Time for Some Summer Music-- Part 1: 'Catch a Wave'

Yesterday, Bob Stroud Saluted Summer on his Rock and Roll Roots show on Chicago's WDRV, 97.1 FM, Classic Rock station, the Drive.

Always means summer to me and enjoyed listening to it.

Here are the songs he played:

DANCING IN THE STREETS--  Martha & the Vandellas

SPILL THE WINE--  Eric Burdon & War

SATURDAY IN THE PARK--  Chicago

SUNNY DAYS--  Lighthouse

HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME--  Sly & the Family Stone

CATCH A WAVE--  Beach Boys   Well, ya gotta play something by them.

HEATWAVE--  Linda Ronstadt      My all-time favorite female singer.

SUNNY AFTERNOON--  Kinks

MR.  BLUE SKY--  ELO

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "People Dancing, People Laughing, A Man Seeling Ice Cream."  Answer below.  --RoadDog

"Saturday In the Park"

 

Just Hanging 'Round-- Part 4: Music and Da Pack

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

Rain all day.  We've sure been getting the rain.  The Chain of Lakes is closed again.  If we had to pick a year to stop boating, this was a good one as the Chain and Fox River have been either no wake or closed for what seems to have been half the already-too-short season.

Bob Stroud  was lamenting the end of his favorite season, Summer, and Root Saluted it on his Rock and Roll Roots show on Chicago's WDRV, 97.1 FM.  Some of the songs he played:

LAST TIME--  Rolling Stones
SUMMER SONG--  Chad & Jeremy
TIME HAS COME TODAY-  Chamber Brothers

OUT OF TIME--  Rolling Stones
ALREADY GONE--  Eagles
I'LL FOLLOW THE SUN--  Beatles

Plus, the Top Three songs in Chicago this fate in 1969:

1.  EASY TO BE HARD--  Three Dog Night      From the rock musical "Hair."  There sure were a lot of hits from it.
2.  SUGAR, SUGAR--  Archies    Laugh, but I see you singing it right now.
3.  THIS GIRL IS A WOMAN NOW--  Gary Puckett & the Union Gap     Ever notice the theme of this guy's songs?

Drove to the McHenry American Legion for the Green Bay Packer game and enjoyed talking with the people there.  Da Bears are playing tomorrow night.   Then to Sunnyside Tavern and home to watch the very informative and music-heavy Ken Burns special on PBS  "Country Music."

--RoadDog


CROSS PURPOSES:  Which character on the TV series "The Walking Dead" favored the use of a crossbow?   Answer below:


Daryl Dixon

A Week In the Life-- Part 5: Enjoying the House, A Band and Classic Cars

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1

FP.  Then on the internet, as I do most every day.  These blogs take a lot of time and effort. Today I also got to enjoy the deck (OD) and the gazebo.  I had to cut the grass, which, this time of the year shouldn't have to happen but every two weeks, but this has not been a normal summer.  All the rain we had through early July as well as the cool temperatures is providing an excellent grass growing condition.  And, it is.

Drove to Antioch, Illinois, and parked which required a walk through that beautiful little park and across Main Street to the Lodge which was standing room only.  Looking for a seat it seemed like it was open season on me.  Wherever I stood, I was in somebody's way.  We finally got two seats at the bar and enjoyed some pre-concert beers.  Thursdays they have half price pizza and 60 cent wings (used to be 35 cents) but the price of chicken wings has gone up with their increased popularity).  We ordered a chicken and bacon pizza.

During the summer, Antioch runs It's Thursday concerts from mid-June to mid-August at their bandshell in a park behind the Lodge.  They always have great bands and it's free.  We always make an effort to see these, but this year, this was the very first one.

Tonight the band was Class of '68, as you can figure, sixties music, right up our alley.  Great show and at the same time they were having a classic car show.

