Happy Birthday Willie !!!! You know you gotta join me today (and tomorrow) in wishing our favorite legend a happy birthday …. 93 !! Icon, national treasure, one of America’s greatest artists, all of that and more . It’s still Willie’s planet and we’re all lucky to be here with him, but on a more personal note, Willie Nelson played a show in Asheville NC a couple of nights back, on the cusp of 93, my mother went to see him, she’s on the cusp of 90 herself. According to all reports, mom was on her feet the whole show, dancing and singing along to every song. She’s not an invalid by any means but still, that’s a bit unusual for an 89 year old lady, she was move by the power of Willie ! An artist that I love who’s music I love so much bringing such joy and happiness to someone who I love so dearly and who means the world to me ? This world can sometimes be such a beautiful place ! Thank you and happy birthday Willie Nelson ! @willienelsonofficial #willienelson

Well hey there, let’s all remember and celebrate the eternal maestro David Lindley today on his birthday ! Mr. Dave would have been 82 today. Lindley was (and remains) a totally unique, beautiful and mystical musical voice. He could play any stringed instrument and do it in the most expressive and moving way, he would lift any song he was on. He was a true sensei with the strongest of kung fu and a wonderful, one-of-a-kind human. Lindley was and continues to be my biggest inspiration, my musical alpha and omega. Lindley gave me a voice and a career, he showed me the way to a different path, I learned how and what to play from him, he’s the guy I stole just about everything I know from ! Here he is, patiently showing me how to carry a guitar across a (carpeted) floor, obviously my way was preposterous. I eventually learned. Thank you ! And happy birthday to the incomparable, irreplaceable Mr. Dave… David Lindley . #davidlindley

Farewell Bob Weir Thank you for all the beauty, all the wisdom, all the music . I’m, admittedly, more of a Jerry guy, but without Bob Weir there would be no Grateful Dead, and without the Dead… well, who would want to live in a world like that ? So thank you Bobby for everything, including helping to make this world a much better place! (and for Jack Straw, one of my all time favorite songs ) @bobweir #bobweir #jackstraw

Happy Birthday Rock ! Happy Birthday Jimmie Page ! Legend, genius, innovator, groundbreaker, earth shaker ! A studio wizard, a brilliant songwriter, The Patron Saint of Rock Guitar Laird of Tower House The Hammer of the Gods. Ladies and gentlemen, do you play guitar ? Like rock ? Happy birthday …. Jimmy Page !! @jimmypage

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this fantastic genius !!!…… Stephen Stills….. 81 ! Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, vocalist, a beautiful artist, a magnificent musician . There was a period of my life, in my younger days, where I for sure listened to his music every day in one incarnation or another; Buffalo Springfield, CSN, CSN&Y, Manassas, Stills-Young band and all of his solo work . His first solo record is still one of my all time favorite records,. The last song, We Are Not Helpless”, is sublime and still as relevant today (sadly) as it was the day he wrote it . Even at 81 he’s still the real deal ! If you get about like this in your band, you’ll make magic. Absolutely a true treasure ! Happy Birthday @stephenstillsofficial ! #stephenstills

Happy birthday KEIF !!! Keith Richards …. 82 ! You like rock ? You like Keith ! @officialkeef #keithrichards

Released 50 years ago today . I’m not really a big Pink Floyd fan But this record …….. If you know, you know, and if you don’t ….. how is that even possible ? Iconic, undeniable, beautiful, scary, bleak . Hello modern world…… from way back in 1975 . Shine on @pinkfloyd #shineonyoucrazydiamond

Powerful, soulful ..now he has crossed that last river. Farewell Jimmy Cliff. Songwriter, singer, actor, artist, activist, philosopher, star….. Legend. One of the first and now the last of Jamaica’s original heroes. This video is from the GQ Survivors series, created and directed by the fantastic photographer Mark Seliger and features myself on acoustic guitar. It was the start of me playing with Jimmy Cliff and I am forever grateful for the amazing blessing of that opportunity . His career was long, beautiful and varied. The part I played was really just a footnote but it is still one of the best, most satisfying things I’ve ever done. Jimmy Cliff was a wonderfully kind human, an exceptionally interesting historian and promoter of Jamaica, its beautiful culture, people and music, which he helped introduce to the world . He was a sage, a font of wisdom, a positive and uplifting force both spiritually and in the everyday life . His music is beautiful and fun but through it he always sought to share a subtle but powerful message; of hope, of kindness, of freedom and of love. Don’t sit in limbo,listen to the music, hear the message and let your faith lead you on. @jimmycliff @markseliger #jimmycliff Cliff

50 years ago today, or specifically, “later that night when her lights went out”, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald . The Great Lakes, Superior in this case, are beautiful but because of their geography and location can also generate some of the most vicious and brutal maritime weather. The vast majority of us can be thankfully unaware of this phenomenon, but the sailors know and the call the particularly nasty storms of this season the “Witch of November”. The Edmund Fitzgerald was one of the largest iron ore carriers to ever sail the lakes. With a crew of 29 men, including the captain; 29 solid, middle class, blue-collar guys just doing a solid blue-collar job, that also in this case could be deadly . Weather forecasting and information in 1975 was no where near as extensive and immediate as it is now, with ships relying on timed coast guard broadcasts and radioed observations from other vessels. On November the 9th the Edmund Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin. By the afternoon of the10th she was in the teeth of the Witch; facing hurricane force winds, ice, sleet and freezing rain with 35 foot high waves slamming into her. The captain radioed that he was having difficulties; they had a bad list, had lost both radar and were taking heavy seas over the deck in one of the worst storms they had ever been in, but no distress signal was ever sent, The last communication from the ship was “We are holding our own”. Somewhere in the freezing dark waters north of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula the Edmund Fitzgerald went down. “The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay if they’d put 15 more miles behind her”. There were no survivors and no bodies were ever recovered. “All that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters ”. Of course, its also the 50th anniversary of the “inception” of Gordon Lightfoot’s masterpiece, his song has an interesting history of its own and is one of the best “history ballads” ever written. Some people don’t like it (I’m even related to one of those people) but they’re wrong … it’s a masterpiece . #edmundfitzgerald #gordonlightfoot

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JONI MITCHELL !!♥️♥️ @jonimitchell … a beautiful 82 !! Joni remains one of the absolute greatest musical voices of our time . She is an incomparable songwriter, a beautiful voice, a fantastic musician, an incredibly original guitarist, a visionary, a far-reaching, ground breaking, uncompromising artist . A painter (both figuratively and literally) of the universe of human relation, emotion and existence . I’m currently out on tour and have been for most of the year, I’ve been blessed to have this career and to have such amazing sources of inspiration. If you know me you know how important David Lindley and Jackson Browne are to me, but Joni Mitchell is just as important, an equal star in the firmament. Lindley showed me how to play, Jackson showed me the road I wanted to travel, but Joni the whole horizon, the sky, the land, the spirit in it all . She’s the real thing . Happy Birthday Joni, the world is a more beautiful place because of you !! #jonimitchell @jonimitchell

Happy Birthday @jacksonbrowne !!! 77 !! It’s late on the 9th so I’m a little bit Late For this Guy …. But happy birthday , still ! I’m just getting off of a year of being on tour, an incredible experience and career that I pretty much owe all to this guy and his inspiration . Jackson is one of my all time absolute favorites OF ALL TIME !! Not just an amazing, fantastic and beautiful song writer, a musician and a career long activist ( a true environmental fighter ) but ….. he introduced me ( way back in the day ) to Mr. David Lindley; sensei, musical genius with such strong Kung fu , THE actual Greatest Of All Time ! Thank you Jackson for the music, the career you inspired and for introducing me to the splendor of Mr. Dave . To this day I still start every tour by sitting in the bus jump seat on the first drive after the first show and listening to …… Running On Empty . Maybe the single most important song in my life, a straight line from first hearing to who I am now . Thanks ! #davidlindley #jacksonbrowne

Happy Celestial birthday to the King of Blues Guitar . B.B. King was born 100 years ago today . A massive influence on pretty much every guitar player including myself . He was the king ….. He’s still the King ! #bbking