Category: LYRICIST

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Rick Davies 9/2025

Rick Davies (81) – Singer/songwriter, keyboardist/co-founder with Supertramp was born in Swindon, England, on July 22, 1944. Rick went to Sanford Street School and, according to his mother: “Music was the only thing he was any good at at school.”

Davies’s first musical stirrings were at the age of eight, when his parents gave him a secondhand radiogram which included a few records left by the previous owner. Among them were Drummin’ Man by drumming legend Gene Krupa, and, in Davies’s own words, “it hit like a thunderbolt”. “I must have played it 2,000 times,” he said. “That was it.” A friend of the family made Rick a makeshift drum kit out of a biscuit tin, and at the age of 12 he joined the British Railways Staff Association Brass and Silver Jubilee Band as a snare drummer.

Eventually, I got some drums and I took lessons. I was serious about it… I figured if I could do that – I mean a real drummer, read music and play with big bands, rock bands, classical, Latin, and know what I was going to do – I would be in demand and my life was set… Eventually, I started fiddling with the keyboards, and that seemed to go over better than my drumming, for some reason. So you’ve gotta go with what people react to.” He never had lessons for keyboards, but, according to Betty Davies, “taught himself most of what he knows about music.”

By 1959, Davies’s attention had been captured by rock ‘n’ roll, and he joined a band called Vince and the Vigilantes. In 1962, while studying in the art department at Swindon College, he formed his own band, called Rick’s Blues, and was now playing a Hohner electric piano instead of drums. The band included Gilbert O’Sullivan on drums for a time; he later was the best man at Davies’s wedding. In a March 1972 interview, O’Sullivan said “Rick had originally taught me how to play the drums and piano – in fact, he taught me everything about music.” When his father became ill, Davies disbanded Rick’s Blues, left college, and took a job as a welder at Square D, a firm making industrial control products and systems, which had a factory on the Cheney Manor Trading Estate in Swindon. Any hopes of an artistic career were temporarily put on ice.

In 1966, Davies became the organist for the Lonely Ones (best known for being one of Noel Redding’s first bands, though Redding had left by the time Davies joined), who later changed their name to the Joint and recorded the soundtracks for a number of German films. He later confessed that he lied about his abilities to get into the group, admitting he could not actually play the organ at the time. While the band was in Munich, Davies met Dutch millionaire Stanley August Miesegaes, who offered to fund him if he started a new group.

With that commitment in hand Rick Davies went back to London and placed an ad in Melody Maker in August of 1969 and out of 250 applicants Roger Hodgson became the co-founder of the band “Daddy”, six months later renamed Supertramp. Their financier, called SAM, suggested the name from the W. H. Davies book published in 1910, ‘History of a Supertramp.’

Despite their contrasting backgrounds – Davies’s working-class upbringing and Hodgson’s private school education – they struck up an instant rapport , they instantly matched and began writing virtually all of their songs together. Their musical chemistry was undeniable.

The first self titled Supertramp album was released in 1970, to no public or critical acclaim. The rest of the band are either fired, have a nervous breakdown, or jump ship. A second album is recorded, ‘Indelibly Stamped’ (1971), which if anything fared even worse than its predecessor. Timing is everything and the timing for both albums was off. I have both albums in my collection and definitely recognize what was to come for this band. Indelibly stamped marked a dramatic change in direction and showed some moments of genius songwriting and today scores a 94% positive on Google. But after the tour to promote Indelibly Stamped however, the three new recruits to the band are all fired, leaving just the duo of Davies and Hodgson again. At this point financial benefactor Sam separates from the band, paying off the 60,000 pound debts already incurred, wishing them all the best for the future, but severing any further financial ties.

Davies and Hodgson bravely keep going, recruiting new musicians in the shape of magical saxophonist John Anthony Helliwell (ex ‘Alan Brown Sound’) and the rock solid jazzy drumming of Bob. C. Benberg (ex ‘Bees Make Honey’ and ‘Ilford Subway’ with American Scott Gorman before he became famous with ‘Thin Lizzy’). Perhaps most importantly of all, Dougie Thomson came in on bass guitar and took over the business management of the band. And that’s when luck changed.

At this point the band were gigging day to day to survive whilst writing new material for the proposed new album. But A&M Records had no future plans for the band; in fact they thought Supertramp had imploded. Roger Hodgson and Richard Davies, under the watchful eye of new partner Dougie Thomson, went back to A&M Records to plead their case for another bite at the cherry. For once somebody at the record company got it right.
 They rented a large farmhouse for them where their families could live communally, sharing their meager income, but building a solid musical base.

In November 1973 the band are moved lock, stock, and if you want, smokin’ barrel, to a farm in Somerset, England to work on the new material for the next album. From there in February 1974 they are moved on to Trident Recording Studios in London with the excellent Ken Scott holding down production duties. In June the band finish off recordings in the famous Ramport Studios. The third album under the Supertramp banner is released in September 1973, and with the full weight of the A&M publicity machine behind them, coupled with some ground breaking and prestigious live concerts, the band becomes an ‘overnight’ sensation.

