I remember the night The Beatles sang for the first time on Ed Sullivan. I was just under 6 years old. Here I was in kindergarten and everybody was talking about it at school the next day. I mean, it seemed everybody had watched it. Back in the old days you had to catch things has they happened as there was no YouTube to play catch up.
I remember my parents voicing disgust over their long hair and asserting the lack of talent, or so stood Alex's and Wilma's opinions. What kind of lyrics are "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" anyway? But we thought they were the best! So cool! So hip! And they would have been groovy, but that phrase hadn't been coined just yet. Shirley Hermansen snuck out her parent's old style wooden tennis rackets and we played them as guitars with our hair pulled into our faces. The game certainly beat out dolls and tea parties. Watching Ed Sullivan in February of 1964 was a life changing event even for a 5 year old.
I loved the music of the early sixties. The Beach Boys. The Mama's & the Papa's. The Supremes. Tommy James & the Shondelles. Petula Clark. The Animals. And, especially, The Beatles.
What brings this up is that I can't sleep and I'm watching a PBS special on Ed Sullivan and the music of the 60's. (Wow, is DVR great or what? And I don't even have to feel the guilt to call in a pledge because no one is there to take it!)
As I'm seeing all of these performers, I'm struck by a few thoughts.
1. Many of them had REALLY long careers.
2. The staging was sometimes pretty cheesy.
3. Some of the fashions may have been neat then but they don't hold up. Could the tall fur hat that the guitarist wore in the Mama's and Papa's performance of "Monday, Monday" really have ever been cool???
4. The music still really makes me happy.
5. It's amazing how different voices sound without all of the electronic enhancements.
6. Ed Sullivan's main talent was showcasing talent; maybe his only talent.
Watching Petula Clark sing "Downtown" reminded me of Saturday morning cleanings with KCPX blasting in the background and all of us stopping to bee bop in between chores. It's still a song that can lift my spirits. And I still like going "Downtown" except that in Salt Lake it really should be called uptown (at least from where I am at) and it's really only downtown if you are standing on Ensign Peak, right?
So as I am watching, I'm thinking about the hours and effort that talent scouts went to to find these really big talents. I thought of the work spent to get the performers ready for their minute in the spotlight. It was entertainment at its best.
So how does American Idol compare? Well, I have just a few questions.
1. When did it switch that the audience had to do the scouting for talent?
2. Why are the masses satisfied with substandard, half-baked performances?
3. When did mediocrity start passing for entertainment? Not many of these singers go on to really make a name for themselves.
4. Do we just have no value for memorable performances anymore?
5. Is instant more important than well-planned?
6. Is it just because Americans like competition more than art?
To be fair, I've never watched an episode of American Idol. So I might be the only American who shouldn't judge. Frankly, it never appealed to me. I thought I didn't like to sit for hours and watch people sing. But here I am at 4:00 a.m. watching people sing, so I guess I just don't like watching wannabees sing.
I know there are millions of Idol followers out there that would gladly shout me down. Obviously...the show keeps going on and on and on. But, you know. I think I'm in the Ed Sullivan Camp. Maybe I'm too lazy to weed out the so-so talent myself. Maybe I am just stuck in a time warp.
Check out some of the YouTube videos and decide for yourself....and text your votes if you can find a place to text them to!
4 comments:
I don't get the Idol thing either. I'm not a huge fan of competition in all things. And while I like a lot of the bands that are around now, I still really enjoy listening to and singing along with the bands of my youth--the ones you mentioned as well as Pink Floyd and David Bowie and Led Zeppelin and many others. I'm glad my kids appreciate these so we can enjoy them together...
Honestly, I think there are many lessons to be learned here.
#1 Popularity isn't the same as talent or longevity. You can find talented and untalented performers in every generation. Your parents may have loved Nat King Cole or Ella Fitzgerald (as they should have), but they may have equally adored The Penguins (who sang Earth Angel and basically nothing else). Just because they sang Earth Angel well, it didn't mean The Penguins could sing anything else very well. Which leads us to another point...
#2 The test of time. Genius and talent stand out over the test of time and all others fade into obscurity. That's why it didn't matter what your parents thought about The Beatles. They WERE cool and they WERE talented. That's why people still listen to their music today. Which then causes us to ask ourselves...
#3 What is better? Being "discovered" (as in American Idol) or putting in the work to get where you want to go? There are a lot of great singers out there. There have been a lot of great singers on American Idol. But that doesn't mean that they have star quality or staying power or the guts to make it in a tough business. How many of them play an instrument or write their own songs? Those are the kinds of things that lead to a long career in the business.
I read an article on MSN where Simon Cowell said he would have turned away Lady Gaga because he doesn't really like her voice and he didn't think she had what it took to be a hit. But he said he would give anything to sign someone like that now. Now, I don't really like Lady Gaga, but I guess the point is, how can anyone define or decide who is going to make it in the entertainment industry and who won't? Sometimes it just happens for no explainable reason at all. Some people just have personalities that are a force unto themselves, I guess.
I probably created more questions than I answered, but there you have it!
In the words of Brad Paisley (a real talent):
"Some day I'm gonna be famous. Do I have talent? Well, no! These days you don't really need it, thanks to reality shows."
Do I remember where I was the day the Beatles came on Ed Sullivan? Heck yea! I was down at Grandma's wathching tv with the "old folks!" Dad was making fun of the "I wanna hold your hand" lyrics, and I was just kinda watchin these 4 boys do their thing. Later on they would record, "Hey Jude" and we would dance to it in 6th Grade every Friday when Mr. B. would hold a party for us kids!
Though I'm not much of a Beatle fan like you, I think there music is symplistic and often their lyrics seem kind of lame, but I will never doubt the change they brought to our society at the time. They were an inspiration to a whole new generation of us.
As to American Idol, I will side with gilian. I think Americans are too competitive crazy, and if you are not #1 in this country, then you are a nobody, and to me, that is the worst thing we can do to each other. I have only seen a couple of Idol shows, though, and not of my own choosing, but because I was a guest in someone's home who loved it. The whole concept of kicking talent off this week is in every show everywhere now, and I don't believe in it, or care for it!
The test of time. Ah yes... I agree with Sarah... we won't know until we are old what will stand apart that speaks continuously to this generation.
Also, you forgot to mention Styx or Rush, but that's okay... that spoke to me more than you, and that's just fine!
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