John Martyn (1948-2009)

U.K. singer/songwriter John Martyn passed away Thursday at the age of 60. The cause of death is unknown at this time.

The announcement came with a posting on his website:

With heavy heart and an unbearable sense of loss we must announce that John died this morning.

Martyn began his career at the age of 17, playing a mix of American blues, traditional British music and the folk music of Davey Graham. Once established, he moved to London where he became a regular at the club Cousins.

In early-1968, Martyn was the first solo white artist to be signed to the reggae-based Island Records with his first album, London Conversation, being released in February of that year. While his initial effort was very much folk, each subsequent release found him experimenting with new sounds from jazz, blues and rock.

Along with being a singer and songwriter, Martyn also was an innovator, adding new effects to his sound. His most famous, the Echoplex, allowed him to loop layers of his own guitar on top of itself, using it in both live gigs and studio settings.

In the mid-70's, Martyn would battle alcoholism and a crumbling marriage to his occasional singing partner, Beverley Kutner. The problems would take their toll as his recording career began to go downhill and his live performances were marred by inappropriate song choices for the types of crowds.

During the 80's, friend Phil Collins tried to help the singer revive his career with the critically acclaimed albums Glorious Fool and Well Kept Secret, but the public did not take much notices. By 1988, Island had dropped Martyn from their roster.

Since 1990, Martyn had continued to record, mixing in even more eclectic styles such as trip-hop and funk. While he never rebuilt his original sales success, he remained an influential artist to many British musicians.

He was also confined to a wheelchair during his final years after having a leg amputated in 2003 when a cyst burst.

Phil Collins made a statement about Martyn's passing. "John's passing is terribly, terribly sad. I had worked with and known him since the late 1970s and he was a great friend. He was uncompromising, which made him infuriating to some people, but he was unique and we'll never see the likes of him again.
"I loved him dearly and will miss him very much."

Martyn received an Order of the British Empire at this month's New Year's Honors by Queen Elizabeth and had received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the BBC2 Radio's Folk Awards last February. Island Records celebrated his 60th birthday last September with the release of the box set, Ain't No Saint.

SOURCE: http://winkscollectibles.blogspot.com

Belle and Sebastian Pick Cover-Art Contest Winner

Belle and Sebastian have picked their favorite stand-in cover for their latest album.

The act picked French artist Colocho's alternate cover for its limited-edition Record Store Day reissue of its The BBC Sessions.

In addition to getting a reworked cover out of Colocho without having to invest a cent, the Scottish indie band will also be able to save all kinds of mad cash printing the cover in black and white instead of having to spring for a four-color separation! That's great news in these tough economic times.

This Date In Music History-January 30

Birthdays:

Jody Watley (1961)

Phil Collins (1951)

Martyn Balin- Jefferson Airplane (1942)

Joe Terranova- Danny and the Juniors (1941)

Chicago soul singer Jackie Ross was born in 1946.


They Are Missed:

Steve Marriott, guitarist and singer/songwriter was born in 1947. Marriott was a member of Small Faces. He died in a house fire on April 20th 1991.

Blues guitarist, singer Sam Lightnin Hopkins died in 1982 (age 70)

Producer Bob Thiele (produced Teresa Brewer-- who he also married; Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters, Jackie Wilson, Quincy Jones and many more) died in 1996 (age 73).

The great New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair died of a heart attack in 1980 (age 61).


History:

Although more than half a million jukeboxes were scattered around North America in 1955, US manufacturer AMI finally introduces the pay-for-play devices in the UK. Company president John Haddock says he intends to target the ever growing coffee house market first.

KISS played their first show at the Coventry Club in Queens, NY in 1973.

Elvis Presley recorded his version of "Blue Suede Shoes" in 1956.

After spending 11 weeks on the chart Britney Spears started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1999 with “...Baby One More Time.” Britney's debut album also went to #1 on the US chart on the same day.

INXS had their first US #1 hit single in 1988 with “Need You Tonight.”

In 1969, the Beatles performed their final concert on the roof of the Apple offices in London's Saville Road. During the gig the band performed "Get Back." The set was halted after 42 minutes because an accountant at the nearby Royal Bank of Scotland complained about the noise. It had been 2½ years since the Beatles had played Candlestick Park, San Francisco, on August 29th, 1966.

In 1991, 22 years to the day that The Beatles played live on the roof of their London offices, Manchester band James played a live set on the roof of Manchester's Piccadilly radio station attracting several thousand on-lookers.

The Shirelles started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1961 with “Will You Love Me Tomorrow;” it reached #4 in the UK.

