Wilco Gets The Colbert Bump

Don’t know if you saw Wilco last night on the Colbert Report. Blew my mind. They did a new song that sounded a bit like Bowie’s “Heroes” but ultimately just sounded like Wilco. Which is a good thing. I love this song not just because they sing that Wilco loves you (and later that Colbert loves you too) but also for the little Obama HOPE card stuck on lead guitarist Nels Cline’s amp.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/189726/october-30-2008/exclusive-wilco-song

If this embedded video (courtesy Comedy Central’s website) doesn’t work, go to Comedy Central and check it out (I couldn’t embed the actual one for some reason)

“Raise Yer Ukes For Obama!”

I recently made the acquaintance of rock writer Sylvie Simmons, who writes for Mojo Magazine among others, and we discussed how we backed Obama but, as foreign nationals (she English, me Canadian), we couldn’t vote in this election. She mentioned that she had written an Obama fight song on her ukulele and that was starting up a uke based web movement called the Million Ukulele March.

I told her that I play uke as well, so she invited me to join the march. Next day I went over to her place and helped her to record her song, kitchen style, on my MacBook. It’s a simple lo-fi thing,  just her singing and strumming and an overdubbed uke solo, by me, just for texture. The site is up now. And if you link right through to the Myspace page she made for it, you’ll hear her song, as well as a bubblegum pop song I wrote and recorded at home (on uke of course) called “Obama – A-A- Yah” featuring a massed chorus of a million overdubbed Pauls (just 8 actually). That song is also on my own Myspace page.

Today, I noticed that she had gotten the support of Steve Earle, Howe Gelb, Ronny Elliott, Ralph Carney, Eric Drew Feldman and Sid Griffin (and more). You should go and check it out, add your name and uke to the growing list of supporters. Let’s get out the UKE vote on November 4th.

Do it for Don Hobama…

Better late….Four Stars in Mojo!

Better late than never? I’ll take it. The November edition of MOJO MAGAZINE (the one with the Clash on the cover)

gives a FOUR STAR REVIEW to my book, IT AIN’T EASY: LONG JOHN BALDRY AND THE BIRTH OF THE BRITISH BLUES.

Here’s the clipping:

The review was written by the excellent Sid Griffin, who wrote one of last years best books MILLION DOLLAR BASH: BOB DYLAN THE BAND AND THE BASEMENT TAPES (Jawbone).

Thanks to Sid, Mojo and to you dear readers.

Frankie Venom – Canadian Punk Legend

This week saw the passing of one of Canada’s finest and earliest punk rock front men, Frank Kerr of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, better known as Frankie Venom, lead singer of Teenage Head.

TEENAGE HEAD (Frankie with short hair, striped shirt).

He died from compications of throat cancer, and had been in a coma for a time before succumbing completely. He was 51.

I got the word a few days ago from my friend Blair in Toronto, who rightly sensed that it wouldn’t likely make the mainstream news down here in California, and who rightly knew that I would appreciate Frankie’s passing as a milestone in music history, or at least Canadian music history. But in the nation of Punkdom, which has no man made borders and spans the world — from Brixton to the Bowery, Kings Road to Queen St West (toronto) from New York’s Lower East Side to Vancouver’s West Side, and from the East Bay to Huntington Beach – Frankie Venom was a name. And in a music world which often uses the term too liberally, Frankie was an actual LEGEND. Born in Scotland, it was in his adoptive home of Hamilton, Ontario that Frank Kerr first adopted the name Frankie Venom and became one of a handful of early punk bands performing in the Southern Ontario area, particularly in nearby Toronto, which had also shared a kind of underground railroad link to the New York scene (the Ramones made quite a few early appearances there and Johnny Ramone had been like Johnny Appleseed to the punk rockers of the so-called “Golden Horseshoe” region of Lake Ontario.

