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Ipoddler 02/06/2007I have always loved blues music. Now I have found a home. BluePower is definitely the place. John Rhys has a lot of background living the subject. Check out Crazy Bout An Automobile or all t...
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Ipoddler 11/22/2006I love this site! Great artists, great music. The best of both worlds. John Rhys (host) is a bit political but as far as I'm concerned, on the side of right. The show for Halloween with Bob...
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Anonymous 06/27/2006I have been listening to bluepower for almost ten years now and I've yet to hear a bad show. The interviews are great and to the point. The music, well...the music is the best. John Rhys pi...
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carman 06/09/2006One of the best music sites I have ever seen or heard. Great interviews and music selection. Bluepower has been around a long time.
PG 10/13/2005Just listened to A Musical Tribute To The Artists Of New Orleans. This show is chock full of the great New Orleans based tunes I always loved. John Rhys is a bit political for me but very in...
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Episodes
- Music Has Lost Another Great Man....Earl Palmer Is Gone!
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Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:43:19 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
I first heard Earl Palmer play in a Cosimo Matassa's studio in New Orleans in 1961. I was astounded by his ability and style. He was simplicity at it's best until the turn-arounds and then he did magical things such as press rolls, staggered eighth notes and, at times, nothing at all. Amazingly, everything he played (or didn't), worked.
The last time we worked together in the studio was at Wally Heider's Studio 3 in Hollywood in 1974. During that period, there were a group of Hollywood musicians called The Wrecking Crew who played on 90% of all the hits which came from Southern California.
I had written a song for Pat Glasser at Metromedia Music which was picked up by producer Larry Cox for the group Climax of "Precious And Few" fame.
I received a call from Larry around 11 AM the day the song was to be recorded. Larry said they were having a problem copping the feel for my song and since I had played the guitar on the original demo, asked if I would come by to cut the part. I was thrilled and hustled the block or so over to Heider's.
When I arrived, the rhythmn section musicians were already set up. On the session were Tommy Tedesco guitar), David Gates (keyboards), Joe Osborne (bass), Earl Palmer (drums) and myself (gut string guitar).
I had known Earl for a long time and went over to say hello. He held up his hand for me to be quiet for a moment. I noticed he had two sets of ear-phones on his head and was listening intently to the set hooked to a portable radio. He was listening to a baseball game somewhere in the country. As far as I could tell, he listened all the way through the session and never lost a beat. Earl was truly a master.
That was a session I'll never forget. My song is titled, "Walkin' In The Georgia Rain" and is certainly a tribute to what a great producer adds to the recording process. Larry Cox is undoubtedly one of the finest producer/engineers alive today. Unfortunately, I hear he is not at all well at the moment.
Earl Palmer has played and contributed to more hit records that I can count. If you would like to own a CD with many of Earl's contributions, check out "Backbeat" on Ace Records. There are 30 songs which enshrine the early years of Rock & Roll. The artists include Little Richard, Lloyd Price, Smiley Lewis, Amos Milburn, Etta James, Fats Domino and Shirly and Lee to name just a few.
To be honest....it's beginning to hurt too much lately to keep placing these obituaries on BluePower. For fifteen years we've played the blues and R&B for a small but consistent audience. It seems now that the end is very near as all the great writers, musicians, producers and record company men and women who created the music are passing on.
All we can do now is say, "Thanks for the music and Godspeed."
Yours Truly....
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Click here to see the obituary for Earl Palmer.
Click here to to listen to "Walkin' In The Georgia Rain." - Norman Whitfield, Motown Master Producer And Writer, Passes On!
Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:41:58 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
Norman Whitfield, who died on Tuesday aged 67, was a songwriter and producer and one of the principal architects of the Motown sound; he was responsible for many of the label's greatest hits, including such classics as Money (That's What I Want) and I Heard it Through the Grapevine, a chart-topper on both sides of the Atlantic in 1968 that became the biggest-selling record in the label's history.
Two of the four versions of I Heard it Through the Grapevine which Whitfield recorded with various Motown acts became hits. One, by Gladys Knight & the Pips, reached number two in the American charts in 1967; while the version by Marvin Gaye went to number one in both Britain and the United States in 1968. Gaye's brooding, experimental version ranks at number 80 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Having frittered away his teenage years in pool halls, Whitfield began writing for Motown when he was 19. Some of the classic songs he wrote for Berry Gordy's Motown artists were covered by some of the biggest acts in the world. The Beatles covered Money on their second album in 1963, and the Rolling Stones recorded a version of his Ain't Too Proud To Beg.
Norman Jesse Whitfield was born in Harlem, New York, on May 12 1941.
When he was in his teens the family moved to Detroit, where eventually Norman began pestering Berry Gordy for a job at the Motown offices known as Hitsville USA; the Motown founder agreed to give him a job in the quality control department, which selected the songs the label would release.
Having become a member of Motown's resident songwriting team, Whitfield had some minor successes, but made his name only when he started producing recordings of his own songs.
His big break came when he replaced Smokey Robinson as the Temptations' principal producer on Ain't Too Proud To Beg (1966). Whitfield's decision to highlight the rasping vocals of David Ruffin paid off, and he continued to foster a rougher sound in the group's subsequent hits, including Beauty Is Only Skin Deep and (I Know) I'm Losing You (both 1966).
After Ruffin's departure, Whitfield steered the Temptations into the realms of psychedelic soul with his controversial Cloud Nine (1969). At first Berry Gordy objected to the song on the ground that it appeared to promote drugs, but Whitfield convinced him otherwise, and the record earned Motown its first Grammy award.
With his songwriting partner, the lyricist Barrett Strong, Whitfield continued to supply the Temptations with such gritty classics as Psychedelic Shack, Ball Of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) (both 1970), Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) (1971) and Papa Was A Rolling Stone (1972).
