The outpouring of tributes to the late Tom Petty has been truly astounding, although certainly not surprising given the depth and brilliance of Petty’s catalog. Artists of every generation, not to mention every genre, have paid tribute with performances of Petty classics. Among the best of them have been the inspired sing-alongs from the crowds […]
Tom Petty (1950-2017)
Monday Morning Video – Chuck Berry
Count me among the many whose earliest experience with music was courtesy of Chuck Berry. I think it was “Roll Over Beethoven.” Perhaps it was my personal rebellion against the symphony performances that my parents dragged me to attend. I’ve come to enjoy the symphony in the years since but, at the time, the lyric […]
Monday Morning Video – Greg Trooper
2017 is already off to a rough start with the recent passing of songwriter Greg Trooper. He was very much a songwriter’s songwriter, a storyteller who delved deep into the lives of the characters who inhabited his songs all the while connecting the listener to the universal truths in their tales.
Monday Morning Video – A Tough Music Year Keeps Getting Tougher
It’s been a tough year for music fans as we continue to lose a generation of greats. Here are a quartet of videos from three that we’ve lost in the past two weeks. We’re gonna miss the spirit and songs of Leon Russell, Leonard Cohen and Sharon Jones.
In Memoriam – Buckwheat Zydeco
While New Orleans has played a significant role in two of America’s greatest musical forms, jazz and blues, when you say “Louisiana music” to most people they hear the style championed by Stanley Dural, Jr., aka Buckwheat Zydeco. Dural passed away this past weekend and it’s worth remembering the man who became the face of […]
Ralph Stanley Remembered
There’s a quote frequently used to describe how old blues musicians managed to get the sound they did despite having no formal training, “it’s in him, and it got to get out.” That came to mind last weekend as I heard of the passing of Dr. Ralph Stanley. Anyone who heard Stanley perform O Death, […]
Guy Clark, 1941 – 2016
An already rough year for music just got a bit tougher. Legendary country and folk singer Guy Clark passed away earlier today. He was an inspiration to both music fans and artists alike. Whether singing songs happy or sad, there was a tremendous warmth to his music and a wonderful vibrancy to his lyrical storytelling. […]
Merle Haggard Remembered
The interwebs are, understandably, full of posts with people’s favorite Merle Haggard songs after the legend passed away on Wednesday. You could certainly do a lot worse than spending time listening to your favorites all over again, and maybe venturing out into a few you aren’t familiar with. But there’s a lot more we owe […]
Monday Morning Video – B.B. King (1925 – 2015)
We lost one of the greats last week. B.B. King was an inspiration to generations of musicians, from the weekend warriors who shows up for the sunday afternoon blues jam to the touring musicians who regularly sell out performances in arenas and stadiums. His personality was infectious, able to light up a room with his […]