“Brown Sugar”
Rolling Stones

Because it’s his most famous track.

Although legendary and still heard with frequency today you’ve got no idea how big this was in 1971, when it was released. And one of its main features was Bobby’s sax solo. His work lives on, even if he does not.

“Live With Me”
Rolling Stones

Because it was his initial work with the Stones.

“Beggars Banquet” is the best, “Sticky Fingers” the most famous, but “Let It Bleed” is my favorite, for its bookends of “Gimmie Shelter” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” if nothing else. When “Let It Bleed” was big, it was not gigantic, it was only after its release that the Stones took their initial victory lap as the “World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.”

“Live With Me” was in the middle of side one, and back when we used to play our albums throughout, we knew it by heart, still do.

“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
Rolling Stones

Few are mentioning this in the obits, but it’s the first one that went through my brain when I heard the news of his passing. The song changes groove in the middle and Keys is featured, it’s a tour-de-force.

“Happy”
Rolling Stones

On Keith’s signature tune, Bobby rips.

“Casino Boogie”
Rolling Stones

A personal favorite.

That’s the problem with history, that which was not mainstream then is nearly forgotten today.

People forget that “Exile On Main Street” was a dud upon release. It went straight to number one and then faded almost instantly. But knowing I was going to see the tour I stayed up all night listening to the double album and was enraptured by “Casino Boogie,” talk about a GROOVE!

“Emotional Rescue”
Rolling Stones

Nearly a novelty song, Jagger’s falsetto gives one that impression. But it was so much fun hearing it come out of the car radio speaker. And Bobby trades licks with Keith after Mick’s spoken word/rapping part.

“The Letter”
Mad Dogs & Englishmen

One of the greatest tours in rock and roll history, it made Leon Russell a star and left Joe Cocker drunk on the sidelines. Bobby Keys was on the tour, and is featured on this reworking of the Box Tops’ classic “The Letter.”

“The Wanderer”
Dion & The Belmonts

Even Keys wasn’t sure if it was him, but he was definitely at the session.

“Whatever Gets You Thru The Night”
John Lennon

From Lennon’s “comeback” album, “Walls and Bridges.”

By this time McCartney had put out the deservedly monstrous “Band On The Run” and was the Beatle carrying the torch, but this ran right up the chart and peaked at number one, the only time John hit that position solo in his lifetime. Sure, the track features Elton, but even Bobby more.

“What Is Life”
George Harrison

John wasn’t the only Beatle Keys knew, Bobby played on this, the second single from “All Things Must Pass,” Harrison’s three record set released right around this time forty four years ago.

P.S. Keys played with Ringo too!

“There Goes The Neighborhood”
Sheryl Crow

Her best album and undeservedly forgotten. “Globe Sessions” is where she proved all her naysayers wrong, she created something that would top the charts if released today, and Keys is featured on this, the second single from the LP.

“Down”
Harry Nilsson

Talk about forgotten… “Nilsson Schmillson” was monstrous, mostly on the back of the cover of Badfinger’s “Without You,” which at this late date seems to be owned in the public consciousness by Mariah Carey, but the truth is this album was playable throughout, and all the cuts sounded different, Harry crooned, he rocked, he even did the novelty thing with “Coconut,” the “All About That Bass,” of its day. Either you know “Nilsson Schmillson” or you don’t, if you don’t, pull it up and marvel. “Down,” with Bobby, closes side one.

“Edward”
Nicky Hopkins

Talk about forgotten…

Nicky was the superstar sideman of his day, even bigger than Keys, but the sands of time have buried his name, if not his work. I bought “The Tin Man Was A Dreamer,” Nicky’s solo album, which was quite playable, and its best track, “Edward.” features Keys.

“Let’s Get It On”
Marvin Gaye

Talk about iconic… Marvin does not get enough credit, this was when he was finally doing it his way, this cut was monstrous, and Bobby was part of the allure.

“Call Me The Breeze”
Lynyrd Skynyrd

The definitive cover of J.J. Cale’s composition featured Keys.

“Don’t Ask Me No Questions”
Lynyrd Skynyrd

I actually prefer this trackmate from “Second Helping,” even though I recognize “Call Me The Breeze”‘s magic. Once again, Bobby is featured.

