As Wendy's
Old Fashion Rock n' Roll House Party begins its eleventh year, I
began to reflect on some of the past acts that began our series
way back in 2000. So far at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts,
we have been privy to some of the most authenticated acts and some
of the greatest names in rock n' roll history. Just the record sale
count alone is staggering. If you figure in the hit single factor
of Mark Lindsay, Gary Lewis, The Shangri-Las, Mitch Ryder, Johnny
Rivers, Three Dog Night, Tommy James, Lou Gramm, The Temptations,
Mickey Dolenz, Herman's Hermits, Styx, The Grass Roots, Wilson Picket,
and all the rest, you total well over 127 million hit singles sold!
I'm here to tell you that's a lot of vintage vinyl if you take into
consideration that most top ten songs sold at least a million copies
each. That was the ultimate prize of any recording artist to be
in the status zone of seven figures. While most of the acts that
have appeared at the venue have been more "hit single" oriented.
2003 was a FM radio head's dream as the era of the album was in
the spotlight as we presented "The Voices of Rock."
Back in the
early 70's when FM radio began to grab the ears of younger listeners;
AM top forty radio was still the king. FM program directors were
trying to do everything they could to attract listeners away from
the highly successful AM stations. Expanding their play lists to
feature selected "album cuts" from the most popular artists that
weren't being played on AM was a mighty weapon. Both the mega super
groups Steppenwolf and Grand Funk Railroad had an opportunity to
ride the bi-frequency crest to stardom. On your favorite AM station
for instance, Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild" was a burning up the
air-waves, while the FM Rock stations were playing songs like "
Don't Step on the Grass, Sam", " Monster," and in some rare and
extremely liberal areas, " The Pusher." As this transition phase
in radio was happening, it gave all of the artists who were being
played on FM a bit of a renegade status, not to mention the exposure.
Mark Farner
and Grand Funk Railroad was actually an FM radio product from the
very beginning. The highly successful "On time" album released in
1969 got minimal airplay on the popular Top Forty AM stations, but
the more cult orientated FM dial ate them up like a starving Italian
at a spaghetti dinner. The song "Closer to Home (I'm Your Captain)"
was the perfect and quintessential anthem song to get the attention
that the art-form needed. That particular song and its mammoth popularity
actually forced AM's hand to start adding it to their play lists.
It was this watershed moment that helped bring mass appeal and credibility
to a group that helped pioneer the fledgling FM renaissance. Both
FM and AM radio was most certainly a better place for it.
While John Kay
with Steppenwolf and Mark Farner and GFR took us back on April 12th,
2003 to an unforgettable era in Rock n' Roll, It's strange how many
similarities still exist today. For instance "The Pusher" was a
hallmark song for drug abuse and addiction of the time. In case
you haven't noticed, that time still exists. While famous for some
dicey verbiage, the song reeks of truth concerning the condemnation
to a higher source of what drugs can do to the mortal soul. Another
little known Steppenwolf anti-drug song is "Snow Blind Friend."
It's a soft acoustic ballad that chronicles the decent and ultimate
demise of a cocaine addict. Again, songs that still have a strong
message almost 40 years later. As I watch CNN's war coverage and
listen to the words of Steppenwolf's "Monster," it's almost chilling.
The anti-war sentiment that was so much a part of the early late
60's and 70's music is almost a mirror image of what's going on
today. Steppenwolf's album sales totaled almost 10 million reflecting
song messages laden with blue collared social grit that still rides
the Harley of modern consciousness.
Mark Farner
and GFR are responsible for 12 Platinum albums that sold in excess
of a million copies each. While they were considered major stars
on the FM underground circuit, it really wasn't until 1973 and the
remake of "The Locomotion" that Mark Farner and GFR jettisoned themselves
onto the Top-Forty Gravy train. With a strong core of fans and now
the support of both sides of the dial, Grand Funk Railroad enjoyed
a run that few acts can top. From the fun and playful soul busting
nugget "Some Kind of Wonderful," to the seductive and Blues laden
FM classic "Mean Mistreater," their marketing versatility was astounding.
Their live CD titled "Caught in the Act" is the second biggest selling
live performance album behind Peter Frampton's "Frampton Comes Alive."
Portsmouth's
own "Mighty Fine!" warmed up the capacity crowd that evening to
non-stop classic rock n' roll energy that turned on the juice to
become one of the pure power shows in the history of our ongoing
series. So… for those of you who got your motor's runnin' with all
the girls in the world in a state of "beware", the 4th installment
of Wendy's Old Fashion Rock and Roll House Party went into the books
as a rowdy rager!
During the
next couple of months we will review some of the other past shows
as we head into our second decade of bringing you the stars that
made the hits. Tickets for Wendy's Old Fashion House Part 11 with
Eric Burdon and the Animals and Felix Cavaliere and the Rascals
are going fast and can be purchased at the McKinley Box office or
all Ticketmaster locations. Next week, "Welcome my friend to the
show that never ends!"
--
Steve
Hayes is a morning radio host and a syndicated columnist for
Heartland Publishing. E-mail Steve your comments... Steve@SteveHayesMedia.com