Motown Opens the Voting in the U.S.A. for the Motown 50

Celebrate Motown's 50th anniversary by choosing YOUR top 5 favorites from a selection of the greatest Motown tracks!

Motown has been asking fans to vote for their five favorite songs from the label's first 50 years so that it could be compiled onto a new compilation album. The voting was completed in a number of other countries and releases have been made (Canada's album is riding high on the charts), but the U.S. release's track list has not been determined.

Between now and July 15, you can vote for your favorites over at the Motown 50 site. There are currently 115 tracks specifically listed, but you have the opportunity to write in an unlisted favorite while voting. The U.S. version of the album is due in September.

Based on the fact that Motown has had literally hundreds of songs on the charts over the years, it would seem that it would be necessary to allow write-ins or expand the available list. For example, Stevie Wonder has had almost 50 top forty hits in his career, but the only ones for which you can select on the site are For Once in My Life, I Just Called to Say I Love You, I Wish, Master Blaster, My Cherie Amour, Sir Duke, Superstition, Uptight and You Are the Sunshine of My Life.

The first 50 voters will get a credit on the album and the first 500 will receive a "I Voted! Motown 50" bumper sticker. All voters will be entered into a drawing for a trip to Detroit to visit the Hitsville U.S.A. Motown Museum.

Vote Here!

This Date In Music History-June 21

Birthdays:

Nick Noble ("The Bible Tells Me So") is 73

Brandon Flowers - The Killers (1981)

Michael Einziger – Incubus (1976)

Lee Gaze – Lostprophets (1975)

Ray Davies - The Kinks (1944)

Mark Brzezicki - Big Country (1957)

Born today in 1953, Nils Lofgren, guitar, piano, vocals. He joined Neil Young's band at age 17, playing piano on the album After the Gold Rush. From 1971 to 1974 recorded four albums with his band, Grin. Joined Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band in 1984. And member of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band.

Joey Kramer – Aerosmith (1950)

Greg Munford - Strawberry Alarm Clock (1949)

Joey Molland – Badfinger (1948)

Chris Britton - The Troggs (1945)

Miguel Vicens - Los Bravos (1944)

Porter Howell - Little Texas (1964)


They Are Missed:

In 1980, German orchestra leader and songwriter Bert Kaempfert died (born October 16, 1923). Both Frank Sinatra (“Strangers In The Night”) and Elvis Presley (“Wooden Heart”) covered his songs. Kaempfert released over 50 albums. In 1961, he hired The Beatles to back Tony Sheridan on recording sessions for Polydor, (these were the Beatles' first commercial recordings).

Born today in 1936, O.C. Smith, who had 1968 #1 single “Little Green Apples.” He died on November 23, 2001.

John Lee Hooker, legendary blues singer and guitarist died in his sleep in 2001 at the age of 83. His songs have been covered by many artists including Cream, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, The Yardbirds, The Doors and The White Stripes. He appeared and sang in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers.


History:

Columbia Records began the first mass production of the 33 1/3 RPM LP in 1948.

Jimmy Page made his live debut with The Yardbirds at the Marquee Club, London in 1966.

In 1966, the Beatles recorded from start to finish, a new John Lennon song “She Said She Said.” The song was reportedly based on a bizarre conversation that Lennon had with Peter Fonda while John and George Harrison were tripping on LSD.

In 1955, Johnny Cash released his first single, "Hey Porter/Cry Cry Cry" which went on to sell 100,000 copies.

Bobby Darin recorded "Splish Splash" in 1958. Darin claimed he wrote the ditty in 10minutes.

In 1970, Pete Townshend bad timing of the use of the British slang term, "bomb" drew police and FBI action at the Memphis International Airport. He was overheard saying "'Tommy" seems to be "going down a bomb." That meant it was a hit. Officials, however, only heard the term "bomb" and reacted.

Better late than never - Four and a half years after leaving The Rolling Stones, guitarist Mick Taylor released his first solo LP in 1979.

Soft-rockers Bread played their last show in Salt Lake City in 1973. The band decided to quit after their equipment truck flipped over earlier in the day, destroying over $30,000 worth of gear.

The Beatles opened for Bruce Channel in concert near Liverpool in 1962 (and Bruce's harmonica player, Delbert McLinton, gave John Lennon tips that serve John well later on "Love Me Do").

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker announced the dissolution of Steely Dan in 1981. Of course, Fagen and Becker later re-form the group and even win a Grammy.

Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore quit Deep Purple in 1975 to form his own group Rainbow.

In 1952, "Goin' Home" became the first of nine #1 hits for Fats Domino. It was released on Imperial records. Those nine singles will top the R&B charts for a combined 51 weeks between 1952-59.

Bobby Vee recorded his #1 hit "Take Good Care of My Baby."

Classic Rock Videos

ZZ Top - Legs

Storm Thorgerson's album covers are works of art

Written By Tonya Turner

BRITISH album-cover artist Storm Thorgerson, 65, has a wicked sense of vision and humour to match.

Does Storm Thorgerson think of himself more as an artist, designer, sculptor or photographer?

"I think of myself as really sexy," he says, not missing a beat. "No, unfortunately not. I think of myself as a designer. We make sculptures, we do stunts, we use props, we use people, we use nature, we do land art, we do sets and really whatever takes our fancy in terms of trying to represent the music."


It takes a few minutes for the legendary designer and long-time Pink Floyd collaborator to make his way up the stairs to settle in for the phone interview.

Seven years ago he had a stroke, leaving the left side of his body immobilised. Although it hasn't stopped him from working - he gets around on a walking stick - it is the sole reason he won't be flying to Brisbane to see the installation of his second Australian exhibition, Taken by Storm.

It was two years ago that Kirsten Fitzpatrick, exhibitions manager at Artisan, got word of the first Australian display of Thorgerson's work at Global Gallery in Sydney.

"I'd always wanted to do a show on album art. Its history is similar to that of any other art or design practice in that it has been shaped by some visionary designers and artists," she says.

In 1938, Columbia Records hired Alex Steinweiss as its first art director. He is credited with inventing the concept of album covers and cover art, replacing the plain cardboard and leather covers used before.

Other notable artists include 1950s designer Reid Miles for jazz label Blue Note Records, Alton Kelley for his 1960s psychedelic covers and Peter Saville for work on covers for bands Joy Division and New Order.

Thorgerson's playful mischievousness has served him well. In 1968, as part of London design team Hipgnosis, he created his first album cover.

"It was for English blues artist Alexis Korner. We did a picture of him standing by a tree. It wasn't very good," he says.

Luckily his second attempt for Pink Floyd's A Saucerful of Secrets - widely considered his first cover - was a lot better.

"It was a collage of items from comics and literature and films ... like a box of chocolates, it was some of our favourite things," he says.

Although it doesn't appear in the exhibition, another 49 album covers spanning several decades are on display.

Born Storm Elvin Thorgerson, he attended Cambridge High School for Boys, along with Floyd members Syd Barrett and singer and bass player Roger Waters.

Led Zeppelin- Houses Of The Holy

In 1973, Hipgnosis designed one of rock's most iconic album covers - the refracting prism of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. Band member Richard Wright asked the studio to do something "more classy" than the previous album covers and, in a radical departure, it had no text on the front. Hipgnosis also designed three covers for Led Zeppelin (including Houses of the Holy), AC/DC (Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap), Black Sabbath (Technical Ecstasy) and many more.

Although Dark Side is certainly the most famous of Thorgerson's covers, it is by no means the most elaborate.

In 1987, after Hipgnosis broke up rock'n'roll style in 1983, Thorgerson formed his own collective, Storm Studios.

The same year he designed Pink Floyd's album cover for A Momentary Lapse of Reason. In an act fitting the title, it involved setting up 700 wrought iron beds on a beach, each one separately made with sheets, blankets and pillows. The "whole insane exercise" took six hours, using four tractors and flat-bed trailers and 30 helpers.

There are only three Pink Floyd albums Thorgerson wasn't behind - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), The Wall (1979) and The Final Cut (1983).

"I was temporarily fired. Roger was cross with me and my company over I can't remember what," he says.

Pink Floyd- Division Bell

For the band's final studio album, 1994's The Division Bell, he had metal and stone versions of the two now-famous monstrous heads built and photographed.

He went on to design American heavy metal band Anthrax's 1995 cover for Stomp 442 - a massive piece of scrap metal composed of car parts and shaped into a ball as big as a house. In 1999 he designed Canadian indie rock band Blinker the Star's cover for August Everywhere - a swan ice sculpture photographed in Death Valley, California. In 2000 he printed thousands of photos of an eye and had them individually pinned to dozens of trees in a forest for English alternative rock band Catherine Wheel's single, Gasoline. In 2003 he designed the cover for Japanese singer Yumi Matsutoya's single Setsugekka, a song about memories and forgotten love. For this, Thorgerson envisaged a girl sinking under the weight of her own memories, being dragged down through water by time. At first he thought the idea of clocks attached to the girl's limbs were a clumsy metaphor but he was happy with the end result.

Forgoing the trickery of Photoshop, he has created dozens of other covers for artists such as The Cranberries, Audioslave, The Mars Volta and Muse, and is now working on an album cover for Melbourne band goodbyemotel.

"It all comes from the music," Thorgerson says of his designs.

"If you have music which is hard rock, it's different from music which is lyrical. If you have music which is complex like the Floyd, or more simple, it'll change the imagery or design or feeling or ideas you wish to express on the cover. It all comes from the music, or if you like, the band's philosophy or approach."

But it's not always just about the music. "It's also something they might tell me privately. They might let slip a little foible or obsession or love or hate, or there may be a preoccupation with a lost girlfriend or trouble with the bank or parents or difficulties with the law, or politics, or philosophy or something that occupies the mind of the musician, which is not always apparent in the music but is a driving force. Often it's anger," he says.

"When we did the cover for Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here it was about people's commitment to each other," he says. The cover shows two people standing in the street, shaking hands.

"The band was in the process of beginning to go their separate ways, which they did seven years later," he says.

The digital music revolution poses a threat to album cover art but Thorgerson is philosophical.

"Business hasn't slowed down yet but it might any minute. If CDs aren't made any more we might be out of a job. It would be sad, because I think people like objects," he says.

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

Music News & Notes

Muse New LP Set For Sept Release

Alt.-rockers Muse have confirmed that their new album, "The Resistance," will be released on September 14th. The band is currently finishing the album, which has been self-produced in Italy and mixed by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent. The album hits the streets just in time for their UK tour, which is all sold out.

The Resistance is the trio’s fifth album, the follow-up to the successful "Black Holes And Revelations," released in ’06.

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Manic Street Preachers News

Fans of Manic Street Preachers should expect a bit more ‘joy’ on the band’s next album, a happier, less intense affair than their last release, "Journal For Plague Lovers."

“I think we’re going to try and create an experience that brings a bit more joy,” according to Bang Media International of the band’s next album.

In the meantime Manic Street Preachers have released a new remix EP, featuring remixes of songs from Journal For Plague Lovers.

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Go Buy A Hamburger

The Pretenders lost a date at Minneapolis' Minnesota Zoo after Chrissie Hynde wrote a letter to zoo officials telling them she was going to expose their practice of selling farm area animals to slaughter houses. She commented:

"How can a zoo invite children to touch and play with and express joy over animals for their uniqueness, only to turn around and sell those very animals to slaughter? A good rule of thumb would be 'If you wouldn't do it to a giant panda, then don't do it to a chicken'."

Chicken is good, especially BBQ'd.

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Rumble Strips Tour

The Rumble Strips have announced plans for a full UK tour this autumn.

Performing ten dates across September and October, The Rumble Strips will follow the release of the band's forthcoming Mark Ronson produced album, 'Welcome To The Walk Alone', due out on July 13th.

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Regina Spektor Release

Russian born New Yorker Regina Spektor's release "Far" (due June 22 from Warner Bros) has been tweaked by four super-producers whose alumni includes Dr Dre, REM, Paul McCartney and The Strokes.

She's honed in on the poppier sound of her breakthrough album Begin To Hope, but doesn't compromise the whispery, piano that's become her trademark. First single Laughing With is a stripped back ballad that delves into her religious ponderings, while Eet shows off her rockier, sassier side.

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Dave Mason Honored

Dave Mason is set to receive the Outstanding Career Achievement Honor at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards on November 22.

In an exclusive press release, Executive Producer Brent Harvey stated:

"Dave Mason has a distinguished career in the Music Industry, one so diverse and meaningful to a generation of listeners; we are honored to recognize his accomplishments. Mason is worthy of this honor on many levels, including his philanthropic service over the years. We are delighted we have the opportunity to identify his career achievements, relevance and longevity in the music industry"

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New Order, New Music

Former members of New Order are busy preparing to resurrect the group under the name of Bad Lieutenant. Founding member Peter Hook split up the group last year but bandmates Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Phil Cunningham have joined with former Blur member Alex James for the recording of new material.

Sumner commented on the recordings, saying "I'm very proud of it, it's a very good album. It's pretty guitar-y too because we've got three guitarists in the band."

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Flaming Lips Announce New EP, Bootleg for Ticket Buyers + New Tour Dates

The Flaming Lips have announced a new set of tour dates and a tour-only EP and "bootleg" for people who buy tickets through their web site.

Tickey buyers will get access to a three song digital EP with tracks from their upcoming double album Embryonic (due for release later this year) that include the songs "Convinced of The Hex," "The Impulse," and "Silver Trembling Hands."

