Artist: Steely Dan
Tune: Deacon Blues

New Sade!

Artist: Sade
Tune: Soldier of Love

Artists: Lionel Ritchie, Michael Jackson, Kim Carnes, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Hall and Oates, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, James Ingram, Ray Charles and a few others
Tune: We are the World

Lady Gaga

Seriously? Why would you wear something like this? This is Lady Gaga at the Grammys.

Artist: Alicia Keyes

Artist: Usher
Tune: Yeah

• The snow has stopped for now. Yesterday, there were estimates of 2-5 inches of snow in the Asheville area. The weatherman stated that there would be more in higher elevations. It appears that most of the Asheville region has received 7-10 inches of snow. The snow was expected to crank up again before it finally moves out of the area sometime tomorrow afternoon.
• Pres. Obama went to a Republican caucus today. He thought he would keep the lines of communication open. One thing I have to say, I do admire our president. He gave a short speech then took questions from the audience. Some questions were civil. Others tried to make political points. The president did a fabulous job answering the questions and not being cornered. He also pointed out when some congressmen were trying to make cheap political points at the expense of the president. Many major networks carried this event. When it appeared obvious that Pres. Obama was not going to make some major gaffe, FOX News cut away and began running with the story that Obama was lecturing Republicans. I guess it was more important to FOX to stay within their narrative as opposed to actually cover the event in its entirety.
• A really interesting thing went on in England today. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was grilled for about six hours over his decision to take Britain into war with the United States in Iraq. I think it is no surprise that Tony Blair was unapologetic about his decision. Although there were no breakthroughs and as far as I know, and nothing of substance will come from this, I think the exercise is interesting. Can you imagine a congressional committee calling President Bush or VP Cheney to answer questions about the invasion of Iraq? On one level, it would be political theater. On another, it would be nice for us, the American people, to get specific answers to specific questions. I know, I’m dreaming. One thing is clear, with the neoconservatives in charge at that time, I don’t see how we will get any other answer after 9/11. These were not just war hawks. They were hawks on steroids. With Bush and Cheney in the White House, I don’t see how Saddam Hussein could ever avoid war. They asked for, and wanted complete and unfettered access to Iraq in order to search for weapons of mass destruction. No sovereign nation would submit to that. Plus, what Bush, Cheney and the CIA didn’t know was that the Saddam Hussein regime depended upon the threat of weapons of mass destruction in order to stay in power. Saddam Hussein had the Kurds in the north, the Shiites in the south and Iran to worry about. In 10 or 20 years, when we look back upon this mess that we created in the Middle East, we’ll ask ourselves how we let this happen. We don’t have to look any further than allowing neocons in the White House.
• 47-year-old former NFL star Herschel Walker is fighting whom? Why?
• New FOX news contributor and former Gov. Sarah Palin thinks that the GOP and the tea baggers need to merge in one big party of love. (I added that party of love. She just wants them to merge into one party.)
• It took the jury less than 40 minutes to find Scott Roeder guilty of murdering Dr. George Tiller.
• The Errington Thompson Show has been moved to 4 PM on Saturday afternoons. You can still listen to my show through my blog whenever you want to. My guest this week will be Grammy award-winning bassist Larry Fulcher. I have given Larry the following scenario — you know that you’re going to be stranded on a tropical island. You can take your stereo and 20 CDs with you. You’ll be stranded for one year. What CDs would you take? I think you like Larry’s answers. This is a great show.

Artist: Jill Scott
Tune: Golden

Artist: Pat Metheny

From HuffPo:

Wyclef Jean posted a video statement on YouTube today to respond to accusations against his Yele Haiti Foundation, which has been collecting Haiti relief donations following Tuesday’s massive earthquake.

A Washington Post article raised concerns about the Yele Foundation’s “fiscal scrutiny,” first reported by The Smoking Gun.

Apparently Yele Haiti Foundation’s tax returns raised questions about how money has been spent in the past on administration and various other expenses.

