The Mirage Hotel Now History

Above, The Mirage's sign on Las Vegas Blvd. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas is now history.

It had been acquired by and will be transformed into the Hard Rock Las Vegas, which will be a two-year project.

Above, The Mirage in January 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

According to PR Newswire:

LAS VEGAS, May 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hard Rock International (HRI) today announced its plans to cease operations of The Mirage Hotel & Casino as of July 17, 2024, to begin the transformation of the property into the highly anticipated Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas (HRHCLV).  

Hard Rock will develop a new integrated resort featuring a nearly 700 ft. guitar-shaped hotel towering prominently in the center of the famous Las Vegas Strip. 

Above, yours truly in front of The Mirage in April 2015. Photo by Amber Vaquer.

I stayed at The Mirage once, which was over New Years in 2015-16 and saw "The Beatles Love" show. I had been there once before when my daughter applied to work in the hotel's dolphin show. We stayed in the motorhome at Circus Circus RV Park on that trip, which was the first for the RV after I bought it. 

To read more, go here.

Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist. 

To start off this week we have ex-Beatle George Harrison with his 1987 hit "Got My Mind Set On You" by James Ray and his Beatles hit, "Something".

Harrison, who died in 2001 of cancer, was married to Olivia Arias. She was a graduate of Hawthorne High School in 1965, three years before I attended there.

From Wikipedia:

George Harrison MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation and Hindu-aligned spirituality in the Beatles' work. Although the majority of the band's songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, most Beatles albums from 1965 onwards contained at least two Harrison compositions. His songs for the group include "Taxman", "Within You Without You", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something". Harrison's earliest musical influences included George Formby and Django Reinhardt; subsequent influences were Carl Perkins, Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry.

 

 

 

Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist. 

To start off the week, we have Sir Cliff Richard and his 1976 hit, "Devil Woman". Although Richard was big in the United Kingdom, he had limited success in the United States until "Devil Woman", which was Richard's first true hit here.

According to Wikipedia:

Sir Cliff Richard OBE (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born English singer who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.

To kick off this week, we have 1973's "Photograph" by Ringo Starr and George Harrison from Ringo's self-titled album, Ringo.

From Wikipedia:

"Photograph" is a song by English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as the lead single from his 1973 album Ringo. Starr co-wrote it with George Harrison, his former bandmate from the Beatles. Although they collaborated on other songs, it is the only one officially credited to the pair. A signature tune for Starr as a solo artist, "Photograph" was an international hit, topping singles charts in the United States, Canada and Australia, and receiving gold disc certification for US sales of 1 million. Music critics have similarly received the song favourably; Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic considers it to be "among the very best post-Beatles songs by any of the Fab Four"

Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.   

To start off this week we have Paul McCartney with "Too Many People" from his Ram album from 1971. It was a commentary or "shot across John Lennon's bow" on the break-up of the Beatles from his perspective.

Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.

Sooner or later, it was inevitable that I would eventually get to The Beatles. Now's the time. Last week, I posted a rarity video of the King of Rock 'n Roll. So to start of this week, the Fab Four are performing "If I Fell", a song from their 1964 movie A Hard Day's Night at a concert in 1964 in Indianapolis. Another rarity. The concert took place during the height of "Beatlemania". 

I remember going to see A Hard Day's Night at the movies with my parents. I didn't care one way or another about the group at the time (I was only 10), so it is curious why my parents wanted to go see their movie. Maybe to see what the fuss was all about. Admittedly, it was entertaining.

Some cousins did have their bedroom walls plastered with Beatles posters all over. 

Anyway, I did like this song at the time.

John Lennon

Above, John Lennon's "Double Fantasy" album my dad bought. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Forty years ago today, John Lennon was murdered in New York. I remember that night like it was yesterday.

I was driving on Aviation Blvd. in my new 1980 Toyota Pick-up in Manhattan Beach when the bulletin came on.

One thing I really remember about the news broadcasts were that different stations varied in their reporting. Some would say Lennon was dead, while others said he was still alive. Since this was a month after the 1980 election, it sounded like election night where one station would project states for Reagan while others projected states for Carter.

A day or so later, my dad picked up a copy of Lennon's "Double Fantasy" album (pictured above). It is not a bad album, except for the Yoko Ono songs. 

It amazes my how time has flown by. 

Sir Paul McCartney's Visit To Graceland

Here's some rock 'n roll trivia.

In 2013, Sir Paul McCartney paid his first visit to Elvis Presley's Graceland estate.

The Express (U.K.) posted an article on the Beatles legend's visit.

They begin it with:

Elvis Presley and The Beatles are the most successful music acts of all time. And while the Fab Four sold more records that The King, they’ve admitted over the years how much they were influenced by Elvis growing up as kids in the fifties. Sir Paul McCartney only made his first visit to Graceland in 2013, where he honoured The King in the most touching way.

To read more, go here. 

97th Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial Rodeo

Above, the girls' steer riding competition. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today, I decided to go back to Red Rock State Park for the last day's rodeo of the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial.

Above, I guess you can call this a parody of the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album cover. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I arrived, I perused (again) the exhibit of artwork by Indian artists. Most, if not all, items are for sale (if one happens to win a prize ribbon, the price tends to go up). They consist of rugs, pottery, jewelry, fetishes, sculptures and paintings.

One painting, a parody of the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album cover by Irving Toddy of the Navajo tribe, had an asking price of $2,800.

Above, holding pens of some of the rodeo participants. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I was able to see more today as the crowds were a little thinner.

It is interesting to see the prices for the Navajo rugs. The lowest I saw was around $2,500. My dad paid under $200 for ours back in the 1970s in Page, Arizona. It's still in great shape!

After browsing around the exhibit hall, I headed to the rodeo arena to catch the rodeo. The pre-rodeo entertainment was by sheep riding by young children.

Above, the kiddie sheep-riding competition. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Then, after the opening ceremonies, events including girls bull-riding, men's bronco riding and others took place.

Above, what's a rodeo without some bronco riding? Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I stayed for about an hour. I could have stayed longer, but I thought it prudent to not overtax myself and headed on home. Besides, I didn't want to endure any more of the rodeo clown's bad jokes. He's worse than Bob McArthur.

Above, headed back to The Beast for the 8-mile drive back home. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Hopefully, I will be in better condition to enjoy next year's Ceremonial, which will be their 98th (it started in 1922).

Beatles Trivia: Olivia Harrison

Above, George and Olivia Harrison circa 1978.

Since today is Sunday, which the KLOS-FM show, "Breakfast With The Beatles" is broadcast in L.A., a little Beatles trivia.

Above, Olivia Trinidad Arias
during her Hawthorne High days.

From the Beatles By Day blog:

George Harrison married Olivia Trinidad Arias on September 2nd 1978. 

Olivia was born on May 18, 1948 in Mexico City, Mexico. At the age of 3 her parents moved to California, where she attended Hawthorne High School in Southern California.

I also attended Hawthorne High School and graduated in 1972. I didn't get there until 1968, three years after Olivia Harrison graduated in 1965.

Olivia was Harrison's second wife. He married Pattie Boyd in 1966 and they divorced in 1977. There is an article on Pattie Boyd on her life with Harrison and Eric Clapton. To read it go here.

Above, Hawthorne High School today. Photo by Aramnd Vaquer.

2017 Box Sets Reissues Set Record

Music lovers will have a good holiday season this year as a number of artists will be issuing box sets.

According to Forbes.com:

The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan lead this year’s record crop of musical box sets. The multimillion-reissue bandwagon exceeds last year’s peak, with a lot of classic albums returning in anniversary and deluxe editions – by U2, the Eagles, Prince, Radiohead and The Smiths, among others. 

New and announced titles, including vinyl reissues, are currently running at more than 630 for mainstream artists so far in 2017, an increase from the approximate 520 number at the same point in the year from the same record companies in 2016. The number surged in the last few weeks before Black Friday, Cyber Monday and now the first weekend of December – the weekend seen by eBay as the peak time for physical sales of vinyl, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray, even old videotapes and cassettes. 

The artists have all put out collections, which will do much to prop up the physical CD and vinyl market. Figures from record-industry groups and eBay last month pointed towards a continuing revival in demand. This is in the face of headlines about the rise of digital downloads and streams, demise of old-fashioned discs and the closure of record stores.

To read more, go here. 

Manson Dead

Above, Sharon Tate's grave. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It was in August 1969 that I was camping with my parents at the Watchman Campground in Zion National Park when word came over the radio that a mass murder took place in Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles.

It was the first word of the murders of actress Sharon Tate and her houseguests that a group of killer hippies, who later became known as the Manson Family, to reach the world.

Now, nearly 50 years later, Charles Manson, the leader of the group, has finally died.

The New York Post reported:

Charles Manson, the ’60s cult leader behind one of the most notorious killings in American history, died Sunday in California after a prolonged illness, officials said. He was 83. 

Manson – housed at Corcoran State Prison since 1989 – died at 8:13 p.m. local time at Kern County Hospital, the California Department of Corrections said in a press release early Monday. 

He’d been in failing health for months and was first hospitalized back in January, reportedly with serious gastrointestinal problems.

The Manson Family conducted more crimes. They include murders of the LaBiancas in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles, the attempted burglary of Western Surplus in Hawthorne, California (not too far from my home) and the attempt on the life of President Gerald Ford by Manson follower Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme in Sacramento.

All one can really say is, "Good riddance!" Maybe I'll listen to the Beatles' "White Album" to celebrate.

To read more, go here.

34 Years Ago Tonight...

34 years ago tonight, I was driving south on Aviation Blvd. in Manhattan Beach on some errand (long forgotten after all these years) when a news bulletin came on the radio: John Lennon was shot outside of his apartment building in New York City.

It was a surreal night. After I got home from the errand, I was flipping around different television stations for news reports. One would say Lennon died. Another would say he was still alive. And so on.

Between catching news reports on television or through different rock stations in Los Angeles (KLOS, KMET and KRTH), I was on the phone with a friend, Paul Evans, who was a Lennon fan.

Our favorite post-Beatles Lennon album was the "Plastic Ono Band" LP with "Imagine" a close second.

It still seems like almost yesterday.

The John Lennon Museum

Above, the John Lennon Museum. Photo: BillyT. Fried/Wikipedia.

The only museum in the world devoted to ex-Beatle John Lennon is not in England or in the United States. Instead, it is in Saitama, Japan.

One of my co-contributors to JapanTourist has an article on the John Lennon Museum. And here is a snippet:

Construction began in 1998 and the museum opened on October 9, 2000 - which would have been John’s 60th birthday, and was also kanreki, - an auspicious event in Japan. It could also be considered as Yoko’s millennium project. The museum attracted over 35,000 visitors a year, of which 5% were foreigners. Yoko came to the museum at least once a year. 

On entering the museum, visitors watched a 7-minute biographical film. Then, in the permanent collection, there were 9 “zones” (each with appropriate music and displays) corresponding to stages in John’s 40 years. Yoko deserves credit for not glossing over John's life. On the contrary, it is depicted warts and all from his being essentially abandoned by his mother (John was raised by his mother’s sister, Mimi); to his Beatle days; the first meeting with Yoko; John and Yoko’s bed-ins; John’s solo career; the “lost weekend” (an 18-month period when John and Yoko were separated); culminating with the recording of “Double Fantasy.” All information was presented in English and Japanese.

To read more, go here.