Tag: Musician

Joe McDonald–R.I.P.

The name may not mean much to the younger readers but I one served in Vietnam then Country Joe and the Fish was the anti-war song that meant the most.

The anti-war icon has died….

A voice that helped soundtrack the Vietnam era has gone quiet, USA Today reports. “Country Joe” McDonald, the frontman of Country Joe and the Fish and a defining figure of 1960s protest music, died Saturday in Berkeley, Calif., at 84 from complications of Parkinson’s disease, his band announced. He was “surrounded by his family,” according to the statement; no public memorial is planned.

Born Joseph Allen McDonald in Washington, DC, and raised in California, he served in the Navy before emerging in Berkeley’s folk and protest scene and co-founding Country Joe and the Fish in the mid-1960s. Their 1967 debut, Electric Music for the Mind and Body, helped cement San Francisco’s psychedelic rock sound, but McDonald became best known for his biting anti-Vietnam War song “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag” (a “talking blues” song done in the “deadpan” style of Woody Guthrie, the Guardian reports) and his expletive-laced cheer at Woodstock—moments he later said “changed everything in America.” NPR calls the song “a signature anthem of the 1960s counterculture,” and the Woodstock performance “one of the defining scenes of the festival.” The cheer, however, did once get McDonald arrested and fined after he used it at a Massachusetts show.

After his band broke up, McDonald continued to perform and release solo work for decades, often focusing on civil rights, environmental causes, and humanitarian issues, before retiring to focus on his family. He also expressed consistent support for the troops, and was involved with veterans’ issues throughout his life. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, five children, and four grandchildren; the family suggests donations to Swords to Ploughshares or the Michael J. Fox Foundation in his memory.

For me his voice and conscience will be missed for he help us antiwar protesters get through all the torment….

Thank you for your help and your voice in protest to a dumb ass war…..you and your morals will be missed.

Plus old farts like me will not forget what you did in our name.

His most famous antiwar song in remembrance of a great musician for the cause.

Thank you Country Joe and may you rest in peace.

chuq

The Tragedy Of Billie Holiday

Was listening to a local blues station because I had enough of Little Drummer Boy and all, and a song came on that was a favorite of my mother….she had several albums, 78s, of Holiday and her fantastic voice….this was one of her favorites…..

This lady had a fabulous voice it is a real shame that her life was so messed up and the American government was no help at all….

Despite her status as one of the world’s most influential jazz and blues singers, Billie Holiday passed away penniless and alone.

The artist rose to stardom in the 1930s with chart-topping hits such as “Strange Fruit,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “Gloomy Sunday.”

Her distinctive and emotive vocal delivery solidified her place among the all-time greats. However, behind the scenes, Holiday’s life was fraught with difficulties.

Throughout her career and life, she endured pervasive racism. Holiday was denied entry through the front doors of venues and faced segregation in hotels and public accommodations.

In 1938, Holiday made history by touring with Artie Shaw, becoming the first Black woman to lead a white jazz band. Yet, she was forced to find her own lodging as she was prohibited from staying in the same hotels as the rest of the ensemble.

The alleged catalyst for the racism she encountered was her performance of Strange Fruit – a potent protest song against the lynching of Black Americans.

Holiday’s struggle with drug addiction throughout her career made her a target for the US government, which reportedly hatched a scheme to ruin her career.

The Federal Bureau of Narcotics, headed by the purportedly racist Harry J. Anslinger, had a particular fixation on controlling and punishing Black musicians.

https://www.the-express.com/entertainment/music/193210/music-icon-penniless-hospital-bed-government

A real shame that racism was so readily accepted…..she had more talent in her little finger than some of today’s “mega-stars’….

Not many know the whole story of Holiday only her voice and music….she deserved so much better than she ever got.

And it appears that that same destructive racism is returning….will we let it?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

‘Rain Dogs’ Turns Forty

It is a Friday and this is my last post of the week…..I do not write many reviews but this one hits home for me.

Back in the mmid-70s I was the late night bartender at a local pub and that was when I was introduced to the musical styling of Tom Waits.  From the very first song of his first album, Closing Time, I was hooked.

I even went to a small club in New Orleans where Waits was performing….a club that sat about 200 people and I was not disappointed.  His storytelling was spot on especially in the early hours of the morning when the creatures were out and about…..if you have lived that life then you know how spot on his storytelling was.

