Although it was released years ago, I'm currently watching the Victoria miniseries on Netflix, which is, as you probably guessed, about Great Britain's Queen Victoria.
Which got me thinking about the Kinks' classic tune which opens their Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) album, "Victoria."
This song is much more historically accurate than the miniseries.
Blue cities and counties are not putting the best in charge.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden in North Carolina, where Charlotte is, gives us an example.
Most music aficionados know T-Bone Burnett for his monumental production work for acts including Elvis Costello, the Bodeans, John Mellencamp, and so many more.
But he's a singer and songwriter too--and his output is also great.
Not shockingly, his own works has a power pop and Americana feel. "Hold on Tight" from his Americana album is a representative piece of work from this gifted artist.
Februrary 3 will bring yet another anniversary of "the Day the Music Died," when Buddy Holly, along with the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, died in a plane crash outside Clear Lake, Iowa.
Holly had a huge influence on the British Invasion bands, particularly the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Kinks. The Lubbock, Texas singer and songwriter was once seen as one of the giants of early rock and roll, but around 1990, that changed. I suspect reverse racism, as not only was Holly white, but he sounded "white," unlike Elvis Presley.
You can't hate the media enough.
But Holly was a giant, who wrote many of his hits, which became expected of rock artists once the Beatles and Bob Dylan became superstars.
Dylan, by the way, saw Holly perform in Minnesota on the tour that brought him to his last gig in Iowa.
Here's Holly and the Crickets on the Ed Sullivan Show singing "Oh Boy!"
