A “REAL” PIECE OF HARD ROCK CAFE HISTORY

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MORRISON HOTEL
by The Doors
released: 1970
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'MORRISON HOTEL' kicks off with the hard-driving 'ROADHOUSE BLUES', which contains Rock music’s most incisive and “celebratory” lyric of nihilism: “I WOKE UP THIS MORNING AND I GOT MYSELF A BEER; THE FUTURE’S UNCERTAIN AND THE END IS ALWAYS NEAR.” No punk rocker ever said it so well! I no longer think the future’s uncertain, even though the end is certainly near. But I could so relate to Jim Morrison’s outlook during my dark, angsty late teens and early twenties when I nearly played the grooves off of 'MORRISON HOTEL' by The Doors, and many mornings I headed for the refrigerator, Excedrin in hand, hoping to find 12 ounces of the hair of the dog that bit me the night before.
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As I was recently telling a friend, in hindsight I can see how the Jazz that influenced Rock groups I so favored in my youth inevitably led me to the real Jazz I would come to embrace as my favorite music genre. Groups like The Beach Boys, The Carpenters, Traffic, Supertramp, Chicago, and The Doors all contained notable Jazz stylings that appealed to me even if in my youthful ignorance I was unable to recognize the common denominator.
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I owned the entire Doors catalogue in my twenties, but when I sold all of my licorice pizzas and converted to compact discs at thirty, I repurchased very few of my Rock albums. My tastes had changed by then and my Gothic mind-set (yes, I was Gothic before it had mass appeal among young people or even an identifiable label) had given way to the reality of Spiritual Light – also sometimes called “Love.” However, talking about The Doors with my friend the other day, and opening the doors of our memories, I was inspired to pick up a copy of what had always been my favorite of the band’s original releases, 'MORRISON HOTEL'. (It was followed closely by 'L.A. WOMAN'.)
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The music itself is a collection of rhythmically pronounced, highly energetic road rockers, and beautifully rolling ballads (and then there’s the sly 'THE SPY', which defies categorization). If you’re a female attracted to males, yer gonna think Jimbo’s voice is megaerotic on these ballads because even I think his voice is megaerotic, and I happen to be a man attracted exclusively to women! There’s not a bad song on 'MORRISON HOTEL', though I find 'WAITING FOR THE SUN' and 'SHIP OF FOOLS' to be just “Eh.” Yet they are more than compensated for by all the other memorable tunes, of which 'PEACE FROG' is my main man... er... amphibian, I mean. OK, enough about the cool, megaerotic music. Now I’m gonna tell ya the little known history behind this classic Rock album:
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In 1970, photographer Henry Diltz sought to get a picture of the members of The Doors at the Morrison Hotel for the album’s cover. The hotel was located in a seedy section of downtown Los Angeles (1246 South Hope Street) but the owner of the hotel declined to give his permission to shoot there. So shortly afterwards, Diltz had the band run in quickly anyway and when they positioned themselves under the “Morrison Hotel” window lettering, he snapped a couple quick pictures from the sidewalk outside. And there’s your album cover!
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Collectively, the album was titled 'MORRISON HOTEL', but whereas side two of the album (tracks 7-11) was originally also called ‘Morrison Hotel’, side one (tracks 1-6) was actually named ‘Hard Rock Cafe’ (the CDs still come labeled this way). The photograph on the album’s backside shows several old geezers hanging around outside a neighborhood dive called “Hard Rock Cafe”, and the inner gate photo displays Morrison and Company relaxing inside that same dive with the “regulars” and prepared to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to some dying Budweiser bottles.
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This little “adult juice joint” located on L.A.’s famous “Skid Row” (aka The School Of Hard [Rock] Knocks) was the FIRST – the “REAL” – HARD ROCK CAFE! It was located at 300 East 5th Street ("The Nickel") - the address is visible above the door in the photo. Many years later, when entrepreneurs got the idea to open a fancy Rock ‘N’ Roll themed bar and grill at L.A.’s upscale Beverly Center mall at Beverly and San Vicente, they were required to pay the owner of the decrepit Hard Rock Cafe dive on Skid Row for the use of the name. THE HARD ROCK CAFE has since become a world famous establishment with franchises located in New York, Hawaii, London, Tokyo, and elsewhere. And while the “first” Hard Rock Cafe was indeed founded in The City Of Angels, it was a little East of its present location in an area you wouldn’t want to be at night without a gun in your pocket.
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(*Incidentally, the above bit of trivia, and much more like it, can be found in Art Fein’s fine little book [link> ‘THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR’, recently reviewed on this site by Yours Truly.)
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The next time you visit Los Angeles, be sure to crank up 'MORRISON HOTEL' in your car and (with your windows rolled up and the doors locked) cruise by the location of the ORIGINAL “Hard Rock Cafe” in downtown - just to say you’ve been there. And listen, if some grizzled bum on 5th Street asks you for a buck, give it to him; he might be some old friend I used to party with.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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MOTHER’S NATURE!

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MOTHER TERESA
starring Olivia Hussey
2003
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Tagline: 
“HER HEART FOUND THE FORGOTTEN, 
HER FAITH FOUND A WAY.”
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On September 5, 1997, when Mother Teresa died, I did something that I rarely do when a person dies: I cried. I didn’t cry out of mourning for Mother Teresa; I knew that she was now getting a well-deserved rest and reward. When a person leaves their physical instrument, they are flying closer to God, so I had no reason to be sad for Mother Teresa. I cried for the world because this sorry, old, dilapidated and Spiritually poor globe had just lost one of its most prayerful and positively influential examples of Christ’s Love for His brothers and sisters!
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I have never been Catholic, and I never will be, but Mother Teresa remains one of my favorite personal heroes. She would probably top my list of “Greatest Figures Of The Twentieth Century”. I can think of no one from my lifetime who more exemplified the manner of life that I believe Jesus Christ calls us to live. I am nothing less than astonished and severely humbled when I think of her and the women who volunteered to work as she did. As I recently wrote in an E-mail to a new friend, “There was probably no stronger woman (or man) from her generation.” The thought of her and her Missionaries of Charity really stirs my heart.
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I gave a DVD copy of 'MOTHER TERESA', starring Olivia Hussey, to Good Friend Melanie for Christmas this year. (I gave her a couple of other good things, too, because that’s just the kind of guy I am.) But she enjoyed the movie so much that I borrowed it from her one day and watched it that very night. And I enjoyed it just as much.
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It begins with Teresa’s “calling within a calling” when she observes how the abandoned sick are dying like dogs in the streets of Calcutta, and she receives a sign from Jesus that she is to serve “the poorest of the poor”. She subsequently embarks on an awe-inspiring journey to see the Face of her Lord in the poor, and to show them the Face of His Love in exchange. The film ends just two years before her death, when, in a revelatory moment, she realizes the folly of her Association, and in essence, rediscovers her roots; “returns to the streets” in her “disorganized” Way - in a manner of speaking.
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Throughout this lifelong journey, Mother Teresa must overcome myriad obstacles, some in the form of human beings who, from their materialistic world-view, can’t possibly understand her mission or have faith in her intentions; and some in the form of natural hardships and the opposing work of God’s unseen antagonist. The movie gives us a glimpse of some of the “miraculous” coincidences, where somehow Mother Teresa always seemed to get bailed out of an impossible situation by an equally invisible Friend. (In actuality, there were many more miracles related to Mother Teresa’s life than are depicted here!)
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Olivia Hussey, a real beauty in her youth but always a very serious actress, gives a very nice, understated performance. It’s a bit uncanny how much she looks like the older Mother Teresa, and it’s nearly preternatural how she mastered the aged nun’s stooped but determined walk! There are good, suitably subtle performances across-the-board, but Emily Hamilton, in the small role of Anna, deserves special mention. She played every note EXACTLY RIGHT in the poignant scene where she learns of her unfortunate fate and how she will be required to support Mother Teresa’s work in the future. And the brief scene in which she later learns that Teresa was not offering her mere platitudes was one of my favorites in the picture! (It darn near made me “moisty.” OK, it did... but just a little.)
