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DEAR JERRY:Our local paper (Los Angeles Times) ran a list of the most popular American Idol contestants of all time — the key word here being “popular.”
This particular survey reflects who the voters liked the most, and not directly based on their history of show business success or album sales.
Here is their Top 10:
1. Kelly Clarkson; 2. Carrie Underwood; 3. Jennifer Hudson; 4. David Cook; 5. Adam Lambert; 6. Fantasia Barrino; 7. Constantine Maroulis; 8. Kris Allen; 9. Clay Aiken; 10. Chris Daughtry.
It's interesting having three women at the top, but even more so seeing six of the 10 who were not the winner in their particular season. Only Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Kris Allen actually won.
Now I would like to see the Top 10 based strictly on sales figures, and a comparison of the two lists.
—Lara Torrent, Burbank, Calif.
DEAR LARA: It comes as no shock finding that personal popularity and the capacity to create sales are not always directly proportional. Four names — including one winner (Kris Allen) — in the Times' Top 10 are not among the 10 top album sellers (U.S. sales only). Note that the top two gals on this list are flip-flopped:
Neither Daughtry, Aiken, nor Pickler won the competition, yet each outsold the Idol winner for their season, some by a wide margin.
None of the three top vote-getters in Season 5, Taylor Hicks (1), Katharine McPhee (2), and Elliott Yamin (3), are among the Top 10 in sales. Daughtry came in fourth that year, and Pickler sixth.
In Season 2, Ruben Studdard's Idol vote total barely exceeded runner-up Clay Aiken's, but at the cash register, Clay's 4.9 million albums sold is about double Ruben's.
Besides Taylor Hicks, other winners and runners-up whose sales do not yet qualify them for a Top 10 slot are: (Season 7) David Archuleta (2nd); (Season 8) Kris Allen (1st) and Adam Lambert (2nd); (Season 9); Lee DeWyze (1st) and Crystal Bowersox (2nd).
A rare and quirky chart event, involving the Season 4 winner and runner-up, occurred in 2005.
Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice both recorded versions of “Inside Your Heaven,” and the two records made their chart debut one week apart.
On Billboard's Hot 100 Singles for the week of July 9, Carrie's version held the No. 3 position and Bo's was No. 2.
Not since early 1957 (Sonny James and Tab Hunter with “Young Love”) do I recall two different recordings of the same song being in Billboard's Top 3 at the exact same time.
IZ ZAT SO? Countless times over Idol's 10 seasons, we've heard the judges refer to when the contestants “make a record.”
Truth is, very few of them make records. CDs and digital files for downloading, yes, and those are recordings, but they are not records.
Of those who do have their name on an actual record, nearly all are promotional pressings made either for juke boxes or 12-inch disco singles for club play.
Mostly from the singers mentioned above, here are those who can honestly say they made a record:
Clay Aiken: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (2003); “Invisible” (2004).
Fantasia Barrino: “Truth Is” (2004); “Baby Mama” (2005); “Hood Boy” (2006).
Bo Bice: “Inside Your Heaven” (2005).
Kelly Clarkson: “A Moment Like This” (2002); “Miss Independent” (2003); “Since U Been Gone” (2004); “Behind These Hazel Eyes” (2005); “Because of You” (2005); “Walk Away” (2006).
Justin Guarini: “Unchained Melody” (2003).
Taylor Hicks: “Do I Make You Proud” (2006).
Katharine McPhee: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (2006).
Kellie Pickler: “Don't You Know You're Beautiful” (2008); “Makin' Me Fall in Love Again” (2008).
Jordin Sparks: “Tattoo Remixes” (2007).
Ruben Studdard: “Flying Without Wings” (2003); “Sorry 2004” (2003); “What If” (2004); “What Is Sexy” (2004).
Carrie Underwood: “Inside Your Heaven” (2005).
Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column. Write Jerry at: Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368 E-mail: jpo@olympus.net Visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com.
All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition.
Copyright 2011 Osborne Enterprises- Reprinted By Exclusive Permission
Anniversary Package To Include Previously-Unreleased Demos of Nine Songs and Liner Notes From Frontman Kevin Cronin
NEW YORK, May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The year 1981 marks the debut of the groundbreaking MTV Networks and, simultaneously, as MTV was hitting the airwaves, REO Speedwagon held the #1 album spot with their multi-platinum Hi Infidelity, making an impression that has also come to last decades. Now, marking its 30th Anniversary, the highest-selling rock LP of 1981 is being commemorated with HI INFIDELITY: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION, with special, never-before-released demos and more. The double-CD set will be released at all physical and digital retail outlets on July 19th through Epic/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.
Hi Infidelity was a career-changing album for REO Speedwagon, achieving a staggering number of accolades, chart positions and sales, among them:
•Highest-selling rock LP of 1981
•Has sold close to 10 million copies in the US
•February 21, 1981; the album hit #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and remained at #1 for 15 weeks straight; taking over John Lennon & Yoko Ono's "Double Fantasy," which previously held the spot for eight weeks
•Remained on Billboard 200 album chart for 101 weeks, unprecedented for an American rock band at the time
•Album certified RIAA Gold and Platinum on February 2, 1981; since been 10x Platinum certified
•Single "Keep on Loving You," certified RIAA gold on March 4th, replaced Eddie Rabbitt's "I Love a Rainy Night" at #1 on Billboard Hot 100 on March 21, 1981
•March 21st, 1981, the first week of Billboard's then new "Top Tracks" chart (now known as the Mainstream Rock Chart) boasted four songs from Hi Infidelity: "Keep on Loving You" and "Take It On the Run," which both hit the top 10; and "Don't Let Him Go"(#11) and "Tough Guys" (#25); "Out of Season," joined those four a week later
•"Take It On the Run" was the 9th music video ever to be played on MTV
HI INFIDELITY: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION will pair the original album with a second CD of previously unreleased 'Crystal Demos' of nine of the album's 10 songs. Additionally, the album packaging will include new liner notes by lead singer Kevin Cronin, as well as original lead guitarist Gary Richrath. Cronin's essay takes the reader on a trip behind the curtain to the roots of many of the songs: "I remember writing the verses to piano, after sleepwalking into my home studio around 4:00 a.m.... A long simmering response to the bullies of my youth came in the form of 'Tough Guys'... Bruce wrote and sang 'Someone Tonight,' which is one of the gems from the Crystal Demos... 'I wish You Were There' [was] a little gospel thing that I had written in the house where I grew up in suburban Chicago."
Originally formed in Champaign, Illinois, REO Speedwagon is still led today by keyboardist Neal Doughty (founding member since 1967), Kevin Cronin (who has fronted the band since 1972 on lead vocals and guitar), and bassist Bruce Hall (who joined in 1977) – along with lead guitarist Dave Amato (member since 1989) and drummer Bryan Hitt (since 1990). Together, REO continues to define the essence of two enduring genres, arena rock on the performance side, and classic rock on the audio and video side. Summer tour dates begin at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre on June 4th and take the band through more than 40 shows where they'll showcase the best of Hi Infidelity with the live performances that audiences have grown to love over the last three decades and continue to sell out time and time again.
As Cronin writes, "Hi Infidelity was a major life changer for all of us. On our eleventh album, we went from being the perennial Midwestern underdog, to at last hitting the global big time. Suddenly, the world was listening, and watching... But the truth is, it all still boiled down to the music, the songs, some inspired performances, and a great deal of good fortune. We were a tight knit, dedicated group of individuals, with a dream, a purpose, and no doubt that we would pull it all off."
HI INFIDELITY: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION by REO SPEEDWAGON (Epic/Legacy 88697 69579 2, originally issued November 1980, as Epic 36844)
Disc One – Selections: 1. Don't Let Him Go 2. Keep On Loving You 3. Follow My Heart 4. In Your Letter 5. Take It On The Run 6. Tough Guys 7. Out Of Season 8. Shakin' It Loose 9. Someone Tonight 10. I Wish You Were There.
Disc Two: The Crystal Demos – Selections: 1. Someone Tonight 2. Tough Guys 3. In Your Letter 4. Follow My Heart 5. Take It On The Run 6. Don't Let Him Go 7. Keep On Loving You 8. Shakin' It Loose (Instrumental) 9. I Wish You Were There. (All tracks previously unreleased.)
"The heavens, our emotions, the music business, and REO fans all over the world, were all perfectly aligned. There was a common sense of purpose, of longing and loss, within the band members' collective psyche, that erupted with a burst of creativity, and resulted in the music of Hi Infidelity."
– from the liner notes written by Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon
"Kevin and I go way back, having met right about the time I joined Styx. There was probably no one more keenly aware of their chart positions than we were for all those weeks back in 1981. Most exciting days indeed!" – Tommy Shaw of Styx
i spend my time searching for vinyl related stories and came across one of the most indepth and fascinating posts about record collecting and i thought i would share it with you. i contacted jim and he gave me the ok to post part of his post, please take the time to visit his site and read the rest - i know you will love it!
All About Record Collecting
by Jim
I spent most of my middle and high school years sorting through stacks of old records at various Atlanta record stores, working the floor at record shows, pouring over Goldmine magazine and burning up transatlantic phone lines with calls to record shops in the UK.
I was what you’d call a record collector, although I wasn’t much of one in the greater scheme of things. There are record collectors out there who have tens of thousands of albums filling their basements and garages, like John Cusack in High Fidelity. But I was never one of them. I kept my collection small, filling it with records I loved as well as records to “flip”. In fact, flipping records is how my love affair with Madonna started. Like most teenage guys in the 80s, I thought that she was super-hot, but I didn’t much care for her music. But I noticed that her records sold quickly and expensively, so I started buying the occasional Madonna picture disc just to flip it into a rare Cure record I wanted.
Although vinyl collecting almost died, it’s going through a renaissance of sorts lately. Many independent record stores are reporting that vinyl is now outselling CDs, although this has as much to do with people who used to buy CDs now using iTunes as it does people buying more vinyl records. Still, vinyl sales are up, and because of this, I thought I’d dust off this old post and spruce it up some.
By using the following guide, you should be able to suss out the value of most any disc, be it a CD you bought a year ago or a box full of your parents’ old vinyl records you found cleaning out the attic. And given the rise of the Internet – specifically, auction sites like eBay and online memorabilia retailers like GEMM – you can quickly sell those discs (if you choose) as never before.
here we go again, another list of album covers to make you cringe. some i have seen before (over and over again in someone's list of bad album covers), but there are some new ones on this list. for shits and giggles, check it out at sandiegoreader.com
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Kim Kardashian Calls Her Lawyers Over Album Cover
Kim Kardashian has threatened two music producers with legal action after they used an image of her naked body on their album cover without permission. The reality star noticed that the photograph on the cover of Terrace Martin and Devi Dev's album was from her nude spread in fashion bible W Magazine according to a TMZ report. The album, Terrace Martin & Devi Dev Present: The Sex EP, used a close-up of Kardashian's bare breasts from the magazine spread.
She instructed her lawyers to send a cease and desist letter to the two producers demanding they swap the picture, stating, "We cannot imagine why you thought you had the right to use this photograph without permission."
The photograph was later changed to another woman's body. The producers claimed that they did not know they had originally used Kardashian's image. Yeah right......
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The Menzingers announce vinyl release
Mightier Than Sword Records and Shop Radio Cast is releasing The Menzingers' debut album 'A Lesson in the Abuse of Information Technology' on vinyl for the first time this June.
The first pressing for 1000 records :
100 180g Vinyl on Black
450 Solid White (Exclusive MTS Color)
450 Solid Army Green (Exclusive Shop Radio Cast Color)
You can pre-order this release through the Mightier Than Sword website on Friday, May 27th. The official release date for the vinyl is Tuesday, June 28th.
Formed in 2006, The Menzingers are a Scranton, PA-based punk band whose second full-length, 'Chamberlain Waits' made it onto multiple 2010 "Best Of" lists, and who announced their signing to Epitaph Records earlier this month. "A Lesson in the Abuse of Information Technology" was originally released on Go-Kart Records in 2007 but never available on vinyl until now.
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Silverchair Go into ‘Indefinite Hibernation’
here is what the band posted on their facebook page:
We formed Silverchair nearly 20 years ago when we were just 12 years old. Today we stand by the same rules now as we did back then ... if the band stops being fun and if it's no longer fulfilling creatively, then we need to stop.
Therefore after much soul searching we wanted to let you know that we're putting Silverchair into "indefinite hibernation" and we've decided to each do our own thing for the foreseeable future.
1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
2. Ty Segall - I Can't Feel It 7"
3. Queens Of The Stone Age - Queens Of The Stone Age
4. Tyler The Creator - Goblin
5. Bake Sale - As Predicted 7"
6. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
7. Natural Child - 1971
8. Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
9. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
10. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
11. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
12. KORT - Invariable Heartache
13. The Antlers - Burst Apart
14. Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
15. Hank Williams III - Hillbilly Joker
16. Cy Barkley & The Wayoutsiders - Rock Together
17. Kleenex / Lilliput - Kleenex & Lilliput
18. Iron & Wine / Low Anthem - Daytrotter Sessions
19. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
20. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
21. Booker T. Jones - The Road To Memphis
22. TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light
23. Lonely Island - Turtleneck & Chain
24. My Morning Jacket - At Dawn
25. Whiskeytown - Pneumonia
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and in music history for today:
In 1965, blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, Sonny Boy Williamson died in his sleep. Van Morrison, Aerosmith, The Who, The Animals, Yardbirds and Moody Blues all covered his songs. According to the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods, touring the UK in the 60's, Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.
The Rolling Stones released "Jumpin' Jack Flash" in 1968.
The Hollies recorded "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" in 1969 (with Elton John on piano).
In 1973, Carole King played a concert in New York's Central Park, which attracted an audience of 100,000.
In 1978, the Who performed a concert in London to be filmed for their documentary movie on the band's history, 'The Kids Are Alright.' This proved to be Keith Moon's last performance with the band before his death on September 7th.
Dio released the album "Holy Diver" in 1983.
In 1995, the earliest known recording of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, from 1961, was sold at Christies in London for $85,425.
In 1996, Bradley Nowell (Sublime) was found dead in his San Francisco motel room of a drug overdose at the age of 26. what a shame.....
In 1997, a report showed that Elvis Presley was now the world’s bestselling posthumous entertainer with worldwide sales of over one billion, over 480 active fanclubs and an estimated 250,000 U.K. fans who still buy his records.
In 2009, a former member of Wilco, died at his home in Illinois at the age of 45. Jay Bennett worked as a sound engineer and played instruments for the band between 1994 and 2001
birthdays today include Lauryn Hill of The Fugees (1975), Klaus Meine of the Scorpions (1958), country vet Tom T. Hall (75) and musician Paul Weller (1958); among others.
