Today's Tune: "The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent" By UFO

Happy Birthday Ian McShane. McShane was born on September 29, 1942 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England to his mother Irene (Maiden name - Cowley) and father Harry McShane. Harry McShane was a Scottish born professional footballer (soccer player) with Manchester United and Hamilton Academical. Ian grew up in Urmston, Manchester, England.

Actor Ian McShane has conquered films, stage and television. He is most well known to American public television viewers for the comedy/mystery television series Lovejoy, which takes place in rural East Anglia. He played the lead character by the same name, who was an antiques dealer who solved mysteries, whilst also being a bit of a lad. It's one of my favorite shows, and was based on the novels by John Grant (under the pen name Jonathan Gash). McShane's other works include films 'Ordeal By Innocence', 'Too Scared To Scream' and 'Shrek The Third'. Space: 1999, Trust and Deadwood are among his other TV appearances.

McShane's first film was the British romantic drama film 'The Wild And The Willing'. This 1962 movie started Ian well on his way to being a heartthrob and a fine actor. A very young Jeremy Brett ('War And Peace', Rebecca, Sherlock Holmes) and John Hurt ('A Man For All Seasons', The Sweeney, 'Alien')were introduced as well. Life at University, romance, lust, racism, the class system and youthful exploits feature in this film. Currently, you can watch it in it's entirety on YouTube. With a similar title, the song "The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent" by UFO is our 'Today's Tune'.

UFO - "The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent"

Today's Tune: "Robot Man" By The Scorpions

Original version of cover for 1975 Scorpions album 'In Trance'.

American film and television actress Linda Hamilton was born on September 26, 1956. So, happy birthday to Linda. She was born and raised in Salisbury, Maryland. Hamilton even stayed in the Eastern Shore side of the Chesapeake Bay, although a good bit North of Salisbury, when Hamilton attended college at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. After two years, she went much further up the nation's East coast to study acting in New York, NY.

Linda Hamilton has been involved in fairly equal amounts of television and film work. Her biggest TV role was probably when she starred alongside Ron Perlman in Beauty And The Beast. Hamilton is mostly known for her portrayal of the character Sarah Connor, in the 'Terminator' series of films, of which the fourth one was in theatres earlier this year.

With big, bad and scary robots in mind, our 'Today's Tune' is called "Robot Man", as we get a taste of German rock 'n roll with the Scorpions, from their 1975 studio album called 'In Trance'.

Scorpions - "Robot Man"

Today's Tune: "Beggars Day", "Rose In The Heather" By Nazareth

"Scottish mountains with heather" photo found at SRGC Bulb Log Diary.

Happy Birthday Heather Locklear. Locklear is an American television and film actress, with most of her work being in comedies. Her movies include 'Looney Tunes: Back In Action', 'Uptown Girls' and 'The Perfect Man'. No classics in that bunch, I know. Television has been much more her medium. Some of her TV roles and supporting roles (that I enjoyed anyway), have been in the likes of Going Places, Spin City and Scrubs.

Hey, she's a fantastically beautiful babe. Heather's also of Scottish heritage like myself, so she's got that going for her. For our 'Today's Tune', we might as well go with a band from Scotland. I'm serving up two tunes from Nazareth. The first is "Beggars Day" (I'd beg, if Heather's into that.), and then to relate even more to Heather Locklear, "Rose In The Heather" (Instrumental). Yeah, you kind of get both of them because there's no gap between them anyway.

Nazareth - "Beggars Day" / "Rose In The Heather"


And fair dues to former Nazareth guitarist, Manny Charlton ...



Manny Charlton (with American band) - "Rose In The Heather" Live

Today's Tune: "House Of Broken Love" By US Band Great White

Great White Spot image captured by Hubble Space Telescope December 1, 1994.

A Great White Spot of the planet Saturn, is similar to the atmospheric storm known as the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. However, instead of being a constant and instantly recognizable feature, this is actually a case of storms that are visible from Earth only on a periodic basis. They can usually be seen through a telescope approximately every 28 and a half years on average, while the Northern hemisphere of the planet is tilted most toward our Sun. These spots are sometimes as much as several thousands of kilometers wide. One such occurrence of one of the spots being observed, happened on September 24, 1990, and lasted through November of that year.

That makes this 'Today's Tune' post as good a spot as any, to weather the song "House Of Broken Love" by the American rock band known as Great White.

Great White - "House Of Broken Love" (Full length version)

Olie No Longer A Goalie

Photo found at A Tapestry Of Yarns.

Former Washington Capitals goaltender Olie Kolzig has decided to retire. After spending most (711 0f 719 games) of his 14 NHL seasons playing for Washington, fans of the Caps and "Olie the Goalie" are sad, though not surprised to see him go. Some of the places on the web to visit for an in depth retrospective of this NHL hockey great also known as "Godzilla", are surely soon going to include Dump 'N Chase, A View From The Cheap Seats, Japers' Rink, Love The Game, Don't Like Puck Bunnies, The Peerless Prognosticator and of course WashingtonCaps.com. Until then, you can check out today's official press release at either NHL.com or NHLPA.com.

Today's Tune: "Georgia On My Mind" By Ray Charles

American singer, songwriter and musician Ray Charles ("What'd I Say", "Hit The Road Jack", "America The Beautiful") was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930 (Died June 10, 2004). It's a day to remember this soulful musical icon, and while we have Ray Charles on our minds, we can honor his memory with one of his favorite tunes - "Georgia On My Mind" (Written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell in 1930).

Ray Charles - "Georgia On My Mind" Live in Edmonton, Ca (1981)

Today's Tune: "I Love Rock 'N Roll" By Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Happy Birthday Joan Jett. The fiesty American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress, Jett (The Runaways, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts) was born on September 22, 1958. So, this quickie 'Today's Tune' is "I Love Rock 'N Roll" (Written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker) via the music video by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts.

Joan Jett and The Blackhearts - "I Love Rock 'N Roll"

Today's Tune: "I Hear You Knocking" By Dave Edmunds

Sometimes life is hard for communists, whether you are the free spirit and let's share everything kind, or if you're the single party and completely unsympathetic governmental dictatorship kind. People that aren't into Communism hate you and don't want you around. They're afraid that the seeds or spores of your beliefs and ways will somehow leap out of your brain and spread amongst the innocent and the pure, like some deadly and contagious disease.

I'm sure glad I'm not a communist, but apparently English comedic actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin (April 16, 1889 - December 25, 1977) was, and former First Secretary (1953 - 1964) of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union - Nikita Khrushchev (April 15, 1894 - September 11, 1971) definitely was. This led to both of them having a little trouble at the border during the 1950s.

On September 19, 1952, Chaplin wasn't allowed back into the United States after a brief visit to England. He had made some controversial political statements from time to time, and his airing out of feelings didn't exactly put him in a favorable light.

Khrushchev, had spent several years working with and advising the murderous leader Joseph Stalin, before pushing for reform later on. The damage, and summary executions, had already been done. On September 19, 1959, Khrushchev was not allowed to go to Disneyland while visiting the US.

Hard to believe now I know, but all this rambling is leading up to something. That something is our 'Today's Tune'. In light of the happenings discussed above, I'm thinking an uptempo version of American musician Smiley Lewis' song "I Hear You Knocking" is in order. Welsh guitarist, singer and record producer Dave Edmunds (Love Sculpture, Rockpile) came up with an excellent arrangement, giving him his biggest hit ever, back in 1970. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Dave Edmunds - "I Hear You Knocking" London, Eng. April 17, 1990

Today's Tune: "All Along The Watchtower" By Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix died of a drug overdose on September 18, 1970. He was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Many think of Hendrix as being the best guitarist that ever lived, even to this day. Jimi's music certainly continues to influence the greatest musicians of our time, and always will. He was quite an amazing innovator, doing things with the guitar that no one else had ever imagined before. There are others who bring elements of his style into their playing, but there will never be another Jimi Hendrix.

I couldn't make up my mind which Hendrix song to choose for this 'Today's Tune', because they're all so great. Then I thought, might as well load up his YouTube video with the highest view count [Update: Video has been replaced. Originally posted 8 million plus count video was removed from YouTube]. So, here it is. Jimi Hendrix at the 1970 'Isle Of Wight Festival' in England, playing the Bob Dylan classic, "All Along The Watchtower".

Jimi Hendrix - "All Along The Watchtower"

Jimi Hendrix - Guitar, Mitch Mitchell - Drums, Billy Cox - Bass

Ovie Turned 24 Years Old Today

Alex Ovechkin collects puck during a game on February 3, 2009.
Photo by Jim McIsaac / Getty Images.

Alexander Ovechkin, the best all around hockey player in the world currently playing the game, became 24 years old today. Russian forward Ovechkin plays left wing for one of the best teams in the National Hockey League right now, the Washington Capitals, who drafted him at number one overall in 2004. Since he started playing in the NHL in 2005, he has scored 219 goals and 201 assists in 324 regular season games played, averaging 105 points per season through four seasons.

СЧАСТЛИВЫЙ ДЕНЬ РОЖДЕНИЯ АЛЕКС! = HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX!

Today's Tune: "Problem Child" By AC/DC

'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' album released in Australia on September 20, 1976.

John Ritter, born on September 17, 1948, was (Died September 11, 2003) a very talented American actor and comedian. Ritter is mostly remembered for playing Jack Tripper in the long running ABC sitcom Three's Company. He also appeared in episodes of many popular television shows, and was working in another comedy series of his own called 8 Simple Rules, when he passed away because of a leaking aorta that was caused by a congenital heart defect. John had mostly modest success in films, with 'Problem Child' (1990) doing well enough to earn a sequel called 'Problem Child 2' (1991). The 'Today's Tune' track for today is a live version of "Problem Child" (1976) by hard rockers AC/DC.

AC/DC - "Problem Child"

Bon Scott - Lead Vocals, Angus Young - Lead Guitar, Malcolm Young - Rhythm Guitar, Phil Rudd - Drums, Cliff Williams - Bass Guitar

Happy 49th Birthday To Danny John-Jules

Happy 49th birthday to Danny John-Jules. John-Jules is an English actor, dancer and singer. He was a member of the original 'Starlight Express' rock musical cast, and supplied the voice for two characters in the animated movie 'Labyrinth'. Other films he appeared in include 'Little Shop Of Horrors', 'Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels' and 'Blade II'. However, Danny is mostly known for playing the part of Cat in the BBC television science fiction space comedy Red Dwarf (1988 - 1999). Cat is the selfish and spastic humanoid that evolved from Frankenstein, the pet cat of Dave Lister (Craig Charles), the last human in existance.

In April 2009, a brand new three part Red Dwarf mini series called 'Back To Earth' was aired in the UK and Ireland on Dave (TV channel) . US fans will be able to purchase a 2 Disc set on Blu-Ray and DVD starting on October 6, 2009.

Red Dwarf: First time Dave Lister (Craig Charles) and hologram Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie) meet Cat (Danny John-Jules)

Today's Tune: "Doctor Doctor" By Uli Jon Roth And UFO

Ed Begley, Jr., American actor and environmentalist, was born on September 16, 1949. Happy 60th Ed. He is mostly known for portraying Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the classic television comedy/drama series St. Elsewhere back in the 1980s. Currently, he's playing Dr. Walter Krandall in the TV comedy Gary Unmarried. With this doubling up of Doctor characters in mind, this 'Today's Tune' is the UFO song "Doctor Doctor", performed by guitar God and singer Ulrich Jon Roth (Scorpions, Electric Sun) with his band being joined on stage by UFO in 2001.

