Tag Archives: Bruce Springsteen

Live and In Person

31 Jan

Listening to music is one of my favorite pastimes. Cranking of the radio and letting the sound fill the air is a great pleasure. It is truly pleasurable when that music is of the Rock variety. However, listening to live music is more enjoyable. I have been lucky enough to attend many concerts, and there is nothing like being in a room filled with people and hearing a performer sing a great song.image-6

The other day, I was at the magazine rack when I spotted something called 101 Greatest American Rock Songs. With a title like that, how could I not buy it? The magazine offers an interesting list with stories about each one. As I read through it, a question entered my mind.

How many of these songs have I heard in a live setting? In Nashville, we hear a bunch of songs being covered by bar bands. My real question was trickier. How many of these songs have I heard performed by their actual performers in a live setting?

Here is the answer.

98. “When Doves Cry” by Prince

97. “Legs” by ZZ Top

95. “All Shook Up” by Elvis Presley

94. “Lay, Lady, Lay” by Bob Dylan

92. “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” by Meatloaf

84. “Jackie Brown” by John Mellencamp

82. “Black Magic Woman” by Santana

72. “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan

64. “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper

62. “Rock and Roll All Nite” by Kiss

60. “Tangled Up in Blue” by Bob Dylan

51. “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses

48. “Bye Bye Love” by The Everly Brothers

46. “Dream On” by Aerosmith

36. “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar

32. “All Along the Watchtower” by Bob Dylan

31. “One of These Nights” by The Eagles

29. “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

27. “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan

24. “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

23. “Enter Sandman” by Metallica

22. “Atlantic City” by Bruce Springsteen

18. “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith

10. “In the Ghetto” by Elvis Presley

9. “Hotel California” by The Eagles

5. “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

3. “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen

2. “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan

I have been lucky enough to hear 28 out of 101 in a live setting, and, by looking at the list, I am afraid that I will not be able to add many more.

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Songs of the Year

3 Jul

When I put together the Songs of the Week post, I knew that this could be taken further. Why? Because there are a ton of songs that go along with the months. A Songs of the Year post could be easily compiled.

Except, I was wrong. Some days inspire more songs than other days. Likewise, some months inspire more songs than other months. Apparently, there are certain time slots that have little artistic value.

Despite the obstacles, I trudged through my iPod and other resources to put together my favorite songs of the year.Months

January – How can you beat Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, going to her gospel roots and singing “Amazing Grace”? Answer: You cannot beat that. Her live version, titled “Amazing Grace (Live at New Temple Missionary Baptist Church, Los Angeles, January 13, 1972)“, is the best version you will ever hear.

February – This month does not provide much in the realm of music. There are plenty of songs about February, but I do not know many of them. Of course, I could be prejudiced against February. With that being said, I will go with “February Stars” by Foo Fighters. It is as good as any.

March – Going after the fanboy traffic, I am picking “The Imperial March” from the Star Wars soundtrack. It is John Williams. It is Darth Vader. In other words, it is cool.

April – Now, we are getting into some good stuff. Straight off of the iPod comes “Pieces of April” by Three Dog Night. the singer is remembering a month-long romance. I wonder why they did not make it to May.

May – Speaking of May, there is an awesome song by Little Jimmy Dickens. “May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose” was his top charting song and was inspired by Johnny Carson. Dickens is a cheapskate, and the chorus is what people say to him.

June – Dean Martin was the coolest of the cool. Frank Sinatra may have been the leader of the Rat Pack, but Dean Martin was the soul of the Rat Pack. No list is complete with him, which means “June in January” is next on the list.

July – It was written by Bruce Springsteen, but I am not a fan of his. For that reason, this month is represented by “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” as performed by The Hollies.

August – Wow, August has inspired hardly any songwriters. Does it not rhyme with anything? Just. Must. Au jus. There has to be something about August that is worthy of song. If you know of something, then let me know. I cannot find anything worthy of listing.

