In doing early research for my next Nicky Hopkins post, I landed on the Jefferson Airplane’s 1969 album, Volunteers, because Hopkins plays on five tracks. Unfortunately, his prodigious talents couldn’t pull the record out of a nose dive. I get that the group has many adherents who appreciate their wild, shirtless sensibility, but I don’t […]
Read MoreThe Night Elvis Opened for Johnny Cash
My father was a bit of a storyteller and his favorite story to tell was of the time he saw Elvis Presley. Not the second time, on January 18, 1956, at Austin Coliseum, when the King was part of the Hank Snow tour. And not the third time, on April 13, 1956, at Municipal […]
Read MoreBob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs
A couple of weeks ago, Bob Dylan gained a measure of notoriety for giving a speech in which he sprayed buckshot in the direction of Merle Haggard, Tom T. Hall, Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, and the classic songwriting team, Leiber & Stoller. In an age where internet comment sections are like speed dating […]
Read MoreOld Times Were Good Times: Remembering The Stray Gators
Bassist Tim Drummond passed away on January 10. If that name means something to you, it’s no doubt due to his relation to several prominent frontmen, including Bob Dylan, James Brown, Conway Twitty, Ry Cooder, CSN, and most importantly, Y, Neil Young. Drummond’s lowdown, self-assured basslines could be funky, twangin’, behind the beat, in […]
Read MoreAdios Lounge Interviewed by Blues.Gr
A couple of weeks ago, my interview with Michael Limnios of Blues.Gr was posted to his website of the same name. Blues.Gr is “the online community of people that got the blues in Greece” and it blows me away that there is such a thing. 100 years ago, if for some inexplicable reason you […]
Read More