Thursday, August 20, 2009

Classic Rock Videos

Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want

Ask Mr. Music - Jerry Osborne

I am continuing our new feature: Ask "Mr. Music." Now in its 23rd year of syndication (1986-2008), Jerry Osborne's weekly Q&A feature will be a regular post every Wednesday from now on. Be sure to stop by Jerry's site (www.jerryosborne.com) for more Mr. Music archives, record price guides, anything Elvis, buy & sell collectibles, record appraisals and much more. I thank Jerry for allowing the reprints.


FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 17, 2009


DEAR JERRY: When will someone release a compilation CD of Jerry Fuller's many great songs? I think he is one of the most overlooked of the teen-pop artists.

I have several of his 1950s and '60s Challenge singles, but I know there are lots more songs out there.

A few that are digital disc worthy are “Betty My Angel”; “Shy Away”; “Tennessee Waltz”; “Guilty of Loving You”; “Double Life;” “First Love Never Dies;” and “I Only Came to Dance with You,” with its amazing violins at the end.

I know that Jerry worked closely with Ricky Nelson, another favorite of mine. How many of Rick's hits did Fuller write?
—Chip Bickford, Milwaukee



DEAR CHIP: Wait no longer. Thanks to Britain-based Ace Records, the compilation CD you seek is now easily available from numerous online sources.

Titled “Jerry Fuller - A Double Life: The Challenge Recordings 1959-1966” (Ace CHD-1209), this 24-track collection has one or both sides of 17 of Jerry's 20 total singles during those years: from “Betty My Angel” (1959) through “Double Life” (1966).

The only cut of the ones you list that is missing here is “First Love Never Dies,” originally the flip side of “Guilty of Loving You” (1961). Since it also received a lot of air play, it definitely should be included and it's unfortunate they missed it.

Jerry Fuller loved working with Rick, and wrote 23 songs for him in the early 1960s.

One particularly impressive stretch for Nelson-Fuller team came in 1961 and '62. In that two-year span, four of Rick's biggest hits are from the pen of Jerry Fuller: “Travelin' Man”; “A Wonder Like You”; “Young World”; and “It's Up to You.” In total, these four sold approximately 10 million singles.

The other three significant hits of that period, and their writers, are: “Hello Mary Lou” (Gene Pitney); “Everlovin'” (Dave Burgess); and “Teen Age Idol” (Jack Lewis).

It first came to my attention in 1996 that Jerry Fuller, one of the most influential people in the music industry, and with 20 consecutive singles for Challenge, somehow never warranted an LP.

It isn't that Challenge was a singles-only label, as they issued four Jerry Wallace and four Champs albums. While these were their top acts at the time, in that order, Challenge also released LPs for artists not nearly as famous, or successful, as Jerry Fuller. A few among those are Diane Maxwell; Ray De Michel; Yvonne Shubert; Rhythm Rockers; and Jerry Wiggins (the third Jerry in their stable).

I brought this up in a March '96 phone conversation with Jerry Fuller, telling him it is certainly time for a compilation CD, and that I would push for the project if I knew who to push.

He agreed, and gave me the contact information for Jack Jackson, in Master Licensing and Compilations of the Challenge Masters at Sony's Nashville office.

I spoke with Mr. Jackson about getting Jerry's music on CD, but it wasn't among their immediate plans. Unfortunately it wasn't in Sony's plan at all, at least not until December 2008, when Ace came to the rescue.


IZ ZAT SO? Some might be curious about the “Double Life” part of the title on “Jerry Fuller - A Double Life: The Challenge Recordings 1959-1966.”

Though not known to the general public, “Double Life” (Challenge 59329) is wildly popular among collectors, especially in the UK, of Northern Soul music.

Its popularity has driven prices for this 1966 single into the $100 to $200 range, about 10 times as much as Jerry's other Challenge records.

And the correct title is just “Double Life,” not “A Double Life.”

Copyright 2009 Osbourne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission

Music News & Notes

Memory Tapes Reveals Debut Album

Moniker-crazed one-man-band Dayve Hawk splits the difference between his Weird Tapes project (dancey, electro) and his Memory Cassette project (hazy, wistful) with Memory Tapes (dancey, yet wistful!). After the incredible, New Order-style single "Bicycle", we now get news of the debut Memory Tapes LP, dubbed Seek Magic and out September 29 via Sincerely Yours/Acephale.

To start, the record is primarily being released on vinyl-- first run records will be light blue with some special "white/blue haze" LPs thrown in just in case you didn't get the idea that this shit is fucking hazy. But if you're still into CDs, you'll have to travel to London's Rough Trade shop to pick up Seek Magic because that's the only place on earth selling it on compact disc.

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Kraftwerk Announce Massive Eight-Disc Box Set, Reissue Series

Kraftwerk, the German legends that pretty much invented electronic pop music as we know it, are due to reissue eight of their albums in a massive box set called 12345678: The Catalogue. Five of the albums will also be reissued as individual titles.

The box is due October 6 in the U.S. from EMI. It'll feature the following discs: 1974's Autobahn, 1975's Radio-Activity, 1977's stone classic Trans-Europe Express, 1978's The Man Machine, 1981's Computer World, 1986's Techno Pop, the 1991 remix comp The Mix, and 2003's Tour De France. (The band's first three albums are not included.)

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Of Montreal Multi-Instrumentalist James Husband Readies Solo Album

James Huggins, one of the Athens, Georgia band's multi-instrumentalists, is getting set to do just that. Huggins, who records as James Husband, will release A Parallax I, his proper solo debut, on October 27 via Polyvinyl. Husband recorded the album between 2003 and 2008 in Athens and Stockholm, with help from his of Montreal bandmate Dottie Alexander, Swedish pop starlet Jenny Wilson, and Andy LeMaster of Now It's Overhead.







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Portishead's Barrow Forms New Band

Portishead producer and multi-instrumentalist Geoff Barrow is such a perfectionist that his group has only managed to release three albums in the past 15 years. So it's probably good that Barrow and his new band Beak> are putting some restrictions on themselves; it's the only way they'll ever get anything done.

Barrow formed Beak> earlier this year with two fellow Bristol musicians, Billy Fuller and Matt Williams. The band already has an album ready to go. Their self-titled debut will be out October 19 in the UK on Barrow's own Invada, and Ipecac will release it the next day in the U.S. So how did Barrow make an album so quickly after spending more than a decade on Portishead's Third? Easy: He forced himself.

The band has some pretty rigorous guidelines in place. They record all their music in one room and they don't use overdubs. The band wrote their entire album over the course of one 12-day session. In a statement about Beak>, Barrow says, "It's really good to create music under different conditions than you're used to."

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Dr. Dre's The Chronic To Get Expanded Re-Release

The Chronic Re-Lit will be in stores September 1, with seven bonus tracks and a DVD.

One of the most iconic rap albums of all time, Dr. Dre's 1992 solo debut, The Chronic, will be re-released on September 1. The digitally remastered version of the multiplatinum gangsta rap landmark, with such hits as "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" and "Let Me Ride," will feature all 16 original songs and seven new tracks uncovered in the Death Row Records vaults, according to the label's new CEO.

In addition to the extras on the Chronic disc, there will also be a link to the new Death Row Web site, where six more songs from the vault will be available as well as information on a remix contest that will result in a promo-only vinyl album that will be serviced to club DJs.

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Warhol's Jackson Sells For $1 Mil


Andy Warhol's 1984 portrait of Michael Jackson has sold at auction for over $1million.

The auction took place at The Vered Gallery in Long Island, New York with the painting going to an anonymous bidder.

The gallery has remained tight-lipped about the exact price, but it was confirmed that the portrait sold for in excess of $1million






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New Sinatra Live Box Set Coming on November 3


It has been a great decade for Frank Sinatra fans. Due to an ongoing effort by his various labels and the Sinatra family, fans have gotten a number of new recordings including the box set of Las Vegas performances from 2006 and, now, a new 4-CD/1-DVD box of New York based concerts.

Sinatra: New York features performances from over a 35-year periods, starting with a 1955 appearance with Tommy Dorsey up through a June 1990 show at Radio City Music Hall. Overall, there are 77 previously unreleased tracks (55 on CD and 16 on DVD) along with a book with rare photos and tributes from Martin Scorsese, Tony Bennett, Yogi Berra, and Twyla Tharp, liner notes by Nat Hentoff, and essays by William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist and French Connection; George Kalinsky, official photographer for Madison Square Garden for over 40 years; Tom Young, engineer for Sinatra; Joe & Sal Scognamillo, owners of Patsy’s Italian Restaurant in New York City; and Frank Sinatra Jr.

The included performances are:

•February, 1955 at the Manhattan Center as a surprise guest during a Tommy Dorsey show.

•September, 1963 at the United Nations Manhattan Office, accompanied only by the piano of Skitch Henderson.
•April 8, 1974 at Carnegie Hall during his first tour after "retiring" in 1971.

•October 12, 1974 at Madison Square Garden. This is the show the night prior to the Main Event concert that was broadcast live on ABC-TV.
•June 28, 1980 at Carnegie Hall (DVD) during a two-week engagement at the venue.
•June 1984 at Carnegie Hall.
•June 1990 at Radio City Music Hall
Note that the last two shows, both contained on the fourth CD, appear to be highlights and not complete concerts.

For a preview from the DVD, go to sinatra.com to see a performance of The Lady is a Tramp.

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Three Days Grace Unveil Album Cover


Three Days Grace have premiered the album art for Life Starts Now! The album is set to hit stores September 22nd via Jive Records, with the first single off the record titled “Break.”










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SECRETS OF THE MOON: 'Privilegivm' Release Pushed Back A Week

Due to "the complex production," the release date of "Privilegivm", the new album from German progressive black metallers SECRETS OF THE MOON, has been pushed back one week, and will now be made available in Germany and Austria on September 18, and in other European countries on September 21 via Prophecy Productions.

A release date for North America will be announced soon.

The "Privilegivm" cover art, which was designed by "France's best media artist" Metastazis, can be viewed below.

According to the band, "Privilegivm" will be available in three different formats:

* First edition digipack CD, including the bonus track "A Million Suns"
* Limited gatefold double LP, including the bonus track "A Million Suns" and poster
* Limited luxus box featuring the digipack CD, two seven-inch singles with remixes by Esoteric, In Slaughter Natives, Melek-Tha and Inswarm plus one patch/armlet.

This Date In Music History- August 20

Birthdays:

John Lantree - Honeycombs (1940)

Dave Brock - Hawkwind (1941)

John Povey - Pretty Things (1944)

Ralf Hutter - Kraftwerk (1946)

James Pankow - Chicago (1947)


Robert Plant - Led Zeppelin (1948)

Rudy Gatlin - Gatlin Brothers (1952)

Doug Fieger - Knack (1952)

John Hiatt (1952)

Fred Durst - Limp Bizkit (1971)


They Are Missed:

The late Isaac Hayes ("Theme From Shaft") was born in 1942

Born today in 1949 - Phil Lynott Irish singer, songwriter, bass player, Thin Lizzy. Lynott died on Jan 4, 1986 of heart failure and pneumonia after being in a coma for eight days following a drug overdose. A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin in 2005.



Blues Traveler bassist Bobby Sheehan was found dead in his New Orleans apartment in 1999. He was 31.

Born on this day in 1924, Jim Reeves, US country singer. The first country singer to crossover into the pop market. Reeves was killed in a plane crash on July 31, 1964 when the single engine aircraft flying from Arkansas to Nashville crashed in thick fog.

Born today in 1966 - Dimebag Darrell, guitarist, Pantera. Darrell was killed on December 8, 2004 after a man stormed the stage during a Damageplan show at the Alrosa Villa Club in Columbus, Ohio and began firing shots at the band and crowd.

Born on this day in 1931, Paul Robi, The Platters (died of cancer on February 1, 1989).

Born today in 1934 - 'Sneaky' Pete Kleinow, US country-rock steel guitar player. Died Jan 6, 2007 (age 72). He was one of the original members of the Flying Burrito Brothers with the Byrds' Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons. Also worked with John Lennon and Joni Mitchell.


History:

The first commercial radio station in the United States, 8MK in Detroit, began daily broadcasting in 1920. The station will later become WWJ.

Bo Diddley appeared at the Apollo Theatre, Harlem, New York in 1955.

Chuck Berry’s "Maybellene," his debut single, is #1 on the R&B chart in 1955.

The Beatles, touring America for the last time in 1966, were forced to cancel and reschedule their performance in Cincinnati's open-air stadium, Crosley Field. Heavy rain (and no cover provided) made electrocution a virtual certainty if The Beatles had attempted to perform. Smart move.

In 1967, the New York Times reported about a new noise reduction system for album and tape recording developed by technicians R. and D.W. Dolby. Elektra Record's new subsidiary, Checkmate Records, will be the first label to use the new Dolby process in its recordings.

In 1968, the director of the University of Tennessee's audio lab, Dr. David M. Lipscomb, reported a guinea pig subjected over a three month period to 88 hours of rock music recorded at a Knoxville disco at 120 decibels suffered acute damage to the inner ears. The New York Times was told by Steve Paul, owner of the New York disco, The Scene, "Should a major increase in guinea pig attendance occur at the Scene, we'll certainly bear their comfort in mind."

In 1969, after finishing “I Want You, (She’s So Heavy),” the Beatles worked on the running order for the Abbey Road album. A preliminary master tape was compiled, the medley was originally slated for side one of the album, and the placement of “Octopus's Garden” and “Oh! Darling” was reversed from the final version. The album was to end with the slashed guitar chord that finishes “I Want You (She's So Heavy).” This was the last time all four Beatles were together in Abbey Road studios.

Frank Zappa disbands the Mothers of Invention in 1969 right after an eight day tour in Canada. Zappa says he's "tired of playing for people who clap for all the wrong reasons."

The Rolling Stones released their epic cut "Angie" in 1973.


Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," about an ore carrier which sank on Lake Superior, was released as a single in 1976.

John Lennon began recording his final album, "Double Fantasy" in 1980.

In 1986, Rick Allen drummer with Def Leppard made his first live appearance with the band after losing an arm in a car accident, when they appeared at the Monsters Of Rock Festival, Castle Donington, England.

Performing at the Donington rock festival in England in 1988, Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose told the audience to "try not to kill yourselves." Ironically, two people die in a crowd surge while the band plays.

In 1992, a doctor filed a $35m lawsuit against the Southwest Bell phone company. He alleged that his wife died because he could not reach 911 due to all lines being jammed by demand of Garth Brooks concert tickets.

In 1991, Freedom Williams of the dance music act C&C Music Factory passed out from exhaustion in front of 2,500 fans at a show in Tucson, Arizona. His tape-recorded voice continued rapping and the crowd cheered, thinking the fall was part of the act. Lesson- Sing for real.

In 2004, a gent from Stoke-on-Trent, England, named Bryan Adams as the ‘other man’ in his divorce papers after years spent trying to cope with his wife’s obsession with the singer. Rob Tinsley said he had to live with a 6ft cut-out of Adams which stood at the foot of the bed and posters on the bedroom walls.