1941 - Some say Gene Krupa was the greatest drummer that ever lived; one thing's for sure, he was a super master of his craft, and he's still the icon that has inspired a million drummers, including the Who's Keith Moon. Krupa was also master of his own career, celebrity and status. It was exactly 70 years ago today that Krupa and his band recorded After You've Gone, the standard 1918 popular song composed by Turner Layton, with lyrics written by Henry Creamer. Something about the song's structure, simple as it is, has attracted the greats to record a version: Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, and dozens more. Back to Gene Krupa's recording of it, 70 years ago, the legendary Roy Eldridge played trumpet on the track. No video of their version, but we have the actual audio of the recording below, plus an amazing montage of still photographs, and don't tell me these guys weren't having fun. This is an absolute knockout band, but first let's look at Gene.
1956 - They didn't like the music, but the old guard warmed up to rock'n'roll once they realised they could either cash in on it or cosy up to it, and the r'n'r exponent who warmed them up was Elvis Presley. When Elvis appeared, everyone watched or listened, such was his style, demeanor, his charm and charisma, and you couldn't fault his voice no matter what he was singing. Conservative old guard legends and stalwarts such as Ed Sullivan, Dean Martin and Milton Berle began cosying up to Elvis for a bit of rub-off, and so it was, tonight in '56, that Elvis Presley made his second appearance on Milton Berle's TV show, Texaco Star Theatre. This is the actual footage from that show, now 55 years old, and Elvis's charisma is as strong now as then, n'est ce pas?.
1956 - One of my favourite rock'n'rollers is Gene Vincent, without doubt one of the original pioneer architects of rock'n'roll music and rockabilly music. Like Elvis, Vincent's style evolved from a potpourri mix of gospel, country and western and thythm and blues music...his with a spoonful mixture of punk attitude added in for good measure. This is the day he released his song, Be-Bop-A-Lula, a song completely from left field for its time, in both rhythm, sound of the band, the heavy echo, and totally unique plaintiff vocal style, which has since been mimicked by thousands. First clip here is pure gold, with his band The Blue Caps on an early American music show, then 9 years later in Paris with a no-holds-barred band that had the spirit of punk...and a slower vesion of this rock/'n'roll classic, now in the top 100 rock songs of all time.
1957 - One of the songs that helped shape-shift rock'n'roll was Suzie Q, released by Dale Hawkins more than half a century ago today. Hawkins was a pioneer American rock singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist who was often called the architect of swamp rock boogie, as can be heard with the riff on his song, Susie Q. Here's a song that has been covered by so, so many rockers in subsequent years, the best selling and most popular of which was by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The song kind of kick started their career. Without doubt Dale Hawkins was one of the originals, as un-heralded as he remains. He threw his two bob's worth into the melting pot. There was a video kicking around of Evans performing the song, but it's disappeared, so instead how about CCR founder John Fogerty's version from just last year?
1959 - This is the day the young man, Robert Zimmerman, graduated from high school in Hibbing, Minnesota, not that long before he changed his name to Bob. Zimmerman was raised in a Jewish family and spent much of his youth listening to radio; firstly the powerful blues and country music stations, and later early rock and roll. He formed his first band, The Golden Chords, while still at high school, and chose the pseudonym Elston Gunn for himself, playing a few concerts under this name, during which time he was actively involved in the local Dinkytown folk music circuit, where he soon began introducing himself as Bob Dylan. He quit formal studies in early 1961, eventually lobbing in New York City to perform, and to visit his ailing idol Woody Guthrie. Living in Greenwich Village and playing in small clubs, he soon gained recognition, and in September of that first year, after a glowing review in the New York Times by critic Robert Shelton, legendary music talent scout, producer and connoisseur of fine music, John Hammond, became interested. Hammond was and remains a music legend, doyen of music, having signed acts such as Bessie Smith, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, Pete Seeger, and since Dylan, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Arthur Russell, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. So Hammond signed Dylan to Columbia Records. When he retired in 1975, it was appropriate that Dylan sing at his retirement celebration event. And he did. This is a very special performance from Dylan and three band members Scarlet Rivera on violin, Rob Stoner on bass and Howie Wyeth on drums. They toured with Dylan in 1975 as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue. The tour began the following month after this performance. Dylan’s voice is awesome in this period bearing some gruff, grunt, sadness and tenderness.