Acephalix - Interminable Night
Aerosmith - Tough Love: Best Of The Ballads
Against Me! - Total Clarity
Aidan Moffat & Bill Wells - Everything's Getting Older
Al Stewart - Images: His First Three Albums (2 CDs)
Alexandre Desplat - The Tree Of Life (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Alpinist - Licthlaerm || Minus.Mensch
Amon Tobin - Isam
Arnaud Rebotini - Someone Gave Me Religion
Art Brut - Brilliant Tragic
Ash Black Bufflo - Andasol
Asva - Presences of Absences
Atlanta Rhythm Section - With All Due Respect
Aventura - 14 Plus 14
Baby Baby - Money
Basemint - No Retro b/w Basemint
Battles - Ice Cream
Bill Black's Combo - Solid And Raunchy
Billy Fury - The Sound Of Fury
Bird Call - Other Creatures (EP)
Bird of Youth - Defender
Black Tusk - Passage Through Purgatory
Bob Desper - New Sounds
Book Of Black Earth - The Cold Testament
Bootsy Collins - Tha Funk Capitol Of The World (vinyl)
Boris - Attention Please
Boris - Heavy Rocks
Brad Paisley - This Is Country Music
Brendan Perry - Ark
Bringers Of Disease - Gospel Of Pestilence
Buck Owens & Susan Raye - Very Best of Buck Owens & Susan Raye
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus: 25th Anniversary Edition (2 CDs)
Cave In - White Silence
Chet Atkins - Teensville
Chip Taylor - Rock and Roll Joe
Christmas Island / Meth Teeth - Split
Cold Showers - Highlands
Conway Twitty - Icon
Craig Douglas - Craig Douglas
Crosby & Nash - Another Stoney Evening (vinyl)
Danielson - Grow Up
Danny Elfman - Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box (16-CD box set)
Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez
David Bazan - Strange Negotiations
David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name (reissue)
Deep Purple - Phoenix Rising (2 CDs)
Deep Purple - Shades of Deep Purple
Dels - Gob
Destroyer 666 - To the Devil His Due
Devil Whale - Teeth
Devolved - Oblivion
Dinah Washington - What A Diff rence A Day Makes
Dot Dot Curve - I'm Still Here
Drainland - And So Our Troubles Began
Duane Eddy - Plays Songs Of Our Heritage
Duff McKagan's Loaded - Sick (CD/DVD)
Dynasty - Truer Living With a Youthful Vengeance
Ear Pwr - Ear Pwr
Eddie Vedder - Longing to Belong (vinyl)
Efrim Manuel Menuck - Plays "High Gospel"
Electric Wizard - Black Masses (vinyl)
Face Candy - Waste Age Teen Land
Fan Modine - Gratitude for the Shipper
Fireworks - Gospel
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors (reissue)(vinyl)
Fonzi Thornton - Pumpin'
For The Fallen Dreams - Back Burner
Foster the People - Torches
Franke & The Knockouts - The Best of Franke & The Knockouts (remastered)
Frederik - Na Na Ni (reissue) (vinyl)
French Horn Rebellion - The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion
Friendly Fires - Pala
Garage a Trois- Always Be Happy: But Stay Evil
Gary Moore - Live at Montreux 1997 (2 LPs)(vinyl)
Graham Nash - Songs for Beginners
Group Doueh - Zayna Jumma
Hank Williams - Icon
Human Eye - They Came From The Sky
In Solitude - The World.The Flesh.The Devil.
Inevitable End - The Oculus
Jessica 6 - See The Light
Johanna & The Dusty Floor - Northern Lights
Joseph Arthur - Graduation Ceremony
Journey - Eclipse
Jozef Van Wissem - The Joy That Never Ends
Kate Bush - Director's Cut
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
Kate Bush - The Dreaming (remastered)
Kate Maki - Moonshine
Kate Voegele - Gravity Happens
Kay Starr - Movin'
King Creosote and Jon Hopkins - Diamond Mine
Kitten - Sunday School (vinyl)
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Lady Gaga - Judas
Lana Sisters - Chantelly Lace: Complete Singles Plus
Lo-Pan - Salvador
Louis Armstrong - Icon
Love - Forever Changes (reissue)
Mamas & the Papas - Icon
Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs (remastered with bonus CD)
Mesh - Alternative Solution
Miles Davis - Blue Haze (reissue) (vinyl)
Mist - House (vinyl)
Monkees - Changes (remastered with bonus tracks)
Monkees - Monkeemania (reissue)
Monkees - Present (remastered with bonus tracks)
Motopony - Motopony
Mr. Scruff - Wobble Control
Muddy Waters - Icon
Nat Baldwin - People Changes
Neal Morse - Testimony 2
Neighbors - The August EP
New Edition - Icon
New Kids On The Block & Backstreet Boys - NKOTBSB
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Boatman's Call
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Let Love In
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part
Other Lives - Tamer Animals (vinyl)
Paul Lawrence - Haven't You Heard
People Like Us - Welcome Abroad
Phathom - The New Piracy
Philip Glass - The Music of Philip Glass & Foday Musa Suso (from the Philip Glass Recording Archive Vol. VI)
Planningtorock - W
Presidents - 5-10-15-20-25-30 Years of Love: The Greatest Hits
Pretenders - Pretenders (reissue)
Pretenders - Pretenders II (reissue)
Ray Charles - The Genius Hits The Road
Ray Manzarek & Roy Rogers - Translucent Blues
Ray Price - Songs of Inspiration
Robin Guthrie - Emeralds
Rosanne Cash - Essential Rosanne Cash (2 CDs)
Royal Bangs - Flux Outside (vinyl)
Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside - Dirty Radio
Santana - Moonflower (vinyl)
Sarabeth Tucek - Get Well Soon
Scarlet Season - The Taxidermist
Sculptress - “Cuckold” (12")
She Wants Revenge - Valleyheart
Smod - Smod
Snailhouse - Sentimental Gentleman
Soema Montenegro - Passionaria
Spandau Ballet - True (reissue)(vinyl)
Stephen Marley - Revelation Part 1: The Roots of Life
Tara Jane O'Neil and Nikaido Kazumi - Tara Jane O'Neil and Nikaido Kazumi
Teenage Fanclub - Thirteen (reissue) (vinyl)
The Bewitched Hands - Birds and Drums
The Felice Brothers - Celebration, Florida (vinyl)
The French Horn Rebellion - The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion
The Men - Leave Home
The Moaners / Jennyanykind - Split (vinyl)
The Moaners - Nocturnal
The Prodigy - World’s On Fire
The Vertebrats - Screaming Like a Mad Choir
These Trails - These Trails
Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts (vinyl)
Toddla T - Cherry Picking (vinyl)
Tokimonsta - Creature Dreams EP
Various Artists - Marijuana Madness
Various Artists - Glee: The Music, Volume 6
Various Artists - IMPREC300 (vinyl)
Various Artists - Kitsune Maison Compilation 11: Indie Dance
Various Artists - Nigeria 70 Sweet Times: Afro-Funk Highlife (vinyl)
Various Artists - Pianos in the Kitchen (From the Kitchen Archive No.5)
Various Artists - The Hangover, Part II: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists - The Rhythms Of Black Peru (vinyl)
Vieux Farka Toure - The Secret
White Denim - D
Willie DeVille - Come a Little Bit Closer
Willie Nelson - Icon
Yourself and the Air - Who's Who in the Zoo
Remember, if you are a record company and have new releases or know of any I missed (especially vinyl), please email me and I will add your music to the list. I also do reviews of new vinyl, email me for more information.
The Mixed Feelings 45 made the list but got beat out of the top spot by the frequent flier Martzy Bach box set. The Beatles and Sex Pistols show up again with a "God Save The Queen" production acetate selling for almost $1500 more than an original "Love Me Do" promo 45 with the original sleeve.
1. LP - Johanna Martzy "Bach: The unaccompanied Violin Sonatas" Columbia Box set UK - $5,023.69
2. 45 - Mixed Feelings "Sha-la-la" / "Love Will Find A Way" United - $4050.00
3. 45 - Sex Pistols "God Save The Queen" Acetate - $3,684.36
4. 45 - The Beatles "Love Me Do" / "P.S. I Love You" Parlophone UK Demo - $2,200.56
5. 45 - The Pelicans "Aurelia" / "White Cliffs Of Dover" Parrot 793 - $3,484.34
More on this week's top 5 on Vinyl Record Talk, Tuesday 8:00PM Eastern / 5:00PM Pacific on Radio Dentata.
From the outside it's just another concrete building rising up nine or 10 stories on a downtown Tokyo street. Inside, it's no more impressive — until Shinichiro Tatsumi opens the well-secured door to his own, private Bob Dylan heaven.
What confronts the visitor, Dylan fan or not, is a breathtaking sight. Occupying a room some 15 meters long and 5 across, it is what Tatsumi confirms as being certainly the largest collection of Dylan material in Japan. And who's to say if not in the world.
