Every band included in this medley are now iconic figures in the world of rock and roll. In fact only one of them isn’t a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (and Steppenwolf’s omission is an outrage).
But each of them had to start somewhere. I’m playing tracks from their respective debut albums and while it should have been clear from the start that some of these groups had a world of talent, it wasn’t quite as obvious with several others.
Memories … That’s What We’re All About
Play button is on the left … Volume slider is on the right
First Time Around
Cream – Chicago Transit Authority
Bee Gees – Steppenwolf – Beatles
Doors – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Good morning, Ray. Debut albums, I like the idea. Giving us a little peak of what was to come. Good selection to start with, Cream.. This song gives no hint of what was to come! The guitars are barely evident here. Chicago on the other hand is a perfect preview of what was to come, more of the same, and that’s a good thing. The Bee Gees sound like they are imitating the Beatles in their Revolver period. Where is the high pitched sound they are famous for? Steppenwolf shows its blues side not the high powered energy of their most famous songs. Now the Beatles, you never knew what to expect from them so anything goes with them. I guess the clever lyrics are the clue here. The Doors show their love of busy, poetic lyrics here and include the haunting organ sound that became so important to their work. CCR can’t hide John Fogerty’s raspy voice but once again lack the urgency and energy they became famous for in their later work. Good digging today Ray. You found songs and styles to surprise us, you devil you. Always trying to keep us on our toes. Once again a great way to shake the cobwebs out of our sleepy little brains. Thanks Ray, you da man!
Thanks, Don.
Cream’s “blues concept” only lasted for one album before they started writing more of their own material and transformed into something almost psychedelic in nature.
When the Bee Gees hit the airwaves, a lot of music fans thought they were the Beatles! Those falsettos were still a few years off, and in my personal opinion, they could have never arrived and I would have been happy. I think they overdid it once they started but that’s just me.
I have always been a big Steppenwolf fan. The late Goldy McJohn’s pulsating and swirling keyboards always hit me in the ears.
That Doors song sounded very subdued but they sure picked up the pace in years to come.
Back to Doo-Wop tomorrow. The number of hits yesterday’s medley received surprised the hell out of me!
ROCK ON, BRO!
Great idea for a medley! Very interesting to hear the differences in some of the sounds we are more familiar with! Have a great day! 🙂 XOXOXOXO 🙂
Thanks, Wendyl 🙂
Sometimes it’s good to shake things up a little! It helps to get rid of the doldrums.
Have a wonderful day!
❤️XOXOXOXO❤️
I have always loved your blog comments! ❤️
Ray Cream reminds me of somebody else this old brain needs help!! I knew Chicago was going to be a hit!! Ray forgive me I never really cared for the Bee Gees nor did Nancy!! Because of my love for the Blues Stepphenwolf at the time had me. I liked John Kays voice then Tommy Holand?? And then four lead guitar changes!! Monarch was ok however I liked Danny as well!! The Beatles at that time were not my favorites!! Rolling Stones at that time!! The doors not so much and Creedence not to bad!! What a thought provoking list this am Ray!!! So looking foward for tomorrow!! As always stay safe!!
Thanks, Sir Fred. 🙂
I’m trying to come up with the name of the group you think early Cream sounded like … no luck yet.
When Michael Monarch left Steppenwolf, Larry Byrom did a nice job in his place (his work on the Monster album was outstanding) but I always preferred Michael. My biggest regret was the loss of Goldy McJohn on keyboards. That man could play!
As for the Bee Gees, I liked them in their early years but was never a fan of their “disco” era.
The Stones’ best years, in my humble opinion, were 1965-1972. After that, I pretty much lost interest. I was a huge Beatles fan from the beginning to the end.
The Doors were good musically, but I was never a big fan of Jim Morrison’s voice … or his ego.
Creedence could have been much bigger but John Fogerty’s dominance over the other members broke that group up much too early.
You should be advised tomorrow’s Doo-Wop medley is going to be filled with the slower stuff. I expect to hear that Nancy and you danced all the way through it. ❤️
ROCK ON!
Ray I agree with you completely, almost. I can’t comment on Steppenwolf’s roster changes as I didn’t follow the personnel that closely. As for The Bee Gees, Stones & Beatles, I’m with you. ( well The Bee Gees wore me down during Disco, the early stuff rules!)
We part ways when we get to CCR and John Fogerty, it was John’s show all the way. I admired his stand on his royalties with the manager. It took guts to not play the music he created.
I will leave you alone now. Go back to sleep, you have to get up early tomorrow.
Don, I admired the hell out of Fogerty’s stand against Saul Zaentz and Fantasy Records. I agree he wrote immortal songs, and I agree that he was the power behind the group.
What I didn’t like (and still don’t) was his attitude at the end of the group’s existence. When they gathered to record Mardi Gras, he insisted that Stu Cook and Doug Clifford each contribute a third of the songs and he further informed them he would only play lead guitar on his songs, forcing Stu Cook to play lead on the others.
I also wasn’t crazy about the way he humiliated Cook and Clifford at the group’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1993 by refusing to play with them.
Other than that, he’s a swell guy! 😉
Go back to sleep? My friend, I am awake every day from 3AM until 10 or 11PM. I don’t have time for sleep. 🙂
We are a good pair. I am more like 4AM.