We're all about the history of rock & roll at BoomtownAmerica.com!
Every week, we present “ROCK REMEMBERED,” a deep dive into the hidden history of rock & roll, the stories behind the artists and songs that changed the world. Join host, “Boomtown Bill” Cross each Wednesday at 7 pm (Eastern) with an encore broadcast on Saturday at noon (Eastern).
Join us this Wednesday as we relive "The Brill Building Era of Rock & Roll!"
With the release of “Days of Future Passed," the Moody Blues went from “one hit wonders” to virtually pioneering the musical form that came to be known as “progressive rock.”
The Moody Blues began life as just another band from Britain that performed covers of American r&b records. They scored one hit with “Go Now” during the first wave of the British Invasion in 1964. But like a lot of the white boys performing American black music, they found follow-up success elusive.
Between ’64 and ’67, the band reinvented itself with original members Denny Laine and Clint Warwick departing and new members Justin Hayward and John Lodge joining Ray Thomas, Mike Pinder, and Graeme Edge. Their sound became more ambitious as keyboardist Pinder picked up a new instrument called a mellotron, which was capable of producing sounds very close to an orchestra’s string section.
The stunning success of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” album sent rock bands everywhere scurrying to create their own concept albums. The band’s label, Deram – a subsidiary of Decca – asked if they would like to record their second album with the London Festival Orchestra to demonstrate the potential of Decca’s new recording studio. Inspired, the Moodies hit on a truly great concept…an album that would cover a single day from dawn until night.
While the album took over 6 months to record (May through early November in 1967), the project isn’t really much of a collaboration between the orchestra and the band. In fact, they only perform together on “Nights in White Satin.” The rest of the album either features the band or the orchestra, but not playing together.
Hard to believe, but “Days of Future Passed” did not find much success initially. The first single released was “Tuesday Afternoon” [listed on the album under the title “Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)”]. The song cracked the American Top 40, peaking at #24, while completely failing to chart in their native England. The follow-up, “Nights in White Satin,” bombed in both countries.
But the album pleased their label enough that they were given another shot. Their third album, “In Search of the Lost Chord,” quickly became a staple of early progressive radio. Its success sent listeners in search, not of the lost chord, but of the band’s previous album, “Days of Future Passed.”
As copies of the album finally began to sell, Deram re-released “Nights in White Satin” in 1972. This time, it shot up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and became the Moody Blues' signature song.
Of course, the Moodies went on to a long, successful career. Original bandmate Denny Laine eventually found success with Paul McCartney’s Wings, and “Days of Future Passed” is now recognized as one of the first and best progressive rock albums and an essential part of any Baby Boomer's music collection.
Every Baby Boomer remembers Mister Ed, the talking horse who caused trouble for his owner Wilbur Post. But Ed was actually a rip-off, a cheap TV imitation!
Before Ed ever opened his mouth there was Francis the Talking Mule!
Frances was created by U.S. Army Captain David Stern III. He was in charge of an Army newspaper during WWII. Bored by a lack of news one afternoon, Stern wrote four pages of fanciful dialogue between a U.S. solider and a stubborn Army mule. Intrigued, he expanded the idea into a series of short stories that were subsequently published by Esquire magazine. Stern wrote the stories in the first person and adopted as a pen name, Peter Stirling, the 2nd lieutenant who Francis befriended in the stories.
After the war, Stern adapted three of them into a Francis novel. Universal Pictures bought the film rights. In 1950, Francis (no, “the Talking Mule” was not a part of the title) debuted in movie theaters and became a solid money maker for the studio.
The first film set the formula for the series. Legendary song and dance man, Donald O’Connor played Peter Stirling. Veteran cowboy actor, Chill Wills (uncredited) provided Francis’ voice. Initially in each picture, Francis would only talk to Stirling. Stirling would take advice from Francis, complications would arise, hilarity would ensure, only to resolve itself when Francis would finally speak in front of others. Closing credits. Fade out. At the start of the next picture, the world would conveniently forget there was ever a talking mule and the cycle would repeat itself.
The initial Frances film spawned 6 sequels:
- Francis Goes to the Races (1951)
- Francis Goes to West Point (1952)
- Francis Covers the Big Town (1953)
- Francis Joins the WACS (1954)
- Francis in the Navy (1955)
- Francis in the Haunted House (1956)
Stern actually wrote a sequel to his first Francis novel called Francis Goes to Washington, but for reasons long forgotten, that novel was never adapted into a movie.
O’Connor and Willis left the series after Francis in the Navy with Mickey Rooney and Paul Frees assuming their roles. Most agree that Francis and the Haunted House was the weakest of the series.
Francis was actually played by a female mule named Molly, who got the part because she was easy to train and had a very gentle personality.
The Francis series was popular enough to spawn a bit of merchandise including a Dell comic book that ran for 17 issues.
After the series ran out of gas in movie theaters, the director Arthur Lubin and trainer Les Hilton wanted to bring Francis to TV. When they found they couldn’t secure the rights, they discovered another series of books about a talking animal. Those rights Lubin was able to purchase. The character in those books was a talking horse named “Mister Ed.”
And the rest in television history!
All 7 Francis films are available on home video. While not on the level of, say, Abbott & Costello’s best, they are serviceable little comedies made in a time when talking out of an ass was not such a bad thing!
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Somehow I doubt you'd still find these at Woolworth's. As a matter of fact, it's probably pretty difficult to even find a Woolworth's these days.
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