LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE DOCUMENTARY IS FABULOUS

I rented Linda Ronstadt : The Sound of My Voice this am and it is fabulous..it is sad that Linda has Parkinson's disease and no longer can sing, but...the amount of music she has created will live on forever. I don't think she knows that she is LEGEND.... I love Linda!!

A musical biography of one of the most successful female singers - and one of the most successful recording artists - of all time. Featuring Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and more.

The movie is up for rent on Amazon or if you are more patient than me, it will be broadcast on CNN New Year's Day 2020.  ☆☆☆☆☆

SPY VS SPY LEGENDARY CARTOONIST ANTONIO PROHIAS' FRIENDS PART 1

Legendary Mad Magazine cartoonist Antonio Prohias inspired and had many other artists and musicians as friends. His gift of sharing his talent was priceless. We will be sharing stories about the lucky folks who were recipients of Antonio's time, advice, and friendship.

Art Casado: Pic of Antonio Prohias

Message to Antonio's daughter Suzi Prohais from a family friend, fellow artist, and drummer Art Casado

Hey Suzi:

I was in New York around 1975-76, at a time I wanted to get away from music for a bit and get back into the artwork. During that time I saw your dad frequently. He lived way up in Manhattan somewhere, can't remember the street, but it was two long subway rides from Queensboro Plaza (where I lived) and an even longer walk from the station to his apt building. The block where he lived (I remember) was easy 3 times the length of the other blocks on his way to his place. A freaking mile long!!!

Your dad was so uniquely amazing in so many ways, it would take me a lifetime to write all the anecdotes about Antonio. One clear clue to his endless imagination was how he carried his unique style of drawing beyond the Spy characters.

The buildings he drew in the background were him, with those acute angles with a few bricks showing here and there, or the corner cluster of windows in far away scenes. His round moons the off-center hole and the intricate line-drawing clouds. The guns, the helicopters and everything else he drew had Antonio written all over it. Even a drawing of a pencil had his style.

I can tell you that the Spy vs Spy strips were superficially simple, but your dad was extremely serious about the authenticity of details.

He showed me a bunch of accordion files filled with magazine pages he used for reference --- he had photos of planes, boats, guns of every type, animals, you name it. He asked me, "what kind of tail does a hippo have?" I really could not say... well, he had a photo. --- He would say, "Imagine publishing a drawing of a giraffe with the wrong feet or wrong tail!!" He was right.

Of course, he would draw the animal his way, but anatomically correct. When a Spy was shooting a rifle, your dad knew the difference between the sight of a Winchester and that of an M-14. --- He was a trip and he once gave me an accordion to take home.

Of course, Antonio knew I played drums (he used to tell me that music was keeping me from being a full artist) ... (a brain divided) Ha!

Given that drums involved hitting stuff, he wanted to incorporate that into a Spy strip. (He did publish a frame of a Spy tied to a bass drum and taking a beating from the other Spy with the bass drum pedal.) But before that, your dad wanted to know how the drum pedal worked, and I sort of drew a sketch to explain the mechanism, but Antonio being a perfectionist, I ended up going to the music stores on 48th street, picking up drum catalogs and other drum stuff and bringing it to him. He was like a kid at Christmas, could not believe I came through for him... 😁

Art Casado

JAZZ LEGEND GROVER WASHINGTON JR

Mister Magic" was the successful single and title track from the fifth album of one of jazz music's more well-known figures. Grover Washington, Jr. (December 12, 1943 -- December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist.

Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He wrote some of his material and later became an arranger and producer.

Washington was born in Buffalo, New York on December 12, 1943. His mother was a church chorister, and his father was a collector of old jazz gramophone records and a saxophonist as well, so music was everywhere in the home. He grew up with the great jazzmen and big band leaders like Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, and others like them.

At the age of 8, with the desire for him to be more than he could be, Grover Sr. gave Jr. a saxophone. He practiced and would sneak into clubs to see famous Buffalo blues musicians. Washington left Buffalo and played with a Midwest group called the Four Clefs. He was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly thereafter, but this was to be to his advantage, as he met drummer Billy Cobham there.

Cobham, a mainstay in New York City, introduced Washington to many New York musicians. After leaving the Army, Washington freelanced his talents around New York City, eventually landing in Philadelphia in 1967. In 1970 and 1971, he appeared on Leon Spencer's first two albums on Prestige Records, together with Idris Muhammad and Melvin Sparks. Washington's big break came at the expense of another artist.

THE COMMODORES: MOTOWN LEGENDS GET 2 NEW HONORS!

