BEACH MOVIES

In this latest article I will be looking back at the history of the beach movie genre, a brief look at the careers of two of it's greatest stars, Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, and an in-depth look at the four beach movies they starred in together.

In 1957 author Frederick Kohner created a fictional character based on his teenage daughter Kathy and wrote the book Gidget, The Little Girl With Big Ideas. The book, later published with the shorter title Gidget, followed the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfer friends on the beach in Malibu. The name was a combination of 'girl' and 'midget.' In the years that followed Kohner wrote sequels including The Affairs Of Gidget (1963), Gidget In Love (1965), Gidget Goes Parisienne (1966) and Gidget Goes New York (1968).

He sold the rights to Columbia Pictures for $50,000 and the character Gidget was adapted into three movies directed by Paul Wendkos. The first, Gidget, released in 1959, found Sandra Dee playing the role of the title character. It also starred a young Yvonne Craig, who would go on to find success as Batgirl in the final season of Batman. Subsequent films, Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) and Gidget Goes To Rome (1963), saw Deborah Walley and Cindy Carol in the title role. 

Both Yvonne Craig and Deborah Walley starred in movies with Elvis Presley, although none fall into the category of beach movies. Craig appeared in two films with him, It Happened At The Worlds Fair (1963) and Kissin' Cousins (1964) while Walley appeared alongside him in Spinout (1966). Elvis did make a few movies with a beach connection including Blue Hawaii (1961) and Girl Happy (1965) although neither really fit into the beach movie genre as covered by this article.

While both the Columbia 'Gidget' films were seen as the forerunner of the beach movie genre and introduced surfing into mainstream America it was actually American International Pictures (AIP) that established the typical style with their films released between 1963 and 1968.

However, prior to the release of the first AIP beach movie there were a number of films that followed the tried and true formula of a current trend mixed with romance and music. Released in 1958 Hot Rod Gang and it's 1959 sequel Ghost Of Dragstrip Hollow were both made by AIP while Where The Boys Are was released in 1960 by MGM and 1961's Love In A Goldfish Bowl appeared courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

The first beach movie that was made by AIP was Beach Party with a script written by Lou Rusoff who had written scripts for both the aforementioned Hot Rod Gang and Ghost Of Dragstrip Hollow. Released in August 1963 it was a major hit with a first-week gross higher than any of its competition.

The important elements of the AIP films included groups of teenage/college characters who were the protagonists, adults in the role of antagonists, simple and often silly storylines, teen interests like surfing, dancing, cars and finally, music, either background but more often original songs often performed by artists of the day.

In this article we are concentrating on the beach movie genre although later AIP films moved away from the beach and surfing while still keeping many of the elements listed above.

Surprisingly, for the time, advertising for the films was quite suggestive promising much more than what would actually appear in the film. "It's what happens when 10,000 kids meet on 5,000 beach blankets!" (Beach Party) and "When 10,000 biceps go around 5,000 bikinis, you know what's going to happen!" (Muscle Beach Party) are just two examples that teased the audience. While both the male and female cast wore revealing swimwear for the time none of the films included any sex or nudity.

AIP co-founder Samuel Z. Arkoff had already cast the adult characters but needed leading teenagers. He already had a good working relationship with singer Frankie Avalon who was a natural choice for the leading male character. He then made a deal with a former Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello, whose contract permitted her to appear in non-Disney films subject to approval of the legal team. However, there was one caveat... she could not appear in a bikini!

Frankie Avalon had scored 31 chart hits including Venus and Why, both of which reached number one in 1959, Just Ask Your Heart, Bobby Sox To Stockings, A Boy Without A Girl and many more. His first film appearance was a brief cameo in 1957's Jamboree where he played a trumpet and sang Teacher's Pet.

Annette Funicello began her career as a 12-year old child performer. She was one of the most popular Disney Mouseketeers in the original Mickey Mouse Club and went on to have a successful career in film and music. Among her hits were Pineapple Princess, O Dio Mio and First Name Initial.

Cinema Editor summed up the pairing of Avalon and Funicello, "In Frankie and Annette, teenagers now had their own version of Rock Hudson and Doris Day as the 'bedroom farce' was moved to the beach and made a little younger, a little dumber, and stuffed full of wild music."

So it's off to the beach and a look at the four films they made together...

Beach Party (Released: 7 August 1963)

Professor Robert Sutwell (Bob Cummings) is secretly studying the 'mating habits' of the local teenagers who spend their time at the beach in California. Eric von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck), the leader of The Rats, a local motorcycle gang, is temporarily paralyzed by Sutwell after he was making advances on Dolores (Annette Funicello). She develops a crush on the Professor and her boyfriend Frankie (Frankie Avalon) gets jealous. He starts flirting with Ava (Eva Six), an Hungarian waitress. To complicate matters Sutwell's assistant, Marianne (Dorothy Malone) also has eyes on the Professor. Von Zipper and his gang mates plan to bring Sutwell down but are defeated by the surfing teenagers.

The film was shot throughout March 1963 in Newport, Balboa, Laguna, Paradise Cove and Malibu Beach. Avalon recalled they were constantly filming while Funicello felt constant pressure throughout filming to show her navel to which she refused. Despite earlier conditions by Disney she did wear a pink two-piece bikini in the film and in future films she would show her navel and continue to wear a bikini.

Music was written especially for the film and Gary Usher & Roger Christian, who also worked with Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, wrote three songs, the title track performed by Avalon and Funicello, Swingin' And Surfin and Secret Surfin' Spot, both performed by Dick Dale, who also starred in the film as himself. Other songs included Don't Stop Now, Treat Him Nicely and Promise Me Anything (But Give Me Love).

Reviews were mixed. The New York Times wrote, "The real trouble is that almost the entire cast emerges as the dullest bunch ever, with the old folks even sillier than the kids." Variety were kinder in their review, "A bouncy bit of lightweight fluff... the kind of direct, simple-minded cheeriness which should prove well nigh irresistible to those teenagers who have no desire to escape the emptiness of their lives."

Annette Funicello would later say that Beach Party was her favourite of the series.

Muscle Beach Party (Released: 25 March 1964)

It is a year later and Dee Dee (Funicello) and Frankie (Avalon) along with their beach party gang head to Malibu Beach for another summer of fun and surfing. When they arrive they are shocked to discover their secret surfing spot under threat by a bunch of body builders led by coach Jack Fanny (Don Rickles). It is not long before Juliana Giotto-Borgini (Luciana Paluzzi), a bored Italian Countess starts flirting with Frankie and he seems quite happy to go along with it. She plans on turning him into a teen pop idol. His surfing mates and wealthy S. Z. Matts (Buddy Hackett) convince him he is making a mistake and seeing the error of his ways Frankie goes back to his beach bunny Dee Dee.

Filming took place at various locations including Paradise Cove.

Funicello reprised her character from Beach Party but in Muscle Beach Party, and subsequent films, she is known as Dee Dee, as opposed to Dolores. 

Like Beach Party the original score was composed by Les Baxter while Gary Usher & Roger Christian wrote six songs with the help of Brian Wilson. Surfer's Holiday was performed by Avalon, Funicello and the cast while Runnin' Wild was just Avalon. Donna Loren sang Muscle Bustle backed by Dick Dale who along with his Del-Tones, performed My First Love, Muscle Beach Party. The a cappella number Surfin' Woodie was performed by Dale and the cast.

The Los Angeles Times described the film as, "... a romantic, slightly satirical film comedy with songs which should prove popular with members of the two younger sets it concerns - surfers and musclemen - and with oldsters who don't mind the juvenile antics." Variety weren't as impressed with the second film when they wrote, "... the novelty of surfing has worn off, leaving in its wake little more than a conventional teenage-geared romantic farce with songs." Even harsher was The Monthly Film Bulletin who felt, "...this is an excruciatingly unfunny and unattractive sequel to Beach Party. William Asher's direction remains quite bright, but that is about all that can be said for the film."

Annette Funicello was nominated for The Golden Laurel by trade magazine Motion Picture Exhibitor for 'Best Female Musical Performance.'

Bikini Beach (Released: 22 July 1964)

School's out and the teenagers are off to the beach once more. All seems to be going well until millionaire Harvey Huntington Honeywagon III (Keenan Wyn), convinced that the beach goers are obsessed with sex and their mentality is less than that of a chimp. He plans to turn the beach into a retirement home which demoralizes the teenagers. Meanwhile a British rocker and drag racer, Peter Royce Bentley, known as 'The Potato Bug' (played by Avalon in a dual role) takes up residence in the area. It is not long before Dee Dee (Funicello), fed up of Frankie (Avalon) and his reluctance to further their relationship towards marriage, is drawn to Potato Bug's advances. Frankie, in a jealous rage, confronts Potato Bug and challenges him to a drag race in the hope of winning Dee Dee back.

Auto Club raceway in Pomona, California was used as a location during filming.

Director William Asher, in a 2004 interview, claimed that the script was originally written for the Beatles and they had agreed to star but dropped out when their fame grew following the Ed Sullivan Show. Asher reworked the script with Avalon's dual role as Potato Bug created to replace The Beatles in the story. This was all very unlikely as The Beatles had signed a three-movie deal with United Artists back in 1963.

AIP did a survey after the first two movies as they wanted to find out how much surfing should be featured in the films. Of course it wasn't the surfing that was the main attraction, it was the fun and love between Avalon and Funicello.

Once again the score was by Les Baxter with songs written by Guy Hemric and Jerry Styner including Bikini Beach (performed by the cast), Love's A Secret Weapon (Donna Loren), This Time It's Love (Funicello) and Because You're You (Avalon and Funicello). Two songs written by Gary Usher & Roger Christian, Record Run and the instrumental Bikini Drag, an instrumental, were both performed in the movie by The Pyramids.

Reviews were mixed. "A horrible juvenile comedy," wrote Eugene Archer in The New York Times while Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times felt the film added up to, "... two hours of mindless relaxation at theatres and drive-ins everywhere." Variety commented, "Introduction of some first-rate satire is so overloaded with coatings of slapstick that the satire will be lost on the great mass of youngsters who will provide the film's major support but it does make Bikini Beach more palatable for parents or pseudo-sophisticates among the teenagers who find themselves viewing it."

Beach Blanket Bingo (Released: 14 April 1965)

Singer Sugar Kane (Linda Evans) is unwittingly being used for publicity stunts including faking a sky diving stunt, by her agent Bullets (Paul Lynde) to help promote her latest album. Meanwhile, Frankie (Avalon) is duped into believing he rescued Kane and is prompted to take up sky diving by Bonnie (Deborah Walley), who is trying to make her boyfriend Steve (John Ashley) jealous. Not one to be left out Dee Dee (Funicello) also tries free-falling. Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) and his gang show up and he falls madly in love with Kane. Meanwhile Bonehead (Jody Mcrea) has fallen in love with a mermaid named Lorelei (Marta Kristen). The film draws to a close with a kidnap attempt when the evil South Dakota Slim (Timothy Carey) ties Kane to a buzz-saw.

Filming took place at various locations including Surfrider Beach, Leo Carrillo Beach and Paradise Cove during November and December 1964.

Beach Blanket Bingo was the last of the movies featuring both Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. The role of Sugar Kane was intended for Nancy Sinatra but she dropped out as the plot involved a kidnapping, something too close to home as her brother Frank Sinatra Jr. had been kidnapped a few months earlier.

As previously the films score and songs were from the same composer, Les Baxter, and song writers, Guy Hemric, Jerry Styner, Gary Usher and Roger Christian. There were ten songs featured including Beach Blanket Bingo (performed by Avalon and Funicello), These Are Good Times (Avalon), It Only Hurts When I Cry (Donna Loren), the instrumental Freeway (The Hondells) and I'll Never Change Him (Funicello). The latter was in initial prints of the movie but removed when the film had a wider release when the decision was made to use the song, retitled We'll Never Change, in a future AIP film, Ski Party.

Reviews were even more scathing for Beach Blanket Bingo with The New York Times writing, "We simply can't believe, no matter what the reports say, that the teenagers buy such junk. It's for morons." Variety were not impressed either, "No one can blame Nicholson and Arkoff for continuing a pattern that has made them money, but this is ridiculous. Are teenagers responding to such drivel as good natured satire of themselves rather than identifying with it? Let's hope so."

Although no actual soundtracks are available on CD, there are a few that feature some of the music from the films. Muscle Beach Party/Beach Party and Bikini Beach/Golden Surf brings together four of Annette Funicello's albums on two CDs  while Summer Beach Party is a compilation that features 'Songs From The Classic Beach Movies Of The '60s' by artists including Avalon, Funicello, Dick Dale, Jan & Dean, Donna Loren and The Kingsmen.

Many of the AIP films have been released on DVD or Blu-Ray although a blu-ray box set featuring at least the four movies covered in this article along with extras like trailers, a photo gallery and movie posters, lobby cards and memorabilia would be welcome. 

Summer is here, the weather is hot so time to watch the girls (and boys) on the beach.

HURT - THE SONG AND THE VIDEO

Trent Reznor had written the song Hurt and recorded it with his band Nine Inch Nails and it was Rick Rubin who suggested that Cash should record the song for his next album. In this article, originally published in issue #53 of The Man in Black, we look back at the recording of the song, the critically acclaimed video and the awards bestowed on both the song and video in the months following its release.

Throughout 2001-2002 Johnny Cash and Rick Rubin were working on songs for his next album. Like their previous collaborations several cover versions were attempted including Bridge Over Troubled Water, In My Life, Desperado and Personal Jesus. However the standout track on what would become American IV: The Man Comes Around would be his cover of the Nine Inch Nails song Hurt.

Cash’s version became one of the most talked about songs of 2003 and there is no doubt that it stands as one of the greatest cover versions of his entire career. However, it was nearly never recorded.

As had happened with Rusty Cage a few years earlier Cash was unsure about the song. When he first heard it, and especially the tune itself, he told Rubin, “I can’t do that song, it’s not my style.” Rubin suggested trying it a different way and laid down a track which Cash felt would work.

It is interesting to note that, at first, Rubin did not want to suggest the song to Cash due to the the original lyrics in one line – ‘I wear my crown of shit.’ On Cash’s version they substituted the word ‘thorns’ instead.

The song was recorded at the Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville and Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research in Los Angeles. Mike Campbell and Smokey Hormel played acoustic guitar while the piano, organ and mellotron parts were handled by Benmont Tench.

On it’s release American IV: The Man Comes Around became Cash’s most successful album in over three decades while Hurt would also be successful, as we shall see later.

The songs composer had his doubts about Cash’s version but after seeing the video his opinion changed, “I heard it and I didn’t quite get it. It felt invasive a little bit, felt like it was my song – y’know that was a real personal song of mine – it felt funny hearing his big voice on it. And then shortly thereafter I got the video in the mail, and that’s when it really hit home, that knocked me over. I couldn’t believe how powerful that track had become juxtaposed into his life.”

The praise that the song Hurt received was nothing compared to what happened next – the music video.

Chicago born Mark Romanek had directed music videos for a diverse range of artists including David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, Nine Inch Nails and many more. His videos have resulted in over twenty MTV awards along with three Grammys, a CMA award and three Billboard awards.
Romanek was also a massive Cash fan and for years had begged Rubin to let him make a video of his hero.

Rubin had played him some tracks before the albums release and Romanek said, “Look, I’m making a video for Hurt ok? Let’s just make this work. I’ll do it for free, I’ll do it for a real reasonable budget.”

The original concept for the video was to film Cash on a Los Angeles soundstage surrounded by memorabilia covering the singer’s career. Items would slowly disappear until, at the end of the song, Cash would appear alone.

Unfortunately Cash’s health prevented him from making the trip to Los Angeles so Romanek brought his crew to his Hendersonville home instead. He was not sure what he would find but one stroke of luck was finding the closed and shuttered House of Cash, now in a state of disrepair, and just a few minutes drive from Cash’s lakeside home.

He told Mark Binelli of Rolling Stone magazine, “It had been closed for a long time, the place was in such a state of dereliction. That’s when I got the idea that maybe we could be extremely candid about the state of Johnny’s health – as candid as Johnny has always been in his songs.”

Part of the new concept, filmed at Cash’s home, was to have a piano silhouetted against the window and the dining room with a banquet spread out before him.

The video was shot over three days and after the video was completed Romanek spoke about the video shoot, and he had an interesting story about one particular moment. “I said to John, ‘This is the last take. So if you want to get angry or smash something up, this is your last chance.’” Cash misinterpreted what he had said and thought he meant this would be the final shot in his life, so he had better make it good. Cash was not one to surrender to defeatism. “I hope it’s not the last take,” he said in that familiar baritone growl.

Filming was followed by two weeks of archival search. Romanek recalled in an interview, “We spent two weeks looking at literally hundreds of hours of film, we were just kind of looking for very graphic close-ups and things that would read in the fast cutting of a music video and just had some sort of poignancy or connection to the music in some way.”

June Carter makes a brief appearance in the video and Romanek told Entertainment Weekly how her part came about, “As we were shooting the first set-up of John, June stood on the stairs and looked at her husband with such a complex expression of pride, love, sadness, and nervousness, that I asked her son, John Carter, if she might like to appear in the video. I wanted to capture that look on film. I think June was very flattered to be asked.”

In between filming Cash’s sense of humour showed through. Not more so than when Romanek had asked June if she would appear in the video to which Cash joked, “Yeah, honey, why don’t you dance naked on the piano here while I’m playing?”

Cash was also extremely generous and after filming was completed he autographed over thirty vinyl copies of his latest album and handed them out to the crew as a parting gift.

The video begins significantly enough with a close-up shot of a baroque ornament from the singer’s own collection, but it’s the next frame as the camera fixes on Cash’s face, that the story really begins. The intensely moving scenes of the frail 71-year-old are juxtaposed with archive shots of a younger Cash. At the moment in the video where Cash sings “Everyone I know goes away in the end”, the camera cuts to a framed photo of his mother on the wall.

Cash said that Hurt was the best anti-drug song he’d ever heard and the rage you see when he pours the wine on the table or starts to weep is a direct result of having lost people to addictions.

The final scene repeats an image from the opening seconds with Cash gently closing the lid of the piano, his thick fingers gently following the contours.

There can be no doubt that Romanek’s direction played a major part in the videos success but credit must also go to others involved in the project – Aris McGarry (producer), Sheira Rees-Davies (executive producer), Jamie Amos (production manager), Jean Yves Escoffier (director of photography), Ruby Guidara (art direction) and Robert Duffy (editor).

Of all the videos that Romanek had made over an eleven year period Hurt got the most reaction and attention of any of them.

Rosanne Cash had been told by her sister that the video may be hard to watch and, despite having a copy, had avoided watching it. During a visit to her father in Tennessee he asked if she had seen it. Rosanne Cash recalled this in an interview, “I watched it with him and June and I was weeping and weeping through the whole thing, my dad was completely clear-eyed and focused on the merits of the video, which is so much like him. He’s able to focus on the most awful truths with an artist’s eye.”

Although Cash was clear-eyed when he watched the video with Rosanne he was at first taken aback and it was only when his family encouraged him that he agreed to its release. In an interview Kathy Cash said, “He wasn’t sure he liked it at first, then he kept watching it and he said, ‘You know, that is a good video.’”

Talking about the video Rick Rubin said, “It made me cry. It feels so personal, exposed, and pure, and real, in a way I haven’t seen a music video before. If you could get that much emotion into a two-hour movie you’ve accomplished something. Mark did it in four minutes. It resonates so strongly with people because it’s a reality we all face. This is about all of our lives.”

The Hurt video was nominated for six awards – Video Of The Year, Best Male Video, Best Direction In A Video, Best Art Direction In A Video, Best Editing In A Video and Best Cinematography In A Video.

When the nominations were announced, Cash said, “I am overwhelmed by this great honor. I thank you all for thinking of me.’’

Cash was hoping to attend the MTV Video Music Awards in New York but health problems prevented him from attending.

On hearing that the video had been nominated Romanek said, “We never expected anyone to play this video, we really didn’t, and now it has six nominations.”

Although the video was up against some tough competition it was hard to believe that it only managed to win the Best Cinematography award!

This was something that Justin Timberlake, who was also up for several awards, would not let go without making a comment. Timberlake took the honours for Best Male Video and during his acceptance speech paid tribute to Cash – “This is a travesty! I demand a recount. My grandfather raised me on Johnny Cash, and I think he deserves this more than any of us in here tonight.”

The video may have been overlooked at the MTV Awards but both video and song walked away with the honours at several other ceremonies during 2003. At the Country Music Association Awards Hurt took the honours for Single Of The Year and Music Video Of The Year and John Carter-Cash accepted the awards.

Talking about Hurt he said, “My father could take any song it seemed, and he could look at it and he could know if it would work for him or not. When he recorded that in the studio, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. He would be grateful.”

At the Americana Music Awards it took the award for Song Of The Year and at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards it won the Best Short Form Music Video category. Hurt also topped Country Music Television’s Top 20 Countdown.

The success of the single also helped American IV: The Man Comes Around become Cash’s first gold record in thirty-two years with sales of over 500,000 copies and it eventually went on to qualify for a platinum award for sales in excess of 1,000,000.

Success wasn’t confined to just America as the single reached the top forty in the UK Chart and the album also charted.

MOJO, the UK music magazine, held several polls in which Cash appeared. In their 2003 Readers Poll he featured in eight out of the twelve categories including Song Of The Year with Hurt. The song was also listed in the 100 Most Miserable Songs Of All Time at number seventeen in the Lonesome Country category! ‘Q’ magazine gave the video the recognition it deserved when they voted it number one in its 50 Best Videos Ever poll.

What started out as a morbid junkies lament composed by Trent Reznor and recorded by Nine Inch Nails, had been turned into a bold and sympathetic interpretation that embraces the universal themes of loss and human frailty by Cash. The song, and the video, stand as milestones in Cash’s long career.

"I enjoyed doing the Hurt video because I felt we were doing something worthwhile, that it was something kind of special. I was there right in the middle of the thing. So after it was put together, I watched with a critical eye to see what I could find wrong with it. And I didn’t find much wrong with it." — Johnny Cash

REMEMBERING LOU ROBIN

So sad to hear that Lou Robin has passed away in California a few days before his 91st birthday. For more than thirty years he managed the career of Johnny Cash and continued looking after Cash's legacy following his death in 2003.

Lou was always kind and supportive of my work on the Fanzine, in which I interviewed him, and also my book, for which he wrote the foreword to the first edition and is reproduced below. He was always there to answer my constant email requests and when I gave up the Fanzine a few years ago he wrote a lovely email thanking me for my work.

I only met him once, in Nashville back in 2003, during my stay when I attended the Memorial Show. He organised my visit and ticket for the show.

I will be forever grateful to have known this kind man who will be missed by everyone who knew him. He is now reunited with his lovely wife Karen. R.I.P. Lou

Lou and Karen (Photo: Mark Stielper)

Foreword by Lou Robin

 
I began working with Johnny Cash and June Carter in 1969 as a concert promoter and in 1972 I became their personal manager and remain so to date. My career in the music business started in 1957 and I have worked with such stars as The Beatles, Judy Garland, The Rolling Stones, Bill Cosby and many more. In all these years I have never shared any relationship with an artist as emotionally rewarding as the one I share with Johnny and June. The Cash Family, musicians, the road crew and office staff have all worked together to help make life on the road, over 100 days each year, as comfortable as it could be.
 
It is said that artists are unique and different because of their talent. I believe that the real superstars in music, theatre and art have maximized their God-given talents to accomplish true greatness. Johnny Cash is certainly one of those people.
 
Johnny rose from humble beginnings to become an internationally acclaimed songwriter, singer, poet, actor and author. In so doing he became a role model to those who have slipped and fallen and even to those who did not slip in their travels through life. Johnny’s example has enabled so many people to pick themselves up and keep heading toward their life’s goals.
 
This book is the only published chronicle of Johnny’s quest to bring his words and music to the world and to hopefully create happiness and encourage social awareness for millions of people for decades past and future.
 
My associate Allen Tinkley and I remember being on the road with Johnny in some unusual places. We were once in the middle of Finland playing in a warehouse to thousands of fans who had come by special train from Helsinki.
 
Then there was the first of four concerts in Prague, Czechoslovakia where 44,000 tickets had been sold. Just before he was about to walk on stage, Johnny turned to me and wondered aloud if the audience would understand the lyrics to his songs. Johnny was very touched when thousands who knew and understood every word began to sing along.
 
Another time we were in Gdansk, Poland at a folk festival while the country was still under communist control. Freedom supporters had arranged a secret meeting between Johnny and Lech Walesa at a church on the Sunday we were scheduled to leave the country. When the government learned of the meeting, it was cancelled due to “security problems.”
 
I remember the day that Johnny and Mohammed Ali exchanged poetry they composed off the top of their heads while sitting in Ali’s hotel room prior to a championship fight in New Orleans.
 
Another fun evening was at a private party in Hong Kong held at a deserted British military base a couple of miles from the Chinese border. The guest of honor had hired Johnny, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, better known together as the “Highwaymen” to perform for his special evening. Johnny, Willie, Kris and Waylon stood on stage and performed requests shouted at them by the 180 or so guests in attendance.
 
One cold winter night we played a concert in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a church. The political factions were heavy into the fighting. Somehow the promoter quietly got a truce declared until noon the following day when we would be gone. This way the people would not be going to the sold-out, double shows dodging explosions!
 
We also gave tickets on opposite sides of the Church to each faction. So they were all in the same room together for the first time enjoying an event of common interest. The next morning we went to the currency exchange to make a bank transfer to the U.S. before we left for Dublin on our tour bus. Later that same day we heard that the currency exchange had been blown up that afternoon!
 
These stories could go on forever but in summary I want to say that Johnny Cash has been able to go anywhere in the world to entertain. His music has cleared all language barriers and I believe his remarkable talent will prevail forever.
 
Enjoy the journey that Peter Lewry has so painstakingly recreated for you.
 

Lou Robin

Westlake Village, California

30 August 2001

WORKING CLASS HERO

Released on Apple Records in December 1970, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, was Lennon's debut solo album. The same day Yoko Ono released an album with the same title. They had already released three experimental albums, Unfinished Music 1, Two Virgins (1968), Unfinished Music 2, Life With The Lions (1969) and Wedding Album (1970) along with the 1969 live album, Live Peace In Toronto.

On his debut album the Plastic Ono Band included Klaus Voormann (bass guitar), Ringo Starr (drums) and Billy Preston (piano). Lennon played electric and acoustic guitars, piano and organ.

Produced by Lennon, Ono and Phil Spector the album with its raw production, was heavily influenced by Lennon's recent primal scream therapy. It reflected his personal issues with themes including abandonment and psychological suffering.

Recorded during sessions in September and October 1970 at Abbey Road, it featured eleven tracks including, Mother, I Found Out, Working Class Hero, Love, Look At Me and God.

The cover image, taken by actor Dan Richter on an instamatic camera at Lennon's Tittenhurst Park home, featured Lennon lying in Yoko Ono's arms under a tree, identical in every way to Ono's album except the roles are reversed and she is lying in his arms. The original did not have any title or artist name on the front although the first CD release did list both. It reverted back to the original cover on future releases.

The original release had no track listing on the back, just a picture of a young Lennon. It did include an insert with lyrics on one side. Surprisingly, Capitol Records in America, who had issues over some of the lyrics in both I Found Out and Working Class Hero, chose to print the lyrics uncensored. However, in the UK every mention of the word 'fucking' in Working Class Hero was replaced with astericks!

In the United Kingdom it peaked at #8 while it managed to reach #6 in America. Regarded as one of his best solo releases it was voted #4 in a 1987 Rolling Stone list of 'The 100 Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years' and in 2012 was ranked at number 23 in their '500 Greatest Albums of All Time.'

Remixed and re-released in 2000, with two extra tracks, Power To The People and Do The Oz, it has finally been given the ultimate release with the 6 CD and 2 Blu-ray Ultimate Collection box set. Also available as a single CD, 2-CD, vinyl and download it is the Ultimate Collection I will be reviewing here.

There is over eleven hours (on the Blu-ray discs) of audio in hi-res stereo, 5.1 surround and Dolby Atmos all remixed from the original multitrack session tapes. The two Blu-ray discs feature all the material on the six CDs along with more than twenty-five extra tracks. Of course, this is not great for those without a Blu-ray player but, as I seem to be collecting more and more Blu-ray audio discs I recently treated myself to a player.

The first CD features the original eleven track album with three extra tracks that were released as singles around the same time... Give Peace A Chance, Cold Turkey and Instant Karma (We All Shine On).

Out-takes of all the tracks appear on the second CD while the third features the Elements Mixes. These isolate certain elements of each recording giving deeper levels of clarity and detail.

The raw studio mixes on CD#4 gives the listener the opportunity to hear the songs before any effects were added, tape delay, reverb etc. It is like being in the studio when the songs were recorded... raw and live. There are also three out-takes in the same format.

The fifth CD is the Evolution Mix on which each track is presented as an audio montage detailing the evolution of each song from demo to finished master with instructions, studio chatter, rehearsals and much more.

With all the other CDs featuring the same fourteen tracks (albeit in different formats) the final CD is a pleasant departure featuring a number of jams that find John and the band having fun between takes. They jam on rock 'n' roll classics and early versions of other Lennon songs.. Among the twenty-two tracks are Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode, Fats Domino's Ain't That A Shame, Little Richard's Send Me Some Lovin and Carl Perkin's Matchbox. A medley of Elvis Presley's Don't Be Cruel, Hound Dog and When I'm Over You finds Lennon sending up Elvis and apparently showing his love of early rock 'n' roll. I'm not sure about this medley though. There is also an early version of I Don't Want To Be A Soldier Mama I Don't Want To Die, a Lennon original that would appear on his next album, Imagine.

This final CD also includes demos of all the album tracks and the three singles. These are either from recordings made at home on cassette or early studio rehearsals. It is interesting to note when listening to these demos how close to the finished recordings these were before they even bought them to the studio.

Besides giving the listener the opportunity to hear all the tracks in surround sound and hi-res stereo, the Blu-ray discs also include several songs not included on the CDs.

Having enjoyed the set up to this point it was a shock to hear the Yoko Ono tracks on the second Blu-ray disc. I don't know who told her she could sing or had any talent but, and I'm sorry if I offend anyone, her wailing and screaming sounds like a demented cat being strangled! I only played a few minutes from a handful of tracks, which was more than enough, and I certainly won't be playing them again.

The 132-page book is a delight. There is background to the Plastic Ono Band, full details on the three singles included, track-by-track details for the album with full recording information and informative text, lyrics, details on the various mixes, demos, jams and much more. Fully illustrated with photos, rare memorabilia, album and single sleeves and, of interest to me, tape boxes and recording sheets. The set also includes two postcards and a 'War Is Over' poster.

I enjoyed this release, despite the Yoko Ono tracks, and it sits nicely alongside the Imagine (Ultimate Collection) and the Gimme Some Truth set. 

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE

On 26 October 1979 Fleetwood Mac played the first of 112 shows on their 'Tusk Tour' at the Minidome in Pocatello, Idaho and played their final show on the tour on 1 September 1980 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. There were concerts in the U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe, including six sell-out shows at Wembley Arena in London in June 1980, one of which I attended.

The tour, which cost millions in expenses, was also mentally and physically draining for every band member. It could have seen the end of the band and from reports it nearly did. Fortunately they managed to work through their differences and, despite the alleged reports of the copious amounts of drink and drugs consumed during the tour, they made it through to the end with live performances which received positive and glowing reviews.

In order to capture enough material for a proposed live album, and no doubt a way to recoup some of the money spent, every show on the tour was recorded and some reports say filmed.

Released in December 1980 Fleetwood Mac Live was a double album featuring eighteen tracks, of which only eight were taken from the 'Tusk Tour.' Highlights from this tour included Oh Well, Sara, Go Your Own Way, I'm So Afraid and a 9-minute version of Not That Funny.

Two tracks, Dreams and Don't Stop, were recorded during a soundcheck in Paris during the bands 1977 'Rumours Tour' while a further four live tracks (Monday Morning, Say You Love Me, Over My Head and Rhiannon) also came from the same tour, recorded at venues in Tokyo, Wichita, Nashville and London.

A further three tracks were recorded during an intimate performance in Santa Monica for a select group of family members and crew. From this performace came Fireflies, One More Night and a cover of The Beach Boys The Farmer's Daughter.

Don't Let Me Down Again, a song dating back to the Buckingham Nicks days, was the earliest recorded song on the album and was taped during a concert in 1975 in Passaic New Jersey.

In a 1981 interview Lindsey Buckingham talked about the album, "Not surprisingly, the feeling I have when a live album is coming out is a little different than when I've spent a year in the studio working on albums like Rumours or Tusk. You spend a lot of time with a record and it starts to feel like your baby. Though with a group, obviously, it's everyone's baby. With the live album, the feeling isn't quite as tangible because I really didn't spend much time in the studio. It was more a question of assembling things that we already had, rather than building an album up from scratch."

On it's release Fleetwood Mac Live received mixed reviews with several comments about the sound quality and track selection. As a document of the recent 'Tusk Tour' the album falls flat with only eight tracks recorded live during 1979/1980. Having seen them a few months earlier I was excited when I picked up my copy but the overall effect of a live concert was ruined by the inclusion of the songs recorded during the soundcheck and those recorded in front of family and crew. It makes the whole album disjointed. Gaps between certain tracks also does not help. The fact that some of the tracks are from earlier tours was never an issue to me but I guess I was hoping for a memory of the concert I attended.

My comments in no way reflect on the quality of the material or my enjoyment of the album when it was first released. The live performances are excellent and it was great to hear how the band performed all the hits live on stage. I also had no real issues over the sound quality at the time.

Asked in 1981 if it was the right time for a live album Buckingham said, "It sort of put a cap on the last five years of touring and recording, I think. On this tour we really came together as a band in ways that we hadn't before, and I feel that the versions of most of the songs we were playing were as good as any we'd done. I think Mick wanted us to go right into the studio to start work on the next studio record, but instead we're taking a break, probably until May, to relax a little, work on our own projects or whatever. It feels good to have a breather for a change. It'll allow us to be fresh when we start the next album."

Recent deluxe editions have given us a wealth of previously unreleased live material. Fleetwood Mac included fourteen recordings from 1975 and 1976 while Rumours featured twelve tracks recorded during the 1977 tour. A DVD The Rosebud Film was also included which was a 1977 documentary film created to promote the European leg of the 'Rumours' tour. Featuring rehearsal footage, interviews and live footage from Santa Barbara in May 1976 performing World Turning, Go Your Own Way, You Make Loving Fun and others. Mirage included a live disc featuring thirteen tracks which, although I haven't checked, I believe are the same as on the video release.

However, it was the live recordings included on the deluxe edition of Tusk that are my favourites. Twenty-two songs on two CDs with a running time of over two hours, all recorded during the 'Tusk' tour. Based on various set-lists I have seen and my own memory, the songs create a complete concert from the period. A few tracks were recorded on the night I was there. 

Following the deluxe editions of Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, Tusk, Mirage and Tango In The Night finally Fleetwood Mac Live has been given the 'deluxe' treatment.

Rhino have given Fleetwood Mac Live a makeover which features a remastered version of the original album, presented on two CDs and 180-gram vinyl. More than an hour of previously unreleased live material, covering the years 1977, 1980 and 1982, appear on the third CD. The set also includes a vinyl single featuring previously unreleased demos of Fireflies and One More Night.

Presented in a 12x12 slipcase the vinyl album and single are housed in a gatefold sleeve which also houses the three CDs. A 16-page booklet includes liner notes and history of the original album by David Wild, a complete 'Tusk Tour' itinerary, track details (which unfortunately contains a few mistakes) and many rare photos.

They also released a 'tour' edition which included items of memorabilia - replica ticket, tour pass, advert, button and sticker. Unfortunately my finances couldn't stretch to this version. Compared to the deluxe edition of Tusk, which included 5 discs, this was already an expensive purchase.

The sound on the remastered original album is much better than the original release and this continues with the unreleased material. There are many highlights on the third disc including a great version of The Chain, a song which should have been included on the original album, Brown Eyes, Hold Me, Sisters Of The Moon, Angel and, as always, Christine McVie's beautifully sung Songbird. Lindsey Buckingham, having given a blistering performance of Oh Well on the original album, pays tribute to the early days of Fleetwood Mac once again with his version of The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown).

Songbird was always the encore and closing song on the tour and here it ends with the band thanking the audience and saying goodnight. This should have been the last song on the CD but it is followed by Blue Letter, before which Christine McVie once again thanks the audience! Personally I think the songs should have been swapped around as it would make more sense and, looking through several set lists from the tour, Blue Letter was the penultimate song performed before they returned for the encore!

There is a remix of Fireflies closing the CD and demos of both Fireflies and One More Night appear on the vinyl single. With a recording date of 2 September 1980, the day after the tour ended, the former would appear to be from the show the band gave to family and crew in Santa Monica. One More Night is listed as from 7 June 1979 and is possible taken from one of the many tour rehearsals. If so it would be great to hear more of this material.

My earlier comments regarding mistakes in the booklet refers to the dates listed for the tracks. Having already correctly stated in the liner notes that some tracks were recorded in 1977, it was confusing to find the same songs listed as from shows in 1979 and 1980. It doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the music but if you are going to include the information in the booklet then more effort should be made to provide the correct details. 

I loved the album when it first came out in 1980 and I am enjoying the deluxe edition, despite the price, my comments about some of the songs and the errors in the booklet, and it sits nicely alongside my other Fleetwood Mac 'Deluxe Editions'.

FORTY SHADES OF GREEN

Continuing my celebration of thirty years as a published author and consultant in the music and entertainment genres and with today being St Patrick's Day what follows is my article on Johnny Cash's 1963 tour of Ireland.

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The year 1963 started off with the release of the concept album Blood, Sweat And Tears and would find Cash hitting the top spot again with the single Ring Of Fire, his first number one in four years. Cash was also on the road for most of the year including an appearance at the famous Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It also saw Cash make his first full concert tour in the United Kingdom with most of the dates in Ireland but, as we shall see later, it included two concerts in England.

The tour was promoted by Tom Costello and Bill Fuller and accompanying Cash on tour were The Tennessee Three (Luther Perkins, Marshall Grant and W. S. Holland), June Carter and his manager Saul Holiff.

Other acts on the tour included The Cadets, Savoy Swing Seven, The Victors Showband, Dermot O’Brien Stellas, Johnny Grant, The Mounties Showband and Pete Brown Showband. Most of the support acts were local bands from the places visited during the tour.

It is unclear what date they flew into Ireland but on Tuesday 8th October a press event was held at the Crystal Ballroom in Dublin. They also recorded for The Showband Show at the RTE Television Studios.

The tour kicked off with a show at the Granada Ballroom in Kingscourt, Cavan on Wednesday 9th. There were no shows on the next three days although it is possible he flew to England and we look at this possibility later in the article.

Sunday 13th found the Johnny Cash Show performing in Dundalk at The Adelphi and following another day off the tour continued at the Lakeland Ballroom in Mullingar (15th), Salthill, Galway (16th), Limerick (17th) and Mallow, Cork (18th). There were two shows on the 19th in Dublin and Rush, County Dublin and the tour wound up with shows in Athy and Kilkenny.

Among the songs performed during the tour were Big River, Rock Island Line, John Henry, Ballad Of A Teenage Queen, Folsom Prison Blues and, of course, Forty Shades Of Green.

In an interview with Peter Clark following the show in Mallow, Cash talked about visiting Ireland and the song Forty Shades Of Green. “Well, it’s always been my ambition to visit Ireland and when I got my first real chance to take a holiday three years ago I naturally came over here. My wife was with me and we hired a car and drove all over the place. I casually remarked ‘there must be 40 shades of green back there’ on the way back on the plane and my wife suggested it would be a good song title. I took her up on it, scribbled out the words there and then, added the music later, and there it was.”

In my Johnny Cash Chronicle I had two dates listed of shows that Cash played in England in October 1963.

There were shows at the Astoria Club in Manchester and the Irish Social Club in Camden Town, London, most likely on 10th and 11th October. These were Cash’s first ‘real’ concerts in England his only other appearance being on the ABC Television show Boy Meets Girls where he was backed by UK musicians including Joe Brown, due to Musicians Union rules about visiting American musicians.

There is no doubt that these concerts took place as there are photographs by Brian Smith taken at the Manchester Show.

Trying to ascertain the actual dates is not so easy. Although it cannot be 100% guaranteed it is more than likely that the shows did take place on the 10th and 11th as Cash had three days off following the show in Kingscourt on the 9th October. Compared to the distances travelled in the States between shows it would not be impossible to travel the short distances from Kingscourt to Manchester and then to London and back to Ireland. Until any other information comes to light these dates will remain accurate.

This brings us to the RTE Radio broadcast Johnny Cash’s Lost Tour of Ireland.

Narrated by Jim Lockhart, produced by Tim Desmond and researched by Paul McCann the documentary gives a different perspective on Johnny Cash and also reveals his long relationship with Ireland. The documentary features comments from Eileen Reid, a member of The Cadets who supported Cash on some of the dates, and fans who attended the shows.

The documentary was made possible when a recording by Enda Shortall and his boss, who provided sound equipment for the concert at the National Stadium in Dublin on 19th October. Found in an old tin the recording is a piece of musical history which takes the listener back to the exciting days of 1963.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to listen to the entire concert and the sound quality is excellent considering the age of the recording.

Following an introduction Cash kicks of the show with Big River and follows with Forty Shades Of Green, which receives a great reaction from the audience, and many more hits (Rock Island Line, Ballad Of A Teenage Queen, Ring Of Fire, I Walk The Line, Dark As A Dungeon) before bringing the first part of the show to a close. June Carter then takes the stage for a selection of Carter Family classics after which Cash returns for a few numbers before closing the show with Folsom Prison Blues and a reprise of Forty Shades Of Green.

Cash sounds in good voice, jokes a lot with the audience and it is a great example of  how Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three sounded in concert back in 1963.

With thanks to Paul McCann, Tim Desmond (RTE), Jonathan Holiff and Brian Smith