Celebrity Jukebox #63: Jimmy Cliff

As the calendar ticks towards the end of the year, it always seems like the Grim Reaper starts working overtime.

Jimmy Cliff - Wonderful World, Beautiful People

A true sentiment - but why do so many of them keep leaving us?

Farewell then to Jimmy Cliff - I hope you find there are still Many Rivers Left To Cross.

Well, they tell me of a pie up in the sky

Waiting for me when I die

But between the day you're born and when you die

They never seem to hear even your cry

So as sure as the sun will shine

I'm gonna get my share now, what's mine

And then the harder they come

The harder they fall, one and all

Ooh, the harder they come

The harder they fall, one and all

Celebrity Jukebox #62: Mani

Despite buying both Stone Roses albums and a variety of the Primal Scream records he contributed to, I have to confess I knew very little about Gary Mounfield. Fortunately, I knew when it came to eulogising him that Swiss Adam would do a top job.

The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored

There's not much more I can add, except that when you think about the Stone Roses sound, so much of it clearly comes from the basslines. That must make Mani more important than a lot of bass players. Others will doubtless express that better than I can.

The Stone Roses - She Bangs the Drums

It's not a Stone Roses track I've chosen today though, it's this: one of my favourites from Primal Scream... and a tune very unlike the kind of thing I usually go for. Back in 1997 though, I was rather obsessed with it. And I reckon that's all down to Mani...

 

Celebrity Jukebox #61: Todd Snider

I write a lot of these posts. Every week or so, another famous name takes the long walk and I try to commemorate them with a spot on the jukebox. Anyone who's made any kind of impression on my life - singers, actors, writers, comic book artists... I try to say something about all of them.

Every now and then though, someone passes who makes a bigger impact than the rest. 

I've been a fan of Todd Snider for about thirty years now. I've bought every record he's made and downloaded all the free live versions with storytelling intros that he gives away on his website. Todd was a witty, erudite and astute songwriter, and from everything I read about him, I got the impression he was a damn fine human being too. He's been suffering chronic pain for a while now as a result of spinal stenosis, but he's kept touring and making records (I got his latest, High, Lonesome & Then Some just a couple of weeks back). Late last week he ended up in hospital with pneumonia... and he didn't make it out. He was 59 years old.

I'm not going looking for songs with Todd's name in the lyrics... because I'm pretty sure I won't find any. Instead, I'm just going to post some of my favourite Todd Snider songs. As far as I'm concerned, the guy was a legend... 

Todd Snider - Conservative Christian, Right Wing, Republican, Straight, White, American Male

Todd Snider - War On Terror

Todd Snider - Agnostic Preacher's Lament

Todd Snider - Vinyl Records

Todd Snider - My Generation (Part 2)

Todd Snider - Beer Run

Todd Snider - Rocket Fuel

Amy Rigby & Todd Snider - Til The Wheels Fall Off

Todd also introduced me to The Talkin' Blues. He wasn't the first to do 'em, but he was the first I heard...

Todd Snider - Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues

As Todd mentions above, that one was recently covered by Tom Jones...

Tom Jones - Talkin' Reality Television Blues

But this one will always be my favourite... makes me smile every time I hear it. Even today.

Rest in peace, Todd. You were an Alright Guy.

Celebrity Jukebox #60: Diane Ladd

I will readily admit that Diane Ladd means more to me as the mother of Laura Dern than as an actress in her own right. Probably that’s down to my age – Laura, who’s just a few years older than me, appeared in some of the most important films of my youth, particularly the David Lynch triple bill of Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart and Inland Empire.

Diane appeared alongside her daughter in two of those movies, and elsewhere, most memorably playing Laura / Lula’s crazy, lipstick-smeared mother, Marietta Fortune, in Wild At Heart.

Sadly, Diane’s name doesn’t appear in any songs I could find, so I went looking for songs relating to some of her most famous roles. Of course, there’s Chinatown, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (!), but the one I settled on was a little-remembered Burt Reynold vehicle from 1973.

Why that one, you ask?

Well, because it gives me the excuse to play three excellent versions of the same song. Firstly, the original, written and recorded by one J.P. Richardson, aka The Big Bopper, back in 1958. 

The Big Bopper – White Lightning 

A few months later, the legendary George Jones took the tune to Number One on the US country charts. Sadly, The Big Bopper never got to appreciate its success as he died in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens... just 6 days before George Jones’s version was released.

George Jones – White Lightning

Fast-forward thirty odd years to 1990 when Mark E. Smith decided to release his own unique interpretation… initial copies came with a free miniature bottle of “White Lightning" Tequila.

I know this will be a controversial statement, but I reckon some of the best tracks The Fall ever recorded were cover versions…

Anyway, this seemed like as good a tune as any to play in tribute to Diane Ladd. This whole world's wild at heart and weird on top.

 

Celebrity Jukebox #58: Dave Ball

I can just about get my head around stars of the 60s passing away. Even those who were big in the 70s, especially the ones who've had a hard paper round. But whenever we lose someone from the 80s... I feel like the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come is walking over my grave.

Dave Ball - Strict Tempo

Quite often, on my way to work, I pass the blue plaque below, and every time I do, one particular tune pops into my head...

You probably think it's this one, but it's not.

Soft Cell - Tainted Love 

Although there's no denying that's a top notch cover version, and one of the defining pop songs of the 1980s.

Oh, and it's not this one either...

Soft Cell - Sex Dwarf

I know what you think of me. It's OK. 

But have you seen my records? This Heat, Pere Ubu, Outsiders, Nation of Ulysses, Mars, The Trojans, The Black Dice, Todd Terry, The Germs, Section 25, Sexual Harrassment, a-ha, Pere Ubu, Dorothy Ashby, PIL, the Fania All-Stars, the Bar-Kays, The Human League, the Normal, Lou Reed, Scott Walker, Joy Division, 10cc, Eric B. and Rakim, Index, Basic Channel, Soulsonic Force ("just hit me"!), Juan Atkins, David Axelrod, Electric Prunes, Gil! Scott! Heron!, the Slits, Faust, Mantronix, Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines, the Swans, the Soft Cell, The Sonics, the Sonics, the Sonics, the Sonics...

LCD Sound System - Losing My Edge

So it's over

You're lying in a coffin of clutter

Your father and your sister, your drummer

Are sorting through your Soft Cell tapes

And lifesaver collection

And you wonder

You wonder if you could've done better

You wonder if you should've surrendered

Before you learned that

Nobody actually wants a fucking martyr

Amanda Palmer - Olly Olly Oxen Free

Dave Ball died earlier this week, aged just 66, after just completing a new Soft Cell album with Marc Almond. In his own heartbroken tribute, Almond said, "It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."

Of course, Dave Ball will be remembered not just as the less flamboyant one in Soft Cell. But I'll let those who know more about dance music comment on his other projects. Although I will say that I always quite liked this one back in the day... the banjos did it for me, as well as the reference to a classic DC comics character...

The Grid - Swamp Thing

Rest in peace, Dave. You're gone far too soon.

Oh, and that song which always pops into my head when I see the blue plaque?

This one, of course...

Celebrity Jukebox #57: Drew Struzan

Drew Struzan might not have been a household name, certainly in comparison with Robert Redford and Diane Keaton, most recently featured here... but even if you don't recognise the name, I can guarantee you will know his work. 

Struzan was surely the leading movie poster artist of his generation, and many of his designs are arguably even more famous than the films they promoted.  In fact, Steven Spielberg once remarked (about his "favourite movie artist") that “I had to almost live up to the art that we later were going to ask Drew to create for the poster.” It could probably be argued that certain film-makers were unable to live up to that promise, and the best thing about some of those flicks was the poster promoting it.

Below is the one I had on my bedroom wall. Why the poster for the sequel, rather than the original movie? Because I wanted both Marty and the Doc done by Mr. Struzan, not just Michael J. Fox on his own.

Rest in peace, Drew. Your art will live forever.

The Kinks - Moving Pictures

Bill Pritchard - Posters

Steely Dan - Everyone's Gone To The Movies

Mitch Ryder - Poster

Wreckless Eric - Let's Got To The Pictures

The Monkees - The Poster

Guided By Voices - Short On Posters

Andy Roberts - I've Seen The Movie

Echo & The Bunnymen - The Pictures On My Wall

Celebrity Jukebox #56: Diane Keaton

Khayem wrote an excellent tribute to Diane Keaton earlier this week, most notably in his revelation that she directed the video to Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven Is A Place On Earth. That’s a class piece of musical trivia.

Khayem also provided a playlist of songs with titles that matched Diane’s most famous movies… so there’s even less for me to add via the Celebrity Jukebox… except a few songs that mention her by name.

We’ll start with this one, as it would have fit perfectly on Khayem’s compilation…

Next, a little offering from Portuguese singer-songwriter JTX, way back in 1982… especially for our Portuguese reader.

JTX – Diane Keaton

Over to Chile next, where we find indie duo Dënver (no longer a duo, it seems, since they split up)…

Dënver – Diane Keaton

From Dënver to Vietnam… or from Chile to Spain, take your pick…

Vietnam – Diane Keaton

Still in Spain, we find a band Montoto and their Spanish Eyes…

Montoto - Ojos de Diane Keaton

Over to Australia now for a Sydney guitar band who might have broken a few copyright laws when making their video… but it’s all in the name of art, so that’s all right.

Weak Boys - Unrequited Diane Keaton

Diane did pretty well in the song titles then… but what about lyrical nods?

Well, here’s one that might have been in contention for the Cancel Culture Club…

Hey yo, I kinda like the musical Rent (no homo)
Man, I can't decide who wore it best (no homo)
But I'm feeling Diane Keaton's vest (No homo)
I admit it I'm a fashionista (No homo)
And I know every line of Mystic Pizza

Lonely Island - No Homo

The interweb, however, tells me this is actually…

“…a critique on homophobia among young, often athletic and/or alpha-type males. It starts off by describing how the phrase “no homo” can be used as a social mechanism to quickly defuse any suspicion of homosexual attraction when giving a fellow male a complement. The examples of usage of the phrase quickly escalate to overtly sexual acts, which nullify any suggestion that they are merely comfortable in their heterosexuality, but are truly giving into their gay urges. This suggests that many homophobes are actually suppressing their closeted homosexual feelings through an exterior of hostility and intolerance.”

And if you’re wondering how that’s relevant today…

“One of Diane Keaton’s most famous roles was in Annie Hall where she dressed in men’s clothes, including vests. Although, Keaton likes to dress in vintage men’s clothes regardless.”

So now you know. No cancellation needed. Apparently.

As we’ve already established, Diane was very popular on the continent, as further evidenced here by this tune from French singer and writer Yves Simon…

Yves Simon - J't'imagine

J't'ai vue un soir sortir d'un music-hall
Comme Diane Keaton d'Annie Hall

Which, clumsily translates as…

I saw you one evening coming out of a music hall
Like Diane Keaton from Annie Hall

Never be afraid to rhyme hall with Hall.

Next, an American indie duo who remind me of The Mountain Goats (never a bad thing). Clearly they’re film buffs as they also have tunes called Peter Bogdanovich Can't Stop Talking About Orson Welles and I Wanna Meet Scarlett Johansson in a Coffeeshop at Three. And I realise I’ll probably be in a lonely minority here, but these guys just went straight on my Further Investigation Required list…

When you were stuck at 2 a.m. I wished you would have called
I would've been there in an instant, we could've rented Annie Hall
And I'd be your Woody Allen, with my witty, subtle quips
And you'd be my Diane Keaton, 'till you gave me the slip

Moe’s Haven – Dig In!

Meanwhile, Merseyside’s Laurie Shaw has appeared on this feature previously… and he’ll probably pop again soon. He’s extremely prolific… and rather interesting too.

Brigitte Bardot's toes
Turning the taps on the bubble bath
Carrie Fisher’s gold bikini
Diane Keaton’s laugh
Audrey Hepburn in her pyjamas
Anne in 'Day of Wrath’

Laurie Shaw – Comparative Essay

I saved this one for last though, because Allo Darlin’ are fabulous.

In the movie of our lives, would Woody Allen write the screenplay?
Not his best era, but certainly not his worst either
But I wouldn't like to be like Diane Keaton in Manhattan
So cerebral was she, runs away from any romance
But though you're neurotic, and a little paranoid
It doesn't make me Annie, it doesn't make you Alvy
Woody Allen couldn't play you
Woody Allen couldn't play you
I know you want him to, but he couldn't play you

Celebrity Jukebox #55: Robert Redford

Distophia - Robert Redford

"He's a regular Robert Redford..."

You've certainly made your mark on the world when your name becomes an idiom, synonymous with charm, charisma and roguish good looks. And when songwriters want a short-cut metaphor for all of the above... Robert Redford is an obvious name-drop.

You're just a Coca Cola cowboy

You got an Eastwood smile and a Robert Redford hair

But you walked across my heart like it was Texas

You taught me how to say I just don't care

Mel Tillis - Coca Cola Cowboy

I don't mean to criticize the girls at all

'Cause I'm no Robert Redford even overhauled

But we all picture in our minds a girl that looks just right

Now ain't it funny, ain't it strange the way a man's opinions change

When he starts to face that lonely night

Mickey Gilley - Don't The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time

I could get myself a nose job, I could diet for a year

But I'll never be Robert Redford 'cause I'm much to fond of beer

Please don't misunderstand me, it's not love I'm trying to buy

It's just I got all this here money and I'm a pretty ordinary guy

Dr. Hook - The Millionaire

Now Lord knows you ain't a saint, and Robert Redford you ain't

But you got a heart of gold through and through

And when it comes to lovin', that old, ooh, kissin' and a-huggin'

Ain't nobody else ever gonna do

Reba McEntyre - I Don't Need Nothin' You Ain't Got

That's all right but I wish they'd confuse me 

With somebody like Burt Reynolds or Robert Redford, 

All them guys that really look like me

Red Simpson - My Name Is Simpson

Jean-Paul Belmondo?

Alain Delon? No!

Clint Eastwood? J'ai dit no!

Paul Newman?

Robert Redford? J'ai dit no!

Sparks - Je M'Appelle Russell

Frank Sinatra and a Rolls Royce

A great set of wheels and a golden voice

Robert Redford is the shiniest star on the silver screen

And don't forget about Michelangelo and New York

The biggest apple and the greatest art

They're the very best I've ever seen

Charley Pride - The Best There Is

I get no pleasure when I'm going through the motions of my mediocre day-to-day

I'm just an actor, just like Robert fucking Redford

When I say those stupid words that they expect me to say

Everclear - Misery Whip

She likes me for me

Not because I look like Tyson Beckford

With the charm of Robert Redford

Oozing out my ears

But what she sees

Are my faults and indecisions

My insecure conditions

And the tears upon the pillow that I shed

Blessid Union of Souls - Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me)

You think that love's

What's on that silver screen

Raquel and Redford are the tops

You've been misled

By all those movies you've seen

Al Jarreau - Love Is Real

I'm Redford, you're Newman on the take

You're a 7.6 earthquake

The Donkeys - Don't Know Who We Are

None of those really compare with the greatest ever lyrical reference to Bobby Redford, courtesy of... Lee Majors?!?

I might fall from a tall building

I might roll a brand-new car

'Cause I'm the unknown stuntman

That made Redford such a star

Strangely though, that wasn't the first song which popped into my mind when I heard about the passing of Robert Redford. Although some might argue this is more of a Paul Newman song... still, for me it marks a sunset for Sundance...

Celebrity Jukebox #54 (Redux): Terence Stamp

When I began the Celebrity Jukebox, it wasn't just for celebs who had passed away. Living legends were also featured. Nowadays though, it's just a place to celebrate those who have left us. Sadly, this means I now have to revisit this edition from 2022. Rest in peace, General...

“Kneel before Zod!”

For most of my generation, our first encounter with Terence Stamp was as the evil General Zod in Superman II. The Grauniad called him “the master of the brooding silence”, and he certainly sent shivers down my spine. Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor was a pussycat in comparison.

I was surprised General Zod didn’t get referenced all over the place, but only Eminem (who’s the same age as me) was prepared to kneel before him.

Eminem – Rap God

Terence Stamp had been around for a couple of decades by the time he played that memorable supervillain, making his screen debut in the movie Billy Budd, an Oscar-nominated performance that obviously made some impact on a young Steven Patrick Morrissey…

Morrissey – Billy Budd

Morrissey also used an image of Stamp in The Collector as the cover of the third Smiths single, What Difference Does It Make? 

Stamp originally refused permission for the picture to be used, but relented in the end… possibly after he’d seen Morrissey’s alternative.

