R.I.P., Solomon Burke

What a presence and voice he had!

R.I.P., Richie Hayward

Saddened to hear of the passing today of Little Feat founder and drummer Richie Hayward. Little Feat was an entertaining, funky and soulful genre-crossing band, of which Hayward’s steady backbeat was an integral part. I saw Hayward working the kit live on two occasions, once with Little Feat and once as part of Robert Plant’s band on his first solo tour in 1983.

The Passing of a True “Political Presence”

There have been many touching and well-deserved tributes to Ted Kennedy today in the wake of his passing – most far beyond what I could offer on the subject. Suffice to say, he was a great public figure whose heart was always in the right place even if (in earlier years, at least) his brain and body might not have been.

One can’t help but be moved by the many testimonies today to his dedication and compassion as a legislator, as well as to what a genuinely personable and caring individual he was – especially in his last two decades.

I met Massachusetts’ senior senator in person only once , back when I was a community newspaper editor and he visited our offices during a 1990 campaign tour – he must’ve been hitting every podunk borough in the commonwealth! At that time, my main impression was less about his policies and politics than about how bad he looked. He was, I recall, a bloated gin blossom in a fancy dark suit. Obviously, this was before Victoria Reggie cleaned him up and seemingly overnight turned him into the respected old political lion he is immortalized as today.

However, then and now, I have great respect for his tireless work on many important issues during his half-century of public service. And I especially admire both his willingness and his ability to build bridges across that wide aisle of partisanship in D.C. and beyond. In that regard at the very least, we need more like him.

R.I.P., the last prince of the Camelot. (What’s left are mere squires and handmaidens by comparison).

R.I.P., Renaissance Man, All Around Good Guy

Given his advanced age (94), it’s no great surprise to hear of Les Paul’s passing earlier today, but it does mark the loss of a genuinely gifted and hard-working gentleman who bridged several musical generations, as well as the art and science of recording.

Les Paul was a truly unique guitarist who started out playing country music (under the nom de guitare Rhubarb Red) in the 1930s before really making his mark with a jazzy pop style in the ’40s and ’50s. He played with such innovation and fluidity that not only did he go on to become an outright star in the 1950s (even having a TV show with his wife/singing partner Mary Ford), but he also become a huge influence on many of the famed rock guitarists that followed a decade or two later. He was hip enough to keep up with musical trends and developments even late in his life, and he befriended many of the notable “guitar heroes” of successive generations, as well as continuing to show off his jazzy licks during weekly gigs in New York clubs into the 21st century.

Beyond his guitar playing, Les’ appeal and renown among musicians was also driven by the many technical inventions he was personally responsible for: from being one of the creators of the solid body electric guitar (and later the inspiration for the iconic Gibson Les Paul line of guitars) to his numerous innovations in multitrack recording and production techniques.

But technical, guitar geek accomplishments aside, anyone who appreciates good melody and impeccable phrasing can appreciate Les’ pop hallmarks like “How High the Moon,” “The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise” “Vaya Con Dios,” “Mockin' Bird Hill” and “Nola” to name but a few. Whether they know it or not, virtually anyone who has picked up and played an electric guitar in the last half-century owes something to Les Paul.

The above may seem somewhat old hat now that Boss/Roland et al have cheap and readily available stomp boxes that can do this, but when this clip was recored no company had anything to match the “Les Paulverizer.” Les always seemed to be a step ahead of everyone else on the technical developments. Eventually, he was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame, as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – undoubtedly the only one with membership cards to both of those!

Further:

• Les Paul has a huge catalog of recorded music. A good brief overview of his career-defining 1950’s era hits is The Very Best of Les Paul & Mary Ford.

• I highly recommend checking out a DVD of the documentary film about Les Paul, Chasing Sound, that came out a few years ago. Here’s a brief clip from it:

Walter Cronkite, R.I.P.

There’s not a whole lot more that I can say about Walter Cronkite, the greatest TV news anchorman of all time, that hasn’t already been said in the last 24 hours since the announcement of his death last night.

I’m old enough to remember Mr. Cronkite’s regular presence on “the TV news” every evening from my childhood through young adulthood. He was truly the standard bearer for an anchorman .... something I’ve come to appreciate all the more having lived through what came later and what persists at an even more debased level today.

No mere newsreader, he was America’s reporter, taking the solid, old-school journalistic skills he had learned as a wire service reporter in World War II and applying them to his decisions, delivery and sense of decorum and fairness to every nightly newscast. He went on location to report and get a genuine first-hand view of what was going on, not as some shallow photo opp. He was as objective as humanely possible – only breaking that on the rare occasion when his common sense and understanding of the pulse of populace dictated that he should do otherwise. He was professional, yet human; dignified, yet dogged. I can’t think of a much higher accolade than to be universally remembered as “the most trusted voice in America” – and for it to be sincere (no mere marketing spin) and true!

There will never be another Walter Cronkite. Not just because of the extraordinary times and circumstances he lived through, but also because of his genuine skills, ethics, humanity, steadiness and charisma.

Kudos to the current CBS news team and anchor Katie Couric for recording a second newscast on Friday night and getting this tribute clip on air during the network’s West Coast newscast.