David Carradine (1936-2009) and Koko Taylor (1928-2009), R.I.P.

I almost didn't post this, because I learned of the passings of both David Carradine and Koko Taylor a few days ago... and in the past, I've tried to keep such tributes timely.

I've made occasional references to "Blogger-bloggers" on my own blogs. That's a specific reference to bloggers whose blogs are actually Blogger blogs, i.e. blogs on Blogger. Got that? Good. Let's continue.

Blogger-bloggers are fairly incestuous, in that they often make references to other Blogger-bloggers by name, assuming that they all operate in the same circle and everybody reads the same blogs.

Not so, say I... which is why I always assume that you ("you" being my readers) don't know about a blog which I may follow. My blog, therefore, is a bit more "reader friendly," IMHO.

Having said that... Over the past year or so, I've noticed a tendency for Blogger-blogger A to say, "I was gonna post an obit for [fill in name of celebrity], but Blogger-blogger B beat me to it!"

Well, say I, so what? This isn't a race, and I don't recall the New York Times ever saying, "Hey, we can't cover this 'Watergate' thing! The Washington Post already beat us to it!"

So, with that lengthy intro out of the way...

Koko Taylor, 1928-2009, R.I.P.

Ms. Taylor was best known for her powerful rendition of the song, Wang Dang Doodle, which was written by the incredible Willie Dixon (Check the songwriter's credit for, like, all the blues songs recorded by British rock groups in the 1960s and early 1970s; chances are, it was written by Dixon.). Dixon discovered her in the early 1960s, and signed her for the Chess label.

Koko Taylor -- and I suggest you visit her own website -- was a trailblazing female performer in a field then dominated by men. Her "reign" as "Queen of the Blues" brought one back to the days of Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Memphis Minnie. She paved the way for other women to follow. And she'll be greatly missed.

It often amazes me what some of the YouTube crowd call "videos" -- this one's
not too thrilling -- but here's the one and only Koko Taylor's signature tune!

David Carradine, 1936-2009, R.I.P.

Ah, what a loss! I've been a fan of John Carradine's second-eldest son since the mid-1960s, when he appeared in the short-lived TV series, Shane.

I followed his career throughout the years, enjoying such films and TV series as Kung Fu (of course), The Long Riders, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (the last time he portrayed the original Kwai Chang Caine), and I was much less offended by his appearance in the Yellow Book ad -- or ads? I only saw one -- than many others were. (After all, as Adam West once told me -- and I'm paraphrasing -- "The job of a working actor is to work." Mr. West was saying that to explain roles in such films as The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood.)

Somehow, to the amazement of many, I managed to miss Mr. Carradine in Bound for Glory (the Woody Guthrie bio) and both of the Kill Bill flicks! (Sooner or later, I'll see 'em, don't worry!)

Again, I don't really have much to say, other than to mention that I thought it rather unfortunate that Mr. Carradine died from hanging while he was involved with filming a movie called Stretch. That could lend itself to a sick joke at the hands of anyone who's so inclined. There's been speculation that he perished during an auto-erotic act, so I can only hope the timing of it all insured that he died with a smile... and no, I'm actually not trying to be funny there.

There are worse ways to go, certainly...


Thanks for your time.

P.S. ~~ I probably (stress "probably") won't post again until Theme Thursday. I've been very busy lately, so I need a small breather, fellow babies!