Jeff Pophistory

Happy Birthday Butch Cassidy

Butch Cassidy

Butch Cassidy was born on April 13, 1866 in Beaver, Utah as Robert Leroy Parker. His nickname “Butch” may have later come from working in a butcher shop.

Cassidy was first arrested at around the age of 14 when he left an IOU after taking a pair of jeans and a pie from a store for a pair of jeans. After a jury acquitted him, he pursued various jobs throughout his youth, including work on ranches.

Cassidy’s first bank robbery occurred on June 24, 1889 in Colorado. While he continued to do some ranch work, his illegal activities increased.

He formed his “Wild Bunch” gang of criminals after getting out of prison in 1896. After that, it was not long before he added Harry Alonzo Longabaugh — “The Sundance Kid” — into the gang.

Of course, it would be the association between Butch and Sundance that would inspire the classic 1969 movie directed by George Roy Hill and starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

The fate of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid remains somewhat of a mystery. Two bandits were killed in San Vicente, Bolivia as shown in the film. But many debate whether those two men were actually Butch and Sundance. Some speculate they returned to the U.S. where they lived out their days.

Happy birthday Butch, wherever you are. And as a bonus, here are Six Things You May Not Know About Butch Cassidy.

Photo via public domain. What is your favorite scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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October 1992: They Were So Much Older Then

Dylan 30th

Our video for the day is the performance of Bob Dylan’s “My Back Pages” at The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration. The concert — held at on October 16, 1992 at Madison Square Garden — celebrated Dylan’s 30 years of recording. And this performance featured Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton and George Harrison.

It is an amazing collection of legends onstage doing on of Dylan’s great early songs. “My Back Pages” originally appeared on his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan.

What is amazing about this performance is how at the time of the concert, the singers were already legends and they seemed old at the time. But looking at it now, they all seem so young. Or maybe part of that is because I am so much older now.

Check out the video, which begins with Roger McGuinn singing the song, which he had previous recorded with The Byrds and released in 1967. Then, the others follow until Dylan takes the lead himself. In the meantime, one may watch Dylan’s face to make any guesses about what he is thinking as the others sing his song.

There are various interpretations of “My Back Pages,” although most read it as Dylan’s rejection of his younger idealism. But like many of his songs, listeners may find their own meaning and a little of their own life in the song. And, more than two decades ago, we found a little more connection to the song through many of the rock legends of our youth.

What is your favorite version of “My Back Pages”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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P. Jay Sidney: The Heroic Actor Who Fought to Integrate Early TV

Sidney Route 66

P. Jay Sidney, who was born as Sidney Parhm Jr. on April 8, 1916 in Virginia, was a groundbreaking actor who fought to help integrate television starting in the 1950s. He often was relegated to small walk-on parts such as doormen and waiters. But the African-American actor also played some substantial parts as he struggled to both make a living and to fight against the racism of the times.

Sidney’s Acting Career

Sidney started out with a career on stage and on radio. But then he began making a living in TV starting in 1951. He garnered some substantial roles such as that of Private Palmer on The Phil Silvers Show.

Sidney continued to take what roles he could get. He appeared in more than one-hundred and seventy shows. He also did voice-over work and took roles in advertisements, such as Waxin Jackson in Ajax commercials.

Sidney’s Battle Against Discrimination

Sidney’s activism was fueled by the discrimination he saw in the limited roles given to African-American actors. He marched. And he advocated for a boycott against Lever Brothers for only using black talent for commercials aimed at African-Americans. He testified before the U.S. House of Representatives in 1962. He picketed. And he spoke out when he saw discrimination and encouraged others to do the same.

A December 7, 2015 article in The New Yorker, “American Untouchable,” by Emily Nussbaum discusses some of the toll that the discrimination took on Sidney. His story is also recounted in Donald Bogle’s book, Primetime Blues. As in the case of baseball player Jackie Robinson, one may see that standing up to racism is not easy.

But as in the case of Robinson, we need to remember P. Jay Sidney. He was a dignified man who did a job while also standing up for something greater.

Below, Sidney plays a small role as a doctor in a 1961 episode of Route 66, “Goodnight Sweet Blues.” In this opening clip of the episode, you may see Sidney at around the 3:16 mark, as a family doctor getting some assistance from a white cardiologist.

