Today in Music History:
In 1974, Canadian Singer songwriter Gordon Lightfoot scored his only US No.1 single with "Sundown".
I think I shall talk about ole Gord today to tie in with the music history thing. Gordon Lightfoot was born November 17, 1938 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. He moved to Los Angeles, California during the 1950s where he studied at Hollywood's Westlake College of Music. He returned to Canada by the 1960s and performed in coffee houses on the Toronto folk scene. In 1966 Lightfoot! was released as his debut album. In the mid-1960s he was more known as a songwriter than for his own work, as his songs were recorded by artists such as Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley.He is one of the first Canadian popular singers who achieved real stardom in his own country instead of moving to the United States. In June of 1974, his single, "Sundown", went to No.1 on the American charts.
In 2002 Lightfoot suffered a near-fatal abdominal hemorrhage while performing in his hometown of Orillia, Ontario, causing him to cancel his fall tour. When he awoke from a coma weeks later, the artist immediately began picking tracks from the 18 demos he'd recorded in 2001 and urged his band to flesh them out in the studio. Harmony, his 20th album, was released in May of 2004 and he made an appearance on Canadian Idol.
Lightfoot has received 15 Juno Awards and been nominated for 5 Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986, the Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2001, and in May 2003 was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, the country's highest honour.
Today's song will not be Sundown. From the 1967 album The Way I Feel comes the classic cut
Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot
Funny Toon
One of Canada's most original pop groups ever, Lighthouse was formed in Toronto early in 1969. Their sound was as diverse as their listening audience, and contained cellos, violas, an array of horns and a full percussion section. Similar to Blood Sweat andTears. Lighthouse was undeniably one of the driving forces of the Canadian pop machine of the '70's. With a total of nine gold records, three platinum and 4 Junos, no other band of the day could touch them. In a time before Canadian radio stations were required to play a minimum of homegrown talent, Lighthouse wasn't affected. Their keen pop sensibility, combined with plain musical talent and clever production styles, helped their light shine brightly, guiding many of today's groups along the way.
I'm actually going to tie in the music history with today's post. In regards to reggae music I always preferred Tosh's solo work to that he did with the Wailers. In September of 1987 Dennis Lobban, who was an old friend of the Wailers, was staying at Tosh's home. One day he left in a fury after an argument with Tosh's girlfriend. On Sept. 11 1987, Lobban returned with a gang of friends. He claimed that he only intended to threaten Tosh but when it was all over, Tosh and all six of his friends who were hanging out in the room were shot in the head. A shameful waste of a great talent. Tosh's legacy remains undiminished, he was one of Jamaica'smost talented artists and an eloquent spokesman. The track I feature here comes from the 1983 album Mama Africa. On this album Tosh is in prime form both musically and lyrically. Everything that was Peter Tosh is here: from the deep feelings of Mama Africa; to the tell it like it is politicism of Peace Treaty and Glasshouse; the positivity of Feel No Way and Not Gonna Give It Up; to the rootsiness of Maga Dog; as well as one of the BEST all time covers of Johnny B Goode (which rocks as hard as the original but in a reggae style that must be heard to be believed). 
Since my last couple of posts featured fluffy pop music I was thinking I'll go in the extreme opposite direction today. Insane Clown Posse are a cartoonish metal/rap band with a vaunted live show that featured open fires, chainsaws, liters of soda dousing the audience (Faygo being the group's favorite brand). Not many people are interested in overweight, dreadlocked jackasses in clown makeup, spewing juvenile vulgarity and spraying their audience with cheap soda, but darnit I'm a big fan of juvenile vulgarity. For the most part I really can't stand any form of rap music. I do make exceptions now and then and evil clowns Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope are one of them. ICP make me laugh, and some of their songs have some great hooks. Definitely not for everybody but take the music for what it is and don't get too serious about it and you might enjoy a few tracks from these guys. They can be side-splittingly funny for a couple listens--and pretty good with the beats and samples besides. I know that there are many that hate ICP and think they are nothing but White trash redneck drivel, but you don't just sell one million copies of a record by accident (so there are some people out there who're lying). The mythology behind the six "joker cards" (albums) with the sixth one supposedly signifying the apocalypse and their fan base known as juggalos make for 
I suppose I should post an Ian Dury song, but I'll go a different direction. Don't anybody groan because I'm doing a post on The Knack. This post will not be about my least favorite Knack song, My Sharona. Hailing from Los Angeles the Knack played the club scene incessantly in 1978. By November of 78, 13 record companies were engaged in bidding war for their services. Capitol records won. They entered the studios and eleven days later came out with their first album, "Get the Knack", for a cost of 17,000 dollars. The songs were recorded live with nary an overdub.
Quirky pop and wise guy wordplay best describes Sparks. Sparks was formed in 1970 by brothers Russel (vocals) and Ron Mael (keyboards and moustache) while attending UCLA. Through the years the group has went through many line up changes and sometimes just the brothers themselves holding down the fort. The Sparks catalog has over 20 albums, and they are still around today. They probably hit their peak in the 80's with the albums 
Philly soul vocal group the Three Degrees started in 1963 in Philadelphia, PA. The only song of theirs that I'm familiar with is their huge 1974 hit which is featured here today. One of the cheesiest, saccharine sweet pop songs of all time and one of my personal favorites. One can never tire of listening to this song. This single went platinum, selling over two million copies, going to number four R&B and number two pop around September 1974. At one time the group were labeled Charlies Angels by the press because Prince Charles declared them to be his favorite group at the time. Unfortunately I have never checked out any of their other music and maybe should take my own advice and get some of this stuff. The vocals and harmonies are irresistible and this song is just plain ear candy.
Vacation time is over and it's back to worky time. Had a blast in Calgary and special thanks go out to 
