Locality Shades

 Song 686: This week the playlist applauds Statesboro Blues by the Allman Brothers Band, written by Blind Willie McTell, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When I got on a plane in Chicago in June of 1971, I had never heard of the Allman Brothers, and neither had any of my Evanston companions, but soon after I got off that plane in Atlanta, GA, I started hearing about the group, and hearing some of their recordings, since most of the neighborhood folks I hung out with that summer knew about and really liked their local RnR heroes. I enjoyed the ABB sounds crossing my ears, and less than a month after I arrived, the six put out a new double disc that gave us all some additional reasons to appreciate them. This striking ride opens the excursion around the live LP that raised the sextuplet to a whole new level of public appreciation, which those of us paying attention to the band got to hear plenty of in the stretch following its release. When I got back to Evanston shortly before fall arrived, I found out that I didn’t need to tell my buddies there about a remarkable Atlanta-area rock gang because the spinning At Fillmore East 33 had captured their ears as well. Now, over five decades later, once again, I woke up this morning and I heard them Statesboro Blues.

Backwoods Heritage

 Song 685: This week the playlist applauds Down in the Boondocks by Billy Joe Royal, written by Joe South, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. The Fab Four had rocked my world in the middle of my seventh-grade year, and initially I mostly paid attention to them and their fellow British invaders, but by the time the summer arrived the following year, I had heard a few sounds coming from the western side of the Atlantic Ocean, including one written by a guy with the name South and performed by a fellow with a Royal name that had a bit of country flavor in its tone. While my school teachers never spoke about class differences in U.S. society, I did understand the message about the side of town that I grew up in and how coming from Down in the Boondocks might give someone a reason to put me down. I enjoyed singing along with the chorus lines on this anthem when it lit up the transistor radio during the warm weather months before I started HS, and four years later I got a way to move from the old shack.

Loyalty Expressed

 Song 684: This week the playlist recognizes Faithfully by Journey, written by Jonathan Cain, and you can find a cool YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Around the time this moving road song arrived in the early spring of 1983, I had begun a close friendship and budding partnership with a very talented lead guitar player, and soon after I did, he mentioned that his grandmother wanted to sell her 1967 car for a really good price. I took advantage of that deal, and after having spent 5 years living in the East Bay without owning a vehicle, I now had a reliable set of wheels that, during the second half of my CA decade, transported me to remarkable destinations like Yosemite National Park and also assisted my participation in a few performing musical groups. Along that initial stretch when I first got to sit in the driver's seat, this Journey jaunt rose out of the radio speaker at least a few times, and lit up my traveling experiences. I don't remember if I ever took a highway run into the midnight sun, but my wheels sure did go round and round quite often as I headed right down the line, and I got through space and time so I could share a stage and do another show with my tuned-in comrades.

When Reaching a Destination

 Song 683: This week on the playlist you’ll find By The Time I Get To Phoenix by Glen Campbell, written by Jimmy Webb, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When this entertaining GC excursion started coming across the airwaves near the end of the summer of 1967, just before my HS junior year, I had been scratching my head about the new psychedelic direction that the Fab Four and some others had started heading towards, and so I had a better initial reaction to the more conventional tones that came along from certain sources. I had gotten roped in by Mr. Campbell's lifts - particularly Gentle on My Mind (Song 368), and this followup sounded like another good trip to take. I have a vague memory of hearing the tune, probably from a transistor radio, while outdoors with my mother, and it brought a smile to her face. My parents and grandparents despised the devil's music and some of the rougher sounds that came from the radio might trigger strongly-negative reactions, but sometimes a gentler feel would get a favorable response, which might surprise me but then would make it easier for me to hear the song another time. By the time I actually did get to Phoenix, I had almost reached the end of my twenties, and that made me appreciate the sunshine there and the remarkable views even more than I might have a decade earlier.