Apologies if this has been flagged before. Pick of the day for Tuesday in today's Guardian:'Richard Thompson lives in LA, looks like a geography teacher on an adventure training expedition in the Pennines, and is one of the greatest living guitarists. Richard Thompson: Walking On A Wire (10.30pm, R2) features an in-depth interview alongside contributions from friends and admirers like Joe Boyd, Fairport Convention's Simon Nicol and former wife Linda Thompson, whom Richard dragged into Sufism for a while'.

Just reading a book of Richard William's pieces on music. It prompted me to listen again to the song 'Across the borderline' in various versions, which led to this one by Freddy Fender. The graphics are nothing special but at around 1.23 I became convinced the photo was Einstein! Maybe someone else did too as the name 'Freddy Fender' flashes up, presumably to prevent such confusion. Still not sure whose version of this song I like best as I enjoy just about any that I've heard. Anyone else have a definite preference?

Available as pdf on link below.
Answers in next week's paper.

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2008/07/31/film...

Just had one of those moments. Vanilla Fudge comes on, and I sing along to 'You Keep Me Hanging On', with all the correct phrasing, background vocals, instrument breaks and so on. Yet I spent my earlier formative years (I seem to be somewhat older than the median age of the Word Massive) dancing to the Supremes at Nuneaton Coop Hall. OK, Vanilla Fudge was the first 'heavy' LP (!) I bought, previous ones being the Beatles and the Stones, but why does that version stick? Anyone else have a particular version of a song that springs into their head, rather than another? Does everyone sing all the bits of the record, not just the main vocal, or is it just me? And for those who've never been there, here's the Fudge.

Here's a little holiday teaser for you. Five days after the assassination of John Lennon, radio engineer Rob Grayson compiled a montage of every Beatles song in alphabetical order and aired it following a ten minute period of silence. It lasts 16 minutes. How many can you name as they play? It's easy because you know they are in alphabetical order ... but it's hard because they come so fast!

http://waxy.org/2004/05/every_beatles_s/

And then when you're done follow the link to this amazing repository of recordings of Top40 Radio shows from the US.

http://www.reelradio.com/

Mystery of Lennon's black guitar solved

Apr 24 2008 by Sam Casey, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

IT'S one of the most talked about instruments in rock ‘n' roll history.

Speculation about how John Lennon's 1958 Rickenbacker 325 guitar got its distinctive black finish is still so lively, there is even an online blog Baby's in Black dedicated to the subject. Now it has been revealed the answer lies in the quiet village of Holme, and a man nicknamed ‘Ted the Sprayer.' Originally from Manchester, Ted Lee, 67, who lives at The Village, was part of the Manchester and Merseyside music scene in the 60s. He gained considerable renown for his skills with a paint spray gun and his ability to transform electric guitar bodies into any colour desired.

Rock stars beat a path to Barrett's music store in Manchester, where his specialist repair and refinishing services were much in demand. Brian Higham, who ran the shop, said: "In late 1962 Ted was asked to do a special job for the shop. "It was to spray black a Rickenbacker model 325 - originally in a natural finish - that belonged to John Lennon and also a Gretsch Duo Jet that belonged to George Harrison. "The Gretsch was already black but was in need of a respray. The job was done quite quickly, as I recall, as The Beatles were getting very busy, but despite the urgency, the job was done to Ted's usual high standard."

Ted started repairing and refinishing guitars in the late 50s for friends, before it grew into a business. He said: "I did some early work for Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman when they were with The Mindbenders and later, when they formed 10CC, I even toured with the band, looking after their instruments.

"When I resprayed Lennon and Harrison's guitars in black, Alan Clarke from The Hollies wanted the same finish, then other well-known bands followed suit."

Others who took advantage of his artistic touch included Roxy Music lead guitarist Phil Manzanera, Adam and The Ants co-creator Marco Pirroni and former King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.

Ted's CV also includes jobs for Justin Hayward, singer and composer with The Moody Blues and Simply Red co-founder Tony Bowers, all using Manchester-based HMG Paints.

He later taught at Leeds College of Music, where he helped found courses in the repair and construction of musical instruments.

Ted and his wife Brenda are now planning to emigrate to Australia.

Enjoyed recent posts on those themes but it made me think of pastiche and parody versions and other taking the piss situations. Just been looking on You Tube and enjoyed some Rutles, some Weird Al Yankovic and some Not The 9 o'clock News. Anyone have an absolute favourite they'd like to share?

From the Backstreets site
DANNY FEDERICI, 1950 - 2008
Danny Federici, the E Street Band's organist and keyboard player since its inception, died this afternoon, April 17, 2008 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City after a three-year battle with melanoma.

The Federici family and the E Street family request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund; more details on the Fund will be forthcoming.

The Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concerts scheduled for Friday in Ft. Lauderdale and Saturday in Orlando are being postponed. Replacement dates will be announced shortly.

If you go to http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html and scroll down you can find a video clip of Danny's last appearance with the E Street Band on March 20th.

Top of the head answer, no Googling ... what's the only Beatles album* to feature nothing but Lennon-McCartney compositions?
(*mainstream UK releases only ... no idea what variations Johnny Foreigner might have made)

Just been listening to a variety of stuff, including the Beatles, the Eagles and the Band. Made me think of singing drummers - Ringo (occasionally), Don Henley and Levon Helm. Who are the others? Karen Carpenter? Suggestions?

Apart from real oddities like Tiny Tim, who in more 'mainstream' rock and pop has the most peculiar voice? Any votes for the bloke from Supertramp? Family? Undertones? What do you reckon?

Did anyone manage to get a copy of the supposed double CD of the complete Elektra recordings? Seems to vanish in the haze everytime I look for it, bit like Neil Young's Archives. Always wanted to hear Sir Rod of Mod singing one of David's songs, opeing lines 'Every time you fall in love ...'.

Time to confess lack of understanding. I know that if I copy someone's CD or download illegally the artist doesn't get paid. But if I buy a second-hand CD, as I often do, they don't get paid? And if I buy copies from a sale does the artist get paid less? So the question is: when and how much does the artist get paid? When CDs are shipped to the wholesaler? To the retailer? Do paid-for downloads provide a more controlled rate of payment, each download producing the same revenue for the artist? Or do these have bulk pricing rates? Please explain.

Although my school days took place before those of Billy Bragg, a piece in his book (below) struck me to the heart with its truth. Do other 'older' Word readers have similar memories? And did those 'younger' Word readers have similar experiences in their more modern, possibly 'trendy', schooldays? And has it had an effect on ability to appreciate English folk music? I personally love the ballads but find the jigs and reels do not appeal.

'At Northbury Junior School, attempts were made to teach us English country dancing. Did no one realize the psychological damage that could be inflicted by forcing pre-teenage boys to hold hands with girls and skip in formation around an assembly hall? Or recognize that little could be learned during lessons that were prone to moments of violent over-enthusiasm interspersed with fits of giggling? If the aim was to connect us with our native traditions, country dancing had the opposite effect, inculcating me with a cultural aversion to morris dancing which, to be honest, I still struggle to suppress.'

If you hadn't heard it was great to hear that Danny Federici was back performing with the E Street Band again.

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html

http://www.backstreets.com/news.html