Today I gave my brilliant wife a ride to work. She works on the west side and has to be in early in the morning—by 6 am. Once I dropped her off I couldn't resist stopping by the beach since I was so close and had plenty of time to kill. The beach in the early morning is probably my favorite thing about Los Angeles (rivaled only by the beach in winter, at any time of day). The air is cool, barely anyone is around, and the light is perfect—the sky almost blends right into the sea. [...]

The Sixties were a pretty sunny decade when it came to pop music, as these relatively obscure tunes demonstrate: The Millennium: Some Sunny Day [ purchase ] Skeeter Davis: Summer Sunshine [ purchase ] Hearts And Flowers: Try For The Sun [ purchase ] See also: Margo Further research: [...]

Remember my post from a month ago about Who Invented Country Rock? (If you missed it, here's a mix of some of the highlights .) Well, it turned out to be the most popular post I've ever done, generating lots of comments and e-mails. So now its time to tie up some loose ends based on all the great feedback generated by the first one. EARLY PIONEERS: (1) Jimmie Rodgers Some readers voiced the opinion that elements of [...]

SIDE A 1. Something To Say - The Action 2. Snowblind - Judy Henske & Jerry Yester 3. Morning Sunshine - The Idle Race 4. Love Came Tumblin' Down - The Monks 5. Little Baby - The Blue Rondos (Joe Meek) 6. The World Ain't Round, It's Square - The Savages 7. White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground 8. Gather 'Round - Love 9. [...]

Hearts and Flowers released two good LA country folk-rock records in the late 60's and left behind a plethora of outtakes. Of Horses, Kids and Forgotten Women from 1968 is arguably their crowning achievement. Larry Murray, Dave Dawson and Rick Cunha had made up the first lineup of Hearts and Flowers, all coming from an early to mid 60's folk mindset. In the summer of 67 they released Now Is The Time For.... to critical acclaim. By the time of their second album Bernie Leadon of Eagles, Flying Burrito Brothers, and Dillard & Clark fame had replaced Rick Cunha. [...]