You have spoken and I have listened. Here’s what you told me: How much you miss Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report, especially if you’re not a client. I’m not saying that to rub anything in, this is not the reason for writing this. I just want you to know that you’re not alone and your words are not forgotten. This is my message to you today from one client: “E.J., times like these are why I’m with you guys. I’m good. Thanks for the call.” Read my entire series, Coronavirus Infects Stock Market here. … [Read more...]
RIP Kenny Rogers
Long-time friend Bob Morrison wrote the Grammy-winning Kenny Rogers song “You Decorated My Life.” He was ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year in 1978, 1980, 1981, and 1982, and inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016. Here’s an email exchange on the passing of Kenny Rogers. EJ It was great to hear from you. I hope you and yours are doing ok under the circumstances. Kenny was a genius at changing with the times musically. He had a very long career. Longer than most. And living 81 years with the wear and tear of the music business and the road is pretty damn good. I’m … [Read more...]
“Hello, McFly?”
Nice write-up by Marc Meyers in the WSJ on the anatomy of the song: “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News, featured in the movie Back to the Future starring Michael J. Fox. Meyers writes (abridged): By 1984, Huey Lewis and the News had eight Billboard pop hits but none cracked the top five. Then came an offer to write a theme for the movie “Back to the Future.” Mr. Lewis nearly passed. He feared a song with that title would make the News sound retro and dated. So he went with “The Power of Love.” The single became a No. 1 Billboard pop hit in 1985 and was nominated for an … [Read more...]
Remembering Bob Marley: Natural Mystic
It’s not every day you get to go to Jamaica. I remember going for Spring Break one year while studying at Babson. When you’re in Jamaica, you hear Bob Marley songs in the wind as if he’s playing somewhere off in the distance. A special surprise at the end of our trip was hearing his songs performed live by his son Ziggy to a huge crowd on the cliffs of Negril. Last week Bob Marley would have turned 75, and in a way, he will always be with us thanks to the reggae sound he created. In an interview with NPR, Ziggy explains that his father kept things light even when they visited him on … [Read more...]
RIP Neil Peart: You Will Always Be Remembered as a “Modern-Day Warrior”
If you’re a Rush fan you’ve probably been asked a couple of questions. One: “Why do you love them so much?” Two: “Is that a girl singing?” But that goes with the territory of being a Rush fan, because being a fan is a badge of honor, of sorts, with the humor not being lost on its members: Geddy Lee (vocals/bass/keyboard), Alex Lifeson (lead guitars), and with his passing last week, the late Neil Peart (drums/percussion/lyrics). You need to be a bit of a music nerd to love and appreciate Rush. It’s not every day you help a band sell 40 million records, fill out countless concert halls, … [Read more...]
One of My Favorite CD’s: Joe Beck’s Relaxin’
What’s great about CDs is they’re a package of songs that can bring you back in time—who said time travel wasn’t possible?—where you can feel how an artist was creating at that point in their career. Here’s one of my favorites. If you’re interested in just taking a deep breath and thinking about life for a while, then there’s no better medication than Joe Beck’s Relaxin’. Featuring Beck on guitar, Jay Leonhart on bass, and Grady Tate on drums, this trio plays inspired rhythms and solos in, as the title implies, a cool relaxed feel. Check it out here: Listen at Minute 6:00 to "Secret … [Read more...]
RIP Little Feat Guitarist, Paul Barrere
Paul Barrere, guitarist of the band Little Feat, has passed away at 71. Rolling Stone's Daniel Kreps reports on Barrere's talented life, writing: Barrere joined the Lowell George-led Little Feat prior the recording of the band’s breakthrough 1973 album Dixie Chicken; on the LP, Barrere co-wrote the song “Walkin’ All Night,” which the Rolling Stone review at the time called “the album’s purest rock & roll song.” The guitarist also contributed “Skin It Back” and helped co-write the title track for the 1974 album Feats Don’t Fail Me Now. Barrere’s Little Feat songwriting credits also … [Read more...]
Top Gun 2, Key West, Florida, and You
Originally posted November 29, 2018. Top Gun 2 is expected to be released in the Summer of 2020. Kelly McGillis—Top Gun flight instructor Charlie—after the original Top Gun, opened a restaurant in Key West in the old Pan Am building. And as Dick Young has told me, she was there from the beginning working hard while pregnant overseeing its opening. Always a popular spot, it has since been sold, and, although the Top Gun memorabilia (her leather jacket) may be gone, it’s still a neat spot to have a beer. You have two winters, until the release of Top Gun 2, to Escape to Margaritaville—from … [Read more...]
Jimmy Buffett’s: A Pirate Looks at 40
Originally posted on April 26, 2019. Make sure you have a chance to appreciate where you’re going and where you’ve been. Jimmy Buffett put on a pop-up show Monday in Austin, TX in preparation for his summer tour “I Don’t Know”. A client of mine is driving up to Nashville, TN for tonight’s sold-out show at the Ascend Amphitheatre. Here’s a great video of Buffett and Jerry Jeff Walker. Walker (Mr. Bojangles) was the person who gave Buffett refuge in Coconut Grove, FL after he fled Nashville. It was in Walker’s Packard that they drove to Key West for Buffett’s first visit. It was there … [Read more...]
Music That Will Make You Feel the Tropics
Wishing for some tropical weather like I am? Then let Jimmy Buffett’s Tin Cup Chalice bring you there. Hard to beat Doyle Grisham’s pedal steel play at minute 2:07. OFFICIAL CORAL REEFER LINER NOTES A1A IS THE BEACH ACCESS ROAD THAT RUNS OCCASIONALLY ON AND OFF U.S. 1. IT CAN TAKE YOU TO SOME OF THE PRETTIEST BEACHES IN FLORIDA EAST OF SAINT AUGUSTINE, RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF “WRINKLE CITY” BETTER KNOWN AS MIAMI BEACH AND ENDING SUDDENLY 90 MILES NORTH OF HAVANA AND FOUR BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE. PETER WHORF CAME TO KEY WEST TO TALK ABOUT MY IDEAS FOR THE COVER. AFTER SEVERAL HARD SKULL … [Read more...]