Their breakthrough finally comes with the 1974 album Crime of the Century, powered by Davies’ sharply written Bloody Well Right. It established Supertramp as one of the UK’s most inventive progressive rock bands, marrying biting lyricism with memorable melodies. The support tour was extensive and highly enhanced by a mesmerizing audio visual statement during the Crime of the Century performance.

The first single off the album, “Dreamer” (which was to be the template for the Supertramp sound from here on, hammering piano, searing guitar licks, beautifully contrasting harmonised vocals, with catchy amusing lyrics, combustible saxophone and clarinets, and a jazz influenced rhythm section) was to peak at Number 13 in the British charts, followed by the album itself which was in the Top Five by Christmas of that year.

All the songs on the album have a conceptual theme to them: in this case insanity. All sorts of insanity, whether it be brought on by education (School), dreaming (the first single), love (Rudy), shyness (Hide In Your Shell) or authority (the title track). Every track is instantly recognisable as Supertramp, and the album as a whole runs together perfectly, starting with the haunting harmonica opening of School to the final rousing crescendo of the title track.
In-between there are some splendid melodies ranging from many of the band’s influences, folk, progressive/rock, pop, jazz and the classics, combining the vocal talents of both Hodgson and Davies in their contrasting manner, giving Supertramp that essential variety. This is used in quite devastating effect on the album’s centerpiece song “Asylum”, where they both sound as if they are completely going off the planet. Quite a blend you may think, but it all gels to stirring effect.

In recognition of his generosity and support, Supertramp in the liner notes dedicated its third album, Crime of the Century, “To Sam,” an album certified “Gold” in the US in 1977.

With the doors open, Supertramp was to go on to conquer the adult oriented world of rock music, even the advent of punk rock did not dent their mercurial rise to stardom. Three more smash hit albums were to follow, “Crisis What Crisis?” (1975), “Even In The Quietest Moments” (1977). The group had relocated to the United States by 1977, where they recorded their best-selling album, Breakfast in America, from April 1978 to February 1979. Davies and Hodgson were observed by engineer Peter Henderson to be getting along “fantastically well and everyone was really happy” throughout the long months of recording and mixing. But….Davies’s relationship with Hodgson was changing and the two began writing most of their songs separately again, though they agreed to have them all credited to Davies/Hodgson by contract. Among the songs credited to both but actually written solely by Davies are the hits “Bloody Well Right” and “Goodbye Stranger”. Davies is credited with writing the answering lyric in the second chorus of Hodgson’s “The Logical Song”.

With more hit singles than their first five albums combined, the album reached number three in the UK, and top of the charts in America. and culminating in the Worldwide Number One album “Breakfast in America” (1979) which was to spawn four hit singles on its own (in those days hit singles used to mean something). Breakfast in America became a global phenomenon, selling an estimated 18 million copies and producing a string of hit singles. The band toured internationally on the strength of these records and would fill stadiums wherever they went.

While Hodgson delivered The Logical Song and Take the Long Way Home, Davies left an equally strong mark with Goodbye Stranger and the driving keyboard work that defined much of the album. The Logical Song itself carried his fingerprints, as he contributed the answering vocal refrain in its final chorus.

As in many marriages, something that started out as blissfully perfect, ruptured into bitterness and family in fighting. After one more not so successful album and world tour, Roger Hodgson left the family, taking with him John Anthony Helliwell, leaving Richard Davies to carry on with the name Supertramp. Of course by this time none of them needed to work for the money, and really did not care, nor to be quite honest did the public, enough was enough.

Even though by the early 1980s, Supertramp were headlining arenas around the world, tensions between Davies and Hodgson deepened. Hodgson eventually departed in 1983 following the release of …Famous Last Words…, leaving Davies to continue as the band’s leader.

Without Hodgson, Davies kept Supertramp alive through a series of albums, including Brother Where You Bound (1985) featuring David Gilmour on guitar, Free as a Bird (1987), Some Things Never Change (1997), and Slow Motion (2002). Though none matched the massive sales of Breakfast in America, Davies maintained a dedicated following, with his gruff baritone voice and rhythmic, jazz-influenced piano giving Supertramp its ongoing identity.

Outside of the band, he occasionally performed with other projects, most notably under the name Ricky and the Rockets, and remained musically active well into the 2010s.
In 2015, Davies was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, forcing Supertramp to cancel a planned tour. He fought the illness with resilience, returning to live performance in 2022. Despite his health challenges, his commitment to music never wavered.

Both carried on their careers in a very lacklustre manner, but were never to find that original spark again. All good things must come to an end. The Tramp was super for a long time and made enough to retire to its mansion. I do like a story with a happy (if not perfect) ending. I wonder if Stanley August Miesegaes “Sam” ever got repaid for his original funding of the dream?

