Category: 90’s

Jamaica Mistaica 

~ Robin Bannks ~ Leave a comment

January 16, 1996 ~

Jamaican police mistake Jimmy Buffett for a drug smuggler and shoot at his seaplane after it lands in the water. Bono of U2 is on board with his family.

The plane is hit a few times, shattering the windshield and doing damage to the fuselage, but no one is hurt. “It was absolutely terrifying and I honestly thought we were all going to die,” Bono says.

Because he’s one of the best storytellers around, Buffett turns the incident into the song “Jamaica Mistaica,” where he sings:

We had only come for chickenWe were not the ganja plane
Well you should have seen their faces
When they finally realized
We were not some coked-up cowboysSportin’ guns and alibis

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“Instead of one day of presents, we have 8 crazy nights … “ 

~ Robin Bannks

25 years ago ~ December 3, 1994 ~ Adam Sandler performs “The Hanukkah Song” on the Weekend Update segment of Saturday Night Live, enlightening us to the fact that Harrison Ford, Paul Newman and David Lee Roth (among many others) are, in fact, Jewish. Released as a single the following year, the song reaches #10 US and becomes a seasonal favorite.

Happy birthday, Rolling Stone …

~ Robin Bannks

…it’s not just about the music, but about the things and attitudes that music embraces.

Jann Wenner

November 9, 1967  ~ The first issue of Rolling Stone magazine is published.

John Lennon is the first cover subject. The still shot from the movie set of How I Won the War shows the Beatle in his familiar round glasses and a mesh-covered helmet, setting the tone for the mix of music and politics that become the magazine’s hallmark.

The first issue costs 35 cents and becomes a collector’s item, selling for upwards of $400 decades later.

The magazine’s name is inspired by the Muddy Waters blues song “Rollin’ Stone,” the Bob Dylan hit “Like a Rolling Stone,” and the band The Rolling Stones. 

When the editors realize they are aging out of their demographic, they bring in young writers to keep it fresh. One of these is the journalism prodigy Cameron Crowe, who begins writing for the magazine in 1973 at age 16, covering the likes of Deep Purple, The Allman Brothers and Jackson Browne. These experiences form the basis for his 2000 film Almost Famous.

Mr. Bad Example

~ Robin Bannks

Zevon releases his 8th album … barely … on October 16, 1991. He had just put out two really strong albums both musically and lyrically yet was having a hard time finding a lable home. Irving Azoff’s Giant label to a swing and released Mr. Bad Example. I think it’s one of Zevon’s most under-rated and under-appreciated albums.