Does anyone (else) see a problem here?!!!!!!!

The media in this country is reporting on the war in Israel between Israel and Hamas nonstop.

(Drinking With) Bob asks; What about "OUR" war? What about "OUR" Troops?

"Just what is it that you want to do?"

One of Fonda's greatest scenes.


thanks to jb, for the clip.

Happy Birthday Nez!

Former Monkee, Michael Nesmith is 66 today.
Nesmith is best known for his role in the made-for-TV pop-rock band The Monkees.
Nesmith has done his most notable—though widely unrecognized—work since The Monkees disbanded in 1970. Among his groundbreaking achievements, he tinged rock music with some of his native Texas flavor and created a style that has come to be known as alt-country, won the first Grammy for Video of the Year in 1981, and created one of the first companies to distribute movies and TV programs on home video. But perhaps most significantly, Nesmith pioneered the TV music-video format that eventually became MTV.

Freddie Hubbard RIP

Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (7 April 1938 – 29 December 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 60s and on.
On December 29, 2008, Hubbard died from complications from a heart attack suffered on November 26.

Land Of Lincoln?

"only a handful of guitar duets in all blues match the incredible drive, intricate rhythms and ferocious intensity"

Garfield Akers (born 1901 in Mississippi, died between 1953 and 1959, in Memphis) was a blues singer and guitarist, sometimes acting as Garfield Partee.

His output was extremely small, consisting of only four sides. His most well-known song is his debut, the "Cottonfield Blues" .

Because of the limited capacity of the discs which were used for recording in this era, tunes that exceeded a little over three minutes often were continued on the flip side of a 78rpm record.

Garfield Akers (& Joe Calicott) -"Cottonfield Blues" (September 29, 1923)

Part 1:




Part 2:

RIP Eartha

Singer and actress Eartha Kitt has died.She was 81.

Eartha Kitt (January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008)

"Christmas Is Pain"

Here are the lyrics.

"merry christmas from the family"

Christmas In A Beer Joint

Taxpayers Bailout the NY Yankees (again)

UPDATE:the Yankees are at it again.
"the Yankees just signed free agent Mark Teixeira to a 8 year 180 million dollar contract. They have spent 400 million over the last month on other various free agents. yet, they took 900 million from the taxpayers to build THEIR stadium and need another 300 million from the taxpayers to finish their stadium. I wish Barack Obama would hurry up and get back from vacation in Hawaii, so we can start seeing some of this 'change" he's been talking about!!!"


Previous Post (12/13):
NY Yankees give their new pitcher C.C. Sabathia $160 million over seven years. Yet, they TAKE $900 million from the taxpayers to build their new stadium.

Happy Birthday Jorma!

American blues, folk and rock guitarist, Jorma kaukonen celebrates a birthday today. He is 68.
Jorma is best known for his work with Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane.

For what it's worth, he also made an awesome Christmas album.

Happy Holidays from the Flecktones

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones have been quite busy with a hectic touring schedule and the release of a new holiday album.
The Flecktones holiday album has surpassed everyone's expectations. It hit # 1 on the Jazz charts, got a couple of Grammy nominations and got picked by Oprah as the top holiday CD of the year.
The band is also slated to appear on Conan O'Brien tonight.

Here's a recent concert featuring material from the holiday release.:
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Live at University at Buffalo, Center for the Arts, 12-10-2008


01 Kaleidoscope,
02 Christmas Medley,
03 intros / banter,
04 Earth Jam,
05 Christmas Time is Here ^ >
06 Linus & Lucy ^,
07 Victor solo,
08 Andy Statman intro,
09 The Hanukkah Waltz *,
10 Silent Night >
11 Sleigh Ride
12 Futureman solo,
13 O Come All Ye Faithful #,
14 Jingle Bells #,
15 Sex in a Pan # >
16 Bela & Andy # >
17 Sex in a Pan #,
18 Sunset Road,
19 Twelve Days intro,
20 The Twelve Days of Christmas *#,
21 banter,
22 Flatbush Waltz #,
23 Bela solo,
24 E: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas #

Bela Fleck - banjos
Victor Wooten - bass
Futureman - drumitar
Jeff Coffin - saxophones

* = w/ Andy Statman - clarinet
# = w/ Andy Statman - mandolin
^ = w/o Jeff Coffin

Pass The Popcorn Please

Ida has been busy posting video.
This holiday concert by Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir is a must-see.

"A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians. "

Frank Zappa, iconoclastic singer, composer, artist, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director, was born on this date 68 years ago.

Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and he gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock history, and he is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time; he remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and was for most of his career able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.
Zappa grew up influenced by avant-garde composers such as Varèse, Igor Stravinsky and Anton Webern, R&B and doo-wop groups.He frequently lampooned musical fads like psychedelia, rock opera and disco.


Most of Zappa's projects came to a halt in 1990, when he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. The disease had been developing unnoticed for ten years and was considered inoperable.
Frank Zappa died on Saturday, December 4, 1993 in his home surrounded by his wife and children. At a private ceremony the following day, Zappa was interred in an unmarked grave at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles.

Watch Frank Zappa On Crossfire, 1986-03-28

Voices of Christmas Past - 1898 to 1922

Of all things Christmas, nothing is more traditional than the singing of carols and songs, songs that capture in lyrics and in music the many traditions that we have at Christmas.



The artists featured here were pioneer recording artists who's names were well known in their era. They helped start what is known today as the record industry. They were popular artist in their time and their records sold well in an era when movies were silent and radio and television did not yet exist.

1. Santa Claus Hides in the Phonograph (Ernest Hare, recorded 1922)
2. On A Christmas Morning (Prince's Orchestra, recorded 1911)
3. Sleigh Ride Party / Jingle Bells (Edison Male Quartette, recorded 1898)
4. Messiah - And the Glory of the Lord (Victor Mixed Chorus, recorded 1915)
5. Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Henry Burr, recorded 1907)
6. Silent Night, Hallowed Night (Haydn Quartet, recorded 1905)
7. Christmas Time at Pumpkin' Center (Cal Stewart, recorded 1905)
8. Christmas Hymns (Francis J. Lapitino, recorded 1917)
9. When the Christmas Chimes Are Ringing (Lewis James, recorded 1922)
10. The Star of Bethlehem (Harry MacDonough, recorded 1909)
11. Come and Spend Christmas With Me (Byron G. Harlan, recorded 1909)
12. Christmas Morning at Clancey's (Steve Porter, recorded 1922)
13. Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem (Trinity Choir, Recorded 1916)
14. Adeste Fideles (John McCormack and William Reitz, recorded 1915)
15. Night Before Christmas (Ernest Hare, recorded 1920)
16. Nutcracker Ballet: Chinese Dance/Dance of the Mirilitons (Victor Herbert's Orchestra, recorded 1913)
17. On A Good Old Time Sleigh Ride (Peerless Quartet, recorded 1913)
18. Angels from the Realms of Glory (Trinity Choir, recorded 1916)
19. While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night / Christians Awake (Trinity Quartet, recorded 1921)
20. Uncle Josh Plays Santa Claus (Cal Stewart, recorded 1907)
21. Christmas in Camp (Anonymous, recorded ca. 1917)
22. Noel (Holy Night) (Venetian Trio, recorded 1916)
23. Auld Lang Syne (Navada Van der Veer, recorded 1921)

Sing With The King!

Website let's you record a Christmas duet with Elvis Presley.

Dock Ellis , RIP

Dock Ellis (March 11, 1945 - December 19, 2008)

Former major league pitcher Dock Ellis, who infamously claimed he pitched a no-hitter for Pittsburgh under the influence of LSD, has passed away.

Ellis spent 12 years in the majors with Pittsburgh, the New York Yankees, Oakland, Texas and the New York Mets. He retired in 1979 with a record of 138-119, but was best known for several colorful incidents on and off the field.

Here's an NPR Interview with Ellis: Pitching on LSD (audio below)

Ellis died Friday of a liver ailment at the age of 63.

Here's a great song (sample) inspired by that fateful game, from troubadour Chuck Brodsky.

"Tesla Roadster:The Cadillac of electric cars, which is like saying it's like the finest Beta-Max player Sony ever came out with."

Conservative Punk reviews your electric car alternatives

"Living under power lines not safe? Why not drive to work on top of one every day?"

MC recently posted of electric cars, as well.

Blind Blake

Blind Blake was an influential blues singer and guitarist.
He is often called "The King Of Ragtime Guitar".He was one of the most accomplished guitarists of this genre with a diverse range of material.


