Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]
Blues.ru	[3]

Peakin' at the Beacon is a live album by the rock group The Allman Brothers Band. It was recorded at the Beacon Theatre in New York City in March, 2000, and released later that year.

Peakin' at the Beacon was the first Allman Brothers Band album to include Derek Trucks on guitar and Oteil Burbridge on bass, and the last to include founding member Dickey Betts.

Track listing[link]

1. "Don't Want You No More" (Spencer Davis, Eddie Hardin) - 3:06
2. "It's Not My Cross to Bear" (Gregg Allman) - 5:12
3. "Ain't Wastin' Time No More" (Allman) - 5:46
4. "Every Hungry Woman" (Allman) - 5:56
5. "Please Call Home" (Allman) - 4:30
6. "Stand Back" (Allman, Berry Oakley) - 5:44
7. "Black Hearted Woman" (Allman) - 6:30
8. "Leave My Blues at Home" (Allman) - 5:07
9. "Seven Turns" (Dickey Betts) - 4:48
10. "High Falls" (Betts) - 27:27

Personnel[link]

The Allman Brothers Band[link]

• Gregg Allman – organ, piano, acoustic guitar, vocals
• Dickey Betts – guitar, vocals
• Derek Trucks – guitar
• Oteil Burbridge – bass
• Butch Trucks – drums, percussion
• Jaimoe – drums, percussion
• Marc Quiñones – conga, percussion, vocals

Production[link]

• The Allman Brothers Band – producer
• Bud Snyder – producer, engineer, mixing, live sound
• Vladimir Meller – mastering
• Bruce Judd – engineer
• Mark Withrow – engineer
• Joe Zimmerman – art direction

References[link]

The Beacon may refer to:

• "The Beacon" (The Twilight Zone)
• The Beacon (Florida International University), the student run newspaper of the Florida International University
• The Beacon (University of Portland), the student run newspaper of the University of Portland
• The Beacon (film), a 2008 film
• The Beacon (novel), a novel by English author Susan Hill
• The Beacon (Eastham, Massachusetts), a historic site on Nauset Beach in Eastham, Massachusetts
• The Beacon Jersey City, historic restoration of former Jersey City Medical Center
• Al-Manar (The Beacon), a Lebanese satellite television station

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Duane Allman
At Fillmore East, 1971
Background information
Birth name	Howard Duane Allman
Also known as	Skydog
Born	(1946-11-20)November 20, 1946 Nashville, Tennessee
Died	October 29, 1971(1971-10-29) (aged 24) Macon, Georgia
Genres	Southern rock, blues, blues-rock, soul, rock, jazz
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1961–1971
Labels	Mercury, Capricorn
Associated acts	The Hour Glass, Wilson Pickett, The Allman Brothers Band, Derek and the Dominos, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Mann, Gregg Allman, The Allman Joys
Website	AllmanBrothersBand.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Gibson SG Fender Stratocaster Gibson ES-345

Duane Allman (born Howard Duane Allman; November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder and leader of the The Allman Brothers Band, until his early death in a motorcycle accident in 1971 at the age of 24.

ABB was formed in 1969 and, unusually for the time, based in the Southeastern United States. In the early 1970s the band was hugely successful. Duane is best remembered for his brief but influential tenure in that band and in particular for his expressive slide guitar playing and inventive improvisational skills.^[1] In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Allman at #2 in their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, second only to Jimi Hendrix and in 2011 he was ranked #9.^[2] His tone (achieved with a Gibson Les Paul and two 50-watt bass Marshall amplifiers) was named one of the greatest guitar tones of all time by Guitar Player.^[3]

A sought-after session musician both before and during his tenure with the band, Duane Allman performed with such established stars as King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Herbie Mann. He also contributed heavily to the 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos.

Duane Allman’s skills as a guitarist were complemented by personal qualities such as his intensity, drive and ability to draw the best out of others in making music.^[4] He is still referred to by his nickname "Skydog".^[5]

Early years[link]

Duane Allman was born November 20, 1946 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was the eldest son of Willis Allman, a career United States Army sergeant, and Geraldine (née Robbins). His younger brother Gregg Allman was born in late 1947.

While the family were living near Norfolk, Virginia, his father was murdered by a fellow veteran hitchhiker.^[6] In order to retrain as an accountant, Geraldine "Mama A" Allman sent Duane and Gregg to Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee, which they both disliked intensely.^[7] In 1957, the family moved to Daytona Beach, Florida where the boys attended Seabreeze High School.

The boys returned to Nashville to spend summers with their grandmother where Gregg learned guitar basics from a neighbour. In 1960, Gregg had saved enough money to buy his first guitar, a Japanese-made Teisco Silvertone while Duane acquired a Harley 165 motorbike which he soon wrote off. So Duane began to take an interest in the guitar leading to fights over it and eventually their mother bought Duane a Gibson Les Paul Junior.^[8]

It was also in Nashville that the boys became musically inspired by a rhythm and blues concert they attended, at which blues guitar legend B. B. King performed. Apparently, Duane turned to Gregg and said, "We got to get into this." ^[8]

Duane learned to play very quickly and soon became the better guitarist of the two, dropping out of high school to stay home during the day and focus on developing his guitar skills.

Allman Joys and Hour Glass[link]

The two Allman brothers started playing publicly in 1961, joining or forming a number of small, local groups. Shortly thereafter, Duane quit high school to stay home during the day and focus on his guitar playing. Their band the Escorts opened for The Beach Boys in 1965 but disbanded and eventually became the Allman Joys. After Gregg graduated from Seabreeze High School in 1965, the Allman Joys went on the road, performing throughout the Southeast and eventually being based in Nashville and St. Louis, Missouri.

The Allman Joys morphed into another not-completely-successful band, The Hour Glass, which moved to Los Angeles in early 1967. There the Hour Glass produced two albums that left the band unsatisfied. Liberty, their record company, tried to market them as a pop band, completely ignoring the band's desire to play more blues-oriented material.

