by Kevin Burton I’m guessing the final Beatles song, to be released later this week, will be neither a bang, nor a whimper. Or maybe it will be a bang, and a whimper and everything in between. That would be fitting for a band that was and is “ way beyond compare” to …
Category Archives: rock and Roll
Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, Jumping The Shark
by Kevin Burton America, do we hate the Chiefs yet? On second thought, let me extend the question to the rest of the world, since the NFL plays games in London, Mexico City and Frankfurt, Germany. World, have we had enough? It seems as usual I am behind the times, late to …
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Carolina And The Mind Of James Taylor
by Kevin Burton You can take the boy from Carolina but you will never extract Carolina from James Taylor. That’s how it works. Our inner compass points toward home. When we can’t be there physically, our minds take us there. Sometimes it’s better that way. Just as Penny Lane is in the …
Coast To Coast: Billy Joel’s “Stop In Nevada”
by Kevin Burton On the Billy Joel portion of our rock and roll road trip you could have reasonably expected “New York State of Mind” or even “Allentown.” Instead we swing west to look at “Stop In Nevada.” This song fits very well into our road-trip theme. Today’s tale includes one of …
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Tell A Stranger About Philadelphia Freedom
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 …
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Elvis Makes Two Stops In Kentucky
by Kevin Burton Before he was a cultural icon, Elvis Presley was a truck driver. Good reason to let Elvis drive part of our Coast To Coast rock and roll road trip. “Blue Hawaii” is out, as that would require a plane or a boat. Our next travel destination: Kentucky. Kentucky Rain …
Coast To Coast: California Dreamin’
by Kevin Burton Texas has its outsized pretentions, but California for most of a century was considered the American promised land. This was reflected throughout popular culture, including in music. So there is no shortage of songs we could use to represent the Golden State in our summer rock and roll road trip …
“Memphis” And The Poetry Of Chuck Berry
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. …
Motown’s Move To LA Stifled The Magic
by Kevin Burton There is more than a little irony in the 1971 Jackson 5 song “Going Back To Indiana.” That makes for an easy choice to make Indiana a destination for our summer rock and roll road trip, Coast to Coast. For Coast to Coast we are talking rock and roll history, …
Georgia (And Ray Charles) On My Mind
by Kevin Burton Whether in jazz, blues, pop or country, the late great Ray Charles was not just comfortable but masterful. Somebody asks you, “quick who was Ray Charles?” You’re probably going to say he was a soul singer. You wouldn’t be entirely wrong but he didn’t see himself that way. He …
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