Friday Music

Oftentimes known as SRV, Stevie Ray Vaughan was the guitarist and frontman for Double Trouble.  He is singularly considered one of the most influential musicians in the history of blues music and one of the greatest guitarist on the planet.

Like many talented musicians he struggled with substance abuse for most of his short life; nevertheless, he turned things around, began flying straight and level, and commenced touring again with Double Trouble in late 1986.  His fourth and final studio album In Step climbed to number 33 in the US in 1989.  Including his hit single Crossfire; the album was both a critical and commercial success.

His mainstream career spanned only seven years; cut short on August 27, 1990 when he, and four others, were killed in helicopter crash after a performance at Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin.  An acquaintance of mine was witness to that performance and the tragedy that followed.

Good thing someone had the presence of mind to tape this.  Live at The El Mocambo, Toronto, Canada, 1983......

Friday Music

A couple of years ago I noted and celebrated the 50th anniversary of my high school graduation from James Madison High School in Milwaukee.  The Mighty Knights.  This song figured significantly in that period as it was the theme song for a high school prom - Knights In White Satin.

Composed by Justin Hayward it was featured on the album Days of Future Passed.  It was originally released as a single in 1967 barely charting in the US.  When reissued in 1972 the single rose to number two in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 making it the band's most successful single in the US.  

Nights In White Satin was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

This is a terrific 1970 live recording from my favorite city.... 

Friday Music

Periodically described as the best blues guitarist you've never heard-of; here's Blues Hall Of Fame member Kal David! 

Former lead guitarist/vocalist with John Mayall, Kal then spent years with Johnny Rives and Etta James. Musical partner Lauri Bono was with Bette Middler and sang vocals with Etta James. 

Recorded Live @ Blue Frog Studios September 2019. 

Blue Frog Studios is Canada's hottest live multimedia recording studio and event venue, located in the west coast beach-side town of White Rock, BC (about 40 mins south of Vancouver). The studio provides world-class sound and lighting, as well as 4K video and audio recording technology with an unparalleled production team. From the 23-foot high ceilings, to the river rock walls and beautiful hardwood floors, you know you are in a special place. In the style of Austin City Limits, our 4800 sq. foot facility seats 100 lucky audience members for unique, up close and personal concerts with some of the world’s most talented entertainers. Anyone who has seen a show or recorded here will tell you that it is one of the best sounding rooms in Canada.

Kal David passed away August 16, 2022.  To learn more about Kal or to purchase limited edition albums, go to his official website.  

Hat Tip to my pal, Paul, for the YouTube link. 

Friday Music

I've been fortunate to attend a couple of Robert Earl Keen performances here on the peninsula.  Indeed, the Door Community Auditorium in Gibraltar has booked any number of terrific acts over the years including Lyle Lovett on at least three occasions.  Been to all of those performances too.  

By now you've likely surmised that I have a soft spot for Texas-inspired music and musicians. 

Keen made a big deal about telling everyone he was retiring and quitting the tour circuit back in 2022.  The truth of the matter is that he really didn't.  Maybe he'll find his way here again?  Meanwhile here's a live performance of one of my favorite tunes. 

  

Fun Fact:  both Keen and Lovett lived together while attending Texas A&M University. 

Friday Music

Jerry Miller was a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist best known as a founding member of the the band Moby Grape. Rolling Stone includes Miller at number 68 on their list of 100 greatest guitarists of all time.  

Moby Grape emerged from the San Francisco psychedelic music scent and successfully merged elements of rock, pop, folk, blues and country music.  Regrettably, the band self-destructed; although the album: Moby Grape resides at 124 on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time. 

Miller passed away July 20, 2024 at the age of 81.

This is a fun recording from eight years ago featuring Little Steven, Jerry Miller and the Disciples of Soul performing Can't Be So Bad.

Hat tip to Gabe from Group.... 

Friday Music

French stilt dancing—called échasses dancing—originates from the Landes region of southwestern France, particularly around towns like Mont-de-Marsan and Saint-Sever.