Los Angeles - One of the greatest Motown and R&B / funk artists of all time, The Commodores' Walter “Clyde” Orange, James Dean “JD” Nicholas and William “WAK” King have influenced both artists young and old and in all genres with their classic songs. The Commodores brand is bigger than ever as they continue to blaze trails all over the world.

Two Alabama cities recently honored the music legacy of the Commodores! Tuskegee declared Friday March 29, 2019 to be Commodores Day, and Montgomery declared the band members to be honorary residents, receiving keys to the city!

A celebration was held at the Commodore Museum, the site of the Commodores' former rehearsal and recording studio in Tuskegee. The Commodores was originally formed by a group of college students at Tuskegee Institute just over 50 years ago.

photo by Shannon Heupel

“It is really great to see the place where the group was born! It still feels like home 50 years later, to the point where we didn't want to leave!” - The Commodores

In 1968 the group was formed while all the members were in college at Tuskeegee Institute. After being discovered by Berry Gordy, the Commodores went on to sell over 60 million records for Motown. With hits like “Machine Gun” and “Sail On,” the Commodores became proven artists. For five decades, the Commodores have remained a force in the music industry. The Commodores aren't just any group. They have staying power. Just like their hit song “Brick House,” the Commodores have created a foundation that just won't budge.

Don't miss your chance to feature one of the most successful vocal groups of all time in 2018 and beyond as The Commodores continue to thrill audiences with their Greatest Hits Tour – Live!

Upcoming Events

MAY 24 - Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, Reno, NV

JUN 01 - Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, CA

JUN 14 - San Mateo County Fair, San Mateo, CA

JUL 12 - IP Casino Resort Spa, Biloxi, MS

JUL 16 - Village Green, Elk Grove Village, IL

AUG 10 - Wisconsin State Fair Park Exposition Center, West Allis, WI

AUG 18 - Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA

AUG 25 - Embarcadero Marina Park South, San Diego, CA

AUG 30 - Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center, Salem, OR

FEB 10 - Ultimate Disco Cruise, Miami, FL

ACCOLADES & ACHIEVEMENTS

75 Million Albums Sold Worldwide

7 - #1 singles

5 - #1 Albums

20 - Top 10 Singles

15 - Top 10 Albums

1985 Grammy Award - “Nightshift”

1987 Antwerp Diamond Microphone Award

Vocal Group Hall of Fame Inductees

The 58th AutoZone Liberty Bowl Outstanding Achievement Award (2016)

2018 Casino Entertainment Awards “Musical Artist of the Year”

The Commodores official website: http://www.commodoreslive.com/

 

LINDA RONSTADT'S BOOK: SIMPLE DREAMS: 5 STARS

LINDA RONSTADT

Just finished reading Linda Ronstadt's autobiography Simple Dreams. I really enjoyed her story...


Linda Ronstadt has received twelve Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, and one Emmy Award, as well as several Tony and Golden Globe nominations. She lives in San Francisco with her family.

Linda Ronstadt: Simple Dreams

Ronstadt has collaborated with artists in diverse genres, including Bette Midler, Billy Eckstine,[22] Frank Zappa, Rosemary Clooney, Flaco Jiménez, Philip Glass, Warren Zevon, Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, Dolly Parton, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Johnny Cash, and Nelson Riddle. She has lent her voice to over 120 albums and has sold more than 100 million records, making her one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.[23][24] Christopher Loudon, of Jazz Times, wrote in 2004 that Ronstadt is "blessed with arguably the most sterling set of pipes of her generation.

Read More on RK:

Linda Ronstadt: Most Successful Woman Singer

GENIUS: PICASSO ANTONIO BANDERAS AND ALEX RICH ARE FABULOUS!

I am addicted to Picasso this week...Wow, Antonio Banderas and Alex Rich do a fabulous job portraying the Genius: Picasso. What a complicated story and a very complicated soul was Pablo Picasso...I had to keep looking up his list of women, friends, girlfriends,wives,lovers etc... Here is that page..

Picasso's story is a long one as he bgan his career in his early teens and painnted until his death in his 90s. what a man... Take a peek at the trailer..

Picasso's art was fueled by women..even until his death in 1973. He abused their trust but then...they are were forewarned about his reputation as a lady's man before they entered the man's studio...You might say they knew the job was dangerous when they took it...

As one of the 20th century’s most influential and celebrated artists, Pablo Picasso imagined and interpreted the world in totally new and unorthodox ways, reinventing our perception of creativity in the process. Starring Antonio Banderas and Alex Rich in the titular role, the second season of National Geographic’s 10-part, Emmy-nominated global event series, "Genius: Picasso," explores how the Spanish-born artist’s passionate nature and relentless creative drive were inextricably linked to his personal life, which included tumultuous marriages, numerous affairs and constantly shifting political and personal alliances.

