I hope nobody watched or streamed that demented orange POSs speech yesterday. There are other, more pressing matters to occupy ourselves with, like why can't we eat salads or fresh salsa with cilantro? Why is our food contaminated with cyclospora? Why did that POS remove the FDA “Food Traceability Rule” and place us at risk?
ANYWAY, back to my form of reality (and therapy)…
Does anybody even know what “shindig” means?
The word originated in the United States in the mid-19th century. It’s believed to be a playful alteration of the older slang word shindy, which originally referred to a rowdy commotion or a street game similar to field hockey.
In modern, everyday use, it’s synonymous with words like “bash,” “blowout,” or “hoedown”. For example, you might say, “Are you going to the big neighborhood shindig this weekend?”
In the mid-60s, there was a TV show broadcast from Los Angeles called Shindig! It was a musical variety series hosted by DJ Jimmy O’Neill. I never watched it, maybe it wasn’t shown in my area, I dunno.
Most exciting for all of us who love him is that Leon Russell, the house band’s pianist, was often featured in solo performances.
I never get tired of wondering exactly how Leon went from THIS to the uber cool long-haired sunglass-wearing exuberant Master of Space and Time that filled stadiums. The butterfly definitely broke out of the chrysalis!
Photo credit from Pinterest
Check out Leon on the first song with Donna Loren (you can hear him before you see him, it’s unmistakably LEON) and something I’ve never seen before, Leon on organ with Bobby Sherman at 10:02.
And on another day with Aretha Franklin; I also always wonder what HE was thinking about…it’s a mystery.
“Without music, life would be a mistake” – Friedrich Nietzsche Auf Deutsch: Ohne Musik wäre das Leben ein Irrtum.
This famous quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, found in his 1889 book Twilight of the Idols, highlights his belief that music is essential to a meaningful existence.
Music directly affects our mood. It accompanies us when we’re sad, makes us cheerful when we’re happy, increases our motivation, and calms us down.
Whether it’s Leon Russell (literally any song) or Kpop Demon Hunters, music appeals directly to emotions. It can bring people together and overcome cultural, racial, and language barriers.
This is true for animals, too. Have you seen the video of the guy who plays the piano for elephants? British concert pianist Paul Barton frequently plays classical music on an acoustic piano for rescued, blind, and elderly elephants at the Elephants World sanctuary in Thailand. His performances aim to bring comfort, emotional healing, and a calming presence to traumatized animals through soothing vibrations and melodies.
Music plays a critical role in the construction of individual and social identity. It accompanies important memories in our personal memory.
Scientific research shows that music reduces stress, strengthens memory, enhances neurological connections, and can be used for therapeutic purposes. Music therapy for brain injury uses neuroscience to retrain the brain. By targeting cognitive, sensory, and motor functions through active music-making or rhythmic listening, it stimulates neuroplasticity to help survivors regain lost speech, movement, and emotional control.
Have you heard this? “Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast” was written by English playwright William Congreve in his 1697 play The Mourning Bride.
I recall one time in the car when the Angel Kids were being obnoxious in the back seat. Because they were really getting on my nerves, I started to play Beethoven’s Fur Elise and within literal SECONDS, they both calmed down for the remainder of the drive. If it can soothe those feral creatures, I’m a believer.
I’m sure you know that I’m listening to Leon Russell right now…what are YOU listening to?
Amy Lee Nelson and Tina Rose Bridges, the daughters of Willie Nelson and Leon Russell, have officially joined forces to create a brand new duo, ALeeN ROSE.
Their debut single, “They’re There” features music icon Willie Nelson. According to PEOPLE, he wrote the song’s bridge, played guitar, and lent his unmistakable vocals. “Now it’s a full-on family song, as it should be,” Amy said.
The song is a loving tribute to Amy’s late brother Billy Nelson who died in 1991 and Tina Rose’s father, Leon Russell. Leon died in 2016.
“In my dreams, my daddy tells me stories / Of all the things I can do and who I could be / He takes my hand / says understand you’re still beside me/ I’m not gone/ We are waltzing inside this dream,” Tina Rose sings on her verse.
This is a sweet and beautiful song that honors their spirits and the memories that continue to guide them through life.