In his 5:30 response, Jean discusses the history of the organization and stresses that as a native of Haiti he has “always been committed to the people of Haiti.”

He states plainly, “I never would ever take money for my personal pocket when it comes to Yele. I myself have put $1 million inside of my own foundation.”

He added that he was “disgusted” by the recent criticism.

Artist: Lady Gaga
Tune: Bad Romance

When I think of Teddy P’s life, I’m kind of sad. He was a hit with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Then he exploded in his solo career. He had that Philly sound. (Think O’Jays.) He was about to enjoy some of the crossover success that Lionel Richie and Jeffery Osborne (and Michael, of course) enjoyed in the early ’80s. In 1982, he had a near fatal motor vehicle crash, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He returned to the stage, but it was never the same.

From RS:

Teddy Pendergrass, one of the most successful R&B singers of the 1970s and ’80s, passed away yesterday after a battle with colon cancer. He was 59. Pendergrass was diagnosed with cancer last year and had a difficult time recovering from surgery; he died at Bryn Mawr Hospital outside of his native Philadelphia, ABC News reports. The five-time Grammy-nominated singer had chart-topping hits in three different decades with 1978’s “Close the Door,” 1988’s “Joy” and 1991’s “It Should’ve Been You,” plus well-known songs like “Love TKO,” “Two Hearts” with Stephanie Mills and “Hold Me,” a duet with Whitney Houston that featured on Houston’s 1985 debut album.

Remembering Teddy Pendergrass: photos of the smooth soul singer.

Pendergrass’ rise to international fame was briefly halted after he was involved in a 1982 car crash that left him in the hospital for six months and paralyzed from the waist down, but he didn’t let the accident prevent him from making music. “He had about 10 platinum albums in a row, so he was a very, very successful recording artist and as a performing artist,” Pendergrass’ friend and collaborator Kenny Gamble, of Gamble & Huff, told the AP. “He had a tremendous career ahead of him, and the accident sort of got in the way of many of those plans.” (more… )

JJP has more.

Artist: Acoustic Alchemy
Tune: Casino

Sting sings the great Bill Withers song on Night Music in 1989. He’s accompanied by Bill Frisell, Fareed Haque, David Sanborn, Hank Roberts and Don Alias.

Artist: Sting
Tune: Ain’t No Sunshine

I thought that I should post the original with Sting’s version.  This is Bill Withers. I love Sting, but Bill is simply soulful. Enjoy.

BTW, I would be grateful if someone can ID the guys playing with Withers.

Artist: Bill Withers
Tune: Ain’t No Sunshine

Artist: Raul Midon
Tune: All the Answers and Tembererana

Eminem sold more CDs than anyone else in this decade.

From RS:

Over three decades after their breakup, the Beatles still released the top-selling album of the 2000s. The Fab Four’s greatest hits compilation 1 sold over 11,448,000 copies since its release in November 2000 according to Nielsen SoundScan’s decade-end sales numbers. Eminem was the 2000s’ top-selling artist with 32.2 million combined in sales, plus two albums in the decade’s Top 10: The Marshall Mathers LP was fourth with 10,195,000 sold and Eminem Show was fifth with 9,789,000. Slim Shady edged out the Fab Four for the distinction of the decade’s top-seller as the Beatles claimed Number Two with 30 million. (more…)

So, what do you think?

Artist: Teddy Pendergrass
Tune: Close the Door

‘Pops’: Louis Armstrong, In His Own Words

Jazz icon Louis Armstrong didn’t just leave behind a treasure trove of musical recordings; he also documented hundreds of his private conversations on tape. Those recordings served as the basis for Terry Teachout’s new biography of the legendary musician, Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong.

Listen | Comment | Share »

I’m happy to say that Tom of Flat Rock won the first book. You can win a book by listening to my show!! Saturday mornings at 9 am.

Does it get any better than this?

Artist: the Rolling Stones
Tune: Start Me up