Rock & Roll Hall of Famer John Oates is bringing back the concept of his 7908 Aspen Songwriters Festival for a virtual benefit concert to help feed the hungry.
When AJ Croce comes off the road, the last thing he wants to do is hang out in public and sign autographs like a needy, attention-seeking scenester. Instead, his leisurely evening of choice is entertaining friends with dinner and drinks, and before you know it, it’s off to the music room where the pianist takes requests from every genre imaginable.
This album of covers attempts to recreate those evenings with a setlist of Croce’s favorites and the requests he has come to appreciate. It’s not meant to be a recording to change mankind with philosophical thoughts, but offers instead a respite from reality.
A.J. Croce has experienced the transformative power of music for much of his life, be it as a vehicle for celebration and contemplation, transcendent love and profound loss, and many points in between.
With his 10th and newest album, the cathartic “By Request,” music provides a life-affirming way for him to grieve losing his wife of 24 years, Marlo, who died suddenly in 2018 from a rare and sudden heart virus.
But Croce does not achieve that catharsis with his own songs. Instead, he turns to funk, rock, blues, soul, pop and country favorites by a dozen distinctly different artists, including Neil Young (“Only Love Can Break Your Heart”); Sam Cooke (“Nothing Can Change This Love”); the Five Stairsteps, (“O-o-h Child”); Randy Newman (“Have You Seen My Baby?”); and the Beach Boys (“Sail On Sailor”).
John Mayall and
John Mayall and
(from left) his tree house, Lead Belly and a copy of Weird Tales. Composite: Getty/Alamy
As a huge box set of his work is released, the 87-year-old British bluesman reminisces about the thrill of discovering boogie-woogie piano and buying his first six-string in Japan
Fri 29 Jan 2021 04.00 EST
My tree house
I lived in Acre Lane in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester, and became a teenager on 29 November 1946. My parents had divorced and I lived with my mother and my grandfather. The house was a bit crowded, so I built a tree house in the garden, which basically became my room, my world. I built it with window frames and tarpaulin, but eventually it had a paraffin lamp, a bed and all my 78rpm records and such up there. It was about 25ft (7.6 metres) up an oak tree.
ONLINE: Charlie Parr
Charlie Parr
Duluth, Minnesota, songwriter and guitarist Charlie Parr heads south for a residency at the beloved Minneapolis venue First Avenue every winter. In 2021 he will maintain the tradition, although potential audience members don t need to go any farther than a comfy chair; Parr will livestream from First Ave each Sunday in January, on YouTube and Facebook. Each week will feature secret special guests and likely new material from Parr s forthcoming 14th album, to be released via the legendary Smithsonian Folkways label later this year. Donations for the musicians are encouraged.
media release: Beloved songwriter and guitarist Charlie Parr has announced a series of 5 concerts each Sunday in January, streaming live from First Ave in Minneapolis. For the last 6 years Parrâs residency has been a beloved part of the Minneapolis music scene, often featuring surprise guests such as Alan Sparhawk of Low, Dave Simonett of Trampled by Turtles, Todd Albright