The Boy Who Cried Freebird: Rock & Roll Fables and Sonic Storytelling
336
The Boy Who Cried Freebird: Rock & Roll Fables and Sonic Storytelling
336Paperback(Reprint)
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Overview
Focusing on iconic recordings, events, communities, and individuals, Myers riffs on Deadheads, sixties nostalgia, rock concert decorum, glockenspiels, and all manner of pop phenomena. From tales of rock-and-roll time travel to science fiction revealing Black Sabbath's power to melt space aliens, The Boy Who Cried Freebird is about music, culture, legend, and lore—all to be lovingly passed on to future generations.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780061139024 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 04/01/2008 |
| Edition description: | Reprint |
| Pages: | 336 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.76(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
The Boy Who Cried Freebird Rock & Roll Fables and Sonic Storytelling
By Mitch Myers HarperEntertainment Copyright © 2007 Mitch Myers
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-06-113901-7
Chapter One River Deep
A few years ago, I was in Los Angeles and found myself at a quiet bar in the middle of the afternoon. There were just two guys shooting pool and an older fellow drinking by himself.
The older fellow had long sideburns and wore a fringed leather jacket. He told me that he was a studio musician who'd played on a lot of recording sessions during the 1960s.
"Wow," I said. "That sounds exciting. What instrument do you play?"
"Glockenspiel," he answered.
"Glockenspiel?" I barely contained my sarcasm. "Man, you must have sat in on some pretty heavy sessions."
The musician became stern, "Listen kid, you think you're smart? Let me tell you something, I worked on one of the greatest recording sessions of all time. Have you ever heard the song 'River Deep, Mountain High,' produced by Phil Spector?"
"Sure," I said. "Ike and Tina Turner recorded that one in 1966."
The old guy laughed, "You're half right, son. Now let me tell you the real story."
With that, he strolled over to the old-fashioned jukebox in the corner, dropped in some quarters, pushed a few buttons, and returned to his seat. He said that his friends called him Harvey the K.
Then Harvey leaned back on his barstool and explained a few things, "Phil Spector was a young hotshot when he first saw Ike and Tina Turner perform in L.A. at the TAMI Show in 1964," he said. "But two years later, at the age of twenty-six, Phil was a hugely successful record producer. He had a string of hit singles with all these different girl groups-like the Crystals singing 'He's a Rebel' and 'Be My Baby' by the Ronettes.
"It hardly mattered who was singing when Phil was in charge. He picked the groups, gave them their songs, and directed their every move in the studio. Before Spector, record producers rarely got any press, but Tom Wolfe wrote this big article about Phil in 1965 calling him 'The First Tycoon of Teen.'
"Anyway," Harvey said-talking faster as his tale progressed, "Phil had started his own record label, but the hits weren't coming like they used to. His last big record had been with the Righteous Brothers and even though he produced their number one hit, 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling' a year earlier, the Righteous Brothers stopped working with Phil.
"Yeah, Spector was slipping, but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. So, he contacts this little label called Loma Records and offers to buy Ike and Tina's recording contract for $20,000! And get this-the entire offer is just so he can produce one song with Tina Turner. But there's a catch, part of the deal is that Ike isn't allowed anywhere near the recording session-Phil just wants Tina!
"They finally make the deal, and Tina starts rehearsing at Phil's L.A. mansion, just the two of them with no Ike in sight. They were working on this disjointed love song about a little girl and her rag doll that Phil had written with a couple of his cronies from Manhattan-Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. Phil had even convinced Ellie and Jeff to come out to L.A. hoping to recapture the magic of their days together at the Brill Building, when they'd collaborated on hits like 'Da Doo Ron Ron' and 'Baby, I Love You.'
"In a way, Phil took a big risk working with Tina. She and Ike weren't stars at that point-just another hard-core rhythm-and-blues revue doing endless one-nighters. Ike fronted a nine-piece road band and had Tina singing along with three Ikettes. Ike called all the shots back then and if you think about it, Tina's work with Phil was her first step away from Ike's domination.
"Finally, Phil got everyone together for 'River Deep' and you had to see it to believe it-it was a huge scene with more than twenty musicians crammed into Studio A at Gold Star Sound in Hollywood. We're talking about the top session guys at the time, guitarists like Glen Campell and Barney Kessel, Leon Russell on piano, even Sonny Bono was there working for Phil.
