ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with
a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter. On October 1, these posts will be
archived with a link at ANTHEM's webpage for #teachingAnthem1969
This is Chapter 17 (day 31):
COLD SWEAT
Written by James Brown and Alfred "PeeWee" Ellis
Performed by James Brown and the James Brown Orchestra
Recorded at King Studios, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1967
Drummer: Clyde Stubblefield
"A night drive through the North Alabama mountains is inadvisable." Molly used a flashlight to read the warning in An Adventurer's Guide to Travel across America.
"They're just hills," said Norman, although he was already white-knuckling the steering wheel in the dark.
An unfortunate encounter awaits them in Alabama (talk about a cold sweat), along with a very fortunate (for them) new character showing up, the first of many to ride in the bus with Norman and Molly.
Norman's newly-installed radio keeps him company into the night, as this chapter flirts with the "race records" that Duane Allman listened to on Nashville's WLAC 1530AM, "the Nighttime Station for Half the Nation" as disc jockey John R. sells chickens, Bibles, hair pomade, and everything in between while he plays Sonny Boy Williamson, Aretha, and Muddy Waters, all of whom are mentioned in this chapter, along with B.B. King's "Lucille," Louis Jordan's "Caldonia," and Sister Rosetta Tharp's "Didn't it Rain?"
But when "Cold Sweat" comes on the radio, Norman has to pull over. He's never heard anything like it.
"It was the beat, he told himself. What was that beat? He tried to tap it out on the steering wheel. The drummer was hitting the snare on the two and four, but missing that fourth beat by an eighth note and playing between the beats -- or was it instead of the beat?"
All very thrilling for a budding drummer who is on his way to the heart of the South's musical beats, in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He just has to survive his stop for gas in Anniston in the middle of the night.
Chapter 17.
deborah wiles: field notes
ANTHEM is coming, chapter 16
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with
a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter. On October 1, these posts will be
archived with a link at ANTHEM's webpage for #teachingAnthem1969
This is Chapter 16 (day 32):
THERE IS A MOUNTAIN
Written by Donovan Leitch
Performed by Donovan
Recorded at CBS Studios, London, England 1967
Percussion: Tony Carr
MOLLY:
I shake him and call out "Norman!" but he doesn't budge. The band is so loud and the guitars are screaming at each other and the drummers are trying to see who can be the loudest and there is no song!
"He's okay!" shouts Marvin Gardens, who is standing there over Norman, weaving and bopping like a lunatic. "He's diggin' it. He'll be back."
"Where are his shoes?"
Marvin Gardens shrugs. "Somewhere."
I cover my ears. "I'm going to the house!" I shout. Marvin Gardens waves a loopy hand in acknowledgement and I pick my way around all the hippies and find my way out of there. I see a short kid in blue jeans wearing Norman's shoes -- they are way too big for this kid. But I keep walking. I am not the keeper of my cousin's shoes.
If I live to be a hundred, I will never understand this music.
It definitely helped me with coming to love "Mountain Jam" to know it was a riff on this Donovan song that I listened to on my record player dozens of times in the Sixties.
British musicians were a fascination to American girls (this one, anyway). We fell readily in love with them, including the Beatles, of course. The whole British Invasion beginning in the early sixties was heady and exciting, and composed of not just music, but fashion and make-up and movies and television ("The Avengers," "The Saint," "Secret Agent," and we got David McCallum in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.").
We were growing up against the necessary noise in our own country, the confusion of the Cold War, and the backdrop of the Vietnam War and everything that bewildered and scared us. We hung on to Donovan, and the Troggs ("Wild Thing" and "Love is All Around"), Peter and Gordon ("Nobody I Know" -- my favorite), Herman's Hermits ("Can't You Hear My Heartbeat?"), Gerry and the Pacemakers ("Ferry 'Cross the Mersey"), and the Nashville Teens ("Tobacco Road" which was so risque :>).
It was fun and it was pop, and it was all very "white" music in the early-to-mid sixties, very straight-ahead, something most of us didn't register at the time -- or I didn't, anyway. It would be years before 1969 showed me that there was so much more richness to American music than I had realized, that it had blossomed into soul, R&B, funk, folk-rock, and it was there for me as I began to navigate the end of the Sixties.
We're heading there, in ANTHEM.
This is Chapter 16 (day 32):
THERE IS A MOUNTAIN
Written by Donovan Leitch
Performed by Donovan
Recorded at CBS Studios, London, England 1967
Percussion: Tony Carr
MOLLY:
I shake him and call out "Norman!" but he doesn't budge. The band is so loud and the guitars are screaming at each other and the drummers are trying to see who can be the loudest and there is no song!
"He's okay!" shouts Marvin Gardens, who is standing there over Norman, weaving and bopping like a lunatic. "He's diggin' it. He'll be back."
"Where are his shoes?"
Marvin Gardens shrugs. "Somewhere."
I cover my ears. "I'm going to the house!" I shout. Marvin Gardens waves a loopy hand in acknowledgement and I pick my way around all the hippies and find my way out of there. I see a short kid in blue jeans wearing Norman's shoes -- they are way too big for this kid. But I keep walking. I am not the keeper of my cousin's shoes.
If I live to be a hundred, I will never understand this music.
It definitely helped me with coming to love "Mountain Jam" to know it was a riff on this Donovan song that I listened to on my record player dozens of times in the Sixties.
British musicians were a fascination to American girls (this one, anyway). We fell readily in love with them, including the Beatles, of course. The whole British Invasion beginning in the early sixties was heady and exciting, and composed of not just music, but fashion and make-up and movies and television ("The Avengers," "The Saint," "Secret Agent," and we got David McCallum in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.").
We were growing up against the necessary noise in our own country, the confusion of the Cold War, and the backdrop of the Vietnam War and everything that bewildered and scared us. We hung on to Donovan, and the Troggs ("Wild Thing" and "Love is All Around"), Peter and Gordon ("Nobody I Know" -- my favorite), Herman's Hermits ("Can't You Hear My Heartbeat?"), Gerry and the Pacemakers ("Ferry 'Cross the Mersey"), and the Nashville Teens ("Tobacco Road" which was so risque :>).
It was fun and it was pop, and it was all very "white" music in the early-to-mid sixties, very straight-ahead, something most of us didn't register at the time -- or I didn't, anyway. It would be years before 1969 showed me that there was so much more richness to American music than I had realized, that it had blossomed into soul, R&B, funk, folk-rock, and it was there for me as I began to navigate the end of the Sixties.
We're heading there, in ANTHEM.
