GA Russell

I sure wish there was a list of the hits and albums The Wrecking Crew was on. Here's Larry Knechtel's LA Times obituary. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...0,3190712.story Larry Knechtel dies at 69; bassist, keyboardist for '70s soft-rock group Bread Knechtel played keyboards and bass with the Wrecking Crew, a group of L.A. studio musicians, before joining Bread in 1971. His arrangement of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' won a Grammy in 1970. Knechtel won a Grammy for his work on "Bridge Over Troubled Water." (Los Angeles Times) By Keith Thursby August 24, 2009 Larry Knechtel, a member of the 1970s soft-rock group Bread, who had a wide-ranging career as a studio musician, has died. Knechtel died Thursday at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima, Wash. He was 69. A hospital official would not release a cause of death, but a report in the Yakima Herald-Republic said he apparently suffered a heart attack. Knechtel played keyboards, bass guitar and harmonica as a member of the Wrecking Crew, a group of Los Angeles studio musicians that included future headliners Glen Campbell and Leon Russell and session drummer Hal Blaine. Knechtel played with Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas and many others. "It just snowballed. I was in the right place at the right time," Knechtel told the Yakima paper in 2004. "It was a lot of fun. We were all young. I was making big money and hearing myself on the radio." In 2007, members of the Wrecking Crew were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. Knechtel, who was born Aug. 4, 1940, in Bell, first played with Kip Tyler and the Flips and in 1959 joined Duane Eddy, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist. He won a Grammy in 1970 for his arrangement of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel. Knechtel also played the piano on that song. In 1971, he joined Bread after the group's second album, when Robb Royer left. "We needed somebody to play bass and keyboards and provide a strong instrumental element that we had been lacking," singer David Gates told The Times in 1977. "Larry was just what we needed." Knechtel played on the Dixie Chicks' "Taking the Long Way" album and toured with the group in 2006. He had been living in Yakima since 2003. According to the Herald-Republic, Knechtel is survived by his wife, Vickie; son Lonnie and daughter Shelli Kokenge; his mother, Edna Knechtel; brothers Don and Bob Knechtel; and three grandchildren.

Thanks for the heads up!

Here's a great (IMHO) article about the "explosive growth" of eBook sales. http://www.idealog.com/blog/ebook-growth-e...ound-the-corner

I haven't heard this one but his previous three albums with Feldman and Barron were real mellow. 7/4, compared to the rest of the world, this too is "real mellow". But compared to all of the other Abercrombie I have heard, then maybe not so much. This one never bores me or puts me to sleep.

I listened to Reel Life on lala when it was first re-released some weeks back, and I didn't think much of it either. I believe, but I could be mistaken, that it was Bobby Broom's first recording with Sonny, so you may want to listen to it for that reason.

I heard this for the first time today. I like it. What I have heard from Abercrombie sounds like he has been making the same record for over thirty years, but this is the first by this quartet that I have heard. It swings more than any other Abercrombie I have heard before, although it still is pretty laid back. Maybe Joey Baron should get the credit for that. Mark Feldman on violin is a major part of the album. I can definitely recommend this one for when you want to relax. The release date is Sept. 8. The band will promote the album at Birdland in New York Sept. 30 - Oct. 3.

Here's something I didn't know: "(O)nly eight NFL teams enter this season with the same head coach and offensive and defensive coordinators who began last year, including the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. There are 11 new head coaches, 11 new offensive coordinators and a whopping 22 new defensive coordinators since this time a year ago. Even special teams coordinators weren't spared, with 12 teams making changes." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/foot...article1261008/

Happy Birthday ham!

Happy Birthday Tom!

Montreal Alouettes 34....Saskatchewan Roughriders 25 http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=s...aspx?id=4249290 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/foot...article1260902/ See-saw battle for the first half. The Als were the better team, but the Riders played tough. I learned tonight that the Als sell Jack Daniels shots in the stands! ***** Winnipeg Blue Bombers 37....British Columbia Lions 10 http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=s...aspx?id=4249333 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/foot...article1261013/ The Lions couldn't stop Fred Reid. He ran for 260 yards, third best in league history. The Bombers o-line completely dominated. Everyone expected the Lions to miss Cam Ward, but apparently they miss him even more than they thought they would. The Bombers' second back Yvenson Bernard ran for 112 yards. Jarious Jackson apparently suffered a concussion in the second half, banging his head on the turf. You will recall that that happened last week to Buck Pierce, so the Lions are down to their third string, and play the Als their next two games. If the Lions had won tonight, Wally Buono would have tied Don Matthews for most coaching victories.

David Naylor Week 8 preview http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/week...article1259382/ Gregg Xenakes Week 8 preview (easier to read this week) http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=s...aspx?id=4248983

Jesse Lumsden underwent surgery, so he is out for the year. All teams get a bye once in the next two weeks. This week's schedule is a Friday doubleheader. Ben Cahoon's father-in-law is the new governor of Utah! http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/New...496351-sun.html

Lala: Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins - The Classic Prestige Sessions 1951-1956, disc 2 The Swingle Singers - A Celebration of the Voice

I mentioned the other day that I listened to music from the festival on Sirius all weekend. I heard only two songs that were better than mediocre - by the Keef Hartley Band and Santana.

Happy Birthday Laurie! In your honor I'll play the Art History Project today!

CJ, I'm not familiar with the DVD, so I don't know the answer.

I have all of her albums except the Best of compilation you picked up. I've always loved her. And she has recorded so rarely over 25 years that one hasn't gotten sick of her.

Saskatchewan Roughriders 33....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 23 http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Gam...0480861-cp.html http://scoreboards.canoe.ca/merge/tsnform..../final/W774.htm What started out as a terrible game finished with an exciting fourth quarter. The Ticats were pathetic in the first quarter - one yard total offense and no first downs. To start the second, Glenn replaced Porter but didn't do much. At the half, Sask led 23-0. But as they say, the Ticats must have made adjustments at halftime. They scored the first 23 points of the second half to tie the game in the fourth. But the Riders regrouped with ten minutes to go and scored the last ten points of the game.

Clave, you did me a real favor by putting me on to the MobileRead forum site. I go to it every day. ***** Amazon has given (again, without warning or permission) the personal information of their Kindle customers to publishers such as the Wall Street Journal. http://www.amazon.com/tag/kindle/forum/ref...Type=tagsDetail ***** Today's Guardian says that eBooks have reached their tipping point. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/1...m-ebooks-kindle ***** Here's a video of an interesting eBook reader called the jetBook which uses an LCD screen rather than eInk. Pretty impressive.

Clave, I listened to the disc again last night, and I was able to comfortably sit through it with ease. I guess it just takes getting used to. I guess that I am so used to laid back sambas from Brazil that I wasn't completely ready for something different.

Montreal Alouettes 39....Winnipeg Blue Bombers 12 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.../AJN4248279.htm http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Gam...0474991-cp.html The Als were a little slow getting out of the gate, but once they got started they had no problem. Calvillo threw three consecutive passes for TDs in the first half. That has to be some kind of a record. Alexis Serna has turned his career around. He stunk for most of last year, but (I was surprised to learn tonight) hit 10 of his last 11 FG attempts. This year he is (I think) 14 of 17, including 4 of 5 tonight. I didn't bother listening to the second half.

British Columbia Lions 36....Toronto Argonauts 28 http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=s...aspx?id=4248104 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/foot...article1253180/ Great game between two bad teams. The Argos had a 22-7 third quarter lead and let the game slip away at the very end. Justin Medlock tied the Argos team record with 7 FGs. The league record is 8. Cody Pickett performed much better than I expected. His 0-line gave him time, which may say something about the Lions' defense. Buck Pierce left the game early after banging his head on the turf. Shades of Dave Dickinson.

TTK, you slay me! I've been listening to the Woodstock channel on Sirius today - all music recorded at the festival. Everything I've heard has been quite mediocre.

Happy Birthday 2009 Soul Stream!

Edmonton Eskimos 38....Calgary Stampeders 35 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.../AJN4247915.htm http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/foot...article1251444/ What a game! Both teams scored a TD in the final minute! Both offenses moved the ball well throughout the game. It seemed like the game was even more high scoring than it was. Henry Burris set the Stampeders team record for career yardage thrown, passing Doug Flutie.