Category Archives: Music Calendar

Country, Music Calendar

Today: Roger Miller passed away in 1992 – 20 years ago

The human mind is a wonderful thing, it starts working from before you’re born and doesn’t stop till you sit down to write a song
~Roger Miller

It’s one thing to have talent. It’s another to figure out how to use it.
~Roger Miller

Leaven’s Not The Only Way To Go:

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Roger Dean Miller
Born January 2, 1936
Fort Worth, Texas
Died October 25, 1992 (aged 56)
Los Angeles, California
Genres Country
Occupations Singer-songwriter
Instruments Guitar, fiddle, drums
Years active 1957–1992
Associated acts Bill Anderson, George Jones,Dean Miller, Willie Nelson,Johnny Paycheck, Minnie Pearl,Ray Price, Jim Reeves, Sheb Wooley, Dwight Yoakam, Faron Young
Website www.rogermiller.com

Roger Dean Miller (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs. His most recognized tunes included the chart-topping country/pop hits “King of the Road”, “Dang Me” and “England Swings”, all from the mid-1960s Nashville sound era.

After growing up in Oklahoma and serving in the United States Army, Miller began his musical career as a songwriter in the late 1950s, penning such hits as “Billy Bayou” and “Home” for Jim Reeves and “Invitation to the Blues” for Ray Price. He later started a recording career and reached the peak of his fame in the late 1960s, but continued to record and tour into the 1990s, charting his final top 20 country hit “Old Friends” with Willie Nelson in 1982. Later in his life, he wrote the music and lyrics for the 1985 Tony-award winning Broadway musical Big River, in which he also acted.

Miller died from lung cancer in 1992, and was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame three years later. His songs continued to be recorded by younger artists, with covers of “Tall, Tall Trees” by Alan Jackson and “Husbands and Wives” by Brooks & Dunn, each reaching the number one spot on country charts in the 1990’s. The Roger Miller Museum in his home town serves as a tribute to Miller.

You Can’t Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd & Chug-a-lug:

From allmusic.com – Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
Roger Miller is best known for his humorous novelty songs, which overshadow his considerable songwriting talents as well as his hardcore honky tonk roots. After writing hits for a number of artists in the ’50s, Miller racked up a number of hits during the ’60s which became not only country classics, but popular classics as well.
….read more @ allmusic.com 

Album of the day – All Time Greatest Hits (2003):

From allmusic.com – Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
There have been many collections of Roger Miller’s hitmaking peak on Mercury over the years, but few have been as comprehensive or as good as Mercury/Chronicle’s 2003 CD, All Time Greatest Hits. Spanning 20 tracks over the course of one CD, this contains all the big songs: “Dang Me,” “Chug-a-Lug,” “Do Wacka Do,” “In the Summertime (You Don’t Want My Love),” “King of the Road,” “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd,” “Kansas City Star,” “England Swings,” and “Husbands and Wives,” among others. All but one track from the seminal 1965 collection Golden Hits is here (“Atta Boy Girl” is the missing culprit — a good song but not enough to tip the scales in favor of the 38-year-old collection), and it spans further than that record, collecting hits from 1967-1970 and ending with the 1986 hit “River in the Rain.” While that final song isn’t quite of the standard of what preceded it, it provides a nice closer to a set of songs that unequivocally proves Miller’s genius. ….read more @ allmusic

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Music Calendar, Rolling Stones

Today: Bill Wyman is 76

2 Comments

I didn’t want to stay in the Stones, and be stuck in a position having to play a music I didn’t like anymore and that restricted me from doing all the others things I’m interested in because of time.

I wanted a variety in my life but after a couple of years I thought that music is what I do so maybe I should start doing it again.

