RIP Bob Weir

The legendary Grateful Dead member Bob Weir passed away over the weekend, he was 78. 

RIP Steve Cropper

The legendary Steve Cropper has passed away, he was 84. 

Cropper was an architect of the American classic soul sound being a songwriter and producer for Stax Records. He was also the guitar player in the historic Booker T and the MG's. 

RIP Todd Snider

RtBE are sad to learn of the passing of Todd Snider, he was 59.

Remembering Jerry Garcia

On this day way back in 1942 Jerome Garcia was born and as we have done in the past we wanted to take a second to remember Jerry in the best possible way, by listening to his music.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brentdpayne

To kick things off how about an interview with Branford Marsalis (Go Mets!) Scott Poulson-Bryant, Anthony Decurtis and others on what it was like to play with Jerry and the Grateful Dead.

In past years we have focused on full shows from The Grateful Dead (who we featured in our Master series as well), but here are a few Jerry Garcia Band songs.

Enjoy them on this great day...oh and also, Happy Birthday Meg!

Full Show Friday: Phil Lesh Quintet - Port Chester NY 3-6-24 @ Capitol Theater

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Phil Lesh Quintet!

Some months our Full Show Friday's will focus on specific artists, years, venues, tv shows, festivals or some combo of it all. 

This months Full Show Friday Series focuses on concerts from Phil Lesh who passed away late last month.

Full Show Friday: Phil Lesh Quintet - 7/28/01 Camden, NJ

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Phil Lesh Quintet!

Some months our Full Show Friday's will focus on specific artists, years, venues, tv shows, festivals or some combo of it all. 

This months Full Show Friday Series focuses on concerts from Phil Lesh who passed away late last month.

Remembering Jerry Garcia

On this day way back in 1942 Jerome Garcia was born and as we have done in the past we wanted to take a second to remember Jerry in the best possible way, by listening to his music.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brentdpayne

To kick things off how about an interview with Branford Marsalis (Go Mets!) Scott Poulson-Bryant, Anthony Decurtis and others on what it was like to play with Jerry and the Grateful Dead.

In past years we have focused on full shows from The Grateful Dead (who we featured in our Master series as well), but here are a few Jerry Garcia Band songs.

Enjoy them on this great day...oh and also, Happy Birthday Meg!

RIP Kerry 'Fatman' Hunter

Unfortunately Kerry 'Fatman' Hunter was killed by a drunk driver in New Orleans.

Sad news:

RtBE dug Fatman having seen him play with The New Orleans Nightcrawlers and New Birth Brass Band. 

We loved the Nightcrawlers album that they won a Grammy for and had a song dedicated to Hunter. It was titled Atmosphere and we rated it as one of our favorites of 2020. Here is his song:

RIP Mary Weiss

Mary Weiss has died. 

The lead singer of The Shangri-Las was reportedly 75. RtBE are big fans of Weiss and the band, having loved their tough girl group sounds, as well as Weiss' comeback album she recorded with The Reigning Sound.

My mother grew up with The Shangri-Las and has fond memories of the group so there is an added personal connection, but we can all experience her music. Listen to some of it below:

  

RIP Shane MacGowan

Shane MacGowan has died, he was 65. 

The front man of The Pogues (amongst other musical endeavors) was a rebel poet, a world class addict with a Sarlacc Pit of a mouth, and a special symbol to punks with a tinge of the Irish blood (RtBE included). It is amazing he lived to this age with all the abuse he gave his body, yet by extending his life and career, it allowed me to see him at his best and at his worst. 

Let's get the worst out of the way first, it was the inaugural Guinness Fleadh at Randall's Island in 1997. Young and excited, I took a bus up with a crew of feisty NYC friends and drunks, a good chunk of whom grew up in Ireland. Having never seen MacGowan he was the clear must see on this day, which hosted a ton of RtBE favorites (Black 47, John Prine, Steve Earle etc.). 

Getting a few beers loose then getting close to the stage for his set with the Popes, excitement ran high in the crowd, probably for MacGowan as well as he was completely blitzed, slurring, unintelligible and making it only through a few songs before passing out and being carried off stage while bleeding. Obviously not the best performance, it lived up to the myth and since there were other bands to check out I always will remember it fondly.

I was also lucky enough to catch a reunited Pogues a few times and that was something I never thought I would get to see. Shane got new teeth, and the band was excellent, never better than the first time I saw them in 2006, which I wrote happily wrote about. Seeing him waltzing under the fake snow in NYC was something I will never forget. 

MacGowan used to frequent (and get thrown out of) bars I have drank at in Belfast, I have covered his songs in my band, and there has always been that flicker of disturbed glee behind his lyrics and slurred performances. He had that special something, he was the real deal, and if anyone would want you to raise a pint to him when he is gone it is Shane MacGowan, so please do so and play his tunes loud today:

Remembering Jerry Garcia

On this day way back in 1942 Jerome Garcia was born and as we have done in the past we wanted to take a second to remember Jerry in the best possible way, by listening to his music.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brentdpayne

To kick things off how about an interview with Branford Marsalis (Go Mets!) Scott Poulson-Bryant, Anthony Decurtis and others on what it was like to play with Jerry and the Grateful Dead.

In past years we have focused on full shows from The Grateful Dead (who we featured in our Master series as well), but this year we wanted to post a few Jerry Garcia Band songs.

Enjoy them on this great day...oh and also, Happy Birthday Meg!

RIP Harry Belafonte

Activist, artist Harry Belafonte has passed away, he was 96 years old. 

Usually for RIP's I make a brief comment, post a song, and direct people to the NY Times article or elsewhere. I will still do that. 

However, I also had the pleasure of listening to this great American talk years back at NYPL when he released My Song and I wrote a review of that special night. 

You can read the full piece below.

RIP Huey "Piano" Smith

Huey "Piano" Smith passed away at his home in Baton Rouge, he was 89. Here is some info on his life from nola.com. 

Smith was instrumental in helping to create and shape the New Orleans R&B sound that is at the foundation of rock and roll.  He played with all of the greats of the era from Little Richard to Lloyd Price and beyond. 

RIP Walter "Wolfman" Washington

The New Orleans legend Walter "Wolfman" Washington passed away today, he was 79. 

Here is more on the man who RtBE was lucky enough to have seen with his band the Roadmasters. They combined blues, soul and R&B with ease and were always a fun set of music. 

Play his tunes loud and toast his life. 

RIP Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis has passed away, he was 87. 

RtBE are huge fans of The Killer, and got the chance to see him live at Town Hall years ago and loved it, but he was a complicated man with many flaws. 

The best rock bio we ever read was about Lewis, and we wrote about him when we did our Masters Series a few years ago, ranking his greatest hits only behind Little Richard and Chuck Berry, ahead of even Elvis. A giant when it comes to the birth of rock and roll, Lewis may be gone, but he will never be forgotten. 

Turn the songs up load and let'em rip tonight:

RIP Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn passed away today.  The legendary country music star was 90. 

RtBE reviewed a few of her late career albums and always dug her greatly, even ranking Full Circle in our top ten of 2016. 

She was a force in the world of country music and beyond.  To celebrate her life, play her music loudly today. Here are a few of RtBE's favorites from Lynn:

 

RIP Michael Henderson

Michael Henderson passed away yesterday at the age of 71. 

Henderson was an incredibly gifted and influential bassist who played jazz, soul, fusion, funk, R&B and much more, perhaps most famously as band member with Miles Davis during his electric phase. Henderson also recorded with the likes of Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, the Dramatics, and more. 

Henderson also had an bad ass solo career releasing many funky albums. Planet earth lost a bit of it's groove with Henderson gone.  Thankfully his bass lines and songs will live forever. 

Enjoy some of his songs and playing today:

   

RIP Mark Lanegan

Mark Lanegan has died, he was 57. The NY Times has more information

RtBE is saddened by the news. Lanegan was one of the first artists we saw live when he fronted Screaming Trees back in 1993. He had a distinct voice and style. 

To commemorate his life, listen to his music:

RIP Meatloaf

Marvin Lee Aday aka Meatloaf passed away today, he was 74.

While RtBE can't support his recent Covid stances and playing politics with health, we also can't deny that Bat Out of Hell is a great album, from overblown start to overwrought finish. 

At some point we will probably expound on our love for that record, but for now, let's just enjoy some of the songs off of it. 

RIP Rachel Nagy

Unfortunately Rachel Nagy, the lead singer of The Detroit Cobras has died, she was just thirty seven. 

The Cobras are a favorite of RtBE having reviewed their albums, caught them live a bunch and just plain enjoyed listening to them for years.

In memory of Nagy, play some of The Detroit Cobras music loudly tonight.