Little is known about his life.Nothing is definitely known of his death and even his name is not certain. According to many sources, his real name was Arthur Phelps.
His complex and intricate finger picking has inspired Reverend Gary Davis, Jorma Kaukonen, Ry Cooder, and many others.

For your enjoyment;


Police Dog Blues (1929)

That'll Never Happen No More (1927)

West Coast Blues (1926)

Jackie and Dunlap talk to the corruptest, bribe-takin'est governor in all of America

Blagojevich


here's a link to their holiday video,"Christmas In A Beer Joint".

Bettie Page, RIP

A legend has passed.

Betty Page (April 22, 1923- December 11,2008)

“I was not trying to be shocking, or to be a pioneer. I wasn't trying to change society, or to be ahead of my time. I didn't think of myself as liberated, and I don't believe that I did anything important. I was just myself. I didn't know any other way to be, or any other way to live.”~Bettie Page

Before Playboy, Penthouse, and pornography hit mainstream culture, there was pinup queen, Bettie Page. Her image was cutting edge. Page challenged the conservative 1950s, earning both a cult underground following and a Senate Committee investigation on juvenile delinquency.



Page was born in Nashville, Tennessee.She was her high school salutatorian and attended George Peabody College on a scholarship.By 1948, she moved to New York and tried to start a career in acting. While in New York, she hooked up with an amateur photographer that changed her life. Jerry Tibbs is credited with being the first to notice Bettie's potential and was the inspiration for her “Bettie bangs” hairstyle.From 1952 through 1957, she posed for photographer Irving Klaw for mail-order photographs with pin-up, bondage and sadomasochistic themes.In 1954, Bettie began working with former model turned photographer Bunny Yeager. It was Yeager who photographed Bettie's most famous images in leopard print. Yeager also later submitted photographs to Hugh Hefner and Bettie was featured as the Playboy centerfold and Playmate of the Month for January 1955.
At the height of her popularity, Bettie disappeared. But in 1979 and 1982, Page (a diagnosed schizophrenic) tried to stab several people to death and was institutionalized.

Page died on December 11, 2008, having been on continuous life support since a heart attack in early December.

Better Living?

"Mentally competent adults should be able to engage in cognitive enhancement using drugs."
(via Wired)


Society must respond to the growing demand for cognitive enhancement. That response must start by rejecting the idea that 'enhancement' is a dirty word, argue Henry Greely and colleagues.
(via Nature)

Research also suggests that T.V. is correctly labeled "the idiot box/boob tube".


Is change NORML?

I still find it hard to believe that there is anything smart about meth.

Mallard's Media Role

Otis Redding

On December 9, 1967, Otis Redding and his backup band, The Bar-Kays, made an appearance in Cleveland, Ohio.
The next afternoon, Redding, his manager, the pilot, and four members of The Bar-Kays were killed when his chartered Beechcraft 18 airplane crashed into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 10, 1967.
Otis Redding's body was recovered the next day when the lake bed was searched. The cause of the crash was never precisely determined.

Obama's Still Smokin'!

Jackie & Dunlap are back.
At the end of the clip is a preview of their forthcoming music-video, "Christmas In A Beer Joint", featuring Lisa Ann, star of Nailin' Paylin.

Obama Still Smokes

"Chicago Red, the funniest dishwasher on this earth." - Malcolm Little

Redd Foxx (Dec. 9th, 1922 - Oct. 11th, 1986) would have been 86 years old today.
Comedian Redd Foxx was born John Elroy Sanford in St. Louis, Missouri and raised on Chicago's South Side.
Foxx had earned his nickname due to his reddish hair and complexion. His second stage name was taken from baseball star Jimmie Foxx.

"We were poor. If I wasn't a boy, I wouldn't have had nothing to play with."

Redd gained notoriety with his raunchy nightclub act (many of these performances were later released as albums), but he was best known for his starring role on the television sitcom Sanford and Son.
I used to love that show as a child.
Fred Sanford transcended the racial barriers that I didn't even know existed (in the shelter of suburban cocoon).He was just a bitter, angry man that was very funny.I never even noticed that he was black.And besides, who doesn't love Quincy Jones' "The Street Beater"?)

"I feel sorry for people who don’t drink or do drugs. Because someday they’re going to be in a hospital bed, dying, and they won’t know why."