Here’s some footage of Frankie and Teenage Head with J.D. Roberts (John Roberts now of CNN) on the New Music TV series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXl7_hqqXzw

I never knew Frankie, but when I heard about his death, I immediately thought of a few of my friends who did.

One is Ralph Alfonso, the original manager of the Diodes and their seminal home club, the Crash n Burn in Toronto.  When I emailed him, I found him in Paris (he travels a lot for his great indie label Bongo Beat Records) and as luck would have it (as it were) he was with both my friend Dave “Rave” DesRoches, from Hamilton, who had briefly replaced Frankie in Teenage Head for a time, and the Diodes singer Paul Robinson who had shared many a night at the Crash n Burn with Frankie.

“It’s a sad loss,” said Dave Rave, obviously at a loss for words before adding,”it was an honour to be in a band with him.“

The Diodes singer Robinson was kind enough to prepare this e-mail statement, from London:

“Frankie was a great spark in the fire that fueled the Canadian punk scene. He was a great communicator  on stage with an uncanny ability to make the  audience feel like they were one with the band. All of the other bands on the scene watched  him and learned from his cool and original stagecraft. This wasn’t just in the provinces but also in New York City.

I had the honor to play at CBGB’S with Teenage Head and The Viletones in the summer of 1977. Most of the seminal NYC punk bands were in the audience. That night. Frankie was on stage around 3 am; watched by a small audience who included The Ramones, Debbie Harry, The Dead Boys and The Cramps.

If I had to pinpoint his moment of greatness this was definitely the best performance of his career.
Cheers Frankie – may your contribution live on and on.”

Paul Robinson
The Diodes
London UK

Finally, whenever I think of Hamilton, I think of the great Tom Wilson, whose basso profundo voice is the salt of the earthy embodiment of the Hammer. I emailed him for a capsule comment and his reply said it all.

“I’m in a hotel room in Kamloops cryin’,” Tom told me via Facebook, “and if i still drank booze i’d be loaded. There was Frankie and all the rest of us who wished we were as good as him. That includes Gord Downie, Hugh Dillon, myself and every other kid who got close to his fire.”

Yay Philanthropy! My weekend with Nick, Ry, Elvis and Emmylou

Thank God, or whomever you wish to thank, for Philanthropy.

More specifically, thank rich guys like Warren Hellman, who every year bankrolls Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, a free festival in Golden Gate park and a magnet for world-class roots and rootsy artistes. For these past eight years, the festival has gone on, rain or shine, during the first weekend of October, routinely attracting folks like Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello and vintage acts like Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson.

This year, Elvis Costello played on the Sunday, and I’ll talk about that later in this post. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss headlined Friday night, with T-Bone Burnett joining them but I wasn’t there because I was lucky enough to be attending another philanthropic event over at the Great American Music Hall.

Ry, Nick and Jim – Guitar, Bass and Drums.

The show was put together by legendary Marin keyboard player Austin de Lone (a former member of Elvis Costello’s Confederates) and his wife Lesley, as a benefit to help run a Housing Project for Prader-Willi syndrome sufferers like their son Richard. Read about Prader-Willi here. Last year, de Lone invited Elvis Costello who came and reunited with Clover, the band who backed him on My Aim Is True, for a track-by-track recreation of that landmark debut album. It was an amazing event that I will never forget.

It takes a village to raise a child with special needs, and this year, it took a Little Village, as in Nick Lowe, Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner (without John Hiatt) appearing under the moniker: Guitar Bass and Drums.

To open the show, Juliette Commagere (who is, as I later read in Joel Selvin’s column, Cooder’s daughter-in-law) brought up a huge group of players, which included drummer Joachim Cooder, a guitarist, a bass player, two synthesizer players, and a four piece horn and string section. Next, in stark contrast, Elvis Costello, popped onstage with “Audie” de Lone on accordion to do a short set in which including his current live staple, a T-Bone Burnett co-write called “Sulphur To Sugar Cane” and what he announced was the inaugural performance of a song called “Doctor Watson, I Presume.”

