June 22: Happy 83rd Birthday Kris Kristofferson – His 10 best songs

 

June 22: Happy Birthday Kris Kristofferson (born 1936 – age 83) – His 10 best songs

One of my fav artists, and he’s written many great songs.

This is a list (+ videos), not a bio… so here goes:
(preferred album version included)

  1. Sunday Morning Coming Down – The Austin Sessions (1999)
  2. Me and Bobby McGee – Kristofferson (1970)
  3. Why Me – The The Austin Sessions (1999)
  4. Help Me Make It Through the Night – Kristofferson (1970)
  5. For the Good Times – The The Austin Sessions (1999)
  6. Here Comes That Rainbow Again – The Essential Kris Kristofferson (2004)
  7. The Silver Tongued Devil and I – The Silver Tongued Devil and I (1971)
  8. To Beat the Devil – The Austin Sessions (1999)
  9. Nobody Wins – The Austin Sessions (1999)
  10. The Pilgrim, Chapter 33 – The Silver Tongued Devil and I (1971)

Yes! I LOVE “The Austin Sessions” album…

There are many great video clips on youtube, and I’ve tried to compile the best versions (live versions are as always preferred):

Sunday Morning Coming Down

Well I woke up Sunday morning,
With no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
Then I fumbled through my closet for my clothes,
And found my cleanest dirty shirt.
An’ I shaved my face and combed my hair,
An’ stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.

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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 Brown

The 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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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”
~Lemmy

We 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

photo: Hallgeir Olsen/BornToListen

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 (age 69)
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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November 7: Happy 75th Birthday Joni Mitchell


Joni Mitchell Live

photo: Baron Wolman

Sorrow is so easy to express and yet so hard to tell
~Joni Mitchell

You could write a song about some kind of emotional problem you are having, but it would not be a good song, in my eyes, until it went through a period of sensitivity to a moment of clarity. Without that moment of clarity to contribute to the song, it’s just complaining.
~Joni Mitchell

 

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