The Guitar Maniacs at WristRock celebrate our favorite artists' birthdays, passing or memorable dates in music history with the video blog, "This Day in Music".
This 1994 sixty minute documentary of the Legends of Country Blues Guitar feature some great ones you may not be aware of. Black History Month is the perfect time to call our attention to these great pickers that wallowed in obscurity far too long.
WristRock and the Guitar Maniacs are grateful to the University of Washington Department of Ethnomusicology Archives, BBC Lionheart Broadcasting and Vestapol Productions, a division of Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshops in Sparta, NJ for making this rare footage available and public. Celebrate National Black History Month by taking an hour or so and enjoying some of the greatest blues ever created that you probably never heard.
First off, a belated Happy 61st Birthday to Canton, Mississippi slide guitar legend, SONNY LANDRETH. Now based in Lafayette, Louisiana, he is very much in demand as a session player. He has played with many different artists including:
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Clifton Chenier, John Hiatt, Dr. John, Mark Knopfler, Kenny Loggins, John
Mayall, Maria Muldaur, Dolly Parton, Zachary Richard and Junior Wells
just to name a few. He uses a unique style in that his slide is on his little finger, freeing up his other three to finger pick, palm
and slap the guitar neck. Some of Sonny's best performances have been at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004, 2007, and 2010.
Graham Nash with David Crosby and Stephen Stills
Acoustic," Teach Your Children" Live
Happy 70th birthday to Graham Nash, ex-member ofThe Holliesand current guitarist and vocalist for Crosby Stills Nash &
Young.After 29 singles and 7 albums with the Hollies, Nash met David Crosby during a Hollies US Tour. In 1968, he left the band to form Crosby, Stills & Nash. He moved to California and became politically active in the anti-war movement. After launching their career at Woodstock with platinum CNY debut album in 1969, Neil Young was added. Nash has also done six solo LPs along with six CSNY albums and two w/ David Crosby. In 1979, Nash co-founded Musicians United for Safe Energy and played both the 1979 & 2004 M.U.S.E. concerts. Graham was inducted to the Rock HOF as a member of CSN in 1997 and The Hollies in 2010.
Exodus with Paul Baloff, "Bonded by Blood", Another Lesson In Violence
We honor the memory of Paul Baloff who suffered a stroke, went into a coma and whose life support was terminated 10 years ago today at the toung age of 41. Paul was the 1981 founder and vocalist for the thrash metal band. He also worked with Heathen, Hirax and Piranha but reunited with Exodus in 1997 until he was hospitalized in 2002. This rare footage of "Metal Command" and "Strike of the Beast" is from a 1985 gig at the Dynamo Club in Eindhoven, Netherlands, with the lineup of Gary Hold, Guitar; Rick Hunolt, Guitar; Tom Hunting, Drums; Rob Mckillop, Bass and Paul as frontman as usual. RIP, Paul.
The Spinners "Games People Play", "Then Came You", "Mighty Love", 1997
Today
we remember the loss five years ago of Billy Henderson, original member
and founder of THE SPINNERS, that soulful Motown vocal group of the 70's
and 80's. We list Billy at age 67 to diabetes in 2007, though some of
the group still tours on the oldies tours. The Spinners were formed in
1954 by five friends in High School while growing up in Royal Oak. Mi.
Nominated for 6 Grammys, their big hits were "I'll Be Around", "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", "Then Came You", "The Rubberband Man" and this one, RIP, Billy.
The scene outside Don Cornelius' Sherman Oaks, CA home this morning.
This certainly a below average kickoff to Black History Month. Today we learn that we lost a big part of that history with the tragic death of Soul Train creator, Don Cornelius at age 75.
One official account reports that a family member arrived
at his Mulholland Drive home in Encino this morning and found
Don with a "gunshot wound to the head that appeared to be self-inflicted",
according to Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner, Ed Winter. Authorities stressed Cornelius' apparent 'suicide' is being investigated by the LA Police Department and
the L.A. County coroner's office. This makes sense for three reasons.