Truly the eyes pop, and pop again and again, as the brain tries to take in the scale and scope of this trove. Over almost 35 years of collecting, Tatsumi, 49, has now assembled here a mind-boggling 2,500 copies of officially released vinyl albums by Dylan, including compilations and promo albums and ones related to his sidemen, as well as around 1,000 copies of comparative vinyl singles. And even though Tatsumi can instantly lay his hand on anything here, each and every item in this one-room cornucopia is also meticulously documented on his computer.
That's just as well, because along with those vinyl records from all over the world, there are some 2,000 officially released CDs, hundreds of DVDs and — wonder of wonders — nearly 450 bootleg CD albums which, together with CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, cassettes and DAT recordings, cover an incredible 2,500 of Dylan's roughly 3,000 concerts in the more than 55 years he's been performing in some 30 countries.
Old music, new ears: Louisvillian Nathan Salsburg helps carry on work of folklorist Alan Lomax
Written by Jeffrey Lee Puckett
The hard drives stacked on Nathan Salsburg's desk in his downtown Louisville office look innocuous enough, but they contain a life's work: thousands of songs collected over more than six decades of world travel, living histories of dozens of cultures.
The famed folklorist and ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax collected the material, which has now become the focus of Salsburg's work.
For 11 years, he has been part of small group of music obsessives who run the Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), a nonprofit founded by Lomax and based in Manhattan. Lomax, who died in 2002, actively cataloged the world's music for more than 60 years through field recordings and extensive documentation.
Salsburg is currently the editor of ACE's digital catalog, and curated the first five releases for Global Jukebox, a massive project first envisioned by Lomax that will compile thousands of hours of music from Lomax's archives to be released as digital downloads, LPs and CDs.
Four years ago, cassette tapes were headed toward their funeral. In 2007, British tabloid The Sun declared the death of the cassette, after the announcement that a major electronics retailer in the United Kingdom would cease selling cassette tapes. In 2009, the webzine Pop Matters bid cassettes good riddance: “Some mediums are just meant to die and never experience a revival. Cassettes seem destined to fall into this category.”
Then, last year, cassettes began to rise from the dead. In the fall, NPR reported that cassettes were having a “kind of” revival, with at least 25 labels in the United States putting out new music exclusively on tape. In a lengthy essay in Pitchfork, contributor Marc Hogan detailed examples of the “broader underground resurgence” of cassettes.
So, are cassettes at death’s door or enjoying a healthy renaissance? It depends on whom you ask. Cassette culture has never waned in certain circles, specifically among noise and experimental bands. But cassettes have gradually been popping up in non-underground places. Lady Gaga probably won’t be releasing music on cassette tape anytime soon, but well-known independent bands such as Animal Collective, Deerhoof and the Mountain Goats have all put out cassettes this year.
Albums:
1. Adele :21
2. Various :Now 38
3. The Lonely Island :Turtleneck and Chain
4. Christina Perri :lovestrong.
5. Tyler The Creator :Goblin
6. Beastie Boys :Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
7. The Cars :Move Like This
8. Fleet Foxes :Helplessness Blues
9. Jennifer Lopez :Love
10. Jason Aldean :My Kinda Party
Singles:
1. Adele :Rolling In The Deep
2. Katy Perry feat. Kanye West :E.T.
3. Lady Gaga :The Edge Of Glory
4. Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer :Give Me Everything
5. Black Eyed Peas :Just Can't Get Enough
6. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull :On The Floor
7. Bruno Mars :The Lazy Song
8. Britney Spears :Till The World Ends
9. Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes :Look At Me Now
10. Jeremih feat. 50 Cent :Down On Me
UK
Albums:
1. Adele :21
2. Kate Bush :Director's Cut
3. Adele :19
4. Hugh Laurie :Let Them Talk
5. Bruno Mars :Doo-Wops & Holligans
6. Friendly Fires :Pala
7. Chase & Status :No More Idols
8. Jessie J. :Who You Are
9. Foo Fighters :Wasting Light
10. Caro Emerald :Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor
Singles:
1. Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer :Give Me Everything
2. Bruno Mars :The Lazy Song
3. LMFAO :Party Rock Anthem
4. Aloe Blacc :I Need A Dollar
5. Chris Brown feat. Benny Benassi :Beautiful People
6. Lady Gaga :The Edge Of Glory
7. David Guetta :Where Them Girls At
8. Lady Gaga :Judas
9. Snoop Dogg Vs. David Guetta :Sweat
10. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull :On The Floor
Europe
Albums:
1. Take That :Progress
2. Rihanna :Loud
3. Bruce Springsteen :The Promise
4. Shakira :Sale El Sol
5. Pink :Greatest Hits ... So Far
6. Bon Jovi :Greatest Hits
7. James Blunt :Some Kind Of Trouble
8. Susan Boyle :The Gift
9. Kings Of Leon :Come Around Sundown
10. JLS :Outta This World
Singles:
1. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull :On The Floor
2. Rihanna :S&M
3. Adele :Rolling In the Deep
4. Lady Gaga :Born This Way
5. Black Eyed Peas :Just Can't Get Enough
6. Jessie J. feat. B.o.B. :Price Tag
7. Katy Perry :E.T.
8. Snoop Dogg Vs. David Guetta :Sweat
9. LMFAO :Party Rock Anthem
10. Bruno Mars :Grenade
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Vinyl records make a return
Melinda Newman - Los Angeles Times
Music on discs, the big, old-time kind, is popular again. Baby boomers and even kids seek it out. The industry responds.
When the doorbell rings at Monti Olson's Glendale home in the middle of the night, it can mean only one thing: Jeff Bowers, his partner in Original Recordings Group, has brought new album artwork for him to inspect. "I'll come out in my pajamas and look it over," Olson said. "He drives home, and I'll go back to bed."
Olson's doorbell is chiming more frequently these days. Since starting vinyl-only label ORG in December 2006 in Olson's kitchen, the label is bursting at the seams. "By the end of the year, we will have gone from making zero money to projecting that we will gross over $1 million," said Olson, who nevertheless has kept his day job as senior vice president of A&R at Universal Music Publishing Group.
The label, which primarily licenses material from Universal Music Group, will release 10 vinyl albums in 2008 and expects to put out twice that number in 2009. But ORG isn't the only one reaping the rewards. Many Southern California companies -- large and small -- are benefiting from this sonic boom.
According to the Recording Industry Assn., shipments of vinyl soared 36.6% from 2006 to 2007. That amounts to 1.3 million units nationwide. While the numbers are minuscule compared to CD shipments of 511 million for 2007, the news is much-welcomed by a faltering music industry.
"This is a little bright star," said Jane Ventom, vice president for Hollywood-based EMI Music Marketing. Next month, Capitol/EMI will launch "From the Capitol Vaults," with the release of 13 titles on vinyl, including Radiohead's "OK Computer" and Steve Miller Band's "Greatest Hits 1974-1978."
Baby boomers, many of whom had long tucked away their turntables, began to feel nostalgic for their youth and the warm sound of vinyl. Concurrently, a younger generation, raised on CDs and tinny, compressed MP3 files, traded in their earbuds for a less isolated music experience.
Long the provenance of indie record stores, vinyl can now be found at such mass marketers as Best Buy and Costco.
"I have family friends whose 10-year-olds are asking for turntables," said Tom "Grover" Biery, Warner Bros. Records' executive vice president of promotion and the Burbank-based label's vinyl guru.
well, after reading the full page ad in the usa today on friday, i was convinced the world was coming to an end, well, maybe they will be right the next time they predict it :O)
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and in music history for today:
The Everly Brothers started a five-week run at #1 in the U.S. in 1960 with “Cathy's Clown.”
In 1964, The Beach Boys released "I Get Around" which will go on to become the group's first #1 hit, topping the US chart for two weeks.
The Beatles' "Paperback Writer" b/w "Rain" single was released in 1966.
In 1967, Pink Floyd went into the studio and recorded “See Emily Play,” the group's second single. Original frontman Syd Barrett wrote the song.
Iron Butterfly broke up in 1971.