This review is about his album, Rain Dogs, who some say was one of his best works.

I can’t recall what went through my head when first listening to ‘Telephone Call From Istanbul’, a rhythmically buoyant song that seemed to be about broken glass, blue donkeys and never trusting a man in a blue trench coat. All I know is that I was open-mouthed, and nothing musical was ever the same again. Especially for my long-suffering mother, who would have to deal with me imitating Waits’ possessed, wolf-like howls whenever I entered a room.

Even now, she refers to Waits as the sound ‘Woooouh!‘ as opposed to his birth name – both as a reference to my insufferable childhood antics but also, I suspect, to the fact that listening to a Tom Waits record is, for her, the equivalent of that scene from The Pink Panther Strikes Back when Herbert Lom dons the clawed gauntlet and goes to town on the chalkboard. Some apples do fall far from the tree.

Years later, I wandered about in my then-favourite music store, on a mission: I was looking to buy my first Tom Waits album.

At the time, I didn’t know his discography like the back of my hand and was searching for the album that featured ‘Telephone Call From Istanbul’. To my distress, I couldn’t find it and settled on the only record they had, ‘Rain Dogs’, not realising in the moment that it was the best buy I was ever going to make.

I mainlined the album again and again, completely drunk on Waits’ gravelly growls, his ominous whispers, the carnivalesque musical accompaniments that enriched the stories of one-armed dwarves, millionaires shoveling coal and protagonists falling out of windows with confetti in their hair.

https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/09/30/rain-dogs-turns-40-celebrating-tom-waits-greatest-album-and-his-unparalleled-discography

Waits’ voice may not be everyone’s cup of tea but for me he speaks volumes….his storytelling is superb.

The truth of the matter I prefer his early years his album Nighthawks At The Diner will forever be number one on my list….for those that do not know Tom Waits this is the album I most liked…..although they all are good.

Please listen

and enjoy.

Now for the album Rain Dogs….

I hope you enjoyed the unusual musical styling….

That is it for this week…..enjoy your weekend and as always…..Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

James Lowe R.I.P.

James Lowe?

Not a name that too many will remember but I do for as a fan of ‘acid rock’ his group the Electric Prunes was a favorite.

In the beginning of ‘acid rock’ there were few names like First Edition, Procol Harum, Cream , Hendrix, Canned Heat, Moody Blues and the Electric Prunes…..these names brought the electric guitar to new heights.

Lowe passed away at age 82….

Psychedelic rock pioneer James Lowe, of The Electric Prunes, has died at age 82.

Lowe’s family — namely his three children — announced the news of their father’s passing via the band’s official Facebook page on Thursday, May 29.

“It is with heavy and electric hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved dad, James Lowe – lead singer and founder of The Electric Prunes,” Lowe’s kids wrote in their heartfelt tribute to their father. (Lowe shared children Lisa, Cameron and Skylar with wife Pamela, to whom he was married for more than 60 years.)

“He passed away peacefully of natural causes on Thursday, May 22nd, 2025, surrounded by music, our incredible mom, and the three of us – his kids: Lisa, Cameron, and Skylar,” they continued. “Dad leaves behind a legacy of sound, love, and boundless creativity. At the center of it all Was our amazing mom, Pamela – his guiding star, enduring muse, and wife of 62 years.”

The Lowe family concluded their statement with wise words from the “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” singer.

In his words – Rock On!” they declared. “And we will.”

The Electric Prunes were known for their psychedelic sound in the 1960s, with hits like “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” and “Get Me to the World On Time.”

(parade.com)

This was probably their most popular song…..

When I was in base camp in Vietnam I would play this tune for my fellow grunts every Sunday.

For people like me he will be missed…..and wish his family all the love and respect that he deserved.

May his legacy live on in people like me and those that appreciated fine music and talented musicians.

James Lowe…Rest In Peace.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

JD Souther R.I.P.

Sad news today a musician from my youth in the 60s has died.

As an old fart my musical taste ran to the folk singer side of things in the beginning….Joni Mitchell, Peter, Paul and Mary, Dylan, et al….JD Souther was one of those voices that I will always remember because it was so soulful.

