Category: Entertainment

Song of the Day – Remembering Peter Appleyard

Peter Appleyard with Dick Hyman , 2007 Toronto...
Peter Appleyard with Dick Hyman , 2007 Toronto Jazz Festival (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

British born, but Canadian jazz composer and percussionist Peter Appleyard passed away on July 18, 2013.He was 84.  Born in England, he moved to Bermuda in 1949 , eventually landing in Toronto a few years later.  In the 1950’s and 60’s , he was a staple on CBC radio, performing live on various shows.  In the 1970’s he began touring and playing with the Benny Goodman sextet.  As time went on, his reputation grew as a world class vibraphonist.  He played with such greats as Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, while always maintaining his base in Toronto. Among his many awards were a Juno and the Order of Canada.  Terrific player. I have posted here a couple of tunes, the first a recent live performance of “It don’t Mean A Thing” and an older clip of “Tangerine”.  Both of them have many great artists along with him.

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Remembering Clarence Burke Jr

Clarence Burke

Clarence Burke Jr passed away on May 25th, he was 62.  He was a singer, songwriter and guitarist with 1970’s family band “The Five Stairsteps“.  The band was best known for it’s hit “O-o-h Child“, a song rated at 392 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 of All time.  The video below is the band on “Soul Train“.

Remembering Tony Sheridan

Tony Sheridan, Live
Tony Sheridan, Live (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tony Sheridan, an early Beatle (Ok the Beat Brothers), he is one of only 2 men (the other being Billy Preston) to be credited on a Beatle song, and the only person to sing lead on a Beatle single, passed away on February 16, 2013. All the stories have been told, so no point in rehashing them.  Suffice to say that the Beatles first album was released as “My Bonnie” by Tony Sheridan and the Beatles.  The band’s name was changed to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers as the word Beatles sounded too much like the German word for penis.  I wonder how they dealt with that as the Beatles became more and more famous.

He was an original rock & roll artist, but migrated to more of a jazz player as his career continued.  He continued recording right up to 2008.  Here is a sampling of his work.

Shake It Some More, recorded in 1966.

With The Beatles

Some more recent material

Remembering Reg Presley

With a Girl like You
With a Girl like You (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reg Presley passed away on February 4, 2013.  Reg was an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer for 19560’s band The Troggs.  They has several hits back in the day, but the one he will be most remembered for will be “Wild Thing“.  The band also had a major hit with “With A Girl Like You”.  Both are linked  below.  He was also an author, writing “Wild Things They Don’t Tell Us”, a book about lost civilizations etc. Another piece of my youth has left us.

And a bonus, the answer to who originally did Wet Wet Wet’s 1994 hit “Love Is All Around”.

Remembering Alvin Lee

Alvin Lee
Alvin Lee (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

March 6th was a tough day.  The world also lost Alvin Lee, guitarist, leader and singer of Ten Years After.  This band is one of those bands that etched a big place in the soundtrack of my life, this song in particular. “I’d Love To Change The World“.  It has a short interview at the beginning and gets cut off at the end, Oh well.

 

 

The band hit its stride at Woodstock, and contributed to the idealism of the 60’s and early 70’s.  Terrific player, great band, he will be missed, Alvin Lee, dead at 69.

 

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Remembering Stompin’ Tom Connors

Stompin tom connors in 2002 crop
Stompin tom connors in 2002 crop (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Canadian legend and troubadour Stompin’ Tom Connors passed way on March 6, 2013.  He was 77.  While he has had a long and great career, Canadians will always remember him for his classic “The Hockey Song“.  Give it a listen, it can’t help but put a smile on your face.

 

 

He got the nickname from his habit of stomping the heel of his boot while he played.  He was a staple on Canadian TV, not only having his own shows, but also by supplying theme songs for various shows and his talent for creating anthems, such as The Hockey Song.  Here is another fine example of his populist song writing skills, “Bud The Spud“.

 

 

In his later years, he pushed away from the limelight.  He had a few disputes with such institutions as the Juno Awards (he returned all his Juno’s to protest their qualification guidelines) and the CBC who would not air a music special about him.  In response to their refusal, he simply stated:

 

“As far as I’m concerned, if the CBC, our own public network, will not reconsider their refusal to air a Stompin’ Tom special, they can take their wonderful offer of letting me sing a song as a guest on some other program and shove it.”.

 

Rest in Peace Stompin’ Tom.

 

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Remembering Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner

Ohio Players~Funk on Fire:The Mercury Anthology
Ohio Players~Funk on Fire:The Mercury Anthology (Photo credit: bamalibrarylady)

 

Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner passed away on January 26, 2013.  He was 69.  Sugarfoot was with Ohio Players from its inception in 1959 until he left in 1985 to go solo.  He played guitar and sang for the band.  They played a version of funk that hit pretty much the same sound, and was very popular during the disco era of the 70’s.  Great stuff that makes you want to jump up and move.  The track I have pick features the band on “Midnight Special” with Wolfman Jack introducing them as they play “Love Rollercoaster“.  We old-timers will remember all the above.

 

 

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Remembering Donald Byrd

Cover of "Places & Spaces"
Cover of Places & Spaces

On our recent trip to Spain, we were sitting in a small tapas bar in the Born area of Barcelona.  We were enjoying some great food, and some excellent wine, when a song came on that made us both go, “Who in the heck is that”.  We asked our server who it was and he went to find out for us.  Turns out that it was Donald Byrd, who, unfortunately, passed away on February 4, 2013 at he age of 80.  Having just discovered him (where was he hiding), I was quite saddened by this news,  A great trumpet player, his career spanned 7 decades and included, besides his solo work, stints and recordings with a who’s who of the jazz and blues world.  John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins and Herbie Hancock may ring a few bells with you.

He recorded over 40 albums on his own and many more as a sideman.  An outstanding career.  The song I have chosen in memorial, is the one we heard in Barcelona, “Falling (like dominoes)” of his Places and Spaces album, which was recorded in 1975.

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Remembering Raylene Rankin

RayleneRankin4

Back in our slightly younger days back in the town of Martensville, Saskatchewan, this song used to get a big rise out of the semi, mostly and hardly inebriates at town functions.  Sadly, Raylene Rankin passed away on September 30th after a battle with cancer.  Thanks for the memories Raylene.

 

Remembering Von Freeman

von freeman have no fear
von freeman have no fear (Photo credit: cultchas)

 

Tenor jazz saxophone player Von Feeman died on August 11, 2012 at 88.  I love Saxophone and jazz, together a deadly combination.  Von was one of the great innovators and creators of this sound in, what is known as, the Chicago School.  I have attached 2 videos, one is live in Chicago in 1988, the second is Von playing last year at almost 90.  Incredible sound, great player.

 

 

and the second