Well, I Sure Was a Happy Lad.  --RoadSixties

Here Are Some Sizzling Summer Songs to Kick It Off This Weekend-- Part 1: "Sidewalk Surfin' "

Summer.  A Perfect Time To Hit the Road.  (And, of course, you need your tunes.)


Even those this has been a lousy spring/summer so far.  Shoot, our furnace regularly kicks on every day until yesterday.  And then the rain or near-constant threat of rain for what seems to be every single day.

Even so, we are officially into summer now that we have passed June 21.  And that means, Bob Stroud used his Rock and Roll Roots program on Chicago's WDRV, 97.1 FM to welcome it with nothing but three hours of summer songs.  It's a tradition.  And, for those of you who missed it, it is rebroadcast tonight from 7 to 10 p.m..  And it streams at www.wdrv.com.

But, here are the songs he played to get you into the mood:

DANCING IN THE STREET--  Martha & the Vandellas
STREET FIGHTIN' MAN--  Rolling Stones
SIDEWALK SURFIN'--  Jan & Dean

BUS STOP--  Hollies
HOT SUMMER DAY--  It's A Beautiful Day
SPILL THE WINE--  Eric Burdon & War

GRAZING IN THE GRASS--  Hugh Masakela
SUMMER SUN--  Jamestown Massacre
LITTLE HONDA--  Beach Boys

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "All That Summer We Enjoyed It Wind And Rain And Shine."   Answer below.  --RoadDog


"Bus Stop"

Cruisin' Down the Road and Listening to Tunes

Nothing like cruising down the open road (two lane preferably) and out in the countryside, never knowing what is around the next bend or is that down down the road.

Window down, arm out the window, maybe left hand clasping the roof, right hand on the steering wheel and some great tunes blasting (loudly)out the radio, via stations, cassettes or CDs.

And, we have a treat coming up here in Chicago in a few hours.  WXRT, 93.1 FM will visit 1971 from 9 to noon, CDST.  Johnny Mars will host.  Always a real trip back in time and 1971 was a pretty good college year for me between NIU and UGA with a summer stop for six weeks at Quantico, Virginia.

Then, maybe, on Sunday, Bob Stroud will continue his 40th anniversary of the Summer of 1977 on Chicago's WDRV, 97.1 FM.  He will either do it this Sunday or next Sunday as he usually doesn't let us know in advance.  Even if it is the following Sunday, he will do his Rock and Roll Roots show which features just music from the 1960s and 1970s.  His show runs 7 to 10 a.m. CDST

Both shows stream live at www.wxrt.com and www.wdrv.com.

Give 'Em A Listern.  --RoadDog

22 Words That a Different Meaning in Chicago-- Part 4: The Taste

First, what it means everywhere else.

13.  FIELDS--  Open area of grass.  In Chicago, it was the old Marshall Fields store, now Macy's.

14.  THE TASTE--  Experiencing something's flavor.  In Chicago, it is experiencing new tastes, and smells at the Taste of Chicago in Grant Park.

15.  BOOT--  Type of shoe.  In Chicago, Your car can get one if you owe too many parking tickets.  Can't go nowhere with a boot on your tire.

16.  SUMMER--  Hot weather.  In Chicago, three to four months of extreme humidity.

17.  HILLSIDE STRANGLER--  Two 70s-era Los Angeles killers.  In Chicago, it is a poorly designed expressway merge in the western suburbs.

--RoadDog

WXRT Summer Songs-- Part 2

Summer Playlist 2

* A SUMMER SONG--  Chad & Jeremy (Or were they Peter and Gordon?)
* RAIN ON THE ROOF--  Lovin' Spoonful  (John on harp.)
* SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER--  Happenings

* SUMMER'S ALMOST GONE--  Doors
* SUMMER OF '69--  Bryan Adams  (Shoulda know we wouldn't get far.)
* IN THE SUMMERTIME--  Mungo Jerry  (Lead singer actually out-sized Sly's sideburns.)

"If Her Daddy's Rich...."  --RoadDog

WXRT Summer Sings-- Part 1

WXRT by Frank E. Lee "Playlist."

Some I'm familiar with, others not.  All accompanied by video at the site.  Familiar With*

Summer List #1

SUMMERTIME SADNESS--  Lana del Ray
HEAVEN RIGHT HERE--  Jeb Loy Nichols
SUMMERTIME--  Sundays
THAT SUMMER FEELING--  (live) Jonathan Richman

* CRUEL SUMMER--  Bananarama--   (A real fun video)
* SUMMERTIME BLUES--  Eddie Cochran
* LONG HOT SUMMER--  Style Council
* HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME--  Sly & the Family Stone  (Diggin' Sly's big-time side burns.)

--RoadDog

It's Summer, Here's Some Summer Cruising Songs-- Part 2

SUNNY AFTERNOON--
SATURDAY IN THE PARK--
MR. BLUE SKY--
SUMMERTIME--

DANCING IN THE STREET--  Martha & the Vandellas
DAYDREAM--  Lovin' Spoonful  (I always liked "Groovin'" by the Young Rascals in this genre.)
SUMMER SUN--  Jamestown Massacre--  Chicago boys.
SPILL THE WINE--  Eric Burdon & War (Our first intro to War.)

ALL SUMMER LONG--  Beach Boys
CALIFORNIA SUN--  Rivieras--  (A great California song by a group from Indiana.)
WALKING IN THE SAND--  Aerosmith  (Who'd have figured?)
STREET FIGHTING MAN--  Rolling Stones

RACING IN THE STREET--  Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band
SUMMER IN THE CITY--  Lovin' Spoonful
WAKE UP SUNSHINE--  Chicago  (From their second album)
SCHOOL'S OUT--  Alice Cooper--  (Playing our boat's name, only we're also Forever.)

MISERLOU--  Dick Dale & His Dale-Tones
HOT SUMMER DAY--  It's a Beautiful Day
SUMMER BREEZE--  Isley Brothers  (Even better than S&C.)
SURFIN' SARFARI--  Beach Boys

LITTLE HONDA--  Beach Boys
BACK TO THE ISLAND--  Leon Russell  (Song about Put-in-Bay?)
HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME--  Sly & the Family Stone

The Halls of the Mountain King.  --RoadDog

It's Summer, Here's Some Summer Cruising Songs For You-- Part 1

Yesterday, Bob Stroud did his annual Roots Salute to Summer on his Rock and Roll Roots show from 7 to 10 AM on Chicago's WDRV, 97.1 FM, the Drive.  Something I always listen to and record for enjoyment later (these shows are especially good played back during the depths of winter.

Here are some songs to get you ito summer mode:

IT'S OK, I'M ALRIGHT--  Beach Boys

RIDE THE WILD SURF--  Jan & Dean

IN THE SUMMERTIME--  Mungo Jerry

BUS STOP--  Hollies

GRAZING IN THE GRASS--  Hugh Masakela

UNDER THE BOARDWALK--  Drifters  (Again, probably the absolute worst place I'd ever consider being.  YUCK!!!)

WIPE OUT--  Surfaris

HOT SUMMER NIGHTS/ YOU TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUT OF MY MOUTH--  Meatloaf

SUMMERTIME BLUES--  Eddie Cochran

BEACH BABY--  First Class

WARMTH OF THE SUN--  Beach Boys

SUMMER--  War  (The perfect laid-back, lounging summer song.)

SUMMER RAIN--   Johnny Rivers

GOOD DAY SUNSHINE-  Beach Boys

SUNNY DAYS---  Lighthouse (The second U.S. hit for this Canadian group.)

Where's That Tanning Lotion?  --RoadDog

One Last Chance to Do the Summer of 1973

This Sunday, September 1st, Bob Stroud closes out his four-part trip back 40 years ago to the summer of '73. These will be songs on your radio and in your record collection from back then.

