Today’s Deep Thoughts

An ice cream cone is the new tan suit.

50 Years Ago - Grievous Angel

In the early months of the year I’ve seen plenty of think pieces discussing the 50th anniversary of the release of Blazing Saddles, which also serves as a reminder of how old I am. I clearly remember when it first came out. And that in turn fired up the Idea For An Ongoing Feature bat signal. So, why not take a look at some of the key movies/albums/TV shows from a half century ago?

I’ll start with an album that made little commercial impact at the time, but has proven to be hugely influential - Gram Parsons’s second and final solo album, Grievous Angel. Beginning with his brief stint in The Byrds and running through his time with The Flying Burrito Brothers and his tragically brief solo career, he practically invented the concept of country rock. Emmylou Harris is so prominently featured on this album that she almost merits a co-starring credit. Her harmonies add so much to the album, and their duet on Love Hurts is sublime.

OK, at this point I’ll admit that Grievous Angel is not an album that made an impression on me when it first came out. I suppose I could pretend that I was hip enough as an 8 year old that I was listening to Gram Parsons, but would you believe me?

It’s difficult to listen to this album without feeling a twinge of sadness. Parsons died a few months before the album’s release; he didn’t even make it to the 27 Club. As is the case with any artist who dies young, one can’t help but wonder what could have been. Would he have delved even further into pure country music, or would he have continued to search for the sweet spot between the two forms? Would he have been part of Willie Nelson’s outlaws? Or would he have been more of a Townes Van Zandt sort of figure; with tremendous respect among his peers yet minimal mainstream recognition? Or what if he and Emmylou Harris had maintained their close professional connection? Would they have gone on to become co-monarchs in the development of the Americana musical scene?

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that Gram Parsons is one of the more glaring omissions from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (When The Byrds were inducted only the original 5 members were included.) Because it’s difficult to picture country rock without him, he could easily be inducted in the Musical Influence category. I also think it’s high time that Emmylou Harris gets in as well, but that’s an argument for a different day.

Ballot Breakdown - Foreigner

I’ll start off by saying that Foreigner was one of my favorite bands when I was 12 years old. The summer of 1978 was the time that I really became an intense music fan, and Hot Blooded was one of the biggest hits of that summer. I have a lot of personal affection for that band. But… I didn’t stay 12 forever.

Also, I know I sound like a broken record about this, but the Hall has more than enough classic rock bands from that era. To compare it to the baseball Hall, a nomination for Foreigner almost feels similar to how the Frankie Frisch led veterans committee inducted so many players from the 20’s & 30’s that those eras are terribly overrepresented at the expense of others. Inducting Foreigner into Cleveland is like inducting Chick Haley into Cooperstown.

With that out of the way, their first 2 albums are enduring classics that introduced multiple songs into the classic rock canon. I personally wouldn’t call any of them the types of songs that still inspire me to crank up the volume when I hear them, but something like Feels Like the First Time is a perfect example of a solid, professionally produced rock track. It was perhaps a poor sign that their third album was noticeably weaker. Leadoff hit Dirty White Boy was the type of song you hear from a band ten albums into their career as they wheeze their way towards the finish line, not from a third album.

Their 4th album was much more of a return to form, but it also served as the beginning of a crucial transition. Urgent was yet another rock solid hit with kick-ass saxophone work from Jr. Walker, but you could hear their production was growing increasingly slick. The second hit marked as their turning point. Waiting For a Girl Like You was a massive hit, famously spending 10 weeks at #2 without hitting the top spot. (As an aside, that longevity is the reason why I classify this one as their biggest hit & not a later one that did in fact hit the top spot.) It was such an of its time song, with a prominent synthesizer line serving as the main hook.

And just like that their time as a rock band seemed to come to an end. I was in college by the time their followup album was released, and I have to tell you that at the time I really hated I Want To Know What Love Is. As I grew older I got over myself and recognized that it’s a pretty song & that the gospel vocals that kick in towards the end bring it to the next level. What is true is that going forward these sort of bland adult contemporary ballads took greater precedence over their rockers.

What’s worse is that the songs from this portion of their career were so interchangeable. I sure have trouble telling the difference between That Was Yesterday and I Don’t Want To Live Without You. Furthermore, after he released a solo album lead singer Lou Gramm had an acrimonious departure from the band. Gramm was a powerful, easily recognizable vocalist, but his replacement Johnny Edwards (and yes, I had to Google his name) was about as anonymous as it got.

In the subsequent years they have been a reliable draw on the summer concert circuit. To be fair, there has been a certain genius to their career arc. A dude can attend a show and play air guitar to the rockers while his date swoons to the ballads. That’s crossover appeal at its best.

I still can’t get behind thinking of them as a Hall of Fame band. I understand that even though the Hall is expanding its sonic palate there will always be an important place for the traditional rock band. But trust me, those types of bands still continued to emerge even after 1985. Search for worthy artists there, there’s no need to continue mining in the 1970’s. I know that Foreigner has their fans, but I believe inducting them would be a big step backwards.

If elected, will they perform at the ceremony? - Here’s where it gets interesting. First off, the sad part. Lead guitarist and chief creative force Mick Jones recently announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s several years ago. It’s unclear how severe his symptoms are, but it’s possible that he is physically unable to perform. On the other hand, certain permutations of the classic lineup, including Lou Gramm have performed together on reunion tours, so it seems that at least some form of the band would be available. Then there’s this. The current touring band contains exactly zero members of the band that are on the nomination list. Obviously they would have the major members perform, but it would be hilarious if the 2024 version of Foreigner, who are essentially a tribute band, would perform instead.

Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hit - Waiting For a Girl Like You

My Personal Favorite - Double Vision

Things That I Think I Think

I’m mentioned a few times that I stopped following football a few years ago. Back when I was still a football fan, Peter King’s weekly Monday Morning Quarterback column was a must-read. He completely covered all of the week’s action, along with his personal musings of all things league related. Each week I left satisfied knowing that he had brought me fully up to speed with everything I would need to know.

I even continued to read his column as I gradually started to step away from caring about the NFL. Eventually I did stop reading the column altogether, but it had still been comforting for me to know that he continued to grind out the column, even after he moved from Sports Illustrated to NBC, with the column now renamed Football Night In America. As I’m sure many of you know by now, he announced he is ending the weekly column, with next weekend’s edition to be his last.

The phrase “end of era” gets overused a lot, but it sure fits here. It’s astonishing to think how hard he has to work to produce such a detailed and informative (and entertaining) product so quickly week after week after week. It’s also worth noting that he has a terrific reputation within the industry. He has long been a strong mentor for young sportswriters and has been the living embodiment of the term “pay it forward.” He intends to continue working, just not under the high pressure of having to chase scoops and knock out such a lengthy column on such a tight deadline. He has clearly earned his semi-retirement. Godspeed, Peter King.

Lynette Woodard

One of the byproducts of an athlete approaching a long standing record is that fans get a renewed appreciation for the reigning record holder. Case in point - back when Barry Bonds broke the career home run mark it served as a reminder of just how great Henry Aaron was. We’ve seen something similar as Caitlin Clark continues to march towards breaking Pete Maravich’s career scoring mark. Those that have been fortunate enough to have seen Maravich in his LSU days have been sharing stories about how otherworldly of a scoring force he was.

Clark’s output has also shone a spotlight on one of the great female players from the past. When Clark broke Kelsey Plum’s points record a couple of weeks ago many people brought up the fact that this was merely the NCAA record; women’s basketball did not fall under the NCAA umbrella until the early 1980’s. The actual career points record for women’s basketball belongs to former Kansas star Lynette Woodard. Right now Clark is 33 points shy of Woodard’s total, so she could break it as soon as her next game.

Woodard is another of the many players who was a victim of timing, and not just because she was a couple of years too old for the NCAA to recognize her records. Woodard was a member of the gold medal winning USA Olympic team in 1984, but there was of course no domestic professional league at the time. Players essentially had two choices: to play overseas or to retire prematurely. Woodard traveled down a different road; she made history by becoming the first female Harlem Globetrotter. That’s certainly an honor, but let’s face it. She was too good of a player to have to settle for that. She was still an active player when the WNBA was established, but she was already in her late 30’s, so her WNBA career only lasted 2 seasons. She was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame back in 2004, and as mentioned Clark’s achievements have brought a lot of new attention to Woodard’s career. That’s good to see.

What A Finish!

Sunday’s NASCAR race at Atlanta was only the second of a long season, but it’s hard to imagine that we will see anything all season more exciting than what we witnessed last weekend. What is ironic is that the track was reconfigured a few years ago, much to the displeasure of the drivers. In a preseason poll of drivers conducted by The Athletic, Atlanta was far and away the race that they least looked forward to. (Long story short, it now rides very similar to Daytona & Talladega, which makes driver skill a lot less important. In addition, they hate that it means the first two races of the season are held on tracks prone to tight pack racing.) As it turned out, the race provided constant thrills practically from the opening flag, with frequent passing and constant lead changes. Too often, one can easily pay limited attention to the middle portion of races and simply wait for the closing stage. This one was riveting all the way through and even the drivers who went into the event feeling skeptical left just as excited as the fans did.

And that ending, wow. A three wide finish? Awesome. Any one of the 3 would have just as easily won had the finish line been a millimeter closer or further. Even better, the race winner Daniel Suarez went into the season coming off of a disappointing 2023, leaving his future very much in doubt. He has been under a great deal of pressure to improve this year or else. Now, he has already clinched a spot in the playoffs.

Closing Laughs

Hey guys, tomorrow is Leap Day. We get a whole additional 24 hours and everything! Please be sure to use it wisely. Why not spend some of that extra time reading Tending the Herd? Or sharing it with everyone in your contacts list? Thanks as always for reading, & I’ll see you all again on Friday.