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Todd Rundgren's Johnson
''Todd Rundgren's Johnson'' is Todd Rundgren's tribute album for blues musician Robert Johnson, released April 12, 2011, for Johnson's 100th birthday. Rundgren started out playing guitar professionally in a blues garage band called Woody's Truck Stop, around 1966, where he was heavily inspired by and performed blues songs by Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Blues Project, and music by original Chess blues artists and British blues-rock groups like the Yardbirds. This album is a testimony to that music, its direct predecessors, and influence, as Rundgren says, "When I first got out of high school, my first gig was in a blues band. I was fascinated with the music and all through high school started exploring recordings by a lot of the originals. Ironically enough, Robert Johnson wasn’t one of the people that I was familiar with. He was from an era of acoustic blues and I was very much into electric blues. But he did have a huge influence on a lot of the people that were influenci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Utopia. He is known for his sophisticated and often unorthodox music, his occasionally lavish stage shows, and his later experiments with interactive entertainment. He also produced music videos and was an early adopter and promoter of various computer technologies, such as using the Internet as a means of music distribution in the late 1990s. A native of Philadelphia, Rundgren began his professional career in the mid 1960s, forming the psychedelic band Nazz in 1967. Two years later, he left Nazz to pursue a solo career and immediately scored his first US top 40 hit with "We Gotta Get You a Woman" (1970). His best-known songs include "Hello It's Me" and " I Saw the Light" from ''Something/Anything?'' (1972), which get frequent air time on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stop Breaking Down
"Stop Breaking Down" or "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" is a Delta blues song recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937. An "upbeat boogie with a strong chorus line", the lyrics are partly based on Johnson's experience with certain women: The song shares elements with earlier blues songs and became popular largely through later interpretations by other artists, such as Sonny Boy Williamson I in 1945 and the Rolling Stones in 1972. Recording and composition Robert Johnson recorded "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" during his last recording session in 1937 in Dallas, Texas. The song is a solo piece with Johnson providing guitar accompaniment to his vocals. Several songs have been identified as "melodic precedents": "Caught Me Wrong Again" (Memphis Minnie, 1936), "Stop Hanging Around" (Buddy Moss, 1935), and "You Got to Move" (Memphis Minnie and Joe McCoy, 1934). Of his Dallas recordings, it is Johnson's most uptempo song, with "his exhuberant vocal driv nghome the story line". Two takes of the song ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Todd Rundgren Albums
Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated community * Todd County, Kentucky * Todd County, Minnesota * Todd County, South Dakota * Todd Fork, a river in Ohio * Todd Township, Minnesota * Todd Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania * Todd Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania * Todds, Ohio, an unincorporated community People * Todd (given name) * Todd (surname) Arts and entertainment * ''Todd'' (album), a 1974 album by Todd Rundgren * Todd (''Cars''), a character in ''Cars'' * Todd (''Stargate''), a recurring character in the series ''Stargate Atlantis'' * The Todd (''Scrubs''), a character on ''Scrubs'' Other uses * Todd (elm cultivar) * Todd class, a characteristic class in algebraic topology * Todd-AO, a company in film post-production * Todd Corporation, a New Zea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cross Road Blues
"Cross Road Blues" (also known as "Crossroads") is a blues song written and recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. Johnson performed it as a solo piece with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the Delta blues-style. The song has become part of the Robert Johnson mythology as referring to the place where he supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his musical talents, although the lyrics do not contain any specific references. Bluesman Elmore James revived the song with recordings in 1954 and 1960–1961. English guitarist Eric Clapton with Cream popularized the song as "Crossroads" in the late 1960s. Their blues rock interpretation inspired many cover versions and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it as one of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". ''Rolling Stone'' placed it at number three on the magazine's list of the "Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" in recognition of Clapton's guitar work. Recording In October 1936, Johnson audi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traveling Riverside Blues
"Travelling Riverside Blues" is a blues song written by the bluesman Robert Johnson. He recorded it on June 20, 1937, in Dallas, Texas, during his last recording session. The song was unreleased until its inclusion on the 1961 Johnson compilation album ''King of the Delta Blues Singers''. Robert Johnson original version Johnson's song has a typical twelve-bar blues structure (though as is common in downhome blues of this era, the length of each verse is in fact thirteen-and-a-half bars of 4/4), played on a single guitar tuned to open G, with a slide. An alternate version was recorded the same day (and was considered lost) but was finally released officially on the 1998 reissue of King of the Delta Blues Singers. Lyrics The song is well known for the lyric "Now you can squeeze my lemon 'til the juice run down my leg", which was later used by Led Zeppelin in their song "The Lemon Song", from the album ''Led Zeppelin II''. It is likely that Johnson had taken this himself from a son ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellhound On My Trail
"Hellhound on My Trail" (originally "Hell Hound on My Trail") is a blues song recorded by Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson in 1937. It was inspired by earlier blues songs and blues historian Ted Gioia describes it as one of Johnson's "best known and most admired performances—many would say it is his greatest". Background Prior to Johnson's song, the phrase "hellhound on my trail" had been used in various blues songs. Sylvester Weaver's "Devil Blues", recorded in 1927 contains: "Hellhounds start to chase me man, I was a running fool, My ankles caught on fire, couldn't keep my puppies cool" and "Funny Paper" Smith in his 1931 "Howling Wolf Blues No. 3" sang: "I take time when I'm prowlin', an' wipe my tracks out with my tail ... Get home and get blue an' start howlin', an' the hellhound on my trail". The Biddleville Quintette's 1926 religious recording "Show Pity Lord" opens with a religious testimony declaring that "The hell hound has turned back off my trail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Come On In My Kitchen
"Come On in My Kitchen" is a blues song by Robert Johnson. Music writer Elijah Wald has described it as "a hypnotic lament" and "his first unquestionable masterpiece". A sometime traveling companion and fellow musician, Johnny Shines, recalled that Johnson's performance of the song could be overpowering: Background Blues scholars have identified a body of previously recorded songs with direct and indirect melodic similarities. Edward Komara suggests a line of recordings with notably high degree of sales and of imitation by other artists: 1925 "How Long Daddy How Long" (Ida Cox with Papa Charlie Jackson); 1928 "How Long How Long Blues" (Leroy Carr with Scrapper Blackwell); 1930 "Sitting on Top of the World: (Mississippi Sheiks); 1934 "Six Feet in the Ground" (St. Louis Jimmy Oden). Former neighbours report that Johnson learned "How Long" from Carr's record in the year following its release. Komara suggests that Johnson's thumbed bass lines in "Come On in My Kitchen" were directly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
They're Red Hot
"They're Red Hot" is a song written and performed by Delta blues musician Robert Johnson. The song was recorded on November 27, 1936, in an improvised studio in Gunter Hotel, San Antonio, Texas. Vocalion Records issued it on a 78 rpm record, with "Come On in My Kitchen" as the second side, in 1937. Music historian Ted Gioia describes "They're Red Hot" as: References {{Authority control 1937 songs Red Hot Chili Peppers songs Robert Johnson songs Songs written by Robert Johnson Hokum blues songs Song recordings produced by Don Law Vocalion Records singles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweet Home Chicago
"Sweet Home Chicago" is a blues standard first recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936. Although he is often credited as the songwriter, several songs have been identified as precedents. The song has become a popular anthem for the city of Chicago despite ambiguity in Johnson's original lyrics. Numerous artists have interpreted the song in a variety of styles. Earlier songs The melody of "Sweet Home Chicago" is found in several blues songs, including "Honey Dripper Blues", "Red Cross Blues", and the immediate model for the song, "Kokomo Blues". The lyrics for "Honey Dripper Blues No. 2" by Edith North Johnson follow a typical AAB structure: Lucille Bogan's (as Bessie Jackson) "Red Cross Man" uses an AB plus refrain structure: Blues historian Elijah Wald suggests that Scrapper Blackwell was the first to introduce a reference to a city in his "Kokomo Blues", using a AAB verse: "Kokola Blues", recorded by Madlyn Davis a year earlier in 1927, also references Kokomo, Indiana, in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Last Fair Deal Gone Down
"Last Fair Deal Gone Down" is a song by American blues musician Robert Johnson. It was recorded during Johnson's third recording session in San Antonio, Texas, on November 27, 1936. The song was released on a 78 rpm record in April the following year by Vocalion Records as the second side of "32-20 Blues". It was included on the first reissue of Johnson's songs, ''King of the Delta Blues Singers'' in 1961. In 1990, it was released on compact disc as part of '' The Complete Recordings'' box set, and in 2000 it was included in Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol. 4. The song connects some scenes of gambling, work and romance, by situating them on the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. The expression "Deal Go Down" comes from the card game "Georgia Skin". The railroad serves as more than a setting; Max Haymes finds, in the one unclear verse, a furious description of the convict lease work used when the railroad was laid, before Johnson was born. Elijah Wald agr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love In Vain
"Love in Vain" (originally "Love in Vain Blues") is a blues song written by American musician Robert Johnson. Johnson's performancevocal accompanied by his finger-style acoustic guitar playinghas been described as "devastatingly bleak". He recorded the song in 1937 during his last recording session and in 1939 it was issued as the last of his original 78 rpm records. "Love in Vain" has elements of earlier Delta blues songs and for a while it was believed to be in the public domain. In 1969, the Rolling Stones recorded an updated rendition featuring an electric slide guitar solo. The popularity of their adaptation led to a lawsuit over the copyright, which was eventually resolved in favor of Johnson's estate. Various artists have recorded the song. Background In the late 1920s, Johnson began playing the guitar along with a rack-mounted harmonica. One of his influences was Leroy Carr, whose " How Long–How Long Blues" (1928) was an early favorite. Johnson later used th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Son House
Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal records give his date of birth as March 21, 1902. – October 19, 1988) was an American Delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed his musicianship to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accomp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
