Charles Edward Anderson Berry

March 18, 2017 - I've been trying to get some perspective of Chuck Berry's life. When in 1955 the big hits were The Ballad Of Davy Crockett by Fess Parker, Mr. Sandman by the Chordettes or Tennessee Ernie Ford's Sixteen Tons... Chuck Berry comes up with songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958). He's been covered by all genres including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis and Linda Ronstadt, Conway Twitty, Waylon Jennings, and Count Basie, AC/DC, and Judas Priest. His song Johnny B Goode is on the Voyager spacecraft hurling through space to some distant rockers! Consistently listed in the 10 of any rock list, his only number 1 single was the novelty song "My Ding-a-Ling"?! He had just announced a new album to release this year. Hopefully there is enough finished that we can get one more from the master. Thanks so much for all you've given us. RIP

Here's a song that Chuck Berry wrote, as performed by Carlos Santana!

 https://youtu.be/DtgNHnF7CYI

RIP Glen Campbell

Although I knew it was coming, and perhaps, in some ways a relief, the death of Glen Campbell really saddens me. Much more than a country star, Glen Campbell left a big mark on the world. He was an extraordinary musician, one of the true masters of guitar. But he also came face to face with his demons and led a happy later life. Up until he was diagnosed with alzheimer's, then he led an exceptional life! His attitude and openness were positive and beneficial to the alzheimer's community. If you haven't seen the movie "I'll Be Me", I highly recommend it. It is a tearjerker about a man and his family dealing with alzheimer's, the man just happens to be Glen Campbell.

Of course, all the news posts and specials cover some of the highlights of Glen's career, "Wichita Lineman, Rhinestone Cowboy, TV show, etc.... But did you know he was a session musician with the Wrecking Crew and played on many early recordings including Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, the Monkees, Nancy Sinatra, Merle Haggard, Jan and Dean, Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra. Another great movie "The Wrecking Crew" 2008, also included Leon Russel!

Thanks Mr. Glen Campbell for sharing your amazing talents and life with us. One of my personal favorite songs is "Gentle On My Mind", written by John Hartford. You can find that all over and have a listen. But I'll leave you with some examples of his understated guitar mastery on this link. The first part is pretty rough recording, and basic rock n roll licks, but the later video country licks are ridiculous. 

 https://youtu.be/8fqN4zgqf78

In Memoriam 2016: The Great Gig in the Sky

I'm sure you've seen the posts, news segments, videos of icons we lost in 2016. There seemed to be an abnormal body count this past year, with public figures such as Muhammad Ali, John Glenn, Andy Grove and Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, the list of notables is way too long. I would like to focus on a few of the musicians that meant something special to me.


David Bowie and Prince: honestly, I was not a huge fan of either, but certainly loved the more popular songs and the diversity and re-inventing of each of these icons is incredible. They never stood still, never fit into a mold, they were unique.

The influence and legacy of The Fifth Beatle, George Martin, cannot be overstated. He had such a creative style with The Beatles and the early rock era.

It's beyond tragic that we lost both Keith Emerson and Greg Lake. The power trio ELP, including Carl Palmer, were masterful creators of electronic rock.

While classic artists such as Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane and Glenn Frey of the Eagles left us with songs we sing in the shower and on the highway for years to come.

Scotty Moore was the guitar behind Elvis for most of the early years and the first "That's All Right". Scotty also played with others including Ricky Nelson and Roy Orbison.

There are so many more, Maurice White, Merle Haggard, Leon Russell, Mose Allison and Gato Barbieri cover mixed genres of funk, country, blues, and jazz.

Thank you all, and all the others, so much for the gift of music. RIP.

 ELP : Knife Edge I was lucky to be able to witness the spectacle of  ELP a couple of times.

Music, Musicians and Musicals

I've been thinking lately about some of my favorite movies about music, bands or musicians. That ear worm kinda crossed over to concerts and musicals. The movies "category" tend to cross over to video and documentaries. As I started jotting down my favorites the list got longer.... and longer. So without preference to category or ranking I present my "TOP 10" movies/videos/documentaries about music/musicians/musicals/concerts. In no particular order, tomorrow I may pick a whole different list. Please reply with some of your favorites!

