CAL TJADER - "Trick Or Treat" (1967)

 

There have been hundreds if not thousands of Halloween songs made over the years, and a lot of them are novelty songs, and a lot of them are just weird, but I don't think any of them are quite as weird as this one.

From the 1967 album "Along Comes Cal," 

Here's

CAL TJADER - "Trick Or Treat" 

THE RATTLES - "The Witch" (1969-1970)

 

In the "If You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again" category, the winner is the German band The Rattles.

In 1969, when this record was recorded, the members were Kurt “Zappo” Lüngen playing bass, Rainer Degner on guitar, Peet Becker playing the drums with Henner Hoier doing the vocals.

"The Witch" was released as the 'B' side of a record titled "Geraldine." 

 

The record didn't do well, and by 1970 most of the original band was gone, leaving only Kurt “Zappo” Lüngen from the original band.

The new band re-recorded "The Witch with vocals by Edna Bejarano, with Frank Mille, and Borny Bornhold now playing guitar and drums, and the song became a hit.

They flipped the order of the songs to "The Witch" being the "A" side.

 

There are countless versions of this song on YouTube but I do believe even the one that says it's the original from 1969 is still the 1970 version, so instead of giving you two versions of the same thing, here's a version with Henner Hoier that's sung in German followed by the hit version.

HENNER HOIER &THE RATTLES - "The Witch" (Auf Deutsch) 

 

THE RATTLES - "The Witch" (1970) 

The Supergroup You May Never Have Heard Of - Toy Matinee, "Last Plane Out" (1990)

 

Rich Here. In the late '80s some of LA's new crop of session players gathered together to start Toy Matinee, a band whose only eponymously-named album was a masterpiece of playing and singing and production and intriguing arrangements. 

 

Out front was Kevin Gilbert, a young good looking, charismatic singer whose "knowing" voice was full of personality. Keyboardist Patrick Leonard and guitarist Tim Pierce created an interesting tapestry of sound (some may be aware of Tim Pierce due to his frequent appearances in Rick Beato's videos) -- all underlaid by Guy Pratt's bass and Brian MacLeod's drums.

 

Together, their playing was several notches above the Alternative music that was starting to dominate the charts. Their debut album was a tour de force with an intellectually-inclined bent -- subject matter included surrealistic painter Salvador Dali, a Czech poet, an Eastern European political figure, escaping a war zone, and even a song about Madonna. The songwriting was tight and focused, and the arrangements intriguing, with influences ranging from prog to pop to new wave. And full of hooks. It was the kind of musical ambition that had characterized The Beatles and The Beach Boys. 

 

A couple songs received fairly wide radio play. But, alas, the should-have-been mainstream success was short-circuited. Despite the accessibility of the band's appearance and songs, their complexity and intellectualism was not what the Public was looking for in the Age of Nirvana. As well, each of the band's members were busy with more session work than they could handle, and touring required replacing them with new players who weren't on the album was daunting. 

 

And, then, disastrously, Kevin Gilbert, who'd tried to promote the band and the album, died of tragic circumstance.

 

But they left behind one magnificently-made album.

TOY MATINEE - "Last Plane Out"  

BOBBY & DALLAS - "Vampira and Elvira"

 

Well, All Saints Eve is almost upon us so how about a small tribute to the mistresses of the dark, none other than 'Horror Hostesses' Vampira and Elvira.

"Elvira" was a song written and recorded by a guy named Dallas Frazier in 1966, and has nothing to do with Cassandra Peterson, aka Elvira who didn't appear on the pop culture scene until 1981.

This song made it to number 72 on the music charts in 1966. 

It was recorded again in 1970 by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition but was not released as a single. 

In 1981, Dallas Frazier probably made a couple of million dollars when The Oak Ridge Boys recorded "Elvira" again, and it rose to the top of the Country and Billboard charts.

And why not, since the lyrics "Elvira, my heart's on Fi-ra" is probably one of the best rhymes of all time.

DALLAS FRAZIER - "Elvira" 

 

It's just a coincidence that both the song "Elvira" by The Oak Ridge Boys, and the first appearance of Elvira, Mistress of the Night both happened in 1981.

Believe it or not, Cassandra Peterson just recently turned 75. 

 

Besides her appearance in the Ed Wood Classic "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and other films, Maila Nurmi, aka Vampira had her own hit TV show from 1954 to 1955.

 

 

It's said that Vampira was also the model that Disney's Maleficent was based on, and Vampira's look was based on Morticia from The Addams Family. 

Here's Charles Addams first drawing of Morticia. 

What a wild trifecta! 

Oddly enough, Maila's Mother's maiden name was also Peterson. 

