The Band of Heaven

[Maria]

I have a fond memory of making out with my future husband in the front seat of his car.... and "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" coming on the radio and sending us both into fits of laughter.

[Frelga]

RIP I remember listening to him, back in the days of youth. I think it was one of the first records I heard that had stereo effects.

Eta: oh. Anti-vax, anti-restriction stance. Recently seriously ill with covid. Cause of death and vaccination status unknown.

If I Die, I Die’: Meat Loaf Spurned COVID Rules Before Death

Eta 2: cause of death was covid.

[Impenitent]

Vale Archie Roach. A remarkable musician, songwriter, singer, story-teller and powerful national truth-teller, and respected elder of the Gunditjmara Bungjurong people.

His name is synonymous with the fight for justice for the stolen generations, his fame beginning in 1990 with the release of 'Took the Children Away' which kick-started the national truth-telling and reconciliation process.

His family has given permission for his name, image and music to be used, so that his legacy will live on, and so I urge you to listen to this gentle, heartbreaking, powerful song.

[Sunsilver]

So, that happened in Australia as well as North America...
Were there residential schools run by the churches?

[Impenitent]

That, and sent to foster families, some of whom did their ignorant best, but many of whom mistreated the children.

A horrible period of our history - and not that long ago.

[Sunsilver]

Not that long ago here, either. Well, at least the kids that were fostered weren't buried in unmarked graves, as happened with the residential schools here in Canada. :'(

Many children in Canada were adopted by white families. When I was a kid, there was an article in the Toronto Star every week called 'Today' Child', which showed a child available for adoption. I always used to look at this, probably because I was adopted. Many of these children were either Innuit or Indian. And sadly, many of them were suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thank you for sharing, Impy.

[narya]

One more sweet singer gone. This song strays thru my mind every so often, these past 50 years.

Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) sings "Beyond Antares"

[Voronwë the Faithful]

There were days
And there were days
And there were days between
Summer flies and August dies
The world grows dark and mean
Comes the shimmer of the moon
On black infested trees
The singing man is at his song
The holy on their knees
The reckless are out wrecking
The timid plead their pleas
No one knows much more of this
Than anyone can see anyone can see
There were days
And there were days
And there were days besides
When phantom ships with phantom sails
Set to sea on phantom tides
Comes the lightning of the sun
On bright unfocused eyes
The blue of yet another day
A springtime wet with sighs
A hopeful candle lingers
In the land of lullabies
Where headless horsemen vanish
With wild and lonely cries, lonely cries
There were days
And there were days
And there were days I know
When all we ever wanted
Was to learn and love and grow
Once we grew into our shoes
We told them where to go
Walked halfway around the world
On promise of the glow
Walked upon a mountain top
Walked barefoot in the snow
Gave the best we had to give
How much we'll never know we'll never know
There were days
And there were days
And there were days between
Polished like a golden bowl
The finest ever seen
Hearts of Summer held in trust
Still tender, young and green
Left on shelves collecting dust
Not knowing what they mean
Valentines of flesh and blood
As soft as velveteen
Hoping love would not forsake
The days that lie between lie between
There were days
And there were days
And there were days between
Polished like a golden bowl
The finest ever seen
Hearts of Summer held in trust
Still tender, young and green
Left on shelves collecting dust
Not knowing what they mean
Valentines of flesh and blood
Still tender, young and green
Hoping love would not forsake
The days that lie between lie between

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Rest in Peace, Jeff Beck. One of the greatest guitarists of all time.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Almost cut my hair
It happened just the other day
It's gettin' kinda long
I coulda said it wasn't in my way
But I didn't and I wonder why
I feel like letting my freak flag fly
Yes, I feel like I owe it to someone
Must be because I had a flu for Christmas
And I'm not feeling up to par
It increases my paranoia
Like looking at my mirror and seeing a police car
But I'm not giving in an inch to fear
'Cause I promised myself this year
I feel like I owe it to someone
When I finally get myself together
I'm going to get down in that sunny southern weather
And I'll find a place inside to laugh
Separate the wheat from the chaff
I feel like I owe it
To someone, yeah

Be at peace, old friend.

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/dav ... dC9HYVOgNM

[Sunsilver]

One of my all-time favourite YouTube videos features a reunion of the core members of the Byrds, including David Crosby, along with Bob Dylan at a Roy Orbison tribute concert.

Notice how when Dylan comes out (1.35 into the video), he and Crosby just start harmonizing together, totally unrehearsed! I've heard Dylan trying to harmonize with other groups (Peter, Paul and Mary, on Blowing in the Wind) and it Did.Not.Go.Well. But Crosby definitely had a gift, or else Dylan had learned a thing or two since Blowing in the Wind came out those many years ago!

R.I.P. David!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

More sad news.

Tina Turner, unstoppable superstar whose hits included ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It,’ dead at 83

[RoseMorninStar]

Tina was a dynamo. Watching her perform, in heels no less, was always amazing. A beautiful & talented woman.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

And extraordinarily resilient, strong, and kind, by all accounts.

