Video Of The Day

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Many Rivers To Cross

An excellent indicator of the impact of a song lies in the number of artists that choose to cover it. Jimmy Cliff's 'Many Rivers To Cross', listed as #317 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time is one such tune. Having discovered this track while researching for the previous post, I set about to listen to many of the versions available on YouTube. The list of artists included here span each of the decades that have come and gone since the song was written in 1969. According to Wikipedia, the song was released or notably perfomed at least once within 25 of the 27 years since it was released on the legendary The Harder They Come soundtrack. The only artists to chart with the song are UB40 (1983/UK), Cher (1993/UK), and Annie Lennox (2008/US).

Bruce Sprinsteen (1993)

NOFX (2008)

U2 (2005)

Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1988)




The Animals (1977)




Little Milton (1971)





John Lennon and Harry Nillson (1974)




Joe Cocker (1996)




Lenny Kravitz (2002)




Annie Lennox (2008)




UB40 (2002)




Cher (1992)




Marcia Hines (1982)




Gov't Mule (2005)




Oleta Adams (1994)

Jimmy Cliff Nominated for Rock Hall

I won't get into how I stumbled upon this video tonight of Jimmy Cliff performing Cat Steven's 'Wild World' live in Germany in 1998, but I will tell you what I have learned about the man since finding it:

(1) Jimmy Cliff is still alive and well at 61 years of age
(2) He has not played a concert in this country in some time (his website lists no US date as far back as his website lists)
(3) As of this past Wednesday, he was nominated for induction into the 2010 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside KISS, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, the Hollies, and LL Cool J.

Jimmy's official website doesn't have any mention of the Rock Hall nomination and appears to have not been updated since Summer 2008. I hope to someday soon read about some stateside Jimmy Cliff tour dates. I'd have to think he would make an incredible addition to Bonnaroo.

Jimmy Cliff - Wild World - Übersee, Germany - Saturday, July 11, 1998

Frusciante Sings Elton

My definition of a Rock Star:

1) Beholden to no one: Not agents, publicists, or record executives
2) Follows their muse
3) Has the balls to play a sissy song to tens of thousand of people

Enter Mr. John Frusciante...

EXHIBIT A



EXHIBIT B



(WeightStaff Note: For the record, I DO NOT think these are sissy songs. Just trying to make a point for emphasis.)