Here's the awesome opening introduction from her TV show! 

 

In 1965, Bobby Bare brought out this less than scary looking album with his song "Vampira" on it, which unlike Dallas Frazier's "Elvira" was actually a tribute to Vampira.

Although it's an endearing Halloween classic, it never made it to the top 100.

BOBBY BARE - "Vampira" 

FOUR SONGS THAT REFERENCE FRANKENSTEIN!

 

Over the years there have been countless references to Frankenstein in popular music, so here are just four that I find either good and/or interesting.

Let's start off in 1961 and a song called "You Can Get Him - Frankenstein" that was written by none other than the scary Phil Spector along with Ahmet Ertegun, and Ed Adlum who was a member of the band The Castle Kings who recorded the song. 

 

Great song, but I actually prefer this 2014 version.

EMMY LOU AND THE RHYTHM BOYS - "You Can Get Him Frankenstein"

 

In 1962 The Crystals put out an album called "Twist Uptown" that oddly enough was produced by who else but Phil Spector?

THE CRYSTALS - "Frankenstein Twist"

In 1964 Elvis Presley was in the film "Viva Las Vegas" with Ann Margaret

The Japanese poster for the movie is pretty crazy. 

 

Oddly enough, they chose to only release this four song EP instead of a full soundtrack for the movie.

Maybe they didn't want Ann Margaret to outshine The King, but here's an awesome excerpt from the film featuring both of them, and the lyrics first with Elvis singing "How's about having dinner at eight?" and Ann's reply of "I'd rather dine with Frankenstein."

ELVIS PRESLEY & ANN MARGARET - "The Lady Loves Me"

 

Now here's a weird one you probably were not expecting.

In 1974, Buck Owens And The Buckeroos released an LP titled "(It's A) Monsters' Holiday"

Even weirder, looking at the song titles, this is the only 'monster' song on the record with lyrics like,

"Frankenstein was the first in line, And the Wolfman came up next" 

BUCK OWENS AND THE BUCKEROOS - "(It's A) Monsters' Holiday"

AFTER HOURS with Moe Tucker (1969) and Lord Litter (2011)

 

"After Hours" is the only Velvet Underground song sung only by Maureen "Moe" Tucker, and I also think that it's the sweetest song they ever recorded.

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND - "After Hours"

 

My good friend Jörg Dittmar, aka the late Lord Litter, felt the same way as I do about this song, and recorded his own sweet version in 2011.

LORD LITTER - "After Hours"

GANG OF FOUR - "Entertainment" (1979)

 

Now here's a song from 1979 by Gang Of Four from their album titled "Entertainment" that anybody and everybody should be able to identify with, because who in the Hell wants to get the disease Anthrax?

That's definitely something I don't want to catch, right up there with the plague!

 So why wasn't this a world wide hit? Beats the heck out of me!

GANG OF FOUR - "Love Like Anthrax" 

FRED ARMISEN - "What A Crackup" (1989-2026)

 

I'm going to go see a Fred Armisen show tonight, and boy, am I excited about it. This guy is so incredibly talented, I have no idea what he's going to come up with for the evening, but whatever it is, I'm sure it's going to be amazing!

 

 

Fred's done so much, there's just no way I can get into all of it, but here's a few highlights of his wild and funny career.

In the late 80's and early 90's, Fred was the drummer in the band Trenchmouth who made music like this!

TRENCHMOUTH - "Doing The Flammability" 

 

As a regular Saturday Night Live cast member, Fred performed in fake bands such as Crisis of Conformity and this Clash-like punk band called Ian Rubbish & The Bizzaros in 2013. Bill Hader had the role of  bassist Derek Gash.

IAN RUBBISH & THE BIZZAROS - "Maggie Thatcher"

 

Since Fred is also fluent in multiple languages, he can pull of things like this 2014 release by Joshua Rainhorn with additional vocals by the daughter of the phenomenal singer Minnie Ripperton, actress Maya Rudolph.

JOSHUA RAINHORN - "Voce Tem"
 

In 2015, Fred was in this very fake easy listening pop/rock band called Blue Jean Committee, again with the help of Bill Hader 

Is there any style of music he can't do? I don't think so! 

BLUE JEAN COMMITTEE - "Catalina Breeze"
 

In 2019 it was a mock up of The Talking Heads, a band called Test Pattern, with Bill Hader on bass.

This video from the "Late Night" TV show is very relatable and hilarious!

TEST PATTERN - "Art + Student = Poor"

So who knows which sides of Fred will show up tonight, but whoever they are, I'm sure this is going to be one helluva night to remember.

