Levon Helm, who was born the son of cotton farmers on May 26, 1940 in Elaine, Arkansas, is celebrating his 70th birthday today. Happy Birthday Levon! p.s. You too, Stevie Nicks (who is 62 today).

The Band- Up On Cripple Creek

The Band- The Weight

There’s been a bit of a Rolling Stones and Gram Parsons theme this week so I figure I’ll just continue right on it with it. Here are photos of Gram Parsons, Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg’s 1969 trip to Joshua Tree National Park. Thanks to The Selvedge Yard for originally posting these photos.  The Selvedge Year is an amazing photography site where I swear you’ll end up spending hours perusing all of the different albums. I recommend his photos sets “When There’s Nothing Else To Lose, And Nothing Left But The Wind...”, which features photos of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and many others on their motorcycles, “Photography of William Gedney | An American Archive, Kentucky“, which features photos from Kentucky in the 1960s and 1970 and “The Ultimate Retro Sexy Man Caves“, which…well…I think the title says enough. More Joshua Tree photos are after the jump.
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Tallest Man on Earth has recorded a cover of Paul Simon’s tune “Graceland” for the b-side to his single “King of Spain” and sold exclusively on his European tour.  He released his second album, The Wild Hunt, last month and it is by far one of the best releases of the year. I highly recommend getting yourself a copy asap.

MP3: Tallest Man On Earth- Graceland (Paul Simon cover)

The Beach Boys- Cotton Fields

The Beach Boys, featuring Red Rhodes on steel guitar,  with their 1969 cover of Lead Belly’s “Cotton Fields.” While not a hit in the US, the tune was a top ten hit around the world (e.g. #1 in Australia, #5 in Japan) and so was placed on the international release of the group’s 1970 record Sunflower.

Fred Neil and Gram Parsons- You Don’t Miss Your Water

Fred Neil and Gram Parson’s version of  William Bell’s tune “You Don’t Miss Your Water” from Neil’s 1971 record The Other Side of This Life. Parsons is playing piano and singing backup vocals.

We are giving away three (3) pairs of tickets to see Sweden’s First Aid Kit on Tuesday, June 1st at the Bootleg Theater. Samantha Crain and Whispertown (Morgan Meyn) are supporting. To win tix, e-mail whenyouawakela @ gmail.com (subject: First Aid Kit) and tell us your favorite song about healing/getting better (e.g. The Beatles’ Getting Better or Elton John’s Healing Hands). Include your first and last name in the email. Three winners will be picked and contacted.

First Aid Kit- In The Morning

Samantha Crain- Songs in the Night

Linda Ronstadt – Tumbling Dice/ You’re No Good

Linda Ronstadt rockin’ out to the Rolling Stone’s “Tumbling Dice” live in Atlanta in 1977 before going into her 1975 hit “You’re No Good.”

Vinyl Picks: a weekly column were we recommend three vinyl records that any When You Awake reader should own. First up, we have Lee Hazlewood’s 1970 record Cowboy in Sweden.  The auction is set to end on May 23rd and currently has one bid at $9.00. Click here to check it out.
MP3: Lee Hazlewood- No Train To Stockholm

Next up, we have The Band’s 1968 debut record Music From Big Pink. The auction is set to end in FOUR HOURS AND FIFTY MINUTES (from the time of this post) and currently has two bids at $2.99. Click here to check it out.
MP3: The Band- Tears of Rage

Lastly, we have Graham Nash’s 1971 solo record Songs For Beginners. The record featured many notable musicians and special guests including Jerry Garcia, Rita Collidge, Dave Mason, Phil Lesh and Dallas Taylor among others. They have the Buy It Now option set up (no bidding required) for $4.95. Click here to check it out.
MP3: Graham Nash- Simple Man