News flash: The return of the Prisoners of 2nd Avenue!

This amazing Fillmore-era tribute band with Jimmy, Fab Faux drummer Rich Pagano and John Conte has been resurrected to perform again at the Rockwood Music Hall on July 20th. Details below. (Posted 5/23/2010)

The Conan O'Brian Tour

Conan's going to be touring the country. Click on the image below for more details.

But the really big news is that the band will be joining Conan on the tour, with Jimmy leading.
And finally (and even though we hate most uses of Twitter), here's Conan's Twitter feed:

Rock photographer Jim Marshall

Classic rock photographer Jim Marshall died on March 24th. Many might not know him by name, but we've all seen his masterful shots of Jimi Hendirx, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan and countless others.

Jim was able to work in a time when rock groups did not exert absurd amounts of control over their images, like they do today. And as a result, Jim's work leaves a legacy of amazing visual art, not commercial crap.

Marshall was a "gonzo" photographer and not always easy to get along with. But he had tremendous integrity -- if an act didn't want to be photographed, he was fine with that, but if he did photograph them, there could be no restrictions.

He will be missed. Luckily, his art will always be with us.

(posted 3/28/2010)

Al Kooper at B.B. Kings Feb 5

Al will be having a 66th birthday celebration at B.B. Kings on Friday, February 5th. While we can't say anything official, fans of Jimmy and Prisoners of 2nd Avenue would be crazy not to show up. No guarantees, but we're sticking to that story. (And even if they don't show, Al always puts on a great show. Last year, in addition to Jimmy and PO2A, Danny Kalb showed up and did a great set.) See the Gigs Around Town page for details.(posted 1/27/2009)

From the New York Daily News

(posted 1/21/2010)

The Tonight Show disaster

Variety is reporting that a deal for Conan to leave The Tonight Show will probably be completed this weekend. This means that Jay Leno will take over The Tonight Show as early as this coming Monday, the following Monday at the latest. What all this means for the band (which is all we really care about on this site anyway) is still anyone's guess. Conan could conceivably host a new show, possibly on Fox, but not before September, although that would mean three late-night talk shows competing against each other. The only good news out of this is that it could give Jimmy and the other band members more time and impetus to perform live, produce and record. Stay tuned... (posted 01/16/2010)

Felix Cabrera and Doc Severinsen playing with Jimmy!

Felix and Doc will be guesting with Jimmy at Cozy's on Wednesday, November 11th. Cozy's is located in Sherman Oaks in Los Angeles. See the gig listings for more info.

Benefit Monday night 11/2 at B.B. Kings:

Eddie Brigati and Gene Cornish of the Rascals will be playing with Will Lee, Paul Shaffer, Leseley Gore, Lou Christie and a ton of Broadway stars to benefit the PATH Fund. More info on the gigs page.

Video of the Moment: Jimmy guesting with Machan (posted 10/22/2009)

Here’s a really interesting guitarist and singer we hadn't heard before, Machan, performing at the Turning Point with Jimmy guesting on guitar.

Fab Faux on WCBS-FM this week

The Fab Faux will be appearing on New York's WCBS-FM 101.1 on Wednesday, October 7th at 12 noon Eastern time. The Fab Faux will be talking Beatles, discussing how the Fab were Fauxed, and playing some choice live recordings from recent shows - maybe even DJ'ing!

Our friends Will Lee and Anton Fig will be playing Monday night

Oz Noy, Anton Fig, Will Lee and special guest Chuck Loeb will be playing with The Oz Noy Twisted Blues Trio with a Twist at the Bitter End. Details on the gigs page.

Video of the Moment: PO2A from January 2008

Here’s a look back at the Prisoners of 2nd Avenue from January 2008. Elaine Caswell guests with the band singing "Somebody to Love".

Legendary songwriter Ellie Greenwich dies at age 69

Brill Building writer Ellie Greenwich, who wrote or co-wrote such classics as Da Doo Ron Ron, River Deep Mountain High and Be My Baby, died today of complications from pneumonia.