Uli Roth's band is joined by UFO for "Doctor Doctor" (2001).

Today's Tune: "Money (That's What I Want)" By The Flying Lizards

Thanks to Cherie for passing along this photo.

When I look back into history at the things that happened on a September 14th, I see a theme for greed. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded on this day in 1960, and you know these days that they'll use any stupid little excuse to raise the price of oil. Every time you hear their name on the news, the price of gasoline goes up again. Another event that was very aggravating for baseball fans, and the people that depend on the sport to earn a living, was the 1994 Major League Baseball season being canceled because of a players strike. The first song that pops into my head, when thinking about these kind of historical events, is "Money (That's What I Want)". Though they weren't the first to have success with this 'Today's Tune', the band I remember is The Flying Lizards.

The Flying Lizards - "Money (That's What I Want)"
Homemade, but better than the band's low budget effort.

Today's Tune: "Perry Mason" By Ozzy Osbourne

Raymond Burr died on September 12, 1993 (Born May 21, 1917). Burr was a Canadian actor, who worked in stage productions in his early career. He also appeared with several popular actors and actresses in many successful films. One of those being when he played the suspected murderer in the Alfred Hitchcock movie 'Rear Window' (1954), where he acted alongside James Stewart and Grace Kelly. However, he is probably best known for his television roles, such as the lead characters in the TV dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. Therefore, I chose "Perry Mason" by Ozzy Osbourne for this installment of 'Today's Tune'.

September 12 Births: 1931 - English film and stage actor Ian Holm ('Robin And Marian', 'King Lear', 'Lord Of The Rings' ), 1944 - American singer Barry White ("I've Got So Much To Give", "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe", "Practice What You Preach") and in 1952 - Canadian drummer Neil Peart (Rush).

September 12 Deaths: 1992 - American film actor Anthony Perkins ('Friendly Persuasion', 'Psycho', 'The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean'), 1995 - English stage, television and film actor Jeremy Brett ('War And Peace', Rebecca, Sherlock Holmes), 2003 - American singer and guitarist Johnny Cash ("Cry, Cry, Cry" , "Man In Black", "God's Gonna Cut You Down").

Ozzy Osbourne - "Perry Mason" Standard Version



Ozzy Osbourne - "Perry Mason" Extended Version (Humorous Intro)

Today's Tune: "I Remember You" By Skid Row

Three sites involved during terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Left to right - World Trade Center (New York, NY), Pentagon (Arlington, VA),
and UA Flight 93 crash site in Stonycreek, PA.

September 11, 2001 is a date no American will ever forget, due to the terrorist attacks that occurred that morning. To all the people that were killed that day, to all that suffered any harm, to all the people who helped save and care for their fellow human beings, you will always be remembered. 'Today's Tune' is "I Remember You" by American rock band Skid Row.

Skid Row - "I Remember You"

Today's Tune: "Lady Come Down" By Colin Firth And Rupert Everett

Rupert Everett and Colin Firth in 'The Importance Of Being Earnest' (2002).

Happy Birthday to Colin Firth. English film, television and stage actor Firth was born in Grayshott, Hampshire, England on September 10, 1960. He lived in Nigeria during his early childhood because his parents worked there as lecturers abroad. Their parents had been missionaries. Firth even spent some time living in St. Louis, Missouri in the USA, before returning to the Hampshire area of England for his schooling. He then attended the Drama Centre London to train as an actor.

Colin performed mostly on stage and in TV movies early on in his professional career. As a matter of fact, it was his portrayal of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy in a television mini-series adaption of Jane Austen's brilliant novel 'Pride And Prejudice' that really made him a star. His theatre film career includes roles in movies such as 'Bridget Jones's Diary', 'Love Actually' and 'The Accidental Husband'. Colin Firth has acted many times alongside English actor Rupert Everett ('Shakespeare In Love', Sherlock Holmes, 'Shrek 2', 'Shrek The Third'). The two have also sang a couple songs in the films they've appeared in, including 'Today's Tune' - "Lady Come Down", in 'The Importance Of Being Earnest'.

