Author Archives: sixstrstories
Some Kind Of Smelling Salts
“Music. What is it good for? Why do you seek it?” Journalist Christopher Hislop, skilled chronicler of the large and vibrant music scene here in my neck of the woods, poses those questions to everyone he interviews for his weekly … Continue reading
To The Museum, Once Again
This is my third post about the guitars on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. The first – A Trip To The Museum – went up on March 13, 2014. It features three very old guitars … Continue reading
Truck Day
Truck Day is the day celebrated each year by the fans of the Boston Red Sox Baseball Team as the “official” start of the new baseball season. It is the day that the team’s equipment truck begins its journey from … Continue reading
Walkin’ Blues
It was a Saturday morning in the middle of January. I was out for a long walk with my favorite accompaniment: my iPod classic, set to “Shuffle Songs,” playing through my Sony headphones. I’d been serenaded by Billie Holiday, The … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: Atlantic Records SD 8216
I wish I could tell you that I remember when I first heard them, but I can’t. I do remember that in 1969, starting in the middle of my sophomore year of high school, I was crazy about the new … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: Elizabeth Cotten – Take 4
“Take 4?!” That’s correct. Elizabeth Nevills Cotten was born on January 5, 1893, in Carrboro (right next to Chapel Hill), North Carolina. And the story of how little Elizabeth grew up to become a guitarist, singer, songwriter, performer and Grammy-award … Continue reading
The New Possibility – Take 2
I started learning how to play the guitar because I thought it would provide a better accompaniment to my singing than playing the drums did. At the time, I had no idea that there was a way to play a … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: November 27, 1936, The Gunter Hotel, Rm.414, San Antonio, Texas – Take 2
On Friday, November 27, 1936, Robert Johnson, a 25-year-old Blues musician from Mississippi, had his third recording session for ARC Records. The location of these sessions was The Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. The ARC recording crew of A & … Continue reading
Over The River Once More
“Oh, hear the bells ringing, ‘Ting-a-ling-ling!,’ for it’s Thanksgiving Day.” If your holiday gathering could use a festive sing-along, here’s a good one for you. “Over The River And Through The Woods” – guitar, vocal and arrangement by me. Ready? … Continue reading