From Wikipedia:

Birth name William George Perks
Also known as Lee Wyman
Born 24 October 1936 (age 76)
Lewisham, London EnglandUnited Kingdom
Genres Rock, rock and roll, swing,rhythm and blues, jazz, blues,skiffle
Occupations Musician, composer, author,record producer, film producer,bandleader, photographer,inventor
Instruments Vocals, bass guitar, guitar,keyboards, percussion,autoharp
Years active 1962–present
Labels Velvel, Koch International,Rolling Stones, BMG
Associated acts The Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Wilie & the Poor Boys, The Cliftons
Website www.billwyman.com

Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings – Anyway the wind blows:

Bill Wyman (born William George Perks; 24 October 1936) is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. He has worked producing both records and film, and has scored music for film in movies and television.

Wyman has kept a journal since he was a child after World War II. It has been useful to him as an author who has written seven books, selling two million copies. Wyman’s love of art has additionally led to his proficiency in photography and his photographs have hung in galleries around the world. Wyman’s lack of funds in his early years led him to create and build his own fretless bass guitar. He became an amateur archaeologist and enjoys relic hunting; The Times published a letter about his hobby (Friday 2 March 2007). He designed and markets a patented Bill Wyman signature metal detector, which he has used to find relics in the English countryside dating back to the era of the Roman Empire.

As a businessman, he owns several establishments including the famous Sticky Fingers Café, a rock & roll-themed bistro serving American cuisine first opened in 1989 in the Kensington area of London and later, two additional locations in Cambridge and Manchester, England.

Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings – Stuff:

From allmusic – Jason Ankeny:
As a member of the Rolling Stones for three decades, Bill Wyman established himself among the greatest bassists in rock & roll history; in tandem with drummer Charlie Watts, he belonged to one of the most stalwart rhythm sections in popular music, perfectly complementing the theatrics of Mick Jagger and the gritty guitar leads of Keith Richards.  …. read more @ allmusic.com

 

Album of the day – James Brown – Live at The Apollo (1963):

 

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Country, Music Calendar

Today: Dwight Yoakam is 56

The primary purpose in [performing] is to receive that pure inspiration that I derived from it when I was a kid the first time I saw one of those guitar slingers on television cock his leg and throw that guitar down and start doing a song and became completely infatuated with that and the moment that I was able to transport myself to another place, another plane of existence, by doing it alone in a room, you know, and realizing the enormous satisfaction from doing that … I don’t ever want to risk losing that as the primary catalyst for what I do musically.~
~Dwight Yoakam

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Dwight David Yoakam
Born October 23, 1956 (age 56)
Pikeville, Kentucky,United States
Origin Columbus, Ohio, United States
Genres Country Rock
Occupations Singer-songwriter, actor, director
Instruments Guitar, vocals
Years active 1984–present
Labels Reprise
Audium
New West
Warner Bros. Nashville
Associated acts Buck Owens
Website http://www.dwightyoakam.com/

Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music. Popular since the early 1980s, he has recorded more than twenty-one albums and compilations, charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and sold more than 25 million records.

Guitars, Cadillacs:

From allmusic.com – Stephen Thomas Erlewine:

With his stripped-down approach to traditional honky tonk and Bakersfield country, Dwight Yoakamhelped return country music to its roots in the late ’80s. Like his idols Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, andHank Williams, Yoakam never played by Nashville’s rules; consequently, he never dominated the charts like his contemporary Randy Travis. Then again, Travis never played around with the sound and style of country music like Yoakam. On each of his records, he twists around the form enough to make it seem like he doesn’t respect all of country’s traditions. Appropriately, his core audience was composed mainly of roots rock and rock & roll fans, not the mainstream country audience. Nevertheless, he was frequently able to chart in the country Top Ten, and he remained one of the most respected and adventurous recording country artists well into the ’90s.
…read more over @ allmusic.com 

a medley performed @ The Grand Ole Opry:

 

Album of the day – Guitars, Cadillacs, etc etc (1986):

