May 20 in music history

Happy 70th birthday Joe Cocker (read more)

God, I’m just a fat bald guy, 60 years old, singing the blues, you know?
~Joe Cocker

It’s all a matter of hearing what I like and seeing if I can make it fit into my style.
~Joe Cocker

MK: Who are your favorite contemporary singers?
BD: Oh, let me see, Joe Cocker, I suppose. Graham Nash can sing. Van Morrison’s fantastic.
And so is Stevie Wonder, but of all of them, Joe’s the greatest.
~Bob Dylan (to Martin Killer – July 1983)

joe-cocker
 

Let It Be is a 1970 documentary film about The Beatles rehearsing and recording songs for the album Let It Be in January 1969. The film features an unannounced rooftop concert by the group, their last performance in public. Released just after the album, it was the final original Beatles release.

 let-it-be
Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer and actress with a career spanning five decades. Recognized for having brought the sense of female autonomy andself-actualization into the entertainment industry, she is known for her distinctive contralto singing voice and for having worked in various areas of entertainment, as well as for continuously reinventing both her music andimage which has led to her being called the Goddess of Pop.

 

Cher covers Dylan (read more)

 

 cher

In the City (released 20 May, 1977) is the debut studio album of British mod revival/punk rock band The Jam. It was released in 1977 by Polydor Records and featured the hit single and title track “In the City”.
 The_Jam_-_In_the_City

Spotify Playlist – May 20

Cher sings Bob Dylan Happy Birthday Cher

Sonny-and-Cher-with-Bob-Dylan-in-1965.

Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) Recognized for having brought the sense of female autonomy and self-actualization into the entertainment industry, she is known for her distinctive contralto singing voice and for having worked in various areas of entertainment, as well as continuously reinventing both her music and image, which has led to her being nicknamed the Goddess of Pop.

Cher has covered many Bob Dylan songs throughout her career:

All I Really Wanna Do, Blowin’ In The Wind, Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right, I Threw It All Away, Like A Rolling Stone,  Masters Of War, The Times, They Are A-Changin’, Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You, Lay, Baby, Lay (yes, really!) and I Want You (Please tell us if there are more).

Like a Rolling Stone (audio):

Tiger Beat magazine from 1965
Tiger Beat magazine from 1965

Tonight I’ll be staying here with you (audio):

Continue reading Cher sings Bob Dylan Happy Birthday Cher

May 19 in music history

Happy birthday Pete Townshend (read more)

“If you don’t want anyone to know anything about you, don’t write anything.”
― Pete Townshend

“Rock ‘n’ Roll might not solve your problems, but it does let you dance all over them”
― Pete Townshend

pete townshend
 Paul S. Williams (May 19, 1948 – March 27, 2013), born in Boston, Massachusetts, was an American music journalist and writer.
Williams created the first national US magazine of rock music criticism Crawdaddy! in January 1966 on the campus of Swarthmore College ..He is also the author of more than 25 books, of which the best-known are Outlaw Blues, Das Energi, and Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, the acclaimed three-part series. Williams is a leading authority on the works of musicians Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and Neil Young, and science fiction writers Philip K. Dick (serving as the executor of his literary estate) and Theodore Sturgeon.
 Paul williams
 Mickey Newbury (May 19, 1940 – September 29, 2002) was an American songwriter, a critically acclaimed recording artist, and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. For a time, he was one of the most influential creative minds in Nashville and it’s arguable that he was the first real “outlaw” of the outlaw country movement of the 1970s. Ralph Emery referred to him as the first “hippie-cowboy” and along with Johnny Cash and Roger Miller, he was one of the first to rebel against the conventions of the Nashville music society. After being disappointed by the production methods used by Felton Jarvis on his debut album, Newbury got himself released from his contract with RCA and signed the first offer he received to comply with his condition that he could either produce his own albums or choose the producer.

Read about: An American Trilogy

 mickey newbury
 Joey Ramone (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001) was an American musician, vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone’s image, voice and tenure as front man of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.  Joeyramone
 Bob Dylan: Ballad of a Thin Man @ Glasgow, (probably) 19 May 1966 (Video)  bob dylan 1966 - ballad OATM

Spotify Playlist – May 19

Bob Dylan: Zepp Nagoya, Nagoya, Japan 18 April 2014 (full concert video)

bob dylan April 18 2014

Zepp Nagoya
Nagoya, Japan
18 April 2014

  • Bob Dylan (vocal, guitar, grand piano & keyboard)
  • Stu Kimball (guitar)
  • Charlie Sexton (guitar)
  • Donnie Herron (violin, mandolin, steel guitar)
  • Tony Garnier (bass)
  • George Receli (drums & percussion)

Continue reading Bob Dylan: Zepp Nagoya, Nagoya, Japan 18 April 2014 (full concert video)

May 18 in music history

Today: The late Big Joe Turner was born in 1911 – 103 years ago (read More)

Big Joe Turner (born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr., May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American “blues shouter” (a blues-music singer capable of singing unamplified with a band) from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, “Rock and roll would have never happened without him.” Although he had his greatest fame during the 1950s with his rock and roll recordings, particularly “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, Turner’s career as a performer endured from the 1920s into the 1980s. Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Big Joe Turner2
George Strait is 62 Happy Birthday!.

George Harvey Strait
 (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, actor, and music producer. Strait is referred to as the “King of Country,” and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional Country music. George Strait holds the world record for more number-one hit singles than any other artist in the history of music on any chart or in any genre, having recorded 59 number-one hit singles as of 2012.
george-strait 
Lodger is the thirteenth studio album by David Bowie, released May 18 in 1979.

The last of the ‘Berlin Trilogy‘ recorded in collaboration with Brian Eno, it was produced in Switzerland and New York City, and was more accessible than its immediate predecessors Lowand “Heroes”, having no instrumentals and being somewhat lighter and more pop-oriented. It was still an experimental record in many ways and was not, by Bowie’s standards, a major commercial success. Indifferently received by critics on its initial release, it is now widely considered, along with Diamond Dogs, to be one of Bowie’s most underrated albums

LodgerRecord 
Warren Zevon is an album by Warren Zevon. This album was recorded in 1975 and released May 18 in 1976.

A remastered version of the album with special bonus tracks was released in 2008 by

Rhino Records.I am suspicious of singer-songwriters who draw attention to phrases like “hasten down the wind,” and I would suggest a moratorium on songs about the James Brothers that don’t also rhyme “pollution” and “solution.” But I like the way Zevon resists pigeonholes like “country-rock” while avoiding both the banal and the mystagogical, and I like quatrains like: “And if California slides into the ocean/Like the mystics and statistics say it will/I predict this motel will be standing/Until I pay my bill.”
– Robert Christgau

 Warren_Zevon_-_Warren_Zevon
Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division.Joy Division released their debut album,

Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980. Curtis, who suffered from epilepsy and depression, committed suicide on 18 May 1980, on the eve of Joy Division’s first North American tour, resulting in the band’s dissolution and the subsequent formation of New Order.

 ian curtis
Richard Christopher “Rick” Wakeman (born 18 May 1949)

English keyboard player and composer best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes. He is also known for his solo albums, contributing to the BBC comedy series Grumpy Old Menand for Rick’s Place, his former radio show on Planet Rock that aired until December 2010.

 wakeman-2

Spotify Playlist –