She begain working for Leiber & Stoller in 1962. Her first hits were written with Tony Powers and included "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other’s Hearts?" (Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans), "Today I Met The Boy I’m Going to Marry" (Darlene Love) and "He’s Got the Power" (The Exciters).

In late ’62 she married writing partner Jeff Barry and by 1963 had scored with such hits as the Ronettes "Baby, I Love You" and "Be My Baby" and the Crystals "Da Doo Ron Ron". Many of the Barry-Greenwich titles were produced and/or co-written with Phil Spector.

Other songs included "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" for Manfred Mann, "Hanky Panky" for Tommy James, "Chapel of Love" for the Ronettes and the Dixie Cups and "Leader of the Pack".

Barry and Greenwich divorced in 1965, but continued to work together, especially producing records for Neil Diamond. And they worked again with Phil Spector for "I Can Hear Music", recorded by both the Beach Boys and the Ronettes and "River Deep, Mountain High" for Tina Turner.

In the late 60s, Greenwich worked as a producer and background singer, working with Frank Sinatra, Lou Christie, Dusty Springfield and Bobby Darin.

In 1984, "Leader of the Pack" opened at the Bottom Line, a show based on her life and music. "Leader of the Pack" featured Jimmy Vivino as musical coordinator. A revamped version of the show moved to Broadway and has won numerous awards.

You can’t run down the list of the greatest rock & roll songs of all times without seeing a large number of Ellie Greenwich songs. While not a founder, she was part of rock’s heart and soul. She will be missed. (posted 8/26/2009)

Legendary session player Larry Knechtel dies at age 69

We’ve lost another great one: Larry Knechtel, who played as a member of the west coast’s equivalent of Motown’s Funk Brothers in The Wrecking Crew, with session musicians Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, Hal Blaine, Joe Osbourne, Carol Kaye, Jim Horn, Mike Deasy and others, died on August 20th.

Larry had played with such luminaries as Ray Charles, Duane Eddy, Fats Domino, the Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, The 5th Dimension, Dolly Parton, The Doors, The Byrds, Steppenwolf, the Mammas and the Pappas, Dave Mason, Randy Newman and Johnny Rivers, among others. He also played on many of the Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" recordings. He played for four different artists at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. He played bass on Elvis’ Comeback TV special, played the B3 on Pet Sounds and has also played with George Harrison. He was also a member of the band Bread and later performed with Elvis Costello and the Dixie Chicks.

Most session musicians never get their due, but in many cases, they’re more responsible for the quality and sound of a record than the fronting musicians. Larry surely will be missed by the people who understand this. (posted 8/23/2009)

CHICAGO BLUES REUNION ANNOUNCES DOUBLE LIVE CD & DVD

Chicago Blues Reunion was back on the road this year to support the pending release of a double live CD recorded earlier in 2008 in Chicago. Chicago Blues Reunion (including Electric Flag member Nick Gravenities and East-West Connection member Barry Goldberg) played a scorching 2 1/2 hour set with special guests, Dave Mason, Marcy Levy and Jimmy Vivino. The sold-out show featured traditional Chicago blues, the wizard guitar of Harvey Mandel along with some old favorites by Dave Mason.

Also in the editing room is a new DVD filmed by producer John Anderson (Brian Wilson’s "Smile") featuring some of the performances from the Chicago live show and with numerous interviews from bandmates and friends. Here’s a preview: (posted 8/20/2009)

Les Paul dies at 94

It pains us to report that the great Les Paul, the inventor of many recording techniques as well as the inventor of the solid body electric guitar, died today, August 13, 2009 of complications from pneumonia.
Paul had been playing until recently every Monday night at Iridium.
He was born in Wisconsin and began his career as a musician. In the mid-1930’s, he became a member of Fred Waring’s Pennsylvains and later formed the Les Paul Trio in New York. In the 1940s, he met his future wife, Colleen Summers, who eventually used the stage name Mary Ford. Together, they earned a total of 36 gold records.
Paul was heavily involved in the development of early multi-track tape recorders. He stacked the heads from eight different mono decks for one experiment. In 1954, he worked with Ampex to build the first 8-track recorder. This recorder featured sel-sync: the ability to play back certain channels off of the record head while recording other channels on the same head. Before this, audio tracks would have to be "bounced" to another tape recorder in order to keep sync.
In 2005, he recorded "Les Paul & Friends: american made world played" on Capitol. It featured such musical luminaries as Sting, Joss Stone, Edgar Winter, Eric Claption, Peter Frampton, Jeff Beck, Richie Sambora, Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, Steve Miller, Joe Perry and many others.
Saying that Les Paul was a genius is putting it lightly. He will be very missed.

The Max Weinberg 7 expands and becomes Max Weinberg and the Tonight Show Band (posted June, 2009)

The Los Angeles based band features Jimmy (as well as Max Weinberg, Jerry Vivino, Mike Merritt, Scott Healy, Mark "the Love Man" Pender, Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg) and new permanent member James Wormworth. "The Worm" has frequently played with Jimmy and Jerry in the past and subbed for Max when he toured with Bruce Springsteen. He’s now a full member of the band as a percussionist. Congrats, James.

Koko Taylor dead at 80 (posted June, 2009)

The great "Queen of the Blues", Koko Taylor, died June 3rd 2009. She was born Cora Walton on a sharecropper’s farm near Memphis and was given the nickname Koko due to her love of chocolate. After appearing in Chicago clubs, she was brought to Chess Records by producer Willie Dixon, who produced her smash signature 1965 song "Wang Dang Doodle", a song frequently performed by Jimmy with Catherine Russell.

Taylor was the recepient of many music industry awards. Earlier this year, she performed at the Kennedy Center Honors for Morgan Freeman.

Uncle Floyd Runs for Office!! (posted April 14, 2009)

Sons & Daughters correspondent Bernard Ente has informed us that Uncle Floyd (Jimmy’s older brother, Floyd Vivino) is running as a write-in candidate for Governor of New Jersey. With Jerry & Jimmy on the west coast, and Floyd running for office on the east coast, is this a conspiracy to take over the country? All our arguments would disappear because we’d be listening to great music all the time under a Vivino administration.
First legislation for a Governor Vivino? We’re guessing a law enforcing mandatory vaudeville. And all men will have to wear porkpie hats on the public streets of New Jersey.
No comment from the Obama administration so far on the possibility of a Vivino administration in New Jersey.
More info here

Jimmy plays his last show with Prisoners of 2nd Avenue (posted March 2009)

On April 4th at the Bowery Ballroom, Jimmy played his last show with the Prisoners of 2nd Avenue. In addition to band members Rich Pagano and John Conte, special guests included David Johansen, Leslie West, Andy York, Steve Conte, Willie Nile and Elaine Caswell.
Links to photos from the show are below in the Updated section.

The Mike Bloomfield guitar

At Al Kooper’s birthday show on February 7th, Jimmy was given the chance to play a prototype of the Mike Bloomfield edition Gibson guitar, which was presented to Jimmy by Mike’s brother Alan Bloomfield. This great photo from frequent show photographer Frank Beacham (thanks Frank!) shows Jimmy playing this great guitar during "Albert’s Shuffle".

Click on the photo to see more

Photo by Frank Beacham

Jimmy moving to Los Angeles (posted early 2009)

Conan O’Brien is moving to Los Angeles to take over the Tonight Show from Jay Leno. The Max Weinberg 7 will be moving with the show. So Jimmy will be relocating to Los Angeles and we’re going to be seeing him a lot less of him in New York (although he’s currently promising/threatening to return every weekend).

So we strongly suggest to those of you in the New York area that you catch Jimmy at one of his upcoming gigs.

Cadillac Records (posted December 2008)

The new film, Cadillac Records, is a brilliant film that purports to tell the story of Chess Records. It features amazing performances by Adrien Brody (Leonard Chess), Jeffrey Wright (Muddy Waters), Beyonce Knowles (Etta James), Eamonn Walker (Howlin’ Wolf), Cedric the Entertainer (Willie Dixon), Mos Def (Chuck Berry) and Columbus Short (Little Walter).

While many historical details are completely inaccurate, they don’t get in the way of the storytelling and the basic thrust of the film, which comprises of the relationships between these great artists and with Leonard Chess, is compelling.

While it’s understandable that details must be dropped or compressed in a two-hour film about a label that lasted for over 30 years, many details are either completely wrong or missing:
- Leonard Chess originally bought an interest in Aristocrat records in 1947. In 1950 his brother Phil (who isn’t even mentioned in the film, even though he’s listed in the IMDB credits. This is much like how Neshui Ertegun was never mentioned in "Ray") joined the company and they re-incorporated the company as Chess Records. The film makes it seem like he created Chess records from scratch.
- In the film, Muddy goes from a sharecropper shack to the streets of Chicago. But in actuality, he moved to St. Louis in 1940, then returned to Mississippi to run a juke joint before heading to Chicago in 1943. It was at least four years before he met Leonard Chess.
- The film shows Muddy heading to London for the first time after Chess was sold (to GRT) in 1969, but he first toured England in 1958, although it wasn’t a success because the audience expected acoustic folk music.
- The film never mentions his great success at the Newport Folk Festival in 1960.
- The film implies that Leonard had only very young children when in actuality, his 27 year-old son Marshall ran the company in 1969, just before the sale.
- Alan Freed (Eric Bogosian) is shown on the air when he was either serving time after the payola scandals or had disappeared from the scene because no one would hire him.
- The great piano player Otis Spahn is never mentioned (although Hubert Sumlin as played by Albert Jones has a small part.)
- Chess is portrayed as only being a blues label (Chuck Berry aside) with the five great stars. But Chess also had a great Jazz label with such artists as Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis, Sonny Stitt, Yusef Lateef and others and in the early 50’s, it recorded the Flamingos and the Moonglows, both of which had big hits (although they were covered by white artists, who had bigger hits.)

However, in spite of the inaccuracies, the personas and relationships presented are highly believable and have been documented in many previous well-received print biographies. Most of the actors do their own singing and the arrangements have thankfully not been commercialized into a modern sound.

The film also tells of a personal relationship between Leonard Chess and Etta James and I have no idea if this is accurate or not - Leonard was actually much older than portrayed in the film and he more closely resembled Ed Koch than Adrien Brody. There’s also a surprise revelation in the film about Etta James’ father.

But don’t let the inaccuracies scare you away: the movie is a blast, the music is great and the performances are amazing.

Fab Faux on Conan! (posted August 2008)

The Fab Faux will appear on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on Friday, September 12, 2008

Atlantic Record Producer Jerry Wexler dead at 91 (posted August 2008)

Arguably one of the greatest record producers of all time, Jerry Wexler, died on August 15, 2008 at the age of 91.

Wexler produced and/or signed some of the greatest acts of the 20th century, including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Dusty Springfield, Ray Charles and Wilson Pickett.

During his stint at Billboard magazine, Wexler coined the phrase, "Rhythm & Blues". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ’Non Performance’ category (now called the Ahmet Ertegun award) in 1987.

Isaac Hayes dead at 65 (posted August, 2008)

Another one of the greats, Isaac Hayes, is dead at 65. The man resonsible for the music from Shaft had a career that started in the 1960s. While most remember him best for his solo albums (or if you’re really young, for South Park), we remember him best for the songs he wrote with David Porter for Sam & Dave: Hold On, I’m Coming, When Something Is Wrong With My Baby, Soul Man and I Thank You.

Hayes’ first major successful solo album was Hot Buttered Soul, released in 1969. In 1971, Hayes composed the music for the soundtrack of the film Shaft, a big deal at the time, as few black composers were deemed suitable for Hollywood sound tracks.

