Dr. Feelgood

William "Willie" Lee Perryman (October 19, 1911 - July 25, 1985), who was usually known professionally as Piano Red and later in life as Dr. Feelgood, was an American blues musician, the first to hit the pop music charts. He was a self-taught pianist who played in the barrelhouse blues style. His simple, hard-pounding left hand and his percussive right hand, coupled with his cheerful shout brought him considerable success over three decades.

Biography

Willie Perryman was born on a farm near Hampton, Georgia. He was an albino African American, as was his older brother Rufus, who also had a blues piano career as "Speckled Red". Rufus, 19 years older than Willie, had left home before his little brother and took up the piano. They never recorded together. However, the family had a piano originally bought to give Rufus a musical education, and as a child Willie watched Rufus play on it. In 1918 the family moved to Atlanta.

Perryman cited Fats Waller as his main influence. By the early 1930s, he was playing at house parties, juke joints, and barrelhouses in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, often working with other Georgia bluesmen, including Barbecue Bob, Curley Weaver, and Blind Willie McTell. He also began performing before white audiences in the resort town of Brevard, North Carolina, and by 1934 had begun to play at white clubs in Atlanta, developing a repertoire of pop standards. Around 1936 he began to be billed as "Piano Red", and made his first recordings with McTell in Augusta for Vocalion Records, although these were never released. He also began working as an upholsterer, a trade which he occasionally maintained through later years.

In 1950 after spending the last 14 years upholstering and playing music on weekends, Red recorded "Rockin' with Red" and "Red's Boogie" at the WGST radio studios in Atlanta for RCA Victor. Both songs became national hits, reaching # 5 and # 3 respectively on the Billboard R&B chart, and "Rockin' with Red" has since been covered many times under many titles. This success, and further hits "The Wrong Yo Yo" (allegedly written by Speckled Red), "Laying The Boogie" and "Just Right Bounce", allowed him to resume an active performing schedule. He also recorded sessions in New York and Nashville during the early 1950s.

In the mid 1950s he also worked as a disc jockey on radio stations WGST and WAOK in Atlanta, broadcasting The Piano Red Show, later The Dr. Feelgood Show, directly from a small shack in his back yard. A young James Brown made an appearance on his show in the late 1950s. His involvement had him appearing on a flatbed truck in many parades, which led to his song "Peachtree Parade". From the mid 1950s until the late 1960s, he recorded for several companies, including Columbia, for which he made several records, Checker, for whom he recorded 8 sides with Willie Dixon on bass, and Groove Records,a subsidiary of RCA Victor, producing the first hit for that label.

On Okeh Records, in 1961, he began using the name Dr. Feelgood and the Interns, releasing several hits, including the much-covered "Doctor Feel-Good". The persona was one he had initially adopted on his radio shows. The new career was short-lived, though, and Piano Red was never able to regain his former stature. In 1966, the popular folk-rock group The Lovin' Spoonful, recorded his song "Bald Headed Lena" on their second album, Daydream.

He continued to be a popular performer in Underground Atlanta, and had several European tours late in his career, including appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's inauguration, and on BBC Radio.

He was diagnosed with cancer in 1984 and died the following year. Among those who attended his funeral were the Governor of Georgia and the Mayor of Atlanta.

Legacy

Dr. Feelgood are a British pub rock band, which was formed in mid 1971. The name of the band, Dr. Feelgood, is slang for heroin, or for doctors who are prepared to over-prescribe drugs. Piano Red's song "Dr Feel-Good" was covered by several British beat groups including Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, who used it as the b-side to their 1964 single "Always and Ever", from where it was chosen by the band.

Wikipedia

"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away"

"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is a song by The Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon/McCartney, and first appeared on the album Help! in August 1965. The song also appeared on side three of the 1973 compilation 1962–1966.

