Americana, Country, Rock

July 22: Don Henley was born in 1947

DHenleyAhYouth

July 22: Don Henley was born in 1947

Donald Hugh “Don” Henley (born July 22, 1947, in Gilmer, Texas) is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up. Henley sings lead vocals on Eagles hits such as “Witchy Woman”, “Desperado”, “Best of My Love”, “One of These Nights”, “Hotel California”, “Life in the Fast Lane”, and “The Long Run”. He and Glenn Frey formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in music history.

We saw Eagles a few weeks ago in Lucca, Italy, and they were very, very good, and so much better than those latest DVD releases tells us. Eagles in Lucca were playful and fun, they had a good time and so did we. Don Henley ages with grace.

Continue reading July 22: Don Henley was born in 1947 →

Concert films, Film, Grateful Dead

Classic concert movie: Sunshine Daydream with Grateful Dead 1972

2 Comments

sunshinedaydreamimage

Classic concert movie: Sunshine Daydream with Grateful Dead 1972

Sunshine Daydream is A Music Documentary Film Starring The Rock Band The Grateful Dead. It Was Shot At Their, August 27 1972 Concert, At The Old Renaissance Faire Grounds, In Veneta, Oregon. Directed by John Norris.

Unreleased for many years, the movie was sometimes shown at small film festivals, and bootleg recordings of it circulated on VHS and DVD, and as digital downloads. A digitally remastered and reedited official version of the film was released on August 1, 2013, showing only one time in selected theaters. It was screened with Grateful Days, a new documentary short that includes interviews with some of the concert attendees. Sunshine Daydream was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 17, 2013.

Sunshine Daydream is also a live album containing the complete August 27, 1972 Grateful Dead concert. Produced as a 3–disc CD and as a 4-disc LP, it was released by Rhino Records on September 17, 2013.

The name Sunshine Daydream is taken from the coda section of the Dead song “Sugar Magnolia”.

Continue reading Classic concert movie: Sunshine Daydream with Grateful Dead 1972 →

Beatles, Music Calendar

July 21: The Beatles recorded Come Together in 1969


beatles-come-together

July 21: The Beatles recorded Come Together in 1969

“It was a funky record – it’s one of my favorite Beatle tracks, or, one of my favourite Lennon tracks, let’s say that. It’s funky, it’s bluesy, and I’m singing it pretty well. I like the sound of the record. You can dance to it. I’d buy it!”

“The thing was created in the studio. It’s gobbledygook, Come Together was an expression that Leary had come up with for his attempt at being president or whatever he wanted to be, and he asked me to write a campaign song. I tried and tried, but I couldn’t come up with one. But I came up with this, Come Together, which would’ve been no good to him, you couldn’t have a campaign song like that, right?”
– John Lennon (Playboy, 1980)

“Come Together” is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on the album Abbey Road, and was released as a double A-sided single with “Something”, their twenty-first single in the United Kingdom and twenty-sixth in the United States. The song reached the top of the charts in the US, and peaked at number four in the UK.

I really love the song, one of John’s masterpieces!

John Lennon: vocals, rhythm guitar, handclaps and tambourine
Paul McCartney: harmony vocals,electric piano and bass
George Harrison: lead guitar
Ringo Starr: drums, maracas

 

uk_come-together

 

A-side “Something“
Released 6 October 1969 (US), 31 October 1969 (UK)
Format 7″
Recorded 21 July 1969,
EMI Studios, London
Genre Blues rock, hard rock
Length 4:18
Label Apple
Writer(s) Lennon–McCartney
Producer George Martin

..nice work by the editors!

Continue reading July 21: The Beatles recorded Come Together in 1969 →

Beatles, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Rock'n Roll

10 Great versions of That’s All Right (Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, The Beatles & more)

1 Comment

johnny cash & bob dylan

For Elvis Presley & Arthur Crudup versions:

Such an important song needs special attention. So I decided to seek out versions of the song by some of my fav artists… here’s what I found:

1. Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash (1969)

2. Bob Dylan  – Columbia Recording Studios (NYC) 1962/10/26 OR 1962/11/01

3. The Beatles – Live @ BBC

Continue reading 10 Great versions of That’s All Right (Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, The Beatles & more) →

Elvis Presley, Music Calendar, Rock'n Roll, Sun, The Best Songs

July 19: Elvis Presley – “That’s All Right” 1954

elvis presley that's all right single

In 2004, Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right Mama” and Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” both celebrated their 50th anniversaries. Rolling Stone Magazine felt that Presley’s song was the first rock and roll recording. At the time Presley recorded the song, Big Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle & Roll”, later covered by Haley, was already at the top of the Billboard R&B charts. The Guardian felt that while there were rock’n’roll records before Presley’s, his recording was the moment when all the strands came together in “perfect embodiment”. (wikipedia)

“A lot of people seem to think I started this business, but rock ‘n’ roll was here a long time before I came along. Nobody can sing that kind of music like colored people. Let’s face it; I can’t sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that. But I always liked that kind of music.”
~Elvis Presley

elvis presley that's all right single2

 

Continue reading July 19: Elvis Presley – “That’s All Right” 1954 →