Kansas Frontman Suffers Stroke

Legendary musician and composer Kerry Livgren suffered a stroke Tuesday morning. Livgren was a founding member of Kansas, and has been a tireless creative force since the early 70s. Currently he is a busy solo artist and producer, and manages his own label, Numavox Records.

Kerry is currently hospitalized near his home in Topeka, Kanasa, where surgery was performed to remove a blood clot in his brain. Kerry's nephew and Proto-Kaw bandmate Jake Livgren has stated the family continues to be encouraged by signs his uncle is giving following the stroke he suffered Tuesday morning.

Livgren, who in the '70s as a member of progressive rock band Kansas wrote "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust In The Wind" among other classic compositions. Livgren has been extremely active in recent months, working on an updated version of his autobiography Seeds Of Change which was also the title of his first solo record, released after his conversion but while he was still a member of Kansas.

The Vinyl Revival- Down Under

Vinyl records are a hot commodity as people both young and old are reverting back to this historical audio medium. Older folks are recapturing a bit of the past and buying up classic rock records, the exact records they dumped with the advent of the dreaded CD. Younger music listeners, used to the sterile sound of the digital age, are now finding that the music sounds so much better on vinyl.

As I continue to write about music and vinyl records, I have made many friends all over the world. The Internet makes the world a much smaller place, and corresponding with a gentleman from Australia, I was curious about the world of vinyl records in his country and about his love for collecting records:

Record Collecting In Australia

by DONALD J.KAY

My interest in music stems from my mother, who used to play in bands in the south west of the state. I started listening to music at an early age, possibly around 6 years of age. My first artist/group I got keen on was the Beatles. As soon as I heard a Beatle track, my ears were pushed into the speaker of our portable radio. My mother bought me the first 6 Beatles 45’s. My father came home one day and thought ”jeez, I think he likes music, I better buy him a record player.”

From then on my record collecting began, with my first LP being the Beatles “A Hard Days Night.” For some reason, of which, I can’t explain, my tastes always lent towards buying singles, not albums. In the seventies, I got influenced by a friend of mine who convinced me that albums were a great way to buy the music I wanted, especially when record companies were pulling at least five tracks off of albums and releasing them as singles.

My collection has expanded somewhat into a number of areas. I have mountains of hard to get 45’s. I also collect Australian artist’s overseas releases. My other passion is Japanese releases by major artists like Blondie, Heart, AC/DC, just to name a few. My collection also includes a smattering of compilation albums, purchased because they contain obscure tracks that I’m after. And finally I collect radio shows. My collection of shows is only small, but with eBay, I hope to increase my collection. Enough said.

On to another aspect of collecting and that is the vinyl record vs. CD debate. Here in Australia, we have a large yuppie population who are led either by media intervention - telling them how bad the vinyl sound is - or their friend’s influences - i.e. “I got rid of my records, because the CD is the coolest.”

Quite the reverse has happened over the years because the capabilities of CD are limited in the way music is translated on this ‘wiz bang’ state of the art music format. CDs cannot do justice to 50’s-60’s and 70’s music and the reasons are that the recording techniques were, by today’s standards, pretty basic, plus the music wasn’t recorded totally in digital format. Hence a Beatles, Stones or Abba LP will sound 100% better on vinyl than its CD counterpart.

Record companies ,in their efforts to make 60’s and 70’s music sound just as “new“ as a disc released last week, by decreasing the bass, and increasing the treble, which doesn’t work. Do yourself a favour, and pick any vinyl album, plus its CD equivalent. Play them both alongside each other and you will immediately feel and hear the difference.

Vinyl has a warmth that a CD cannot deliver. It also has equal bass and treble in the sound spectrum, whereas CD is all high end dynamics. Compact discs works for 80’s to present day music, because of the digital age. Most people who heavily invested in a high priced CD player, sold all their vinyl and replaced it with CD, are “NOW” getting rid of their discs, and going back to vinyl and the beloved record player.

Vinyl sales in Australia have soared an amazing 60% this year, drawing me to the conclusion that progress, (i.e.CD) sometimes doesn’t mean going forward; in fact it can mean going backward. I certainly believe this to be so, as far as listening to 50’s, 60’s and 70’s music. As mentioned above, compact discs do an injustice to the sound quality of the vinyl records pressed during these eras, lacking warmth, and feel to the music. In time, there will be new ways and means to listen to our much loved music.

However, as much as record companies want you to “LIKE“ the new formats, whatever concept that may be, I think that true “music” fans will always want to listen and enjoy his/her collection on their almighty record player. Millions of fans worldwide still love and appreciate those little crackles and other noises that tell us we’re listening to “real music,” and I can’t see things changing for the next twenty years or so.

As an added footnote, 9/9/09 sees the “new” digital remasters of all the Beatles albums, the first four in true stereo. Each album features extra sleeve notes, CD rom features and hopefully a better mix of each track than the previous version, which most of us have on our CD shelves. The Beatles have maintained a strong following, the world over, and in Australia, their music is sold, played, and performed hourly. I hope you enjoyed reading my article, and you give the humble vinyl another spin on your beloved turntables, and feel the warmth of the “real” music.

May your day be great and filled with music, brought to you by your “record player!”

What makes this article so intriguing is the message; music is a universal medium, played and enjoyed the world over. Here, Donald talks from the heart, with passion and a keen eye for the details. It’s always about enjoying the music and the appreciation of the medium; you can’t go wrong with that!

Donald Kay suggests an online vinyl shop for hard to find music in Australia, www.replayrecords.com.au and the shop also runs at least 3 to 4 auction lists of collectible vinyl a year.

Rock/Pop Tidbits

Tommy Roe wrote and recorded a song called "Sheila" when he was just 14 years old. The effort went nowhere, but six years later, he recorded it again for ABC-Paramount and this time it went to number one in the US.

Peter Noone, better known as Herman of Herman's Hermits, once interviewed Elvis Presley for the UK music paper New Musical Express.

In 1972, Chuck Berry complained when his record company recorded a concert performance in London. But Berry stopped complaining after a song from his set went on to be his biggest-selling hit. The song? “My Ding-a-Ling.”



Danny and the Juniors' 1958, Top 20 hit "Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay" was written in response to a rock record smashing party sponsored by St Louis radio station KWK.

The first time that Dick Clark heard a Beatles' record he said, "I don't know what the heck you're so excited about...it'll never fly."

According to vocalist Davy Jones, The Monkees were allowed to choose some of the songs they recorded. Two that they turned down were "Knock Three Times", which would become a Billboard chart topper for Tony Orlando and Dawn in 1970 and "Love Will Keep Us Together", which became a million selling number one for The Captain and Tennille in 1975.

The term "rock and roll", which was black slang for sexual intercourse, appeared on record for the first time in 1922 on Trixie Smith's "My Baby Rocks Me With One Steady Roll".

The term "rhythm & blues" was coined in 1948 by a young Billboard reporter and future Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler, to replace the negative term "Race Records".

After John Lennon made his unfortunate remarks about the Beatles being "more popular than Jesus", the Bishop of Montreal, the Rt. Rev. Kenneth Maguire said: "I wouldn't be surprised if The Beatles actually were more popular than Jesus. In the only popularity poll in Jesus' time, he came out second best to Barabbas."

In the summer of 2005, recording industry insiders estimated that there were still 28 billion songs being illegally downloaded yearly.

Mike Stoller, one half of the songwriting team of Leiber & Stoller, survived the 1956 sinking of the luxury ship Andrea Doria off Nantucket Island. When he returned to New York on a rescue freighter, he was greeted by his partner Jerry Leiber who told him that they had just scored their first hit record by "some white kid called Elvis Presley." Stoller replied "Elvis who?"

Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees considered himself to be quite the ladies man. In fact, his standard pick-up line was that he had fallen in love and wanted to get married. He was known to walk around with a pocket full of engagement rings but this technique got him into trouble especially when five or six of his ‘fiancées’ gathered together at the stage door.

"House Of The Rising Sun" is a traditional Folk song that was first recorded in 1920 and tells a story about a brothel in New Orleans named after Madame Marianne Le Soleil Levant (which means "Rising Sun" in French). It was open for business from 1862, when Union Troops occupied the town, until 1874, when it was closed due to complaints by neighbors.



After the death of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham in 1980, guitarist Jimmy Page refused to even pick up a guitar for nearly nine months.

Monkees’ guitarist Mike Nesmith wrote Linda Ronstadt's 1968 hit, "Different Drum".

Gene Chandler, who reached number one in the US in 1962 with "The Duke Of Earl", was the producer of "Backfield In Motion", a 1969 Top Ten hit by Mel And Tim.

34 years later, son repaints 'Yellow Submarine' Beatle album cover on garage door

By Ken Abramczyk • OBSERVER STAFF WRITER


The Beatles, as seen on George Donabedian's garage. (Bill Bresler | staff photographer)


Being a musician, Larry Donabedian always enjoyed music by the Beatles.

With a talent for drawing and art, he always liked the Yellow Submarine album cover.

He thought it would look cool on his parents' garage door on Beatrice.

The year was 1975, and he was given a class assignment to enlarge a picture to a grid. He used the Beatles' Yellow Submarine album cover for the assignment, deciding to paint the album design on his parents' garage door.

And 34 years later, Donabedian returned with his son, along with a sister and two of her three sons, and they repainted the garage door on Beatrice where his father, George, and mother Lydia still live.

“It got pretty weathered,” Larry said. “My parents always liked it. (Painting) seemed a good excuse to get my son and nephews together.”

Back in 1975, the cover's design and the band's music drew him to do his interpretation of the cover.

“I always liked the Beatles,” Larry said. “I played in different bands and liked their music. My family always liked them.”

Donabedian liked Peter Max and psychedelic art used on some of the album covers of that era.

“It's a pretty simple style,” Larry said. “It's not like you're painting the Sistine Chapel. It's pretty straight forward, pretty graphic.”

Larry followed his artistic love and pursued an education in art. After he graduated from St. Agatha in Redford, he studied at Wayne State University where he graduated with a degree in fine arts. Today he works in advertising as an art director at Doner in Southfield and lives in Troy.

Last month, the weekend before the Woodward Dream Cruise, Larry got together with his son, Nick, and his sister, Anna Marie Kamischke, and her two sons, Garret and Kyle, at their parents' home, which they built in 1959.

“I wanted to do the same cover, and replace the old one and I knew it would be time together,” Larry said.

Larry said this version was quite different from the original. “I'm a lot more technically savvy,” he said. “I analyzed a Jpeg of that art, and analyzed the colors. I cut out swatches and matched up the paint.”

“When I painted it in high school, I did the outline first; then this time we filled in the color first and I did a black outline last. The colors are more accurate. I'm anxious to see how it holds up, but I'll have to wait another 30 years.”

Larry said his sons like it, but adds “they aren't into it like I was.”

Garret Kamischke, Larry's nephew, enjoyed the project with his mother, uncle and cousins. He plays piano. “I enjoy the Beatles and growing up listening to them,” Garret said. “It was a fun project. I worked on a coat, I did a tie, shoes and hair” on the Fab Four. “It was raining all day, and we had to put up umbrellas.”

Larry's father, George, said that 35 years ago, he and Larry walked the neighborhood asking if neighbors wanted their door painted. But Larry doesn't remember the story quite that way, and said their work didn't bring additional income, but may have given other neighbors ideas. “There were a couple of houses who did paint murals on their doors,” Larry said.

George is thrilled with the new look and with the work from Larry and Anne Marie and their children. “Larry's gift is that he is creative,” George said. “I am so blessed with my five children and eight grandchildren,” he added.

George said he loves music. He enjoys the Beatles, Bob Seger, John Denver and Frank Sinatra.

Earlier this year, George and Lydia traveled to Branson. “We bought tickets to a show, and we had no idea what show we were going to see, and it was Liverpool Legends,” George said. “George Harrison's sister, Louise, was there and directed the show. She was answering questions, and we raised our hand. I said we didn't have a question but we had a story. We told the whole audience about our Beatles (garage door) experience and they gave us a nice round of applause.”

Recently Louise Harrison sent the couple a thank-you note for sending her photos of the garage door.

Larry was asked by his father jokingly if George's discussion of the door in Branson had anything to do with Larry wanting to repaint it. Larry smiled and responded: “It didn't discourage it. It looked so bad. It was so weathered.”


SOURCE: http://www.hometownlife.com

Reprinted By Permission

Music News & Notes

Techno Trance DJ John De La Mora Releases Serenity Vol 2

Chicago, Illinois (WiredPRNews.com) September 4, 2009 — DJ John De La Mora, one of America’s most eminent ambassadors of electronic dance music announces the release of Serenity Volume 2 - 70+ minutes of the most beautiful and jawdropping sounds and beats in trance and techno music today. A heart-pounding, non-stop mix, this release will be made available in 320kbps vbr mp3 format as a free download at: www.johndelamora.com

Serenity Volume 2 is the follow to the original installment of the Serenity series. That release garnered Mr. De La Mora with international acclaim and recognition as being one of the most dynamic non-stop mix releases of the new millennium. Serenity Volume 2 promises even more beauty, power, energy and euphoria.

“I’ve had this project on the backburner for some time, as I found myself quite busy with other projects; playing overseas in Germany and India, as well as my continous, ongoing project of being the presenter and mixer of the Official Trance Nation Radio Show every week. I’ve longed for the opportunity to mix together and showcase some of the most amazing producers, remixers, ideas and sounds in electronic dance today using Serenity Volume 2 as that vehicle - and now I have seized upon a window of opportunity,” said Mr. De La Mora.

“The music scene in the U.S. in general is slow to evolve and adapt to new sounds. While rock, pop, hip-hop and contry music dominate radio formats domestically - the rest of the world listens to and dances to a different beat - with trance & techno being 2 of the most popular sounds for quite some time now. With Serenity Volume 2 I aim to ramp up the pressure on radio program directors in the U.S. to explore and program electronic dance music because it’s fans are fierely loyal to outlets in which they can obtain a steady diet of this amazing music.”

This new volume in the Serenity series promises to be a virtual who’s who in the worldwide techno trance music scene today, though the actual tracklist itself will remain sealed and under wraps until the official release of Serenity Volume 2 which has been slated for Tuesday, September 8.