The Bee Gees began recording "Jive Talkin" in 1975, which will become their second US chart topper and their fourteenth Billboard Top 20 hit. Barry Gibb's inspiration for the song came when his wife commented on the sound their car made while crossing a bridge over Biscayne Bay into Miami. She noted, "It's our drive talkin'."

In 1982, Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go for That" hit #1 on the Billboard Pop chart and the R&B chart simultaneously, one week after hitting #1 on the Disco chart. It becomes only the fourth single by a white act to reach the top of the R&B chart since 1965. The record was also a #8 hit in the UK.

“The Name Game" by Shirley Ellis, reached #3 in the US in 1965.

Bobby Goldsboro recorded "Honey" in 1968.

Bruce Springsteen: Working on a Dream/Review

Bruce Springsteen: Working on a Dream 180 gram vinyl (w/ download code)

The Boss is back with a new two-record set of all-new material just in time for his halftime appearance this coming Superbowl Sunday. On the heels of his last record, the acclaimed Magic, Springsteen is back again with the E Street Band with Working on a Dream, this time with mixed results.


My Lucky Day is the kind of upbeat anthem in the tradition of Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out that could have easily been on Magic and makes you smile every time you hear it. Other highlights of the record are the epic, Outlaw Pete and the somber ballad, The Wrestler. While the rest of the material on the record is fine enough and I suspect that most fans of The Boss will enjoy it, many of the songs either aren't particularly memorable or suffer from mediocre lyrics. This is far from a bad record, it just isn't up to the higher standard realized by Magic--and is a far cry from anything from the classic period of 1975-1985.

Two 180 gram platters are packaged in a single jacket with inner sleeves containing the complete song lyrics. While sound quality varies from track to track, it is a significant step up from the uniformly compressed sound that was heard on Magic. Chris Bellman of Bernie Grundman Mastering did the vinyl mastering and although some of the faster numbers do have that squashed sound, it does not predominate the way it did on Magic. Bruce seems to be going for a Spectorian Wall-of-Sound on those tunes and more than likely, there is little a mastering engineer could do without completely changing the character of the songs.

Included with the vinyl package is a code for a 320 kbps download. Although sufficient for listening on an Ipod or in the car, the sonics are somewhat thin and pinched and don't compare favorably to the vinyl. Where the vinyl shines is on the acoustic ballads where it really captures the layers of Bruce's voice and conveys a realism missing from the digital download. While never an overwhelming audiophile experience, it appears that the vinyl will be the best way to hear this record.


SOURCE: http://myvinylreview.blogspot.com

Classic Rock Videos

The Beatles - Thank You Girl

Skynyrd Keyboardist Dies

Rock & Roll lost another valued member when Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell passed away on January 28. He was 56 years old.

Powell called 911 around 12:55 Wednesday morning saying that he was experiencing breathing difficulties. Rescue crews were quickly dispatched to his Orange Park, Florida residence, but Powell was pronounced dead just before 2 am.

Lynyrd Skynyrd is primarily recognized as a guitar-driven rock band, but Powell’s distinctive piano work helped to define the group's sound and Southern rock in general.

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Powell was attending college in Florida and became a roadie for the band and performed in a group called Alice Marr.

Lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant invited Powell to join the legendary Southern rockers after hearing him play piano during a rehearsal of “Free Bird,” the rock anthem played by the band.

But, tragedy struck in 1977 in the form of a fiery plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and back up vocalist Cassie Gaines. Powell and founding guitarist Gary Rossington were the only two band members to survive the crash.

After the crash, Powell played with other bands and formed his own group, Alias, in 1979. He also teamed up with Rossington and Allen Collins and played with the Rossington-Collins Band. By the mid 80’s, Powell was playing with a contemporary Christian music group called Vision.

In the late 80’s, the surviving members reconvened and began playing a series of reunion concerts with Johnny Van Zant stepping in on lead vocals for his brother.
In recent years, Powell has continued to record and tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd and in 2008 the group performed with Kid Rock and Hank Williams, Jr.

As a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Powell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Rock and roll will truly miss his inventive and fluid piano work.

Album Cover Art

I am starting a new feature about album cover art. Some I like, some I don't, some are just insane and I wanted to share them with you :O)




Atlanta underground metal kingpins Mastodon revealed the cover to fourth album Crack the Skye. The cover comes courtesy of artist Paul Romano (who has done the other Mastodon album covers).

Music News & Notes

Cover Art of Michelle Branch's New LP


An official cover art for Michelle Branch's new album "Everything Comes and Goes" has been outed. The artwork pictures the singer sporting white tank top and picking up her guitar while looking sideways with street view during the daylight on the background.

"Raphael Mazucco shot this out in the desert while we were taking photos for the album," Michelle wrote on her official website about the video. "It's amazing what you can do with a store bought hand held video camera these days. I especially like the part where "hold" is written across my chest."


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Modest Mouse Tour

Indie rocker's Modest Mouse are returning to the road next month for a short 12-date U.S. tour, beginning in Oakland on Feb. 22. The tour ends on March 8th at the Langerado Festival in Miami.

The band has attained significant mainstream success since being signed to Sony's Epic Records in 2001 and have been one of the leading bands in the commercialization of indie rock, beginning with their 2004 album "Good News for People Who Love Bad News."

The band's name was derived from a passage from the Virginia Woolf story "The Mark on the Wall" which reads: "I wish I could hit upon a pleasant track of thought, a track indirectly reflecting credit upon myself, for those are the pleasantest thoughts, and very frequent even in the minds of modest, mouse-coloured people, who believe genuinely that they dislike to hear their own praises."

It's reported that ex-Grandaddy guitarist Jim Fairchild will join Modest Mouse on stage in the place Johnny Marr, who will be touring with UK rock act the Cribs this spring. However, Marr remains a member of Modest Mouse, according to the band's publicist.

The opening act on the tour will be Mimicking Birds, the latest band signed to Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace label.

Here are Modest Mouse's tour dates:

Feb. 22: Oakland, Calif. (Fox Theatre)
Feb. 23: Visalia, Calif. (Fox Theatre)
Feb. 24: Los Angeles (Hollywood Palladium)
Feb. 25: Tempe, Ariz. (Marquee)
Feb. 26: Albuquerque, N.M. (Convention Center)
Feb. 28: Boulder, Colo. (Balch Fieldhouse)
March 2: Kansas City, Mo. (Uptown Theatre)
March 3: Oklahoma City (Diamond Ballroom)
March 4: Austin, Texas (Stubb's)
March 5: Oxford, Miss. (the Lyric)
March 7: Atlanta (Tabernacle)
March 8: Miami (Langerado Festival)

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Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival

Heavy rockers Slayer, Marilyn Manson and Bullet For My Valentine will lead the bill for the 2nd annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, which kicks of on July 10 at the Sleep Train Amphitheater in Sacramento. The festival ends on August 18 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in San Antonio.

Jagermeister is sponsoring one of two second stages, on which Trivium, All That Remains, God Forbid and the liquor company's "battle of the bands" winner will perform. On the Hot Topic side stage, Cannibal Corpse, Job For A Cowboy, Behemoth, Black Dahlia Murder and Whitechapel will round out the bill.

Tickets for the 27-date North American shed tour go on sale April 24 via mayhemfest.com and livenation.com.

Last year's inaugural Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival featured Slipknot, Disturbed, Airbourne, Five Finger Death Punch, 36 Crazyfists, Machine Head, Black Tide, Suicide Silence, the Red Chord and Wall Of Jericho. The trek attracted nearly 340,000 concertgoers, according to organizers.

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Another New Jay-Z Song Leaks Online

Although there's still no official release date for Jay-Z's upcoming album (which is rumored to be titled "Blueprint III"), new songs continue to be leaked onto the Internet.

"Money Goes" hit the Interent yesterday on Tuesday, becoming the seventh expected "Blueprint" track to arrive early either via the Web or radio. The leaks have continued unabated despite Def Jam's consistent message that there is no "Blueprint III" album on their release schedule.

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Hot City- Alex Harvey Band Reissued

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band are releasing the 1974 album "Hot City," which never saw the light of day in its original form. The band ditched the original version of the album because they were unhappy with the work done by producer Shel Talmy. While most of the songs ended up in new versions on their next album, "The Impossible Dream," the original versions were never released until now.

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Country Music Hall of Fame Fundraiser

The Country Music Hall of Fame has began a $1.1 million fundraising campaign in order to help pay the costs of four instruments that were once owned by Maybelle Carter, Johnny Cash and Bill Monroe. The instruments were awarded to the museum in a recent court case, but the decision requires that the Hall pay $750,000 by February 22, 2009.

Ricky Skaggs is taking the appeal to the fans. “Like their lifelong partners, these beloved instruments can now rest in peace. This outcome means that we, the public, remain the owners of these treasures, and it reminds us that we are fortunate to have them protected and accessible under the stewardship of one of the finest museums in the country. As owners, we have an obligation to help with these costs, and I believe fans will be honored to have the opportunity.”

