Tuesday Top Ten: Greatest Athletes Who Weren't the Best Athletes in Their Household

Last week, Greg Weeser* texted his two brothers and me with a link to a question from the Super 70s Sports Twitter account:  "Who's the greatest athlete ever who wasn't even the best athlete in their own immediate family?"  Boy did that open up a can of texting worms.  We went back and forth for a couple hours, and then the four of us had a conference call that started at 11:15 p.m. last Tuesday, as I was checking on my kids on my way to bed.  We talked for nearly two hours -- granted, it wasn't just about this.  But, of course, no one had to go to work in the morning, so it was a nice conversation.

With respect to the question at hand, we agreed on a few, but had heated disagreement over others.  Things got testy at times, but when debating serious issues of the day, that's to be expected.  

Since I can't just let things lie, and I prefer to do some research, I decided to turn the debate into a Tuesday Top Ten.  I consider "immediate family" to be the same household -- so one generation vertically up or down (i.e., parents or children), as well as siblings.  That way, we don't have to argue about Barry Bonds and Reggie Jackson being distant cousins.  Or Willie Mays being Barry Bonds's godfather.

So here are my top ten greatest athletes ever who weren't the best athletes in their own immediate families (in alphabetical order):

1.  Tiki Barber
Better athlete in the family:  Ronde Barber (brother)
The Barber twins presented a really tough call.  I struggled back and forth on this one, but ultimately, I went with Ronde.  Both had great NFL careers, and both are members of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.  Tiki is the Giants' all-time leading rusher and yards-from-scrimmage leader (and holds various other Giants' records), a three-time Pro Bowler and one-time All Pro selection.  His 10,449 career rushing yards put him at #27 all-time in NFL history.  Ronde played on the other side of the ball, and he was a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback, three-time All Pro selection, and two-time second team All-Pro selection.  He was also a Super Bowl champ (with the Buccaneers after the 2002 season) and was selected as a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 2000s.  In addition to being the Bucs' all-time interception leader and holding various other team records, he holds the NFL records for most consecutive starts by a defensive back (215; 224 including playoffs) and most consecutive starts by a cornerback (200; 209 including playoffs).  He is also the only player in NFL history with more than 45 interceptions and more than 25 sacks.

2.  Tony Esposito
Better athlete in the family:  Phil Esposito (brother)
A six-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup champion (with the Canadiens in 1969), a member of the NHL Hall of Fame, tenth all-time in career wins, and a member of the NHL's list of 100 Greatest NHL Players, Tony Esposito is one of the best goalies in NHL history.  Older brother Phil was a center, who was a 10-time All-Star, a two-time Stanley Cup champion (in 1970 and 1972 with the Bruins), a member of the NHL Hall of Fame,the first man in NHL history to score 100 points in a season and 1,000 points in a decade, led the league in goals six times (and six years in a row), led the league in assists three times, led the league in points five times, won the Hart Trophy twice, is tenth all-time in points scored ans sixth all-time in goals scored, and is also a member of the NHL's list of 100 Greatest NHL Players.

3.  Bobby Hull
Better athlete in the family:  Brett Hull (son)
Bobby Hull -- the Golden Jet -- is one of the best left wings in NHL history.  He won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 1961 and two Avco Cup championships with the Whalers in 1976 and 1978, led the NHL in goals 7 times and in scoring twice, won two Hart Trophies and two WHA MVPs, is 18th all-time in goals scored, was a 10-time NHL All-Star and 3-time WHA All-Star, is an NHL Hall of Famer, and is a member of the NHL's list of 100 Greatest NHL Players.  His son Brett was a right wing.  He's also a Hall of Famer and a member of the NHL's list of 100 Greatest NHL Players, as well as a two-time Stanley Cup winner (1999 with the Stars and 2002 with the Red Wings), is 4th all-time in goals scored, 23rd all-time in points scored, an 8-time All-Star, Hart Trophy winner, and is tied with Wayne Gretzky for the most NHL playoff game-winning goals.

4.  Vitali Klitschko
Better athlete in the family:  Wladimir Klitschko (brother)
This is really a tough call, as both of the Klitschko brothers were amazing boxers.  And both have PhDs!  Vitali is older than Wladimir by about five years.  Now the mayor of Kiev, Vitali ended his professional boxing career as the WBC heavyweight champ and a 45-2 record (with 43 KOs).  He was a three-time world heavyweight champion, held the WBO title from 1999 to 2000, the WBC title twice between 2008 and 2013, and the Ring magazine title from 2004 to 2005, and he was the fifth-longest combined world championship reign in history at 2,735 days.  Only to be outdone by his little brother.  Wladimir finished with a 64-5 record (53 KOs), and he held the WBO heavyweight title from 2000 to 2003 and 2008 to 2016, the IBF and IBO titles from 2006 to 2016, the Ring magazine title from 2009 to 2016, and the WBA title from 2011 to 2016.  He also holds the record for the longest cumulative heavyweight title reign of all time (4,382 days), and he holds the record for most opponents defeated for the world heavyweight championship at 23.

5.  Clay Matthews, Jr.
Better athlete in the family:  Bruce Matthews (brother)
The Matthews Family is kind of the first family of football, with seven members across three generations who have played in the NFL, with a combined 25 Pro Bowls, 11 first-team All-Pro selections, and three Super Bowl appearances.  Linebacker Clay Matthews, Jr. was a first-round draft pick by the Cleveland Browns and over 19 NFL seasons for the Browns and Falcons, going to four Pro Bowls and finishing with the third-most tackles in NFL history (1,561).  His younger brother Bruce was an offensive lineman, who was also a first-round draft pick and also played 19 seasons in the NFL, all for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans.  He never missed a game due to injury, and ended up starting 293 NFL games, which the second most in NFL history.  Bruce's 14 Pro Bowl selections is tied for most all-time, and he was a nine-time first-team All Pro selection.  Needless to say, he's a member of the Hall of Fame, and he was a member the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1990s and was ranked #78 on on the NFL Network's The Top 100 NFL Greatest Players list.

