concert :: Blog
Today In Rock: Detroit Declares "Aretha Franklin Day"
By February 1968, Aretha Franklin had established herself as among the world's premier recording artists, her genre-spanning recordings achieving commercial and critical acclaim, and appealing to mixed-race audiences around the world. The previous year had seen the release of I Never Loved A Man the Way I Love You, her triumphant Atlantic Records debut produced by Jerry Wexler and recorded with an ace backing band at Rick Hall's Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The landmark soul recording included Franklin's righteous re-working of Otis Redding's "Respect," which rose to Number One on the Billboard Hot 100, and the inspired candor and groove of the album's title track. That same year, Wexler and engineer Tom Dowd worked with Franklin on her sophomore effort for Atlantic, Aretha Arrives, which included the hit single "Baby I Love You," peaking at Number Four on the Billboard Hot 100. Less than a year later, in January 1968, Lady Soul arrived, featuring ...
Today In Rock: Alan Freed is Born
On December 15, 1921, Albert James Freed – the man who famously christened a radical new form of music as "rock 'n' roll" - was born near Johnston, Pennsylvania. Moving to Salem, Ohio, with his family at age 12, Alan (as he was better known) Freed spent his formative years in the Buckeye State, eventually attending Ohio State, where the campus radio station piqued a fascination with radio that would stay with him through all his days. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
By the early 1950s, Freed had settled in to a new DJ position in Cleveland, playing R&B records during a segment sponsored by friend and local record shop owner Leo Mintz, whose inner city store, Record Rendezvous, was selling many records by burgeoning R&B artists. "I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1950, '51, '52," said noted DJ and rock and roll historian Norm N. Nite during the first Hall of Fame Inductions in 1986. "I listened to Alan Freed playing those records on the Moondog show. I knew at that particular time that it was something special that was going on." It was during this time that Freed first ...
Otis Redding's Last Day in Cleveland
December 9, 1967 was a busy day for Otis Redding. The first stop on his winter tour was Cleveland, Ohio, where he was scheduled to appear on the locally produced, nationally syndicated (in 98 markets around the country) television show Upbeat, as well as perform two concerts at legendary nightclub Leo’s Casino. The singer was eager to get back on the road after a three-month break recovering from surgery for throat polyps. He had just recorded what was to become the biggest and most enduring hit of his career, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” Redding started that Saturday at the WEWS studios at 30th and Euclid Avenue for Upbeat rehearsals. Upbeat host Don Webster recalled on the website clevelandseniors.com that typically the show would be rehearsed from about 9 am until noon, working on the technical aspects like blocking and lighting. After that, the production team and talent would break for lunch and come back at 1 pm to do the taping. It would take two to three hours to tape the one-hour show. That show was broadcast at 5 pm, the same day of the taping. Webster never did a lot of pre-interviewing, feeling that ...
Concert Radar: J.D. Souther
This weekend, Nighttown in Cleveland Heights hosts J.D. Souther for a special two-night engagement, as the much-lauded musician performs at 8:30 pm on Friday, December 9 and Saturday, December 10.
Although born in Detroit on November 2, 1945, J.D. Souther spent his formative years in Amarillo, Texas. That upbringing likely contributed to the development of a country-rock appreciation that made him a major influence on big ticket bands of the 1970s, including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee the Eagles (he collaborated with friend and former Longbranch Pennywhistle bandmate Glen Frey on tracks including "Best of My Love" and "Heartache Tonight") and Linda Ronstadt (producing and performing on 1973's Don't Cry Now, and penning "Prisoner in Disguise" and "Faithless Love"). As a session musician, vocalist and guitarist Souther has appeared on recordings by Don Henley and James Taylor, among others.
At the urging of then head of Asylum Records, David Geffen, Souther joined Chris Hillman (of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers) and Richie Furay (of Buffalo Springfield and Poco) to form a country-rock supergroup of sorts with the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. The group released a pair of solo albums and charted with "Fallin ...
Concert Radar: Felix Cavaliere
This weekend, don't miss the opportunity to catch an evening of music with 1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Felix Cavaliere, who long fronted the Rascals. Cavaliere is a great friend of the Museum, and has supported us with his presence and performances on numerous occasions. Cavaliere and his band will play two shows (7 pm and 9 pm) on Saturday, December 3 at the Tangier in Akron.
The Rascals were paragons of "blue-eyed soul," achieving commercial success beyond that of their peers – among them, the Righteous Brothers, Steve Winwood, Van Morrison and Joe Cocker. The group's indelible originals and energized covers were lead by Cavaliere's Hammond B-3 organ and expressive lead vocals.
These days, Cavaliere typically performs songs from a playlist of 19 chart-topping hits from his years as leader of the Rascals. Expect to hear the Rascals' famous uptempo cover of the Olympics' "Good Lovin'" (Number One in 1966), the soul-pop reverie of "Groovin'" (Number One in 1967); and the Rascals' biggest hit, "People Got to Be Free," a powerful response to the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. that topped the Billboard charts for five weeks ...
Concert Radar
The next few weeks include three don't-miss concerts:
Paul Simon
2001 Hall of Fame inductee Paul Simon will be at the University of Akron's EJ Thomas Hall on Wednesday, November 23. Simon's latest album, So Beautiful Or So What, is his first album since Surprise in 2006, and has earned expansive critical acclaim. The album continues a tradition of delivering original songs that reflect the veteran songwriter's eclectic influences. Note that Cleveland's own award-winning world percussionist and drummer, Jamey Haddad, will be on stage in his long running role as percussionist in Simon's band, helping negotiate the varied rhythms found on So Beautiful – and beyond – for a live audience.
Paul Simon - "Getting Ready For Christmas Day" (from So Beautiful Or So What)
Cameo
Falling close on the heels of Simon's show is an incredible funk lineup at PlayhouseSquare's State Theatre on Saturday, November 26: The Mary Jane Girls featuring Val Young, "Mister Cool" Morris Day and the Time ("Girl," "Jungle Love") and Cameo, whose 1986 album Word Up! produced two certified funk hits in the title track and ...
Booker T. in Cleveland
Cleveland was lucky this weekend, as it was one of only a handful of cities fortunate enough to have Booker T. Jones and his band perform in support of his latest CD, The Road From Memphis. I found the album so satisfying, I made sure every one of the Rock Hall's board members received a copy at our retreat this summer in New Orleans. I felt privileged for the opportunity to experience it live. And if that wasn't enough, it was Booker T. Jones' birthday to boot.
On November 12, Booker T. and his group played two incredible shows at Cleveland's famous jazz club, Nighttown, where owner Brendan Ring consistently books a vast array of stars, helping the cozy club garner a host of international accolades and a reputation as a destination spot for artists. Booker T.'s two performances – at 8 pm and 10 pm – were a great addition to that legacy.
The setlist for the night featured an exciting mix of material from not only Road From Memphis, but also his catalog of chart-topping and indelible hits, including "Green Onions," "Soul Limbo," "Hip Hugger" and "Time is Tight." The crowd was visibly moved, grooving and ...
A Surprise Performance
Our agreement with Aretha Franklin for this year’s American Music Masters program was that she would attend the tribute concert but would not perform. Of course, I always hoped that she would decide to sing a song, but I never pressed the issue. After all, hasn’t Aretha given us enough? We were gathered to honor what she has accomplished, not to demand more. We wanted to recognize, in professor Daphne Brooks’ words, “her brilliant body of work as a musician who materially and emotionally connected with mass audiences in complex ways that went unmatched by her peers.” The night’s fantastic performers did her justice and then some, as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Jerry Butler, Dennis Edwards and Ronald Isley, in addition to Cissy Houston, 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee Chaka Khan, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Twinkie Clark, Carla Cook, Melinda Doolittle and Mike Farris all brought their A-game.
After Dr. Franklin received her honorary degree from Case Western Reserve at the beginning of the evening, she watched the show from the audience with her family. We worked it out that she would return backstage during the last song of Ms. Lauryn Hill ...
