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Post by Laura on Aug 11, 2008 11:12:28 GMT -5
A goodbye to another of our Tennessee musical greats: www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/arts/music/11hayes.html?th&emc=thIsaac Hayes of "Theme from SHAFT" fame was found dead in his home in Memphis yesterday. He was 65. Over here in East Tennessee our singers run mostly to country and bluegrass, the most recent such being Luttrell's Kenny Chesney; it's got something to do with the mountains and the red mud, the legacies of Roy Acuff, Dolly Parton, Chet Atkins, and a host of others. In West Tennessee, all's different; there the blackland dirt and cotton plantations and the muddy rush of Ol' Man River tend to produce great blues, soul and rock performers. Exhibits A and B would be the incandescent Tina Turner and Isaac Hayes, whose awesome growl of a voice was a revelation. No cause of death had, at last report, been determined, but Hayes had suffered a stroke in 2006 and was still recovering from its effects. Sad that to younger people he's probably more famous as Chef from SOUTH PARK than for his music. Rest in peace, Mr. Hayes. RIP indeed. I loved Mr. Hayes. The last movie I saw him in was It Could Happen To You with Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda..about a waitress and a policeman who share his lotto winnings. Mr. Hayes played a reporter disguised as a homeless man when he went to the restaurant she bought to get the story of their falling in love.
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Post by moonstone on Aug 11, 2008 11:32:22 GMT -5
A goodbye to another of our Tennessee musical greats: www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/arts/music/11hayes.html?th&emc=thIsaac Hayes of "Theme from SHAFT" fame was found dead in his home in Memphis yesterday. He was 65. Over here in East Tennessee our singers run mostly to country and bluegrass, the most recent such being Luttrell's Kenny Chesney; it's got something to do with the mountains and the red mud, the legacies of Roy Acuff, Dolly Parton, Chet Atkins, and a host of others. In West Tennessee, all's different; there the blackland dirt and cotton plantations and the muddy rush of Ol' Man River tend to produce great blues, soul and rock performers. Exhibits A and B would be the incandescent Tina Turner and Isaac Hayes, whose awesome growl of a voice was a revelation. No cause of death had, at last report, been determined, but Hayes had suffered a stroke in 2006 and was still recovering from its effects. Sad that to younger people he's probably more famous as Chef from SOUTH PARK than for his music. Rest in peace, Mr. Hayes. RIP indeed. I loved Mr. Hayes. The last movie I saw him in was It Could Happen To You with Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda..about a waitress and a policeman who share his lotto winnings. Mr. Hayes played a reporter disguised as a homeless man when he went to the restaurant she bought to get the story of their falling in love. That is an absolutely great movie. I echo your sentiments on Isaac Hayes. By the way, at the risk of dating myself, I saw SHAFT in the theater. Can you dig it? And Richard Roundtree ... holy mackerel. Are we talking blueberry muffins or stud muffins? Excuse me, where's my fan?
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Post by Fairweather on Aug 11, 2008 14:05:16 GMT -5
RIP indeed. I loved Mr. Hayes. The last movie I saw him in was It Could Happen To You with Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda..about a waitress and a policeman who share his lotto winnings. Mr. Hayes played a reporter disguised as a homeless man when he went to the restaurant she bought to get the story of their falling in love. That is an absolutely great movie. I echo your sentiments on Isaac Hayes. By the way, at the risk of dating myself, I saw SHAFT in the theater. Can you dig it? And Richard Roundtree ... holy mackerel. Are we talking blueberry muffins or stud muffins? Excuse me, where's my fan? Both.
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Post by Fairweather on Aug 12, 2008 14:48:11 GMT -5
An eight-year-old blues prodigy got a reason to sing the blues: news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080812/ap_on_en_mu/blues_kidSomebody turned him in for playing in blues clubs and taverns. Now his manager is getting death threats, apparently from some unstable older musician. I can sort of see the thing about not letting him play in clubs and etc. because those places do have age restrictions and some are just plain dangerous, but I draw the line at death threats. Meanwhile, the kid was inspired to want to learn guitar by Joe Satriani. Bubba has only just gotten me into Joe Satriani's music. He's just about guitar god status. If this kid can play like Joe Satriani at eight, what's he gonna be at eighteen?
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Post by Fairweather on Aug 16, 2008 10:43:45 GMT -5
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Post by Fairweather on Aug 16, 2008 12:54:23 GMT -5
The NY TIMES's historical tidbit for the day mentions that August 16th is the anniversary of Elvis Presley's untimely 1977 death. However, FW--tiresome broad that she is--undertook to write about another highly significant musician's death that occurred on August 16th: that of the Delta bluesman Robert Johnson, in 1938. She of course thinks she's qualified to write about the topic (I have my doubts, but the girl's feeling her oats today) and has done so at fairweatherlewis.blogstream.com/
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Post by moonstone on Aug 17, 2008 16:26:49 GMT -5
The NY TIMES's historical tidbit for the day mentions that August 16th is the anniversary of Elvis Presley's untimely 1977 death. However, FW--tiresome broad that she is--undertook to write about another highly significant musician's death that occurred on August 16th: that of the Delta bluesman Robert Johnson, in 1938. She of course thinks she's qualified to write about the topic (I have my doubts, but the girl's feeling her oats today) and has done so at fairweatherlewis.blogstream.com/This is a great post, Fairweather. Coincidentally, I've always been personally spooked by Elvis's death because when I heard the news there was a horrific thunderstorm raging outside. Did the devil come for Elvis, too? The other thing that struck me is how easy it seems to have been in 1938 to poison someone using strychnine. I really hope it's not that easy to get today.
