October 9

Well faithful readers, today is my birthday (43). There’s really nothing very interesting about that. What is interesting to me are some of the people that share my birthdate. These three have made a bit of an impact:

John Entwistle, aka the Ox, born October 9, 1946. The anchor in an otherwise out of control rock band. The eye of the hurricane. For proof, see the photo in the Live At Leeds booklet; while the other band members are a blur of unbridled energy, only John is in focus. John’s songs with the Who always seemed like token gestures, like the Ringo or George tracks on the early Beatles albums. I always liked John Lennon, born October 9, 1940. What can I possibly say that hasn’t already been said? A true genius, and possibly the greatest rock/pop vocalist of all time. Oh, and he wrote a few good songs, too. Of all the senseless deaths in the music industry, his takes the cake. Thankfully, we have the records. I will now break the unwritten rule of posting Beatles music on-line and offer these two moments of brilliance, for those of you that don’t have Anthology. Here are some embryonic versions of my favorite Beatles song:

Strawberry Fields Forever(Demo)

Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1)

Rest In Peace, John. In a nice coincidence, John’s son Sean was born October 9, 1975.

Also, Jackson Browne, born October 9, 1948. I was never a big Jackson Browne fan, and actually do not own any of his music. If I would include anything here, it would be Doctor My Eyes. JB is credited with playing a big part in the birth of the California music scene (see Eagles, et al). Still plugging away though at 58.

All in all, pretty good company.