Podcast Episode 6 with Lizzie Weber

Episode 6 of the podcast is now up and running. We were joined on a very cold and slippery night by St. Louis songwriter Lizzie Weber for this episode. We had a great time talking with Lizzie about recording her new self-titled record, her upcoming video, and her musical background. She also gave us three great performances that you do not want to miss.

Lizzie has a record release show coming up at The Gramophone on Friday, January 31, 2014. Doors are at 7PM, show starts at 8PM. Ellen The Felon  and The Duo (featuring members of Acoustics Anonymous) open the show. $10 gets you in the door and a copy of the CD. 21+.

Keep an eye out on our Youtube channel for performances from Lizzie that we will be posting over the next week or so.

You can find all the episodes over on iTunes by clicking here. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast while you are over on the iTunes page, we would absolutely love that. For those of you that like to subscribe via your favorite RSS reader, click here.

As always, you can still listen to or download all episodes from their direct links. Just click below on your episode of choice. (To download: Right Click (PC)/CTRL-Click (Mac) and then select Save Link As….)

Episode 6: Lizzie Weber

Episode 5.5: Chris Mills Performances

Episode 5: Chris Mills

Episode 4: Dana Anderson, Jesse Irwin, John Krane, and Dave Werner

Episode 3: Bart, Jeff, and Scott Rambling – Part 2

Episode 3: Bart, Jeff, and Scott Rambling – Part 1

Episode 2: The Trophy Mules

Episode 1: Best of 2012 and John Krane

Thanks for listening, more coming soon!

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Podcast Episode 5.5 – Chris Mills Performances now available

Hello! We decided to do a mini episode of the podcast with just the performances from Episode 5 with Chris Mills. All the wonderful performances without all the wonderful babbling! We really do hope you listen to all the babbling, but understand if you really want to just hear the music portions.

Make sure to head on over to the Chris Mills bandcamp page to order yourself a copy of Mills’ new record, Alexandria. Make sure you head on out to Off Broadway on Thursday, January 23, 2014 to see Mills and his band celebrate the release of the record. That will definitely be a show you will not want to miss!

We have also started up a Youtube page where we will be posting videos of the performances from the podcasts. Get on over to that page and start watching those videos by clicking here.

You can find all the episodes over on iTunes by clicking here. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast while you are over on the iTunes page, we would absolutely love that. For those of you that like to subscribe via your favorite RSS reader, click here.

As always, you can still listen to or download all episodes from their direct links. Just click below on your episode of choice. (To download: Right Click (PC)/CTRL-Click (Mac) and then select Save Link As….)

Episode 5.5: Chris Mills Performances

Episode 5: Chris Mills

Episode 4: Dana Anderson, Jesse Irwin, John Krane, and Dave Werner

Episode 3: Bart, Jeff, and Scott Rambling – Part 2

Episode 3: Bart, Jeff, and Scott Rambling – Part 1

Episode 2: The Trophy Mules

Episode 1: Best of 2012 and John Krane

Thanks for listening, more coming soon!

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Episode 5 of the Podcast Featuring Chris Mills is Now Available

Chris Mills - photo by Scott Allen

Chris Mills – photo by Scott Allen

Hi all! It has been a while since we last brought you a podcast, but we are coming back strong with the very talented Chris Mills as our guest!

Mills is a longtime friend of our very own Scott Allen and it was great to catch up with him and have him play us a few songs as well. This episode runs a little on the long side, but we had so much great stuff we just could not cut any of it. Mills joined us to talk about his new record that will be coming out on January 21, 2014 titled, Alexandria. Head on over to the Chris Mills bandcamp page to hear samples of the new record and pre-order a copy while you are there. Mills will be playing at Off Broadway on Thursday, January 23, 2014. That will definitely be a show you will not want to miss. You can here all about this stuff in the podcast, so quit reading this and go listen now!

You can find all the episodes over on iTunes by clicking here. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast while you are over on the iTunes page, we would absolutely love that. For those of you that like to subscribe via your favorite RSS reader, click here.

As always, you can still listen to or download all episodes from their direct links. Just click below on your episode of choice. (To download: Right Click (PC)/CTRL-Click (Mac) and then select Save Link As….)

Episode 5: Chris Mills

Episode 4: Dana Anderson, Jesse Irwin, John Krane, and Dave Werner

Episode 3: Bart, Jeff, and Scott Rambling – Part 2

Episode 3: Bart, Jeff, and Scott Rambling – Part 1

Episode 2: The Trophy Mules

Episode 1: Best of 2012 and John Krane

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“We feel it coming on again”: New episode of the podcast released this week

Chris Mills recording the 3 Minute Record podcast - photo by Scott Allen

Chris Mills recording the 3 Minute Record podcast – photo by Scott Allen

Time to share some exciting music news, friends!

Just after Christmas we sat down at Dogs of Doom Sound Studio with our pal Chris Mills to record an in-depth talk about his music career and his new album. He was gracious enough to play a few songs for us and this time we added a new feature – videos.

The latest episode of the 3 Minute Record Podcast featuring Mills uploads to iTunes this Wednesday, January 8. Be sure to check it out and subscribe and tell your friends. If you like it, please show us some love and leave us a positive comment.

In the meantime, we thought we’d share a little teaser on this cold, snowy day in St. Louis to show you what we’ve got in store.

Chris Mills – “I Wanna Destroy You” (Alternate Take)

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Record Collectors show returns to South St. Louis

Still looking to find that rare promo only Japanese vinyl pressing you’ve always wanted to buy? You’re in luck; the St. Louis Record Collector’s show reconvenes this weekend in South St. Louis for the first show of 2014.

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Shake off your hangover from the holiday season and celebrating the New Year and dig through the dusty boxes to find some gems. While record collectors in St. Louis are lucky to have some very strong brick and mortar stores to fulfill their habit, this bi-monthly show brings in some dealers from around the region to give folks a different taste of what’s out there. Vinyl continues to gain traction and pick up new devotees and this is a great way to make connections with other folks with a similar passion.

The dealers at the show will have vinyl (45′s and LP’s), compact discs, 78 RPM records, videos, rare items, and more. If collecting the physical artifacts still appeals to you as a music buyer then please support the organizers and stop by and have a look. Whether you walk out with a rare find or a large stack of bargains, there’s a good chance you’ll have fun regardless. So, put away the iPod and put the needle on the record.

Where: American Czech Hall, 4690 Landsdowne (at Kingshighway), St. Louis, MO
Date: (All shows on Sundays) January 5, 2014
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Admission: $3.00 Early Bird: $5.00 (8:30 a.m.) Table Fee: $35.00
(set up 8:30 a.m.)

Official St. Louis Record and CD Show website

For Information send an e-mail

You can also find their page on Facebook

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A grab bag of soulful singles on New Year’s Eve

The Record Exchange - photo by Mike Rengel

The Record Exchange – photo by Mike Rengel

Yesterday, I got off work a little early from the mothership. Before heading home, I decided to partake in a favorite pastime of mine – shopping vintage retail.

My goal was to swing by South St. Louis retro store, The Future Antiques, to see if they had anything especially good. However, they were closed for the holiday. Obviously, they had more exciting plans to celebrate the New Year and were getting ready to entertain in their own way – “Mad Men” style.

After no luck there, I cruised over to The Record Exchange and ended up spending a couple of hours wading through the vinyl. This St. Louis used record store, located in a former St. Louis Public Library building, likely has the largest selection of used vinyl in town. Owner Jean Hafner is a self-proclaimed hoarder who has this shrine to music packed from floor to ceiling with records, tapes, 8-tracks, DVDs, VHS, books, stereo receivers, record players, speakers, and more!

Since I own a jukebox, my favorite part of the store is searching through the racks of 45 RPM singles in the room upstairs. Due to the sheer size and volume of the store, other collectors I’ve had conversations with about the store don’t even know that the room exists. Because there are so many LPs to sift through on the main level, the 45s upstairs tend to get overlooked unless that’s your main reason for going there.

The room is split into different areas – original ’50s and ’60s popular Rock and Roll, Country, Soul, Jazz, Pop, Christmas, picture sleeves,’70s to current popular Rock and Roll and reissues. The area is a little hard to navigate and you may have to look in 3 or 4 places before you find what you’re looking for, but a patient search can be the most rewarding when you find that diamond in the rough.

Before I left I ran into another pal, Mike, also shopping for a few gems for his record collection before heading home to celebrate the New Year. We commiserated over the fact that a newbie to vinyl record collecting could make the store a one-stop-shop for everything needed to start a first-rate record collection.

My haul mostly consisted of rhythm and blues and Northern Soul singles with a little country and rock rounding things out.

Ricky Allen – “Nothing in the World Can Hurt Me (Except You) b/w “What Do You Do” (Bright Star, 1966) A Chicago blues artist with roots in Nashville, Allen had a music career that never reached a huge following. He later ran a laundry and limousine service after his days in music.

LaVern Baker – “I Waited Too Long” b/w “You’re Teasing Me” (Atlantic, 1959) The follow-up to her hit single “I Cried a Tear,” Baker laments a love she lost to another woman after waiting too long to work it out with her old flame. An artist with this depth deserves attention.

Bobby Bare – “Detroit City” b/w “Heart of Ice” (RCA Victor, 1963) A top ten Country hit for Bare was written by Danny Dill and Mel Tillis. Now a classic country standard, the song won Bare a Grammy for Best Country & Western Recording.

Aretha Franklin – “Can’t You Just See Me” b/w “Little Miss Raggedy Ann” (Columbia, 1965) Before Jerry Wexler lured Franklin over to Atlantic, the Queen of Soul recorded for Columbia. Listening to these tracks will give a hint of what was to come a couple of years later.

Bobby Harris – “Let’s Stop Fooling Ourselves” b/w “You Wonder Why” [Promo] (Columbia, 1966)
This one is a mystery. A rare Northern soul ballad that was actually released on the Fairmount label under the name Eddie Jones. Every copy that I’ve seen online seem to be promo copies, too.

Dale Hawkins – “Susie Q” b/w “Don’t Treat Me This Way” (Checker, 1957) This rockabilly hit featuring the guitar work of James Burton later became the first hit a decade later for Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The Outsiders – “Girl In Love” b/w “What Makes You So Bad, You Weren’t Brought Up That Way”
(Capitol, 1966) [Picture Sleeve] A slow, wistful baroque pop ballad from the same Cleveland based group that had a hit with one of my favorite ’60s songs “Time Won’t Let Me.”

Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels – “Too Many Fish in the Sea & Three Little Fishies” b/w “One Grain of Sand” (New Voice, 1967) [w/ Picture Sleeve] One of the last charting singles with The Detroit Wheels, Ryder speeds up the Marvelettes Motown hit and for good measure dips back into the 1930s with a snippet of the Kay Kyser number 1 hit, “Three Little Fishies.”

Jimmy Ruffin – “I’ve Passed This Way Before” b/w “Tomorrow’s Tears” (Soul, 1966)
Jimmy Ruffin, the older brother lead singer David Ruffin of The Temptations, recorded this track on the Motown imprint as a follow-up to his stone-cold classic soul hit “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted.” An equally sad song with a more upbeat

Titus Turner – “Baby Girl Parts 1 & 2” [Promo] (ATCO, 1964) On his only single for ATCO, Turner turns in a Ray Charles or James Brown style track filled with requisite crowd noise and split into two parts to cover both sides of the single. Not a hit, but a nice soulful rave-up.

When I noted on social media that I was at the store I started receiving requests to look for artists or records while I was there. I ended up picking up a copy of Fats Domino – “Poor Me” for another friend who will trade me something handmade – and no doubt cool – for my daughter, The Little Miss.
It’s good to have friends who love music like I do.

Happy New Year!

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2013 In Review : My Year In Concerts

I made a personal goal to try and make it to seventy-five shows this year. I just barely made it. 2013 was a pretty great year for shows for me. I got to see a couple of bands (Texas Is The Reason, The Replacements) I never thought I would see. I saw quite a few shows in cities (Chicago, Little Rock, Louisville, Memphis) outside of the St. Louis area. And of course, I made sure to see Lucero as many times (six) as I could this year.

I tried to include all the bands on the bill for this list. Unfortunately, there are a few I forgot to write down and cannot seem to remember. I am including comedy shows in this list and shows that I ran sound for as well. I am also including the New Years Eve show at Off Broadway from 12/31/12 since it rolled over into 1/1/13 and started the year off. On to the list…

12/31/12 – 01/01/13 – Kentucky Knife Fight/Blind Eyes – Off Broadway

January

5 – Deon Cole – Laugh Factory (Chicago, IL)
6 – Texas Is The Reason/Into Another/Sense Field/Popeye – House Of Blues
(Chicago, IL)
11 – The Trophy Mules/The BOB Band – Stagger Inn (Sound Gig)
16 – Our Lady/Breakmouth Annie/River City Sound – Firebird
18 – Delocated Variety Show w/ “Jon”/Archer Prewitt/Kurt Braunohler/Larry Murphy/
Greg Johnson – The Hideout (Chicago, IL)
19 – Chicago School Of Rock performing the songs of Wilco – Schuba’s (Chicago, IL)
19 – Lucero/Houndmouth/Matrimony – The Metro (Chicago, IL)
22 – Drive-By Truckers/Houndmouth – The Blue Note (Columbia, MO)

February

2 – 33 On The Needle/Breakmouth Annie/Clubber Lang – Stagger Inn (Sound Gig)
6 – Jonathan Richman – Off Broadway
7 – Potions/Dibiase – Stagger Inn (Sound Gig)
8 – Dana Anderson – Frawley’s
16 – John Henry And The Engine/The Incurables/The Trophy Mules – The Duck Room
22 – Dana Anderson – Stagger Inn (Sound Gig)

March

1 – Earthsol/The BOB Band/Super Fun Yeah Yeah Rocketship – Stagger Inn (Sound Gig)
2 – Steve Chosich – Iron Barley
2 – Kentucky Knife Fight/The Ladybirds/Pretty Little Empire – Off Broadway
7 – Robert Earl Keen/Andrea Davidson – Off Broadway
20 – Lydia Loveless/Two Cow Garage
22 – Pete Moss And The Northsiders – Stagger Inn (Sound Gig)
23 – Breakmouth Annie – Heavy Anchor
23 – The Trophy Mules – Mangia
28 – Hayes Carll/Warren Hood and the Goods – Off Broadway
29 – Flatwheel Band – Stagger Inn (Sound Gig)

April

4 – Amy LaVere/Sleepy Kitty – Off Broadway
8 – The Revival Tour (Chuck Ragan/Dave Hause/Tim McIlrath/Rocky Votolato) –
Old Rock House
13 – Billy Bragg – City Winery (Chicago, IL)
20 – Flatwheel Band – Stagger Inn
27 – Lucero/Langhorne Slim – RIBCO (Rock Island, IL)

May

3 – Lucero/Langhorne Slim – Headliners (Louisville, KY)
11 – Breakmouth Annie/33 On The Needle/Billy And The Jets – Heavy Anchor
18 – Kevin Smith – The Pageant (Q & A Session)
31 – Dave Alvin/Kevin Gordon – Off Broadway

June

6 – Joe Pug/Motel Mirrors/Shiverin Timbers/Scarlet Tanager – Duck Room
11 – Peter Frampton/Robert Cray Band/Kenny Wayne Sheppard – Family Arena
15 – Blind Eyes/Beth Bombara/Bruiser Queen – Off Broadway
20 – Ha Ha Tonka/Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin/Ezra Furman – Off Broadway