They'll also get what the band is calling a "bootleg" recording of the show they were attending, but it's hard to call it a bootleg when it's authorized by the band. But it's a live recording of the show you went to nonetheless!

Ticket buyers will be issued a code that will enable them to receive a code that allows them to access to the download through www.flaminglips.com.

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Modest Mouse Announce Tour

Modest Mouse have announced a set of late Summer shows that will see them travelling around Canada and the U.S. No opening act has been announced yet.

The tour will support the release of their upcoming EP "No One's First and You're Next," set for release later in the Summer.

They'll also be touring without Johnny Marr, presumably because he's busy being a new member of The Cribs and working on their new album (due out in September). There's no problem finding a stand-in when you're Modest Mouse though, and Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy) will retake his old slot with the band in the meantime.

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Robin Trower News

Read through the coding of British guitarist Robin Trower's new live album "RT@RO-08" and you'll see it is, in fact, a document of his March 2008 concert at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.

"It was a place we enjoyed playing the last time we were there, so when the opportunity came to record (the live album), that was a factor," said Trower, 64, who came to prominence as the original guitarist for Procol Harum before going solo in 1973. "There were a lot of songs in the set that had never been recorded live, and it was our usually really good performance.

"RT@RO-08" isn't Trower's only release this year, however. He's also recorded a new studio album, "What Lies Beneath," that features 11 new songs, many co-written with bassist Livingston Brown, who also produced the album. Trower calls it "probably the most 'me' album I've ever made," tapping into an ethereal flavor the mixes with the blues and rock styles he's become known for.

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George Harrison website adds new area in honor of 'Let It Roll'

The official George Harrison website has added a mini-site to promote the release of "Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison."

The site includes a video of the TV commercial/EPK, computer wallpaper downloads based on the cover art, pictures of George Harrison taken from the album booklet, an E-Card and the press release announcing the album's release.

You can also listen to the album as well.

George Harrison




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I love cover art, here are some great new covers:

Classic Rock Videos

ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man

Bird & Animal Names In Rock & Roll History-part eighteen

Written by Robert Benson

Let’s continue our ongoing article series about “bird” and “animal” groups and artists in rock and roll, this time exploring some ‘dog’ names.


The group Three Dog Night was a band that was formed in 1968 and included members Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron and Cory Wells. They provided AM and FM radio with an eclectic series of singles oriented pop rock songs from 1969 through 1974. The band took their name from Danny Hutton’s ex-girlfriend, who thought of the name when she read a magazine article about indigenous Australians, in which was explaining that on cold nights they would customarily sleep in a hole in the ground while embracing a dingo, a native species of wild dog. On some of the colder nights they would sleep with two dogs, and if a night was especially cold, it was a "Three Dog Night."

Danny Hutton worked for Walt Disney Studios where he recorded voices for animated programs, while Cory Wells was the lead vocalist for the house band at the famous Whiskey-A-Go-Go called the Enemies. Wells asked Hutton to team up and record, but Hutton wanted to focus on his solo career (he had minor success with a song called “Bright Eyes”). Hutton came up with the idea of a singing trio (secretly auditioning their friend Chuck Negron for the role) after noticing a display of classic cars while driving past the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angles. He marveled at the fact that each individual classic auto being an integral part of the overall display. He surmised it would be interesting to apply this technique with a group of talented singers, where each member would be a lead singer at one time or another. Interestingly among others that were considered to team up with Hutton and Wells were Billy Joe Royal (of “Down In The Boondocks” fame) and Crazy Horse founder Danny Whiten. They went with Negron and expanded the group to include several talented backing musicians and Three Dog Night was born.

Besides scoring an impressive string of eighteen consecutive Top 20 Billboard hits (eleven of which were in the Top Ten, including three number one hits), the group also showcased some of music’s dynamic song writers including Randy Newman (who wrote the 1970 number one hit “Mama Told Me (Not To Come),” Harry Nilsson (for the Top Ten hit song “One” in 1969), Laura Nyro (who penned the Top Ten hit “Eli’s Coming” in 1969), two Hoyt Axton written songs, “Joy To The World” which he originally wrote for a children’s animated television special (a song that spent six weeks at the top position on the Billboard Top 40 in 1971) and “Never Been To Spain” in 1972. Russ Ballard wrote the group’s 1971 Top Ten hit “Liar” and Three Dog Night also took Leo Sayer’s song “The Show Must Go On” to number four in 1974. The band also hit number one with a David Arkin (father of actor Alan Arkin) and Earl Robinson penned tune called “Black and White,” a song that was written in 1955 and also recorded by Sammy Davis Jr.

Other Top 40 Billboard hits by Three Dog Night included “Easy To Be Hard” (number four in 1969), the happy anthem “Celebrate” in 1970 (number fifteen), the sappy hit “An Old Fashioned Love Song” (number four in 1971) and the B. W. Stevenson penned “Shambala” (number three in 1973) among others. Their last charted single “Til The World Ends” was released in the summer of 1975.

In the late 1970's Hutton was managing punk bands including L.A.’s Fear and also formed a band called Danny Hutton’s Hitter’s who appeared on the “Pretty In Pink” soundtrack. The group reunited in 1981 and released their final record; an EP entitled “It’s A Jungle.” Hutton and Wells have continued to tour with other musicians as Three Dog Night and the group’s music has appeared in numerous movies and television ads.

Friends since high school, Anna Waronker (guitar and vocals and the daughter of record industry mogul Lenny Waronker), Rachel (bass) and Petra (violin) Haden (two of the triplet daughters of famed jazz titan Charlie Haden), and drummer Tony Maxwell formed the alternative power-pop group called that dog. The quartet’s debut, self-titled release in 1994 is an exciting blend of sweet melodies, crunchy guitars and inventive violin work. The record was a college radio staple and the lighthearted video for the single “Old Timer” was popular on MTV.

During this time that dog members became friendly with Beck and often performed on his albums, contributing to his release “Totally Confused.” The band also toured with Beck, Weezer and The Rentals and band members played on the Weezer release “I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams.”

In 1995, that dog released their follow-up album, an appealing concept album that explored the emotion of love and personal crushes, the aptly named LP “Totally Crushed Out!” The clever album, filled with tight punk-pop, splendid ballads and three-part harmonies exemplified Waronker’s continuing maturation as a songstress and included cuts like “Ms. Wrong” and “He’s Kissing Christian.”

A planned Waronker solo effort was planned, but instead her collection of emotionally depth filled melodic pop music was used for that dog’s final album together, called “Retreat From The Sun” (1997). The group would also go on tour with various acts including Blur, The Wallflowers and The Counting Crows. But, in September of 1997, the band issued a formal statement announcing their break up.