Interestingly,Redd Foxx was the only artist to be invited to Elvis Presley's wedding at the Alladin Hotel in Las Vegas in May of 1967.

"This is the big one! You hear that, Elizabeth? I'm coming to join ya, honey!"

During a break from rehearsals on October 11, 1991, Redd suffered a fatal heart attack on the set. Reportedly, the cast and crew thought he was doing his classic (and ironic) "I'm coming, Elizabeth" fake heart attack routine he made famous on Sanford and Son, even going as far as collapsing to the floor. However, this heart attack was real.He was 68 years old.

Can You Believe It's been 28 Years...

... since the other date that will live in infamy?


Auio clip:

New York, NY Radio / The Night John Lennon Died

Video tribute:

"The String Quartet of Dance Bands"

Leo Reisman was a violinist and bandleader in the 1920s and 1930s.
He became famous for having over 80 hits on the popular charts during his career.
Reisman's orchestra was primarily a dance band; he was not a fan of jazz music, but some of his early 1930s 78 RPM recordings were a bit hot.Composer Jerome Kern called Reisman's orchestra "The String Quartet of Dance Bands."

Below, are nine tracks for your listening pleasure:

1.)Ain't Misbehavin (1929)
2.)Alabama Stomp (1926)
3.)Happy Days (1929-cut)
4.)Look What You've Done To Me (1929-cut)
5.)The Wedding Of The Painted Doll(1929)
6.)With A Song In My Heart (1929)
7.)Doin the boom boom (1929)
8.)It's been a long Long time (1929)
9.)My Electric Girl (1923)

The 15 Stupidest Rock Quotes of ’08

"Rock stars are not like us. They don’t think twice about spending half their lives on tour buses. For breakfast, they eat groupies and large swaths of leather, washing it down with a glass of fire. And they can knock out amazing songs while sitting on the crapper. It’s only when they open their mouths and say something so preposterously stupid that we realize they’re human too ― only with far lower IQs."

(via Gibson.com)

... and in case you missed it, here's a link to The 10 Stupidest Rock Quotes of 2007.

The University of North Carolina has banned all Christmas trees from their libraries on campus. Because some people were offended by them.

What has happened to this country?!!!!

Lib-Kid X-mas

What is it gonna take for people to wake up?!

Here's a couple more rants,

on the Black Friday "Murder at Walmart", and yet "Another Freaking Bailout",

from Drinking With Bob.

WHAT'S NEXT?!

Conservative Punk's Interview with Johnny Ramone

"Punk was never dead for Johnny Ramone, though. He remained a voice for those in the punk movement who were independent thinking conservatives, and proud of their country. He never forgot that the whole point of punk was to not walk in lockstep conformity."

A long-lost interview with punk godfather Johnny Ramone has been rescued from some pretty eaten-up magnetic tapes. Conducted in March, 2003 by Conpunk columnist Robert Jones shortly before Ramone's untimely death at the age of 55, this lost interview is now being made public.
(Via Conservative Punk)

St. Louis Blues

Hockey???

No, another "St. Louis Blues", recorded by Al Bernard and The Original Dixieland Jazz Band.

Al Bernard, "the boy from Dixie", was a recording artist from the vaudeville era. He was one of the most famous blackface performers in the days of minstrel shows, so was something of a pariah to the politically correct and those sensitive about racial issues.
His work has been reappraised by music historians who feel a link exists between the minstrel show styles and western swing music.

The Original Dixieland Jazz Band billed themselves as "The Creators of Jazz", but were often dismissed as "the White guys who copied African-American music, and called it their own" (sound familiar?).


"St. Louis Blues" (1921):

One Of Music's Finest Songwriters And Social Critics

Ray Davies: Life's Great Balancing Act, the Possibility of a Kinks Reunion and More

A fantastic article (by Chris Parker) on the man behind the Kinks.

Via Nashville Scene

In other Kinks news, the December 8 release of Picture Book, a six-disc box set that tacks rarities, live cuts and demos onto the typical array of classic singles and fan favorites. More than 130 tracks made the final tracklisting, which is backed by a 60-page booklet.

A Birthday Toast!

... to Mr. Brian Roach, the best thing to come out of England since The Beatles.

Alright, perhaps I may exaggerate just a bit, but it is his birthday, and besides the Beatles have never bought me a beer.
So buy him a beer and be sure to see his band play.

