This day in Rock History…..
…….Kenny Loggins was born in 1948 in Everette, Washington.
You’re probably thinking, “What does Kenny Loggins have to do with Caddyshack. Well, I’ll tell you.
Kenny Loggins, best known for being half of the duo Loggins and Messina, has given us many great hits over the years. From “Danny’s Song” to “Your Momma Don’t Dance”, and even the solo hit “This Is It”. But perhaps his most prolific and immeasurably timeless classic is still “I’m Alright”, the theme from Caddyshack. You really cannot get any better than the end of that movie. And the Loggins-sung soundtrack simply adds to the greatness. I don’t think there is a single Caddyshack fan on this planet that does not think of that hillarious, dancing gopher puppet the minute they hear the song. The moment will live in infamy.
Big ups to Harold Ramis, Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, Ted Knight, and Bill Murray for turning out one of the best movies of all time. So here it is. Feel free to laugh, cry, dance, shake, fall over, whatever…
Couldn’t embed the video so find it HERE
And here is the music video:
Happy Birthday Mr. Young!
Shady Groove would like to give a big Happy 65th Birthday to one of the most influential musicians of his generation, Neil Percival Young.
Neil has been one of the most prolific and singer/songwriter ever and he has a body of work that is surpassed only by Bob Dylan. Since he released his first album with Buffalo Springfield in 1968 up through this year, he has been writing and performing. His work has as a musician has spanned 40 years and 34 studio albums, which is only a portion of his full catalog.
The constant experimentalist, Neil has tried out many different musical styles. He has also been known as Bernard Shakey, Phil Perspective, Shakey Deal, Clyde Coil, Shakey, Joe Yankee, Joe Canuck, and his influence on alternative rock and grunge even led some to dub him “the Godfather of Grunge”.
Lets give a tribute to this wonderful songwriter and musician. Tonight’s the night to pop on your favorite Neil album and let it spin. I’ll start with one of his finest. Check this out from Harvest.
Hittin’ The Note
March 12th and 13th 1971, The Allman Brothers Band, who debuted their first album a mere 2 years earlier, took the stage at the Fillmore East in NYC. What ensued was what is often hailed as one of the best live albums of all time. It remains one of the Brother’s best selling albums to this day. At the time of its release, a live, double LP, with 2 songs that take up one whole side of the record, was unheard of. Besides the Brother’s being at their musical and creative peak, producing and engineering genius Tom Dowd lended his services to the live shows, skillfully revealing the bands’ musical brilliance. The dual guitar interplay between the legendary guitarists Duane Allman and Dickey Betts are poignantly showcased in what I consider to be Duane Allman’s most amazing and captivating work. There are several (ok, many) points in the Fillmore East ’71 shows that are simply so incredible that, when listening, all other things, everything else that is going on in the world at the time, fall to the background, and the band simply takes over your life. This album is the perfect snapshot in time and it proves once and for all that Duane is the best slide guitar player of all time. If you want to catch the best american blues rock band at its best, pop in on the turntable, and let it spin.
They even got ’em on video 6 months earlier at the Fillmore, 9/23/70:
PS. LISTEN TO IT LOUD
enjoy-
Happiest Birthday Mr. Marley
Jah!!!!
Rastafari.
Praise to the most be high. Jah. Rastafari.
So they shut down Bob Marley’s Annual Birthday Bash in Jamaica because of a noise violation. Really? Are you kidding me? Where’s the love? After all he’s done for the country. This morning, thousands woke up, ready to jam, and a curfew of 2am has canceled the party. The real tragedy is that the promoter of the event, Clive Pringle, was named after a potato chip. His legacy lives on. The 5-0 can’t shut down everyone trying to burn one down tonight, which is precisely what every ganj lover in america will do as soon as they here its Bob Marley’s B-day. And they should. We all should. Might just see things differently, if only for a moment.
His music will live on. That was what really mattered all along. His music will always capture the freedom, faith, and devotion of struggling nations and people. Soothing, but rebellious. Laid back and organic, but passionate. It’s amazing that a man, a music, a tradition, a legacy can live for so long and grow so strong as Bob Marley’s has. Such an iconic figure in his country, not to mention the history of popular music. He once said:
Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold…
Wise words, Mr. Marley. I think we all could learn a little from this original gangsta.
Check this rare footage out:
Dust My Broom
There was kick ass show on Sirius channel 74 Bluesville yesterday. They were “goin deep”, as they say, with Robert Johnson’s old school blues tune, “Dust My Broom”. They played 30 versions yesterday followed by 20 MORE versions of the song today . Thats pretty intense. I sat there driving in the car and for the last hour of my drive they were solely playing different versions of Dust My Broom. Something tells me that if there are that many versions of a song, then it must be a damn good blues tune. All of them were bad-ass versions as well. Thats hot.
Needless to say that song has been running through my head for 2 days. Definitely had me ripping through my early blues albums. Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Howlin Wolf; grandfathers of the blues. I have found the Elmore James version of Dust My Broom to be the best. He lends his raw, legendary slide guitar skills to his work. Check out the great big, intimidating Howlin Wolf on his version: