Hook – Blues Traveller & No Woman No Cry – Ziggy Marley featuring John Popper (Live)

John Popper is one of the coolest frontmen of his era, and I really love Blues Traveller‘s music. I was going to take the route of a lesser-known song, but I just recently watched a couple of live performances of theirs, and I was totally blown away by a couple performances in particular. One, was a performance of perhaps their biggest hit “Hook“, live from Howard Stern‘s birthday, and another of John joining Ziggy Marley for a cover of one of my personal top five songs of all time, Bob Marley‘s “No Woman No Cry“.

I love irony, and “Hook” is a pretty hilarious and ironic jab at popular music. The fact that even to this day, the first verse goes over people’s heads cracks me up.

It doesn’t matter what I say
So long as I sing with inflection
That makes you feel that I’ll convey
Some inner truth of vast reflection
But I’ve said nothing so far
And I can keep it up for as long as it takes
And it don’t matter who you are
If I’m doing my job then it’s your resolve that breaks

Because the hook brings you back
I ain’t telling you no lie
The hook brings you back
On that you can rely

John’s vocals in the performance of “Hook” are just out of this world, and he is probably just as talented when it comes to playing harmonica. If you thought shredding only applied to guitar, check out his harmonica solo on Stern. Good lord.

If I could pick only one of these performances to recommend, I’d probably have to go with the cover of “No Woman No Cry,”. It’s honestly one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen, and it’s at Red Rocks, one of the coolest (maybe the coolest, actually) venues of all time.

Link to Stern – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2i8IJOpwho

Link to No Woman No Cry – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zk0HFG5mDw