Mainly sunny. High 84F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph..
A mostly clear sky. Low 53F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Without music, life would be a mistake. — Friedrich Nietzche
In a previous column, I mentioned that Roger Waters literally puts his money where his mouth is by generously giving to a number of reputable charities and organizations.
Several people mentioned it was my turn to do the same with respect to the shirt I’m wearing in my profile photo. The one that says “I may be old but I got to see all the cool bands.”
To do so, I need to go all the way back to my very first concert in 1969, which I’ll save for last. You’ll know why when we get there.
In no particular order, although the really cool bands will come later, here is a sampling of some of the other cool musicians I’ve been lucky enough to see.
♦ Paul Anka, Paul McCartney, and one other Paul — with Peter & Mary.
♦ Blue Oyster Cult, Blue Cheer and Blues Traveler.
♦ Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd.
♦ Three Dog Night, Third Eye Blind, the Four Tops and the Fifth Dimension.
♦ Eve 6, Avenged Sevenfold and Sevendust.
♦ The Black Crowes and Counting Crows.
♦ Rick Springfield, Rage Against the Machine and REM.
♦ BB King, Boz Scaggs, Billy Joel and Jeff Beck.
♦ The Allman Brothers, the Doobie Brothers, and the Righteous Brothers — both before and after losing Bobby Hatfield (RIP).
♦ Debbie Reynolds and Dionne Warwick (I never said all of them were cool).
♦ Chicago, Kansas, Atlanta Rhythm Section, America and Foreigner.
♦ Madonna, Pat Benatar and Molly Hatchet.
♦ Pearl Jam, Meat Loaf and Vanilla Fudge.
♦ Christopher Cross and Don McLean.
♦ Motley Crue and Wu Tang Clan.
♦ Offspring, Everclear and Better than Ezra.
♦ Tommy James, Paul Revere and Gary Puckett — with support from the Shondells, the Raiders, and the Union Gap, respectively.
♦ The Monkees and the Turtles, but no Animals.
♦ Steely Dan and Iron Butterfly.
♦ Styx, Steppenwolf and the Steve Miller Band.
♦ U2, Uriah Heep and ZZ Top.
♦ Knight and Day (Gladys and Morris, respectively).
♦ (Donna) Summer and (Fire) fall.
♦ Little River Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Marshall Tucker Band and Pure Prairie League.
♦ Rare Earth and Air Supply.
♦ Bad Company, the Temptations, and Kool & the Gang.
♦ The Beach Boys, Herman’s Hermits, and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
♦ Poco, Toto, Candlebox and Cheap Trick.
♦ Sheila E and Kenny G.
♦ Grand Funk Railroad, REO Speedwagon and The Rascals.
♦ Loverboy, Live and the Lowrider Band.
♦ The Who and the Guess Who.
♦ Al Stewart, Art Garfunkel and Sarah McLachlan.
♦ The Doors — first with Jim Morrison, and then 50 years later without.
Now, as for those really cool bands my shirt is referring to:
♦ Prince and the Revolution. Atlanta, Georgia, 1985. It was in the midst of their “Purple Rain” tour. I stood in line at Turtles on four consecutive days — the first three shows sold out the day they were announced — and finally landed a ticket when a fourth show was added. It was well worth the waits (plural).
♦ Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, the Who, and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. Desert Trip, Indio, Calif., 2016. The Woodstock for my generation, also known as “Old People Coachella” because all of the musicians were 70 and over with the exception of the Stones’ Ronnie Wood, who was only 69. Really cool bands, one and all, except for maybe Bob Dylan, who never once faced the audience. Incidentally, the photo of me wearing the cool bands shirt was taken on the third and final night of Desert Trip.
♦ Neil Young. Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, Col., 2015. By the night his performance was over, Cindy and I were two of his biggest fans. While the venue gave the Neil Young experience something extra (if Red Rocks is not on your bucket list, it should be), his lengthy and masterful guitar solos on “Down by the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” are what won us over.
♦ Lynyrd Skynyrd. Fletcher High School Cafeteria, Neptune Beach, Fla., 1972. When Cindy and I were juniors in high school — about a year before we started dating — this relatively unknown band from rival Robert E. Lee High School played in our school cafeteria on Thursday mornings.
Time for a short history lesson: band member/Lee student Gary Rossington was sent to the assistant principal’s office because his hair was too long, at least in the opinion of hard-nosed gym coach Leonard Skinner. In a mocking tribute to their coach, Rossington and his bandmates modified their coach’s name and used it for their band. We didn’t know it at the time, but our high school may have been the first ones to shout “Free Bird” between songs. When Skinner died in 2010, he was buried in Jacksonville, Fla. Artemis Pyle, the band’s former drummer, was in attendance. Skynyrd’s classic “Simple Man” was played at the service.
♦ Led Zeppelin. Jacksonville, Fla., 1973. When I first heard “Good Times, Bad Times” on the radio in the spring of 1969, I had never heard anything like it. On that Saturday morning — and I remember it like it was yesterday — Led Zeppelin put all of my other favorite bands in the rearview mirror. They’re still my No. 1, and always will be. Regrettably, it was the only time I had the chance to catch them in concert. They broke up after drummer John Bonham passed away in 1980.
♦Jimi Hendrix. Honolulu, Hawaii, 1969. Even if people are still playing the guitar on this planet until the end of time, there will never be anyone like Hendrix. Sadly, just 15 months after I saw him perform, Jimi was gone. Fortunately, his music is with us forever.
These musicians were the epitome of cool. Just think: 50 years later, people are still listening to “Stairway to Heaven.” And there’s no doubt they will be 50 years from now. I have a hard time believing that the current No. 1 song — whatever it is — will be on anyone’s playlist in 2072.
Bands will never be cooler than the ones I grew up with in the era now known as “classic rock.” And that, my friends, is why I get to wear the shirt.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Get news alerts and breaking news stories from the Albany Herald delivered to your email.
Scott Ludwig is a retired businessman, a published author and a runner. His columns appear in The Albany Herald on Fridays.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Get the latest obituaries delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
1, 2, 3 BR. Furnished, $85/wk. Utilities Included. Unfurn…
1914 Dawson Road, Multi-family, Saturday 8-12 PM
2 Family Side by Side Yard Sale 129 & 137 Longleaf Dr…
Enter the October Free Gas Giveaway from Homerun Foods for a chance to win.
306 West Broad Ave. Albany, GA 31701
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.
Sign up for Albany Eats, a weekly email newsletter with the latest on eateries in the Albany area sprinkled with recipes.
Get the daily Albany Herald e-edition delivered to your inbox every morning.
Get the latest business news delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
Get the the most recent coronavirus news delivered to your inbox daily.
Keep up with local events in southwest Georgia.
Every Monday, find a list of upcoming events in your email inbox.
On Fridays, upcoming weekend events are delivered to your email inbox.
Get the Local News headlines from the Albany Herald delivered daily to your email inbox.
Get the most popular posts on AlbanyHerald.com from the previous week emailed to you every Monday morning.
Get the latest obituaries delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
Get our expert short-term forecast, summary of the weather details and news of any severe weather in the Albany, Georgia area.
Get the Sports headlines from the Albany Herald delivered daily to your email.
Get a list of upcoming high school sports events delivered to your email inbox every Thursday.
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.