Peggy Lee recorded “The Freedom Train” with Johnny Mercer, Benny Goodman, and Margaret Whiting in 1947. The song was written by Irving Berlin and given as gift to the US Heritage Foundation. The lyrics are very modern. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga should re-record it. Happy Fourth of July weekend!

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?

Patti Labelle and Sarah Dash are set to be at Joe’s Pub THIS MONDAY NIGHT JULY 7TH for pal Nona Hendryx’s show at Joe’s Pub. Talk about fireworks! Nona is one of our great R&B superstars. With Patti and Sarah she is, was, and will always be Labelle, singers of one of the greatest iconic songs in pop music history– “Lady Marmalade.” That line from the song almost got them banned on radio, then became the most memorable hook ever.

At Joe’s Pub, Nona will be mixing up soul, blues, and pop. Her voice is better than ever. and her band rocks. Consider that Labelle started in 1962 when the ladies were teens and called the Bluebelles.. At one point in the late 60s, their piano player was a Brit named Reggie Dwight. A couple of years later he was a star himself, known as Elton John. “He was a baby.”

In the early 70s, Labelle recorded a now classic album with Laura Nyro called “Gonna Take a Miracle.” Download it now and it sounds brand new.

Nona is a proficient songwriter. One of the numbers she’ll do Monday night is “Let’s Give Love a Try,” a boiler of a hook that would have been a hit back when there was radio. She also has a number called “The Ballad of Rush Limbaugh.” “He’s such an evil person,” Nona declares. “I think he believes some of what he says, but I think he’s just taking the piss…”

Over the years, Nona and Labelle toured with the Stones, and with the Who. “I don’t think the audience heard a note we sang,” Nona recalls, “there was so much shouting and screaming for the Stones. They had a private plane. We went commercial. But we got to know them really well.”

During the early 70s, Labelle made a transition to a harder rock sound and the “Lady Marmalade” chapter. In the beginning Patti was wary, Nona says, “but then look at the pictures. She really embraced it.” When “Marmalade” was recorded, Nona says, it took a lot to convince everyone to release it. “It was an exciting time. We got a chance to do a lot of things we dreamed about.”

The song and the record are one of a handful that have transcended the culture. It was co-written by the Four Seasons’ Bob Crewe, and Kenny Nolan. Allen Toussaint produced it in New Orleans. “It had a great catchy hook, and we didn’t know what it meant.”

July 7th–be there!

Hello people over 30. You had record collections, tapes, CDs. Then you downloaded music into your computers or devices. Well, guess what? Kids today don’t want any of that. They’re happy to pay an annual fee and “stream” it all.  They are not buying CD or downloading anything. What the heck am I supposed to do with twenty boxes of 45s and a room full of CDs????

According to Nielsen, during the first six months of 2014, sales of all albums both physical and digital were down 14.9%. And sales just of digital downloads (from iTunes mostly) were down 11.6%.

But dig this: sales of CDs were down 19.6%.

What was up? Streaming jumped 50%. And sales of vinyl LPs were up 40%.

I’d say this is crazy. But how many times have I played music on my computer or phone via Spotify because it was right here, and convenient? A lot. Too much.

And listen, this is felt everywhere.  There are almost no CD players made now. They’re like Gramaphones.  And when I walked into the last little record shop on West 8th St. in Greenwich Village, and asked for Chrissie Hynde’s new album, the clerk asked if I could spell her name. SPELL Chrissie Hynde. Chrissie woulda punched him.

Nielsen: from reading their stats I gleaned a few other things: Katy Perry is the current biggest pop star. Justin Bieber does not exist in the music world.  Country music remains huge. Only physical CD in the top sold more than 400,000 copies– the “Frozen” soundtrack, with 1.7 million.

And vinyl? Among the top 10 was the only legacy act– The Beatles with “Abbey Road.”

The most played record on radio? “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.

All of this why Apple is pushing iTunes radio. All these streaming music businesses better get their acts together and start paying artists and writers properly. If streaming is the future, it’s not going to the rape of the people who made the product. Or I’m going to have lots of stories to write for a new generation.