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Post by Fairweather on Sept 2, 2008 17:28:04 GMT -5
Just came over Yahoo! News that country singer/songwriter/guitarist Jerry Reed died yesterday of complications of emphysema. He was 71. Best known for a series of goofy songs, like "When You're Hot, You're Hot," "Amos Moses," "Lord, Mr. Ford," and "She Got the Gold Mine (I Got the Shaft)", he also wrote "Guitar Man" for Elvis. He appeared in a number of movies as well, including Burt Reynolds's "Smokey and the Bandit" (1 and 2) and "W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings."
He once said that he came to Nashville with two ambitions: to make records and to marry the prettiest girl in town. He did both; his wife was backing vocalist Priscilla Mitchell, who recorded duets with the late Roy Drusky and replaced the great Anita Kerr in her vocal group, the Anita Kerr Singers, when Kerr moved to Switzerland in the 1960s.
Dang. He was a wild man--funny, hyper, and scary talented.
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Post by Fairweather on Sept 11, 2008 13:26:01 GMT -5
While looking for something else entirely I came across this piece by music critic Alex Ross, about musical performances and how they affect our lives in times like the aftermath of 9/11. www.therestisnoise.com/2004/05/the_noise_is_br.htmlI was privileged to hear the NY Philharmonic's presentation of Brahms's German Requiem of which he speaks. Brahms did not structure the piece like a traditional requiem mass (say, along the lines of Mozart's magnificent Requiem in D minor); he focused instead on texts from the German Lutheran Bible that deal with comforting the afflicted. A thoughtful piece, well written, and also a testament to how music draws us together.
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Post by puhlease on Sept 12, 2008 14:40:03 GMT -5
I listen to Enya nearly every day, and a lot of her music was in my wedding. Overall, I have extremely eclectic tastes depending on my mood. One day, I'll listen to the soundtrack to FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS - the next day Madonna - the next day O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? - the next day George Harrison. The only music I refuse to listen to is rap and (readying myself for slings and arrows) country. I agree, except I will listen to old country music, say anything pre 1980. AFter that it quickly went downhill. But in our house, metal rules. We don't discriminate, we just like to bang our heads.
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Post by puhlease on Sept 12, 2008 14:48:10 GMT -5
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080508/ap_on_en_mu/obit_arnoldIt's a sad day in country music, and in my heart too: Eddy Arnold, whose career as a country singer spanned nearly seventy years, has died in Nashville, a week short of his ninetieth birthday. He had a silky-smooth baritone that no one else in the field ever quite matched, although he influenced them all: Jim Reeves, Jim Ed Brown, George Morgan, Roy Drusky--In his prime, had he so chosen, he could have been as major a pop star as Frank Sinatra or Perry Como, but he remained true to his country roots, more or less; he was known during the 1960s as a "countrypolitan" star. It would take the whole board to cover all the hits he had, so I'll content myself with just two: a wonderful swing tune called "That Cuddlebuggin' Baby of Mine" which online is said to have been released in 1963 but probably was a decade or more older, with no other accompaniment than a steel guitar, a piano, and an upright bass; and the heartbreakingly beautiful "You Don't Know Me," a 1956 recording of a song he wrote with the great songwriter Cindy Walker. . . .you give your hand to me and then you say goodbye I watch you walk away Beside the lucky guy To never, never know the one who loves you so No, you don't know me. . . It began to rain just as I began this little--tribute, rant, whatever you want to call it. I'd like to think that up in Hillbilly Heaven, the great stars who went before him are crying for joy now that he's with them again. Aaaaah, I spent many hours of my childhood listening to Eddy Arnold on my mom and dad's record player. I can still remember when I was 3! years old and we saw him at the state fair. Cattle Call was my favorite then. Rest in peace.
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Post by Fairweather on Sept 12, 2008 17:02:45 GMT -5
While I wouldn't go so far as the person who wrote this short article and call Charlie Walker a "legend", I will grant that he was a great star of the Grand Ol' Opry for more than forty years: www.theboot.com/2008/09/12/grand-ole-opry-legend-charlie-walker-dies/?icid=200100397x1209419731x1200512044Walker has died of colon cancer at 81. His biggest hit came in 1958, a great song called "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down," but he's probably best known for one that was inspired by Mr. Whipple and Charmin tissue: "Please Don't Squeeze My Charmin". He never failed to get ovations when he sang that one. Please don't squeeze my Charmin Don't hold her so tight You'd best heed my warnin' It's my last one tonight She's soft and she's gentle And sweet as can be And if Charmin needs squeezin' Just leave that to me. . . RIP, Charlie Walker.
