Salute Him When His Birthday Comes

Forever Young.

Tom Waits Flashback

Here's a great way to start the new week: revisiting a Tom Waits appearance in 1977 on Fernwood 2Night. The TV show is a lost cult classic. Produced by Norman Lear, it was a summer replacement show that ran for three months. Martin Mull played fictional talk show host Barth Gimble and Fred Willard was his sidekick Jerry Hubbard. The memorable house band was Happy Kyne & The Mirth Makers.

In this episode, Waits plays his classic "The Piano Has Been Drinking" and then goes to the couch for an entertaining interview.

Your Weekly Dylan Cover (#5)

Nanci Griffith
"Boots of Spanish Leather"
Original Dylan version found on The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964)

This selection is a bookend to last week's choice (The Clancy Brothers' cover of "When The Ship Comes In") in that "Boots of Spanish Leather" is another track taken from Bob Dylan's 1964 album The Times They Are A-Changin'. In addition, the version by Texas singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith also had its roots in the 30th Anniversary Concert back on 12 October 1992.

In and around that time, Nanci Caroline Griffith was recording her tenth full-length record, to be titled Other Voices, Other Rooms. It was her first album of cover songs, and she had lined up an impressive array of musicians to play on songs written by indivduals who had most shaped her career and craft: Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Arlo Guthrie, Iris DeMent, Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Allison Krauss, John Hartford, Leo Kottke - and Bob Dylan.

The version of "Boots of Spanish Leather" presented here is quite close to the original. But what makes it unique is Griffith's voice - not only its beauty and lilt, rambling down the road with a natural story-teller's ease, but also listening to the last three verses sung from a woman's perspective. Dylan's gentle background harmonica adds a subtle touch of grace to this intensely personal song between two lovers.

[Thanks to Peggy Day for the suggestion.]

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Original Listening: Bob Dylan, "Boots of Spanish Leather"

Live Listening & Viewing: Nanci Griffith & Carolyn Hester, "Boots of Spanish Leather" (New York City, 16 October 1992)

Another Cover Version: Dervish, "Boots of Spanish Leather" (2007)

Breaking News: U2 Tour Postponed

The resumption of the U2 360 Tour, which was to begin again on 3 June in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been indefinitely postponed. Lead singer Bono underwent emergency back surgery in Munich, Germany earlier today due to an injury sustained while rehearsing with the band.

Check out the official U2 site for an announcement by long-time band manager Paul McGuinness and further updates, including ticket information.

The Dictionary of Soul: Janelle Monae

Could this be the hit song of the upcoming summer months? Already?

TNOP might put some money down at the window betting on Janelle Monae's single "Tightrope" to win, place and show.

A Kansas City native, the 25 year old Monae (born Janelle Monae Robinson) trained in musical theater in New York City. Forsaking the formal stage, she moved to Atlanta and was discovered by Outkast's Big Boi (he's featured briefly on the recording of "Tightrope").

And, man, is this young woman a dynamite performer. With James Brown dance moves, powerhouse pipes and a natural ease allowing her to improvise on stage like a seasoned pro, Monae commands rapt attention from the listener/viewer.

Do yourself a BIG favor and click above to watch Janelle Monae tear it up on The Late Show with David Letterman last night.

It also helps that Monae has the marketing muscle of Bad Boy/Atlantic Records behind her. The debut album, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III of IV), dropped yesterday. The official video to "Tightrope" is a kick too; watch it here.

This Date In Rock History: 19 May

Happy Birthday to the Maximum R&B front man of The Who, Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend, born on this date in 1945 in Cheswick, London. The extensive use of feedback; the advent of the "Marshall stack;" the legendary windmill chord and on-stage leaps; arguable creation of the rock opera concept; and - oh, yeah - vanguard singer-songwriter: where's rock 'n roll without any of those? Well, that's Pete Townshend. Glad he didn't die before he got old.

Ultimate Singles Jukebox [Slot 117]

Tighten Up (Part 1)
b/w "Dog Eat Dog"
Archie Bell & The Drells
Written by Archie Bell & Billy Butler
Ovide Records (later distributed by Atlantic Records)
Released 1968

This story is about a regional group that had an "overnight" hit record with some strange twists along the way. Like the fact that the lead singer singing about a dance craze was shot in the leg while serving in Vietnam. And while recovering from his wounds, kept making calls overseas pleading with DJs to stop playing the "wrong side" of his group's record - the "A" side.

