'A Night At The Family Dog/Go Ride The Music/West Pole' 2-DVD set out May 12, 2023

An exciting trip back to the groundbreaking Bay Area music scene of the 1960s and early '70s is set to arrive in early May courtesy of Mercury Studios...Robert Kinsler

RELIVE THE HIPPIE GLORY OF 1960s SAN FRANCISCO

A Night At The Family Dog/Go Ride The Music/West Pole

2-DVD Set Out May 12

New York, NY (March 21, 2023) — Mercury Records will release A Night At The Family Dog (1970), Go Ride The Music and West Pole (1969), three psychedelic trips down memory lane, on May 12, 2023 as a 2 DVD package, complete with new artwork and ‘60s-styled poster. All three films were originally produced and created as groundbreaking television documentaries by Ralph J. Gleason [1917-1975] who did more than any other journalist to hip the world to what was shakin’ in San Francisco in the late ‘60s. A Night At The Family Dog held on February 4, 1970, featured the brightest three lights of the Bay Area, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and Santana. These three bands would define a scene that had the whole world wondering what exactly was going on in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco. A Night At The Family Dog starts with two iconic Santana performances before Grateful Dead covers Otis Redding. Jefferson Airplane then splits the club wide open with their patented incendiary and provocative performance style. And when Carlos Santana, Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady and Paul Kantner kick out the jams to end it all, all hell breaks loose. The original mono recording has been remixed and remastered. The San Francisco Sound, as it became to be known, was a montage of shrieking guitars and bold now-classic Acid Rock. Go Ride The Music is a stunning document of Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service (a band destined for stardom who short-circuited their own success). There are also cameo appearances from David Crosby and Jerry Garcia. West Pole captures the magnetic attraction of musicians who provoked the establishment enough to create national news. Gleason knew it. And via his writings, eventually so did the rest of America. Here’s a chance to witness first-hand the birth of a culture: Steve Miller Band, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service and others. Those born too late to experience first-hand just what made this city at this time so significant will finally understand. Even Beatle George Harrison had to visit from England to see what the fuss was all about. It was a time of wild experimentation. Poetry, music, film, journalism, sex, drugs and political activism shared the spotlight as American Culture itself began to shapeshift into forms heretofore unknown.

A Night At The Family Dog/Go Ride The Music/West Pole Track listing: A Night At The Family Dog  Incident At Neshabur - Santana  Soul Sacrifice - Santana  Hard To Handle – The Grateful Dead  China Cat Sunflower – The Grateful Dead  I Know You Rider – The Grateful Dead  The Ballad of You And Me And Pooneil – Jefferson Airplane  Eskimo Blue Day – Jefferson Airplane  A Super Jam - featuring Carlos Santana, Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Paul Kantner and more! Go Ride The Music  We Can Be Together – Jefferson Airplane  Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane  Mexico – Jefferson Airplane  Warm Red Wine – Quicksilver Messenger Service  Somebody’s Crying – Quicksilver Messenger Service  Subway – Quicksilver Messenger Service  Plastic Fantastic Lover – Jefferson Airplane  Somebody To Love – Jefferson Airplane  Mona – Quicksilver Messenger Service  Emergency – Jefferson Airplane  Wooden Ships – Jefferson Airplane West Pole  Music – Ace Of Cups  Roll With It – Steve Miller Band  Greasy Heart – Jefferson Airplane  New Potato Caboose – The Grateful Dead  Dino’s Song – Quicksilver Messenger Service  Sittin’ In Circles – Steve Miller Band  Simplicity – Ace Of Cups  Freedom – Sons of Champlin  Gospel Song – Ace Of Cups About Mercury Studios:  Mercury Studios is a multi-faceted content studio established to develop, produce, globally distribute, and invest in innovative, music-rooted storytelling across a range of media including film, television, podcasting, publishing, and live-streamed performance. Taking its name from the iconic Mercury Records label, Mercury Studios is powered by Universal Music Group and creates an open space for experimentation to unleash and amplify both emerging and established artists. With offices in London and Los Angeles, Mercury Studios harnesses its established relationships with best-in-class talent from music and film, seamlessly bridging the two worlds to create a completely distinctive community of trailblazers driven by original IP, innovation, and collaboration.

Craig Chaquico reunited with long lost 1959 Les Paul Sunburst - Hopes to Perform with it Again Thanks to "Meeting of the Musical Minds"

This is a story with a happy ending. Craig Chaquico had first shared a bit of news about his beloved 1959 Les Paul Sunburst electric guitar when we chatted at NAMM several years ago. You can read my original article referencing the quest to get back his guitar here. Craig is one of my favorite rockers; he has a great heart, loves his fans and has an enduring passion for making music. Read on below for the media release that landed in my inbox today...

CRAIG CHAQUICO REUNITED WITH LONG LOST

1959 LES PAUL SUNBURST THAT WAS STOLEN DURING

FAMOUS RIOT AT JEFFERSON STARSHIP CONCERT IN SUMMER OF 1978

GRAMMY-NOMINATED GUITARIST HOPES TO PERFORM ONCE AGAIN

WITH BELOVED GUITAR HEARD ON SUCH JEFFERSON STARSHIP HITS AS

"WITH YOUR LOVE," "COUNT ON ME" AND "RUNAWAY"

Craig Chaquico with 1959 Les
Paul Standard Sunburst guitar.
Photo credit: Roger Ressmeyer

For Jefferson Starship guitarist and original founding member Craig Chaquico, "Find Your Way Back" has a whole new meaning some 35 years after writing, and performing on, the Billboard Top Ten single from the band's 1981 album, Modern Times.

It was a year ago this month that Craig informed his worldwide fans about his quest to retrieve his beloved 1959 Les Paul Sunburst guitar (9-2180) that was thought to have been destroyed during a summer of '78 fiery riot in Lorelei, Germany, right after it was announced that Jefferson Starship wouldn't be taking the stage that day as a result of legendary singer Grace Slick not feeling well.

Fearing for their safety, the band members that were on site -- Craig, David Frieberg, and John Barbata -- quickly evacuated the area. Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, Marty Balin and Pete Sears were still at the hotel. Devout fans of the band know that their next show in Hamburg together would mark the last for this original line-up.

Almost all of the bands’ instruments and gear went missing during this riot, including Craig’s rare 1957 Les Paul Gold Top (still missing – Serial No. 7 8793 – played on the first two Jefferson Starship hit albums, Dragon Fly (1974) and Red Octopus (1975)), and this recently discovered ’59 Sunburst guitar that was near-and-dear to Craig's heart, as he used it on the platinum-selling Jefferson Starship albums, Spitfire (1976) and Earth (1978), and can be heard on such classic hits as "With Your Love," "Count on Me" and "Runaway" among others. Of course, it's this rock and roll history that has added extreme value to the guitar. 

Part of the successful identification process which, without the serial number, included Craig going through thousands of high-resolution photos in the vast archives of Roger Ressmeyer who was a key band photographer throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, including for both the Spitfire and Earth albums.

In what could be called "a feel good story," the '59 Sunburst has finally found its way back.

"Miracles" happen.

Three years after he was tipped off that the guitar might still be in existence, Craig's difficult quest to get it back has ended after a meeting of the musical minds between Craig and the instrument's current owner, a guitar aficionado, himself.

After more than a year of back-and-forth's in the legal system, the two musicians sat down and talked about the history of the guitar (now known affectionately as "Lorelei") and what it meant to each of them. And it was this discussion that led to a confidential settlement agreement and resolution between the parties...

"Seeing the guitar for the first time after so many years brought back so many memories for me," states Chaquico. "One of my dreams from the outset was simply to perform or record with it again... and it looks like that dream just might come true."

In a gesture of good will from one musician to another, the current owner of the '59 Sunburst (who has now owned the instrument for almost a dozen years) would like Craig to continue making great music and providing further heritage to the instrument that already has an illustrious past thanks to Craig. This guitar went everywhere with him beginning in the mid-70's until it vanished at the riot.

"I'm thoroughly excited about hitting the stage with it again sometime this year," says Craig. "It'll be a magical moment for me and I'm sure I'll feel like a 'kid' in the mid-70's all over again. 'Lorelei' truly is one of my favorite guitars of all-time."

