Monday Escape!!

It's okay little buddy, there are Monday mornings that I feel the same way... just get in the car and escape!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

With the 20th Lindy Shannon reunion concert this Sunday, it's appropriate to focus on a local record that made a big impact in La Crosse back in the 70's.  As I understand it, producer/writer Dale Menten asked UWL student and Shy Guys' band member Hal Atkinson to record a song he wrote. Hal went to Minneapolis and recorded "Kathy Believe Me".  The song was released on 45 in limited numbers in 1972. Surprisingly, radio stations played it and the kids bought it... in huge numbers.  Locally the song was in the top five in sales for weeks. Hal Atkinson will be performing this Sunday at the reunion concert, but he hasn't sang "Kathy Believe Me" in years... it's a shame, it's a great song and takes us back to a great time in La Crosse's music History.
The photo is Hal Atkinson live, singer, pianist and flute-player extraordinaire!

Pickin' on DJ's...

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

In 1969, Pete Townshend of The Who, was the catalyst behind the formation of the band Thunderclap Newman. The concept was to create a band to perform songs written by former Who roadie and drummer John 'Speedy' Keen, who had written "Armenia City in the Sky", the first track on The Who Sell Out.  Townshend recruited jazz pianist Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman (a friend from art college), and 15-year-old guitarist Jimmy McCulloch. Keen played the drums and sang the lead.
Townshend produced the single "Something In The Air", arranged the strings, and played bass under the pseudonym Bijou Drains. "Something in the Air" captured post-flower power rebellion, and reached No. 1 on the UK charts just three weeks after release, holding off Elvis Presley in the process. The scale of the song's success surprised everyone and there were no plans to promote Thunderclap Newman with live performances. Eventually a line-up - augmented by Jim Pitman-Avory on bass and McCulloch's elder brother Jack on drums - played a handful of gigs.
"Something in the Air" appeared on the soundtracks of several films The Magic Christian (1969) and The Strawberry Statement (1970) (which helped the single reach No. 25 in the United States) and later Kingpin (1996), Almost Famous (2000), The Dish (2000), and The Girl Next Door (2004). It also appeared on and was the title of the second disc in the Deluxe Edition of the Easy Rider soundtrack.  The song has been covered by many bands, and was a hit for Tom Petty in 1994. To me it's a great song, but also the epitome of the late 60's and the revolution attitude.

Exclusive Mars Photo!

With the Mars Rover successfully sending photos back to earth, I managed to intercept the coolest picture ever!  Just look at this view from Mars' surface... amazing!

I need this for my deck!

This might be the coolest deck furniture I've ever seen!

Today's Forgotten Oldie...

Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time all of the band's 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America were consecutive, three of which reached Number One. As of 2012, they are still recording and making live appearances.
In 1972, Three Dog Night released two songs with "social commentary", each seemingly pointing the way to a better world.  the unforgettable "Black and White" went all the way to number one in 1972, but a few months before that the band had a solid hit with "The Family of Man".  This song was the third single release taken from the "Harmony" LP.  Family went all the way to #12 on the hot 100, and to me is the better rock song.
Regardless, the song is overlooked on most oldie stations... it deserves air-play!