Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band

Brothers August Darnell and Stoney Browder wove warm calypso breezes, Cab Calloway swing and disco sprung rhythms together, filled it with wise guy humor and a top notch "girl singer" in the wonderful Cory Daye, and had a real nice run in this and their next incarnation as Kid Creole and the Coconuts. And they are my favorite late 70's guilty pleasure.

Cherchez la Femme

I'll Play the Fool

Phoebe Snow sends me

Phoebe Snow was a unique and completely distinctive singer. She overcame a great deal and sacrificed much of her career to care for her severely brain damaged child, whom she survived by only a few years.  Phoebe Snow is a reason to believe.

The world changed forever the day Bret Maverick Sent The Man With No Name Packing

Many lives changed that fateful day Bret Maverick whupped The Man With No Name and followed it up by gunning down John Wesley Hardin in the streets of The Warner Brothers film lot. 

Duke Ellington Rides the A Train

Take the "A" Train (1943) 

Branded!

First, let's get one myth straight: there is no way on earth that Chuck Connors could have possibly run away at Bitter Creek 'cause anyone with a face like that is obviously made entirely of stone, thus rendering the physical act of running a complete impossibility.

What is never explained however, is how the Big Boss Soldier can snap a sword in half without wearing gloves and not slice his hand to ribbons. Of such things, true myths endure. 

 The Theme please, Johnny Western!

All but one man died,

There at Bitter Creek,

And they say he ran away ...

Branded!

Marked with a coward's shame.

What do you do when you're branded,

Will you fight for your name?

He was innocent,

Not a charge was true,

But the world will never know ...

Branded!

Scorned as the one who ran.

What do you do when you're branded,

And you know you're a man?

And wherever you go for the rest of your life

You must prove ...

You're a man!

Ella Fitzgerald and Nat 'King' Cole are alright with me

Nat 'King' Cole and Ella Fitzgerald breaking racial barriers in entertainment on the Nat King Cole Show in 1949. 

Alberta Hunter in Concert 1983

Assuming introductions are in order, Alberta Hunter was a singer/composer who worked with Louis Armstrong, Eubie Blake, Fats Waller, Bessie Smith and Josephine Baker primarily in Europe from the 1920’s through the 50’s. She then retired and returned to NYC to care for her ailing mother.  For the next 25 years, she worked as a nurse until her retirement at age 80. She was “rediscovered” at 82 and resumed recording and performing until her death at 88.  That’s the surface tale.  It doesn't begin to touch upon the great heart, soul, wit, wisdom and sheer fun that infused her art. 
Each of the clips below lead to a worthy glimpse of this truly delightful woman.

Alberta Hunter - My Castle's Rockin' Documentary Intro

My Castle's Rockin'

In Concert 1983 Part 1 - When You're Smiling

Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out

Part 3 Two Fisted Double Jointed Man

Part 4 My Handy Man 

Im Having a Good Time/Darktown Strutters Ball

The Proud and Humble Imelda May

With a voice like hers and a band like this, Imelda May has a lot to be proud of. Stay humble, girl. 

Proud and Humble

Johnny's Got a Boom Boom

Many questions had to be answered before I grew up to be a man

A whole lot of questions had to be answered before I grew up to be a man. Like, would I be condemned to live out my life wearing prison shirts like the ones the Beach Boys were decked out in?

The Gospel according to Mitt; a complete and accurate translation

The Gospel according to Mitt; a complete and accurate translation, 
And I quote: 

"What I said and what I meant to say and what you think you heard me say is not what I think I said but that depends on when and where you heard me say it and what you really heard me say is not what I wanted to say because I have no idea what I really meant to say in the first place so, even if you are sure you know what I said when I did say whatever it is that you think I said it, which I didn't say, by the way, it doesn't mean that is what I meant to say whenever you heard me say it because all I ever really mean to say is that I do so want to be President because my daddy never was and if you ever figure out that is what I really mean and all I have to say, I'll just shake it all up and start over because it's just etch-a-sketch to me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I going to give my hair a "little dab'll-do ya" and then give y'all a l'il ol' shuck and jive. Mind if I warble a little patriotic tune?" - Mitt Romney (well, that's what I heard him say)
HL March 23, 2012

Who Won Mitt's Bet?

Remember Mitt's proposed $10,000. bet with Rick Perry? Sure you do. Remember what it was about? In a Republican presidential debate on Oct. 11, 2011, Texas Gov. Rick Perry attacked Romney saying that in his book No Apology, Romney called the Massachusetts health care reform a model for the nation.

Perry’s accusation arose from a deletion between the first, hardcover edition of Romney’s book and the later paperback version.

Here is their exchange:

Perry: (speaking like a real dumb guy) "I read your first book, and it said in there that your mandate in Massachusetts, which should be the model for the country — and I know it came out of the reprint of the book, but, you know, I’m just saying, you were for individual mandates, my friend."

Romney: (Speaking like a guy about to take advantage of a real dumb guy)  "You know what, you’ve raised that before, Rick. And you’re simply wrong."

Then they spat at each other a bit before Mittsy rose to the occasion and upped the ante from a cat fight to a $10,000.00 bet - for which he didn't have to bother checking his wallet. Perry refused the bet because when he balanced his checkbook that morning, he moved a decimal point 8 spaces to the right and wasn't sure he could cover.

So. Here’s the text of each edition:

HARDCOVER: "We can accomplish the same thing for everyone in the country, and it can be done without letting government take over health care." (emphasis added).

PAPERBACK: "And it was done without government taking over health care."

Now, between publication of the hard cover and paper editions, health care passed but without the individual mandate. 

What remains unclear is why the line, “We can accomplish the same thing for everyone in the country.”was removed. Was it too suggestive that Romney favored federal, individual mandates and then, afraid of the backlash, backed off and just took the sentence out of the paper edition? Or, does the phrase, “the same thing” refer to the preceding phrase “portable, affordable health insurance,” and not the individual mandate or the entire law? If so, then was the passage intended to be an argument for the Massachusetts plan to be used as a model for other states to follow but not as a federal mandate?

You would think we could look to his record for a clue, wouldn't you? Aah, but he wouldn't be The Willow if it were that easy. Instead, he's doing a USane(?)-Bolt away from his own Romney care while lashing out with all the wet noodles at his command against the Health Care plan that has been passed into law and been deemed constitutional. (Let's see how far you get with that repeal nonsense when the entitlements really start to kick in and folks realize and want to keep the benefits they are receiving, smart guy).

After all his years' on the public scene, just as with everything else connected with his political convictions and principles, we are still left to ponder; just who is this Willow fella and to which windmill does he truly bow? 

Oh yeah. And who won the bet? I don't know...that's why I'm asking you. More importantly, does Mitt?

3/23/12 updated 9/6/12

Mitt hits the Etch-a-Sketch button one more time (Yawn)

Previously on Mitt the Willow:
Asked if he was concerned Romney might alienate general election voters with some of the hard-right positions taken during the primary to appeal to conservatives, Romney Communications Director, Eric Fehrnstrom, said, "Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch-a-Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all of over again." March 22, 2012

Now, I am willing to concede that candidates routinely moderate positions while moving through campaigns and that Fehrnstrom may have been referring to changes in strategy, donor bases and even (oops!) staff, but gosh and golly gee, could there have been a more poorly conceived, inept, untimely and foolish metaphor for a candidate of whom even that noted bastion of conservative piety, Britt Hume, has observed, "you're only allowed so many flips before people question your character." HL March, 2012

The Sketch: "If I’m the godfather of this thing, then it gives me the right to kill it. And if I’m the president, I will get rid of Obamacare. I will stop it in its tracks on Day One, and get it repealed." Mitt Romney, Over and over and over again. 
The Etch: "I said we're going to replace Obamacare and I'm replacing it with my own plan. And even in Massachusetts when I was governor, our plan there deals with pre-existing conditions and with young people." Romney, September 9, 2012 

