D.J. Fontana (1997)
D.J. Fontana etched his place in rock and roll history playing drums for Elvis Presley. He was more than just lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
Blog / Blog Posts / Blues / Country / Pop / Rock / The Katz Tapes
by Larry Katz · Published June 26, 2018 · Last modified March 14, 2019
D.J. Fontana etched his place in rock and roll history playing drums for Elvis Presley. He was more than just lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
Blog / Blog Posts / Blues / Jazz / Pop / Rock / The Katz Tapes
by Larry Katz · Published April 28, 2017 · Last modified March 14, 2019
Jay Geils made his mark playing blues and his fortune playing rock and roll. But his first love was jazz. Jay—who died on April 11, 2017 at age 71—made that clear when I...
“….I’m wringing wet with sweat, my throat’s on fire and my hand is aching. But I had to keep going…” “Cold and Bitter Tears – The Songs of Ted Hawkins” is a tribute album...
“If I was to say my joy, piano is first.” I loved Allen Toussaint before I knew who Allen Toussaint was.
Blog / Blog Posts / Blues / Folk / Jazz / Pop / Rock / The Katz Tapes
by Larry Katz · Published November 20, 2015
“I was pretty much robbed all my life….” The big bucks versions of “The Cutting Edge 1965-1966,” the latest entry in the Bob Dylan bootleg series (note: not actual bootlegs), includes a 20-track disc...
“It isn’t every day a 54-year-old quadriplegic records a record….” There are comeback stories. And then there’s Curtis Mayfield’s comeback story. In mid-August, 1990, he was about to perform at an outdoor concert...
“One of my first public appearances was at a talent contest. I sang and played Fats Waller’s ‘fododo-de-yacka-saki want some seafood mama.’ I could just see the teacher saying, “This boy is going straight...
Blog / Blog Posts / Blues / Jazz / Pop / R&B / The Katz Tapes
by Larry Katz · Published August 5, 2015 · Last modified June 30, 2017
“I don’t think I’m difficult. Not at all.” The prospect of interviewing Nina Simone was thrilling. And slightly terrifying.
Blog / Blog Posts / Blues / R&B / The Katz Tapes
by Larry Katz · Published July 22, 2015 · Last modified July 23, 2015
In memoriam: Mighty Sam McClain (1943-2015) “I came from eating out of garbage cans. So if I died tomorrow, I did good.” Mighty Sam McClain wrote a song summing up his old friends’...
Blog / Blog Posts / Blues / Pop / R&B / Rock / The Katz Tapes
by Larry Katz · Published May 28, 2015 · Last modified May 29, 2015
“A guy comes out of the gumbo, he likes to walk on concrete awhile.” October 14, 1980 Lippman House, Harvard University, Cambridge When B.B. King came to Harvard University, it was...