J.T. Van Zandt Remembers His Father Townes Van Zandt

J.T. Van Zandt

YETI, a maker of coolers, created a web series about sons and fathers.  In one of the episodes, entitled “Anchor Point,” Townes Van Zandt’s eldest son J.T. talks about growing up in the shadow of a destructive legend.

In the video, J.T. explains how his relationship with his father led to him finding his own passion for fly fishing.  The short video is a fascinating look at how J.T. found his own path and how he reflects on his father’s legacy. He also talks about how Townes Van Zandt affects the way he is as a father himself. It’s really quite beautiful. Check it out.

Figure out what it is that makes you happy.  Work hard.  Forget about the rest.  Come home.  And be a good man.  Be a f-ing man.  And go to sleep, and wake up early, and do it again.”

Other episodes in the My Old Man series are available online.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Sting Debuts New Song Inspired By Recent Deaths

    Sting 57TH & 9TH

    Sting recently debuted a new song on Later… With Jools Holland.  The song “50,000” was inspired by the recent deaths performers like David Bowie, Prince, Lemmy, and Glenn Frey.

    Sting recently explained that “50,000” reflects on mortality even though it does not mention any of the deceased stars by name.  The number in the title refers to fans singing and raising their hands, while the performer recognizes that the adulation cannot change the fact that he is mortal.

    Check out Sting’s “50,000.”

    “50,000” will appear on Sting’s upcoming album 57TH & 9THwhich hits stores and the Internet on November 11, 2016. As Rolling Stone reports, the album will be Sting’s first “rock” album since 2003 when Sting released Sacred Love.

    What do you think of “50,000”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    The Beatles: “Blackpool Night Out” Live Performance

    Beatles Help On August 3, 1965, the Beatles released the album Help! in the United Kingdom, releasing it ten days later in the United States on August 13.  During this time in their careers, the Fab Four were reducing their promotional appearances. So they only appeared on only one U.K. television show to promote the new album, Blackpool Night Out.

    ABC TV made Blackpool Night Out, filming the show at the ABC Theatre in Blackpool, a summer seaside resort city with other connections to John Lennon.  The live broadcast with the Beatles ran from 9.10 pm to 10.05 pm.

    The Beatles performed several songs on the Sunday, August 1, 1965 show.  They started with “I Feel Fine,” “I’m Down,” “Act Naturally,” and “Ticket To Ride.”

    Next, Paul McCartney sang “Yesterday” by himself in the song’s first performance on British television.  The band returned, with Lennon carrying flowers and joking, “Thank you Ringo, that was wonderful.”  The band closed with “Help!” Below you may watch and hear the 1965 show.

    Although some thought the video of the show was lost, a video of the show popped up on YouTube recently.

    The album Anthology 2 (1996) included fours songs from this performance, “I Feel Fine,” “Ticket To Ride,” “Yesterday,” and “Help!”

    What is your favorite Beatles TV appearance? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    John Prine and Susan Tedeschi: “Color of the Blues”

    Color of the Blues

    We recently reported on John Prine’s upcoming album of duets For Better, For Worse and his duet with Iris DeMent on “Who’s Gonna Take the Garbage Out.”  Now, you may listen to another track on the album, “Color of the Blues.”

    Susan Tedeschi joins Prine on the song.  Check out their recording of “Color of the Blues,” which is played over a promotional video for the album.

    The song about a lover’s letter on blue paper was written by George Jones and Lawton Williams. Jones released his original version of “Color of the Blues” on January 15, 1958.

    Below is the original version by Jones.

    Jones recorded the song more than once, and artists such as Loretta Lynn and Elvis Costello have covered it.

    Prine’s album For Better, Or Worse features duets with women artists such as Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Lee Ann Womack, Holly Williams, and Alison Krauss. It hits stores and the Internet on September 30, 2016.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Buy from Amazon

    The 1966 Otis Redding TV Special

    Otis Redding LIve

    On September 16, 1966, The Otis Redding Special aired in the U.K. as part of the Ready, Steady, Go! series. In a little more than a year, Otis Redding would be dead in a plane crash, but on this special he showed TV audiences why he was The King of Soul.

    The series Ready, Steady, Go! ran from 1963 to 1966 in the U.K. on Friday evenings at 6:00-7:00 p.m with the slogan, “the weekend starts here.” Keith Fordyce, Michael Aldred, and Cathy MacGowan hosted Ready, Steady, Go! at various times (alone or co-hosting). MacGowan, who became a trendsetter at the time, hosted from 1964-1966 (Fordyce left in 1965), and you may see MacGowan at the beginning of the video.

    In the Otis Redding Special episode, British singer Chris Farlowe and The Animals’ Eric Burdon also appeared on the show.

    During the broadcast, Redding performed, “Satisfaction,” “My Girl,” “Respect,” “Pain in My Heart,” I Can’t Turn You Loose,” “Shake,” and “Land of 1000 Dances.”

    Burdon and Farlowe joined Redding on the last two songs. Additionally, Burdon performed “Hold On I’m Coming,” and Farlowe performed “This Is A Man’s World.” Check out the video where both Redding and the audience appear to be having a blast.

    Redding was born on September 9, 1941. A recent birthday celebration concert featured St. Paul & The Broken Bones, a reunion of the Reddings, and Andra Day. Proceeds from the show helped the Otis Redding Foundation and the DREAM Academy.

    In other Redding news, a 6-CD set Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings was released on October 21, 2016. The collection expands on the classic Redding album with all of Redding’s performances over three nights at the Sunset Strip club.

    What is your favorite performance on the Otis Redding Special? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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