Two songs that rekindled my love for Hard Rock.

I remember almost to the second when I was starting to get absolutely sick and tired of hearing the nauseating syncopated beats of disco blaring over my radio every time I tuned in it was in the mid to late 70s when I finally said enough is enough and decided to go strictly with the hard rock genre. I listened to a lot of hard rock up to that point, shit like Cream, Led Zeppelin, Kiss and the like, one day in late 1977 I walked into Pioneer Drug store in Newman California and began sifting through the LPs I came across two albums in particular that piqued my interest, it was Kansas's fourth album- I wasn't altogether familiar with them but recognized the name, and the other was a band I had never heard of before called Foreigner, The Kansas album was Leftoverture and the Foreigner album was their self-titled debut album. There were two tracks in particular that stood out to me, on the Kansas LP it was Carry On My Wayward Son, and on Foreigner's debut it was Feels Like The First Time, these two albums, these two songs would forever reignite my love of hard rock music, I never looked back. 

                                      

Singer, Songwriter, Influencer. Legend.

I'm not sure about what made me think about Leon Russell this morning, I suppose his is just one of those names that just sort of pops into your head and makes you go: "Oh yeah, I forgot about him" and then when you begin sifting through his catalog of music you remember just how good he was as an entertainer. Although his is not a name that you would immediately think about when considering musicians, singers, and songwriters that have provided music with its rich history, it's when you look closer that you begin to fully realize his actual contributions. His voice albeit unique had a quality to it that was like no other, and those who are familiar with music before the age of autotune came into full bloom you knew when you heard him that you were listening to Leon Russell.

during his 60-year career, his far-reaching influence would touch the music world through several genres including pop, country, rock, folk, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, folk-rock, blues rock, surf, standards, and his unique piano style would come to be known as The Tulsa Sound. Leon was born on April 2nd, 1942 in Lawton Oklahoma, and later lived through his teens in Tulsa. He would later move to Los Angeles California in 1958 where he became a studio musician playing with artists ranging from Jan and Dean to the Beach Boys to Eric Clapton. Although an accomplished pianist and to a lesser degree a guitarist as well, he became more known for his songwriting abilities and had many well-known collaborations throughout his career. Leon Russell died in his sleep at his suburban Nashville home in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, on November 13, 2016, at the age of 74. he remains as one of the most influential songwriters/musicians of the 1960s and '70s. 

ABT/Scratch.2020.

Re-tuning in.

So I happened upon this blog by accident this morning, and it put me immediately to mind of some of my old Blogstream blogs, namely one called Scratch Radio, now it's highly unlikely that I will be revisiting that particular blog anytime soon, but I have had the itch for some time now to do some musical pieces, and seeing as how I have a place to put them now I may just start writing them again rather soon, I will have to brush up on how to post videos here again but it will be worth it. I loved writing for my old Mystical Milestones blog and if I start writing here I guess I'll have to call it Mystical Milestones 3.0 Stay tuned.

Deep Purple.

Although I had been listening to music from a very young age it wasn’t until I started paying close attention to rock & roll that I first began to develop any true musical interest. While I was exposed to- and listened to country, Jazz, swing and blues it was the rock bands of the 60’s that really got my attention. One of those was a band formed in Hetford England in 1967 to be called: “Roundabout” originally comprised of session guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, organist Jon Lord, Bassist Nick Simper, vocalist Ron Evans and drummer Ian Paice. After a re-branding of the name to “Deep Purple” the group had its first success in 1968 with the release of their debut album “Shades of Deep Purple” and a cover version of the Joe South tune Hush as their first hit single, which peaked at number 4 on the US charts in 1968. Not long after Evans and Simper were both dismissed from the band with Evans being eventually replaced by vocalist Ian Gillan, and Simper by bassist Roger Glover - whom Blackmore had been introduced to by a close friend. Today Deep Purple after several minor line up changes, continues to enjoy at the very least moderate success, which pales in comparison to the bands early achievements with Ritchie Blackmore in the forefront. Deep Purple are widely considered by many rock historians along with Led Zeppelin, Cream and Black Sabbath to be amongst the founding fathers of heavy metal.

The Chicago Transit Authority.

Formed by a group of Depaul University music students in 1967, The Chicago Transit Authority started out as a local late night- night club band, that creatively blended a raw- yet smooth sound of rock, pop and jazz, with bites of Latin percussion, and sometimes fuzzy feedback driven guitar work. The Band was formed by Saxist Walter Parazaider, Guitarist Terry Kath, Drummer Danny Seraphine, Trumpet player Lee Loughnane and Trombonist James Pankow. The group was later joined by Keyboardist Robert Lamm. And later still Tenor vocalist bassist Peter Cetera, with the final piece of the band in place, the bands first pass at a working name, called themselves The Big Thing, and started out playing cover tunes of top forty hits, but it wasn’t until after Cetera joined that they began working out some original material in 1968 and would relocate to Los Angeles California under the advisement of their manager. They landed a recording contract with Columbia records and would change their name to Chicago Transit Authority. Their first record- the self Titled The Chicago Transit Authority was released in April of 1969 and the rare double album debut had sold over a million copies by 1970 and garnered them platinum status, The record would become a staple on the newly popularized FM radio with the Singles- “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”, “Beginnings”, and “Questions 67 and 68” a brush with legal matters would cause the band to later shortened their name to simply Chicago. Although Chicago has seen several line up changes through the years, the band has remain intact and still remains a top draw a live stage act to this day.

~Information obtained in part through Wikipedia.com~

Tracy Chapman.. Soulful Original.

Her distinct, soulful voice and unique style of guitar playing has always set Tracy Chapman apart from other musicians, and when you hear her voice, anyone even vaguely familiar with her music knows it is without a doubt, Tracy Chapman. Born into a virtually penniless family, 46 years ago she was raised primarily by her mother who recognized in Tracy at a very young age that she had a strong love for music. She bought her- her first instrument at the age of three, which was strangely enough a ukulele. At the age of eight she was said to be inspired by the television show, Hee Haw and began writing songs and playing the guitar. Later while attending an Episcopalian high school, Tracy was accepted into a program called; A Better Chance which would enable her to later attend Wooster School in Connecticut. Eventually Tracy Chapman attended Tuft’s University where she graduated with a BA in anthropology and African studies. During college Tracy Chapman began street performing and playing in coffee houses in and around Cambridge Massachusetts, soon she was discovered by the son of a publishing firm executive who promptly signed her and in 1987 after graduating, would help her land a recording contract with Electra records. She released her first album in 1988, the self titled Critically acclaimed Tracy Chapman, which earned her three Grammy awards including best new artist of 1988.



~Information found through Wikipedia.com~


Background information
Born March 30, 1964 (age 46)
Origin Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Genres Folk, blues-rock, pop, soul
Occupations Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar, harp, bouzouki, banjo, clarinet, keyboards, organ, percussion, harmonica
Years active 1988–present Labels Elektra Records
Website www.tracychapman.com

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones

~Originally Posted on Thursday December 17th 2009 @ 10:08 AM ~


When you think of a person that is a musical virtuoso you would normally think of someone who plays the Guitar, Violin, piano or any number of other instruments that seem to fit into the mainstream ideology of musicians and music fans everywhere. And while Bela Fleck could have easily became a virtuoso Guitarist he was drawn at an early age in the most unlikely musical direction when he first heard Earl Scruggs- (not a bad influence by the way)- playing the Banjo on the theme song to the Beverly Hillbillies television show. He picked up his first Banjo at the age of 15 from his Grandfather and enrolled in the Emily Dickinson school in Manhattan and later in the New York City High School of music and Art. His early career found him playing with various musicians who would continue to influence his playing and willingness to experiment with would almost be called a classical approach to the way he would come to play the banjo.


He released a solo album in 1979 and toured the majority of the early 1980’s playing the bluegrass circuit with mandolin player Sam Bush , until he would eventually form the Flecktones in 1988. Since the inception of his recording career Bela Fleck has been nominated for all in all, 27 Grammy awards and has taken home the gold 11 times. He is widely considered by many to be the premier Banjo player in the world. There are times in life when Rock & Roll if even for a brief moment, infuses the faintest hint of staleness onto my musical palette, and I am curiously drawn to the unfamiliar and what can only be construed as completely different styles of music. Thankfully through a Blogstream friend- (Zappa Fan) during such a time, I was introduced to the unique musical style of Bela Fleck and The Flecktones. And I have been a fan ever since.