1890 Jelly Roll Morton*
1945 Ric Lee (born Richard Lee)*
1949 Sam Collins+
1950 Thomas Earl Petty*
1955 Mark Feltham*
1977 Ronnie Van Zant+
1997 Henry Vestine+
2011 Earl Gilliam+ , born 1930
Happy Birthday
Mark Feltham *20.10.1955
Mark Feltham(rechts)
Mark Feltham (* 20. Oktober 1955 in Bermondsey, Southwark, London) ist ein englischer Mundharmonikaspieler. Bekannt wurde er durch seine langjährige Arbeit mit der Bluesrockgruppe Nine Below Zero und als Sessionmusiker.
Mark Feltham (born 20 October 1955, Bermondsey, Southwark, London)[1] is an English musician best known for his harmonica playing. Feltham is a long term member of the British rhythm and blues band Nine Below Zero, and Rory Gallagher's band; and is often used as a session musician.
Jelly Roll Morton *20.10.1890
Jelly Roll Morton wurde in Gulfport (Mississippi) geboren und wuchs in New Orleans (Louisiana) auf. Seine Mutter Laura La Menthe, geborene Monette, verließ ihren Ehemann F. P. „Ed“ La Menthe, den Vater Jelly Rolls, zu einer Zeit, als dieser noch ein Kind war. Sie heiratete daraufhin Willie Morton. Neben den Eltern spielten seine Großmutter Laura „Mimi“ Monette, geborene Baudoin, seine jüngeren Halbschwestern, von denen eine den Vornamen Amède trug, sein Cousin Dink Johnson sowie seine Patin Laura Hunter, von der in der Regel als Eulalie Echo berichtet wird, eine prägende Rolle im Leben von Jelly Roll Morton.
Sein Spitzname „Jelly Roll“ hatte einen sexuellen Hintersinn, der (zumindest) damals allgemein verstanden wurde, nach der herrschenden puritanischen Sprachnorm aber als unsittlich galt, und diente ursprünglich als Anspielung auf Mortons zahlreiche Affairen. Aus demselben Grunde gilt seine Interpretation des „Winin' Boy Blues“ als eine Art Erkennungsmelodie. Diese Komposition mit alternativem Text ist auch als „I'm Alabama Bound“ veröffentlicht.
Mortons Geburtsdatum ist umstritten. Eine Geburtsurkunde existiert nicht; die Angaben schwanken zwischen 1884 und 1890:
Seine Musterungspapiere für den Ersten Weltkrieg nennen den 13. September 1884.
Morton selbst gab den 20. September 1885 an.
Seine erste Ehefrau Anita Gonzales und seine elf Jahre jüngere Halbschwester Amède gaben 1886 als Geburtsjahr an.
Eine Versicherungspolice nennt das Jahr 1888.
Seine Todesurkunde weist 1889 als Geburtsjahr aus.
Eine Taufbescheinigung von 1894 gibt als Geburtstag den 20. Oktober 1890 an.
Er interessierte sich seit frühester Kindheit für Musik, was vermutlich darauf zurückzuführen ist, dass in seiner Familie große Begeisterung für amerikanische Volksmusik sowie für Opern und Operetten geherrscht hat. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist dann auch seine musikalische Anspielung auf die Verdi-Oper „Der Troubadour“ während der „Library of Congress Recordings“ („The Miserere“) zu sehen und zu verstehen. Als aktiver Musiker (Posaune) war bislang aber einzig Mortons Vater F. P. La Menthe in Erscheinung getreten. Darüber hinaus ist zu berücksichtigen, dass die kulturelle Vielfalt in New Orleans dem jungen Ferdinand Morton den Einblick in ein sehr breites Spektrum an musikalischen Strömungen ermöglicht haben dürfte. Als er im Alter von etwa zehn Jahren einen Pianisten in der französischen Oper in New Orleans spielen hörte, war er so fasziniert, dass er begann, Klavierunterricht zu nehmen. Belegt ist, dass er ab 1895 von dem angesehenen Lehrer Professor Nickerson in New Orleans unterrichtet wurde.
Zunächst fiel Morton als talentierter Gitarrist, Sänger und Harmonikaspieler auf. In seinen Erinnerungen nannte er Lieder wie „Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight“, „Wearing My Heart for You“, „Old Oaden Bucket“, „Bird in a Gilded Cage“, „Mr Johnson Turn Me Loose“ als Beispiele aus seinem Repertoire dieser Zeit. Als Beleg für seine Qualitäten sowohl auf der Gitarre als auch als Sänger dienen vor allem jene späten Aufnahmen, die Morton gemeinsam mit seinem Biographen Alan Lomax im Jahre 1938 in der Library of Congress in Washington D.C. getätigt hat.
1902 begann Morton, in der Öffentlichkeit, insbesondere im Vergnügungs- und Rotlichtviertel rund um die Basin Street in New Orleans, auf Paraden sowie auf Volksfesten in den vornehmen Vororten dieser Stadt (beispielhaft dafür die Aufnahmen „Milenberg Joys“ und „New Orleans Blues“), zeitgenössische Ragtimes, Lieder und Tänze zu spielen. Als seine streng gläubige Großmutter, bei der er nach dem Tod der Mutter gemeinsam mit seinen jüngeren Schwestern lebte, von der „unseriösen“ Tätigkeit ihres Enkels erfuhr, zwang sie ihn, auszuziehen. Nachdem er übergangsweise bei seiner Patin Laura Hunter / Eulalie Echo unterkommen konnte, reiste er durch viele Städte der Südstaaten der USA (Gulfport/Mississippi, Mobile/Alabama, Memphis/Tennessee, St. Louis/Missouri, Kansas City/Kansas) sowie durch Kalifornien und nach Chicago/Illinois. Überall dort trat er als Pianist auf.
weiterlesen: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Roll_Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (October 20, 1890 –
July 10, 1941),[1] known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an
American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer who
started his career in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Widely recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, Morton is perhaps most notable as jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential spirit and characteristics when notated.[2] His composition "Jelly Roll Blues" was the first published jazz composition, in 1915. Morton is also notable for naming and popularizing the "Spanish Tinge" (habanera rhythm and tresillo), and for writing such standards as "King Porter Stomp", "Wolverine Blues", "Black Bottom Stomp", and "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say", the last a tribute to New Orleans musicians from the turn of the 19th century to 20th century.
Reputed for his arrogance and self-promotion as often as recognized in his day for his musical talents, Morton claimed to have invented jazz outright in 1902—much to the derision of later musicians and critics.[3] The jazz historian, musician, and composer Gunther Schuller says of Morton's "hyperbolic assertions" that there is "no proof to the contrary" and that Morton's "considerable accomplishments in themselves provide reasonable substantiation".[4] However, the scholar Katy Martin has argued that Morton's bragging was exaggerated by Alan Lomax in the book Mister Jelly Roll, and this portrayal has influenced public opinion and scholarship on Morton since.[5]
Biography
Early life and education
Morton was born into a creole of color family in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana. Sources differ as to his birth date: a baptismal certificate issued in 1894 lists his date of birth as October 20, 1890; Morton and his half-sisters claimed he was born on September 20, 1885.[citation needed] His World War I draft registration card showed September 13, 1884, but his California death certificate listed his birth as September 20, 1889. He was born to F. P. Lamothe and Louise Monette (written as Lemott and Monett on his baptismal certificate). Eulaley Haco (Eulalie Hécaud) was the godparent. Hécaud helped choose his christening name of Ferdinand. His parents lived in a common-law marriage and were not legally married. No birth certificate has been found to date.
Ferdinand started playing music as a child, showing early talent. After his parents separated, his mother married a man named Mouton. Ferdinand took his stepfather's name and anglicized it as "Morton".
Musical career
At the age of fourteen, Morton began working as a piano player in a brothel (or, as it was referred to then, a sporting house). While working there, he was living with his religious, church-going great-grandmother; he had her convinced that he worked as a night watchman in a barrel factory.
In that atmosphere, he often sang smutty lyrics; he took the nickname "Jelly Roll",[6] which was black slang for female genitalia.[7]
After Morton's grandmother found out that he was playing jazz in a local brothel, she kicked him out of her house.
He said:
When my grandmother found out that I was playing jazz in one of the sporting houses in the District, she told me that I had disgraced the family and forbade me to live at the house... She told me that devil music would surely bring about my downfall, but I just couldn't put it behind me.[8]
Tony Jackson, also a pianist at brothels and an accomplished guitar player, was a major influence on Morton's music. Jelly Roll said that Jackson was the only pianist better than he was.
Touring
Around 1904, Morton also started touring in the American South, working with minstrel shows, gambling and composing. His works "Jelly Roll Blues", "New Orleans Blues", "Frog-I-More Rag", "Animule Dance", and "King Porter Stomp" were composed during this period. He got to Chicago in 1910 and New York City in 1911, where future stride greats James P. Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith caught his act, years before the blues were widely played in the North.[9]
In 1912–1914, Morton toured with his girlfriend Rosa Brown as a vaudeville act before settling in Chicago for three years. By 1914, he had started writing down his compositions. In 1915, his "Jelly Roll Blues" was arguably the first jazz composition ever published, recording as sheet music the New Orleans traditions that had been jealously guarded by the musicians. In 1917, he followed bandleader William Manuel Johnson and Johnson's sister Anita Gonzalez to California, where Morton's tango, "The Crave", made a sensation in Hollywood.[10]
Vancouver
Morton was invited to play a new Vancouver, British Columbia, nightclub called The Patricia, on East Hastings Street. The jazz historian Mark Miller described his arrival as "an extended period of itinerancy as a pianist, vaudeville performer, gambler, hustler, and, as legend would have it, pimp".[11]
Chicago
Morton returned to Chicago in 1923 to claim authorship of his recently published rag, "The Wolverines", which had become a hit as "Wolverine Blues" in the Windy City. He released the first of his commercial recordings, first as piano rolls, then on record, both as a piano soloist and with various jazz bands.[12]
In 1926, Morton succeeded in getting a contract to record for the largest and most prestigious company in the United States, Victor. This gave him a chance to bring a well-rehearsed band to play his arrangements in Victor's Chicago recording studios. These recordings by Jelly Roll Morton & His Red Hot Peppers are regarded as classics of 1920s jazz. The Red Hot Peppers featured such other New Orleans jazz luminaries as Kid Ory, Omer Simeon, George Mitchell, Johnny St. Cyr, Barney Bigard, Johnny Dodds, Baby Dodds, and Andrew Hilaire. Jelly Roll Morton & His Red Hot Peppers were one of the first acts booked on tours by MCA.[13]
Marriage and family
In November 1928, Morton married the showgirl Mabel Bertrand in Gary, Indiana.
New York City
They moved that year to New York City, where Morton continued to record for Victor. His piano solos and trio recordings are well regarded, but his band recordings suffer in comparison with the Chicago sides, where Morton could draw on many great New Orleans musicians for sidemen.[14] Although he recorded with the noted musicians clarinetists Omer Simeon, George Baquet, Albert Nicholas, Wilton Crawley, Barney Bigard, Russell Procope, Lorenzo Tio and Artie Shaw, trumpeters Bubber Miley, Johnny Dunn and Henry "Red" Allen, saxophonists Sidney Bechet, Paul Barnes and Bud Freeman, bassist Pops Foster, and drummers Paul Barbarin, Cozy Cole and Zutty Singleton, Morton generally had trouble finding musicians who wanted to play his style of jazz. His New York sessions failed to produce a hit.[15]
With the Great Depression and the near collapse of the record industry, Victor did not renew Morton's recording contract for 1931. Morton continued playing in New York, but struggled financially. He briefly had a radio show in 1934, then took on touring in the band of a traveling burlesque act for some steady income. In 1935, Morton's 30-year-old composition King Porter Stomp, as arranged by Fletcher Henderson, became Benny Goodman's first hit and a swing standard, but Morton received no royalties from its recordings.[16]
Washington, D.C.
In 1935, Morton moved to Washington, D.C., to become the manager/piano player of a bar called, at various times, the "Music Box", "Blue Moon Inn", and "Jungle Inn" in the African-American neighborhood of Shaw. (The building that hosted the nightclub stands at 1211 U Street NW.) Morton was also the master of ceremonies, bouncer, and bartender of the club. He lived in Washington for a few years; the club owner allowed all her friends free admission and drinks, which prevented Morton from making the business a success.[17]
In 1938, Morton was stabbed by a friend of the owner and suffered wounds to the head and chest. After this incident, his wife Mabel demanded that they leave Washington.[17]
During Morton's brief residency at the Music Box, the folklorist Alan Lomax heard the pianist playing in the bar. In May 1938, Lomax invited Morton to record music and interviews for the Library of Congress. The sessions, originally intended as a short interview with musical examples for use by music researchers in the Library of Congress, soon expanded to record more than eight hours of Morton talking and playing piano. Lomax also conducted longer interviews during which he took notes but did not record. Despite the low fidelity of these non-commercial recordings, their musical and historical importance have attracted numerous jazz fans, and they have helped to ensure Morton's place in jazz history.[18]
Lomax was very interested in Morton's Storyville days in New Orleans and the ribald songs of the time. Although reluctant to recount and record these, Morton eventually obliged Lomax. Because of the suggestive nature of the songs, some of the Library of Congress recordings were not released until 2005.[18]
In his interviews, Morton claimed to have been born in 1885. He was aware that if he had been born in 1890, he would have been slightly too young to make a good case as the inventor of jazz. He said in the interview that Buddy Bolden played ragtime but not jazz; this is not accepted by the consensus of Bolden's other New Orleans contemporaries. The contradictions may stem from different definitions for the terms ragtime and jazz. These interviews, released in different forms over the years, were released on an eight-CD boxed set in 2005, The Complete Library of Congress Recordings. This collection won two Grammy Awards.[18] The same year, Morton was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Later years
When Morton was stabbed and wounded, a nearby whites-only hospital refused to treat him, as the city had racially segregated facilities. He was transported to a black hospital farther away.[citation needed] When he was in the hospital, the doctors left ice on his wounds for several hours before attending to his eventually fatal injury. His recovery from his wounds was incomplete, and thereafter he was often ill and easily became short of breath. Morton made a new series of commercial recordings in New York, several recounting tunes from his early years that he discussed in his Library of Congress interviews.[citation needed]
Worsening asthma sent him to a New York hospital for three months at one point. He continued to suffer from respiratory problems when visiting Los Angeles with a series of manuscripts of new tunes and arrangements, planning to form a new band and restart his career. Morton died on July 10, 1941, after an eleven-day stay in Los Angeles County General Hospital.
