Tag Archives: music calendar

May 15 in music history

Wilco: Sky Blue Sky – released 15 May, 2007 (read more)
But the paradox is that while Sky Blue Sky is the smoothest sounding Wilco album, it also takes the longest to absorb and understand.
~Michael Metivier (popmatters.com)


..Wilco’s sixth studio album, Sky Blue Sky, sounds like the long-awaited follow-up to 1996′s Being There — while it lacks the ramshackle shape-shifting and broad twang of that earlier album, Sky Blue Sky represents a shift back to an organic sound and approach that suggests the influence of Neil Young’s Harvest and the more polished avenues of ’70s soft rock. Sky Blue Sky also marks Wilco’s first studio recordings since Nels Cline and Pat Sansone joined the group, and they certainly make their presence felt …
~Mark Deming (allmusic.com)

sky-blue-sky-50c9e2526637a
 Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno, RDI (born 15 May 1948 and originally christened Brian Peter George Eno), professionally known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno, is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer, and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.  brian-eno
 Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008), known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more than 85 million records. A member of the Grand Ole Opry (beginning 1943) and the Country Music Hall of Fame (beginning 1966), Arnold ranked 22nd on Country Music Television’s 2003 list of “The 40 Greatest Men of Country Music.” He co-wrote the country and pop standard “You Don’t Know Me”.  Eddy_Arnold
 Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature. He is best known for his hit 1973 album Tubular Bells, which launched Virgin Records, and for his 1983 hit single “Moonlight Shadow”. He is also well known for his hit rendition of the Christmas piece, “In Dulci Jubilo”.  mike oldfield
 Valerie June Carter Cash (June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedian, and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. She played the guitar, banjo, harmonica, and autoharp and acted in several films and television shows.  june carter cash

Spotify Playlist -May 15

May 13 in music history

Happy birthday: Stevie Wonder (born May 13, 1950) (read more)

Do you know, it’s funny, but I never thought of being blind as a disadvantage, and I never thought of being black as a disadvantage.
~Stevie Wonder


“If anybody can be called a genius, he can be. …..  If nothing else, he played the harmonica incredible, I mean truly incredible. Never knew what to think of him really until he cut Blowin’ In The Wind. That really blew my mind, and I figured I’d better pay attention. …. I love everything he does. It’s hard not to. He can do gut-bucket funky stuff really country and then turn around and do modern-progressive whatever you call it. In fact, he might have invented that. he is a great mimic, can imitate everybody, doesn’t take himself seriously and is a true roadhouse musician all the way, with classical overtones, and he does it all with drama and style. I’d like to hear him play with an orchestra. He should probably have his own orchestra.”
~Bob Dylan (Feb 1989, Rolling Stone Mag. – featurette on Stevie Wonder)

Stevie Wonder
 Donald Dunn passed away in 2012 – 2 year ago (read more)

As the bassist for Booker T. & the MG’s, Donald “Duck” Dunn became, like James Jamerson at Motown, the man who provided a groove for an entire generation to dance to. In Dunn’s case it was the legendary Memphis record label Stax/Volt, where he laid down basslines for soul stars such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Albert King, helping to create one of the largest bodies of soul and R&B music that exists.
~Steve Kurutz (allmusic.com)

 DonaldDunn
 “Daddy-O” Dewey Phillips (May 13, 1926 – September 28, 1968) was one of rock ‘n’ roll’s pioneering disk jockeys, along the lines of Cleveland’s Alan Freed, before Freed came along.  DeweyPhillips
 Ian Ernest Gilmore “Gil” Evans (né Green) (May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States. He played an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz and jazz fusion, and collaborated extensively with Miles Davis.  Gil Evans
 Chesney Henry “Chet” Baker, Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and vocalist.  chetbaker
James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975), better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western swing, he was universally known as the King of Western Swing. bob wills

Spotify Playlist – May 13

May 11 in music history

Today: Greg Dulli is 49 Happy Birthday (read more)

“Rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t always pay the bills, and I’ve been interested in bars – obviously – for a long time,”
~Greg Dulli

Dulli was born and brought up in a working-class suburb of Hamilton, Ohio. Dulli’s father’s side of the family comes from Kalamata-Peloponnese, Greece and his mother comes from West Cork, Ireland. He first came to public attention in Cincinnati in the late 1980s with The Afghan Whigs.

greg dulli - afghan-whigs
 Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941)
is an English singer-songwriter best known as a member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk band War and for his aggressive stage performance. He was ranked 57th in Rolling Stone‘s list – The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
 Eric-Burdon_1973
 Claude Hudson “Butch” Trucks (born May 11, 1947 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American drummer who is one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band.  butch trucks
Small Faces is the debut album of the Small Faces, released 11 May in 1966. It includes the hit singles “Whatcha Gonna Do About It” and “Sha-La-La-La-Lee“. The album was well received by music critics and fans alike and rose to number three in the UK album chart remaining at the top for several weeks Small_Faces_-_Small_Faces_1967
 Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international fame and acclaim. Starting out in 1963 with the group the Wailers, he forged a distinctive songwriting and vocal style that would later resonate with audiences worldwide.  bob-marley
David Noel Redding (25 December 1945 – 11 May 2003) was an English rock bassist and guitarist best known for his work as bassist with the Jimi Hendrix Experience.Born in Folkestone, he was selected by Chas Chandler to join Hendrix’s band at its inception in 1966 and left in 1969. Although he played in other bands before, after, and even during his stint with the Experience, he never achieved a similar level of success and retired to Clonakilty, Ireland, in 1972.  noel redding

Spotify Playlist – May 11

May 9 in music history

Today: The late Hank Snow was born in 1914, 100 years ago (read more)I’ve had about 140 albums released, and I’ve done everything I wanted to do.
~Hank Snow

I’d always listened to Hank Snow.
~Bob Dylan (to Sam Shepard – Aug 1986)

Canada’s greatest contribution to country music, Hank Snow was famous for his “traveling” songs. It’s no wonder. At age 12 he ran away from his Nova Scotia home and joined the Merchant Marines, working as a cabin boy and laborer for four years.
~David Vinopal (allmusic.com)
Hank+Snow
 Dave Prater (May 9, 1937 – April 9, 1988) was an American Southern Soul and Rhythm & Blues (R&B) singer who was the deeper, baritone and second tenor vocalist of the soul vocal duo Sam & Dave from 1961 until his death in 1988. Dave Prater is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1992), the Grammy Hall of Fame (1999, for the song “Soul Man”), the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame (1997), and was a Grammy Award winning (1967) and multi-Gold Record award winning recording artist.  dave-prater
 Bob Dylan: San José, California, 9 May 1992 (read more)This is a great sounding audience recording of a loose, fun show. The setlist is amazing.
~bobsboots.com
 bob dylan san jose 1992
Dave Gahan (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the baritone lead singer for the British electronic music band Depeche Mode since their debut in 1980. He is also an accomplished solo artist, releasing albums in 2003 (Paper Monsters) and 2007 (Hourglass). Despite his bandmate Martin Gore continuing to be the main Depeche Mode songwriter, Gahan has contributed a number of songs to the band’s most recent albums, Playing the Angel (2005) and Sounds of the Universe(2009). Two of these songs were released as singles, including “Suffer Well” in 2006 and “Hole to Feed” in 2009. Q magazine ranked Gahan no. 73 on the list of the “100 Greatest Singers” and no. 27 on “The 100 Greatest Frontmen”. DaveGahanby
 Bob Dylan: Blind Willie McTell, Manchester, England 9 May 2002 (Video)  bob dylan manchester 2002
 Paul Richard “Richie” Furay (born May 9, 1944, Yellow Springs, Ohio) is an American singer, songwriter, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member who is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin, and Poco with Jim Messina, Rusty Young, George Grantham and Randy Meisner. His best known song (originally written during his tenure in Buffalo Springfield, but eventually performed by Poco, as well) was “Kind Woman”, which he wrote for his wife, Nancy.  richie_furay
William Martin “Billy” Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer. Since releasing his first hit song, “Piano Man”, in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA. Billy_Joel_2009

Spotify Playlist – May 9

May 8 in music history

Robert Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) – read more

“You think you’re getting a handle on playing the blues, and then you hear Robert Johnson — some of the rhythms he’s doing and playing and singing at the same time, you think, ‘This guy must have three brains!’ ”
~Keith Richards


Favorite album? I think the Robert Johnson album. I listen to that quite a bit still.
~Bob Dylan (Rockline interview – June 1985)

robert_johnson
 Bob Dylan: Love Minus Zero/No Limit, Savoy Hotel, London England 8 May 1965 (Video) – read more

The Bob Dylan England Tour 1965 (April 30 – May 10) was a concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan during late April and early May 1965. The tour was widely documented by filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker, who used the footage of the tour in his documentary Dont Look Back.

 bob dylan savoy hotel 1965
 Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945, in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as a group leader and a solo performer. His improvisations draw not only from the traditions of jazz, but from other genres as well, especially Western classical music, gospel, blues, and ethnic folk music.  keithjarrett
Let It Be is the 12th and final studio album released by the English rock band The Beatles. It was released on 8 May 1970 by the band’s Apple Records label shortly after the group announced their break-up.  let-it-be
 Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008), known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more than 85 million records. A member of the Grand Ole Opry (beginning 1943) and the Country Music Hall of Fame (beginning 1966), Arnold ranked 22nd on Country Music Television’s 2003 list of “The 40 Greatest Men of Country Music.” He co-wrote the country and pop standard “You Don’t Know Me”.  Eddy_Arnold
Daniel Ray Whitten (May 8, 1943 – November 18, 1972) was an American musician and songwriter best known for his work with Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and for the song “I Don’t Want To Talk About It”, a hit for Rita Coolidge, Rod Stewart and Everything but the Girl. Danny_ray_whitten
Chris Frantz (born Charlton Christopher Frantz, May 8, 1951, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, United States) is an American musician and record producer. He was the drummer for both Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club. chris-frantz
Gary Glitter (born Paul Francis Gadd on 8 May 1944) is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician. Gary_Glitter_-_TopPop_1974_5

Spotify Playlist – May 8