Tag Archives: Duane Allman

Bob Dylan: Matchbox (Carl Perkins) (Videos & Audio)

bob dylan carl perkins

Well I’m sitting here wondering, will a matchbox hold my clothes
Yeah I’m sitting here wondering, will a matchbox hold my clothes
I ain’t got no matches, but I got a long way to go
I’m an ol’ poor boy and a long way from home
I’m an ol’ poor boy and a long way from home
Guess I’ll never be happy, eveything I do is wrong, yeah

He [Carl Perkins] really stood for freedom. That whole sound stood for all degrees of freedom. It would just jump off the turntable… we wanted to go where that was happening.
~Bob Dylan (note from Dylan @ Carl Perkins funeral)

Wikipedia:

Released 1957
Format 7″ Vinyl
Recorded December 4, 1956
Genre Rockabilly
Length 2:10
Label Sun Records
Writer(s) Carl Perkins
Producer Sam Phillips

carl-perkins-matchbox-sun-78

Matchbox” is a rock and roll and rockabilly song written by Carl Perkins and first recorded by him at Sun Records in December 1956 and released on February 11, 1957 as a 45 single on Sun Records as Sun 261. It has become one of Perkins’ best-known recordings. Perkins’ “Matchbox” has been followed by many cover versions, notably by the Beatles.

com-carl-perkins-and-sam-phillipsCarl Perkins & Sam Phillips

 

After recording “Your True Love”, Carl Perkins’s father Buck suggested that he do “Match Box Blues”. Buck knew only a few lines from the song, either from a 1927 recording by Blind Lemon Jefferson, or from the version by country musicians The Shelton Brothers (who recorded the song twice in the 1930s, and again in 1947). As Perkins sang the few words his father had suggested, Jerry Lee Lewis, who was at that time a session piano player at Sun Studios, began a restrained boogie-woogie riff. Carl began picking out a melody on the guitar and improvised lyrics. On December 4, 1956 Carl Perkins recorded the song called “Matchbox”. Later that day, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and session pianist Jerry Lee Lewis were all in the Sun studio with Sam Phillips. The impromptu group formed at this jam session became known as the Million Dollar Quartet.

Perkins maintained that he had never heard Jefferson’s “Match Box Blues” when he recorded “Matchbox”. Jefferson’s song is about a mean spirited woman; Perkins’ was about a lovelorn “poor boy” with limited prospects.

Other notable versions

Carl Perkins – live TV Performance 1957:

Jerry Lee Lewis – live Star Club Hamburg 1964:

Continue reading Bob Dylan: Matchbox (Carl Perkins) (Videos & Audio)

October 29: Peter Green was born in 1946 Happy Birthday

peter green

Peter Green is regarded by some fans as the greatest white blues guitarist ever, Eric Clapton notwithstanding.
~Mark Allan (allmusic.com)

Need Your Love So Bad:

Continue reading October 29: Peter Green was born in 1946 Happy Birthday

March 12 and 13: The Allman Brothers played Fillmore East in 1971

allman brothers fillmore east

 

March 12 and 13: The Allman Brothers played Fillmore East in 1971

Recorded at the Fillmore East concert hall, the storied rock venue in New York City, on Friday and Saturday March 12, 1971–March 13, 1971, the album showcased the band’s mixture of blues, southern rock, and jazz.
~Wikipedia

it remains the pinnacle of the Allmans and Southern rock at its most elastic, bluesy, and jazzy.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

“The true brilliance of this live recording is in the shorter pieces. The longer pieces (“Whipping Post,” “You Don’t Love Me,” and “Mountain Jam”) have their moments, but those moments are diluted in the self indulgent noodling typical of many 1970’s live performances. If The Allman Brothers Band: The Fillmore Concerts contained only “Statesboro Blues,” “Stormy Monday” and “One Way Out,” it would still have a place as one of the finest live recordings ever released.

“Statesboro Blues” and “One Way Out” have Duane Allman’s dense and precise slide guitar pitted against Richard Betts’ round lead guitar, with “One Way Out” providing Betts with his finest recorded guitar solo. “Stormy Monday” juxtaposes Allman and Bett’s distinct lead styles in an orgy of perfect blues phrasing. Gregg Allman’s jazzy organ interlude is an added delight.”
~C. Michael Bailey (allaboutjazz.com)

Statesboro Blues (+ Duane Allman tribute video)

Continue reading March 12 and 13: The Allman Brothers played Fillmore East in 1971

Today: The Allman Brothers played Fillmore East in 1971 – 42 years ago

AB-fillmore

Recorded at the Fillmore East concert hall, the storied rock venue in New York City, on Friday and Saturday March 12, 1971–March 13, 1971, the album showcased the band’s mixture of blues, southern rock, and jazz.
~Wikipedia

[it] remains the pinnacle of the Allmans and Southern rock at its most elastic, bluesy, and jazzy.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

Statesboro Blues (+ Duane Allman tribute video)

I’m pretty sure this album will rank top15 on Hallgeir’s 30 best live album’s countdown..

Released July 1971
Recorded March 12, 1971–March 13, 1971
Fillmore East, New York
Genre Blues-rock, southern rock
Length 76:26
Label Capricorn
Producer Tom Dowd

At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band’s breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and remains among the top-selling albums in the band’s catalogue. The original album was released in both conventional two-channel stereo and four-channel quadraphonic mixes. This album has been certified as platinum by the RIAA as of August 25, 1992.

Allman Brother At Fillmore East

Recorded at the Fillmore East concert hall, the storied rock venue in New York City, on Friday and Saturday March 12, 1971–March 13, 1971, the album showcased the band’s mixture of blues, southern rock, and jazz. The cover of Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues” which opens the set showcases Duane Allman’s slide guitar work in open E Tuning. “Whipping Post” became the standard for a long, epic jam that never lost interest (opening in 11/4 time, unusual territory for a rock band), while the ethereal-to-furious “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”, with its harmonized melody, Latin feel, and burning drive invited comparisons with John Coltrane (especially Duane’s solo-ending pull-offs, a direct nod to the jazz saxophonist).

Wikipedia

allman brothers fillmore east

In Memory of Elizabeth Reed:

..these shows — recorded in New York on March 12th and 13th, 1971 — remain the finest live rock performance ever committed to vinyl.  .. At Fillmore East captures America’s best blues-rock band at its peak.
~Mark Kemp (rollingstone.com)

Tracks

Side one

  1. “Statesboro Blues” (Will McTell) – 4:17
  2. “Done Somebody Wrong” (Clarence L. Lewis, Bobby Robinson, Elmore James) – 4:33
  3. “Stormy Monday” (T. Bone Walker) – 8:44

Side two

  1. “You Don’t Love Me” (Willie Cobbs) – 19:15 (“Joy to the World” medley in the ending portions)

Side three

  1. “Hot ‘Lanta” (Gregg Allman, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Butch Trucks, Berry Oakley, Jai Johanny Johanson) – 5:17
  2. “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” (Dickey Betts) – 13:04

Side four

  1. “Whipping Post” (Gregg Allman) – 23:03

allman brothers fillmore east back

Band

  • Duane Allman – lead guitar, slide guitar
  • Gregg Allman – organ, piano, Vocals
  • Dickey Betts – lead guitar
  • Berry Oakley – bass guitar
  • Jai Johanny Johanson – drums, congas, timbales
  • Butch Trucks – drums, tympani

JWandAllmanBros

Spotify:

Other March 13:

Continue reading Today: The Allman Brothers played Fillmore East in 1971 – 42 years ago

Top 5 Duane Allman (aka Skydog) collaborations

 1. Aretha Franklin and Duane Allman – The Weight

Aretha Franklin hooked up with Duane Allman and recorded this version at Muscle Shoals. It is Loose and  funky as hell, and full of those incredible Aretha vocals I love, it sounds like good southern gospel. Duane Allman plays bottle guitar throughout like that guitar god that he is. Listen to it, heavenly is the best description!

2. Derek and the Dominoes/Eric Clapton with Duane Allman – Layla (studio outake)

Slowhand and Skydog together, what a match!

derek

When asked about playing with Clapton, Allman said I played the Gibson parts and Eric played the fender parts. This studio outtake from the reissue in 2009 is even better than the iconic original.

3. Boz Scaggs with Duane Allman – Loan me a Dime

Boz Scagg’s self-titled album from 1969, Boz Scaggs (Atlantic SD-33-8239)  which features Duane Allman on five tracks, including the amazing slow blues jam ”Loan Me A Dime.” On the video below, you can hear Allman exchanging riffs with Larry Knechtel’s organ. Here it is, a twelve minute blues lament:

This song portrays the best of both Duane and Boz.It is a shame we don’t have anyone making music like this anymore.Good music is never out of style. Duane’s work is incredible!

Continue reading Top 5 Duane Allman (aka Skydog) collaborations