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the site may be inaccessible sometime between Wednesday and
Friday. This column was posted a bit early because of this**
New York Mets Quiz (1962-2003): 1) Who was the second
manager following Casey Stengel? 2) Who are the only three to
have their uniform retired? 3) Most hits, career? 4) Top 3 wins,
career? 5) Only two to have 120 RBI in a single season? 6)
Name the 3 who led the N.L. in home runs? 7) Name the 4 who
won at least 10 games in the Mets 1973 pennant-winning season.
Answers below.
Marshall Tucker
So I got a copy of this new magazine ‘Tracks’ and there is an ad
for the first Marshall Tucker album in years, ‘Beyond the
Horizon.’ Well, I immediately ran to the local record store
(actually, I walked…it being around the corner from the office),
picked it up and the review follows below.
But first, might as well reprise a piece I did on the band years
ago. And now………….the Marshall Tucker Story!
One of the cool things about going to school in the South during
the 70s was catching all the great Southern Rock of that era.
Yup, we”d sit on the wall overlooking the quad at Wake Forest,
watch the world go by [“Hey editor, aren”t you supposed to be in
class?” “Doh!”], and listen to Marshall Tucker, Charlie
Daniels, the Allman Brothers, and all the rest. Actually, what
is Southern Rock? Charlie Daniels, himself, defines it thusly:
“It was The Allman Brothers Band, which is kind of a blues
band. Lynyrd Skynyrd, which is a pure rock band. Marshall
Tucker Band, which was kind of a country sort of a band. And
us, which were lost out in the ozone somewhere. I think
basically where the cohesiveness came was that most of the
people that were involved in it all came from the same type
background. About the same type financial background, the
same type of educational background and social background.
We had a close camaraderie with each other.”
My personal favorite is Marshall Tucker. But in preparing for
this piece, I was shocked to learn that the group only has two
Billboard Top 40s, “Fire On The Mountain” (#38) and “Heard It
In A Love Song” (#14). And it”s not like they did any better on
the Country charts. But let”s face it this was a FM-radio group if
ever there was one.
Of course there isn”t really a “Marshall Tucker,” rather the
group was comprised of 6 boys from Spartanburg, SC, led by
Toy and Tommy Caldwell. The Caldwells and the other 4 who
would form the group (including main singer Doug Gray) were
just your basic good old boys. All 6 went into the army, with no
thought of avoiding Vietnam, and both Toy and Doug served in
Southeast Asia. By the time everyone”s service hitch was over it
was 1970 and they got down to the business of making music.
The band picked up the name Marshall Tucker from the piano
tuner at the rehearsal hall and by 1972 they were already making
a name for themselves as the opening act for the super-hot
Allman Brothers.
But it was hard to describe just what kind of music Marshall
Tucker was playing. While the Allman Brothers stressed a blues
element, each member of Marshall Tucker had a different way of
describing their own style. Toy Caldwell, the lead guitarist,
main songwriter, and guiding force, called it “progressive
country,” while Tommy and others called it “country-jazz,”
“bluesy rock ”n” roll,” or described themselves as “an American
rock ”n” roll band which plays traditional American music.”
While Marshall Tucker”s fan base was in the South, word of their
music spread nationwide and they had big followings in the
Northeast and West as well. During these early days the group
would play 250-300 concerts a year. It wasn”t the money that
drove them, they just wanted to please their fans and the early
LPs did sell well. Toy Caldwell also began to develop a
reputation as a terrific songwriter and Waylon Jennings had a
top-5 hit with Toy”s “Can”t You See.”
By 1977 the LP “Searchin” for a Rainbow” went platinum and
then they produced perhaps their most consistent work, “Carolina
Dreams,” which contained “Heard It In A Love Song” as well as
the editor”s favorite, “Desert Skies.” [My overall fave is “This Ol”
Cowboy.”] But by 1978, success was beginning to wane and
after 7 hard years of touring the group began to have its first
real personality conflicts. Nonetheless, they hung together.
Then tragedy struck.
Toy and Tommy”s brother, Tim (who wasn”t part of the group),
was killed in a car crash in 1980. Just one month later, Tommy”s
own car hit a stalled vehicle in downtown Spartanburg, Tommy”s
car flipped over the other, and he suffered severe head trauma,
dying 6 days later. Big brother Toy was crushed and he never
was the same after, though the group kept going, replacing
Tommy with an old friend of the group”s.
