Category: Music

Melancholy High

by BJM Publishing, posted in Art, Family and Friends, Music

The song “Fallen Angel” was written and released by Robbie Robertson in 1987 as a deeply personal tribute and prayer for his former bandmate from The Band, Richard Manuel, who tragically passed away on March 04 1986 by suicide at the age of 42. The track featured backing vocals from Peter Gabriel, while fellow The Band member Garth Hudson played keyboards on the song.

Manuel struggled with severe, long-term alcoholism and drug addiction for years and dealt with severe depression, a loss of confidence, and career struggles following the 1976 breakup of the original group (which was famously documented in The Last Waltz). Bandmates and colleagues later noted that the heavy touring schedule and demanding pace while trying to revive the group took a severe toll on his fragile state.

He was buried at the Avondale Cemetery in his hometown of Stratford, Ontario. Bandmate Rick Danko sang Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” at his memorial service. Stratford later honored him with a sidewalk star on Ontario Street and a memorial bench by the Avon River. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Band in 1994.

Possibly one of the most heartfelt tributes to a fellow musician I have ever heard. The whole album Robbie Robertson debut album is a must listen.

Note: It’s been 50 years since the Band’s 1976 farewell show that became the iconic concert film The Last Waltz, and a supergroup of Canadian artists will mark the anniversary with a Toronto tribute show. LW50: A Celebration of Bob Dylan and the Band will take place on November 25, 2026 at Massey Hall.

The Lovin Spoonful

by BJM Publishing, posted in Art, Music

The Lovin’ Spoonful was a popular American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964 by primary songwriter John Sebastian and guitarist Zal Yanovsky.

The group took their name from a lyric in Mississippi John Hurt’s song “Coffee Blues”. Their style blended folk, blues, jug-band music, and rock and roll, which they called “good-time music”. Beginning in 1965 with “Do You Believe in Magic,” the band achieved seven consecutive Top Ten US hits in 18 months, including “Daydream,” “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?”, and their chart-topping number-one hit “Summer in the City”

Recently I started doing water color painting again and turned a photo of the result into a poster about music which I do on a regular basis. Hope you enjoy this and I will be writing something in the near future regarding the subject of the painting – Merlin in an upcoming post. So….do you believe?

The Ed Sullivan Show: Sunday Nights that Bound a Nation

by BJM Publishing, posted in Family and Friends, Music

Long before glowing smartphones and endless streaming algorithms fractured our evenings, Sunday nights belonged to a single living room ritual: turning on CBS at 8:00 PM to see what Ed Sullivan had brought into the living room.

For twenty-three years, from 1948 to 1971, Sullivan served as America’s grand master of ceremonies. Unlikely as it seemed—with his stiff posture, trademark hunch, and famously dry delivery—he possessed an incomparable knack for giving everyone in the house a reason to gather around the tube.

Ed Sullivan was popular because his Sunday night variety show offered a unique “window to the world” with something for every family member. On any given Sunday, 30 to 40 million viewers tuning in might witness: Opera singers belting a classic aria followed immediately by graceful ballet dancers, plate-spinners, acrobat troupes, ventriloquists, and trained animals doing backflips. Fiery rock ‘n’ roll legends, soothing folk singers, and soulful Motown hitmakers sharing the same stage. It was a delightful, eclectic mix where a teenager waiting for a pop star had to sit politely through a classical violinist, and a grandparent tuning in for a big band tune might just end up tapping their foot to rock ‘n’ roll.

Beyond the glitz, Sullivan was a quiet pioneer with a big heart. During a time of deep segregation, he routinely defied racist sponsor pressures and southern station resistance, insisted on booking prominent Black performers, and championed talents like Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, and The Supremes on prime-time national television.

He also had a uncanny pulse on youth culture:

The Colbert Show was broadcast live from the Ed Sullivan Theatre till 2026.

Elvis Presley’s 1956 appearances popularized rock and roll globally, despite network censors famously filming him only from the waist up to hide his provocative dancing. The Beatles made their legendary U.S. television debut on the show in February 1964, watched by an estimated 73 million people, which instantly ignited nationwide fandom.

The stage hosted breakthrough performances from foundational acts like the Rolling Stones, the Doors, and the Supremes. Young or counter-cultural comedians—including George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Woody Allen—gained mainstream viability after performing on the program.

By the time the curtain finally fell in March 1971(after 23 years on the air) as networks shifted toward modern, youth-focused programming, The Ed Sullivan Show had left an indelible mark on history—a charming relic of a time when the whole family, and indeed the whole country, shared the very same front-row seat.

“Garden Party” – who was Ricky Nelson?

by BJM Publishing, posted in Music

A long, long time ago in a long forgotten land lived a young girl who had a teenage crush on a young actor who played one of the sons of the Mother and Father on Ozzie and Harriet. Sort of the world’s first reality series in a way, as the family were all related. Those were the days when there wasn’t much programming on TV and you had your choice of maybe 3 channels to watch but he will always be the first McDreamy to me. Men with striking blue eyes that you could just dive into!

Ricky Nelson was born on May 8th, 1940 and was an American musician and actor who grew up on ‘The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet’ which starred his real life parents, Ozzie who was a band leader and director and Harriet, his mother who was a singer, and his older brother David (who later became a producer and director with a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame). Ricky used the show to launch a massive music career. His smooth tenor and blue-eyes made him an instant teen idol. Between 1947 and 1962 he had twenty Top 40 hits, second only to Elvis Presley. His chart topping hits included “Poor Little Fool” “Hello Marylou” and “Travelin’ Man,” which was released along with one of the first ever music videos.

Nelson would never again achieve the success he had in the 50’s and early 60’s. In the 70’s, he formed The Stone Canyon Band, whose laid-back country sound was an influence on acts like The Eagles, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt. He also continued to act, record and tour until 1985, when he was killed in a plane crash. He was inducted posthumously into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Though his death didn’t have the same impact on me that John Lennon’s murder did in 1980 at 40 years old, he was still very young (45) and it was extremely tragic.

Rick Nelson wrote “Garden Party” as a direct response to being booed during a 1971 rock and roll revival concert at Madison Square Garden. The song serves as a personal anthem about the necessity of staying true to your artistic vision rather than just playing the hits to please a crowd. At its core, the song is a statement of resilience for artists who refuse to be pigeonholed by their past success. Nelson famously concluded that if he only sang old memories, he would rather quit the business entirely, leading to the iconic refrain about pleasing yourself when you can’t satisfy everyone else.

Death is Inevitable so enjoy life while you’ve got it!

by BJM Publishing, posted in Adventure, Music, Travel

1. The Logic of Inevitability

For many, fearing death is seen as an unnecessary tax on the mind because it is completely unavoidable. Since it is a universal certainty that applies to everyone, worrying about it is viewed as a waste of precious energy.

  • Accepting the Unavoidable: Death is simply a guarantee. Fearing it is described as being as counterproductive as fearing basic, everyday bodily functions.
  • A Release from Anxiety: Acknowledging that you cannot stop death allows people to drop the burden of trying to avoid it, freeing them from “unjust anxiety.”
  • Probability and Modern Life: In the modern world, the vast majority of people live to old age. Because it is a distant certainty for most, there is no logistical reason to let it overshadow the present.

2. The Preservation of “The Present”

Obsessing over death actively ruins the only thing we actually possess: life. Those who do not fear death choose to focus entirely on the quality of their Earthly existence.

  • Living Mindfully: As Bob Marley suggests, if you know what life is worth, you look for it on Earth. The human brain is naturally wired to focus on waking up, making plans, and looking forward to tomorrow.
  • Lessons from Tragedy: Witnessing the loss of a loved one—even a child—often highlights just how fleeting and fragile life is. Instead of causing fear, this realization inspires people to face life with excitement, wonder, and gratitude.
  • Avoiding a Half-Life: To fear death is to stop living entirely. It is better to live a short life full of vitality than a long life paralyzed by fear. As one person noted: “If the grim reaper wants me, he knows where I am.”

3. The Nature of Consciousness (The “Switch” Theory)

Many individuals derive peace from the biological and philosophical reality of what death actually is: the total cessation of consciousness.

  • The Absence of Experience: You cannot actively “experience” being dead. Just as you do not consciously experience the hours spent in a dreamless sleep every night, you won’t be there to miss life or feel nothingness.
  • The Sweet Release: In death, all suffering, pain, and fighting cease. Even though joy is gone too, you lack the consciousness to miss it. It is a state of total, permanent peace.

4. The Metaphor of “Leaving the Party”

Perhaps the most poignant reason people do not fear death is the natural weariness that comes with a long, full life. Death is not seen as a failure, but as the natural culmination of a book’s chapters.

  • Knowing When It’s Time to Go: Life is compared to a great party. Eventually, you have had your fill, the crowd thins, and the music changes to tunes you no longer recognize. Staying longer means risking becoming a burden or watching your quality of life deteriorate.
  • Comfort in the Next Generation: There is peace in seeing the “newer guests” keeping the party going, allowing the older generation to step away gracefully.
  • The Desire for Rest: For those who live to a ripe old age, the thought of living forever becomes exhausting. Death is reframed not as a terrifying void, but as a beautiful, well-earned, “good, long sleep.”

In this song is he talking about the ability to fly or that dying is the biggest flight your soul will take?

As soon as you are born, you are on the road to death. I’d rather live a short life full of life than a long life of nothing. Some people have no fear of death because they get the point. They enjoy the trip without worrying about the destination.

LOW RIDER

by BJM Publishing, posted in Art, classic cars, Music

The song “Low Rider” from the 1975 album “Why Can’t we be Friends” by War is often thought of as a drug song due to the take a little trip chorus and the line that says the low rider is a little higher but that was not the intention according to the members of the band.

A low rider is a car, and also a culture. “Low Riders” are modified with hydraulic lifts that allow the driver to lower each wheel and make the car bounce. They are often customized with outrageous paint jobs, tiny steering wheels and swivel seats. The culture formed around these cars is big in the Southwestern US, and popular in Latino culture. Most of the band grew up in Southern California and were immersed in low rider culture.

As for War’s history, they are a multi-ethnic musical group formed in 1969 in Long Beach, California. They are known for their blend of jazz, rock, funk, and R&B and their politically charged lyrics. They have released several critically acclaimed albums and are considered one of the pioneers of the funk rock genre.

“Calling ourselves War was a positive thing: we were waging war against war and the conflicts going on in our back yard. Our weapons were our instruments, which fired rhythms, melodies and most of all harmony. We were a multi-ethnic band and we used our songs to bring peace and love.”

  The iconic lead vocals of “Low Rider” were performed by War’s saxophonist, Charles Miller.

Taken too soon – Remembering Jim Croce

by BJM Publishing, posted in Music

American folk and rock singer-songwriter known for his warm baritone voice and narrative-driven songs.

Jim Croce was born to an Italian-American family in South Philadelphia in 1943; a self-taught guitarist who also played the accordion, he died in a tragic plane crash in 1973 just 30 years old. Spent years working odd jobs—truck driver, teacher, and DJ—while trying to break into the music industry.

In 1972, he partnered with guitarist Maury Muehleisen and signed with ABC Records. Achieved fame with classics like “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Operator,” and the #1 hit “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.”

His song “Time in a Bottle” became a #1 hit after his death.

Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990 and won a posthumous American Music Award in 1974.

Time in a Bottle