Music

Some guys just can’t stay out of trouble.  In 1998, Texas Governor George W. Bush revoked the 1925 pardon granted Huddie Ledbetter by Governor Pat Neff.  The reason? “It [the pardon] sent the wrong message to school children, criminals, and victims of crime in Texas.” (At the time of his pardon’s revocation, Ledbetter had been dead nearly half a century.) …

Fill in the blank. Life’s much better with……. Personally, I like “with Baja” or “with friends” or “with wine” or “with music”.  Even better, life’s much better with Baja, friends, music and wine! Ok – it’s a trick question.  The answer is “Life’s Much Better with Money,” the name of the title track of the much anticipated Baja Cowboys CD …

YouTube is a portal into worlds you might hesitate to visit, but which are irresistible viewing at a safe virtual distance.  In one, a singer works surrounded by stocky,  thuggish-looking men.  They appear to have been sent by `central casting’ for roles as Eastern European mafiosi.  Nothing separates the lady from her audience.  Do the brutes paw the alluring femme …

He was one of those larger-than-life figures of the 1960s who seemed, even then, to belong to an earlier, bolder era.  Among his admirers were Pablo Picasso and Brigitte Bardot.  Salvador Dali reportedly said, “When Manitas plays, the firemen themselves catch fire.” That fire was extinguished on November 6 with the passing, at age 93, of flamenco guitarist Manitas de …

As God is my witness, I saw this at a flea market some years ago: Two record collectors huddle, one holding a shiny 78-rpm disc with no grooves, no label. He hands it to his pal and, in a conspiratorial tone, says: “It’s a virgin Presto!” The collector who’s taken the precious blank disc in hand holds it up to …

The Baja Cowboys rocked the house with boot stomping, roof shaking energy on Friday, October 10th at Fiesta El Pescador at K44.  This show, the last one in 2014, was their fan appreciation, “Life’s Much Better” concert and was limited to 80 fans. The Cowboys added a new drummer last spring and a new lead guitar player over the summer.  …

Snarling, gun-wielding psycho.  Repentant sinner, eyescast heavenward.  Pensive uniformed Confederate cavalryman.  Those are roles photographer Leigh Weiner cast Johnny Cash in before he forever became`the man in black.’  Cash was one of many singers whose evolving images came to life at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles, Country: Portraits of an American Sound, up from May through September.  …

Every year at this time, I look forward to the ballet folklorico competitions, a part of the 4-day Folklorico and Mariachi Festival at the Rosarito Beach Hotel, the first week of October.  The event is the brainchild of Gil Sperry, aficionado of both genres and indefatigable mover and shaker when it comes to raising funds for the Boys and Girls …

The `nature vs. nurture’ debate rages over all human inclinations, from criminality to artistry.  Are behaviors that lead to gallows or galleries learned or inherited?  Recent recordings by sons and daughters suggest the answer, for musicians anyway, may be `both.’ Larry `Mud’ Morganfield sounds uncannily like his legendary father, Muddy Waters.  Yet he swears he barely knew his Dad, and …