Tag: RIP

Bobby “Blue” Bland Was All Right With Me

Bobby Bland 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.

  • B.B. King: “Why I Sing the Blues”
  • RIP Richie Havens
  • RIP: A Brief Encounter with Glen Hansard
  • David Allan Coe: “Don’t You Cry”
  • Joe Ely’s “She Never Spoke Spanish to Me” (Song of the Day)
  • Bringing in a Brand New Year

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Ray Manzarek of The Doors Passes Away

    Ray Manzarek Keyboard Doors Ray Manzarek, a founding member of The Doors, passed away today at age 74. After Jim Morrison’s death at a young age, Manzarek became a recognizable face preserving the legacy of the great band.

    In this Break It Down video from L/Studio, Manzarek tells a little about the history of the band and how he came up with some of those great keyboard riffs. Among the stories, Manzarek tells how John Coltrane‘s “My Favorite Things” inspired a famous Doors keyboard part. Check it out.

    What is your favorite keyboard riff by Ray Manzarek? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Jim Morrison and the Freshman 15
  • RIP: A Brief Encounter with Glen Hansard
  • David Allan Coe: “Don’t You Cry”
  • Joe Ely’s “She Never Spoke Spanish to Me” (Song of the Day)
  • Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)
  • Ned Miller: The Shy Man Behind “From a Jack to a King”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Pull Down Your Pants and Slide on the Ice

    Sidney Freedman For twelve M*A*S*H episodes from 1973 through the series finale in 1983, actor Allan Arbus created one of the great recurring character roles in television history. Arbus, who played the psychiatrist Major Sidney Freedman, passed away in 2013 due to complications of congestive heart failure. He was 95.

    Anytime I am flipping around the TV channels and come across a M*A*S*H episode with Arbus, I stop and watch it because I know it is something special. Arbus’ portrayal of Major Sidney Theodore Freedman provided part of the heart and soul of the series. The psychiatrist even allowed the long-running heart of M*A*S*H, Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce, to digress into troubled waters while Dr. Freeman assumed the role of providing some sanity in insane circumstances.

    Arbus, whose first wife was photographer Diane Arbus, went on to other TV and movie roles. But he was so good as Dr. Freedman, that Alan Alda claimed he had assumed that Arbus had psychiatric training. While Arbus did not have such training, he had served in the Army as a photographer.

    When Arbus first appeared during the second season of the series, Dr. Freedman’s first name was “Milton,” but in subsequent appearances his name was changed to Sydney, possibly in a nod to the initials of Sigmund Freud.

    Reportedly, Arbus was offered a more regular role after Gary Burghoff (Radar O’Reilly) left the series, but he preferred his occasional appearances. Yet he still managed to make a memorable impact on the show with only twelve appearances. Summaries of his episodes are available here).

    On the final episode “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,” after caring for a troubled Hawkeye, Dr. Freedman exited by repeating advice he had earlier given to the members of the 4077th: “Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.” Remembering Arbus and his passing today, it is still good advice in our insane world to take a moment to enjoy the good things in life. Thank you Dr. Freedman.

    What is your favorite episode of M*A*S*H with Allan Arbus? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • RIP Colonel Potter
  • Loudon Wainwright III Was on M*A*S*H?
  • Andy Griffith Was America’s Favorite Country Boy
  • RIP: A Brief Encounter with Glen Hansard
  • David Allan Coe: “Don’t You Cry”
  • Joe Ely’s “She Never Spoke Spanish to Me” (Song of the Day)

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Buy from Amazon

    RIP Richie Havens

    Richie Havens I just heard on the radio station WFUV that Richie Havens passed away today of a heart attack at the age of 72. Chimesfreedom previously wrote about Havens’s landmark opening performance at Woodstock when he sang “Freedom (Motherless Child).” Below is a 1971 performance of “Here Comes the Sun.”

    Last year, Havens had announced that he was stopping touring because of health concerns. At the moment, there is not much information about his passing on the Internet, but The Roots Agency, his agent, has a statement on their webpage, where they note, “Havens used his music to convey passionate messages of brotherhood and personal freedom.” He also was one of the great interpreters of great songs. For example, in addition to his Beatles interpretation above, below he covers two other great songwriters singing Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey” and Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman.”

    Nobody will ever have a voice like Richie Havens. RIP.

    What is your favorite Richie Havens song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Jeff Buckley’s Interactive Video for “Just Like a Woman”
  • Ruben “Hurricane” Carter “in a Land Where Justice Is a Game”
  • Bobby “Blue” Bland Was All Right With Me
  • Tony Sheridan and the Beatles
  • Got My Mind Set on George Harrison
  • RIP: A Brief Encounter with Glen Hansard

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    “I’ll Take You There”: Inspired by Murder and a Jamaican Riff

    The song “I’ll Take You There” by the Staples Singers originated out of a songwriter grieving his murdered brother.

    Staples Singers Cleotha I'll Take You There Cleotha “Cleedy” Staples, the eldest daughter of Roebuck “Pops” Staples who sang in the Staple Singers, passed away February 21, 2013. Cleotha, who had Alzheimer’s, was 78.

    The Staple Singers — which also included Cleotha’s sisters Mavis, Pervis and Yvonne — started in the 1940s and recorded many memorable songs like “Respect Yourself” and “Uncloudy Day.” But when most people hear the name of the group, the first song that comes to mind is the classic “I’ll Take You There.”

    The song first appeared on the album Be Altitude: Respect Yourself (1972). In 1972, “I’ll Take You There” went to number one on both the Billboard R&B Singles chart and the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In this TV performance excerpt, you can see Mavis Staples to your right singing lead while Cleotha is on your far left of the singers. Pops is playing guitar.

    The uplifting song comes from a tragic story. Stax vice-president Al Bell began writing “I’ll Take You There” after attending the funeral of his second brother who was murdered.

    According to Bell, after returning from the funeral, he sat on the hood of a bus in his father’s back yard and began hearing the bass line and then the words. He then gave the song to the Staple Singers, who were a gospel act at the time.

    Regarding the music, Wikipedia points out that the opening to “I’ll Take You There” comes from a Jamaican instrumental reggae tune from Harry J All Stars called “The Liquidator.” The tune is now often used before football matches (that’s “soccer” for us in the states). Check it out.

    It is a cool opening riff that helped make “I’ll Take You There” so memorable. But it is also the blending of the voices of the Staple Singers including Cleotha Staples that explains why we still listen to the song more than forty years later. RIP Cleotha Staples.

    What is your favorite song by the Staples Singers? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’s Last Waltz
  • RIP: A Brief Encounter with Glen Hansard
  • David Allan Coe: “Don’t You Cry”
  • Joe Ely’s “She Never Spoke Spanish to Me” (Song of the Day)
  • “There’s No End to Grief, That’s How We Know There’s No End to Love”: The Story of U2’s “One Tree Hill”
  • What Is the Murder Ballad That Holly Hunter Sings to Nathan Jr. in “Raising Arizona”?

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Buy from Amazon