Integrity has its price? How I missed the Ed Sullivan Show!

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In a recent thread, Rog & others discussed "musical integrity"......AND its price.
Well,at the start of my TV career, in the UK, HMV records had sent me on a short promotional tour of small TV & Radio stations in Northern USA & Canada.......my 'renditions of Scottish Folk songs'.....(because of the treatment), were being played on some Country Stations......AND I had also recorded "covers" of Country hits.
Anyway.
I write a 'supposedly humourous"!! column for the "STAGE DOOR" Magazine here in the UK....I recently shared my 'tale of woe' with the readers............this is it....sorry for the long post!

How I missed out on the Ed Sullivan Show
and learned a valuable lesson!
By Joe Gordon
The other day I was ‘idly musing’ on the past….
(I find myself doing that more and more….’idly musing’, that is ..maybe it’s a ‘senior’ thing….but I like to keep it to myself! I mean it’s no one else’s’ business is it?)
Anyway.
Back when I had just started appearing regularly on TV, and I was still working as graphic artist, there was a phone call to the studio. We didn’t have a phone at home……it was Balornock after all! Turned out to be from Foster’s agency in London. Was I interested in appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show? They had my records sent by HMV…..and they had seen some promotional TV interviews I had done a few weeks previously in USA.
(That was ten days of pandemonium! Travel nightmares……Breakfast TV shows….live Radio….just me and my guitar…..but that’s another story!)
Of course I was interested……Hold me back! Foster’s passed on my interest, and over the next few weeks we arranged dates…..the Sullivan people asked which songs I would prefer to do etc. Another phone call, this time to our house.
(We had a phone now….only the second one in our street…..only one car in the street too….and it was a long street! Very unusual to have a phone! Some of the neighbours came in just to have a look at it!)
Anyway.
Fosters said that the Sullivan people wanted me to wear the kilt……..did I have one? Yes I did. But I explained that I never played guitar with the kilt on….I didn’t think it looked right!……(.pretentious….moi?

)….I said I would prefer to do one number in trews and a Prince Charlie Jacket, and the other number without the guitar…..a waltz.....…..wearing the kilt. Fosters said they would get back to me. Next day Foster’s called to say that, “Mr.Sullivan would prefer you to wear the kilt for both songs.”
(To put this into the perspective of my views at that time…….Scottish Pop Singer Jackie Dennis had appeared on the Perry Como Show a few years before……singing his hits AND gyrating wearing a kilt. The press over here were less than kind!!

)
Foster’s said, “What will we tell them?” I said that I would be much happier, if I did one song wearing the kilt, and one without.
(I should have been warned then, that all was not well…........The boss, Hymie Zahl himself, came on the line……...would I not change my mind……what an opportunity for me in the States etc……I tried to explain my feeling to him, regarding kilts and guitars…..Brick wall!!)
Get to the crunch I can hear you cry!…..Well, they never called for the next few days….either at the studio or at home…..so I called Foster’s ……Hymie was unavailable…..but had left a message…..”Ed Sullivan’s people had withdrawn their interest.”
A year or so later, I was offered a tour of Canada & USA….the contract stated, ‘kilts for all appearances’……..did I refuse to sign? YOU ARE JOKING!

I might be stupid, but I’m not daft! Thing is, when I got over to the USA……any Scottish Singers who lived there and played guitar ALL wore the kilt!
Never mind. I can still ‘idly muse’.
Anyway.
INTEGRITY? STUPIDITY:? Regards, Joe G.

Great story.
I was just thinking this morning of starting a thread about "The great one that never was" and talking about someone famous you got to play with or work with that never turned into anything for one reason or another.

My story I was thinking about-
I got a call out of the blue from a guy near Detroit that goes by the name of JonWax. I had done some work for him previously.
He had some recordings done by MC Breed in his studio and wanted help finishing the songs. (If you don't know MC Breed you can WIKI him, worked with people like 2Pac or Tupac). I see the WIKI mentions the last recordings at the bottom of the article now .. that wasn't there last time I looked. Not sure how many of those recordings Jon did, but he had me work on a few of them.

Anyway, after his death JonWax wanted to get those final recordings finished and released and make his wife the recipient of the money. If you read the article you'll find that child support was not Eric's strong point and JonWax wanted to make up for this. (I assume this is what Eric wanted also after hearing the recordings)
The recordings are very moving and would have opened a whole new audience. His illness had definately changed his outlook on life. It was actually kind of a whole new sound too, very unique.

Why did it not happen (yet)? I was told he was was under contract when the recordings were done and they refuse to cooperate. So some great music that could have helped a needy family in Flint is now sitting in a home near Detroit with a lot of investment and work done but not published.
I had high hopes for that project. Not for me, but for his family.

