MoTown

the Motown label, which came out of Detroit (The “Mo” in “Motown” refers to the Motor City). Plus, Motown founder and Detroit native Berry Gordy Jr. — the man who signed the band in 1962 — had spent the early part of his career as an assembly line worker at the Ford Motor Company. That time profoundly influenced the music he would later produce.

“The quality control element of Motown was something that [Gordy] picked up directly from working in a car factory,” says Adam White, author of "Motown: The Sound of Young America." “He understood how everything had to be at a level of quality and integrated it, which was unusual for a music company, in his business. So some records were thrown out because they weren't good enough, just like a car that would come through and a part wasn't fixed on well enough.”

Gordy wrote songs while on the assembly line, but didn’t fully make the leap into music until 1958, when he got an $800 loan from his family

https://www.wgbh.org/music/2018-11-16/motown-the-history-of-a-hits-factory

obscure train trivia... the Beach Boys sampled the sounds of a 3 engine diesel cargo train at about 70 mph, and closed the last song on the legendary album Pet Sounds with it

 As the flutes from “Caroline, No” fade away, the melancholic sound of a passing train is heard while dogs wail. The locomotive whistle was sampled off a 1963 effects album called Mister D’s Machine (“Train #58, the Owl at Edison, California”)

https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/beach-boys-pet-sounds-15-things-you-didnt-know-186297/

https://cs.trains.com/trn/f/741/t/281179.aspx

Tommy James named his hit song MONY MONY because he saw an insurance billboard across from his apartment, Mutual Of New York

I had the track done before I had a title. I wanted something catchy like "Sloopy" or "Bony Maroney," but everything sounded so stupid. So Ritchie Cordell and I were writing it in New York City, and we were about to throw in the towel when I went out onto the terrace, looked up and saw the Mutual of New York building (which has its initials illuminated in red at its top).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mony_Mony

another booth at Comic Con I look forward to seeing every year is Patrick Ballesteros' as he always has new fun illustrations, this years cool thing is this composition of music, movies, and the vehicles in them

https://patrickballesterosart.com/collections/new-prints

you can see a big assortment of his work on his facebook page too https://www.facebook.com/patrickballesteros

https://www.instagram.com/patrickballesteros/

in the USA, "Pop Goes the Weasel" announced the ice cream van's entry into your neighborhood... in Sri Lanka, Beethoven's Bagatelle No. 25 In A Minor (Für Elise) announced the Tuk Tuk bakery van. Both are only memories now

every morning in Sri Lanka, Beethoven’s classic was heard floating over paddy fields in the countryside, or competing with the sound of the traffic in the cities. 

The music from three-wheeled tuk-tuks, "choon paan" Sri Lanka’s musical, mobile bakeries, fitted with glass cabinets and a rooftop speaker system.

The higher cost of imported flour, inflation, and the government quota of four liters of fuel per week has killed the small business operator of the mobile bakery. 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/sri-lankas-musical-mobile-bakeries

Music and popular songs come and go, but one sound has been consistent since 1929 – the music and sound of the ice cream truck.

In 1960, Mister Softee, the largest mobile cream franchisor with over 600 trucks, introduced the Mister Softee Theme

Top Ten Ice Cream Truck Themes

10. Turkey in the Straw – Originally based on an Irish folk song called The Old Rose Tree, it was adapted into minstrel music shows in the 1820s, even though the 1910’s. 

9. Camptown Races (1850) and Oh! Suzanna (1848) were written by America’s first professional songwriter, Stephen Foster. 

8. Dixie (1861) Dixie was about Antebellum (the wealthy southern lifestyle) prior to the civil war

7. Jimmy Crack Corn (1840s) was a song about a slave’s lament after his master’s death. 

6. La Cucaracha (1800s Mexican folk song) probably the most popular song about a cockroach who cannot walk

5. Pop Goes The Weasel (1852) began as a social dance in England. The ambiguous phrase has been used in many pop culture mediums – books, film and television. In the 1930s, it became the tune for Jack-in-the-Box windup toys. 

4. I’m a Little Teapot (1939) Probably the last Nursery Rhyme to be a radio hit.

3. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star – the lyrics were written by Jane Taylor in 1806 (England), and the melody came from Ah! vous dirai-je, maman, (1761, France).

2. It’s a Small World, written by brothers Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman in 1962, and inspired by the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is probably the only popular ice cream truck music that needs a royalty payment. Why? Because it may be the second most well-known song in the Western World, behind Happy Birthday. 

1. The Entertainer (1902) written by Scott Joplin, is one of the most famous instrumentals of the recorded sound era. It was the biggest ragtime hit, and brings the perfect ‘nostalgia’ feeling for both children and adults when it comes to ice cream.

https://popculturemadness.com/PCM/the-sounds-of-the-american-summer-ice-cream-trucks/

Ann Margaret was just interviewed about riding her Harley in the press junket about the release of her latest musical collaboration album. She says she still rides her Harley, at age 81.

It's fascinating to me to read interviews that dive into a celebs life before they became famous, because it's discovering what they did and who they were before the Hollywood machine took over to pump up their "buzz" or ratings, or whatever.

I had no idea she grew up in Sweden, and didn't realize she was in Tommy, the Who's movie

One of the great beauties, and such a pleasure to enjoy in the Grumpy Old Men movies. Why Triumph or some chopper company isn't courting her to be in their advertising is a mystery to me. She absolutely is the most famous photo of a woman on a motorcycle that I can think of, in that 1971 Douglas Kirkland photo:

Her new album, Born To Be Wild, was released April 14 by Cleopatra Records and features guest appearances by the Who’s Pete Townshend, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, soul legend Steve Cropper, and Yes’ Rick Wakeman, among many others.

The first single is a cover of the Everly Brothers’ “Bye Bye Love,” which features Townshend, Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and veteran country singer/songwriter T.G. Sheppard. Throughout Born To Be Wild, Ann-Margret covers a host of vintage rock favorites, such as “Son of a Preacher Man,” “Rock Around the Clock,” “Earth Angel,” and “Splish Splash.”

“Being offered an opportunity to work with Ann-Margret, especially on an Everly Brothers song, was just too romantic to pass,” Townshend says. “Ann-Margret’s work on the Tommy movie back in 1974 (when she was most certainly not old enough to pretend to be Roger Daltrey’s mother) was a joy from beginning to end. Her sonorous voice, her Scandinavian beauty, her sense of humor, her stamina, and her strength all shone through.”

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/04/ann-margret-is-still-riding-her-harley-at-81

https://www.spin.com/2023/03/ann-margret-new-album/

https://www.nextavenue.org/faces-defined-60s-and-70s/

Her Vegas show back in 71 incorporated a Triumph, possibly the one above, but that era for her was around bikes, and she even did a biker movie with Joe Namath in 1970 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-1970-american-biker-film-starring-joe.html

Oh, this ain't sung well, but, it's the lyrics are spot on... Ford G.T. by Jackie and the Giants - who seem to be ripping off the melodies from My Little GTO, a AND Little Deuce Coupe

She was dreamed up in Detroit, on a Saturday afternoon
and she looked good on paper at the time

then they started to producer her back in 1964, 

and she's become a legend in her time

She's the Ford GT, hottest in the Gran Prix

set a track record

for the low et

the Ferrari couldn't catch her

the Maseratti couldn't take her

the Lola's couldn't shake her

She's the GT Ford

She lined up with the best

then she lasso them in

(Can't make out the next two lines) 

Written by B Russell, who also wrote the no.1 hit "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia", the Grammy Award-winning "Little Green Apples", and Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey"

he was the husband of Vicki Lawrence between 1972 - 1974

https://www.discogs.com/artist/566437-Bobby-Russell

"She got a head of full of air, and a foot full of lead" ... thank you Keith! Thank you Kim!

no video, all audio. Not great, just a bit of fun. Every day needs more fun, so get a bit of happiness from this bit of honky tonk from steel guitar picker, a song listed on the Hagerty 10 unknown automobile songs.

Junior Brown isn't too smart either, anyone with a clue would make a terrific video that follows the lyrics, or at least plays some clips from 60s drag racing

Here's a song he did that IS terrific, but again, LAME video when he came up with a song that had fantastic possibility for epicness.  Thank you Kim!

the Staple Singers’ bestselling 1972 title Be Altitude ..... 50 years ago

Beginning in 1948, Roebuck “Pops” Staples and daughters Cleotha, Mavis, and Yvonne began singing in churches across Chicago. Pops had grown up in Drew Mississippi, next door to Charlie Patton, and played guitar with him, and Robert Johnson (legendary guitarists)

Staple Singers songs including 1955's "This May Be the Last Time" (later adapted by The Rolling Stones as "The Last Time") and "Uncloudy Day"

Songs Respect Yourself, and I'll Take You There are simply wonderful groovy stuff. 

