I have spent the last few days clearing out my loft and de-cluttering.
As I went through my CDs and DVDs I came across the 30th Anniversary CD/DVD set of The Stranger by Billy Joel.
Included is a facsimile book of his lyric writing for the album the first page lists the 39 artists he acted as a support act before he headlined on his own.
Can you name them without cheating?
I’ll start it off with an obvious one.
Eagles.
38 left
Bruce?
No
Cool question I’ll have a pop at a couple …
Fleetwood Mac and the Doobie Brothers
Doobie Brothers – Yes
Fleetwood Mac- No
Leon Russell
Elton John
Beach Boys
Bob Dylan
… only guessing
Beach Boys – Yes
The other three – No
Tom Waits
Tom Lehrer
Roberta from Spotify
Tinky-Winky
The cut out policeman from the window of Home Bargains
…
I have to confess that I’m busking here.
Keep on busking in the wrong world.
Stackridge?
Stackwaddy?
Showaddywaddy?
The Gigantic Landcrabs?
No to all of the above
Poco
Allman Brothers
Loggins and Messina
Roberta Flack
Diana Ross
Poco- Yes
Allman Brothers-No
Loggins and Messina – Yes
Roberta Flack – No
Diana Ross – No
Mamas and Papas
CSNY
Captain and Tenille
Jefferson Airplane
Everley Bros
Bros
Nope.
Warren Zevon?
Linda Ronstatdt?
Warren Zevon – No
Linda Rondstat-Yes
6 down 33 to go.
Humpy Bong
No
Chicago
Santana
CCR
Steely Dan
Franki Vali
No
Deep Purple
Led Zeppelin
King Crimson
Frank Zappa
Captain Beefheart
No
Aerosmith
Three Dog Night
Queen
Kiss
Rolling Stones
Dion
and, ummm….Kinky Friedman
No
Apologies…Kinky Friedman is on the list.
his handwriting isn’t that easy to read!
James Taylor.
Delaney & Bonny.
Dr John.
J Geils Band.
The Steve Miller Band.
J Geils Band – Yes
The others no
Carly Simon
Paul Simon
Jackson Browne
Joni Mitchell
Val Doonican
None of them
Seals and Croft.
Tiny Tim
Seals and Croft – Yes
Tiny Tim – No
Mighty Baby.
The Edgar Broughton Band.
The Pink Fairies.
Hawkwind.
Man.
No
The Association
The Box Tops
Tom Jones
No
8 down 31 to go
The Everley Brothers
The Beatles
Taj Mahal (I’m pretty sure I saw that concert)
Badfinger
America
Badfinger – Yes
The others no.
Foghat
Grand Funk Railroad
Jethro Tull
No
Bee Gees
Them/Van
Dean Martin
Moody Blues
Tony Bennet
None of them
Mannasas
Delaney & Bonnie
Eric Clapton
No
Sparks
No
Bette Midler
Barbra Streisand
Vic Damone
Boz Scaggs
Jack Jones
Andy Williams
Dion
Bill Withers
*some or all of the above may have been dead before Billy Joel picked up a piano.
He’s only little.
Bill Withers – Yes
The rest no.
Nice work, Uncle Wheaty. This is a lot of fun.
Billy is from the Bronx and released his first album in 1971. Logically, he originally would have been the support act for other NY acts.
Laura Nyro
Celia Cruz
Melanie
New York Dolls
Isaac Hayes
Fania Allstars
Willie Colon
Ray Barretto
Patti Smith
Flaming Groovies
David Ackles
Sam and Dave
Unfortunately not.
Miles Davis
Delaney & Bonnie
The Band
T. Rex
Thin Lizzy
None of them
I wish to complain. Uncle clearly has no idea what he’s talking about. His rejection of my Taj Mahal answer is Wrong. Wrong I tell you ..
https://www.masslive.com/entertainment/2014/10/forgotten_concerts_taj_mahal_a.html
And, as I said in my original post – dear reader, I was there. (If you have a few hours spare sometime, I’ll tell how how I came to end up in Springfield in 1972)
I might be completely offbeam here but – did you take up a job in the new nuclear power plant?
The owner looked dodgy so I passed.
Journey
Foreigner
REO Speedwagon
No
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Yes
Genesis
Yes – Yes
The others no.
Grand Funk Railroad
J Geils Band
Poco
… thinking of bands who were huge in the US.
Also, The Kinks were doing enormodromes in the States, so I could imagine that he might have opened.
I don’t think the Kinks played the enormodomes until much later in the seventies.
J Geils Band and Poco have already been identified as yes.
Grand Funk Railroad – No
Lads, lads, we need to take the time to check if names have already been chucked up into Uncle’s hat of historical mystery or we are never going to win. Are we a force to be reckoned with of sad music obsessives or just a disorganised fountain pen fetishising rabble?
So…The Osmonds.
Little Feat.
Cheap Trick.
Heart.
Earth, Wind & Fire.
The Temptations.
The problem I find is I think of someone and decide to add it to the list. I then come back here see some other names listed and promptly forget who I was going to add.
So, what’s your absolutely favourite writing implement?
Don’t have one I’ve always hated having to physically write.
Uncle has obviously left the building. Ashamed, no doubt, of his part in Taj Mahalgate…
I was shocked it wasn’t the lead story on the BBC or Channel 4 news.
I find it suspicious that he has refrained from answering yay or nay to my suggestion of Humpy Bong
Come to think of it Springfield 72 “That was Billy Joel, I’m sure he’ll go far. Before we welcome Taj on stage, give a big hand for Humpy Bong!”
He did support Taj Mahal. I found it on the list.
No
None of those I’m afraid.
No one has suggested Black Oak Arkansas….
With good reason…no.
Lovin Spoonful
Flying burrito brothers
5th Dimension
Love
Procol Harum
Traffic
Roy Orbison
Big Star
Procol Harum – Yes.
The others no.
12 down, 27 to go.
If Billy did support Taj Mahal he obviously forgot to write it down in his list.
Oops my mistake. Taj Mahal IS on the list.
13 down.
Apologies to Lodey.
OMG! I did not see that twist coming!
Ok, it was 1972 and my girlfriend said let’s catch a Greyhound. We passed the New Jersey Turnpike, on our way to Springfield. Cathy, I said. let’s go see the Taj Mahal. She seemed more concerned about the guy in a gabardine coat. I fell asleep. Next thing I knew, “Hi, I’m Billy J, I’m gonna be famous one day”
Hall and Oates
Little River Band
Tony Bennet
Bryan Adams
Hall and Oates – Yes.
The others no.
14 down.
There’s a yacht rocky theme to this.
Dave Mason
Traffic
Marc Almond (the band)
Peter frampton
Humble Pie
The Beach Boys
We have already had the Beach Boys.
The rest – no.
Woody Woodmansey’s U-Boat
Not on the list.
Gerry Rafferty?
Surprisingly no.
Sly
Osark Mountain Daredevils
Chaka Khan/Rufus
Grateful Dead
Paul Butterfield
The doors
None of those are on the list.
Billy Joel was probably afraid that the Grateful Dead would ask him to be their next keyboard man. There was a notoriously high mortality rate among GD keyboardists – a bit like Spinal Tap drummers.
Stevie Wonder
Joe Jackson
Dr John
ELO
Lou Rawls
Al Jarreau
Al Green
Ray Charles
Stevie Wonder – Yes
The rest no.
With apologies to Slug whoI incorrectly told Kinky Friedman was not on the list that now brings the total up to 16.
23 to go.
I’ll publish the full list on Monday evening assuming that all 39 are not guessed before then.
Here are the 16 acts that have been identified so far:
Eagles
Doobie Brothers
The Beach Boys
Poco
Loggins and Messina
Linda Rondstat
Kinky Friedman
J Geils Band
Seals and Croft
Badfinger
Bill Withers
Yes
Taj Mahal
Procol Harum
Hall and Oates
Stevie Wonder
Joe Cocker
Jefferson Airplane/Starship
Loggins and Messina
Santana
Beck Bogart and Appice
Mountain
West Bruce and Laing
Jefferson Starship – Yes
Jeff Beck – Yes
Loggins and Messina – yes but already listed above
The others no.
Wings
Slade
Status Quo
Barbara Striesand
Bee Gees
Donovan
None of those.
Although Donovan claims to have written Piano Man but couldn’t be arsed to record it … allegedly.
He also claims Bread’s Guitar Man, Bad News’ Hey Mr Bass Man, and Sony’s Walkman
Clue…two of the acts appeared at a famous 1960s festival.
Shanana
Sha Na Na – Yes
Canned Heat
Not them.
The Band.
Brinsley Schwartz
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon exists (apparently, maybe with a sight leap of faith)
Musically, Six Degrees of Nick Lowe MUST be a thing.
Neither of them.
Sly and the family stone
The Who
No.
The Outlaws.
Marshall Tucker Band.
Hot Tuna.
Spirit.
Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts.
The Outlaws – Yes
The rest no.
Stephen Stills
Crosby & Nash
Neil Young
ELO
He lists. Crazy Horse so I’ll give you Neil Young.
The others no.
The Young Rascals
Iron Butterfly
Marshall Tucker Band
Chicago
Savoy Brown
None of them.
I fear this thread has become the musical equivalent of Harlan Pepper’s nut naming.
…macadamia
……..nut…
Erm … John Sebastian, maybe?
Correct.
Flo & Eddie?
No.
Babs
Helen Reddy
Olivia Newton John
Bette Middler
Olivia Newton John – Yes.
The others no.
The Kinks
Climax Chicago
ZZ Top
Jethro Tull
John Hiatt
Felix Cavaliere
Todd Rundgren
Sanford Townsend
Atlanta Rhythm Section
Boston
None of them.
David Bowie
Joan Baez
Joni Mitchell
Kris Kristofferson
Kenny Rogers
None of them.
The New York Dolls.
No.
So the 23 acts identified so far are:
Eagles
Doobie Brothers
The Beach Boys
Poco
Loggins and Messina
Linda Rondstat
Kinky Friedman
J Geils Band
Seals and Croft
Badfinger
Bill Withers
Yes
Taj Mahal
Procol Harum
Hall and Oates
Stevie Wonder
Jefferson Starship
Jeff Beck
Sha Na Na
The Outlaws
Crazy Horse
John Sebastian
Olivia Newton John
16 to go.
That’s basically page 1 of the Hoffman forum on most days.
REO Speedwagon
Not them.
Boston
Tony Bennett
James Taylor
Carly Simon
John mayall
None of them.
JJ Cale
Mose Allison
Linda Ronstadt
Janis Ian
The Neville Brothers
Janis Ian – Yes
The rest no.
Frank Sinatra
Dean Martin
Sammy Davis Junior
James Brown
None of those.
Steppenwolf
Iron Butterfly
Vanilla Fudge
Bread
Fanny
None of them.
Taj Mahal
The Four Tops
Otis Redding
Buffy St Marie
Taj Mahal
Only Taj Mahal there.
Taj Mahal
Liberace
Cher
Neil Diamond
Roberta Flack
Don McClean
Gladys Knight
Peter Glaze
Okay it’s Don McLean.
None of the above.
Roland Rivron
Jools Holland
Vic Reeves
Jonathan Ross
Terry Wogan
Graham Norton
Fiona Bruce
Nope.
Clue- one of the artists has a much revered following by a few on here.
Not Richard Thompson, surely…?
No not him.
A band not a solo artist.
Steely Dan
Not them
Mahavishnu Orchestra? Imagine that!!’
Correct!
My next guess would have been Fairport Convention… they could be a contender?
Supertramp?
Del Amitri?
Strangely no.
Another clue – one of the artists had a UK number 1 single the late 1970s.
Village People
No.
Simon and Garfunkel
No.
Lou Reed?
No.
Leonard Cohen.
No.
Broooce
Nope.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer..? That would have been amazing.
Afraid not.
David Bowie
No.
Bonnie Raitt
Carole King
Neither of them.
Bing Crosby
Johnny Mathis
Johnny Cash
Elvis Costello
None of them.
Little Feat
Bob Welch
Peter Frampton
Roxy Music
None of them.
Tom Petty
Stevie Nicks
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Rondstat already found. The others no.
