Country Joe McDonald - I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag
I want to congratulate Country Joe McDonald with his birthday turning 82 today.
Joseph Allen “Country Joe” McDonald is an American singer, songwriter and musician who was the lead vocalist of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish. He was one of the few who played all three most famous gigs. The 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, and both the 1969 original and 1979 reunion Woodstock Festivals.
This one song, that single moment at that one concert (woodstock) said it all. Country Joe made history for a whole generation.
When I am at it this next song is 59 years old, makes you think. We haven’t learned much.
if there is one asshole (Roger Waters) you don’t have to hate the band…
Pink Floyd - Hey Hey Rise Up (feat. Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Boombox)
‘Hey Hey Rise Up’, released in support of the people of Ukraine, sees David Gilmour and Nick Mason joined by long time Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards, all accompanying an extraordinary vocal by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox.
Happy Birthday to American singer, guitarist and songwriter Stephen Stills, who is turning 79 today. He’s had a long and successful career - Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, loads of solo alums and albums with various other members of CSNY. Stephen Stills has written plenty of good songs, so I have to go for two of them on the occasion of his birthday!
When they started it seems to be more of a “Symphonic Progressive Rock” artist band like in your STORM & THUNDER. Maybe the success Shocking Blue had abroad made the style of their music evolve into more pop and disco?
I want to congratulate an American musician Chris (Christopher) Stein with his birthday turning 74 today. In the summer of 1974 he was the co founder with Debbie Harry of the new wave band Blondie. In addition to being the sole writer of the Blondie song “Sunday Girl”, Stein co-wrote numerous hits with Harry, including “Heart of Glass”, “Dreaming”, “Island of Lost Souls”, “Rapture”, and “Rip Her to Shreds”.
Let us celebrate the memory of English singer/songwriter Sandy Denny, who would have turned 77 today if she hadn’t passed away in a tragic manner in 1978, only 31 years old. As a solo artist and as member of Fairport Convention, Fotheringay and Strawbs, she was a seminal figure on the British folk-rock scene from the late 1960’s up until her death.
Sandy Denny is my all-time favourite female singer and the song I post her is one of my all-time favourite songs. It’s eight minutes long, but take a chance on it, if you have the time. You may like it. May the memory of Sandy Denny live on!
Calling all olive branches and laid off doves
There is work to do before we say goodbye
Time to celebrate the memory of one of the biggest talents and personal tragedies in the history of rock music. Syd Barrett would have turned 78 today if he hadn’t passed away in 2006, at the age of 60. He is one of the founders of Pink Floyd. Sadly, due to mental illness, he had to leave the band after their debut album.
After Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett made two rather whimsical (still pretty good) solo albums, before his problems got the best of him. Pink Floyd later wrote the well-known song Shine On You Crazy Diamond for him. Without Syd Barrett there may not have been the Pink Floyd we know today. Long live his memory!
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Damn, this brings back memories. I still remember watching the original Pompeii concert on black and white TV back in the 70’s. The long epic track then was of course Echoes.
I knew about Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny (from my “wannebe hippie era”). There’s a lot of Melanie and Joni Mitchell resemblance here. Very evident in her own song “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?”. What I didn’t know was that she was the only guest performer Led Zeppelin ever had on a song. A great duet with Robert Plant.
