10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. The lists are usually dominated by songs played on the previous Sunday night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.
This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1189. This show is available as a podcast.
From their archival release The Lost Album, the Smithereens' originally-unreleased 1993 gem "Face The World With Pride" was TIRnRR's # 1 most-played track in 2022. Rightly so.
This week, we played it with a different intent. This was the first show we've done since the Supreme Court's June 30th ruling in favor of intolerance, and against the basic rights of same-sex couples.
It pissed me off. And it prompted me to open this week's show like this:
At the end of June I was in New York City, and decided to stop for a beer at Stonewall, the Greenwich Village bar where it's said that Pride began, when a 1969 riot became the first ever public demonstration on behalf of gay rights. Pride began at Stonewall in 1969.
But even today, there are forces who insist that discrimination is okay, that diversity is wrong. We reject these notions. Love is love is love. We stand with our brothers and sisters. We stand tall. And together:
We face the world.
We followed our spin of "Face The World With Pride" with America's Sweetheart Irene Peña covering Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down." Pride doesn't back down. Pride will prevail. Love will prevail. Face the world.
THE SUPREMES: All I Want
In my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1), a chapter about the Supremes notes the lack of significant attention and acclaim given to members of the group who didn't happen to be named Diana Ross:
The Supremes are among the most popular recording acts of all time. They were certainly among the biggest of the '60s, and possibly the biggest on Motown at the time, which was a pretty big deal itself. The Supremes were stars.
But, in fact, only one of the three members of the Supremes was really considered a superstar. Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Diana Ross. Oh, and the others. Mary Wilson. Florence Ballard. They started out billed as equals. Before long, it was Diana Ross and the Supremes. Before long, it was just Diana Ross, her former co-stars left behind as the spotlight followed her and faded away for the Supremes....
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As short a shrift as Wilson and Ballard got, Cindy Birdsong received even less (and subsequent members Jeanne Terrell and Lynda Laurence received less still). Birdsong replaced Ballard in 1967. Ross moved on in 1970; other than a maternity leave in '72-'73, Birdsong remained a Supreme until 1976. Relatively few casual fans even know her name. When the Supremes were inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1988, Cindy Birdsong was not included in that honor.
Dana recently saw a New York Times article about Birdsong's current state of affairs, and it's about as far from the glittering spotlight as one can be. It's a shame. No one questions Diana Ross's talent; she was and remains a star, on merit. But man, doesn't it seem like the spotlight could have been just a little bit bigger?
There's some remarkable stuff in the post-Ross Supremes songbook, including "Nathan Jones," "Up The Ladder To The Roof," and this magnificent cover of Joni Mitchell's "All I Want," which Dana slipped into the playlist this week. The track comes from the 1972 album The Supremes Produced And Arranged By Jimmy Webb, recorded when Birdsong was absent from the group. I'd never heard it before, and it's further evidence that there's still so much great music left for us to discover. Any record you ain't heard is a new record. I need to do a deeper dive into '70s Supremes.
I'll bring my own spotlight if I have to.
THE RAMONES: I Don't Care
See, I wish that were true. But you know what? Never underestimate the power of indifference. Or go ahead and underestimate it. I don't care.
The Greatest Record Ever Made!
RICH CHAMBERS: High School Can't Last Forever
See, I wish that were true. But if it turns out Rich Chambers is right when he sings "High School Can't Last Forever," well, maybe we can finally shed the accumulated tsuris of the past. I'm 63. But I still carry the sting of teenage slings and arrows, many of them inflicted upon me, but some of them self-inflicted, and some of them--damn me--that I inflicted upon others. Growing up may be beyond my ability, and probably not exactly what I want anyway. But getting better? Being better? That's always the goal.
It's a lesson I wish I'd taken more seriously in school days. I've learned. I'm still learning. And I will be better. Ring, ring goes the bell.
THE BEATLES: The Word
Spread the word I'm thinking of. Have you heard? The word is love. Love is love is love. Spread the word.
And say it with pride.
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Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/
If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.
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