Sly and Family Stone, a band that electrified Woodstock, was perhaps the primary bridge between funk and rock and roll. The story is one of great talent, great...
Reading Music
The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.
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Here are some books to check out.
Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.
What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.
The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").
David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.
Category - Rock
There is not much anyone can do about getting old. And, as they say, it beats the alternative. Here is a good list of McCartney sites. “Too Many...
Not sure if what Thijs van Leer is doing is a form of proto-punk yodeling or not. The other guys in the band certainly seem amused. At any rate, Jan Akkerman...
Here’s are two great Grateful Dead sites: The Grateful Dead area of the Internet Archive and The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics by Prof. David Dodd. He...
This band was suggested by a site visitor. It’s sort of like Lynyrd Skynyrd married the B-52s and their children formed a band. Here are Eight Piece Box...
It’s a great trivia question: Name a performer who recorded with Frank Zappa and Frank Sinatra. The answer is Lowell George, the driving force behind...
Some bands always sound fresh because their sound is so unique. Steely Dan, for instance, fits that description. Traffic certainly also qualifies. Here are The...
Santana’s performance of Soul Sacrifice at Woodstock put the band — and, of course, Carlos — on the map. Here is Oye Como Va, a song written...
Here are “Daddy Don’t Live in that New York City No More,” supposedly an alternate take than the one on “Katy Lied,” and...
My son vouches for these guys, though I read a few pages of Anthony Kiedis’ autobiography and, well… Anyway, they certainly bring a lot of energy...