William Kates

William Kates thought that maybe instead of the normal bio, the reader might be interested in a musical history. Not counting "How Much is That Doggie in the Window," his first record was Meet the Beatles, given him by his mom when it first came out (this'll date him for sure). At a very young age, he was both amazed and delighted to discover that you could actually buy the songs you heard on the radio, which then were 45-rpm vinyl singles. His first single was "Silhouettes" by Herman's Hermits. His first concerts were the Beatles in 1966, Cream in 1968 and Blind Faith in 1969, all pre-driver's license.

Thus began a lifelong fascination with live and recorded music, albums, singles, reel-to-reels, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, dat tapes, videotapes, laserdiscs, DVDs and mp3s. That fascination gradually grew to include all types of music and all forms of media and included a six-year radio career during and after college before being lured by his dad to join the family business (no, not "waste management"). During his radio days, he briefly wrote a music column for the Lancaster (Pa.) Independent Press, for whom he had the pleasurable assignment of attending several Yes tour rehearsals at the Millersville College gymnasium -- and no, he didn't know Tom Knapp back then.

In the '60s, the Beatles ruled, of course. In the '70s, Emerson Lake & Palmer gave way to Yes, Genesis and Jackson Browne, later to be supplanted by Bruce Springsteen. He remembers being at a Springsteen concert (the River Tour) at the Philadelphia Spectrum the night John Lennon was shot. In the '80s, Bruce gave way to Chris Rea. In the '90s, Dougie MacLean took over the top spot, and was later joined by Del Amitri, Texas and the Average White Band, completing a foursome from Scotland that are still going strong. He also has a soft spot for way too many additional artists to list here. Being somewhat of an exception among folks in his age bracket, he still tries to get out to hear live music whenever possible, generally preferring small clubs to large concert halls. He can be reached via e-mail at this address, and you can read more at his music blog.

Reviews by William include:

Asleep at the Wheel
• Live at Billy Bob's Texas

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
• Voices of Other Times

Patti Austin
• For Ella

Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham
• The Ruby

Robin Bullock, Al Petteway & Amy White
• A Midnight Clear

Solomon Burke
• Soul Alive!

Craig Chaquico
• Midnight Noon

Donna Dean & the Amazing Rhythm Aces
• Money

Deuter
• Buddha Nature

Finn MacCool
• Sherdhana's Hand

Julia Fordham
• Concrete Love
• That's Life