On this daythe 1st of May

1955: Leonard Chess signed Chuck Berry to a recording contract.

Eric Burdon and The Animals launched Sky Pilot in 1968

1967: Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1st May 2018
Veteran guitar company Gibson Brands Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection. Gibson has been in business since 1894, selling over 170,000 guitars annually in 80 countries. Their American-made guitars have become iconic in rock music after being played by legendary musicians like B.B. King, Angus Young and Jimmy Page, just to name a few. Even in a downturned economy, sales of the brand remain high, with vintage versions of models like the Les Paul, Sg or Flying V re-selling for thousands of dollars.

On this daythe 2nd of May

1929: Link Wray, groundbreaking guitarist who pioneered the distorted guitar sound and invented the power chord, was born in Dunn, North Carolina; died November 5, 2005 of heart failure in Copenhagen at the age of 76. Power cord? Yep! Link discovered it's that thing you use to plug in your electic guitar!

1989: A security guard alerted the police after a man wearing a wig, fake moustache and false teeth walked into Zales Jewellers, California. Three squad cars arrived and police detained the man, who turned out to be Michael Jackson in disguise. I wonder what it was about Jackson's disguise that gave him away?

2006: Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was released from hospital in New Zealand after the 62 year-old suffered "mild concussion" when he fell out of a coconut tree while on holiday in Fiji. He was airlifted to Auckland's Ascot Hospital for observation, where he underwent a brain scan. They found nothing!

May 2nd 2005. Eric Clapton joined former Cream members drummer Ginger Baker and bass player Jack Bruce for the first of four nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall 36 years after they had split up.

On this day the 3rd of May

1968, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded 'Voodoo Chile.' It was featured on the 'Electric Ladyland' double album and became a UK No.1 single on 21st November 1970 two months after the guitarist's death. Hendrix's solo on the track was named the 11th greatest solo of all-time in Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.

On this day the 4th of May

1886: The graphophone, a link between the earlier gramophone and the modern phonograph, is patented, featuring wax cylinders which conducted music better than Thomas Edison's original tinfoil ones.

1956: Gene Vincent recorded Be Bop-A-Lula on this day.

Back in 1970 Janis Joplin was fined $200 for onstage profanity by a Tampa, Florida judge. On this very day also, she headed to Rio de Janeiro. While there, she announced her intention to quit drugs and alcohol ...but to keep f@#%*n' swearing!

1987: Paul Butterfield died of complications of a drug overdose at the age of 44.

1986: Propelled by this memorable video where lookalike models vamp the song, Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love" hits #1 on the Hot 100. The five beautiful women in little black dresses that were somewhat transparent, stockings and high heels looked like clones, with their heavily made up eyes, impossibly red lips, instruments at the finger tips and no expression whatsoever. Shot by fashion photographer Terence Donovan, "Addicted to Love" became a sensation, in large part because of the band of women who held on to their Sphinx-like expressions while grooving to Palmer's song.

Robert Palmer died in 2003. He had a heart attack while on tour in France. The girls had nothing but good things to say about him and were shocked and saddened by his passing. The biggest moment in all their careers was the song and the video. They will always be linked together.

Let's meet "The Palmer Girls" as they are in the video, from l-r...Julie Pankhurst-keyboards, Patty Kelly-guitar, Mak Gilchrist-bass, Julia Bolino-guitar and Kathy Davies-drum/partially hidden in the back.
Here are the girls as they are today (2014 reunion), from l-r...Julie-works in retail and is a mother, Patty-landscape designer with 2 children, Kathy-lives in Thailand where she does charity work, Mak-still models in England and Julia-hair and makeup artist. Gilchrist revealed that the "Addicted to Love" shoot had to hire five real musicians who were miming behind the camera, to show the women what to do with their instruments. Davies said that she spent most of the shoot staring at Palmer's bottom. Bolino said the five women remain in touch and although she can't bear to watch the video, she's proud of the group that she belongs to thanks to "Addicted to Love".

On this day the 5th of May

On this day back in 1969 Stevie Wonder met President Nixon at the White House.

1968: Buffalo Springfield performed their final concert in Long Beach, CA.

The Kinks released “Waterloo Sunset,” May 5 1967.

