AI in the Arts (part two)

(ed note: The following was originally published at Skinny Devil Universe)


In Part One, I drew some lines in the sand and delivered a history of technology to demonstrate that, while disruptive, AI is just another technological step - an extension of the mind of man.
For clarification, it should be said that early technology (up to the industrial revolution) was focused primarily on amplifying the BODY of man, while 20th & 21st century technology has shifted focus to extending the MIND of man.

That caveat aside, I decided (even though I had already sketched out the foundation of this article) to feed the entirety of Part One into Google's AI Gemini and see what it had to say. But not what it had to say in support of my thesis, but instead with explicit instructions to challenge EVERYTHING.

"Tear it all down" were my specific words.

While it praised both the historical & philosophical rigor as well as the writing style (it seems machine minds dig my musical sense of symmetry and repetition - hahaha!), it hit back HARD.

If this topic concerns you, prepare to get even more anxiety and depression.

AI in the Arts (part one)

Art created by Gemini for this article...just for the irony!

(ed note: The following was originally published at Skinny Devil Universe)

AI in music....and AI in the arts in general.

Before we leap in, one thing worth remembering - and it's highly likely to anger everyone reading this right now - is that most of the public discourse on this topic (at least by musicians and industry folk) has been of a legal or philosophical nature, while usually taking a brief moment to mention how "fake" AI sounds as composer or performer (or poet or essayist or visual artist).

If that's your view, you need to swallow a bitter pill: The market disagrees with you, and (by any metrics you yourself would apply to a fellow human) you are wrong.

Sienna Rose, The Velvet Sundown, Nick Hustles, Xania Monet, FN Meka, Yona, Breaking Rust, Eddie Dalton, and more....including the 100% AI driven (no human intervention) creation Anna Indiana - all streaming millions to hungry listeners. Listeners who largely don't care about any of the issues we're about to get into - they care only about if they like the music.

Admittedly, this pisses me off a little, too.

At any rate, ponder that for a moment and then we'll leap in.

While I've thought extensively about this topic (and have for longer than I care to say, as I've been an avid fan of the works of Raymond Kurzweil for a long time, starting with his 1990 book "The Age of Intelligent Machines", and, as an irrelevant aside, still own my Kurzweil K-2000 keyboard), it's usually fragmented based on specifics. I've never really coalesced these thoughts into a single, specific policy position.

So let's explore "both sides" of this issue and see where we land.

Worthy of note: It should be obvious that the history given below (on both sides of the issue) is greatly abbreviated and oversimplified for brevity and ease of discussion. But the major pillars remain.

Let's get into it!

"Look Back" 1986: Billy Idol's "Whiplash Smile"

The year was 1986.....

.....and what an incredible year for music! The year that saw the very first induction ceremony into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, "We Are the World" took home the big Grammy honors, Amnesty International hosted the "Conspiracy of Hope" benefit concert (featuring Bryan Adams, Sting, U2, & more), Queen performed their final concert....chart topping songs like "Take My Breath Away" and "Addicted to Love", "Rock Me Amadeus" and "That's What Friends Are For", "Papa Don't Preach" and "Walk Like an Egyptian" as well as one hit wonders like the incredible "Night Moves" by Marilyn Martin....the year we lost legends like Metallica bassist Cliff Burton and Thin Lizzy bassist Phil Lynott, bluesman Sonny Terry and bandleader Benny Goodman, and future legends were born like Trombone Shorty and Lady Gaga and Drake and Jon Batiste. We saw the birth of bands like Hootie & the Blowfish and Cowboy Junkies and Green Day and N.W.A. and the Pixies, and the death of bands Boomtown Rats and Dead Kennedys and The Police and The Clash....the year Madonna's "True Blue", "Slippery When Wet" by Bon Jovi, Paul Simon's "Graceland", Janet Jackson's "Control" and the soundtrack to the hit movie "Top Gun" dominated the charts.....and so much more!

A host of amazing albums were released in 1986 and I hope to have time to write about many, including "Album" from Public Image Ltd, "Ultimate Sin" by Ozzy Osbourne, Prince's amazing "Parade", "the debut DLR album "Eat 'Em and Smile", "So" by Peter Gabriel, Queen's "A Kind of Magic", the live album "Bring on the Night" by Sting, Queensryche's "Rage for Order", "While the City Sleeps" from George Benson.....

