Legends, Icons and Rebels

The other day I came across a terrific coffee table book in the library. "Legends, Icons and Rebels" covers amazing artists like Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Louis Armstrong, Bob Marley, Buddy Holly, Joni Mitchell, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Curtis Mayfield, Billie Holiday, Little Richard, Hank Williams, Frank Sinatra, Marvin Gaye, Carole King, Sam Cooke, Louis Jordan, The Beach Boys, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Patsy Cline, Otis Redding, Nat King Cole, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan.

The book comes with two CD'S that feature all of the aforementioned artists. The layout and look of the book is fantastic! Very vibrant and cool. Kind of like a picture book for adults. This is the type of book perfect for a rainy day like today. To order this book , Please click here.

Thanks for reading.

-Fred

The Day the Music Died

                   A blog about Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper

I love Netflix- I've been catching up on all kinds of movies I haven't seen in, well, ever. Or in some cases seeing ones I watched during childhood. Recently two music biopics I watched got me thinking about "The Day the Music Died" which was February 3, 1959- when a plane crash claimed the lives of musicians Buddy Holly, Richard Valenzuela "Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.

The first of two movies I saw is "La Bamba" (click the link to order the movie) which is about the very short life of high schooler Ritchie Valens, who grew up in California. The film stars Lou Diamond Phillips and portrays the young musician's influence on the Chicano rock movement. When Ritchie died at the mere age of 17...  (17!) he already had songs like 'Donna' and 'Come on Let's Go' and 'La Bamba' as huge hits on the radio.

The Isley Brothers: A Funky Family

It was the summer of '79, and Tucson’s disco radio station, 13-KHYT, just couldn’t play the Isley Brothers often enough. It seemed every time I tuned in, there was the churning funk of “I Wanna Be With You,” with its vocoder hook repeating the title over and over, alternating with a semi-whisper of the Isleys chanting “You and me, babe, gettin’ it on, you and me.” Even though I loved disco, I grew to hate the tune, and generally avoided the Isley Brothers’ music whenever I could.

Thanksgiving - Turkey, Football, and... The Last Waltz

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, time to pay homage to The Band, Martin Scorsese, and the numerous guest musicians who joined The Band for their final show on Thanksgiving in 1976.  While I have already written about The Last Waltz in a former blog, it is so good (and timely), it is time to recycle some of the praise.

Graham Nash: Howard Stern Interview

Last month I listened to a wonderful segment on The Howard Stern Show in which he interviewed Graham Nash to promote his new biography which the library now owns. For over an hour, Mr. Nash, w/ his guitar in hand, shared a very endearing lecture on the fantastic musical world that he lived in and witnessed. He played over 6 songs and talked about meeting The Beatles, to leaving The Hollies, to forming Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, to explaining why Joni Mitchell was the love of his life. This was one of the finest interviews I've heard in a long time. Keep reading to learn more.

No Nepotism Here: Children of famous muscians who actually have talent.

The other night I caught Ziggy Marley (son of Bob Marley) on Late Night w/Jimmy Kimmel. I was a big fan of his music in the 80's and 90's and then lost track of him. He performed two songs. A new single which sadly, was not my cup of tea. But then he played one of his classics "Tomorrow People" and afterward I ran to my CD collection to find my "Conscious Party" CD by Ziggy Marley And The Melody Makers.
 This got me thinking, how many children of accomplished musicians are out there who are actually talented?
I came up with a short list off the top of my head. Read on to check out the list and hopefully reserve some of the music that our library carries.

Jimi Hendrix

It's pretty amazing that every few years comes a new album of Jimi Hendrix music. Which is pretty amazing since he has been dead since 1970. But the music industry thrives off finding unreleased songs or alternate tracks. And so this year we have a brand new album of Hendrix music and two new singles. Not bad for a guy who was 27 when he died. 

Jimi Hendrix created music that continues to inspire and influence musicians today which his influential style of electric guitar, recording in rock and roll and blues, and headlining the famous Woodstock Concert of 1969. His music is unmistakably original and his own; often covered by others, but never imitated. Here are some CD's, books, a DVD, and free downloads of Hendrix music for you to enjoy:

War Child Presents: Heroes (An Album To Benefit Children Affected By War)

The library recently acquired a wonderful new benefit compilation album entitled  War Child Presents: Heroes(An Album To Benefit Children Affected By War).  The purpose of the album is to bring awareness to the enormous amount of children who in some way have been affected by the brutality of war. This CD is loaded with excellent musicians all providing covers of classic bands. Read on to learn more about the album.

Nightmares before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, and not a creature was stirring, except perhaps Rod Stewart, or Olivia Newton-John. And Ringo Starr, and even Toby Keith.

It is a time honored tradition that every year brings new albums of Yuletide joy from your favorite artist or washed-up musician. To honor these albums, we look at the delightful.. and the not so delightful.

And best of all, these albums are available for checkout from your Pima County Public Library.

For 2012, you can ring in Christmas with a duo familiar to each other: John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John have re-teamed for "This Christmas." Fans of this duo will of course remember them from the movie soundtrack of Grease and Travolta from dozens of movies you probably can't remember the name of.

The ABC'S Of Rock!

Here is a little treat for those of you who have children and would like to get them interested in rock music at an early age. The ABC'S Of Rock by Melissa Duke Mooney and The Print Mafia is a dynamite little picture book that has an A-Z listing of some of Rock music's finest talent.