If you had to choose just one artist to listen to each day who would you choose?
I decided to go try and go through the alphabet. In the first week I would listen to a different artist each day starting with the letter A, and so on. Here’s my progress to date:
Tchaikovsky: From Swan Lake to the cannons of the 1812 Overture, we had it all today.
Texas: You don’t hear too much about them these days, just like the DIY store named after them, but nice to go back to them sometimes.
Bryn Terfel: The Welsh opera and concert singer who also records a range of genres showing off his voice. I’ve been playing him singing Shenandoah lately on my cemetery tours.
James Taylor: A great American singer-songwriter with a long career. A favorite of mine in the 70’s that’s for sure.
Richard & Linda Thompson: Good to go back and listen to ‘I want to see the bright lights tonight’ album and a few others again.
Barbara Thompson: an English jazz saxophonist, flautist and composer with a range of styles.
Traveling Wilburys: A group of well-known musicians that seemed to come together with a degree of mystery. Good to watch their videos on YouTube.
Steely Dan: I had a couple of their albums in my collection. It wasn’t until later did I realise that there is a heavy jazz influence in their music.
Sade: Another female singer songwriter that features in out CD collection and we played a lot in the 1990s.
Johann Strauss: I chose the younger Strauss to listen to today. Can’t beat a good waltz tune from time to time.
Alan Stivell: I just can’t recall how I got into French Celtic harp player Alan Stivell but like him I did. Never saw him live.
Paul Simon: Two for the price of one with Paul Simon today with some of his solo work then some Simon and Garfunkel to finish the day.
Stereophonics: All the way from Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley and a good Welsh band.
Squeeze: Refreshingly different and good songwriting.
Sergei Rachmaninoff: A bit of classical from this Russian pianist to start off the week.
Roxy Music: One of those days I didn’t enjoy as much as I thought I was going to. Some of the hits yes but not so much some of the other pieces.
Linda Ronstadt: I hadn’t realized she had so many different genres. Some real classics from back there in the 1970s.
Sonny Rollins: He has a massive back catalogue with some stuff that I very much enjoyed and other bits less so.
Nansi Richards: The famous Welsh harpist who helped popularise the instrument. Devised tricks such as playing the the harp backwards. Here’s an interesting pieces from Wiki: A frequently told, but possibly apocryphal, story about Richards involves one of Richards’ overseas trips, when she visited the home of corn flakes manufacturer Will Kellogg, who was looking for a marketing idea. Richards suggested the cockerel, inspired by a pun on the name Kellogg and the Welsh word “ceiliog”, meaning “cockerel”
Alasdair Roberts: A Scottish folk musician I hadn’t come across previously but worth a listen.
Tom Robinson: Some classic songs from my younger days such as Glad to be Gay and 2-4-6-8 Motorway. Also had a career as a radio presenter.
Queen: Starting off the week with the obvious Q. Lots of rock anthems amongst their discography.
Ike Quebec: An American jazz tenor saxophonist I hadn’t heard of before and well worth a listen.
Johann Joachim Quantz: A German composer, flautist and flute maker of the late Baroque period. (A friend told me this week that they stumbled upon a flute shop when walking around London. I said I bet it was on a side street).
Queens of the Stone Age: That’s enough to wake me up when I’m eating my porridge. Wow.
Quicksand: It’s not easy finding an artist/group from Wales starting with Q when there is no Q in the Welsh language. Managed to find and listen to Quicksand from Port Talbot.
Suzi Quatro: She was pretty unique it must be said in an era when there weren’t many female rock musicians around.
Queensberry Rules: A folk-rock band from Stoke I hadn’t come across previously.
Poco: Three artists this week I hadn’t listened to for ages but used to like a lot including Poco. I wonder what happened to them.
Paper Aeroplanes: Sarah Howells has a lovely singing voice. Saw her a couple of times in Paper Aeroplanes. Seen her once too in Bryde but not so keen.
