Jerry Lee Lewis - Wild One

This is a live performance by American rock 'n' roll pianist and singer Jerry Lee Lewis. He plays the song "Wild One" which became a staple in Lewis' live performances.
The song was originally recorded by Australian rock 'n' roll act Johnny O'Keefe in 1958. The song was written by O'Keefe, Johnny Greenan, and Dave Owens.
Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a version of the song in 1958, but it wasn't released until 1974 on the album "Rockin' and Free". Lewis also re-recorded a version of this song for the motion picture soundtrack to the film "Great Balls of Fire".
The song has been recorded by a large number of artists, including: Albert Lee, Iggy Pop, Billy Idol, Joan Jett, and Brian Setzer.
It's a great rock 'n' roll number and it's always nice to see Lewis hammering away on those piano keys, gotta love that!

Enjoy ; )

Stevie Ray Vaughan & The Night Music Band - Sailin' Shoes

This is a live performance by Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Sunday Night Music Band lead by saxofonist David Sanborn. Stevie was a guest performer on the show.
The song was originally written by Lowell George for the band "Little Feet". The song appeared on the band's 1972 album also titled "Sailin' Shoes". The song has also been done by Robert Palmer on his 1974 debut album as a solo artist.
It's a great little performance and Vaughan does a really good solo on it. A video definitely worth checking out.

Enjoy ; )

Eric Clapton - Motherless Children

This is a live performance by Eric Clapton. He is joined on stage by Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II. Bramhall and Clapton are playing slide on this tune while Trucks handles the rhythm part which is unusual as Trucks is known for his virtuous slide playing. The performance is from a concert in France from 2006. It's not professionally shot, but the audio is surprisingly good. Also this track is pretty rare for Clapton to do live.
The song is from Clapton's "461 Ocean Boulevard" (1974) album which was a highly successful album from Clapton, also containing Clapton's version of "I Shot the Sheriff" his only #1 hit on the Billboard hot 100.
The lyrics to the song are traditional and ergo have no writer. The arrangement is credited to Clapton and Carl Radle.
The song is basically about mothers and the big impact and love they have on everyone around them. It's also about the void left should a mother die. So I thought it would at the very least be somewhat relevant on mother's day.
It's a great performance and the audio is surprisingly tolerable.

Enjoy ; )

Eric Clapton - I Shot the Sheriff

This is a live performance by Eric Clapton playing his version of the classic reggae song "I Shot the Sheriff". The performance is from the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival.
The song was originally written and performed by Bob Marley and his band The Wailers. It appeared on their "Burnin'" album. The story of the song is quite simple; A man who admits to having shot the sheriff also claims that he has been falsely accused of shooting the deputy sheriff.
Clapton's version was released in 1974 on the 461 Ocean Boulevard album. Clapton's version is the most commercially successful version of the song peaking at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This also meant that this was Clapton's only top charting hit in the US. And with the music standards dominating today I seriously doubt he will ever have a hit that becomes equally big. But that says more about the terrible taste of music consumers to day and nothing about Clapton.
It's a great performance and the band and Clapton really have a nice feel on it in their playing. I also really think that Doyle Bramhall II's rhythm and background playing on this makes for a very good performance. He plays something in the beginning with a wah pedal that just sounds awesome. Clapton has expressed his enthusiasm about Doyle in his autobiography alongside Derek Trucks. Also Clapton's guitar solo on this is long and played like only Clapton can. Truly a great performance of a great song.

Enjoy ; )

Lynrd Skynrd - Sweet Home Alabama

This is a live performance by Southern rock band Lynrd Skynrd playing their song "Sweet Home Alabama" live. The song originally appeared on the band's second album titled "Second Helping" which was released in 1974. The song was the second single released from the album, prior to this "Don't Ask Me No Questions" was released and the third single of the album was "Free Bird".
The song was surrounded by controversy due to the fact that it was written as a reply to a song by Neil Young. Also the lyrics were interoperated by the public media to "support" or at least reference a former governor of Alabama who was pro segregation. I could write much more about this, but I don't feel like it's necessary. I'm not American nor was I around when this controversy occurred. To me it's always simply been a good song with lyrics that you can sing along to and a great instantly recognisable guitar riff. Now that's the recipe for a good song in my book.

Enjoy ; )

JJ Cale & Leon Russel - I Got the Same Old Blues

This is a live performance by the two rock and blues legends JJ Cale and Leon Russel. They play Cale's classic song "I Got the Same Old Blues" from Cale's 1974 album "Okie". This song got very popular and it was covered by a large number of well renowned artists such as Lynrd Skynrd and Freddie King.
Cale's style had been described as laid back. It is part of the so called Tulsa Sound that draws loosely on the genres of rockabilly, blues, country and jazz.
Leon Russel is a very well known and respected musician in the music world. In his early career he did session work for artists such as: Elton John, George Harrison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton and Willie Nelson to name a few. He then later got a solo career that he maintains to this day. In 2011 he was also inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
This is a very good song and it has a nice laid back session feel to it.

Enjoy ; )

Rory Gallagher - Walk on Hot Coals

This is a 1974 performance from blues and rock guitarist Rory Gallagher. The footage is from the documentary/concert film "Irish Tour '74". It's a legendary film following Gallagher as he tours through Ireland. The director originally intended the footage to be used on a television special, but decided to release it as a theatrical feature.
The film is famous for featuring a performance from Gallagher in Belfast. Belfast was a rocky place at this time, with brawls etc. being very common, also at rock shows. This meant that most bands refused to play in Belfast. But not Gallagher. As part of his tour he stopped in Belfast, and played one of the best live shows of his career, and there was no violence at the concert, just mesmerized teens.
The song "Walking on Hot Coals" is a Rory Gallagher original. It's an instrumental song featuring a lot of guitar playing on Gallagher's part, but also a piano solo by Lou Martin. On the song Gallagher also uses pinch harmonics on the song. He was one of the first guitarists to incorporate this technique into his style. A technique he also used on the song "Off The Handle" previously posted on this blog (click here). This is just a great performance.

Enjoy ; )