July

6 – Will Hoge/The Incurables – Off Broadway
23 – Griffin House – Old Rock House

August

7 – Tim Barry/Cory Branan – The Demo
8 – Lucero/Kentucky Knife Fight/Jesse Irwin – Off Broadway
9 – Adam Faucett/Kevin Kerby – White Water Tavern (Little Rock, AR)
10 – Lucero/John Moreland/Guy Venable – First Security Amphitheater (Little Rock, AR)
16 – Doc Ellis Band/Diesel Island/John Krane – Off Broadway
30 – TOK/Dibiase/Heroes Of The Kingdom – Schlafly Tap Room

September

7 – Slobberbone/Old Capital Square Dance Club – Off Broadway
12 – Kevin James – Chicago Theater
13 – Riot Fest Day 1 (Flatfoot 56/Smoking Popes/Andrew W.K./Bad
Religion/Atmosphere/Joan Jett And The Blackhearts/Danzig) –
Humboldt Park (Chicago, IL)
14 – Riot Fest Day 2 (X/Dinosaur Jr./Guided By Voices/Pennywise/Flag/
Blondie/Public Enemy/Violent Femmes/Blink-182) – Humboldt Park
(Chicago, IL)
14 – Rocket From The Crypt/The Flatliners/Tight Phantomz – Double Door (Chicago, IL)
15 – Riot Fest Day 3 (Chuck Ragan/Maps & Atlases/Peter Hook & The Light/Mission Of
Burma/Quicksand/Against Me!/Bob Mould/The Dismemberment Plan/Rocket
From The Crypt/Suicidal Tendencies/Pixies/The Replacements) – Humboldt Park
(Chicago, IL)
18 – Mutts/brotherfather – Stagger Inn
22 – Centro-matic – Off Broadway
25 – Dana Anderson/Jesse Irwin/John Krane/Dave Werner – The Focal Point
28 – Hursey Benefit – Fairview Heights Elks Club (Sound Gig)

October

4 – Fumer/Breakmouth Annie/Elbow Through Hammer – Foam
5 – 18 Stories/Mike Coykendall/The Sons Of Ill Repute – The Way Out Club
31 – Dana Anderson & Co. – Stagger Inn (Sound Gig)

November

14 – Will Johnson – Living Room Show (Chicago, IL)
15 – Kyle Kinane – Up Comedy Club (Chicago, IL)
20 – Mike Maimone/Dana Anderson/John Krane – Foam
22 – The Trophy Mules – Schlafly Tap Room
23 – Earthsol – Cicero’s
28 – Brian Krumm/Tim Krumm/Dana Anderson – Stagger Inn (Sound Gig)
29 – Austin Lucas/PJ Bond/Trapper Schoepp – Duck Room

December

3 – Drag The River/The Dive Poets – Duck Room
4 – brotherfather/Monogram Suitcase/Tommy Halloran – Livery Company
6 – White Water Holiday Hangout Night 1 (Caleb Caudle/Adam Faucett And
The Tall Grass/Glossary/Two Cow Garage) – White Water Tavern
(Little Rock, AR)
7 – White Water Holiday Hangout Night 2 (JKutchma/Mulehead/Motel Mirrors/
Glossary/Ben Nichols) – White Water Tavern (Little Rock, AR)
8 – White Water Holiday Hangout Night 3 (Shane Sweeney/Kevin Kerby/JKutchma/
Micah Schnabel/Paul Graves) – White Water Tavern (Little Rock, AR)
14 – 18 Stories/Explosive Space Modulator – Johnny’s Sidebar (Sound Gig)
19 – The Whistle Pigs – Stagger Inn (Sound Gig)
21 – Lucero/Dead Soldiers – Minglewood Hall (Memphis, TN)
27 – St. Louis Symphony : The Music Of John Williams – Powell Symphony Hall

So there it is, my year in shows. I know there are few I probably missed putting on the list, but I think this is pretty close to a complete list. I am going to have a hard time figuring out what my “Top 5 List” may be for shows this year. So many of these shows were so special and amazing for many different reasons.

Thanks to all the bands and venues for providing all the great entertainment this year. I would like to especially thank all the bands that let me run sound for them. Not only does it put a little cash in my pocket, but it allows me to do something I really enjoy doing.

