Dept. Q

Netflix trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72hK6FUmm8o

How does everybody know?

My e-mail has been blowing up about this show starting on Thursday, the day it went live. And I did see reviews in some papers, but to think the success of this show is based on the usual hype is to believe the mainstream media is still in control of success, and that is completely untrue.

"Dept. Q"'s success is based on word of mouth. And that is everything today. You can't build it and you can't sustain it.

That's another thing the oldsters have wrong. You don't try to build and string out, today everything is hit and run. Online fads/memes can be done in a week. Then on to the next thing. Once the mainstream finds out about it it's already on the downswing.

Now Netflix does have the advantage of its home screen. Not that I knew what it was, but they were pitching me "Dept. Q" starting a few days before it went live.

That's another thing, advance hype to build excitement? Why? Remember when acts were worried about their masters being stolen and released before street date? Acts just wished there was that amount of mania about their new music today. For a while there we got the secret drop...you know, you wake up and it's there. But today there's so much in the pipeline that even that doesn't work.

Not that music is identical to streaming TV. There is no home screen for music. If you think real estate on Spotify makes a difference, you're probably paying for it. If you think it's all about playlisting...you don't know that active listeners pick and choose, they don't listen to playlists (I didn't make this up, Spotify has told us this over and over again). People believe in playlisting the same way they insist on still sending you their CD, as if it's not easier to just click and listen...and turn off! If your PR person says they're going to ship CDs, fire them, or don't hire them to begin with. But there are a ton of people who'll take your money and everybody's frustrated because they don't know what to do, how to gain attention for their work.

It's easy... Make the best work possible. There's very little great stuff out there, and if something is great people will find it, and talk about it.

Not that I think "Dept. Q" is phenomenal, the whole bit with Ms. Finch and what happened to her doesn't ring true with me. But Matthew Goode as Carl Morck is such a prick, superior and he doesn't even know how his personality works against him.

As for Kelly Macdonald... Did you see her in "Line of Duty"? Or maybe "Giri/Haji"? Hell, she's got an arm's worth of credits. But we don't keep being beaten over the head with her, she's not constantly in the gossip columns, she's an actress.

As for the show...

It isn't long on nuance. This isn't one for the ages.

But we're only three episodes in. And there are nine. And I must say the third episode is the best one yet.

Would there be this amount of buzz and excitement if "Dept. Q" was dropped week by week? OF COURSE NOT! Not only do you hear about it, but you can dive deep immediately.

People are constantly talking sh*t about Netflix, and Netflix keeps winning, doing it their way. Netflix is bigger than a network, it's THE network. With more product than any network every purveyed.

As a matter of fact, we're in the middle of this Norwegian show "Pernille," which gets better and better as it goes along. There are five seasons of six shows each, all about half an hour, and it's rewarding in ways that conventional shows are not. And it's on Netflix.

We want to feel like we belong. And media keeps telling us to pay attention and feel like we belong, but that doesn't work, even though everybody involved in that game keeps slapping each other's back, smiling and believing they own the game.

The people own the game. And it's fun to be watching and clued-in to what everybody else is.

I wish we had music like this. And we do have some, but it's mostly country. Finally the mainstream press is acknowledging this, but we had to hear for years and years that we lived in a hip-hop nation. Not anymore. Or to whatever extent we are, it's fading.

Because everything fades. Even rock and roll.

But when was the last time you heard a straight ahead one listen rock song? Creators are too deep in their niches to do this. They want to belong to a scene. When the scene is purely great music.

As for "Dept. Q"... I can't wait to continue. And isn't that the essence?


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Bad Company-3-SiriusXM This Week

Tune in Saturday May 31st to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

Phone #: 844-686-5863 

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz


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Swift?

From: Gerard Kinzelmann
Subject: Taylor and Rolling Stone article

WTF not a puff piece but a hurricane. I laughed out  loud at some
sentences. Tayor's publicists probably wrote this. How far RS 

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/how-taylor-swift-won-commentary-1235351833/
_________________________________

That article is behind a paywall. Not that the news that Taylor Swift has reacquired her catalog of recordings is hidden, I saw it on my phone within moments of waking it up.

But that's not the story that impressed me most today. Here's what I read in the "Wall Street Journal":

"E.l.f. Buys Hailey Bieber's Rhode Cosmetics Brand in $1 Billion Deal - Acquisition unites brands popular with Gen Z and helps buyer diversify its supply chain outside of China"

https://shorturl.at/7H5tS

Now this article too is behind a paywall, but if you Google the story...it comes up in spades, there are tons of references.

So I ask you, if you want to get rich which path are you going to take, become a musician or a model/influencer who is famous for nothing?

Not that all of Bieber's billion is net. Then again, the billion plus that Taylor Swift earned on her last tour was far from net. Talk about costs...

So Taylor Swift reacquired her catalog. Kudos. But let's be clear, SHE PAID FOR IT!

She paid less for it than she would have if she hadn't rerecorded her initial albums, but she wrote a big check, it was too big a number to Zelle.

As far as a breakthrough for all artists, a pivot point in the music business?

Nothing could be further from the truth.

If anything, labels now insert clauses that make it so you can't rerecord your albums, not until a long period of time passes, if at all.

And if you think the labels are the most important entities in today's music business, you'd be talking about how much money Swift made from her recordings as opposed to her tour, and that's not the number thrown around.

However, since the labels no longer know how to create a hit, you have to do this yourself. And therefore you negotiate a deal on your terms. And ultimate ownership of the recordings is negotiable.

Actually, the big story here is "Sinners," the blockbuster movie directed by Ryan Coogler. The rights revert to him after twenty five years, and Hollywood is FREAKING!

But Coogler had leverage. A history of success. And a studio desperate for hits.

Now if you subscribe to Apple News+ you can read the above-referenced "Rolling Stone" story here:

"How Taylor Won - Swift owning her life's work is a historic victory with enormous ramifications for other artists, and the entire music world"

https://apple.news/A3nFtjqN1QrmVlEeAzKSCCA

It is hagiography, but it's also not completely accurate.

Prince's beef with Warner Bros. wasn't about ownership of his masters, but how often he could release albums! Mo wanted to build and milk one album before he put out another. Also, every time Warner put out an album they had to pay Prince, and they didn't want to do this, if for no other reason thank the most recent albums hadn't sold as well as the previous ones.

And if you think Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun are evil, not only do you not know the men, but you don't know business. Taylor could have bought her masters at multiple points along the way, BUT SHE DIDN'T WANT TO PAY FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR THEM!

I really don't want to make this about Swift. It's great that she owns her records. Everybody should. And I could go deep into an analysis of costs and royalties and the way the labels screw you, but...

How could this guy Rob Sheffield drink the kool-aid? I won't say he got it wrong so much as he's caught up in the hysteria, believing there is meaning here when there is very little. Everything is negotiable and everything is for sale. Period. It's just a matter of the number.

But the same people reading Sheffield's article are the same people raging against Live Nation about ticket prices, when the reason they're high is because of market demand, and the prices are set by the acts!

But the acts can't be guilty.

And neither can Taylor Swift.

It's considered to be black and white, when almost always it's chiaroscuro.

Sans Scott Borchetta the odds of Taylor Swift having made it are slim to none. Borchetta is an ace promotion person who was committed nearly full time to breaking Swift. Acts don't become worldwide phenomena without help. Of course at the core there's Taylor's talent (along with Liz Rose's and Max Martin's and other players/creators), but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

But once again, it's the Bieber story that caught my eye.

We no longer live in the Beatle/classic rock era and we no longer live in the MTV era, when not only were acts and their material known around the world, but they became richer than almost every other citizen. Now a ton of people make more money than musicians. Certainly techies and other entrepreneurs, and then there are managers who make it on salary and stock options.

