Considered the oldest complete seventy-eight card tarot deck in existence, the Sola Busca — named for the family of Milanese nobles who owned it for some five generations — was the first to be produced using copperplate engraving. It is also the earliest known tarot deck that illustrates the Major and Minor Trumps in the way that has become the standard, with characters and objects depicting allegorical scenes. In the Renaissance era this would have been revolutionary, while, today, some of these cards may seem familiar.
[Full size images and the history of the deck found here.]
Last Night (live version), The Mar-Keys (1967) Recorded in Europe during “Hit the Road Stax,” a Stax-Volt Records showcase revue. The Mar-Keys were the first house / session band for Stax Records, and Last Night was the first recording for the label. The instrumental made No. 3 in the US charts in 1961. For some reason the producer didn’t want guitars, so Steve Cropper played second keyboard.
[Top image found here with the caption: A conductor on the Pskov-Moscow train feeds a cat named Felix sausage during a short stop in Staraya, Russa. Felix shows up every day at 22:40 & has for several years. All conductors are aware of Felix & prepare sausage in advance. ALL CONDUCTORS ARE AWARE OF FELIX.
Igor Prado Band‘s cover of Camille Bob’s 1965 hit. These boys from Brazil play blues, R&B and west coast swing/jump, and funk. Lefthander Igor Prado leads on guitar with brother Yuri Prado on drums, Rodrigo Mantovani on acoustic bass and Denilson Martins on baritone sax. Their website igorpradoband.com was AWOL at the time of this posting.
Playing solo or with his band Back Door Slam, award-winning songwriter and guitarist Davy Knowles plays Telecaster, American Steel and mandolin to cover various genres including classic rock, blues, and folk.
Singer, songwriter, composer, pianist and guitarist Gerry Joe Weise‘ repertoire includes classical, jazz fusion and blues. He was recently named 5th best jazz guitarist in Australia, and creates land art installations as well.
Amazing. This week we saw people protesting in support of criminals, people protesting a peace summit, and people complaining about improvements in the economy, all while Governor Pantload gripes about everyone else in order to distract from his own incompetence. Pheew.
I dunno, Babs, but I do know this. I had an appointment with my onkydoc this week, and I’ve got nothing to complain about. I’ll be on the porch tomorrow taking suggestions and requests. See you there.
“In traditional African medicine, a form of cupping therapy was practiced long before modern glass or silicone cups were introduced. Instead of using cups, healers used hollowed-out buffalo horns. These horns were heated and then placed on the skin to create suction, drawing out what was believed to be toxins or bad energy from the body. This method not only reflects the deep medicinal knowledge of ancient African cultures but also highlights how natural materials were skillfully adapted for healing purposes.”
Don’t Drag No More, Susan Lynne (1964) Born in New York, Susan Lynne Koskowitz recorded a handful of singles while still in high school. Record producer and promoter Artie Kornfeld composed Don’t Drag No More in 1964 as an answer song to Jan and Dean’s Dead Man’s Curve. By 1966, Kornfeld had written over 75 Billboard charted songs and participated in over 150 albums. He was also co-creator of the 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair.
Seasoned Dutch guitarist Lefthand Freddy mixed up a hot bowl of ska-flavored blues at the Nuenen Blues’m Festival.
“Born in Nashville and raised in a recording studio, multi-instrumentalist Yates McKendreegrew up hearing and playing with some of Music City’s greatest musicians. […] During Yates’s teenage years, he played on and engineered dozens of recordings in his father’s (Kevin McKendree) studio, The Rock House; most notably for Delbert McClinton and John Hiatt, who told Rolling Stone Magazine, ‘Yates was our secret ingredient.’”
Born in Mississippi but raised in Chicago, Carl Weathersby was a teenager when his father’s friend became his tutor. That man was Albert King. Weathersby played rhythm guitar in King’s band before joining up with Billy Branch & The Sons Of the Blues, aka The SOBs. Weathersby passed away in 2024 at the age of 71.
The Alex Zayas Band: Zayas’ website is down / defunct, so his story is a bit tricky to find. He was born in Barcelona and has been on tour for about 30 years playing classic blues and blues rock; his band often backs other big-name blues performers.
With everything else going on in the world, the biggest news story this week involves fluorescent phalli and women’s basketball. At least the MSM seems to be reporting on it honestly and without obvious bias, and that’s a bit of fresh air.
Speaking of fresh air, stop by tomorrow at porch time and guess what the neighborhood skunk did to the neighbor’s little yappy dog.
Tacky Raccoons 