Curses. Foiled again. (Exits, stage left)
Rush?
No.
Marillion?
I would have paid to see that but no.
Barry Manilow
Boz Scaggs
Average White Band
Roxy Music
None of them.
Dr Hook & the Medicine Show – they were huge in the States in Billy’s early days…
Correct. The band I referenced as having a late 1970s UK No.1 single.
In what respect is this quiz like “When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman”?
It’s hard!
You may be right, and I may be crazy.
26 now identified:
Eagles
Doobie Brothers
The Beach Boys
Poco
Loggins and Messina
Linda Rondstat
Kinky Friedman
J Geils Band
Seals and Croft
Badfinger
Bill Withers
Yes
Taj Mahal
Procol Harum
Hall and Oates
Stevie Wonder
Jefferson Starship
Jeff Beck
Sha Na Na
The Outlaws
Crazy Horse
John Sebastian
Olivia Newton John
Janis Ian
Dr. Hook
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Only 13 left to identify.
I was gonna say Mahavishnu Orch as a joke then decided it wasn’t funny
Me too!
Ok my other silly suggestion not proffered was
The Mothers Of Invention
Not them.
Robin Trower was popular in that time period, could he be on the list…?
He is not on the list.
Clue – one of the artists also appeared as an actor in The Godfather.
That must be Morgana King, then…?
Correct.
Clue – one of the artists wrote a perennial classic Christmas song
Jose Feliciano
Correct.
Given the sort of musical territory we seem to be in, have we had The Carpenters yet? How about Harry Chapin? Ray Charles?
Harry Chapin – Yes
The Carpenters – No.
Ray Charles – No.
Dandy Livingston
No.
The Incredible String Band
Dr Strangely Strange
Principal Edwards Magic Theatre
No.
Harry Nillson
The Faces
Rod Stewart (presumably already guessed)
Al Stewart
Mama Cass
Ralph McTell
Brothers Johnson
Marian Faithful
No.
Clodagh Rogers
No.
RIP
Neil Sedaka
Capt and Tenille
Osmonds
Commodores
Earth Wind and Fire
Southside Johnny and Asbury Dukes
Huey Lewis
Pat Benatar
Heart
No.
Mahal Taj
Close.
Andy Williams.
Janis Joplin.
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band.
The Jackson 5.
The Chi-Lites.
The Bee Gees.
Redbone.
None of them.
Here the 29 acts identified so far:
Eagles
Doobie Brothers
The Beach Boys
Poco
Loggins and Messina
Linda Rondstat
Kinky Friedman
J Geils Band
Seals and Croft
Badfinger
Bill Withers
Yes
Taj Mahal
Procol Harum
Hall and Oates
Stevie Wonder
Jefferson Starship
Jeff Beck
Sha Na Na
The Outlaws
Crazy Horse
John Sebastian
Olivia Newton John
Janis Ian
Dr. Hook
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Morgana King
Jose Feliciano
Harry Chapin
10 left to get. I will post the remaining answers later this morning if they are not identified.
Happy. Easter!
Emmylou Harris.
Willy Nelson.
Dolly Parton.
None of them.
The final unidentified 10 artists are:
Tim Weisberg
Anne Murray
Jessie Colin Young
Tom Rush
David Frye
It’s A Beautiful Day
Pablo Cruise
Billy Preston
Liv Taylor
Leo Kottke
This was fun! Also, I think Billy was great up to The Bridge (and including it). I saw him live a few times and he & his band were phenomenal. A massively underrated talent, mostly because he is somehow a bit unlikeable as a person.
I was just going to say those
I’ve seen 8 of that 39 – none of them with Billy Joel as opening act though.
I have seen none of them live and own recordings by 11 of them.
Billy and the Bollix?
Behave.
Obscure Commitments reference noted!
‘On a fockin’ Suzuki?’
What a motley crew.!
Good fun
Truly not enough under par.
No Rory’s in our Massive.
I would do another one next year but my CD/DVD boxsets are very limited so wouldn’t extend to another one.
Unless you like Suede…?
Double hamper!
Who wants to share the Corsair Chicken Liver Pate?