Saturday Night Attitude Dancing to Folk, Psychedelia, and Motown Celebrating the 2021 Birthdays of Grace Slick, Eddie Holland, and Hamilton Camp!
by Robert Wilkinson
Our Saturday feature sends up a big happy with three different styles of great music courtesy of Hamilton Camp, the Jefferson Airplane, and Motown, all of whom have birthdays today!
We’ll begin this trio of October 30 birthday Scorpios with the music of Hamilton Camp (30 October 1934 – 2 October 2005). He was an obscure folksinger-songwriter before having a very successful acting career. We’ll begin the tribute with his best known number, a very apocalyptic piece made huge by Quicksilver Messenger Service! For a very dire electric vision, here’s the first song on the first side of their first album, “Pride of Man”
From Hamilton’s first studio album Paths of Victory, his acoustic version of “Pride of Man”
From 1968, the studio version of Hamilton’s minor hit “Here’s To You”
From 1964, a tune written by Hamilton (Bob) Camp and Bob Gibson during their time as a duet in the Folk Music revival of the late 50s and early 60s. From Simon and Garfunkel’s first album, the very upbeat folk sound of “You Can Tell the World”
Here’s a great live duet by Camp and Gibson on Art Fein’s Poker Party tv show in 1987 performing some great harmonies in “Sing For the Song”
Here’s their seminal album from 1961! It begins with the first track "Skillet Good and Greasy," and will automatically move through the tracks on the album, so enjoy the hootenanny! Bob Camp and Bob Gibson at the Gate of Horn
We’ll close this brief set with an extraordinarily great live performance by John Cipollina and the Nick Gravenites Band of “Pride of Man”
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We now turn to our second musical birthday tribute, featuring the music of the legendary Grace Slick (October 30, 1939). One of the lead singers with the Jefferson Airplane and later with Jefferson Starship, Grace has one of the most distinctive voices in the history of music. This group joined folk music with acid rock to create one of the awesome exciting sounds of the Bay Area.
Here’s the Airplane at their best!
A great 1966 live performance at the Fillmore of “It’s No Secret”
From their early period, the studio version of the very beautiful “Comin’ Back To Me”
From Winterland in 1966, the JA cranking out audio-only live versions of “The Other Side of Life” and “Kansas City”
From the legendary Monterey Pop Festival in the Summer of Love 1967, here’s the Jefferson Airplane live doing "Today" and from the same gig, “Flyin’ High Bird”
This is an amazing score! It’s a video of the Airplane on a rooftop in NYC in 1968, cranking it up in a great live and extremely psychedelic performance of “The House At Pooneil Corners” (Grace positively wails!)
Here’s a live tv performance in 1967 of Grace’s song “Two Heads”
On Dick Clark’s show (probably 1967), a lip-synched performance of “White Rabbit” and “Somebody To Love.”
In past years I’ve had a 62 minute show from October 1967 at Winterland on Halloween, but it’s disappeared. Instead, here’s the audio for their 70 minute set at Winterland from October 14, 1967. Jefferson Airplane at Winterland – October 1967
From After Bathing at Baxter’s, the original studio version of “Two Heads”
From 1968 on The Perry Como Show, the Airplane live performing "Watch Her Ride"
Good news! This May 1968 Fillmore East show is back up! For your enjoyment, 15 tracks of The Jefferson Airplane Live at the Fillmore East - 1968
Here’s a great live album of their hour and 19 concert in Copenhagen in August 1968! The Jefferson Airplane Live in Denmark – 1968 (Pardon the obnoxious ads which unexpectedly pop up)
These are both from the Crown of Creation album. First, a live performance on the Smothers Brothers in 1968 of the psychedelic folk tune “Crown of Creation” and “Lather” (penned by Grace and VERY trippy!) Also from the Smothers Brothers, ”Somebody To Love,” “White Rabbit” and “Crown of Creation.”
From Woodstock, live in 1969, the Jefferson Airplane opening with “3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds.”
From there we go to two of Grace Slick’s iconic tunes, both written by our birthday star and featured on the Surrealistic Pillow album. First, the song that propelled the JA to the radio, “Somebody To Love” followed by her equally trippy bolero that many radio stations refused to play, “White Rabbit”
Also at Woodstock, the legendary song that called a generation to a non-violent revolution! “Volunteers”
We’ll close their Woodstock set with their performance of “Uncle Sam Blues”
From the disastrous 1969 Altamont gig, here’s the Airplane doing “The Other Side of this Life”
From October 1969, an hour and 10 audio from Winterland! The Jefferson Airplane live at Winterland – October 1969
From 1970, Live at the Family Dog, the Jefferson Airplane doing one of my favorites! “The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil”
Live at Winterland in 1970, a tune Grace wrote that shows her intensity! “Greasy Heart.”
Here’s the original studio version of “Greasy Heart.” ("Don't ever change people your face will hit the fan, Don't ever change people even if you can, Don't change before the empire falls, You'll laugh so hard you'll crack the walls." Wow.)
Last year I had a VERY strange 5+ min. video, where the first part is an incredible list of all the phenomenal bands to come out of the Bay Area, and the second part is a surrealistic promo for “Greasy Heart.” This year it’s disappeared, but I did find the very psychedelic music video for “Greasy Heart.”
Here’s great video footage from the June 1970 Rotterdam Music Festival of the JA performing “White Rabbit” (Grace’s voice sounds a bit shot but she still hits the right notes!)
Last year I had a 33 minute video from 1970 where they’re looking and sounding great live in the studio but it’s gone. Instead, I found several videos from their February session doing a bunch of their hits!
