Pirate Radio 13

12/04/2025

Johnny Winter

12/04/2025

Janis Joplin, 1968. Photo by Baron Wolman. The photo was part of a series taken for Eye magazine and was captured at the home of Spaulding Taylor in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, which was the heart of the counterculture movement at the time.

12/04/2025

It is with profound sadness that we share the news of the passing of Stephen Lee Cropper, who died peacefully in Nashville today at the age of 84.

Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched
millions of lives around the world. As the legendary guitarist for Booker T. & the M.G.‘s and the architect of the Stax Records sound, he helped create some of the most enduring songs in music history, including “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” “Soul Man,” “Knock on Wood,” and “In the Midnight Hour.” A Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Grammy Award winner, and
Songwriters Hall of Fame honoree, Steve’s influence on American music is immeasurable.

While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve
will live forever through his music. Every note he played, every song he wrote, and every artist
he inspired ensures that his spirit and artistry will continue to move people for generations.

Steve is survived by his loving wife, Angel Cropper; his children Andrea and Cameron Cropper, Stevie, and Ashley, along with countless musicians and fans whose lives he transformed through his extraordinary gift.
The family thanks everyone for their love, support, and respect for their privacy during this difficult time.

12/03/2025

12/03/2025

12/03/2025

The recording of “Hound Dog” became one of the many legends, rumors, about Big Mama Thornton’s career when, by 1956, the rock ‘n’ roll age was already universal. Elvis Presley recorded “Hound Dog” to international acclaim. The Presley record spurred a number of lawsuits over publishing rights, and Big Mama Thornton would, for the rest of her life, tell how Elvis got rich and famous with “her” song. But to set it straight, Mike Stoller and Jerry Lieber wrote “Hound Dog” especially for Big Mama.

Jerry Lieber remembers:
Absolutely, the afternoon we saw her, Johnny Otis told us to come down to his garage in the back of his house, where he used to rehearse. He wanted us to listen to his people and see if we could write some tunes for them. We saw Big Mama and she knocked me cold. She looked like the biggest, baddest, saltiest chick you would ever see. And she was mean, a “lady bear” as they used to call ‘em. She must have been350 pounds and she had all these scars all over her face. I had to write a song for her that basically said “Go f--k yourself” but how do you do it without actually saying it? And how to do it telling a story? I couldn’t just have a song full of expletives, hence the “Hound Dog.”

Mike Stoller adds, “’Right, ‘You ain’t nothing but a motherf----er.’ She was a wonderful blues singer with a great moaning style, but it was as much her appearance as her blues style that influenced the writing of ‘Hound Dog’ and the idea that we wanted her to growl it, which she rejected at first, her thing was ‘Don’t tell me how to sing no song.’” “Leiber and Stoller brought me the song, 'Hound Dog,’” Johnny Otis recalls of the time he produced Big Mama Thornton's recording. “Parts of it weren't really acceptable. I didn't like that reference to chicken and watermelon, [and] said, 'Let's get that crap out of there.'... This came out and it a big smash, and everything was all right. I had half the publishing rights and one third of the song-writing. “Then Elvis Presley made it a mega hit, and they got greedy. They sued me in court. They won, they beat me out of it. I could have sent my kids to college, like they sent theirs,” Otis said. “But, oh well, if I dwell on that I get quite unhappy, so we try to move on.”

From Essay by Michael Sporke
Photo Chris Strachwitz (Maybe)

12/02/2025

Happy Birthday Born: December 1, 1951, Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States-John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American , composer, and produce-
Died: September 21, 1987 (age 35 years), Broward Health Medical Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

12/02/2025

Linda Ronstadt◇◇◇

12/02/2025

Classic Rock Revisited’s Jeb Wright Ranks the Tracks from Against the Wind- From Best to Worst!

Against the Wind
Fire Lake
You’ll Accomp’ny Me
Shinin’ Brightly
Good for Me
Her Strut
Betty Lou’s Gettin’ Out Tonight
The Horizontal Bop
No Man’s Land
Long Twin Silver Line

12/02/2025

Townes Van Zant, date unknown

12/01/2025

Stevie Nicks, 1976.