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Post by Fairweather on Sept 13, 2008 11:57:13 GMT -5
This one could go under the music thread or the book thread either one: www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/arts/music/13cruc.html?th&emc=thThe DiCapo Opera Theater has done a revival of Robert Ward's 1962 operatic setting of Arthur Miller's 1953 play THE CRUCIBLE. THE CRUCIBLE, it seems to me, in this day and time when those who do not support the far right's agendas, be they the war on terror, the abortion issue, the gun issue, or whatever are still being demonized, still has remarkable relevance. And if the music's good, so much the better.
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Post by moonstone on Sept 13, 2008 12:51:32 GMT -5
This one could go under the music thread or the book thread either one: www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/arts/music/13cruc.html?th&emc=thThe DiCapo Opera Theater has done a revival of Robert Ward's 1962 operatic setting of Arthur Miller's 1953 play THE CRUCIBLE. THE CRUCIBLE, it seems to me, in this day and time when those who do not support the far right's agendas, be they the war on terror, the abortion issue, the gun issue, or whatever are still being demonized, still has remarkable relevance. And if the music's good, so much the better. When you think back to McCarthy, maybe we're on a 50-year cycle of reliving the lessons of history that we never learned from Salem. If so, then we're at the nadir. Surely, it can only get better from here. Unless we elect McCain/Palin, of course. And then all bets are off.
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Post by moonstone on Sept 16, 2008 16:30:23 GMT -5
Here's a link to Billboard's Top #1 Hits, by year. Apparently, this doesn't mean the top song of the year, just which one of the #1 hits of that year Billboard has adjudged to be the best. new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/yradish/26198/greatest-number-one-hitsIt's a pretty good list. You say goodbye, and I say hello. Hello, hello. I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello. See everybody later. Love to all.
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Post by Laura on Sept 16, 2008 16:43:28 GMT -5
Here's a link to Billboard's Top #1 Hits, by year. Apparently, this doesn't mean the top song of the year, just which one of the #1 hits of that year Billboard has adjudged to be the best. new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/yradish/26198/greatest-number-one-hitsIt's a pretty good list. You say goodbye, and I say hello. Hello, hello. I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello. See everybody later. Love to all. Not a bad list. I'm amazed none of them are my favorites
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Post by nanalinda on Sept 16, 2008 17:11:25 GMT -5
Here's a link to Billboard's Top #1 Hits, by year. Apparently, this doesn't mean the top song of the year, just which one of the #1 hits of that year Billboard has adjudged to be the best. new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/yradish/26198/greatest-number-one-hitsIt's a pretty good list. You say goodbye, and I say hello. Hello, hello. I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello. See everybody later. Love to all. I must have tuned out after 1987. With the exceptions of 1989 and 1993 I don't think I've even heard of never mind listened to any of the other songs. Despite the assertions of my youth, I have become my mother.
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Post by Fairweather on Sept 18, 2008 15:58:10 GMT -5
Mozart's STILL full of surprises: news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080918/ap_on_en_mu/eu_mozart_discoveryA previously unknown draft of a melody, indisputably in Mozart's handwriting, has been "found" in a French library. It was left to the library by a collector more than a century ago, catalogued, and forgotten until the archives were updated in recent years. There are said to be some 100 of these Mozart drafts in existence, most of which turn up as finished harmonized or orchestrated works; this one, however, only exists in this form, as a melody line. He never took it beyond that stage.
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Post by Fairweather on Oct 3, 2008 14:37:53 GMT -5
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Post by Laura on Oct 3, 2008 14:47:23 GMT -5
Hard to believe time goes by so fast. One day these musicians some of us grew up with are here, then time goes by, they get old and they're gone. I liked the Kingston Trio very much and remember their song Tom Dooley very well.
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Post by Fairweather on Oct 18, 2008 11:11:07 GMT -5
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Post by Laura on Oct 18, 2008 11:16:24 GMT -5
Aww..sorry to hear another great voice silenced. One of my absolute favorites was Bernadette. Loved them all, but this is the golden oldie for me.
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Post by Fairweather on Oct 18, 2008 11:24:59 GMT -5
travel.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/travel/19Belfast.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=thAn article by freelance foreign correspondent Joshua Hammer about how music is bringing former enemies together in Belfast, Northern Ireland, once a horribly violent city, but rebounding ten years after the accords that ended "The Troubles." I knew Van Morrison was from Belfast, but Paddy Moloney and the late Derek Bell of the Chieftains? That's a new one.
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Post by g1 on Oct 23, 2008 15:33:49 GMT -5
Road Trip part deux: After taking in the Sarah 'n Liz Comedy Tour in FL, catch James Taylor doing some free gigs in NC to help out his buddy Barack: music.yahoo.com/read/news/61789832
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Post by moonstone on Oct 23, 2008 15:38:43 GMT -5
Road Trip part deux: After taking in the Sarah 'n Liz Comedy Tour in FL, catch James Taylor doing some free gigs in NC to help out his buddy Barack: music.yahoo.com/read/news/61789832Now THIS I do want to see. Palin, the plans they made put an end to you ....
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