I'm back from a little vacation. Well, sort of. It seems like it anyway. I meant to post more the past couple of weeks, but life got a little busier in other areas.
First of all, Hurricane Sandy disrupted things a bit, with my power going out on a few occasions. But I feel very fortunate, considering what the people of New Jersey, New York City, and other parts of the East coast are going through. Let's keep all of them in our thoughts and prayers, and think about just how lucky we really are.
Also, I've been doing some freelance writing on the side, which has taken up some of my time. One of the articles I wrote happened to be a preview of a Pat Benatar concert. I actually interviewed her husband and lead guitarist, Neil "Spyder" Giraldo by phone. I was not able to meet them unfortunately, but I attended the show. It was awesome! They put on an outstanding performance - very lively and energetic. Probably the most fun I've ever had at a live show, and that's saying something.
When I go to a concert, I usually like to listen to the artist's music at least a week before the show. In this case, I already had Benatar's greatest hits, which I purchased almost a year and a half ago. I rocked to Benatar's music all the way to the concert, experienced it live for the first time, and now can't get it out of my head.
Benatar's music is iconic for fans who remember the early days of MTV. I grew up with it, watching all of those cool videos. Remember Benatar's video for "You Better Run" off her 1980 album "Crimes of Passion"? It was the second video to be played on MTV when the network debuted in August 1981. "Love is a Battlefield" in 1983 is probably the most memorable of all. But the videos for me today are just something extra. It's more about the music, and Benatar and Giraldo certainly have a passion for creating music, as their extremely successful collaboration for over thirty years can attest to.
This duo has created a music style all its own, and there seems to be no end in sight. Besides being outstanding musicians and performers, Benatar and Giraldo are both very nice, down-to-earth people. They are both very modest about their accomplishments and really care about and appreciate their fans. In the music business, or perhaps the entertainment world in general, they are very rare indeed. They are great role models for young people starting out in music, and I'm very proud to say that I saw them live in concert. I will see them over and over if I have the opportunity in the future, and I hope I have the opportunity to actually meet them someday.
Here's the link to my concert preview with the Centre Daily Times, along with some concert photos. Hope you enjoy them! Let me know what you think. I'd like to hear your feedback.
I would like to share my musical listening enjoyment for the day, even though I know I haven't gained any followers yet on this blog. Hopefully in time we can share our knowledge and personal experiences with each other.
Today I listened to CD's in the car, which is just one of the many places I enjoy it. I just happened to be traveling today, and I was in the mood to listen to some late '70s - early '80s. So I got out a few CD's that I mixed myself. I have CD's for different years with various artists. Today I played 1979 and 1980. As I was listening to each song, I asked myself, "which of these artists are still recording and performing today?" The answer would be very few unfortunately. I now realize just how much I love the music from this era; it was a great time to grow up.
When I listen to the music of today - and I mean mostly mainstream rock or pop, or what you hear now on pop radio - I just don't get anything out of it. I don't know, maybe I'm old school, or maybe it's just a generation gap thing. But I know that I would never trade to be a kid in this day and age. The music I grew up with is timeless and it always brings back some great memories for me.
Just a sample of what I played today: The Doobie Brothers, the Eagles, Bob Seger, Billy Joel, Little River Band, Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, Boston, Styx, Olivia Newton-John, Pat Benatar, and my favorite girl - Linda Ronstadt - as you will certainly see throughout this blog. In fact I have a wonderful story to tell you later on of how I first discovered Linda's voice and how I rediscovered her more recently.
As I continue on with this music blog I hope to do a post like this regularly at least once a week, so we can share our musical tastes. Here's a couple of videos I'm sure you will enjoy.
What really is a hall of fame? Is it for famous people? Maybe. Is it for accomplishments? Most definitely. Is it for people who have made an impact on society and people's lives? Absolutely.
If this is true, then what really is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? It has been shamed in my opinion by the exclusion of certain artists who have made a significant contribution to music and to society.
Certain artists that come to mind: the Doobie Brothers, Chicago, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Heart, Pat Benatar, etc. But perhaps one artist has been snubbed more than any other and has been kept out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on purpose. That would be someone named Linda Ronstadt.
Although Miss Ronstadt has had her share of controversies in recent years and has angered some with her political speeches during her performances, the woman still deserves respect for what she has accomplished and for what she gave to the world with her music. Linda's career has spanned more than four decades, and she was groundbreaking for women in music. She has covered more genres of music than any artist I can think of and has done them all superbly and successfully.
