#Jimmy Preston
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SCHOOL OF TUNEAGE: LESSON ONE. IN THE BEGINNING...
CLASS IS IN SESSION.
Good evening, my fellow freaks, fillies, and other assorted friends. I'm your deejay for the evening, Zee, and I'll be starting out this blog, this course, and this whole damn mission with a statement that some would consider to be moderately controversial.
Rock music is innately Black music.
Now, yes, we've had our share of crackers in the biz (myself included) but the FOUNDATIONS OF ROCK MUSIC, AND THE SONGS THAT MADE ROCK MUSIC WHAT IT IS, are primarily from Black artists.
Don't believe me? Let's delve in.
Early Rock and Roll was, at its core, a danceable, high-octane (for the time) fusion of Rhythm and Blues and Country. Now, I don't have to tell you how very Black-dominated R&B was, even at the time.
Consider this: Jimmy Preston's "Rock The Joint", from 1949.
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Or, from 1946, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right".
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BUT rock `n roll got passed off to the public vis-a-vis an acceptable, lilly-white proxy… Elvis Presley. Consider this, his seminal hit, 'You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog'.
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Now, do you want to see something really awesome?
Elvis' version was a cover. A cover that he (and the recording industry) tried to pretend wasn't a cover.
Here's our first track of the week… the original.
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That's BIG MAMA THORNTON, blues singer, the woman responsible for the trope codifier for rock `n roll… and, you will note, a woman singing quite a different song from Elvis' version. Big Mama's was a song of Black female empowerment, a song about telling a freeloading gigolo to hit the road, while Elvis' was sanitized into almost a Kidz Bop version. Hell, he sanitized it MORE than Kidz Bop sanitized "Lips of an Angel" (and more on THAT debacle another day).
And this was far from the only offense in Presley's resume.
Otis Blackwell was a prolific songwriter who originally sang many, many early rock songs. These included Jerry Lee Lewis' 'Great Balls of Fire', as well as Elvis' 'All Shook Up', 'Don't Be Cruel', and 'Return to Sender'. And these last three are probably the most damning indictment of the whitewashing of rock `n roll. Why?
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That's why. Give that a close listen.
Elvis seemed to take his entire way of singing - his delivery, his inflection, everything - from Otis Blackwell. As you can see from Otis' album title there, "These are my songs!", he was at least able to attempt to claw back some recognition in later years, but - in the opinion of this berk - it was definitely a case of too little, too late.
We know now. History is damn clear on the topic. But for years, the industry hid behind the Great White Hype of Elvis, pretended he was an innovator instead of a repackager, and shut out the real innovators from their rightful recognition.
Perhaps it is ironic that in years to come - particularly in the late sixties and seventies - there would be a rising 'damn the man' rebellion baked into rock and roll. Or perhaps it would just be karma, ensuring that the sanitization of an inherently rebellious music made by an oppressed people would still carry their spirit.
For tonight, I leave you with another early rock track - what some people say is the first real rock song. Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm - Rocket 88.
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Class dismissed.
And now we go to open conversation - we've got a survey out right now, check down the page. If you fill it out, I'll have a better idea of what topics everyone wants to cover. And of course, if you want to keep talking about what I covered above... please do.
#School of Tuneage#Lesson 1#Music#Rock and Roll#Ike Turner#Big Mama Thornton#Otis Blackwell#Arthur Crudup#Jimmy Preston#Elvis Presley#Early Rock#Proto-rock#R&B#Videos#Youtube
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Bonus Yuki
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if the ballad of chasey lain was realeased now itd be caled ballad of hawk tuah girl
mind. blowen.
#bloodhound gang#jimmy pop#jackass the movie#jackass#cky#bam margera#cky crew#johnny knoxville#mtv jackass#steve o#viva la bam#raab himself#dave england#preston lacy#jeff tremaine#ryan dunn#rake yohn#deron miller#brandon novak#brandon dicamillo
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led zeppelin, by neal preston
#again captionless.... but the colors look cool#was horrified for a sec thinking i scanned it with that light but its just from the pic itself#lznp#led zeppelin#neal preston#my scans#robert plant#jimmy page#classic rock#mine#70s
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Green Day playing the New York subway with Jimmy Fallon last night. Love Billie's disguise in the first photo😂 📸 essceeohteetee on Instagram
#green day#billie joe armstrong#billie joe#green day live#mike dirnt#tre cool#jason white#kevin preston#jimmy fallon
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#Others add in the tags#the beatles#brian epstein#george martin#stuart sutcliffe#pete best#jimmy nicol#mal evans#neil aspinall#billy preston#derek taylor#martha#freda kelly
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I: “Did the members of the band comment with you on the shots?”
Neal Preston: “Funny you ask. I always thought that Jonesy and Bonzo never even looked at the tryouts. Robert would make some observations: ‘I like it. I don’t like it’. Jimmy would comment laconically, like: ‘Crow’s feet’. He was worried about crow’s feet and bellies, ‘Look here. Look there.’ A famous anecdote, moreover true, tells of one evening when I went to Jimmy’s suite to show him a series of color slides. With the huge carousels on the projector, I gave a show in the corridors of the hotel. We used a large blank wall as a screen and we looked at the images. Jimmy rejected all the impeccable ones, the most beautiful ones, the ones that in my opinion were perfect, technically successful shots. He preferred the more bizarre ones, the ones with a spectral aura... I’ve never managed to figure out what he liked. He seemed to change his mind from hour to hour. He wanted to look handsome and charming, then he wanted to give a strange and dark image of himself... Well, I didn’t understand his choices. At one point I turned off the projector and asked him: ‘Tell me which ones you like. Give me some pointers, because I feel lost.’ And Jimmy replied: ‘I seek power, mystery, romance and the hammer of the gods.’
#jimmy page#led zeppelin#70s#1970s#seventies#classic rock#neal preston#rock#hard rock#rock and roll#rock n roll#rock music#70s rock#70s music#70s vintage#70s retro#70s fashion#70s photography#rock photography#70s aesthetic#70s icons#rock legends#by dee dee 🌺🕯️#facts & trivia
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The Uncle Meat Variations by Frank Zappa and The Mothers from the compilation album Meat Light (Section 2: Uncle Meat's "Original Sequence")
#music#frank zappa#the mothers of invention#frank zappa and the mothers of invention#ray collins#jimmy carl black#roy estrada#don preston#billy mundi#antonio salas#ian underwood#bunk gardner#john leon guarnera#art tripp#jim sherwood#ruth underwood#ruth komanoff#euclid james sherwood#nelcy walker#theodore holdt#Spotify
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The Rolling Stones - Shine A Light
#the rolling stones#keith richards#mick jagger#charlie watts#nicky hopkins#billy preston#mick taylor#jimmy miller#exile on main street#Youtube
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James Cagney as Robin Hood (1938)!
Modern Screen magazine, October 1935
'The Robin Hood Archery Tournament' held by Warner Brothers to promote what would eventually be The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Also pictured are Basil Rathbone, who was in the final film, and Howard Hill (in tights) who would be Errol Flynn's archery instructor and body double for the film, performing the famous arrow-splitting shot amongst others. The women are Jan Holm (actress), Alice Gwynne Preston (socialite), and Gladys Hammer (?).
#james cagney#jimmy cagney#hollywood#old hollywood#vintage hollywood#classic hollywood#studio system#warner brothers#warner bros#1930s#1935#modern screen#modern screen magazine#movie magazine#gossip column#robin hood#the adventures of robin hood#1938#frances willard vernon#olivia de havilland#basil rathbone#howard hill#jan holm#gladys hammer#alice gwynne preston
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What was Zappa really like?
Did he fly into a rage?
Bet he got high all the time—-
And did he really shit on the stage?
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led zeppelin, by neal preston
final rehearsal for the 1975 american tour. metropolitan sports center; january 17 1975.
CYNTHIA: …. These rehearsal photos. You just got in and started taking pictures? NEAL: Of course. Of course. Well, I wasn’t shy. I walked in already taking pictures and I remember they were playing ‘Custard Pie’. They also played ‘The Wanton Song’. Don’t ask me how I remember that.
#sorry for the bad crop here i am but a man#if i'd scanned them fully they'd have looked worse :[#led zeppelin#jimmy page#robert plant#john paul jones#john bonham#lznp#neal preston#classic rock#70s#my scans#mine
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Year-End Poll #11: 1960
More information about this blog here
To quote a song from a certain John Waters adaptation, "Welcome to the 60's." And to mark the occasion, here's some songs from that decade of sex, drugs, and rock and roll! Woo!
So our modern perceptions of any given decade are rarely exhibited by the Billboard Hot 100 charts, especially when the decade is only just starting. I have my own thoughts on when the 60's truly comes into its own, but we'll get to that later. In the meantime, the top hits of 1960 wouldn't seem that out of place in the 1950s. Compositions, traditional pop, and doo-wop. Elvis is back on the charts after his time in the military.
However, there is one song featured in this poll that was truly a sign of where pop music was heading. If anyone can't figure out which one it is, don't worry. The same song will return in a future 1960s poll.
#billboard music#billboard poll#1960s#1960#1960s music#percy faith#jim reeves#the everly brothers#johnny preston#mark dinning#brenda lee#elvis presley#jimmy jones#chubby checker
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im bored so ill say this now but…my inbox is always open for rants about jackass/vlb (+ people associated with them like ville valo, jimmy pop, etc) or headcannons or whatever, send your fav photos or a photo you wanna talk about.
i just wanna say that cus for me people in my life i dont have many people who care for my long rants so yknow i wanna give that space to people rather its on anon or not cus im curious and i love to see what people think about things!!! :P
so basically your opionons on jackass/vlb related stuff lmao (or you could ask questions too idc!!)
#viva la axe#. ★ axel ★ .#jackass#bam margera#mtv jackass#viva la bam#2000s#early 2000s#brandon dicamillo#chris pontius#steve o#ryan dunn#preston lacy#wee man#dave england#ehren mcghehey#jess margera#cky crew#rake yohn#brandon novak#raab himself#jeff tremaine#joe frantz#ville valo#him band#jimmy pop#bloodhound gang
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The Mothers in London, 1967
#blues rock#prog rock#jazz#the mother of invention#Frank Zappa#Jimmy Carl Black#Roy Estrada#Don Preston#Elliot Ingber#Bunk Gardner
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i'm watching s2e2 of masterchef, australia and they have to make a beef wellington. during the tasting of a specific contestant's dish, preston starts to talk about the history of arthur wellesley, the 1st duke of wellington, who was a general in the british army back in the 1700s. he specifically talks about how he came to prominence for a campaign in india (aka invading and expanding the colonies) and pulls similarities to the contestant, jimmy seervai, an indian man.
i know you're complimenting him preston BUT WHAT THE FUCK!? maybe don't bring up the colonisation of his people to do so????
#masterchef australia#matt preston#jimmy seervai#masterchef#it's just such a tasteless way to go about it#it made me do a double take as in i had to rewind to make sure i wasn't hearing shit#bcs that is just so far out#how could anyone think that's a good way to go about it?#i am gobsmacked
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