“City Drops Into The Night”
Jim Carroll

All the hype was about “People Who Died,” but this is the best cut on “Catholic Boy,” it’s one I quote seemingly every day…

I’m just a constant warning to take the other direction

It wouldn’t be the same without Bobby Keys’s sax playing.

“Had Me A Real Good Time”
Faces

From “Long Player,” featuring Ian McLagan, who also departed this mortal coil this week, December is a rough month, do your best to make it through.
Bobby’s on it.

“Slunky”
Eric Clapton

From God’s first solo album which curiously was not a huge success, even though it’s one of his absolute best, he had to wait for the follow-up, “Layla,” for further adulation. This is the opening cut, with Bobby playing a big part.

“Only You Know And I Know”
Delaney & Bonnie & Friends

Once upon a time, this was the famous iteration, not the one from Dave Mason’s superb initial solo LP “Alone Together.” Bobby’s all over this album featuring Eric Clapton, Mr. Mason and so many more.

“Night Owl”
Carly Simon

Her cover of her beau JT’s song on her biggest LP, “No Secrets.” Bobby’s on it.

“There’s Only One”
Graham Nash

From “Songs For Beginners,” my favorite of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s initial solo LPs. At this late date “Stephen Stills” gets all the credit, but listen to the lyrics on this and the rest of the album, and to Keys’s sax.

“Poor Poor Pitiful Me”
Warren Zevon

Obscure until Linda Ronstadt changed the lyrics, included it on one of her albums and made it ubiquitous. Bobby’s an integral part of the original.

“Take It Or Leave It”
Eric Carmen

From “Boats Against The Current,” Eric Carmen’s follow-up to his solo debut with its multiple hit tracks, most specifically “All By Myself.” It sank like a stone, but “Boats Against The Current” is one of my favorites.

And many more…

Yes, Bobby Keys is all over the history of rock and roll. He may not be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but even better he’s all over the hits, the songs we know by heart.

Rhinofy-Bobby Keys Primer

I’m sick and fucking tired of all you musicians and musos who believe your viewpoint is the only one that counts, who live in a bubble of your own device, loyal to the past and mad at anybody who strays from your viewpoint. Furthermore, you just keep digging your hole deeper, especially with your hour plus albums.

What the internet has allowed is for the consumer to gain control of the music experience. And it turns out these listeners and fans don’t want to do it your way, and you just can’t fathom that.

You want them to listen to albums.

You want them to pay a lot.

You want them to be concerned with your concerns even though you’re not concerned with theirs. That’s right, the consumer has his own bills, his own challenges, but yours are so much more important, because you’re an artist with the weight of the world upon your shoulders, HORSESHIT!

I didn’t make streaming the default, the fans did. They embraced YouTube as the definitive music service. To deny this is equivalent to denying P2P in 2000. The labels did that, to their great disadvantage. But now the labels are trying to live in the future, investing in these new services, and all you can do is bitch that they’re making bank. Meanwhile, you complain that your royalties for streaming are a pittance when the truth is you can go independent and you don’t, you want Big Daddy to take care of you, you’re forever living in your parents’ basement.

And we’ve got to be soft on Jack Conte because his heart is in the right place.

BULLSHIT!

If that were the determining factor we’d have to support terrorists, hell, they believe in what they have to say!

But the truth is online ideas are dissected, torn apart and put back together again. But somehow artists see themselves as immune. No one can say shit about their stuff. Hell, people give me shit all day long, it goes with the territory. There’s no crying in baseball and there’s no crying on the internet.

So please rid yourself of your loyalty. Please stop the knee-jerk defense of your musician brethren. Please start looking outward as opposed to inward.

Well, inward when you’re creating, but when it comes to business…

You’re not entitled to earn a living.

You’re not entitled to attention.

The public determines the price of goods, not you.

Don’t tell me the value of something, it’s irrelevant if no one wants to pay that. Jimmy Iovine agitates for lower streaming subscription prices, to enhance adoption, and you keep stating they should be higher because of all the work you put in. You know nothing of scale, I wonder if you even know how milk and bread get to your counter.

But Jimmy won’t talk to you. Everything he does is behind closed doors with people who count.

Because that’s the modern America. Where those with education and power want nothing to do with the rabble-rousers, because the public is ignorant. Leave it to the musicians and there’d be no recorded music business. They’d be too busy arguing amongst themselves. That’s why business people are needed, to add order.