But usually to make it in that monied world you have to have portfolio...education, smarts, experience. To make it as a model/influencer you don't need any skills at all, other than hunger and your wiles. Once again, it's easier to make money as an influencer than it is as a musician. You just wake up one day and call yourself an influencer and start. Starting in music is hard, it usually requires paying your dues off the radar screen for years.

And that's too long for most people.

So who is going to go into music?

Oh, we know that everybody seems to be making a record now, with nearly a hundred thousand tracks added to Spotify every day. And what is the main complaint of the uploaders? THEY'RE NOT RICH! As for getting paid at YouTube, they don't even give you a chance unless you reach a certain number of views.

And makeup and perfume? Cosmetics? Talk about evanescent... Taylor's music will be listened to long after people forget what brand Hailey Bieber even began.

And the scuttlebutt online is that Justin Bieber, her husband, had to sell his rights as a result of overspending. He's a lot less savvy than Swift, and does not have a financier as a father.

So what does this say about our culture? That young people would rather be famous for nothing because it pays better than trying to become a musician?

We can't blame the people who pay them. These influencers earned the money.

And to compare social media to Spotify... The biggest streamer in TV is not Netflix, but YouTube...the internet is a juggernaut!

And speaking of the internet, it's the root of the dissension in the world today. But rather than dig deep, Democrats would rather deny it, telling potential voters to put the phone down. What next, stop having sex?

So if you're in music for the money...

There are easier ways to make cash.

So you have to ask yourself, why you are doing it?

Now many are doing it for the cash. Undercutting their credibility all the while. Gaining traction so they can branch out into perfume and clothing and alcohol...all of which have nothing to do with music. It's almost laughable, the more you sell your soul, the less your impact/the shorter your career. But the people making the deals get a cut, so they're going to tell you to do it.

It's like selling your publishing. Do you think Blackstone is in the business of losing money? They bought Hipgnosis because they think it's a good deal. As did all the rest of the financial entities in that space. In many ways they're no different from the labels, you make a deal today and lose out in the future. Which is what Swift is avoiding...but never forget the costs involved, she did not get those rights back for free.

And they keep inventing new ways to monetize music. Revenues are going UP on a percentage basis, from 7% per annum to 10% per annum. You can't get that return putting your money in a CD, no, you have to shoulder risk. But there's no risk in owning a song, it pays out better than a slot machine, year after year after year.

So what's a poor boy to do?

Certainly not play in a rock and roll band.

But the power of music today, more than ever...IS THE MUSIC ITSELF!

That's what you're selling, your right to affect people, to speak truth to power. But we have very few doing this. Everybody is looking for a way to monetize.

So what's forever, "Desperado" or "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"? "Hotel California" or "Cruel Summer"?

You may hate the Eagles, but the numbers tell us most people love to listen to them, year after year. And the Eagles don't sell out, with brand extensions and advertisements. They don't own their early records, then again the amount of money they make from recordings is a pittance compared to what they make on the road. The game changes, but the music remains the same.

Speaking of which, Peter Grant sold Led Zeppelin's rights to Atlantic and the only reason they got paid again is because the contract didn't have provisions for new media, i.e. the CD, never mind streaming. But believe me, the labels closed that loophole shortly thereafter.

However, if you're an influencer, you owe nobody.

So what choice do you think today's young 'uns are taking?

Ask around, you'll find out, and the answer is clear.

And it ain't music.


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The Stax Documentary

HBO Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgR9W13B98w

This is a must-see, even though I waited a year to watch it.

I'd been to the Stax museum in Memphis. And I'm the kind of person who pores over the exhibits, reads all the cards, digests the information. Furthermore, I know the records. How much more was there to learn?

Well, not a whole hell of a lot about Stax, but there was great footage of back then and...

You really get a feeling for Memphis and race relations.

Memphis is not on most people's vacation to-do list. Nashville? They call it NashVegas and not is it only the home of country music, it's the land of bachelorette parties. Not far from New York, the home of L.A. expat musicians, everybody knows about Nashville.

But most people don't know about Memphis.

Memphis is the south. I know, I know, technically they call Nashville the south, but one step into Memphis will illustrate the difference.

So a wannabe country singer gets his sister to take out a mortgage on her house and they open a recording studio in an old movie theatre with a record store out front. And this record store attracts all the kids in the neighborhood. And these kids are Black.

The other. To be scared of. There are many people who still feel this way.

But with Jim Stewart behind the controls, and whites Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn melding with Blacks Booker T. Jones and Al Jackson, Jr., this integrated house band creates what are ultimately legendary records. From Rufus and Carla Thomas to Otis Redding to Sam & Dave. Never mind as themselves as Booker T. and the M.G.'s.

But Otis dies in a plane crash, along with members of the Bar-Kays, and Atlantic ends up with all the masters and...Al Bell rallies the troops and rebuilds the label.

Al Bell... He's the heart and soul of the movie. A man without much portfolio, a deejay, who ends up driving the entire company commercially and ultimately creatively too. He's got a vision. And he's a preacher and a coach and he keeps the troops going. This is the kind of person who conventionally triumphed in the music business. An outsider who made it on their wits, developing skills along the way. And when Al talks about the lessons he learned from Winthrop Rockefeller...

When the movie is over you'll think twice about competing with the big boys. I would doubt CBS putting Stax on hold, not sending the company checks, but this same company did the exact same thing with Tom Scholz to force him to deliver a second Boston album. And the funny thing about the man is the corporation continues but not the executives doing its dirty week. You stay for a while, act as the big swinging dick, take your money and one day you're done.

But if you're an entrepreneur, it's YOUR company, and you want it to last forever.

Al wants Stax and Memphis to be taken seriously by the people on the coasts. Black-owned businesses were always seen as second-class, in some cases irrelevant, or to be toyed with and ripped-off. As for Memphis... Despite so many residents moving south for the weather in the past few decades, if for no other reason following the companies who were evading the northern unions, in the sixties and even seventies northerners had contempt for the south.

If you watch this documentary you'll feel the power of Martin Luther King, Jr. In a way taking a day off from work will not. You get insight into what it was like to be Black in America, a second class citizen. As it is said in the film, they didn't want more, just the same, the same opportunity, the same equality.

You get a history of civil rights in a music doc, you're not beaten over the head with it, and I wish everybody in America could see this doc.

And a concomitant one about being Black in America today, which doesn't exist.

And there is the music. And Isaac Hayes gets his due as Black Moses. Something that has been lost to the sands of history, eclipsed by his role as Chef in "South Park" and his ultimate exit.

Now to a degree this documentary is hagiography. How could Al Bell not know that the company's masters could be attached? It's one thing to be screwed by Jerry Wexler when you're wet behind the ears, quite another to be ignorant when you're facing trial for fraud...you've got high-priced lawyers, you know what is going on.

Was everybody out to get Stax, to put it in its place, wanting to keep Blacks down? Definitely to a degree, to what degree...

These documentaries are made by people trying to draw attention to the catalog and burnish its image. You're not going to find a deep exposé.

Then again, the real story of Stax is the music, and that's given a fuller treatment here than anywhere else. There's a strong case made that the Memphis sound was homegrown and unique, and when it was snuffed out something was lost.

No one will watch this documentary and say it was a waste of time. No one will be bored during it.

Two thumbs definitely up, WAY UP!


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Peter Wolf-This Week's Podcast

Peter Wolf has a new book, "Waiting on the Moon," and we dive into the tales of the artists, poets, drifters, grifters and goddesses he writes about.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-wolf/id1316200737?i=1000710409924
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5AROprxdMCIb32Y4RL0pZp?si=AleDfd9aQZS2EB5BIQ7S2g
 
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/peter-wolf-278151814/
 
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/0e9ff436-3f2e-4002-9ca1-6a281b0dfe6c/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-peter-wolf
 


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Re-Rick Derringer

Rick Derringer played lead guitar on Under My Wheels by Alice Cooper back in 1971. I was producer. 