Pete Townshend from The Who has a younger brother called Simon who has occasionally play with big bro’s band, as well as ploughing his own lonely solo furrow. Here he is with a track called Highness, which begins thus…

I am what I am
I just happen to be related to the king

…before named dropping Bowie, Eddie Vedder and Rod Stewart, as well as… yes, you guessed it, Terence Stamp.

Simon Townshend – Highness

48 Cameras are described on their bandcamp page as “Collectif international à géométrie variable”, which means they come from all over the place, but mostly Belgium. This is from their 2006 release After All, Isn’t Tango The Dance of the Drunk Man? It sounds like an orchestra tuning up to me, but what do I know? It's probably art.

48 Cameras – Terence Stamp For A Time

The biggest Terence Stamp fan I could find in the pop world was Adam Ant. He namedrops Terry twice, mostly recently here…

Adam Ant – Punkyoungirl

Punky young girl needs a Terence Stamp
Perfect at swinging sixties vamp

And on this memorable b-side in which Stuart Goddard claims to be friends with everybody from Mister Pastry to Jim Morrison to Arthur Askey, and…

I’m a friend of Stevie Wonder
I’m a friend of Eric Fromm
I’m a friend of Bryan Ferry
I’m a friend of Terence Stamp

Adam & The Ants - Friends

Almost at the end now, and a reminder from Philadelphia’s Bill Ricchini…

Bill Ricchini – Julie Christie

You look just like Julie Christie
And I feel just like Terry Stamp

A reminder that Terry and Julie went together. They met at Waterloo Station, every Friday night...

Celebrity Jukebox #144: Connie Francis

I dreamed I was in teenage heaven

I saw all the stars in teenage heaven

There was a golden door

With a golden star

And I walked on through

And there were all the

Teenage stars we knew

There was Richie Valens

Singing, Donna, I love you

Next to him, Buddy Holly

Wuh oh, Peggy Sue

Eddie Cochran

Sang Summertime Blues

Into the golden mic

And the Big Bopper

With his laughing face said

You know what I like

There was Ricky Nelson

Singing Lonesome Town

And all the stars then

Gathered round

Bobby Vee, Brenda Lee

And Fabian too

Connie Francis, Neil Sedaka

And the Fleetwoods sang Mr. Blue

Johnny Cymbal - Teenage Heaven

Looking at that lyrics above, Connie Francis has done pretty well to outlive most of her contemporaries. And if you read the obits, and find out a little about her life story, she was clearly one tough lady.

Connie Francis - Lipstick On Your Collar

Not only that, but back in the late 50s and early 60s, she was the biggest selling female artist in the world. And given that this was a time when people really bought a lot of records, that makes her one of the all-time best-sellers.

Connie Francis - Who's Sorry Now?

Rest easy, Connie. 

Celebrity Jukebox #143: Tom Lehrer

A quick shout out to the great Tom Lehrer who died a week or so ago at the grand old age of 97. Famous for his satirical songs with a sharp and cynical wit, like this...

Tom Lehrer - Poisoning Pigeons In The Park

And this...

Tom Lehrer - The Masochism Tango

He's also the man who famously set the Periodic Table to song, via Gilbert & Sullivan...

Tom Lehrer - The Element Song

I couldn't find any lyrical mentions, although Randy Newman was obviously a fan, once saying, "He's one of the great American songwriters without a doubt, right up there with everybody, the top guys. As a lyricist, as good as there's been in the last half of the 20th century." Weird Al Yankovic and Donald Fagen were also appreciative of his work. 

Tom Lehrer also, following on from last week's Snapshots, had at least three songs banned by the BBC... including this one.

Whichever heaven he's gone to, Tom Lehrer will be giving the person in charge hell!

Celebrity Jukebox #141: Ozzy Osborne

I'm not going to pretend to have been a huge Ozzy fan, but I could easily have been. It's the road not travelled...

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

After all these years of myth-making, the TV show, the family, the self-mockery and the colossal caricature (not to mention biting the head off that bat), I readily accept that there are two types of people who know much more about Ozzy than I ever will: the dedicated heavy rock fans (I dabble, but I'm not a connoisseur) and those who know very little about music at all... but just enjoyed the Show. (And by that, I don't just mean The Osbornes.)

Ozzy Osborne - Perry Mason

I'll let you in on a little secret through... whenever I come across an old Ozzy track I've not heard before, like the one above, I dig it. Because I've always had a soft spot for metal that isn't too metal. Really, it's just pop music with louder guitars.

Ozzy Osborne - Let Me Hear You Scream

If nothing else, Ozzy was a Show. And beyond that, he was the very best kind of rock star: one who never took himself too seriously... or at all seriously. That's the way he came across to me, anyway.

 

As is customary in this feature, I went looking for songs that might mention the dearly departed. And only then did I realise just how far Ozzy's influence stretches... and how much bigger he was in the States than in his home country. As you'd expect, some of these songs are quite loud...

Alien Crime Syndicate - Ozzy

We saw Ozzy on our first date

Our special song is Crazy Train

Making out in the middle of the pit

How come Slayer doesn't sing about this

If anything comes between you and me

Then heavy metal heaven, that's where we'll meet

Nerf Herder - Pantera Fans In Love

I know metal is dead

But I want to bang my head

And throw my fists up into the air

I know Ozzy Osbourne's old but I don't care

Diesel Boy - Cock Rock

But they're not all rock songs.

I'm a cross between Manson, Esham and Ozzy

I don't know why the fuck I'm here in the first place

Eminem - Still Don't Give A Fuck

Quite a lot of rappers mention Ozzy in favourable terms... perhaps for obvious reasons. But you might not expect him to pop up in a country tune...

Ever since I met you, girl, you been on my brain

I can't think of nothin' else but you all night and day

It's like I got a first-class seat up on Ozzy's train

And it's drivin' me insane

Dierks Bentley - 5-1-5-0

Maybe it's more to be expected in the place where country meets rock...

So I never saw Lynyrd Skynyrd but I sure saw Ozzy Osbourne

With Randy Rhoads in '82 Right before that plane crash

The Drive-By Truckers - Let There Be Rock

Punk rockers obviously tipped their hats to Ozzy...

Tipper, what's that sticker sticking on my CD?

Is that some kind of warning to protect me?

Freedom of choice needs a stronger, stronger voice

You can stamp out the source, but you can't stop creative thought

Ah, Tipper, come on

Ain't you been getting it on?

Ask Ozzy, Zappa or me

We'll show you what it's like to be free

The Ramones - Censorshit

"We came home and found our son

Lying dead on his bed of a gunshot wound

He had his headphones on

And there was an Ozzy record on the turntable

So, we called our lawyer"

The Dead Kennedys - Triumph Of The Swill

And while I'm pretty sure this reggae hit from the 70s wasn't about The Prince of Darkness... it would be nice to imagine he might have been an influence.

Rasta Ozzy from up de hill

Decide fi check 'pon 'im grocery bill

An' when him add up de t'ings him need

De dunny done wha' him save fi buy likkle weed

Pluto Shervington - Dat

Even ultra-cool Canadians love Ozzy...

Pop pop, fizz fizz

Ohhhhh what a sweet leaf it is

Like Ozzy Osbourne I was born to perform

Aww, zeah?

Chilly Gonzales - So-Called Party Over There

Now before we get to today's winner... here's Beck's tribute...

Beck - Ozzy

When it came to choosing my favourite Ozzy tribute song though, there was no contest. Especially as the lead singer of this band once left a comment on my blog. Here's B4S with a song about the passing of time, and all its sickening crimes...

She hates time, make it stop

When did Mötley Crüe become classic rock? 

And when did Ozzy become an actor?

Please make this stop, stop, stop...

Celebrity Jukebox #140: Michael Madsen

Do you ever listen to K-Billy's Super Sounds of the 70s?

Whenever I think of the actor Michael Madsen, who died yesterday aged just 67, one song immediately springs to mind...

Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty were a duo known as Stealer's Wheel when they recorded this Dylanesque, pop, bubble-gum favourite from April of 1974 that reached up to number five, as K-Billy's Super Sounds of the '70s continues...

Don't go anywhere - I'll be right back...

Celebrity Jukebox #139: Brian Wilson (Part 2)

When I started the Celebrity Jukebox feature (and back then, it wasn't just for recently deceased stars), the idea was to measure a celebrity's fame or notoriety through the number of times they've popped up in pop lyrics. 

With Brian Wilson, the cultural impact is beyond compare. Yes, you can hold up Elvis, or John Lennon maybe, Marilyn or James Dean, as icons who have had more songs written about them than Brian. But they were marquee names. Brian Wilson's marquee name was The Beach Boys. I haven't even looked to see how many songs there are that mention his band... but I'm betting there won't be as many as mention the man himself. What a legacy...  

Barenaked Ladies - Brian Wilson

Tears For Fears - Brian Wilson Said

JR Thomas & The Volcanos - Brian Wilson

Blaknoisewhitesoul - Pop Genius (Song For Brian Wilson)

The Hansen Brothers - Brian Wilson

Edward Ball - Blues For Brian Wilson

Prabir & The Substitutes - Brian Wilson

Andrew Johnson - Brian Wilson Day

Steven Milne - Brian Wilson

The Yodees - Brian Wilson

Queer Jane - Brian Wilson Auf Der Autobahn

Eva Braun - Brian Wilson

Seafieldroad - Brian Wilson Karaoke

Lost Dogs - Jesus Loves You, Brian Wilson

Bomb The Music Industry - Brian Wilson Says Smile AKA My Beard Of Defiance

Break Up Shoes - Brian Wilson Is My Dad

Shaky Town Harlots - WWBWD? (What Would Brian Wilson Do?) 

There were plenty more where they came from - as always, I listened to them so that you don't have to. And let's not forget the bands who took his name... although not in the best of taste sometimes. Still, fame is fame.

Brian Wilson Motherfucker

Brian Wilson Shock Treatment

The Brian Wilson Massacre

Best video today comes from Canadian musician Rich Aucoin. The title might seem inappropriate right now, until you realise the acronym stands for All Living Instantly Vanquish Everything. Which I can interpret as "Brian beats everyone" (even if he's dead)... though I'm happy to concede that might not have been Rich's interpretation. The video's a wonderful tribute to the life of the legend though.

These were just the songs that mention Brian in the title. There's a whole other post about lyrical name-drops... I bet you can hardly wait.

Celebrity Jukebox #139: Brian Wilson (Part 1)

The Beach Boys - Surf's Up

I was born too late for the 60s, but as I grew up and started to discover pop music (often through my sister's record collection), there were two bands that stood out for me. Two bands which came to define 60s music for me. Music that is timeless. Music that represents the very best pop could be.

The Beach Boys - California Saga (California)

Those two bands were not the two obvious ones.

They were the Supremes... and The Beach Boys.

The Beach Boys - In My Room

For me then, the passing of Brian Wilson last week is very hard to process. Words don't seem adequate to express how I feel about the Beach Boys, and without Brian, the Beach Boys wouldn't have existed.

The Beach Boys - Summer's Gone

Brian Wilson envisioned a USA that anyone would want to live in. A land of sun and surf and love and promise. Bruce Springsteen recognised that, and carried on the work in many of his own songs. When I was a kid, I dreamed of living in their America. Of course, it's a myth... today more than ever. But I don't think the UK is any better. It's just the way the world is turning. And at least America had that myth to strive towards... the Britain I grew up in didn't even have that. Instead, we had a bitter hankering for the days of the Empire... or a justifiable guilt for the same. Today, I'd still choose to live in Brian Wilson's America if it were an option... I hope his heaven is just like that.  

The Beach Boys - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times

 

The Beach Boys - Long Promised Road

Back in 2012, I compiled My Top Ten Beach Boys Songs. I'd stand behind most of that list today. The Number One is indisputable. 13 years ago, I questioned whether it was "the greatest love song ever written". There is, of course, another contender to that title, that being my favourite song of all time. Objectively speaking, God Only Knows is probably even better than Wichita Lineman... but there's more to our favourites than objectivity. Still, God Only Knows is in my all time Top Ten... and this whole paragraph is the kind of nonsense a certain type of muso (myself included) spends far too much bandwidth worrying about.

If you should ever leave me

Well, life would still go on, believe me

The world could show nothing to me

So what good would living do me?

Rest in peace, Brian. You had a tough life, but a wonderful one. And your legacy is eternal...

 

Celebrity Jukebox #138: Sly Stone

When Ben messaged me about the death of Sly Stone earlier this week, I misread his text as Sly Stallone. I need to wear my glasses when looking at my phone.

