Author Archives: sixstrstories
On This Day In Music History: A Triple Header
As my father would say: “Age before beauty.” On September 11, 1847, the song “Oh! Susanna,” by Stephen Foster, was given its first public performance. It happened in Pittsburgh, PA, at The Eagle Ice Cream Saloon. The performers were a … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: Buddy Holly
As a teenager, I knew that the Rolling Stones had an early hit with their great cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.” I may have also noticed that there was a cover of Buddy’s song “Words of Love” by the Beatles … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: “Rising Sun Blues”
On September 6, 1933, singer/guitarist Clarence Ashley and harmonica player Gwen (or Gwin) Foster recorded “Rising Sun Blues” for Vocalion Records in New York, NY. This would be the first recording of the song that we now know as “The House of the Rising Sun.” … Continue reading
Another Obsession On My List
I bought Shoot Out The Lights in 1983. I’d read rave reviews for the album in three different magazines and decided it was time to check out this Richard & Linda Thompson. When I got home, put the record on the turntable and started … Continue reading
It Was The Last Week In August
It was the last week in August, 1941. Scholars and song collectors Alan Lomax, from the Library of Congress, and John Work, from Fisk University in Nashville, TN, were travelling through Mississippi on a project to trace the origins of the Blues in the … Continue reading
Music Stores & T-Shirts
The guy sitting diagonally across the table from me at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom was wearing a t-shirt with a drawing of a guitar on it. When he sat back in his chair, I could see that the guitar … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: ??
OK, readers, here’s another quiz for you. What drummer played his first gig with his new, already-pretty-popular rock & roll band at Hulme Hall, in Port Sunlight, Birkenhead, England on this day, August 18, a Saturday, in 1962? Bonus question: can … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: The Audition
When John Hammond (Columbia Records producer and talent scout extraordinaire) called Benny Goodman (Jazz clarinetist, band leader, Top Ten recording artist and “King of Swing”) in California one day in early August, 1939, to tell him that he’d just found a great young electric guitar … Continue reading
Many Thanks, Again
As of yesterday, August 13, 2010, the total number of visitors to this blog since I said “Hello, world!” on April 18, 2010, crossed the 2000 mark. I send my many thanks to all of you who have visited, read, listened and … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: “Crazy Blues”
From the opening notes of trombone, piano, trumpet and clarinet, this sounds like a Jazz record. But when the vocalist comes in, the music takes a turn. “I can’t sleep at night, I can’t eat a bite because the man … Continue reading
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