Mary Mancini has started a podcast all about her days running Lucy's Record Shop. I highly recommend you give it a listen. Who knows....maybe I will be a guest one day. I have written a few posts over the years that mentioned Lucy's or featured old flyers for shows there. I might take some time soon to write a full blown piece on a place that was a huge part of my life during the 1990's. Meanwhile, you can read Jim Ridley's Nashville Scene article written upon the news that Lucy's was closing. The first paragraph is writing of the finest type.
The Martin Theatre had its grand opening on March 16, 1967. You can read all about that here. The first film to play was the Walt Disney film Follow Me, Boys! starring Fred MacMurray. Next up would be the cool James Coburn spy sequel In Like Flint which is a great one.
The time had finally come on March 16, 1967 for the modern and new Martin Theatre to open in Jackson Heights Plaza. I'm going to go through every film that played at this location until the Martin name disappeared for good in 1988 and the best place to start is at the beginning. As always if there are videos you have to view the "web version" of the blog or you won't see them.
A rock band from Nashville named the Rogues is brought in to play before the movie begins. I couldn't find out much about them other than that they regularly played Central State Hospital.
The Rogues on opening night of the Martin Theatre
Story on the Rogues playing Central State from the July 22, 1967 Tennessean
I hope you enjoyed that digression with The Rogues. It was a cold night on March 16, 1967, but I'm sure everybody felt warmly excited for the new theatre opening. Orchids were to be handed out to the first 200 ladies attending that night. The movie that would play was Walt Disney's Follow Me, Boys! which starred Fred MacMurray, Vera Miles, and Kurt Russell among many others. MacMurray plays a man who settles in a small town and, instead of becoming a lawyer, he becomes a scout master.
Follow Me, Boys! Marching Song
March 17, 1967 Daily News Journal
If you wondered what businesses were in Jackson Heights Plaza when the Martin opened, wonder no more. It may just be me, but I love these welcome ads along with the construction company ones.
Follow Me, Boys! would be the first of many movies to play the Martin at Jackson Heights Plaza. Starting next week I will begin posting the ads for every film that played the Martin, the Martin Twin, the Martin Four, and Martin Six until it loses the name Martin completely several years after being bought out by Carmike. The Martin chain itself, before Carmike, became part of a financial company named Fuqua and you will notice the Fuqua name on ads too. The location is still going even though Carmike shut it down in the year 2000. It was sold and reopened as the Premiere 6 in 2001. Which I think is pretty cool.
I was a mere baby in Memphis, Tennessee at this point of time, but I would get to know the Martin Theatre years later after it became the Martin Twin Theatre. If you happen to be old enough to remember and, most likely, lived in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, plus loved going to see movies, March 15, 1967 was a date you might remember. It was the day before the grand opening of the Martin Theatre. The first 200 ladies to arrive would get a free orchid. There would be Hollywood style spotlights and a band playing outside. It was going to be an epic night, plus you'd even get to see Fred MacMurray's latest Disney hit Follow Me, Boys! Stay tuned for more on this momentous even tomorrow as I celebrate the 55th Anniversary of the Martin Theatre then.
July 26, 1965 saw the first announcement that Martin, which owned and operated the Princess Theatre, would be bringing 2 more theatre's to Murfreesboro. These would be the Marbro Drive_In and a single theatre whose location was to be determined. The Marbro Drive-In would open on July 22, 1966.
December 14, 1965 would see that the Martin chain of movie theatre's had found their location for the 2nd new theatre. It would be coming soon to the Jackson Heights Plaza Shopping Center. How soon, well it will be over a year before the Martin Theatre opens, but I'll be covering that here on Wednesday of this week and I will also start listing every film to play the theatre all the way up to 1988.
I survived Covid-19. It wasn't that bad, but I was lucky as it could have been. I've known some people that had it last year that passed away from it and I know a friend right now who has been hit really hard with the current variant. I'm hoping we are in the endemic stage and things will get back to what counts as normal. Of course, there could be war in the Ukraine any second so who knows. I'll muddle along like I usually do.
I've been finally converting my pdf files of all of the movie ads for the Martin Theatre that was a long time staple of movie going in Murfreesboro, Tennessee from 1967 on. The theatre is still in Jackson Heights Plaza and is known as the Premiere Six. I was going to start posting all of the old ads sooner, but waiting until next month will allow me to coincide with the 55th anniversary of the theatre opening. I missed a few Marbro Drive-In midnight movie showings when I tried to list everything that played there so I've been extra diligent this time around with the Martin listings. I will go back and update the Marbro ones I missed when I get the chance. I'm still pondering on how many film ads to share per post, but I'll figure that out soon. Eventually the Cinema One/Twin listings will accompany the Martin ones once we get to 1974.
