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Jerry Osborne answers questions once a week on topics as varied as the price of an old vinyl LP to the stories behind the songs, to helping readers find that elusive song title that’s been dodging them for years. Readers continually look to him as the ultimate arbiter in settling disagreements of a musical nature between friends and family.
If a reader’s husband incorrectly insists that their first dance together was to a disco tune from 1977 (which she knows for sure was a hot hit from the summer of ‘76), she’ll write Mr. Music. Then she’ll wonder who her husband was dancing with in 1976...
Click here to view samples of the Mr. Music column:
Look here to see how Mr. Music can become part of a puzzle or games page:
MR. MUSIC - JERRY OSBORNE ON
COLLECTIBLE RECORDS AND RECORDED MUSIC
DEAR JERRY: A co-worker asked if I knew which pop singing star once lived
in the Brentwood (Calif.) house owned by O.J. Simpson.<
Having never heard any reference made during the trial to a previous
resident, I gave up. He then said Carly Simon lived there before O.J.<
If true, I am surprised this never got mentioned by the media back when
this was the country's top news story. Is it true? --Nancy Tillman,
Huntsville, Ala.<
DEAR NANCY: Though the question could have been phrased a bit better, I
think your trivia-loving friend knows what he's talking about.<
To be precise, it should have been which pop singing ``stars'' lived at 360
N. Rockingham, as James Taylor, Carly's husband then, qualifies as a star,
as does Tony Orlando.<
In the mid-'70s, Carly, James, and newly-born Sarah ``Sally'' Maria, rented
there -- 20 years before the Simpson case made it one of the most talked-
about addresses of the decade.<
In a statement posted at Carly's web site, she recalls her reaction to
seeing the TV coverage of the end of the white Bronco vehicle chase:<
``It was eerie to watch his Bronco pull into my driveway that day, those
many years later.''<
After Carly and clan left California for New York, Tony Orlando became
the new tenant at 360. He stayed until 1977 when Simpson bought the
property.<
By not keeping up with the payments, O.J. lost the home in a 1997
foreclosure proceeding.<
After such infamy, it is perhaps fitting that the next owner razed all
the structures and announced plans to build a new home on the site.<
DEAR JERRY: I recently paid $10 for the soundtrack of the Alan Freed
'50s film, ``Rock Rock Rock.'' My copy lacks a label name, nor is there
a catalog number shown. It does read ``Disc Jockey Sample.'' Was $10 a
good deal? --Daryl Corbin, Tacoma, Wash.<
DEAR DARYL: What you have is the promotional-only edition of ``Rock Rock
Rock,'' issued in 1958 before the commercially available soundtrack album.<
For $10, you just might have gotten the bargain of the year. In near-mint
condition this could be a $500 to $750 record.<
DEAR JERRY: Here's a tough one: Which song has been most often recorded
over the last 50 years? I read somewhere that ``Stardust'' is the champ in
this category. My co-worker, who is too young to know ``Stardust,''
claims the leader is ``Yesterday,'' first recorded by the Beatles.<
Who's correct? --Bob Campo, WQYK AM/FM, St. Petersburg, Fla.<
DEAR BOB: Your young associate is right. Just a few years ago, ``Yesterday''
surpassed ``Stardust'' as the most recorded song ever.<
Though the number of recordings of ``Yesterday'' in ever changing,
approximately 2,600 versions have been made since John Lennon and Paul
McCartney wrote the tune in 1965.<
In a related topic, ``Yesterday'' is the second-most-recorded
non-holiday track, found on albums that charted from 1955 through 1992.<
During that period, 69 different charted albums included ``Yesterday.''
Only ``Tonight,'' from ``West Side Story,'' appeared more often on
hit LPs -- 81 times.<
Music historians offer no explanation why this unadorned little
song achieved so much acclaim. Somehow it enchanted the
music-buying public and a couple thousand recording artists.<
DEAR JERRY: We hear often about when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the
Big Bopper died in that tragic plane crash, but the pilot's name is
never mentioned. Who was flying that plane? -- Larry Mac Donald, Bangor,
Maine<
DEAR LARRY: The answer to your question is included in the official
Coroner's Report.<
Filed February 4, 1959, by Ralph E. Smiley, M.D., Acting Coroner of Cerro
Gordo County, Iowa, it reads:<
``Jiles P. Richardson, Charles Holley, Richard Valenzuela and Roger A.
Peterson, pilot of the plane, were killed in the crash of a chartered
airplane when it fell within minutes of takeoff from the Mason City Airport.<
``The three passengers were members of a troupe of entertainers who
appeared at the Surf Ballroom at Clear Lake, Iowa, the evening of February
2, 1959, bound for Fargo, N.D. and was headed northwest from the airport at
the time of the crash in a stubble field, 5 1/2 miles north of Clear Lake,
Iowa. The plane was discovered about 9:00 a.m., February 3, 1959, when Mr.
H.J. Dwyer, owner of the crashed plane, made an aerial search because he had
received no word from Peterson since his takeoff.''<
IZ ZAT SO? While naming the recording artist who has sold the most
records, tapes, compact discs, etc. is easy -- Elvis Presley -- care
to take a guess at who is now in second place?<
Though his first chart hit didn't come until 1970, Elton John is now
the second best-selling recording artist of the rock era.<
Copyright 2004 World Features Syndicate, Inc...endit
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