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.
CHEERS to Bill and Michael in PWM and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES — an exhibition entitled Seeing Red: Renoir to Warhol — with more than one hundred works by seventy artists exploring the many meanings and associations of the color of red in art — is at the Nassau County Museum of Art on Long Island, New York to January 5th.
Head of a Young Girl: 1918
YOUR WEEKEND READ is this short essay by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich about attending the 1996 DNC in Chicago — partly illuminating (describing three separate conventions) and humorous, courtesy of his (then) fifteen year-old son.
PROGRAMMING NOTE — as I will be travelling for the Labor Day weekend to see family and friends, there will neither be a Friday night appearance in C&J, nor a normal Sunday diary. I will post a Who Lost the Month in MAGA World? poll (set to appear on Sunday) … yet have had some trouble advance posting polls in the past, so will have to hope it works.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Harry the Cat - who wandered away from his suburban Boston home in July ... now returning home after his microchip was scanned at Logan International Airport.
Harry the Cat
HISTORY NOTES — this Thread Reader series shows virtual reconstructions of ancient architecture — including six (of the Seven) Wonders of the Ancient World that long ago ceased to exist — plus an additional nine lesser-known structures.
FRIDAY's CHILD is the recently deceased Libby the Cat - an upstate New York kitteh who for the past fifteen years was the queen of the local public library: originally "hired" to control rodents but who became a popular greeter and had a knack for making children behave.
Libby the Library Cat
BRAIN TEASER — try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC ...… and the usually easier, less UK-centered New York Times quiz.
THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a Convention Wrap-up edition.
SEPARATED at BIRTH — author and triumphant plaintiff against 45, E. Jean Carroll — and Academy Award winner Diane Keaton.
E. Jean Carroll (b. 1943)
Diane Keaton (born 1946)
...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… with this past week marking the fifty-fifth anniversary of the original Woodstock festival in New York’s Hudson Valley (and our own sfbob has remarked in this space about attending) — here are some background stories (a few of which I’ve mentioned in this space).
The couple on the landmark Woodstock soundtrack album later married (Bobbi became a school nurse, Nick a carpenter) and in retirement: both served as volunteer guides at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which hosts (smaller scale) concerts on the grounds of the original festival.
Their fifty-two year marriage ended in March, 2023 with her death at seventy-three from cancer.
A different couple who met at Woodstock are Judy and Jerry, who have been married for forty-nine years … yet who knew other less than 48 hours when that first photo was taken.
The first photo was unbeknownst .. until 2019
My very first Top Comments diary noted the passing of the intrepid music photographer Jim Marshall (and I devoted ½ of a second diary on his career). Since his death in 2010 at the age of seventy-four: an acclaimed book of his photos was released (and made into a documentary) … and at the Woodstock festival, he was named chief photographer (shown in this photo by a contemporary, Henry Diltz).
Jim Marshall (1936-2010)
Someone else who was capturing the sights-and-sounds … was an assistant director to Michael Wadleigh’s documentary film (which was very popular in theaters back in the 70’s) … and who seven years later directed the film of The Band’s farewell concert, The Last Waltz.
Martin Scorsese (w/phones)
Someone whom I knew as the (on-again-off-again) drummer for the recently deceased bluesman John Mayall was Keef Hartley — who led his own blues-rock bands well into the 1970’s. His band (with longtime guitarist Miller Anderson) was the first British band to perform at Woodstock and was well-received. Alas … their manager demanded to be paid $2k upfront for the rights to record or film the band (without their knowledge) so they were never included on any official Woodstock release until 2019, when the full Woodstock set was released (years after his death). In his memoirs, he wistfully noted the financial success others (i.e., Canned Heat) received from their appearances.
Keef Hartley (1944-2011)
During that same summer of 1969, downstate in NYC was the Harlem Cultural Festival, the film tapes of which the musician/record producer Questlove came into possession of … and Summer of Soul won an Academy Award for Best Documentary of 2021.
Though the film did not mention it: the only act to appear in both Harlem and Woodstock … was Sly & the Family Stone (just a few weeks apart).
Cynthia Robinson, Jerry Martini and Gregg Errico are in the background
Finally, someone the general public knew as one of the two main stage announcers (along with John Morris) at Woodstock … is much better known in the concert touring business as a lighting designer. Edward “Chip” Monck was paid $7k to be the lighting director (under difficult circumstances) then was drafted into being a stage announcer when it was realized .. no one had been hired as one. Some of his announcements were about brown acid and rainstorms among other things. Yet it was pulling off the lighting that was his greatest challenge.
Some of the stage lighting he has done: the Village Gate in NYC (with Bob Dylan), the Newport Folk & Jazz Festivals, the Apollo Theater in NYC, the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, the 1974 Ali-Foreman championship bout and the 1984 Olympics … just for starters.
Chip Monck received a 1975 Tony Award nomination (in Best Lighting Design) for the stage production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and was honored by the Parnelli Awards (for live event professional work behind the scenes) for Lifetime Achievement in 2003. At age eighty-five, he does corporate work in Australia.
Chip Monck at Woodstock
Finally, one of the secrets of the Woodstock albums were … that not all tracks were authentic. The 2-record Woodstock II album (released in 1971, a year after the first 3-record album) had two songs on it from the band Mountain — in only their fourth concert since their founding. The band was unhappy with their performances (given their lack of concert experience) and and asked to substitute two later live recordings on the Woodstock II release. By that time, their original drummer (Norman Smart) had left the band and Canadian drummer Corky Laing joined (with a much heavier style). Interestingly, Laing and Smart are the only two surviving members of the band’s 1969-1972 incarnation today.
One of the two substitute tunes was their own song Blood of the Sun — and the second was Theme for an Imaginary Western — a ballad by my main man Jack Bruce (of Cream) whom guitarist Leslie West noted in his introduction of bassist Felix Pappalardi (who had been Cream’s producer) to sing it. The lyrics by Jack’s long-time associate Pete Brown was an allegory (citing the American wagon pioneers going west) relating to the 1960’s British music pioneers.
Here is Mountain’s original Woodstock performance (only released in 2019).