Colin Firth and Rupert Everett - "Lady Come Down"

Today's Tune: "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" By Otis Redding

'Today's Tune' is "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by American soul singer Otis Redding. Redding was born on September 9, 1941. He was so highly regarded, that he was called the "King Of Soul". He was one hell of a great singer, for sure.

This tune is probably the one Redding is most remembered for, and was his biggest hit. It was recorded three days before 26 year old Otis Redding was killed in a plane crash, along with his manager, the pilot, and four members of his band on December 10, 1967. The unfinished song, including Redding whistling during a portion he intended to fill in with lyrics, was released "as is" about one month later.

Otis Redding - "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"

Today's Tune: "Where No Man Has Gone Before" By Alexander Courage

The first episode of the original Star Trek television series to be broadcast, was aired on September 8, 1966. The series is a science fiction show that takes place in outer space, and was created by American screenwriter and producer Gene Roddenbery.

"The Man Trap" was actually the 6th to be produced, including 2 pilots (1 failed, 1 aired during season 1), but was the episode chosen to be shown first. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is the instrumental theme music written by Alexander Courage, who also created the woosh sound heard when the Starship Enterprise flies by during the opening credits. The second pilot episode uses the same title. Canadian actor and writer William Shatner, who starred as the character Captain James T. Kirk, provided the opening monologue that is added, creating the "Theme From Star Trek".

"Where No Man Has Gone Before" by Alexander Courage



"Theme From Star Trek"(Includes opening monologue)

Today's Tune: "Mother Love" By Queen

This 'Today's Tune' is in honor of Freddie Mercury, as he was born on September 5, 1946. Mercury is best known as lead singer for one of Britain's all time greatest bands, Queen. Freddie (Farrokh Bulsara) was born on Zanzibar, an island of Tanzania, of Parsi heritage. He later went to school in India, before he and his family moved to London, England in 1964. There, he became a British citizen, went to college and in 1970, formed the band Queen with guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon. They spent many years as one of the world's top bands. Mercury was diagnosed as having AIDS in the Spring of 1987. Freddie died November 24th, 1991, less than twelve hours after publicly announcing through a prepared statement that he had AIDS.

"Mother Love" is supposed to be the last song ever recorded by Freddie Mercury. You'll notice the last verse being sung by guitarist Brian May. It is said that after having willed himself through recording several other songs, he didn't have the strength to finish the last one. However, it may have just been decided later that it needed a bit more at the end to properly finish the tune.

The song's meaning has been debated, but to me it is quite simple. "Mother Love" is not about love from Freddie's mother. The song refers to his desire to be loved with the same intensity and unyielding quality as a Mother's love of her child, the mother of of all loves. A love without fear of being left behind. There's no deviant meaning here. There is only one line that actually brings up the actual mother - "Mama, please let me back inside". This is about a frustrated, lonely and scared person wanting to hide away from the sometimes overwhelming real world. Most likely, Freddie was thinking of his (much more than) close friend Mary Austin, when he and Brian May wrote this song. He loved her as much as any gay (bisexual?) man could ever love a woman.

I browsed through several videos, and couldn't decide which was best. Therefore, here's two of the fan made YouTube videos I like.

Queen - "Mother Love"



Queen - "Mother Love"

Today's Tune: "Kid" By The Pretenders

Happy Birthday Martin Chambers. Chambers is an English drummer and backup vocalist for The Pretenders. He is one of only two founding members left, the other being American lead singer Chrissie Hynde. Martin turns 58 years old today, and he may not feel much like one, but we can still celebrate his birthday with the song "Kid".

The Pretenders - "Kid" at the Cornbury Music Festival 2006.