It was simply astoundingly brilliant and its miraculous how Elvis just gets better and better with age.

Then came the headliners. Nick Lowe on bass (mainly) Jim Keltner on drums (naturally) and Ry Cooder on electric guitar (impressively).  These guys, of course, have played a lot together – notably with John Hiatt on Bring the Family and the aforementioned Little Village, and Keltner and Cooder backed Nick on his landmark Party of One album (still one of my all time faves). In fact, Nick opened up with one from that album, “Gai Gin Man.”  Nick and Ry traded lead vocals, but the lion’s share went to Nick, who sometimes put down the bass to play acoustic guitar.  I was thrilled that he did a laid back version of “What So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love And Understanding” and a jaw dropping rendition of his song “The Beast In Me” which was recorded by Johnny Cash. Elvis came up for a duet with Nick and I didn’t recognize the name of it. These guys know so many songs; some of them deliberately obscure picks.

I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this before, but Ry Cooder is one of the best slide guitarists in the world. And since he’s literally been around that world, I think

it must be common knowledge. Such a warm tone, just the right amount of grit to it, playing such fluid and organic lines. The word “tasty” doesn’t do it justice. And Jim Keltner, a drummer’s drummer, was so open and groovy that, and this is a compliment, you could sometimes forget he was there. His grooves were so economical and “just right” and he didn’t grandstand or try to steal the spotlight from Nick or Ry. It’s an inspiring thing to see the best of the best, loose and under rehearsed having a good time on stage.

Thanks to Colin Nairne, who working with Elvis and Ry, I

was sitting in a VIP balcony with Colin’s wife, the excellent singer Wendy Bird. Wendy pointed out Steve Earle standing over to the side of the stage. I was sure he was going to come up and join them, but he never did.
I ended up going backstage after the show, thanks again Colin, and found myself in a conversation with Elvis, Nick and Steve Earle, about Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks and other names I probably shouldn’t mention.  When I say “in a conversation”, I should point out that I was largely laying out – only chiming in to either ask for elaboration (like Wallace Shawn in My Dinner With Andre) or to meekly add my two cents about Smile or Pet Sounds.
At the risk of exposing my inner nerd even more than usual, I had to laugh to myself at being allowed into the proximic bubble of three great songwriters, all of whom I’ve admired. It was like superimposing my head on Mt. Rushmore. I was happy to be involved but boy did I feel like the odd man out.

Then on Sunday, we went down to see Elvis play his Hardly Strictly set.

It took us a while to get into the city (traffic was bad on the Bay Bridge) so by the time we got near the Star Stage, EC was already into his set but a convivial festival vibe was evident. The festival later announced that 40,000 people had attended the whole weekend, but it felt like the whole lot was there for Elvis’s set.

He leaned toward rootsier material like the aforementioned “Sulphur To Sugar Cane” (although I expected Burnett to join him, he never did) and George Jones’ “Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down” with guest Jim Lauderdale before inviting special guest Emmylou Harris to do a duet on “Love Hurts”. Elvis was clearly having fun, dedicating “My Three Sons” to his sons Frank and Dexter, who were at the side of the stage, also pulling off a rollicking take on Van Morrison’s “Wild Night” and even “Uncomplicated” from Blood and Chocolate.

Overall, a great weekend, and all of it came about because of philanthropy.

Yay, philanthropy.

Political Science

OR
Love The Candidate? Buy the Soundtrack!

“I’m your top prime cut of meat
I’m your choice
I wanna be Elected”
-Alice Cooper “Elected”

It’s time to talk about music and it’s use in the U.S. Election cycle this season.

Let me start out by saying that I’m a Canadian living in California so while I have no dog in this fight, per se, Obama’s policies and outlooks most resemble my own. So he’s my dog, if you will.  In coming weeks I may have something to say about the Canadian elections, but this current post is about music and the U.S. election.

The other night, the Obama campaign raised 9 million dollars at a Hollywood fundraiser starring Barbra Streisand. To put that in everyday numbers, that’s roughly 9 million times what you or I have in our wallets but about a quarter of the cost of the average Hollywood blockbuster.

It’s said that Washington is Hollywood for ugly people, and Leonard Cohen once sang (allegedly to Janis Joplin) “We are ugly, but we have the music”.  Music of course is the soundtrack to all of our lives and the Democrats who assembled in L.A. for Barbra and Barack are Hoping (with a capital H) that Obama can take us back to “The Way We Were” during the financially secure Clinton years, with the “Evergreen” Belief that 8 years of Republican rule will come to a “Stoney End” in November. Meanwhile, the GOP has been running into all sorts of trouble finding musicians to even ALLOW their music to be appropriated by Team McCain. That’s because, in popular songs, meaning has currency. And deregulating that meaning, i.e subverting an artist’s intent to a diametrically opposite political party, devalues that currency.

Musicians, Don Was once told me, are different than actors.
Actors get known for playing people often unlike themselves, in fact the more different they are in real life, the more acclaim we give them.

“Films,” the be-dreadlocked producer told me, during an interview for the Barenaked Ladies book, “are an escape. Pop music articulates personal feelings that transcend conversational language. And people use it because it actually expresses your feelings in a more eloquent way.”

Thus, we have Obama getting blanket authorization to walk out to Ben Harper songs, U2’s “City of Blinding Lights” and Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” while, on the other hand, Jackson Browne sues John McCain for unauthorized use of “Running on Empty”, Van Halen jumps to stop McCain from using “Right Now” (even though Sarah and Todd Palin gave Trig Palin the middle name Van, to make him Trig Van Palin in honor of their love of Van Halen) while John Mellencamp lashed out at McCain for his use of  “Pink Houses” and “Our Country” and Ann and Nancy Wilson are furious that Palin might have implied their endorsement of her by using Heart’s “Barracuda” to intro the self-styled Sarah Barracuda.

Here’s the thing though, these songs don’t actually help the GOP when you check the lyrics.

One of the best lines in “Barracuda” for example, goes “And if the real thing don’t do the trick / You better make up something quick” – too honest, perhaps?

And why would someone who is running on empty promises want to draw attention to it by literally using “Running On Empty”?  It’s the most tone-deaf equation since Reagan unsuccessfully attempted to co-opt Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.” despite the fact that the song questioned everything that Reagan’s GOP stood for. Springsteen, of course, demanded they stop, as did Tom Petty when GW Bush cued up “I Won’t Back Down” for his 2000 campaign. Presumably, Fleetwood Mac were sympatico with Bill Clinton and blessed his ubiquitous use of “Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow).” But hey, the GOP have their supporters, too you know? Like country star John Rich, of Big and Rich, who actually wrote a new song for the GOP candidate, entitled “Raising McCain” (get it?). And I’m sure Kid Rock must be with McCain, although I admit it’s his ads for the National Guard that may be confusing me, it’s just that I’m so used to the GOP co-opting military and NASCAR thing – you assume he’s Republican. Anyone out there know where the Kid stands? Let me know. Strangely, even Toby Keith says he supports Obama! So it’s a fair question.

But, while there are plenty of Republicans in the music industry, it seems that every time the McCain team grab a hold of a popular song, they are told they are, to use a phrase, not worthy.

Here’s A Few Song That I Don’t Think Are Being Used By Either Party.

“Living In Hope” – The Rutles for Obama
“Let’s Impeach The President” Neil Young for Biden
“John, I’m Only Dancing” David Bowie for McCain
“Do The Dinosaur” Was (Not Was) – for Palin

And forgive me, but how about “Sweet Home Obama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd?