In 1973, Jefferson Airplane were barred from playing Golden Gate Park in San Francisco after the city council banned electric instruments in public concerts.
In 1991, photographer Michael Lavine took what would be the publicity shots for Nirvana’s Nevermind album at Jay Aaron Studios in Los Angeles. The idea for the front cover shot of the baby swimming was taken after Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl saw a TV documentary on water babies. Kirk Weddle was the photographer. Several babies were used; five-month old Spencer Eldon’s photo came out best.
Rosemary Clooney was born in 1928 (died 2002)
birthday wishes to Danny Klein (J. Geils Band) (65), Rick Fenn (10cc) (58), Luka Bloom (56) and Jewel (1974), just to name a few
Talking Book (reissue) Stevie Wonder Tamla/Mobile Fidelity MOFI 1-009 140g LP Produced by: Stevie Wonder Engineered by: Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff Mixed by: N/A Mastered by: Paul Stubblebine at Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Recordists: Joan De Cola Austin Godfrey
MUSIC
SOUND
Mobile Fidelity Reissues Wonder's Post- Coming of Age Album by Michael Fremer May 20, 2011
No one before sang quite like Stevie Wonder does on this groundbreaking album, but everyone did afterwards. Wonder's tonality and phrasing on Talking Book were breakthroughs in soul/pop vocalizing.
An explosion of artists began singing the word "baby" the unusual and exaggerated way Wonder does here. Even if they sounded completely different on the rest of the song they were performing, when they got to the word "baby" it came out sounding like Wonder's exaggerated "baby."
You can hear from where Michael Jackson got his falsetto cackling. The slow, sticky, funky rhythm on "Maybe Your Baby" was startlingly new back in 1972 and it served as a template for an entire genre of music.
Wonder's shift from soul to rock and jazz also startled a generation as did his daring use of the then novel Moog synthesizer—far more prominent here than on Abbey Road to which the Cecil/Margouleff team also contributed.
But while many think of Talking Book as Wonder's "coming of age" album, they are forgetting about his previous album Music of my Mind, which was Wonder's launch into manhood much as Off the Wall, which preceded Thriller, was Jackson's.
The songwriting is as sophisticated as the production, particularly the gorgeous ballads "You are the Sunshine of My Life, "You and I," "Blame it on the Sun" and the finale, "I Believe (When I Fall in Love it Will Be Forever)."
These achievements almost get lost in the shadow of "Superstition," which combines a powerful message, an insistent funk beat, and that clavinet riff that was a new and sensational sound in 1972 and still grips today.
Let's not leave out the fact that Stevie also plays the drums, keyboards and other instruments. This album established him as one of the greats even were he not to follow up with Innervision and the others.
The album combines funk, social commentary, dramatic expressions of love, rock, a new sound paradigm and on and on.
No wonder it sounds as fresh and focused today as it does when it was released, though if you were there then, the seismic wave that rippled through the music community was gigantic on a scale that's difficult to appreciate if you came to this album much later.
Jeff Beck, Ray Parker, Jr. and Buzzy Feiton (misspelled "Feton" on the original LP) add the guitar licks and David Sanborn alto sax on "Tuesday Heartbreak." The contributions made by other musicians are equally important to the album and speaking of groundbreaking, don't forget the background singing and especially the background singing arrangements that have voices breaking through aggressively in ways that hadn't yet been heard.
Even the cover, with Wonder wearing African garb, his hair cornrowed, sitting in the dirt, announced a major shift in his world view, even if the songs mostly remained steeped in Tin Pan Alley style balladry.
While the original (Tamla T-319L) jacket features braille, Mobile Fidelity's reissue does not, nor do any of the other pressings I've got here. Otherwise, Mo-Fi has done a very nice job with the gatefold packaging, especially considering it's part of their less expensive "Silver Label" series pressed at RTI on 140g instead of 180g vinyl.
This was never a sonic spectacular. It was merely good. There are probably numerous overdubs and parts added in Europe and America and it sounds somewhat less than immediate and present on the George Marino mastered original (the initials M.B.G. on the lead out groove area must be George's way of "hiding" while taking credit. When he later joined Sterling Sound, he scribed nothing to indicate his mastering).
Motown began using RCA to plate and press its records from the beginning. In the early days when the label was pressing "Living Stereo" records this was a benefit for Motown and for record fans and audiophiles. Motown's records in those early days were beautifully pressed on thick vinyl.
That association became a curse by the early '70s when RCA went to thin "Dynaflex" vinyl. Motown's records became equally thin and many suffered "non-fill" at the outer extremes, which was evident as noise. Plus, by that time there was a vinyl shortage, which is probably what led RCA to begin producing such thin records.
Rainbo's Steve Sheldon related some stories of pressing plant desperation in those days when literally anything that could be melted was added to the pellets to make them go further. So it's not likely you'll find or own a quiet, clean original.
Mine original is pretty good but has some noise. There's an excellent German "two-fer" if you can find it, with this album plus Music of My Mind. What makes it particularly worthwhile is that both LPs were mastered by Marino and feature the same inner groove information as the original, so you get a cut from the fresh master tape and superb German plating and pressing.
If you can find that, don't pass it up but good luck finding it.
There was also a very good late '70s Japanese pressing (VIP 6003) that cost 3500 yen ($30) back then that's beautifully pressed and comes in a thick, leather-textured jacket, plus the mastering is very faithful to the original.
As for this MOFI reissue, it is very, very good. Understand that when you hear occasional vocal sibilance it's on the tape because it's also on every pressing I have here. Also, the drums on "Superstition" are somewhat dark and lacking in snap and presence. That's just the way the recording must sound since every version I have here sounds that way too.
However, it's also fairly safe to say this was issued on Mo-Fi's Silver Label series because the master tape wasn't available and that's not surprising. Universal lost a great deal of their masters in the disastrous Universal Studios backlot fire of June, 2008.
It's doubly tragic because there had been numerous fires at Universal yet management still chose to warehouse the audio tape masters along with a huge collection of video masters instead of putting them in a more secure location.
Fortunately, much of the jazz catalog, particularly the Verve material had been stored more securely on the East Coast and ironically many of the Impulse masters were out at AcousTech being mastered for vinyl reissues.
Most likely, a good deal of the Motown masters were lost in the fire, this being one of them.
Still, since most of the records we treasure from the "golden age" were cut from production cutting masters and not original tapes, reissues like this should sound close to as good as the originals minus whatever losses occur as tapes age.
In the case of this album, Paul Stubblebine did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the original pressing, which was relatively warm, sweet and somewhat distant in parts, but with great presence and transparency in others—and sometimes it varies instrument by instrument on the same tune. Thankfully, he didn't try to "jazz it up" with high frequency EQ to "put back" what wasn't there to begin with.
Add a really quiet RTI 140g pressing and a $22.99 price tag and it adds up to a great reissue and a cause of celebration that Mo-Fi got to this before some of the overseas frauds cutting from CD and claiming to be "vinyl lovers."
Unless you can find that German "Milestones" series two-fer (Tamla-Motown 5C 184-50371/72) or a clean, quiet original (good luck with either), this numbered, limited edition is the one to have.
Thanks to Michael over at www.musicangle.com for the exclusive rights to reprint this material. Stop by MusicAngle.com for more reviews and features.
this from the uk, glad to see vinyl is doing well in britian!
New record shop gets vinyl fanatics in a spin
As the internet puts music shops across the country out of business a vintage store has turned back the clock and opened a vinyl record shop upstairs.
Everything from Blondie to Bruce Willis can be found among more than 5,000 records on the first floor of Sellars Secondhand Allsorts in Lower Street, Kettering.
And the huge range collected over six months is proving a big hit with customers.
Daz Sellar, 41, who opened the vintage and retro shop two years ago, said: “It has been really good.
Jennifer Chesler could think of no better way to spend her day off than browsing the aisles of BeBop Record Shop.
But Wednesday as she approached the independent music store at Maywood Mart, a row of signs taped to the windows stopped her in her tracks.
STORE CLOSING. EVERYTHING MUST GO.