When we listen to music, we tend not to look past the name of the artist and the name of the song. That means there can be an assortment of people who worked on the track whose contributions may evade you. It’s not uncommon to have songwriters help out on a track, shaping a hit that is somebody out there’s favorite of all time. In the case of JD Souther, he had credits on a bunch that can be considered all-timers, especially if you’re a fan of the monumental American rock band the Eagles. But sadly, he is now no longer with us…

Establishing himself as a Southern California songwriting legend, JD collaborated with the aforementioned Eagles as well as the likes of Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor. He was also a solo artist, best known for the track You’re Only Lonely.

After forming the band Longbranch Pennywhistle in the ’60s, one of its members Glenn Frey went on to form the Eagles in 1971. JD may not have come aboard as an official band member, but that doesn’t mean his impact on the group wasn’t important.

He worked on some of the band’s tracks including James Dean, Best Of My Love, and New Kid In Town. His songwriting also contributed to the classic song Heartache Tonight, which became a significant hit and cemented the band as rock titans.

He produced Linda’s fourth album, Don’t Cry Now, credited as a writer on a handful of the songs, and then there’s his work on James’ Her Town, Too.

Evidence of his creativity and passion for music was evident throughout that time, as he was also in the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band; this was made up of the Byrds’ Chris Hillman and Poco’s Richie Furay.

Tributes are already surfacing fast online, with fans sharing the music that helped make his a name that will never fade.

“JD Souther gave us so many memorable songs,” one tearfully wrote on X.

“Just received the devastating news that American folk singer JD Souther has passed away,” another was shocked to tweet. “He was the greatest songwriter from those shores and Only Lonely – without a doubt, the greatest single ever from America. RIP legend.”

Other posts have remembered him as a “songwriting legend” and a “great talent.”

“One of my most cherished and admired songwriters,” one mourned, with another adding: “Had the honor to hear JD Souther last Saturday in Sellersville Pa. RIP to a master of music.”

(celebritytidbit.com)

May he Rest In Peace.

His music for those that are not familiar with Souther’s body of work.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Day The Music Died

Happy Cinco de Mayo….have a beer and enjoy.

I finally got the new PC set-up and all seems to be working well but since it is Windows I am sure something will go off the rails at anytime.

Enough mundane stuff….onward!

It is a Sunday and a time for FYI and a little history or both…but not today…..I want to write about a personal observation….or was it an experience?

If you are awaiting some look back at a retro tune from the 70s then you will be sadly disappointed.

Back in the day I was a crazy music fan….I awaited the release of albums and would dash to the music store to get the newest before they were sold out…..such groups as CSN&Y, Guns N Roses, Eagles, Blues Breakers, Cream,  etc and then there were the individual artists like Jackson Browne, Tom Waits, Johnny Rivers, etc…..but over the years my enthusiasm for the newest music has waned….I just assumed that is was because I was getting old and did not particularly care about the newest groups and individuals.

To me the singers and artist of today sound all alike…..does not matter whether it is so-called country or pop….very little variation so it has become boring to me and I lost interest.  Where’s the imagination?

I just read it is not that I am getting older but rather the quality of the music today.

It’s not so much my skin or my increasingly creaking knees ― the thing that’s been making me feel old recently is my Spotify playlist.

From the Sugababes’ iconic Round Round to Buddy Holly’s Dearest and Tina Turner’s What’s Love Got To Do With It, most of the tunes on my most-played catalogue come from before this century (a lot of them from before I was even born).

The fear that I’ve become an insufferable, “they don’t make them like they used to” naysayer is real. But fellow cranks, take heart ― new research suggests that the belief isn’t all in our bitter, non-gen-Z heads.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, analysed over 12,000 songs in the English language recorded over the past 40 years.

The researchers looked at rap, country, pop, R&B, and rock genres because those are the most popular ones.

They used listener data from last.fm and Genius’ lyric database to see how popular music’s lyrics have changed over time, looking at Genius page views to see whether listeners were interested in the lyrics in particular.

They assessed lyrics’ “lexical, linguistic, structural, rhyme, emotion, and complexity descriptors.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/study-lyrics-are-getting-worse_uk_6613f41ae4b056f72058bb07

Getting older does not mean that you lose your taste in music.

As I look back at my music choices I recall waiting on pins and needles for the release of Super Session with Stephen Still, Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield…..one of the best albums I ever bought.

Enjoy some great guitar work.

