May 3, 2011 – James Brown

The Godfather of Soul, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, the amazing James Brown! He is a mood-enhancing drug — if listening to James Brown can’t make your day better, all hope may be lost. And watching him is an experience you’ll never forget. I recently saw the documentary Soul Power. It’s a great film and worth watching just to see James Brown dance. I regret never having seen James Brown perform live.

Today is James Brown’s birthday. In the future it may be a national holiday honoring his contribution to American music. When James Brown Day becomes a holiday, we all have to dress up like James Brown for the day. Imagine stepping outside and seeing everyone looking fabulous with a big, big smile. Call my tailor — I want a blue velvet suit!

April 25, 2011 — Rock and Roll While You Stroll

30 years ago there was no iPod, it was all about the Walkman. The mobile music device that seemed to eat a set of batteries each time you played an entire cassette. One had to travel with a horde of batteries plus all those cassettes. Younger generations have no idea how we “suffered” to bring our music alone.

Today I found this article about how you could “Rock and Roll while you stroll” in a 1963 issue of Popular Mechanics. This device made it possible to walk down the street playing your 45’s. It never seems to have caught on. The price back then was $79.95. That is about $570 in 2011 dollars.

February 15, 2011 – Beauty and the Beat

In 1959 George Shearing, with Peggy Lee and Armando Peraza recorded one of the greatest albums of all time — Beauty and the Beat. I admit, my list of greatest albums is quite subjective, but this is one of the greats. The music is flawless and Peggy Lee’s voice was at its peak. I have listened to this album hundreds of times. I started my day with it today. There was a re-issue in 2003 of the album that I have never heard. The 1959 album was intended to be a live recording in Miami. Due to technical recordings it was recorded in studio and the audience and announcements were added later. It’s a bit corny, but I’ll stick to the original. The 2003 re-issue is the pure studio recording.

It’s funny how we still use the word “album” since the physical album has all but disappeared. I own the CD for Beauty and the Beat. And now most music I purchase is downloaded. I gave away my vinyl years ago. The instant gratification and the technological improvements are great. But I miss the feeling of opening an album for the first time. Listening, reading and looking. With the loss of the actual album the artwork has also become a thing of the past.

Yesterday at age 91, George Shearing died. I have to confess, I learned more about him than I ever knew just reading the obituary. His legacy includes one of the greatest albums of all time.