Others will no doubt write far better eulogies for Sly of the Family Stone than I can. (Swiss Adam and Khayem already have.) I have to confess to not knowing much about him beyond the headlines, but I did enjoy his music. Plus, without Sly Stone, I don't reckon we'd have had Prince... at least not in the way we remember Prince. And that would have been a tragedy.

And so did these guys, I guess...

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Rolling Sly Stone

Danced to the music

And I sang a simple song

I was thankful and thoughtful

Sly Stone came along

'Cause he took me higher

And he made me see

Betty Davis - F.U.N.K.

It's good to look in your eyes

Knowing your eyes aren't the bottom of the soul

Because they high kick me like

Sly Stone on the cover of Fresh

of Montreal - Get God’s Attention By Being An Atheist

Do you remember Sly Stone?

(What city did he come from Roger?)

Zapp - It Doesn't Really Matter

In my script there's a love scene, picture it

Candles with warm apple cider

Sly stone on the radio

Oh, caress your funky dreads in the candle's glow

Whisper in my ear

'Cause I'm in the mood for love

Meshell Ndegeocello - Picture Show

I could be Sly Stone of the family crew

I could be big bad Daddy Warbucks

And love you too

Daniel Bedingfield - James Dean (I Wanna Know)

See my hip bone connected to my thigh bone

Club Funkateers and it's a family like Sly Stone

Bootsy Collins feat. Fantaazma - Hip Hop Lollipop

Dancin' in my kitchen with Sly Stone's permission

Lit my ignition, cursing fascist apparitions

Street Sweeper Social Club - Good Morning, Mrs. Smith

Musicians populate my dreams

My band members old and new

Certain Rolling Stones I

An MacDonald from King Crimson

David Bowie showing me round Dryden Chambers

Thighpaulsandra, Sly Stone

Amy Winehouse still alive

Vivian Stanshall punning in a cafe

The Waterboys - In My Dreams

Alright, I want you to get onboard this train

We're gonna make one stop, that’s all, just one

We're goin' to the place where James Brown, Gladys Knight & The Pips

Isaac Hayes, Al Green, Grand Funk, Sly Stone, The Bar-Kays, The Ohio Players

And everybody we know is funkin’ down there

The Wrecking Crew - Bump And Boogie (Pt. 1)

And there were many more. But I'm sure they'd all admit, they're not a patch on the original...

As I was finishing this post off last night, the news came through about Brian Wilson.

Damn.

That's going to be a hard one to process...

Celebrity Jukebox #137: Norm!

Cheers was the greatest sitcom ever written.

There, I've said it.

I was going to qualify that statement with an "In my opinion..." or an "arguably", but it's my blog, so why can't I state opinions as fact? Everybody else is doing it!

The heart of Cheers was Norm Peterson. In a bar where "everybody knows your name", he was the exemplar. Everyone knew Norm... 

And Norm had an answer for every question...

As one of only three characters to appear in all 275 episodes of Cheers, actor George Wendt is a legend. Appropriately, he and his character get name-dropped in a few songs, mostly by rappers, but there was only one tune I wanted to play in tribute today. Here's the original recording, by Gary Portnoy...

Rest in peace, Norm... and George. I hope there's a good bar to prop up in TV heaven.

Celebrity Jukebox #136: Jill Sobule

American singer-songwriter Jill Sobule wasn't particularly well known over this side of the pond, even among music fans... unless you remember her as one of Lloyd Cole's band The Negatives back in 2001...

Lloyd Cole & The Negatives - Negative Attitude

I guess Jill was a little more well known in the States, where she had a couple of minor hits from her self-titled 1995 album, including one that BBC News claim was "widely considered the first song with openly-gay themes to crack the Billboard Top 20"... although iffypedia says it got to #67, so take your pick who you believe...

That's not the Katy Perry song, by the way... Katy just re-used the title. Jill got there 13 years earlier.

Anyway, I considered myself a fan of Jill's back in the day, though I had rather lost touch with her work in more recent years. I was still shocked to hear of her death last week in a house fire, aged just 66. Lloyd led the tributes: "I'm really too numb to post much of anything. We loved her. She loved us."

The song above was used in the soundtrack of the movie Clueless. That and I Kissed A Girl were the songs most tributes led with. But this was the first Jill Sobule track I thought of when I heard the news...