The Man Who Helped Shape Rock and Roll

Statue of James Burton on Elvis Presley Ave. - Shreveport Municipal Auditorium

James Burton is not a household name outside the music industry. But to people who know music, he is a living legend.  In 1954, a 15 year old Burton first met another young man, from Tupelo Mississippi,  who came here to hone his music and would soon become a legend in his own right. Their paths in life would again cross one day.  

Burton's first venture into a recording studio in 1957 produced the timeless rock classic "Suzie Q." written by Burton and another local music legend, Dale Hawkins.
  
As a young man of 19, Burton can be seen playing behind teen idol Ricky Nelson in what is the forerunner of modern music videos at the end of some of the old classic Ossie and Harriett TV shows from the 1950's &60's 

Burton's sound and talent made him a much sought after studio musician who's licks can be heard on a some of the great music of the 50s, 60's and 70's.  As Burton's reputation as a guitarist spread, his work took him into the studio with the likes of Dean Martin, Bobby Darin and The Everley Brothers.  Later Burton was to record and tour with Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, John Denver, Judy Collins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Joni Mitchell and Buffalo Springfield, to name a few. In 1967 Burton turned down an offer to join Bob Dylan's first Electric Touring Band.  

But the legendary accomplishments of James Burton reaches much further into rock history then just the life described above. 

In the early years of electric amplification, guitars used thick, tautly strung "Jazz Strings" that gave a mellow yet strong sound.  But in a musicians never ending search for a unique sound,  Burton hit on the one thing that changed the sound of the guitar and lay the road for the guitar gods of modern Rock and Roll.  Burton replaced the bottom three string of his fender guitar with much thinner and more flexible Banjo strings, allowing string bending and vibrato much like a violin. The result was the guitar sound of the early Rock and Roll as we know it today, and led to the later guitar techniques of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix and beyond. 

Then in 1968, that young man from Tupelo James met 22 years earlier called and ask him to join in his comeback. Burton agreed and remained his good friend, confidant and only guitar player till their death in 1977. 

At Burton's  induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, Rolling Stones Guitarist Keith Richards give Burton the highest compliment he could give a fellow guitar player by ending his introduction by saying, "I never brought a Ricky Nelson Record, I bought a James Burton record." 

In 2007 Burton was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, and in 2009 inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Burton is also named one of "Five Living Legends of Shreveport." 

And to solidify the Legend, Burton is listed #19 on Rolling Stone Magazines' 100 Greatest Guitarist of all Time.

James Burton never forgot where he came from, and in 1990 returned  to his hometown of Shreveport permanently. He bought the old mansion of filmmaker Charles B. Perice on the shore of Cross Lake and to this day remains active with the James Burton Foundation and the James Burton International Guitar Festival which each year brings famed musicians from all over the world to our little corner. 

Not many people I know can say their neighbor is a legend. I'm proud to say James and Louise Burton are friends and neighbors. James Burton is a soft spoken man and every bit the gentleman, full of  gratefulness for the talent he was given and the life he has been so fortunate to lead.  In August he will reach his 75 year. 

At a recent Burton New Years Eve Party he led a group down into the massive garage of the Burton home to show a newly purchased boat.  On one side of the garage sits a  immaculately polished burgundy 1976 Cadillac Coup, looking as if it just rolled off the showroom floor.  It has 26 miles on it. 

When ask why he never takes it out and drives it, he turned slowly in the direction of the car and paused, then said in a soft melancholy voice "Elvis gave me that car". 

Alinsky Slime Visits Israeli Election

Obama Meddled More Than We Knew In Israeli Election

Israel National News

John McLaughlin, the Republican strategist hired by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in his successful reelection campaign, warned Sunday that US President Barack Obama went further than has been reported in meddling with Israel's democracy.

McLaughlin spoke on the New York AM 970 channel's "The Cats Roundtable" radio show, which was cited by The Hill, in an interview roughly a week after the Senate launched a probe investigating Obama's involvement in potentially funding the leftist V15 campaign meant to oust Netanyahu.

"What was not well reported in the American media is that President Obama and his allies were playing in the election to defeat Prime Minister Netanyahu," McLaughlin explained.

He elaborated, noting "there was money moving that included taxpayer US dollars, through non-profit organizations. And there were various liberal groups in the United States that were raising millions to fund a campaign called V15 against Prime Minister Netanyahu."

The V15 campaign, whose name is shorthand for "Victory 2015," was said to be a subsidiary of the OneVoice Movement, which reportedly received $350,000 in State Department grants from Obama. Officials have claimed the money stopped last November before Knesset elections.

Further, V15 was led by former Obama staffers, with McLaughlin noting that former Obama political operative Jeremy Bird guided the effort against Netanyahu.

After Netanyahu handily defeated Labor by a margin of 30 to 24, V15 co-founder Nimrod Dweck claimed in an interview on MSNBC that "not a single cent" of US taxpayer money had gone to their campaign, despite the obviously well-funded slick media blitz the group had been engaged in.." --- KEEP READING

On Tip From Grunt of Monte Cristo 

I Wonder If He's Black Enough For Her Now?

Momma Robinson

Long before Michelle Obama became First Lady, her mother had misgivings about her marrying a young man named Barack Obama, because his mother was white.

In a new book due out next month about Michelle Obama, biographer Peter Slevin  digs up an old TV interview with Michelle's mother that aired during Obama’s 2004 U.S. Senate campaign.  In it , Marion Robinson confessed to being “a little bit” wary about her future son-in-law being the product of a white mom and black dad.

“That didn’t concern me as much as had he been completely white,” Robinson said in the appearance on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight” which was scarcely noticed at the time.

I wonder how she feels now, considering that half white guy her daughter married got her a great gig, one she said was going to be only temporary,  kicked back collecting a pension living in her own apartment with antique four-poster bed and sitting area on the third floor of the White House, living large at the taxpayer expense. And seven years in, she's still there.....

(source)

A Good Monday Morning

Louisiana Begins Dismantling Common Core

Breitbart

"A press release from Gov Bobby Jindal’s office states the plan involves legislation that will allow for a new process involving a committee of parents, teachers, and school leaders to adopt education standards. Until such legislation is passed, Jindal wants public schools to use grade-level expectations from 2004-2005 and the older LEAP and iLEAP assessments to measure student achievement.

Additionally, Jindal said he will support legislation that restricts the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) from entering into contracts, Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), and Cooperative Endeavor Agreements (CEAs) with third parties and the federal government."

“This legislation will help us get Common Core out of Louisiana once and for all. We will not accept this one-sized-fits-all approach to our children’s education. The package of legislation will make clear that the federal government or third parties do not have control over Louisiana’s schools, and help ensure that Louisiana parents and teachers create Louisiana standards and curriculum.

Under the new adoption process, every elected official involved in education (including the Legislature, school board members and BESE members) will vote on the draft standards and give parents the opportunity to weigh in and express their concerns. Ultimately, the standards will be approved by majority vote of both houses of the Legislature.

"Jindal’s office also stated that “no state or public funds may be spent on any contract, MOU, CEA, or waiver agreement entered into by a public education body in Louisiana that constitutes a shift in policy in response to the federal regulation or financial incentives from the federal government, unless expressly provided for in law.”

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Common Core does not currently contain history standards, just history texts.  Federal involvement could allow history curriculum to focus less on “American Exceptionalism” and more about todays in vogue  teaching of “grievances” and “victimhood” caused by the United States.  What happens when the federal government decides they get to make curriculum decisions.  What happens when many of the elites, that have already effected higher education, begin teaching American history?   Are we to allow these elites, often times unelected behind close doors with no transparency, to dictate to us how our children are going to learn about American History,  Civics and other important topics that provide citizenry with critical thinking?

FEMA: Deny Global Warming, No Money For You!

There’s one way to ensure that everyone buys into the man-made global warming hoax: extortion. Starting next year the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will stop funds from going to states that refuse to believe that humans are causing climate change.

This news comes straight from the leftist eco-nuts at Inside Climate News, so you can be assured that it isn’t a “paranoid” conservative interpretation of an innocuous FEMA regulation:

"Beginning next year, governors that want the many millions in disaster preparedness funding from FEMA will have to sign off on plans acknowledging the climate change risks to their communities. The policy could put some Republicans governors who deny or question climate change, such as Louisiana's Bobby Jindal in a bind. Louisiana is the nation's biggest recipient of FEMA funds, having received more than $1 billion between 2010 and 2014.

