Fleetwood Mac - Sisters of the moon
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Here’s to the memory of Richard Berry (1935-1997), who was born 90 years ago today. This American singer and songwriter had some minor success in the 1950’s and 60’s singing in various doo-wop groups. However, his biggest claim to fame is arguably being the writer and singer of the the original version of the song which is the most recorded song in the history of pop and rock, namely Louie Louie.
No exact number exists, but the estimates are ranging from around 1600 to over 2000 recordings of Louie Louie. And it’s still being performed and recorded. The best known version is by The Kingsmen, who in 1962/63 spent six weeks at number 2 in the US charts with their version of the song. Among the best known artists/bands who’ve also covered it are The Beach Boys, The Kinks, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Motörhead and…Barry White (!)
However, today it’s all about the man behind Louie Louie. So here’s one to the memory of Richard Berry 
Richard Berry & The Pharaoes - Louie Louie (1957)
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Not what we normally see here but with voice only 
Mamikoyoko
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Willie Nelson, with Rodney Crowell - Oh What A Beutiful World
In spite of everything… 
It’s the walk in the park
Or a shot in the dark
It’s the thief in the night
Or the first ray of light
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Wow - a brand new song (released only 2 days ago) 
EDIT: The song is not that new after all. 
It’s a new edition in the form of a duet. The original is from 2014.
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All I could think of when I saw this was the Nat King Cole (or was it Louis Armstrong?) song ‘Wonderful World’, which definitely not new!
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But then only in terms of the title, because the two songs could hardly be more different in style. 
Louis A. - What a wonderful world (1967)
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CÉLINE - Nie die Musik (Never the music) (2025)
Refrain
You can take away my beauty
You can twist a knife in my heart
You can steal everything from me
But never the music
…
Hole in the stomach, clouds gray, rain falling on the roof
Sounds almost like applause, I’ll sing us out of here
Believe me, I’ll never sleep on this dirty couch again (No, no, no)
Do you remember how it was?
We turned the speakers all the way up
Just to forget how bad we were
Turn it up real loud and the pain thaws out
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I knew it was is a new release, but this new, wow! Released on the same day I made my post. Don’t say we’re not up to date here in VHTV 
Anyway, it’s the title track from Willie’s forthcoming album, his 77th (!) solo studio album. It’ll be released on April 25th, four days before he turns 92!
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The singer was completely unknown to me. It’s a really great song. It immediately puts me in a good mood and makes me feel like “Fuck it - give me another one” 
Edit: But I probably know a few of his songs when I hear them - just without knowing that they’re by him.
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If you are not familiar with Willie Nelson and liked this song, you may be in for a treat. His first record was released in 1957, and he’s been recording more or less constantly since then. But approach with caution, he’s made a few albums that are less interesting, to put it mildly.
However, when Willie is at his best, he is one of the greats, both as a singer and a songwriter. You may start by searching this topic. I’ve posted a few songs by him before.
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Happy Birthday to Ritchie Blackmore! One of my all time favourite guitar players is turning 80 today! Deep Purple was one of my first favourite bands when I got seriously into music over 50 years ago. Then there’s Rainbow and Blackmore’s Night, so he is a guitarist for all seasons and moods.
Deep Purple - Speed King
Rainbow - Stargazer
Blackmore’s Night - Soldier of Fortune
Happy Birthday to Ritchie Blackmore
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Great song. Thanks. My girlfriend now keeps playing it.
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It’s time for some music history again, because today it’s 132 years since the American singer Bessie Smith was born. This lady is one of the greatest in the history blues and jazz, and an improtant name in what was to become modern popular music. Between 1923 and 1931 she made 160 recordings, and it’s estimated she sold over six million records, which is rather impressive considering it was the 1920’s.
Bessie Smith was born in 1893, and she had a hard childhood. By the age of nine she had lost both her parents and one brother. Along with another brother, she was able to make some kind of living by busking in the streets. Due to her talent, she began to gain more and more attention during the 1910’s, even getting to perform in theatres.
In the beginning of the 1920’s the record industry was blooming in the US, and in 1923 Bessie finally got her big chance. And did she take good care of it! Her first record Downhearted Blues became one of the biggest selling records in the US that year.
Bessie Smith - Downhearted Blues
For the rest of the 1920’s her popularity kept growing. And unless many others of her contempraries, especially female artists, she actually got paid well, which made her develop an almost diva-like lifestyle. She may well be one of the first pop stars in history, dubbed as “The Empress of Blues” back in the day.
Bessie Smith’s recording career more or less ended with “The Great Depression”, as the record industry sufferd badly due to the economic crash. After 1929 she only made a handful of records. However, she continued touring all the way up until her life was cut short in a car accident in 1937. She was 45 years old.
So how do one celebrate the memory of such a woman? Bessie Smith herslf may have a suggestion, with a song from her last recording session in 1933.
Bessie Smith - Give Me a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Be_er
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I’d like to pay tribute to the Northern-Irish drummer Les Binks. Today it was announced that he passed away a month ago at the age of 73. He is best known as the drummer in Judas Priest in the latter part of the 1970’s, the years when Priest were beginning to get noticed.
Due to some disagreements Les Binks quit the band in 1979, just before they had their big breaktrough in the hard rock world. After Priest, he remained active, touring and recording on the underground metal scene in the UK. One of his last public performances was when Judas Priest was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
During his time in Priest, Les Binks was credited on only one song, Beyond the Realms of Death. Far from all musicians got a song like this to their memory. Thank you for the music Les, may you be remembered
Judas Priest - Beyond the Realms of Death
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Pink should bring out this song again.
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Sometimes I pop into this topic to direct your attention to a movie with good music. “Sinners” is one of these.
Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers who in 1932 return to the Mississippi Delta to open a Juke Joint, meaning a Blues Club, in a Barn. And there’s Vampires. This is being marketed more as an actioner or horror movie, and I was expecting good music, but I was surprised just how much this film is actually focused on the music. And this is a really good film, not just a movie, a serious awards contender, and it gets downright artsy at points.
For the music there is, on the one hand, Ludwig Göransson’s original score, and he absolutely nails it. He’s the hot shit in the world of film music right now, Mandalorian, Tenet, Black Panther, Oppenheimer, just to name a few. And then there’s lots of Blues performances throughout the film, which make this one a feast for music lovers.
If you’ll just take my word for it, I would recommend to avoid the trailers, if you have not already seen those, because I think they give away a bit too much.
I can’t really find a good example from the film itself, so here’s the next best thing. This guy plays a preacher’s son, the main character of the film, besides Jordan’s Smokestack Twins.
p.s. If you go to see the film, which you should, you may want to stay all the way through the credits, there’s a mid- and post-credit scene. But these are (most probably) not meant to set up a sequel. The mid-credit one is essential, the post-credit one just a musical cherry on top.
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