Cigarettes and smack (heroin) are the two truly addictive habits I’ve known. You might add women,” he said. “My obsession centers on women—did then (when young) and does now. I can’t leave them alone.” – Ray Charles Once again Ray was on the move. One … Continue reading Ray Charles – Part II – Life on the Road
For several years now, the Music Enthusiast has done a series on a notable artist at the end of the year. Previous years have included Elvis, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, my tour with the Allmans I’ve done almost nothing about Ray Charles. Time to rectify … Continue reading Ray Charles – Part 1
Being an occasional post wherein I go into the vault and dig out tunes I’ve featured before so that they don’t permanently wind up in the deep hole of perdition. Back in the 70s, the Mahavishnu Orchestra was about as popular as a fusion band … Continue reading My Back Pages – Six From the Vault – Vol. 2
Wikipedia: “Henry Saint Clair Fredericks who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician, a singer-songwriter and film composer who plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments. He often incorporates elements of world music into his works and has done much … Continue reading A Six-Pack of Taj Mahal
Wherein we visit the original tune and a couple of covers to see how other bands mash it up … “Did Blues King Robert Johnson Sell His Soul To The Devil To Become The World’s Greatest Musician?” screams the headline on a blog. Did he? … Continue reading One Song – Three Versions – Stop Breakin’ Down
When I heard “Pride and Joy” on the radio, I said, Hallelujah! Stevie Ray Vaughan single-handedly brought guitar- and blues-oriented music back to the marketplace. He was just so good and so strong that he would not be denied. No one was interested in this … Continue reading Stevie Ray Vaughan – (Part Three) – The Sky is Crying
Word just came when I was writing this post that one of the great giants of rock and roll – Little Richard – has died. Good article here in Rolling Stone. Only one left from that era is Jerry Lee Lewis. Little Richard “He seemed … Continue reading Stevie Ray Vaughan – (Part Two) – Let’s Dance
As an amateur blues guitarist, this is – for me – one of the most meaningful, important posts I have ever done. In 4 1/2 years of blogging, I’ve featured a few SRV tunes but never done a series. Why did I wait so long? … Continue reading Stevie Ray Vaughan – Floodin’ Down in Texas (Part One)
A while back I did one of my “Tres Songs” posts and one of the featured artists was Boz Scaggs. At the time I said, “In 1969, he recorded his eponymous album with the Muscle Shoals rhythm section including Duane Allman. This is the album that … Continue reading A Song I Love – Loan Me a Dime – Boz Scaggs w/Duane Allman
This seems like as good a time as any for a blues roundup …. Albert Collins (pictured above) was one of the best blues singer/guitarists ever. I saw him once at a now-defunct mob-owned cavernous shithole in Boston called the Channel. Albert and his band … Continue reading Time for a Shot of Blues