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Classic TESTAMENT Titles To Be Reissued On Vinyl

Two classic albums by thrash legends TESTAMENT — 1997's "Demonic" and 1999's "The Gathering" — will be reissued on gatefold double vinyl by Prosthetic Records on February 3. Each will feature etched artwork on Side D and be limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Additionally, 100 copies of "Demonic" will feature red vinyl, while 100 copies of "The Gathering" will feature gold vinyl. Pre-orders can currently be placed at store.prostheticrecords.com.

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U2 to rescue iconic recording studio?

U2 are reportedly considering buying London's Olympic Studios.

The Irish band recorded part of their forthcoming album 'No Line On The Horizon' at the historic Barnes studio, which has also been used by Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Oasis.

Olympic's current owners EMI said in December that the studios weren't making enough money to justify their existence, and put the building on the market.

Despite already having their own studio in Dublin, U2 apparently liked Olympic so much they are considering putting in an offer for it, reports The Sun.

In recent years, the studio's 'bunker' has also been a musical-home to producer Stephen Street. Street produced albums by The Courteeners and Kaiser Chiefs there, as well as Pete Doherty's upcoming solo album 'Grace/Wastelands'.

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Ole Blue Eyes Is Back

The new Frank Sinatra compilation, Seduction: Sinatra Sings of Love, debuts this week at 23 on the album charts on sales of 17,000.

Overall, sales for the week were at 6.43 million units, down 12% from the same week last year.

Rock & Roll Tidbits

Although there is some debate among collectors about what was the last commercially released 8-track tape by a major label, many agree it was "Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits" in November 1988. There are reports of bootleg 8-track tapes being produced in Mexico as late as 1995 and some independent artists have released 8-track tapes as late as 2006.

Courtney Love has had her share of troubles. In fact, while appearing at a Seattle benefit dedicated to stopping violence against women, Love got into a fight, slapping a woman and wrestling with her on the floor.

Paul McCartney wrote the song "Lovely Rita, Meter Maid" for the album "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" after getting a parking ticket from a female warden in Abbey Road.

After seeing the 1978 movie, The Buddy Holly Story, Crickets drummer Jerry Allison said he thought it "was a horrible movie." He went on to say "the only thing I saw about it that was real was they spelled Buddy's name right."

The all-time most nominated Grammy artist is Quincy Jones with 77 nominations.

Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols proclaimed, “I wanna be like Iggy Pop and die before I’m thirty.” When a friend explained to him that Iggy Pop was indeed alive, Vicious was dumbfounded.

Iwao Takamoto, the animator who created the cartoon dog Scooby-Doo, said that he got the inspiration to name his character from the closing scat to Frank Sinatra's "Strangers In The Night.” (Dooby-dooby-doo...)

Joe Perry of Aerosmith fame had been partying for more than twenty years before getting sober. When asked how he felt, he replied, “A little hung over.”

When the Righteous Brothers single "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" was reviewed on the British TV show Juke Box Jury in January, 1965, it was voted a "miss" by all four judges. Since that time, it has become US radio's most played rock and roll song of all time, being heard over eight million times.

Paul Anka's first 45 sold just 300 copies. The follow-up, "Diana,” sold nine million.

While he was with Van Halen, David Lee Roth spent tens of thousands of dollars designing enormous inflatable statues of the devil that was able to ‘pee’ Jack Daniels a distance of fifteen feet out into the audience. It became an expensive gimmick, so he filled the statues with cheap bourbon in order to save money.

Three Dog Night's 1971 smash, "Joy To The World" was written by Hoyt Axton especially for an animated children's show called "The Happy Song" that never made it to production.

The Allman Brothers were never fond of ‘picture time.’ In fact, when one particular photographer tried to take a photo for the group’s 1971 album cover, “The Allman Brothers Band at Filmore East,” all the band members could do was scowl and glare. But when a friend of Duane’s stopped by with a bag of coke, the band was all smiles. In-the-know fans of the group enjoy pointing out that Duane was hiding dope in his hands on the album cover.

The song "Bye, Bye Love" had been turned down by 30 other artists before The Everly Brothers recorded it. It became their first big hit, rising to number 2 in the US in 1957.

After recording a number of demo songs on January 1st, 1962, The Beatles received a rejection letter from the Decca Recording Company that said "We don't like their sound and guitar music is on the way out."

