Fifty year plus years ago, I was discovering new artists, who would become lifelong companions. Today, many of them are still making music – and I’m still listening. This playlist The Fifty Years Later Playlist looks back at where they started.. and where they are now.
The seeds of this playlist were sown on Monday of this week (May 26th) when I used my 20% off Holiday discount at Goodwill to buy a JVC Dual Cassette deck for $8.00. As a result, over the next several days I searched for my old cassette tapes.
One of them I found was a Charlie Mussellwhite 1969 release Tennessee W0man. Now I know I didn’t buy the tape in 1969. It’s more likely I bought the tape in the late 1990s when Tunes, store in Marlton NJ, my sons and I used to frequent, was clearing out its tape inventory. As I was listening to the album I reflected on the fact t that a few days previously I had been listening to Charlie’s recent release Look Out Highway.
Anyway that thought started me thinking about all the musicians I started to listen to in the late 60s early 70s that are still out there making great music and albums! Those thoughts lead me to create a playlist!! And here it is!! What I tried to do was start with two songs from each artist from the 60s and then I chose two songs from their most recent albums!
The Fifty Years Later Playlist (Part I)
Charlie Mussellwhite
While I don’t have a lot of Charlie’s music in my library, I have always admired his harp playing. I‘ve enjoyed blues harp since I first heard Sonny Terry way back in the 70s.
Then
From: Tennessee Woman
“Tennessee Woman” – How could I not start the playlist with anything but the very song and album that inspired it.
“Blue Feeling Today“
From Look Out Highway
Now
I am still getting to know these two songs but Charlie’s vocals and harp playing are as great as they ever were!
“Look Out Highway”- the title track of Charlie’s latest
“Hip-Shakin’ Mama” –
Jerry Jeff Walker
I followed Jerry Jeff’s career from the first album Mr. Bojangles to the last album It’s About Time. (1969-2018). Along the way in addition to placing a bunch of songs in the “Jukebox in my head” Jerry Jeff also introduced me to : David Bromberg, Guy Clark, Tom Russell, Chris Wall, Ray Wylie Hubbard and the great Lloyd Maines. And probably many others!
Then
From Mr. Bojangles
“Gypsy Songman” – there’s better to start with when considering whose music I’ve been listening to for fifty years than Jerry Jeff. And “Gypsy Songman” certainly captures the spirit of Jerry Jeff. I have rocked all of my grandchildren to “Mr. Bojangles”. The other day we were visiting my fifth grandchild Luca and my wife handed a crying Lucas to me. I started rocking and singing Mr. Bojangles and he quickly stopped crying. The power of Jerry Jeff.
From Drifting Way of Life
“Ramblin’ Scramblin” – one thing I’ll probably never do is rock a grandchild to Ramblin’ Scramblin”. I first heard this song many years ago – I’d never heard anything like it, and I immediately loved it!
From It’s About Time
Now
“My Favorite Picture of You” – through the year JJW covered several Guy Clark songs and this one found it’s way onto JJW’s last album and he made it his own in 2018, when JJW covered it on It’s About Time, two years before JJW passed in 2020. Here’s a link to Guy’s version.
“ That’s the Way I Play” – just a nice JJW song.
Tom Rush
While I didn’t discover Tom Rush’s music until he was several years into his career, I’ve been a fan since The Circle Game was released in 1968. And while there was a big gap in the release of a studio recording in his career (from 1974‘s Ladies Love Outlawsto 2009’s. What I Know, Tom has never stop performing! His last two albums Voices (2018) and 2024’s Gardens Old , Flowers Neware both terrific albums. He has aged like a fine wine!
Then
From The Circle Game…
“Urge for Going” – – Tom’s album The Circle Game is high on the list of my All-Time favorite Albums and it’s mainly because of his covers of then unknown artists like Joni Mitchell who penned both “Urge for Going” and the title song
“The Circle Game” – a brilliant cover -nuff said
From Gardens Old, Flowers New
Now
I’m still getting to know these two new songs, but they are both vintage Tom Rush…..
“The Harbor”
“Sailing”
Eric Andersen
Like Tom Rush I didn’t discover Eric Andersen’s music until he released Blue River in 1972. At that point Eric was an established fixture in the Greenwich Village Music scene and had released six or seven albums. Eric says this about that period of his life:
I was documenting a whole other emotional and interior world moving through the ’60s and beyond,” he says. “My songs dealt more with inner perceptions, views, and feelings — songs that were perhaps the precursors to those of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. [Greenwich Village] felt exciting because you knew it was a historical, breakthrough time, and it was amazing to belong to such a vibrant era.”
At one point, Cohen even told him that one of his songs inspired him to start writing and performing. Read More
Again my musical journey with Eric started with Blue River (1972) and has continued to today. Like Tom Rush, Eric had a gap in his musical career when he was in Europe. There was a fourteen year gap between Be True To Youand Ghosts on the Road (1974-1989). And while his latest album Dance of Love and Deathis a far cry from his Greenwich Village Days it is an outstanding album, in my humble opinion,
Then
From Blue River
“Is it Really Love at All” – this is one of my favorite songs of all-time. It’s just a great song.
“Wind and Sand” – another favorite – especially the last line…..
From Dance of Love and Death
Now
“Dance of Life and Death”
“After This Life”
So check these artists and songs out!
Got a similar story or favorite artist who’s still going strong? I’d love to hear it.
As for me, I’m already at work on Part II of this playlist, which will feature some of the rock and blues artists who’ve grown older, wiser — and are still absolutely worth listening to!
Links for the Further Explorations of These Artists
So all this writing about older albums that I don’t have in my library has made me think about favorite albums I do have and have loved and listened to for years. Well, today I decided to listen to one of those albums I’ve loved for years. I gave Livingston Taylor’s self-titled debut album. And I still love it after 54 years! Now Liv’s brother James’ Sweet Baby James album came first and was played a lot. I bet Liv’s album has been played more over the years.
About Livingston Taylor – Livingston Taylor
For me there is not a bad song on this album.
It would be difficult not to compare Livingston Taylor’s self-titled 1970 debut to his brother’s second solo release, Sweet Baby James, as the latter certainly brought attention to the former, but the Jon Landau-produced disc crafted in Macon, GA, is a world unto itself. Ten originals by Taylor along with one cover, the Earl Greene and Carl Montgomery country standard “Six Days on the Road,” make for a pleasantt
Livingston Taylor (born November 21, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Boston and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he is the brother of singer-songwriter James Taylor, singer-songwriter Kate Taylor, singer Alex Taylor, and innkeeper and singer Hugh Taylor.[[2
He has had top 40 hits such “Carolina Day,” “Get out of Bed,” “I Will Be in Love with You” and “I’ll Come Running,” to “I Can Dream of You” and “Boatman,”( the last two recorded by his brother James), Livingston’s creative output has continued unabated. His musical knowledge has inspired a varied repertoire, and he is equally at home with a range of musical genres—folk, pop, gospel, jazz. You can also find Livingston performing with a full symphony orchestea.
About His Debut Album and More……
I don’t think there are many albums that I can sing along to every song in the album, but this one I can. From the opening song “Sit On Back” to the closing “Thank You Song”. I love them all!
Of course the are a few that play on the “jukebox on my mind” more than others. Like “Packet of Good Times” that I sing to Emma when I’m rocking her to sleep. And “Six Days on the Road” during car trips.
After his 19770 debut album Livingston Taylor., his next three albums Liv((1971), Over the Rainbow (1973) and 3-Way Mirror (1978) made it into my vinyl collection. Of those albums Livis my favorite. Although I do love his cover of “Over the Rainbow”
Between 1978 and 1988 Live released two Albums Echoes a compilation album and Man’s Best Friend a children’s album. Since then he has released seven more albums. Of those seven albums Life is Good (1988), (1996) and There You are Again ((2006) are in my musical library. And after listening yesterday to 2010’s Last Alaskan Moon I will be on the lookout for that album!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Livingston Taylor
So the other day I was watching an Instagram post from a young woman. She was listening to songs from her father’s album collection. He had resently passed away.. Now whether or not that’s true or how long ago that was, I don’t know.
Anyway. it started me thinking about all the new albums I’ve found at Goodwill and the Princeton Record Exchange over the last year and how I haven’t been listening to them!Then I read a post somewhere about collectors who rotate through their albums on a regular basis.
As a result, I’ve created a 30 day challenge for me to randomly listen to at least one album a day for my newest purchases. I have most of those albums in crates grouped by genre, with the albums in alphabetical order. So I picked a crate and then used a random number generator to pick the album. The number was 26 and the album was Home from Si Khan.
