Somewhere.......

You see, some of us live beyond the rainbow. We are few. and cannot explain this to the rest of you......it is just impossible.

A simple explanation would not work........you would just write it off.

I wish I could take you all there with me. But it is simply not possible.

It's not because WE chose to be here..........It's just that God has chosen some people to live here.

He took us apart from the rest, and carried us somewhere else.

I don't know why........maybe He will tell me some day.

But I do know that I am on a somewhat different plane than many of you.

And most of you will not accept this as fact.

But it is.

Now don't get me wrong.........I don't think I am BETTER than you.......just a little special. And some day some of you will come to know that when I am gone.

The other side of the rainbow is my place. I am only here for a short while, to learn of your ways. And then I am gone.

M7 Favorite Things
from this planet.......

You have some wonderful shows......that you call 'broadway'.
Your 'Lion King' show was most excellent.

So.......I cannot say.....how is your term............'goodbye' just yet. When the time comes, you will know.

Until then, my friends..I will wander about your midst.
Instigate your arguments, and stimulate your minds.

You shall argue about and around me... but that is why I have come.

Can you hear me now?

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Uhh........sometimes you folks simply slay me......

My favorite things........
All I can say is meow...............

WTF did this come from????

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Aw, shit.

This is not just fair.

Got to go to bed, and I ran across this.

There are no simple ways to say the things I need to say to you all.

This comes close.

Cheryl Crow...and friend.........I Shall Believe.

I do.........with all my heart and soul, I do.

Let me know it's all right,
Whether it's wrong or whether I'm right.......
Don't matter much baby, whether it's day or it's night......
Because...


I shall believe.


I shall believe.


I do, my Lord, I do believe in you. I simply do.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

I am jealous...

13 YO wife....I would, if it were legal, and she was the right one.

I am 53
And it would not take but a heartbeat.


Great Balls........

Myra divorced him about 30 years ago. He has not been the same since.

Quaid was to die for in the rockin' bio..........

And, as far as I have been able to determine....
The 'flaming whiskey' stage act was a real stunt.
He was soooooooooo pissed at having to be the opener rather that the main show....
Set the piana on fire.........goodness, gracious. Great Balls.....................................of.........fire.

And sadly, his son, Steve Allen Lewis drowned at the age of 3 back in '57.

A clip from '83...Trouble In Mind.

Ya gotta luv this man. He rode his God given talent to the top. And didn't give a rat's petoot about anybody's opinion about the way he lived his life.

And if you want a little advice from the ol' kittyman...
I have This album on vinyl....and it is one of the best set of performances he ever laid down. The Complete London Sessions.
I guess I am not surprised that it has been reissued.

A little more background on The Man....


Jerry Lee Lewis

Is there an early rock & roller who has a crazier reputation than the Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis? His exploits as a piano-thumping egocentric wild man with an unquenchable thirst for living have become the fodder for numerous biographies, film documentaries, and a full-length Hollywood movie. Certainly few other artists came to the party with more ego and talent than he and lived to tell the tale. And certainly even fewer could successfully channel that energy into their music and prosper doing it as well as Jerry Lee. When he broke on the national scene in 1957 with his classic "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," he was every parents' worst nightmare perfectly realized: a long, blonde-haired Southerner who played the piano and sang with uncontrolled fury and abandon, while simultaneously reveling in his own sexuality. He was rock & roll's first great wild man and also rock & roll's first great eclectic. Ignoring all manner of musical boundaries is something that has... Read More