I Heard it Through the Grapevine was another collaboration with Barrett Strong; and in 1969 Whitfield penned a follow-up hit for Marvin Gaye, Too Busy Thinking About My Baby. The following year he had another chart success with the uncompromising War, recorded by Edwin Starr.
Having left Motown in 1973 to form his own eponymous label, Whitfield had a smash hit three years later with Car Wash by Rose Royce, originally Edwin Starr's Motown backing group. The track was used as the theme song to the 1976 film of the same name, and the soundtrack album won Whitfield another Grammy in 1977.
His subsequent hit numbers for Rose Royce included I Wanna Get Next To You (1976), Wishing On A Star (1977) and Love Don't Live Here Anymore (1978).
He returned to the Motown label in the early 1980s and produced another hit single for the Temptations, Sail Away (1983), and the soundtrack to Berry Gordy's film, The Last Dragon (1985).
From: The Telegraph.co.uk
Writer: Unknown - It's The End Of An Era....Jerry Wexler Passes On! (-0mb)
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:35:41 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
I had never heard of Jerry Wexler when I first listened to one of his productions. I didn't know what went into the making of a phonograph record. At the time, all I did was enjoy what I heard.
There are records today that I can play and receive the same enjoyment that I did when I was young. I can close my eyes and literally go back in time. Back to an America that was just coming back to life after a terrible war.
Although America looked and felt as though she were basking in the shade; relaxing in the afterglow....parts of the USA were pulsating. New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Cleveland and New Orleans were full of spirits just begging to be released.
People such as Jerry Wexler, allowed these souls to be free. Gave them credibility and put their money and their companies behind them. As Vice-President of Atlantic Records, Jerry would have the power to break an artist overnight. He made a hell of a lot of hits because he believed in the artist and the song.
Yes....I loved that yellow and black lable with the big A.... spinning round and round.
Thank you Jerry, for being a friend to a kid during the early days of his career. You have brought more joy to this man than you will ever know. Not just because you were a great music man.... but because you were a Mensch.
God speed my friend.
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Click here to enjoy........The Music Of Jerry Wexler!
Click here for Jerry Wexler's Obituary. - In The Beginning....The Vaudeville Years! (-0mb)
Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:04:16 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
Vaudeville entertainment for black audiences began in 1909 with an organization called TOBA. Those four letters stood for Theater Owners Bookers Association. Often called by the black entertainers who worked the TOBA circuit: Tough On Black Artists. For many of the artists, trying times to be sure. However, it was an important cog in the machine which brought black entertainment to the rural areas and large cities in the early part of the century. TOBA had more than 100 theaters operating by the end of the 1920s.
Blues and Jazz were an important part of black entertainment in those early years and surely both idioms grew because of the fine caliber of the performers of that era and their ability to reach large audiences throughout most of the country.
Actual recordings started being made in 1914 by Victor, Columbia and Edison though the Edison company finally bowed out of the business. In 1918, the Paramount Record Company (a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Chair Company of Port Washington) came into being primarily to make recordings for folks to play on their newly purchased record players which were made by the Chair Company. Paramount is famous today for two things....they were first to record Blind Lemon Jefferson and Ma Rainey and....they made terrible quality pressings of cheap shellac. Were it not for Paramount however, many great artists would never have been heard. Business is business.
The Vaudeville Years highlights some of the dynamic female vocalists of that time, women who set the mark for all other female blues shouters to follow.
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Here's the music:
1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
2)...."St. Louis Blues"....Bessie Smith....Columbia Records
3)...."Bo Weavil Blues"....Ma Rainey....Paramount Records
4)...."I'm A Mighty Tight Woman"....Sippie Wallace....Okeh (Columbia) Records
5)...."T.B. Blues"....Victoria Spivey....Victor Records
6)...."Coffin Blues"....Ida Cox....Paramount Records
7)...."Texas Moaner Blues"....Alberta Hunter....Paramount Records
8)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
Click here to listen to....In The Beginning....The Vaudeville Years!
Click here to go to....Red Hot Jazz.com
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - In The Beginning....Skip James! (-0mb)
Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:10:23 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
After several months of deliberation, BluePower has come to the conclusion that it would be beneficial to develop a series which exposed the many fine artists who added so much to the rich heritage of the American folk tradition called The Blues.
In order to accomplish our goals in this regard, we needed the product necessary to assemble these pieces of business. Coming to our aid in the form of early Blues product was Mr. Alec Palao and his great company, Ace Records of London, England whom we gratefully thank for their generosity and kindness.
Our first show highlights one of the strangest and most unique Blues artists of all time....Nehemiah Curtis James who came to be known as Skip James.
Born in 1902 in Bentonia, Mississippi in 1902, Mr. James struggled all his life to find a place in the world of the Blues. It took him til nearly the end of his life before he was discovered by three, up and coming, young musicians who talked him into taking a giant step to become known.
Listen as BluePower tells a brief history of Mr. Skip James and plays some of his amazing music.
Stay Tuned....
John Rhys
Here's the music:
1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
2)...."Hard Time Killing Floor Blues....Skip James....Blues From The Delta....Ace Records
3)...."Careless Love"....Skip James....Blues From The Delta....Ace Records
4)...."Devil Got My Woman"....Skip James....Blues From The Delta....Ace Records
5)...."Crow Jane"....Skip James....Blues From The Delta....Ace Records
6)...."I'm So Glad"....Skip James....Blues From The Delta....Ace Records
7)...."I'm So Glad"....Cream....Fresh Cream....Atlantic Records
8)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
Click here to listen to....In The Beginning....The Birth Of The Blues....Skip James!
Click here to go to Ace Records!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - An Evening With Barry McCabe! (-0mb)
Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:26:54 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
The strength of the Blues can be determined by the sheer amount of ground the music has covered in the last 80 years. In that time, this purely American art-form has managed to blossom in nearly every country in the world. The Blues has been transformed into nearly every language and is understood by every man and woman ever born. No one can honestly say they "have not" had the Blues at one time or another.
In this presentation, BluePower honors a man for his contributions to the Blues and Rock from the beautiful country of Ireland. Barry McCabe was born in Virginia, Co. Cavan, Ireland and has managed to travel the world bringing his music to hundreds of thousands of people. Barry's music can best be described as Rock and Blues with a Celtic twist.
This show features music from many of Barry's CDs but primarily from his new release, Beyond The Tears.
Tune in to this masterful player, writer and performer as he guides us through many stories of life and the pursuit of happiness. A true storyteller in every sense of the word, Barry McCabe gives his all to his art; to our benefit.
John Rhys/BluePower.com
The songs are:
1)...."Sunrise"....Barry McCabe/Davey Spillane
2)...."In The Dead Of Night"....Barry McCabe
3)...."Oh Well"....Barry McCabe written by Peter Green
4)...."Sheilagh"....Barry McCabe
5)...."Rollin'"....Barry McCabe
6)...."Trouble"....Barry McCabe
7)...."The Emigrant"....Barry McCabe/Davey Spillane
8)...."Talkin' Woman Blues"....Barry McCabe
9)...."Full Moon On Main Street"....Barry McCabe
10)..."Arthur"....Barry McCabe
11)..."Tempted"....Barry McCabe
Listen to....BluePower Presents....An Evening With Barry McCabe!
To Find more on Barry McCabe....Click here!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - Bluesmen Of The 20th Century....Stevie Ray Vaughan! (-0mb)
Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:28:22 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Born in Dallas, Texas on October 3rd, 1954, Stevie Ray Vaughan grew up to become one of America's finest gifts to the blues world.
After playing with several garage bands, Vaughan dropped out of high school to concentrate full time on playing music. When his original band, The Cobras broke up, Stevie formed Triple Threat in 1975. Triple Threat featured bassist Jackie Newhouse, drummer Chris Layton and vocalist Lou Ann Barton.
When Barton left the band in 1978, Stevie decided to continue the band and call it Double Trouble. At this point, Stevie Ray Vaughan became the the band's lead singer.
Vaughan's debut album, Texas Flood, was released in the summer of 1983 to rave reviews although much talk was stemming from Stevie's fine backup work on David Bowie's Let's Dance LP.
In the late summer of 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble set out to do an American headline tour. On August 26th, 1990, after concluding their East Troy, Wisconsin job, Stevie boarded a helicopter bound for Chicago. Just minutes after takeoff, the helicopter crashed, killing Stevie Ray and several other passengers. Stevie was 35 years old.
And so....one of America's and the blues world's finest performers was gone in an instant. Stevie has left us with so much great recorded music. All we have to do is listen to keep his spirit alive.
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Here's the music:
1)...."Hand Clappin "....Red Prysock....Mercury
2)...."The House Is Rockin' "....Stevie Ray Vaughan....Epic
3)...."Texas Flood"....Stevie Ray Vaughan....Epic
4)...."Texas Flood"....Fredrik Strand Halland....Self
5)...."Little Wing"....Stevie Ray Vaughan....Epic
6)...."Pride And Joy"....Stevie Ray Vaughan....Epic
7)...."Life Without You"....Stevie Ray Vaughan....Epic
8)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury
Click here to listen to....Influential Guitarists Featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - Bluesmen Of The 20th Century....Freddie King! (-0mb)
Sat, 07 Jun 2008 09:30:06 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
Freddie King
All this week BluePower will feature highly influential guitarists. Players a novice must listen to and emulate in order to learn. Today we are featuring Freddie King. Freddie wrote "Hide Away" and "The Stumble". Two of the most copied guitar instrumentals of all time.
Freddie King was born in Gilmer, Texas on September 3rd, 1934. Taught to play guitar by his mother and his uncle, Freddie originally studied Lightnin' Hopkins and his style of country blues.
When Freddie became a teen, he fell in love with the electrified sounds of the Chicago blues and when he was 16, his prayer was answered....he moved to Chicago. In 1950, Chicago was overflowing with emigrants from the South. With them came the rural blues or country blues which was transformed into the basic electrified Chicago blues which in turn, generated some great record labels. Chess and Vee-Jay are labels which were spawned by the huge focus of primary blues artists streaming into Chicago. It was a mighty time!
It's funny that Syd Nathan at King Records in Cincinnati wound up releasing Freddie King's major hits considering Freddie was living right in Chicago. Such is the entertainment world.
Thanks for listening....
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Here's the music:
1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
2)...."Hide Away"....Freddie King....King Records
3)...."I'm Tore Down"....Freddie King....King Records
4)...."Dust My Broom"....Freddie King....Black Top Records
5)...."Ain't Nobody's Bizness"....Freddie King....Black Top Records
6)...."Key To The Highway"....Freddie King....Black Top Records
7)...."San-Ho-Zay"....Freddie King....King Records
8)...."Hand Clappin'"....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
Click here to listen to....Influential Guitarists Featuring Freddie King!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - Hugh Jarrett....Last Of The Great WLAC DJ's, Gone To Glory! (-0mb)
Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:06:53 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
You know, it's strange that nearly every story relating to Hugh Jarrett's untimely death left out the fact that Hugh was one of the five most successful disc-jockeys of our time. After leaving the gospel business of The Jordanaires, Hugh became a highly visible air personality at WLAC Radio in Nashville, Tennessee.
It was at WLAC Radio in Nashville that I met Hugh Jarrett for the first time. To say goings on at WLAC were insane is an understatement. The humor and raucousness of the jocks assembled there was well-known and that insanity bled into the music and general feeling of the jocks on the air. WLAC was the station of choice for the entire Eastern seaboard of the USA.
