Road Crew records song for Joplin festival May 14, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Music.2 comments
As it’s done for other Route 66-related gatherings, The Road Crew has recorded a new song for the upcoming International Route 66 Festival in Joplin, Mo.
It’s titled “Boppin’ in Joplin,” and, yes, it’s very Route 66-centric:
The Road Crew also will be performing during the festival. Here’s the promotional poster for its gigs.
You can download The Road Crew’s “Songs from the Mother Road” album here.
(Song and poster courtesy of Joe Loesch of the Road Crew)
Rolling Stones played first American show in San Berdoo May 6, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Music.add a comment
On the same weekend the Rolling Stones played a gig in Los Angeles during their 50th-anniversary tour, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported this fact — the Stones’ first show in the United States took place in the Route 66 town of San Bernardino, Calif.
Local promoter Bob Lewis said the Stones’ show on June 5, 1964, at the Swing Auditorium was offered after a Beatles gig fell through. The Byrds were part of the tour with the Stones.
The concert wasn’t a sellout; just 3,500 tickets were sold in the 5,000-capacity Swing. But it had its moments:
“The previous weekend,” Lewis remembers ruefully, “San Bernardino High School had held their graduation ceremony at the Swing and stairs had been put in at the front of the stage so graduates could walk up and receive their diplomas. Well, we just left those stairs there for the Stones concert. We were so new at this. We didn’t know what to expect. Well, with those stairs, there were all these girls rushing the stage during the show. They could just run up there. In fact, one of those girls actually stole Mick Jagger’s tambourine. Somebody out there has a real nice souvenir of that concert.”
The Stones performed 10 songs that night, including the audience favorite, “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” the lyrics of which mention San Bernardino by name.
Recalls guitarist Keith Richards, “Our first American gig was in San Bernardino. It was a straight gas, man. They all knew the songs and they were all bopping. It was like being back home. ‘Route 66′ mentioned San Bernardino, so everybody was into it.”
The reaction from the audience became so frenzied, the band ditched its customary bows and ran off the stage after its last song.
No recordings or footage from the San Bern show seems to exist. But here’s a recording of the Stones’ performing “Route 66″ the same year at the Camden Theatre in London.
Alas, the Swing Auditorium had to be torn down after a plane crashed into it in 1981. A Facebook page devoted to memories of the venue is here.
Music video shot at the Blue Swallow Motel May 5, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Music.add a comment
These teenage triplets, called Emma Rose and The Band, shot a lot of footage at the historic Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M., for their music video for “Shooting Star.”
You can check out the Atlanta group’s other music clips on its YouTube channel.
The Road Crew performing at Joplin festival April 12, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Music.1 comment so far
The Road Crew, which recorded an entire album devoted to Route 66 a few years ago, will perform during the International Route 66 Festival in August in Joplin, Mo., and two other nearby venues.
In Joplin, the group will open for The Grass Roots at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, along the Main Street festival area.
The Road Crew also will perform at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, during a car show at Main Street Galena in nearby Galena, Kan.
The band also added a show at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, at Afton Station in Afton, Okla.
The Road Crew won the Bobby Troup Artistic Award during the International Route 66 Festival in Amarillo, Texas, in 2011. In addition to the band’s aforementioned Route 66 album, it’s also written original music for Route 66 festivals in Amarillo and Springfield, Mo.
The Road Crew consists of Don King, Joe Loesch, Woody Bomar, and Jason Harmon.
Memories from a road trip April 1, 2013
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Kelly Robertson of Springfield, Mo., uploaded this video about a Route 66 trip.
Route 66 Video from kelly robertson on Vimeo.
Music is “Before I Am Gone,” by the Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Patti Page’s take on “Route 66″ March 22, 2013
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Here’s a version of Bobby Troup’s “Route 66″ you probably haven’t heard — by the recently departed Patti Page.
The YouTube account, maynardcat, apparently is a vinyl record aficionado. He /she said about Page’s recording:
Route 66 by Patti Page from the 1955 Mercury Lp for radio broadcast only titled Blue Dream Street. This Lp has somewhat of a distorted sound, but has some great Patti Page tunes without the overdubbing of her voice that were in so many of her songs. Her singing voice is so much better without the overdubbing.
Page’s links to the actual Route 66 were substantial. She was born in Claremore, Okla., and graduated from Daniel Webster High School in Tulsa. Both are on 66.
Asleep At the Wheel and the Texas Playboys March 21, 2013
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This is quite a treat. Someone has posted the entire “Austin City Limits” show from 1992 that featured Asleep At the Wheel and four members of the Texas Playboys. It’s western-swing heaven.
If you want to hear “Route 66,” you can skip ahead to the 39-minute mark. And check out the Route 66 shield in the background as part of the band’s decor. The shield can be found on band leader Ray Benson’s vest, too.