However, all the members of that dog have remained active in the music business. Anna Waronker has released her solo effort, “Anna” in 2002 and has contributed music to soundtracks. Petra Haden has released two solo albums, in 1999 she released “Imaginaryland” and in 2005 she released a critically acclaimed re invention of the Who’s classic album called “Petra Haden Sings The Who Sell Out,” in which she recreated each song a capella on a cassette eight-track using only her voice. She has also contributed vocals and violin work to many bands including Green Day and The Rentals (among others) and in 2005 she joined the Decemberists as a full-time member. Rachel has kept busy as well, contributing vocals on albums by Jimmy Eat world, Ozma and Nada Surf and is a member of the reformed band The Rentals.

Taking their name from the British euphemism for imminent doom, the group the Black Dog carved a small niche in the early 90's mixing techno dance beats with ambient electronica. In 1992 this British trio of Ken Downie, Ed Handley and Andy Turner released a full-length debut called “Bytes,” an airy mix of complex rhythmic patterns and diverse ambient European “intelligent techo” that was well received in Europe. A few albums later, the release “Music For Adverts (and Short Films)” saw this engaging trio reduced to just Downie as the lone “Dog.” The album included a wistful collection of post-rave electronica and an adept mix of elements of techo rock, hip-hop and jazz. (Black Dog is also the name of the definitive Led Zeppelin tribute band, the closest thing to the live sound of the legendary group)


Three Dog Night Tidbits:

Members (as of 2009) - Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, Jimmy Greenspoon, Michael Allsup, Paul Kingery, Pat Bautz

Three Dog Night earned 13 gold albums and recorded 21 Billboard Top 40 hits, 7 of which went gold.

Danny Hutton unsuccessfully auditioned to become a band member for the Monkees in 1965.

On a number of early recordings one of their in-studio background singers was Donna Gaines, who would later find stardom on her own as Donna Summer.

In 2009, Three Dog Night are still touring, performing 85 concerts a year, with the lineup feature founding members Wells and Hutton, Greenspoon, Allsup, Paul Kingery and drummer Pat Bautz.





that dog Tidbits:

Tony Maxwell has worked as a composer, most notably on the films Chuck & Buck and The Good Girl (both written by Mike White).

Anna Waronker and her band frequently play clubs in the Los Angeles area.

Petra and Rachel have sporadically gigged with third sister Tanya (the three are triplets) as the Haden Sisters.



Copyright 2009 Robert Benson & collectingvinylrecords.com

Music News & Notes

Prosthetic Records to re-issue Light This City debut

The meteoric six-year career arc of Northern California's LIGHT THIS CITY saw the group issue four acclaimed releases and develop a dedicated fan base through extensive touring with the likes of All That Remains, Death Angel, Darkest Hour, The Faceless and Vader, among others. Although the band disbanded in 2008 shortly before the release of what would ultimately serve as their swansong, Stormchaser, their timeless sound – a fusion of Swedish melodic death and Bay Area thrash – continues to inspire.

For that reason, Prosthetic is proud to announce the August 18 reissue of the group's first album, The Hero Cycle. Recorded in 2003 while the band's members were still in high school, the album aptly foreshadows the developments of qualities that would soon make the group a major player in modern metal: riffs that deftly mixed aggression and melody, the fiery vocals of spitfire front woman Laura Nichol, and a wholly energetic approach that attempted to forge new ground for the genre while still demonstrating reverence for its classics. Pre-orders are now available at store.prostheticrecords.com.

Produced by Zack Ohren (All Shall Perish, Decrepit Birth, Endwell), The Hero Cycle, according to liner notes written by the band that accompany the reissue, “reveals the innocence of a young band trying to grow and mature at a rapid pace. Many afternoons after class throughout high school and weekends in between were spent in a basement hammering out what would become this album, and those remain some of the most fun and memorable days LIGHT THIS CITY has ever seen.”

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Mos Def Releasing Album On T-Shirt




For lovers of album cover art, let's hope that this isn't a trend. Rap star Mos Def is packaging his new album in the form of an item of clothing.

Showing Radiohead how digital revolution is really done, the New York based rapper and actor will give fans the opportunity to wear his LP The Ecstatic by releasing it as a T-shirt.

Sadly, the clothing itself won't play any music. Instead, the cover art will be on the front of the shirt, the tracklisting will be on the back, and the hang tag will contain a download code for the music itself.

There's a price to pay for such fashion innovation, however: the shirt will cost roughly twice as much as the CD, vinyl or digital formats.

I wonder what is on the physical copy of the releases....see T-shirt for album cover art?

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SAVIOURS Begins Recording New Album

Rampaging Oakland, California metal quartet SAVIOURS has entered San Francisco's Lucky Cat Recording Studios with producer Phil Manley (of TRANS AM/THE FUCKING CHAMPS) to begin work on the follow-up to its critically acclaimed sophomore LP, "Into Abaddon".

Set for an October 13, 2009 release, the as-yet-untitled SAVIOURS album is said to feature "insanely dynamic" songs boasting passages containing "three-part guitar harmonies." The record will feature the lineup of guitarist/vocalist Austin Barber, bassist Cyrus Comiskey drummer Scott Batiste and guitarist Sonny Reinhardt (ex-WATCH THEM DIE), who joined the band in 2008. Fresh off a blistering performance at the 2009 Roadburn festival in Tilburg, Holland — where the band shared the stage with such like-minded acts as NEUROSIS, OM and SAINT VITUS — SAVIOURS now hit the studio to capture what will undoubtedly be its most venomous recording to date.

Commented Batiste: "We just got back from ravaging Europe, playing the whole new album every night. With Sonny joining us, the tempos and guitar work have definitely been cranked up a few notches, though the heaviness is still intact. The new jams are road toughened and more killer than we could have imagined."

Prior to the album's release, SAVIOURS will issue three new 7" records, all of which will drop on June 23. The vinyl-only EPs will be strictly limited to 500 copies each with artwork branded by Tim Lehi of San Francisco's BlackHeart Tattoo. Details on the three EPs are as follows:

* "Acid Hand" 7" EP (features the new tracks "Acid Hand" b/w "Slave to the Hex").

* "Burnin' Cross" 7" EP (features the new track "Burnin' Cross" b/w "Fire in the Sky" [SAXON cover]).

* "F.G.T." 7" EP (features the new track "F.G.T." b/w "Running Wild" [JUDAS PRIEST cover]).

"The demos we did with Scott Ecklein in Oakland this April came out so good that we thought should do something with them," Batiste explained. "So we tracked a few covers for b-sides and decided to do a limited vinyl 7" thing so people can check out some of the new songs before fall."

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Antony and the Johnsons Prep Beyonce Cover for Release


You would think jet-setting around Europe would keep Antony and the Johnsons sufficiently busy. But apparently teaming up with some of the most well-respected orchestras around the world on a multi-country tour promoting their latest album, The Crying Light, wasn't quite enough for the group. Later this summer, they will release the double A-side single "Aeon"/"Crazy in Love."

Yes, the same group who sings "Epilepsy in Dancing" has brought its ethereal breathlessness to Beyonce's "your-love's-got-me-lookin'-so-crazy-right-now" Top-40 hit. The cover has been a crowd favorite during live shows, and soon, it will be available on CD and 7" for the first time. Although the release won't hit the U.S. until Aug. 4, anyone who pre-orders the 7" will be treated to the latest copy of Zoetrope, Francis Ford Coppola's quarterly art-fiction-film magazine, which features Antony's artwork.

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Alice In Chains signs to EMI; release new album!


Legendary rock band ALICE IN CHAINS has signed an exclusive worldwide deal with EMI’s Virgin Records and are gearing up for the release of their first new studio album in more than 10 years. The band and producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters) began recording last October at Studio 606 in Northridge, CA and recently finished mixing at Henson Studios in Hollywood. The highly anticipated album is scheduled for release this September.

Guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez reunited in 2005 at a benefit for victims of the tsunami in Indonesia. They began touring with new guitarist/vocalist William DuVall the following year.

Over the course of their remarkable career, Alice In Chains has garnered multiple Grammy nominations, sold more than 17 million albums worldwide and achieved 11 top 10 hit singles.

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Experience Hendrix Releasing Four Live Concerts

Experience Hendrix's Dagger Records is slated to release four different Jimi Hendrix concerts over the summer chronicling shows from 1967, 1968 and 1969.


•The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live 1968 Paris/Ottawa contains two shows, the January 29, 1968 performance at the L. Olympia Theatre in Paris, France and the March 19, 1968 performance at the Capitol Theatre in Ottawa, Canada. The first show was recorded by RTE, the French broadcasting company and includes performances of Purple Haze, The Wind Cries Mary and Little Wing, among others. The second show was recorded by Hendrix himself and includes a version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

•Jimi Hendrix Experience Paris 1967 is a recording of a radio broadcast from L'Olympia on October 9, 1967. The album features performances of Stone Free, Hey Joe, and Wild Thing as well as other notable Hendrix hits.

Both of these sets are being released exclusively through Amazon as "fan packs." Materials specifically created for and exclusively included in both versions include a 'Jimi' poster, a postcard set replicating classic Hendrix concert posters, a set of badges reminiscent of the sixties era, a Hendrix iPod Skin and a "PikCARD" loaded with four guitar picks adorned with Hendrix artwork from the concert posters. The array of goodies is topped off with an "all access" laminated pass with an exclusive, secret code designed to unlock special Hendrix content online.

The August 11 release can be preordered with either a CD or a CD/Vinyl combo pack.

Janie Hendrix, President and CEO of Experience Hendrix LLC, the family owned company entrusted with preserving and protecting the legacy of Jimi Hendrix, commented, "The concept behind this 'Fan Pack' is to throw a spotlight on Jimi as a live performer and give a glimmer of what it might have been like to encounter 'The Experience' when Jimi had the band at its peak. Jimi never failed to stun and leave audiences breathless with his performance and guitar virtuosity and we think fans today will be no less moved by the offerings included in these packs. This release highlights Dagger's role in serving fans who want all Jimi had to offer and can't get enough of his legacy and genius."

Finally, Experience Hendrix and UME are set to rerelease Jimi Hendrxix Live at Woodstock on 180-gram audiophile grade vinyl as a 3-LP set on July 14th.

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

Living Colour Return With First New Album in Five Years

Living Colour’s original lineup — Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish, who joined the band in 1993 — will release their first new studio album in five years on September 15th on Megaforce Records. The band, who broke big in 1988 with “Cult of Personality,” recorded The Chair In The Doorway, their fifth LP, in the Czech Republic. The album features hard rock, soul and politically charged tracks, and Reid describes it as “the best record we’ve made yet.”

This Date In Music History-June 19

Birthdays:

Brian Welch - Korn (1970)

Mark Debarge – Debarge (1959)

Elaine McFarlane - Spanky And Our Gang (1942)

Tommy Devito - Four Seasons (1936)

Nick Drake (1948)

Paula Abdul (1963)

Ann Wilson – Heart (1950)

Larry Dunn - Earth, Wind & Fire (1953)

Simon Wright - AC/DC, Dio (1963)


They Are Missed:

Bobby Helms, who recorded "Jingle Bell Rock," died in 1997 at age 63.

Bandleader of the Royal Canadians, the legendary Guy Lombardo, was born in London, Ontario in 1902. His band was known for its live New Year's Eve broadcasts of the theme, "Auld Lang Syne" and for being the only dance band to sell more than 100 million records.

Original Molly Hatchet guitarist Duane Roland died in 2006 (age 53) of natural causes at his residence in St. Augustine, FL. Roland was part of the Southern-rock group's three-guitar attack from ‘76 until ‘90. "We are terribly shocked and saddened by the loss of Duane,” read the band’s online post. "He was and always will be part of the Molly Hatchet family."

The late Shirley Goodman of Shirley & Lee ("Let The Good Times Roll") and Shirley & Company ("Shame, Shame, Shame") was born in 1936.

The late Al Wilson ("Show & Tell") was born in 1939.


History:

The Harmonicats go to #1 in 1947 with "Peggy O' My Heart."

In 1958, Buddy Holly recorded his first tracks without the Crickets.

In 1976, Eddy Arnold entered the country chart with his single "Cowboy." It was his 100th hit.

Pat Boone went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1961 with “Moody River.”

Nat "King" Cole recorded his future #2 hit "Ramblin' Rose” in 1962.

The Rolling Stones scored their first #1 on the American charts in 1965 with "Satisfaction.”

In 1971, almost exactly a year to the day after the appearance of “Gasoline Alley,” Rod Stewart released his self-produced masterpiece, “Every Picture Tells a Story.” It topped the Billboard album chart for four weeks.

David Geffen made his first signing to Geffen Records in 1980 and it was disco queen Donna Summer.

During an interview with Life Magazine in 1967, Paul McCartney admitted that he had taken the drug LSD. Groovey, man, groovey...

Asia’s self-titled debut album topped the LP charts in 1982.

Today in 1965 the song "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" by the Four Tops topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks.

Carole King started a five week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1971 with “It's Too Late,” from her “Tapestry” album.

In 1977, six men wielding knives and iron bars outside Shepherd's Bush underground station beat up Paul Cook from The Sex Pistols. Cook required 15 stitches to a head wound.

In 1991, the Allman Brothers Band released “Shades of Two Worlds,” one of the strongest albums of their career.