In 1968, Gregg Allman went to visit Duane on his 22nd birthday. Duane was sick in bed. Gregg brought along a bottle of Coricidin pills for his fever and the debut album by guitarist Taj Mahal as a gift. "About two hours after I left, my phone rang," Gregg states. "Baby brother, baby brother, get over here now!" When Gregg got there, he found that Duane had poured the pills out of the bottle, washed off the label and was using it as a slide to play "Statesboro Blues", an old Blind Willie McTell song that Taj Mahal covered. "Duane had never played slide before," says Gregg, "he just picked it up and started burnin'. He was a natural."^{[citation needed]} The song would go on to become a part of the Allman Brothers Band's repertoire, and Duane's slide guitar became crucial to their sound.

The Hour Glass broke up in early 1968, and Duane and Gregg Allman went back to Florida, where they played on demo sessions with the 31st of February, a folk rock outfit whose drummer was Butch Trucks. Gregg returned to California to fulfill Hour Glass obligations, while Duane jammed around Florida for months but didn't get another band going.

Session musician[link]

Allman's playing on the two Hour Glass albums and an Hour Glass session in early 1968 at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, had caught the ear of Rick Hall, owner of FAME. In November 1968 Hall hired Allman to play on an album with Wilson Pickett. Allman's work on that album, Hey Jude (1968), got him hired as a full-time session musician at Muscle Shoals and brought him to the attention of a number of other musicians, such as Eric Clapton, who later said, "I remember hearing Wilson Pickett's 'Hey Jude' and just being astounded by the lead break at the end. I had to know who that was immediately—right now."

Allman's performance on "Hey Jude" blew away Atlantic Records producer and executive Jerry Wexler when Hall played it over the phone for him. Wexler immediately bought Allman's recording contract from Hall and wanted to use him on sessions with all sorts of Atlantic R&B artists. While at Muscle Shoals, Allman was featured on releases by a number of artists, including Clarence Carter, King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Laura Nyro, Wilson Pickett, Otis Rush, Percy Sledge, Johnny Jenkins, Boz Scaggs, Delaney & Bonnie and jazz flautist Herbie Mann. Shortly after he recorded the lead break in "Hey Jude", he recorded all of the lead guitar in Boz Scaggs' "Loan Me a Dime". For his first sessions with Aretha, Allman traveled to New York, where in January 1969 he went as an audience member to the Fillmore East to see Johnny Winter and told fellow Shoals guitarist Jimmy Johnson that in a year he'd be on that stage. That December, the Allman Brothers Band indeed played the Fillmore.

Formation of The Allman Brothers Band[link]

The limits of full-time session playing frustrated Allman. The few months in Muscle Shoals were by no means a waste, however; besides meeting the great artists and other industry professionals he was working with, Allman had rented a small, secluded cabin on a lake and spent many solitary hours there refining his playing. Perhaps most significantly, Allman got together with R&B and jazz drummer Jaimoe Johanson, who came to meet Allman at the urging of Otis Redding's manager, Phil Walden, who by now was managing Allman and wanted to build a three-piece band around him. Allman and Jaimoe got Chicago-born bassist Berry Oakley to come up from Florida and jam as a trio, but Berry was committed to his rock band with guitarist Dickey Betts, the Second Coming, and returned south.

Getting fed up with Muscle Shoals, in March Allman took Jaimoe with him back to Jacksonville, Florida, where they moved in with Butch Trucks. Soon a jam session of these three plus Betts, Oakley, and Reese Wynans took place and forged what all present recognized as a natural, or even magical, bond. With the addition of brother Gregg, called back from Los Angeles to sing and replace Wynans on keyboards, at the end of March 1969, the Allman Brothers Band was formed. (Wynans became well known over a decade later as organist with Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble.) After a bit of rehearsing and gigging, the sextet moved to Macon, Georgia, in April to be near Walden and his Capricorn Sound Studios. While living in Macon, Allman met Donna Roosman, who bore his only child, Galadrielle. Despite their child, the relationship quickly ended.

[edit] Success: Layla, At Fillmore East

The Allman Brothers Band went on to become one of the most influential rock groups of the 1970s, described by Rolling Stone's George Kimball in 1971 as "the best damn rock and roll band this country has produced in the past five years."^[9] After months of nonstop rehearsing and gigging, including free shows in Macon's Central City Park and Atlanta's Piedmont Park, the group was ready to settle on the Allman Brothers Band name, and to record. Their debut album, The Allman Brothers Band, was recorded in New York in September 1969 and released a few months later. In the midst of intense touring, work began in Macon and Miami (Atlantic South - Criteria Studios), and a little bit in New York, on the band's second album, Idlewild South. Produced mostly by Tom Dowd, Idlewild South was released in August 1970 and broke new ground for them by quickly hitting the Billboard charts.

A group date in Miami, also that August, gave Allman the chance to participate in Eric Clapton's Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Clapton had long wanted to meet Allman; when he heard that the Allman Brothers were due to play in Miami, where he had just started work on Layla with producer Tom Dowd, he insisted on going to see their concert, where he met Allman. At one point, Allman approached Clapton, fully admiring his ability to play guitar as much as Clapton admired his, and cautiously asked Clapton if he could come by the studio to watch. Clapton was in no way reluctant to say yes, as he knew that his masterful playing combined with Allman's would be greater than the sum of its parts. After the show the two bands—the Allman Brothers Band and Derek and the Dominos—returned to Criteria, where Allman and Clapton quickly formed a deep rapport during an all-night jam session.^[10] Allman wound up participating on most of the album's tracks, contributing some of his best-known work. Allman never left the Allman Brothers Band, though, despite being offered a permanent position with Clapton. Allman never toured with Derek and the Dominos, but he did make three appearances with them on December 1, 1970 at the Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa (Soulmates LP) and the following day at Onondaga County War Memorial, and one appearance (or possibly just Delaney Bramlett or both Duane and Delaney) November 20, 1970^[11] at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, California.

