Hometown Skiffle (1928)

We're all familar with the 1956 recording of "Rock Island Line" by Lonnie Donnegan and how that became the hit record which launched a thousand bands in Britain, and even crossed the Atlantic Ocean to become a legendary recording. I have the 45 RPM, though I doubt it is still playable. I picked it up in the "oldies" rack at Crawfords on Kings Highway in the late 1960's.

But the history of that song goes way back before Lonnie Donnegan recorded it. Donnegan, who was really named Tony, was a guitar/banjo player with Chris Barber's Jazz Band. Chris Barber was a trombonist who originally played with Ken Coyler's band. Coyler's name comes up frequently when reading about all the later British bands and the influence of skiffle on what became known as  the "British sound".

Tony Donnegan changed his name to Lonnie in honor of Lonnie Johnson, one of his jazz heroes. But the history of "Rock Island Line" really goes back to a 1928 American 78 RPM recording called "Hometown Skiffle" featuring Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, Will Ezell, Charlie Spand, The Hokum Boys and Papa Charles Jackson. You can find out more about each of these guys on Wikipedia.

The record was a two sided affair, so you had to turn it over to hear the whole song. It was recorded on Paramount Records and labeled as a "Race Recording". In essence, this record spawned a movement in Britain 30 years later which influenced the late 1950's sound and set the whole world rocking.

Here is another link to the original release.   

https://youtu.be/5XwzQhf801U?si=XJYgAcwBB8b21c0l

"Smile" - Nat King Cole and Charlie Chaplin

 

 

"Smile" has always been one of my favorite songs. I hum it to myself when I'm down, or alone. Charlie Chaplin wrote the tune for the film "Modern Times" in 1936. He even wrote  "Eternally" (later retitled as "Terry'sTheme") for "Limelight" in 1951. But "Smile" is what he is most remembered for.

The lyrics were added in 1954 by Geoffrey Parsons and John Turner. By 1954 Nat King Cole made it the standard we all know and love. Louis Armstrong did it as well. And even Michael Jackson did a version of it. So smile, everyone.....smile. 🙂

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

Charles Chaplin / Geoffrey Parsons / John Turner

"Hill Country Girl" - Will Kimbrough (2010)

Corn flower blue were her eyes and her hair
Spinning gold in the hot summer wind.
Soft were the words which she used when she told me
She wanted to still be my friend.

I said don't misunderstand me
She said I don't as she turned
Into the haze of the twilight and walked
down the road without shame or concern.

Her name was Martha and her mama died
the year before, she'd been sick for awhile.
I helped her Daddy that summer with work
on the farm, she was shy with her smile.

One night we talked until sun up
The next night we kissed until the dawn
These days I dream of my Martha
'til daylight comes hard now that Martha is gone.

Her daddy was quiet like men get to be
But his eyes said he knew everything.
One afternoon he put his arm round my shoulder
And said don't get hurt son you're still green.

That night I asked her to marry,
she laughed out loud until she wept
She said you saved my heart with your kindness and comfort
and care but I will not be kept

Some say she ruined me forever
Left me heartbroke and stubborn with pride.
Some say she made me the loner I am
I say her memory keeps me alive.

Now I keep up with her as she moves through the world
With a grace I admire from afar.
From Austin to Nashville to LA and back
to the farm in her dirty old car.

Her eyes are still my horizon
and her smile still a fine rope of pearls.
I can't  help it I guess though it's made me a mess
I'm in love with the hill country girl.

And though she don't love me yet I will never regret
All my love for the hill country girl.

"Rich Men North of Richmond" - Oliver Anthony

I've been selling my soul
Working all day
Overtime hours
For bullshit pay
So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles away

It's a damn shame
What the world's gotten to
For people like me and people like you
Wish I could just wake up and it not be true
But it is, oh, it is

Living in the new world
With an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just want to have total control
Wanna know what you think
Wanna know what you do
And they don't think you know, but I know that you do
Cause your dollar ain't shit, and it's taxed to no end
'Cause of rich men north of Richmond

I wish politicians would look out for miners
And not just minors on an island somewhere
Lord, we got folks in the street, ain't got nothing to eat
And the obese milking welfare

Well God, if you're 5 foot 3 and you're 300 pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds
Young men are putting themselves six feet in the ground
'Cause all this damn country does is keep on kicking them down

Lord, it's a damn shame
What the world's gotten to
For people like me and people like you
Wish I could just wake up and it not be true
But it is, oh, it is

Living in the new world
With an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just want to have total control
Wanna know what you think
Wanna know what you do
And they don't think you know, but I know that you do
'Cause your dollar ain't shit, and it's taxed to no end
'Cause of rich men north of Richmond

I've been selling my soul
Working all day
Overtime hours
For bullshit pay.

  

"Sweet Violets" and Other Songs Which Do Not Rhyme

 "Sweet Violets" by Jane Turzy, from 1951 was the first song I ever remember which didn't rhyme. It broke all the rules. I call it implied rhyming, which is the product of the rhythm. I was about 5 when I first heard it in 1959. My Mom had a huge collection of records from the late1920's up through the 1950's.

Another song which fit this category was "Moonlight in Vermont" by Margaret Whiting. That might have been a 78 from 1950. This was when record players had 4 speeds; 78, 45, 33-1/3 and 16 RPM's.

"Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen, recorded around 1967, almost makes the grade, except for that 3 line refrain, which rhymed "blind" with "mind". But that was more as a way of connecting, or resolving,  the verses, so to me it makes the grade..

"America", by Simon and Garfunkel, from 1972, is another real gem. That song says a lot with no rhyme at all.

"What a Piece of Work is Man", from the musical Hair, is another outstanding example of this type of song.   

There are scores of songs like these, right up through the present. They seem to be products of stream of consciousness, and so easily written. But it takes an innate talent to pull it off, marrying the lyrics to a rhythm,  rather than making the rhythm fit the lyrics.

Love to hear any titles you may have noticed which I haven't mentioned. Generally speaking I'm about 10 years behind the times. New or old, doesn't  matter.......

I Know I'll Never See You Anymore

                               

I can still see you there,
you're standing by the door,
wearing your red kerchief and your coat.

And though I think I see your face
so clearly in my mind,
I know I'll never see you anymore.

I can still hear your voice,
it's ringing in my head.
I can hear the words to every song.

And though I think I hear your voice,
so clearly in my mind,
I know I'll never hear it anymore.

Time's the perfect bandit,
it will steal your heart away.
It's robbed me just a little at a time.

And just when you think
that you've got nothing left,
She's taken everything you once called "mine".

 Written in 2009 or earlier.
Before I got the slides back.

"Beale Street Dynasty" by Preston Lauterbach (2015)

This book is yet another stone in the path of musical history in the United States. New Orleans may have been the point of entry for much of the music which came from Africa and the Caribbean, but Memphis is one of the towns in which it was reshaped into its own unique form. The Memphis Blues is different than let’s say Chicago Blues, or Delta Blues. They may all have begun at the same place, but the journey up the Mississippi left its own mark on the music with each town it passed through.

Just as in his earlier book “The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll”; which I reviewed here in 2011, Mr. Lauterbach brings to life the tumult of post-Civil War Memphis and the interracial society which sprang up there in the days before Jim Crow.  Memphis was a virtual Mecca of the way things should be regarding race relations. There were African-American lawyers, barbers, accountants, newspapers, hotels and everything else you would expect in any community in the 1870’s.

Politically the town was also seemingly color blind, and with the guidance of Robert Church, a mulatto steam boat Captain, the town continued to thrive. As a matter of fact, in many ways it was the exact opposite of other Southern towns. In many ways the African-Americans were prospering, and even leading, in the areas of finance and entertainment. Interracial marriage was a common thing and African-Americans enjoyed most of the privileges of their white neighbors.

With a deft hand and a keen style of writing, Mr. Lauterbach charts the course of change in Memphis from the riots after the Civil War to the time when it was the gem of the South around the turn of the Century. At that time it was said that any white man who spent even one night on Beale Street would never want to be white again.”

But, with the advent of the First World War came the first harbingers of change. Just as in New Orleans, the authorities clamped down on the music and the prostitution, and strengthened miscegenation laws to keep the races apart.

The story of Memphis, Robert Church and W.C. Handy; along with scores of other musicians; is widely known, but Mr. Lauterbach has taken the politics of the time and melded it with the cultural and criminal elements which made Memphis the place it was then, as well as today, and turned it into an all-encompassing history of Beale Street and the blues in Memphis . 

For a review of Mr. Lauterbach’s “The Chitlin’ Circuit” hit this link;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2011/11/chitlin-circuit-and-road-to-rock-and.html

"Maybe" - Two Versions of One Song

One of my favorite R&B songs is "Maybe", which was recorded by the Chantels in 1957. The song was written by Arlene Smith and producer Richard Barrett. It went on to become a huge hit for the group, selling over one million copies, which made them the first "girl" group to accomplish this feat. They are considered to be one of the earliest of the "all girl" groups, which would eventually spawn acts such as The Cookies, The Supremes, and The Shangri-Las, to name only a few. The influence of these goups also spread into the Rock and Roll genre, with artists like The Beatles covering songs such as The Cookies version of "Chains", which had been written by Carole King.

By the late 1960's even Janis Joplin was covering some of the best songs of the 1930's through the 60's. "Summertime" by Cole Porter comes to mind, as does "Little Girl Blue" by Rodgers and Hart. But one of my favorite covers by her was when she did "Maybe" on the "I Got Them Ol' Kozmic Blues Again, Mama" album. She infused that song with the blues, pure and simple. I have both versions on my flash drive, back to back, and sometimes even I have to stop and marvel at the two interpretations of this great song. There is also another live version of this song, by Janis Joplin, from the Dick Cavett Show, which left the audience near tears. This version is from Germany in 1969.

And this is a link to an interview with Arlene Smith, which I hope you will find interesting;

http://www.classicbands.com/ChantelsInterview.html

"When I Left Home" by Buddy Guy (2012)

Did you enjoy the film “Cadillac Records”? Wonder how much of it was real? Well, if you did you will love this book written by a man who was there. No, Muddy never painted the studio as shown in the film. If anyone would have been painting it would have been Buddy. Muddy was too busy making Leonard Chess money to be painting.

Told in a natural cadence which reflects Mr. Guy’s speaking style, this book is like a bridge between the early years of rock and roll, and the later days, after the British invasion. Mr. Guy has played with everyone under the sun; from Muddy Waters and Hubert Sumlin, to more contemporary musicians like Jimi Hendrix; who simply took Buddy’s music to the next level; and Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton; not to leave out his musical friendship with Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones.

Lonnie Johnson was his original musical inspiration, but he soon fell under the spell of performers such as John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon and Lightnin’ Hopkins. But it was his exposure to Muddy Water’s recordings which propelled him to want to become a professional musician. The record “Rolloin’ Stone” literally burned inside of him, forcing him to move to Chicago where the “blues was.”

While driving a tow truck by day, and playing by night in some of the seediest clubs in Chicago, he quickly became a fantastic guitarist and was gigging with some of the best musicians on the scene. But the money wasn’t enough to pay the bills and it would be a long, colorful struggle until the day he could quit that tow truck job and pick up his guitar full time.

Many people remember Junior Wells and Buddy Guy as musical partners; and they were. But the story of their often stormy relationship is one that will interest, entertain and inform you all at the same time.

The stories here which he tells will have you writing letters to movie producers for an encore of Cadillac Records. This is a quickly read, yet highly informative, book about the American music scene and the influence it had upon the world of music.

"Empire of Sin" by Gary Krist (2014)

This book is an enigma. It begins as an examination of the famous New Orleans Ax Man Murders of the early 20^th Century and just when you are settling in nicely with that gruesome crime, the book becomes a history of jazz and after that morphs into a collective biography of some of the greatest jazz musicians who ever lived.

So, just what is this book? Well, I’ll tell you; honestly this is one of the most invigorating and engaging books on serial killers and jazz musicians which I have ever read. The big difference in the two subjects is that, of course, while the Jazzmen chronicled here may have slayed their audiences night after night with the new sound called “jazz”, the Ax Man murderer was slaying his audiences permanently in private performances all over New Orleans for several years. His crimes are still listed as one of the most puzzling of all serial killers, including the infamous Jack the Ripper.

Mr. Krist is an accomplished author, and it was his name which drew me to the book, the complicated title notwithstanding. Just how he wound up juxtaposing the history of what was happening in New Orleans at the time of the murders with the history of jazz is somewhat of a mystery to me, but the justification for doing so becomes apparent as you read the book.

New Orleans was a wide open Southern city; if you could call it a truly Southern city at all. There was no real segregation and racial intermarriage was quite common before the early part of the 20^th Century. Gambling and prostitution were openly practiced, if not celebrated. And the Port of New Orleans brought together sailors from all over the Caribbean, Europe and Africa; not to mention an influx of Asians and South Americans. And in the days of Reconstruction all of these different people lived together in relative harmony.

At the close of the 19^th Century there was an influx of European immigrants; notably Irish, Italian, German and Jewish. Each group had their own customs; and music. The first race riots in the city were not; as one would expect; between blacks and whites. Rather they were between the whites and the Italians. The Italians had become known as a “mafia” like organization. They were involved in kidnappings and extortion. They also strong armed their own neighborhood grocery stores, and in some cases murdered the owners. But when a group of these men kidnapped a young child and killed him, the city exploded in the violence of revenge.

Against the backdrop of those events in 1890 the author traces the history of crime in New Orleans through to the end of the 1920 election and the advent of Prohibition. As I said earlier, had he only concentrated on this aspect of New Orleans at the time this would have been a great book. However, by choosing to combine and compare the history of crime in New Orleans with the creation of jazz, he has created a fantastic and lively portrait of one of America’s most beloved and eclectic cities.

The book sparkles with the names of the musical legends that gave birth to a new art form. The stories of these men; with names like Jelly Roll Morton; Sidney Bechet; Freddie Keppard; Buddy Bolden; Louis Armstrong and George Baquet; are the history of what became the modern day New Orleans of legend, but also of Storyville itself; that quarter where these men first blew the notes which would come to define an era, and a genre.

Here is a link to the Library of Congress recording of Alabama Bound by Jelly Roll Morton. This is the type of music I was listening to while reading this book. Listening to the music of the time while reading the book enriched the whole experience and made for a delightful reading of this wonderful book by Mr. Krist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjRlVk_IhfY  

"Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" - Betty Hutton

When I was about 3 years old I heard this record for the first time. It was a 78 RPM acetate. Some of my earliest musical memories are of my parent’s records. We had Patti Page doing "How Much Is That Doggy in the Window" and the Cast Recording of "GiGi" along with scores of others - but this was one of my many favorite first records. 

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I still do. And of course I am a big fan of Hoagy Carmichael; who wrote the song; as well. Ms. Hutton passed on in March of 2007 and I figure she’s still “dancing With the Stars”. I still love the way she moves!

"Live by Request" - B.B. King (2003)

If you have never seen BB King live, then this is as good as it gets!

The nickname "B.B." - which is short for "Blues Boy" - was first bestowed upon him in Memphis on Beale Street. It stuck. And the sound that he created has spawned a generation of guitarists, some equal to, and some even surpassing, this legendary musician.

This is a very personal performance, one in which B.B. seems a little nervous as he gets ready to field requests for any one of the hundreds of songs he has written and recorded over the past 60 years. And aside from the music, the stories he relates between phone calls and requests are gems; some of which appeared in his autobiography, and some that didn't.

The story of his guitar, named Lucille (he is currently on Lucille 18, though this film from 2003 has him playing Lucille 16) began in 1949 in a town called Twist, Arkansas. It was in a "juke joint", with a 55 gallon drum filled halfway with kerosene for heat. Two guys fighting over a woman knocked it over, burning the place down. BB ran back to get his guitar, (he claims to have been the first one out the door) and almost got killed. The next day he found out the 2 guys were fighting over a woman named Lucille, and so he named his guitar for her, as a reminder to never do that again!

Between each number he explores the impact that his music has had upon 3 generations, with particular emphasis on "The Thrill Is Gone" in 1969, which was on my first B.B. King album. That was the song that opened up the whole world to him, thanks in part to the "British Invasion", which had its roots in American rhythm and blues. Due to that influence, he went on his first world tour in 1970. And he hasn't stopped since.

Jeff Beck takes stage with B.B. for 2 numbers, "Rock Me Baby" and "Key to the Highway", and also helps him close the show with "The Cost to Be the Boss." With his inimitable style of playing, he is proof of the impact that B.B. King has had on so many musicians over the years, and by extension, us.

Calls for requests came from everywhere! All over America, North and South, even as far away as Argentina. One man called, relating how he met his wife 25 years ago at a B.B. King concert. In between playing and taking requests, B.B. also offered his advice on going to school, graduating, majoring in something that you like to do, while learning something you can make a living at. He also advises that young folks stay single until they're 40.

B.B. even had a story to tell about meeting Pope John Paul II, he gave him a guitar as a gift. Though you are never to directly touch the Pope, instead of handing the guitar to the Pope's aides, he offered it directly to the Pope, who took it. He was strumming it when B.B. left.

Packed with some of the best songs he has ever done, and playing with his long time band, B.B., who had a real problem playing during the '90's due to the constant pricking of his fingers to monitor his diabetes, has never sounded better.

This DVD came to me through the courtesy of George Peterson, one of the librarians at the Cornelius branch of the Mecklenburg County Public Library. We are both Buddy Guy fans and he bought this DVD in from his personal collection for me to see. That's what I love about the libraries; not only are they are a refuge for the soul, but also a place where ideas are exchanged and friendships are formed.

Happy Birthday to Rooftop Reviews!

It was on this date in 2009 that I posted my first blog. I celebrate it each year by either skipping a post that day or re-posting an old post; sometimes the first one; which is what I did last year. Sometimes I tell the story about how I started this thing to begin with. And each year it gets harder to think of something special to mark the occasion.

So, this year I decided on fireworks and a big festival. It was great. Wish you could have been there. The food was delicious, too! Seriously though; and I hate to be like that; what I have actually decided to do is to do nothing. It’s just another day.

Here is a clip of two of my favorite performers; Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. Did I ever tell you how Louis Armstrong got me involved in coin collecting? I was about 9 years old at the time. I had read that Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans on July 4, 1900. That set my imagination on fire! July 4^th was the birthday of our nation and 1900 was a new century.

Man, I wanted a piece of that for myself! Something tangible to hold in my hand that would make me feel as if I were holding a part of history itself; something which had actually been there at the time; a penny.

So, I went to the Hobby Shop on Coney Island Avenue and bought a 1900 Indian Head penny for about 50 cents. I was hooked. I wore that penny out; turning it over and over in my hands; even sleeping with it. The book I’d read said that Armstrong played for pennies in New Orleans as a kid. I couldn’t help but feel; make that know; that this was one of those pennies.

Anyway, this is what I do here. I tell stories to myself in the hope that someday my grandkids; and even great grandkids; will sort through all of the flotsam and jetsam of these posts, and obtain a better picture of the “old man” as a result.

Meantime, enjoy the video. It’s from the 1947 film “New Orleans” and serves as the title song, performed here by Billie Holiday on vocals and Louis on vocals and coronet. The song appears in the film several times as background music, and also by Armstrong and Holiday in a big band setting; but this is what I call the “performance” version. It’s also my favorite one.

And, if you really would like to see the first post of Rooftop Reviews from March 29, 2009 (which was also a Sunday) just hit this link;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html

Putamaya - World Music Series

For those not familiar with the Putumaya Series of World Music I should explain that this album is but one of many. There are Putumaya albums for virtually every type of music, and I have them all, courtesy of my local Public Library. As a matter of fact, these CD's represent world music in such a way that even the Mooresville Public Library, which does not have CD's, has these CD's. They are, literally, that valid, almost as much so as literature.

This album, "Americana", draws on every genre of American music, from the jazzy sound of Nora Roberts singing with The Little Willies, to the gospel sound of Terri Hendrix, all the sounds of American music are on display. The playlist may contain some names you have not heard before, such as The Little Willies, but these are the sounds that really drive the creativity of today's musicians.

1 Robinella • Down the Mountain

2 Mulehead • Frankie Lee

3 The Little Willies • It's Not You It's Me

4 Robert Earl Keen • Ride

5 Eliza Lynn • Sing a New Song

6 Old Crow Medicine Show • Wagon Wheel

7 Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez • Sweet Tequila Blues

8 Tim O'Brien • House of the Risin' Sun

9 Alison Brown • Deep Gap

10 Terri Hendrix • Prayer for My Friends

11 Josh Ritter • Harrisburg

12 Ruthie Foster • Hole In My Pocket

It's interesting to note that many of the progressive sounds we listen to in music are derived from the basic folk and bluegrass scenes, with a touch of jazz thrown in. And when it's all lumped together it becomes a uniquely American sound.

This album is so good that I keep a copy in each car and on my flash drive. I just don't want to lose it!

"We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel

This was a great record, and so is this video. At the time of the records release the Cold War had just come to an end. This film is a review of the world from 1945-1989, done in quick frames as in "Classical Gas." That video reminded me of this one and after watching it I felt like posting it here to share.

Even if you're not a history buff, the song itself really does rock! And hit the link to the alternate version, which though quite similar, is quicker paced and packed with more images.
Here's a link to Billy Joel's original video. For me, it doesn't rise to near the level of the previous two, which were made by fans. You decide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

Inspired by Mason Williams’ 1968 hit video/song “Classical Gas”, this one, too, will stand the test of time.

"The Very Best of Freddy King" - (2005)

If you are an Eric Clapton fan then you are a Freddy King fan. You just might not know it. Quickly scanning the first 3 decades of Eric Clapton’s career will give you some proof of that. From “Hideaway” with John Mayall in the 1960’s; to “Have You Ever Loved a Woman” in the 1970’s; and even on into the late 1980’s cover version of “Tore Down” on his “Journeyman” album; Clapton has never been shy in giving credit to those who came before him.

All of the songs represented here were recorded between August 1960 and July 1961 in King’s own studio in Cincinnati, Ohio. He used a house band instead of his usual working band based in Chicago. I don’t know why he did this. But the result is a collection of some of his all-time best work done in a clear and sharp style.

A native of Texas, King was born in 1934 in Gilmer. At 16 he moved to Chicago and worked in a saw mill. He spent nights working in the nightclubs, at first playing with 2 harmonica players; Little Sonny Cooper and Earl Payton. He cut his first record at age 22 in 1956. By 1958 he kissed the saw mill goodbye and began working full time as a musician.

At about the same time as this he was introduced to Sonny Thompson, a piano player who would go on to co-write most of King’s hits with him. 11 of the 25 songs on this CD were co-authored by King-Thompson. And, with the exception of 3 tracks his name appears in some capacity; even solo; as the composer of all the rest.

Peter Green of the original Fleetwood Mac was another huge fan of Freddy King and he recorded many of the same songs as Clapton did. The two were both products of the John Mayall music machine which seemed to spout great guitarists non-stop throughout the 1960’s. And while they all had somewhat different styles; they all had one big thing in common; they were all influenced by Freddy King.

"Good Morning, Good Morning!" - The Beatles (1968)

It's Friday the 13th so I thought you might appreciate something a bit upbeat for the morning; especially if you have to go to work. I'm lucky- I get to stay home. I'm not superstitious; I just don't like to take chances!

"Portrait of a Delta Bluesman" - Pinetop Perkins

This is the 3rd time in the past 5 years that I have posted something about Pinetop Perkins, the iconic jazz/blues pianist. He was still playing up until his death in 2011 at age 98.  Born July 7, 1913 he had been performing since 1927. At that time he played guitar, but he felt as if he were drowned out by the piano player. So, he took up the piano and a legend was born. The truth is that he hurt his arm in the 1940’s and the piano was easier on him.

This album is kind of like a personal story, with Joe Willie “Pinetop” telling stories about some of the wilder adventures on the road back in the 1930’s. The Chimney tale and the John Lee Hooker story are the two best. His wit and sense of humor were still intact until his passing.

In 1969 he was the replacement for Otis Spann in Muddy Waters Band. He was with Muddy for 12 long years; which sounds like the title for a great blues song. One of the most amazing things about Pinetop Perkins is that he did not begin to perform as a solo artist until he was in his eighties. And then he released an album per year for the next 15 years! He was even nominated for a Grammy in 1997; 2000 and again in 2005. That has to be some sort of record; to be nominated at age 92!

If you have never listened to Pinetop Perkins this album is one of the best ways to become familiar with both the man and his music. You will be enchanted by every word and note. Just look at those weathered hands on the cover. The leathery, worn skin tells it all.

Note: The photo above was taken in 2010 when Pinetop was performing in Spain. He was 97 at the time.

"Valley of Tears" - Solomon Burke with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

This is one of the most beautiful performances of this song you will ever hear. Gospel music is a balm for the pain in life. It gives hope when all seems to be lost. The sorrow turns to hope and joy when set to music. In the world of gospel music, there is Aaron Neville, and then everyone else. The only one, in my opinion, who even comes close, is Solomon Burke. You Tube him sometime and treat yourself to an incredible wealth of music from his 6 decades of recording.

In this beautiful spiritual;  written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings; Solomon Burke teams with the writers to deliver a beautiful performance of a haunting song, while all the while holding out hope that he will overcome his troubles. There is another gospel song by the same name as this one, written by Antoine "Fats" Domino and Dave Bartholomew. It was also recorded by Buddy Holly as well as Solomon Burke. But this is the one that really hits "home" for me.

Lamenting that people “stand in line- just to hear me cry” underscores the sorrow which the singer feels deeply, yet the audiences hunger to see his suffering lifts him up spiritually. He will not go to the valley. Instead, he sings his way through the pain, all the while praying for the deliverance of those who would rather see him suffer, if only to assuage their own pain.

The intersection of Solomon Burke with Gillian Welch gives further credence to our ability to overcome our superficial differences when we concentrate on our mutual emotions and needs. And music is such a great place to begin that journey.

Note: real life partners Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have been quietly influencing American independent music for several decades now. Her singing and writing, along with his deep love of playing guitar, combine together in such a way so as to communicate their love for one another to the audience without ever saying a word to one another. They are among my favorite musical artists. 

Valley of Tears” by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

I've been riding high, but i don't know why

everybody wants to send me down to the valley of tears.

It's a sunny day and i'm on my way

but everybody wants to send me down to the valley of tears.

People stand in line just to hear me cry.

I wanna know the other side

but everyone i choose only brings bad news.

Everybody wants to send me down to the valley of tears.

People stand in line just to hear me cry.

I wanna know what's on the other side.

I've been riding high, but i don't know why

cause everybody wants to send me down to the valley of tears.

It's a sunny bright day and i'm on my way

but everybody wants to send me down to the valley of tears.

Everybody Loves Music - Jazz for Cows

If you need any further proof that music crosses all boundaries of life, you need look no further than this footage of cows in Southern France, which is from 2011. At first, the cows react to a lone tuba player. Then, as more musicians join in, more cows appear. Who says that animals have no soul?