There are just too many great “summer” songs to mention, but my best-of catalog would at least include ‘Summertime Blues’ by Eddie Cochran, ‘In The Summertime’ by Mungo Jerry (what a name), ‘Hot Fun In The Summertime’ by Sly & The Family Stone, ‘Summer Wind’ by Frank Sinatra, ‘Cruel … More The Lovin’ Spoonful “Summer In The City” (1966)
I’m quite sure there’s not a soul who needs me to try to describe the greatness of The Queen of Soul. Aretha Franklin was one of those artists that’s just universally accepted as magnificent, and deservedly so. Like the Mona Lisa, Aretha’s grandeur had long ago ceased to even be something to assert, her artistry … More Aretha Franklin “Today I Sing The Blues” (1961)
I got back to the garden. Not MSG, not that garden, but the one about which Joni Mitchell wrote and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young most famously sang: at the erstwhile home of Yasgur’s Farm, the mythical “garden” of Woodstock. This summer (this week, in fact) is exactly 50 years since “The Summer Of Love” … More Chris Stapleton “Midnight Train To Memphis” (2017)
Chris Shiflett has, for around 20 years, been the guitarist in two different bands, with two vastly different levels of notoriety: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, the greatest punk rock cover band ever (seriously, they are), and another one you’re more likely to have heard of, the Foo Fighters. Most recently, he’s set off … More Chris Shiflett “Sticks & Stones” (2017)
A lot of times I feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to listen to all the awesome rockin’ blues guitar there is. What’s a guy to do, except … More Guitar Shorty “Get Busy” (2004)
In 1975, Bruce Springsteen walked into legendary Greenwich Village music club The Bottom Line and played a 5-day/10-show residency that famously landed him simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek. Five years later, Robert Gordon entered that same room, and from an uncomfortably close proximity … More Robert Gordon “Red Hot” (1977)
“I got one! I got one!” A tow-haired boy, probably age 5 or 6, sped past us, eyes agog, screaming ecstatically and rushing to show his family the firefly he’d apparently just captured between his trembling, cupped hands. It was the early evening of July 4th, my wife and I taking in a dazzling setting … More Tedeschi Trucks Band “I’m Gonna Be There” (2019)
Last year’s Independence Day choice was a tuneful ditty named “4th of July” by Shooter Jennings. This year, another song with the identically appropriate title by the simplest group ever to alphabetize in your record collection … More X “4th Of July” (1987)
Something incredible happens when you tune in Sirius Radio channel 31. Supernatural, even. Tom Petty is still alive. Still there nonchalantly talking about music – his own, and that of multitudes of other artists. Still rambling from topic to topic in an excited but unhurried drawl. Still irreverent, a bit … More Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers “The Last DJ” (2002)
When my son, Max, was in college at Vassar, he had his own radio show, “Band Geeks,” on WVKR, the college radio station beaming out a 3,700 watt signal to campus, to greater Poughkeepsie, NY, and through the magic of the internet, to anyplace else. I was a faithful listener. As with most college radio … More Cat Stevens “Father and Son” (1970)