"I was just floored. This is like the main CD store I come to," said Chesler, a 25-year-old drummer and budding violinist who moved to Jackson in 2007 from Atlanta. "I'm not from Mississippi, but I know this place is a staple for Mississippi."
After a 36-year run, BeBop will close its doors May 28, said co-owner Kathy Morrison, who's quick to remind people that BeBop has always been, always is and always will be about the music.
interesting take and opinions on the vinyl revival, although how can anything be taken seriously (for me anyway) by a man who calls himself 'peanut butter wolf?
Peanut Butter Wolf on His History with 45s and Why the Vinyl Comeback Is Overhyped
By Christina Li
Bay Area native Chris Manak, aka Peanut Butter Wolf, is best known for his distinctive production style of jazz, hip-hop, and funk-soul beats. Starting out his career in the early '90s with emcee Charizma, the then-teenage duo found instant success but never chose to conform to outside pressures. Gaining notoriety without releasing an album, they seemed unstoppable, opening for artists including Nas and the Pharcyde. But with Charizma's untimely death in 1993, everything changed. Three years later, Peanut Butter Wolf decided to start Stones Throw Records......
In 1955, Chuck Berry recorded his first single, “Maybellene,” at the Universal Recording Studios in Chicago. According to Berry’s partner, Johnnie Johnson, the song was a reworking of the traditional “Ida Red,” renamed “Maybellene” after producer Leonard Chess spotted a mascara box in the studio bearing that name. The song hit #5 on the U.S. pop charts and #1 on the R&B charts.
In 1956, during a performance at the Municipal Auditorium in Topeka, Kansas, Elvis Presley had to make a hasty exit when 2,500 fans stormed the stage. The Topeka Daily Capital reported, “With movements which would put a burlesque queen to shame, Elvis squirms out his songs. He keeps himself so breathless from the physical contortions that the pleasant timbre of his lower baritone notes can seldom be detected.”
In 1957, 16 year old Paul Anka records "Diana" at the ABC-Paramount studios in New York. The song would reach #1 in the US the following September and became the first of his 33 US Top 40 hits. It was also a chart topper in the UK.
In 1963, 13 year old Little Stevie Wonder recorded a song that would be his first number 1 hit, "Fingertips Pt. 2" at a concert in Detroit. The 7 minute song was later edited into two parts for radio play.
In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began a ten-day "bed-in" in Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel.
John Lennon Merchandise
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young recorded "Ohio" in 1970.
Paul McCartney released "Ram" in 1971.
birthday wishes to Ronald Isley (Isley Brothers) (70), Leo Sayer (63) and Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) (61), just to name a few....
Nick Mason Thought That Many of Pink Floyd's Rarities Had Been Lost
Nick Mason of Pink Floyd didn't think that something like their upcoming expanded versions of the band's albums would ever be released as he assume that many of the rare recordings had been lost.
The drummer with the legendary band is pleased to be unveiling remastered versions of their 14 albums, as well as multi-disc sets containing many alternate takes and unreleased tracks, and one particular version of their song Wish You Were Here, recorded with late violin virtuoso Stephane Grappelli particularly sparked his interest.
Death metal veterans Morbid Angel have announced that they will be joining in on the upcoming edition of the Heavy MTL festival. Heavy MTL 2011 is scheduled to take place on July 23rd and 24th at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Here is the entire festival lineup.
Saturday, July 23:
DISTURBED
GODSMACK
BILLY TALENT
IN FLAMES
TRIVIUM
MACHINE HEAD
UNEARTH
SUICIDE SILENCE
KINDGOM OF SORROW
ALL SHALL PERISH
RED FANG
STRAIGHT LINE STITCH
BLACKGUARD
CRYPTOPSY
DEAD & DIVINE
NECRONOMICON
SLAVES ON DOPE
MASS MURDER MESSIAH
GRIMSKUNK
Sunday, July 24:
KISS
MOTÖRHEAD
MORBID ANGEL
ANNIHILATOR
OPETH
ANTHRAX
CHILDREN OF BODOM
AS I LAY DYING
THE SWORD
TIMES OF GRACE
DEVILDRIVER
DIAMOND HEAD
GIRLSCHOOL
ENDAST
GORGUTS
LAZURUS A.D.
LES GUENILLES
THE CATALYST
ANONYMUS
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B-N music lover opens record store
By Ryan Denham
BLOOMINGTON -- A Twin City man's lifelong passion for collecting music has led him to open a record store specializing in the resurgent market for vinyl albums.
Reverberation Vinyl, 1302 N. Main St., had its grand opening Saturday, said owner John Anderson of Normal. The store specializes in selling new and used LPs, 45s and other formats. It also buys and offers trade credit on record collections and vintage audio equipment such as turntables and eight-track tapes.
Anderson, 38, said he has been buying and trading music since he was a teenager, with his personal passion psychedelic rock. In the digital age, he said the lure of vinyl is its distinctive "three-dimensional" sound.
"With an LP, it's a physical diamond needle digging into the groove of a record," Anderson said. "It's more of a soulful experience."
Blondie will release their ninth studio album, Panic Girls, in September via their own imprint.
Panic Girls was produced by Jeff Saltzman (The Killers) and Kato Khandwala (Paramore), and was predominately recorded in Woodstock, N.Y. This is the band’s first studio album in eight years, with a few new members including Leigh Fox, Tommy Kessler and Katz-Bohen who join Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke on their latest effort.
Here is the video from their first single, “Mother,” below.
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OBLITERATION To Release Nekropsalms On Vinyl Via Forcefield Records
The four apocalyptic hellraisers of OBLITERATION have teamed up with Richmond, VA powerhouse, Forcefield Records, to release the vinyl edition of these death metal maniacs' Nekropsalms LP. A limited pressing will be available on black (334 available), yellow with black haze (55), and yellow vinyl (134).
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and in music history for today:
In 1958, Bobby Darin released the single, “Splish Splash.” The song was co-written by New York City DJ Murray the K’s mother, Jean Kaufman (credited as Jean Murray), who suggested the song’s opening line and title. The song went to #3 on the U.S. charts. It was released as the first eight-track master recording pressed to a plastic 45-RPM disc.
Also in 1958, Ritchie Valens records the self-penned "Come On, Let's Go" for Del-Fi Records in Los Angeles. The song would peak at #42 on the Billboard singles chart the following October.
In 1960, Alan Freed and seven others were indicted for accepting money from six record companies in exchange for air play.
In 1960, the Drifters recorded "Save The Last Dance For Me", which will top the US chart the following October.
In 1965, FBI agents visit Wand Records to investigate the lyrics to "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen. They would eventually release a statement that said that it was impossible to exactly decipher the lyrics from "the unintelligible rendition as performed by The Kingsmen."
In 1967, the Beatles had a party at Brian Epstein's house to launch Sgt. Pepper.
In 1969, Coleman Hawkins, one of the most influential saxophonists in the history of jazz, died of pneumonia at the age of 64.
In 1973, Paul Simon released the single, “Kodachrome,” which became a hit in the U.S., but was banned from airplay in the U.K. because it contained a brand name.
In 1978, Dire Straits released their first major label single, “Sultans of Swing.”
In 1979, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Mick Jagger jammed together at a party at Clapton's home to celebrate his marriage to Patty Boyd. and no one recorded any of this??
In 1989, Ron Wilson, The Surfaris' drummer who recorded Rock and Roll's most influential drum solo, "Wipe Out", died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 49.
birthdays today include Pete Townshend (Who) (66), Phil Rudd (AC/DC) (57) and Dusty Hill (ZZ Top) (62); among many others
DEAR JERRY:In 1959, as a 16-year-old sophomore, I had my first date with a wonderful girl from my school.
Even with trillions of informative pages on the internet, the answer to my question cannot be found.
What I did get from Bing and Google is a way to contact you, which may be all I need.
I'm trying to identify the specific songs where Elvis hits his lowest and highest notes, which would also provide his range.
With about 700 songs, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack for me, and would take years.
