Saturday Night Live Seasons One and Two Music Guests

I was 13 years old when I watched these live on Saturday night, often with my Univox electric guitar in hand, ready to play along with the music. It was a blast from the past to purchase the first two seasons, with the third season set to be released this May.

I grew up on the flat fields of southern Minnesota, where we only got about four channels, so anytime I got to see a taped or live music concert was a treat. SNL, along with Don Kirshner's Rock Concert and The Midnight Special, were really the only games in town. Often, the guitarists would be playing a Stratocaster or Les Paul, the two guitars I wanted badly.

The Band made their last TV appearance on October 31, 1976. I was not really aware of them, and was not a fan, but I remember watching this live that night. Robbie Robertson had recently been on the cover of Guitar Player, so I knew who they were. He was playing a vintage 50's Stratocaster with a humbucking pickup in the bridge spot, playing his distinctive sytle with pinch harmonics and that treblely tone. Leveon was playing, as I learned many years later, his woodedn drum kit bought in the 60's, that definded his drum tone. Now, of course, as I am older, my wife and I are huge fans of the Band and own many or most of their music and taped concerts. That was the end of an era. as the Band were true originals. Music changed later during the 70's, with disco taking over the airwaves and many of the older bands faded away.

Brian Wilson made a rare and unusual appearance on November 27, 1976. He was shaky at best, but it was good to see him out of his shell of anxiety and drepression. He was clearly nervous, but had the courage to appear in a sketch as a guard. He even played Good Vibrations solo while playing the piano in a sandbox.

The Kinks were on the show on the February 26, 1977 and played a quick medley of their hits. Dave Davies played a beautiful 50's goldtop Les Paul with P-90 pickups. This guitar was probably not a huge collectable at the time, but would be worth a fortune today.

Levon Helm played on the March 19, 1977 show, along with Dr. John and Paul Butterfield, calling themselves Levon Helm and the All Stars. They played great on two songs, and one wonders why they did not continue with this line up. For us, this was worth the price of the boxed set. Leveon Helm is a true American musical treasure, who lives for the music and still plays today at his farm. He beat cancer and financial problems, and won a Grammy for Dirt Farmer.

Santana played on March 26, 1977, playing Europa, which was at the time, my favorite song, and did a short version of Black Magic Woman. I was a huge fan at that time and was learning his songs the best I could. He was playing a Yamaha SG-2000 through Mesa Boogie amps. It was a thrill for me seeing him play Europa. Also, he seemed to be on TV alot that year. You could not be an aspiring guitar player at that time and not be influenced by Santana.

Frank Zappa was on the December 11, 1976 show, with a young Terry Bozzio on drums. I liked Frank, but was not to familiar with his music at that time. John Belushi appears on Frank's last song on the show, as the Samuari saxaphone player. Frank was playing a SG copy given to him by a fan. Frank was a true orignal, and there has been no once since that is does his style of music. He did not care for guitar pyrotechnics and flash, and does not even play guitar on one of the songs.

Chuck Berry was on the January 22, 1977 show, playing his trademark Gibson ES-345. He played Johnny B. Goode and did his duck walk. It was easy to see why he scared the heck out of people in the 1950's and we own much to him for coming up with many of the guitar stylings and licks that we have all played at one time or another.

There are many more to write about, and I have focused mostly on the second season. I am looking forward to the third season. and will write more about others later when I have more time.

My Essential 1970's Albums

Here are a few of the essential albums that got me started on playing guitar so many years ago.

Allman Brothers Band - Live at the Fillmore East. What can possibly be said about the best live recording ever made (in my opinion!)? This is the one that got me going, when I was all of 12 and in the 6th grade and was the second ABB LP I bought, the first being the compilation "Beginnings". It started my long journey of discovery and music. "You Don't Love Me" was the song that I first heard, not even knowing who it was that night at 1 a.m. Luckily my brother was listening the radio and though it was the Allman Brothers Band. Now - he may not have heard anything, and just pulled that name out of nowhere. He doesn't remember it at all. I had never heard of the ABB, even though Ramblin' Man was a huge hit that previous summer.

From the opening slide of Statesboro Blues, through the heaven of Duanes' frantic solo on Elizabeth Reed, and to the ending note of Whipping Post, I was mesmerized by this music. What a shame to learn later that Duane had died two years earlier. I had quite an album collection by the end of 6th grade, thanks to my mother, who never questioned what music I was listening to and who usually gave me cash to indulge.

