Tag Archives: birthday

Beatles, Ringo Starr

July 7: Ringo Starr was born in 1940 Happy 75th Birthday!

Ringo_Starr_and_all_his_band

July 7: Ringo Starr was born in 1940

Ringo was a star in his own right in Liverpool before we even met. Ringo was a professional drummer who sang and performed and was in one of the top groups in Britain, but especially in Liverpool. So Ringo’s talent would have come out one way or the other … whatever that spark is in Ringo, we all know it but can’t put our finger on it. Whether it’s acting, drumming, or singing, I don’t know. There’s something in him that is projectable and he would have surfaced as an individual … Ringo is a damn good drummer.
~John Lennon (Sept 1980)

Beatles accept award Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions 1988:

Nice tribute video from youtube:

From Wikipedia:

Richard Starkey, MBE (born 7 July 1940), better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He joined the Beatles in August 1962, taking the place of Pete Best. In addition to his drumming, Starr is featured on lead vocals on a number of successful Beatles songs (in particular, “With a Little Help from My Friends”, “Yellow Submarine”, and the Beatles version of “Act Naturally”). He is credited as a co-writer of the songs “What Goes On” and “Flying”, and as the writer of “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Octopus’s Garden”.

Continue reading July 7: Ringo Starr was born in 1940 Happy 75th Birthday! →

Country, folk, Nanci Griffith, Singer Songwriter

July 6: Nanci Griffith was born in 1953

Nanci Griffith 1

July 6: Nanci Griffith was born in 1953

I got to know Nanci Griffith through the seminal music paper Beat (norwegian music magazine), this music magazine has been extremely important in my musical upbringing. They made it ok to say that you loved country music. This was a big step for us rock/punk youth. Anyway, they praised Nanci Griffith very early and we listened and we agreed, this was very special indeed.

Her voice, her way of singing, especially other people’s’ songs, it was and is beautiful. My first entry into her world was John Prine’s The Speed of The Sound of Loneliness, it is still the best song in her catalogue. Hell, it would be the best song in almost anybody’s catalogue!

Speed of the sound of Loneliness (with John Prine who wrote this masterpiece):

Nanci Griffith, (born Nanci Caroline Griffith, July 6, 1953, Seguin, Texas) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter based in Austin, Texas.

Allmusic:  Straddling the fine line between folk and country music, Nanci Griffith has become as well-known for her brilliant, confessional songwriting as her beautiful voice. A self-styled “folkabilly” singer, Griffith began as a kindergarten teacher and occasional folksinger. The country scene took her to heart in the mid-’80s, giving her a reputation as a quality songwriter through hit covers of Griffith’s songs by Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss. Finding no luck with commercial country radio however, Griffith recorded several pop-oriented albums and then returned to her folk roots by the mid-’90s.

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Bill Withers, Singer Songwriter, Soul

July 4: Bill Withers was born in 1938

bill withers live

July 4: Bill Withers was born in 1938

I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever is behind you.
~Bill Withers

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, It’s not warm when she’s away, Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, And she’s always gone too long, Anytime she goes away.
~Bill Withers (Ain’t No Sunshine)

Ain’t No Sunshine (Live 1971):

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Blues, Music Calendar, Sound

June 26: The late Big Bill Broonzy was born 122 years ago

big-bill-broonzy

I guess all songs is folk songs. I never heard no horse sing ’em.
~Big Bill Broonzy

Blues is a natural fact, is something that a fellow lives. If you don’t live it you don’t have it. Young people have forgotten to cry the blues. Now they talk and get lawyers and things.
~Big Bill Broonzy

“Worried Man Blues,” “Hey, Hey” and “How You Want It Done.” From the DVD “A Musical Journey”:

He was known for his rendition of “When Did You Leave Heaven?” which Bob Dylan recorded in 1988, and wrote “Key To The Highway” which Bob Dylan performed at The Edge in September 1995.

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Bob Dylan, Cover versions

June 20: Chet Atkins was born in 1924 – Chet Atkins plays Bob Dylan

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chet

June 20: Chet Atkins was born in 1924 – Chet Atkins plays Bob Dylan

Chester Burton “Chet” Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001) was an American guitarist, occasional vocalist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country’s appeal to adult pop music fans as well.

Atkins’ signature picking style was inspired by Merle Travis. Other major guitar influences were Django Reinhardt, George Barnes, Les Paul and later Jerry Reed. His trademark picking style and musicianship brought him admirers within and outside the country scene

He has done a few Bob Dylan compositions, here are some of them.

Chet Atkins- Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right:

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