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Hurricanes and hisicanes of the future (Pt. 4)

( … continued)

SCENE: Warehouse near End of the Line Tavern.

Prosby rubbed his head, wincing at the  pain from the  wound on the side of his head.

He  was cold on the concrete slab floor. He wasn’t restrained.

“Again Mr. Prosby, may I offer you some water, or perhaps something stronger?”

The woman appeared to be in her 40s, wearing some kind of one-piece zip-up suit with lettering on the right side of her chest, like something an auto mechanic might wear. Only it was bright neon blue.

The lights greatly enhanced his headache and he tried to stand up. He fell to a knee, inviting laughter from the woman and others he could not see.

“What do you want?” he asked,  giving up on trying to stand.

:Well,  Mr. Prosby, the question is ‘What do you want? Actually and more precisely, the question is: Do you want to live or die.”

“We all die some time,” He snapped back quickly, with sarcasm.

‘You’re death will be sooner than the natural world would give you and, trust me, it will be much much more painful,’ The woman in the jumpsuit continued. “And I will personally see to that.’

“You see, Mr. Prosby, our deal comes with an expiration date. It’s not a pay as you go sort of thing. If you don’t accomplish this task, and bring us what we seek, by that certain date, you will expire.

His mouth moved to answer but he couldn’t hear a word he said because of the deafening metal machine music.

To be continued …

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Live For Ireland — 411

ALBUM: Live for Ireland (Recorded 1986)

MVC Rating: 3.0/$$$

It was the Irish version of Live Aid, with U2 kicking it all off with an anguished soul-killing version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Maggie’s Farm.’ I still can’t tell if that’s good or bad. Probably had to be there.

A general statement first. I don’t particularly care for most live records. ‘Most’ I say.”  I like Cheap Trick’ and Dylan’s separate live albums from Budokon.

The Rolling Stones ‘Get your Ya Ya’s Out’ is old school rock concert stuff. I’ve heard cuts off Nirvana Unplugged that are surprisingly  good live acoustic versions.

But it’s likely  it was all probably better live, seeing about a dozen or two dozen Irish acts during a 14-hour marathon.

Some of the acts included: Tua Nua, U2, Chris Rea, Clannad, Van Morrison, The Boomtown Rats, Chris De Burgh, and a new version of Thin Lizzy which months earlier lost their frontman Phil Lynott due to a fatal drug overdose.

De Burgh’s expansive organ and guitar laden, ‘Don’t Pay the Ferryman,’ was a chartmaker in the US. DeBurgh’s MOR/classic rock style served them well in the oudoor venue

Christy  Moore did a nice Irish song called Back in Derry which seemed to resonate.

The Irish concert’s goal was to help  unemployment, which was a major  national problem.

Thin Lizzy without Phil Lynott, lineup used in Self-Aid concert.

The Boomtown Rats — 629

According to its Wikipedia page:  The telethon raised millions of pounds for a job creation trust fund as well as over 1,000 job pledges.[The song chosen for the finale was “Let’s Make it Work”, written by Christy Moore and Dublin songwriter Paul Doran. Tributes were paid to Phil Lynott who had died just 4 months earlier, including a performance by a reformed Thin Lizzywith Gary Moore on lead vocals.[

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Bits and Pieces: I hope Casey Kasem was a jerk on his own

The Dave Clark Band’s ‘Bits and Pieces’ is a bad song made worse by a bad video.  Check it out.

And I generally like DC5 songs, such as  ‘Glad all Over.’ But ‘Bits and Piece’s’ is a good title for a blog post that has, well, bits and pieces.

And that’s what this is.

I ruminate on this as I come out of my recent post on one-hit wonders. I like most of the songs on my personalized wonder list. But I considered and tossed out a couple because they weren’t good.

I was reminded of this when I visited another music blog today, and it was featuring a post about Henry Gross and the love-hate relationship with the song ‘Shannon.’ Oh the memories. See this well-done website called SliceTheLife  

I dislike — but secretly like  –Shannon, kind of like ‘Brandy’ by the Looking Glass.. But seeing this post reminded there was an album by Gross called ‘Plug Me into Something’ that I remember hearing every time  I visited a friend’s house. I have fond memories of that record but never bought it for whatever reason, probably because I heard it so much without paying for it. The friend also had the Brothers Johnson ‘Strawberry Letter 23,” which I did buy (the album,  Right on Time, and is reviewed here.

Anyway the thing that had me laughing today was the Casey Kasem, he of Top 40 fame, go off the rails on Gross’ song, Shannon, about a dead dog. SliceThe Life gives more detail on that. Here’s the video.

Casey Kasem died a few years ago of complications of Lewy body dementia.

That’s of course the disease I have and awareness of the disease is a big part of this blog and my life.

I hope those weren’t early signs of LBD.

I hope Casey was just having a bad day and being a  jerk on his own. But the fact is that this insidious disease can change personalities and behavior.

I am here to tell you readers, you have the right to shut me down if I act like that. I don’t advocate violence (especially against myself) but put a piece of duct tape over my mouth or something. Or just give me some ice cream, Chunky Monkey is fine.

In other bits and pieces. I see that, ironically I guess, the song by Europe called “The Final Countdown” was named one of the top all time one-hit wonders.

My Vinyl Countdown Salutes you. Here’s what VH1 said in this somewhat dated  release:

On VH1’s 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders, [Europe’s] Joey Tempest said: “It was quite a surprise that the song ‘The Final Countdown’ became such a big hit because it was written for the band, it was written for our concert, it was written to be the opening song in our concert. It was almost six-minutes long, it was never intended to be a short pop hit or anything, it was very much a surprise and its been used for all kinds of events, anything from Formula 1 to boxing. It’s been used for a lot, sort of like an anthem. I know there’s been some cover versions of it as well and I know when the Berlin Wall (fell), at the same time that all thing happened I know a lot of other people from that area saw the song as an anthem. I get a lot of letters about that. So its been interpreted in many ways.”

And again My Vinyl Countdown salutes you.

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One wonders about these one-hit wonders — 10 best from My Vinyl Countdown

This is an opinion column by Mike Oliver who writes about  his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia and other issues at AL.com and  on his blog myvinylcountdown.com

Isn’t that it? We like to read and listen to one-hit wonders because it makes us wonder. We wonder, well, what happened to him or her or them?

We ask: “They were so good. Why didn’t they have another hit?”

“Did something tragic happen?

Oooh and it makes you wonder. Am I a one-hit wonder — in my life?”

How must the one-hit wonders feel? Working for years without another hit. Having to play that one hit as the last song at every concert gig It’s like George Reeves who played Superman in the TV show not being able toget another good job because he had been typecast.

One wonders and worries, perhaps, but they are fascinating. I’m not going to go into any deep analysis here about the psychology or analyze why some hit big only once.

But I’m going to list the top 10 one-hit wonders from My Vinyl Countdown blog. This comes from a list of my 678 albums, of which about 225 are on this blog

I’ve vowed to finish them all before I die.

I’m pulling my list from the 225 or so that I have already reviewed. We’ll  do another list down the road. Remember, this is my collection, mainly bought in the 1970s and 1980s.

It’s worth pointing out that some very fine artists never make it the Billboard 100.  This is not meant to be a complete list, it’s a list of songs that I  like and that make me wonder why the artist never broke through again. I have a low bar, these aren’t No. 1 Billboard  songs. Could be any on the top 100.

