Late To The Party

This has been plastered all over the Internet at this point, so I feel like I'm a little late to the party on this one. Then again, being late has never stopped me before. The video below is of a guy named Ted Williams. (No, not the baseball player who had his head lopped off and frozen in some cryonics lab somewhere.) He is homeless, seemingly due to drug and alcohol problems that plagued in him the past. He claims to be two years sober and is now looking for work. What makes him different from all of the other homeless guys that accost my vehicle at the off ramps? Well, this guy actually has a marketable talent that he's hoping to let people know about so that he can find his way off of the street and back into regular life. The video is below. His talent will become obvious as soon as he opens his mouth. For some reason, folks have taken to calling him the Man With The Golden Voice. I don't know what a golden voice would sound like, but it's pretty amazing regardless.

Update on this story: The Cleveland Cavaliers have offered him a full-time job and a free house. I believe that he has accepted. Congratulations, Ted! Now get to work.

Update Part Deux: Originally, when posted on YouTube, this video had garnered over five million hits. This man's story is everywhere. Naturally, that's why the video was taken down due to a copyright claim by The Dispatch, the newspaper that broke this story (I think). What gives, Dispatch? A copyright claim? Are you serious? Wow, good thing that his story got out there before you and your copyright claims took the video down. Maybe if you had done that a little sooner, the guy would still be homeless and no one would know about him. Good idea. Thanks for nothing, Dispatch.

Thriller Thursday - Anderson K. Harris

Thriller Thursday is a daily blogging prompt used by many genealogy bloggers to help them post content on their sites. Are there murders, bizarre accidents or other thrilling stories among your family history? Tell us about them through words and pictures during Thriller Thursday.

Fleming Matthew Harris and Augusta Ann Harris had a son named...
...Gamewell Calhoun Harris who married Sarah Breakfield and they had a son named...
......Edward Boyd Harris who married Ida Mae Shaw and they had a son named...
.........Clyde Harris who married Mabel Louise Cohen and they had a son named...
............William Clyde Harris "Billy" who married Peggy Annette Prince and they had a son named...
...............Stan!

Fleming Matthew Harris and Augusta Ann Harris (they were first cousins) had 14 children. Gamewell Calhoun Harris was the 12th of 14 children. But this story is about 3 of his older brothers, James Marion Harris, Anderson Kennedy Harris and William Edward Harris.

James Marion Harris was born 1/18/1834 in Union County, SC. He married Sarah Ann Bevill in 1857 in Union County, SC. They had 3 children before he leaves for the Civil War: James Riley Harris, Edna Harris, and Joseph Oscar Harris.

William Edward Harris was born 12/29/1845 in Union County, SC. He never married. In the 1860 Census he is listed as an "Idiot" but he was able to fight in the Civil War so it's debatable as to what that means.

Anderson Kennedy Harris was born 4/16/1848 in Union County, SC. This story is about Anderson.

