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The 30th April 2013 marked the 80th Birthday of Country Music Legend Willie Nelson.  As part of his celebrations, a digital birthday card was created, featuring videos from fans all over the world wishing him a happy birthday.  If you were unable to get a video in yet, don’t worry there is still time, click here and get a message to Willie.  Without any further ado, enjoy the Happy Birthday video, and join us here at Legacy Recordings in wishing Willie Nelson a very happy 80th Birthday and many more…

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TOTP 1981

80 years ago today, Country Music legend Willie Nelson was born in Texas USA. Since that day, he has created over sixty studio albums, 10 live albums almost 40 compilations, as well as acting in both TV and Film and has co-authored many books along with his own autobiography. Through the years, Willie has brought us some outstanding music, and has become synonymous with Country Music during the Twentieth Century. Please join us in wishing him a Happy Birthday, and fingers crossed he’ll still be recording in the years to come. For Willie’s birthday treat, we have Altered Images’ rendition of Happy Birthday. A somewhat obscure version of the classic song, but brilliant nonetheless. If you’re lucky enough to share this special day with Willie, then Happy Birthday to you to from all of us here at Legacy.

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Hey there music fans! Not sure if you’re aware or not, but we here at Legacy are big Country Music fans. These past few weeks we’ve been busy with our Spotify Playlists, Facebook Page and Twitter account, check em out and subscribe! Recently we attended the Country2Country music festival at the O2 Greenwich, and enjoyed some stellar performances from Carrie Underwood.

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Out this week is Brad Paisley’s new album Wheelhouse, so we decided to bring you one of his absolute classics. Listening through the expansive catalogue we decided there could only be one song that you should here, Brad calls it his ‘favourite song’ he has written. So enjoy this truly heartfelt performance of He Didn’t Have To Be.

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Live at the Royal Albert Hall 24/2/1969

Celebrating the Physical release of the latest Jimi Hendrix Album, People, Hell & Angels, we’ve opened up a Pop-Up Store in 8 Ganton Street, London (just off of Carnaby Street).  It’s full of wonderful merch, some you can’t get anywhere else, the entire Jimi Hendrix catalogue and even features a Fender plug and play area in the basement!!! Aren’t we good to you! The store closes this week on the 12th April, so we thought it was time for a reminder of how incredible Jimi was.  

Here is Voodoo Child live from the Royal Albert Hall, arguable one of his best songs ever taken from an incredible London gig.  Apologies for the Hippie-esque visual effects layered on the video while Jimi is laying down his epic Guitar Solo Powers, but it wouldn’t be Hendrix without it.  Joe Satriani says the opening riff is one of his favourite Jimi riffs of all time, and you can see him speaking and playing here.

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Here’s a mid-week treat for you all, featuring two of our most loved Legacy artists, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash.

Watch the pair strumming along to Roy Orbison’s ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ recorded live on The Johnny Cash TV show in 1969.

Oh, and check out the shine on those shoes!

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Today’s Press Rewind is paying homage to American country pop music signer, Jim Reeves, who died on this day in 1964, aged 40.

Reeves began his career as a radio announcer, showcasing his singing skills in between playing songs. Gentleman Jim, as he was known, had his first success in mid 50s, and though the rest of the decade and into the next his fame grew as he sang and recorded what was known as the Nashville Sound, a mixture of older country-style music with elements of popular music. He went on to become an international star, playing South Africa, mainland Europe, the UK and Ireland

He died in plane crash on the 31st July 1964, en route from Batesville, Arkansas to Nashville, while navigating through a storm. Reeves was piloting the plane, joined in the passenger seat by his business partner, manager and pianist from his backing band, Dean Manuel, who also died in the crash.

After his death he was inducted into Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967 where they honoured him with this statement. “The velvet style of ‘Gentleman Jim Reeves’ was an international influence. His rich voice brought millions of new fans to country music from every corner of the world. Although the crash of his private airplane took his life, posterity will keep his name alive because they will remember him as one of country music’s most important performers.”

Hope you enjoy several of his biggest hits, ‘I Love You Because’, ‘Bimbo’ and ‘Four Walls’, recorded at a concert in Norway on April 15, 1964.

RIP, Gentleman Jim.

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This incredible recording comes from 1957 TV special, The Sound of Jazz, which brought together 32 of the finest jazz musicians, including Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins and Thelonious Monk (among others). This performance stands out because of two absolute legends though — Billie Holiday and Lester Young.

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Billie and Lester had been close friends, going back a long way, but had become estranged. Apparently, during rehearsals they even kept to different sides of the room, but then look at the connection between them around the 2 minute mark in the video where Lester’s solo begins — the looks that’s passing between him and Billie says so much about the connection they had. Look at Billie’s face as Lester plays one of the most beautiful solos you’ll ever hear. Jazz Critic Nat Hentoof was there, and recalled:

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“Lester got up, and he played the purest blues I have ever heard, and [he and Holiday] were looking at each other, their eyes were sort of interlocked, and she was sort of nodding and half-smiling. It was as if they were both remembering what had been, whatever that was. And in the control room we were all crying. When the show was over, they went their separate ways”

- Jazz: A History of America’s Music

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…they both died less than 2 years later

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Interestingly, the version of the song you hear being performed in this video is not the one available on The Sound Of Jazz companion album. The tracks on that album are taken from a rehearsal that preceeded the show—as such, it doesn’t feature several musicians (as they refused the be on the record) and also includes a few others who weren’t on TV. Most importantly though, it doesn’t include the version of ‘Fine And Mellow’ here, which, I think, is probably as it should be—if you were just to listen to it, sure it’d be beautiful, but when you watch it you realise there is so much more there than the music. What you’re actually doing is witnessing a private conversation between two people, remembering a shared past. Magic.

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KS