By Steve Rhodes
I’m about to look at a list of Pink Floyd’s greatest 50 songs. I made a Top 10 list (quickly) plus one before I look.
1. Wish You Were Here
2. Free Four
3. Mother
4. The Gunner’s Dream
5. Us and Them
Posted on April 28, 2020
White Mystery’s Stay-At-Home 4/20 Fest
The 12th Annual Celebration Comes From Inside Their Chicago Lair
Featuring Fred Armisen, Jason Narducy, Jon Langford, Andre Vasquez, Cadien Lake James, Shannon Shaw, realbigsilky, Brian Hurd, Max Hersh, Spacebones, Emily Rose, Bev Rage & the Drinks, Monarchy Over Monday, Neptunes Core and, of course, White Mystery.
Posted on April 23, 2020
He Built A Guitar Out Of 1,200 Colored Pencils
By Burls Art via YouTube
Damn cool. Plus, sale proceeds will go to Feeding America’s Coronavirus Response Fund. Bid here.
Posted on April 15, 2020
The “Chicago Special” ’59 Strat
By The Chicago Music Exchange
“Outfitted with handpicked specs like an oval, C-shape, Indian rosewood neck with 9.5-inch radius for a comfortable reinterpretation of this historic instrument.”
Posted on April 13, 2020
John Prine In The Beachwood
By Steve Rhodes
Geez, I just did a post like this for Bill Withers. The loss of John Prine hurts even more – not that there’s a sliding scale.
Like so many others, I was a fan. I can’t say I was a huge fan, though that’s not because there was anything I didn’t like about his work. I just never collected his entire discography; only a few CDs and songs. Now I’m motivated to go back and see what I’ve missed.
Posted on April 9, 2020
Bill Withers In The Beachwood
By Steve Rhodes
“Bill Withers, a onetime Navy aircraft mechanic who, after teaching himself to play the guitar, wrote some of the most memorable and often-covered songs of the 1970s, including ‘Lean on Me,’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ and ‘Use Me,’ died on Monday in Los Angeles. He was 81,” the New York Times reports.”
A onetime Navy aircraft mechanic, ha ha; from the Washington Post: “In 1971, even as his breakthrough hit, ‘Ain’t No Sunshine,’ soared to the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, Bill Withers had a backup plan – he was still employed at an aircraft parts company where he made toilets for 747s.”
Back to the Times:
His death, at a hospital, was announced by his family. His son, Todd, said Mr. Withers had had heart problems.
Mr. Withers, who had an evocative, gritty R&B voice that could embody loss or hope, was in his 30s when he released his first album, “Just as I Am,” in 1971. It included “Ain’t No Sunshine,” a mournful lament (“Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone/And she’s always gone too long/Anytime she goes away”) that cracked the Billboard Top 10.
Other hits followed, perhaps none better known than “Lean on Me,” an anthem of friendship and support that hit No. 1 in 1972 and has been repurposed countless times by a variety of artists.
Withers appeared in the Beachwood a few times over the years. Let’s take a look.
Posted on April 4, 2020