Welcome back to the game, players! Hope all of you already have Friday in your sights!!
With the countdown now seemingly at a manageable 18 days, I’m becoming more hopeful by the hour. (Hey, thank God for small favors, right?!)
And given that we seem to be on a bit of a semi-roll with musicians (re: Mr. McCall and Mr. Jagger, respectively), what do ‘ya say we flip the script on the notion that only bad things come in threes. (Yep, as above, together, let’s be the antidote for anyone suffering from triaphilia, or simply the fear of three. And who knows? Maybe we can chat about triskaidekaphobia in a little less than a week or so!)
For today, though, and regarding that script flipping, let’s talk about the third consecutive musical maven in our countdown.
Just in case you don’t recognize him from his photograph, the guy in the top hat was born Vincent D. Furnier , 4 February, 1948 in Detroit Michigan.
You with me?
I know he’s a lot older now, but this nearly 10-year veteran of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been on the scene since the late 1960s.
And as a brief shout out to all of my University of Richmond brethren, the second iteration of his group, well regarded for playing highway honky-tonks, was known as – you guessed it – The Spiders. (Prior to that, this pioneering warbler, apparently a stand-out runner for his Phoenix, AZ- area track team, transformed a few of his fellow harriers into a Beatles cover band, known as The Earwigs.)
Shortly after high school graduation, and through an association with Frank Zappa, who actually released their first two albums on his own label, the band began writing their own songs. Led by the former high school miler (who impressively covered that distance in 4:30 during his senior year), the band changed its name again, this time to Alice Cooper, with the aforementioned Mr. Furnier as its front man.
With songs like “School’s Out,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” and “Killer,” the band reached the pinnacle of its popularity in late 1973.
But their first hit, released in late 1970, ultimately climbing to the top 20 by the following year, became an anthem of teenage angst.
“…I got a baby’s brain and an old man’s heart,
Took eighteen years to get this far.
Don’t always know what I’m talking about.
Feels like I’m livin in the middle of doubt.
Cause I’m eighteen, I get confused every day.
Eighteen, I just don’t know what to say…”
And in the spirit of putting a good spin on things, this 18 – our 18 – just gets us one step closer to the goal!
Start thinking “Friday,” gang; we’re close.
JFish