I must admit I don’t know mush about Si Khan. I always heard his music on The Gene Shay show in Philly. I liked what I heard but never sought out his music. The probably may be that the majority of his music was release after 1980. Which means it coincided with my parenting years!
However, from what I read about Si at AllMusic I should have….
Discovering Si Kahn
The political balladry of Woody Guthrie, Tom Paxton, and Phil Ochs is reflected in the songs of North Carolina-based singer/songwriter Si Kahn. Although his love songs are nearly as effective, Kahn’s greatest strides have come with his lyrical looks at the unemployed, the racially abused, the sexually harassed, and the working-class oppressed. Kahn’s songs, including “Go to Work on Monday” and “Aragon Mill,” have become labor union anthems.
Si Kahn (born April 23, 1944) and has released 21 albums over the course of his career.
Si Khan is about more than just music….
Kahn’s prolific output includes more than music and songs. He has written three plays including, Mother Jones, based on the life of the early union organizer, which featured Ronnie Gilbert of the Weavers in the title role when produced in the early ’90s. Kahn has also authored two books on political organizing: How People Get Power and Organizing.
Recorded during a 1993 concert, “In My Heart: Live in Holland” celebrated the 20th anniversary of Kahn’s first album and featured several of his best-known tunes. Profits from Kahn’s concerts continue to be donated to Grassroots Leadership, a political organization he founded in the mid-’70s.
About Grassroots Leadership
Grassroots Leadership founder Si Kahn gothis start as a young activist and organizer in the Southern Civil Rights Movement as a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Si founded Grassroots Leadership in 1980 as a resource and training center for social justice organization building. Initially based in North Carolina, Grassroots Leadership worked throughout the South to help build progressive, multi-racial organizations to build power and create just organizations. Grassroots Leadership was one of the few organizations in the 1980s and 1990s to articulate in the board bylaws that no less than half of the board would be women and no less than half would be People of Color. Read More
My Bottom Line
The bottom line is I need to listen to the other Si Khan albums I bought and seek out more albums! So check out his music and his grassroots activism!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music and More of Si Khan
Ok yesterday I was browsing on Spotify when spotted a recommendation for me. The recommendation was for “Rager” a single release from Robert Jon & the Wreck. The single also included “Hate to See You Go” . After listening to the songs and liking them a lot I checked out their Spotify home page and saw they released a full album Red Moon Rising back in June of this year. So I decided to check it out! I liked it also and this morning it became the soundtrack for my granddaughter Emma’s walk! Here’s what I discovered about the band.
About Robert Jon & the Wreck
Robert Jon & The Wreck are a Southern California band which has taken the Southern Rock sound and made it their own. The band was formed in 2011 and the members include: Robert Jon Burrison (lead vocals, guitar), Andrew Espantman (drums, background vocals), HenryJames Schneekluth (lead guitar, background vocals), Warren Murrel (bass) and Jake Abernathie (keyboards).
They have played all over the world and have shared the stage with the likes of bills with talent the likes of Joe Bonamassa, Blackberry Smoke, Peter Frampton, Joanne Shaw Taylor, The Mavericks, Buddy Guy and Rival Sons.
Red Moon Rising is the band’s eleventh release and appears to have a little harder edge than their previous releases. At there website I read that their release Shine A Light On Me Brother’ lead to a collaboration with Blues Rock icon Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records. That collaboration has lead to new and exciting music. Their 2023 release ‘Ride Into The Light’ is a dynamic, multi-faceted album. It features material produced by GRAMMY-Award winners Don Was (Bonnie Raitt, The Stones, John Mayer) and Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Blackberry Smoke, Rival Sons), Kevin Shirley (Iron Maiden, The Black Crowes), along with guitar virtuosos Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith. Wow! I’ll be listening to that soon!
About Red Moon Rising
Red Moon Rising is a hard driving blues Rock album with lots of great vocals and soaring guitars. It also has some quieter moments, like the closing track “Give Love” . I slightly prefer the hard driving tracks. Bur I’m sure the slower tracks will grow on me the more I listen to the album.
So Check it Out! (Actually, with 67.2K listeners per month a lot of people already have checked them out!) So check out Red Moon Rising! As for me, I’ve got a lot of back catalog to check out! Anyone want to recommend where to start?
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Robert Jon & the Wreck
So, I had a 35 minute drive Monday morning to get to a dental appointment, to have a wisdom tooth extracted. It was a good time to listen to one of the three blues albums that have been in my music rotation. I chose I Hear Thunder from Tab Benoit. And I’m glad I did! The more I listen to the album the more I like it
About Tab Benoit
If you are unfamiliar with Tab Benoit he is a Louisiana-based singer, guitarist, and environmental preservationist. His music has a Cajun-inflected blues-rock sound. While he first burst onto the blues music scene with his 1992 release Nice & Warm on the Vanguard label. I think I first found Tab Benoit’s music around 2010, when I started blogging.
The first album I picked up was Night Train to Nashville. I can remember listening to that album on my way to many a job site for my job. Since part of my job was delineating wetlands his music and actions to protect wetlands struck a chord with me.
Anyway, since then many of Tab’s album have found their way into my music library. The last one was Medicine released 13 years ago! Today, as I was researching for this post, I discovered the reason for the gap was tha Tab had to free himself from a horrible record deal with Justice Records.
Justice Records issued his first five albums. However, the label folded in the late ’90s. Tab’s contract and catalog transferred first to Vanguard, then Telarc, and finally Concord. All without his consent. Finally after releasing Medicine in 2011, he simply refused to issue another album without adequate compensation.
During the time span between Medicine and I Hear Thunderhe founded Voice of the Wetlands, an organization promoting awareness of the receding coastal region of Louisiana. In addition, created Tab Benoit’s Lagniappe Music Cafe, situated in downtown Houma.
For the duration of this period, Benoit still performed at local and regional gigs. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival issued two of his live recordings from the event in 2016 and 20.
In 2017 he founded Whiskey Bayou Records. The label currently is home to a variety of artist including: Jeff McCarty, Alastair Greene, Eric Johanson, Dash Rip Rock, Eric McFadden, Damon Fowler, and JP Soars.
About I Hear Thunder
Now let’s get back to the aforementioned,I Hear Thunder. Currently the album is number 8? On the roots music Report’s Blues Chart. I don’t think it will be long before it will be number 1! It’s a winner all round great songs, great vocals and great guitars. All ten of the tracks are Tab Benoit originals. Four songs were written by Tab alone and the remainder were cowritten with either Anders Osborne or George Porter Jr or both.
While I’m starting to like all of the tracks on the album. After the first couple of listens my favorites were “ I Hear Thunder”, “Still Gray” and “Watching the Gators Roll In”
The bottom line is check it out now! As for me I’m going back and listen to some of the earlier albums I have from Tab Benoit!
So more and more I am going to make this more a true Weblog! And by that I mean I’m going to make it more about what’s happening in my life, I will still be writing about books, music and turning back my biological clock. However, I usually struggle with analyzing why I like a book or even an album, so I have a hard time writing a review type post. I don’t like to write a complete analysis of each song on an album or a deep analysis of each book i read. I like to write a little about what the book is about, along with a little about the author. Hopefully, the posts I write may lead the reader to a new author or musician! With all that being said let’s see what happened today!
A Morning Walk/Run
My last full run was about two weeks ago. When I started the run the plan was to run the 2,5 mile course I ran on that last run. However, soon after I started even though I was doing okt mi, I just didn’t have it. So I chose to walk about mid-way through the first half mile. From that point on I ran a little then walked a little. I ran/walked the first mile in 14:24 and the second in 14:59, Then I walked most of the last .55 mile in 16:19. The overall pace for the run was 15:02. If I had been paying attention I would have picked up the pace a little to get under 15 min/mile pace.
The Soundtrack – Floreada’s Boy By Zac Harmon
Floreada’s Boy has been in my music rotation for a few weeks now and I like it more each time I listen to the album. Currently, the album made a big jump on the Roots Music Report this week. It rose from number 44 to No 3!Ir wouldn’t surprise me if it was No 1 next week. Zac sums up Floreada’s Boy as follows…
Floreada’s Boy is a reflection of my 50 years of musical performance. From the juke joints of Mississippi to stages all over the world. Not bad for an old countryests on Floreada;s Bo boy.
