Read our review of ‘Blue and Lonesome,’ the Rolling Stones’ vital new album of blues covers. David M. Benett/Getty
On April 7th, 1962, three young Englishmen obsessed with American blues met for the first time, at the Ealing Jazz Club in London. Two of them – singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards from an aspiring combo, Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys – were attending a performance by the local blues scene’s leading troupe, Blues Incorporated, led by guitarist Alexis Korner. The third man, guitarist Brian Jones, was playing with Korner’s group, under the pseudonym Elmo Lewis. Three months later, on July 12th, Jagger, Richards and Jones made their live debut as the Rollin’ Stones at the Marquee Club, with bassist Dick Taylor, later of the Pretty Things, and pianist Ian Stewart, who would become the Stones’ devoted road manager and true-blues conscience.
Between those spring and summer landmarks, Jagger also did time with Blues Incorporated in a lineup that included the Stones’ eventual drummer Charlie Watts, singing imported electric-Chicago standards such as “Got My Mojo Working,” a 1957 single by Muddy Waters, and a late-1955 recording by Jimmy Reed’s guitarist Eddie Taylor, “Ride ‘Em on Down.” Fifty-four years later, on Blue and Lonesome, Jagger turns back to that Taylor stomp, chewing on the words – descended from a starker Delta blues, “Shake ‘Em on Down,” codified on a 1937 release by Bukka White – like a favorite meal as the air gets thick with Richards and Ron Wood’s sniping guitars and Watts’ rifle-volley snare fills.
Recorded last December in just three days with co-producer Don Was at British Grove Studios in the London suburb of Richmond – almost spitting distance from the site of the Crawdaddy Club, where the Stones played a life-changing 1963 residency – Blue and Lonesome is the band’s first all-covers studio release since the 1964 U.K. EP The Rolling Stones, and the Stones’ first pure, straight blues record ever. It is also the working lineup of the world’s biggest blues band – with Wood in his 41st year as the new boy and bassist Darryl Jones as Watts’ co-anchor since 1993 – doing what comes naturally in a dozen songs mostly associated with sweet home Chicago: Reed, Howlin’ Wolf, singer-guitarist Magic Sam and especially harp master Little Walter, with four of his Fifties and Sixties singles here.
There is deep South too. The brash London whelps that covered bayou bluesman Slim Harpo’s 1957 B side “I’m a King Bee” on their debut album and named a live LP in honor of the flip (“Got Love If You Want It”) have a romping good time with “Hoodoo Blues” by Harpo’s contemporary, Lightnin’ Slim. And there is a thrilling, unexpected stop, with slide guitar from fellow pilgrim Eric Clapton, at the Louisiana intersection of blues and soul in Little Johnny Taylor’s “Everybody Knows About My Good Thing.” The Stones were actually working closer to the older Delta, covering Mississippi Fred McDowell’s “You Gotta Move” on Sticky Fingers, when Taylor’s single was a Top Ten R&B hit in 1971 on the Ronn label out of Shreveport. But Jagger’s freewheeling phrasing is the good-time relish of a man who has been writing cheatin’ songs all of his life but knows when he’s got the gold standard in front of him.
The Stones first heard these songs as foreign language – the lust and trials of older, hardened men. That rough weather now fits the Stones – including Wood, who did his apprentice time in London R&B mods the Birds and on bass for the Jeff Beck Group – like a suit off the rack at Chicago’s Maxwell Street Market. In “Just Your Fool,” a Checker Records 45 for Little Walter in 1962, Watts presses the beat like a forced, precision march under the chug and spike of Richards and Wood’s guitars. “Blue and Lonesome,” from a 1965 Little Walter single and caught here in a single take, opens with a rush of power-chord sustain, then drops into tense strut marked with jittery bursts of slalom guitar, Jagger cutting in with seething confrontation, especially on harp. Jones originally played that instrument in the Stones, but Jagger grew into their secret weapon. His hearty, supple attack and exclamatory accents are as exciting and decisive as Richards’ bedrock ways on guitar.
Made on impulse, as a much-needed break during other studio work, Blue and Lonesome is a monument to muscle memory. Solos are brief and tight, evoking the honed-punch effect of the original recordings. The running highlight throughout the album is the churning ensemble bond: the hot-plate jump of the guitars over the chasing rhythm in the Little Walter sprint “I Gotta Go”; the feral, stalking tension in Magic Sam’s “All of Your Love” as Jagger tears at the title lyric like an upper-octave Howlin’ Wolf.
Blue and Lonesome is not a record of mere returning, a look back at how it all started. The Stones were already big time when some of these songs were released by the originators including Howlin’ Wolf’s 1966 threat “Commit a Crime” and Magic Sam’s defining version of “All of Your Love” on his 1967 landmark, West Side Soul. In fact, the younger Stones couldn’t have tackled Jimmy Reed’s 1957 lament “Little Rain” like the slow, advancing storm here. Watts comes in like stoic resignation, on brushed snare, under rolling clouds of guitar; Jagger fires lightning streaks of harp. It’s barely a song – six lines of determined yearning and time running out. But it is dense with lesson, a reflection of the grip and wisdom that, for every bluesman, only comes with miles and age.
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Karen Carpenter’s velvet voice charmed millions in the 70s… but behind the wholesome image she was in turmoil. Desperate to look slim on stage – and above all desperate to please the domineering mother who preferred her brother – she became the first celebrity victim of anorexia. In a revealing new biography, extracted below, Randy Schmidt tells the full story…
Karen Carpenter, Paris, 1971. Photograph: Shepard Sherbell/CORBIS SABA
Randy Schmidt
Saturday 23 October 2010 19.03 EDTLast modified on Monday 25 October 2010 11.50 EDT
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The Carpenters were one of the biggest-selling American musical acts of all time. Between 1970 and 1984 brother and sister Richard and Karen Carpenter had 17 top 20 hits, including “Goodbye to Love“, “Yesterday Once More“, “Close to You” and “Rainy Days and Mondays“. They notched up 10 gold singles, nine gold albums, one multi-platinum album and three Grammy awards. Karen’s velvety voice and Richard’s airy melodies and meticulously crafted arrangements stood in direct contrast to the louder, wilder rock dominating the rest of the charts at the time, yet they became immensely popular, selling more than 100m records.
Richard was the musical driving force but it was Karen’s effortless voice that lay behind the Carpenters’ hits. Promoted from behind the drums to star vocalist, she became one of the decade’s most instantly recognisable female singers.
But there was a tragic discrepancy between her public and private selves. Offstage, away from the spotlight, she felt desperately unloved by her mother, Agnes, who favoured Richard, and struggled with low self-esteem, eventually developing anorexia nervosa from which she never recovered. She died at the age of 32.
carpenters -We’ve Only Just Begun
In 1996 journalist Rob Hoerburger powerfully summed up Karen Carpenter’s tribulations in a New York Times Magazine feature: “If anorexia has classically been defined as a young woman’s struggle for control, then Karen was a prime candidate, for the two things she valued most in the world – her voice and her mother’s love – were exclusively the property of her brother Richard. At least she would control the size of her own body.” And control it she did. By September 1975 her weight fell to 6st 7lb (41kg).
Karen’s quest to be thin seems to have begun innocently enough just after high school graduation when she started the Stillman water diet. Although she was never obese, she was what most would consider a chubby 17-year-old at 10st 5lb. (She was 5ft 4in tall.) She levelled off at around 8st 8lb and maintained her weight by eating sensibly but not starving herself. Even so, eating while on tour was problematic for Karen, as she described in 1973: “When you’re on the road it’s hard to eat. Period. On top of that, it’s rough to eat well. We don’t like to eat before a show because I can’t stand singing with a full stomach… You never get to dinner until, like, midnight, and if you eat heavy you’re not going to sleep, and you’re going to be a balloon.”
Karen was shocked when she saw photos from an August 1973 Lake Tahoe concert where an unflattering outfit accentuated her paunch. She hired a personal trainer, who made visits to her home and recommended a diet low in calories but high in carbohydrates. Instead of slimming down as she had hoped, Karen started to put on muscle and bulk up. Watching the Carpenters on a Bob Hope television special that autumn, she remarked that she had put on some extra weight. Richard agreed she looked a bit heavier. She was discouraged and vowed she was going to “do something about it”. She fired her trainer, and immediately set out on a mission to shed the unwanted pounds on her own. She purchased a hip cycle, which she used each morning on her bed, and because it was portable the equipment was packed and taken with her on tour.”She lost around 20lb and she looked fabulous,” recalls Carole Curb, the sister of Karen’s then boyfriend, record executive Mike Curb. “She weighed 110lb [7st 12lb] or so, and looked amazing… If she’d been able to stop there then life would have been beautiful. A lot of us girls in that era went through moments of that. Everybody wanted to be Twiggy. Karen got carried away. She just couldn’t stop.”
