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Keb' Mo' press photo

Keb' Mo'

Photo: Jeremy Cowart

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Keb' Mo' Is Honing A Continuum Of Feeling keb-mo-interview-good-to-be-old-crow-medicine-show-darius-rucker-americana-country-soul

Keb' Mo' On Purchasing His Childhood Home, Honing A Continuum Of Feeling And His Companionable New Album, 'Good To Be'

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Since adopting the Keb' Mo' moniker in the 1990s, singer/songwriter Kevin Moore has been less interested in innovation than emotional transference. On his new album, 'Good To Be,' there are fewer filters than ever between his inner state and ours.
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Jan 21, 2022 - 1:32 pm

Have you ever stepped into your childhood home and absorbed its invisible energy, its spectrum of lingering emotions? Keb' Mo' did more than that: he purchased the place for himself and his family.

"How did all five of us live in this little, bitty house? But we did. We did," the Americana singer/songwriter tells GRAMMY.com of that two-bed, one-bath abode, which stands a stone's throw from the Compton/Woodley Airport in Los Angeles. In recent years, Keb' Mo' — who is also a Nashville resident — purchased the home, renovated it and made it his vacation home and workspace.

There's evidence of his upbringing everywhere, the five-time GRAMMY winner and 12-time nominee says. And his soul-nourishing new album, Good To Be, grew from that bittersweet homecoming.

Released Jan. 21 via Rounder Records, Good To Be explores various permutations of American music. These include silky-smooth soul ("Sunny and Warm"), back-porch country ("Good Strong Woman," featuring fellow GRAMMY winner Darius Rucker) and an Appalachian stomper ("The Medicine Man," featuring Old Crow Medicine Show — also GRAMMY winners.)

These days, Keb' Mo' is less interested than ever in being a boundary-demolisher; he knows what he does, and wants to keep honing that vision.

"What I'm looking to do is to do a better job of what I did before," he says. "It's like, how do I write a more pertinent song? How do I write a more fun song? How do I make the music sound and feel better?" Fortunately, Good To Be sounds and feels as good as (if not better than) just about anything Keb' Mo' has released in his long and idiosyncratic career.

GRAMMY.com caught up with the Americana favorite to describe the moving parts of Good To Be, what makes a classic song and why we don't need to bring the blues back to the mainstream — rather, it happens on its own in trusty cycles.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Compton is an area that tends to garner negative associations, but I'd like to hear about it through your eyes. What might people not understand about it?

Well, it's like any other area. Some areas have a negative connotation; some areas have a positive connotation, depending on who you're talking to and what their perspective is on it.

For me, Compton — that's my home. That's where I grew up. It's got soul. It's got a thing that my neighborhood doesn't have. I live in Tennessee in a very safe, nice neighborhood. My house in Compton was in the hood. I enjoyed being around working-class people and everyday folks — you know what I mean? — which most Americans are.

In the house that I grew up in, there's a kind of comfort there. I've got family and people dropping by to see me. It's good. It just feels good. Like the song.

Tell me about the physicality of the house and the experiences you had there.

It's an 800 square foot house — two bedrooms, one bath. Very small rooms. It's a nice big lot. I hope somebody will put a guest house in the backyard. Maybe the same size as the house. It's right by Compton Airport — half a block south. It's just on a working-class block with nice palm trees.

When I'm living there with my wife and son, we've created a little working space — it's a vacation space. It's the home of a lot of great things. There's a school there; the Compton Cowboys ride through the neighborhoods. I don't know how to describe it to you. It's a little dangerous at the same time. But it's always been kind of dangerous. [Chuckles.]

My mom passed away at 91, and four years ago, we bought the house. It was in bad need of repair and renovation, so we did all of it. We put it back together.

Do you notice any evidence of childhood you in there?

Oh, yes. It's all over the place. Like, how did all five of us live in this little, bitty house? But we did. We did.

What led you to purchase the place? Did you just see it for sale and jump on it?

My mom owned it — she never sold it. She bought another house, and kept it and rented it out. Had I seen it for sale, I probably wouldn't have bought it. I would have just passed it and pointed: "Hey, I used to grow up in that house." But because she had it and kept it all those years, I thought it was a chance to build a legacy there and pass it on.

I still have family in the area, so they come by and visit. We have gatherings. It's pretty cool! Beautiful backyard, landscaped and everything. We put a big deck on the back of the house that adds more living space to it.

Can you talk about your connection with Darius Rucker? It's inspiring how he made one mark with Hootie and the Blowfish, then a completely different one in the Grand Ole Opry sphere.

I commented when we were listening to the record, "What if Darius Rucker sang on the second verse?" Somebody happened to be in the room that took it upon themselves to go find Darius. [Laughs.] She found him and he said "Yeah, I'd love to sing on this!" So he came over and sang on it. We were quite blessed to have him on the record.

When you think of all the styles on the album — from country to soul to blues — do you delineate them or consider them to be basically one thing?

They're all different variations of a musical language based in America. Country, blues, rock, soul, rock 'n' roll, classical — I just see it as a variation on a kind of folk music. Dance music, bar music, juke-joint music… drinking music! [Laughs.]

As a string band, Old Crow Medicine Show represents one of those permutations. What do you appreciate about them?

I was talking to [Old Crow member] Ketch Secor. I'd been talking to him for a few years about doing something. While I was out in Compton, I was listening to this "The Medicine Man" song, and I sent it to him to maybe work on it with me. He said, "I don't know, man! Sounds finished to me! Let's do it!" So, we did it and it worked out great. We had a lot of fun with it.

At a Country Music Hall of Fame gig I did on Dec. 9, we were talking about it to the audience. He came by and sat in with me and said, "How're you doing with this song?" and I said "I'm doing really great!" There's a line about how "[The] president lost/ But he don't wanna go." I think his audience is a little more conservative than mine. He didn't want them to hear that!

You've made records since the '90s. What did you want to say with Good To Be that you hadn't with past ones?

I don't know if the phrase "want to say something" resonates with me, because my aim is to portray a feeling. It's not necessarily to articulate anything — I'm looking to do something. I just say what I want to say and hopefully people will hear it in the most positive way. Also, [I hope they'll] be inspired and somewhat enlightened by it, or just feel good.

When you ask the question of what I want to do differently: I'm never looking to do anything different than I hadn't done on a record before. What I'm looking to do is to do a better job of what I did before.

So, you're honing one thing — it's one continuum.

Yeah. It's like, how do I write a more pertinent song? How do I write a more fun song? How do I make the music sound and feel better? How do I sing better? How do I play better? How do I do everything better than I did last time? How do I talk about different things than I talked about last time?

At the same time, the ultimate goal is to put some music out that adds a little spice to your life. There's so much music out there; there's so much noise. There's a lot of music out there making a lot of noise, especially in the pop world. Most people listen to popular music, so for me, I'm in a side genre — blues, Americana. But there's still a lot of people listening; not as much as in the pop world, but still a lot.

I just want to be in the game, you know? In my older years, I really love the fact that I'm still around playing. I don't feel like I'm slowing down at all. I feel good, like I did when I was younger or middle-aged. I'll always do my best work, and I feel like my best work is still out in front of me.

Tell me about your internal growth over the past quarter-century.

Well, 24 years ago, that was the late '90s. I got signed to Sony. Keb' Mo' [was born] in 1994, with the first record. Before that point, there was Kevin Moore, and then there was Keb' Mo'. Keb' Mo' is a more actualized version of Kevin Moore.

They're the same person, but Keb' Mo' has a mission — to be important in a way that people feel good and feel something from the music. There's something happening that involves spreading joy. Before that, Kevin Moore just liked playing music. So, Keb' Mo' just pops along and does what he does.

He's just a better version of myself. I'm not necessarily a person who's going to break down boundaries, or break the walls and make a mark, so to speak. I think just being myself is my mark. There's only one me. I don't have to try to make a mark. I am the mark.

Is there a way to articulate the feeling you want to transmit to listeners? Obviously, music is abstract and subjective by nature.

The words that you use are important, but the way it feels is even more important — the way it makes your body and soul feel. What's one of your favorite songs?

