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American Music (album)
''American Music'' is the debut album by American rock band The Blasters, released in 1980. The song "Marie Marie" became a breakthrough hit for Shakin' Stevens in 1980 (from ''This Ole House''). Matchbox recorded the song for their 1980 album ''Midnite Dynamos''. In 1997, the album was released on CD by Hightone Records. The tracks "Marie Marie" and "American Music" were rerecorded for The Blasters' second and wider-distributed eponymous album. Track listing All songs composed by Dave Alvin, except where noted. ;Side 1 #"American Music" – 2:08 #" Real Rock Drive" (Bill Haley) – 2:03 #"Barefoot Rock" ( Joseph Scott, Bud Harper) – 2:19 #"I Don't Want To" – 1:56 #"Marie Marie" – 2:02 #" I Wish You Would" (Billy Boy Arnold) - 2:41 #"She Ain't Got the Beat" (Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin) - 1:30 ;Side 2 #"Flattop Joint" - 2:27 #"Crazy Baby" (Ron Volz, Ron Wemsman) - 2:26 #"Never No Mo' Blues" ( Elsie McWilliams, Jimmie Rodgers) - 2:46 #" Buzz Buzz Buzz" (Robert B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Blasters
The Blasters are an American rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Their self-described " American Music" is a blend of rockabilly, early rock and roll, punk rock, mountain music, and rhythm and blues and country. Band history Origins and heyday (1979–1985) The Alvin brothers grew up in a household filled with music and parents who exposed their sons to different kinds of American music. They made friends with Bazz and Bateman, and together the boys were brave enough to go into Los Angeles blues clubs to watch their musical idols. They learned firsthand from the likes of Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker. Phil Alvin recalled how his mother would drive the boys anywhere, and around 1965 or 1966, she took Phil to see Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. At Phil's request, Big Joe Williams introduced him to Terry, and Phil wound up taking a number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Haley
William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-selling hits such as "Rock Around the Clock", " See You Later, Alligator", " Shake, Rattle and Roll", " Rocket 88", " Skinny Minnie", and "Razzle Dazzle". Haley has sold over 60 million records worldwide. In 1987, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Biography Early life and career Haley was born July 6, 1925 in Highland Park, Michigan. In 1929, the four-year-old Haley underwent an inner-ear mastoid operation which accidentally severed an optic nerve, leaving him blind in his left eye for the rest of his life. It is said that he adopted his trademark kiss curl over his right eye to draw attention from his left, but it also became his "gimmick", and added to his popularity. As a result of the effects of the Grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Bateman (drummer)
Bill Bateman is an American drummer best known for his long service in the Blasters. He has also played for the Flesh Eaters, the Red Devils, and the Cramps. In writing of the talent that the Blasters contained, Henry Rollins singled out Bateman as "one of the best drummers there is." A peer drummer, Dennis Diken of the Smithereens, called Bateman in 1987 "one of the most electrifying drummers I've ever heard. His intensity and spirit make your jaw drop." Early life Bateman was born on December 16, 1951 in Orange, California. He grew up in Downey, California, where he was neighbors with his future bandmates in the Blasters: Phil Alvin, Dave Alvin, and John Bazz. As Dave Alvin recalled in 2014, they were all like brothers - and fought like brothers too. From boyhood, the quartet shared a deep and abiding love of all forms of American music, and they ventured together into Los Angeles blues clubs, learning from veterans. With the Blasters In ''Make the Music Go Bang!'' (1997), Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Bazz
John Bazz (born July 6, 1952) is an American bass guitarist known for his long service in The Blasters. Bazz's credits also include work with various other notable musicians, including Charlie Musselwhite, Marc Ford, Mike Eldred, Top Jimmy, Ryan Bingham, and Lynwood Slim. Early life Bazz grew up in Downey, California. He was one of four children. His father, Jack, was born in Wyoming in 1923. The 1940 census shows Jack living in Los Angeles. He lived in the L.A. area for the rest of his life. The family name was originally Bazzanella. His grandfather, Giacomo, emigrated to the United States in 1905 and the surname was shortened. Bazz's neighbors in Downey were his future bandmates in The Blasters: Phil Alvin, Dave Alvin, and Bill Bateman. In a 1985 interview, he remembered that his family lived across the street from the Alvins, and that their mothers were friends before any of the boys were born. He said that in a sense, they were all brothers. Career With the Blasters I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Alvin
Philip Joseph Alvin (born March 6, 1953) is an American singer and guitarist known primarily as the leader of the rock band The Blasters. His voice has been described as "robust...powerful...rich, resonant, ndsupremely confident." Biography Alvin grew up in Downey, California in a music-loving family where he and his younger brother Dave Alvin were exposed to blues, rockabilly, and country. Inspired and influenced by the music they grew up with, Phil and Dave formed the rock and roll band The Blasters in the late 1970s with fellow Downey residents Bill Bateman and John Bazz. Sullivan, Denisebr>"Artist Biography: The Blasters" Allmusic.com. The group released four studio albums between 1980 and 1985. While never achieving mass market success on the music charts, the group's recordings and concerts drew critical acclaim and a cult following across the United States and Europe. In 1986, after The Blasters had disbanded, Alvin released a solo album, '' Un "Sung Stories"''. He then ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade career, he recorded in genres such as blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and psychedelic rock. He also helped bridge the gap between Delta blues and Chicago blues. Born into poverty in Mississippi as one of six children, he went through a rough childhood where his mother kicked him out of her house, and he moved in with his great-uncle, who was particularly abusive. He then ran away to his father's house where he finally found a happy family, and in the early 1930s became a protégé of legendary Delta blues guitarist and singer, Charley Patton. He started a solo career in the Deep South, playing with other notable blues musicians of the era, and at the end of a decade had made a name for himself in the Mississippi Delta. After going t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Dixon
William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues.Trager, Oliver (2004). ''Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia''. Billboard Books. pp. 298–299. . Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", " I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These songs were written during the peak years of Chess Records, from 1950 to 1965, and wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buzz-Buzz-Buzz
"Buzz-Buzz-Buzz" is a song written by John Gray and Bobby Day and performed by The Hollywood Flames. The lead vocals were by Earl Nelson, and later by Bob & Earl. It reached number 5 on the US R&B chart and number 11 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart in 1957. The single ranked 94th on ''Billboard's'' Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1958. Other versions *Rusty Draper released a version of the song as the B-side to his 1957 single, "I Get the Blues When It Rains". *Frankie Lymon released a version of the song as the B-side to his 1960 single, "Waitin' in School". *Day later released a version of the song as the B-side to his 1963 single, "Pretty Little Girl Next Door". * Rocky Roberts and the Airedales released a version of the song as a single in 1967. * Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets released a version of the song on his 1973 album, ''Shakin' Stevens & Sunsets''. * Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers released a version of the song as a single in 1978 in the United Kingdom. *The Bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmie Rodgers (country Singer)
James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmic yodeling, unusual for a music star of his era. Rodgers rose to prominence based upon his recordings, among country music's earliest, rather than concert performances. He has been cited as an inspiration by many artists and inductees into various halls of fame across both country music and the blues, in which he was also a pioneer. Among his other popular nicknames are "The Singing Brakeman" and "The Blue Yodeler". Early life According to tradition, Rodgers' birthplace is usually listed as Meridian, Mississippi; however, in documents Rodgers signed later in life, his birthplace was listed as Geiger, Alabama, the home of his paternal grandparents. Yet historians who have researched the circumstances of that document, including Nolan P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elsie McWilliams
Elsie McWilliams (''nee'' Williamson, June 1, 1896 - December 30, 1985) was a songwriter who wrote for Jimmie Rodgers. McWilliams, even though she is only officially credited with writing twenty songs, actually wrote or co-wrote 39 songs for Rodgers. McWilliams was his most frequent collaborator. She was the first woman to make a career as a country music songwriter. Biography McWilliams was born in Harperville, Mississippi into a musical and religious family. She graduated from high school in 1917 in Meridian and afterwards, taught school until she married. Her sister, Carrie, married Jimmie Rogers and in 1920, she and Rogers formed a dance band. McWilliams played piano and sang in the band. Rodgers asked McWilliams to help him with songwriting after he secured a recording contract and McWilliams agreed, traveling to recording sessions and collaborating. Rodgers could not read music, so McWilliams would play the songs and he would learn them by ear. The first song she wrote f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Boy Arnold
William "Billy Boy" Arnold (born September 16, 1935, Chicago, Illinois) AllMusic biography">AllMusic.html" ;"title="AllMusic">AllMusic biography/ref> is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. Arnold is a self-taught harmonica player and has worked with blues legends such as Bo Diddley, Johnny Shines, Otis Rush. Earl Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and others. Biography Born in Chicago as one of 16 children, he began playing harmonica as a child, and in 1948 received informal lessons from his near neighbour John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, shortly before the latter's death. Arnold made his recording debut in 1952 with "Hello Stranger" on the small Cool label, the record company giving him the nickname "Billy Boy". In the early 1950s, he joined forces with street musician Bo Diddley and played harmonica on the March 2, 1955 recording of the Bo Diddley song " I'm a Man" released by Checker Records. The same day as the Bo Diddley sessions, Billy Boy recorded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Wish You Would (Billy Boy Arnold Song)
"I Wish You Would" is a song recorded by Chicago blues musician Billy Boy Arnold in 1955. It was developed while Arnold was performing with Bo Diddley and incorporates a Diddley-style rhythm. Called "a timeless Chicago blues classic", "I Wish You Would" is Arnold's best-known song and has been recorded by several artists, including the Yardbirds, who recorded it for their debut single in 1964. Original song "I Wish You Would" was developed from "Diddy Diddy Dum Dum", a song Billy Boy Arnold wrote and sang with Bo Diddley. Leonard Chess, the owner/producer of Diddley's record label, Checker Records, planned to record the song as Diddley's second single. However, Arnold heard that Chess did not like him, so he took the song to Chess' rival, Vee-Jay Records. Vee-Jay suggested that he change the lyrics, so Arnold came up with "I Wish You Would". The song features a one-chord modal blues structure with a repeating guitar figure and Diddley-style rhythm. Backing Arnold (vocal and h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
