Willie Simpson

Month: August 2011

  • The Beatles, Watching Rainbows

    On January 14th, 1969, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr were sitting around Twickenham Studios.  George Harrison had temporarily quit the band, so John was on piano, Paul was on electric guitar, and Ringo was behind the drums.  John led the shortened group through a new improvised jam he had been fooling around with…

  • James Paul McCartney, The Wings TV Special

    Paul McCartney fans, do I have a present for you.  Did you know that Paul’s real first name was James?  Did you know that Paul did a music special for ABC and the BBC in 1973 called “James Paul McCartney?”  Did you know the critics hated it?  Did you know critics are mostly idiots?  Well,…

  • The Notorious B.I.G., Hypnotize

    Biggie.  Everybody loves him.  In fact, he’s the most searched artist on my website.  “Hypnotize,” the first single from 1996’s “Life After Death” LP, is perhaps his best pop song.  Now, by pop song, of course I just mean pop smash, not “pop song” in the traditional sense, because obviously its strait hip-hop.  But a…

  • The Beastie Boys, Triple Trouble, 3 Times

    After I saw that Bored to Death trailer that featured the boys going crazy on Coney Island to the Beastie Boys song Triple Trouble, I myself, have gone crazy, seeking this song out in all its forms.  So, that’s what I’ve done, finding three killer performances of the song on youtube.  The song, which samples…

  • Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Twist and Shout

    The greatest cover song the Beatles ever did was of The Isley Brothers 1962 hit, “Twist and Shout.”  Written by Bert Russell and Phil Medley, the original song was a tepid little dance song, but when John Lennon and the Beatles got their hands on it, they redefined rock and roll, and gave the genre…

  • John Lennon Singing Lead on Get Back

    The Beatles are one of those bands so famous, that to the untrained ear of the average person, its hard to tell which Beatle is singing what.  Of course, such distinctions are “Beatles 101” to hardcore fans, but part of the confusion lies in the seamless harmonic blend Lennon and McCartney produced in many of…

  • RIP Nick Ashford and Jerry Leiber

    Two songwriting icons passed away yesterday, and ironically, both were halves of legendary songwriting teams.  Nick Ashford, legendary Motown songwriter, who was paired with his wife Valerie Simpson, died at 70 in Manhattan.  Jerry Leiber, partnered with Mike Stoller, co-wrote some of Elvis Presley’s greatest hits, died at 78 in Los Angeles.  Among Ashford’s greatest…

  • George Harrison, Trailer for Martin Scorsese's Living in the Material World Documentary

    I normally don’t update twice in one day, but news such as this demands action on my part.  I am a massive George Harrison fan, and when I heard a few years ago that Martin Scorsese was putting together a three and a half hour George Harrison documentary, I started counting down the days.  At…

  • CBS's Most Valuable Blogger, The Monkees, I'm a Believer, and a New Banner!

    Like the new banner?  I sure do.  I might tweak it a bit in the next week, but I think it’s beautiful. I have to give a special thanks to my dear friend Sonia for creating it.  The unfurling of the new banner coincidentally coincides with a cause to celebrate, as this site has been…

  • Seinfeld, Brokeback About Nothing

    I’m getting pretty good at predicting trends.  Just a few days ago I posted a series of Seinfeld trailers cobbled together by a brilliant internet guy, and today I have a new one from a different guy who imagines Jerry and George lost somewhere on Brokeback Mountain.  His future film entitled, “Brokeback About Nothing,” is…