Mod-A-Day: Edwin Starr

Edwin Starr was an American soul singer most famous for his version of "War" which hit #1. Getting his start in doo-wop groups Starr scored his first hit just after being picked up by Motown in 1968 with what I think was by far his best song, "25 Miles." It went on to be a top-ten hit in 1969, and is one of the best, most dancable, soul songs ever produced.

Edwin Starr -- 25 Miles



Edwin Starr -- 25 Miles

Mod-A-Day: Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach, is without a doubt one of the great pop music composers of all time. Many of his songs -- like "Bond Street" -- feature the suave, swinging, beat sound that is so identified with sixties popular music. His compositions are best suited for trumpet, I've always thought, and there isn't a Bacharach tune that doesn't just sound better with horns aplenty blaring away. His melodies are catchy, his timing perfect. His pop sensibility is unequaled, and his songs have come to define the easy listening genre more than any others. Burt is perhaps best remembered for his work with Dionne Warwick, and for his Oscar winning score to Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, and of course the movie's theme song "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." But, there's a great deal more to Burt than this. Born in Kansas City, MO in 1928 he studied music all through his childhood, becoming an accomplished pianist, cellist, and even percussionist at a relatively young age. A lover of jazz, especially bebop artists like Charlie Parker, Burt went on to study at the Mannes School of Music in New York as well as at McGill University in Montreal and the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. After an early 1950s stint in the Army as a piano player, Burt met lounge singer Vic Damone ("Hey Little Girl") in Germany and became his pianist, as well as playing with other club singers like Imogene Coca, Joel Grey and Steve Lawrence. In 1957 Burt teamed up with Hal David, to form what would become one of the longest and most successful songwriting duos in pop music. Some of their earliest hits were "Magic Moments" which they wrote for Perry Como, and "Baby It's You," which they wrote for the Shirrelles and which was later recorded by the Beattles and Elvis Costello. In the early sixties Burt met Dionne Warwick, who was working as a member of the Drifters backup group. Thier meeting was most fortunate for both of them. With Burt's help Dionne scored eight top ten hits with songs written by Bacharach and David: "Walk on By," "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "I Say a Little Prayer," "You'll Never Get to Heaven," "Message to Michael," "Trains and Boats and Planes," "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" and "Promises, Promises." Bacharach also wrote hit songs for other singers such as: Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 -- "The Look of Love"; Manfred Mann -- "My Little Red Book"; Jack Jones -- "Wives and Lovers"; Bobby Vinton -- "Blue on Blue"; Herb Alpert -- "This Guy's in Love With You"; Dusty Springfield -- "Wishin' and Hopin'"; 5th Dimension -- "One Less Bell to Answer"; Tom Jones -- "What's New, Pussycat?"; the Carpenters -- "Close to you"; and many others. As the sixties came to an end, Bacharach garnered more accolades when he and David wrote the Broadyway musical Promises, Promises earning themselves a Tony nomination and Grammy as well as a hit song for Dionne Warwick. Bacharach didn't stop with Broadway success, but moved into films where his movie scores have made him even more famous. His movie credits include: Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, Alfie, Casino Royale, What's New Pussycat?, Arthur (with Peter Allen and Christopher Cross), Night Shift and Arthur 2: On the Rocks. And then of course there was his memorable cameo appearance in Austin Powers International Man of Mystery. His impact on rock music is ubiquitous and undeniable. Everyone cites him as an influence, from Saint Ettiene to Swing Out Sister to Beck. And everyone covers him from Elvis Costello and the Attractions in the '70s, to Naked Eyes in the '80s, to Oasis, Pearl Jam and Faith No More in the '90s, to Sheryl Crow, The White Stripes, Dr. Dre and the Offspring in the 21st century. Most notably though was his 1998 collaboration with Elvis Costello resulting in the excellent Painted from Memory album. Still, there's just something cool about Burt's songs from the sixties. It's those songs that I know and love, and always will. The White Stripes - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself (Directed by Sofia Coppola, starring Kate Moss) Stevie Wonder and Burt Bacharach Burt Bacharach - Bond Street

Modcast #123: It Came From California

This week it comes from California, the it being some great mod bands down through the years. California has always been the nation's defacto leader for the mod scene. Not that there aren't great scenes and bands from around the country, but in California you have three scenes in San Francisco, Los Angeles/Orange County, and San Diego, and each has its own distinct personality -- which you'll get a taste of on this show. Some new mod bands like The Parties and The New Fidelity, some mod legends like The Odd Numbers, The Pandoras and Manual Scan, and some lesser known mod bands like The Idea and The New Breed.

If you're interested in more about mods in the golden state checkout the excellent California Mod Scene website complete with history, photos, and flyers.

