From Michael Erlewine:
There were several rock photographers in Ann Arbor, and they all d
From Michael Erlewine:
There were several rock photographers in Ann Arbor, and they all did great work. Al Blixt, Andy Sacks, and Tom Copi come to mind. I salute them.
But when it comes to blues photography, there is only one name that springs to mind and that is Stanley Livingston!
Stan covered the 1969 and 1970 Ann Arbor Blues Festivals and more, the first large electric blues festivals in America AND the first time blues musicians ever got together with one another is such numbers.
I remember this well because I was lucky enough to be there interviewing all the artists and (much more important) my brother Dan and I were in charge of serving the artists food and.... drinks! It was a wild time. Just try getting a full bottle of whiskey away from Howlin' Wolf. It can't be done!
Anyway, during those first two festivals, Stan Livingston was catching it all forever on film. He has something like 9,000 photographs of some of the greatest blues artists that ever lived. Livingston has been kind enough to allow us to show you a few of these classic photos. The rest will be found in his forthcoming book "Blues in Black & White: The Landmark Ann Arbor Blues Festivals." I am thrilled to be writing the text.
I hope that you will enjoy the incredible blues photography of Stanley Livingston. A book of Stanley Livingston's blues photos, "Blues in Black & White: The Landmark Ann Arbor Blues Festivals" is in the works. I am lucky enough to be writing the text and providing interviews I did years ago with the blues artists. You can see more detail at this URL:
http:www.BluesInBlackandWhite.com
You can reach Stanley Livingston at:
Slivingston@provide.net
The Prime Movers Blues Band was founded in the summer of 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It lasted about seven years. Most of the band members all lived in a house at 114 N. Division Street, appropriately called the "Prime Mover House." It still stands today, owned by the University of Michigan.
The main band members included:
Michael Erlewine
lead singer, harmonica
Daniel Erlewine
lead guitar
Robert Sheff (keyboards)
AKA Blue 'Gene' Tyranny
Jack Dawson (bass)
James Osterberg (drums)
AKA "Iggy Pop"
Or
J.C. "Jesse" Crawford (drums)
This video produced and edited at Heart Center Studios in Big Rapids, Michigan by Michael Erlewine.
Those interested in being notified when the Prime Movers album is released can send an email to
Michael@Erlewine.net.
© Copyright
Heart Center Studios 2008
Analog to Digital Transfer by
www.FilmTransfer.com
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Added: 5 months ago
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The Prime Movers Blues Band was founded in the summer of 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Insp
The Prime Movers Blues Band was founded in the summer of 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Inspired by hearing and meeting the great blues artists in Chicago and by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the members of the band were dedicated to learning and playing the blues. Here are some band photos and some of Michael Erlewine interviewing a few of the great blues artists. From this experience, Erlewine went on to become an archivist and founded the All-Music Guide (allmusic.com), the largest music review site on the Internet.
The main band members included:
Michael Erlewine
lead Singer, harmonica
Daniel Erlewine
lead guitar
Robert Sheff (keyboards)
AKA Blue 'Gene' Tyranny
Jack Dawson (bass)
James Osterberg (drums)
AKA "Iggy Pop"
Or
J.C. "Jesse" Crawford (drums)
Photographers: You know, I don't know who took some of these photos, but here are the photographers we worked with, who were our friends. They probably did most of these.
Andy Sacks (U of M Diag photo)
Sacksafone@AOL.com
Stanley Livingston (blues photos)
slivingston@provide.net
This video produced and edited at Heart Center Studios in Big Rapids, Michigan by Michael Erlewine.
Those interested in being notified when the Prime Movers album is released can send an email to
Michael@Erlewine.net.
© Copyright
Heart Center Studios 2008
Analog to Digital Transfer by
www.FilmTransfer.com
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Added: 5 months ago
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A lot of you have emailed me telling me how much you enjoy hearing these old Prime Movers
A lot of you have emailed me telling me how much you enjoy hearing these old Prime Movers tapes. I feel the same way. I have not heard these since this set was recorded, some 41 years ago. We just found the tape! And you all ask about Iggy and how was he as a drummer.
Let me make it clear that Iggy was a GREAT drummer. He worked hard at his drumming and practiced until he got it right, like learning to do the 'double shuffle', something he learned from the great Sam Lay. It took him weeks, but he got it down cold.
And you wonder if he was as wild in the Prime Movers as he is as Iggy Pop? I don't want to disappoint anyone, but in truth, my memory of Iggy was as someone who was always polite and respectful, at least to me. I can't remember ever having an argument with him, but then I can't remember all that well anyway.
We all loved Iggy. Wish he would get back in touch. It would be great to have a reunion of the original Prime Movers Blues Band in Ann Arbor.
I have included some of the photos we have of Iggy and one of his two best friends at that time, Panther and Famous. Panther White was our honorary manager and perhaps the funniest human being I have ever met. Famous is Lynn Goldsmith, who became (pardon the pun) 'famous' as a rock photographer. Iggy, Famous, and Panther were great friends. Well, here are some shots.
- Michael Erlewine
The Prime Movers Blues Band was founded in the summer of 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If lasted about seven years. Most of the band members all lived in a house at 114 N. Division Street, appropriately called the "Prime Mover House." It still stands today, owned by the University of Michigan.
The main band members included:
Michael Erlewine
lead Singer, harmonica
Daniel Erlewine
lead guitar
Robert Sheff (keyboards)
AKA Blue 'Gene' Tyranny
Jack Dawson (bass)
James Osterberg (drums)
AKA "Iggy Pop"
Or
J.C. "Jesse" Crawford (drums)
Photographers: You know, I don't know who took some of these photos, but here are the photographers we worked with, who were our friends. They probably did most of these.
Al Blixt
alblixt@dannemillertyson.com
Andy Sacks
Sacksafone@AOL.com
Stanley Livingston
slivingston@provide.net
Tom Copi
This video produced and edited at Heart Center Studios in Big Rapids, Michigan by Michael Erlewine.
Those interested in being notified when the Prime Movers album is released can send an email to
Michael@Erlewine.net.
© Copyright
Heart Center Studios 2008
Analog to Digital Transfer by
www.FilmTransfer.com
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Added: 5 months ago
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Digging out these old recordings has been fun, but it also has made me realize what a grea
Digging out these old recordings has been fun, but it also has made me realize what a great place Ann Arbor was in the middle Sixties. The Prime Movers Blues Band formed in the summer of 1965, the same time as the Grateful Dead were doing the identical thing out in San Francisco. Neither knew about the other. Later, of course there was interaction among these new music groups that were appearing all over the country. There was something in the air. It was the Sixties!
The Prime Movers had gone to Chicago. We had seen Little Walter, Big Walter, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, and all the blues greats playing live.
I can remember one night listening to Howlin' Wolf play in a small club in Chicago. The room was empty and dark; there was no one there but a couple of us. Wolf was up front sitting on a chair next to the great blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin. Wolf's music went into our ears and then deep into my brain.
Time just slowed down and then seemed to stop. The walls around me (and my body) became sort of transparent and it was as if I was somewhere out in deep space, just my mind alone, outside of time and place. My body just kind of disappeared. All that I could hear was Wolf's sound in my ear and brain. I lost all sense of a personal who and where I am.
When folks ask me why I listen to and study the blues, it is more than just 'good music'. Blues (for me at least) has been a way to touch home, to go between the clock-ticking seconds of my life, somehow stepping outside of time, and get a sense of my life at a deeper level. Blues has always been for me a journey to see the nature of my own mind -- a refresher course in who I am and why I am here. Music has always been that for me.
The main band members included:
Michael Erlewine
lead Singer, harmonica
Daniel Erlewine
lead guitar
Robert Sheff (keyboards)
AKA Blue 'Gene' Tyranny
Jack Dawson (bass)
James Osterberg (drums)
AKA "Iggy Pop"
Or
J.C. "Jesse" Crawford (drums)
This video produced and edited at Heart Center Studios in Big Rapids, Michigan by Michael Erlewine.
Those interested in being notified when the Prime Movers album is release can send an email to
Michael@Erlewine.net.
Poster images used with the kind permission of Gary Grimshaw, who can be reached at:
www.GaryGrimshaw.com
© Copyright
Heart Center Studios 2008
Analog to Digital Transfer by
www.FilmTransfer.com
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Added: 5 months ago
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The legendary Prime Movers Blues Band recorded no albums. The band formed in the summer of
The legendary Prime Movers Blues Band recorded no albums. The band formed in the summer of 1965 at the same time the Grateful Dead began. Known mostly throughout the Midwest, the band did play in San Francisco during the 'Summer of Love' in 1967, opening for "Cream" at the Fillmore Auditorium, playing at The Matrix, The Straight Theater, the Avalon Ballroom, and many other venues.
Recently a reel-to-reel tape was found. It is one summer night's bar gig, one complete set probably in 1966 or 1967. This is one cut from that set, although a full album of the Prime Movers Blues Band will be available soon, with James Osterberg (Iggy Pop) singing the Muddy Water's song "I'm a Man."
The main band members included:
Michael Erlewine
lead Singer, harmonica
Daniel Erlewine
lead guitar
Robert Sheff (keyboards)
AKA Blue 'Gene' Tyranny
Jack Dawson (bass)
James Osterberg (drums)
AKA "Iggy Pop"
Or
J.C. "Jesse" Crawford (drums)
This video produced and edited at Heart Center Studios in Big Rapids, Michigan by Michael Erlewine.
Those interested in being notified when the Prime Movers album is release can send an email to:
Michael@Erlewine.net.
Photographers mostly unknown, but they may include Al Blixt, Andy Sax, and Tom Copi, who were friends of the band.
© Copyright Heart Center Studios 2008
Analog to Digital Transfer by
www.FilmTransfer.com
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The Prime Movers Blues Band formed in the summer of 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This audi
The Prime Movers Blues Band formed in the summer of 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This audio track is from fairly early on, a gig at the Schwaben Inn, and Jim Osterberg (AKA Iggy Pop) is definitely the drummer at this point in time. We are running out of photos and tunes, so this one is mostly on lead singer Michael Erlewine. Other band members coming soon.
- Michael Erlewine
Founder
All-Music Guide
The main band members included:
Michael Erlewine
lead Singer, harmonica
Daniel Erlewine
lead guitar
Robert Sheff (keyboards)
AKA Blue 'Gene' Tyranny
Jack Dawson (bass)
James Osterberg (drums)
AKA "Iggy Pop"
Or
J.C. "Jesse" Crawford (drums)
Photos by (if known at all) include Al Blixt and Andy Sachs.. All rights reserved. You can reach Al Blixt: AlBlixt@AOL.com and Andy Sacks at SaxPix.com.
This video produced and edited at Heart Center Studios in Big Rapids, Michigan by Michael Erlewine.
Those interested in being notified when the Prime Movers album is released can send an email to:
Michael@Erlewine.net.
© Copyright
Heart Center Studios 2008
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Added: 4 months ago
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There are not a lot of photographs of the Prime Movers Blues Band floating around. No one
There are not a lot of photographs of the Prime Movers Blues Band floating around. No one knew that Jim Osterberg, "Iggy" as we called him, was really Iggy Pop. To us Iggy was a Prime Mover and a damn good drummer. One photographer who was really into the band (as well as our friend) was Al Blixt. Blixt is a superb photographer and went on to support music in the Ann Arbor area in so many ways, including extensive photography at the now-legendary Canterbury House concerts (Buddy Guy, Doc Watson, etc.) and serving some 30 years on the board of "The Ark," perhaps the nation's finest folk venue. We thank Al Blixt for taking these photos to begin with and for sharing them with us now. Thanks Al!
The Prime Movers Blues Band was founded in the summer of 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. There were no extant recordings of the band that I knew of until very recently, when this reel-to-reel tape turned up. It confirmed my memories of how the Prime Movers sounded way back then, a little raw perhaps, but into the music. I hope you enjoy the sounds and images of the Prime Movers Blues Band.
- Michael Erlewine
Founder All-Music Guide
The main band members included:
Michael Erlewine
lead Singer, harmonica
Daniel Erlewine
lead guitar
Robert Sheff (keyboards)
AKA Blue 'Gene' Tyranny
Jack Dawson (bass)
James Osterberg (drums)
AKA "Iggy Pop"
Or
J.C. "Jesse" Crawford (drums)
Photos by Al Blixt. All rights reserved. You can reach Al Blixt: AlBlixt@AOL.com
This video produced and edited at Heart Center Studios in Big Rapids, Michigan by Michael Erlewine.
Those interested in being notified when the Prime Movers album is released can send an email to
Michael@Erlewine.net.
© Copyright
Heart Center Studios 2008
Analog to Digital Transfer by
www.FilmTransfer.com
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Added: 5 months ago
Views: 519
A question I get a lot is why did the Prime Movers never record and get famous? The short
A question I get a lot is why did the Prime Movers never record and get famous? The short answer is: it was not in the cards. The longer version is actually pretty funny. Here it is in brief:
There were two attempts to hitch our wagon to the stars. For a short time early on, we had the now-legendary 'Jeep' Holland, manager of the rock group "The Rationals" as our manager. For sure, he wanted to get us into the mainstream of popular music and to this end he tried to get us to conform, to wear little suits, and whatever he thought would help us. And we did try, but our natural temperament as a band found us wandering off that trail pretty quickly. Included here is an old video of a staged chase of the Prime Movers by a lot of our women fans. We did have some great fans. This video is appropriately stupid, as you will see.
Our second near brush with fame came when a subsidiary of Motown courted us to join them as a White band playing Black music. They drove us around in their limousines, set up cool events like my brother Daniel and I having lunch with the Everly Brothers. Now THAT was very cool, because we loved their music. You get the idea.
The shit hit the fan, so to speak, when we realized that the Black music they wanted us to play was not the Chicago blues music we loved and were learning, but some really bad arrangements they came up with for us to play. In other words, we would have to play what they gave us to play. Well that was not about to happen and we walked. We were out of there, instantly - short karma for the fame trip.
So here is all the actual video of the Prime Movers that I am aware of.
- Michael Erlewine
The Prime Movers Blues Band was founded in the summer of 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The band included James Osterberg (Iggy Pop) and Robert Sheff (Blue Gene Tyranny), both now famous musicians. The main band members included:
Michael Erlewine
lead Singer, harmonica
Daniel Erlewine
lead guitar
Robert Sheff (keyboards)
AKA Blue 'Gene' Tyranny
Jack Dawson (bass)
James Osterberg (drums)
AKA "Iggy Pop"
Or
J.C. "Jesse" Crawford (drums)
Thanks to my brother Stephen Erlewine for taking two of the videos included here, way back then.
This video produced and edited at Heart Center Studios in Big Rapids, Michigan by Michael Erlewine.
Those interested in being notified when the Prime Movers album is released can send an email to
Michael@Erlewine.net.
© Copyright
Heart Center Studios 2008
Analog to Digital Transfer by
www.FilmTransfer.com
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Added: 5 months ago
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Robin Lee Berry "Ahna, Kick a Hole in the Sky"
Singer-songwriter Robin Lee Berry is c
Robin Lee Berry "Ahna, Kick a Hole in the Sky"
Singer-songwriter Robin Lee Berry is considered a true treasure among Michigan songwriters. Her authentic spirit and pure voice are instantly recognizable and she is loved and respected by her peers.
Robin Lee Berry lives and works with her family in rural northern Michigan. Robin Lee can be reached at: RobinLeeBerry.com
On stage with Robin Lee Berry are members of the EarthWorkMusic.com community, including:
Seth Bernard
"Daisy" May Erlewine
Michael Anne Erlewine
Rachel Davis
Darlene
Andrea Moreno-Beals
Micah Middaugh
Dominic Suchyta
Ruby Williams
This video created and edited by Michael Erlewine, founder of the All-Music Guide.
Camera work by Yoni Goldstein and Meredith Zielke. Video logs by Derrick Babcock. This footage made possible through a grant from "Fox on the Hill.com"
The Harvest Gathering 2007 is an event where musicians from all over gathered to perform for each other in a three-day round-the-clock event, punctuated only by lots of whole foods and very little sleep. The gathering was sponsored by Bob Bernard and held on the family farm near Lake City, Michigan. The Earthwork Community of Michigan artists and musicians put it together and made it all happen. They can be reached at: EarthworkMusic.com
(c) 2008 by Earthwork Community and Michael Erlewine
Heart Center Studios
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