September – It is not his best, but “September Morn” is a decent Neil Diamond song. Have you ever taken your mom to a concert only to see women throw their underwear at the performer. It happened to me at a Neil Diamond show.

October – Deadmau5 was at Bonnaroo. In fact, that is the only thing I wish I could have seen at this year’s show. For that reason, “October” makes the list. One day, I will go to a Deadmau5 show.

November – It is the greatest Power Ballad of all time. It is the greatest video of all time. If Axl Rose had not been nuts, then Guns N’ Roses could have been the greatest band of all time. Ladies and gentlemen, “November Rain” is the best song on this list.

December – The year will end with a legend. Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December” is about a man facing hard economic times. If he can make it through the disappointment of Christmas without gifts, then everything will be fine.

We made it through an entire year with August being the only disappointment. Do you know of any August songs? What about the other months?

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Music on the Inside

20 Jun

The other night, we saw The Rolling Stones at LP Field, the home of the Tennessee Titans. Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis know that I am a music lover and am a big fan of concerts. However, I learned something about myself at this one. I do not like stadium shows. Seeing an iconic band like The Rolling Stones is great, but football stadiums are not conducive to a good show.

First, the weather has an impact. It was miserably hot and affected my ability to enjoy to music. However, other kinds of weather can mess it up. Rain. Thunder. Lightning. Anyway, the heat was unbearable.

Second, there are no good seats. Unless you are in front of the stage or have some sort of VIP pass, there is no good place to watch a concert in a football stadium. You are always far from the stage. That means you can hear a live concert, but you cannot necessarily see a live concert.

All of this means that I am a fan of indoor concerts. Good seats are actually good seats. Even bad seats are close enough to see something. People can feel like they are part of an event rather than being on the outskirts of one.

On top of that, indoor concerts are climate controlled. I saw Jimmy Buffett in an arena while it was storming outside. It rained enough to flood Nashville over the next several days.

Bringing up Jimmy Buffett makes me think of something else. His concerts are known as outdoor parties under the sun. I have seen him outside. I have seen him inside. The indoor shows were better.

The same goes for The Rolling Stones. I saw them in an arena and in a stadium. The arena show was better. They may not have performed better, but it was a better experience.

A few months ago, we saw Kenny Chesney in concert. It was an awesome show and a lot better than the time we saw him in a stadium.

Bottom line, football stadiums are not designed for concerts and the best ones are in smaller indoor buildings. However, I do not want to disparage the band. The Rolling Stones are great, and it is hard to believe they can perform at that level at their ages. They are a Hall of Fame band, and I want to end this post on a positive note. Since they are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I thought it would be interesting to see how many members I have seen in concert.Rock Hall

I guess it can be done by their year of induction.

1986

The Everly Brothers

Elvis Presley

1987

Bo Diddley

B.B. King

1988

Bob Dylan

Diana Ross

1989

The Rolling Stones

1990

Simon and Garfunkel

The Who

1992

Johnny Cash (I did not actually see him perform, but I met him in a bookstore.)

1993

John Fogerty

1994

Elton John

Rod Stewart

1995

Al Green

Robert Plant

1996

Pink Floyd

1997

Crosby, Stills and Nash

Parliament-Funkadelic

1998

Eagles

Fleetwood Mac

Santana

1999

Del Shannon

Bruce Springsteen

2000

Eric Clapton

Earth, Wind and Fire

James Taylor

2001

Aerosmith

Steely Dan

2002

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

2003

AC/DC

2004

Prince

Bob Seger

Steve Winwood

ZZ Top

2005

Buddy Guy

U2

2006

Ozzy Osbourne

Lynyrd Skynyrd

2008

Leonard Cohen

John Mellencamp

2009

Metallica

2011

Alice Cooper

Neil Diamond

2012

Axl Rose

2014

John Oates

Kiss

They are all Hall of Famers, and I can guarantee they all put on better shows indoors.

