The band that invented Americana music, 50 years ago this week.

July 1, 1968 the band called the Band released Music from Big Pink

They changed American music forever

But not just American music was widely influenced by this scraggly group of Americans and Canadians. Eric Clapton heard the record and decided to quite what he was doing and go do something else. He even considered moving to Woodstock, NY to meet these guys and talk them into letting him join the Band.

Here’s the Band 30 years later, joined by the Staple Singers, performing the most iconic song from that first record.

Happy 4th of July – Here’s Steely Dan in Concert

Uniquely American, Steely Dan in a full concert shot in 2006

For your Fourth of July listening pleasure

Songs

Turtle Talk
Bodhisattva
Time Out Of Mind
Aja
Hey Nineteen
I Got The News
Home At Last
Black Friday
Chain Lightning
Green Earrings
Dirty Work
Band Intros
Show Biz Kids
Do It Again
Peg
Don’t Take Me Alive
Kid Charlemagne
Pretzel Logic
FM
My Old School
Instrumental Outro

The Steely Dan Band

Donald Fagen – Keyboards and Vocals
Walter Becker – Guitar
Jon Herrington -Guitar
Freddie Washington – Bass
Keith Carlock – Drums
Jeff Young – Keyboards and Backing Vocals
Walt Weiskopf – Sax
Michael Leonhart – Trumpet
Jim Pugh – Trombone
Roger Rosenberg – Baritone Sax
Carolyn Leonhart-Escoffery – Backing Vocals
Cindy Mizelle – Backing Vocals
Michael McDonald – Keyboards and Vocals

50 Years Ago – CSN

Three unique voices joined as one for the first time, fifty years ago today… and became CSN

As the story goes, David Crosby listened to Stephen Stills and Graham Nash singing a song at a small dinner party, and asked them to sing it one more time…

As can often happen one half century later, Stills and Crosby differ on the exact where and when it happened. The important thing is, it happened.