In an interview, Duane told listeners how to tell who played what: Eric played the Fender parts and Duane played the Gibson parts. He continued by nonchalantly noting that the Fender had a sparklier sound, while the Gibson produced more of a "full-tilt screech".^[12]

The Allman Brothers went on to record At Fillmore East in March 1971. Meanwhile, Allman continued contributing session work to other artists' albums whenever he could. According to Skydog: the Duane Allman Story, Allman was in the habit of spontaneously dropping in at recording sessions and contributing to whatever was being taped that day. He received cash payments but no recording credits, making it virtually impossible to compile a complete discography of his works.

Allman was well known for his melodic, extended and attention-holding guitar solos. During this period two of his stated influences were Miles Davis and John Coltrane, having listened extensively to Kind of Blue for two years.^[12][13]

As Allman's distinctive electric bottleneck steel sound began to mature it evolved in time into the musical voice of what would come to be known as Southern Rock, being picked up and redefined in their own styles by slide guitarists that included bandmate Dickey Betts (after Duane's passing), Rory Gallagher, Derek Trucks and Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Death[link]

Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident only months after the release and initial success of At Fillmore East.^[14] While in the western part of Macon on October 29, 1971 during a band break from touring and recording, Allman was riding his motorcycle at high speed toward an intersection as a flatbed truck carrying a lumber crane approached. The flatbed truck stopped suddenly in the intersection, forcing Duane to swerve his Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle sharply to the left to avoid a collision. As he was doing so, he struck either the back of the truck or the ball on the lumber crane and was immediately thrown from the motorcycle. The motorcycle bounced up in the air and landed on Allman and proceeded to skid another 90 feet with Duane pinned underneath, crushing his internal organs. Though he was still alive when he arrived at the hospital, despite emergency surgery, he died several hours later from massive internal injuries. He was just weeks from his 25th birthday.

Memorial[link]

After Allman's funeral and some weeks of mourning, the five surviving members of the Allman Brothers Band carried on, resuming live performances and finishing the recording work interrupted by Duane's death. They named their next album Eat a Peach for Duane's response to an interviewer's question: "How are you helping the revolution?" Allman replied: "There ain't no revolution, only evolution, but every time I'm in Georgia I 'eat a peach' for peace." Released in February, 1972, this double album contains a side of live and studio tracks with Allman, two sides of "Mountain Jam", recorded with Duane at the same At Fillmore East stand in March, and a side of tracks by the surviving five member band.

Bass guitarist Berry Oakley died less than 13 months later in a similar motorcycle crash with a city bus, three blocks from the site of Duane Allman's fatal accident. Oakley's remains were laid to rest beside Duane Allman's in Macon, Georgia's Rose Hill Cemetery.

The variety of Allman's session work and Allman Brothers Band bandleading can be heard to good effect on two posthumous Capricorn releases, An Anthology (1972) and An Anthology Volume II (1974). There are also several archival releases of live Allman Brothers Band performances from what the band calls "Duane's Era".

Shortly after Duane's death, Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd dedicated the song "Free Bird", to the memory of Duane Allman. Van Zant would sometimes allude to this in concert; in the "Free Bird" performance at Skynyrd's famed 1976 appearance at Knebworth, England, Van Zant says to pianist Billy Powell, "Play it for Duane Allman." Many people assume the song was written about Duane. However, it had actually been written well before Duane died. (Allen Collins wrote the song after his then girlfriend asked him the question "if I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?")

In 1973, fans carved the very large letters "REMEMBER DUANE ALLMAN" in a dirt embankment along Interstate Highway 20 near Vicksburg, Mississippi.^[15][16] A photograph was published in Rolling Stone magazine and in the Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll; the carving itself lasted for over ten years.^[17]

In 1998 the Georgia State Legislature passed a resolution designating a stretch of State Highway 19, US 41, within Macon as the "Duane Allman Boulevard" in his honor.^[18]

Country singer Travis Tritt, in the song "Put Some Drive In Your Country" on his debut album, sings "Now I still love old country/I ain't tryin' to put it down/But damn I miss Duane Allman/I wish he was still around."

Equipment[link]

Allman Joys, Hour Glass[link]

• Fender Telecaster, modified with a Stratocaster neck.^[19]
• Marshall amplifier, with six 10-inch speakers and two horns.^[19]

Early session work[link]

• 1954 Fender Stratocaster, used on the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio studio sessions, now at the Hard Rock Cafe in London at the Vault.^[20]
• Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, which used old 9V batteries because "they make a special sound."
• Fender Twin Reverb with JBL speakers.^[19]
• Maestro Echoplex.^[19]
• 1959 Fender Bassman.^[19]

Allman Brothers Band, "Layla", later session work[link]

• 1961 Fender Stratocaster (for early session work overlapping with formation of the Band).^[19]
• 1958-1962 Gibson ES-345 Semi-hollow body (first album)^[20]
• 1957 Gibson Les Paul Standard goldtop, serial no. 7 3312. Traded on September 16, 1970 for a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard cherry sunburst, except for the pickups.
• 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard cherry sunburst, acquired on September 16, 1970, except for the pickups.
• 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard tobacco sunburst,^[20] acquired in June 1971.
• 1961 Gibson SG,^[20] used for slide,^[19] given by Dickey Betts.
• Marshall 50-watt^[3] head, two Marshall 4x12 cabinets with JBL speakers.^[19]
• Fender Champ combo amplifier ("Layla")

Other[link]

• Gibson L-00 acoustic guitar^[19]
• Fender Rock N' Roll 150 strings (Hour Glass)
• Coricidin medicine bottle (slide)

Discography[link]

Biography portal

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

• Duane Allman.com
• Duane Allman on allmanbrothersband.com
• Duane Allman.info
• In memory of Duane Allman: 35 years after his death, Skydog still among rock's very best guitarists, on MSNBC
• The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
• Georgia House of Representatives SR653, designating Duane Allman Boulevard and Raymond Berry Oakley Bridge
• "Duane Allman". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1189. Retrieved September 2, 2010. 
• Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 1995

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2012)

John Popper
John Popper performing at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey; November 2006
Background information
Birth name	John Popper
Born	(1967-03-29) March 29, 1967 (age 45)
Origin	Cleveland, Ohio
Genres	Blues rock, Alternative rock, Jam band
Instruments	Vocals, harmonica, guitar
Years active	1987–present
Labels	A&M, Relix
Associated acts	Blues Traveler The John Popper Project Frogwings The Duskray Troubadors

John Popper (born March 29, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter.

He is most famous for his role as frontman of rock band Blues Traveler performing harmonica, guitar and vocals. He is widely considered a harmonica virtuoso, and is listed by harmonica manufacturer Hohner as a "Featured Artist", an accolade reserved for only the best and most successful harmonica players.

Early life[link]

John Popper was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a Hungarian immigrant who escaped Budapest in the 1950s.^[1] Through him, Popper is related to David Popper, a 19th-century European cellist whose many solo works for the cello are staples of the instrument's repertoire.^[2] John's mother and brother are lawyers.^[3]

Popper was raised in Stamford, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. He attended Davenport Ridge School, Stamford Catholic High School (now Trinity Catholic High School) and Princeton High School (New Jersey). He took lessons on the piano, the cello, and the guitar, but none of those instruments appealed to him and he hated being forced to practice.^[4][5]

He originally wanted to become a comedian, finding he could use humor to make friends and avoid bullies,^[6] but when he and a friend performed a routine as The Blues Brothers, he found that he enjoyed musical performance. From there, he took up the harmonica. Popper played trumpet in the Princeton High School Studio Jazz Band, and convinced the teacher to let him play harmonica instead, after an in-class solo on the song "She Blinded Me With Science".^[4][7]

He formed several garage bands with friends in Princeton, New Jersey, one of which evolved into Blues Traveler in 1987. After graduating from high school, the group's members all moved to New York City, where Popper enrolled in The New School for Social Research along with two of his bandmates and high school friend Chris Barron. Popper attended for three years but devoted himself to the band full-time once they signed a record contract in 1990.^[4][7]

Career[link]

Blues Traveler[link]

Popper is a founding member of Blues Traveler, serving as the band's front man with lead vocals and harmonica. For some songs, he forgoes the harmonica in favor of guitar, most often a 12-string acoustic. In addition, Popper has played the tin whistle on some recordings.

A prolific songwriter, he has composed the majority of the lyrics and music of Blues Traveler's songs.

The band grew a following with its extensive touring, sometimes with over 300 dates a year, and gained a reputation in the jam band scene of the 1990s. Blues Traveler crossed over into mainstream pop/rock radio success with their 1994 album four, which garnered the group extensive media exposure. The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1996 was awarded to "Run-Around", a song which Popper composed.

Solo work[link]

In 1990, Popper began to perform occasional solo concerts in addition to touring with Blues Traveler. Several songs which originated as Popper's solo pieces have become part of Blues Traveler's repertoire, and vice versa.

Bolstered by Blues Traveler's mainstream success, Popper released a solo album, Zygote, in 1999 and toured in support of it with his own John Popper Band. The album was produced by Terry Manning, and the backing band consisted of longtime friends^[7] Dave Ares, Crugie Riccio, and Rob Clores of Cycomotogoat, with drummer Carter Beauford of Dave Matthews Band. The album's release came less than three months after his heart surgery, and only days after the death of Bobby Sheehan, Popper's band mate and best friend. The subsequent tour was canceled midway due to poor ticket sales, and Popper instead took the time to focus on his health.^[8]

Popper has co-written songs with Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Chris Barron, and Jonny Lang. He also frequently appears as a guest performer with musicians both famous and obscure, from a diverse variety of genres. He has performed with, among others, jam bands Spin Doctors, Dave Matthews Band, Phish and most recently, The Allman Brothers Band in 2009; bluesmen Eric Clapton and B.B. King; singer-songwriters Jason Mraz and John Mayer; saxophonist Karl Denson; San Francisco's Culann's Hounds; heavy metal band Metallica; rock trio ZO2 and even with the Hungarian Ambassador to the United States, András Simonyi. He sat in with The Smashing Pumpkins on the second day of their acoustic 1997 Bridge School Benefit appearance, contributing harmonica for their song "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans"; Popper's solo garnered major applause from the audience. He also performed with the Grateful Dead at a tribute to Bill Graham in 1991. He was the harmonica player on Hanson's album This Time Around in 2000, for which he performed on "If Only" and "In The City."

Side projects[link]

In 1992, Popper conceived the HORDE Festival as a venue to gain exposure for up-and-coming independent musicians. It ran until 1998.

Popper was a part of a one-time studio band brought together in 1997 by New York drummer/songwriter Solomon Deniro. Other players included Trey Gunn, Bernie Worrell, Marc Ribot, and Vernon Reid. The group's only recordings were released as the album Gimme Gimme under the name The Devotees.^[9] The same recording was re-released by Deniro in 2001 with the title Solomon.^[10]

Popper took over in 1998 as front man of jam-band supergroup Frogwings, which released the live album Croakin' at Toad's. Frogwings was mainly active until 2000.

Recently, Popper formed a rock/jazz/hip-hop fusion group The John Popper Project with DJ Logic, which released an album in 2006 and performs occasionally. He also performs on the album Global Noize by Jason Miles and DJ Logic (2008).

Popper's latest side project is "John Popper & the Duskray Troubadours", which plays Americana roots music^{[disambiguation needed ]}.^[7] The group's self-titled debut from 429 Records was released March 2011 and produced by band member Jono Manson who co-wrote much of the material. The first single, "Something Sweet", written by Manson and Bruce Donnola, was released February 7, 2011 on iTunes.

