950′s they performed at parties, hops and sang in the subway for coins in a hat. One day an impressed subway rider handed them a business card and that led to a successful audition and a subsequent record contract.

When the first 45 came out it featured “Beside You” as the A-side. However, the jocks flipped the side and hammered away at the teenage love song that has come to symbolize the 1950′s, “16 candles.”

But Maestro never stopped there. In 1968 Johnny teamed up with the Del-Satins and the Rhythm Method and the result was an amazing 11-piece band. Selling a band that size, a band member quipped:

“This is going to be difficult. We have 11 people. That’s hard to sell. It’s easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge.” And that’s what the band was named.

Their break-out performance was on the Ed Sullivan Show later in 1968 where their blend of voices, rhythm and horns won then a huge fan base. Their hits included “Welcome Me Love,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “Your Husband, My Wife.” However, it was Jimmy Webb’s “Worst That Could Happen” that epitomized Brooklyn Bridge.

But most of us baby Boomers remember “16 Candles” in the movie “American Graffiti.”

Watch it Here!

January 25th, 2010

Eric Clapton Solos on a T-Mobile Phone


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fender guitar, fender stratocasterOn January 20, T-Mobile USA and Eric Clapton teamed up to promote a cell phone and it is now appearing in commercials around the T-Mobile’s world.

The hook is a Fender Stratocaster sunburst-finish design from the guitar that made Clapton famous and, conversely, was made a household name by him.

As for the mechanics the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Fender Edition has a 3.5mm headset jack and a 16GB MicroSD card. Another hook is that the unit will come loaded with Eric Clapton’s hit songs like “Wonderful Tonight,” “Layla,” “Rock ‘N’ Roll Heart” and “My Father’s Eyes.” There will also be other songs from stars such as Avril Lavigne, Wyclef Jean and Brad Paisley.

In addition, the phone will feature applications like Guitar: Solo and Musical Light, and a customized multimedia sync solution from doubleTwist, offering an intuitive interface for syncing and managing music as well as other media when linked with a Mac or a Windows PC.

The myTouch 3G Fender runs the Android 1.6 program but can be upgraded to Android 2.1 in a few months.

Many people having been posting negative comments about Clapton. The scuttlebutt is that Clapton is “selling out.” Well, sure he is. Everybody does. But at least Eric didn’t dress up in gambler’s outfit in his last tour or put out a cheesy Christmas record like Bob Dylan. And if he did, all the power to him. He’s Eric Clapton and he looks like he had fun making the commercial.

January 20th, 2010

Requiem for a Great Songbird: Kate McGarrigle


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kate mcgarrigleKate McGarrigle, one-half of the great Canadian folk duo, The McGarrigle Sisters, died on January 18th of sarcoma, a rare cancer that affects connective tissue such as bone, muscle, nerves and cartilage. Not only were they Canadian icons Kate was the mother of Rufus and Martha Wainwright, two impressive singer-songwriters.

The McGarrigle Sisters began their career in the coffee houses of Montreal in the early 1960′s. After leaving a folk group called The Mountain City Four their act was given a great bost when Lind Ronstadt used their song “Heart Like a Wheel” as the title song of her best-selling album of the same name in 1974. Other songs by the sisters were covered by Elvis Costello, Judy Collins, Emmy Lou Harris and Billy Bragg.

anna mcgarrigleTheir biggest Canadian hit came from a song by Wade Hemsworth called “The Log Driver’s Waltz.” This was later made into an animated feature by the National Film Board of Canada in 1979, a couple of years before videos became popular.

Later came a self-titled album that featured “The Work Song,” Cool River,” and “The Lying Song.” Although they were folk singers the McGarrigles drew their influences from all genres including rock which prevented them from being pigeon-holed in the music business.

Another attribute that the sisters had was that, although they were “Anglos,” they drew heavily from their French Canadian province and were popular in both cultures. Quebec Culture Minister said of them, “They were Anglos, in the middle of many people who were singing in French. And they were interested in singing to them in French, and to show to francophones in Quebec that English people were interested in Quebec culture, and our identity.

