Richie Havens - "Tupelo Honey" & "Just Like a Woman"

This is a live performance by folk icon Richie Havens. In this performance he plays two songs, first he plays the classic Van Morrison song "Tupelo Honey", and then he switches into "Just Like a Woman" originally written and performed by Bob Dylan. Both covers are great.
Richie is a folk icon. He is known for his unique approach to playing the guitar. He uses open tunings very percussively through his strumming. He was also the guy who opened the original famed Woodstock Festival.
The first song "Tupelo Honey" was originally written and performed by Van Morrison. It was from the album also titled "Tupelo Honey" which was released in 1971. The song was released as a single in 1972.
"Just Like a Woman" is a Bob Dylan song. It was first released on Dylan's 1966 album "Blonde on Blonde". I really love Haven's take on this song and I highly recommend checking out his performance from Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert because it's amazing.
Richie Havens is a unique artist with his own flair and sound and that's what I enjoy so much about him. It's folk at it's best.

Enjoy ; )

John Lee Hooker - Hobo Blues

This is a live performance by legendary blues musician and song writer John Lee Hooker playing his classic song "Hobo Blues". The performance is from 1965 at the American Folk Blues festival.
It's a self-accompanied performance by Hooker. He taps the rhythm with his foot, plays the rhythm on the guitar and also plays the melody at the same time. At points in the song he also hums the melody on top of playing it on the guitar. I really love this performance. The fact that it's self-accompanied just makes it better and shows a skill that very few people had back then, and even fewer people have today. You can also hear Hooker's influence on slide guitar through his use of open tunings. He doesn't use a slide himself, but uses the tunings many slide players would later also use. (Of course I know that slide guitar existed way before John Lee Hooker, but many slide players, for instance Ry Cooder, have quoted John Lee Hooker as an influence).
The song was originally released as a single in 1948 which was also the year it appeared on Hooker's LP "The Blues" released on Crown records.
As mentioned earlier it's a great song and a great performance. One of Hooker's best.

Enjoy ; )

Beck - Loser

This is a live performance from 2003 by alternative rock artist Beck. The song is from Beck's 1993 album "Mellow Gold", but it was originally released on Beck's own independent record label on 12" vinyl. The song gained massive air play on modern rock station and Beck was picked up for a much bigger contract with Geffen Records who also re-released the single. It did very well and reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming Beck's first mainstream successful hit.
The song came to be as Beck moved back to his home-town of Los Angeles. He was broke and needed to take low-income jobs to survive financially. He still performed in coffee houses and such and to check if the audience was listening he would make up ridiculous lyrics while playing in and open tuning. This is how the song "Loser" eventually came to be.
It's a very good song and a very good performance by Beck as well. He is improvising and having fun with the tune and finally getting a big crowd who is listening.

Enjoy ; )

Rory Gallagher - Too Much Alcohol

This is a live performance by blues and rock legend Rory Gallagher performing his classic slide blues composition "Too Much Alcohol". It's a song done in open E with a slide.
The performance is from and Irish TV-show called "Me & My Music" which was broadcast in 1977. It's great to see Gallagher on his own just performing and accompanying himself, it's a tough thing to do, and only true blues men master that ability. Gallagher's great, love how he really works the crowd and gets them pumped. Just a great performance.

Enjoy ; )