First, he had just gone through a painful divorce. While it is not uncommon for people to suffer severe depression, even resulting in suicide attempts, another way people cope with that depression is to plunge themselves into their work or a new project. Interestingly enough, as recent as last year, in an interview with the LA Times, Cornelius said he was excited about a movie project he was developing about "Soul Train."
"We've been in discussions with several people about getting a movie off
the ground. It wouldn't be the 'Soul Train' dance show, it would be
more of a biographical look at the project," he said. "It's going to be
about some of the things that really happened on the show," Cornelius reported.
“Soul Train” had become the longest-running first-run nationally syndicated
show in television history, bringing African American music and style to
the world for 35 years. Inspired by Dick Clark's “American Bandstand,” he created the show to showcase black music. The former disc jockey introduced it on WCIU, a small Chicago UHF station, in 1970. It went into syndication within one short year as a result of its popularity with Chicago urbanites, and moved to Hollywood shortly thereafter. The show quickly crossed cultures and broke racial barriers by attracting white pop artists such as David Bowie, Michael McDonald and KC and the Sunshine Band,
The Who's Who of Motown appeared with Don on Soul Train. Don's thoughtful and insightful interviews in that rich, soothing, bass voice were as important to the show (and its audience) as the performances themselves. We remember Don's legacy through precious moments like this one:
Cornelius left as show host, but continued to produce the show through Soul Train Holding LLC and Don Cornelius Productions until 2006. He made his last public appearance at the 2009 BET Awards to present The O'Jays with the 2009 BET Lifetime Achievement Award. This was the year after he sold his Soul Train rights to MadVision Entertainment. The show leaving the air has not dampened the enthusiasm of its viewers, however. The Soul Train video channel has over 900,000 views, over 26 million uploads views and almost 30,000 subscribers!
Don did not only spotlight recording artists. The Soul Train Dancers were not only a chance for young dancers to gain exposure for their careers but influenced many of the pop culture dance shows that followed: Living Color, Fox's So You Think You Can Dance? and MTV's America’s Best Dance Crew.
The weekly line dancing by the Soul Train audience, the first of it's kind since the American Bandstand "Stroll Line", not only gave young people a chance to show their dance skills but was also a way to keep up with the latest fashion trends. No torn jeans, underdrawers hanging out, tee shirts and sneakers for this crowd. LA's Melrose shopping district thrived with all the young adults looking for the sheik styles they had seen on Soul Train the previous week.
It is hard to accept that someone who was in the planning stages of taking their brainchild, dream and labor of love to the next level... the Silver Screen... could suddenly decide to see that dream die with a single pistol shot. After all, if one's depression deepened to such a point to consider one taking one's own life, wouldn't one of their closest friends have some awareness of his mental state? According to the Associated Press, close friend and collaborator, Quincy Jones was quoted as saying, “I am shocked and deeply saddened at the sudden passing of my friend, colleague and business partner Don Cornelius.” The only logical conclusion is not even his closest friends saw this coming. Quincy was shocked? So are the more distant admirers who became accustomed to him closing his show for 35 years with the words, “... and you can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey!I’m Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and SOUL!”
Secondly, there appear to be conflicting reports on how the incident was reported. The LA Times reported a family member "discovered" Don's lifeless body on the floor when they arrived this morning. Unless they had a key, it's unlikely in this day and age, the well-to-do Don would have left the house unlocked in the increasingly higher crime area near Sherman Oaks. The New York Times, however, reported the incident differently:
"...'A person called the police from Mr. Cornelius’s house on Mulholland
Drive in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood just before 4 a.m. and reported
shots had been fired', a police spokesman, Chris No, said. When officers
arrived, they were let into the house and found Mr. Cornelius lying
lifeless on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head that appeared to
be self-inflicted..."
The first report refers to a family member casually arriving to find the body. The other, refers to an "unnamed person" calling police after hearing shots fired at 4am. There is an unresolved paradox between these two accounts no one has yet to explain. His admirers and his family, I'm sure will look forward to that discrepancy to become clearer as the alleged investigation continues. Authorities somehow have already apparently ruled out "foul play"... Yet, have not found a suicide note. The LA Police report family members are being questioned about his recent mental health. With two ex-wives and only two known children surviving him, Anthony and Raymond (from his first marriage to Delores Harrison), that shouldn't take very long.
Perhaps his second wife, Victoria Avila-Cornelius, the Russian lady who filed domestic violence charges and multiple restraining orders against him to ultimately have him removed from the beautiful home he provided might have some useful information. I'm sure all involved will urge the police to follow through on their investigation. Though Don's estate may be sizable, insurance companies don't pay off on suicide.
The last reason to call into question this tragic loss of an "American treasure" as Aretha Franklin so aptly referred to Don, many don't know that Donald Cortez Cornelius, after high school, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Korea. There are few who would question that the United States Marines produce heroes, not cowards. Psychiatrists access suicide as a cowardly act. To most, that would seem to suggest an unfitting ending for a war hero.
He had survived a 21-hour brain operation in 1982 to correct
a congenital malformation in blood vessels in his brain. While he was plagued by health problems in the last 30 years of his life, why give up now when it would have been so much less stressful to do so thirty years ago?
In an ironic twist, this proud African-American icon, who had done so much to gain exposure for talented young black artists, boost their careers, contribute so much to Black culture and serve as a role model for so many struggling young Black men would choose this day, the first day we celebrate National Black History Month to send a different message to all those he worked to inspire over the years.
Those that doubt his influence or lack of concern for the black community, need only watch this 3-minute clip from his 1974 interview with James Brown, featuring a 19-year old, hopeful Al Sharpton. Don set an example for all youth of how a young man can go from working as a starving insurance salesman, scrape up $400 for a broadcasting
course, land a part-time job as an announcer, newsman and DJ
on a low-wattage local radio station (WVON in 1966) and build a global entertainment empire. That he would choose this day to throw in the towel is, perhaps, the most perplexing aspect of Don's 'suicide'.
Don Cornelius in much lighter times
Though
some may think this video is in poor taste at this time, it is the way
we prefer to remember Don: Jovial, witty and the creative mind that
could even make old age and the Grim Reaper into a comedy sketch. Many
of the millions of his fans of Soul Train aren't willing to accept him
going out the way he 'chose' this morning. We fans hope the Los Angeles
Police aren't quick to accept it, either.
Don Cornelius was, indeed, a star in every sense of the word. He will be missed. We only hope that unlike so many unsolved and mysterious deaths in Los Angeles, where too often such cases are quickly 'filed and forgotten' (Natalie Wood, Marilyn Monroe, Lenny Breau) or killers roam free because because they know they can get away with murder in Hollywood (Nicole Brown Simpson, Bonny Lee Bakley), the police will do their due diligence to verify that such a man, that still had so much to live for, chose not to.
RIP, Don
Respectfully written and submitted in honor of Don Cornelius' lifetime of achievement,
Michael Burkett akaFat Mike, 45, bassist; NOFX/Me First/Gimme Gimmes
Sadly, we lost these great artists This Day in Music History
William "Cozy" Cole, American drummer, left us 31 years ago at age 71.Cozy played w/ Blanche Calloway, Benny Carter, Willie Bryant, and Cab Calloway. His "Topsy, Part 2" hit #1 in
1958.
Dewey Martin, Canadian drummer best known as a founding member of Buffalo Springfield passed away 3 years ago today at age 68. In addition to playing on all three B.S. albums Moving to Nashville in
1960, he was a session drummer for Carl Perkins, Charlie
Rich, Patsy Cline, Everly Brothers, Faron
Young and Roy Orbison among others.