Please help me if you can.
—Vickie Payson, Bloomington, Ind.
DEAR VICKIE: As of now, thanks to your curiosity and my good friend Terry Mike Jeffrey, this information will forever be available online.
Terry is the only singer-musician I personally know who can identify any note by simply hearing it, or in many cases, from just his amazing memory!
Of what exists on recordings, Terry Mike's low-note pick is the live version of “I Got a Woman,” the second track on “Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis.” Specifically it is the first of five wells (“well, well, well, well, well”) that precede Elvis' comment about an ecstatic fan, “she's louder than I am, but I've got the microphone.” On that “well,” Elvis hits an E2, or the second E below middle C (C4).
The other extreme is on the “America” CD, at the very end of “America the Beautiful.” Elvis' usual note at this point is a G4, but for this performance he soars to a C5, a full octave above middle C.
This of course is in full voice and not falsetto, though in “Blue Moon” he hits this same note (C5) in falsetto.
I then double-checked these findings with another professional pianist, Lisa Lanza, who said Terry Mike's note analysis was exactly correct.
This establishes Presley's range (E2-C5) as just two notes shy of three full octaves (E2-E5), and more expansive than most pop singers.
We know thousands of Elvis books and magazines exist, yet I believe this is the first time in print for such a noteworthy examination.
DEAR JERRY:Having abandoned new music over 20 years ago, I doubt I would even recognize more than just a few of the artists currently in the Top 100.
Once the rap crap became popular, I couldn't get away fast enough.
Which makes me wonder how many, if any, of those pre-1990 stars have a hit song or album now?
Might there even be someone from the 1950s-'70s?
—Harold Jones, Biloxi, Miss.
DEAR HAROLD: The answer is either none or 11, depending on which format we examine.
Using the most recent charts available as of this writing (May 14), among the current Top 100 singles are a few names you might recognize, though more from being in the tabloids than for their music. One is Britney Spears.
This former Mouseketeer's first hit, “...Baby One More Time,” came along in November '98; however, two others have seniority over Spears: Usher and Kenny Chesney.
Usher (one man, not a group) first made the Top 100 (singles and albums) in September 1994, and precedes Kenny Chesney's LP chart debut by two years (September 1996).
Now for some more familiar names. There are 11 in the Billboard Top 100 albums that you should recognize.
In order of their first chart hit (with significant earlier appearances noted), they are:
1955: Elvis Presley; Johnny Cash; 1968: Creedence Clearwater Revival; 1970: Eric Clapton (1965 with Yardbirds; 1967 with Cream; 1969 with Blind Faith); 1972: Paul Simon (1957 as Tom & Jerry; 1962 as Tico and the Triumphs; 1963 as Jerry Landis); 1973: Lynyrd Skynyrd; Aerosmith; 1974: Bad Company; 1975: Willie Nelson (1962 on C&W charts); 1975: Emmylou Harris; 1977: Foreigner.
IZ ZAT SO? Here are the current (May 14) rankings and titles of the pre-'80s stars. Only the Paul Simon and Emmylou Harris albums are newly recorded. The others are repackages of 20th century recordings.
10: “So Beautiful or So What” Paul Simon
18: “Hard Bargain” Emmylou Harris
56: “VH1 Storytellers” Johnny Cash / Willie Nelson
74: “The Best of Eric Clapton - 20th Century Masters (The Millennium Collection)
75: “The Best of Lynyrd Skynyrd - 20th Century Masters (The Millennium Collection)
82: “Extended Versions” Bad Company
88: “An Afternoon in the Garden” Elvis Presley
90: “Extended Versions” Creedence Clearwater Revival
92: “The Best of Aerosmith - 20th Century Masters (The Millennium Collection)
97: “Extended Versions” Foreigner
Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column. Write Jerry at: Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368 E-mail: jpo@olympus.net Visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com.
All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition.
Copyright 2011 Osborne Enterprises- Reprinted By Exclusive Permission
John Lennon's 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds' Lyrics Sell at Auction
John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" have recently sold at auction for $237,132. The single sheet also contained the opening words for 'She's Leaving Home,' another track from the Beatles' 1967 album 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.'
The lyrics for "Lucy" were apparently a work in progress, with plenty of crossings out, though there is no word on whether they help solve that eternal question for conspiracy-seeking fans -- that in the song title, was Lennon making a sly reference to the drug LSD, something he always denied. The editing supports the idea that, while the song was originally inspired by a drawing by Lennon's four-year-old son Julian, 'Lucy' was composed over several hours in the studio with some input from Paul McCartney.
It is intriguing to have lines from "She's Leaving Home" on the same page, as that song was mainly McCartney's composition and recorded after "Lucy." Also, rather than a piece of Lewis Carroll-style whimsy, the other tune is based on the true newspaper story of a girl running away from her parents.
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Alice Cooper Plots New Nightmare
Michael Leonard
Alice Cooper is 63, loves to play golf and is looking forward to grandchildren. But he is not done with rock ’n’ roll horror just yet. He is working on a sequel to his best-selling 1975 solo album Welcome to My Nightmare… with three guitar players.
“What would Alice’s nightmare be 35 years later?" Cooper asked the Vancouver Sun. “Well, there’s technology. Alice is a technotard. Disco is still a big enemy of his, so disco would be in there. But I allowed this album to have a great sense of humor, even though there’s some very, very dark moments.”
“Melodic. B” – 40 years of Bridge Over Troubled Water
Mervyn Dendy
A few weeks ago, late in March, a 40th anniversary edition of Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel was released. The package incorporates a copy of the original album, beautifully remastered, together with the separately available Live 1969, culled from the duo’s November 1969 series of concerts, and a DVD containing Simon and Garfunkel’s hour-long TV special Songs of America, which aired on the CBS network in 1969 and has been unavailable until now, and a documentary filmed in 2010 about the making of Bridge Over Troubled Water, featuring new interviews with Paul Simon, Arthur Garfunkel and co-producer Roy Halee, none of whom (it must be said) have aged as well as, say, contemporaries Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger.
Multinational metallers POWERWOLF have set "Blood Of The Saints" as the title of their fourth album, due in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on July 29; and August in the rest of Europe via Metal Blade Records in Europe. The CD will be released as a regular CD, a limited-edition digibook 2-CD (exact content to be revealed shortly) and on vinyl. The cover art was created by POWERWOLF guitarist Matthew Greywolf.
Paul McCartney to release covers album early next year
Paul McCartney is scheduled to release a covers albums in early 2012. It was recorded in Los Angeles and he has said it is comprised of covers from the "pre rock" era.
Speaking to Rolling Stone about the release, he said: "It's my dad's style of music. I've wanted to do that kind of thing forever, since The Beatles days. But then Rod went mad on it. I thought, 'I have to wait so it doesn't look like I'm trying to do a Rod.'"
The album, which does not yet have a title, will feature a number of songs with jazz singer Diana Krall and McCartney has said each song is one "He admires" and that the album is "Get-home-from-work music."
He said: "They're just songs I admire. I'm trying to steer away from the obvious ones. It's get-home-from-work music. You put it on and get a glass of wine."
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Rhino Remasters Ramones Vinyl at Bernie Grundman's
Analog Master Tapes Used for Albums from the Seventies & Eighties
Rhino Records has booked the cutting room at Bernie Grundman Mastering for the vinyl reissue of classic Ramones albums from the late 70s and early 80s. Included in the first series are "Ramones" (1976), "Leave Home" (1977), "Rocket to Russia" (1977), and "Road to Ruin" (1978). Release date is July 19, 2011.
Rhino Records' Asset/Media Supervisor Charles Benson joined mastering engineer Chris Bellman in the disc cutting studio to cut lacquers from the original 1/4" analog Dolby stereo masters. Songs to be reissued include "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Beat on the Brat," "Pinhead," "I Wanna Sniff Glue," and "Teenage Lobotomy."
"There has definitely been a renewed interest and resurgence in vinyl releases," remarked Benson. "The young audience is happy to have something they can hold onto in this analog format with large graphic album covers, and something that gives you more of an experience than an mp3 file."