Hugh Jarrett was hired to take Bill Allen's (The Hossman) place in the Big Four which consisted of John Richbourg (John R.), Gene Nobles, Bill Allen and Herman Grizzard. WLAC was hugely responsible for the development of the Independent Record Business and bringing to the forefront dozens of young black entertainers. It was in this milieu that Hugh Jarrett adopted the name "Big Hugh Baby." Big Hugh became an instant icon and drew numbers to match that status. And then the FCC stepped in....and because of one silly statement, Hugh temporarily lost his broadcasting license, thus ending his meteoric rise at WLAC.
When I interviewed Hugh in 2006, he did not want to discuss this issue because he was then involved with a religious station in Marietta, Georgia and felt our discussing those facts from long ago would not cast an honorable light on his career.
Yes....Hugh sang bass for The Jordanaires and spent a number of years working with Elvis but that's certainly not all he did. His contributions to radio in the United States goes far beyond what is currently recognized.
Hugh Jarrett was an excellent human being and a good friend for many years. I will miss him as will the entire entertainment world.
May Big Hugh Baby ride that 50 gallon drum of White Rose into Paradise.
John Rhys/BluePower.com
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I have had the pleasure of meeting some remarkable people in my time but rarely has there been anyone quite like Hugh Jarrett.
Born in Nashville, Hugh started his career in the music business singing with several local gospel groups prior to joining the world famous Jordanaires.
While with the Jordanaires, in early 1954, Hugh and the group were approached by Colonel Tom Parker to sing back-up for the up and coming star, Elvis Presley. The first records on which the Jordanaires sang back-up vocals were "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel." Two of the largest selling records in recording history up to that time.
When the group wasn't on tour with Elvis, they were busy 'round the clock singing in studios in Nashville and Los Angeles with such luminaries as Patsy Cline, Ricky Nelson, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis and literally thousands of other young and aspiring artists.
It was after his years with the Jordanaires that I first met Hugh Jarrett. It was on a trip to Nashville in 1963 while promoting for Mercury Records that I met Hugh at WLAC Radio where he was sitting in for Bill Allen, "The Hoss Man." Hugh had an extraordinary way with a microphone and you can still hear it in his voice today.
A year or so later I met Hugh again at WPLO Radio in Atlanta where he had resumed his Big Hugh Baby shows. In fact, when I left Atlanta for Detroit in 1965, Hugh was the last person I saw there. We had lunch and he waved goodbye in my rear view mirror.
It had been a long time since I'd seen Hugh or spoken with him. (41 years) To be able to sit for a few hours and reminisce with this dignified, gentle man was pure pleasure.
Tune in to hear a very talented human being and one of the truly great radio voices of our time. The recording quality of the interview is not great but the history is amazing.
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Here's the music for the show:
1)...."On The Wings Of A Dove"....The Jordanaires....Capitol
2)...."Hound Dog"....Elvis Presley....RCA
3)...."Don't Be Cruel"....Elvis Presley....RCA
4)...."Are You Lonesome Tonight"....Elvis Presley....RCA
5)...."Will The Circle Be Unbroken"....The Jordanaires....Capitol
6)...."Young Love"....Sonny James....Capitol
7)...."I Can't Help Falling In Love With You"....Elvis Presley....RCA
Click here to play....BluePower Presents....What Ever Happened To Big Hugh Baby?
This show is dedicated to our dear friend....JoAnn Braheny. Or, as Hugh would have known her....JoAnn Jaffe, who worked on the air in the fledgling FM division at WPLO in Atlanta, Georgia with Big Hugh Jarrett.
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - Bo Diddley Passes on at 79! (-0mb)
Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:55:33 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock 'n' roll whose distinctive ''shave and a haircut, two bits'' rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired legions of other musicians, died Monday after months of ill health. He was 79.
Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Fla., spokeswoman Susan Clary said. He had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after suffering a stroke while touring in Iowa. Doctors said the stroke affected his ability to speak, and he had returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation.
The legendary singer and performer, known for his homemade square guitar, dark glasses and black hat, was an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and received a lifetime achievement award in 1999 at the Grammy Awards. In recent years he also played for the elder President Bush and President Clinton.
Diddley appreciated the honors he received, ''but it didn't put no figures in my checkbook.''
''If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey,'' he quipped.
The name Bo Diddley came from other youngsters when he was growing up in Chicago, he said in a 1999 interview.
''I don't know where the kids got it, but the kids in grammar school gave me that name,'' he said, adding that he liked it so it became his stage name. Other times, he gave somewhat differing stories on where he got the name. Some experts believe a possible source for the name is a one-string instrument used in traditional blues music called a diddley bow.
His first single, ''Bo Diddley,'' introduced record buyers in 1955 to his signature rhythm: bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp, often summarized as ''shave and a haircut, two bits.'' The B side, ''I'm a Man,'' with its slightly humorous take on macho pride, also became a rock standard.
The company that issued his early songs was Chess-Checker Records, the storied Chicago-based labels that also recorded Chuck Berry and other stars.
Howard Kramer, assistant curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, said in 2006 that Diddley's Chess recordings ''stand among the best singular recordings of the 20th century.''
Diddley's other major songs included, ''Say Man,'' ''You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover,'' ''Shave and a Haircut,'' ''Uncle John,'' ''Who Do You Love?'' and ''The Mule.''
Diddley's influence was felt on both sides of the Atlantic. Buddy Holly borrowed the bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp rhythm for his song ''Not Fade Away.''
The Rolling Stones' bluesy remake of that Holly song gave them their first chart single in the United States, in 1964. The following year, another British band, the Yardbirds, had a Top 20 hit in the U.S. with their version of ''I'm a Man.''
Diddley was also one of the pioneers of the electric guitar, adding reverb and tremelo effects. He even rigged some of his guitars himself.
''He treats it like it was a drum, very rhythmic,'' E. Michael Harrington, professor of music theory and composition at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., said in 2006.
Many other artists, including the Who, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello copied aspects of Diddley's style.
