Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

lots of great reading today, a new us stamp, some vinyl history, a q & a with the record guys, a vinyl record party from the folks at Penn State:

Local music store to promote vinyl culture with event

By Hannah Rishel Collegian Staff Writer

Fans of “High Fidelity” will have a chance to experience a similar atmosphere this weekend, sans John Cusack.

The Music Underground, 224 W. College Ave., will present a “Stax of Trax” record show from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The event will feature hundreds of LPs, 45s and records from various genres. Josh Ferko, DJ “Tapes” and DJ Sassmouth will provide the soundtrack to the event

Music Underground owner Jesse Ruegg said the store has records for sale every day, but he wanted to do something as a specific event and make it fun.

Read the rest at www.collegian.psu.edu

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Legendary Jersey rockers The Feelies to release first new album in 20 years

By Jim Testa/For The Jersey Journal

“Is it too late to do it again?”

Those are the opening words of the first new Feelies recording to be heard in 20 years, from the track “Nobody Knows” that kicks off the legendary New Jersey group’s soon-to-be-released Here Before, its first album since 1991’s Time For A Witness.

Read the rest of this interesting article at nj.com

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U.S. Postal Service Is 'Stampin' at the Savoy

NEW ORLEANS, March 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To celebrate America's musical gift to the world, the U.S. Postal Service today issued the Jazz Appreciation Forever Stamp.

Inspired by vintage jazz record-album covers, Pasadena, Calif., artist Paul Rogers captured the eclectic nature of jazz music and the spontaneity and improvisation of jazz artists in creating art for the Jazz Appreciation Forever Stamp.

"With this evocative Jazz stamp, we celebrate the music and the musicians who play it in studios, clubs and concert halls and on festival stages," said Thurgood Marshall Jr., vice chairman, Postal Service Board of Governors. "I can't think of a more perfect place to dedicate this new stamp than here in New Orleans, the birthplace of so many legendary jazz performers… and where jazz first flowered near the dawn of the 20th century.

"Jazz is a pastime that brings people together, regardless of race, ethnicity or background," said Marshall. "It's a lot like the Postal Service, which has been bringing people together for over 235 years, through the power of the mail."

Forever Stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce rate. The Jazz Appreciation stamps go on sale today nationwide at Post Offices and online at usps.com/shop.

Joining Marshall to dedicate the Jazz Appreciation Forever Stamp were Guy Cottrell, chief postal inspector; Nancy Marinovic, president, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation; Shamarr Allen, leader of the funk band Underdawgs; Jeffery Taylor, manager, Louisiana District, Postal Service; and Paul Rogers.

Get more information at prnewswire.com

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‘Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology’ highlights genre’s history

One of the most unlikely hit records in history came out in 1973, when a critic and historian at the Smithsonian Institution named Martin Williams released an anthology called the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz.
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It consisted of six vinyl LPs that explored and summarized the history of jazz and was later released on compact disc. It was the first comprehensive collection of its kind and immediately became part of the jazz curriculum at colleges throughout the country. Music lovers bought it to introduce others to jazz. Over time it sold so many copies that it went double platinum.

There's much more to the story, read on at washingtonpost.com

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Q&A

Akim Boldireff and Aaron Keele: The Record Guys

GUY DIXON

Aaron Keele and Akim Boldireff

Record dealers and organizers of 10th annual Toronto Downtown Record Show

Ages: 39 and 46, respectively

You know those super-knowledgeable guys behind the counter of the local indie record store, the kind that could have come straight out of the Nick Hornby novel High Fidelity? That’s Mr. Keele and Mr. Boldireff.

Mr. Keele grew up in his father’s Toronto record store, Don’s Discs, which specialized in 1940s and 1950s blues and doo-wop.

Read the rest at theglobeandmail.com

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Top Best Selling Vinyl Records at SoundStageDirect.com

1) Neil Young - Live At Massey Hall
2) Radiohead - King Of Limbs (pre-order)
3) Chicago - Chicago VI
4) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
5) Eagles - Greatest Hits 1971-1975
6) Genesis - 1970-1975 Box Set
7) Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority
8) English Beat - Special Beat Service

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and in music history for today:

In 1957, Ricky Nelson recorded his first tunes for the Verve label, "A Teenager's Romance", which will climb to #2 on the

Billboard chart and "I'm Walkin'", which will reach #4. Over his fifteen year recording career, Rick will place 36 songs in the US Top 40.

In 1958, Eddie Cochran recorded his only US Top Ten hit, "Summertime Blues", which will rise to #8 in the US next Fall.

In 1968, blues artist Little Willie John died in prison under mysterious circumstances after being convicted of manslaughter two years earlier. He had fourteen hits on the US R&B charts and the same number on the Pop charts, including "Fever", "Sleep", and "Talk To Me, Talk To Me".

In 1977, Hall & Oates started a three-week run at #1 on the Billboard singles chart with “Rich Girl,” the duo’s first U.S. chart-topper.

In 1980, Jon Paulos, drummer for The Buckinghams on their string of 1967 hits, including "Kind Of A Drag" and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", died of a drug overdose. He was 32.

In 1985, radio stations in South Africa banned all of Stevie Wonder’s records after he dedicated the Academy Award he had won the night before to Nelson Mandela.

In 1988, Michael Jackson started a two-week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Man in the Mirror.”

In 2004, Jan Berry of Jan & Dean died at the age of 62 after being in poor health from injuries sustained in a 1966 car crash.  The duo’s biggest hit was the 1963 #1 single “Surf City” (#26 in the U.K.), which was co-written by Beach Boy Brian Wilson.



In 2005, Australian drummer Paul Hester, formerly of Split Enz, Crowded House and Largest Living Things, committed suicide by hanging himself in a park in Melbourne. He was 46. After leaving Crowded House in 1994, Hester appeared on many TV and radio shows in Australia.

In 2006, British readers of Total Guitar magazine voted Jimmy Page’s “Stairway to Heaven” solo the “greatest guitar solo of all time”. It edged out entries from Van Halen, Queen, Jimi Hendrix and The Eagles. certainly up for debate in my book....

In 2009, a jumpsuit that Elvis Presley wore at a concert at New York's Madison Square Garden sold at an auction for $212,588.

birthday wishes to Diana Ross (1944) and Steven Tyler from Aerosmith (1948), among others.