I didn't even mention the fact that Linda played a very important role in forming perhaps the greatest rock band in U.S. history: the Eagles. Don Henley, Glenn Frey and the rest of the boys are already in the hall of fame, but Linda's role in pioneering the country rock movement of the early 1970s should be enough to get her in. Ask any artist or songwriter from this time period and they will all say how much it meant to have Linda Ronstadt record their songs. All of her musical friends have nothing but the highest praise for her and what she has accomplished in her career. But she was also very instrumental in giving little known songwriters the exposure they needed to break out on their own and be successful, not to mention the nice royalty paychecks they received as well.
One knock on Linda that I get tired of hearing of is the fact that she didn't write her own songs and that she did mostly cover versions of classic '50s and '60s songs. Why should that matter? Did Frank Sinatra write his own songs? No. Did Elvis Presley write his own? A few, but he wasn't a songwriter. Aretha Franklin? There are so many more I could mention. But my question is, why don't these artists receive the same amount of criticism that Linda receives? Linda herself has admitted over the years that she never wanted to be a writer. All she ever wanted to do was sing, and with a voice like she has, that is more than enough in my book.
Linda is a song interpreter, and could sing and still can sing just about anything her pretty little heart desires. She knows a good song when she hears it, and more often than not, her covers are better than the originals. It is important to note that Linda is also a great guitar player and in more recent years, has played a big part in arranging and producing her own music. Fact is, she has always been very hands-on in the studio; more than people realize. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Let's take a look at some of Miss Ronstadt's accomplishments. And I will make it brief, because it will take too long to list them all.
11 Grammy Awards (27 Grammy Award nominations altogether)
two Academy of Country Music awards
an Emmy Award
an ALMA Award (American Latino Media Arts Award)
Tony Award and Golden Globe nominations
top-grossing female artist of the 1970's
first female in music history to score three consecutive platinum albums and ultimately racked up a total of eight consecutive platinum albums
her 1978 album Living In The USA is the first album by any recording act in U.S. music history to ship double platinum (over 2 million advanced copies)
19 Gold, 14 Platinum, and seven Multi-Platinum albums
a No. 1 hit and three No. 2 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 (with ten Top 10 Pop singles and twenty-one reaching the 'Top 40' overall)
she has recorded in perhaps more genres of music than any other artist: folk, country rock, rock and roll, country, operetta, American standards, Latin American, mariachi, children's music, a Christmas album, jazz, Cajun, etc.
Believe me, there is more......the list goes on and on. But you get my point.
Now I will admit that I may be a little biased, being that I'm a big fan of the lovely Ms. Ronstadt. But I am just stating the facts. It has been said that Jann Wenner, the co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, and the man in charge of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has purposely kept Linda out of the Hall because he simply doesn't like her or her music. That's his opinion. But I guess if it's HIS hall of fame, he can do whatever he wants; or so he thinks.
Take a look at the 2012 inductees for instance. Guns N' Roses: may be deserving, but nothing special to me. The Beastie Boys: are you kidding me!? Really!? Unbelievable!! What have they done? Red Hot Chili Peppers? Donovan? Whatever. My point is, these artists have not accomplished any more than what Linda has done, and that's the understatement of the year. I won't even run down the list of the nominees for the 2013 induction. It's too embarrassing.
I will say this: I will not step one foot through the RRHOF's doors until Miss Linda is inducted. In fact, I won't even come within a hundred miles of it. It's not worth the time or money. Now I'm a music lover and love old rock and roll, but that place is doing a disservice to Linda and other artists.
What I'm hoping is that the powers, or should I say the power-that-be, will change his mind. But that doesn't seem likely. Actually when you really think about it, maybe Linda is too good for the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame. She is in a class by herself in my opinion, and I'm sure that most of her fans would agree with me. Perhaps Linda doesn't even care herself. She has always been very modest about her accomplishments. The way I see it, what's really important is that Linda's fans still love her and her music and always will. That will never change.
As to Miss Ronstadt's critics; well shame on them. Should we really care? They're not worth the time. And what we don't hear or read, we can just pretend it doesn't exist. You know the saying about the tree falling in the forest? You get the idea. But it would be a joyous occasion to someday see this underappreciated and marvelous woman recognized for the American treasure she truly is.
Watch this outstanding live performance from Linda from the TV special "A Concert Behind Prison Walls" hosted by Johnny Cash, taped in 1976 at the Tennessee State Prison. Linda sings "Love Has No Pride," truly one of her best songs and one of her greatest performances ever. What a voice, and gorgeous too!!