Chicago-based DJ and radio producer John De La Mora is the presenter and mixer of the Official Trance Nation Radio Show which airs on 70+ stations with 10 million listeners each week around the world. The show is also made available each week as a free podcast. The Trance Nation Project began in 1994 and includes the Trance Nation mix CD series - the longest running and of the most successful mix CD series in all of music, with millions of units sold worldwide. The Trance Nation Project is based in Hamburg, Germany and headed by industry titans Aga Heller & Oliver Enkie (Heller & Enkie). Trance Nation can be found on the web at: www.trancenation.de

Press Contact:
John De La Mora
john@johndelamora.com
(312) 285-8012

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Pelican Announces Fall U.S. Tour Dates

A full American Fall PELICAN tour has been announced. The tour begins just days before the release of the band's upcoming Southern Lord Records debut, "What We All Come To Need," which comes out on October 27th. A variety of bands will be joining PELICAN on the tour including labelmates BLACK COBRA for most of the dates.

PELICAN will also join EARTH, SUNN O))) and EAGLE TWIN for the Southern Lord showcase in the Blackened Music Series at Brooklyn's Masonic Temple later this month.

Here are the latest PELICAN Fall tour dates:

9/22/2009 Brooklyn Masonic Temple - Brooklyn, NY w/ sunn O))), Earth, Eagle Twin
10/18/2009 Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis, MN w/ Minsk, Sweet Cobra
10/19/2009 Riot Room - Kansas City, MO w/ Minsk, Sweet Cobra
10/20/2009 The Marquis Theatre - Denver, CO w/ Black Cobra, Sweet Cobra
10/21/2009 Club Vegas - Salt Lake City, UT w/ Black Cobra, Sweet Cobra
10/22/2009 Neurolux - Boise, ID w/ Black Cobra, Sweet Cobra
10/24/2009 El Corazon - Seattle, WA w/ Black Cobra, Sweet Cobra
10/25/2009 Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR w/ Black Cobra, Sweet Cobra
10/27/2009 Independent - San Francisco, CA w/ Black Cobra, Sweet Cobra
10/28/2009 The Troubadour - West Hollywood, CA w/ Black Cobra, Sweet Cobra
10/29/2009 The Casbah - San Diego, CA w/ Black Cobra, Struck By Lightning
10/30/2009 Clubhouse - Tempe, AZ w/ Black Cobra, Struck By Lightning
11/01/2009 Emo’s - Austin, Texas w/ Black Cobra, Struck By Lightning
11/02/2009 Granada Theater - Dallas, TX w/ Black Cobra, Struck By Lightning
11/04/2009 Outland Ballroom - Springfield, MO w/ Black Cobra, Struck By Lightning
11/05/2009 The Picador - Iowa City, IA w/ Black Cobra, Struck By Lightning
11/28/2009 The Shelter - Detroit, MI w/ Black Cobra, Gods & Queens
11/29/2009 The Soundlab - Buffalo, NY w/ Black Cobra, Gods & Queens
12/01/2009 First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA w/ Black Cobra, Disappearer
12/02/2009 Highline Ballroom - New York, NY w/ Black Cobra, Disappearer
12/03/2009 Harper’s Ferry - Allston, MA w/ Black Cobra, Disappearer
12/04/2009 Rock And Roll Hotel - Washington, DC w/ Black Cobra, Disappearer
12/05/2009 The Orange Peel - Asheville, NC
12/07/2009 Earl - Atlanta, GA w/ Black Cobra, Disappearer
12/08/2009 Bottletree Cafe - Birmingham, AL w/ Black Cobra, Disappearer
12/09/2009 Cider House - Knoxville, TN w/ Black Cobra, Disappearer
12/10/2009 Ravari Room - Columbus, OH w/ Black Cobra, Disappearer, Brainbow
12/11/2009 Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL w/ Black Cobra, Disappearer

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Slayer Reveals New Album "World Painted Blood" Details

Slayer's upcoming album "World Painted Blood" will be released Tuesday, November 3rd in North American and Monday, November 2 to the rest of the world.

There will be three different editions of the album: Limited edition CD with multiple CD covers, Deluxe edition CD/DVD, and a high-quality, 180-gram vinyl edition.

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Thom Yorke Solo Music

Thom Yorke is releasing two solo tracks. “FeelingPulledApartbyHorses” and “The Hollow Earth” are the song titles, with the music to be initially released on 12-inch vinyl single format.

“FeelingPulledApartbyHorses is written & played by Jonny and I and is a radical rework of an old tune that's been kicking around without a home since 2001? i think,” says Yorke via press release in his customarily typo-ridden style. “The Hollow Earth is a bass menace that was born out of the Eraser period but needed a little more time.”

The vinyl single will be released Sept. 21 via the band’s W.A.S.T.E. online store, or in “good” record stores, Yorke says, “if you are lucky enough to have one near you.” The songs are scheduled for digital release on Oct. 6.

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Cover Art for Tokio Hotel's 'Humanoid'

Tokio Hotel's cover art for their upcoming studio album "Humanoid" has been unveiled. Coming out via Rolling Stone, this artwork captures the headshot of the band's frontman Bill Kaulitz as a cyborg with his hair being replaced by cords and wires.

In addition to "Humanoid" cover art, a clip of the album's title track has also emerged. "At the end of this track we got rid of all the normal song structures. 'Humanoid' has so many different parts and melodies, it's a weird journey that might be a little confusing at the beginning, but we can't wait to play it live," so Bill said of the song.

Tokio Hotel's third studio album, "Humanoid" is scheduled to be released across United States on October 6. "We have a song but there are many different ways to interpret the song. And we have to find the best interpretation. We, then start to experiment with each song by changing the guitar-sounds or modifying my voice," Bill explained about what to expect from the set.

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Echo and the Bunnymen Keyboardist Dead

Echo and the Bunnymen’s keyboard player Jake Brockman died in a motorbike accident at age 53, just a month before the release of the band’s new album The Fountain, the BBC reports. A statement on the band’s Website reads, “Our thoughts are with his wife, family & friends.”

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Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Announce Live Box Set

T
om Petty and the Heartbreakers have long been known for their fantastic live concerts so the group has decided to summarize their 30 years of concert experience in the upcoming box set called "The Live Anthology."

The multi-CD (see configurations below) box sets will cover material from 1978 to 2007 with tracks covering every era of tours. The song selection was made by producers Tom Petty, Mick Campbell and Ryan Ulyate who wanted to music to tell the whole story, so they are giving the fans the true sound of the shows with no fixes or overdubs.

Included are not only the songs of which the group is known, but also numerous covers of classic rock, R&B and pop songs including Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well, Booker T. & the MG's Green Onions, the Grateful Dead's Friend of the Devil and even the theme from Goldfinger.

The set will be released in five configurations:

1. Standard 4-CD/48-track set
2. Deluxe Box with 5-CD/62-track set, 2-DVDs with 1978 New Year's Eve concert in Santa Monica, California and the documentary 400 Days, shot during the Wildflowers tour, a remastered vinyl copy of Official Live Leg bootleg (1976), a high resolution DVD with all 62 tracks in 5.1 and stereo and more.
3. Vinyl Box with 7-LPs
4. Superhighway Tour which gives buyers 24 of the standard box tracks over an eight week period with extras including commentary, classic review, memorabilia and more. The remaining 24 tracks will be delivered digitally when the set is released.
5. Standard digital releases

Petty's website promises that a release date will be published soon along with the sales of tickets for the Superhighway Tour.