Toy eventually tried his hand at a solo career, but in February ”93
he became ill with a bronchial flu. The evening of February 24,
Toy woke up in the middle of the night with a bad cough. He
told his wife Abbie that he was going to sleep on the sofa so she
could get some rest, but Abbie let him stay in the bed while she
left to go into one of the girls” rooms. That morning, Abbie went
into the bedroom and called Toy”s name. No reply, he was dead.
[Viral myocarditis, a disease that attacks the heart muscle.] The
Southern Rock world was devastated.
[Sources: “Southern Rockers,” Marley Brant; “Country Music:
The Encyclopedia,” Stambler & Landon]
As for the new LP “Beyond the Horizon,” some of you are aware
of my exclusive rating system. “Buy,” “D’ayeet” (alright…but
you won’t play it more than twice), “Eh” (pass), and “Blows.”
I’m going to be generous and give the latest Marshall Tucker
offering a “D’ayeet.” Vocalist Doug Gray is the only member
left from the original crew, including post-Tommy Caldwell, and
he’s stretching way too much on some of the tunes. It does have
that old sound, however.
—
And while we’re talking music, George L. wrote in with his
personal movie score faves (ex-musicals) and came up with
Elmer Bernstein’s “The Man with the Golden Arm” (Frank
Sinatra / Kim Novak) and “The Third Man” (Orson Welles /
Joseph Cotton), score by Anton Karas’ zither.
Speaking of Bernstein, I did a brief piece on him a while back.
Turner Classic Movies was highlighting some of the films that he
had scored, 180 in total, with his theme from “The Magnificent
Seven” perhaps the best known. [Think Marlboro commercials,
if you”re blanking out. “Come to where the flavor is…”]
“Film music, properly done, should give the film a kind of
emotional rail on which to ride,” Bernstein said. But today, the
studios are more interested in selling a CD and fill soundtracks
with songs that don”t necessarily fit the mood.
Some of Bernstein”s other big scores: “The Man with the
Golden Arm” (Frank Sinatra played a junkie jazzman and
Bernstein introduced jazz as theme music), “To Kill A
Mockingbird,” “The Great Escape,” “Animal House,” “Hawaii,”
”Airplane!” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” for which he won
his sole Oscar in 13 nominations.
Bernstein was also blacklisted (“gray-listed”) in the 50s for a
while as he was accused of being Communist. He was then
relegated to scoring for B-movies, until Cecil B. DeMille hired
him for “The Ten Commandments.”
And back to “The Magnificent Seven,” if it seems a little like
Aaron Copeland it is, because Copeland was basically
Bernstein”s first teacher.
Stuff
–But wait…more thoughts on movie scores. I’m partial to the
big, bold ones myself. Like Miklos Rozsa (Ben-Hur, El Cid),
Alex North (Spartacus) and probably my real favorite, “The Big
Country” by Jerome Moross.
–Boy, you talk about an overrated story, it’s this one whipping
around on the benefits of taking prickly pear cactus hours before
drinking in order to prevent a severe hangover. When I first
heard it I thought, “Hey, time to head over to the local health
supplement store and pick me up some of this prickly pear stuff.”
But one problem…it doesn’t prevent headaches! So like what’s
the big deal?! No use to me.
–Back to music, ‘Tracks,’ the new magazine, isn’t bad if you’re
looking for reviews and upcoming LPs. The premiere issue also
had a story on the mess surrounding Jimi Hendrix’s estate.
Father Al, who was a landscaper when Jimi died in 1970, was the
main man in charge until his own death in 2002, but along the
way he did all kinds of things, such as turn down an $80 million
offer from MCA Records.
Today, there are about 12 people involved in the probate
struggle, with Father Al having written 4 wills before he died, the
last one screwing Jimi’s brother Leon, 56, out of the royalties.
Of the others also fighting over a share, many are not even blood
relatives, including drummer Buddy Miles. [The late Noel
Redding, Jimi’s bassist, was planning a lawsuit of his own for
unpaid royalties before his death last year.]
Leon is the most bitter, as he should be, because Father Al
wanted his adopted daughter, Janie, to get the lion’s share of the
estate even though Janie saw Jimi only four times since she
joined the family in 1966.
Meanwhile, less than a year ago Jimi’s body was moved to a new
vault, along with his father, at Greenwood Memorial Park
outside Seattle. Leon wasn’t told about that either and he’s
particularly irked because his mother (Jimi’s too) doesn’t even
have a tombstone.
Forbes estimates that the Hendrix estate takes in about $8 million
a year on sales of CDs and DVDs. [Evidently a 3-set DVD is
coming out soon that sounds pretty good.]
–Here’s a dirtball for you. If you see former All-Pro wide
receiver Andre Rison hanging out in your front yard, call the
police. There are warrants out for his arrest due to the fact he
owes over $184,000 in child support.
–Congratulations to pitcher Randy Johnson who became the 4th
hurler to reach 4,000 strikeouts for his career, joining Nolan
Ryan (5,714), Roger Clemens (4,200), and Steve Carlton (4,136).
–After the Yankees whipped up on the Red Sox Tuesday night,
New York Post reporter Kevin Kernan had this comment.
“The Sox are so one-dimensional they have the look of a beer-
league softball team.”
–The Yankees’ Jason Giambi was wondering why he felt so
tired recently. The medical opinion? He has parasites. So the
Star-Ledger has provided us with a guide as to how Giambi
could possibly contract this.
“In humans, the parasites are often spread by poor hygiene
related to feces, contact with animals, or poorly cooked food
containing parasites…
“Parasites can get into the intestines through the mouth from
uncooked or unwashed food, contaminated water, or your hands.
When the organisms are swallowed, they move into the intestine,
where they can reproduce and cause disease.”
In other words, Giambi is leading a pretty disgusting life and
never, EVER, shake hands with him. Or else always carry wipes
if you are forced to do so. Clearly, Giambi doesn’t know what a
wipe is.
–Lance Armstrong begins his quest for a record 6th Tour de
France this Saturday. If you’re scratching your head as to who
has won five, it’s Jacques Anquetil (France), Eddy Merckx
(Belgium), Bernard Hinault (France), and Miguel Indurain
(Spain).
–OK guys, should you be heading to the Republican Convention
in New York this August 30 –Sept. 2, you’ll be happy to know
that the girls are getting geared up. According to the New York
Daily News, agencies are flying women in from London, Seattle,
you name it, they’re coming. “It’s going to be big,” said one
midtown escort operator. Be prepared to shell out $300-$1,000
an hour, though. Or you can go to upscale strip clubs like Scores
and ring up credit card bills in excess of $5,000. Scores, by the
way, promises to have the “best-looking girls in the industry”
that week.
–Count me as a new member of the Maria Sharapova fan club.
This Russian tennis sensation, unlike Anna Kournikova, actually
has some talent to go along with……………oh, you know. I’m
in enough trouble as it is.
–In honor of Canada Day, July 1, we note the following famous
Canadians.
Gilles Villeneuve (race driver), Neil Young, Oscar Peterson, Paul
Shaffer, Jim Carrey, J.K. Galbraith…………..and the #1
Canadian is…………………………………..Pamela Anderson!
–Title IX update: Bill Pennington had an interesting piece in the
New York Times concerning the federal legislation that was
initially designed to protect women’s rights in college sports.
Today, however, there are five times more lawsuits being
brought at the high school and middle school level. For example,
Pennington cites:
“In Owasso, Okla., a local firefighter, Ron Randolph, sued his
school district for discrimination under Title IX and received a
settlement that led to the construction of a state-of-the-art
softball complex and spawned 13 similar suits in Oklahoma.”
“After a Title IX suit, two high schools in Westchester County
were ordered to move girls soccer from the spring to the fall, so
the girls’ teams would have the same opportunity as the boys’
teams to compete in regional and state soccer championships.”
Girls, you can thank angry dads for the moves. So when your
father tries talking to you, don’t ignore him.
–Rocker Courtney Love was supposed to show up for a court
date on charges of assault and reckless endangerment after
hitting a fan with a microphone stand at a New York show last
spring, but she arrived five hours late. Criminal Court Judge
Melissa Jackson told Courtney that her lateness was grounds for
arrest. Do us all a favor, Judge Jackson. Throw her in solitary
for life.
–The Philadelphia Phillies’ David Bell hit for the cycle on
Monday night (single, double, triple, home run). What makes
this particularly noteworthy is the fact his grandfather, Gus Bell,
also accomplished the feat in June 1951, thus making them
baseball’s first grandfather / grandson combo to do this.
[Gus Bell was a solid player with 206 HR 942 RBI and a .281
career average, most of it with Cincinnati. But I’m looking at
Bell’s ’51 season when he was playing for Pittsburgh, 16 HR
89 RBI and a league-leading 12 triples, and I see a guy on the
Pirates roster by the name of Wally Westlake. This guy had 16
homers in just 181 at bats, not too shabby, and upon further
inspection I see he hit 127 home runs in his career. So we honor
Waldon Thomas (Wally) Westlake of Gridley, CA.]
–And now some animal stories.
14-year-old Bobby Capri of Stafford Township, N.J. hooked a
52.8-pound striped bass, within 5 pounds of the world record for
his age group. Capri caught it while kayaking off Surf City, N.J.
and the striper dragged him for almost 20 minutes, “taking him
past two jetties and pulling him in circles about a dozen times.
Capri said he managed to lug the fish aboard the kayak by
putting his hand through its gill plate. He then tried to paddle
ashore, but the bow of the kayak kept tipping. Capri then pushed
his hand up through the fish’s gill plate again, jumped out of the
kayak and dragged the fish the final 10 to 15 yards ashore.”
This is another reason why I don’t like swimming in the ocean.
[AP / WNBC News]
Trader George alerted me to the BBC story out of Iran that a
woman had supposedly given birth to a frog. No, seriously.
“The Iranian daily Etemaad says the creature is believed to have
grown from larva to an adult frog inside her body.”
I’ll give you some time to digest this…………………………..
………………………………………………………………
“While it is unclear how this could have happened, the paper
carries quotes from medical experts who say there are human
characteristics to the animal.
“It has been speculated that the woman, who has not been
named, unknowingly picked up the larva while she was
swimming in a dirty pool.” [Possibly with Jason Giambi.]
Evidently, the fingers and size and shape of the tongue of
Froggie are similar to humans. And, according to the BBC, this
is not that unusual as medical history goes back to the 17th
century case of Catharina Geisslerin, “the toad-vomiting woman”
of Germany. [Plug her name into Google…to get the real story.]
Now picture sitting at dinner in a fine restaurant, a woman at the
table next to you requires the Heinlich maneuver and out comes a
toad.
Actually, there is a moral to this story, boys and girls. Never go
swimming in a dirty pool without water samples being sent to a
lab beforehand. Imagine if the larva was from a crocodile, for
instance.
But then there’s the horrifying developing story from Sanjay
Gandhi National Park, bordering teeming Bombay, India. The
30 or so leopards that inhabit the park have killed at least 14
people this year, after doing in 15 in 2003. According to the AP,
“Conservationists say some 11,000 squatters live illegally in the
park and about 1 million people live in nearby suburbs.”
Here’s one particularly gruesome account. “Before dawn
Monday, a leopard dragged an 18-year-old boy from a doorless,
tin-roofed hut wedged on a hill bordering the park. Relatives
said his cries for help roused them, but the leopard had ripped out
the boy’s throat.”
Officials in Bombay have decided to release 500 wild boar and
40 deer in an attempt to get the leopards to go after more
conventional fare.
This is what we like to see at Bar Chat, animals fighting back
against illegal settlement activity. But I have one big complaint
in the media coverage. The AP says 11,000 squatters in the park,
while BBC News puts the figure at 200,000. C’mon guys, get
your facts straight………………………………or, have 189,000
others met their demise?!
Finally, Tony P. passed along the much tamer story of the couple
in Bettendorf, Iowa that couldn’t figure out who was taking the
yellow ribbons they were attaching to their trees in support of
their son over in Iraq. For 8 months this went on, one yellow
ribbon after another disappearing, while the neighbors weren’t
impacted. Alas, after setting up a video camera, they discovered
the culprit; a squirrel, and undoubtedly a Howard Dean supporter
to boot.
Top 3 songs for the week of 7/4/64: #1 “I Get Around” (The
Beach Boys) #2 “My Boy Lollipop” (Millie Small) #3
“Memphis” (Johnny Rivers…underrated song, underrated artist)
New York Mets Quiz Answers: 1) Second manager: Wes
Westrum (1965-67…142-237). 2) Retired uniforms: Gil Hodges,
#14; Casey Stengel, #37; Tom Seaver, #41. 3) Most hits, career:
Ed Kranepool…1,418. [Ed Kranepool…the other #7.] 4) Top 3
wins, career: Tom Seaver, 198-124; Dwight Gooden, 157-85;
Jerry Koosman, 140-137. 5) Only two with 120 RBI: Mike
Piazza, 124 in 1999; Robin Ventura, 120 the same season. 6)
Three who led the N.L. in homers: Dave Kingman, 37, 1982;
Darryl Strawberry, 39, 1988; Howard Johnson, 38, 1991. 7)
Four who won 10 games in 1973, the Mets’ 82-79 pennant-
winning season. Tom Seaver, 19-10; Jerry Koosman, 14-15; Jon
Matlack, 14-16; George Stone, 12-3. [If you got this last one you
know your Mets. Stone was a solid hitter as well, batting .271
that year.]
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday. A little Hall of Fame discussion…and
more music…if you keep it where it is.