(Brian, seen here with the author)

Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers

Charlie Poole & the North Carolina Ramblers were one of the most popular string bands of the 1920s.The band recorded prolifically from 1925-30 a variety of songs and tunes in various styles.
Charlie Poole was born in 1892 in Spray, North Carolina.
He learned to play the banjo at an early age and developed his own style of three fingerpicking which was instrumental in defining the sound of the North Carolina Ramblers. He was joined initially by guitarist Norman Woodlief and later by Roy Harvey from West Virginia. Posey Rorer fiddled in the earlier sessions, and Lonnie Austin or Odell Smith in the later sessions.

Charlie was a bit of a wild man. Like many country performers to follow, Poole lived a fast life. He was a hard-drinking man, rowdy and reckless. This ultimately resulted in a premature death following a three week binge in celebration of a bit part in a Hollywood movie.
He went on a bender and died of heart failure before he could get to Hollywood.


"White House Blues":Recorded on September 20, 1926 in New York City. Poole sings and plays the banjo with Posey Rorer on fiddle and Ron Harvey on guitar on this tune about the McKinley assassination.

Click for more Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers

.

JFK

The 35th president of the United States was assassinated in Dallas, Texas 45 years ago, today.

Al's Palace has a great post on the matter.
It really is good, once you get past the crude title.
I was pleasantly surprised.

The Real History Of Beer

By Lew Bryson, winner of the 2008 Beer Journalist of the Year Award

"It’s not a story of places and water and the discovery of new machines, like the history of European beer. These are New World stories: they’re about the beer, the brewer who made it and the people who liked it. Dig into that cooler and get the real history of the new beers."

via All About Beer Magazine

More headlines at All About Beer

Lew Bryson's Thanksgiving post

"I can't decide who is MORE corrupt. The government or the mainstream media."

Here's two more rants from Drinking With Bob.

"the only reason that the United Sates Government exists anymore in this country is to solve problems that they created.It's like an endless cycle of stupidity"



"They {mainstream media} withheld information from you, in order to get you to vote for their candidate!"


... and be sure to visit

Would You Believe... ?

Steamboat Willie

It was 80 years ago, today, that the animated short Steamboat Willie was released by Walt Disney Productions.Contrary to what many hold as truth, Steamboat Willie was not the first Mickey Mouse cartoon made, nor the first cartoon to use sound, but it was the one that made Mickey Mouse famous, and the first sound cartoon to attract widespread notice and popularity.

Believe it or not, there is a Mickey Mouse connection to radical Islam.
(via Jihad Watch)

Keeping Up With The Joneses - It Was 30 Years Ago Today

Today marks 30 years since the horrific deaths of more than 900 people at Jonestown.
The massacre was orchestrated by "Reverend" Jim Jones.The men, women and children died after drinking a fatal cyanide-laced potion of Flavor-Aid (not Kool-Aid, as widely reported) at Jones' compound in the jungles of Guyana.
The event, termed "revolutionary suicide" by Jones, was the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001.
These poisonings at the compound followed the murders of five others by Temple members at a nearby airstrip. Those victims included Leo Ryan, the first (and only) U.S. Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States.

I must confess, sometimes I'm a bit jealous of cult members. Those poor
deluded fuckers, at least they have a sense of purpose.

Hear the "Jonestown Death Tape", an audio recording made on November 18, 1978, at the Peoples Temple compound immediately preceding (and during) the mass suicide of the cult:


Here's a transcript of that tape.

Here's a related video.

Gene Clark

A gifted American singer-songwriter, Gene Clark (born Harold Eugene Clark in Tipton, Missouri, November 17, 1944) was one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds.

Gene Clark is best remembered for his association with the Byrds between 1964 and 1966 but there was much more to his body of work than that legacy. A prolific songwriter and singer with a distinctive style, he created a large catalog of music in several genres. He was one of the earliest exponents of baroque pop, newgrass, country rock and alternative country. Sadly despite this, he failed to achieve great commercial success.
Gene announced on March 1, 1966 that he was quitting the Byrds.He already had a backlog of hundreds of songs, was writing new material all the time, and was eager to start a solo career.
In late 1966 Gene recorded his first solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers.
Unfortunately, bad timing at Columbia put the album out the same week of February 1967 as the newest Byrds album, creating an unnecessary competition between the two camps.This was a shame, as it was a fine release with several strong tracks.

