Bob Dylan: Fort Collins, Colorado 23 May 1976 (video & audio) (read more)The last three songs on the album (“You’re a Big Girl Now,” “I Threw It All Away,” and “Idiot Wind“) are as powerful and exciting as anything Dylan has done (comparable, for instance, to the May 1966 versions of “Ballad of a Thin Man” and “Like a Rolling Stone”). As phenomenal as every aspect of each of these performances is, the unique orchestration of guitars, keyboards, violin, drums and voice on “Big Girl” must be singled out for particular praise. Stoner’s bass-playing while Dylan sings “Down the highway, down the tracks, down the road to ecstacy” on “Idiot Wind” will have a special place in my heart as long as I live. — |
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| Today: “Tommy” by The Who was released in 1969, 45 years ago (read more)Tommy (released 23 May 1969) is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the UK and Decca Records/MCA in the US. A double album telling a story about a “deaf, dumb and blind kid”, Tommy was the first musical work to be billed overtly as a rock opera. Released in 1969, the album was mostly composed by Pete Townshend. In 1998, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for “historical, artistic and significant value”. It has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. |  |
| Bruce Springsteen – Glory Days – East Rutherford, NJ – 23 May 2009 – Video (read more) |  |
Spotify Playlist – May 23 |
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Tag Archives: music calendar
Music history – May 22
Bob Dylan: The Great Music Experience, Nara, Japan 22 May 1994 (video) (read more)For the first time ever, Dylan was backed by a full orchestra, the New Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The final day was widely televised and Dylan was in magnificent form. I remember being near tears as The Voice returned in all its full, expressive, raging glory. I watched the footage again and again, transfixed at what seemed the best ever rendition of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and a magical and magisterial “Ring Them Bells”, with Dylan filmed beneath a huge statue of Buddha. |
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| Steven Patrick Morrissey (born 22 May 1959), known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career, making the top ten of the UK Singles Chart on ten occasions. Widely regarded as an important innovator in indie music, Morrissey has been described by music magazine NME as “one of the most influential artists ever,” and The Independent has stated “most pop stars have to be dead before they reach the iconic status he has reached in his lifetime.” Pitchfork Media has called him “one of the most singular figures in Western popular culture from the last twenty years.” |  |
| Pneumonia (released May 22, 2001) is the third and last studio album by the alternative country band Whiskeytown, released in 2001.The album is noted for its troubled history which saw the band lose its record deal in the midst of the merger between Polygram and Universal, and the already volatile band fell apart as a result. The album sat on the shelf for nearly two years and it was said that over 100 songs were recorded during the 3 years. It was bootlegged heavily and gained a reputation as a great “lost” record from fans, before getting released by Lost Highway Records as something of an appetizer for Ryan Adams’ 2001 album Gold. |  |
| Today: Bruce Springsteen played Milton Keynes in 1993 – 22 May (videos) (read more) |  |
| Bob Dylan: If You See Her, Say Hello , Los Angeles, California 22 May 1998 (Video) (read more) |  |
Spotify Playlist – May 22 |
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May 21 in music history
Today: Marvin Gaye released What’s Going On (album) in 1971 (read more)“What’s Going On is not only Marvin Gaye’s masterpiece, it’s the most important and passionate record to come out of soul music, delivered by one of its finest voices, a man finally free to speak his mind and so move from R&B sex symbol to true recording artist.” |
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| Bob Dylan recorded “Mississippi” @ Sony Studios, NYC, May 21, 2001 – 4 takes.. take 4 selected for “Love & Theft“. (date according to C. Heylin – Still On The Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan: Vol. 2)Bob Dylan (Guitar, piano & vocal), Charlie Sexton (guitar), Larry Campbell (guitar, mandolin, violin & banjo), Augie Meyers (keyboards & accordion), Tony Garnier (bass), David Kemper (drums & percussion). |  |
| “Maybellene” (May 21, 1955 at Universal Recording Studios in Chicago,Illinois) is a song recorded by Chuck Berry, adapted from the traditional fiddle tune “Ida Red” that tells the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance. It was released in July 1955 as a single on Chess Records of Chicago, Illinois. It was Berry’s first single release and his first hit. “Maybellene” is considered one of the pioneering rock and roll singles: Rolling Stone magazine wrote, “Rock & roll guitar starts here.” The record is an early instance of the complete rock and roll package: youthful subject matter, small guitar-driven combo, clear diction, and an atmosphere of unrelenting excitement. |  |
| Albert Bernard Grossman (May 21, 1926 – January 25, 1986) was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music scene and rock and roll. He was most famous as the manager of Bob Dylan between 1962 and 1970. |  |
Spotify Playlist – May 21 |
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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? |
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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. |
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| 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.
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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”. |
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Spotify Playlist – May 20 |
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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.” “Rock ‘n’ Roll might not solve your problems, but it does let you dance all over them” |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |  |
| 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. |  |
| Bob Dylan: Ballad of a Thin Man @ Glasgow, (probably) 19 May 1966 (Video) |  |
Spotify Playlist – May 19 |
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