During the past week I’ve been thinking deeply about music in Colorado. I got to sit and listen to Chuck Morris talk about music in Colorado going all the way back to the late sixties. It was illuminating to say the least. For a much more detailed look at music in Colorado I highly recommend G. Brown’s wonderful book Colorado Rocks: A Half-Century of Music in Colorado
Every one of the names below has a connection to Colorado…. be it an act that originated locally, an act that relocated here or grew up here and moved away… an album that was recorded here, an album that was produced by someone from here, and/or recorded in one of the many major award winning recording studios and/or released on Colorado record label… or a live release from a storied venue or festival like Red Rocks, Tulagi’s, Ebbett’s Field, Etown, or Telluride Bluegrass or Telluride Jazz… or by some other Colorado connection.
It’s an impressive list of names that have Colorado connections.
16 Horsepower, 3OH3!, Apples in Stereo, Philip Bailey, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Tommy Bolin, Cephalic Carnage, The Christines, Corey Harris, The Descendents, Dianne Reeves, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Firefall, Five Iron Frenzy, Flash Cadillac, The Fluid, Flobots, Fray, Richie Furay, Poco, Buffalo Springfield, Glen Miller, Dave Grissman, Great American Taxi, Leftover Salmon, Gregory Alan Isakov, Dave Grusin, Henry Butler, Jeff Finlin, Joe Cocker, Dan Folgelberg, Townes Van Zandt, Judy Collins, Johnny Smith, John Denver, Celeste Krenz, Mollie O’Brien, Tim O’Brien, Hot Rize, Nelson Rangell, OneRepublic, Otis Taylor, Samples, Tony Furtado, Keller Williams, Jill Sobule, Spring Creek, The String Cheese Incident, India.Arie, The Subdudes, Sugarloaf, Deep Purple, James Gang, the Eagles, Sally Van Meter, Nathaniel Rateliff, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Brandywine, Winger, Yonder Mountain String Band, Zephyr, Lilly Scott, Sally Taylor, James Taylor*, Michelle Shocked*, Lyle Lovett*, Richard Thompson*, Ani DeFranco*, Bobby McFerrin*, Rare Silk, Steve Earle*, Cowboy Junkies*, Joan Osborne*, Bruce Hornsby*, Shawn Colvin*, Bruce Cockburn*, Ben Harper*, Sarah McLachlan* Barenaked Ladies*, Sonia Dada*, Peter Himmelman*, Suzanne Vega*, Flaco Jimenez*, Michael Hedges*, Iris Dement*, Ed Stasium, Ron Miles, Dana Landry, Sam Bush, Jimmy Ibbotson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Acoustic Junction, Sherri Jackson, The Winebottles, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, The Moonrakers, Open Road, Bluegrass Patriots, Billy Nerschi, Kyle Hollingworth, Braddigan, Chuck Pyle, Tickle Me Pink, Allegeon, Pretty Lights, The Spell, Savoy, Bill Frissell, Kim Stone, Dressy Bessy, DeVotchKa, Uncle Earl, Julian Cope, Marshall Crenshaw, The Jeff Healey Band, Living Colour, The Long Ryders, Misfits, Rise Against, Motörhead, Reverend Horton Heat, The Smithereens, NSYNC, Ginger Baker, eminem, Styx, Steve Miller, Method Man, Redman and The Fugees, Kenny Rogers, Tony Bennett, Edwin McCain, Roberta Flack, Joe Walsh, Kenny Passarelli, Blood, Sweat and Tears, America, Badfinger, The Beach Boys, Jeff Beck, Mike Brewer, David Cassidy, Chicago (starting with Chicago VI), Phil Collins, Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Al Di Meola, Dio, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Sheena Easton, Peter Frampton, Michael Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Billy Joel, Elton John, Carole King, Kris Kristofferson, Michael Murphey, Stevie Nicks, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Tom Petty, Eddie Rabbitt, Return to Forever for their albums Romantic Warrior and Musicmagic, Tom Scott and the L.A. Express, Billy Joe Shaver, Shooting Star, Sons of Champlin, Souther Hillman Furay Band, Chris Hillman, Rod Stewart, Stephen Stills, Supertramp, U2, War, Tony Williams, Carl Wilson, Frank Zappa, Peter Kater, R. Carlos Nakai, Mary Youngblood, Eliza Gilkyson, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Midnight Oil, Shelby Lynne, David Gray, Indigo Girls, Tim Easton, Pops Staples, Susan Tedeschi, Jules Shear, Natalie Merchant, Rick Danko featuring Garth Hudson & Professor “Louie,” Patty Griffin, Randy Newman and others…
Chris K's Colorado Playlist 