Although The Ed Sullivan Show was the first TV program in America to host the Beatles, it was not their first US TV appearance. On December 7, 1963, The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite featured footage of Beatles fans at a concert. The Beatles' first US television appearance was on The Jack Parr Show on January 4th, 1964 when Parr showed a film of the band playing "She Loves You.” Before showing the performance, one of Parr's comments was "I understand science is working on a cure for this."

"The Twist" by Chubby Checker is the only song to climb to number one on Billboard's Hot 100 in two separate chart runs. The first was in September, 1960 and the second in January, 1962. The hit version is take number three in a 35 minute recording session.

While performing the song “Lithium” at the 1992 MTV Music Awards, Nirvana bass player Chris Novoselic threw his guitar up into the air. It came down hitting smack in the head, knocking him silly. Band leader Kurt Cobain, who had not seen the mishap screamed at Novoselic for losing the beat.

The only US number one single to be re-recorded by the same artist and become a Top Ten hit all over again is "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" by Neil Sedaka. The original, up-tempo version topped the Billboard chart in 1962, while a ballad rendition reached number 8 in 1975. Other songs have made a second appearance on Billboard's Hot 100, but it was the original version that came back.

Drummer John Peterson played for The Beau Brummels on their 1965 hits "Laugh Laugh" and "Just A Little" before leaving in 1966 to join Harpers Bizarre in time to record their 1967 hit "Feelin' Groovy.”

Classic Rock Videos

The Beatles - I Should Have Known Better

Vinyl Collective Update

This from my vinyl friend, Virgil Dickerson over at www.vinylcollective.com:

AUSTIN LUCAS “Somebody Loves You” LP gold vinyl

AUSTIN LUCAS “Somebody Loves You”
LP red/black half and half vinyl

AUSTIN LUCAS “Somebody Loves You”CD


AUSTIN LUCAS “Somebody Loves You” DELUXE SET w/ CD, LP, T-shirt, button, coozie, poster, and pint glass


AUSTIN LUCAS "Somebody Loves You" LP/CD/Deluxe Set


Today, we are proud as shit to announce the pre-order for Austin Lucas’ new album on Suburban Home, “Somebody Loves You”. I can hardly believe the circumstances that made this happen. It started with me listening to “Putting the Hammer Down” and “Bristle Ridge” and just loving what I heard so much, I decided to write Austin and ask if he would be interested in putting out an Under the Influence 7?. Much later after Austin had moved back to the states and while talking to Mike Hale, Mike had mentioned that Austin was bummed that I hadn’t written him back, something I didn’t realize had happened. I got his number from Mike, called up Austin and somehow, some way, we discussed the possibility of us working together.

After it was agreed that we would put out his next album, we had him fly out to Denver for our 13th Anniversary weekend. We had an absolute blast hanging out with Austin, hearing his stories, and watching him perform live. We again hung out with him when the Revival Tour came through Colorado and yet again when we went down to Gainesville for the Fest.

Austin spent the better part of December recording with his family at his father’s studio (the same studio that created “Bristle Ridge”). The 11 song album is absolutely amazing, one of the greatest albums we have been lucky enough to release; an album that I am sure will help Austin Lucas to find a ton of new fans.

Enough of me jawing on. This album is brilliant, it is beautiful, and it is absolutely powerful (in ways that you wouldn’t expect).

We just posted a 2nd song on our site, “Precious Little Heart” which you can listen to in our streaming playing on our Release page. You can also download the title track “Somebody Loves You” from our site and listen to a few other tracks on Austin’s Myspace page.

Listen to the songs and make sure you pre-order a copy. We have set up a pre-order for the CD, the vinyl, and a handful of deluxe sets which contain a copy of the CD and a copy of the LP, a T-shirt, a button, a poster, a coozie, and a pint glass. The vinyl pressing is out of an edition of 1,500 copies (500 on Gold, 1,000 on Red/Black half and half co-released with Hometown Caravan in Germany).

Make sure you see Austin when he plays with Joey Cape and Jon Snodgrass in the Northwest and then with Tim Barry and Josh Small on a tour that will take him throughout most of the United States.

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Vinyl Collective and Red Scare to partner on vinyl releases

I am excited to announce that after a number of discussions, we have reached an agreement with our friends at Red Scare to become their vinyl partner. What exactly does that mean? Well, we are planning to license and release your favorite Red Scare titles on vinyl. We have been a big fan of Red Scare for quite some time and are glad to be able to work more closely with them. We think that they are pretty much the best punk rock label on the planet and we think that the world will be a better place with more Red Scare vinyl.

We will begin by releasing the following 4 releases:

Cobra Skulls “Sitting Army”
The Copyrights “Learn the Hard Way”
The Druglords of the Avenues “Sing Songs”
The Sidekicks “So Long, Soggy Dog”

After those 4 releases, we will be working with Red Scare to release another batch of records and don’t be surprised if Sundowner is in that next batch. Let us know what else you would like to see come out on vinyl from Redscare.

I am so excited about this. I love this label and have always asked myself why more of their catalog wasn’t on wax. Be stoked, this is going to be great. We are already working on the Cobra Skulls and Copyrights art and should have those being pressed soon.

In other news:

Pick Up The New Boss LP
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN “Working On A Dream” dbl LP


Restocks: Gaslight Anthem,Flogging Molly,Gogol Bordellow


Restocks: Dr. Dog,Dag Nasty,One Last Wish,Q and Not U

Rock & Roll Tidbits

During the 1989 invasion of Panama, it is reported that U.S troops blasted AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” at top volume to try and drive Manuel Noriega out of the Vatican Embassy. After he heard that their music was being used as psychological torture, Brian Johnson wryly said, “I guess now we won’t get to play for the pope.”

While still a struggling young musician, Billy Joel recorded a pretzel commercial with Chubby Checker.

In October, 1963, when New York disc jockey Murray “the K” Kaufman played five records for his audience to vote on, The Beatles’ “She Loves You” came in third, behind a Four Seasons single and something called “Coney Island Baby” by The Excellents.

Iggy Pop of the Stooges was famous for his on-stage antics. After playing a concert in New York, he actually ran out of things to do onstage, so he pulled out his pecker. “I didn’t know what to do with it,” he explained. “So I zipped it back up and walked off.” Also, while in New York, he met David Bowie. After a long night of partying he declared: “The only good rock was a dead rocker,” and promptly smashed a beer bottle over his head and passed out.

Upon meeting the band Pink Floyd for the first time, a record company executive asked them "Which one's Pink?"

Terry Jacks recorded his 1974 number one hit, "Seasons In The Sun" in 1973, but the master tape sat on a shelf in his basement for more than a year. One day, a newspaper delivery boy heard Terry playing it and asked if he could bring some friends by to listen to it. Their enthusiasm convinced Jacks to release it on his own label and it soon topped the record charts in the US, Canada, and the UK and sold over six million copies worldwide.

It’s well known that Elvis loved animals. Why he even owned a pet chimpanzee that he named Scatter. Presley taught the primate to drink bourbon and pinch women’s behinds. For a while, the pampered chimp ate at the dinner table with a knife and fork. Why, he was even chauffeured around in a Rolls-Royce. But all good things must come to an end, as Scatter became nasty and was banished to his cage. The poor chimp finally died from cirrhosis of the liver.

In 1959, Tommy Dee reached #11 on the Billboard chart with a record called "Three Stars,” a tune dedicated to the memory or Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper. The song was meant for Eddie Cochran, but he was unable to complete the recording because of the overwhelming sadness caused by the death of his friends.

After enjoying a hit with "Red Rubber Ball,” Tom Dawes of The Cyrkle wrote the famous "plop plop fizz fizz" jingle for Alka-Seltzer.

On September 7, 1976, Eric Clapton wrote his hit song "Wonderful Tonight" for his wife, the former Pattie Boyd Harrison, while waiting for her to get ready to go out to Paul and Linda McCartney's annual Buddy Holly party.

The Osmond Brothers, Allan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, and Donny had their first number one hit in the US in February 1971 with "One Bad Apple.” What most fans don't know is that there are two older brothers, Virl and Tommy, who have both suffered so much hearing loss that the entire family learned how to converse in sign language.

While dining at a London restaurant, Mick Jagger was confronted by a gentleman seated at a nearby table. “Are you a man or a woman? The puzzled eater inquired. Jagger stood up, unzipped his pants, and presented the evidence.

Disc Jockey Rick Dees, the morning man at WMPS in Memphis, recorded a novelty disco song called "Disco Duck" in 1976. After it became a US number one hit, he was forbidden to play the record on his radio show. He simply mentioned the record on the air one day and was promptly fired by the station's manager, who cited him for conflict of interest.

The only Mother and son to both have a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 are Shirley Jones, who sang on the Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You" in November, 1970 and her son Shaun Cassidy for "Da Do Ron Ron" in July 1977.

Glen Campbell, the country star who had a string of hits that crossed over to the pop charts in the late sixties and seventies, began his career as a highly regarded session musician, playing on hits by the Monkees, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, the Association, the Mamas & the Papas, Rick Nelson, the Beach Boys and many others. In 1969, he sold more records than the Beatles and began a three year run hosting his own TV variety series. Despite all of his musical success, he can neither read nor write music.

