Tag Archives: Del Shannon

Bergenfest_2012 Patti-10 — Picture by AllDylan @ Bergenfest 2012

Patti Smith was born in 1946

To be an artist — actually, to be a human being in these times — it’s all difficult. … What matters is to know what you want and pursue it. … [Life] is like a roller coaster. It’s never going to be perfect — it is going to have perfect moments, and then rough spots, but it’s all worth it.
~Patti Smith

“I don’t fuck much with the past but I fuck plenty with the future.”
~Patti Smith

“A writer, or any artist, can’t expect to be embraced by the people [but] you just keep doing your work — because you have to, because it’s your calling.”
~Patti Smith

Punk rock’s poet laureate Patti Smith ranks among the most influential female rock & rollers of all time. Ambitious, unconventional, and challenging, Smith’s music was hailed as the most exciting fusion of rock and poetry since Bob Dylan’s heyday.
~Steve Huey (allmusic.com)

For other Patti Smith quotes check out: Patti Smith Quotes @ 1oohabits.com

Continue reading Dec 30: Patti Smith was born in 1946 Happy Birthday →

Music Calendar

Today: Del Shannon passed away 24 years ago in 1990

February 8, 2014 Hallgeir

I always want to run away from A to B, and then I get to B and I wanna go back to A. I think everybody wants to run away.
~Del Shannon

One of the best and most original rockers of the early ’60s, Del Shannon was also one of the least typical. Although classified at times as a teen idol, he favored brooding themes of abandonment, loss, and rejection.
~Richie Unterberger (allmusic.com)

Continue reading Today: Del Shannon passed away 24 years ago in 1990 →

List, Rock'n Roll

Rock and Roll: 100 Best Singles – according to Paul Williams – Part 2

June 2, 2013 Egil 4 Comments

There’s a scream inside everyone of us at every moment. And every one of us has had the experience of listening to a record and feeling that scream take over. Release. Abandon. Let it all out. Rock and Roll for me is about Eros, not Logos, which is paradoxical since my job is putting the experience in words.
~Paul Williams (Author’s note)

One of our favorite authors here at JV is Paul Williams, and…. he did write about other stuff than Bob Dylan.

We all love lists, so I’ll try out a new series of posts honoring one of his lesser known books:

Rock And Roll: The 100 Best Singles

..the list is chronological, starting back before the beginning and going through the 50′s and the 60′s and the 70′s and the 80′s, and ending for the sake of convenience in 1991. So #1 is not supposed to be ‘better’ than #100. It just got in the line first.

My criteria are simple: the song has to have been released as a seven-inch 45 rpm single in the United States or Great Britain (Robert Johnson’s 78 rpm ten-inch is the exception that proved the rule), and it has be “rock and roll” according to my subjective evaluation…
~Paul Williams (Author’s note)

All quotes are from the book.

Here is #11 – 20

Continue reading Rock and Roll: 100 Best Singles – according to Paul Williams – Part 2 →

Music Calendar, Rock'n Roll

Today: Del Shannon passed away in 1990 – 23 years ago

February 8, 2013 Egil

I always want to run away from A to B, and then I get to B and I wanna go back to A. I think everybody wants to run away.
~Del Shannon

One of the best and most original rockers of the early ’60s, Del Shannon was also one of the least typical. Although classified at times as a teen idol, he favored brooding themes of abandonment, loss, and rejection.
~Richie Unterberger (allmusic.com)

Del Shannon’s induction in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

Runaway:

From Wikipedia

Birth name	Charles Weedon Westover
Also known as	Charlie Johnson
Born	December 30, 1934 Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Died	February 8, 1990 (aged 55) Santa Clarita, California, U.S.
Genres	Rock, country music
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1958–90
Labels	Bigtop, Twirl, Berlee, Amy, Liberty, Dunhill, United Artists,Island, Elektra, Silvertone
Website	Official website

Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), known professionally as Del Shannon, was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit, “Runaway”, in 1961.

Keep Searchin’ (We’ll Follow the Sun) – live 1965

Album of the day

Greatest Hits (2010)

Other February 08:

Continue reading Today: Del Shannon passed away in 1990 – 23 years ago →

Blues, Music Calendar, Patti Smith, Punk, Rock

Today: Patti Smith is 66

December 30, 2012 Hallgeir 2 Comments

Patricia Lee “Patti” Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses.

Called the “Godmother of Punk”, her work was a fusion of rock and poetry. Smith’s most widely known song is “Because the Night”, which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen and reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. In 2005, Patti Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, and in 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On November 17, 2010, she won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids. She is also a recipient of the 2011 Polar Music Prize. (Wikipedia)

Patti Smith has been a part of my musical life since 1979. I have followed her since, but i first got to see her in concert this year at Bergenfest, it was great. She was so warm and looked so calm and confident. She gave us a wonderful show with a very good band. She played highlights from her long career including this years album, Banga.

Happy birthday, Patti!

My top 5 Patti Smith albums: