Good evening, Kibitzers! One good thing about the internet age is that, when I need a thing to write a diary about and I have no ideas whatsoever, googling the date always turns up something interesting. One could take the position that, were it not for the internet, I would not be needing to write a diary on Daily Kos, and would instead be most of the way through my extensive December to-do list by now, But surely that would be a churlish position to take. I enjoy seeing my friends on Daily Kos, and I thank you all for visiting with me (instead of doing whatever you all should really be doing. Come on, you know it’s true!)
So this evening, we will hear from a handful of musicians born on this date. I’ve tried to post live performances when possible, because they’re just more interesting to see and hear. I failed in this only with McCoy Tyner, because his live YouTubes were whole sets that were mostly over an hour long, and I know you came here to chat. They’re out there if you’re interested.
Let’s start with Carl Friedrich Zelter (December 11, 1758 – May 15, 1832). Zelter was a German composer and conductor, a buddy of Goethe’s, and young Felix Mendelssohn’s music teacher. Notably, Zelter himself worked as a bricklayer in his youth and taught himself music on the side.
Hector Berlioz (December 11, 1803 – March 8, 1869) was a French composer and conductor, and a disappointment to his father, who expected his son to become a doctor like himself. Berlioz was pretty rebellious, though, as his music demonstrates, so it didn’t slow him down.
Big Mama Thornton (real name Willie Mae Thornton; December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984) was a powerful blues singer. She wrote Ball ‘n’ Chain, later covered by Janis Joplin, and was the first to record Hound Dog. Here, she sings with Buddy Guy's band.
McCoy Tyner (born December 11, 1938), legendary jazz pianist, is 80 and he’s already got performance dates booked in 2019. He started out with John Coltrane in the early 60s, and has had a long and varied career.
Brenda Lee (born December 11, 1944) became a pop/rock star when her age was barely into double digits. She crossed over into country music in earnest mid-career; she’s the only female artist to be in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (that link is to an extensive and interesting piece in Rolling Stone). In this video, she’s 8 years old.
I thought she deserved an adult performance here too (although of a song she first recorded in 1958 when she was 13. Johnny Marks, the composer, also wrote Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.)
Jermaine Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is the 4th of the nine Jackson children, and one of the five brothers who formed the Jackson 5; he was originally the lead singer, until the group’s youngest, Michael, got old enough. Jermaine played bass in the band. He’s seen in this video on the right, in the darkest blue shirt (he gets a phrase to sing at about 2:05).
Dave Schools (born December 11, 1964), is the bassist of the band WideSpread Panic. Widespread Panic is Dead-like in their reputation for playing long live shows that are different every night. It’s no surprise that some of his numerous side projects involve members of the Grateful Dead.
And finally, this video has nothing to do with December 11 per se, and it’s been around here all day. But I cannot allow anyone to miss it if I can help it. (Original song here, because I assume nothing.)
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by and tell us about your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper. Newcomers may notice that many who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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🔥 CALIFORNIA FIRE RELIEF: A Work in Progress 🔥
~ Animal-specific ~
THIS COMMENT by moondanc provides an enormous amount of information and advice for people affected by the Camp Fire. Please keep in mind that it’s as of its posting date, 11/17, and since it’s a comment, cannot be updated. Anything time-sensitive may have changed.
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A second hurricane season has ended without real relief for Puerto Rico.
It is Day 447 since Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico.
PLEASE FOLLOW Denise Oliver Velez and the SOS Puerto Rico group for the latest news about developments in Puerto Rico and the USVI. Denise’s most recent Puerto Rico diary is here. She generally collects resonant tweets at the top of her comment threads, as well, and in the APR’s thread most mornings, to make it easy to retweet. If you tweet or FB, please share something about Puerto Rico and USVI regularly.
PUERTO RICO and USVI DISASTER RELIEF DONATION LINKS
The Daily Kos community has its own project: Puerto Rico resident Bobby Neary (newpioneer) leads a small team dedicated to helping a specific rural elder who was left by the storms without power, water, a roof, or any belongings but a moldy mattress. If you like to see concrete results, this is the project for you. See newpioneer’s diaries for ways to help. See this one in particular, and this comment with photos. See also his lovely and heartbreaking poem.
(🌅 = most recently recommended by Denise)
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