The Shangri-Las have been cited as an influence on 1970s punk rockers Blondie and the New York Dolls. The group set itself apart from the girl groups of the 1960s by wearing skin-tight slacks and spike-heeled leather boots to promote a tough-girl image. Their first hit, “(Remember) Walking in the Sand,” reached the Top 5 in 1964. Its follow-up, “Leader of the Pack,” was a №1 hit later that year.

“Audrey as Alice was probably the first women’s libber on television,” Jackie Gleason told the San Rafael (CA) Independent Journal in 1976. “She always gave as good as she got. Many times, she had the last word.”

“Some people may not realize it but the Rascals were the first rock band in the world … in the center of the universe, New Jersey, the Rascals were the first band.” – Steven Van Zandt, 1997 Induction of the Rascals into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Fellow record collectors Al Trommers and Robert Plotnik opened Village Oldies in 1967 at 149 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. It was at the record shop that Trommers, known as Broadway Al, gave Plotnik the nickname Bleecker Bob. The partners moved to MacDougal Street in the 1970s.

Enjoy this opening chapter of the mini book, Hendrix: An Illustrated Look at the Life of Jimi Hendrix.

1. Ringo Starr rerecorded “Act Naturally” with A. Chet Atkins B. Buck Owens C. Carl Perkins

“Doctor’s Orders” was recorded on Midland International Records in the US by disco diva Carol Douglas and became a №9 hit on the Hot Soul Singles chart in 1975.

“Spanish Harlem” was Ben E. King’s first hit after leaving the Drifters. Written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector, the song was a №15 hit on the R&B chart in 1960. The song’s arrangement by Stan Applebaum features Spanish guitar and marimba to suggest the neighborhood’s Latino population and cultural heritage.

Ghost signs hold the secrets of businesses and products that vanished decades ago. Clues to our jobs, schools, places of worship, cafes, and concert halls are hidden in their stories. Forgotten brands, obsolete technologies, and surprising discoveries revealed during renovations are featured in the book, Ghost Signs 2: Clues to Uptown New York’s Past.

“Disco Inferno” was first recorded as the title track of the Trammps’ 1976 album. Released as a single, “Disco Inferno” only reached №53. When the Philadelphia group’s tune was included in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, “Disco Inferno” was re-released and shot up to №1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart.

Opened in the 1880s, the Chelsea Hotel has been a temporary home for many writers, artists, and actors. Years of disrepair earned the hotel its seedy reputation, which did nothing to discourage scores of musicians from visiting.

“Fame itself, of course, doesn’t really afford you anything more than a good seat in a restaurant,” David Bowie told Performing Songwriter. “I’m just amazed how fame is being posited as the be-all and end-all, and how many of these young kids who are being foisted on the public have been talked into this idea that anything necessary to be famous is all right. It’s a sad state of affairs.”

Louis C.K.’s 2008 Showtime concert film and CD Chewed Up was recorded at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston, “about a block from my first apartment after I moved out of my mom’s house when I was 18, back in 1986,” said C.K. Chewed Up was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special in 2009.

“Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.” — W. C. Fields

Before Steppenwolf formed, singer John Kay and guitarist Mars Bonfire were members of the Sparrows. Canadian-born Dennis McCrohan first changed his name to Dennis Edmonton and later to Mars Bonfire. The Sparrows broke up in 1967, leaving Bonfire time to drive into the mountains and deserts of Los Angeles in his used Ford Falcon.

When the Yardbirds formed in 1963, they called themselves Blue-Sounds; their repertoire was American blues and R&B. The Yardbirds name was inspired by Jack Kerouac’s classic novel On the Road. Kerouac described people he met as he traveled across the US, including those who hung around rail yards. He called them “rail yard hobos.” Another influence was jazz great Charlie Parker, often nicknamed “Yardbird” or “Bird.”

A story with excerpts from the Rick Gervais album Armageddon.

Genya Ravan fronted Ten Wheel Drive, the dynamic horn band formed in 1969. On Feb 6–7, 1971, Ten Wheel Drive performed at Fillmore East on a bill that featured bluesman Luther Allison, who opened the show, and headliner Steppenwolf.

“I’ve Seen All Good People” appeared on 1971’s The Yes Album. The song is in two parts. It opens with “Your Move,” released as a single in 1971 that reached №40. It closes with “All Good People.” The combination, “I’ve Seen All Good People,” was written and sung by Jon Anderson.

“Harper Valley PTA” was Jeannie C. Riley’s only pop hit but it made her the first woman to reach №1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Singles charts with the same song.