New Vinyl Releases

12/16/09 RELEASE DATE


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Beck - Odelay (10th Anniversary) [4 LP] (VERY LIMITED - 180 Gram Vinyl in quad-gatefold numbered jacket with 12-page booklet)


Cheap Trick - At Budokan [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley [LP]
Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux [2 LP] (Colored Vinyl plus Poster)
Insane Clown Posse - Riddle Box [2 LP]
Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien [LP]
Motley Crue - Journals of the Damned [6 LP Box plus Lithograph] (180 Gram Vinyl cut from Original Analog Masters)
My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (Red Colored Vinyl)(Limited Edition)
Social Distortion - Social Distortion [LP]
Weather Report - Heavy Weather [LP] [180 Gram Vinyl]
Gorilla Zoe - Lost [12'']
Jamie Foxx - Just Like Me (feat. T.I.) [12'']
Martin Buttrich & Jona - Stoned Autopilot (Carl Craig Mix) b/w Oblique (Previously Unreleased) [12'']
Crow Tongue/Language of - Light -Split [7''] (Marbled Colored Vinyl)
Raconteurs - Old Enough b/w Top Yourself (Bluegrass Version) (7'' Vinyl)


12/23/09 RELEASE DATE

Brother's Keeper - Continuum [LP]
Brother's Keeper / Disembodied - Oxymoron [LP]
Chrome - Blood On The Moon [LP]
Common - Universal Mind Control [2 LP]
Endeavor - Constructive... [LP]
First Blood - Killafornia [LP]
It Dies Today - The Caitiff Choir / Forever Scorned [2 LP]
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak (Deluxe) [2 LP] (includes trifold jacket with posters + lyric sheet + CD album)
Poison The Well - Tear From The Red / The Opposite Of December [2 LP]
Poison The Well - You Come Before... [LP]
Racetraitor / Burn It Down - Make Them Talk [LP]
Shai Hulud / Another Victim - A Whole New Level Of [LP]
Soulja Boy Tell'em - iSouljaBoyTellem [2 LP]
Terror - One w/The Underdogs [LP]
This Is Hell - Misfortunes [LP]
This Is Hell - Sundowning [LP]
Throwdown - Vendetta / Haymaker [2 LP]
Throwdown - Venom & Tears [LP]
Walls Of Jericho - The American Dream [LP]
Walls Of Jericho - With Devils Amongst Us All / All Hail The Dead [2 LP]
LMFAO - I'm In Miami Bitch (ft. Pitbull) 12''
Nas - Make The World Go Round (feat. Chris Brown & The Game) 12''
Ne-Yo - Mad 12''
Pleasure P - Boyfriend #2 12''
Plies - Put It On Ya (feat. Chris J) b/w Want It Need It (feat. Ashanti) 12''
Rick Ross - Here I Am (feat. Nelly & Avery Storm) 12''
T-Pain - Chopped N Skrewed (feat. Ludacris) 12''
Eighteen Visions - Vanity 7''
Harvest - Transitions 7''
Poison The Well - Tear From The Red 7''

As always, I want to thank DJ Spyder over at http://dj-spyder.blogspot.com/ for this great data!

Classic Rock Videos

Tommy James & The Shondells Hanky Panky

Despite digital downloads making headway into CD sales, customers young and old are still attracted to vinyl.

I am drawn to these wonderful stories about vinyl, this one from 'down under':

By Andrew Brown

“This recording is meant to be listened to on vinyl,” states a message emblazoned across the back covers of the CD versions of rock group Slint’s albums, Tweez and Spiderland. The CDs have no labelling, making it difficult to work out which way to insert it into a CD player.

Written inside the gatefold-style packaging of the CD version of Shellac’s 1994 album At Action Park is the statement: “This was not mastered directly to metal or pressed into 165 grams of virgin dye-blackened vinyl. There is, in fact, nothing at all special about the manufacture of this compact disc.”

But what is special about vinyl?

Sales of records are on the increase as a number of articles have purported, including “Vinyl May Be Final Nail in CDs Coffin” at Wired.com, and Time magazine’s “Vinyl Gets Its Groove Back“. I went to three record shops in Sydney to get their view on whether they have seen a noticeable resurgence of the PVC disc, and why this is occurring at a time when music is so easily and readily available off the Internet.

“I think CDs are finished,” says Ian Vellins, store manager at Ashwoods Music and Books.

The store opened in 1932, the same year as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and is now located in York Street. Both Alex Vellins, also a store manager at Ashwoods, and Ian agree that the combination of music libraries like iTunes and listening devices like flash drives, will make CDs redundant. But vinyl will live on.

“When [CDs] first came out, [vinyl] went into a nosedive and now it’s just popped back up again,” says Ian.

“You can’t download a piece of plastic,” says Alex.

Alex, who is 18 years old, says that many of his friends have begun collecting vinyl.

Most album requests at Ashwoods, apart from classical music, are for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and “punk vinyl” such as Dead Kennedys, The Clash and Sex Pistols, all on vinyl. Then there are the psychedelic garage bands which, according to Ian, “you can’t even have them because they just last about 3 seconds.”

