Rick was into Jessica long before he coveted "Jessie's Girl," who may have, herself, been named Jessica! Plus, other artists have recorded paeans to their respective, fave Jessicas!
I had no idea that Springfield had that long of a career before his 80’s breakout. I’m going to have to check out his back catalog.
I listened to the Elliot Minor song. So, maybe it’s just my grumpy Gen-X ear, but why does almost everything released this century sound the same to me? If you told me this song was recorded by Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World, or Falllout Boy, I would have believed you.
Last paragraph....Oh, I hear ya! The ole "generic rock band" syndrome. Remember the days of the "generic" grocery store brands....the white package with the light-blue stripe?!? That should've been those bands' album jacket artwork!!
As for Elliot Minor.....just to slide into their defense for a sec (I've only been "on them" for a week!!)...the fact that they're all classically trained, and (not unlike ELO, say) have no problem incorporating various strings into their songs (sans the need to hire 80-year-old orchestra-ready studio cats, apparently) make them interesting to me, and worth poking around their catalog a bit more than, say, the other ones you mentioned (about whom I have no allegiance or past love for...at all!)....or, as I said to someone recently, an article focusing on Elliot Minor might be in the offing. With their "Jessica" alone, IMO, Dave, they stand out at least just a bit above the aforementioned fray! Stay tuned!
As for Rick....yep...sometime in the late '70s, I found Rick's Columbia and Capitol albums at a flea market record dealer, and snatched 'em up for pennies! As for the '76 Chelsea album, that has been my "dirty little secret" for years, especially his "Jessica"!
SO dynamic, and a 5-year precursor to the guitar-driven, melody-rich, harmony-laden stuff the world would hear on "Working Class Dog"----all that was there on "Wait For Night" and it fell on absolutely NO ears! I was still in radio in '76, and that album fell squarely in between: too pop for FM (where I was...it was on heavy rotation at MY house, but I was hand-tied at the station), and for some reason, AM found no hits, although there were a couple on that album that coulda/shoulda! Enjoy your Rick-dive, Dave....early stuff fairly nondescript, but as with most looks-back, it's cool to see the "story" leading up to what we know!
I'm gonna have to listen to most of these for the first time, but not all! I remember the Coheed and Cambria' "Jessie's Girl 2" when it came out and thought it was exactly what "cover" versions should be like. Also, I'm a big fan of the band and Claudio is a great lead singer. He doesn't show his full range in C&C, but he's done Rush covers, and has sung with other bands that show the dynamics of his pipes.
And like some others here, I did not know that Rick Springfield had so many albums prior to his early 80s heyday. You are treasure trove, the equivalent of a clown car, a veritable bottomless pit. I'll stop now.
Actually I won't. I was surprised that you didn't choose the Regina Spektor "Jessica" song, not just to get a female artist in the list, but because it's a great song.
You didn't mention Elliot Minor, a band I was wondering if you'd heard/heard of before. They didn't appear to have their stuff released in the states, which I realize in the '08 land of early streaming, is less of an issue than it would've been 4 decades ago! Surprised you'd heard Coheed and Cambria, although I shouldn't be surprised that MY unawareness would equal anyone else's, especially on a band from 2-3 years ago! At the time, did you know Rick sang on it?
I came across the Regina "Jessica," and simply made the executive/artistic decision that it didn't really fit, IMO, the Playlist vibe, which seemed to fall into a curiously "classic rock" lean that I kinda let just happen on its own.
As you know, Steve, GROW BIGGER EARS is neither a comprehensive collection, nor a ranking of any sort. The selected songs and their Playlist placement are, theoretically anyway, done with an ear toward segue, an occasional nod to chronology, and just artistic flow (whom, it should be noted, took the place of Ms. Spektor as representational female on our Playlist, as it turns out. Let's give Artistic Flo👱♀️a hand, shall we?)👏
I'll accept "treasure trove" and "bottomless pit" (however veritable), and I even like🤡🚗, but mainly 'cause they have emojis! Through all names, I've been called worse....I used to teach!!😉
Haven't listened to Elliot Minor yet -- I will give the songs feedback later. I did know about the Rick Springfield on C&C, but only because it wasn't hidden and the music video I think I saw first.
And you can just admit the real reason you didn't use the Regina Spektor song: "this one is for the boys!" I kid. And good comeback with claiming that Artistic Flo was on the playlist and therefore not gender exclusive....
I have to give some credit for Artistic Flo to Fritz Coleman, former stand-up, who did local L.A.-area weather (Pat Sajak had a similar stand-up/weatherman career path before "Wheel"....so did Dave Letterman, come to think of it!) for the local NBC-TV affiliate, KNBC, in the '80s thru 2020 (nearly 40 years!):
When he was describing the summer phenomenon of wind and/or moisture sweeping in from the Pacific...well, it's called "onshore flow," but he added a cartoon-like caricature of an older lady with gray hair in a bun, glasses with chain (to the map), and of course, the fitting moniker of Onshore Flo! "Here she comes!" Thanks, Fritz!
Well you should know that I grew up in Southern California and therefore Fritz was a newscaster staple for me. Dare I say he had an influence on my taking Meteorology 101 in college. Which I got an A by the way.
I wondered where you were brought up.....so, of course you know Fritz! I was stunned to see he just did retire in '20...after nearly 40 years at KNBC! Meteorology and Latin....two subjects I wish I would've taken at some point! I've always been fascinated by weather, and Latin would've helped so much with English etymology (me love wordz)!
No doubt, Chris....this is how GROW BIGGER EARS Playlists roll (hence the title)..."some hits, some of the time"! I was fairly gob-smacked, in my research, to actually find a "cover" of the song from an actual band member several decades hence! I didn't realize Chuck Leavell even had a solo career, much less had made a guitar-driven banger a piano-forward tribute to his former band!
In fact (save for the Allmans' "Jessica"), NONE of these "Jessica"s I had ever heard before, except Rick's....so, the desire to highlight his (which I've loved for the 47 years it's been out) is what drove this Playlist into existence! I take that back...I had the Seals & Crofts album in '73, and remembered their "Jessica" fondly. But, my newly-discovered love of the Minor "Jessica" might lead to an article all their own! Stay tuned!📻
Well, I guess so! If you haven't before, you can pretend all these songs were written about you!!! HEY, EVERYBODY, JESSICA IN DA HOUSE, YO!!!🤘All the best, Jessica, from the FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE corporate office complex (and Floor Five of the Honorary Greg Shaw "Power Pop Roolz" Editorial Building), for a fabulous Friday and weekend!😁👍🎶
Many thanks! Cool story about the radio station....rabid curiosity (and the radio station housed on our ground floor, K-OCD, where it's "all neuroses, all the time!") drives me to ask about call letters and city, Jessica!🎤📻Thanks!
This is what my dad texted me when I asked, "I think it was WPOE, an AM radio station in Greenfield, MA that began broadcasting in 1980. "Jessica" was played around midnight on the morning you were born, by a then-writer/deejay friend of mine." (I was born in Northampton, MA.)
Wow, thanks for the extra effort, Jessica! Much appreciated, and really cool! Back in the day when there were actual PEOPLE behind the mic at AM stations! And, they were gracious enough to still play "requests"!
My late Mom (she passed 7 Christmas Eves ago) was a native Massachusetts-ite, born, I think, in Manchester-by-the-Sea (possibly Boston-proper...I just know she talked about Manchester a lot....she loved the water)!
In 1973's summer (the one after I had just graduated high school), she took my bro and I to Boston for a convention she was attending. We'll call that particular summer one of "my awakening," in every way you might possibly be imagining! Which reminds me that would make a cool story for the site....likely just for Paid subbies, though....it wouldn't be for a mass audience, as it's rated--ahem--let's just say Disney wouldn't produce the movie!
Thanks again for all the info, Jessica! Speaking of Mom, she'd say you were "cunnin'"---her way of saying "cute" and "sweet" (like she called her favorite Houston Astro, Craig Biggio, whom she thought was cute: "Well, isn't he cunnin'!"), which I always thought was her own provincial New England charm or some such! Never heard it before....or since...uniquely Mom!💝
Aww, I love the story about your mom. I think I'll try to bring back the word "cunnin." My dad was born in Boston and graduated from Lexington High School in 1969. He has many many stories about insane concerts he went to growing up in that area during that time. I forwarded him your 'Stack!
I had no idea that Springfield had that long of a career before his 80’s breakout. I’m going to have to check out his back catalog.
I listened to the Elliot Minor song. So, maybe it’s just my grumpy Gen-X ear, but why does almost everything released this century sound the same to me? If you told me this song was recorded by Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World, or Falllout Boy, I would have believed you.
Last paragraph....Oh, I hear ya! The ole "generic rock band" syndrome. Remember the days of the "generic" grocery store brands....the white package with the light-blue stripe?!? That should've been those bands' album jacket artwork!!
As for Elliot Minor.....just to slide into their defense for a sec (I've only been "on them" for a week!!)...the fact that they're all classically trained, and (not unlike ELO, say) have no problem incorporating various strings into their songs (sans the need to hire 80-year-old orchestra-ready studio cats, apparently) make them interesting to me, and worth poking around their catalog a bit more than, say, the other ones you mentioned (about whom I have no allegiance or past love for...at all!)....or, as I said to someone recently, an article focusing on Elliot Minor might be in the offing. With their "Jessica" alone, IMO, Dave, they stand out at least just a bit above the aforementioned fray! Stay tuned!
As for Rick....yep...sometime in the late '70s, I found Rick's Columbia and Capitol albums at a flea market record dealer, and snatched 'em up for pennies! As for the '76 Chelsea album, that has been my "dirty little secret" for years, especially his "Jessica"!
SO dynamic, and a 5-year precursor to the guitar-driven, melody-rich, harmony-laden stuff the world would hear on "Working Class Dog"----all that was there on "Wait For Night" and it fell on absolutely NO ears! I was still in radio in '76, and that album fell squarely in between: too pop for FM (where I was...it was on heavy rotation at MY house, but I was hand-tied at the station), and for some reason, AM found no hits, although there were a couple on that album that coulda/shoulda! Enjoy your Rick-dive, Dave....early stuff fairly nondescript, but as with most looks-back, it's cool to see the "story" leading up to what we know!
I'll definitely give Elliot Minor more of a shot!
I'm gonna have to listen to most of these for the first time, but not all! I remember the Coheed and Cambria' "Jessie's Girl 2" when it came out and thought it was exactly what "cover" versions should be like. Also, I'm a big fan of the band and Claudio is a great lead singer. He doesn't show his full range in C&C, but he's done Rush covers, and has sung with other bands that show the dynamics of his pipes.
And like some others here, I did not know that Rick Springfield had so many albums prior to his early 80s heyday. You are treasure trove, the equivalent of a clown car, a veritable bottomless pit. I'll stop now.
Actually I won't. I was surprised that you didn't choose the Regina Spektor "Jessica" song, not just to get a female artist in the list, but because it's a great song.
https://open.spotify.com/track/5N3XUdnK5klAU2TffilhBG?si=b16b78fd6ad34011
You didn't mention Elliot Minor, a band I was wondering if you'd heard/heard of before. They didn't appear to have their stuff released in the states, which I realize in the '08 land of early streaming, is less of an issue than it would've been 4 decades ago! Surprised you'd heard Coheed and Cambria, although I shouldn't be surprised that MY unawareness would equal anyone else's, especially on a band from 2-3 years ago! At the time, did you know Rick sang on it?
I came across the Regina "Jessica," and simply made the executive/artistic decision that it didn't really fit, IMO, the Playlist vibe, which seemed to fall into a curiously "classic rock" lean that I kinda let just happen on its own.
As you know, Steve, GROW BIGGER EARS is neither a comprehensive collection, nor a ranking of any sort. The selected songs and their Playlist placement are, theoretically anyway, done with an ear toward segue, an occasional nod to chronology, and just artistic flow (whom, it should be noted, took the place of Ms. Spektor as representational female on our Playlist, as it turns out. Let's give Artistic Flo👱♀️a hand, shall we?)👏
I'll accept "treasure trove" and "bottomless pit" (however veritable), and I even like🤡🚗, but mainly 'cause they have emojis! Through all names, I've been called worse....I used to teach!!😉
Haven't listened to Elliot Minor yet -- I will give the songs feedback later. I did know about the Rick Springfield on C&C, but only because it wasn't hidden and the music video I think I saw first.
And you can just admit the real reason you didn't use the Regina Spektor song: "this one is for the boys!" I kid. And good comeback with claiming that Artistic Flo was on the playlist and therefore not gender exclusive....
I have to give some credit for Artistic Flo to Fritz Coleman, former stand-up, who did local L.A.-area weather (Pat Sajak had a similar stand-up/weatherman career path before "Wheel"....so did Dave Letterman, come to think of it!) for the local NBC-TV affiliate, KNBC, in the '80s thru 2020 (nearly 40 years!):
When he was describing the summer phenomenon of wind and/or moisture sweeping in from the Pacific...well, it's called "onshore flow," but he added a cartoon-like caricature of an older lady with gray hair in a bun, glasses with chain (to the map), and of course, the fitting moniker of Onshore Flo! "Here she comes!" Thanks, Fritz!
And, you're not getting out of here without a link, Steve!.......https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Coleman
Well you should know that I grew up in Southern California and therefore Fritz was a newscaster staple for me. Dare I say he had an influence on my taking Meteorology 101 in college. Which I got an A by the way.
I wondered where you were brought up.....so, of course you know Fritz! I was stunned to see he just did retire in '20...after nearly 40 years at KNBC! Meteorology and Latin....two subjects I wish I would've taken at some point! I've always been fascinated by weather, and Latin would've helped so much with English etymology (me love wordz)!
For my money the Allman’s “Jessica” is the top tier Jessica song
No doubt, Chris....this is how GROW BIGGER EARS Playlists roll (hence the title)..."some hits, some of the time"! I was fairly gob-smacked, in my research, to actually find a "cover" of the song from an actual band member several decades hence! I didn't realize Chuck Leavell even had a solo career, much less had made a guitar-driven banger a piano-forward tribute to his former band!
In fact (save for the Allmans' "Jessica"), NONE of these "Jessica"s I had ever heard before, except Rick's....so, the desire to highlight his (which I've loved for the 47 years it's been out) is what drove this Playlist into existence! I take that back...I had the Seals & Crofts album in '73, and remembered their "Jessica" fondly. But, my newly-discovered love of the Minor "Jessica" might lead to an article all their own! Stay tuned!📻
Well this made my morning!
Well, I guess so! If you haven't before, you can pretend all these songs were written about you!!! HEY, EVERYBODY, JESSICA IN DA HOUSE, YO!!!🤘All the best, Jessica, from the FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE corporate office complex (and Floor Five of the Honorary Greg Shaw "Power Pop Roolz" Editorial Building), for a fabulous Friday and weekend!😁👍🎶
Haha, and happy Friday to you! When I was born, the local radio station did play "Jessica" by the Allman Brothers for my parents!
Many thanks! Cool story about the radio station....rabid curiosity (and the radio station housed on our ground floor, K-OCD, where it's "all neuroses, all the time!") drives me to ask about call letters and city, Jessica!🎤📻Thanks!
This is what my dad texted me when I asked, "I think it was WPOE, an AM radio station in Greenfield, MA that began broadcasting in 1980. "Jessica" was played around midnight on the morning you were born, by a then-writer/deejay friend of mine." (I was born in Northampton, MA.)
Wow, thanks for the extra effort, Jessica! Much appreciated, and really cool! Back in the day when there were actual PEOPLE behind the mic at AM stations! And, they were gracious enough to still play "requests"!
My late Mom (she passed 7 Christmas Eves ago) was a native Massachusetts-ite, born, I think, in Manchester-by-the-Sea (possibly Boston-proper...I just know she talked about Manchester a lot....she loved the water)!
In 1973's summer (the one after I had just graduated high school), she took my bro and I to Boston for a convention she was attending. We'll call that particular summer one of "my awakening," in every way you might possibly be imagining! Which reminds me that would make a cool story for the site....likely just for Paid subbies, though....it wouldn't be for a mass audience, as it's rated--ahem--let's just say Disney wouldn't produce the movie!
Thanks again for all the info, Jessica! Speaking of Mom, she'd say you were "cunnin'"---her way of saying "cute" and "sweet" (like she called her favorite Houston Astro, Craig Biggio, whom she thought was cute: "Well, isn't he cunnin'!"), which I always thought was her own provincial New England charm or some such! Never heard it before....or since...uniquely Mom!💝
Aww, I love the story about your mom. I think I'll try to bring back the word "cunnin." My dad was born in Boston and graduated from Lexington High School in 1969. He has many many stories about insane concerts he went to growing up in that area during that time. I forwarded him your 'Stack!