Tag Archives: Rockin the 60’s

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Maggies Farm

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Nobel laureate Bob Dylan (for literature)  wrote a large number of songs during his career to date (which is not over) and continues to do so.

I heard “Maggies Farm” on the radio the other day.  For some reason I listened more closely to the lyrics than I had in the recent past and transported back to the nineteen sixties (in my mind at least).

This is a basic protest song.  The line ” I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more” sets the tone.  We are done working for the man, being driven by the esablishment.

Simply put, I ain’t going to take it no more.  Full stop.  Ah the idealism.   of youth.  I won’t say I have grown jaded but while the lyrics are still a interesting listen  (great song) the sentiment and protest value is somewhat lost on me.

Deserving of the Nobel Prize?

I was struck by the quality of the music, both lyrics and melody.  Bob Dylan has done a fantastic job of story telling throughout his life so far, whether sentimental, political or just a intriguing story I do believe the recently awared prize was fully desderved.

More interesting for me though is how my appreciation of his music seems to have grown. (I have been listening to a number of his albums again over the last several months.)

Am I influenced by the publicity and accolades he has been recieving as of late or are my musical tastes maturing?  Historically I appreciated Dylan’s music but would never have classified myself a big fan.

I think it’s probably a bit of both, regardless, I am enjoying my morphing musical tastes albeit they still seem rooted in the decades of the sixties and seventies.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Listen to the Music

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Over the years I have attended thirty-seven live concerts.  Surprisingly one of the best was more a pop singer than a rock group – Harry Belafonte.  While the music is a key part of the concert, overall it is about entertainment and Harry B. (I saw him later in his career) was a polished and highly accomplished entertainer.

Today’s post, and in future ones on and off I am going to reminisce about those thirty-seven concerts.  Indulge me, comment if you have seen any of these performers and let us know what you thought.

Top Three

Paul McCartney –  Sir Paul tops the list.  Both as a brilliant musician and an accomplished performer, one of his biggest advantages is a song catalog full of number one hits on the billboard pop music charts.  That includes Paul’s nine as a solo artist and the twenty-seven Beatles songs that went to number 1,  for a total of thirty-four.  Overall between Paul solo, Wings and the Beatles he was associated with eighty songs that made the Billboard top 100.  Just to see a few of these live was a historic experience.

Led Zeppelin –  Here is a band that was motivated by the music.  Fame, fortune and adulation were bi-products for them.  What really mattered was the sound and they immersed themselves in each beat, each note – this concert was about the music and it was extraordinary.  I have heard in later years they shunned playing Stairway to Heaven (Page said it was overplayed for him) but I was fortunate to hear it live.  An interesting story; the opening melody of Stairway to Heaven matches exactly that of a song called “Taurus” by Spirit.  Taurus was released long before Stairway and Led Zeppelin were the opening act for Spirit concerts in 1967.  Hmmm!

Elton John –  Five billboard number one singles and twenty-two charting in the top one hundred he is no where near to Sir Paul but nothing to be sneezed at.  The most memorable moment was when some fifty-thousand fans stood and waved their lighters to the groove of “Candle in the Wind”.  What an experience by a great entertainer who was a pioneer of the weird costume trend picked up and expanded by many later artists,  the likes of Madonna, Lady Gaga and so on.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Hitch-hiking

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I was listening to Sirius/XM satellite radio the other day.  My favorite station is Deep Tracks.   The station format is like FM Radio at it’s time of birth in the late 1960’s, early 1970’s.  The DJ’s played what they wanted, long songs, album tracks, themes – no top forty format.

A Bob Dylan track had just finished and the announcer was chatting about hitch-hiking in the 60’s, there was a reference to hitch-hiking in the Dylan tune.  He commented on how it was quite common and popular at the time.  Then added a little aside about a ride he had one-time where the driver casually stroked the announcer’s leg.  The announcer described how he just declined; the driver dropped him off.  Then our intrepid announcer just readied himself by the side of the road, stuck out his thumb and carried on seeking his next ride.  The story really struck home as I traveled that way frequently during my early teens up to the time I was sixteen and bought a car.   Interestingly (to me anyway) I had an almost identical experience.

Anyway, this got me to thinking this was a cool topic for a blog.  You don’t see much hitch-hiking today and I guess people could really wonder about it – or not.

What is it?

Simply put, “A thumb goes up, a car goes by” ……… (Listen to the tune Hitchin a Ride by Vanity Fair from 1970 – the song was popular just as hitchin was getting a bad name)

A driver stops, you hop in, chat amiably, go as far toward your destination as the driver is going, get out and go for the next ride.

So how do I get started?

Up until the beginning of the 70’s decade hitch-hiking was a safe, cheap and relatively reliable form of transportation.  For me anyway, I traveled this way for 100’s of rides (so safe), never paid (so free) and often got to my destination ahead of what the bus would have taken me (reliable and effective).

I would not actually suggest you try it today, so “NO” to getting started, but here’s another huge song on the theme from Credence Clearwater Revival released in 1971 that hit #6 on the billboard top 100.  While it lasted as a viable practice, like the man say’s, it was SWEET

Sweet Hitch-Hiker