NYS Music 202​2

Category: Flashback

  • The Dead Unleash A ‘Beautiful’ Array Of Debuts At The Cap: February 18, 1971

    Today marks the anniversary of the start of The Grateful Dead’s fourth and final residency at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester. Affectionately known as “The Cap,” this small theater certainly helped build the legacy of The Dead in New York and beyond. The first show here in 1971 may well be a leading cause of this. Not only does it offer a host of songs from the recently released and acclaimed American Beauty album, it also features a wealth of brand new songs that made their live debut this evening and would become concert regulars in the years to come. Throw in one of the most “beautiful” pieces of collective improvisation that the band has ever played and you’ve got a show for the ages right here.

    Dead Cap

    This legendary run at The Cap starts off with a new song that’s soon to become a Grateful Dead staple, a rip-roaring “Bertha.” It’s only the third one ever played after two live performances in December of 1970 and the first time it’s ever opened a show. It seems a little quicker than its customary tempo, with Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir nailing the harmonized vocals. After a presumable audience request for “Casey Jones,” Jerry Garcia notes the next song “isn’t driving a train, but it’s almost as good” before the Dead launch into “Truckin’.” This American Beauty tune has a little more experience under its belt in the live setting and an extremely crisp and cohesive version ensues, with a short bluesy jam spearheaded by Garcia on the tail end. Batting in the third spot this evening is Pigpen, who steps up to the plate, harmonica in tow, and maintains the early blues vibe with a classic rendition of “It Hurts Me Too.”

    After some more post-song extended tuning, a tradition Weir notes is “older than music itself,” Garcia jumps back on the mic and leads the band through another new number. This time it’s “Loser,” the first one ever performed live. It’s a well honed version that’s again a little faster than its successors but played beautifully (a sign of things to come) with a hair-raising guitar solo thrown in by Garcia. A chatty Bob Weir then begs for indulgence from the audience for another brand new song to follow that winds up being “Greatest Story Ever Told.” It’s a quick take that fizzles out shortly but instead of more post-song tuning, the Dead keep it going and immediately segue into a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.”

    Weir maintains his presence on lead vocals for the cautionary tale of “Mama Tried” that follows before handing the baton back to Pigpen for his signature cover of Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle.” This yields another significant blues-inspired jam with drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart helping set the pace. What follows this may be one of the most awe inspiring and notable sequences of Grateful Dead music in their storied history. It’s a “Wharf Rat” sandwich with two mesmerizing slices of “Dark Star” serving as the bread. “Dark Star” starts off extremely patient and melodic before Garcia comes in with the opening verse. After petering out into full ambience, Garcia seems to hit the opening note of “St. Stephen,” which often followed “Dark Star” in this era, but instead the Dead collectively turn on a dime and unleash another newcomer with the heartfelt and poignant first ever “Wharf Rat.” As it comes to end, the second serving of “Dark Star” emerges. But before it truly begins, the Dead continue to noodle around and steer the music into a joyous, euphoric piece of improv that’s simply known as the “Beautiful Jam.” This serves as the vessel that carries the music back into “Dark Star,” which completes this awe inspiring section of music that’s included on the Dead’s five-disc So Many Roads the celebrates the band’s entire career.

    Many years later, bassist Phil Lesh seems to be brought almost to tears after listening to this heralded piece of music from The Cap thanks to Dead historian David Gans.

    Somehow this doesn’t even complete the first set this evening. The Dead throw in a “Me And My Uncle” to close it out and earn themselves a well-deserved set break. The band emerges from this clearly in high spirits, giving some recommendations for the house light settings before starting the second set with an energized “Casey Jones” aka “that train driving” song. This sets the stage for yet another live Dead debut at The Cap that would go on to be an integral part of their history: “Playing In The Band.” It stays pretty close to the vest and doesn’t produce a drawn out, show-defining psychedelic jam like future ones will, but all the signs of a live show staple for years to come are there.

    Dead Cap
    Photo by Peter Corrigan

    Weir stays on lead vocals for the cover of “Me And Bobby McGee” that comes next before Garcia takes over for another number from American Beauty with a vintage rendition of “Candyman” that even includes harpsichord-like fills from Pigpen along with some more soulful vocal harmonies.

    Pig then gets to take lead one last time and rips through another blues cover, this time it’s Jimmy Reed’s “Big Boss Man.” Then the last Beauty song of the evening emerges in “Sugar Magnolia.” It’s another fairly short yet explosive take that sees Garcia using the wah-effect on electric guitar to its full capabilities. This gets a warm reception from the Cap crowd, surpassed only by the one that the beginning notes of the “Saint Stephen” that follows receives. With the “William Tell Bridge” shelved as of 1969, instead Kreutzmann and Hart lead the percussive-heavy charge into “Not Fade Away” as the second set’s closing sequence begins to unfold.

    The Dead offer up one final sandwich to The Cap with a “Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad,” replete with Weir’s wailing vocals, that feeds right back into “Not Fade Away.” And to cap things off (no pun intended), the music then immediately flows into a show closing “Uncle John’s Band” that’s played to perfection. Although there would be another five shows still to come in Port Chester, this one serves as the end of an era of sorts, with drummer Mickey Hart leaving the band the following day for his three-year self-imposed hiatus.

    Grateful Dead Capitol Theater – Port Chester, NY 2/18/71

    Set 1: Bertha, Truckin’, It Hurts Me Too, Loser, Greatest Story Ever Told > Johnny B. Goode, Mama Tried, Hard To Handle, Dark Star > Wharf Rat > Dark Star > Me And My Uncle

    Set 2: Casey Jones, Playing In The Band, Me And Bobby McGee, Candyman, Big Boss Man, Sugar Magnolia, Saint Stephen > Not Fade Away >Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad > Not Fade Away > Uncle John’s Band

    The entire show can also be found on YouTube.

  • moe and Friends Rock Roseland Ballroom for Tsunami Relief: February 10, 2005

    Today marks the anniversary of the heralded moe. Tsunami Benefit show at Roseland Ballroom in New York City, which gathered a host of notable to musicians to raise money for a good cause. A terrible earthquake and a resulting tsunami devastated the area near Sumatra, Indonesia as the year 2004 came to a close. moe. decided to do what they do best in order to lend assistance and brought some friends along for the ride. Together with a matching donation from Dave Matthews, nearly $150,000 was raised for the relief cause. Those in attendance this evening certainly got their money’s worth with a show featuring some traditional moe. songs, a whole lot of covers, and a mesmerizing 35-minute jam that nearly brought the house down.

    moe. Roseland

    Bassist Rob Derhak greets the crowd at the start of the show and thanks them all for “supporting a great cause.” And then instantly, the familiar pre-“Rebubula” noodling ensues and moe. opens the Roseland show with one of their signature songs, setting a lively tone early. No special guests needed for this one. Those begin with John Medeski and violinist Sam Bush coming out for a spirited take on “Mexico.” Medeski, ever the keys virtuoso, helps drive the pace of this one through the roof with some triumphant fills on organ that helps build a steadily escalating and emotional jam. Bush then exits and Medeski remains on for “Plane Crash,” again providing some extra rich sonic texture to another moe. staple before taking lead on the jam that ensues.

    With three standout moe. songs now out of the way, the cover parade begins with a take on the legendary blues song “Got My Mojo Working,” popularized by the great Muddy Waters in the late ’50s. Guitarist Al Schnier deftly replaces “Louisiana” in the lyrics with “New York City” which does not go unnoticed by the crowd. Despite an uptempo, jazzy start the “Mojo” jam quickly devolves into a harrowing, psychedelic journey with Medeski again helping forge the path forward before the song rounds back into form.

    moe. Roseland

    Sam Bush then reemerges with a mandolin and has the Roseland stage to himself for a cover of the Lowell George-penned “Sailing Shoes,” a song he recently got to play with Little Feat in Jamaica according to him. By song’s end, he’s got most of the crowd engaged in a back-and-forth singalong. Bush then offers his thanks to both the crowd and moe. before the latter rejoins him on stage for one of his own songs, “Same Old River.” It’s a perky, bluegrass-y number that would fit perfectly in any stringed band show, with Bush ripping off a fierce mandolin solo in the middle.

    One more special guest, “who needs no introduction” per Al, enters the first set fray and Trey Anastasio joins everyone on stage for an electric cover of “Crossroads” with both he and Bush handling vocals. An already tight jam doubles in speed about midway through as the first set comes to a rousing finish.

    The second set picks up right where the last one left off, except Bush is now replaced by Jennifer Hartswick on vocals and Ray Paczkowski on keys with moe. serving as the backing band for “Night Speaks To A Woman,” an early Trey Anastasio Band staple with which both newcomers are very familiar. There’s not much lost with this version with Trey throwing down a scintillating solo in a jam that starts fiercely, breaks down into some loose improv, and then steadily builds back up to a joyous peak.

    Derhak then takes another moment to thank tonight’s patrons and mentions that Dave Matthews has offered to match whatever amount of money is raised this evening. Then it’s back to the moe. catalog with “Spine Of A Dog” with the crowd ably assisting on the opening lyrics. The “Dog” jam then meshes incredibly seamlessly into the opening of “Buster” and moe. and friends take off with another longtime fan favorite.

    This opening 1-2 punch gets a well deserved roar of approval from the Roseland crowd before moe. yields the floor for another cover. This time it’s “Boogie On Reggae Woman,” the Stevie Wonder song that is no stranger to a live Phish show with Anastasio handling lead vocals accordingly. Another lively jam ensues, this time with Paczkowski eagerly showing off his chops that helps drive the momentum. Towards the end, the music gets very percussion-heavy before falling out into full fledged “Drums” section, giving Jim Loughlin and drummer Vinnie Amico a chance to do the same.

