Episode 45 is musically charged. It begins with the story of the Cape Cod Melody Tent. Before it was the premiere entertainment location on the Cape it was a Music Circus in a grassy field near Hyannis' Main Street. Learn all about how it started.
This week's Road Trip takes us to where the first English settlement in America began. Historic Jamestowne Virginia is a fascinating look back over 400 years and is still sharing its secrets thanks to current archaeological digs happening there.
We go way Back In the Day to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of U2's Achtung Baby. One of the top albums by one of the top bands at their absolute peak. It was released at a pivotal time in my life and I will dive deep into why this album still resonates so deeply with me after 30 years.
The musical themes keep going with a special Top 5 list counting down the biggest Disco Era Artists. Some will be no-brainers, others might be surprising, but they all had a major impact on the fleeting craze known as disco.
There's also a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around my mother's birthday which is a lot of fun to share!
Be sure to watch for my livestreams called Without A Map Friday's at 8pm on Instagram which serve as a sort of postgame show for the podcast. Find them on IGTV after they've finished.
Helpful Links from this Episode(available through Buzzsprout)
Listen to Episode 44 here.
Episode 45 is musically charged. It begins with the story of the Cape Cod Melody Tent. Before it was the premiere entertainment location on the Cape it was a Music Circus in a grassy field near Hyannis' Main Street. Learn all about how it started.
This week's Road Trip takes us to where the first English settlement in America began. Historic Jamestowne Virginia is a fascinating look back over 400 years and is still sharing its secrets thanks to current archaeological digs happening there.
We go way Back In the Day to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of U2's Achtung Baby. One of the top albums by one of the top bands at their absolute peak. It was released at a pivotal time in my life and I will dive deep into why this album still resonates so deeply with me after 30 years.
The musical themes keep going with a special Top 5 list counting down the biggest Disco Era Artists. Some will be no-brainers, others might be surprising, but they all had a major impact on the fleeting craze known as disco.
There's also a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around my mother's birthday which is a lot of fun to share!
Be sure to watch for my livestreams called Without A Map Friday's at 8pm on Instagram which serve as a sort of postgame show for the podcast. Find them on IGTV after they've finished.
Helpful Links from this Episode(available through Buzzsprout)
Listen to Episode 44 here.
Intro
Hello world. Welcome in to the in my footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund. And it is now time for episode 45. I'm coming to you as always from the vacation destination known as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. And this week's episode is going to be a fun one. It's going to be music to your ears because it's going to be a lot of music featured. We're going to start off with the story of Cape Cod's premier music and entertainment establishment for the last 70 years. Before it was a melody Tent It was a Music Circus and you'll learn all about it. We're gonna go way way back in the day, 30 years ago this week, as I talk all about U2's Achutng baby album, which is one of my all-time favorite albums and I'll tell you why. There's going to be a brand new top five that's going to feature some of the best disco-era artists. So all those ones that made the disco music that people of my generation knew as little kids. There's a new this week in history centered around the famous Milli Vanilli lip-syncing controversy. And we're going to take a road trip to the amazing historic Jamestown, Virginia. All of that more coming up right now on episode 45 of the in my footsteps podcast. How's everybody doing this week, I hope you've had a great week and weekend, whatever you've been doing since we last chatted, it's definitely been a fun and eventful time. I always joke that life is never boring. At least mine is never boring. So for those of you that tuned in to the livestream on Friday at 8pm, I do those on Instagram every week, they're called without a map. But those of you that tuned into the live stream, I believe this was two weeks ago, I kind of shared some breaking news I've been hinting and alluding to it a lot on the podcast and on social media, Twitter, etc, that I've been working on a pair of books, one I've told you all about. It's called photographers, America, I'm doing a Cape Cod beyond the dunes photo book, which will likely see the light of day at the end of the summer of 2022. So that one was common knowledge. But there was another secret one that I'm kind of I've been working on. But it's less certain because I don't have a publisher and I don't have a literary agent. So I've been kind of keeping it close to the vest. And I don't want to give away too much now, but I'll kind of clue you in a little bit more about what I'm doing. This other project that's semi-secret is a Cape Cod True Crime book. And it's going in conjunction with a documentary film that is in the final editing stages. It is set for a premiere in April, and could end up being distributed nationwide. And such. It's a project that is very close to my heart, because it's something having grown up on Cape Cod that I'm very familiar with. And I'm thrilled to be a part of what could be a big break in this true crime story. Currently, the book that I'm working on is just over 46,000 words in length, which is for those of you that know the six previous books that I've worked on, none of them are longer than 40,000 words in length. So if you've read historic restaurants or Cape Cod nights, or historic hotels and motels, none of them are more than 40,000 words. And the current book is over 46,000. And I'm I mean maybe halfway through it, and it's really exciting. It's like being in a movie, and things are still happening with it. Even though the director of the documentary he's trying to move on to his next project. There's still a lot of stuff opening up. And I told him just to funnel it all to me because I'm not done with the book. It ties in a lot of Cape Cod's infamous murders and unsolved crimes, and it's going to be awesome, I really hope that I get a literary agent and I get a big publisher to put this book through. Because I feel like this documentary and this book could end up being the biggest thing that I do as far as writing goes. So that's, that's a little bit more into what I've been doing. I know I didn't share a ton like I'm not giving you the case. And I'm not because I'm hoping that I don't jinx it by sharing everything. But it's something that's close to the heart. And I'm hoping we'll be seeing the light of day sometime next year. And you may or may not definitely may be getting an interview with the documentaries film director coming up in April on the podcast, so that'll probably be where I really break things down. But speaking of breaking it down, we've got a lot of music to get to in Episode 45 There's a good segue right there. And we're going to start off with Cape Cod's premier music entertainment establishment complex. It's been going strong for 70 years now. So coming up right now is the story of the Cape Cod Melody tent going all the way back to when it was The Music Circus right now on episode 45 of the in my footsteps podcast.
