The Song For Today by Jimmie Oliver (free ebook reader for ipad TXT) 📖

of that year, the Glimmer Twins found themselves at the mercy of the law. With the British Establishment determined to curb the excesses of the emerging rock aristocracy, Jagger and Richards were ordered to swap their country mansions for a spell of porridge at 'Her Majesty's pleasure'. Jagger's brief incarceration prompted him to pen '2,000 Light Years From Home', which is how life behind bars presented itself to him. Inserted as the penultimate track on the unloved 'Their Satanic Majesties Request', this was an authentic slice of psychedelia that dwarfs most of the dreadful ditties from the hyped 'Sergeant Pepper'. How this tune escapes inclusion on the Stones' fifty best tracks in the 'Rough Guide To The Rolling Stones' is completely beyond my comprehension. It was on this day in 1967 that Mick and Keith were sentenced to prison for drugs possession.
{Also on this date, Isabel Peron becomes Argentina's President in 1974}

JUNE 30TH
Love Is Here And Now You're Gone by The Supremes (1967)
from the album The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland
Florence Glenda Ballard Chapman's short life began on this date in 1943 in Detroit. Better known as Florence 'Blondie' Ballard (or as Flo), she formed one third of the Supremes. By 1967 it was decreed that Diana Ross was just a bit more supreme than her two partners, and Ballard soon departed the trio in less than harmonious circumstances. The group nevertheless went from strength to strength with such hits as 'Love Child' and 'I'm Livin' In Shame'. One of the most supreme of the act's twelve American chart-toppers is the excellent 'Love Is Here And Now You're Gone'. Soon Ballard was gone, and a decade later she was gone from this world too.
{Also on this day, in 1977 Virginia Wade wins the Ladies' Singles at Wimbledon}

JULY 1ST
French Kissin' by Debbie Harry (1986)
from the album Rockbird
Debbie Harry enjoyed several successful years as the lead vocalist of Blondie. When the group went their separate ways, it was commonly assumed that Harry's solo career would be equally prolific. However, this never materialised. In the first instance, Harry had to take time out to nurse her lover Chris Stein back from a serious bout of ill health. Perhaps the omens were not good when the first solo release 'Backfired' did precisely that. Eventually, Deborah Harry was back in the limelight with the marvellous 'French Kissin'. In spite of the success of this fabulous pop song, Harry returned to relative obscurity. Nevertheless, instead of growing old gracefully, the 'blonde' singer once more fronted the Blondie group, and 'Maria' helped the ageing New Yorkers return to the once-familiar territory of a British Number One hit triumph. This icon of New York was born on this day in 1945. Success would come late in life for the lovely Deborah. Perhaps there is hope for us all.
{Also on this date, the Warsaw Pact of defence is officially dissolved in 1991}

JULY 2ND
We Love You by The Rolling Stones (1967)
available on the album More Hot Rocks
This historic track represented the closest that the Beatles and the Stones came to collaborating together, with John and Paul adding harmonies. The song features the rattle of chains and the slamming of a (cell) door, and its sense of theatre is enhanced by the accompanying promotional film, in which the infamous five re-enact the trial and persecution of another cultural icon, Oscar Wilde. There was after all a dark cloud hanging over the recording of this single, as Jagger, Jones, and Richard had all felt the long arm of the law - on account of their illegal drug use. If there was a sense of rough justice about all of this, then the greatest injustice is that 'We Love You' did not match the commercial success of most of the group's other releases, but then it was no ordinary song. In fact, the absence of any riff meant that it was not a typical Stones number, and indeed it sounded a little too disturbing to be of broad appeal. In the promo film, blonde guitarist Brian Jones ominously did not look a picture of good health, and two years later on this date he was found floating in his swimming pool. The coroner subsequently pronounced 'death by misadventure', but recent revelations have suggested that the virtuoso musician may have been murdered. Jones, a member of the '27 Club' contributed mellotron on the extraordinary 'We Love You' hit single.
{Also on this day, 1,400 Muslims die in a stampede at Mecca in 1990}

JULY 3RD
The End by The Doors (1967)
from the album The Doors
Jim Morrison's modern tale of Oedipus was the musical equivalent of a horror movie. A combination of stunningly creepy music that builds the tension towards a devastating climax allied with the Lizard King's imagery has ensured that this nine and a half minute psychopathic offering has attained legendary status. Unlike other acts who may take years to develop, the Doors hit the ground running with their acclaimed debut album. Unfortunately, four years later on this day, Jim Morrison was found dead in mysterious circumstances in Paris, though it is likely that the wayward genius succumbed to a heroin overdose. He too joined the '27 Club'. Aside from the hits 'Light My Fire' and 'Break On Through', as well as the superb 'Whisky Bar Song', the first long-player will be remembered for its end, which was 'The End'. If the Devil could compose music, it would probably sound like this.
{Also on this date, an Israeli hostage rescue mission lands at Entebbe in 1976}

JULY 4TH
Ruby Baby by Donald Fagen (1982)
from the album The Nightfly
On American Independence Day, it's only right that I select an outstanding song from that side of the Big Pond. One of the great (yet regrettably obscure) albums is 'The Nightfly' by Donald Fagen. The ex-Steely Dan vocalist and keyboardist carves out a forty-minute long-player of feel-good music against a jazz-pop fusion. All eight tracks have their merits, but arguably the pick of an excellent bunch is Fagen's marvellous re-creation of the old Leiber and Stoller standard, 'Ruby Baby'. It ought to rate as one of the best cover versions of all time, while it possesses strong credentials for being one of the best dance songs ever recorded. Whether it be the piano, or the vocals, or the brass accompaniment, all concerned are in fabulous form. Now here is a tune that Uncle Sam should derive much satisfaction from.
{Also on this day, in 1997 NASA's Pathfinder lands on the surface of Mars}

JULY 5TH
Jigsaw Puzzle by The Rolling Stones (1968)
from the album Beggars Banquet
It has been frequently suggested that all (or at least most) popular music is derivative. There is much evidence to support this argument. For example, I believe that Elton John's impressive 'Social Disease' (1973) is primarily a karaoke version of the Rolling Stones, while the Stones themselves aped Mr Zimmerman with their Dylan pastiche, 'Jigsaw Puzzle'. Jagger's lyrics (reminiscent of Bob Dylan) are never less than humorous, with a poke at himself and his group thrown in for good measure. Seven months after this track from 'Beggars Banquet' saw the light of day, the Stones were throwing a free concert in Hyde Park. Brian Jones had only died three days earlier, but the band used their gig as an opportunity to pay some semblance of a tribute to the departed Stone. Their last album together before Jones's demise had been 'Beggars Banquet' and although this musical feast is remembered for the items, 'Sympathy For The Devil' and 'Street Fighting Man', what is most puzzling is not the jigsaw, but the fact that this under-rated six-minute item never earned the critical spurs that it merited.
{Also on this date, the news is first televised on the BBC in 1954}

JULY 6TH
Diamonds by Jet Harris And Tony Meehan (1963)
available on the album Remember Jet Harris/Tony Meehan
Jet Harris was born on this date in 1939 in north London. The former Shadow stepped out of 'the shadows' to collaborate with another ex-Shadow, drummer Tony Meehan, as they strove to record their own instrumentals to compete against their former group. I think that the Shadows deserve an awful lot more kudos than they have been recipients of, but even they never quite delivered as stunning an item as this. Almost exclusively a duel between the drums and Harris's bass guitar, complemented by brass musicians and a cameo from Jimmy Page, this single actually knocked 'Dance On' off the top perch of the British singles chart in early 1963 as the Shadows were unseated by their two former members. However, the dominance of the Shadows in the UK hit parade would soon be upstaged by an act from Merseyside called the Beatles.
{Also on this day, in 1967 Nigerian troops invade Biafra}

JULY 7TH
Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles (1967)
available on the album 1967-1970
The hugely popular 'economy class' Beatle , Ringo Starr, was born as Richard Starkey in the midst of the war-torn summer of 1940, on this day. This under-rated sticksman occasionally doubled up as a lead vocalist, whilst also penning a couple of tracks of his own. I am especially keen on the percussion sound created on the remarkable single, 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. Incredibly, this strong contender for the foursome's best-ever single, narrowly failed to follow its eleven predecessors by achieving Number One status in the British charts. This blemish aside, John Lennon's museum piece about his Liverpool upbringing had it all: trippy lyrics, superb guitar and drums, and on top of all that, the song featured a wonderful Indian stringed instrument, entitled the swarmandel, played by George Harrison. As if this all isn't enough, this milestone recording had an abrupt change of pace halfway through, as a more frantic second half was spliced on to the laid back first section. The icing on the cake came in the guise of a peculiar fade-out, when the tune returns, but is played backwards. Disorientated by this musical drama, some silly listeners chose to believe that John was saying "I buried Paul" at the song's conclusion, when in reality he utters "cranberry sauce". On Ringo's birthday, please do yourself a big favour and give this historic piece an outing.
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