Some More Figures From The 50's & 60's

Roky Erickson ~ Singer/guitarist/songwriter with 1960's Texas Garage-Psyche band the 13th Floor Elevators;

THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATORS ~ "YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME";


THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATORS ~ "ROLLER COASTER";


ROKY ERICKSON ~ "TWO HEADED DOG";



Larry Taylor ~ 77 ~ Bassist for US 1960's band Canned Heat as well as The Monkees, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Mayall, Tom Waits, Sunnyland Slim, Albert King, Leo Kotke, John Lee Hooker, Kid Ramos, Hollywood Fats, John Hammond, Ry Cooder, Keith Levine, Charlie Musselwhite, JJ Cale, Kim Wilson.

CANNED HEAT ~ "GOING UP THE COUNTRY";


CANNED HEAT ~ "ON THE ROAD AGAIN";



Gary Duncan ~ 72 ~ American rock guitarist w/1960's bands Quicksilver Messenger Service and The Brogues

QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE ~ "WHO YOU LOVE";


QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE ~ "FRESH AIR";


QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE ~ "MONA";



Dick Rivers ~ The French Gene Vincent and singer for Les Chats Sauvages (AKA the Savage Cats);

LES CHATS SAUVAGES ~ "PAINTED FACE";


LES CHATS SAUVAGES ~ "WHAT I SAY";



Preston Epps - 88 - American percussionist ("Bongo Rock");

PRESTON EPPS ~ "BONGO ROCK";



Huelyn Duvall ~ 1950's Rockabilly singer & songwriter (Gene Vincent, Stanford Clark);

HUELYN DUVALL ~ "PUCKER PAINT";


HUELYN DUVALL ~ "HEY BRUTUS" & "GOT A LITTLE GIRL";



Dick Richards ~ 95 ~ Drummer with Bill Haley & the Comets

BILL HALEY & THE COMETS ~ "ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK";


BILL HALEY & THE COMETS ~ "SEE YOU LATER ALLIGATOR";


BILL HALEY & THE COMETS ~ "VIVA LE ROCK & ROLL";



Nancy Holloway ~ 86 ~ American born French based Jazz & R&B singer from the 1960's & 70's

NANCY HOLLOWAY ~ "BE BOP A LULA";


Bill Vitt ~ Drummer with 1970's San Francisco Folk Rock band the Sons Of Champlin, also Jerry Garcia, Tom Fogarty, Brewer & Shipley

THE SONS OF CHAMPLIN ~ "FREEDOM";

Hugh Hefner, Playboy And Rock & Roll

Hugh Hefner isn't normally thought of as a figure with a connection to R&R but part of his "Playboy" esthetic, or ideology even, included the idea that a Playboy Man should have god taste in literature (Hemingway, Capote, Mailer, Miller, Vidal and Baldwin all wrote for him), art (Pop Art, Abstract Expressionism, Dali) and music. At a time when "swingers" were still listening to Mantovani or Jackie Gleason's "Songs For Lovers" albums Hefner promoted some fairly hip music. Starting with the obvious choices like Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan in the 1950's he moved into Cool Jazz and before embracing the Summer Of Love in the mid sixties. One of his projects in the late 1960's was a late night TV show called "Playboy After Dark which had on some of the coolest bands around, including a number of black musicians hosted by Hef in a somewhat incongruous tuxedo.

IKE & TINA TURNER;


STEPPENWOLF ~ "AMERICA";


PETER GREEN'S FLEETWOOD MAC ~ "RATTLESNAKE SHAKE";


THE BYRDS ~ "YOU AIN'T GOING NOWHERE" & "THIS WHEELS ON FIRE";


DEEP PURPLE ~ "HUSH;


IRON BUTTERFLY ~ "INNA-GADDA-DAVIDA";


CANNED HEAT ~ "ON THE ROAD AGAIN";


JAMES BROWN;


MARVIN GAYE ~ "CHAINED";


JAMES COTTON & LUTHER TUCKER;


BUDDY MILES;


BB KING ~ "THE THRILL IS GONE";


BUDDY RICH;


DAVE BRUBECK ~ "TAKE FIVE";