Honoring the Music

Category: 50 Songs to Hear

SONG: Stephen

ARTIST: Neil Sedaka

SONGWRITERS: Neil Sedaka / Howard Greenfield

ALBUM: The Hungry Years

YEAR/LABEL: 1975; Rocket

I'm pretty passive, except when it comes to my music.
(Neil Sedaka)

One of the largest holes in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame could easily be filled by the induction of Neil Sedaka. His songwriting skills, long list of hits, and six decades as an entertainer stand as his chief credentials. The only possible reason that he is not in the Hall of Fame is the perception that he is "pop." (For the record, the Platters were also pop -- yet they are in the Hall of Fame.)

Yes, Neil Sedaka is pop. And he's darn good at it. Sedaka was, and remains, one of the voices that defined the pre-Beatles music scene. Modern people scoff at the "light" or "meaningless" music of that era. There indeed was an innocence to those days, and Sedaka was a master of that outlook. He delivered his lyrics with an infectious, smiling voice that one could not help but like. Sedaka was not trying to change the world in the 60s, he was trying to make the listener feel good. And, more times than not, he succeeded.

Sedaka's popularity faded in the States as Beatlemania arrived and "innocence" gave way to the turbulence of the later 60s; however, he found a devoted following in England. Among his fans numbered one Elton John, the most successful music act of the 1970s. In a time when Elton could do no wrong (1973) he formed a record company, Rocket, and one of his first signings was Neil Sedaka. In 1974 the label released "Laughter in the Rain" as a single and Sedaka was back, as the album title said, and at the top of the Billboard charts. The next year, Elton teamed up with Neil on the song "Bad Blood,' from the album The Hungry Years, and Sedaka scored his second #1 song within a year.

The star of The Hungry Years is not the big hit but rather the lovely, haunting "Stephen." In the song Sedaka pays tribute to the father of American music, Stephen Collins Foster. Foster lived long before the era of recorded music, yet his songs remain to this day firmly ingrained in the fabric of America (two states have Foster songs as state songs: Florida's "Old Folks at Home" and "My Old Kentucky Home," which may be the best-known state song in existence thanks to the Kentucky Derby). In this marvelous ballad Sedaka acknowledges the debt that every songwriter for the past 150-plus years owes to Foster for making their job possible when he sings, "I can feel your magic in my fingers."

Sedaka begins the song by asking, "Have we traveled down this road together? Tell me, Stephen, are we part of one another?" Sedaka knows the ups and downs of life as a songwriter (he began as a "staff songwriter" and had several of his songs rejected for sounding "too intellectual") that Foster -- and every songwriter since -- endured. In the chorus Sedaka promises the master, "I'll be your voice, I'll be your hands. Come touch the world again."

Neil Sedaka remains one of the great artists of American music, and "Stephen" is one of his great contributions to the world of music.

OTHER NEIL SEDAKA MUSIC TO INVESTIGATE:

The entire The Hungry Years album -- Sedaka looks at getting older ("Crossroads"), life as a musician ("Your Favorite Entertainer"), and proves he's still a great pop ("Lonely Night [Angel Face]," a hit for the Captain and Tennille) AND "deep" ("New York City Blues") songwriter.

"Solitaire" (from Sedaka's Back) -- this is one marvelous number. People ranging from the Carpenters (who had a hit with the song) to Elvis to Shirley Bassey to Clay Aiken have covered it, but there's nothing like hearing the man who wrote it deliver it in all its emotional power.

Any "oldies" compilation -- too often modern music is far too cynical. Cure the cynicism by listening to some music that was designed to make you feel good -- and I guarantee Sedaka's oldies, from "Oh Carol!" to "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" to "Calendar Girl," will do exactly that.

"King of Clowns" (available on All-Time Greatest Hits) -- and speaking of oldies, do not pass up the opportunity to hear one of Sedaka's greatest songs, from then or since. A marvelous broken-heart tune that should have been a much, much bigger hit.

PREVIOUS SONGS:
(Country)
When I Lift Up My Head
Rose of My Heart
Rock of Ages, Hide Thou Me
Playboy
Our Town
Old Memories Mean Nothing to Me
Not That I Care
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well

(Rock)
Stealin' Time
Starting Tomorrow
Spellbound
Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate
She's a Runaway
Painted Bells
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine

Coming Clean

Category: Sports Opinion

Mark McGwire has admitted that he used steroids. That should shock absolutely no one. After all, during the legendary 1998 season a sports reporter spotted a bottle of "andro" in McGwire's locker and reported it.

Now for who really needs to come clean: the sports writers who have the responsibility of inducting people into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

First things first: these people, whoever they are (allegedly the list is secretive to prevent buying a vote), are so snooty they make Charles Emerson Winchester III look like Mother Teresa. Cal Ripken Jr. received 98.7% of the votes, and his fellow 2007 inductee Tony Gwynn received 97% of the votes. While that superficially sounds terrific, the problem is with the 1.3% and 3% who did not vote for Ripken and Gwynn, respectively. There are people who you literally want to grab by the shirt collar, shake them until their teeth fall out, and yell, "What is wrong with you??" The people who did not vote for Cal and Tony are in that category, and this can only be traced to some misguided opinion that nobody deserves to be in the Hall of Fame "on the first ballot" (or that nobody deserves a unanimous vote). Even when they try to appear humane (e.g., waiving the five-year waiting period for Roberto Clemente in 1973 to induct him on the heels of his death in a New Year's Eve 1972 plane crash), there are still holdouts (Clemente only received 92% of the vote). Who are these moronic hold-outs? Yes, we can argue all day long over things like "who was the greatest pitcher" or "who was the greatest left fielder," but to deny a particular individual's greatness and contributions to the game of baseball when they are so apparent a caveman can see them (thank you, Geico) is simply ridiculous.

And, in the end, does it really matter if someone makes it on the first ballot or the fourteenth? There is absolutely nothing on Tony Perez's Hall of Fame plaque that says "he only had 2.7% over the minimum votes required" or "he didn't make it until his eighth year of eligibility." The only place it matters is in the minds of the people who arrogantly look themselves in the mirror and say, "Ha, I sure kept Cal from being unanimous, didn't I?"

Stay tuned, this is going to happen in five years when Randy Johnson becomes eligible. Johnson is one of the most, if not THE most, dominant pitcher of this generation. His numbers speak for themselves. He holds the record (with Cary Wood) for most strikeouts in one game (20) and is second only to Nolan Ryan in strikeouts (and nearly 900 behind him). There were actually six people who did NOT believe Nolan Ryan belonged in the Hall of Fame. Those people don't deserve to vote. They might be saying with their vote, "He doesn't belong 'this year'," but they are insulting the responsibility they have been charged with by making such ridiculous misuses of their votes.

And that leads to the second problem with the writers: the pick-and-choose attitude toward who can get a pass over their transgressions versus who cannot. The most recent poll I saw, prior to McGwire's announcement today, said that about a fourth of the Hall of Fame voters would vote for McGwire (meaning 75% would not). The very same people who think McGwire has committed such an unpardonable sin are TWICE AS FORGIVING for Barry Bonds (nearly 50% said they would vote for him) -- and, may I point out, McGwire is not under federal indictment, while Bonds is.

The steroid era isn't over, and it probably won't be for years, if not decades. They are an awful fact of baseball life, but a fact of life they are. We cannot erase the past two decades or so from history simply because we don't like steroid use anymore than we can erase the past two decades' history of professional football that has seen the "F" in "NFL" come to stand for felon instead of football (and necessitated the joke, "I predict our team will go 10 and 6 this year: ten arrests, six convictions"). The baseball writers, therefore, need to do one of two things: look at the records, regardless of the steroid use or non-use, and vote accordingly (which makes McGwire a lock for the Hall of Fame); or put them ALL in the "I'll vote for Pete Rose first" category. No picking and choosing -- saying Bonds' sins are forgivable but McGwire's or Palmeiro's are not -- because that makes them smell worse than the people they're passing holier-than-thou judgment on.

Remember the 90s: the baseball strike that eliminated the 1994 post-season and World Series nearly eliminated the game of baseball in its wake. The 1998 season was credited -- by these very writers -- with "saving the game of baseball." A large part of that magical year was the McGwire/Sosa home run chase. Whether he was juiced or not, Mark McGwire did save baseball, and for that he should be in the Hall of Fame.

Worth the Wait

Category: 50 Songs to Hear

SONG: Stealin' Time

ARTIST: Gerry Rafferty

SONGWRITER: Gerry Rafferty

ALBUM: City to City

YEAR/LABEL: 1978; United Artists

I thought the songs were good, but I didn't expect this.
(Gerry Rafferty)

Occasionally, after reading about the disputes that musicians find themselves in, one cannot help but think that the music business is more important to lawyers than singers and people who love music. Bands that break up can have legal arguments that make what happens on Divorce Court appear to be a romantic weekend getaway by comparison. In fact, after the lawsuit David Byrne filed to prevent three-fourths of Talking Heads from performing under that name Tina Weymouth said she was told point blank by her attorney that the band's break-up was a divorce.

Scottish singer Gerry Rafferty no doubt felt the same way when his duo, Stealers Wheel, became entangled in a messy split two years after the success of their song "Stuck in the Middle with You." Rafferty was prohibited from recording for three years under the terms of the Stealers Wheel record contract. During the interim he did tour and travel, collecting experiences and songs. When the recording ban was over Rafferty came out of the studio with a masterpiece: 1978's City to City. The haunting saxophone that opened the hit "Baker Street" flowed out of radios and took the song to the U.S. top three. "Stealin' Time," the final song on the same side of the album as the big hit, stands out as the highlight.

The song could easily have been titled "Cross That Line;" however, given the lyrical content and the tumultuous break-up of Stealers Wheel that kept Rafferty out of the studio for three years, the irony of variations of the word steal in both the title of the song and the band that Rafferty left cannot be under-appreciated. The song speaks very candidly about what it is like to be legally forced into a hiatus. Rafferty has no regrets ("I don't feel guilty 'cause the time was mine") because he felt he "had to let it go." He says of the ability to make records again, "It felt so good to know that magic again." The song lacks the powerhouse saxophone of "Baker Street," relying instead on steel guitar and a beautiful vocal chorus at the conclusion of the song that repeats, "Roll on, cross that line, been so long stealin' time."

In 2008 rumors about Rafferty's well-being began to surface after he disappeared from a hospital that was treating him for alcoholism. It took six months before Rafferty's agent issued a statement. Hopefully Rafferty has more great music in him that he will share with the world. "Stealin' Time" is a prime example of what he is capable of providing.

OTHER GERRY RAFFERTY MUSIC TO INVESTIGATE:

The entire City to City album -- an album filled with every aspect of life as a family man and touring musician, this is one of the greatest albums of the 1970s. If you haven't listened to this album in a while, pull it out and rediscover the magic.

PREVIOUS SONGS:
(Country)
Rose of My Heart
Rock of Ages, Hide Thou Me
Playboy
Our Town
Old Memories Mean Nothing to Me
Not That I Care
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well

(Rock)
Starting Tomorrow
Spellbound
Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate
She's a Runaway
Painted Bells
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine