This is a true story that happend a w
eek before Halloween years ago, and maybe one of the most fucked up things I have ever witnessed. Read on.
This involves my friend Matt and me. We went out raising hell on a Sunday night. Most people in this town don’t go raising hell on Sundays night. We did. That night, we ended up at a place called My Place Restaurant and Lounge. Now to appreciate My Place Restaurant and Lounge, it is in a building that has a Mexican restaurant, Sir Pizza, a church and the nudie bar…Camelot East. All Matt wants to do that night is drink beer and play pool. We had many options that night, but Matt wants to shoot pool.
My friend Matt is an interesting cat. He stand about 6’9, 280 pounds, works on a farm and doesn’t give a damn about anything except two things…his beer and his greenhouse. And when he gets to drinkin his beer, all he wants to do is to play pool. The other thing about Matt is, despite his redneckiness, him and his friend Clydie are so into Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings is that it is almost sickening. These two are from the country. They know this shit more than anybody. They can speak the language of Hobbitish…that’s what Hobbits speak. It is a fictional language from a damn book…but these two are the only people in America that can speak this shit!!! Unbelievable!!!
Back to the My Place Restaurant and Lounge. There was a band that night playing some good country music, so we order us some beer and begin to play some pool. Matt starts playing another pool game with this woman and then starts dancing with her. This dancing goes on for two hours as I’m stuck playing pool. I decide that it is time to leave, and tell him that it’s time to roll. He tells me to hold on for minute.
“Not everyone likes us, but we drive some people wild.” - Hank III
The preceding lyric from the Hank III song “Not Everyone Likes Us” is absolutely true. Either you like/appreciate/love Hank III, or you hate him. And if you don’t like him, ask him if he gives a damn. Because there are more people out there that do like him and can appreciate what he does than there are haters (as Coach Cal would say, people are drinking that Haterade.)
Finally, a true bona-fide outlaw, hellraising, let’s celebrate the way country music should be, “here take these, they will make you feel good” concert came to town. We are going to talk about Satan and Hank Williams. Oh you sexy vixen with all the tattoos that just walked by…and she knows all these songs…I love you. Let’s celebrate (in a tongue in cheek, we really don’t mean it, we are having fun kind of way) everything bad and who gives a fuck what anybody thinks. You want 3 hours of pure hellbilly anarchy, Hank III delivered!
Playing to a damn near sold out Busters in Lexington Thursday night, this Hank III show was everything I expected. I’ve been to a few, but not on a scale like this. It was loud, rowdy, redneck country music. It was the end of the world, apocalyptic footage accompanied by heavy guitar licks. It was speed metal and cattle auctioneers…and it was brilliant.
Backed by his 5 piece Damn Band, it was the perfect combination of how a country band should sound with the grandson and son of 2 legends. Setting the tone for the evening, III started off with the hellacious but fun “Straight To Hell”. III set the pace and the crowd was right there with him. Mixing some old time country classics and his new material from his latest albums (4 released in September of 2012), he never slowed down, and neither did the crowd. What I’ve always enjoyed about a Hank III show is that with what he does, basically 2-3 different sets, it builds up to spiraling out of control musically, but he’s in control the whole time and completely in tune with his audience. You know something is coming, you are just not sure what it could be. Lord have a mercy!
”Gettin Drunk and Fallen Down” from Rebel Within was an under-statement with this crowd. PBR me ASAP! Because I’m having a damn good time! “Trashville,” one of his great anti-Nashville hell raising anthems and “Smoke and Wine” just fueled the fire even more. “Gutter Town,” the latest from Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown was a nice little departure from some of the rowdier songs, but the crowd was diggin on every bit of it.
Now I’m going to apologize if things seem a little sketchy at this point, but I ain’t a lyin’ when I tell ya that this was one big hillbilly acid trip. I may miss a few songs here n there, but you are going to get the point. And now people, we must pay tribute to “D. Ray White.” If you are fan of Hank III, you know the friendship between him and the Whites. A haunting song, and if ya leaned yer ear towards Boone County, WV, ya could hear that damn Jesco tapping along to the song. To this day, I’m damn proud to have Mamie, Jesco and III’s autograph on the Straight to Hell album. Let’s have some fun with some old time country music as we waller in the “Mississippi Mud”. Dig it! I gotta say, with the Damn Band, the sound was a full as country band can get. Not fancy, just good pickin n grinnin on yonder standup bass, banjo, slide, fiddle and guitar. I will put the Damn Band up against any country band on the charts today! The Damn Band will kick their ass every time too.
We are building up to this thing to gettin out of control! How about some “Long Hauls and Close Calls” because you, me and III need to raise the level of hell in this place. Nobody can combine old timey country sounds with a little rocknroll puh pow like III can. It’s middle finger raising, fist pumping, head banging at it’s finest. III’s music is that, but it can be somewhat autobiographical. A life of hard living, the constant struggles of living up to that ever so sacred name of Hank Williams, creative battles, and a hint of busting out of this honky-tonk lifestyle and searching for a peace of mind. Reference “Looking For a Mountain” in which he played.
Back to the hellraising, ya people need to get wild with III and let’s get “Thrown Out of the Bar” together! PBR ME ASAP! “…and I was hangin with my good friend, and his name is David Allan Coe.” And another thing, (personal rant coming)…III has more right than anybody to name drop country legends into his songs. You know why? Because he gets it. He means it. Despite what you may hear within the span of this 3 hour concert, he puts every ounce of country blood into that show. I’ll be damned if somebody is going to title a song after Johnny Cash just because it’s going to sell records. Which is a perfect segue into III’s next ass stomping song “Punch, Fuck, Fight!” Anybody see any fights at this show? I didn’t. Good crowd Thursday night.
Damnit the hell, I need a good coon dog, mule-jumpin song! III grabs a banjo for some pickin and damnit, if this don’t beat all…”Trooper’s Holler” from Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town. Being a new tune that I hadn’t heard live, what put it over was the dog barking and howlin n such with some ass stompin guitar crunch. Dang it! I love a good song with dogs in the background. Awesome! Let’s getcha back into some more of that crazy outlaw lifestyle with “Day By Day.” More hellraising? No problem with the song ”Ghost to a Ghost.” A pleasant surprise from his Ghost to a Ghost album is the irresistable song “Don’t Ya Wanna.” It’s fun, it’s a good time, and everything that us lawless outlaws think about…pretty women, drinking, shooting guns, more pretty women.
The best thing about Hank III is, and I go back to this, his tribute to country legends. He gets it and he wants you to get it. Despite the hard rocking stuff you hear from him, his heart is deeply rooted in country music. Playing “Country Heroes” is just a beautiful and eerie tribute to these legends that we all love. How about another tribute, which I though was a highlight of the show, when the Damn Band got into and HOLY SHIT…”Foggy Mountain Breakdown!” WHAT?!? Good God! The Damn Band has raised the bar! Speaking of, I need another PBR. Back to that whole tribute thing, David Allan Coe’s ”The Ride.” Again, if anybody has the right to sing this, it’s two people, III and DAC.
(New rule in the karaoke bar. If you can’t name at least 15 Hank Williams’ songs, you are not allowed to sing “The Ride.”)
“If You Don’t Like Hank Williams, You Can Kiss My Ass,” but if you don’t know what song III and the Damn Band is playing with it, you can kiss my ass too. That haunting and beautiful “Ghost Riders in the Sky” with “If You Don’t Like Hank Williams” might be the ultimate tribute to all these legends…and it makes perfect sense. This show is getting ready to take us to the depths of hell, but III’s got a few more for ya. Ending the country part of the show, he gives us “Crazed Country Rebel” and one of my personal favorites the catchy, “Dick in Dixie.”
Now here is what ya need to know. When you see III, you get a couple of different sides of him. Ya got the country stuff, but you get the hard-rockin, punk, metal, and his channeling of the late GG Allin. There is a clear separation of the country/metal punk stuff. And Hank always warns people of what they are getting into with the 2nd part of the show. He thanks them for coming out. Some people leave, others stay. More on this later.
