Philip Joseph "Phil" Alvin (born March 6, 1953) is an American singer and guitarist. He is known primarily as the frontman of the roots rock band The Blasters.
Biography
Alvin grew up in Downey, California in a music-loving family where he and his younger brother Dave Alvin were exposed to blues, rockabilly, and country. Inspired and influenced by the music they grew up with, Phil and Dave formed the rock and roll band The Blasters in the late 1970s with fellow Downey residents Bill Bateman and John Bazz. The group released four studio albums between 1980 and 1985. While never achieving mass market success on the music charts, the group's recordings and concerts drew critical acclaim and a cult following across the United States and Europe.
In 1986, after The Blasters had disbanded, Alvin released a solo album, Un "Sung" Stories. He then returned to graduate school at California State University, Long Beach, where eventually earned a master's degree in mathematics and artificial intelligence. Incidentally, before launching his music career, Alvin had taught mathematics at the same university.
Coordinates: 51°30′35″N 0°03′28″W / 51.5097°N 0.0579°W / 51.5097; -0.0579
The Highway, formerly known as the Ratcliffe Highway, is a road in the East End of London.
The route dates back to Roman times. In the 19th century it had a notorious reputation for vice and crime and was the location of the infamous Ratcliff Highway murders. The name 'Ratcliffe' literally means 'red cliff', referring to the red sandstone cliffs which descended from the plateau on which the road was situated down to the Wapping Marshes to the south.
Location
The Highway runs west-east from the eastern edge of London's financial district, the City of London, to Limehouse. It runs parallel to and south of Commercial Road, the Docklands Light Railway and Cable Street. It connects East Smithfield and the Limehouse Link tunnel.
The road forms an unofficial boundary of Wapping, which lies between the River Thames and The Highway. It is also close to Shadwell Basin to the southeast, Tower Hill to the west, and Whitechapel and Stepney to the north.
The Big Road (Chinese: 大路; pinyin: Dàlù), also known as The Highway, is a 1934 Chinese film directed by Sun Yu and starring Jin Yan and Li Lili. It is a silent film but with music and sound effects added post-production. The film deals with a group of workers who are constructing a highway for use in the war against the Japanese.
The Big Road features the brief full-frontal nudity of a group of young men skinny-dipping in a river, while being observed by two women, a scene described as "very advanced for the time".
The Big Road was named the 30th greatest Chinese film ever made by the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2004.
Plot
Six cheerful young men work hard during the Second Sino-Japanese War constructing a highway which will enable the Chinese army to send men and logistics to the frontline against the Japanese. Deputy Hu, a hanjian, initially tries to bribe them, but later locks them up in a cell when they refuse to halt the construction and flee. Two girls from a local eating house who befriend them manages to rescue them, but one of the six men died in the process. The workers finish the highway on time, but end up sacrificing their lives after being gunned down by Japanese fighter aircraft once their work is completed.
The Highway is the third studio album from recording artist Holly Williams. Release on February 5, 2013, the album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
Track listing
Charts
References
"Key to the Highway" is a blues standard that has been performed and recorded by several blues and other artists. Blues pianist Charlie Segar first recorded the song in 1940. Jazz Gillum and Big Bill Broonzy followed with recordings during 1940–41, using an arrangement that has become the standard. When Little Walter updated the song in 1958 in an electric Chicago blues style, it became a success on the R&B record chart. A variety of artists have since interpreted the song, including Eric Clapton, who recorded several versions.
Original recordings
"Key to the Highway" is usually credited to Charles "Chas" Segar and William "Big Bill" Broonzy. Broonzy explained the song's development:
Segar's lyrics are nearly the same as those recorded by Broonzy and Jazz Gillum. The verses use the theme of the itinerant bluesman leaving to travel the highways after breaking up with his lover:
I got the key to the highway, billed out and bound to go
I'm gonna leave here runnin', because walkin' is much too slow ...
Give me one more kiss mama, just before I go
'Cause when I'm leavin' here, I won't be back no more
Podcasts:
Phil Alvin
ALBUMS
- Common Ground released: 2014
- Un "Sung Stories" released: 2012
- County Fair 2000 released:
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by Charlie Musselwhite
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by Derek & The Dominos
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by Steve Miller
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by Keith Richards
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by Cream & Eric Clapton
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by Big Bill Broonzy
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by Rick Derringer
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by Dave Hole
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by Band
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by B.B. King
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by Steve Miller Band
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by Muddy Waters
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by The Band
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by Blues Band
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by Eric Clapton
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by Freddie King
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by Luther Allison
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by Little Walter
Key to the Highway
by: Charlie MusselwhiteI've got the key, to the highway,
billed out my Reno and bound to go
I'm gonna leave here running,
because, walkin' is most too slow
Give me one more kiss, mama,
just before I have to go
when I'm gonna leave this town, girl
Ain't coming back down no more
I'm goin' back back to the highway,
where I'm better known
Because, you haven't done nothin',
but drove, a good man away from his home
Well it's so long, so long baby,
I'm gonna say goodbye
I'm gonna roam this ole highway,
until the day I die
When the moon peep over the mountain,
I'll be on my lonesome way
I'm gonna roam this ole highway,