    Afterwards, Trey then reemerges with only himself and an acoustic guitar for a pair of Phish tunes. For Phish heads, this must have been like an oasis in the desert with the band’s forgettable “final” shows at Coventry having taken place about six months earlier and it being years before they would reunite again. The crowd has no problem at all assisting on the “can I live while I’m young” lyric to “Chalkdust Torture” before adding their collective voice to the traditional opening of “Wilson.”

    The second set then comes to a gigantic finish with one last banger in “meat.” that sees Medeski, Bush and Trey all lend a hand. What results is a 35-minute plus monster jam where everyone gets a chance to solo and shine. The jam starts out in traditional metal-esque fashion, before breaking down into a definitive bluegrass sequence with Bush leading the charge, before passing the baton to Medeski who helps steer it in another direction entirely. It eventually winds down into a near-ambient section with Loughlin chiming in on vibes and a plethora of effects emanating from Medeski’s rig. It’s a whirlwind cavalcade of sound that serves as the crux of the second set, if not the show itself, and is well worth a listen.

    One last pair of covers serves as the encore for this benefit show, starting with Frank Zappa’s “Peaches En Regalia,” another song that’s no stranger to a Phish show with Loughlin on vibes giving this one a proper feel. Anastasio and Hartswick then team up one last time on vocals for “After Midnight.” Extra special attention is given to the “gonna let it all hang out” which moe. and friends certainly did this evening, and for a noble cause no less.

    You can listen to and relive this memorable gig here or see below.

    moe. Tsunami Relief Benefit Show Roseland Ballroom – New York, NY 2/10/05

    Set 1: Rebubula, Mexico*, Plane Crash^, Got My Mojo Working^, Sailing Shoes**, Same Old River^^, Crossroads#

    Set 2: Night Speaks To A Woman$%, Spine Of A Dog$ > Buster$, Boogie On Reggae Woman$%>Drums, Chalkdust Torture$$, Wilson$$, meat.*$

    E: Peaches En Regalia*$>After Midnight*$%

    * with John Medeski on keys, Sam Bush on Violin
    ^ with John Medeski on keys
    ** Sam Bush solo
    ^^ with Sam Bush on mandolin
    # with Sam Bush on mandolin, Trey Anastasio on guitar
    $ with Trey Anastasio on guitar
    $$ Trey Anastasio solo acoustic
    % with Jennifer Hartswick
    and Ray Paczowski keyboard most of SET II

    moe. Roseland

  • Flashback: The Beatles Perform on The Ed Sullivan Show

    58 years ago, on February 9, 1964, The Beatles played on The Ed Sullivan show in NYC, creating one of the most seminal moments in television history. A record-setting 73 million tuned in to watch the Fab Four perform “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

    The Beatles with Ed Sullivan.

    Consisting of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, The Beatles are one of the most influential bands to have ever existed. The group was formed in 1960 in Liverpool, England. They spent the first couple years playing small clubs in Europe and perfected their craft after playing eight-hour days in Hamburg, Germany. It wasn’t until their performance on “Val Parnell’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium” and the release of their first LP Please Please Me that Beatlemania truly began.

    https://vimeo.com/385906665
    Please Please Me by The Beatles full album.

    Urban legend says Ed Sullivan first heard about the group when he and his wife were at an airport in London returning to NYC and witnessed 1,500 screaming fans welcoming The Beatles back from a successful tour in Sweden.

    Actually, Sullivan found out about The Beatles before that, through his Talent Booker Jack Babb, and London-based agent Peter Prichard. Sullivan was eager to book the group but needed a selling point. Prichard said they had just performed in the Royal Variety Show where they were the first “long-haired boys” to be invited to appear before Queen Elizabeth II.

    The Beatles meeting Queen Elizabeth II

    On November 11, 1963, Beatles manager Brian Epstein met Sullivan in the Delmonico Hotel in NYC, and the deal was done with a handshake. The Beatles were booked for three performances, two live and one a taped rehearsal.

    Before the debut performance on the Sullivan show, the group’s record “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was leaked before its planned US release. The record label was unable to stop the radio from playing it, so they released the LP earlier than expected, and it went to the number one spot on the Billboard charts before the month was over.

    The Flight

    The Beatles flew to America on February 7, 1964. When they arrived at the airport, they were surprised at the number of people there to see them. Paul McCartney commented on it during the Anthology sessions in the 90s.

    There were millions of kids at the airport, which nobody had expected. We heard about it in mid-air. There were journalists on the plane, and the pilot had rang ahead and said, ‘Tell the boys there’s a big crowd waiting for them.’ We thought, ‘Wow! God, we have really made it.’

    5,000 fans, mostly young girls, were crowded on the balcony of one of the buildings at JFK, waving banners and screaming at the top of their lungs.

    They were able to get so many people there because the group’s American record company promised that every person who showed up at the airport would get a dollar bill and a t-shirt. The receptionists at Capitol Records would answer the phone, “Capitol Records – The Beatles are coming.” Every radio station was talking about it too.

    The Beatles arriving at JFK.

    The Ed Sullivan Show

    Paul McCartney spoke about their appearance on the show also during the Anthology sessions.

    It was very important. We came out of nowhere with funny hair, looking like marionettes or something. That was very influential. I think that was really one of the big things that broke us – the hairdo more than the music, originally. A lot of people’s fathers had wanted to turn us off. They told their kids, ‘Don’t be fooled, they’re wearing wigs.’

    The band rehearsed the day before, and George Harrison was feeling ill, and their road manager Neil Aspinall stood in for him to mark where everyone would stand.

    Neil Aspinall standing in for George Harrison during the rehearsals.

    Their live debut broke record for television viewing figures, as a record 73 million people tuned into the show. The group even got a telegram from Elvis Presley and his manager Colonel Tom Parker, wishing the group luck. Harrison made a witty remark about the show, during the Anthology sessions.

    We were aware that Ed Sullivan was the big one because we got a telegram from Elvis and the Colonel. And I’ve heard that while the show was on there were no reported crimes, or very few. When The Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, even the criminals had a rest for ten minutes.

    The band came on and played “All My Loving” to an audience full of ear-splitting screeching from teenage girls. Then they played “Til There Was You,” and while the song was playing, a camera cut to each member of the band to introduce them, and when the camera cut to John Lennon, the caption said “SORRY GIRLS. HE’S MARRIED.”

    The band played three more songs, “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and their number one hit “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” After the show, The Beatles were whisked away to the Playboy Club with a police escort.

    The Beatles’ success on The Ed Sullivan show paved the way for the British Invasion, for groups like The Rolling Stones and The Animals. The group have also inspired the works of many bands, like the Ramones song “You’re Gonna Kill That Girl,” a parody of the tune “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” by The Beatles.

  • Phish Brings The Fire to Roseland Ballroom: February 6, 1993

    As the early 1990s progressed, Phish would continue to make their mark in and throughout the Northeast. A major hub for this was obviously New York City. After years of playing The Wetlands, Phish had finally progressed to the Roseland Ballroom, starting with a gig there in March of 1992. The tour that began 1993 would add two more shows here and today marks the anniversary of the second one. Amazingly, this would somehow be their only shows in the city this year as tours began to stretch nationwide. They certainly made the most of their stay though, ending their brief Roseland residency with a show that features a healthy helping of new songs, classic favorites, and a remarkable pair of special guests to help them close it out.

    Phish Roseland

    An enthusiastic Roseland crowd seems to recognize “Golgi Apparatus” right away and the show is off and running with the venerable Phish classic. This is followed up with “Foam,” another hit off the band’s seminal Junta release. Despite some brief feedback issues, it’s a quick yet crisp version with a seemingly extra peppy bass line provided by Mike Gordon.

    “Wilson” then has a bit of an extended intro with a different feel, with only the band singing the name of the fictional Gamehendge ruler as this pre-dates the now customary crowd chants. In an extended break before the “blap boom” ending portion, Trey Anastasio throws in both “Simpsons” and “Random Note” guitar signals that a good portion of the crowd seems to recognize. Then Phish steers into “My Friend, My Friend,” a track from their album Rift that was officially released just days earlier. As soon as “Friend” finishes, Phish wastes no time in doubling down on first set Rift tunes with Jon Fishman starting up the iconic drum intro to “Maze.” A rousing McConnell organ solo is supplanted with one from Anastasio and the first set at Roseland this evening is officially firing on all cylinders now.

    After a standard run through of “Horn,” another first set staple, Phish launches into a flawless “Divided Sky” that features some more wonderful interplay between McConnell and Anastasio, with the latter spitting pure “fire” by song’s end in a potential nod of what was still to come. The now raucous Roseland crowd makes their feelings known after this one before Phish slows things down a tad with McConnell taking lead crooning duties on “Lawn Boy.”

    Afterwards, the band breaks out a fairly new song (at the time) with only the third “The Wedge” ever performed live, after debuting three nights prior. It’s got a real jazzy, piano-fueled intro that makes it stand out when compared to its modern day version and McConnell follows this up with a dazzling solo mid-song that seems to have Trey yelling along in approval. A fairly standard “Bouncing Around The Room” follows this before the first set comes to a screaming halt in the form of a rabid “Run Like An Antelope” that has the whole band working together as one to bring the jam to a proper peak.

