Bubblegum music was very popular in the late sixties. Every week there were a couple high charting tunes on the countdowns. Usually they were manufactured bands like "The "Archie's" with their hit "Sugar Sugar". Occasionally an "artist" would pop up. Such is the case with Tommy Roe who had several chart toppers in the late sixties. This video for a song called "Sweet Pea" makes me uncomfortable for obvious reasons.
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Bands like this were scattered all over the US in the late sixties. These guy's were from Grand Rapids. I was sitting at the end of the bar at Lillie's, located on a side street in Hamtramck, MI, a salon/bar for the nascent punk scene in Detroit. Lillie the owner/hostess and a Polish born, leopard print clad woman with a mischievous smile and a twinkle in her eye, approached me from behind the bar. Leaning over the bar she said, in her thick Polish accent, "why don't you buy her a shot". It was more of an order than a question. Lillie was looking past me to a table located on my right. I turned on my bar stool and saw Lene Lovich sitting by herself. Dressed like an Eastern European waif MS. Lovich was enjoying a hit record with "Lucky Number". I decided to take Lillie's advise and ordered a couple shots of Goldwasser. This was in the day's before the club became a performance space so it wasn't that crowded I walked over to her table and asked if I could join her. She motioned for me to sit down. Lene was charming and I was smitten. She told me she grew up in Detroit, moving to England as a teen, and was in town visiting family. I had never met such a worldly woman and felt like a hick. Ultimately Lene married Les (her shaved headed guitarist), raised a family and continued to reside in England. Today she has a new band, The Lene Lovich Band, and is touring. Lillie , God bless her, passed away many years ago and the club is under new ownership with a new name. I miss it. Very few people in the states know of this band. A Welsh metal band before metal. They were founded in 1967, this song is from 1973. Budgie. Do you suppose "Rush" ever saw these guy's? Johnny Thunders, Wayne Kramer, The MC5 and more stories, songs and memories... Part One Part Two Part Three While in college, studying broadcasting, I would make fun of Casey Kasem. Every Sunday, while in college, I would tune in to WCEN and listen to "American Top 40" hosted by MR. Kasem. The first record Casey ever played on his "new" show in 1970 was "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)" "Le Mans" is one of my favorite films. This 1971 movie, starring Steve McQueen, has almost no dialog. What follows is all the dialog that's needed. 1997 . Van Morrison released a new album titled "The Healing Game". I was, and continue to be, a huge Morrison fan but at the time I had never seen him live. I called a friend at Van's label to score tickets for a four night stand he would be performing in support of his new album. The venue was a 1,400 seater at a small college in St. Pete Florida. My pal came through and I flew from Michigan to Florida specifically to see his second night. I have been to hundreds of live performances. by many bands, but have been given chills only twice. Both times were that night in St. Pete |
Jeff AllenVertical asked me to join his blog as a guest expert on "Nuggets" era music... Psychedelic, Garage and Fuzz. Are there others more qualified? You bet, but they weren't asked. He's also letting me write about anything I want… We'll see.
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