Classics Du Jour

When Peter Green passed away, we lost one of the greatest blues/rock electric guitarists of all-time.  Yet despite his major contributions to music and blues styling on the guitar, Peter Green is not a name that many immediately recognize.  In 1967, Peter Green founded the legendary band Fleetwood Mac. But he only led it until … Continue reading Remembering Peter Green →

I recently watched the new docu-series Laurel Canyon.  If you enjoyed Echo in The Canyon (which I thought was extraordinary), Laurel Canyon is a great follow-up.  It’s a two-part television documentary and gives a much broader view of that legendary Laurel Canyon music scene. It includes many more artists than Echo and I learned a … Continue reading Laurel Canyon, The Byrds, Elvis Costello and My Rickenbacker Guitar →

Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution is a traveling exhibit now on display at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.  I was invited to attend the opening ceremony in which there was a panel discussion about Bill’s early years and some of the more memorable moments and concerts he promoted.  Many of … Continue reading Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution →

I was perusing CDJ, when I spied a great interview with Rob Halford by my old friend Jim Villanueva.  New music by iconic veterans is most always something to shout about.  The idea of always “becoming” keeps an artist fresh and vibrant.  A metal Christmas album is perfect, and Celestial delivers on all fronts.  The … Continue reading Rob Halford and the Secret Lives of Metal Gods →

The first time many of us heard about David Gilmour’s overly generous philanthropy was in 2002 when he sold his beautiful London home for approximately four million pounds and handed the cash straight to Crisis, a British charity supporting the homeless.  That blew a lot of people’s minds.  Turns out that David had been giving … Continue reading David Gilmour Guitar Auction Reveals A Lot About The Man →

The early 70’s in the music business seemed like one long party. It’s not that we didn’t do our jobs, it’s just that everything seemed very loose and carefree while we were doing them. We worked hard for sure, but then there would be an afternoon game of bowling in the hallway — stuff like … Continue reading Early 70’s Music Biz Hiring — Pretty Amusing! →

I recently read in our good ol’ CDJ about the retirement plans of Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, Elton John, and Ozzy Osbourne.  The strangest feeling came over me—it just didn’t sound right. I actually am finding it hard to cope with the thought.  Although I am getting older myself and in semi-retirement mode for the … Continue reading Iconic Artists “Retiring” – Doesn’t Sound Right + Funny Paul Simon and Frank Zappa Stories →

I was reading our own web platform, Classics Du Jour, about the “10 Lesser Known Facts About Joni Mitchell…” and at the end was a “related” story about Chris Hillman. I clicked on that and discovered the new Chris Hillman album produced by Tom Petty! I’ve always felt that CDJ served a very meaningful purpose, … Continue reading Rediscovering Chris Hillman →

Jerry Garcia – “Music should be holy. When it becomes a business and the music is designed to make money, then the music doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.” That is a mouthful, and a statement that a philosophy major, like myself could write a term paper on. But don’t worry I won’t be … Continue reading Explaining The Grateful Dead →

Much has been written over the years about Paul McCartney and John Lennon and their songwriting abilities, both separate and as a team. At first, they seemed to be the ones that most people talked about when it came to the discussion of who were the most important Beatles. But as George Harrison’s wonderful solo … Continue reading George Harrison — The Beatles’ Secret Sauce And So Much More! →

Losing Leonard Cohen is a big one.  I had the honor and the pleasure of working with him at Columbia Records off and on for many years.  I was so taken by his art that I used to carry a big blue book of poems he had written and every day I would just flip … Continue reading Fond Memories Of The Great Leonard Cohen →

by Paul Rappaport This post will be a little different as I usually wouldn’t write about something this personal, but I know all the guitar players out there will especially like it.  😉 When I’m not playing with Pink Floyd (ha, ha), I love playing blues in jam sessions and sometimes playing out with friends’ … Continue reading My New Les Paul Guitar: A Personal Journey →