Category: On this date

The Mothers of Invention – Absolutely Free released 5/26/67

Absolutely Free was the second Mothers of Invention album and is the most accessible album by the original lineup. The longest, most complex, and best track is “Brown Shoes Don’t Make It”.

One of the songs is “Duke of Prunes”. Around that time, I was running for office in my junior high school and decided to give out prunes to students, inspired by the song. One of my friends and I were in the Acme supermarket looking at prune boxes trying to figure out how to get the most for my limited budget. An old lady passed by, pointed to a box, and said to us “This kind is the best”. I guess she thought we wanted a laxative.

“Uncle Bernie’s Farm” is about how toys embrace violence and has the great lines “We gotta send Santa Claus back to the Rescue Mission. Christmas don’t make it no more.”

Covers: Mercedes Benz

“Mercedes Benz” was the last song Janis Joplin recorded. Bob Neuwirth, one of the song’s authors, died yesterday.

Philadelphia bombed its own citizens on 5/13/85

Terrible action by the city

The Hindenburg disaster 5/6/37

The Hindenburg Zeppelin explosion took place 85 years ago yesterday. In The Naked Gun 2 1/2 (1991), there is a scene in a bar with pictures of disasters on the wall including the Titanic, the Hindenburg and Michael Dukakis. Younger readers may not recall that Dukakis was crushed in the 1988 US Presidential election.

Leslie Nielsen was the star of the Naked Gun movies and was fond of using a fart machine. Read about him to find out what he put on his gravestone.

National Pretzel Day – April 26

These are excellent soft pretzels.

Covers: Dr. John’s Gumbo

Dr. John’s Gumbo is a covers album that was released in 1972. Dr. John and other former NBew Orleans musicians recorded it in Los Angeles. It introduced me to the music of Professor Longhair and Huey “Piano” Smith, among others. We weren’t hearing their stuff on rock stations or seeing it in local record stores.

It’s one of my favorite covers albums. Hard to believe it’s 50 years old today.

Ford Mustang introduced on 4/17/64

Now this was a cool car. I had a red plastic model of it. I also lived near the 1964 World’s Fair and went there several times. It was great.

Art Rupe

This is a great box set of music on Specialty Records. There are lots of reissues of individual artists, too.

Richard Manuel

Today is the late Richard Manuel’s birthday. He was one of three lead singers for The Band and played piano (or sometimes drums). Manuel’s singing could really convey pain, frailty, and heartbreak. He’s one of my favorite vocalists ever.

One of his greatest vocals is on 1970’s “The Shape I’m In”. Two of my favorites are “Saved” and “The Great Pretender” from the 1973 covers album Moondog Matinee. I love the way he hits the high note near the end of “The Great Pretender”. “Saved” appears to be a commentary on his own substance abuse problems.

Check out The Richard Manuel Archive for some excellent articles on The Band.