Posts Tagged: free music downloads
Burl Ives: Great Singer, Great Actor
Burl Ives, who had one of the great voices of the twentieth century, was identified with old ballads and other forms of Americana. He was a folk singer, but not in the mode of the protest music that arose during the 1960s.
Above he sings A Little Bitty Tear alone and is joined by Johnny Cash for a medley on the latter’s show.
Ives also was an accomplished actor. Since there isn’t too much video of him singing, I’m embedding a scene featuring Ives and Paul Newman from the film version of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. It’s evident that Ives was a talented guy.
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Happy Birthday, Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt would have been 86 years old today. Above, she sings I Want to Be Evil, in a video that has one odd camera angle after another. Here is more on the sultry singer.
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Emmylou Harris: Pancho and Lefty and Blue Kentucky Girl
Pancho and Lefty
A very comprehensive collection of information about Emmylou Harris is available here. Basic biographical information is available at many places, including Wikipedia:
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released many chart-topping albums and singles over the course of her career, and has won 12 Grammys and numerous other awards.
In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers’ works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including Gram Parsons, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, The Band, Mark Knopfler, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Rodney Crowell, Little Feat, and Neil Young.
Blue Kentucky Girl
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One Site’s Take on 1950
Digital Dream Door is quite a site for music lovers. Here is its take on the top ten songs of 1950. Number 9, of course, is of special note because it became the name of a band that didn’t do too badly.
1. The Fat Man - Fats Domino
2. Please Send Me Someone To Love - Percy Mayfield
3. Teardrops From My Eyes - Ruth Brown
4. Mona Lisa - Nat “King” Cole
5. Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page
6. Long Gone Lonesome Blues - Hank Williams
7. Mardi Gras In New Orleans - Professor Longhair
8. I’m Movin’ On - Hank Snow
9. Rollin’ Stone - Muddy Waters
10. Double Crossing Blues - Johnny Otis (Little Esther & the Robins)
Here is Patti Page’s Tennessee Waltz. I was surprised by how slow it is compared to subsequent versions. But it’s beautiful.
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My Stapler Sounds Like Smoke on the Water
CNET has a story about a machine that elicits sounds from objects. Designer Dennis Paul calls the device the Instrument for the Sonification of Everyday Things.
Here is how it works, according to the story:
The machine rotates objects, repeatedly scans their surfaces, and translates the measured distance values into audible frequencies, notes, and scales using a custom-programmed translator and controller module. Silhouettes of the goods define the loops.
The story doesn’t say whether Paul is aware that he and the folks he works with are the first John Cage cover band.
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Eleni Mandell: Magic Summertime
During an NPR interview, Eleni Mandell discussed the influence Tom Waits has had on her song writing. She apparently went somewhere else for voice lessons.
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Jethro Tull: Locomotive Breath
The challenge of featuring super bands or A-list performers is that folks who are familiar with them know far more than I do and those that don’t — despite the high profile they have attained — don’t care. Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson don’t sneak up on anyone.
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Patsy Cline: Crazy
Yesterday, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum launched a Patsy Cline exhibition that will run until next June.
The charismatic Cline’s best known song is Crazy. It was written by the great Willie Nelson.
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