"What was most pleasing for me was seeing Craig and the current owner, both lovers of music and guitars, sit down for a day and talk amongst themselves to develop a trust," says attorney Peter Koenig who represented Craig in his pursuit of the guitar. "While us lawyers discussed esoteric legal points as to who, rightfully, would keep the guitar, Craig opened a dialogue with the current owner that ultimately allowed for both of them to share their feelings and realize their dream outcome. I look forward to the music Craig makes on '9-2180'."

The value of the guitar can only increase over time if it remains in its impeccable condition.

According to a Guitar Player magazine article in April 2016, Metallica's Kirk Hammett purchased a 1959 Les Paul Standard that was previously owned by Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green and guitar great Gary Moore for a reported $2 million.

Craig looks forward to great things ahead, commenting, "What I'd really like to see is a reunion of Jefferson Starship original members who lost their instruments that day come together and perform with them again. Pete Sears got his bass back in 2013 and John Barbata got his cymbals back shortly after the riot."

As the popular Jefferson Starship song, "Rock Music," says, "Rock 'n' Roll is good time music... listen to it!"

And to quote yet another one of their hits, "Freedom at Point Zero," " 'n Rock 'n' Roll isn't over!"

Craig Chaquico Social Media

Official Website: www.craigchaquico.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CraigChaquicoOfficalPage/?ref=hl

Twitter: www.twitter.com/CraigChaquico (@CraigChaquico)

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/CraigChaquicoVideo

For more detailed information on the riot, itself, please see - http://starship.lu/E78/E78.html

Prince Remembered: Gifted genius the 'Purple One' artist dead at 57

Prince performing at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles in
April 1997.  Photo credit: Kelly A. Swift

What is it about 2016? David Bowie, Maurice White, Glenn Frey, Sir George Martin, Keith Emerson, Merle Haggard, Paul Kantner...and today Prince. Only 57, he was found dead inside his recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Ironic, that Prince's death followed the recent death of Vanity (a Prince protege), who died at the age of 57 on Feb. 15, 2016.

A gifted singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor, the Minneapolis native (born Prince Rogers Nelson) loomed far larger than his 5 foot, 2 inch high frame. He blended funk, Hendrix-infused psychedelic rock, soul and other styles into his dozens of album releases (including 1999, Purple Rain, Sign O’ the Times, Graffiti Bridge and The Black Album). I also wanted to share the statement on Prince from Neil Portnow, President and CEO of The Recording Academy.

The Recording Academy^® Statement Re: Prince
April 21, 2016

Our GRAMMY^® family is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of seven-time GRAMMY Award winner Prince. Today, we remember and celebrate him as one of the most uniquely gifted artists of all time. Never one to conform, he redefined and forever changed our musical landscape. Prince was an original who influenced so many, and his legacy will live on forever. We have lost a true innovator and our sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends, collaborators, and all who have been impacted by his incredible work.

Neil Portnow
President/CEO
The Recording Academy

Here are a number of links where you can read more about Prince:

Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-prince-20160421-story.html

The Orange County Register
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/prince-713023-age-kamerud.html

CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/entertainment/prince-estate-death/index.html

Robert Kinsler

The Recording Academy® to honor legends as part of 'GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends'

With the recent passing of Earth, Wind & Fire's Maurice White (on Feb. 3, 2016) and Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantner (on Jan. 28, 2016), it's nice to see both of those seminal artists among those being honored at the upcoming "GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends." Here is the media release...

THE RECORDING ACADEMY^® TO HONOR 2016 SPECIAL MERIT AWARDS RECIPIENTS WITH NEW TELEVISION SPECIAL
"GRAMMY SALUTE TO MUSIC LEGENDS^®" AS PART OF LANDMARK "GREAT PERFORMANCES" SERIES ON PBS
 
AWARDS CEREMONY AND TRIBUTE CONCERT TO 
TAKE PLACE SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2016 AT 
THE DOLBY THEATER IN LOS ANGELES

Paul Kantner, of Jefferson Airplane and
Jefferson Starship fame, will be among
those honored at the upcoming event.