The Zac Harmon Band includes: Nate Robinson guitar, Gino Inglehart drums, and Corey Lacey on keyboards. Guests on Floreada’s Boy include: Texas Horns, Caleb Quaye, Sue Ann Carwell and Munyungo Jackson.
From Frank Matheis’s Review at Living Blues
Every song on Floreada’s Boyis a keeper. On the blues side, Harman kicks it into overdrive with slashing guitar and the horns to bring you firecrackers like Big Dog Blues, a deep blues that could take its place right next to the best classics of the genre. There is plenty of funk, as in Let It Slide and Stress.
On the soul side there are five beautiful songs, most notably the languid and slow That’s the Way I Feel about Cha, with a distinct 1970s vibe featuring the great SueAnn Carwell. Never Forget is a gut-wrenching, broken-heart love song that could have fit perfectly on a Marvin Gaye or Ray Charles record. The blues has always had something important to say, and Zac Harmon is saying it as clearly as ever. He closes the album with the stunningly heavy, powerful, socio-critical, anti-gun violence song Stop the Killing. If he had recorded nothing but that poignant and impactful song, so imperative in our time, that alone would stand as a masterpiece, his magnum opus. If only people took it to heart. Stop the Killing should win every songwriting award on the planet if there is any justice. Sing it from the rooftops. Read More at Living Be albumlues
The Bottom Line
Floreada’s Boy is a triple treat for me. First great songs,, Second great vocals and finally great guitar work! So check it out!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Blues of Zac Harmon
The Nerdy Details as I Try to Start Running Again!
Ok so over the last two weeks I have semii-started to run again. I say semi because I have only run three times since July 26th. Oh, and I had a stress test on August 5th. The first two runs were actually run/walks. On both of those runs I basically ran a little and then walked a little.
On the July 26th run I covered 2.1 miles in 32:27. That calculates to a 15:30 min/mile pace. However, during the run I ran for 14:45 minutes and walked for 17:41 minutes.
Likewise on my July 28th run I walked and ran but did a little better. I covered 2.68 miles in 39:36 for a 14:46 min/mile pace. However, during this run I actually ran more than I walked. I ran for 21:29 minutes and walked for 18:04 minutes.
Finally, on my August 11 run I did better still. On that run I covered 2.16 miles in 32′:53 for a pace somewhat slower than the preceding runs. The final pace was !5:13 min/mile. The good thing though about this run was that I ran (ok,jogged) for 28:43 minutes while only walking for 4:07 minutes. I ran he whole first mile. Then I walked a quarter mile and almost ran the second mi le. Unfortunately I calculated how far I needed to run to get that last mile and came up a little short!
I’m planning on running again tomorrow morning and I’ll bore you with the details after the run! My goal may be to run for 30 minutes with no walking! Wish me luck!
The Soundtrack August 11 Run – The B Christopher Band
The soundtrack for the majority of the run was the latest release from The B Christopher Band – 106 Miles to Chicago. The last time an album from the B Christopher Band was used as a soundtrack for a run was back in 2019. when I was a soon to be 68-year -old. The run was a 4.16 mile run at an average pace of 10:28 min/mile. You can read about it here. Oh, how I long for those days!
About 106 Miles to Chicago
Anyway back to these days. Well I knew that there were a lot of old songs on this album like n”Hey,Bartender “{, “She caught the Katy”, Sweet Home Chicago” and “Gimme Some Lovin’.” But the reference to the Blues Brothers in the album’s title flew right over my head! Anyway here’s the quote that provided the title to this album that is a tribute to the Blues Brothers!
Elwood: It’s a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses. Jake: Hit it.
B Christopher is a fantastic guitarist and his band in this album is pretty dam good. It includes: Eddie Testa on lead vocals, Anton Fig on drums, Nick Douglas on bass and backing vocals. Bruce Katz on keys Andy Snizter on tenor and baritone sax, Ryan Keberle on trombone, Tony Kadleck on trumpet,Sharlotte Gibson provides backing vocals, and Studebaker John adds harmonica.
