ROCKOLLECTIONS RETURNS TO THE MOVIES PT.10

[Mike Pell]

We continue our series Rockollections Goes To The Movies with that most American of Movies...The Western.
Actually, for many years now I have been making a list of tunes for at minimum a three-part series, The Wild West!
It's just a matter of time until I get around to it, and some of the songs in that future series will be played here.
Without intending to be the least bit chauvinistic, I still fear I might be taking the risk of losing some of the female listeners with this episode.
But my Dear Ladies, I will be presenting the music in my usual way, and many hit songs have come from Westerns over the years.
And this goes for the Guys also- I ask you once again to trust me- this will be fun, and good music is always good music, no matter where it comes from!
Although they are not made nearly as much nowadays as in the past, for anyone who thinks Westerns are not a valid form of entertainment, here is the opening paragraph of a New York Times article celebrating yet another of John Ford's brilliant and groundbreaking contributions to Cinema, The Searchers- and another Ford/John Wayne collaboration- the scene described is the picture above:

 

'The Searchers': How the Western Was Begun
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: June 11, 2006

 

In the last shot of "The Searchers," the camera, from deep inside the cozy recesses of a frontier homestead, peers out though an open doorway into the bright sunshine. The contrast between the dim interior and the daylight outside creates a second frame within the wide expanse of the screen. Inside that smaller space, the desert glare highlights the shape and darkens the features of the man who lingers just beyond the threshold. Everyone else has come inside: the other surviving characters, who have endured grief, violence, the loss of kin and the agony of waiting, and also, implicitly, the audience, which has anxiously anticipated this homecoming. But the hero, whose ruthlessness and obstinacy have made it possible, is excluded, and our last glimpse of him emphasizes his solitude, his separateness, his alienation — from his friends and family, and also from us.

 

John Wayne was fantastic in this role- not a hero, not even a nice man.
And there are some Rock & Roll connections to this flick you may not be aware of.
This and other Classics will be heard from as we head Out West!
Everybody saddle up and take a ride with me!
Oh, and Ladies first naturally, lol!

 

Here's the link to get your giddyap going, at WLSO.FM:

 

http://wlso.fm/wordpress/archives/2015

 

 

Mike

[Mike Pell]

RJ,

That's nice, I made you think of Dad- and I will be doing much more of that soon.

I had more fun doing this half of a show than I have in a long time.

Anybody who doesn't like Westerns...screw 'em!

Yeah, I doubt any of the Sons of the Pioneers from what I played are still alive- don't think you saw any of THEM, lol!

I never seen him, and don't know why I feel it is so hard to believe, but I have heard many times that Wayne Newton puts on the greatest show around.

Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance was your favorite, good taste on your part.

Somebody told me they had never heard it in stereo before.

The Outlaw Josey Wales, is that the one where Clint goes after the guys who tried to hang him?

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly I played is I believe the original one by Ennio Morricone, but I seem to recall another one- either way, for many people, instantly recognizable.

How could you NOT like that Rick Nelson/Dean Martin duet, lol?

I can't understand why it was unavailable for so many years, and I have heard it with an introduction by John Wayne not from the movie but from a studio.

This made me laugh:

 

I can't say I'm much of a Dylan fan, but I do realize that most people think that he provided the ladder that John Sebastian held for the Beatles to hang the moon.

 

That list is getting longer, lol!

I didn't even know Guns 'N' Roses did a version of Knocking On Heaven's Door- and I wouldn't think it would be better.

I stopped listening to music for about 10 years, it wasn't doing anything for me, and I wasn't in a good place;

But when I started again, I went back to the old songs I loved, found I still loved them, and soon after opened up to all kinds of music.

So there is a large gap, particularly heavy metal which I was not exactly captivated by, that I have to catch up on.

I am working on it, lol!
Glad you enjoyed this one, and thanks for writing,

Mike

[RJhog (Admin)]

Mike,

Let me tell you why I liked this show more than any other reason...it reminds me of my Father.  He loves old western movies.  I watched many of them with him while growing up and I cannot think of those movies without thinking of him. 

 

Tumbling Tumbleweeds by Sons of the Pioneers...would you believe that I have seen SOTP?  Well, probably not the originals, but I saw them on a trip to Branson Mo. back in 1993 (also got to see Roy Clark, The Oak Ridge Boys, Glen Campbell, Andy Williams, Ray Stevens and Wayne Newton, who put on one of the most entertaining shows I've ever seen). 

 

The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance was my favorite song of the show.

 

I've always been a fan of Clint Eastwood, especially his western movies.  My favorite is The Outlaw Josey Wales, but The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (one of the best titles ever for a movie) is right behind that one.  And the theme to it is probably one of the most recognizable themes ever.

 

Hey, believe it or not, I really liked the Rick Nelson/Dean Martin duet.  That's a cool little song.

 

I can't say I'm much of a Dylan fan, but I do realize that most people think that he provided the ladder that John Sebastian held for the Beatles to hang the moon.  And his version of Knocking On Heaven's Door is so far above Guns 'N' Roses cover version that it's ridiculous.  Nice song.

 

Enjoyed it bro!