Acting and media appearances[link]

Popper had a speaking guest role in an episode of the sitcom Roseanne as a musician similar to himself. Popper appeared on Episode 30 of Space Ghost Coast To Coast as a musical guest. Popper appeared as a guest on the IFC television comedy series Z Rock. He plays a role as himself, and befriends the band ZO2, helping them get a record deal. He also played the Star-Spangled Banner prior to Game 4 of the 1996 World Series.

In film, Popper had a cameo role as a bowling tournament MC in Kingpin and also with Blues Traveler as the Ahmish band singing "But Anyway" at end of movie and an appearance in Howard Stern's Private Parts as himself. Another cameo followed in Blues Brothers 2000, with Blues Traveler appearing on the soundtrack. Popper's first major role was in 2000 in Just for the Time Being, an independent film starring Eva Herzigova.

Popper has provided narration for art projects produced by his friends, including Das Clown, an award-winning short film in slideshow style that was screened at the Sundance Film Festival.^[11]

Popper served as host of the third annual Jammy awards in 2002.

He has been a recurring guest on Howard Stern's and Bill Maher's shows and sits in with The CBS Orchestra on The Late Show with David Letterman on occasion. In 2009, he sat in with The Roots on an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Popper performed "Something Sweet" with the Duskray Troubadours on the TBS show "Lopez Tonight" on March 1, 2011. He also sat in with the house band for the closing number of the show.

Personal life[link]

Since the success of Blues Traveler, Popper has lived in various locations, including rural Pennsylvania and New Orleans. He currently has a residence near Snohomish, Washington.

In October 1992 Popper was involved in a traffic accident on a motorcycle while traveling to a studio to record for Blues Traveler's third album. The accident put him in a wheelchair for several months, but Popper continued touring with the band despite the difficulties it created.

In 1999, he suffered a near-fatal heart attack brought on by years of compulsive overeating. (He had been diagnosed with diabetes a few years earlier.) Doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center^[12] performed an emergency angioplasty which saved Popper's life: he had 95% arterial blockage.^[13] Popper later underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost a significant amount of weight.^[14]

Popper has a tattoo across his chest that says, "I WANT TO BE BRAVE", written backwards.^[6][15][16]

Weapons collecting[link]

Popper is an avid collector of weaponry, including firearms, swords, and a working $10,000 American Civil War cannon.^[17][18] He cites a fascination with their aesthetic of being "life-savingly efficient" machines.^[19][20] Popper is a supporter of Second Amendment rights, and appeared on an MTV-sponsored roundtable discussion on gun control which included panelists from the Law Enforcement Alliance of America and Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.^[21] He carries weapons in any state where it is allowed, even wearing them onstage.^[22] On his Daily Show appearance, he stated that he decided to move away from New Jersey because of the state's tight gun laws.^[23] He said that his Bucks County, Pennsylvania property had 32 acres (130,000 m²) on which he built a private gun range.

Politics[link]

Popper is a member of the Libertarian Party,^[24] and has previously expressed support for the Republican Party.^[25] He endorsed George W. Bush in the 2004 U.S. presidential election.^[26] Popper (with and without Blues Traveler) has played at conventions, fundraisers, and ceremonies for both Republican and Democratic politicians.^[27] He has stated that politics do not influence his choice of performance setting.

Popper has said, "I was a bleeding-heart liberal, until I got a job"^[27] and describes himself as "a libertarian who is a Republican when pushed".^[19] Popper summed up his political position by saying "I believe in freedom for markets and freedom for individuals, so I guess that makes me a libertarian".^[19]

Popper has toured with the USO, both with Blues Traveler and solo.^[15] His most recent tour was in the Middle East, performing with the Band of the Air Force Reserve and Jamie O'Neal at various military camps.

He has appeared with Rock the Vote and recorded "The Preamble" for the Schoolhouse Rocks the Vote! album.

In November 2008, Popper said, regarding Barack Obama, "this is the first time I've voted for a Democrat, ever."^[28]

John Popper is a supporter of Ron Paul during the 2012 Presidential election, even participating in phone-banking at Ron Paul's New Hampshire campaign headquarters^[29].

Religion[link]

Popper was raised Catholic, and for a time attended Stamford Catholic High School in Connecticut, however, he does not actively practice in his adult life. He has described himself as "a recovering Catholic". The song "Trina Magna" was written as an exploration of his religious views. ^[30]

Legal trouble[link]

In 2003, Popper was arrested for possession of marijuana.^[31] Popper was arrested again on March 6, 2007 near Ritzville, Washington by the Washington State Patrol.^[32] He was the passenger in his own vehicle, which was stopped for speeding, and was found to be in the possession of a small amount of marijuana and weapons. Popper was released the same night. The vehicle had a stash of hidden compartments which contained four rifles, nine handguns, a switchblade knife, a Taser, a set of brass knuckles, and night vision goggles. The vehicle was temporarily seized.^[33][34]

No charges were filed for the weapons, as they were all registered and securely locked away, and Popper was licensed to carry them, with the exception of the brass knuckles and switchblade knife which Popper agreed to surrender. A deal was reached that allowed the marijuana charge to be dropped if Popper remained free of further drug infractions for one year and attended eight hours of drug counseling.^[35] Popper and the driver had been driving back to Washington from Austin, Texas, and Popper likes to visit gun ranges during long trips.^[36]

Equipment[link]

Popper's trademark hat and custom modified harmonica microphone

John Popper has expressed a preference for the Hohner Special 20 brand blues harp, calling them "the Porsche of harmonicas".^[37]

Popper uses Shure microphones and Mesa Boogie amplifiers, similar to bandmate Chan Kinchla. He also uses D'Addario strings.