LES CLAYPOOL AND THE HOLY MACKEREL - "Highball With The Devil" (1996)

 

What better to follow up Larry Norman with than Les Claypool And The Holy Mackerel, and "Highball With The Devil" from 1996?

Nothing I think, because it just doesn't get much better than this. 

Turn it all the way up!! 

LES CLAYPOOL AND THE HOLY MACKEREL - "Holy Mackerel" 

I Am the Six O'clock News - Larry Norman (1972)

 

Rich here. In the early days of the Jesus Rock scene (later referred to as "Contemporary Christian Music"), there really were only a handful of good bands (egs.,Love Song, Phil Keaggy, Overland Stage, Randy Stonehill). Beyond those bands and a few others, the majority just really didn't write good songs, many weren't very good musicians in the first place, and/or their messages were fairly limited to a theologically shallow advertisement that "You should be pals with Jesus."

 

But one Christian rocker stood heads & shoulders above all but a few -- Larry Norman, who was the first true Christian Rock Star. In the late '60s, before turning his attentions to being a spokesman for the nascent Jesus Movement, he'd already experienced  mainstream chart success with his Bay Area band People!, who'd recorded a fabulous cover version of "I Love You" by The Zombies.

 

However, even more than his previous history in a chart-hitting band, what made Larry Norman stand out from the majority of other Jesus Rockers of the early '70s was that he was articulate and intelligent and charismatic and wrote songs that transcended the thematic limitations of most Jesus Rock. Instead, Norman's songs employed the kind of poetic language used by Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. His songs were full of metaphor and complex rhymes and including references to literature and cinema and history and the news to express the feelings of someone who felt he was a foreigner in this world.

 

In fact, the title of Norman's major label debut album was "Only Visiting This Planet" (Verve, 1973). 

 

And before Larry Norman unfortunately turned into a Moral Majority-type Christian right-winger in the '80s, he wrote some of the most poignant songs of the early Jesus Movement, including describing Jesus as an outlaw, critiquing U.S. foreign policy that bombed villages in other lands while American children went hungry, and expressing feelings of alienation from a woman who'd seduced him. And, also, this powerful song told from the cynical viewpoint of a photographer who takes pictures of death and destruction for the Six O'Clock News. Powerful stuff.

LARRY NORMAN - "Six O'Clock News"

URBAN VERBS - "Subways" (1980)

 

The Urban Verbs were from Washington D.C. and this self-titled LP came out also in 1980.

If Urban Verbs sound remotely like Talking Heads to you, the reason is probably that the frontman of the band, Roddy Frantz, was the brother of Talking Heads drummer Christ Frantz.

Damn, unfortunately, while writing this, I just found out that Roddy passed away a couple of weeks ago on October 01 at the age of 71. 

URBAN VERBS - "Subways" 

 

I give Warner Brothers Records a lot of credit for coming out with records like this one titled "Troublemakers" in the 1980's. It introduced me to a lot of new music.

This album was the first time I heard bands like Urban Verbs, Wire, Buggles, & Robin Lane and the Chartbusters, who were bands that weren't getting played on the radio where I lived.

TALKING HEADS - "Stop Making Sense" (1984)

 

Before The Finn Brothers were "Only Talking Sense," Talking Heads wanted you to "Stop Making Sense in 1984.

The Talking Heads have been around a long time, and I'd call them a popular band, but they never had a number one hit song. The highest they ever got on The Billboard charts was #9 in 1983.

 

That hit song came off of this "Speaking In Tongues" album, and was titled "Burning Down The House."

The following year they came out with their film called "Stop Making Sense."

That movie has got one of my favorite videos of a 'live' song by anyone, and what else could it be?

 I get tired just watching it! 

TALKING HEADS - "Burning Down The House"

FINN BROTHERS - "Only Talking Sense" (1995)

 

In 1995 The Finn Brothers Neil and Tim released an album titled simply "Finn."

These two are so talented I could gush on forever about their music, but why waste time talking?

Here's quite a beautiful song that perfectly makes my point! 

FINN BROTHERS - "Only Talking Sense" 

ROBIN LANE & THE CHARTBUSTERS - "Don't Wait Till Tomorrow" (1980)

 

This LP by Robin Lane & The Chartbusters is classic 1980, or is it?

1980 was obviously one of the worst years of popular music, but don't get me wrong, the unpopular music of the same year was some of the best. 

Some of the top 100 songs on the Billboard Charts of 1980 were drivel like Rupert Holmes' "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)," "Do That To Me One More Time" by Captain and Toenail, "Sailing" by Christopher Cross, "Woman In Love" by Barbara Streisand, and "Lady" by Kenny Rogers.

