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| Title: | MUSIC V4 |
| Notice: | New Noters please read Note 1.*, Mod = someone else |
| Moderator: | KDX200::COOPER |
|
| Created: | Wed Oct 09 1991 |
| Last Modified: | Tue Mar 12 1996 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 762 |
| Total number of notes: | 18706 |
670.0. "Al Anderson" by LEDS::BURATI (My other keyboard's on a Hammond B-3) Thu Sep 08 1994 15:14
Big Al's not quite so big anymore, physically anyway. After 20 years
he's left NRBQ to focus on his own stuff full time. A master of the
Telecaster, Big Al is known coast to coast as a guitar player's guitar
player. Now, he has his tunes appearing on albums scattered all over the
charts.
I first saw Al with the Wild Weeds in Connecticut in 1968. They were
pure R&B, lot's of Motown/Atlantic/Stax-Volt tunes. Back then Big Al,
who was about 19, played a Gibson Archtop. They produced one very
successful record, "No Good To Cry", a wonderful R&B track written by
Al. You can occassionally catch it on oldies stations and, until Al's
departure, you could hear performed by NRBQ. This tune is classic 60s
R&B. It's so good that I get goosebumps every single time I hear it.
Other Anderson singles are "(and I still think about you everytime I'm)
Driving In My Car" and "When She Smiles". His hits with NRBQ include a
rather corny piece put out in honor of the great gasoline embargo of
1973 called "Get that Gasoline", "(Howard Johnson's got his) HoJo
Working" and "Me and the Boys".
Al's clean and sober now. Although Al still lives part time in Windsor
Locks, CT, he also spends much of his time in Nashville, which brings me
to why I entered this note.
Last night while channel surfing I stopped at TNN to listen to someone
performing on Music City Tonight (at least I think that's what it's
called). During one shot of what looked like the house band, my eyes
fell upon Big Al, standing there playing a Tele in front of a blonde
Fender amp with a piggyback Fender reverb unit perched atop it. There
was another guitar player too, so I don't know if Al's a regular part of
this band or if he was just playing that tune because of the guest
artist, whose name escaped me.
So there you go, Big Al 1994. And now he has his own note.
--Ron
| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 670.1 | Big Al was prophetic | KOLFAX::WIEGLEB | Have you considered the phalarope? | Mon Sep 12 1994 22:39 | 9 |
| Minor nit: Since "Get That Gasoline" was released in 1973 (as you
correctly stated), it beat the oil embargo by a good three years.
The song actually has nothing to do with being unable to find gas or
inflated prices, but rather being unable to afford it due to being broke.
The song became a hit as a re-release during the 1976 oil embargo.
Thanks for the write-up. Glad to hear Big Al is doing well.
- Dave
|
| 670.2 | help: need date of first energy crisis | LEDS::BURATI | My other keyboard's on a Hammond B-3 | Mon Sep 12 1994 23:39 | 16 |
| Dave,
I think your thinking of a second "mini" energy crunch that came a few
years later. You see, I was in a band during the great middle-east oil
embargo and that band split up in the spring of 1975. In fact our big
ol' GMC box truck that we were desparately trying to get gas for to get
to Provincetown died pathetically during the winter of '74-'75. The big
crisis was definitely in the vacinity of 1973 and they wrote that song
specifically for it. I know because we shared club billings with them on
a regular basis at the time. In fact, Al Anderson ended up marrying the
ex-wife of a friend of mine who was in Clean Living. (I believe they are
divorced now, though)
On the other hand, maybe I dreamed it all. Sure seems like it sometimes.
--Ron
|
| 670.3 | If my memory serves me... | CUPMK::WIEGLER | | Tue Sep 13 1994 11:02 | 2 |
| I remember the first *big* oil embargo/crisis hitting in 1973.
|
| 670.4 | | LEDS::BURATI | My other keyboard's on a Hammond B-3 | Tue Sep 13 1994 11:08 | 3 |
| I was just thinking that maybe it was re-released later and did better
on the charts the second time. So maybe we're both right. But there's
lots of synaptic noise in those memories, too, if you know what I mean.
|
| 670.5 | | LEZAH::CLARK | | Tue Sep 13 1994 13:33 | 11 |
| I've been listening to the NRBQ Rhino anthology, Peek a Boo, and am
finding a lot of my favorite songs are Anderson compositions.
Ridin' In My Car, It Comes To Me Naturally, It Was a Accident, a couple of
ballads...
For some reason he reminds me of the 5 Royales (unsung but brilliant)
guitar player & songwriter. Maybe it's the sense of humor (thinking of
the 5 Royales "Women About to Make Me Go Crazy" & others.)
I'm glad Brian Rost & other Q fans in notes pointed me at that set. - Jay
|