Having witnessed Karen’s meticulous routine of counting calories and planning food intake for every meal, Richard complimented her initial weight loss during a break from recording as the two dined at the Au Petit Café, a favourite French bistro on Vine Street near the A&M studios. “You look great,” he told her.
Can’t Smile Without You The Carpenters
“Well, I’m just going to get down to around 105.”
“A hundred and five? You look great now.”
Karen’s response worried Richard. In fact, this was the first time he paused to consider she might be taking the diet too far. Friends and family began to notice extreme changes in Karen’s eating habits, despite her attempts at subtlety. She rearranged and pushed her food around the plate with a fork as she talked, which gave the appearance of eating. Another of her strategies involved offering samples of her food to others around the table. She would rave on about her delicious meal and then insist that everyone try it for themselves. “Here, you have some,” she would say as she enthusiastically scooped heaps on to others’ plates. “Would you like to taste this?” By the time dinner was over, Karen’s plate was clean but she had dispersed her entire meal to everyone else. Her mother, Agnes, caught on to this ploy and began to do the same in return. “Well, this is good, too,” she would say as she put more food on to her daughter’s plate. This infuriated Karen, who realised she would have to find other ways to avoid eating.
By the time Karen’s weight dropped to 6st 6lb, she looked for ways to disguise the weight loss, especially around those she knew would make comments or pester her to eat more. She began to layer her clothing, a strategy her agent Sherwin Bash noticed in the early part of 1975. “She would start with a long-sleeved shirt and then put a blouse over that,” he explains, “and a sweater over that and a jacket over that… With all of it you had no idea of what she had become.”But family friend Evelyn Wallace was shocked when she caught a glimpse of Karen’s gaunt figure as she sunbathed topless in the back garden of the Carpenters’ home in Downey, California, one afternoon. “They put this screen around her so nobody else could see her,” Wallace explains. “She loved to go lay out in the sunshine. I don’t know whether it was to get a tan or get away from her mother. Anyhow, I happened to go out to the kitchen for something and I saw her out there. She just had on her little bathing suit shorts. You couldn’t tell whether it was a girl or a boy. She had absolutely no breasts.”
Karen’s new slim figure required that she purchase a new stage wardrobe, and she opted for a number of low-cut silky gowns, some strapless or even backless. Bash was horrified to see her bony shoulders and ribs. Even her hip bones were visible through the thin layers of fabric. He asked Karen to rethink the wardrobe choices before going on stage. “I talked her into putting a jacket on over the bare back and bare arms,” he said, “but the audience saw it.”
There was often a collective gasp from the audience when Karen would take the stage. In fact, after a few shows, Bash was approached by concerned fans who knew something was terribly wrong but assumed she had cancer or some other disease. Even critics took note of her gaunt appearance. A review for Varietypraised Karen’s emergence from behind the drums to centre stage but commented on her deteriorating appearance. “She is terribly thin, almost a wraith, and should be gowned more becomingly.”
No one really understood why Karen wasn’t eating. To those around her the solution seemed simple: eat. “Anorexia nervosa was so new that I didn’t even know how to pronounce it until 1980,” band member John Bettis said. “From the outside the solution looks so simple. All a person has to do is eat. So we were constantly trying to shove food at Karen… My opinion about anorexia is it’s an attempt to have control – something in your life you can do something about, that you can regiment. That just got out of control with her.”
Band members witnessed her exhaustion. She was lying down between shows, something she had rarely, if ever, done before. They were shocked to see how she could be flat on her back one minute and on stage singing the next. Even when doing back-to-back shows, Karen displayed “a tremendous amount of nervous energy”, said Bash. Unlike her parents, Bash had no qualms about confronting Karen on the issue of anorexia. “The fact that she was anorexic was discussed innumerable times… There was every attempt to get her to seek professional help, but I believe her family was the kind of family where the mother would say, ‘We can take care of ourselves. We don’t need to have someone help. This is a family matter.'”
When Karen dieted, or “overdieted”, Bash explains, there was a rush of attention from the family, especially Agnes. “Karen had never had attention from Agnes before – her mother doted exclusively on Richard – so she liked it. The experts say that one of the things that seems to drive young girls to overdiet is that they were oftentimes the kids that never got attention. It’s a way of getting the love from their family that they never got before.”
By the autumn of 1975 Karen’s failing health could no longer be ignored. In addition to her skeletal appearance, she was mentally and physically exhausted. Although she made it through a series of shows in LasVegas without a major incident, upon returning to Los Angeles she checked into Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, where she spent five days while doctors ran tests. “She is suffering a severe case of physical and nervous exhaustion,” said Dr Robert Koblin in a statement to the press. “She had a hectic four-week schedule lined up in Europe but I could not allow her to go through with it. In my opinion it would have been highly dangerous to her long-term health.” Melody Maker reported that the Carpenters’ tour would have been the highest-grossing tour in Britain and that approximately 150,000 people were set to see them during the planned 28-day European trek. Ticket sales for the 50 shows, which sold out in a matter of hours, were refunded. It was reported that the Carpenters may have easily lost upward of $250,000 due to the cancelled concerts.
Under Agnes Carpenter’s close watch, Karen slept 14-16 hours a day. “My mother thought I was dead,” she told biographer Ray Coleman. “I normally manage on four to six hours. It was obvious that for the past two years I’d been running on nervous energy.” Her weight eventually climbed to 7st 6lb.
The Carpenters – Rainy Days And Mondays
Over the next five years Karen continued to struggle with anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Meanwhile Richard Carpenter fought and won a battle with Quaalude addiction. Then in June 1980, after an unsuccessful attempt to launch a solo career, Karen announced her engagement to a property developer called Tom Burris.
Thirty-nine-year-old Tom Burris met a number of Karen’s requirements in a potential husband. “He was very attractive, very nice, and he seemed very generous,” said Carole Curb. Two months into their relationship, Burris told Karen he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. The couple’s plan for a year-long engagement was ditched when they announced in July their plans for an August ceremony. The push to be married alarmed Karen’s friends. According to Karen ‘Itchie’ Ramone, Karen’s friend and the wife of producer Phil Ramone, “That’s when everybody’s antennas went up.” Days before the wedding rehearsal Burris dropped a bombshell: he had undergone a vasectomy prior to their meeting. Karen was dumbfounded. He offered to reverse the procedure but their chances at a family would be significantly lessened.
Karen felt betrayed. Burris had lied to her; he had withheld this information for the duration of their courtship and engagement, knowing full well that starting a family was at the top of Karen’s list of priorities. This was a deal breaker. The wedding was off. Karen picked up the phone and called her mother. She cried to Agnes as she explained the deceit that left her with no choice but to cancel the ceremony. But Agnes told her she would do no such thing. Family and friends were travelling from all over the country to attend the event. Moreover, the wedding expenses had already cost what Agnes considered to be a small fortune. “The invitations have gone out. There are reporters and photographers coming. People magazine is going to be there. The wedding is on, and you will walk down that aisle. You made your bed, Karen,” she told her. “Now you’ll have to lay in it.”
Most of Karen’s family and friends had assumed Burris’s lifestyle and net worth were comparable to her own. The expensive cars and other possessions gave him the appearance of a multimillionaire, but what others did not realise was that he was living well beyond his means.
“It wasn’t long after they got married that he started asking her for money,” recalls Evelyn Wallace. “He’d give her some excuse, and she’d give him the money. He’d ask for $35,000 and $50,000 at a time. Finally it got down to the point where all she had left was stocks and bonds.”
As Itchie Ramone recalls, “Tom couldn’t afford the houses, the cars, her wedding ring; he couldn’t pay for anything.” Karen began to share with friends her growing misgivings about Tom, not only concerning his finances but also his lack of feelings for her. He was often impatient, and she admitted being fearful when he would occasionally lose his temper. “He could be very cruel to her,” says Itchie. But Karen’s longing to be a mother proved to be stronger than her desire to leave her husband. At their house in Newport Beach Karen expressed to Burris her desire to get pregnant and start a family. His response was brutal. She was still crying hysterically when she called Itchie Ramone for support. Burris had told her he wouldn’t even consider having children with her and called her “a bag of bones”. According to Itchie, this marriage was “the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was absolutely the worst thing that could have ever happened to her.”
Friends suggested she and Burris seek marital counselling. Instead, the Carpenters prepared to leave for Europe and South America. Itchie went along to keep Karen company. In reality, however, according to Itchie, “Laxatives were her major companion. When we were in Paris we made quite a scene in a pharmacy across the street from our hotel about her needing to buy more laxatives. I suggested natural food groups that might relieve her ‘constipation’ but she always won those arguments.”
