Alphabet Beats #121: R is for....The Runaways

R is for....

The Runaways were an American all-female rock band that recorded and performed in the second half of the 1970s. The band released four studio albums and one live set during its run. Among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb", "Hollywood", "Queens of Noise" and a cover version of the Velvet Underground’s "Rock and Roll". The Runaways, though never a major success in the United States, became a sensation overseas, e.g. in Japan, thanks to the hit single "Cherry Bomb".

Click on the links to enjoy the rockin' sound of The Runaways.

The Runaways were:
    Joan Jett – rhythm and lead guitar, lead and backing vocals (1975–1979); bass guitar (1977).
    Sandy West – drums, percussion, backing and lead vocals (1975–1979).
    Micki Steele – lead vocals (1975); bass guitar (1975).
    Lita Ford – bass guitar (1975, 1978); lead and rhythm guitar, backing and lead vocals (1975–1979).
    Peggy Foster – bass guitar (1975).
    Cherie Currie – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, tambourine, snare drum (1975–1977).
    Jackie Fox – lead and rhythm guitar (1975); bass guitar, backing and lead vocals (1975–1977).
    Vicki Blue – bass guitar, backing vocals (1977–1978).
    Laurie McAllister – bass guitar (1978–1979).

The Mercury Albums Anthology (2010)

Contains:
 The Runaways (1976)
 Queens of Noise (1977)
 Live in Japan (1977)
 Waitin' for the Night (1978).

More Music From The Runaways

5 Track Demo 1975

Recorded within a month of their debut show. They are still a three piece (pictured above) at this point with Micki Steele on Bass and Lead Vocals, Joan Jett Guitar and Vocals and Sandy West Drums and Vocals.

 The Runaways Live

The Agora, Cleveland 19th July 1976

(The You Tube link cites the wrong date)

Live in Japan 1977

(Poor quality but worth watching)

Japanese TV June 1977 

(Four songs and Interview)

The Runaways Live At The Whisky, Los Angeles, CA 1975

This was when they were a three piece with Joan Jett, Sandy West and on Vocals and Bass Micki (Michael) Steele who would go on to gain success with another great all girl group The Bangles. This audio only clip contains 5 songs from the band in their early days.

Wasted (Old Grey Whistle Test).

Schooldays (Old Grey Whistle Test).

Promos

American Nights.

Schooldays.

Mama Weer All Crazee Now.

Rewind: 1986 - The Cure Release Standing on a Beach - The Singles

Slicing Up Eyeballs: The Legacy of 80's College Rock posted that this album was released on the 5th May 1986. According to Wikipedia it was released on the 6th May 1986. Whatever the case, and we don't want to quibble over dates, this was the second compilation of Singles by The Cure, the first being Japanese Whispers released in December 1983. That album contained just eight tracks and with the release of Standing on a Beach it had been expanded to 13 tracks on the Vinyl release, The CD came with four extra tracks but it was the Cassette that you really wanted to buy because Side One contained the 13 songs on the Vinyl Edition but Side Two contained a further 12 tracks that had been B-Sides .

The album was a huge hit peaking at #4 on the UK Album Chart and surprisingly even though it only reached #48 in the USA the album has sold enough since its release to be awarded 2x Platinum status!

Alphabet Beats #120: R is for....Redding as in Otis

R is for....

Otis Ray Redding, (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul and rhythm and blues. His singing style was powerfully influential among soul artists of 1960s and helped exemplify the Stax sound.

Born and raised in the US state of Georgia, Redding quit school at age 15 to support his family, working with Little Richard's backing band, the Upsetters, and also performing at talent shows for prize money. In 1958, he joined Johnny Jenkins's band, the Pinetoppers, and toured the Southern states as a driver and musician. An unscheduled appearance on a Stax recording session led to a contract and his first single, "These Arms of Mine," in 1962. Stax released Redding's debut album Pain in My Heart two years later.

Initially popular mainly with African Americans, Redding later reached a wider American popular music audience. Along with his group, he first played small gigs in the American South, then performed in the western states at the popular Los Angeles night club Whisky a Go Go. European appearances included London, Paris and other major cities.

After appearing at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, Redding wrote and recorded his iconic "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" with Steve Cropper. The song became the first posthumous number-one record on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts after his death in a plane crash. The Dock of the Bay became the first posthumous album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart.

Redding's premature death devastated Stax. Already on the verge of bankruptcy, the label soon discovered that Atlantic Records owned the rights to his entire song catalog.

Redding received many posthumous accolades, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He received the honorific nickname King of Soul. In addition to "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," "Respect" and "Try a Little Tenderness" are among his best-known songs.

The Music
    Pain in My Heart (1964)
    The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (1965)
    Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)
    The Soul Album (1966)
    Complete and Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (1966)
    King and Queen (1967)

In Person Live at The Whiskey A Go Go (1968)
    The Dock of the Bay (1968)
    The Immortal Otis Redding (1968)
    Love Man (1969)
    Tell the Truth (1970)

Live in London and Paris (2008)

Live on The Sunset Strip (2010)

The Complete Stax/Volt Singles Collection (2013)

The Soundtrack4Life Top Ten

Otis Redding

10. These Arms of Mine.

09. Glory of Love.

08. Hard To Handle.

07. I Can't Turn You Loose.

06. Respect.

05. Mr Pitiful.

04. (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay.

03.Try A Little Tenderness.

02. I've Been Loving You Too Long.

01. Dreams to Remember.

Alphabet Beats #119: R is for....Run DMC

R is for....

 Something a little bit different today. One of the most influential Hip Hop artists ever!

Click on the links to listen to the sound of Run DMC.

Run DMC. was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York, founded in 1981 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jam Master Jay (RIP 30/10/02). The group is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture. Run DMC is one of the best-known hip hop acts in the 1980s who, along with LL Cool J, The Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy, signified the advent of the new school of hip hop music. They were the first group in the genre to have a gold album (Run DMC, 1984) and be nominated for a Grammy Award. They were the first to earn a platinum record (King of Rock, 1985), the first to earn a multiplatinum certification (Raising Hell, 1986), the first to have videos on MTV, and the first to appear on American Bandstand and the cover of Rolling Stone. Run DMC. was the only hip hop act to perform at Live Aid in 1985.

The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them number 48 in their list of the greatest musical artists of all time. In 2007, Run DMC was named "The Greatest Hip Hop Group of All Time" by MTV.com and "Greatest Hip Hop Artist of All Time" by VH1. On April 4, 2009, rapper Eminem inducted them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In doing so, Run DMC became only the second hip hop group in history to be inducted, after Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

The Music
    Run DMC (1984)
    King of Rock (1985)
    Raising Hell (1986)
    Tougher Than Leather (1988)
    Back from Hell (1990)
    Down with the King (1993)
    Crown Royal (2001)

Live at Montreux (2001)

High Profile: The Original Rhymes (2002)

The Essential Run DMC (2012)

Promo Videos/Live

1st July 1999 - Seattle (Full Show).

King of Rock (Live Aid 1985).

Sucker MCs (Live 1984).

It's Tricky.

Walk This Way. 

Run's House.

Rock Box.

On 30th October 2002 Jam Master Jay was shot at his studio in Queens. The homicide of the respected man who gave the beats to Run DMC remains to this day unsolved. He was 37 years old.

Alphabet Beats #118: R is for....Ruts/Ruts DC

R is for....

L to R: Paul Fox (RIP), Segs Jennings, Malcom Owen (RIP), and Dave Ruffy.

Today happens to be the birthday of Segs Jennings so birthday wishes go out to one of the finest bass men ever.

Click on the links to listen and to the music.   

