RIP Series - Ginger Baker

This one actually made the front page of the newspaper.   Ginger Baker was one of the greatest rock drummers ever - although he claimed he never played rock drums.   His background was jazz when he joined Cream.  His influences were Art Blakey and African music.  He incorporated this into his work with Cream which opened up their influential 'power trio' sound.

He had the demeanor of a crotchety old man since his '20's.

Following Cream he (as rumor has it) weaseled his way into Blind Faith against Eric Clapton's wishes.   He then pulled together his own Band - Ginger Baker's Airforce with a host of legendary players.

Ginger Baker's Air Force (Atco 1970)

In the early '70's he moved to Africa to pursue his drumming passion.  There he opened a recording studio (used by McCartney for Band on the Run) and championed local musician Fela Kuti - playing with him live and on record. 

Many projects followed.  The Baker-Gurvitz Army.  Appearances on PIL's fantastic Album release.  Joining Hawkwind for a spell.

A nice surprise for me was an instrumental album he made later in his career.

Ginger Baker - Middle Passage (Axiom 1990)

I picked it up because it looked interesting and was inexpensive.  Boy I was glad I did.

Required viewing is the documentary Beware Mr. Baker.  The opening sequence has him breaking the nose of his interviewer!

RIP - Kim Shattuck

Another footnote worth a mention.

Kim Shattuck was the bass player for a spell in the all girl retro garage band The Pandoras.  She wasn't there that long as the lineup was in constant flux.

The Pandoras - In an Out Of My Life (In a Day)/The Hump (Rhino 1986)

Kim split The Pandoras to front The Muffs.   Later she participated in the Pixies re-union appearing as Kim Deal.

RIP - Larry Taylor

Most people with say 'who?' on this one.   Larry Taylor was a founding member of Topanga Canyon boogie band Canned Heat.  He was the last surviving member of the original lineup (save for the drummer)..

Here's their first record.

Canned Heat (Liberty 1967)

The tracklist consists solely of blues covers.

My copy is in glorious mono.

Unlike most bands where the drummer goes first, Canned Heat's original drummer is still with us working as a therapist in Southern California.   Unlike most band members, Larry left a band to join John Mayall - the opposite of most career trajectories.

RIP Series - Peter Fonda

Peter Fonda.  Not a rock star, but a rock star icon nonetheless.

Easy Rider was not the first biker movie.  There was The Wild One with Marlon Brando in the '50's.  Roger Corman made Hells Angels on Wheels with Nancy Sinatra a few years earlier.   The biker movie could be made on the cheap.  There's not a whole lot that will enhance outdoor photography on open highways.  Easy Rider hit and for a fleeting moment, made the biker film acceptable.

The soundtrack to Easy Rider was released to coincide with the movie.  It was huge!

Steppenwolf is heavily featured  - which is probably why the LP ended up on Dunhill.   The Band did not give rights to Dunhill.  Their recording of The Weight used in the movie was replaced by that of Dunhill artists Smith. 

Cheap biker movies were all the rage for a few years.   Werewolves on Wheels is one of my favorites.

RIP Series - Robert Hunter

I've been putting off on writing this one because this one is a big deal.  A name not really known by the casual rock fan, but probably the most missed of all RIP's this year.

Robert Hunter was the chief lyricist for the Grateful Dead.  He worked primarily with Jerry Garcia and, on occasion, the other members of the band.  He's one of the few guys who could hold his own with Dylan  - cowriting all the lyrics on Dylan's (fairly) recent Together Through Life album.

It was with the Grateful Dead, however, that Hunter became an integral part of the band.  So much so that he was considered a band member and inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame as such.

Hunter's stories of outcasts and chance-takers struck a chord with the counter culture.  Story songs influenced by Irish ballads and country music fused with literary and biblical references.  Some just strings of random words that make perfect sense.  Losers who will strike it rich with one good hand. At the time he began contributing to the Dead's songbook, story songs were not part of rock.   His contributions were as much a part of building The Dead's rabid following as the band.

I saw him interviewed where someone asked him what Dark Star was about.  His answer was 'I don't know.'

He released a few solo records. The first was the first release on Round Records, a label set up for extracurricular activities of Grateful Dead members.

Robert Hunter - Tales of the Great Rum Runners (Round Records 1973)

Note the track It Must Have Been the Roses.   Often Hunter would bring Garcia completed songs which Garcia would rework to suit him.  Melodies changed, chords changed, words changed to fit Jerry's voice.  The version of the song here is quite different from the one that worked into the Dead's repertoire.

Rare is it that a line in rock song buried in the middle of a verse will illicit cheers from a crowd.  Hunter has written a ton of these lines for The Grateful Dead....

"Steal your face right off your head"

"Sittin' plush with a royal flush, Aces back to back."

"One man gathers what another man spills”

"Sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own"

"Nothing left to do but smile smile smile"

"Every silver lining’s got a touch of grey”

"Just like Frankenstein.  Clank your chains, count your change and try to walk the line."

"Once in a while you can get shown the light in strangest of places if you look at it right"

Fare Thee Well.......

Another Day, Another Dead Rock Star

Greetings faithful readers.......

I've been away for a bit, but soon to return.   While I was away, there have been a slew of rock and roll deaths.

Upcoming posts will feature a bunch of them.

Spoiler alert - I never really cared for The Cars and Eddie Money always made me cringe.
They will not be featured because:

A.  Not a Fan
B.  Have no records by either of them
 and
C. Don't have any embarrassing (for them) anecdotes.  Never saw Eddie Money live so I don't have embarrassing anecdotes about my past either.

 Just because someone dies doesn't make them suddenly awesome.    Death to rock stars is now coming from age rather than misadventure.   Unfortunately, many of them have been out of the limelight for many years having never achieved mega stardom.  They deserve a mention in my book.