Maurice White in 1982.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (March 29, 2016) —The Recording Academy^®  will honor its 2016 Special Merit Awards recipients with an awards ceremony and live tribute concert onSaturday, April 23, 2016 at The Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Dubbed "GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends," the event will be produced in partnership with THIRTEEN as part of the"Great Performances" series on PBS, set to air later this year. Led by music industry icon Don Was as musical director, the tribute concert will feature rare performances by honorees and never-seen renditions by those they've inspired. Tickets for the event will be on sale via Ticketmaster beginning Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 10:00 am PST.
 
This year's Lifetime Achievement Award honorees include Ruth Brown, Celia Cruz, Earth, Wind & Fire, Herbie Hancock, Jefferson Airplane, Linda Ronstadt, and RUN DMC.John Cage, Fred Foster, and Chris Strachwitz are Trustees Award honorees; and EMT andDr. Harvey Fletcher are Technical GRAMMY^® Award recipients. Also being honored is Phillip Riggs, this year's recipient of the GRAMMY Foundation Music Educator Award. Performers will be announced shortly.
 
Previously held during GRAMMY Week, this is the first time that The Recording Academy has celebrated the Special Merit Awards with a stand-alone event and musical tribute. In addition to the tribute concert, special celebrity guests will present recipients their award statues and guests will enjoy never-before-seen video packages celebrating each of the honorees' contributions to the music industry and our cultural heritage.
 
"For many years now, we've wanted to honor Special Merit Awards recipients on a larger scale with an event like 'GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends,' so I'm delighted to partner with THIRTEEN Productions and PBS to bring this worthy celebration to a bigger stage," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "The contributions of our honorees are innumerable, and we look forward to an unforgettable evening as we pay tribute to their exceptional accomplishments."
 
A production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, "GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends" will be written by David Wild and directed for television by David Horn, with Mitch Owgang as producer, and David Horn and Neil Portnow as executive producers.
 
The Lifetime Achievement Award honors performers who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording, while the Trustees Award recognizes such contributions in areas other than performance. Both awards are determined by vote of The Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. Technical GRAMMY Award recipients are determined by vote of The Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing^® Advisory Council and Chapter Committees, and are ratified by The Academy's Trustees. The award is presented to individuals and companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.
 
About the Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees:
 
Ruth Brown* began her musical career in the church choir at the tender age of 4. A singer/songwriter, record producer, composer, and actress noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music, Brown became one of the undisputed architects of the genre. She recorded a number of hit songs, including "I'll Wait For You," "I Know," "5-10-15 Hours," and "Mambo Baby." She later went on to have a successful theater career.
 
Celia Cruz* was one of the most popular salsa singers and performers in history. Known internationally as the "Queen of Salsa," the Cuban-American Cruz was a larger-than life-personality. She recorded 23 gold albums and was a recipient of the United States National Medal of Arts. Cruz received three GRAMMY Awards and four Latin GRAMMY Awards.

Six-time GRAMMY winners Earth, Wind & Fire were one of the most important and innovative contemporary pop/R&B musical forces of the 20th century. Members Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Johnny Graham, Ralph Johnson, Al McKay, Fred White, Maurice White*, Verdine White, and Andrew Woolfolk built the group's distinctive signature sound, which has remained profoundly influential. Successfully breaking down all musical genre boundaries since forming in 1969, they recorded seven #1 R&B singles and eight Top 10 pop albums. Earth Wind & Fire earned more than 50 gold and platinum album certifications and more than 90 million albums worldwide, placing them on the list of best-selling musical artists of all time. 
 
One of the most revered and idiosyncratic figures in jazz, Herbie Hancock has been at the forefront almost every development in electronic and acoustic jazz and R&B. A stylistically diverse and ever-intriguing canon of songs, including "Maiden Voyage" and "Rockit," has helped earn him 14 GRAMMY Awards during his impressive five-decade-plus professional solo career.
 
