Willie Simpson

Tag: psychedelic music

  • George Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Sitar Lesson and Within You Without You

    EDIT: Ravi Shankar died yesterday, Tuesday, December 12, 2012, at the age of 92 in Southern California. RIP you beautiful man; legend of music, Beatle guru, sitar master. Orignally Published May 5, 2011- Part 56 is a double dose adventure of Indian/English fun.  First we have an awesome rare clip of George Harrison in India taking…

  • John Lennon and Bob Dylan, Together in a Cab

    There are a lot of great moments in rock and roll history that go unrecorded.  The first meeting between Bob Dylan and the Beatles is one of them.  Not only was it the occasion when the Beatles met one of their musical heroes, but its also the first time the Beatles seriously smoke marijuana.  Apparently…

  • Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd, Jugband Blues

    Welcome to the unassuming beginning of Pink Floyd Week here at williesimpson.com.  My good friend Andrew Lee turned me on to this fantastic early Pink Floyd video of Syd Barrett’s last major contribution to the bands creative identity, “Jugband Blues,” from 1968’s A Saucerful of Secrets.  It makes sense that Barrett, now driving head first…

  • Greatest Rock Vocalists #5, Janis Joplin, Piece of My Heart, To Love Somebody

    Did you know “Piece of my Heart” was originally recorded by Aretha Franklin’s older sister Erma?  I didn’t even know Erma existed and had a music career.  Thanks Wikipedia.  Well, we all know Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company’s classic version.  The video I have below is the most hard rocking and…

  • Spencer Davis Group, Gimmie Some Lovin', I'm a Man (Live)

    Emerging like the God of blue-eyed soul in the first video below, 16 year Steve Winwood delivers one of the best rock vocal performances of all time in the seminal hit, “Gimmie Some Lovin.’”  In 1965, rock and roll’s first ever teenage prodigy churned out a series of hits with the Spencer Davis Group before…

  • The Making of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

    The best discoveries are the ones you make by accident.  Just yesterday, my roommate keyed me into letmewatchthis.ch, one of those movie streaming websites of dubious legality.  It’s a pretty cool site with a lot of variety of stuff, but new and old.  On a lark, I typed in “Beatles” in the search box, and…

  • The Beatles, Nowhere Man

    We are just one tick away to glorious #100 of my youtube countdown.  Until then, you’ll have to make due with part 99 which is of course the Beatles with “Nowhere Man” from 1965’s Rubber Soul. Nowhere Man was the first Beatle song that exclusively had no references to love, girls, or romance.  Stepping out…

  • Cream, Tales of Brave Ulysses

    Part 64 of my youtube countdown introduces Cream, or “the late great Cream” as John Lennon once said in 1968.  That’s right, Cream was a streaking comet of psychedelic blues perfection, blasting through the pop music charts from 1966 to 1968 selling 35 million albums in just two years!  Cream was considered the world’s first…