Today, however, we'll look at the amazing follow-up to Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" album, the incredible "Whiplash Smile".

The Titan, Jeff Beck (RIP)

The Titan Prometheus, banned from Olympus after the "Trick at Mekone", scaled the mount and stole fire. He took the fire and gave it to the human race, sparking a revolution - bringing mankind from "barbarian" to "civilization" (i.e. - science, technology, & arts).

For this crime, Zeus punished him severely....but time has a way of working things out, and now Prometheus is remembered as well as any of the Greek Gods.....

Jeff Beck was born in London in 1944. He sang in the church choir and had other such exposures to music, but when he heard Les Paul playing "How High the Moon", everything changed for him. He began playing in pub bands while in school, and by 1962 had recorded a single with the band Screamin' Lord Hutch & the Savages. From there he played with several other acts, logging hundreds of hours of stage time, and by 1965 had been tapped by The Yardbirds to replace departing guitarist Eric Clapton. The short span Jeff spent with the Yardbirds (under 2 years) yielded roughly half of their hit songs.

By the end of 1966, Beck had also recorded his first solo single, "Beck's Bolero", which featured Jimmy Page (later of Led Zeppelin, acoustic guitar), Nicky Hopkins (later of the Rolling Stones, piano), Keith Moon (of The Who, drums), and John Paul Jones (also Led Zeppelin, bass). The song became a calling card of sorts, showcasing how different his musical sensibilities were from the norm.

Then The Jeff Beck Group was formed...featuring Nicky Hopkins (keys), Ronnie Wood (bass), Ansley Dunbar (drums), and Rod Stewart (vocals).

"Dark Crystal" Mystics' Chord

My friend Eddy reminded me that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the dark fantasy cult classic, "Dark Crystal" (released December 13, 1982). 

The animatronic film (animatronic refers to mechanical puppets, a style deeply associated with Jim Henson & Frank Oz, who directed the film, as well as other productions like "The Muppet Show" and "The Labyrinth") was scored by none other than famed composer Trevor Jones, who is known for his work on movies like "Time Bandits", "Angel Heart", "GI Jane", "Dark City", and more, including BAFTA & Golden Globe nominations for "Mississippi Burning", "Last of the Mohicans", and "The Mighty".

Of interest today, however, is not the entire score or a critique of the film (though I'd rate both a solid "A"), but to briefly examine a particular scene with characters known as "The Mystics" (formally, the urRu).

RIP Christine McVie (w/ Song Charts)

That Christine McVie, with her band mates in Fleetwood Mac, had a profound impact on modern music is an undisputed fact. This is evidenced by her writing or co-writing not only many of the band's biggest hits - from "Don't Stop", "You Make Lovin' Fun", and "Songbird" on the mega-hit album "Rumors" to "Over My Head", "World Turning", "Think About Me", "Hold Me", "Little Lies", and more - but having Top 10 hits of her own as a solo artist (like "Love Will Show Us How" and "Got a Hold on Me").

McVie with Fleetwood Mac

From Grammy Awards to Ivor Novella Award to The Brit Award to her induction into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, she climbed from humble beginnings to pop music icon....and her presence will be sorely missed.

Rather than gush on about her skills, her influence, and the like, I thought I'd instead simply present a taste of her work for music lovers to explore and musicians to play. So, with no further delay, let's look at some of her songs.

Most Influential Guitarists of All Time

I typically dislike such lists. Strongly. They're always informative of the writer's personal tastes, which is fine, but too often presented as some sort of factual list based on objective standards. That is simply not the case.

So I've opted for a mildly different approach and tried to find peak moments across both historical & stylistic lines by which to choose guitarists as not so much an announcement of my personal aesthetic, but as an educational tool. Many an incredible and influential player didn't make it onto this particular list (names like Cobain & Satriani, Django & Wes, de Lucia & DiMeola, Gambale & Clapton, Emmanuel & Vai, and more are sure to figure largely in the critiques), but I had to narrow this down to a manageable list and so choices had to be made. Some of these players also taught - no small point in being influential during one's time as well as across time.