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My only negative observations have to do with the cinematography and musical score. I feel that the film should have imitated Mother Teresa’s life in its approach, by adhering strictly to the most simplistic or austere style. Instead, on a few occasions, we get some creative flourishes: dissolving images, artificial angles and “artistic” lighting. And in a couple of places, the music becomes a shade too dramatic or intrusive. These aspects of the film should have all been kept to the most basic level possible in accordance with the unadorned life that Mother Teresa espoused. But this is only a minor complaint on my part, and these things will not significantly undermine your viewing experience.
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Let’s face it, it’s really impossible to cover the scope and influence of the life of Mother Teresa in a single two-hour movie, but I feel that 'MOTHER TERESA' does about as fine a job as one could reasonably expect. If you want a good overview of her life and you want a lesson in what a beneficial difference one faithful and hard-working person filled with the Love of Christ can make in this world, then by all means, make it a point to see this film. And be prepared to be put to shame, like I was.
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“We are called upon not to be successful, but to be faithful.” 
~ Mother Teresa
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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MUDDY Was CLEARLY King!

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MUDDY WATERS: HIS BEST 1956 - 1964
by Muddy Waters
released: 1997
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In moving to Chicago from the Mississippi Delta region in 1943, MUDDY WATERS (McKinley Morganfield) essentially remolded the musical language known as The Blues. Playing now in nightclubs, the acoustic rural sound gave way to a booming urban beat. As a writer once cleverly quipped: "By plugging in his guitar, Muddy Waters invented electricity."
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'HIS BEST 1956 - 1964' captures the explosive, impassioned sonic Blues that Muddy developed and which was such an influence on so many Bluesmen who emulated him in his wake. Muddy was to Chicago Blues what Elvis was to Rock 'N' Roll - in a word: KING! These tracks feature the Blues King being backed by some of the legendary names of the genre: WILLIE DIXON (bass), JIMMY ROGERS (guitar), BUDDY GUY (guitar), JAMES COTTON (harp), A.C. REED (sax), OTIS SPANN (piano), the underrated S.P. LEARY (drums), and perhaps the most revered Blues instrumentalist of his generation, the harp master, LITTLE WALTER.
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These songs cook, rock, menace, sneer (wink and grin). This is raw, foot-stompin' stuff, the REAL Blues, the genuine article. Get this, get Howlin' Wolf's Chess sides, and the Complete Recordings of Robert Johnson and you'll discover from where the thieves Jimmy Page and Robert Plant stole their first two albums!
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Blues masterpieces such as most of the tracks presented here (like the rollicking 'ALL ABOARD' to Muddy's signature roof-raising 'GOT MY MOJO WORKING') are so dynamic and contain such evocative imagery that one could build a movie around them. And wouldn't you know it? That's just what I did about 15 years ago. The Blues almost became an independent character in an unproduced screenplay I wrote:
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Flipping through her old vinyl records, the terminally geeky Billy Withers says to the hip, sassy, Jazz & Blues street-singer, Billie Clayton, "Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters? They sound like they're from the World Wrestling Federation."
She replies, "They're all great Bluesmen."
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Ah, but ain't it the truth?!
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And later in my screenplay, Muddy's song 'YOU CAN'T LOSE WHAT YOU AIN'T NEVER HAD' becomes the catalyst for the defining moment in my movie when Clayton refrains from murdering her unborn child.
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And yet my favorite track is 'THE SAME THING.' The lyrics punctuated by Spann's brief piano bursts, this moody, carnally-charged ballad shows how the Blues, in "proper" circles, came by the disparaging moniker, "the devil's music."
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WHAT MAKE MEN GO CRAZY WHEN A WOMAN WEAR HER DRESS SO TIGHT?
MUST BE THE SAME OL' THING THAT MAKES A TOMCAT FIGHT ALL NIGHT.
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WHY DO ALL OF THESE MEN TRY TO RUN A BIG-LEG WOMAN DOWN?
MUST BE THE SAME OL' THING THAT MAKES A BULLDOG HUG A HOUND.
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OH, THAT SAME THING!
TELL ME WHO'S TO BLAME?
THE WHOLE WORLD'S FIGHTIN' ABOUT THAT SAME THING.
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WHAT MAKE YOU FEEL SO GOOD WHEN YOUR BABY GET HER EVENING GOWN?
MUST BE THE SAME OL' THING THAT MADE A PREACHER LAY HIS BIBLE DOWN.
OH, THAT SAME THING!
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By all means, dive into MUDDY WATERS. Get 'HIS BEST 1956 - 1964' and see what kind of movie it inspires YOU to write. Or perhaps you'll just want to turn it up loud and let it rock you "all night long"; rock you like your "back ain't got no bone!"
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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IT'S STILL "MYSTERIOUS" TO ME!

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THE MYSTERIOUS BIBLE CODES
by Grant Jeffrey
copyright: 1998
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The Equidistant Letter Sequence (ELS) Codes are a fascinating subject and possibly one of Man's greatest "archaeological" finds. There appears to be much to learn yet, but this discovery cannot be dismissed.
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Grant Jeffrey's 'THE MYSTERIOUS BIBLE CODES' is an interesting although flawed look at the ELS Codes, which he has touched upon in some of his earlier books. The cornerstone of this publication is chapters 6 & 7 which address the discovery of the Aramaic name for Jesus (Yeshua) encoded in Old Testament passages concerning the coming Messiah and Redeemer of Mankind. For example, amazingly, "JESUS IS MY NAME" is encoded in the "Suffering Servant" prophecy of Isaiah 53. It appears here and only here.
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Twice in the year 2000, I wrote to Mr. Jeffrey. I related how I was a volunteer for a Prison Outreach Program and sometimes utilized his book - making it available to inmates - but I needed clarification on a couple of flaws or typographical errors concerning ELS Codes that he claimed could also be found in some of the Greek New Testament passages.
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On page 171 (hardcover) he states that the Greek name for Jesus is located at a 5-letter skip interval in 1st John 5:13, but I was unable to find it in the Greek passage illustrated there. Also, on page 173 he states that the second smallest skip interval for "Jesus" is encoded every 8th letter in Matthew 24:30, which contradicts his later claim on page 176 that the second smallest skip interval for "Jesus" is encoded every 7th letter in John 21:17. These are mutually exclusive statements. I did include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with my queries, but I have yet to receive a reply. I know we call it "snail mail" for a reason, but this is ridiculous!
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Jeffrey delights in pointing out how the names of all the apostles and other personages close to Jesus can be found encoded in Isaiah's "Suffering Servant" passage. While it IS intriguing that "Judas" does NOT appear in this passage, Jeffrey neglects to inform his readers that these same names consist of such few letters that they also appear well over 1,000 times throughout the book of Isaiah!
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Some of Jeffrey's books do contain valuable information and are worth reading. But because he tends to sensationalize and because most of his facts can be found in the books of other writers, it may be advantageous to search other sources first. In his book 'THE MILLENNIUM MELTDOWN' (1998), Jeffrey stated that the Y2K computer problem WOULD precipitate "a global crisis, the scope of which we have not experienced since World War II... this appointment with destiny cannot be postponed or avoided." THAT BOOK (which thankfully I bought for only an inflated 25 cents in 2002) damaged his credibility forever in MY BOOK!
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While I wholeheartedly recommend that you explore the ELS Bible Code topic, I suggest that you acquire [link> 'BIBLE CODE BOMBSHELL' by R. Edwin Sherman instead. Sherman's book is easily the best on the subject as of this date.
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Grant Jeffrey opportunistically cranks out nearly a book a year that is second-rate because it never includes an index. ('The Mysterious Bible Codes' is no exception.) Also, each book closes with a proselytizing chapter which - while he may feel it is his obligation to "The Great Commission" - I find grating. I feel that if the facts are persuasive, they will bring the open-minded to Christ without excessive cajoling.
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I read the Bible from Genesis through Revelation every year and still I find much of Jeffrey's contemporary Christian dogma unsupported by Scripture. I don't think he would appreciate that. But then I didn't appreciate my polite inquiries being ignored either. I guess Grant and I have now balanced our BOOKS (Galatians 6:7).
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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