1850 U.S. Census of Union County, SC, Roll M432_859, Pg 108, Image 463, Lines 29-30 "Samuel Harris", Lines 31-35 "S. P. Harris", Lines 36-49 next page Lines 1-6 "James C. Harris", Lines 7-11 "Thomas Harris", Lines 22-32 "Mathew Harris"
Dwelling 299, Family 299, Harris, Samuel, 78 yrs old (DOB would be 1772), M(ale), W(hite), Tenant, Born in SC (?), Can read and write
Harris, Tryvena, 75 yrs old (DOB would be 1775), F, W, Born in SC (?)
Dwelling 300, Family 300, Harris, S.P., 45 yrs old (DOB would be 1805), M, W, Planter, $1500 Real Estate Value, Born in SC, Can read and write
Harris, Sophia, 35 yrs old (DOB would be 1815), Born in SC, Can read and write
Harris, James, 16 yrs old (DOB would be 1834), Born in SC, Labor, Attends school
Harris, Jane, 15 yrs old (DOB would be 1835), Born in SC, Attends school
Harris, William, 11 yrs old (DOB would be 1839), Born in SC, Attends school
Dwelling 301, Family 301, Harris, James C., 37 yrs old (DOB would be 1813), M, W, Planter, $2000 Real Estate Value, Born in SC, Can read and write
Harris, Frances, 35 yrs old (DOB would be 1815), F, W, Born in SC
Harris, Hesterann, 12 yrs old (DOB would be 1838), F, W, Born in SC, Attends school
Harris, Maryann, 10 yrs old (DOB would be 1849), F, W, Born in SC, Attends school
Harris, Both, 6 yrs old, M, W, Born in SC
Harris, Samuel, 4 yrs old, M, W, Born in SC
Harris, Frances, 2 yrs old, F, W, Born in SC
next page
Harris, James, 6/12 mos old, M, W, Born in SC
Shell, Nancy, 62 yrs old, F, W, Born in SC, Can read and write
Floyd, Hyram, 27 yrs old, M, W, Labor, Born in SC, Cannot read or write
Floyd, John, 14 yrs old, M, W, Can read & write
Richard (nln), 10 yrs old, M, (There is a check mark in the box which is different from all the others, indicates black?), Born in SC
Harris, Louvinier (sic), 8 yrs old, F, W, Born in SC
Dwelling 302, Family 302, Harris, Thomas, 60 yrs old, M, W, Planter, $350 Real Estate Value, Born in SC, Can read and write
Harris, Sarahann, 30 yrs old, F, W, Born in SC
Harris, Leticia, 18 yrs old, F, W, Born in SC, Can read & write
Harris, Benjamin, 14 yrs old, M, W, Born in SC, Attends school
Harris, Jefferson, 1 yrs old, M, W, Born in SC
Dwelling 303, Family 303
Dwelling 304, Family 304
Dwelling 305, Family 305 Harris, Matthew, 40 yrs old (DOB would be 1810), M, W, Planter, $125 Real Estate Value, Born in SC, Can read and write
Harris, Gustyann, 37 yrs old (DOB would be 1813), F, W, Born in SC
Harris, Cornelia, 19 yrs old (DOB would be 1831), F, W, Born in SC, Attends school
Harris, James, 17 yrs old (DOB would be 1833), M, W, Born in SC, Labor, Attends school
Harris, Catharine, 15 yrs old (DOB would be 1835), F, W, Born in SC, Attends school
Harris, Taylor, 11 yrs old (DOB would be 1839), F, W, Born in SC, Attends school
Harris, Eugenia, 9 yrs old (DOB would be 1841), F, W, Born in SC, Attends school
Harris, Fisherann (sic, should be Patricia Ann), 7 yrs old (DOB would be 1843), F, W, Born in SC, Attends school
Harris, Edward, 5 yrs old (DOB would be 1845), M, W, Born in SC
Harris, Anderson, 3 yrs old (DOB would be 1847), M, W, Born in SC

1860 U.S. Census of Union County,  South Carolina; Roll:  M653_1227; Page:  219; Image:  451; Family History Library Film:  805227, Lines 1-20, "John Harris" and "F.M. Harris"
John Harris, 61 yrs old (DOB 1799), M(ale), W(hite), Farmer, $1,500 Real Estate Value, $4,000 Personal Estate Value, Born in SC
Tabitha Harris, 62 yrs old (DOB 1798), F, W, Born in SC
Frances Bevel, 30 yrs old (DOB 1830), F, W, Born in SC
Iris Bevel, 6 yrs old (DOB 1854), F, W, Born in SC
John Bevel, 4 yrs old (DOB 1856), M, W, Born in SC
Fincher Harris (sic), 9 yrs old (DOB 1851), M, W, Student, Born in SC
Jahue Harris (sic), 18 yrs old (DOB 1842), M, W, Student, Born in SC
F.M. Harris, 50 yrs old (DOB 1810), M, W, Farmer, $125 Real Estate Value, $150 Personal Estate Value, Born in SC
Grstran Harris (sic, should be Augusta Ann Harris), 47 yrs old (DOB 1813), F, W, Born in SC
Frances Harris, 28 yrs old (DOB 1832), F, W, Born in SC
Taylor Harris, 20 yrs old (DOB 1840), M, W, Born in SC
Wyena Harris (sic), 17 yrs old (DOB 1843), F, W, Born in SC
Tesheran Harris (sic, should be Patricia Ann Harris), 15 yrs old (DOB 1845), F, W, Born in SC, Insane
Edward Harris, 13 yrs old (DOB 1847), M, W, born in SC, Idiot
Anderson Harris, 12 yrs old (DOB 1848), M, W, Born in SC
Havanah Harris, 9 yrs old (DOB 1851), F, W, Born in SC
Gamewell Harris, 7 yrs old (DOB 1853), M, W, Born in SC
George Harris, 5 yrs old (DOB 1855), M, W, Born in SC
Mary Harris, 6 yrs old (DOB 1854), F, W, Born in SC
Thomas Harris, 8 yrs old (DOB 1852), M, W, Born in SC

U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
Name: Anderson K. Harris
Side: Confederate
Regiment State/Origin: South Carolina
Regiment Name: 18 South Carolina Infantry
Regiment Name Expanded: 18th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry
Company: A
Rank In: Private
Rank In Expanded: Private
Rank Out: Private
Rank Out Expanded: Private
Film Number: M381 roll 14


James Marion, William Edward and Anderson Kennedy Harris joined the C.S.A. 18th SC Infantry Regiment, Co. A. The sad story is about William Edward and A.K. Harris who were at the seige of Petersburg. The Union troops had dug a tunnel beneath their position and set off an explosion that killed most of Co. A. After the explosion there was the Battle of the Crater. The explosion created a crater and the Union soldiers ran into the crater but, in the confusion, they didn't realize they were sitting ducks. Confederates rushed to the edge of the crater and began shooting into the mess. After the battle, A.K. became conscious. He was in a pile of dead bodies with his gun across his shoulders. He can hardly move but as he does, a Union soldier runs up and raises his gun to shoot A.K. but another one stops him from shooting a helpless and unarmed man. A.K. asks them to help him out and they do. Then he begins to look for his brother and saw William Edward's feet sticking out of the bodies. The Union soldier helped him get the body out and bury him and then took A.K. as prisoner. A.K. ends up at City Point Prisoner of War Camp and was transferred to Elmira Prisoner of War Camp in NY on 8/8/1864. He was released from Elmira on 7/7/1865 and he made his way home. He found out that his other brother, James Marion Harris had been killed right before the War ended at Burgess Mill, VA in April, 1865 on Lee's retreat to Appomattox.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy put together stories by veterans in "Recollections and Reminiscenses, 1861-1865 Thru WWI", Vol 6, Pg 329, Reminiscences as told by Anderson K. Harris to Mrs. J.W. Mixson
At the last celebration of Memorial Day in Union, SC, I met the bearer of the above name and he told me the following story: "I was behind the breastworks at Petersburg when the explosion of the mine occurred. When I came to myself I was lying on top of a pile of dead men in the crater (Petersburg Crater). I had evidently been left for dead along with the others for there was not a man in sight.
"I was pinned in, and could not move my feet at all, and my gun, or at least a gun, was lying across my neck and left side. After a while a young soldier in blue uniform came in sight; about this time, the gun on my neck began to feel very heavy and I made an effort to free my right arm sufficiently to push the gun off of my shoulders.
"Just then the Yankee raised his gun to fire at me, but almost instantly a big soldier stepped out from under cover and knocked up the young soldier's gun so that he fired into the air. The newcomer reprimanded the first solder for firing at a helpless man -- the boy explained that when he saw me move my hand toward the gun on my shoulder he thought I intended to shoot.
"I thanked the big solder for saving my life and begged him to help me get out of the hole into which I was tightly wedged by the forms of the dead men around me.
"I had nothing left to offer my rescuer but a chew of tobacco, but he seemed to appreciate it. After I got out, I was taken prisoner but requested my captors to allow me to examine the dead carefully to see if I could recognize any of them. Looking closely, I thought the legs of a solder seemed familiar -- the head and body were entirely covered by forms lying jumbled together, but the legs were straight in the air, he evidently having been thrown head foremost into the pit at the time of the explosion. The trousers leg was split, and I verified my suspicions as to the identity of the wearer by seeing the name, or rather the initials, on underclothes of my brother.
"Our mother had made the garments for us and marked them by working our initials in black threads on our 'smalls'. I secured permission to remove and bury my brother -- after which I was again taken into custody, and carried to prison."
Source: William Wallace Chapter, U.D.C., Union, SC

Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865
Name: A K Harris
Side: Confederate
Roll: M598_113
Roll Title: Selected Records of the War Department Relating to Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865

Name: A K Harris
Side: Confederate
Roll: M598_117
Roll Title: Selected Records of the War Department Relating to Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865

Name: A K Harris
Side: Confederate
Roll: M598_65
Roll Title: Selected Records of the War Department Relating to Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865

Name: A K Harris
Side: Confederate
Roll: M598_67
Roll Title: Selected Records of the War Department Relating to Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865


1870 U.S. Census of Pickney,  Union County,  South Carolina; Roll:  M593_1510; Page:  504B; Image:  364; Family History Library Film:  553009, Lines 34-40, "F.M. Harris"
F.M. Harris, 60 yrs old (DOB 1810), M(ale), W(hite), Farmer, $1,000 Real Estate Value, $400 Personal Estate Value, Born in SC
Gustianna Harris (sic, should be Augusta Ann Harris), 57 yrs old (DOB 1873), F, W, Born in SC
Cornelia Harris, 39 yrs old (DOB 1831), F, W, Born in SC
Eugenia Harris, 24 yrs old (DOB 1846), F, W, Born in SC
Anderson Harris, 21 yrs old (DOB 1869), M, W, Born in SC
Havanna Harris, 17 yrs old (DOB 1853), F, W, Born in SC
Gamewell Harris, 16 yrs old (DOB 1854), M, W, Born in SC
Thomas Harris, 18 yrs old (DOB 1852), M, W, Born in SC
Mary Harris, 16 yrs old (DOB 1854), F, W, Born in SC

A.K. married Sallie Austin about 1874 (according to the 1900 Census) and they had a set of twins named Willie and Ollie Harris. But Anderson had an affair with his brother's widow, Sarah Ann Bevill Harris. She became pregnant and they had Robert Jackson Harris on 2/10/1872 in Union County, SC.

1880 U.S. Census of Pinckney,  Union County,  South Carolina; Roll:  1242; Family History Film:  1255242; Page:  599D; Enumeration District:  158, Lines 24-39, "Mattie Harris", "George Harris", "Anderson Harris"
Mattie Harris, W(hite), M(ale), 71 yrs old (DOB 1809), Head, Married, Farmer, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Gusta A. Harris, W, F, 67 yrs old (DOB 1813), Wife, Married, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Havana Harris, W, F, 29 yrs old (DOB 1851), Daughter, Single, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Gamewell C. Harris, W, M, 27 yrs old (DOB 1853), Son, Single, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Sallie C. Harris, W, F, 17 yrs old (DOB 1863), Dil, Single, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
E. Boyd Harris, W, M, 3 yrs old (DOB 1877), Grandson, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
James M. Harris, W, M, 11/12 mos old (DOB 4/1879), Grandson, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
William Fraser, W, M, 35 yrs old (DOB 1845), Son-in-law, Works in field, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Frances Fraser, W, F, 49 yrs old (DOB 1851), Daughter, Works in field, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
George Harris, W, M, 24 yrs old (DOB 1856), Head, Married, Farmer, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Mary A. Harris, W, F, 21 yrs old (DOB 1859), Wife, Married, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Anderson Harris, W, M, 32 yrs old (DOB 1848), Head, Married, Farmer, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Sallie Harris, W, F, 32 yrs old (DOB 1848), Wife, Married, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Oliver R. Harris, W, M, 12 yrs old (DOB 1868), Son, Worsk in field, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Willie E. Harris, W, M, 12 yrs old (DOB 1868), Son, Works in field, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC

According to the Union County, SC Death Notices from Early Newspapers 1852-1914, compiled by Tommy Vaughn, pg 12, 9/27/1878 (Union Times), "Henry Smith, son of Newell Smith, was killed by Anderson Harris on a difficulty Wednesday AM last (9/18/1878) on Mount Tabor Rd." In issue of 6/20/1879 Harris was found not guilty.


It seems that Anderson found Henry Smith teasing and making fun of James Marion and Sarah Bevill Harris' son, Joseph Oscar Harris. He demanded the man quit and he wouldn't, so Anderson hit the man with a pick ax killing him.

1900 U.S. Census of Main St, Union,  Union County,  South Carolina; Roll:  T623_ 1544; Page:  30A; Enumeration District:  78, Lines 36-37, "A.K. Anderson"
A.K. Anderson, Head, W(hite), M(ale), Born Apr, 1847, 53 yrs old, Married, 26 yrs, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC, Carpenter, Rents home
Mrs. A.K. Anderson, Wife, W, F, Born Sept, 1847, 52 yrs old, Married, 26 yrs, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC

1910 U.S. Census of Glenn Springs,  Spartanburg County,  South Carolina; Roll:  T624_1472; Page:  5B; Enumeration District:  79; Image:  658, Lines 76-77, "A.K. Harris"
A.K. Harris, Head, M(ale), W(hite), 62 yrs old (DOB 1848), 2nd marriage, Married 63 yrs (?), Born in SC, Both parents born in SC, Farmer of general farm
Sallie Harris, F, W, 63 yrs old (DOB 1849), 1st marriage, Married 63 yrs (?), 4 children with 2 still living, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC

1920 U.S. Census of Gist Bridge and Cidalia Rd, Union,  Union County,  South Carolina; Roll:  T625_1713; Page:  1A; Enumeration District:  143; Image:  902, Lines 14-15, "Anderson C. Harriss" (sic)
Anderson C. Harriss, Head, Rents farm, M(ale), W(hite), 71 yrs old (DOB 1849), Married, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC, Farmer of general farm
Sara Harriss, Wife, F, W, 72 yrs old (DOB 1848), Married, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC

Anderson Kennedy Harris died 3/26/1938 and is buried at Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, Union County, SC. At this time I don't know when Sallie Austin Harris died. I would assume she is buried with Anderson Harris at Wesley Chapel.

Savannah Marie Harris Is Here!

Our nephew, Luke, and his wife, Hannah, had their baby girl last night. My sister, Elaine, took some photos for me and I did this digital scrapbook 2 page layout of Savannah's first minutes in the world. During Hannah's Labor, our side of the family was on Facebook. I copied our discussions about Savannah's birth into this layout.

New Year Links

I have been intending to blog more this year than I did last year, but the first week of the new year has coincided with the first week of classes (my first two, the introductory fiction writing course and the course on writing and publishing for senior writing majors, were on Tuesday), and now I am off to the Modern Language Association's annual convention in Los Angeles, so I haven't had any time to focus on any of the topics I've wanted to. Instead, here are a few links:


The new Congress opens, with GOP controlling the House and Democrats running the Senate

Mass die-offs of birds, crabs, fish across globe alarming scientists, observers

Whither progressivism in the United States from hereout?

After a lifetime of activism, Jean Quan takes office as Oakland's new mayor

Scholar bowdlerizes Huck Finn, changing n-word to slave

Michael Berubé on how conservatives have adopted postmodernism to ill ends

The very rich are very, very different from you and me (or maybe just me)

Republican Allen West joins Congressional Black Caucus, Tim Scott will not

Curtis Mayfield, blackness, autonomy, and resistance

Ivory Coast deadlocked, violence escalates, as Gbagbo refuses to concede

Is Sudan on the verge of a split into Muslim North, oil-rich Christian South?

And, as a bit of lagniappe, a rare random photo:

FRS workers' electric slide outside of the Apple Store, 14th St., NY

RhoDeo 1101 Goldy Rhox 8

Hello, today the 8th post of the new format; GoldyRhox, classic pop rock. Most of the albums i 'll post made many millions for the music industry and a lot of what i intend to post still gets repackaged and remastered decades later, squeezing the last drop of profit out of bands that for the most part have ceased to exist long ago, although sometimes they get lured out of the mothballs to do a big bucks gig or tour.

Now i'm not as naive to post this kinda music for all to see and have deleted, these will be a black box posts, i'm sorry for those on limited bandwidth but for most of you a gamble will get you a quality rip and for the younger visitors, for certain something to confront your parents with (as loud as possible)..don't like it, deleting is just 2 clicks...That said i will try to accomodate somewhat and produce some cryptic info on the artist and or album.

Plenty of chance to know what's coming up today, the breakthrough album in Europe for this band, in the US they had to wait till they had a big breakfast there..goes to show US media are missing the ball regularly..this album has it all ..pathos and drama and something most teenagers could relate to..school.. and the mock of being called a dreamer when you didnt pay attention to the mores of western society..highly regarded in ancient times in our day and age dreamers are humiliated.. a crime of the century indeed.

Goldy Rhox 8 106mb


***** ***** ***** ***** *****

How To Get Fired

I caught a little media blurb over at Media Bistro yesterday about ESPN firing one of their announcers, a one Ron Franklin. It didn't get into a lot of detail, briefly stating that "Franklin was pulled from last Friday’s Chick-fil-A Bowl broadcast after making derogatory comments towards colleague Jeannine Edwards." Now, I've never heard of Mr. Franklin, so I wasn't so much concerned about him as much as I really wanted to know what he said. So I looked into it. I wasn't sorry.

Before I continue, can I just point out an absolutely ridiculous side note? The Chick-fil-A Bowl? Really? Am I the only one who thinks that sounds totally asinine? Is this what we're looking at from now on? Corporate sponsorship that totally takes over the name of the game? There are some pretty silly sounding names out there. It's going to get interesting if we just let them start having their own bowl games (because they can) and naming them after themselves (because they own them and why wouldn't they?). Oh, wait. I just looked up all of the different names of bowl games and this is going to require its own post. I came to that conclusion after learning that there are over thirty different bowl games and one of them is the GoDaddy.com Bowl. And that's not even the silliest. So tune in tomorrow for Bowl Game Insanity, Part Deux!

Back to Mr. Franklin. I went over to USA Today for a little bit more of the story as to what he had said that was enough to get him fired. It seems that this Jeannine Edwards was talking with ESPN announcer Rod Gilmore. Apparently, Mr. Gilmore's wife had just been elected mayor of Alameda, California. (Good luck with that.) At some point, Mr. Franklin joined the conversation and for some unknown reason said to Ms. Edwards, "Listen to me sweet baby, let me tell you something . . . " She claims that he said that "...with a condescending tone." Yes, I think that if we can assume anything from a sentence that starts off with "Listen to me sweet baby" its' going to be that it's in a condescending tone. I got that without any initial clarification, though it was nice to have my initial assumption confirmed.

Oh, but if you're thinking it stopped there, it did not. "Edwards says she told Franklin not to address her like that." That seems like a fairly reasonable next step, considering that they were in the work place. But then, in a move that doesn't seem like a fairly reasonable next step, considering that they were in the work place, Franklin replied, To which Franklin said, "OK, then listen to me a-hole."