Tom Paxton: Had pretty much forgotten about his work so it was great to revisit it this week.
Gram Parson: Another album I had forgotten I had. Those burglars got away with some gems!
Charlie Parker: A bit of a disappointment if I’m honest. How dare he say that about the Bird!
Puccini: Time for a bit of opera. Not too much you understand.
Elvis Presley: I remember coming back from town in the early hours one night and liberating an Echo newspaper headline hoarding ‘Elvis Presley Dead’. I look for it every so often but without success. His music has grown on me over the years.
Oasis: Enjoyed my Oasis day. Needs to be played with the volume up. I’ll risk offending people by saying the songs sound a bit samey.
Jacques Offenbach: German-born French composer and cellist. Well worth a listen.
Our Native Daughters: A group of four female black North American singer-songwriter banjo players. It works well.
Mike Oldfield: I never processed a copy of Tubular Bells but it is worth a listen every so often. Always a bit of mystery to me as to why it was so popular.
Sinead O’Connor: Lovely singing from this sadly troubled lady.
Oppressed: a Welsh Oi! band that formed in 1981 in Cardiff. Even made an album in Llanrumney Youth Club.
Maura O’Connell: We have some of her music on CD. I hadn’t realized how distinctive her voice is.
Ivor Novello: Cardiff born actor, dramatist, singer and composer. Heard a lot about him, seen the statue but never listened to the material which is very dated now. ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’ was about the only one I knew well.
Carl Neilson: Denmark’s most famous composer and deservedly so. Glad we listened to his tunes.
Bethan Nia: Welsh harpist. The word ethereal in the description of her music should have been a warning. Didn’t quite click for me.
Willie Nelson: I do like a good dose of Willie Nelson from time to time. Good voice on the man.
Randy Newman: Memories of watching Toy Story many times with the kids.
Nazareth: Would have struggled to name any of their tunes before listening to them but actually quite enjoyed our day listening to them.
Roger Nichols & the Small Circle of Friends: I told you artists starting with the letter N were hard to find. Think I found this one in a list generated by the Guardian. A 1960s American singer-songwriter.
Mozart: Plenty to go at with Mozart. His piano concertos were a regular in our house when I was growing up.
Van Morrison: Good singer-songwriter but a bit short on manners. Barged in front of me at a queue once at Dublin Airport without so much as a please or thank you. Funny the things you remember.
Joni Mitchell: Her album Blue must be one of the best ever and has stood the test of time.
Eddie Miller: I suddenly remembered that I had an Eddie Miller CD in my collection. Some people used to borrow CDs from the library and burn themselves a copy. Hard to believe.
Cerys Matthews: Welsh singer who was in Catatonia and then moved into radio and now publishing. I do like her singing voice.
Meat Loaf: Hadn’t realised he was born all the way back in 1947. Some classic anthems among his renditions.
Manic Street Preachers: Another band from Wales, Blackwood to be exact, with good longevity.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Shot to fame or at least came to my attention when they partnered with Paul Simon. Well worth a listen in their own right.
Al Lewis: Good Welsh folk singer who sings in both Welsh and English. I’ve seen him live a few times. We know his mum!
Lighthouse Family: Rich sounds. Good listening.
Lindisfarne: The first album I purchased and my fave band for a long time but failed to ever see them live which is a shame as I hear it was something to behold.
Little River Band: An Australian group from the 1970s. I was looking forward to listening to their music again but have to admit I was disappointed. Not as good as I remembered.
Tom Lehrer: I knew his song The Elements but little else. What a laugh or ought I say brutal/bleak/cruel ….. not quite sure.
Franz Liszt: Cheery piano pieces from this Hungarian composer. Not much percussion!
Carol King: An immensely popular singer-songwriter in the 1970s especially with her album Tapestry. She was certainly my most played female artist at the time. It was good to go back and listen to some of it again.
Lee Konitz: A new jazz artist for me, American born in 1927. Some good stuff in his discography.
