Ry Cooder is an amazing guitar player. As a session man, Ry has played with everyone from Captain Beefheart to Taj Mahal, Randy Newman to Ali Farka Toure. He reassembled the Buena Vista Social Club and helped bring the talented Cubans to worldwide acclaim. Ry played guitar on "Let It Bleed" and "Sticky Fingers" with the Rolling Stones. (That crazy slide guitar on the bluesy "Memo from Turner" sung by Mick in the film "Performance" was all Ry) On top of that, he came up with some fantastic solo albums, such as "Bop Till You Drop," shown above. Blues, rock, soul, latin, African...you name, he's been there, done that.The word on the street is that Ry is coming out with "I, Flathead," an album about offbeat Los Angeles in the 1950s. It's the third in a series of LA slices of life that includes "Chavez Ravine" and "My Name is Buddy."
The above clip is classic Ry Cooder, playing with The Moula Banda Rhythm Aces, an all-star lineup, from a film by Les Blank taped at The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA on March 25'th 1987.
Band:
Ry Cooder: guitar, vox
Jim Keltner: drums
Van Dyke Parks: keys
Jorge Calderon: bass
Flaco Jimenez: accordion
Miguel Cruiz: percussion
Steve Douglas: sax
George Bohannon: trombone
Singers:
Bobby King: tenor
Terry Evans: baritone
Arnold McCuller: tenor
Willie Green Jr: bass
2 comments:
"Bop Till You Drop" is one of my favorite albums of all time. Definitely a desert island disc. Thanks for the great post. Looking forward to the "Flathead" record.
I agree, Jamie. It's a great album.
Did you know that "Bop" was the first album to be recorded digitally? This was way back in 1979.
Also, the album yielded Ry's biggest hit ever, the cover of the Elvis song "Little Sister."
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