Verdine White doesn’t give a shirt about an Oxford comma, people. White is touring with Earth, Wind & Fire and will basically destroy Horseshoe Tunica on Saturday, October 4th, using his combo powers of bass, fashion, and dance. All at once.
Earth, Wind & Fire: Horseshoe Tunica, October 4th
Colbie Caillat comes to Horsehoe Tunica on Thursday, September 11th. Caillat had a head start on most everybody who writes and sings songs. Caillat grew up in California in the home where her dad, Ken Caillat, was mixing sound for some of the biggest names in popular music history. Her father’s clients included Lee “Scratch” Perry, Michael Jackson, .38 Special, Mungo Jerry, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Harry Chapin, Taj Mahal, and, most notably, Fleetwood Mac, whose smash albums Tusk and Rumors were mixed in part at the Caillat residence. Not a bad place from which to launch a music career.
Colbie has made a name for herself, too. She sang at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony. Is there a more prestigious gig? If there is, write it down and mail it to me and to her manager. In the meantime, we’re impressed. She also sang at the 2013 World Series, which, admittedly, is not the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony, but she shouldn’t feel bad about it.
Colbie Caillat
“Bubbly” was her debut hit. You know it even if you think you don’t. And if you listen to it for reference you will find that it is a mutant earworm that will write itself into your DNA. It’s also one of the best sounding pop records in recent memory. That’s no surprise, but it is refreshing. There was once an era of cravenly commercial masterfully produced popular music. These days music is compromised to fit the file transfer and the earbud, compressed and cheap sounding. For a major pop hit, “Bubbly” rides that line between acoustical integrity (acoustic guitar and drums that sound inviting) and the market (license-friendly lady pop).
Ringo Starr and His Allstarr Band performs at Horseshoe Casino in Tunica on Thursday, July 3rd.
Ever wonder what John Candy, Harry Nilsson, Hoyt Axton, Gary Busey, John Entwhistle, Sheila E, Billy Squier, Edgar Winter, Colin Hay, and Paul McCartney have in common? I too have often wondered that. The answer is they all performed with Ringo Starr & His Allstarr Band. The aspiring hair dresser/drummer for the Beatles brings his latest incarnation of the Allstarr Band to Horseshoe Casino in Tunica on Thursday, July 3rd.
The original group was largely the Band: Levon Helm and Rick Danko. Quasi Memphian Joe Walsh is a staple. One also wonders whether Walsh and Starr ever had a real good time together. The band has evolved over the decades but always includes players who are stars in their own right. The plan is to let Ringo sing a few and then let each star band member do a couple of their own biggest numbers. Listening to recordings of these shows, you hear Ringo having a good time in the Elvis Vegas-years tradition: a charismatic superstar guiding a crack band through great songs.
Memphis and Mississippi are holy ground to a lot of these folks, as well they should be. God knows who might show up.
It’s been 27 years since our pals over at The Commercial Appeal helped screw up a perhaps already screwed up record by getting snarky with Mr. Starkey and setting off a street protest by producer Chips Moman. The “lost” record that Starr tried to make in 1987 was never officially released after both sides agreed it was a mess. I wish I could have been there.
We are happy to see that Moman will be inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame this year.