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Amchitka (album)
''Amchitka'' is a 2009 two-CD release of a recording of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Phil Ochs performing an October 16, 1970, benefit concert at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. The event funded Greenpeace's protests of 1971 nuclear weapons tests by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission at Amchitka, Alaska. Irving Stowe, one of Greenpeace's founding members, organized the benefit concert, with the assistance of Joan Baez. She could not appear, but she connected Stowe with Mitchell and Mitchell requested her boyfriend of the time, Taylor, join the concert. The Stowe family held on to tapes of the concert, but were not able to obtain the necessary clearances until John Timmins, brother of Cowboy Junkies members, became involved with Greenpeace. Timmins was instrumental in contacting Mitchell and Taylor's representatives and working out the necessary permissions. The tapes had to be restored by Peter J. Moore, the producer of several Cowboy Junkies albums. Track listing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live Album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual Phonograph record#78 rpm disc developments, 78 rpm records collected in a bound book resembling a photograph album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl LP record, long-playing (LP) records played at revolutions per minute, rpm. The album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption from the mid-1960s to the early 21st century, a period known as the album era. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until being phased out by 1983 and was gradually supplanted by the cassette tape during the 1970s and early 1980s; the populari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Bells (poem)
"The Bells" is a heavily onomatopoeic poem by Edgar Allan Poe which was not published until after his death in 1849. It is perhaps best known for the diacopic use of the word "bells." The poem has four parts to it; each part becomes darker and darker as the poem progresses from "the jingling and the tinkling" of the bells in part 1 to the "moaning and the groaning" of the bells in part 4. Analysis This poem can be interpreted in many different ways, the most basic of which is simply a reflection of the sounds that bells can make, and the emotions evoked from that sound. For example, "From the bells bells bells bells/Bells bells bells!" brings to mind the clamoring of myriad church bells. Several deeper interpretations exist as well. One is that the poem is a representation of life from the nimbleness of youth to the pain of age. Growing despair is emphasized alongside the growing frenzy in the tone of the poem. The sounds of the verses, specifically the repetitive "''bells, be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Case Of You (song)
"A Case of You" is a song by Joni Mitchell, from her 1971 album ''Blue''. Writing and recording Mitchell wrote "A Case of You" in or before 1970. As with many of the songs on her album ''Blue'', it might have been inspired by her relationship with Graham Nash. It is also claimed that it is about Leonard Cohen. She performed the song at the Amchitka Greenpeace benefit concert in October 1970. She recorded the song in 1971, and it was released on the 1971 album ''Blue'' with Mitchell playing Appalachian dulcimer, accompanied by James Taylor on acoustic guitar, which was tuned to standard tuning, (EADGBE), although there are cover versions played in an open G tuning (DGDGBD). Mitchell's earliest public performances of "A Case of You" contain six lines that had changed by the time ''Blue'' was recorded. The line "I am as constant as a northern star" is an allusion to Caesar's "I am constant as the Northern Star" from the Shakespeare play ''Julius Caesar'', while the quoted line "Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carey (song)
"Carey" is a song from the 1971 Joni Mitchell album ''Blue''. It was inspired by her time spent with Cary Raditz, living with a cave-dwelling hippie community at Matala, on the Greek island of Crete. Background In early 1970, Mitchell's relationship with Graham Nash had recently ended, and she decided to fly to Greece for a break, with a female friend. Mitchell's European travels, which also encompassed France and Spain, were intended as a "time out" from her increasing fame and fortune in the music business. After a few days in Athens the two friends traveled to Crete, rented a car and drove to Matala on the south coast of the island. There, Mitchell met a red-haired cane-carrying American, Cary Raditz, who was working as a cook at the Mermaid café (now the site of the Petra & Votsalo restaurant). She wrote the first version of "Carey" in Matala, for Raditz's 24th birthday. After about two months, she and Raditz traveled to Athens together, but Mitchell then flew alone t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodstock (song)
"Woodstock" is a popular song written by Joni Mitchell. Three versions of the song were released in the same year, 1970. Mitchell's own version was first performed live in 1969 and appeared in April 1970 on her album '' Ladies of the Canyon'' and as the B-side to her single "Big Yellow Taxi". This publication was preceded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's cover version, which appeared on their March 1970 album ''Déjà Vu'' and became a staple of classic rock radio and the best-known version in the United States. A third version, by the British band Matthews Southern Comfort became the best known version in the United Kingdom, and was the highest charting version of the song, reaching the top of the UK singles chart in 1970. The song's lyrics refer to the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival of 1969, telling the story of a concert-goer on a trek to attend the festival. Mitchell, who was unable to actually perform at the festival herself due to scheduling conflicts, was inspired to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Williams
Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to 1959 for Specialty Records, including " Bony Moronie", "Short Fat Fannie", "Slow Down", "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" (1958), " Bad Boy" and "She Said Yeah" (1959). John Lennon was a fan, and The Beatles and several other British Invasion groups recorded several of his songs. Williams' life mixed tremendous success with violence and drug addiction. He was a longtime friend of Little Richard, with whom his life intertwined personally and professionally from their meeting in 1955 to Williams' death in 1980. Early life Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 10, 1935, Williams moved west with his family early in his childhood. He spent some time with relatives in Chicago ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bony Moronie
"Bony Moronie" was the third single by Larry Williams, released in 1957. Original version Williams' original peaked at #14 on the Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart and #4 on the U.S. R&B chart. Since then the song has been covered many times. Hush version In April 1975, Australian glam rock band Hush released a version, which peaked at number 4. The band performed the song on Countdown. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane said that "One of the defining moments of Australia's 1970s pop legacy was undoubtably Hush performing "Boney Moroney" (on Countdown)" He described how " Keith Lamb wiggled his satin flares-encased bum, thrust out his crotch and leered at the camera with a mischievous look in his eyes (and all the little girls understood). Les Gock dashed around the set in stack-heeled boots and glam threads, with peroxided streaks in his flowing, jet-black hair. Rick Lum hammed it up in a serious kind of way. Chris Pailthorpe cheerfully revealed his goofy, gap-t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Yellow Taxi
"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her album '' Ladies of the Canyon''. It was a hit in her native Canada (No. 14) as well as Australia (No. 6) and the UK (No. 11). It only reached No. 67 in the US in 1970, but was later a bigger hit there for her in a live version released in 1974, which peaked at No. 24. Charting versions have also been recorded by the Neighborhood (who had the original top US 40 hit with the track in 1970, peaking at No. 29), and most notably covered by Amy Grant in 1994 and Counting Crows in 2003. The song was also sampled in Janet Jackson's " Got 'til It's Gone" (1997). Mitchell's composition and recording In 1996, speaking to journalist Robert Hilburn, Mitchell said this about writing the song: The song is known for its environmental concern – "They paved paradise to put up a parking lot" and "Hey farmer, farmer, put away that DDT now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Can Close Your Eyes
"You Can Close Your Eyes" is a song written by James Taylor which was released on his 1971 album ''Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon''. It was also released as the B-side to his #1 single "You've Got a Friend". It has often been described as a lullaby. It was initially recorded by his sister Kate Taylor for her 1971 album '' Sister Kate''. The song has been covered by many artists, including Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Maureen McGovern, Richie Havens, Sheryl Crow, Sting, Eddie Vedder with Natalie Maines, and the King's Singers. James Taylor's version Taylor wrote "You Can Close Your Eyes" about a year before it was recorded in early 1971. Taylor regards it as "a secular hymn." Rock journalist Dave Thompson considers it one of the best songs Taylor had written up to that point. Allmusic critic Bill Janovitz describes "You Can Close Your Eyes" as "a beautiful lullaby", and ''Rolling Stone'' critic Ben Gerson similarly calls it "an exquisite lullaby." Critic Al Rudis goes fur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweet Baby James (song)
"Sweet Baby James" is a song written and recorded by James Taylor that serves as the opening and title track from his 1970 breakthrough album ''Sweet Baby James''. It was released as the first single from the album but did not chart. Nonetheless, it is one of his best-known and most popular tunes. Taylor considers it his best song. History The song was written by Taylor for the son of his older brother Alex, who was also named James (and indeed was named after him). Deliberately a cross between a cowboy song and a lullaby, it was first thought up by Taylor as he was driving through Carolina to meet his infant nephew for the first time. Taylor spent considerable effort on the lyrics, whose verses he later said used the most intricate rhyming pattern of his career. One of the most famous parts of the lyric is: :''Now the first of December was covered with snow'' :''And so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston'' :''Lord, the Berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carolina In My Mind
"Carolina in My Mind" is a song originally written and performed by American singer-songwriter James Taylor. It was Taylor's second single from his 1968 self-titled debut album. Taylor wrote ''Carolina in My Mind'' while overseas recording for the Beatles' label Apple Records, and the song's themes reflect his homesickness at the time. Released as a single in 1969, the song earned critical praise but not commercial success. It was re-recorded for Taylor's 1976 ''Greatest Hits'' album in the version that is most familiar to listeners. It has been a staple of Taylor's concert performances over the decades of his career. ''Carolina in My Mind'' is one of the most covered contemporary folk songs of all time, the most famous of which being covers by American singer-songwriter John Denver and American rock music duo the Everly Brothers. The song was a modest hit on the country charts in 1969 for North Carolinian singer George Hamilton IV, released as the first single from his 1970 al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fire And Rain (song)
"Fire and Rain" is a song written and performed by James Taylor and released in August 1970 on Warner Bros. Records as a single from his second album, ''Sweet Baby James''. The song follows Taylor's reaction to the suicide of Suzanne Schnerr, a childhood friend, and his experiences with drug addiction and fame. After its release, "Fire and Rain" peaked at number two on ''RPM'' Canada Top Singles chart and at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Background and composition On the VH1 series ''Storytellers'', Taylor said the song was about several incidents during his early recording career. The second line "Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you" refers to Suzanne Schnerr, a childhood friend of his who died by suicide while he was in London, England, recording his first album. In that same account, Taylor said he had been in a deep depression after the failure of his new band the Flying Machine to coalesce (the lyric "Sweet dreams and Flying Machines in pieces on th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
