Penny for Your Music

For many people, this time of year signals a new beginning – a time to look back at their perceived mistakes of the previous year and make life changes for the upcoming year.  Personally, I have never been one for New Year’s resolutions.  If I discover a way to make my life better, I normally implement the change regardless of the calendar date.

However, in the spirit of the occasion, I’ve decided to partake in the tradition this year.  Actually, that’s not completely true.  To be perfectly honest, I made a startling discovery while I was doing research for this very blog.  I was looking at a list of the top albums of 2015 when I realized that I didn’t own any of them.  That discovery prompted the question, “Just what did I buy this past year?”  Turns out, every CD I bought in 2015 was a so-called “catalog album” – an album that has already charted and then fallen off the charts.  I didn’t buy a single “new” album in 2015.  That hasn’t happened since 1981.  My streak began when I purchased Queen’s “Hot Space” in 1982.  The flood gates didn’t truly open until 1983, though.  That’s when I joined the Columbia Record & Tape Club.

For those of you who don’t remember, Columbia House (as it was called) was a mail-order music service that offered an insane number of albums or tapes for a penny with the signed agreement that you would purchase a specified number at “regular club price” within a certain period of time (usually 3 years).  The deal I signed with Columbia House was what they called a “trial membership”.  I got eight albums for a penny and only had to buy 3 more at regular club prices within the next 3 years.  The problem was that I entered into this agreement without my mom’s consent…and she was not happy about it.  She told me horror stories of how her sister had signed a similar deal years earlier and was then forced to purchase merchandise she had not ordered.  She was convinced I was about to share the same fate.  Actually, when I think back on it, there’s probably very little chance they could have held me to the terms of the agreement anyway.  I’m pretty certain that no company is legally permitted to enter into any kind of signed agreement with a little kid. 

Nevertheless, I fulfilled my end of the deal and, in retrospect, cannot even imagine how my aunt wound up in such a living nightmare with these guys.  I mean, all you had to do was return the cards on time to avoid receiving unwanted albums.  She must have been a real moron to screw that up.  Actually, she WAS a real moron…but I digress.

The Columbia deal came along at a time when I was just starting my music collection.      I had discovered a lot of new music in a short period of time and was able to acquire a large number of albums (cassettes, actually) virtually overnight.  I can still remember the eight tapes that I received:

Michael Jackson – Thriller

Men At Work – Business As Usual

Def Leppard - Pyromania

Toto IV

Van Halen – Diver Down

Hank Williams, Jr. – Greatest Hits

Billy Squier – Emotions In Motion
Devo – Oh No, It’s Devo

Looking back, I had pretty good taste in music for a little kid.  I still have seven of those in my current CD collection.  Boy, did that Devo album suck, though.  What the hell was I thinking there?  But again, I digress.

A few days ago, a good friend of mine (thanks, Paul) posted a link to an exciting story on my Facebook wall.  It seems that a half decade after closing its doors, Columbia House is again dipping its feet into the mail-order music business.

Columbia House Relaunches

While their initial business plan is geared toward the resurgence in vinyl records, one can only hope that CD’s won’t be far behind if all goes well.  If so, I think it’s safe to say that I will not only be updating my music collection with a number of new releases in 2016 (my resolution), I will be doing so under a number of aliases from a number of addresses.  I will also be hitting YOU up to join in order to get the four free selections for the referral.  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

NOTE:  The original account of this story was taken from:  "Michael Jackson Got Me on Coke"

Feed the World

One of the coolest Christmas songs to come along in my lifetime was not so much a song as an event.  I still remember the first time I heard those opening chimes and those big, fat drums.  I knew it was going to be something different.  Then, I heard Paul Young.  Then, I heard Boy George.  Then, I heard Simon LeBon…and George Michael…and Sting…and Bono…and I probably blacked out after that.  Nowadays, all-star collaborations are common, but it just didn’t happen back then.  In fact, Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was the catalyst for that kind of thing going forward.  It led to charity singles like “We are the World” & “That’s What Friends are For” and events like Live Aid & Farm Aid.  What’s ironic is that many of the singers involved in the song thought they were going to be the featured vocalist or that it would be a duet between them and another artist.  Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof, who conceived and organized the recording session (AND the Live Aid concert), implemented some masterful sleight-of-hand to make the project materialize.

