Rock

Classic Rock Edition — After reading an article by Darren Weir about the top 10 songs that inspire him, I had to ask myself, what are the songs that really get me going, even when I’m feeling down? Which songs energize me? I love music from across six decades and multiple genres. However, I…

The Beatles, Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn, Sinatra — and John Wayne — Twisted at the Trendy Discotheque: New York Groove Book Excerpt — High Society discovered rock and roll at the Peppermint Lounge, 128 West 45th Street, one rainy night in 1961. Joey Dee & the Starliters were on stage, and the young, raucous crowd was doing the Twist, the dance craze popularized by Chubby Checker’s 1960 number-one hit.

BJ’s This or That Challenge to Kick Start The New Year — This, that, us and them. And after all we’re only ordinary men. Sorry I broke into a Pink Floyd song for a moment and was on the Dark Side of the Moon. However that is the first thing that came into my mind when I saw this brilliant and fun…

My place or mine? In praise of keeping the night going into the next morning. It’s Just You And Me Words and music by Spyder Darling Here we are again at the end of the night Hanging in the kitchen by the florescent light Everyone’s passed out or gone home What a bunch of lightweights…

Country Joe McDonald Remembers the Renowned Promoter: Fillmore East Book Excerpt — Bill Graham was born on January 8, 1931. The producer and impresario left an indelible mark on the rock music industry with his Fillmore East and West concert halls, eclectic show lineups, and mega-sized concerts he staged until his death in 1991 in a helicopter crash. Country Joe McDonald was…

The Clash — and Joe Strummer, in particular — seem to be the most name-checked names in rock music. They have left a fine field of disciples behind, adding lustre to their legacy. This name-checking other musicians in songs really came to me when reading the Kenny Jones fine rock…

Disappointment Haunted All My Dreams — 1. Before the Monkees reached number one in 1966 with “I’m a Believer,” its writer Neil Diamond intended it as a country song to be recorded by A. Glen Campbell B. Buck Owens C. Eddy Arnold D. Marty Robbins 2. The Dixie Hummingbirds sang…