“Hey, we just enjoy it. I think we think we’re getting the hang of this thing, you know?”  – Keith Richards

The Rolling Stones

Formed in London, England in 1962 by Brian Jones, the original lineup also consisted of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Ian Stewart. The Stones very first gig though, (and only that gig)featured Mick Avory on drums who later went on to drum for the Kinks. A few more members came and went over the years, with their 50^th anniversary in 2012 seeing the band comprised of its original members, Jagger, Richards, Watts, and a later arriving member, (1975), Ronnie Woods. Numerous feuds plagued the band over the years with Richards and Jagger butting heads often. The Eighties saw Richards wanting control of the band back in his court, which turned into a much more serious feud when Jagger launched a solo career. Fans did not know if the group would survive this and while damage ran deep and took much time to heal, survive they did. In 2016 they toured Latin America and released their 25^th American studio album on December 2nd  titled, “Blue and Lonesome” which you can borrow with your library card.  Also in 2016, Mick Jagger became a father again at the young age of 73. This makes number 8! If you ever saw Jagger perform with the Stones later in life like I have, I’m sure he’ll have no trouble with a toddler running about. Stay young Mick!

 

Bob Dylan

Still going strong at seventy-five, Bob Dylan continues to be a force of musical awesomeness that so many of us came of age listening to. Go ahead and say that he’s a weird one, but he did give us folk rock so that negates any and all peculiarities in my books. Dylan’s poignant lyrics have always resonated deep within my core in my lifetime as it has with countless other fans over the decades. This cool cat sang his “Blowin’ in the Wind” right after Martin Luther King delivered his historical speech, “I Have a Dream” in 1963. He has been inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”.  True to his personality with shying from the limelight, no response came from him for 15 days much to the chagrin of many I suppose, for having the audacity to not reply immediately to such an honour. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “meh, it’s Dylan.” Check out “Bob DylanThe Never Ending Star”  or “Bob DylanThe 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration DVD”, or any of the other great titles by or on Dylan that we have.

“May God bless and keep you always

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others

And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung

May you stay forever young”   – Bob Dylan, “Forever Young”, 1974

 

The Boss.  Bruce Springsteen

Bruce is still so seriously cool today at 67. The first song he learned to play on his guitar was “Twist and Shout” by another group of musical icons, The Beatles. Springsteen’s scorecard lists numerous awards for his songs and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but he is also a cultural phenom. In 2008 he made Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” list, and scored a number 6 spot on Forbes 2009 Annual list of World’s Most Powerful Celebrities. In fact, he was the first rock star to make the front cover of both Time and Newsweek.   This past September he released a new compilation album that doubles as a companion piece to his upcoming autobiography, “Born to Run”. The 18-track set, “Chapter and Verse”, along with his book can both be found here at Windsor Public Library.

“You can’t be afraid of getting old. Old is good, if you’re gathering in life. Our band is good at understanding that equation.” -Bruce Springsteen

 

Paul McCartney

In an August 2016 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, 74 year old music icon Sir Paul McCartney was yet AGAIN on tour in the United States, and it marked 50 years since he and John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison  quit the road as The Beatles. That long ago event was at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in August of 1966. The group of course would go on to disband in 1970, much to the huge disappointment of millions around the world. McCartney though embarked on what would become an almost half a century long musical career post Beatles. Simply put, he is music royalty. In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded him the Gershwin Prize, which is the highest musical award one can receive in the United States. Despite his age, he is not slowing down and he still easily sells out in extremely large venues. In March he will re release his 1989 international #1 album, “Flowers In The Dirt”, making it “the latest classic solo work from one of the world’s most revered catalogues to get the special treatment across a multi-format reissue released by MPL/Capitol/Ume,” as reported on his website.    

 

  U2 

Formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1976, Bono (56), Adam Clayton (56), The Edge (55) and Larry Mullen Jr., (55), come in as some of the younger ones in this list. In a Rolling Stone magazine interview, Bono revealed influences in his life musically were Dylan, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and The Rolling Stones. Barely teenagers when they formed, the band has gone on to become just as iconic, coming in at number 22 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s top 100 great artists list. Bono has even hinted U2 may just continue on well into their 70’s just like the bands that influenced him. 2017’s Joshua Tree Tour commencing May 12^th in Vancouver, marks their 15^th tour to date. Check some of these out at WPL by U2.

 

Bon Jovi    

My list would not be complete without including Bon Jovi and most especially the now silver fox, Jon. Formed in 1983 out of New Jersey, the band has performed in more than 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans and sold more than 130 million records worldwide. Even with the departure of lead guitarist and notable bad boy Richie Sambora in 2013, the band still continues on strong. Known to probably only the most diehard of fans, Bon Jovi was almost known as Johnny Electric, and their first No. 1 single, “You Give Love a Bad Name”, they almost gave to Loverboy! Their 1986 album, “Slippery When Wet” which the single was included in, is still their best ever selling album. Platinum twelve times, it spent an insane 94 weeks on the Billboard album chart. The album also included hugely commercially successful “Livin on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive”.  Check out their latest album at WPL titled, “This House is Not For Sale” which was released November 2016.

“It’s my life

It’s now or never

I ain’t gonna live forever

I just want to live while I’m alive” -Bon Jovi, “It’s My Life”, 2000

Black Sabbath 

For me personally February 4, 2017 was  a downer of a day. It marked the last performance ever by Black Sabbath. “The two-hour gig at the NEC Arena in their home city of Birmingham saw the rock veterans play 15 songs ending with their first hit, Paranoid.” Read more on  Sabbath’s last gig and check out just some of the titles  we have at WPL.

Check out just some of our titles now on display in front of the  first floor checkout desk at the Central Branch.