I remember a young lady telling me about The Joshua Tree when I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico back in 1987. I was booked there for two weeks, and she and couple of other friends asked me if I’d heard of that album by the band U2. And they asked because we’d all been in a friendly conversation about Christian values and principles in … Read the rest…
Category Archives: music history
Back in my school days, there was a spunky and long song with a chorus that said, “Bye bye Miss American Pie.” It was written, performed, and recorded by Don Maclean. And lots of people thought the song was about Buddy Holly when it said, “…the day the music died.” But Mr. Maclean says maybe, maybe not. One thing’s for sure. The bye bye … Read the rest…
Gospel: the message concerning Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation – Gospel Music: of, relating to, or being religious songs of American origin associated with evangelism and popular devotion and marked by simple melody and harmony and elements of folk songs and blues – And why do I bring it up? Because of one particular gospel singer. He sold out concerts. And he … Read the rest…
It’s so common, these days, to just get an updated phone. Or TV. Or even computer. And it only takes a fingertip to listen to music…on any or all of those devices. But imagine, if you will, a time when even radio was new. So new, in fact, that most people in America didn’t even have a way to listen to what was beamed … Read the rest…
I just read an article on Don Gibson, a songwriter from the 50’s and 60’s. And it said he sat down one hot, summer day, in 1958, and wrote two songs. “Oh Lonesome Me” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” And would you believe it? Those two very different love songs both became hits. In fact, Ray Charles recorded a version of “I Can’t … Read the rest…
In 1981 I joined a popular trio, in Atlanta, Georgia. They added me as their drummer, and all four of us sang. So, we had some nice 4 part harmonies. And I remember how their fans enjoyed our rendition of a song called “Leader of the Band.” Because the bass player, lead guitarist, and I played recorders, and sang backup, while the rhythm guitarist … Read the rest…