In 2003, the opening date of the Lollapalooza tour - featuring Audioslave and Queens of the Stone Age - was cancelled because organizers say Jane's Addiction's stage wouldn’t fit the Ionia County Fairgrounds venue in Michigan.

The White Stripes released their sixth album, "Icky Thump" in 2007. Frontman Jack White says his decision to record the album on vintage reel-to-reel equipment was a stylistic choice. "In the technological age, everyone wants to find out what the newest toy is," says White. "That attitude doesn’t really coincide with what sounds the best."

“Agents of Fortune,” one of Blue Oyster Cult’s best albums, was released in 1976. The LP contains the darkly majestic “Don’t Fear The Reaper.”

Online Vinyl Record Sales - A New Business Model

Written By Robert Benson

The music industry is an ever changing business entity. Slowly, CDs are disappearing as the format of choice and the sales leader of retail music. However, there is an old and friendly favorite emerging for millions of music lovers and competing for that almighty music dollar. Vinyl records are back, as the youth of today are finding the listening experience is greatly enriched when utilizing this historic music medium.

In fact, the resurgent vinyl record market shows no signs of a slowdown. Nielsen SoundScan has released estimated figures that indicate that sales of vinyl in the US are up 50% through the first five months of 2009. The counting giant also predicts that vinyl record sales will reach over 2.7 million units sold in 2009; up from 1.9 million units in 2008.

To be fair, these numbers are somewhat underestimated because of the sale of used vinyl in our ever shrinking record stores. Additionally, they don’t count some of the independent record stores where vinyl sells the best. However, there is a new vinyl model emerging, places where millions do their ‘vinyl shopping,’ the online record store. Although shopping online can never replace the experience of visiting your local record store, vinyl consumers can visit hundreds of online record sellers and find records that may not be offered at their local store, such as rare imports, picture discs, boxed sets or obscure releases from other countries. There are websites that cater to strictly jazz, some that offer classic rock or psychedelic music, rap or R&B, and some that deal with 45rpm records; why they still sell 78 rpm records for those who are in need of this rustic medium. There are some that specialize in audiophile vinyl, rare and out-of-print records as well. But most online vinyl retailers offer an eclectic array of music to choose from and millions of music lovers are now satisfying their musical palette and finding the online record website to suit their needs.

Let’s explore this phenomenon in greater detail with the owner of www.recordsontheweb.com, Laura Miller, who started in the music business as a DJ at KVMR, a community radio station in Nevada City, California; so she has a keen understanding and love for the format.

“I felt compelled to open a record store and as a vinyl enthusiast wanted to help people find reasonable vinyl records at a reasonable price,” explained Laura.

She started in the business of selling vinyl records in 1988 near Sacramento, California, running a retail store named “In The Groove Records.” After operating the ‘brick and mortar’ store for more than nine years, she sold her business and has been supplying fine vinyl records online with her web site and as an ebay ‘Power Seller.’

However one of the obstacles of the business is actually finding records to sell, Laura is always looking for collections.

“I buy collections from individuals and estates,” explains Laura. “Three years ago I bought an incredible large collection (6,000 records) from a music critic. Finding collections is the most challenging part of my business. I am always looking for large collections of vinyl records (LPs and 45s) and music memorabilia, especially from people who have been in the music business; music critics, former record company folks or broadcasters. I am mainly interested in 1950’s & 1960’s jazz, blues, rock, soul and country and will travel for large collections. I also offer finder’s fees for tips that lead to the purchase of large collections.”

Laura also explained some of the advantages & disadvantages of selling online.

“The advantage of selling on line is that I can receive orders 24 hours a day and I have an international clientele. A record store has limited hours, it has to be staffed and it has a limited geographical reach. One of the disadvantages of selling online is shipping records by media mail within the United States. The post office claims that it takes 4-14 days to ship by media mail, but it can take up to three weeks or longer. Most people don’t realize how long it takes, and we do get occasional e-mails from angry customers asking where is my order?”

Tell us more about your online business.

“We carry multiple genres of music including jazz, rock, blues, country, and soul and have over 10,000 records in stock. I would say that the jazz and rock LPs are our bestsellers. We grade conservatively according to the Goldmine Magazine Standards and the highest grade we give a record would be near mint (NM),” explained Laura. “As an ebay power seller (seller name is littlelam), I am very careful about grading records.”

There are literally hundreds of vinyl retailers online who carry on this tradition of offering quality used vinyl at reasonable prices. Record buyers must weed out the best and worst and the great aspect of this retailing method is that it is quite easy to find an online vendor that suits your needs. Now, if they can only be counted….

Copyright 2009 ~ Robert Benson

Classic Rock Videos

ZZ Top - La Grange

For the record: Can vinyl make a comeback

written by Diane Turbyfill


Music swims through the airwaves and zips into computers and compact disc, but some people just can't stop loving vinyl.

"It will still have a small audience who thinks that vinyl sounds better. It's nostalgia," said Anthony Michaels.

A Dallas resident, Michaels is assistant program director at WLNK 107.9 and a former record representative for Atlantic Records.

Many vinyl lovers say you can't beat the sound emitted when the needle glides over a record. Michaels begs to differ.

"It's always depended on the system that you have," said Michaels. "People love the warm sound of vinyl, which I've never understood."

All the rage for decades, vinyl records were replaced by cassette tapes, followed by CDs, then by digital downloads. But don't count out the big black LPs yet. More people purchased vinyl records in 2008 than they have in almost 20 years, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

The number of record sales doesn't compete with digital downloads but it is on the rise.

"Vinyl continued to stage a comeback as the format more than doubled year-over-year to $57 million, the highest level since 1990," Joshua Friedlander wrote in a release about 2008 shipment statistics.

Vice president of the recording association, Friedlander credits devout fans, new releases and catalogue material with the resurgence.

A sparse selection of new releases and compellations are sold at Best Buy on Franklin Boulevard. The latest Ben Folds and Coldplay records sit on shelves above CDs next to collections from Queen, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen. Prices range from $29.99 to $129.99.

Pearl Jam also still puts out music on vinyl, according to Michaels.

"It's all up to the bands if they want to release it," said Michaels. "Record companies aren't pushing them to put it on vinyl. They just want to get it digital and put it online."

Some artists include vouchers for free digital downloads inside new vinyl records.

Vinyl at Eddie's Place on Garrison Boulevard has a more eclectic flavor. Open for more than a month, the store buys and sells albums.

"I was wondering how vinyl would do, and it's doing quite well," said store owner Eddie Patterson.

Patterson's selection includes Neil Diamond, the Monkees, the Beatles and Elvis. Prices range from $1.99 to $150.

Most large retail stores are not devoting too much space to the resurrected vinyl records, Michaels said.

"They're giving like 10 square feet to vinyl now," he said.

But even vinyl-lovers can click their way to getting their fix.