According to the jazz historian David Gelly in 2000, Morton's arrogance and "bumptious" persona alienated so many musicians over the years that no colleagues or admirers attended his funeral.[19] But, a contemporary news account of the funeral in the August 1, 1941, issue of Downbeat says that fellow musicians Kid Ory, Mutt Carey, Fred Washington and Ed Garland were among his pall bearers. The story notes the absence of Duke Ellington and Jimmie Lunceford, both of whom were appearing in Los Angeles at the time. (The article is reproduced in Alan Lomax's biography of Morton, Mister Jelly Roll, University of California Press, 1950.)
Piano style
Morton's piano style was formed from early secondary ragtime and "shout",[citation needed] which also evolved separately into the New York school of stride piano. Morton's playing was also close to barrelhouse, which produced boogie woogie.[citation needed]
Morton often played the melody of a tune with his right thumb, while sounding a harmony above these notes with other fingers of the right hand. This added a rustic or "out-of-tune" sound (due to the playing of a diminished 5th above the melody). This may still be recognized as belonging to New Orleans. Morton also walked in major and minor sixths in the bass, instead of tenths or octaves. He played basic swing rhythms in both the left and right hand.
Widely recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, Morton is perhaps most notable as jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential spirit and characteristics when notated.[2] His composition "Jelly Roll Blues" was the first published jazz composition, in 1915. Morton is also notable for naming and popularizing the "Spanish Tinge" (habanera rhythm and tresillo), and for writing such standards as "King Porter Stomp", "Wolverine Blues", "Black Bottom Stomp", and "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say", the last a tribute to New Orleans musicians from the turn of the 19th century to 20th century.
Reputed for his arrogance and self-promotion as often as recognized in his day for his musical talents, Morton claimed to have invented jazz outright in 1902—much to the derision of later musicians and critics.[3] The jazz historian, musician, and composer Gunther Schuller says of Morton's "hyperbolic assertions" that there is "no proof to the contrary" and that Morton's "considerable accomplishments in themselves provide reasonable substantiation".[4] However, the scholar Katy Martin has argued that Morton's bragging was exaggerated by Alan Lomax in the book Mister Jelly Roll, and this portrayal has influenced public opinion and scholarship on Morton since.[5]
Biography
Early life and education
Morton was born into a creole of color family in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana. Sources differ as to his birth date: a baptismal certificate issued in 1894 lists his date of birth as October 20, 1890; Morton and his half-sisters claimed he was born on September 20, 1885.[citation needed] His World War I draft registration card showed September 13, 1884, but his California death certificate listed his birth as September 20, 1889. He was born to F. P. Lamothe and Louise Monette (written as Lemott and Monett on his baptismal certificate). Eulaley Haco (Eulalie Hécaud) was the godparent. Hécaud helped choose his christening name of Ferdinand. His parents lived in a common-law marriage and were not legally married. No birth certificate has been found to date.
Ferdinand started playing music as a child, showing early talent. After his parents separated, his mother married a man named Mouton. Ferdinand took his stepfather's name and anglicized it as "Morton".
Musical career
At the age of fourteen, Morton began working as a piano player in a brothel (or, as it was referred to then, a sporting house). While working there, he was living with his religious, church-going great-grandmother; he had her convinced that he worked as a night watchman in a barrel factory.
In that atmosphere, he often sang smutty lyrics; he took the nickname "Jelly Roll",[6] which was black slang for female genitalia.[7]
After Morton's grandmother found out that he was playing jazz in a local brothel, she kicked him out of her house.
He said:
When my grandmother found out that I was playing jazz in one of the sporting houses in the District, she told me that I had disgraced the family and forbade me to live at the house... She told me that devil music would surely bring about my downfall, but I just couldn't put it behind me.[8]
Tony Jackson, also a pianist at brothels and an accomplished guitar player, was a major influence on Morton's music. Jelly Roll said that Jackson was the only pianist better than he was.
Touring
Around 1904, Morton also started touring in the American South, working with minstrel shows, gambling and composing. His works "Jelly Roll Blues", "New Orleans Blues", "Frog-I-More Rag", "Animule Dance", and "King Porter Stomp" were composed during this period. He got to Chicago in 1910 and New York City in 1911, where future stride greats James P. Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith caught his act, years before the blues were widely played in the North.[9]
In 1912–1914, Morton toured with his girlfriend Rosa Brown as a vaudeville act before settling in Chicago for three years. By 1914, he had started writing down his compositions. In 1915, his "Jelly Roll Blues" was arguably the first jazz composition ever published, recording as sheet music the New Orleans traditions that had been jealously guarded by the musicians. In 1917, he followed bandleader William Manuel Johnson and Johnson's sister Anita Gonzalez to California, where Morton's tango, "The Crave", made a sensation in Hollywood.[10]
Vancouver
Morton was invited to play a new Vancouver, British Columbia, nightclub called The Patricia, on East Hastings Street. The jazz historian Mark Miller described his arrival as "an extended period of itinerancy as a pianist, vaudeville performer, gambler, hustler, and, as legend would have it, pimp".[11]
Chicago
Morton returned to Chicago in 1923 to claim authorship of his recently published rag, "The Wolverines", which had become a hit as "Wolverine Blues" in the Windy City. He released the first of his commercial recordings, first as piano rolls, then on record, both as a piano soloist and with various jazz bands.[12]
In 1926, Morton succeeded in getting a contract to record for the largest and most prestigious company in the United States, Victor. This gave him a chance to bring a well-rehearsed band to play his arrangements in Victor's Chicago recording studios. These recordings by Jelly Roll Morton & His Red Hot Peppers are regarded as classics of 1920s jazz. The Red Hot Peppers featured such other New Orleans jazz luminaries as Kid Ory, Omer Simeon, George Mitchell, Johnny St. Cyr, Barney Bigard, Johnny Dodds, Baby Dodds, and Andrew Hilaire. Jelly Roll Morton & His Red Hot Peppers were one of the first acts booked on tours by MCA.[13]
Marriage and family
In November 1928, Morton married the showgirl Mabel Bertrand in Gary, Indiana.
New York City
They moved that year to New York City, where Morton continued to record for Victor. His piano solos and trio recordings are well regarded, but his band recordings suffer in comparison with the Chicago sides, where Morton could draw on many great New Orleans musicians for sidemen.[14] Although he recorded with the noted musicians clarinetists Omer Simeon, George Baquet, Albert Nicholas, Wilton Crawley, Barney Bigard, Russell Procope, Lorenzo Tio and Artie Shaw, trumpeters Bubber Miley, Johnny Dunn and Henry "Red" Allen, saxophonists Sidney Bechet, Paul Barnes and Bud Freeman, bassist Pops Foster, and drummers Paul Barbarin, Cozy Cole and Zutty Singleton, Morton generally had trouble finding musicians who wanted to play his style of jazz. His New York sessions failed to produce a hit.[15]
With the Great Depression and the near collapse of the record industry, Victor did not renew Morton's recording contract for 1931. Morton continued playing in New York, but struggled financially. He briefly had a radio show in 1934, then took on touring in the band of a traveling burlesque act for some steady income. In 1935, Morton's 30-year-old composition King Porter Stomp, as arranged by Fletcher Henderson, became Benny Goodman's first hit and a swing standard, but Morton received no royalties from its recordings.[16]
Washington, D.C.
In 1935, Morton moved to Washington, D.C., to become the manager/piano player of a bar called, at various times, the "Music Box", "Blue Moon Inn", and "Jungle Inn" in the African-American neighborhood of Shaw. (The building that hosted the nightclub stands at 1211 U Street NW.) Morton was also the master of ceremonies, bouncer, and bartender of the club. He lived in Washington for a few years; the club owner allowed all her friends free admission and drinks, which prevented Morton from making the business a success.[17]
In 1938, Morton was stabbed by a friend of the owner and suffered wounds to the head and chest. After this incident, his wife Mabel demanded that they leave Washington.[17]
During Morton's brief residency at the Music Box, the folklorist Alan Lomax heard the pianist playing in the bar. In May 1938, Lomax invited Morton to record music and interviews for the Library of Congress. The sessions, originally intended as a short interview with musical examples for use by music researchers in the Library of Congress, soon expanded to record more than eight hours of Morton talking and playing piano. Lomax also conducted longer interviews during which he took notes but did not record. Despite the low fidelity of these non-commercial recordings, their musical and historical importance have attracted numerous jazz fans, and they have helped to ensure Morton's place in jazz history.[18]
Lomax was very interested in Morton's Storyville days in New Orleans and the ribald songs of the time. Although reluctant to recount and record these, Morton eventually obliged Lomax. Because of the suggestive nature of the songs, some of the Library of Congress recordings were not released until 2005.[18]
In his interviews, Morton claimed to have been born in 1885. He was aware that if he had been born in 1890, he would have been slightly too young to make a good case as the inventor of jazz. He said in the interview that Buddy Bolden played ragtime but not jazz; this is not accepted by the consensus of Bolden's other New Orleans contemporaries. The contradictions may stem from different definitions for the terms ragtime and jazz. These interviews, released in different forms over the years, were released on an eight-CD boxed set in 2005, The Complete Library of Congress Recordings. This collection won two Grammy Awards.[18] The same year, Morton was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Later years
When Morton was stabbed and wounded, a nearby whites-only hospital refused to treat him, as the city had racially segregated facilities. He was transported to a black hospital farther away.[citation needed] When he was in the hospital, the doctors left ice on his wounds for several hours before attending to his eventually fatal injury. His recovery from his wounds was incomplete, and thereafter he was often ill and easily became short of breath. Morton made a new series of commercial recordings in New York, several recounting tunes from his early years that he discussed in his Library of Congress interviews.[citation needed]
Worsening asthma sent him to a New York hospital for three months at one point. He continued to suffer from respiratory problems when visiting Los Angeles with a series of manuscripts of new tunes and arrangements, planning to form a new band and restart his career. Morton died on July 10, 1941, after an eleven-day stay in Los Angeles County General Hospital.
According to the jazz historian David Gelly in 2000, Morton's arrogance and "bumptious" persona alienated so many musicians over the years that no colleagues or admirers attended his funeral.[19] But, a contemporary news account of the funeral in the August 1, 1941, issue of Downbeat says that fellow musicians Kid Ory, Mutt Carey, Fred Washington and Ed Garland were among his pall bearers. The story notes the absence of Duke Ellington and Jimmie Lunceford, both of whom were appearing in Los Angeles at the time. (The article is reproduced in Alan Lomax's biography of Morton, Mister Jelly Roll, University of California Press, 1950.)
Piano style
Morton's piano style was formed from early secondary ragtime and "shout",[citation needed] which also evolved separately into the New York school of stride piano. Morton's playing was also close to barrelhouse, which produced boogie woogie.[citation needed]
Morton often played the melody of a tune with his right thumb, while sounding a harmony above these notes with other fingers of the right hand. This added a rustic or "out-of-tune" sound (due to the playing of a diminished 5th above the melody). This may still be recognized as belonging to New Orleans. Morton also walked in major and minor sixths in the bass, instead of tenths or octaves. He played basic swing rhythms in both the left and right hand.
Jelly
Roll Morton Finger Breaker
Ric Lee (born Richard Lee) Geb. 20.10.1945
Berühmt wurden Ten Years After durch ihren Auftritt beim Woodstock Festival 1969. Auf dem Doppelalbum zum Film sind sie mit einer ganzen LP-Seite mit Alvin Lees Song „I´m Going Home“ vertreten. Mit weiteren Shows, unter anderem beim Isle of Wight Festival 1970 und Hits aus der Feder des Sängers und Gitaristen Lee erspielten sich Ten Years After den Ruf einer Legende. Dann kam es 1975 zum Split. Alvin Lee trennte sich von den Bandmitgliedern. Da die Namensrechte zu “Ten Years After” beim damaligen Bassisten Leo Lyons liegen nannte Lee seine neue Band halt “Ten Years Later”.
Schüttorf. In seiner 50-jährigen Karriere arbeitete Alvin Lee, der lange Zeit als schnellster Gitarrist der Welt galt, unter anderem mit George Harrison (Beatles), Mick Fleedwood (Fleedwood Mac), Steve Winwood (Traffic), Mick Taylor und Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones) zusammen. Zu seien größten Hits gehörten „Hear Me Calling“, „I’d Love to Change the World“ und „The Bluest Blues“. Er verstarb mit 68 Jahren 2013 in Spanien. Sein letztes Konzert gab er am 28.05.2012 in Raalte/NL beim „Ribs´n´Blues“ Festival. 2003 ging Leo Lyons mit Ric Lee, Chick Churchill und Joe Gooch wieder als „Ten Years After“ auf Tour – bis Leo 2010 mit Joe Gooch die Band „Hundred Seventy Split“ gründete. Die Formation ging mit John Watts „Fisher Z“ auf Tour. Dessen Band besteht aus Musikern, die auch für Marcus Bonfanti arbeiten. Um die Verwirrung komplett zu machen: Marcus Bonfanti ersetzte Joe Gooch bei „Ten Years After“ an der Gitarre. Wer stand denn nun im Komplex in Schüttorf auf der Bühne? Namentlich waren das Ric Lee (Drums), Chick Churchill (Keyboard), Colin Hodgkinson (Bass) und Marcus Bonfanti (Gitarre).
Während des Soundchecks konnte Blixxm mir Ric Lee (übrigens nicht verwandt mit Alvin Lee) sprechen.
Blixxm: Vielen Dank für die Zeit, die du dir für uns nimmst. Vor einigen Jahren habt ihr ja bereits hier im Club gespielt…
Ric Lee: Ja, das ist viele Jahre her…
Blixxm: Was hat sich in der Zwischenzeit getan?
Ric Lee: Wir mussten ein neues Line-Up zusammenstellen. Leo Lyons und Joe Gooch wollten ihr eigenes Ding machen. Chick Churchill und ich beschlossen, diese Ten-Years-After-Sache weiter durchzuziehen. Wir haben die Rechte am Namen, so können wir das machen. Zuerst fanden wir Colin Hodgkinson, mit dem wir seit Jahren befreundet sind, in denen er Bass bei der Spencer Davis Group spielte. Wir waren sehr glücklich als er uns zusagte. Wir fanden einen anderen Gitarristen, das klappte aber dann doch nicht. Also mussten wir uns erneut umsehen. Aber dann kam Marcus Bonfanti um die Ecke. Mit ihm lief sofort alles fantastisch.
Blixxm: Zu dem teilweise unerfreulichem Ärger, den es zwischen euch und Alvin Lee gab, der ja leider verstorben ist… Hattet ihr noch Kontakt?
Ric Lee: Ja. Ich glaube es war 2006. Er war auf Tour mit Edgar Winter. Und eine Weile danach, ich kann mich nicht erinnern welche Location es war… Wir sprachen wieder miteinander. Ich meine, wir hatten eine „Up & Down Relationship“. Aber wir hatten immer großen Respekt als Musiker voreinander. Er mochte sehr gerne diesen Swing-Kram, darum hatten wir immer so eine Nummer auf den Alben. Das gehörte zu unserem Erscheinungsbild.
Schüttorf. In seiner 50-jährigen Karriere arbeitete Alvin Lee, der lange Zeit als schnellster Gitarrist der Welt galt, unter anderem mit George Harrison (Beatles), Mick Fleedwood (Fleedwood Mac), Steve Winwood (Traffic), Mick Taylor und Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones) zusammen. Zu seien größten Hits gehörten „Hear Me Calling“, „I’d Love to Change the World“ und „The Bluest Blues“. Er verstarb mit 68 Jahren 2013 in Spanien. Sein letztes Konzert gab er am 28.05.2012 in Raalte/NL beim „Ribs´n´Blues“ Festival. 2003 ging Leo Lyons mit Ric Lee, Chick Churchill und Joe Gooch wieder als „Ten Years After“ auf Tour – bis Leo 2010 mit Joe Gooch die Band „Hundred Seventy Split“ gründete. Die Formation ging mit John Watts „Fisher Z“ auf Tour. Dessen Band besteht aus Musikern, die auch für Marcus Bonfanti arbeiten. Um die Verwirrung komplett zu machen: Marcus Bonfanti ersetzte Joe Gooch bei „Ten Years After“ an der Gitarre. Wer stand denn nun im Komplex in Schüttorf auf der Bühne? Namentlich waren das Ric Lee (Drums), Chick Churchill (Keyboard), Colin Hodgkinson (Bass) und Marcus Bonfanti (Gitarre).
Während des Soundchecks konnte Blixxm mir Ric Lee (übrigens nicht verwandt mit Alvin Lee) sprechen.
Blixxm: Vielen Dank für die Zeit, die du dir für uns nimmst. Vor einigen Jahren habt ihr ja bereits hier im Club gespielt…
Ric Lee: Ja, das ist viele Jahre her…
Blixxm: Was hat sich in der Zwischenzeit getan?
Ric Lee: Wir mussten ein neues Line-Up zusammenstellen. Leo Lyons und Joe Gooch wollten ihr eigenes Ding machen. Chick Churchill und ich beschlossen, diese Ten-Years-After-Sache weiter durchzuziehen. Wir haben die Rechte am Namen, so können wir das machen. Zuerst fanden wir Colin Hodgkinson, mit dem wir seit Jahren befreundet sind, in denen er Bass bei der Spencer Davis Group spielte. Wir waren sehr glücklich als er uns zusagte. Wir fanden einen anderen Gitarristen, das klappte aber dann doch nicht. Also mussten wir uns erneut umsehen. Aber dann kam Marcus Bonfanti um die Ecke. Mit ihm lief sofort alles fantastisch.
Blixxm: Zu dem teilweise unerfreulichem Ärger, den es zwischen euch und Alvin Lee gab, der ja leider verstorben ist… Hattet ihr noch Kontakt?
Ric Lee: Ja. Ich glaube es war 2006. Er war auf Tour mit Edgar Winter. Und eine Weile danach, ich kann mich nicht erinnern welche Location es war… Wir sprachen wieder miteinander. Ich meine, wir hatten eine „Up & Down Relationship“. Aber wir hatten immer großen Respekt als Musiker voreinander. Er mochte sehr gerne diesen Swing-Kram, darum hatten wir immer so eine Nummer auf den Alben. Das gehörte zu unserem Erscheinungsbild.
Richard "Ric" Lee (born 20 October 1945)[1] is an English drummer of the late 1960s to '70s blues rock band Ten Years After.
Biography
Lee was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. Was a founding member of his first band, The Falcons.[1] He was also a drummer for Ricky Storm and The Mansfields, which he was persuaded to leave in August 1965. Soon he took over drumming duties for The Jaybirds, with guitarist Alvin Lee, and bassist Leo Lyons. In 1966 they arrived in London, where a keyboardist, Chick Churchill also joined the band.
In 1968, the band auditioned at the Marquee Club in London under the name The Blues Yard, but quickly became the successful outfit, Ten Years After. With this group, Lee played at rock festivals including Woodstock in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival on 29 August 1970.
When Ten Years After disbanded in 1976, Lee formed March Music/Fast Western Productions undertaking music publishing, management and record production[1] and signed acts such as the Incredible Kidda Band.
In 1994, Lee formed The Breakers with an old friend, Ian Ellis (ex-Clouds) and together they wrote and produced their first studio album "MILAN", which was released in July 1995. Along with tours of the UK and Europe, The Breakers were guests with Bryan Adams and Bonnie Raitt, on NBC Super Channel's "Talking Blues" programme that aired in Europe in March 1996.
In 2011, Lee formed the 'Ric Lee Blues Project' which was later renamed 'Ric Lee's Natural Born Swingers' for their 2012 album release 'Put a Record On'. The band featured Bob Hall of Savoy Brown, Danny Handley from The Animals and British session bassist Scott Whitley who has worked with many major acts from around the world. The album received substantial airplay on European and internet radio. Handley and Whitely have left the band. John Idan, known for his work with the reformed Yardbirds, joined the band on guitar and vocals.
He has two children and lives in the Derbyshire Dales.
Biography
Lee was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. Was a founding member of his first band, The Falcons.[1] He was also a drummer for Ricky Storm and The Mansfields, which he was persuaded to leave in August 1965. Soon he took over drumming duties for The Jaybirds, with guitarist Alvin Lee, and bassist Leo Lyons. In 1966 they arrived in London, where a keyboardist, Chick Churchill also joined the band.
In 1968, the band auditioned at the Marquee Club in London under the name The Blues Yard, but quickly became the successful outfit, Ten Years After. With this group, Lee played at rock festivals including Woodstock in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival on 29 August 1970.
When Ten Years After disbanded in 1976, Lee formed March Music/Fast Western Productions undertaking music publishing, management and record production[1] and signed acts such as the Incredible Kidda Band.
In 1994, Lee formed The Breakers with an old friend, Ian Ellis (ex-Clouds) and together they wrote and produced their first studio album "MILAN", which was released in July 1995. Along with tours of the UK and Europe, The Breakers were guests with Bryan Adams and Bonnie Raitt, on NBC Super Channel's "Talking Blues" programme that aired in Europe in March 1996.
In 2011, Lee formed the 'Ric Lee Blues Project' which was later renamed 'Ric Lee's Natural Born Swingers' for their 2012 album release 'Put a Record On'. The band featured Bob Hall of Savoy Brown, Danny Handley from The Animals and British session bassist Scott Whitley who has worked with many major acts from around the world. The album received substantial airplay on European and internet radio. Handley and Whitely have left the band. John Idan, known for his work with the reformed Yardbirds, joined the band on guitar and vocals.
He has two children and lives in the Derbyshire Dales.
Ric Lee(Drum Solo)Ten Years After@Butlins Rock & Blues Festival 2011
The Ric Lee Blues Project(From Ten Years After)
Mick Clarke (ex Killing Floor) with Ric Lee's Blues Project, Skegness
2011. Ric Lee on drums, Bob Hall piano, Danny and Scott. (Information
from mickclarke com)
Thomas Earl Petty (Tom Petty) *20.10.1950
Thomas Earl Petty (* 20. Oktober 1950 in Gainesville, Florida) ist ein US-amerikanischer Musiker.
Leben
Petty beendete 1968 die High School und ging ein Jahr lang auf das College. Seine erste Band The Sundowners benannte sich kurz darauf in Epics um. Die Band wurde schnell lokal bekannt. 1970 wurde die Band in Mudcrutch umbenannt. Bei Auftritten teilten sie sich häufig die Bühne mit einer anderen aufstrebenden Gruppe: Lynyrd Skynyrd. Mudcrutch hatten ihre eigene Musik und kombinierten den Einfluss britischer Bands mit dem kalifornischen Stil der Byrds, Buffalo Springfield und The Flying Burrito Brothers. 1974 bekamen sie einen ersten Plattenvertrag.
Von 1974 bis 1996 war Tom Petty mit Jane Benyo verheiratet. Aus der Ehe gingen zwei Töchter hervor. Seit 2001 ist er mit Dana York verheiratet.[1]
Karriere als Musiker
Die eigentliche Karriere begann 1976 mit Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers und dem gleichnamigen Debüt-Album der Band (bestehend aus Mike Campbell an der Gitarre, Benmont Tench an Keyboards und Klavier, Stan Lynch am Schlagzeug und Ron Blair am Bass). Aufgenommen wurden die Stücke in den Shelter Studios in Los Angeles. Denny Cordell produzierte das Album, das mit Liedern wie Breakdown und American Girl vor allem in Europa ein Achtungserfolg wurde.
1978 erschien das Nachfolgealbum You’re Gonna Get It, ebenfalls von Danny Cordell produziert und in den Shelter Studios aufgenommen. Es enthält unter anderem die Single I Need to Know. Es folgten noch fünf weitere Alben sowie eine Live-CD.
1987 ging Petty mit Bob Dylan auf Welttournee und spielte im September 1987 mit Dylan und Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) vor etwa 81.000 Fans im Treptower Park in Ost-Berlin.[2]
1989 veröffentlichte Petty sein erstes Soloalbum, Full Moon Fever, co-produziert von Jeff Lynne (sein Partner bei den Traveling Wilburys mit Bob Dylan, George Harrison und Roy Orbison) und Mike Campbell. Hits dieses Albums waren I Won’t Back Down, Free Fallin’ und Runnin’ Down a Dream. Außerdem ist eine Coverversion des Byrds-Stücks Feel a Whole Lot Better auf dem Album enthalten, das Pettys kommerzieller Durchbruch werden sollte. Es erreichte den dritten Platz der US-amerikanischen Album-Charts und wurde fünfmal mit der Platin-Schallplatte ausgezeichnet.[3]
Petty wurde 1989 für seine Arbeit mit den Traveling Wilburys mit einem Grammy Award ausgezeichnet.
1990 nahm Ringo Starr zusammen mit Tom Petty, Joe Walsh und Jeff Lynne für eine Fernsehsendung zu Gedenken an John Lennon den Beatles-Titel I Call Your Name auf.
1994 erschien Pettys zweites Soloalbum, Wildflowers, für das er einen weiteren Grammy Award erhielt. Unter den Hits dieses Albums, zu dessen Gastmusikern auch Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr zählte, waren You Don’t Know How It Feels, You Wreck Me und It’s Good to Be King. Am 29. November 2002, genau ein Jahr nach dem Tod George Harrisons, nahm Petty in der Londoner Royal Albert Hall am Gedenkkonzert für den ehemaligen Weggefährten teil. Im Juli 2006 erschien das Album Highway Companion, erneut produziert von Jeff Lynne.
Petty ist mit der amerikanischen Sängerin Stevie Nicks befreundet, mit der er 1981 den Hit Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around veröffentlichte. Bei vielen seiner Konzerte begleitet sie ihn. Ebenfalls erwähnt werden muss die Freundschaft zu Johnny Cash, dessen Begleitband der letzten Alben der American-Recordings-Reihe sich seit 1996 maßgeblich aus Mitgliedern der Heartbreakers zusammensetzte. Nicht zuletzt veröffentlichte Cash dort auch eigene Versionen von Pettys Southern Accents und I Won’t Back Down.
1997 spielte er sich selbst in einer kleinen Gastrolle an der Seite von Kevin Costner in dem Film Postman.
2002 hatte er einen Gastauftritt in einer Folge der Simpsons, in der er seine Zeichentrickfigur sprach.
Im Februar 2008 trat er mit den Heartbreakers in der Halbzeitshow des Super Bowl XLII auf.[4]
Im April 2008 erschien ein neues Album, ein Reunionsalbum seiner ehemaligen Band Mudcrutch.
Leben
Petty beendete 1968 die High School und ging ein Jahr lang auf das College. Seine erste Band The Sundowners benannte sich kurz darauf in Epics um. Die Band wurde schnell lokal bekannt. 1970 wurde die Band in Mudcrutch umbenannt. Bei Auftritten teilten sie sich häufig die Bühne mit einer anderen aufstrebenden Gruppe: Lynyrd Skynyrd. Mudcrutch hatten ihre eigene Musik und kombinierten den Einfluss britischer Bands mit dem kalifornischen Stil der Byrds, Buffalo Springfield und The Flying Burrito Brothers. 1974 bekamen sie einen ersten Plattenvertrag.
Von 1974 bis 1996 war Tom Petty mit Jane Benyo verheiratet. Aus der Ehe gingen zwei Töchter hervor. Seit 2001 ist er mit Dana York verheiratet.[1]
Karriere als Musiker
Die eigentliche Karriere begann 1976 mit Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers und dem gleichnamigen Debüt-Album der Band (bestehend aus Mike Campbell an der Gitarre, Benmont Tench an Keyboards und Klavier, Stan Lynch am Schlagzeug und Ron Blair am Bass). Aufgenommen wurden die Stücke in den Shelter Studios in Los Angeles. Denny Cordell produzierte das Album, das mit Liedern wie Breakdown und American Girl vor allem in Europa ein Achtungserfolg wurde.
1978 erschien das Nachfolgealbum You’re Gonna Get It, ebenfalls von Danny Cordell produziert und in den Shelter Studios aufgenommen. Es enthält unter anderem die Single I Need to Know. Es folgten noch fünf weitere Alben sowie eine Live-CD.
1987 ging Petty mit Bob Dylan auf Welttournee und spielte im September 1987 mit Dylan und Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) vor etwa 81.000 Fans im Treptower Park in Ost-Berlin.[2]
1989 veröffentlichte Petty sein erstes Soloalbum, Full Moon Fever, co-produziert von Jeff Lynne (sein Partner bei den Traveling Wilburys mit Bob Dylan, George Harrison und Roy Orbison) und Mike Campbell. Hits dieses Albums waren I Won’t Back Down, Free Fallin’ und Runnin’ Down a Dream. Außerdem ist eine Coverversion des Byrds-Stücks Feel a Whole Lot Better auf dem Album enthalten, das Pettys kommerzieller Durchbruch werden sollte. Es erreichte den dritten Platz der US-amerikanischen Album-Charts und wurde fünfmal mit der Platin-Schallplatte ausgezeichnet.[3]
Petty wurde 1989 für seine Arbeit mit den Traveling Wilburys mit einem Grammy Award ausgezeichnet.
1990 nahm Ringo Starr zusammen mit Tom Petty, Joe Walsh und Jeff Lynne für eine Fernsehsendung zu Gedenken an John Lennon den Beatles-Titel I Call Your Name auf.
1994 erschien Pettys zweites Soloalbum, Wildflowers, für das er einen weiteren Grammy Award erhielt. Unter den Hits dieses Albums, zu dessen Gastmusikern auch Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr zählte, waren You Don’t Know How It Feels, You Wreck Me und It’s Good to Be King. Am 29. November 2002, genau ein Jahr nach dem Tod George Harrisons, nahm Petty in der Londoner Royal Albert Hall am Gedenkkonzert für den ehemaligen Weggefährten teil. Im Juli 2006 erschien das Album Highway Companion, erneut produziert von Jeff Lynne.
Petty ist mit der amerikanischen Sängerin Stevie Nicks befreundet, mit der er 1981 den Hit Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around veröffentlichte. Bei vielen seiner Konzerte begleitet sie ihn. Ebenfalls erwähnt werden muss die Freundschaft zu Johnny Cash, dessen Begleitband der letzten Alben der American-Recordings-Reihe sich seit 1996 maßgeblich aus Mitgliedern der Heartbreakers zusammensetzte. Nicht zuletzt veröffentlichte Cash dort auch eigene Versionen von Pettys Southern Accents und I Won’t Back Down.
1997 spielte er sich selbst in einer kleinen Gastrolle an der Seite von Kevin Costner in dem Film Postman.
2002 hatte er einen Gastauftritt in einer Folge der Simpsons, in der er seine Zeichentrickfigur sprach.
Im Februar 2008 trat er mit den Heartbreakers in der Halbzeitshow des Super Bowl XLII auf.[4]
Im April 2008 erschien ein neues Album, ein Reunionsalbum seiner ehemaligen Band Mudcrutch.
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty (born October 20, 1950) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but is also known as a member and co-founder of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys (under the pseudonyms of Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr. and Muddy Wilbury), and his early band Mudcrutch.
Petty has recorded a number of hit singles with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist, many of which remain played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. His music has been classified as rock and roll, heartland rock, and even stoner rock. His music has become popular among younger generations.[2] Throughout his career, Petty has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.[3] In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Biography
Early life
Thomas Earl Petty was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, and attended Gainesville High School. His interest in rock and roll music began at age ten when he met Elvis Presley.[4] In the summer of 1961, his uncle was working on the set of Presley's film Follow That Dream in nearby Ocala, Florida, and invited Petty to come down and watch the shoot.[5] He instantly became an Elvis Presley fan, and when he returned that Saturday, he was greeted by his friend Keith Harben, and soon traded his Wham-O slingshot for a collection of Elvis 45s.[6]
In a 2006 interview on the National Public Radio program Fresh Air, Petty said that he knew he wanted to be in a band the moment he saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.[7] "The minute I saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show — and it's true of thousands of guys — there was the way out. There was the way to do it. You get your friends and you're a self-contained unit. And you make the music. And it looked like so much fun. It was something I identified with. I had never been hugely into sports. ... I had been a big fan of Elvis. But I really saw in The Beatles that here's something I could do. I knew I could do it. It wasn't long before there were groups springing up in garages all over the place."[8]
One of his first guitar teachers was Don Felder, a fellow Gainesville resident, who would later join the Eagles.[9][10] As a young man, Petty worked briefly on the grounds crew for the University of Florida, but never attended as a student. An Ogeechee lime tree that he planted while employed at the University is now called the Tom Petty tree (Petty has stated that he does not recall planting any trees).[11][12][13] He also worked briefly as a gravedigger.[13]
Petty also overcame a difficult relationship with his father, who found it hard to accept that his son was "a mild-mannered kid who was interested in the arts" and subjected him to verbal and physical abuse on a regular basis. Petty was extremely close to his mother, and remains close to his brother, Bruce.[14][15][16]
1976–87: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Shortly after embracing his musical aspirations, Petty started a band known as the Epics, later to evolve into Mudcrutch. Although the band, which featured future Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, were popular in Gainesville, their recordings went unnoticed by a mainstream audience. Their only single, "Depot Street," remains popular among fans. The original Mudcrutch included guitarist Danny Roberts who was later replaced by bassist Charlie Souza.
After Mudcrutch split up, Petty reluctantly agreed to pursue a solo career. Tench decided to form his own group, whose sound Petty appreciated. Eventually, Petty and Campbell collaborated with Tench and fellow members Ron Blair and Stan Lynch, resulting in the first lineup of the Heartbreakers. Their eponymous debut album gained minute popularity amongst American audiences, achieving greater success in Britain. The single "Breakdown" was re-released in 1977 and peaked at #40 in early 1978 after the band toured in the United Kingdom in support of Nils Lofgren. The debut album was released by Shelter Records, which at that time was distributed by ABC Records.[17]
Their second album, You're Gonna Get It!, marked the band's first Top 40 album[17] and featured the singles "I Need to Know" and "Listen To Her Heart." Their third album, Damn the Torpedoes, quickly went platinum, selling nearly two million copies; it includes their breakthrough singles "Don't Do Me Like That," "Here Comes My Girl," and "Refugee."[18]
In September 1979, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at a Musicians United for Safe Energy concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.[19] Their rendition of "Cry To Me" was featured on the resulting No Nukes album.[20]
1981's Hard Promises became a top-ten hit, going platinum and spawning the hit single "The Waiting." The album also featured Petty's first duet, "Insider" with Stevie Nicks.
Bass player Ron Blair quit the group and was replaced on the fifth album (1982's Long After Dark) by Howie Epstein; the resulting line-up would last until 1994. In 1985, the band participated in Live Aid, playing four songs at Philadelphia's John F. Kennedy Stadium. Southern Accents was also released in 1985. This album included the hit single "Don't Come Around Here No More," which was produced by Dave Stewart. The song's video featured Petty dressed as the Mad Hatter, mocking and chasing Alice from the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, then cutting and eating her as if she were a cake. The ensuing tour led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! and to an invitation from Bob Dylan—Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers joined him on his True Confessions Tour. They also played some dates with the Grateful Dead in 1986 and 1987. Also in 1987, the group released Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) which includes "Jammin' Me" which Petty wrote with Dylan.[21]
1988–91: Traveling Wilburys and solo career
In 1988, Petty joined George Harrison's group, the Traveling Wilburys, which also included Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. The band's first song, "Handle With Care", was intended as a B-side of one of Harrison's singles, but was judged too good for that purpose and the group decided to record a full album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. A second Wilburys album, mischievously titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 and recorded without the recently deceased Orbison, followed in 1990. The album was named Vol. 3 as a response to a series of bootlegged studio sessions being sold as Travelling Wilburys Vol. 2. In recent years, Petty has begun to incorporate Traveling Wilburys songs into his live shows, consistently playing "Handle With Care" in shows from 2003–2006, and for his 2008 tour making "End of the Line" a staple of his setlist.
In 1989, Petty released Full Moon Fever, which featured hits "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin'" and "Runnin' Down a Dream". It was nominally his first solo album, although several Heartbreakers and other well-known musicians participated: Mike Campbell co-produced the album with Petty and Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, and backing musicians included Campbell, Lynne, and fellow Wilburys Roy Orbison and George Harrison (Ringo Starr appears on drums in the video for "I Won't Back Down", but they were actually performed by Phil Jones).
Petty & the Heartbreakers reformed in 1991 and released Into the Great Wide Open, which was co-produced by Lynne and included the hit singles "Learning To Fly" and "Into The Great Wide Open", the latter featuring Johnny Depp, Gabrielle Anwar, Faye Dunaway, and Matt LeBlanc in the video.
Before leaving MCA Records, Tom and the Heartbreakers got together to record, live in the studio, two new songs for a Greatest Hits package. "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air". This was Stan Lynch's last recorded performance with The Heartbreakers. Tom commented "He left right after the session without really saying goodbye." The package went on to sell over ten million copies, therefore receiving diamond certification by the RIAA.
1991–present: Move to Warner Bros. Records
In 1989, while still under contract to MCA, Petty secretly signed a lucrative deal with Warner Bros. Records, to which the Traveling Wilburys had been signed.[22] His first album on his new label, 1994's Wildflowers (Petty's 2nd of 3 solo albums), included the singles "You Don't Know How It Feels," "You Wreck Me," "It's Good to Be King," and "A Higher Place." The album, produced by Rick Rubin, sold over three million copies in the U.S.
In 1996, Petty, with the Heartbreakers, released a soundtrack to the movie She's the One, starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston (see Songs and Music from "She's the One"). The album's singles were "Walls (Circus)" (featuring Lindsey Buckingham), "Climb that Hill," and a song written by Lucinda Williams, "Change the Locks." The album also included a cover of "Asshole," a song by Beck. The same year, the band accompanied Johnny Cash on Unchained (provisionally entitled "Petty Cash"), for which Cash would win a Grammy for Best Country Album (Cash would later cover Petty's "I Won't Back Down" on American III: Solitary Man).
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing live in Indianapolis, June 23, 2006.
In 1999, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their last album with Rubin at the helm, Echo. Two songs were released as singles in the U.S., "Room at the Top" and "Free Girl Now." The album reached number 10 in the U.S. album charts.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played "I Won't Back Down" at the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert for victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The following year, they played "Taxman," "I Need You," and "Handle With Care" (joined for the last by Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison, and Jim Keltner) at the Concert for George in honor of Petty's friend and former bandmate George Harrison.
Petty's 2002 release, The Last DJ, included several attacks on the music industry, criticizing it for greed, watering down music, and releasing pop music made by scantily-clad young women. It reached number 9 on the U.S. charts. Tom has commented that he didn't like being called "bitter" by the media and that The Last DJ is full of hope, if one looks for it.
In 2005, Petty began hosting his own show "Buried Treasure" on XM Radio, on which he shares selections from his personal record collection.
In February 2006, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers agreed to be the headline act at the fifth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Following that announcement came the itinerary for Tom & the Heartbreakers' "30th Anniversary Tour." Special guests included Stevie Nicks, Pearl Jam, the Allman Brothers, Trey Anastasio, The Derek Trucks Band, and the Black Crowes (who also opened for Petty on their 2005 Summer Tour). Stevie Nicks would join Tom and the Heartbreakers on stage for renditions of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "Insider," and "I Need to Know" where Nicks took the lead vocal spot. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam also joined Tom and the Heartbreakers on stage at some shows where Vedder sang the lead on "The Waiting" (which is available on the Runnin' Down a Dream package: bonus features) and a verse in the concert-closer "American Girl."
In July 2006, Petty released a solo album titled Highway Companion, which included the hit "Saving Grace." It debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, which was Petty's highest chart position since the introduction of the Nielsen SoundScan system for tracking album sales in 1991. Highway Companion was briefly promoted on the "30th Anniversary Tour" with the Heartbreakers in 2006, with performances of "Saving Grace," "Square One," "Down South," and "Flirting with Time."
In 2006, the American Broadcasting Company hired Petty to do the music for its National Basketball Association playoffs coverage.
During the summer of 2007, Petty reunited with his old bandmates Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh along with Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell to reform his pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch. The band originally formed in 1967 in Gainesville, Florida, before relocating to California where they released one single in 1974 before breaking up. The quintet recorded this self-titled new album of 14 songs that was released on April 29, 2008 (on iTunes, an additional song "Special Place" was available if the album was pre-ordered). The band supported the album with a brief tour of California in the spring of 2008.
In 2007, artists as diverse as Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, and Paul McCartney paid tribute to Fats Domino on the double-CD covers set Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino. The album's sales helped buy instruments for students in New Orleans public schools and they contributed to the building of a community center in the city’s Hurricane Katrina-damaged Ninth Ward. Tom and the Heartbreakers’ contributed a critically acclaimed cover of “I'm Walkin'" to the package.[23]
In January 2008, it was announced that the band would be embarking on a North American Tour which was set to start on May 30 following their appearance at Super Bowl XLII.[24] Steve Winwood served as the opening act, who joined Petty and the Heartbreakers on stage at select shows, starting on June 6, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Winwood performed his Spencer Davis Group hit "Gimme Some Loving," and occasionally, he performed his Blind Faith hit "Can't Find My Way Home" before it.
On February 3, 2008, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed during the halftime-show of Super Bowl XLII at the University of Phoenix Stadium. They played "American Girl," "I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin'," and "Runnin' Down a Dream," in that order. "I Won't Back Down" was used in the closing credits of the coverage on BBC Two.
The Live Anthology project by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was announced nearly a year after Petty's record Extended Play Live with Mudcrutch.
In November 2009, Petty told Rolling Stone that he is working on a new album with the Heartbreakers, saying, "It's blues-based. Some of the tunes are longer, more jam-y kind of music. A couple of tracks really sound like the Allman Brothers — not the songs but the atmosphere of the band." In February 2010, Petty announced a new Heartbreakers album, Mojo released on June 15, 2010.[needs update] This was followed by a North American Summer Tour beginning on June 1, 2010.[needs update] The band also appeared as musical guests on the season finale of Saturday Night Live on May 15, 2010. In 2012, the band announced a North American and European tour that visited several European countries that the band had not visited in nearly 20 years. In early 2013, Petty and the Heartbreakers announced that they would be playing at several North American festivals in the late spring and summer, and in February, the band announced a North American tour and an upcoming album to be released in 2014.
On July 29, 2014, Reprise Records released Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' thirteenth studio album, Hypnotic Eye. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album to ever top the chart.
Petty is currently involved with Sirius satellite radio hosting his own program "Buried Treasure" on Channel 31, Deep Tracks, playing mostly oldies and roots rock with commentary. In mid-November 2015, Sirius/XM launched Tom Petty Radio on Channel 31. He has been managed by Tony Dimitriades since 1976.[6]
Acting career
Petty's first appearance in film took place in 1978, when he had a cameo in FM. He later had a small part in 1987's Made in Heaven and appeared in several episodes of It's Garry Shandling's Show between 1987 and 1990, playing himself as one of Garry Shandling's neighbors. Petty was also featured in Shandling's other show, The Larry Sanders Show, as one of the Story within a story final guests. In the episode, Petty gets bumped from the show and nearly comes to blows with Greg Kinnear.
Petty appeared in the 1997 movie The Postman, directed by and starring Kevin Costner, as The Bridge City Mayor (from the dialogue it is implied that he is playing a future version of himself).
In 2002, he appeared on The Simpsons in the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation", along with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Lenny Kravitz, Elvis Costello, and Brian Setzer. In it, Petty spoofed himself as a tutor to Homer Simpson on the art of lyric writing, composing a brief song about a drunk girl driving down the road while concerned with the state of public schools. Later in the episode, he loses a toe during a riot.
Petty had a recurring role as the voice of Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt in the animated comedy series King of the Hill.
In 2008, Petty made a guest appearance as himself in the season 2 finale of the Comedy Central show Lil Bush, and in 2010, he made a five-second cameo appearance with comedian Andy Samberg in a musical video titled "Great Day" featured on the bonus DVD as part of Lonely Island's new album Turtleneck & Chain.
Awards and accolades
In 1994, You Got Lucky, a Tom Petty tribute album featuring such bands as Everclear and Silkworm was released.
In April 1996, Petty received the UCLA's George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement. The next month, Petty won the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' Golden Note Award.
Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
In 1999 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their contribution to the recording industry.
In 2002, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On December 6, 2005, Petty received the Billboard Century Award for his lifetime achievements. The same year, Conversations with Tom Petty, an oral history/biography composed of interviews conducted in 2004 and 2005 with Petty by music journalist Paul Zollo was published (ISBN 1-84449-815-8).
On September 21, 2006, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received the keys to the city of Gainesville, Florida, where he and his bandmates either lived or grew up.[25] From July 2006 until 2007 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio featured an exhibit of Tom Petty items. Much of the content was donated by Petty himself during a visit to his home by some of the Hall's curatorial staff.
Peter Bogdanovich's documentary film on Petty's career entitled Runnin' Down a Dream premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 14, 2007.
Views on artistic control
Petty is known as a staunch guardian of his artistic control and artistic freedom. In 1979, he was dragged into a legal dispute when ABC Records was sold to MCA Records. He refused to be transferred to another record label without his consent. In May 1979, he filed for bankruptcy and was signed to the new MCA subsidiary Backstreet Records.
In early 1981, the upcoming Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album, which would become Hard Promises, was slated to be the next MCA release with the new list price of $9.98, following Steely Dan's Gaucho and the Olivia Newton-John/Electric Light Orchestra Xanadu soundtrack. This so-called "superstar pricing" was $1.00 more than the usual list price of $8.98.[26] Petty voiced his objections to the price hike in the press and the issue became a popular cause among music fans. Non-delivery of the album and naming it Eight Ninety-Eight were considered, but eventually MCA decided against the price increase.[27] In 1987, Petty sued tire company B.F. Goodrich for $1 million for using a song very similar to his song "Mary's New Car" in a TV commercial. The ad agency that produced the commercial had previously sought permission to use Petty's song but was refused. A judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting further use of the ad and the suit was later settled out of court.[28]
Some have claimed that the Red Hot Chili Peppers single "Dani California", released in May 2006, is very similar to Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance".[29] Petty told Rolling Stone, "I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of rock 'n' roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took 'American Girl' for their song 'Last Nite', and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you' ... If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe [I'd sue]. But I don't believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."[30]
In January 2015, it was revealed that Petty and Jeff Lynne would receive royalties from Sam Smith's song "Stay with Me" after its writers acknowledged similarities between it and "I Won't Back Down". Petty and co-composer Jeff Lynne were awarded 12.5% of the royalties from "Stay with Me", and the names of Petty, Jeff Lynne, joined James John Napier (known professionally as Jimmy Napes) in the ASCAP song credit.[31] Petty clarified that he did not believe Smith plagiarized him, saying "All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam's people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement".[32]
Personal life
His first marriage, to Jane Benyo, lasted 22 years from March 31, 1974 to September 9, 1996. Petty and Benyo have two daughters; Adria is a film director and AnnaKim Violette is an artist. He married Dana York Epperson on June 3, 2001. He first met her in 1991, when she attended one of his concerts.
On May 17, 1987, an arsonist set fire to Petty's house in Encino, California. Firefighters were able to salvage the basement recording studio and the original tapes stored there, as well as his Gibson Dove acoustic guitar. His signature gray top hat, however, was destroyed. Petty later rebuilt the house with fire-resistant materials.[33][34]
Petty spoke in 2014 of the benefits from his practice of Transcendental Meditation.[35]
Equipment
Petty owns and has used a number of guitars over the years. From 1976 to 1982, his main instrument was a sunburst 1964 Fender Stratocaster. He has also used a number of Rickenbacker guitars from 1979 onward, notably a 1965 Rose Morris 1993 and 1987 reissue of the Rose Morris 1997, a 1967 360/12 and 1989 660/12TP. The Rickenbacker 660/12TP was designed by Petty (specifically the neck) and featured his signature from 1991 to 1997.[36] Other electrics currently used on tour include a Gretsch Tennessean, two 1960s Fender Telecasters and a Gibson Firebird.
For acoustic guitars, Petty has had a signature C.F. Martin HD-40, and has written virtually all of his songs on a Gibson Dove acoustic saved from his 1987 house fire. He currently uses a Gibson J-200 in a natural finish and a late '70s Guild D25 12-string acoustic.
Petty's current amplifier setup features 2 Fender Vibro-King 60 watt combos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_PettyPetty has recorded a number of hit singles with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist, many of which remain played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. His music has been classified as rock and roll, heartland rock, and even stoner rock. His music has become popular among younger generations.[2] Throughout his career, Petty has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.[3] In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Biography
Early life
Thomas Earl Petty was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, and attended Gainesville High School. His interest in rock and roll music began at age ten when he met Elvis Presley.[4] In the summer of 1961, his uncle was working on the set of Presley's film Follow That Dream in nearby Ocala, Florida, and invited Petty to come down and watch the shoot.[5] He instantly became an Elvis Presley fan, and when he returned that Saturday, he was greeted by his friend Keith Harben, and soon traded his Wham-O slingshot for a collection of Elvis 45s.[6]
In a 2006 interview on the National Public Radio program Fresh Air, Petty said that he knew he wanted to be in a band the moment he saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.[7] "The minute I saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show — and it's true of thousands of guys — there was the way out. There was the way to do it. You get your friends and you're a self-contained unit. And you make the music. And it looked like so much fun. It was something I identified with. I had never been hugely into sports. ... I had been a big fan of Elvis. But I really saw in The Beatles that here's something I could do. I knew I could do it. It wasn't long before there were groups springing up in garages all over the place."[8]
One of his first guitar teachers was Don Felder, a fellow Gainesville resident, who would later join the Eagles.[9][10] As a young man, Petty worked briefly on the grounds crew for the University of Florida, but never attended as a student. An Ogeechee lime tree that he planted while employed at the University is now called the Tom Petty tree (Petty has stated that he does not recall planting any trees).[11][12][13] He also worked briefly as a gravedigger.[13]
Petty also overcame a difficult relationship with his father, who found it hard to accept that his son was "a mild-mannered kid who was interested in the arts" and subjected him to verbal and physical abuse on a regular basis. Petty was extremely close to his mother, and remains close to his brother, Bruce.[14][15][16]
1976–87: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Shortly after embracing his musical aspirations, Petty started a band known as the Epics, later to evolve into Mudcrutch. Although the band, which featured future Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, were popular in Gainesville, their recordings went unnoticed by a mainstream audience. Their only single, "Depot Street," remains popular among fans. The original Mudcrutch included guitarist Danny Roberts who was later replaced by bassist Charlie Souza.
After Mudcrutch split up, Petty reluctantly agreed to pursue a solo career. Tench decided to form his own group, whose sound Petty appreciated. Eventually, Petty and Campbell collaborated with Tench and fellow members Ron Blair and Stan Lynch, resulting in the first lineup of the Heartbreakers. Their eponymous debut album gained minute popularity amongst American audiences, achieving greater success in Britain. The single "Breakdown" was re-released in 1977 and peaked at #40 in early 1978 after the band toured in the United Kingdom in support of Nils Lofgren. The debut album was released by Shelter Records, which at that time was distributed by ABC Records.[17]
Their second album, You're Gonna Get It!, marked the band's first Top 40 album[17] and featured the singles "I Need to Know" and "Listen To Her Heart." Their third album, Damn the Torpedoes, quickly went platinum, selling nearly two million copies; it includes their breakthrough singles "Don't Do Me Like That," "Here Comes My Girl," and "Refugee."[18]
In September 1979, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at a Musicians United for Safe Energy concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.[19] Their rendition of "Cry To Me" was featured on the resulting No Nukes album.[20]
1981's Hard Promises became a top-ten hit, going platinum and spawning the hit single "The Waiting." The album also featured Petty's first duet, "Insider" with Stevie Nicks.
Bass player Ron Blair quit the group and was replaced on the fifth album (1982's Long After Dark) by Howie Epstein; the resulting line-up would last until 1994. In 1985, the band participated in Live Aid, playing four songs at Philadelphia's John F. Kennedy Stadium. Southern Accents was also released in 1985. This album included the hit single "Don't Come Around Here No More," which was produced by Dave Stewart. The song's video featured Petty dressed as the Mad Hatter, mocking and chasing Alice from the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, then cutting and eating her as if she were a cake. The ensuing tour led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! and to an invitation from Bob Dylan—Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers joined him on his True Confessions Tour. They also played some dates with the Grateful Dead in 1986 and 1987. Also in 1987, the group released Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) which includes "Jammin' Me" which Petty wrote with Dylan.[21]
1988–91: Traveling Wilburys and solo career
In 1988, Petty joined George Harrison's group, the Traveling Wilburys, which also included Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. The band's first song, "Handle With Care", was intended as a B-side of one of Harrison's singles, but was judged too good for that purpose and the group decided to record a full album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. A second Wilburys album, mischievously titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 and recorded without the recently deceased Orbison, followed in 1990. The album was named Vol. 3 as a response to a series of bootlegged studio sessions being sold as Travelling Wilburys Vol. 2. In recent years, Petty has begun to incorporate Traveling Wilburys songs into his live shows, consistently playing "Handle With Care" in shows from 2003–2006, and for his 2008 tour making "End of the Line" a staple of his setlist.
In 1989, Petty released Full Moon Fever, which featured hits "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin'" and "Runnin' Down a Dream". It was nominally his first solo album, although several Heartbreakers and other well-known musicians participated: Mike Campbell co-produced the album with Petty and Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, and backing musicians included Campbell, Lynne, and fellow Wilburys Roy Orbison and George Harrison (Ringo Starr appears on drums in the video for "I Won't Back Down", but they were actually performed by Phil Jones).
Petty & the Heartbreakers reformed in 1991 and released Into the Great Wide Open, which was co-produced by Lynne and included the hit singles "Learning To Fly" and "Into The Great Wide Open", the latter featuring Johnny Depp, Gabrielle Anwar, Faye Dunaway, and Matt LeBlanc in the video.
Before leaving MCA Records, Tom and the Heartbreakers got together to record, live in the studio, two new songs for a Greatest Hits package. "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air". This was Stan Lynch's last recorded performance with The Heartbreakers. Tom commented "He left right after the session without really saying goodbye." The package went on to sell over ten million copies, therefore receiving diamond certification by the RIAA.
1991–present: Move to Warner Bros. Records
In 1989, while still under contract to MCA, Petty secretly signed a lucrative deal with Warner Bros. Records, to which the Traveling Wilburys had been signed.[22] His first album on his new label, 1994's Wildflowers (Petty's 2nd of 3 solo albums), included the singles "You Don't Know How It Feels," "You Wreck Me," "It's Good to Be King," and "A Higher Place." The album, produced by Rick Rubin, sold over three million copies in the U.S.
In 1996, Petty, with the Heartbreakers, released a soundtrack to the movie She's the One, starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston (see Songs and Music from "She's the One"). The album's singles were "Walls (Circus)" (featuring Lindsey Buckingham), "Climb that Hill," and a song written by Lucinda Williams, "Change the Locks." The album also included a cover of "Asshole," a song by Beck. The same year, the band accompanied Johnny Cash on Unchained (provisionally entitled "Petty Cash"), for which Cash would win a Grammy for Best Country Album (Cash would later cover Petty's "I Won't Back Down" on American III: Solitary Man).
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing live in Indianapolis, June 23, 2006.
In 1999, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their last album with Rubin at the helm, Echo. Two songs were released as singles in the U.S., "Room at the Top" and "Free Girl Now." The album reached number 10 in the U.S. album charts.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played "I Won't Back Down" at the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert for victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The following year, they played "Taxman," "I Need You," and "Handle With Care" (joined for the last by Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison, and Jim Keltner) at the Concert for George in honor of Petty's friend and former bandmate George Harrison.
Petty's 2002 release, The Last DJ, included several attacks on the music industry, criticizing it for greed, watering down music, and releasing pop music made by scantily-clad young women. It reached number 9 on the U.S. charts. Tom has commented that he didn't like being called "bitter" by the media and that The Last DJ is full of hope, if one looks for it.
In 2005, Petty began hosting his own show "Buried Treasure" on XM Radio, on which he shares selections from his personal record collection.
In February 2006, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers agreed to be the headline act at the fifth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Following that announcement came the itinerary for Tom & the Heartbreakers' "30th Anniversary Tour." Special guests included Stevie Nicks, Pearl Jam, the Allman Brothers, Trey Anastasio, The Derek Trucks Band, and the Black Crowes (who also opened for Petty on their 2005 Summer Tour). Stevie Nicks would join Tom and the Heartbreakers on stage for renditions of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "Insider," and "I Need to Know" where Nicks took the lead vocal spot. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam also joined Tom and the Heartbreakers on stage at some shows where Vedder sang the lead on "The Waiting" (which is available on the Runnin' Down a Dream package: bonus features) and a verse in the concert-closer "American Girl."
In July 2006, Petty released a solo album titled Highway Companion, which included the hit "Saving Grace." It debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, which was Petty's highest chart position since the introduction of the Nielsen SoundScan system for tracking album sales in 1991. Highway Companion was briefly promoted on the "30th Anniversary Tour" with the Heartbreakers in 2006, with performances of "Saving Grace," "Square One," "Down South," and "Flirting with Time."
In 2006, the American Broadcasting Company hired Petty to do the music for its National Basketball Association playoffs coverage.
During the summer of 2007, Petty reunited with his old bandmates Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh along with Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell to reform his pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch. The band originally formed in 1967 in Gainesville, Florida, before relocating to California where they released one single in 1974 before breaking up. The quintet recorded this self-titled new album of 14 songs that was released on April 29, 2008 (on iTunes, an additional song "Special Place" was available if the album was pre-ordered). The band supported the album with a brief tour of California in the spring of 2008.
In 2007, artists as diverse as Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, and Paul McCartney paid tribute to Fats Domino on the double-CD covers set Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino. The album's sales helped buy instruments for students in New Orleans public schools and they contributed to the building of a community center in the city’s Hurricane Katrina-damaged Ninth Ward. Tom and the Heartbreakers’ contributed a critically acclaimed cover of “I'm Walkin'" to the package.[23]
In January 2008, it was announced that the band would be embarking on a North American Tour which was set to start on May 30 following their appearance at Super Bowl XLII.[24] Steve Winwood served as the opening act, who joined Petty and the Heartbreakers on stage at select shows, starting on June 6, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Winwood performed his Spencer Davis Group hit "Gimme Some Loving," and occasionally, he performed his Blind Faith hit "Can't Find My Way Home" before it.
On February 3, 2008, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed during the halftime-show of Super Bowl XLII at the University of Phoenix Stadium. They played "American Girl," "I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin'," and "Runnin' Down a Dream," in that order. "I Won't Back Down" was used in the closing credits of the coverage on BBC Two.
The Live Anthology project by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was announced nearly a year after Petty's record Extended Play Live with Mudcrutch.
In November 2009, Petty told Rolling Stone that he is working on a new album with the Heartbreakers, saying, "It's blues-based. Some of the tunes are longer, more jam-y kind of music. A couple of tracks really sound like the Allman Brothers — not the songs but the atmosphere of the band." In February 2010, Petty announced a new Heartbreakers album, Mojo released on June 15, 2010.[needs update] This was followed by a North American Summer Tour beginning on June 1, 2010.[needs update] The band also appeared as musical guests on the season finale of Saturday Night Live on May 15, 2010. In 2012, the band announced a North American and European tour that visited several European countries that the band had not visited in nearly 20 years. In early 2013, Petty and the Heartbreakers announced that they would be playing at several North American festivals in the late spring and summer, and in February, the band announced a North American tour and an upcoming album to be released in 2014.
On July 29, 2014, Reprise Records released Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' thirteenth studio album, Hypnotic Eye. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album to ever top the chart.
Petty is currently involved with Sirius satellite radio hosting his own program "Buried Treasure" on Channel 31, Deep Tracks, playing mostly oldies and roots rock with commentary. In mid-November 2015, Sirius/XM launched Tom Petty Radio on Channel 31. He has been managed by Tony Dimitriades since 1976.[6]
Acting career
Petty's first appearance in film took place in 1978, when he had a cameo in FM. He later had a small part in 1987's Made in Heaven and appeared in several episodes of It's Garry Shandling's Show between 1987 and 1990, playing himself as one of Garry Shandling's neighbors. Petty was also featured in Shandling's other show, The Larry Sanders Show, as one of the Story within a story final guests. In the episode, Petty gets bumped from the show and nearly comes to blows with Greg Kinnear.
Petty appeared in the 1997 movie The Postman, directed by and starring Kevin Costner, as The Bridge City Mayor (from the dialogue it is implied that he is playing a future version of himself).
In 2002, he appeared on The Simpsons in the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation", along with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Lenny Kravitz, Elvis Costello, and Brian Setzer. In it, Petty spoofed himself as a tutor to Homer Simpson on the art of lyric writing, composing a brief song about a drunk girl driving down the road while concerned with the state of public schools. Later in the episode, he loses a toe during a riot.
Petty had a recurring role as the voice of Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt in the animated comedy series King of the Hill.
In 2008, Petty made a guest appearance as himself in the season 2 finale of the Comedy Central show Lil Bush, and in 2010, he made a five-second cameo appearance with comedian Andy Samberg in a musical video titled "Great Day" featured on the bonus DVD as part of Lonely Island's new album Turtleneck & Chain.
Awards and accolades
In 1994, You Got Lucky, a Tom Petty tribute album featuring such bands as Everclear and Silkworm was released.
In April 1996, Petty received the UCLA's George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement. The next month, Petty won the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' Golden Note Award.
Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
In 1999 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their contribution to the recording industry.
In 2002, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On December 6, 2005, Petty received the Billboard Century Award for his lifetime achievements. The same year, Conversations with Tom Petty, an oral history/biography composed of interviews conducted in 2004 and 2005 with Petty by music journalist Paul Zollo was published (ISBN 1-84449-815-8).
On September 21, 2006, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received the keys to the city of Gainesville, Florida, where he and his bandmates either lived or grew up.[25] From July 2006 until 2007 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio featured an exhibit of Tom Petty items. Much of the content was donated by Petty himself during a visit to his home by some of the Hall's curatorial staff.
Peter Bogdanovich's documentary film on Petty's career entitled Runnin' Down a Dream premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 14, 2007.
Views on artistic control
Petty is known as a staunch guardian of his artistic control and artistic freedom. In 1979, he was dragged into a legal dispute when ABC Records was sold to MCA Records. He refused to be transferred to another record label without his consent. In May 1979, he filed for bankruptcy and was signed to the new MCA subsidiary Backstreet Records.
In early 1981, the upcoming Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album, which would become Hard Promises, was slated to be the next MCA release with the new list price of $9.98, following Steely Dan's Gaucho and the Olivia Newton-John/Electric Light Orchestra Xanadu soundtrack. This so-called "superstar pricing" was $1.00 more than the usual list price of $8.98.[26] Petty voiced his objections to the price hike in the press and the issue became a popular cause among music fans. Non-delivery of the album and naming it Eight Ninety-Eight were considered, but eventually MCA decided against the price increase.[27] In 1987, Petty sued tire company B.F. Goodrich for $1 million for using a song very similar to his song "Mary's New Car" in a TV commercial. The ad agency that produced the commercial had previously sought permission to use Petty's song but was refused. A judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting further use of the ad and the suit was later settled out of court.[28]
Some have claimed that the Red Hot Chili Peppers single "Dani California", released in May 2006, is very similar to Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance".[29] Petty told Rolling Stone, "I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of rock 'n' roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took 'American Girl' for their song 'Last Nite', and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you' ... If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe [I'd sue]. But I don't believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."[30]
In January 2015, it was revealed that Petty and Jeff Lynne would receive royalties from Sam Smith's song "Stay with Me" after its writers acknowledged similarities between it and "I Won't Back Down". Petty and co-composer Jeff Lynne were awarded 12.5% of the royalties from "Stay with Me", and the names of Petty, Jeff Lynne, joined James John Napier (known professionally as Jimmy Napes) in the ASCAP song credit.[31] Petty clarified that he did not believe Smith plagiarized him, saying "All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam's people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement".[32]
Personal life
His first marriage, to Jane Benyo, lasted 22 years from March 31, 1974 to September 9, 1996. Petty and Benyo have two daughters; Adria is a film director and AnnaKim Violette is an artist. He married Dana York Epperson on June 3, 2001. He first met her in 1991, when she attended one of his concerts.
On May 17, 1987, an arsonist set fire to Petty's house in Encino, California. Firefighters were able to salvage the basement recording studio and the original tapes stored there, as well as his Gibson Dove acoustic guitar. His signature gray top hat, however, was destroyed. Petty later rebuilt the house with fire-resistant materials.[33][34]
Petty spoke in 2014 of the benefits from his practice of Transcendental Meditation.[35]
Equipment
Petty owns and has used a number of guitars over the years. From 1976 to 1982, his main instrument was a sunburst 1964 Fender Stratocaster. He has also used a number of Rickenbacker guitars from 1979 onward, notably a 1965 Rose Morris 1993 and 1987 reissue of the Rose Morris 1997, a 1967 360/12 and 1989 660/12TP. The Rickenbacker 660/12TP was designed by Petty (specifically the neck) and featured his signature from 1991 to 1997.[36] Other electrics currently used on tour include a Gretsch Tennessean, two 1960s Fender Telecasters and a Gibson Firebird.
For acoustic guitars, Petty has had a signature C.F. Martin HD-40, and has written virtually all of his songs on a Gibson Dove acoustic saved from his 1987 house fire. He currently uses a Gibson J-200 in a natural finish and a late '70s Guild D25 12-string acoustic.
Petty's current amplifier setup features 2 Fender Vibro-King 60 watt combos.
R.I.P.
Henry Vestine +20.10.1997
http://www.united-mutations.com/v/henry_vestine.htm
Henry „The Sunflower“ Vestine (* 25. Dezember 1944, Tacoma Park, Maryland, USA; † 20. Oktober 1997, Paris, Frankreich) war ein amerikanischer Gitarrist.
Nach seiner Geburt zog seine Familie nach Los Angeles, wo er seine Vorliebe für die Bluesmusik entdeckte. 1964 spürte er mit John Fahey und ED Denson den alten Bluesmusiker Skip James auf, dem sie zu einem Auftritt beim Newport Folk Festival verhalfen. Anfang 1965 trat Vestine der in San Fernando Valley gegründeten Band The Beans bei.
Am 11. November 1965 wurde Vestine als Gitarrist Mitglied der Mothers of Invention, womit er zwar nicht zu den Begründern, aber zu einem sehr frühen Mitglied der vielfach umbesetzten Gruppe zählt. Anfang 1966 verließ er die Band, da ihm der Musikstil und Frank Zappas Art und Weise, die Band zu führen, nicht gefielen. Im selben Jahr war er Mitbegründer der Gruppe Canned Heat. Diese hatte am 17. Juni 1967 beim Monterey Pop Festival einen viel beachteten Auftritt. Nach einem Streit mit Larry „The Mole“ Taylor bei einem Auftritt im Fillmore East im Jahr 1969 verließ Vestine die Band und wurde durch Harvey Mandel ersetzt – kurz vor dem Auftritt der Gruppe beim berühmten Woodstock-Festival. Anschließend arbeitete er mit Albert Ayler bis zu dessen Tod zusammen. 1970 kehrte Vestine zu Canned Heat zurück, nachdem Larry Taylor und Harvey Mandel die Band verlassen hatten und nahm mit ihnen und John Lee Hooker das viel beachtete Album "Hooker'N' Heat" auf. Es war das erste Album von Hooker, das es in die Charts schaffte. Nach Alan Wilsons Tod blieb er bei Canned Heat und nahm mit dem für Wilson neu dazu gekommenen Joel Scotthill das Album "Historical Figures And Ancient Heads" auf, danach ließ der Erfolg der Band rapide nach. Neben seiner Tätigkeit bei Canned Heat war Henry Vestine kurzzeitig Mitglied bei der irischen New-Wave-Band The Vipers, die er 1991 bei ihrer Reunion-Tour begleitete. Außerdem veröffentlichte er zwei Soloalbem.
Vestines Drogenkonsum brachte ihm oft Probleme mit den anderen Musikern von Canned Heat ein, da er manchmal auf der Bühne zusammenbrach oder Gigs verpasste. Er alterte äußerlich schnell und sah in den 90er Jahren aus wie ein 80 Jahre alter Mann. In seiner Biografie beschreibt Adolfo DeLaParra, dass er Vestine nicht mehr wiedererkannt habe, als er zum Flugzeug kam, das sie 1997 zu einer Tour in Europa bringen sollte. Diese Tour sollte auch Vestines letzte sein.[1]
Henry Vestine starb 1997 im Alter von 52 Jahren an Krebs, kurz nachdem Canned Heat eine Europatournee beendet hatte. Die Musikzeitschrift Rolling Stone wählte ihn auf Platz 77 der besten Gitarristen aller Zeiten
Henry Charles Vestine (December 25, 1944 – October 20, 1997)[1] a.k.a. "The Sunflower", was an American guitar player known mainly as a member of the band Canned Heat. He was with the group from its start in 1966 to July 1969. In later years he played in local bands but occasionally returned to Canned Heat for a few tours and recordings.
In 2003 Vestine was ranked 77th in Rolling Stone magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[2]
Biography
Born in Takoma Park, Maryland, Vestine was the only son of Harry and Lois Vestine. His father was a noted physicist specializing in gravity studies. The Vestine Crater on the Moon had been named posthumously after him. Henry Vestine married twice, first in 1965 and in the mid-1970s to Lisa Lack and with whom he moved to Anderson, South Carolina. In 1980 they had a son, Jesse. In 1983, after they separated, Vestine moved to Oregon.
Vestine's love of music and the blues in particular was fostered at an early age when he accompanied his father on canvasses of black neighborhoods for old recordings. Like his father, Henry became an avid collector, eventually coming to own tens of thousands of recordings of blues, hillbilly, country, and Cajun music. At Henry’s urging, his father also used to take him to blues shows at which he and Henry were often the only white people present. Later Henry was instrumental in the "rediscovery" of Skip James and other Delta musicians.
In the mid-1950s, Henry and his childhood friend from Takoma Park, John Fahey began to learn how to play guitar and sang a mixed bag of pop, hillbilly, and country music, particularly Hank Williams. Soon after the family moved to California, Henry Vestine joined his first junior high band Hial King and the Newports. On his first acid trip with a close musician friend, he went to an East LA tattoo parlor and got the first of what was to be numerous tattoos: the words "Living The Blues". Later, in 1969, that became the title of a double album by Canned Heat. By the time he was seventeen he was a regular on the Los Angeles club circuit. He became a familiar sight at many black clubs, where he often brought musician friends to turn them on to the blues. Henry became friends with Cajun guitarist Jerry McGhee. It was from him that Henry learned the flat pick and 3-fingerstyle that was to become so much a part of Henry’s own style. He was an early fan of Roy Buchanan and his favorite guitar players included T-Bone Walker, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Sonny Sharrock, Freddie King, and Albert Collins. In Canned Heat he was able to play and record with John Lee Hooker whom he had admired since the late 1950s.
The 1960s
Throughout the early to mid-1960s Henry played in various musical configurations and eventually was hired by Frank Zappa for the original Mothers of Invention in late October 1965. Vestine was in the Mothers for only a few months and left before they recorded their debut album. Demo tapes from Mothers of Invention rehearsal sessions featuring Vestine (recorded in November 1965) appear on the Frank Zappa CD entitled: Joe's Corsage; posthumously released in 2004.
His friend Fahey was to be instrumental in the formation of Canned Heat. He had introduced Al Wilson, whom he knew from Boston, to Henry and Bob and Richard Hite. Wilson, Vestine and the Hite brothers formed a jug band that rehearsed at Don Brown’s Jazz Man record Shop. Bob Hite and Alan Wilson started Canned Heat with Kenny Edwards as a second guitarist, but Henry was asked to join. The first notable appearance of the band was the following year when they played at the Monterey Pop Festival. Shortly after Canned Heat’s first album was released, Henry burst into musical prominence as a guitarist who stretched the idiom of the blues with long solos that moved beyond the conventional genres. He had his own style and a trademark piercing treble guitar sound. Vestine missed playing at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, having quit the band the previous week. In 1995, he explained to an Australian reporter that "[a]t the time, it was just another gig. It was too bad I wasn’t there, but I just couldn’t continue with the band at the time." There had some tension between him and bassist Larry Taylor. When Taylor quit Canned Heat, Vestine returned; their alternating membership in the band was to be repeated a few more times over the years.
While Canned Heat played at Woodstock in August 1969, Henry was invited to New York City for session work with avant-garde jazz great Albert Ayler. That session work resulted in two releases on the Impulse label.
At the same time he developed an intense interest in Harley Davidson motorcycles. He eventually owned eleven of them. Prior to his death he was looking forward to playing at their 75th Anniversary Celebration. Over the years he had also a close relationship with the Hells Angels.
The 1970s
Through the 1970s gradually Canned Heat had become a part-time occupation with occasional gigs and recordings sessions. When Vestine's marriage broke up in 1983, he moved to Oregon. There he lived on a farm in rural Summit for a year and then in Corvallis, making a living doing odd jobs and playing music at rodeos and taverns in a country band with Mike Rosso, an old friend from southern California who had also moved to Oregon. He also played with Ramblin' Rex.
Terry Robb brought Vestine to Portland and they did some recording together. Henry began playing with the Pete Carnes Blues Band and made his way to Eugene when the band folded in the mid-1980s. He played the regional club scene with a number of blues and blues-rock groups including James T. and The Tough. From that band he was to bring James Thornbury to a reconstituted Canned Heat.
Vestine toured with Canned Heat in Australia[3] and Europe, where the band had a popularity that far surpassed the recognition they got in the United States. When he returned to Eugene he would play with The Vipers, a group of veteran Eugene blues musicians who perform throughout the Northwest. He continued to record including sessions with Oregon bands such as Skip Jones and The Rent Party Band, Terry Robb, and The Vipers. He also recorded the album Guitar Gangster with Evan Johns in Austin.[4]
Death
Vestine had finished a European tour with Canned Heat when he died from heart and respiratory failure in a Paris hotel on the morning of October 20, 1997,[5] just as the band was awaiting return to the United States.
Henry Vestine's ashes are interred at the Oak Hill Cemetery outside of Eugene, Oregon. A memorial fund has been set up in his name. The fund will be used for maintenance of his resting place at Oak Hill Cemetery and, when it is possible, for conveyance of some of his ashes to the Vestine Crater on the moon, as has been his wish.
Sam Collins +20.10.1949
Sam Collins (August 11, 1887 – October 20, 1949)[1] who was sometimes known as Crying Sam Collins and also, according to one authoritative website,[2] as Jim Foster, Jelly Roll Hunter, Big Boy Woods, Bunny Carter, and Salty Dog Sam, was an early American blues singer and guitarist.
He was born in Louisiana, United States,[1] and grew up just across the state border in McComb, Mississippi. By 1924 he was performing in local barrelhouses, often with King Solomon Hill with whom he shared the use of falsetto singing and slide guitar. He was first recorded by Gennett Records, on "Yellow Dog Blues", in 1927, and recorded again in 1931, some of his later recordings appearing under different pseudonyms. His rural bottleneck guitar pieces were among the first to be compiled on LP. His best known recording was "The Jail House Blues".[1]
He relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in the late 1930s, and died there from the effects of heart disease in October 1949, at the age of 62.
Earl Gilliam +20.10.2011, born 1930
The Houston Chronicle newspaper is reporting that blues pianist Earl Gilliam passed away on Wednesday, October 20, 2011 from advanced lung disease. Gilliam was 81 years old.
An integral part of the long-thriving Houston, Texas blues scene for almost 60 years, Gilliam was a self-taught pianist. Gilliam grew up in New Waverly, Texas. A naturally gifted musician, Gilliam could hear a song a couple of times and nail it, a quality that led to an offer to tour with Texas blues legend Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown when Gilliam was just 19, an offer his mother denied due to his young age.
Over the years, Gilliam would become known as Houston's premiere blues pianist, and he performed alongside such greats as Lightnin' Hopkins, Albert King, Albert Collins, and Joe "Guitar" Hughes, among many others. Gilliam also lead his own band, performing frequently in Houston clubs throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and he was still performing after suffering a collapsed lung in 2008. Sadly, Gilliam only released one album under his own name, 2005's Texas Doghouse Blues.
In Houston, Gilliam is best known for the blues jams he hosted at his home every other week, which the pianist dubbed the "Dog House." The event would feature blues music and food, and cooking would start on Saturday night to provide for Sunday night's guests. Donations were accepted so that those who couldn't afford it could still eat. "It's a different crowd every time, some I know, some I don't," Gilliam is quoted as saying in the Chronicle. "Somebody's gotta eat all that food: ribs, chicken, mustard greens. If you don't cook enough, you get a crowd problem. So I make sure everybody's full before they leave."
Gilliam is survived by his wife and ten children, and will be missed by blues fans in Houston and around the world as one of the city's foremost musical ambassadors.
http://blues.about.com/b/2011/10/21/texas-bluesman-earl-gilliam-r-i-p.htm
http://sundayblues.org/archives/tag/earl-gilliam
Ronnie Van Zant +20.10.1977
Ronald Wayne "Ronnie" Van Zant (January 15, 1948[1] – October 20, 1977) was an American lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was the older brother of current lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant and of the founder and vocalist of 38 Special, Donnie Van Zant. He is the father of singer Tammy Van Zant and cousin of musician Jimmie Van Zant.
Early life
He was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, to Lacy (1915–2004) and Marion (1929–2000) Van Zant. Van Zant aspired to be many things before finding his love for music. Notably, Ronnie was interested in becoming a boxer (as Muhammad Ali was one of his idols) and in playing professional baseball. Ronnie also tossed around the idea of becoming a stock car racer. He would say that he was going to be the most famous person to come out of Jacksonville since stock car racer Lee Roy Yarbrough.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
The band went through several names before deciding on the name Lynyrd Skynyrd. Van Zant formed Skynyrd (then called My Backyard at the time, their earliest name)[2] late in the summer of 1964 with friends and schoolmates Allen Collins (guitar), Gary Rossington (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), and Bob Burns (drums). Lynyrd Skynyrd's name is a mock tribute to a gym teacher that three of the members (Allen Collins had gone to a different high school, Nathan B. Forrest High School) had in high school, Leonard Skinner, who disapproved of male students with long hair.[3]
The band's national exposure began in 1973 with the release of their debut album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), which has a string of hits and fan favorites including: "I Ain't the One", "Tuesday's Gone", "Gimme Three Steps", "Simple Man," and their signature song, "Free Bird", which he later dedicated to the late Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's biggest hit single was "Sweet Home Alabama" from the album Second Helping. "Sweet Home Alabama" was an answer song to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man." Young's song "Powderfinger" on the 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps was reportedly written for Skynyrd, and Van Zant is pictured on the cover of Street Survivors wearing a T-shirt of Young's Tonight's the Night.[4]
Personal life
Van Zant married Nadine Inscoe on January 2, 1967. The couple had a daughter, Tammy (born 1967), before divorcing in 1969; Tammy would later go on to become a musician in her own right. He married Judy Seymour in 1972 after meeting her at The Comic Book Club through Gary Rossington in 1969[2] (The club closed in 1975 and is now a parking garage).[5] They remained married up until his death in 1977 and Judy remarrying to Jim Jenness and founding The Freebird Foundation up until its dissolution in 2001. They had one daughter, Melody, born in 1976.
Van Zant loved to fish. He enjoyed baseball, and was a fan of the White Sox, Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers. As a child he played American Legion baseball and aspired for AA league baseball, as he recalled in an interview in 1975.[2]
Van Zant had several run-ins with the law, especially in 1975, when he was arrested for hurling a table out of a second-story hotel room.[6][7]
Death
On October 20, 1977, a Convair CV-300 carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashed outside Gillsburg, Mississippi. The passengers had been informed about problems with one of the plane's engines and told to brace for impact.[8] Van Zant died on impact from head injuries suffered after the aircraft struck a tree. Bandmates Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines, along with assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray were also killed. Remaining band members survived, although all were seriously injured.[9]
According to former bandmate Artimus Pyle and family members, Van Zant frequently discussed his mortality. Pyle recalls a moment when Lynyrd Skynyrd was in Japan: "Ronnie and I were in Tokyo, Japan, and Ronnie told me that he would never live to see thirty and that he would go out with his boots on, in other words, on the road. I said, 'Ronnie, don't talk like that,' but the man knew his destiny."[10] Van Zant's father, Lacy, said, "He said to me many times, 'Daddy, I'll never be 30 years old.' I said, 'Why are you talking this junk?' and he said, 'Daddy, that's my limit.'" Van Zant's father later noted that, "God was a jealous god. Taking him for reasons I don't know."[10] Van Zant was 29 years old at the time of his death.