    Phish Roseland

    Tonight’s second set picks up right where the first one left off in the form of “Chalkdust Torture.” While this classic Phish number produces its typical high octane guitar and bass riffs, it doesn’t yield much of a jam. Instead, after a quick wrap up of “Torture,” the band dives back into the Rift chest and pulls out the Mike Gordon-penned “Mound.” But exploratory-wise, the second set doesn’t really take off until the “Stash” that follows, with Anastasio throwing out probing guitar fills atop some intense rhythms generated by Gordon and Fishman.

    The call is then made for some mid second-set a cappella and Phish goes with the first “Sweet Adeline” of 1993 before an especially attentive Roseland crowd. Then, after Phish’s instrumental ode to NPR with “All Things Reconsidered,” the heavy hitters come back into play, starting with a “Mike’s Song” with a fun little verse added to the intro. Gordon has a little fun with the standard lyrics as well before the song takes a turn into its typical dark and foreboding ambiance. It’s a standard “Mike’s Groove” with the bliss-filled “I Am Hydrogen” dropped in the middle before “Weekapaug Groove” whips the Roseland crowd back into a collective frenzy. After this classical trifecta, Phish brings it back to the new school with the second ever “Lifeboy” performed live.

    After this insightful newcomer, Phish decides to integrate some bluegrass into the show and breaks out an extremely tight “Uncle Pen” before a “Big Ball Jam” breaks out, the short-lived Phish gag in the early ’90s where giant inflatable balls were thrown out into the crowd with each band member “playing” along to a respective ball and its bouncing trajectory. Not much of a jam ensues though so Anastasio jumps behind the drum kit and Fishman then emerges for “a sad song” called “Lengthwise,” despite being prodded by the crowd to recite “The Prison Joke” again. After urging the crowd to break out lighters for the song, he adds an extra verse about burning his finger for holding one too long.

    With the Big Ball and Fishman theatrics now out of the way, the show comes to a legendary finish, starting with “Buried Alive” where none other than Blues Traveler’s John Popper emerges to sit in and adds an absolutely ferocious harmonica solo that takes this song to another level. He then stays on for a set-closing “Possum,” adding a lovely touch to the intro before leading one of the more explosive jams of the evening.

    As if one special guest weren’t enough tonight, Phish once again doubles down and brings out another one for the encore. With Popper still on stage, Phish do two “fake” botched intros to Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire,” seemingly blaming Gordon for the errors. So instead, Mike moves over to keys and they nonchalantly bring out none other than Noel Redding himself, the original bassist for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, to come out and do the honors. It caps off an incredible finishing sequence to, amazingly, the last New York City show of the year for Phish.

    The whole show can be streamed here at PhishTracks with many audio clips found on YouTube as well.

    Phish Roseland Ballroom – New York, NY 2/6/93

    Set 1: Golgi Apparatus, Foam, Wilson, My Friend My Friend, Maze, Horn, Divided Sky, Lawn Boy, The Wedge, Bouncing Around The Room > Run Like An Antelope

    Set 2: Chalkdust Torture, Mound, Stash, Sweet Adeline, All Things Reconsidered, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Lifeboy, Uncle Pen, Big Ball Jam, Hold Your Head Up > Lengthwise > Buried Alive, Possum

    E: Fire

  • The Sounds of the 1980 Winter Olympics: Chuck Mangione’s “Give it All You Got” and the Crane School of Music Compose a Soundtrack for Lake Placid

    As the XXIV Olympic Winter Games take place in Beijing, China, we look back 42 years to the XIII Olympic Winter Games held in Lake Placid from February 13, 1980 to February 24, 1980. Home of the Miracle on Ice and speedskater Eric Heiden winning five gold medals, the Lake Placid Winter Olympics brought together 1,072 athletes from 37 countries to take part in 38 official events in February 1980.

    1980 Winter Olympics
    Opening ceremony photo courtesy Lake Placid Olympic Sites

    The games also featured a theme song, in the form of Rochester Jazz legend Chuck Mangione’s “Give it All You Got,” a tune released a week before the games, that would chart as high as #1 on the Adult Contemporary, #18 on the Billboard 100 and #32 on the R&B chart, and recently named by Billboard as the #1 Olympics theme song of all time. ”Give it All You Got” was Mangione’s second single to reach #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, after “Feels So Good” achieved that feat in 1978.

    Mangione was asked by Roone Arledge, then ABC Sports president, to craft a song for the Winter Olympiad. ABC had used Mangione’s recordings, including “Chase The Clouds Away,” four years earlier during their coverage of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Featuring a lineup of Charles Meks (bass), James Bradley Jr. (drums), Grant Geissman (guitar), and Chris Vadalla (saxophone), Mangione, America’s most famous flugelhorn player wrote the Grammy-nominated song for his 1979 album Fun and Games. 

