by BBG

Donald "Duck" Dunn in Blues Brothers

Today I lost my best friend, the World has lost the best guy and bass player to ever live. Duck Dunn died in his sleep Sunday morning May 13 in Tokyo Japan after finishing 2 shows at the Blue Note Night Club. -[Steve Cropper of Booker T & The MGs]

Booker T & The MG's, besides being an influential funk/soul group in their own right, was the house band for the Stax Records which means that Dunn's funky low-end can be heard on tracks from Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Isaac Hayes, Mitch Ryder, Mavis Staples, Herbie Mann, Albert King, and countless others. Younger folks may remember him as a member of the original Blues Brothers, and Dunn also shared the stage and the sound booth with names like Joan Baez, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jimmy Buffet, Stevie Nicks, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Joe Walsh and countless others, not to mention the hip hop artists that sampled his work.

Donald "Duck" Dunn you will be missed. Check out some of his musical contributions below in video form, and peruse his considerable discography.

Continue reading "Donald "Duck" Dunn, RIP"

Celebrate Brooklyn's series of free, live music dances parties returns to Brooklyn Bridge Park this month, or tonight (5/10) to be specific. Starting at 7PM, tonight's show features DJ Rich Medina followed by a performance by Booker T Jones. Full schedule below...

Continue reading "free Brooklyn Bridge Park dance parties this month (Booker T Jones tonight)"

Justin Vernon & My Morning Jacket before the Grammys (by dariusjagjag)

Someone from Jagjaguwar tweeted the above picture not long before Justin Vernon shouted out "Jagjaguwar" to end his acceptance speech at the Grammys pre-show this evening (2/12).

Bon Iver won "Best Alternative Music Album", beating out Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, Foster the People & Death Cab Cab For Cutie. Other pre-telecast winners include Adele, Foo Fighters (who beat Mastodon, The Decemberists and TV on the Radio), Skrillex (who won three already and beat Cut Copy, Robyn, Deadmau5 and others), Kanye West (who also won three already), The Civil Wars (who won two already and beat Fleet Foxes), Levon Helm, Alison Krauss, Tinariwen, Louis CK, Cee-Lo, and Booker T Jones who won "Best Pop Instrumental Album" for the 2nd time, and nervously thanked Biz Markie, Questlove, Gabriel Roth (of Daptone Records), Matt Berninger (of the National), and Lou Reed.

Arcade Fire also won another Grammy already (for Best Recording Package).

A Numero Group Syl Johnson release was up for two Grammys but lost in both categories.

And that was just all the stuff they don't show on TV. The regular show with all the big awards (and possibly more for Bon Iver) starts at 8pm EST, Whitney Houston tribute included.

UPDATES:
* Jack Black makes "indie cred" joke that includes "Bon Iver" while introducing Foo Fighters
* Denise from PS22 in Adele commercial