ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC

1965 - Bob Dylan

The filming of the promotional film for Bob Dylan’s 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' took place at the side of the Savoy Hotel in London. Actors in the background were Allen Ginsberg and Bob Neuwirth. The original clip was actually the opening segment of D. A. Pennebaker's film, Dont Look Back, a documentary on Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England. In the film, Dylan, who came up with the idea, holds up cue cards for the camera with selected words and phrases from the lyrics. The cue cards were written by Donovan, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Neuwirth and Dylan himself. While staring at the camera, he flipped the cards as the song played.

A total classic and it blew us away when first we saw it . . . . especially Allen Ginsberg featuring which gave it a kind of cultural gravitas but also showed Allen's fun side too. I always had though Subterranean Homesick Blues was inspired by Kerouac's 'The Subterraneans' but hey what do I know? . . . . . 

Bob Dylan | Mondo Scripto from Washington Green Fine Art on Vimeo.

1970 - The Beatles

The Beatles twelfth and final album, Let It Be was released, (it was recorded before the Abbey Road album, and was originally to be called 'Get Back'). The album came in a deluxe-boxed edition with a 'Get Back' book.

I love this song in fact I love this album and it came as a shock to realise that Abbey Road was recorded afterwards

                 Jeff Harris over at Behind the Grooves blog says: On this day in music history: May 8, 1970 - “Let It Be”, the twelfth studio album by The Beatles is released. Produced by George Martin and Phil Spector, it is recorded at EMI and Apple Studios and Twickenham Film Studios in London from February 1968, January – February 1969, January and March – April 1970. The Beatles final album (of new material) is culled mostly from the January 1969 sessions for the aborted Get Back album and film documenting their dissolution and eventual break up. Its original intent is to feature the band playing together in the studio live, with minimal overdubbing and post production. However, things go astray as tensions between The Beatles come to a head during the sessions, leading to George Harrison temporarily walking out. Eventually, the project is completed over a year after the initial recording takes place. Producer Phil Spector is brought in sort through the hundreds of hours of tapes, editing, remixing and overdubbing to compile a cohesive and polished album. It spins off two singles including “The Long And Winding Road” and the title track (both #1 Pop). In the UK and Canada, the album is originally issued as a lavish box set with a large one hundred sixty page paperback book (titled “Get Back”) featuring still photographs of the band taken by photographer Ethan Russell. The boxed edition is not issued in the US (due to cost concerns), and is released in a gatefold jacket with United Artists having the rights to distribute it, though Capitol Records actually contracted to press the record. Original copies are issued with a red Apple label instead of the standard green label, and carry a United Artists catalog number. The album goes out of print in US for three years before Capitol Records acquires the rights to the album (as well the soundtrack to “A Hard Day’s Night”) from United Artists in 1979. The Capitol pressing reissues the album in a single pocket sleeve with a poster inserted into the jacket. First released on CD in 1987, the album is remastered and reissued in 2009, with a 180 gram vinyl LP being released in 2012. “Let It Be” spends four weeks at number one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 4x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

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1974 - Graham Bond

UK keyboard player Graham Bond committed suicide after throwing himself under a London tube train at Finsbury Park station, aged 36. It took police two days to identify his body which was crushed beyond all recognition. Briefly a member of Blues Incorporated, a group led by Alexis Korner, before forming the Graham Bond Quartet, with a lineup of Bond on vocals and organ, Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass. 

BIRTHDAYS

1943 - Danny Whitten

Danny Whitten, guitarist, singer, songwriter. Member of Neil Young's Crazy Horse and writer of 'I Don't Wanna Talk About It', covered by Rod Stewart, Rita Coolidge and Everything But The Girl. The Neil Young song ‘The Needle and the Damage Done’ was written about Whitten’s heroin use (before he died of an overdose on November 18th 1972).

1976 - Martha Wainwright

Martha Wainwright, Canadian / American, singer-songwriter, daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle and sister of Rufus Wainwright. Appeared on recordings by her family members and has released several independent EPs. Her full length self-titled debut was released in 2005 and has released a number of albums since. 

I love the work of Martha Wainwright, had been (am) a fan of her father's work and her brother Rufus too although I prefer Martha to Rufus' somewhat adenoidal vocalising. Martha sings in a self confessional manner and her first album is a scorcher, with the legendary tortuous song BMFA, as is her second album "I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too" Both siblings released homages to both Judy Garland (Rufus) in 2007 and Edith Piaf (Martha) in 2009 which for me were less successful or interesting than their own work but sales were astronomical  and both projects very popular with fans of all the singers concerned. Martha to date has released 7 albums the latest of which is 2016's 'Goodnight City'.

Martha Wainwright