JoeMontana, arguably the greatest quarterback to ever play the game (certainly Tom Brady and Johnny Unitas are in the conversation) (with apologies to Steve DeBerg), is shown here with footage of one of his greatest feats/moments: The Drive to win Super Bowl XXIII. The legendary Genius, BillWalsh, was coaching his final game, which upped the ante, even for a championship contest. There was no room for error. With ever-so-calm, surgical precision, and poetic flair, The Great One made it happen, as was seemingly preordained by βHeaven Godsβ, as commentator (from the βotherβ Football) Ray Hudson might proclaim. Announcer LonSimmons, one of the best, is featured (!).
Other highlights, including The Catch, are also featured.
Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers perform their monster hit Why Do Fools Fall In Love live on the Frankie Laine Show in 1956. The 13 year old Lymon simply sizzles and electrifies the Nation with this performance; the prodigy already has a fully formed vocal delivery many talents never attain. Words have a different sound, and even meaning, coming from his mouth. Note the maestro-ism in his approach: rather than hitting the same nail with the selfsame hammer, he eschews the falsetto moments for a more Joe Williams-esque way forward. His stage presence is magnetic yet composed, and, oh, Lymon is a brilliant dancer, too. Other than that, well….but wait! He gives a calm, charming interview (of sorts) with host Laine. I suppose all that’s good enough. Good enough to massively influence generations of musicians, most conspicuously a certain One-GlovΓ¨d individual. To MJ‘s credit, he was quite open about this. That said, a wide swath was cut, and a vast-ish net was cast: heck, The Beach Boys have noted him as an inspiration.
Now, to give a bit of context to this groundbreaking performance. Frankie Lymon met and quickly joined a doo-wop ensemble featuring the doddering, shambling Methuselean figure Herman Santiago, checking in at a full 1 1/2 years older than Frankie L. He was 15 when all appeared on the Laine program. A tenor vocalist and the human being most likely to have actually composed Why Do Fools Fall In Love (it has been disputed for 2.3 epochs at last count…), Santiago functioned as the ensemble’s frontman until something became crystal clear: Lymon was The One. Santiago was the one (small case) scheduled to sing lead on Why during recording sessions until, for reasons which are different depending upon who(m) is asked (late arrival to session, sore throat, missing merkin collection and intensive, time-consuming search required to retrieve same…) (said collection remains at large to this very day), he was unable to do so. Lymon unhesitatingly filled the void, in the session, in our lives, and in human history. I have grown fatigued/verklempt.
The great vocalist/pianist/composer performs both solo and with his group Raspberries. The range and breadth of Mr. Carmen’s talent has really never been fully appreciated. And his voice is truly a thing of wonder.
Kings of the 2-minute and under weight-division, the Ramones pack quite the copious wallop of mordant wit into their creations. And Joey Ramone leaves no doubt in these masterful performances as to his total command of the vocal art. Remarkably inventive, powerful, sublime.
The Buzzcocks, founded in 1976 by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto {who departed to pastures new in ’77}, are one of the preeminent punk bands to emerge from the UK. Extremely lyrical as well as hard-edged, they strung together many brilliant tunes, due mainly to the genius of composer and lead vocalist Shelley. Included here are a few from Pete’s solo career, as well as some particularly rewarding live group efforts.
The stunning talents of JeffLynne are here featured. Few are his peers. The braintrust of ElectricLightOrchestra, Lynne composed, arranged, and produced nearly all of the band’s material, while also contributing lead vocals and multi-instrumentalism. A musical polymath, and an immensely gifted artist.
Bideodromage 