Singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester passed away today at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia. The 69-year-old artist had been suffering from esophageal cancer. Winchester, who had moved to Canada in 1967 in protest of the Vietnam War, had some chart success with his own recordings of his folk-country-blues sound. While he may not be remembered by a large number of the population, he is well-respected and admired by a number of talented artists. And many of them covered his songs. If you are not familiar with his work, check out these videos.
Here is Winchester with a moving performance of his song “Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding” on season two (2009-2010) of Elvis Costello’s Spectacle show. That’s Neko Case, Sheryl Crow, and Ron Sexsmith on stage with Costello and Winchester. You can see near the end around the 3:12 mark where Case has tears in her eyes from Winchester’s touching song. Wow.
Here is a young Winchester in 1977, singing with Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris.
Finally, here is one of my favorite covers of a Jesse Winchester song. In this video, Buddy Miller sings Winchester’s “A Showman’s Life,” which appeared on Miller’s 2002 album Midnight and Lonesome. Winchester’s “A Showman’s Life” has been covered in excellent versions by the likes of George Strait and Gary Allan. But check out Miller’s version.
Thanks for the music Mr. Winchester. RIP. What is your favorite Jesse Winchester song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Mumford & Sons recently collaborated with Elvis Costello to record Bruce Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” They made the recording for Bono’s One campaign to get world leaders to focus on poverty issues as the leader meet in Northern Ireland at the G8 summit.
In this video, Elvis Costello and Mumford & Sons talk about the song before playing it. Check it out.
The new recording of “The Ghost of Tom Joad” is part of a collection of protest songs that you can listen to for free and learn more about on the One website, including songs by Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, The Cranberries, and may others. The collection is listed as “songs that changed the world.”
What do you think of the new version of “The Ghost of Tom Joad”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On this date of December 2 in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned emperor in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The 35-year-old Napoleon put the crown on his own head after receiving the crown from Pope Pius VII.
Napoleon I ruled a vast empire for a number of years before he began to encounter military defeats in 1812. Currently, one of his coded letters of an order against the Russians that year is up for auction. Anyway, after a major defeat in 1814, he returned from exile the following year but his army fell to the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon lived out the rest of his life under house arrest on Saint Helena off the coast of Africa, where he died in 1821 at the age of 51, probably of stomach cancer.
Almost 200 years later in 2004, another Napoleon was king of the oddball comedies on screen, Napoleon Dynamite (2004). Although the film initially received mixed reviews and was given a limited release, it went on to become one of the iconic films with some of the most memorable quotes of the last decade. The Idaho legislature even passed a resolution praising the film. The odd story of the outcast teenager created a memorable character played by Jon Heder, who revived his portrayal of the character to deliver a humorous Top Ten list of “Signs You’re Not the Most Popular Guy in Your High School” on the Late Show with David Letterman.
Bonus Trivia: The name “Napoleon Dynamite” was first used as a pseudonym by Elvis Costello as early as 1982, but the movie’s co-writer and directer Jared Hess states that he came up with the name independently.
What is your favorite part of Napoleon Dynamite? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Don McLean revealed where he wrote and first performed “American Pie,” refuting a local legend.
In Grammy news, Adele, Kanye West, Bruno Mars, and Foo Fighters led the Grammy nominations. In other Grammy news, some pondered whether or not the Beach Boys will reunite at the Grammys. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane was nominated for two Grammys and will compete with Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand. Finally, Sugarland joined Lady Gaga for a rousing performance of “You and I” at the Grammy Nominations Concert this week.
Hanson (i.e., The Hanson Brothers) are developing a beer named. . . “MMMHop.” I’m guessing the beer will stay with you for a long time in the same way the catchy song does.
In touring news, George Michael cancelled the remaining dates of his tour to recover from pneumonia. Meanwhile, The Red Hot Chili Peppers announced their first U.S. tour in nearly five years, starting Jan. 25.
It’s “either a misprint or a satire.” — Elvis Costello, commenting on $339.98 box set of a Costello performance. The New York Times reviewed a new biography of Ahmet Ertegun, the great founder and president of Atlantic Records.
A new book recounts how actress Hedy Lamarr contributed to the cell phone technology we use today. The New York Times reviewed the new DVD and Blu-ray of the classic and controversial film, Birth of a Nation.
Ken Russell, the director of Tommy, The Devils, and Altered States passed away. Watching each of those films in the movie theater were memorable events for me. RIP Mr. Russell.
New pictures were released of the fictional Mars in the upcoming John Carter.
I was sorry to hear that Roger Ebert’s recent incarnation of At the Moviesis going on hiatus. I enjoyed the show.
—— Other Pop Culture News ——
The Waltons reunited on The Today Show for their 40th Anniversary.
In The Office news, now you may buy Dunder Mifflin copy paper. Also, Stanley from The Office (Leslie David Baker) made a music video. In sadder Office-related news, comedian Patrice O’Neal, who also appeared periodically on The Office, passed away last week from complications of a stroke. RIP.
The inventor of the Jenos pizza roll and Chun King canned Chinese food, Jeno Paulucci, died on Thanksgiving. Chun King was the only time I encountered Chinese food as a kid, and, well, I have enjoyed several meals of nothing but pizza rolls. RIP Mr. Paulucci.
What were your thoughts on the pop culture stories of the week? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Martin Scorsese made deliberate choices in the music for “Taxi Driver,” including Kris Kristofferson’s “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33.”
In a recent post, we discussed the link between Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and the movie Taxi Driver (1976). In this post, we consider a musical connection between the movie and another song: Kris Kristofferson’s “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33.”
In Taxi Driver, perhaps the one moment a viewer might think that there is a slight bit of hope for Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) is when he first courts Betsy (Cybill Shepherd). After he charms her into going to a diner for a bite to eat, she quotes a song: “He’s a prophet, he’s a pusher… partly truth and partly fiction… a walking contradiction.” Bickle focuses on the “pusher part,” saying he has never been a pusher, but she explains she brought it up for the “walking contradiction” part. Bickle is amused, and a later scene shows him at a record store, apparently buying the album, which he later gives to her on their next date. And then he ruins the date by taking her to see a pornographic film.
Although we do not hear the song or the name of the song in those scenes, the quote is from Kris Kristofferson’s song “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33,” which was off of his second album, The Silver Tongued Devil and I (1971). The album’s biggest hit was “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again),” and the album also included Kristofferson’s version of “Jody and the Kid.”
“The Pilgrim, Chapter 33,” which was not a hit for Kristofferson, has held up well through the years. A number of artists have covered the song, including Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Jerry Lee Lewis (with Kristofferson).
When a tribute CD was put together for Kristofferson, they took the song for the title of the CD, The Pilgrim: A Celebration Of Kris Kristofferson. On that album, in the introduction to the title track, Kristofferson explains that he wrote that song “for a good friend of mine, Donny Fritts [Kristofferson’s long-time keyboard player], and Dennis Hopper and Johnny Cash. . .” and then he goes on to list a number of people ranging from Ramblin’ Jack Elliott to Mickey Newbury to “maybe me and I guess my father.” As Kristofferson has aged and seeped into musical legend as one of our classic country elders, the song seems to be more and more about him.
It is a beautiful song, and while like Astral Weeks it is not completely in sync with the story of Travis Bickle, you can see where Martin Scorsese got a little inspiration from the song. Like “Madame George,” the song “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33” also contains some of the themes of isolation and loneliness that Martin Scorsese tried to capture in Taxi Driver.
He has tasted good and evil in your bedrooms and your bars, And he’s traded in tomorrow for today; Runnin’ from his devils, Lord, and reachin’ for the stars, And losin’ all he’s loved along the way; But if this world keeps right on turnin’ for the better or the worse, And all he ever gets is older and around, From the rockin’ of the cradle to the rollin’ of the hearse, The goin’ up was worth the comin’ down.
Like many of Kristofferson’s songs, it works as pure poetry. His lyrics in “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33,” describe a man of contradictions, leaving much room for interpretation.
I have never read an explanation for the “Chapter 33” in the title, but I suspect it is a reference to a man being near the end of his life, just as Chapter 33 will fall near the end of a book. Perhaps that is why the song seems to describe so many of the brilliant artists mentioned by Kristofferson in the introduction mentioned above.
May we all be so lucky that the going up is worth the coming down.
Singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester passed away today at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia. The 69-year-old artist had been suffering from esophageal cancer. Winchester, who had moved to Canada in 1967 in protest of the Vietnam War, had some chart success with his own recordings of his folk-country-blues sound. While he may not be remembered by a large number of the population, he is well-respected and admired by a number of talented artists. And many of them covered his songs. If you are not familiar with his work, check out these videos.
. On that album, in the introduction to the title track, Kristofferson explains that he wrote that song “for a good friend of mine, Donny Fritts [Kristofferson’s long-time keyboard player], and Dennis Hopper and Johnny Cash. . .” and then he goes on to list a number of people ranging from Ramblin’ Jack Elliott to Mickey Newbury to “maybe me and I guess my father.” As Kristofferson has aged and seeped into musical legend as one of our classic country elders, the song seems to be more and more about him.