Oh, gosh. I'm trying to pin it down. The Beatles, Neil Young, Big Star, Nina Simone, then there's all the jazz and country greats…

You're a lover of great music. You're a classic guy. You like music in the highest sense of the word. When I listen to music alone, I like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard… I'm across the board with things I really like. I play them because of the way they make me feel. Jeff Beck playing "Over the Rainbow" — I just love that. 

These musicians coming to wide popularity are important in that what they do influences society. The blues were never a big [money-maker], but it's like the Earth. It makes everything grow, the blues.

You asked which song is really resonating with me lately, and I thought of one: "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry."

You clearly have very eclectic tastes. I remember when I realized that I was listening to music by the decade. If I'm still playing them after 10 years, that's a big mark.

So, you think of someone who made [the biggest] mark: the Beatles. No band, no musician probably made a bigger mark in pop culture than the Beatles. They set the standard. They raised the bar. And we're forever grateful for the Beatles, because they changed everything and continue to change everything.

The Beatles, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Hank Williams, George Jones, Donny Hathaway — the list goes on and on and on. Paul Simon. Music that really matters. My hope is that I can make music that matters. And the blues isn't held in high regard in a lot of cultures, but it matters.

If I've got one song that matters, that can mean something to somebody and can last or stick around for a long time, I think that's pretty cool. That's a life well-lived.

Keb' Mo' in 1997

Keb' Mo performing in Los Angeles in 1997. ​Photo: Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

So much music steeped in the blues has weird longevity. How do we bring the blues closer to the center of the conversation?

I don't think you really have to.

I had this conversation on a [recent] panel. The blues has made its mark. Every time, it's a cycle, and it always comes around. It just keeps resurging and reminding people that this music is important and has affected everything. So, it's already been there. It's already been recorded in the history of all our great musical institutions. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Smithsonian… you name it.

You mentioned Hank Williams. I recorded "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" on a Hank Williams tribute record called Timeless. I love music that's centered, and I try to take whatever [ability] I have and tell a story to move that narrative forward.

The thing that trips me out about that particular song is that he's citing images that suggest the action, or support the central thesis.

"Hear that lonesome whippoorwill/ He sounds too blue to fly." The whippoorwill is a little bird, and he's putting himself with nature — putting himself in there.

And there's a fantastical haze to it. Nobody's seen a robin weep.

[Laughs.] Yeah, but he got away with it! He's not talking about words; he's talking about a feeling. Imagine a robin weeping! Why would a robin weep? We weep. Why would a robin be sad?

Well, he answered the question: "When leaves begin to die."

Yeah!

What have you been listening to lately?

I don't listen to much at all.

Really!

There's some things I listen to. On a plane, I listen to… This might surprise you, but my favorite album right now of new stuff that I listen to is Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. Really cool. Upbeat, funky. Super cool.

But when I'm really listening, getting in the mode, getting in the zone? I listen to folklore, Taylor Swift.

You're a Swiftie!

Yeah, I'm a Swiftie.

When I had just moved to Nashville, she was coming around. They were talking about her around town. I was totally intrigued by her, because I saw a badass. I would watch her and I could see the fire in her eyes that none of those other folks had.

She made three of the greatest country records. And then Red? Freakin' genius! And then people started taking her seriously and she said, "Watch this, b****es!" and left everybody in the dust. I'm like, "OK! I saw it!" And she continues to keep moving and being creative and being a brave artist and a serious businesswoman.

What's been percolating in your imagination that might inform the next batch of tunes?

Ah, I have no idea. I'm in a period right now where I don't know what to do next. The way I find out what I'm going to do next is I just start doing.

I don't like plans so much. I plan to keep recording. I plan to keep creating. But right now, it's like I'm in a desert where I just want to go out and play this new record for people. I'll do that for a while, and maybe six months down the road, I'll start working on some new songs.

But I want to experience what people think about this one. I want to live life and hang out and take life in if I can. The way I keep [active] is by taking life in and creating.

Tito Jackson On His New Blues Album Under Your Spell & His Better-Late-Than-Never Solo Career

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Gary Louris

Gary Louris

Photo: Jorge Quiñoa

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Gary Louris On His New Solo Album 'Jump For Joy' gary-louris-jayhawks-interview-jump-for-joy-solo-album

Gary Louris Of The Jayhawks On Barely Listening To Roots Rock & His First Solo Album In 13 Years, 'Jump For Joy'

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Gary Louris' songs for the Jayhawks are an intriguing mishmash of styles, including Americana, sunshine-pop and experimental rock. But on his new solo album, 'Jump For Joy,' those influences shine bolder and brighter—and reveal more jagged edges
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Jun 7, 2021 - 4:34 pm

Next time you watch an artist's press cycle roll out, know this: In many instances, they're sick of the record before it's time to promote it. "I certainly have gone through periods of 'I hate this. I don't even want to put it out,'" Gary Louris tells GRAMMY.com over the phone from Hamilton, Ontario. "Or, 'I absolutely love this.'" Back in 2020, with his band the Jayhawks' album XOXO taking priority, Louris waited—and waited—to put out his solo record, Jump for Joy, as well.

While this may seem like a recipe for hating your own creation, the 66-year-old kept Jump for Joy at something of a distance, not overthinking or smothering it. As a result, Louris is elated to put out a record that feels refreshingly weird and untouched yet with his fingerprints all over it. "In this case, it's worked because of COVID and I'm excited to have something I like coming out," he adds. "And I've also made the decision that I'm not going to wait for the record company anymore."

Jump for Joy, which arrived June 4 on Sham/Thirty Tigers, is Louris' first solo album in 13 years. (He last released Vagabonds in 2008.) But while enjoying the intimate, homespun pop songs within, like "New Normal," "Mr. Updike" and "Follow," know that you're not going to have to wait two-and-a-half presidential terms for the next one. A newlywed hitting a new seam of creativity, Louris plans to keep self-producing songs and putting out the results on his website and Bandcamp.

The new album isn't the only thing on Louris' docket: He's been covering the Beatles' White Album in full on his Patreon page; goofing off with his son, Henry, on his music-filled YouTube show, "The S**t Show"; and jamming wild prog records like Yes' Tales from Topographic Oceans. The interior feeling of Jump for Joy sums him up right now: Touring and hitting the studio may not be big priorities, but he's got a wellspring of ideas percolating inside.

GRAMMY.com gave Gary Louris a ring to discuss the long gestation of Jump for Joy, why the next one won't take so long, and which song on the album stemmed from a rejected AT&T jingle.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Gary Louris

Gary Louris | Photo: Tim Geaney

While listening to this album, I didn't have a single thought of, "That song sounds like Hollywood Town Hall" or "That part sounds like Tomorrow the Green Grass." I just thought, "That sounds like the Kinks. That sounds like Yes." Is there a faction of your fan base that just wants you to make those two records over and over?

There's definitely a schism we created when we did Smile, even Sound of Lies a little bit. Some people abandoned ship. They didn't like it. Bob Ezrin produced Smile, and I remember that he kept telling me, "Gary, you don't have to be reverential to your audience. Lead, don't follow them." 

I grew up listening to pop music and prog rock. Everything English was what I listened to. I didn't grow up in South Carolina listening to Appalachian music. I didn't have brothers or parents who played Crosby, Stills and Nash records. I fell in love with British music. I wanted to be British. I wanted to be in the Who or the Kinks or the Beatles. And then prog rock, hard rock, English punk rock, everything.

I didn't really discover Americana until the '80s. I was like, "This is new, this is cool. I'm not British, and I can take certain things—the soulfulness of that." But underlying everything is always a big, heady dose of British music. English, Anglophile prog and pop, for me. That's what I listen to more than [anything]. I don't listen to roots rock much.

While watching your cover songs on "The S**t Show" and checking out your White Album project, I was thinking that you have a versatile voice, one that can handle all those different songbooks and canons. Where do you want to go with the canon in the future?

Well, it's funny. As you called, I was uploading my latest White Album song I did today to my Patreon page. I did "I'm So Tired." 

Originally, I thought, "I want to do something where [it's not] my own music." So I picked the White Album because it's one of my favorites. I recently thought, "Why didn't I do something like Yes' Tales from Topographic Oceans or something really bizarre?" I'll tell you why: Because people would think it's a pompous and difficult prog-rock album to play. But I love that kind of stuff.

My focus is always on writing my own music. However, during the pandemic, I just kind of embraced learning cover songs, which I never really did that much. It teaches you something. It inspires you. And if you're asking what I want to explore as far as covering?

I meant more along the lines of what might infect your own work. Like if you'll make your own super-prog album or British folk album someday.

This is kind of where I ended up, which is kind of prog with a sort of classic pop structure. It still has a sense of American folkiness, which I can't help because I'm American, I guess. 

There's always some kind of weird mixture that makes me happy, that seems to balance what I do. And I can do things that I don't do with the Jayhawks, because not everybody likes exactly what I like in the band. I can't force people to play some synthesizers they don't feel like playing. So, I get to explore a little bit more on my own.

I know "New Normal" is an older recording, and the Jump for Joy press release says the songs span decades. I'm curious, though; do the recordings span decades as well?

That's the only one, although I have other recordings I'm finding. Honestly, I'm ashamed of how long it took me between solo records. Life happened and s**t happened and I still have a band going. I want to put out more, much more often if I'm able. But I'm finding other things I like from the old days. "New Normal" is the only one from 2009 or something like that.

All the rest were recorded in the last two and a half years, but they have been around and finished since 2003. The business being what it was, with the Jayhawks putting out a record, it felt it was better to just wait. And now, I'm kind of glad I did. I grumbled, going like, "I want my record out. It's been sitting here."

But now it's kind of new to me ... Because the Jayhawks aren't really getting together to write in the near future, it's like, "Wow, I have something coming out." I'm learning how to play them again. So, it turned out to be good timing. Almost all the songs were just recorded in a little room.

It's kind of stripped down with a lot of buzzy, fuzzy things going on. Were you inspired by the arrangement palette of any particular record from the past?

No, I just love electronica. If I listen to music, I prefer to listen to something electronic. I listen to a lot of things that are not as song-based as you would think because I'm not thinking about how somebody wrote a song. It's just repetitive, electronic stuff.

I knew I wanted to include that because it's very satisfying for me to program things and get them to be in sync with each other, because most of the music I've made with the band has a soulful sloppiness to it that's fun. But, sometimes, I want to go in the other direction.

Something about "Almost Home" makes me feel like it was plucked from your memories. What's going on in that song?

It started as a commercial and then evolved into another commercial. I'm not very good at this commercial work because I write too much of a song, where they really want [something smaller]. And I don't do it very often; it's not something I wholly seek out so much as it comes up once in a while. I think, "Well, nobody's buying records anymore anyway." If I have to write something for a commercial, I'm not going to apologize for it.

I did a song, I think, for AT&T. It was "Almost Home." It's about calling and being far away from home and hearing somebody's voice. I just had that little chorus, and they didn't use it. Years later, it sat around, and a friend of mine who worked for an agency said, "This other company's looking for something." I played him different things and he said, "I love that." I worked on it, and of course, too many people got involved and it got diluted and they didn't use it. 

But it always stuck in my head: "This is a really catchy song. I should make it into a real song." Because it didn't have a verse; it was just a little riff-y thing. I decided to write something unusual for me, which is more of a story song—less imagery and muddled. It's an ode to my wife.

How about "Living in Between"?

I like songs that are really simple. I like both—I like songs with 20 parts, too—but writing a song with two or three chords with a verse and chorus that share the same progression, I always find that something to aspire to. There [are] a lot of songs I write that I notice are questioning—the meaning of life or what we're doing here or being in the moment.

That song is certainly a question of why I am the age I am and when somebody asks me what I believe, I'm not sure what I would say. I've been seeking and looking and I still don't know.

What can you tell me about "White Squirrel"?

"White Squirrel" is another song that's three chords, I think. Thematically, it's about people who don't fit in. I think it started when I read about a young trans person feeling trapped inside a body that wasn't their own—getting to know more about trans people and expanding to people who always feel out of place, out of sorts, out of sync, not really comfortable in this world.

I guess it's just saying, "You're not alone," and hoping that might help somebody.

In your public school days, did you feel like the odd man out?

Well, it was a private school. It was an all-male, Jesuit, coat-and-tie thing. I think I certainly had some of that in me, yeah. I think that's why people pick on musicians.

We already touched on "New Normal," and I feel like you've talked about that one a lot, so let's skip over to "Mr. Updike."

I'm just a fan [of John Updike]. He wrote about rich, quotidian events. Everyday, kind of small things. I just fell in love with his writing. I'm currently in touch with the family as I might make a video, which is my favorite thing to do now. I discovered iMovie, and my wife and I are making videos for all these songs.

It's just an ode to the writer's life. The thought that creating an idea from nothing and making it artistically happen makes a lot of things in life pale. It's like a high you chase because it gives you purpose and power and it's something unique you can keep going to.

What about the song "Follow"?

It's just a straight-up love song. It's become a song for my wife, but I originally wrote it for my niece and her husband as a kind of wedding gift. I played it at their wedding. Then, I rewrote it and it's kind of for my wife and I.

And how about "Too Late the Key"?

That one's a little older. Now, that one's a slightly older recording also. It's another questioning, longing song. "Have I made too many mistakes? Have I made too many wrong turns? Am I broken? Will I be able to walk through that door if it opens again? Or am I just too jaded and broken to be open anymore if there's something going on?" 

You play a lot of guitar on "One Way Conversation"!

Yeah, I got a little Steely Dan thing in the little break in the middle. I don't remember the thematic [content]. That became more about production than, "I know what that song's about." I write things a lot where I don't know exactly what they mean.

What can you share about the title track, "Jump for Joy"?

Um … dark. It's got a weird, suicidal kind of [feel]. I like the play on words. Not that I was feeling suicidal, but it's got this juxtaposition of words and delivery, or multiple meanings. It's sung in a dark way, but I'm thinking of something ecstatic. 

When you think of jumping for joy, you're all excited, but it's also a phrase, to me, that could allude to suicide. Jumping off a ledge to alleviate the pain and the resulting freedom. I certainly don't encourage that, but it's the hypnotic, underwater, dark beauty.

Then, finally, we have "Dead Man's Burden." 

[Proudly, brightly] "Dead Man's Burden" is one of my favorite things I've ever written, and I don't know if anybody else will ever like it. My wife loves it. Not too many people have heard it yet. It's stream of consciousness. I could never write anything like it again. It's the bookend. It's the opposite of what I was talking about earlier—two or three chords. The song has about eight parts and maybe one repeats.

And yet, when I tried to edit it and make it more concise, it didn't work at all. It was like a house of cards. You take one card out and the whole thing falls apart. So, I embraced it, and [it's] just an epic—for me—production with strings. It's got multiple movements. I love it. I have no idea if anyone else will, but it's like, "How did I write that?"

The Jayhawks' "New Day": How The Americana Pioneers Overcame Decades Of Turbulence And Became Full Collaborators

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Trini Lopez in London in 1965

Trini Lopez in London in 1965

Photo: Stanley Bielecki/ASP/Getty Images

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Trini Lopez Has Died From COVID-19 At 83 trini-lopez-who-revitalized-american-mexican-folk-classics-has-died-covid-19-83

Trini Lopez, Who Revitalized American & Mexican Folk Classics, Has Died From COVID-19 At 83

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The GRAMMY-nominated singer/guitarist's biggest global hits were lively covers of folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary's "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 12, 2020 - 3:18 pm

GRAMMY-nominated singer, guitarist and actor Trini Lopez, whose lively blend of American and Mexican folk songs with rockabilly flair earned him worldwide fame in the '60s, has died at 83. The Mexican-American artist died from COVID-19 at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif. yesterday, Aug. 11.

Beginning with his 1963 debut studio album, Trini Lopez At PJ's, Lopez found success bringing new life—and a raucous, danceable beat and vocal delivery—to other artists' songs, including folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary's hits "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree." Both songs would be his biggest, with his versions out-charting theirs both on the Billboard Hot 100 and international charts.

Back at the 6th GRAMMY Awards in 1964, following his epic breakout year, Lopez was nominated for Best New Artist.

If I Had A Hammer: From Aretha Franklin To Public Enemy, Here's How Artists Have Amplified Social Justice Movements Through Music

His rocked-up rendition of "I Had a Hammer," released in 1963 on his live debut album, hit No. 3 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 in 36 countries. The song was originally written by political activist/folk icon Pete Seeger and Lee Hays and recorded as a protest song by their band The Weavers in 1950, reemerging as a GRAMMY-winning No. 10 hit from Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962, the year prior to Lopez's breakout success with the classic song.

Popular '60s West Hollywood star-studded venue P.J.'s, where the Dallas-born singer recorded his first two albums (which also put the club on the map outside of Los Angeles), was where he got his big break, from none other than Frank Sinatra. After catching a few of his shows, the Rat Pack leader signed him to his Reprise label.

"I remember reading in the trades that Frank Sinatra frequented P.J.’s a lot so I moved over there so I could meet him," Lopez said. "I was hired for three weeks and I stayed a year and a half. I played four or five shows every single night and I never repeated a song. I just kept waiting to meet Frank Sinatra, and within a month he came with an entourage and to my surprise he offered me an eight-year record contract on his label. I put P.J.'s on the map with my live albums since they were recorded for Sinatra's record company."

Read: Sin-atra City: The story of Frank Sinatra and Las Vegas

A self-proclaimed "proud" Mexican-American born to immigrant parents in Dallas in 1937, Lopez also performed and recorded many songs in Spanish at a time when artists, including himself, were asked by labels to hide or Whitewash their Latin identity. Trini Lopez At PJ's included a rendition of traditional Mexican folk song "Cielito Lindo" and in 1964, he released The Latin Album, filled with of Spanish language classics. His father, Trinidad Lopez II, was a ranchera singer who made his living as manual laborer.

As The Guardian notes, "in the mid-'60s he was releasing as many as five albums a year, though that slowed in the late '70s. While he continued performing, he released very little music until 2000, when he began recording again and released a further six albums." His final album, released in 2011 and titled Into the Future, was a nod to Sinatra, featuring songs from his catalog.

Save Our Venues: Capturing Los Angeles' COVID-Closed Venues

At the peak of his musical fame in the '60s and '70s, he also found moderate success in film and TV, with roles in films The Dirty Dozen (1967) and Antonio (1973) and a variety show special on NBC in 1969, "The Trini Lopez Show."

A talented guitar player—he started playing at age 11—Gibson Guitars had him design two instruments in 1964, which remain highly sought after to this day. Dave Grohl and Noel Gallagher are both fans of the vintage models. Grohl paid tribute to Lopez on Twitter today, underscoring that he's used his on every Foo Fighters album ever recorded.

https://twitter.com/foofighters/status/1293331650982510592

Today the world sadly lost yet another legend, Trini Lopez. Trini not only left a beautiful musical legacy of his own, but also unknowingly helped shape the sound of the Foo Fighters from day one. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/9KRJXDXeWK

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) August 11, 2020

His electric live performances and hit records made him an in-demand artist in the Las Vegas circuit, as well as around the globe, including one jaunt he found most memorable—stealing the show as the Beatles' opener in Paris in 1964.

"I used to steal the show from them every night!" he said in a 2014 interview. "The French newspapers would say, 'Bravo, Trini Lopez! Who are the Beatles?'"

Ivan Barias On Silence As Complicity, Holding Major Labels Accountable & How To Be A Non-Black Latinx Ally

Ringo Starr performs at the 50th anniversary celebration of Woodstock in 2019

Ringo Starr performs at the 50th anniversary celebration of Woodstock in 2019

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

News
Ringo Starr Announces Birthday Charity Concert ringo-starrs-80th-birthday-virtual-charity-concert-feature-paul-mccartney-sheryl-crow

Ringo Starr's 80th Birthday Virtual Charity Concert To Feature Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow, Gary Clark, Jr., And More, Will Benefit MusiCares And Black Lives Matter

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Streaming on Starr's birthday (July 7), the show will feature "at-home performances and unearthed concert footage" from some of his best friends and closest collaborators
John Ochoa
MusiCares
Jul 1, 2020 - 10:19 am

This month, Ringo Starr is commemorating his 80th birthday with a little help from his friends. The former Beatles drummer and nine-time GRAMMY-winning artist is celebrating the big event by hosting Ringo's Big Birthday Show, a virtual charity concert featuring "a mix of at-home performances and unearthed concert footage," according to Rolling Stone, from some of his best friends and closest collaborators, including Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow, Gary Clark, Jr., Sheila E., Ben Harper and others. 

Streaming on YouTube Tuesday (July 7), Starr's birthday, starting at 8 p.m. EST, the charity concert will benefit MusiCares, Black Lives Matter Global Network, The David Lynch Foundation and WaterAid.

The hour-long show, which will also include chats with the event's guests, will feature the debut of a new, guest-heavy version of "Give More Love," the title track to Starr's 2017 album, which will include Jackson Browne, Jeff Bridges, Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson and others, Rolling Stone reports. Artists like Steve Earle, Peter Frampton and Judy Collins will also perform a series of tribute performances, which Starr will debut on his YouTube channel.

Starr's birthday has become an annual celebration of "peace and love" since 2008 when the legendary artist asked his fans to join him in Chicago and say or think the phrase at noon local time.  The "peace and love" celebrations have since spread to "more than 20 countries around the world and on social media, to 'create a wave of Peace & Love across the planet,'" Rolling Stone reports. For his birthday last July, Starr hosted a special "peace and love" celebration at the iconic Capitol Records building, The Beatles' longtime label home, in Los Angeles; the event featured performances from Ben Kyle, The Jacks and Sara Watkins. Starr is once again asking his fans and friends to say, think or share "peace and love" at noon local time on his birthday. 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Starr's annual birthday celebration is going digital in 2020. "This year is going to be a little different," he told Rolling Stone. "There's no big get-together, there's no brunch for 100. But we're putting this show together – an hour of music and chat. It's quite a big birthday."

Last November, Starr and his All-Starr Band announced a 2020 tour, which was later canceled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn more about how you can donate to or apply for assistance via the Recording Academy's and MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Learn more about the financial, medical and personal emergencies services and resources offered by the Recording Academy and MusiCares.

GRAMMYs

Bonnie Raitt

Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/WireImage

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Clapton's Crossroads Fest: Bonnie Raitt & More bonnie-raitt-gary-clark-jr-join-eric-clapton-crossroads-guitar-festival

Bonnie Raitt, Gary Clark, Jr. To Join Eric Clapton At Crossroads Guitar Festival

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A guitar lover's dream lineup has been amassed for this year's fest in Dallas, including Jeff Beck, Susan Tedeschi, Joe Walsh, Robert Cray and more
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Mar 28, 2019 - 2:03 pm

Guitar giant Eric Clapton pulled out all the stops for the latest edition his Crossroads Guitar Festival, announcing he'll be joined by Bonnie Raitt, Gary Clark, Jr., Jeff Beck, Susan Tedeschi, Joe Walsh, Robert Cray, Los Lobos, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill and many more for the fest, set for Sept.20-21 at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. 

Unlike many annual festivals, Crossroads only takes place every few years, making this gathering of six-string slingers an extra-special occasion, the first one since 2013 and only the fifth-ever installment dating back to 2004.

.@EricClapton brought the Crossroads Guitar Festival to MSG on this night in 2013, where he was joined on stage by star-studded line up including @AllmanBrothers Band, B.B King, and more. #EricClapton pic.twitter.com/lvLiEtWA3m

— MSG (@TheGarden) April 12, 2018

Guitar heads will be delighted to see names such as Sonny Landreth, Derek Trucks, Buddy Guy Band, Pedro Martins, Johnny Lang and Robert Randolph on the bill.

There will also be plenty of guitar activities with the Guitar Center Village at the Victory Plaza, adjacent to the arena, with interactive exhibits plus master guitar clinics and solo performances. The two-day festival will feature different set of artists each day. The schedule is yet-to-be-released, but Clapton, as the host, will perform both days.

All proceeds from the festival will benefit Clapton's Crossroads Centre, a rehab center in Antigua the GRAMMY-winner founded in the Caribbean.

Tickets for the Crossroads Guitar Festival go on sale Apr. 5 at 10 a.m. CDT. with select pre-sale starting Apr. 2 at 10 a.m. CDT.

Sheryl Crow, Mavis Staples, More To Perform At Jason Isbell's ShoalsFest

 

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy and its Affiliates. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy and its Affiliates lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy and its Affiliates.