Tag Archives: death

Music Calendar, The Band

April 19: Levon Helm died four years ago, Rest In Peace

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April 19: Levon Helm died four years ago, Rest In Peace

Mark Lavon “Levon” Helm , was an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band.

Helm was known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice, and creative drumming style highlighted on many of The Band’s recordings, such as “The Weight”, “Up on Cripple Creek”, “Ophelia” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”.

“The Mountain.” (written by Steve Earle) From Levon Helm’s album “Dirt Farmer.” Photographs by Lewis Hine. Levon’s distinct vocal and forceful performance really shines in this wonderful interpretation (audio only):

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Blues, Music Calendar

September 1: R.L. Burnside passed away in 2005

RL_Burnside

September 1: R.L. Burnside passed away in 2005

“He was a happy-go-lucky nihilist…. he took things exactly as they were. No more, no less.”
– Matthew Johnson, the founder of Mr. Burnside’s record label, Fat Possum.


R. L. Burnside (November 23, 1926 – September 1, 2005), born Robert Lee Burnside, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist who lived much of his life in and around Holly Springs, Mississippi. He played music for much of his life, but did not receive much attention until the early 1990s.

In the latter half of the 1990s, Burnside repeatedly recorded with Jon Spencer,  garnering crossover appeal and introducing his music to a new fan base within the underground garage rock scene.

One commentator noted that Burnside…. were “present-day exponents of an edgier, electrified version of the raw, uncut Delta blues sound.”

In the 1990s, he appeared in the film Deep Blues and began recording for the Oxford, Mississippi, label Fat Possum Records. Founded byLiving Blues magazine editor Peter Redvers-Lee and Matthew Johnson, the label was dedicated to recording aging North Mississippi bluesmen such as Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.

Burnside remained with Fat Possum from that time until his death.

Burnside’s 1996 album A Ass Pocket of Whiskey (recorded with Jon Spencer) gained critical acclaim, earning praise from Bono and Iggy Pop.

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Music Calendar, Nirvana

April 05: Kurt Cobain died in 1994 – Nirvana’s 10 best songs

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Redirecting to a newer version of this post….

Kurt Cobain death 1994

April 05: Kurt Cobain died in 1994 – Nirvana’s 10 best songs

Kurt Cobain died in 1994, (April 5) he is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Nirvana. Kurt Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1985 and established it as part of the Seattle music scene, having its debut album Bleach released on the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989. After signing with major label DGC Records, the band found breakthrough success with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” from its second album Nevermind (1991). Following the success of Nevermind, Nirvana was labeled “the flagship band” of Generation X, and Cobain hailed as “the spokesman of a generation”

kurt-cobain

During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with heroin addiction, illness and depression. He had difficulty coping with his fame and public image, and the professional and lifelong personal pressures surrounding himself and his wife, musician Courtney Love. On April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle, the victim of a suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.

Since their debut, Nirvana, with Cobain as a songwriter, has sold over 25 million albums in the U.S., and over 50 million worldwide.

We, at Johannasvisions, made a list of Nirvana’s ten best songs a few months ago, I will include it here as a tribute to a great musician.

Nirvana’s 10 best songs:

10. Pennyroyal Tea (Pennyroyal Tea (Live On “Nulle Part Ailleurs”, Paris, 1994):

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Jazz, Music Calendar

The great Horace Silver died last night he will be missed

Horace_Silver

Jazz is not background music. You must concentrate upon it in order to get the most of it. You must absorb most of it. The harmonies within the music can relax, soothe, relax, and uplift the mind when you concentrate upon and absorb it. Jazz music stimulates the minds and uplifts the souls of those who play it was well as of those who listen to immerse themselves in it. As the mind is stimulated and the soul uplifted, this is eventually reflected in the body.
~Horace Silver

“We all have to open our minds, stretch forth, take chances and venture out musically to try and arrive at something new and different.”
~Horace Silver

Horace Silver died of natural causes in New Rochelle, New York, on June 18, 2014. He was 85

Song For My Father – Live – Denmark TV 1968:

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Film, Music Calendar

Today: Rest in Peace Phil Everly Two films about The Everly Brothers

Phil-Everly-510x350

Phil Everly made  a wonderful and important contribution to music history. We are so sad to hear that a great hero of ours is gone. Thank you for your sweet harmony, Phil.

phil everly

We have dug up two fine documentaries about The Everly Brothers and their influence in music history, both are fantastic and a fitting celebration on this sad day.

The Life and Times of the Everly Brothers chronicles the
lives of the famous Everly Brothers. This singing duo made
of brothers Don and Phil is considered one of the most
relevant artists of the country and rock-and-roll genre.

With comments by:

Frankie Avalon
Peter Asher
Warren Zevon
Waddy Wachtel
Ted Everly (cousin)
Jason Everly (Phil’s son)
Chet Atkins
Felice Bryant (songwriter)
Snuff Garrett (record producer)
Ron Coleman (bass player)

The Life and Times of the Everly Brothers:

The Next is, Songs of Innocence and Experience (1984), part of the BBC Arena series, shows the Everly Brothers as they trace their lineage, starting in their coal mining hometown of Muhlenburg County, Kentucky. With performances from the Everly’s and their family.

Songs of Innocence and Experience:

– Hallgeir