Steve Ripley: Part 8 Facing Death

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination  and life to everything.  – Plato   We often view artists as resilient beings leading extraordinarily inspired lives. This is especially true for musicians who have the ability to create beauty that goes beyond their own imagination and time. Their…

Read More

Steve Ripley: Part 7 – Moving to The Farm

By the mid 2000s, Steve Ripley had taken the country music industry by storm with his band, The Tractors. Their self-titled debut album and the single “Baby Likes to Rock It” became the fastest-selling debut album from a country group to reach platinum status. The band’s success led to two Grammy Award nominations and the…

Read More

Steve Ripley: Part 7 – Moving to The Farm

By the mid 2000s, Steve Ripley had taken the country music industry by storm with his band, The Tractors. Their self-titled debut album and the single “Baby Likes to Rock It” became the fastest-selling debut album from a country group to reach platinum status. The band’s success led to two Grammy Award nominations and the…

Read More

Leon, J.J., and the Super Dupers

Having grown tired of the fourteen-hour days in the recording studio playing on other people’s records, Leon Russell decided in 1965 to work for legendary producer Snuff Garrett, who was starting his own independent production company and record label, Viva Records. Snuff hustled the business and Russell handled the production chores, which included arranging, producing…

Read More