It's like rock and roll didn't even exist.

Meanwhile, the cool people were listening to this stuff, "Brass In Pocket" by The Pretenders, "Whip It" by Devo, "What I Like About You" by The Romantics, "I Got You" by Split Enz, "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors... 

and, of course this song, by Robin Lane & The Chartbusters...

ROBIN LANE & THE CHARTBUSTERS - "Don't Wait Till Tomorrow"

LILLYS - "Better Can't Make Your Life Better" (1996)

 

Lillys, also known sometimes as The Lillys, recorded for some 20 years from 1992 to 2012. Their style changed many times over that period of time, and Wikipedia has the band having over 58 different members over the years if I counted right, with one constant, that being Kurt Heasley as frontman.

This is what the band sounded like in 1996.

From the album titled "Better Can't Make Your Life Better." here's...... 

LILLYS - "Cambridge California

HALF MAN - "Round And Round" (2000)

 

"Right In The Nuts" was an Aerosmith tribute CD that came out in 2000, and featured a lot of bands with wild names like Drunk Horse and Electric Frankenstein, and even though this is a bit more heavy handed than most of what I get into around here, I think this just might be a better version than the original, and I like the long ending a lot better for sure!

So here you go, straight out of who knows where....

HALF MAN - "Round And Round" 

A One-Man Band - Richard X. Heyman, Loud (1991)

 

Rich here. I've written about my fascination with home-recording artists, HERE and HERE. One particular artist, Richard X. Heyman, totally blew me out of the water when I first heard him on a tape that my erstwhile singing partner Jeb Bolan sent me of Heyman's 1988 album "Living Room." 

 

Heyman had previously played in a popular Washington, DC, band, The Rage, with cult power pop god, Tommy Keene. But when the band broke up, Heyman basically said, "I don't need no stinkin' band; I'll do it myself." And "Living Room" was literally recorded in a living room. The record was self-released by Heyman, and the album featured him writing & singing all the lead vocals & harmonies and playing all the instruments. Turns out he's no slouch as a player or a singer. Most particularly, he's a helluva drummer.

 

In summary: "Living Room" was ALL KILLER, NO FILLER.

 

In the early '90s rush to find the next R.E.M. or Nirvana and plunk them from the underground and into the mainstream, Sire Records signed Richard X. Heyman to a major label contract, and in 1991 released his major label debut, "Hey Man!" As with "Living Room," Heyman once again wrote & sang all the songs and played all the instruments (with his wife playing bass on a few songs). 

 

All the songs on "Hey Man!" were fab, and the album's production was pristine. Unfortunately by that point, Grunge had become mainstream, not Guitar-Pop-and-Harmony records that wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Byrds and Beatles playlist, and the public didn't notice. A year or two later, you could pick up a copy of the "Hey Man!" CD for just $3-4 in a cut-out bin. 

 

But these days "Hey Man!" is considered a Cult Classic, and it's so hard to find that it costs over $100 if you try to buy a copy from Amazon.

RICHARD X. HEYMAN - "Loud" 

JAMES HILL - "TCAB Studio" (2026)

 

James Hill is an independent musician from California who is a master of the trumpet. The tones he gets from his horn are just amazing. James has been producing his own distinct music for decades, and is now using some AI programs to augment and enhance his sound to make it even bigger and better, but believe me, it's still all his own original music and tone.

 

 

Here's the introduction from his Bandcamp page, and I agree with every single word of it.

"James Hill creates a beautiful and compelling array of musical landscapes—fusing genres, styles, instruments, and rhythms into intensely evocative compositions. He is a brilliant musician and composer."

 

If that's not enough for you, then you can listen to what I'm sure are 100's of his tunes for free from his TCAB Studio at The Internet Archive.

Do yourself a favor and go check out this man's incredible talent!

  Here's just one sample of his awesome jazz styling.

JAMES HILL - "Along Came Betty" 

THE FRIGGS - "Juiced Up" (1995)

 

The Friggs were an all female band from Camden, New Jersey that formed in 1990, and released five singles between then and 1995.

For some silly reason, they never had any chart success and broke up in 2000.

 

In 2007, this CD of singles and unreleased songs titled "Today Is Tomorrow's Yesterday," was released, and I recommend it for the hilarious cover if nothing else.

Not only are they funny, they Rock!! 

THE FRIGGS - "Juiced Up" 

COKE ESCOVEDO - "Life Is A Tortured Love Affair" (1975)

 

A few years later, and Linda Tillery was the lead singer in percussionist Coke Escovedo's fine band. Coke is the brother of Pete Escovedo, and the Uncle of Shiela E.