From allmusic.com – Thom Jurek:
Dwight Yoakam’s Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. began as an EP issued on the California Oak label. When Reprise signed him, they added four more tracks to the mix to round it out as an album. Yoakam, a Kentuckian, brought country music back into its own medium by reviving the classic Bakersfield sound with the help of his producer and lead guitarist, former Detroiter Pete Anderson. As a result, the “new traditionalist” movement was born, but Yoakam was always a cut or three above the rest, as this album displays in spades. Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. kicks off with a smoking cover of Johnny Horton’s “Honky Tonk Man,” a song now so closely associated with Yoakam, the original has all but been forgotten. But this is only the beginning. Yoakam’s own songs such as “Bury Me,” a duet with Maria McKee, and “South of Cincinnati” reference both the pastoral and dark sides of his native state. “South of Cincinnati” is a paean to those who left Kentucky for Ohio in search of jobs, and “Bury Me” celebrates the land itself. In addition, the title track, with Anderson’s Don Rich-influenced guitar style, walks the Buck Owens line until the line extends to Yoakam. With fiddles and backing vocals, Yoakam’s street poetry is both poignant and profound, built into a barroom anthem. In addition to this there is the gorgeous “Miner’s Prayer,” an acoustic number powered by dobro (courtesy of David Mansfield), flat-picked guitar, and Yoakam’s singing of his grandfather and generations like him who lived and died in the mines of Kentucky. Here Bill Monroe meets Ralph Stanley meets Bob Dylan.  .. read more @ allmusic.com

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Music Calendar, Rolling Stones

Today: Jimmy Miller passed away in 1994 – 18 years ago

Jimmy Miller produced “The Rolling Stones” 4 best albums:

  1. Exile on Main St. (1972)
  2. Sticky Fingers (1971)
  3. Let It Bleed (1969)
  4. Beggars Banquet (1968)

He really connected with the band & Keith Richards in particular.

“It was really a gas to work with him. Jimmy Miller could turn the whole band on and make a nondescript number into something.”
~Keith Richards

Miller was a huge Stones fan before he started working with the band..

‘The night Jagger phoned I just knew he was gonna ask me to produce them. I glided over to his house on a cloud.’
~Jimmy Miller

From Wikipedia:

James “Jimmy” Miller (23 March 1942 – 22 October 1994) was a Brooklyn, New York-born record producer and musician who produced dozens of albums between the mid-1960s and early 1990s, including landmark recordings for Blind Faith, Traffic, the Plasmatics, Motorhead, The World Bank and Primal Scream. He was perhaps best known for his lengthy association with the Rolling Stones, for whom he produced a string of singles and albums that all rank among the most critically and financially successful works of the band’s career: Beggars Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972) and Goats Head Soup (1973).

Prior to working with the Rolling Stones, Miller rose to fame by producing successful releases for The Spencer Davis Group including their breakthrough hit “Gimme Some Lovin'” and the follow-up smash “I’m A Man,” which Miller co-wrote with the band’s singer-keyboardist, Steve Winwood. In addition to his production work for yet another Winwood band, Traffic, Miller also contributed the lyrics to the Traffic song “Medicated Goo.” Miller produced the only album by the Clapton/Winwood supergroup Blind Faith.

The Spencer Davis Group – Gimme Some Lovin’:

Traffic – Dear Mr. Fantasy:

Blind Faith – Can’t Find My Way Home:

Following his work with Blind Faith, Miller co-produced (with Delaney Bramlett) the hit Delaney & Bonnie album On Tour with Eric Clapton, recorded live at Croydon, United Kingdom, on 7 December 1969. He went on to produce Delaney & Bonnie keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, Kracker, the Plasmatics, Motörhead and the UK band Nirvana.

A drummer himself, Miller was known for the distinctive drum sound that characterized his productions, especially his work with the Rolling Stones, on whose recordings he occasionally played percussion parts such as the famous opening cowbell on “Honky Tonk Women” and the full drum kit on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Happy,” “Tumbling Dice” and “Shine a Light.”

