If you’ve been paying attention at all over the last 7 plus years, you know that music is a huge part of my life. Not only has it been a part of my livelihood, but it is a constant soundtrack to my existence. I wake up to it, go to sleep to it, and just about everything in between. What kind of music, you ask?

All kinds. Or maybe more accurate would be “most all kinds”. Now, when many if not most people say “all kinds”, I find that they mean everything that is played on KISS-FM in a given day. Or, if they are over, say, 35, everything that is played on WARM-98 on a given day. And, btw, the last time I listened to a WARM-98ish station, I heard music that was “that crazy rock&roll” to my parent’s generation, and was condemned, along with my generation’s shoulder-length hair and bell-bottoms.

And yes, I had both, thanks for asking…

…but I digress…

Now I’ve been around for 65+ years. I’ve been to a bunch of places on this here planet and my musical tastes have been shaped by that duration and diversity. My go to radio station, that provided the soundtrack to my cross country relocation from L.A. to Cincinnati, is BBC-1, the pop / dance channel of the BBC family. One of my favorite singers, and in a perfect world a future ex-wife, is Mariza, a Moroccan / Portuguese singer who sings Fado, a type of Portuguese blues. Tom Jones is a favorite, partially because Mom LOVED Tom Jones, on many levels.. I love Robbie Williams, a master entertainer on stage and human train wreck off of it. And for my money, Pavarotti was the greatest pure classical voice I’ve ever heard, and Jennifer Hudson the greatest living singer.

All of that to say that there is some diversity in my diversity.

Now, how does that relate to this particular blog? Well, music is also a soundtrack to my workouts. Since I discovered Shokz headphones, back when they were “Aftershokz”, around 8 years ago or so, music has been a regular accompaniment to my running and gym workouts. I have several workout playlists, and even a mixtape I used when I taught kickboxing back in the day. I also use some of Apple music’s workout lists, though they are hit & miss because of my tastes. But what I’ve been doing lately, when I’m on the stationary bike or elliptical, is going to YouTube and playing videos. The music and visuals get me through what can be a long 30-ish minutes. Now, I’ve already shared my favorite workout tunes, in a previous piece, so this time I’m going to share some of my fav You Tube workout videos.

So, here they are, in no particular order;

Robbie Williams, Live at Knebworth- “Let Me Entertain You” Again, I’m a long time fan of Robbie, but never listened to this song for the longest time, because I thought it was the song from the musical “Gypsy”. It most definitely isn’t, a him performing it in front a couple hundred thousand screaming fans will help you keep on keeping on . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cqUvLvVYFE&list=RD4cqUvLvVYFE&start_radio=1

Chris Stapleton & Justin Timberlake CMA Performance “Tennessee Whiskey” & “Drink You Away” You might not think of “Tennessee Whisky” as a motivational piece, but this live mash up, complete with horns and a kick ass rhythm section, will grow on you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRyq3oGqXTQ&list=RDeRyq3oGqXTQ&start_radio=1

Eric Church & Lzzy Hale, 2014 CMAs, “That’s Damn Rock & Roll” I like Church, and think he is truly a unique country performer, but Lzzy Hale, this tall rocker in CFM high heels, playing a flying V guitar and singing her ass off, steals this video. You can literally see the celebrities in the audience looking at each other and going “Who the @#%! is this?? So good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnr4XL0icB8&list=RDcnr4XL0icB8&start_radio=1

Joss Stone & Tom Jones – Princes Trust Concert “Ain’t That A Lot Of Love”. Tom laying it down and Joss being the barefoot wailing nymph that she is. And, at the 2:13 minute mark, the dude in the audience yelling at some sitting patrons “Get Up!!! That’s F@#%ing Tom Jones” kills me every time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOJSpFmNOeQ&list=RDaOJSpFmNOeQ&start_radio=1

Robbie Williams & Joss Stone – Brit Awards, 2005 “Angels” Again, I know it’s a slow song, and not popular here in the states. But the collaboration between Robbie & Joss is electric, at least to me. So, maybe a good cooldown / stretch piece. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szkJTNvjykE&list=RDszkJTNvjykE&start_radio=1

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Live in Barcelona, 2016 “The Rising” Honestly, this whole concert, Badlands. Thunder Road, and of course Born to Run, with all of the original E-Street band, in front of a crazy Spanish crowd, is great stuff. Little Stevie, Clarence, Patty, Max, Neils, and the Boss at the peak of their power. Oh Yes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9LpsP0goJ8&list=RDA9LpsP0goJ8&start_radio=1

Mariza – Live in Lisbon “O Gente Da Minha Terra” Definitely cool down stuff, but her voice, and the music itself, is mesmerizing. And in front of her people, she has an emotional moment, which is what Fado is all about. Yes, I have teared up listening to it. You got a problem with that?? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Ip-uUhaoI&list=RDS2Ip-uUhaoI&start_radio=1

Red Clay Strays, “On My Knees” Uptempo Gospel Bluegrass, but it rocks. And the lead singer has a lot of young Elvis in him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL2qMwz_SUM&list=RDrL2qMwz_SUM&start_radio=1

And a new one for me…

Leonid & Friends “Boogie Wonderland” I just stumbled into these guys, an Eastern European group that does covers of EWF, Chicago, Tower of Power, etc. Full strings & brass, full arrangements with great musicianship, and the vocals are good, and when their accents come in every once in a while, it’s a giggle. Check them out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQCpWw9dNRk&list=RDiQCpWw9dNRk&start_radio=1

OK, that’s it That should give you a start. Use your tastes and make your own. I guarantee it’ll get you through a down day at the gym before you know it.

Talk Later,

Bob