It's historical (that is, in the past)

 It's January the 17th and we are celebrating because, like most days, some things happened in the past that we should remember, if only for the laughs or the brief moments of pleasure we take in recalling these signal events. For instance:

1934: On the streets of downtown St. Paul, in broad daylight, banker Edward Bremer was kidnapped. He was stuffed in the back seat of a car, flanked by two burly hooligans. The kidnapping was successful in that the family of Mr. Bremer paid $200,000.00 to secure his freedom. A couple weeks later, Bremer was found wandering the streets of Rochester, Minnesota, a bit out of sorts but unharmed. He was able to provide enough information to the police that they fingered the Barker-Karpis Gang; an unholy alliance between Ma Barker, her sons, and one Alvin "Creepy" Karpis. In less than two years, police had captured or killed all of the alleged kidnappers. Bremer Banks prospered.

Fast forward 10 years. It's 1944. WWII is raging. In Paris, which would be liberated by the Allies that summer, Fancoise Hardy was born, She became one of the great French chanteuses. I am for some unknown reason fascinated by these breathy, slightly mysterious singers. 

 

As a decided contrast to Ms. Hardy, we come to Steve Earle, born on this day in 1955. San Antonio, Texas, has produced many fine musicians and songwriters, Steve Earle is rugged and smooth at the same time. Like this:

Which brings us finally to 1980. Gareth McLearnan was born in Belfast. He's a flautist (pronounced "flootaste" in Ireland) and composer and conductor. Enjoy!

'Tis the reason...

 There's a tiny town in Indiana named South Whitley, which is odd because north of South Whitley there is no town named Whitley. South Whitley is due east of Fort Wayne and just north of Bippus. Another tiny town named Etna is nearby.

The only reason to mention South Whitley is that Janie Fricke was born there on this day in 1947. Ms. Fricke moved to Nashville and made some records.

She shares a birthday with the noted chanteuse Edith Piaf, born in Paris, France in 1915. Piaf was known as the Little Sparrow. She set the standard for a generation or two of French balladeers.

I think the title of this tune is "No, I'm not sorry."

Which brings us to a more contemporary event that happened on this day in 1998. Just before adjourning for Christmas break, the US House of Representatives passed two articles of impeachment against president Bill (Bubba) Clinton. They said he lied to congress and obstructed justice. The Senate later declined (somewhat shamelessly, in my view), to convict.

Here's another tune that fits the theme of today's blog post. Please enjoy...

Musical Birthdays Galore

 Today (December 12) is the birthday of many well-known musicians and a few not quite so well-known. If you can spare about twenty minutes out of your busy day (and I suspect you can), please help me celebrate the birth of these folks.

We begin with two members of the Rat Pack -- Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank "Ol' Blue Eyes" Sinatra. Sammy was born in Wilmington, NC in 1900. Little-known fact: he started his musical career as a drummer! Francis was born in 1915 in Hoboken, NJ. 

Sammy and Frank were buddies and it is rumored that Frank intervened on Sammy's behalf with certain [ahem] influential folks in Vegas to open some doors there for Sammy. 

Rumor has it that a guy named Musk plays "Fly me to the Moon" at every staff meeting.

Another New Jersey product born on this day (Newark, 1937) is Concetta Franconero, better known as Connie Francis. I'm reluctant to post a Connie Francis video because I really did not like her singing very much. But you might, so...

And we have to include Dickie Betts on our birthday list (Bradenton, FL 1948). Dickie is best know as a key member of the Allman Brothers band. Imagine playing guitar well enough to join Greg and Duane Allman! 

It's 1957, Oakland, CA. Shiela Escovedo is born. She became a drummer and singer and songwriter and a good pal of Prince Rogers Nelson (aka Prince), who wrote this song. She helped bring funk to the masses and for that we should all be grateful

And finally, there's Eric Schenkman, born on this day in 1963 somewhere in Massachusetts. He co-founded the Spin Doctors, who wrote and recorded one of my favorite little ditties. Enjoy!

