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Movie Music

Great Music in Old Comedies

There is a lot of great music in old comedies. The Bob Hope of the 1930s and 1940s was a far different guy than the reactionary character of the 1960s and...

News and Commentary

Songs for a Hot Summer

  Martha and the Vandellas sing Heatwave. Here are other summer- and heat-related songs. Send me links to those I missed: The Heat is On: Glenn Frey (From...

Jazz

Ella Fitzgerald: The Man I Love

Unlike some other jazz greats, there is a tremendous amount of great Ella Fitzgerald material on YouTube and other video sites. None are better than this...

Television

Elvis and Andy Griffith

The passing last week of Andy Griffith led Phil Arnold, who runs ElvisBlog, to post an item on the links between the two icons. He described an appearance of...

Rock

Elvis Presley: “Heartbreak Hotel”

The shows Elvis in relaxed mode during his 1968 comeback. The guitarist is Scotty Moore. Here is a nice bio and a version of Long Tall Sally from 1956. Peter...

Jazz

Charlie Christian at Minton’s

This recording features Charlie Christian, Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie. Christian was a member of Benny Goodman’s sextet and a pivotal figure in...

Rock

Hot Tuna: “Hesitation Blues”

It’s ironic that a band that started as an informal side project from two of the pillars of The Jefferson Airplane — Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady...