Pat Blythe – Tom Petty, Burton Cummings, Scott Holt and Bill Durst…..

I open today’s column with great sadness. Tom Petty, a true rock ‘n’ roller and one of the most respected individuals in the music business today, as both as musician and a person, has died just days before his 67th birthday. Social media was on fire with the news, jumping the gun just a tad early (thanks CBS) but nonetheless, we instinctively knew in our hearts he wasn’t going to make it. I traversed the 70’s and 80’s with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, listening to and loving his work. Not your “classic” rocker, in both appearance and musically, but we all knew Petty was pure talent. The “humanness” of his lyrics, his way of combining them with a unique melody and his distinctive voice, touched a certain part of your psyche and drew you in. You stopped to listen. There will be so much written about him over the next few days and weeks I won’t drag it out here. Suffice to say this is one rocker I will truly miss. I send my condolences to his wife Dana York, his two daughters Adria and AnnaKim, his step-son Dylan and his extended family.

Pat Blythe – Women of Blues Revisited – Part III

Thoughts and ramblings…..

Let me just wander/wonder for a moment. It’s a simply gorgeous day today (Wednesday) and there are way, way too many diatribes written about “he who shall not be shamed”, south of the 49th parallel. Noodling around in amongst what neurons are actually firing is this thought…… What if we all just simply stopped reporting on his every move, his every tweet, his every fart (cause that’s what comes out of his mouth….gas) What if it ALL just completely halted….any mention of his name or his family’s. No Tweets or tweet responses, no Facebook or Facebook sharing, no comedy shows, no “fun” news (i.e. John Oliver), nadda, zip, bupkis….. NOTHING! A complete blackout for say……48 hours. What would we talk about? What exactly are we missing in other news and stories? My curiosity has got the better of me…. what would “he” do. No attention paid, nothing to rail against, no media outlet to harangue, no “fake news” to protest….. I wonder…….and my neurons wander……