Vanguard News Network

(Above: Buchanan circa 1978) Roy Buchanan (1939-1988) was a great and unique guitarist, despite never becoming a household name. He once saw Jimi Hendrix play live and he thought it was amusing that Hendrix needed a wah-wah pedal to make his guitar “cry” when he (Buchanan) didn’t need one. Merely by manipulating various parts of […]

Seen: “The Monterey Pop Festival” (film), 1967, which basically amounted to one big, long rock concert, but which included a sitar solo (a sitar is like an Indian guitar). The hippies in the audience seemed to dig it, man! “Groovy! Far out! Pass the L-25, dude! Is that purple fur on the balcony?” What kind […]

Spooky (1979) by Atlanta Rhythm Section. The lead singer for Atlanta Rhythm Section (Ronnie Hammond, a great singer) was shot by the police in 1998 and he almost died. [Video].

“Cornelia” by the Eastern Plain [Video].

Cool song. Lead singer Eric Adams (real name Louis Marullo) can really belt the vocals. Of course. Ever met an Italian who couldn’t sing? Neither have I. [Video, 5 minutes].

A good version of the song, The Impossible Dream, from the 1965 Broadway musical “Man of La Mancha,” which is, loosely, about the novel Don Quixote. Mr. Cavara does a wonderful job here. The song was originally written by a Jew named Leigh (real name Michnick), but, whether that Jew “took some liberties” when he […]

Where do fruit go on vacation? Meloncamp. Ha-ha! A knee-slapper. “Small Town” by John Mellencamp. I spent a lot of time in a small town; I miss it. It’s probably dead by now. Most of its citizens, no doubt, have fled to the big cosmopolitan cities. That is called “progress” for some reason. How is […]

While 4-part-harmony “barbershop” music (meaning four men singing a cappella together, with no instruments used) was sometimes performed by Black people in the 1800s, it was largely a White thing, and it still is [1]. Today, PC historians try to claim that Blacks invented barbershop music. Nope. Blacks didn’t invent peanut butter, either. One of […]

Apparently, Eddie Van Halen was god-like in the guitar world. But why? Was Van Halen a fast guitar player? Yes. Very fast. But, was he a good guitar player? By many accounts, he was only so-so, talent-wise; his guitar solos were at times catchy, but not at all historic. We live in a world today […]

Rick Beato (pronounced Bee-at-o) asks: Why Do People Hate Jazz? [Video]. I hate most jazz music. It’s mostly Black, it’s way too busy and way too loose. No boundaries. No walls. But I like some jazz: Miles Davis and Frank Sinatra, for example. Frank Zappa also has some good jazz music. Just like humans can […]