Cape Cod Melody Tent
When it comes to nightlife and the entertainment factor which comes along with it, there's no location on Cape Cod that can match the list of talent that has passed under the flaps of the Cape Cod Melody 10. for over 70 years, it has been wowing audiences throughout the summer. The well-known acts intimate seating, and the mixture with the summer air had made it a destination for visitors and locals alike. Way back in the beginning though, the melody tense list of performers and shows looked far different from what you get today with musicians and comedians. It's an open-air entertainment complex. And that concept began back in 1948, in the town of Lambertville, New Jersey, and it was the brainchild of a man named St. John Terrell. So Broadway actress Gertrude Lawrence was vacationing in southern Florida, when she happened upon a circus tent where actors were performing. It was basically a modern take on the theater in the round which was established in ancient Rome in Greece. The tented Theatre in Miami Beach called a Music Circus impressed her so much that she told her husband noted Broadway producer Richard Aldrich, who at the time owned the Cape Playhouse in Dennis as well as the Falmouth Playhouse at Coonan. Mehsud being a Broadway producer Aldrich was able to parlay his previous successes to gain buzz for his project. A piece of open field located at the intersection of Main Street and high school Road in Hyannis was chosen as the home for all riches new music venture. It was dubbed the Cape Cod Music Circus and would be the first such venue in New England. It was a fireproof tent that could seat 1000 spectators and would hold events over a 10-week summer season. Aldrich would present the high-class musicals, comedies and operas that he was used to seeing and producing on Broadway. Though they would not have the scenery due to space constraints, there would be lavish costumes were needed and a nine-piece orchestra. After months of anticipation and hype in the local newspapers opening night of the Cape Cod Music Circus came on July 4 1950. And this was a performance of Sigmund Romberg's operetta the new moon. There was a crowd of 880 people who packed the debut, and this included famed actress Lillian Gish and comedian Fred Allen, and some local politicians. So the grand opening the debut was a hit. And despite the difficulty of producing weekly shows, due to the lack of scenery and proximity to the audience, the first season of the Cape Cod Music Circus went off without a hitch for Aldrich and his associate Julius Fleischmann ending the inaugural season on Labor Day weekend, with a performance of Showboat. Interestingly, after the first season ended in December of 1950, the tent and all of its chairs were moved from Hyannis to St. Petersburg, Florida, and would be a part of the new Treasure Island Music Circus, which was a joint venture with Music Circus originator St. John Terrell. In addition to that, St. Petersburg venture, Aldrich opened another open-air music venue in nearby Cohasset, Massachusetts in the summer of 1951. naming it the South Shore Music Circus. Richard Aldrich, who was a commander of the Navy was called to active duty during the Korean War before the start of the 1951 Music Circus season, so he was replaced in management by his friend and New York lawyer David Holtzman. The season opened with Moss Harts the great waltz, which the event was attended by nearly 1000 people on a cool evening on July 2 1951. The success of the debut of season two of the Cape Cod Music Circus was followed by a new five-year lease sign that August to keep the Music Circus at its location just off of Main Street Hyannis. Aldrich also managed to keep the ticket prices stable for the shows. They'd average out to roughly one to $3 for a ticket to a show, depending on the day and the time. And this was despite costs increasing to keep the Music Circus going. But those increasing costs began to catch up to the Music Circus. Early in 1953. Worries arose that Aldrich could not return in The Music Circus site just off Main Street, and he was trying to figure out a way to expand the Music Circus without losing that intimate setting. But all of those worries were put on the back burner when, on June 16 1953. A lawsuit for breach of contract was filed by the originator of the Music Circus concept St. John Terrell against Aldrich and the Cape Cod Music Circus. Terrell claim that in March 1950, he had agreed to help set up the Cape Cod Music Circus, and produce or supply shows for a weekly fee and percentage of the gate. All bridges a lawyer shot back that Terrell actually breached the contract by not creating the music circuits of America Corporation as he had promised. While the proceedings were ongoing, The Music Circus was dealt a huge blow when the plot of land it resided on was sold to the up-and-coming Stop and Shop supermarket chain. That meant that the Cape Cod Music Circus would have to be moved in time for the 1954 season. Aldrich had five sites in mind, but he made a promise to keep the Music Circus in Hyannis. In December 1953. The courts found in favor of Terrell and this decision forced the Music Circus name to be dropped. making the best of a bad situation contest was held to find a new name. And in January 1954, the Cape Cod Melody tent was born, shockingly 2 people submitted the same name and were given grand prizes of two Season Passes. They were Mildred Hobbs and noted local historian of the time Donald Traser. Now with a new name, the melody tent relocated to a piece of property along West Main Street, just behind the former Dutch land farms restaurant. The new locale would have hardtop flooring upgraded from the dirt and grass of the old Music Circus and being moved there. It also ushered in the need for the West End rotary to be built to