Why they will 'Shine a Light' on the songs of '77
The countdown clock is ticking as 60 local musicians prepare to perform 35 songs over three hours – a non-stop barrage of rock, soul, funk and disco from 1977.
If the sixth annual Shine a Light fundraising concert Saturday for the nonprofit Light Up the Queen Foundation is anything like the previous incarnations, Delaware music fans are in for a rotating all-star band spanning several generations of the state's music scene.
Some of the night's players and singers have lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding the 1977-themed setlist to give concertgoers a taste of what to expect, opening up to The News Journal about the songs they will be performing for what is usually a sold out crowd of nearly 1,000.
Tickets for the World Cafe Live at the Queen show are $60. VIP passes with access to the balcony and a new pit in front of the stage are $250 and include open bar and dinner in a private upstairs lounge.
To help transport fans back four decades, here are some of the songs that should have Market Street rockin'.
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North East's Dan White of Still Moon on David Bowie's "Heroes"
It's really exciting to get the opportunity to perform one of my personal favorite songs. Bowie was one of the few early '70s rock stars that continued to innovate and push himself creatively throughout the decade. I think his greatest achievement is this song, which sounds as timeless and potent today as it must have back in 1977. The dark political imagery and personal tragedy in the lyrics are lifted up by the powerful arrangement: swirling guitars, a driving rhythm section and Brian Eno's heavenly synth parts that really take the song to the next level. There aren't a lot of Bowie songs that tug at your heartstrings, but this is one of them. And it's always been a favorite of mine to play and sing. I can't wait to perform it this year and it's a real treat to be able to share my love for this tune with others.
Chadds Ford's Kat Pigliacampi of Kategory 5 on Heart's "Barracuda"
This will be my sixth Shine a Light and I get to sing one of my favorite female rock songs – one that used to scare me to perform. This song came out when I was in sixth grade and it was on their "Little Queen" album. My older sisters had it, played it often and I memorized the lyrics to most of the songs. I looked up to Ann Wilson and was so inspired by her ability to sing rock songs as well as any guy from that era. This is an incredibly complex song to perform due to the specific timing and syncopated licks between two electric guitars. We will rock the Queen with this one!
Holly Oak musician Dan McGowan of Wrecking Ball on Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane"
I am lucky enough to be singing the Neil Young song for Shine a Light 2017. When I saw the song on the list, I requested it immediately. Like many others my generation, Neil had a huge influence. He was the first artist that turned my world upside down. I was 14 in ninth grade and got exposed to 1975's "Zuma." From there, "American Stars 'n Bars" came out and I probably didn’t listen to much else the summer of ’77. Neil had everything – rock, country, folk, brazen feedback, soft acoustics, screaming vocals and soft harmonies. It was Neil that made me go to Wilmington Piano Co. in the Concord Mall to buy my first Hohner Marine Band harmonica (in G) so I could learn the "Heart of Gold" harp line. When the movie "Rust Never Sleeps" came out, we went to the old State Theater in Newark four nights in a row to see it. I still buy everything the guy puts out. If I had to pick one artist’s catalog to take to the desert island, it would be Neil Young’s.
Bellefonte's Michael Davis of The Bullets on The Marshall Tucker Band's "Heard It in a Love Song"
The Marshall Tucker Band were always my favorite of the bands that got lumped into the "Southern rock" category. When we were deciding what songs to perform this year, we came across "Heard It in A Love Song," which may have been one of the last "country" songs to be played on rock radio stations. I had an Iggy Pop tune in my sights, but decided someone else could do a better job on that. I am a traditional country boy at heart. So "Heard It in a Love Song" it is.
Jim Miller of Special Delivery and Darnell Miller of The Souldaires, both of Wilmington, on The Trammps' "Disco Inferno"
Jim Miller: To me, the song is the musical equivalent to a match lighting the fuse. It's a party-starter. While it's easy nowadays to dismiss disco as being cheesy, this track blazes from start to finish, cooking with funky elements of Motown and Stax in the verses and choruses and the sweet sounds of Philly in the bridge. That last part should be no surprise as the song was recorded in Philly's Sigma Sound Studios. If you want to really feel what kind of fire the band was playing with, listen to the full 11-minute version. It smokes.
Darnell Miller: When I was first presented with the idea of doing this song, I paused for 10 seconds and then thought, yeahhhh! What makes this song so great is the energy – I mean this song is about the ultimate party on the roof. And The Trammps deliver that song like it's a sermon. So that's how I intend to do it. Preach the gospel of turning up and gettin' down.
Newark's Laura Moss of This Year's Girl on Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me"
My guess is that the song I’m singing will be one that everyone in the house will be singing along with. It is that iconic. My first memory of the song involves my older sister. She had an extensive and diverse album collection and excellent musical taste. Cheap Trick was one of her favorites. Together we were pretty much obsessed with “Cheap Trick at Budokan” and their blockbuster hit “I Want You to Want Me.” This song takes me back to that time when I had just started exploring rock music and was figuring out what I liked. It’s no surprise that I'm still partial to raw, guitar-driven power pop today.
Brandywine Hundred's Brad Newsom of The Dreamkillers on Eric Clapton's "Cocaine"
I'm glad I finally made it to the point where I can do some Eric Clapton for the first time at a Shine a Light show. I've been a huge Clapton fan all of my life. I was just a youngster in the '70s, but I love a lot of the stuff Clapton put out back then. I'm more of a fan of stuff that would have been on the FM side of the dial, like the song I'm doing. It's good to see everyone all together for this show – even if there's a lot of '70s one-hit wonder stuff that I don't necessarily listen to. So I'm glad to be playing some rock and it'll be interesting to see what others do with their "shakers of salt," too.
Brandywine Hundred's Kevin McCabe of Caravan on Player's "Baby Come Back"
The song I am most looking forward to is "Baby Come Back," which falls under the style of "yacht rock." Both Jim Miller and Aaron Goldstein share my love of this genre and I saw this as the perfect opportunity to lay down some serious smoothness on the Queen. All kidding aside, the yacht rock genre is representative of a period in time when studio production was reaching its zenith in terms of purely analog recording without the aid of computers and auto-tuned homogenization. The texture in these songs is defined by the space in between the track – the ambiance of the song – which is endemic in the studio mix of most yacht rock songs. That space was intended and is central to the smoothness. The production and structure of yacht rock are both complex and subtle at the same time. When you add these musical qualities together, you get maximum smoothness. That’s the only way to say it. The three of us will often remind the musicians playing on it, "Just make sure it is smooth."
Wilmington's Joe Trainor of The Joe Trainor Trio on Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young"
One of the songs I've been assigned to sing is "Only the Good Die Young" from Billy Joel's 1977 album "The Stranger." People who know me know that I do a Billy Joel tribute show every so often, but I never get sick of singing or playing this song. I've been playing it since high school -- starting in my living room or in the chorus room at school. Having an opportunity to play it in front of an audience never ceases to thrill me. "Only the Good Die Young" always serves to remind me why I play. It's always for fun. And most musicians will tell you whether you're doing it for $10, $10,000 or for free, if you're not having fun, you shouldn't be doing it.
Kennett Square's Rob Grant of The Cameltones on Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer"
I was visiting a friend at New York University in the spring of '77. The primary motivation for visiting friends in the city at that time was the drinking age, which was 18. I attended college in the middle of a cornfield in Pennsylvania where we had a (relatively) strictly-enforced drinking age of 21. As NYU was convenient to the Bowery, we often would head to CBGB, initially for 25-cent (I think) Rolling Rocks and eventually for the music. I remember watching the Talking Heads setting up and thinking how odd they looked in this environment; basically, just three preppy kids who looked completely out of their element. It struck me as odd that they would be playing in a place where Johnny Thunders, Richard Hell and the Ramones were dominating the scene. Their sound was unlike anything I had ever heard. It certainly didn't fit into the already well-established punk mold. I didn't really know what it was, but I knew it was good. I bought a 45 of "Psycho Killer" that night and bought "Talking Heads: 77" as soon as it was available at Stan's Record Bar in Lancaster not much later. I wore that record out, eventually having to replace it. Some music doesn't stand the test of time, but "Talking Heads: 77" (and the entire Talking Heads library) is as fresh and compelling today as it was 40 years ago.
Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Shine a Light: A tribute to 1977
WHEN: Saturday, March 4, 8 p.m. (Doors open at 7 p.m.)
WHERE: World Cafe Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington
TICKETS: General admission tickets ($60) are available at worldcafelive.com. VIP passes ($250) can be purchased at lightupthequeen.org. VIP passes include open bar and dinner in an upstairs lounge. The passes also allow access to the balcony and at the pit in front of the stage.