I got to thinking while looking at some Sedona pictures that Lizzy
Williams took when she went there how much that I do miss the AZ
hangouts up there. The red rocks are breathtaking although the highway
getting there is always clogged up. Perhaps some day when I get back to
Sedona/Prescott that we can at least get around town without the road
construction that awaits me when I'm there. But as the song sez 'If you
plan to motor west, take the highway that is best' which is Arizona 66,
the last link of the original Route 66. A 79 mile trip that begins at
Crookton Road. And the famed Crookton Pass Bridge that is my zen
area. And through Seligman to Kingman with all the abandoned towns
among the way. Like I said in a previous blog, it was the highlight of
2008 there.
Look for the Top Ten to return soon. I'm still fussing over the
playlist and tonight I pulled out some old scratchy forty fives and
listen to them awhile. It's also a great moment to finally locate one
of the first forty fives that I have ever had in my life, The Animals
Gonna Send You Back To Walker and after a 45 year hiatus, it's now back
into my 45 collection again. The original one I had years ago, met a
bad fate due to me being 3 years old and breaking it after the first
time I played it back in the days of being in Lincoln Ill, and my
parents buying 45s to keep me occupied while they were tending to my
baby brother. Now all I need is a copy of Tommy Roe's Carol and it
might complete another piece of the puzzle of my musical life. I don't
remember much of my brother's first year but funny, I do remember my
first few 45s. Can't say if it's selective thinking or nostagila but I
don't think it's to recapture my early years. Life in Lincoln wasn't
all that great, but I do remember the liquor store that had some 45s and
the Woolworth's and Kresge's downtown. Guess I was doomed to be a
music person. Update: I did find Carol by Tommy Roe at Mad City Music X in 2011.
It's official. The Iowa Hawkeyes are the only Big Ten Team that won a bowl game. Go Hawks.
More suggestions for top ten inclusions include Tesla, More Animals and a couple more that escape me.
as for the cure of the cold, the Mountain Dew Live Wire has 290
calories per 20 OZ bottle while the Tropicana Twister Soda has a
whopping 320 calories! Shit, I might be feeling a bit healthy but I'm
sure piling on the pounds :-P
And the final word from the late great Ron Asheton on LA Blues, the final noise that ends The Stooges 1970 Fun House album.
"It was just us screwing around and it came across that way. To make
any sense our freak-outs needed to grow out of a tune, but because
[producer]
Don Gallucci had us start cold, it sterilized it. It wasn't based on anything."
Clear
Lake – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, along with the Surf Ballroom & Museum, will honor the 50th anniversary of the Winter Dance Party with a weeklong series of events beginning on Wednesday, January 28 that will culminate in a tribute concert at the Surf Ballroom where Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens played their final concert.
The tribute will feature an all-star lineup including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Graham Nash, Tommy Allsup, the Crickets, Bobby Vee, Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys, Joe Ely and Wanda Jackson. SIRIUS XM Radio host Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow will be the emcee and Sandra Boynton and Sir Tim Rice will participate in the tribute portion of the concert. Additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks.
The 50 Winters Later tribute concert will take place the evening of Monday, February 2 at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. General admission tickets will go on sale this Monday, December 15 for $85.They can be purchased at www. 50winterslater. com or by calling the Surf Ballroom's box office at (641) 357-6151. A limited number of $1,000 VIP packages are available. Please call (216) 515-1207 for details.
"50 Winters Later is about the music and the legacy of Buddy, Ritchie and The Bopper. The artists who will participate in the week's events will pay homage to these three stars who influenced music so deeply that musicians and songwriters continue to this day to be inspired and attribute aspects of their musical careers to them.It's going to be an extraordinary show – to
be in the Surf where these pioneers played live decades ago is magical in itself," stated Shane Cooney, entertainment director for the Surf Ballroom.
"For one week we will focus on the extraordinary lives and legacies of three men who forever left their mark on rock and roll history and American society," said Terry Stewart, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "It will be a poignant and memorable experience honoring this pivotal watershed cultural event."
For the complete weeklong series of events and updated information about the tribute concert and more, please visit: www. 50winterslater. com.
It was at the Surf Ballroom where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and "The Big Bopper" played their final concert on February 2, 1959. Later that night after boarding a plane bound for North Dakota, three of rock and roll's brightest stars fell to the earth, a day immortalized in Don McLean's 1971 hit song "American Pie" as "the day the music died."
For additional information about the Surf Ballroom, please call 641.357.6151 or visit www. surfballroom. com