Stilts (échasses) were originally practical tools for shepherds navigating the swampy, marshy terrain of the Landes. The stilts (up to 5 feet high) allowed them to move more easily through water, watch over their flocks, and travel longer distances.  With the passage of time, the shepherds and rural people began using stilts in festivities and demonstrations, turning them into a performing art.

The dancing involves traditional folk movements—hops, kicks, twirls, and coordinated group steps—all performed while balanced on stilts.  Dancers typically wear traditional regional attire, including berets, vests, and wooden shoes attached to the stilts.  The music is performed on traditional instruments like the boha (Gascon bagpipe), flutes, or accordions.  

Nowadays,  performance troupes like Lous Esquiroûs or Les Échassiers de l’Armagnac keep the tradition alive, performing across France and internationally at festivals and cultural events.  Stilt dancing is a proud tradition and part of thee region's cultural identity and history.

Friday Music

Originally from the Living in the Past album, circa 1971, this is an arrangement of Life's a Long Song that Ian Anderson and company performed in his home with a string quartet. 

The string quartet version appears on Jethro Tull – The String Quartets, a collaborative project between Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull frontman) and John O’Hara, the band’s long-time keyboardist and orchestral arranger. The album re imagines classic Jethro Tull songs with a classical chamber music sensibility.

The classical parts are performed by the Carducci String Quartet, a respected British ensemble known for their versatility and willingness to bridge genres.

The arrangement of this song - titled Songs and Horses on the album - strips away the folk-rock textures of the original and replaces them with warm, reflective string harmonies. Ian Anderson still contributes on flute, and occasionally vocals, but the spotlight is often on the quartet’s interpretation of melody and harmony.

Very well done.  Also, the youngster you see on drums is none other than Ian's son, James Duncan Anderson, listed on the DVD as James Duncan.

Courtesy of a Sturgeon Bay acquaintance who happens to be a total music treasure trove....

Friday Music

The inspiration for the catchy chorus for this song came when the band members saw two girls walking down the street in Bergenfield, New Jersey.  Who doesn't like very short cutoff jeans on a shapely young lady on a sunny summer day?  Seriously.

This 1957 rock and roll hit by The Royal Teens, a band from New Jersey, was written and performed by Tom Austin, Bill Crandell, Bill Dalton, and Bob Gaudio. It became a major success in 1958, reaching #3 on the U.S. pop chart and #2 on the R&B chart.  It's got an old school classic boogie woogie beat and Jersey accented vocals too.

Short Shorts.... 

Friday Music

 

It would seem to me that this band has been around forever.  Ray Benson and Reuben Gosfield formed the group in 1969 in Paw Paw, West Virginia.  Before too long they were the opening act for Alice Cooper and Hot Tuna and in short order relocated to Oakland, California at the invitation of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.  (I told you they’ve been around forever).  They eventually settling down in Austin, Texas on the advice of Willie Nelson. 

 

For 55 years, Asleep At The Wheel’s Ray Benson has been traversing the globe spreading the gospel of Western swing music and introducing it to generations of devotees. 

 

More than 100 musicians have passed through the Wheel and Benson persists as the front man and keeper of the fire. He’s racked up more than 30 albums, ten Grammy Awards and literally millions of miles on the road.

 

 

Another terrific performance at the intimate venue of Gibraltar High School. 

 

From the Austin City Limits 2024 Music Festival is a full set - including almost all of the performance artists appearing in Door County a week and a half ago.  Solid collection of musicians they are....

 

Friday Music

On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence.  

 A couple of days later its delegates to the Congress  adopted the Declaration of Independence - a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. 

From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence.  

To celebrate the holiday here is American roots-rocker Dave Alvin having a really good time singing an original of his with David Hidalgo, Flaco Jimenez, Pete Sears, Max Baca and Los Cenzontles at the benefit for Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy at the home of Robert Mailer Anderson and Nicola Miner, San Francisco, February 16, 2017,

4th of July.....

Friday Music

Last weekend we spent an evening out with the Garza brothers for another fine performance at the Door Community Auditorium at Gibraltar High School.  

It's difficult indeed to pigeonhole this group into a specific  music genre.  If I had to describe it their style is a high energy fusion of Rock & roll, Texas blues and swing, funky soul, country and Tejano.  Stylistically, you might catch a whiff of Santana or the Bo Deans.  Our performance included an extended bluesy-funky cover of the Spencer Davis Group's I'm a Man.  Good stuff. 

Anyway, if you live here on the Peninsula or plan to visit you might want to check into tickets for a specific performance or two of the seasonal lineup offered by the Door Community Auditorium.

Live video was not allowed for this performance  but there is always YouTube to come to the rescue.

Los Lonely Boys......   

Friday Music

This famous bluegrass instrumental written by Earl Scruggs in 1949 and was recorded by Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys.  It's known for its fast-paced banjo picking and is widely considered a classic of American roots music.  I posted on this song earlier in February and somehow it popped-up in my YouTube channel feed.  So it's back 

This song helped define the sound of modern bluegrass. Its technical banjo style inspired countless musicians and is often used in banjo competitions and bluegrass jams.

Culturally it was featured prominently in the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, which reignited interest in bluegrass music.

Foggy Mountain Breakdown.....

Friday Music

Mr. Tambourine Man has found its way to the pages of this blog now a half-dozen times over the years.  Most recently with a 1964 live recording from the Newport Folk Festival.

From a Roy Orbison Tribute concert that aired in 1990 on the Showtime Network, here's another live recording featuring the significant contributors to the continuing popularity of this timeless song.....

Friday Music

Written and originally recorded by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1968 album of the same title. It has since been recorded by other artists, including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1969 whose version hit number 9 on the Hot 100 in November 1970.

Nice acoustic cover of this song by Guy Vincent.

 Mr. Bojangles.....

Friday Music

Wednesday of last week Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band opened their Land of Hope & Dreams Tour in Manchester, England. 

Bruce launched this run of shows with three statements about the the current state of affairs in the United States, with comments preceding his songs "Land of Hope and Dreams," "House of a Thousand Guitars" and "My City of Ruins."  Naturally, this has gotten under some some people's skin.  

Snowflakes.

As a young man I came of age in the 1970s with Bruce Springsteen rocking my life via a four speaker Craig, surround sound, AM/FM, stereo cassette sound system in my trusty VW Westphalia camper van. I was a popular guy.  But I digress.

Not one to shy-away from politics Springsteen has long had an activist streak.  Which might explain why I've been a follower since I got hooked on the music with Greetings from Asbury Park.  And a fellow American who's grateful for patriots like Bruce to stick it to the oligarchs.

More than fifty years of rockin' the lives of ordinary Americans; yes, us little people. The Boss speaking truth to power.  

Some things never change.....

Friday Music

I've posted duets featuring Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris before - absolute pure heaven.

Real Live Roadrunning is a concert film recorded live on 28th June 2006 at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles towards the end of Mark and Emmylous' tour in support of their critically acclaimed album, All the Roadrunning. 

Turn-up the volume for So Far Away....

Friday Music

One of the most popular songs by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd released on their debut album in 1973; only Sweet Home Alabama and Free Bird are more popular.

Covered by numerous artists this version is an official video cover by Jacksonville Florida band Shinedown.

Simple Man.....  

Friday Music

Composed by Bob Dylan and released as the first track included on his 1965 album - Bringing It All Back Home. - this song has been recorded live more times than it has been covered by other artists.  

The Byrds' version was released within a month of the Dylan recording and quickly rose to the number 1 spot on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart; likely making it most influential in popularizing folk rock as a musical genre.

Both versions have landed on Rolling Stone's 500 Best Songs list and the Grammy Hall of Fame Awards.

Mr. Tambourine Man....

Friday Music

Light spring rain, redwing blackbirds checking-in and the local frog chorale love song serenade.

 

One of my most favorite times of year…..

 

 

Friday Music

Composed by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by Nancy Sinatra it was released in December of 1965 and immediately charted reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1966. 

Covered by countless artists I best remember it playing on a transistor radio as a kid and later as an adult in a scene from Stanley Kubrick's classic film Full Metal Jacket; where a South Vietnamese hooker in a miniskirt propositions a couple of GIs. 

In 2020, this version was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame.

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'.....