Tag: roundup

Happy Birthday Jimi Hendrix!

Jimi Hendrix Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington. Various articles linked below commemorate the 70th anniversary of his birth.

Unlike some artists who died young, it is not too hard to imagine Hendrix around today still playing relevant music even though he died more than forty years ago on September 18, 1970. His music like “Hey Joe” was timeless in that he could be both cutting edge while being steeped in the history of the blues too.

Some features about Jimi Hendrix’s birthday provide interesting quotes. San Francisco Weekly Blog has a collection of 13 quotes from Hendrix, including a quote from his final interview (“I don’t feel the need to dress up so much now I see others doing it”). ABC News has quotes from other rock stars remembering Hendrix.

Some other articles feature cool photos. ABC News Blog has a collection of photos from Hendrix’s life and career (make sure to check out Hendrix in a tie with Curtis Knight and the Squires in 1965). Huffington Post has a slide show of items from a new Jimi Hendrix exhibit at Seattle’s EMP Museum. The Albany Sun Times Blog remembers Hendrix’s one year in the military with photos of excerpts from a deposition by Hendrix’s not-too-happy sergeant.

But it is not just about the past. Rolling Stone magazine discusses a new album from Hendrix — People, Hell & Angels (released March 5, 2013). Antimusic has a track-by-track description of the twelve previously unreleased studio recordings on the album. The Future Heart also has a track-by-track description, along with other stories about Hendrix including a video of The Experience’s May 3, 1969 concert in Toronto.

Happy birthday Jimi.

What is your favorite Jimi Hendrix performance or song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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  • Well … All Right: Buddy’s 75th Birthday Roundup

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    Well … All Right: Buddy’s 75th Birthday Roundup

    Buddy Holly Collection Charles Hardin Holley was born on September 7, 1936, meaning that this Wednesday, the man we came to know as Buddy Holly would have been 75 years old. I like to think there is some universe where Buddy is still making music. But in this universe, we will have to make due with the great music he left us when he died in 1959 at the young age of 22 on a flight from Mason City, Iowa to Moorhead, Minnesota.

    Around the web there are a number of stories celebrating the 75th birthday of the rock pioneer from Lubbock, Texas. Check out the links below (if you want an image of Buddy to guide you while you read this website, click this link).

    – Tribute CDs: Because it is all about the music, the best place to start may be this Rolling Stone link that is offering a free stream of the forthcoming tribute CD, Listen to Me: Buddy Holly (2011). The free steam is only up for a limited time, so now is the time to check out the CD, featuring Stevie Nicks, The Fray, Ringo Starr, and others. Chris Isaak’s version of “Crying Waiting Hoping” is a highlight, but I do not get the point of Eric Idle’s Monty Python-esque reading of “Raining in My Heart.” USA Today has a review of the CD. While the CD has some nice covers, nothing comes close to the originals, of course. Another tribute CD, Rave On Buddy Holly, was out earlier this year, and is reviewed by The Aquarian Weekly. I am a fan of a previous tribute CD, Not Fade Away (1996), featuring The Band, Nanci Griffith, Joe Ely, and the Mavericks. That CD features a haunting “Learning the Game” from Holly’s bassist Waylon Jennings.

    – Walk of Fame: KCBD notes that the birthday celebration includes a new star on the Walk of Fame. Lubbock Online explains how the star event has turned into an overdue celebration.

    – Buddy Holly’s Widow: Holly’s widow, Maria Elena Santiago-Holly, talks to Rolling Stone about the tributes. But Amarillo.com explains why Holly’s widow is trying to stop a tribute concert by a Buddy Holly impersonator.

    – Holly’s Relevance: In Holly’s hometown, Lubbock Online ponders why Holly is still relevant more than fifty years after his death. Similarly, the Houston Chronicle lists several reasons Buddy Holly still has a hold on us at 75.

    – Gary Busey as Holly: TMZ posted a video of Gary Busey, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his outstanding portrayal of Holly in The Buddy Holly Story (1978). In the video, Busey made a recent karaoke attempt to reprise his Holly-style singing on “Maybe Baby” (not for the faint of heart).

    – Life & Career: In “Buddy Holly’s 75th on Wednesday; That’ll Be the Day,” the Los Angeles Times talks to some who remember Holly and discusses the new tribute CDs. Similarly, Cybergrass recounts Holly’s career and discusses the new CD.

    – Odd Tributes to Holly’s Glasses: Finally, for two odd Holly-related photos that were recently posted: First, the Silver Lining Opticians Blog features a photo of Holly to promote a style of spectacles (or you may see how you would look in Holly’s glasses at buddyholly.me). Second, NewMexicoBoxing.com has a photo of boxer Eric Henson, who is nicknamed “Buddy Holly.” You will be able to guess why from the photo.

    Somewhat surprisingly, as the day approaches, there is not as much written about Buddy Holly’s 75th birthday on the web as one might expect. Much of of the news about Holly is related to the new tribute CD. Perhaps because he died so long ago, fewer people connect to him the way we connect to anniversaries regarding John Lennon or Elvis Presley. Oh well, maybe there is not much new to say as long as we have the music.

    “Now, no matter what you think about rock and roll,” check out this clip of Holly singing “Peggy Sue” on The Arthur Murray Dance Party from December 29, 1957, with an introduction that reminds us that Buddy Holly and rock music was on the cutting edge of the times. Thus, he rightfully was among the initial class of ten performer inductees when the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame began in 1986. Buddy, hope you are having a great birthday in your universe.

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  • Billy Grammer and Buddy Holly’s Opening Song, “Gotta Travel On”

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    Elvis Presley Death Roundup

    On today’s date in 1977, the 42-year-old Elvis Presley went into hiding to escape the spotlight and live his life in peace. Well, either that or he died. Below is a roundup of some of the stories on the anniversary of his reported “death.”

    – The Washington Post blog reprints an article from 1956 about the young Elvis.

    Elvis Gold Suit

    – Events at Graceland are covered in several articles. Doug Stephan’s Good Day has a piece about the annual pilgrimage to Graceland. The Los Angeles Times also addresses the journey to Graceland (“Elvis…spurs fresh tears”) and notes some other Elvis anniversaries around the corner. Illustrating Elvis’s international appeal, AlJazeera also has a post about Graceland and the anniversary.

    – In the memory category, Boomitude presents a couple of fun podcasts of Billy Bob Thornton discussing his memories of Elvis’s death (“If Elvis could be gone, boy, bad stuff can really happen, can’t it?”) and reviewing his favorite Elvis songs. A memory of a different sort is recalled in in the Orange County Register, where Patricia Bunin uses the anniversary to recount her first kiss, which was from Elvis.

    – The Baltimore Sun uses the anniversary to ponder what books Elvis would be reading today. Taking the idea further, the International Business Times discusses “Five Stocks Elvis Might Have Enjoyed,” using his song titles for guidance. The same publication also has “10 Things You Might Not Have Known About the King.”

    – The Oakland County Daily Tribune has a long feature story on an Elvis-themed party store.

    – Politics seems to creep into everything these days, so here is the Huffington Post writing about Michelle Bachmann mistakenly wishing Elvis happy birthday on the day he died.

    – In the song category, the Christian Science Monitor ranks his five greatest songs with “Hound Dog” and “If I Can Dream” in the top five. Blogness on the Edge of Town, consistent with its Bruce Springsteen focus, features a collection of Elvis Presley songs covered by Springsteen. The website also features an audio clip of Springsteen discussing his Presley memories.

    – Every anniversary of Elvis’s death I try to re-read Lester Bangs’s beautiful essay from the Village Voice in 1977, “Where Were You When Elvis Died?” Check it out if you have never read it. “But I can guarantee you one thing: we will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis.”

    Finally, here is an obligatory great Elvis performance. Not long before Elvis died, he played the piano and sang after playing racquetball. The two songs — the last songs he would ever sing — were Willie Nelson’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” and “Unchained Melody.” Although Elvis was in bad shape toward the end of his life, we often forget that he could still belt out a song.

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  • Elvis Presley’s Funny Take on “Are You Lonesome Tonight” in Omaha in 1977

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    Happy 70th Birthday Bob!

    Bob Dylan Not Dark Yet In honor of the 70th anniversary of the birth of Robert Allen Zimmerman, aka Bob Dylan, there are a lot of birthday articles on the Internet today. Chimesfreedom has some more Dylan-related posts coming up soon in the pipeline, but for this day where there are already so many Dylan stories, we are providing links to some of the more interesting articles about the man on his 70th birthday:

    – Slate has a story by John Dickerson about why it is so hard to figure out Dylan.

    – Cleveland.com looks at some new DVD and Blu-ray releases from Dylan.

    – Entertainment Weekly celebrates Bob’s birthday with an article about an interview tape revealing Dylan was addicted to heroin in the 1960s.

    – Rolling Stone celebrates with several articles this month, including an article about several artists explaining their favorite Dylan song, a ranking of the 10 Best Dylan songs, a list of 20 Overlooked Classic Dylan songs, and a Dylan quiz.

    – The Onion’s A.V. Club (Philadelphia) recalls “some of the weird shit he’s done.”

    – From Dylan’s home state, Minnesota Public Radio recounts his roots. Also from his home state, a short letter to the Duluth News Tribune questions why a manhole cover is being dedicated to Dylan.

    – Catch the Film has some video of Dylan’s first days in New York. Along the same lines, Morrison Hotel Gallery has an awesome photo of Dylan in a convenience store in 2000.

    – Bob Dylan’s birthday is noted around the world. The Japan Times writes about why Dylan is one of a kind. The Irish Times also has an article on the birthday.

    – A New York Times op-ed reflects on Dylan’s age and a number of other artists who were born around the same time.

    – The Kankakee Daily Journal offers a retrospective on Dylan’s career.

    – WNYC compares the birthday boy to Lady Gaga, apparently because they were trying to think of something new to say.

    Finally, because we love him for the music, here is one of his great recent songs about getting old, “Not Dark Yet,” from the 1997 album Time Out of Mind.

    I was born here and I’ll die here against my will;
    I know it looks like I’m movin’ but I’m standin’ still;
    Every nerve in my body is so naked and numb,
    I can’t even remember what it was I came here to get away from;
    Don’t even hear the murmur of a prayer;
    It’s not dark yet but it’s gettin’ there.

    Here’s to many more birthdays avoiding the darkness. Thanks for the light you have given us, and happy birthday Bob.

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