“Tina Rose called me one evening during lockdown and we spoke about the feelings of loss surrounding the death of her dad,” Amy Lee Nelson recalls, “I told her how I’ve found myself often saying ‘they’re there’ when speaking of loved ones who have passed. I shared with her a song that I had begun writing after having dream visions of my brother, Billy.”
She continues, “I asked her to write the second verse as a healing outlet for her pain and grief. I was blown away by the verse she brought back to me. But it still wasn’t finished and we weren’t sure where to take it. We asked my dad for help, and so he wrote the bridge. Now it is a full-on family song, as it should be.”
Willie Nelson and Leon Russell are two of the best and most individual songwriters and vocalists in any musical genre. Leon Russell was a musician, songwriter, and arranger who had been a first-call session man and producer even longer than he had been known as an individual performer.
In 1979, Willie Nelson and Leon Russell released their chart-topping double album, One for the Road. Although One for the Road is their only joint album, the two continued to perform together on stage over the years.
News of ALeeN ROSE’s “They’re There” release comes soon after Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas Nelson, performed a cover of Leon Russell’s “A Song for You” at Cain’s Ballroom in Oklahoma. The track’s release also coincides with what would have been Billy Nelson’s 68th birthday.
As you listen to “They’re There”, the respect and love is truly inspirational.
It oozes with generational talent. Their ability to translate feelings into a musical format is genuine and authentic. What an amazing way to carry on the legacy of two musical giants. I just know that Leon Russell would be so proud of Tina Rose.
Crazy random connection time…I read something on Facebook about Oak Park High School where I briefly attended before moving to California.
The post shared information about a former classmate who became a famous singer/songwriter; Marcy Levy/Marcella Detroit.
Because I’m obsessed and have a one-track-mind, I messaged her and asked if she had ever known Leon Russell because I knew he spent a lot of time in Detroit around the early ’70s.
Her response blew me away! Not only did she know Leon, she toured with him before going on tour with Eric Clapton and co-wrote some of Clapton’s songs, including my favorite, “Lay Down Sally.”
ERIC CLAPTON, OMG.
I’m not at all embarrassed to tell you that I asked her if Leon’s eyes were as amazing as everyone has reported, and her exact quote was, “Oh yes his eyes were incredible.” I have so many more questions. So many. I can be SO annoying.
As a teenager, Marcy had posters of Russell on her walls. She later achieved her goal of singing with him, joining his touring band as a featured female vocalist for the Stop All That Jazz album (which also featured The Gap Band).
Leon Russell wrote the song “Time for Love” for her. The two developed a personal and professional connection in the early 1970s, during which time they dated for approximately nine months.
Detroit has reflected on their relationship in interviews, noting that Russell was a childhood idol. She viewed him as an incredibly gifted songwriter, musician, and arranger. She specifically recalled him creating an amazing live arrangement of “Unchained Melody” for her to sing on tour.
We’re fortunate to see Marcy as a background singer with Ann Bell on the Midnight Special with Leon, too. It’s an amazing video:
One more brick in the path that leads to Leon. One more step.
Another mind blowing fact I learned is that one of Marcy Levy’s earliest gigs was opening for David Bowie! DAVID BOWIE!!!
She was also a member of the ground breaking award winning band “Shakespear’s Sister”. Their song “Stay” is the longest running number one hit for a female band in UK history remaining at number ONE for eight weeks, and Marcy recently appeared on THE MASKED SINGER UK. https://marcelladetroit.com/
At the time, I would have had no idea there was such talent lurking at OPHS. I certainly never accomplished anything that rises to Marcy’s level. Sigh. #failure
There’s still too much ugliness in this world, so I’m going to keep my rosebud colored glasses on a bit longer…
When I realize how many songs Leon Russell contributed his magic to, how he was the secret ingredient in hundreds of popular tunes, I am continually in awe and amazed.
My mom and I used to listen and sing along to all of Gary Lewis & The Playboys songs. We loved the perfect piano playing and we never knew it was Leon. We didn’t have a CLUE but what we did sense was that whoever played the piano was special and magical. It wouldn’t be the same WITHOUT Leon’s contributions– as arranger AND pianist.
Gary Lewis once said that eighty percent of his success was due to Leon, but I believe it’s closer to one hundred percent. If you take away the piano, you’re left with nothing special.
Leon morphed from this uber quiet, short-haired clean-cut session keyboardist to the coolest longhaired sunglass-wearing sexy visionary like a butterfly bursting out of a cocoon. The magic was always inside of him.
I didn’t write the following, but it’s worth sharing. (I did however, edit it a bit.)
If you listened to pop music in the 1960s, you heard Leon Russell play. You just didn’t know it.
That piano on the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby”? Leon Russell. The Byrds’ early records? Leon Russell. Beach Boys sessions? Leon Russell. Phil Spector’s legendary “Wall of Sound” productions? Leon Russell was there, in a suit and tie, hair neatly trimmed, playing whatever was needed, and here with the Monkees.
For nearly a decade, Leon was one of the most sought-after session musicians in Los Angeles. Producers loved him because he could play anything—rock, jazz, country, blues, gospel. You could hum a melody and he’d give you the perfect piano part. You could describe a feeling and he’d translate it into music.
Producer Snuff Garrett said, “I could talk style with him and he’d do it. I’d name a record and go, ‘I like the piano on this…’ and he’d go, ‘Okay,’ and play it.”
Leon Russell was on hundreds of hit records. He was the secret ingredient in countless songs you’ve heard a thousand times.
And for years, almost no one knew his name.
Leon was born Claude Russell Bridges in 1942 in Lawton, Oklahoma with a birth injury (cerebral palsy on the right side) and began playing classical piano at age four. By fourteen, he was sneaking into Tulsa nightclubs with a fake ID, playing backup for Jerry Lee Lewis.
The fake ID belonged to a friend. The name on it was “Leon.” He kept it.
At seventeen, Leon moved to Los Angeles to chase his dream of making it in music. He studied guitar with James Burton, one of the best session players in the business. He worked constantly—sessions during the day, clubs at night, whatever paid.
And he was good. So good that by his early twenties, Leon Russell was playing on some of the biggest records of the decade.
He backed the Ronettes, the Crystals, Darlene Love. He played on Phil Spector’s famous Christmas album in 1963. He worked with the Byrds, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, the Beach Boys, the Ventures, Jan and Dean.
Herb Alpert later recalled that Leon would sit at the piano and say, “I don’t know what to play.” Then he’d “chime in with something special and affect the groove in a very Leon Russell way that was always unique.”
For years, Leon was brilliant, versatile, and completely invisible. A studio ghost. The guy in the suit playing piano while someone else got famous.
Then in the late 1960s, something changed.
Leon grew his hair long. He stopped wearing suits. He gathered a commune of musicians around him in the Hollywood Hills.
He stopped being the anonymous session player and started becoming Leon Russell—the artist–The Master of Space and Time.
In 1970, everything exploded at once.
Leon released his first solo album, simply titled Leon Russell. The musicians backing him? Eric Clapton. Ringo Starr. George Harrison. Not exactly unknown names.
That same year, he organized Joe Cocker’s legendary Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour—a massive, chaotic traveling circus of forty-plus musicians, complete with a full horn section, backup singers, and absolute mayhem. It was revolutionary. The tour became the stuff of legend, and Leon was the mastermind behind it all.
He wrote “Delta Lady” for Joe Cocker. It became a hit.
Then in 1971, Leon performed at George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh—one of the first major benefit concerts in rock history. He shared the stage with Harrison, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Ringo Starr. His medley of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Young Blood” was one of the standout performances of the night. He was ON FIRE.
Suddenly, Leon Russell wasn’t just a session player anymore. He was a star.
By 1973, Billboard named him the “Top Concert Attraction in the World.”
Read that again. The guy who had spent a decade playing anonymous piano parts was now filling stadiums on solo tours. His album Carney reached #2 on the charts. He was crossing genres effortlessly—rock, blues, country, gospel, bluegrass—and audiences couldn’t get enough.
He wrote songs that became standards. “A Song for You”—a tender, achingly beautiful ballad—has been recorded by more than 200 artists, including Ray Charles, Donny Hathaway, Whitney Houston, and Amy Winehouse. In 2018, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Another of his songs, “This Masquerade,” was covered by more than 75 artists. George Benson’s version won a Grammy.
Leon founded Shelter Records in 1969, creating wild, creative environments where musicians could live and work together. He established studios in Hollywood and Tulsa, fostering creativity without boundaries.
