A Tribute to Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry Oct 1926 - Mar 18, 2017 

RIP

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

I’ve wanted to write this post since I read the devastating news of his passing on Saturday, 18 March 2017.  We used to listen to him as teens and when we took up the guitar, growing up, we tried to learn his songs on the guitar.  I still have a close friend who plays the guitar very well.  He grew up playing tunes by Chuck Berry.  I was so sorry to hear of his passing, but I know none of us lives forever and at least he made it to the age of 90, which is longer than most musicians.

Now I’d like to tell you a little about his life.  He was a pioneer in the rock and roll genre.  His career spanned seven decades.  That’s a long time to play music, but that’s what he loved and it’s always nice to be able to make a living at what you love to do.  How many of us really get to do that?

I know some of you have heard some of his best hits, which are “Johnny B Goode,” “Roll over Beethoven” and “Sweet little Sixteen.”

 Chuck Berry

 

Chuck Berry was born Charles Edward Anderson in October of 1926.  He actually transformed the music industry in the 1950’s by taking R and B and creating rock and roll.  John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Huey Lewis were all influenced by this man who helped shape their own careers.

Chuck Berry is survived by his wife and two children.

On Saturday, April first, we start the A to Z Challenge again, so I wanted to post this now because the next post will be part of the challenge, which runs the whole month of April.  I hope to keep up with that along with working and my police class.  We’ll see how well I can manage my time and multi-tasking.  Of course, you all know determination is my theme song, so somehow I’ll manage to get it all done, I hope.  During the challenge, I'll be posting whatever crosses my mind.  Hopefully, it’ll be worth reading.

J is for Jazz

Jazz music originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans in the 1800’s.  The foundation of jazz is deeply rooted in the black experience of the United States, but other cultures have also contributed to its development over the years.

Jazz spread around the world after World War I, and with it national, regional and local music cultures gave rise to many distinctive styles, each performer seeing the music differently.

 Duke Ellington 1943

Jazz music includes brass band marches, ragtime and blues.  In the 1930’s, dance-oriented swing bands started.  In the 1940’s, bebop came along.  Cool jazz with calmer sounds emerged by the late 1940’s and in 1950; hard bop emerged, which introduced rhythm and blues, gospel and blues with saxophone and piano playing.  Two of my favorites playing saxophone are Wynton Marsalis and Kenny G.

 Wynton Marsalis 2009

 

In the early 70’s, jazz changed again with the introduction of rock music rhythms, electric instruments and amplified sound.  Other styles abound in the 2000’s, such as Latin and Afro-Cuban.

Adelaide Hall earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for performing for eight consecutive decades

Women also played a role in jazz and began playing instruments in the 1920’s.  During World War II, there were all-women jazz bands that toured Europe in the 1940’s and traveled with the USO.  The dress code for women at the time was a bit of a hindrance (strapless dresses and high-heel shoes), but they fit in with their suit-wearing male counterparts.  Some famous women in jazz were: Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Ethel Waters, Betty Carter, Adelaide Hall, Abbey Lincoln and Anita O’Day.  They were often singers and not given much credit for their composing, band leading, or instrumental skills.

 Miles Davis 1989

 

The music in New Orleans had a big effect on jazz as many early performers played venues throughout the city, including brothels and bars.  After slaves were freed it was still hard for them to find work so many of them found it in music, whether performing in jazz bands or vaudeville.

 Louis Armstrong

 

During the early 1900’s, jazz was done mostly in African-American communities and mulatto communities (mixed black ancestry), due to segregation laws.  Tourists visiting the red-light district of Storyville, New Orleans brought jazz music to a wider audience.  Many of these early pioneers in jazz later found success in Chicago after the government shut down Storyville in 1917.

In the 1920’s, skiffle, playing with homemade instruments such as washboards, jugs, kazoos and saws, emerged in Chicago.  This form of jazz later merged with country music.

Pharaoh Sanders 1978

Since jazz got a start in the “Deep South” from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants by slaves in the fields, it’s evolved more than two dozen times during the last one hundred years, as each performer interprets the music in his or her way and plays/sings it according to how they feel that day. 

I hope everyone knows a bit more about jazz now than they did.  What’s your favorite kind of music?

The Simple Things

From the CD they played that night

Today, as I’m writing this on the thirteenth, I’m feeling so happy for no reason at all.  I’m off work and taking it easy.  Maybe that’s reason enough for my good mood.