We were children. I wasn't yet 22 and he was turning 23 as were most of the band. 

We were recording in Chicago at RCA Mid-America Studios, 1 N. Wacker Dr, in studio B. Brian Christian was engineering as he was for so many of Jack Richardson's and my productions throughout the 70's and 80's. Joe Lopes was our assistant engineer. 

We were all super excited about making the new album after having had a foundational hit with I'm Eighteen on Love It To Death, our first album together and my first real production - under Jack's tutelage and watchful eye, of course. This time, I was on my own in the wheelhouse and I was thrilled with the responsibility and the freedom to expand on what we had started just 9 months before. In those days we were putting out albums every 9 months and the band was touring in between. It was non-stop magic and mayhem. 

When we were at the latter stages of recording on Killer, Rick was in town for a Johnny Winter show and we all thought it would be insanely cool to get him to do a guest turn on Under My Wheels. 

The song needed a blistering guitar solo - but something a little more sophisticated than what we'd been doing up to that point. The tune even had rock n roll horns on it (my first attempt at writing a horn chart) as well as blistering performances by the entire band from Alice's searing vocals to Mike and Glen's flaming rhythm guitars, Dennis' thundering bass and Neal's driving, pounding drumming. 

We scared ourselves a bit with how slick the song was sounding. I think there may even have been a little trepidation on the band's part about the "professional" sound of track. We were definitely leaving the barn but none of us could deny the power of it. 

Knowing Rick was around and wanted to pop down to the studio made it impossible not to invite him to play. We were all huge fans of his. 

He arrived as a fully realized rockstar - in all the right gear, with a guitar that was almost as big as him, a leather jacket studded jeans, scarf and Highway Patrol sunglasses. 

We hadn't yet met and I was prepared for rockstar vibes but was completely disarmed by his smile and demeanor. Genuine, warm and enthusiastic, he exuded a sense of authentic excitement mixed with a kind of quiet, humble professionalism that put the band and me at total ease. 

He was funny, swift, smart and profoundly proficient. He may have been there for all of an hour as I recall, most of which we all spent laughing about the road and the lifestyle. The nerves the band and I all had before he arrived melted away into a warm camaraderie and joyful sense of collaboration. 

I had a thought that doing his solo through a Leslie speaker (the spinning one that Hammond organs typically play through) might make it more special and help it to really stand out against what was already a thumping track. He liked that idea so we plugged him in, set some levels and rolled the tape (yes tape - with 16 whole tracks!) and then he played the solo that is on that record now. One take. Brilliantly. 

We all exploded in the control room and cheered out loud once it was done. I shouted "that's it!" and went out to the studio to thank him. On the one hand he seemed mildly shocked that he had satisfied us with his first take but on the other it was clear that this wasn't a first time for him. He was that good. 

Just as quickly as he had appeared and jumped in, we were hugging good-bye and resolving to stay in touch (which we did for a while) and he was out the door and back to Winter Land. 

I saw Rick a few times after that and always stayed on top of his musical adventures. I was and am still a huge fan of him as a musician and as a human being.  

As you know, I don't normally comment on the passing of contemporaries - and there have been far too many of those lately - but this news hit me particularly hard because it feels like just yesterday that we were kids playing together, and because he made such a huge impression on all of us.  

In hindsight I think having Rick play the lead on UMW might have hurt Glen's feelings somewhat even though he had seemed really enthusiastic about the idea. It was probably something that I should have been more careful with. But I was a baby. Not yet a Billion $ Baby, but just 24 months away from that adventure. 

God bless Rick - and our brother Glen too! They both created so much joy and excitement for millions of people and the sound of them will live on as long as rock n roll guitar has any meaning.  

Bob Ezrin
___________________________________

For his family's privacy I won't give the name of our retirement community, but it's a very music-oriented place, that my wife and I recently moved to, and we were shocked and overjoyed to learn that Rick and his wife Jenda lived here!  We often saw him riding his red three-wheeled scooter around the hood, at the community restaurant, and at the local Publix. I hadn't had the chance meet him, only nodded hello a couple of times, but the musicians I know here ( there are MANY) spent plenty of time with him, and word was he loved sitting down and telling stories, in public and private. I know many musicians from NY and FLA who'd toured with him and worked with him, and loved and respected him. 

A legend, and a huge loss. 

Dave Arbiter
Florida
___________________________________

Excellent coverage of the Winter Brothers and Rick Derringer. The  founders of Johnny, Edgar, Rick, and Blue Sky Records was Steve Paul, the owner of the famous club, The Scene in New York, and Johnny.

I was very close to Edgar Winter with the Frankenstein album, and Rick Derringer through his "All American Boy" LP. We stayed in contact with him and his first wife, Liz, through the years. A very kind and hard-working artist whom all the people at Epic adored working with on his music. I first heard "Hang on Sloopy" at a record hop in a bowling alley parking lot in Michigan, performed by the McCoys. Many years later, when Steve Paul brought him to me at Epic, we just immediately made him a priority. A brilliant guitar player and composer. Rick battled diabetes for a long time.

Ron Alexenburg
___________________________________

Thanks Bob. When I got to work with Rick when he was on the great Steve Paul's Blue Sky, I had it easy. He was already a legend and smart and knew the drill. Anything we asked him to do promotionally he was game. I have fond memories of Rick and treasure the times. 

PS/ When Rick was releasing his alive album, a kickoff gig was scheduled for the Whiskey. Steve Paul called me to recommend a good opening act who could draw. I said 'Van Halen' - unsigned at the moment - straight away. Steve he'd call me back. Next day he did. 'Jim, give me another recommendation. Van Halen is too good.' He was so right. 

James F McKeon
___________________________________

I worked with Rick in the 80's as part of his management team. That was one amazing time in NY. Rick was rock royalty, a musician's musician. I was there for the sessions with Steely Dan, Bonnie Tyler and others as well as his producing of the Weird Al Yankovic albums and his solo, "Good Dirty Fun", amongst so many other projects and his touring. He was one amazing guitar player and so loved by his fans. It didn't matter the size of the venue or occasion, he rocked. He didn't phone it in.  Lots of great memories from those days. Grateful I have them.

Best,

Cathy Goodman
___________________________________

I've been obsessed with Lainey Wilson's cover version of this song since it came out in 2022! She plays it live a lot at her shows.

Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo
https://open.spotify.com/track/4h9GMqQ7bG7XbsC5kdXzNw?si=42e5e96ab5b14a45

Kami Knake
___________________________________

Rick hit me at just the right age: 13, 14, 15, 16, years old. Loved all that stuff. Even the deep album cuts. I was going to list some of the best deep cuts but there are too many to list! Like I said if you were at a certain age, Rick Derringer *was* rock n roll ... but he was also quite poppy, satisfying whatever "power pop" urge you had. I was just playing "One Eyed Jack" from the "Derringer" Sweet Evil album a few weeks ago (perhaps intuiting that "my guy" was dying). But this song from "Spring Fever", 1975, says it all right now: 
"Don't ever say goodbye, I'll love you past the day I die."
Welp that day is here for Rick, as it will be for all of us eventually.

Emmett McAuliffe Esq.
___________________________________

Teenage Love Affair was the track I loved.

Randy Schaaf
___________________________________

In early September, 1974 I drove 120 miles to see The Edgar Winter band with opening act Bad Company on tour promoting their 1st album at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. To be truthful, I was mostly there for Bad Company, already being a huge fan of both Free and Mott The Hoople, and a little burned out on Edgar's Frankenstein the previous year while at university. To this day, it's still one of my favourite shows. Edgar was surprisingly good (Dan Hartman with the bass guitar built into his spandex jumpsuit!) but Derringer was the star of the show as far as I was concerned - a stone-cold rock star. I was sitting in the 10th row and at the end of the show, he flicked his pick into the crowd and hit me right in the face. I still treasure it. Loved his his All American Boy album and its cover art (Uncomplicated and Teenage Love Affair are my fave tracks). Then, like you, I lost track of him. Thanks for filling in the gaps for me, including the fact that he'd died, sigh…

Mike Campbell
Programming Director 
The Carlton
___________________________________

Heres an under the radar Derringer story. 
I had the pleasure of doing a 3 tour with Rick in '88 as part of a band for the singer and supermodel Rosie Vela. It was a very eclectic mix of musicians which also included the late great Paul Griffin and Zev Katz. For most of the tour we were supporting Andy Summers, but for the few gigs we had on our own they booked us Rosie Vela with The Rick Derringer Band or something like that. I guess they figured no one knew who she was, very few people did. We played Rock'n Roll Hootchie Coo every night, and Rick was a total pro and a great guy ! 

Frank Vilardi
___________________________________

1974. The Edgar Winter group with Rick Derringer played Spokane's minor league baseball stadium during Expo '74. Do they still have those? Yes they do.

The stage was set up in deep centerfield, which allowed the crowd access to the entire grass outfield for fun and blanket music. A pretty mellow scene to be honest until "Rock and Roll  Hoochie Koo" started to echo through the antique sound system in full force. The crowd immediately heard the call and had no choice but to rush the stage.

A true working musician from the age of 17.  Respect.  Hang on Sloopy Hang on.

Wayne Larson
Spokane, WA
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Spin the FM dial anytime between 1965-1985 and you couldn't miss Rick Derringer - "Hang On Sloopy", "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo", "Chain Lightning", "Show Biz Kids", "Under My Wheels", "Free Ride", "Frankenstein", "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All", "I.G.Y" - his sessionography reads like a pocket version of the Rolling Stone Record Guide.  

A rock 'n' roll brother himself - he formed the McCoys with his brother Randy - he went on to become the only producer to not only work with both of the Winter Brothers but produce their all time best-selling albums - Live Johnny Winter And and They Only Come Out At Night respectively. He is also the only guitarist to be in bands with both Appice brothers - with Vinny in Derringer and Carmine in DBA.

The first time I saw him was at a guitar expo in downtown Orlando - I was wandering around looking at guitars I couldn't afford when I heard someone behind me kind of quietly shredding - but like a monster - so I turned around and there he was, absentmindedly noodling on an electric guitar while chatting with a fan about Johnny Winter. 

The last time I last saw him he was with his wife walking down Main Street in Sanford - I looked up from my desk and there they were - coffees in hand - cruisin' past my window. 

Vince Welsh
___________________________________

sometimes all you need is one speck of DNA
Lordy, mama, light my fuse -- in an allycat howl
how many fastback Mustangs, Mercurys, TransAms, Firebirds and MGBs did i hear that blasting out of?
nothing said looking for tail like Derringer's blaring take on "Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo" --
Mayfield Rd, Cleveland, Ohio
the summer swelter was on + the hunters were throbbing
too young to get in on it, i remember

viva Rick Derringer
holly gleason
___________________________________

Great send off for Rick Derringer. I too am shocked he was only 77. That's only eight years older than me.
I was always a fan of Rick Derringer. Thought he was a great guitar player and created some good music. I think he might have been playing with Johnny Winter when I saw Johnny in the early 70s. But I could be wrong. 
Never knew what happened to him so it brought joy to my heart when I learned from your email the career he had.
Rest in peace, Rick

And thanks for the memory Bob.

Charlie Vanture
___________________________________

You left out the two Derringer albums where he teamed up with and championed an 18 year old Danny Johnson. Must listens for guitarists in the day

Tag Gross
___________________________________

sorry to hear of Rick Derringer's passing. saw his group 'Derringer' play the Golden West Ballroom in Norwalk, CA in 1978. great show. also saw them a year before at the Long Beach Arena opening for 'Foghat'. Rick will be missed. a little side note to the "Rock & Roll Hoochie Coo" lyrics...  (There was a group called, "The Jokers" they were layin' it down)... The Jokers were a hot 1960's bar band from Florida whose lead guitarist was a young Richard "Dickie" Betts!
love the articles, keep up the good work,
Jeff

Jeff Jines
___________________________________

I really wanted "Rock and roll hoochie koo" to be my wedding song. For some reason, that idea didn't go over well with my bride to be. A missed opportunity to this day. Just a great rock and roll tune. 

Doug Weinstein
___________________________________

Thanks for covering this and letting those that might not be aware, of his brilliance. I just lost a hero.

Tony Cardenas-Montana
___________________________________

He played numerous times at the legendary My Father's Place where I worked. Delicious shows; inventive; charismatic ... he was a rock star. That's why he was featured on the cover of the book on the club FUN and DANGEROUS.
Exemplary musician.
 
David Saldior
___________________________________

Bob, I've, literally, gone to tens of thousands of live music gigs in the last 55 years (including every conceivable genre). One of those gigs still stands out 53 years later.
It was a double bill of Billy Preston and Edgar Winter's White Trash in the gym at SUNY New Paltz in 1972. Billy, who had recently come off his appearance at the Concert for Bangladesh and his stint as the 5th Beatle, was great. But, White Trash was soul shaking!
I didn't see Rick play with Johnny prior, but I did see him sit in with him later. And, I saw Rick a few times over the years in various configurations. But, that set with Edgar, Jerry, etc was incendiary! I'll never forget the three of them trading riffs on a totally improvised wordless vocal scat initiated by Jerry - Edgar on his sax and Rick tearing it up on his guitar.
It's so clear and vivid to me that it could've happened yesterday. Then again, I can barely remember yesterday.
Time's a weird thing. It can fly, and it can stand still.

Best
Jeff Douglas
___________________________________

Lawdy momma…..light my fuoooooooooose!

What a banger Bob! 
Thanks for the history … only knew the Rick version…

Love it 

Blaine
Clarksville, Arkansas (today…) 
___________________________________

In just about every cover band I was in we played "Hoochie Koo". It's as fun to play as it is to listen to.

Joseph Barbarotta
___________________________________

My first concert experience was hearing Rick Derringer with The McCoys (headliners), The Beau Brummells, Freddie & The Dreamers, and Charles Christy & The Crystals. Of course we had no idea of the time that he was Rick Derringer. 

Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo was one of those next tier garage rock standards (Train Kept A'Rollin' was another) that everybody with a guitar learned and played after mastering basic songs like Gloria, Louie Louie, and Hey Joe.

I met Rick at NAMM in 2009. Nice guy. 

He'll be missed. Glad we have his music. 

~Mark Towns 
___________________________________

I knew Rick back then. Corky Laing got me an audition in upstate NY to play with Rick. He was putting a band together for Edgar to tour. He was happy, fun and full of energy. I didn't get the gig but he had something in his spirit that was undeniable. 
You have said it before but it never gets old because you express the authentic fact. "Music was EVERYTHING. Thanks for a heartfelt beauty of an obit!

Marty Simon 
___________________________________

The world was different but still the same.  My friends and I were 18 and that summer we saw Derringer, Jeff Beck and Aerosmith at Comiskey Park in Chicago.  Beautiful sunny day, we were all tripping (I can say this now because my parents are gone) and at some point there was a fire in the stands and we all ran.  I believe this was during Beck: Freeway Jam/black smoke against the sky, it was epic.  It was triple bill, no opener.  You were right Bob, everyone knew these hits, there were fewer choices back then, and of course our parents hated this sh*t.  Food and parking are more expensive these days but the kids love what they love. Glad to hear Derringer continued to work and hopefully he appreciated being on top, RIP Rick.

Brad Cole
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When I was n college I worked at a place called Jacks Oyster House.  One night a group of guys came in wearing royal blue tights and leather.  I went up to one of the guys and said "OK, who's in town" and the guy said we're with Rick Derringer...you wanna go?
Turns out they put me on yhe guest list.  Rick kicked ass and The guys were the Expensive Winos I believe.
What a great night!
From RJG
___________________________________

Many people know "Hang On Sloopy" and "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo", both classics and they should be too. 

But cue up Track 1 on the 1976 Derringer album "Let Me In". Kinks-like, Power Pop masterpiece with the best intro of almost any song. 

The intro single guitar is joined 30 seconds later by another, following the same riff. In between is the infectious groove by Vinny Appice. The song launches into the stratosphere after that. Rick worked with both Appice Brothers (Carmine-DNA and Vinny).

I first saw him at Anaheim Stadium in 1976 with Edgar Winter, and I became a forever fan with over 100 45's spanning his whole career. 

A part of my childhood died with his passing....

Tom Braun

P.S. Don't forget Rick's own "Stairway To Heaven" with "Loosen Your Grip" on the same album Derringer. 
___________________________________

A tip of the hat as well for his solos with Steely Dan on a few song songs -  Show Biz Kids, Chain Lightning, My Rival

Stephen Marquez
___________________________________

In grade school Hang On Sloopy drew the quarters at the pizza place juke box.  Someone always played it.   Then middle school and Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo and the guy with the so-cool name is a guitar god.   You could catch him on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, killing it.

One day in 1979 a guitar playing friend and I were in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York, and we drove by a club advertising Rick Derringer, playing that night!  What the hell was he doing here, we wondered?  We went.  The place held maybe 150 people (and was packed).   Derringer came out and played all his hits and things we didn't know.  He should have been playing to thousands at the Palladium in NYC but instead he was there.   He must have needed the work.

In any event we were the lucky ones.

Michael Alex
___________________________________

You didn't mention Rick Derringer's solo moment on the Johnny Winter And Live album, the Rock 'n Roll Medley. I saw them perform it live at the Fillmore East when they headlined while the Allman Brothers Band recorded their live album. Rick was at CD another level.

Bob Levy
___________________________________

I was so surprised to see Rick Derringer on all the or so many Steely Dan records because I never had much regard for him as a guitar player- Until I saw he played on those records- No one plays on Steely Dan records unless they are incredible incredible.

It was just the first weirdo al album, but Rick produced.

I remember, he insisted on playing the solo to beat it Even though long time, Grammy award winning weird al guitarist Jim Kimo West had been practicing so hard to do it. He has done all the guitars on every record.

And Rick nails them all.

I keep telling him he should put out a plug-in with all of his sounds because he can get every single sound instantly

Amazing artist

Enjoy the reads as always

Rick Derringer. Wow. 

So many passings of stars and singers lately- Many of them younger than I am, I am 70 well soon to be.

And it is so funny well, it's not funny but interesting most often. I don't even know the bands They were from

William Anderson
___________________________________

My pal, Greg Williams had the first White Trash album with Rick Derringer.  A smokin' R&B review.  They then put out Roadwork with I can't turn you loose, save the planet and rock and roll hoochie koo.  Remember hearing save the planet by the white trash on fm radio?

My brother and I were in our teens in Cincinnati.  We went into a music store in late 72' and the sales guy with long hair pulled out his Gibson SG and played RR hoochie koo. This was before it blew up.  We had never heard the song before.

Edgar and Rick moved onto White Trash's Roadwork which captured a blistering set of r & b.  Edgar's about to introduce Johnny. Edgar says everybody keeps asking me where's your brother. Then on the microphone you hear Johnny "yeahhhhhhh." 

Lastly, the Johnny Winter and Live with some studio edits.  Another white hot set of blues rock ensemble with Johnny and Rick trading licks. The drummer on this set was Bobby Caldwell who is probably one of the best rock drummers ever.  

That, was rock and rolll!!!!!

Tim Pringle
___________________________________

Whenever Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo is on the radio, it gets turned to maximum volume! It never sounds old and quality of the recording still amazes me. It's as good as a Beatles song….and the line "gettin' high all the time, hope you all are too" made us partakers feel right at home. Thank you Rick Derringer.

Jeff Sacks
___________________________________

 I remember seeing Rick in 1980 or 1981 at the Paradise in Boston. (got in using a fake ID of someone who kind of looked like me!) About 500 of us were blown away by his talents!  For his encore, he came back and said "here's a song I recorded a long time ago" and broke into Hang on Sloopy. I'd bet half the audience didn't know he was in the McCoys!

Gary Sender
___________________________________

Loved Rick Derringer…. when I bought my first crappy electric guitar I took some lessons and told the teacher the first song I wanted to learn was "Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo". The guy was like, ummmm…. how about "Smoke On The Water"? But I insisted, so we spent weeks on it til I finally kinda got it down. I still stand by that choice; when I started producing records many years later I was doing an album on a kid and I had Stevie Ray Vaughn's band in the studio to cut the tracks. I suggested we do a version of "R&R HK" and was met with deafening silence. The artist wasn't having it, the band wasn't having it but the death knell was when Tommy Shannon said in his kindest and gentlest southern drawl…."well, I played on that one and I think once was enough". 

Such a great song though!

Kevin Bowe
___________________________________

Well that clears it all up. I was confused about the song Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo, the Rick Derringer thing, and Hang On Sloopy. It was a mess in my brain, just sitting there, unsorted, like a pile of gitch and socks from a dryer load years ago. 

I saw Johnny Winter live several times. Last time I brought my wife and teenage kids to see him in Oakville Ontario. He didn't play Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo which made us mad at the time but I get it more now. 

Johnnys slight change in tempo is so southern and awesome, but Rick's version is better, hands down. It's electric. 

I also saw Rick Derringer in a small Mississauga club in the 90s? On an unusually low stage, like maybe a 6" riser. Fun show, he played Hang on Sloopy, which was weird. That song was weird. 

I saw Edgar Winter at Barrymore's in Ottawa in prolly 1985. Dude stood on my table and played Frankenstein. I will never forget that. 

And Free Ride. What a great song. I don't recall knowing that Rick Derringer was part of that. 

The laundry room of my brain looks better this morning, thanks for helping me sort it after all these years. 

Rest in peace Rick. 

Kind regards, 
Rob Whittaker
___________________________________

In the summer of 1965, my high school-cum-college bar band, Ivan and the Sabers, were riding high in the Dayton, Ohio, area. Our locally produced single, "Just Let Her Go," had been played on both local Top 40s – WING and WONE – and we were commanding top dollar at all the radio station-sponsored dances and such.
 
On an upcoming Saturday night, however, we were in a quandary as to which gig to take: WING's teen event at nearby Frankie's Forest Park or WONE's competing 18+ age function at LeSourdsville Lake amusement park south of town. The teen event paid $100 , but the resort event paid $125, plus all the beer we could drink while cavorting with young women in bathing suits. We chose the latter.
 
So the in-town event was relegated to the upstart new band in town, the Rick Z Combo from Union City, Indiana, with two brothers on guitar and drums (Rick and Randy Zehringer) and a bassist, all teens. Also, the WONE event would feature an appearance by the Strangeloves, three record producers from NYC – Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer – not so well disguised as Australian bush natives and singing their pop sugary hit, the Bert Berns-written-and-produced "I Want Candy." We, trying to hang on to our cred as a real rock band, weren't all that interested in sharing the stage with this clown act, let alone backing them up, so we deferred.
 
Unbeknownst to us, the three guys in the Strangeloves were on a new indie label called Bang and they were looking for bands to record and send on the road so they wouldn't have to do it themselves. They were so impressed with the newly named Rick Z and the Raiders, that they hurriedly signed them on the spot and the band was shortly in NYC recording "Hang On Sloopy" and calling themselves The McCoys.
 
So much for my band's brush with fame. Although let the record reflect that we had a wonderful time that same evening at LeSourdsville Lake and got to split the $125!

Larry Butler
Nashville
___________________________________

I feel extremely privileged to have worked with Rick Derringer. The relationship began when I became Product Manager for Johnny Winter, circa the b/w album, which included "Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo." In retrospect, the act's sinking sales curve likely influenced why the job was passed down to me. 
 
Historically, Johnny's debut on Columbia drowned in its own hype, akin to "Greetings From Asbury Park," sans the great songwriting on that record. The second album, known as the 1 & ? record set, drew comparisons to the release of 5 simultaneous Moby Grape singles, in terms of Hall of Shame marketing. Its sales, at several hundred thousand (then middling at best) were half that of the debut album. The public was walking away, but not as fast as the label.
 
There wasn't much I could do short term, except build a circle of trust within the organization. Several facts are worth noting here. First, their name, Johnny Winter And, had nothing to do with label input, who were deprioritizing the act. I was always under the impression it was also not McCoys overthink to deflect the bubblegum nature of that act (as Rick's past-ironically a jam of theirs called "Human Ball Blues" can hardly be described as Bubblegum) so much as the organization thinking it was cute. After all, the trio now behind Johnny was only 2/3's former McCoys. Drummer Bobby Caldwell (later Captain Beyond cofounder) was not in that band. The descending sales curve motivated Johnny to forego his blues roots for rock, and this trio did it with a vengeance. 
 
As the album failed to break the act, fact two is that Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo did not serve as a vehicle. However the good news was that unbeknownst to the label, this act was breaking live on a nightly basis. They were killer on stage.
 
When it came time to discuss a follow up to the b/w album, the live success of the group, as well as the currency of big live albums, precipitated Johnny Winter And/Live. Management asked me to oversee the live recording as Rick would be on stage, and Clive's indifference resulted in a Product Manager producing, which was not the norm. Label peers, unaware of the band's live presence, regarded it as career suicide. And while there were many decisions to make at various recordings, I always felt the most important was talking Johnny out of a 2-record set.
 
Sitting with Rick while he mixed the record was enormously influential. There were other Forrest Gump moments as well. Johnny pulled me out of a session to go to a "meeting" downtown at the 1 Fifth Avenue, without letting me know it would be with Duane Allman. Or supporting management (along with Danny Fields) as White Trash was being put together. It was during that time that Rick walked in one day all excited, wanting to play the results of the session he had just come back from doing in Manhattan. Turned out to be my favorite Steely Dan song ("My Old School") with Rick playing the solo, which may be his best.
 
It shouldn't have surprised me that he could run the floor with studio greats like Fagen/Becker/Katz. Rick was generous to do a few projects for me and I always found it special when he could punch a single note in and out of a blinding solo when analogue made those ins and outs seemingly impossible.
 
Both as a person and a guitarist, Rick easily makes Top Ten.
 
Murray Krugman
___________________________________

The news of Rick's passing hit me hard. It crushed places in me I thought were protected—places I didn't expect would ever have to mourn him so soon.

When I think about the five people who've made a dramatic and lasting impression on my life—who helped shape the direction it took—Rick was one of those five!

As a guitarist, and song writer, Rick was one of my idols. I learned so much from him—by watching, listening, absorbing. On stage. In rehearsal. In the studio. He expected a lot from all the players in his band. Was insistent that you played above your ability at all times.You could not slack off ever! He was always listening but at the same time teaching if YOU were listening!

Rick was a brilliant guitarist! He could play blues, country, jazz, etc. One of my favorites things he did was play cranked up bluegrass riffs in the middle of solo sections in songs. He didn't always show that but when he did look out!

It was the late 70's when i joined his band. It was a dream come true. And I'll always be incredibly grateful for that opportunity.

I was young, impressionable, hungry. And Rick, as he reminded me a few years ago, was my age, 22, when he joined Johnny Winter. That meant something to him. And it meant even more to me.

We went to Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, with Rick and Todd Rundgren producing what became the Guitars and Women record. I was mostly on piano but that was ok I was just happy to be there. The pressure was real, but so was the progress. I knew I was moving forward fast—and Rick was a big reason why.

Over the years, we spoke many times—not as many as I wish now—but we stayed close. Recently, I even talked about him working on my Christmas/Holiday record. I started writing a song with him in mind. The plan was to finish it together this year and record it. But life, as Rick would've said, follows God's plans—not ours.

I think about Rick all the time. He's still there and always will be in my heart and in my hands!

May his legacy live on! Rest in peace, my good friend.

—Neil Giraldo
___________________________________

?I saw a triple bill in Binghamton, NY the fall of 1977 with opener Cheap Trick, then Derringer (the band) and Foreigner headlining. It was incredible. Huge fan of Rick starting in the early 70's.
But here's where it gets weird. I have worked in the Contemporary Christian music space since 1979 (radio, then labels, and indie promo since 1998). Rick found me years ago and wanted me to work a new version of "Rock and Roll Hootchie Coo" with gospel lyrics. I will never forget my phone call with him in my early 50's - knowing that my teenage self would never believe this. I turned him down and we never spoke again. This might just be too painful for you to bear, but here goes nothin'!

https://youtu.be/Du4Aa-BxyrM?si=_DQrXY9wdCyEsJ7d
Chris Hauser
___________________________________

Did somebody say keep on rockin?

Dan Millen


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Rick Derringer

He was only 17.

And we didn't know the McCoys didn't play on their hit single.

As far as "Hang on Sloopy"... It was one of those songs like "Louie Louie" in that it was perceived to have a dirty underpinning, not that we could decipher it.

But "Hang on Sloopy" was a giant hit, and its follow-up, "Fever," was pretty big too.

But that's all they wrote for the McCoys, at least in their Top 40 iteration. However it's one thing to have one hit, quite another to follow it up, so the McCoys were not seen as one hit wonders, and they did have the definitive version of the Bert Berns/Wes Farrell track, which every nascent guitar player learned after the three chords of "Gloria." And once you learned those you played them with your friends in that band that was going to bring you to stardom, even though you never played a gig outside the living room.

Now Rick Derringer ultimately reappeared. And by time he did the rock press was burgeoning so we learned his real last name was "Zehringer."

And in 1970 he wrote Johnny Winter's breakthrough track, "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo."

This was back when record labels could still hype bands into the public consciousness, although making them successful, having hit records, was not as easy.

And there was a gigantic hype on Johnny Winter. What a white hot guitar player he was. But nothing on his first Columbia record could garner traction, he was not a staple of FM radio, which took acts into the stratosphere. FM built careers. There was nothing wrong with crossing over to AM, but you didn't want to be the McCoys, you wanted to last.

So the second Johnny Winter Columbia album was entitled "Second Winter" and had three sides. At this point Chicago Transit Authority had broken through with a double album, and the word was that Winter's material was so good it couldn't be contained on one disc, ergo two, with side four left blank.

But despite this marketing hook, Johnny Winter still didn't break.

But then came Johnny Winter And. This was a group, the focus was taken off of Winter himself, it was less about showing off than connecting. And one track connected big time...

"Rock and roll hoochie koo
Lordy mama, light my fuse"

This was something different. Straight ahead rock and roll. With a flourish of guitar right after the chorus. And the song was written by...Rick Derringer?

I didn't know at the time that "And" was actually the McCoys, Columbia probably kept it on the QT, not wanting to taint Winter's credibility (and no one bought a McCoys album, so no one knew who the members were).

But "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" is one of those tracks that seared itself into your brain on first listen. The riffs were chunky, with trebly accents thrown in. It had the earthiness, the rootsiness of the original rock and roll from the fifties, but it fit in perfectly with the acts now dominating the FM band, before prog rock, before this straight ahead sound was derided as "meat and potatoes" (but those Foghat tracks sound phenomenal all these years later).

Winter covered the Stones' "Silver Train" on his next studio album, with Derringer playing slide, and Rick wrote the title track, one of Winter's signature songs, "Still Alive and Well." And Johnny cemented his place in the firmament with the follow-up, "Saints & Sinners," with Derringer back on board, albeit in a limited fashion. After his glam days playing arenas Winter became a blues purist and although his footprint was smaller, he then gained the credibility and the hard core fans he truly deserved. But if you were alive back then, the track Johnny was most associated with was "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo."