Waits and Brautigan: Wrong for all the Right Reasons

 It's the birthday (1949) of Tom Waits. He was born in California, went to high school in Chula Vista, and describes himself as a "rebel against the rebels." This has been interpreted as a rebuke to the hippie culture in SoCal during his teens and a nod to the earlier beat generation -- the Kerouacs and Ferlinghettis and Brautigans. Waits is said to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and other early folk-rock figures.

Mr. Waits is a brilliant songwriter and dedicated individualist. I really like his stuff, especially the holiday classic "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis."

 Brautigan and Waits shared an affinity for the mundane and the absurd, as in this little gem from Brautigan:

Private Eye Lettuce

Three crates of Private Eye Lettuce,

the name and drawing of a detective

with magnifying glass on the sides

of the crates of lettuce,

form a great cross in man’s imagination

and his desire to name   

the objects of this world.

I think I’ll call this place Golgotha

and have some salad for dinner.

--------

The Double-Bed Dream Gallows

Driving through   

hot brushy country

in the late autumn,   

I saw a hawk

crucified on a

barbed-wire fence.

I guess as a kind   

of advertisement   

to other hawks,   

saying from the pages

of a leading women’s   

   magazine,

“She’s beautiful,

but burn all the maps   

to your body.

I’m not here

of my own choosing.”

--------------

Thanks for stopping by and please enjoy some music and poetry of your own choosing.

Thanks a Bunch

On this day in 1921, John Bunch was born in Tipton, Indiana. Tipton is the county seat of Tipton County. It is roughly half way between Indianapolis and Kokomo. I don't think I've ever been to Tipton, but drove past it dozens of times. One of my old bosses worked at the mental health center in Kokomo. John Bunch was a pianist and formed the cleverly-named John Bunch Trio. They were on TV a few times and sold some records.

Here's Mr. Bunch and his pals.

This is a good excuse to dust off another classic about Kokomo

I have invited folks to comment on this blog and some of y'all have been generous enough to do so. But I am in a bit of a wrestling match with Blogger about comments. I want to respond to comments with clever or snarky or supportive ripostes, but I can't seem to comment on my own blog, much less respond to comments left by others. This is strange and frustrating (at least to me). Blogger's help feature has been no help at all. So...do not misinterpret my lack of response to your comments: I do read and enjoy them!

Thanks, a bunch, Blogger.

Movies, Poetry, Family, War

On this day in 1931 Shintaro Katsu was born in Fukagawa, a suburb of Tokyo known for its geishas. He grew up to become an actor, singer, producer, and director. He directed the seminal martial arts movie "Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman."

I've never been to Japan, but the titular focus of this old blog, Richard Brautigan, spent a year there (1975/76), which culminated in his poetry collection "June 30th, June 30th." Here is a short poem from the book, in which Brautigan remembers the feeling of never fitting in, never being entirely comfortable -- except perhaps at the game arcade!

Pachinko Samurai

I feel wonderful, exhilarated, child-like, 

perfect. 

I just won a can of crab meat*

and a locomotive** 

What more could anyone ask on May 18,

1976 in Tokyo?

I played a game of pachinko

/ vertical pinball /

My blade was sharp. 

*real 

**toy

The only person in my immediate family to have been in Japan (so far as I know) is my father. He flew several missions from Okinawa to the main islands of Japan in the late stages of WWII, including some transfers of Japanese POWs just after Japan surrendered. In our back hall closet hangs a silk embroidered smoking jacket he got in Japan. One of my sisters has the Samurai sword he brought back.

Fukagawa was also where the esteemed Haiku master Basho lived for a time. Here's a Basho poem, translated, curiously enough, by Robert Hass.

Taking a nap, 

feet planted 

against a cool wall.

Hoagy

On this day in 1899, one Howard Hoaglund Carmichael was born in Bloomington, Indiana. Carmichael, known to everyone as Hoagy, was a great songwriter, credited with many contributions to what some still call the Great American Songbook.

I lived a couple blocks off campus in Bloomington, and there was a little diner nearby called The Gables. I ate lunch there often because they offered students a punch card deal -- twelve meals for the price of ten, or something like that. Their beef commercial was cheap and filling.

In the back at The Gables stood an old upright piano with a small plaque commemorating the fact that Carmichael wrote many of his hits there, when the building was a bar. Here's Diana Krall crooning a Carmicheal tune. Enjoy!