Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Belated Birthdays - Willie Nelson and Pete Ham

There were a couple of birthdays last week that I wanted to briefly bring to your attention.  First, Willie Nelson turned 79 on April 30th.  Not much I need to say about Willie, his career speaks for itself.  I would, however, urge you to see him in concert if you get the chance.  Danielle and I have seen him three times I think, and he and his band were outstanding on each occasion.  He's constantly touring all over the country, so there's a pretty good chance he'll be coming to a venue near you.  And, you know, he's 79.

Second, Pete Ham, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for Badfinger would have turned 65 on April 27th; Ham committed suicide on April 24th, 1975 (his bandmate, bassist Tom Evans, followed that same path in 1983).  I have spoken about Badfinger in this space before, on 8/4/11, and on 9/7/11 I drew your attention to Baby Blue, which is my favorite 70s pop song.  Ham wrote several hits you are likely familiar with, including Without You (co-written with Evans) which was a smash for Harry Nilsson in the early 70s.  Here's another look at the band in their prime.

Day After Day, live from 1972...

IBL:mm

1 comment:

Civility.