He produced and played on sessions for Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Ike & Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones. He toured with the Stones. He collaborated with Willie Nelson. He wrote and recorded hits like “Tight Rope” and “Lady Blue.”
For a brief, brilliant period in the early 1970s, Leon Russell was one of the biggest names in music.
By the 2000s, Leon was playing smaller venues. The stadiums were gone. A new generation of music fans had never even heard of him. He kept touring—because that’s what he did, that’s who he was—but he was a legend from another era that the world had moved past.
He was still brilliant. He was still performing. But the spotlight had moved on.
In 2009, Elton John decided to do something about it.
Elton had idolized Leon since the beginning of his own career. When Elton was starting out in the early 1970s, Leon was already a star. Leon’s influence shaped Elton’s sound, his flamboyant showmanship, his entire approach to piano-driven rock.
Elton had always called Leon a mentor and an inspiration. So when he saw that Leon had been nearly forgotten, he reached out and asked him to record an album together.
The result was The Union, released in 2010. It was a collaboration between two piano-playing legends—one at the height of his fame, one who’d been overlooked for decades.
The album was critically acclaimed and Grammy-nominated. Cameron Crowe made a documentary about the creative process. And suddenly, people were talking about Leon Russell again.
Elton championed him publicly. He spoke about Leon’s genius, his influence, his importance to rock history. And in 2011, Elton inducted Leon into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
That same year, Leon was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
After decades of being overlooked, Leon Russell was finally getting the recognition he deserved.
But by then, his health was failing. He’d had a heart attack. He had brain surgery, but was looking forward to another tour.
On November 13, 2016, Leon Russell died in his sleep at his home in Nashville. He was 74 years old.
Elton John posted: “My darling Leon Russell passed away last night. He was a mentor, inspiration & so kind to me. I loved him and always will.”
Leon Russell left behind an extraordinary legacy: 33 albums, at least 430 songs (probably more), collaborations with virtually every major artist of his era. He’d been directly involved with hundreds of bestselling records over a 60-year career.
But more than the numbers, Leon Russell represented something rare in music—a musician’s musician. Someone who could play anything, work with anyone, cross any genre. Someone equally at home backing Frank Sinatra in a suit or leading a hippie commune with wild hair and a beard down to his chest.
He proved you could be both the anonymous session player and the stadium-filling star. The guy in the background and the guy in the spotlight.
Leon Russell’s story is a reminder that the most talented people aren’t always the most famous—and that sometimes genius hides in plain sight for years before the world finally sees it.
He played on songs you’ve heard a thousand times without ever knowing his name.
Then he stepped into the light and showed the world what he’d been all along: a master. Curated from NoCapArchives
As someone posted on social media, “Besides beautiful Leon’s awesome talents and accomplishments, the purity of his heart shines through.” His disability didn’t hold him back; he’s an inspiration.
Check out the genius of Leon during the Homewood Sessions…it captured a priceless moment in time:
Did you know that Leon Russell wrote “Lost Inside of You” with the one and only Barbra Streisand? The hit song was recorded for the movie, A Star is Born, and that’s Leon on the soundtrack. He will forever be the one and only Master of Space and Time, a musical, visionary genius.
Barbra Streisand took on the lead female role of Esther Hoffman in the 1976 remake of the 1954 film A Star Is Born, opposite Kris Kristofferson as John Norman Howard, an aging singer engulfed by excesses and demons.
Howard’s road manager was portrayed by Gary Busey, a friend of and drummer for (as Teddy Jack Eddy) Leon Russell. Busey introduced Barbra to Leon, and while at her Malibu ranch, Barbra and Leon wrote “Lost Inside of You”.
It was included in the film, on the soundtrack, and as a B-side to Barbra’s single “Comin’ In And Out Of Your Life” from her 1981 hits album Memories. The soundtrack album has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, and Memories did well with over 10,000,000 in sales worldwide, earning Russell loads of money in royalties as a songwriter. From Leon Russell Superstar in a Masquerade
I love knowing that Barbra Streisand collaborated with Leon and I love hearing him play the piano. I wish I had a photo of the two of them. One day, it would be my dream to chat with her about it.
A small anecdote about my six degrees connection to Barbra Streisand is that I once met and had lunch on set with her husband, James Brolin, when he did some filming locally. He was SUPER nice and welcoming. It was a special day and if you’re wondering, he’s even more handsome up close.
P.S. And did you know that Streisand’s co-star in A Star is Born, Kris Kristofferson, was married to Rita Coolidge, who was once upon a time Leon Russell’s girlfriend? Leon’s song, Delta Lady, was written about her. Cool info, huh?
Mad Dogs and Englishmen, the 1971 concert film mostly about a Joe Cocker tour, was just released on YouTube. The timing of this release coincides with Joe Cocker being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Joe Cocker was an English singer who rose to fame in the 1960s after his performance at Woodstock. Known for his distinctive voice and dynamic stage presence, Cocker was a gifted interpreter of other artists’ work. His cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends” at Woodstock became his signature song and an anthem of the era. Cocker’s other notable covers include “Feelin’ Alright”, “The Letter”, and Leon Russell’s “Delta Lady”.
Leon of course
Joe Cocker’s management had organized a tour of the U.S. for him but he was left without a band. His producer at A&M records was Denny Cordell, who happened to be starting his own label with Leon Russell called Shelter Records.
Cordell and Cocker asked Leon to assemble a band for the tour, and Leon agreed only if they could do it like no one had done before.
Through his many connections to outstanding musicians through thousands of studio sessions with the Wrecking Crew, Leon was quickly able to gather together an ensemble of more than twenty musicians, including three drummers, and a backing choir. Leon was the lead guitarist, pianist, arranger, band leader, and musical director.
Leon said, “I will put together the band and I’ll do the arrangements and I’ll do everything but I have to be driving this bus. Nothing will go on unless I say so.” https://musicdayz.com/
Leon also insisted that a camera crew follow the tour, which became the Mad Dogs and Englishmen documentary film, one of the essential rock n roll films that depicted that era of music.
It became the Leon Russell show because his powerful charisma was undeniable.
From musician Chris Stainton, “I admire Leon Russell so much. He’s an exquisite piano player, especially in that Louisiana style. He was so hot then, at the top of his playing ability. When Leon played piano, I’d play organ, and then I’d switch to piano when Leon took over on guitar.”
The tour would become legendary and the ensuing live album would reach #2 on the U.S. Billboard Top 200. Performances of The Band’s “The Weight,” Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright,” and The Box Tops’ “The Letter” highlighted the setlist that was capped off by a wild and rousing rendition of Leon’s own “Delta Lady.” Leon and Joe would duet on their version of Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country.”
The tour served as an opportunity for Leon to showcase his own material, as he would be given stage time to perform “Hummingbird” and “Dixie Lullaby,” which were both to be released on his debut album.
Mad Dogs and Englishmen introduced Leon to the world. Although headlined by Joe Cocker, it wouldn’t have been possible without the visionary genius of Leon Russell as Master of Space and Time.
While the tour catapulted both Leon and Cocker into the pinnacles of rock n roll stature, the magnitude served as a rift between the two of them, and they would choose to pursue their careers separately from that point forward.
To this day, however, the two will be forever connected as having orchestrated one of the great happenings in the history of rock music. (From LeonRussell.com)
My favorite part starts at 4:03 and it’s Leon taking charge just being Leon and leading Will The Circle Be Unbroken.
I don’t know who owns the rights to the rest of the video, but there reallyreally needs to be another documentary, this time showcasing Leon Russell’s live performances, including Hummingbird, Dixie Lullaby, and the duet with Joe Cocker of Dylan’s Girl From The North Country, along with Leon’s amazing arrangement of Cry Me A River.
Did you know that the Master of Space and Time had a long association with The Rolling Stones? He arranged and played on many of their songs, as well as performed covers that I feel were superior to the Stones in every way, but then, I’m totally biased.
Photo found on Insta
Here’s a few examples:
I’m pretty sure that’s Leon counting 1-2-3.
Leon also provided piano and horn arrangements. You can always tell it’s Leon by his signature glissandos.
Here’s an early version of Wild Horses with Leon Russell on the organ during a session for Sticky Fingers 12/04/1969-70.
And my favorite version of Wild Horses by Leon on Stop All That Jazz.