ANTHEM is coming, chapter 15
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with
a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter. On October 1, these posts will be
archived with a link at ANTHEM's webpage for #teachingAnthem1969
This is Chapter 15 (day 33):
MOUNTAIN JAM
Performed by the Allman Brothers Band
Live at Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA 1969
Recorded at Fillmore East, NY, NY 1971
Drummers: Butch Trucks and Jai Johany Johansen (Jaimoe)
NORMAN:
When they've hinted at the melody just enough, the fans start screaming for it -- screaming like they're on fire. They clap in time, one-one-one-one, every single note, until Duane breaks into the full melody and the whole band follows. A cheer rises up like Moses has just parted the Red Sea. The organ wails and the Allman Brothers Band takes us to the Promised Land.
It's Donovan's song "There is a Mountain" -- I recognize it. But it's theirs, too, their own interpretation, a mountain jam. It's tight. It's in the pocket. They are locked into one another like they share one nervous system, communicating like they're all part of the same body, like nothing I've ever imagined was possible.
"It's all about listening," Mr. McCauley always tells us in band. "You can't jam if you can't listen."
We've left the Association far behind, eh? They were definitely not a jam band, and the ABB definitely was. And therein lies the difference between Molly and Norman. She likes order. He likes jam.
But there IS order in the jam. I just had to learn to listen for it. My jazzcat husband has helped me learn to listen, and I wanted Molly to come to appreciate the jam, too -- life is jam, after all, there is precious little predictable order, even though we may think there is or wish for it.
But right now, Molly isn't having this jam, as you'll see in Chapter 16, when we hear the Donovan original song.
I love "Mountain Jam." It's got a killer (double) drum solo, which was important to me for Norman, since Norman is a drummer. I've listened to "Mountain Jam" dozens of times since I started researching ANTHEM. It helps (me, anyway) to know the history of the band, the story of Duane and Greg and Berry and Butch and Jaimoe and Dickey.
It helps to go there. I went to Macon a couple of years ago, to research, and to pay my respects at the Rose Hill Cemetery. Greg had just died. They laid him next to Duane and Berry. People left tributes all along the path. There is such power in the music that has moved us, and in the memory of those who created it.
I have a 22-second clip of driving past "the Big House" in Macon two years ago, while researching ANTHEM and blasting the ABB's "Ramblin' Man," but it won't load today. Bummer. You can listen to "Ramblin' Man," though, and that's even better.
Chapter 15.
This is Chapter 15 (day 33):
MOUNTAIN JAM
Performed by the Allman Brothers Band
Live at Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA 1969
Recorded at Fillmore East, NY, NY 1971
Drummers: Butch Trucks and Jai Johany Johansen (Jaimoe)
NORMAN:
When they've hinted at the melody just enough, the fans start screaming for it -- screaming like they're on fire. They clap in time, one-one-one-one, every single note, until Duane breaks into the full melody and the whole band follows. A cheer rises up like Moses has just parted the Red Sea. The organ wails and the Allman Brothers Band takes us to the Promised Land.
It's Donovan's song "There is a Mountain" -- I recognize it. But it's theirs, too, their own interpretation, a mountain jam. It's tight. It's in the pocket. They are locked into one another like they share one nervous system, communicating like they're all part of the same body, like nothing I've ever imagined was possible.
"It's all about listening," Mr. McCauley always tells us in band. "You can't jam if you can't listen."
We've left the Association far behind, eh? They were definitely not a jam band, and the ABB definitely was. And therein lies the difference between Molly and Norman. She likes order. He likes jam.
But there IS order in the jam. I just had to learn to listen for it. My jazzcat husband has helped me learn to listen, and I wanted Molly to come to appreciate the jam, too -- life is jam, after all, there is precious little predictable order, even though we may think there is or wish for it.
But right now, Molly isn't having this jam, as you'll see in Chapter 16, when we hear the Donovan original song.
I love "Mountain Jam." It's got a killer (double) drum solo, which was important to me for Norman, since Norman is a drummer. I've listened to "Mountain Jam" dozens of times since I started researching ANTHEM. It helps (me, anyway) to know the history of the band, the story of Duane and Greg and Berry and Butch and Jaimoe and Dickey.
It helps to go there. I went to Macon a couple of years ago, to research, and to pay my respects at the Rose Hill Cemetery. Greg had just died. They laid him next to Duane and Berry. People left tributes all along the path. There is such power in the music that has moved us, and in the memory of those who created it.
I have a 22-second clip of driving past "the Big House" in Macon two years ago, while researching ANTHEM and blasting the ABB's "Ramblin' Man," but it won't load today. Bummer. You can listen to "Ramblin' Man," though, and that's even better.
Chapter 15.
field trip: back in time, the lost cause
I was off into the wilds of Georgia yesterday with a friend -- a day off. A day to revel in and catch up on our friendship, and a day to take off work, before the Labor Day weekend hit. My plan is to work through the weekend (with a few lovely family breaks) in order to finish a proposal I've started about the Lost Cause of the Confederacy... a story that's confounding me when it comes to finding a way "in" to telling it.
So of course this lovely day-trip with my friend Marianne ended up delivering to me some research and insights, without my even looking for them. Isn't that the way of asking for help? "You create your reality with your intentions." I read that somewhere. And somehow, when we focus and focus on something, everything seems to be about that.
Or maybe, when you write out of your life, like I do, everything ends up being personal narrative fodder for a story. Here is our trip to Molena, Georgia yesterday, and what we found on the way there and back.
First up, we stepped back into the imaginary Aurora County, Halleluiah, Mississippi territory, Emma Lane Cake's bakery, and Ruby Lavender's hometown (actual photos of my Halleluiah, Mississippi here)...
All that lavender:
Then I spied a Confederate Monument at the old courthouse in Newnan, Georgia:
...which is research for the book I want to write next, about the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. I've been taking photos of Confederate memorials for years now, and maybe soon I'll be ready to write.
We drove past some of the filming locations for "The Walking Dead" as well, and it came to me as I was driving home yesterday, that I write about the past, and those who came before us, in all their messy glory, whether it's my childhood or the sixties or the Civil War... even yesterday's "walking dead" locations held some truth for me.
In my writing life, certainly, I walk among ghosts, hoping to tell their stories. Stories that are so intertwined with mine that I can hardly separate them out, in the geography of the heart.
xoxo Debbie
PeeEss: I'm doing two entries in a row for ANTHEM's chapters next, days 15&16 -- sorry to spam your inboxes. I'll get back on track.
So of course this lovely day-trip with my friend Marianne ended up delivering to me some research and insights, without my even looking for them. Isn't that the way of asking for help? "You create your reality with your intentions." I read that somewhere. And somehow, when we focus and focus on something, everything seems to be about that.
Or maybe, when you write out of your life, like I do, everything ends up being personal narrative fodder for a story. Here is our trip to Molena, Georgia yesterday, and what we found on the way there and back.
First up, we stepped back into the imaginary Aurora County, Halleluiah, Mississippi territory, Emma Lane Cake's bakery, and Ruby Lavender's hometown (actual photos of my Halleluiah, Mississippi here)...
Then I spied a Confederate Monument at the old courthouse in Newnan, Georgia:
...which is research for the book I want to write next, about the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. I've been taking photos of Confederate memorials for years now, and maybe soon I'll be ready to write.
We drove past some of the filming locations for "The Walking Dead" as well, and it came to me as I was driving home yesterday, that I write about the past, and those who came before us, in all their messy glory, whether it's my childhood or the sixties or the Civil War... even yesterday's "walking dead" locations held some truth for me.
In my writing life, certainly, I walk among ghosts, hoping to tell their stories. Stories that are so intertwined with mine that I can hardly separate them out, in the geography of the heart.
xoxo Debbie
PeeEss: I'm doing two entries in a row for ANTHEM's chapters next, days 15&16 -- sorry to spam your inboxes. I'll get back on track.
ANTHEM is coming, chapter 14
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter. On October 1, these posts will be archived with a link at ANTHEM's webpage for #teachingAnthem1969
This is Chapter 14 (day 34):
STATESBORO BLUES
Written by Blind Willie McTell
Performed by the Allman Brother's Band
Live at Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA 1969
Recorded at Fillmore East, NY, NY 1971
Drummers: Butch Trucks and Jai Johany Johanson (Jaimoe)
"Hello, Hotlanta!" came a mumbly, slurry voice at the mic. "We're the Allman Brothers Band, glad to be here."
"We love you!" shouted a group of girls in front of the steps.
"We love you, too," said the man at the microphone. He wore a T-shirt with a motorcycle on it and had long, golden-red hair. Molly walked closer. The way he held himself seemed shy. Closer, she told herself.
"We've been working up this one," the man said, "a number by Blind Willie McTell called 'Statesboro Blues.' Anybody here from Statesboro, Georgia?"
"Yeah!"
The guitar player smiled as someone counted in the band and suddenly the red-haired man was all intensity, all business. Da-da-da-da-DUN snapped the organ-drums-bass together as one and they were off, the guitar squealing on and on, like a little girl with her pigtail relentlessly pulled. Then the organ player began to sing in a gravelly voice: "Wake up, Mama!"
One of the pleasures of writing, for me, is discovery. I had never been a fan of the Allman Brothers Band until I had to be. Does that make sense? If I'm going to write about someone, I need to learn to love them. I discovered the ABB through research and figured out how to appreciate them, thanks to those who loved them, then and now.
Because they played live in Piedmont Park in Atlanta in 1969, and because my characters are there, right next to Piedmont Park, within earshot, and because I'm painting a picture of the counter-culture in the late sixties... well, I couldn't leave out the Allman Brothers Band.
So I turned to my friends who loved them, for help. And the delivered in spades. They taught me how to listen. So much of a conversation is learning how to listen.
Molly thinks the ABB plays noise -- what's the matter with melody, and harmony, and words I can understand? she asks. And that's how I felt about their music, too, as a teenager, and how I felt about so much of Dylan and Hendrix and Janis Joplin and many others who make their appearance in ANTHEM.
But I learned to love them. I learned the stories behind who they were, and what formed them as musicians and human beings. The pleasure of researching the Allman Brothers Band -- reading countless interviews, biographies, reviews, talking with friends and listening to the ABB music until I began to hear how it was structured with its unique blend of blues, rock, roots, soul, and jam -- it actually changed me as a listener and music snob... like Molly.
Norman loves the ABB. Can't get enough of them. I always say I'm part of every character I write, so part Molly, part Norman, part of everyone they meet on the road, and part of those characters, real and imagined, become part of me, too. That's how story works, and why it's important to share our stories... and to listen.
Chapter 14.
This is Chapter 14 (day 34):
STATESBORO BLUES
Written by Blind Willie McTell
Performed by the Allman Brother's Band
Live at Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA 1969
Recorded at Fillmore East, NY, NY 1971
Drummers: Butch Trucks and Jai Johany Johanson (Jaimoe)
"Hello, Hotlanta!" came a mumbly, slurry voice at the mic. "We're the Allman Brothers Band, glad to be here."
"We love you!" shouted a group of girls in front of the steps.
"We love you, too," said the man at the microphone. He wore a T-shirt with a motorcycle on it and had long, golden-red hair. Molly walked closer. The way he held himself seemed shy. Closer, she told herself.
"We've been working up this one," the man said, "a number by Blind Willie McTell called 'Statesboro Blues.' Anybody here from Statesboro, Georgia?"
"Yeah!"
The guitar player smiled as someone counted in the band and suddenly the red-haired man was all intensity, all business. Da-da-da-da-DUN snapped the organ-drums-bass together as one and they were off, the guitar squealing on and on, like a little girl with her pigtail relentlessly pulled. Then the organ player began to sing in a gravelly voice: "Wake up, Mama!"
One of the pleasures of writing, for me, is discovery. I had never been a fan of the Allman Brothers Band until I had to be. Does that make sense? If I'm going to write about someone, I need to learn to love them. I discovered the ABB through research and figured out how to appreciate them, thanks to those who loved them, then and now.
Because they played live in Piedmont Park in Atlanta in 1969, and because my characters are there, right next to Piedmont Park, within earshot, and because I'm painting a picture of the counter-culture in the late sixties... well, I couldn't leave out the Allman Brothers Band.
So I turned to my friends who loved them, for help. And the delivered in spades. They taught me how to listen. So much of a conversation is learning how to listen.
Molly thinks the ABB plays noise -- what's the matter with melody, and harmony, and words I can understand? she asks. And that's how I felt about their music, too, as a teenager, and how I felt about so much of Dylan and Hendrix and Janis Joplin and many others who make their appearance in ANTHEM.
But I learned to love them. I learned the stories behind who they were, and what formed them as musicians and human beings. The pleasure of researching the Allman Brothers Band -- reading countless interviews, biographies, reviews, talking with friends and listening to the ABB music until I began to hear how it was structured with its unique blend of blues, rock, roots, soul, and jam -- it actually changed me as a listener and music snob... like Molly.
Norman loves the ABB. Can't get enough of them. I always say I'm part of every character I write, so part Molly, part Norman, part of everyone they meet on the road, and part of those characters, real and imagined, become part of me, too. That's how story works, and why it's important to share our stories... and to listen.
Chapter 14.
ANTHEM is coming, chapter 13
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 13 (day 35):
SPINNING WHEEL
Written by David Clayton Thomas
Performed by Blood, Sweat & Tears
Recorded at Columbia Recording Studios, NY, NY 1968
Drummer: Bobby Colomby
MOLLY:
I don't know what possessed me. I know I say that a lot now, at least to myself, but honestly, I don't know what possessed me, running all over Atlanta streets with strangers, pretending to feel something -- singing in public! -- not me at all, not me to behave in such an unladylike fashion.
I'm a careful girl, but then I'm not, because if I were truly careful, I wouldn't be here in Atlanta by myself, now would I? Yes, Norman's here, but Norman doesn't count. He wants to be here. Suddenly, the boy who didn't want to leave home is having the time of his life. He's probably forgotten all about Barry, but I haven't. When I opened my suitcase this morning, out fluttered Barry's letter: Order to Report.
Molly can't make up her mind, which is where the lyrics to "Spinning Wheel" come in: "Did you find the directing sign on the straight-and-narrow highway?//Would you mind a reflecting sign?// Just let it shine within your mind, and show you the colors that are real..."
"Spinning Wheel" was such an exciting song, with its brass beginning, wailing trumpet solo (more jazz influence), its insistent beat, and that voice -- David Clayton Thomas singing with that gravelly full-throated delivery. We'd heard nothing like it.
This song was a precursor to the music of the Chicago Transit Authority which was close on its heels. You'll find them in a future chapter. Meanwhile, give a listen to "Spinning Wheel" and you'll have an audio peek into Molly's mind at this point in the story.
You could easily find yourself down a David Clayton Thomas/BS&T wormhole, listening also to the frantic (written by Laura Nyro) “When I Die,” the jazzy/bluesy arrangement to “God Bless the Child,” and the straight-ahead love song “You Made Me So Very Happy.”
I loved their arrangements, their musicality (the piano, the organ, the brass, the cowbell, the recorder, hahaha — lots going on), and the fact that not every song they wrote was about love. We had a lot of love songs back then… don’t we always? But it was good to listen to some that were about… something else. Chapter 13.
This is Chapter 13 (day 35):
SPINNING WHEEL
Written by David Clayton Thomas
Performed by Blood, Sweat & Tears
Recorded at Columbia Recording Studios, NY, NY 1968
Drummer: Bobby Colomby
MOLLY:
I don't know what possessed me. I know I say that a lot now, at least to myself, but honestly, I don't know what possessed me, running all over Atlanta streets with strangers, pretending to feel something -- singing in public! -- not me at all, not me to behave in such an unladylike fashion.
I'm a careful girl, but then I'm not, because if I were truly careful, I wouldn't be here in Atlanta by myself, now would I? Yes, Norman's here, but Norman doesn't count. He wants to be here. Suddenly, the boy who didn't want to leave home is having the time of his life. He's probably forgotten all about Barry, but I haven't. When I opened my suitcase this morning, out fluttered Barry's letter: Order to Report.
Molly can't make up her mind, which is where the lyrics to "Spinning Wheel" come in: "Did you find the directing sign on the straight-and-narrow highway?//Would you mind a reflecting sign?// Just let it shine within your mind, and show you the colors that are real..."
"Spinning Wheel" was such an exciting song, with its brass beginning, wailing trumpet solo (more jazz influence), its insistent beat, and that voice -- David Clayton Thomas singing with that gravelly full-throated delivery. We'd heard nothing like it.
This song was a precursor to the music of the Chicago Transit Authority which was close on its heels. You'll find them in a future chapter. Meanwhile, give a listen to "Spinning Wheel" and you'll have an audio peek into Molly's mind at this point in the story.
You could easily find yourself down a David Clayton Thomas/BS&T wormhole, listening also to the frantic (written by Laura Nyro) “When I Die,” the jazzy/bluesy arrangement to “God Bless the Child,” and the straight-ahead love song “You Made Me So Very Happy.”
I loved their arrangements, their musicality (the piano, the organ, the brass, the cowbell, the recorder, hahaha — lots going on), and the fact that not every song they wrote was about love. We had a lot of love songs back then… don’t we always? But it was good to listen to some that were about… something else. Chapter 13.
ANTHEM is coming, chapter 12
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 12 (day 36):
MERCY MERCY MERCY
Music by Joe Zawinul
Performed by Cannonball Adderley and his band
Recorded at Capitol Records, Hollywood, California, 1966
Drummer: Roy McCurdy
Lyrics by Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Larry Williams
Performed by the Buckinghams
Recorded at Columbia Studios, Chicago, Illinois, 1967
Drummer: John Poulos (concert); John Guerin (studio)
The first line of the melody began to slide off the Fender Rhodes keys, and the trumpet joined in. It took only four measures for Molly to recognize the tune.
"I know it!"she said in wonder. "The Buckinghams sing it! It was Number 5 on the Weekly Top Forty! It's got words!"
Jay laughed. "It was jazz first, my lady. And this one's oozing soul, can you dig it?"
Lucy knew the song, too. She began to sing it softly and bob her head from side to side. "C'mon, Molly. Sing it with me! 'There is no girl...'"
And, much to her own surprise, with a live band to inspire her, Molly sang along with Lucy. She loved this song.
"Sing it like a moan," instructed Jay. "Not like a pop tune. Feel the music. Space our your notes, like Cannonball's sax. Put some longing in there!"
AND the Buckinham's version:
A two-fer today. I wanted to show how pop incorporated jazz, in the history of American music, and I wanted to include jazz as part of the bedrock of American rock and roll.
This chapter helps me accomplish this while also introducing a pivotal character for Norman, who will serve to change the (literal) course of their journey.
A link to these posts will live on ANTHEM's page at my website, where they will serve also as a teaching tool for those who want to explore American music in the sixties, and its usefulness in telling this story.
Chapter 12.
This is Chapter 12 (day 36):
MERCY MERCY MERCY
Music by Joe Zawinul
Performed by Cannonball Adderley and his band
Recorded at Capitol Records, Hollywood, California, 1966
Drummer: Roy McCurdy
Lyrics by Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Larry Williams
Performed by the Buckinghams
Recorded at Columbia Studios, Chicago, Illinois, 1967
Drummer: John Poulos (concert); John Guerin (studio)
The first line of the melody began to slide off the Fender Rhodes keys, and the trumpet joined in. It took only four measures for Molly to recognize the tune.
"I know it!"she said in wonder. "The Buckinghams sing it! It was Number 5 on the Weekly Top Forty! It's got words!"
Jay laughed. "It was jazz first, my lady. And this one's oozing soul, can you dig it?"
Lucy knew the song, too. She began to sing it softly and bob her head from side to side. "C'mon, Molly. Sing it with me! 'There is no girl...'"
And, much to her own surprise, with a live band to inspire her, Molly sang along with Lucy. She loved this song.
