Vintage Pretenders is, in a way, a lot like vintage Rolling Stones. Both are fronted by charismatic people who can overshadow the absolutely fantastic band...
Category - Rock
It’s fun on a random day to check out whose birthday it is. June 8 is pretty random — James Comey’s testimony in Washington notwithstanding...
Check out this very insightful and interesting interview in Rolling Stone of Warren Haynes, who was in The Allman Brothers Band for 25 years. (Haynes also is...
Always good to hear. Dedicated to Donald Trump and the Republicans. It most closely fits his dopey son.
Cream bass player and singer Jack Bruce — actually, John Symon Asher Bruce — would have turned 74 years old on Sunday. This is from Bruce’s...
Spin posted an article yesterday describing a staged variety show being planned by David Byrne. The program will be presented at Town Hall in New York City on...
Sometimes things just happen in neat little bundles. Yesterday, my wife, daughter and I spent much of the afternoon at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. The...
H/T: Ed A. Anything is complicated if you think about it long enough. Take tribute bands, for instance. In some cases, it’s easy. But what about a...
One of the things I have wondered about since I began this site is why there were so many videos made by bands before the arrival of MTV. Here is another. Some...
Great version of a rarity–a funny southern rock song. It’sa great genre, but generally not a lot of laughs. But this one is funny.
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.