Is there an early rock & roller who has a crazier reputation than the Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis? His exploits as a piano-thumping egocentric wild man with an unquenchable thirst for living have become the fodder for numerous biographies, film documentaries, and a full-length Hollywood movie. Certainly few other artists came to the party with more ego and talent than he and lived to tell the tale. And certainly even fewer could successfully channel that energy into their music and prosper doing it as well as Jerry Lee. When he broke on the national scene in 1957 with his classic "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," he was every parents' worst nightmare perfectly realized: a long, blonde-haired Southerner who played the piano and sang with uncontrolled fury and abandon, while simultaneously reveling in his own sexuality. He was rock & roll's first great wild man and also rock & roll's first great eclectic. Ignoring all manner of musical boundaries is something that has not only allowed his music to have wide variety, but to survive the fads and fashions as well. Whether singing a melancholy country ballad, a lowdown blues, or a blazing rocker, Lewis' wholesale commitment to the moment brings forth performances that are totally grounded in his personality and all singularly of one piece. Like the recordings of Hank Williams, Louis Armstrong, and few others, Jerry Lee's early recorded work is one of the most amazing collections of American music in existence.

He was born to Elmo and Mamie Lewis on September 29, 1935. Though the family was dirt poor, there was enough money to be had to purchase a third-hand upright piano for the family's country shack in Ferriday, LA. Sharing piano lessons with his two cousins, Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Lee Swaggart, a ten-year old Jerry Lee Lewis showed remarkable aptitude toward the instrument. A visit from piano-playing older cousin Carl McVoy unlocked the secrets to the boogie-woogie styles he was hearing on the radio and across the tracks at Haney's Big House, owned by his uncle, Lee Calhoun, and catering to blacks exclusively. Lewis mixed that up with gospel and country and started coming up with his own style. He even mixed genres in the way he syncopated his rhythms on the piano; his left hand generally played a rock-solid boogie pattern while his right played the high keys with much flamboyant filigree and showiness, equal parts gospel fervor and Liberace showmanship. By the time he was 14, by all family accounts, he was as good as he was ever going to get. Lewis was already ready for prime time.

But his mother Mamie had other plans for the young family prodigy. Not wanting to squander Jerry Lee's gifts on the sordid world of show business, she enrolled him in a bible college in Waxahatchie, TX, secure in the knowledge that her son would now be exclusively singing his songs to the Lord. But legend has it that the Killer tore into a boogie-woogie rendition of "My God Is Real" at a church assembly that sent him packing the same night. The split personality of Lewis, torn between the sacred and the profane (rock & roll music), is something that has eaten away at him most of his adult life, causing untold aberrant personality changes over the years with no clear-cut answers to the problem. What is certain is that by the time a 21-year-old Jerry Lee showed up in Memphis on the doorstep of the Sun studios, he had been thrown out of bible college; been a complete failure as a sewing-machine salesman; been turned down by most Nashville-based record companies and the Louisiana Hayride; been married twice; in jail once; and burned with the passion that he truly was the next big thing.

Sam Phillips was on vacation when he arrived, but his assistant Jack Clement put Roland Janes on guitar and J.M. Van Eaton on drums behind Lewis, whose fluid left hand made a bass player superfluous. This little unit would become the core of Lewis' recording band for almost the entire seven years he recorded at Sun. The first single, a hopped-up rendition of Ralph Mooney's "Crazy Arms," sold in respectable enough quantities that Phillips kept bringing Lewis back in for more sessions, astounded by his prodigious memory for old songs and his penchant for rocking them up. A few days after his first single was released, Jerry Lee was in the Sun studios earning some Christmas money, playing backup piano on a Carl Perkins session that yielded the classics "Matchbox" and "Your True Love." At the tail end of the recording, Elvis Presley showed up, Clement turned on the tape machine, and the impromptu Million Dollar Quartet jam session ensued, with Perkins, Presley, and Lewis all having the time of their lives.