My meager tape collection until the ABB consisted of tapes given to me by my sister and brother. Those tapes were Jethro Tull Aqualung, Savoy Brown Street Corner Talking, Steve Miller Band In Rock, Bloodrock Bloodrock II, Alice Cooper Killer, Deep Purple Made in Japan and Black Sabbath Masters of Reality and a few others I can't remember. Not a bad selection to have. I liked the Doors and was a huge Beatles fan in second grade, and was sad to learn they broke up.

Jimi Hendrix was next. I heard the Woodstock Star Spangled Banner on TV and rushed out to buy the first Hendrix LP I could find. That one was the soundtrack to the movie. I wore that LP out, even though I never attempted to learn the music as I did with the other LPs. It was beyond me. Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland came later. Now I enjoy playing Little Wing and The Wind Cries Mary along with other musician friends.

Yes came along that summer of 1974 with Relayer. Not one of their most popular release, but it opened me up to progressive art rock. Yessongs and Going for the One were my favorite LPs near the end of the seventies during my senior year. Yours is No Disgrace was probably the song I liked most by Yes, echoed by a recent thread on a guitar forum where other aspiring guitarists were drawn to this song at the same time

Rush came along in 1974. I remember hearing Working Man on the late night radio, but it was not until 1976 that I got All the Worlds a Stage. Man, did I wear out the groves on that one, and wore out the cover looking at all the cool pictures inside, imagining it was me! The cover had Alex Lifeson's two Marshall stacks and a Les Paul, my dream rig, even though I didn't know much about those things. 2112 was purchased soon after. Hours were spent listening the Twilight Zone, Passage to Bangkok, and 2112. I learned these songs to the best of my abilities. I bought every Rush LP: Permanent Waves, Hemispheres, and Farewell to Kings.

No aspiring guitarist could escape Santana, who seemed to be on TV a lot in 1977. I would tape these on my cassette player, holding the mic up to the speaker. Europa was a challenge to learn, and somewhere around the house, I have a tape of me playing along with it on a cheap black Les Paul copy that I had Framptonized (white pickup rings and switch rings). Check out Welcome, if you want to hear the spacier, smoother side of Santana. Amigos had Europa on it. It seemed like by Amigos, he was shifting gears to a more mainstream style. Moonflower, coming along in the late 1970's was my absolute favorite. Any guitarist trying to learn how to play should listen to it.

I have so many more to talk about: Heart, Van Halen, Queen, Rory Gallagher, Robin Trower…the 1970's was full of fantastic guitar music, most of which I still enjoy today, right along with all the new artists I have been discovering around the world wide web. I could write a whole web page on Led Zeppelin alone.

By the way, I really miss LP covers. It was always cool to buy an album, open it up and spend time going over the contents and looking at the pictures. You felt like you had gotten your money's worth. As a graphic designer, I appreciate the work and the end resulting artwork that defined many bands. It seems like a lost art now, with most music being bought online. It feels like we have lost a connection to the artists.

The New American Standard Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster

I tried these put a few days ago. Guitar Center had a few set out. I liked them and am glad to see that the maple necks are not as white as before. They have a slight amber tint. A small detail, I suppose, but I like the necks that color. The finish on the body is thinner, supposedly enhancing tone.

The maple necks have a coating of laquer on the top and peg head, but the back of the neck is satin. I am not sure how I feel about the coating on the neck. I am not used to it, but I think one would get used to it overtime. The coating is not as severe as on the vintage models or the Eric Johnson signature Stratocaster. The guitar neck felt slimmer to me, but I am not sure if that was changed. The bridge saddles are vintage style, which apparently has an impact on tone. I would like to hear that to see if it is true. The bridge retains its two connection points to the body. The pickups have alnico magnets and are designed just for this model.

I have read great reviews of the new guitars on a number of guitar forums. The prices have jumped up, just under a $1,000. The Stratocaster I played felt more vintage than my 2001 American Series, which was Fenders' intention - to combine vintage with modern.

The new Telecaster had the same specs as the Stratocaster, neck wise. The only real difference I saw was that the saddles are a new design - they are not the vintage style. There is also a Fender logo embossed on the bridge above the pickup.

I did not get a chance to plug these in. I hope to try it another day. However, the reviews I have read say that the new guitars sound fantastic.

I love Fenders. I always seek out the Fender guitars first at any store. They are great guitars at any price range.

While I was at Guitar Center, I saw a 1965 black Stratocaster going for $29,999. I thought back to 1983, when I passed on a white 1965 Stratocaster for $600! Who knew these guitars would go up in value so much? I wonder if anyone buys them at that price, though.