Filed under: Birmingham, Bottletree Cafe, city stages, Just a Few Cats, music, music venues, radio, Ruben Studdard
We ended 2006′s normal posts talking in part about music over the airwaves. It only seems fitting that we begin 2007 taking a look at Birmingham’s music scene past and present. Considering that I also made a prediction that this would be the year of culture for the city, I figured I should make sure that I do my part in making this a reality.
Attendees of this year’s Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting were treated to a double shot of what Birmingham means to the music industry; a performance by Ruben Studdard and his old band Just a Few Cats, and to a unique music sampler showcasing musicians, past and present, that have a connection to Birmingham, Alabama.
The liner notes included with the 2-disc collection, entitled “A Magic City Music Samploer,” focus on the city’s reputation as a “shed town,” the influence that City Stages has brought to the scene, and the continued influence of many of our local musical venues, including the Bottletree, The Nick and Zydeco. The playlist that follows has no links to the actual songs. They do link to whatever information we could find about the artist that was most comprehensive. Hopefully you’ll want to learn more about these artists and hear more of their music.
The Temptations – The Way You Do the Things You Do
Emmylou Harris – Boulder to Birmingham
Hotel (featuring Marc Phillips) – You’ll Love Again
Birmingham Heritage Band – Tuxedo Junction
Claire Lynch and the Front Porch String Band – I Found You
Eric Essix – Rainy Night in Georgia
Brother Cane – Got No Shame
Azure Ray – For No One
Chuck Leavell – Tomato Jam
The Birmingham Sunlights – Jesus Have Me Water
Anthony Crawford – Glory Bound
Dorothy Love Coates – You Better Run
Wayne Perkins – Mendo Hotel
Karen Bentley Pollick – Jesse’s Joy
Wayne – Whisper
Odetta Holmes – Yonder Comes The Blues
Lola’s – I Can’t Stand It
Roszetta Johnson – Summertime
Diana Ross – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
Eliot Morris – Balancing the World
Eddie Steele – Groove Me Mama
Bobby Horton – Pristine
Birmingham J Featuring Venus – Move Back
The Primitons – Seeing is Believing
Robert Moore – Sweet Birmingham
Baker Knight and the Knightmares – I Want My Cadillac Back
After Class – Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier
The Distortions – Thank You John
Verbena – Junk for Fashion
Backwater – 14th Avenue South
Topper Price – Wade in the Water
Lolly Lee – Perfect World
Larry & the Loafers – Panama City Blues
Mots Roden and Don Tinsley – The Way I Did
Jason Bailey – Butterfly Breakdown
Birmingham Heritage Band – Birmingham is My Home
As the Chamber suggests in the liner notes, this should only want to have us want to learn more about the musical heritage of Birmingham and not to limit the search to the those listed here. Support our local music scene and the cultural offerings of the city in general as we begin the New Year. We’ll see what we can do to help out the cause. You could also always contact the Chamber and make sure that they send that CD to someone that’s on the fence about coming to town. It’s not a slam dunk, but it will get them thinking.
Enjoy the day!
Cheers.
Filed under: American Idol, Birmingham Alabama, Civic Engagement, Commentary, Just a Few Cats, Photographs, Random shots, Ruben Studdard, urban issues
Yesterday people came together for two separate but equally important reasons. Residents gathered on a vacant lot currently destined to be a walking trail for residents of Arlington-West End neighborhood to celebrate the area’s 4th annual Harambee Festival. Harambee is Swahili for “to pull together”, the goal of this festival. A Googlism of the word is available here. Attendees were able to be educated and entertained at the same time, bringing together various backgrounds and personalities to enjoy the day.
They were also able to enjoy one of our local musical exports, Just a Few Cats, before they left for a rendezvous in New York City with one Ruben Studdard this week. The band will be playing back up for the former American Idol as he makes the media tour for his upcoming CD release, The Return, scheduled for October 17. In case you’re interested, they will be appearing on ABC’s The View on Monday, with an appearance on NBC’s Today Show scheduled for Wednesday. Let’s hope they have as good a time performing as many of us have watching them.
The other group was gathering to renew the search for the Martin family; they’ve been missing now for more than three months. The family would love to have answers, though they have been tough to come by. The fact that it takes tragedy for groups to pull together at times is unfortunate and disheartening. Hopefully someone will finally be able to help crack a case that has brought heartache and pain to so many in our community. It would also be great if the relationships forged due to this unfortunate occurence were continued and expanded afterwards. Just a thought.
Enjoy the day.
Cheers.
Filed under: AL, American Idol, art, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham, AL, Civic Engagement, music, people, Photographs, Random shots, Ruben Studdard, Soul Music, The Birmingham Sound, Wikipedia
For those that wondered just what the crowds at the BJCC looked like after the orchestrated portion that will be used during American Idol this season, here’s a look:
And while some 10,000 Idol hopefuls perform during auditions today (as mentioned in this morning’s post) a former Idol winner was visiting a this building in Woodlawn housing a project that he’s heavily involved in. He was giving it a voice in this community, providing a sign of hope and faith in the future of our youth.
