10 Jobs and Professions

Wednesday, 26 October 2011 15:34

While we may now be in a time of recession and job cuts, let's remember better times and look at some songs, music people and bands with connections to particular jobs or professions. So get your card stamped in the machine on the way in to the Song Factory, and let’s get to work.

 
1. Wichita Lineman: Glen Campbell (1969)

Excuse my ignorance but I had no idea where Wichita was, or what the duties of a Lineman for the County were… I guessed not a Linesman (Assistant Referee) for Nottingham County Soccer Club!  I asked a friend from the States and he explained that a Lineman is someone who repairs or sets up telephone or electric power lines, and the song is about his melancholy, loneliness and separation from his lover. And Witchita could be the place in Texas or Kansas. The song was inspired while seeing a lineman up a pole in Oklahoma.

2. The Police

They are of course the bluesy, soulful reggaefied power trio with Sting on bass and a string of great hit singles.  Thankfully none of their albums used puns about their name, but the music press had a great time with headlines such as “Have Police arrested their development” and “Tickets swindle- are Police corrupt”. Groan. Sting is now 60 years old, but still performing live and sounding great.

 
3. The Firm

On paper this should have been a great band: Paul Rogers from Free and Bad Company on vocals, and Led Zep’s Jimmy Page spanking the plank. But sadly the Firm left fans infirm, and they folded after two albums (although jimmy Page did say that’s all they were ever planning to do from the start). The Firm was also the name given to the notorious London East End Kray Gang who were active in the 1960s, and became a generic expression to mean any professional criminal outfit.

4. The Farmer’s Boys

The Farmer’s Boys were an American country music duo, both natives of Arkansas who met in California when they sang a song together around a jukebox.  They didn’t get their name from their former employment working on the land for a local farmer, but from the town where they grew up; Farmersville. They had some success from 1957-1964, but are now largely forgotten, which is a shame as they had some nice tunes up their smocks.  Many years later there was also a group of the same name from Norwich, England.

5. Chain Gang: Sam Cooke

A 1960 hit for Sam Cooke- apparently inspired after a chance meeting with an actual chain-gang of prisoners on a highway, seen while Sam was on tour.  Ok ok.. I guess a Chain Gang isn’t actually a profession or paid employment, but by heavens it was back-breaking work by all accounts!

6. Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath)

If Tony Iommi hadn’t had an accident at work when he accidentally cut off the tips of two of his main guitar fingering digits. It happened years ago when he was doing his last day of a job electric welding, before starting his career as a musician.  Because the metal “cutter” hadn’t turned up for work Iommi had to cut the sheet metal and a faulty switch resulted in the accident. In fact the heavy, deep and instantly recognisable sound of Sabbath derived from the fact that he used plastic ends to replace the missing fingertips, and he could only play the guitar properly by detuning down the strings by three semitones, making the riffs so much bassier and menacing.

7.  Hedgehoppers Anonymous

This is a real curio- A group that had a one-hit wonder in 1964 with “Good news Week”- an anti-nuclear war song, yet named after the  British post-war nickname for “V” jet bomber pilots and planes, Hedgehoppers, which flew a few hundred feet above the ground, under enemy radar to avoid detection and ground to air missiles.  The connection goes deeper, the band members were all Royal Air Force ground crew based at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, and the RAF was none too pleased with their extra-curricular musical activities- especially as the song Good News Week appeared to be an attack against the military!

8.  Private Dancer: Tina Turner

I guess it may not be one of the most glorious occupations, but Tina certainly sung her heart out in recognition of this seedier side of the entertainment business.

9.  Doctor and the Medics

Well you’d be forgiven for thinking that you were in a very bad dream if this bunch turned up at your hospital bedside ready to perform surgery! The band was formed, in order to win a £5 bet, in 1982 by ex Boy Scout leader, Steve Mcguire.  The name "The Doctor," was assumed after he had failed to gain entry into Medical School).

10.  Ernie (Bennie Hill)

In a homage to the great British Milkman (the person who delivers bottles of  milk door to door early mornings in England), this was a comedy hit for comedian Benny Hill, topping the chart in 1971. And of course, the song draws from real experience: Benny Hill was a milkman before he was discovered and turned to the entertainment business. He was particularly liked in European countries where his largely visual (and some would say sexist) humour went down well!

Top 10 Harmonica Players

Tuesday, 18 October 2011 19:59

Considered by some ignoramuses not to be a true instrument, the mouth organ, harmonica or "Gob-Iron" as Lee Brilleaux once called it, can create a truly inspiring blues break, or add a mournful wail to a sad song, or zip along with a rock n roll rhythm. It's what your mouth was built for!
 

1. Bob Dylan



Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan was a good exponent of the mouth organ break in his folky songs. Such is his influence on the instrument, he has his own range of products! Don’t expect to sound like him after just one blow though, it takes quite some technique to perfect Bob’s musical blasts!
 

2. Ian Gillan (Deep Purple)



While Ian Gillan is best remembered for his trademark scream and powerful vocal delivery while in Purple, Sabbath, and as a solo artist, he was a mean blower on what he called the “Lunch Wrapper”. Here it on songs such as Lazy. He also played congas and… Jew’s harp. Really.
 

