Happy cows and little yellow flowers…

Posted on April 6, 2017 by pouringmyartout

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Coming back over the last mountain range into San Diego, I stopped on a little side road to take these photos.

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It was a mountain meadow full of small, yellow flowers.

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And a bunch of happy cows.

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I think the elevation was around 4,000 feet.

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Not sure why the elevation is pertinent, but I remember seeing a sign, so I threw it in.

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This wraps it up for my road trip to Arizona.

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My daughter is getting married in just a few more days, so my posting might be a little intermittent.

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But I will do what I can.

 

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Just a little bit more about fashion in the 1970’s…

Posted on April 5, 2017 by pouringmyartout

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That was basically my ‘uniform’ for the 1970’s… bell bottom blue jeans with patches, a black t-shirt… usually with ‘Bad Company’ written on it, and with a big pot leaf below that. Yeah, I wore a vest over my t-shirt. Sometimes I even wore the vest without a shirt underneath it.

Two questions should spring immediately to mind.

One… But Arthur, you said you had really long hair in the 70’s, where is it?

I did have long hair for most of the 70’s, but I was in the U. S. Navy for two years, when I was 17 and 18. They made me cut it off…

Two… Uh, Arthur, why are you wearing Alice Cooper makeup?

Well, a friend and I, who were stationed on a Navy base in San Diego at the time, were going to a midnight show of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Yes, I know that Alice Cooper has nothing to do with that movie, that’s why it’s funny.

You might also be wondering about my glassy eyes. Hey, it was Saturday night. I was on drugs. Probably a lot of them. If it had been Tuesday morning, I would have only been on one kind of drug… maybe. Because… the 70’s.

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That is me on the right, if you had any doubts about my military service. I was 17-years-old. I was a trouble maker. I had a problem with authority… any kind of authority.

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That’s me in boot camp, learning how to make my bed the correct military way, and scratching my newly-shaved cranium.

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I also helped keep the garbage cans polished… because that is how we fought Russia, the evil empire of communism, back in the day.

I am sorry about the quality of these pictures. They are scans of really old photographs.

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There I am, on the right, in an even older photo. I was about 14-years-old in this family Christmas picture. Notice the long hair already… and the look my mom is giving me.

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I was already growing my trademark mustache…

I have decided, despite my attempts to keep this blog family friendly, as well as not wanting possible employment options to be scuttled, to be upfront about my trouble-making day. Anybody who won’t hire me because I did drugs that many decades ago can kiss my grits.

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More desert flowers…

Posted on April 5, 2017 by pouringmyartout

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So, whenever I drive between San Diego, California and Scottsdale, Arizona, I have to pass over a mountain range that is just East of San Diego. Yes, the same one I took the sunrise pictures from the top of on my way to Arizona at the beginning of  this trip.

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On the way home, I stopped at the bottom of the mountain range to take these pictures… over on the desert side.

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You really do have to love seeing cacti blooming, it is a rare event.

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Once again, yellow flowers dominated the scene.

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See, I actually got out of the car and walked into the desert, just to get some photos to share with you.

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Because I care.

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And I needed to stretch my legs.

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HA!

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Coming up next, a beautiful mountain meadow on the other side of these mountains, and some very happy cows.

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Uh, can I be completely nonreligious and still believe that Trump is the Antichrist???

Posted on April 5, 2017 by pouringmyartout

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I mean, it makes me feel a little hypocritical, but that doesn’t mean that I am wrong, right? I know, the natural preconception of the Antichrist is more polished and better with words, a malevolent hell-creature actively bent on bringing about the end of days… but isn’t it at least possible that this orange-tinted buffoon who somehow conned his way into the most powerful office on earth could bring about the same results?

He is already doing away with all the regulations that are trying to reverse climate change and keep the environment at least stable, so we are headed for living in a hot world, and breathing air filled with sulfur fumes.  And it does sort of look like we might end up with a global nuclear war being set off with North Korea and China, which could literally bring about the end times.

Maybe evil doesn’t have to come disguised in a smooth-talking, mellifluous, urbane package. Maybe it can arrive dressed as a bumbling moron with no sense of self-control and absolutely no moral compass whatsoever. Maybe the devil… that I don’t even believe in… has a sense of humor.

