Jim Colyer

I wrote a book called ABBA & Their Music. As far as I know I am the only American to attempt a book about ABBA. Many people think ABBA had only a few hits. Fact is, ABBA was a decade long group that recorded 110 songs and produced 9 #1s in Great Britain. They sold 350 million records in virtually every country in the world. Each member of the group had solo careers after 1982. Here are links to chapters in my book: 1 ABBA from Sweden http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=31 2 ABBA Biographies http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=40 3 ABBA Reflections http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=39 4 ABBA & Their Music http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=35 5 ABBA video http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=44 6 ABBA Revival http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=29 7 ABBA Agnetha & Frida Solo http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=43 8 Chess Musical http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=30

I am still listening to Shania Twain's GH, "I Ain't No Quitter." Shania is still the queen.

In the day!

GET DOWN TONIGHT is one of the greatest recordings of all time. What an intro!

I was a Beatles fan in those days but respect the Stones for getting out and doing it at their age. I saw the Stones in Louisville, Kentucky in 1964 and paid $2 for my ticket. I will not try to top it. I thought they would quit after 40 Licks. I dig Honky tonk Women.

I was a senior in high school and an avid record buyer when Louie Louie came out. The "dirty lyrics" naturally fell into my hands. It was wierd. Depending on what set of lyrics you had in mind, that is what you heard when you listened to it. I do not think there has been another recording like it. Maybe a couple of lines can be heard differently in a few songs but not the entire song. It did not matter much because The Beatles were coming, and they blew away The Kingsmen and everybody else. The Beatles> http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=61

I Stand Alone is the Agnetha album produced by Peter Cetera. It is solid.

After ABBA, Frida did 2 solo albums in the 80s. The first was called Something's Going On and was produced by Phil Collins. It contained a great song called To Turn The Stone. It was written by Giorgio Moroder, the German dude who worked with Donna Summer. TO TURN THE STONE The moon retreats behind a silver cloud As darkness throws its cloak towards the earth And mystery replaces what we thought we knew To turn the stone, to turn the stone The one dimension only shows one side But do we see the same through different eyes As you and I peer into life's kaleidoscope To turn the stone, to turn the stone Eternal sands of time shift endlessly Behind a veil of motionless disguise An eyelid flash is all it really seems to need To turn the stone, to turn the stone Frida's second album was called Shine. I really preferred Shine to the Phil Collins effort as I have never been a fan of Phil's. Frida went for him big time.

This is regrettable. Mindy was a big deal in the Nashville music scene just a few years ago. I live in Nashville. This town is the most cop-infested city in the country. They sit on the side of the road and just wait to rake in money. If you get pulled over in Nashville, get your wallet out.

ABBA broke up in 1982. Blonde Agnetha Faltskog went on to do 3 solo albums. Wrap Your Arms Around Me was released in 1983. It was hot. Agnetha was still feeling the success of her ABBA years. Several of the same musicians who worked with ABBA played on it. Her second solo album, Eyes Of A Woman, was not as warm as the first. It was more European and a bit techno. In 1988, she gave us I Stand Alone. It was produced by Peter Cetera. They recorded it in Los Angeles. Cetera thought Agnetha was going to stay in the States and promote the album. Instead, she boarded a plane and flew home to Stockholm, Sweden. Needless to say, Cetera got mad. Agnetha's career ended for 17 years. She finally did another album this last year called My Coloring Book. Agnetha is 55. In her years with ABBA, she was one of the world's most beautiful women. http://www.jimcolyer.com

Star Wars and its characters have seeped into the mythology of our culture. We know we are going to see this movie no matter what. It matters not that it is good, bad or indifferent. We are committed to living out George Lucas' fantasies as we were to living out Walt Disney's. We need closure. I swear, Lucas said there were 9 stories in 1977. Now, he says there are only 6. He says there will be no more Star Wars. But there will. The next generation will add its own trilogy with or without Lucas.

