Thin Wild Mercury Music

The late Otis Redding is born in 1941 - 70 years ago

2011-09-09T03:41:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:Otis Ray Redding, Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American soul singer-songwriter and record producer. Born in Dawson and later moved to Macon, he began touring with blues guitarist Johnny Jenkins and served as the lead singer in the band Otis Redding and The Pinetoppers. He signed a contract with record label Stax Records and released his debut album Pain in My Heart in 1964. This album produced several successful singles, including "These Arms of Mine".

The late Patsy Cline was born in 1932 - 79 years ago

2011-09-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:Patsy Cline (September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963), born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s. Since her death in 1963 at age 30 in a private airplane crash at the height of her career, she has been considered one of the most influential, successful, and acclaimed female vocalists of the 20th century.

The late Buddy Holly was born in 1936 - 75 years ago

2011-09-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia: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, The Rolling Stones, 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 Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time".

Important Bob Dylan Concert in 1987 - 24 years ago

2011-09-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

Sultan's Pool - Jerusalem, Israel

From Bjorner.com:
Second concert of 1987 Temples In Flames Tour. Concert #62 with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. 1987 concert #8.
Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar) with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.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 (backing vocals).

Setlist:
1.The Times They Are A-Changin'
2.Man Of Peace
3.Like A Rolling Stone
4.Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35
5.Emotionally Yours
6.Shot Of Love
7.Ballad Of A Thin Man
8.You're A Big Girl Now
9.John Brown
10.License To Kill
11.It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
12.Gotta Serve Somebody
—
13.Slow Train

Sonny Rollins is born in 1930 - 81 years ago

2011-09-07T12:46:00.001-07:00

From Wikipedia:Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930 in New York City) is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St. Thomas", "Oleo", "Doxy", and "Airegin", have become jazz standards.

Buddy Miller is born in 1952 - 59 years ago

2011-09-06T02:19:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:Buddy Miller (born September 6, 1952 in Fairborn, Ohio) is a country singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller.

The Rolling Stones album: "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!" was put out in 1970 - 41 years ago

2011-09-04T00:36:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:>`Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!´: The Rolling Stones in Concert is a live album by The Rolling Stones, released 4 September 1970 on Decca Records in the UK and on London Records in the US. It was recorded in New York and Maryland in November 1969, just before the release of Let It Bleed.

The late Hank Thompson was born in 1925 - 81 years ago

2011-09-03T00:30:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:Henry William Thompson (September 3, 1925–November 6, 2007), known professionally as Hank Thompson, was an American country music entertainer whose career spanned seven decades. He sold more than 60 million records worldwide.Thompson's musical style, characterized as honky tonk Western swing, was a mixture of fiddles, electric guitar and steel guitar that featured his distinctive, smooth baritone vocals.

Horace Silver was born in 1928 - 83 years ago

2011-09-02T04:42:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:Horace Silver (born September 2, 1928), born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer.Silver is known for his distinctive humorous and funky playing style and for his pioneering compositional contributions to hard bop. He was influenced by a wide range of musical styles, notably gospel music, African music, and Latin American music and sometimes ventured into the soul jazz genre.

R.L. Burnside died in 2005 - 6 years ago

2011-09-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:R. L. Burnside (November 23, 1926 – September 1, 2005), born Robert Lee Burnside, was a North Mississippi hill country blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist who lived much of his life in and around Holly Springs, Mississippi. He played music for much of his life, but did not receive much attention until the early 1990s. In the latter half of the 1990s, Burnside repeatedly recorded with Jon Spencer, garnering crossover appeal and introducing his music to a new fanbase within the underground garage rock scene.

The late Conway Twitty was born in 1933 - 78 years ago

2011-09-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:Conway Twitty (September 1, 1933 - June 5, 1993), born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006. From 1971–76, Twitty received a string of Country Music Association awards for duets with Loretta Lynn. A former member of the Grand Ole Opry, he was inducted into both the Country Music and the Rockabilly Halls of Fame.

Van Morrison is born in 1945 - 66 years ago

2011-08-31T02:28:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Van Morrison, OBE (born George Ivan Morrison; 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely viewed as among the greatest ever made.

From "The Last Waltz" comes this fantastic version of "Caravan":

James Burton is born in 1939 - 72 years ago

2011-08-31T02:12:00.000-07:00

From wikipedia:
James Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Critic Mark Demming writes that "Burton has a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest guitar pickers in either country or rock ... [Burton is] one of the best guitar players to ever touch a fretboard."
James Burton is also known as the "Master of the (Fender) Telecaster."

This is fabulous stuff:

Bob Dylan releases the album "Highway 61 Revisited" in 1965 - 46 years ago

2011-08-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Highway 61 Revisited is the sixth studio album by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was released in August 1965 by Columbia Records. On his previous album, Bringing It All Back Home, Dylan devoted Side One of the album to songs accompanied by an electric rock band, and Side Two to solo acoustic numbers. For Highway 61 Revisited, Dylan used rock backing on every track, except for the closing 11-minute acoustic song, "Desolation Row". Critics have written that Dylan's ability to combine driving, complex, blues-based rock music with the power of poetry, made Highway 61 Revisited one of the most influential albums ever recorded.

Track Listing:

Like a Rolling Stone (10*)
Tombstone Blues (9)
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (9)
From Buick 6 (8)
Ballad of a Thin Man (10)
Queen Jane Approximately (9,5)
Highway 61 Revisited (8,5)
Just Like A Tom Thumb's Blues (9,5)
Desolation Row (10)

*My grades 1-10

So this is Bob Dylan's best album overall in my opinion. "Blonde On Blonde" & "Blood On The Tracks" are the two closest....
BTW "Visions of Johanna" (Blonde On Blonde) is his best song :-)

Kitty Wells is born in 1919 - 92 years ago

2011-08-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Ellen Muriel Deason (born August 30, 1919), known professionally as Kitty Wells, is an American country music singer. Her 1952 hit recording, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts, and turned her into the first female country star. Her Top 10 hits continued until the mid-1960s, inspiring a long list of female country singers who came to prominence in the 1960s.

Bob Dylan releases the album "Modern Times" in 2006 - 5 years ago

2011-08-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Modern Times is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 32nd studio album, released by Columbia Records in August 2006. The album was Dylan's third straight (following Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft) to be met with nearly universal praise from fans and critics. It continued its predecessors' tendencies toward blues, rockabilly and pre-rock balladry, and was self-produced by Dylan under the pseudonym "Jack Frost". Along with the acclaim, the album sparked some debate over its uncredited use of choruses and arrangements from older songs, as well as many lyrical lines taken from the work of 19th century poet Henry Timrod.
Modern Times became the singer-songwriter's first #1 album in the U.S. since 1976's Desire.

Tracks:

Thunder On The Mountain (8*)
Spirit on the Water (7,5)
Rollin' and Tumblin' (7,5)
When the Deal Goes Down (8)
Someday Baby (7,5)
Workingman's Blues #2 (9)
Beyond the Horizon (6,5)
Nettie Moore (8)
The Levee's Gonna Break (7,5)
Ain't Talkin' (9)

*my grades (1-10)

So the two best songs are "Ain't Talkin'" & "Workingman's Blues #2"

The late Charlie Parker is born in 1920 - 91 years ago

2011-08-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Charles Parker, Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.
Parker, with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, is widely considered to have been one of the most influential jazz musicians. Parker acquired the nickname "Yardbird" early in his career and the shortened form "Bird" remained Parker's sobriquet for the rest of his life, inspiring the titles of a number of Parker compositions, such as "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology" and "Bird of Paradise."

Jimmy Reed died 35 years ago

2011-08-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed (September 6, 1925 - August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries. His lazy, slack-jawed singing, piercing harmonica and hypnotic guitar patterns were one of the blues' most easily identifiable sounds in the 1950s and 1960s and had a significance impact on many rock and roll artists who followed, such as Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones.

Stevie Ray Vaughan dies in 1990

2011-08-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

From wikipedia:
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and began his music career. Later, producer John H. Hammond arranged a deal with Epic Records in 1983.

Brian Epstein dies in 1967

2011-08-27T08:49:00.001-07:00

Beatles manager Brian Epstein dies of an accidental overdose of barbiturates mixed with brandy in 1967

The Late Carter Glen Stanley is born in 1925 - 86 years ago

2011-08-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

From wikipedia:
Carter Glen Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) was a bluegrass music lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitar player. He formed the Stanley Brothers band together with his brother Ralph. The Stanley Brothers are generally acknowledged as the first band after Bill Monroe & the Blue Grass Boys to play in the bluegrass genre. According to some historians, their recording of "Molly and Tenbrooks" (aka "The Racehorse Song") marked the beginning of bluegrass as a genre.

My fav Stanley Brothers song:

Elvis Presley performed the famous "Laughing version" of "Are you Lonesome tonight" in Las Vegas - 42 years ago

2011-08-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Elvis, occasionally during live performances, would randomly change lyrics to give them humorous connotations. One popular instance was recorded at the International Hotel in Vegas on August 26, 1969. During the performance, instead of singing: "Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there", he sings "Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair". Moments later, he saw a bald man in the audience (as legend has it), and burst into laughter which continued into the next lines.

Here it is:

Jeff Tweedy is 44

2011-08-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy (born August 25, 1967 in Belleville, Illinois, United States) is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco.

One of my many Wilco favs:

Elvis Costello is 57

2011-08-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader than that of most popular songs. His music has drawn on many diverse genres; one critic described him as a "pop encyclopedia," able to "reinvent the past in his own image"

Here in a duet with the fantastic Emmylou Harris:

Elvis Presley records Master version of "Love Me Tender" in 1956 - 55 years ago

2011-08-24T00:26:00.000-07:00

Recorded: Stage 1, 20th Century Fox Studios, Hollywood, CA

Bob Dylan played Oakes Garden Theatre - Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada in 2003 - 8 years ago

2011-08-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Setlist:

1.Tombstone Blues
2.Lay Lady Lay
3.Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
4.Make You Feel My Love
5.Dignity
6.Highway 61 Revisited
7.Shooting Star
8.Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
9.Cry A While
10.Mr. Tambourine Man
11.High Water (for Charlie Patton)
12.Honest With Me
13.Forever Young
14.Summer Days
—
15.Like A Rolling Stone
16.All Along The Watchtower

The song "High Water (for Charlie Patton)" is later released on "The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 – Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006" (October 6, 2008)

Relevant video.. but not the "..bootleg 8" version:

The late Keith Moon of the Who is born in 1946 - 65 years ago

2011-08-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

From wikipedia:
Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon".

The late John Lee Hooker is born in 1917

2011-08-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist, born near Clarksdale, Mississippi.

"One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
Hey mister bartender come here
I want another drink and I want it now"