Additionally, Original Blues Brothers member Tom “Bones” Malone plays baritone sax on ‘Gimme Some Lovin’”,
The only bad thing about the album is it only contains seven songs. And it is only 26 minutes and change long! Anyway it is definitely and album that should be checked out!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of The B Christopher Band
So, as I’ve written previously over the last year, particularly from September to June I only ran sporadically. And I’ll tell you that the summer is not an easy time for this 73 year old to start over! Anyway the way that I am trying to restart my running is by both running and walking, Basically, I’ll run about a half mile and then walk a quarter mile and keep that switching going for about 30 minutes or more. It also turns out to be running until my heart rate gets up to about 140 bpm and then walking until it drops back to 110 bpm or lower. Anyway, here are the runs and the soundtrack Shut Up &Playfrom Toronzo Cannon
The Runs
Anyway I ran last Friday 7/26 I covered 2.09 miles in 32:27 for a 15:30 /mi pace. Overall, I ran for 14:45 and walked for 17:41. On Sunday I did a little better. I covered 2.68 miles in 39:36 for an average pace of 14:46/mi. The good thing was that my time running was 21:29 and walking time only 18:04. In addition on Friday my average heart rate was 117 BPM and my max heart rate was 1369 bpm, While on Sunday my average heart rate was 125 bpm with a maximum of 151 (‘ during my old man sprint at the end – lol. So I know it will take some time to get back running fairly well, but at least if I improve on each run I’ll be happy!
The Soundtracks – Shut Up & Play – Toronzo Cannon
The soundtrack for Friday’s run was Shut Up & Play the latest release from Chicago blues artist Toronzo Cannon. From his website……
“I want my songs to be heard and experienced, not just listened to,” says cliché-defying, internationally beloved Chicago bluesman Toronzo Cannon. With his richly detailed, truth-telling original songs, blistering, inventive guitar work and impassioned vocals, Cannon is on the cutting edge of today’s contemporary blues scene and is known as one of the genre’s most creative artists. His sound is inspired by his heroes, including Hound Dog Taylor, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Albert King, Son Seals and Jimi Hendrix. On his third Alligator Records album, Shut Up And Play!, Cannon blazes his own path with 11 emotionally-charged originals. From serious to humorous, his imaginative songs are fueled by his powerful, cathartic guitar solos and his soulfully authoritative voice.
Toronzo wrote all of the twelve tracks on the album and he says this about his songs……
“I write what I know, what I feel,” Cannon says, “I like to put myself in the shoes of the subjects of my songs. This record is about the things going on in my life since 2019–it’s a document of what I’ve seen and been through, but the stories are universal. And it’s my way to get past negative things and keep my own sanity. Listen to the lyrics. I am a Black man in America. These are NOT protest songs. I try to create honest, common sense understanding with my songs.”
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that Shut Up & Playis a terrific album and one that should be in every blues lovers collection, My favorite tracks on the album include: “Had to Go Through it to Get to It”, “Can’t Fix the World”, “Got Me by the Short Hairs” and the title track. So check it Out!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Toronzo Cannon
So I started off Saturday morning by deciding I would listen to some music from each of the music genres I listen to most often. Sometimes it would be new music and sometimes music that,s been in my music library for a long time.
Discovering Jack Williams
I actually picked an album that’s been in my library since the late 90s early 00s. Jack Williams’ 1997 release Across the Winterline. I bought the CD in the bargain bin at Tunes in Mount Laurel, NJ. I bought it at a time when my sons and I would go to Tunes almost every week. They were in their teens and I was getting back into buying music for me!
Anyway I fell in love with Jack’s guitar playing and his songs about life in the south i’ve been a fan since then .
The Music of Jack Williams
From Jack’s website
Jack Williams’ music has its , roots in his native South Carolina. Additionally, it has been shaped by his 65-year career. Along the way Jack has played folk, rock, jazz, R&B, classical and the popular music of the 30s, 40s and 50s.
He is counted among the most dynamic performers of his day– Dave Humphreys of Two-Way Street Coffeehouse in Downer’s Grove, IL.says Jack is“…one of the most enlightened and entertaining performers I’ve ever encountered“
Jack is considered a “musician’s musician”, an uncommonly unique guitarist, a writer of vivid songs with a strong sense of place, and a storyteller in an old Southern tradition who further illustrates each tale with his guitar
Buzz from his website
“…. his artistry… is nothing short of amazing. Dazzling picking, expressive voice, unique and interesting songs. He is a showman in the best sense of the word and just wowed our audience. I think they would have followed him anywhere.” Rich Warren, WFMT “Midnight Special”, Chicago IL
I posted the above stuff from his website because they can tell you about Jack better than I can! All I can say he’s great and listen to his wonderful music! As for me, I need to check out and get a couple of his recent CDs
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Jack Williams
So the other day I wrote a out one of the two songs that have been in my music rotation this month, Albert Cummings‘ latest album Strong. The other album is Mike Zito‘s new album Life is Hard. Like Cummings Zito has been a favorite of mine for many years a now. I started listening to his music back around 2010 in when I heard his album Pearl. I think that his last two albums, 2021 Blues for the Southside Live and Life is Hard have been the best of his career.