I really cannot wait to see what 2014 has in store on the show front. The year is already looking to get off to a good start with shows from Diesel Island, Motel Mirrors, Bobby Bare Jr., Matt Pryor, and The Hold Steady in January. Hope everyone has a great New Year celebration and I hope to see you out at a show in 2014!

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Record Spin Playlist – December 2013

spin promo

Nearly every month we are lucky enough to spin our vinyl and plug-in our iPods for a few hours at The Royale in South St. Louis to provide the soundtrack for the evening. Here’s our playlist for December 2013.

Record Spin Playlist – The Royale, St. Louis, MO – 12/11/13 with Scott Allen, Bart Darnell, Jeff Fields.

Jackson Browne – These Days
Van Morrison – Tupelo Honey
* Bob Dylan – It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
Tim Barry – Bus Driver
John Moreland – Good Enough
Glossary – Only Time Will Tell
Billy Bragg & Wilco – Airline to Heaven
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Looking Out My Back Door
White Denim – Limited by Stature
Yo La Tengo – I’ll Be Around
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Harrison Ford
Telekinesis – Power Lines
Sage Francis – The Best of Times
Eeels – Goddamn Right It’s A Beautiful Day
Run DMC – Christmas In Hollis
Bell Biv Devoe – Poison
O’Pioneers – American Hearts
Pet Symmetry – Car Song A
Superchunk – Yeah, It’s Beautiful Here Too
Sebadoh – Careful
Title Tracks – I Can’t Hide
R.E.M. – Talk About The Passion
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?
* Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back In Town
The Figgs – Regional Hit
The Clash – Train In Vain
Maritime – Calm
The Smiths – There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Elvis Costello – (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend
Dave Hause – We Could Be Kings
Cory Branan – Yeah, So What?
Lucero – Ain’t So Lonely
Rolling Stones – Rocks Off
Them Crooked Vultures – Dead End Friends
The Strokes – Electric Cityscape
Jesse Malin – Black Haired Girl
Alejandro Escovedo – Chelsea Hotel ’78
* Johnny Cash – I Still Miss Someone
The Del Fuegos – I Should Be The One
Buddy Holly – Not Fade Away
Lee Baines III & The Glory Fires – Centreville
Chris Shifflett – Guitar Picking Man
Wolfmother – Dimension
Smashing Pumpkins – Siva

* = Dings on the bell from the bartenders

Christmas In Hollis

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Haven’t you heard of José Feliciano?!

José Feliciano (1970)

José Feliciano (1970)

In mixed company, I never make much of a secret. I’m not a huge fan of Christmas music.

Each year the Christmas season brings around old familiar songs that you don’t hear much except for 4-6 weeks out of the year. Some you’ve heard so many times that you could go years before the nostalgia of hearing the song again was a positive reaction. Plus, there are artists constantly re-recording the same songs year after year. Truthfully, when was the last time you heard a well-written NEW Christmas song that you absolutely loved?

If you listen to a lot of music like me there’s likely a good chance that you try to put off listening to Christmas music for as long as possible. In fact, I completely avoid the 24-hour Christmas stations on the radio and try to tune out the background holiday music while shopping in the stores.

While I don’t think of myself as a Scrooge at all, Christmas music does tend to grate on my ears unlike other genres. I don’t know if it’s because retailers keep moving up the beginning of the Christmas season, or if it’s because I have a birthday in December, but I don’t like listening to Christmas music too early. I have unscientifically polled enough people over the years to know it’s just not me either.

I have worked at the same building since 2008. By now, I have a running discussion with the cashier about music. She thinks it’s crazy that I know all sorts of useless trivia about music. We play this little game of naming information about the song on the radio while I’m there.

This morning I was in the cafeteria and “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano came on the radio. We started singing the tune and talking about the song. But, I apparently looked like some sort of magical wizard of music geekdom to the folks in the cafeteria. I knew the artist, that he played guitar and that he had been blind since birth. Doesn’t everyone know this stuff? This song is a classic.

Born in Puerto Rico in 1945, Feliciano started playing music at the age of 3. His family immigrated to New York when he was 5 years old and eventually he learned the accordion and then the guitar. Like every other folk singer of his generation he ended up playing in Greenwich Village and making a name for himself as a performer.

In 1968, Feliciano’s Latin twinged cover of The Doors’ “Light My Fire” helped to catapult his career in America when the song peaked at #3 on the U.S. pop charts and held the spot for 3 weeks. However, just as fast as his star was rising his career took a controversial turn. At the request of Detroit Tigers’ broadcaster Ernie Harwell, Feliciano sang a Latin Jazz version of “The Star Spangled Banner” at Game 5 of the 1968 World Series. At the height of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam War, and the protests that surrounded it, his arrangement of the National Anthem did not go far to endear the artist to the overall U.S. public. The single release peaked at #50 on the Billboard Top 100 chart.

At the beginning of the 1970s the world started to become a different place. Sub-groups around the United States began to flex their muscle against the predominantly White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant (WASP) proletariat. The African American Civil Rights movement had been building for a decade and a half. College students were protesting the U.S. role in the Vietnam War, the GLBT community fought for their rights against New York City police in the Stonewall Riots, Native Americans formed the Red Power movement for greater identity, and the environmentalists held the first Earth Day. Similarly, a Chicano Civil Rights Movement also took hold in Western U.S. cities in the mid-to-late ’60s. While César Chávez fought for the rights of farm workers in California, Feliciano along with, Sergio Mendes, Herb Alpert and Carlos Santana helped usher in Latin rhythms to popular music in the ’60s and ’70s.

With it’s mix of Spanish and English sing-a-long lyrics and catchy upbeat rhythm, Feliciano released “Feliz Navidad” to the world in 1970 during this busy political environment. Released as the title track to his Christmas-themed album, “Feliz Navidad” is recognized by ASCAP as one of the 25 all-time most-played Christmas songs in the world.

As a kid I likely heard “Feliz Navidad” on the radio and possibly saw Feliciano on a ’70s variety show or two, but I am positive that my first encounter with the Puerto Rican singer was from his 1974 performance on the children’s televison program, Sesame Street. With a focus on early learning, Sesame Street depicted a melting pot of people of all different races and ethnicities coming together as friends on a block in New York City. Feliciano was a perfect fit to come perform a sing-a-song with the kids and hang out at the Fix-It-Shop with fellow Puerto Rican immigrants, Luis and Maria.

Nearly 40 years later what I learned back then must have stuck with me.

“Light My Fire” on television 1968
(Please ignore the floating graphic on the video, the sound quality and able to embed this video is the only reason this version is here.)

1968 World Series – “The Star Spangled Banner” by José Feliciano

“The Gypsy” from Sesame Street

“Feliz Navidad” Live from Daryl’s House

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Episode 4 of the podcast is here!

Hi all, the fourth episode of the 3 Minute Record Podcast is now available for your listening pleasure! For this episode we were joined by Dana Anderson, Jesse Irwin, John Krane, and Dave Werner. These guys are four of the best singer-songwriters the St. Louis area has to offer and will all be playing a show together on Wednesday, September 25 at the Focal Point as part of the Songbird Cafe. The show is $12 in advance and $15 at the door. The doors open at 7PM and the show starts at 7:30PM. Get your tickets in advance, this show will surely sell out. We were very thankful the guys joined us to talk to us about the show and play some songs for us. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode and we hope to see you at the show on the 25th!

You can find all the episodes over on iTunes by clicking here. If you would like to subscribe to the podcast while you are over on the iTunes page, we would absolutely love that. For those of you that like to subscribe via your favorite RSS reader, click here.

As always, you can still listen to or download all episodes from their direct links. Just click below on your episode of choice. (To download: Right Click (PC)/CTRL-Click (Mac) and then select Save Link As….)

Episode 4: Dana Anderson, Jesse Irwin, John Krane, and Dave Werner

Episode 3: Bart, Jeff, and Scott Rambling – Part 2

Episode 3: Bart, Jeff, and Scott Rambling – Part 1

Episode 2: The Trophy Mules

Episode 1: Best of 2012 and John Krane

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