TGIF! presents...ThistleandBramble's "Blackbird".

Happened upon this Christian home-schooled, self-taught musician/singer...great Beatles tune and he plays the guitar very well.

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BONUS TGIF! presents...Happy Birthday, JT!

At 62, seems James Taylor hasn't missed a beat.

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My dad... the musician.

My dad met my mother in a supper club while he was playing in the Glen LaMar Trio in the early 1960's. He played lead guitar and lead vocals. He thought he was a cool dude. And my Aunt Ruth confirms that chicks DID flock.

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Happy Birthday, Gordo!

I missed it - was on November 17th. Gordon Lightfoot, singer and balladeer, is 71. Probably one of the all-time best "storytellers" in the business. Creator of such hits as, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", "Rainy Day People", "Sundown", "If You Could Read My Mind", "Carefree Highway" and my favorites, "Canadian Railroad Trilogy, "The Pony Man", "Cape Horn", and "Song for a Winter's Night".

"Gordo's" been covered by many artists, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Sarah McLachlan and John Mellencamp and Robbie Robertson of The Band. My brother and Uncle Fran are among his biggest fans.

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"The ship was the pride of the American side, coming back from some mill in Wisconsin..."

Love Gordon. And I love this song. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank 34 years ago yesterday. If the song isn't directly on the top of my BlipFm list, just scroll down.

http://blip.fm/home

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TGIF! presents...Alec Finn's "Lady Hamilton"!

Alec Finn performs, "Lady Hamilton" , on the bouzouki, a Greek instrument akin to the mandolin. We visited with Alec and his wife, Leoni, at their home, Oranmore Castle, in Oranmore, Co. Galway, during our visit to Ireland.

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Happy Birthday, John Lennon!

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Wisconsin native & pioneer of electric guitar, Les Paul, dies.

Les Paul was an American jazz guitarist, inventor, writer and musician. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible." Paul was a member of the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

And he was from Waukesha, WI. Les was 93. Rock & Roll owes this man a debt of gratitude.

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Styx a-blurr.

Drummer Todd Sucherman of Styx at Pancho's in Manhattan Beach. This was last Saturday night. My digital is great - except indoors, and when the subject is moving 100 miles an hour and I don't have the camera set to capture said action. Although, from an artsy perspective, I'm quite happy with this particular shot.

Here's the blog post on todd and his wife, Taylor Mills, singer with Brian Wilson's band, I did last week.

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TGIF! presents...John Lennon's "I'm Losing You".

John Lennon's poignant line drawings, known to many around the globe, spring to life as they made their animated debut in the video for the legendary musician's "I'm Losing You" track from the four-CD boxed set The John Lennon Anthology (1998).

"I'm Losing You" features Rick Nielsen on guitar and Bun E. Carlos on drums, (from Cheap Trick) and bassist Tony Levin (from King Crimson), each of whom played on the original version of the song with Lennon in 1980. In a playful and whimsical fashion, well known animator David Spafford has extended upon Lennon's original drawings, making them come to life as they float through and interact with the musicians 1998 live performance.

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And I thought I hated Suzanne Vega's "Luka".

Remember that song from 1987? "My name is Luka. I live on the second floor."

Still hate that song. But apparently not as much as Twenty Major, an Irish blogger from Dublin (one of the most popular). I check him out from time to time. And some people say I'M a curmudgeon? He's got a great writing style - if you read his posts out loud, you WILL sound Irish. No shit. My only criticism of Twenty Major is that he needs to curse more in his blog posts.

With him around there will always be someone who's more curmudgeonly than your's truly.

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I believe that Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, James Brown and Lucille Ball are overrated.

I swear I'm gonna catch shit from my sis in Cedar Rapids, Janelle. She's not really my sister but as I don't have a sister and she doesn't have a brother, we call each other "sis" and "bro". She's an actor/singer as well. I think she's a fan of all four of the above - but I KNOW she loves Janis. Her mother, too.

I'm not taking anything away from their talents, persona's or "celebrity". I'm just saying that nothing about their talent floats my boat. Not even my bobber. I simply don't get the hubbub, bub. Never did. Zzzzzz....limp.

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Separated at birth? Will Ferrell and Chad Smith.

Chad Smith (bottom) is from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Truth be told, the band might be a bunch of nice guys but the lead singer, Anthony Kiedis, sucks as a singer. I wouldn't go to a concert of their's if it were free.

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Separated at birth? Zooey Deschanel and Katy Perry.

(For Nick - his idea).

Come on. Seriously - they're one in the same. I don't believe this. Nope. It's the only way Zooey could have her singing career taken seriously. I won't even tell you which one is which. Guess...ya bastards.

(Plus there's no way their breast sizes could match perfectly.)

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Separated at Birth? British DJ Jimmy Saville and Snow Miser! Yeah!!!! (Or..Brrrrr!).

Watch the video below (that's not my spelling mistake in the headline - YouTube has some videos where you have to post it AS IS - no text or editing - or it won't post).

Anyway, look at the funny-looking British host who introduces Roy Wood (who later went on to co-found the Electric Light Orchestra) & Wizzard...that's Jimmy Saville, or I should say Sir Jimmy Saville. He's a very popular British DJ, radio and TV personality (still around) who made it big in 1964 hosting "Top of the Pops" in London.

Now - you have to blind not to notice the similarities between Jimmy and the character "Snow Miser" from "A Year Without A Santa Clause", a holiday favorite. Here's that musical video, "Snow Miser, Heat Miser".

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Happy Birthday, John!

It was John Lennon's birthday yesterday. I missed it. Sorry, John. He would have been 68.
"Sugarplumb fairy, sugarplump fairy..."

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About Dave Mason...

NOTE: Mute the IMEEM jukebox to the right before you play the YouTube video above.

Tried to post this yesterday on my birthday but YouTube wasn't cooperating (still isn't). Saw British musician Dave Mason perform this tune years ago at Summerfest in Milwaukee with my brother when Mason was touring with Fleetwood Mac. Mac took a break and Dave went into this ditty. So THAT's that song and THAT's the guy who sang it?? Huh.

Mason is in the R&R Hall of Fame with the group, Traffic. He also wrote the song, "Feelin' Alright", that Joe Cocker made famous.

Here's Mason singing this song in his heydey.

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Separated at birth? Chrissie Hynde & Janis.

Hmmm. Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and my friend in Milwaukee, Janis.

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Amy Winehouse naked. Ummm....no thank you.

Troubled Amy Winehouse has posed for a nude photo shoot to raise breast cancer awareness among young women. The singer appears naked in the April issue of British magazine Easy Living after she stripped off for photographer Carolyn Djangoly. In the black and white snapshot, Winehouse is captured playing a guitar, which covers her genitals, while two pieces of duct tape cover her nipples. The 24-year-old isn't the only celebrity posing naked for the campaign - singer Sade and actress Helena Bonham Carter also removed their clothing for the picture project.

Now - I like her music. Her voice hearkens back to another era and - for a white woman - is as soulful as any black female singer. And the breast cancer cause is wonderful. But to see Winehouse who, I think, looks as if she's suffering from malnutrition, naked? Uh-uh.

One more thing: what is it with female celebrities who pose "naked" for Playboy but don't show anything? Seriously, if you're in Playboy and you're making a big deal about how you did it to capture a moment when you were really "hot", then I wanna see bush. Don't cover it up with your leg or a leaf or your hand. Put up or don't pose. Women are posing left and right wearing next-to-nothing in GQ, Vanity Fair, Esquire, among other magazines, and they cover up those "questionable" areas. That's OK. But if you pose for a nudie magazine, I want to see you NUDE.

Which begs me to ask the other question (a question asked by many, I suppose): what is it about a woman's nipple that's the make or break body part when it comes to nudity in magazines or on film? You can show an entire breast but not the nipple. What IS the deal with the nipple?

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Happy Birthday, Elvis

The King was born today in 1935. Long live the King!

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