On this day the 6th of May

Blues/jazz singer Candye Kane died on the 6th of May 2016 from pancreatic cancer. She was a woman of many talents!

On this day back in 1982 Tom Paton, manager of The Bay City Rollers, is convicted of gross indecency with teenage boys and sentenced to three years in jail. Music critics thought a stiffer penaly was in order given his gross indecency in promoting The Bay City Rollers.

On this day the 7th of May

Back in 1968 and on this very day, one Reginald Dwight legally changed his name to Elton Hercules John. Hercules!?!

On this day the 8th of May

1911: Born on this day, Robert Johnson, blues singer, guitarist. Influenced Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Eric Clapton, (Cream covered 'Crossroads) The Rolling Stones, ('Love In Vain'). Johnson died on 16th August 1938.

On this day the 9th of May

9 May 2020
Pioneering rock 'n' roll singer Little Richard died at the age of 87, the musician's family has confirmed. Little Richard's hit Good Golly Miss Molly made the charts in 1958. Other well-known songs include Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally. The Beatles, Elton John and Elvis Presley all cited him an influence. The singer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
He died of bone cancer in Tullahoma, Tennessee his family said.

1959, UK music paper Melody Maker introduced a Juke Box Top 20 Chart compiled from 200 Juke Boxes around the UK.

May 9th 2021
Singer-songwriter Lloyd Price, an early rock ’n roll star whose hits included “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” “Personality” and “Stagger Lee,” died at the age of 88. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and was among the last survivors of a post-World War II scene in New Orleans that anticipated the shifts in popular music and culture leading to the rise of rock in the mid-1950s. Along with Fats Domino and David Bartholomew among others, Price fashioned a deep, exuberant sound around the brass and swing of New Orleans jazz and blues that placed high on R&B charts and eventually crossed over to white audiences. “Very important part of Rock history. He was BEFORE Little Richard!” rock singer and E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt said “Lawdy Miss Clawdy of 1952 has a legit claim as the first Rock hit.... Righteous cat. Enormous talent.”

On this day the 10th of May

May 10, 2003 Year of the Blues
Congress declares 2003 the "Year of the Blues," commemorating the 100th anniversary of W.C. Handy's encounter with an unknown early bluesman at a train station in Mississippi.

On May 10th 1924, Daddy Stovepipe went to Richmond Indiana to record for the Gennet label. He put down three tracks: ‘Stovepipe Blues’ was issued with the jaunty ‘Sunset Blues’ on the flip side, with the other track, ‘Tidewater Blues’ remaining unissued. Three years later he recorded in Atlanta with an obscure whistling Bluesman where they were billed as “Sunny Jim and Whistlin’ Joe”.

The Gennett recording studio in Richmond opened in 1921. The studio was located on the grounds of Gennett's piano factory. Little more than a one-story dilapidated shed, artists flocked to the rustic studio to make their recordings. Gennett was also the most progressive recording studio in the country in the 1920s. The studio was the first to produce interracial recordings and was known for its willingness to sign diverse artists.

On this day back in 1969 Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, The Move, Status Quo, Tremeloes, Marmalade, Love Sculpture, and Van Der Graaf Generator all played at The Nottingham County Football Ground, Nottingham, England. Floyd beat Marmalade in the playoff, winning 5 -3 after penalties. Van Der Graaf Generator sparked contoversy by losing its opening game. Love Sculpture opened in good form but couldn't sustain it. The Tremeloes wavered and had no counter for the fleet footed Fleetwood Mac. Status Quo couldn't maintain it and were relegated to Second Division.

On this day the 11th of May

1981: Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley died of lung cancer and a brain tumour aged 36. Had the 1981 single 'No Woman No Cry', plus over ten other UK Top 40 singles. In 1990, the 6th February was proclaimed a national holiday in Jamaica to commemorate his birth. The compilation album, Legend, released in 1984, is the best-selling reggae album ever with sales of more than 20 million copies. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.

1941: Born on this day in The House Of The Rising Sun, Eric Burdon.

On this day the 12th of May

1963 Bob Dylan is invited to appear on TV's Ed Sullivan Show but refuses when he is forbidden to sing "Talking John Birch Society Blues."

1967 Pink Floyd staged the first-ever rock concert with quadraphonic sound at Queen Elizabeth Hall in England.

1967 Procol Harum released "A Whiter Shade Of Pale."

1967 The first Jimi Hendrix album, Are You Experienced?, was released. Songs included "Foxy Lady," "Hey Joe" and "Purple Haze."

1972: The Rolling Stones released the album “Exile on Main St.”

On this day the 13th of May

On this day the 13th of May 1971: Jerry Lee Lewis was granted a divorce from his second wife, six months after marrying his third wife, Myra. Jerry then thought he had better get around to checking on the marital status with his first wife!
Lewis has been married seven times. His first marriage, to Dorothy Barton, lasted for 20 months, from February 1952 to October 1953. His second marriage, to Jane Mitchum, was of dubious validity because it occurred 23 days before his divorce from Barton was final. It lasted for four years, from September 1953 to October 1957. His third marriage, to his first cousin once removed Myra Gale Brown, lasted for 13 years, from December 1957 to December 1970. The scandal over his third marraige had him blacklisted from radio and he almost vanished from the music scene.

1971: Grace Slick smashed her Mercedes into a concrete wall near San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.



1977: Dolly Parton made her New York City debut with a concert at the Bottom Line. Many fans thought Dolly was going to debut at New York's Top Line.

On this day the 14th of May

1956: Buddy Holly got a prescription for contact lenses. He couldn't get used to wearing them so he continued to use his trademark glasses.

1998: George Michael pleaded no contest in the Beverly Hills Municipal Court to committing a lewd act in a park restroom. He was fined $810, given 80 hours of community service but not at any of the city's restrooms. He was ordered to undergo counseling.

1976: Keith Relf (Yardbirds) was electrocuted by his son’s electric guitar. He was 33 years old.

On this day the 15th of May

2007 : Ike Turner spent a day in a Los Angeles jail over a mistaken warrant. When the cops found the right warrant Ike spent a lot more time in the clink.

2000: It was reported that Britney Spears had been crowned the queen of America's fastest growing youth movement, the teenage celibates. Spears told a German magazine that she intended to abstain from sex until her wedding night.

On this day the 16th of May

1969: Pete Townshend spent the night in a US jail for assaulting a man during a Who gig at The Fillmore East. What Townshend didn't know was the man who jumped onto the stage was a plainclothes policeman trying to warn the audience that a fire had broken out. The Who guitarist was later fined $30 for the offence.
(The policeman didn’t realize that it was all part of the band’s pyrotechnics).

On this day the 17th of May

1933: Jimmie Rodgers began recording a series of 24 songs. He died nine days later at the age of 35.

American Texas country and folk singer, musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer Guy Clark died May 17 2016 at the age of 74.

1958: "Jerry Lee Lewis Day" was held in his hometown of Farriday, LA.

1963: The first Monterey Folk Festival took place over three days in Monterey, California. The festival featured Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Peter Paul and Mary. The 1967 Monterey Rock festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by Jimi Hendrix and The Who. It was also the onset of what would manifest itself many years later ...hearing loss!

 

DYLAN GOES ELECTRIC.
‘Judas!’ 17 May 1966 at Manchester Free Trade Hall. Part of 1966 world tour where Dylan would open the show solo and acoustic and then perform the second half with backing band The Hawks (later to rename themselves The Band).

1995: Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Fats Domino appeared together for the first time in Sheffield, London.

On this day the 18th May

May 2019. Despite tempting overtures from GetUp!, The CFMEU, The Clean Energy Finance Corp, Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, certain Russian and Chinese Operatives that will remain nameless at this stage, Adani, Julian Burnside’s Property Portfolio, Alex Turnbull’s Hedge Fund and the offer of Free Fish n Chips for a year …sablues.org has decided to be an ELECTION FREE ZONE during the 2019 election period!

Ian Curtis of Joy Division died May 18, 1980. He hung himself in his kitchen. He was listening to Iggy Pops "The Idiot", and had just watched the movie "Stroszek" by Werner Herzog. Possible reasons for his suicide were his poor health and failed marriage ...but it was more likely the Herzog movie and the Iggy Pop album!

May 18, 1964 The Animals recorded The House of the Rising Sun
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by British rock group the Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and also in the United States and France.
The song was recorded in just one take on May 18, 1964. Arranging credit went only to Alan Price. According to Burdon, this was simply because there was insufficient room to name all five band members on the record label, and Alan Price's first name was first alphabetically. However, this meant that only Price received songwriter's royalties for the hit, a fact that has caused bitterness ever since, especially with Valentine.
The Animals' version transposes the original narrative of the song from the point of view of a woman led into a life of degradation to that of a man whose father was now a gambler and drunkard, rather than the sweetheart in earlier versions.
Like many classic folk ballads, "The House of the Rising Sun" is of uncertain authorship.The oldest known recording of the song, under the title "Rising Sun Blues", is by Appalachian artists Clarence "Tom" Ashley and Gwen Foster, who recorded it in 1928. Ashley said he had learned it from his grandfather, Enoch Ashley.
In 1941, Woody Guthrie recorded a version.
A recording made in 1947 by Libby Holman and Josh White (who is also credited with having written new words and music that have subsequently been popularized in the versions made by many other later artists) was released by Mercury Records in 1950. White learned the song from a "white hillbilly singer", who might have been Ashley, in North Carolina in 1923–1924. Versions have also been sung by Lead Belly, Glenn Yarbrough, The Weavers, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Nina Simone, Tim Hardin, Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan.

On this day the 19th of May

1960: American DJ Alan Freed was indicted along with seven others for accepting $30,650 in payola from six record companies. Two years later, he was convicted and given a suspended sentence and a $300 fine.

On this day the 20th of May

1954: Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" was released on this day. It was not successful until it was released in 1955 on the soundtrack to "Blackboard Jungle."

1960: Alan Freed, a disc jockey, was indicted for income tax evasion stemming from payola.

On this day the 20th of May 1965 : FBI agents visited Wand Records to investigate the lyrics to 'Louie Louie'. The words were rumored to be obscene. This added significantly to the sales of the single. As a marketing ploy, there was a leak that the lyrics were obscene. The FBI tried to track down Richard Berry, The Kingsmen, and various record company executives. They were never able to determine the actual lyrics used. To this day, the Kingsmen insist they said nothing lewd, despite the obvious mistake at the end of the instrumental, where Jack Ely started to sing the last verse one bar too soon, and can be heard yelling something in the background.


Louie, Louie, oh no. Me gotta go. Aye-yi-yi,
I said. Louie Louie, oh baby. Me gotta go.
Fine little girl waits for me. Catch a ship across the sea.
Sail that ship about, all alone. Never know if I make it home.
Every night and day, I play with my thing.
I f*#k you girl, oh, all the way.
On my bed, I'll lay her there.
I feel my bone, ah, in her hair.
Hey lovemaker, now hold my thing.
It won't take long, so leave it alone.
Hey, senorita, I'm hot as hell.
I told her I'd never lay her again.

On this day the 21st of May

Born on this day back in 1904: Thomas “Fats” Waller.

1970: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released the protest single Ohio, written and composed by Neil Young in reaction to the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970, when unarmed college students were shot by the Ohio National Guard. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.

1980: Joe Strummer of The Clash was arrested at a Hamburg, West Germany, show after smashing his guitar over the head of an unruly audience member.

On this day the 22nd of May

1958: Jerry Lee Lewis arrived at London's Heathrow Airport to begin his first British tour, along with his new bride, 14 year old third cousin, Myra. Although advised not to mention it, Lewis answered all questions about his private life. The public's shock over Lewis' marriage marks the start of a controversy leading to his British tour being cancelled after just 3 of the scheduled 37 performances.

2011: Four dead dogs in 'sealed containers' were found in the Tennessee home of former Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent during an investigation that led to his arrest on charges of assaulting his wife. Vincent, a member of Kiss from 1982 to 1984, was released after posting $10,000 bond after his arrest. The Rutherford County Sheriff's Department initially feared that the current members of Kiss were in the sealed containers.

On this day the 23rd of May

1973: Jefferson Airplane were prevented from giving a free concert in Golden Gate Park when San Francisco authorities passed a resolution banning electronic instruments. The group later wrote 'We Built this City' about the ban.