• Amadeus: (1984) The story of Mozart like you've never seen before. You're gonna love classical music when this is over! Similar biography types (with liberties) Walk The Line, Ray, La Bamba, Lady Sings The Blues

• Yellow Submarine: (1968) I love animation. I love the Beatles. Not a huge fan of Hard Days Night, Help! or Magical Mystery Tour (except for the music). The Beatles had a commitment to make 3 films and this was a way to fulfil that. They only appeared at the very end of the movie. The voices were actors. But I've always loved the story, the animation and of course the music! Another great animation is Walt Disney's Fantasia, which might be my choice on any other day.

• West Side Story: (1961) One of the earliest musicals that I really loved. Based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It was originally going to be about a Catholic boy and a Jewish girl. But with the influx of Puerto Ricans (and tensions) in New York, West Side Story was born. "When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way!". Another favorite here would be Jesus Christ Superstar, or Bye Bye Birdie.

• Almost Famous: (2000) Cute story of a young journalist following a rock band. Just a good fun story. Across The Universe is similar with all Beatle cover songs. High Fidelity might also fit into here.

• Crossroads: (1986) A film about a fictitious musician, but his very real road to fame. This bluesman wanna-be will do just about anything to be the best. It might be a little slow going for some, but in the end... well, you gotta see the end! Music by Ry Cooder, and Steve Vai! Other movies along these lines would be The Commitments, Blues Brothers (I and II).

• Woodstock: (1970) A concert film extraordinaire. It's a miracle it came together. The artist lineups and licensing were a big issue. The event drew massive crowds no one was prepared for. The filming was a mix of adhoc camera and sound engineers along with pros. The final mix had so much footage they used the 2 or 3 panel multi-shot throughout much of the film. Others in this genre might include Concert for Bangledesh, The Last Waltz, Monterey Pop, Gimmie Shelter.

OK, yeah, like I said in the beginning... the list just keeps getting longer. We'll leave it here... please give me some feedback on YOUR favorites.

Merle Travis and Scotty Moore

I've been working on a style of guitar playing known as "Travis picking". Named after Merle Travis. It's a finger-picking style in the right hand that alternate's bass notes and keeps a 1, 2, 1, 2 kind of rhythm, while the fingers pluck out the melody. Piece of cake. I've been playing my whole adult life this shouldn't be a problem. Uh, right, think again junior. Here's how it goes.

So, Merle Travis was a early country and western singer, songwriter, guitarist. His influence ranges from The Everly Brothers to Leo Fender to Chet Atkins. Here's a sample of the "Travis picking" sound on his own song, "Sixteen Tons".

But, Scotty Moore passed earlier this year and that's what really got me recently interested again in this style. Scotty was the guitar player for Elvis during his early years. Scotty is the guitar of  "That's All Right", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Mystery Train", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", and many more. It's "Mystery Train" that's really gets me and I'm still working on it.

Here's what it looks like in guitar tablature:

I'm loving the adventure, and humbled by so many great players. Here's a Wiki link if you need Moore. The Rolling Stones' lead guitarist Keith Richards has said of Moore, "When I heard "Heartbreak Hotel", I knew what I wanted to do in life. It was as plain as day. All I wanted to do in the world was to be able to play and sound like that. Everyone else wanted to be Elvis, I wanted to be Scotty."

Scotty Moore wiki

Beatles final album

May 8th is the anniversary of the release of the LAST studio Beatles album. "Let It Be" released in 1970, almost a month AFTER they broke-up and was actually recorded before the "Abbey Road" road album, but released in reverse order. They only recorded as "The Beatles" for 7 years ?!

Also, on January 30, 1969, the "Let It Be" rooftop concert was the final public performance of the Beatles. The audio was recorded by engineer Alan Parsons (yes, THAT Alan Parsons!) and film director Michael Lindsay-Hogg brought in a camera crew to capture several angles of the performance—including reactions from people on the street. The performance was cut short by the police after complaints about noise. The concert came to an end with the conclusion of "Get Back", with John Lennon saying, "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we've passed the audition."

The Beatles official website

Beatles Influences

The Beatles influenced a lot of groups after them, but who influenced the Beatles? Since they grew up in post-war Liverpool (a seaport), the sailors would bring vinyl from the USA. The Beatles were drawn to acts like Chuck Berry (Roll Over Beethoven), Carl Perkins (Honey Don't) and Little Richard (Long Tall Sally). Their vocal harmonies were very much influenced by American Motown groups like The Marvelettes (Please Mr. Postman).

For extra bonus fun, check out each of these songs by the original artist and writer (linked above) and then The Beatles version (linked below).

Roll Over Beethoven

Honey Don't




Long Tall Sally




Please Mr. Postman