SAMMY!
Sammy Hagar turns 77 today. Some people seem to be perpetually young and Sammy is one of them. Know why? Because he is truly appreciative of everything that has happened in his life. And what a life it’s been. Why is Sammy more appreciative than other rock singers? His family worked in the lettuce fields […]
Train Kept A-Rollin’ All Night Long!
All right, raise your hand if you recognize the name “Tiny Bradshaw.” Thought so. Myron Carlton “Tiny” Bradshaw co-wrote The Train Kept A-Rollin’ and recorded it on this date in 1951 in my hometown of Cincinnati. I would argue that this song was responsible for more great rock bands than any other in history with […]
Elton’s Peak: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
More than any other non-classical piece of work, it has everything the cinema can offer: the big dramatic opening with Funeral and Love Lies Bleeding; the passionate highs of Saturday Night and Alice; the inevitable downfall and tragedy of Danny Bailey and the title song; the longing for love of Candle in the Wind and I’ve Seen That Movie; the comedy of Social Disease; and, of course, the big, happy ending of Harmony.
Stevie, Lindsey, and Keb’
Three of my favorite guitarists have November 3rd birthdays. Let’s start with the one who, sadly, is no longer with us, the inimitable Stevie Ray Vaughan. Stevie almost single-handedly made the blues popular again in the 1980s. He was the only guitarist I’ve ever heard who played as if his life depended on it. And, […]
THE BEATLES
The greatest cultural influence in my lifetime was The Beatles. Nothing else comes close. But…I was too young to appreciate them when they were together (although one of my earliest memories was hearing Eleanor Rigby on the way to YMCA Camp in the summer of ‘66, at 6 years old, and thinking, “This is really […]
The Key of Life
I know we are a rock crowd. But growing up, Motown music had a huge effect on our musical tastes. And everyone from The Beatles and Stones to CCR and Doobie Brothers covered Motown songs. On this date in 1976, the stunningly superb Songs In the Key of Life was released. Thriller had the otherworldly […]
Hard Drivin’ Man
If there ever exists a College of Musical Knowledge, this album is required listening.
AFTER THE GOLD RUSH
Quick…think of a famous singer-songwriter album. A few just immediately come to mind like Tapestry, Blue, Sweet Baby James, Highway 61 Revisited, and For Everyman. I would put another in that top tier that inexplicably is never part of the discussion, one released on this date in 1970, Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush. Tell […]
Cinderella Story
On September 16, 1972, a relatively unknown guitarist played his first concert as a solo artist when he opened for the J. Geils Band. He had been the lead singer and guitarist in a pop band called The Herd and then for three years in a hard rock band, but none of either band’s studio […]
Robert F’ing Plant
Today, Robert Plant turns 76. I had the great fortune of meeting Mr. Plant once at the Gatwick Airport Hotel. He was a true gentleman in every respect. There is not a single entertainer who experienced more joy and more sorrow during the 1970s. Think about it: Jimmy and Robert had no peers in the […]
