Blue Monday

Also considered a pioneer of rock and roll music, Fats Domino, a native of New Orleans, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, as well. He played a huge role in the transition from R&B to rock and roll. In fact, Fats Domino sold more records than any rock artist from the ‘50s except Elvis Presley. He scored more hit records than Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Buddy Holly combined, and he made it on the Billboard charts over 100 times. He started playing in the New Orleans music scene in the mid-40s, and was signed by Dave Bartholomew in 1949 to Imperial Records.

[Source:  YouTube]

"Blue Monday" was not originally by Fats Domino.  The song was written by Bartholomew and was recorded in 1954 by Smiley Lewis, a New Orleans native like Domino.  Later versions of the song have credited both Bartholomew and Domino as co-writers, even though Fats had no part in the writing of the song.

Johnny B. Goode

Chuck Berry is considered to be one of the pioneers of rock and roll.  Berry, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, is described as being the “poet laureate” of rock and roll.  He was born out of R&B and country and gave it identity.  Basically, he refined rhythm and blues into the elements that made rock and roll one of individuality.

His perfectly matched lyrics and music helped shape rock and roll for decades, and his works have been covered by other great rock and roll artists such as Electric Light Orchestra, The Rolling Stones, and the Beatles.  His songs were aimed for teenagers, the intended targets of the rock and roll genre.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame states, “In all essential ways, he understood the power of rock and roll – how it worked, what it was about and who it was for.”

[Source:  YouTube]

"Johnny B. Goode" was released in early 1958 under the label of Chess, but was written by Chuck years earlier in 1955.  A recording of the song was on the Voyager Golden Record, a record that was placed on the Voyager spacecraft as a representation of rock and roll music.

Rock Around the Clock

Rock and Roll was a major turning point in the music industry. New artists like Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Gene Vincent helped pave the road to the biggest genre of music ever known to this point. The genre was created with influences of blues and country, along with technological advances such as the electric guitar, amplifier, microphone, and the 45 rpm record. This was also around the time the transistor radio was invented, and car radios became more popular, as well. This meant listening to music anywhere became a lot easier and more practical. It was also the first time teenagers could have music of their own, so rock and roll immediately became the coolest genre, thanks to the younger generation.

The year was 1955 when rock and roll really took off. “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & His Comets is said to be the starting point of rock and roll.

[Source:  YouTube]

With this post, the next few days will be all about the first pioneers of rock and roll, so all of the artists will be from 1955-1958.  Bill Haley & His Comets weren't really considered to be pioneers of rock music.  The hit song (which went on to be the theme song of the television show Happy Days) was more of a starting point for the new genre about to take over America.

Bang Bang

I think Jessie J has an absolutely incredible voice.  She, in my opinion, has one of the best voices in the industry right now.  But the only problem I have is I think she is so underrated.

A few months ago I talked about her live performance of her song "Who You Are" in a New York City subway station.  That's a difficult song to sing and she sounded flawless.

The most recent piece of evidence is the song "Bang Bang."  She sings the song with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj.  While Ariana and Nicki sound good, I think Jessie sounds by far the best.

[Source:  YouTube]

Jessie J does not get the attention she should for that voice she has in her, yet Ariana Grande is the nation's pop princess.  I like Jessie J a lot more than I like Ariana.

Saturday Night

I saw the Eagles on September 13th at Madison Square Garden.  Words can't begin to describe how amazing it was.

They performed 27 songs, which is why they took a fifteen minute intermission halfway through the show.  The set list was as follows:

1. Saturday Night
2. Train Leaves Here This Morning (Dillard & Clark cover)
3. Peaceful Easy Feeling
4. Witchy Woman
5. Doolin'-Dalton
6. Tequila Sunrise
7. Doolin'-Dalton/Desperado (Reprise)
8. Already Gone
9. The Best of My Love
10. Lyin' Eyes
11. One of These Nights
12. Take It to the Limit
13. Pretty Maids All in a Row
14. I Can't Tell You Why
15. New Kid in Town
16. Love Will Keep Us Alive
17. Heartache Tonight
18. Those Shoes
19. In the City (Joe Walsh song)
20. Life's Been Good (Joe Walsh song)
21. The Long Run
22. Funk #49 (James Gang cover)
23. Life in the Fast Lane
24. Encore:  Hotel California
25. Encore 2:  Take It Easy
26. Encore 2:  Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh song)
27. Encore 2:  Desperado

For the most part, the whole show was done in chronological order, since the theme was, "History of the Eagles."  

"Desperado" was my favorite song of the night, but that may just be because it is my favorite song of all time.  I was really upset that they didn't play "Ol' 55," though.

They all sounded really fantastic especially for their ages.

It started out with just Henley and Frey sitting on stools.  It felt more like the Beacon Theatre than it did MSG - very intimate.

The group currently consists of Don Henley (drums, guitar, vocals), Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals, keyboard), Joe Walsh (guitars, vocals, keyboard), and Timothy B. Schmit (bass, vocals, acoustic guitar).

[My photo, please credit if used]

When researching the songs from the first few albums, you don't see much written by Don Henley (and only three by Glenn Frey) in their first album, Eagles.  But once their sophomore album Desperado came along, most of the songs were written with Henley and/or Frey.  There are also a few songs written by Jackson Browne.  The musician/singer-songwriter co-wrote songs "Doolin-Dalton," "James Dean," and "Take It Easy."

You never know who will just show up to a show at Madison Square Garden, so I was hoping Jackson Browne would have made an appearance.  My dreams didn't come true.