Tampa Calling

They saved the not-a-dry-eye-in-the-house part for the very end. As the Michael Jackson memorial stretched just past two hours this afternoon, after a series of speeches and several emotional music performances, Jackson’s daughter approached the microphone, aunt Janet steadying her. Choking back sobs, 11-year-old Paris said, “Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. I just want to say I love him so much.”

If that didn’t get to your tear ducts at least a little, you’ve got a pretty chilly heart.

The second-most famous Jackson, Janet, clad in a black dress and beret, was sad- or stone-faced every time on camera. She neither spoke nor performed. Michael’s brothers Jermaine and Marlon offered tributes, and Jermaine sang a teary rendition of what speaker Brooke Shields said was Michael’s favorite song: the Charlie Chaplin chestnut “Smile.”

Maybe I’ve reached Michael Jackson overload, but I stayed dry-eyed until Paris’ comments at the end. Read the rest of this entry »

No TV at the job? No worries. We’re streaming the Michael Jackson memorial here via Hulu. The stream starts at 12:55 p.m., so leave the window open or check back with us. Comment, comment, comment. I’ll be watching and weighing in.

Now that the first wave of rock legends has passed that used-to-be retirement age of 65, a new crop of important artists is closing in on 60. Over the last few months, it surprised me to discover just how many prominent rockers were 59. Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Tom Waits, Stevie Wonder, to name a handful.

I got curious if this was a particularly good age for rockers. Rather than telling you how many rock artists are 59 at this very moment, I did a search and unearthed which ones were born in 1950, the height of the post-WWII baby boom. Quite a few, as it turns out. Here’s a chronological list of pop artists born in 1950. A pretty good year. The list is extensive but not all-inclusive:

January 9, 1950, David Johanson (New York Dolls, Buster Poindexter)
January 5, 1950, Chris Stein, (Blondie)
January 21, 1950, Billy Ocean
January 23, 1950, Danny Federici (E Street Band)

January 23, 1950, Pat Simmons (Doobie Brothers)

February 6, 1950, Natalie Cole
February 12, 1950, Steve Hackett (Genesis)
February 20, 1950, Walter Becker (Steely Dan)
March 2, 1950, Karen Carpenter (The Carpenters)
March 4, 1950, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
March 21, 1950, Roger Hodgson (Supertramp)
March 26, 1950, Teddy Pendergrass
March 27, 1950, Tony Banks (Genesis) Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve struck gold. Well actually my friend and colleague Wayne Garcia struck gold and passed it along to me.

It’s a full concert by Stevie Wonder — easily downloadable online — from Jan. 31, 1974 at the Rainbow Theatre in London, recorded after Inner Visions came out, but before Fulfillingness’ First Finale. Allegedly, the show was taped for official release, but scrapped, which gives this bootleg remarkably good sound quality.

It’s easy to hear why the tapes were filed away. Stevie’s set is sloppy, random and unfocused — and that much more interesting for it.

The 23-year-old, in the early stages of a hot streak that made him probably the most important artist of the ’70s, is backed by the three-piece rhythm section of guitarist Michael Sembello, bassist Reggie McBride and drummer Ollie Brown, along with a couple of woman background singers.

Read the rest of this entry »

See Stevie Wonder on the Grammys? They had him slumming with the Jonas Brothers, and the dude is enormous, whale-esque — but, y’know, he can still sing.

Coming up is a better opportunity to see the pop/R&B legend on the tube — in a program called “Stevie Wonder In Performance at the White House: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize.”

A press release adds that the program will “showcase an evening of celebration with President and Mrs. Obama at the White House in honor of musician Stevie Wonder’s receipt of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The 60-minute program, to be taped by WETA Washington, D.C., airs Thursday, February 26, 2009, at 8 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide.

The concert takes place February 25 and will include performances by Wonder himself and Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Martina McBride, Esperanza Spalding, Will.i.am, and the gospel duo Mary Mary, among others. President Obama will confer the Gershwin Prize upon Wonder during the event.