X “4th Of July” (1987)
A perfect 4th of July song called 4th of July, by underrated L.A. punk band X, the simplest group ever to alphabetize in your record collection... Read More
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers “The Last DJ” (2002)
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... Read More
Cat Stevens “Father and Son” (1970)
A Cat Stevens classic for Father's Day, which this father tearfully played for his son as guest-host on his last college radio show.... Read More
Supagroup “What’s Your Problem” (2003)
As America’s most historic and important music city, New Orleans instantly conjures a lot of musical identifiers: the birthplace of jazz, brass band culture, originators of funk and R&B, boogie-woogie pianists, zydeco stompers, Indian tribe chanters, and second line parades. What it does not... Read More
Johnny Winter “Illustrated Man” (1991)
At the time that Johnny Winter signed his first recording contract with Columbia Records in 1968, his advance of $600,000 was reportedly the largest in the history of the music industry. Throughout his life, he did most everything else to excess as well... Read More
Gary Moore “Still Got The Blues” (1990)
Sure, I wish I’d seen Jimi Hendrix. And Duane Allman. And a handful of other guitar gods gone before my time too. But the guitarist I most regret missing, Gary Moore, probably wouldn’t make many people’s list. A native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Moore died of a heart attack in 2011 at just 58 years...... Read More
The Sheepdogs “The Way It Is” (2012)
Many of the longest and closest friendships of my life derive directly from the softball teams I played on in my just-post-college years, particularly the legendary Polera’s Demolition Crew, winners of back-to-back (and belly-to-belly) league championships and continuous crusher of our arch-rival, Ted’s Auto Body. So I’m dedicating this post – for reasons that will... Read More
Gatemouth Brown “Born In Louisiana” (1989)
Sunday, May 5th at 7:00PM CST another New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival came to an end at the Fair Grounds racetrack. Over 8 days and across 2 weekends, for attendees numbering around 475,000, a lineup of 688 acts performed – and notwithstanding the presence of some of the biggest names in music, roughly 600 of...... Read More
Whitey Morgan & The 78’s “Waitin’ ‘Round To Die” (2015)
One of my favorite regular reads is “Saving Country Music” penned with an acerbic wit and what can only be described as righteous indignation by a dude named Kyle Coroneos, aka “Trigger”, with whom I agree on just about everything he writes in defending his self-imposed, virtuous cause. Some time ago, in regard to the...... Read More
J. Geils Band “(Ain’t Nothin’ But A) House Party” (1973)
Not that long ago the rock world lost a great, a guy whose name everyone knows, but I’m not sure whether everyone knows he was that name. Huh? John Warren Geils Jr., better known professionally as J. Geils, was, of course, the namesake for the long-time blues/rock powerhouse, the J. Geils Band, the group he...... Read More