So....in somewhat chronological order, a Baker's Dozen of best:

LESSON: "America the Beautiful" H.E.R. Superbowl Addition

What a fabulous and inspiring version of this 1910 patriotic song. Well, I say 1910, but it should be noted the lyrics were written in 1893 by Katherine Lee Bates (published 1895) and the music was written even earlier - 1883 by church organist Samual A. Ward.

The two never met and the music & lyrics were combined after dozens of other melodies being used with Bates' poem/lyrics. But in 1910, the song was first published as we know it today.

Fat-forward over 100 years and standing tall is guitarist/vocalist H.E.R. (real name Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, a name under which she released he first music, then switching to the name H.E.R. in 2016). H.E.R. has released 2 albums - 2017's self-titled album and the 2019 release "I Used to Know Her" - and already has 9 charting singles (selling millions of copies), dozens of major award nominations (including 5 Soul Train Awards, 2 Grammy Awards, 2 MTV Awards, & more, with 5 Grammy nominations for the upcoming 2021 awards show), 3 major supporting tours & 2 headlining tours, and appearances on TV from The Today Show to the 72nd Emmy Awards to, of course, the February 2021 Super Bowl.

She performs the song in D (with modulation to Eb in the solo section) in the original 12/8 (written below as 4).

Let's break this down to the basic chords for the song first, followed by the extra spice H.E.R. adds on for her version (which, as an aside, I think is my favorite version ever).

Basic Version 

D - - - /A - - - /A7 - - - /D - - - /

D - - - /A - - - /E7 - - - /A - A7 - /

D - - - /A - - - /A7 - - - /D - - - /

G - - - /D - - - /G - A7 - /D - - - /

So that gives us a place to start. But hang on to your hats, because she isn't doing just the easy "relative major/minor" sort of chord subs here. She's walking beautiful chromatic lines and exotic tensions and subbing substitutes, as I often say!

I'll likely explain these chord choices in another piece (or reserve for private lessons and songwriting workshops) so we don't get bogged down here, because there is a lot to unpack if we're examining her harmonic logic, which is extensive and sophisticated. 

H.E.R. Version

intro:

G - - - /A7 - - - /

song:

Dmj7 - D#dim7 - /Em7 - G - /Em7 - Gmj7 - /Dmj7 - D#dim7 /

Em7 - - - /A7b9 - - - /B7 - - - /E7 - A7 - /

Dmj7 - - - /Em7 - G - /F#m - A - /Dmj7 - - - /

Bbmj7 - Gmj7 - /F#m7 - Bm7 - /Em7 - G - /Dmj7 - - - /

That brings you up to the ferocious guitar solo, so work on that while I work on the remainder of the song. I'll upload the update soon, and do a video to go along with this!

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27 Club

(note: basic song charts for a few select songs can be found at the end of this article)

Ahhhhh....the infamous "27 Club"! Also known as "Curse of 27" (with related concepts such as "The White Lighter Myth" and, in the classical world, the "Curse of the 9th").

It should be noted that, whatever you've heard about rock stars dying more at this age than any other, the concept is patently false. But never let facts get in the way of a good story - hahaha! It should also be noted that, while the original use of the term was limited to musicians, it has for quite some time been a catch for any famous person (usually musicians, actors, artists, & athletes) who dies at the age of 27.

Happy Birthday "Are You Experienced?"

Released this day, May 12, back in 1967, fifty three years ago as I write....the debut album from Jimi Hendrix, "Are You Experienced?".

The album made Hendrix a star in Europe and led, a month later (with the help of the Beatles' Paul McCartney) to a slot at the Monterey Pop Festival in Monterey, California...which made Hendrix an international star overnight.

The album spent 33 weeks on the UK charts, peaking at number two, and 106 weeks on the charts in the US (27 weeks in the Top 40), peaking at number five.

The album has featured slightly different track listings over the years, but the original US release included "Purple Haze", "Manic Depression", "Hey Joe", "Love or Confusion", "May This Be Love?", "I Don't Live Today", "Wind Cries Mary", "Fire", "3rd Stone from the Sun", "Foxey Lady", and "Are You Experienced?" (the UK release included "Remember", "Can You See Me?", and "Red House" in the place of "Wind Cries Mary", "Hey Joe", and "Purple Haze").