In the late 1980's, Clark began to develop serious health problems; he had ulcers, aggravated by years of heavy drinking (often used to alleviate his chronic travel anxiety, caused by undiagnosed Bipolar disorder), and in 1988 he underwent surgery, during which much of his stomach and intestines had to be removed.A period of abstinence and recovery followed until Tom Petty's cover of "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better," on his 1989 album Full Moon Fever, yielded a huge amount of royalty money to Clark who quickly reverted to massive drug and alcohol abuse.Clark's health continued to decline as his drinking accelerated and on May 24, 1991 Gene Clark died at the age of 46, the coroner declaring that he succumbed as a result of "natural causes" brought on by a bleeding ulcer.
In 2007, two of his songs were recorded by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant on the T-Bone Burnett produced Raising Sand: "Polly Come Home" and "Through the Morning, Through the Night."

(click photos for music video)

No More Bailouts!!!

Bob rants about the bailout situation

Semper Fi

This week's installment of Sunday Morning 78's And Such pays tribute to the U.S.M.C.

This past Monday (11/10/08) was the 233rd anniversary of the formation of the US Marine Corps.

To honor this milestone, here are three recordings by The United States Marine Band (1890)

"Semper Fidelis"



"The Thunderer March"



and "Washington Post March"

Dictionaraoke

Perhaps this pristine isolation is beginning to warp me some.
I stumbled upon this page earlier today and was quite amused.
The fun of karaoke meets the word power of the dictionary.
Audio clips from online dictionaries sing the hits of yesterday and today.



I think I really need to get out more.

R I P: Mitch Mitchell

John "Mitch" Mitchell (July 9, 1947 – November 12, 2008) was an English drummer, most famous for his membership in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Mitchell played in Hendrix's Experience trio from October 1966 to mid-1969, his Woodstock band in August 1969, and also with the later incarnation of the "Jimi Hendrix Experience" in 1970, with Billy Cox on bass, known as the "Cry of Love" band.
Mitchell played in the band The Dirty Mac which was assembled for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in 1968. The band contained John Lennon as "Winston Leg-Thigh" as vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Eric Clapton as guitarist, Keith Richards as bassist, and Mitch Mitchell as drummer.
His last days were spent celebrating the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix with old and new friends on the 2008 Experience Hendrix tour. The tour ended 5 days before Mitchell was found deceased at appoximately 3 a.m. on November 12, 2008 in his room at the Benson Hotel in downtown Portland. Mitchell, 61, apparently died of natural causes, the Multnomah County Medical Examiner said.

So Many Birthdays...

There are many birthdays to acknowledge today.
Neil Young, the Singer/songwriter with many different styles (at various times he recorded with the bands Buffalo Springfield, Crazy Horse, and Crosby, Stills & Nash&Young), is 63 today.

Turning 64 today, Booker T. Jones, the multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known for fronting the band, Booker T. and the MGs.

In honor of these two, I present this video in which they perform together.




November 12 also marks the 74th birthday of Charles Manson, leader of the "Manson Family" convicted of killing actress Sharon Tate among others,a "nut case who will never get out of jail".

But wait!, there's more.

My friend Tom Vizi (seen here with the Duke) also celebrates today (damned if I know how old he is), and finally, a happy birthday to my friend Rachel Connolly!

Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band

AKA, the Dixieland Jug Blowers

At the turn of the century, African American musicians in Louisville walked the streets playing tunes on "found" or homemade instruments like empty liquor jugs ("the poor man’s tuba"), kazoos and washboards. They started a craze, "jug music".

Earl McDonald was born in South Carolina.His family moved to Louisville in 1885 when he was two years old. He grew up listening to jug bands playing on the street, and started his own band while still in high school. His Louisville Jug Band first played at Churchill Downs in 1903.
By 1913, fiddler Clifford Hayes had joined McDonald's band. The two would start a long collaboration, doing live shows and recording as both the Louisville Jug Band and (for contractual reasons) the Dixieland Jug Blowers.

She Won't Quit But She'll Slow Down (1927):



He's In The Jailhouse Now (1927):



Hayes and McDonald eventually split as bandmates because of disputes over money (some things never change).

Here are two tacks from Clifford Hayes:

Frog Hop (1929),w/ The Louisville Stompers:



Skip, Skat, Doodle-Do: