November 15: Little Willie John was born in 1937

“…Take a picture of this
The fields are empty, abandoned ’59 Chevy
Laying in the back seat listening to Little Willie John
Yea, that’s when time stood still…”
– Robbie Robertson – Somewhere Down The Crazy River

William Edward “Little Willie” John (November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968) was an American rock ‘n’ roll and R&B singer who performed in the 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his successes on the record charts, with songs such as “All Around the World” (1955), “Need Your Love So Bad” (1956), and “Fever” (1956). An important figure in R&B music of the 1950s, John was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

Fever:

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November 14: Gretchen Peters was born in 1957 – Happy 60th Birthday!

Gretchen Peters (born November 14, 1957 in Bronxville, New York) is an American singer and songwriter. She was born in New York and raised in Boulder, Colorado, but moved to Nashville in the late 1980s. There, she found work as a songwriter, composing hits for Martina McBride, Etta James, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Anne Murray, as well as for rock singers Neil Diamond and co-writing songs with Bryan Adams.

She won the Country Music Association Song Of The Year award for McBride’s “Independence Day” in 1995. She was twice nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song, in 1995 and 1996, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song in 2003.

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November 13: Ray Wylie Hubbard was born in 1946 – Happy Birthday!

Photo Credit: Todd Wolfson

 

“We’re in the mud and scum of things, moaning, crying and lying
At least we ain’t Lazurus and had to think twice about dying.”
– Lazurus, Ray Wylie Hubbard

“I’m very grateful. I’m an old cat, but I feel very fortunate to have seen Lightnin’ Hopkins and Freddie King. I saw Ernest Tubb play and Gary Stewart, so it’s kind of a combination of not just the different forms of music that’s influenced me, but the great musicians in that form of music. I guess it’s the ‘character’ in their songwriting that’s influenced me.”
– Ray Wylie Hubbard (to The Current)

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November 12: Happy 72nd birthday Neil Young

neil-young

“I have so many opinions about everything it just comes out during my music. It’s a battle for me. I try not to be preachy. That’s a real danger.”
-Neil Young

“It’s bettet to burn out than to fade away”
― Neil Young

“If you follow every dream, you might get lost.”
― Neil Young

Eddie Vedder inducts Neil Young into R’nR Hall of Fame:

Birth name Neil Percival Young
Also known as Bernard Shakey, Phil Perspective, Shakey Deal, Clyde Coil, Ol’ Neil, Joe Canuck, Joe Yankee, Marc Lynch, Pinecone Young
Born November 12, 1945 (age 72)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Origin Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Genres Rock, folk rock, country rock,experimental rock, hard rock
Occupations Musician, songwriter, producer,director, screenwriter
Instruments Guitar, vocals, harmonica, piano,banjo, ukelele
Years active 1960–present
Labels Reprise, Motown, Atco, Atlantic,Geffen
Associated acts The Squires, The Mynah Birds,Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crazy Horse, The Stray Gators, The Stills-Young Band, The Ducks, Northern Lights,Pearl Jam, Booker T. Jones, Leon Russell, Elton John
Website neilyoung.com

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November 10: The Clash released Give ‘Em Enough Rope in 1978

The Clash Give Em Enough Rope

It’s rock and roll all over
In every street and every station
Kids fight like different nations
And it’s brawn against brain
And it’s knife against chain
But it’s all young blood
Flowing down the drain

One of those albums that was played so much on vinyl that it got worn out and bought again (twice!), Fantastic album!

Give ‘Em Enough Rope is one of the greatest transition albums of all time. The Clash was a purely punk album, and the best pure punk album “evvah!” London Calling is an eclectic and unique era-spanning masterpiece. Give ‘Em Enough Rope retain their punk roots, but start to draw in more influence from a more diverse pool.  The album turns out to be one of the band’s best, what am I saying?! All their albums are must-haves! (except for the Cut The crap album of course). In true Clash fashion there’s not one bad track to spare.

Give ‘Em Enough Rope is the second studio album by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was released on 10 November 1978 through CBS Records. It was their first album released in the United States, preceding the US version of The Clash. The album was well received by critics and fans, peaking at number two in the United Kingdom Albums Chart.

Tommy Gun (live on Something Else in 1978):

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November 10: Bruce Springsteen released Live/1975–85 in 1986

live1975-85-1000x1000

It’s not enough. By anyone else’s standards, of course, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live/1975-85 is an embarrassment of riches — five albums and ten years’ worth of barroom, hockey-arena and baseball-stadium dynamite; greatest hits, ace covers, love songs, work songs, out-of-work songs — the ultimate rock-concert experience of the past decade finally packaged for living-room consumption, a special gift of thanks to the fans who shared those 1001 nights of stomp & sweat and the best possible consolation prize for the poor bastards who could never get tickets.

~David Fricke – rollingstone.com

 

Thunder Road – October 18, 1975 at The Roxy Theatre:

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