Music Before the Money

The 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)

In quite a few articles and books regarding  the  Beatles, Ringo Starr has been considered the least musically talented of The Beatles’ four members. One of the main put-downs is that McCartney played the drums on a couple of songs on one their last albums. It was later reported that Paul had a beat in his head that he couldn’t convey to Ringo and played the track himself. He later apologized to the drummer and nothing more was made of in the band. However, the action was blown up through rumors.

Because Ringo was usually high on a riser at the back, he was sometimes considered to be the funny man and be the least important of the Beatles. He never participated in much of the writing nor was he a main vocalist, although his voice is heard on one song per album. And his songs were always remembered.

But here are the facts: He was lured away from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, the top band in Liverpool at the time. And the addition of Ringo immediately changed things. Not only did his distinctive drumming help shape The Beatles’  sound he added to the chemistry of the group, unlike Pete best who, it is written, clashes with John and Paul over artistic directions and the public relations department. Thinking he was irreplaceable Best refused to change his wept-back hair for the new style adopted by the other three.

As for a drummer, just go to YouTube and watch him in the live shots. He’s a clock. He’s not all over the place in timing like many of his contemporaries. He does his job and puts in the rolls tastefully. In other words, less is more. His work on the cymbals is also great to watch.

So Ringo nay-sayers should study the evolution of drumming and realize that many of the world’s top drummers chose this instrument after watching Ringo. Like Gene Krupa, he revolutionized what people thought of drummers. And although Ringo was no Gene Krupa, he was a great drummer for the Beatles.

‘We never thought we’d end up as androids!”

- Paul McCartney

The new Beatles-themed version of Rock Band has created a stir across the board from pure elation to, in some cases, disgust.  Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr took to the stage at the Microsoft press conference in Los Angeles to introduce the game, made by “Rock Band” creators at MTV-owned Harmonix Music, which was released September 9 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii.

The song list for the game includes I Saw Her Standing There, I Want to Hold Your Hand,  I Feel Fine,  Day Tripper,  Taxman,  I Am the Walrus, Back in the U.S.S.R.,  Octopus’ Garden,  Here Comes the Sun and Get Back. In all, a total of 45 songs will be available.

So what’s the howl? Why do some people think this game is bad?

Well, it’s not. Every song in the game is unique. There are their well-documented recreated performances on The Ed Sullivan Show and in Liverpool’s Cavern Club to the  Abbey Road sessions where the is seen band playing in the studio.

Not only that each song starts with clips of The Beatles warming up or giving off-the-cuff remarks. Then there are the video clips and stills that will charm even the most lukewarm of fans.

The Beatles deserve to be given to a new generation. Years ago a musicologist was once laughed at for saying the Beatles will be, some day, thought of in the same terms as Beethoven and Mozart. Even I didn’t believe him back then. But now I do.

And if The Beatles: Rock Band instills a sense of awe into a new generation, and perks up a few of us old-timers, then the purists will have to stand aside. Because purists seem to think that good music and fame is a planned procedure. In fact, it is good preparation and luck. And the Beatles, as good as they were, were also very lucky to have the circumstances of the times working for them as well as the people that came into their lives: Brian Epstein, George Martin, etc.

And I’m glad Macca is enjoying his new game! And my kids won’t shut up about it!

“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.

Most 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.