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Madonna Breaks Own Record For the Biggest Tour By a Solo Artist

Madonna finished her Sticky and Sweet Tour on Wednesday night in Israel after 85 shows and over 3.5 million tickets sold. Live Nation has announced that the tour brought in $408 million to become the biggest tour ever by a solo artist. The previous record holder was....Madonna. She still has it.

The Confessions Tour of 2006 grossed $194 million but played only 60 shows. Overall, it was seen by "only" 1.2 million fans because it concentrated on arenas versus Stick and Sweet's many stadium shows.

The all-time biggest tour belongs to the Rolling Stones who grossed $558 million on their Bigger Bang trek. The group played 144 shows for 4.7 million people.

The Magical History Tour

The engineers who remastered the Beatles catalogue (from left) Guy Massey, Simon Gibson, Sean Magee, Sam Okell, Steve Rooke, Paul Hicks and Allan Rouse.

Do the Beatles remasters capture the authentic Fab Four sound or are they a digital cash-in on the iconic group? Michael Dwyer gets back to mono.

THE world's most famous zebra crossing still leads to the same place. Towering behind the graffiti of a white wall in London, the familiar facade of Abbey Road Studios seems untouched by time.

Inside, though, everything has changed. Studio 2, where the Beatles mostly recorded between 1962 and 1970, is all that remains among the rolling renovations necessary for a world-class recording facility.

But each day, engineer Allan Rouse negotiates a past that clings to the corridors of the building he's known since 1972.

"There's simply nowhere else to put it," he says of the archaic machinery shunted into corners and stairwells. "We are state-of-the-art but we have a history. And we have the equipment to go with it."

This juxtaposition of vintage authenticity and cutting-edge production lies at the heart of Rouse's latest project.

Since 2006, he has co-ordinated six engineers in the epic task of digitally remastering all 13 Beatles albums, plus the Past Masters collection of non-album tracks.

"It's long overdue," he says. "Many bands have been remastered two or three times since the advent of CD and the Beatles never have."

Indeed, audiophiles winced when the Beatles' albums were transferred "flat" to CD in 1987. "Thin and bright, without a hint of the LPs' analog warmth," American fan Steve Guttenberg recently sniffed in his Audiophiliac blog.

But come on. For most of us, surely the songs remain the same, regardless of whatever black art is applied by men in white coats. Isn't the Beatles' remasters launch of 09/09/09 just another way of getting us to buy our old records again in new sleeves?

Rouse bristles. "Any time anything comes out Beatle-wise, people say it's just a matter of getting money out of people," he sighs. "I object to that strongly. I don't think Neil Aspinall has done that at all. In fact, I think he's been very cautious."

Aspinall was the school friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison who ran the Beatles' record company, Apple Corps, a post he held until just before his death last year.

It's fair to assume he shared the music industry's practical ignorance of the digital process in 1987. Remastering for CD (see below) was an aficionado's concept that had little bearing on the wider market — like the esoteric notion of stereo back when the Beatles made records for a mostly mono world.

Today, ubiquitous digital stereo gives everyone's ears an edge. The Beatles rose to that standard with a lavish range of "new" releases in the past 15 years, beginning with the archival Live at the BBC and Anthology sets.

Rouse oversaw the 5.1 surround mix of the Yellow Submarine Songtrack, then Let It Be . . . Naked, the controversial reshuffle of the Beatles' final album. He admits his purist's streak was tested by the Love album for Cirque du Soleil.

It found original producer George Martin splicing master tapes into an 80-minute symphony that remixed songs, takes and eras to create a 2006 blockbuster. The remasters, Rouse stresses, are the antithesis to all of that. "These are not radical alternative listening experiences," he says. "These are the real thing.

"Love changed the face of the Beatles. But the originals should always be out there.

"What we've done now is to make them available, so the kids of the future can hear them sounding as they should — in fact, in my view, sounding better than they ever did."

Early test audiences have been inclined to agree, although the notion of betterment suggests a fine line between restoration and vandalism.

Has A Day in the Life been improved, for example, by removing the squeak of the piano stool that punctuates the ultimate chord of doom? Heaven forbid, Rouse says.

"We agreed at the onset we would only remove things that were technically related. If it had anything to do with the Beatles' performance — breaths, coughs, squeaky bass drums, squeaky chairs — they stayed."

And still, authenticity remains a relative concept. Apple's insistence on releasing a separate set of the original mono mixes of each album (except Abbey Road and Let It Be, which only ever existed in stereo), opens a Pandora's box.


Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles, popularly known as the White Album, have glaringly different mono mixes. Although the world has come to love them in stereo, Rouse is clear on which versions the Beatles considered more valid at the time.

"The Beatles spent upwards of two or three weeks mixing Sgt Pepper in mono. The stereo was done as an afterthought by George (Martin) and (engineer) Geoff Emerick — regrettably forgetting some of the things they had done on the mono mixes," Rouse says.

Nonetheless, the stereo remasters will doubtless outsell the mono box innumerable times over. And whatever hairs Beatlemaniac audiophiles choose to split, Rouse has a message for them. "The Beatles are not just for you. They are for history."

What is digital remastering?

"MASTERING for vinyl was a process dictated by physical space. Louder signals took up more room on the LP. Softer passages allowed a longer playing time, making dynamics integral to the recording art. Digital has brought a fixed-maximum record level.

Engineers can no longer make peaks louder but they can raise levels between the peaks for greater impact. Oasis' (What's the Story) Morning Glory took this art to the extreme in 1995, setting a new standard in the 'Loudness Wars'. But while a soft CD might have less initial impact, mastering quieter is the only way original dynamics can be preserved.

With such loved material as the Beatles' catalogue, it will be interesting to see how true to the original cuts the engineers have dared to be."


Written By- Joe Leach, Cowshed Studios, London

SOURCE: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au

Rock/Pop Tidbits

In 1957, Frank Sinatra was quoted as saying "Rock 'n' Roll is phony and false, and sung, written and played for the most part by cretinous goons."

October 17th, 1990 marked the first time that the #1 album in the United States was only available on CD or cassette - and could not be found on vinyl. The album was Vanilla Ice's "To The Extreme".

Songwriter Tommy Durden showed his partner Mae Axton a newspaper story about a suicide victim who had left a one-line note that said "I Walk A Lonely Street". The pair added "Heartbreak Hotel" to the line and in 22 minutes had written Elvis Presley's first million seller.

Vaudevillian Jack Norworth wrote "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in 1908 after seeing a sign on a bus advertising BASEBALL TODAY - POLO GROUNDS. Norworth and his friend, Albert von Tilzer (who wrote the music) had never been to a baseball game before his song became a hit.

Pat Boone was a semi-finalist on the TV talent show Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, but before the finals, he appeared on a similar show called Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, for a fee of $600. Ted Mack's show then disqualified him, as he was no longer an amateur, costing Pat a chance at a $6000 scholarship.

In 1972, Keith Richards and his girlfriend at the time, Anita Pallenberg, rented a lavish palace on the French Riviera while the band was recording the LP “Beggar’s Banquet.” Included in the household budget was $1,000 for food, $1,000 for alcohol, $2,500 for the rent and $2,500 for drugs.

