Watermelon Man

It takes a certain kind of brilliance to take a song that was already considered a jazz classic and rework it into something even better.  That's exactly what Herbie Hancock did with Watermelon Man.

What is offered here today is the 1973 version from the fusion/funk classic Headhunters...  and if you watched The Weather Channel years ago, you may have heard this song as background music as they were doing your local weather conditions and forecast.

Like most people my age, I became aware of Herbie Hancock thanks to his 1983 hit, Rockit, which reached only #71 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was in heavy rotation on MTV (and the other music video outlets of the era).

I had first heard this version of Watermelon Man on The Best Of Herbie Hancock: The Hits! and was immediately hooked (afterwards, I made the Weather Channel connection).

Enjoy!

School Days

Some 70s jazz fusion at it's finest...  Stanley Clarke's School Days.

This is the lead track from Clarke's album of the same name...  an album that reached #2 on the Billboard Jazz charts, and #34 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in 1976/77.  The bass groove on this track is phenomenal, and the entire album is one that should be heard by everybody...  great groove throughout.

If you've never heard this one (it was an occasional play on Classic Rock stations years back, and a rare play in this day and age), give it a listen.  I'm sure you'll find it worth your while.

Enjoy!

Hideaway

Covered by many, but never quite duplicated...  it's the one and only Freddie King, who recorded the original version of Hideaway back in 1961.

Here's a live, and rather extended jamming version of the song from 1973 (recorded in Dallas, TX).

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Jazz

Happy Valentine's Day, all!

For our album of the week, I thought I'd go with Beegie Adair's Valentine's Day Jazz, though I'm not entirely sure this is so much of an album as it is a playlist (there are 52 tracks).  Either way, it was released a little over a year ago and contains a lot of lightweight piano trio music with a love theme.

I learned of Beegie Adair (who recently passed) by listening to the Christmas music channels on SiriusXM, where they played her piano trio Christmas songs quite a bit.  She was a long-time session musician (60 years in the business), before releasing albums of her own (the Beegie Adair Trio) starting in 1997.

Again, this is pretty lightweight stuff...  good for relaxing or enjoying as background music.

Beegie Adair: Valentine's Day Jazz

Enjoy!

Enjoy Yourself

At this point, they were no longer the Jackson 5.  Instead, they were simply The Jacksons.

Released in late October 1976, even though I had just turned 5, I remember this song.  Not exactly sure where I heard it.  Could have been on the radio, or it could have been from my friend who lived across the parking lot from us.  Either way, it's a song I remember fondly and still enjoy listening to it.  And if you look in the comment section, someone said "if this doesn't put a smile on your face, you have no soul."

So without any further ado, here's The Jacksons doing Enjoy Yourself.

Enjoy!

The Joint Top 100 09.27.2021

This week's Radio Show Saturday brings us some reggae.  The Joint Top 100 is a SiriusXM Xtra channel playing the top hits "totally devoted to the jammin' sounds of reggae and dancehall."  This show takes us back to September 27, 2021, and features a mix of reggae tunes new and old.

The show clocks in at just under one hour eight minutes, and if you're not familiar with reggae music, can be a nice introduction.  Here is a list of the songs you'll hear to be followed by listening and download links:

She's Royal  -  Tarrus Riley

Close To You  -  Maxi Priest

Under Me Sleng Teng  -  Wayne Smith

My Time  -  Barrington Levy

King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown  -  Augustus Pablo

Ring The Alarm  -  Tenor Saw

Caress Me Girl  -  Dennis Brown

Tour (Lil Jon & Paul's Remix)  -  Capleton

Loving Pauper  -  Dobby Dobson

Big Ship  -  Freddie McGregor

Rock Away  -  Beres Hammond

Equal Rights  -  Peter Tosh

Sweet And Dandy  -  The Maytals

War / No More Trouble (Live)  -  Bob Marley & The Wailers

Committed  -  Third World

Guns Of Navarone  -  The Skatalites

Shout It Out  -  Burning Spear

Boombastic  -  Shaggy

Listen here

The Joint Top 100 09.27.2021

Enjoy!

KISS: Live At The Whisky 2019

Sorry gang...  no Now Hear This radio show this week as I got a little wrapped up in some things.  Hope to be back next week with another show.

Now that I got that out of the way...

On this date 3 years ago (2019), KISS played a show at L.A.'s Whisky A Go Go to kick off yet another farewell tour (there has been a few, so forgive me for not knowing the name of this one).  The show was broadcast on SiriusXM.  This is a copy of that show.  It includes the pre and post-concert show with Tom Morello (of Rage Against The Machine fame) and Keith Roth (one of SXM's DJs).

KISS plays a dozen songs, and Gene screws up the beginning of Let Me Go, Rock And Roll (he forgets to start singing, so the band starts over).  If you didn't hear this show, and are a fan of KISS, give it a listen.

KISS: Live At The Whisky 2019

Enjoy!

Hourglass

Another song that often gets stuck in my head.  Sadly, until recently, I had no idea as to who did the song or what the title was.  Then I was listening to a VJ Top 40 Countdown where the song was played (I think it may have been #38 or something low like that).

Anywho...  the song is Hourglass by Squeeze.  And yes, I do remember hearing this one on the radio when I was in high school (it was released in the summer of 1987) and remember the catchy refrain.

Enjoy!

20 Essential Jazz Albums For Beginners

I found this article recently and thought it interesting enough to share...  it's a list of 20 albums for those who are new to jazz (you can read it here).

I started my journey into the world of jazz about 25 years ago.  Funny story...  I had gone fishing early one morning, and after a couple of hours of no bites, decided to head home.  I had the radio on, but was bored with what was being played on the stations I normally listen to, so I decided to use the search function.  I somehow ended up stopping on WSIE, and enjoyed listening to the music for the 45 minute trip home.

Now, fortunately I had a friend who had a vast jazz collection that helped me discover music that I would like (he asked me what I had heard and what I had liked, and was a bit surprised by my choices).  Also, at the time, there was a DJ on WSIE named Ross Gentile who also played a big part in getting me interested (man would bring in his own albums every day and build a show around whatever was in the crate that day).

Getting back to the article, I can say that I have 12 of the albums on the list, and all are excellent jumping-off points if you're interested in exploring the world of jazz.  And while I've not conducted a search myself, I'm sure you can find most everything listed in the article over at Myzuka (where you have the option to listen and download).

Enjoy!

The Best Of Sam Cooke

For the album of the week, I thought we'd go with Sam Cooke's Greatest Hits.

Originally released in 1962, this is Cooke's second "greatest hits" compilation, and covers his most well-known hits from 1957-1962.  By no means is this a complete collection of Cooke's work, but is still a nice listen featuring some great songs.

The Best Of Sam Cooke

Enjoy!