Old-school news, just in time
by Kevin Burton I’m inclined to give Billy Joel a pass, aren’t you? Hasn’t he proven his brilliance? Hasn’t his place in music history been settled, certified for decades now? Any music-related hall of fame that he is not in, he should be in. Hey, if Dolly Parton is in the Rock …
Continue reading “Billy Joel, We Love You Just The Way You Are”
by Kevin Burton Steely Dan and four others will be inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame this year, according to multiple reports. R.E.M. and three non-performing songwriters, Hillary Lindsey, Timothy Moseley (Timberland) and Dean Pritchard will also be inducted. I don’t know if the Songwriters’ hall has toxic politics the way …
by Kevin Burton The NFL has just invited me, and you, to not watch football on TV. You want to be careful doing a thing like that. It would appear that I can live without it. This is a working hypothesis. Forgive me for not having it all thought out and laid …
by Kevin Burton I love me some Al Michaels. Our sportscaster-sports consumer relationship goes back more than 50 years. How much do I love Al Michaels? Well, I watched the entire unwatchable Raiders-Chargers game Thursday because he was calling it. I didn’t even have any fantasy players involved. And I’ve been watching …
Continue reading ““Here Comes Foster!” There Goes Al Michaels”
by Nick Krewen Special to the Toronto Star Sixty-three years on, Otis Williams is still at the helm of one of the greatest Motown acts of all-time, the Temptations. Not only does the tenor and baritone vocalist continue to tour with the group into its seventh decade as its only original member, but …
Continue reading “Last Of The Original Temptations Looks Back”
by Kevin Burton Trying to wrestle down he lighter-than-air 70s anthem “Philadelphia Freedom” by Elton John is like trying to tell a stranger ‘bout rock and roll. You kind of can’t. You can parse the words if you like, look into its origins, the elements that went into it. But in the end …
Continue reading “Tell A Stranger About Philadelphia Freedom”
by Kevin Burton You knew any rock and roll road trip would have to stop by Memphis, right? Well, we are using a Chuck Berry vehicle to get there. We’re going Coast to Coast this summer, talking rock and roll history by means of songs with a state or city in the title. …
by Kevin Burton It turns out there really was a band called Sultans Of Swing that inspired the great 1978 Dire Straits hit. “Sultans Of Swing” is one of those tunes that stops you in your tracks. It just exudes cool. We tell its story, evoking a musical proverb from “Take It …
by Kevin Burton Music fans who go back as far as the 80s and especially before, badly miss the old days of radio. You had music historians, actual musicians and others who loved music, choosing what records hit the airwaves. It was a wacky, fun time for listeners across musical genres. It was …
by Kevin Burton The greatest songwriters will leave room in their songs so you can climb in, look around and make yourself at home. Just be careful, there is going to be a mirror in there in the place you least expect. You’re going to see yourself. You’re going to be confronted. If …
Continue reading ““If You Could Read My Mind” Is A Masterpiece”
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