6.  Reggie Miller 
Better athlete in the family:  Cheryl Miller (sister)
Reggie is an NBA Hall of Famer, a five-time All-Star, and an Olympic gold medal winner, and he retired as the NBA's all-time leader in three-pointers made.  Older sister Cheryl is considered one of the greatest women's basketball players ever.  She is also a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame and a gold medal winner, and she was also the Naismith player of the three thrice, a two-time NCAA champion, a member of the inaugural class of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, and a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame.

7.  Henri Richard
Better athlete in the family:  Maurice Richard (brother)
We have another pair of NHL Hall of Fame family members with the Richard brothers.  Maurice, a right wing, was known as Rocket Richard.  Henri, a center, was fifteen years Maurice's junior (and a few inches shorter), earning him the nickname the Pocket Rocket.  He played 20 years for the Canadiens, was a nine-time All-Star, won 11 Stanley Cups -- the most in NHL history -- and is member of the NHL's list of 100 Greatest NHL Players.  Older brother Maurice played 18 seasons in the NHL, also all for the Canadiens -- the two were teammates for Maurice's last five seasons.  Maurice was the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season and the first to reach 500 career goals, and he retired as the NHL's all-time leader in goals.  He was a 14-time All-Star, an eight-time Stanley Cup winner, won the Hart Trophy in 1947, and is a member of the NHL's list of 100 Greatest NHL Players.  The Hockey Hall of Fame waived its five-year waiting period for eligibility and inducted Maurice one year after he retired, and the trophy awarded annually to the NHL's regular season leading goal-scorer is named the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy.

8.  Sterling Sharpe
Better athlete in the family:  Shannon Sharpe (brother)
Between 1989 and 1994, Sterling Sharpe was arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL not named Jerry Rice.  In his seven seasons in the NFL, he played in every game, was a five-time Pro Bowler, was an All Pro three times, lead the league in receptions three times, led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, and led the league in receiving yards once.  In 1992, he became the sixth player in NFL history to win the receiving "Triple Crown" -- leading the league in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and receptions -- he broke the NFL record for receptions in a single season, only to break his own record the next year, when he became the first player in NFL history to have consecutive 100-reception seasons.  Unfortunately, his career was cut short by a neck injury he suffered in the final game of the 1994 season, so he and younger brother Shannon may well have been switched on this list had Sterling been able to continue playing.  But as it is, Shannon is one of the most decorated tight ends in NFL history, playing 12 seasons for the Broncos and Ravens, winning three Super Bowls, going to 8 Pro Bowls, being selected All Pro five times (4 times first team and once second team), becoming the first tight end to eclipse the 10,000-yard receiving mark, and finishing his career as the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns for a tight end.  Shannon was named to the First Team of the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1990s, and he is a member of the Hall of Fame.

9.  Lloyd Waner
Better athlete in the family:  Paul Waner (brother)
The Waner brothers anchored the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield -- with older brother Paul (aka "Big Poison") in right and younger brother Lloyd (aka "Little Poison") in center -- for much of the 1920s and 1930s.  They hold the MLB record for career hits by brothers, with a combined 5,611 hits.  Lloyd played 18 seasons, mostly for the Pirates, he hit over .300 ten times, he still holds the MLB record for most hits in the first three seasons (678), led the league in putouts four times, and had a .983 career fielding percentage as a center fielder.  He ended his career with a .316 batting average and 2,459 hits, and he is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Legendary for his ability to hit well when either drunk or hungover -- which I think is the most impressive part of his resume -- Hall of Famer Paul played 20 seasons (the first 15 with the Pirates), won three NL batting titles, led the NL in hits twice, was the NL MVP in 1927, set the NL record for doubles in 1932 with 62 (which was broken a few years later), led the NL in putouts four times, holds the MLB record for career putouts by a right fielder, ranks in the Top 15 all-time in career doubles and triples, had a career .333 batting average, and became the seventh member of the 3,000 hit club (ending his career with 3,152 hits).

10.  Venus Williams
Better athlete in the family:  Serena Williams (sister)
Venus is a former #1 ranked WTA player, is second all-time in women's tennis earnings, a ten-time Grand Slam singles winner (and one of six women in the Open Era to win a Career Grand Slam), a 14-time Grand Slam women's doubles champion (also winning a Career Grand Slam), a two-time Grand Slam mixed doubles winner, and a four-time Olympic gold medal winner (one singles and three doubles).  Of course, younger sister Serena is arguably the greatest tennis player of all-time (of either gender).  Serena is first all-time in women's tennis earnings (more than doubling Venus's earnings), has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles (most by any man or woman in the Open Era), and, like her sister, has 14 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, and four Olympic gold medals.

