Happy 30th Birthday, Norah!
Norah Jones was born on March 30, 1979 in Brooklyn, NY, where she resides now. She was raised in Texas by her mom. Her father is the world-renowned sitar player Ravi Shankar.
The singer-songwriter launched her career with the 2002 debut album Come Away with Me. The adult contemporary/pop/jazz album sold 25 million copies worldwide and received five Grammy Awards, including “Best New Artist.” This is one of my favorite albums; it soothed me through my nights of insomnia, when nothing else did. Thanks, Norah! The following was one of my favorite songs from that album.
These were also from that album:
Her sophomore album, Feels like Home, was released in 2004. This album had Jones as the main songwriter and had a completely different feel to it. In fact, it was a different band and it was in an entirely different genre – country/blues. Sunrise was from that album. In 2007, she released her third album, Not Too Late. Thinking About You and Sinking Soon are some good tunes from that album
In between these two albums, she recorded The Little Willies, with a band of the same name, her then boyfriend Lee Alexander and some of her buddies put together an country album, which included covers of old country tunes and some new ones of their own composing. Her mentor is Willie Nelson, hence the name of the band.
Here are some songs from that album:
Here’s Norah singing the Elvis classic “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”.
John Mellencamp
Today is John Mellencamp’s 57th birthday. The rocker from America’s heartland has been rockin’ in the U.S.A. for the last 30 years and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Mellencamp’s songs often speak of life in middle America as well as commenting on the state of our nation – good and bad. He hasn’t been afraid to speak against government and stand up for the farmers. He, along with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise money to keep farm families on their lands. John Mellencamp is a prolific songwriter with a vast catalog of great music to his credit. Let’s celebrate a great musician, who in my opinion, is highly underrated. Cheers, John! Thanks for stickin’ up for the little guys.
Recommended albums:
Scarecrow (1985)
The Lonesome Jubilee (1987)
John Mellencamp (1998)
Words & Music – John Mellencamp’s Greatest Hits (inexpensive collection with lots of music and extras)
Below, some of my favorite John Mellencamp songs:
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