Tag Archives: Classic Rock

Music Monday: June 20, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Music Monday

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Sir James Paul McCartney celebrated his 80th birthday over the weekend. Born June 18, 1942 in Liverpool, England, the man who would become one fourth of the band that changed music forever & one-half of one of the greatest songwriting teams ever has spent six decades making music. There is not much for me to add to a legacy like that.

Today’s song has been my #1 favorite of McCartney’s since I first heard it during one of my most beloved scenes from the “Let It Be” movie. But once I discovered the “naked” version of this song, it took the top spot on that list.

“The wild and windy night
That the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears
Crying for the day“.

Paul 1964

Paul and Linda

Paul M

Top: McCartney in his Beatles days circa 1964. Middle Paul & his first wife, Linda, in the 1970’s. McCartney (L) on stage in NJ last week with one of that state’s favorite sons, Bruce Springsteen (R). (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

The Beatles: “The Long & Winding Road” (1970 original, 2003 reissue, written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: June 6, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to the first edition of Music Monday for June.

Music Monday

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Two members of The Rolling Stones share the same birthday month. Guitarist Ron Wood celebrated birthday number 75 on June 1. Before he joined the band in 1976, he made a name for himself in The Jeff Beck Group, The Faces and with Rod Stewart. Their 1993 collaboration on Unplugged…..and Seated remains one of my favorites from that series.

Original member Charlie Watts was born June 2, 1941 in London, England. We lost the stylish dashing drummer last August & it hurt in a way I never saw coming. We all know musicians age like the rest of us but when a band is together for nearly 60 years, you start to believe they will outlive us all. Maybe that is just me. But what an ache Watts left behind in all of us who love The Stones.

Today’s song is in my permanent Top 10 list. It has been that way since the first time I heard it. It does not feature Wood but it is still one of the band’s greatest tracks of all time. It is from their 1969 Let It Bleed album and has been one of their signature tunes since then. I cannot even imagine my life without this monumental song in it. I am pretty sure Martin Scorsese feels the same way.

“A storm is threatening
My very life today
If I don’t get some shelter
I’m gonna fade away“.

Stones 2010

The Rolling Stones circa 2010 (L-R): Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Ron Wood.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Rolling Stones: “Gimme Shelter” (1969, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: May 9, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

Music Monday

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Today’s song is another one of those tracks that left an indelible mark on my soul. It is classic rock at its finest, a tune so exquisite it is as close to perfection as I have ever found. The songwriter and singer of this paragon celebrates birthday number 74 this week.

Steve Winwood was born May 12, 1948 in Birmingham, UK. His father was also a musician who schooled his son so well that the younger Winwood was in a band by age 14, The Spencer Davis Group. Next came his tenure with Traffic where he gave us gems like “Empty Pages”, “The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys” & “Dear Mr. Fantasy”. In 1969 he joined forces with future Traffic bassist Rick Grech and musical powerhouses Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton to form Blind Faith. And it is from this supergroup that we arrive at today’s pick.

It is a captivating performance by all involved, from Grech’s masterful bass line to Baker’s elaborate percussion to Clapton’s stunning acoustic guitar work to Winwood’s soulful vocal delivery of his moving, lonely & succinct lyrics. When I featured this track on Day 74 of my daily music posts during lockdown, I called it “a prayer for all of us who are lost that we may find our way home to wherever and whatever that is”. And I stand by that sentiment. I find this song so beautiful it hurts, the way a magnificent work of art should make you feel. And this is art at its very best.

So, happy birthday, Steve Winwood. Thank you so much for all your exceptional music but for today’s track most of all.

“Well I’m near the end
And I just ain’t got the time
And I’m wasted and  I
Can’t find my way home“.

Blind Faith

Blind Faith circa 1969 L-R:  Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton.  (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Blind Faith: “Can’t Find My Way Home” (1969, written by Stevie Winwood).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: April 11, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

Music Monday

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I need to spend some extra time with the man I consider to be the greatest frontman of all time. So, a trip to the Morrison Hotel it is. Ladies & Gentlemen, The Doors.

“Well I woke up this morning
And I got myself a beer
The future’s uncertain
And the end is always near“.

Hotel

The cover of The Doors’ 1970 album. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Doors: “Roadhouse Blues” (1970, written by The Doors: John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison).

Stay safe & well.