Category Music

LeRoux I – Roll Away The Stone

It was Easter weekend, 1982 I think, and I was in Detroit. I had made the 11 hour bus ride because a friend had called and said LeRoux was playing at Harpo’s and did I want to go? I had been intrigued by LeRoux’s latest album, which would turn out to be their last with […]

An Ancient MP3 Player

The Twist

Sometimes a song strikes a chord in your soul. I was going to write extensively about this song (actually I did, I’m just not going to post it) but then decided it speaks for itself. Especially on this Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. The original is below; the version above is live and reworked. […]

What If?

Never answer a hypothetical question. If you do it will only get you in trouble. That’s my advice when giving media training to politicians. Speculation on what they might or might not do in a specific situation that has not or did not occur can commit them to a path they later regret. Better to […]

Warped in Calgary

I was telling this story recently at a family gathering, and my brother, who had not heard it, said I should do a post about it. It took a long time to tell, complete with hand gestures. Here’s the short version, you’ll have to imagine my gesticulation while you read. In 2006, on a family […]

Not Too Young To Die

The baby boom generation is contemplating its mortality. Or at least I find I am thinking about death a lot lately. Not in a morbid fashion, but it does seem that every day when I read the newspaper I read about what seems to me to be an untimely death. When I scan the obituaries […]

From Background Vocalist to Superstar

Shania Twain has announced the dates for her farewell tour. Seems strange to call it quits at 50, but I know touring is rarely as much fun for the musician as it is for the audience. I must confess I’ve never seen her show. It’s not that I dislike her music, but I’ve never been […]

20 Feet From Stardom

I missed that the 2014 Academy Award for best documentary film went to a movie about background vocalists in pop music titled 20 Feet From Stardom. But I made up for that recently and watched the film, attracted to it because I recognized the names of the stars. I am an voracious reader. If it’s […]

Ode To Joy

I was planning on taking the day off from posting, then came across this video. If you are receiving this by email you’ll have to go to the actual post for it to work. The bank that sponsored this has benefited from the publicity – more than 61 million views on YouTube. I don’t mind […]

Beatles III – My Beatle Encounter

I met a Beatle once. It was the late 1990s and Pete Best, the band’s drummer from 1960-62, was touring Canada fronting the Pete Best Band. He had retired after a career as a British civil servant and was just playing for fun, and really what amounted to spare change. I think the tickets were […]