Otis!

Otis Redding on stage at the Whiskey A Go-Go in 1966.  Image borrowed from the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.

Gary Usher Month - Ridin' Trails

 
The Kickstands  -  Ridin' Trails

In 1964, Gary Usher was a hired hand on The Kickstands' motorcycle-themed Capitol LP Black Boots And Bikes.  The record ended up featuring four tunes written by Usher and frequent co-hort Roger Christian, as well as another by Usher only.  The album featured the vocal talents of Gary Usher, as well as a couple of the guys in the photo above - Dennis McCarthy and Dick Burns, who handles lead vocals on this track.

Goin' Out To Hollywood (MP3)

Bill Emerson - Goin' Out To Hollywood

So here's a mighty fine record by Bill Emerson, who lays out the inspired tale of a backwoods country boy with a plan to head west to Hollywood, stoked up on visions of movie stardom, limousines, and flashy Fender guitars.

Is it country, rock & roll, or maybe rockabilly? All of the above, I guess, but to tell you the truth I think it's mostly in the ear of the beholder.

Double Indemnity House

Here's a screen capture from Billy Wilder's superb 1944 film noir, Double Indemnity. Thanks to Debbie, I'm now helplessly addicted to the What Was There site, which will let you superimpose old photos on top of newer views -and- dissolve them back and forth, using the plus and minus keys. I'll try not to go too nuts with this trick here on Ichiban, but we'll see.

This is Quebec Drive at La Punta Drive, up in the Hollywood Hills. Go see what it looks like now. I learned about this (and yesterday's Sunset Strip film clip) via a Facebook group called Vintage Los Angeles, which I very highly recommend you check out.

Sunset Strip 1967

This silent clip shows the spectacular beauty of Los Angeles' Sunset Strip, as seen in 1967.