Honorable mention:  Laila Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali); Felipe Alou (father of Moises Alou); Boss Bailey (brother of Champ Bailey); Bobby Bonds (father of Barry Bonds); David Carr (brother of Derek Carr); Vontae Davis (brother of Vernon Davis); Marc Gasol (brother of Pau Gasol); Ken Griffey, Sr. (father of Ken Griffey, Jr.); Chris Long (son of Howie Long); Kyle Long (son of Howie Long, brother of Chris Long); Archie Manning (father of Peyton and Eli Manning); Eli Manning (brother of Peyton Manning); Joe Niekro (brother of Phil Niekro); Mike Pouncey (brother of Maurkice Pouncey); Leon Spinks (brother of Michael Spinks); T.J. Watt (brother of J.J. Watt)

CoronaVinyl Day 15 (Oldest Record You Own): Rendezvous with Peggy Lee by Peggy Lee

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is "oldest record you own."  This was a little challenging for a few reasons.  Not all records have a copyright date on the album cover, which means I have to look it up.  Even then, some records have been reissued several times (including within several years of each other), so many times, there's no telling if the version I have was the oldest version of a record or not.  And on top of that, I have several 10-inch records and 78s, the latter of which I don't have the capacity to play on my turntable.  So, I did the best I could.  I excluded 10-inch records and 78s, as well as non-musical records (I have acquired a couple story LPs over the years, as well as General MacArthur's Farewell Address, which I don't feel the need to bore you or me with.)

With that, I settled on Peggy Lee's Rendezvous with Peggy Lee.  It was originally released in 1948 as a set of 78s with six songs, and I believe the version I have was released in 1955 as a 12-inch LP.  

Probably most famous to those of us born after the Greatest Generation for her 1958 Top 10 hit -- and COVID-19-relevant song -- "Fever," Peggy Lee was a highly successful jazz and pop music singer in the '40s and '50s, as well as a very accomplished songwriter and a both a live and voice actress.  For instance, in addition to writing the songs for Disney's Lady and the Tramp, she voiced four characters (Darling, Peg, Si, and Am).  She was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 1955's Pete Kelly's Blues.  Unlike many of her contemporaries, she embraced rock and roll when it came around, and she often recorded albums that included covers of rock songs (along with standards and her own songs).  All in all, Lee had 47 Top 40 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 (or its predecessors) between 1941 and 1969, including 12 Top 10s and two #1s.

My version of Rendezvous with Peggy Lee seems to be a compilation of songs that she released between 1946 and the early '50s.  It has 12 songs, including the six from the 1948 release.  The songs are pretty standard loungey jazz and pre-rock-and-roll pop fare that you would expect your grandparents (or possibly great grandparents, depending on how old you are) to have been listening to post-war.  Lee has a great voice.  It can be sultry, haunting, or playful, depending on what the mood of the song.  The Spotify version looks like it's only the six songs on the original 1948 release, so I limited my song selections to those six songs.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Why Don't You Do Right (Get Me Some Money Too)"
This is a jazzy song where Lee tells her man to get the hell out of her face "and get me some money too."  I guess not much has changed in 72 years.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Don't Smoke in Bed"
I chose this one not because of its music, but because of its message of fire safety and prevention.  It hit #22 on the charts in 1948.  It also makes me think of how much everything must have stank of smoke in the '40s.

CoronaVinyl Day 14 ('90s): Pinkerton by Weezer

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is the '90s.  A few years ago, I got a great re-issue of Weezer's Pinkerton album, I believe as part of the Vinyl Me Please record club.  As you can see, the record itself is clear blue with smoke, and the album cover folds out for a nice 3-D effect.  It also came with a sake cocktail recipe, which I seem to have lost -- not that I have ever consumed sake outside of a Japanese restaurant.

But enough about the packaging, let's talk about the album.  Pinkerton was Weezer's 1996 follow-up to their massively successful and universally adored 1994 self-titled album (aka The Blue Album).  The band self-produced Pinkerton and tried to give it a more "raw" sound than the Blue Album.

Much of Pinkerton was written while lead singer and main songwriter Rivers Cuomo was giving Harvard a try. You see, after the success of the Blue Album, he decided to go to Harvard for shits and giggles. On the opposite end of the spectrum, after a nonexistent music career, I didn't go to Harvard.  Anyway, the band recorded most of the album during Cuomo's breaks from college.


The album is a pile of pent-up frustration being unleashed on the world set against a catchy rock background.  The songs touch on loneliness, isolation, and the frustration and disillusionment of the rock and roll lifestyle.  There are songs about not wanting meaningless sex, the perils of relationships, not having the confidence to talk to a crush, getting dumped by a lesbian, and writing a song for a Japanese fan who sent Cuomo a letter, among others.  It's raw, it's emotional, and it's really fucking good.

It seems like everything that would have made for a hugely successful album in the mid '90s.  But it was quite the opposite.  It was released in September 1996, and it peaked at #19 on the Billboard album charts in mid-October 1996.  By the end of January 1997, and it had dropped out of the top 200.  It was generally panned by critics.  None of the singles even sniffed the Billboard Hot 100, and the best-charting single, "El Scorcho," topped out at #19 on the Billboard Alternative Rock Tracks chart and #50 on the UK pop charts.  Rolling Stone voted it the third worst album of 1996.  The reaction to the album was so disheartening that the band broke up for nearly five years after the tour supporting Pinkerton, and Cuomo was embarrassed by the album for many years.

Yet in the following several five to ten years, the album had become a cult and critical hit.  In a 2002 Rolling Stone reader poll of the 100 best albums of all-time, Pinkerton came it at #16, ahead of albums like Pet Sounds, Rubber Soul, Born to Run, and Sticky Fingers.  In 2003, Pitchfork ranked Pinkerton #53 on its best albums of the '90s list. In 2004, Rolling Stone added the album to its "Rolling Stone Hall of Fame."  And since then, it has appeared on multiple "best of" lists.  Weezer fans (myself included) generally put it right up there with the Blue Album.

And don't try to say "oh, I totally bought Pinkerton when it came out."  No one did!  It took nearly five years for Pinkerton to go gold in the U.S., and it took 20 years before it went platinum.  By comparison, 1994's Blue Album went gold in less than 7 months and platinum in 8 months, 2001's Green Album went gold in a month and a half and platinum in 3 months, 2002's Maladroit went gold in one month, and 2005's Make Believe went gold in a month and a half and platinum in 7 months.