Growing up, Diddley said he had no musical idols, and he wasn't entirely pleased that others drew on his innovations.
''I don't like to copy anybody. Everybody tries to do what I do, update it,'' he said. ''I don't have any idols I copied after.''
''They copied everything I did, upgraded it, messed it up. It seems to me that nobody can come up with their own thing, they have to put a little bit of Bo Diddley there,'' he said.
Despite his success, Diddley claimed he only received a small portion of the money he made during his career. Partly as a result, he continued to tour and record music until his stroke. Between tours, he made his home near Gainesville in north Florida.
''Seventy ain't nothing but a damn number,'' he told The Associated Press in 1999. ''I'm writing and creating new stuff and putting together new different things. Trying to stay out there and roll with the punches. I ain't quit yet.''
Diddley, like other artists of his generations, was paid a flat fee for his recordings and said he received no royalty payments on record sales. He also said he was never paid for many of his performances.
''I am owed. I've never got paid,'' he said. ''A dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun.''
In the early 1950s, Diddley said, disc jockeys called his type of music, ''Jungle Music.'' It was Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed who is credited with inventing the term ''rock 'n' roll.''
Diddley said Freed was talking about him, when he introduced him, saying, ''Here is a man with an original sound, who is going to rock and roll you right out of your seat.''
Diddley won attention from a new generation in 1989 when he took part in the ''Bo Knows'' ad campaign for Nike, built around football and baseball star Bo Jackson. Commenting on Jackson's guitar skills, Diddley turned to the camera and said, ''He don't know Diddley.''
''I never could figure out what it had to do with shoes, but it worked,'' Diddley said. ''I got into a lot of new front rooms on the tube.''
Born as Ellas Bates on Dec. 30, 1928, in McComb, Miss., Diddley was later adopted by his mother's cousin and took on the name Ellis McDaniel, which his wife always called him.
When he was 5, his family moved to Chicago, where he learned the violin at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. He learned guitar at 10 and entertained passers-by on street corners.
By his early teens, Diddley was playing Chicago's Maxwell Street.
''I came out of school and made something out of myself. I am known all over the globe, all over the world. There are guys who have done a lot of things that don't have the same impact that I had,'' he said.
From: The Associated Press
Writer unknown.
Click here to go to original article.
Click to listen to...."Bo Diddley".
Click here to go to Bo Diddley's Web Site.
________________________________________________________________If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - BluePower Presents....Influential Guitarists! (-0mb)
Tue, 27 May 2008 18:52:33 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
T-Bone Walker
Born: May 28, 1910 in Linden, Texas
Died: March 16, 1975 in Los Angeles, Ca.
Aaron Thibeaux Walker was a product of the early Dallas, Texas blues scene. Marco Washington, T-Bone's step-father, was a bass fiddle player with a group called The Dallas String Band. Almost all of T-bone's family played instruments of one kind or another and the young man followed his step-dad's example by learning every stringed instrument his talented hands could find. Once he learned the guitar, that was it.
T-Bone and his friend Charlie Christian hustled many gigs which included both playing and dancing. Neither one of the young men went to school that much. They were into making money so they could eat.
T-Bone Walker recorded from 1929 until 1973. During that time Walker recorded over 400 records. A recording discography unmatched by any guitar player to date. He also played with some of the most prestigious band leaders and performed in the world's finest venues.
Anyone who has enjoyed the music of BB King, Albert King or Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, Albert Collins, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Duane Allman, Mike Bloomfield, Stevie Ray Vaughan or any of a host of other blues and blues-influenced players has heard the influences of T-Bone Walker.
T-Bone Walker suffered a stroke 1n 1974 brought on by persistent stomach problems and died in Los Angeles, California in 1975.
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Here's the music:
1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
2)...."Strollin' With Bone"....T-Bone Walker....Imperial Records
3)...."The Hustle Is On"....T-Bone Walker....Imperial Records
4)...."Black Snake Moan"....Blind Lemon Jefferson....Gold Box Records 5)...."Stormy Monday Blues"....T-Bone Walker....Black and White Records 6)...."Tomorrow Night"....Lonnie Johnson....King Records
7)...."Johnny B. Goode"....Chuck Berry....Chess Records
8)...."Hard Way"....T-Bone Walker....Imperial
9)...."Blue Mood"....T-Bone Walker....Imperial Records
10)..."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
Click here to listen to....Influential Guitarists....T-Bone Walker!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - BluePower Presents....Blues Of The 20th Century! (-0mb)
Mon, 19 May 2008 11:58:37 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
Southern Guitar Masters
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Charley Patton
Robert Johnson
Skip James
Bukka White
Rose Hemphill
Sunnyland Slim
From southern England:
Cream
The blues is about many things. About how your woman done you wrong. The Boss Man being mean to you. Things humorous. Things sad. Death. Dying and all manner of worldly matters concern the blues.
The blues was created long before the turn of the 19th century. The blues was built on slavery and the fact that a man was taken from his family and homeland against his will. Slavery happened for centuries. However; it wasn't until those slaves were brought to the shores of the United States that the blues, as we know the art form today, was born.
The blues reside in almost every country in the world. Even countries that don't call English it's first language.
Everyone in the world can relate to the blues. And today, with all the problems in the world, more and more people have an absolute right to sing the blues.
Today's show presents the blues from the early part of the 20th century. These are but a handful of the original blues men who traveled the dusty roads of the south; did time in many of the prisons and rode the rods, as the trains were called back then, into the annals of musical history. Just imagine that time.
This is one show I really enjoyed putting together. I hope you enjoy listening to Southern Guitar Masters.
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Here's the music:
1)...."I'm Goin' Home"....Ervin Webb & Prisoners....Alan Lomax Collection
2)...."61 Highway Blues"....Fred McDowell....Alan Lomax Collection
3)...."Fred McDowell's Blues"....Fred McDowell....Alan Lomax Collection 4)...."Stone Pony Blues....Charley Patton....VMK
5)...."Crossroads"....Robert Johnson....Columbia
6)...."Fixin' To Die Blues"....Bukka White....Columbia Legacy Series
7)...."Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues"....Skip James....VMK
8)...."Rolled And Tumbled"....Rose Hemphill....Alan Lomax Collection
9)...."Roll And Tumble Blues"....Sunnyland Slim, Johnny Shines and Big Joe Williams....Blue Sun
10)..."Rollin' And Tumblin' "....Cream....Reaction
Some dialog taken from the All Music Guide to the Blues.
Click here to listen to....Southern Guitar Masters!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - The Wheel Man Takes Top Honors! (-0mb)
Sat, 17 May 2008 11:36:55 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
Ojn April 19th, 2007, BluePower released this CD review of Watermelon Slim and The Workers. We believed in the CD then and time has proved our point. The Wheel Man just took top honors for best Album of The Year and Band of The Year at 2008's Blues Music Awards in Memphis, Tennessee.
Congratulations to Northern Blues of Canada and to Watermelon Slim and The Workers!
___________________________________________________Since BluePower has been forced into taking the independent route, we have received so many great pieces of product that it's hard to believe. They come from all over the world as far as Italy and Spain. We just sit and look at each other in amazement at the shear reach of the Blues and the various shapes the art form has taken.
Today, we've chosen a CD produced by an organization from Canada....Northern Blues. They are producing some mighty talented artists. Today's Blues treasure is a CD titled The Wheel Man performed by Watermelon Slim and The Workers. Slim has produced several bodies of work prior to The Wheel Man and this time, Slim has gone above and beyond.
The Wheel Man covers a lot of territory from Slim's lament to the victims of Katrina, "Black Water" to the solo vocal and harp piece, "Jimmy Bell" with great songs of all tempos in between. The band is articulate and plays Slim's music with great feel and a foot stompin' rhythm guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
The title cut...."The Wheel Man" features a man we all know, Magic Slim, on vocals and slide guitar.
This is one CD you can pop in your iPod and cruise to all day long or slam the CD in your truck and drive all night, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Check out....The Wheel Man!
Todays music is:
1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury
2)...."Black Water"....Watermelon Slim....Northern Blues
3)...."I Know One"....Watermelon Slim....Northern Blues
4)...."Truck Drivin' Mama"....Watermelon Slim....Northern Blues
5)...."Jimmy Bell"....Watermelon Slim....Northern Blues
6)...."Rattlesnake"....Watermelon Slim....Northern Blues
7)...."The Wheel Man"....Watermelon Slim/Magic Slim....Northern Blues
8)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury
Enjoy the show!
John Rhys-Eddins/BluePower.com
Play....A BluePower Re-Run....Watermelon Slim And The Workers....The Wheel Man!
To purchase a copy of The Wheel Man, go to Northern Blues!
To find out more about Watermelon Slim, click here!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.
If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - Thelonius James Rides Again! (-0mb)
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:54:05 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
Here at BluePower, we are always on the lookout for what we feel is inspired product. We receive so many CDs that just don't go that extra step to make the music different and unique. This CD is the best of both of those worlds.
Thelonius James Presents The Sunland Chronicles is a piece of work which contains all the elements necessary to make it an outstanding contribution to the world of American music. It has great playing and a sense of humor which can only be attributed to the artist involved.
There is something exciting going on with this record. A spontaneity which transcends most releases today. Trying to explain this is difficult. It's something one has to hear. All we know is that when we listened to the material....we enjoyed it thoroughly.
The Sunland Chronicles runs the gamut musically, stretching from the blues to near jazz. Fine playing and vocals with nothing too heavy or intense. Just a real good feel. Overall....this CD is a lot of fun and a guaranteed party pleaser.
It made me smile.
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Here's the music:
1)...."Popcorn Paws"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
2)...."Step On The Gas"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
3)...."The Blues Is Like A Baseball Game"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
4)...."More Than A Fool"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
5)...."With You"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
6)...."You Give Me Hope"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
7)...."Chicken Pie"....Thelonius James....Pick Strum Records
Produced by....Phil Bloch and Andrew Bush
Click to play....BP CD Review....Thelonius James Presents The Sunland Chronicles!
Click here to go to Thelonius James' new web site!
Click to purchase....Thelonius James....The Sunland Chronicles!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - Smokestack Lightning's Rocking New Show!
Mon, 05 May 2008 21:30:12 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
Smokestack Lightnin?s Top Ten Blues CDs for the Week
#10 Clarence Spady/24/7 Luv/Just Between Us/ Severn
#9 Mississippi Heat/Say Something Good/Hattiesburg Blues/Delmark
#8 Kenny Neal/Fly Away/Let Life Flow/Blind Pig
#7 Tab Benoit&Jimmy Hall/New Orleans Ladies/Nightville Train to Nashville/Telarc
#6 Mannish Boys/The Same Thing/Lowdown Feelin?/Delta Groove
#5 Jeff Healey/Sittin? On Top Of The World/Mess Of Blues/Ruf
#4 Michael Burks/Empty Promises/Iron Man/Alligator
#3 The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue/If I Had A Nickel/Command Performance/Delta Groove
#2 Eric Gales/You Ain?t The Boss Of Me/The Story Of My Life/BBI
#1 Mac Arnold/Backbone & Gristle/Backbone & Gristle/self
Otis Blue (Collectors Edition) - Brand new reissue from Volt Records
Otis Redding/Old Man Trouble/Otis Blue:Otis Redding Sings Soul (Collectors Edition)/Volt
Otis Redding/Respect (Live)/same
Otis Redding/I?ve been Loving You Too Long/same
Otis Redding/Shake (Live)/same
Otis Redding/Satisfaction
All New Blues
Paul Orta&Tonky De La Pena/Pawn Shop/Pawn Shop/Great Blues Recordings
Carl Sims/Jody?s Got Your Girl and Gone/Can?t Stop Me/Ecko
Dave Specter/What?s Your Angle?/Live In Chicago/Delmark
Gary Allegretto/Good To Go/Many Shades Of Blue/Big Fiore
Floyd Taylor/I?m Hooked On These Blues/Still Got It/Malaco
Joe Moss/My Life/Maricela?s Smile/212
Thelonius James/Step On The Gas/The Sunland Chronicles/self
J.W. Jones/Can?t Play A Playboy/Blue Listed/Northern Blues
Big G & The Real Deal/Shake Your Money Maker/Chicago Blues Party/Universal
The Nouveaux Honkies/Strong Brain/Where Do I Go?/self
J.T. Coldfire/Hangin? Tree/Crazy Sun/self
Gregg Juke & The Mighty No Stars/Jesus Just left Chicago/Blues Power/self
Lil Cliff & The Cliffhangers/Cuttin? In/God Bless Women/Shank Bone
Darrell Raines/Love Doctor/Moanin? Time/Bluz
Austin Walkin? Cane/Georgia Moon/Murder Of A Blues Singer/Lazy Cat
Jeff Healey/I?m Tore Down/Mess Of Blues/Ruf
Close
Melvin Guitar Williams/Mustard Greens/Shut Your Mouth/Sticky Bo
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - America's Got The Blues....4/29/08! (2mb)
Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:38:02 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
The show tonight kicks off with a piece of Dr. Ray Griffin's....The Creature From Jekyll Island. A provocative look at how and why the Federal Reserve was created. This is a "must" listen if you are at all concerned with how money works throughout the world. The implications are astounding.
A private security firm hired "former" secret service agents and CIA agents to spy on various environmental organizations for years. Guess who the shadow employers were? No less than the Monsanto Corporation, Halliburton, Wal-Mart and Allied Waste.
This show also goes into the huge profits being taken by the oil companies. There's no doubt they're all sticking it to the good old USA.
The DOD funded company Raytheon has developed a monster weapon called Silent Guardian. One of it's primary purposes is large crowd control. Welcome to the new wave of military madness. Click here for an explanation of this device.
Are you upset yet?
BluePower feels someone should speak up. We will also let you know others who are sticking their chins out. They're out there. All you have to do is turn on your computer. No wonder ComCast wants to scrutinize all their content. Don't they want people to know whats really happening in our country?
Our way of life is being systematically destroyed. Not only that, but these people controlling the money and the flow of wheat and rice are starving millions of children throughout the world. What for? Because they can? I think it goes much deeper than greed.
Why haven't these stories been reported by CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News etc? Have you heard them there? We certainly haven't. All we hear are the spin doctors and talking heads and I don't mean those two great musical acts. Why aren't we hearing the flat out truth? Where is Edward R. Morrow when we need him?
We have to play the Blues along with the news because the music always says it like it is.
Our primary source of unreported news tonight is The Huffington Post with a byline to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brendan DeMelle
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Here's the music:
1)...."Money"....Barrett Strong....Anna Records
2)...."Everybody's Got The Blues"....Johnny Stevenson....unreleased
3)...."Outlaws Rule"....Scott Richardson and Buddy Miles....unreleased
4)...."On The Bottom Of The Pile"....Kermit Deveaux....Demo....HASM
5)...."California"....Jackie Lomax....Demo
6)...."The Freedom Wall"....Freebo....Before The Separation....Self
Click here to listen to....America's Got The Blues....4/29/08!
Click to listen to....The Creature From Jekyll Island....1:13:30.
Remember....Get Out And Vote!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - America's Got The Blues! (-0mb)
Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:41:28 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
If you don't think our country is in trouble, you'd better think again. From spiraling gas prices to corruption in all levels of the government, America is being hijacked by the very people it voted into office.
Just the fact that the war in Iraq has cost the American taxpayer 2 trillion dollars should be evidence enough. The average American must ask himself, "What the hell is going on?" Do you really think we have stopped Al Qaeda? No! We've just created more terrorists.
Yesterday, the Pentagon was exposed for hiring writers to produce copy spinning a positive picture of the war in Iraq through American news media outlets. The major networks, cable channels and newspapers are touting this copy as though it were fact. This alone is completely illegal and should be stopped now.
Rupert Murdoch is attempting to buy Newsweek magazine which would give him control of far too many media outlets in New York City. Murdoch can already spin any situation the way he wants it and who would know. Is nothing sacred?
Airlines, attempting to cut costs, are now running flights with "minimum" jet fuel, causing all hell to break loose in many airports and effecting many of the delays happening today. God forbid one of them runs out of fuel while landing and this situation is guaranteed to make things rougher on the already over-loaded Air Traffic Controllers.
It's time for some major changes; not only in government itself but in all the major departments and bureaucracies. There is no longer the slightest bit of oversight and American citizens deserve better than this.
It's time for a change!
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Here's the music:
1)...."Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues....Skip James....Skip James....Ace Records 2)...."Accidentally Like A Martyr"....Warren Zevon....The Rhys Masters....Unreleased
3)...."Starting All Over Again"....Mel and Tim....Stax Story....Stax
4)...."For What It's Worth"....Jeffrey Osborne....From The Soul....Unknown 5)...."Motherless Child"....Andy Cowan....Troubadour Nights....Unknown 6)...."Working Man's Pay"....Warren Zevon....The Rhys Masters....Unreleased 7)...."Keep On Pushin' "....Rastus....Steamin'....Neighborhood
8)...."You're Free"....Brenda Russell....Brenda Russell....A&M/Horizon
Click here to listen to....America's Got The Blues!