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Back in the time machine… we are going to talk about 70’s fashion…

Posted on April 4, 2017 by pouringmyartout

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HA! I did that picture, and it is perfect for this post.

For years, those of us that were born in the 60’s and came of age in the 70’s have been victims of cruel teasing. Young people laughed at the clothes, the music, and so much else that went on in those days. Well you know what? The last laugh is on all of you.

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You made fun of bell-bottom jeans, and they have come back into style more than once. You need to remember, when looking at history, that most of it is portrayed by the media, either the news organizations or the TV networks. These organizations are made up of people who observe what is happening in society and then try to make money off it.

Real life in those days wasn’t the way they show it to you now. It wasn’t the Brady Bunch, and it wasn’t the Monkees. It also wasn’t just the protests and Vietnam war. It was real life and it was awesome.

Yes, there was some bad music and worse fashions. But it was the era that gave you the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, the Who, and so many songs that still stand up today. They fought the sexual revolution when I was too young to join the battle… but I was just the right age to enjoy the victory party.

Yes, I am the first to admit that there was a corniness, a hokeyness to it all. Peace love and flowers, sharing and caring. It is all a little trite and laughable. But have you improved on that since then? Was gangster rap with its message of violence and lack of respect towards women a better thing? Or was it all just a way for you to rebel?

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You know what? Rebellion takes thought. It isn’t blindly doing things to piss your parents off. You have to think about where the world will end up if your revolution succeeds.

So maybe we didn’t change the world too much in the long run. But we added some color to it, and left a few positive signs behind us.

Go ahead… make fun of our tie dye and peace signs. Because when you have kids of your own, you might just stop and consider that when they get to be old enough to rebel against you, you would rather have them going to a concert where the message is all about love and peace.

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Arthur went on a cool road trip, and all we got are these stupid photos of sunrises and desert flowers!!!

Posted on April 4, 2017 by pouringmyartout

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As I mentioned earlier, I got up super early for the drive back to San Diego from Arizona, so I could see the sun coming up over the desert, and take some pictures for you.

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I love driving parallel to a sunrise or sunset, especially when there is a mountain range between you and the sun. That way, you get to see the sun rise or set multiple times.

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I know, I am still taking pictures from inside my car while I drive. I put the camera on the seat beside me. I just pick it up now and then, and point it out the window without taking my eyes off the road. Not all the pictures come out worth saving, but I am a good driver, and I do this in a safe way. Also, cool lens flare!

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Unless you were a professional driver, do not try this. Stop to take photos!

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There is one rest area in the California desert that has always intrigued me. The ground is covered with big lava rocks, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of an old volcano anywhere near by.

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But that is obviously lava, and it doesn’t appear too weathered… so where did the volcano go?

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I should really Google that someday.

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America is freekin’ big. Good thing I had my 70’s rock and roll to listen to.

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Coming up next, I actually stopped the car and got out to take some pictures for you, at the base of the mountain range just east of San Diego.

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Back to the 70’s… again… and a poem about the evils of disco…

Posted on April 4, 2017 by pouringmyartout

I mentioned, when I did my 70’s song list post, that I once wrote a poem decrying the evils of disco. I tracked it down. If I don’t repost this during our time travelling to the 70’s, then when the heck would I?

 

SPACE CRITTER…

He’s a deep space drifter, a real phase shifter,

And he ain’t scared to tell you who you are…

He lives in hyper-drive, space dust keeps him alive,

He’s a rough-neck space critter from the Dog Star…

So don’t you turn him loose, when he’s been drinkin’ space juice,

Or when he’s snortin’ up a line of his space dust…

‘Cause he’s been so far out, that he’s beginning to doubt,

That he can live up to his promise of Earth or bust…

He’s just cruisin’ the cosmos, tryin’ to get real close,

To the planet that we call Earth…

He’s comin’ to annoy us, he’s comin’ to destroy us,

Even though this ain’t the planet of his birth…

Because of cosmic chances, some John Travolta disco dances,

Showed up on his radar scope for detection…

So he’s takin’ a trip, in his souped-up star ship,

To personally stop the threat of a disco infection…

He’s comin’ here to see, that it don’t spread through the galaxy,

So you better watch out what you’re listening to…

If you’re a Bee Gees fan, you better leave while you can,

‘Cause he’s got a disco death-ray just for you…

Disco destruction.. the dancing death…

AM annihilation… by ray-gun breath…

Punk Rock poison… Reggae retaliation…

Jive genocide… it’s our only salvation…

If you think you’re bad, and you want to protect your fad,

In your fancy gold chain and disco threads….

