The music history books are vast and full of interesting bits of knowledge.
“Big” Jay Sorensen gives you a recap of the biggest and most interesting music news from the week; something from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.
This week, Big Jay highlights The Beach Boys’ live album, Chic’s “Le Freak,” and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s LIVE / 1975-1985 album!
1960s
The Beach Boys In Concert
The Beach Boys
As it says on the front cover of the album, “This is the Beach Boys’ first “LIVE” album. Here are the great songs, the unbelievable excitement of an actual Beach Boys concert—before thousands of shouting, screaming Beach Boys fans.” This was the group’s seventh album and their very first to reach No. 1 on the 150 title (at the time) Top LPs chart on Capitol Records. Four of the songs had not appeared on any Beach Boys LP up until this one, recorded on December 21, 1963 in Sacramento, California at the Civic Memorial Auditorium. Those four non-LP tracks were remakes of “The Monster Mash,” “The Wanderer,” “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” and “The Little Old Lady From Pasadena” a recent hit from Jan & Dean. To say this was a note-for-note “LIVE” album is a bit of a misnomer as I’ll explain below. This was the same venue where the Beach Boys became a headlining concert act just six months prior.
Here’s a song from that show that you almost would never expect the Beach Boys to perform—it’s the old Doo-Wop rocker, “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” originally recorded by the Rivingtons in 1962. That’s Brian Wilson with the very cool falsetto lead vocal.
A side note about the Beach Boys in 1963. The Beach Boys’ frontman and concert promoter Fred Vail was the announcer on the album Beach Boys Concert. He recorded HIS parts in the studio in August of ’64 when the record was “doctored” by producer Brian Wilson. Vail also later had claimed that contrary to numerous accounts, the song “Warmth Of The Sun” (included on a future Beach Boys LP called Shut Down Vol. 2) was NOT written as a result of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in an office in Los Angeles in 1963. He said that was impossible, as the Beach Boys performed that very night in Marysville, California not far from Sacramento after having serious doubts as to whether or not to do a concert that night. They did indeed perform after local officials allowed them to do their show. The song “Warmth Of The Sun” was recorded six weeks later. But the initial writing of the song WAS done the morning before the assassination later in day, but was completed in a hotel room in Sacramento AFTER that concert in Marysville, 50 miles north of the California capital city with the group in full knowledge of the President’s death. Now back to the Beach Boys Concert album. While most of the tracks were recorded in Sacramento on December 21, 1963, with some done on another date (August 1, 1964) many of the tracks were overdubbed with vocal harmonies, or in some cases, simply NOT done live, but either sped-up or were edited versions of previous studio recordings with crowd noise added on August 31, 1964. The LP Beach Boys Concert was released by Capitol Records on October 19, 1964.
1970s
“Le Freak”
Chic
If you guessed that “Le Freak” by Chic was the best-selling single ever on Atlantic Records, you’re a Record Pig! Indeed, this was the first of what would become five survey-periods as the biggest hit in America. But it attained that status non-consecutively, as two other songs knocked “Le Freak” out of the No. 1 slot during its chart-run. Chic was on top for just a week, when “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” roared back from No. 3 to recapture the crown it had prior to “Le Freak” hitting the heights. Then Chic had another two-week stay at the zenith to end the chart-year of ’78. The Bee Gees started 1979 with their song “Too Much Heaven” at the apex of the Hot 100 Singles chart for three straight weeks. But “Le Freak” refused to die. The song kicked the Gibb Brothers out of the No. 1 position and yielded yet another three back-to-back weeks as the nation’s biggest 45 RPM. An amazing feat, that eventually gave Atlantic Records an over four-million-selling single! It was the initial time a record hit the top of the Hot 100 on three separate occasions.
Guitarist/songwriter Nile Rodgers and his bass guitar virtuoso/songwriting partner Bernard Edwards originally called the song “F&*% Off,” but wisely changed the title. The reason for that original profane title is that of legend, as both musicians were supposed to be guests of Grace Jones but denied entrance to the infamous Studio 54 Disco nightclub where she was appearing on New Year’s Eve in 1977 to promote her first Club hit “I Need A Man.” It appears she forgot to tell the overly-sensitive doormen that they were on the “list.” Thus the vulgarity for the snub. “Le Freak” clocked-in at 5:23 seconds on the album C’est Chic, but was edited for 45 RPM release. The follow-up single didn’t quite attain the rare sales achievement or even chart position, but “I Want Your Love” from the LP did manage to sell over one-million copies on its own, and got to No. 7 on the Hot 100. “Le Freak” was also on the top of the Hot Club Play listing with a 12-inch single along with “I Want Your Love” and another track from the LP called “Chic Cheer.” It also reached the top of the Hot Soul Singles chart.
1980s
LIVE / 1975-1985
Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band
The long-anticipated Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band Live / 1975-1985 didn’t disappoint fans once released by Columbia Records in late ’86. Advance orders for the set were approximately 1.5 million pieces, allowing it to debut in the No. 1 position on the Top Pop Albums chart—the first album to do that since Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life in ’76. Springsteen’s collection came in several configurations, as finicky consumers were still playing catch-up with emerging technologies. There was the five-disc vinyl LP set, the three-cassette tape version, a three-compact disc (CD) version and even a very rare 8-track tape series, released only via a record club—remember those? The first single from this array of songs was “War” (No. 8 Hot 100) a live remake of the song made famous in 1970 by Gordy/Motown artist Edwin Starr.
There was another single (No. 46 Pop) from the set called “Fire”—the same song made into a hit version by the Pointer Sisters. If you count all of the configurations, and knowing that each disc counted as one unit—the entire album sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone. While the live compilation sold well during the holiday season of late ’86, many retail outlets over-stocked the release and had to return them to Columbia when everyone who wanted one, indeed bought it already. That fact doesn’t take away from the music itself, as Live / 1975-1985 was a potent mix of rockers that made Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band such a cultural phenomenon. Those Jersey guys earned their place in Rock & Roll history with this live anthology. Some critics were disappointed that several mainstays of Springsteen shows were not included in the set, but you can’t please everyone, so ya gotta please yourself.
–Big Jay Sorensen/WCBS-FM
Read More Music News On WCBSFM.com:
- Remembering Dave Somerville, Lead Singer of The Diamonds
- Neil Young Removes His Music From Streaming Services
- Bono on His Recovery: ‘I’m Getting There’
- Eagles, Carole King, George Lucas Lead Kennedy Center Honorees