Depeche Mode took their name from a French magazine that vocalist David Gahan was reading. It means, “fast fashion.” But French detractors of the band liked to call the English rockers “Depede Mode,” which translated means “dirty pedophiles.”

In April 1909 Charles David Herrold, an electronics instructor in San Jose, California, constructed an early radio station. He coined the terms "narrowcasting" and "broadcasting" respectively to identify transmissions destined for a single receiver such as that on board a ship, and those transmissions destined for a general audience.

Early Genesis Returns to Vinyl

Rhino Presents Boxed Set Containing 180-Gram, Audiophile Vinyl Versions of Five Acclaimed Genesis Albums Recorded Between 1970-1975 with Singer Peter Gabriel Five-Album Boxed Set Will Be Available April 14 from Rhino


LOS ANGELES — After upgrading the Genesis catalog of studio albums with a trio of comprehensive boxed sets, Rhino brings the band’s early years back to their vinyl origins with GENESIS 1970-1975, a boxed set that contains five albums with lead singer Peter Gabriel. The collection, on 180-gram vinyl, will be available April 14 from regular retail outlets, genesis-music.com and rhino.com for a suggested list price of $149.98.

Each reissued album contains new stereo mixes done by Nick Davis. They are presented in heavyweight gatefold sleeves that feature the original covers, faithfully reproduced from their original sources. All of the albums are collected in a protective slipcase.

One of the top-selling recording artists of all time, Genesis has sold more than 150 million albums so far. This five-album set collects some of the band’s most adventurous and ground-breaking records, covering Gabriel’s tenure with the group.

Genesis 1970-1975 spotlights five albums–Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England By the Pound and the double LP set, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

Featuring favorites like “The Knife" and “White Mountain," Genesis' second album, Trespass (1970), marked the beginning of a five-year journey that saw the band create ever-more daring albums of progressive rock. The album includes guitarist Anthony Phillips and drummer John Mayhew, who were replaced on the following album by Steve Hackett and Phil Collins respectively.

Nursery Cryme (1971) opens with “The Musical Box," a beautiful 10-minute sprawl that captures the essence of the band's sophisticated musicality tweaked with freewheeling theatrics. Genesis' new lineup starts to define its unique voice on songs like “The Return Of The Giant Hogweed" and “The Fountain Of Salmacis."

The band returned the following year with Foxtrot (1972), a breakthrough album hailed by critics and embraced by fans, especially in England where it reached #12. Two tracks in particular – “Watcher Of The Skies" and “Supper's Ready" – became live staples for years to come. Nearly filling the album's second half, “Supper's Ready" stands as an avant-garde showcase for each member's individual talents.

Genesis' popularity continued to grow with its fifth studio album, Selling England By the Pound (1973). These eight songs find the band's inventive storytelling and imaginative arrangements coming into sharper focus with “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" – Genesis' first hit single in the U.K. The album also introduced audiences to “The Cinema Show" and “Firth Of Fifth," songs that would become popular concert staples.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) is a double album about a Puerto Rican hood searching for his brother. It was to be Gabriel's final release with Genesis. The band toured for the album, performing the entire 90-minute album along with an ambitious stage show complete with costume changes, theatrical lighting, and pyrotechnics. The title track, “Carpet Crawlers" and “In The Cage" remain popular parts of the band's live show.

Music News & Notes

No New Wife For Sir Paul

Paul McCartney will be on tomorrow's (Thursday) edition of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

McCartney's publicist, Paul Freundlich, has also come out and stated that there is no truth to the reports of impending nuptials for the singer and Nancy Shevell. Her divorce, which was reported as being finalized in early December, is also in question as the tabloids who originally reported on the story, have not cited a legal source.

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James Brown-Wesley Snipes Bio May Have To Wait

Film director Spike Lee told MTV News that he is still looking to make a bio-pic of James Brown starring Wesley Snipes. When it will be made, though, is still up in the air as Snipes faces a three-year prison sentence for tax evasion. Lee says that he will be using the original Brown vocal performances for the film.

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Dancin' Donny

Donny Osmond let it slip on the Bonnie Hunt Show that he may be a contestant on the upcoming edition of Dancing With the Stars. His sister, Marie, performed on the show last year and came in third.

Osmond taunted, "I can't let my sister upstage me. Besides, who do you think taught her how to dance?"

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New Pumpkins Song

A new Smashing Pumpkins song, “FOL,” will debut during the Super Bowl as the soundtrack for a Hyundai commercial. The 30-second ad will premiere in the commercial block right before the kick-off this Sunday, February 1st.