On this day back in 1976 Bob Dylan recorded Hard Rain

On May 23, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde, the famed couple of crime, were killed in a police ambush near Sailes, La., as they were driving a stolen Ford V8. A six-man posse led by former Texas Ranger captain Frank Hamer ambushed Bonnie and Clyde and pumped more than 130 rounds of steel-jacketed bullets into their stolen Ford V-8.

On this day the 24th of May

1963: Elmore James, blues guitarist, died at 45 of a heart attack. Elmore James (1918-1963) was an enigma, seemingly unknowable as a public figure or as a private person. His first record, "Dust My Broom," released in late 1951 on Trumpet Records (Trumpet 146 [1951], 78 rpm, frequently anthologized since), announced him as a bluesman of the first rank, and in early 1952 it became a Top 10 hit in many regional markets from Mississippi to Los Angeles. His high, wailing voice and the piercing tones produced on his guitar with a tube or "bottleneck slide" on his fretting hand were readily identifiable trademarks to even the most casual listener of blues. During the rest of his life, James seemed to shun interviews, but nonetheless his music earned him a succession of hit records and fame that continued after his premature death. As with any other human being, James possessed several contradictions: affable, yet at times temperamental; impulsive to take any performing gig, but slow to leave Mississippi in the early 1960s despite racism and civil unrest; a hard drinker, and also a good cook of fried chicken.
24 May 1941: Birth of Robert Zimmerman, who changed his name 18 years later to Bob Dylan.

 

VALE Tina Turner 24/5/2023

On this day the 25th of May

1965: Sonny Boy Williamson II [Aleck Miller], American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, died at 65

On this day back in 1974 at a London, 1,000 people needed medical treatment at a David Cassidy concert.

1933, American country singer Jimmie Rodgers who was among the first country music superstars and pioneers, died from a pulmonary hemorrhage while staying at the Taft Hotel; he was only 35 years old.

Clifford Antone died May 23, at age 56, reportedly from "natural causes," likely a heart attack. There is nothing natural about dying at 56, and there was nothing ordinary about Clifford, a man of oversized appetites, enthusiasms and contradictions. Antone was the founder of the eponymous Austin blues club and independent record label, as well as a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Gary Clark, Jr. and numerous other musicians. After the success of the nightclub he founded in 1975, Clifford Antone opened the doors to Antone's Record Shop in the summer of 1987. Located across the street from his legendary nightclub, the record shop quickly became the place to hang out before seeing whatever show was to take place later that evening.

On this day the 26th of May

1996: Firemen arrive at the burning home of Eric Clapton to find the guitarist running in and out of the home to save his guitar collection. The house is gutted, with about three million dollars' damage.

On this day the 27th of May

Gregg Allman, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, the incendiary group that inspired and gave shape to both the Southern rock and jam-band movements, died on Saturday 27th May 2017 at his home in Savannah, Ga. He was 69. His publicist, Ken Weinstein, said the cause was complications of liver cancer.

27th May 1987, during a show in Rome's Flaminio Stadio, U2's sound system set off earthquake alarms in two neighborhoods.

2007, Saatchi & Saatchi were fired by Dr Martens for running an advertising campaign featuring dead rock stars such as Kurt Cobain and Sid Vicious wearing the brand's boots in heaven. David Suddens, the chief executive of Dr Martens parent company Airwear, said the brand had not commissioned the series of four print ads. "Dr Martens are very sorry for any offence that has been caused by the publication of images showing dead rock icons wearing Dr Martens boots."

Saatchi & Saatchi left out Prince. Jerome has added him. Here he is to promoting a new line of Hi Heel Pink Boots.

...and what about Elvis? Jerome had added him as well. Here is Elvis at The Pearly Gates and promoting the original Dr Martens.

On this day the 28th of May

Born on this day back in 1910 blues guitarist T-Bone Walker in Linden Tx.

On this day the 29th of May

1999: Photographers taking shots of old cars wrecked at the bottom of Malibu's Decker Canyon discover the body of Iron Butterfly bassist Philip Kramer, who had gone missing on February 12, 1995. His death is ruled a suicide.

