“If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’.” said John Lennon about his hero Chuck Berry.
Chuck Berry is the King of Rock and Roll and he was also a character. He toured with just his guitar and no band. Everybody can play Chuck Berry standards and a local pickup band is cheaper than a touring troupe. Continue reading
‘All Along The Watchtower’ – Bob Dylan, Santiago Chile 2012
Readers of Rolling Stone Magazine voted Bob Dylan’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’ covered by Jimi Hendrix the most popular cover of all time.
On May 23, 2012 Bob Dylan will celebrate his 71st birthday and he’s still rocking it out, here recorded in Chile on April 30, 2012.
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Levon Helm at Newport Folk Festival 2008 (photo credit WFUV Flickr Creative Commons non commercial)
Rock musician, actor and author Levon Helm is being remembered by many people since his death last week. Some are of those people famous and some like me, not. When I saw Levon Helm in The Last Waltz, it changed my live forever.
But the memories are strong. Share your remembrance of Levon if you like. Continue reading
“Where Are You Know” Mumford and Sons
By Stephen Pate – Mumford and Sons performed at the Ryman in Nashville, TN on March 6th, 7th and 8th. The band of young folk rock enthusiasts delighted the crowd with new material and songs from their popular CD.
Mumford and Sons are touring constantly. The played the White House on Wednesday evening this week. They play SXSW this weekend.
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Bob Dylan from his High School Yearbook
Edith Flynn has announced she is writing a book about her life with Bob Dylan, growing up in Hibbing, Minnesota with the Bard of the 60s.
“I’m gonna write it and make a million bucks,” said Flynn.
“Everyone is writing books about Bob Dylan and I want to write one too,” she said in an exclusive NJN Network interview. Continue reading
Dharma auditions for Bob Dylan’s band in 1999 segment of Greg and Dharma
Fans were surprised by the Bob Dylan cameo on Greg and Dharma.
The episode from Greg and Dharma is called “Play Lady Play.”
Greg plays the know-it-all who missed seeing Bob Dylan because he dismisses Dharma’s band as inconsequential. Then Dylan shows for a practice session with the band. Continue reading
Phil Collins
Phil Collins is back to singing because he can’t drum anymore. His hands won’t hold the sticks let alone perform complex drumming patterns. At the young age of 59, Phil Collins has a disability.
Collins had been the lead singer and drummer of Genesis, a soloist and collaborator with many musicians including Eric Clapton. He has a long time musical partnership with Peter Gabriel. Collins hits include You Can’t Hurry Love, Sussudio and In the Air Tonight.
Years of poor posture on a drumming stool is blamed for damage to the nerves in the spine. The vertebrae damaged the nerves permanently.
“Susan Sontag said we all carry two passports: one for the land of the well, one for the land of the ill,” Mia Farrow noted. “Any minute, the passport for the land of the well can be revoked, and you’re in another land entirely.” Passport to Land of the Well is Revoked
“There isn’t any drama regarding my disability and playing drums. Somehow during the last Genesis tour I dislocated some vertebrae in my upper neck and that affected my hands. After a successful operation on my neck, my hands still can’t function normally. Maybe in a year or so it will change, but for now it is impossible for me to play drums or piano. I am not in any distressed state—stuff happens in life.”