Which brings us to last week's episode:
THE SHAKEUP: "I have experience in health care reform. Now and then the president says I'm the grandfather of Obamacare. I don't think he meant that as a compliment but I'll take it. This was during my primary, we thought it might not be helpful". September 21, 2012

As the campaign deepens and the election looms, Mitt the Willow continues to come into focus as a man without a true ideological center, someone who will say whatever is expedient to get elected before he figures out what he wants to do or bothers to tell us what that might be. 

To be continued again, I'm sure ... 

Well, whatd'ya know? Yesterday, His Willowness pointed to the health care reform law enacted during his "just  passing through on my way to the White House and I need a piece of signature legislation to brag about" tenure as Governor of Massachusetts, as proof of his empathy and care for the American people.

In an interview with NBC News, he was asked how he could prove he understands the lives and tribulations of middle class Americans. The Willow bowed deeply and said, "I think throughout this campaign as well, we talked about my record in Massachusetts, don't forget -- I got everybody in my state insured. ' 'One hundred percent of the kids in our state had health insurance. I don't think there's anything that shows more empathy and care about the people of this country than that kind of record."

Well, now we know. You (helped) pass a law that you then disavowed and now want to embrace. The Tea Party must be so pleased. Shake it up, baby. Etch-a-Sketch ...Shake it up, baby! September 27, 2012

Spring Comes To Murray Hill by Ogden Nash

Spring Comes To Murray Hill by Ogden Nash

I sit in an office at 244 Madison Avenue

And say to myself You have a responsible job havenue?

Why then do you fritter away your time on this doggerel?

If you have a sore throat you can cure it by using a good goggeral,

If you have a sore foot you can get it fixed by a chiropodist,

And you can get your original sin removed by St. John the Bopodist,

Why then should this flocculent lassitude be incurable?

Kansas City, Kansas, proves that even Kansas City needn't always be

Missourible.

Up up my soul! This inaction is abominable.

Perhaps it is the result of disturbances abdominable.

The pilgrims settled Massachusetts in 1620 when they landed on a stone

hummock.

Maybe if they were here now they would settle my stomach.

Oh, if I only had the wings of a bird

Instead of being confined on Madison Avenue I could soar in a jiffy to

Second or Third.

Stevie Wonder and Tom Jones Share a Place in the Sun

Stevie Wonder and Tom Jones Share a Place in the Sun

Emily Dickinson Embraced Madness in the Spring

A Little Madness in the Spring

by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

A little Madness in the Spring

Is wholesome even for the King,

But God be with the Clown --

Who ponders this tremendous scene --

This whole Experiment of Green --

As if it were his own!

Lee Remick reads Emily Dickinson's poems, "This Is My Letter to the World" and "Dying" with an introduction by John Gielgud.

This is my letter to the world,

That never wrote to me,-

The simple news that Nature told,

With tender majesty

Her message is committed

To hands I cannot see;

For love of her, sweet countrymen,

Judge tenderly of me!

Dying

I heard a fly buzz when I died;

The stillness round my form

Was like the stillness in the air

Between the heaves of storm.

The eyes beside had wrung them dry,

And breaths were gathering sure

For that last onset, when the king

Be witnessed in his power.

I willed my keepsakes, signed away

What portion of me I

Could make assignable, —and then

There interposed a fly,

With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz,

Between the light and me;

And then the windows failed, and then

could not see to see.

Tim Hardin deserved better.

Tim Hardin wrote sad, broken little tunes and sang them with the heart breaking resignation of one who knew his gift was fragile and his time was brief.  He is remembered today, if at all, as the writer of Reason to Believe and If Were a Carpenter. He deserved better than being saddled with Twiggy. 

Misty Roses

Tim Hardin carrying Twiggy -The Lady Came From Baltimore

If I Were a Carpenter 

How Can We Hang On To a Dream?

Black Sheep Boy

Reason to Believe

Smuggling Man

The Crucial Struggle of Our Age

The crucial struggle of our age is whether the collective will that aspires to the nobler impulses of humanity are powerful enough to prevail over the residual savagery that wallows in unreasoning bigotry, hatred, brutality and the inevitable descent into chaos and decay to which that leads. Which of these impulses prevails will be determined in this, or some succeeding generation, by whether we, as individuals and through our representative institutions and governments, identify and honor a common commitment to justice and equality founded and forged upon a mutual determination to elevate civilization beyond barbarism. 

HL 3/2012

UPDATE May 3, 2017

The way I figure it, when Armageddon arrives, the final battle between the forces of good and evil will be waged by the last remaining earthly champion and villain. At this critical crossroads in our teetering civilization, the leading contenders to represent the forces of evil are Darth Vader, who, being not of this world, is disqualified from destroying it, the usual suspect, Kaiser Sozee, in recognition of his greatest trick, convincing the world the devil does not exist, and of course, The Thug Who Trumps Them All who, as far as I can tell is that very devil.

Who among us will champion the good guys is presently unknown, but I nominate The Lone Ranger since he never hangs around to be thanked and that will come in handy since there will be no one else left to applaud after he whips Thugnut Trump's ass. Hi-Ho, good guys!

John Coltrane, Stan Getz and Oscar Peterson in performance - 1960

John Coltrane, Stan Getz and Oscar Peterson in concert -1960. 

Miles Davis and the Gil Evans Orchestra - 1959

"I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up and see the light in the morning. Then, I'm grateful." - Miles Davis

The Making of Playing for Change

Imagine Playing for Change

When music strikes a chord in your heart, it’s a reminder that somewhere, in another time and another place, another heart understood yours. 

Sitting on the Dock of the Bay Playing for Change

"When music strikes a chord in your heart, it’s a reminder that somewhere, in another time and another place, another heart understood yours." HL  April 2009

Playing for Change is a multimedia music project, created by the American producer and sound engineer Mark Johnson, that seeks to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. Playing For Change also created a separate non-profit organization called the Playing For Change Foundation, which builds music schools for children around the world.

Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich in Death of a Salesman

Recently, I was reminded that if I had any hope of revisiting books I have loved, or ever reading some of the many I missed, it was time to start turning the pages.  Fortunately, in this age, there are so many more ways to do that beyond seeking out lost or dusty tomes.  Some of these are even more illuminating than what my pedestrian imagination could have conjured.

In this heartbreaking clip from The Death of a Salesman, Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich tear open the soul of the text and force us to confront the terrible underside of the heart of the American Dream.

The Nicholas Brothers in what Fred Astaire called the greatest dance sequence ever filmed.

Presenting from the 1937 film, Stormy Weather, The Nicholas Brothers with Cab Calloways's Orchestra, in what Fred Astaire called the greatest dance sequence ever filmed. 

Rush Limbaugh, meet Maya Angelou.

Rush Limbaugh, misogynistic cretin; meet Maya Angelou, phenomenal woman.
March 8, 2012

Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis Jr. were s'wonderful

Ella And Sammy swing Gershwin's 'S Wonderful

Esperanza Spalding is simply too great a talent to ignore.

Esperanza Spalding shares William Blake's "Fly", strolls with Stevie Wonder through Johnny Mercer's "Midnight Sun" and walks in Wayner Shorter's "Footprints", all the while proving that she is simply too great a talent to ignore. 

Question Mark of the Mysterians was always a big ? to me

On the visual evidence, he evolved from one sort of poseur to another,  shaking that rhythm-a-thing down from his rocking' shoulders to his rollin' ding-a-ling. (Don't be afraid, children, it's only rock and roll.)   

Give the man credit. He got a lotta miles out of a couple of chords, a cheesy organ, sunglasses and a sneer Jagger could envy and Alice Cooper would copy. 

1966

1998

1966

Oya Como Va performed by the Mambo King, Tito Puente!

Tito Puente (1923-2000) was a true mambo king and a crucial link to the cross over appeal of Latin-Cuban music. In a career that spanned nearly fifty years, his joyous, celebratory music influenced musicians of every genre, perhaps most notably, for rock audiences, Carlos Santana. This is the final live performance of his composition, Oye Como Va.

What'cha gonna do when the red, red, robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along?

Why, Live Love, Laugh and Be Happy,  of  course!

The Red, Red Robin was composed in 1926 by Harry Woods, who also wrote "I'm Looking Over a 4-Leaf Clover", and "Try a Little Tenderness" made famous by Frank Sinatra and Otis Redding.  

"Robin" is best known through recordings by Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and Doris Day. As a tune, it may be a trifle, but it's a sweet one worthy of being trotted out every spring when the red, red Robin comes bob bob ... ah, you know the rest.

Even Jimmy Page was once 14 years old!

A 14 year old Jimmy Page being interrogated by a skeptical Scotland Yard about his plans to devote his career to chemical research. 

Page under investigation at age 19

Santana at Tanglewood 8/18/70 was such a night

Santana at Tanglewood, August 18, 1970

40,000 Headmen playing in Traffic hit the dirt - 1972

I haven't got a clue what 40,000 headmen means and I bet these guys don't either, but it sure sounds cool.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss. Thank you for the places we've gone.

A selection of my favorite Seussisms

“In my world, everyone's a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies!”

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

“If I were invited to a dinner party with my characters, I wouldn't show up.”

“‎Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen Hard. Practice wellness. Play with abondon. Laugh. Choose with no regrets. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is”

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”

“I do not like green eggs and ham I do not like them Sam-I-Am.”

"And today the Great Yertle, that Marvelous he

Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see."

“I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.”

“And the turtles, of course...all the turtles are free, as turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.”

"All ready to put up the tents for my circus.

I think I will call it the Circus McGurkus.

"And NOW comes an act of Enormous Enormance!

No former performer's performed this performance!" If I ran the Circus

“A person's a person, no matter how small.”

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”

“Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.”

“From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!”

“I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one-hundred percent!”

“Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them.”

“You are you. Now, isn't that pleasant?”

 “When beetles fight these battles in a bottle with their paddles

and the bottle's on a poodle and the poodle's eating noodles...

...they call this a muddle puddle tweetle poodle beetle noodle

bottle paddle battle.”

“Big Z, little Z, what begins with Z? I do.

I'm a zizzer zazzer zuzz, as you can plainly see.”

“All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something you'll be quite a lot!”

 “ASAP. Whatever that means. It must mean, 'Act swiftly awesome pacyderm!”

“I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.”

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”

“Look at me!

Look at me!

Look at me NOW!

It is fun to have fun

But you have to know how.”

“And this mess is so big

And so deep and so tall,

We cannot pick it up.

There is no way at all!”

“Writing simply means no dependent clauses, no dangling things, no flashbacks, and keeping the subject near the predicate. We throw in as many fresh words we can get away with. Simple, short sentences don't always work. You have to do tricks with pacing, alternate long sentences with short, to keep it vital and alive.... Virtually every page is a cliffhanger--you've got to force them to turn it."”

“I’m glad we had the times together just to laugh and sing a song, seems like we just got started and then before you know it, the times we had together were gone.”

― Dr. Seuss

The Monkees' Davy Jones receives musical advice from Frank Zappa

The Monkees' Davy Jones receives musical advice from Frank Zappa. This is an excerpt from the movie Head, co-produced and written by Jack Nicholson. As far as I can tell, Head is the most beloved rock movie this side of A Hard Day's Night that no one has ever actually seen.