Who is Eric? Is Eric JonWax? Or is Eric MC Breed? (If child support is involved, he should be MC Breeder... just sayin'....) You don't mention "Eric" until after JonWax is dead in your post.

Eric is MC Breed's real name. (first line of article in WIKI).
JonWax is not dead. Eric, or MC Breed is.
JonWax was a friend of Eric's.

Got it now. NOW on to the Wiki article...

Isn't Flint rated like THE worst city in the US to live in? Highest crime rate? Highest poverty rate? Yet here's a chance to be a solution and make a difference for one family and someone pulls the plug....

edit: $220,000????? How many kids did this guy have???

Exactly.
Here, if it helps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MC_Breed

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Isn't Flint rated like THE worst city in the US to live in?

Nope.
1. El Centro, California
2. Cleveland, Ohio
3. Detroit, Michigan

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/08/05/10-worst-places-to-live/

If Joe's thread has been officially hijacked I'll tell of my relationship with Bob (Zimmerman) Dylan in the late 50s. It's somewhat immodest so I hesitate. Its similar to Joe's story but without the kilts.

Tell the story Don.

I was wondering about that since you've mentioned it briefly before but didn't expound upon it.

I knew Cleveland was second. And chances are, with a little less work and more corruption in government, misdirecting of available funds to frivolous things like rebuilding the east side entertainment district rather than fixing the school system, paving those awful roads, even TRYING to clean up the drug traffic in the ghetto, they can be Numero Uno someday!!! I grew up in Cleveland and now live 35 miles south. When I lived up there, the metro area had 1.5 million people. That continues to shrink as the schools fall apart. Parents don't want their kids attending schools that shut down half of the classrooms and sit kids 2 to a desk because it's 7 degrees outside and there is no money available to fix the windows that the ghetto punks have broken out. The option is private school, but they have priced themselves out of reach for inner city families. The last time I knew it was a minimum of $7000 a year for the lower end private schools. The best 2 in the city, who have SUCH high academic requirements that the average inner city kid (who likely can't read - the system passes everybody because of the "No child left behind" crap) simply can't afford it. It is more cost effective for the family to take that several thousands of dollars and buy a house in the suburbs and send the kids to a better public school.

The city has been "dummied down" and in an effort to try and appear to be coming back, they create a lot of menial jobs (like fast food jobs and down) and post inflated statistics to appear to have created jobs. They can legitimately show that X number of jobs were created, even though that job is working on the janitorial crew at a place like the area where the Cavs play. Sure they have "a job" sweeping up 41 times per season, but does that feed a family? We just had a couple highly placed city officials found guilty of taking MANY dollars in kickbacks, as well as services in exchange for, when bidding out jobs. One guy had several thousands of dollars worth of work done on his house for free in exchange for giving a huge project to a company that was not even close to the lowest bidder. What IS good is very good. But there isn't that much good anymore.

#1 is within reach and I think they'll get there. There is nothing in Cleveland to draw young people to move there. Plenty to draw visitors, but not much there once you've seen everything once. Certainly not a lot of job opportunities for college educated types. Really a blue collar town, and as the rules of society have changed, as the economy has dipped, as leadership has shifted focus to big business, the kids now learn that they can make more money on the street of they are willing to risk getting caught selling their drugs. Most say "I'll risk it" because even if they get caught, jail is better than where they live now.

Plus one!.....And how could you....."The Donship"....possibly be immodest? If so, I'll cover my ears!
Joe G.

A couple of great stories guys . . . Keep'm coming.

Later,

Welp, you asked for it!

My being two months older than Bob and living in adjacent small towns in Northern Minnesota, we had many mutual friends and we would often end up at the same house parties and keggers, often sharing but one guitar between us, passing it between ourselves. One such party was at a girl’s home and we were both invited. Knowing who owned the place was just so much cerebral landfill at that time. So long as we had free beer we didn’t get involved with logistics or casting. We later discovered that the home was owned by big league talent agent, Jay Loury (sp?), from Minneapolis and our hostess was his private secretary. She danced, drank beer, and thoroughly seemed to enjoy herself.

Here’s where it gets a little immodest. About three days later I got a letter from Jay inviting me to Minneapolis for a test recording session in his studio. He mentioned his secretary (I’ll never forget old what’s-her-name) having heard me sing that previous weekend and she was very impressed with me. It was that one-in-a-million opportunity every budding musician dreams about.

It meant cutting school for several days and my parents were dead against that.

Bob did not get an invitation so I jokingly refer to that as the night that I outperformed Bob Dylan.

Recently, my son, Don Jr. shared the stage with Jakob Dylan and after recognizing my name, Jakob told my son that his dad still remembers me fondly and speaks of me frequently.

