Here's To 2007

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Merry Christmas

Music History to Celebrate the Solstice

Here is a little music history to mark this day with - thanks to the Library of Congress of all places!

On December 21, 1946, Louis Jordan's single, "Let the Good Times Roll," debuted on the Rhythm and Blues charts. Over the next twenty-two weeks, the recording held fast to the chart, occupying the number two position for four weeks. "Let the Good Times Roll" was paired with the fast paced and humorous "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens"—a phenomenally popular release that ranked number one for seventeen weeks. Such success was commonplace for Jordan. From 1943 until 1950, his singles topped the R&B chart more than 25% of the time. Fifteen hits crossed over to the pop charts.

Born in Brinkley, Arkansas in 1908, Louis Jordan started playing saxophone at seven. As a teenager, he toured with the famed Rabbit Foot Minstrels and backed blues singers including Bessie Smith. In the 1930s, Jordan settled in New York City. There, he began performing under band leader Chick Webb. Webb pulled the saxophonist out of the ensemble to sing the novelty songs that would remain a crucial part of Jordan's repertoire.

By 1938, Jordan headed his own band, showcasing his talents as vocalist, conductor, and comedian. Soon, Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five were making popular recordings of songs like "Whats the Use of Getting Sober (When your Gonna Get Drunk Again)," "The Chicks I Pick Are Slender, Tender, and Tall," and Johnny Mercer's "G.I. Jive."

Jordan's swinging style, once described as "jazz with a broad grin," combined musical innovation with humor and jive talk. He introduced jump blues and boogie-woogie to the masses, paving the way for rock and roll. In the course of his career, this excellent saxophonist and talented entertainer appeared in films and recorded with prominent artists including Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, and Ella Fitzgerald.

For more information on Louis Jordan and his contributions to the music world, check out the Wikipedia site at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Jordan.

Happy Solstice!!!

Sony Music Service Review

In spite of everything I know about Sony and how anal the company is about "legally" owning music, I did a really stupid thing and tried out Connect Music, the music download service offered by Sony. The application is hard to install, with constant prompts about Windows Media Player 10 (which I already had installed for pity's sake) and how Windows may not work anymore if I continued with the installation. Then, once I did get the blasted app installed, trying to get the music downloaded was HELL. Disable the firewall. Clear Internet temp files. Clear cookies. Open port 8080. WTF? It was bad - the company should have paid me $10 to download the music I wanted. To top it off, now that I finally have the music, my computer is the only place I can play it. Oh, I can make a CD as long as the only place I want to play it is on my computer. That is the last time I do intentional business with Sony - EVER. If you are thinking about Connect Music - DON'T DO IT. You have been warned. :)

Words to Live By

“Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road” --Voltaire

SHOW THE NEW ROAD and MAKE IT ROCK!

Band of the Month - The UnRead

Don't forget to check out the Band of the Month
-------------link over here on the side bar -->>
This month it's The Unread - these young men from Idaho ROCK and have some serious talent, so be sure to check out their MySpace page for more info:

http://www.myspace.com/theunread