How did we all miss this for so long?  I honestly don't know the answer.  Due to the band's five-year absence and the otherwise limited publicity and success of the album, I didn't even really know Pinkerton existed until sometime in the early 2000s.  When I finally listened to it, I was just so confused because I thought it was great.  As I said above, I put this right up there with the Blue Album.  Even when he's trying to be downtrodden, Rivers Cuomo writes a hell of a catchy song.  So whatever happened that made this album miss the mark initially is beyond me.  At least we discovered it eventually and can appreciate it while we're trying to work from home.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Tired of Sex"
This might be my favorite Weezer song.  Who writes a song saying he's tired of having sex with groupies? Rivers Cuomo does. I fucking love this song, from the fuzzy intro to the primal screams. It smacks with desperation, but the opposite type of desperation you usually hear in a song. This song uses anticipation quite well. After a relatively subdued first verse that feels like it's building toward something, Cuomo unleashes all his frustration with that "ahhhhh!" at about the 1:07 mark, and then he belts out the next verse/chorus, which is followed up by a short but sweet guitar solo.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "The Good Life"
This is Cuomo's "I'm back" song after living a self-described "ascetic life" at Harvard. It's another solid, catchy song that rocks. I love the chorus: "And I don't wanna be an old man anymore / It's been a year or two since I was out on the floor / Shakin' booty, makin' sweet love all the night / It's time I got back to the good life."  In these times of social distancing and stay-at-home orders, I think we can all relate -- or we will be able to relate at some point several months from now.

CoronaVinyl Day 13 ('80s): Colour By Numbers by Culture Club

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Back in 1984, as a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed six-year-old, I made a life-changing decision to use my own money -- likely saved from my birthday or Christmas or lifting from my mom's wallet -- to purchase my very first album of my own.  It was Culture Club's Colour By Numbers, and I bought it on cassette tape, of course, as that was the preferred musical medium back then.  I played it on my battery-powered light brown Fisher Price portable tape player, which was my only music playback hardware until I was given a dual cassette AM/FM boom box a couple years later for my birthday.

While I have a ton of vinyl albums from the '80s, I had to go with Colour By Numbers for today's CoronaVinyl category.  Culture Club was led by the flamboyant cross-dressing Boy George, whose choice in clothing and fashion seemed completely normal to a six-year-old suburban Texan boy.  After all, it was the '80s, so everything was weird.

Colour By Numbers was the band's second album, following 1982's Kissing to Be Clever, which pretty much immediately pushed the band into superstardom behind three Top 10 hits in the U.S., "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (#2), "Time (Clock of the Heart)" (#2), and "I'll Tumble For Ya" (#9).  There was no sophomore slump with Colour By Numbers, which went quadruple platinum in the U.S. and triple platinum in the band's native UK.

Colour By Numbers was the band's highest-charting album in the U.S., reaching #2 on the Billboard album charts, and it was a massive hit internationally, going #1 in the UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and cracking the top ten on the album charts in eight other countries.  Al four singles from the album released in the U.S. rose to #13 or higher on the Billboard Hot 100 -- "Church of the Poison Mind" (#10), "Karma Chameleon" (#1), "Miss Me Blind" (#5), and "It's a Miracle" (#13).  The band never quite found the same amount of success after that, releasing two more albums before breaking up in 1986 due to in-fighting, the romantic break up of Boy George and the band's drummer Jon Moss, and drug addition.  Boy George then embarked on a moderately successful solo career, highlighted by the haunting "Crying Game" (which hit #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1992), which, of course, was the theme song for the transgender movie of the same name, and featured in the infamous dong reveal scene.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Karma Chameleon"
I think "Karma Chameleon" is hands down one of the best pop songs of the '80s.  It's just so damn catchy, and every knows the words, or at least the chorus.  It's the band's only #1 in the U.S., holding down the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in early 1984.  And it also hit #1 on 15 international singles charts and went Top 10 on another four.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Church of the Poison Mind"
"Church of the Poison Mind" was actually the first single released off of Colour By Numbers, and its success prompted the band's label to move up the release of "Karma Chameleon."  It's just as catchy as "Karma Chameleon," and backing vocalist Helen Terry really makes the song with her impassioned vocals during the choruses.

CoronaVinyl Day 12 ('70s): Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is the '70s, and it's Saturday, and it will be night tonight, and a fever is one of the tell-tale symptoms of the coronavirus, so the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack seems like the perfect choice.  I think this might be the first vinyl album I ever acquired.  I lifted it from one of my parents, although I didn't even have a record player at the time, so your guess is as good as mine as to why I took it.

Disco was and is a polarizing genre of music, but you can't understate its popularity in the late '70s.  Released in late 1977, this album is kind of the defining disco record, and it's the soundtrack to the defining disco movie.  It heavily features the Bee Gees, who kind of reinvented themselves from pop musicians into disco superstars, but there are also songs by disco mainstays KC & The Sunshine Band, The Trammps, Tavares, Kool & The Gang, Yvonne Elliman, and others.  There are sung songs and instrumentals.

The soundtrack was wildly successful across the world.  It was #1 on the Billboard album charts for 24 consecutive weeks and remained on the album charts for nearly two and a half years.  In the UK, it was #1 for 18 consecutive weeks, and it went to #1 on the album charts in at least eleven other countries.  The album topped the 1978 year-end album charts in at least eight countries.   It remains the best-selling soundtrack of all time, with 54 million copies sold worldwide, and it has been certified platinum 16 times over by the RIAA.

And check out how the songs from the albums performed on the singles charts.  It's pretty ridiculous.  Ten Top 40 hits in the U.S., including 7 #1s.

• "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees:  #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Top 10 on 21 other international charts, including #1 on eight.
• "Night Fever" by The Bee Gees:  #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Top 10 on 20 other international charts, including #1 on five.
• "How Deep Is Your Love" by The Bee Gees:  #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Top 10 on 16 other international charts, including #1 on five.
• "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman:  #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Top 10 on 6 other international charts, including #1 in Canada.
• "You Should Be Dancing" by The Bee Gees:  #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Top 10 on 6 other international charts, including #1 in Canada.
• "Jive Talkin'" by The Bee Gees:  #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Top 10 on 5 other international charts, including #1 in Canada.
• "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy:  #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Top 10 on 4 other international charts, including #1 in Canada.
• "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps:  #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, Top 40 on 4 other international charts, including Top 10 in the UK.
• "More Than a Woman" by Tavares:  #32 on the Billboard Hot 100, Top 40 on 3 other international charts, including Top 10 in Canada.
• "Boogie Shoes" by KC & The Sunshine Band:  #35 on the Billboard Hot 100, Top 40 on 4 other international charts.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees
This song is the one most associated with the movie, as it is featured in the iconic opening scene where John Travolta is strutting down a New York street with a butterfly collar and a paint can in his hand.  It's probably also the most iconic disco song, and it's the song that you can use when performing CPR chest compressions because it's 100 beats per minute.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy
It's a disco version of Beethoven's iconic Symphony No. 5, so there you go. 

Favorite song from Side 3:  "Jive Talkin'" by The Bee Gees
Behind "Tragedy,' this is probably my favorite Bee Gees song.  It's catchy.

Favorite song from Side 4:  "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps
The last track on the album is another disco classic, but it's the extended version, clocking in at nearly 11 minutes, so you have plenty of time to snort a few lines in the bathroom and get back out on the illuminated dance floor before the song ends.

CoronaVinyl Day 11 (Triple LP): All Things Must Pass by George Harrison

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Is there a more appropriate title for what we're going through than All Things Must Pass?  Not for a triple LP anyway, which is today's CoronaVinyl category.  This is another album that I immediately pegged when I saw the list of categories.

After The Beatles broke up in 1970, all four Beatles released solo albums that year.  Ringo Starr released two albums -- Sentimental Journey and Beaucoups of Blues, John Lennon released Plastic Ono Band, McCartney released McCartney, and George Harrison released the best of the bunch:  All Things Must Pass, a triple album for the ages.

In case it hadn't already been known, All Things Must Pass showed that George's songwriting was right up there with John and Paul.  Co-produced by Harrison and Phil Spector, the album has a wonderful sound, and George had a who's who of '70s rockers contributing to various tracks.  Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Peter Frampton, Badfinger, pretty much everyone in Derek and The Dominos, and many others joined George at some point on the album.  

Needless to say, the result was a masterpiece, and I am not alone when I say that I consider this the best Beatles solo album ever.  There's rock, pop, blues, folk, and jams.  Sides 1 through 4 are traditional tracks, and then Sides 5 and 6 are entitled "Apple Jam," which is basically recorded jams that the musicians improvised in between recording the songs for Sides 1 through 4.

The album hit #1 in the U.S., the UK, and six other countries.  It has gone platinum six times in the U.S, and it produced two of his most enduring hits:  "My Sweet Lord" (#1 in the U.S., UK, and seven other countries) and "What Is Life" (#10 in the U.S. and Top 10 in six other countries).

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Wah-Wah"
This was the first song recorded for the album, and it was one that George wrote in the song in 1969 after he temporarily left The Beatles.  It's basically a diss track aimed at Paul and John (and Yoko) for various reasons, and whether the double entendre was intentional or not, it works, as "I don't need no wah-wah" can be taken as both a dig at his bandmates to stop their crying and complaining, as well as a dig at Paul, who was critical of George's guitar playing (and George was using a wah-wah pedal a lot around this time).  Either way, it's a great rocking song, and clearly it wasn't aimed at Ringo, as he played drums on the track.  Other guest appearances included: Clapton on electric guitar; Billy Preston and Gary Wright on pianos; Pete Ham, Tom Evans, and Joey Molland of Badfinger on acoustic guitars, and Mike Gibbins from Badfinger on tambourine; Voorman on bass; and Bobby Keys and Jim Price on horns.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "What is Life"
This is my favorite song off the album and my favorite George Harrison solo song, period.  It starts with a great guitar intro, followed by a blasting horn section, strings, and a driving beat throughout.  The song just makes me happy.  Originally written by George with Billy Preston in mind, he ended up recording the song himself and making it one of his signature songs.  There has always been a debate about whether the song is about a woman or about a higher power, or some combination of both.  I have always taken it as a love song, where the narrator doesn't know if he can give his lady everything, but he's going to try, and he defines his life by her presence by his side.  And shit, is it catchy. 

Favorite song from Side 3:  "Awaiting on You All"
"Awaiting On You All" is my second-favorite track on the album.  It's a gospel rock song that reflects Harrison's deepening spirituality.  Backed by most of the members of Derek and the Dominos -- Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, and Jim Gordon -- as well as Klaus Voormann and Jim Price, Spector's Wall of Sound comes through in full force on this one.  I'm not a religious guy, but music is as close to religion as you can get, in my opinion, and this song is just fantastic.  Listen to it, and find your inner happiness, wherever that might come from.

Favorite song from Side 4:  "Art of Dying"
Another great rock song about spirituality, George began writing "Art of Dying" in 1966, and the song is about reincarnation and how to avoid coming back as something shitty.  The backing musicians everyone in Derek and The Dominos (other than Duane Allman), Gary Wright, Billy Preston, Bobby Keys, and Jim Price. 

