CORVETTE SUMMER was released 48 years ago today.
The film marked one of Mark Hamill’s first starring roles after the success of Star Wars, as he looked to avoid being typecast solely as Luke Skywalker.
Abel Ferrara on "Ms. 45" (1981):
"'Ms. 45' (1981) was one of those films where we were still kids, you know. We were still trying to make it in the world, and just going at it with a lot of wide-eyed wonder. We were very pre-jaded. I mean, we had to convince ourselves that we were making a film that was even gonna be seen in theaters. But we kinda knew it. I think
'Ms. 45' was the first film where we went, “Jesus Christ, people are actually gonna make money from this — we’d better f-cking concentrate here. People are actually gonna buy tickets, so it might be a good idea to kinda focus,” you know what I mean. It’s a tough thing, with Zoë, you know. The movie is her, and embodies her. The beautiful thing about a film is that it captures one moment in time; and that film captures her as a 17-year-old Columbia student, you know– not on hard drugs, not drinking, with a different kind of take on life. She was a beautiful kid, you know, with the whole world in front of her."
(Abel Ferrara's interview with Luke Goodsell, Rotten Tomatoes, 2013)
P.S: On this day, 45 years ago, "Ms. 45" (1981) was released in the USA.
Sledgehammer was released 40 years ago today!
"As a teenager, soul music was one of the things that made me want to be a musician. It was really passionate and exciting... Wayne Jackson, who plays on that track, was also with Otis Redding and was touring with him when I saw them in London. So that was a thrill for me, just to get a whole lot of fan stories. But I think the song was more influenced by many of those Stax and Atlantic tracks rather than Otis particularly."
April 21, 1986: 40 years ago, Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone's vault on live TV. #80s It would be an understatement to say The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault was a huge disappointment.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of Prince’s death. To honor his musical legacy, we asked Questlove for a list of his 100 favorite Prince songs.
The result is a deeply informed and profoundly moving tribute to one of the greatest artists of all time.
https://t.co/isyzcypiTc
Origins of Purple Rain,
Purple Rain' was originally written as a country song, and was intended to be a collaboration with Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks.
According to Nicks, she received a 10-minute instrumental version of the song from Prince, with a request to write the lyrics, but she felt overwhelmed by the task.
She later said: "I listened to it and I just got scared. I called him back and said, 'I can't do it. I wish I could. It's too much for me.'"
Prince then asked his backing band to try the song: "I want to try something before we go home. It's mellow."
According to Lisa Coleman, Prince changed the song dramatically after Wendy Melvoin started playing the guitar to accompany the song: "He was excited to hear it voiced differently. It took it out of that country feeling.
"Then we all started playing it a bit harder and taking it more seriously. We played it for six hours straight and by the end of that day we had it mostly written and arranged."
Prince's explanation on the meaning of 'Purple Rain':
"When there's blood in the sky – red and blue = purple... purple rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/god guide you through the purple rain."
After recording the song, Prince phoned Journey member Jonathan Cain, to ask him to listen to it.
Prince was concerned that it might be too similar to Journey's 'Faithfully', a song composed by Cain which had recently been in the US charts.
However, Cain reassured Prince by saying that the songs only shared the same four chords.
"I thought it was an amazing tune," Cain said. "I told him, 'Man, I'm just super-flattered that you even called. It shows you're that classy of a guy. Good luck with the song. I know it's gonna be a hit.'"
Ladies and gentlemen,
Prince performing a special and an absolute classic song, Purple Rain, live at Paisley Park, in 1999.
Credits for the background information: @SmoothRadio
Only 16 episodes of Hong Kong Phooey aired between Sept to Dec 1974. I could’ve sworn there were hundreds.
Scatman Crothers (The Shining/Cuckoo’s Nest) voiced Penry: mild-mannered janitor by day, ass-kicking superhero by… also day. He sang the theme, too. You know the words.