It did go unnoticed at LedZeppelinNews.com a year ago when John Paul Jones paid tribute to John Martyn upon the occasion of the singer-songwriter and guitarist's Lifetime Achievement award, presented at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards on Feb. 4, 2008.
But it is mentioned now, upon the occasion of John's Martyn's passing earlier today. He was 60.
From what I can glean, the man's music defied categorization, which is something I have always admired about Led Zeppelin's music as well. I wasn't familiar with John Martyn's work, but leave it to John Paul Jones to select a good muse.
Jones showed up at the event to present the Musician of the Year award to melodeon player Andy Cutting, but the Led Zeppelin multi-instrumentalist stuck around to sit in with John Martyn's band and lend his mandolin for two songs, "Over the Hill" and "May You Never."
Phil Collins presented Martyn that night with the annual Lifetime Achievement award. Collins had assisted Martyn by producing two of his solo albums, Grace and Danger in 1980 and Glorious Fool in 1981.
As the Folk Awards evening went on, Martyn appeared to be in a jovial mood, resting his award on top of his head while an interviewer and film crew tried to maintain a serious composure, surveying him about his thoughts on the evening's festivities. At the mention of John Paul Jones's name, Martyn lost balance and the award slipped off his head.
Jones, meanwhile, said he was glad to be at the awards and have the opportunity to follow Martyn's footsteps and become immersed in the contemporary folk music scene.
Below is a classic performance of "May You Never" from 1973, with Martyn performing it on The Old Grey Whistle Test, in support of his album Solid Air.
Eric Clapton covered "May You Never" on his 1978 album, Slowhand. Clapton later appeared on Martyn's aforementioned Glorious Fool album.
Below is a photo of Martyn's onstage performance with John Paul Jones at the Folk Awards on Feb. 4, 2008. Both of the songs Martyn and Jones performed at the Folk Awards were from that album.
Jason Bonham
Jason Bonham, son of the late John "Bonzo" Bonham, does not take lightly the responsibility of carrying on his father's legacy. Having made a head start at drumming while he was a child, Jason is now passing on the same lessons to a third generation of Bonham drummers.
John Bonham's death in 1980 left such an impact on the surviving members of Led Zeppelin that they knew immediately they could not continue as they were. Yet Jason Bonham's familiarity with the band made him a shoe-in to join his father's bandmates on the few occasions reunion concerts have taken place.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of Bonham's most successful album release to date, the Platinum-certified disc The Disregard of Timekeeping released by his band, Bonham. To mark the milestone, he recently toured with a new band and played under the banner of "An Evening with Jason Bonham."
In the past, Bonham has also toured and/or recorded with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Foreigner, UFO, Paul Rodgers, Joe Bonamassa, Virginia Wolf, Airrace, Healing Sixes and Motherland. He also acted in the movie Rock Star and appeared on the reality TV show "SuperGroup."
- What's the latest on Jason Bonham?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Singer-guitarist John Martyn dies at 60; John Paul Jones sat in with him a year ago
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Like what you see?
John Paul Jones is now in one of the hottest and hardest rock bands, Them Crooked Vultures. The frontman, handling lead guitar and vocals, is Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters is on drums. As for Jones, he offers not only bass and keyboard but also mandolin, keytar, lap steel and whatever else is needed.
One album was released in November, and another is forthcoming. A tour of North America completed in November, and the band now heads to Europe in December and Australia in January.
- What's the latest on Them Crooked Vultures, the group featuring John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme?
- What else is John Paul Jones up to?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Users agree to refrain from posting obscenities and defamatory statements.