This will take place between 7 AM and 10, Central, and streams live at www.wdrv.com. That would be 97.1 FM WDRV, The Drive in Chicago. Well worth a listen if you're from that era.

Liz and I listened to cassette tapes from the first three shows all the way out to Galena, Illinois, and back these last four days as we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary.

In addition, today, Stroud will be going back to 1972 on his Ten at Ten show at 10 AM (and 10 PM).

Brings Back the Memories. --RoadDog

Songs for Summer Driving-- Part 3

Cruisin' down da road with summer tunes playing from the cassette deck.

SATURDAY IN THE PARK--  CHICAGO--  Summer of '72.
SUMMERTIME--  BILLY TEWART--  The edited version, a summer hit for the late-great Billy Stewart.

HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME--  SLY & THE FAMILY STONE--  late summer of '69
DANCING IN THE STREET--  MICK JAGGER & DAVID BOWIE--  remake of the Martha & the Vandellas classic

YOU TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUT OF MY MOUTH (HOT SUMMER NIGHT)--  MEATLOAF--  From Bat Out of Hell

DO IT AGAIN--  BEACH BOYS--  Summer of '68
SUMMER ROMANCE--  ROLLING STONES--  This one goes about as fast as a summer romance.  From the summer of '80's Emotional Rescue.

RACING IN THE STREET--  BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN--  From the great Darkness at the Edge of Town.
SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER--  MOTELS--  Late summer of '83, featuring Martha Davis.

SPILL THE WINE--  ERIC BURDON & WAR--  Summer of '70
BUS STOP--  HOLLIES--  Summer of '66

SUMMER BREEZE--  ISLEY BROTHERS--  A favorite version of the song with the great Ernie Isley on guitar.
BEACH BABY--  FIRST CLASS--  One hit wonder by a group of British studio musicians in '71.
BLUE SKY--  Allman Brothers--  (Some great Southern Rock)

TWISTING BY THE POOL--  DIRE STRAITS--  (A real rockin' ode to summer)
SUMMER IN THE CITY--  LOVIN' SPOONFUL--  ("Hot town!)

Now Get Out and Drive If You Can Afford the Gas!!  --RoadDog

Songs for Summer Driving- Part 2

Cpntinued from August 22nd.  From the June 24th WDRV Rock and Roll Roots show.

Now that summer is fast petering out, I'd best get around to finishing this.  Get me in a car and driving during the summer, I "Gotta" have my tunes.  And, if they have to do with summer, all the better.

HOT SUMMER DAY--  IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY--  Band out of San Francisco.  (Always thought that was sort of a strange name for a band.  Liz's college roommate's favorite group.)
MR. BLUE SKY--  ELO-- 

GOOD DAY SUNSHINE--  BEATLES--  McCartney tune from Revolver.
HOT AS SUN--  PAUL McCARTNEY--  From his first album, 1970's McCartney, an instrumental.

UNDER THE BOARDWALK--  JOHN MELLANCAMP--  An old Drifters' classic.  (And, a place you don't want to be.  A nasty place.) 
REMEMBER (WALKING IN THE SAND)--  AEROSMITH--  Doing an old reworking of an old girl group soap opera.  The Shangri-Las laid it down in '64.  Aerosmith took a shot at it in the late 70s.

SUNNY AFTERNOON--  KINKS--  Sounds like that is all Ray Davies has going for him.  From '66. (Who's trying to break him?)
IT'S OK--  BEACH BOYS--  From the Summer of '76.

SUMMER SUN--  JAMESTOWN MASSACRE--  From our own backyard, out in the suburbs.  (As in Chicagoland)
CALIFORNIA SUN-- RIVIERAS--  Again, right in our own backyard, down Indiana way.  (A great California song as done by a Midwest band.)

