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The first rock n’ roll single?

It is often claimed that the Bartholomew/Domino song “The Fat Man” was the first or one of the first rock ‘n roll records. Whatever, it was recorded on this date 66 years ago at the legendary J&M Studio. What I didn’t know is that it’s a variation on “Junker’s Blues” which in turn apparently morphed into “Junco Partner”.…

The power of music

Why were we able to feed and water and medicate this person but not respond to the deeply human needs that he might have . . . — Bill Thomas It’s been a long time coming but I’m now firmly of the view that if I had to lose sight or sound I’d opt for losing the…

Maggot Brain

George Clinton famously told Hazel to play “like your momma had just died,” and the resulting evocation of melancholy and sorrow doesn’t merely rival Jimi Hendrix’s work, but arguably bests a lot of it.  Accompanied by another softer guitar figure providing gentle rhythm for the piece, the end result is simply fantastic, an emotional apocalypse…

Syd Barrett

Much ink has been spilled over SB but viewing the two documentaries below (they do overlap) one is touched by how Pink Floyd kept his story alive and because of his absence, gave them new purpose. What other band that has lost a key member that has been so elegantly elegiac about their past colleague? Each band member is very articulate…

Why Does James Booker Matter?

Died on this day — without doubt one of the greats. No one has ever played the piano like Booker. In an email referring to the new deluxe Classified record, Harry Connick Jr. put it like this: “This CD is yet another example of the powerful genius of a unique and complex mind. I hear joy…