And in the jazz department, Miles Davis and Coltrane are fashionable.

“But the things that don’t sell are things like Red Hot Chilli Peppers and U2,” says Ian. “This sort of popular stuff is not popular.”

While they are hard to come by, rare records can demand high prices. Take the 1967 Casino Royale soundtrack for instance which Ian says can fetch up to 300 dollars, or early Elvis Presley albums, released on the Sun label, which have sold for an amazing 1000 dollars.

But a major issue, according to Ian, is that digital downloads are killing the music.

“Yeah, it’s like everybody’s got it,” he says. “I don’t know if democratic is the right word, but it’s like they put socialism into capitalism as a music form and it doesn’t work. Capitalism drove it, but that’s gone now because [the music] is so easily attainable. So it’s made a different dynamic. The dynamic related to music as a revolutionary force has gone because it’s been emasculated in a weird sort of way.”

“The main increase [that I've noticed] has been in new release stuff,” says Michael Fisher, store manager at Red Eye Shop 3, adding that the price of new release vinyl has dropped over the last five or six years.

He says that it’s difficult to tell whether sales of older vinyl have increased because it has always been the big thing for the store.

“Frequently, I think groups are putting more effort into packaging of the vinyl, actually making it quite a piece in its own right, either through gatefold sleeves, or through extra tracks,” says Michael.

Red Eye opened as one store in 1981. They now have three stores, shop 1 and shop 2 located in the same building on King Street, and shop 3 on Pitt Street.

“Certainly the trend this year seems to be a lot of groups are putting out the vinyl with a code to download, and frequently with a CD also inside the vinyl packaging,” says Michael. “That looks like it might be more of the way of the future really.”

An example of this is Shellac’s most recent album, Excellent Italian Greyhound which included a CD with the vinyl version of the album.

A code was also provided with the vinyl version of Blonde Redhead’s 23 to download the album as mp3s. The note included states: “Only three downloads per each coupon allowed, so if you share this with a friend and they beat you to it, then you lose out.”

In the past year Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails released albums for digital download before releasing any ‘hard copy’ of their music. Michael says that the price of Radiohead vinyl is comparable to the CD version of the album, so “that’s certainly picking up some vinyl sales.” But Nine Inch Nails’ albums on vinyl are still more expensive, so only “diehard fans” buy them.

Two years ago, the predominant vinyl sellers were dance music and punk as they were popular among DJs, says Michael.

“Now it’s actually a little more across the board,” he says as he points to one of the distinctive red walls covered in vinyl. “Even things like Flight of the Concord sells much better on vinyl for us that it does on CD. So it’s really all over the place now.”

The Beatles reissues are also getting sales. “I wouldn’t have expected it was going to go well, because they’re not rare records. But they’re selling great.”

The most expensive album Red Eye has sold in recent times was a Japanese edition of The Beatles’ The White Album on red vinyl. It went for $500.

But does vinyl sound better than CD? An article at Howstuffworks.com claims that with a CD, the listener is not getting the full sound. The debate continues to rage.

One example where vinyl certainly sounds better is the last PJ Harvey album, says Michael. “On vinyl [it] came out on 45 [rpm], rather than 33 [rpm] as it’s only about 28 minutes long. When they’re putting it on 45, they’re stretching the grooves, and so you are getting a really great sound.”

This difference in sound also applies to mp3s. Baz Scott, store owner at Egg Records in Wilson Street, Newtown, says that many people are surprised when they hear for the first time on vinyl, songs that they had previously only heard through their iPod.

“They come into the store and hear something on the big speakers and I’ve had the comment several times; people have come up and said, “What are you playing? Is this a different version or something else?” And I go ‘no, it’s just that you’re hearing a lot of the highs and lows that because of the compression thing with mp3s and what have you, all those sorts of little nuances can be lost.’”

Baz and his brother-in-law opened Egg Records 8 years ago. Baz began working in the store full-time a year and a half ago after his brother-in-law moved to Brisbane and open another Egg Records.

At the moment, Darth Maul from Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace stands guard just inside the door.

While there might be a return to vinyl because the sound is better, the Internet is having an effect on record stores in another way.

“Finding rare stuff is becoming harder and harder, because the ebay factor has killed a lot,” says Baz. “That’s killed a lot of stores worldwide because people think they can get big dollars for it, and all that sort of stuff, but it varies. I tend to keep a lot of the high price stuff, even though I may not get the sales for it, but I’d rather have some interesting things.”

“We sell reconditioned turntables and amplifiers and on average, I might sell one a week,” says Baz. “The thing is, I’m getting younger people coming in and they want vinyl. They’ve got the CD, or they’ve done the download, but they want the vinyl.”

But in the end, the attraction of vinyl records is more than just the sound and music. There’s the aesthetic appeal as well.

“It’s that whole thing of art and music together,” says Baz.