Favorite song from Side 5:  "Out of the Blue"
"Out of the Blue" kicks off the Apple Jam portion of the album with a bluesy, soulful, 11+-minute jam, featuring George, Clapton, Jim Gordon, Carl Radle, and Bobby Whitlock from Derek and The Dominos, Gary Wright, Bobby Keys and Jim Price on horns, and Al Aronowitz (who is perhaps best known for introducing The Beatles to Bob Dylan in 1964 and bringing a joint, which was the first time The Beatles smoked pot).

Favorite song from Side 6:  "Thanks for the Pepperoni"
This is another great jam, with a great title to boot, paying homage to my favorite pizza topping.  Joining George on this track were Dave Mason, Clapton, Gordon, Radle, and Whitlock.

Hair Band Friday - 3/27/20

1.  "I Remember You" by Skid Row


2.  "One for Rock & Roll" by Cinderella


3.  "Why Can't This Be Love?" by Van Halen


4.  "Demon Alcohol" by Ozzy Osbourne


5.  "Girls Girls Girls" by Mötley Crüe


6.  "So Fine" by Guns N' Roses


7.  "Games People Play" by Tesla


8.  "You Want What We Got" by Twisted Sister


9.  "Into the Fire" by Dokken


10.  "I Want to Love You Tonight" by Ratt

CoronaVinyl Day 10 (Double LP): The Beatles by The Beatles

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

As soon as I saw the category for Day 10 -- a double LP -- I know that my choice would be The Beatles' eponymous 1968 album, which is better known as "The White Album."  As you can see, I have a white vinyl version of the album, which was apparently part of a tenth anniversary reissue in 1978 and 1979.

Picking my favorite Beatles album is like picking my favorite sexual position. I love 'em all, but the one that wins out in the end is the weirdest one, the one that takes the most time, and the one that takes me to places I wasn't expecting to go. When I first purchased the White Album on CD at some point in college, it immediately became my favorite Beatles album, and it remains my favorite to this day.  What made it my favorite was its diversity of song types. There is hard rock ("Helter Skelter"), ballads ("Julia"), social commentary ("Piggies"), love songs ("I Will"), soul ("Why Don't We Do It In the Road?"), double entendre ("Happiness Is a Warm Gun"), vaudevillian throwbacks ("Honey Pie"), blues ("Yer Blues"), fun songs ("Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da," "Rocky Raccoon"), and some straight-up weird shit ("Revolution 9"). The Beatles seamlessly combined all of that into an epic double album.

In college, if I ever needed to just take a little while to chill out, I would grab my Discman -- because that's how we listened to music back in the '90s -- and go to my fraternity's lounge, sit down on a couch or comfy chair, just close my eyes, and listen to the album front to back.  I've never been into meditation, but this was about as close as I got to it.

Rather than list the many accolades The White Album has received over the years, I'm just going to assume you are aware of its awesomeness, or after you listen to the embedded album below, you will become aware.  Here are my favorite songs on each of the four album sides.  The all happen to be John songs, which isn't intentional.  They just happen to be my favorite songs on each side.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Happiness is a Warm Gun"
This is my favorite Beatles song. I've loved it since the first time I heard it. Junior and senior year of college (and in law school), I used to listen to it to psych myself up before flag football games. It's still on my running mix (were I to run). Legend has is John wrote the song after producer George Martin showed him the cover of a gun magazine with the title "Happiness is a warm gun." It's like a mini rock opera in and of itself, with three distinct parts.  The song starts with kind of a brooding, acid-inspired hard rockish section.  It's kind of eerie at the beginning with John singing "She's not a girl who misses much." You expect him to explain why, which he does, but it makes no sense, as the song kicks into this raunchy fuzzed-out guitar chord. The remainder of the lyrics in the first part are fascinating, mostly because they make no sense whatsoever and are apparently the result of an acid trip. Then completely changes in the short middle section, with the phrase "Mother Superior jumped the gun" repeated for 30 seconds or so while someone plays a tambourine.  And finally, it breaks into the last part, an ode to doo wop and soul, where John belts out the only lucid lyrics in the song -- sexually suggestive lyrics that are not actually about putting his finger on your trigger while the rest of the guys sing "bang bang shoot shoot" in the background. All the while, the song switches tempo and time at several points. In the hands of anyone else, what I have just described to you would be a catastrophe. In the hands of The Beatles, however, it is a masterpiece.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "I'm So Tired"
This might be the Beatles song that I have quoted the most inside my own head.  Pretty much any time I am still dead tired when I wake up in the morning, I say to myself, "I'm so tired," and then the next thing I know, I'm cursing Sir Walter Raleigh.  Also, if you are really tired and hope to sleep, I will say that John's suggestion that you have another cigarette is not conducive to sleep.

Favorite song from Side 3:  "Sexy Sadie"
It was a tough choice between "Sexy Sadie" and "Helter Skelter."  On one hand, "Helter Skelter" may have been the first heavy metal song ever and it has historical significance (even if infamously) a the song that allegedly inspired Charles Manson to terrorize Los Angeles in the late summer of 1969.  On the other hand, "Sexy Sadie" has more personal importance for me.  No, I am not a Maharishi apologist or hater -- this song was a diss track aimed at the Maharishi, but John was too scared to use "Maharishi," so he changed it to "Sexy Sadie."  You see, folks, in college, I had a black '89 Honda Accord that I named Sexy Sadie.  Gorgeous little thing she was.  On a late January Sunday afternoon in 1999, I was driving back to Bloomington after a weekend visiting some friends at Eastern Illinois.  It was raining.  I was on SR 46, maybe 20 miles outside of Bloomington, when I was taking slow curve.  To be clear, the curve was slow, but my driving was not.  I started to hydroplane, crossed the center line and the other lane, slid across a wet field of grass sideways, jumped a small creek, before slamming into a tree and totaling my car.  I was listening to The White Album on my Discman, plugged into my tape player, as was the style back then.  The song that was playing when I crashed?  "Sexy Sadie."  Thankfully, I came out unscathed, as did the Discman and the White Album. In fact, in a fit of adrenaline-driven machismo, I yelled, "is that all you got?!" to no one in particular.

Favorite song from Side 4:  "Revolution 1"
This is one of two versions of this song.  The album version ("Revolution 1") is the slower, more acoustic, and more bluesy version, recorded a few weeks before the more famous, more electric, and more uptempo version ("Revolution") that was eventually released as the B-side to "Hey Jude."  Other than the differences in the music, the most noticeable difference is that, in this version, John changes one of the lyrics to add an "in" after talking about destruction ("you can count me out, in"). That's some sneaky ass shit right there.

Retro Video of the Week: "Some Like It Hot" by The Power Station

Thirty-five years ago today, '80s one-off supergroup The Power Station released their only album, which was self-titled.  Formed by Chic drummer Tony Thompson and Duran Duran guitarist and bassist Andy and John Taylor (no relation), the band initially wanted to do an album with each song featuring a different lead singer, one of which was blue-eyed soul rocker Robert Palmer.  When Palmer came in to record the vocals for "Communication," he also asked if he could sing another song that band was recording, a cover of T. Rex's "Get It On (Bang a Gong)," and that went well enough that the band invited Palmer to record the entire album.

The album was a pretty damn good success, considering it was a one-off.  It hit #6 on the Billboard album charts and #12 on the UK album charts, and it went platinum in the U.S.  All three of the singles released from the album broke into the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, with two hitting the Top 10.  "Some Like It Hot" went to #6, "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" went to #9, and "Communication" went to #34.  The success was short-lived, as Palmer had to leave the band to record his Riptide album (which featured his signature song and video, "Addicted to Love").  Palmer was replaced by Michael Des Barres -- the actor and musician who listeners of SiriusXM's Little Steven's Underground Garage station should know -- who sang with the band during their two-song set at Live Aid.

I was going to use "Communication" -- since that was the song Palmer was originally brought in to record -- but apparently there wasn't a music video for it, so I'm going with "Some Like It Hot."  In addition to hitting the Top 10 in the U.S., the song was a success across the globe, reaching #14 on the UK pop charts, the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, #15 in Ireland, and #16 in Germany.  The video features Palmer wearing a Catholic priest frock and a transgender model.

CoronaVinyl Day 9 (Red Vinyl): Pinewood Smile by The Darkness

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is red vinyl.  Most of my red vinyl is from The White Stripes, who I featured yesterday for white vinyl, but thankfully, there are other options.  In 2017, British rockers The Darkness released their fifth studio album, Pinewood Smile.  I've been a huge fan of the band since 2003, so I gladly took them up on their Pledge Music pre-order sale of the album that included various formats and levels of swag.  I went with the red vinyl that came in an album covered signed by all four band members.  As the photo above indicates, the signed album cover is framed and hanging in my Rock and Roll Staircase.  As an aside, I think you should all have a Rock and Roll Staircase, or if your dwelling is one level, at least a Rock and Roll Wall.

Pinewood Smile is the first full album to feature drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor -- and "Tiger" is his real middle name, not a nickname -- who is the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor.  The album is a beautiful amalgamation of everything that is still good about rock and roll.  If you desire some tongue-in-cheek lyrics set to well-oiled rock and falsetto vocals, then Pinewood Smile is for you.

But more importantly, if you have a chance to see The Darkness live, do it.  They are one of the best live bands around, and I say that having seen hundreds of concerts.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Southern Trains"
I go back and forth between whether "Solid Gold" or "Southern Trains" is my favorite song off of Side 1.  While "Solid Gold" has the best chorus on the album -- "We're never gonna stop / Shitting out solid gold -- I have to go with "Southern Trains" as my favorite song off of Side 1.  It's a tongue-in-cheek song about how shitty some train lines are, and it manages to rock harder than pretty much anything that's been on the radio in the last ten years.  That guitar solo is ridiculous.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Japanese Prisoner of Love"
"Japanese Prisoner of Love" is the first track on Side 2, and it wails.  The opening riff could be on pretty much any thrash metal album.  The song is about the pains of prison life ("I used to think that my life was so sweet / But it's sour / I used to be alone / In the shower").  It is perhaps the only song ever that references a "stabby white supremacist named Klaus."  The guitar solo in this one is also great, featuring some Thin Lizzy-esque twin lead guitars.

CoronaVinyl Day 8 (White Vinyl): Icky Thump by The White Stripes

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I've been a member of the Third Man Records Vault record club for probably seven or eight years, and as a big White Stripes and Jack White fan, it's excellent.  If you don't know, Third Man is co-owned by Jack White.  The Vault record club sends a package once a quarter with an LP, usually a 45, and some other swag.  Often, it's something Jack White-related, like a White Stripes reissue or previously unreleased live material, or the Raconteurs, Dead Weather, or Jack White solo, but there have also been some great live albums recorded at Third Man's Nashville store/studio, including by Pearl Jam, Willie Nelson, and others.

As you can see from one of the pictures above, my turntable mat is the White Stripes's signature peppermint candy logo.  They are one of my favorite bands ever.  One of the 2017 Vault packages was in honor of the tenth anniversary of the release of their final album, Icky Thump.  In addition to the album itself, there are two other LPs, one with demos and one with extras (the latter of which includes a few songs that were separately released as singles or EPs).  The album itself is split into four sides.  The first half of the album is on white vinyl (hence its selection for today) with red drippings on the edge, and the second half is red vinyl with black drippings on the edge.  Above, I put photos of the entire package, with all three LPs spread out, as well as a shot of the vinyl for the album itself.

