Author Archives: Jonathan Perry
A FREAK FLAG FLIES BEFORE THE DAWN: The Strange Saga of David Crosby’s Saved, and Savored, Life
Originally posted on RPM: Jonathan Perry's Life in Analog:
David Crosby in his Byrds days, circa 1966. The Cheshire Cat grins. Did he just eat Alice? And speaking of cats, here’s whiskers #1 and whiskers #2 in repose. David Crosby flying high with fellow Byrds Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman. 12 Jul 1970, USA —…
BROTHERS IN AMPS: The Clean’s Kilgours of Kiwi (In Memory of Hamish Kilgour, 1957-2022)
Apologies if the original post of this piece contained text and/or formatting glitches that made it difficult/impossible to read, er, cleanly. Here is the (hopefully) corrected version. Aside from a title tweak, I’ve decided to forego replacing or replicating the video bells and whistles of the original post and present the text straight-up as a companion to the faulty original. I invite you to give it another go with my thanks. Again, sorry the HAL 3000 has decided to get drunk and insubordinate. Now, where the hell is the plug and outlet to that bleary red eye of his?
BROTHERS IN AMPS: The Clean’s Hamish & David Kilgour
The Clean (L-R): Drummer-singer Hamish Kilgour, guitarist-singer David Kilgour, bassist Robert Scott. Sad news reached us last week when we learned that Hamish Kilgour, co-founding member (along with his brother David) of the seminal New Zealand band The Clean, was discovered dead at age 65 at Christchurch, after going missing for more than a week, […]
LITTLE DITTY ‘BOUT JACK & DIANE: Holding On To Sixteen Forty Years Later
Forty years ago, one of the big hits of the day during my senior year of high school was, for better or worse, “Jack & Diane” by John Cougar (the Mellencamp moniker was still a few years away). It was a ubiquitous soundtrack playing everywhere on any given day — outside at my school’s parking lot, cranking from cars and boom boxes, and emanating across the football field.
BACK TO THE FUTURE: Sno-Cone Songs, Sherbert Pants, and other Fashion Faux Pas of the ’80s Stones
Funny how back at the dawn of the ’80s, the punks, goth kids, and New Wavers thought the Stones were dinosaurs lumbering from a prehistoric age, lumbering toward the conclusion of their two-decade run after having outlasted everyone else from the black-and-white TV generation. Little did any of us know that unlike the T. Rex — they even outlasted him — the beasts of burden weren’t even at the halfway mark.
‘I NEVER MEANT TO BE A SINGER’: REMEMBERING DETROIT COBRAS’ VOCAL POWERHOUSE RACHEL NAGY
“Dear friends, family and fans, It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that we announce the loss of our beloved friend and musical colleague, Rachel Lee Nagy. There are no words to fully articulate our grief as we remember a life cut short, still vital and inspirational to all who knew and loved […]
HEART OF THE STONES: In Praise of Charlie Watts, June 2, 1941-August 24, 2021
“Charlie’s good tonight in’nit he?” — Mick Jagger, Madison Square Garden, 1969. Charlie Watts’s drum kit was a pitch-perfect reflection of the man who sat behind it for The Rolling Stones for nearly 60 years: modest yet essential. Charlie famously eschewed rock drum solos as frivolous, show-offy expressions of ego. A lifelong jazz devotee and […]
FOREVER YOUNG & CUTTING EDGE: Bob Dylan Turns 80, Approximately
What I said five years ago I can’t say better now. Which sort of sounds like a Bob Dylan line to me at the moment, so I’ll happily stick with that. Happy improbable 80th Birthday to a timeless, forever young legend of the pen, mind, words, voice, music. At this point in time, all of […]
KING HENRY THE BRAVE: Hammerin’ Hank Aaron’s Life and Numbers Beyond 755
Originally posted on RPM: Jonathan Perry's Life in Analog:
Henry Aaron is 84 years old now. And as hard as it may be to believe, the number of distant springs that have passed since he made his storied and successful homerun record-breaking bid now amounts to more than half his age. It was 44…
The Luckiest Man Alive: Happy Birthday Ringo Starr, The Man Who Brought The Beat To The Beatles
A STARR AT EIGHTY: Happy Birthday to the one and only Ringo. Can’t quite believe it’s already been five years since I wrote this tribute for the legendary Beatles’ drummer’s 75th birthday. But then again, I can’t believe this seemingly ageless dude is 80 (go ahead, google what Starr looks like now and you’ll wonder […]
RPM: Jonathan Perry's Life in Analog 