"Sing it like a moan," instructed Jay. "Not like a pop tune. Feel the music. Space our your notes, like Cannonball's sax. Put some longing in there!"
AND the Buckinham's version:
A two-fer today. I wanted to show how pop incorporated jazz, in the history of American music, and I wanted to include jazz as part of the bedrock of American rock and roll.
This chapter helps me accomplish this while also introducing a pivotal character for Norman, who will serve to change the (literal) course of their journey.
A link to these posts will live on ANTHEM's page at my website, where they will serve also as a teaching tool for those who want to explore American music in the sixties, and its usefulness in telling this story.
Chapter 12.
ANTHEM is coming, chapter 11
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 11 (day 37):
"WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU"
Written by George Harrison
Performed by George Harrison and the Asian Music Circle
Recorded at EMI/Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 1967
Tabla/percussion: Natwar Soni
Beards and bare feet; sandals and suspenders; headbands and felt hats. Bodies -- including theirs - weaved and waved in time to some kind of different rhythm, a rhythm that enveloped them and lifted them into a place not of this world, a rhythm pulsating, undulating, within them and without them, everywhere...
I should hate this, Molly thought. But she didn't. I should be afraid. But she wasn't. She couldn't resist the energy. She felt pulled along, like a thread in a tapestry. And now, suddenly and surprisingly, she was in it. Whatever it was. She was here. Now. There was a great vitality here that propelled her along, on its own dedicated highway.
One more from Sgt. Peppers. I knew the song for the moment Molly and Norman experience the Strip in Atlanta -- those hippie-filled blocks between 10th and 14th Streets on Peachtree in the late Sixties.
I have good friends who spent time on the Strip in 1969, and they were my guides for writing this chapter. So was this song, "Within You Without You" by George Harrison, with its distinctly trippy and Indian flavor. "And the time will come when you see we are all one// and life goes on within you and without you."
How to write this scene, this trip, for middle-grade readers and paint a picture for them of those days of "the smell of sun tinged leaves" and "their heads bobbling and warbling to some invisible scene within them"? -- Like that.
And the music is a huge help. Story surrounds all our senses. With ANTHEM, I wanted young readers to see it (in the scrapbooks) and hear it (in the soundtrack) in order to feel what it was like.
Chapter 11.
This is Chapter 11 (day 37):
"WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU"
Written by George Harrison
Performed by George Harrison and the Asian Music Circle
Recorded at EMI/Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 1967
Tabla/percussion: Natwar Soni
Beards and bare feet; sandals and suspenders; headbands and felt hats. Bodies -- including theirs - weaved and waved in time to some kind of different rhythm, a rhythm that enveloped them and lifted them into a place not of this world, a rhythm pulsating, undulating, within them and without them, everywhere...
I should hate this, Molly thought. But she didn't. I should be afraid. But she wasn't. She couldn't resist the energy. She felt pulled along, like a thread in a tapestry. And now, suddenly and surprisingly, she was in it. Whatever it was. She was here. Now. There was a great vitality here that propelled her along, on its own dedicated highway.
One more from Sgt. Peppers. I knew the song for the moment Molly and Norman experience the Strip in Atlanta -- those hippie-filled blocks between 10th and 14th Streets on Peachtree in the late Sixties.
I have good friends who spent time on the Strip in 1969, and they were my guides for writing this chapter. So was this song, "Within You Without You" by George Harrison, with its distinctly trippy and Indian flavor. "And the time will come when you see we are all one// and life goes on within you and without you."
How to write this scene, this trip, for middle-grade readers and paint a picture for them of those days of "the smell of sun tinged leaves" and "their heads bobbling and warbling to some invisible scene within them"? -- Like that.
And the music is a huge help. Story surrounds all our senses. With ANTHEM, I wanted young readers to see it (in the scrapbooks) and hear it (in the soundtrack) in order to feel what it was like.
Chapter 11.
talking kent state and anthem w Mr. Schu
A pause in the song-a-day, chapter-a-day posting about ANTHEM in order to make sure I save this at the blog. I have an interview up with Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumaker, at his blog Watch-Connect-Read, about KENT STATE and ANTHEM, here.
It was a pleasure to do this with Mr. Schu, and I so appreciate his questions. See what you think. The interview served as a cover reveal for KENT STATE as well:
It still takes my breath away.
ANTHEM publishes October 1 -- this fall -- and KENT STATE comes right on its heels, on April 21, 2020. More on KENT STATE as we get closer to its publication... and you can read all about it now, at Watch-Connect-Read.
xoxo Debbie
It was a pleasure to do this with Mr. Schu, and I so appreciate his questions. See what you think. The interview served as a cover reveal for KENT STATE as well:
ANTHEM publishes October 1 -- this fall -- and KENT STATE comes right on its heels, on April 21, 2020. More on KENT STATE as we get closer to its publication... and you can read all about it now, at Watch-Connect-Read.
xoxo Debbie
ANTHEM is coming, chapter 10
ANTHEM, Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone, mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 10 (day 38):
"ELEANOR RIGBY"
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by the Beatles
Recorded at EMI/Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 1966
No percussion
It made no sense to Molly. "Aquarius" was just a song. You grew up, you went to college -- or not -- you got married -- or not, but most likely you did, and you had kids -- or not, but most likely you did -- and you lived in a house where you had your own dishes and your own neighbors and your own backyard and friends and cookouts and parties and birthdays and years and years of things you did in that house, with your family, until you grew old, and you were happy -- or not -- and that was how it worked. Right?
The Beatles figure prominently in the chapter heads for ANTHEM, partly because they were so important to the development of American music in the sixties, and also because these particular song selections highlight the chapters they head and help tell the story.
As Molly and Norman sit down to supper with their great aunts, who no longer recognize them, Molly is introduced as Eleanor Rigby, and Norman as Father MacKenzie. The song "Eleanor Rigby" serves as a poignant way to characterize Molly's encounter with her aunts, whose memory is failing, but also to think about how Molly is isolating her on this trip, and will be lonely until she lets go of her perceived notions and embraces the road ahead.
And she's likely to encounter some lonely people on the road ahead. I loved exploring how music helps us tell a story.
Chapter 10.
ANTHEM is coming, chapter 9
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 9 (day 39):
"LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS"
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by the Beatles
Recorded at EMI/Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 1967
Drummer: Ringo Starr
The girl rapped her wooden spoon on top of the pot, laid it across the lid, and looked Molly square in the face. She had brilliant blue eyes. Norman stared at her and swallowed.
"My name is Lucy," she announced.
"Lucy who?"
"Lucy Inthesky."
"Inthesky?" Molly sounded out this strange last name in her head. Inthesky.
"With Diamonds," the girl finished.
Molly's eyebrows arched in astonishment, then sank to murderous levels. "Are you kidding me?" She put her hands on her hips and leaned in. "Listen, sister..."
"Oh, brother," said Norman. He gave his head a brisk shake to break the spell he'd been under. "I'll go check on them."
A warble came from the top of the wide staircase by the front door.
"Norman! Is that you, dear?"
I laugh every time I read this passage. hahahaha. This entire Atlanta section of Norman and Molly's trip makes me smile. It's such a trip for them, and for me as a writer. It was probably the most fun to write, although there are lots of places and people who were fun to write about.
This is where I started thinking of the story as a sort of Forrest Gump for young readers. And this album cover is the one I've shown to students in schools for many years now, when I tell them about how much I loved the Beatles, how I loved them with abandon, even when they got older and "went around the bend," because I got older, too, and I, too, went "around the bend" for a while. :>
But that's a story for another time.
Chapter 9, in Atlanta, with the kooky maiden aunts.... and a few other colorful humans.
This is Chapter 9 (day 39):
"LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS"
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by the Beatles
Recorded at EMI/Abbey Road Studios, London, England, 1967
Drummer: Ringo Starr
The girl rapped her wooden spoon on top of the pot, laid it across the lid, and looked Molly square in the face. She had brilliant blue eyes. Norman stared at her and swallowed.
"My name is Lucy," she announced.
"Lucy who?"
"Lucy Inthesky."
"Inthesky?" Molly sounded out this strange last name in her head. Inthesky.
"With Diamonds," the girl finished.
Molly's eyebrows arched in astonishment, then sank to murderous levels. "Are you kidding me?" She put her hands on her hips and leaned in. "Listen, sister..."
"Oh, brother," said Norman. He gave his head a brisk shake to break the spell he'd been under. "I'll go check on them."
A warble came from the top of the wide staircase by the front door.
"Norman! Is that you, dear?"
I laugh every time I read this passage. hahahaha. This entire Atlanta section of Norman and Molly's trip makes me smile. It's such a trip for them, and for me as a writer. It was probably the most fun to write, although there are lots of places and people who were fun to write about.
This is where I started thinking of the story as a sort of Forrest Gump for young readers. And this album cover is the one I've shown to students in schools for many years now, when I tell them about how much I loved the Beatles, how I loved them with abandon, even when they got older and "went around the bend," because I got older, too, and I, too, went "around the bend" for a while. :>
But that's a story for another time.
Chapter 9, in Atlanta, with the kooky maiden aunts.... and a few other colorful humans.
KENT STATE cover reveal
We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you this message from our sponsors. (Who remembers this on television long ago?)
I'll have lots more to say about KENT STATE as we get closer to its publication date on April 21, 2020, but for now, we have a cover, and we have the most lovely blog interview to reveal that cover, and to talk about KENT STATE and ANTHEM, on John Schumaker's blog, Watch, Connect, Read.
Here is that interview -- thank you for the great questions, Mr. Schu! -- and here is that stunning cover, designed by Elizabeth Parisi at Scholastic. More soon. For now -- voila. Amazing, yes?
I'll have lots more to say about KENT STATE as we get closer to its publication date on April 21, 2020, but for now, we have a cover, and we have the most lovely blog interview to reveal that cover, and to talk about KENT STATE and ANTHEM, on John Schumaker's blog, Watch, Connect, Read.
Here is that interview -- thank you for the great questions, Mr. Schu! -- and here is that stunning cover, designed by Elizabeth Parisi at Scholastic. More soon. For now -- voila. Amazing, yes?
ANTHEM is coming, chapter 8
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 8 (day 40):
"Good Golly Miss Molly"
Written by John Marascalco and Robert "Bumps" Blackwell
Performed by Little Richard
Recorded at J&M Studio, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1956
Drummer: Earl Palmer
The arguing started early.
"We are not going to Macon! It's miles and miles out of our way!"
Norman kept driving, kept silent. Molly tried listening to Saturday's Top Forty on her transistor with her earphone, but the engine was too loud, so she gave it up. Five hours later, after they'd driven to Macon, Georgia, and found no Allman Brothers in City Park or anywhere else, they stopped at the H&H Restaurant for an early lunch.
Things are not going as Molly planned. :>
Little Richard was born and grew up in Macon, Georgia. He grew up singing in the Pentecostal Church; one of his early influences was Sister Rosetta Tharp, who is mentioned in a later chapter of ANTHEM -- we'll get to her, but in the meantime, listen to her sing "Didn't it Rain?" in 1964 in Manchester, England. It's hilarious, it's fabulous, it's amazing.
Also in this chapter you can hear the jukebox play "Grazing in the Grass" sung by the Friends of Distinction. Norman, of course, loves the percussion. It's worth listening to South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela's jazzy instrumental version as well. Norman would have been all over that cowbell.
If you are teaching ANTHEM in the classroom, you'll be able to use these blog entries, chapter by chapter, to help tell the story in music. Each song is chosen to highlight that particular part of the story, and to tell the story of American music, alongside Molly and Norman's journey across the country in 1969.
Tomorrow, out of Macon and into Atlanta, Georgia -- stay tuned.
[NOTE: It looks like the YouTube video with the song embedded here isn't working for some who get the blog in email (me included). Don't know why... if that's the case for you, click through to the blog at the Blogger website to hear the song. If you're subbing to the blog at Wordpress already, this shouldn't be a problem.]
This is Chapter 8 (day 40):
"Good Golly Miss Molly"
Written by John Marascalco and Robert "Bumps" Blackwell
Performed by Little Richard
Recorded at J&M Studio, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1956
Drummer: Earl Palmer
The arguing started early.
"We are not going to Macon! It's miles and miles out of our way!"
Norman kept driving, kept silent. Molly tried listening to Saturday's Top Forty on her transistor with her earphone, but the engine was too loud, so she gave it up. Five hours later, after they'd driven to Macon, Georgia, and found no Allman Brothers in City Park or anywhere else, they stopped at the H&H Restaurant for an early lunch.
Things are not going as Molly planned. :>
Little Richard was born and grew up in Macon, Georgia. He grew up singing in the Pentecostal Church; one of his early influences was Sister Rosetta Tharp, who is mentioned in a later chapter of ANTHEM -- we'll get to her, but in the meantime, listen to her sing "Didn't it Rain?" in 1964 in Manchester, England. It's hilarious, it's fabulous, it's amazing.
Also in this chapter you can hear the jukebox play "Grazing in the Grass" sung by the Friends of Distinction. Norman, of course, loves the percussion. It's worth listening to South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela's jazzy instrumental version as well. Norman would have been all over that cowbell.
If you are teaching ANTHEM in the classroom, you'll be able to use these blog entries, chapter by chapter, to help tell the story in music. Each song is chosen to highlight that particular part of the story, and to tell the story of American music, alongside Molly and Norman's journey across the country in 1969.
Tomorrow, out of Macon and into Atlanta, Georgia -- stay tuned.
[NOTE: It looks like the YouTube video with the song embedded here isn't working for some who get the blog in email (me included). Don't know why... if that's the case for you, click through to the blog at the Blogger website to hear the song. If you're subbing to the blog at Wordpress already, this shouldn't be a problem.]
ANTHEM is coming: chapter 7
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 7 (day 41):
"Good Morning, Starshine"
from the musical "Hair"
Written by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot
Performed by Oliver
Recorded at unattributed studio, 1969
unattributed percussion
"Can you even drive this thing?" were Molly's first encouraging words.
"We're gonna find out," Norman replied. Then he cursed under this breath.
Molly crossed herself, even though she wasn't Catholic.
"Hail Mary full of grace!"
"Shut up!" Norman shouted. He reached for the gearshift with one hand and turned the giant steering wheel with the other. His body bounced on the seat and his legs pumped as he released the clutch and the brake and pressed on the gas. He was a marionette suddenly free of his strings. The bus jumped forward three times and then smoothed into a roll that took them out the driveway and into the wide world.
And they are off!
Tomorrow: first stop along the way.
I listened to the 45rpm of "Good Morning, Starshine" on repeat, on my blue Zenith record player, in 1969. Also "Hair" by the Cowsills and "The Age of Aquarius" by the Fifth Dimension. That was living. :> Like Molly, I was an innocent about to be plunged into the heady days of the late sixties/early seventies, without a clue how to navigate the changes.
Far out.
[NOTE: It looks like the YouTube video with the song embedded here isn't working for some who get the blog in email (me included). Don't know why... if that's the case for you, click through to the blog at the Blogger website to hear the song. If you're subbing to the blog at Wordpress already, this shouldn't be a problem.]
This is Chapter 7 (day 41):
"Good Morning, Starshine"
from the musical "Hair"
Written by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot
Performed by Oliver
Recorded at unattributed studio, 1969
unattributed percussion
"Can you even drive this thing?" were Molly's first encouraging words.
"We're gonna find out," Norman replied. Then he cursed under this breath.
Molly crossed herself, even though she wasn't Catholic.
"Hail Mary full of grace!"
"Shut up!" Norman shouted. He reached for the gearshift with one hand and turned the giant steering wheel with the other. His body bounced on the seat and his legs pumped as he released the clutch and the brake and pressed on the gas. He was a marionette suddenly free of his strings. The bus jumped forward three times and then smoothed into a roll that took them out the driveway and into the wide world.
And they are off!
Tomorrow: first stop along the way.
I listened to the 45rpm of "Good Morning, Starshine" on repeat, on my blue Zenith record player, in 1969. Also "Hair" by the Cowsills and "The Age of Aquarius" by the Fifth Dimension. That was living. :> Like Molly, I was an innocent about to be plunged into the heady days of the late sixties/early seventies, without a clue how to navigate the changes.
Far out.
[NOTE: It looks like the YouTube video with the song embedded here isn't working for some who get the blog in email (me included). Don't know why... if that's the case for you, click through to the blog at the Blogger website to hear the song. If you're subbing to the blog at Wordpress already, this shouldn't be a problem.]
ANTHEM is coming: chapter 6
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 6 (day 42):
"I'm a Believer"
Written by Neil Diamond
Performed by the Monkees
Recorded at unattributed studio, New York, NY 1966
Drummer: Micky Dolenz (concert); Buddy Saltzman (studio)
MOLLY:
"What's this?" I pick my way over the spilled tools and follow him out of the bus and around to its opened hood.
"It's an underground newspaper. Printed in Atlanta. Barry hooked me up with it."
"What's it for?"
"What it's against is more like it. It's anti-establishment."
"What?"
"Nevermind," he says. He begins jimmying the hood. "Live music, that's what it's for."
"Where?" This could be bad.
Norman lets the hood fall and then slams it shut with a bang. He looks me in the eye.
"Everywhere, cuz. Everywhere."
The Monkees made music videos before there were music videos, thanks to their Monday night television show in the mid-Sixties. I watched it religiously. I think Molly must, too.
Chapter 6: packing and preparing the bus, arguing through the whole thing, getting ready to go.
Tomorrow, chapter 7 -- launch day. Leaving Charleston behind and going out into the world.
[NOTE: It looks like the YouTube video with the song embedded here isn't working for some who get the blog in email (me included). Don't know why... if that's the case for you, click through to the blog at the Blogger website to hear the song. If you're subbing to the blog at Wordpress already, this shouldn't be a problem.]
This is Chapter 6 (day 42):
"I'm a Believer"
Written by Neil Diamond
Performed by the Monkees
Recorded at unattributed studio, New York, NY 1966
Drummer: Micky Dolenz (concert); Buddy Saltzman (studio)
MOLLY:
"What's this?" I pick my way over the spilled tools and follow him out of the bus and around to its opened hood.
"It's an underground newspaper. Printed in Atlanta. Barry hooked me up with it."
"What's it for?"
"What it's against is more like it. It's anti-establishment."
"What?"
"Nevermind," he says. He begins jimmying the hood. "Live music, that's what it's for."
"Where?" This could be bad.
Norman lets the hood fall and then slams it shut with a bang. He looks me in the eye.
"Everywhere, cuz. Everywhere."
The Monkees made music videos before there were music videos, thanks to their Monday night television show in the mid-Sixties. I watched it religiously. I think Molly must, too.
Chapter 6: packing and preparing the bus, arguing through the whole thing, getting ready to go.
Tomorrow, chapter 7 -- launch day. Leaving Charleston behind and going out into the world.
[NOTE: It looks like the YouTube video with the song embedded here isn't working for some who get the blog in email (me included). Don't know why... if that's the case for you, click through to the blog at the Blogger website to hear the song. If you're subbing to the blog at Wordpress already, this shouldn't be a problem.]
ANTHEM is coming: chapter 5
ANTHEM, Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone, mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 5 (day 43):
"Come Together"
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by The Beatles
Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England 1969
Drummer: Ringo Starr
"Norman shoved his hands into the pockets of his khaki slacks. Maybe Mr. Harter would reschedule. Maybe Mr. McCauley would understand. He could work on the drum notation on the road. Biff Burger would not hold his job, but he didn't care about that. He hated that place, and he could get another job when he got back. // 'I want to salvage some of my summer,' he said, finally. // 'You will,' said Molly. 'I promise.'"
Chapter 5, in which the deal is struck. Sort of.
The ANTHEM audiobook is in production right now. We have three performers/readers; one for Molly, one for Norman, and one for the chapters that are narrated, like this one. Our narrator is Blair Brown. So exciting!
There are other developments to share about the audiobook -- forthcoming!
[NOTE: It looks like the YouTube video with the song embedded here isn't working for some who get the blog in email (me included). Don't know why... if that's the case for you, click through to the blog at the Blogger website to hear the song. If you're subbing to the blog at Wordpress already, this shouldn't be a problem.]
Tomorrow: chapter 6, back to Molly.
ANTHEM is coming: chapter 4
[NOTE: It looks like the YouTube video with the song embedded isn't working for some who get the blog in email (me included). Don't know why... if that's the case for you, click through to the Blogger website to hear the song. If you're subbing to the blog at Wordpress already, this shouldn't be a problem.]
ANTHEM, Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone, mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 4 (day 44):
"Bad Moon Rising"
Written by John Fogerty
Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Recorded at Wally Heider/Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA 1969
Drummer: Doug Clifford
"Molly throws her tote bag into the booth and flounces onto the seat after it. Her ponytail swishes wildly left, then right, as she faces off with me at Shakey's Pizza on Highway 17. She's wearing a yellow and orange paisley skirt, a solid orange top, and a whole lot of rage."
(Which we always heard "There's a bathroom on the right." :>)
Chapter 4: Negotiations begin. Or not.
ANTHEM, Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone, mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 4 (day 44):
"Bad Moon Rising"
Written by John Fogerty
Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Recorded at Wally Heider/Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA 1969
Drummer: Doug Clifford
"Molly throws her tote bag into the booth and flounces onto the seat after it. Her ponytail swishes wildly left, then right, as she faces off with me at Shakey's Pizza on Highway 17. She's wearing a yellow and orange paisley skirt, a solid orange top, and a whole lot of rage."
(Which we always heard "There's a bathroom on the right." :>)
Chapter 4: Negotiations begin. Or not.
ANTHEM is coming: chapter 3
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 3 (day 45):
"Windy"
Written by Ruthann Friedman
Performed by the Association
Recorded at Western Recorders, Hollywood, CA, 1967
Drummer: Ted Bluechel, Jr. (concert); Hal Blaine, (studio)
MOLLY
"The first time I heard 'Windy' I wanted to change my name. I love the Association. They are my favorite band. I love the way they harmonize and all the feeling they put into their songs. // Barry looks like their leader, Terry Kirkman, with the same blond hair, long sideburns, and crooked mouth with the gap between his two front teeth. And that smile! Just like Barry's."
"I want to ask Mom what planet we're from, if she thinks I can get away with leaving home to find Barry, that Dad would allow it, or that Barry would even come with me, if I could find him. It will never happen. But Mom thinks it will."
The plot begins. :> A girl who loves the Association, and her cousin who loves Iron Butterfly, and an old school bus between them -- their chariot -- awaits.
Back to Norman -- who does not think this trip is in any way a good idea -- in chapter 4.
This is Chapter 3 (day 45):
"Windy"
Written by Ruthann Friedman
Performed by the Association
Recorded at Western Recorders, Hollywood, CA, 1967
Drummer: Ted Bluechel, Jr. (concert); Hal Blaine, (studio)
MOLLY
"The first time I heard 'Windy' I wanted to change my name. I love the Association. They are my favorite band. I love the way they harmonize and all the feeling they put into their songs. // Barry looks like their leader, Terry Kirkman, with the same blond hair, long sideburns, and crooked mouth with the gap between his two front teeth. And that smile! Just like Barry's."
"I want to ask Mom what planet we're from, if she thinks I can get away with leaving home to find Barry, that Dad would allow it, or that Barry would even come with me, if I could find him. It will never happen. But Mom thinks it will."
The plot begins. :> A girl who loves the Association, and her cousin who loves Iron Butterfly, and an old school bus between them -- their chariot -- awaits.
Back to Norman -- who does not think this trip is in any way a good idea -- in chapter 4.
ANTHEM is coming: chapter 2
ANTHEM,
Book 3 of the Sixties Trilogy, publishes on October 1. Each of the
book's 47 chapters begins with a song from the Sixties to set the tone,
mood, and scene. Every day between now and October 1, come have a listen
and read a snippet from each chapter.
This is Chapter 2 (day 46):
"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
Written by Doug Ingle
Performed by Iron Butterfly
Recorded at Gold Star Studios, Hollywood, CA
and Ultrasonic Studios, Long Island, NY, 1968
Drummer: Ron Bushy
NORMAN:
"I'm a drummer. My name is Norman. I hate that name. My mother named me after Norman Vincent Peale and The Power of Positive Thinking. She's a positive person. She kills me... So I'm going to change my name. Who has a name like Norman anymore?.... Rock and roll drummers have names like Keith and Ron and Ringo. At school I get called 'Normal,' especially by the hoodlums in P.E. I'm going to change that."
This fuzzy video is a live performance of the entire song (all 17 minutes!), with Ron Bushy's 3-minute drum solo coming in at 6:10. Or you can watch just the solo here. Norman would have *loved* YouTube. He is forever tapping out the drum solo with straws, utensils, fingers, whatever is at hand... just like countless young drummers did, in the late sixties.
"When I listen to 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida' I listen loud, with my head right next to the speaker, lying on the floor. The world is going down the crapper, but when I'm lost in the music -- any music -- I don't care."
Tomorrow, Chapter 3, back to Molly. Working our way to Chapter 47 and publication day!
This is Chapter 2 (day 46):
"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
Written by Doug Ingle
Performed by Iron Butterfly
Recorded at Gold Star Studios, Hollywood, CA
and Ultrasonic Studios, Long Island, NY, 1968
Drummer: Ron Bushy
NORMAN:
"I'm a drummer. My name is Norman. I hate that name. My mother named me after Norman Vincent Peale and The Power of Positive Thinking. She's a positive person. She kills me... So I'm going to change my name. Who has a name like Norman anymore?.... Rock and roll drummers have names like Keith and Ron and Ringo. At school I get called 'Normal,' especially by the hoodlums in P.E. I'm going to change that."
This fuzzy video is a live performance of the entire song (all 17 minutes!), with Ron Bushy's 3-minute drum solo coming in at 6:10. Or you can watch just the solo here. Norman would have *loved* YouTube. He is forever tapping out the drum solo with straws, utensils, fingers, whatever is at hand... just like countless young drummers did, in the late sixties.
"When I listen to 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida' I listen loud, with my head right next to the speaker, lying on the floor. The world is going down the crapper, but when I'm lost in the music -- any music -- I don't care."
Tomorrow, Chapter 3, back to Molly. Working our way to Chapter 47 and publication day!
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