December 2011
8 posts
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year 2012 to family, friends and fans! Here’s the opening verse of my favorite New Year’s poem, written by Minnie Louise Harkins (1875-1957) I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year ’Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied, ’Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God ...
Happy Christmas!
Wishing fans and friends a lovely Christmas as you enjoy the festivities, and the peace and meaning of this time.
The Korg Sound on Sound - and Monday Morning...
The ‘Precious Little’ Team of Giants
After having given a lot of acclaim for musical ‘greats’ I have had the pleasure to meet and/or play with, I felt it important to spotlight some lesser-known, but in my opinion equally talented musicians.
I will start with the team of not-so-little, but dedicated Norwegian blues players who accompanied me on the ‘Precious Little’ CD back in 2005 and on some gigs in the ensuing couple of years....
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven
The last time I met Eric was in 1989 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Dorothea and I were living at the time. He was on a tour of Brazil and staying at a hotel in Copacabana, where we met him. We conversed for some time, and at Dorothea’s request, he talked about his son, Connor. This was just a few months before Connor’s fateful accident in New York. I sent Eric my condolences in a letter, and...
1 tag
Meeting Eric Clapton - Melody Maker Awards
One of the next times I met Eric Clapton was after the 1969 Melody Maker awards, which we attended in order to pick up the trophy.
At the time, I had wanted to record an album of Buddy Holly’s songs but I heard from Jenny Boyd (Mick Fleetwood’s wife at the time and sister of Patti Boyd who was then married to George Harrison) that Eric Clapton was about to do the same. I told her that I would...
1 tag
Meeting Eric Clapton - 1967
I have had some opportunities to meet Eric — a congenial and respectful man. The first time was when Peter introduced me to him at the Windsor Jazz and Blues festival in 1967 — Fleetwood Mac’s first gig. We were in a backstage tent, and Eric was there in his latest psychedelic, Afro-permed splendour. I felt a little in awe, as I always admired him for stepping out and playing what he...
2 tags
From my Sketchbook: Backstage with B.B. King
Once while I was backstage at a concert, B. B. drew me aside and sat down with Lucille on his knee plugged into a small Fender Champ. He said something like, “You know what? I tried to play slide like that and I couldn’t get the hang, so I learned to make the sound with my fingers like this…” and, playing the intro to Elmore’s ‘The Sky is Crying”, he demonstrated how he would bend the...