The album features absolute game changing elements, from Hendrix's revolutionary guitar playing to his experimental recording techniques to near downright anti-pop arrangements. The melding of hard rock, psychedelic, R&B, blues, and more - all played at an extremely high level of instrumental mastery - made it a compositionally ground-breaking album, as well. Volumes could be (and have been) written on the guitar approach on this album alone, but suffice to say it became the standard by which all other guitar players were measured for decades, featuring a spam of stylistic approaches from sublime rhythmic devices to incendiary blue-based rock solos, creating a veritable Copernican Shift in thought towards what was even possible with electric guitar.

It should be noted that the album also features Mitch Mitchell (drums), and Noel Redding (bass), with the recording legend Eddie Kramer manning the console. Chas Chander is credited as producer and worked very closely with the band. Overshadowed at times is the work of Mitch Mitchell, whose drumming was a complete departure from the norm in popular music in the 1960s. Also worthy of mention is the man who helped craft Jimi's custom guitar effects, Roger Mayer.

It's legacy includes millions of albums sold (over a million in the first 7 months) and landing firmly on "best of" lists: #15 on Rolling Stones' "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (with 4 of the album's songs on the "500 Greatest Songs" list), Mojo Magazine named it #1 on the "Best Guitar Albums of All Time" list, #63 on Colin Larkin's "All Time Top 1000 Albums", and more. In addition, "Are You Experienced?" was one of 50 recordings chosen in 2005 by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings every year that they deem "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Bottom line: A revolutionary recording for multiple reasons that is worthy of every ounce of praise its ever received. For newer music fans who have yet to hear it, I'd suggest listening to it at first opportunity....but only after listening to an hour of pre-1965 pop music, so the impact of just how different this album was when it landed on Planet Earth from wherever the hell it came from!

Visit the official Jimi Hendrix website.

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Today in Music History

BY FAR the biggest news of this day was the death of music icon Prince.

Prince was found dead in his home this day in 2016. The lights in many major cities went purple in his honor as the sun set. I wrote about it HERE (with links to my writings on the death of Michael Jackson, Lemmy, & David Bowie). 2 years later, Lindsay Caudill wrote A Tribute to Prince. 

On the very same day, the world of music lost blues legend Lonnie Mack....and also on this day, we lost Nina Simone (2003) and Al Wilson (2008).

On a brighter note......April 21 is also the birthday of Iggy Pop (1947), Cowboy Junkies guitarist Michael Timmins and Cure vocalist Robert Smith (1959), Buzzcock's drummer John Maher (1960), musician, poet, activist Michael Franti (1966).

Also on this day in history....

753 BC - Romulus founds Rome after slaying his twin brother Remus.

1963 - The Beatles and The Rolling Stones meet for the first time.

1982 - Joe Strummer of the Clash disappeared for three weeks...until he was found in Paris. After the tour was cancelled.

1984 - Michael Jackson's "Thriller" finally falls from the #1 position on the charts after an incredible 37 week run (repacing it is the soundtrack to the hit movie "Footloose").

1990 - Paul McCartney sets new world record - largest paying stadium audience in history - when he plays for 184,000 in a stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

1990 - In the US, Sinead O'Connor's version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" (written by Prince) goes to number 1 on the charts and stays there for 4 weeks, making her a superstar.

2013 - Calvin Harris makes history by becoming the first artist to have eight top 10 hits from a single album (the former record of 7 was held by Michael Jackson).

Hubble Saw THIS on Your Birthday

As part of the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Telescope, NASA has made thousands of photographs available as part of their "birthday" search.

"...Hubble explores the universe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That means it has observed some fascinating cosmic wonder every day of the year, including on your birthday...."

Many events, during the pandemic, have of course been cancelled, but NASA is making all manner of educational tools available on their website, as well as a resource download page HERE.

Check it out HERE!

R&R Hall of Fame 2020 Inductees

We posted the list of nominees and ballot link not long ago, and now the results are out. The class of 2020 is:

Depeche Mode
The Doobie Brothers
Whitney Houston
Nine Inch Nails
The Notorious B.I.G.
T. Rex

The Ahmet Ertegun Award goes to both Jon Landau and Irving Azoff.

