Saturday, November 15, 2008

Bob Dylan's Grandma

Jimi Hendrix in 1970, Noel Redding in 2003...

...and now Mitch Mitchell has passed away at the age of 62. The Experience is no more.

"Bob Dylan's Grandma" was Hendrix's affectionate nickname for his drummer Mitch Mitchell. Here's a drum solo from Mitchell...

The Jimi Hendrix Experience in Sweden, January 1969... Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)



The Dirty Mac (Mitch Mitchell, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards) on the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, 1968... Yer Blues




File under the "Gee, that's cold" category

I used to work with a guy from Syracuse who came of age in the sixties. Huge Jimi Hendrix fan. Went to Woodstock, was sweating out the draft, the whole bit... One September day he was hanging around the house with a buddy of his listening to records. His father stopped in, a square straight-shooter who'd put in his 30 years or so at the Carrier air-conditioner company, and dropped a newspaper in his lap. "Here, look at this... Your hero just choked to death on his own vomit."

While I'm here reporting the news on sixties icons...

Andrew Greeley on the mend? He's in "critical but stable" condition

I carry a link to Father Andrew Greeley's columns over on the right. He's pretty liberal in a predictable sense, but he's always enjoyable to read. I hadn't heard until today that he was badly injured last week in a freak accident. He was getting out of a cab and got his coat caught in the door. When the cab pulled away he fell and fractured his skull. He's been in critical condition since Friday of last week. Prayers go out to him.
The Rev. Andrew Greeley remains in critical condition Thursday morning, six days after falling and fracturing his skull during a cab accident.

He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he remained in critical condition as of 4 a.m. Thursday, according to a hospital nursing supervisor, who said his condition had not changed.

Earlier, his niece Laura Durkin said he was in critical but "very stable" condition and doctors were pleased with Greeley's progress from Friday to Saturday.

Although he was swollen and bruised, Greeley's color looked good Saturday morning and he was "resting comfortably" after a restless night, Goggin said.

"You know, he's a fighter and a tough guy," Goggin said. "He's got everything they want in a patient. All the signs are very positive."
File under the "Gee, that's cold" category

I happened to notice in the reactions on one blog some examples of the milk of human kindness you often see offered up in comboxes nowadays..
Andrew Greeley is finally going to meet his maker. I hope he is judged well for the many evil things that he has done in this life. I hope he has asked for forgiveness of his many sins. May God have mercy on Rev Andrew Greeley. May God turn him away from his evil ways of devout socialism...

This wolf in the fold's heresy has destroyed the faith of many. May he beg for mercy.

Nice.

Ah, the blogosphere. It warms the cockles of the heart, doesn't it?

9 comments:

Garpu said...

Some times I don't recognize what the Church is becoming. Hello? Greeley's a priest. You know, the guy who brings you (the commenters, not you) the Eucharist every week?

Jeff said...

Hi Jen,

In most of what I read from Greeley, he was just accurately describing what he saw going on in the life of the Church. I can't figure out all the animosity. Apparently, you have to be the right kind of priest.

cowboyangel said...

What a bizarre and terrible accident for Greeley. I didn't realize he was 80.

Strange to be commenting on Greeley and Mick Jagger looking so stoned in that video. I've seen several clips from the Rock and Roll Circus but have never actually seen the whole thing. Have you? I've always liked the music from it that I've heard.

Thanks for posting something on Mitchell. He was a great drummer. Much better than Buddy Miles. (There - happy?!) :-)

I should never have even implied something ill of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. For that, I'm sorry. I'll put on some Mitch and the boys today to make up for it.

Jeff said...

Hi William,

Don't be dissing my boy Mitch Miller either. He put together my favorite Christmas album of all time!

Man, everbody in that Rock 'n' Roll Circus was trashed. Couldn't you feel the loathing jealousy Jagger had for Lennon just oozing out of him in that clip?

I think John always retained a little bit of the bully in him.

Yeah, weird accident for Greeley, and I was surprised he was that old too.

Jeff said...

I did see the whole thing on PBS last year. I can understand why the Stones didn't want to release it.

The Yer Blues jam was the best part, until Yoko got up on stage and ruined it with her caterwauling.

Of course, nobody could say anthing, because it was "John" and all, you know?

crystal said...

Yeah, sad about Fr. Greeley. I hope he gets better, I tried to read one of his novels once, before I was a Catholic, and was kind of shocked that there was romance/sex in it :) I was so naive about Catholics then.

Jeff said...

Hi Crystal,

Yeah, I've heard that about his novels. I've never read any of them. Apparently, those scenes do raise an eyebrow or two. Are his novels any good?

He did write a sociological study once called The Catholic Imagination, which I think you would enjoy.

Meg said...

A friend of mine called his books "pulpit pulp".

I loved a lot of them, especially the early ones. He's a good writer and a great story teller. Flaws? Sure. His teen-speak makes me gag and his evil people are far too evil -- although perhaps a novel just doesn't give you scope enough to map out the motivations of a bad guy.


Regardless, his good guys are always real -- sinners who find a change of heart, often by finding Christ in their wives or the women in their lives. One or two of his books have truly changed my life and they have contributed to keeping me in the Church. He's a good evangelist, spreading the word that God loves us and will keep on chasing us until we slow down enough to let him catch us.

I once wrote him an email to thank him, and he responded!! Shocked the crap out of me! :)

I'm praying for a speedy recovery or a happy death, whichever he would prefer.

Jeff said...

Hi Meg!

The idea of him trying to write a book about teenagers may be as silly as the one Tom Wolfe wrote recently about being a female college student coping with all the wild parties on campus...

I've enjoyed what I've read of Greeley's. He's a pretty competent sociologist, no matter what else anyone wants to say about him.

It's pretty cool that he took the time to write back to you.