Month: October 2009

Shindig ’66

This was sent in by a reader purporting to be Larry Williams, actually it’s Billy Preston, thanks for those who wrote in w/the correction. Notice the Byrds stage right (David Crosby w/cape covering his girth). Still, it’s pretty cool even if it ain’t rock’n’roll’s favorite pimp….
Been sick, and traveling so pardon the lack of writing lately, I’ll get back to it soon as I recharge my batteries a bit….

Andre Williams- Man Of Letters


Andre Williams (right) chats up Anita Pallenberg (center), Hal Wilner (left) looks away. Lakeside Lounge, Summer 2001.

Check this out, Andre Williams first book– Sweets and other stories, a novella and a couple of short pieces with a foward by Nitro Nick Tosches, available from Kicks Books. This is a must have.

Howlin’ Wolf unseen footage….

I noticed there’s some new Howlin’ Wolf clips up on Youtube that I don’t think are in the documentary, these things have a tendency to disappear fast (like the Bo Diddley and Rosco Gordon clips I posted a couple of weeks ago, both have been pulled, btw I forgot to thank Dave The Spazz for the tip on the Bo clip) so don’t wait. Here they are:

I never saw this one before, from U.K. TV circa mid-1960’s, the Howlin’ Wolf w/Hubert Sumlin and Willie Dixon.

from the same show

another one I’ve never seen, maybe the only footage of the Wolf in color, this was shot near the end of his life, notice the bandage on his right arm, probably from his kidney dialysis….

Also, Wolf fans should check out the Mojo Repair Shop, pronto. And while I’m at it, there’s some great Stones rehearsal footage up on Never Get Out Of The Boat.

Brigitte Bardot

I missed Brigitte Bardot’s birthday last Monday (September 28), so happy birthday, Bebe.
She was born in 1934, made 48 films and retired to become a full time animal rights activist (give dogs the vote, I say….). She may very well have been the most photogenic woman in history. She also made dozens of records, including some with Serge Gainsborough. She has survived three suicide attempts. In recent years she’s become something of a national embarrassment for the French (when I was in Paris in 2008 I didn’t see one photo of her on sale anywhere) and has been convicted of “race hatred” and castrating a neighbors donkey. Most likely her beauty drove her crazy. Imagine, if everywhere you went everyone stared at you, all the time. It would not be much fun after a few hours, never mind decades. Here is a small sampling from my collection of Bebe photos.