The 500 - #233 - Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #233
Album Title: Mr. Tambourine Man
Artist: The Byrds
Genre: Folk Rock
Recorded: Columbia Studios - Hollywood, California

Released: June, 1965
My age at release: 20 days before my birth
How familiar was I with it before this week: A few songs

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #287, down 54 spots since 2012
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better

To say "I like lists" seems a bit self-evident. After all, this is the  377th entry of a blog series working through Rolling Stone Magazine's compendium  of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. However, an  inventory of ranked items isn't the only list I like. Whether I am grocery shopping, planning a trip, or preparing school lessons for the week, I delight in the order that a catalogue brings. I've long struggled with sustained focus and attention. A list keeps me from burdensome multi-tasking, particularly when facing deadlines. In fact, the students and I use an inventory practically every day to plan our shared work periods. As well, I sequence priority  tasks we are working on. Below is an example from the week of December 18-22.

Psychologists agree that "our tendency to detect patterns is built into our cognitive process". Consequently, we like to bring order to information and tasks. Additionally, completing tasks on a list provides a dopamine release. Writing this blog post is on my "To Do List" today. I know I will feel a sense of  accomplishment when I set it aside for editing. Plus, I’ll get a dopamine hit for completing the blog and another for ticking off one more album from an ever -shrinking-list of records. Only 232 to go.

Last week, my mother gave me my Christmas gifts a few days early. Among the sugary treats, such as British wine gums and a Terry's Chocolate Orange, was the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, edited by Robert Dimery.

Unlike the graded 500 Greatest Albums, this book is an unranked compendium of 1001 albums, listed chronologically spanning 50 years (1955 - 2005). I prefer that tabulation method. Ranked lists are far more likely to rankle. My friends and I have had many debates about albums that "should" be on the list and we've wondered why each specific album falls where it does. For example, Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds is one rank higher than Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel. That just seems arbitrary. One isn't quantifiably better than the other. After all, we are talking about the sonic and cultural impact of an artistic endeavor, not an empirical measurement. But, as The 500 Podcast host, Josh Adam Meyers, often says, "The list is butt cheeks, but we abide by the list".

Mr. Tambourine Man is the debut release from Los Angeles-based folk rock band The Byrds. It is the first of four records from The Byrds to appear on the list, and it is one of five records by the band to appear in the 1001 Albums book. In 1965, The Byrds featured David Crosby, Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, Chris Hillman and Roger "Jim" McGuinn. Clark was the drummer and the other four members were multi-instrumentalists who all sang. The album contains original material, but is mainly cover-versions of existing folk songs from Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and Jackie DeShannon.

The Byrds (l-r) Crosby, Clark, Clarke, Hillman & McGuinn (1965).

The Byrds pioneered the folk-rock genre by melding the contemporary sound of folk music (Dylan, Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary and The Kingston Trio) with the bands of The British Invasion, specifically The Beatles. Indeed, their decision to spell Birds with a “y” was a collegial nod to the Beatles’ decision to swap in an “a” for an “e” – as in Beetles.

The Byrds’ sound was characterized by a blend of "crystal clear harmony singing and McGuinn's signature jangly guitar". The sound was achieved with a 12-string, Rickenbacker guitar. McGuinn had become enamoured with the Rickenbacker after seeing Beatle George Harrison playing one in the film A Hard Day's Night. Harrison's model was a Fireglo, with a pointy end and cut-aways on the body. McGuinn could not find that style, but settled on a Golden Rickenbacker Mapleglo 360 version because he said the colour reminded him of a Palomino horse.

A replica of the 12-string Rickenbacker guitar played by McGuinn

McGuinn was already a talented banjo player, so he transferred that picking style to the Rickenbacker. The result was the gorgeous arpeggio (broken chord) sound that appears on some of The Byrds' biggest hits, including Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn Turn Turn. The instrument can also be strummed to create the pleasing "jangle-pop" sound. Jangle-pop is a term that emerged in 1965 and is attributed specifically to the sound of The Byrds and their version of Bob Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man on this debut album of the same name. Remarkably, Dylan had only recorded the original, acoustic version of the song in March, 1965. The Byrds made it a number one hit the same year. Reportedly, this series of events partially inspired Dylan to "go electric" at the Newport Folk Festival on July 25, 1965 -- a controversial decision that was met with a chorus of boos from many of the folk purists in attendance. It is a story we will get to when we reach album #31, Bringing It All Back Home, in about four years.

Without a doubt, my favourite song on The Byrds' Mr. Tambourine Man is the second track, I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better. It is one of only five original songs from Clark and McGuinn that appear on the record. Tom Petty recorded a version of the song on his 1989 album, Full Moon Fever. Disappointingly, Petty's record is not on The 500 list, despite being a commercial and critical juggernaut in the late‘80s and early ‘90s. Fortunately, Rolling Stone corrected the mistake on the 2020 version of the list where it appears at position #298.

So much for lists.

Except my current To Do list. As I write, – Christmas 2023 is two days away and I have so much to do. However, I can now strike this blog post off my task roster – and the first of four Byrds' records on The 500, Mr. Tambourine Man, is in my rearview mirror. The dopamine rush feels…ahhh!

The 500 - #234 - Bookends - Simon & Garfunkel

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #234
Album Title: Bookends
Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
Genre: Folk Rock
Recorded: Columbia - 52 Street Studios, New York, New York

Released: April, 1968
My age at release: 2
How familiar was I with it before this week: Most of it

Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Mrs. Robinson

In September, 1980, my dad took me out of school for one week for a surprise trip to California and Nevada. This recently minted 15-year-old saw all the Hollywood sites, made famous in movies and television shows I had loved as a kid. I climbed Bell Mountain and spent a night sleeping under the stars on Coyote Dry Bed Lake in the desert. I saw a Mojave Green Rattlesnake and a Californian Scorpion in the wild. We visited the Hoover Dam and spent two nights in Las Vegas where I played video games in the Circus Circus casino that wouldn't make it to Canada for months.

A vintage postcard from the Circus Circus Casino (1980)

Our host for the trip was Jean Tierney who, despite not being related to me, I called “Aunt Jean”. She and my father met when they both worked at the Kingston Whig Standard in 1968. He was the assistant wire editor and Jean was a reporter. They only worked together for seven months. My dad moved to the Hamilton Spectator as a copy editor. Adventurous Jean headed for a kibbutz in Israel, giving my dad her guitar for safe-keeping. It was the first guitar I used to teach myself how to play. Years later, in 1980, the guitar was returned to its rightful owner when, by pure chance, she reconnected with my dad at The London Free Press, where he became a senior reporter, and she was visiting her brother, and to check out the newspaper's new-fangled computer system. When Jean left for home in Victorville, famous for exhibiting cowboy movie star Roy Rogers’ stuffed horse, Trigger, the California visit was hatched.

The London Free Press Building in London, Ontario.

Jean was the coolest adult I had ever met. Not only did she live in an inviting adobe-style home on the edge of the desert in Victorville, she drove an early-’70s white Dodge Valiant she called "Prince" -- aka Prince Valiant. She knew volumes about the flora and fauna of the Mojave and took us hiking. We spent one night camping out on the Coyote Dry Bed Lake, where dad let me drive Jean’s car. My first time behind the wheel and I was grinning. Jean’s concern about her beloved Prince was assuaged when dad reassured her: “There’s nothing to run into out there.” It was later when my turn came to be reassured when Jean said: "Snakes won't cross a dry lake because there is nothing out there for them. But, be sure to shake out your boots in the morning before you put your feet in." I trusted her, but still had a fitful night's sleep worrying about venomous reptiles and arachnids. Eventually, I moved from the hard ground to the backseat of "Prince" to finish my slumber. The campfire of scrounged dead twigs and vegetation gathered from the salt lake “shore” was still burning in the morning.

An early-70s white Valiant - similar to "Prince".

This memorable trip came when my 15-year-old self was cultivating a taste in music. I loved flipping through the record collections of the adults in my world. Jean didn't have many discs, but one stood out --  Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits. Paul Simon's song, Late In The Evening, from his upcoming film One Trick Pony, was a hit on the radio at the time and I liked it. I asked Jean if she would play the record and she readily obliged, telling me that The Boxer was one of her favourites. That disc got many spins that week and I became a fan of the duo.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met in elementary school in Queens, New York, in 1953. It was there that they learned to harmonize and write songs. Initially performing in New York coffee houses as Tom & Jerry, the pair had a modest hit in 1957 with the song Hey Schoolgirl, which was written in the same style as their musical idols, the Everly Brothers. In 1963, they signed with Columbia Records and rebranded with their own last names. They enjoyed commercial and critical success throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, with three number one songs and multiple charting hits. They have three records on The 500 list, with Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme checking in at #202 and Bridge Over Troubled Waters appearing at #51. Paul Simon also has two records on the list, including his self-titled debut (#268) which I wrote about in April, 2023. Graceland is at #71. Not only is it a crackin' album, its release coincided with one of the best times in my life. I look forward to writing about Graceland in two years. It is a record that is likely in my Top Ten.