SOURCE: http://andrewbrown.tumblr.com/

Album Cover Art

We are all the way to #8 of Gigwise.com's top 50 sexiest and dirtiest album covers (Gigwise comments in quotes):


8. The Rolling Stones: 'Sticky Fingers' - "One of the most infamous album covers of all time and an irrefutable classic. Conceived by Andy Warhol and executed by Billy Name and Craig Braun, early editions actually included a working zip. The well-endowed chap in question is apparently Joe Dallesandro and not Mick Jagger who is apparently hung like a mouse. The sleeve was later parodied by Motley Crue on their debut album Too Fast For Love in 1981."

The artwork for Sticky Fingers—which features a working zipper that opened to reveal a man in cotton briefs was conceived by American pop artist Andy Warhol, photographed by Billy Name and designed by John Pasche. The cover, a photo of a male crotch clad in tight blue jeans, was assumed by many fans to be an image of Mick Jagger, however the people actually involved at the time of the photo shoot claim that Warhol had several different men photographed (Jagger was not among them) and never revealed which shots he used. Among the candidates, Jed Johnson, Warhol's lover at the time denied it was his likeness (he died in 1996 aboard TWA Flight 800) although his twin brother Jay is a possibility. Those closest to the shoot and subsequent design name Factory artist and designer Corey Tippin as the likeliest candidate. After retailers complained that the zipper was causing damage to the vinyl (from stacked shipments of the record), the zipper was "unzipped" slightly to the middle of the record, where damage would be minimized. The album features the first usage of the "Tongue and Lip Design" designed by John Pasche. In Spain the original cover was replaced with a "Can of fingers" cover, and "Sister Morphine" was replaced by the Chuck Berry composition "Let it Rock".

In 2003 the TV network VH1 named Sticky Fingers the "No.1 Greatest Album Cover" of all time.

Vinyl records are increasingly popular with youths

By MELANIE ALVES

Fringed vests and platform shoes have long been tucked away, but vintage vinyl is finding a new audience.

Across SouthCoast, more and more people, especially teens and young adults, say they are rediscovering the authentic sound and impressive quality of record albums.

Vinyl phonographs were introduced in 1940 and ruled for the next 40 or 50 years before falling into near extinction with the arrival of cassettes, compact discs and MP3 players.

But despite the array of advanced technology in the music business, "old-fashioned" albums still find an audience. Local music stores such as Vinyl Stage Music in New Bedford and Newbury Comics in Dartmouth, as well as some thrift shops, offer vinyl-lovers a variety of old and new releases.

Several local record collectors shared how they began collecting albums and what they like about them.

Alison Cleveland, a 17-year-old Fairhaven High School senior and record collector for the past two years, said she first became interested in vinyl when she discovered her parents' old albums and found bands she liked among them.

She soon started buying her own records from her favorite bands including The Beatles, The Who and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Alison said she enjoys collecting because, "It's a lot of fun, it's like a hobby. Albums are more interesting than CDs. Sometimes just the art on the cover makes me want to buy a certain album."

While she doesn't think the quality of records is better than CDs, "They sound more realistic than the clean sound of newer technology," she said.

Bryan Cabido, a 19-year-old from New Bedford, has been collecting for about a year. He enjoys listening to records because "they are like a window into the past," he said.

"Most of the records I own were produced around the time the music was released, and I think that's really cool."

Bob Boyer, owner of Sunset Records in Somerset, said his customers range from 15 to 70 years old, but noted that, "Records have gotten popular with teenagers in the past few years."

One of his customers, Brandon Rebello, 23, of New Bedford, said he got into albums when he first heard The Beatles because he wanted to experience the music he liked the way it was released.

Teens tend to rebel against their parents in one way or another, very frequently in their musical choices. However, one of the things most of the young collectors had in common was that many of them got into albums and the music they listen to through their parents.

Many of their parents grew up in the 1960s and '70s when the songs became popular.

Brandon Freitas, 20, of New Bedford has loved the same music as his parents throughout his childhood. Although he discovered records on his own when he bought his first album, "The BeeGees Greatest Hits," at the age of 12, his musical taste came from his parents, he said.

"I love the vintage factor of them — everything about them from the cover art to just the fact that someone 40 years ago enjoyed this record the same way I'm enjoying it today," Brandon said.

The popularity of record albums among young people may not be an act of rebellion against their parents, but a rebellion of a different kind. Mr. Boyer suggests that it may be "a corporate iPod backlash."

Whether it's that or simply the history and eye-catching artwork that characterizes vinyl, for at least some of SouthCoast's younger generation, everything old really is new again.


SOURCE: http://www.southcoasttoday.com

Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 12/13/2008

1. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK STEREO black & gold label matrix 1R/1G - $4,610.94 - Start: $1.50 Bids: 40

2. 45rpm - David Bowie "Janine" / "All The Madmen" Mercury 73173 - $3781.85 - Start: $5.00 Bids: 15

3. LP - Uncle Funkenstein "Together Again" Private Press - $3,383.33 - Start: $9.99 - Bids: 27

4. LP - Dynamic Five "Love Is The Key" Manhattan/UA - $3,333.00 - Start: $999.99 - Bids: 10

5. 12? - Led Zeppelin “Road Box” - $3,322.62 Start: $75.00 Bids: 37

Lots of old friends and reappearances this week: First, a Beatles' "Please Please Me" UK Stereo first press sells for over $4.6k. This record, in various iterations, has appeared several times over the past few months. This particular record is one of 900 stereo edtions on Parlophone made from the mother stampers designated 1R and 1G.

