JOEY COOPER - I'M A FOOL

PETE SEEGER : SINGER - SONGWRITER - ACTIVIST WALKED WITH TWO CANES THROUGH OCCUPY MOVEMENT CAMP

SF GATE : PETE SEEGER - SINGER SONGWRITER ACTIVIST

 A portion of the article by MICHAEL HILL and CHRIS TALBOTT, Associated Press.

 

"With his lanky frame, use-worn banjo and full white beard, Seeger was an iconic figure in folk music who outlived his peers. He performed with the great minstrel Woody Guthrie in his younger days and wrote or co-wrote "If I Had a Hammer," ''Turn, Turn, Turn," ''Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine." He lent his voice against Hitler and nuclear power. A cheerful warrior, he typically delivered his broadsides with an affable air and his fingers poised over the strings of his banjo.

 

In 2011, the canes kept Seeger from carrying his beloved instrument while he walked nearly 2 miles with hundreds of protesters swirling around him holding signs and guitars. With a simple gesture — extending his friendship — Seeger gave the protesters and even their opponents a moment of brotherhood the short-lived movement sorely needed..."

CHECK OUT OUR PREVIOUS POSTS ON PETE!
 

THIS VIDEO WAS MADE WHEN PETE WAS 74.

PAUL BURCH ON THE MUSIC OF APPALACHIA Quote

"Appalachia is still, for American musicians, a kind of fountain of youth we always go back to, the old home place to a group of artists who represent the quintessence of American independence, fortitude, genius, and madness."  - Paul Burch

H. JACKSON BROWN, JR. ON FRIENDSHIP

"Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends."
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH

THE BEACH BOYS - LITTLE SAINT NICK

We've posted on the Beach Boys a few times now and you can find those posts using the Google Search feature on the blog!

JOHN FOGERTY WROTE A SONG FOR EVERYONE AT THE GRAMMY MUSEUM and OFFICIAL SITE LINK - AN EXCELLENT SITE!

JOHN FOGERTY OFFICIAL SITE  - It's excellent!

John explains he was drafted for Viet Nam in 1965 but went into the Reserves. His site explains the Viet Nam War and the Protests that began about 1967 and  the upset he felt about politician's sons being able to avoid the draft.  That's what's behind his song "Fortunate Son."  He wrote the song in 20 minutes, but after a lot of thought about these issues.

Here's a version with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters.



Christine here!  At the Grammy Museum exhibit, I learned that Creedence Clearwater Revival was considered a  FOLK REVIVAL MOVEMENT, a revival of AMERICANA, with a kind of anti-hippie movement with roots in the American South.  The influence of Pete Seeger and Duane Eddy on John Fogerty is explored. 

Here's the link to the exhibit! GRAMMY MUSEUM : JOHN FOGERTY WROTE A SONG FOR EVERYONE

We first mentioned John Fogerty on this blog in 2008, due to his pre-Creedence work with the Blue Velvets.

ERSEL HICKEY : TRYING TO GET TO YOU

Can You Help? ERSEL HICKEY ESTATE HEIRS?

In November 2012 we got a message from someone identifying themselves as ROYALTY PHOENIX who said that BMI is looking for heirs to the ERSEL HICKEY ESTATE.

Since we've posted a lot on Ersel, who was a friend of Wes's from his New York City days, it made sense that someone would contact us but ROYALTYPHOENIX didn't say how she knew or how to get in touch with her.  I called BMI in Los Angeles over the holidays and talked to a nice person or two, but was told I should call New York. 

What I wanted to tell New York was that I remember reading a YOUTUBE comment on an Ersel Hickey music video from a woman who called Ersel "UNCLE ERSEL." If this woman was really his niece then she could be the link to his estate, or maybe even an heir.  Now I can't find that particular comment/video.  I decided to post on many of the current Ersel Hickey YouTube videos to put the word out.  On one of them someone also claimed to be a great nephew - four years ago!

So I'm trying to track down a person in Ersel's family with your help.  I'm doing so because I know that Wes thinks so highly of Ersel and I wouldn't want anyone who is deserving of Ersel's royalty/intellectual property money to loose out! 

We have our Comments turned on and Information you leave will not appear on the Internet for the world to see.  If you know something about this you can feel secure that we will not publish your phone number, e-mail, or identifying information.  If you think you may be an heir please call BMI New York.

(474) BOBBY DARIN RECORDED ON MOTOWN!

We think the writers at REISSUE THEORY did a great job of telling about Bobby Darin on MOTOWN, the label he was signed to at the time of his death (years later) that some of the recordings.

THE SECOND DISK : BOBBY DARIN THE MOTOWN YEARS link here!

EXCERPT: "At the time of his untimely death in 1973, Bobby Darin was signed to Motown Records, where he recorded one solo LP and enough material for a posthumous second LP. Despite their high quality, Darin’s Motown recordings have long been unavailable. Today’s Reissue Theory takes us back to 1970 and the final chapter in the life of the great Bobby Darin." 





LINKING TO A REALLY COOL SITE CALLED "THE OFFICIAL 60's SITE : SUPREMES PAGE!
DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES !

JOSH DULANEY OF THE LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS REPORTS THAT VINYL RECORDS SALES ARE "BACK IN THE GROOVE"

Josh Dulaney, in the July 10 2013, Los Angeles Daily News, says that vinyl records are making a comeback as sales hit their highest point in 15 years. Turntables are expected to sell 40% better next year. 4.6 million vinyl records including some new releases sold last year, an increase of more than 17%. The article focuses on some of the more popular vinyl record stores in the Los Angeles region.

GOOGLE READER - RSS FEED - WILL GO DOWN JULY 1 2013

Just to keep our followers and other friends and readers up to the latest in Google Blogger History!

Google has announced that the Google Reader, and RSS feed features which some of you use to read this and other blogs, will be history (go down permanently as far as anyone knows) in about 2 weeks, on July 1, 2013.

There are other RSS Readers out there and we will post ON THIS POST if there are any recommendations or suggestions about those products or services. *****

You can always go Old School and BOOKMARK this site.

If you use word search on Google, Yahoo, Bing, or any other SEARCH ENGINE, we are aware of another half dozen or so WES BRYANs out there.  We suggest "WES BRYAN MUSIC" as the best word choice.

WE HAVE BLOGGED USING FREE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FROM THE VERY BEGINNING and we are grateful for the opportunity to do so.  However, even some of the world's richest companies sometimes decide that a free product or service is not worth it to them to continue.

While we're at it, we know we miss - and you probably do too - our wonderful slideshow of stars which was one of the products we have also used for free as provided by PHOTOBUCKET.

Well, we put up the Valentine's version of that slideshow this year, and a week later, when we went in to take down the Valentines there was no longer any EDITING OPTION.  Not only that, there is no longer any option to make NEW SLIDESHOWS!  PHOTOBUCKET IS ALLOWING US TO PRESENT THE SLIDESHOWS (the moving boxes) that we already made and posted.  For this we are grateful!

Hopefully we can soon reinstall a slideshow!

Christine

***** Update : We're being told that FEEDLY and DIGG will have readers.  FEEDLY is an option now, DIGG in the near future.

(468) JOHNNY RIVERS AT THE WHISKY COVERING CHUCK BERRY'S HIT WITH 1960'S STYLE

I remember going to hear Johnny play at the Whisky, where he became a headliner after playing in other clubs in the area.  To this day his name is associated with the club. 

Johnny Rivers covered so many songs successfully (including songs recorded at Motown) that other people recorded, he became so known for his versions that many people didn't realize that they weren't written by him or that he wasn't the first to record them.  He attracted a new generation.  (Johnny had moved to New York City at the age of 16 and was a little younger than me, Buddy Knox, and some of the other guys we hung out with.)  Here's a YouTube fan video - very well put together - where Johnny covers two 1950's classics written and recorded first by Chuck Berry, with that mid 1960's rock and roll style of his on Liberty Records.



JOHNNY RIVERS OFFICIAL - UPDATED - NEW CD  Called Live at Cache Creek it's blues, bluegrass, and JR. 

FOLK SINGER BOB DYLAN INVADES BRITAIN AND GOES ELECTRIC

Bob Dylan went to England as an established "American Folk Singer" and went Electric and fans protested. Bob was protesting being called a "Protest Singer."

WHAT DID ELVIS HAVE TO DO WITH BOB DYLAN? Quote

"When I first heard Elvis' voice I just knew that I wasn't going to work for anybody; and nobody was going to be my boss. Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail." - Bob Dylan

NEIL YOUNG ON SONGWRITING : NOT THE TIME FOR INTERROGATION OR ANALYSIS

"When i write a song, it starts with a feeling.  I can hear something in my head or feel it in my heart.  It may be that I just picked up the guitar and mindlessly started playing.  That's the way a lodt of songs begin.  When you do that, you are not thinking.  Thinking is the worst thing for writing a song.  So you just start playing and something new comes out.  Where does it come from?  Who cares?  Just keep it and go with it.  That's what I do.  I never judge it.  I believe it.   It came as a gift when I picked up my musical instrument and it came through me laying with the instrument.  The chords and melody just appeared.  Now is not the time for interrogation or analysis.  Now is the time to get to know the song, not change it before you even know it.  It is like a wild animal, a living thing.  Be careful not to scare it away.  That's my method, or one of my methods, at least.   - Neil Young.

This quote and others from Neil Young are from his recent memoir.

(462) SINGER -SONGWRITER FRED NEIL : COVERED BY A NEW GENERATION OF ARTISTS

FRED NEIL - OFFICIAL SITE!

We link to a lot of official sites and we're glad to know that one of them is dedicated to Freddy Neil.  Fred recorded with Gram Parsons, Vince Martin... His songs were covered by Peter, Paul and Mary... and so many others you may know about.  A little closer to today, Fiona Apple, Chris Robinson, and The Black Crowes, have covered songs he wrote.  Here's Fred's Dolphin Song:

  The Black Crowes

 Linda Ronsandt

 Freddy Neil, the songwriter