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/staple-singers-be-altitude-50th-anniversary-edition/

posted for the fantastic music, but mostly, because of that album cover (I've posted a lot of album cover art over the years, even an album cover photographer) is unusual, using a airliner engine 

John Fogerty was working at a gas station in high school when the Beatles hit big with Please Please Me in Feb 1963, and it motivated him to work harder on music

 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/john-fogerty-the-suitcase-behind-the-microphone/id1510058141?i=1000528191939

Fogerty got the inspiration for the song Working Man from the jobs the band members had before turning professionals. They worked in a gas station, and as truck drivers and janitors

https://sites.google.com/site/theelectricbayou/songs/the-working-man

CCR was the only American band that beat the Beatles head-to-head in record sales

John Fogerty gets his first guitar when he is 12 years old. Due to the family’s tight financial circumstances, he and elder brother Tom club together to rent this guitar for five dollars per month. John takes guitar lessons from Barry Olivier, the creator/producer of the Berkeley Folk Festival.

https://rockportraits.wordpress.com/2014/09/28/creedence-clearwater-revival/

He wrote the Proud Mary line about "Left a good job in the city, working for the man every night and day" to celebrate his honorable discharge from the Army Reserves

getting the band on the road in a van, the quintessential road trip tour, is the theme of a new documentary by Dave Grohl

a new documentary is on the way for next Friday that looks back at the early days of some of music's biggest stars: Ringo, Flea, Slash, Steven Tyler, Metallica, No Doubt, and the Foos.

"This film is my love letter to every musician that has ever jumped in an old van with their friends and left it all behind for the simple reward of playing music," Grohl said in a statement. "What started as a project to pull back the curtain on the DIY logistics of stuffing all of your friends and equipment into a small space for months on end eventually turned into an exploration of 'why?' 'What drives us?'"

What Drives Us is set for release April 30 via the Coda Collection, a music-centric streaming service, via Amazon Prime Video Channels.

https://ew.com/movies/trailers/dave-grohl-what-drives-us-trailer

the album cover of Hal Blaine and The Young Cougars, 1963

Wrecking Crew musicians on this LP were Hal Blaine, Bill Pitman, Glen Campbell, Tommy Tedesco, Ray Pohlman, Leon Russell, Jimmy Bond, Ron Smith, Marshall Cram, Richard Leith, Steven Kreisman adn Frank Capp.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-shots-from-days-gone-by.428585/page-6296#post-13003556

https://kimsloans.wordpress.com/tag/hal-blaine-1960s-vinyl/

if you want to listen to some!

Thanks Steve!

Forgotten travel song, from about 1980. A catchy tune

Well the midnight headlights blind you on a rainy night
Steep grade up ahead, slow me down, makin' no time, But I got to keep rollin'
Those windshield wipers slappin' out a tempo,
Keepin' perfect rhythm with the song on the radio,
But I got to keep rollin'

Ooh, I'm drivin' my life away, lookin' for a better way for me
Ooh, I'm drivin' my life away, lookin' for a sunny day

Well the truck stop cutie comin' on to me,
Tried to talk me into a ride
Said I wouldn't be sorry
But she was just a baby

Hey, waitress, pour me another cup of coffee,
Pop it down, jack me up, shoot me out, flyin' down the highway,
Lookin' for the mornin'

Ooh, I'm drivin' my life away, lookin' for a better way for me 

Ooh, I'm drivin' my life away, lookin' for a sunny day

The song is featured at the beginning and at the end of the 2018 film Finding Steve McQueen.

Learning to Fly lyrics... I'll be darned, I never paid attention to the words before

Into the distance a ribbon of black
Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reeled
A fatal attraction is holding me fast how
How can I escape this irresistible grasp?

Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue tied and twisted just an earth bound misfit, I

Ice is forming on the tips of my wings
Unheeded warnings I thought I thought of everything
No navigator to find my way home
Unladened, empty and turned to stone

A soul in tension that's learning to fly
Condition grounded but determined to try
Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I
Friction lock, set
Mixtures, rich
Propellers, fully forward
Flaps, set, ten degrees
Engine gauges and suction, check

Mixture set to maximum percent, recheck
Flight instruments
Altimeters, check both

(Garbled word) on
Navigation lights, on
Strobes, on
Confirm three-eight-echo ready for departure
Hello again, this is now 129.4
129.4, it's to go
You may commence your takeoff, winds over ten knots
Three-eight-echo
Easy on the brakes, take it easy, its gonna roll this time
Just hand the power gradually, and it

Above the planet on a wing and a prayer,
My grubby halo, a vapor trail in the empty air
Across the clouds I see my shadow fly
Out of the corner of my watering eye
A dream unthreatened by the morning light
Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night

There's no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, a state of bliss
Can't keep my mind from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I

Driving home for Christmas, 1986

groovy slow christmas song I've never heard before

And if you dig that song, here's one of a similar sound by the same singer... with more of the slow driving around on bad snowy roads video

From the way back machine, "You Saw My Blinker Bitch" from DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. So far back they were still super proud of a Mustang and an Alpine stereo.

This is a story I'll never forget

About the day my new car got hit
It caught me off guard cause it happened so quick
When I heard the crash I got mad as hell
Cruising down the highway fast not slow
Ninety miles an hour in my five point o
People waving at me cause they know who I am
Alpine stereo blasting a jam
Put the top down said my girlfriend
Then my damn hat blew off in the wind
I got kind of mad cause it's the hat I just bought
I should of put her out it was all her fault
Day was Friday date was the tenth
My girl was looking good on her strength
She smacked my hand when I put it on her knee
I said hit me again and I'll break your wrist
That day I dressed all in white
Taking my girl to Palm Springs for the night
I was hoping I could find a short cut
I was tired plus I had a rash on my butt
There was this lady in a pinto coup
About ninety years old I could tell by the droop
Driving all fast border line insane
Glasses so thick couldn't stay in her lane
I swerved left and I swerved right
But she was still tale gating me too damn tight
To the left lane I tried to switch then
You saw my blinker bitch

We both pulled off on the side of the road
I was hot ready to explode
The only thing stopping me from breaking her nose
Was I was 21 and she was ninety years old
Then the police came turned the lights off
The lady started crying and the cop got soft
The cop said oh it'll be okay
Wrinkled old bag looking like a sharpe
I said wait what's going on cap
Her cars fine my cars all wrecked
Then I saw what happened in the crash
Her dentures came out got stuck in the dash
You hit me I didn't hit you
Stop holding your neck lady you can't sue
It's your fault you caused all this
You saw my blinker bitch

Wednesday, October the fourth
That's when we got our day in court
That lady destroyed my case
When she came in a wheelchair and a neck brace
I jumped up I said you must be joking
Come on judge her neck ain't broken
Well I'll be damned
Wrinkled old bag started crying on the stand
The bailiff grabbed me slammed me on the ground
Judge said boy you better come down
Aren't you one of them damn rap singers
Yeah, then I gave him the finger
Judge held me contempt of court
For giving him the finger and things of that sort
Anything to say before you're dismissed
Just one you saw my blinker bitch

I still think it's a damn shame so many songs never got great fan made videos, since the creators didn't bother making a music video for their own songs. 

I just heard this for the first time this morning... yeah, I wasn't listening to rap in 1991, I was listening to Judas Priest, Metallica, etc and I quit listening to rap after Run DMC, LLCool J, Beastie Boys, and Biz Markie "Just a Friend" and it quit being beatbox original and became hip hop crap. Beatbox needed skill. Hip hop was just glomming on after the rap pioneers left the stage but without lyrical chops of later skilled people like Eminem. The 90s were pretty much a waste of time. Van Hagar? Hell no. Thank god for cassette players so we ignore all the crap on the radio. 

Hot Rod Hearts, Robbie Dupree... hell of a 80s song about cruising main street

Ten miles east of the highway
Hot sparks burnin' the night away
Two lips touchin' together
Cheek to cheek sweatshirt to sweater

Young love born in a back seat
Two hearts pound out a back beat
Headlights, somebody's comin'
Got to move

Keep a runnin' with the hot rod hearts
Out on the boulevard tonight
Here come those hungry sharks
Up from the bottom for another bite

School girl brushes her hair back
Blue jeans can't hide the bare facts
Bad boy knows where to find her
Runs the light, sneaks up behind her

Hot rod hearts out on the boulevard tonight
Here come those hungry sharks
Up from the bottom for another bite
True believers livin' on the borderline
They're just dreamers killin' time
Killin' time, killin time
Times are hard for those hot rod hearts
Out on the boulevard tonight
Here come those hungry sharks
Up from the bottom for another bite

Girl with the hot rod hearts tonight
Girl with the hot rod hearts tonight
Keep runnin' with the hot rod hearts
Out on the boulevard tonight
Hot rod hearts out on the boulevard tonight
Hot rod hearts out on the boulevard tonight

interesting cover art, I was wondering why THIS specific plane was chosen for the cover art

The cover of the album features a vintage Lockheed Model 10 Electra aircraft, with similar markings to the one flown by Amelia Earhart in 1937.

This is often mistaken for a Beechcraft Model 18 (a very similar aircraft) and is referred to in the lyrics of "Five Miles Out" ; "lost in static, 18" and "automatic, 18". The aeroplane has registration G-MOVJ, as also referenced in the lyrics (as "Golf Mike Oscar Victor Juliet").

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Miles_Out

The album had "Family Man" which was immediately covered by Hall and Oates who made it a hit.

album cover art of Fu Manchu, thanks Dale!

https://www.allmusic.com/album/daredevil-mw0000182353

wow, this was certainly a reaction to the drag race craze

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2431821000170431&set=p.2431821000170431&type=3&permPage=1