Ivan May

I grew up with a father who owned many ELO albums when he was my age. As a result of this I have inherited the "ELO fanatic" gene from him. Their earliest albums are really excellent, especially the tracks Kuiama and their cover of Roll Over Beethoven from the second album. But it is albums like Eldorado and Out Of The Blue that made them global superstars, and deservedly so. As a matter of fact, I played ELO 2, On The Third Day and Eldorado as tribute to the late, great Richard Tandy. At least now he, Kelly Groucutt, and Michael Edwards are playing some ELO songs in heaven right now.

“One of the most successful instrumentalists in rock history”: Duane Eddy, rock guitar pioneer, dies at 86 Hugely influential to the likes of George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and John Fogerty, the Gretsch-wielding legend was known for his unmistakable, twanging tone and smash instrumental hits like Rebel Rouser. Duane Eddy, a pioneer of rock guitar famous for his twanging sound, and iconic, era-defining instrumentals like Rebel Rouser, has died at 86, the Arizona Republic reports. Eddy passed away at his home in Franklin, Tennessee, surrounded by family members. Hugely influential to generations of rock guitar players, Eddy helped define an era, and establish the electric guitar as an instrument with a voice all its own. Born in Corning, New York in 1938, Eddy took up the guitar at a young age. Shortly after his family's move to Arizona in 1951, Eddy met a popular local DJ who would play a critical role in his career, Lee Hazlewood. In high school, Eddy formed a country duo, Jimmy & Duane, with a classmate. Chet Atkins was a particular influence on Eddy, which led to the latter purchasing Atkins' Gretsch signature model at the age of 19. Eddy would be synonymous with the company for the rest of his life. At Hazlewood's urging, Eddy decided to write an instrumental tune (Hazlewood himself was influenced by the success of the hit instrumental, Raunchy). The result was 1957's Moovin' and Groovin', a minor hit that showcased Eddy's low-end-heavy riff-writing ability. The following year, Eddy crafted the tune that would become his calling card, Rebel Rouser. Aided by Audio Recorders studio's makeshift echo chamber (a 2,000-gallon water tank stationed in the studio's parking lot) and an unforgettable sax solo by Gil Bernal, Rebel Rouser fit the times like a glove. Rebel Rouser, Moovin' and Groovin', and other tunes that showcased Eddy's trademark tone, were grouped together in his 1958 debut album, the hugely successful Have ‘Twangy’ Guitar Will Travel. Over the next five years, Eddy had an astounding run of commercial success, with 16 top 40 hits. By the mid-1960s, though, the guitarist's commercial success had waned in the face of the post-Beatles explosion, which itself was fueled by many guitarists Eddy had influenced. Still, Eddy remained a stylistic touchstone for multiple generations of guitar players. A testament to the breadth of his influence came in the mid-'80s, when he collaborated with the synth-pop band Art of Noise on a re-working of the Peter Gunn theme (which Eddy had initially recorded in 1960). The recording would go on to become yet another hit for Eddy. In 1987, the guitarist released a self-titled LP that featured – to name just a few guests – John Fogerty, Steve Cropper, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ry Cooder. The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach enlisted Eddy to play on his 2017 solo album, Waiting on a Song, describing his contributions as “magic.” Modern-day blues guitar titan Joe Bonamassa cited Eddy as “one of the most successful instrumentalists in rock history.” “When you get right down to it, I guess I really was the first rock ’n’ roll guitar star, and it really kicked off the guitar instrumental phenomenon,” Eddy told Guitar World in a 2011 interview. “I didn’t know I was going to do all that. I just wanted a hit record, I just wanted to make a living!” Hats-off. I actualy have a friend named Mitch Holder who worked with Duane Eddy on a song called Street Walk. It's an excellent sounding track, too.

My friend Laura bought me this book as a Christmas present last year, and it is a very fascinating book. I really liked hearing the stories about Leon working with Brian Wilson on some of those vintage Beach Boys recordings.

I remember a track from The Rolling Stones album Steel Wheels that featured Keith Richards credited as playing bicycle spokes on one track. I couldn’t tell you which one it was, though.

RIP Mike Pinder, he was pretty much the last surviving member of the group (Justin Hayward and John Lodge were not founding members of the Moodies, having replaced Denny Laine and Clint Warwick respecitvely after their 1965 debut The Magnificant Moodies.) He was not only a Mellotron player, I think Mike Pinder also used a Chamberlin starting on the Seventh Sojourn album (an updated Mellotron which works on the same principle, made by the same company and, yes, sounds the same). That said, Mike Pinder was an excellent keyboard player for Moody Blues, he definitely introduced the Mellotron to a larger audience.

I recently found this interview with dickey that is worth watching (and paying respect to.)

Little Martha is not a well known song by Allman Brothers, but it is a great tune that features Dickey and Duane playing on acoustic guitars. It is also one of the last recordings Duane worked on before his bike accident.

im not sure if anyone here remembers Donna Fargo, but she had such a beautiful, yearning singing voice. She’s a better singer than Dolly Parton, that’s for sure!

I'm starting to like the new and obscure bands you've been talking about, @hurricane hugo Here's a short lived prog rock band Illinois, Starcastle. They were often compared to Yes back in the day, and listening to the multi-tracked vocal harmonies and Gary Strater's heady Rickenbacker bass, you can see why.

I don't know, Timothy B. Schmit's voice still sounded pretty good. Both he and Don Henley's vocals had the highest pitches out of all the singers in The Eagles--but Don Henley can't really sing like he used to. Harmless Dave Spuria even posted on YT that Joe Walsh can't really sing anymore either, but Walsh is more of a guitarist than a singer so go figure.

I'll admit, while I don't care all that much for a lot of Dolly Parton songs, Here You Come Again has always been her best song.

Michael Brecker was also well known for his usage of the Electronic Wind Instrument, or EWI. It was a wind controlled synthesiser, so it was a cross between a synthesiser, and a saxophone, and had up to 8 octaves. Michael started using it in the eighties, and continued to do so up until his death in 2007.

The cover of Brother Louie by Stories is perhaps more well known than the original version by Hot Chocolate. Me? I'm perfectly okay with both versions, however.

I actually have an original pressing of Switched On Bach, I bought it several years ago at a church auction. It still sounds good for a second hand copy!

Yes, the marimba and woodwind sounds you hear on Africa was a GS1 digital synthesiser. David Paich has had a lot of health issues recently which kept him from touring with Toto in recent years. I hope he's feeling a lot better, because he's a great keybaord player.

while not a very well known blues guitarist, Tony Spinner is very good at his craft. Go out and buy some of his records while you can, because he seems like a really talented musician.