Tribute Video to Joe Strummer (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002): “Redemption Song”

John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), better known as Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead singer of the English punk rock band The Clash. He was also a member of The 101’ers, The Mescaleros and (temporarily) The Pogues. November 2003 saw the release of a video for Redemption Song, directed by Josh Cheuse. The video features the painting of a More.. memorial mural on the wall of the Niagara Bar in the East Village of NYC. The death of Joe Strummer, at the age of fifty, on December 22, 2002 came as a deep shock. Strummer died suddenly on in his home at Broomfield in Somerset, the victim of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. However the colossal response of the media to Joe's passing was a tribute to his enduring status as a musical archetype and legend. For example, in addition to front-page coverage in most major newspapers, The London Times also ran a respectful editorial lamenting his demise; television news carried lengthy tributes; at the Newcastle-Liverpool match at St James's Park on Boxing Day, before a crowd of 52,000 football fans, a minute's silence was held for the former Clash frontman before kick-off, an extraordinary gesture, but one that showed how Joe's combination of toughness and sensitivity touched people's hearts. There is no exaggeration in the way that he is now spoken of as part of a tradition of folk protest singers stretching back to the likes of Woody Guthrie, on an iconic level with the likes of John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Bob Marley. In fact, Streetcore, Joe Strummer's new CD,recorded largely with his group the Mescaleros, includes a version of Marley's reflective masterpiece "Redemption Song," which he had recorded with the American producer Rick Rubin; always an adept reinterpreter--you think of such classics as "Police and Thieves," "I Fought the Law," and "Brand New Cadillac"--Joe's version of the song that is perhaps Marley's greatest work is almost as extraordina...

Channel: LiveLeak Video Length: 0s Date Found: Tue, Jul 27 2010 8:59 PM Category: Entertainment Date Produced: Sun, Dec 21 2008 12:00 AM View Count: 0