An Eric Clapton Playlist

Today is Eric Clapton’s birthday. What should I write about? His perceived racism? As he told a concert audience in 1976, “Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white.” In Clapton’s 2007 autobiography, cleverly entitled Clapton: The Autobiography, Clapton says of that outburst “Since then I have learned to keep my opinions to myself.” Okay, that’s one lesson. Any other lessons, blues guitarist whose first top ten hit under his name was a reggae cover?

Nah, I’m not going to write about Eric Clapton’s perceived racism. I’ll write about how much I hate the song “Wonderful Tonight.” “You look wonderful tonight.” Last night you looked like shit. And you’ll probably look like shit again tomorrow. I know I said I feel wonderful tonight, but truth is I have a headache, so drive me home, woman! He’s a catch.

You know what? I’m not going to talk about that, either. Instead I’ll tell you about the time I went to one of Eric Clapton’s homes in England. I met with his manager there in the early part of this century. In the room where we chatted were Eric’s Grammy Awards. Some were on a bookshelf, some were on the floor next to the couch. They weren’t arranged in any way. They lay there haphazardly, as if nobody had time to put them back in their proper place since the earthquake hit in 1990. I wish I had a photo taken of me holding his Grammys, but I didn’t. I acted in a professional manner. I hate that about myself. Beats being perceived as racist, though.

Here are thirty career highlights of Eric Clapton:

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Throwback Thursday: 1971

I recently read a book about the music of 1971. It was pretty bad. I should have been clued off seeing that the book derived its title from the name of a Rod Stewart album that came out in…1972. The author and I agree that 1971 was a great year for music, though he focused mainly on white acts. Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, recently named the number one album of all-time in Rolling Stone, was dismissed as being overrated due to white guilt, something the author clearly doesn’t feel. I humbly suggest that the playlist below shows more of the greatness (and diversity) of 1971’s music than this book.

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A Chaka Khan Playlist

Chaka Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens on this date in 1953. At age 13 Yvette was given the name Chaka Adunne Aduffe Yemoja Hodarhi Karifi Khan by an African priest. Though there was no Chaka Khan character in the movie Judas and the Black Messiah, she did befriend Fred Hampton in 1967 and joined the Black Panthers. She left the group two years later. Below are thirty things she’s done since then.

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Happy!

Today is International Day of Happiness. Do something that makes you feel like a room without a roof. As long as you don’t impinge on someone else’s happiness, it’s all good.

Today’s playlist consists of thirty songs with the word happy in the title.

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Throwback Thursday: 1965

The British Invasion! Motown! Folk Rock! Coagulatin’! Nineteen sixty-five had something for everyone. Easily one of the greatest years for music in the rock era. Check out thirty highlights below.

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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (3-17-21)

Inspired by the March 17 birthdays of Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, Grimes, The Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian, Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner, Nat King Cole, The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, Altered Images’ Clare Grogan, Gene Ween, Nicky Jam, Lorraine Ellison, Hozier, and Vivian Girls’ Cassie Ramone.

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