Hey, Fred--

You did Bonnie Bramlett a serious disservice by saying that after her split with Delaney she became a backup vocalist. Bonnie released 10 solo albums with some of the greatest singing anyone with an ounce of soul will love:

Sweet Bonnie Bramlett (CBS, 1973)

It's Time (Capricorn, 1975)

Lady's Choice (Capricorn, 1976)

Memories (Capricorn, 1978)

Step by Step (1981)

I'm Still the Same (Audium, 2002)

Roots, Blues & Jazz (Zoho, 2006)

I can Laugh About It Now (Zoho, 2006)

Beautiful (Rockin' Camel, 2008)

Piece Of My Heart - The Best Of 1969-78 (Raven, 2008)

She also sang duets with many top male artists, including Gregg Allman, Jimmy Hall, Mickey Thomas, Dobie Gray, and Delbert McClinton; "Givin' It Up For Your Love," with Delbert, went to #8 on the Billboard charts. She also sang backup for many Southern rock bands, and is an honorary "Allman Sister." And she co-wrote "Superstar," a hit for several artists including The Carpenters Better Midler, Luther Vandross, Sonic Youth, and Usher.

I was at the tribute concert, and it took three spectacular backup singers to handle Bonnie's famous vocals. Elaine Caswell's comment: "Girl, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be up here singing!"

Currently a petition is circulating to have Delaney & Bonnie inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and filming has begun on a documentary about them.

One of my interviews with Bonnie is on this site: http://RocksBackPages.com/Library

KRIS DILORENZO

So, thank you Kris, for setting the record straight, and for reading this column to begin with. Don’t forget to check out Kris’s interview with Bonnie at the link above.

Phil Lesh celebrated the grand re-opening of his Midnight Ramble-like venue, Terrapin Crossroads, in San Rafael, California, with a performance by Phil and Friends, which consisted of a first set in which the band did the entire second album by The Band, known as The Brown Album or just “The Band”, and a second set consisting of the entire “Workingman’s Dead”!

Lesh makes no secret of the fact that his entire operation was directly inspired by Levon’s Midnight Rambles, and before they played, Phil gave a speech honoring his friend, in which he dedicated, “not just the show, or the next show, or everything we do here, but the whole place, to Levon Helm.” Wow! Now that’s a show I would have liked to have been at! To read the full speech, go to http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/phil-lesh-dedicates-terrapin-station-to-levon-helm-20120511

Speaking of shows I would have liked to have been at, you may have heard that the late Tupac Shakur made an appearance at this year’s Coachella Festival! Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre performed with an extremely lifelike Tupac hologram! It was a smash, and now the estates of dead celebrities are lining up to do the same. So far, the estates of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison have expressed interest, with Presley’s estate reportedly already inking a deal! And Morrison’s agent also handles the estates of Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Peter Tosh, and Rick James! It’s not too late kids! Soon you’ll be able to see all of your favorite dead rock stars perform again!

And why stop there? How long before living musicians get in on the act? The Stones could be playing in any number of cities around the world, simultaneously! The Grateful Dead could tour with Jerry Garcia again and play Madison Square Garden every night of the year! The possibilities are endless!

Before we get to this week’s live music picks, I just want to mention, since I got lazy and there was no column last week, that last weekend, June 16^th, 17^th, and 18^th, was the 45^th anniversary of the groundbreaking Monterey International Pop Festival. An event to be remembered! BTW, I happened to see, by accident, the newly remastered version of the film of the festival, and it is like a totally different film from the first release. Definitely worth checking out.

And now for this week’s live music picks.

Wednesday, June 20 – JOSS STONE makes a rare club appearance at The Highline Ballroom in Manhattan. Now, Stone is a pretty good singer, but I would never recommend her at one of the large venues she usually appears in, but at The Highline? You’ve got to be kidding! It’s a no brainer!
Thursday, June 21 – Two weeks ago, I recommended ANDERS OSBORNE on the basis of The Village Voice calling him a “New Orleans guitar demon”. Since then, I’ve heard more good things about him. At The Brooklyn Bowl. When I lived in Nashville, and my band, The Brooklyn Cowboys were just starting out, there was a guy in town named WALT WILKINS, who was pretty darn good. Tonight, Walt pulls into Hill Country Barbecue in Manhattan for a show that’ll probably be a mix of Americana, Country, and Rock & Roll. If you like that kinda stuff, Walt’s pretty darn good!
Friday, June 22 – KEB’ MO’ was one of the best performers at the White House Blues night. Well, he impressed me anyway! Tonight he’s at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn. THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS, a great bluegrass band from the Midwest, make a stop at The Brooklyn Bowl before heading up to Grey Fox, and the Pick of the Week was never easier or more alone, than this week! The great ROKY ERICKSON of the immortal Thirteenth Floor Elevators, will be making an extremely rare appearance, especially outside of Texas, at Maxwell’s in Hoboken! This is pretty much a “can’t miss” event! The Thirteenth Floor Elevators were the biggest psychedelic band in Texas, until Roky went psycho-delic! But he’s better now, and the last time I saw him on TV, Billy Gibbons was playing with him! Be there if you can!
Saturday, June 23 – Lotsa big shows tonight. Lotsa lotsa big shows…but I digress! Upstate we’ve got THE BEACH BOYS at SPAC (that’s Saratoga Performing Arts Center for the uninitiated), as fine a place to see a concert as there is anywhere! Brian Wilson’s with them and so are all the living band members, so this probably ain’t gonna happen again! At The Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, the inimitable KINKY FRIEDMAN rides into town. Downstate, HOT TUNA with STEVE KIMOCK will be at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ, ROSIE FLORES is at The Rodeo Bar, and the Hudson Valley’s JIM WEIDER PROJECT PERCOLATOR is at The Iridium, both in Manhattan.
Sunday, June 24 – A nice way to spend a Sunday evening, if you’re upstate, is with SHAWN COLVIN at The Bearsville Theater. Larry Campbell used to play with her, so maybe he’ll show up. Now if you’re in the city, a nice way to spend a Sunday evening is with ROSIE FLORES at The Rock Shop in Brooklyn.
Monday, June 25 – Busy week, eh? Alt-Country supergroup THE FLATLANDERS, hitch up at BB King’s, and JIM WEIDER is back at The Iridium, this time with THE LES PAUL TRIO.
Tuesday, June 26 – CROSBY, STILLS, and NASH ARE AT The Wellmont Theater for the first of two nights, DAVE MASON is at The City Winery, and CINDERELLA, that’s right, Cinderella, is at The Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, NJ! Now, Englewood is a lot easier to get to from points north of the city, than the actual city! And Cinderella is an interesting group. Back in the 80’s, a Rock tour went to Russia, and when they returned, a compilation album was released. On this album, Cinderella released their version of the Janis Joplin classic, “Move Over”, and I swear, you could not tell the difference between Janis and Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer! I mean, he nailed her! It’s amazing! And their last album before breaking up had quite a few cool songs on it. (After all that, this better not be the play, “Cinderella”!)
Wednesday, June 27 – CROSBY, STILLS, and NASH finish up at The Wellmont tonight.
Thursday, June 28 – ROGER WATERS is at The Times Union Center in Albany, I think, doing “The Wall”. In Woodstock, I think we have a second Pick of the Week! I didn’t plan it, but there it is! THE SIERRA LEONE REFUGEE ALL STARS actually met and started their band in the refugee camps of Sierra Leone during that country’s bloody civil war! It’s a huge success story, and you really should read it in detail, so go here, please, and do so. You will be inspired and will probably attend this event. Yeah, it’s that good! http://www.bearsvilletheater.com/events-calendar/sierra-leones-refugee-all-stars-radio-salone-world-tour-thursday-june-28-2012

So, that wraps it up for another week. Thanks for reading. Seeya!

Fred Perry is the owner of Reservoir Music Center on Route 28 in Kingston, and founding member of Alt-Country supergroup, The Brooklyn Cowboys, is from a 3rd generation musical family and lives in the Hudson Valley, where he does what he can to promote live music.