account for the increased traffic, a larger tent with slender poles was created. This allowed less obstructed viewing, while holding the capacity of 1100 people. Fittingly the first-ever event at the new Cape Cod Melody Tent would be fan favorite Jim Hawthorne, starring in the student prince, and this was followed up by Oklahoma and the melody Tent was off to the races. With the melody Tent established Richard Aldrich sold off his interests in the company, leaving his attorney David Holtzman in charge. Aldrich remained a consultant and stayed on as a producer at the Cape Playhouse and Falmouth Playhouse until his contractual obligations ran out. As the 1960s donned slowly, the melody Tent began shifting its attention from musicals and operas to shorter engagements with traditional musical acts. The establishment itself saw major upgrades. In 1975, the theater bowl was converted from wooden risers to concrete, with the aisleways being redesigned to make viewing easier. The changes over the years allowed the melody tend to increase its capacity up to 2300 people and this helped make it more of a destination for some of the biggest stars in entertainment. Just some of the legends who have played under the melody 10 include Aretha Franklin, BB King, Bob Marley, Chicago, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Duke Ellington, George Carlin Hall and Oates, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles and ZZ Top just to name a few. And now 70 years on Cape Cod Melody Tent remains a fixture on Cape Cod. It's come a long way from the grassy field along Main Street. Although some people may have ended up at nearby places like the paddock or Mary jeans to finish their evenings off. The melody Tent became a huge part of Cape Cod's nightlife scene. And it's basically been unchallenged for 70 years except for that brief time when the Cape Cod Coliseum was in existence. And you can check out episode 26 of the podcast to hear about the history of the Cape Cod Coliseum. But that's the story of the melody Tent. Have any of you been to the melody tent? I've obviously been there many times living on Cape Cod. I saw the World Wrestling Federation action there in 1998. And I've seen bands like Blues Traveler and fuel and Toad the wet sprocket just to name a few. But it's still going strong more than 70 years in the melody Tent is the king of Cape Cod music and entertainment complexes for sure.
Road Trip: Jamestowne, VA
this week's road trip segment is going to bring us to a place that was one of the main attractions on my 2100-mile 2019 road trip, historic Jamestown, Virginia. It sits just over 50 miles northwest of Norfolk, Virginia. And as of 2019, it has a population of 15,339. But when it all comes down to it, the actual historic Jamestown the original settlement area, that was what I wanted to see above all else. For those of you not familiar with Jamestown and its importance, it was the beginning of European settlements permanent European settlements in America. On May 14 1607, the Virginia Company settlers landed on Jamestown Island to establish an English colony 60 miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. And this location of the settlement was a pretty secure spot that would protect the settlers from Spanish ships. And there were almost immediate run-ins with members of the Powhatan Native American tribe. And it was rough at the beginning. There was disease, famine and attacks from the Powhatan tribe that almost ended the settlement. It could have easily ended up just like The Last Colony of Roanoke, which occurred about 20 years earlier. And if you don't know that story, stay tuned because I visited that place on my road trip too. So I'll go way deeper into that in a future podcast episode. Jamestown is the one there have been movies made about it. This is where Captain John Smith, he's a very famous historical name. There's also Pocahontas, who was the favorite daughter of the Chief of the Powhatan tribe, and she married tobacco grower John Rolfe. It's an amazing and somewhat overwhelming place of historical significance. When you go there, you drive up and there's a museum. So you park and you walk into the museum and you pay to go out. But it's not right there, you have to walk this long boardwalk that kind of goes over the wetlands area to get out to where the actual settlement was. And what's really neat about historic Jamestown, and the actual site is there are still archaeological digs going on there. They have found the graves of settlers, they've excavated around the original James fort, which was what was built in 1607. That was kind of what they used in that first period where it was kind of rough going up until 1624. And by that point, they were kind of firmly established as a settlement. So they were expanding beyond that James fort. One of the really neat spots for me was the Memorial Church, which is a brick church. It was built in 1907. But it's built above where one of the original churches in Jamestown was built, and where the colonists met in 1619 for the first representative assembly in English, North America. And what's neat as you walk in, it's a beautiful building. I've got photos, I'll share a photo on social media, but they're excavating in and around it. And you can see the panels from the original church and it's protected. You can't go down there and mess with it. But it's so neat to see pieces of history from 400 years ago, I won't be able to do justice to what it's like to be there standing among actual ruins of the first permanent settlement in this country by Europeans. There are bits of brick walls and remains of forts and abandoned buildings and archaeological excavations going on. I would highly recommend if you're anywhere near that area to go to 1368 colonial Parkway in Jamestown to the historic Jamestown visitor