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The Parties -- Radio
The Idea -- You Remind Me Of You
Sidewalk Society -- Night Owl
The New Breed -- Blessing in Disguise
The Pandoras -- Hot Generation
Manual Scan -- For Those
The Shambles -- She Said It's Late
The Eddies -- 65 Film Show
The Hi-Fives -- Hypnotizer
The Odd Numbers -- All Worked Up
The New Fidelity -- Right Track

The Parties -- Gotta Get Out


Manual Scan -- Come See Me

Mod-A-Day: Action Now

Action Now's only album has always been one of my favorites, right from the moment I stumbled across it in a used record store in about 1988. Action Now was a long-time band that included Paula Pierce who later went on to form the great all-girl garage band, The Pandoras. Starting out in the 70s the band was always strongly influenced by The Who and other sixties power pop bands, even as they explored a wide range of styles. Mostly though they were a punk/power pop band and eventually crystallized into Action Now in the early 80s. Then just as they were beginning to get some recognition split up. The 1983 split was due to the fact that the band wanted to pursue a more British focused punk direction, and Paula was obsessed wtih being in a sixties styled garage band. It's too bad that after her departure the guys didn't continue on their own as they may have contributed greatly to the LA scene at the time.

The song here is "When Wednesday Comes" from their only album, All Your Dreams. It's a fantastic record and I was hard pressed to choose just one song to feature. From the power pop title track, to the very mod "I'm Not Trying To Hurt You," to the melodic garage rock of "Every Word I Say" to what would later become a big hit (and the title of their best album) for Paula's Pandoras "Stop Pretending," there simply isn't a bad track in the bunch. They only had the one album that I know of, and that was only originally released in France. Now you can get that album and other tracks on a CD reissue from Avebury Records.

Action Now -- When Wednesday Comes

Mod-A-Day: Pizzicato Five

With a super suave, sixties hipster style, and, a sound like Sergio Mendes drinkin' martinis on a midnight jet ride with Corrin Drewery, Pizzicato 5 took the international scene by storm in the mid-90s.

But it hadn't always been such a magic carpet ride. The band actually started out in the mid-80s and went through a load of members and lead singers before hitting the jackpot in 1991 with the lead vocals of Maki Nomiya and the suave keyboard stylings of Ryō Kamomiya. The duo gave the band a heart and soul that it had been lacking, and Pizzicato 5 set about launching the Japanese lounge scene, Shibuya-kei, which was heavily influenced by soul, latin jazz, bossa nova, and synthpop. After that cool songs in both Japanese and English just seemed to pour out of the group. The hip, motown tribute "Sweet Soul Revue," the trippy, funky, sampled "Baby Love Child," the swingin' Carnabyesque "GoGo Dancer," and "Twiggy Twiggy," the soft trip-hoppy "I Wanna Be Like You," the Brasil 66 like "Room Service," and I could go on and on. You get the picture.

In 1995 Matador Records collected their early singles into a full lengthy USA release "Made in USA" which quickly sold a quarter million copies world wide. Later releases did equally well and the band's homeland popularity grew to superstar status until they broke up in 2001.

Pizzicato 5 -- Twiggy Twiggy (Twiggy vs. James Bond)


Pizzicato 5 - Triste


don't miss ... Pizzicato 5 -- Happy Sad

Mod-A-Day: The Monkees

"Randy Scouse Git" is the first song penned by Monkees drummer Mickey Dolenz. It tipped the UK charts at #5, but never made it up the charts in the states. The song is from the combo's third album, Headquarters, their first real album on which there were almost no session players. The album was bolstered by surprisingly strong writing from Mike Nesmith and Dolenz and marked a turning point for the band from just a TV cast churning out pre-written songs, to an actual group of singers and songwriters working together creatively.

The Monkees -- Randy Scouse Git

Mod-A-Day: The Jags

The Jags were a late 70s UK power pop band that somehow managed to dodge the mod revival and instead played a power pop more akin to their American cousins like The Knack, The Records, and The Plimsouls. But, because of their inherent Britishness it was hard for them to break out of the shadow of --and not be constantly compared to-- similar sounding artists like Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. Usually remembered as one-hit-wonders for the top ten single "Back of my Hand" The Jags actually produced two solid albums with a number of punchy power pop songs, any of which could have, and should have been, hits -- the mysogynistic "Woman's World," "The Sound Of G-O-O-D-B-Y-E," "Small Change." "Desert Island Disks," and their first albums' title track "Evening Standards."

The Jags -- Evening Standards

Mod-A-Day: Eddie Floyd

Eddie Floyd was one of the most prolific singer/writers in Stax's stable of soul stars in the mid-to-late '60s. He started out in the late 50s in a Detroit soul group that briefly featured Wilson Pickett, and then moved on to writing for Stax's better established singers -- such as Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Booker T, and Pickett himself.

In 1966 Stax took a chance and released a Floyd recording of a song he'd written for Otis Redding called "Knock on Wood". It turned out to be Floyd's biggest hit and established him as a leading soul man in his own right. He recorded a number of other northern soul hits such as "But It's Alright" and "Big Bird", which was covered years later by The Jam. He went on to record on Secret Affair's I-Spy label in the late 70s, and then fronted The Blues Brothers Band on a number of tours. And, he's still going strong as evidenced by the video below.

Eddie Floyd -- Knock On Wood