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Clarkson Sets Record

Kelly Clarkson will make history on this week's Billboard Hot 100, to be posted tomorrow (Jan. 29) on Billboard.com, with the largest leap to #1 in the chart's 50-year history.

Her new single, "My Life Would Suck Without You," is set to rocket 97-1 after selling 280,000 digital downloads in its first week of availability. The song is also faring well at radio, jumping 58-38 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and 27-18 on the Mainstream Top 40 list.

This is the second time the artist has set the record for largest jump to #1. She took her "American Idol" victory song, "A Moment Like This," 52-1 on the chart dated October 5, 2002.

That mark lasted nearly five years until Maroon 5 soared 64-1 with "Makes Me Wonder" in May 2007 and had been broken four more times since, most recently by Britney Spears' "Womanizer" (96-1).

This Date In Music History- January 28

Birthdays:

Joey Fatone-'N Sync (1977)

Nick Carter- Backstreet Boys (1980)

Sara McLachlan (1968)

DJ Muggs- Cypress Hill (1968)

Dave Sharp-The Alarm (1959)

Mr. Acker Bilk turns 80.

Also born in 1943, guitarist Dick Taylor. As well as playing with some early incarnations of the Rolling Stones, he also led one of Britain's great '60s rock acts, The Pretty Things.

Drum Roll Please!

Drummer Brian Keenan- Chambers Brothers (1944)

Marty Fried, drummer with the '60s pop group the Cyrkle ("Red Rubber Ball") (1944)

Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt 1945)

Corky Laing- drummer for Mountain (1948)

Drummer Eddie Bayers, who has played with Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band (1949)


They Are Missed:

Chris Kenner ("Land Of 1000 Dances") died of a heart attack in 1976.

Billy Fury, the British rock-a-billy artist who scored a major hit in Great Britain in 1961 with "Halfway To Paradise,” died in 1983 from heart and kidney problems at the age of 42. Fury was a major star in his homeland, but couldn't catch the break he needed to become a part of the British Invasion.

Legendary Rock drummer and Hall of Fame inductee Jim Capaldi died in 2005 after a brief fight with stomach cancer. He was 61. Jim is most often remembered as a member of Traffic, with Steve Winwood and Dave Mason.

Sax player Thomas 'Beans' Bowles died of prostate cancer in 2000. Played on many Motown sessions including Marvin Gaye's, 'What's Going On' and The Supremes 'Baby Love'.


History:

In 1963, the Rolling Stones recorded five tracks with producer Glyn Johns in their efforts to interest a label.

The Cavern Club in Liverpool closed in 1966.

The Who appeared on the British TV show Ready Steady Go! for the first time in 1965. An enthusiastic response for their performance of "I Can't Explain" was assured, as managers Kit Lambert and Pete Stamp had packed the audience with their hardcore mod following.

In 1978, Ted Nugent carved an autograph with a knife on a fan's arm (at the fan's request).

Debuting on the Chicago-based Chess label in 1954, the Moonglows released "Sincerely," which was the biggest hit of their career. It topped the R&B chart and made the Top Twenty on the pop chart.

Johnny Cash signed contract with Sun Records in 1955.

In 1997, Pat Boone released an album of Heavy Metal tunes called "In A Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy", a tongue-in-cheek collection of tunes like "Smoke on the Water" and "Stairway to Heaven". When the religious community failed to get the joke, he was dismissed from his Trinity Broadcasting Network program, Gospel America.

In 1956, Elvis Presley made the first of four appearances on the weekly TV program Stage Show, where he performed "Shake Rattle And Roll", "Flip Flop and Fly" and "I Got A Woman". Actor Jackie Gleason predicted that he wouldn't last, but after the initial show, his contract was extended to a total of six.

In 1983, Radio station WDHA, 105.5 in New Jersey claimed to be the first US station to play music from a compact disc.

In 1985, forty-six major American recording artists came together at A&M Studios in Hollywood, to record "We Are The World", a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie. The effort was part of an album called "USA for Africa" and featured Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Steve Perry and others. Those attending the session were asked to "leave your egos at the door."

Paul Abdul started a 10-week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1990 with “Forever Your Girl.” Abdul spent sixty-four consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 before hitting number one, making it the longest time for an album to reach the number one spot. Who needs American Idol….

The Fleetwood Mac album “Rumours” went to #1 on the UK album chart in 1978, also #1 in the US. The album went on to sell over 15 million copies world-wide and spent over 440 weeks on the UK chart.