Talented hottie Sam Sparro was born on this day in Australia, but moved to L.A. when he was 10, where his gospel musician father found work in the music industry. Sam was a child actor, starting with a McDonald’s Commercial & sang with his father’s various gospel groups, where he was discovered & championed by Chaka Kahn. He moved back to Sydney as a teen & then to London seeking a career in music. He returned to L.A., working in a coffee shop frequented by industry types. It was a depressing & difficult time for him, but he did manage to write Black & Gold. Sam is currently on tour & is busy promoting his music. He lives in L.A. with his partner of 4 years, stylist Adrian Gilliland.
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The first time I noticed her was an appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1979. Rickie Lee Jones has challenged my listening pleasure with an absorbing musical vision that defies classification. She doesn’t fit the moniker of singer/songwriter as she refused the careful eloquence of the folk rock generation that came right before her. She wasn’t punk nor pop, she skirts around the edges jazz, Motown R&B, & beatnik meets cabaret. Her sense of humor, musical dexterity & song craft still engage me.
Jones: “This record was made for people my age. Neither young, nor old, we fall in between. I love all sorts of music, I’ve experienced life. I’m getting along & I pay my rent. I think my life is like everybody else’s. We’re older now. And it’s not all about me, or all about us. It’s about our kids, and our parents who are dying, & the things that are relevant to us at this age. I really wanted to talk to us. To my generation, music is the balm that keeps us going.”
Rickie Lee Jones’s self titled debutalbum had an immediate & profound impact on me & the music culture, becoming a multi-million selling hit, with a successful world tour & the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Jones received 5 Grammy nominations: Record of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, Song of the Year for Chuck E.'s in Love, & Best New Artist, which she won.
Her next release- Pirates pushed the singer/songwriter edges, receiving positively radiant reviews, including 5 Stars from Rolling Stone who put her on their cover for the again time. It is included in Tom Moon’s must have book: 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die. My favorite album is the difficult to find- Girl at Her Volcano, a collection of jazz & pop standards which includes the definitive version of Rodger's & Hart's- My Funny Valentine. I have it on cassett & I saw a CD Import on Amazon for $50 today.
I also often return to Pop Pop, an Argentinean flavored jazz & blues standards record. In 1988 she was nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal for her rendition of Autumn Leaves. The next year her duet with Dr. John of Making Whoopee, won a Grammy for Best Jazz Performance.
In 2000, I was digging- It's Like This, a collection of fearlessly chosen cover songs including Steely Dan’s Show Biz Kids, Steve Winwood’s Low Spark of High Healed Boys, Charlie Chaplin’s Smile, The Beatles’ For No One & Leonard Bernstein’s One Hand, One Heart. Jones received her 8th Grammy nomination.
She turns 54 today. Her deep vaudevillian vibe is still there. She moves from the heights of Pop, with the respect of other musicians & appreciative fans. Rickie Lee Jones is a unique artist, who produces albums, not songs, a rare art indeed in 2010. She lives in Malibu & has continued to make music for 35 years.
My very 1st public perfromance was singing How Much Is That Doggy In The Window to a puppet in front of my 1st grade class. The song was made famous by Miss Clara Ann Fowler is one of the best known female singers in traditional pop music. She sure was popular at my house. Under the name- Patti Page, she is the bestselling female artist of the 1950s & was among the first to cross over from country music to pop. Page continues to perform live and was billed last year in Vegas as “The Singing Rage, Miss Patti Page”. Today she turns an astonishing 83.
The first time I noticed her was an appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1979. Rickie Lee Jones has challenged my listening pleasure with an absorbing musical vision that defies classification. She doesn’t fit the moniker of singer/songwriter as she refused the careful eloquence of the folk rock generation that came right before her. She wasn’t punk nor pop, she skirts around the edges jazz, Motown R&B, & beatnik meets cabaret. Her sense of humor, musical dexterity & song craft still engage me.
Jones: “This record was made for people my age. Neither young, nor old, we fall in between. I love all sorts of music, I’ve experienced life. I’m getting along & I pay my rent. I think my life is like everybody else’s. We’re older now. And it’s not all about me, or all about us. It’s about our kids, and our parents who are dying, & the things that are relevant to us at this age. I really wanted to talk to us. To my generation, music is the balm that keeps us going.”
Rickie Lee Jones’s self titled debutalbum had an immediate & profound impact on me & the music culture, becoming a multi-million selling hit, with a successful world tour & the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Jones received 5 Grammy nominations: Record of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, Song of the Year for Chuck E.'s in Love, & Best New Artist, which she won.
Her next release- Pirates pushed the singer/songwriter edges, receiving positively radiant reviews, including 5 Stars from Rolling Stone who put her on their cover for the again time. It is included in Tom Moon’s must have book: 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die. My favorite album is the difficult to find- Girl at Her Volcano, a collection of jazz & pop standards which includes the definitive version of Rodger's & Hart's- My Funny Valentine. I have it on cassett & I saw a CD Import on Amazon for $50 today.
I also often return to Pop Pop, an Argentinean flavored jazz & blues standards record. In 1988 she was nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal for her rendition of Autumn Leaves. The next year her duet with Dr. John of Making Whoopee, won a Grammy for Best Jazz Performance.
In 2000, I was digging- It's Like This, a collection of fearlessly chosen cover songs including Steely Dan’s Show Biz Kids, Steve Winwood’s Low Spark of High Healed Boys, Charlie Chaplin’s Smile, The Beatles’ For No One & Leonard Bernstein’s One Hand, One Heart. Jones received her 8th Grammy nomination.
She turns 54 today. Her deep vaudevillian vibe is still there. She moves from the heights of Pop, with the respect of other musicians & appreciative fans. Rickie Lee Jones is a unique artist, who produces albums, not songs, a rare art indeed in 2010. She lives in Malibu & has continued to make music for 35 years.
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My very 1st public perfromance was singing How Much Is That Doggy In The Window to a puppet in front of my 1st grade class. The song was made famous by Miss Clara Ann Fowler is one of the best known female singers in traditional pop music. She sure was popular at my house. Under the name- Patti Page, she is the bestselling female artist of the 1950s & was among the first to cross over from country music to pop. Page continues to perform live and was billed last year in Vegas as “The Singing Rage, Miss Patti Page”. Today she turns an astonishing 83.
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