center and just buy a ticket go out there. If you want to get a tour, get a tour, I went and just walked on my own and just kind of soaked it all in. You're right on the water. There are plaques and monuments everywhere. You can also learn more at historic jamestown.org They've got everything you can possibly need to whet your appetite to get you to want to go there historic Jamestown as part of kind of a triple threat of places in the area along with Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg. But there's more to see than just that. Those just happen to be the places that are really heavily promoted. You can go and check out the Williamsburg winery located at 5800 West 600 and Williamsburg it's the largest winery in Virginia accounting for a quarter of all the wine produced in the state. And it's more than just a winery, you can also stay there. Wedmore place is the bed and breakfast where you can stay on the property. And they also have the Gabriel Archer tavern where you can eat so it's all-encompassing, you could literally go and stay at the winery and then go visit historic Jamestown, and it would be a huge awesome couple of days. Visit them at Williamsburg winery.com and get all the information you could possibly need. If you don't want to stay at the winery, you can always visit the beach. The Jamestown beach event Park is located at 2205 Jamestown Road in Williamsburg. It's obviously a beautiful beachfront area for swimming and wildlife viewing. There's an observation deck. But if you want to stay out in that area, you can't camp at that place, but there is camping. And I know right now it's November and it's not really camping weather. But hey, maybe you're listening to this podcast in the spring or summer and you're itching to go camping. So you can go to the Chickahominy Riverfront Park. And that's at 1350 John Tyler highway in Williamsburg. They've got over 120 campsites, including campsites for large groups, you can go down there and see all this take your RV and then enjoy the great outdoors. That sounds perfect to me. Find out more about it at James city, county va.gov. They've got a ton of great info about it. But for me when it comes down to it, historic Jamestown, the settlement site, is the must-see place. And that's what I'm circling back to it on this road trip segment. If you've been listening to the podcast, you know how much I love history and exploring and the travel and seeing new things and discovering old things. Historic Jamestown is all of that. And it's ever-changing because of the archaeological digs. They're always finding new things. So that's what really makes it neat. You've got the well-known stories of Pocahontas and John Smith, and just how the settlement grew and how it almost failed within the first few years. And it's kind of that ground zero for European settlement in North America. And me being on Cape Cod where the Pilgrims first landed, it's neat to see a spot where Europeans actually settled 13 years earlier. As I said, check out historic jamestown.org Jamestown is with an EA spelled on it to help you find it. And better yet, go there, get a ticket, walk out to the settlement. Take a tour if you're not familiar with it, or just walk around on your own. There are so many amazing photo opportunities with the water and the old broken-down pieces of the fort and the church. Oh, it's amazing. Historic Jamestown, Virginia was a spot that was so high up on my bucket list for that road trip. And it lived up to the hype for sure, in my opinion. And I know that during this road trip segment, you've heard me mention Williamsburg a lot because they're basically part of the same area. So coming up in Episode 47. In two weeks, there'll be a new road trip segment. And I'm going to be at Colonial Williamsburg. So that'll be kind of the other side of the coin with this one. And that's going to be what's coming up next time on the next road trip as we keep rolling on through this amazing journey that I did two years ago this week really is when I was doing this trip. And the more of these road trips segments that I do. This is the eighth one from that road trip. The more I realize how much I saw and took in and how much I want to do this again. And we're not done yet. I got more road trip segments from this trip coming up starting in two weeks.
Sponsor: Wear Your Wish
November is here. That's the month that has Thanksgiving in it. And there's so much to be thankful for health friends and family, but it's also the birth month of the Creator, owner CEO of where your wish Katie marks. Katie has worked so hard on her clothing accessory apparel line and so much more. There are always new things to check out at wear your wishes.com. They've got new boho T shirts, check out the double-layer feather anklet in the jewelry. There's so much more there for bracelets for T shirts, and sweatshirts. There's fashions for all ages, all genders all times of year for gifts for yourself. All of it high-quality merchandise is created with love straight from the mind of Katie marks. Anything from jogger sweatpants to tote bags to tabletop fountains and there's always new stuff coming out. Whatever I mentioned now for November, there's going to be new stuff coming out in the next weeks. Things for Thanksgiving for Christmas for New Year's for spring, it's all there. There's wearable aromatherapy, sacred chakra wellness stone kit, there are things you wouldn't even think of if you go to Wear your wishes.com and check out the Wear your wish brand you're going to find something you want for yourself or something that you want to give to others. And that is the whole point. Giving something wonderful to someone wonderful. And Katie marks at Wear your wish does that. So visit them today Wear your wishes.com and find that special something for that special someone.