May 29th 2022
Ronnie Hawkins, Rockabilly Legend Who Mentored Rock’s Greatest, Dead at 87.
Ronnie Hawkins, the Canadian rockabilly singer known as “the Hawk,” who mentored the Band and played with rock’s greats, died Sunday morning. He was 87. Though he was born in Arkansas, Hawkins called Canada home for most of his career. and was considered a formative influence on the evolution of the country’s rock scene thanks to his passion for Southern blues music. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Hawkins played with a backing band called the Hawks, which included Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel. In 1963, the Hawks split from Hawkins. Eventually, they became Bob Dylan’s backup band. And then, just The Band.

On this day the 30th of May

1987: The Los Angeles Times reports that Michael Jackson has offered $50,000 for the bones of "The Elephant Man," John Merrick, who died in 1890. Said Jackson's manager: "Jackson has a high degree of respect for the memory of Merrick. He has read and studied all material about the Elephant Man, and has visited the hospital in London twice to view Merrick's remains."

The first recording session devoted to The Dark Side of the Moon was held on May 30 1972. For this, Pink Floyd returned to the Abbey Road Studios, which they had more or less abandoned for their two previous albums, Meddle and Obscured by Clouds. Although the album was recorded over a period of nine months, due to the group’s various commitments, it took only forty or so sessions (in Studios Two and Three, and Studio One for a single piano part!), not including various remixing, editing, and cross-fading sessions (which took place in Room Four). This is not a particularly large number for an album of such complexity.

On this day the 31th of May

1976: The Who gave themselves a place in the Guinness book of Records as the loudest performance of a rock band at 120 decibels, when they played at Charlton Athletic Football ground.

... "What?"
... I said
"THE WHO GAVE THEMSELVES A PLACE IN THE GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS AS THE LOUDEST PERFORMANCE OF A ROCK BAND AT 120 DECIBELS, WHEN THEY PLAYED AT CHARLTON ATHLETIC FOOTBALL GROUND."
... "WHAT?"

31 May, 1976
The Who set the record for the loudest group ever. Tasco built the PA specially for the Charlton show at a cost of £7,000(?), and was reportedly audible 10 miles from the stadium. The Guinness Book of World Records entry:

Loudest Pop Group
The amplification for The Who concert at Charlton Athletic Football Ground, London, England, May 31, 1976, provided by Tasco PA system, had a total power of 76,000 watts from eighty 800 W Crown DC 300 A amplifiers and twenty 600 W Phase Linear 200’s. The readings at 50 m (164 ft) from the front of the sound system were 120 decibels. Exposure to such noise levels is known to cause PSH — Permanent Shift of Hearing or partial deafness.
The £100,000 lighting system for the show: 30x Par 64 1,000-watt lamps, 32x Leko 1,000-watt lamps, Hydraulic “Genie” towers, Electrosonic control desks, Electrosonic Dimmer packs, Strand Patt 765 follow spots, 38 “00” three section truss, Vermet towers, Ramport Lasers.

Richard Barnes:
“The whole tour was a massive operation involving … 30 tons of equipment … Although loud, the sound was clear and sharp. The sound system specially built for the show by Tasco, and costing £7,000 just for that night alone, had never before been used in England. The long throw bass speakers ensured that even people at the back got high quality sound … At the climax of Listening to You all the £100,000 lights including the huge arc lights set up behind the group, facing out into the audience, were switched on, and the effect from this simple piece of theatrics produced one of rock’s greatest and most climactic moments…”

Outside Keith is approached by Australia's Garry McDonald portraying his satirical local TV reporter character Norman Gunston. Keith pours a bottle of vodka on his head and tells him, "you Australian slag, piss off!"

 

May 31 2022
Blues and folk guitar player, vocalist, and songwriter Kelly Joe Phelps sadly passed away on May 31, 2022, at the age of 62. Phelps's last studio album was a decade ago with 2012's Brother Sinner And The Whale. It forms part of a legacy alongside seminal '90s albums Shine-Eyed Mr Zen and Roll Away The Stone.
100 GREATEST BLUES ALBUMS: #84. Roll Away The Stone - Kelly Joe Phelps