Picasso and His Muses

Life of Picasso

Picasso: the Triumphant Years

  

UK PSYCHEDELIC ROCK LEGENDS PINK FAIRIES RETURN WITH NEW LP

UK Psychedelic Rock Legends Pink Fairies Return With New Album Resident Reptiles

Los Angeles - The legendary UK psychedelic anarchists return with a fantastic new album led by founding Fairy Paul Rudolph! Rudolph is joined by former Hawkwind bassist Alan Davey and original Motörhead drummer Lucas Fox, who not only created a killer rhythm section for the album but added a bit of sizzling biker-rock to the mix!

Another Pink Fairies/Motörhead member, Larry Wallis, was with the band in spirit as they churned out an excellent version of his tune “Old Enuff To Know Better!”

“I'd say this journey started with Nik Turner introducing me to Cleopatra Records. I was asked about the possibility of recording a LP under the Pink Fairies banner and thought - this would be a lot of fun. Get a few people together, turn the amps up to 10 and let 'er rip.

Larry Wallis wanted to be involved and Matt at Cleopatra suggested Alan Davey on bass and Lucas Fox on drums . It seemed like a good match considering the Hawkwind and Motorhead connections. Both Alan and I had been in Hawkwind and Larry and Lucas in the original Motorhead. We were all mates with Lemmy as well and the creative energy flowed as soon as we got to the studio in Austin.
All of this helped by Jurgen Engler of Die Kruups behind the desk with Eric the engineer.

So here it is - a spontaneous collaboration of ideas recorded mostly live. 

Thank you for listening.

Peace and Love” - Paul Rudolph

Pink Fairies Resident Reptiles will be released on Purple Pyramid Records on August 24th and will be available on both CD and gorgeous pink vinyl in a printed inner sleeve!

Resident Reptiles

Track List:

1. Resident Reptile

2. Old Enuff To Know Better

3. Your Cover Is Blown

4. Mirage

5. Lone Wolf

6. Whipping Boy

7. Monkey Chatter

8. Apologize

LEGENDARY BASSIST JAMES JAMERSON DIED ON THIS DAY: AUG 2 1983

On this day: Bassist James Jamerson, who laid the foundation of the Motown sound, dies of pneumonia on this day in 1983.

There was a time in pop history when you could hear a record for the very first time and have a pretty good chance of guessing where it was recorded. Record labels like Stax, Chess, Atlantic and Philadelphia International made the distinctive sounds of Memphis, Chicago, Muscle Shoals and Philadelphia internationally famous in the 1960s and early 1970s. But for every fan of that era’s music who can pick out a record made in those cities, there are probably more who can pick out one that was made in Detroit, home of Motown Records and “The Sound of Young America.”

When you think of Motown in the 1960s, you tend to think of performers like the Temptations and Marvin Gaye or legendary songwriters like Smokey Robinson and Holland/Dozier/Holland.

But unless you’ve seen the 2002 documentary Standing In The Shadows of Motown, you probably don’t think of bassist James Jamerson. Along with men like drummer Benny Benjamin, pianist Earl Van Dyke, guitarist Richard White and percussionist Jack Ashford, Jamerson was a member of the Funk Brothers—a rotating cast of unsung, uncredited and non-royalty earning studio musicians drawn from the cream of Detroit’s jazz scene who laid the foundation of the Motown sound.

It was the Funk Brothers, working in a studio they called the Snake Pit in the basement of Motown’s Hitsville U.S.A. headquarters, who arranged, orchestrated and performed nearly every instrumental track of nearly every classic Motown record.

"The bass playing is an event itself. Noticed it when I was a kid. It was the bass that made the song. It seemed no one else my age (12) caught on to it. They acknowledged everything but the bass-playing. Mesmerizing even today. Hard to describe it but whoever did that had something going on.
Mike Eiland

Essential James Jamerson Tracks

It was James Jamerson’s unconventionally melodic bass lines that made many of those records great. “My Girl” by the Miracles, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by the Supremes, “What’s Going On?” by Marvin Gaye, “Dancing In The Street” by Martha and the Vandellas—these are among the dozens of timeless Motown hits to which Jamerson made a critical contribution.

Unlike many of his fellow Funk Brothers, Jamerson moved west with Motown Records when it pulled up stakes and left Detroit for Los Angeles in 1972. His relationship with Motown ended shortly thereafter, however, and 10 years later, when the company celebrated its anniversary with the Motown 25 concert and broadcast, Jamerson was a paying member of the audience sitting in the back rows rather than an honored guest performing onstage.

After a long struggle with alcoholism, James Jamerson died on August 2, 1983, at the age of 42. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 17 years later, in March 2000.