As you can see, I’d suck at that job, but  I’ll bet YOU can think of many more, probably much better ideas for campaign songs.
So send them to me, via the COMMENTS slot….

And now to play us out, (PLAY US OUT? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?)

here’s Randy Newman with “Political Science”…

Prog Talk – two things.

A month or so back, I discussed how much I’d been impressed with Dweezil Zappa’s Zappa Plays Zappa project and how the music, in spite of being complex and show-offish to play, was the opposite of a great deal of what we nowadays call PROG (formerly known as Progressive Rock). You can read that one here.

Well two things have been making me think again about Prog today.

The first was today’s announcement of the passing of Pink Floyd’s keyboard player Richard Wright, from Cancer, at age 65.

Richard Wright (left) with Syd Barrett (right) in an early Pink Floyd promo shot.

Keyboards played an important part in the style and substance of the Floyd, particularly the post Syd Barrett version of the band, i.e. the one most people know. Oddly enough, for a Prog band, Floyd have rarely been about athletic displays of virtuosity (although only a fool would discount, say, David Gilmour’s guitar prowess) in fact, their dreamscape sound and slow, almost bluesy demeanour stand in contrast to the notes-per-second crowd. As a result, I never really dwelled on Wright’s keyboard work that much. His presence was all about the ambience or supporting the song, a journeyman in prog if you will. Wright’s electric piano work on “Money”, his synthscapes on “Shine On (You Crazy Diamond)” or his organ arpeggios on “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” all became staple sounds in the post Floyd world of Alan Parsons styled album rock. And yet, we so seldom think of Richard Wright. Such is the legacy of a good utility player, supporting the song so David Gilmour or Roger Waters could lay down their sonic ache over it and take the spotlight. And not just that, apparently, according to something I read today, he also sang lead vocals on a few including “Time,” “Echoes,” and Syd’s song, “Astronomy Domine”.  I also read that he was the only member of the Floyd not to show at the premiere of the The Wall movie. He left the band came back from time to time (he didn’t appear on The Final Cut album, but he continued to tour with Gilmour’s lineups of Floyd.  Anyway, he’s gone to the Great Gig in The Sky now, so note his passing, if only because you pretty much know every riff he played without ever really thinking about who played it.

The other Prog thought came after attending a gig by The Bad Plus, last week at Yoshi’s in San Francisco.

The Bad Plus (left to right) Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson, Dave King

They play a kind of modern improvisational jazz, rooted in be bop swing, and set in a piano, double bass and jazz drum kit motif, yet informed by rock melodies. These rock melodies, however are the starting point for expanded jazz solos and time signature defying jams. Their most recent recording was aptly named Prog, and features their instrumental interpretations of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer”, Tears For Fears’s “Everybody Wants To Rule the World” and David Bowie’s “Life On Mars” alongside their original compositions. Last week in concert, their “Tom Sawyer” was a standout, and their own songs sizzled. This is, as is the case in Dweezil Zappa’s current band, largely duo to the virtuoso calibre of the musicians on hand, all three of whom know how to play rings around the stage, but know when to hang back and play that most awesome of notes, the space between. Drummer David King is a treat to watch, he smiles, he laughs and calmly, joyously lays down some of the best drumming I’ve witnessed in my many years of concert going. Bass player Reid Anderson has that Charlie Haden sense of structure and harmony and like all of them knows that silence is often as groovy as a dotted eigth note. Finally, host and pianist Ethan Iverson, carries the main melodic direction with a broad sound and dexterity – his nimble rhythmic work opens up to full sustain pedalled colour work here and there and his hilarious introductions and humble demeanor suggest a bald John Hodgeman (the PC from the Mac commercials). Yeah, I dug them. They’re in that category where the Brad Meldhau Trio lives (that band does some Radiohead covers).  A whole lot of true jazz exploration with a healthy dose of Prog, and a few touches of music rooted outside the jazz realm, such as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” thrown in for good measure.

We close with a clip of The Bad Plus at work and at play in their EPK on YouTube. NOTE YouTube didn’t censor this video, (the way the pulled down the Sarah Palin Assembly of God one, but that’s another sad story. Click the link to read about THAT)

Wither Thou, Bill Withers?

Just to clear this up right away, as far as I know soul powered singer songwriter Bill Withers, the bard of Slab Fork, West Virginia, is still very much alive. Frankly, a lot of folks have been dropping out of this plane of existence lately so I can imagine some of you were a little startled that – out of the blue – I start talking about Bill Withers, the deep voiced singer of 70’s and 80’s hits like “Ain’t No Sunshine” (1971), “Grandma’s Hands” (1971), “Lean on Me” (1972), “Use Me” (1972), “Lovely Day” (1978), “Just The Two Of Us” (1981) and, as they say, many, many more!

Allow me to explain.

Last week, I was chatting with my friend Ron Sexsmith about his new album Exit Strategy Of The Soul. We were talking about how some of his own vocals were very soul oriented and he reminded me that he’d always been a big fan of Bill Withers. I told him that I was too, and that my old band The Gravelberrys used to do a cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine” in the mid 90’s.  Ron told me that, in 2004, when he was recording his own song “Whatever It Takes” [from Retriever], he was actually trying to write something that Bill Withers might have done. “He’s definitely one of my heroes,” Ron told me. “I keep hoping he’ll make another record some day, but that’ll probably never happen.”

Of course that got me thinking about Bill Withers. Where was he now? It also got me YouTubin’, where I came upon this clip from 1971, with Withers performing “Ain’t No Sunshine”:

Withers won the Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues song in 1971 for “Ain’t No Sunshine” and another one in the same category in 1981 for “Just The Two Of Us” both for his own recordings. Then he won another one for Club Nouveau’s recording of “Lean On Me” in 1987.

Here’s another great clip of him doing “Use Me”…

Apparently he retired years ago, and raised two kids including Kori Withers who is a songwriter too. I sure hope he’s made money from that Will Smith sample in “Just The Two of Us” and from that Gap ad that used “Lovely Day.”

For what it’s worth, and we all know Wikipedia is subject to distortion, here’s the Wikipedia entry on Bill Withers.

Anyway, just wanted, for a change, to celebrate the guy while he’s alive.  So many of the greats aren’t here anymore, make a little time for Bill Withers.

I leave you now with a great clip of an interview Withers granted to West Virginia Public Television, last winter, on the occasion of his induction into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

Baldry Documentary Nominated For TWO Gemini Awards, including one for yours truly…

Nick Orchard’s music documentary, which I was a writer on, has been nominated for two GEMINI AWARDS, the prestigious honour bestowed upon “The Best of Canadian Television” and the national equivalent of the U.S. Emmy Awards.

Soapbox Productions LONG JOHN BALDRY: IN THE SHADOW OF THE BLUES, artists rendering symbolizing TWO GEMINI AWARD NOMINATIONS

It was announced yesterday that Long John Baldry: In the Shadow of the Blues, (the Soapbox Productions documentary which airs recurrently on Bravo! in Canada and on BBC in the UK), had been nominated for Best Biography Documentary Program (Nick Orchard and Corby Coffin ) and that Paul Myers (me) had been nominated for Best Writing In A  Documentary Series.
I’m thrilled to be associated with Nick and Corby’s documentary and I can tell you that it was a real labour of love for all of us to get to tell Long John Baldry’s amazing true story. It’s all part of this incredible journey that I’ve been on with my book It Ain’t Easy: Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues, as we seem to be getting more and more late, but welcome and appreciated, notice from reviewers and peers.

Congratulations to Nick and Corby, and to Eva Gobalek who left Soapbox last June but was very important to the success of the film.

The Awards ceremony will be held in Toronto on October 20th.

I’m sure that Long John’s ghost is looking down from wherever blues men go and smiling on us all before going back to jamming with Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters.

Baldry, Willie Dixon and Chris Barber, circa late 50's

3 Items: The Paul And John live, Jerry Wexler dead, and another great review for It Ain’t Easy

FIRST LET ME SAY THANK YOU to all the people who showed up for International Pop Overthrow at the Rockit Room in San Francisco on Saturday night to witness the debut of The Paul And John, the band I am in with ace guitarist and songwriter John Moremen, backed for the evening by the also ace rhythm section of Mike Levy (bass) and Daniel Swan (drums). Here’s a candid backstage photo taken by my friend Suzie.

THE PAUL AND JOHN (left to right, Mike, Daniel, John and Paul) (photo: © Suzie Racho)

As promised, we played our five songs and got off the stage. No one got hurt. Now it’s back to the studio to finish our debut recording, now with a working title of INNER SUNSET. As Matt Drudge would say, file under “developing…”

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next: GIVING SOME “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” TO JERRY WEXLER – A REAL “RECORDS MAN”

As I seem to be doing a lot lately, here on the blog, I have to take a moment to note the passing of another music business giant.
Jerry Wexler, one of those prescient white men who understood the beauty of so-called “Race Records” died over the weekend at the age of 91. I note his passing not just because was a seminal producer and A&R man at the mighty Atlantic Records working alongside the Ertegun brothers, Ahmet and Nesuhi. Not just because he brought us Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Aretha Franklin, The Drifters and the wicked Wilson Pickett. Not just because he had a hand in iconic soul workouts like “Mustang Sally”, “Respect” “Land of 1,000 Dances” and produced real artistes like Willie Nelson, The Staple Singers, Dire Straits and Bob Dylan.

I celebrate Jerry Wexler because he and I had but one thing in common: we both love music, real music, deeply and passionately.
You can read scholarly and in depth obituaries all over the web, try this one, but what I want to say – here on the Pulmyears Music Blog – is simply this:

Thank You Mr. Wexler. Thank you for having “great ears”, for being not only colour-blind but for actually seeing that music has no race. For being one of the good ones, the music business professionals who follow their ears and heart and never forget that without MUSIC there’d be no BUSINESS. People like you are, quite literally, a dying breed.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

And finally, I’m blown away by the great critical response to my most recent book, IT AIN’T EASY: LONG JOHN BALDRY AND THE BIRTH OF THE BRITISH BLUES. We’ve gotten solid praise from Canada’s Globe And Mail and from Blues Revue, Downbeat and Record Collector and now comes Dave Thompson’s great review in the July issue of Goldmine:

GOLDMINE, JULY 08

BOOK REVIEW: “It Ain’t Easy: Long John Baldry and the Birth of British Blues”

Long John Baldry is one of the legends of British blues and rock… unsung, if you measure success via hit records and profiles on Overhypedwhore.com-style Web sites, but an unquestioned Godhead to anybody who actually cares about the music that preceded our rush into mass-consumerism.

Briefly, Baldry was one of the instigators of the early ’60s British blues scene, as much a midwife as Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies, and as vital to what it all turned into as the Stones or the Yardbirds. Both Rod Stewart and Elton John passed through his band (albeit at different times), and later thanked him for their good fortune by producing a couple of Baldry’s early ’70s albums. Even more tellingly, however, they also contribute their memories to this book, the first ever biography of this giant of a man (literally — his nickname was not a joke), and one of the finest ever excursions into the roots of the music that conquered the world.

Baldry himself died in July 2005, before author Paul Myers began work on this book, and the absence of his voice is naturally felt. But a cast of characters that draws from throughout his 64 years, friends and family alike (Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Andrew Loog Oldham and Mick Fleetwood also participate) includes more than enough testimony for us to know that this is as close to the truth as such a legend could — or, indeed, should — ever allow us. (Paperback, 270 pages, $18.95. Greystone Books

— Dave Thompson

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