David Bowie is here again. In the #2 spot, the original Mercury U.S. 45 from "Man Who Sold The World" bids past $3.7k.

The next two entries are new to the list and both are very rare soul and funk LP's. The first, a private press LP out of Indiana from Uncle Funkenstein sells for almost $3.4k. In the #4 spot, the never released Dynamic Five promo LP peaks a third of the way past $3.3k.

Lastly, another recent visitor to the list, Led Zeppelin's entire catalog on 12" 45 RPM 200 gram records, "The Road Box" sells for a little more than $3.3k

Special thanks (as always) to Brian at http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com for this great data!

This Date In Music History-December 15

Birthdays:

Paul Simonon-The Clash (1955)

Carmine Appice-Vanilla Fudge (1946)

Dave Clark-Dave Clark Five (1942)

Cindy Birdsong-Supremes (1939)


They Are Missed:

Jerry Wallace, US singer was born in 1928.

Alan Freed, American DJ was born in 1922. The man credited with giving “Rock 'n' Roll” its name (died 1965).

Soul singer Jesse Belvin was born in 1932 (died-1960). He co-wrote the Penguins' hit "Earth Angel" and was instrumental in developing the West Coast R&B sound.

Jazz musician Fats Waller died in 1943. Wrote (“Ain't Misbehavin”)

Max Yasgur, owner of the Woodstock farm where the 1969 festival was held, was born in 1919. (died 1973)

The co-founder of Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegun died in 2006, at age 83. Ertegun who founded Atlantic Records with Herb Abramson in 1947, helped make Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin stars and signed the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin in the early 70s.

A single-engine plane carrying Glenn Miller disappeared in thick fog over the English Channel while en route to Paris in 1944.

Rockabilly performer Joey Castle died from brain cancer in 1978 (age 36).


History:

In 1957, Sammy Davis Jr. hosted a syndicated radio talk show with a round-table discussion of Rock 'n' Roll. His guests were Columbia Records executive Mitch Miller and MGM Records president Arnold Maxim. When Davis and Miller blasted Rock 'n' Roll as "the comic books of music," Maxim took an opposing viewpoint and says, "I don't see any end to Rock 'n' Roll in the near future."

The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" LP went gold in 1967.

“Do They Know It's Christmas?" entered the UK chart at #1 in 1984, where it would stay for five weeks. The Bob Geldof produced song, specifically written to raise money for relief of famine in Ethiopia, was recorded by leading Irish and British musicians, including Phil Collins, Bono, George Michael, Sting, David Bowie, Boy George and Paul McCartney. The record sold more than three million copies in Britain alone and enjoyed similar success around the world.

Soul singer James Brown was sentenced to six years in prison in 1988 for various offenses including possession of weapons and resisting arrest.

While performing with the Jefferson Airplane on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968, Grace Slick appeared in blackface and raised a black-leather glove in a power salute at the conclusion of "Crown of Creation". The incident was one of several which led to the show's cancellation the following season.

Charlie Rich started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1973 with “The Most Beautiful Girl” (#2 in UK).

In 1969, Eric Clapton joined John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band as part of Peace for Christmas, a benefit concert for UNICEF. George Harrison, Delaney and Bonnie, Billy Preston and The Who's drummer, Keith Moon also took part. The concert was the last live appearance that Lennon ever made in his home country.

Billy Joel had his last number one album in 1989 when, "Stormfront" reached the top of the US charts. The LP also contained his final #1 hit, "We Didn't Start the Fire."

The Sex Pistols were refused entry into the USA in 1977, two days before a scheduled NBC-TV appearance. (Johnny Rotten because of a drug conviction, Paul Cook & Sid Vicious because of 'moral turpitude' and Steve Jones because of his criminal record)

Tom Rush Releasing First Studio Album in 35 Years

Folk singer Tom Rush will release his first full length studio album in 35 years on February 24 with What I Know. The album will be released via Appleseed Records.

Rush talked about the album on his website:

"Well, I’ve gone and done it – finished up a new album. I’m hoping to have copies for you in time for Christmas, though the official release on Appleseed won’t happen until early next year. I've put a streaming version of “What I Know,” slated to be the title track, at the top of this page, just to whet your appetite. You can view some preliminary artwork for the CD here.

I recorded it in Nashville, with my old buddy Jim Rooney producing (co-author of Baby Let Me Follow You Down), and I must say that, as hard to please as I am, I really do like the results. It’s my first studio project in a long time (when I told Emmylou [Harris]how long it had been, her retort was, “You should be ashamed of yourself!”), and it was a lot of fun to get back into that arena.