  1. Song: Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me.)  Artist:. Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. This charted (barely) at 96 in the U.S. in 1976 but was No. 1 in England. I had this on a live album called ‘Face to Face’ but never paid much attention — it was the last song on a 2-disc live album I  picked up in Athens, Ga., I then found out the song was on one of my compilations records as well, but I’ve only recently come to appreciate its cool-ness  and catchiness.
  2. Song: Sweet Mary. Artist: Wadsworth Mansion. This catchy tune sounds like it came out of the Beach Boy’s treasure chest or Jan and Deans garage.  The song went to No. 7 on the Billboard 100. Despite releasing other songs, the band never had another track crack the 100. And you wonder how a band  with a name like that could go wrong. (I love the speeded up outro: Chickie-chickie-chick is your heart a-break. Chickie-chickie-chick is your heart a-break
  3. Song: A Good Heart. Artist:  Feargal Sharkey. This song was also catchy as heck and went No. 1 in the UK charts but only saw No. 76 in the U.S in 1985. Despite some great songs, nothing else went Top 100 US for him. Before his solo career, Sharkey was known for fronting the Irish band ‘The Undertones,’ a significant contributor to the power-pop New Wave movement. Its hard to listen to this song and not sing-surf along to Sharkey’s powerful voice on the chorus. My personal favorite, from the same album, is a song called ‘You Little Thief’ which did well overseas but didn’t chart in the U.S.
  4. Song: Money Changes Everything. Artist: The Brains. This song, one of the all time great rock songs, was covered by Cindi Lauper and  became a worldwide hit charting at No. 27  on the U.S. Billboard 100 in 1985. It was an underground hit for The Atlanta, Ga.-based Brains, were fronted by Tom Gray who wrote and recorded the song. Athough the bands work was crtically acclaimed, they never matched the Money success. They have several albums which I review here.
  5. Song: Resurrection Shuffle. Artist: Ashton Gardner & Dyke. This song is one  of two songs I know of that have your backbone slipping in the lyrics. The other is Land of a 1,000 Dances, which is as danceable as this one, which is pretty high praise because they are high on the danceability scale. The group had several albums and released several singles but nothing that made the charts. Resurrection Shuffle however hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the States in 1971. Tom Jones and Clarence Clemons are among those who  have covered this song.
  6. Song: A Million Miles Away. Artist: The Plimsouls. I’m stretching my own rules here by picking something off of an album I haven’t reviewed yet. I am in the ‘H’s’ as I count these down. However, I have a good explanation. The band has Peter Case in it, whom I have already reviewed.   This is a great song, and I’m sure they would have had more had they stayed together. One might remember this song (and the Plimsouls playing it), from the 80’s movie ‘Valley Girl.’
  7. Song: Slow Dancing. Artist: The Funky Kings. Most have never heard of the Funky Kings. I reviewed them recently on this  blog here. They were a pleasant laid back southern California band that left little lasting impression. Slow Dancing however became a hit on the Easy Listening charts and a Johnny Rivers cover did even better. It’s nice.  It’s a high school slow dance song. It’s the kind of song that becomes a memory touchstone if you happened to be exposed to it at the right age.
  8. Song: Sunshine. Artist: Jonathan Edwards. When you hear this song it sounds like you’ve heard it all your life, even if it’s the first time. That’s the sign of a timeless song and this is a good one. The question is (and I wonder) what happened to Edwards. He did other records,  two other songs nearly cracked the top 100. He did some acting. But he never came close to matching the power and popularity of ‘Sunshine.’
  9. Song: Telstar. Artist: The Tornadoes. This instrumental sounds like a classic, like you heard it somewhere before. The band was comprised of successful backing  musicians and had numerous hits in the UK. Telstar, however, was their only US  hit as far as I  can tell. But it did well: No. 1. Not bad for a  pop song with no words.
  10. Song: Driver’s Seat. Artist: Sniff ‘n’ the Tears. Okay I’m cheating. I haven’t reviewed this one yet but I wanted to close strong. This is just a great piece of driving, rocking pop fluff. A little bit like ‘Radar Love’ in that it is a  good driving song. But this band was truly a one-hit wonder. One and done.
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John Hurley — 412

NOTE: This was updated July, 2020, to reflect that when I did the original post I did not know about his other two albums. I began to do a litte research on this native of Pittsburgh and session musician in Nashville, and some in Muscle Shoals as well. Since I wrote the original column, I launched an unsuccessful search for a friend or relative. He died too early in his 1950s  (It appears that he also had a Birmingham link in that he did some recording here as well.) I’ve not found family or friends but I quit pursuing because I felt like I would leave them alone and if they wanted to talk, they would contact me). Any way bottom line. I liked the other two albums better than One More Hallelujah. I have upgraded Hallelujah from 3.5 to 4.0; and the other two I’m grading to 4.5’s each. He was not only a great songwriter but also a great country-blues singer. I mean great.

ALBUM: John Hurley Delivers One More Hallelujah (1971)

MVC Rating: 3.5/$$

Not exactly a household name, John Hurley finishes up my “H’s” as I countdown my collection of 678 records.’

This gospel-soul singer is probably best known for co-writing the classic ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ with the famous line: ‘The only man who could ever reach me was the son of a preacher man.’