Trademark equipment[link]

Popper has developed some equipment innovations to accommodate his use of harmonicas during onstage performances. Because each individual diatonic harmonica is tuned to one particular key, he fashioned belts with enough pockets to hold harmonicas in all 12 keys (plus extras) and wore them as a bandolier, or slung over his neck. He frequently has to switch keys multiple times within one song, and this arrangement allowed him to quickly trade one harmonica for another without looking. In 2002, he stopped using the belts because they no longer fit him properly due to his weight loss; now he carries his harmonicas in a small black attaché case. He uses a special microphone with switches that change the audio effect of the harmonica as it is played through an amplifier, similar to a guitar effects pedal. Popper was inspired by Jimi Hendrix's guitar playing to make his instrument sound however he wanted.^[7] He has also fashioned a number of floppy-brimmed hats with flattened harmonica plates on the band, which he almost always wears during appearances with Blues Traveler.

Discography, performances and appearances[link]

Discography[link]

Solo

Zygote (1999)

Go Outside and Drive (The Vestal Version) single (1999)

with Blues Traveler

See Blues Traveler discography

with The Devotees

Gimme Gimme (1997)

with Frogwings

Croakin' at Toad's (1999)

with The John Popper Project

The John Popper Project with DJ Logic (2006)

with The Duskray Troubadours

John Popper & the Duskray Troubadours (2011)

Something Sweet single (2011)

Featured music appearances[link]

• "Northbound Train" from Broadway musical soundtrack The Civil War: The Complete Work
• Duet with Eric Clapton on "Christmas Blues" from A Very Special Christmas Live
• Duet with BB King on "Back Door Santa" from A Very Special Christmas Vol. 5
• Solo instrumental track "Harmonica Musings" from the soundtrack of Blues Brothers 2000
• Harmonica solos of character Buster Blues in the Blues Brothers 2000 film
• "Regarding Steven" from the 2000 compilation VH1 Storytellers Live
• "Alone" from Warren Haynes Presents: The Benefit Concert, Volume 2
• "Devil Got My Woman", "Alone", and "Sign on the Door" from Warren Haynes Presents: The Benefit Concert, Volume 3"
• "The Preamble" from Schoolhouse Rocks The Vote!

Guest music appearances[link]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Television appearances[link]

• Popper performed a duet with Dolly Parton on her Treasures television special in 1997
• Appeared on a 1996 episode of The Late Show with David Letterman to surprise Manny the Hippie with a harmonica duel
• Appeared as a guest on an episode of the Cartoon Network comedy talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast
• Had speaking lines on an episode (#9509 "Of Mice and Dan") of the sitcom Roseanne as character Stingray Wilson, a musician similar to Popper himself (Popper later wrote lyrics for the show's bluesy theme song, which was performed by Blues Traveler in the final season of the show.)
• An animated clay caricature of Popper fought a match in the MTV parody series Celebrity Deathmatch. Popper defeated singer Fiona Apple.
• Popper appeared on Penn and Teller's Sin City Spectacular, playing harmonica during a card trick performance
• Was a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show in 2003 promoting Blues Traveler's album Truth Be Told
• Was a celebrity coach in the final round of America's Got Talent

Other appearances[link]

• Popper has played his Jimi Hendrix-inspired harmonica rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at National Basketball Association, National Football League and Major League Baseball games, including the World Series (Game 4 of the 1996 World Series at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia).

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Popper

• John Popper at the Internet Movie Database
• John Popper's biography at BluesTraveler.com
• John Popper collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

Jorge Posada
Catcher
Born: (1971-08-17) August 17, 1971 (age 40) Santurce, Puerto Rico
Batted: Switch	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 4, 1995 for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 2011 for the New York Yankees
Career statistics
Batting average	.273
Home runs	275
Runs batted in	1,065
Teams
New York Yankees (1995–2011)
Career highlights and awards
5× All-Star (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007) 4× World Series champion (1998, 1999, 2000, 2009) 5× Silver Slugger Award winner (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007)

Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta (born August 17, 1971) is a retired Puerto Rican baseball catcher who played 17 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1995 to 2011. Posada produced strong offensive numbers for his position, recording a .273 batting average, 275 home runs, and 1,065 runs batted in (RBIs) during his career. A switch hitter, Posada was a five-time All-Star, won five Silver Slugger Awards, and was on the roster for four World Series championship teams.

Drafted by the Yankees in 1990, Posada was originally an infielder before moving to catcher during his minor league career. He debuted in the major leagues in 1995, but it was not until 1998 that he found regular playing time. A solid-hitting catcher, Posada established himself as a mainstay in the Yankees lineup and as one of the "Core Four" players who contributed to the Yankees' winning seasons. In 2003, he finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award and became only the second Yankees catcher after Yogi Berra to hit 30 home runs in a season. Posada added one of his best seasons in 2007 at age 35 when he batted .338. Following a stint as designated hitter in 2011, he retired.

Posada is only the fifth MLB catcher with at least 1,500 hits, 350 doubles, 275 home runs, and 1,000 RBIs in a career.^[1] From 2000 to 2011, he compiled more RBIs and home runs than any other catcher in baseball. He is the only MLB catcher to ever bat .330 or better with 40 doubles, 20 home runs, and 90 RBIs in a single season.^[2] Away from baseball, Posada is the founder of the Jorge Posada Foundation, which is involved with research for craniosynostosis, a disease that impacts his son.

Early life and education[link]

Posada was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He attended Alejandrino High School in San Juan,^[3] where he participated in basketball, volleyball, track, and baseball. As a baseball player in high school, he was named an All-Star player at shortstop in the 1988–89 season.

He attended Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Alabama in 1991, where he received an Associate's Degree. He was voted best hitter (1990), co-captain (1991), and selected all-conference (1991). He was inducted in the Alabama Community College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006 and Calhoun retired his number (#6).^[4]

Professional career[link]

Draft and minor leagues[link]

Posada was drafted by the Yankees in the 24th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft as an infielder.^[5] He played second base during his first minor league season with the Oneonta Yankees in the Class-A Short Season New York-Penn League. The Yankees moved him to catcher full time in 1992, when he played for the Greensboro Hornets of the Class-A South Atlantic League.^[6] Posada played for the Prince William Cannons of the Class-A Advanced Carolina League and the Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Class-AA Eastern League in 1993, earning Carolina League All-Star honors.

While playing for the Columbus Clippers of the Class-AAA International League in 1994, Posada suffered a home plate collision in which he broke his left leg and dislocated his left ankle. Posada played for the Clippers for the majority of the 1995 and 1996 seasons.

New York Yankees[link]

Posada (left) greets Mariano Rivera at the end of a game.

Posada was on the postseason roster for four World Series championship teams (1998, 1999, 2000, 2009)^[7] and six American League championship teams (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009). Posada is a five-time All-Star (2000–03, 2007) and a five-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award in those same years.

1995–1999[link]

Posada made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 1995, replacing Jim Leyritz in the ninth inning of a game on September 4.^[8] Despite his appearing in only one game during the regular season, the Yankees included Posada on their postseason roster, and he appeared in Game 2 of the 1995 American League Division Series as a pinch runner, scoring a run.^[8]

Posada began the 1996 season with Columbus, but was promoted to the Yankees late in the season. He appeared in eight games, making his first start on September 25,^[8] but he was not added to the postseason roster. Posada replaced Leyritz in 1997 as the backup catcher to Joe Girardi, with the expectation that he would appear in approximately 40 games:^[9] he started in 52.^[10] Going into the 1998 season, Posada pushed for more playing time.^[10] Posada caught David Wells' perfect game on May 17, 1998.^[11] Overall, Posada batted .268 with 17 homers and 63 runs batted in over 111 games in the 1998 season.^[12] The Yankees renewed Posada's contract for $350,000 for the 1999 season, less than the $650,000 he asked for.^[12] In 1999, Posada batted .245 and committed 17 passed balls.^[13]

Girardi helped mentor Posada when they were teammates.^[14] The two catchers split time for the Yankees through 1999, with Posada receiving "roughly 60 percent of the playing time behind the plate to Girardi's 40 percent."^[15] During the 1999 season, Posada played in 112 games with 379 at-bats, while Girardi played in 65 games with 209 at-bats.^[16] While Girardi began the 1999 postseason as the regular catcher,^[16] Posada saw increased playing time.^[17]

2000–2007[link]

Posada had one of his best seasons in 2007.

Girardi left the Yankees as a free agent after the 1999 season to become a full-time catcher with the Chicago Cubs, which allowed Posada to become the Yankees' full-time catcher.^[18] With Girardi gone, the Yankees entrusted Posada with the everyday catching job.^[19]

Posada won a Silver Slugger Award for catcher every year from 2000 to 2003. He started the All-Star game at catcher in 2002 and 2003.^[20] In 2003, he hit 30 home runs (one every 16.0 at bats, ninth best in the league) and drove in 101 runs, both career highs. He batted .281 and was also fifth in the league in OBP (.405), and sixth in the league in walks (93; walking 17.5% of the time, a career high). He tied Yogi Berra’s record for most home runs by a Yankee catcher and finished third in the MVP voting.

In 2006, Posada posted his highest batting average and home run total since 2003. He also led the major leagues with 20 pinch hits.^[21] In addition, work with new first base coach Tony Peña, a former catcher, helped him improve his percentage of runners thrown out stealing second almost 60 points above his career average. He batted (.277) and had 23 home runs with 93 RBIs. On May 16, Posada led the Yankees to a victory despite falling behind by nine runs, matching the largest deficit the Yankees overcame for a victory in franchise history.^[22] He registered a +0.93 win probability added in that game, the highest of his career.^[23]

Posada batted .338, with 20 home runs, 90 RBIs, and career highs in hits (171) and doubles (42) in 2007. He joined Iván Rodríguez as the only two catchers in MLB history to record at least 40 doubles in two separate seasons.^[24] He was 3rd in the AL in on-base percentage (.426), 4th in batting average, 6th in on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) (.970), and 8th in doubles and slugging percentage (.543). Posada batted .395 in September, and became the first Yankee catcher since Thurman Munson, in 1978, to finish among the top 10 AL batting leaders. His longest hitless streak was only 11 at-bats. Posada is the first catcher to hit .330 or better with a slugging percentage of at least .540 and an on-base percentage of at least .420 since Mike Piazza in 1996–97. On the final day of the 2007 regular season, Yankees manager Joe Torre allowed Posada to act as the manager for the game,^[25] an honor that Torre traditionally bestowed upon a veteran player if the final game does not matter in the standings. The Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 10–4 to give Posada an unofficial win in his 'managerial debut'.

2008–2010[link]

Posada turned down a five year contract offer from the New York Mets^[26] to sign a 4-year, $52 million contract to remain with the Yankees.^[27]

On July 21, 2008, Posada was placed on the disabled list (DL),^[28] the first time he was placed on the DL in his career.^[29] Posada intended to recover from this injury in order to perform as designated hitter or first baseman. However, the team decided to acquire Xavier Nady, in order to allow him enough time to operate.^[30] On July 28, 2008, Yankees officially announced that Posada would undergo surgery to repair a glenoid labrum in his right shoulder and was placed on the injured reserve list for the 2008 season.^[31] The 2008 season was the first and only time the Yankees did not clinch a postseason berth when Posada was with the team. Posada did not participate until 2009 spring training.