Finally,This Day in Music History, let's take a look at the #1 songs according to Billboard Magazine 25 and 50 years ago today... This ought to knock some cobwebs out of your domes:
In the UK, 50 yrs ago today: "TheYoungOnes", Cliff Richard & The Shadows
In the USA, 50 yrs ago: "Peppermint Twist", Joey Dee & The Starliters
25 years ago in the UK: "Jack Your Body", Steve 'Silk' Hurley
25 years ago in the US: "At This Moment", Billy Vera & The Beaters
Tomorrow, February 1st, starts Black History Month. Wait til you see what we have in store inThis Day in Music in History. Bookmark usand enjoy our new Video Blog!
Phil Manzanera, "6PM", Wembley Arena, 2004 'Strat Pack' 50th Anniversary
Happy 61st Birthday to Philip Geoffrey Targett-Adams, aka PHIL MANZANERA, lead guitarist for ROXY MUSIC (1972-1983). Born in
London, he experimented with Spanish guitar in Cuba at age 5, moved to
Venezuela at 8 and began electric guitar. As a teen, he was influenced
by American 60's Rock & Latin American rhythms of meringue music. Phil replaced Dave O'List as the lead guitarist in Roxy Music just prior to the band's debut LP, Roxy Music (1972). It wasn't until 1982 with the platinum LP, Avalon, that Roxy Music gained popularity in the US. Avalon was the final Roxy Music studio album. Phil has pursued solo projects, recording his own LP, (Diamond Head, 1975) and producing for others including Steve Winwood, David Gilmour's On an Island project, John Cale and John Wetton. He has co-written with Brian Eno, Tim Finn, Robert Wyatt and Gilmour. Manzanera also co-wrote Pink Floyd's single "One Slip" from A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987). His latest project, Nth Entities is a beautiful collection of nine poems by Anna Le Does with the music composed by Phil. He will return to Cuba for a February 27 show w/ Jack Bruce (Cream) and longtime friend and Cuban singer, Augusto Enriquez. Phil was last in Cuba in 1991 to record a live LP with Enriquez’s band, Moncada. Here is a cut from ‘Manzanera Moncada Live at the Karl Marx'.
Sex Pistols 1976 TV debut, "Anarachy", So It Goes w/ host, Tony Wilson (RIP, Tony)
Happy 56th Birthday to John Joseph Lydon, aka JOHNNY ROTTEN, lead vocalist and "anti-Christ" of punk pioneers, the SEX PISTOLS (1975-1978). Born in London to Irish working-class immigrants, lore has it the 'attitude' came from being bullied in school by the Brits. After Lydon left the Pistols in 1978, he began his own band, Public Image Ltd, the experimental first post-punk group. The band released 8 LPs and a number of singles, including "Death Disco", "Rise" and "Disappointed", before they disbanded in 1993. In between reunion tours of both bands, Johnny has hosted a number of TV shows in the UK, US and Belgium. He seems to only get more outrageous and more pissed off with age. He was often quoted saying, "Turn the other cheek too often and you get a razor through it". Power to the "original Punk".
Slayer Live, "Angel of Death", Big 4 Concert, Sofia, Bulgaria
Happy 48th birthday to JEFF HAMMERMAN, rhythm guitarist and co-founder, along with Kerry King, of the thrash metal band, SLAYER, formed in Huntington Park, CA in 1981. Born in Oakland to a military family (his father was a WW2 vet and two brothers served in Vietnam), he and Kerry formed the band when Def Jam Records co-founder and legendary producer, Rick Rubin, talked him out of auditioning for a band called "Pap Smear". That was a good move because Slayer rose to fame with Reign of Blood (1986) considered by many critics to be the first "death metal" album. Slayer went on to do 11 studio albums (5 of which were certified gold), two live LPs, two EPs, a box set and being nominated for five Grammys (winning two). Anyone ever hear of Pap Smears outside a doctor's office? Real good move, Jeff.
"Got Love If You Want It", The Scratch, Slim Harpo
We remember blues harp and guitar legend, James Moore, aka SLIM HARPO, who we lost 42 years ago today following a heart attack at the young age of 46. Born February 11, 1924, in Lobdell, LA, he began performing in Baton Rouge in the late 1930's & early '40's under the moniker of Harmonica Slim with brother-in-law, Lightnin' Slim. In 1957, his debut was "I'm a King Bee" with this video cut the B-side of the record. It became a Grammy Hall of Fame single. He followed with "Rainin' In My Heart" (1961) and hit #1 on the R&B charts with "Baby Scratch My Back" (1966). Slim's tunes have been covered by some of the best inspired by early American blues: The Rolling Stones, Pretty Things, Yardbirds, Pink Floyd, Them with Van Morrison, The Kinks, Grateful Dead, ZZ Top, The Doors and many more. RIP, Slim. You left us far too early.
Monday, January 30, 2012
More Jan 30 Tributes: Marty Balin, Steve Marriott, Steve Bartek & Lightnin' Hopkins
"Volunteers" by Marty and The Airplane at Woodstock in 1969
MARTY BALIN, 70, was born Martyn Jerel Buchwald in Cincinnati, OHand is best known as original guitarist and vocalistfor Jefferson Airplane (1965 to 1971) and Jefferson Starship (1975-1978 and again 1995-2001). In 1985, he teamed up with Paul Kantner & Jack Casady to form the KBC band. After they disbanded in in 1989, he did a reunion album and tour with JJefferson Airplane. He has pursued a solo career since with his last LP, The Witcher (2011).
Steve performing with Small Faces, "Tin Soldier" (1967)
STEVE MARRIOTT, 65, was born in Essex, England and is best known as the guitarist/vocalist for the Small Faces (1964-1968) and Humble Pie (1968-1975). After being blocked from joining the Rolling Stones by Mick Jagger, Steve went solo until his untimely death in a house fire at age 44 in 1991. We remember Steve as the vocalist by which Jimmy Page measured lead singers and ultimately chose Robert Plant as a result. Enjoy a song he wrote for Small Faces "Tin Soldier" from 1967. RIP, Steve.
"Dead Man's Party" from a 1985 performance at The Ritz.
STEVE BARTEK, 60, was born in Garfield Heights, OH, started out while still in high school, writing songs and playing flute with the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. He is better known as the guitarist for the alt rock band, Oingo Boingo from 1979-1995. Since then he has collaborated with former Boingo member, Danny Elfman,composing music for TV series 'Tales
from the Crypt' and Steven Spielberg’s 'Amazing Stories' and orchestrated scores for such movies as 'Mission Impossible', 'Good Will Hunting', 'Spider-Man' and 'Milk'.
Lightnin' Hopkins, "Going To Louisiana", University of Washington, 1987
LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS(March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was born Sam John Hopkins in Centerville, TX and is a music legend known for his country blues guitar and songwriting. He developed a deep appreciation of the blues at age 8 when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson. He wrote between 800 and 1000 songs during his career started with his first LP Lightnin' Hopkins Strums the Blues (1959) . Lightnin' died in 1982 at the age of 69 from esophageal cancer in Houston 30 years ago today. RIP, Lightnin'. You are truly missed.
"Ain't Nobody's Business", Ruth Brown w/ B.B. King, 1993
Born Ruth Alston Weston, aka Ruth Brown (January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006), was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. Her 1950's R&B hits on Atlantic Records, like "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" gave Atlantic the reputation of being "the house that Ruth built". Ruth was also an activist within the music industry. When her career went through a revitalization in the '70's & 80's, she used her influence to press for musicians' rights regarding royalties and and contracts. This led to the forming of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Inspired by Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, she had 16 Top 10 hits, including five at #1 from 1949-1955. Her performances in the Broadway musical, Black and Blue, earned her a Tony Award for Best Female Star of a Musical, and a Grammy Award as Best Female Jazz Artist for her album, Blues on Broadway. In 1993, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll HOF. We lost Ruth to heart failure in 2006. RIP, Ruth.
