Midnight Special by Creedence Clearwater Revival

“A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” by Bob Dylan!

It’s a little hard to believe that, 30 years ago, this song fueled me and two brothers named Mike and Chris on a bootstrap cross-country bike adventure. In the summer of 1983, the three of us rode Greyhound from Baltimore to Seattle with our bikes, then rode them back to the East Coast. Our plan was “stay close to the Canadian border,” and the ethic was “go in the direction anyone suggests, if they can provide a good reason, and they’re pointing east.” It worked like a charm.

At every jukebox we found for some 3,000 miles, we played two songs. One was “On The Road Again” by Willie Nelson and this was the other one. “Back on the Chain Gang” had an extra special meaning to me. Every time Chrissie Hynde sang the lyrics, “I saw a picture of you-ou,” I thought of Julia Coster, a woman I cared for a lot back then.

It’s a long story, but for many good reasons she didn’t make that trip. You could say that in 1983 I was kind of like “the pigeon from hell.” Don’t ask me to explain.

Flash forward 16 years, to 1997: I got to visit Julia and her husband, Steve, in Anchorage, Alaska, when I was up there, doing a story. Flash forward 16 more years, to 2013: The weekend before last, Julia and Steve visited Donna and I when they were here in the lower 48, bouncing between college graduations of their daughters.

They spent a night with us. I made crab cakes for dinner and we had a nice hike the next morning on Mill Mountain, then we had lunch from the Co-op before they went on their way. Catching up was fun.

Donna was a apprehensive in advance of their visit — I was still carrying a torch for Julia when Donna met me, at the end of that bike trip. Donna didn’t feel that way by the time they left, though. They’re great folks. Feelings ebb greatly over three decades. They never totally die — and that’s good, one of the many things that make us human.

There’s something about music, though — it attaches to memories. And it transports you back like a time machine. Wow.

Jane L. Powell is a Roanoke native who’s sung jazz and blues around the world. She’s played for Queen Elizabeth, stolen shows from Ray Charles, sung tunes for McDonald’s commercials and for Hollywood movies such as “The Bachelor.” Now she’s back in Roanoke! And she’s got a couple of upcoming appearances you might want to check out.

The first is Saturday, June 8, at American Legion Post #3. Tickets are $10. The second is the Local Office on Aging’s Let’s Do Lunch fundraiser Friday, June 21, at the Kazim Temple Ballroom on Campbell Avenue. Tickets for that are $15 — and include a deluxe box lunch.

“With a Gun” by Steely Dan, from Pretzel Logic. h/t to Old Blue, who suggested this number.

Tragedies 1 . . . . 2 . . . . 3 . . . and counting

Got the date wrong, when I skedded this. The headline is fixed and a new tune will come tomorrow.

h/t to Joe Campbell.

R.I.P Richie Havens, who died this week.  From his famous Woodstock performance.

“White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane

Junior Walker and the All Stars!

Ladies and gentlemen, Sam and Dave and “Soul Man.”

I have to admit I’m partial to this tune — the band at our 1986 wedding reception played (I swear the singer was Eva Cassidy — in a cast — Donna doubts that. Mark Jurkevich was there — he gave the toast). The weirdest thing about this GREAT video is the audience. How could they resist jumping up and dancing their butts off this to incredible music?