Clearly, when great guitarists talk about other great guitarists – and ones that influenced them – SRV’s name comes up quickly. It also comes through that he was respected and liked as a person. That is an important thing. Here are some takes on Vaughan by his contemporaries. The...
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on the musical community. Some of the victims are well known and some obscure. Following is what certainly is a small sampling of those who have died. The list was compiled from stories in Billboard, The Current and Legacy.com. The true horror...
The Daily Music Break presents a short video each week on a music video of note. Embedded video and podcasts can’t contain copyrighted audio, so above is the video with a bit of commentary. The full video is below the Amazon ad box. I really don’t have much to add to what is...
The easiest way to assess the importance of The Wrecking Crew is simply to glance at list of the songs to which they contributed. It’s below and it’s pretty stunning. The Wrecking Crew was a group only in the generic use of the term. It was a loose association of musicians who were on...
“Deuce and a Quarter” is a 1996 video featuring Keith Richards, Levon Helm, Elvis Presley sidemen Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana and others. The occasion was a session for the album “All the King’s Men,” a twentieth anniversary commemoration of Presley’s death. It’s a great video and a great...
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.
Meks Blog
Recent Comments