The Leaves

The Leaves, an American garage rock band from the 1960s

The Leaves were an American rock ‘n’ roll ‘garage band’ hailing from San Fernando, California. They started out as one of the first successful ‘garage bands’ of the 1960s, actively performing from the mid-60s through the early ’70s. They were extremely popular on the local music scene in Southern California, and were the first artists to have a hit with Billy Roberts’ now classic song ‘Hey Joe’ in 1966.

Too Many People

The Leaves first hit was the single, Too Many People in 1965. It became huge hit in Southern California and opened doors for them to bigger stages and venues.

Video: Too Many People

Hey Joe

In November 1965, they recorded Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go as a single, and it was released on the Mira Records label.

Photo: Discogs.com


While recording the song, they employed a newly invented guitar effect called the ‘fuzz tone’—using a Maestro FZ-1 pedal created by Gibson Guitar. While The Leaves use of the the fuzz tone was fairly mild, the Rolling Stones would soon feature the Maestro pedal on their huge hit Satisfaction.

Photo: Reverb.com

Video: Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go (Enhanced)

Video: Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go (Live)

The Record

Hey Joe, search for the original vinyl album on eBay: ebay | music | records | the leaves

More

The Leaves: Wikipedia
Hey Joe, an album by The Leaves: Wikipedia
Hey Joe, album by The Leaves: Discogs

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The Beatles 1964 Cowbell


So when did the cowbell become a thing? You can hear Ringo banging on it in each bridge of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ in 1964.

#morecowbell #thebeatlesdiditfirst

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Buddy Holly Day 2019


Buddy Holly Day is coming September 7, Buddy’s birthday. Stay tuned for more details.

#BuddyHollyDay

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Texas Blues – A 60-Second Primer

Texas Blues Musicians

Here’s your Texas Blues primer in just 60-seconds…

Blind Lemon Jefferson


Blind Lemon Jefferson

T-Bone Walker


T-Bone Walker

  • Born in Linden, Texas, 1910. Died in Los Angeles, California, 1975.
  • Recorded from 1929 to 1973.
  • Traveled and played with Blind Lemon Jefferson.
  • Songs: Woman You Must Be Crazy, Stormy Monday, T-Bone Shuffle, Mean Old World, T-Bone Blues, Shufflin’ Blues, Wichita Falls Blues.
  • Inaugural member of Blues Hall of Fame, 1980.
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1987.
  • T-Bone Walker – Wikipedia
  • T-Bone Walker Discography – Discogs

Lightnin’ Hopkins


Lightnin' Hopkins

Janis Joplin


Janis Joplin

  • Born in Port Arthur, Texas, 1943. Died in Los Angeles, California, 1970 (drug overdose).
  • Recorded from 1962 to 1970 (just 8 years).
  • Songs: Piece Of My Heart, Me And Bobby McGee, Mercedes Benz, Summertime, Down On Me, Maybe, Ball And Chain.
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1995.
  • Janis Joplin – Wikipedia
  • Janis Joplin Discography – Discogs

Johnny Winter


Johnny Winter

Steve Ray Vaughan


Stevie Ray Vaughan

  • Born in Dallas, Texas, 1954. Died in East Troy, Wisconsin, 1990 (helicopter crash).
  • Recorded from 1983 to 1990 (just 7 years).
  • Songs: Pride And Joy, Crossfire, Little Wing, The House Is Rockin’, Life By The Drop, Superstition, The Sky Is Crying.
  • Blues Music Award (formerly the W.C. Handy Award), 2000
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2015.
  • Stevie Ray Vaughan – Wikipedia
  • Stevie Ray Vaughan Discography – Discogs

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The Night the Music Died

KCTV5 news reporter Amy Anderson transports you back to the Surf Ballroom and the Winter Dance Party.

Kansas City news reporter Amy Anderson and producer Zoe Brown interview two ‘teenagers’ who were at the Surf Ballroom on February 3, 1959 and then travel to Clear Lake, Iowa to file this exceptional story about ‘The Night The Music Died.’ Also, the story includes a connection to original Cricket rhythm guitar player, Niki Sullivan.

Link to the KCTV 5 News Report: Fans, descendants remember impact of ‘the day the music died’ 60 years later

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The Day The Rock Star Died on AXS TV


Axs TV has a full night of Buddy Holly on tap for tonight!