So rant all you want. About the inequities of music.

But somehow those who succeed are making more money than ever before. And if you think you were screwed you’re unaware your music isn’t good enough or your personality sucks. Getting along is paramount, no one wants to deal with a prick.

Labels are scouring the world for that which they can sell. They’d sign you if they thought they could make money.

And if you make niche music, too bad. People have been talking about the death of classical for eons, orchestras are challenged, but somehow you need to survive. At least write a symphony as good as Mozart, okay?

And stop clinging to the way it used to be.

Albums were cardboard collections of 78s.

The Beatles created the modern album paradigm. Because all the songs hung together. And their albums were way under an hour.

And music was cheap.

As were concert tickets.

But MTV blew up acts and the CD rained down coin and somehow you expect it be the same as it ever was. Sprint lowers prices for switchers but you want to raise them. T-Mobile changes the paradigm, having people buy their handsets, but you want everybody to jet back to the past.

Get out of the echo chamber. Stop talking to your fellow musicians and start talking to the fans. And know if you want to be rich you’ve got to appeal to casual fans.

And that most musicians are not gonna make it.

And that the way you see it is not the way most people do.

But if something contradicts with your world view you can’t handle it. Whoop-de-doo! Have a good ride on the rails to irrelevance!

Keep it simple stupid.

That’s what Steve Jobs knew that nobody at “Billboard” seems to understand.

Don’t give me formulas, give me reality.

The only thing that counts is listens. Sales are irrelevant. Especially of albums.

But the whole industry is based on albums so they don’t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater, they come up with this inane hybrid chart and then trumpet it as the answer. Once again, the music industry is a step behind, part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Streams only. They represent what people are listening to.

As for sales… They’re tanking. Keeping them alive is like continuing to install FireWire on Macs. It worked, but it’s been superseded by Thunderbolt. Then again, the people making these decisions can’t tell the difference between USB and MP3.

Can someone look to the destination? Can someone admit that streaming has already won and as a result the winners in the music derby might not be the same? Can someone wrap their heads around the fact that the majority of streaming revenues go to rightsholders, and how they divvy it up with their partners is subject to contract?

Industries that satisfy themselves and not their consumers are headed for extinction. We see it over and over again. Whether it be the greedy cab companies or the overpriced hotel industry. They didn’t see Uber and Airbnb coming. But who wants to ride in a filthy cab with a driver on the phone who jolts to a stop? Who wants to stay in a hotel only to discover that the price they were quoted resembles not a whit the final bill they’re tendered?

People haven’t listened to albums from start to finish since the advent of the CD.

Macs don’t come with disk drives. Neither do Chromebooks, which are infiltrating educational institutions, but we’ve got a whole industry based on selling disks no one wants.

Furthermore, hard drives are dying, it’s all about access, and you want me to buy files?

Just round up all the streaming services and give us a ranking. Hell, we don’t even need to know how many listens there were. Just put them in order based purely on that one statistic, with no malarkey involved. None of this crap about track equivalent albums and x number of streams equaling a sale. Huh? What is that? Do you see Netflix telling us how many views equal one DVD?

Come on.

As Jann Wenner and Bono mash the gas pedal towards the cliff of irrelevance.

In other words, how can “Rolling Stone” be so tone-deaf? This single-handedly reveals the inanity of the shenanigans behind the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” this illustrates how baby boomers have to get out of the way to let the younger generations flourish. If you think U2’s album whose name I can no longer remember counts, if you think albums matter, if you think by continuing to polish this turd it will gain traction, you work at “Rolling Stone” or are in U2 or both.

Despite a self-congratulatory phony press, the truth is credibility reigns. With every wart exposed, it’s important you show you’re in bed with your fans, not the fat cats who run this country who are evidence of everything wrong with it. “Rolling Stone” imitated “Blender” and made all their reviews short, not knowing “Blender” lied about its numbers and was heading for extinction, but this same magazine can’t realize its place in the spectrum, can’t understand that to be relevant you’ve got to be honest?

Why don’t they just get rid of the music. Why don’t they just call it the Matt Taibbi publication. That’s right, “Rolling Stone” made Taibbi a star, he’s everything the musicians are not. While Bono keeps cozying up to heads of state Taibbi keeps revealing their bad behavior, refusing to apologize all the while.