The Crack (1979)

Grin and Bear It (1980)

Their first single was 'In A Rut' released in 1979 on Misty in Roots' People Unite Label.

1979 Peel Session.

Savage Circle.

Babylon's Burning.

Dope For Guns.

Black Man's Pinch.

Criminal Mind.

1980 Peel Session.

In A Rut.

Secret Soldiers.

Staring At the Rude Boys.

Demolition Dancing.

Love in Vain (b-side to 'Staring at the Rude Boys'). - Quite possibly one of the saddest songs ever recorded.

 

Babylon's Burning Deconstructed. 

Live - Get Out of It.

Segs, Paul Fox, Ruffy and Henry Rollins.

16th July 2007 Paul Fox Benefit

 Dave Ruffy, Segs Jennings and Leigh Heggarty

Ruts DC in Berlin September 2014 (Photo by Raven)

 

 

Animal Now (1981)

Rhythm Collision Reloaded (originally released in 1982 as Rhythm Collision)

Rhythm Collision Volume 2 (2013)

 

 

Segs, Molara, Me, Ruffy

7th Devember 2013 Edinburgh

 John Peel Session 1981.

Alphabet Beats #117: R is for....Relient K

R is for....

Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during the band's third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after guitarist Hoopes' automobile, a Plymouth Reliant K car, with the spelling intentionally altered to avoid trademark infringement over the Reliant name.

The group is associated with the contemporary Christian music culture, most notably the Christian rock and punk scene. The group has also performed alongside secular artists. The band has reached critical success with mainstream pop punk and alternative rock. The band's sound incorporates piano and acoustic elements. Since its formation, Relient K has released nine studio albums, seven EPs, two Christmas albums, and one collection of rarities. The band has received numerous awards including a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Rock Gospel Album and two Dove Awards.

Relient K is best known commercially for their two studio albums which peaked in the top 15 of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. After signing with Capitol Records, they broke into the mainstream in 2004 with the release of Mmhmm, which debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200. In 2007, their fifth album, Five Score and Seven Years Ago, brought the most success for Relient K, debuting at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and selling 60,000 records in its first week. The band has sold over 2 million records, with three albums being given gold certification by the RIAA. The band is also highly successful throughout the Christian albums and contemporary Christian music charts. On October 4, 2011 they released a cover album Is for Karaoke. On July 2, 2013, their seventh full-length album, Collapsible Lung was released.

The Music
    Relient K (2000)
    The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek (2001)
    Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do (2003)
    Mmhmm (2004)

Apathetic EP (2005)
    Five Score and Seven Years Ago (2007)
    Let It Snow, Baby... Let It Reindeer (2007)

The Bird and The Bee Sides (2008)
    Forget and Not Slow Down (2009)
    Is for Karaoke (2011)
    Collapsible Lung (2013)

Relient Videos/Singles

(Marilyn Manson Ate) My Girlfriend.

Pressing On.

Chap Stick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry.

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.

Be My Escape.

Who I Am Hates Who I've Been.

Must Have Done Something Right.

The Best Thing.

Don't Blink.

Ten Relient K Tracks 

That We Like

In No Particular Order of Preference

Sadie Hawkins Dance.

I So Hate Consequences.

More Than Useless.

Softer To Me (Acoustic). 

My Way or the Highway.

Devastation and Reform.

Up and Up (Acoustic).

The Vinyl Countdown.

Apathetic Way To Be.

Forward Motion.

Alphabet Beats #116: R is for....R.E.M.

If you were expecting another in the series on The Letter Q then prepare to be disappointed! I have decided that there are no more bands/artists that begin with Q that I like and so as a bonus there will be three extra days on The Letter R.

R is for....

Formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 R.E.M. were a very successful rock band that released 15 Studio albums, 3 Live albums, and more than 63 singles over the course of 31 years garnering over 85 million in worldwide sales of the studio albums alone.

Click on the links to enjoy the music of R.E.M.

 

 The Music

Chronic Town EP (1982)
    Murmur (1983)
    Reckoning (1984)
    Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
    Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)
    Document (1987)

Dead Letter Office (1987)*

Eponymous (1988)*
    Green (1988)
    Out of Time (1991)
    Automatic for the People (1992)
    Monster (1994)
    New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)
    Up (1998)
    Reveal (2001)
    Around the Sun (2004)

And I Feel Fine...The Best of the IRS Years 82-87 (2006)*

R.E.M. Live (2007)
    Accelerate (2008)

Live From London EP (2008)

Live at The Olympia (2009)

Reckoning Songs From The Olympia EP (2009)
    Collapse into Now (2011).

Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011 (2011)

Unplugged 1991/2001 (2014)

The Complete Warner Rarities 1988-2011 (2014)*

*Compilations 

The Soundtrack4Life Top 20

R.E.M.

20. Get Up.

19. Star 69.

18. Living Well is the Best Revenge.

17. Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter.

16. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite.

15. Radio Song.

14. Pop Song 89 (Acoustic).

13. Where's Captain Kirk (Spizz Energi Cover).

12. Nightswimming.

11. Orange Crush.

10. Me In Honey.

09. Drive.

08. Finest Worksong.

07. Everybody Hurts.

06. Stand.

05. The One I Love.

04. Radio Free Europe.

03. What's The Frequency Kenneth?

02. It's The End of the World.

01. World Leader Pretend. 

Quick note, if you are wondering why 'Losing My Religion' is not among the Top 20 it's basically down to the fact that it's not a song I ever cared much about...yeah I know, stone me!

Rewind: 1961 - Ben E King Releases his Debut Solo Album 'Spanish Harlem'

Released 1st May 1961

Atco Records

US Chart #57

UK Chart #30

Ben E. King passed away yesterday at the age of 76. What better tribute to pay the man to reflect upon the release of his Debut Solo album that was dispatched on this very day in 1961. The album was a Latin Soul project, a very interesting choice to go for with your Debut but it made the chart and laid the foundation for what was to follow. Later in 1961 he would have his biggest hit with Stand By Me, a song that generally most people associate with him even if they can't tell you any other song he recorded!

 Read The Guardian's Obituary Here.

    "Amor" (Gabriel Ruíz, Sunny Skylar, Ricardo López Méndez) - [3:02]
    "Sway" (Norman Gimbel, Gabriel Ruíz) - [2:18]
    "Come Closer to Me" (John Stewart, Osvaldo Farrés) - [2:35]
    "Perfidia" (Alberto Dominguez, Milton Leeds) - [2:04]
    "Granada" (Agustín Lara, Dorothy Dodd) - [2:27]
    "Sweet and Gentle" (George Thorn, Otilio del Portal, Martin Ledyard) - [2:24]
    "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" (Joe Davis, Osvaldo Farrés) - [2:12]
    "Frenesi" (Alberto Dominguez, Leonard Whitcup) - [3:09]
    "Souvenir of Mexico" (Mort Shuman, Doc Pomus) - [2:24]
    "Besame Mucho" (Sunny Skylar, Consuelo Velázquez) - [2:57]
    "Love Me, Love Me" (Ben E. King) - [2:37]
    "Spanish Harlem" (Jerry Leiber, Phil Spector) - [2:53]

This is What I Might Have Missed

Uncut Magazine posted an article today that says according to a recent study that people stop listening to new music at aged 33!

I am five days away from my 52nd birthday and if there was any truth in that study then 19 years ago I would have stopped listening to anything new. So to prove a point here's just a few things that I might have missed had this been true. 

In a particular year you might notice a band/artist that had actually been around a while. I put them there because I might have heard a song or their new album and then went back and discovered the rest of their catalogue (my friend Mark Currie put it great, 'I find I'm more often hunting backwards for "new" material'). These are just a small number of things, there's probably much more that could be added each year!