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AUSTRALIAN MUSICIAN TEAMS UP WITH LEGENDARY PROG-ROCK ARTIST
After 12 months of tweaking, Brisbane’s Ben Craven is finally ready to release his new album with the finishing touches being made by renowned UK artist Roger Dean.
Craven’s new album, entitled “Great & Terrible Potions” is a modern day progressive rock album that has been 5 years in the making. However like all good prog-rock (progressive rock) albums, the final touches are vital.
Enlisting the assistance of Roger Dean seemed a natural progression given the heavy influences of 70’s prog-rock bands within Craven’s music.
Roger Dean, who rose to fame in the 70’s and 80’s through his designs for prog-rock band “Yes” is credited with transforming the status of album covers from mere packaging to works of art.
Uncovering and updating an unreleased piece of art, Dean has provided a cover that will go down in the halls of prog-rock history alongside his most famous work for musicians and bands such as “Yes”, “Asia”, “Uriah Heap”, Rick Wakeman and Alan White.
Dean, whose bubble logo for the band “Yes” is part of rock history, also designed Craven’s new logo. Craven said, “It is an honour to be working with an artist whom I’ve grown up with and surreal to believe that he appreciates my work enough to put his name (in art) to it”.
To celebrate the release, Craven and Liquid Online Media will also be selling limited edition vinyl copies of the album complete with a traditional gatefold sleeve featuring the Roger Dean artwork.
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i'm always on the look out for new, catchy music. well, this from the band, i'm from barcelona, fits the bill. an infectious cut, you'll be hooked after the first listen! for more info on the band go toimfrombarcelona.com
Always Spring
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USA
Albums:
1. Adele :21
2. Beastie Boys :Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
3. Various :Now 38
4. Fleet Foxes :Helplessness Blues
5. Jennifer Lopez :Love
6. Stevie Nicks :In Your Dreams
7. Sade :The Ultimate Collection
8. Musiq Souchild :musiqinthemagiq
9. Mumford and Sons :Sigh No More
10. Sixx: A.M. :This Is Gonna Hurt
Singles:
1. Adele :Rolling In The Deep
2. Katy Perry feat. Kanye West :E.T.
3. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull :On The Floor
4. Black Eyed Peas :Just Can't Get Enough
5. Bruno Mars :The Lazy Song
6. Britney Spears :Till The World Ends
7. Lady Antebellum :Just A Kiss
8. Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer :Give Me Everything
9. Rihanna :S&M
10. Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes :Look At Me Now
UK Albums:
1. Adele :21
2. Hugh Laurie :Let Them Talk
3. Adele :19
4. Bruno Mars :Doo-Wops & Holligans
5. Fleet Foxes :Helplessness Blues
6. Jessie J. :Who You Are
7. Glee Cast :Glee: The Music Presents The Warblers
8. Sade :The Ultimate Collection
9. Chase & Status :No More Idols
10. Rihanna :Loud
Singles:
1. Bruno Mars :The Lazy Song
2. LMFAO :Party Rock Anthem
3. David Guetta :Where Them Girls At
4. Snoop Dogg Vs. David Guetta :Sweat
5. Chris Brown feat. Benny Benassi :Beautiful People
6. Lady Gaga :The Edge Of Glory
7. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull :On The Floor
8. Snoop Dogg Vs. David Guetta :Sweat
9. Aloe Blacc :I Need A Dollar
10. Jessie J :Nobody's Perfect
Europe Albums:
1. Take That :Progress
2. Rihanna :Loud
3. Bruce Springsteen :The Promise
4. Shakira :Sale El Sol
5. Pink :Greatest Hits ... So Far
6. Bon Jovi :Greatest Hits
7. James Blunt :Some Kind Of Trouble
8. Susan Boyle :The Gift
9. Kings Of Leon :Come Around Sundown
10. JLS :Outta This World
Singles:
1. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull :On The Floor
2. Rihanna :S&M
3. Adele :Rolling In the Deep
4. Lady Gaga :Born This Way
5. Black Eyed Peas :Just Can't Get Enough
6. Jessie J. feat. B.o.B. :Price Tag
7. Katy Perry :E.T.
8. Snoop Dogg Vs. David Guetta :Sweat
9. LMFAO :Party Rock Anthem
10. Bruno Mars :Grenade
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GRIMEY'S BEST SELLERS 5/09 - 5/15, 2011
Top 25 Vinyl:
1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
2. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
3. Antlers - Burst Apart
4. El Obo - Oxford Basement Collection
5. Tyler The Creator - Goblin
6. Cy Barkley & The Wayoutsiders - Rock Together 7" EP
7. Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
8. Radiohead - King Of Limbs
9. The Cars - Move Like This
10. Booker T. Jones - The Road From Memphis
11. Thee Oh Sees - Castlemania
12. Man Man - Life Fantastic
13. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
14. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
15. Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'
16. Adele - 21
17. Natural Child - 1971
18. Tune-Yards - WHOKILL
19. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
20. The Black Keys - Brothers
21. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
22. Wax Idols - All Too Human 7"
23. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
24. Paul Simon - So Beautiful Or So What
25. Terry Malts - I'm Neurotic 7"
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and in music history for today:
In 1959, Wilbert Harrison's recording of Leiber and Stoller's "Kansas City" rose to the top of the Billboard singles chart. Cover versions by Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, Rocky Olson, Rockin' Ronald & The Rebels, and Little Richard all appeared in March of 1959, but the Harrison version was by far the most popular. Further success for Harrison would have to wait until 1970 when "Let's Work Together" made it to number 32 in the US.
In 1963, after hitting #22 the previous year with "Twistin' Matilda", Jimmy Soul reached #1 on the Billboard chart with "If You Wanna Be Happy", a song about the benefits of marrying an ugly woman. It would prove to be his final entry as the follow-up "Treat 'Em Tough" flopped completely, after which Jimmy entered the US Army.
A riot broke out at a Rolling Stones concert in Scotland in 1964 after 4,000 fans showed up with forged tickets.
In 1966, the Castiles (with Bruce Springsteen on vocals) made their first recordings at Mr. Music Inc in Brick Town, New Jersey. They cut two Springsteen songs, “Baby I” and “That’s What You Get.” The songs were cut directly to disc, of which seven or eight test pressings of the studio takes were made.
In 1967, the Beatles were selected to represent the U.K. for the first-ever global-wide satellite broadcast. The group agreed to be shown in the studio recording a song written especially for the occasion, scheduled for June 25. John Lennon wrote “All You Need is Love,” which was thought to sum up the 1967 “Summer of Love” and The Beatles' sympathies. With the satellite broadcast being transmitted to many non-English-speaking countries, the BBC asked The Beatles to “keep it simple.”
In 1968, the North California Rock Festival was held with the Doors, the Grateful Dead, the Steve Miller Band, Taj Mahal, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Country Joe & the Fish and the Jefferson Airplane.
In 1975, country singer Tammy Wynette was at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with “Stand by Your Man.” Originally recorded and released as a single in 1968 in the U.S, it proved to be the most successful record of Wynette's career and is one of the most covered songs in the history of country music.
The movie The Buddy Holly Story with Gary Busey premiered in Dallas, TX in 1978.
In 1980, Joy Division singer Ian Curtis hanged himself in the kitchen of his house in Macclesfield, England at the age of 23. Curtis had the Iggy Pop album, The Idiot, playing on his stereo and left a note that said, “At this very moment, I wish I were dead. I just can't cope anymore.”
In 1985, the Scottish rock band Simple Minds make their breakthrough in North America when "Don't You (Forget About Me") tops the Billboard singles chart. The song was written specifically for the film The Breakfast Club and was only the second tune recorded by the group that they did not write.
In 2006, Freddie Garrity, the lead singer of the 1960s band Freddie and the Dreamers died at the age of 65 after receiving treatment for what were described as circulation problems.
birthdays today include Albert Hammond (1944) and Rick Wakeman (1949), among others.
