GEORGE McCURN

[thetijuanataxi]

Sorry Shirl, I should have known you were too classy to mean that statement as a crack against our ailing friend. As atonement for my comment, I will now listen to an hour straight of Kenny G. starting with his deplorable insult to Louis Armstrong.......

David,
clearing the air, online.......

 

[Rudy]

Sorry Shirl, I should have known you were too classy to mean that statement as a crack against our ailing friend. As atonement for my comment, I will now listen to an hour straight of Kenny G. starting with his deplorable insult to Louis Armstrong......

OUCH!! I really wish you'd cut back on the self-abuse w/o consulting us first. :bigevil: (Or in other words, we don't need two ailing friends!! )

 

[jimac51]

One factor that homoginized pop music was not via radio but television:the national broadcast of Philadelphia's "American Bandstand". This was a favorite show of mine as a child(while waiting for the Mickey Mouse Club)and with my Philadlphia roots,it has been a fascinating subject. All at once,millions of kids heard the same song by the same artist at the same time. Radio networks had no interest in kids music,in fact,some stations played rock 'n roll because they had few choices to capture the adult market- either the radio networks had the adults or local programming was already aimed at adults(e.g.-"housewife" music like Sinatra & Peggy Lee). Adults bought things that advertisers sold-kids(or so the reasoning went)didn't. No one was paying attention to teens. It took a while for business people to see some results fom the first wave of baby boomers(and the pre-boom kids born 1940-1945 who would spend their teen years at the birth of rock 'n roll from about 1955). That's why Alan Freed and others found success but the success was city by city,area by area. Even "Bandstand" was on an "also-ran" network who needed something cheap to fill late afternoons-hence the leeway that ABC gave "Bandstand"(and the fact that they were also in the record business -ABC-Paramount- that was catering more and more at kids. The complete story of "American Bandstand" has yet to be told,and probably won't till Dick Clark dies or a real journalist tackles this subject. Payola,making (and breaking) careers,the lowly network,ABC,the scandal of original host Bob Horn-lots of sordid material here and the truth appears more fascinating than the sketchy attempts in the past to tell this story. Mac

 

[thetijuanataxi]

I appreciate your concern, Neil. However, as fortune would have it, 25 seconds into "Wonderful World", I drifted off into a merciful and much appreciated sleep. Perhaps Mr G. should market his music as a cure for insomnia. It could also be used to draw confessions from sex offenders. Anyway, I'm happy to report that I got through the session unscathed. Though I had this dream that Satchmo was singing "I'll be glad when you dead, You Rascal You" to Kenny G and chasing him with a hunting rifle.

David,
NP: Louis Armstrong "Ambassador Satch"

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Too bad you woke up too soon.....


Dan

 

[cakeicer]

Sorry Shirl, I should have known you were too classy to mean that statement as a crack against our ailing friend. As atonement for my comment, I will now listen to an hour straight of Kenny G. starting with his deplorable insult to Louis Armstrong.......

David,
clearing the air, online.......

No David, I have a better idea. You come here and spend a weekend in this house with Carolyn's Mother. Oh, that's cruel, no one deserves that kind of punishment.

 

[Rudy]

I dunno...I could sentence anyone to manual labor here at Rudy's house. I just spent the past nine hours outside, and rolled in the door at 10PM. No shortage of things to do around here--even had the neighbor pull a stump w/ his 4x4 pickup for me.

 

[Uncle Dave Lewis]

Were there 2 back covers for the first Baja LP? Mine only has the 2nd through 5th Baja LPs advertised on the back cover. My original TJB Volume 2 LP also features just Lonely Bull on the back cover. As I said earlier, McCurn's LP was not promoted on any LP jacket or inner sleeve even in the early days. Was it cut before A&M started featuring album jackets on their inner sleeves?

BTW, I've always loved Don Williams' version of "I'm Just A Country Boy". Never realized that song was first recorded by McCurn on A&M. Did George McCurn fade from show business after his association with A&M and is he still alive?

David,
teeming with questions, on line....

David,

This comes from a first time poster, Uncle Dave Lewis - no, not that Dave Lewis, but his album of Herb Alpert covers hangs proudly over my desk...

I have no idea if McCurn "faded" from show business. But I have sad news in respect to the other question; McCurn died in Los Angeles at age 65 in April 1985.

 

[thetijuanataxi]

Thanks for the info, Uncle Dave, though it is indeed unfortunate that another early A&M artist is no longer with us.

David,
diggin' up bones, online........

 

[Rudy]

This comes from a first time poster, Uncle Dave Lewis - no, not that Dave Lewis, but his album of Herb Alpert covers hangs proudly over my desk...

Welcome aboard! (...as Rudy waves westward from Canton... )