The song was originally written for Aretha Franklin but when there were some delays in getting the Aretha version done and published,  Wikipedia says the song was considered too gospel for the particular album Aretha was working on.

Dusty Springfield recorded it, and it became a massive hit.

Hurley was a fine singer as well as a songwriter but he only put out three albums. He died at 45 from liver failure and cerebral hemorrhage, according to his Wikipedia page.

He wrote songs with Ronnie Wilkins, for a while in Nashville. Some who have covered his songs include The Everly Brothers, Waylon Jennings and Wayne Newton.

The much-covered “Song of the Common People” was written by the two (see video below, a poignant tribute put together by his family).

The title song on the album  I have is a full-throated gospel number that almost crosses over the gospel- secular divide with its chorus-backed soul belting of Hurley.

If you like soul or gospel, this is a  strong consistent album, top to bottom by an artist who deserves a little more recognition. As oneYouTuber put it: “Another buried treasure. What an amazing, unjustly forgotten career.”

Footnote: I picked this from a used record bin thinking I was buying something from Michael Hurley and  the Holy Modal  Rounders which I had read about and was looking for the name ‘Hurley’ and just snagged it without remembering that it was the wrong first name.  Glad I did snag it.

But still looking for that Michael Hurley record.

PPS: Larry Carlton plays guitar on this  Hurley record.

A tidbit came to me before I could close out: In the 90’s, the reggae-American group Cypress Hill, sampled “Son of a Preacher Man,’ put it in a song called “Hits from the Bong.”

That  added even more to a growing audience for that song, contributing royalties for the songwriters.

Click for story I did about Love of the Common People.

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Buddy Holly and the Crickets — 413

ALBUMS: Buddy Holly Lives  — 20 Golden Greats (1978 compilation)

MVC Rating: 5.0/$$$$$

I used this formula in a previous review and it is simplistic. Great artists are more than the sum total of who they listened to. But my lttle equation is: Chuck Berry + Buddy Holly = Beatles. It’s not an equation of who is best, it’s an equation of influences.

I tried to mess around with the Rolling Stones which might be Chuck Berry + Howlin’ Wolf = Stones? Didn’t work for me really. The Beatles clearly were taking in everything Holly was doing. “True Love Ways,” sounds like the Fab Four.

Listen to  ‘Rave On‘ with your eyes closed and you can practically see the Beatles up on stage singing that song.  Same with ‘Words of Love.’

The Beatles named themselves in homage to the Crickets.

Of course most are familiar with the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. It was the Day the Music Died as proclaimed by  one of rock’s great songs, ‘American Pie.’

You can get a modern version of Holly in Marshall Crenshaw — who seemed to channel Holly on some very good records in the 1980s. But had Holly lived, he would have probably been pioneering  in a way beyond Crenshaw — like the Beatles were. Though intriguing, we’ll obviously never know what kind of music Holly would have brought us.

And with all due respect to Don McLean, musicians die, but the music, when it’s really really good, lives on.

Rave on, Buddy Holly.

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Dunking quest pushes the limits of 59-year-old’s body and soul (blog version)

When I was about 9 living in the Athens, Ga., I begged my mother to let me mow the lawn. Previous requests had been denied on account of “you’ll cut your leg off.”

That was the standard Mom line, kind of the go-to parallel of “You’ll put your eye out,” as immortalized in the boy’s pursuit of a BB-gun in the movie :A Christmas Story.”

Besides mowing, I also had been pushing for a BB gun.

I didn’t get one of those until about age 12. (A Daisy single pump).

But on the lawn mowing thing, she caved in earlier. Looking back, I’m sure Dad, who had some skin in the game, as the primary lawn mower helped come up with the idea to get the aptly named ‘push mower.’ That is a lawnmower with no gasoline, no engine and no motor-driven whirling blades to cut my leg off.

I didn’t know the nuances of lawnmowers; I was just happy to finally get to mow the lawn. So, I started one bright, hot and humid Saturday and golly it sure was hard to push. But I kept pushing, learning from some instruction to go up and down the lawn in rows leaving no grass in between. I hadn’t figured out the square spiral method of mowing yet where you made a big square of cut grass all around the edge of the lawn and descended with a spiral square until you had a satisfying tiny block of grass left.