Rick Davies’ voice may not have been as instantly recognizable as Hodgson’s, but his songwriting and keyboard arrangements defined much of Supertramp’s enduring sound. Songs like Bloody Well Right, Goodbye Stranger, Crime of the Century, and Cannonball remain fixtures of classic rock radio, their wit and sophistication standing the test of time.
For more than five decades, Davies embodied the soul of Supertramp—steady, inventive, and uncompromising. His contributions helped the group evolve from a progressive curiosity into one of the most successful rock bands of the late 1970s.
Rick Davies is survived by his wife, Sue. His music, however, will continue to live on, reminding listeners around the world of the uniquely intelligent, soulful, and wry voice he brought.

Rick Davies succumb to the multiple myeloma disease on Sept 6, 2025. He was 81 years old.

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Terry Reid 8/2025

Terry Reid (75) – formidable British singer/songwriter – was born in Little Paxton, St Neots, Huntingdonshire, England. He lived in the village of Bluntisham and attended St Ivo School, St Ives.

As a young teenager, Reid was playing for a local band, The Redbeats, who regularly performed at the River Club in St. Ives. A teen prodigy of sorts, Reid turned professional at the age of 15 to join Peter Jay & the Jaywalkers, after being spotted by the band’s drummer/leader Peter Jay. His first couple of singles as a headliner found him singing in a sort of poppy blue-eyed soul vein.  His public profile was enhanced in 1966 when The Jaywalkers were named as a supporting opening act for the Rolling Stones during their 23-show British Tour from September to October 1966.

At the concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Graham Nash of The Hollies became acquainted with Reid and suggested The Jaywalkers sign up with UK Columbia Records—an EMI label—to record with producer John Burgess. Their first single, the soul-inspired “The Hand Don’t Fit the Glove” was a minor hit in 1967, but by then The Jaywalkers had already decided to disband. In the later ’60s, Reid became the solo supporting act for the Rolling Stones, Cream, Jethro Tull and Fleetwood Mac tours.

In the second half of the sixties Reid was brought to the attention of producer Mickie Most, who became his manager and who was also in partnership with Zeppelin manager Peter Grant at the time. His first single with Most, “Better By Far“, became a radio favorite. His debut album ‘Bang Bang, You’re Terry Reid’, was released in 1968, produced by Mickie Most, Reid had switched to more of a hard rock approach. Most was also handling Donovan and the Jeff Beck Group at the time, and similarities to both of those acts can be heard in Terry Reid’s first two albums — proto-hard rock on the louder tunes, sweeter folk-rock on the mellow ones (Reid in fact covered a couple of Donovan compositions, although he wrote most of his own material). Reid’s high voice was reminiscent of Robert Plant’s, though not as shrill, and his folksy numbers especially are reminiscent of Led Zeppelin’s most acoustic early cuts. With accompanying musicians Peter Solley on organ and Keith Webb on drums, a 1968 tour of the United States with Cream did much to gain Reid a loyal following. His final performance of the tour at the Miami Pop Festival garnered raving reviews from the music press.

Reid, oddly, was considerably better-known in the U.S. at the time, than the U.K. His first album, very oddly, was not even issued in Britain, although it made the American Top 200.

The song “Without Expression”, from Bang Bang, You’re Terry Reid, was written by Reid at age 14 and later recorded under different titles. The Hollies released it as “A Man With No Expression” in 1968, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young recorded it as “Horses Through a Rainstorm” in 1969 (with Graham Nash once again singing lead), and REO Speedwagon covered it as “Without Expression (Don’t Be the Man).” John Mellencamp also included it on his greatest hits album The Best That I Could Do: 1978–1988. “Horses Through a Rainstorm” was slated to appear on Déjà Vu before being replaced at the last minute by Stephen Stills’s “Carry On”. Both versions were not released until years later.

In hindsight it always seems a bit easier to define why something happened or not. Terry Reid could have been a legend, a superstar household name. He had the voice, he could write the songs, he had the stage presence and he could play guitar. His nick name was “Superlungs”. Here are several reasons why in the end he only became an insider promise, instead of a global superstar.

First there was his manager/producer, Mickey Most, who wanted to market him as a solo star and exercised his rights legally. Secondly Reid was in so much demand in his early years, that the Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, Peter Green‘s Fleetwood Mac and Cream all wanted him as their supporting opening act.

An opening spot on the Rolling Stones’ famous 1969 tour of America seemed to augur even brighter prospects for his future, but this is precisely where Reid’s career stalled, at the age of 20. First he became embroiled in litigation with Mickey Most, which curtailed his studio activities in the early ’70s. After a couple of personnel changes, he disbanded his original trio, leading a group for a while that included David Lindley and ex-King Crimson drummer Michael Giles (this quartet, however, didn’t release any records).

The ultimate Fall Out of all this was: He at least in part declined Jimmy Page’s offer to join Led Zeppelin owing to his contractual commitments to record for Mickie Most as a solo artist, while he had committed to Keith Richards to perform as an opening solo artist on the Rolling Stones’ late-’60s U.S. tour. He did however influence Led Zeppelin’s history in a big way by recommending Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham as suitable candidates for the group’s lineup, after Plant and Bonham‘s pre-Led Zep outfit (the Band of Joy) played support at one of Reid’s early gigs. Reid felt confident enough in his solo prospects to also turn down an offer from Ritchie Blackmore to join Deep Purple as a replacement for Rod Evans. The style of what he was doing, that kind of opening up for superstars, combined with a flexibility and power and control, allowed him to go from a whisper to a scream in split seconds.

To better understand his choices, Reid unlike Plant, was also a guitarist, and the opportunity to head his own group no doubt played a part in his decision to gun for a solo career. Leading a guitar-organ-drums power trio, he recorded a couple of respectable, though erratic, hard rock albums while still a teenager in the late ’60s. Some bad breaks, management issues and creative stagnation combined to virtually bring his career to a halt, and he never truly cashed in on the momentum of his promising start.

In 1971 he moved to California  and signed to Atlantic, but his long-delayed third album didn’t appear until 1973. Reid would release albums for other labels in 1976 and 1979, but none of his ’70s recordings were well-received, critically or commercially (though 1976’s Seed of Memory did briefly chart). He rarely recorded, though he did play some sessions and The Driver appeared in 1991.

Over the next decade, Reid switched to different labels in search of a winning formula. Seed of Memory was released by ABC Records in 1976, and produced by Graham Nash. (Sadly ABC filed for bankruptcy the week the album was released), and Rogue Waves was produced by Chris Kimsey for Capitol Records in 1979. For Rogue Waves, Reid enlisted Lee Miles on bass, Doug Rodrigues on lead guitar and John Siomos on drums, recording at Brother’s Studios in Santa Monica, California.

1980s–1990s
Reid retired his solo career in 1981 to concentrate on session work, appearing on albums by Don Henley, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt. In 1991, Reid returned with producer Trevor Horn for the WEA album The Driver. The album featured a cover version of “Gimme Some Lovin'” which also appeared on the soundtrack for the Tom Cruise movie Days of Thunder by Tony Scott. In the 1990s, he also toured the US and Hong Kong with Mick Taylor. “Rich Kid Blues” was the eponymous song on an album released by Marianne Faithfull, produced by Mike Leander in 1984 but unreleased for 14 years. Reid and friends put together an informal group in March 1993, calling themselves The Flew. Members included Reid, Joe Walsh, Nicky Hopkins, Rick Rosas, and Phil Jones. They played one show at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. This was Nicky Hopkins’ last public performance before his death.

2000s–2025
In late 2002, Reid returned to the UK with longtime bass player Lee Miles for three shows at the WOMAD festival near Reading, his first live appearance in years. Inn the years that followed he stayed mostly live between the UK and the US, exchanging a number of high exposure venues on both sides of the Atlantic. A run of regular visits by Reid, who has toured the UK every year since, with many of his friends dropping by when they were in town including Robert Plant, Keith Richards, Bobby Womack, Roger Daltrey, and Eric Burdon.

Terry Reid was diagnosed with cancer and cancelled a 2025 tour due to “medical issues” arising from his treatment. His death was announced on August 5, 2025.

As a solo recording and touring artist, he released seven studio albums and four live albums. His songs have been recorded by numerous artists including The Hollies, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jackson Browne, Arrival, Marianne Faithfull, Cheap Trick, Jack White with The Raconteurs, Joe Perry, Rumer, Christopher, Charles Romero and Chris Cornell.

Recognition:
Aretha Franklin once said of Reid, “There are only three things happening in England: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Terry Reid.”

Many songs originally written and recorded by Reid have been covered by numerous artists including The Hollies, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Arrival, Marianne Faithfull, Cheap Trick, Jack White with The Raconteurs, Joe Perry, Rumer and Chris Cornell.

Reid’s early song “Rich Kid Blues” was covered on an album by Marianne Faithfull in 1984. The UK artist Rumer recorded “Brave Awakening” on her Boys Don’t Cry 2012 album and appeared at his London shows at the Jazz Cafe and Half Moon. Cheap Trick recorded Reid’s “Speak Now” for their 1977 debut album. The Raconteurs with Jack White also recorded a version of Reid’s “Rich Kid Blues” for their second album Consolers of the Lonely in 2008.

The American rock group The Split Squad recorded a cover of Reid’s “Tinker Taylor” for their debut album, Now Hear This…, released in 2014. Joe Perry’s album Sweetzerland Manifesto, released in 2018, features three tracks co-written and sung by Reid. In 2020, a recording of Chris Cornell covering Reid’s “To Be Treated Rite” was released on his posthumous album No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1, which also included a cover of “Stay with Me Baby” based on Reid’s own version.

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Charlie Daniels 7/2020

Charlie Daniels (83) was born on October 28, 1936 in Wilmington, North Carolina to teenage parents William and LaRue Daniel. The “s” in Daniels’ name was added by mistake when his birth certificate was filled out. Two weeks after Daniels had begun to attend elementary school, his family moved to Valdosta, Georgia, commuting between Valdosta and Elizabethtown, North Carolina, before moving back to Wilmington. After enduring measles, Daniels would require glasses to see for most of his life afterward, which led to him being bullied by other children at his school. Despite these challenges, Daniels found inspiration in Pentecostal gospel music, local bluegrass groups, and rhythm and blues artists he heard on the radio.

He graduated from high school in 1955 and began his music career as a member of the bluegrass band Misty Mountain Boys in the 1950s. Soon after he enlisted in the rock ‘n’ roll revolution ignited by Mississippian Elvis Aron Presley. Already skilled on guitar, fiddle and mandolin, Daniels formed a rock ‘n roll band the Rockets and hit the road.

While enroute to California in 1959 the group paused in Texas to record “Jaguar,” an instrumental produced by the legendary Bob Johnston, which was picked up for national distribution by Epic. And the Rockets became The Jaguars. It was also the beginning of a long association with Johnston. After discovering jazz as a genre, the Jaguars began performing jazz music, before reverting to rock and country music by 1964.

During his career as a rock and roll sideman, Daniels also wrote songs for other performers. In July 1963, soul singer Jerry Jackson recorded Daniels’ song “It Hurts Me”; the following year 1964 and Elvis Presley recorded the better-known version of this song, which was released on the flip side of “Kissin’ Cousins.” The songwriting credits list Charles E. Daniels and Joy Byers as the songwriters, although Byers’ husband, songwriter and producer Bob Johnston, was the actual co-writer with Daniels. In 1967 Johnston encouraged Daniels to move to Nashville to get work as a session player, which led to Daniels recording with Bob Dylan on his 1969 album Nashville Skyline, Ringo Starr on his 1970 album Beaucoups of Blues and Leonard Cohen on his 1971 album Songs of Love and Hate, as well as further sessions with Dylan and Cohen’s 1971 European tour. Dylan and Daniels found each other creatively invigorating during their recordings together, with Dylan saying that “when Charlie was around, something good would usually come out of the sessions”, and Daniels describing the recording sessions with Dylan as “loose, free and, most of all, fun”. Daniels also produced albums for the Youngbloods, including their 1969 album Elephant Mountain.

His own unique voice as an artist emerged as Charlie recorded his self-titled solo album in 1970 for Capitol Records, which helped lay the foundations for what became known as Southern rock.  Two years later he formed the Charlie Daniels Band and Daniels broke through as a record maker, himself with 1973’s Honey in the Rock and its hit hippie song “Uneasy Rider,” which scored top Ten Billboard His rebel anthems “Long Haired Country Boy” and “The South’s Gonna Do It” propelled his 1975 collection Fire on the Mountain to double platinum status.
The same year he followed up with the even more successful Nightrider, whose success was spurred by the Top 40 hit single “Texas”. Saddle Tramp was also a gold seller, and was the first release by the band to reach the top 10 of the Billboard Country charts.

“We were country but not what was accepted by the country music establishment at the time – certainly not what Nashville was putting out at the time. It was very much different from that. Every other music was changing and moving and cooking, and it was time for country to do that, too. And a song like “Long Haired Country Boy,” or “The South’s Going to Do It,” or “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” kind of kicked it in the rear end a little bit.”

In 1974 he invited some friends to join him at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium for an all-star concert he dubbed The Volunteer Jam.  The event continued for years and was broadcast in the U.S. and internationally.  Over the years, the Jam featured a diverse line up that included Willie Nelson, Ted Nugent, Roy Acuff, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Crystal Gayle, James Brown, Emmylou Harris, Amy Grant, George Thorogood, Kris Kristofferson, Little Richard, Tammy Wynette, Alabama, Oak Ridge Boys, BB King and the Allman Brothers.
 
Since then the CDB has populated radio with such memorable hits as “Long Haired Country Boy,” “The South’s Gonna Do It Again,” “In America,” “The Legend of Wooley Swamp” and of course, his signature song, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”.
The band also attracted a high-profile fan in President Jimmy Carter, who used Daniels’ song “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” as his campaign theme, After Carter’s win, the band performed at his 1977 inauguration.

Epic Records signed him to its rock roster in New York in 1976. The contract, reportedly worth $3 million, was the largest ever given to a Nashville act up to that time. In the summer of 1979 Daniels rewarded the company’s faith by delivering “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which became a platinum single, topped both country and pop charts, won a Grammy Award, earned three Country Music Association trophies, became a cornerstone of the Urban Cowboy movie soundtrack and propelled Daniel’s Million Mile Reflections album to triple platinum sales levels.

The album’s title was a reference to a milestone in the Charlie Daniels Band’s legendary coast to coast tours. Including two drummers, twin guitars and a flamenco dancer. The CDB often toured more than 250 days a year and by this time had logged more than a million miles on the road. On the Million Mile Reflections Tour, transported in a convoy of busses and gleaming black tractor trailer rigs a show that stopped traffic all over the country the band now included a full horn section, back up singers, a troupe of clog dancers and sometimes a gospel choir. By 1981, the Charlie Daniels Band had twice been voted the Academy of Country Music’s touring band of the year.

Full Moon, issued in 1980, became Daniels’ third platinum album. Simple Man (1989) is also platinum while A Decade of Hits (1983) is triple platinum, and Windows (1982), Saddle Trump (1976), and Midnight Wind (1977) are Gold. He earned a Dove Award from the Gospel Music Association in 1994 for The Door, and a 1997 CMA nomination for his remake of “Long Haired Country Boy” featuring John Berry and Hal Ketchum. Amazing Grace: A Country Salute to Gospel, a compilation album including Daniels’ “Kneel at the Cross,” garnered a 1995 Grammy Award. In 1996 he was honored with a boxed set of his classics. His By the Light of the Moon: Campfire Songs & Cowboy Tunes (1997), Christmas Time Down South (1990) and Blues Hat (1997) albums added further layers to his multi-faceted style.

In 1980, Daniels had played himself in the film Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta, and as a result became closely identified with the revival of country music generated by the film’s success. Subsequently, the combination of the success of the more country-oriented song and the decline in popularity of Southern rock led Daniels to shift focus in his sound from rock to country music. After the platinum certified Full Moon (1980) and the gold certified Windows (1982), Daniels would not have another hit album until the 1989 release Simple Man, which earned Daniels another gold album, although the title track sparked controversy, as it was interpreted by some as advocating vigilantism, due to lyrics such as “Just take them rascals [rapists, killers, child abusers] out in the swamp/Put ’em on their knees and tie ’em to a stump/Let the rattlers and the bugs and the alligators do the rest”, which garnered Daniels considerable media attention and talk show visits.

Daniels’ annual Volunteer Jam concerts, world famous musical extravaganzas that served as a prototype for many of today’s annual day long music marathons, always featured a variety of current stars and heritage artists and are considered by historians as his most impressive contribution to Southern music. Among the artists “Jam Daddy” has hosted at 16 of these mega musical samplers are Roy Acuff, Don Henley, Tanya Tucker, Amy Grant, Leon Russell, Billy Ray Cyrus, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, James Brown, Duane Eddy, Pat Boone, The Outlaws, Dwight Yoakam, Steppenwolf, Bill Monroe, Exile, The Judds, Orleans, Willie Nelson, Carl Perkins, Vince Gill, George Thorogood, Emmylou Harris, Alabama, the Allman Brothers, Link Wray, Ted Nugent, Billy Joel, the Marshall Tucker Band, Solomon Burke, Little Richard, B. B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eugene Fodor, Woody Herman, and Bobby Jones and the New Life Singers.

When you hear a classic Charlie Daniels Band performance like “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” you hear music that knows no clear genre. Is it a folk tale? A southern boogie? A country fiddle tune? An electric rock anthem? The answer is, yes to all of that and more. And the same goes for “In America,” “Uneasy Rider,” “The South ‘s Gonna Do It,” “Long Haired Country Boy,” “Still in Saigon,” “The Legend of Wooley Swamp,” and the rest of a catalog that spans more than 35 years of record making and represents more than 18 million copies in sales.

Having been born in North Carolina, his roots have always been slightly more to the Country side of music. An astute businessman as well as talented musician, Charlie launched Blue Hat Records in 1997 with his longtime personal manager David Corlew.  Over the years, the label has released such memorable albums as Blues Hat, Tailgate Party, Road Dogs, Fiddle Fire: 25 Years of the Charlie Daniels Band and his first bluegrass album 2005’s Songs From the Longleaf Pines and 2007’s album Deuces, featuring duets with Brad Paisley, Gretchen Wilson, Bonnie Bramlett, Travis Tritt, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Brenda Lee and Darius Rucker. 

In April 1998, top stars and two former Presidents paid tribute to Daniels when he was named the recipient of the Pioneer Award at the Academy of Country Music’s annual nationally televised ceremonies:

“In his time he’s played everything from rock to jazz, folk to western swing, and honky tonk to award winning gospel,” former President Jimmy Carter said. “In Charlie’s own words, ‘Let there be harmony. Let there be fun and 12 notes of music to make us all one.”

“Charlie’s love of music is only surpassed by his love of people, especially the American people,” former President Gerald Ford said. “For almost five decades, he’s traveled this land from coast to coast singing about the things that concern the American people. Tonight, the Academy of Country Music’s Pioneer Award is presented to a supremely talented compassionate and proud American, and a fair to middlin’ golfer, too!”

With an unerring instinct for the universal ties that bind people together and an equal abhorrence for the intolerance and fear that do the opposite, Charlie Daniels has kept the specifics of his cultural heritage as the soul of the CDB music that has impacted lives of everyday people everywhere.

“It’s purely American music with something for everyone,” he said. “At least that’s what I’ve hoped for in my 40 plus years in music.

Charlie Daniels died July 6, 2020 from a stroke. He was 83.

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Denise LaSalle 1/2018

Denise LaSalle (84) – Reigning Queen of the Blues – was born on July 16, 1934 near Sidon (The Island), Mississippi and raised in Belzoni.  The youngest of eight children, she was actually born Ora D. (or Ora Dee) Allen. Her family was a family of share croppers, and she sang in church choirs before moving to Chicago to live with her oldest brother in early 1947, where she sat in with R&B musicians and blues cats, wrote songs, influenced by country music as well as the blues, before winning a recording contract with Chess Records in 1967. Her first single, “A Love Reputation” was a modest regional hit.
She established an independent production company, Crajon, with her then husband Bill Jones. Her song “Trapped By A Thing Called Love” (1971) was released on Detroit-based Westbound Records and reached #1 on the national R&B chart and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The song ranked at #85 on the 1971 year-end chart. The RIAA gold disc award was made on November 30, 1971 for a million sales.
She then wrote successful follow-ups, “Now Run And Tell That” and “Man Sized Job” which made #3 and #4 in the R&B Top Ten and also charted in the Hot 100.Her early hits were recorded at the Hi recording studios in Memphis, operated by Willie Mitchell, using the cream of southern session players. She continued to have hits on Westbound and then on ABC Records through the mid-1970s, including “Love Me Right” (#10 R&B, #80 pop) She continued to produce and perform live. Her co-penned song, “Married, But Not to Each Other” (#16 R&B) was included in the 1979 The Best of Barbara Mandrell, compilation album. In 1976, she moved to Jackson, Tennessee and signed a contract with ABC Records. On ABC she had another hit, “Love Me Right”. ABC was taken over by MCA, and LaSalle made three albums for MCA. Her 1979 album include “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” and she released “I’m So Hot” album in 1980. Rapper husband Super Wolf recorded rap song “Super Wolf Can Do It” also. She continued to perform live and to produce.

In the early 1980s, she signed as a singer and songwriter with Malaco Records, for whom she released a string of critically acclaimed albums over more than 20 years, starting with Lady in the Street (1983) and Right Place, Right Time (1984). Both albums became successful among soul blues, R&B and soul fans and on urban radio stations. In 1985, she enjoyed her only recognition in the UK Singles Chart, when her cover version of Rockin’ Sidney’s “My Toot Toot” reached #6.

LaSalle appeared at the 1984 and 1993 versions of the Long Beach Blues Festival, and also in 1993, she performed at the San Francisco Blues Festival. Her album Smokin’ In Bed (1997) sold well. After more than a decade away, when she recorded three albums with small Memphis-based soul-blues label, Ecko, she returned to Malaco for her 2010 outing called “24 Hour Woman”. She continues to work as a live performer, particularly at festivals, and more recently has branched out into the gospel genre. In 2011, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

In 2013 and 2014, LaSalle was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the ‘Soul Blues Female Artist’ category. On June 6, 2015, LaSalle was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.

A blues and R&B/soul singer, songwriter, and record producer, she had been recognized as the “Queen of the Blues” since the death of Koko Taylor in 2009.

LaSalle lived with her husband, James E. Wolfe, (Super Wolfe) in Jackson, Tennessee, where she opened a restaurant called Blues Legend Café. The restaurant was located at 436 E. Main Street, but has since closed.

After suffering from heart problems, and complications from a fall resulting in her right leg being amputated, LaSalle died on January 8, 2018, at the age of 83.

With a discography of 35 plus albums and 50 plus singles between 1967 and 2010, Denise LaSalle left a big imprint on roots music.

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Dennis Wilson 12/1983

dennis wilson drumsDecember 28, 1983 – Dennis Wilson (39) – drummer with The Beach Boys – was born on December 4, 1944 in Inglewood, California. He was the second oldest of the three Wilson brothers. The Beach Boys formed in August 1961 under the strongwilled guidance of father Murry Wilson. Though the Beach Boys were named for and developed an early image based on the California surfing culture, Dennis was the only real surfer in the band.

When the band started in late 1961, he was the drummer (and all band members sang, of course). He was a strong, if basic, drummer, with a slightly gravelly second tenor voice. It’s likely he would be diagnosed today as ADHD-hyperactive type, and suffered emotional and physical abuse from his father as a child and youth.

Dennis was initially considered the least talented of the Wilson brothers, surprising everyone later on with his superb songwriting, productions and vocal arrangements. Dennis’ role in the family dynamic, which he himself acknowledged, was that of the black sheep. Though anxiety-filled and aggressive at times he was also sensitive and generous. His musical talent was often overshadowed in later years by his excessive drinking.

Their 1961 debut single “Surfin'” was followed by many chart hits including “Help Me, Rhonda”, “California Girls”, “I Get Around”, “Surfing USA”, “Barbara Ann”, “Sloop John B”, “Good Vibrations”, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, “Fun Fun Fun” and “When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)”. His original songs for the band included “Forever”, “Little Bird”, “Slip On Through” and “Do You Wanna Dance”.

Between recording sessions and tours, he was a surfer and winning racecar driver. Dennis was basically the sex symbol and epitome of the band and what they represented.

