Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton – A Legendary Album

My copy of the album

If you know electric blues, then you are surely familiar with the classic album Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton. It is one of the great blues rock albums in history, a record that helped to set a precedent for blues rock guitar. There were no hit songs from the record, and chart placement was not especially memorable, but none of those things mattered to those who loved the record.

Last Call Bassist

Author's Note: If the reader wants to know what Kaye is really like, I present to you her response to my article. The caps and punctuation are hers. (See below.) 

Carol Kaye is one of the most renowned musicians in pop music history, as a guitarist and bassist. She played on thousands of hit records during a long career as a session musician – a sort of anonymous profession. Studio musicians like her were well paid, but rarely received credit, so it is a good thing that Kaye, for one, is becoming better known and is getting recognition for decades of brilliant work.

Delaney Bramlett - Among Friends

Delaney Bramlett may not be the first name that pops into your head when you think of singer/songwriters, but he and his first wife, Bonnie, fronted one of the great bands of the 1970's. The band was called Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, and they had some fantastic friends – folks who thought D & B were so good, they just wanted to hang around among friends and play as sidemen.

A Byrd, A Burrito, A Desert Rose

The name Chris Hillman may not be familiar to you, but you have heard him sing, play guitar, bass, and mandolin on many hit songs and other music from the 1960's through today. He is one of the most talented, accomplished, professionals in music business history, and he has played in several notable bands, worked as a session musician, in a duo and as a solo artist.

Standing in For Buddy

February 3, 2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the so-called, 'The Day the Music Died.' That is, the day Buddy Holly and three others died in the crash of a small plane near Clear Lake, Iowa. It also marks the anniversary of the beginning of a long musical career of a man who played an important role after the crash – Bobby Vee. 

A Brilliant Musician and Memorable Friend

Kelly Roberti. Photo by Yae Inoue Bowman

Kelly Roberti was a world-renowned jazz bassist and composer, an accomplished chef, teacher, author/poet, and a world-class non-conformist. He spent his life pursuing his passions - family, music, friends, travel, and cooking. Kelly was a unique personality with talent, vision, and a great many friends. 

The Byrd Who Flew Alone

Gene Clark was a singer, guitarist, and songwriter who contributed his remarkable talents as a founding member of one of the great bands of the rock era – The Byrds. He is not as well-known as fellow Byrds Roger McGuinn or David Crosby, and that is unfortunate. Clark was an extraordinary singer and songwriter; a master of his craft, and an enduring voice in the history of popular music.

A Magic Carpet Made of Steel

It wasn't until the conductor shouted, "ALL ABOARD!" that I felt the sense of history, and then the song lyrics popped into my head:

Riding on the City of New Orleans
Illinois Central, Monday morning rail…

My 18-year-old son Brendan had just handed his ticket to the Amtrak conductor, and he stepped through the door of the passenger car, when the conductor did what they have done for well over one hundred years. It is a tribute to a time when train travel was the dominant and most modern means of mobility – the unique and time-honored custom of announcing the impending departure by shouting the announcement up and down the platform.

A "Sweet" Riff

I learned to play guitar because I wanted to play the songs I liked. Even if I couldn't play them as well as the records, it was satisfying to have those small moments of triumph when I could duplicate a great riff or chord sequence from a favorite tune and a well-known guitarist. Ed King played one of the greatest rock riffs of all time, and many amateur guitarists like me did our best to learn it. 

What Got You Started?

When did you first start paying attention to music? Who were your early musical influences? I was a music fan first, and didn't learn to play guitar until I was in my early 20's. I didn't pay much attention to music until I saw the Beatles in 1964 on the Ed Sullivan show. That was also the moment when I decided I had to be a guitar player.

After that first exposure to the Beatles, I began listening to the radio. The mid-1960's was a spectacular time for rock and roll and pop music. We had the British Invasion, American surf music, Motown, blues rock, folk and folk-rock, and just plain rock and roll.