How many songs are so 4th-of-July perfect?
The Blasters, “American Music”
Take 1
Live, Illinois (Champaign), 1985
*****
Take 2
Live, Los Angeles, 2010
On Saturday night these guys played this, in overdrive, at FitzGerald’s American Music Festival, a wonderful 4-day event that just celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Happy 4th of July!
The funkiest, countriest quartet. As a church once rocked to guitarist William ‘Pee Wee’ Crawford’s vamps, the late Reuben Willingham quipped, ‘This may not be a Fish Fry, but it sure got soul.’ The Augusta-based Swanees maintained the same background—Charlie Barnwell, Rufus Washington and the good-humored falsetto James ‘Big Red’ Anderson—for over thirty years. Some of James Brown’s grooves were first set down by his friends the Swanees. Veteran leads included Willingham, Johnny Jones (the finest singer in the post Sam Cooke tradition, with a range from baritone to high falsetto, and a more vivid, sanctified persona than his idol Cooke) and Percy Griffin.
—Anthony Heilbut, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times (6th ed. 2002)
*****
Swanee Quintet, live
“What Are They Doing In Heaven” (featuring Johnny Jones), TV broadcast
*****
“Little Talk With Jesus” (featuring Johnny Jones), TV broadcast
*****
“New Walk” (featuring Reuben Willingham and Johnny Jones), TV broadcast
*****
“Doctor Jesus” (featuring Percy Griffin and Johnny Jones)
**********
lagniappe
listening room
Sly Stone, gospel singer
*****
Happy Birthday, Louis!
Louis Armstrong Birthday Broadcast, WKCR-FM (’til 9:30 a.m., 7/5/10)
music clip of the day 