9:00 PM – First, Gary Busey sings and plays electric guitar in his Oscar-nominated role as Buddy Holly in the Academy Award winning movie ‘The Buddy Holly Story.’

11:15 PM – ‘Rock Legends: Buddy Holly’ – A 30-minute mini-documentary on the life and musical impact of Buddy Holly.

11:45 PM – ‘The Day The Rock Star Died’ featuring the life of Buddy Holly. Another mini-documentary created for the 60th Anniversary of his death.
Here’s the trailer.

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Buddy Holly Remembered in Special Edition

buddy-holly-vintage-rock-special-edition-poster

Special Anniversary Edition

Vintage Rock Magazine of Britain has issued a special 132 page edition honoring the 60th anniversary of The Day The Music Died.

Exclusive interviews include intimate discussions with Buddy’s widow Maria Elena Holly; Bobby Vee, who took the unenviable position as Buddy’s replacement to close out the final tour; Crickets members Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis, who share their fond memories of Buddy – and producer Nick Patrick, whose True Love Ways project brought Buddy’s music together with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Click here to order your copy:  Buddy Holly and The Day The Music Died

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Owen Bradley’s Quonset Hut

Quonset Hut

Yes it does exist!

Built in the early 1950’s by record producer Owen Bradley, the ‘Quonset Hut’ was the original Nashville recording home for Decca Records. Rock ‘n’ roll pioneers, like Buddy Holly, made their first professional recordings in Owen Bradley’s studio.

Here it is…

Me, standing in front of the famous Owen Bradley Quonset Hut.
Me, standing in front of the famous Owen Bradley Quonset Hut.
Quonset Hut, Music Row
Quonset Hut, Music Row, Nashville TN

Is this WWII surplus quonset hut the beginnings of Nashville’s Music Row?

The story according to Paul Schatzkin, from Cohesion Arts website.

Quonset Hut Photos

Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut Studio, Music Row, Nashville, TN.
Photo Courtesy Cohesion Arts.
Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut
Owen Bradley’s Quonset Hut. Photo taken from the alley. Courtesy Kent Blanton (via Facebook).
Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut Studio on Music Row, circa 1959.
Owen Bradley’s Quonset Hut Studio on Music Row, circa 1959. Photo Courtesy Cohesion Arts Website.
Street view of the property at 804 16th Ave. South, probably early 1960s (photo from the Harold Bradley collection). The Quonset Hut studio (“Bradley’s Film & Recording Studios”) is visible at the rear of the house; from what I’ve gathered, there was another studio located inside the house itself, which was also used for sessions until the entire property was reconfigured by Columbia Records, who added the office complex and the brand new “Studio A” structure in the mid-60s. Photo Courtesy Steve Hoffman Music Forum.
Interior of Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut Studio, Music Row, Nashville, TN
Interior of Owen Bradley’s Quonset Hut Studio, Music Row, Nashville, TN. Photo Courtesy Pinterest.
Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut Studio Console
Owen Bradley’s Quonset Hut Studio Console. Photo Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

How to find the ‘Quonset Hut’ on Music Row in Nashville

2018 Aerial Photo - Music Square
Aerial Photo – Music Square, Nashville TN
Aerial Detail - Owen Bradley's Quonset Hut
Owen Bradley’s Quonset Hut, Nashville TN

Directions by Google

Happy searching!

More:

Book: How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A.: 50 years of Music Row by Michael Kosser (Google Books).

Blog: Nashville Skyline, November 2009: New Life for the Quonset Hut, Mix Online.

Quonset Hut Hosts Reunion Celebration, Music Row, June 30, 2011.

The Bobby Vee Story

Bobby Vee

The Day the Music Died , The Start of a New Career

Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee.

From Wikipdia.org:
Bobby Vee’s career began in the midst of tragedy. On February 3, 1959, “The Day the Music Died,” three of the four headline acts in the lineup of the traveling Winter Dance PartyBuddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper—were killed in the crash of a V-tailed 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza airplane, along with the 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson. (Dion DiMucci, the second headliner, had opted not to travel on the plane.) The plane crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa, en route to the next show on the tour itinerary, in Moorhead, Minnesota. Velline, then 15 years old, hastily assembled band of Fargo schoolboys (including his older brother Bill) calling themselves ‘The Shadows’ volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at the Moorhead engagement. Their performance there was a success, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee’s career as a popular singer.

Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets
Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets
I Remember Buddy Holly, album by Bobby Vee
I Remember Buddy Holly