Following a brief stop in Amsterdam, the Carpenters arrived at London’s Heathrow airport on Wednesday, 21 October 1981. They made numerous promotional appearances while in London, both in person and on television. On Thursday they taped an interview for Nationwide, a popular news magazine on BBC television. Barely one minute into their visit, host Sue Lawley surprised Karen by casting light on her darkest secret. “There were rumours that you were suffering from the slimmer’s disease anorexia nervosa,” Lawley said. “Is that right?” “No, I was just pooped,” Karen said with an intense frown. “I was tired out.”
“You went down to about six stone in weight, I think, didn’t you?” Lawley asked. “I have no idea what ‘six stone in weight’ is,” Karen replied, becoming noticeably uncomfortable and increasingly agitated. She struggled to fake a laugh, rolling her eyes at the interviewer, who quickly converted the amount to approximately 84lbs. “No,” she said, shaking her head adamantly. “No.”
In actuality her weight was hovering around 5st 10lbs even then. The interviewer’s continued efforts to pinpoint a reason for Karen’s skeletal appearance prompted Richard to come to his sister’s defence. “I don’t really feel that we should be talking about the weight loss,” he told Lawley. “Maybe it’s better to take a pass on the whole thing. It’s really not what we’re here for.”
“I am just asking you the questions people want to know the answers to,” Lawley replied.
Returning to Los Angeles in November 1981, Karen filed for divorce. Leaving behind the pieces of her broken marriage, she set out on a year-long recovery mission, relocating to New York City’s Regency Hotel in January 1982. Manager Jerry Weintraub arranged for Karen and Itchie Ramone to share a two-bedroom suite. Cherry O’Neill, the eldest daughter of singer Pat Boone who had herself recovered from anorexia, had recommended Karen consider coming to the northwest and seeing the doctor who helped her. But in Karen’s world, one name was synonymous with anorexia treatment, and that name was Steven Levenkron. He was a psychotherapist specialising in eating disorders and his successful book The Best Little Girl in the World had become a highly acclaimed television movie, which aired in May 1981. Levenkron agreed to treat her. He received £100 for each hour-long session five days a week, totalling $2,000 a month. “I liked Levenkron, at least in the beginning,” Itchie Ramone says. “No one really knew why someone would get the disorder or how to treat it, so we were really looking to him to ‘save’ her.”
Arriving at Levenkron’s office at 16 East Seventy-Ninth in Manhattan, Karen weighed in at an alarming 5st 8lb. A week into their daily sessions, Karen admitted to Levenkron she was taking a large number of laxative tablets – 80-90 Dulcolax a night. This did not surprise Levenkron. In fact, it was a common practice for many anorexics. “For quite some time, I was taking 60 laxatives at once,” admits Cherry O’Neill. “Mainly because that was how many came in the box… I would ingest the entire contents so as not to leave any evidence.”
What did stun Levenkron was Karen’s next casual disclosure. She was also taking thyroid medication – 10 pills a day. He was shocked, especially when she explained that she had a normal thyroid. Realising she was using the medication to speed up her metabolism, Levenkron confiscated the pills. This was the first case of thyroid medication abuse he had seen in his dozen years in the field.
According to Levenkron’s 1982 book, Treating and Overcoming Anorexia Nervosa, the patient must become totally dependent upon the therapist. Once the patient has transferred their dependence on to him, he tries to teach them how to create their own sense of identity, and he helps them disengage from their dependence on him with new behaviours, habits, and thought patterns.
Karen took advantage of the beautiful spring weather and began a new exercise routine – to and from her sessions with Levenkron – a brisk two-mile round-trip walk. This was yet another method to burn extra calories. Outwardly Karen seemed committed to the idea of therapy, but as evidenced by her daily walking regimen, she was not as committed to making actual changes that would result in real progress. “She was still walking a lot, and she was exercising,” Carole Curb says. “And then she was into throwing up and taking pills that make you lose water-weight. Debilitating things like that.”
Several months into his sessions with Karen, Levenkron began to suspect that she had fallen off the wagon. He invited the Carpenter parents and Richard to a 90-minute family therapy session at his office. “They did come to New York –finally,” Itchie Ramone recalls, “and only after a lot of nudging. By then, Karen seemed to be starting to turn the corner a bit emotionally.”
The stigma surrounding mental illness and a need for therapy was frightening for the family, especially Agnes, who felt Karen was simply going overboard as far as dieting was concerned. If only she would stop being so stubborn and just eat. Over the years the family tried every possible approach to get through to her and make her eat. “Everyone around her did everything that they could have humanly done,” Richard said in 1993. “I tried everything – the heart-to-heart, the cajole, the holler… It can just make you crazy. Obviously it wasn’t about to work, and I was upset.”
Levenkron explained that the family’s attempts to threaten or bribe Karen out of her behaviours would never make them go away. According to his book, “Failure of the family to understand this produces division within the family that in turn results in feelings of anger and guilt. The family atmosphere is chaotic, reinforcing the anorexic’s belief that she and no one else knows what is best for her.” Levenkron suggested to the family that Karen was in need of a more tactile, demonstrative kind of love. Karen cried uncontrollably during the meeting. She told them how sorry she was for having put them in a situation where they felt a need to defend her upbringing, and she went so far as to apologise for ruining their lives. “I think Karen really needs to hear that you love her,” Levenkron told the family.
“Well, of course I love you,” Richard told her unreservedly.
“Agnes?” The therapist tapped the mother’s shoe with his own.
Rather than address her daughter, Agnes explained how she preferred to be called Mrs Carpenter. “Well, I’m from the north,” she continued. “And we just don’t do things that way.”
“Agnes couldn’t do it,” says Itchie Ramone, who discussed the meeting with Karen and Levenkron after the family left. “She couldn’t do it… In therapy you’re basically stark naked. Then your own mother can’t reach out to you? And the way she doted on Richard. Most children would try to dance as fast as they could to make their parents love them, but it was at that point that I think Karen decided it was time to take a step back.”
After the meeting with Levenkron, Richard became angry with the treatment plan, which he thought to be worthless. He was upset that Karen had not checked herself into an inpatient facility as one would do to conquer substance abuse. He and his parents returned to California and chose to keep their distance after this painful encounter. They made no further attempts to contact Karen’s therapist. “What I find interesting,” Levenkron stated in 1993, “is that in the entire time Karen was in New York, I got zero calls from the family. I have never treated anyone with anorexia nervosa whose family didn’t call regularly because they were concerned.” Likewise, Richard claimed to have never received a call from Levenkron.
Karen and Itchie were surprised to learn that Levenkron was not an actual doctor. “We used to call him ‘Dr Levenkron’ all the time,” Itchie explains. “Then we found out that he wasn’t even a real doctor. Any medical issues she had, we had to go see this other doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital.”
According to Evelyn Wallace, “Karen picked the wrong guy to go to. He wasn’t even a doctor. It seemed like Levenkron was simply trying to talk Karen out of having anorexia, but she’d talk to him and she’d go back to the same routine.”
By the autumn of 1982 Karen showed no real signs of progress. In fact, her walks to and from sessions with Levenkron kept her body weight beneath the six stone mark. Itchie Ramone called Levenkron and voiced her concerns. “Look, Karen’s getting thinner and thinner,” she exclaimed. “Plus, it’s obvious she doesn’t have her usual energy anymore. When do you expect this turnaround? She’s just skin and bone.”
The therapist agreed that Karen seemed extra tired and was not responding as quickly as he had hoped, and vowed to try another approach. After her next session with Levenkron, Karen asked Itchie if she could borrow a swimsuit. “What?” Itchie asked. “There’s no pool in the hotel. Besides, it’s cold out!”
“No, I have to wear it tomorrow for Levenkron,” Karen answered. The two stopped by the Ramones’s apartment to pick up a size 2 light green bikini belonging to Itchie. Karen changed into the bikini and emerged smiling. Itchie was mortified and unable to hide her reaction. “What’s the matter?” Karen asked. “It fits.”
“Uh, yeah, it fits,” she said hesitantly. “You can use it tomorrow, I guess.”
Returning to Levenkron the following day, Karen was asked to change into the bikini and stand in front of the office mirror. He urged her to survey and evaluate her body. “She didn’t really see any problem with how she looked,” Itchie recalls. “In fact, she thought she was gaining a little weight. But she was 79lb.”
In mid-September Karen phoned Levenkron and told him her heart was “beating funny”. She was quite upset, anxious, and confused. She complained of dizziness to an extent that she was unable to walk. Despite not being medically qualified, he recognised her symptoms as those of someone suffering extreme dehydration. Karen was admitted to New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital on 20 September 1982 to begin hyperalimentation, or intravenous feeding.
The next morning she went into surgery to have a small-bore catheter implanted within the superior vena cava (right atrium of the heart). An unexpected complication was discovered later that day when she complained to the nurse of excruciating chest pain, and X-rays revealed the doctors had accidentally punctured one of her lungs in their attempts to insert the tube.
As her lung began to heal, Karen’s body quickly responded to the artificial means of feeding. The hyperalimentation process completely replaced all of her nutritional needs, and a precise daily calorie intake was dispensed through the catheter. This loss of control was known to often spark fear in patients, and doctors who oppose hyperalimentation argue that it does not teach the patient to eat properly. However, Karen went along with it and gained 12lb in only a few days. Solid foods were slowly reintroduced as the level of assistance from Karen’s IV lessened, and she continued to gain weight steadily. Unlike many other patients she seemed pleased and excited to show visitors her progress. Richard flew in to visit on 25 October and, like most who saw her there, was shocked and saddened. She was still horribly emaciated and barely identifiable by this stage. “You see how much better I look?” she asked.
Richard nodded in agreement but only to appease his sister. In an attempt to divert the attention away from herself, Karen told him of other patients who were much worse off. But he was not sidetracked. “Karen, this is crap,” he said suddenly. “Don’t you understand? This is crap! You’re going about this all the wrong way. This guy isn’t getting anything accomplished because you’re in a hospital now!”
THE BEST OF : THE CARPENTERS
By November Karen was eating three meals a day at Lenox Hill, and trying to stay positive about the weight gain, by then approaching the 30lb mark. The return of her menstrual cycle, which had ceased during the previous year, seemed to signify an improvement in emotional and physical wellbeing.
On 16 November Karen visited Steven Levenkron for the last time and presented him with a farewell gift, a framed personal message in needlepoint. The large green-threaded words “you win – I gain” served as tangible proof of the long hours Karen had spent alone in the hospital. Learning of her plan to leave, Levenkron reminded Karen she was abandoning the program much too soon, and that treatment takes at least three years. He suggested a therapist in Los Angeles so that she might continue a routine of some sort upon her return home, but she declined. She promised to call him and swore she would not take any more laxatives or diuretics. Agnes and Harold (Karen’s father) met up with her at Levenkron’s office that day. The couple had flown to New York City to bring their daughter and her 22 pieces of luggage home. It was obvious to most that Karen’s treatment was inadequate and ending too soon.
“She tried to get help,” says her longtime friend Frenda Franklin. “She went to New York to try. It just wasn’t the right way to do it. If this had happened in today’s world I think Karen would have lived. I think we would have had a good shot. They know so much more. We were dancing in the dark.”
Karen ate heartily on Thanksgiving Day, much to the delight of her family, and she even called Itchie Ramone that night to tell her of all she had eaten. “She said to me, ‘I ate this and that and all my favourite things,'” she recalls. “She was very proud of herself then. We were all very proud of her. It seemed like progress.”
In the weeks following her return to Los Angeles Karen went back to shopping and socialising without delay. Although others felt she was still quite fragile and thin, Herb Alpert, who had first signed the Carpenters to A&M, saw Karen shortly after the New Year and recalled her looking terrific. She bounced into his office saying, “Hey, look at me, Herbie! What do you think? How do I look?” Alpert agreed that she looked happier and healthier than he had seen her in some time, and felt she appeared to have won the battle. “I am so happy,” she told him.
“I’m ready to record again, and Richard and I have been talking about getting the group together and performing.”
Despite her high spirits, she was taking more naps than usual and sometimes lying down by seven in the evening. Richard did not believe she was well, and he told her so. On Thursday 27 January Florine Elie drove to Century City for her weekly cleaning of Karen’s apartment at Century Towers. There the housekeeper made an unnerving discovery. “When I was working up there I found Karen,” Elie says. “She was lying on the floor of her closet.” She gently shook Karen who awoke but was groggy. “Karen, is there something wrong?” she asked.
“No, I am just so tired,” she replied.
Carpenters in Concert at the New London Theatre – 1976
“Maybe you better go lie on your bed,” she said, helping Karen up and tucking her into bed.
Florine checked on Karen again before leaving. By then she was awake and adamant she was OK.
Tuesday 1 February found Karen dining with her brother, this time at Scandia on Sunset Boulevard. They were joined by stage producer Joe Layton, and the trio discussed plans for the Carpenters’ return to touring. Karen ate with enthusiasm and after dinner returned to Century Towers. This was the last time Richard would see his sister alive.
The next day Karen spoke with Itchie Ramone, who was pregnant with her and Phil’s first child. Karen shared her plans for the week. She would sign the final divorce papers on Friday and then prepare to leave for New York. “That weekend, 6 February, she was going to hop on a plane and be there for the birth,” Itchie recalls.
Shortly after midnight, staying overnight with her parents, Karen went over her to-do list with Frenda Franklin by phone, and finalised plans for the next day. “OK, I am going to drive in. There shouldn’t be a lot of traffic,” she said. According to Frenda, Karen enjoyed keeping up with traffic reports. “Then we’re going to go get the red fingernail polish.” The two had a noon appointment for a manicure in celebration of her divorce.
On Friday morning, 4 February, Karen awoke and went downstairs to the kitchen, where she turned on the coffeepot her mother had prepared the night before. She went back upstairs to get dressed. When the coffee was ready, Agnes dialled the upstairs bedroom phone, but its ring, heard faintly in the distance, went unanswered. Agnes went to the foot of the stairs and called to her daughter but there was no response. Entering the room, Agnes found Karen’s motionless, nude body lying face down on the floor of the walk-in wardrobe. Her eyes were open but rolled back. She was lying in a straight line and did not appear to have fallen. “She had just laid down on the floor and that was it,” Agnes recalled.
The autopsy report listed the cause of death as “emetine cardiotoxicity due to or as a consequence of anorexia nervosa.” The finding of emetine cardiotoxicity (ipecac poisoning) revealed that Karen had poisoned herself with ipecac syrup, a well-known emetic commonly recommended to induce vomiting in cases of overdose or poisoning.
Levenkron claimed to know nothing of Karen’s use or abuse of ipecac. In their phone calls she assured him she was maintaining her new 7st 10lb figure and had completely suspended use of all laxatives. He never suspected she was resorting to something much more lethal.
In a radio interview taped shortly after Karen’s death, Levenkron discussed the autopsy findings: “According to the LA coroner, she discovered ipecac… and started taking it every day. There are a lot of women out there who are using ipecac for self-induced vomiting. It creates painful cramps, tastes terrible, and it does another thing that the public isn’t aware of. It slowly dissolves the heart muscle. If you take it day after day, every dose is taking another little piece of that heart muscle apart. Karen, after fighting bravely for a year in therapy, went home and apparently decided that she wouldn’t lose any weight with ipecac, but that she’d make sure she didn’t gain any. I’m sure she thought this was a harmless thing she was doing, but in 60 days she had accidentally killed herself. It was a shocker for all of us who treated her.”
In one of Levenkron’s most recent books, Anatomy of Anorexia, the author boasts of his above-average recovery rate in working with those suffering from eating disorders. “In the last 20 years I have treated nearly 300 anorexics,” he wrote. “I am pleased to state that I have had a 90 per cent recovery rate, though tragically, one fatality.” That was Karen Carpenter.
_
carpenters -We’ve Only Just Begun
The Carpenters – Yesterday Once More (INCLUDES LYRICS)
Paul McCartney Mull Of Kintyre-Original Video-HQ Uploaded on Nov 25, 2011 Paul McCartney Mull Of Kintyre Lyric Mull of kintyre Oh mist rolling in from the sea, My desire is always to be here Oh mull of kintyre Far have I traveled and much have I seen Dark distant mountains with valleys of green. Past […]
__ Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmas Time Wonderful Christmastime From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Wonderful Christmastime” Single by Paul McCartney B-side “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae” Released 16 November 1979 Format 7-inch 45 rpm Recorded 30 August 1979, Lower Gate Farm, Sussex Genre Christmas pop rock synthrock Length 3:45 Label Parlophone Columbia Writer(s) Paul McCartney Producer(s) Paul […]
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Bob Dylan Press Conference 1965 Part 1 ___ Bob Dylan played on one of Keith Green’s last albums and on the 6:19 min mark of part 5 it shows Bob Dylan: The Keith Green Story pt 5/7 The Keith Green Story pt 3/7 Keith Green had a major impact on me back in 1978 […]
________ Quinton Aaron of “The Blindside” talks “Greater” and the faith and character of Brandon Burlsworth Published on Oct 28, 2015 Quinton Aaron, star of “The Blindside”, discusses why he is so proud to be a part of “Greater”, and talks about the faith and character of Brandon Burlsworth, the greatest walk-on in college football […]
MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 3 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images ‘Waiting for a Girl Like You’ From: ‘4’ (1981) Mick Jones calls “Waiting” the “song that wrote itself,” telling Classic Rock that he felt like the “conduit” for the track and that “something was coming down through […]
MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 2 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images 7 ‘Feels Like the First Time’ From: ‘Foreigner’ (1977) “Feels Like the First Time” is a pretty genius name for your first single, and it certainly paid plenty of dividends for Foreigner, striking the Top Five. For […]
__ MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 1 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images Read More: Top 10 Foreigner Songs | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/top-10-foreigner-songs/?trackback=tsmclipForeigner‘s lone remaining founding member, guitarist Mick Jones, has been at the helm of the legendary American rock group since 1976. But if you’ve seen the band […]
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Paul McCartney Mull Of Kintyre-Original Video-HQ Uploaded on Nov 25, 2011 Paul McCartney Mull Of Kintyre Lyric Mull of kintyre Oh mist rolling in from the sea, My desire is always to be here Oh mull of kintyre Far have I traveled and much have I seen Dark distant mountains with valleys of green. Past […]
__ Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmas Time Wonderful Christmastime From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Wonderful Christmastime” Single by Paul McCartney B-side “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae” Released 16 November 1979 Format 7-inch 45 rpm Recorded 30 August 1979, Lower Gate Farm, Sussex Genre Christmas pop rock synthrock Length 3:45 Label Parlophone Columbia Writer(s) Paul McCartney Producer(s) Paul […]
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________ Quinton Aaron of “The Blindside” talks “Greater” and the faith and character of Brandon Burlsworth Published on Oct 28, 2015 Quinton Aaron, star of “The Blindside”, discusses why he is so proud to be a part of “Greater”, and talks about the faith and character of Brandon Burlsworth, the greatest walk-on in college football […]
MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 3 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images ‘Waiting for a Girl Like You’ From: ‘4’ (1981) Mick Jones calls “Waiting” the “song that wrote itself,” telling Classic Rock that he felt like the “conduit” for the track and that “something was coming down through […]
MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 2 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images 7 ‘Feels Like the First Time’ From: ‘Foreigner’ (1977) “Feels Like the First Time” is a pretty genius name for your first single, and it certainly paid plenty of dividends for Foreigner, striking the Top Five. For […]
__ MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 1 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images Read More: Top 10 Foreigner Songs | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/top-10-foreigner-songs/?trackback=tsmclipForeigner‘s lone remaining founding member, guitarist Mick Jones, has been at the helm of the legendary American rock group since 1976. But if you’ve seen the band […]
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Paul McCartney Mull Of Kintyre Lyric
Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
Far have I traveled and much have I seen
Dark distant mountains with valleys of green.
Past painted deserts the sunsets on fire
As he carries me home to the mull of kintyre.
Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/paul+mcc… ]
Sweep through the heather like deer in the glen
Carry me back to the days I knew then.
Nights when we sang like a heavenly choir
Of the life and the time of the mull of kintyre.
Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
Smiles in the sunshine
And tears in the rain
Still take me back to where my memories remain
Flickering embers growing higher and higher
As they carry me back to the mull of kintyre
Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was an original member of the Moody Blues, singing the band’s first hit “Go Now” in 1964, and was a member of Wings with Paul McCartney from 1971 to 1981.
Laine was born in Birmingham, where he attended Yardley Grammar School, and took up the guitar as a boy under the influence of gypsy jazz (jazz manouche) legend Django Reinhardt; he gave his first solo performance as a musician at the age of 12 and began his career as a professional musician fronting Denny Laine & the Diplomats, which also included future Move and Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan.
In 1964, Laine left the Diplomats to join Mike Pinder in the Moody Blues[1] and sang the group’s first big hit, “Go Now“; other early highlights included I Don’t Want To Go on Without You, another UK hit, plus two minor UK chart hits “From The Bottom of My Heart ( I Love You)”, Everyday (both written by Laine and Pinder), “Can’t Nobody Love You” and the harmonica-ripping “Bye Bye Bird” (a big hit in France). A self-titled EP and ‘The Magnificent Moodies’ LP on Decca followed. Laine and Pinder wrote most of The Moody Blues ‘B’ sides during the 1965-66 period, such as You Don’t (All the Time),And My Baby’s Gone and This Is My House. However, Laine’s tenure with the MB’s was relatively short-lived and, after a number of comparative chart failures,[citation needed] Laine quit the band in October 1966. The last record issued by the Moody Blues that featured Laine was “Life’s Not Life”/”He Can Win” in January 1967, just after Justin Hayward had replaced him in the band.
After leaving the Moody Blues, he formed the Electric String Band in December 1966, which featured himself on guitar and vocals, Trevor Burton (of the Move) on guitar, Viv Prince on drums and electrified strings in a format not dissimilar to what Electric Light Orchestra would later attempt. Laine made two singles, “Say You Don’t Mind”/”Ask The People” (April 1967, Deram) and “Too Much in Love”/”Catherine’s Wheel” (January 1968, Deram); and, in June 1967, the band shared a bill with the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Procol Harum at the Saville Theatre in London. However, it did not achieve national attention, and the pioneering Electric String Band broke up. (There was apparently a third single recorded called “Why Did You Come?”. Why it was never released is unknown, but there have been rumors that the finished track – and probably the B side as well – was mailed to Decca and was lost.)[citation needed] Laine and Burton then went on to the band Balls from February 1969 until the band’s breakup in 1971, with both also taking time to play in Ginger Baker’s Air Force in 1970.[2]
Only one single was issued by Balls: “Fight for My Country”/”Janie, Slow Down” on UK Wizard Records.[2] The top side was re-edited and reissued on UK Wizard and issued in the UK on Wizard and in the United States on Epic under the name of Trevor Burton; Laine and Burton shared lead vocals on the B side. The single was reissued again as B.L.W. as “Live in the Mountains” for a small Pye-distributed label, “Paladin”. Twelve tracks were recorded for a Balls album, but it has never been released.[2] Laine’s 1967 song “Say You Don’t Mind” was a hit when recorded in 1972 by ex-ZombieColin Blunstone.
In 1971, Laine joined Paul McCartney to form Wings,[1] and stayed with the group for 10 years until it disbanded in 1981. Laine provided lead and rhythm guitars, lead and backing vocals, keyboards, bass guitar and woodwinds, as well as writing or co-writing some of the group’s material. Laine, McCartney, and McCartney’s wife, Linda McCartney formed the nucleus of the band. With Wings, Laine enjoyed the biggest commercial and critical successes of his career, including co-writing the hit Mull of Kintyre. He also co-wrote and sang lead vocal on Deliver Your Children, which was released as a Wings B-side but charted in the Netherlands.
In January 1980, McCartney was arrested for possession of marijuana on arrival at an airport for a tour in Japan. The tour was cancelled and the band members, except Linda, returned to England. After returning to England, McCartney decided to release his solo album, McCartney II, and plans for an autumn U.S. tour were dropped. Meanwhile, Laine released the single “Japanese Tears” and formed the short-lived Denny Laine Band with Steve Holley and released a solo album Japanese Tears that December. On 27 April 1981, Laine announced he was leaving Wings due to McCartney’s reluctance to tour in the wake of John Lennon’s murder.[3]
He signed with Scratch records and began working on a new album, Anyone Can Fly. He then went on to record other solo albums such as Hometown Girls,Wings on Your Feet and Lonely Road before returning to Scratch to do his Wings at the Sound of Denny Laine. He has also had three fanzine publications, Ahh Laine, wrote the musical Arctic Song and released two more albums, Master Suite and Reborn.
Laine moved to the United States in the 1990s, where he continues to tour, originally with the World Classic Rockers and later with the Cryers.
He was briefly married to Jo Jo Laine, with whom he had a son, Laine Hines, and a daughter, Heidi Hines.[4] He has three other children from other relationships: Lucianne Grant (with Helen, daughter of Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant), Damian James (with model Catherine James)[5] and Ainsley Laine-Adams.
