background preloader

Otis Redding-Sitting on the dock of the bay

Nat King Cole - Nature Boy Beatlemania Begins: The Beatles First U.S. Visit to Play Ed Sullivan It seems impossible to recall a time when the Beatles weren’t part of Americans’ collective consciousness. Yet exactly 50 years ago, on Feb. 7, 1964, as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr boarded Pan Am Flight 101 in London for their first U.S. visit, they had little idea what lay in store for them. John calculated the Beatles’ odds as the plane began its descent. He stared dolefully at the seat back in front of him, clutching the hand of his wife Cynthia. (MORE: Rare Photos of Beatles Fans, 1964) Minutes before landing, news filtered from the cockpit through the plane that helped to put their minds at ease. From the air, the terminals looked jittery, alive. “We heard that our records were selling well in America,” George noted (Capitol announced that they were the fastest-selling in the label’s history), “but it wasn’t until we stepped off the plane … that we understood what was going on. (MORE: The Beatles Take America, 1964) What now? “No! Wha …?

Dick Clark dead at 82 - Celebrity Circuit Headshot studio portrait of American television host, producer, and actor Dick Clark, dressed in a blazer and tie, February 25, 1985. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images (CBS/AP) Host and TV producer Dick Clark has died. He was 82. Spokesman Paul Shefrin said the "American Bandstand" creator had a heart attack Wednesday morning at Saint John's hospital in Santa Monica, a day after he was admitted for an outpatient procedure. Pictures: Dick Clark Long dubbed "the world's oldest teenager" because of his boyish appearance, Clark bridged the rebellious new music scene and traditional show business, and was equally comfortable whether chatting about music with Sam Cooke or bantering with Ed McMahon about TV bloopers. For a time in the 1980s, he had shows on all three networks and was listed among the Forbes 400 of wealthiest Americans. "There's hardly any segment of the population that doesn't see what I do," Clark told The Associated Press in a 1985 interview. "It can be embarrassing.

Billie Holiday With One Of Her Most Powerful And Emotional Performances Ever Captured On Film Though it was originally written by someone else as a protest song of sorts, this is one of those gems that a singer just totally owns from the start. “Strange Fruit” was shocking to many people when it came out in 1939. Even Ms. Holiday herself was initially reluctant to sing it, fearing retribution. She said she always thought of her father when she sang this song; he died at age 39 after being denied medical treatment at a Texas “whites only” hospital. Her voice is strong and impressive in this clip, but just look at the incredible expressiveness in her eyes as she sings the haunting lyrics. Trigger warning: lyrics about racial violence. Next bit of Upworthiness:

Bob Dylan Performs at Gerde’s Folk City – Feb. 8, 1963 Forty-nine years ago, on February 8, 1963, Bob Dylan played a set at Gerde’s Folk City in Greenwich Village. It was two years after Dylan had arrived in New York, nearly two years since he got one of his first breaks playing at Gerde’s, which was probably the most important folk club in the country at that time. Poster for Dylan’s first gig at Gerde’s Folk City in 1961. It was a review in the New York Times by Robert Shelton of Dylan opening for the Greenbriar Boys at Gerde’s that helped Dylan to get the attention of Columbia Records’ legendary A&R man John Hammond. By February of 1963, Dylan had signed a record deal with Columbia Records, taken on manager Albert Grossman, secured a publishing deal with Whitmark and recorded his debut, Bob Dylan, and had it released to less than minor success. Gerde’s Folk City. Below are recordings of the songs Dylan recorded at Gerde’s in the order they were performed. 1 “Lonesome River Edge”: 2 “Back Door Blues”: 3 “Bob Dylan’s Dream”: 4 “You Can Get Her”:

The Rolling Stones on ‘The Dick Cavett Show,’ 1972 The Rolling Stones’ U.S. tour of 1972 was a big fucking deal. Let us count the ways: The Stones had not played live shows in America since the infamous final show of their 1969 tour, at Altamont. The album they were supporting was one of the most epochal in all of rock and roll history, Exile on Main Street—which was released in America just a couple of weeks before the tour. (None of the Beatles’ late albums were supported by touring, keep in mind. Exile was, as were Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed in 1969.) This was the tour memorably captured in one of the all-time great rock and roll books, Robert Greenfield’s S.T.P.: A Journey through America with the Rolling Stones. By this time Mick Jagger had made the crucial transition from “mere” rock frontman and quasi-proto-punk to a bona fide celebrity of the first order. You have to give credit to Cavett for his unflappable cool. via Lawyers, Guns, and Money

Bob Dylan's 'Lay Lady Lay' In 10 Different Disguises Recorded on Valentine’s Day 1969, and released that summer, ‘Lay Lady Lay’ became one of Bob Dylan‘s biggest hits, checking in at No. 7 on the Billboard charts, and hitting No. 5 in the U.K. Aside from the warm and inviting melody, and somewhat racy lyric, the record was also notable for a change in Dylan’s singing style. It would help push the ‘Nashville Skyline’ album into the Top 10. Over the years, the song has become a standard of sorts, and one of Dylan’s most recognizable songs. It has also become a favorite for other artists to take a stab at. Neil Diamond From: 'Stages: Performances 1970 - 2002' The 'Jewish Elvis' himself, Neil Diamond, belts out a typically dramatic reading of 'Lay Lady Lay' on this live recording from 1978. Steve Howe From: 'Portraits Of Bob Dylan' (1999) There is no denying the amazing guitar playing of Steve Howe. Cher From: '3614 Jackson Highway' (1969) Ministry From: 'Filth Pig' (1996) Mike Melvoin From: 'The Plastic Cow Goes Moooooog' (1969) Isley Brothers Melanie

Nina Simone plays Bob Dylan Eunice Kathleen Waymon aka. Nina Simone was the sixth of eight children, she grew up in poverty in Tryon, North Carolina. Her family wished for her was that she should be the world’s finest classical pianist. She did not get into the schools she wanted and always blamed racism. Born the sixth child of a preacher’s family in North Carolina, Simone aspired to be a concert pianist. Simone has dug deep into the american song tradition and it comes as no surprise that she has done several of Bob Dylan’s songs. The first song is a contender for best Bob Dylan cover ever done (yes, I am aware of Hendrix’ Watchtower). The Ballad of Hollis Brown(live,Mickery Theatre, The Netherlands in 1965, see coments…): Just Like a Woman(April 13, 2000, São Paulo, Brazil): Just like Tom Thumb’s Blues (audio): I Shall Be Released (live, Paris, 1968): The Times They Are A-Changin‘ (audio): And here is a Spotify list: - Hallgeir

‘Mingus’: Powerful and heartbreaking documentary portrait of the Jazz giant Tuesday, November 22nd, 1966, jazz musician Charlie Mingus waited with his five-year-old daughter Carolyn, to be evicted from his studio at 22 Great Jones Street, New York. Mingus had planned to open a music school and jazz workshop at this Lower East Side loft, but he had been frustrated in his intentions and had fallen behind in the rent. As he waited for the NYPD and the Sanitation Department to arrive and remove his belongings, filmmaker Thomas Reichman recorded an intimate portrait of one of the jazz music’s greatest composers and performers. In the film, Mingus is seen moving distractedly amongst his boxed possessions, showing great affection for his daughter, recalling happier times living on Fifth Avenue, and acknowledging the inherent racism in America by offering his own Pledge of Allegiance:. ”I pledge allegiance to the flag—the white flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of America. ”Do you deny taking the heroin?”

Édith Piaf’s Moving Performance of ‘La Vie en Rose’ on French TV, 1954 Édith Piaf’s life was anything but rosy. Born in a Parisian slum, she was abandoned by her mother and lived for awhile in a brothel run by her grandmother. As a teenager she sang on the streets for money. She was addicted to alcohol and drugs for much of her life, and her later years were marred by chronic pain. On April 3, 1954 Piaf was the guest of honor on the French TV show La Joie de Vivre. Nine years after this performance, when Piaf died, her friend Jean Cocteau said of her: “Like all those who live on courage, she didn’t think about death–she defied it.

Related: