But until then, as always, here's a fun project for you all to contemplate:
BEST OR WORST ROCK STAR'S KIDS TURNED PERFORMERS!!!!
And by "kids" we mean "hellspawn" who have followed in the footsteps of their rock star parents and embarked on a career, however brief or appalling, of their own.
Okay, here's my totally top of my head Top Nine:
9/8/7. Wilson Phillips [worst]
Along with Milli Vanillia and Richard Marx, these three represented the full flowering of the soulless corporate pop that dominated the early 90s, thus making grunge a historical imperative.
6. Jakob Dylan [best]
Not his dad, obviously, but a nice looking kid. Heh. Incidentally, I put this clip -- a cover of "Lawyers Guns and Money" with Warren Zevon's son Jordan -- up the other day, but I just had to post it again because it's so fricking good.
5/4. Nelson [worst]
Who was your favorite Nelson -- Matthew or Gunnar? Seriously, these kids sucked, but they nonetheless had the wit to hire William Wegman to photograph two of his weimeraners in blonde wigs for one of their album covers.
3. Zak Starkey [best]
With the Who at the Concert For New York City. I've watched this clip a zillion times, and Ringo's kid blows me away every time -- channelling Keith Moon and yet adding his own thing. Fabulous.
2. Kim Wilde ([best AND worst]
She couldn't sing much, but god, she was a dish. Incidentally, if you're wondering who her dad was, it was minor pre-Beatles Brit teen idol Marty Wilde.
And the number one rock star offspring, it's so obvious it's not even a fricking contest, is --
1. Jeff Buckley [best]
His father's son, obviously, and every bit as mesmerizing.
Awrighty then -- who would your choices be?
[Shameless Blogwhore: My parallel Father's Day movie listomania is now up over at Box Office. As always, if you could see your way to leaving a comment, an angel gets his wings.]
27 comments:
North Mississippi All Stars.
Uh, Julian Lennon? But I'm afraid he'd fall toward the worser end of the scale....
Rufus Wainright and Liam Finn are both pretty righteous. If you want a great best/worst/best amalgam, how 'bout tracing Hank Sr. to Hank Jr. to Hank III. Sr. and III are great, Jr. a caricature.
And though his dad isn't super famous, Finn Andrews of the Veils, son of Barry Andrews, keyboardist for the early XTC albums, produced one of my favorite albums of this decade in Nux Vomica.
Caleb Spencer.
BTW, is Chesney Hawkes somebosdy's kid?
I hear Van Halen's kid is no slouch, although I have no firsthand opinion.
Don't forget Sean Lennon (eh...), Ziggy Marley, Lisa Marie Presley (eh! again), Dweezel and Moon Unit Zappa, and Arlo Guthrie (though you really couldn't call Woody a rock star, could you?).
Petra Haden! (daughter of my favorite living jazzman, and her live solo deconstruction of "The Who Sell Out" was about the coolest thing I've ever
seen...)
(And if I may create a subdivision of "Sons of Famous Novelists," my main man James McMurtry owns it.)
- bill buckner
BTW, is Chesney Hawkes somebody's kid?
His father was one of the Tremeloes, of "Here Comes My Baby" fame...
Joe Sumner . band ,Fiction Plane..
hes no slouch
Not a Zep fan, but seeing Zak made me think of Jason Bonham ...
That Who clip stopped me in my tracks. Didn't Uncle Keith teach Zak a few things along the way? And Entwistle ... well, what can you say?
I can't think of too many rock/pop stars who have spawned others, but if you go out of the genre you have Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston ... and Harry Connick, Jr., who, imho, tops the list of the worst.
I'm glad someone mentioned Jason Bonham - he kicked all sorts of ass at the Zep reunion show in December.
And one only has to listen to Kenny Jones-era Who (the horror! the horror!) to realize how important Zak Starkey is/was to the reconstituted band.
And this one isn't QUITE kosher, but we have to mention Derek Trucks, nephew of Butch Trucks, and one hell of a bluesman.
This is pushing it, but French actress Emmanuelle Beart's dad was a famous bandleader in France.
Remember Neneh Cherry? Her dad is a famous jazzbo.
Another actress, Tracy Nelson was cute n' funny in Square Pegs and other shows; the daughter of Ricky Nelson (and sister of NELSON).
And come to think of it, Ricky Nelson was the son of bandleader Ozzie Nelson and singer Harriet (Hilliard) Nelson.
Nancy Sinatra.
(runs away)
Rosanne Cash is pretty terrific
You got Rocky Burnette and cousin Billy Burnette, sons of the pioneers Johnny and Dorsey Burnette. And there's Louise Goffin, of the Carole King/Gerry Goffin pairing.
I don't suppose Dino, Desi & Billy count, do they?
Kid C can remind us of the name, but he once sent me a terrific album made by Jimmy Webb's sons.
Best: Bebel Gilberto, daughter of Joao Gilberto (ok, bossa nova, not rock)
Kinda Worst: Gary Lewis (and the Playboys), son of Jerry Lewis (who must have sung in at least one of his movies?)
emma said...
Kinda Worst: Gary Lewis (and the Playboys), son of Jerry Lewis (who must have sung in at least one of his movies
I looked exactly like Gary Lewis in high school. How humiliating.
I didn't look like another pop star until the late 70s, when I was a dead ringer for Graham Parker.
I don't see any mention of him yet, so I'll put in a vote for Teddy Thompson, son of Richard and Linda. I saw Teddy playing with his father's band about a decade ago, and from what I've heard so far of his own CDs, he's no slouch himself songwriting-wise.
Teddy Thompson is no slouch indeed. Saw him at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in SF last fall - he dueted a tune with Emmylou Harris, no less. He's got a deadly combination of Richard and Linda's talented genes.
Jordan Zevon's stuff is pretty cool, too.
Another of Richard & Linda Thompson's children, Kamila, is gigging around and will have an album out within the next month or so.
Rosanne Cash is obviously the best, and Carlene Carter's not bad either.
I'd put Jeff Buckley in the absolute worst category - everything that was annoying about his father (which was a lot), with an added overlay of NYC rich-kid hipsterism. Gag.
Oh, and I'll put in a good word for the Drive-by Truckers' Patterson Hood, son of Muscle Shoals sessionman Roger Hood.
And another possibility: Not quite from the RnR era, but Elvis Costello's dad was a popular big band leader in the UK.
Ever heard Ricky Wilde's "I Am an Astronaut"? Marty's first stab at making a kid a rock star, but it was 1973, the kid was 13, and the end result is one of the weirdest and most awesome glam-rock one hit wonders of the era. Well worth tracking down. Grown up Ricky was a producer on Kim's album, by the way...
Woulda been cool if Jakon sported a Vincent Price 'Stache ala his daddy. If anyone knows him, please pass the suggestion along. BTW, I was the one who yelled "10th Avenue Freezeout" when they were about to play "6th Avenue Heartache" at the Troubador back in the day.
Whoops "Jakon" = "Jakob"
Post a Comment