No, on my first day, I realized this was no easy job. After about 20 or 30 minutes I had mowed two rows, came inside and declared I would finish later. Sunday came and I went at it, maybe knocking out three rows before quitting. I was hitting a rhythm. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, knocking off a couple or three rows each day in about 30 minutes of sweltering work. I remember skipping my mowing workout on Friday to play street ball with friends.

But on Saturday I finally finished. I had pushed that powerless grass cutter over every inch of the lawn in one week’s time.

Now for my big life lesson.

I invited my Mom out to see my handiwork. She said she was proud of me. And she said: “It’s time to start mowing again.”

“When?” I asked, fighting tears.

“Now,’ said Mom. “See how it has grown back on this side of the lawn?”

That is when I learned that life is dukkha __ one of the four Noble Truths in Buddhism is that much of life is suffering. My wife, Catherine, taught me the word decades later, learning it from her theological studies. But I learned the concept that hot day, leaning up against a silent, immobile push mower.

I’d like to say I kicked that mower and began stomping it to pieces. That’s what I was thinking anywa­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­y. But then I know if I did that my Mom would say something.

“Careful, you’ll cut your leg off.”

So, here I am 50 years later. I have a degenerative brain disease and I’ve made a vow to fulfill a bucket list item of dunking a basketball on a regulation 10-foot goal. I’ve never dunked in my life.

I started in October and I’ve promised updates on my quest to dunk by mid-July.

But like mowing the lawn with that push mower, training can be exhausting, hot, and discouraging when you see no end in sight. It can be body breaking and soul shaking.

As Little Feat sang: “It’s easy to slip.:

And I did.

But don’t bet against me just yet. After a multi-week layoff, I was back on the basketball court Wednesday night. The game was brutal on me. I won’t be dunking anytime soon.

In the meantime, on Nov. 9, I turned 59. Some days I feel every bit of my age and more.

Those who have been following my story know that I have Lewy body dementia, a form of dementia that is the second leading cause after Alzheimer’s.

To those following along – and bless you by the way – I have a blog where I am counting down my vinyl record collection numbering 678. It can be found at www.myvinylcountdown.com. I’m also an AL.com columnist and post a column using pieces of MVC (My Vinyl Countdown). My challenge, I see now, goes beyond exercising my body.

I’m operating under the notion that my life will be shortened. The average lifespan after diagnosis is 5-8 years or 4-7 years, depending on the source. I was diagnosed at age 56; I am now 59. But averages are averages and I hope to be a long living outlier – as long as my quality of life remains reasonably bearable.

I will tell you this: I feel way better than I feel two years ago. I attribute that to medications, early diagnosis, exercise, and music.

Stay with me, as Rod Stewart used to sing. Maybe just maybe you’ll see me defy not just gravity but health age and common sense.

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Steve Howe — 414

 

ALBUM: The Steve Howe Album (1979)                             

MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$

I had forgotten how good this album is. Mostly instrumental, this album has  Howe showing off a precise and beautiful touch on guitar and other  string instruments. Songs are varied and probably would be  labeled progressive rock like his band Yes. But much of it is jazzy folk and a little country (English style.

But that doesn’t aptly describe the variety and quality of the music . ‘Pennants’  opens it up with  a riffy rock feel.  ‘DIary of a Man Who Vanished’ is melodic and enduring. ‘Meadow Rag’ i s what it says it is and very well played. ‘Cactus Boogie’ is too what it says it is. These songs are so disparate yet they all seem so familiar, like they belong together.

On the gatefold,  Howe shows off his instruments in photos.  Quite a collection includes a Martin 0018, a Kohno Spanish guitar. a Gibson Les Paul, a Danelectro Coral Sitar Guitar and a Fender Telecaster , among others. Probably well over $100,000 or way more for these precious instruments.

Speaking of worth. I don’t know how rare this album is but the Howe album I have fetches $20 to $30 on Discogs. If I remember, I bought this one new in Athens, Ga. during my freshman year at UGA, 1979.

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Robyn Hitchcock, The Hi-Lo’s — 416, 415,

ALBUMS: Suddenly it’s The Hi-Lo’s (1957, Reissue 1981); Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians, Globe of Frogs (1988).

