Listening to music for me is like homework. Music will give me enjoyment, but as soon as it’s giving me that enjoyment, I want to analyse it, and then it becomes work. Why does it sound like that? How?… then I dissect it.
~Steve WinwoodTo make a living from doing something I love is fantastic. As long as people want to listen to me, I’ll keep doing it. In fact, to tell you the truth, even if no one did want to listen to me, I’d still be doing it!
~Steve WinwoodNetworking is rubbish; have friends instead.
~Steve WinwoodSteve Winwood exploded onto the London music scene as a teenager with his powerful, soulful tenor — notably on “Gimme Some Lovin'” and “I’m a Man” with the Spencer Davis Group. “I thought he had the greatest voice,” said Billy Joel, “this skinny little English kid singing like Ray Charles.” The frontman for the jazz-infused pop of Traffic and then the jam rock of Blind Faith (with Eric Clapton), Winwood re-emerged in the mid-Eighties with the hits “Back in the High Life Again” and “Higher Love” — highly polished soul pop that made him a star all over again. “He was able to copy Jimmy Reed, and I thought, ‘Where the hell is this voice coming from?’ ” said Spencer Davis. “From a diminutive guy, at that age, how can he do it? But he did it.”
~rollingstone.com
Music Calendar
May 3: The Late Soul Legend James Brown Birthday
When I’m on stage, I’m trying to do one thing: bring people joy. Just like church does. People don’t go to church to find trouble, they go there to lose it.
~James BrownThe one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing.
~James Brown“Soul Brother Number One,” “the Godfather of Soul,” “the Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” “Mr. Dynamite” — those are mighty titles, but no one can question that James Brown earned them more than any other performer. Other singers were more popular, others were equally skilled, but few other African-American musicians were so influential over the course of popular music. And no other musician, pop or otherwise, put on a more exciting, exhilarating stage show: Brown’s performances were marvels of athletic stamina and split-second timing.
~Richie Unterberger (allmusic.com)
Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag – from TV program Shindig:
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February 26: The late great Johnny Cash was born in 1932
..Johnny was and is the North Star; you could guide your ship by him – the greatest of the greats then and now. I first met him in ‘62 or ‘63 and saw him a lot in those years. Not so much recently, but in some kind of way he was with me more than people I see every day.
~Bob Dylan (Statement on Johnny Cash – Sept 2003)I love to go to the studio and stay there 10 or 12 hours a day. I love it. What is it? I don’t know. It’s life.
~Johnny CashYou build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
~Johnny Cash
Lyle Lovett Inducts Johnny Cash into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
I Walk The Line – 1956:
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December 24: The late great Lemmy was born in 1945
“A jumbo jet taking off from LAX is like 30 smokers smoking 200 cigarettes a day for 30 fuckin’ years. And they want me to stop smoking THIS?! fuck off”
~LemmyWe recorded his track in Los Angeles in maybe two takes about a year and a half ago. Until then I’d never met what I’d call a real rock ‘n’ roll hero before. Fuck Elvis and Keith Richards, Lemmy’s the king of rock ‘n’ roll – he told me he never considered Motörhead a metal band, he was quite adamant. Lemmy’s a living, breathing, drinking and snorting fucking legend. No one else comes close.
~Dave Grohl
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December 13: The great Tom Verlaine was born in 1949

Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949):
Singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the frontman for the New York rock band Television.
Tom Verlaine | |
---|---|
Birth name | Thomas Miller |
Born | 13 December 1949 Morristown, New Jersey, United States |
Genres | Punk rock, art punk, post-punk, new wave |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician |
Instruments | Guitar, vocals, piano |
Associated acts | Television, Neon Boys |
Notable instruments | |
Fender Jazzmaster Fender Jaguar Fender Stratocaster Danelectro Shorthorn Deluxe |
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December 5: Little Richard was born in 1932
When you sit down and think about what rock ‘n’ roll music really is, then you have to change that question. Played up-tempo, you call it rock ‘n’ roll; at a regular tempo, you call it rhythm and blues.
~Little RichardLittle Richard Interview with Bill Boggs:
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