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Oh, Canada! The Four Lads, with Istanbul {Not Constantinople}, 1953. Thanks to the Lads for clearing everything up!

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The great Stevie Wonder, with an unstoppable performance at the Grammy's, 1975. Variety magazine states: "He was fervent Pentecostal preacher crossed with rabble-rouser statesman, whipping congregations and constituents into a frenzy. When he performed “You Haven’t Done Nothin’” at the 1975 Grammys, the A-listers assembled, which included Helen Reddy, Tony Orlando, Gladys Knight and the Pips and “Poetry Man” singer Phoebe Snow, went absolutely insane."

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The iconic New York Dolls, in 1973 on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Jet Boy, the closing track on their legendary debut album. RIP David Johansen. The Truly Great One.

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The Turtles, featuring Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman {aka Flo and Eddie}, delve deep into the Uplift Program.

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Noted bon vivant Charlie Barnet with his Big Band, performing his wondrous composition Skyliner.

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Noted optimist Christopher Cross, with a couple of wondrous ventures into things.

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Dobie Gray performs his enduring classic Drift Away on The Old Grey Whistle Test, July 9, 1974. Written by Mentor Williams, the brother of Paul Williams, this song turned out to be a monster hit for Gray, who delivered an unquestionably soulful, uplifting rendition. He could do the same live, as he does here, and on The Midnight Special, below, April 20, 1973. Dobie was hardly a stranger to the inducement of hand-clapping, and he shows his credentials here. Not quite at the standing World Record level, but It Exists. 

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Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers perform their monster hit Why Do Fools Fall In Love live on the Frankie Laine Show in 1956. The 13 year old Lymon simply sizzles and electrifies the Nation with this performance; the prodigy already has a fully formed vocal delivery many talents never attain. His phrasing already is highly developed. Words have a different sound, and even meaning, coming from his mouth. Note the mæstro-ism in his approach: rather than hitting the same nail with the selfsame hammer, he eschews the falsetto moments for a more Joe Williams-esque way forward. It strikes this curator that the wunderkind might well have heard a Williams record, and decided, just for fun, to see if he could take a page from the legendary jazz singer’s book. His stage presence is magnetic yet composed, and, oh, Lymon is a brilliant dancer, too. Other than that, well….but wait! He gives a calm, charming interview (of sorts) with host Laine. I suppose all that’s good enough. In closing, one should mention that, although the electrifying youngster was given credit for composing this song, the erstwhile frontman Herman Santiago, a doddering, decrepit, shambling Methuselean figure at 15 years of age, is the human being most likely to have done so.

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The extraordinary, powerful, and, upon its 1965 release, highly controversial composition Eve of Destruction is performed live by vocalist Barry McGuire on the Hullabaloo show. McGuire, after being introduced by Jerry Lewis, delivers an emotionally charged rendition that made ripples---more like tsunami---across the US. September 20, 1965, the very day after the song hit #1 nationwide, was the day. Composer P.F. Sloan recalls a few fascinating and unlikely (as in, almost credulity-straining...yet not) details: during the studio recording session, “Barry was reading it for the first time off a piece of paper I had written the lyric on! Okay. McGuire's record is released but 'Eve' is the B-side. Somewhere in the Great Midwest of America a DJ played the wrong side by mistake!”. Banned and (very wrongly) denounced as unpatriotic, Eve only became more and more popular, most likely benefiting from all the wild, incorrect accusations and censure. Its creator and performer were not so fortunate, however; Sloan:  “It ruined Barry's career as an artist and in a year I would be driven out of the music business too.”.

The moving studio version audio track (there was one, and only one, recorded), with accompanying warfare and related barbarities. All too often amidst the hysteria, something is lost: the poetry. This is a brilliant--and cleverly worded---song. “You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace; Hate your next door neighbor, but don’t forget to say Grace”. A final note, and note well: “To cure an ill you need to know what is sick.” And really finally: “In my youthful zeal I hadn't realized that this would be taken as an attack on The System!” (composer and 19 year old backlash of ______ victim P.F. Sloan).

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Liza Minnelli performs Cabaret, live in 1972. With such an electrifying stage presence, one could get by on that alone, but Ms. Minnelli possesses a staggering mezzo-soprano vocal ability that induces chills. The fact that her mother Judy Garland’s voice comes through at times can be terribly poignant, but also is without a doubt a thing of beauty. Here’s to Liza...and Judy.

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The Sex Pistols, with E.M.I., live January 1978. Featuring, of course, lead vocalist Johnny Rotten (John Lydon), so dubbed by guitarist Steve Jones, as a reference to the then burgeoning Britain Needs Dentists movement. Although this and the subsequent performance came about when the band was coming undone, with disaffection and discontent within the group running rampant, they still possess the capacity to electrify.

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Proggy and brilliant goings-on with the English band Yes, on Roundabout, performed live in December, 1972, at The Rainbow Theater in London. Chock-a-block with baffling time signatures, this number is given a superb treatment by Jon Anderson on lead vocals, Steve Howe (guitar), Rick Wakeman (keyboards), Chris Squire (bass), and drummer Alan White, who had recently replaced the departed (and noted) Bill Bruford.

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Juan Moneo (”El Torta”) gives a stunningly intense performance at Festival XXIV de la Bulería de Jerez, 1991. One of the greatest Flamenco Cantaors, the emotion simply surges from his pores; check out moments such as those at 3:15 and 3:52. As one might expect, there awaits a rather big finish.

The great Pansequito now takes the helm. Everything written above also applies to this man; this amazing, deeply moving performance was witnessed by a very fortunate audience at XV Festival Flamenco Caja Madrid, 2007.

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Jimi Hendrix, with a live, explosive performance of Johnny B. Goode in Berkeley, 1970. Unreal, incendiary rendition by the great man.

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Talk Talk, featuring vocalist/composer Mark Hollis, cast their mesmeric, bewitching spell, live in Montreux, 1986. It’s My Life, co-penned by Hollis and keyboardist/composer Tim Friese-Greene (who was never an “official” member of the band, and only too rarely appeared onstage) (for example, he is not present here), was released in 1984 as the group’s first single off their second album. Quite challenging to resist. 

1985 saw the release Talk Talk’s hit Life’s What You Make It. Performed here live, same locale as above, they create an atmosphere that is difficult to define. Another hypnotic, magical piece of music. Hollis, who departed this world in February 2019, once commented "Before you play two notes, learn how to play one note. And don't play one note unless you've got a reason to play it." Amen.

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Albert Hammond performs his great hit single It Never Rains in Southern California, live on November 9th, 1975. A card-carrying member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame (the Gibraltarian co-penned The Air That I Breathe with Mike Hazlewood, and wrote numerous other well-known numbers), Mr. Hammond really nails the vocal here, with winning variations of cadence and emphasis; great to see/hear a semi-obscure (in the U.S., anyway...) (in the UK he has received the Order of the British Empire) talent, show such mastery.

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The Zombies, featuring vocalist of wonder Colin Blunstone, keyboardist/composer Rod Argent, and noted Bob Wilkins imitator (not really...but, could have been) Chris White, perform She’s Not There in 1965 on Hullaballoo. Argent wrote the song specifically for Blunstone; “I could hear him singing it in my mind” says the organist. Worked out pretty well.

The Zombies circa 2005, in Belgium. Blunstone and Argent have certainly still got it, as they display on their monster 1968 landmark of psychedelic music, Time of the Season. One of the great songs, period, and the vocalist and keyboardist both display their massive talents.