In the late 1960s, as drug abuse and psychological issues led to Brian withdrawing from the group, Dennis began to write songs himself. At one point, he collaborated with Charles Manson, who, along with some of his female followers, stayed in Dennis’s house in the spring and summer of 1968. The Beach Boys even recorded one of Dennis and Manson’s songs, “Never Learn Not to Love.”

In the early 70s, a hand injury took him off the drums for a few years, so he moved to keyboards, and continued writing and producing for the band. He also released a solo single in Europe (“Lady”/”Sound Of Free”). 

Branching out into film, Dennis appeared alongside James Taylor in Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). And he was the first Beach Boy to put out a solo album: Pacific Ocean Blue (1977). His collaborators on the album included Daryl Dragon, the ‘Captain’ of Captain & Tennille and Gregg Jakobson. Despite positive reviews, the album peaked at No.96 in the US and sold only around 300,000 copies.

Dennis also worked on non-Beach Boys projects. With Billy Preston, he co-wrote the popular song “You Are So Beautiful,“which became a worldwide hit for Joe Cocker in 1974. By the mid-1970s, his singing voice was deteriorating as a result of many alcohol and drug related abuses, but his songwriting was profound, due to his tumultuous lifestyle.

His follow-up album, Bambu, was initially scuttled by lack of financing and the distractions of Beach Boys projects. A sampling of its music was officially released in 2008 as bonus material with the Pacific Ocean Blue reissue. Two songs from the Bambu sessions, “Love Surrounds Me” and “Baby Blue” were lifted for the Beach Boys 1979 L.A. (Light Album).

Within the Beach Boys, an acrimonious relationship developed between Dennis and Love in the 1970s. With his alcoholism prompting out-of-control behavior, the group sometimes banned Dennis from their concerts. In 1983, he was told that he needed to sober up in order to take part in an upcoming tour.

Dennis signed into a detox unit in late December of 1983, but left the facility on Christmas Day. For a month prior to his death, Dennis had been homeless and living a nomadic life. In November 1983, he checked into a therapy center in Arizona for two days, and then on December 23, checked into St. John’s Medical Hospital in Santa Monica, where he stayed until the evening of December 25. Following a violent altercation at the Santa Monica Bay Inn, Dennis checked into a different hospital in order to treat his wounds. Several hours later, he discharged himself and reportedly resumed drinking immediately.

On December 28, 1983, 24 days after his 39th birthday, he went to Marina del Rey, where he crashed on a friend’s yacht (his own boat had been sold to meet financial obligations). Dennis drowned at Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles, after drinking all day and then diving in the afternoon, to recover items he had thrown overboard at the marina from his yacht three years prior. When he couldn’t be located after a dive, his friends raised the alarm. Rescuers recovered his body at approximately 5:45 p.m. An autopsy showed evidence of cocaine in his system, as well as an elevated blood alcohol level. Dennis was 39 when he died.

At the time of his death, Dennis—who had been married five times, twice to the same woman and had a longterm relationship with Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac fame—was married to Shawn Love, the 19 year old daughter of his Beach Boys bandmate and cousin. Shawn insisted that her husband be buried at sea; it was only with the intervention of then-President Ronald Reagan that the at-sea burial by the U.S. Coast Guardwas allowed. Five years after Dennis died, the Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Bob Marley 5/1981

Bob MarleyMay 11, 1981 – Bob Nesta Marley – One of the world’s best-selling music icons of all time with sales totaling to over 100 million albums and singles, Bob Marley is a true legend.  So much so that even 44 years after his death, his name recognition is higher than his landsman Usain Bolt, the three times Olympic Gold Medallist and fastest man in the world. (Bob was know to also be a very fast runner and great soccer player.)

The singer-songwriter, musician and guitarist achieved international fame starting out with his group the Wailers in 1963. The band lasted 11 years before disbanding and Marley began his solo career that gathered a quick following. He was known for infusing his spirituality into his hits like “No Woman, No Cry”, “Is This Love” and “Three Little Birds” to create true musical poetry. Continue reading Bob Marley 5/1981

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Jimi Hendrix 9/1970

jimi-hendrix-1September 18, 1970 – James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix, was born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27, 1942 and became without argument one of the top electric guitarists Rock and Roll has produced.

As his mainstream career spanned roughly only 4 years, something can be said for the fact that he was the right man at the right time and in the right place in the socio-cultural explosion of the late 1960s.
His early sixties performing career consisted mostly of the chitlin’ circuit between Clarksville and Nashville in Eastern Tennessee, backing start-ups like Little Richard, Curtis Knight, Wilson Pickett, Slim Harpo, Sam Cooke and even an occasional gig with Roy Orbison. Early 1964 he found himself in the New York Village scene, where his girlfriend Faye got him a number of introductions, one of which got him to play with the Isley Brothers Band. His big break however came in a round about way, when Chas Chandler took him to London, where he bedazzled the blues rock scene led by the then Superstars likes of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page and he became an overnight success and threat! Continue reading Jimi Hendrix 9/1970