Fingerboard Stories
The United States national anthem is a mash-up of two different sources. The lyrics themselves came from the poem Defense of Fort M’Henry, written and published in 1814 by Francis Scott Key. The poem itself contains four stanzas, the first one being the commonly-sung lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner. Key’s words reflected what he saw during the bombardment of Fort McHenry, including a large flag flying above the Fort following the U.S. victory. That flag, as well as much of the action he saw, inspired the imagery found in the lyrics.
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Born in Greenwich Village in 1968, Hunter grew up in Berkley, California with his mother. It was through her that he got his first taste of music, starting with her collection of old blues records, as well as her work as a repairwoman at Subway Guitar. He started playing guitar at age 13, and at 14 he was taking lessons with Joe Satriani (who was teaching at Subway Guitar at the time). Through all of this, he was listening to a very eclectic mix of music, from the Dead Kennedys to John Coltrane, to Lightning Hopkins.
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It is arguable that the subject of our article, the 1977 album Rumours was peak-Fleetwood Mac, earning the band their most tremendous commercial success. Behind the album, a plethora of problems within the ranks, from members breaking up, to exercises in excess. It’s probably a miracle the album came out!
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Texas Flood is, for all intents and purposes, a live album. The group played together, running through the best material from their live show and recording songs quickly as a result. Mullen did this to make the most of their limited time, as well as capture the energy that the group had during their live shows. For further proof of this, compare the songs on the album to those on Live at the El Mocambo; it’s almost hard to tell the difference between the two.
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From the 1971 album of the same name, this song is probably a great example of love and appreciation between a mother and her child. Dolly sings how her mother stitched her a coat using many colourful rags (including “the love that Momma sewed in every stitch”). The child recognizes the love put into it, appreciates the gift and is quick to defend her coat from the ridicule of the other kids. Try not to shed a tear at the beautiful tale that Dolly sings.
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