Or not.
Continue reading “There’s a huge bug in the tent.”
Category: Retro & Vintage
Saturday Matinee – The Darlings, The Dillards, New Grass Revival, Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, and Victor Wooten
The Darlings were a regular feature on the Andy Griffith Show, usually showing up whenever there was trouble brewing (like when Ernest T. Bass tried to woo Charlene Darling). The Darlings were The Dillards.
The Dillards, live at the Tonder Festival in Denmark in 1999. Entertaining intro to Ebo Walker, song starts about 03:45 in.
But there was also a real Ebo Walker, an upright bass player from Kentucky, and the song is not a tribute. From a Reddit discussion:
“Crazy story time. Ebo Walker’s real name is Harry Lee Shelor Jr, (there’s a song called Ebo Walker, which Harry took the name from). Harry cultivated and grew marijuana. He ended up shooting a Kentucky State Police Detective by the name of Darrell Vendl Phelps. He began serving a 50 year sentence in 1981.”
Shelor was released from prison in 2013, age 70.
Prior to his arrest in 1981, Harry Shelor/Ebo Walker was a founding member of The New Grass Revival.
New Grass Revival covers Townes Van Zandt‘s White Freightliner Blues (ca.1981). This lineup consisted of
Sam Bush – mandolin, fiddle, guitar, vocals
Pat Flynn – guitar, vocals
John Cowan – bass guitar, vocals
Béla Fleck – banjo, guitar, vocals
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, featuring Victor Wooten on fretless bass , his brother Roy “Futureman” Wooten on Drumitar. That’s one tight trio.
Victor Wooten won the Bass Player of the Year award from Bass Player magazine three times and is the first person to win the award more than once. In 2011, he was ranked No. 10 in the Top 10 Bassists of All Time by Rolling Stone.
That set of connections happened somewhat by accident, just like a lot of things these days. Find something fun to do this weekend accidentally, and when you’re done c’mon back here. Got some cool stuff for you to click on.
1920’s Demolition Derby
[Found in here.]
Spaceman Spiff
[Found in here.]
Fimicolous Hot Links
“Haunted House“, Leon Redbone (1975) Album: On The Track.That’s a cover of Lonnie Johnson‘s “Blue Ghost Blues” (1927). When Redbone passed on, his website announced:
“It is with heavy hearts we announce that early this morning, May 30th, 2019, Leon Redbone crossed the delta for that beautiful shore at the age of 127.”
Throwing cats in zero G [h/t lobo91].
Fun Facts To Know And Tell: The Japanese once disparaged Europeans as bata-kusai, or “butter stinkers.” [Source via here.]
[Top image found here.]
From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.
The Saturday Matinee – BLR Debate Night, Spencer Davis Group, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, and La Bamba
Just click play. It’s worth it.
Spencer Davis passed away this week at the age of 81. What a legend.
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers (with Mick Taylor) 19 July 2003, 70th Birthday Concert. The “Father of British Blues” was born on 29 November 1933, but so what.
We started this recording on a back porch in East Los Angeles With members of Los Lobos, And Then returned to the roots of the song in Veracruz, Mexico. As we Traveled, musicians everywhere mixed the traditional and rock ‘n’ roll styles of “La Bamba” into a new Song Around The World. – Playing For Change
Guaranteed to be the best version of the traditional you’ve never heard. Have a great weekend, folks. We’re not going anywhere, so stop back here tomorrow for, you know, stuff.
The Fife Cantilever
‘The Fife cantilever’, c 1880s.
Photograph of the construction of the Forth Railway Bridge in Scotland. Undoubtedly Britain’s most famous railway landmark, The Forth Bridge was opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in March 1890 following eight years of building, and completed the east coast railway route between London and Aberdeen. It spans the Firth of Forth, joining the city of Edinburgh and Fife in Scotland. The bridge was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker, and built by engineer Sir William Arrol. It contains almost 54,000 tons of steel and when completed, the 1.5 mile long bridge was the biggest in the world. It is the world’s oldest cantilever railway bridge and remains in use to this day.
[Image from Feral Irishman‘s awesome rotating banner. Description from here.]
The Saturday Matinee – Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, Link Wray w/ Robert Gordon & Santana
Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express live at Winterland 29 November 1975, San Francisco, CA. Early jazz fusion at its best. Lineup:
Brian Auger – organ, vocals;
Jack Mills – lead guitar;
Alex Ligertwood – vocals, guitar, percussion;
Clive Chaman – bass;
Lennox Langton – congas;
Dave Dowle – drums.
Robert Gordon‘s 1977 cover of Billy Lee Riley‘s 1957 cover of Billy ‘The Kid’ Emerson‘s 1955 recording of Red Hot got a lot of radio play. Now about that legendary guitar ripper…
Link Wray‘s recording career spanned decades, 1958 to 2000, and it’s hard to pinpoint when he was really at his prime. Wray was ranked No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time bu Rolling Stone, and is considered the “Father of the Power Chord.” Other fun facts: his parents were Shawnee and Cherokee; he was a Korean War veteran; he lost a lung due to tuberculosis in 1956.
Carlos Santana‘s 1999 album Supernatural is one of my favorites. Can’t believe it came out over two decades ago.
That kinda wraps things up until tomorrow. See you then.
The Rebel.
Humuhumunukunukuapua’a Hot Links
Hapa Haole Hula Girl (My Honolulu Hula Girl), Alfred Apaka with Danny Stewart’s Hawaiians (1951) Decca Records“Alfred Aloha Apaka (1919–1960) was one of the influential performers in the history of Hawaii’s popular music. Although he recorded for less than a decade, Apaka set the standards for modern Hawaiian music with his joyful, baritone vocals and highly entertaining performances.” (BTW, “hapa haole” doesn’t translate to “Honolulu,” and is also a style of music.)
NASA/NOAA prevented Global Cooling.
Binaural beats are considered auditory illusions.
“This is the best game of hide-and-seek ever.” [via]
Kiddie board games imagined as horror flicks. [h/t Nate L.]
Escaping through a predator’s butt can be a lifesaver [via].
[Top image: artwork by Derek Yaniger.]
From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.
Tacky Raccoons 