On April 16, 2009, in the bottom of the 5th inning, he hit the first regular season home run in the new Yankee Stadium against Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians.^[32] On September 15, 2009, during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, a pitch was thrown behind Posada by Jesse Carlson. Posada eventually walked and scored after a base hit by Brett Gardner. Upon crossing home plate, Posada bumped into Carlson and was ejected. Posada continued having words with Carlson and triggered a bench-clearing brawl. In an interleague series against the Houston Astros in June 2010, Posada became the first Yankee since Bill Dickey in 1937 to hit a grand slam in back-to-back games.^[33] On July 23, 2010, Posada got his 1,000th career RBI against the Kansas City Royals.^[34]

2011[link]

Following the 2010 season, Posada had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.^[35] Posada was shifted to designated hitter for the 2011 season due to his declining defensive performance, while Russell Martin became the everyday catcher.^{[35][36][37][38]}

Posada during an at-bat in 2011, his final season

After starting the 2011 season in a slump, Posada was moved to ninth in the batting order for a May 14 game against the Boston Red Sox. Posada asked to be removed from the lineup. Posada told reporters that he needed time to "clear [his] head" and also mentioned some "stiffness" in his back as the reasons for his request. Manager Joe Girardi claimed he did not know about the "stiffness" but agreed to give Posada a day off because he thought he needed it "mentally".^[39] Posada apologized to Girardi and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman the next day saying he "just had a bad day" and a "very frustrating season so far". The team management declined to discipline him and considered the matter closed.^[40] Posada hit .382 in June,^[41] but was removed from the everyday lineup due to his .230 season batting average.^[42] On August 13, 2011, his first start since the benching, in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Posada went 3 for 5 with a grand slam and six RBIs. His grand slam was the tenth of his career, moving him past Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle for sixth place on the Yankees' all-time list.^[43] On August 25, 2011, he played second base for the first time in his Major League career during the ninth inning of the Yankees' 3-grand slam 22 to 9 victory over the Oakland Athletics; Posada recorded the final out by fielding a grounder.^[44]

On September 10, 2011, Posada played catcher for the first time all season against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after Russell Martin was injured by a foul tip, as Francisco Cervelli was unavailable to play and Jesus Montero was the DH for the game. Martin was taken out at the start of the 3rd inning and replaced by Posada. Posada went 1 for 2 with a single and threw out the only baserunner who tried to steal against him.^[45] On September 21, 2011, Posada hit a pinch hit, go-ahead two-run single in the bottom of the 8th inning, giving the Yankees the lead; the Yankees won the game to clinch the AL East division title.^[46] Posada finished the regular season with a .235 batting average, 14 home runs, and 44 RBI.

In the 2011 American League Division Series, Posada got six hits (including a triple), four runs, and four walks in 14 at-bats as the starting DH for a .429 batting average and a .579 on-base percentage. The Yankees eventually lost the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers in 5 games.^[47]

Retirement[link]

When asked by reporters after the 2011 ALDS if he had considered the fact he might have played for the final time with the Yankees, Posada said, "I don't want to look at it like that. We lost, and we'll see what happens in the off-season." As the interview session went on, he eventually became emotional and left the clubhouse area to compose himself.^[47] Girardi said, "This guy, when you look at what he did in this series, he was awesome. He's had a tremendous career, and I'm sure he's going to continue to play, and I don't know what's going to happen." Girardi added, "But you talk about being proud of players — what he went through this year and what he gave us in the postseason, I don't think there's a prouder moment that I've had of Jorge."^[47] Posada announced his retirement from baseball on January 24, 2012.^[48]

Personal life[link]

Posada's father, Jorge Posada, Sr., is Cuban, but fled to Puerto Rico to escape Fidel Castro's regime.^[5][49] Posada, Sr. worked as a scout for the Colorado Rockies. His uncle, Leo Posada, played for the Kansas City Athletics.^[50]

On January 21, 2000, Jorge married Laura (née Mendez)^[51], an attorney and former model and actress from Puerto Rico. They have two children, Jorge Luis and Paulina.

Posada's son, Jorge Luis, suffers from craniosynostosis, which he was diagnosed with 10 days after he was born.^[5] Jorge Luis has endured numerous surgeries to correct the condition. Posada established the Jorge Posada Foundation to help find a cure for the disease and support families with children affected by the condition. Jorge released a charity wine in 2008 called Jorge Cabernet to raise funds for his foundation.^[52] In June 2011, his son underwent what Posada hoped would be the final surgery for the condition.^[53]

Posada is close personal friends with teammate Derek Jeter, who served as best man at Posada's wedding.^[54]

Posada wrote a children's book entitled Play Ball! that was published in 2006.^[55] He and his wife cowrote Fit Home Team, a family health manual, and an autobiography titled The Beauty of Love: A Memoir of Miracles, Hope, and Healing, which describes their personal ordeals and how they dealt with them after learning of their son's birth condition in 1999.^[56]

Awards[link]

Posada receiving his 2009 World Series championship ring.

Publications[link]

• Posada, Jorge; Colon, Raul; Burleigh, Robert (2006). Play Ball!. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books. ISBN 978-1-4169-0687-2. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1416906878. Retrieved September 12, 2010. 
• Posada, Jorge; Posada, Laura; Williams, Bernie (2009). Fit Home Team: The Posada Family Guide to Health, Exercise, and Nutrition the Inexpensive and Simple Way. Simon and Schuster. http://books.google.com/books?id=sUWE5uFBImMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=fit+home+team&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OqwNT8OdMKmGiQK-kvmoBA&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=fit%20home%20team&f=false. Retrieved January 11, 2012. 
• Posada, Jorge; Posada, Laura; Haim, Monica; Torre, Joe (2010). The Beauty of Love: A Memoir of Miracles, Hope, and Healing. Simon and Shuster. ISBN 1-4391-0308-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=Jcqz9UdCDeEC&dq=the+beauty+of+love&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Retrieved January 11, 2012. 

See also[link]

	Puerto Rico portal
	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• List of Puerto Ricans
• List of Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1,000 runs batted in
• New York Yankees award winners and league leaders
• List of New York Yankees Opening Day starting lineups

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jorge Posada

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• The Jorge Posada Foundation