III’s other album last year Attention Deficit Domination is simply Hank being Hank. His true passion is metal, as he grew up playing it, and has enjoyed a sizeable following with his other projects such as AssJack and SuperJoint Ritual. However, this album was all on him, playing all the instruments. Last night was the first time I heard anything from this. They call it doom-rock. I couldn’t tell you one song from it. It was dark. It was heavy, wicked and maybe Sr. was rolling in his grave a little. With Hank and his drummer bringing all this hellish music to us, I was highly intrigued. Why? Well, as they played, there was random footage on a big screen of snakes, sacrifices, war, atomic bombs, guns, political mishaps and just general the “end of the world is here” ambience. Almost A Clockwork Orange for hillbillies feel to it. Seriously, it was like a bad hillbilly acid trip. However he came up with this, it made for more of an interesting show. Remember, this show is III hours. Technically, I thought it was great.
Next up was the “3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin” set, which was speed metal, and wait for it…CATTLE AUCTIONEERS! III and his band with over-dubs of cattle auctioneers (which was also released in September of 2011.) I don’t know where in the hell he came up with this, but it might be the craziest thing ever. I liked it. Beavis would have loved it! I couldn’t tell you one song, but I was a trooper and hung in there til the bitter end. And yeah, I did a little cattle callin myself to a few ladies, but that’s a different story for a different time.
The country crowd liked half the show. The punk crowd liked all of the show. It was a wide variety of folks there. Ya got some older folks that think they are going to see a tribute to his grandfather. Ya got the sorority chicks in there that were confused as hell. You got me in there, the constant semi-proffesional…ah fuck, who am I trying to kid? You know what? That’s the fun of it all. A variety of people just wanting to have a good time, and for the most part, the majority of the crowd did and I loved it.
However, my criticism comes directed at some of the complaints that people were making. I’ve been hearing it and reading about it all day. You should have known what you were getting into when you decided to go see a Hank III show. You didn’t have to stay for all of it. Enjoy it, drink some beer, raise hell. The money you spent on this show, that’s on you. And if you are sitting there trying to tell me that the Zac Brown is country music and what III is doing is not real country music, son, you are going to lose that argument all day. If you are going to tell me that Hank Sr. and Hank Jr would be disappointed, I think you are wrong. Creatively, and maybe in his personal life, he is a loose cannon, just like Sr. and Jr. They did it their way, and he is doing it his way. It’s exactly what country music needs. To him, it’s not about selling out arenas, or making chart topping songs. It’s about his creativity and what he wants to do with it. If there is anybody more deserving to kick Jason Aldean’s ass for continuing to ruin country music, it’s HANK WILLIAMS III.
Are you sure Hank done it this way? Maybe not, but I know he is damn proud.
Soul music and R&B was a big player in my house growing up. My dad was really into it, especially the stuff that came out of Memphis in the sixties. My first introduction to soul music was when I was 4 years old and found the soundtrack to the Blues Brothers and Briefcase Full of Blues. Then it turned into finding records by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Rufus Thomas, Albert King, Sam & Dave and Booker T and the MG’s. And they had two common denominators that kept that great sound going…Steve Cropper and Donald “Duck” Dunn.
Growing up best friends, Duck and “The Colonel” is what I considered the tag team champions of soul music. When it comes to soul, I will take Stax any day (and I like Motown, but give me Stax). They had the blue-collar work ethic when they approached that notable sound. Considering that Steve Cropper was an important player in the song writing process, along with the Hayes-Porter combo, Cropper and Dunn churned out soul classics that rivaled Motown, and it was like no other.
However, there was a different sound that distinguished Stax from Motown. Motown always sounded polished to me. I hate to use the word over-produced, but maybe. Stax was raw and gritty and was rocknroll to me. Motown maybe too pop for me, but still good. Dunn had said before he went on tour to Europe in 1967 “Before that tour, though, we were all in admiration of Motown. We were thinking why don’t our records sound like Motown? Now we listen to them and they hold up real well today.”
But what I loved about these old Stax records is where/how Duck Dunn put down these bass lines down. To me, it was never boring. Those bass lines had some punch to them. A little excitement. Duck had said “I like to keep things spontaneous,” said Dunn of their live shows. “That’s my way of playing. Even though we were playing the same songs every night I like to think I can change it a little bit and use my input or creativity or whatever in any way that makes the band feel better. If I make the band smile, I make everybody smile.”