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The Soundtrack of My Youth – 1985

7 Apr

Wow, I cannot believe that 1985 was thirty years ago. I started the year as a sophomore and ended the year as an upperclassman. For a high school kid, that makes all the difference in the world. I could not play an instrument, but I could play the radio.1985

The year began with Madonna continuing her “Like a Virgin” dominance of the charts. In fact, the entire month of January belonged to her.

In February, her song was replaced by “I Want to Know What Love Is” by Foreigner. It was one of my favorites and was a big deal for a kid who really wondered what love was all about.

It was soon replaced with “Careless Whisper” by Wham! featuring George Michael. This should have been a clear signal to the other guy. George was about to be the star of the duo. I guess that is why I call him the other guy.

REO Speedwagon was up next with “Can’t Fight This Feeling”. Honestly, I never understood the fascination with this band or this song.

“One More Night” started a big year for Phil Collins. This would be the first of three Number One songs for the singer/drummer. Or, is it drummer/singer?

Phil Collins was good, but he could not hold off a bunch of stars raising money for Africa. “We Are the World” was a song, an event and a pretty good video. It was performed by USA for Africa, a group of singers who were not all from the USA. Ever wonder who took part in this project? Wonder no more. The group was made up of (in alphabetical order):

Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Kim Carnes, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Sheila E., Bob Geldof, Hall and Oates, James Ingram, Jackie Jackson, La Toya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, Al Jarreau, Waylon Jennings, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis and the News, Kenny Loggins, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson, Jeffrey Osborne, Steve Perry, The Pointer Sisters, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder

It stayed on top for four weeks before Madonna struck back with “Crazy for You”.

She stayed in that spot for a week and was knocked out by a song that played over the end credits of a movie. The Breakfast Club struck a chord with high school kids, and “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds was the song that made this chord stick.

Wham! returned with “Everything She Wants” and made sure “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” would have to be remembered because, after one week, it was a thing of the past.

Then, one of my favorite 1980s groups hit the Number One spot. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears was, in my opinion, the best song of the year.

Unfortunately, it was soon replaced by the overrated Bryan Adams with “Heaven”.

“Sussudio” by Phil Collins made sure that Bryan Adams went away. Although, I still have not figured out who or what Sussudio is supposed to be.

James Bond could save the world, but he could also put a theme song at the top of the carts. “A View to a Kill” by Duran Duran held the Number One spot for two weeks. They did it despite being connected to Roger Moore, one of my least favorite 007s.

Paul Young and “Everytime You Go Away” accomplished what no villain could. He defeated James Bond. However, he did not hold on for long.

Tears for Fears returned with “Shout”, which was not as good as their previous hit. I have no idea how it stayed at the top longer than the other one.

I admit that the 1980s were cheesy. That cheesiness was defined by Huey Lewis and the News, a group that hit Number One with “The Power of Love”.

Unfortunately for Huey, the Brat Pack would not be denied. They drove Simple Minds to the top. Now, they did the same thing for John Parr. “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” was the theme song for the movie with the same name.

The fire was doused by one of the greatest videos of the 1980s. “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits provided a regular person’s view of music superstardom. The video was early computerization at its best. The song was Number One for three weeks and was followed by a string of one-week wonders.

“Oh Sheila” by Ready for the World started the trend. That was followed by “Take On Me” by a-ha, a song that was driven by its awesome video.

Whitney Houston had a Number One song with “Saving All My Love for You” and was followed by Stevie Wonder with “Part-Time Lover”. It looks as if those songs have two different philosophies.

Another theme song reached the peak of the charts. “Miami Vice Theme” by Jan Hammer was an instrumental that took the country by storm. Of course, Miami Vice also took the country by storm and influenced 1980s lifestyle and fashion. This is where I should admit that I have never seen an episode of Miami Vice. I may be a product of the 1980s, but I still have television taste. Give me The Equalizer and The A-Team anytime.

Jefferson Airplane? Jefferson Starship? Starship? They need to make up their minds. Anyway, Starship had a hit called “We Built This City”.

The year could not end without another Phil Collins hit. However, “Separate Lives” was a duet with Marilyn Martin.

Another typical 1980s group replaced the work of Phil and Marilyn. “Broken Wings” by Mr. Mister held the top position for two weeks. However, the year ended with the return of Lionel Richie and “Say You, Say Me”.

Did you have any favorites that did not reach Number One? Let me know.

 

 

 

 

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Paul Is Not That Fab

26 Apr

Going to concerts is one of my favorite things to do. Through the years, I have seen a bunch of performers, and they have usually fallen into two categories.

There are the ones that I like and have to see because I think they are great. That is a list that could go on forever.

Then, there are the ones that I do not like that much but saw them because of the experience. They are the ones that music lovers should see because of who they are. Bruce Springsteen. Leonard Cohen. Cher. Bob Dylan (although I like the young Dylan. It is the old Dylan that I have questions about). Dave Brubeck. Garth Brooks. I cannot say that I enjoyed all of those shows, but I am glad that I saw them.

That brings me to some concert tickets that went on sale this week. Paul McCartney is coming to town, and he definitely qualifies as a member of the second category. He is not one of my favorites, but he is someone who a music lover should see. My wife and I talked about it and decided we would look into it. Her mom was interested, as well.Paul McCartney

Oh, I should also say this. We like good tickets, where we can actually see the stage.

Being a frequent purchaser of tickets, I get emails about buying tickets before they go on sale. The first email offered special packages. I looked into it and found that tickets close to the stage could be had for $1,500 a piece. Tickets got cheaper as they moved further back, but the cheapest one was $500.

I was not going to pay that, so I waited for the next email. This one was a pre-sale the day before the general public could buy. I click on the link and see that a decent seat was $300. That was still expensive, so I played around with the parameters. It turns out that a seat in the upper deck cost $150. Let me write that again. A seat in the UPPER DECK cost $150.

We are not strangers to pricey concert tickets. I am willing to pay for what I get. However, this is ridiculous. I might pay that much to see The Beatles. However, I am not going to pay that much to see a Beatle.

Without a doubt, Paul McCartney is a legend. Although I think they are overrated, he and the rest of the Fab Four altered music history. However, I cannot justify paying that much to see him. The place will probably be full, so I do not think Paul is concerned.

I hate that we are going to miss seeing someone of Paul McCartney’s stature, but he has priced me out of the market. For someone who loves concerts as much as I do, that is a real accomplishment.

I might pay that to see the Fab Four, but I will never pay that to see the Fab One.

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Graduation Celebration

1 Jun

Last night, my nephew graduated from high school. Other than the fact that I felt old, it was a time for celebration for a great achievement. I won’t go on and on about his honors and accolades, but I felt the need to celebrate this in the blog world. With that in mind, I decided to find out what was happening in the world during the year he was born – 1994.

In the world of sports:

– the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII.

– no one won the World Series because a strike cancelled the season.

– George Foreman became boxing’s oldest heavyweight champion.

– Miguel Indurain won one of my favorite events, the Tour de France.

– Dale Earnhardt won the Winston Cup Championship.

On television:

– NBC debuted a couple of new shows called ER and Friends.

– The Game Show Network made its debut.

– O.J. Simpson got in a white Bronco and led police on a slow-speed chase.

– Star Trek: The Next Generation ended its successful run.

At the movies:

– The Lion King defeated Forrest Gump as the highest grossing film.

– Forrest Gump got revenge by running away with the Academy Award for Best Film.

– Telly “Who loves ya, baby?” Savalas passed away.

– Cameron Diaz made her first film appearance in The Mask.

The literary world saw:

– Stephen King publish Insomnia.

