Jimi Hendrix. This weekend marked 45 years since the death of Jimi Hendrix so with him and his colossal take on Bob Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower in mind, here’s a list of five of my all-time favourite cover songs. I played All Along The Watchtower (featured at the bottom of this article) on my radio show…
Category: Music
The Commodores 10 Funkiest Songs
The Commodores in the mid 70s. Today is the 66th birthday of one of the funkiest bass guitarists in history so it seemed like a good time wheel out this little top 10 list. Ronald LaPread was the bassist for the Commodores from 1969 until his departure for a new life in New Zealand in…
The 40th Anniversary Of Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’ LP – The Oddly Beautiful Piano Playing Of The Boss
Bruce Springsteen in the mid 1970s. A quick post to acknowledge two things: firstly, an all-time hero of mine is marking one of the more important anniversaries of his career*. Secondly, sometimes I feel there’s little I can add analysis-wise to one of the most analysed recording artists ever. And then something pops into my…
‘We’d have the most fun’ – Barry Gibb Explains His Friendship With Michael Jackson
Maurice Gibb, MJ, BarryGibb, Robin Gibb – circa 1985. If Michael Jackson was still alive August 29th would’ve been his 57th birthday. That seems reason enough for me to remind fans of the personal and creative friendship that Michael shared with Bee Gee Barry Gibb. Over the years they always spoke very warmly of each…
The Redemption Of Cliff Richard – Why His Singing At Cilla Black’s Funeral Resonated So Much
Cliff Richard with Cilla Black (and with Lulu as well – bottom left). A link I put on my Newstalk ZB Facebook pages (facebook.com/timroxborogh and facebook.com/zbthetwo) yesterday showing Cliff Richard singing at Cilla Black’s funeral has quickly become one of the most liked and viewed posts I’ve ever shared. And so while there’s a good…
When The Bee Gees Went Disco They Also Went Country – 40 Years Since Jive Talkin’ Hit #1
Maurice, Robin & Barry Gibb – 1975. It’s 40 years today since the Bee Gees returned to US #1 with Jive Talkin’ and kicked off one of the most exceptional comebacks in music history. After five years of international hits between 1967-72, the Gibb brothers popularity in the US and UK dipped to such an…
Nick Jonas & The Gospel Version Of ‘Jealous’ – Why Hall & Oates Would Be Proud
Nick Jonas This is the version of Jealous by Nick Jonas that I mentioned on the radio last night. The original is one of the most purely fun R&B pop songs of the year. There’s also been the explicit version with the former wearer of one of those horrific virginity rings shedding his goody-good Disney…
Rod Stewart And The Faces To Finally Reunite
The Faces in the 1970s. See below for details of September’s Rod Sewart / Faces reunion* One of the joys of being a perpetual student of popular music is discovering songs you never really knew from bands you thought you knew all about. I thought I knew all about The Faces, the wonderfully ramshackle early…
Why Bruce Springsteen Delayed The Release Of ‘Independence Day’
Happy 4th of July with a very sad song! The song is Bruce Springsteen’s Independence Day which seemingly makes it the perfect song to refer to on this day, though analysis of Bruce’s lyrics reveal a different subject matter altogether. Written in 1977 but left off 1978’s Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Bruce reportedly felt…
Possible Reunion Of The Faces: 2 Gently Great Ballads By One Of Britain’s Most Raucous Bands
The Faces in the 1970s. One of the joys of being a perpetual student of popular music is discovering songs you never really knew from bands you thought you knew all about. I thought I knew all about The Faces, the wonderfully ramshackle early 70s English rock band who featured not only a young Rod…
10 Years On From 2Pac & Elton John’s ‘Ghetto Gospel’ – The Genius Of Eminem
Tupac Shakur It’s 10 years today since 2Pac and Elton John went to #1 on the UK singles charts with the Eminem-produced Ghetto Gospel. Here’s a piece about trying to convince old talkback radio callers why some hip-hop can be just as good as any other genre. Ghetto Gospel was the example I gave: I…
Funk Bass Pioneer Louis Johnson Dead, Aged 60
Louis Johnson. It’s been a tough few weeks for fans of classic soul and R&B with the deaths of Ben E. King, then Hot Chocolate’s Errol Brown, followed by blues giant B.B. King and now Brothers Johnson bassist Louis Johnson. Johnson has died at the age of 60 and he leaves this world widely regarded…