The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet (1968) [full album]:

The Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed (1969, Remastered) Full Album:

The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers (1971) (Full Album):

The Rolling Stones – Let It Loose (1972) (No Full album on youtube):

The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street – Shine a Light (1972):

Miller went on to work with Primal Scream on their breakthrough album Screamadelica and William Topley’s band The Blessing (Miller appears on their DVD Sugar Train during the song “Soul Love”). In the 1980s, Miller produced some acts including Johnny Thunders, Matrix and Jo Jo Laine (wife of Denny Lane, on “Moody Blues & Wings”). In 1990 he Co-Produced (along with Phil Greene) “What’s in A Name” for Florida band Walk the Chalk.

Among Miller’s last productions were three tracks on the 1992 Wedding Present project, Hit Parade 2. Jimmy also produced four tracks on The World Banks “In Debt Interview” which featured artists such as Billy Preston and Bobby Keys, a rare musical sideline from author Hunter S. Thompson. Jimmy traveled to Woody Creek, Colorado in 1994 to meet with Hunter S. Thompson for a memorable weekend in May shortly before he passed on. He died in October 1994.

Album of the day – Exile on Main St. (1972):

From allmusic.com – Stephen Thomas Erlewine:

Greeted with decidedly mixed reviews upon its original release, Exile on Main St. has become generally regarded as the Rolling Stones’ finest album. Part of the reason why the record was initially greeted with hesitant reviews is that it takes a while to assimilate. A sprawling, weary double album encompassing rock & roll, blues, soul, and country, Exile doesn’t try anything new on the surface, but the substance is new. Taking the bleakness that underpinned Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers to an extreme, Exile is a weary record, and not just lyrically. Jagger’s vocals are buried in the mix, and the music is a series of dark, dense jams, with Keith Richards and Mick Taylor spinning off incredible riffs and solos. And the songs continue the breakthroughs of their three previous albums. No longer does their country sound forced or kitschy — it’s lived-in and complex, just like the group’s forays into soul and gospel. While the songs, including the masterpieces “Rocks Off,” “Tumbling Dice,” “Torn and Frayed,” “Happy,” “Let It Loose,” and “Shine a Light,” are all terrific, they blend together, with only certain lyrics and guitar lines emerging from the murk. It’s the kind of record that’s gripping on the very first listen, but each subsequent listen reveals something new. Few other albums, let alone double albums, have been so rich and masterful as Exile on Main St., and it stands not only as one of the Stones’ best records, but sets a remarkably high standard for all of hard rock.
…read more over @ allmusic.com

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Music Calendar

Today: Tom Petty is 62

“I remember playing shows [with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers in the ‘80s] and looking out
[thinking] I didn’t have that many fans coming to see me,” he says. “They were coming to see
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.”
~Bob Dylan (to Robert Hilburn, December 1997)

“Well I won’t back down
No I won’t back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won’t back down”
~Tom Petty (I won’t back down)

I Won’t Back Down:

 

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Thomas Earl Petty
Also known as Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr
Muddy Wilbury
Born October 20, 1950 (age 62)
Origin Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Genres Rock and roll, roots rock, heartland rock, southern rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, country
Occupations Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion,harmonica
Years active 1969–present
Labels Shelter, Backstreet, MCA, Warner Bros.,American, Reprise
Associated acts Epics, Mudcrutch, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Traveling Wilburys, Stevie Nicks,Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Grateful Dead, Roy Orbison, Bonnie Raitt, Dwight Twilley
Website tompetty.com

Thomas Earl “Tom” Petty (born October 20, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr. and Muddy Wilbury.

