Better known as the “Man in Black”, John R. Cash was born February 26, 1932 and passed on September 12, 2003. His music has stood the test of time, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
As stupid as it sounds, I learned about the Man In Black through the movie “Swingers” when we learn that a character in the movie is named after a the Johnny Cash Song “A Boy Named Sue.” If you haven’t seen the movie (which is a personal favorite of mine) you can catch the scene at around the 35 second mark in the video at the link here.
Such a classic scene. Johnny Cash’s music is classic as well. “I Walk the Line“, “Folsom Prison Blues“, “Ring of Fire“, “Man in Black“… all Johnny Cash classics. If you’re not familiar with those songs, maybe you should google them. I’m not going to embed them here. Rather, I’d like to list 9 interesting facts that I found at this link. Stuff I didn’t know, that you may find interesting or amusing:
1. Johnny Cash started smoking when he was 12 years old.
2. His first gig with the Tennessee Two was playing for a group of elderly ladies in a church basement.
4. Roy Orbison was Cash’s next-door neighbor in Tennessee for over 20 years.
5. An ostrich attack left Cash with five broken ribs and internal bleeding.
6. Muhammad Ali wrote a poem for Cash called “Truth” which Cash kept locked in a vault.
7. According to his autobiography Cash, if he were stuck on a desert island, Cash would bring Bob Dylan’s The Freeweelin’ Bob Dylan, Merle Travis’ Down Home, Jimmie Davis’s Greatest Gospel Hits, Emmylou Harris’ Roses in the Snow, Rosanne Cash’s The Wheel, a gospel album by Rosetta Tharpe, “something by Beethoven,” and You Are There by Edward R. Murrow.
8. Cash suffered from aviataphobia (fear of flying) and ophidophobia (fear of snakes).
9. In the Air Force, Cash wrote short stories under the pen name Johnny Dollar.
There’s so much music out there these days that unless by some divine intervention, you may never hear some of the best music that’s ever been recorded. If it weren’t for a bachelor party down in New Orleans, I probably would have never heard of Ernest Kador, Jr. (February 22, 1936 – July 5, 2001), professionally known as Ernie K-Doe.
It’s been a few years so I may fail to remember all of the details, but a close friend of mine decided to have his bachelor party in New Orleans. It was after Hurricane Katrina hit, so the groom-to-be decided to mix in some community service with the bar hopping. We woke up early one morning and took a shuttle down to the Lower Ninth Ward and spent the day painting walls, hammering in floors, throwing out debris, etc. in a temporarily abandoned theater of a local high school. Drenched in our sweat (and a little blood) by day’s end, we really felt like we had done some good for the local community.
Me painting some doors at school in the Lower Ninth Ward.
Afterwards, the person who facilitated the community service for the day suggested we head to a local spot, in the heart of Treme, called Mother-In-Law Lounge for some traditional New Orleans’ eats. We picked up some crawfish and other local cuisine, and drove up to this small, unassuming “lounge”. We walked into the side yard, and was immediately approached by spritely, enthusiastic, elderly woman with maroon dyed hair. Our guide introduced her as Miss Antoinette.
Miss Antoinette ushered us into her establishment and started to gush about her late husband, Ernie K-Doe. She explained to us that the lounge had been completely destroyed by Katrina, but that the community came together to rebuild the lounge and the city. She explained that the bar was opened by her late husband and was named after his only number one hit song, “Mother-in-Law”, which was written and produced by Allen Toussaint and which is possibly THE biggest hit in the history of New Orleans R&B.
Some of the fellas with Miss Antoinette and Ernie K-Doe’s statute.
I was so taken by Miss Antoinette’s personality, and probably a little taken by the life-size statue of Ernie in standing near the entrance, that music unheard, I went ahead and bought compilation album of Ernie’s greatest hits. After all, Antoinette said that her late husband was the self-proclaimed “Emperor of the Universe”, so how could I not buy the Emperor of the Universe’s greatest hits? LOL. We ate, and drank, then head back to our hotel rooms to get ready for the evening.
I popped in the CD, and the first song was “Here Come the Girls”, a song that was also written by Allen Toussaint. It was the first time I had ever heard the song, and I was immediately blown away. Why had I never heard this song before? I love a good horn section, and this song has it. Ernie’s vocals were soaked with attitude. And the hook does what it’s supposed to do … and it hooked me in for the rest of the album. This was New Orleans R&B, and I’m glad I found it. The rest of the album is solid, and I’ve posted a few of my favorite songs below:
1. “Here Come The Girls”
2. “Back Street Lover”
3. “Whoever is Thrilling You (Is Killing Me)” [which was also covered by Rufus]
4. “Fly Away With Me”
Miss Antoinette died the following year of a heart attack on Mardi Gras Day at the lounge. The lounge is still open, and hopefully it stays open for years to come. I’ll always have fond memories of the evening we spent with her, and learning about some essential New Orleans music. Thankfully, we still have The Emporer of the Universe’s music.
R.I.P. Ernie K-Doe and Miss Antoinette. You’ve helped write a chapter in my life, and it comes with a soundtrack.
On this day, February 21, 1933, Eunice Kathleen Waymon, better known as Nina Simone, was born. Below are videos of her performing live some of my favorite songs from her catalog.
I was able to find a recording of Nina’s entire set at the 1976 Montreaux Jazz Festival. The clip of “Backlash Blues” is from that show. The entire set is amazing and is: “Little Girl Blue”, “Backlash Blues”, “Be My Husband”, “Wish I Knew how It Is To Feel Free”, “Stars”, “Feelings” and “Africa”. If you have some spare time, it’s a classic performance of music legend. Very highly recommended.
February 20, 1967, one of the most iconic figures in rock music was born. Kurt Donald Cobain, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana. Nirvana’s legacy is well documented. They made “alternative music” cool, bringing that which was part of the “underground” into the foreground, and popularized a new genre of music that we call “grunge”.
Whether he wanted it to or not, Kurt Cobain became the voice of a generation. For all of the Gen X kids, his voice spoke to our frustrations and Nirvana’s music was the outlet. His early death immortalized his legacy, and it is a shame that there isn’t more music with him featured out there.
Below are three video clips of my favorite Kurt Cobain moments:
1. For Nirvana’s MTV unplugged TV performance, Nirvana closed with “Where did you Sleep Last night’. The song itself is heavy and brooding, and quite repetitive. Kurt’s vocals starts off muted, and suspicious, but slowly rises to intense accusation. As he escalates the tension throughout the song, it culminates (at around the 4:40 mark) in the deepest and most intense breath in taped music performance history. A breath, which to me, signifies a final realization that he in fact knew where his lover was. So intense. The exact way I want to remember Kurt Cobain.
2. If you google “Kurt Cobain, interview” and watch whatever is pulled up from the search engines, you will see that Kurt Cobain was real person. Very human. The following interview is quite long (20 minutes), but it’s the kind of interview that made his fans adore him. No pretentiousness. Honest talk.
3. When Nirvana was asked to play for England’s “Tops of the Pops”, and play to a pre-recorded, instrumental track, the band decided to have some fun at the show’s expense. With the band faking to play their instruments, and Kurt doing his best (or worst) Johnny Cash impression, this is pure comedy awesomeness.
4. I’ve only read about this, but damn … I wish I was there.
“Amidst rumors that Nirvana was breaking up, not to mention Kurt Cobain’s questionable mental and physical state at the time, the band makes a scheduled appearance at the annual Reading Festival. Many fans, doubting that Cobain will even show, is rolled out on stage in a wheel chair. Krist Novoselic addresses the sea of the people, “With the support of his friends and family, he’s gonna make it.” Cobain stands up, sings a Bette Midler tune, and collapses on the stage. He then rises to his feet and leads Nirvana in a performance that Novoselic calls his highlight of the year. If Cobain dressed in a hospital gown wasn’t funny enough, the band later performs Boston’s “More Than A Feeling” (Boston had said “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was a rip-off of their hit song). Cobain also delivers a classic line of stage banter during the set: This is our last show–until the next one.” – From IFC’s list of “Top 10 Nirvana Moments”. http://www.ifc.com/fix/2009/04/lists-top-10-nirvana-moments
As an added bonus, here a list of Kurt Cobain’s 50 favorite albums (written in his own hand). I’m proud to say I have a lot of them:
“Tuesday Heartbreak” was track 4 on Stevie Wonder’s 15th album “Talking Book“. The album’s first track was “You Are the Sunshine of My Life“,which earned Stevie Wonder his first Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. “Talking Book” is a must have for anybody who wants vintage, hit-making Stevie.
“Tuesday Heartbreak” is one of my favorite tracks off of the album. Written by Steve, a notable player on the track is world renowned alto saxophonist David Sanborn. “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” was released as a 7 inch vinyl single. On the “B-Side” is “Tuesday Heartbreak”. My copy of this vinyl single is perhaps may favorite Motown collectible. I shot the video using a small digital camera…. it sounds a lot better in person… 😉
Hardly known, and often overlooked, Alphonso Johnson was an electric bass player of the highest order in the 70s. He has played alongside some jazz music’s greats, including, Horace Silver, Woody Herman, Chuck Mangione, and Chet Baker. His popularity rose to its heights during the late 70’s had was able to record solo albums while simultaneously playing Weather Report.
“Yesterday’s Dream” epitomizes Alphoso Johnson’s expertise in jazz fusion and funk. While the album, as a whole, is average, passages do reveal why Alphonso Johnson’s playing ability in those genres was at the time, and currently, in such high demand.
The album is mostly instrumental. Though there are some notable features and musicians on the album (i.e. Sheila E, Philip Bailey, Mark Jordan, and Grover Washington Jr.), the songwriting doesn’t live up to Alphonso’s, or his sidemen’s, talent. It’s a shame too, because with all the talent on the album, I wish I could remember something to hum other than just the introductory bass line riff at the start of “Balls To The Wall”.
“Yesterday’s Dream” is an interesting listen, but I’d rather save my money and buy another Victor Wooten album.
Below is the track and ratings with my video clips of the songs I enjoyed the most.
I was a freshman in high school when “grunge” was trending. I’ll be honest with you … I was more of a Pearl Jam fan, and often pledged allegiance to Pearl Jam over Soundgarden, but over the years I’ve realized that that was just plain stupid. Stupid, unfounded childhood preferences. To think of all the amazing music I would have missed out on if I still thought so close minded today.
Plain and simply, Soundgarden’s music kicks ass. This concert is supporting their current album “King Animal”. I wrote my review on the album here. They’ve been on an 18 year hiatus. Who knows whether their reunion was more for the money than for the music, but I could give two shits about that. Their music still kicks ass; their older songs holding fast against the sands of time- I think Morrissey would agree…..
I saw this concert tour as a musical blessing that couldn’t be passed up. I remember waking up early to get online for the ticket pre-sale (and those who know me, know that I HATE paying the ticketing service fees). I remember clicking the refresh button at least 50 times to finally get through to purchasing my tickets. That ticket confirmation email was like digital nirvana (no grunge pun intended). I mean there were some that thought that Soundgarden would never perform together again. After all, the band disbanded after their release of “Down on the Upside” on very acrimonious terms, most stemming from creative differences.
The concert was everything Soundgarden fan could hope for. They played a solid set-list, powering through over 2 hours of material, covering their entire catalogue. Now, if you were a “new” Soundgarden fan, you were probably expecting a bit more “excitement” from the set. The Wiltern had a “No Moshing, Stage Diving” policy, so that may have put a little damper on things. And while Chris Cornell has an amazing rock-and-roll voice, his stage presence is a little, to put it bluntly, boring. It also could have helped if it wasn’t so sweltering in the venue. But while the stage performance may have been a little lacking, their music makes up for it.
The acoustics in the Wiltern were adequate. My friends found some space stage right about 2/3 the way in from the rear. I spent parts of the show roaming the venue, and thought that the acoustics were better in towards the rear of the venue. I also thought that the bass was a little too overpowering at times, but that could have very well been a result of my cheap ear-plugs. I thought that on the louder songs of the set, Chris voice got drowned out at times. The drumming, in my humble opinion, was excellent. Matt Cameron smashed it, and was perhaps the most lively up on stage. Not the most perfect concert levels, but bearable.
A friend of mine noted that towards the end of the show, before the encore, Ben Shepherd- the bassist- appeared to be pissed about something, throwing his bass off-stage, stage left. I can’t speculate as to why it was done, but it was something to note… new inter-band turmoil arising?… or just band levels?…
A little personal side story to the show: I am a self-professed music dweeb. I’m big into music memorabilia. I bring a poster tube with me to shows. If that isn’t too dweeby for you … LOL. I was waiting in line for merchandise, when the guy right in front of me got an autographed copy of the poster. I asked the sales people what was up with the signed poster, and they said that Soundgarden signed a handful of the posters and they were randomly inserted into the pile. I offered some extra cash on the side if they could sift through the stack for another signed poster, and after flipping through the top 10 copies, they said they couldn’t go through the whole pile (apparently there were 150 posters printed for the event. I still bought a poster, but I told them that I would keep swinging by to check in.
The concert poster… unsigned.
I hit up the merchandise booth several other times throughout the evening, and the last time I showed up they said that there were no more signed copies of the poster. I was bummed, but figured that that was life. As I was about to head back inside to the show, the guy I had been bugging throughout the night just happened to add, “Well, there is 1 signed vinyl left…”
WHAT!?!?! Of course I’d buy that! In fact, it was the perfect night cap to the evening. After all, my deluxe vinyl is still in its shrink wrap. I tipped the guy $10 for hook up on the souvenir.
I ended up hitting up a bar where a buddy of mind hosts and DJs karaoke after the show. I showed him my treasure from the evening, and recounted some of the highlights- and not, I didn’t sing “Outshined” even though I had bothered my friends with a rendition of it all day. I called my cabbie (in LA, it’s a must to have the number of a cab that can pick you up without waiting) and we spoke about the show. I told him it was “great”, but what I really wanted to say was that it was “good”. I don’t want to diminish the concert in any way, after all the simple fact that they are performing again is, in its own right, amazing, but I still wanted more.
Below is the setlist. I’ve inserted a couple video snippets of “Outshined” and “The Day I Tried To Live” (a couple of my favorite songs). The Saturday setlist was the short setlist of the three day stint at The Wiltern.
In anticipation of the Soundgarden concert I’ll be going to later today (2/16/13) at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, today’s album review will be that of Soundgarden’s latest album, “King Animal”.
The picture above is the King Animal box set that I purchased. No, the picture above isn’t the box set that I purchased. Mine is still in its plastic shrink wrap. I’m a music dork, what can I say? Instead, I can only look at this picture and gain some satisfaction knowing that my set will rest in pristine condition until … well … who knows …
“King Animal” is Soundgarden’s 6th studio album, and first in 18 years. It was released on November 12, 2012 (one day before my birthday!) and received very solid reviews across the board, and I agree with all of them.
The production quality on this album is so much more polished than their prior albums. Each guitar lick is steady like a metronome, and pierces through without being intrusive, with the drums anchoring the steady count. I mean, just listen to “By Crooked Steps”.
Let’s not forget about Chris Cornell’s ability to wail through songs. His voice definitely sounds more mature than on the prior Soundgarden albums, but he can still wail. Check out “Black Saturday”. Though his voice may not be able to hit ALL of the notes he used to be able to sing, he’s smart enough to write melodies that fits the voice he as today.
The album starts with a bang. “Been Away Too Long” (very fitting title, by the way), the first track, is classic Soundgarden. Big and loud, it’s the kind of song that makes you want bust out the air guitar and fantasize about being a rock star. Other highlights for me include “A Thousand Days Before”, “Non-State Actor” and “Blood on the Valley Floor” (which, for me, sounds like a slowed down “Spoonman”). Coincidently, all of these tracks are in the first third of the album.
The rest of the album seems to be more toned down that the songs at the start of the album. I’m not sure if that’s what the band was looking to do, but that’s how it feels. I can’t say I particularly liked “Attrition”, “Taree”, “Halfway There” or “Eyelid’s Mouth”. They are average songs to me. In fact, and I hate to even say this, but “Halfway There” and “Eyelid’s Mouth” almost feels like <gasp> soft rock.
The album, as a whole, doesn’t finish as hard as it opens, but that’s besides the point. This is still a solid album. And if you are a Soundgarden fan, you will not be disappointed. I’m excited about what the future holds for them. The album was produced by Adam Kasper, but I’d love for them to branch out and get a cutting edge producer to do the next album… “Hello, is this Jack? Is Jack White there?”…
On February 14, 2013, George “Shadow” Morton passed away. The casual music fan won’t realize it, but Shadow’s legacy in music history is quite profound. Having introduced The Shangri-Las to the world in the 1960s, he set the stage for the evolution of women of music, giving women a “tough girls” persona, as compared to their contemporaries. Music historians and critics point to Shadow as one of the original building blocks of punk, pointing to the New York Dolls, and women in punk, particularly pointing to Blondie, as being influenced by The Shangri-Las.
He wrote all of The Shangri-Las biggest hits. His discography credits him with having worked with, or written songs that were covered by, artists ranging from Aerosmith to Janis Ian to Vanilla Fudge to The New York Dolls. RIP, Shadow. Your legacy should not be forgotten.
#DKLPHOTOS 