Remember that analogy I used…blue collar work ethic? Duck was self-taught. Pretty amazing considering all you had to learn from back in those days were records and sheet music…and it was from old R&B, blues and gospel records that he learned from.
Reading a little bit more into Duck’s biography, he had a great outlook on life…”I always look back and say I should have made more,” sighs Duck, slowly. “It should have been more lucrative, but it wasn’t. We were cheated a little bit. But with the music and what I learned… it doesn’t matter. I have no regrets.” Yes, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said that.
And the versatility of Duck made him that more unique. In addition to playing with Booker T and the MGs, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave. He played with Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, Wilson Pickett and so many others.
I reached out to a few of my musician friends to get their thoughts what Donald “Duck” Dunn meant to them. My good friend Bob Rutherford, bass player for the Dallas Moore Band, had this to say… “Truly one of the most influential bass players of all time. An amazing career spanning, I don’t know, what fifty years? Probably influenced more bassists than anyone other than Paul McCartney. Was never afraid to smoke a pipe on stage.”
Also giving his thoughts was Billy Earheart, member of the Amazing Rhythm Aces and Hank Willims Jr’s Bama Band (and when Billy talks music I listen, because the dude knows his stuff). “The passing of Memphis legend, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Duck Dunn, one of the greatest bass players of all time, really hurt me last night at 1am when I found out the sad news. His work with Booker T & the MG’s, (although he didn’t play on their biggest hit Green Onions..it was Lewis Steinberg), the whole catalog of Booker T’s albums inspired me very much growing up. Also the incredible Otis Redding, Sam and Dave and so many more. Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars record is another one of my personal faves Duck played on. Live tours with Eric Clapton, Neil Young, The Blues Brothers, and around Memphis with Randy Haspel, The Coolers, or Coon Elder, he was always rock solid and had a smile for everyone. He will be greatly missed. Prayers for his family. R.I.P. Donald Duck Dunn…gone but not forgotten.”
Duck Dunn had one of the best lines in the Blues Brothers. “Jake ain’t lyin though. We had a sound powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.” Duck, your bass alone could make holy water have soul. Rest in peace Donald “Duck” Dunn, a true and real musician.
Now my name is M.C.A. I’ve got a license to kill I think you know what time it is it’s time to get ill Now what do we have here an outlaw and his beer I run this land, you understand I make myself clear. -“Paul Revere”
Ok…I would feel guilty if I didn’t give respect where respect is due. Yes, this is a site dedicated to music…country, rock, soul, blues, but I can’t sit here and not write anything about MCA of the Beastie Boys, who passed away on Friday. If you are reading this and you know me, you know that I’m a fan of old school hip hop. Always been.
1986. I was nine years old. Musically, a mess. I was into my dad’s old classic rock and R&B records. My grandparents’ old country records. Momma loved Motown. However, something appealed to me with Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys. Wait a minute…I thought Aerosmith did that song? You mean to tell me that you can take bits n pieces of music and make another song? You mean there are the black guys rapping over heavy guitar riffs. Huh. I kinda of like it.
My name is MCA, I got nothing to prove. Pay attention my intention is to bust a move -”Posse In Effect”
It wasn’t tough to get my hands on some of the classic hip hop tapes. Dubs. 3rd generation cassette copies…yes, I said cassette copies. This was before illegally and legally downloading music became the format of sharing and experiencing music. This is how it was in 1986. We had boomboxes, not MP3 players and iPods. We recorded songs off the radio and would try hit “pause” before the next song would play or a commercial would hit. You actually went to a music store in the mall and there were racks and racks of cassettes, even before CD’s became the next big medium for music. Florence Mall, there was Musicland and Tapeworld. Seriously!
So when I got into my sitter’s purse (I can’t use the word babysitter, maybe for my sister cuz she was younger, but I’m a 9 year old pimp at this point) I found this tape by the Beasties called License to Ill. The first cut, “Rhymin and Stealin.” HOLY SHIT! I’ve heard that drum break before. “When the Levee Breaks” by Zeppelin. That guitar riff….Sabbath…”Sweet Leaf.” What! Why do I want to bang my head against the wall and throw my rocknroll in the air like Beavis. She was pissed that she lost it later on that day.