    Richard Challen wrote in 2020 about “Give It All You Got”:

    This is fusion jazz at its most peppy and pristine, the network TV version of “gritty.” Mangione and saxophonist Chris Vadala volley the theme back and forth for nearly half the track’s six-minute runtime, content to let that breezy melody do most of the work. There’s some inspired composition going on beneath the surface: the way the chord structure keeps dancing between major and minor, the spots where flugelhorn and sax each converge in twin harmony. Throw in Charles Meeks’ slippery bassline and some Nile-Rodgers-style rhythm work from Geissman, and you’ve got the perfect soundtrack for cruising L.A. in a ’74 Stingray convertible.

    Mangione told Wesley Hyatt for his 1999 book The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits about the process of composing the music for the instrumental, saying: 

    (my) vision was to think about the athletes and their efforts to do their best now. They’re giving it all they’ve got. And we almost got to be like the athletes because we also got to perform the song at the ceremonies.

    “Give It All You Got” was nominated for best instrumental composition at the 1981 Grammy Awards, losing out to John Williams’ score for The Empire Strikes Back. 

    Mangione would perform “Give it All You Got” live at the Winter Olympics closing ceremony (as well as the song “Pina Colada”) on Sunday, February 24, 1980, just hours after the conclusion of the gold medal hockey victory for Team USA over Finland along with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra from Ontario, Canada.

    In addition to Mangione, the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam contributed to the Lake Placid Winter Olympics as well. A 600-member Olympic chorus and orchestra, a 50 member wind ensemble and three Olympic bands of 50 members each, who were bused in daily and wore weather appropriate parkas and boots, instead of the typical tuxedos and gowns. Brass performers tested their instruments in the meat freezer of the local supermarket in Potsdam as they prepared for the Games.

    1980 winter olympics
    photo by Christopher Lenney

    Feb. 9, 1980 featured the Collegiate Singers, directed by Brock McElheran, as they performed for the International Olympic Committee, along with visiting dignitaries from participating nations.

    1980 winter olympics
    photo via the Crane School of Music

    Four Crane School of Music faculty members composed original works for the Olympic Games, including Elliot Del Borgo, Arthur Frackenpohl, William Maul and Robert Washburn. When American gold medal winners, including speedskater Eric Heiden, received their medals, they were accompanied by an arrangement of the “Star Spangled Banner” by Frackenpohl, who also arranged the Greek and Yugoslavian national anthems.  Washburn composed “Parade of Nations” for the opening ceremonies, while Del Borgo wrote the piece played during the closing, “When Dreams Are Dreamed and Dreams Are Won,” and Maul composed “March of the Athletes,” used for the closing ceremonies.

    photo via the Crane School of Music

    Crane School bands would provide music for the award ceremonies each evening, with Professor Emerita Rebekah Covell leading the Crane Symphonic Band for 14 performances over 14 days. With an added degree of difficulty, Covell and the musicians would often have less than an hour to rehearse national anthems needed for the medal award ceremonies, prior to playing the songs outdoors, often in freezing temperatures. Notably, Robert Mero, a former technical assistant at Crane, came out of retirement to assist musicians with technical services during the Games, per Robert Gibbs, a professor and emeritus member of the Crane School alumni board.

    Between Chuck Mangione and students and faculty at the Crane School of Music, all music for the 1980 Winter Olympics can be credited to talented born and/or raised New Yorkers. Here’s to the Winter Olympics returning to Lake Placid in the coming years, perhaps split with Montreal.

  • Grateful Dead bring back the Boys Club In Buffalo: January 20, 1979

    By the time the Grateful Dead “trucked up to Buffalo” in January of 1979, the walls had already begun to crumble on this particular incarnation of the band. The end was nigh for Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux with their last show as members not even a month away now. And for tonight’s show, there would be no Donna Jean at all, making it a “boys only” performance, giving Deadheads a possible glimpse of what’s to come in the near future.

    “Promised Land” serves as a fun little opener but this show takes off with the “Sugaree” that follows. The band gets into a relaxed groove immediately and it’s flavored with a trifecta of sublime guitar solos, courtesy of Jerry Garcia, each one growing with intensity. This carries over to a “Peggy-O” later in the set that seems to start off slower than usual but still winds up with a beautiful peak. And the writing certainly seemed to be on the walls for the all-too-fitting “Its All Over Now” that follows with its “I used to love her” lyrics.

    Dead Buffalo

    The first set at Shea’s also features a “Jack-A-Roe” that has some shaky footing early but gets ironed out nicely with Garcia dropping another couple of slick runs on lead guitar with Bob Weir firmly in command on rhythm. The two pair up again nicely on a “New Minglewood Blues” that comes next and gets stretched out a little before a short but ferocious “Jack Straw” wraps up the set.

