Author Archives: sixstrstories
Finding Out
My son called the other day. It had been a couple of weeks since we’d last talked, but he soon started excitedly telling me about this excellent movie he’d recently watched: “The Last Play At Shea.” “The Last Play At Shea” is a 2010 … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man”
Who: Muddy Waters, electric guitar & vocals; Little Walter, harmonica; Jimmy Rogers, electric guitar; Otis Spann, piano; Willie Dixon, upright bass; Fred Below, drums. What: “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” by Willie Dixon When: January 7, 1954 Where: the recording … Continue reading
An Old Acquaintance
It was the first Monday afternoon of the new year. I was driving through town, running an errand, listening to Tom Waits. The CD playing on the car stereo was one I’d purchased the previous Saturday while doing some end-of-2011 shopping at my favorite store on … Continue reading
The New Possibility
In May of 1970, when I started learning how to play the guitar, I had no idea that an acoustic guitar, if played in a certain style, could, on it’s own, sing a song. I discovered that this was possible thanks to John … Continue reading
Probably More Of An End of Winter Song, But…
I was sitting at my kitchen table, eating breakfast. The TV was on, tuned to a Boston station, and I was half-watching/half-listening to the morning news. The newscaster breathlessly announced a “Commuter Alert!!!” There was a major traffic jam on the southeast … Continue reading
A Song From A Holiday Past
Thanksgiving has come and gone. Christmas lies ahead. Most days we are two. We were a family of three eating turkey. We will be all four when opening presents. I’ve never written a cautionary song. This one is simply a … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: Merle Travis
In the world of guitar music, I know of only a few players who were respected and influential enough to have a style of playing the instrument named after them. There was Maybelle Carter and the “Carter scratch,” Elizabeth Cotten and her “Cotten picking” and … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: November 27, 1936, The Gunter Hotel, Rm.414, San Antonio, Texas
Today, November 27, 1936, was the third recording session in five days for the 25-year-old Blues musician from Mississippi, Robert Johnson. The first session, his first, had been on the previous Monday, November 23. It had been quite productive, with a … Continue reading
Sitting On This Bank Of Sand, 40 Years Later
“What’s the matter with me? I don’t have much to say…” That lyric has been running through my head for several days now. If you check how long it’s been since my last blog post, you’ll know why. The line is … Continue reading
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