– Kenzaburo Oe won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Musically:

– Bruce Springsteen had a hit with Streets of Philadelphia.

– Justin Bieber was born.

– Kurt Cobain died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

– Cream, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Etta James, the Doors and others were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On a more serious note:

– Hurricane Gordon killed over 1,000 people.

– USAir Flight 427 crashed into a hillside in Pennsylvania, leading to the longest accident investigation in aviation history.

– Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa.

– Saddam Hussein was president of Iraq.

– Yasser Arafat became president of the Palestinian Authority.

And, that’s the way it was. Congratulations to Weston on his graduation!

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The State of Music – Part 1

14 Apr

Yesterday, I was told that I am eccentric. When I asked for some examples, I got the following:

I can read for hours at a time. (Is that strange?)

I have no food in my refrigerator. (At least I have a refrigerator.)

Sometimes I like to sit in the dark. (Sometimes lights hurt my eyes.)

Anyway, after three I said that was enough. I suppose that in some people’s opinions I am eccentric, but aren’t we all? After the conversation, I started thinking of things that may make me different from others, and I started wondering if the things I wonder about are the same things other people wonder about. For example, I have always wondered how many songs have the name of my state, Tennessee, in their title. I have searched this but can never find an answer. This is a musical place and has inspired many songs, so it may be an impossible quest.

Instead of just thinking about my state, I began to think about other states as well. Are all states remembered in song? With that in mind, I decided to make a list, and this post in the first installment. I will search for songs with states in their titles and list the ones I like the best. I will try to stay away from official state songs, but that may be impossible. After all, some states have been placed in music a bunch of times while others have been barely used. I will also include a link for people to listen if they like.

If there are some state songs that you like, then tell me about them.

Here are the first ten:

Alabama – Several songs have been written about Alabama, but I am going with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama”. Recorded as an answer to Neil Young’s “Southern Man”, this song became a classic of the Southern Rock genre.

Alaska – “North to Alaska” was a hit for Johnny Horton in 1960. Included in the movie of the same title, it is a somewhat humorous chronicle of the Alaska Gold Rush.

Arizona – There are a few Arizona songs, but none that I really like. With that in mind, I am going with “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone (or Phoenix, Arizona)?” by Charley Pride, one of the few successful African-American performers in country music.

Arkansas – There are quite a few old-timey songs about Arkansas, but I am trying to keep this list in the latter half of the 20th Century. This time we will go with Bruce Springsteen’s “Mary Queen of Arkansas”.

California – This state is included in tons of songs, but on my list there is only one. My favorite song of all time is “Hotel California” by The Eagles. Nothing else even comes close.

Colorado – Alright, I didn’t pick a John Denver song. I know that would be the obvious choice, but sometimes it’s good to not be so obvious. Instead, I chose the aptly titled “Colorado” by The Flying Burrito Brothers.

Connecticut – Man, this was a tough one. This state doesn’t seem to lead to much musical inspiration. Maybe it hard to rhyme something with Connecticut. I finally found a short instrumental by Aerosmith called “I Live in Connecticut”.

Delaware – Another difficult one found me grasping for anything I could get my ears on. I finally discovered that Perry Como recorded a song called “What Did Delaware, Boy?”, which is based on an old joke.

Florida – This is a popular state for tourism and sun, and I thought that would lead to several songs. It didn’t. However, with sun, sand and ocean all around, I figured I might as well go with Mr. Sun-Sand-and-Ocean himself, Jimmy Buffett, and his song “Floridays”. I know the spelling is messed up, but the name is in there somewhere.

Georgia – Now, here is a state with a bushel of songs written about it. It seems like everyone who has ever recorded a song has come up with one about Georgia. With many choices, I have decided on the original version of “Rainy Night in Georgia” by Tony Joe White.

So, twenty percent of the states have been covered. Tune in next time for another ten classic tunes. Remember, if you have some ideas for your state or any other, then please let me know.

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