The PBS American Masters series presents My Train A Comin’, a documentary about the life of Jimi Hendrix, who died at the age of 27. The documentary features previously unseen concert footage and home movies. For example, the movie includes recently discovered footage of Hendrix at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival. My Train A Comin‘ also contains interviews with people ranging from Paul McCartney to Hendrix’s girlfriend Linda Keith. [May 2014 Update: Unfortunately, the full PBS documentary is no longer available online.]
The American Masters website features a number of extras related to the documentary, such as outtakes and an interview with director Bob Smeaton.
What is your favorite part of My Train A Comin’? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Continuing his comeback tour after his appearances on America’s Got Talent, Marty Brown recently appeared on Nashville’s Channel 5 on the show Words & Music. On the show, artists discuss and play their songs. On this episode, Marty Brown played his new single “Whatever Makes you Smile” and “I’m From the Country.”
In introducing his single, “Whatever Makes You Smile,” Brown explained how his wife Shellie tricked him into appearing on America’s Got Talent. [Update: Unfortunately, the video of the show is not currently available for embedding.]
Interestingly, Brown explains how the producers of America’s Got Talent knew about his 1990s recordings from the very beginning. In these Internet days, that news is not very surprising, but the revelation helps further debunk some Internet commenters who had surmised the show’s producers did not know Brown had earlier recorded some records.
I’m hoping we see Brown performing on some more TV shows. Marty Brown’s got talent.
What do you think of Marty Brown’s new single? Leave your two cents on the comments.
On November 3, 1962, the song “He’s a Rebel” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The single listed the song’s singers as The Crystals, and that is the name you will still see next to the song today.
But the famous recording was actually made by another group.
Recording of “He’s a Rebel”
Back in the early 1960s, producer Phil Spector rushed to have one of his groups record “He’s a Rebel.” He was in a hurry because a competing artist planned to record the song too.
But at the time, Spector was in Los Angeles and The Crystals were in New York. So, Spector’s other option was to produce the song with another group. He arranged for recording the song with the unknown group The Blossoms, headed by Darlene Love.
The record, though, was credited to the better-known Crystals. The song became a hit for The Crystals, which led to them having to lip synch to Darlene Love’s voice on national TV.
The Real Crystals
The Crystals continued to record using their own voices, scoring big hits with songs like “Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)” and “Then He Kissed Me” in 1963.
Darlene Love
Darlene Love did okay on her own too. Spector produced her singing one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” Until the show ended, Love annually sang the song on David Letterman’s show.
Love eventually became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame too. Here Love sings “He’s a Rebel” in 2010 with the cast of the play Million Dollar Quartet, showing she still has the voice.
What is your favorite girl group song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Paul McCartney recently released his video for the song “Queenie Eye,” which appears on his new album New (2013). The title of the song comes from a childhood game, and the video features a number of famous folks, including Maryl Streep and Johnny Depp. Check it out.
Is “Queenie Eye” another McCartney classic or just so-so? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The legendary Lou Reed passed away today at the age of 71. His catalog of music with Velvet Underground and by himself and others like Metallica includes a number of classics, such as “Sweet Jane” and “Walk on the Wild Side.” One of my favorite Lou Reed songs is “Dirty Boulevard,” which appeared on his 1989 album New York.
In the following clip, he performs “Dirty Boulevard” on saxophonist David Sanborn’s short-lived NBC TV series, Night Music, in 1989.