http://njnnetwork.com/2010/02/bob-dylan-sings-on-john-hammond-tribute/
1964 - Before he was Bowie he was Jones, David Jones. And his band was called the King Bees, and this is the day they released their debut record, Liza Jane. He eventually changed his name from David Jones because that was also the name of a singer from the Monkees, but under the Jones moniker he and his band were playing Rolling Stones-styled white boys' R&B-rock'n'roll. Their sound was very much in the rough sub-London-blues strata inhabited by too many groups to count in 1964, with a repertoire full of staples like Hoochie Coochie Man and Got My Mojo Working. A press release of the time listed Jones'/Bowie's favorite vocalists as Little Richard, Bob Dylan, and John Lee Hooker. The music was a long way from what Bowie would become famous for in the 1970s, and a good deal less original. Nonetheless, Davie Jones & the King Bees attracted the interest of manager Leslie Conn, who producing their first single and arranged for it to come out on the Decca subsidiary Vocalion. The A-side was a rearrangement of the Black spiritual Liza Jane, for which Conn took the songwriting credits. Although shunned as worthless by some Bowie biographers, it wasn't a bad British R&B effort for tis time; brash if typical and derivative. Bowie/Jones sang and played saxophone, an instrument he would rarely return to in his lengthy career. The B-side, a cover of the obscure Paul Revere song Louie Louie Go Home, was lousy. Jones/Bowie soon left the King Bees, moving on to his next group, the Manish Boys. So here's his first single on 45 plastic record, followed by an extraordinary video of a 17 years-old Bowie in his real persona, David Jones, on BBC television, with his campaign-from-the-heart against the cruelty of persecution for people with long hair. Seriously!
1968 - This is the day when The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared live on Dusty Springfield's TV show, It Must Be Dusty. Not only that, but Hendrix sang a duet with Dusty, only trouble is, television station ATV wiped the tape. BUT a bright spark somewhere in England knew the significance of the duet, and filmed the television broadcast performance - only half of it, as it turns out, on a super 8mm film camera, and the result is as follows. This is a rare super gem!
1971 - Do you like sweet music? How about this James Taylor beautiful, classic, You've Got A Friend, released 40 years ago today. This is the original version, original video, with Carole King playing piano. Classic, beautiful.
1974 - Along with guitar player and rock archivist, Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith recorded her first song 37 years ago today. It was her version of the Jimi Hendrix classic, Hey Joe, only with a spoken forward slam to Patty hearst. This is the legendary Pattie Smith and her band, live on the London TV show, Old Grey Whistle Test, with this blisteringly original version of Hendirx's Hey Joe.
1995 - Kelley Deal from the authentic rock group, Breeders, pled guilty to drug possession charge today, and she was sentenced to treatment in a rehabilitation center. This is their timeless rock classic, Cannonball. Love this band, love this song.
2001 - I was living in London when Alicia Keys released her debut album today, Songs in A Minor. I can remember well how her music and her vibe took over London, everything Alicia. I saqw her live during this time and she blew me away - check out this amazing performance at the Grammys, of Falling and a Woman's Worth. She is here for the long haul, no question.
1956 - They didn't like the music, but the old guard warmed up to rock'n'roll once they realised they could either cash in on it or cosy up to it, and the r'n'r exponent who warmed them up was Elvis Presley. When Elvis appeared, everyone watched or listened, such was his style, demeanor, his charm and charisma, and you couldn't fault his voice no matter what he was singing. Conservative old guard legends and stalwarts such as Ed Sullivan, Dean Martin and Milton Berle began cosying up to Elvis for a bit of rub-off, and so it was, tonight in '56, that Elvis Presley made his second appearance on Milton Berle's TV show, Texaco Star Theatre. This is the actual footage from that show, now 55 years old, and Elvis's charisma is as strong now as then, n'est ce pas?.
1956 - One of my favourite rock'n'rollers is Gene Vincent, without doubt one of the original pioneer architects of rock'n'roll music and rockabilly music. Like Elvis, Vincent's style evolved from a potpourri mix of gospel, country and western and thythm and blues music...his with a spoonful mixture of punk attitude added in for good measure. This is the day he released his song, Be-Bop-A-Lula, a song completely from left field for its time, in both rhythm, sound of the band, the heavy echo, and totally unique plaintiff vocal style, which has since been mimicked by thousands. First clip here is pure gold, with his band The Blue Caps on an early American music show, then 9 years later in Paris with a no-holds-barred band that had the spirit of punk...and a slower vesion of this rock/'n'roll classic, now in the top 100 rock songs of all time.
1957 - One of the songs that helped shape-shift rock'n'roll was Suzie Q, released by Dale Hawkins more than half a century ago today. Hawkins was a pioneer American rock singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist who was often called the architect of swamp rock boogie, as can be heard with the riff on his song, Susie Q. Here's a song that has been covered by so, so many rockers in subsequent years, the best selling and most popular of which was by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The song kind of kick started their career. Without doubt Dale Hawkins was one of the originals, as un-heralded as he remains. He threw his two bob's worth into the melting pot. There was a video kicking around of Evans performing the song, but it's disappeared, so instead how about CCR founder John Fogerty's version from just last year?