Aram Khachaturian: I was struggling to think of a composer for K until Margaret came up with Khachaturian, remembering that his Adagio from Spartacus became the theme tune for the Onedin Line. Khachaturian uses folk tune influences in his compositions. He was born and is Tbilisi, Georgia to Armenian parents and is buried in Yerevan, Armenia.
Kris Kristoffenson: It took me years to discover Kris Kristoffenson for some unknown reason but I really like his country/folk music mix.
Michael Kiwanuka: Got to thank one of our boys for introducing us to the music of Michael Kiwanuka a few years back. A good find.
Kaiser Chiefs: Good high tempo stuff from this British band from the early noughties.
Mark Knopfler: The Dire Straits lead guitarist. We had a couple of his albums but hadn’t realised he had so many. I particularly like his work with Emmylou Harris.
Elton John: Honky Cat was the first single I purchased along with Bill Withers’s Lean On Me. I’ve seen Elton twice live but neither planned. Once he came on in the encore of an Eagles concert in Wembley Areana. Then in 2007 I saw him play a free concert in Independence Square, Kyiv.
Martyn Joseph: A Welsh folk singer I hadn’t come across until recently when I heard about someone going to see a concert of his locally. Also a very good golfer!
Joe Jackson: Someone I associate with appearing at the end of the punk era. Still releasing music and touring.
Janis Joplin: Two errors in a day here. First I got off a bus at Tredegar Park thinking I was going to Tredegar House. Then I listened to Janis Joplin thinking I was going to listen to Scott Joplin. Both worked out OK in the end.
Billy Joel: US singer-songwriter. Just had to be reminded that I have seen him play live at the NEC, far too big a venue to fully appreciate someone like that.
Norah Jones: Must admit I hadn’t even appreciated that Norah Jones was American. Nice gentle stuff.
Karl Jenkins: Another composer I hadn’t heard of until I was looking for a ‘K’. Shame on me – he’s even Welsh, and from the Gower. He used to be in the band Soft Machine. The Swedish influence in his music comes from his Swedish grandfather.
Dafydd Iwan: Welsh folk singer and politician. His song ‘Yma o Hyd’ (Still Here) has become somewhat of a football and other sporting anthem in recent years.
Jacques Ibert: Modern French composer but surprisingly melodic for someone so modern. I liked him. He he has written for a range of instruments.
Incredible String Band: I didn’t get on with them if I’m honest. Not melodic enough for me.
Abdullah Ibrahim: South African musician. I liked his jazz but was less keen on some of the other influences.
Gregory Isaacs: You just can’t beat a day of reggae once every couple of weeks.
Iron & Wine: American folk-rock singer songwriter with country influence I would say. New to me and a winner.
Isley Brothers: Put them in as I was struggling on artists starting with ‘I’ and enjoyed them more than I thought I was going to.
Joseph Haydn: I’ve always pronounced his name Hi Den and nobody has corrected me. Maybe because I don’t say it very often. Cheerful music. Must admit I was torn between Haydn and Handel. He’ll have to wait till the next time around.
Emmylou Harris: Is she folk or is she country, I never quite know, but I know I like he. Currently on her farewell tour apparently. Never caught her live.
Half Man Half Biscuit: Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs. Listened to with the lyrics scrolling which helped a lot.
Jools Holland: He’s become a bit marmitey, I think because his New Years Eve TV show upsets some. Saw him once with Squeeze on college in the 70s and with his band in the 90s.
Isaac Hayes: Picked him in error – I was thinking of someone else but can’t work out whom. Anyways, Isaac was just fine.
Frank Hennessy / The Hennessys: A Cardiff folk singer of Irish background. Hosts a fine weekly folk programme on BBC Radio Wales.
Hozier: An Irish singer from Bray, Ireland. Hard to pin down his genre with lots of influences coming through.