2015 (aged almost 52)

Skinny Lister.

All That Remains.

2014 (aged 51)

Dave Hause.

Chuck Ragan.

Hot Water Music.

Bouncing Souls.

The Candy Hearts.

Trampled by Turtles.

St Paul and the Broken Bones.

Royal Blood.

Meg'n Jez.

The Empty Hearts.

2013 (aged 50)

The 1975.

Vintage Trouble.

The Strypes.

The Penny Black Remedy.

Lulubelle III.

2012 (aged 49)

Yellowcard.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.

God's Lonely Men.

Duncan Reid and the Big Heads.

The Civil Wars.

Allo Darlin'.

2011 (aged 48)

The Spazzys.

Pistol Annies.

Alabama Shakes.

2010 (aged 47)

Mavis Staples.

The Wonder Years.

2009 (aged 46)

The Unthanks.

Rosanne Cash.

Justin Townes Earle.

The Joy Formidable.

Imelda May.

Eric Church.

2008 (aged 45)

Mudcrutch.  

 Frank Turner.

2007 (aged 44)

Mandi Perkins.

Jesse Malin.

The Gaslight Anthem.

2006 (aged 43)

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs.
Get Cape Wear Cape Fly.

The Delays.

Brooke Fraser.

2005 (aged 42)

Still Remains.

Paramore.

Miranda Lambert.

Hayes Carll.

2004 (aged 41)

Mindy Smith.

Alabama 3.

2003 (aged 40)

Wintersleep.

Greg Trooper.

Evanescence.

Comeback Kid.

2002 (aged 39)

The Get Up Kids.

2001 (aged 38)

Ron Block.

Michelle Branch.

Dashboard Confessional.

2000 (aged 37)

Lifehouse.
Good Charlotte.
Bill Mallonee and the Vigilantes of Love.

1999 (aged 36)
Julie Miller.
Creed.

1998 (aged 35)
Rancid.
The Donnas.

1997 (aged 34)
Buddy Miller.

1996 (aged 33)
Travis. 

A last piece of advice:

Alphabet Beats #115: Q is for....Q-Tips

Q is for....

CLICK ON THE LINKS TO ENJOY THE MUSIC
 
Some Kinda Wonderful     3:42
Tracks Of My Tears     3:25
Please Don't Stay At Home     3:20
You Are The Life Inside Of Me     4:33
The In Crowd     3:20
(Now I'm Left With A) Beautiful Memory     3:07
SYSLJFM (The Letter Song)     2:41
A Man Can't Lose (What He Don't Have)     6:07
Uncle Willy     3:14
Different World     3:36
Keep Your Shoes On     3:35 

Debut Album was released on Chrysalis in 1980

In 1979 out of the ashes of one hit wonders Streetband came Q-Tips, a hot soul infused band fronted by Paul Young. I saw them quite a number of times at the Marquee in Wardour Street and at The Venue in Victoria. They were full of energy on stage and the shows were always packed out and the shows had the feel of an old Soul Revue. So it is a surprise that they never were more popular. The horn section even got to play on Stiff Little Fingers single 'Silver Lining'. After poor record sales following two albums and seven singles the band broke up and Paul Young went on to enjoy solo success.The horn section after the break up also played with Adam Ant between 1983-84.

Live At Last

Released 1982

Rewind Records

The Singles

Tracks of My Tears.

SYSLJFM (The Letter Song).

Stay the Way You Are.

Uncle Willy.

 A Man Can't Lose (What He Don't Have).

Some Kinda Wonderful.

Love Hurts.

There was also a single issued in 1983 in Germany after the band had broken up entitled 'I Wish It Would Rain'.

Q-Tips Live

Some Kinda Wonderful/A Man Can't Lose/Please Don't Stay at Home.

 SYSLJFM (The Letter Song)/Sweet Soul Music.

You Are the Life Inside of Me.

Get 'em Up Joe.

Empty Bed.