This blogger, Richard Gehr, is not an employee of AARP. The opinions expressed in the blog are not necessarily the opinions of AARP and AARP assumes no liability for the content posted by Mr. Gehr or any other participant
Richard Gehr | December 16, 2007
Ike Turner died Wednesday at age 76, possibly of emphysema. Besides being credited with arguably the first rock record, "Rocket 88," Turner wrote and performed many of R&B's finest tracks. "Proud Mary" and "River Deep Mountain High" were only a couple of numerous great singles he cut during the '60s with then-wife Tina Turner—who apparently never forgave his domestic abuse.
You can hear some of their best—including "It's Gonna Work Out Fine," "You Wasn't Born With," and "Dust My Broom"—at Boogie Woogie Flu, where you can also check out "You Keep On Worry Me" and other examples of his pre-Tina badness backed by the Kings of Rhythm.
And read Rolling Stone writer Ben Fong-Torres's visit to Ike and Tina's Inglewood, Calif., home here.
Richard Gehr | August 23, 2007
On Tuesday, New York became the seventeenth state to pass a "Truth in Music" bill. The bill's intent is to prevent counterfeit bands from cashing in on the real deal, to the tune of up to $15,000 in fines. The bill's most ardent advocate has been Jon "Bowzer" Bauman from the group Sha Na Na (whose $300 check for performing at Woodstock famously bounced). Deception is especially prevalent among classic doo-wop groups such as the Platters, Coasters, and Drifters. So while founding Coasters lead singer Carl Gardner retains legal rights to the group's name, you can also hear Cornell Gunter's Coasters (who were trained by early member Billy Guy) and Coasters tribute acts such as Edwin Cook & Friends. As Jerry Adler wrote about the issue in Newsweek:
Early R&B groups were mostly faceless voices on the radio, in part because record companies weren't eager to remind audiences that their faces were usually black. And yet, in doo-wop as in painting, an undeniable aura clings to the authentic, the genuine, the original. Which is why if you go to a concert by the faux Drifters or a performance by the Platters manqué, you will always see, says Bauman, one guy in his 70s there so that you, the discerning doo-wop consumer, can nudge your seatmate and say, "That's the real one!"
[Newsday]