But let's allow the lead singer to begin the story, as he does on the "B" side that became a smash.

Hi everybody
I'm Archie Bell of The Drells
From Houston, Texas
We don't only sing but we dance
Just as good as we walk
In Houston we just started a new dance
Called the Tighten Up
This is the music
We tighten up with

Archie Bell formed a group with four friends from high school in 1966. They called themselves "The Drells," a derivative of Archie's family name. Having won some local talent shows, The Drells' first champion was local DJ Skipper Lee Frazier. In 1967, the five young men recorded "Dog Eat Dog" for Frazier's Ovide Records. The flip side was a dance number called "Tighten Up."

Fate intervened (for good and for bad, it turns out). The Vietnam War was raging in the South Pacific. Bell was drafted and immediately inducted into the army. According to one version that has been passed around (and perhaps perpetuated by the singer himself), when he was sworn in, Bell raised his right hand in a black power salute and was answered with a one-way ticket to the platoon facing the worst of the fighting at the time.

Wounded in the leg by gunfire in Vietnam, Bell was sent to recover in Germany. While convalescing, he was advised by other members of the group that "Dog Eat Dog" was getting some significant airplay in Houston, and, of all places, New York City. He took to the long distance lines, calling DJs and telling them that they were playing the "wrong side" of the 45, even though "Dog Eat Dog" was - per custom in the days of the two-sided single - designated as the "A" side for promotional play.

The badgering of radio jocks worked. "Tighten Up" sold 800,000 copies in the New York metropolitan area alone, and over 3 million copies in the US. It hit Number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B singles charts the week of May 18, 1968, only to be knocked off its perch by Simon & Garfunkel ("Mrs. Robinson") and Stevie Wonder ("Shoo-Be-Doo-Da-Day"), respectively.

Bell's explanation for how "Tighten Up" was written is a fairly direct one, not uncommon to many records of the time: a simple suggestion or observation. In this case, group member Billy Butler was dancing around backstage before a show. Bell told him that he didn't recognize the dance steps. Butler replied, "It's a brand new dance called the 'Tighten Up'." Bell took it from there, creating a unique call and response between the vocalist and the drums, bass and organ, no doubt influenced by the great James Brown's dominance of the soul charts during the '60s. From there he upped the ante: Bell recruited some horn players from Texas Southern University ("the Tornadoes") to pop the melody together with syncopated hand claps.

The result is a stone cold classic that instinctively makes you turn up the car radio as soon as you hear the first guitar chord. Or get up off your feet in the living room, because "everybody can do it" - The Tighten Up.

Listen to the original 45 rpm recording of "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell & The Drells.

Watch Archie Bell & The Drells perform "Tighten Up" on TV (date unknown; video is subpar):

Read It In The Sunday Papers

Why should we go out when the internet's always on? TNOP brings you news from the music world outside . . .

Claudia Roth Pierpont reviews Harvey G. Cohen's new work Duke Ellington's America, which tackles the elusive link of the American master's compositions with the omnipresent subject of race in the US.

Jazz critic Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune focuses on the New Orleans music-centric HBO series Treme.

For those who dig Everything But The Girl and her vocal guest spots with Massive Attack, you'll be pleased that vocalist Tracey Thorn has returned with a fine solo effort, released this past week. Thorn talks with The Alternate Side about the new CD, Love And Its Opposite. You also get some live performance from her home with the bonus of checking out her kids' art work. And NPR is streaming all of Love And Its Opposite for your sampling pleasure.

Unless you've been away from all things media, the re-release of The Rolling Stones' Exile On Main St. has been everywhere. TNOP has waded through alot of media hype and recommends the three pieces that Greg Kot contributed to his Turn It Up blog: separate interviews with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as well as a retrospective review of the classic double LP itself.

NME reports that both Keane and The National have hit the UK album charts with great success in their first week of release.

Jim Carroll of The Irish Times catches up with James Murphy in Spain. But he;s supposed to be in Dublin playing some shows. Seems volcanic ash got in the way. Is Murphy grumpy or is This Is Happening really the last LCD Soundsystem album?