Two of Jim Croce's biggest hit songs were inspired by real people. Leroy Brown was a fellow member of the Air National Guard who had gone AWOL and Big Jim Walker ("You Don't Mess Around With Jim") was a pool shootin son-of-a-gun from south Philadelphia.



Brenda Lee's 1960, US number one hit, "I'm Sorry", was recorded at the tail end of a recording session with just five minutes of studio time left. It was intended to be the "B" side of a 45 that featured "That's All You Gotta Do", but disc jockeys flipped the platter over and "I'm Sorry" soon shot to the top of Billboard's Hot 100.

Jim McGuinn of The Byrds changed his middle name to Roger and began using it as a stage name after becoming interested in Eastern religion. A guru had told him that names starting with the letter "R" would vibrate better with the universe.

When Paul McCartney wants to play some of his old Beatles' hits in concert, he must pay a royalty fee to Michael Jackson, who bought the publishing rights for $47.5 million in 1985.

In 1929, American Paul Galvin, the head of Galvin Manufacturing Corporation, invented the first car radio. Consumers had to purchase the radios separately as they were not available from carmakers. Galvin coined the name Motorola for the company's new products, combining the idea of motion and radio.

When Richard Penniman was asked how he came by his stage name, he said that in his childhood neighborhood, there were only two nicknames used, 'lil and bro. That's when he became Little Richard.

When John Lennon's Aunt Mimi bought him his first guitar in the summer of 1956, he practiced constantly. As she watched him play hour after hour, day after day, she finally remarked "The guitar's all very well John, but you'll never make a living out of it."

During the early stages of their careers, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Hall and Oates and Steve Martin were all opening acts for the rock and roll nostalgia group, Sha Na Na.

The Crickets were given awards as the Best Vocal Group in the US and Great Britain in 1957, despite the fact that the only member of the group that actually sang was Buddy Holly. The background vocals for their number one hit "That'll Be The Day" were sung by Gary and Ramona Tollet.

Roy Orbison's highest charting album did not come about until after his untimely death in 1989. "Mystery Girl" reached #5 and was eventually certified platinum.

Aerosmith was known to bring a chainsaw with them out on tour so that they could chop up hotel rooms with greater efficiency. They also traveled with extra-long extension cords. Their reasoning? So the TVs that they tossed out of their hotel rooms would stay on and keep playing all the way to the ground before they were smashed up.

Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales For August 2009

Let’s continue with a new feature here at CollectingVinylRecords.com, one that helps us to keep track of the top five best selling vinyl records at eBay in the last month. This is a real-time indication of what is ‘hot’ and selling at the present time and reflects the rare vinyl records that are changing hands in the collector’s market these days.

Here we will see test pressings, acetates, promos, and alternate versions of songs, foreign releases as well as a wide variety of musical genres being bought and sold. No matter what the record price guides may quote, these are the real numbers that people are actually paying for specific records.

If we look at the last entry we can see that The Beatles "Please Please Me" Stereo Parlophone Gold UK First Press, sold for the astonishing price $36,409.41!! Goes to show you how valuable the four lads can be!


Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 08/01/2009

1. 45 - The Beatles "Our First Four" Promotional Presentation (Plastic) - $13,058.88

2. 45 - Ellipsis "People" / "Gregory Moore" Briarmeade - $3,383.33

3. 45 - Al Williams "I Am Nothing" / "Brand New Love" Palmer - $2,650.00

4. LP - The Who "self titled" Italy Polydor (A Quick One) - $2,300.00

5. 45 - Nirvana "Love Buzz" 462/1000 Sub Pop - $2,224.99



Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 08/08/2009

1. 45 - D. A. Hung "Greyhound Blues" / "Lonesome Old Jail" - $10,323.00

2. LP - Johanna Martzy "Bach: The unaccompanied Violin Sonatas" Columbia Box set UK - $5,200.00

3. 45 - William Powell "Heartache Souvenirs" / "The Chicken Shack" - $5,100.00

4. 12" - Led Zeppelin “Road Box” - $4,001.00

5. 45 - The Fix "Vengence" / "In This Town" - $3,500.00



Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 08/15/2009

1. LP - Dexter Grodon "Blows Hot And Cold" Dootone DL-207 red vinyl - $3,059.00

2. LP - Slayer "Nightmare On Elm St" - $2,999.99

3. LP - Jungle "self titled" Private Press - $2,900.00

4. LP - Hank Mobley-Lee Morgan "Pickin' Time" Blue Note 1574 - $2,605.00

5. LP - Lee Morgan "self titled" Blue Note 1557



Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 08/22/2009

1. LP - David Bowie "Ziggy Stardust" Acetate alternate tracks - $4,772.00

2. LP - Velvet Underground & Nico self-titled Mono White Label Promo - $3,119.00

3. 45 - The Suedes "13 Stories High" / "My Girl" Psychedelic - $2,375.00

4. 78 - The New Yorkers "There's A Cradle In Caroline" / "I'm Living On Love" - $2,246.00

5. LP - The Beatles "A Hard Days Night" Record Club Issue - $2,226.99





Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 08/29/2009

1. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Stereo Parlophone Gold UK First Press - $36,409.41

2. 45 - Sex Pistols "God Save The Queen" / "No Feeling" A&M AMS-7284 - $13,211.91

3. 45 - Narbay "Believe It Or Not" / "Believe It Or Not" Impact - $3050.00

4. LP - Stack "Above All" Charisma - $2,949.99

5. LP - Judge "Chung King Can Suck It Up" Revelation white vinyl - $2,905.55


As always, a special thank you to Norm at http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com for this great data. Stop in and listen to their unique radio show Accidental Nostalgia with Norm & Jane On Radio Dentata Thursdays 4PM PDT/7PM EDT

Vinyl Collective Top 40 Sales for August 2009

Stop by www.vinylcollective.com for some fantastic deals on vinyl!

1 CHUCK RAGAN “Break Our Bread” 7 103 copies
2 TIM BARRY/ FRANK TURNER split 7? all 3 colors set 94 copies
3 TIM BARRY/ FRANK TURNER split 7? black vinyl 87 copies
4 HEAVY HEAVY LOW LOW “Turtle Nipple…” LP brown/pink 82 copies
5 THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM “Live At Park Ave” 10? Record Store Day exclusive 76 copies
6 BOUNCING SOULS “20th Anniversary Series: Volume Three” 7? 64 copies
7 CHAD PRICE “Smile Sweet Face? LP Transparent Brown vinyl 56 copies
8 JOEY CAPE / MIKE HALE “Under the Influence Vol 11? 7? brown vinyl 55 copies
9 7” Record Jacket Sleeves (20) 7-1/4? x 7-1/4 52 copies
10 EVERY TIME I DIE “New Junk Aesthetic” LP 50 copies
10 MARIACHI EL BRONX “S/T” LP 50 copies
12 CHUCK RAGAN “Gold Country” LP black vinyl 48 copies
13 TIM BARRY/ FRANK TURNER split 7? blue vinyl 46 copies
14 12” Record Jacket Sleeve. Fits over album jacket. 45 copies
15 BROADWAY CALLS “Good Views, Bad News” LP green vinyl 41 copies
16 PORTUGAL THE MAN “The Satanic Satanist” LP german import white/blue marble vinyl 38 copies
16 Suburban Home Pick 5 for $25 Sale (CDs, Vinyl, Pint Glasses) 38 copies
16 PORTUGAL THE MAN “It’s Complicated Being a Wizard” LP light blue vinyl 38 copies
16 CHAD PRICE “Smile Sweet Face” CD 38 copies
20 PORTUGAL THE MAN “The Satanic Satanist” LP german import orange vinyl 36 copies
21 A WILHELM SCREAM “Mute Print” LP mustard yellow vinyl 35 copies
22 O PIONEERS!!!/NEW BRUISES “Under the Influence Vol 10? 7? white vinyl 31 copies
23 NINJA GUN “Restless Rubes” LP transparent green vinyl 29 copies
24 EVERY TIME I DIE Big Dirty LP purple w/ black splatter 27 copies
25 ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD/ COBRA SKULLS “Under the Influence Vol 6? 7? w 26 copies
26 PORTUGAL THE MAN The Satanic Satanist LP red/orange 25 copies
26 THE FLATLINERS/ THE SNIPS split 7? blue/red inside outside vinyl 25 copies
26 THE FLATLINERS/ THE SNIPS split 7? blue/red splatter vinyl 25 copies
26 NORMA JEAN 4 x LP Vinyl Box Set colored vinyl set B limited to 700 25 copies
30 AVAIL “Dixie, 4 AM Friday & Over The James” LP set 25 copies
31 JON SNODGRASS/ CORY BRANAN split LP sun colored vinyl 24 copies
31 JOEY CAPE / MIKE HALE “Under the Influence Vol 11? 7? yellow/gold vinyl 24 copies
31 EVERY TIME I DIE “Gutter Phenomenon” LP pink/black 24 copies
34 BOLLWEEVILS “Heavyweight” LP 23 copies
34 GREGORY ALAN ISAKOV “This Empty Northern Hemisphere” LP brown vinyl 23 copies
34 FRANK TURNER “Campfire Punkrock” 10? yellow vinyl 23 copies
37 CHUCK RAGAN/ BRIAN FALLON “Gospel Songs” 7? black vinyl 22 copies
37 THE TAKERS ?Taker Easy? CD 22 copies
37 KEVIN SECONDS / KEPI GHOULIE “Under the Influence Vol 12? 7? white vinyl 22 copies
40 AUSTIN LUCAS/ THE TAKERS split 7? frosty blue vinyl 21 copies
40 THURSDAY “Full Collapse” LP solid brown vinyl 20 copies
40 LET ME KNOW, BYO 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY BOX SET 20 copies
40 THE TAKERS ?Taker Easy? LP beer colored vinyl 20 copies
40 TWO COW GARAGE / JR. JUGGERNAUT “Under the Influence Vol 9? 7? PBR colored 20 copies
40 MAYLENE AND THE SONS OF DISASTER “III” LP grey vinyl w/ silk screen poster 20 copies
40 O PIONEERS!!!/NEW BRUISES “Under the Influence Vol 10? 7? translucent blue vinyl 20 copies
40 EVERY TIME I DIE “Hot Damn” LP silver/black 20 copies
40 FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES “Always Open” dbl LP 20 copies
40 Suburban Home SHOTGUNATOR black 20 copies

Music News & Notes

Matthew Herbert Making an Album Based on Pig Sounds
The conceptual artist is working on three new LPs.

Endlessly inventive producer Matthew Herbert's albums are often as fun to read about as they are to hear, whether he's making music of sounds made by everyday household objects, internal organs, or breakfast cereal. And his upcoming projects are no different.

Most intriguing is a new concept album called One Pig, which "will be made up entirely of sounds made during the life cycle of a pig," according to a post on a blog dedicated to the making of the album. (Via FACT.) That's Herbert's pig up there.

He goes on: "i will be there at its birth. during its life. present at its death. and during the butchery process. its body will then be given to chefs new and old. there will be a feast. and maybe a pair of shoes and a drum from the skin. and a toothbrush from its bristles. and ink from its blood. it will all be recorded. and then turned in to music." Kinda morbid, kinda amazing. One Pig is due next year.

Can't wait for this one....err three.

=====================

'Idol' runner-up Adam Lambert to release debut album November 24

Kris Allen and Adam Lambert competed head-to-head during American Idol's eighth-season finale, however their debut albums apparently won't do the same.

Lambert announced in a Wednesday morning Twitter post that his post-Idol debut album will drop November 24 -- a week after Allen's first effort is released on November 17.

Both signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings/RCA Records a few weeks after Allen defeated Lambert to take home Idol's eighth-season title.

=====================

Where the Wild Things Are: Karen O's Soundtrack Cover Art Revealed

Here's the cover art for the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack. Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame made the music, along with a collection of musicians dubbed "the Kids." The Kids consist of Tristan Bechet (Services), Tom Biller (co-producer with Karen O and member of Afternoons), Bradford Cox (Deerhunter), Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs), Aaron Hemphill (Liars), Greg Kurstin (The Bird and the Bee), Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes), Oscar Michel (Gris Gris), Imaad Wasif (New Folk Implosion, Alaska), Nick Zinner, (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and an untrained children’s choir.

The soundtrack comes out September 29, and its lead single, "All is Love," is currently available on iTunes. The movie adaptation of Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book comes out October 16th.

=====================

Harrison Expo Shut Down

The exhibition of George Harrison memorabilia currently running in Liverpool will be shut down early after a rare signed picture, worth about $1,400, was stolen. The owner, Denise Theophilus, was also the person running the exhibit which included items from collectors across the country. She told the Liverpool Echo that she was glad it was one of her items as she would hate to break the news to one of the people who trusted her with their memorabilia.

=====================

U2 Open SNL Season

U2 will serve as the musical guest on the season premiere episode of Saturday Night Live on September 26th, cast member Bill Hader told Access Hollywood. The band’s performance will come just two days after the Dublin rockers bring their 360 Tour to two sold-out nights at East Rutherford, New Jersey’s Giants Stadium. Jennifer’s Body star Megan Fox will handle the hosting duties on the premiere.

U2’s September 26th performance on SNL marks the third time Bono, the Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton have played Rockefeller Center’s Studio 8H.

=====================

Underwood Music

The first single from Carrie Underwood’s November 3rd album Play On has hit the Web. Check it out:



=====================

Charlie Watts Is Not Quitting The Rolling Stones

Band release official statement

The Rolling Stones have officially denied that drummer Charlie Watts is leaving the band.

Rumours began circulating on Wednesday (Spetemeber 2nd) that Watts would cease recording and touring with the band but a statement was released denying these rumours.

This Date In Music History-September 3

Birthdays:

Al Jardine - Beach Boys (1942)

Gary Leeds - Walker Brothers (1944)

George Biondo - Steppenwolf (1945)

Mike Harrison - Spooky Tooth (1945)

Eric Bell - Thin Lizzy (1947)

Donald Brewer - Grand Funk Railroad (1948) Most successful US Heavy Metal band of the 70's selling over 20 million albums.

Steve Jones - Sex Pistols (1955)

Todd Lewis - Toadies (1965)

Jennifer Paige (1973)

David Mead (1973)

Tomislav 'Tomo' Milichevich Sarajevo - 30 Seconds to Mars (1979)

Jay 'Cone' McCaslin - Sum 41 (1980)

Robert Curry - Day26, also known as a contestant on the TV show Making the Band 4 (1984)


They Are Missed:

Major Lance ("Monkey Time") died of heart disease in 1994.

Born on this day in 1934, blues guitarist Freddie King. Eric Clapton covered his 'Have You Ever Loved A Woman' on the 'Layla' album. Died on December 27, 1976 of heart trouble and ulcers (age 42).

In 1967, folk singer Woody Guthrie died of Huntington's Chorea in New York City. He was 52.

In 1970, Alan Wilson guitar player with Canned Heat, was found dead at fellow band-members Bob Hite's garden in Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles (age 27).


History:

In 1955, Bill Haley & the Comets turned down their first invitation to tour outside of the U.S. because of a fear of flying. The Australian offer of $2,000 for 15 dates wasn't enough to get them on a plane.

Billboard reported in 1955 that independent record manufacturers were continuing to expand at an unprecented rate. They took in $20 million last year.

Band leader Mitch Miller had the #1 song in the US in 1955 with a song that was written in 1853, ‘The Yellow Rose Of Texas.’

During a US tour in 1964, the Beatles played two shows at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis. They were paid $85,000 for the shows, tickets cost $4.00.

Lou Christie recorded "Lightnin' Strikes" in 1965.

Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" hit #1 on the chart in 1966. The track featured then Yardbird and future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.

Question Mark and the Mysterians' "96 Tears" makes into the Hot 100 in 1966 (it peaked at #1 for a week on October 29).

The Four Tops "Reach Out I'll be There" also entered the Hot 100 in 1966 where it claims the #1 position on October 15.

After a two week absence, Ringo Starr rejoined The Beatles in 1968. Upon Ringo's return to the studio, he found his drum kit covered with flowers to welcome him back.

The Four Seasons' "I've Got You Under My Skin" was released in 1969.

In 1970, Rolling Stone reported that the Bob Dylan bootleg "Great White Wonder" had sold over 350,000 copies.

At the Palermo Pop '70 Festival in Italy in 1970, Arthur Brown (of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown) was arrested and put in solitary confinement for four days after he set fire to his helmet and stripped naked during his stage performance. The audience threw all sorts of things at him. While in solitary, he was given a note signed by over 200 locals telling him to get out of Italy and stay out.

Also in 1970- The Dave Clark Five are now just Dave Clark. The band breaks up today, according to Rolling Stone, having scored eight top 10 hits, including "Bits and Pieces."

The Rolling Stones' "Angie" was released in 1973.



110,000 fans descended on Old Bridge, New Jersey in 1976 for an eleven hour concert by the Grateful Dead, the New Riders of the Purple Sage and the Marshall Tucker Band.

The three day U.S. Festival got under way in San Bernardino, California in 1982. Over 400,000 people show up to hear Fleetwood Mac, the Police, Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, the Grateful Dead, the Cars, Pat Benatar, Talking Heads, Dave Edmunds, Santana, the B-52's, the Kinks, Eddie Money, the Ramones, Gang of Four, the English Beat and Jerry Jeff Walker. It's financed by Steve Wozniak, the founder of the Apple Computer Company.

In 1977, the month after his death, Elvis Presley had 27 albums and 9 singles in the Top 100 charts in the UK. 'Moody Blue' was the #1 album while 'Way Down' was #1 on the singles chart, (putting him equal with the Beatles, each amassing 17 #1 hits).

The Eurythmics went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1983 with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)."

David Bowie appeared on the cover of "Architectural Digest" in 1992, the first human to do so in 4 years. He tells the magazine that, "my ambition is to make music so uncompromising that I will have no audience left."

John Mellencamp and Me'Shell NdegeOcello's remake of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" peaked at #3 on the singles chart in 1994.

Neil Young’s album “Sleeps With Angels,” the title track referencing Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, was released in 1994. Cobain’s suicide note contained a reference to Young’s “My My, Hey, Hey (Out Of The Blue”). “It’s better to burn out than fade away.” 1994

The largest music bootleg bust in US history was made in 1999. It was estimated that this one operation alone was responsible for $100 million in lost revenues. Recording equipment valued at $250,000 was confiscated, as were almost 1 million CDs and tapes.

Beatles are set to rock world again

By Randy Lewis • Los Angeles Times


At Capitol Records' Studio C in Hollywood, studio engineer Guy Massey punched “play” on a CD containing portions of 14 Beatles songs as they sounded on the 1987 CDs that brought the Fab Four's catalog into the digital age. Then he played spruced-up CD remasters that will be released Sept. 9.

Across town in Santa Monica a few weeks later, three representatives were demoing MTV Networks' “The Beatles: Rock Band” video game. Two reps strapped on replicas of Paul McCartney's Hofner bass and John Lennon's Rickenbacker guitar, while the third sat behind an electronic drum kit emulating Ringo Starr's Ludwig set and delved into the new video game, which, not coincidentally, hits the market the same day as the new CDs.

Even though nearly 40 years have elapsed since the Beatles' acrimonious breakup, the harmony they created on record, in concert and on film maintains a remarkable hold on pop music lovers worldwide. The two projects promise to ramp up Beatlemania again for yet another generation.

The Beatles' recorded past is being faithfully refurbished in CDs, while the video game springboards the British group into the world of interactive game play.


Read the rest here:

http://www.courier-journal.com

Classic Rock Videos

Rolling Stones - Honky Tonk Woman (Live in Hyde Park 1969)

Rock/Pop Tidbits

Al Kooper, founder of Blood, Sweat and Tears was a co-writer of the Gary Lewis and The Playboys' hit "This Diamond Ring". Although the song was a US number one smash, Kooper has said he was very disappointed at how the Playboys version sounded, and sheepish that it became such a hit. None of the Playboys actually played their instruments on the recording and Lewis' vocals were heavily supported by Ron Hicklin's overdubs.

The Academy Award winning score for the movie Fame was written by Leslie Gore's brother, Michael.

51 year old Lindsay Crosby, son of Bing Crosby, took his own life on December 11th, 1989, reportedly right after watching his father sing "White Christmas" during the television-airing of the classic Christmas movie, Holiday Inn. Lindsay was said to have suffered years of physical and verbal abuse inflicted on him as a child by his father. In May, 1991, Lindsay's 57 year old brother Dennis would also commit suicide.

Elvis's middle name is spelled "Aaron" on his tombstone. According to his official web site, the name was spelled Aron at birth, but as an adult, Elvis planned to change the spelling to Aaron and the tombstone was designed to reflect that wish.

In 1967, under Britain's open-ended tax system, The Beatles were in the 96% tax bracket.

Before reaching the US Top Ten in 1980 with "Giving It Up For Your Love", Delbert McClinton played harmonica on Bruce Chanel's chart topping 1962 hit, "Hey Baby". While on tour, he also taught some harp licks to John Lennon, who was playing in a then unknown opening act called The Beatles.

"Sunday Will Never Be The Same" was first offered to the Left Banke, but they rejected it. The song was then given to The Mamas and The Papas but they also passed on it. Finally, Spanky and Our Gang recorded it and took it to # 9 in the US in 1967.

Cat Stevens' song "Morning Has Broken" was an adaptation of a hymn of the same name by Eleanor Farjeon, who wrote many stories for children.

From 1969 to 1970, Jimmy Buffett was a staff writer for Billboard magazine in Nashville.

The Temptations 1964 classic hit "My Girl" was written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White of The Miracles. Robinson wrote the lyrics, which he later said were inspired by his wife, Claudette. They divorced in 1986.



The so-called ‘Prince of Darkness’ Ozzy Osbourne certainly developed a satanic reputation over the years. But Ozzy never took it too seriously, stating: “The devil worship thing was a marketing invention of the record company. We played along to put dough in our pockets.”

It is well known that Beatle George Harrison was spiritual and after reading about cosmic communication, Harrison climbed a mountain in hopes of receiving message from God. He waited and waited, but the only message he received was to climb back down the mountain.

Although the concept of the "hit parade" goes back to the mid 1930s, the invention and naming of the Top 40 format is widely credited to Todd Storz, who was the director of radio station KWOH-AM in Omaha, Nebraska, in the early 1950s. Storz noted the great response certain songs got from the record-buying public and compared it to selections on jukeboxes. He expanded his stable of radio stations and gradually converted them to an all-hits format, pioneering the practice of surveying record stores to determine which singles were popular each week.

Steppenwolf's lead singer, John Kay is seldom seen without sun glasses due to the fact that he has been legally blind since childhood.

Before Bobby "Boris" Pickett released "The Monster Mash" in 1962, he was working as an actor, making appearances on the TV shows Bonanza, The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction.

Blood, Sweat and Tears concert contract stated that their shows are not to be advertised as a reunion concert, even though the band has split and re-united at least five times.

Buddy Holly asked his future wife for a date, 30 seconds after meeting her and proposed later the same week. Six months earlier, he had recorded a song called "Take Your Time".

Ask Mr. Music - with 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 31, 2009


DEAR JERRY: According one internet site, a record label named Zyanya existed about 35 years ago. It appears to have ceased operations in the 1970s.

Do you have any idea how they came up with that name?

I ask because one of my favorite historical books of all time is “Aztec,” by Gary Jennings, and the key woman character is Zyanya, wife of Mixtli, whose life and family are the main story.

Proof of the impact “Aztec” had on me is how vividly I remember the characters and events some 30 years later.

I am dying to know if they named their record label after the Mexican gal in the novel. Or, did Gary Jennings name her after the record company? The only other alternative is the whole thing is one big coincidence.

Hopefully, there's a sufficient musical connection here to be of interest to you.
—Miguel Polanco, Harrisburg, Pa.


DEAR MIGUEL: Mere interest is understating this compelling topic — a blend of 16th century Mexico and 20th century record production, all with a Frank Zappa sidebar.

Gary Jennings himself wrote me 15 years ago (September 1994), asking:

“According to a recent Schwann catalog, there exists a record label named Zyanya. It may be a subsidiary of Rhino records.

“Do you know where they got the name Zyanya?

“As far as I know, Zyanya has only been used once before, as the name of a female character in “Aztec,” a novel I first published 14 years ago [1980].

“For the record, Zyanya means 'always' in the old Zapotec-Nahuatl language of Mexico, before the Spanish Conquest.
—Gary Jennings, McGaheysville, Va.”

Sadly, Gary Jennings died from heart failure in February 1999, on Friday the 13th, in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. He was 70.

Figuring Rhino would know all about Zyanya (sounds like Zon-ya), I called their National Publicity Manager, David Dorn. He confirmed Rhino's release of a few Latino albums on Zyanya, in the mid-'80s.

Dorn also said Rhino discontinued the Zyanya label after those, and it has not been used since.

On my own, 15 years later, I learned it is Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara, formerly of the Apollo Brothers, of “My Beloved One” fame, who managed the short-lived Zyanya label.

Three consecutively-numbered Zyanya vinyl LPs came out, all in 1983: “History of Latino Rock - Eastside Sound, Vol. 1: 1956-1965” (Zyanya/Rhino 061); “Los Angelinos: The Eastside Renaissance” (Zyanya/Rhino 062); and “Best of Thee Midniters” (Zyanya/Rhino 063).

As for a connection between the Zyanya in the book and the record label, the only way to know for certain is to ask its creator, Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara.

That I did, and here is his reply:

“Thanks for writing, and for asking about the source of the label name.

“Yeah, I got the name from Gary Jennings' book, “Aztec,” which made a great impression on me as a historian, writer, and story lover. What a magnificently researched and written book. I still sigh at the memory of Zyanya. Such a beauty! A classic and one that I have been recommending to friends and students for over 25 years.

“For a detailed and eye-popping look at the Aztec empire before it fell, that book is the source.

“I'm flattered Jennings inquired about Zyanya. I hoped he would see the label someday. It was an homage to both Zyanya and Gary.

“But the real inspiration is the heroine, Zyanya — an unforgettable character!”


IZ ZAT SO? Having found Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara, who better to recap his affiliation with Frank Zappa:

“I met Frank in his dressing room during an intermission of his legendary L.A. concert at the Shrine Exposition Hall in 1969. He was promoting his new LP “Cruising with Ruben and the Jets” (Verve 5055).

“I thanked him for recording doo-wop during the height of the psychedelic era and told him I was an R&B and doo-wop singer in the late 1950s and early '60s — who's name is Ruben. He said, “That's a grand name” and asked if I was still singing. I told him I was studying composition and my singing was on hold for the time being. He asked if I could drop off my 1961 Apollo Brothers single, “My Beloved One”/“Riot” (Cleveland 108), at his office, but I never did. I wanted to become a film composer and was not interested in pursuing a singing career.

“The other Apollo Brother was Pablo Amarillas. We named ourselves after the Apollos car and social club in the San Fernando Valley, of which we were members.

“A subsequent meeting at Zappa's house in 1971 was a major turning point in my career. He played records by his favorite R&B and doo-wop artists until dawn. Then we talked about our favorite avant-garde composers, like Varese, Stravinsky and Cage, while playing their records. We covered a vast musical terrain, from the Penguins to Bela Bartok. Then he asked if I would be interested in forming a real Ruben and the Jets. I told him I wasn't interested in rock and roll, with its many detours. To this he replied: “Build your own roads.”

“So I decided to give it another shot and gathered some Chicano musicians from East L.A.: Tony Duran (guitar-vocals); Robert “Froggy” Camarena (guitar-vocals); Bill Wild (bass-vocals); Johnny Martinez (Hammond B-3-vocals); and Bobby Zamora (drums). Zappa suggested Jim “Motorhead” Sherwood on baritone sax from the Mothers of Invention, and friend Bob “Buffalo” Roberts on tenor sax. We were one of L.A.'s first multicultural rock and roll bands.

“In 1973, Frank Zappa produced our first album, “For Real” (Mercury 659).

“We even opened for his band on a West Coast tour then toured the East Coast with T-Rex, Three Dog Night, and West, Bruce & Laing.

We recorded a second album, “Con Safos” (Mercury 694) produced by Denny Randell, but, in the end it didn't work out. I later recorded vocals on Zappa's “Apostrophe”; “Zoot Allures”; and “Live at the Roxy.”

Copyright 2009 Osbourne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission