During the events i heard some selfmade-CD. One is from a concert movie i’ve seen on TV years ago. I did not find the whole movie but a few parts. They assembled the instruments and people during the concert, so that the stage got more and more complete. Pretty cool that…
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sence
Psycho Killer
Slippery People
I’ve just mentioned, that the second one goes on with the next part itself.
So beside the two, that i prepared (Burning Down the House, Life During Wartime) there are also others unless you stop it (not all from ‘Stop Making Sence’)
Extraordinary Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson, unfortunately his voice is already a shadow of what it was, unfortunately the years also pass for our old heroes
Now this is a music topic, but why not include a little bit of film history too? In the movie Deliverance (1972) there is a classic scene where one of the main characters, who plays the guitar, challenges a local banjo playng kid to a duel, or a showdown. The kid is obviously somewhat “mentally challenged”.
Just a short disclaimer, the guys in the scene are actors, and the music was recorded in the studio, with Weissberg (banjo) and Mandell (guitar). However, Ronny Cox (1938), the guitar player in the scene, could play guitar and is miming along pretty well. On the other hand, Billy Redden (1956) did not play the banjo, and wasn’t able to mime, So due to some clever film trickery (no AI back then), there is a local musician’s arm inside Billy’s shirt sleeve miming the playing. Now let’s get to the music.
And now for some more history, and this time it’s music history. As it happens, the man who is actually playing the banjo in this scene was born 86 years ago today. His name is Eric Weissberg (1939-2020), and he was a banjo player and multi-instrumentalst, who had a long career on the the bluegrass and folk scene in the US from around 1960 to more than a decade into the 2000’s.
In addition to being part of band projects through the years, he also released a handful of solo albums. And he played on many albums with many artists, among others Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, John Denver, Judy Collins, Chaka Khan and Talking Heads. In the later years of his career, he toured a lot with Tom Paxton, one of the big names on the Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960’s. Eric Weissberg is yet another musician who’s most certainly paid his dues, and who deserves a mention. So to his memory, here’s one from me
Before I end another long rant from me, I got a little curious about Billy Redden. Turns out he is not “retarded” at all. He had minor roles in a handful of movies after Deliverance. However, these roles didn’t really lead to a career in the movies, and he ended up working at Walmart.
Ronnie Rondell Jr., the veteran Hollywood stuntman whose fiery presence helped define Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here album cover, has passed away at the age of 88. According to his family, he died on August 10, 2025, at a care facility in Osage Beach, Missouri.
Rondell is best remembered for the daring stunt that became the album’s most iconic image—he stood engulfed in flames, dressed as a businessman, shaking another man’s hand. Photographer Aubrey “Po” Powell later recalled that they attempted the shot 15 times. A sudden gust of wind on the 15th attempt caused the flames to hit Rondell’s face, singeing his mustache and eyebrow—but the image captured was the one they wanted. Powell described Rondell as “very brave,” adding, “I knew I had got a special picture.”
Rondell’s film and TV career spanned decades and included stunt work on films like How the West Was Won (1962), Blazing Saddles (1974), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Lethal Weapon (1987), Speed (1994), and his final stunt in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), where he worked alongside his son R.A. Rondell, the film’s stunt coordinator.
Born in Hollywood in 1937, Rondell began his career as an extra and gradually transitioned into stunt work. At high school, he excelled in gymnastics and diving, later training as a scuba diver in the U.S. Navy before entering the entertainment industry. In 1970, he co-founded Stunts Unlimited, a prestigious group of top stunt performers.
He hailed from a family deeply rooted in the film industry. His father, Ronald R. Rondell Sr., worked as an assistant director and had acting experience, giving young Ronnie early exposure to movie sets. Unfortunately, tragedy struck the family when his son Reid died in a helicopter crash during a stunt for the TV series Airwolf in 1985.
Rondell is survived by his wife of 56 years, Mary, his son R.A. Rondell, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
of course i could choose for the best song ever (Wish you were here) or Shine on you crazy diamond
but i chose for “Welcome to the machine”
Pink Floyd - Welcome To The Machine (AI Music Video)
Here’s one to the memory of the English singer Carl Wayne, who was born 82 years ago today. He co-founded The Move, a band who had considerable success in the late 1960’s and into the 70’s. Several of their songs charted high in various countries, the highest being number 1 in the UK and in New Zeeland.
Due to musical differences, Carl Wayne left The Move in 1970. He pursued a solo career, without any big success. Still he enjoyed a solid low-key career, appearing on records, on television and in films. Then in 2000 he replaced Allan Clarke as the singer in The Hollies, and toured with them until his death from cancer in 2004.
I think Carl Wayne deserves a mention in this topic. Here he is singing Flowers In the Rain, one of The Move’s best known (and best!) songs (number 2 in the UK and number 1 in New Zeeland). And here is a toast to Carl Wayne’s memory
Happy Birthday to Ian Gillan. The singer in Deep Puple is turning 80 today!
Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers (1993)
Deep Purple is one of the first bands I got really into over 50 years ago now. And believe it or not, they are still going. Their last album was released about a year ago, and they have a handful of gigs scheduled later this year
Happy Birthday to Dave Brock, who is turning 84 today! He is the only constant member of the English band Hawkwind, a band that has been going since 1969, and has released 34 studio albums and 13 live albums. They have played several gigs this year and the next one is Wednesday in one week in Norwich in England.
From the start Dave Brock’s intention was to play simple three-chords music mixed with electronic experimental music. Hawkwind’s music has often been dubbed space rock, and to this mix they have sometimes added psychedelia, metal and even elements of prog and new wave. All the time Dave Brock has been the main songwriter.
So here’s to a guy who’s been going in music for 56 years now. Dave Brock has never become a big star, but he is one of the highly respected names in the fringes of the rock ‘n’ roll circus. Happy Birthday to Dave Brock
Happy Birthday to the American guitarist James Burton. “The master of the telecaster” is turning 86 today! With a long career going back to the 1950’s up to more or less currently, James Burton is a musician who deserves a mention anytime anywhere.
James Burton began as a young session musician in the 50’s. It’s his guitar riff on Dale Hawkins’s hit song Suzie-Q (1957). Into the 60’s he became more in demand, so much that he in the latter part of the decade turned down offers from both Bob Dylan and Elvis Presly because he was to busy.
However, it was with Elvis Presley James Burton eventually got the gig he is best known for. From 1969 until Elvis’s passing in 1977, he was the leader ot Elvis’s TCB band. In addition to the already mentioned, James Burton has recorded and/or toured with Ricky Nelson, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Townes Van Zandt, John Denver and Tina Turner. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
James Burton has only released one solo album. It came in 1971, and consits of mostly instrumental versions of rock standards of the time. The album is no big classic, but it’s got some magnificent guitar picking all the way through. To celebrate James Burton’s birthday, here’s an example of that
James Burton - Mystery Train
While we’re at it, in 2023 James Burton appered on a benefit concert in London along with among others Brian May (Queen) and Ron Wood (Rolling Stones). One of the the songs they played was the old Ricky Nelson hit Hello Mary Lou, wich James Burton played guitar on back in 1960. 63 years later at 84 he still got it.
James Burton, Brian May and Ron Wood - Hello Mary Lou
unless you stop it (not all from ‘Stop Making Sence’)
