This is the grave of Leon Russell. The real-life version of Cousin It was born in 1942 in Lawton, Oklahoma. Russell grew up with the piano and proved more than a little adept at it. He was already playing in the active country music nightclub...
music
I don't even need to explain why to watch this. Just turn it up and get your funk on. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DaFwdw5P2M8
One last point about the Newport Folk Festival, which is its forward looking vision of younger artists. When Randy Newman played, he got great amusement about being old. He played.
Been quite awhile since I did one of these posts! I'm not sure why, but there's a whole bunch of Sun Ra stories appearing. Here's a nice little profile of the great one in The New Yorker. And here's a pretty cool story on Sun...
Last night, I watched Julien Temple's 2009 documentary Oil City Confidential. Temple's documentary on Joe Strummer was so good that I figured I'd check this out. It's about the band.
This is the grave of Kate Smith. Born in 1907 in Greenville, Virginia, Smith grew up pretty well off. Her father was a newspaper and magazine distributor in the DC.
This is the grave of Billy Paul. Born either in 1934 or 1935 (sources vary), Paul Williams grew up in Philadelphia in a musical family. I don't see a lot of evidence that his family played a lot of instruments, but there was always music...
'Game of Skittles', copy of 1660-68 painting by Pieter de Hooch in the Saint Louis Art Museum via Wikimedia Commons When I was a kid, I spent a fair amount.
The big news this week is sad. The great bluegrass guitarist and, at one time, vocalist, Tony Rice died at the age of 69. Seems to have been sudden and.
Since tis' the season, I thought I'd write a little bit about Christmas albums. I really, really, really do not get this subgenre, based on the principle of who the hell would want to listen to tossed off covers of Christmas songs by the pop...
Guess what? I saw LIVE MUSIC! That's right--LIVE MUSIC! Holy mother of God, LIVE MUSIC! Moreover, who was it? NEKO CASE! There's a place called South Farms in Morris, Connecticut..
Been way too long since I've finished one of these posts. That me not finishing things coincided with the start of classes is not a coincidence.. One thing I've noticed.