On July 9, 1962, Bob Dylan entered Columbia’s Studio A in New York and recorded “Blowin’ in the Wind.” It would be a year, though, before the recording was released on his album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. The song and album were a breakthrough for Dylan after his unsuccessful self-titled first album, with many crediting the song and album as a turning point for Dylan’s songwriting.
Most people, however, first heard the song from a source besides Dylan’s 1962 recording. Besides those who were lucky enough to hear him sing it in a performance, many first heard it in another voice. Before Dylan’s version of the song was released, Peter, Paul, and Mary had a pop hit with the song, which became a civil rights movement anthem.
This video captures Dylan performing the song on TV in 1963.
What is your favorite version of “Blowin’ in the Wind”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Several years ago, I saw a performer named Teddy Morgan perform to a small bar crowd in Manhattan. Having already discovered Morgan’s music through two friends, I was disappointed there was not a larger crowd for someone who made such great music.
But it is a tough business. The ups and downs of the music world eventually probably led Morgan to shift his focus from his talented work as the front-man of a band to being a backing performer for actor-singer Kevin Costner in his band Kevin Costner & Modern West.
You have to do what you have to do to survive. And the change allowed Morgan to make a living and play before much larger crowds than he was seeing out on his own. But I miss the music he might have made if he had continued on his prior path.
Teddy Morgan’s Early Career
Morgan grew up as a talented guitarist in Minneapolis recording his first album, Ridin’ in Style (1994), with a focus on blues. Allmusic lists an album from 1995 called Teddy Morgan & the Sevilles, but I have not been able to find it.
Although Morgan’s albums featured his singing, on other projects he often loaned his guitar skills to make other singers look good too. For example, he played guitar in a performance from 1994 backing up singer Candye Kane on the blues.
Below is another early Morgan performance where Morgan sings lead on a song when he was still focused on the blues. Here, he performs “Dear Ted Letter” with the Sevilles (Eric Mathew (bass), Esten Cooke (drums)) in July 1994 at the 19th Anniversary of Antone’s in Austin, Texas. July 12, 1994.
For me, though, Morgan’s best work so far came in his next four albums. Although the blues continued to color his work, these next albums blended his blues influences into albums that tended more toward roots-rock. Bob Dylan influenced Morgan’s music too, as Morgan occasionally covered some Dylan songs.
Louisiana Rain & Lost Love & Highways
His style shift reflected a geographic move after Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds heard the young Morgan in a bar and convinced him to move to Austin. Morgan’s next albums — Louisiana Rain (1996) and Lost Love & Highways (1999) — showed the influences of rock and roll as well as country music on his blues style.
Below is “Baby Don’t Leave Me” from Louisiana Rain (a song that at least one band, The Jelly Blues, has covered).
Lost Love & Highways included a sharp band called the Pistolas. NPR and Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker selected Lost Love & Highways as one of the best albums of the year. But apparently the sales were not there.
Below is the title song from Lost Love & Highways, showing the country influence:
In 2000, Morgan made another geographic shift, moving to Arizona. Morgan then released two more albums on small or independent labels: Crashing Down (2003) and Freight(2003).
I saw Morgan perform live soon after the release of Freight, which may be his best album. But by that time, he was reduced to trying to sell the CD out of a cardboard box on breaks during his performances. I bought two copies from him.
One of my favorite Morgan originals is the song, “Along the Way,” which is a great combination of blues and rock with a little twang.
Yet, it was clear that after four albums, Morgan was far from being supported by a big label.
Move to Nashville & Joining Kevin Costner
It appears with a relatively disappointing solo career, Morgan used his talents in other ways. He moved to Nashville, and he played on CDs for other performers. He also worked as a producer and used his other vast talents to stay in the music business.
And at some point, because of Morgan’s talents and based upon the recommendation of John Coinman, Kevin Costner asked Morgan to join his band Modern West.
Teddy Morgan still maintained his own website for awhile after joining Modern West. But it is focused on promoting his work with other artists like Alternate Routes and Tim Warren as opposed to promoting his own solo music. Morgan also has performed with The Alternate Routes in addition to his gigs with Modern West. By 2017, Morgan abandoned his own website for a period. In 2021, we learned through him that he has a new website about his songwriting and work producing other artists.
More recently, Morgan played guitar on and produced “Love Shine” for Kevin Costner and Modern West. The band released the video in June 2017.
I understand that, like all of us, Morgan has to make a living. Unlike many others, he is fortunate to be using his talents in something he loves. And I am thankful for the music Teddy Morgan has made. I am a fan of Kevin Costner’s movies and do not begrudge him pursuing other artistic endeavors either. Modern West consists of talented musicians.
But I still wish Costner would occasionally let Morgan play “Along the Way” on stage. And I wish Morgan were making more music on his own.
By himself, though, Morgan probably never had a crowd anywhere near as big as this one with Kevin Costner singing Bob Dylan’s “Mr Tambourine Man.” When you watch the video, Morgan is on the far right side of the screen.
Who is your favorite side-person in a famous band? Leave your two cents in the comments. November 2016 Update: Apparently, Teddy Morgan no longer maintains a website for his own music.
Although Help! (1965) never gets the same attention as A Hard Day’s Night (1964), the 1965 film from the Beatles is getting a special restored Blu-ray release. To celebrate, the company is giving viewers some outtakes and behind-the-scenes video on the making of the Beatles’ second film.
Help! was directed by Richard Lester, and of course it starred John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The plot involves a cult seeking a ring stuck on Ringo’s finger, and, well, there is a lot of Beatles music.
What is your favorite Beatles movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.
A lot of readers have been curious about the version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” played over the ending of America’s Got Talent this week. Because we always want to give our readers information about pop culture, it was Il Divo from their 2008 album The Promise. Il Divo is an operatic “pop” group that was created by Simon Cowell and features the international voices of Sébastien Izambard, Carlos Marín, David Miller, and Urs Bühler. [For more recent uses of the song on America’s Got Talent, see below.]
We initially thought the version may be by Mark Vincent, the winner of 2009’s Australia’s Got Talent, which would make sense. He was 15 when he appeared on the show and has recorded several albums like My Dream – Mio Visione(2009), which includes his version of “Hallelujah.” But if you listen closely to the end of America’s Got Talent, you will notice there is more than one singer in that version. And if you listen to Il Divo, you should recognize it.
September 11, 2013 Update: Of course, it would not be a competition with singers unless at some point one of the competitors sings the overplayed and misunderstood “Hallelujah.” So, last night on America’s Got TalentBranden James did a nice job performing the Leonard Cohen classic (see video in comments).
June 10, 2014 Update: Once again, the song “Hallelujah” made a prominent appearance on America’s Got Talent when this week the 20-year-old Anna Clendening, who explained to the judges her struggles with anxiety and depression disorder, gave an emotional performance of “Hallelujah.” Check it out:
What is your favorite version of “Hallelujah”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Bobby “Blue” Bland, one of the great blues and soul singers, has passed away at his Memphis, Tennessee home the age of 83. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame, Bland has thrilled audiences and influenced other performers since he began recording in the early 1950s.
Bland started out as a valet and chauffeur for B.B. King, but later ended up performing with him on a number of occasions. In this clip from Soul Train, you can see the two legends performing after a brief interview.
In 1957, “Further On Up the Road” was Bland’s first number on on the R&B charts. One of my favorite Bland recordings, though, is “Turn on Your Love Life,” which was a hit in 1961.
Finally, for something a little different, here is Bland singing Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey” with Morrison. Van Morrison was a long-time fan, and it is great to hear those two changing verses on the great song that was recorded in 2000 (and appears on The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3 (2007). RIP.
What is your favorite Bobby “Blue” Bland song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On July 9, 1962, Bob Dylan entered Columbia’s Studio A in New York and recorded “Blowin’ in the Wind.” It would be a year, though, before the recording was released on his album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. The song and album were a breakthrough for Dylan after his unsuccessful self-titled first album, with many crediting the song and album as a turning point for Dylan’s songwriting.
Several years ago, I saw a performer named Teddy Morgan perform to a small bar crowd in Manhattan. Having already discovered Morgan’s music through two friends, I was disappointed there was not a larger crowd for someone who made such great music.
(2003) and 
(2003).
, climbed to No. 14 on the 
. Il Divo is an operatic “pop” group that was created by Simon Cowell and features the international voices of Sébastien Izambard, Carlos Marín, David Miller, and Urs Bühler. [For more recent uses of the song on America’s Got Talent, see below.]
(2009), which includes his version of “Hallelujah.” But if you listen closely to the end of America’s Got Talent, you will notice there is more than one singer in that version. And if you listen to Il Divo, you should recognize it.
(2007). RIP.