__ Bob Dylan Press Conference 1965 Part 2 This is a tribute to Keith Green who died 32 years ago today!!! On July 28, 1983 I was sitting by the radio when CBS radio news came on and gave the shocking news that Keith Green had been killed by an airplane crash in Texas with […]
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________ Quinton Aaron of “The Blindside” talks “Greater” and the faith and character of Brandon Burlsworth Published on Oct 28, 2015 Quinton Aaron, star of “The Blindside”, discusses why he is so proud to be a part of “Greater”, and talks about the faith and character of Brandon Burlsworth, the greatest walk-on in college football […]
MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 3 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images ‘Waiting for a Girl Like You’ From: ‘4’ (1981) Mick Jones calls “Waiting” the “song that wrote itself,” telling Classic Rock that he felt like the “conduit” for the track and that “something was coming down through […]
MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 2 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images 7 ‘Feels Like the First Time’ From: ‘Foreigner’ (1977) “Feels Like the First Time” is a pretty genius name for your first single, and it certainly paid plenty of dividends for Foreigner, striking the Top Five. For […]
__ MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 1 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images Read More: Top 10 Foreigner Songs | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/top-10-foreigner-songs/?trackback=tsmclip Foreigner‘s lone remaining founding member, guitarist Mick Jones, has been at the helm of the legendary American rock group since 1976. But if you’ve seen the band […]
__ Glen Campbell’s Greatest Hits Compilation – Complete Set Related posts: MUSIC MONDAY Washed Out: ‘I wish I could have a 9 to 5 life’ Ernest Greene’s debut album confirms his place at the forefront of the chillwave scene. So why is he so worried? August 22, 2016 – 12:36 am _ Washed Out – Life […]
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__ Washed Out – Within and Without (Full Album) Washed Out’s Ernest Greene Finds Fulfillment in 9-to-5 Grind, ‘Portlandia’ Fame Laura Ferreiro Live Nation•August 27, 2014 On Monday, Sept. 1 at 7:45 p.m. PT/10:45 p.m. ET, Yahoo Live will live stream Washed Out’s concert from First Avenue in Minneapolis. Tune in HERE to watch! Anyone […]
“Wonderful Christmastime” is a 1979 Christmas song by Paul McCartney. It enjoys significant Christmas time popularity around the world.[1] The song was later added as a bonus track on the 1993 CD reissue of Wings‘ Back to the Egg album.[2]
The track was subsequently added as a bonus track to the 2011 reissue of the McCartney II album, with both full and edited versions included. The track was also mixed in 5.1 surround sound for inclusion on the 2007 DVD release The McCartney Years.
McCartney recorded the song entirely on his own during the sessions for his solo project McCartney II. Although the members of Wings are not on the recording, they do appear in the promotional music video,[3] which was filmed at the Fountain Inn in Ashurst, West Sussex.[4]
Following its release as a stand-alone single in the United Kingdom, “Wonderful Christmastime” peaked at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart the week ending 5 January 1980.[6] In the United States the single peaked at No. 83 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart and No. 94 on the Record World Singles Chart, but did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100.[7]
In December 1984, the single appeared at No. 10 for two weeks on Billboard‘s Christmas singles chart.[8] It also reached No. 29 on Billboard‘s weekly Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart in early January 1996.[8]
The song continues to receive substantial airplay every year, although some music critics consider it to be one of McCartney’s poorest compositions.[9][10][11] Beatles author Robert Rodriguez has written of “Wonderful Christmastime”: “Love it or hate it, few songs within the McCartney oeuvre have provoked such strong reactions.”[10]
Including royalties from cover versions, it is estimated that McCartney makes $400,000 a year from this song, which puts its cumulative earnings at near $15 million.[12]
Demi Lovato did a cover on the 2008 All Wrapped Up album. This version also appears on the 2012 compilation album Now That’s What I Call Today’s Christmas and in trailers for the 2013 film A Madea Christmas.
Eli Young Band covered the song on the 2011 compilation The Country Christmas Collection. Their version peaked at number 33 on the BillboardHot Country Songs chart in January 2012.
The Shins covered the song for the Starbucks 2012 holiday cover album, Holidays Rule (McCartney also appeared on this album).
Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium, 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ISBN 0-615-11724-4), p. 251.
Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium, 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ISBN 0-615-11724-4), p. 254.
__ Bob Dylan Press Conference 1965 Part 2 This is a tribute to Keith Green who died 32 years ago today!!! On July 28, 1983 I was sitting by the radio when CBS radio news came on and gave the shocking news that Keith Green had been killed by an airplane crash in Texas with […]
Bob Dylan Press Conference 1965 Part 1 ___ Bob Dylan played on one of Keith Green’s last albums and on the 6:19 min mark of part 5 it shows Bob Dylan: The Keith Green Story pt 5/7 The Keith Green Story pt 3/7 Keith Green had a major impact on me back in 1978 […]
________ Quinton Aaron of “The Blindside” talks “Greater” and the faith and character of Brandon Burlsworth Published on Oct 28, 2015 Quinton Aaron, star of “The Blindside”, discusses why he is so proud to be a part of “Greater”, and talks about the faith and character of Brandon Burlsworth, the greatest walk-on in college football […]
MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 3 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images ‘Waiting for a Girl Like You’ From: ‘4’ (1981) Mick Jones calls “Waiting” the “song that wrote itself,” telling Classic Rock that he felt like the “conduit” for the track and that “something was coming down through […]
MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 2 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images 7 ‘Feels Like the First Time’ From: ‘Foreigner’ (1977) “Feels Like the First Time” is a pretty genius name for your first single, and it certainly paid plenty of dividends for Foreigner, striking the Top Five. For […]
__ MUSIC MONDAY “Foreigner Top 10 Songs” Part 1 Top 10 Foreigner Songs By Matt Wardlaw Elsa, Getty Images Read More: Top 10 Foreigner Songs | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/top-10-foreigner-songs/?trackback=tsmclip Foreigner‘s lone remaining founding member, guitarist Mick Jones, has been at the helm of the legendary American rock group since 1976. But if you’ve seen the band […]
__ Glen Campbell’s Greatest Hits Compilation – Complete Set Related posts: MUSIC MONDAY Washed Out: ‘I wish I could have a 9 to 5 life’ Ernest Greene’s debut album confirms his place at the forefront of the chillwave scene. So why is he so worried? August 22, 2016 – 12:36 am _ Washed Out – Life […]
_ Washed Out – Life Of Leisure (Full Album) | HD Washed Out: ‘I wish I could have a 9 to 5 life’ Ernest Greene’s debut album confirms his place at the forefront of the chillwave scene. So why is he so worried? Ernest Greene, aka Washed Out: ‘At no point was I actively […]
__ Washed Out – Within and Without (Full Album) Washed Out’s Ernest Greene Finds Fulfillment in 9-to-5 Grind, ‘Portlandia’ Fame Laura Ferreiro Live Nation•August 27, 2014 On Monday, Sept. 1 at 7:45 p.m. PT/10:45 p.m. ET, Yahoo Live will live stream Washed Out’s concert from First Avenue in Minneapolis. Tune in HERE to watch! Anyone […]
__ Washed Out – Feel it all around Washed Out From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Ernest Greene” redirects here. For the member of the Little Rock Nine, see Ernest Green. This article is about the musician. For the film, see Washed Out (film). Washed Out Washed Out performing in October 2009 Background information Birth name […]
CHICAGO (Christian Examiner) – Ben Zobrist, a utility player who has helped propel the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series appearance in 71 years, is also an outspoken Christian who has used his platform to proclaim the Gospel.
Zobrist has started every game in the World Series and is listed as a second basemen, although he has played five positions for the Cubs this year and seven of the nine defensive positions since his first Major League Baseball game in 2006. He spent most of his career in Tampa Bay before splitting time with two teams in 2015 and then signing with the Cubs for 2016.
His on-base percentage ranked 13th this year in MLB at .386, although it has been his off-the-field actions that has attracted many fans.
“We know that as a Christian athlete, people are watching, and so we want to be the best example we can be and show that we are different – that Christ has changed our lives,” Zobrist said in 2013 during an interview with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. “But at the same time, I want people to know that grace is for everyone. We all need grace. We all need Christ.”
Zobrist’s walk-up song this year was an up-tempo contemporary Christian song (“Alive”) by his wife, singer Julianna Zobrist. Their 2014 book, “Playing With Purpose” (B&H), details their career and faith journeys.
Zobrist’s father is Tom Zobrist, the senior pastor at Liberty Bible Church in Eureka, Ill., and he played college baseball at Dallas Baptist. His Twitter account says he’s a “follower of Jesus Christ.”
He’s made the All-Star team three times and won a World Series title in 2015 while playing for Kansas City.
“The biggest things is, I’m still learning,” Zobrist said in the FCA interview, referencing his faith. “I still have a lot to learn about what the love of Christ is like – that it’s not just knowledge … but it’s allowing the truth to change you – allowing Christ’s message of grace and hope and love through the cross, that that message is the message that changes the way we look at everything in our lives.”
Paul McCartney Mull Of Kintyre Lyric
Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
Far have I traveled and much have I seen
Dark distant mountains with valleys of green.
Past painted deserts the sunsets on fire
As he carries me home to the mull of kintyre.
Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/paul+mcc… ]
Sweep through the heather like deer in the glen
Carry me back to the days I knew then.
Nights when we sang like a heavenly choir
Of the life and the time of the mull of kintyre.
Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
Smiles in the sunshine
And tears in the rain
Still take me back to where my memories remain
Flickering embers growing higher and higher
As they carry me back to the mull of kintyre
Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was an original member of the Moody Blues, singing the band’s first hit “Go Now” in 1964, and was a member of Wings with Paul McCartney from 1971 to 1981.
Laine was born in Birmingham, where he attended Yardley Grammar School, and took up the guitar as a boy under the influence of gypsy jazz (jazz manouche) legend Django Reinhardt; he gave his first solo performance as a musician at the age of 12 and began his career as a professional musician fronting Denny Laine & the Diplomats, which also included future Move and Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan.
In 1964, Laine left the Diplomats to join Mike Pinder in the Moody Blues[1] and sang the group’s first big hit, “Go Now“; other early highlights included I Don’t Want To Go on Without You, another UK hit, plus two minor UK chart hits “From The Bottom of My Heart ( I Love You)”, Everyday (both written by Laine and Pinder), “Can’t Nobody Love You” and the harmonica-ripping “Bye Bye Bird” (a big hit in France). A self-titled EP and ‘The Magnificent Moodies’ LP on Decca followed. Laine and Pinder wrote most of The Moody Blues ‘B’ sides during the 1965-66 period, such as You Don’t (All the Time),And My Baby’s Gone and This Is My House. However, Laine’s tenure with the MB’s was relatively short-lived and, after a number of comparative chart failures,[citation needed] Laine quit the band in October 1966. The last record issued by the Moody Blues that featured Laine was “Life’s Not Life”/”He Can Win” in January 1967, just after Justin Hayward had replaced him in the band.
After leaving the Moody Blues, he formed the Electric String Band in December 1966, which featured himself on guitar and vocals, Trevor Burton (of the Move) on guitar, Viv Prince on drums and electrified strings in a format not dissimilar to what Electric Light Orchestra would later attempt. Laine made two singles, “Say You Don’t Mind”/”Ask The People” (April 1967, Deram) and “Too Much in Love”/”Catherine’s Wheel” (January 1968, Deram); and, in June 1967, the band shared a bill with the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Procol Harum at the Saville Theatre in London. However, it did not achieve national attention, and the pioneering Electric String Band broke up. (There was apparently a third single recorded called “Why Did You Come?”. Why it was never released is unknown, but there have been rumors that the finished track – and probably the B side as well – was mailed to Decca and was lost.)[citation needed] Laine and Burton then went on to the band Balls from February 1969 until the band’s breakup in 1971, with both also taking time to play in Ginger Baker’s Air Force in 1970.[2]
Only one single was issued by Balls: “Fight for My Country”/”Janie, Slow Down” on UK Wizard Records.[2] The top side was re-edited and reissued on UK Wizard and issued in the UK on Wizard and in the United States on Epic under the name of Trevor Burton; Laine and Burton shared lead vocals on the B side. The single was reissued again as B.L.W. as “Live in the Mountains” for a small Pye-distributed label, “Paladin”. Twelve tracks were recorded for a Balls album, but it has never been released.[2] Laine’s 1967 song “Say You Don’t Mind” was a hit when recorded in 1972 by ex-ZombieColin Blunstone.
In 1971, Laine joined Paul McCartney to form Wings,[1] and stayed with the group for 10 years until it disbanded in 1981. Laine provided lead and rhythm guitars, lead and backing vocals, keyboards, bass guitar and woodwinds, as well as writing or co-writing some of the group’s material. Laine, McCartney, and McCartney’s wife, Linda McCartney formed the nucleus of the band. With Wings, Laine enjoyed the biggest commercial and critical successes of his career, including co-writing the hit Mull of Kintyre. He also co-wrote and sang lead vocal on Deliver Your Children, which was released as a Wings B-side but charted in the Netherlands.
In January 1980, McCartney was arrested for possession of marijuana on arrival at an airport for a tour in Japan. The tour was cancelled and the band members, except Linda, returned to England. After returning to England, McCartney decided to release his solo album, McCartney II, and plans for an autumn U.S. tour were dropped. Meanwhile, Laine released the single “Japanese Tears” and formed the short-lived Denny Laine Band with Steve Holley and released a solo album Japanese Tears that December. On 27 April 1981, Laine announced he was leaving Wings due to McCartney’s reluctance to tour in the wake of John Lennon’s murder.[3]
He signed with Scratch records and began working on a new album, Anyone Can Fly. He then went on to record other solo albums such as Hometown Girls,Wings on Your Feet and Lonely Road before returning to Scratch to do his Wings at the Sound of Denny Laine. He has also had three fanzine publications, Ahh Laine, wrote the musical Arctic Song and released two more albums, Master Suite and Reborn.
Laine moved to the United States in the 1990s, where he continues to tour, originally with the World Classic Rockers and later with the Cryers.
He was briefly married to Jo Jo Laine, with whom he had a son, Laine Hines, and a daughter, Heidi Hines.[4] He has three other children from other relationships: Lucianne Grant (with Helen, daughter of Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant), Damian James (with model Catherine James)[5] and Ainsley Laine-Adams.
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________ Quinton Aaron of “The Blindside” talks “Greater” and the faith and character of Brandon Burlsworth Published on Oct 28, 2015 Quinton Aaron, star of “The Blindside”, discusses why he is so proud to be a part of “Greater”, and talks about the faith and character of Brandon Burlsworth, the greatest walk-on in college football […]
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__ Washed Out – Within and Without (Full Album) Washed Out’s Ernest Greene Finds Fulfillment in 9-to-5 Grind, ‘Portlandia’ Fame Laura Ferreiro Live Nation•August 27, 2014 On Monday, Sept. 1 at 7:45 p.m. PT/10:45 p.m. ET, Yahoo Live will live stream Washed Out’s concert from First Avenue in Minneapolis. Tune in HERE to watch! Anyone […]
Limited Theatrical Release – Brandon Burlsworth is perhaps the greatest walk-on in the history of college football. Brandon had always dreamed of playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks but was considered too short and too fat to play Division I. Undeterred, Brandon took a big risk and walked on in 1994. Written off by fellow teammates and coaches, Brandon displayed dogged determination in the face of staggering odds. An extremely devoted Christian, Brandon never cursed or drank. He was genuinely humble and low-key. He worked harder than anybody, on and off the field, becoming the first Razorback to earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree while still playing. The overly fat kid, who was once an embarrassment to his teammates and an annoyance to his coaches, ended up becoming the most respected player in the history of the program, changing the lives of everyone he touched. Eleven days after being drafted into the NFL, Brandon was tragically killed in a car accident, crushing everyone who knew him. Brandon was “too good to be true.” How could something like that happen to this guy? The age-old question slammed down upon everyone with terrible force: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Brandon’s story is more than mere football. It is the ultimate expression of the question, “Why?” “Greater” will provide hope and inspiration as it strives to wrestle with this challenge and find reasons to trust. It is “Rudy” meets “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Dove Review
“Greater” is a tremendous and inspiring film. It deals with the true-life story of Brandon Burlsworth (Chris Severio). Brandon wound up playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks, even though he was a walk-on at camp. Even as a young boy, although he sometimes over-ate, he knew he wanted to play for the Razorbacks one day. Brandon keeps the faith when others don’t, and he works very hard to put on muscle and slim down. His older brother by 17 years, Marty (Neal McDonough) doesn’t have the faith Brandon does at first, but Brandon wins him over. A running joke in the film is that several people think Marty is Brandon’s father, instead of his brother. Their mother (Leslie Easterbrook) is a strong Christian who influences their lives. Brandon himself influences several people while at college and wins over some rough and gruff football players who used to mock his Christian faith. Soon, they are attending Bible study with him and praying.
This movie features themes of persistent hard work, trust, and standing firm in one’s faith. Brandon wins several coveted awards and is eventually drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. His family endures a tragedy, and an epitaph says at the conclusion of the film: “Our loss is great, but God is greater.” Brandon’s uniform number, 77, has been retired, and a foundation has been set up in his honor. We are extremely pleased to award this wonderful movie our “Faith-Friendly” Seal for ages 12-plus, and five Doves, our greatest compliment.
Content Description
Sex: A comment about “fast women.”
Language: G/OMG-2; Butt-2; Geez-1;”They’re stupid”; Fat A**-2; A-1; Da*n-1; S-1; Fatty-1; Shamu-1; a comment, “You two would drive St. Francis to drink”; Turd-3; Cry Baby-1; Sucks/Sucked-3.
Violence: A brother shoves another brother; football violence (including hard tackles).
Drugs: A couple of scenes of cigarette smoking; a man looks at liquor bottle at night, and the next morning, it is empty, and he is drunk; a man plays a prank on a player who doesn’t drink and puts alcohol put in his drink; when the man discovers the alcohol, after a few drinks, he runs in the rain to make sure he is sober.
