Have you heard the one about the farmer’s daughter and the traveling troubadour?
Continue reading...Song Of the week
221: The Drifters (Doc Pomus), ‘Save the Last Dance for Me’
The maelstrom of emotion – Doc Pomus watches from his wheelchair as his new bride dances with another guy. All in 2’34”.
Continue reading...218: Bo Diddley, ‘Who Do You Love’
The pogroms in Częstochowa, the African-American folk magic tradition of hoodoo, and how my bootlegging booze across state lines prevented my girlfriend from being picked up by a blues legend.
Continue reading...216: Billie Holiday, ‘God Bless the Child’
Billie Holiday, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin—their pain, their music, and us.
Continue reading...215: Joni Mitchell, ‘Blue’
A close reading of the harrowingly intimate Joni Mitchell masterpiece, ‘Blue’.
Continue reading...209: The Real Group: ‘Monica Vals’ (‘Waltz for Debby’)
When they say ‘The voice is the only instrument made by God’, they’re thinking of Margareta Bengston of The Real Group singing Bill Evans’ ‘Waltz for Debby’. Four minutes in heaven.
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