About Life is Hard
Life is Hard was recorded in September 0f 2023 at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California. Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith produced the album, Both Bonamassa and Smith worked on the production of Blood Brothers, the critically-acclaimed album Zito recorded with fellow label guitarist Albert Castiglia,. (another favorite) Blood Brothers topped both the Billboard and iTunes blues charts after its release in March, 2023.
Life Is Hard is composed of several Mike Zito originals. In addition Mike makes a variety of blues songs written by more of my favorite artists including: Tinsley Ellis, Walter Trout, Tab Benoit and Fred James.
But that’s not all a diverse assortment of blues/roots music icons music is covered including Little Milton (“Lonely Man”), Stevie Wonder (“Have a Talk with God”) and Reverend Gary Davis (“Death Don’t Have No Mercy”), plus a terrific cover of the Guess Who classic, “These Eyes.”
Mike has this to say about the album…..
“Life Is Hard is a complete work of art for me,” says Mike Zito about the new disc. “I believe this is the best album I’ve ever made in my life. My wife Laura and I planned this idea of pouring my heart out in music after her death from cancer. Joe, Josh and the incredible musicians were fully aware of the task at hand. They brought a lot of emotion to the music. I am so proud of this album and I know Laura would be proud as well.”
From Mike Zito’s website.
The Bottom Line
The Bottom line is Life is Hard, like Strong is a fantastic album. In my opinion it is the best album Zito has recorded and it will be quickly climbing the blues charts. Currently it is number 11 on the Roots Music Report Blues Chart.
Mike’s guitar work and vocals are both great throughout Life is Hard. On several of the tracks on the album the keyboard work also shines. When I went to Mike’s website I discovered Reese Wynans was the keyboardist! Here’s the complete musician line-up on the album…..
Mike Zito – Guitar and Vocals Joe Bonamassa – Additional Guitar Josh Smith – Additional Guitar Reese Wynans – Keyboards Calvin Turner – Bass Lemar Carter – Drums Paulie Cerra – Saxophone on “Lonely Man” Jennifer Kumma and Anna Spina – French Horn on “Forever My Love” and “These Eyes” Jade Macrae – Background Vocals Dannielle Deandrea – Background Vocals Steve Ray Ladson – Background Vocals on “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” French Horn Arrangements by Calvin Turner
When I was gathering info to write this post I discovered Mike’s wife Laura pasted away in August of 2023. She died after a long battle against cancer.Here’s what Mike writes about the song “Forever My Love”
About the Song “Forever My Love”
“In January of last year, I was considering the idea of making an album about the tragedy of my wife Laura having cancer. I wasn’t quite sure how to go about it, but she was very encouraging of the process. I knew I could not write an entire album about this experience and my feelings, but I wanted to write at least one meaningful song that encapsulated my emotions.
One morning I was sitting with guitar in hand at the dining room table with a coffee by my side. I played a chord and sang “Forever My Love” at the top of my lungs. Laura came into the room and said “What was that? Is that a song you’re going to write?” I said, “I think so, do you like it?”
She had an excited look on her face as she said “Yes, I like it a lot.” It just came to me so I went with it and the rest came so fast and easy. The best songs usually come out of nowhere and are very easy to write, like I am not really writing the song I am just the interpreter. The song was written, but I played it and sang it over and over throughout the year. Every morning I would sit at the table and sing it loud and she would listen.
She would tell me how much she loved the song, she was really proud. We had hoped she would live long enough to hear the finished version, but that didn’t happen. But, she heard me sing this song 100 times to her at our house last year, and she knew you were going to love it.” — Mike Zito
Here’s the video for “Forever My Love”
I also discovered there is a Go-Fund Me site Laura Zito Cancer Support. if you would like to help Mike and his family.
