Category Archives: Country Rock

The Perfect Naiveté of “Rocky Mountain High”

“If a bomb hits this building today, John Denver’s back on top.”Paul Simon, during the recording of “We Are the World,” January 28th, 1985 Paul Simon was with the most popular artists of the day, recording a song that would raise millions of dollars to support efforts to feed the hungry in Africa. Paul joinedContinue reading “The Perfect Naiveté of “Rocky Mountain High””

Perfectly Conflicted about The Eagles

“Come on, man. I had a rough night and I hate the f**ckin’ Eagles, man!”The Dude, The Big Lebowski At least on paper, it seems I should love The Eagles. Growing up in the 1970’s, they were everywhere. They were ubiquitous. Alongside acts like The Steve Miller Band, Boston and The Who, they filled stadiumsContinue reading “Perfectly Conflicted about The Eagles”

Great Moments in Musical Generosity

My wife and I would watch G.E. Smith lead the Saturday Night Live band in the late 1980’s and the early 1990’s. We called him “The Sharing Guy.” He was not on the stage to perform for himself as much as he seemed to be there to share the experience of performing with the otherContinue reading “Great Moments in Musical Generosity”

Well…All Right, by Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly will be forever frozen in time. Killed at the tender young age of 22 in a plane crash in the middle of a snow covered Iowa cornfield. Ritchie Valens and J.P (The Big Bopper) Richardson by his side. All on an airplane they should never have been on, taking a trip they neverContinue reading “Well…All Right, by Buddy Holly”

California Dreamin’, by The Mamas & The Papas

As I write this, it is -24° in Chicago. That is not the windchill temperature. That is just the temperature. Usually, at this frozen time of the year, people in the northern half of the United States think of ways to get themselves to somewhere that is warm. An escape from the exhausting wind andContinue reading “California Dreamin’, by The Mamas & The Papas”