Jimmy Buffett, who spawned a movement with his own brand of island music that featured a laid-back lifestyle died September 1, 2023 according to a release from the family.
On the eve of her 80th birthday, Buffy Sainte-Marie spoke to PKM’s Benito Vila. Sainte-Marie has had a six-decade career as a singer, songwriter, teacher, activist and philanthropist.
Brooklyn born and raised, Richie Havens (1941-2013) began hanging out in Greenwich Village in 1959, as a street portrait artist and sometime busker. By 1961, he was a familiar face in the folk clubs, playing alongside Dave Van Ronk, Fred Neil, Dylan and Dino Valenti. Despite this folkie pedigree, a tour with Nina Simone taught him the power of song interpretation, a lesson he never forgot. His unforgettable, partly impromptu opening set at Woodstock in 1969 brought him fame and there was no looking back after that. PKM’s John Kruth interviewed Havens over a long period of time and pulls together this remembrance of a much-loved man and his musical legacy.
We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago……
How does a guy with a stutter, from Slab Fork, West Virginia become a best-selling singer-songwriter? Grit, determination and a great voice. Bill Withers knew he wanted to write songs and sing them too. He left the Navy in 1965 and headed for LA where he worked in a number of factories while recording demos and playing the clubs at night. He was so sure that the music business was going to break his heart, that he refused to give up his job in an airplane factory even after he wrote “Ain’t No Sunshine” . That song was the centerpiece of his debut LP “Just The Way I Am” released in 1971.