Archeological Find: L.A. Weekly May/June 1986
During a recent Spring cleaning, I found a copy of the LA Weekly, May/June 1986. I felt like an archeologist. In it were ads for Jimmy’z, Esprit, and other now-defunct…
Jackie Brenston, Rocket 88, the Demise of Oldsmobile
Jackie Brenston was a sax player and singer, working with his band The Delta Cats. In 1951 he recorded, for Sam Phillips Sun Records in Memphis, the song “Rocket 88”…
Randy Wood, Pat Boone, and Dot Records
Randy Wood, the founder of Dot Records, just died at the ripe old age of 94. I had Dot 45 rpm 7” singles as a kid, also knew his jazz…
In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
I recently got a new cd by veteran jazz pianist Fred Hersch called “Alone at the Vanguard”. Solo piano, obviously, recorded in the famous Big Apple nightspot. The first…
Morning Becomes Eclectic: Very Different Back Then
Lately I have been reorganizing my record collection, and occasionally I get a surprise while rummaging and sorting lp’s and cd’s. The other day I pulled out an old lp…
Torna a Surriento: Evolution of a Classic Italian Song
I recently heard Jason Bentley play a song called “Surrender” by Anna Calvi on Morning Becomes Eclectic. It sounded familiar—I knew I’d heard it before. So I did some digging…
The Vatican vs. Rhythm and (specifically) Tango
Historically the Vatican has condemned rhythm: it might make people shake their hips and, god forbid, want to kiss and touch and perhaps go even further. Pope Gregory I helped…
Chavela Vargas: La Voz de la Ternura (The Rough Voice of Tenderness)
It’s no wonder that Chavela Vargas has long been Pedro Almodovar’s muse. According to sources, “in her youth she dressed as a man, smoked cigars, drank heavily, and carried a…
the great umm kulthum is forever
In my recent salon class on global divas, I featured a song called “Ala Baladi Elmahboub” which translates as “to my beloved country” from a 1936 Egyptian classic film called…
Gil Scott Heron—What Happened?
In a recent issue of The New Yorker, there is a profile of singer-songwriter Gil Scott-Heron. His star burned brightly for many albums, first in the 1970s for Flying Dutchman Records,…