With the release of his first single, the road beckoned and it was here that Lewis' lasting stage persona was developed. Discouraged because he couldn't dance around the stage strumming a guitar like Carl Perkins, he stood up in mid-song, kicked back the piano stool and, as Perkins has so saliently pointed out, "a new Jerry Lee Lewis was born." This new-found stage confidence was not lost on Sam Phillips. While he loved the music of Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, he saw neither artist as a true contender to Elvis' throne; with Lewis he thought he had a real shot. For the first time in his very parsimonious life, Sam Phillips threw every dime of promotional capital he had into Lewis' next single, and the gamble paid off a million times over. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" went to number one on the country and the R&B charts, and was only held out of the top spot on the pop charts by Debbie Reynolds' "Tammy." Suddenly Lewis was the hottest, newest, most exciting rock & roller out there. His television appearances and stage shows were legendary for their manic energy, and his competitive nature to outdo anyone else on the bill led to the story about how he once set his piano on fire at set's end to make it impossible for Chuck Berry to follow his act. Nobody messed with the Killer.

Jerry Lee's follow-up to "Shakin'" was another defining moment for his career, as well as for rock & roll. "Great Balls of Fire" featured only piano and drums, but sounded huge with Phillips' production behind it. It got him into a rock & roll movie (Jamboree) and his fame was spreading to such a degree that Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins left Sun to go to Columbia Records. His next single, "Breathless," had a promotional tie-in with Dick Clark's Saturday night Bandstand show, making it three hits in a row for the newcomer.

But Lewis was sowing the seeds of his own destruction in record time. He sneaked off and married his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Gale Brown, the daughter of his bass-playing uncle, J.W. Brown. With the Killer insisting that she accompany him on a debut tour of England, the British press got wind of the marriage and proceeded to crucify him in the press. The tour was canceled and Lewis arrived back in the U.S. to find his career in absolute disarray. His records were banned nationwide by radio stations and his booking price went from $10,000 a night to $250 in any honky tonk that would still have him. Undeterred, he kept right on doing what he had been doing, head unbowed and determined to make it back to the bigs, Jerry Lee Lewis style. It took him almost a dozen years to pull it off, but finally, with a sympathetic producer and a new record company willing to exact a truce with country disc jockeys, the Killer found a new groove, cutting one hit after another for Smash Records throughout the late '60s into the '70s. Still playing rock & roll on-stage whenever the mood struck him (which was often) while keeping all his releases pure country struck a creative bargain that suited Lewis well into the mid-'70s.

But while his career was soaring again, his personal life was falling apart. The next decade and a half saw several marriages fall apart (starting with his 13-year-long union with Myra), the deaths of his parents and oldest son, battles with the I.R.S., and bouts with alcohol and pills that frequently left him hospitalized. Suddenly the Ferriday Fireball was nearing middle age and the raging fire seemed to be burned out.

But the mid-'80s saw another jump start to his career. A movie entitled Great Balls of Fire was about to be made of his life and Lewis was called in to sing the songs for the soundtrack. Showing everyone who was the real Killer, Lewis sounded energetic enough to make you believe it was 1957 all over again with the pilot light of inspiration still burning bright. He also got a boost back to major-label land with a one-song appearance on the soundtrack for Dick Tracy.

With box sets and compilations, documentaries, a bio flick, and his induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame all celebrating his legacy, Lewis still continued to record and tour, delivering work that vacillated from tepid to absolutely inspired. While his influence will continue to loom large until there's no one left to play rock & roll piano anymore, the plain truth is that there's only one Jerry Lee Lewis and American music will never see another like him. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide


And yes, the 'Mean Old Man' is still touring....
His only daughter, Phoebe, manages his career and His Official Website.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Jerry Lee Lewis, was quite simply, 'dangerous', but absolutely brilliant.

---

Don't take life too seriously, as you'll never come out of it alive!

Jerry Lee Lewis, was quite simply, 'dangerous', but absolutely brilliant.

Yes, he was, and is The Killer...

Follow that, Chuck. LOL.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Newcomer........at least to me.

Holly Cole...
I Can See Clearly Now.

Bright sunshiny day.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Hmmm....

Delightful tune....

Madeleine Peyroux...Careless Love...