Leon referred to himself as a blues hound. In one interview, he said some musicians he worked with suffered from “jazz damage”. When Leon Russell referred to “jazz damage”, he was jokingly expressing his concern about music producer Tommy LiPuma’s extensive work with smooth, commercialized jazz artists and how that might have diminished his feel for blues and rock.
Here’s more:
In a 2014 interview about his album Life Journey, Russell recalled telling producer Tommy LiPuma, “I was concerned he might have jazz damage.” His reasoning was that LiPuma had previously produced successful records for jazz-pop artists like George Benson, Diana Krall, and Natalie Cole, which Russell saw as a departure from the grittier, blues-based music he favored.
His comment was not a condemnation of jazz as a whole but rather a witty, playful remark referencing his own background. LiPuma proved Russell’s fear was unfounded. The two had a productive collaboration and Leon happily noted that LiPuma was an “old blues hound like me, which was great”.
Because both of the Angel Kids’ eyes literally roll back in their heads when I make them listen to Leon Russell music, I found a slightly obscure song called “Too Much Monkey Business”. It’s more spoken than sung, like a precursor to rap music, and was written by Chuck Berry in 1956.
I played it and the Angels started singing along, as it’s a very catchy tune. I’d call out “How much monkey business” and they’d respond, “Too much monkey business!”
This song is totally earworm-worthy because they couldn’t stop singing it to themselves. All day long, during breakfast and helping to organize their books so we could donate some, I heard them quietly repeat “too much monkey business”, or “too much for me to be involved in.”
I said, “Cool song, huh?” as I planned my final move in my neverending quest to make them love Leon as much as I do.
When we sat on the sofa together after dinner playing card games, I asked Siri to play “Too Much Monkey Business” by Leon Russell and AB said, “Wait, that was LEON? It didn’t sound like him!” I replied, “That was my little joke. You had no idea you were singing one of his songs hahahahaha!”
Too late to stop it from happening; the lyrics are firmly embedded in their brains. They changed the words to: “How much Grandma business?” and “Too much Grandma business.”
They grudgingly agreed it was GOOD but asked me to pleasepleaseplease stop dancing because I was embarrassing them. I can only imagine the many ways I’ll be an embarrassment when they’re teenagers. It’s a rite of passage. They can ask their dad for confirmation.
Those kids are uber funny but I won. They’re now listening to and appreciating the Master of Space and Time–in spite of themselves. My work here is done.
Runnin’ to and fro, hard workin’ at the mill Never failed in the mail, yet come a rotten bill Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Salesman talking to me tryin’ to run me up a creek Say, “You can buy it, go on, try it, you can pay me next week” ah Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Blonde-haired, good lookin’ tryin’ to get me hooked Want me to marry, get a home, settle down, write a book, ha Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Same thing every day, gettin’ up, goin’ to school No need to be complainin’, my objections overruled, ah Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Payphone, somethin’ wrong, dime gone, will mail I ought to sue the operator for tellin’ me a tale, ah Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
I been to Yokohama, been fightin’ in the war Army bunk, army chow, army clothes, army car, ah Too much monkey business, too much monkey business Too much monkey business for me to be involved in
Workin’ in the fillin’ station, too many tasks Wipe the windows, check the tires, check the oil, dollar gas, ah Too much monkey business, too much monkey business I don’t want your botheration, get away, leave me be
“Once in a lifetime across your lifeline crosses an energy like no other. This is Leon Russell to me.” Gary Busey, musician, actor, long-time friend of the Master of Space and Time.
It’s a sunny and warm November day here in SoCal, a perfect time to sit outside on the deck and read Leon Russell In His Own Words.
It’s not a huge book but any light shed on the mysterious, charismatic, and enigmatic MOSAT is appreciated.
It features memories by and about LR from his childhood, high school bands, session work in Los Angeles, and some of his tours.
I’m always amazed at the sheer numbers of records that benefited from Leon’s words, arrangements, and productions. He was a legendary musician, composer, and performer whose musical influence can’t be overstated.
Leon Russell was a one-of-a-kind human; I don’t think we’re likely to experience that kind of genius in several lifetimes.
This little book was enjoyable and informative; I totally recommend!
Now I’m waiting for my Christmas/Hanukkah gift: another book about Leon Russell ; this one is written by Bill Janovitz: Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time’s Journey Through Rock & Roll History
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 