I don’t know any goat that’s 100% black or white or tan. Most of us are of mixed color, and proud of it. But I do know a few billies who are predominantly black, and I never understood how they could work at that racist place called ‘Maggie’s Farm.’ You know, it was ME who encouraged Bob Dylan to write…
After seeing Marvin Gaye's large collection of pornography, Rolling Stone critic David Ritz suggested that the soul man needed some "sexual healing." This comment inspired the title of one of Marvin's biggest hits.
According to Bruce Springsteen's security man, Jim McDuffie, here are some of the items thrown onstage at The Boss's Madison Square Garden concert on December 18, 1980. McDuffie reported that a dozen pairs of women's panties were thrown onto the stage at Bruce's Pittsburgh show that month. I was there, but kept my undies on.
When tickets went on sale this past spring for the Rod Stewart/Stevie Nicks July 28 "Heart and Soul" show at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center, I took pause. I've adored Rod since his earliest days in the music biz, when he sang his heart out with Brit bands like Long John Baldry's Hoochie Coochie Men, The Jeff Beck Group and The Faces. But as much as I love Rod The Former Mod, was I really willing to fork over $150 to sit half a mile from the stage of a 19,000-seat arena to hear him sing "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" from his sad disco days, or croon old standards with faded gypsy queen, Stevie Nicks? No, I decided to spend my concert cash to see another vocally endowed white boy who also performed here last night: "Southside" Johnny Lyon. Johnny brought his 7-piece Asbury Jukes band to the Palace Theater in the small town of Greensburg, PA, and delivered his usual rousing show. He's been performing since the mid-1970s and is considered a pioneer of the famous Jersey Shore sound that emerged when Bruce Springsteen put Asbury Park on the musical map 40 years ago.I've long considered Johnny Lyon to be the finest white rock-soul singer in America.
"My brother's back at home with his Beatles and his Stones; we never got it off on that revolution stuff." So lamented Mott the Hoople in their 1972 "All The Young Dudes," a David Bowie-penned anthem about aimless glam-rockers and their disdain for the values of the past. Oh, those boogaloo boys in their eyeliner, glitter and platform shoes! I've enjoyed glam-rock as much as many other genres, from punk to bluegrass. But no matter how many musical roads I've traveled, I always end up "back at home, with my Beatles and my Stones." This summer, my two favorite bands celebrated 50th anniversaries.