Nudity: Shirtless men in a few scenes; man in boxers; a couple of men in towels.
Other: One cynical character makes several comments that people should get angry with God and that He is not a loving God; tension between characters; several people mock a young man because of his weight and his Christian faith; death and grief.
Brandon Burlsworth
Uploaded on Aug 31, 2011
Brandon was a walk on turned All American at the University of Arkansas. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts and 11 days later was tragically killed in a car accident. The Brandon Burlsworth Foundation was founded in his name and has several programs: The Burls Kids program takes underprivileged children to all Arkansas Razorback and Indianapolis Colts home games. The BBF in partnership with Walmart provides eye care to 14,000 pre-K thru 12th grade students whose working families are trying, but still cannot afford extras like eye care and do not qualify for state funded programs. We hold football camps each year in Harrison and Little Rock and we have several football scholarship and awards including the Burlsworth Trophy, a national award given out to the most outstanding Division One college football player who began his career as a walk-on.
First Person video of Joplin MO tornado 5/22/11 The video i took while at Fastrip on east 20th street. We huddled in the back of the store until the glass got sucked out , then ran into the walk in storage fridge. Sorry for the lack of visuals but the audio is pretty telling of […]
God On Trial Uploaded on Jan 8, 2012 God on Trial is a 2008 BBC/WGBH Boston television play written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, starring Antony Sher, Rupert Graves and Jack Shepherd. The play takes place in Auschwitz during World War II. The Jewish prisoners put God on trial in absentia for abandoning the Jewish […]
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On November 21, 2014 I received a letter from Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto and it said: …Please click on this URL http://vimeo.com/26991975 and you will hear what far smarter people than I have to say on this matter. I agree with them. Harry Kroto _________________ Below you have picture of Dr. Harry Kroto: ____________ Debate […]
______ Francis Schaeffer “BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY” Whatever…HTTHR The Roots of Hitler’s Evil by Richard Weikart Professor of History California State Univ., Stanislaus [This essay first appeared in Books and Culture: A Christian Review (Mar./Apr. 2001): 18-21] What shaped the life of the man who today is the symbol of evil and brutality, but who […]
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On November 21, 2014 I received a letter from Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto and it said: …Please click on this URL http://vimeo.com/26991975 and you will hear what far smarter people than I have to say on this matter. I agree with them. Harry Kroto _________________ Below you have picture of 1996 Chemistry Nobel Prize Winner Dr. […]
Greater is the story of Brandon Burlsworth. Burlsworth was an Offensive Lineman for the Arkansas Razorback from 1995-1998. He started his career as a walk-on and through hard work and dedication, he not only earned a scholarship and a starting position but he was named a First Team All-American and eventually drafted in 1999 by the Indianapolis Colts. Tragically, he died in a car accident 11 days after being drafted.
His life story continues to serves as inspiration for the underdog. The Brandon Burlsworth Foundation provides free eye care to children in poverty and also provides tickets to each Arkansas Razorback home game to impoverished youth. The Brandon Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding Division 1 Football player who began his career as a walk-on.
Greater is told from Brandon’s funeral as his older brother Marty reflects on his life. It starts with Brandon as a probably 13 year-old kid (Marty is 17 years older) and builds the foundation for their relationship as a family. Brandon has dreams of playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks and as he goes to playing on the high school football team, he still has that dream. He walks-on at Arkansas at a staggering 335 pounds but it’s not muscle and he struggles to keep up in practice. Relegated to the practice squad and facing an enormous uphill climb he drops his weight to a fit 275 pounds and then builds back up to a muscled 300 pound lineman. By the end of the season, he’s earned the respect of his teammates, a scholarship, and a spot on the team.
Greater is a really, well-made film. It has some really good actors. Neal McDonough (TV’sLegends of Tomorrow) is a great character actor who is normally in supporting roles but shines and commands the screen as Marty Burlsworth. Michael Parks (Red State, Tusk) is another solid character actor who does well as Brandon’s deadbeat Dad. Brandon’s Mom was played by Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy) and she does well but her character seems a little too happy at her son’s funeral and she doesn’t look like she was old enough to have two sons that were born 17 years apart. Christopher Severio is pretty good as Brandon Burlsworth but he’s the weakest of the main cast. That’s not a knock against him. Everyone in this movie was pretty good.
The characters in this movie all feel very noble. Even Brandon’s father who is a terrible person, comes across as a noble soul. When he starts his career, his teammates are mean and bully Brandon but their nobility comes though when he becomes a good football player. Coaches are noble. Rowdy fans become noble. Everyone felt a little too noble. There’s a scene in the film in which Brandon apologizes to another player for a mistake that cost the team a victory. I won’t mention the player’s name but I asked him about it and he said that Brandon didn’t apologize but he owned his mistake. In fairness, the player in question hasn’t seen the movie yet so he can’t really comment on what was truth and what was exaggerated. Sometimes movies tweak the story to fit the narrative, not that it matters in this case because most will agree that Brandon was a pretty good person and that scene helped the audience understand the kind of player he was and the effect he had on those around him.
I am still curious to know how close the portrayal of Brandon and his relationship to his teammates is to what really happened.
There is an undertone of Faith and Religion that may be off-putting to some. Some will say thatGreater sends a message of “if you pray and trust God, good things will happen” but I took it as a “if you work hard and dedicate yourself, good things will happen”. There are scenes where Brandon expresses his faith and shares in bible study with a coach and his teammates but the message of that isn’t thrown in your face. Of course, good things happened to Brandon Burlsworth but he also died so young and that should make you ask “why”. This is a struggle that Marty faces through the film, “If God is so good then why do bad things happen to good people while evil men thrive”. It’s a question that the film doesn’t answer except to say that Brandon was able to achieve so much because he had faith in God and also in himself and even though he is gone, his legacy continues.
If you love the Hogs and you love Underdogs, then you will love Greater. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will cheer but most importantly you will be inspired.
Brandon Burlsworth
Uploaded on Aug 31, 2011
Brandon was a walk on turned All American at the University of Arkansas. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts and 11 days later was tragically killed in a car accident. The Brandon Burlsworth Foundation was founded in his name and has several programs: The Burls Kids program takes underprivileged children to all Arkansas Razorback and Indianapolis Colts home games. The BBF in partnership with Walmart provides eye care to 14,000 pre-K thru 12th grade students whose working families are trying, but still cannot afford extras like eye care and do not qualify for state funded programs. We hold football camps each year in Harrison and Little Rock and we have several football scholarship and awards including the Burlsworth Trophy, a national award given out to the most outstanding Division One college football player who began his career as a walk-on.
First Person video of Joplin MO tornado 5/22/11 The video i took while at Fastrip on east 20th street. We huddled in the back of the store until the glass got sucked out , then ran into the walk in storage fridge. Sorry for the lack of visuals but the audio is pretty telling of […]
God On Trial Uploaded on Jan 8, 2012 God on Trial is a 2008 BBC/WGBH Boston television play written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, starring Antony Sher, Rupert Graves and Jack Shepherd. The play takes place in Auschwitz during World War II. The Jewish prisoners put God on trial in absentia for abandoning the Jewish […]
On November 21, 2014 I received a letter from Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto and it said: …Please click on this URL http://vimeo.com/26991975 and you will hear what far smarter people than I have to say on this matter. I agree with them. Harry Kroto _________________ Below you have picture of Dr. Harry Kroto: ____________ Debate […]
On November 21, 2014 I received a letter from Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto and it said: …Please click on this URL http://vimeo.com/26991975 and you will hear what far smarter people than I have to say on this matter. I agree with them. Harry Kroto _________________ Below you have picture of Dr. Harry Kroto: ____________ Debate […]
______ Francis Schaeffer “BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY” Whatever…HTTHR The Roots of Hitler’s Evil by Richard Weikart Professor of History California State Univ., Stanislaus [This essay first appeared in Books and Culture: A Christian Review (Mar./Apr. 2001): 18-21] What shaped the life of the man who today is the symbol of evil and brutality, but who […]
Peter May rightly notes, “Peter Singer is arguably the most famous and influential modern philosopher, offering the most radical challenge to traditional Judeo-Christian values.” Francis Schaeffer “BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY” Whatever…HTTHR Dr. Francis Schaeffer: Whatever Happened to the Human Race Episode 1 ABORTION Published on Jan 10, 2015 Whatever Happened to the Human Race? Abortion […]
On November 21, 2014 I received a letter from Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto and it said: …Please click on this URL http://vimeo.com/26991975 and you will hear what far smarter people than I have to say on this matter. I agree with them. Harry Kroto _________________ Below you have picture of 1996 Chemistry Nobel Prize Winner Dr. […]
The Daily Hatch 