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The Man Who Briefly Became a Beatle

Once a Beatle: When Ringo was ill with tonsillitis, he substituted on drums for 8 concerts & lived a superstar’s life for 10 days. But Ringo has returned… Now Jimmie Nicol sits alone in the Melbourne airport, waiting for the plane that will take him back to obscurity (15 June 1964)

Amidst the deafening screams of Beatlemania in 1964, a hidden story unfolds – one of meteoric rise and crushing descent. James George Nicol, a journeyman drummer, stepped into the hallowed ranks of The Beatles for a mere 13 days, filling Ringo Starr’s shoes during a bout of tonsillitis. His tale, though brief, resonates with the bittersweet allure of fame and the often cruel sting of forgotten heroes.

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Hot New Music of the Day

The homie sent over the new music video and single from Austin indie rock band Animals On TV. Called “MTV 2095” the synth pop drenched garage rock single draws on music from the ’60s and into the early 2000’s. MTV 2095 addresses the future in a fun way referencing “digital Japan,” as a stand-in for an exotic future destination.

Picture of the Day

The Grateful Dead’s “Wall of Sound” was a massive sound system designed by LSD chemist, Owsley Stanley. Jr.

The Wall of Sound fulfilled Owsley’s desire for a distortion-free sound system that could also serve as its own monitoring system.

After Stanley got out of prison in late 1972, he, Dan Healy and Mark Raizene of the Grateful Dead’s sound crew, in collaboration with Ron Wickersham, Rick Turner, and John Curl of Alembic, combined six independent sound systems using eleven separate channels, in an effort to deliver high-quality sound to audiences.

Vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and piano each had their own channel and set of speakers.

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Picture of the Day

Johnny Cash Shaking Hands with Glen Sherley, Folsom Prison, 1968

Johnny Cash shakes hands with Glen Sherley, the inmate who wrote and recorded the song “Greystone Chapel” that Cash performed during his famous Folsom Prison concert. The previous evening a copy of Sherley’s recording made its way into the hands of the country legend by way of a Folsom minister. As soon as Johnny Cash heard it he stayed up all night, learning the song. 

The night before I was going to record at Folsom prison, I got to the motel and a preacher friend of mine brought me a tape of a song called “Greystone Chapel.” He said a convict had written it about the chapel at Folsom. I listened to it one time and I said, “I’ve got to do this in the show tomorrow.” So I stayed up and learned it, and the next day the preacher had him in the front row. I announced, “This song was written by Glen Sherley.” It was a terrible, terrible thing to point him out among all those cons, but I didn’t think about that then. Everybody just had a fit, screaming and carrying on.

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Picture of the Day

lady guitar prison

(photo: Shane Speal)

“Lady”, an electric guitar built illegally by an inmate in a Pennsylvania State prison

This guitar came to life inside the 126-year-old jail that is so massive, it’s known locally as “The Wall.” Junior Ben had a broken guitar neck to start with. The heavy body was hand-carved from Pennsylvanian walnut and oak with white-painted binding. The hand-stamped brass truss rod cover has the word, “LADY,” a tribute to B.B. King’s “Lucille.”

All the wiring was smuggled in from the prison shops or pulled out of headphone jacks. All the knobs are spaced very closely together, a necessary step in order to keep wiring to a minimum.

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