SHOCKING BLUE-\”HARLEY DAVIDSON/ GET IT ON\” (69/75)
"Real women ride!"
The motorcycle and the open road have always been metaphors for freedom. Between Kerouac's "On the Road" and Persig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", the counterculture embraced that ideal and roared with it. Shocking Blue did two B-sides, "Harley Davidson" (1969) and "Get It On" (1975), that tread that path.
For women, whose lives were locked up in farms or drawing rooms in the 1800's, the bicycle, the car, and the plane were transports of liberation in the 20th century. Amelia Earhart and black aviatrix Bessie Coleman opened up the skies. Linda Gudeau (The Motor Maids) and Louise Scherby (Women's International Motorcycle Association) scorched the tarmac. The cycle helped them to explore new gender roles, sensuality, self-reliance, equity, and the land in vaster vistas. This proud, rich heritage extends today from Motorcycle Clubs like the Amazon WMC and the Cycle Sisters, to the ultra-hellions, Dykes On Bikes. An open range is possibility, an open road is freedom.
Included here are varied angles like: vintage cycle ads, motorcyle mamas galore, Betty Page and pin-up art, Luciana Paluzzi ("Thunderball"), mod scooters, the Shangri-La's, Batgirl, Marianne Faithfull, Bridget Bardot (who sang her own classic "Harley Davidson"), Ann Margaret, Crepax's "Valentina" comics, Francoise Hardy and "Pravda" -the pop art comic she inspired, Janis Joplin, hippie hedonism, Black Canary, biker grrrl movies like "Hell's Belles" vesus bike mag pin-ups, Betty Davis, and the Runaways. Everyone your mother warned you about or may have been!
About SHOCKING BLUE: They started as a male rocking quartet in Holland who had the good fortune to replace their lead singer with Mariska Veres. Doe-eyed and direct, Mariska belted it out with the best of them. They broke through worldwide with the #1 smash, "Venus," in 1970. Time has borne out the depth of their work; their catalog is rich with strong melodies in varied styles which have given them a cult following. Artists as diverse as BANANARAMA ("Venus") to NIRVANA ("Love Buzz"), the PRODIGY ("Phoenix" uses "Love Buzz") and FATBOY SLIM (sampled "Send Me a Postcard") have tributed them. Mariska's tough wail was the foil for the deft guitar work of Robbie van Leeuwen, a tasteful and inspired player who is much underrated. Their work from 1968 to 1975 is great stuff. Even a few reunion singles in '86 and '94 hold the chemistry. Sadly, Mariska passed in December of 2006, and this is dedicated with respect to her.
Check out these great sites:
http://www.myspace.com/motorcyclegirls
http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Women/women_history.jsp?locale=en_US
http://www.realdivasride.com/home.htm
http://dykesonbikes.org/1_women_history.html
http://www.bessiecoleman.com/
Pravda:
http://www.thegenre.com/mov/pravda.html
http://worldofkane.blogspot.com/2007/09/guy-peellaert-b.html
Shocking Blue:
http://shockingblue.ning.com/
(All rights reserved by the copyright owners. Fan-made video to promote the artist and awareness.)
http://www.youtube.com/funknroll
tym stevens
Traffic Light Changer for Motorcycles
24 Responses to “SHOCKING BLUE-\”HARLEY DAVIDSON/ GET IT ON\” (69/75)”
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This song is the B side from the,,Send me a Postcard,, single, thanks.
Who’s the woman at 1:07 riding over the tyres? She’s amazing! I want that picture!!
as a biker and a person who grew up in the 60″s and ’70s this was awesome GREAT MUSIC… VERY COOL…THANKS
Shocking Blue is BOSS – thanks for uploading this, comrade!
Horsepower Profiles. Com
Brag A Little
Does anyone know where I can find a copy or a poster of the Ann-Margaret wonder woman Pic? I dont know why its been so difficult…
Now THAT is what the Info sidebar is for. Plenty of info and follow-up links. You’d think that anyone who’d put together a video would be proud enough to want to talk about it in detail, but few bother. It’s more than just icing on the cake; when done right, like here, it’s the equivalent of a DVD commentary track.
Yep loved th Joplin photo
She died in 1970. You must be mistakin’ on the year of your bike
I think Janis Joplin was on a bike like mine. A 1979 Super Glide.
Lurve the choice of artwork..
I thought I was the only one with a copy of the Mini Skirt Mob – lol!
I want a bat-girl bike.
new for me, thanks for sharing
Pretty cool tune from Shocking Blue, never heard it before.
maybe if the wife sees this she will get on her bike?! and stop riding on the back of mine
real women ride!
Well I love Harley I currently own three…..The newest a 2007 Low rider has been broken down over 40 times and still arguing with HD to just please give me a new bike…..What is sad I just want it replaced…I am currently sueing them now
Awesome! The green Triumph Anne Margaret’s on at 2:55 is in my parents garage, the same exact one! My mom rode this bike a lot when I was a kid, with my or my little sister on the back
We knew it belonged to her, stoked to actually see her on it!
Great imagery, I loved it
good stuff, really
absolutamente ótimo
I took my test on my mother’s Honda 150 Dream. My Sister, Sister-in-law and 4 out of 5 Nieces Drive them.
Life is good. Be safe.
“Get It On” from 1975.
name of the track that starts at 2:33?
I’ve ridden my own for 2 1/2 years. Put on 41,000 miles in that length of time. Took the MSF course and half of the class were women. (All ages). Women now make up 12% of the rider population. There’s just nothing like it! Ride safe. Thanks for the video.