Tag Archives: New York

Today: Bob Dylan played Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, New York, 30 June 1988

bob dylan wantagh 1988

A very good 88-concert and the sound on the circulating soundboard tape is incredible.

It is concert #15 of the Never Ending Tour & this tour is “labeled” the Interstate 88 Tour, part 1.

Jones Beach Theater
Jones Beach State Park
Wantagh, New York
30 June 1988

Wantagh, New York

Wantagh New York

Wantagh (pronounced /WAHN-taw/) is a hamlet and census-designated place (an unincorporated section of the town of Hempstead) in Nassau County on Long Island, New York, United States. The population of Wantagh was 18,871 at the time of the 2010 census.

Wantagh is known as “The Gateway to Jones Beach“.

Continue reading Today: Bob Dylan played Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, New York, 30 June 1988

R.I.P. Lou Reed

lou-reed

One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz.
~Lou Reed

I think that everything happens for a reason, everything happens when it’s going to happen.
~Lou Reed

Lou Reed always makes a great record
~Bob Dylan (to Don McLeese, Jan 1986)

…he’s often cited as punk’s most important ancestor. It’s often overlooked, though, that he’s equally skilled at celebrating romantic joy, and rock & roll itself, as he is at depicting harrowing urban realities.
~Richie Unterberger

Sad news today: Lou Reed has died.

We’ll honor this great artist with a profile post here at JV.

Patti Smith inducts Velvet Underground Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 1996:

Sweet Jane (@ Letterman 1993):

Wikipedia:

Birth name Lewis Allan Reed
Born March 2, 1942 (age 71)
Brooklyn, New York
United States
Genres Rock, experimental rock, art rock, protopunk, noise music, drone music, psychedelic rock, folk rock, glam rock, blue-eyed soul, spoken word
Occupations Musician, songwriter, producer, photographer
Instruments Vocals, guitar, ostrich guitar, bass, synthesizer, keyboards, piano, harmonica, drums, percussion
Years active 1964–present
Labels Matador, MGM, RCA, Sire, Reprise, Warner Bros.
Associated acts The Velvet Underground, John Cale, Nico,David Bowie, The Killers, Mick Ronson, Gorillaz, Laurie Anderson, Peter Gabriel, Metallica, Metric
Website www.loureed.com

Lewis Allan “Lou” Reed (born March 2, 1942) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his solo career, which has spanned several decades. Though the Velvet Underground were a commercial failure in the late 1960s, the group has gained a considerable cult following in the years since its demise and has gone on to become one of the most widely cited and influential bands of the era. As the Velvet Underground’s principal songwriter, Reed wrote about subjects of personal experience that rarely had been examined so openly in rock and roll, including sexuality and drug culture.

velvet undeground

After his departure from the group, Reed began a solo career in 1971. He had a hit the following year with “Walk on the Wild Side”, although he subsequently lacked the mainstream commercial success its chart status seemed to indicate. Reed’s work as a solo artist frustrated critics wishing for a return of the Velvet Underground. In 1975, Reed released a double album of feedback loops, Metal Machine Music, upon which he later commented, “No one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive.”

lou reed

A Walk On The Wild Side (Live at Farm Aid 1985):

 Album of the day:

New York (1989)

Lou+Reed+-+New+York

 

-Egil

Today: The late Buddy Holly was born in 1936

buddy1

…Holly became the single most influential creative force in early rock & roll
~Bruce Eder (allmusic.com)

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Charles Hardin Holley
Born September 7, 1936
Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
Died February 3, 1959 (aged 22)
Grant Township, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, U.S.
Genres Rock and roll, rockabilly,Lubbock sound
Occupations Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano, violin
Years active 1955–1959
Labels Decca, Brunswick, Coral
Associated acts The Crickets, The Picks

Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll. Although his success lasted only a year and a half before his death in an airplane crash, Holly is described by critic Bruce Eder as “the single most influential creative force in early rock and roll.” His works and innovations inspired and influenced contemporary and later musicians, notably The Beatles, Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Don McLean, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton, and exerted a profound influence on popular music. Holly was among the first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Holly #13 among “The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.

