Nonamedufus's Blog – August 2009 Archive (9)

I've always loved this guy. His growling shout and retarded-inspired air guitar mannerisms are his trade mark.



In 1969, Joe Cocker and The Grease Band embarked on an American tour. They released an album called With a Little Help From My Friends and played a little music fesitival called Woodstock. The rest, as they say, is history. Cocker's rendition of that Beatles tune is one of the highlights of not only the festival but of all… Continue

When someone says Fleetwood Mac, one's thoughts immediately go to the killer supergroup of the mid-70s with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. But Mac was a very successful blues band a decade earlier in Britain formed by guitarist Peter Green and his former John Mayall Blues Band mates drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, after whom the band was named.



For more and a video of a TV performance of "Need Your Love So Bad"… Continue

Thijs van Leer on keyboard and flute and guitarist Jan Akkerman were at the heart of 70s Dutch rock band Focus founded in 1969. Their second album Moving Waves was released in 1971 and made an international hit of the band largely on the strength of the single Hocus Pocus.



For more and a 1973 performance of Hocus Pocus drop by my blog… Continue

Yesterday over on my humour blog I was telling folks about the heatwave we've been experiencing here in the Ottawa region and that we really couldn't complain as it comes on the heels of the rainiest July on record. In classic rock terms, I guess you could say that lately it's been quite the Summer In The City. How's that for a segue?



For more, and a clip of Summer In The City, visit my… Continue

At the age of 94, Les Paul passed away yesterday. Lester William Polfuss has often been referred to the "father of modern music". He was not only an extraordinary jazz guitarist but a pioneer in the development of the solid-body guitar, not to mention an innovator in the studio, developing such techniques as overdubbing, delays and phasing and multi-track recording.



Paul and his wife Mary Ford, toured and performed for 13 years… Continue

There are two significant rock milestones occuring this week. Tomorrow, August 14th is David Crosby's 68th birthday. And then August 15th is the 40th anniversary of the music festival to end all music festivals: Woodstock. How do the two connect? Woodstock was Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's second-ever live performance and launched the supergroup on an extraordinary career into the 1970s and beyond.



For more and a CSN performance… Continue

In 1969, Canada's Guess Who issued the album Canned Wheat which was a big hit in Canada and contained the ballad These Eyes which made them the first Canadian group to hit the Top 10 in the United States.





Formed in Winnipeg in 1960 under the original moniker The Silvertones, which was later changed to Chad Allen and the Expressions, the group had it's first big hit in 1965 with Shakin All Over. To create the impression they were… Continue

They may not fall precisely into the category of "classic rock" but "the English guys with the big fiddles" amassed 27 Top 40 singles in Britain and the United States during their 14 years of popularity. The Electric Light Orchestra was the brainchild of former Move member Roy Wood and his pal Jeff Lynne and when they burst upon the scene in 1970 no one had ever seen anything quite like them before - an "electric" rock and roll band with a "light… Continue

In August of 1967, the Brit-mod group the Small Faces released one of the most popular songs of their career. There are several stories behind the origins of Itchycoo Park, a song originally banned by the BBC because of its overt drug references. The true one seems to be that the song's title is based on the nickname of a public park known for it's scratchy nettles (Itchy Park).



For more, and a video clip, go to my blog… Continue