Marty Balin, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden*, Paul Kantner*, Jorma Kaukonen, and Grace Slick comprised Jefferson Airplane, pioneers of counterculture-era psychedelic rock. Emerging from the San Francisco scene to achieve international mainstream success, performing at the three most famous American rock festivals of the 1960s — Monterey (1967), Woodstock (1969), and Altamont (1969). Their 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow is regarded as one of the key recordings of the "Summer of Love." Two hits from that album, "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit," are among Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
 
With roots in the Los Angeles country and folk-rock scenes, Linda Ronstadt is one of the most popular interpretive singers of all time, earning a string of platinum-selling albums and Top 40 singles. Throughout the 1970s, her laid-back pop never lost sight of her folky roots, yet as Ronstadt moved into the 1980s, she began to change her sound with the times, adding new wave influences. Her later years saw the 10-time GRAMMY winner exploring traditional pop, Latin, and musical theater.
 
RUN DMC, comprising of Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell*, and Joseph "Reverend Run" Simmons, were one of the most influential and best-known acts in the history of rap. They were the first group in the genre to have a gold album (RUN DMC., 1984) and to be nominated for a GRAMMY Award. They were also the first hip-hop group to earn a platinum record (King Of Rock, 1985), and the first to earn multiplatinum certification (Raising Hell, 1986).
 
 
About the Trustees Award Honorees:
 
John Cage* was an avant-garde composer whose inventive works and unorthodox ideas profoundly influenced the entire music industry. His innovative ideas on composition and performance influenced a broad spectrum of artists including fellow musicians, dancers, choreographers, painters and more. Cage remained on the leading edge of both playful and profound experimentalism for the greater part of his career. One of Cage's best-known and most sonically intriguing innovations, the prepared piano, has become an almost commonplace compositional resource.


Music entrepreneur Fred Foster contributed a great deal to the Nashville music scene of the 1960s and 1970s as a producer and as the head of one of the city's strongest independent labels, Monument Records. He is best known for producing many classic hits by Roy Orbison. He also played a vital role in the career of Kris Kristofferson, and worked with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Ray Stevens, among others. From 1960 to 1964, Foster produced the overwhelming bulk of hit songs with which Orbison is associated: "Only The Lonely," "In Dreams," "Running Scared," "Blue Bayou," "Blue Angel," "Dream Baby," "Crying," "Candy Man," "Mean Woman Blues," "It's Over," and "Oh, Pretty Woman." 
 
Chris Strachwitz has made his living celebrating the music he loves – music that forms the fabric of both American and international culture.  He is the founder of Arhoolie Records and produces much of the content he releases. To blues fans he is a legend, releasing seminal works by Mississippi Fred McDowell, Mance Lipscomb, Charlie Musselwhite, Rebirth Brass Band, Big Joe Williams, Big Mama Thornton, Lightnin' Hopkins, Earl Hooker, and Elizabeth Cotten, and many others. Strachwitz also produces Cajun music, highlighted by his releases by Clifton Chenier, and also focused on Mexican recordings, especially Norteño music.
 
About the Technical GRAMMY Award Recipients:
 
Known as the father of stereophonic sound, Dr. Harvey Fletcher* was a prominent physicist, credited with inventing the hearing aid and the first audiometer. Through his research, he was able to document and demonstrate the spatial effects of sound, which he called auditory perspective, or stereo. However, it was his profound interest in music that led Fletcher to partner with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and this collaboration produced more than 100 stereo recordings. In his tests, listeners were often unable to distinguish the difference between the live orchestra and the recordings.
 
EMT (Elektro-Mess-Technik) was founded in Berlin in 1940, originally manufacturing high-end pro measuring devices and turntables for broadcast, television, and recording studios. In 1957, the company made a huge breakthrough with the release of the EMT 140 Reverberation Unit — the first plate reverb. Upon its introduction, the EMT 140 Reverberation Unit quickly garnered popularity, providing a smoother substitute to spring reverb systems, simplifying the process of affecting recorded sound while providing the engineer with a more versatile and customizable interface than acoustic chambers. With the plates' introduction, the sound of popular music changed dramatically as evident in English recordings made at Abbey Road by the Beatles and Pink Floyd, as well as RCA Victor recordings by Nashville’s Chet Atkins and many others.
 
*Denotes posthumous award
 
Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, songwriters, producers, engineers, and recording professionals dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education, and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @TheGRAMMYs on Twitter, "like" The GRAMMYs on Facebook  and join The GRAMMYs' social communities on Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, and YouTube.