They're a MEGA musician?!! (Page 3 of 3)

Hell I only said I didn't get Bruce Springteen not that I wanted him dead or anything!

Me and Dave and J Dawg too - i think we're in the doghouse or something!

From now on if it isn't a positive post i'm not posting! - is it hot in here?

Vicky

A lot of times it has to do with how they get whatever they're trying to get across. One thing about Bruce, you cannot dig him all you want, but when he hits the stage, he gives it everything he has. I've seen videos of him performing when Born To Run came out all the way up through recently. He still gives it his all. And by his all, I mean jumping and running around, and singing Dancing In The Dark as if he wrote it yesterday. And his songs really do resonate with people because usually he's writing about things we can all relate with. There was a line I read about Hendrix's vocals, something along the lines of it wasn't a pretty voice, but instead it was a voice that had learned the lessons that the blues and Bob Dylan have to teach. It's like Howlin' Wolf, Howlin' Wolf by all technical standards was not a good singer, yet he is one of the greatest bluesmen of all time. It's about the heart you're trying to put out. If we only worried about good singers, then we might as well throw out guys like Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker (who half the time just talked) and Jimmy Reed.

I choose not to look at this as a competition. By taking this viewpoint of, "How is so and so popular when this guy is not," that is essentially putting music into a competitive context. Music is not competitive. There is no mathematical formula that says that this music is better than this formula. Why is it that a guy like B.B. King is revered as a guitarist when he does not have near the range as say Steve Vai? If we were going by technical prowess, then yes, Vai is the better guitarist. But when the heart gets involved, there is no clear cut reason on why this guy should be better than this guy, or this guy should be a star.

And plenty of talented musicians over the years have gotten loads of accolades. Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Hendrix, Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Prince, heck, even Carol King, have reached the top of their profession both critically and in popularity. I think where you are having a problem, is in today's music scene, where guys like Joe and Robert Randolph are taking a back seat to these bands on MTV and VH1. Although some extremely talented musicians like Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, and John Mayer have cracked through, many are not, and probably will not. This is more the product of how the record companies have taken over and are treating this more as a business. I guarantee you that today Stevie Wonder would not be anywhere near as popular as he was/is because his music and he himself cannot be pigeonholed into a neat little package to sell to corporate radio, VH1, and MTV. I'd say you probably need to take your quarrel about talented musicians being on the sideline up with these guys. In fact, there is a great documentary on the music industry called Before The Music Dies. It features musicians like Doyle Bramhall II and Erykah Badu. Very interesting and eye-opening look at the music industry, and it makes me glad that Joe has taken the path he has taken.

And you can disagree on the greatness of the songs written by Dylan and the Stones. What is impossible to disagree on is the impact that those songs have had. It goes beyond simple record sales. Those two bands/artists, combined with a few other bands, helped to define an era. You cannot like the music all you want, that's America in a heartbeat. But it is impossible to deny their impact on American and world music. That is true greatness that just cannot be touched.

Libby...I met Laurie in Memphis this year during the IBC's. They were in the same hotel as my band. She made it into the finals and her CD got raves. She is a bad arse guitar player no question. She is in a battle for respect, but one she's fought her entire career. She is featured in the October '07 issues of Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar magazines. She was also campaigning to be an opening act for Dave Matthews..Anyone know what became of all that?     Cathy