"I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in "Cheers & Jeers".
OK, you've been warned - here is this week's tomfoolery material that I posted.
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SEPARATED at BIRTH — outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker (R-MA), now becoming NCAA president, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, the son of former Sen. Charles Goodell (R-NY).
...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… a band that lasted ten years yet had a short window of fame in the late 60’s-early 70’s was Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys — who had a wide range of music (which made them hard to categorize) with some of the earliest country-rock efforts that paved-the-way for Poco and others. And at least one member has achieved lasting fame due to a noted documentarian.
In the mid-60’s there was a New York-based folk band called the Au Go Go Singers, with two members (Stephen Stills and Richie Furay) leaving to form Buffalo Springfield. The band’s bassist Roy Michaels left to form Cat Mother in late 1967 along with keyboardist Bob Smith and drummer Michael Equine. The rest of the band’s lineup changed frequently, resulting in their widely varying sound.
They were definitely in the right place-at-the-right-time, as they found work at Greenwich Village’s legendary Café Wha? and later became the house band at the Electric Circus in 1968.
One great piece of news: they came into contact with a guitarist returning home after a successful career launch in England … Jimi Hendrix. He took a liking to their music, having them open-up for him (a daunting task that they handled well) and when they were signed by Polydor Records in 1969: he produced their debut album. One bad piece of news (which they did not yet know) was that they came to be managed by Jimi’s manager Mike Jeffrey, widely believed to have siphoned-off Jimi’s income.
The band had one hit single (#21) from their debut album: Good Old Rock & Roll, which sampled hits by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and others (and which they performed on American Bandstand). Other songs of note were Can You Dance to It as well as Track A.
Their 1970 second album Albion Doo Wah was recorded in California, as they sought to distance themselves from Mike Jeffrey. It featured a rendition of the old folk tune All Around the World as well as Strike a Match, written by the band’s new violinist.
Their final two albums (1971 and 1973) faded into obscurity, although the band soldiered-on until dissolving in 1977. Of the founding three members, only drummer Michael Equine survives. But thanks to filmmaker Ken Burns, you’ve no doubt heard their violinist Jay Ungar — who performs with his wife Molly Mason.
Of all of their songs: the instrumental title track to their 2nd album is my favorite.
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