Kate McGarrigle was married to famous folk singer, Loudon Wainwright III famous for songs such as “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road.” In 1994 she was invested with the Order of Canada for her music and her contribution to Canadian heritage.

September 17th, 2009

Mary Traverse: First Lady of Folk


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puff the magic dragon, leaving on a jetplaneThe folk era lost another one of its icons yesterday as Mary Traverse die of leukemia. Traverse, the female energy of the famous trio Peter, Paul and Mary was hired by famous agent Albert Grossman, who also shepherded Bob Dylan’s career. In effect, Grossman invented a successful group when he “put a doll between two beat-niks.” In fact Grossman created a folk explosion that lasted well into the psychedelic era, or when most of the folk artists had hung up their banjos.

Their first album, Peter, Paul and Mary, including 500 Miles, Lemon Tree, If I Had a Hammer and Where have All the Flowers Gone? was on Billboard’s Top 10 list for 10 months and in the Top 100 for over three years. It solidified the  careers of Paul Stookey, Peter Yarrow and Mary Traverse into folk immortality.

Not only were they a popular group but their songs were taken up by causes. If I Had a Hammer was sung on Martin Luther King’s March on Washington in 1963 as was their rendition of Bob Dylans Blowin’ in the Wind.

Leaving on a Jet Plane, written by John Denver, gave them their only #1 hit in 1969. Puff the Magic Dragon went #2 in 1963.

When they group broke up in 1970 Mary traverse and the guys went on solo careers but got back together less than 10 years later. Traverse was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004 but toured until 2007.

Mary Traverse also began the “white girl look” for most of the 1960′s: straight hair with bangs.  Melanie Safka, Grace Slick, Judy Collins,  Jonie Mitchell and many others adopted this appearance. The fact that she was blonde made her all that much more attractive, especially between two guys with goatees. And Peter, Paul and Mary also were remembered above all their contemporaries in the folk era.

(Photo from peter, Paul and Mary website)

September 2nd, 2009

Denny Doherty Comes Alive at The Atlantic Film Festival


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“The burst of energy that was The Mamas & The Papas was like a sun and Denny a planet orbiting it”

- Paul Ledoux, long time friend, collaborator
and writer/director of the documentary.

cass elliot, denny dohertyMost people in the world who are tied into western  music have heard Denny Doherty sing. He was, after all, the lead male voice of The Mamas and the Papas, one the key groups that defined the 1960′s. Composed also of John Phillips, “Mama” Cass Elliot and Michelle Phillips, they brought a vocal explosion to radio that rivaled the best of the Motown groups. Their popularity brought them many times to that  holiest of shrines, The Ed Sullivan Show,  where it said Sullivan liked them as much as Elvis Presley.

The demise of The Mamas and the Papas came with the Monterey Pop festival in 1967 and foreshadowed the end of a new and exiting era of popular music . After a brief, but successful solo career, Cass Elliot died of a heart attack on July 29, 1974. John Phillips died of heart failure on March 18, 2001.

In 1996 Denny teamed up with writer Paul Ledoux and produced Dream a Little Dream of Me, a musical story of the Mamas and Papas backed up by a cast of excellent music performers. The stage show died on the operating table with Denny on January 19, 2007. His death was due to an abdominal aneurysm.

Long-time friend and collaborator, Paul Ledoux, has once again brought the  legend of the Mamas and Papas to life with Here I Am: Denny Doherty and the Mamas and Papas. Taking countless hours of interviews, home movies, stage performances and rehearsals Ledoux and executive-producer, Greg Jones, have created an amazing film in honor of Doherty. It is  a stunning documentary that shows Doherty as a great singer from the north end of Halifax, a man who made music history in a group that, for a short time, both rivaled and amazed The Beatles.

The World Premier of Here I Am: Denny Doherty and the Mamas and Papas takes place on September 19 @ 2:05PM in Park Lane Cinemas – Theatre 4. For more information on the show contact Executive Producer Greg Jones, at Creative Atlantic.

The Atlantic Film Festival runs from September 17th to 16th in Halifax. For tickets contact The Atlantic Film Festival.