Van Zant's younger brother, Johnny, took over as the new lead singer when the band reunited in 1987.
Van Zant was buried in Orange Park, Florida, in 1977, but was relocated after vandals broke into bandmate Steve Gaines' and Ronnie's tombs on June 29, 2000. Van Zant's casket was pulled out and dropped on the ground. The bag containing Gaines' ashes was torn open and some scattered onto the grass.[11] Their mausoleums at Orange Park remain as memorials for fans to visit.
According to the cemetery listing website Find-a-Grave, Van Zant was reburied at Riverside Memorial Park in Jacksonville, near the grave of his father Lacy and mother Marion. Both his current resting place and the empty mausoleum in Orange Park are listed. The following statement was made on the Find-a-Grave entry of his current resting place in Jacksonville: "Due to the June 29th, 2000 vandalization of his original grave site, his casket was moved to this new location and buried in a massive underground concrete burial vault. To open the vault would require a tractor with a lift capacity of several tons. It is also patrolled by security."[12]
A memorial park funded by fans and family of the band was built in honor of Van Zant. The Ronnie Van Zant Memorial Park is located on Sandridge Road in Lake Asbury, Florida, nearby his hometown of Jacksonville.
Several members of his family have immortalized him in their music. Johnny, prior joining Lynyrd Skynyrd, memorialized Ronnie in the 1990 title track "Brickyard Road" (co-written along with brother Donnie Van Zant and family friend Robert White Johnson, who had also produced the album) and in the music video with the reformed band for the posthumously-released track "What's Your Name" in which a white hat similar to Ronnie's sits atop a microphone at the end of the video. Tammy, who was only 10 years old when he died, dedicated the title track, "Freebird Child" as well as the music video to Ronnie. Jimmie Van Zant recorded the tribute track "Ronnie's Song" on the album Southern Comfort.
Alt country band Drive-By Truckers also paid tribute to Ronnie and members of the original band on their Southern Rock Opera album.
Ronald Wayne "Ronnie" Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was the older brother of current Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant, and of the founder and vocalist of 38 Special, Donnie Van Zant. He is the father of a singer Tammy Van Zant, and cousin of a musician Jimmie Van Zant.
Early life
He was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, to Lacy (1915–2004) and Marion (1929–2000) Van Zant. Ronnie aspired to be many things before finding his love for music. Notably, he was interested in becoming a boxer (as Muhammad Ali was one of his idols), and in playing professional baseball, even playing American Legion baseball. Ronnie also tossed around the idea of becoming a stock car racer. He would say that he was going to be the most famous person to come out of Jacksonville since stock car racer Lee Roy Yarbrough.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
The band went through several names before deciding on the name Lynyrd Skynyrd. Van Zant formed Skynyrd (then called My Backyard at the time, their earliest name)[1] late in the summer of 1964 with friends and schoolmates Allen Collins (guitar), Gary Rossington (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), and Bob Burns (drums). Lynyrd Skynyrd's name is a mock tribute to a gym teacher that three of the members (Allen Collins had gone to a different high school, Nathan B. Forrest High School) had in high school, Leonard Skinner, who disapproved of male students with long hair.[2]
The band's national exposure began in 1973 with the release of their debut album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), which has a string of hits and fan favorites including: "I Ain't the One", "Tuesday's Gone", "Gimme Three Steps", "Simple Man," and their signature song, "Free Bird", which he later dedicated to the late Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's biggest hit single was "Sweet Home Alabama" from the album Second Helping. "Sweet Home Alabama" was an answer song to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man." Young's song "Powderfinger" on the 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps was reportedly written for Skynyrd, and Van Zant is pictured on the cover of Street Survivors wearing a T-shirt of Young's Tonight's the Night[3] and in the 2 July, 1977 Oakland Coliseum concert (excerpted in Freebird... The Movie).[4]
Personal life
Van Zant married Nadine Inscoe on January 2, 1967. The couple had a daughter, Tammy (born 1967), before divorcing in 1969; Tammy would later go on to become a musician in her own right. He married Judy Seymour in 1972 after meeting her at The Comic Book Club through Gary Rossington in 1969[1] (The club closed in 1975 and is now a parking garage).[5] They remained married up until his death in 1977 and Judy remarrying to Jim Jenness and founding The Freebird Foundation up until its dissolution in 2001. They had one daughter, Melody, born in 1976. Judy Van Zant-Jenness founded the Freebird Live in 1999, a music venue located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. It features Lynyrd Skynyrd memorabilia and is co-owned by Melody Van Zant.
Van Zant was an avid fisherman. He enjoyed baseball, and was a fan of the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees. As a child, he played American Legion baseball and aspired for AA league baseball, as he recalled in a 1975 interview.[1]
Van Zant had several run-ins with the law, most notably in 1975, when he was arrested for hurling a table out of a second-story hotel room window.[6][7]
Death
On October 20, 1977, a Convair CV-300 carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashed outside Gillsburg, Mississippi. The passengers had been informed about problems with one of the plane's engines and told to brace for impact.[8] Van Zant died on impact from head injuries suffered after the aircraft struck a tree. Bandmates Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines, along with assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray were also killed. Remaining band members survived, although all were seriously injured.[9]
According to former bandmate Artimus Pyle and family members, Van Zant frequently discussed his mortality. Pyle recalls a moment when Lynyrd Skynyrd was in Japan: "Ronnie and I were in Tokyo, Japan, and Ronnie told me that he would never live to see thirty and that he would go out with his boots on, in other words, on the road. I said, 'Ronnie, don't talk like that,' but the man knew his destiny."[10] Van Zant's father, Lacy, said, "He said to me many times, 'Daddy, I'll never be 30 years old.' I said, 'Why are you talking this junk?' and he said, 'Daddy, that's my limit.'" Van Zant's father later noted that, "God was a jealous god. Taking him for reasons I don't know."[10] Van Zant was 29 years old at the time of his death.
Van Zant's younger brother, Johnny, took over as the new lead singer when the band reunited in 1987.
Van Zant was buried in Orange Park, Florida, in 1977, but was relocated after vandals broke into bandmate Steve Gaines' and Ronnie's tombs on June 29, 2000. Van Zant's casket was pulled out and dropped on the ground. The bag containing Gaines' ashes was torn open and some scattered onto the grass.[11] Their mausoleums at Orange Park remain as memorials for fans to visit.
According to the cemetery listing website Find-a-Grave, Van Zant was reburied at Riverside Memorial Park in Jacksonville, near the grave of his father Lacy and mother Marion. Both his current resting place and the empty mausoleum in Orange Park are listed. The following statement was made on the Find-a-Grave entry of his current resting place in Jacksonville: "Due to the June 29th, 2000 vandalization of his original grave site, his casket was moved to this new location and buried in a massive underground concrete burial vault. To open the vault would require a tractor with a lift capacity of several tons. It is also patrolled by security."[12]
Legacy
A memorial park funded by fans and family of the band was built in honor of Van Zant. The Ronnie Van Zant Memorial Park is located on Sandridge Road in Lake Asbury, Florida, nearby his hometown of Jacksonville.
Several members of his family have immortalized him in their music. Johnny, prior to joining Lynyrd Skynyrd, memorialized Ronnie in the 1990 title track "Brickyard Road"[13] (co-written along with brother Donnie Van Zant and family friend Robert White Johnson, who had also produced the album) and in the music video with the reformed band for the posthumously-released track "What's Your Name" in which a white hat similar to Ronnie's sits atop a microphone at the end of the video. Tammy, who was only 10 years old when he died, dedicated the album title track, "Freebird Child" as well as the music video to Ronnie in 2009.[14] Jimmie Van Zant recorded the tribute track "Ronnie's Song" on the album Southern Comfort (2000).[15]
Alt country band Drive-By Truckers also paid tribute to Ronnie and members of the original band on their Southern Rock Opera album.
Early life
He was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, to Lacy (1915–2004) and Marion (1929–2000) Van Zant. Ronnie aspired to be many things before finding his love for music. Notably, he was interested in becoming a boxer (as Muhammad Ali was one of his idols), and in playing professional baseball, even playing American Legion baseball. Ronnie also tossed around the idea of becoming a stock car racer. He would say that he was going to be the most famous person to come out of Jacksonville since stock car racer Lee Roy Yarbrough.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
The band went through several names before deciding on the name Lynyrd Skynyrd. Van Zant formed Skynyrd (then called My Backyard at the time, their earliest name)[1] late in the summer of 1964 with friends and schoolmates Allen Collins (guitar), Gary Rossington (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), and Bob Burns (drums). Lynyrd Skynyrd's name is a mock tribute to a gym teacher that three of the members (Allen Collins had gone to a different high school, Nathan B. Forrest High School) had in high school, Leonard Skinner, who disapproved of male students with long hair.[2]
The band's national exposure began in 1973 with the release of their debut album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), which has a string of hits and fan favorites including: "I Ain't the One", "Tuesday's Gone", "Gimme Three Steps", "Simple Man," and their signature song, "Free Bird", which he later dedicated to the late Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's biggest hit single was "Sweet Home Alabama" from the album Second Helping. "Sweet Home Alabama" was an answer song to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man." Young's song "Powderfinger" on the 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps was reportedly written for Skynyrd, and Van Zant is pictured on the cover of Street Survivors wearing a T-shirt of Young's Tonight's the Night[3] and in the 2 July, 1977 Oakland Coliseum concert (excerpted in Freebird... The Movie).[4]
Personal life
Van Zant married Nadine Inscoe on January 2, 1967. The couple had a daughter, Tammy (born 1967), before divorcing in 1969; Tammy would later go on to become a musician in her own right. He married Judy Seymour in 1972 after meeting her at The Comic Book Club through Gary Rossington in 1969[1] (The club closed in 1975 and is now a parking garage).[5] They remained married up until his death in 1977 and Judy remarrying to Jim Jenness and founding The Freebird Foundation up until its dissolution in 2001. They had one daughter, Melody, born in 1976. Judy Van Zant-Jenness founded the Freebird Live in 1999, a music venue located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. It features Lynyrd Skynyrd memorabilia and is co-owned by Melody Van Zant.
Van Zant was an avid fisherman. He enjoyed baseball, and was a fan of the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees. As a child, he played American Legion baseball and aspired for AA league baseball, as he recalled in a 1975 interview.[1]
Van Zant had several run-ins with the law, most notably in 1975, when he was arrested for hurling a table out of a second-story hotel room window.[6][7]
Death
On October 20, 1977, a Convair CV-300 carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashed outside Gillsburg, Mississippi. The passengers had been informed about problems with one of the plane's engines and told to brace for impact.[8] Van Zant died on impact from head injuries suffered after the aircraft struck a tree. Bandmates Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines, along with assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray were also killed. Remaining band members survived, although all were seriously injured.[9]
According to former bandmate Artimus Pyle and family members, Van Zant frequently discussed his mortality. Pyle recalls a moment when Lynyrd Skynyrd was in Japan: "Ronnie and I were in Tokyo, Japan, and Ronnie told me that he would never live to see thirty and that he would go out with his boots on, in other words, on the road. I said, 'Ronnie, don't talk like that,' but the man knew his destiny."[10] Van Zant's father, Lacy, said, "He said to me many times, 'Daddy, I'll never be 30 years old.' I said, 'Why are you talking this junk?' and he said, 'Daddy, that's my limit.'" Van Zant's father later noted that, "God was a jealous god. Taking him for reasons I don't know."[10] Van Zant was 29 years old at the time of his death.
Van Zant's younger brother, Johnny, took over as the new lead singer when the band reunited in 1987.
Van Zant was buried in Orange Park, Florida, in 1977, but was relocated after vandals broke into bandmate Steve Gaines' and Ronnie's tombs on June 29, 2000. Van Zant's casket was pulled out and dropped on the ground. The bag containing Gaines' ashes was torn open and some scattered onto the grass.[11] Their mausoleums at Orange Park remain as memorials for fans to visit.
According to the cemetery listing website Find-a-Grave, Van Zant was reburied at Riverside Memorial Park in Jacksonville, near the grave of his father Lacy and mother Marion. Both his current resting place and the empty mausoleum in Orange Park are listed. The following statement was made on the Find-a-Grave entry of his current resting place in Jacksonville: "Due to the June 29th, 2000 vandalization of his original grave site, his casket was moved to this new location and buried in a massive underground concrete burial vault. To open the vault would require a tractor with a lift capacity of several tons. It is also patrolled by security."[12]
Legacy
A memorial park funded by fans and family of the band was built in honor of Van Zant. The Ronnie Van Zant Memorial Park is located on Sandridge Road in Lake Asbury, Florida, nearby his hometown of Jacksonville.
Several members of his family have immortalized him in their music. Johnny, prior to joining Lynyrd Skynyrd, memorialized Ronnie in the 1990 title track "Brickyard Road"[13] (co-written along with brother Donnie Van Zant and family friend Robert White Johnson, who had also produced the album) and in the music video with the reformed band for the posthumously-released track "What's Your Name" in which a white hat similar to Ronnie's sits atop a microphone at the end of the video. Tammy, who was only 10 years old when he died, dedicated the album title track, "Freebird Child" as well as the music video to Ronnie in 2009.[14] Jimmie Van Zant recorded the tribute track "Ronnie's Song" on the album Southern Comfort (2000).[15]
Alt country band Drive-By Truckers also paid tribute to Ronnie and members of the original band on their Southern Rock Opera album.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama - 7/2/1977 - Oakland Coliseum Stadium (Official)
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