Depeche Mode had 54 single on the UK charts, has sold over 100 million albums, garnered 5 Grammy nominations, and is called by Q magazine one of the 50 bands that changed the world. In addition, Billboard Magazine recognized them as one of the most successful and influential dance bands in music history.

50 Years Ago Today - 1970 in Music

WHAT AN AMAZING YEAR....

1970 saw incredible albums, tours, single, performances, festivals, and so much more.

Big winners at the 1970 Grammy Awards included Crosby, Stills, & Nash (Best New Artist), "Games People Play" by Joe South (Song of the Year), the self-titled album from Blood, Sweat, & Tears (Album of the Year), and 5th Dimension's "Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In" (Record of the Year). Other winners included Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, Wendy Carlos, Peter, Paul, & Mary, Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, and more.

50 Years Ago...this Month in Music

"Until you have won some victory for humanity, you should be ashamed to die." - Horace Mann

Its always hard to judge the day in which one lives, so I offer this - a look back at December of 1969 - as a stick of measure for our current collective creative output quality. Its also fun to see where we were as a culture (the music & entertainment culture as well as the larger culture). Expect a look at 1970 later this week!

So, 50 years ago this month, what happened?

This Day in Music - August 3

THE DAY COLUMBUS set sale in 1492 with three ships; World War I begins when Germany invades Belgium & declares war on France (1914); the NBA officially forms in 1949; and births include Martha Stewart & some guy named Tom Brady.

Also.....1958, the Billboard Hot 100 chart is founded.

1963, the Beach Boys release the first song Brian Wilson ever wrote, "Surfer Girl". The album on which the song is found (also "Surfer Girl") stays on the charts a phenomenal 56 weeks and peaks at #7, while the song itself also peaked at #7 and went on to be covered by artists as diverse as Paul Simon to Maroon 5.

1968 saw the Doors with TWO songs simultaneously in the top 5 - their own version of "Hello, I Love You" hit #1 while Jose Feliciano's version of "Light My Fire" hit #3.

1971, Paul McCartney announces the formation of Wings; 1973, Stevie Wonder releases the now classic "Innervisions"; 1985 sees Tears For Fears hit #1 with "Shout"; 1987, Def Leppard releases "Hysteria" (which goes on the sell over 20 million units - among the biggest albums of all time); 1996, "Macarena" hits #1 and stays there for 14 weeks and sells 11 million units, and is later voted the best one hit wonder of all time; 2007, Brian May of Queen officially hands in his PhD thesis in Astronomy.

Born on this day.....Tony Bennett (1926), the Byrd's John York (1946), bassist BB Dickerson of War (1949), multi-instrumentalist Johnny Graham of Earth, Wind, & Fire (1951), Lee Rocker of Stray Cats (1961), and Metallica front-man James Hetfield (1963).

This Day in Music....

587 BC, the Babylonian Empire (in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II) sacks Jerusalem and destroys Solomon's Temple.....904 AD sees the sack of Thessalonica, second largest city of the Byzantine Empire.....and in 1588, Howard & Drake crush the Spanish Armada.

In happier news....

Born on this day: guitar wizard Carlos Santana (1947), Rush bassist and singer Geddy Lee (1953), guitarist & gun-for-hire John Sykes (Tygers of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Blue Murder - 1959), country star Martina McBride (1966), Boyz II Men vocalist Wanya Morris (1973), producer & Gnarls Barkley co-founder Danger Mouse (1977).

Also on this day: 1965 - the Beatles 2nd film "Help" premiered.....1966, John Lennon's interview hit the stands and caused a stir when he said "The Beatles are now bigger than Jesus"; Eric Clapton's band Cream made their live debut; and Bob Dylan suffered extensive injuries in a now famous motorcycle crash (ironically, he had been injured in a car accident exactly 5 years earlier).......1967, the Doors "Light My Fire" hits #1 in the US.....1968, the Beatles record "Hey Jude".....1974, Cass Elliot of the Mamas & the Papas dies in her sleep.....1978, the soundtrack for the movie "Grease" goes to #1 in the US....

Sam Cooke

(editorial note: Inspiration to write this article came from the sad fact that so few of the younger budding musicians I come across seem to know of Same Cooke, and so this is my small step to rectifying that condition, as I will be referring them to this article henceforth.)

