Ride Sally Ride: R.I.P. Sally Ride, the First American Woman in Space

Sally Ride, who at age 32 became the first American woman in space, passed away yesterday from pancreatic cancer at age 61. 

“The First American Woman in Space.” That’s an impressive title, and it must have been great to bust that out at a high school reunion when someone boasted about being a regional VP at Procter & Gamble or having a timeshare in Aspen. 

“Wow, regional vice president, that’s really impressive. I was the First f*cking American Woman in Space.”

 

These days, the space program is pretty much an afterthought to most people. But when I was growing up, the Apollo moon missions and space shuttle launches were a big deal, and so was Ms. Ride.

Amazingly, according to her New York Times obit (which you can read here), Sally first got into the astronaut business when she was studying astrophysics and English at Stanford and saw a NASA newspaper ad looking for astronauts. I guess the job market was a little more robust back then. 

Sally Ride is a perfect name for a pioneering woman astronaut; it sounds like a name from a children’s book about an all-American space traveler.

She is also one of the few people whose name appeared in two classic songs long before she became famous. First was Wilson Pickett’s 1965 hit “Mustang Sally,” which features the refrain “Ride Sally Ride.” 

 

Nine years later, Lou Reed did a tune called “Ride Sally Ride” on his Sally Can’t Dance LP. Judging by Lou’s proclivities at the time, it is safe to assume that “Sally” was street code for smack, junkies, drag queens, hookers or some combination thereof.

R.I.P. Sally Ride. You didn't live forever, but you had a great ride.

Get on iTunes:

“Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett

“Ride Sally Ride” by Lou Reed

50 x 7: Seven Random Thoughts on The Rolling Stones at 50

This week marks the 50th anniversary of The Rolling Stones’ first public gig, at the Marquee in London. To commemorate the anniversary, the boys took the photo on the left right outside the front door. I was actually kind of moved by the photo until I read that the Marquee no longer exists and this is a replica on a soundstage. (I think that guy with the hat might be a replica, too.)

The Stones were originally marketed as the bad boys of rock & roll (though The Beatles were at least as decadent). But now Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are national treasures, knights of the roundtable, best selling authors, pillars of society. They’re so... respectable.



I wasn’t exactly sure how to pay tribute to the Stones, so I thought I’d string together Seven Random Thoughts on The Rolling Stones at 50.

1. The Stones' ridiculous longevity is due almost entirely to Mick's Peter Pan complex and fierce business acumen. Given Keith's drug problems, Charlie Watts' disdain for rock stardoml and Bill Wyman's general indifference, it's hard to imagine the Stones making it out of the 1970s any other way,

2. Breaking the half-century mark will surely become more commonplace in the years to come. You can be sure, for example, that whatever's left of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band ten years from now will still be giving 3 ½ hour, quadruple-encore shows, though they may start as early bird specials.
 

3. The Stones' last great album of all-original material, Some Girls, came out 34 years ago in 1978, roughly one-third of the way into their career. I highly recommend the recently released Deluxe Edition of Some Girls, which contains a bonus disc of material almost as good as the actual album, such as "Claudine" and "Tallahassee Lassie."

4. The Stones' founder and first guitarist, Brian Jones, was in the band about seven years. He was fired and drowned two weeks later. His virtuoso replacement Mick Taylor was in the band for five. He quit. His strung-out looking replacement Ronnie Wood has been in the band for 37 years, yet is still considered the "new guy." And while talented, he has made a fraction of the impression of the other two.

5. Despite their reputation as the hardest-living band in show business, only Jones is dead. Four-fifths of the original members are still alive (Wyman is no longer a Stone but is still musically active). And no members, original or otherwise have died in 43 years. I work in advertising and I'm pretty sure the fatality rate is higher.

6. The first Stones record I ever bought was Beggar’s Banquet, in 9th grade or so. It is still my favorite. Back then it had the RSVP cover you see here because the original bathroom graffiti cover had been banned. I bought it because I loved "Sympathy for the Devil" but it was the deep tracks like "Prodigal Son" that lit my Stones pilot light and told me it was time to start digging.

7. If you are surprised the Stones made it to 50, you shouldn’t be. Jagger predicted it in 1972 on The Dick Cavett Show.
 

Congrats, boys, here's to 50 more - though I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Buy The Rolling Stones on iTunes here.

Jack White: He's Agin' and He's Shakin'

Happy Birthday to Rock Turtleneck's Seventh Son Jack White III, who turns 37 today.

Jack's first solo record Blunderbuss, is the one to beat for album of the year in 2012. It's a great listen from start to finish, and has the feel and pace of a true classic like Beggar's Banquet or After the Gold Rush.

One of the funnest, funkiest tracks comes about halfway through, a cover of Little Willie John's blues classic "I'm Skakin.'"

"I'm Shakin'" has been a favorite of mine since the early 80s when it appeared on the debut album of the L.A. neo-R&B traditionalists The Blasters. 

Going old-school rock & roll was a radical move in the days of A Flock of Seagulls and Duran Duran, and these guys did it earnestly, expertly and without irony.

Here is Little Willie John's 1959 original of "I'm Shakin'." Little Willie was a big-time talent who wrote many other early rock classics, chiefly the quintessential torch ballad "Fever" which was made famous by Peggy Lee and also covered by Elvis Presley, Madonna and many others.

"I'm Shakin'" has an instantly memorable horn chart, one that calls to mind the theme of the Heat Miser in The Year without a Santa Claus. 

Happy BIrthday Jack. Keep on Shakin.'

Buy "I'm Shakin'" on iTunes:

Jack White

The Blasters

Little Willie John