MVC Rating: Hi-Lo’s 3.0/$$: Hitchcock 3.5/$$

Robin Hitchcok’s Globe of Frogs

OK I am doubling up as I am wont to do every now and then. I’m finishing up the H’s in the next few posts. Continuing on my way to review and reminisce about my 678-record collection. I’m doing this alphabetically (more o r less) and I still have more than 400 to go.

I chose to review these together mainly because they were the next two alphabetically speaking. But it’s an interesting contrasting combination.

This is a review of a 1950’s vocal jazz group and an alternative psychedelic folk rock artist . What can you say about Hitchcock, an artist who opens his liner notes with words like: “All of us exist in a swarming pulsating world, driven mostly by an unconscious that we ignore or misunderstand.”

The Hi-Lo’s meanwhile in this 1981 reissue of a 1957 album are all about fresh faced optimism, suits and un-ironic bow ties. The four men sing in harmonies and seem happy warbling away at songs like ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ and ‘Stormy Weather. I listen to it when I want to go to something completely different in my collection. It’s surprisingly uplifting music.

Meanwhile Hitchcock sings songs entitled ‘Tropical Flesh Mandala’ and ‘Luminous Rose.’

If I were writing a traditional consumer guide I’d probably say ‘hey old folks check out the Hi-Lo’s they are like your old music. And say to the younger folks, dig the new Robyn HItchock album, it’s out of this world.

But I recommend the vice versa position. Kids meet the Hi-Los. Grown-ups see what psychedlic folk hipsterism is all about.  (It’s not too bad, I promise — except ‘Devil’s Mask‘  — live from Athens, Ga., — might blow some minds.)

So with both albums from divergent styles you can still say about both of them: And now for something completely different.

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John Hiatt — 422 421, 420, 419, 418, 417,

ALBUMS: Bring the Family (1987); Warming Up to the Ice Age (1985); Riding with the King (1983); All of a Sudden (1982); Two-bit Monster (1980); Slug Line (1979).

MVC Ratings: Family 4.5/$$$$; Warming 4.0/$$$ Riding 4.5/$$$; Sudden 4.0/$$$$; Monster 3.5/$$$; Slug 4.0/$$$

John Hiatt with his voice evoking the best and, sometimes,  worst elements of Dylan and Elvis (Costello?) is a major example of when songcraft rules. And in Hiatt’s case it does.

And then some.

John Hiatt

I hopped on for the ride with  a cut-out, ‘Riding with the King,’ a talking boast of a song and album.  On the  cover Hiatt  is sitting  on a big bike (motorcycle).

“You May Already Be a Winner’ and ‘She Loves the Jerk’  are classic tracks here but the whole album is shot through with humor, mostly sardonic. Here’s “Winner’ about a poor sap who thinks he’s won a big contest.

I know you’re tired of the same old dress
I know the car’s been repossessed
I know this house is just a shack
But there’s this love we cant hold back

Would you like a beer with your TV dinner?
Oh, my darling, you may already be a winner

As you can see, I have six of Hiatt’s albums. That’s a lot for me to have of one artist.

As I’ve explained before, I am not a completist in my record collecting ventures, was always looking for new music.  I do have on CD, ‘Slow Turning,’ which may be Hiatt’s best work. It came out in 1988 about the time CD’s were available to the masses. I have a lot of records up to about 1987 or 88,  when CDs became the main vehicle. It was the Day the Music Died. Not really, I embraced digital formats and have only recently become enamored (my wife would say absorbed) with vinyl, probably because I had boxes filled with 678 records that I  had put up for decades before my rekindled interest.

.In Hiatt’s discography, the 1987   ‘Bring the  Family’ is still vinyl but one year later we have ‘Slow Turning.’

I think Hiatt is one of the top artists to come out of the 1980s — a decade that gets picked on a lot for rock music. But here’s lyrics from a rocker on the aforementioned ‘Bring the Family.’

Sure I like country music
I like mandolins
But right now I need a telecaster
Through a vibro-lux turned up to ten

[Chorus:]
Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby
Memphis in the meantime girl

A little postscript: I never got to see him live. Catherine did though. She was offered tickets to a show north of Orlando in early 1990s. I had to stay home on this last minute deal because of kids, girls night out it was. Catherine said he was great live.

There was a small piece of drama that night. Seems Hiatt  had a stalker, a woman if my memory serves me was arrested for stalking Hiatt. Sounds like a John Hiatt song..