I had taught Bob that long, descending, Luther Perkins guitar intro on the Johnny Cash hit: “Home Of The Blues.” I think Bob remembers my kindness.

I often think that my parents did me an enormous favor by refusing to let me go to Minneapolis. I’ve been around professional music’s fringes long enough to see what it can do to people. It is not always kind.

Great story Don! Dylan was one of the great songwriters of our time.

He wrote songs that could speak to a generation.

Thanks for sharing.

Don, my old pal, I loved reading that. Thanks for posting.

I've been a Dylan fan ever since we played "Like A Rolling Stone" with the band we had at school. I bought the "Highway 61 Revisited" album on vinyl and wore it out. Now I've got it on CD and still play it regularly.

But I bet you were a better singer!

ROG.

ROG, My modesty forced me to omit the fact that our mutual friends would wrench the guitar out of his clutches prematurely and say: "Your turn, Don!" Bob was doing Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly covers. LOL. Buddy and Johnny (nor Elvis) he is NOT!

I still can picture us...Long sideburns; Flattops; DA haircuts with absolutely no less than a pound of Palm-aide (butch wax); black leather jackets with at least 100 zippers; high engineer boots with buckles on the tops; Tee-shirts with a pack of smokes rolled up in our sleeves. The "Fonzies" of the 50s. Everything but a motorcycle. LOL.

We would "hang" at Sammy's Pizza Parlor on Friday nights and weekends sniffing out girls and parties. Incidentally, Sammy's is still there and bustling some 55 years later. That speaks to a superior quality product. Best pizza I've ever eaten.

Don,

Dylan is definitely NOT known for his guitar chops or his vocal ability!

But he could sure write songs that have stood the test of time! I've always loved his stuff.

Thank goodness "auto tune" wasn't around to "fix" his vocals. His songs can stand on the sheer strength of his songwriting ability.

Too bad we don't see any of that today.

Yeah, Bob, I think I've stated earlier that Bob couldn't carry a tune in the proverbial hand basket and I likely told him so, but he's written some of the most beautiful and durable songs ever penned. I am proud to call him my friend.

Now, if only he had MY money...

An afterthought: Dylan IS well known for some of his chord progressions. Dylan students are very much interested in his specific chord changes. Nothing that I can demonstrate offhand but more subtle stuff like 3 and 4 minors. Stuff like that.

I really appreciate you sharing that story Don. It's an inside look into the life of a legend.

Those are some good memories to hang on to.

Quote:

Dylan is definitely NOT known for his guitar chops or his vocal ability!

Show me a more recognizable vocal sound. It won't be easy without resorting to a well known artist/song.
His vocal 'ability' served him well in my eyes.

rharv,

Quote:

Show me a more recognizable vocal sound.

Trust me on this one. I'm DEFINITELY not putting him down. I'm a big fan. I wouldn't change a thing about his voice.

I hate it when someone tries to sing like Dylan. Dylan's voice has to be one of the hardest on the planet to mimic. That's why I'm so critical when someone attempts it. No one on the planet can sing as bad as Dylan and have it sound so good!

Quote:

rharv,

Quote:

Show me a more recognizable vocal sound.

Trust me on this one. I'm DEFINITELY not putting him down. I'm a big fan. I wouldn't change a thing about his voice.

I hate it when someone tries to sing like Dylan. Dylan's voice has to be one of the hardest on the planet to mimic. That's why I'm so critical when someone attempts it. No one on the planet can sing as bad as Dylan and have it sound so good!

Well stated, Bob.

I mean absolutely no disrespect to Dylan. I am entitled to my opinion in saying that he is not a singer. His voice is impossible to mimic and it is not clear and distinct...very nasal but instantly recognizable. That doesn't mean that I enjoy listening to his voice. He mumbles and often sounds like he has a mouthful of marbles but his most devoted fans, and I include myself among his fans, forgive that and listen at some deeper level. I have the 4 CD box set wherein everybody who is anybody in music does a tribute to his music and it is the most beautiful concert I have ever heard.

Quote:

Show me a more recognizable vocal sound.

Tiny Tim was "recognizable". So was William Hung "recognizable". Were either of them any good?

Dylan had a style and it served him well, but nobody stated anything to the contrary, just that he wasn't known as a guitar player nor was he a crooner. He wrote a lot of great stuff, but I was not all that huge a fan.

I honestly think if Dylan came around again now NOT in a time like the 60s when drug use was underground and the "peace and love generation" were the record buying public he would be just another good folk song writer. 40-50 years of music evolution later, the pond is a lot bigger.

And that same logic could be probably applied to a lot of artists from back then, but we are only talking about this one. It's 2012 and to this day I can't figure out how the Grateful Dead was popular. Jerry Garcia and a bunch of guys named Joe who became famous later BECAUSE they played with Jerry Garcia. Bob Weir, Phil Lesh... c'mon.

Quote:

I honestly think if Dylan came around again now NOT in a time like the 60s when drug use was underground and the "peace and love generation" were the record buying public he would be just another good folk song writer. 40-50 years of music evolution later, the pond is a lot bigger.

I've heard more than one baby boomer who once enjoyed Dylan's music say they walked out of one of his concerts because it was so bad. Not only is the pond bigger, but the technical improvements in music since the 60s have changed our expectations.

Quote:

the technical improvements in music since the 60s have changed our expectations.

Like "auto tune" fixing the vocals of people who can't sing?

Quote:

I've heard more than one baby boomer who once enjoyed Dylan's music say they walked out of one of his concerts because it was so bad. Not only is the pond bigger, but the technical improvements in music since the 60s have changed our expectations.

Pat, I tend to agree with most of that but add in the emotional maturity factor. Few of us are still listening to the same music that we did three decades ago. I have matured a lot in three decades. I have actually developed a strong desire to see an opera or Broadway musical. Something that would have been furthest from my mind back then.

These forums have exposed me to a much greater variety of music genre that I would never have explored previously. I was stuck in the same old rut until I heard Matt Finley's Pandora station (for example). I have made a conscious effort to broaden my musical horizons.

It is easy to enjoy home grown music and that is what most of us produce. Its like visiting a dear friend's home and listening to his children entertain with their home-brew variety of music. You don't pick it apart, you simply get absorbed in it and enjoy it for what it is.

Hi Don, Lovely stories! You must have some very happy memories. Joe G.

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I honestly think if Dylan came around again now NOT in a time like the 60s when drug use was underground and the "peace and love generation" were the record buying public he would be just another good folk song writer. 40-50 years of music evolution later, the pond is a lot bigger.

And that same logic could be probably applied to a lot of artists from back then, but we are only talking about this one. It's 2012 and to this day I can't figure out how the Grateful Dead was popular. Jerry Garcia and a bunch of guys named Joe who became famous later BECAUSE they played with Jerry Garcia. Bob Weir, Phil Lesh... c'mon.

Eddie, you make some great points. The Beatles were unquestionably great but would they be able to break through the noise today? I guess not unless they caught a lucky break. Too often we neglect to include "dumb luck" when we are appraising the success of our icons! Just being at the front end of the music shift that happened midway through the last century must have been an amazing place to be. And there were lots of people who got to ride that wave because they were in the right place at the right time. Hell, even today I am amazed at the local talent where I live and they are struggling to get by while the charts are chock full of "stars" that are not even 1/2 as talented!

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. . . to this day I can't figure out how the Grateful Dead was popular. Jerry Garcia and a bunch of guys named Joe who became famous later BECAUSE they played with Jerry Garcia. Bob Weir, Phil Lesh... c'mon.

Q: What does a Grateful Dead fan say when the drugs wear off?
A: Oh, wow, man . . . this music sucks!

Well, this is Canada, and I'm sure Joe and Sally appeared here, in repeat probably. We were good at that. Heck the local radio for Zoomers (boomers with zoom as Mr. Znaimer calls us) has a show from Scotland every week. The old one use to be Scotland calling or some such thing, but for me it's background music while making the family Sunday supper (used to be dinner but too many churchies make it hard), so all come here for my homemade bread/rolls and whatever roast beast or fowl I make, 10 to 20 people, it varies, making merry, and then some homemade music with flute and keys to follow, (maybe).

But Joe, you live on in Youtube, and I listen to that and grin awhile. Trews, 'ach aye, nay'.

Well, "back in the day" when Mr. Zimmerman's songs were hot stuff that was not only on the charts with his own versions but being covered by hot acts from both sides of the pond who enjoyed success with Dylan's songs as well, Bob himself was telling people openly that he was NOT A SINGER.

Bob Dylan always said that he was a POET.

And so he was.

As for more modern technologies, such as the use of Autotune, I can only quote Mr. Zimmerman concerning the matter:

"The times they are a-changin'..."

--Mac

"Look out kid, its somethin' ya did, God knows when but yer doin' it again..."

Hi John, I maintain that I have "an oblique sense of the ridiculous"

.......Sally says I have "a really weird sense of humour!"

I'm comforted by telling her....."If you think that my sense of huomour is weird.....wait till you read some of John Conley's posts!"

Keep well my Canadian friend. Joe G.

Joe I think most of us Scottish musicians have a weird & sometimes sick sense of humour, I know mine can be realy sick

Here's that long Luther Perkins intro that I taught Bob Dylan. The video has a false start but otherwise the audio is pretty decent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u77UHNS1q2o

Great story Don.

Very enjoyable thread.

Later,