Amazon.com offers a special vinyl-only section with hundreds of items on sale and a list of those on the horizon.

Michaels doesn't aim to be a naysayer but believes vinyl isn't strong enough to stage a full comeback.

"There will still be people that buy vinyl, but it'll never be as big as it was," he said.

You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817.


More people purchased vinyl records in 2008 than they have in almost 20 years, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Progression of LP/EP sales in millions

•1998 $34

•1999 $31.8

•2000 $27.7

•2001 $27.4

•2002 $20.5

•2003 $21.7

•2004 $19.3

•2005 $14.2

•2006 $15.7

•2007 $22.9

•2008 $46.2

•2009 $56.7

Numbers indicate dollar values using shipment statistics from the Recording Industry Association of America.

More people purchased vinyl records in 2008 than they have in almost 20 years, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

SOURCE: http://www.gastongazette.com
Reprinted By Permission

Those Oldies But Goodies...

by Steve Propes | Hometown Music

While in college, Long Beach State to be specific, I continued to collect 45rpm rock and roll records unabated. Every Independence and New Year’s Day, local Thrifty Drugstores would set up racks full of out-of-print 45s… ten for a dollar. I’d get the address of every store in Long Beach and visit each one, buy what looked interesting and wait for the next sale.

What I didn’t know was while I was blanketing the Long Beach Thrifty Drugstores, a Torrance record store clerk named Bob Hite and his buddy Claude McKee were doing the same thing in their town. But they went one further. They located the distributor’s name on the record rack and contacted the source, getting in the warehouse and buying the records before they were shipped.

I later learned this when I met Hite – better known as leader of the blues-rock band Canned Heat, which got a giant kick-start at Woodstock – and McKee at the record swap in West L.A., the predecessor to the famed Capitol Tower record meet in Hollywood.

Hite had a major collection of pre-war blues 78s and McKee also acquired these super-rarities. But Hite liked 45s too. When his label, Liberty, picked up the historic Imperial and Aladdin labels, he went through the vaults and carted off everything he could, creating the Legendary Masters reissue series in the process. Another man with major collector chops, Barry Hansen, later known as Dr. Demento, also showed up at these record shows every month.

While Canned Heat toured, members Hite and guitar player Henry Vestine would aggressively seek out rare blues and country 78s at out of the way locales. Sadly, several members of the band got heavily into drugs. Lead singer Al Wilson died early of an overdose and Hite’s collection went to the winds – or equally aggressive record collectors (same thing) – in his search for the next high. It wasn’t unusual to get midnight phone calls – “Meet me at the alley behind Hamburger Henry’s, I’ve got records, I need cash.” Tempting, but I never went. Others did.

And other collectors were heavily into drugs, but maybe in the 70s and 80s, that was the way to be. Most are dead now.

I had a job, which required me to be in the field where, during dull moments, I could constantly scour thrift and used shops from Compton to Lynwood, from Carson to Orange County to grab all the vinyl I could find.

In Compton, I met Gary Peterson, a friend to this day. He was standing in the back room of the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop sifting through used 45s. His secret was the product he sold on his route: Bowie Pies. What thrift store clerk is going to refuse delicious pies – his only request, let me be the first to see the 45s. I only had my winning personality, but in both cases, we each had our ins.

In the very early 1970s, I’d visit the library to find books on phonograph records from which I could glean information about the records I loved so much. Should I have been surprised to learn most of the books on records were about classical, opera and if I was lucky, jazz? Nothing serious had been published on the field of rock & roll – rhythm & blues record collecting. My fruitless search for collecting literature provided me a simple idea. If there’s no book out there on the subject, why not write it? Stupid idea; so I plowed ahead.

After submitting a manuscript to the L.A. Times magazine called "New West" – they almost bought it, but they went under before they could – I sold the manuscript to Macmillan. It was titled “Those Oldies But Goodies” and got a good review in Rolling Stone. The timing was impeccable. Old rock and roll was experiencing a big rebound in 1972, the year KRTH-FM debuted and Dr. Demento was more popular than ever. The release of “American Graffiti” in 1973 just amped up the scene.

The good news was “Those Oldies But Goodies” sold about 20,000 copies…the bad news was the low, low cover price… low price, low royalties. My editor left Macmillan and I wound up where he wound up, at Chilton, which was the perfect publisher for car repair manuals, not so great for books on record collecting, so my two follow-up works didn’t sell nearly as well as the first.

“Those Oldies But Goodies” revealed that old 45s could be worth a lot, but very compared to today’s prices. $100 was a lot. Some collectors didn’t like me publishing their secret information. Once, a dealer who sold out of a house built on the back of a pick-up truck was in the same line I was at a record show and pointed to me – “There’s the guy who wrote the book!” he exploded. “Get him!” Well, maybe it was a little less harsh, but it seemed doom-provoking to me. He’s now in Austin, Texas, and I’m still here.

In 1973, a Press-Telegram reporter named Denise Kusel heard about my activities from the first book I had published, so she contacted me about doing an article on record collecting. It appeared in papers all over America and I got many calls about collections for sale, many of which I bought. Which is all prelude to me contacting the new management at KLON and changing my life forever.


About Hometown Music
A graduate of Wilson High (1960) and CSULB (1965), Steve Propes has been collecting records for many decades; was the KLON R&B DJ from 1981 to 1990 (with a short return in '93); has interviewed hundreds of singers, players, DJs and label owners; hosted Steve Propes Rock & Roll House Party on Charter Cable; founding member of the So. Cal Doo Wop Society; author of seven published books on R&R history and hosts the Steve Propes 45s Show is heard live on www.wpmd.org on Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m. and on www.rockitradio.net, playing from his collection of over 35,000 45s, about 1,000 CDs and hours on interviews on tape.

Since 2000, Steve has reported for and written a police column for the Beachcomber and contributed to various music publications like Record Collector News, which can be found at record stores and record meets.

SOURCE: http://www.lbpost.com/steve/5805

Vinyl Art Auction For Charity

Received this from my vinyl friend, artist Daniel Edlen, whose one-of-a-kind vinyl paintings are the buzz of the art and vinyl worlds. Stop by and bid this up and get a fantastic piece of art as well!










To Those Like-minded,

A brief note about a piece I donated to charity.

I gave a Johnny Cash to Musicians On Call, a group that provides live and recorded music to people who can't go see music themselves, but need it. Hospital patients, homebound individuals...

The auction is being run by Country Music Television (CMT), a subsidiary of MTV, in connection with the Country Music Awards that happened a couple days ago. Here is the link to the auction page:

http://tinyurl.com/lqmjvj

There are less than 4 days remaining for the auction. Two bids have been placed and it stands at $55 (plus around $30 for shipping/handling on their end). All proceeds will go to the charity. They do add on 10% to go to the auction partner, but your final bid amount goes to Musician On Call.

