Author Archives: sixstrstories

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About sixstrstories

I am the son and only child of a registered nurse & a self-employed collector of wildflowers. I went on to become: a Beatles’ fan; a record collector; a drummer; a music magazine subscriber; a guitar player; a songwriter; a high school graduate; a college student; a music major; a performing singer/guitarist; a photography student; a yearbook photographer; a student teacher; a boyfriend; a letter writer; a college graduate; an elementary school music teacher; an apartment dweller; a husband; a guitar teacher/independent contractor; a homeowner; an independent music producer; the father of a daughter; the father of a son; a bandmate; a teacher of the history of popular music in America; an instructor of music/adjunct faculty member; a grandfather (x3); a condo dweller; and a blogger.

A Song For My Daughter’s Wedding

Late in the afternoon of Saturday, September 29, under cloudy but miraculously rain-free skies, with about 140 of their dearest friends and family members in attendance, my daughter Kristin and Andrew Robertson were wed. That evening, at the brilliantly conceived, … Continue reading

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Wrestling With The Angel, Chapter 4

It was the fourth stop of the tour. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band were performing in support of their fourth album, Darkness On The Edge Of Town. They’d hit the road on May 23, 1978 in Buffalo, NY. On this night, the … Continue reading

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While We’re On The Subject… The Tommy Gallant All Stars

The only live performances of New Orleans/Traditional Jazz that I’ve had the pleasure of hearing were back in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. The group that I had the very good fortune to hear was made up of some of the best Jazz musicians from … Continue reading

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This Historic Day In Music: “Black Bottom Stomp”

As much as I find New Orleans or Traditional Jazz to be among the most smile-inducing music ever made, my LP/cassette tape/CD/iTunes collection contains only four volumes of this remarkable genre of music. I own Volume 1 & Volume 3 of the Columbia/Legacy CD series … Continue reading

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This Historic Day In Music: A Triple Header

What do the Stephen Foster song “Oh! Susannah,” master fingerstyle guitarist Leo Kottke and the single version of The Beatles’ song “Love Me Do” all have in common? They were all (kinda, sorta) born on September 11. “Oh! Susannah” had … Continue reading

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Road Songs

My wife Andrea and I recently returned from a truly delightful and action-packed  Labor Day weekend visit with our son, our daughter and her fiance`in Washington, D.C. With overnight stops to see family and friends in New Jersey on both the way down and … Continue reading

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The Water Is Wide

Even though this song is related to “Lord Jamie Douglas,” a Scotish ballad from 1776; and that ballad uses a tune, known as “Waly, Waly,” that is English and dates back to the 1720’s; and that tune is related to … Continue reading

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This Historic Day In Music: August 22, 1962, The Cavern Club, 10 Mathew Street, Liverpool, England

It was a lunchtime session, four days after Ringo officially became a Beatle. Granada Televison, based in Manchester, England, sent a camera crew to the popular music spot appropriately called The Cavern Club to film a live performance of The Beatles for a program called … Continue reading

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A “This Historic Day In Music” Double Header: Jimmy Raney & John Hiatt

In my small-but-carefully-selected collection of Jazz guitar albums, I have only one by Jimmy Raney.  The LP is called Momentum. It showcases Jimmy in a trio with Richard Davis on bass violin and Alan Dawson on drums. Judging by the fact … Continue reading

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This Historic Day In Music: August 18, 1962, Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, Birkenhead, England

In 1959, he was the drummer with Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, the biggest of all the groups in Liverpool, England at that time. But it wasn’t until October and November of 1960 when Rory Storm & The  Hurricanes played alternating sets, seven nights a week, 6 … Continue reading

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