In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Gil Birmingham for my "House Call' column in the Mansion section (go here). Gil stars in so many great TV series and movies, most recently Yellowstone, Under the Banner of Heaven and Pieces of Her. As a child, Gil didn't get along with his parents. At age 14, he asked California to make him a ward of the state so he could live apart from them. His artistic streak at home kept banging up against his parents' rigidity and strict household rules. Yet he managed to pull himself up from zero to become one of today's leading series actors. [Photo above of Gil Birmingham in Bonner, Mont., in August, by Giovana Schluter Nunes, courtesy of Paramount Network]
Here's Gil in the Season 5 trailer for Yellowstone...
Here's Gil in Under the Banner of Heaven...
And here's Gil in Pieces of Her...
Please order now. My new book, Anatomy of 55 More Songs, is out on December 6. Please order a copy for yourself and as a gift for friends. The first volume, Anatomy of a Song, was a 2016 Amazon bestseller, and this followup is longer and even better. Even I was blown away once I assembled and wrote introductions to each entry. Go here.
Here are just 10 of the 55 songs that feature the songwriters, producers and musicians talking about how the hits came together:
- Bernie Taupin on Rocket Man
- Michael McDonald on What a Fool Believes
- Donald Fagen on Peg
- Allie Willis, lyricist, on Earth, Wind & Fire's September
- Blondie on Rapture
- Joe Jackson on Steppin' Out
- Talking Heads on Burning Down the House
- Steve Miller on Fly Like an Eagle
- Tommy James on Crystal Blue Persuasion
- Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick on Walk On By
And while you're at it, please order my book Rock Concert: An Oral History. Moves fast as the story unfolds. Go here.
Catch the astonishing Eliane Elias on tour with bassist Marc Johnson, guitarist Rubens de La Corte and drummer Rafael Barata. Eliane is absolutely electrifying live. They're on tour showcasing Elaine's fabulous new album, Quietude. You can read my WSJ review of the album here. Here's the magnificent and gracious Eliane with her band performing days ago in Rochester, N.Y. I saw her at New York's Iridium on her first night of the tour and she had the place on their feet, roaring for more...
Duke Ellington, Johnny Dankworth and Humphrey Lyttelton in conversation on the BBC in 1958? Carl Woideck sent this special video last week...
Interviews by Leigh Kamman (1922-2014) have been posted online. Bassist Don Messina sent along a link to the landing page where you'll find links to individual audio interviews by late broadcaster Leigh Kamman. Among the dozens of interview subjects are Bill Evans, Oscar Pettiford, Pat Martino, Horace Silver, Jackie and Roy, and many more. Go here.
Catherine Russell. Carl Woideck also sent along a link to a home movie of a 4-year-old Catherine Russell and the singer's father, the pianist, bandleader and composer-arranger Luis Russell, visiting with Louis Armstrong. Go here...
And finally, here's Oliver Nelson in 1970 conducting the Berlin Dream Band in Berlin and playing alto saxophone on Black, Brown and Beautiful, the title track from an album he had just released...