[Sunsilver]

Tony Bennett has left us, after an exceptionally long and fruitful career. He bridged generations and genres, and continued to sing even after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. When Columbia Records published Tony Bennett - The Complete Collection in 2011, it comprised 73 CDs and 3 DVDs, and Bennett's career was by no means over yet! He did not retire until early 2022 at the age of 95. His son David, who was also his manager, said his increasing frailty was the reason for his retirement not his lack of desire to continue to perform. Even after his retirement, he continued to get together with his musical director/pianist to rehearse, 3 times a week.

He was also an extremely talented artist, exhibiting his paintings in numerous galleries around the world.

Joe Biden paid tribute to him on his FB page:

President Joe Biden

For more than 70 years, Tony Bennett didn’t just sing the classics – he himself was an American classic. Resisting the pull to adjust his style to fit in with the times, his distinct voice gave melody and rhythm about the good life, how the best is yet to come, the way you look tonight, and leaving your heart in San Francisco.

Starting out as a singing waiter in New York City, he became one of America's most beloved performers, selling tens of millions of records and winning over generations of fans. He always found new audiences and collaborators to enchant – the mark of a truly timeless artist.

Along the way, he lived history. He helped liberate prisoners at a subcamp of Dachau. He joined the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery. He performed for Nelson Mandela, John F. Kennedy, and Queen Elizabeth II, and recorded music with everyone from the Count Basie Orchestra to Lady Gaga. Bob Hope gave him his stage name. Frank Sinatra was his mentor. There's no doubt about it – Tony Bennett's life was legendary. And his contributions to the arts in America will endure.

Jill and I have been fans of Tony's music for a long time – not only because of his beautiful voice, but also the joy that he brought to everything he did. We send our deepest condolences to his family and fans around the world.

[Sunsilver]

Biden mentions his service in WWII, something a lot of people don't know about him:

Benedetto was drafted into the United States Army in November 1944, during the final stages of World War II.[12][25] He did basic training at Fort Dix and Fort Robinson as part of becoming an infantry rifleman...Processed through the huge Le Havre replacement depot, in January 1945, he was assigned as a replacement infantryman to the 255th Infantry Regiment of the 63rd Infantry Division, a unit filling in for the heavy losses suffered in the Battle of the Bulge.[27] He moved across France and later into Germany.[12] As March 1945 began, he joined the front line of what he would later describe as a "front-row seat in hell".[27]

As the German Army was pushed back to its homeland, Benedetto and his company saw bitter fighting in cold winter conditions, often hunkering down in foxholes as German 88 mm guns fired on them.[28] At the end of March, they crossed the Rhine and entered Germany, engaging in dangerous house-to-house, town-after-town fighting to clean out German soldiers;[28] during the first week of April, they crossed the Kocher River, and by the end of the month reached the Danube.[29] During his time in combat, Benedetto narrowly escaped death several times.[12] The experience made him a pacifist;[12] he would later write, "Anybody who thinks that war is romantic obviously hasn't gone through one,"[27] and later say, "It was a nightmare that's permanent. I just said, 'This is not life. This is not life.'"[30] At the war's conclusion he was involved in the liberation of the Kaufering concentration camp, a subcamp of Dachau, near Landsberg, where some American prisoners of war from the 63rd Division had also been held.[29] He later wrote in his autobiography that "I saw things no human being should ever have to see."[31]

Benedetto stayed in Germany as part of the occupying force but was assigned to an informal Special Services band unit that would entertain nearby American forces.[12] His dining with a black friend from high school—at a time when the Army was still racially segregated—led to his being demoted and reassigned to Graves Registration Service duties.[32] Subsequently, he sang with the 314th Army Special Services Band under the stage name Joe Bari[33] (a name he had started using before the war, chosen after the city and province in Italy, and as a partial anagram of his family origins in Calabria).[34] He played with many musicians who would have post-war careers.[33]

After the war, he struggled to launch his career as a singer. He studied the Bel canto style of singing at The American Theatre Wing, and cut several records under the name Bari, but they failed to sell.

In 1949, Pearl Bailey became aware of his talent, and asked him to open for her. It was the big break he needed:

She had invited Bob Hope to the show. Hope decided to take Benedetto on the road with him and simplified his name to Tony Bennett.[37]

Soon he was signed to Columbia Records, and his career began to take off.

He was not afraid to stand up for his beliefs. He marched in Martin Luther King's civil rights marches, and said Bush's invasion of Iraq was a mistake. When criticized for this, he replied: "There is simply no excuse for terrorism and the murder of the nearly 3,000 innocent victims of the 9/11 attacks on our country. My life experiences, ranging from the Battle of the Bulge to marching with Martin Luther King, made me a life-long humanist and pacifist, and reinforced my belief that violence begets violence and that war is the lowest form of human behavior."[91]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Bennett

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Rest in peace, Robbie.

[narya]

Robertson was one of my brother Gregg's favorite artists. Gregg has Robertson in heavy rotation on his radio streaming service right now. (Streaming service here: https://www.undercurrentsradio.net/listen)

Here's a two hour tribute by Paul Ingles on The Lasting Impact of Robbie Robertson: https://exchange.prx.org/playlists/405140

One of Robertson's songs:

[Voronwë the Faithful]