And that is how you enjoy a Sunday!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ukraine–Musical Interlude

One of the most moving songs of my generation was John Lennon’s “Imagine”……I support of the fundraising efforts John’s song sings his father’s icon song……

Julian Lennon gave a public performance of his father’s iconic hit “Imagine” for the first time ever. Accompanied by guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and a host of candles, the 59-year-old son of John Lennon and first wife Cynthia “presented the cover version of his father’s ode to peace” during the Stand Up for Ukraine fundraiser, per the New York Post. Although he once said he would never sing the song unless it was the “end of the world,” Lennon wrote in notes accompanying the performance that “the War on Ukraine is an unimaginable tragedy. As a human, and as an artist, I felt compelled to respond in the most significant way I could.”

It was a “stunning” performance, according to NBC’s Today, which adds that Lennon wrote that as a “result of the ongoing murderous violence” and the plight of refugees, he is “calling on world leaders and everyone who believes in the sentiment of IMAGINE to stand up for refugees everywhere!” The performance, available on YouTube, was part of a wider social media rally by Global Citizen to provide “accommodation and economic security” for displaced Ukrainians. The organization says the campaign has netted over $10 billion in pledges and loans.

Listening to his version of this iconic song…..

We should all do what we can…..

Turn The Page!

“lego ergo scribo”

Pink Floyd–30 Years On

In my youth I was a huge Pink Floyd fan and that has never waned…..so I was surprised when I heard the new Pink Floyd recording….dedicated to the brave and beleaguered people of Ukraine…….

Pink Floyd guitarist and singer David Gilmour says he thought the band would never release new music again after the death of keyboard player Rick Wright in 2008—but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed everything. At midnight Friday, the psychedelic rock legends will release new single “Hey, Hey, Rise Up,” with proceeds going to support the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, reports Pitchfork. It’s the band’s first original new music since the Division Bell album, which came out in 1994, when Vladimir Putin was still working in local government in St. Petersburg.

The song, which features vocals from an Instagram post by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the Ukrainian band Boombox, is based on World War I protest song “The Red Viburnum in the Meadow,” the New York Times reports. Founding Pink Floyd member Nick Mason is on drums, but Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985, was not involved. Gilmour, who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law, tells the Guardian that he wanted to find a way to help the country. “It’s a really difficult and frustrating thing to see this extraordinarily crazy, unjust attack by a major power on an independent, peaceful, democratic nation,” he says.

Gilmour says he contacted Mason and other musicians and convened a recording session last week, using samples of Khlyvnyuk’s voice. The Ukrainian singer left the band’s US tour in February to fight for his homeland. Gilmour says he last spoke to the singer Tuesday. “He said he had the most hellish day you could imagine, going out and picking up bodies of Ukrainians, Ukrainian children, helping with the clearing up,” Gilmour tells the Guardian. “You know, our little problems become so pathetic and tiny in the context of what you see him doing.” He says Khlvnyuk was pleased with the song and told him: “One day we’ll play it together and have a good stout afterwards, on me.”

Now listen to the first new recording by Pink Floyd in 30 years….

Have a great day…..be well….be safe….

Closing Thought–11Dec20

This post should have been made yesterday but I got side-tracked with life…..I apologize.

On 10 December 1967—the day the music died.

One of my favorite musicians died in that plane crash…..Otis Redding.

His song “Dock Of The Bay” was a standard for us in Vietnam…..and to this day I get goose bumps when I hear him sing…..especially that song.

The song is a classic and should NEVER be re-recorded. PERIOD!

On December 10, 1967, a plane carrying Otis Redding and other members of his band, The Bar-Kays, plunged into Lake Monona.

They were on their way to a show, when their twin-engine aircraft crashed in the lake, miles from the airport. Redding, 26, a soul singer and songwriter, along with six others, died in the crash.

https://madison.com/gallery/news/archives/photos-from-history-redding-plane-crashes-in-lake-monona/collection_55f50468-1b64-11ea-95e6-9b97aa9fe109.html#1

Learn more about the Voice of Soul……

https://www.biography.com/musician/otis-redding

In his memory I would like to present his song that I still cannot get enough of…..and the memories flood back into my psyche.

May he Rest In Peace….we miss you.

Be Well….Be Safe….

Music Suffers More Loss

Closing Thought–26Oct20

It has been a bad year for music…..rock and country…..and the losses are not finished yet.