Love Shack (It makes me shudder)

CHESS participants

After Swedish ABBA broke up in 1982, Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus teamed up with Tim Rice of Jesus Christ Superstar fame to write a musical about the game of chess. It was based on the Bobby Fischer matches with Russian Boris Spassky. Chess is an unlikey subject for a musical, and it proved difficult. It was a success in London's West End but bombed on Broadway in 1988. CHESS later toured the U.S. and was well-received. I saw it in Louisville, Kentucky. Despite problems with the story, the soundtrack of CHESS contains some great music. One Night In Bangkok by Murray Head was a #3 hit in the U.S. I Know Him So Well & Heaven Help My Heart are very ABBA-like. Anthem & Pity The Child show Benny & Bjorn's ability as composers. As CHESS moved around the globe, the story was rewritten and the song sequence changed to suit the country in which it was being staged. Still, CHESS has endured because of its ABBA connection and its excellent soundtrack. I wrote a piece about CHESS. http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=30

Canadian Burton Cummings has one of the best voices in all of rock music. He and his band, The Guess Who, had chart success with These Eyes, Laughing, Undun, American Woman & No Time. Everyone knows Burton Cummings' voice when they hear it. Randy Bachman played guitar for The Guess Who and went on to lead Bachman Turner Overdrive. They recorded the classic Taking Care Of Business. Cummings did a series of solo albums in the late 1970s and early 80s that are superb. Stand Tall, Never Had A Lady Before & Charlemagne stand up to anything. The Guess Who's output was voluminous. Why, then, is Burton Cummings and his group so disregarded? It may have to do with the negativism of their lyrics. Their only #1, American Woman, is not only a put down of American women but a put down of America itself. Sure, the song came as Richard Nixon was indiscriminately bombing women and children in Vietnam, but that does not seem to matter. Canadian Cummings is seen as condemning his southern neighbor. Another problem is the name of the band. "The Guess Who" does not tell us anything. You end up thinking they should have chosen a better name. It is too easily confused with the "Who," another band with a bad name. Lastly, Burton Cummings may have never become a superstar because of his personality. He drinks heavily and is known for his massive ego. I talked to one of Cummings' best friends in Nashville who called him an "asshole." Pretty bad coming from a best friend. Nonetheless, Burton Cummings is a great talent.

My son and I are driving up to Lousville from Nashville for the Derby. I am orginally from Louisville. I do not know much about this year's horses yet. Which horses does Nick Zito train? I do know that New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner has a horse in the Derby called Bellamy Road. We will bet on him. Does Zito train Bellamy Road?

VERY lucky!

Mutt Lange is a lucky man!

She's a beauty!

"I Ain't No Quitter" is on the radio. Its video is on TV. Shania Twain is still the queen!

My favorite singer before The Beatles was Del Shannon. His classic, Runaway, is about all that remains. But in the sterile music scene of the early 1960s, Del Shannon was a kind of link between Elvis and The Beatles. He was the first American to cover a Beatle song, From Me To You, in 1963. He wrote his own material and played minor chords on guitar with a beat. I had a bunch of his records on the pink Big Top label. Hats Off To Larry did well. I liked Little Town Flirt and his version of Handy Man. Shannon's lyrics centered around teenage angst and the pain of losing another girl friend. After years of playing revival shows, he committed suicide in 1990.

I read your posts. So true. Ricky Nelson was one of the greats!

Ricky Nelson is one of the most underrated of the rock era. He made great records: Travellin' Man, Hello Mary Lou, It's Late, Just A Little Too Much, Young World, Teenage Idol. He appealed to the girls. After Elvis, they went for Ricky. I would watch Ozzie & Harriet every Saturday night for one reason, to watch Ricky Nelson sing his latest hit at the end of the show. Guitar legend James Burton played lead over his shoulder. Burton went on to play for Elvis in the 70s. One reason for Ricky Nelson not getting his due is that his father controlled everything. Ozzie would not let Ricky appear with Dick Clark. Clark was such a force in those days that only Elvis could ignore him. I sang It's Late last night karaoke. Ricky Nelson was cool.

I think Lennon would like the idea of a Broadway show about his life. It puts him one up on McCartney. Lennon was my favorite.

ABBA, Roxette, Ace of Base