live :: Blog
Rare Performances: Simon and Garfunkel Live in 1990
In 1990, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were inducted as Simon and Garfunkel into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by James Taylor. During their acceptance, Garfunkel noted, "And I want to thank, most of all, the person who has most enriched my life by putting these great songs through me, my friend Paul here." Simon was quick to remark, "Arthur and I agree about almost nothing, but it's true, I have enriched his life quite a bit, now that I think about it."
At the ceremony, they performed “The Boxer,” a song penned by Paul Simon in 1968. The song was released as a follow-up single to their Number One hit, “Mrs. Robinson,” and reached Number Seven on the U.S. charts. The b-side of the single was “Baby Driver,” and the song appeared on their last studio album Bridge Over Troubled Water.
The lyrics focus on a person struggling to overcome loneliness and poverty in New York ...
Rare Performances: Talking Heads Live in 2002
"Boy, am I honored to be mentioned in the same breath as the Talking Heads," noted 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis after taking the podium to induct the Talking Heads into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
"I remember the exact place that I was, the exact moment that it happened, that I heard the Talking Heads for the first time," recalled Kiedis. "That's an incredible indication of what a beautiful influence they would have on my life, because there's not too many things I could say that about. I was in the living room of Donde Bastone, I was 15, it was 1977, and the song that he put on was 'Psycho Killer,' and I absolutely freaked out. I made him play that song over and over and over again because it was like nothing else I'd ever heard, and it made me ...
Rare Performances: Pink Floyd and Billy Corgan Live in 1996
In the fall of 1995, Smashing Pumpkins, the Chicago-based alternative band who cracked the Billboard 200 Top 10 in August 1993 with Siamese Dream, released the anticipated studio follow up, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The sprawling 26-song double album Corgan then referred to as The Wall for Generation X highlighted the lead songwriter's penchant for abstract lyricism and expansive, evocative instrumental arrangements that owed much to the psychedelic rockers who came decades before him.
At the 1996 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, a twentysomething Corgan inducted Pink Floyd, with David Gilmour, Nick Mason and the late Richard Wright on hand to accept their awards. "The first album I heard was Dark Side of the Moon, which as we all know is probably one of the best albums of all time," said Corgan, a self-professed "fan" of the band. "I first heard this album in The Wall era, which to me, at my tender age of 14, was too ...
Today In Rock: Jimmy Page is Born
On January 9, 1944, Jimmy Page was born in England. A talented multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer, Page is best known for his incomparable guitar virtuosity, and is one of the most influential guitarists of all time. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: in 1992 as a member of the Yardbirds and in 1995 as a founding member of Led Zeppelin.
Page picked up his first guitar at a young age, seeking to emulate rockabilly guitarists of the Fifties, such as Scotty Moore and James Burton. His appreciation and tastes quickly expanded to include folk, blues and skiffle, and he would play in a band that favored the latter.
By the Sixties, Page was an in-demand session musician, playing on songs for Donovan ("Hurdy Gurdy Man"), Them ("Gloria") and the Who ("I Can't Explain"), among others. Page joined the Yardbirds in the mid Sixties, for a period sharing the stage with friend and fellow guitarist Jeff Beck, who had replaced Eric Clapton on lead guitar. "You'd listen to Jeff along the way, and you'd go - wow, he's getting really, really good," said Page during Jeff Beck's 2009 Hall of ...
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: 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 ...
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 ...
Hall of Fame Series with Spooner Oldham
On November 2, 2011, Hall of Fame inductee Spooner Oldham spoke with and performed for a sold-out audience in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Foster Theater. Oldham is a linchpin of Southern Soul and the Alabama sound, a fixture of famed Muscle Shoals and FAME studios, where his keyboard playing enlivened some of the biggest rock and roll songs of the past 50 years, including Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved a Man," Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally" and Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman." Together with singer-songwriter Dan Penn, Spooner contributed a number of classics to the canon of rock, co-writing "Cry Like a Baby" by the Box Tops, "It Tears Me Up" by Percy Sledge and "I'm Your Puppet" by James and Bobby Purify.
Born Dewey Lyndon "Spooner" Oldham in Center Star, Alabama, Oldham is one of rock's most in-demand players, appearing on records and tours with luminaries such as Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and Neil Young, in addition to newer act Drive-By Truckers.
During his Hall of Fame series interview with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum director of education Jason Hanley, Oldham talked about ...