This may put several Republican governors who maintain the earth isn't warming due to human activities, or prefer to do nothing about it, into a political bind. Their position may block their states' access to hundreds of millions of dollars in FEMA funds. Over the past five years, the agency has awarded an average $1 billion a year in grants to states and territories for taking steps to mitigate the effects of disasters.

"If a state has a climate denier governor that doesn't want to accept a plan, that would risk mitigation work not getting done because of politics," said Becky Hammer, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council's water program. "The governor would be increasing the risk to citizens in that state" because of his climate beliefs.

Among those who could face a difficult decision are Republican Governors Rick Scott of Florida, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Chris Christie of New Jersey, Greg Abbott of Texas and Pat McCrory of North Carolina—all of whom have denied man-made climate change or refused to take action. 

Environmentalists have been pressing FEMA to include global warming in its hazard mitigation guidelines for almost three years. FEMA told the Natural Resources Defense Council in early 2014 that it would revise the guidelines. It issued draft rules last October and officially released the new procedures last week as partisan politics around climate change have been intensifying." 

Sounds pretty fascist to me. If you have the truth on your side, you do not need to force people to believe it. Only liars and charlatans resort to bullying tactics like this. 

But Drastic Times call for Drastic Measures I guess....
Greenpeace Co-Founder: Why I am a Climate Change Skeptic

Godfather or Tiny Dancer?

Is Rahm Emanuel in Trouble in Chicago Mayoral Race? You Bet.

by Robert Janicki

Rahm Emanuel, the current God Father of Democrat politics in Chicago, is in deep trouble.  So, just how do we know Emanual is in trouble in seeking another term as Mayor of Chicago?  First, we recently saw the results from the supposed nonpartisan mayoral election on February 24th, which requires a candidate get a majority of the vote in order to win the mayoral race.  

No one had a majority.   

By the way, Chicago hasn't had a Republican major since William Hale Thompson (May 14, 1869 – March 19, 1944) was Mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931.  Known as "Big Bill", Thompson was the last Republican to serve as Mayor of Chicago. 

It would seem then, that an incumbent Democrat mayor wouldn't have much of a problem being re-elected.  However, it didn't happen in the mayoral election for Emanuel, who basically faced an Hispanic novice, Chuy Garcia, who, by comparison, really did not have a ground game or a substantial Democrat Party organization behind him, that were at the beckon call of Emanuel.

Now on to the latest and most substantial challenge to the God Father's reign as Mayor of Chicago, the shooting gallery central for America.  The Service Employees International Union has come out with a scathing video ad highlighting all the failures of Emanuel in his term as mayor.  Watch below.

Looking back to the mayoral election for a moment, Emanuel garnered just 45% of the vote, while Garcia managed about 35%.  Not bad for a politician relatively unknown in most of Chicago.  Since this election, Emanuel has actually failed to increase or even nudge his percentage upward in polling, while Garcia has managed to decidedly edge up more than marginally.  What Chicago has is a genuine race for the mayor's position not seen in my lifetime.  

Traditionally in Illinois politics, the Mayor of Chicago has also been the kingmaker in state politics by virtually hand selecting and then anointing the Democrat candidate for Governor of the Land of Lincoln, who would then go on to win with the backing of every liberal Democrat in the state.  In retrospect, last year's Illinois gubernatorial race was the first serious clue that Emanuel might be in political trouble.  His hand picked candidate, the incumbent Democrat governor, lost convincingly in the general election to a self made millionaire Republican businessman unknown in Illinois politics.

Other cracks began to appear when the head of the Chicago Teachers Union heavily criticized Emanuel for closing dozens of schools in Chicago.  The CTU head, a black woman, made serious sounds that she might challenge Emanuel, however this scenario never materialized.  In stepped Chuy Garcia and people began to pay attention and that's where the God Father is today.  Emanuel has been politically weakened by his not unexpected pattern of rewarding his political cronies, which often crossed purposes and political paths with the voting base he desperately needs to win another term as Mayor of Chicago.  Stay tuned for one very interesting result come the mayoral runoff election on April 7th.

Having been born and raised in Crook County, Illinois, following politics there has been a hobby for me in adulthood.

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Rob Janicki is a retired educator, strong supporter of the 2nd amendment and all around good guy, as well as owner/operator of the website Wired Right  and owes me 20 bucks.