Bookends is the fourth studio record from Simon & Garfunkel, released after their eight-song contribution to the soundtrack for the film The Graduate. Side one is a concept record, which means that the individual tracks interrelate to tell a larger narrative, exploring the journey from childhood to old age. Side Two is comprised of previously released singles and additional tracks intended, but not used, in the The Graduate,

Aunt Jean and I reconnected through Facebook about four years ago and she became a loyal reader -- often sharing positive feedback or additional commentary on the records I wrote about. At one point, I mentioned the Simon & Garfunkel records on the list and reminded her of the impact her record had on my teenage fandom. I planned on asking her to guest blog on this record and I’m sure she would have agreed. However, she passed away on September 22, 2022, at the age of 80. Her obituary can be found here. Thanks Aunt Jean for that epic adventure in the autumn of 1980. You were a wonderful host and I am so glad that I got to share a little time in your universe. Simon & Garfunkel's The Boxer will always remind me of you.

The 500 - #235 - The Ultimate Collection - Patsy Cline

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #235
Album Title: The Ultimate Collection
Artist: Patsy Cline
Genre: Country
Recorded: 1955-1961

Released: October, 2000
My age at release: 36
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #229, Moving up 6 spots since 2012.
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: If You've Got Leavin' On Your Mind

For many years, I have used the first season of the 2004 television series Lost as a cross-curricular learning unit with my middle-year students. It was actually the basis of my Masters of Education research, which focused on the engagement for pre- and early- teenage brains. The series taps into an adolescent's penchant for mystery. Their riveted investment in the plot, dialogue and character motivations is incredibly gratifying for an educator. They are quick to discuss and eager to write about the varied theories, philosophical constructs and rich vocabulary provoked by each cliffhanging episode.

There is a scene, in the third episode. featuring a flashback story focused on the character, Kate. Unusual circumstances (no spoilers) put her in a farmer's truck in Australia. Patsy Cline's If You've Got Leavin' On Your Mind is playing on the radio when the farmer, Ray Mullen, turns to her and asks:

"Do they like Patsy Cline up in Canada?"

Kate smiles and replies: "They like Patsy Cline everywhere."

Lost characters Kate and Ray in his truck.

Invariably, students will want to know a little more about Patsy Cline. Some believe her 1963 death in a plane crash at the age of 30 is a clue to the mysteries unfolding on Lost; others are keen to hear more of her music. I'll play her hits in the classroom during work periods and, unfailingly, her haunting, contralto voice  wins over a few students. Kate is correct. "They like Patsy Cline everywhere".

Everywhere, but not everyone. As I played her music in my classroom prior to student arrivals last week, I learned that the teacher candidate (student teacher) assigned to me, is not a fan. "I just find her voice whiney," she remarked.

And then there is Jeff "The Cease" Charron, my friend of 40-plus years. He made it clear to me when we were in high school that he "hates Patsy Cline's music". Furthermore, with a tinge of seriousness and humour, he informed me I was not to play Patsy in my car anymore or he would "liberate" the cassette tape from the tape deck.

Patsy Cline's 12 Greatest Hits was the cassette I owned.

One night, during the winter of 1992, Jeff was visiting me and my future wife in our first apartment on the 22nd floor of a building in Brampton, Ontario. We'd had a few beers and were playing Scrabble and listening to music. While he was in the bathroom, I slotted the Patsy Cline cassette into my stereo system. I winked at my future wife (who knew about Jeff's proclivity) and whispered, "I'll bet he doesn't even notice.

My stereo in my Brampton Apartment (1992)

We sat at the table, confident of "pulling one over on the Cease", assuming he would have forgotten his years-ago denunciation of Ms. Cline’s music.

Dead wrong. He emerged from the washroom and went directly to the cassette player, removed the offending cartridge, opened the sliding glass balcony door and, with a defiant flick of his wrist, it sailed off into the Brampton night, never to be seen again. He turned to us and said, "I'll give you $5 for that...but I warned you. I hate Patsy Cline."

The Brampton apartment, Scrabble table in background.

The story has become the stuff of comedic legend among our friends, but in fairness to Jeff I sought him out these many years later, wondering if his harsh appraisal of Patsy had diminished. He informed me by text that he still “dislikes her music”. I suppose it is a win that we have moved away from the word “hate”. 

Cline remains one of the most influential singers of the 20th century, not just in country music but in pop as well. She was the first country artist to make the successful crossover between the two genres and, despite her short and difficult life, she cemented herself as an entertainment titan. Her life has been powerfully documented in numerous books, musicals and films, including the 1985 biopic Sweet Dreams, featuring Jessica Lange as Patsy.

The Ultimate Collection offers 32 of her greatest hits, and I enjoy her voice now as much as I did in high school. Not even a detractor like “Cease” can "liberate" a Spotify stream and, after listening to the anthology in preparation for this post and chatting with friends and family about it, I stand in solidarity with the fictional Kate from Lost. "They (still) like Patsy Cline everywhere." Undiminished by time.

The 500 - #236 - Mr. Excitement - Jackie Wilson

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #236
Album Title: Mr. Excitement
Artist: Jackie Wilson
Genre: R&B, Rock, Soul, DooWop
Recorded: 1952-1975

Released: November, 1992
My age at release: 27 
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: To Be Loved

Although I wasn't familiar with this 1972 song anthology until recently,  during my first listen I realized  I had heard many of the songs before. Thanks to American crooner Jack Leroy Wilson Jr, who amassed a catalogue of hits that have permeated pop culture for decades. For example, his biggest hit, (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, features prominently in Ghostbusters II; Disney's The Kid, Death To Smoochy, Stranger Things 3; and in commercials for Colgate Total toothpaste,  Gain Flings fabric softener, and Qatar Airways.

Mr. Excitement is not only the name of this anthology, it is also the nickname ascribed to Jackie Wilson, a trail-blazing American singer and master showman.. Born in Highland Park, Michigan, in 1934, he formed the group The Falcons, which featured his cousin, Levi Stubbs, later of Four Tops fame. After spending time with a few other doo-wop and R&B groups, including The Dominoes, Wilson became a solo performer and hit the charts in 1959 with what became  his signature song, Lonely Teardrops.

Over the next 27 years, Wilson released more than 50 charting singles in multiple genres, including soul, doowop, rock and roll, R&B, and easy listening. He died at the age of 49 in a manner that seemed scripted for a bad Hollywood movie. In a cruel bit of irony, while performing  Lonely Teardrops at the Latin Casino in New Jersey in 1975, he had a heart attack and collapsed just as he reached the words, "my heart is crying".  The audience applauded, thinking it was part of the act. Cornell Gunter of The Coasters rushed from  backstage to Wilson's side. He was able to revive him, but Wilson spent the next nine years in hospitals, mainly in a semi-comatose state until his death on January 21, 1984.

The mausoleum in Wayne, Michigan where Jackie and his mother are buried.

Reading about a slim, 42-year-old suffering a massive heart attack was a sobering thought for me, a 58-year-old beefy Canadian. However, there was an unusual explanation. Wilson wanted to sweat profusely during performances because, as he confided to Elvis Presley, "the chicks love it". Consequently, he took salt tablets and drank litres of water before going on stage each night. Doctors concluded that high salt levels contributed to his heart attack and difficulties with recovery. Ruined financially by hospital bills, a fund-raiser was organized following his death to purchase his mausoleum.

Wilson performing on stage to his adoring female fans.

The story that struck me most while reading up on Wilson was one about his arrest in 1967 on "morals charges". He and his drummer, Jimmy Smith, were taken into custody by South Carolina police for "entertaining two white women in their motel room". I was two in 1967 and 50 years  later I sometimes have to remind myself that I was alive at a time when racial injustice and segregation were zealously enforced in the U.S. through notorious Jim Crow laws. Often, I think of those events being something from well before my time on the planet -- but they were not.

A sign from the time of Jim Crow segregation.

Wilson was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. His operatic, multi-octave vocal range and energetic, athletic stage presence made him a tough act to follow. In fact, his stagecraft at live shows has been cited as an inspiration by a host of legendary artists such as Elvis Presley, James Brown, Teddy Pendergrass and Michael Jackson.

Mr. Excitement indeed!