LOCK DOWN THEATER NIGHT 26

I'm just finishing reading Never a Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded (by David Hepworth) and there was a lot of shit that prompted memories. It's an account of the year 1971, chronologically January through December, in rock music. He makes a good case for it being an epic year of firsts and big changes. I won't ruin it for you, just take my word for it. One thing he devotes a few pages to was The Concert For Bangladesh, the film, the LP and the concert itself. For those of you who've never heard of it, it was a benefit concert (actually two shows) organized by George Harrison for the war torn Bangladesh, where people were starving to death. He was asked for help by his friend Ravi Shankar and he just dug in, inviting friends Leon Russell, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston and so on. A very crowded stage. Just one of the clips has Harrison, Dylan and Russell singing "Just Like A Woman".

I couldn't find the whole thing but I did find a playlist someone put together at YouTube. There's enough to give you an idea if you want to pursue it, I'm sure it's all over the place online. I've no idea how young you would have to be to not be cognizant of the event. Well, not young. How non-old you would have to be.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Visit:
George Harrison and Friends The Concert For Bangladesh (playlist) at YouTube

PUT SOME BREAD ON YOUR HEAD, MAN

When we are young, we experience all sorts of things for the first time. We learn to walk, talk, poop solo, and so on. That's why we pick up so much, there's a higher percentage of stimulating experiences versus commonplace. I've learned the secret. Doing anything for the first time is a stimulating experience. Think I'm joking? Go to the kitchen right now, and put a slice of bread on your head. Do it. It will likely be the first time in your life that you've experienced a piece of bread on your head. It is heavy man. Do something like that for the first time everyday and you will find the child again.

Today was the first time I bothered to learn anything about the clavinet. I knew that it was a keyboard, and that it was electric. I knew what it sounded like, and that Stevie Wonder used it to great effect on "Superstition". That's about it. I never even bothered to look it up. But earlier today I was wondering why the clavinet was all over the place in the seventies, and then pretty much petered out after that. So I took five minutes out of my very busy schedule to read the Wikipedia entry. The clavinet was only made from 1964 until the early eighties. And done.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Steve Wonder - Superstition mp3 at Ace Terrier (?)
Billy Preston - Outa Space mp3 at ATumblr 
Bill Withers - Us Me Up mp3 at Sacred Fire (?)
Rolling Stones - Heartbreaker (streaming) at YouTube Billy Preston on clavinet

WE FORGOT BILLY PRESTON

By the time he was 16, Billy Preston had already played with Mahalia Jackson, Little Richard and Ray Charles. He recorded the first two songs below around that time, "Greazee, Pts 1 & 2." These are two pretty awesome Hammond jams (with session icon Earl Palmer on drums). By 1969, Preston was buds with the Beatles, which led to the release of his That's The Way God Planned It LP on their Apple label. The band on the LP consisted of Preston on keys, George Harrison and Eric Clapton on guitar, Keith Richards on bass, and Ginger Baker on drums. A Beatle, a Rolling Stone, and two members of Cream. That's just nuts.

From The Concert For Bangladesh. Watch the entire song.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Billy Preston - Greazee Pt 1 mp3 at Funky 16 Corners
Billy Preston - Greazee Pt 2 mp3 at Funky 16 Corners
Billy Preston - That's the Way God Planned It mp3 at Sober Musicians
Billy Preston - Nothing From Nothing mp3 at Dna 9 Sky (?)
Billy Preston - Space Race mp3 at New York Night Train
Vistit:
Billy Preston at Wikipedia

GO FULL SCREEN AND GET DOWN

And to think that Ray Charles has no idea that Billy Preston is doing the electrocuted day-glo Elaine Benes right in front of him. All joking aside, this clip is awesome.

SoulSides found it, all credit and respect to O Wang.