From the Desk of CLASSICKONG 🦍🎙️
Good Sunday morning from all of us at WTSG-DB*, where the music never stops and the memories are always welcome.*
Before we turn back the pages of music history, we want to recognize the men and women of the United States Armed Forces—past and present.
To our veterans, active-duty service members, and military families: thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your dedication to our country. 🇺🇸
Today we’re traveling from the explosive drums of The Who to the unmistakable tenor saxophone of John Coltrane, from Johnny Cash inside San Quentin to Gene Kelly dancing through the rain.
Along the way we’ll meet Freddie Mercury before Queen, revisit one of the Rolling Stones’ biggest hits, celebrate the guitar chops of Rick Springfield, turn up some classic Survivor, and sit down at the piano with the incomparable McCoy Tyner.
So pour yourself another cup of coffee, turn up the music, and let’s see what happened on August 23 in music history.
Keith Moon — The Wild Heartbeat of The Who 🥁
Keith John Moon was born August 23, 1946, in Wembley, England. He died September 7, 1978, at only 32 years old.
There have been great rock drummers, powerful rock drummers, technical rock drummers—and then there was Keith Moon.
Moon didn’t simply keep time for The Who. He seemed to attack every empty space in the music.
Where many drummers anchored themselves tightly to the bass guitar, Moon often played almost like a lead instrumentalist. His fills tumbled across the kit, cymbals crashed seemingly everywhere, and somehow all of that controlled chaos worked perfectly behind Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle.
Put on “My Generation,” “I Can See for Miles,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Baba O’Riley,” or the extraordinary Live at Leeds and you’re hearing one of rock’s truly individual drummers.
And yes, the stories surrounding “Moon the Loon” became legendary—wrecked hotel rooms, exploding drum kits and enough rock-and-roll mischief to fill several books.
But underneath all of that was a remarkably creative musician.
Keith Moon also released one solo studio album, Two Sides of the Moon (1975). Interestingly, Moon wasn’t interested in simply making a drummer’s showcase. He sang much of the record and invited an impressive collection of musical friends to participate.
Essential Keith Moon-era Who albums:
- My Generation (1965)
- A Quick One (1966)
- The Who Sell Out (1967)
- Tommy (1969)
- Live at Leeds (1970)
- Who’s Next (1971)
- Quadrophenia (1973)
- The Who by Numbers (1975)
- Who Are You (1978)
Keith Moon’s life was painfully short, but his influence certainly wasn’t.
More than four decades after his passing, drummers are still trying to figure out exactly how Moon made controlled chaos sound so musical.
The Beatles Release “She Loves You” — 1963 🎶
On August 23, 1963, The Beatles released “She Loves You” in the United Kingdom, backed with “I’ll Get You.”
And with three little words—
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
—the phenomenon surrounding John, Paul, George and Ringo became even bigger.
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and produced by George Martin, “She Loves You” became one of the defining recordings of early Beatlemania and ultimately The Beatles’ biggest-selling single in Britain.
There’s something wonderfully simple about it.
No enormous production. No elaborate concept. No studio experimentation.
Just a tremendous melody, those unmistakable harmonies, Ringo driving the song forward, and an opening that grabs you immediately.
There’s also an interesting album story behind “She Loves You.”
In Britain, Beatles singles were often kept separate from their regular studio albums. Consequently, “She Loves You” did not originally appear on a UK Beatles studio LP.
American record companies assembled Beatles albums differently.
The song eventually appeared on Capitol’s The Beatles’ Second Album (1964) in the United States. Decades later, it also became part of Past Masters, the collection designed to gather important Beatles recordings that had not appeared on the original British studio albums.
Before Rubber Soul. Before Revolver. Before Sgt. Pepper.
This was The Beatles as a young rock-and-roll band taking Britain by storm.
Yeah, yeah, yeah indeed.
Johnny Cash Takes San Quentin to No. 1 — 1969 🤠
On August 23, 1969, Johnny Cash at San Quentin reached No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.
The performance had been recorded on February 24, 1969, inside San Quentin State Prison in California, with Bob Johnston producing.
