On the heels of the very 80s Dirty Work, The Rolling Stones were a band that appeared to be on their way to retirement. 
Mick and Keith, who always enjoyed their share of conflict, were on the outs (again)- at odds over the direction of the band, and many of the rest of the personnel busied themselves in the period before recording the album working on various side or solo projects.

Unlike critics (what the fuck do they know, anyway?), I actually enjoyed Dirty Work. But I couldn't argue against the band seeming to be in their sunset years, seeing as Dirty Work and its predecessor, Undercover, sold poorly. Three years after Dirty Work, the band's "comeback" album- Steel Wheels- was released.

It was a monster seller, with three top ten singles and supported by the biggest tour the band had ever undertaken.

It was also the first opportunity I had to see a band I'd been listening to since childhood, so I dialed and dialed and dialed and dialed and dialed for seemingly hours before getting through to Ticketmaster. I scored tickets to see the band at the Gator Bowl. They were $45 each- which I thought was fucking outrageous (little did I know I'd later pay six times, without even batting an eye y see Paul McCartney), but I was still psyched to see the show with my neighbor, Jeff.

We piled into my Civic and headed to Jacksonville the afternoon of the concert, getting there in plenty of time to catch the opening set from Living Colour- at the time an unknown group who'd managed to score a prime gig. (Side note- while I enjoyed the hell out of their performance, there were plenty of- let's just say "older" fans who I heard bitching that they were too loud and too heavy. Unspoken, though obvious even to 21 year old me, was the fact that those same "older" fans thought they were "too black.")

The opened the show with Start Me Up (of course- what else would they open with?) on the way to two and half hours (give or take) of of straight-forward rock and roll- and plenty of showmanship.

And, behind it all, the nearly perfect percussion of Charlie Watts. The show led me to explore the band a little more in-depth, listening to deep cuts of past albums and appreciating the skill behind them. And particularly of Watts, who played what needed to be played- nothing more, nothing less. He was never flashy, never the outsized personality. He was steady. He was dependable. He was the beat of the band.

Watts bowed out of the band's current tour just last month to have surgery for a condition that was never shared with the public. He said he hoped it would be a temporary thing- that he would be back with the band as soon as he was able. Sadly, that reunion was not to be.

Charlie Watts passed away early this morning at a London hospital, surrounded by his family. And the world will rock a little less because of it.

#WhatsHappening for August 21, 2020

 Yo, yo, daddios and ... mamios? You know what I mean. Anyway, hope all is well.

We're taking another night off tonight, as the city is trying to revive their Bluesberry Festival after last year's plague-induced hiatus. Circumstances allowing, we'll be back next weekend.

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The good thing about 62 weeks off was not having to post about people who come to the shows and waste my time (and theirs) bitching about my not having a certain song, or the way things are done not being to their satisfaction. Well...

I get it- the "new" digital request system we've implemented might take a couple of tries to get used to- but it's incredibly easy to use (I mean, everyone else playing along has managed to successfully enter their request)- so getting pissy about my not taking verbal requests or written slips because you can't manage to (or don't want to) do what everyone else does benefits you exactly 0%. So, you find the system "deplorable"? That is your prerogative. Me? I find it quite amusing.

And the bitching about my not having a song? Well, yeah- and you managed to pester me about it enough times for me to tell you that I hated the song and never wanted to hear it again, hence it was not available. And what good did all the pissing and moaning from you and everyone else in your party you sent up to complain? None. 

Just to be clear, though- here are some of the songs that aren't available:

• Any song containing racist, homophobic, ethnic, religious, or other derogatory slurs or hate speech.
• Songs by certain artists of questionable character (see related story below).
• "I Will Always Love You". Not the original. Not the remake.
• "Purple Rain" and "Bohemian Rhapsody." Not because I dislike them, but because they are two of the greatest songs ever recorded and I've heard them fucked up too many times to suffer through it again.
• That 4 Non Blondes song. There are 11 songs on the album it's from, and the worst fucking one was the popular one.

There are some others, sure, but that kind of gives you an idea of what I'm saying. To some of you, that makes me an asshole. I can deal with that. Every one of us is an asshole in someone's story. But I've been doing this a long time (25 years or something ridiculous like that) and I'm too old and too ornery to do things anyone's way but my own.

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Former R. Kelly tour manager Demetrius Smith testified before a New York jury yesterday that he'd paid a worker in a Chicago welfare office $500 on behalf of the singer to procure a fake ID for Aaliyah Kelly could secretly marry her when she was just 15 years old. The welfare card was one of two fake IDs used to clear the way for the marriage, falsely claiming her age as 18 years old. 

Prosecutors have claimed that Kelly sought to use the marriage- which was later annulled- to avoid criminal charges for having sex with a minor and to prevent her from testifying against him.

The testimony came as part of the racketeering case against Kelly. Other accusations against the singe include the sexual abuse of several women, girls, and boys. Kelly denies the charges, claiming that the women were groupies who wanted to take advantage of his fame and fortune.

Smith, who was granted immunity from future charges, repeatedly told the judge he was uneasy about taking the stand, though he declined to state why. Earlier in the day, another former Kelly employee, Anthony Navarro, said Kelly's Chicago-area mansion saw a "constant stream of female visitors" and said being there was "was almost like the 'Twilight Zone.'" 

Navarro told the jury he'd never witnessed any of the alleged abuse, but added that were some females who stayed at the home for long periods and weren't allowed to eat or leave without Kelly’s permission, he said

"There’s been times where they wanted to (leave) but couldn’t because they couldn’t get a ride or we couldn’t get ahold of Rob" to get approval, he said.

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A lawsuit, filed by Andre Sims against H.E.R., DJ Camper, Justin Love, and Sony Music Entertainment has been settled. 

Sims' complaint claimed the singer's "Focus" intentionally infringed his original composition "Endless Minds" without his consent or compensation. Sims, a songwriter and piano player, says he, created the song in 2004, posted it on Instagram and YouTube in 2015, and registered it with the U.S. Copyright Office in January 2020.

Camper admitted Sims' song did indeed inspire the melody of "Focus," which he co-wrote with H.E.R. and Love during an Instagram Live video.

"I’m happy we could reach a resolution, and would like to thank everyone for their support and prayers," Sims said in a statement.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

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Florida Georgia Line has joined the growing list of artists who have decided to cancel shows over concerns over rising rates of COVID-19 infections, putting the kibosh on their fall tour that was scheduled to begin at the Cellairis Amphitheater in Atlanta on September 24th. They join Garth Brooks, Stevie Nicks, and Nine Inch Nails- all of whom have canceled tours or appearances over the past two weeks.

"There is nothing better than seeing all of your faces from the stage, feeling your good energy, and making memories together," the band's Tyler Hubbard in a statement. "We were hopeful we could get back on the road this fall, and are so bummed to have to cancel this tour, but we know in our hearts that we still have to make sure we’re keeping our fans and crew safe. It’s unfortunate that we have to cancel but we hope y’all understand. We love our fans and can’t wait to be back out when the time is right."

In short, folks, this shit isn't over with. And our choices seem to be either get the vaccine or wear a damned mask. Neither of those is difficult.

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Birthdays today include: Kacey Musgraves (33); Melissa Schuman of Dream (37); Kelis (41); Liam Howlett of Prodigy (50); Kim Sledge of Sister Sledge (63); former Journey drummer Steve Smith (67); Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple (69); Carl Giammarese of The Buckinghams (74); Jackie DeShannon (77); and James Burton, who led Elvis' TCB band as well as playing with Johnny Cash and the Everly Brothers (82); today is also the birthday of the late Kenny Rogers. #MusicalBirthdays