LISTENING IN

By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ “Stateboro Blues” is remarkably still as a staple, nearly 100 years after the song was written. Stick with me here: the modern version of the song is most notably a classic Allman Brothers tune, pre-eminently known from the band’s iconic 1971 album “At Filmore East” (considered by some the best southern rock album of all time).

By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ The Eagles were blessed with three great singer-songwriters: Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Joe Walsh. And then there as Randy Meisner, who quietly penned, or contributed to some memorable efforts, not least one of the band’s signature hits, “Take It to the Limit.”

By Michael Baginski/ Bruce Springsteen’s “Cadillac Ranch” (1980) wasn’t a radio hit, but the upbeat rocker quickly became a beloved song in the Boss’s repertoire and a concert staple. But who knew it was based on a real place?

By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ Some situations just call for Bad Manners. The band, that is. And I think the world could use a little more of the effervescent British “two-tone” outfit led by the irrepressible singer Douglas Trendle (aka Buster Bloodvessel) right about now.

By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ The Gunter hotel in San Antonio, Texas, wears its musical heritage on its sleeve. So much so that every room in the 116-year-old property (part of the Marriott portfolio since 2018) is furnished with its own turntable and copy of a record album by Robert Johnson, “King of the Delta Blues.”

By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ It’s hard to believe that its been almost 20 years since Robert Plant and Alison Krauss first collaborated on the album “Raising Sand” (2007), uniquely pairing the Led Zeppelin icon with the bluegrass goddess icon (Union Station).

By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ Charlie Watts had a life beyond his day job – keeping time for The Rolling Stones. In fact, the late Watts was a dedicated jazz drummer, who led his own band, The Charlie Watts Quintet.

By Michael Baginski/ The song is over a decade old, but there’s something that just seems very current about The Record Company’s “Hard Day Coming Down.”

By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ Last summer I shared my discovery of the year (which held for the rest of the calendar) – a “brand new” 30-year-old band from Scotland I had managed to miss before, prompting an enraged Scottish fellow to point at me at a trade show in Mexico of all places and yell – in full, glorious brogue – “How could ya ha’ missed Primal Scream?”

By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ With St. Patrick’s Day past, and the appreciation of Irish culture having hit its zenith in mid March, it behooves us to remember that the Emerald’s isle’s musical contributions to the world can’t simply be pigeonholed into ethereal folk songs or and lively jigs and reels (“trad” – traditional – music as it is called).

Lost in the fog of war was the loss late last month of Neil Sedaka, the singer-songwriter whose boyish soprano and bright melodies made him a top act in the early years of rock ‘n’ roll and led to a second run of success in the 1970s with hits that included hits like “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” and “Laughter in the Rain.” He was 86.

By Michael Baginski/ If you frequent the Internet, you’ll no doubt have come across the new “if such and such was performed by so and so” trend. Pink Floyd as Dire Straits, Perry Como as Metallica, and so forth. Don’t hate me, but I’ve pulled one of these stylistic AI remakes to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) this year: Fleetwood Mac if it was an Irish folk song.

By Michael Baginski/ Good God, ya’ll, we first ran this song when Russia invaded Ukraine – almost four years ago to the day. That one is still going on. Now we have Iran and its hard not to wonder if a similar tragic trajectory will ensue. Either way, the song remains the same.

A collection of Paul McCartney instruments, outfits, handwritten lyrics, unseen photos and tour memorabilia will be part of an exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this summer, billed as the first major museum show to feature McCartney and Wings.

By Michael Baginski/ I’ve certainly never forgotten David Wilcox, but it took a Petro-Canada commercial during the Winter Olympics backed by “Do the Bearcat” to nudge the Canadian treasure back into my current consciousness.

By Michael Baginski/ In case you missed it, I regret to inform that 50 years have transpired since 1976 – a fact I myself realized when I read that it’s been half a century since Boston’s classic debut record, but also a year that featured dozens of bands and songs that still resonate today (read on!)

Chuck Negron, the singer who belted out the immortal line, “Jeremiah was a bullfrog!” in the charting topping 1971 hit “Joy to the World,” died this week at the age of 83 due to heart failure. A founding member of ‘70s soul-rock sensations Three Dog Night, Negron also sang lead on such hits as “One” and “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song.”

By Michael Baginski/ The Eagles have landed… the best-selling album in the history of the United States. Always mooted as one of the top-selling albums of all time, The Eagles’ “Their Greatest Hits (1971-75)” was officially certified by the Recording Industry Association of America this week for having sold 40 million copies – quadruple diamond – the first record to have done so.

By Michael Baginski/ Rob Hirst, the drummer for Midnight Oil, died this week at age 70, but the great Aussie band had already been in the back of my mind for awhile now. In these crazy days of Trump, wars, kidnappings, wild weather and “cats and dogs living together” (as Bill Murray said in “Ghostbusters”), it really does seem like our “beds are burning.”