This afternoon hubby and I had some errands to run.  He had a new Bluetooth radio installed in his truck so he wanted to try it out.  He put in the CD by the Bar G Wranglers.  Boy did listening to those songs bring back some memories of a few summers ago when my sister and brother-in-law came to visit me a year after I moved to my new home in the desert.

 The Bar G Wranglers in concert - 2005

 

One of the smartest things I’ve ever done in my life was to get tickets to a Bar G Wranglers concert while they were here.  They love western music and the night included a chuck wagon barbecue dinner.  The food wasn’t that great and the weather wasn’t either.  We had to drive for forty-five minutes to the concert in the rain.  Lightning struck the parking lot while we were all in line to serve our plates for dinner, which was served buffet style on the patio.  My sister hates lightning and that scared her shitless. 

 The Bar G Wranglers in concert - 2005

The Bar G Wranglers in concert - 2005

 

I might mention here that my brother-in-law is the barbecue king.  No one in the world makes barbecue as he does.  He has the patience to stay awake all night to tend the pit while the rest of us sleep.  He’s mastered the art of barbecue, which I hope continues to be a great love of his so I get to taste some more of his cooking before he decides he’s too old to do that any longer.  I don’t know many people who would stay up all night to tend a barbecue pit.  Do you?

My sister and brother-in-law before the concert

Thank goodness the music outweighed it all and made the evening so worth it!  We were close enough to the band to reach out and touch them if we wanted to.  That made the night extra special, as if they were singing to us individually.  I don’t think my brother-in-law ever experienced anything exactly like that before and he was speechless.  It was so much fun to watch him enjoy the concert that was taking place right in front of us.  I’ll never forget the look on his face that night.  It made the ticket expense worth every dollar to me and reinforced the thought that something simple like that was one of life’s best pleasures.

I hope he still looks upon that experience today as I do.  When I listen to the Bar G Wranglers songs today, he immediately pops into my mind with flashbacks to the night of that concert.

To listen to one of their songs, click here.

How many of you have experiences like this in your life?

Oh no! We lost a great musician!

September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015

RIP 

wikipedia

I read today that BB King died in his sleep yesterday in Las Vegas, Nevada.  I don’t know if any of you like the blues in the way of music but I do and have listened to this man for many years.  He will be missed because he was one of the greats.

Here are some facts about BB King you may not know.

1.)  He was born Riley B King in Berclair, Mississippi.

2.)  He was raised by his grandmother.

3.)  He bought his first guitar at age twelve for fifteen dollars.

4.)  He served in the army during WWII.

5.)  He worked as a farmer in his younger years, picking cotton and driving tractors.  A tractor accident after returning from the war made him give up farming.

6.)  He launched his musical career in the 1940s in Memphis, Tennessee

BB King - wikipedia

7.)  He hosted a ten-minute radio show on which he was known as the Beale Street Blues Boy, later shortening this to the Blues Boy and then to BB King.

8.)  Some of his hits were “The Thrill is Gone,” “3 O’clock Blues,” “You Know I Love You,” “Woke up this Morning,” “Every Day I have the Blues,” “Sweet Little Angel.”

9.)  His landmark album “Live at the Regal,” recorded in 1965, was later declared worthy of preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

10.)  By the 1960s, he was appearing on the Ed Sullivan show and The Tonight Show.

11.)  He played on a Gibson ES-355 guitar he named Lucille and said in an AP 2006 interview, “When I’m singing I don’t want you to just hear the melody.  I want you to relive the story because most of the songs have pretty good storytelling.”

12.)  During his life he won fifteen Grammy Awards, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the R and B Music Hall of Fame.

13.)  In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number three in a list of 100 greatest guitarist of all time.

 BB King restaurant sign in Memphis, Tennessee - wikipedia

 

14.)  In the 1990s, he launched a chain of blues clubs bearing his name across the US, featuring live bands and a full menu of southern-inspired comfort food.  There are still restaurants in Memphis, Nashville and Orlando should you be in such places and enjoy this cuisine.

15.)  There’s a Delta Blues Museum in Indianola, Mississippi to preserve BB King’s legacy and values.

16.)  King was a licensed pilot and few himself to many of his gigs until age seventy.

17.)  He was known for appearing in 250-300 concerts a year up into his 70s, only then cutting his workload down to 100 concerts a year due to declining health.

18.)  During his life, BB King inspired many musicians, including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix.

19.)  He preferred to appear onstage wearing a suit or tuxedo, patent leather shoes and diamond rings.

20.)  He stayed away from drugs and alcohol but loved to gamble and frequented Las Vegas when he could.  How many musicians don't use drugs and alcohol?

21.)  He was married and divorced twice, fathering fifteen children.

He was 89, so at least he had a nice long life and lived it his way.  I have to admire people who can do what they love their entire life and make a good living at it.

Do you like blues music?  Have you ever seen BB King in concert?

Click here to listen to “The Thrill is Gone.”

Miss Personality



Snuggles - Sunni's Photo's

 

I’m cat sitting again with this adorable little creature.  She is always so delighted to see me when I go over twice a day to check on her, pet her and chase her around a while.  She likes to hide around corners and jump out at me as I go by.  If I let out a yelp, she really goes crazy and starts bouncing off the walls and grabbing my ankles.

 When I’m outback watering the garden, she watches at the backdoor and paws at the glass.  I know she misses her ‘mom’ who is out hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada’s in CA right now.  So I try to spend about 45 minutes or so with her each time I go over.

 She’s really a joy with so much personality, but I’m not getting much writing done with this and everything else I have to do.  That’s why this post is late.

Remembering Woodstock, the greatest music festival of our time

Poster Designed by Arnold Skolnick

This was a noteworthy time in our history.  It’s hard to believe it’s been 44 years.  For anyone interested, here are the bands that played for your review.  This schedule is from Wikipedia.  Even though the world was in turmoil with the Vietnam War, it still seems like a less complicated time than we live in today.

 I get nostalgic over this event.  It brings back many nice memories.  I still have bellbottoms and tie dye from that era that I still wear.  Things like that I will never throw away.

 I’m posting links for the opening and closing songs for anyone who wants to listen and reminisce this event.

 For Richie Havens click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA51wyl-9IE

 For Jimi Hendrix click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU5zxEFq4wA

 

Friday, August 15 – Saturday, August 16
Artist	Time	Notes
Richie Havens	5:07 pm – 7:00 pm
Swami Satchidananda	7:10 pm – 7:20 pm	Gave the opening speech/invocation for the festival
Sweetwater	7:30 pm – 8:10 pm
Bert Sommer	8:20 pm – 9:15 pm
Tim Hardin	9:20 pm – 9:45 pm
Ravi Shankar	10:00 pm – 10:35 pm	Played through the rain
Melanie	10:50 pm – 11:20 pm
Arlo Guthrie	11:55 pm – 12:25 am
Joan Baez	12:55 am – 2:00 am	Was six months pregnant at the time

 

Saturday, August 16 – Sunday, August 17
Artist	Time	Notes
Quill	12:15 pm – 12:45 pm
Country Joe McDonald	1:00 pm – 1:30 pm	Joe later performs with Country Joe and the Fish
Santana	2:00 pm – 2:45 pm
John Sebastian	3:30 pm – 3:55 pm
Keef Hartley Band	4:45 pm – 5:30 pm
The Incredible String Band	6:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Canned Heat	7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Mountain	9:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Grateful Dead	10:30 pm – 12:05 am	their set was cut short after the stage amps overloaded during "Turn On Your Love Light"
Creedence Clearwater Revival	12:30 am – 1:20 am
Janis Joplin with The Kozmic Blues Band[27]	2:00 am – 3:00 am
Sly & the Family Stone	3:30 am – 4:20 am
The Who	5:00 am – 6:05 am	Briefly interrupted by Abbie Hoffman
Jefferson Airplane	8:00 am – 9:40 am

 

Sunday, August 17 – Monday, August 18
Artist	Time	Notes
Joe Cocker and The Grease Band	2:00 pm – 3:25 pm	After Joe Cocker's set, a thunderstorm disrupted the events for several hours.
Country Joe and the Fish	6:30 pm – 8:00 pm	Country Joe McDonald's second performance.
Ten Years After	8:15 pm – 9:15 pm
The Band	10:00 pm – 10:50 pm
Johnny Winter	12:00 am – 1:05 am	Winter's brother, Edgar Winter, is featured on three songs.
Blood, Sweat & Tears	1:30 am – 2:30 am
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young	3:00 am – 4:00 am	An acoustic and electric set were played. Neil Young skipped most of the acoustic set.
Paul Butterfield Blues Band	6:00 am – 6:45 am
Sha Na Na	7:30 am – 8:00 am
Jimi Hendrix / Gypsy Sun & Rainbows	9:00 am – 11:10 am