Here's my original post about the piece, with a better photo:

http://tinyurl.com/qxs9e3

Please take a look and if you're at all interested in owning a special piece of Vinyl Art that'll bring a smile to your face when you look at it and tell friends how you got it, BID!!

Peace,
Daniel Edlen

Music News & Notes

Eddie Van Halen Sues Nike

Eddie Van Halen is suing Nike over the color design on their "Dunk Low" sneakers. The new design is black with a red bottom side trim and black and white crisscrosses that Van Halen says is way to close to his signature Frankenstrat guitar. As a matter of fact, Eddie was so invested in that color scheme that he had it copyrighted back in 2001.

The suit is looking for money along with the "impoundment and destruction of all footwear.” It might also have something to do with the fact that Van Halen released his own sneakers with the Frankenstrat color scheme just last month through his EVH Shoes.

Good luck, Eddie, hope you make 'em pay!

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

Uncle Kraker releases new album

Closing a 5 year gap between albums, Uncle Kracker will be releasing his latest album called "Happy Hour" on 15 September 2009.

Uncle Kraker who's real name is Matt Shafer told Billboard.com, "It's a pop-rocked record, still with a little country (and) soul fused through it. There's more uptempo than there is on my last three records. I'm pretty stoked about it."

The first single from the album is called "Smile" and is streaming on Kraker's website at http//:www.unclekracker.com

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

Jay & the Americans Tribute

Collector's Choice Music is assembling a complete catalog of singles from a veteran 60's artist with their new Jay & the Americans: The Complete United Artist Singles. Release is scheduled for July 21.

Jay & the Americans first formed when Jay Traynor left the Mystics (Hushabye) and joined up with Kenny Rosenberg (later known Kenny Vance), Howie Kerschenbaum (Howie Kane) and Sandy Deane. A demo caught the ear of Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller who took them to United Artists where they would stay all the way into the mid-70's.

Their first single, a cover of Tonight from West Side Story, was only a New York City area hit. Their second release, Dawning, was also a national flop until it was turned over and the B-Side, She Cried, started to pickup airplay, eventually making it to number five.

The next few releases did not do well and Traynor left the group over creative differences. His replacement, David Blatt (who changed his name to Jay Black) and Marty Kuppersmith (Marty Sanders) were brought on board in early 1963 and, after a couple more flops, the group released Only in America, a moderate hit that reached number 25 and started the new group on a run that included eight more top 40 hits before the end of the decade.

The new album includes a whopping 68 tracks, both A and B sides, with all the hits and a number of obscurities. They are all in their original mono mixes and were all remastered from the original single master tapes. Ed Osborne produced and annotated the set, and got quotes from Americans Sandy Deanne, Marty Sanders and Kenny Vance. Single sleeves and photos round out the booklet.

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

New George Harrison Tracks

On the heels of the new George Harrison LP, Olivia Harrison said that she would like to do something with a number of unfinished tracks left behind by her husband George when he passed away in 2001. She even went as far as to say "There are lots of tracks. Some are closer to completion than others and with those I'd ask for help."

Jeff Lynne may be coming to the rescue. A source says that Harrison's Traveling Wilburys partner will review the tracks and produce at least an album's worth. "George half-finished loads of songs and often just forgot about them. There is probably an album's worth of material.

"Jeff and George were very close and worked together a lot in the later period of George's life. He's the right man to work on the material."

Harrison's son Dhani will also be involved with the album. Lynne previously produced the Beatles "Free As A Bird" from their 1995 Anthology album.

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

Julian Lennon Launches Tribute To His Dad

Julian Lennon - son of Beatle John Lennon - has launched a new exhibition in Liverpool that explores in tangible form for the first time the story of their lives together.

As he performed the official opening with his mother Cynthia, Julian revealed that touring the display galleries had unlocked lost memories and saw family photos he had never before encountered.

And Julian - immortalised in the song "Hey Jude" spoke about his gratitude to its author Paul McCartney for the love he had shown to him in his childhood.

Julian, 46, told how his mother reminded him that the Hey Jude lyrics were written for him.

Julian said: "I had been told when I was a kid but I'd forgotten.

"It was not until my early teens that I was reminded 'Hey Jude' was about me.

"I can't say it directly helped with any reconciliation but what it did mean to me was that there were other people on the fringe of our life that had a great deal of love, not only for myself but for mum too.

"To this I still have to appreciate and thank Paul for his love and care. It was a very, very kind gesture and one it seems that will never be forgotten."

Cynthia Lennon, 69, added: "We experienced what we experienced and we were in the public eye all the time. But Julian and I have always had these feeling of brotherhood - strange though that seem for mother and son."

Asked whether he had completely left behind feelings of rage against being deserted by his father Julian said:"It has definitely changed without a doubt.

"I realise myself that hate wastes a lot of time and energy and I would rather re-direct any energy that I have to good and positive use.

"It's a connection. It's a blood line. It's a love line - you can't just ignore that.

"The idea is to work through all those issues and problems. I feel that we have reached that level at this point. It is part and parcel of what we are trying to do with White Feather.

"It's to show that we still love the man - and the Beatles - and what we have all been through has been a tough few decades but we have come out the other side feeling strong.

"Hopefully we are educating and giving fans a slightly different aspect on how dad's life was with us in his earlier years, on his way to fame and obviously becoming famous."

Centerpiece of the exhibition are the pencil-scribbled original notes for the lyrics of "Hey Jude".

The 1968 Beatles chart-topper was composed by McCartney in a car as he headed to a meeting with Cynthia and Julian at their home. Originally titled ‘Hey Jules’ McCartney later changed the words to ‘Hey Jude’.

Julian bought the notes for £25,000 at auction in 1996 and has purchased many of the other items in the exhibition.

Other possessions on display include Julian’s Honda mini ‘monkey bike’ given to him by his father, and an electric guitar inscribed with the message “To Julian from Daddy, Christmas 1973’.

White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon runs from 17th June - 31st December at the new Mersey Ferries Terminal building at the Pier Head, Liverpool.

The title "White Feather" is a reference to a memorable conversation between father and son in which John told Julian that if he died and passed into an after-life he would send him a white feather signal.

Julian explains: ''One of the things my father said to me was that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be ok, or that we were all going to be ok, it was by in some way, shape or form presenting me with a white feather.'

"About eleven years ago I was on tour in Australia and I was approached by an aboriginal tribe who gave me a white feather and asked me to help them - which I was taken aback by."

He told how he went on to make a TV documentary about the tribe and in the process decided to set-up the White Feather Foundation which had aided aboriginals and other struggling people directly and by supporting other charities.

Asked whether the white feather was a message he said: "That's difficult to say - but what it did do for me was to motivate me to do something positive and for me that is the most important thing."