"Lordy, I have loved some ladies, and I have loved Jim Beam
And they both tried to kill me in 1973."
- Hank Williams, Jr/Family Tradition
You could make a Mt. Rushmore of the music folks that share birthdays today, May 26. Four esteemed musicians of different styles who have left their distinctive mark on popular music.
Miles Davis (1926-1991): I don't have an ear for jazz. Often times it sounds to me like four or five people playing different songs on different instruments at the same time. I don't pretend to know or appreciate a thing about it, but I try to be respectful of most musical styles. I do know that Miles Davis is a legend of the highest order in the world of jazz. He is what would be termed in the vernacular, a “Monster.” My recently departed friend, Cliff, a lifelong jazz musician and aficionado, named his first son Miles after the man. That tells me what I need to know about Mr. Davis even if I don't get it.
Levon Helm (1940-2012): Levon was raised on a cotton farm in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas. Seriously, you can't make that up. He was influenced by a confluence of various musical styles present in Arkansas at the time of his youth: bluegrass, Delta blues, electric blues, country, old time music and gospel. Most people know him from his time in The Band where his soulful, world-weary tenor defined the groups sound on songs like The Weight, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and Up on Cripple Creek. He alway sounded to me like a guy who'd seen his share of hard times and sadness but was still putting one foot in front of the other. He also did a good bit of acting. His authenticity came through on the screen too.
Stevie Nicks (1948): Chances are good, that if you're a male of my generation, you had a crush on Stevie, or were beguiled by her or her voice in some way. She put a spell on many a fellow. I saw a documentary recently about the making of the Rumours album. One of the engineers, Richard Dashut, was interviewed. He talked about the difference styles of the two female voices in the band - how Christine McVey's voice was smooth and traditional, but Stevie's, he said, sounded like a “goat.” He didn't mean it in a pejorative way, just descriptive. I thought, you know, that's true, she does modulate a little like that, but in a really great way.
Hank Williams, Jr (1949): I don't know what the prevailing opinion is about Junior right now, and I don't care. His personal foibles and controversies don't concern me one bit. I just like a lot of what he has done. It's music that Nashville would currently reject like it was tuberculosis. That makes it in my book, some pretty good country. When you're the son of the most revered country music legend in history and you want to follow in that line of work, well, you have a big shadow to step out of. I think he's done alright.