This Week In History
Oh man this week in history, this is one story that I'm so excited to share. This is a great one from my childhood that I'm sure a lot of you that are my age around my age will be very familiar with. So we're going back 31 years ago this week, November 19 1990. And that is when Milli Vanilli was stripped of their Best New Artist Grammy Award. Boy where do I start with this? So for those of you that have no idea who Milli Vanilli was. They were an up-and-coming r&b Dance duo consisting of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. Their debut album in 1989 was called girl you know it's true and it had so many huge songs I mean, this duo they were mammoth, girl, you know it's true was a huge song. Blame it on the rain was a huge song, girl I'm gonna miss you as another huge song Baby Don't forget my number. And even all or nothing that's five songs right there that were massive hits. And by all accounts, Rob and fab were the singers. They were good-looking guys, they could dance. It just seemed like the sky was the limit for them. But those of you that know the story know what happens next. So during a live performance on MTV on July 21 1989, their song started to skip girl you know, it's true, it kept skipping girl, you know, it's girl, you know, it's and they tried to play it off. Like it was just part of the song. But Rob Pilatus in the middle, he just ran off stage. And I guess things didn't really click because they were such a huge group at the time, that people didn't really make much of it. But that was kind of the beginning of the end. The big final nail for them came so in Europe, they released their album, it was called All or nothing over there. And not Girl You Know It's True like in America in the American version, Rob and fab were listed as the only singers on the album. And singer Charles Shaw came out and said that he was one of three actual singers on the album that Rob and fab were impostors and he was eventually paid to retract his statement. But these things kept adding up and it finally reached a breaking point when Milli Vanilli got the Grammy for Best New Artist and then the floodgates opened. With all the growing speculation Roband fab went to their management and said they wanted to sing on the next album to prove they could sing. And they were subsequently fired. And the management came out and said they did not say they were lip-syncing the whole time. And then there was the world-famous press conference where they admitted to everything had their Grammy Awards and said I guess we got to return these now. And there's so much more to this story of Milli Vanilli but this was kind of the big revelation moment 31 years ago this week in history when Milli Vanilli was stripped of their Best New Artist Grammy Award. And it's now time for a special new time capsule like I had promised on last week's episode, we are going back to the birth date of my mom Laurie so she can remember what was going on the day that she came into this world November 14 1957. The number one song was Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley. The song was released in the film of the same name Jailhouse Rock, and it was number one for seven weeks. The song is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's routinely considered one of the top 100 songs ever written. And if you're wondering the movie Jailhouse Rock made $4 million at the box office on a budget of $1 million dollars and currently has an 80% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes so I guess it did pretty well. The number one movie was pal Joey. It starred Rita Hayworth Kim Novak and Frank Sinatra. It's loosely based on the Rodgers and Hart musical play of the same name, and it included the famous lady is a tramp song by Frank Sinatra and Sinatra even won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. It made $7 million total on a budget of $3 million. And it just like Elvis’s Jailhouse Rock has an 80% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The number one TV show was the Lucy Desi Comedy Hour. Interestingly, this was a comedy variety show but it wasn't a cereal program. It was more like one-offs so they did 13 different episodes. And this was the first one in November 1957 with the last one coming in April 1960. Obviously, it starred real-life husband and wife Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, who had become world-famous on the I Love Lucy show. They were popular but it was also they were kind of the replacement for I Love Lucy went from being a sitcom to these specials. They were kind of a compromise because the cast from I Love Lucy we're getting tired of the weekly grind of doing the TV show. So these one-off comedy variety shows were kind of the compromise for that. And if you were watching that Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour back on November 14 1957, and you were hungry for something to eat, but didn't want to go out and didn't want to really spend a lot of time cooking. You could get yourself a Swanson TV dinner for 75 cents. TV dinner was coined by the inventor of it Jerry Thomas, and the first Swanson TV dinners were Thanksgiving ones in the little metal trays, Turkey, cornbread, stuffing frozen peas and sweet potatoes. But that wraps up a new time capsule celebrating my mom Lori's birthday it has passed by the time this comes out. But you can reflect I had honestly hoped there were more famous things that happened on your birthday. But I guess Elvis having a number one song and Lucy and Desi having the number one TV show was pretty good. And I hope you enjoyed your birthday and the present that I got you. And I love you and I will celebrate more with you as the holidays go on Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I'll be back in two weeks with another time capsule and another this week in history. But now we get to dive back into some more music as I give you my thoughts. On my top five disco-era artists. This is going to be a lot of fun. So get ready for that