Music. Personalities. pic: circa 1957. American singer, songwriter and pioneer of rock Buddy Holly (1936-1959) who with his group "The Crickets" was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1950's. Buddy Holly tragically died in a plane crash in 1959.

Holly saw Elvis Presley sing in Lubbock in 1955, and began to incorporate a rockabilly style, similar to the Sun Records sound, which had a strong rhythm acoustic and slap bass. On October 15, 1955, Holly, along with Bob Montgomery and Larry Welborn, opened the bill for Presley in Lubbock, catching the eye of a Nashville talent scout. Holly’s transition to rock continued when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets at a local show organized by Eddie Crandall, the manager for Marty Robbins.

Following this performance, Decca Records signed him to a contract in February 1956, misspelling his name as “Holly”.  He thereafter adopted the misspelled name for his professional career. Holly formed his own band, later to be called The Crickets, consisting of Holly (lead guitar and vocals), Niki Sullivan (guitar), Joe B. Mauldin (bass), and Jerry Allison (drums). They went to Nashville for three recording sessions with producer Owen Bradley. However, Holly chafed under a restrictive atmosphere that allowed him little input. Among the tracks he recorded was an early version of “That’ll Be The Day”, which took its title from a line that John Wayne’s character says repeatedly in the 1956 film The Searchers (GREAT film~Egil). 

buddy3

From allmusic – Bruce Eder:

Buddy Holly is perhaps the most anomalous legend of ’50s rock & roll — he had his share of hits, and he achieved major rock & roll stardom, but his importance transcends any sales figures or even the particulars of any one song (or group of songs) that he wrote or recorded. Holly was unique, his legendary status and his impact on popular music all the more extraordinary for having been achieved in barely 18 months. Among his rivals, Bill Haley was there first and established rock & roll music; Elvis Presley objectified the sexuality implicit in the music, selling hundreds of millions of records in the process, and defined one aspect of the youth and charisma needed for stardom; and Chuck Berry defined the music’s roots in blues along with some of the finer points of its sexuality, and its youthful orientation (and, in the process, intermixed all of these elements). Holly’s influence was just as far-reaching as these others, if far more subtle and more distinctly musical in nature. In a career lasting from the spring of 1957 until the winter of 1958-1959 — less time than Elvis had at the top before the army took him (and less time, in fact, than Elvis spent in the army) — Holly became the single most influential creative force in early rock & roll.
Read more @ allmusic

 

some Influence:

  • A 17-year-old Bob Dylan attended the January 31, 1959, show, two nights before Holly’s death. Dylan referred to this in his 1998 Grammy acceptance speech for his Time out of Mind being named Album of the Year:
“And I just want to say that when I was sixteen or seventeen years old, I went to see Buddy Holly play at Duluth National Guard Armory and I was three feet away from him…and he LOOKED at me. And I just have some sort of feeling that he was — I don’t know how or why — but I know he was with us all the time we were making this record in some kind of way.”
  • Keith Richards attended one of Holly’s performances, where he heard “Not Fade Away” for the first time. The Rolling Stones had an early hit covering the song.
  • Holly influenced many other singers during and after a career that lasted barely two years. Keith Richards once said Holly had “an influence on everybody.” In an August 24, 1978, Rolling Stone interview, Bruce Springsteen told Dave Marsh, “I play Buddy Holly every night before I go on; that keeps me honest.”
  • The Grateful Dead performed “Not Fade Away” 530 times over the course of their career, making it their seventh most-performed song. The song also appears on eight of their official live recording releases.
  • Don McLean’s popular 1971 ballad “American Pie” is inspired by Holly and the day of the plane crash. The American Pie album is dedicated to Holly.
  • On September 7, 1994 (Holly’s 58th birthday), Weezer released their single, “Buddy Holly”.

Peggy Sue (Arthur Murray Dance Party on December 29, 1957):

Album of the day – The Very Best of Buddy Holly:

Other September 07:

Continue reading Today: The late Buddy Holly was born in 1936

Bob Dylan – Madison Square Garden – New York City – 17 July 1986

bob dylan tom petty

It is one of the best shows of the tour.
~Clinton Heylin (A Life In Stolen Moments)

..finds him again in very expansive “conquering hero” mood. It’s a terrific concert. I loved watching it.. and I love it now, listening to the superb circulating tape. .. it’s the second set where the magic really starts to happen.
~Paul Williams (BD Performing artist 1974-86)

Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York
17 July 1986

Musicians:

  • Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar)
  • Tom Petty (guitar)
  • Mike Campbell (guitar)
  • Benmont Tench (keyboards)
  • Howie Epstein (bass)
  • Stan Lynch (drums)
    and with The Queens Of Rhythm:
  • Carolyn Dennis, Queen Esther Marrow, Madelyn Quebec, Louise Bethune (backing vocals)

Setlist (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers songs excluded)

  1. So Long, Good Luck And Goodbye (Weldon Rogers)
  2. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
  3. Positively 4th Street
  4. We Three (My Echo, My Shadow And Me) (Dick Robertson/Nick Cogane/Sammy Myalls)
  5. Shot Of Love
  6. We Had It All (Donny Fritts-Troy Seals)
  7. Union Sundown
    — Heartbreakers 4 songs
  8. Mr. Tambourine Man
  9. One Too Many Mornings
  10. I Want You
    ..one unique to the entire tour: “I Want You” as an acoustic duet.
    .. and Dylan launches into a sheer masterpiece of a vocal performance.. He’s performing like it’s a matter of life and death. He’s inspired. He’s alive.
    ~Paul Williams (BD Performing Artist 1974-86)
  11. Band Of The Hand
  12. When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky
  13. Lonesome Town (Baker Knight)
    I wanna play a real special song here in this special place. This is the very stage where Ricky Nelson got booed off for singing Garden Party, this is the one, the very one. Anyway, it gives me a real great pleasure to sing one of Ricky’s songs in this place. This is one that when I was growing up, called Lonesome Town.
    ~Bob Dylan
  14. Ballad Of A Thin Man

    Heartbreakers 4 songs
  15. Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35
  16. Seeing The Real You At Last
  17. Across The Borderline (Ry Cooder/John Hiatt/Jim Dickinson)
    ..a high point in a great evening.
    Anyway, you might think you know the music of bob dylan, but if you haven’t heard “Across the Borderline” from the 1986 tour (and this July 17 version is as good as it gets), you may be missing the heart of the man. For sure you’re missing a truly rewarding performance.
    ~Paul Williams (BD Performing Artist 1974-86)
  18. I And I
  19. Like A Rolling Stone
  20. In The Garden
    —–
  21. Blowin’ In The Wind
  22. Shake A Hand (Joe Morris)
  23. House Of The Risin’ Sun (trad.)

Check out:

-Egil

Van Morrison – Beacon Theater New York – 30 November 1989 (Concert Video)

van morrison beacon 1989

Great late 80’s VM concert with John Lee Hooker & Mose Allison. Check out “Summertime in England” @ ~30min.

Setlist:

(italic – not included in VHS release & this youtube video)

  1.  I Will Be There
  2. Whenever God Shines His Light
  3. Cleaning Windows
  4. It’s all in the game 
  5. Orangefield
  6. Tore Down A La Rimbaud
  7. When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God
  8. Beautiful Vision
  9. Help Me
  10. Everybody’s Cryin’ Mercy
  11. City Home
  12. Thank God For Self Love
  13. Raglan Road
  14. Carrickfergus
  15. Full Force Gale
  16. Summertime In England
  17. Caravan
  18. Moondance
  19. Fever
  20. Vanlose Stairway > Trans-Euro Train
  21. Star Of The County Down
  22. Northern Muse (Solid Ground) > When Heart Is Open
  23. In The Garden
  24. Have I Told You Lately
  25. These Are The Days
  26. Gloria
  27. It Serves Me Right To Suffer
  28. Boom Boom
  29. She Moves Through The Fair
  30. Buona Sera

Musicians:

  • Van Morrison – vocals
  • Richie Buckley – saxophone
  • Dave Early – drums
  • Georgie Fame – keyboards
  • Steve Gregory – saxophone
  • Bernie Holland – guitar
  • Neil Drinkwater – keyboards
  • Brian Odgers – bass
  • Mose Allison – Vocals
  • John Lee Hooker – Vocals, guitar

Check out:

-Egil