Don't Forget To Vote!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - A Sad Replay....Sean Costello....We Can Get Together! (-0mb)
Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:16:43 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
It is with great sadness that I report the death of young Sean Costello. He was found in an Atlanta hotel room yesterday and as yet, we are told no reason why. He would have been 29 today.
It was less than two months ago that Lori and I went to see him play at The Viper Room in Hollywood. Mr. Costello was one of the most vital new Blues men to come along the hard road in many a year.
I did an interview with Sean the next day. As we sat in my car and spoke, I could see he was under tremendous strain of keeping up with the traveling, bookings etc.
God Speed Sean. It was a pleasure meeting you.
John Rhys and staff/BluePower.com
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Last week-end we found ourselves traveling throughout Southern California. During long drives I like to listen to new material and get a fix on what's happening on the blues scene through new CD releases.
I told Lori to pick one of the CDs and pop it in the player. She chose Sean Costello's new release on Delta Groove Productions, We Can Get Together.
Let's put it this way....the man is unique. Costello's guitar playing is dirty and clean with a choice of notes which accent the feel of the song he's playing at the time. He's a natural Bluesman and a terrific writer. His vocals expose his feelings and contribute to an overall, enthralling experience.
Mr. Costello has had several CDs released and has garnered accolades from some major folks. You can find this history on his web site below.
Stay Tuned!
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Here's the music:
1)...."Little Birds"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
2)...."Same Old Game"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
3)...."Have You No Shame"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
4)...."How In The Devil"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
5)...."Hard Luck Woman"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
6)...."Can't Let Go"....Sean Costello....Delta Groove
Click here to play....Sean Costello....We Can Get Together!
Listen to an exclusive interview with Sean Costello!
Click here to go to Sean Costello's site!
Click here to go to Delta Groove Productions!
************************************************************************* - Isn't Anybody Or Anything Special Anymore?
Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:43:36 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
A Grim Fairy Tale
Once upon a time there was a man named Thomas Alva Edison. He was a brilliant man. He invented lots of amazing things. One of these inventions was the Cylinder Phonograph. It was special. Or was it?
Across the Atlantic Ocean, a man named Emile Berliner had also invented something similar. What a coincidence! It was called the Gramophone. Edison's invention was cylindrical and Berliner's was flat. They were both made of wax and they each put strange sounds on them and said to their friends, "We can save sound if it doesn't get too hot. Just think what we'll be able to do with these things."
They thought about education. They thought about teaching the blind. They thought about information storage of famous events. They thought about the myriad things they could record but what was the first thing supposedly recorded.... beside gibberish that is.... a silly song called "Mary Had A Little Lamb." The first musical reproduction had been made.
Without knowing it of course, these men had invented the Record Business.
How could they have known that down the pike, names like Al Jolson, Billie Holiday, Elvis Presley, Morris Levy, Milt Salstone, Clive Davis, The Beatles and God Lives Underwater would leap onto the front pages of magazines such as Cash Box, Billboard, Rolling Stone and Hits. These were called trade magazines.
These magazines used to play an important part in the promotion and sales of newly recorded sounds. They also made all the people who ran these companies (record companies as they were then called) feel proud and important. They would pay these magazines dearly for tiny little squares that told of the important new sounds they had put on wax ("waxes to watch") which they intended to sell. Of course the big companies bought big squares commensurate with their position and power.
And, for a while, times were good.
Now I forgot about this guy named Marconi. He invented something special too. It was called radio. With a radio transmitter, a station could send to millions of homes with receivers, all kinds of great music. A person could pick and choose from dozens of transmitters playing these various types of sounds. He could then select the type he would like to own and then purchase these discs for his own enjoyment. Oh happy day!
Everybody did well.
It was a great time for "Personality Radio" where insane men and women, with insane names got on the radio and did insane things. One DJ (disc jockey) was called "The Geeter With The Heater." Such merriment! That was until a very smart man from Dallas, Texas came along to put everything in order. His name was Gordon McLendon and he invented something really cool called "Format Programming." Welcome "Tiger Radio."
Now business really started to boom.
Things were so good in fact, that thousands of small record companies grew in every corner of the globe.There was all kinds of special music for every kind of person and culture. For decades things went swimmingly. Small companies became large companies. The large companies then bought up other small companies and became large corporations. Now called the Big Fish concept. (They actually bought up the competition.)
Since one could become very rich if they were successful at making sounds that many people enjoyed and it seemed like a relatively easy thing to do (better than digging ditches or cleaning windows) that soon, more and more people decided to create sounds to store on the (now plastic) discs.
Pretty soon there were more discs than the companies could sell and these discs started piling up all over the place. Soon, the corporations had to build giant storage ares called warehouses in which to keep the discs.
When the retailers and distributors (who were the middle men for the record companies) bought so many discs that they couldn't possibly sell them all, they sent them back to the companies that made them in the first place. Imagine that. The discs came back instead of monetary compensation, much to the companies chagrin, for they depended on that compensation to operate the huge companies they had built. They lost sight of the fact that less is actually more.
Too bad for the moguls, the A&R men, the Veeps, the CEOs, the promoters and all those lawyers.
They were strangling on their lack of foresight and greed and were blinded to the fact that the human spirit is finely woven through with the music of life and, that for some unknown reason, human beings can tell the difference between the real thing and a placebo.
Remember Edison, Berliner and Marconi? They're laughing their butts off and they all agree, that everyone up and down the line should have thought first of "Principles before Personalitie$."
From a 1996 issue of Cash Box Magazine
By: John Rhys
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well. - Martin Luther King....A Biography!
Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:45:28 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)
Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.
In 1954, Martin Luther King accepted the pastorale of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank.
In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.
At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.
On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated. - The Rebirth Of The Music Industry!
Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:36:50 -0500 Author: noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins)The Rebirth of the Music Industry
Philip Cacayorin
Director and Producer of Advanced MediaNovember 02, 2007
© P. Cacayorin 2007
www.3dvinyl.com
