The Top 5 at 5..1985  WMMR 93.3 Philadelphia, PA.

Me and my friend, Jim Gates used to drive in to work together. The 6pm to 2am shift at Philadelphia National Bank. In the summer of 1985, we would listen to the Top 5 at 5pm countdown on Philly's top rock radio station, WMMR. Two songs dominated the countdown during that summer:

 U2- "Bad" and Joe Walsh- "The Confessor".

 I can still remember with vivid detail playing air-guitar to Joe Walsh as we cruised down Highway 1-95 on our way to our banking jobs on the night-rat shift  (I was the passenger : ).

Later that summer, I had the extreme good fortune to attend the Live Aid concert (7-13-85) at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. During the London portion of the concert, U2 performed a pivotal version of "Bad" to a worldwide audience that elevated the already stellar band to a whole new level of greatness. A little over a month later, my first child, Bridgette was born...

Magical moments..frozen in time...

Elton John ..December 1974..Philadelphia Spectrum...My first concert..I had the pleasure of seeing Elton during his golden age when he ruled the radio airwaves. He was larger than life to me and the experience of live music changed my life forever. The video below is from a London concert less than a month after I saw Elton in Philadelphia. A man at the top of his game...check it out..

It's not dark yet..but it's getting there....


Until they perfect the time machine, music may be our best alternative for time travel. A certain song can instantly transport your mind back to vivid memories of places, feelings, time-periods and people. In 1998, I made the fateful decision to leave Pennsylvania and move south to Charlotte, North Carolina. To this day, the move remains the boldest risk I have ever taken. Knowing that things would never be the same was obvious from the instant that the decision was considered. Leaving friends and family was heart- wrenching yet refusing the opportunity would lead to  tortured years of thinking about "What If ??" Beyond all the fear and doubt, I know this was a rare opportunity for a fresh start and the promise of a better life for my family.

So that is where my head was in early 1998. At a pivotal crossroad, filled with a mix of melancholy and   nervous excitement, I discovered the perfect soundtrack for the battle raging in my mind and heart:

 Bob Dylan- Time Out of Mind

An old friend gave me a copy of Dylan's 1997 CD and I was immediately drawn to the dark atmosphere that surrounded the entire piece of work. Bob Dylan's music has always been special to me and this unexpected classic from his fourth decade in entertainment helped me through a critical time of transition. Although I will always treasure the memories of my pre-1998 life, the move away from my hometown and all I had known delivered more moments of joy, happiness and wonder than I could have ever dreamed of.

I dig Nancy Sinatra..so sue me!...

Yes, I'm talking about Frank's daughter who gave us "These Boots Were Made For Walking"...a killer tune, by the way. The bass line is so sinister and the lyrics...well... "You've been lying when you outta be truthing"!. How can you not love that?

One of my favorite Nancy recordings is "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)". The melancholy vibe is like a hypnotic trance filled with hopelessness. The tune was originally written by Sonny Bono for his then- wife Cher to record. Cher's version is pretty awesome in itself but Nancy's interpretation still wins out in my book.

There's two sides to every record!...

Long ago, in the dark ages, the vinyl single was a powerful force in the music industry. The A-side of the single contained the potential hit song. To some people, the other side of the hit record..the B-side..was just filler, throwaway tunes not fit for human consumption or radio airplay....but for others.. (cool people)..the B-side of the record could contain a rare, unreleased gems. Take a chance and flip that single over and you could discover a magical world beyond the mainstream top-40 radio world.

Case in point: The Soul Survivors-" Hey Gyp"

The A-side of the single was "Expressway To Your Heart", a classic slice of garage-rock from 1967. One day I decided to flip the disc and discovered what would become one of my favorite songs, "Hey Gyp". From the opening riff, I was hypnotized by the addictive, hard-driving garage groove...."I'll buy you a Cadillac if you just give me some of your love girl!"....Sounds perfectly reasonable to me..

As the years went on, I was surprised to discover that "Hey Gyp" was originally written by Donovan, another 60's legend. Eric Burdon and the Animals also recorded a rollicking version of this great pop/rock tune.That simple flip of the record delivered some mighty good times in my musical world! Here's a few different versions of "Hey Gyp"

CANDYMAN....Same title..two very different songs..Sammy and Jerry..Both great!

It's time to once again play my favorite game....explore the unlabeled CD! Listen, label and revel in the crazy mix of diverse musical tracks. Here is a sampling of a few of the gems I found on this CD:

Chesterfield Kings- "Running Through My Nightmares"

I discovered this retro-1960's garage band via Little Steven's Underground Garage website (Steven Van Zandt from Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band). This tune captures the raw energy of the best of the garage-rock genre. From the 2003 CD,  The Mind-Bending Sounds of the Chesterfield Kings.

Elvis Presley- "Polk Salad Annie" (live)

"Some of you never been down South too much...".

The King's classic intro to this vintage live 1970 performance. Elvis gyrates like a madman. It's over the top and very awesome. It's Elvis..the one and only...