That's it for today. Just wanted to let any readers of this blog know that I feel better and am looking forward to lots of postings soon.
Update: Here's the plan on the movie postings to come. I will probably post 2-3 times a week on the Martin Theatre covering a month worth of movies at a time. Then, once I get to 1974, I will start making separate posts for the Cinema One as it opened in April. This whole process will take around a year and a half for each theatre and since there will be many years concurrent I suppose it will take up to 2 years to finish this project.
I am sick. Chills and sweats. Headache from hell. I really don't like being sick. This is only the 2nd time since the pandemic began that I have been sick so I am counting my blessings. Still, right now I'm out of it.
A realtor came to my door yesterday and asked if I wanted to sell my home as there was no inventory available. Hmmm.....sell you my home and then not be able to find another one. Sounds great, right?
I saw a meme the other day that showed the world has gone to crap since David Bowie died. It's not that farfetched a theory.
Principles these days: Neil Young wanted Spotify to remove his songs from their streaming service because of Joe Rogan. I guess it was that Neil disagrees with Joe on the handling of the pandemic. Ok, whatever, it's not like Neil makes money from Spotify. Here's my view: I don't like Joe Rogan. I don't find him funny or informative. I do like Neil Young's music, but don't usually pay much attention to him otherwise. So, sticking to my principles, I will continue to not listen to Joe Rogan and continue to listen to Neil Young, but not on Spotify since I don't use it anyway. I'm taking a stand!!
Getting back to the idea of selling my home....I think I would do it if I knew I had a nice place in Florida to live, but then I think about alligators and mosquitos the size of 747's and I guess I'll stay where I'm at for now.
I watched an episode of What's Happening for the first time in many years yesterday. It holds up well.
That's all for today, but be sure to come back tomorrow as I try to get back into the blogging swing.
I bought a Les Paul. It’s amazing. I blew my son's mind when I told him I remembered the first time I heard someone in person play an electric guitar. I was 4 years old and it was when we lived in Mississippi. The teenage son of my babysitter plugged his guitar into their stereo and played. I guess I’ve never been the same since. I have been playing guitars since the late 80's. I figured out that "Blitzkrieg Bop" started in A so I learned to tune to that song. I would play barre chords to the entire self titled Ramones debut. I've had a few guitars over the years, but none of this caliber. This is a guitar that I can leave to my children to fight over.
Sorry for the lack of postings, but I've been busy working. One must earn money to pay for the insane inflation that is reminding me of my youth in the Seventies. Thanksgiving is coming up which should provide some respite from the same old routine, but my birthday hits right afterwards and I'm at the age in which a birthday is just another reminder of mortality and the great beyond. Blah! If anyone wants to get me the Kiss 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe edition it might make for a happier birthday. Haha!
I will probably start working on my Martin Theatre and Cinema movie ads from their beginnings until they either changed names or closed permanently. I have so many ads to pull screenshots from so patience. I also figured out I missed many special midnight movies that played the Marbro so I need to update those posts. That's all for now.
Just before I finished these posts there's word that Diamond Dave is hanging up his performing career after his upcoming dates in Las Vegas around New Years. I hate to see him go, but he's a smart guy with lots of interests. His cartooning is really cool. I hope he writes a continuation of Crazy From the Heat as I loved that book.
As I was doing this I learned that one of my favorite writers, Chuck Klosterman, had done a countdown of every Van Halen song over at Vulture. It's paywalled since it's New York Times so I haven't been able to read the whole article, but I noticed we shared the same number one track. It's pure coincidence, but not surprising. His favorite Sammy era song was "5150" which is also my favorite one.
10. "Light Up the Sky" from Van Halen II. This one just cooks for me. Filled with wolves, crazy visions, and children lighting up the sky. This is one that might have been used if Van Halen had wrote all of the music for the Over The Edge film, but it was not to be.
9. "Jamie's Cryin'" from Van Halen. This is the only track from the debut that was written in the studio. I guess it's the closest to a pop song from the debut, but still, I think the tune has a ferocious edge underneath the keening background "oh whoa whoa's." When I first started going to the roller skating rink in 6th grade I met a couple of older girls. One was named Amy and the other one was named Jamie. It turned out that Amy wasn't really older. She was faking, but Jamie was indeed a freshman in high school. They were very similar looking and I used to get them mixed up all the time, but they would still sometimes be nice enough to skate with me during the couple's only songs. So, now all these years later I always think of that older girl Jamie. And, it was cool that Tone Lōc sampled the song for "Wild Thing, but uncool that Van Halen never saw a dime from it.
8. "Runnin' with the Devil" from Van Halen. A chorus of car horns, then the ominous thud of the bass, followed by Edward raking the strings between the bridge and stop tailpiece on his Ibanez Destroyer before launching into the main riff, then Dave lays down these immortal words "I live my life like there's no tomorrow, all I got I had to steal, least I don't need to beg or borrow, yes I'm living at a pace that kills."
Running with the Devil
7. "Little Guitars (Intro) / Little Guitars" from Diver Down. I just love this masterful piece of music from the intro down to the full song. Dave's tribute to a beautiful señorita comes off heartfelt and true while the slashing guitar notes spark with their own passion. I was thrilled when Eddie brought out the custom mini Les Paul in Nashville on the 1984 tune to perform the song.
6. "Mean Street" from Fair Warning. Eddie takes the bass guitar style of popping and slapping and brings it to his guitar for the introductory notes. It was yet another one of those revelatory jaw dropping moments of guitar genius from Eddie. Then Dave provides some dramatic tough neighborhood lyrics that hipped us all to the fact that Fair Warning was a darker and more dangerous Van Halen.
5. "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" from Van Halen. I know this is one of the easier songs to play on guitar as I had high school friends back in the day who could approximate it pretty well back then. Simple is sometimes the best though. Dave tells us we have to bleed for it if we want it. The opening riff still sends chills down my spine decades later. It's one of the songs that takes you on a journey until you stand on the precipice looking into the edge before kicking up its heels again during the almost manically gypsy or perhaps Russian sounding "Hey! Hey! Hey!" chants at the end. This song remained in the Van Halen setlist until the very end. The 4th and final single from the debut album was meant to be a punk parody, but like anything Eddie ever wrote it ended up sounding like Van Halen. The Van Halen News Desk has a good write-up on the song.
4. "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" from Van Halen II. Oh my! This song swaggers like a heavyweight champion after a first round knockout. The song dates from their club dates and centers on Eddie's funky riffing (parts of which remind me of ZZ Top) and Dave's stratospheric yelps. This song about being high just screams by on Van Halen II in a blink or you missed it time. When they played this one live they would extend the mid-section stop into a great bit of jamming that featured a Cream "I'm So Glad" interpolation like in this performance at Largo in 1982.
3. "Unchained" from Fair Warning. The side two opening salvo of Fair Warning is a statement of purpose. Eddie's guitar sounds massive with bite large enough to consume universes. Dave's lyrics are unabashed confidence "here's to your thin red line...I'm steppin' over" and he's not asking for permission as it's his chance to fly. We get to hear from Van Halen producer Ted Templeman as he asks Dave to give him a break and this bit was either spontaneous or pre-planned. Either way it works for me. It is the Van Halen anthem of anthems.
Unchained live in Oakland 6-12-81
2. "Dance the Night Away" from Van Halen II. Van Halen brings some harmonic Calypso style to their Latin swinging most perfect of pop songs. This was written in the studio and purportedly inspired by Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way." Vocal harmonies by Michael Anthony and Eddie sweeten the honey pot and Dave keeps his yelps to a minimum. It hit number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. It should have hit number 1. How can one resist the "Oooh baby baby" part? This song was meant to be blasted from your car with the top or windows down while your hair blows in the breeze. It is the full bloom of youth captured in just over 3 minutes.
Dance the Night Away on vinyl most likely the reissue
Dance the Night Away official video
This brings us the number 1 track cut during the original Dave era. The reason I even used the word "track" throughout this countdown is because the number 1 is an instrumental and not a song.
1. "Eruption" from Van Halen. How could it be anything but this track once simply marked "Guitar Solo" on the track sheet. Greg Renoff, author of the must have book Van Halen Rising, found the actual date this history changing burst of music was laid down: September 8, 1977. Ted Templeman and engineer Donn Landee were sitting in the control booth while Eddie was practicing a guitar solo for an upcoming gig. Templeman liked what he was hearing so the solo was recorded. It would slot in on the debut album between "Runnin' with the Devil" and "You Really Got Me." It begins with the heavy drums of Alex paired to a power chord from Eddie. Then Eddie proceeds to brutally attack his instrument in a display of picking and whammy bar noise thrown in too. Some frantic blues notes morph into almost classical sounding array of picked notes before getting whammy barred into submission again with an almost bass note sounding fading groan. So far this is pretty cool, but the world of guitar has yet to be changed. The landscape of guitar playing was soon to be transformed. Eddie once more starts attacking with speed until almost a minute in the notes transform into something that sounds alive as his double tapping harmonics keen and wail in a monstrous sound both beautiful and sorta terrifying. Sure, guitar players had used tapping before. Eddie himself has said he got the idea from seeing Jimmy Page doing it in concert, but Eddie took tapping into outer space. This is the moment when guitar players, both professional and amateur, heads metaphorically exploded and they had to pick their jaws off the floor. The instrumental rides these notes until collapsing into another whammy bar elephant noise before fading away through Eddie's Univox chamber. Eddie would go on to incorporate his tapping technique into many of his solos during songs and it became his trademark. "Eruption" itself was always a big highlight during Eddie's concert guitar solo spot. Whether you liked the band's music or not, "Eruption" was something that could not be ignored.
Now that you're all caught up lets look at the next ten tracks on my best of the first Dave era list.
20. "Secrets" from Diver Down. I know some of you are scratching your head and wondering how a little known song from Diver Down made it all the way up to 20 or perhaps, like me, you also really like this mellow romantic one. News Flash: This song was originally proposed to go on Fair Warning by Eddie. Which just blows my mind as I've always felt Fair Warning was just one more song away from being the best album in their catalog. I might have to make a playlist with the song added to Fair Warning.
19. "Everybody Wants Some!" from Women and Children First. Tribal drums. Dave improvising lyrics. Eddie making dinosaur sounds. This is a song that would have probably been in my Top Ten when I was in high school, but I've grown a little bit tired of it over the years. Yet....even though I've heard it so many times, it still hits the Top Twenty since it is such a badass weird tune.
18. "Panama" from 1984. This should have been the second single off of 1984 instead of "I'll Wait." Strategically placed right after "Jump" on 1984, this propulsive tune showed everyone that the old rocking Van Halen was alive and well with keyboards not taking the spotlight all the time. The music video is fantastic too. Eddie must really love the tune as he went on Letterman and played it as a straight instrumental. The Dave patter in the middle is perfect as was Eddie's miked up Lamborghini Miura S.
17. "Romeo Delight" from Women and Children First. "I'm takin' whiskey to the part tonight and I'm lookin' for somebody to squeeze." This song has it all. Heartbeat bass from Michael Anthony. Slam bang guitar stun work. Dave working the jive talk while Alex works the hi-hat. This one is sheer adrenalized mirth.
16. "Girl Gone Bad" from 1984. I have to admit. I didn't dig this song initially. Then I saw Van Halen on the 1984 Tour and my mind was opened. This song is just an instrumental marvel showcase of Eddie and his bag of virtuosity. Here's a live instrumental version for your pleasure.
15. "And the Cradle Will Rock..." from Women and Children First. Actually the first time keyboards show up on a Van Halen song as the main riff is actually a Wurlitzer played through a MX flanger into a 100-watt Marshall. Michael Anthony would play this part when played live. Dave delivers some teen rebellion lyrics worthy of Shakespeare. This song has adolescent appeal that should last forever.
14. "Outta Love Again" from Van Halen II. Drums and bass take center stage on this funky romp. Dave lets loose some of those patented high wire yells which were such a part of the first two records. Eddie almost does some chicken picking on the solo and I really dig his playing on the verses.
13. "Jump" from 1984. Why not follow the first keyboard appearance up with the most notable (or perhaps notorious) one in Van Halen's history a few songs down. We were treated to stories about this song well before the 1984 album was released. We knew it had caused an uproar within the group. We were also very curious to hear it. It was neat, but I didn't pay as much attention to it as I did "Panama", "Top Jimmy", "Drop Dead Legs", and "House of Pain." Then the video came out and, even though I didn't have cable TV at this time, I saw it often somehow. The song began to grow on me with its succinct breezy vibe. It wouldn't be the Eighties without it. It is the highest charting single in the band's history whether with Dave, Sammy, or Gary. I also have to confess, this one was in my Top Ten when I originally started these posts, but the more I thought about it a Top Fifteen spot is fine. It is my highest spot for a 1984 track.
12. "In a Simple Rhyme" from Women and Children First. It's my favorite song from Women and Children First! Eddie played a 12 string Rickenbacker electric on this song which dates back to their club days. I love Alex's percussive assault while Michael's bass percolates throughout. There is a very Led Zeppelin feel at times.
11. "Hear About it Later" from Fair Warning. Melodic opening and then Dave yowls while Eddie serves up some sort of flanged confection of stinging metal notes throughout. And man, when the song hits around the 2:25 minute mark and Dave says you can try him at home the song just hits the stratosphere for me. The guitar drops out completely until coming back in with a berserk solo that melds right back into the you can try me at home part.
Catchy title. Reel in those 10 or so readers and then pull a swerve. The old bait and switch. The real title would be more like "Trying To Remember the Best Day You Ever Had in School" which seems sort of lame. Because that is what I'm going to do with this post. My schooldays keep getting farther and farther past and my memories are corroding like an old D Cell battery left in some forgotten toy. You open the hinge where the batteries go (if the toy still has the hinge) and you see this goopy looking mess that must have been oozing out for years. You want to touch it, but you think again...maybe I better not. What the hell. I'm here. You're here. Let's do this. Here's a spontaneously composed look through 6 years of school. When I find some time I'll cover the next 6. Yes, I do have a college degree, but I'm not about to try and remember those years.
1st grade: I remember getting in trouble for talking. I'd have to sit right by my teacher's desk facing the rest of the class. So I would then make faces at them. And get in even more trouble. I missed almost 6 weeks of school due to chicken pox and mumps which I got just weeks apart. My teacher, Mrs. Wilson, drove a green AMC Gremlin. My best day ever was probably near the end of the school year when they brought in the movie projector to show a film. That was not unusual, but this film was very long. I'm almost certain it took up two spools. It was filmed in beautiful color and was contemporary. Yet, here's the thing: I recall it fleetingly in my mind and have no clue on the title. It was an educational film - I remember there was parts about danger signs, but it wasn't just about safety. I have searched for this movie ever since and may never find it, but if I do come across it and get to see it again, it will take me back to that day in 1st grade.
2nd grade: Once again I was a troublemaker. I would get slapped on my hand with a yardstick which was no fun. Mrs. Dunston would also make me sit by the chalkboard away from the other kids. My best memory was easy. I created a poster of the Jack and the Beanstalk story which won 2nd prize in a reading/art contest. They had the awards/show at night so it was super neat to be in Mitchell-Neilson Primary after hours. I dressed up in a Native American costume for some reason. My prize was a book called Sylvester, The Mouse with the Musical Ear. I still have that book all these years later.
3rd grade: There were so many great days in this year of school for me. I learned how to play chess. I learned how to play Dungeons & Dragons. I read The Hobbit. I made many friends. I dressed up as Ben Franklin for a class performance and ended up cracking up laughing in front of all the parents who came to our little program. I guess the best day was when I won the penmanship award for best cursive writing. My print writing had been atrocious. I would purposely make letters with squiggly lines and it drove my teacher Mrs. Jennings batty. So, she was astonished when I learned cursive perfectly. The award was a dollar bill and it has never been spent. My mother put it in one of the class photos of me and there it is still.
4th grade: Mrs. Vick reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH was really cool. We also studied Ancient Greek mythology which led to a classroom battle between Trojans and Greeks. I led the Trojans and anytime the teacher left the room we got out our rulers and sword fights ensued. One of the craziest memories is when a classmate who sat one seat over from me puked up whatever she had for lunch and it covered her desk and the two next to her. Whew! She almost got me. The most traumatic memory was losing the class spelling bee on the word shriek. The best one was our field trip to the Parthenon in Nashville as part of the Greek mythology studies. My best friend Jaime took photos that day and decades later I would find a photo she took of me that day on her Facebook page.
4th grade at the Parthenon in Nashville
5th grade:I have written about 5th grade before. You can read that post if you like. It was called 5th Grade High Murks in honor of my wonderful teacher Ms. Murks. The highlight had to be our making a television news show. I wanted to do art as backdrops, but ended up being one of the news anchors. It was only broadcast to the school and to our parents one night, but it was a really interesting experience.
6th grade: The most fun I had in 6th grade was making comics with my friends Kent and Wolfhardt. They were superhero stories which ran a page or two. I wonder what became of them. While we didn't record a television show we did a similar thing in Mrs. Pittenger's class. Once again, I was a new anchor. Three Mile Island was the hot topic if memory serves me right.