But there’s a bigger story behind Johnny Cash and his prison recordings.
Cash had wanted to record inside a prison for years. The idea wasn’t exactly greeted with enthusiasm by record-company management.
To the executives, recording an album in front of convicted prisoners probably didn’t sound like the safest career move.
Johnny saw something they didn’t.
He understood those prisoners as people.
Cash wasn’t interested in walking into a prison and talking down to anyone. He wanted to play music for people who were largely forgotten by the world outside those walls.
Producer Bob Johnston finally helped make Cash’s vision a reality. The success of At Folsom Prison (1968) proved just how wrong the doubters had been.
Then came San Quentin.
The album included performances of “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” “A Boy Named Sue,” and, naturally, “San Quentin.”
The prisoners reacted so strongly to “San Quentin” that Cash performed it twice.
There was danger, humor, anger and humanity in that room.
And America responded.
A live album recorded inside a maximum-security prison became the No. 1 album in the country.
Sometimes management understands the market.
Sometimes an artist understands people.
Johnny Cash had a unique perspective—and once again, The Man in Black knew exactly what he was doing.
“Honky Tonk Women” Takes the Rolling Stones to No. 1 — 1969 🎸
That very same day—August 23, 1969—The Rolling Stones reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Honky Tonk Women.”
And there’s a terrific story behind this one.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards began writing the song while staying on a ranch in Brazil around the turn of 1968–69.
Jagger later remembered that the song originally began as pure country music.
Keith Richards remembered much the same thing. The pair were sitting on a ranch veranda, surrounded by horses and cowboys, fooling around with an idea influenced by old country music—particularly Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers.
That original idea became “Country Honk.”
When the Stones returned to the song with the band, however, something happened.
Country became rock and roll.
The arrangement grew dirtier, funkier and considerably more electric—and “Honky Tonk Women” emerged.
And then there’s that opening.
Cowbell.
Before the guitar even arrives, you know exactly what record is playing.
Interestingly, the familiar electric “Honky Tonk Women” was originally issued as a single rather than on a regular Stones studio album. It appeared on the 1969 compilation Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2).
Meanwhile, its country cousin “Country Honk” appeared on Let It Bleed (1969).
Put the two recordings beside each other and you can hear how one musical idea can travel in two completely different directions.
CLASSICKONG’s Essential Rolling Stones:
- Beggars Banquet (1968)
- Let It Bleed (1969)
- Sticky Fingers (1971)
- Exile on Main St. (1972)
- Goats Head Soup (1973)
- Some Girls (1978)
- Tattoo You (1981)
Not bad for a song that began with Mick and Keith pretending to be cowboys on a ranch in Brazil.
Before Queen — Freddie Bulsara Takes the Stage 👑
On August 23, 1969, a young singer named Freddie Bulsara performed with a band called Ibex.
A couple of years later, the world would know him by another name:
Freddie Mercury.
But how did Freddie get from Ibex to Queen?
In 1970, singer and bassist Tim Staffell left a band called Smile, whose members included guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor.
Freddie knew the musicians and stepped into the picture.
The beginnings of Queen were now in place.
The band experimented with several bassists before John Deacon joined in 1971, completing the classic lineup:
Freddie Mercury — vocals and piano
Brian May — guitar
Roger Taylor — drums
John Deacon — bass
Then came the records.
Queen released its self-titled debut album, Queen, in 1973.
Two years later came A Night at the Opera (1975) and a little recording called—
“Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Think about that timeline.
1969: Freddie Bulsara is singing with Ibex.
1970: The beginnings of Queen take shape.
1971: John Deacon completes the classic lineup.
1973: Queen releases its first studio album.
1975: “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Six years.
Sometimes history moves remarkably fast.
CLASSICKONG’s Queen Must-Haves:
- Queen (1973)
- Queen II (1974)
- Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
- A Night at the Opera (1975)
- A Day at the Races (1976)
- News of the World (1977)
- Jazz (1978)
- The Game (1980)
- Innuendo (1991)
On August 23, 1969, though, none of that had happened yet.
Freddie Mercury was still Freddie Bulsara, standing on a much smaller stage and discovering the performer he would become.
Lou Reed Says Goodbye to The Velvet Underground — 1970 🎸
Lewis Allan Reed was born March 2, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. He died October 27, 2013, at age 71.
On August 23, 1970, Lou Reed played what became his final performance with The Velvet Underground at Max’s Kansas City in New York City.
The classic early Velvet Underground lineup featured:
Lou Reed — vocals and guitar
John Cale — bass, viola and other instruments
Sterling Morrison — guitar
Maureen “Moe” Tucker — drums
German singer and model Nico was also an important collaborator on the band’s landmark debut, while Doug Yule later replaced John Cale.
The Velvet Underground never enjoyed the enormous commercial success of many of their contemporaries.
Their influence, however, became enormous.
Punk, alternative rock, indie music and experimental rock musicians would spend decades pointing backward toward them.
Essential Velvet Underground:
- The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
- White Light/White Heat (1968)
- The Velvet Underground (1969)
- Loaded (1970)
And Lou Reed was far from finished.
His solo career would stretch across decades and produce one of rock’s most recognizable songs, “Walk on the Wild Side.”
Essential Lou Reed:
- Transformer (1972)
- Berlin (1973)
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal (1974)
- Coney Island Baby (1975)
- The Blue Mask (1982)
- New York (1989)
Sometimes a band’s sales figures don’t tell you nearly as much as the musicians who start bands because they heard them.
The Velvet Underground is one of rock’s greatest examples.
Rick Springfield — Don’t Let the Heartthrob Image Fool You 🎸
Rick Springfield was born August 23, 1949, in Sydney, Australia. He turns 77 today.
For millions of people, Springfield will forever be connected with two things:
“Jessie’s Girl” and Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital.
But don’t let the television-heartthrob image fool you.
Rick Springfield is a serious rock musician—and the man can PLAY guitar.
Springfield is an accomplished rock guitarist with some impressive chops, and his musical career began long before American television audiences knew his face.
He played professionally in Australia and even performed for American troops in South Vietnam during the late 1960s.
By the early 1980s, everything came together.
Working Class Dog (1981) gave us the Grammy-winning “Jessie’s Girl,” followed by Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet (1982) and Living in Oz (1983).
And the hits kept coming:
“Don’t Talk to Strangers”
“Affair of the Heart”
“Love Somebody”
“Human Touch”
“Love Is Alright Tonite”
At the same time, millions of television viewers knew him from General Hospital.
But listen beyond the hooks and the handsome-guy-on-TV image and pay attention to the guitar.
There’s a genuine rock musician underneath it all.
Rick Springfield wasn’t an actor who happened to make records.
He was a musician long before television made him a heartthrob.
Jimi Jamison — Survivor Could ROCK 🎤
Jimi Jamison was born August 23, 1951. He died August 31, 2014, at age 63.
When people hear the name Survivor, the first song they usually think of is “Eye of the Tiger.”
But there’s an important distinction.
That recording was sung by Dave Bickler.
Jimi Jamison joined Survivor later and helped create another terrific chapter in the band’s history.
With Jamison behind the microphone, Survivor gave us:
“I Can’t Hold Back”
“High on You”
“The Search Is Over”
“Is This Love”
And let’s not forget something:
Survivor could ROCK.
The ballads became enormous radio hits, but particularly in those earlier years there was considerably more muscle in this band than casual listeners sometimes remember.
Jamison’s Too Hot to Sleep (1988) especially pushed Survivor back toward a harder-rocking sound.
Survivor Must-Haves:
- Premonition (1981)
- Eye of the Tiger (1982)
- Caught in the Game (1983)
- Vital Signs (1984)
- When Seconds Count (1986)
- Too Hot to Sleep (1988)
Jamison later returned for Reach (2006).
And there’s another voice you may recognize.
Jamison sang “I’m Always Here,” the song closely associated with the television series Baywatch.
Yep.
THAT was Jimi Jamison.
Sometimes one voice follows you around for years before you finally learn the name behind it.
John Coltrane Records Traneing In — 1957 🎷
John William Coltrane was born September 23, 1926. He died July 17, 1967, at only 40 years old.
On August 23, 1957, Coltrane entered the studio with pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor for the session that produced Traneing In.
Think about that lineup for a moment.
Coltrane.
Red Garland.
Paul Chambers.
Art Taylor.
Four extraordinary musicians captured together at an important moment in Coltrane’s development.
The album includes the title track along with performances of standards including “Slow Dance,” “You Leave Me Breathless,” “Soft Lights and Sweet Music,” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is.”
And Coltrane was approaching one of the greatest creative periods in jazz history.
Within the coming years would arrive recordings such as Giant Steps (1960), My Favorite Things (1961), Impressions (1963), Crescent (1964) and ultimately A Love Supreme (1965).
Coltrane’s life was terribly short.
His musical journey certainly wasn’t.
Listening to Traneing In allows us to hear an extraordinary musician still searching, still developing and still moving toward something greater.
McCoy Tyner Expands the Possibilities — Expansions 🎹
Alfred McCoy Tyner was born December 11, 1938. He died March 6, 2020, at age 81.
On August 23, 1968, McCoy Tyner recorded music for Expansions.
Tyner had already spent years helping create history as a member of the John Coltrane Quartet.
But after leaving Coltrane, McCoy had an enormous musical life still ahead of him.
And what a pianist.
That left hand.
Those enormous chords.
That rhythmic strength.
McCoy Tyner could make a piano sound almost orchestral.
Expansions became another important step in establishing Tyner’s identity as a leader rather than simply “John Coltrane’s pianist.”
And calling McCoy’s solo discography extensive almost seems inadequate.
It is vast.
He recorded prolifically across decades for labels including Impulse!, Blue Note, Milestone and others, leaving behind far more music than we could reasonably list here.
So instead, here are some places to begin.
CLASSICKONG’s McCoy Tyner Must-Haves:
- Inception (1962)
- The Real McCoy (1967)
- Expansions (1968)
- Extensions (1970)
- Sahara (1972)
- Enlightenment (1973)
- Fly with the Wind (1976)
- Infinity (1995) ❤️
- What the World Needs Now: The Music of Burt Bacharach (1997) ❤️
- McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke and Al Foster (2000)
Infinity is particularly notable for pairing Tyner with the great Michael Brecker, alongside bassist Avery Sharpe and drummer Aaron Scott.
And What the World Needs Now: The Music of Burt Bacharach reveals another beautiful side of McCoy.
Backed by bassist Christian McBride, drummer Lewis Nash, and orchestral arrangements, Tyner explores familiar Burt Bacharach compositions including “Alfie,” “The Look of Love,” “A House Is Not a Home,” “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” and the title song.
The melodies remain unmistakably Bacharach.
The piano remains unmistakably McCoy Tyner.
That’s what a great musician can do—respect a melody while still making you recognize who’s playing it almost immediately.
Happy Birthday, Brad Mehldau 🎹
Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau was born August 23, 1970, in Jacksonville, Florida. He turns 56 today.
Mehldau became one of the most distinctive jazz pianists to emerge from his generation.
One reason he’s particularly interesting is his willingness to look beyond the traditional jazz songbook.
Alongside standards and original compositions, Mehldau has explored music associated with artists including The Beatles and Radiohead, bringing those songs into a jazz setting without simply turning them into novelty covers.
His playing can be lyrical, harmonically adventurous and remarkably intricate.
A few places to start:
- The Art of the Trio, Vol. 1 (1997)
- Songs: The Art of the Trio, Vol. 3 (1998)
- Largo (2002)
- Highway Rider (2010)
- Finding Gabriel (2019)
For listeners who think jazz piano stopped evolving after the great masters of the 1950s and ’60s, Brad Mehldau provides a pretty convincing argument otherwise.
Gene Kelly — Still Singin’ in the Rain ☔🎬
Eugene Curran Kelly was born August 23, 1912, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He died February 2, 1996, at age 83.
Some movie scenes become so famous that they outgrow the movie itself.
Gene Kelly dancing through the rain is one of them.
Singin’ in the Rain (1952) starred Kelly alongside Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and today it is regarded as one of the greatest movie musicals ever made.
And oh my…
Debbie Reynolds.
What a beautiful young woman she was.
But there was much more to Debbie Reynolds than beauty.
She was only 19 years old when filming began, and compared with Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor, she had relatively little dance experience.
Imagine being 19 years old and being told you’re going to dance alongside Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor.
No pressure there!
The rehearsals were demanding, and Reynolds worked incredibly hard to keep pace.
One famous story tells of an exhausted Reynolds crying after rehearsal and being comforted by none other than Fred Astaire, who happened to find her and encouraged the young performer.
And she kept going.
That’s worth remembering when you watch her in the finished film.
The movie itself takes place during Hollywood’s transition from silent pictures to talking pictures—a change that was much more complicated than simply putting microphones in front of actors.
And then comes that scene.
Gene Kelly steps into the rain.
He closes his umbrella.
He splashes through puddles.
He swings around a lamppost.
And somehow a rainy street becomes one of the happiest places imaginable.
Even more remarkably, Kelly reportedly performed the famous number while running a fever.
But Gene Kelly was much more than one dance.
His films included Anchors Aweigh (1945), On the Town (1949), An American in Paris (1951) and, of course, Singin’ in the Rain (1952).
Kelly helped bring an athletic style of dance to Hollywood musicals. His movements could be graceful without appearing delicate—powerful, energetic and seemingly effortless.
More than seven decades later, show someone that lamppost, umbrella and rain-soaked street and there’s a pretty good chance they’ll know exactly what they’re looking at.
Gene Kelly is still singin’ in the rain.
And that 19-year-old young woman dancing beside him?
Debbie Reynolds earned her place there.
Today’s Music History Trivia Question ❓
Which singer featured in today’s stories recorded the theme most closely associated with the television series Baywatch?
We’ll give you the answer at the bottom of today’s blog.
Our Final Spin 🎙️
Maybe today’s stories have more in common than it first appears.
Johnny Cash was told that recording inside a prison wasn’t a good idea.
Freddie Bulsara was still finding his way through small bands before Queen even existed.
Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground made records that weren’t enormous sellers when they were new, yet musicians spent decades following the trail they left behind.
Rick Springfield became such a television heartthrob that it sometimes overshadowed the fact that the man behind “Jessie’s Girl” is a serious rock musician and one heck of a guitarist.
John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner kept searching for sounds that hadn’t been found yet.
And a 19-year-old Debbie Reynolds found herself dancing beside Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor—and worked until she belonged right there with them.
Maybe that’s today’s lesson.
The world doesn’t always recognize something special when it first sees it.
Sometimes the record-company executives are wrong.
Sometimes the audience hasn’t caught up yet.
Sometimes you’re still playing a little club while the person you’re going to become is waiting somewhere down the road.
And sometimes you simply have to keep practicing until you can dance in the rain.
It brings to mind another great musician we’ve remembered before:
Glenn Miller.
Miller had already achieved tremendous success, but still believed there was something more he could give.
During World War II, he put his talents to work entertaining and lifting the spirits of the men and women serving our country.
He could have rested on what he’d already accomplished.
Instead, he kept giving.
Maybe that’s part of what all these stories continue to teach us.
Music history isn’t only about records, charts and dates.
It’s about people.
People who believed there was something more they could do.
People willing to take a chance when somebody else said no.
People who practiced when nobody was watching.
People who kept searching for the next sound.
People who walked into places others had forgotten.
And people who gave something of themselves so that someone else might feel a little better because they were there.
There’s always another song to play, another person to reach, another lesson to learn, and—if we’re fortunate—something more of ourselves that we can give.
Keep listening.
Keep learning.
Keep giving.
And never assume the best part of the song has already been played.
We’ll see you tomorrow.
— CLASSICKONG 🦍🎙️
Trivia Answer: Jimi Jamison. He performed “I’m Always Here,” closely associated with Baywatch.
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