Category Archives: music

RIP Bob Bogle (1934-2009)

RIP Bob Bogle (1934-2009) of the The Ventures

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ11y7pYl-8]

American guitarist Bob Bogle of surf music act The Ventures, died age 75.

The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. The band had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide, having sold over 100 million records, and are to date the best-selling instrumental band of all time. They are known for such singles as “Walk Don’t Run“[1] and “Perfidia “[2], both cover versions. The sound of The Ventures influenced punkabilly band and Jahsonic favorite The Cramps.

RIP Barry Beckett (1943 – 2009)

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHsDa9_HSlA]

Barry Beckett (February 4, 1943 – June 10, 2009) born in Birmingham, Alabama was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums. He was also a record producer.

He was involved in the “Muscle Shoals Sound”, being a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and in 1969, one of the founders of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.

Lynyrd Skynyrd famously mentions the Muscle Shoals sound in “Sweet Home Alabama“[1]:

“Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers;
And they’ve been known to pick a song or two.
Lord they get me off so much.
They pick me up when I’m feeling blue
Now how about you?”

Bernard Purdie @70

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kx6-raGX6U]

“Funky Donkey“

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi_z7rvASQg]

From Lialeh.

Bernard Purdie turns 70 today. He is best-known in rare groove circles for his “Funky Donkey [1],” collected on Last Night a DJ Saved my Life (1999), played on Gabor Szabo‘s “Jazz Raga” and did the soundtrack for the blaxploitation flick Lialeh[2].

RIP Hugh Hopper (1945 – 2009)

Volume Two by Soft Machine

Yesterday, Hugh Hopper, British progressive rock and jazz fusion bassist and composer (Soft Machine) died at age 64. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and various other related bands. The Soft Machine was a pioneering English psychedelic band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs.

Hopper’s role with Soft Machine was initially as the group’s road manager, but he already composed for their first album The Soft Machine and played bass on one of its tracks. In 1969 he was recruited to be the group’s bassist for their second album, Volume Two and, with Mike Ratledge and Robert Wyatt, he took part in a recording session for The Madcap Laughs of Syd Barrett. Hopper continued with the Softs, playing bass and contributing numerous compositions, until 1973. During his tenure the group evolved from a psychedelic pop group to an instrumental jazz-rock fusion band. In 1972, shortly before leaving Soft Machine, he recorded the first record under his own name, 1984 (named after George Orwell‘s novel). This was a decidedly non-commercial record featuring lengthy solo pieces using tape loops as well as shorter pieces with a group.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJtUwVRFjjM&]

In one of the myriad connections in (un)popular music, New York based No Wave music group Material led by Bill Laswell covered Hopper’s “Memories” on their One Down album. The song was written by Hopper just prior to his joining Soft Machine, but most well known from Daevid Allen‘s Banana Moon album which featured a lead vocal from Robert Wyatt.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3CZPNT9GSs]

The vocal here is performed by Whitney Houston in one of her first ever featured lead performances.

“Memories” is World Music Classic #329.

Message to B. Your track is called “B.”

“B” by Colin Newman

Hi B.

Note to reader: B. contacted me yesterday[1] with the following question:

“Hi. I come here daily, but this is the first time I’ve commented. I was wondering if you could help me out. I’m trying to figure out the name of this artist/band to whom this video belongs?”

By an incredible coincidence, the title of the track you have been looking for is “B.”

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZxgHDRcGdM]

“B” by Colin Newman

My long-time fellow traveler Erkki Rautio came up with the following.

“the track is “B” by Colin Newman (of Wire fame), released as a 7″ and on his album “A-Z” in 1980. [2][3][4]

RIP Mort Abrahams (1916 – 2009)

Mort Abrahams (born 1916 – died 28 May, 2009) was an American film and television producer.

Among his credits are nine episodes of spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and, as associate producer, Doctor Dolittle (1967), Planet of the Apes (1968), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), co-writing the story of the latter.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. theme[1] by Space Age Popper Hugo Montenegro

RIP Zé Rodrix (1947 – 2009)

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OITefBHuEkk&]

Elis Regina‘s recording of Zé Rodrix‘s rock rural “Casa no Campo“

Zé Rodrix (born José Rodrigues Trindade in Rio de Janeiro , 25 November, 1947- São Paulo, 22 May 2009) was a Brazilian musician, known as member of Sá, Rodrix & Guarabyra and the group Som Imaginário which accompanied Milton Nascimento and Gal Costa.

In 1971, Elis Regina‘s recording of his rock rural “Casa no Campo” (with Tavito) became a national hit.

See Brazilian music, Brazilian rock

Jimmy Ruffin @70

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vf3ZE7CLg0]

Jimmy Ruffin (born 7 May 1939 in Collinsville, Mississippi) is an American soul singer. His 1966 hit “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” was a major success and his best known song.[1]

David Toop @60

Ocean of Sound (1995) – David Toop [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

The book can be had as cheaply as£2.25,$6.59 orEUR 6,07.

David Toop is celebrating his 60th birthday today. The first of his works I read was Ocean of Sound, it is in my opinion the best book of music writing of the 20th century. Sadly, Toop’s publication of his latest book, Ways of Hearing[1] has been delayed.

His masterpiece, however, is Ocean of Sound: Aether Talk, Ambient Sound and Imaginary Worlds is a music theory book written by British author David Toop and first published in 1995 by Serpent’s Tail. The book discusses topics such as ambient music, synaesthesia, aether and imaginary worlds British music magazine The Wire said upon its release that “its parallels aren’t music books at all, but rather Italo Calvino‘s Invisible Cities, Michel Leiris‘s L’Afrique fantôme, William Gibson‘s Neuromancer … David Toop is our Calvino and our Leiris, our Gibson. Ocean of Sound is as alien as the 20th century, as utterly Now as the 21st. An essential mix.”

Of all the things I admire about Toop’s writing, two things stand out.

First his insistence on treating music in the first place as sound. Secondly his ability to connect topics to far-ranging other topics, his ability to digress meaningfully.

If you are into late 20th century (un)popular music, be sure to check Toop’s abecedaria written for The Wire: “The A to Z of Dub“[2] (1994) and “The A to Z of Electro“[3] (1998).

Pete Seeger @90

Pete Seeger (born May 3, 1919) is an American folk singer, and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival, best-known in my canon for penning “Turn! Turn! Turn!“[1]

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWg3b15ITS8&]

“Turn! Turn! Turn!” (1965) by The Byrds

The most successful recorded version of the song is the #1 hit single by pioneering folk-rock band The Byrds, released in October 1965.