It was rough, raw, goofy and so precisely crafted with the incorporation of samples through the course of the album. Listen to “Time To Get Ill.” Eleven different samples, from Zeppelin to CCR to the theme from Mr. Ed and the theme from Green Acres. Producer mega-genius Rick Rubin probably did not realize at the time that him and 3 other white guys produced one of the top 10 rap albums of all time.
And that is another thing about what makes this album great. It was 3 white guys that didn’t see color. They didn’t give a damn and it was evident. They flat brought it. Again, goofy voices, heavy rock guitar riffs, insane videos of debauchery. It was fun. Their rhymes were never overpowered by “bitches and hos” and how much money they made. Go back to the early days of hip hop. It was about a party, it was about having fun, a good time. From front to end of License to Ill and all the way through their careers…the Beasties were all about having fun.
I Want To Say a Little Something That’s Long Overdue The Disrespect To Women Has Got To Be Through To All The Mothers And Sisters And the Wives And Friends I Want To Offer My Love And Respect To The End – “Sure Shot”
The influence that the Beasties left is huge. Between License to Ill and Paul’s Boutique and beyond, their sound expanded. They were playing their own instruments. The samples crazier and more obscure, the creativity was always at peak level, and they always maintained a high-level of party all the way up to the last days of MCA. Older, wiser, more philosophical but still the same ole Beasties that we grew up listening to.
Another thing, you never heard the Beastie Boys ever get into any real trouble. Sure their rhymes were about angst, beers and honeys in their earlier day Peel all that back, and note that they were quite the humanitarians, often being involved with the Tibetan Freedom Concerts that MCA organized and forming a non-profit organization with its sole importance being of the focus of the Tibet freedom movement.
If You Can Feel What I’m Feeling Then It’s A Musical Masterpiece If You Can Hear What I’m Dealing With Then That’s Cool At Least What’s Running Through My Mind Comes Through In My Walk True Feelings Are Shown From The Way That I Talk And This Is Me Y’All, I M.C. Y’All My Name Is M.C.A. And I Still Do What I Please – “Pass the Mic”
It’s hard to imagine if the Beasties will continue on without MCA. Almost like Run-DMC without Jam Master Jay. Granted it won’t be the same, but MCA would want Mike D and Ad-Rock to continue the strong legacy of the Beastie Boys. Then again, these guys are so good at what they do, I’m sure there are piles of unreleased Beastie tracks to keep the spirit of MCA alive. You raised the bar as bringing creativity to hip hop, and it will probably never be seen again.
So to the sitter (her name was Chanda), thank you for bringing that tape into my house. And by the way, I still have that tape of License to Ill you have been looking for …for the last 26 years. RIP MCA.
I first discovered the greatness of Leon Russell when I was 10 years old (I’m 35, so I was a very young dude and about 20 years late at the height of Leon’s career). I had got into my dad’s albums and found this record called “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” by Joe Cocker. I found it absoultely amazing that rocknroll, gospel, blues and soul could be put together so good, but just incredibly raw and how it could still maintain it’s soul. For some reason, the dude with the big hat and the long hair that played the piano looked cool (and yes for a little bit, I thought he was an Oak Ridge Boy.) Then my dad introduced to the mastermind muscian, musical savant, and one of the best session guys of all time…LEON RUSSELL.
The man’s biography as a musician is simply amazing. Started playing the piano at 4 years old, 18 years old he is opening up for Jerry Lee Lewis. He has cut records with the Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, The Gap Band, Elton John and so many more. His alter ego, country music singer Hank Wilson has always been my favorite aspect of Leon’s career. The biography amazing…the music…impressive.
Finally some good classic rock and roll had found it’s way to Lexington, in the long white haired/bearded rocknroll, boogie woogie, soul, gospel, piano playing man that could raise the dead. It came in the form of Leon Russell! Playing to a decent size crowd of rocknrollers that were way past my time, but still knew how to relive those memories from the 70′s, Leon hurled us into one big time warp of music spanning 5 decades. Donning that classic Leon look, the big cowboy hat, the shades and that white beard, (I swear he is the rocknroll Santa Clause) I don’t think some had a clue about the rocknroll greatness they were getting ready to witness.
Backed by his 4 piece band in which every one of them looked like they were young enough to be Leon’s sons, Leon came to the stage with one thing one his mind. Simply put…rock it out. Starting off with one of my favorites, “Delta Lady,” it set the tone for the rest of the night. A true celebration of music. Bombarding the crowd with another classic from his catalog “Stranger in a Strange Land” (another one of my favorites), you could tell that each song is going to get better and better. Performing it much faster than the original, it is equally good and is every bit of full as if the Shelter People (his old band from the 70′s) was on stage with him. From rocknroll right into country, it was “Rolling in My Sweet Baby’s Arms.” Even though Leon has recorded many a country songs and jammed with some of the great legends in country and bluegrass, Leon can give a country song a rocknroll punch much like Levon Helm (RIP Levon…hey, Leon and Levon, that would’ve been a great album!)
The RocknRoll Hall of Famer could do no wrong with this crowd. The ass kickin’ has commenced to renderin’ and it continues with BB King’s “Sweet Little Angel.” A tight, little bluesy number in which you could easily get lost in the groove. Leon slowed it down just a little bit so we could catch our breathe from all that boogie woogie with “Lady Blue.” That’s what I call some “love up on a cougar music” right there! I need more rhthym and blues and I need it now!
There is a reason why Leon is a RocknRoll of Famer. There is a reason why he is called “The Master of Space and Time.” The man’s music knowledge of everything good is infinite. Taking a brief pause to drop some musical history on us and joke with the crowd, he hits us the Ivory Joe Turn B-side “Kansas City Woman.” Seriously, who would know that is a B-side. Leon does. Fanstastic!
Again, he is “Let the Good Times Roll” and back to that sweet southern piano sound, that Oklahoma drawl, add a little slide and it’s “Dixie Lullaby.” Time to pay our respect to the blues, and Leon is going to rock your ass off with the Jimmy Reed classic “Baby What You Want Me To Do.” Damn if he winds it down a little bit with some more “love up on a cougar music” with “Back To the Island.” Taking just a short breather, Leon tells the crowd a great story about he got his famed green top hat from Gram Parsons. After the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour with Joe Cocker, it was then that he realized that the hat had belonged to Al Jolsen when he was filming The Jazz Singer. More than the music itself, Leon is full of personality, telling us stories of trying to work in the advertising industry, or as a kid, building a crystal radio set to catch the latest R&B and gospel from Tulsa. The dude is a walking history of how things used to be and an encyclopedia of music.
Hitting all the sweet spots, the set included the Stones with “Wild Horses” and the Beatles, “I’ve Just Seen a Face.” The Dylan classic/Leon owned “A Hard Rain is Going To Fall.” The Leon staples “Tightrope”, “A Song For You”, and the ever enchanting, tribal ass shakin, yes my name is Leon Russell and I can sing Zulu better than you “Out in the Woods.” There is one more that I’m waiting for though. He has got to play it! And he has to jam it out for 15 minutes. Bring it!
YES! “Jumping Jack Flash!” Keith has always said that Leon does it better than the Stones themselves. I believe it! Out of all the covers, the originals, this is my absoulute favorite. It’s hard rockin! It’s heavy and it’s every bit Leon as he made this song his own back in the 70′s. Check out the original peformance from 1972′s Concert For Bangladesh. With that version, he gets preachy, testifyn’ n such with the Coasters’ classic “Youngblood.” I consider it one of the best live tracks ever recorded. However tonight, Leon is going to shake it up a little bit. WHAT!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME…DID HE JUST PUT THE TEMPTATIONS’ “PAPA WAS A ROLLING STONE IN THE MIDDLE OF “JUMPING JACK FLASH?” Kill me now! I AM IN ROCKNROLL HEAVEN! “Paint it Black?” Jesus, I can’t handle it! Did he just…no! He just went to the great R&B song “Kansas City.” He just did a medley of all these and not stopping! The man is a fucking genius!
