BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS
DEDICATED TO THE COLLECTING OF MUSIC, ITS PRESERVATION AND LASTING FRIENDSHIP
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
THE FIRST SUNDAY, JUNE 11TH 2:00 PM
HOMEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 1721 OXMOOR RD BIRMINGHAM, AL 35209
NEXT MEETING, JULY 9TH 2:00 PM THE SECOND SUNDAY
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
The June meeting will be a very special meeting. Do you remember Peace Concerts which was based here in Birmingham? It was started by Richard Dingler and he was responsible for bringing some great acts to this area. The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Emmylou Harris, Joe Cocker, Jimmy Buffett, Black Oak Arkansas, Jackson Browne and many more were here because of Peace Concerts. Richard passed away in 2013 but his wife, Shari Graye still has a treasure trove of memorabilia from those concerts and more and will be with us Sunday. Shari who met Richard in 1979 discovered all these photos, billboards, contracts and much more and will bring some of these items, some to show and some to sell. She also has lots of items from some of the local Birmingham bands. If you like memorabilia don’t miss the June meeting.
Our July meeting will be when we put address labels and stamps on the postcards we send out as one of our ways of advertising the record show in August. We need volunteers so if you are available, please drop by. Thanks.
REMEMBERING
Long-time BRC member Gordon Gillean passed away on May 21, 2023. He suffered a stroke on May 7 while in his car in the parking lot of the Homewood Library while waiting for our monthly club meeting to begin. Club member Joe Reddick discovered Gordon and called 911. Gordon was a funny guy, quite a record collector and very knowledgeable about music, record labels and artists. Gordon was 87. He will be missed. Thanks for the memories, Gordon.
I will dedicate these songs to Gordon who was also a big NASCAR fan:
Jerry Woodard
Charles Alexander
Singer and entertainer Tina Turner died on May 24, 2023. She was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939 in Brownsville, TN but the family lived in Nutbush, TN. Yes, there is a Nutbush City Limits. Her career was one of doing well then sorta just being out there and then a major career boost can in 1984. I remember when my wife wanted to go see Lionel Ritchie 1984 which Tina was the opening act. That 1984 tour was a new beginning for her and she took advantage of it.
THE BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS 2023 RECORD SHOW
The 38th annual BRC Record Show will be held Friday-Sunday, August 18-20 at the Gardendale Civic Center. If you are a dealer who would like to check on table availability, please contact Joe Reddick at 205-655-3108 between 1:00 PM until 9:30 PM, Central Time.
We are also going to need volunteers. Be ready to step up and help when the time comes. Thanks.
SOME TRIVIA, INFO AND MORE
This month has been a busy one and is not stopping for a few more weeks so I am using some articles from the New England Doo Wop Society newsletter. They always have some great stuff and I know you will enjoy it. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter you can email them at echoes.past@yahoo.com.
Michael Nesmith, of the Monkees, wrote a song called “Different Drum,” and, he offered it to the Monkees, but the producers of the TV show, who had wide control over the group’s musical output early on, turned him down. It was first recorded by the northern bluegrass band TheGreenbriar Boys and was included on their 1966 album “Better Late Than Never”. Nesmith said “I was thinking about two lovers – one of whom decides he loves different things in life”. Linda Ronstadt said “I moved from Tucson, AR to Los Angeles and started singing with a friend, Bobby Kimmel (and later Kenny Edwards). They played plenty of gigs at folk clubs in L.A. Kenny came up with the name Stone Poneys from a Charley Patton’s song “Stone Poney Blues.” When Linda heard the song she fell in love with it and wanted to record it. In 1967, producer Nick Venet set up a session at Capitol Records. Bob & Kenny played on two songs but Nick brought in other musicians to record “Different Drum”. Nick brought in Don Randi on harpsichord, Al Viola on guitar, Jimmy Gordon on drums and Jimmy Bond on bass. “We didn’t rehearse it! I was thrown into it” said Linda. “Different instruments pulled different textures out if my voice, which had been conditioned to sing with guitar and mandolin. We did a rundown take, and then recorded the second take without any overdubbing. That became the version you hear on the radio!” Linda added this: “I first heard the single on the radio when the band’s car broke down in September 1967. We pushed it into a gas station where I heard the guitar-harpsichord intro faintly coming from a radio in back of the garage. The mechanics had it tuned to KRLA – L.A.’s Top 40 station. I was stunned!….(but) I was never happy with how I sounded. It took me ten years to learn how to sing before I had skill and craft. I will break my finger trying to get that record off when it’s on!
Gordon Lightfoot, a genius-level Canadian singer-songwriter whose most enduring works include “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” “Carefree Highway,” “Early Morning Rain,” and “Rainy Day People”, died on Monday, May 8, 2023. He was 84. Lightfoot’s deceptively simple songs, which fused folk with pop and country rock, have been covered by everyone from Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash to the Grateful Dead, Barbra Streisand, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffett, and the Replacements. He scored a series of hits in his native Canada throughout the Sixties, but most Americans first heard his work in 1970, when “If You Could Read My Mind” reached Number Five on the Billboard Hot 100. The deeply personal song chronicles the agonizing breakdown of his marriage, casting much of the blame on himself. “I never thought I could act this way,” he wrote. “And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it/I don’t know where we went wrong. But the feeling’s gone and I just can’t get it back.” Lightfoot was born Nov. 17, 1938, in Orillia, Ontario. His parents recognized his singing ability at a young age and placed him in Orillia’s St. Paul’s United Church. He eventually taught himself piano and guitar, playing in large-ensemble pop-folk groups across Canada. After a stint at the Westlake College of Music in Los Angeles, he began playing in folk clubs around Canada. He released two singles in 1962 (“It’s Too Late, He Wins” and “(Remember Me) I’m the One” that charted regionally, and his profile grew considerably when Ian and Sylvia, the Kingston Trio, Judy Collins, and Peter, Paul, and Mary turned his songs — most notably “Earning Morning Rain” — into hits.
One of the most infamous and tragic copyright struggles in the history of the music industry has finally been resolved as John Fogerty has gained the publishing rights to his Creedence Clearwater Revival songs, purchasing a majority stake in the catalog from Concord. “As of this January, I own my own songs again. This is something I thought would never be a possibility,” Fogerty said in a statement. “After 50 years, I am finally reunited with my songs. I also have a say in where and how my songs are used. Up until this year, that is something I have never been able to do. I am looking forward to touring and celebrating this year! I want thank Concord for helping to make all of this happen. And, I am excited for new ideas and a renewed interest in my music … like a revival.” CCR and Fogerty are famous for their biggest songs including “Proud Mary,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Down on the Corner,” and “Fortunate Son.
How about some points of interest involving music happenings in June over the years:
June 9, 1958 – Jerry Lee Lewis and producer Sam Phillips take out a full page ad in Billboard Magazine to explain his second divorce and third marriage to his 14-year-old second cousin, Myra.
June 22, 1957 – The Quarry Men, consisting of Rod Davis, Eric Griffiths, Colin Hanton and John Lennon performed on the back of a coal truck during a street party celebrating Liverpool’s 750th anniversary.
See ya,
Charlie