Arlo Guthrie, the son of famed folk singer and activist Woody Guthrie has decided that he will no longer tour and give live performances….

You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant—but it appears we’ve seen Arlo Guthrie tell us that in person for the last time. In lengthy posts on his Facebook page and website, the 73-year-old folk singer announced Friday he’s retiring from performance immediately. He’s canceled numerous shows he had planned around the country for the next year and said he won’t be booking any more, per the AP. “It’s been a great 50-plus years of being a working entertainer, but I reached the difficult decision that touring and stage shows are no longer possible,” he said in the statement titled “Gone Fishing.” Guthrie didn’t respond to email and phone messages asking to elaborate, but he indicated in his statement that health issues played a major role. He said he’d suffered two strokes in recent years, including a serious one that hospitalized him for several days last year.

The son of folk music legend Woody Guthrie rose to overnight fame in 1967 with the release of “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” a hilarious 18-minute talking blues ballad about how his Thanksgiving Day 1965 arrest for littering kept him out of the Army during the Vietnam War. He went on to record more than 30 albums, write several children’s books, and occasionally appear in TV shows and films, including playing himself in the 1969 movie “Alice’s Restaurant.” Guthrie, who frequently declined to play “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” for audiences over the years, had planned to perform it at next year’s shows. In July he released a new song, Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times Come Again No More,” and indicated Friday that his retiring from the stage doesn’t mean he’ll go away completely. “In fact, I hope to be a thorn in the side of a new administration pretty soon,” he said in a veiled reference to President Trump.

This is not the only bad news……country rock musician Jerry Jeff Walker has died…..he was most famous for the hit song Mr. Bo Jangles….

Jerry Jeff Walker, a Texas country singer and songwriter who wrote the pop song “Mr. Bojangles,” has died at age 78. Walker died Friday of cancer, family spokesman John T. Davis told the AP. “He had battled throat cancer for many years, and some other health issues,” Davis said Saturday. Walker emerged from New York’s Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s and he was a founding member of the band Circus Maximus. He moved to Texas in the 1970s and in 1972 scored a hit with his version of the Guy Clark song “LA Freeway.” Walker and the Lost Gonzo Band in 1973 recorded an album live in Texas called “Viva Terlingua” that became a classic of the country-rock scene. Walker had since released more than 30 albums.

In 1986, he formed independent music label Tried & True Music and released albums under it. Walker was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2017, undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, he told the Austin American Statesman in 2018. “I guess I took my singing for granted, and now I don’t,” he told the newspaper. In 2017, it was announced that Walker had donated more than 100 boxes of his music archives to The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University, including tapes, photographs, hand-written lyrics, and artifacts. Walker’s survivors include his wife, Susan, son, Django, and daughter, Jessie Jane.

But for me his best song was …..

I’m an old fart so I remember both these artists as if they were here yesterday…..

The one I did not know was Viola Smith the World’s Fastest Girl Drummer”…..

The “fastest girl drummer in the world” is gone. Viola Smith, a swing musician who fought for female inclusion in the big-band era, died Wednesday at home in Costa Mesa, Calif., the Washington Post reports. She was 107. At a time when jazz giants like Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman dominated the dance-band world, Smith led her own group—the all-female Coquettes—with a 12-drum kit that featured two big tom-toms by her shoulders. The band was best-known for the playful arabesque “The Snake Charmer” with Smith’s dramatic drum-frills. She also made waves with a 1942 DownBeat essay called “Give Girl Musicians a Break!” that urged top band leaders to include more women—especially with so many men fighting in World War II.

“Instead of replacing them with what may be mediocre talent, why not let some of the great girl musicians of the country take their places?” she wrote. “Girls work right along beside men in the factories, in the offices. … So why not in dance bands?” They mostly didn’t, but Smith found steady work in Phil Spitalny’s all-girl band—which played in the Abbott & Costello comedy Here Come the Co-Eds—and later in the Kit Kat Band jazz quartet heard in the musical Cabaret on Broadway, per the Guardian. Born in Wisconsin in 1912, Smith lived much of her life on the road, then moved to New York, and later settled in Costa Mesa. She left no immediate survivors. “I really had a charmed life,” she told Tom Tom in 2013. “Unless people call drumming work. Then I worked hard in my life.”

They will be missed.

Thanx for the memories.