It Ain't Easy

The Making of a Legend by Rod Stewart (Reader’s Digest/Dec/2004)
"For me, just shaking his hand – knowing all the great musicians whose hand he’d shaken before –was mind-blowing. But so was John. Picture this elegant man with a proper English accent, never without a tie, a towering six-foot-seven. I was a huge fan and I was intimidated by his offer. Rod Stewart wasn’t in demand in those days; no one was interested. I immediately said yes. John had a knack for discovering talent. Ginger Baker, Jeff Beck and Brian Jones all worked with him early on. Elton John played piano in one of his bands, other Rolling Stones too – Charlie, Ron Wood, and Keith. In 1962, when the Rolling Stones were just getting started, they opened for him in London. Eric Clapton has said many times that John was one of the musicians that inspired him to play the Blues. And for their internationally televised special in 1964, the Beatles invited John to perform his version of 'I Got My Mojo Working'. In those days the only music we fell in love with was the Blues, and John was the first white guy singing it, in his wonderful voice. It was the true Blues and everyone looked up to him."
rod stewart

Just saw this at pogg, eh. As pogg says, "But for those of us of a certain age this one, too, seems like the end of an era."

To sound like the sort of aging boomer I detest, I saw Baldry live in, of all places, a bar in downtown Calgary. He was well past whatever zenith his career had but, complete with two girl backup singers, a horn section and a kickass rock and roll band he owned the room. While "Don't try to lay no boogie woogie on the king of rock and roll" is probably his best known song, the two Baldry songs which are part of the IPod in my head are "Flying" and "It ain't Easy". music