Top 5: Disco Era Artists
Boy, here we go. Disco, disco era. This was basically the popular music of the time when I was born in 1977. And I thought, what better top five to do then some of my picks for the top five disco-era artists. Now the first thing is what's the disco era? It's kind of subjective. You could say it started as early as 1970 when David Monusco opened the loft in New York City, and you can pick that or any year of the early 70s. For me what I'm picking is when the disco chart in Billboard began. And that chart debuted on November 2 1974. So I'm picking 1974 is kind of my cutoff date. As far as the end of disco that again, that's all relative, you could say it's as early as 1979. With the Disco Demolition night, you could go in the early 80s I kind of see it as cooling the gang, their big hit fresh it from 1984 is kind of the last gasp of disco. It was probably already dead by then. But that was the last gasp. So we're going in between there 74 to about 84 Yours may be different. Your top five will probably definitely be different. But here are some honorable mentions for the top disco-era artists. And they include Sheikh Abba, the Commodores and Earth Wind and Fire and Abba just actually released their first new album and 40 years so maybe disco is not dead. But I digress. The top five disco-era artists remember this is in no particular order. Number one is the BGS and there may not be any band group artists it's more synonymous with disco than the Beegees staying alive is like the biggest disco song released in my opinion. Jive Talking, you should be dancing. How deep is your love? There are so many that soundtrack Saturday Night Fever that was basically out when I was born. That's a staple. I talked about the singles movie soundtrack from 90 to being kind of the definition of grunge music. While Saturday Night Fever was the definition of disco music. And they actually wrote other songs that became hits for other people. So their reach was huge. They wrote the song Greece, the theme song for the movie Greece, wrote the song emotion, the song if I can't have you listen to those that's written by members of the Bee Gees. So they are definitely deserving of a top-five spot. Number two, the Village People. Here's another one that's just synonymous with disco. YMCA is still it's played in probably every wedding that goes on. It's like, almost cliche now. And they were dressed in costumes. Back in 1999. I remember dressing as the village people when I worked in the restaurant business, I was the cop. They also had songs in the Navy and macho man. I mean, that literally that's when you think of disco you think of village people and like I said Bee gees and sorry, I put that earworm in your head right there with YMCA. I know you can hear it right now. I'd played if I could, but I don't know if I'd get in trouble on the podcast. Number three disco-era artists if KC and the Sunshine Band. They were formed by Harry Wayne Casey, who was the Casey of the band, and they have just a huge list of hit songs. That's the way I like it. Shake your booty Boogie shoes. Keep it comin' love. I'm your boogie man. I mean, right there. Those are all huge disco hits. They had five number-one singles. I think I just named them all. And KC and the Sunshine Band and along with the village people, they're ones that they were literally like their moment in the sun was strictly that disco era Bee gees still kept going on afterward. And as you see the next two in the top five list did as well. So we'll get to number four, top five disco-era artists was cool in the gang. And these guys they're legends of r&b and disco and funk. And obviously cool in the gang had hits before and they stayed big after. But a lot of their hits are kind of concentrated in that era when disco was huge. As I said, I consider fresh from 1984 to be like the last gasp of disco. But during the height of disco while they had some huge hits. Songs like too hot and Ladies Night. Let's go dancing. Obviously celebration was a mammoth hit. So even though they had hits that could be considered r&b and funk, especially in the early 70s. There is no doubt they had some huge hits that crossed over into disco. And finally number five on the list of top five disco-era artists like I said in no particular order, but number five is Donna Summer. Why wouldn't she be included? She was the queen of disco. Just listen to last dance. And I mean that song is just amazing. She had other huge songs like I feel love on the radio, bad girls, hot stuff. And the iconic love to love you baby which the extended version is like soft-core porn for your ears. She sadly died in 2012 way too young. But no list of top five disco era artists could be complete without Donna Summer on it. And that's going to wrap up the top five disco-era artists. Do you like any of the songs from them? Do you have them on your playlists? Bee Gees village people KC and the Sunshine Band cool in the gang and Donna Summer. How do those pics match up with your own pics? And interestingly enough, the Billboard chart, the disco chart was still going until January 1993. It was kind of it became disco and dance. But it's interesting to think that I just said I think the disco era died in the early 80s You know 8384 But billboards still had disco in their charts until 93. I'll be back in two weeks with a new top five are always random. It makes it more fun to can't predict what's coming.
