There aren’t a lot songs that have been covered by as many different artists representing such a variety of musical genres as “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu”. It’s easy to lose sight that this song was originally recorded over 60 years ago, back in 1957, by the little known piano great, Huey ‘Piano’ Smith. Huey ‘Piano’ Smith was born in New Orleans, Lousiana and was influenced by both the boogie woogie stylists and the other great New Orleans’ piano players of his era; namely Professor Longhair and Fats Domino. Huey ‘Piano’ Smith’s version of “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu” is a fusion of a boogie woogie bounce and a New Orleans syncopated melody line. It has become a New Orleans anthem and has made it to the list of Top Rock Piano Songs of all …
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Greatest Rock Piano Players – Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood is currently ranked 17th on our list of Greatest Rock Piano Players making him, in our opinion, one of rock ‘n roll’s most underrated keyboardists. Here’s a video from 1966 of Winwood at 18 years old performing “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” with the Spencer Davis Group. The irocku piano lesson for “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” is inspired by Eric Clapton’s version on the “Clapton Unplugged” album. But, the musical foundation behind the licks played on the Spencer Davis Group's version of this song are all covered in the irocku lesson. In a previous post we also covered the bass line played on the Spencer Davis Group version. Give it a try. "Nobody Knows You" Piano Lesson If you follow the internet threads about the Spencer Davis …
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Calling all Music Teachers – Online Music Lessons
IROCKU is extending our online music lessons to include rock, jazz, pop and blues instruction for piano, guitar, bass, drums, voice, and sax. If you are a music teacher or if you know of a music teacher who is interested in connecting with new students via Chuck Leavell’s website, www.irocku.com, for online music lessons please let us know. Please fill out our music teacher registration form or send us an email to onlinelessons@irocku.com. For our live online lessons, we encourage teachers to follow a methodology that works best for them. We don’t require teachers to follow our irocku methodology for the live online music lessons. Teachers can choose to use lesson content of their own or the irocku lesson content. We prefer that instructors teach in a manner that is best suited for …
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The Anatomy of a Piano Bassline: “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”
“Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” has been covered by dozens of artists ranging from Bessie Smith to Janis Joplin. Each artist has created his/her own interpretation of this traditional blues song. Musically, it's not that complicated a song. The chord progression is a modified 8-bar blues progression, which admittedly can take some time to learn, but the rhythm is a basic slow blues shuffle. On the piano, though, the bassline can make all the difference. "Nobody Knows You When..." piano lesson For the irocku “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” Advanced Level 7 piano lesson we opted for a traditional stride bassline which is quite challenging to play. In this lesson, the left hand mimics the bass and drum lines on Eric Clapton’s version from the “Unplugged” …
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Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out – Piano Lesson and Sheet Music
Eric Clapton first recorded “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” in 1970 on the Derek and the Dominos debut album, ‘Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs’. With Clapton on lead guitar and Duane Allman filling in on slide guitar there wasn’t much space for Bobby Whitlock to cut loose on the keys. That all changed 22 years later when Clapton recorded an acoustic version of the song with Chuck Leavell on the piano. This week’s piano lesson combines some old style stride blues piano with right-hand rock and blues licks that read like an encyclopedia of modern rock piano. "Nobody Knows You..." piano lesson In 1992, Clapton recorded yet one more version of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” on his Grammy winning ‘Unplugged’ album. And in doing so, he called up another …
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Aretha Franklin- “The Queen of Soul”. Rest in peace.
Aretha Franklin- "The Queen of Soul". Rest in peace. Here's a young 22 year old Aretha singing her heart out as she always did. God bless the queen. …
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IROCKU Student, Jagger Clark, Wins Prestigious Eastman School of Music Award- Congratulations Jagger!!!
Congratulations to high school junior, Jagger Clark, for winning the Prestigious Eastman School of Music Award for his musical talents and contributions to his school. Chuck and the team at IROCKU couldn't be prouder of your achievements!!!! "What'd I Say" piano lesson Jagger's earliest introduction to the piano was through his IROCKU lessons. In fact, at one of our early recording sessions with Chuck, Jagger was asked to participate since he was our youngest student at the time. Under the guidance of IROCKU musical director, Cary Brown, Jagger has worked his way through the 7-level IROCKU curriculum and now routinely performs the IROCKU material in his gigs. Thank you Eastman School of Music for validating that the classical approach to learning piano is not the only path …
Chuck Leavell – Chuck Gets Big w/ The Frankfurt Radio Big Band
Chuck Leavell, keyboardist and musical director for the Rolling Stones, has released a new album, "Chuck Gets Big". “In 2011, I had the pleasure of doing a concert with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, a 17-piece brass orchestra of some of the finest musicians in Germany. Three talented arrangers created charts for some twelve songs I had chosen from my works with the Allman Brothers Band; Sea Level and the Rolling Stones, as well as my own compositions. "Chuck Gets Big" is the result of this experience, and is my latest release on BMG records.” Backed by the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, Chuck takes us on a musical journey through his 40+ year career as one of rock’s top keyboard players. He covers his lifelong idol Ray Charles with “Losing Hand” and “Georgia on My Mind”. Chuck also reaches …
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A moment in rock history- how the Dixie Dregs were discovered
Here's an esoteric piece of music history we just stumbled upon. Rod Morgenstein of the Dixie Dregs talks about how in 1976 Chuck Leavell, who was keyboardist with the Allman Brothers at the time, saw them playing in a Nashville bar. Capricorn Records signed them right up! The Dixie Dregs are an instrumental band that fuses hard rock, southern rock, progressive metal, and even some classical. Could this have been the inspiration for Chuck's rock/jazz fusion band "Sea Level"? Learn how to play rock and blues piano from one of rock’s greatest. Chuck Leavell, legendary keyboardist for The Rolling Stones, The Allman Bros, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, and more. Join Now and SAVE!!! …
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Debunking the misconception that Improvisation is running up and down scales.
In "Chuck Leavell's Stride Blues" Rock Essentials series we debunk the misconception that Improvisation is running up and down scales and we show how playing "shapes" is an easier way to improvise. "Stride Blues" piano lesson We've received lots of positive feedback on this approach which leads us to the following questions: What are the best methods and techniques for learning to improvise? For those of us with limited time to practice what is the most efficient way to learn? What are the biggest mistakes and myths among people learning jazz & blues piano? What are the biggest wastes of time? What are the biggest mistakes novices make when they are playing/practicing? Even at a professional level, what mistakes are most common? Reply below to let us know …
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