    For those who were at last week’s show in Utica, well, the second set tonight would begin the same exact way with an opening pairing of “I Need A Miracle” and “Bertha.” The “Miracle” almost seems to be cut a little short or “rip corded,” in the parlance of our times. But a spirited “Bertha” flows effortlessly into a cover of The Young Rascals’ “Good Lovin’” that has the Buffalo crowd screaming in delight. Things finally cool down a little with a “Loser” that’s played more than ably but seems a little misplaced here mid-second set.

    Dead Buffalo

    The latter part of this particular Buffalo show is vintage Grateful Dead and features something that those who were there would be able to brag about for years to come. It all begins with an “Estimated Prophet” that fires on all cylinders early before settling into a mellow, soulful jam with the bottom end handled nimbly by bassist Phil Lesh. As the mellowness fades and the tempo picks up, he helps steer the jam seamlessly into “The Other One” that gets a round of applause from Shea’s. This yields a jam that quickly goes deep until it’s just Garcia and the drummers remaining, with parrying back and forth. Naturally, this gives way to the “Drums” portion of the evening, with these three songs producing a full 30 minutes-plus worth of sonic wizardry.

    After the band reemerges for a brief “Space” with its usual noodle-y nonsense, they immediately go back and complete “The Other One” and its final verse. Instead of raging on afterwards, instead the jam dwindles down to nothingness before the iconic opening notes of “Dark Star” ring out. Deadheads would need to savor this one though as this seminal tune would not be played for another 238 shows, not returning until almost three years later.

    From “Dark Star” it almost sounds as if the music wants to return back once more to “The Other One” but instead Garcia starts up the opening chords of “Not Fade Away” as the show begins to come to a close. The set ends with a “Sugar Magnolia” that’s spurred on by clapping from the ever-engaged Shea’s Theatre before Weir belts out another one with “One More Saturday Night.” The tour would then head Midwest afterwards, officially bringing the end of a Grateful Dead era to the East Coast.

    Grateful Dead Shea’s Theatre – Buffalo, NY 1/20/79

    Set 1: Promised Land, Sugaree, El Paso, Peggy-O, It’s All Over Now, Jack-A-Roe, New Minglewood Blues, Stagger Lee, Jack Straw

    Set 2: I Need A Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin’, Loser, Estimated Prophet > The Other One > Drums > Space > Dark Star > Not Fade Away > Sugar Magnolia

    E: One More Saturday Night

  • The Grateful Dead Bring A Touch of Heat To Utica: January 14, 1979

    Today marks the anniversary of one of the last Grateful Dead shows ever to take place in Utica. It comes at a time that’s the end of an era, so to speak, as Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux’s final shows with the band would take place the following month in February before keyboardist Brent Mydland’s tenure began soon after. It’s not a very widely circulated show by any means; the lone audio copy is far from pristine and, supposedly, technical issues plagued the concert that night. It’s the third of four shows that the Dead would play at Utica Memorial Auditorium and one of the final times that fans in New York, and the Northeast for that matter, would be able to see the Godchauxs on stage.

    Dead Utica

    In a fitting nod to the locale and season, the Grateful Dead greet Utica Memorial Auditorium with “Cold Rain And Snow.” The rowdy auditorium crowd eats it up, whistling and clapping endlessly throughout. A couple of crisp runs from Jerry Garcia on guitar give way to some engaged harmonies by song’s end, starting the show off nicely. First set stalwart “New Minglewood Blues” follows with the Utica faithful still very much engaged, taking the collective whistling of approval to another level. “Dire Wolf” does little to temper the audible energy, with Garcia’s signature guitar solo showing plenty of pep in its step. Bob Weir then tags back in on lead vocals for a jazzy “Me And My Uncle” which flows seamlessly into a rather percussive “Big River,” a song pairing that started the previous year and would remain popular for the rest of the Grateful Dead’s career.

    grateful dead utica

    The breakneck speed of all the songs after the opener finally comes to a halt with “They Love Each Other,” played very much in its low tempo format, lending itself much better to Donna Jean’s vocal harmonies which are also prominently featured alongside Weir for the emotional “Looks Like Rain” that comes next. A top notch “Brown Eyed Women” with a few more remarkable runs by Garcia up and down the fretboard follows, although it’s marred a little by some audio difficulties on the recording. The first set then begins to wrap up with a cover Bobby Womack’s “It’s All Over Now,” perhaps foreshadowing the upcoming end of an era. It’s a spirited version though, with Garcia and Keith Godchaux on piano trading fills back and forth. After a run through the folksy “Jack-A-Roe,” a regular cover at future Garcia solo gigs, the set comes to a close with another legendary pairing of songs “Lazy Lightning” and “Supplication.” The jam connecting the two is very much energetic, heavily psychedelic and fueled with extensive work on the drums from the Rhythm Devils, a great sign for the second set to come.

    After a set break to rehydrate and reenergize, the second part of the show begins with somewhat of a first set feel to it. “I Need A Miracle” has a slightly extended Garcia-driven jam neatly attached to it which builds the platform for a launch into a boisterous “Bertha.” The communal good vibes keep moving along into a customarily raucous cover of “Good Lovin’” with Weir taking his usual liberties with vocals before “Stagger Lee” mellows things out a tad.

    Finally, for a show bereft of much deep end improvisation, the next few numbers do their best to make up for it. The composed section of “Estimated Prophet” is played to near perfection, minus some off kilter early Garcia vocals, before later devolving into near silence (with the exception of more whistlers) for a soaring, exploratory jam that literally builds itself from the ground up. As the pace reaches a crescendo, some familiar guitar chords begin to seep through and the Dead are off and running in Utica with a blisteringly quick “Eyes Of The World.” Garcia dazzles once more in the song’s first jam with a jaw-dropping flurry of notes that can’t seemingly be played any faster. The second one is dominated by the rhythm section of bassist Phil Lesh and the drummers so, naturally, this makes its way into the “Drums” portion of the evening, shining the spotlight on Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart for a while.

    View this and more Grateful Dead shows from across the years in New York State with our interactive map below!

    A rather choppy-starting “Iko Iko” slowly but surely emerges from “Drums” and it’s played at a much slower tempo than it would be in the years to follow, making for an interesting early version. At its conclusion, the familiar noodley opening jam of “The Other One” begins to develop before Lesh’s thunderous opening bass riff confirms it. It’s a short but sweet take that serves as the evening’s last true dip into psychedelia.

    Oddly there would be no encore for this show. Instead it wraps up with the lead singers going back and forth one last time. First, Garcia leads the band through a soulful “Black Peter” before Weir does the same for a show-closing cover of Chuck Berry’s “Around And Around” that has both he and Donna Jean trading lyrics back and forth by song’s end.

    Grateful Dead – Utica Memorial Auditorium – Utica, NY 1/14/79

    Set 1: Cold Rain And Snow, New Minglewood Blues, Dire Wolf, Me And My Uncle > Big River, They Love Each Other, Looks Like Rain, Brown Eyed Women, It’s All Over Now, Jack-A-Roe, Lazy Lightnin’ > Supplication

    Set 2: I Need A Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin’, Stagger Lee, Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World > Drums > Iko Iko > The Other One > Black Peter > Around And Around

  • New Year’s Day Flashback: Jazz at Town Hall, January 1, 1947

    To start 2022, let’s jump back 75 years years to a jazzy New Year’s Day concert at New York City’s Town Hall. The show was both a celebration of Mezz Mezzrow’s then recently published book Really The Blues, and also served as a benefit for the American Committee for Yugoslav Relief.

    Thanks to Jazz Lives, we are able to revisit this show, packed with jazz musicians including Muggsy Spanier, Sandy Williams, Sidney Bechet, Mezz Mezzrow, Sammy Price or Art Hodes, Wellman Braud, and Baby Dodds. Later in the evening Bob Wilber’s Wildcats (who were also on Mezzrow’s King Jazz Label) were added, which included Johnny Glasel, Ed Hubble, Bob Wilber, Dick Wellstood, Charlie Traeger, Eddie Phyfe. Jazz Lives notes Coot Grant and Kid Sox Wilson also performed on a playful version of their song “You Can’t Do That To Me”

    The concert was recorded on 12-inch acetates on two machines and 10 performances were issued on LP (Jazz Archives JA-39), although this recording was not. It seems Mezzrow was one of jazz music’s most interesting characters, and was responsible for putting together many great jazz sessions in his time.

    This particular concert from New Year’s Day 1947 celebrated the release of Mezzrow’s autobiography, Really The Blues, and he brought in a who’s-who of traditional jazz musicians, most notably Sidney Bechet on soprano sax and Muggsy Spanier on cornet. Sammy Price joined on piano, Sandy Williams on trombone, Wellan Braud on bass and Baby Dodds on drums rounded out the band.

    town hall new years day

    Recordings like this offer insight into the post-war era in New York City, a return to normalcy if you will. Featured below is “When You’re Smiling” by Johnny Windhurst, along with Bechet and Wellstood. Jazz Lives compared Windhurst to Hot Lips Page in his prime, energetically lit from within, and radiantly taking another chorus just when you think he might have had or done enough. To the jazz aficionado, you’ll hear “an exultant hymn of praise to Louis Armstrong.”

    A full recording of the performance is available here. The track listing includes: Darktown Strutters Ball, The Blues, Muskrat Ramble, Sammy’s Boogie Woogie Blues, You Can’t Do That To Me, There’ll Be Some Changes Made, Friar’s Point Shuffle, Really The Blues, Really The Blues (Extension), and High Society

    Read and listen to more from Jazz Lives on a 1952 performance at Town Hall, featuring Bill Davison, Bobby Hackett and many more.