"And there were just as many people hanging out, too. I remember Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys was watching us the whole time and Mick Jagger kept walking in and out of the control booth. Would you believe Dennis Hopper was there, taking photos? It was a rock 'n' roll party, and Phil worked us harder than usual just to impress everyone.
"With so many musicians in the studio, Phil took his 'wall of sound' to a whole new level. It was positively orchestral with four guitarists, four bassists, and three keyboards, all going over this killer arrangement written by Jack Nitzsche. Nitzsche was always in the studio with Phil, and so was engineer Larry Levine. Jack, Larry, and Phil fussed endlessly with the sound that day-adjusting each microphone and cranking up the echo and reverb beyond anything that I had ever heard before.
"Phil used two drummers for the first time, as well as two percussionists. We were falling all over each other, but the sound was huge; there were saxophones, trumpets, and trombones. Phil threw them all together until the instruments reverberated into one giant roar. Later, he would add an entire string section and a battalion of backup singers.
"Of course, the whole thing was done in mono-and nobody made mono recordings like Phil Spector.
"Tina tried doing her vocals that day, but she just wasn't ready for the total Spector experience. So, Phil rehearsed Tina for another week before finally recording her vocal track. That day, there was hardly anyone in the studio-just Phil, Larry, and me. The lights were low and Tina was wearing headphones with Phil's tremendous sound booming in her ears.
"Spector was relentless, and he kept making Tina sing the song over and over until the sweat came right through her blouse. Finally, she said, 'Okay Phil, one more time.' Then she pulled off her shirt, stood there in her bra, and nailed it. She matched Phil's majestic production punch for punch. It was fantastic.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Boy Who Cried Freebird by Mitch Myers Copyright © 2007 by Mitch Myers . Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction XI
Prelude: A Rock & roll Fable 1
River Deep Phil Spector Tina Turner 5
Hellhound on My Trail Robert Johnson 10
Nuggets$dSixties Psychedelia 15
The Sound and the Fury$dLou Reed'S Metal Machine Music 18
Endless Boogie 29
When Harry Met Allen Allen Ginsberg Harry Smith 33
The Power of Tower$dSonic Youth 41
Who Will Save the World?$dBlack Sabbath 44
Something Freaky this Way Comes$dOutsider Musicians 53
The Monk and the Messenger$dArt Blakey and Thelonious Monk 56
Captain's Orders Captain Beefheart 65
It's How You Play the Game Johnny Thunders 67
Back to the Fillmore$dThe Grateful Dead 71
The Steel-String Trilogy John Fahey Leo Kottke 92
A Man Out of Time
The Strength of Strings
Bundy K. Blue's Dance with Death
Roundabout 103
War All the Time Richard Meltzer 105
Erector Set$dMekons 117
Classics Vs. Anthems 120
Oh Happy Day$dThe Edwin Hawkins Singers 123
A Lone Star State of Mind Doug Sahm 126
Taking Tiger Mountain$dEno 141
The Sweltering Guy 145
The Ballad of John Henry and the Wheels of Steel 147
Need for Speed$dCar Tunes 158
Respect Due Aretha Franklin 161
Closer to Home$dGrand Funk Railroad 168
Diminuendo and Crescendo Duke Ellington 171
World's Biggest Gong Fan George Jefferson 174
What Can You Do That's Fantastic? Frank Zappa 177
A Chance Encounter 194
High Noon Alejandro Escovedo 197
This American Life Terry Riley 199
House of the Rising Son Steve Albini 210
Requiem for A Cowbell 213
Tie-Die!: (A Demonic Tale of Psychedelic Possession) 216
Almost$dFamous 232
A True Story Jeff Beck 235
Spirits, Ghosts, Witches, and Devils Albert Ayler 237
OHM On the Brain: (An Electronic History Lesson) 258
Rock 'n' Roll Heaven: (On Earth) 260
The Mix-Tape Murder Mystery 263
Waiting On A Train 288
Afterword: How to Succeed in the Music Business Without Really Trying 291
Acknowledgments 297
Credits 301
Index 311
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He is one of my favorite living storytellers.