Category: On this date

Howard Grimes

Howard Grimes, the drummer on many great R&B records recorded in Memphis, died on February 12, 2022. Fortunately, he wrote an autobiography that was published last year. I recommend it for his stories about the artists and recordings. I will post links below to a few videos of songs he played on. This is a link to information on the book, Timekeeper. This links to his discography.

The final “Peanuts” comic strip on 2/13/00

The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show – 2/9/64

This was an amazing event. The Beatles, who most of us didn’t know about a few months earlier, were on the Ed Sullivan Show, a TV variety show that also included plate twirlers and Topo Gigio. The show was watched by a record 73 million people. The Beatles were very young and handled their sudden fame with incredible grace and humor.

With hindsight, the Beatles deserve even more credit than they got when they were around. They could have played it safe and kept doing simple rock and roll based on R&B but they took lots of chances. It’s a long way from “She Loves You” to “Strawberry Fields Forever” but it was only four years in actual time. All kinds of musicians followed the path blazed by the Beatles.

Initially, they paved the way for other British groups, known as the British Invasion. As I recall, the second most popular British group when the Beatles first became popular was the Dave Clark Five. Their popularity only lasted a few years and they were eclipsed by bands like the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and the Who who have created enduring music.

Near the end, they got back to their roots with songs like “Get Back”, “The Ballad of John and Yoko” and “Don’t Let Me Down”. These are some of their finest records.

National Pizza Day – 2/9

The 2022 Slice of the Union Address

Bob Marley’s birthday – February 6th

“Coming in from the Cold” is my favorite of Marley’s many great songs.

Warren Zevon would have been 75 today

Paul Simon’s first album turns 50

This is one of my favorite albums. I think it’s better than any of the Simon and Garfunkel records. It’s got a wide range of styles, it’s funny and serious, it has great acoustic guitar work on “Peace Like a River”. “Mother and Child Reunion” was an early rock usage of reggae style and musicians. The Rolling Stone article is excellent.

Federico Fellini born 1/20/20

Fellini is one of the greatest directors. Start with 8 1/2 or Amarcord.

Criterion has a great Felini box set. They also have some of his films online on the Criterion Channel.

Ronnie Spector

Ronnie Spector, lead singer of the Ronettes on many fine records in the 1960s died yesterday