Hayes also had an acting career, appearing in more than 20 films and TV shows including the original Shaft as well as I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Robin Hood, Men In Tightsand in TV shows such as The Rockford Files and Miami Vice.

Hayes was also a radio DJ and appeared on KISS-FM in New York starting in 1996.

Hiram Bullock dead at 52 (posted July, 2008)

Master guitarist Hiram Bullock died earlier this week at the age of just 52. Hiram was the original guitarist in the band for the David Letterman show and was a frequent performer at the long-gone Chicago Blues and Manny’s Car Wash. He played frequently with Fab Faux leader Will Lee.

He’ll be missed.

Bo Diddley dead at 79 (posted June 2008)

One of rock’s originators and the last of the original Chess bluesmen, the great Bo Diddley, died Monday of heart failure after suffering a stroke several months ago.

Diddley was born as Otha Elias Bates McDaniels in December of 1928. He first charted with his namesake single, Bo Diddley, in May of 1955 featuring what is now known as the Bo Diddley beat ("shave and a haircut, two bits"). The B-side was I’m A Man, a take on Muddy Water’s Mannish Boy, which became a rock standard and a big hit for the Yardbirds. Diddley also had hits with Diddley Daddy, Pretty Thing, I’m Sorry, Crackin’ Up, Say Man, Say Man Back Again, Road Runner, You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover and Ooh Baby, but more important than charted singles was his influence on rock and blues musicians for more than 50 years.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

A BIG, BIG Fab Faux happening! (posted June 2008)

The Fab Faux at Radio City Music Hall!!! Details below

Muddy Waters’ Birthday (posted April 2008)

Muddy Waters was born April 4, 1915 in Mississippi

Fab Faux appeared at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies (posted March 2008)

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies was held Monday, March 10th and broadcast on VH1 Classic. The Fab Faux provided backing vocal services for the finale - a tribute to the Dave Clark 5 - with John Mellencamp and John Fogarty

In addition, airings of the Mike Smith Tribute, held in August of 2005 at B.B. King’s, continue to be broadcast on MTV-HD. That concert featured The Fab Faux, Billy J. Kramer, Denny Laine, Peter & Gordon and the Zombies and should soon also be available on DVD.

Airing schedule (all Eastern Time) MTV-HD: 3/7: 9pm, 3/8 12am, 12:30pm, 3/10: 1am; 3/11: 3pm; 3/14 9am; 3/16 5pm

Rock legends Buddy Miles and Mike Smith dead (posted February 2008)

Buddy Miles, drummer for Wilson Pickett, the Electric Flag and Jimi Hendrix, died on February 26th at the age of 60

Miles played with Mike Bloomfied. Harvey Brooks, Nick Gravenities and others in the short-lived but highly influential Electric Flag, which he later transformed into the Buddy Miles Express. He also played with Jimi Hendrix on the Electric Ladyland album and in A Band of Gypsys, which recorded a legendary album at the Fillmore East on New Year’s Eve, 1969. He also was a California Raisin where he sang “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” for a famous TV spot. He had hit records with “Them Changes” and “We Got To Live Together”. He has also performed and recorded with Carlos Santana.

Mike Smith was the driving force behind the Dave Clark 5, where he was the lead singer, co-writer of many great pop hits and keyboard player. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury after a fall in 2003 which left him paralyzed. He recently returned home.

The Dave Clark 5 had big hits with “Glad All Over”, “Any Way You Want It”, “Because”, “Bits And Pieces”, “Can’t You See That She’s Mine” and many others.

The Dave Clark 5 will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in two weeks.

Jimmy recently played with the Ed Palermo Big Band in which they performed the music of the Electric Flag (and the music of Paul Butterfield). At that concert, Jimmy performed Buddy Miles vocals on “You Don’t Realize” and “Texas” . Several years ago, Jimmy performed with the Fab Faux at a benefit for Mike Smith held at the B.B. King Blues Bar & Grill along with Billy J. Kramer, Denny Laine, Peter & Gordon and the Zombies.

Both Buddy Miles and Mike Smith will be sorely missed.

Video of the Moment: Jimmy’s Birthday Celebration at B.B. King’s

This is an alternate version of the Prisoners of 2nd Avenue with the Fab Faux, Al Kooper, Warren Haynes, Jerry Vivino and many others singing Bring It On Home To Me. Thanks to videographer Judy for supplying this.

Video of the Moment: the Electric Flag 1967

Here’s a look back at the amazing Electric Flag featuring Mike Bloomfield (lead guitar), Harvey Brooks (bass), Nick Gravenities (vocals), Barry Goldberg (keyboards) and Buddy Miles (drums), plus a great horn section with Peter Strazza and Marcus Doubleday. (Thanks to Felix Cabrera for correcting my error.) According to Wikipedia, Bloomfield was unhappy with the Monterey performance.

Jimmy on the Cover of Elmore Magazine! (posted June, 2007)

Jimmy shares the cover of the May 2007 issue of Elmore magazine with Paul Shaffer. The magazine features an article about TV house bands which is a fun read.

In addition, there’s a review of Catherine Russell’s new album (she frequently sings backup vocals for Jimmy), a review of Levon Helm’s show at the Beacon (which also featured Jimmy), a review by Kay Corditz of the recent Prisoners of Second Avenue show with guest Al Kooper, a review of the Prisoners show with guest Paul Shaffer, as well as a great article about Chess records.
The magazine has great graphics and photos throughout. Don’t miss this issue. More info can be found at Elmore Magazine site.

The Fab Faux celebrate the 40th Anniversay of Sgt Pepper!! (Posted 6/2007)

On Saturday, September 15th, The Fab Faux will perform the complete Sgt. Pepper album at the Beacon Theatre. This will be a very special event with music and discussion about this landmark album.

[New York, NY (Brill Building) April 1, 2007]: The Archies return with Jimmy Vivino as musical coordinator!

A new version of The Archies, reimagined for the new millenium, is being developed by Skoorb Productions with Jimmy Vivino as musical producer.

The original Archies were assembled by rock impresario Don Kirschner in 1968 and featured Ron Dante, Tony Wine and other performers. Using the digital technology available today, Vivino is going to track all of the voices, except for Betty Cooper (who will be sung by Al Kooper). Asked if he thought he could sing a convincing Veronica, Jimmy said, "not a problem...although I haven’t used it in my live performances with the Fab Faux or the Prisoners of 2nd Avenue, I have a really great falsetto."

While Vivino says he plans to have the Archies perform a wide diversity of musical genres, rap and hip-hop will be a strong part of the mix, reflecting today’s sales reality. The first single planned will be "Jughead You Motherfu..er, Stay Away From My Bitch Veronica" b/w "Crack, Crack" (sung to the melody of Sugar, Sugar).

James Brown dies of Pneumonia (posted Dec, 2006)

The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, passed way early Christmas morning in a Long Island hospital. He was 73 years old. Between 1958 and 1986, Brown had 99 charted singles on the Pop charts and between 1956 (when he signed with King/Federal records) and 1993 had 118 charted singles on the R&B charts.

Joel Whitburn, the author of numerous books based upon the Billboard charts, places James Brown as the number one R&B artist between 1942 and 1995 and the number five pop artist between 1955 and 1999, just below Elvis, The Beatles, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder, based upon chart positions and longevity.

Brown was inducted into the very first class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986.

Rolling Stone magazine awarded Brown six slots among the greatest 500 songs of all time, including I Got You (I Feel Good), It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World, Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag, Please, Please, Please, Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud and Get Up (I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine). Brown also recieved four slots of the 500 greatest albums of all time, including Live at the Apollo(1963), which clocked in at number 24 on the Rolling Stone list and charted for 66 weeks on the Billboard charts.

His backup band featured such luminaries as Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley and Nat Kendrick.

Following the death of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun a few weeks ago, the world has lost a lot of soul the last few weeks.

Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll! released on DVD (posted July, 2006)

June 27th was the release date of the DVD for "Hail! Hail ! Rock and Roll!" The film was ostensibly about Chuck Berry, but it also was the beginning of the late Johnnie Johnson’s rise from obscurity. The film began the process by which the public began to learn the truth about Johnnie?s role in the creation of the songs credited to Chuck Berry and in the creation of Rock and Roll itself. There is still a lot to tell, and a lot more for people to learn about the late Johnnie Johnson.

To honor Johnnie Johnson, on June 27th through July 8th (Johnnie’s birthday), Cousin Moe Music will offer free downloads of Johnnie’s last solo recording project, "Johnnie Be Eighty! And Still Bad!". Also added to the website is a great audio interview from June 19th 2006 with Johnnie?s wife Frances.

"Johnnie Be Eighty. And Still Bad!" is a completely original project, taped live in the studio to capture the essence of a Johnnie Johnson performance. As such it offers a unique perspective on Johnnie?s collaborating and songwriting contributions.

"5th Beatle" Billy Preston dead at 59 (posted June, 2006)

Billy Preston, the only artist ever to share billing on a record with The Beatles, died on Tuesday, June 6th. Preston had several hit singles and also played with Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones, Little Richard, Neil Diamond, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Mavis Staples, John Lennon and George Harrison, among others. He also co-wrote the Joe Cocker hit, "You Are So Beautiful." Preston was also active in television and was in the house band on Shindig in the mid-60s and was the very first musical guest on Saturday Night Live in the mid-70s. In addition, he appeared in such films as Blues Brothers 2000, the Concert for Bangla Desh and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Legendary producer Arif Mardin dead at 74 (posted June, 2006)

Arif Mardin, producer and arranger for such acts as Aretha Franklin, the Bee Gees, Chaka Kahn, Bette Midler, Dusty Springfield, Average White Band, the Young Rascals, Phil Collins and Judy Collins among others, died on June 25th.

Arif was one of the three primary Atlantic Records producers (with Tom Dowd and Jerry Wexler) and was responsible for a wide diversity of sounds and music, but especially the Atlantic Records soul sound of the late 1960s. More recently, he produced award winning albums for Norah Jones.

Gene Pitney dies in Wales (posted April, 2006)

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Gene Pitney died in a Wales hotel today during a British tour. Pitney had hits with such songs as Town Without Pity and Only Love Can Break A Heart. Pitney was also a songwriter, having written Rubber Ball for Bobby Vee and Ricky Nelson’s Hello Mary Lou.

Jimmy on the Radio (posted November, 2005)

Jimmy will be appearing on the Scott Einhorn’s radio show - 88.7 WRSU in New Brunswick, NJ on Monday, November 7th from 8-10 PM EST.

In Memorium: Clarence Gatemouth Brown (posted September, 2005)

The Texas musician, who was known for combining cajun, R&B, country, jazz and blues, died last Saturday at 81 years of age. Another "father" has left us.

The Fab Faux in Rolling Stone magazine! (posted August, 2005)

Rolling Stone magazine has discovered the Fab Faux! In the latest issue, #980 (August 11th), the magazine devotes a full page to the Fab Faux. Check it out! Jimi Hendrix is on the cover.

Little Milton 1934-2005 (posted August, 2005)

Little Milton died Thursday at the age of 70. He was an amazing performer whose career started when Ike Turner introduced him to Sam Philips. He recorded for Sun, Chess/Checker, Stax, TK/Glades and Malaco records, where he spent over 20 years and won a Grammy nomination (in 2000). Milton is in the Blues Hall of Fame.

Johnny Johnson (posted April 2005)

Johnny Johnson, who many consider to be the father of Rock and Roll, died in his sleep on April 13, 2005. He was 80 years old. Another giant has been lost. Our condolences to his family and all who loved him. Johnny is the man who hired Chuck Berry and helped develop Berry’s playing style. He has played with everyone, including Jimmy. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.