Until Rick himself covered it on his "All American Boy" album. It got a sh*t-ton of FM airplay, and over the years it's Rick's version that has become more famous, it's the one radio still plays, which it does, to a limited degree. It never goes out of fashion, but it's not top tier like "Ramblin' Man," never mind "Stairway to Heaven," songs that are imprinted upon your brain that you never have to hear again in your life. As a matter of fact, I smile and turn it up whenever I hear "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo."

But in between Rick worked with EDGAR Winter, who had more commercial success than his brother, which was confounding at the time. Edgar didn't sing, but he had hit songs. He put together a white hot R&B band fronted by Jerry LaCroix, Rare Earth's old singer, and they called it White Trash, and ultimately Edgar had two hit singles, "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride."

"Frankenstein" featured the guitar stylings of Ronnie Montrose, before he put out his own album with Sammy Hagar.

And Montrose also played on "Free Ride," which was less of a novelty song, just a straight ahead tear written and sung by Dan Hartman, back when no one knew his name.

And then...

I lost track of Rick Derringer.

But I did see him at the NAMM show about ten years ago. He was in somebody's booth just wailing. He was instantly recognizable, he looked boyish forever, and a small crowd was circled round, and that drew my attention and I watched.

However what had Rick Derringer been doing all these years?

Well now that he's passed, we've found out. He produced those Weird Al albums. Even worked with the Steely Dan boys.

But he also did jingles and Wikipedia reveals a cornucopia of cuts he appeared on. But Rick made his bones before Wikipedia, when you had to buy an album to read its credits, so they weren't all in one place and it kinda looked like Derringer had fallen off the edge of the earth.

But in truth he'd cobbled together a working career in music. Which is extremely difficult to do. I mean you've got to pay the bills.

And obits also told us that Derringer had become an Evangelical Christian with the associated politics. But I never knew that, I'm not sure many did, especially in this era of internet overload.

So now Rick Derringer is dead. And all I could think when I heard the news was it was before his time, how young he was. But Rick was not as young as I thought, he was 77. Then again, I'm 72. So...

You've got to know... The radio was dominated by the Beach Boys, the Four Seasons and studio constructions. There was a business, but there was not mania. Kind of like now.

And then came the Beatles and in their wake the rest of the British Invasion. And both poor and rich boys bought instruments and played in rock and roll bands, it was all we wanted to do.

But ultimately success seemed unreachable. A dream.

And then came this band of kids from Ohio with a salty hit that was undeniably rock and roll and they were respected for it, but they almost made you feel a bit jealous. It was supposed to be impossible. And if it was possible, that was supposed to be MY slot!

So Rick Derringer was more than a footnote. I'm sure people can wax rhapsodic about his life and career with far more detail than I have. But if you were more than a casual fan of rock and roll you knew about the McCoys and Johnny Winter And and Rick's work with Edgar Winter. After all, at that point music meant EVERYTHING!

It doesn't mean as much today. And rock itself is in limbo. There's the speedo/screamo acts of Active Rock, and the twangy bros of country who are playing Les Pauls, but that straight ahead rock, with no frills, just guitars and drums and a lead singer... We haven't had that spirit here for three plus decades, since the Black Crowes.

But twenty years before that we had Rick Derringer.

I don't know how he wrote "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo." If it was easy, we'd all do it. But we can't. That's the marvel of music. Where did the inspiration come from, how did they put it all together... And it can't be taught. You can practice and get better, but it all comes from the inside, from the artist.

"Couldn't stop moving when it first took hold
It was a warm spring night at the old town hall"

That was the power of rock, it drew you to it, it entered your body and made you move.

We just lost another member of the rock pantheon.

"Rock and roll hoochie koo
Truck out and spread the news"


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The Brutalist

"You think you're better than us."

I get this e-mail on a regular basis. Now I'm wondering if it's antisemitism.

That's what resonated most with me in "The Brutalist." The subtle antisemitism. It's one thing if someone calls you a "kike." Says grossly antisemitic things to your face. But oftentimes there are comments that only a Jew can really decode.

You're too loud. You're not one of us.

That scene in "Radio Days," where everybody's talking over one another at the dinner table... That's how it is with Jews. Can sometimes be that way with non-Jews, but if you're a Jew at a Christian table and you don't know your place, know not to talk too loudly or too often, you're going to be bad-vibed.

Which is why the characters in "The Brutalist" want to move to Israel. To be with their own.

Don't conflate what is going on in Gaza with Judaism. For millennia the Jews have been the other, the root of all evil, and they know it. People will deny it, but that's usually because they've overlooked the signs, they're too busy fitting in.

Like Attila, who marries a Catholic and converts. He's trying to deny his heritage, to blend in, to succeed. After the Second World War a number of Jews did this. Then again, it's hard to do so if you have concentration camp tattoos on your forearm.

"The Brutalist" was even less commercially successful than "Anora." It made only $50 million and two-thirds of that was overseas. Meaning that despite all the press, all the awards hoopla, very few people saw it.

And I can't recommend that you do so. Because it's slow and long and doesn't pay off satisfactorily. At times when I was watching I thought it was akin to "The Master," albeit better.

However, if you're at all interested, start. If you hang in for fifteen minutes you'll get hooked. I thought this was another Holocaust film until I saw it. But really, it's about what happens after the war.

László Tóth emigrates to America after starting his architectural career in Budapest and being whisked off to Buchenwald. Attila is his sponsor in Philadelphia.

All the images are rich. You get the feel of the fifties. You see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

And speaking of the beginning (and the end!), "The Brutalist" has one of the most innovative title designs I've recently seen.

Anyway, Guy Pearce plays a self-made rich man named Harrison Lee Van Buren who ultimately becomes aware of László's rich architectural history in the old country and commissions him to build...

László is thrilled. And here comes another theme of the picture. László is an artist through and through. He's willing to invest his own money to see his building completed according to his vision. The contractor and the lightweight American architect want to cut corners and do it more cheaply. But László will have none of it.

And we don't only see this in architecture. It used to be prevalent in music, when the major labels had a stranglehold on production. And it's still part of the big time game. Get the company money and they're going to want a say, it's going to be right in the contract, it doesn't matter what you want, but what they decide. They are not artists, but they believe they know better. They might know money, at best, but not art. Artists have stood up for themselves from the beginning of time, and non-artists have had contempt for them for just as long. Artists are outsiders. It's inherent in the outlook. If you're me-too, just trying to fit in, you're not an artist.

And László throws a tantrum when things don't go his way. He's definitely over the line, self-destructive, but artists are passionate, not expedient, and it's hard for non-artists to understand this.

As for László's wife Erzsébet... She stands by László's side, will aid him in his endeavors, but will blow the whistle on him when he goes too far. She's a partner, and far from silent. Which is typical of Jewish women.

Attila's wife Audrey doesn't want László around. Turns out she wants to eradicate Attila's Jewish history, doesn't want László and what he brings in her life.

Now one incredible highlight of the film is when they go to Carrara, Italy to purchase marble. The visuals are staggering.

And there is incredible tension in "The Brutalist." You know something is coming, and you're not quite sure what it is. And then it does, but there is a lot of time left in the picture, and then comes the unexpected, more than once.

So...if your idea of a moviegoing experience is a light afternoon sitting in the dark eating popcorn while you go on a visual ride that you don't think about after the lights come up, "The Brutalist" is not for you.

If your expectations are sky high, believing you're about to see a veritable tour-de-force, "The Brutalist" is not for you either. There's little action. There's a lot of subtlety. And the film is more about emotions engendered in the viewer as opposed to raw story.

But if you decide to press play you will be rewarded, you will be made to think. Not that I'm sure non-Jews will get all of what I'm stating above. They will identify with the Van Burens more than the Tóths.

As for the performances, Adrien Brody is much more than his accent, which is utterly impeccable, you marvel that he can hold it for so long. And this is usually enough to be nominated for an Oscar, but in truth the performance supersedes the accent. Brody delivers angst and happiness and frustration, he deserves his Oscar.

Guy Pearce is always good, going back to his breakthrough role in "L.A. Confidential." It's hard to believe he's Australian, you know this guy, even if you've only been exposed to him once or twice.

As for Felicity Jones... She ultimately displays an inner strength that is palpable. She's nobody's patsy.

The rest of the performances are all good, but these leads are great.

Nobody wants to fund a movie like "The Brutalist," which is why it took seven years and ultimately only $10 million to make. There can't be a lot at risk. An original screenplay for a movie targeting adults? Who have a hard time getting off their rear ends to go to the theatre anyway? Never mind a bunch who only want positive experiences that leave them with a smile at the end of the flick.

It bugs me when people demand not only sunshine, but someone to root for. When someone tells me they hated everyone in the film it illustrates to me their horizons are narrow, because everybody is chiaroscuro, we've got likable traits and unlikable traits. No one is pure, no one is always upbeat, unless they're hiding parts of their personality.

So if you like a short trifle to get you through your evening, don't even start on "The Brutalist."

But if you want a film to affect you, if you want to be taken away to a whole 'nother world such that you forget your environs, if you want tension and issues of life...

Check it out.

P.S. It's on Max.


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Anora

I thought it was a foreign movie.

I used to consider the Oscars religion. Until one night in Utah I was unable to watch and ever since then I haven't. Except for that one night during Covid when they held them at the train station. I wanted to see how that played out.

As for reviews... I don't read them. Because they tell you the plot of the entire film. I want to enter something fresh.

All of which means as the years have ensued I've paid less and less attention to the movie business (I wasn't interested in comic books as a kid, never mind comic book movies as an adult) and have focused all my attention on streaming television series.

However, the elite discussion, the reviews, continue to be about film, when all the action is in extended opuses. We learned this with "The Sopranos," which was superior to anything in the theatre.

As for the moviegoing experience...I hate it. First and foremost because of the hassle, I've got to get there and the films don't start when I want them to. Am I the only person who is time-challenged? I need a whole 'nother life just to consume art.

Felice wanted to watch a standup.

I could cotton to comedy, but desired something with plot.

And "Anora" was billed as a comedy/drama. Which I guess it is. But it was not what I was expecting.

You see "Anora" is now on Hulu. Just a click away.

And I remembered it was nominated for Best Picture, I couldn't remember who won, but we started to watch it and I asked myself...

WHERE ARE THE SUBTITLES?

Oh, they come a bit into the movie, when Russian is spoken. But it wasn't long before I realized "Anora" was an American production. Because of the locale, if nothing else.

Oh, there are strip clubs all over the world, and I've seen foreign series where they've played a big part, but when they showed Anora's residence right back up against the train tracks, this was clearly New York.

Now your mind won't drift when you watch "Anora."

And I'd love to tell you the movie is fantastic, it is not, but it's definitely very good.

One thing that comes clear as you're watching is this is the kind of movie Hollywood used to specialize in, prior to the blockbusters of "Jaws" and "Star Wars," never mind the Marvel movies. There are none of the usual tropes...the car chases, the shoot-'em-ups, no, "Anora" is original.

And I did not recognize Mikey Madison from "Better Things." Which never got its due because it was on a secondary cable channel and the public was not primed for this and...

Madison as Ani/Anora is almost scary. She's a stripper, but I wouldn't say she's got a heart of gold. On one level she's desperate. On another, it's all about the Benjamins, it's great to watch her negotiate.

Furthermore, "Anora" gets the strip club reality down pat. The customers are marks. The strippers feign interest for dollars. If you don't know someone who was convinced that a stripper truly loved them, that they'd made a connection which would survive outside the club, you've never met a man who went to a strip club.

But Ani/Mikey has got a code. Which she will not waver from. And she will speak truth to power all day long. Because when you've got nothing to lose, why not?

And then there's Karren Karagulian as Toros, the desperate priest.

Boy do they nail this. Everybody's got to serve somebody, and Toros serves the Zakharovs back in Russia. And if he doesn't get it right, if he doesn't deliver, he doesn't even want to contemplate the consequences.

As a result, Toros doesn't care about collateral damage. Middle class denizens consider the law, the cost of items, Toros is above all that, because he knows that the law is no competition for the criminals he reports to and everything is replaceable, especially when you're an oligarch.

So deep down inside Ani/Mikey is looking for a way out, and when she finds it she will not let go. Ultimately she does what is expedient, she's got no choice, but up to the last minute she's willing to give the middle finger to those who treat her wrong.

As for twenty one year old Ivan Zakharov... She puts her faith in him. But who can you trust? Are the underclass just playthings for the rich?

Now a truly great film has you wondering when it's done. Pondering the deeper meaning. But I didn't quite feel that.

However, "Anora" is a great ride. Vivid.

But I wish it was a series, because I wanted more backstory, more character development.

And if it had premiered on Netflix...

The press is as out of touch with entertainment as it is with politics. The press can't deal with a show that's available all at once, they need something dripped out. Every week we've got to read about the latest episode of "Last of Us" when there are series on Netflix that far eclipse it in viewership and quality. Ditto with "White Lotus" and "Adolescence," which is the number one visual entertainment of the year so far.

And "Anora" is not "Adolescence," which you can't stop thinking about.

Then again, many more people saw "Adolescence."

"Anora" may have won Best Picture at the Oscars, but it was only number 65 in last year's worldwide gross. It made $59,732,509, of which two-thirds was foreign: $39,258,214. America is sliding in so many ways, the rest of the world can appreciate something deeper, whereas everything in America must be a two-dimensional cartoon.

But if "Anora" had premiered on Netflix, more people would have seen it. And that's the ultimate goal. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. You want to become part ot the conversation, part of the ongoing fabric of the country as opposed to being a blip on the radar screen.

Now you only get one bite at the apple when it comes to attention. There are exceptions, but they are rare. Not one person has e-mailed me about "Anora" since it appeared on Hulu. No one is talking about it. But everybody but the press was talking about "Adolescence" right after it launched (the press caught on eventually, but didn't know how to continue the story, not in the U.S., whereas in the U.K. "Adolescence" impacted the culture at large, there was discussion over whether laws should be changed).

So on one level, "Anora" is a darker "Hangover." With elements of drama, like "Silver Linings Playbook."

But there's a grit and a truth in "Anora" that is absent from those box office successes. The nudity is not superfluous, it's the way it is, you've been there. And Mikey Madison does not seem concerned with negative implications regarding her career in the future. Play hide and seek and Mr. Skin is all over you. Let it all hang out and it's not so special.

I don't want to be one of those wankers who reveals the plot points and ruins the movie. But you should definitely watch "Anora." If for no other reason than to see this is what Hollywood reveres but doesn't make anymore, it hearkens back to what once was.

But even more for the raw experience. The ride. Which is the essence of every great work of art, even if it's more cerebral than action.

"Anora" has a visceral quality absent from almost all of today's successful productions. It all goes swimmingly until you can feel the edge, become engrossed with the edge. And the battle between Anora's fellow stripper, that's life in a nutshell. You're fighting petty little wars with someone at your level who the rest of the world does not give a damn about.

So if you have Hulu, watch "Anora."

If you don't... They're selling great bundles with Disney+, Max and Hulu right now.

Very few people will pay the price of a month of streaming to see one movie before it's available as part of a subscription. Either you go to the theatre, which most people can resist, or you wait until it's part of a service you already pay for.

And the dirty little secret is by time it's streaming...you usually don't care, there's something else you want to watch.

But you should watch "Anora."


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