Along the way, there were also a handful of humorous obstacles such as Sting not wanting to sing a line that included the word “sting” in it or Bono being uncomfortable singing “tonight thank God it’s them instead of you”, which he thought sounded more than a little unsympathetic.  That’s not to mention the fact that Boy George overslept after playing Madison Square Garden the night before and barely made it to the session.

The Making of Band Aid

In the end, the song became a worldwide hit and raised millions of dollars for famine relief in Africa while being updated several times over the years by younger generations of pop stars singing for charity.  It also provided a template for rock-n-roll benefits going forward.  Bob Geldof may not have fed the world with his vision, but he certainly put bread on a lot of tables that would, otherwise, have been bare…and if that ain’t Christmas, then I don’t know what is.

Jump in Bed and Cover Up Your Head

In the spirit of the season, here are my favorite Christmas songs:


White Christmas - Elvis Presley

While most would consider Bing Crosby’s rendition of this Irving Berlin classic to be the definitive version, I always found that version to be a bit somber.  To me, it was Elvis who actually managed to capture the true mood of the song.  Of course, it certainly didn’t hurt that it was included on one of the all-time greatest Christmas albums ever released.  “Elvis’ Christmas Album” was a combination of secular & sacred songs.  The Camden reissue (which is the one I had) has sold over 10 million copies since its release 4 decades ago and contains the definitive versions of a number of favorites including “Blue Christmas”, “Here Comes Santa Claus” and “Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem”.  It was the soundtrack to my Christmas for the first 15 years of my life.

Sleigh Ride - Amy Grant

To date, Amy Grant has nearly a dozen Christmas albums to her credit, but it was her first, 1983’s “A Christmas Album”, that contained the definitive version of this Christmas classic.  She perfectly captures the childhood excitement of playing in the first snow of the season.  Make sure you add this one to your Christmas playlist.

Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

In 1979, Sir Paul wrote one of the most memorable “contemporary” Christmas songs ever.  The lyrics paint a vivid picture of “walking in a winter wonderland” while the sparse instrumentation gives it a sort of timelessness, as made evident by its inclusion in the 1998 animated film Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer:  The Movie.  For me, it doesn’t truly feel like Christmas until I hear this song.

Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives

Written by Johnny Marks in the early 1960’s and subsequently included in the 1964 Christmas special Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, this classic was originally intended to be sung by Larry Mann (Yukon Cornelius).  Wisely, the producers decided to give it (AND “Silver & Gold”) to Burl Ives due to his singing fame.  The song has been re-recorded a handful of times, but no other version has the charm of Ives’, which continues to hit the Billboard charts well into the 21^st century.

Christmas in Dixie - Alabama

Written by the band, this song was first released in 1982 and later included on their 1985 Christmas album “Alabama Christmas”.  Despite the title, the song makes references to cities

Above the Mason-Dixon Line, as well, and paints a timeless picture of “peace on Earth tonight”.

(Christmas) Baby, Please Come Home - U2

Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich & Phil Spector in the early 1960’s and originally recorded by Darlene Love, this song was given new life when U2 recorded a hauntingly powerful version of it (with Love on backing vocals) during a sound check in Glasgow, Scotland in 1987.  It was included on the compilation “A Very Special Christmas” later that year and (with all due respect to Love) remains the definitive version.

The Christmas Song - The Carpenters

Written by Bob Wells and Mel Torme during a blistering summer in 1945, this song became a mega-hit for Nat King Cole the following year.  However, this version from 1978’s “A Christmas Portrait”, The Carpenters’ only Christmas album to be issued during Karen’s lifetime, surpasses all others.

Jingle Bell Rock - Hall & Oates

Written by Joe Beal & Jim Boothe and first released by Bobby Helms in 1957, this Christmas classic has been recorded at least a hundred times.  Hall & Oates’ 1983 version is the best of the bunch.

My Favorite Things - Lorrie Morgan

This Rodgers & Hammerstein classic was beautifully recorded by country singer Lorrie Morgan, who was backed by the New World Philharmonic & Choir, for her 1993 album “Merry Christmas from London”.  It’s still my favorite version.

The Old Switcheroo

Recently, I saw the “Seinfeld” episode “The Burning”, during which George and Jerry have a conversation about how Jerry’s girlfriend always says “it’s me” when she calls.  As I remember, it went something like this:

George:  I’ll tell you what.  Call her back and give HER the “it’s me”.  Pull the old switcheroo on her.

Jerry:  I think that’s “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander”.

George:  What the hell is a gander anyway?

Jerry:  It’s a goose that’s had the old switcheroo pulled on it.

Of course, we’ve all had the old switcheroo pulled on us, too.  In fact, it used to happen all the time back in the eighties.  Here are just a few examples:

Genesis:

Hands down, the most successful case of an established band pulling the old switcheroo is when lead vocalist Peter Gabriel left Genesis and was replaced by then-drummer Phil Collins.  Almost overnight, the band went from a cult-status progressive rock band to a hit-making juggernaut.  Their first post-Gabriel release, 1976’s “A Trick of the Tail”, became their first to make the U.S. Top 40 and its follow-up later that same year, “Wind & Wuthering”, did even better.  However, it was the third with Collins as lead vocalist, 1978’s “…and Then There Were Three”, that finally gave the band a platinum album AND a hit single.

Two years later, “Duke” would go double platinum and give the band a top 20 hit, “Misunderstanding”.  They would continue to gain more momentum (and sales) with 1981’s “Abacab” and 1983’s “Genesis”, the latter of which gave them their first U.S. Top 10 hit.

However, it would be their next album, 1986’s “Invisible Touch”, that would make the band mega-stars.  By then, Collins was already an MTV darling thanks to “No Jacket Required”, while Mike Rutherford was getting almost as much airplay with Mike & the Mechanics.  Of the eight tracks on “Invisible Touch”, five would reach the top five with a sixth becoming a video hit on MTV and a seventh winning a Grammy.  The title track would give them their lone U.S. #1.

As the nineties dawned, record buyers’ interest would shift from the slick pop/rock of the eighties toward grunge & alternative music.  However, someone forgot to tell Genesis, who appeared to be unaffected when they released their last album with Collins in 1991.  The band’s best-selling album, “We Can’t Dance” would make it into the top five while five of its singles would become Top 40 hits.  “I Can’t Dance” was the biggest, peaking at #7.

Ironically, the band would be far less successful when they would, again, replace their lead singer after Phil’s departure in 1996.

They would record one album with Ray Wilson on vocals before disbanding in 2000.

AC/DC:

After achieving international success with frontman Bon Scott, AC/DC would find their future very much in doubt after Bon’s death due to alcohol poisoning in 1980.   With a string of seven multi-platinum albums to their credit, they would contemplate disbanding before being urged by the Scott family to carry on.  After considering several singers, Malcolm & Angus Young finally settled on ex-Geordie frontman Brian Johnson.  Bon had mentioned his admiration for Johnson to the brothers years earlier.

With Johnson in the fold, the band would complete the album they had begun with Scott.  “Back in Black” was released in July, 1980 and would become (and still remains) the band’s best-selling album.

The follow-up, “For Those About to Rock”, also did well, selling more than 10 million copies and continuing a string of multi-platinum albums and memorable singles, their biggest coming in 1990.

"Moneytalks” would make it to #23 on the Hot 100, propelling “The Razor’s Edge” to #2 on the album chart.

Over the next 2-plus decades, the band has continued to sell out shows and record multi-platinum albums with Johnson.  Their most recent was 2014’s “Rock or Bust”.

Survivor:

When lead-vocalist Dave Bickler left Survivor in late-1983 due to vocal problems, the band was a two-hit wonder with their previous album, 1983’s “Caught in the Game”, having been a commercial disappointment.  However, he would be replaced by former Cobra frontman Jimi Jamison the following year and the result would be a string of hits that would span the next half decade.

The band’s first album with Jamison would be 1984’s “Vital Signs”.  The first single with Jimi on vocals cracked the top twenty.

The next two singles from the album, “High on You” and “The Search is Over”, would make it into the top ten.

A year later, the Jamison-led lineup would be asked to do something that the Bickler-led lineup had been asked to do a few years earlier – record a song for a Rocky movie.  “Eye of the Tiger” had been propelled to #1 thanks to its inclusion in Rocky III in 1982 and the sequel, Rocky IV, would include another Survivor mega-hit.

"Burning Heart” would make it all the way to #2 and remains the band’s second biggest hit.

Survivor’s second album with Jamison, 1986’s “When Seconds Count” would give them their final hit single, “Is This Love”.  They would record one more album with Jimi before disbanding in 1989.  Over the next few years, various incarnations of the band would tour & record - one even included both Jamison AND Bickler.  Sadly, Jimi Jamison died of an apparent heart attack at his home in Memphis on September 1, 2014 at the age of 63.

Van Halen:

Without a doubt, the most controversial replacement of a lead singer came in 1985 following David Lee Roth’s very public split with Van Halen.  After considering recording an album with various guest vocalists, the band would ultimately surprise everyone by naming Sammy Hagar as their new frontman.  A relatively successful artist in his own right, Hagar would give both him and the band their first #1 album.  “5150” was released in March, 1986 and would generate three top 40 singles, including the top five “Why Can’t This Be Love”.

All four of the band’s studio albums with Hagar would reach the top spot on Billboard’s album chart and they would rack up 6 more Top 40 hits before parting ways with him in 1996.  After a brief reunion with Roth, they would eventually name ex-Extreme frontman Gary Cherone as their third lead singer.

Unfortunately, the third time was not a charm.  Their lone album with Cherone, 1998’s “Van Halen III”, was a commercial & critical flop and he was fired soon after.  It would be a decade and a half before they would release another album of new material.  “A Different Kind of Truth” was released in 2012 and saw the band reuniting with Roth after a feud that had lasted almost three decades.

Following a successful tour supporting “A Different Kind of Truth”, Van Halen is currently rumored to be working on new material with Roth.

Jefferson Starship:

In 1978, singer Marty Balin left Jefferson Starship with the band hiring Mickey Thomas as his replacement.  The hits would be fewer and further between with Thomas on vocals, although he would give them one of their more memorable songs.

In 1984, Jefferson Starship would lose their final founding member, Paul Kantner, who would then take legal action against the remaining members over the use of the name.  The band would finally settle on shortening it to Starship and would go on to score 6 top 40 hits, 3 of which would make it all the way to #1, in the latter half of the eighties.

Though the band technically broke up soon after 1989’s “Love Among the Cannibals” (which was probably the best Starship album), Thomas has continued to tour under the Starship moniker and even released another album, “Loveless Fascination”, in 2013.

Chicago:

When Peter Cetera departed in 1985, Chicago would hire Jason Scheff (son of Elvis’ bass player Jerry Scheff) as his replacement.  Scheff would go on to sing lead on all four of the band’s singles from their next album, 1986's "Chicago 18", including the #3 “Will You Still Love Me?” and an excellent reinterpretation of “25 or 6 to 4”.

While keyboardist Bill Champlin would take over much of the lead singing duties on their next album, Jason would sing lead on the top 5 “What Kind of Man Would I Be?”.

Thirty years later, Scheff remains the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band.

Animotion:

After releasing two albums and scoring two hit singles in 1985, including the top 10 “Obsession”, Animotion found themselves in need of TWO lead vocalists when both Astrid Plane and Bill Wadhams departed in 1988.  Cynthia Rhodes (Penny Johnson in “Dirty Dancing” and Richard Marx’s wife) and Paul Engemann (former Device member alongside Holly Knight, who co-wrote “Obsession”) were chosen as their replacements.  The Rhodes/Engemann lineup would record one album, 1989’s “Animotion”.

Though “Room to Move” would crack the top ten, the album did not sell well and the band broke up soon after.

Toto:

Toto enjoyed their biggest success with 1982’s “Toto IV”.  However, just as the band was concluding their tour and preparing to begin work on the follow-up, lead singer Bobby Kimball was arrested on drug charges.  The charges were dismissed by May of 1983, but he was subsequently fired from the band.  His replacement was former Le Roux frontman Fergie Frederiksen.  The band would record and release “Isolation” with Fergie in 1984.

While Frederiksen would sing lead on half the album, the one hit single was sung by keyboardist David Paich.  Fergie was released by the band in 1985 at the close of the “Isolation” tour with the band citing difficulty working with him in the studio as a reason.

Toto would hold auditions for a new lead vocalist, ultimately choosing Joseph Williams, son of composer John Williams.  Their first album with Joe was 1986’s “Fahrenheit”.  The album was more successful than “Isolation”, but its two hit singles were sung by guitarist Steve Lukather.  Williams would enjoy HIS first hit single with “Pamela” from 1988’s “The Seventh One”.

Although “The Seventh One” was their most successful album since “Toto IV”, the band fired Williams after the end of the tour due to his own drug problems.  They were set to reunite with Kimball, but the record label pressured them to instead hire South African singer Jean-Michel Byron.  He would sing on the four new tracks from their 1990 compilation album “Past to Present 1977-1990”.

The songs Toto recorded with Byron were more dance-oriented than their past hits, which could have given them a second wind on the nineties charts had they continued along that path.  Unfortunately, the band was unhappy with his flamboyant stage presence and had relegated him to backing vocalist by the close of their 1990 world tour.

Lukather would take over the bulk of the lead singing duties on 1992’s “Kingdom of Desire” and 1995’s “Tambu”, but Kimball would return for a trio of albums beginning with 1999’s “Mindfields” (the best of their post-eighties albums).  He would again depart after 2006’s “Falling in Between” making way for the return of Joseph Williams on 2015’s “Toto XIV”.  The band is currently on tour with Williams.

Journey:

After Steve Perry’s 1996 hiking accident delayed the band’s tour prompting them to cut ties with him, Journey found themselves without a frontman.  They would hire former Tall Stories singer Steve Augeri to replace Perry.  The Augeri-led lineup would release “Arrival” in 2001.  That album would give them their final top 40 hit, “All the Way”.

Augeri would also sing on 2005’s “Generations” before being let go due to vocal problems.

The band would find their next lead vocalist singing Journey songs on YouTube.  Arnel Pineda would sing on 2008’s “Revelation” and 2011’s “Eclipse”.

Pineda continues to tour and record with Journey.

INXS:

After Michael Hutchence’s death in 1997, INXS would not perform publicly for almost a year before playing shows with a number of lead vocalists including Terence Trent D’Arby, Russell Hitchcock and Jon Stevens.  Stevens was actually named an official member in 2002, but would only record one song with the band before departing to pursue a solo career.

In 2004, the band announced that they would search for a new frontman through a reality show called Rock Star.  After a season-long American Idol-esque competition, they named Canadian J.D. Fortune as their singer.  The band’s lone album with Fortune, 2005’s “Switch” (or, as I like to call it, “Switcheroo”), received positive reviews while “Pretty Vegas” would become their final U.S. Top 40 hit.

Amid rumors of Fortune’s drug problems and friction between him and the band, they would tour through 2011 but would not release any more new material.  In 2012, the band announced their retirement.