Two Down, One to Go.  --RoadDog

Songs for Summer Driving-- Part 1

Back on June 24th, Bob Stroud did a show on Summer Songs on Rock and Roll Roots.  Makes you want to pop a cassette onto the old car radio and go cruising if you can afford the gas.  Two of our gas stations in Fox Lake actually dropped gas a PENNY yesterday, down to $4.07.  It sure didn't take them that long to go up.

IN THE SUMMERTIME--  MUNGO JERRY--  From the Summer of '70.  (And my all-time favorite summer song.  Come on, let's make that psssshhhh sound.)
SURFIN' USA--  BEACH BOYS--  The band that keeps summer alive 365 days a year for the last fifty years.  From 1963.  (Love their new album God Made the Radio.)

SUMMERTIME BLUES--  WHO--  From their 1970 live album, Live at Leeds.  (Doing a real rave-up.)
MISERLOU--  DICK DALE AND THE DELLTONES--  a classic surf instrumental

WAKE UP SUNSHINE--  CHICAGO--  You can't underestimate the power of sunshine to fuel the season.  From album number two.
WALKING ON SUNSHINE--  KATRINA & THE WAVES--  (How can you not feel good while this song is playing?)

DAYDREAM--  LOVIN' SPOONFUL--  1966
SUMMER--  WAR--  the long version 

STREET FIGHTING MAN--  ROLLING STONES--  1968.  (In certain neighborhoods in our cities, this happens during the summer.)
SCHOOL'S OUT--  ALICE COOPER--  The Coop with the beginning of summer.  (And, again, thanks to the strange-looking fellah with the even stranger name for naming our boat.)

Let's see, if I take out a second mortgage on the house, perhaps I can afford to fill the tank and take off on a cruise.

Summer and Driving.  Just Sort Of Goes Together.  --RoadDog

Heading Out to the Lake Fireworks Tonight

After careful thought, and despite the HOT we're experiencing, Liz and I are heading out to the boat in a several hours and will be out on Fox Lake for the fireworks.  This will be the first time out for us to see them from a boat in many years.

The problem is not the hundreds of boats that will be out on the lake (the Chain of Lakes has been called the second busiest pleasure boat area in the U.S. after the Intercoastal Waterway.  It isn't even the boat cops.  It's the other cops on land being every so watchful for drinkers.  And, of course, those really frightening roadblocks which so remind me of movies about Nazi Germany.

This means it will be a dry watch for me.

Oh Well, I'll Survive.  --RoadDog

Checking Out the Music of Summer 1971

I'm not going to be listing it here, but Bob Stroud, on his Rock and Roll Roots show on Chicago's WDRV, the Drive, has been doing monthly trips back to the summer of 1971 in honor of its 40th anniversary.

I have been doing set lists on my Down Da Road I Go blog, with both Stroud's and my comments. If you remember that summer like I do, check it out.

http://downdaroadigo.blogspot.com.

Some songs played July 3rd:

WALK AWAY--
BROWN SUGAR--
SOONER OR LATER--
MR.BIG STUFF--
SIGNS--

DRAGGING THE LINE--
MOONSHADOW--
GO DOWN GAMBLING--
FUNKY NASSAU--
IT'S TOO LATE--

Ten Points If You Can Tell Me the Artists. --RoadDog

It's a Summer Thing: Cruisin' and Music-- Part 5

From Bob Stroud's June 26th Rock and Roll Roots "Summer Show."

All comments mine.

HOT SUMMER DAYS-- IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY-- I remember having to buy the album for Liz's roommate, Debbie, when I somehow lost the album civer, even when she still had the album. I sure wasn't happy laying out the $5 for an album she already had.
MR. BLUE SKIES-- ELO-- Great harmony and pretty close to an orchestra sound.

IN THE SUMMERTIME-- MUNGO JERRY-- If I had to vote for one song to represent summer, this'd be the one.
SUMMER SUN-- JAMESTOWN MASSACRE-- A great little-known nugget from a little-known Chicago group.

MISERLOU-- DICK DALE-- Can you say "Surf Music?"
SUMMERTIME BLUES-- BLUE CHEER-- Wow, what a hard rock acid, psychedelic trip this one was.

SUMMERTIME-- BILLY STEWART-- Let's hear that stutter singinging, Billy.
SUMMER-- WAR-- Like that low-riding groove.

HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME-- SLY & THE FAMILY STONE-- Second-best summer song if it shows up.

I Need to Get That Old '85 F-Bird fired Up and Out Driving. --RoadDog

Taking You Back to 4th of July 1971

If you can remember that summer, 40 years ago (40 YEARS AGO), you're getting MIGHTY OLD!!

I sure do (because I'm getting mighty old these days). I was getting ready for the Marine Corps later this month back then.

Tomorrow, from 7 to 10 am, CDST, Bob Stroud will be having his second instalment of his annual summer Rock and Roll Roots show. He already did the first of June. He will do the same thing in August and September.

Stroud started doing this for the Summer of 1967 and has done it for every year since.

So give it a listen at WDRV-FM, 97.1 and 96.9. It goes out over the internet at www.wdrv.com.

I Know Where I'll Be. ==RoadDog

It's a Summer Thing: Cruisin' and Music-- Part 4

Some More Summer Cruisin' Music.

SUNNY DAYS-- LIGHTHOUSE-- Are they from Canada?
SCHOOL'S OUT-- ALICE COOPER-- Thanks, Alice, for the name of our boat, "School's Out...Forever!"

SUMMER BREEZE-- ISLEY BROTHERS-- Doing their version of that great Seals and Crofts song. Soul, anyone?
RIDE THE WILD SURF-- JAN AND DEAN-- I once tried to surf, but could not master standing up on that slippery board. So, this old dog never rode the wild surf, but did swallow quite a bit of it while trying.

SUMMER ROMANCE-- ROLLING STONES-- Wonder what Keith's idea of a summer romance is?
GRAZING IN THE GRASS-- HUGH MASAKELA-- An instrumental. I once went to a Grateful Dead concert where those folk have their own idea of grass grazing.

SURFER GIRL (LIVE)-- BEACH BOYS-- Why they show off on the surf boards. I certainly never entertained a little surfer girl except, maybe, to make them laugh at me getting on that stupid board.
GOOD DAY SUNSHINE-- BEATLES-- Just makes you smile and sweat.


Just Groovin' Out Here on the Deck and Typing Away. --RoadDog

It's a Summer Thing: Cruisin' and Music-- Part 2

Continuing with Bob Stroud's summer songs:

ROCKAWAY BEACH-- RAMONES-- Do they wear their leather duds out to the beach?
SATURDAY IN THE PARK-- CHICAGO-- Always reminds me of summer school at the University of Georgia back in 1972.

SUMMER RAIN-- JOHNNY RIVERS-- Wow, a song he didn't cover!!
BACK TO THE ISLAND-- LEON RUSSELL-- Our old summer island was Put-In-Bay out in Lake Erie on South Bass Island with Pat Dailey and Mad Dog Adams.

SUNNY AFTERNOON-- KINKS-- Ray and Dave be cookin'.
HOT SUMMER NIGHTS-- MEATLOAF-- Another good summer song of the Loaf's is "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" which I sang so well with the bartender at the place across from Preservation Hall on Bourbon Street.

SURFIN' USA-- BEACH BOYS-- Surfin' and Summer? Who'd have figured. And that water is WAY TOO COLD!
BEACH BABY-- FIRST CLASS-- Can't get this one out of my head now.

DANCING IN THE STREET-- MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS-- Does anybody know how many places they were dancing?
SUMMER IN THE CITY-- LOVING SPOONFUL-- "Hot town, summer in the city."

If Gas Prices keep Dropping, I Might be Able to Afford to Drive Some Place. --RoadDog