Sidney never got to see equal representation of African-American actors on TV or in Hollywood. But he helped us take an early step toward that destination. Moses never made it to the Promised Land, and Sidney’s final role in a movie was playing a bellman in A Kiss Before Dying (1991).

Yet, other actors, like Ossie Davis recognized that they were able to get jobs because of Sidney’s activism. Sidney passed away on September 30, 1996, and while an increase in television channels has created more opportunities for non-white actors, Sidney’s legacy can be seen in critiques like the recent Oscar So White campaign in Hollywood.

Sidney’s battle, which is a battle for all of us, continues.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Classical Gas and 3000 Years of Art

Mason Williams

One of the coolest videos on YouTube combines a hit instrumental with fast-flashing works of art. The story of the tune, “Classical Gas,” and the video, “3000 Years of Art,” go back to the Smothers Brothers in the 1960s.

The Creation of “Classical Gas”

Mason Williams, who was born August 24, 1938, was a comedy writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The show began its first season during the winter of 1967. After the show completed its first season, Williams began to work on some other projects.

Following a two-week tour with Dick and Tom Smothers in Las Vegas, Williams returned home and picked up his guitar. He had missed playing the instrument and decided to write something he could play for friends.

So, Williams started on a piece he called “Classical Gasoline.” He got the idea for the title from his thought that the piece would be “fuel” for the classical guitar. He continued working on the tune during the second season of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968.

At one point, the Warner Bros. music label asked Tom Smothers for suggestions of new artists to add to its label. And, one of the artist he suggested was Mason Williams from his show. So, Williams began working on The Mason Williams Phonograph Record for Warner Bros.

One of the songs featured on the record was the finished version of “Classical Gasoline.” But the music copyist made the mistake of writing the name as “Classical Gas.” The new name stuck. As Williams later explained, “It wasn’t until sometime later that I realized most people were thinking ‘Gas’ as in ‘Hey man, it’s a gas!’

Below, Williams performs “Classical Gas” in 1968.

“3000 Years of Art”

After Williams premiered the tune on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the song climbed the charts. Then, Williams contacted a filmmaker named Dan McLaughlin. McLaughlin had made a student video putting together Beethoven’s 5th Symphony with a montage of art works. Williams asked him to do the same with “Classical Gas.”

So, McLaughlin created “3000 Years of Art” with the tune, using fast images in a visual effect that is now called kinestasis. The images purport to show a history of art in three minutes.

The video premiered on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968. Check out the really cool video of “3000 Years of Art” below.

In 1969, “Classical Gas” went on to win three Grammy Awards. The awards were for Best Instrumental Composition, Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental, and Best Instrumental Arrangement.

And that is the story behind the song.

What is your favorite instrumental pop tune? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Final UK Concert of Rod Stewart & The Faces in 1974

Faces Final Show

On December 23, 1974, Rod Stewart led the Faces in their final concert in the UK, giving a rollicking show at London’s Kilburn State Theatre. Although the band would tour the U.S. in 1975, this farewell concert is often listed as their last performance together.

The Faces, which had grown out of the dissolution of the Small Faces in 1969, created great music during their time together. But by the time of their performance at the Kilburn, the end was near for the band.

The show featured lead singer Rod Stewart, keyboardist Ian McLagan, guitarist Ron Wood, drummer Kenney Jones and bassist Tetsu Yamauch. Yamauch replaced founding bassist Ronnie Lane, who had left the band the summer of 1973.

Rounding out the show was a guest appearance from Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones on for “Sweet Little Rock’n Roller,” “I’d Rather Go Blind” and “Twistin’ The Night Away.”

By the time of this show, Stewart had already established himself as a solo artist with Every Picture Tells a Story (1971). He had already had the massive hit “Maggie May,” which the band plays at the show.

For the 1975 U.S. tour, Wood played with the Faces and also toured with his new band, The Rolling Stones. With Wood and Stewart finding other work, the writing was on the wall for the Faces. But it was a great run.

The show ends with a short “We’ll Meet Again,” a song the band closed with since 1971. But, despite various forms of reunions, London would never see the Faces like this again.

What is your favorite song from The Faces? Leave your two cents in the comments.