Weekly Music History-From Johnny Cash to The Rolling Stones-Music History on Foot.

Have you ever wondered how pivotal moments in music history have shaped the sounds we love today? Join host Buzz Knight and  Harry Jacobs  as they take you on a captivating journey through the significant events that occurred in music during the week of January 13th. On this episode of takin' a walk, we delve deep into the legacy of Johnny Cash's legendary performance at Folsom Prison in 1968, exploring its profound influence on artists like Bruce Springsteen and the broader landscape of American music.

But that's just the beginning! We also discuss the emotional power of Pete Townsend's Rainbow Concert in 1973, a heartfelt effort to support Eric Clapton during his struggles with addiction. This episode is filled with music history insights that highlight the intertwining of music and societal issues. You'll learn about Ed Sullivan's surprising request for The Rolling Stones to alter the lyrics of "Let's Spend the Night Together" in 1967, a moment that sparked discussions on censorship and artistic expression.

The conversation takes a humorous turn as we touch on Paul McCartney's unexpected arrest in Japan in 1980, alongside the infamous dismissal of Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols. We even dive into a tragic yet fascinating piece of Boston music history with the Great Molasses Flood of 1919, reminding us of the sometimes bizarre intersections between life and art.

Throughout this episode of takin' a walk, we celebrate the stories behind iconic songs and the legendary musicians who created them. Whether you're a fan of classic rock history, jazz music, or the vibrant sounds of indie artists, this episode offers a treasure trove of music storytelling that will inspire and entertain you. Don't miss out on our engaging discussions that reveal the cultural impact of music and the resilience of artists.

So lace up your shoes, hit play, and let’s take a walk through time, exploring how these unforgettable moments have shaped our music journey. Tune in for a delightful blend of comedic advice, inspiring music stories, and the emotional healing through music that resonates through generations. This is more than just a podcast; it's a celebration of music history that you won’t want to miss!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is an iHeart podcast, guaranteed Human.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
I'm Buzzsnight, the host of the Taking a Walk podcast,
the podcast where we take a look at music history.
We talk to musicians and insiders, and on this episode,
we take a look at music history for the week
of January the thirteenth, and I'm joined at the music
history desk by my dear friend, rock fan, media personality,

(00:30):
former programmer and radio and also just somebody who knows
the biz and the music inside out, the one and
only Harry Jacobs.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Welcome to the Music History Desk.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
Carry pleasure to be here to join.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
You know, historically the beginning of January is when a
lot of.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Things aren't going on.

Speaker 4 (00:50):
But we've managed to find some things that have happened
this week, and I'm excited to talk to you about them.
Johnny Cash would be the first one, not necessarily a
rock guy, but but you know, a lot of rock
guys took influence from Johnny Cash. Bruce Springsteen will often
talk about that Johnny Cash influence. And obviously he changed

(01:11):
and spent a lot of time doing country and western
sounding music as he's you know, grown in his career.
But Johnny Cash is at Fulsome prison came out this
week in nineteen sixty eight, probably something that wouldn't happen today,
think about it. They took a room full of prisoners
and let Johnny Cash, a former felon by the way,

(01:34):
play at the prison.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
That was a big deal at that time.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, And I got to talk to jelly Roll way
back about a lot of different things, including, you know,
his view of Johnny Cash, and I'll never forget it.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
He was like, he.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Leaned right in in terms of what a badass Johnny
Cash was. And obviously Jelly Roll has served time as
well behind bars, so he had a great respect for
Johnny's authenticity. He even recommended to me, And in case
you haven't seen it, the documentary, the Tricky Dick Johnny

(02:13):
Cash Documentary.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Have you ever checked that one out?

Speaker 4 (02:16):
You told me after you did the interview with Jelly Roll,
you told me about it, and it's kind of buried
on my list. I need to get in there and
take a look at that.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
It's really well done, so Johnny.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
And then of course what Johnny would ultimately end up
doing with Bob Dylan was certainly incredible as well. And
that TV show that Johnny had was sort of this
amazing you know, combining country and sort of rock Americana together.
So an iconic period in music history when Johnny was

(02:49):
at the fulsome prison.

Speaker 4 (02:51):
Yeah, one of my favorite pictures of Johnny is that
that picture where he's given the finger to the camera.
He looks really angry and he's just you know, to
me that it describes the times right that we were
in at that time. Think about where we were in
sixty eight that picture was taking it around. That may
probably earlier, but you know, still it's an iconic photo Johnny.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
No doubt, no doubt.

Speaker 4 (03:17):
In nineteen seventy three, this is the time that Pete
Townshend organized the Rainbow Concert essentially to support Eric Clapton.

Speaker 3 (03:28):
Now there were a whole bunch of people that played.

Speaker 4 (03:30):
Obviously Townshend Clapton played, but Steve Winwood and a bunch
of others. We learned through the documentary through the Twelve
Bars Life through Twelve Bars, I believe that that was
a time that Eric Clapton in seventy three was really
at the height of his drug use, was really struggling,
had kind of disappeared at times. I remember seeing there

(03:53):
was a period of time before for sixty one Ocean Boulevard.
I guess that was the album at that time with
the main line Florida on it, among other things. But
this was an interesting time for Clapton and to have
the Townshend and gather others to rally around him, it
was important.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah, And I think we knew there were problems back then.
It was certainly reported I think in you know, like
Rolling Stone or Crawdaddy magazine or something like that, So
there was word out there that there were problems with
with Eric.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
Frankly, there were problems with all of the musicians at
that point.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
It felt like so many of them sadly, you know, struggled.
And then I remember when ultimately the Rainbow Concert was released.
I think it was received fairly tepidly because for acts
that were so great in concert, it wasn't there, you know,

(04:54):
most memorable performances. So that's how I started to remember
the way the concert went, came out, was released, in
the way it was received.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
That could be wrong.

Speaker 4 (05:04):
This was not a concert, if my memory serves me correctly,
where you know, each group did their own little set.
This was the this was the jam session, you know,
pre you know, what they're doing now as an example
for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, right, birthday
concert or some sort of celebration of a band.

Speaker 1 (05:21):
That's right.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
It was not orchestrated and staged to the degree that
things are not by that guy Joel Gallan who does
all the did all the stuff for you know, the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He staged things and
he's brilliant at that. Yeah, that I think that's a
good point there, for sure.

Speaker 4 (05:39):
Yeah, that's an It's an interesting thing when you think
about it. You know, it'd be interesting to go back
now and watch it knowing how things have evolved from
a production you know, standpoint, yes, listen, it's like watching
a football game from nineteen seventy five versus watching one.
It's right now to see what technology and just kind
of where people have gone in terms of organization these things.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
Yeah, and the eye that some director puts to it.

Speaker 4 (06:03):
Sure, Yeah, but at any rate that happened Clapton was
arguably a disaster. He was struggling with the situation with
Patty Harrison, George Harrison's wife at the time, being you know,
in love with his best friend's wife. It created all
kinds of ants and added to the drug use fueled

(06:24):
all of that.

Speaker 1 (06:26):
And as they say, the rest history, the rest is history.

Speaker 4 (06:29):
Here. Yeah, we'll get I'm sure we'll get to Layla
and Derek and the Dominoes at some point down the
road this week as well, no doubt.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
In nineteen sixty.

Speaker 4 (06:39):
Seven, The Stones appeared on Ed Sullivan and Ed Sullivan
had a request when they said we were going to
play Let's spend the Night together at Sullivan had them
change the lyrics to let's spend some time together, because
in nineteen sixty seven you couldn't talk about two people
that weren't married, I guess spending time under the sheets.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
I could only wish that we could have been a
fly on the wall to mister Sullivan having the conversation
probably with you know, Mick and Keith or the whole
band or something. I don't think he maybe he started
going through their management, you know, mediary, but you know
he's had to speak to the.

Speaker 1 (07:21):
Band about it in some form. I would love to
see how that played out. Well, we know how it
played out, you know.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (07:28):
I was just gonna ask, did did you ever see
anyone in any interviews with anyone in Jagger or Richards
have they have? Have you seen him talk speak to
that particular incident.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
I have not, but you know, uh, there's so many
incidents with the Stones, That's why we love him.

Speaker 4 (07:44):
You're right, And this was tame compared to anything else,
That's right when you think about it.

Speaker 3 (07:48):
Sixty seven. This was the beginning, you know, of time
for them in a sense.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
Oh yeah, for sure. But yeah Ed Ed Sullivan churned
them all out, you know.

Speaker 4 (08:00):
So let me give you. Let me give you two
other things to think about. Think about where we are
now with you know, with marijuana usage in our country
and dispensaries and you know how mainstream it is. This
is the time January sixteenth, nineteen eighty, when Paul McCartney
was arrested in Tokyo and he and Wings were due

(08:20):
to be there part of their tour in Japan, and
he was deported. They held him for nine days. Imagine
that bag of weed he gets nine days in Tokyo.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, it is funny thinking about it now, but that
caused a lot of misery for Paul at that time,
and certainly I'm sure cost him a few bucks along
the way for that delay and Yeah, it is kind
of mind blowing thinking about how far we've come.

Speaker 4 (08:52):
Yeah, and here's another one nineteen sixty seven and other
Beatles related thing, but this is one I had no
clue about. Nineteen sixty seven January seventeenth, the Daily Mail newspaper,
they printed an article saying there were four thousand potholes
in Blackburn, Lancashire, and the death of Guinness are terror
Brown in a car crash. And these articles inspired the

(09:17):
lyrics for which Beatles song bus.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
I did not know that. No, I knew that A
day in the life. I'm sorry.

Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, I had I when I saw it when I
was doing research for the week. I saw that.

Speaker 4 (09:28):
I thought, there's one that's going going into this group.
That's a great story.

Speaker 2 (09:32):
But what was so awesome and how you know the
songwriting genius of Lennon and McCartney, you know, scanning every
possible source for some inspiration and finding finding that in
the Daily Mail, I think that's you just adds to
the brilliance of their songwriting.

Speaker 4 (09:52):
Johnny Rotten in nineteen seventy eight was thrown out of
the Sex Pistols unceremoniously dismissed, leading to the band's breakup.

Speaker 3 (10:02):
You know why they kicked him out?

Speaker 1 (10:04):
Probably something about his hairdo No, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (10:07):
He said he wasn't weird enough.

Speaker 1 (10:09):
Oh my god, that's still weird enough to me. That's hysterical.

Speaker 3 (10:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:14):
Well, as I was thinking about him getting kicked.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Out of the band, I'm thinking, well, isn't that the
definition of punk anyway?

Speaker 1 (10:21):
Getting kicked out of a band?

Speaker 4 (10:23):
How bad do you have to be to get kicked
out of a What kind of an ass do you
have to be to get kicked out of a punk band?

Speaker 1 (10:28):
That's apparently, you know, bad enough.

Speaker 4 (10:32):
And one pop culture or one historic event that happened
this week to wrap us up. January fifteenth, nineteen nineteen
was the date of the Great Molasses Flood in Boston.
Something I don't think I was taught growing up in
the suburbs of Boston, But twenty one people actually died

(10:52):
in that and one.

Speaker 3 (10:52):
Hundred and fifty were injured. Pretty crazy story.

Speaker 2 (10:56):
I got to think that that was not the back
bay of Boston that occurred. That had to be somewhere
in the you know, the true city of Boston, you know,
near the Harbor or whatever where that occurred.

Speaker 4 (11:09):
You know, twenty one people died death by molasses. Kind
of slow and painful.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
It's a tragedy for sure, and traffic was terrible at
that moment and to this day it's still hillatious in Boston.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
That's right.

Speaker 3 (11:22):
There you go, there's the week.

Speaker 1 (11:24):
It's a rap.

Speaker 2 (11:25):
Harry Jacobs, thanks for being on Taking a Walk for
this week in music and pop culture and molasses history
for the week of January the thirteenth, And thanks for
checking out the Taking a Walk podcast. You can listen
to it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts.

Speaker 1 (11:44):
This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed Human