Welp, we’ve made it to May y’all. This year has been yet another infuriating, soul-crushingly brutal slog. I’m furious and exhausted. And if you have a conscience and a soul, you feel the same. There isn’t an easy way out of this hell.
But there’s music, art, small pleasures, and every day joys. We’ll cling to that as much as possible in between fighting for the rights and futures for our loved ones — and ourselves.
Of course, with this site, it’s important to show respect to our legends and our contemporary artists. And to that end, let’s get to it:
- The legendary godfather of soul, the Soul Brother #1, James Brown was born 93 years ago on May 3
- Interpol’s Paul Banks celebrated his 48th birthday on May 3
The equally legendary Frankie Valli celebrated his 92nd birthday on May 3. As the front man of The Four Season and as a solo artist, Valli has 39 Top 40 hits — 29 with The Four Seasons, one under the Four Seasons side project The Wonder Who? and nine as a solo artist, including the Grease theme song “Grease.”
Valli along with Four Season original lineup, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi and Bob Guadio, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 1999. He was also awarded a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame last year — a joint star for himself and for his bandmates. And in the last Grammy Awards, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award — somehow marking his first and only Grammy Award win.
Happy belated birthday, legend!
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The Joy of Violent Movement is a completely independent and completely D.I.Y. media outlet. Over the course of this site’s 15+ year history, I’ve used my fiercely independent stance to cover music with an eclectic and global perspective that a lot of other publications just don’t have — and will likely never have.
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