1959 - This is the day the young man, Robert Zimmerman, graduated from high school in Hibbing, Minnesota, not that long before he changed his name to Bob. Zimmerman was raised in a Jewish family and spent much of his youth listening to radio; firstly the powerful blues and country music stations, and later early rock and roll. He formed his first band, The Golden Chords, while still at high school, and chose the pseudonym Elston Gunn for himself, playing a few concerts under this name, during which time he was actively involved in the local Dinkytown folk music circuit, where he soon began introducing himself as Bob Dylan. He quit formal studies in early 1961, eventually lobbing in New York City to perform, and to visit his ailing idol Woody Guthrie. Living in Greenwich Village and playing in small clubs, he soon gained recognition, and in September of that first year, after a glowing review in the New York Times by critic Robert Shelton, legendary music talent scout, producer and connoisseur of fine music, John Hammond, became interested. Hammond was and remains a music legend, doyen of music, having signed acts such as Bessie Smith, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, Pete Seeger, and since Dylan, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Arthur Russell, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. So Hammond signed Dylan to Columbia Records. When he retired in 1975, it was appropriate that Dylan sing at his retirement celebration event. And he did. This is a very special performance from Dylan and three band members Scarlet Rivera on violin, Rob Stoner on bass and Howie Wyeth on drums. They toured with Dylan in 1975 as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue. The tour began the following month after this performance. Dylan’s voice is awesome in this period bearing some gruff, grunt, sadness and tenderness.
http://njnnetwork.com/2010/02/bob-dylan-sings-on-john-hammond-tribute/
1964 - Before he was Bowie he was Jones, David Jones. And his band was called the King Bees, and this is the day they released their debut record, Liza Jane. He eventually changed his name from David Jones because that was also the name of a singer from the Monkees, but under the Jones moniker he and his band were playing Rolling Stones-styled white boys' R&B-rock'n'roll. Their sound was very much in the rough sub-London-blues strata inhabited by too many groups to count in 1964, with a repertoire full of staples like Hoochie Coochie Man and Got My Mojo Working. A press release of the time listed Jones'/Bowie's favorite vocalists as Little Richard, Bob Dylan, and John Lee Hooker. The music was a long way from what Bowie would become famous for in the 1970s, and a good deal less original. Nonetheless, Davie Jones & the King Bees attracted the interest of manager Leslie Conn, who producing their first single and arranged for it to come out on the Decca subsidiary Vocalion. The A-side was a rearrangement of the Black spiritual Liza Jane, for which Conn took the songwriting credits. Although shunned as worthless by some Bowie biographers, it wasn't a bad British R&B effort for tis time; brash if typical and derivative. Bowie/Jones sang and played saxophone, an instrument he would rarely return to in his lengthy career. The B-side, a cover of the obscure Paul Revere song Louie Louie Go Home, was lousy. Jones/Bowie soon left the King Bees, moving on to his next group, the Manish Boys. So here's his first single on 45 plastic record, followed by an extraordinary video of a 17 years-old Bowie in his real persona, David Jones, on BBC television, with his campaign-from-the-heart against the cruelty of persecution for people with long hair. Seriously!
1968 - This is the day when The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared live on Dusty Springfield's TV show, It Must Be Dusty. Not only that, but Hendrix sang a duet with Dusty, only trouble is, television station ATV wiped the tape. BUT a bright spark somewhere in England knew the significance of the duet, and filmed the television broadcast performance - only half of it, as it turns out, on a super 8mm film camera, and the result is as follows. This is a rare super gem!
1971 - Do you like sweet music? How about this James Taylor beautiful, classic, You've Got A Friend, released 40 years ago today. This is the original version, original video, with Carole King playing piano. Classic, beautiful.
1974 - Along with guitar player and rock archivist, Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith recorded her first song 37 years ago today. It was her version of the Jimi Hendrix classic, Hey Joe, only with a spoken forward slam to Patty hearst. This is the legendary Pattie Smith and her band, live on the London TV show, Old Grey Whistle Test, with this blisteringly original version of Hendirx's Hey Joe.
1995 - Kelley Deal from the authentic rock group, Breeders, pled guilty to drug possession charge today, and she was sentenced to treatment in a rehabilitation center. This is their timeless rock classic, Cannonball. Love this band, love this song.
2001 - I was living in London when Alicia Keys released her debut album today, Songs in A Minor. I can remember well how her music and her vibe took over London, everything Alicia. I saqw her live during this time and she blew me away - check out this amazing performance at the Grammys, of Falling and a Woman's Worth. She is here for the long haul, no question.