Back In the Day: U2 Achtung Baby 30 Years Later
When I sit and think about my favorite albums of all time, the ones that I could put on and play straight through never skipping a song and just being totally engrossed in the music. There are a few that come to mind. Nirvana's Nevermind is obvious, Michael Jackson's Thriller that brings me right back to childhood. Pearl Jam's 10, Stone Temple Pilots purple god I'm starting to make another top five list all right, no album spoke to me in a way that you choose Achtung baby did. And there's a reason why I'll get into that because some of you are probably saying but you preach about Nirvana's Nevermind as being like this album that changed your life. And that's true, it did. But you choose Achtung baby which came out 30 years ago this week had something that Nirvana's Nevermind didn't have. And that is my absolute favorite song of all time. And it's been my favorite song since the first time I heard it. And that is U2's one. As much as Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit became kind of this rallying cry in my heart and soul for the direction of my life. You choose one became a message that I wanted to carry for how to be as far as life went. And it's totally true and honest, U2's one is my favorite song ever. And the funny thing is that because I love it so much, and it's very special to me, in my heart, I hardly ever listened to it, it has to be a special moment because I don't ever want to cheapen the meaning of it by just playing it repeatedly. It's like having a favorite food. If you eat it every single night, it's not going to be as special. So that's kind of the way I see it. But for those of you that aren't familiar with it, the nuts and bolts are U2’s Achtung baby was released on November 18 1991, which is literally the date that this podcast goes live. So I thought it was fitting. This was their seventh studio album. And by this point, U2 had been around as far as albums went for 11 years. Their first album boy came out in 1980. And they broke through in 83. With their album war, with Sunday, Bloody Sunday on it and New Year's Day. By the time Achtung baby came out, they were already if not the biggest band in the world, one of the biggest bands in the world, thanks to the Joshua Tree, which is another seminal album, but I was a little too young to appreciate it. Achtung baby came out when I was 14 and in eighth grade. And I've said it before. It's like 12, 13, 14 When you're starting to I guess mature if, in this the loosest sense of the word. But when you're starting to mature and things start to mean more, you really start to have favorite foods and TV shows and music and hobbies and that all kind of comes together. So this was the first U2 album that I bought when it came out. I bought the CD, which I still have and it doesn't play because it's 30 years old, but still, I've said it before I did the 1991 year in music way back in episode eight. And I talked about that's kind of the year where everything changed obviously Nirvana's Nevermind was one of the leaders in the clubhouse there. But it's also there was the times I went from buying cassettes to CDs, including buying some of the same albums on both. But it was just one after another of these albums with music that just opened my mind up and U2 Achtung baby was the beginning of when they went from straight-up rock to kind of more experimental. Their next album Zooropa was kind of the perfect middle ground when they did pop after that that was way too far. And I'll do a segment in a future podcast about how the pop album almost killed their careers. But we won't get too much into that now. Achtung baby is 12 songs and 55 minutes of near-perfect music, in my opinion, starts off with this slightly fuzzed guitar intro to Zoo station and fades out with this atmospheric melodic end to love his blindness. And in between, it's just everything you could want in an album. The album sold 18 million copies worldwide and has been hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time. So it's not just me, but why do I like it? I mean, I've said all this stuff, but more so it's just all different types of songs. They got straight up rock like mysterious ways and even better than the real thing. You got slightly slower melodic songs like so cruel and who's going to ride your wild horses and underrated great songs like the fly and until the end of the world. And it's interesting because it's in a time when U2 music was starting to change and it hit me at a point in my life when things were starting to change as a teenager so it's kind of fitting that this album has stuck with me so much 30 years later, and this is peak U2 at their absolute best long before they were putting albums on your iPod or your iTunes without your consent, which I still liked the album. But still, I mean, that didn't go over well. This was back in the early 90s. And the time when rock music was still a thing that mattered. I mean, today, it's pretty much dead. Without the Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl, there'd be pretty much no rock music left. So it was a huge album and a huge genre of music by a huge band. And the thing about great music is that if it gets into your soul and becomes part of who you are, you can put it on at any point in time and go back to when you first heard it, and how it made you feel. And that's what Achtung baby does for me, I can put it on my laptop. And I probably will after I record this and shut my eyes and I'm 14 Again, about to leave Mattacheese middle school and go into high school, wondering who I was going to be what the future held with like torn jeans and flannel and that grunge outward view. But that one love, you've got to share it in my heart, how I really felt. I usually say this on the podcast that things that speak to me that are my favorites as far as food and movies and TV and music and all these interests. You may not have the same interests, you may be listening to this and saying U2 sucks. I don't like them. But the point isn't, if you like the album, the point is more how it makes you feel. And what I'm saying is in your life, you have an album that speaks to you like Achtung baby does to me. And you could tell me the album that it is and I could think in my mind, I don't like that music. But I can appreciate the fact that it makes you feel the way that this album makes me feel. And that's kind of where everyone's related. It was a landmark album overall in the world and a landmark time in my life. And I think things kind of just combined perfectly. And it's funny to think looking back now 30 years ago, that all the members in the band are in their 60s now. And that's like seen as old by the young generation now. But that's how old the members of you know, the surviving members of The Beatles and The stones and those types of guys. That's how old they were when this album came out. And I looked at them as old and now I'm looking at U2. I'm like, well, they're not old. But that's because I'm old now. Whether you like U2 or not whether you've ever heard the album or not, it's less relevant. It's more of finding the music that gives you that feeling. And hopefully me speaking about Achtung baby, especially the song one, and what it means to me in my life. Hopefully it gets you thinking about what means the same to you. And you go and you listen to whatever music it is that makes you feel that way. Because that's the main thing, finding what makes you feel good. I talk about it at the end of the podcast all the time and leaning into that. So find your music and lean into it. And enjoy the afternoon, the evening whatever you do after you listen to the podcast, and I'm gonna put on Achtung baby, sit back, close my eyes and remember being 14 When I first heard it 30 years ago this week.
Closing
That's going to wrap up episode 45 of the in my footsteps podcast. Thank you so much for sticking with it to the end. Thank you so much to everyone who's been tuning in. We're over a year into the podcast. It's amazing to think I've gotten this far. As long as this podcast gives you enjoyment. I'll keep doing it. I have a lot of fun coming up with topics to share. And I try to make sure there's something for everyone. travel history, nostalgia, lifestyle things. It's like a buffet. Take a little bit from everything and enjoy. Find me on Instagram. Check out the live stream Fridays at 8pm. Assuming power doesn't go out. Catch me on Twitter, subscribe on YouTube. Go and check out the in my footsteps podcast blog. I do a lot of articles up there, Cape Cod history, things like that. The latest article I posted was about the blue Tavern in Barnstable Village on Cape Cod that existed for a few years back about 100 years ago. It's a really interesting story with kind of a sad ending we'll set in happy ending. Visit my website Christopher setterlund.com. Maintained created by my oldest friend Barry Menard. You've heard his name quite a bit on here someday he'll have to get interviewed if he wants to. On that website. You can find all six of my books that are currently available. If you don't want to get them. They're there in all local bookstores on the cape. Find them on Amazon, Schiffer Publishing, and Arcadia Publishing, remember to support local businesses if you're from Cape Cod. I always mentioned where your wish you already heard the ad my sister Katie marks, but some of the other great ones that I've had sponsored on the podcast, pleasantly pizza shark and Brewster Barb's Bike Shop And Dennis, the Cleat and anchor and Dennis port, Cape Hook designs in Yarmouth. Cove road real estate in Orleans, support all of those, and coming up next week. So it's going to be interesting. Next week is Thanksgiving would be a week from today. And I'm not stupid enough to release a new podcast on Thanksgiving because no one's going to hear it. So what I'm planning on doing is releasing next week special bonus episode 46 On Tuesday, which will be November 23. And it's going to be in conjunction with thanksgiving, it's going to be places on the cape that I'm thankful for places off Cape that I'm thankful for a lot of people that I'm thankful for, it's gonna be one long shout out to people places and things that mean a lot to me. So if I know you, you might want to check it out and see if you're on there. But it's gonna give me a lot more time to talk about things that are important to me, the places are going to be things you can go and see, there'll be a lot of local businesses that I'll shout out, things like that, as we head into the holiday season, to give them some publicity that they deserve. It also happens to fall on my sister Kate's birthday the actual day. So she may get a shout-out, probably. It's also getting to that holiday season, that time of year when gaining weight is highly likely with all of the good food and the shorter days and the colder weather. And as some of you might know, my day job is I am a certified personal trainer, and certified medical fitness specialist. If you feel that during the season or after the holiday season, you might need a little tune-up or a fresh start on fitness. You can find me at Mind Body spine, chiropractic and Brewster, we're going to be opening a brand new gym, they're starting the first of the year 2022. A lot of stuff coming from there. I don't mention it as much on the podcast because there's usually never time. But I figured now's the time. And I just might resurrect my in my fit steps fitness page on Facebook. So who knows? And just remember, the holiday season is great if you've got family and friends to kind of gather around with and enjoy and celebrate the season. But it also can be a tough time filled with anxiety, depression, stress, if that's there, remember to lean into the things that make you happy and focus on that. I say it all the time. And I mean it. Your mental health means more than anything else. So do what you have to do to find that peace of mind. As long as you're not hurting anyone else. What does it matter what makes you happy? But hopefully you do have friends and family that are there for you, your support system. I'm lucky that I do. And I lean on them. And I always shout them out on here and in real life. And hopefully this podcast does that for you. And I thank you all who listened because you do that. For me. It makes me so happy when I see downloads of the podcast when I see it getting shared. And I interact with people on social media who listen, it's amazing. I really appreciate it. And as I always say when I end things off in this life, don't walk in anyone else's footsteps. Create your own path and enjoy every moment you can. Because you never know when the next sunset may be the last sunset. So appreciate all that time you've got because once it's done, we don't know what happens after that. Thank you so much. I will see you again. Tuesday next week for episode 46. Thank you again. Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you all again soon.