Emerson Hart of Ezra Ray Hart Rocking the 90s and the Holidays by Jay S. Jacobs If you were going to a lab to cobble together a 90s alt-rock supergroup, it would be hard to come out with a stronger lineup than Ezra Ray Hart. The band is made up of the lead singers of … Continue reading
Stephen Bishop – THIMK (Life’s A Bish) Stephen Bishop has had a long, impressive career as a singer / songwriter, even if he never quite became a superstar. Now, nearly fifty years after his breakthrough album Careless (1976), which spawned the big hits “On and On” and “Save It For a Rainy Day,” Bishop is … Continue reading
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. The 5th Dimension Belong In the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame By Mark Mussari One day in the middle of Woodstock – the three-day musical extravaganza that defined a generation in the summer of 1969 – the massive crowd broke spontaneously into a rousing rendition of “Aquarius,” the seminal … Continue reading
Jimmy Webb’s New Memoir The Cake and the Rain Is a Rollicking, Musical Romp by Mark Mussari “There were two of me,” Jimmy Webb states at one point in his highly engaging new memoir The Cake and the Rain (St. Martin’s Press). Truer words could not be spoken by the composer of some of contemporary music’s … Continue reading
GLEN CAMPBELL – I’LL BE ME (2015) Featuring Glen Campbell, Kim Campbell, Ashley Campbell, Cal Campbell, Shannon Campbell, T.J. Kuenster, Ry Jarred, Siggy Sjursen, Kiefo Nilsson, Ronald Petersen, Bobbie Gale, Jay Leno, Jimmy Webb, Bruce Springsteen, The Edge, Paul McCartney, Blake Shelton, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Steve Martin, Chad Smith, Kathy … Continue reading
Denny Tedesco, Hal Blaine and Don Randi Building Up the Wrecking Crew by Jay S. Jacobs The Wrecking Crew was the house band for an entire generation. But chances are, you’ve never heard of them. The Wrecking Crew was a loose collective of studio musicians who played on many of the biggest hits of the … Continue reading
THE WRECKING CREW (2015) Featuring Brian Wilson, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Tommy Tedesco, Hal Blaine, Don Randi, Carol Kaye, Joe Osborn, Earl Palmer, Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, Herb Alpert, Roger McGuinn, Dick Clark, Jimmy Webb, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, Bones Howe, Lou Adler, H.B. Barnum, Al Casey, Snuff Garrett, Larry Knechtel, Larry Levine, Lew McCreary, Bill … Continue reading
Jimmy Webb Still On the Line by Mark Mussari About fifteen years ago, one chilly autumnal night, I was in a coffee house in Lahaska, Pennsylvania when a young man — no more than eighteen — suddenly sat down at an upright piano. “This is an old pop song,” he announced in an apologetic tone. … Continue reading
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. The Many Faces of Love by Mark Mussari For Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., the music never ends. The charismatic duo, whose instantly recognizable voices helped to make the 5th Dimension one of the pop era’s most revered vocal groups, has been married for almost 40 years. In … Continue reading
Michael McDonald – The Ultimate Collection (Warner Brothers/Rhino) It makes perfect sense, somehow, that the cover of this album has a near black and white closeup of Michael McDonald. The only color that really grabs you in the shockingly limpid blue pool of the singer’s eyes (and I type that with a staunch record of heterosexuality, to … Continue reading
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