Performance in the film

In the film Help!, at the opening of the song, the head of the cult, Clang (Leo McKern), appears from underneath a manhole cover in the middle of Ailsa Avenue, London, where parts of the film were shot. He stays there for the whole song, which the Beatles play in John Lennon's fourth of the Beatles' shared flat. They are watched by Ahme (Eleanor Bron), and at the end of the song, George passes out after Ahme produces a giant needle for Ringo, who is wearing the ring the cult is seeking.

Influence of Bob Dylan

At the time of the release of Help!, Lennon was infatuated with the American singer Bob Dylan. Dylan's 1964 song "I Don't Believe You [She Acts Like We Have Never Met]" opens in strikingly similar fashion: "I can't understand, she let go of my hand, and left me here facing the wall". Lennon seems to mimic Dylan's gruff vocal style, and uses a Dylanesque, all-acoustic accompaniment with very little percussion. The song "is just basically John doing Dylan", McCartney later said.

Other song information

The song, according to musician/singer Tom Robinson, is a reference to Brian Epstein, the group's manager, who was homosexual (homosexuality was a criminal offense in Britain at the time).

When Lennon made a mistake during the recording (he sang "two foot small" instead of "two foot tall"), he is reported to have said: "Let's leave that in, actually. All those pseuds will really love it."

At the time of recording, "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" was the first Beatles song since "Love Me Do" to feature an outside musician. John Scott recorded a tenor flute as The Beatles taped their parts, before overdubbing an additional alto flute part.

Other studio tracks

There is an alternative take included on Anthology II. Before the song proper begins, a montage of chatter associated with several other takes is presented. In this sequence, Lennon counts off the song, then stops to readjust his guitar pickup. After a glass shatters, Lennon says "Paul's broken a glass, broken a glass. Paul's broken a glass. A glass, a glass he's broke today."

Credits

* John Lennon — lead vocal, Twelve string guitar
* Paul McCartney — Bass guitar
* George Harrison — acoustic guitar
* Ringo Starr — tambourine, maracas
* John Scott — flutes

Cover versions

Artists who have covered this song include the following, listed alphabetically:

* The Beach Boys, on their Beach Boys' Party! album, with the lead vocal by Dennis Wilson
* Joe Cocker
* Chris Cornell
* Elvis Costello
* Government Mule
* Howie Day, with Dispatch
* Daniel Johnston, live shows
* The Kentucky Headhunters
* Oasis, as a B-side
* Perry Rose
* Tim Rose
* The Silkie, produced by The Beatles
* The Subways
* Travis
* U2 has performed a snippet of the song during various tours, usually towards the end of the song, "Bad".
* Eddie Vedder, on the movie soundtrack of I Am Sam, also popular during Pearl Jam concerts
* Pearl Jam
* Julieta Venegas

Album: Help!
Released: 6 August 1965
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 18 February 1965
Genre: Folk rock
Length: 2:11
Label: Parlophone, Capitol, EMI
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin

Wikipedia

Recorded This Day: Delta Lady (1969)

Leon Russell - featuring George Harrison on guitar and Ringo Starr on drums

September 5, 1969, Olympic Sound Studios, London
Producers: Denny Cordell and Leon Russell

Jimmy McCracklin

Jimmy McCracklin (born 13 August 1921, St. Louis Missouri) is an American pianist, vocalist, and songwriter. His style contains West Coast blues, Jump blues, and R&B. Over a career that has spanned seven decades, he says he's written almost a thousand songs and has recorded hundreds of them. McCracklin has recorded over 30 albums, and owns four gold records.

Biography

McCracklin joined the United States Navy in 1938, he later settle in Richmond, California, and began playing at the local Club Savoy owned by his sister-in-law Willie Mae "Granny" Johnson. The room-length bar served beer and wine, and Granny Johnson served home-cooked meals of greens, ribs, chicken, and other southern cuisine. A house band composed of Bay Area--based musicians alternated with and frequently backed performers such as B.B. King, Charles Brown, and L. C. Robinson. Later in 1963 he would write and record a song "Club Savoy" on his I Just Gotta Know album.

His recorded a debut single for the Globe Records "Miss Mattie Left Me" in 1945, and recorded "Street Loafin' Woman in 1946. McCracklin recorded for a number of labels in Los Angeles and Oakland, prior to touching down with Modern Records in 1949-1950. He formed a group Jimmy McCracklin and His Blues Blasters in 1946, with guitarist Lafayette Thomas who remained with group until the early 1960s.

His popularity increased after appearing on the TV pop Dick Clark's American Bandstand in support of his self written single "The Walk" (1957), a good groove that Checker Records put on the market in 1958. It went to #5 on the R&B chart and #7 on the pop charts, after more than 10 years of McCracklin selling records in the black community on a series of small labels. Jimmy McCracklin Sings, his first solo album, was released in 1962, the style is of West Coast blues. In 1962, McCracklin recorded "Just Got to Know" for his own Art-Tone label in Oakland, after the record made No. 2 on the R&B charts. For a brief period in the early 1970s Jimmy McCracklin ran the Continental Club in San Francisco, dubbed "the Coliseum of the Oakland blues". He booked major blues acts like T-Bone Walker, Irma Thomas, Big Joe Turner, Big Mama Thornton, and Etta James. In 1967, Otis Redding and Carla Thomas had success with "Tramp", a song credited to McCracklin and Lowell Fulson. Salt-n-Pepa made a hip-hop hit out of the song in 1987. Oakland Blues (1986) is an album arranged/directed by McCracklin, and produced by World Pacific.

McCracklin continued to tour and produce new albums in the 1980s and 1990s. Bob Dylan has cited McCracklin as a favorite. He has played at the legendary San Francisco Blues Festival in '73, '77, '80, 81, '84 and 2007. He was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1990, and the Living Legend and Hall of Fame award at the Bay Area Black Music Awards, in 2007.

Selected discography

Year	Title	Genre	Label
2007	1951-1954	West Coast blues	Classics
2004	1948-1951	West Coast blues	Classics
2003	1945-1948	West Coast blues	Classics
2003	Jumpin Bay Area 1948-1955	West Coast blues	P-Vine Japan
1999	Tell It to the Judge!	West Coast blues	Gunsmoke
1997	The Walk: Jimmy McCracklin at His Best	West Coast blues, Soul-Blues	Razor & Tie
1994	A Taste of the Blues	West Coast blues	Bullseye Blues
1992	The Mercury Recordings	West Coast blues, Soul-Blues	Bear Family
1991	Jimmy McCracklin: My Story	West Coast blues	Rounder
1991	My Story	West Coast blues	Rounder
1981	All His Bluesblasters	West Coast blues	Ace
1978	Rockin' Man	West Coast blues	Stax
1972	Yesterday Is Gone	West Coast blues	Stax
1971	High on the Blues	West Coast blues	Stax
1969	Stinger Man	Soul-Blues	Minit
1968	Let's Get Together	West Coast blues	Minit
1966	New Soul of Jimmy McCracklin	West Coast blues	Imperial
1966	My Answer	West Coast blues	Imperial
1965	Think	West Coast blues	Imperial
1965	Every Night, Every Day	West Coast blues	Imperial
1963	My Rockin' Soul	West Coast blues	United
1963	I Just Gotta Know	West Coast blues	Imperial
1962	Jimmy McCracklin Sings	West Coast blues	Chess

Wikipedia

Sextette

Sextette is a 1978 Crown International Pictures comedy/musical motion picture starring Mae West. Others in the cast include Timothy Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, George Hamilton, Alice Cooper and Walter Pidgeon.

Directed by Ken Hughes, produced by Daniel Briggs, Robert Sullivan and Harry Weiss for the production company Briggs and Sullivan, the script was by Herbert Baker based on the play Sextet by Mae West. Costumes were designed by Edith Head.

Filmed at Paramount Studios, Sextette was Mae West's final movie. Featured are cameos by Rona Barrett, Regis Philbin and George Raft playing themselves. West made her movie debut in Raft's Night After Night (1932).

Plot

Legendary American movie star and sex symbol Marlo Manners (Mae West) is in London, England, where she has just married for the sixth time. She and her new husband, Sir Michael Barrington (Timothy Dalton), then depart for a honeymoon suite at a posh and exclusive hotel that has been reserved for them by her manager, Dan Turner (Dom DeLuise).

The hotel is also the location of an international conference, where leaders have come together to resolve tensions and problems that threaten the survival of the world. As the chairman, Mr. Chambers (Walter Pidgeon) is trying to call the meeting to order, the delegates are crowding to the windows in an effort to catch a glimpse of Marlo when she arrives.

As they enter the lobby, Marlo, now Lady Barrington, and her nobleman husband are swarmed by admirers and reporters. When asked, "Do you get a lot of proposals from your male fans?" she quips, "Yeah, and what they propose is nobody’s business."

Once inside their suite, the couple are unable to go to bed and have sex because of constant interruptions due to the demands of her career, such as interviews, dress fittings and photo sessions, as well as the various men, including some former husbands, diplomat Alexei Andreyev Karansky (Tony Curtis), director Laslo Karolny (Ringo Starr), gangster Vance Norton (George Hamilton), and an entire athletic team from the U.S., who all want to have sex with her.

Meanwhile, Turner desperately searches for an audiotape containing his client's memoirs, in order to destroy it. Marlo has recorded extensive details about her affairs and scandals, with a lot of dirt about her husbands and lovers. Ex-husband Alexei, who is the Russian delegate at the conference, threatens to derail the intense negotiations unless he can have another sexual encounter with her. Marlo is expected to work "undercover" to ensure world peace.

Critical reaction

An adaptation of Mae West's Broadway musical of the same name is considered by some to be one of the most embarrassing sex comedies ever made, which Variety dubbed "a cruel, unnecessary and mostly unfunny musical comedy," as an overweight 84-year old (at the time of filming) West maintained her sex kitten role while uttering stale quips as "I'm the girl who works for Paramount all day, and Fox all night" (an earlier version of the scene had much raunchier dialogue), and who croaked a duet with new sixth husband Sir Michael Barrington (a 32-year old Timothy Dalton) a disco rendition of "Love Will Keep Us Together."

Regardless of the quality of the film, the almost riotous acclaim afforded her by thousands of young fans, by which she was deeply moved when she appeared in her large diamond tiara and necklace at the openings of the film in Hollywood and in San Francisco (where she was called Queen of the World), was an unmistakable confirmation of her indestructible position as an American show business icon.

Rumors

Nevertheless, Sextette became the source of several cruel urban legends. One such persistent rumor is that Mae West could not remember any of her lines and had to wear a concealed earpiece under her wig to have her lines fed to her. Dom Deluise, Timothy Dalton and other principal players have disputed that claim; however Tony Curtis has supported it, retelling the story in an episode of the program The Dame Edna Experience. He further stated that because of the frequency of her earpiece she accidentally picked up police frequencies, and at one point mistakenly stated "There's a 608!"

Dom DeLuise has stated many times that Curtis's claims "never happened." Deluise's opinion is lent credence by the fact that he filmed most of the scenes with West. Curtis states in the same interview that West was 92 while filming. (She was 84.) Curtis also has stated that Miss West wrote his part especially for him (although that was not true).

Another rumor is that West had a cane concealed under her long gown so that she could walk, and there are tales that after one scene West stayed in an elevator waiting for hours for the crew to call her out.

Cast (in order of appearance)

* Mae West - Marlo Manners/Lady Barrington
* Timothy Dalton - Sir Michael Barrington
* Dom DeLuise - Dan Turner
* Tony Curtis - Alexei Andreyev Karansky
* Ringo Starr - Laslo Karolny
* George Hamilton - Vance Norton
* Alice Cooper - Waiter
* Van McCoy - Delegate
* Keith Moon - Dress Designer
* Walter Pidgeon - Mr. Chambers
* Rona Barrett - Herself
* Regis Philbin - Himself
* George Raft - Himself
* Gil Stratton - Himself

Wikipedia