DURING HIS LIFETIME - 29 Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 (and on the R&B charts, 4 of those landed at #1 and 20 of those were top 10); inventor of a musical style that opened the door for the rise of artist like Aretha Franklin to Al Green, Curtis Mayfield to Stevie Wonder; helped popularize James Brown and Otis Redding; composed his own songs in a pop music world typically separating writers from performers, and demonstrated a business savvy that rivaled the established label owners & management companies (he started his own label in 1961, a move unheard of for an artist at the time)....and all this in an all-too-brief 8 year career.

David Bowie & the Guitar

I've been either teaching or performing various Bowie songs as of late, and since I teach primarily guitar, discussion of Bowie's guitarists has come up a lot. It occurred to me that I should jot all this info down for anyone & everyone who may find it of interest.

David Bowie had an incredible career full of splendid musical challenges (and much more, but remember our focus is on guitar), and he had an entire stable of incredible musicians with whom he forged this path; his '70s work saw players from Mick Ronson in the early days to tag team Carlos Alomar & Earl Slick to Robert Fripp to Adrien Belew as well as guests like John Lennon, followed by his '80s output with the likes of Nile Rogers & Stevie Ray Vaughan to Peter Frampton (with Carlos a constant traveling companion) as well as guests like Charlie Sexton, to his 90s catalogue featuring the introduction of Reeves Gabrels (with a brief return of Rogers & Ronson & Alomar) and guests like Lenny Kravitz. The 2000s saw a collaboration with David Torn and Gerry Leonard, and guests ranging from Pete Townsend and David Grohl and more as well as a return of Earl Slick and, for his final album, Ben Monder.

And the list is longer than this.

But even so, the above list is far too dense for this medium. As such, I'm going to trim it down to only a half dozen so we can focus with greater depth the players on the brief roster. Apologies in advance, as I'll be leaving out some amazing guitarists....including Fripp (who created the long sustaining guitar soundscape of "Heroes"), SRV (who played on much of the "Let's Dance" album), and Bowie himself, who handled much of his own guitar duties throughout his entire career (including the lone 12-string of "Space Oddity", the amazing chord riffing of "Ziggy Stardust", and the iconic electric signature riff of Rebel Rebel").

That said, here we go....

50 Years (Again)

1969 was an incredible year in music. It was the year of Woodstock....of Aisle of Wight....and (sadly) Altamont. The year "Space Oddity" put David Bowie on the map....that debut albums came from such a diverse range of acts as The Jackson 5, King Crimson, Iggy Pop & the Stooges, the Allman Brothers, MC5, Led Zeppelin, the Meters, Blind Faith, Leslie West & Mountain, Neil Young, Santana, John Denver, Crosby Stills & Nash, Yes, and more.

It was the year of the final live performance by the Beatles....that CCR releases 3 different albums, all bearing hit songs....that Elvis plays a string of 57 sold-out shows in Vegas....that "Classical Gas" won 3 Grammy Awards....that the Newport Jazz Festival featured performances from George Benson, Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, Sly & the Family Stone, Dave Brubeck, and more....that Johnny Cash records and releases his "Live from San Quentin" album, sees his TV show debut on ABC, and has the longest running number 1 hit of the year (6 weeks) with "Daddy Sang Bass"...that John marries Yoko, Paul marries Linda, and George and Pattie are arrested....Brian Jones is found dead in his pool and Mick Taylor joins the Stones....Elvis has his first number 1 hit in 7 years, cementing his comeback.

It is the year that saw the creation of Hall & Oates, the Faces, Humble Pie, Judas Priest, Seals & Croft, Little Feat, Kratfwerk, and Hawkwind.....and albums released included "Yellow Submarine" (Beatles), "Soul '69" (Aretha Franklin), "Yer Album" (James Gang), "My Way" (Frank Sinatra), "Songs From a Room" (Leonard Cohen), "After the Rain" (Muddy Waters), "Tommy" (the Who), "Age of Aquarius" (5th Dimension), "Beckola" (Jeff Beck Group), "In a Silent Way" (Miles Davis), "Let It Bleed (Rolling Stones), and so many more.

Top 5 songs of the year? "Get Back by the Beatles, "Honky Tonk Women" by the Rolling Stones, "Year 2525" by Zager & Evans, "Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies, and "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley.

50 years ago.....

....so what will this year bring?