I learned today of the passing of the great Delaney Bramlett. This guy was one of the greats. I recorded with him just last spring for a recently released CD, A New Kind of Blues. In addition to this early video, there are many youtubes with his former wife and partner Bonnie, and this link points to a video that summarizes his importance to so many iconic musicians. There's a recent interview with Delaney about his long and amazing career here. He'll be sadly missed.Susie Madrak adds:"Lord, Lord, what a welcome they must have planned tonight for that man. Imagine the reunion with his old friends Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Gram Parsons, Duane Allman and George Harrison. (I'm sure Jerry Wexler is recording tonight's jam. I hope someday I get to hear it.)I got to see Delaney, Bonnie & Friends when I was 15, at Philadelphia's original Electric Factory, and it was a musical peak I've never quite experienced with any other band. They were gospel, roots and rock - truly a religious experience. I still listen to their music just about every day; "Motel Shot" is one of my top five favorite albums of all time.When I read the Clapton autobiography, I was surprised but not shocked to read that after Delaney and Bonnie was the opening act on a Blind Faith tour, Clapton actually wanted to quit the supergroup and tour with them instead.Their music just had that kind of effect on people.Delaney worked with anybody you'd care to think of. He was a major influence; when you listen to Americana roots music, you're listening to him and Bonnie.He was a producer as well, having worked with people like Etta James, Elvin Bishop, John Hammond, Dorothy Morrison (of "Oh Happy Day" fame), and The Staple Singers.I always thought he sang like an angel. Now it's true.
I know several couples right now who would break up in a minute if they had any equity left:
Chalk up another victim for the crashing real estate market: the easy divorce.
With nearly one in six homes worth less than the mortgage owed on it, according to Moody’s Economy.com, divorce lawyers and financial advisers around the country say the logistics of divorce have been turned around. “We used to fight about who gets to keep the house,” said Gary Nickelson, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. “Now we fight about who gets stuck with the dead cow.”
As a result, divorce has become more complicated and often more expensive, with lower prospects for money on the other side. Some divorce lawyers say that business has slowed or that clients are deciding to stay together because there are no assets left to help them start over.
“There’s an old joke,” said Randall M. Kessler, Ms. Needle’s lawyer. “Why is a divorce so expensive? Because it’s worth it. Now it better really be worth it.”
In a normal economy, couples typically build equity in their homes, then divide that equity in a divorce, either after selling the house or with one partner buying out the other’s share. But after the recent boom-and-bust cycle, more couples own houses that neither spouse can afford to maintain, and that they cannot sell for what they owe. For couples already under stress, the family home has become a toxic asset.