Years ago while living in Boston someone said that Burton Cummings was doing a concert downtown.(pictured with Jim Hilliard, Deno Corrie and me)
A bunch of us from the station went down during the lunch hour and caught his act but because he had to do an interview with the Boston Globe right after the show he invited me back to his dressing room so we could chat. When asked by the reporter what his most memorable moments were Burton replied that in 1964 there were a lot of bands in Winnipeg which George knows about because he had a band called The Jury. We were all very aware that there was a new group from England called the Beatles who were getting Elvis style reactions to their new sound but we had no idea how overwhelmed we were about to be by their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Soon afterwards we were growing our hair out like theirs, dressing like them, and most of all trying to sound like them. Some of us like George and me were lucky enough to actually release our own records.
Years later after playing with the Guess Who then going on my own I was invited to join Ringo Starr and his All Starr band for a world tour and I’ll never forget the day I was just sitting there kinda looking out the plane’s window while listening to some oldies on my I pod when heard the pilot tell us to buckle up because we were on final for Liverpool. At that very moment “I want To Hold Your Hand” blasted through my earphones and when I also discovered Ringo was sitting next to me I remember thinking … I can’t believe it, I’m playing with the f**king Beatles man!
A bunch of us from the station went down during the lunch hour and caught his act but because he had to do an interview with the Boston Globe right after the show he invited me back to his dressing room so we could chat. When asked by the reporter what his most memorable moments were Burton replied that in 1964 there were a lot of bands in Winnipeg which George knows about because he had a band called The Jury. We were all very aware that there was a new group from England called the Beatles who were getting Elvis style reactions to their new sound but we had no idea how overwhelmed we were about to be by their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Soon afterwards we were growing our hair out like theirs, dressing like them, and most of all trying to sound like them. Some of us like George and me were lucky enough to actually release our own records.
Years later after playing with the Guess Who then going on my own I was invited to join Ringo Starr and his All Starr band for a world tour and I’ll never forget the day I was just sitting there kinda looking out the plane’s window while listening to some oldies on my I pod when heard the pilot tell us to buckle up because we were on final for Liverpool. At that very moment “I want To Hold Your Hand” blasted through my earphones and when I also discovered Ringo was sitting next to me I remember thinking … I can’t believe it, I’m playing with the f**king Beatles man!
OTHER ABSTRACT STUFF…
It’s not against the law for lawyers to lie so seeing as most of congress is lawyers so how’s this ever gonna work.
You might as well laugh at yourself because if you don’t others will surely do it for you.
Where you came from always shapes where you’re going.
Lust and greed are the only things that make a man fearless.
You never ever get over true love.
How come others are aware that somebody adores you long before you are.
Crazy people never wonder if they are crazy.
When you can go to bed when you want, get up when you want, and do anything you want in between then and only then have you made it!
Ray Charles may have been blind but he sure had great vision.
A quick thank you may just be another way of saying … Leave me the f##k alone!
Am I still prejudice if what I think turns out to be true.
Sex is F**KING SERIOUS.
Is there anything better than makeup sex?
You’re only in charge until you want or need something from me.
Not voting is still a vote.
It is a lot easier to deal with something you did than something you didn’t do.
Enthusiasm is the ingredient you’ll need if you ever hope to produce anything great.
It’s a hell of a lot easier to figure out what you did wrong than figure out what you did that was right.
It is said that you can only become a great man once you forgive your enemies. Hmmmmmm!
Radio has two customers, listeners and clients but unfortunately they have very little in common.
The only good radio shows I ever heard were the ones that produced great promos.
How come the people who destroyed the radio business are still in charge of firing those who had nothing to do with the destruction.
When is someone gonna inform the government that World War One is over so the temporary income tax used to finance it with needs to be abolished.
If you have money there are very few places in the world that are not wonderful.
Pursuit of profit is a privilege not a right.
Why does big success always seem to lead to evil, answer me that Jared.
Getting permission to win is often harder to achieve than the win.
If it’s really about supply and demand, how come wine isn’t a dollar a bottle.
Has anybody from New Orleans ever sent a thank you note to whomever is responsible for the Super Bowl being played there so often.
As I post this from Southern California I’m a little bummed ’cause it’s raining but the Californians are celebrating!
Much more @ GeorgeJohns.com and on Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio
George, my late grandfather was a corporate attorney most of his life (after his short career as a talent agent for Dick Powell cratered six weeks after he and Powell ventured out to Los Angeles from Indianapolis for a sound-stage audition at several studios). My grandfather was a detail-oriented, scholarly man and convinced himself that he did not have to pay federal income taxes because he believed that tax law including the World War One point you noted among other items was on his side in the early 1960s. Sadly, after not paying his federal taxes for a period of five-years, the I.R.S. came calling. It was a very costly settlement, although he was allowed to keep his law license because the tax court appreciated his detailed defense, which was, of course, totally rejected. The tax court judge said, “Nice try, but you lose !”