That’s what’s wrong with America, all the damn apologizing. It would be one thing if these people really made a mistake, but the truth is they’re afraid of being excoriated by the press and public, they’re afraid to own their identities. And if they truly say something heinous they should burn in hell for it. Apologizing does not erase behavior, never. We can learn from our mistakes, but it seems like these celebrities never do.

And getting much less attention is “Rolling Stone”‘s gigantic victory last week, bringing down the Greek system at UVA. That’s right, in one well-researched report about date rape the publication threw light on the situation and caused the university to blink. These damn colleges, they’re just factories for the administration to get rich off athletes who don’t study while the rest of the students party. Once upon a time, college was about learning, about becoming a better person, now it’s all about a job. Let me tell you, you’re gonna lose that job. And if you don’t know the liberal arts you’re never going to be able to pivot, never mind come up with that great idea to begin with.

So “Rolling Stone” still has power. Why did it commit such a faux pas by naming U2’s album number one? Does the magazine believe it still lives in the pre-Internet era, where no one can comment upon its decision? Instead, the magazine is now a laughingstock, beaten up online, the younger generation who abhor Bono and his band pushing ever further away from it and refusing to read the good articles that are in the publication.

Let’s start with U2. Forget about the album. It’s done. Over. History.

You need a hit. And you’d be better off recording a new one than trying to pull one out of that turkey you foisted upon us.

If you’re really desperate, do a Christmas song. At least you’ll get spins.

And “Rolling Stone,” which once came down on the side of file-traders, can you please bury the album, know that no one listens that way anymore and to declare an overlong opus as important is ridiculous? Can you stop giving every album a three star review? Can you stop putting loyalty over the news?

That’s right, this elevation of U2’s crap smacks of nothing so much as loyalty, old school entertainment business, the same one that got U2 into this mess to begin with. At least Jimmy Iovine produced U2, what exactly is your connection to the band again Jann?

And it will make no difference. Almost no one will check out the album as a result of this endorsement. The negative will outweigh the positive by far. Music is like sports…it’s all about the achievement, the work. And U2 did not deliver. Sorry, no amount of spin will change that.

Meanwhile, the musos are trumpeting that which no one can relate to and the youngsters are listening to pop and everybody else has tuned out. “Rolling Stone” has done a disservice to the industry. Doused any flames left.

Music is more ubiquitous than ever before, but everybody involved wants to kill it by playing by the old rules.

Except in the festival world. That’s where music lives today. We need even more. Destination events where people can be exposed to music and the ethos it engenders, so they’ll partake further.

You can’t lie in a live performance. You can’t steal it either.

And no one wants to watch it on their computer.

They want to be there.

Why has our nation devolved into self-congratulatory crap when the truth is we’re caving from within? Where is Devo when you need them?

“50 Best Albums of 2014”

FURTHERMORE, TO MAKE SPRINGSTEEN NUMBER TWO IS TO MAKE ME PUKE!
The best thing Springsteen did in the past year was cover U2 yesterday. Springsteen is irrelevant to everybody but his fans. His voice is a rasp and he’s so caught up in his own echo chamber that he can no longer see reality. He’s not a saint, not in the city or New Jersey. He’s got to cut something as meaningful about the hard times in America as he did about AIDS in “Streets of Philadelphia,” he’s got to pull his head out of his ass and realize to be relevant you’ve got to make something everybody likes, not just your fans. And by making this mediocre album number two Wenner shows that he’s in cahoots with Jon Landau, running the R&RHOF as their fiefdom. Yes, Yes can’t be inducted and we have to hear again and again how Bruce is still relevant? Come on!

“A Rage on Campus: A Brutal Assault an Struggle for Justice at UVA”

This one article is better than both the U2 and Springsteen albums combined. Read it, it’ll be more fulfilling. And know that it had more impact, UVA suspended their fraternities in the wake of it.

“UVA suspends fraternities after report on gang rape allegation”

But unlike Bono and Bruce, the unheralded writer of the “Rolling Stone” piece, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, was driven by a search for truth as opposed to a desire for success. You can feel her passion for the story when you read it. It’s everything music is not. Illustrating once again that a lone outsider with desire and some talent can topple the usual suspects perched atop the pedestal.