Vin Garbutt: An English folk artist from the north-east. Quite an unusual voice. Had never come across him until about 12 years ago when he played Coventry. Sadly he is no longer with us.
Greig: His music gently ambles along and then suddenly gets angry. Reminds me of when I’m out for a quiet walk and someone walks towards me on the wrong side of the path expecting me to jump out of the way.
Stan Getz: Another nice dose of gentle jazz saxophone to bring calmness to the day. Will have to go back to Stan. Enjoyed him a lot.
Arlo Guthrie: Son of Woody. American folk singer. He is very fond of his story telling and as a result tricky to listen to for a whole day. May be I should have chosen his dad.
Goldie Lookin Chain: A Welsh comedy hip-hop group from Newport. Best watched on YouTube. Some classic songs about Cwmbran and Newport. But didn’t manage a whole day of them!
Eddy Grant: From Guyana and plays happy catchy songs. Got into a spat with Donald Trump who used ‘Walking on Sunshine’ in this presidential campaign.
David Gray: UK singer-songwriter. White Ladder, one of tose albums we used to playe late at night in the 1990s.
Fairport Convention: The folk rock band that seem to have been around forever. Never made it to their annual Chiropody Festival but did catch them in Cardiff a few years ago.
Giacomo Facco: I was struggling to find a classical composer starting with the letter G but ended up finding a real gem in Giacomo Facco. He was an Italian Baroque violinist, conductor and composer. One of the most famous Italian composers of his day, he was completely forgotten until 1962. I liked him.
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours, an album/tape many of us probably wore out in the 1970s.
Elin Fflur: A Welsh singer now does a lot of TV and radio broadcasting.
Paloma Faith: We went to see her in Cardiff some years ago. Didn’t quite enjoy the music this week as much as I thought I was going to.
Ella Fitzgerald: Opposite to yesterday in that I enjoyed a day of Ella more than I had anticipated.
Fairground Attraction: Scottish folk and soft rock band. Not a large back catalogue but good to hear their early stuff again.
Edward Elgar: To me his music always sounds like it’s building up to something but never quite getting there. You could say he’s a bit of an enigma.
Eagles: Pretty much my favourite American 70’s band. Saw them once play Wembley Arena when Elton John came on as a guest to play encore with them. It finished so late we missed the last train back to Swansea so had to wait for the ‘milk train’ going back to Wales.
George Ezra: There was me thinking I was being all modern until Margaret reminded me he goes back a bit now.
Duke Ellington: Jazz pianist and orchestra leader. About time we had a bit of jazz piano after all that saxophone 😉
Tim Edey: Award-winning folk singer/composer who plays a multitude of instruments. Now bases himself in Scotland.
Earth Wind and Fire: Time for a bit of funk I thought. Not a band I ued to follow but nice for a change of genre.
Enekk: Brining back memories of our trip to the Faroe Islands in search of a pint of Guinness. Enekk is a highly regarded Faroese folk and jazz band known for blending traditional music with modern sounds.
Bob Dylan: A great way to start the week. Long been a Dylan fan. Loved the biopic ‘The Complete Unknown’ last year. Enjoyed him live at Earls Court and Blackbush Aerodrome in ‘78, less so in Birmingham years later when he did his thing of changing the tunes etc.
Dvořák: Czech composer influenced by folk apparently.
Dire Straits: Good to listen to with the volume turned up.
Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davies: Jazz saxophonist of varying styles. If you hunt around in his discography there’s some good mellow stuff in there.
Duffy: Welsh female vocalist with heavy jazz and soul influences. She has had a traumatic life which has unfortunately curtailed her musical output.
Doobie Brothers: I’m not going to introduce myself to new music if I keep playing these old classics. Another album where its good to turn up the volume.
Emily Duff: New York singer-songwriter with heavy country and soul. Saw her play live in a friend’s back garden last year.
Leonard Cohen: When I had my record collection stolen in the 1980s my joke used to be that I had the last laugh as there must be some very depressed burglars around as the collection included my Leonard Cohen albums.
Frédéric Chopin: Relaxing Chopin – something to do to the vegetables before cooking them. I never saw him live but did see him dead, or at least a part of him. After his death in Paris his heart was taken back to Poland and is buried inside a church in Warsaw.
CMAT: An Irish singer who goes by a shortened version of her name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson. A good recommendation from the younger family members. Meaningful lyrics.
CSNY: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Good harmonies from the 1970s. I’ve seen one of them live but can’t recall which one – that’s age for you! Crosby or Nash I think.
Clash: Memories of a mate playing this album to death when we lived in halls of residence. They played Swansea University live in May 1977. Still got the poster.
Conspiritas: The jazz offering this week was trio of Carolyn Ward on vocals, friend Paul Mason on sax/flute and Neville Cooper on guitar. Soothing stuff.
Cynefin: Welsh folk from Owen Shires, son of musician and harp maker Alan Shires.
J.S.Bach: I do like a bit of harpsichord music. Not too much. J.S.Bach wrote for all sorts of instruments and always melodic and cheery. I like that.
The Band: The Last Waltz is a smashing triple album of their last concert – or was it? I recall going to see the Martin Scorsese film of the concert in a cinema in Swansea when it came out in 1978.
David Bowie: I wouldn’t claim to be a dyed-in-the-wool Bowie fan, more a greatest hits fan, but it was good to listen to his back catalogue for a day.
Tore Brunborg: I was introduced to the sound of Norwegian jazz saxophonist Tore Brunborg when friend Paul Mason put together a great programme of tenor saxophonists for Malmesbury Community Radio back in 2020.
Jackson Browne: US singer song-writer though actually born in Germany and his mother, of Norwegian descent, came from Minnesota whose maiden name was Dahl. Saw in perform live when I lived in Minnesota.
Shirley Bassey: Nice to hear a bit of Shirl every so often. What a voice. Provokes very mixed reactions here in her hometown of Cardiff. Some love her whilst others felt she abandoned bit birthplace.
Beautiful South. Wrote some great tunes!
Joan Armatrading: I do like female singer-songwriters. The advantages of this challenge immediately showed through. There is a lot of her catalogue I’ve never listened to and it’s good. The only artist in this first week I have seen live and we were both far from home – Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis. I always thought she came from Birmingham but she was born in Saint Kitts and Nevis. An intensely private person with a BA in history.
Aswad: I also like a bit of reggae sometimes, but maybe a whole day of it is a bit much. I recall someone having an Aswad album in college and then forgot about them, only rediscovering them in later life. A London based group where their reggae has other influences in it such as R&B.
‘Cannonball’ Adderley: An American jazz saxophonist who died too young at 46. He covered a wide range of jazz genres some of which I like a lot more than others.
America: When people ask me what type of music I like then I invariably answer folk-rock. America was always one of my favorites, though I never caught them live. Maybe they didn’t leave America that often. I wonder if they have found a name for that horse yet?
Adwaith: By this stage in the week word was getting out about this challenge and the family were starting to chip in with suggestions. Adwaith are a Welsh indie-rock band from Carmarthen meaning ‘reaction’ in English. Good lively stuff.
Brian Auger: Jazz and rock pianist who used to play with Rod Stewart and Julie Driscoll (Wheels on Fire) and jammed with Clapton and Hendrix in his time. ‘Live at Bogies’ was my most played album this year according to Spotify. I haven’t seen him live but he has seen me perform. His uncle was Capt George Auger – The World’s Tallest Man, a subject of one of my talks. I first gave the talk during Covid by Zoom and Brian joined from his home in California. He’d only vaguely heard about George Auger previously and the family connection London born but still going strong in California at the age of 82. A charming man.
AnnenMayKantereit: Another good suggestion from the family. A German band singing in both German and English. My Spotify predicted age which this year was 82 will be falling like a stone at this rate.
Cardiff Capers 