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THE EVERLASTING FIRST [For those who came in late]: Continuing a look back at my first exposure to a number of rock 'n' roll acts and superheroes (or other denizens of print or periodical publication), some of which were passing fancies, and some of which I went on to kinda like. They say you never forget your first time; that may be true, but it's the subsequent visits--the second time, the fourth time, the twentieth time, the hundredth time--that define our relationships with the things we cherish. Ultimately, the first meeting is less important than what comes after that. But every story still needs to begin with that first kiss.
In 2019 I constructed a fake This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio playlist of tracks that served as my de facto introductions to the performer at hand. My first Beatles song, my first Dusty Springfield song, etc. As I wrote at the time:
"First things first here: As always, remember that I am not under oath.
"Today's fake TIRnRR playlist is comprised of tracks which--I think!--served as my introductions to all of these acts. I think. I'm relying on memory, but these represent my best recollections of what/where/how I first heard the Ramones, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, et al.
"In many cases, I'm pretty certain that these couldn't have actually been the first time I ever heard the performers in question. I must have heard the Kinks and the Four Tops as a kid in the '60s, but my first conscious connections to them only date back to 'Lola' and 'Are You Man Enough' respectively...."
Today, I want to re-visit and expand that subject with a list of the songs I think introduced me to the acts I've (now) known for all these years. I'll make corrections where I find them--the Isley Brothers and Velvet Underground entries in the original post were incorrect--and I left out a number of acts (like Sly and the Family Stone and Led Zeppelin) for whom I don't have a strong feeling about what song was my first.
Let this serve as a document of a whole bunch of musical Everlasting Firsts. So like Joey Ramone sang the first time I heard him on the radio in 1977: Hey-ho, let's GO!
THE EVERLASTING FIRST! My introductory songs to a number of acts
THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATORS: You're Gonna Miss Me
ABBA: Waterloo
BRYAN ADAMS: Lonely Nights
AEROSMITH: Dream On
HERB ALPERT AND THE TIJUANA BRASS: The Lonely Bull
THE ANIMALS: House Of The Rising Sun
JOAN ARMATRADING: Eating The Bear
BADFINGER: Come And Get It
THE BANGLES: The Real World
THE BARRACUDAS: I Can't Pretend
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: Saturday Night
THE BEACH BOYS: Surfer Girl
THE BEATLES: I Want To Hold Your Hand
CHUCK BERRY: Johnny B. Goode
BIG STAR: September Gurls
BLONDIE: X-Offender
BLUE ANGEL: I'm Gonna Be Strong
THE BOOMTOWN RATS: Lookin' After No. 1
THE BONGOS: Telephoto Lens
BOW WOW WOW: C30 C60 C90 GO!
DAVID BOWIE: Changes
JAMES BROWN: Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
THE BYRDS: Turn! Turn! Turn!
FREDDY CANNON: Teen Queen Of The Week
THE CARS: Just What I Needed
THE CATHOLIC GIRLS: Boys Can Cry
CHEAP TRICK: So Good To See You
CHUBBY CHECKER: The Twist
THE CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND: Inner Mystic
THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: Bits And Pieces
THE CLASH: Remote Control
THE COASTERS: Charlie Brown
EDDIE COCHRAN: Summertime Blues
COCKTAIL SLIPPERS: You Do Run
JUDY COLLINS: Both Sides Now
SAM COOKE: Chain Gang
ALICE COOPER: School's Out
ELVIS COSTELLO: Watching The Detectives
THE COWSILLS: Hair
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL: Down On The Corner
THE DAMNED: Stab Yor Back
THE dB'S: We Should Be In Bed
THE DEAD BOYS: Sonic Reducer
THE DICTATORS: America The Beautiful
DIVINYLS: Boys In Town
THE DRIFTERS: On Broadway
BOB DYLAN: Lay Lady Lay
EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS: Do Anything You Wanna Do
DAVE EDMUNDS: I Hear You Knocking
ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA: Can't Get It Out Of My Head
FANNY: I've Had It
THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Misery
FLEETWOOD MAC: Oh Well
THE FLESHTONES: Shadow Line
FOOLS FACE: L5
THE FOUR SEASONS: Big Girls Don't Cry
THE FOUR TOPS: Are You Man Enough
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Respect
GANG OF FOUR: Damaged Goods
MARVIN GAYE: I Heard It Through The Grapevine
THE J. GEILS BAND: Give It To Me
GENERATION X: Ready Steady Go
THE GO-GO'S: We Got The Beat
LESLEY GORE: California Nights
THE GRASS ROOTS: Midnight Confession
ARLO GUTHRIE: The City Of New Orleans
HERMAN'S HERMITS: Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter
THE HOLLIES: Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress
THE HOODOO GURUS: (Let's All) Turn On
BUDDY HOLLY: Peggy Sue/Everyday [can't remember which side of the 45 I played first]
THE ISLEY BROTHERS: Who's That Lady
THE JACKSON 5: I'll Be There
JOE JACKSON: Is She Really Going Out With Him?
WANDA JACKSON: Funnel Of Love
THE JAM: Batman Theme
RICK JAMES: Give It To Me Baby
JAN AND DEAN: The Little Old Lady From Pasadena
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE: Somebody To Love
THE JIVE FIVE: My True Story
BILLY JOEL: Piano Man
ELTON JOHN: Crocodile Rock
JOHNNY AND THE HURRICANES: Beatnik Fly
JUDAS PRIEST: Diamonds And Rust
GREG KIHN: For You
THE KINKS: Lola
KISS: Rock And Roll All Nite
THE KNACK: My Sharona
GLADYS KNIGHT AND THE PIPS: Midnight Train To Georgia
GARY LEWIS AND THE PLAYBOYS: Everybody Loves A Clown
LITTLE RICHARD: Tutti Frutti
LOVE: Can't Explain
THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL: Summer In The City
NICK LOWE: So It Goes
LYRES: I Really Want You Right Now
THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS: Monday, Monday
THE MC5: Kick Out The Jams
THE MIRACLES/SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES: The Tears Of A Clown
JONI MITCHELL: Help Me
THE MONKEES: (Theme From) The Monkees
THE MOSQUITOS: Darn Well
MOTÖRHEAD: Motorhead
THE NERVES: Hanging On The Telephone
THE NEW YORK DOLLS: Personality Crisis
THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS: The Laws Have Changed
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN: If Not For You
GARY NUMAN: Are "Friends" Electric?
WILSON PICKETT: In The Midnight Hour
THE O'JAYS: Back Stabbers
GRAHAM PARKER: Hotel Chambermaid
TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS: American Girl
GENE PITNEY: Town Without Pity
THE POLICE: Roxanne
IGGY POP: I'm Bored
THE PRETENDERS: Kid
PRINCE: 1999
SUZI QUATRO: I May Be Too Young
QUEEN: Killer Queen
THE QUICK: It Won't Be Long
R.E.M.: Wolves, Lower
THE RAMONES: Blitzkrieg Bop
THE RASPBERRIES: I Wanna Be With You
THE RECORDS: Starry Eyes
OTIS REDDING: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
THE REMBRANDTS: Just The Way It Is, Baby
PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS/THE RAIDERS: Indian Reservation
JONATHAN RICHMAN: Roadrunner
THE ROLLING STONES: Get Off Of My Cloud
THE ROMANTICS: Little White Lies
ROXY MUSIC: Love Is The Drug
THE RUBETTES: Sugar Baby Love
THE RUBINOOS: I Think We're Alone Now
THE RUNAWAYS: Cherry Bomb
THE RUTLES: I Must Be In Love
SAM AND DAVE: Soul Man
THE SEARCHERS: Love Potion No. 9
THE SEX PISTOLS: God Save The Queen
THE SHIRTS: Poe
SHOES: Boys Don't Lie
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL: Mrs. Robinson
SLADE: Gudbuy T' Jane
THE SMALL FACES: Lazy Sunday
PATTI SMITH: Ask The Angels
THE SMITHEREENS: Behind The Wall Of Sleep
THE SPINNERS: I'll Be Around
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: Wishin' And Hopin'
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Born To Run
THE SUPREMES: Stop! In The Name Of Love
SWEET: Little Willy
TALKING HEADS: Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town
TEGAN AND SARA: Walking With A Ghost
TELEVISION: Elevation
THE TEMPTATIONS: Papa Was A Rollin' Stone
TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS: 54-46 Was My Number
TRANSLATOR: Un-Alone
THE TROGGS: Wild Thing
IKE AND TINA TURNER: Nutbush City Limits
THE TURTLES: Happy Together
U2: I Will Follow
THE UNDERTONES: Teenage Kicks
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: Rock And Roll
WAR: The Cisco Kid
THE WHO: Pinball Wizard
LUCINDA WILLIAMS: Passionate Kisses
XTC: Making Plans For Nigel
THE YARDBIRDS: Heart Full Of Soul
THE ZOMBIES: Time Of The Season
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I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
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, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.
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