2020: Our Most Popular Blog Posts!

The clock on the wall says it's time

to reveal our most popular blog posts of 2020!

 

I'm proud to announce that over the past year,

we had over 100,000  visitors to the

Rock & Roll is a State of Mind blog!

 


Rock Geography: The Action House (Island Park, NY)

Between 1971 and 1987, My Father’s Place presented more than 6,000 shows from over 3,000 diverse artists. It was the premier venue for original local talent and an essential tour stop for established national acts. During its prolific era, the club presented an unmatched and unforgettable range of talent in rock, jazz, fusion, country, punk, soul, reggae, folk, and comedy. The club was especially known for as a place for aspiring artists such as Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Billy Joel, Charlie Daniels, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Tom Petty,


Faces in the Crowd: Vince Taylor - The Original Ziggy Stardust

Vince Taylor, while not widely known to US rock fans, was an influential part of the European rock scene in the late 50's and early 60's.  While not widely known to US rock fans, Taylor was an influential part of the European rock scene in the late 50's and early 60's. Along with his band, The Playboys, Taylor released such rock gems as Endless Sleep and Brand New Cadillac; a song which was later covered in fine fashion by The Clash.


1960's Swinging London: A Moment In Time

And for all the sweep of history and all the pop artifacts and all the indescribable meteorology of human taste, attitude and passion, Swinging London was built of individuals. People became icons because they did something first and uniquely. Everybody overlapped and partied together and slept and turned on and played at being geniuses together, but a few stood out and even symbolized the times: eminent Swinging Londoners, wearing their era like skin. It would be possible, in fact, to explain the age by telling their stories.


The Persistence of Memory: Becoming Sgt. Pepper

Over the years, most of us eventually realize that music is profoundly linked to our personal memories. It becomes a deep connection to various moments in our lives.  Today's blog post is centered around exactly that...The Beatles.


An April Fool's Daydream

This morning, as I was taking a walk around the neighborhood, my mind began to drift away into a fog of silly notions. Whistling under my breath as I walked along, I started to speculate as to what it would be like if some famous personalities from the past and the present day were food bloggers!


 

Faces in the Crowd: Jimmy Miller

Even if you don't recognize Jimmy Miller's name, chances are that you've heard his work as a producer on many classic rock tracks over the years. His studio production on such classic rock albums as Mr. Fantasy, Let It Bleed, Blind Faith and Exile on Main Street illustrates that he was one of a handful of individuals, including Phil Spector and George Martin, who defined the sound of sixties and seventies rock & roll.


1970: The Saga of the Festival Express

The main concept of the tour was that instead of the artists flying between show, they would all travel by a chartered Canadian National Railways train, in a total of 14 cars. The chartered train consisted of 14 cars, equipped with lounges and sleeping compartments, with electricity sockets so that musical instruments could be plugged in.


Celebrating The Artists Who Created Iconic Album Covers

"Long before the digital era and the design disciplines that emerged with it, there was a unique canvas, reaching a visual audience of millions; every designer dreamed of working on a vinyl record album cover. Invented in 1938 by graphic designer Alex Steinweiss while working at Columbia Records as an art director, album cover art quickly became one of the most important design disciplines in the world. Thanks to Steinweiss’s inventive concept and unique visual language, a new way of representing music was born. In the following years, cover design became a vital part of music albums, not to mention a strong cultural influence. It was one of the few mediums at the time which reached millions of people and had a truly global impact thus providing designers with a canvas through which they could express their creativity and originality to the whole world. It was also considered to be among the most effective marketing tools. Oftentimes the album cover was the main thing that persuaded people to purchase an album, rather than the music itself. ...The importance of cover design was so immense that it became a way for artists to popularize themselves and their work."


My First Rock Concert

"Say, what was the first rock concert you went to?"  Hmmm...let me think about that for a minute or two...no, wait!  I remember now!  It happened on a beautiful summer day on August 13, 1967.  I had just returned stateside after living in France for 3 years and a friend of mine who lived in D.C. came up with some tickets for this show.  The concert was one of those package tour deals which were so popular back in the Sixties (anybody out there miss those types of tours?  I do!)  The performers were The Blues Magoos, The Who and Herman's Hermits.


The Most Bizarre Rock & Roll Albums of All Time!

I've been an avid music collector since the early 1960's.  Besides the great albums I purchased, I always took note of some of the really bad records I bought over the years...you know what I'm talking about don'cha?  Record albums that are guaranteed to clear a room aka real stinkeroos!  Many of these albums were acquired at record stores that had discount bins that featured used albums that were available for the low price of (gasp!) $1.00.  If the album turned out to be a real loser, I figured "What the fuck, it's only a buck!"  Without further ado, here's my list of some of those records that I consider to be the most bizarre rock & roll albums of all time that I purchased!  Huzzah!


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