Bonnie Raitt: Celebrating Songwriters at the Ryman
Bonnie Raitt is the Fairy Godmother of songwriters, turning dreams into reality one song at a time. And last Saturday night at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium—where a city of hopeful and accomplished tunesmiths filled the pews of the Mother Church—her magical powers were on full display. A week into the tour for her flawless new release, [...]
Happy Birthday, Pete Seeger!
“He’s had one of the most perfect lives of anybody I know.” That was filmmaker Jim Brown’s response when asked why he profiled Pete Seeger in a PBS “American Masters” documentary. Few would disagree with Brown’s assessment. In a career that’s spanned over 70 years, the 93-year-old Seeger has embodied the idealism that once defined [...]
Happy Birthday, Willie Nelson!
It absorbs you for the first few minutes you see him. Framed by a thick shock of long red hair and a thatch of beard, Willie Nelson’s face is that of a lifelong storyteller. More specifically, it’s the face of a life lived long … and hard. It is weathered, tracked with troubles and adventures [...]
Marian Anderson’s April 9, 1939 Lincoln Memorial Performance
In 1939 celebrated African-American contralto Marian Anderson was denied rental of Washington, D.C.’s Constitutional Hall because of a segregation clause that only allowed concerts by white artists. Once this news circulated there was public outrage over the discrimination, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt—among thousands of others—resigned membership from the Daughters of the American Revolution, which [...]
The Mysterious Death of Kurt Cobain
Seattle, April 8, 1994, 9 a.m. An electrician named Gary Smith arrived at Kurt Cobain’s home in Seattle to install a new security system. Though there was no answer at the front door, Smith got to work. As he climbed on the roof, following wires along the garage to a room above it, he looked [...]
Herb Alpert’s “Whipped Cream” Cover Girl
Forty-seven years ago this month Herb Alpert’s landmark Whipped Cream & Other Delights was released and went on to sell over six million copies—and its playful erotic cover with the whipped cream-covered Dolores Erickson launched as many male fantasies. A fashion model from the age of 14, Erickson appeared in magazines such as Vogue and [...]
Farewell, Eric Lowen
On Friday, March 23, Eric Lowen, surrounded by all the love he had so beautifully nurtured during his 60 years, left this earth. He and his partner, Dan Navarro, released 12 albums over 20 years of making music together as Lowen & Navarro. They scored a Grammy-nominated hit with Pat Benatar’s “We Belong,” enjoyed radio [...]
Heart’s Nancy Wilson
From the moment she and older sister Ann saw the Beatles performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, Nancy Wilson knew the guitar was the key to her future. Responding to her pleas, her parents gave her a three-quarter-size Stella. “It had a pipe-shaped neck and a movable bridge—which was good, because as it [...]
Happy Birthday, James Taylor!
Gazing up at the tall, lean, balding man with the angular planes of his face as familiar as those of a family member, it’s almost impossible to equate this James Taylor with the long-haired ’70s pop icon who lived a very public life of hits, misses, marriages, divorces, addiction, recovery, births, deaths, depression and celebration. [...]
Happy Birthday, George Harrison
Sixty-nine years ago today George Harrison, the youngest of the four Beatles, was born in Liverpool, England. As a boy, George became friends with Paul McCartney, an older student at the Liverpool Institute who was also an aspiring guitarist. It was then that McCartney introduced him to his Quarrymen bandmate, John Lennon, and—after much persistence [...]
The Big Score: A Timeline of Movie Music
Composer Howard Shore, whose awards include three Oscars for scoring the Lord of the Rings triology, says, “I like to work around the edges and try to give the film another level of subtext, which is what music can do. I love painting around the corners of the frames and staying out of the middles. [...]
“Mardi Gras Mambo” and “Iko Iko”
Ah, Fat Tuesday. A day of indulgence on every level. Celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday, it’s the last big blowout before Lent kicks in and fasting begins. And of course, Mardi Gras and music go together like floats and parades, jazz bands and beads, purple, gold and green. Songs get stirred up in the [...]
On Valentine’s Day
A little James Taylor to celebrate Valentine’s Day: “Beneath the tide the fishes glide, fin to fin and side to side. For fishy love has now begun, fishy love, finny fun.”
“Strawberry Fields Forever” & “Penny Lane”
In Feb. 1967 the Beatles released a double-A side single of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” which opened the doors to the wonders of Sgt. Pepper. Here’s the story.
Happy Birthday, Sheryl Crow!
Fifty years ago Sheryl Crow was born in Kennett, Mo., to a trumpet-playing father and piano-playing mother. After college, she worked as a music teacher before a burgeoning sideline career singing commercial jingles emboldened her to make the move to L.A. in 1986. Work as a background singer for Michael Jackson and Don Henley led [...]
George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” Copyright Case
“Every time I put the radio on, it’s ‘Oh My Lord,’” John Lennon said in December 1970. “I’m beginning to think there must be a God.” Lennon wasn’t alone. As his former bandmate George Harrison’s debut single blanketed the airwaves, a struggling New York publisher, Bright Tunes Music, must’ve heard divine intervention in the melody [...]
Happy Birthday, Carole King!
Born Feb. 9, 1942, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Carole King (née Klein) started playing piano when she was four years old. By high school, she was writing her first songs and leading a vocal quartet called the Co-Sines. At 17, she was singing demos for publishers along with her childhood friend Paul Simon. This led to [...]
Graham Nash “Our House”
Here is the story—in Graham Nash’s own words—behind the classic “Our House,” one of the sweetest love songs ever written while he was living with Joni Mitchell.
Happy Birthday, Sarah McLachlan!
Every once in a while an artist like Sarah McLachlan comes along who not only creates great and lasting music, but also great and lasting change. It’s the kind of change that happens with an inordinate amount of personal investment, sacrifice, good will and the ability to lead. When Sarah founded Lilith Fair in 1997, [...]
Happy Birthday, Neil Diamond!
Songwriting is a sanctuary for Neil Diamond, just as it was when he first put pen to paper as an intense, sensitive teenager at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn. Scarcely had he learned his first chords on the guitar his parents gave him as a 16th birthday present than the songs began to pour [...]
Richie Havens’ 1969 Woodstock Performance
Over four decades and 25 albums, Richie Havens has used his music to convey messages of brotherhood and personal freedom. Cutting his teeth on the fertile ’60s music scene of Greenwich Village and interpreting tunes by Bob Dylan, he gained even more notoriety after opening the Woodstock festival on August 15, 1969. The festival was [...]
Happy Birthday, Dolly Parton!
“Without a doubt, songwriting is my greatest source of joy and the best outlet for my creativity,” says Dolly Parton, who since penning her first tune at age 5, has published over 3,000 songs, including country classics such as “Put It Off Until Tomorrow,” “Joshua,” “Jolene,” “Coat Of Many Colors,” “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” “My [...]
Martin Luther King: Oh, You Beautiful Fool
“Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” Beautiful Fool By Don Henry Martin Luther who did you think that you were? Appointed by some higher up Merely mortal, your plans were unaffordable No one wants to pay for love Oh you beautiful fool Swimmin up stream, kickin’ up waves Dreams weren’t [...]
David Bowie Tells the Stories Behind His Songs
David Bowie shares the stories behind his songs “Space Oddity,” “Heroes,” “Rebel Rebel” and “Fame” in this interview with Performing Songwriter.
