Happy Trails, Peter Brown
Sean MurphyNever heard of him? Don't worry, you've heard him, nevertheless. Unless you've managed to go your entire life without listening to Cream, and if you've never heard "Sunshine of Your…
National Poetry Month Meets Howlin’ Wolf
National Poetry Month rolls on. Thanks again to Decolonial Passage for publishing "Howlin' Wolf's Harp" last summer. This one appears in Rhapsodies in Blue (and I read it last week…
Jeff Beck: The Guitar Grandmaster
As impossible at it is to believe Jeff Beck has died (aged 78), it’s just as difficult to fathom that he was with us in the first place. If you’re…
Sitting on Top of the World: An Appreciation of Ginger Baker
Of course his father was a bricklayer, and it could be said that his son, born Peter Edward Baker, was one as well. But instead of a shovel he picked…
Robert Johnson: The Centennial of an American Genius (Revisited)
(For the remainder of the month, I’ll be revisiting some personal favorites, all of which are available in my recently-released collection, MURPHY’S LAW VOL. ONE, which is available NOW!) Does any…
The Cream of Cream: Their 10 Best Songs (Revisited)
In honor of Jack Bruce’s recent passing, and as a companion piece to my tribute to the late bassist, here’s my take on the ten best Cream songs. This list…
Jack Bruce: The Thinking Man’s Golden God (One Year Later)
The recently-departed Jack Bruce could have had no complaints. He made history, he made records that made people happy, and he made some money along the way. Still, as one-third…
R.I.P. Glenn C. (Remembering Glenn Cornick and Jethro Tull’s ‘Stand Up’)
Glenn Cornick was, of course, Jethro Tull's first bassist. He and Ian did not get along (something that can be said for most of the other 10,000 ex-Tull musicians) so…
God Is Dead (Again): Remembering Stevie Ray Vaughan
Twenty-five years ago today. First day of classes, junior year. Standing in the bathroom with too much shaving cream and not enough whiskers, getting geared up for another semester of…
No, Really: Jeff Beck is God (Revisited)
6/15: Happy 71st birthday to the great Jeff Beck. 3/11: Since it happened to be Keith Relf’s birthday, it seemed appropriate to pay tribute to him on Tuesday. Plus, as…