Wanda Jackson - The Sweet Lady with the Nasty Voice

US readers... read this. A documentary called Wanda Jackson - The Sweet Lady with the Nasty Voice will be on the Smithsonian Channel May 18th at 9pm Eastern. UK readers, be mightily depressed that you don't have access to American TV. We can only hope that someone sticks it online or something so we can all dig one of the most underrated artists in the history of rock 'n' roll music. Now, after watching this video, go and dig out 'Funnel of Love' and shimmy like your life depends on it.

Phil Spector cohort, Larry Levine, RIP

One of the most important people in rock 'n' roll history has joined the choir invisible. Engineer Larry Levine has died at the ripe ol' age of 80. Who is Larry Levine? Lemme tell you.

Larry is the man responsible for creating the ‘Wall Of Sound’ technique with producer Phil Spector.

Levine became Spector’s longtime recording engineer after the pair worked together on The Crystals’ ‘He’s A Rebel’, and they went on to work together on such classics as ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’, 'Be My Baby', ‘You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling’ and ‘River Deep, Mountain High’. And that's only the tip of the iceberg ladies and gents.

'Bird Sounds In Close-Up', and the Legend of Victor C Lewis

Released on Hallmark / Pickwick in 1969, 'Bird Sounds In Close Up'  is the possibly the greatest LP I've reviewed in Electric Roulette's entire 48 year history. BSICU, as it is referred to by absolutely nobody, features 100 different "sound items" from the vocabulary of 40 British Birds, live in their late 60s natural habitats around the UK including Meadow Pipits, Yellowhammers, Cirl Buntings, Corn Buntings and various types of Tits.

The man responsible for recording and compiling this seminal work was Nature Sound Recordist Victor C Lewis. 1969 saw the release of numerous "landmark" rock and roll albums. The MC5's debut. Led Zeppelin II. Miles Davis' 'In A Silent Way'. 'The Best Of The Easybeats - Volume 2'. Perched head and shoulders above them all is 'Bird Sounds In Close-Up', and yet despite the critical plaudits heaped upon the LP, the life of it's creator remains clouded in rumour and mystery. What follows is an attempt to shed a little more light on the Victor C Lewis legend, through a close study of this, his defining work.

Happy Birthday to Link Wray!

Link Wray... the one-lunged Shawnee mystical surf monster would have been 79 today.

And click over for one of my faves...

Albert Hoffman 1906 -2008

Albert Hofmann, the Swiss scientist who synthesized Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), has passed away aged 102 years old.

Hofmann joined the pharmaceutical-chemical department of Sandoz Laboratories in Basel and began studying the medicinal plant squill and the fungus ergot as part of a program to purify and recreate active constituents for use as medicine. While researching lysergic acid derivatives, Hofmann first synthesized LSD-25 in 1938. It was set aside for five years, until April 16, 1943, when Hofmann decided to take another look at it.

While re-synthesizing the LSD, he accidentally consumed a small sample and of course, found out about its hugely powerful effects. Three days later, on April 19, Hofmann deliberately consumed 250 micrograms of LSD before his bicycle ride home. This was followed by a series of self-experiments conducted by Hofmann and his colleagues. He said "I believe that if people would learn to use LSD's vision-inducing capability more wisely, under suitable conditions, in medical practice and in conjunction with meditation, then in the future this problem child could become a wonderchild."  Rock 'n' roll was waiting with open arms.

Electronic pioneer, Tristam Cary, 1925-2008

English electronic music pioneer Tristram Cary has died in Australia. He was 82.

While working as a radar engineer for the Royal Navy during World War II, he independently developed his own conception of electronic and tape music, and is regarded as amongst the earliest pioneers of electronic music. Following the war he created one of the first electronic music studios, later traveling around Europe to meet the small numbers of other early pioneers of electronic music and composition.

He is the man behind 'Continuum For Tape' as well as soundtrack work, such as doing music for Doctor Who, the score for The Ladykillers, Quatermass and the Pit and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.

Dusty Springfield 'Get Ready'

It would have been Dusty Springfield's birthday this week... she would have been... considerably older. Anyway, to celebrate, check this killer rendition of 'Get Ready'.

Hero: Random Korean drummer

Has someone been watching his Keith Moon vids a bit too closely?

Keef - vinyl man and music hater

Keef.

Like a Brazilian footballer, he only needs one name. He's a riff behemoth. He's a parody of himself. He's a fool. He's brilliant. On top of all that, Keef hates modern bands and digs VINYL! Keith Richards (hell, we've gotta put his real name in at some point because people look for it in search engines y'know? We're not patronising you honest!) refuses to listen to modern bands and doesn't dig the digital format.

He told Uncut, "I don't listen to what's going on. "I don't like CDs, quite honestly. They sound tinny to me. I've not even heard the Arctic Monkeys. I know of them but I don't know anything they've done. I didn't like Oasis, I didn't like the Sex Pistols, I don't like any of those English rock n' roll bands. They're all crap."

Fancy a job writing for ElectricRoulette Keef? You'd be perfect.

Buddy Miles - RIP

Damn.

I was all geared up to write a 'hero' piece on Buddy Miles, who co-founded and played drums in Band Of Gypsys with Jimi Hendrix, but sadly, earlier this week, he passed away (Feb. 26) in Austin, Texas, at the age of 60.

A cause of death has yet to be announced, but to be honest, that's unimportant. Let's just hope he was having fun. Buddy was introduced to music at a young age by his father, who played in a band called the Bebops. As a young man he also played with Wilson Pickett, the Delfonics and the Ink Spots. Later, Miles met Hendrix in the early '60s but didn't begin collaborating with him until '69, when Hendrix produced an album by the Buddy Miles Express.

Are women unfairly treated in the world of pop?

What's with the worrying man? At the moment, there's a load of women doin' their thing in pop... but save for those squeaky bubble types who jus' sing and parade their rumps 'n' thighs, women seem to get a tough deal.

Of late, you can't budge for people either chastising or sniping at Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears. I mean, one is definitely mentally unwell and the other has a big drug problem. Since when was it okay to taunt the mentally sick? Since when were drugs a problem? Amy Winehouse gets called a trainwreck by just about anyone with(out real) opinions, but Pete Doherty... oh... he's a modern bard. If Amy Winehouse was a bloke in a punk band, her behaviour would not only be expected, but encouraged.

Not only that, but look at someone like Beth Ditto. People are always bringing up how fat she is. 'Man, she's got a diff'rent postcode for each arsecheek...' 'Yeah, but it's like, so totally positive that someone can be her size and still, y'know, be like, totally happy...'. When was the last time someone shouted "Oi! Frank Black! Right on brother! Pig lib!"?

Electric Roulette Hero #1: Delia Derbyshire

In an industry where the word 'hero' is usually  prefixed by 'guitar', and generally translates as 'drunk, preening misogynistic buffoon who has made a pile of cash schlepping his way around the world churning out Chuck Berry knock-offs and taking drugs', our sense of what constitutes true heroism has been almost entirely eroded. Therefore I have selected  Delia Derbyshire (1937-2001) as our first Electric Roulette Hall of Famer primarily because during her life she exhibited genuine heroic qualities, and because her achievements remain relatively unsung. And because she was really cool.