In 1971 and 1972, Linda Tilley recorded with Santana, Boz Scaggs and founding member of the Steve Miller Band, percussionist Tim Davis before joining Coke's band.

Anyway, Linda did not stop in the 70's, and if you've got thirty minutes to kill, here's the link to her whole story in Wikipedia. 

 Unfortunately, at the end of that article it's very clear that her health has not been that great the past few years

Here's to you Linda!! 

I can't think of a more perfect song title!

COKE ESCOVEDO - "Life Is A Tortured Love Affair" 

SWEET LINDA DIVINE - "Good Day Sunshine" (1969)

 

Linda Tillery just turned 78 about a month ago, and I hope she's doing fine. Fifty-seven years ago after her stint with The Loading Zone, she came out with this really fine solo LP called "Sweet Linda Divine."

It was produced by the phenomenal Al Kooper, a real person, that's Al, not AI and it shows. 

Why, at this point in time Linda wasn't a superstar is anybody's guess.

This has got to be the only record by a female vocalist that also has two instrumental songs on it, but Linda is also a drummer, so why not show off her skills? 

Here's a very unique Beatles' cover that shows just how talented this lady is! 

SWEET LINDA DIVINE - "Good Day Sunshine" 

THE LOADING ZONE - "Don't Lose Control (Of Your Soul)" (1968)

 

Let's talk about Linda Tillery aka Sweet Linda Divine, because if you don't know who she is, then you should, and I'm gonna take care of that for you right now, or at least some of it in this, and my next two posts.

Linda has a voice from the heart, and if that ain't enough, she plays the drums too.

Her first gig was with the San Francisco band called The Loading Zone, and they came out with this album in 1968.

I read that when The Loading Zone opened up for Big Brother And The Holding Company one time, after the gig, and because Linda was so awesome, Janis Joplin said she didn't ever want that band opening for them again because Linda's vocals made her look bad.

For a long time, I thought this was one of the strangest album covers I'd ever seen, especially back in 1968. 

THE LOADING ZONE - "Don't Lose Control (Of Your Soul)

CORNERSHOP - "Handcream For A Generation" (2002)

 

I don't exactly know why, but I really like Cornershop and their take on popular music. I will admit sometimes it goes on repetitiously for too long, but other than that, it's full of surprises and it's made to dance to!

Cornershop were from Wolverhampton, UK and formed in 1991 by brothers Tjinder and Avtar Singh. The group is fleshed out by David Chambers and Ben Ayres.

This album titled "Handcream For A Generation" was their fourth, and came out in 2002, and is well worth a listen.

CORNERSHOP - "People Power" 

One Last Swim Before Summer's End - Webb Wilder And The Beatnecks, Poolside (1986)

 

Rich here. And here it is, October already! Living in the Pacific Northwest, I always lament the end of Summer, which is that all-too-short wonderfully beautiful, temperate period before our gray days and rain return.

 

So before the Pacific NW Gloom Descends altogether with Daylight Savings Time, it's a perfect time to remember the best days of our long 70-degree days, tanned bodies in shorts and t-shirts, baseball as it's meant to be played (in the sunshine), and hanging around the pool. 

 

And who better to capture the quirkiness of the best summertime poolside culture than the underknown rock 'n' roll humorist, Webb Wilder, whose music Wikipedia describes as a combination of "straight-ahead rock & roll with the surf guitar of the Ventures and the twang of Duane Eddy, drawing on the feel of blues, R&B, country/rockabilly and film noir . . .(and a) sound incorporating influences from Americana music as well as from the British Invasion." Now, THAT's a great bio that interests me!

 Happy swimming, poolsiders!

WEBB WILDER AND THE BEATNECKS - "Poolside" 

KEEP ON TRUCKIN' (1937 - 1971)

 

In 1968 Robert Crumb introduced the underground world to truckin' with this comic strip.

 

In 1969, the Los Angeles band Spirit released this album called "Clear," and on it was a song titled

I'M TRUCKIN'

In 1970, The Grateful Dead released an LP called "American Beauty," and on it was probably one of the most iconic truckin' songs.

TRUCKIN' 

 

Also in 1970, a much more obscure band, a group from Wisconsin by the name of Tongue released this album called "Keep On Truckin' With Tongue," and something a little closer to the original version.

KEEP ON TRUCKIN'

Then in 1971, Eddie Kendricks took his turn at Truckin' lyrics.

KEEP ON TRUCKIN'

Over the years there's been Truckin' songs by everybody from Dave Dudley to Hot Tuna, but most people agree that the original concept was that of Blind Boy Fuller, and this 78 RPM release in 1937.

TRUCKING MY BLUES AWAY No.2