I'm sure it's wrong of me, but I laughed when I read that. Who the heck says stuff like that? To your co-worker no less! Don't get me wrong. There were plenty of co-workers that I would have loved to have said that to. (And I wouldn't have started out with "sweet baby" either. Nope, I would have gone straight to a-hole!) But that's the first rule of having co-workers. You don't call them a-hole to their face. While you're working. With them.

And even though he was fired, I'm under the impression that he was fired because he wasn't apologetic enough. Actually, he wasn't apologetic at all, as Ms. Edwards says that he did not apologize to her. The guy is 68 years old. There's a point in people's lives where they stop feeling like they either a) need to apologize, or b) care to apologize. Mr. Franklin is clearly past both of those points. And it won't matter because I'm sure that someone out there will hire him to do whatever it is that he does sometime in the near future. Hopefully they won't mind being called an a-hole once in a while.

RhoDeo 1101 Aetix

Hello, after a week of partying there's still no rest for the wicked..... i thought i start the new year with some eighties power pop, one highly succesful band the other fell thru the cracks, undeservedly but then the music business has never been a fair game..not even in Mozarts days.. In the end it's what the artist himself derives from his efforts, New Musik folded after three albums, maybe they took themselves too seriously, a pity they should have held out longer..

xxxxx

The B-52's originated as a New Wave rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, United States, in 1976. The band's name comes from a particular beehive hairdo resembling the nose cone of the airplane of the same name. During their early years, wigs of that style were often worn by the band's female singers Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson. Wilson, Pierson, drummer Keith Strickland, guitarist Ricky Wilson (Cindy's older brother) and vocalist Fred Schneider formed the group in an spontanous jam session. The band's quirky take on the New Wave sound of their era was a combination of dance and surf music set apart by the unusual guitar tunings used by Ricky Wilson. Their costume thrift-store chic set them apart as well.

Their first single, "Rock Lobster", recorded for DB Records in 1978, was an underground success that led to the B-52's performing at CBGB's and Max's Kansas City in New York City. "52 Girls" was the B-side. Their debut album, B-52's , contained re-recorded versions of "Rock Lobster" and "52 Girls", along with six more originals and a remake of Petula Clark's classic "Downtown". The debut album stood out as an original, unabashed kitsch mavens the band celebrated all the silliest aspects of pre-Beatles pop culture -- bad hairdos, sci-fi nightmares, dance crazes, pastels, and anything else that sprung into their minds -- to a skewed fusion of pop, surf, avant-garde, amateurish punk, and white funk.

The following year, they issued Wild Planet, which reached the Top 20 on the U.S. album charts; Party Mix!, an EP's worth of reworked material from the band's first two proper outings, appeared in 1981. Released in 1982, Mesopotamia arose out of a series of aborted sessions with producer David Byrne which saw the B-52's largely abandon their trademark sense of humor, a situation rectified by the next year's Whammy!, a move into electronic territory. After a Schneider solo LP, 1984's Fred Schneider & the Shake Society, the group returned to the studio to record 1986's Bouncing Off the Satellites. On October 12, 1985, however, Ricky Wilson died; though originally his death was attributed to natural causes, it was later revealed that he had succumbed to AIDS. In light of Wilson's death, the group found it impossible to promote the new album, and they spent the next several years in seclusion

In 1989, the B-52's finally returned with Cosmic Thing, their most commercially successful effort to date. Produced by Don Was and Nile Rodgers, the album launched several hit singles, including the party smash "Love Shack," "Roam," and "Deadbeat Club." In 1990, Cindy Wilson retired from active duty, leaving the remaining trio to soldier on for 1992's Good Stuff. A year later, dubbed the BC-52's, they performed the theme song for Steven Spielberg's live-action feature The Flintstones. Wilson returned to the group for a tour supporting the release of 1998's hits collection Time Capsule. Four years later the double-disc Nude on the Moon compilation would dive deeper into their catalog by featuring rare tracks, live recordings, and remixes along with the hits.

Funplex, the band's first original album in sixteen years (since 1992's Good Stuff), was released on March 25, 2008 by Astralwerks. The album is a slick, synthesizer-driven effort produced by Steve Osborne, who was asked to work on the album based on his work with New Order on the album Get Ready. The album debuted at #11 on the Billboard charts in the U.S., immediately making it the second-highest charting B-52's album ever. The band toured in support of the album as well as making television appearances on talk shows.



Wild Planet (80 148mb)

01 Party Out Of Bounds (3:21)
02 Dirty Back Road (3:21)
03 Runnin' Around (3:09)
04 Give Me Back My Man (4:00)
05 Private Idaho (3:35)
06 Devil In My Car (4:28)
07 Quiche Lorraine (3:58)
08 Strobe Light (3:59)
09 53 Miles West Of Venus (4:53)

10 Party Mix (28:22)

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New Musik were one of the first British groups to come out with a sound that successfully combined synths and "real" instruments.That said, their near-total lack of commercial acceptance is one of the great mysteries of early-'80s pop. Their music, rooted in classic pop songwriting but with a forward-looking interest in shiny electronics, is both instantly accessible and coolly forbidding. This dichotomy is most clearly expressed in the split between group leader Tony Mansfield's melodies, which are hummable, welcoming, and often quite bouncy, and his alienated lyrics.

New Musik formed in 1977, growing out of a casual band of south London school friends who jammed together under the name End of the World; singer and guitarist Mansfield, keyboardist Nick Straker, and bassist Tony Hibbert drafted drummer Phil Towner, who had played on the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." Rather than hotly pursue a record deal, the newly christened New Musik wisely chose to hone their craft first. Working during down times at a south London studio where Mansfield was informally employed as a session musician and apprentice engineer, the foursome recorded most of what would become their first two albums before approaching the British label GTO Records with the finished master tapes. However, before GTO released the first New Musik single, "Straight Lines," in August 1979, Straker had left for a fusion-oriented solocareer. He was replaced by Clive Gates.

This new lineup completed New Musik's debut album, From A to B, released in April of 1980. Several Singles were taken from it with "Living By Numbers" scoring the best. Early 81 saw the release of from A to B part two Anywhere, though Mansfield 's production skills obviously had grown, the album unexpectedly didn't do that well. My take on that, looking at the gatefold sleeve..they look like a progband, which they certainly weren't. With hindsight it could be said they lacked a niche, and the broadsky countries, where their music should have done well, didn't pick them up.

After Anywhere's disappointing commercial performance in the U.K., New Musik went through a period of turmoil. Hibbert and Towner both left the band, leaving Mansfield and Gates to record the third and final New Musik album as a duo with a hired drummer. Unlike From A to B and Anywhere, which blended synthesizers with acoustic guitars, live percussion, and other classic pop elements, Warp is almost entirely electronic. One of the first albums to be recorded primarily with digital samplers and emulators, Warp sounds a bit more dated than the first two New Musik albums, but the songs, among the most lyrically pessimistic of the band's career, are quite strong. New Musik split after this album, as Mansfield's sideline career as a producer started taking more of his time. Through the first half of the '80s, Mansfield produced hit singles for Naked Eyes, Mari Wilson, the B-52s, After the Fire, and others.



Warp (79 93mb)

01 Here Come the People (3:27)
02 Going Round Again (2:55)
03 A Train on Twisted Tracks (3:26)
04 I Repeat (4:28)
05 All You Need Is Love (4:21)
06 All You Need Is Love (5:38)
07 Kingdoms for Horses (4:16)
08 Hunting (4:15)
09 The New Evolutionist (3:19)
10 Green and Red (3:05)
11 The Planet Doesn't Mind (3:38)
12 Warp (4:22)

13 The Planet Doesn't Mind (Single Version) (3:36)
14 24 Hours from Culture (Part 1) (3:40)
15 Twelfth House (4:37)
16 Here Come the People (Remix) (5:28)
17 The Planet Doesn't Mind (12 Inch Version) (4:15)

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