The Black Cab Sessions recently shipped their well-travelled vehicle overseas to pick up some notables at SXSW. Laura Marling was among them, and she provided a fine version of her "Rambling Man" from the new CD I Speak Because I Can. And her show in Boston the other night also earned a rave review.

Devastated recently by flood waters, The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville is cleaning up building damage and trying to salvage priceless artifacts.

Martin Scorsese's documentary on George Harrison now has a title: Living In The Material World. It will premiere in 2011.

The Hold Steady made an appearance on The Colbert Report this week. Craig Finn discussed Catholicism and the band played "Hurricane J" from the new Heaven Is Whenever.

Psyched for the upcoming summer festival season? The Times of London offers its "definitive guide to the top 100 music festivals" large and small, not only in the UK but Europe and the US as well.

Over at Muzzle of Bees, Daniel Brielmaier remembers a hot summer night in 1989 when The Replacements and a jammed crowd sweated through a memorable performance in a small room at a local university in Milwaukee. And offers a six-song EP of the set to show The 'Mats "could still kick it out."

That's it from here. Fold the papers nicely either for recycling or use in the kitty litter box. Joe Jackson leads us out . . .

Your Weekly Dylan Cover (#4)

The Clancy Brothers & Robbie O'Connell with Tommy Makem
"When The Ship Comes In"
Original Dylan version found on The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964)

The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration in honor of Bob Dylan's 30 years in the music business was held on 16 October 1992 at New York's Madison Square Garden. Famously dubbed "BobFest" by Neil Young, the star-studded affair featured artists performing exclusively Dylan compositions, including Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, Lou Reed, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and George Harrison.

But amongst the musical firepower, an unassuming - and probably to the majority in the audience, unknown - group of middle-aged men almost stole the show.

The Irish folk singers Liam Clancy (tenor) and Tommy Makem (baritone) had been admired by Dylan since his early days in Greenwich Village. On this occasion, the two singers trade initial verses on "When The Ship Comes In," and then are joined in harmony by Liam's brothers Bobby and Paddy as well as nephew Robbie O'Connell. The choice is apt, as both the melody and lyrics fit the classic mold of an Irish rebel song.

After the lights were dimmed at the Garden, the after-party was held at Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion on West 57th. Makem was coaxed onto the stage near the bar and sang songs he had recorded with The Clancy Brothers that were favorites of Dylan's.

All the Clancy Brothers have since passed away. Tommy Makem, too. Their cover of "When The Ship Comes In" is an important and historical recording, enhanced because it was captured on video as well.

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The appreciation of this anthem was late in coming for me. "When The Ship Comes In" is not a song to be found on any of the Dylan Greatest Hits or Biograph. I had seen snippets of newsreel footage from The March On Washington taken in August 1963 with Dylan singing at the podium with Joan Baez. Later I found out that this was the song they were performing; the tune had supposedly been written a few weeks earlier. According to both Baez and once girlfriend Suze Rotolo, Dylan had written the song inspired by a hotel incident and then fit the words to a melody influenced by Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht.

Original Listening: Bob Dylan, "When The Ship Comes In"

Live Listening & Viewing: Bob Dylan & Joan Baez, "When The Ship Comes In" (Washington, DC, 28 August 1963)

Another Cover Version: The Pogues, "When The Ship Comes In" (from Pogue Mahone, 1996)

Buzz Builds For The National

The positive buzz behind Brooklyn (via Cincinnati) band The National keeps gathering steam. In addition to the release of their new CD High Violet this week, the group divulged that it will be working with noted rock documentarian D. A. Pennebaker (Don't Look Back and Monterey Pop).

This Saturday (15 May) Pennebaker, his wife and frequent collaborator Chris Hegedus will direct a live webcast of The National's concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. (In addition, the duo will present a short film on the group just prior to the live gig.) The performance, beginning at 8.00pm EDT, will benefit the Red Hot Foundation. Expect special guests; maybe some artists who also contributed to the fine Dark Was The Night compilation last year.

In the meantime, make sure to catch their appearance tomorrow night on The Late Show with David Letterman.

And here's the new video for The National's powerful new track "Bloodbuzz Ohio" (by the way, that's Pennebaker in the role of bartender):