Today's Tune: "Did You No Wrong" By Sex Pistols

Both English guitarist and backup singer Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols and American film and television actor Charlie Sheen ('Platoon', 'Men At Work', Two And A Half Men) were born on a September 3rd, Jones in 1955 and Sheen in 1965. After noticing this connection, while looking for this installment of 'Today's Tune', I found myself thinking of another possible link.

Some of you might remember the rotten accusations, mostly from Sheen's former American film and TV actress wife Denise Richards ('Good Advice', 'Undercover Brother', 'Blonde And Blonder'), and events that came about during their nasty separation and divorce. It occurred to me that some of the lyrics in the song "Did You No Wrong" might have been uttered by both Sheen and Richards shortly before they decided to split up. The song was on the B side of the single "God Save The Queen" on the Virgin Records pressings. A small quantity of the earlier A & M Records version would have "No Feeling" as the B side tune.

Sex Pistols - "Did You No Wrong"

Today's Tune: "Peace Train" By Cat Stevens

Image found within recent New Haven Advocate article.

World War II came to an end on September 2, 1945, when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender documents were signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Provisional Government of the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Dominion of New Zealand on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The emperor of Japan had announced the surrender on August 15th, and it became official when the documents where signed on September 2nd.

A good peace song is in order to mark this day in history. With all those nations in line, "Peace Train" by English musician Cat Stevens (Born to Greek-Cypriot father and Swedish mother) seems a good choice. It's a tune that's not often heard on radio these days, and that's a shame. World peace is a good thing, and it should be on the minds of everyone, including the leaders of all nations and peoples.

Cat Stevens - "Peace Train"

September 2009 Concerts In DC, MD, PA & VA

Here is a current list of some noteable concerts scheduled to take place in September 2009, at venues in Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and the Washington, DC area.

Jimmy Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band - September 3rd and 5th at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA

Motorhead and 2 other bands - September 8th at 9:30 Club in Washington, DC

Eric Burden And The Animals - September 9th and 10th at Rams Head On Stage in Annapolis, MD

Journey and Night Ranger - September 9th at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, MD

Janeane Garofalo - September 12th at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, MD

Bill Cosby - September 12th at 3:00 PM EDT and 7:00 PM EDT at American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA

Jim Gaffigan - September 12th at Hershey Theatre in Hershey, PA

Living Colour and Phantasm - September 12th at Rams Head On Stage in Annapolis, MD

Robin Trower - September 13th at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, MD

ZZ Top - September 13th and 14th at 9:30 Club in Washington, DC

Alice Cooper - September 17th at the York Fair in York, PA

Kix - September 19th at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, MD

Jeff Dunham - September 19th at the York Fair in York, PA

Margaret Cho - September 21st at 7:00 PM EDT is Sold Out, but 9:30 PM EDT is Still Available at Rams Head On Stage in Annapolis, MD

Foreigner - September 24th at The Great Frederick Fair in Fredrick, MD

Pink - September 28th at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA

U2 - Tuesday, September 29th at FedEx Field in Landover, MD

*All details are subject to change!

Today's Tune: "Operator" By Jim Croce

Lily Tomlin as telephone operator Ernestine.

Happy birthday to Lily Tomlin, one of the funniest women to ever live. Tomlin was born on September 1, 1939. She is an award winning American comedian, actress, writer and producer. I grew up watching, listening and laughing to the humor of Lily Tomlin. She has created many hilarious characters, which she has portrayed on various television shows (Rowan And Martin's Laugh-In, Saturday Night Live, Murphy Brown) and in movies ('All Of Me', 'Getting Away With Murder', 'Orange County') throughout many years. One of the favorites of most people is a snorting, wisecracking and scheming telephone operator, Ernestine. Picking the 'Today's Tune' with that naughty character in mind, the appropriate choice has to be "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)" by the late, great American singer and songwriter Jim Croce.



Jim Croce - "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)"