I'm only going to discuss the actual album in this post.  Icky Thump was the band's final album, and it was their highest-charting in the U.S., reaching #2 on the Billboard album charts, in addition to reaching #1 on the UK album charts and hitting the Top 10 on the album charts in 15 other countries  It also produced their only Top 40 hit in the U.S., the title track, which went to #26 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Icky Thump and/or its songs were nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning two.  The album won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, and the title track won the Grammy Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

The album shows why The White Stripes were the best rock band of the '00s.  They could do pretty much any type of music well, as Icky Thump proves.  It's an amalgamation of garage rock, punk, rock, blues, folk, pop, and some weird-ass Scottish folk music.  The nice part about the album being broken up into four sides is that I get to showcase four songs instead of two.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)"
While I love the title track -- especially the part calling out xenophobic Americans whose ancestors were themselves immigrants, which seems to have become an even more poignant point over the last four years -- but I gave the slight edge to "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)."  It's a catchy rock song with a simple message from the narrator to a woman -- she isn't in her relationship (with a man other than the narrator) for herself, but rather, she just does what her man tells her and never disagrees, but she considers that love.  And she'll be stuck like this until she realizes that she's not hopeless or helpless.  The questions that arise for me are:  (1) Is the narrator trying to woo her away, or just a concerned friend or relative?; and (2) If she's happy and not being abused in some way, is ignorance bliss?

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Bone Broke"
"Bone Broke" is a pretty straightforward garage rock song that kind of breaks down into fuzzy madness at a few points.


Favorite song from Side 3:  "I'm Slowly Turning Into You"

The stop-and-start of the verses makes way for a tempo change for the fuzzed-out choruses.  The song is about the stark realization that the narrator is turning into his longtime companion.  At first, he finds it annoying and he's not cool with it, but then he comes to accept it and declares himself "proud to be you."

Favorite song from Side 4:  "A Martyr For My Love For You"

This is probably my favorite song on the album.  A dramatic organ and shimmering drums set the tone at the beginning before turning into the subdued first verse.  Like several of Jack White's songs from other albums -- "The Same Boy You've Always Known" from White Blood Cells, "I Want to Be the Boy to Warm Your Mother's Heart" from Elephant, and "Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)" from Get Behind Me Satan come to mind -- this song deals with the awkwardness, anxiety, and occasional sheer terror of relationships and young love.  Here, the teenage narrator is in love and seems to be saying and doing the right things, but he knows at some point he's going to screw it up, so he's going to walk away, which, in his mind, is for her benefit.  Thus, he will become a martyr for his love for her.  The sweetness of the verses are offset by the emotional bombast of the choruses.

CoronaVinyl Day 7 (High School): Boston by Boston

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is "high school."  Since I don't have any STP, 2Pac, 4 Non Blondes, Beastie Boys, or Jock Jams on vinyl, I'm going with Boston's self-titled 1976 debut album, which was on constant rotation in my CD player (once I got one freshman year) throughout high school.  I don't have the album cover at home, as it is on my wall of framed albums in my office.

Based on the strength of this album, at one point in high school, I declared Boston to be "the greatest rock and roll band of all-time," or something to that effect.  While I no longer believe those words to be accurate, I still consider this album one of the best debut albums in rock history.

Lead guitarist and MIT-educated musical technology wunderkind Tom Scholz co-produced and wrote bulk of the album.  He combined electric and acoustic guitars, harmonies, and classical music devices to unmitigated success.  It went gold in three weeks and platinum in three months, making it the fastest selling debut album for any American group.  The album went on to become the best-selling debut album of all-time in the U.S. until it was dethroned by GNR's Appetite for Destruction at some point in the '90s or '00s.  With 17 million copies sold in the U.S. alone, it remains the second best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S., and it is tied for the tenth best-selling album in US history.

But more than the number of albums sold, I think the legacy of this album is the fact that all eight songs on the album were pretty consistently in the classic rock radio rotation.  Granted, you're more likely to hear some songs than others, but all eight are in the rotation.  I don't know of any other album that can claim all of its songs receive (or ever received) regular airplay, which is especially unique considering only three of the songs were Top 40 hits in the U.S. -- "More Than a Feeling" (#5), "Long Time" (#22), and "Piece of Mind" (#38).

The album rose to #3 on the Billboard album chart, and it remained on the chart for 132 weeks (just over two and a half years).  It is included on many "greatest of all-time" lists and was ranked No. 43 on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "Definitive 200" list.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "More Than a Feeling"
Simply put, this is one of the greatest and most-recognizable rock songs of the '70s.  Even after hearing this song countless times, I'm still not tired of it, and it has gained some newfound glory, as my kids now know it and want me to turn it up when it comes on in the car.  I happily oblige.  Lyrically, the song is about losing yourself in a song while pining over a lost love.  Musically, more than anything else, Brad Delp's vocals stick out to me.  Just when you think his voice can't go any higher, it explodes into the stratosphere, particularly from about the 3:24 mark to the 3:41 mark.  And drummer Sib Hashian has a bunch of timely and delicious fills.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Something About You"
Of all the songs on the album, "Something About You" is probably the one that is played the least on classic rock radio.  It has an eerie howling start before kicking in with twin guitars.  When I was a junior in high school, I had a crush on a girl (as one does), but I was far too shy to ever say anything to her other than a Kevin Arnold-esque awkward croaking "hi" in the hallway or class.  But for whatever reason, this was the song that played in my head most of the times when I thought about asking her out or to a dance or something.  Of course, I never did, but that pretty well sums up my interactions (or lack thereof) with girls between the ages of 13 and 18.