1965, Blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, Sonny Boy Williamson died in his sleep. Van Morrison, Aerosmith, The Who, The Animals, Yardbirds, and Moody Blues all covered his songs. According to the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods, touring the UK in the 60’s, Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “True Thrush” by Dan Deacon
Somewhere between the robotic synchronicity of Philip Glass and the electro-crunch of LCD Soundsystem that threatens to dance yerself clean, lies the sound of Dan Deacon’s latest record “America.” Some categorize it as electronica…others contemporary classical…I just listen and marvel at one of the truly original artists making music today. Case in point is this […]
Today in Rock History – May 24
1966, Captain Beefheart appeared at the Whisky a Go Go. West Hollywood, California. Supported by Buffalo Springfield and The Doors. 1967, Jimi Hendrix played at Gröna Lund in Copenhagen, Denmark. 1968, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan. 1968, Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull are arrested on charges of […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Baby Hold On” by Eddie Money
This ex-NYC cop burst onto the music scene in 1977 with his own brand of meat ’n’ potatoes rock that fit perfectly into FM radio formats of the day. It was rock impresario, Bill Graham, who signed the former Eddie Mahoney to his management company and secured him a record deal with Columbia Records resulting […]
Today in Rock History – May 23
1964, Marvin Gaye appears on American Bandstand singing “You’re a Wonderful One.” 1967, Pink Floyd performed at Town Hall in High Wycombe, England. 1967, Jimi Hendrix appeared at Klub Bongo in Malmö, Sweden. 1968, Johnny Lee Hooker, supported by The Hallucinations performed at Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts. 1968, Pink Floyd played two late […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Loser” by Grateful Dead
The mammoth box from the Grateful Dead archives “Spring 1990” features 18 discs spanning six full shows between March and April 1990. If you believe the powers that be at Dead.net, the Spring 1990 tour was “consistently great, where every show is excellent, not a dud in the bunch.” Now I saw my share of […]
Today in Rock History – May 22
1964, The Beatles arrived back from their first US trip at Heathrow Airport and were greeted by thousands of fans. Also on this day The Beatles scored their second chart topping album with The Beatles Second Album. It displaced Meet The Beatles! from the top of the charts. 1965, The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride ” surpassed Herman’s […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “All Apologies” by Nirvana
I don’t know how many people realized what we had with Kurt Cobain when he was alive…much less himself…but his contributions to music have grown enormously with the passage of time. No time to write today…it’s Yom Kippur and that would be considered work. So I will just leave you with “All Apologies” until tomorrow […]
Today in Rock History – May 21
1965, The Who’s second single, “Anyway Anyhow Anywhere” backed with “Daddy Rolling Stone” is released in the UK on Brunswick. Derek Johnson in New Musical Express calls is “a wild racer, with just about every conceivable gimmick…it commands attention and should do well.” 1967, Jimi Hendrix signed with Reprise Records on the US Warner Brothers […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “I’m Sorry” by Brenda Lee
Brenda Lee was 15 years old when she recorded her smash hit and Decca Records held back the release of the single because they thought she was too young to be sorry for, well, anything. When it was finally released on a single, it was the flip-side to the up-tempo hit “That’s All You Gotta […]