The Nashville players are a hardworking bunch. They show up at 10AM, work until 1, break for lunch, work 2 ‘til 5 and go home. It’s a lot like having a job (I would imagine). But … the way they play is truly joyful, and joy to hear.

Emmylou, Nanci Griffith, Bonnie Bramlett all came by and did some harmonies, and it was great to see them all again. (I hadn’t seen Bonnie since we were on the Festival Express train in ’70!)

Again, I’m not sure when the artwork will be done, or the sequence of songs – though that last may be a bit irrelevant in this day of iPods and downloads. But, if you sign up for the mailing list, you’ll be the first to know. I think you’ll like this one!"

Rush's last full studio album was 1974's Ladies Love Outlaws, although there have been many compilations, re-releases and live albums in the intervening years.



SOURCE: http://winkscollectibles.blogspot.com

Classic Rock Videos

The Animals - Dont Let Me Be Misunderstood

Album Cover Art

Let's look at what made #9 on Gigwise.com's list of the sexiest and dirtiest album covers (Gigwise comments in quotes):

9. Sugar Ray: ‘Lemonade and Brownies’ – "Kind of a sexier, less seedy version of Pulp’s ‘This Is Hardcore’ released some three years later, Sugar Ray’s 1995 effort features actress Nicole Eggert (of Baywatch fame) on the cover. Despite the attention-grabbing cover, the album was ultimately a critical and commercial flop. Perhaps, in this instance, sex doesn’t sell."

Lemonade and Brownies is the name of Sugar Ray's debut album, released in 1995. DJ Lethal (House of Pain, Limp Bizkit) produced for the album, providing all of the DJing. Actress Nicole Eggert is featured on the cover. Even though the album did not chart and was a commercial and critical failure for Atlantic, the band stayed on the label, going on to huge success. Who says hard work doesn't pay off?

Your Vinyl Destination

By Robert Benson

I am now writing for www.rockitradio.net and thought that you might enjoy an article I wrote for the station about the great Roy Orbison:


Roy Orbison

To many, Roy Orbison is best known for his highly successful single “Oh, Pretty Woman.” But Orbison’s career spanned many decades and he was an accomplished songwriter and legendary performer. Let’s explore the life of this music legend:


Roy Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas in 1936 and music quickly became an important element in his life. His father gave him a guitar when he was six years old and by the age of thirteen he organized his first band called “The Wink Westerners,” which was named after the town that his family had relocated to. The band had some success on local television and was allotted 30 minute weekly shows.

It was at one of these shows where Orbison met one of his guests, a man named Johnny Cash. Cash advised him to try and get a contract with record producer Sam Phillips of Sun Records. Phillips would turn them down at first, but relented and added the band to the Sun roster after hearing a recording that was created at Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, N.M. The band was renamed “The Teen Kings.” Orbison left for college in March of 1956 and ultimately headed for Sun Records in Memphis to pursue a career in music.

His first commercially successful song came in June of 1956 with the Rockabilly single called “Ooby Dooby” (which was written by friends of Orbison). His song “Claudette” (named after his first wife) was recorded by the Everly Brothers in 1958 and was included as the B-side to their smash hit, “All I Have To Do Is Dream” (Claudette peaked at #30 in May of 1958).

However, Orbison’s breakthrough hit was “Only The Lonely,” which was a 1960 #2 hit in the US as well as #1 hit in the UK. Orbison had met songwriter Joe Melson and liking the way that Melson incorporated melodic twists and lyrical styling into his songs, asked him to write with him. Together, they created the unique sound that Orbison would soon be famous for; the dramatic rock ballad.

Orbison also scored a #1 US hit in 1961 with the song “Running Scared,’ as well as scoring another #1 hit in the US with the cut “Crying,” an almost over-the-top ballad that featured his brilliant and now internationally famous warble.

In 1963, he headlined a tour with the Beatles, but was soon demoted to the opening act. Nonetheless, he developed lifelong friendships with the band, especially George Harrison and John Lennon. In fact, Orbison encouraged the Fab Four to come to the United States and try and sell their sound.

When the British Invasion broke out in 1964, Orbison was one of the few who survived. His single, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” actually broke the Beatles stranglehold on the Top Ten, catapulting to the #1 position in August of 1964 (where it would remain for three weeks). In fact, the record sold more copies in the first ten days than any other single up to that time and would go on to sell more than 7 millions copies.

The song was written in one afternoon while Orbison and his songwriting friend Bill Dees were working. Orbison’s wife at the time, Claudette, was leaving to do some shopping when Orbison asked her if she needed any money; to which Bill Dees interjected, “A pretty woman never needs any money.” They both thought that it would make a great song title and by the time that Claudette returned home from her shopping trip, the duo had written the now legendary song.


Many people often wonder if Orbison had eye problems which forced him to wear sunglasses, even at night. He did not have a specific eye ailment; the sunglasses actually became part of his persona by pure accident. You see, after flying in to Alabama for a performance, Orbison accidently left his regular glasses on the plane and didn’t realize he had his sunglasses on until the evening; but by then he had no choice, he had to wear the sunglasses or no glasses at all and not be able to see. So he went onstage wearing the dark glasses and the next day he flew to England to tour with the Beatles. Again, he was forced to wear the sunglasses and photographs of him and the Beatles circulated worldwide, and, although it was all unplanned, he was stuck with the new image and kept it throughout his amazing career.

In 1965, Orbison left Monument Records opting to move over to MGM, a label that promised him more money. Unfortunately, he would not make the Top Ten in the US again until 1989 when his collaboration with the Traveling Wilburys (Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and George Harrison) netted him a #9 hit with the cut “You Got It.”

But Orbison was a world-wide music sensation and he remained very popular in Europe and Australia. In fact, his cut “Working For The Man” topped the Australian charts and the song “Too Soon To Know” peaked at #3 in England. He was also very popular in Germany, actually recording his hit song “Mama” in the native tongue. In France, he was viewed as the master of lost love ballads and a cover version of his 1963 hit, “Blue Bayou” (#29 on the Billboard Top 40 chart and a #3 hit for Linda Ronstadt in 1977), that was performed in French by Mireille Mathieu topped the French charts. Additionally, fans in the Netherlands formed his largest worldwide fan club.

Personal tragedy, sadly, was also a part of Orbison’s life. In 1966, he lost his wife Claudette to a motorcycle accident and a couple of years later, while he was away on a tour of England, he lost two of his sons to a terrible house fire that destroyed his home in Tennessee. His third son was miraculously saved by his parents.

Orbison was obviously devastated and to try and block out all his pain by touring constantly. In 1969, he remarried and started a new family, but he did not perform in the United States again until 1977.

The 1970’s were a down time for Orbison, although he continued to tour and release music, the albums did not fare as well as his previously released material. He tried his hand at country music with the LP “I’m Still In Love With You,” and also released the album “Regeneration” in 1976. Things got so bad that in 1979, Orbison even attempted releasing a disco music album called “Laminar Flow.”

In the 1980’s, Orbison’s career enjoyed a rebirth of sorts. He collaborated with Emmylou Harris on the song, “That Lovin’ You Feeling Again,” which would go on to win the 1981 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group. He also recorded the song “Wild Hearts” for inclusion in the film “Insignificance” and the song “In Dreams” was included in the David Lynch movie “Blue Velvet.” He also re-recorded his 1961 hit “Crying” as a duet with k. d. lang for the movie “Hiding Out” (which would earn him another Grammy Award). All these things helped Orbison regain his popularity.

His 1987 HBO Special, “Roy Orbison and Friends” was accompanied by a who’s-who supporting cast including musical director T-Bone Burnett, pianist Glen Hardin (who had played with Buddy Holly and Elvis), guitarist James Burton (also played with Elvis), background singers Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt and Jennifer Warnes. All loved Orbison and lobbied to participate and the special helped Orbison gain the attention of a younger generation.

Shortly after the performance, he teamed up with the previously mentioned rock stars (Lynne, Harrison, Dylan and Petty) to form the Traveling Wilburys, who achieved mass commercial appeal and success. He also recorded a new solo LP, “Mystery Girl,” which yielded his last hit “You Got It.”

Sadly, during the afternoon of December 6, 1988, after spending time shopping for model airplanes (a hobby throughout his career and one he thoroughly enjoyed), he complained of chest pains and was rushed to a hospital in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Roy Orbison died shortly thereafter.

Roy Orbison is fondly remembered by millions of fans for is ballads of lost love and his creative songwriting abilities. His voice was also unique, an instrument of melodic invention. Let’s explore some this legendary rock and roll artist’s achievements:

Awards/Honors:

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987)
Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1989)
Grammy Awards (1980, 1988, 1989, 1990)

#1 hits:

"Running Scared" (1961)
"Oh, Pretty Woman" (1964)

Top 10 hits:

"Only The Lonely (Know How I Feel)" (1960)
"Crying" (1961)
"Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" (1962)
"In Dreams" (1963)
"Mean Woman Blues"(1963)
"It's Over" (1964)
"You Got It"(1989)

R&B:
"Mean Woman Blues"(1963)

Country:
"That Lovin' You Feelin' Again"(1980)
"You Got It"(1989)

Other important recordings: "Ooby Dooby," "Leah," "Blue Angel," "Candy Man," "I'm Hurtin'," "Workin' For The Man," "Blue Bayou," "Falling," "Pretty Paper," "She's A Mystery To Me," "I Drove All Night," "Not Alone Any More" (Traveling Wilburys)

Wrote or co-wrote: "Claudette," The Everly Brothers; "Bad Boy," Sue Thompson; "Down The Line," Jerry Lee Lewis; "I'm In A Blue, Blue Mood," Conway Twitty; "See Ruby Fall," Johnny Cash

Covered by: Linda Ronstadt, Don McLean, Van Halen, Del Shannon, Chris Isaak, k.d. lang, The Hollies, Waylon Jennings, Glen Campbell, Expose, Buddy Holly, Slim Whitman

Appeared in the movies: "The Fastest Guitar Alive" (1967), "Roadie" (1980), "Roy Orbison and Friends: Black & White Night" (1988), "She's Having a Baby" (1988), "Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" (1987)



Selected vinyl record values

78 rpm

SUN (242 "Ooby Dooby") 250-350 1956
SUN (251 "Rockhouse") 200-300 1956
SUN (265 "Sweet & Easy toLove") 200-300 1956
SUN (284 "I Like Love") 300-400 1958


45 rpm

SUN (242 "Ooby Dooby") 40-60 1956
SUN (251 "Rockhouse") 40-60 1956
SUN (265 "Sweet and Easy to Love") 100-200 1956
SUN (284 "I Like Love") 125-150 1958
SUN (353 "Sweet and Easy to Love") 30-50 1961
(Yellow label.)
SUN (353 "Sweet and Easy to Love") 50-75 1961
(White label. Promotional issue only.)

LP's

MONUMENT (14002 "Lonely and Blue") 400-600 1961
(Stereo.)
MONUMENT (14007 "Crying") 400-600 1962
(Stereo.)
MONUMENT (4002 "Lonely and Blue") 100-200 1961
(Monaural.)
MONUMENT (4007 "Crying") 50-100 1962
(Monaural.)
SUN (1260 "At the Rock House") 500-700 1962

DVD's

Classic Rock Videos

The Animals - Don't Bring Me Down

Album Cover Art

We made it- we are now into the Top Ten list of the dirtiest and sexiest album cover art as complied by the crack staff at Gigwise.com. Let's look at what made number ten on their list (Gigwise comments in quotes):



10. Pulp: ‘This Is Hardcore’ – "Accompanying an album that, at times, dissected the seedy, grimy side of the sex business, Jarvis Cocker and co. opted for a sleeve of a porn star in mid-act. At first, it looks like a highly erotic cover, but when you couple it with the album title track’s lyrics and the vacant expression on the said woman’s face, it takes the sting out of it."

Pulp's "This Is Hardcore" is arguably the first pop album devoted entirely to the subject of the long, slow fade. This is a bold move because it breaks one of rock's oldest songwriting taboos. Rockers have always fled from the prospect of aging and ignored the mundane details of survival. Even when the Beatles took on the subject, they did it as a lark: "Will you still feed me when I'm sixty-four?" Pulp, on the other hand, dive right in. "Help the aged," Jarvis Cocker sings on the album's first single, "one time they were just like you."

So far, Pulp's chief impact in the United States has been as the band whose leader (Cocker) disrupted a Michael Jackson performance at a British awards ceremony. But Pulp have been at it since 1983, when they were mere teens out of working-class Sheffield, England. It took them a decade to make much of a splash, but their 1995 breakthrough, Different Class, sounded like nothing else on the Brit-pop landscape. With flamboyantly catchy tunes and wry lyrics that commented on everything from rave culture to social snobbery, the album was a defining moment in U.K. pop.

On This Is Hardcore, the band expands on that promise with an album that is less bright and bouncy but that is even more daring and fully realized. From the doorstep of middle age, midthirtyish singer and lyricist Cocker looks to his future with a mild case of nausea, even as drummer Nick Banks, keyboardist Candida Doyle, bassist Steve Mackey and guitarist Mark Webber keep the pop champagne fizzing. Cocker writes songs about aging nightclubbers driving themselves to the brink of exhaustion to feel more "alive" ("Party Hard"), a father shamed by the example he has set for his son ("A Little Soul") and the recognition that the singer has become "the man who stays home and does the dishes" ("Dishes"). GREG KOT~Rolling Stone

This Date In Music History-December 13

Birthdays:

Ted Nugent is 60.

Lou Adler (who produced the Mamas & the Papas) turns 75.

Guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of the Doobie Brothers (1948)

Randy Owen, Alabama (1949)

Berton Averre, The Knack (1952)

Tom Hamilton, bass, Aerosmith (1951)

Amy Lynn Lee, vocals, Evanescence (1981)

Tom Delonge, Blink 182 (1975)

Robert Martinez, ? & The Mysterians (1945)

Jamie Foxx R&B singer and pianist (1967) Academy Award winner in 2005 for his performance of musician Ray Charles in Ray.


They Are Missed:

The Guess Who's guitarist Kurt Winter died in 1997.

Zal Yanovsky of The Lovin Spoonful died of a heart attack in 2002.

Pigmeat Markham ("Here Comes The Judge") died in 1981.


History:

Elvis Presley's "It's Now Or Never" set a new record in the UK in 1960 for achieving one million sales just six weeks after its release.

The Beatles signed with manager Brian Epstein in 1961 (though Brian never signs the contract).

The Rolling Stones' request to put on a three day show for 100,000 fans on Easter Island was denied by the government of Chile in 1975, who said "the whole future of the island" would have been damaged.


In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Wedding Album crashed on to the Billboard album chart at #182.

In 1999, the performing rights group BMI proclaimed that the most-performed song of the century was the Righteous Brothers' 1965 #1 hit "You've Lost That Loving Feeling."

Foghat's "Slow Ride" was released in 1975.

The two surviving members of Nirvana, Krist Novoselic and David Grohl, filed a countersuit against Courtney Love in 2001. The charge was that she had manipulated the memory and work of her dead husband, Kirk Cobain, for the benefit of her own career.

The Beatles performed at the Cavern Club, Liverpool in 1961, playing two shows at lunchtime and then again at night. Decca Records' Mike Smith attended the night performance with the intent of offering The Beatles a recording contract.

Kenny Roger's Greatest Hits started a two-week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1980.

Jimi Hendrix made his TV debut on ITV's 'Ready Steady Go!' in 1966 (Marc Bolan was also on the show). The Jimi Hendrix Experience also recorded 'Foxy Lady' on this day.

After scoring a US Top 20 hit in 1962 with "She Can't Find Her Keys" earlier in the year, 17 year old Paul Peterson re-entered the charts with "My Dad", which would reach #6. The former Disney Mouseketeer and cast member of the TV's Donna Reed Show would go on to found A Minor Consideration, an organization committed to changing the working conditions for child performers.

Bruce Hornsby and The Range topped the Billboard chart in 1986 with "The Way It Is", a song that refers to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

In 2006, New York police arrested Koral Karsan and charged him with first-degree attempted grand larceny for allegedly trying to extort $2 million from John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. The 50 year old Karsan had worked for Ono as a chauffeur for over six years.

Music News & Notes

Kiss Decides to Cut First LP Since 1998

It has been announced that, beginning next year, the iconic rock and roll band KISS will hit the studio to record their first new album of material since 1998’s release “Psycho Circus.”

Even the reluctant bassist, Gene Simmons is on board although his opinions about the music industry are well documented.

“The record industry is in such a mess,” he told Billboard in November of 2007. “There is nothing in me that wants to go in there and do new music. How are you going to deliver it? How are you going to get paid for it if people can just get it for free?”

But with Paul Stanley producing and in complete control of the project, it will be an exciting new avenue for the rockers to explore.

“I would consider doing it if I could do it the way I wanted to do it,” he explained, adding that his 2006 solo album “Live To Win” confirmed how he’d “like music to sound that I’m a part of. To do another KISS album, I would not e willing to compromise my point of view perhaps as much as I have in recent years.”

Still unresolved is just how the band will distribute the new album which will feature longtime members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons alongside guitarist Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer on the drums.

KISS is also expected to embark on a North American tour at some point in the New Year, but no dates have been announced at this time.



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John Fogerty Returns with “Blue Ridge Rangers” Project

Seminal ‘swamp’ rocker and former Creedence Clearwater Revival front man John Fogerty is putting the finishing touches on a new project appropriately called: “John Fogerty: The Return Of The Blue Ridge Rangers.”

The Blue Ridge Rangers were originally a one-man band in which Fogerty released a set of country and roots cover songs. Although the Blue Ridge Rangers concept allowed Fogerty complete artistic control (he played all the instruments), this project will be different, as he explained to Billboard.

“I’ve known for years that if I ever did a Blue Rangers album again I sure didn’t want to play all the instruments. I had long felt that was probably something that was wrong with the first album.”

The project was recorded during a 10-day session at Village Recorders in Santa Monica, California, with T-Bone Burnett and Lenny Waronker as co-producers. Among the musicians contributing to “The Return Of The Blue Ridge Rangers” were Greg Leisz, Dennis Crouch, Buddy Miller, Kenny Aronoff and Jay Bellerose. The set includes fifteen songs that were recorded from a list of about forty titles that Fogerty, Burnett and Waronker had assembled.

“My pre-requisite was that I didn’t want to get into the realm of trying to be really hip and obscure,” explained Fogerty. “I’ve seen people get really out there, and it’s stuff nobody’s heard of or maybe it’s stuff nobody wants to hear of. For me it just had to be a good song, a great song, ‘cause great songs will carry you a long way.”

Fans of Fogerty and of the classic rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival can expect a quality release, although there has been no definitive release date.



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Decemberists’ New LP Is Concept Oriented

Indie-Pop rockers the Decemberists new album from Capitol Records should arrive in stores near the end of March 2009. The 17-track effort will chronicle a twisted love triangle, mixed with fantasy, with a woodland queen playing very heavily into the storyline.

However, this is not the first time the Portland, Oregon Indie-Pop crew has waded into the concept album territory. Its predecessor, “The Crane Wife” (2006) included a retooled Japanese fairy tale as its central theme.



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Indigo Girls Team With Vanguard For New Album

The Indigo Girls have started their own label to release their next album. "Poseidon and the Bitter Bug" is due March 24 from IG Recordings, with distribution through Vanguard.

The double-disc set includes the album as well as a second all-acoustic version, the latter featuring the bonus track "Salty South."

"It's basically like two perspectives of the same song," group member Amy Ray told Billboard of the Mitchell Froom-produced project. "It gives everybody both sides of the equation."

The Indigo Girls spent most their career on Epic before shifting to Hollywood for 2006's "Despite Our Differences."