If you’re a true believer, in Saturday Night Fever,

Then you can dance yourself right into being dead…

If you think it’s a bummer, to give up Donna Summer,

Peter Frampton and the Village People are your heroes…

If you spend every night, getting disco moves down right,

You’re gonna end up as a disintegrated zero…

This man from the stars, is coming to all the single’s bars,

And he’s coming there to set you all free…

He’s going to wipe you out, and in my mind there’s no doubt,

He’s doing you a favor, putting you out of your misery…

Disco destruction… the dancing death…

A New Wave night-stalker… with ray-gun breath…

Micky Mouse-music massacre… Reggae retaliation…

AM annihilation… it’s the only salvation…

There won’t be nothin’ but the best, he’s gonna kill all the rest,

So you better think about the music that you play…

Hard Rock and Roll, will save your mortal soul,

And is that really such a high price to pay?…

Not that I care what you do, it’s all up to you,

But if you like disco, I wouldn’t want to be in your place…

When the final retribution, for Disco pollution,

Is made by that ‘bad mutha’ from outer space…

—————————————————————————————

I can’t say that I am all that proud of the poetry… But I am proud that I took a stand. I wrote this way back when the Saturday Night Fever movie turned disco from a kind of music listened to by a few people into a lifestyle. Maybe the Bay Area was more immune to this kind of nonsense than other places, because I don’t remember it taking hold there in any big way. But we knew it was out there, and we despised it.

Long live Rock and Roll… Maybe I should make this into a song, with a good rock and roll beat.

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More desert flowers, a sunrise, and something else…

Posted on April 4, 2017 by pouringmyartout

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Just a few more photos of some of the flowers I saw in the Arizona desert. That one has attracted some small insects.

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If you are going to the desert, winter or spring is a good time to do it.

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Not only do you get to see some flowers and a little greenery, but the heat isn’t so brutal.

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I’m not sure if the bird is there for the flowers…

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Or if he is eating the little bugs.

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Yellow flowers were everywhere… trees and bushes just covered with them.

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I had these weird paper strips left over after I punched out the name tags for the water bottles for the gift bags for Jessica’s upcoming wedding, so I taped them together and made paper crowns for her, Jason and I.

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And yesterday, as I said before, I got up really early for the drive back to California, so I could get a few pictures of the sunrise over the desert mountains.

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I have more cool pictures from the drive home, which I will share later, but I don’t know yet if we will be time travelling back to the 70’s first… so get ready either way.

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Desert flowers…

Posted on April 3, 2017 by pouringmyartout

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I know, we are supposed to have taken a time machine trip to the 1970’s… and we have… but you will just have to adapt to being in two times at the same time, if you see what I mean, and I know you can.

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I am now back in San Diego after my trip to Scottsdale, Arizona to help Jessica get stuff ready for the wedding next weekend.

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Between packing gift bags and doing lots of other useful things, I did manage to slip out a few times to explore the desert. I was lucky so see some cactus flowers, as well as these lovely yellow blooms.

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There were huge trees filled with these.

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But seeing the cacti blooming was really special. It only happens for a few weeks on each type of cacti. They all tend to bloom at more or less the same time. I presume this is reproductive-oriented… sort of a cactus orgy.

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Not all the types of cacti bloom at once. The huge Saguaro cacti were not ready yet… I mean, I assume they do it, too.

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Lots of other bushes and shrubs were showing off their colors also.

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I did my patented ‘waking up at an obscenely-early hour for the drive home in order to get some photos of the sunrise’ thing this morning, and I have more cool pictures of that, and a few more flower pictures, so try to keep half of your head in the past and the rest on the now… or something like that.

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The ultimate 70’s song list for long road trips…

Posted on April 2, 2017 by pouringmyartout

70’s Song List

This is the music that defined the 1970’s for me. If you ever have a 70’s-themed party, and you want to impress people, this is your list. This list does include music from before the 1970’s, but they are songs so good that we were still listening to them. It does not include a lot of songs that you might expect to find here. There are no Queen songs… I love them, but it is too campy for this list. There are no Beatles songs… they were already being played too much on the radio. There are no KISS songs… I never took them seriously. It might help if I explained that I was more of a hard-rock/heavy metal person. I might write sweet love songs… (see the button in my top bar to hear some of them)… but I listened to more edgy stuff. That being said, this list does include some songs that are just tied in with some memory. I was born in 1960, and grew up near Berkeley, California, and it was a great place and a great time for lots of things, but we can get into all that in later posts. These are the songs that we actually bought the albums to hear, or the tapes to listen to when we were driving around. These are the songs that we rocked out to.

*** NOTE *** There is no disco on this list. I know, people sometimes make it sound like disco was a thing, and maybe for them, it was. It wasn’t for me. I never saw people running around dressed like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Yes, there was disco on the radio, but not on the stations we listened to. We were aware of disco, we hated and despised disco. I even wrote a poem about how aliens were coming to Earth to destroy us because they heard disco being broadcast. Remind me to find that poem and post it, as long as we are talking about the 70’s.

 

 

LED ZEPPELIN- you shook me-what is and what should never be-dazed and confused-black dog-when the levee breaks-kashmir-in my time of dying-how many more times-I can’t quit you baby-whole lotta love-ramble on-heartbreaker-rock and roll-houses of the holy-nobody’s fault but mine-custard pie-the ocean-moby dick… *(This band is well-represented, because no other band had so many good songs, and might just be the greatest rock and roll band of all time)*

THE GRATEFUL DEAD- throwing stones-black muddy river-touch of grey-uncle john’s band-franklin’s tower-not fade away-ship of fools-I need a miracle-hell in a bucket-Alabama getaway-when push comes to shove-men smart, women smarter… *(I realize that not everybody gets the dead, but I was a long-haired hippy/rocker from the Bay Area, so deal with it)*

FOGHAT- drivin’ wheel-I just want to make love to you-slow ride-road fever-ride ride ride-it hurts me too-sweet home Chicago-stone blue-terraplane blues-fool for the city…

MONTROSE- rock candy-make it last…

AEROSMITH- last child-same old song and dance-come together-sweet emotion-dream on…

LITTLE FEAT- dixie chicken-fat man in the bathtub-oh Atlanta-skin it back-down the road-feats don’t fail me now-cold cold cold-tripe face boogie-rock and roll doctor-the fan…

BAD COMPANY- feel like makin’ love-bad company-crazy circles-fade away-rock steady-ready for love-don’t let me down-the way I choose-silver blue and gold-love me somebody-burnin’ sky… *(I think that, if I had to pick, Led Zeppelin and Bad Co. were my two favorite bands of all times. There is an irony to this. Zep is the most musically talented and technically brilliant musical group ever. Bad Co. is the best garage band in history. I don’t mean that in a bad way. They had simple, catchy songs with a driving rythem, held together by the awesome vocal talents of Paul Rogers. I saw them live back in the day, and again just a while ago. You might recall the posts I did. They still rock, but Bad Co. without Paul Rogers is not Bad Co.)*

LYNYRD SKYNYRD- simple man-Tuesday’s gone-on the hunt-I ain’t the one-free bird-you got that right-sweet home Alabama… *(I saw these guys live at the last big concert they did in the Bay Area, before the plane crash that killed some of the band, including the lead singer. They freekin’ rocked, and there was no big stage show, no lasers or explosions, just guys in regular clothes doing what they loved)*

FREE- all right now-wishing well… *(Okay, you caught me, this is Paul Rogers before Bad Co.)*

MOUNTAIN- Mississippi queen

ROLLING STONES- brown sugar-gimme shelter-dead flowers-honky tonk woman… *(To be honest, I think the Stones are overrated, and they sucked from the late 70’s on. But they had a few good songs in the 60’s and 70’s, and I can play and sing honky tonk woman… so…)*

STEVE MILLER BAND- rockin’ me-the joker-jet airliner… *(A little light for my taste, but catchy tunes that catch the feel of the time)*

THE MONKEES- steppin’ stone… *(The Monkees are actually underrated, and considered by many to be a just a gimmick act, but they had some really good songs… only one that made this list, but still…)*

THE WHO- who are you-behind blue eyes… *(This is a tough one. I could have put a lot more Who songs in here. My best friend from back in the day, who is no longer with us, loved the Who. I mean, they did a lot of really experimental stuff that sort of bores me, and a lot of their stuff is really from the 60’s)*

AC/DC- you shook me all night long-beating around the bush-highway to hell-it’s a long way to the top… *(A little obvious, perhaps, but come on, you know you like it when these come on the radio… you love it when most of these come on the radio… and they still do)*

PINK FLOYD- comfortably numb-money… *(Once again, I could have put more songs by these guys on here. I saw them back in the day. I saw most of these bands back in the day. I am a lucky guy)*

REO SPEEDWAGON- roll with the changes…

OHIO PLAYERS- far east Mississippi-fire… *(You may not have heard of these guys. In the early 70’s, when I was like 14 and 15, and was getting interested in girls, and figured out that girls like to dance, my best friends and I were really into some funky, African American sounds. I still love that stuff, as you will see)*

BLUE OYSTER CULT- don’t fear the reaper… *(They had some other good songs too)*

WAR- low rider…

WINGS- live and let die… *(I know, no Beatles but a Wings song? But this is a James Bond movie theme song, and it makes me smile when I hear it)*

STEVIE WONDER- higher ground-superstition… *(I could have put more Stevie on here. That song that contains the lines: ‘sneakin’ out the back door, to hang out with those hoodlum friends of mine’… that could have been my theme song when I was 14)*

BOSTON- more than a feeling-peace of mind-long time… *(Okay, some of this isn’t really hard rock, but I included a few songs that are just fun to sing along to)*

CHICAGO- just you ‘n’ me… *(Another melody-driven sing-a-long)*

BACHMAN TURNER OVERDRIVE- takin’ care of business…

CREAM- sunshine of your love-crossroads…

The DOOBIE BROTHERS- black water-listen to the music…

The EAGLES- life in the fast lane-take it to the limit-already gone-desperado-take it easy-witchy woman… *(Once again, not really heavy metal, but hey, I was driving through the freekin’ desert…)*

ERIC CLAPTON- cocaine-Layla…

STEPPENWOLF- born to be wild… *(Might be a 60’s hit… so sue me)*

DEEP PURPLE- hush-smoke on the water… *(See above note)*

ALICE COOPER- school’s out…

BLACK SABBATH- paranoid-iron man…

COMMODORES- slippery when wet… *(Well, it’s true, you know)*

KANSAS- dust in the wind-carry on wayward son…

KOOL AND THE GANG- Hollywood swinging…

EARTH WIND AND FIRE- shining star…

NAZARETH- hair of the dog-love hurts-vigilante man- bad bad boy…

BREAD- mother freedom

SANTANA- she’s not there-black magic woman…

BLIND FAITH- can’t find my way home…

JOURNEY- wheel in the sky…

ZZ TOP- just got paid…

JIMI HENDRIX- all along the watchtower-purple haze…

JUDAS PRIEST- you’ve got another thing coming…

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL- up around the bend-bad moon rising… *(I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but when I was a kid walking home from elementary school, I used to stop and listen to these guys playing in their garage. I grew up in the town where the Fogerty brothers lived. Despite John’s weird Southern-sounding drawl, he was a Bay Area boy, and went to the same high school as me… but way before I went there)*

THE HOLLIES- long cool woman…

KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND- get down tonight… *(As I said, some of these are just for fun)*

THE GUESS WHO- American woman…

BOB DYLAN- knockin’ on heaven’s door…

WILD CHERRY- play that funky music…

 

Okay, I hope you at least check out a few of these songs that you don’t remember ever hearing begfore.

 

 

 

 

 

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