3. Sonny Boy Williamson II



A truly superb and soulful player of the blues harp, he was nicknamed "King of the Harmonica" by his peers, and was one of the most inspiring harp players in blues history. He has influenced generations of players, including such virtuosos as Howling Wolf, James Cotton and Junior Wells. Love the Bowler, Sonny!
 

4. Lee Brilleaux



Lee Brilleaux, helped found Stiff Records and was one of the driving forces of the “New Wave” of the mid- to late-1970s. He was the power- driving front man, and founder member, of the traditional rock and electric blues fusion Dr Feelgood. His inimitable aggressive vocal style was matched by his heart and soul (and lungs!) blasting of the mouth organ. You had to see him live and catch the energy of the man. Lee sadly died of cancer in 1994.
 

5. John Mayall



A man who spans almost the entire history of English blues with a career beginning in 1956, John Mayall, has been hugely influential. His Bluesbreakers inspired many a budding guitarist, most notably, Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Peter Green.
 

6. Hugh Anthony Cregg III



Ha Ha. I bet that threw you. It’s the real name of Huey Lewis, who with his band Clover and then Huey Lewis and The news had success in the 70s and 80s. In his early life, in Madrid, Spain, Lewis became an accomplished blues player and he hitchhiked around and supported himself by busking with his harmonica.
 

Huey Lewis harmonica solo:


 

7. Tom Petty



Steppin’ up to the plate is Thomas Earl Petty frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys, where he played with fellow harmonica player Bob Dylan (see above). Have a listen to his playing on You Don’t Know How It Feels. Way out there!
 

8. Mick Jagger



Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones (pictured here in 1965) is an underrated harmonica player- probably because his vocal prowess, hip-thrusting, and early hell-raising grabbed the headlines. However with his linoleum lips his harmonica work is a real lesson- listen to Midnight Rambler, or this clip where is puff n suck n blow railroad train style is clear.


 

9. Neil Young



A laid back, even laconic player of the mouth organ, the sound blends perfectly with Young’s voice. Another of the Travelling Wilburys, of course.

Listen to Heart of Gold.

 

10. Toots Thielemans



Finally someone credited with being the greatest harmonica player of the 20th century. Born in Brussels Belgium, Toots started off on guitar a few years after the war, but added whistling and harmonica playing. And here’s some trivia- his whistling and harmonica playing was played on some Old Spice after shave and deodorant ads in the 70’s! In 2009 he became NEA Jazz Master, the highest honour for a jazz musician in the United States. His style was mainly jazz, but could easily cross over.
 

Here is a famous tune of his- the theme from the film Midnight Cowboy.
 

Top 10 Musical Beardies

Tuesday, 18 October 2011 15:02

In this list we celebrate the facial follicled ones, those who at some time in their musical career have embraced the fungus on the Phizog, the deep down on the dial, the fuzz on the face.  To spare any blushes we’ve stuck to male musicians…

1. Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
The fluffy-faced Texan with the even fluffier guitar, who can doubt that the King of Beards is Billy Gibbons of long-lasting ever-pleasing hard rock outfit ZZ Top. Just don’t strike up a light too close to his face!

2. Dusty Hill (ZZ Top)
How could you mention one of the ZZ Top Weird-Beards without mentioning his co-rocker, Dusty Hill, on bass and doing his Gandalf the Greybeard impression! Of course the irony is that the only member of the band sans beard is… Frank Beard. Doh!

3. Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
It was in the 1970s that Robert “Percy” Plant of Led Zeppelin decided to go all Sherriff of Nottingham with his pointy beard. “Curse you Hood, you shall swing for this!!” or something. The clip shows him and equally beardy Jimmy Page giving an interview. Double-hirsuteness abounds! Zounds!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_iyq8JfiCE

4. Richie Havens
He’s come a long way since Woodstock, but the American folk hero has continued to cultivate his beard, and is now in his Moses Red Sea period.

5. Freeway
Leslie Edward Pridgen, better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper. Best known for his tenure on Roc-A-Fella Records and his affiliation with Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel, he has a trademark high-pitched delivery (akin to that of Ghostface Killah). As for the beard? That’s down to hisMuslim faith. But shouldn’t there be a bit more above the lip?

6. Justin Foley (Killswitch Engage)
Justin is the tub-thumper with Massechussets metalcore band Killswitch Engage. He sports a fine face fuzz… and it comes in useful for wiping the sweat off his sticks mid-gig!

7. Marco Hietala (Nightwish)
As befits a Northern Viking warrior, the Finnish bassist, Marco sports a beard to honour famous Swedish Kings, in particular Sven Forkbeard. His bass playing is equally impressive.

8. Jim Morrison (The Doors)
Come on baby light my fire… but be careful not to singe my beard!

9. James Hetfeild (Metallica)
A rather poor stringy straggly effort from Metallica’s guitarist. 3/10. Must try harder. See me after class!

10. Demis Roussos
Magic indeed is the full face of hair sported by the larger than life Greek export, Demis Roussos.  Legend has it that by singing through his beard, he managed to raise his voice an octave…

Top 10 Biggest Concerts & Festivals of All Time!

Friday, 29 October 2010 19:12

To Celebrate the big fun festivals of the summer, we count down the top ten biggest concerts and festivals of all time!

Read more: Top 10 Biggest Concerts & Festivals of All Time!