He has recorded a number of hit singles with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. His music, and notably his hits, have become popular among younger generations as he continues to host sold-out shows. Throughout his career, Petty and his collaborators have sold 60 million albums. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

From allmusic.com – Stephen Thomas Erlewine:

Upon the release of their first album in the late ’70s, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were shoehorned into the punk/new wave movement by some observers who picked up on the tough, vibrant energy of the group’s blend of Byrds riffs and Stonesy swagger. In a way, the categorization made sense. Compared to the heavy metal and art rock that dominated mid-’70s guitar rock, the Heartbreakers’ bracing return to roots was nearly as unexpected as the crashing chords of the Clash. As time progressed, it became clear that the band didn’t break from tradition like their punk contemporaries. Instead, they celebrated it, culling the best parts of the British Invasion, American garage rock, and Dylanesque singer/songwriters to create a distinctively American hybrid that recalled the past without being indebted to it.

The Heartbreakers were a tight, muscular, and versatile backing band that provided the proper support for Petty’s songs, which cataloged a series of middle-class losers and dreamers. While his slurred, nasal voice may have recalled Dylan and Roger McGuinn, Petty’s songwriting was lean and direct, recalling the simple, unadorned style of Neil Young. Throughout his career, Petty & the Heartbreakers never departed from their signature rootsy sound …
..read more over @ allmusic.com

Refugee (Live at @ Farm Aid 1985):

Great version of Dylan’s “License To Kill”:

Awards and accolades

  • In 1994, You Got Lucky, a Tom Petty tribute album featuring such bands as Everclear and Silkworm was released.
  • In April 1996, Petty received the UCLA’s George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement.
  • The next month, Petty won the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ Golden Note Award.
  • In 1999 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their contribution to the recording industry.
  • In 2002, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
  • On December 6, 2005, Petty received the Billboard Century Award for his lifetime achievements.
  • The same year, Conversations with Tom Petty, an oral history/biography composed of interviews conducted in 2004 and 2005 with Petty by music journalistPaul Zollo was published (ISBN 1-84449-815-8).
  • On September 21, 2006, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received the keys to the city of Gainesville, Florida, where he and his bandmates either lived or grew up. 
  • From July 2006 until 2007 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio featured an exhibit of Tom Petty items. Much of the content was donated by Petty himself during a visit to his home by some of the Hall’s curatorial staff.
  • Peter Bogdanovich’s documentary film on Petty’s career entitled Runnin’ Down A Dream (film) premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 14, 2007.

Album of the day – “Damn The Torpedos” (1979)

From allmusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine):

Not long after You’re Gonna Get It, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ label, Shelter, was sold to MCA Records. Petty struggled to free himself from the major label, eventually sending himself into bankruptcy. He settled with MCA and set to work on his third album, digging out some old Mudcrutch numbers and quickly writing new songs. Amazingly, through all the frustration and anguish, Petty & the Heartbreakers delivered their breakthrough and arguably their masterpiece with Damn the Torpedoes. Musically, it follows through on the promise of their first two albums, offering a tough, streamlined fusion of the Stones and Byrds that, thanks to Jimmy Iovine’s clean production, sounded utterly modern yet timeless. It helped that the Heartbreakers had turned into a tighter, muscular outfit, reminiscent of, well, the Stones in their prime — all of the parts combine into a powerful, distinctive sound capable of all sorts of subtle variations. Their musical suppleness helps bring out the soul in Petty’s impressive set of songs. He had written a few classics before — “American Girl,” “Listen to Her Heart” — but here his songwriting truly blossoms. Most of the songs have a deep melancholy undercurrent — the tough “Here Comes My Girl” and “Even the Losers” have tender hearts; the infectious “Don’t Do Me Like That” masks a painful relationship; “Refugee” is a scornful, blistering rocker; “Louisiana Rain” is a tear-jerking ballad. Yet there are purpose and passion behind the performances that makes Damn the Torpedoes an invigorating listen all the same. Few mainstream rock albums of the late ’70s and early ’80s were quite as strong as this, and it still stands as one of the great records of the album rock era.    …read more over @ allmusic

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