Unfortuantely, the end was coming near. Nobody wanted to leave, but Leon was not ready to stop the ass kicking! For his encore (which he didn’t leave the piano, because he hates to walk as he said jokingly)…again..ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WHAT!? “GREAT BALLS OF FIRE AND ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN!” Seriously, my heart is about ready to jump out of my chest! The dude is playing the piano faster than I can shake my ass. I can’t keep up! FANFUCKINGTASTIC!
There are only a few in this world that combine rocknroll, country, gospel and R&B (and Zulu chants, which Leon has that market cornered.) There are only a few of the walking legends still amongst us that know that deep down inside of us, the spirit of the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s rockandroll is still alive. There are very few that can continue that spirit, and each and every night can recognize the music they grew up with, the music that influenced them and they can take songs and completly make it their own. Friends, there is only one Leon Russell.
I leave you with this. Two country punks by the name of Eric Church and Brantley Gilbert played Rupp Arena in Lexington the same weekend. I have one question to ask them…HOW DOES IT FEEL THAT YOU BOYS JUST GOT YOUR ASS KICKED BY A 70 YEAR OLD PIANO PLAYING ROCKNROLL LEGEND?
You could have a tent revival with Leon Russell, never mention the name of Jesus, and the Lord would still be happy.
The first time I encountered the music of The Band was a cover version of “The Weight” from the Easy Rider soundtrack. From there, it propelled my interest in these masterful musicians simply known as The Band. A wonderful collection of musicians who could interchange instruments while recording, weaving an intoxicating sound of country, blues, soul, and rock and roll. It was part Stax, part Motown, part country and all rock and roll.
However, I always felt like the driving force behind the Band, and the one to continue the Band’s great legacy was Levon Helm. For some reason, he always stood out to me. Levon (as well as the rest of the members of the Band) was an exceptional talent. Fusing his R&B drumming style and his southern-bred vocals has made him a distinct but yet an overlooked musican in today’s cookie cutter culture of music.
Levon was the product of the potpourri of American music from the south. Growing up in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas (btw, the first inception of The Band’s name was either the Crackers, or the Honkeys,) he was at the center of a musical crossroads of hearing the Grand Ole Opry out of Nashville, as well as catching the latest R&B out of Memphis.
From his earliest days with Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, Levon cut his teeth on playing with the popular rockabilly band throughout the south and in Canada. It was there in Canada where Levon had met up with the future lineup of The Band. Thus, a long and illustrious career of musicianship would lay the groundwork for what we now call Americana music and it would make a lasting impact on today’s roots rockers of America.
You know the classics…”The Weight”, “Cripple Creek”, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Ophelia.” Dig deeper and you will hear much more outside of The Band. You hear a man that could make you dance with the R&B staple, “Willie and the Hand Jive.” You hear a sympathetic and concerned songwriter with “Poor Old Dirt Farmer” from his critically acclaimed Dirt Farmer album. Switch it back to the party with his version of Al Green’s “Take Me To the River.” That great drumming with that southern vocal stylings that Levon possess made him a unique figure in rock and roll. How influential is Levon to other artists…Elton John and Bernie Taupin named a song appropriatly titled “Levon” due to The Band being their favorite band at the time. Go back and you hear the voice of rual America, “The Mountain.” You hear the voice of a real person. A real human not being fueled by a corporate record label, but being fueled by human emotion and compassion.
A few years ago, I asked my friend Justin Wells from Fifth on the Floor who their primary influence was. Without hesitation he said The Band. As i just got off the phone with him discussing the passing of Levon, he gives me this…”Levon’s voice rivalled Dylan’s in sincerity, Townes’ in sarcasm, and George Jones’ in pure country. There’s a holy trinity for me as far as influences: Hank, Creedence, and the Band. But the greatest of these is the Band.”
I could go on about how great Levon Helm is and what he means to a small but a very vocal percentage in the huge musical landscape of the world. A dynamic human being, but a very caring and compassionate man.
Keep your songs about your dirt road anthems and farmer’s daughter and John Deere tractors. Give me a songwriter and singer who can channel the human spirit through his vocals alone. Give me a songwriter and singer who is real, who is cut from the same dirt as the rest of us in some way, shape or form. Give me somebody real. Give me Levon.
The jam session in Heaven just got a little bit better. RIP LEVON.