Jefferson Airplane Live at Wally Heider Studio – “Somebody to Love”
Jefferson Airplane Live at Wally Heider Studio – “We Can Be Together” and “Volunteers”
Jefferson Airplane Live at Wally Heider Studio – “Plastic Fantastic Lover”
Jefferson Airplane Live at Wally Heider Studio – “Emergency”
Last year I had an awesome 50 minute video clip of the JA live at the Fillmore East in November 1970, but it’s gone. Instead, here’s a 23 minute video of the JA live in SF featuring Papa John Creach in 1970! Jefferson Airplane Live - 1970
For an encore, here’s a great look at San Francisco in the 1960s via a full 73 minute documentary about the Jefferson Airplane called Fly With the Jefferson Airplane. The single clip has again disappeared, so here’s the 9 parter with Spanish subtitles. For your viewing pleasure, Fly With the Jefferson Airplane
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Our third birthday tribute is to the great Motown songwriter Eddie Holland (October 30, 1939), one of the greatest songwriters in history! While he didn’t do a lot of performing due to stage fright, many of the greatest of the greats rode his hits to the top of the charts!
Between the early writing and production of Smokey Robinson, and the later era of psychedelic soul of Norman Whitfield, Motown had one of the best songwriting teams in history! Eddie Holland, along with Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, co-wrote and/or produced 14 US Billboard #1 hits and 4 number ones in the UK as part of the Holland-Dozier-Holland team at Motown.
He wrote some of the greatest tunes in history, so kick back and enjoy the best of Motown! Of course, there are many more than these, but I figure there’s no way to get all of them in! I also chose to give you the originals, and not the many different versions done of all of these by different bands throughout history. "You Keep Me Hanging On" has been done by so many acts it would have taken the entire tribute!
Speaking of that song, let’s begin with the Supremes live in 1964 doing their first big hit! They got off to a quick start in 1963 with the infinitely catchy “When the Love Light Starts Shining Through His Eyes” (#23 pop, #2 R&B)
Then in 1964, Holland-Dozier-Holland began a run of 10 #1 pop hits with this Supremes’ smash hit "Where Did Our Love Go"
We continue the string of #1s with “Baby Love” (from the same concert as the first song) and “Come See About Me.”
From 1965, “Stop in the Name of Love”
From 1966, “My World Is Empty Without You Babe”
I can’t find any complete live performance of the next hit, but I did find an interesting mashup moving between videos of the Supremes live and Phil Collins live doing “You Can’t Hurry Love”
1963, 1964, 1965, and 1966 was good to the team! Here’s what the team came up with for Marvelous Marvin Gaye! From 1963, “Can I Get A Witness” and from 1964, “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”
The team also wrote some great hits for Martha and the Vandellas!
“Come And Get These Memories" (#6 R&B), which we'll follow with their biggest, "Heatwave" (#1 R&B, #4 pop).
Here’s an updated clip featuring the Funk Brothers who backed the original tune recorded at Hitsville USA. The first part features a 2002 performance by Joan Osborne backed by the Funk Brothers, which moves into the original video clip of Martha and the Vandellas linked above. This song is still one of the best of the best! “Heat Wave”
Live in Detroit in 1964 for the Motortown Revue, here’s a great audio only track of Martha and the Vandellas doing their hit “Quicksand” (#8 pop)
From 1965 on Ready Steady Go, a great live performance of “Nowhere to Run”
From 1965, set in a Detroit car factory, Martha and the Vandellas lip synching to “Nowhere to Run”From 1967 on Shebang!, “Jimmy Mack”
Eddie, his brother, and Lamont Dozier created some HUGE hits for the Four Tops!
No lip synching in these! First, live in 1966 on The Ed Sullivan Show, the Four Tops giving up a great performance of “Reach Out (I’ll Be There), ” which we’ll follow with a very energetic performance in 1967 of “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”
From TV Oz in 1993, the Four Tops very live and in the groove, offering up their first hit from way back when, the smooth soul sound of “Baby I Need Your Lovin’”
Here’s the original studio version, backing a Four Tops 1966 television lip-synched performance, of “Baby I Need Your Lovin’” From the same show, their third hit “Same Old Song”
Here's another great television appearance on Hullabaloo in 1965 performed to a backing instrumental track! For you stomping pleasure, their 1965 smash hit "Something About You Baby"
In 1970 Swinging London, this is live! Their second hit was all over the airwaves, and we knew something big was happening! “Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)”
Live in Paris in 1967, a very live and dynamic performance of “Standing In The Shadows of Love”
Live on television in 1967, “Bernadette”
We’ll close with a few more Holland-Dozier-Holland hits from other acts! First, the Isley Brothers cranking out “This Old Heart of Mine.”
We now go back to the beginning! Here Eddie performs an early hit! “Leaving Here”
The Who picked up the song in their “Maximum R&B” period and performed it on their Live at the BBC sessions! “Leaving Here"
We’ll segue into his huge hit for the Marvelettes, “Too Many Fish In The Sea” Here’s Mitch Ryder’s version of “Too Many Fish In The Sea”
We’ll close this dance with one of his best! Smokey Robinson and the Miracles scored big with the next one. Live in London at the The Sound of Motown tv show in 1965, Smokey and the Miracles crank up the infinitely danceable “Mickey’s Monkey” and from Ready Steady Go in 1965, “Mickey’s Monkey”
While Smokey’s version, well, smoked, the Rascals cranked out their own exciting version! For our first encore, live on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1966, “Mickey’s Monkey” (The original clip had “Turn On Your Love Light” but that clip has disappeared.)
For the next encore, we fast forward to the Greek Theater in LA in October 2013 for a reunited Rascals doing what they do best, and sounding great! “Mickey’s Monkey”
Happy Birthday, beautiful Soul Brother Eddie Holland! Your music is part of the great American songbook. Not a bad gig for a guy from Detroit!
Copyright © 2021 Robert Wilkinson
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