Greg Mitchell is the author of more than a dozen books (see link) and now writer/director of three award-winning films aired via PBS, including “Atomic Cover-up” and “Memorial Day Massacre” which are still up at PBS.org. Watch trailer for my acclaimed 2025 film “The Atomic Bowl.” Before all that, he was a longtime editor of the legendary Crawdaddy. At Blue Sky and Twitter: both as @gregmitch. You can still subscribe to this newsletter for FREE.
Have to say, I felt quite surprised and pleased about this turn of events. I could not watch the live, three-hour, streaming-on-Peacock celebration of fifty up and down years of “SNL last night and the musical guest list did not excite me overall. So I planned to post a song below from one of the four “SNL” rehearsals I was able to attend (one of my wife’s best friends worked on the show’s “Weekend Update” segment for many years)—the fantastic 1989 Neil Young performance of “Rockin in the Free World.”
So imagine when I learned via social media that Jack White closed the show at Radio City and led with his rendition of the song, nearly note for note, loud and frantic but still not on a par with Neil’s performance and stage wildness, as you’ll see in the clip below (picture quality not the best but that’s all that exists).
No full clip of White’s tribute that I can post but here are a couple of links tthat may or may not help you:
https://x.com/i/status/1890616992538714486
https://x.com/i/status/1890632573367296007
Now let’s move on to correcting a Favorite Mistake, headline from Variety: “Sheryl Crow Says 'So Long Tesla' and Dumps Her Car in Reaction to 'President Musk,' Donating Proceeds to NPR.” Well, if it makes her happy it can’t be bad, right?
Now a note from Joan Baez to singer Renee Fleming:
What could go wrong? From CNN:
Trump administration officials fired more than 300 staffers Thursday night at the National Nuclear Security Administration — the agency tasked with managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile — as part of broader Energy Department layoffs, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.
Sources told CNN the officials did not seem to know this agency oversees America’s nuclear weapons.
And then there’s this:
President Trump has been busy upending the federal government, reorienting U.S. foreign policy, threatening trade wars and winning confirmation for his Cabinet choices. But he has managed to find time for a project closer to home: He has told associates that he wants to rip up the grass in the Rose Garden, one of the White House’s most iconic and meticulously maintained spots, and replace it with a hard surface to resemble a patio like the one he has at Mar-a-Lago.
Ending on a light note, this press release:
CBS PRESENTS “RINGO & FRIENDS AT THE RYMAN,” A TWO-HOUR SPECIAL FEATURING RINGO STARR AND SOME OF COUNTRY MUSIC’S BIGGEST NAMES, AIRING MONDAY, MARCH 10
Guest stars include music icons Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Sarah Jarosz, Brenda Lee, Larkin Poe, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and Jack White. Proceeds will support the American Red Cross and those impacted by the California wildfires.
Ask what your country can do to you
Barry Blitt:
I caught Neil's performance in 1989 by sheer luck. I had stopped watching SNL regularly by then and happened to tune in that night when he tore the stage to pieces. To me it remains one of the best live performances of all time. It was just incredible to witness. It still is.
A sincere thank you!