Tag: B.B. King

Bringing in a Brand New Year

One of the great uplifting New Year’s songs is blues singer Charles Brown’s “Bringing in a Brand New Year.”

Wishing all of our readers a great new year with one of the most uplifting songs about the holiday, “Bringing in a Brand New Year.” Many songs about the new year are slow introspective songs, as the change in year is often a good time to reflect on our lives. But, of course, it can also be a time to celebrate, and Brown’s song is in a celebratory mood. Here is to the hope that your year is as fun as Charles Brown’s “Bringing in a Brand New Year.”

Charles Brown (September 13, 1922 – January 21, 1999) is probably best known for the Christmas classic “Merry Christmas Baby.” But his recording of “Bringing in a Brand New Year” should be essential listening every New Year holiday.

Gonna be a great big parade,
I got my resolution made,
Gonna ride above the stars,
We might even take a trip to Mars.

B.B. King also has a great version of “Bringing in a Brand New Year.”

Wishing you all the best.

What is your favorite New Year song? Leave your two cents in the comments. Photo via Creative Commons.

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    B.B. King: “Why I Sing the Blues”

    kingbb

    The legendary B.B. King passed away last night (May 14) in Las Vegas, Nevada at age 89. As King’s website notes, “the thrill is gone.”

    Much will continue to be written about King’s guitar playing and his influence on music. For me, he has always been there since I first discovered the blues, and he helped introduce me to many other blues musicians from the past and present. He left us many great songs and albums, such as one of the great live albums of all time, Live at the Regal (1965).

    When I first picked up an electric guitar, I did not want to play “Stairway to Heaven,” I wanted to play B.B. King’s great opening riff of “The Thrill is Gone.” And when I think of the way that the blues is a music of comfort that brings joy through troubled times, I cannot help thinking of B.B. King’s performances of “Why I Sing the Blues.” As the singer recounts his troubles but keeps on singing, it somehow never fails to make me smile. Below he performs “Why I Sing the Blues” live in Africa.

    RIP B.B.

    What is your favorite B.B. King performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    The First Farm Aid

    farm aid On September 22, 1985, the first “Farm Aid” was held in Champaign, Illinois. Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp organized the benefit concert for struggling American farmers. Performers at that concert included a broad range of performers, including Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Hoyt Axton, Don Henley, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Billy Joel, Waylon Jennings, John Denver, Loretta Lynn, Joni Mitchell, Charley Pride, Sammy Hagar, George Jones, and Lou Reed.

    Reportedly, the idea for Farm Aid began when Bob Dylan played at Live Aid earlier in the year in July and suggested some of the money from that concert should go to American farmers. While some — including Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof — were upset that Dylan exploited the stage of a worldwide televised concert in support of African famine relief to focus on Americans, other artists used the comment as inspiration for the Farm Aid concert. And Farm Aid benefit concerts continue to this day.

    That September 22 in 1985, the performers did not know that the work would continue for decades. But they joyously sang and played to try to give something back. Below is one of the performances that day in Illinois, featuring Willie Nelson, Arlo Guthrie, and Dottie West singing “City of New Orleans.”



    What is your favorite Farm Aid performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Bobby “Blue” Bland Was All Right With Me

    Bobby Bland Bobby “Blue” Bland, one of the great blues and soul singers, has passed away at his Memphis, Tennessee home the age of 83. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame, Bland has thrilled audiences and influenced other performers since he began recording in the early 1950s.

    Bland started out as a valet and chauffeur for B.B. King, but later ended up performing with him on a number of occasions. In this clip from Soul Train, you can see the two legends performing after a brief interview.

    In 1957, “Further On Up the Road” was Bland’s first number on on the R&B charts. One of my favorite Bland recordings, though, is “Turn on Your Love Life,” which was a hit in 1961.

    Finally, for something a little different, here is Bland singing Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey” with Morrison. Van Morrison was a long-time fan, and it is great to hear those two changing verses on the great song that was recorded in 2000 (and appears on The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3 (2007). RIP.

    What is your favorite Bobby “Blue” Bland song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Pres. Obama Sings With B.B. King

    Obama singing with B.B. King

    One advantage to being a sitting president is that you do not have to go through the party debates. Instead of standing on stage with people attacking you, you get to do cool things like sing with B.B. King. This clip is from an tribute to the blues yesterday at the White House, which included Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger, and Booker T. Jones. At the end, Pres. Barack Obama gave in to the requests to sing a few lines of “Sweet Home Chicago,” his follow-up single to his cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.”

    White House press secretary Jay Carney commented on Pres. Obama’s impromptu songs by noting that the president has “a hidden talent that we’re just getting to hear.”

    Which former president would you like to hear sing? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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