Her vocals remind me soooo much of somebody else, but I can't place it.
She's not as dusky as Lena Horne....
Can't quite figure it....

Any thoughts?

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

This is just wonderful.....an interview with Van The Man Morrison...
He does not do this stuff often.

CBS Sunday Morning was granted a rare interview with him...
I never knew he was so shy.

Part 1
Part 2

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

You know........
It's not exactly about the drug of choice......it's about the addiction to it.

Dave Van Ronk....Cocaine...

It can easily apply to cigs or whiskey..or whatever other simple pleasure.

'Ev'ry time me and my baby and I go uptown, police come and knock me down.'

Running all 'round my brain...
Yah, come here baby, come here quick, this old cocaine 'bout to make me sick....

Reached into my pocket...grabbed my poke...note in my pocket said...'no more coke.'

You take Mary, I'll take Sue, ain't no diff'rence 'twixt the two.

Cocaine's for horses, not for men. Say it'll kill me, but they won't say when...LOL.

Just for clarification, my addiction is to whiskey and cigs, that's all.

I DID inhale......once or twice. Just always made me want to go into a corner and sleep like a kitten.
And I did do cocaine a couple of times about 30 years ago. Wonderful high....but the crash was nasty... Never did it since.
Blotter acid? Yes, two times in the same reckless years.....also wonderful...but I think if I tried it again now, I would enjoy a disconnect from reality that I might never want to come back from.

Moral of the story? You better have a strong sense of where you wanna be before you partake.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Yeah.......and this song is the product of my misspent youth....and

Jewel's......LOL.
As the heavens smiled up above.........

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Lena Horne.......Stormy Weather.....

A lesson for any wannabe singers.

Master this, then you might just be ready for the big time.

Maybe.

White chocolate........if you know what that means.

Her daddy and mommy were mixed race.........but what a wonderful outcome.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Nice tune....not familiar with this gal.
Melody Gardot...sweet. Sweet Memory

Ran across this on my lunch break last night on my new favorite radio station...
Avenue 91.1FM
Available in streaming audio....

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

How can I have anything........since I don't have you.

Don't have you.....Since......I don't have.........you.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

The late Dave Van Ronk...Cocaine

And he has a little fun improvising a bit in a live version...
Cocaine (live)

No, I do not do it.......

But I do luv the song.

Cocaine......trav'lin' 'round my brain......

"Come here baby, come here quick, this ol' cocaine 'bout to make me sick....."

And, in his defense, I have no evidences that he did it either........
Nor JJ Cale.........who wrote the song.
Nor Ry Cooder, nor The Man........

We just luv to talk about it.

Come here baby.......come here quick, this ol' whiskey 'bout to make me sick.........LOL.

Cocaine........'bout to drive me insane.

Aww, you take Mary, I'll take Sue, don't make much diffrend 'tween the two.
Cocaine, runnin' round my brain....................

I did luv Susie.........but she was just a drunk, like me.

'Every time Susie and I went uptown.......cops loved to come and knock us down...........'
We had some times.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Seem to have found a kindred voice.........

Cowboy Junkies......
'Sweet Jane'


Anyone's who ever had a heart......
Wouldnd't turn around and break it.

Anyone who's ever had a dream.....
Anyone who's ever played a part.

Tasty.

Meowp.......

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Found another nice one.......

And....I love her.....

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

In search of the lost chord......

The house that Les built.

For the love of a sunburst Les Paul...... Build it, and they will play.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Which brings me back to the OMG stage of guitarism....

How do they DO this?
The Masters....

Gary Moore is sporting a fine Les Paul....

And I don't think that Slash trying to cover his ass doing a Stevie Ray cover counts for much. Not when you have seen 'the man'. Still miss him after that last show.

Nobody......I mean NOBODY....could make a beat up old piece of shit stratocaster sing like he did.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Oh, THAT did it........

Rare footage.

And then, one sad day in New York, it all went silent.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster