Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

Magnetic Fields Frontman Stephin Merritt to Release Obscurities

The Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt is set to release 'Obscurities' on Aug. 23 on Merge Records. The release will focus on rare and hard to find Stephin Merritt tracks and will be released on CD, LP and download.

Merritt fans will be glad to hear that Obscurities contains five previously unreleased songs, some of which are taken from a never-finished sci-fi musical called The Song From Venus. Also included are songs from Neil Gaiman’s audiobook Coraline and outakes from The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs album. B-sides from various vinyl singles from The Magnetic Fields round out the track list.

Obscurities Track List

1. Forever and a Day (previously unreleased)
2. Rats in the Garbage of the Western World (The Magnetic Fields)
3. I Don’t Believe You (The Magnetic Fields)
4. Plant White Roses (Buffalo Rome)
5. Rot in the Sun (the 6ths)
6. The Sun and the Sea and the Sky (previously unreleased)
7. Yet Another Girl (the 6ths)
8. Scream (Till you Make the Scene) (previously unreleased)
9. The Song from Venus (previously unreleased)
10. Beach-A-Boop-Boop (The Magnetic Fields)
11. When I’m Not Looking, You’re Not There (The Magnetic Fields)
12. Take Ecstasy with Me (The Magnetic Fields)
13. When You’re Young and In Love (previously unreleased)
14. You Are Not My Mother and I Want to Go Home (The Gothic Archies)

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in North Carolina High Country, vinyl doing well!

641rpm Goes All Vinyl in a Digital Age

Story by Jesse Wood

641rpm, a record store on King Street in Boone, has sold off nearly all of its CD stock and will now strictly sell vinyl records.

In a digital age, a record store solely selling vinyl isn’t as bizarre as it seems. Though digital music dominates album sales, vinyl record sales have increased since 1991. In 2010, the Nielsen Company reported that vinyl record sales increased 14 percent from the previous year with 2.8 million units sold, and in 2011, vinyl record sales are up 37 percent from the same period last year. The top selling artists for vinyl in 2010 included older artists such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan, as well as newer artists such as The Black Keys.

For 641rpm, last month’s national Record Store Day was a turning point.

Read the rest of the story at highcountrypress.com

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Deep Purple to Tour US With Symphony Orchestra

Deep Purple is scheduled to embark on a short North American tour next month and will be accompanied by a symphony orchestra. The band will also play one show without the orchestra in San Francisco. Deep Purple have already been offering up their symphonic presentation in Europe to great success and acclaim.

The band -- featuring classic-era members Ian Gillan (vocals), Roger Glover (bass) and Ian Paice (drums, percussion) and rounded out by Steve Morse (guitar) and Don Airey (keyboards) -- will begin their US tour on June 3rd. Dubbled Deep Purple: The Songs That Built Rock, the tour runs through June 25th. By utilizing strings and a symphony, Deep Purple favorites like 'Smoke on the Water' will be elevated to a whole other level.

Deep Purple tour dates:

Fri 6/3 - Orillia, ON Casino Rama
Sat 6/4 - Quebec City, QC Agora
Mon 6/6 - Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Tue 6/7 - Boston, MA Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre
Wed 6/8 - Hartford, CT Mortensen Hall at the Bushnell
Fri 6/10 - Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
Sat 6/11 - Atlantic City, NJ Tropicana
Sun 6/12 - Bethel Woods, NY Bethel Performing Arts Center
Tue 6/14 - New York, NY Beacon Theater
Wed 6/15 - New York, NY Beacon Theater
Fri 6/17 - Detroit, MI Fox Theater
Sat 6/18 - Highland Park, IL Ravinia
Sun 6/19 - Minneapolis, MN Orpheum
Thu 6/23 - Las Vegas, NV The Pearl at the Palms Casino
Fri 6/24 - Los Angeles, CA Greek Theater
Sat 6/25 - Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheater

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in tampa bay, vinyl is HOT!

Old vinyl records become new trend: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

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and in music history for today:

In 1933, country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers died at the Taft Hotel in New York City from complications due to tuberculosis. The Singing Brakeman—often hailed as The Father of Country Music—was only 35 at the time of his death.

In 1953, after hitchhiking to the event, Elvis Presley won second prize in a Meridian, Mississippi talent show.

In 1962, the Isley Brothers' "Twist and Shout" was released on Wand Records. It will rise to #17 on the US Pop chart and will be covered two years later by The Beatles, whose version rose to #2.

In 1963, Elvis Presley recorded "(You're The) Devil In Disguise", which will peak at #3 on the Billboard chart and #1 in the UK by next August and be certified Gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 units in the US.

In 1964, Marianne Faithfull recorded the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards/Andrew Loog Oldham song, “As Tears Go By,” accompanied by future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page on guitar and John Paul Jones on bass.

In 1966, the Beatles began recording “Yellow Submarine” at EMI Studios on Abbey Road in London. The Ringo-sung track would go to #1 in the U.K. after its release in August of that year.

In 1968, American R&B artist Little Willie John died of a heart attack in prison after being convicted of manslaughter. The artist, born William Edward John, was the first to record Eddie Cooley and John Davenport’s “Fever” (also covered by Peggy Lee in 1958) and Mertis John, Jr.’s “Need Your Love So Bad” (later covered by Fleetwood Mac). James Brown recorded a tribute album the same year, titled Thinking about Little Willie John and a Few Nice Things.

In 1969, John and Yoko began a seven-day “bed-in” in room 1742 of the hotel La Reine Elizabeth in Montreal, Canada to promote world peace. John Lennon recorded "Give Peace a Chance" in a room at Hotel La Reine Elizabeth in Montreal, Canada. The voices of Tommy Smothers and Petula Clark can be heard on the chorus. The song was credited to Lennon / McCartney, even though Paul had nothing to do with the record. Lennon may have been showing his appreciation for McCartney's help on "The Ballad of John and Yoko" single, which the two of them recorded without George and Ringo.

In 1971, Don McLean recorded the epic track, “American Pie.” The song, which obliquely recounts the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, hit #1 in the U.S.



In 1972, just when Mott the Hoople were on the brink of breaking up, David Bowie offered the group two of his new songs: “Suffragette City,” which they turned down, and “All the Young Dudes,” which they recorded. The song gave the group a #3 hit in the U.K. and made the Top 40 in the U.S.

In 1973, the Edgar Winter Group went to #1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Frankenstein.” The instrumental was the band’s only U.S. #1 (it reached #18 in the U.K.). In addition to Winter’s wild keyboards, the song also featured ex-McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer.

In 1973, Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" was released. The song is based on the true story of how someone had fired a flare gun into the ceiling of the Casino in Montreux, Switzerland, during a concert by Frank Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention. The resulting fire destroyed the building where Deep Purple was set to record a live album the next day. The single will reach #5 in the US and #21 in the UK.

In 1974, 14-year old Bernadette Whelan was crushed by the crowd at a London concert of teen idol David Cassidy. She would die four days later. Cassidy is so shaken by the incident, he wouldn't tour again for 11 years.

In 1977, KISS provided a vial of their blood to Marvel Comics to be mixed with the ink in a KISS comic book.

In 1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were married in the Dominican Republic. They were divorced in January of 1996.

In 2006, Desmond Dekker, a Jamaican reggae pioneer famed for his worldwide hit "The Israelites", died of a heart attack at his home in England. He was 64.



birthday wishes to Levon Helm (Band) (71), Garry Peterson (Guess Who) (66), and the great Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) (63)

VH1's Iconic Music Series "Behind The Music" Returns With Seven All New Episodes Beginning in June

FEATURED ARTISTS INCLUDE RICKY MARTIN, ADAM LAMBERT, MARY J. BLIGE, ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, MIRANDA LAMBERT, MISSY ELLIOTT AND ICE CUBE

"Behind The Music: Missy Elliott" Kicks Off The Season on Wednesday, June 29 at 10 PM ET/PT


SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- VH1's most celebrated music documentary series "Behind The Music" returns with seven of today's most successful and celebrated artists. The five-time Emmy® Award-nominated series gives viewers a front row seat to the most exclusive and intimate interviews with the artists as well as their families, friends and colleagues. Featured this season are Missy Elliott, Ice Cube, Miranda Lambert, Mary J. Blige, Enrique Iglesias, Adam Lambert and Ricky Martin. Beginning on Wednesday, June 29 at 9 PM ET/PT with "Behind The Music: Missy Elliott," the series will bring viewers never-before-seen footage of these talented musicians and the people who know them best.

"Behind The Music: Missy Elliott" Premieres Wednesday, June 29 at 10 PM ET/PT

Becoming the most successful female writer-producer-artist the hip hop world has ever seen was not easy for Missy Elliott. Born in Virginia, Missy was faced with the hardships of poverty at the age of eight. Surrounded by abuse and horror, Missy used her passion for music to escape from it all, landing a record deal at the age of 19 with DeVante Swing of Jodeci. For the first time, Missy breaks her silence about why she had to walk away from DeVante and her first group "Da Bassment." Not letting her past bring her down, Missy surpassed her demons and rose to fame with her groundbreaking debut album "Supa Dupa Fly." Working with some of the biggest names in the music industry, from Diddy to Mariah Carey to Janet Jackson and with her daring lyrics, Missy Elliott was able to take over the hip hop world and become a millionaire by the age of 25. After years away from the spotlight, Missy Elliott is opening up publicly for the first time in this "Behind The Music." Viewers will watch as Missy talks about her near-fatal battle with Graves disease, address rumors about her weight and opens up about being sexually molested as a young child, a subject she rarely discusses. Catch interviews with Timbaland, Ciara and Mary J. Blige as they contribute personal stories about the gifted Missy Elliott who changed the face of hip hop music forever.

"Behind The Music: Ice Cube" Premieres Wednesday, July 6 at 10 PM ET/PT

This episode of "Behind the Music" follows the three-decade-long career of legendary rapper Ice Cube from his journey as a founding member of the notorious rap group NWA to a blockbuster movie star. The extraordinary career of Ice Cube begins with his upbringing in South Central Los Angeles where he faced gang violence and drug dealers on a daily basis. Finding refuge in music, Ice Cube and his neighborhood friends formed NWA to speak out about the harsh reality of growing up in the ghetto. Years and many hits later, the group dismantled sparking a bitter feud between Ice Cube and his former band members and manager Jerry Heller, which lead to Ice Cube's decision to embark on a solo career. In an unexpected move, Ice Cube took a movie role in John Singleton's critically-acclaimed movie "Boyz N The Hood." The role of Darrin "Doughboy" Baker would give Ice Cube not only the credibility in the movie industry but the confidence to continue to pursue acting roles as well writing and directing jobs. Since then, Ice Cube has produced and starred in a slew of blockbuster movies and TV shows such as "Friday," "Barbershop," "Three Kings" and "Are We There Yet?" At home, Ice Cube is the father of four children with long-time wife Kim and explains how he now shares the stage with two of his sons, Doughboy and OMG, who hope to follow in his rapping footsteps. Viewers will watch as friends Snoop Dogg, DJ Yella from NWA and actress Nia Long discuss how Ice Cube has become a modern day Renaissance man, transforming from a South Central street kid to a major force in music, movies and television today.

"Behind The Music: Miranda Lambert" Premieres Wednesday, July 13 at 10 PM ET/PT

Twenty seven year-old Grammy Award-winning artist, Miranda Lambert fell in love with music at a young age and was determined to one day be a part of the country music world. Growing up in rural Texas, Miranda watched her parents lose everything when their private investigation business went under, causing the Lamberts to live completely off their land. Starting out just shy of 18, Miranda hit the East Texas bar scene playing gigs at a variety of rough and tumble watering holes. Having to deal with local drunks and barely making ends meet, Miranda was determined to make her mark in a "man's world." But in 2003, her big break came when she tried out for the new reality TV series "Nashville Star," landing third place and a potential record deal. With the possibility of stardom so close, Miranda kept her tough Texan attitude as she rose to the top, demanding artistic control of her debut album "Kerosene." Miranda delivered the label what she promised, hitting the country music charts at #1 and followed that success with a second album that did exactly the same thing, all by the age of 25. Even with her fast-paced rise to the top, Miranda found time to fall in love with fellow country star, Blake Shelton. In February 2011, the country music couple celebrated Miranda's success as she received her first Grammy Award for "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" for "The House That Built Me" off her third and must successful album to date "Revolution." Viewers watching this episode of "Behind The Music" will get the exclusive first look at interviews with loving husband, Blake Shelton, Miranda's parents Rick and Bev, "Nashville Star" judge Tracy Gershon, former Sony Nashville head Joe Galante, music legend Loretta Lynn and fellow country music stars Sheryl Crow, Kenny Chesney and Hillary Scott from Lady Antebellum.

"Behind The Music: Nelly" (Repeat) Airs Wednesday, July 20 at 10 PM ET/PT

Growing up in St. Louis, MO, Nelly spent most of his childhood bouncing from home to home, sleeping on couches and changing schools with alarming regularity. The lack of parental supervision quickly led him to a life of crime. Years later, he joined a rap group called the St. Lunatics and finally found the family he'd been lacking. However, his loyalty to that family was tested when record labels came calling, saying, "We want you—not them." With his group's blessing, Nelly signed to Universal Records and released "Country Grammar." The album sold nearly 10 million copies and forever changed the face of hip hop. Since then, life has hardly been easy for Nelly. From a decline in album sales and controversial music videos to his best friend's incarceration and his sister's tragic death from leukemia, Nelly has battled plenty of demons. In this episode of "Behind The Music," Nelly candidly opens up about his life as a musician, actor and businessman. For the first time, Nelly publicly addresses the death of his sister and his relationship with singer Ashanti, who is also interviewed for the special. Hear the poignant tale of Nelly's life through in-depth interviews with his closest friends, family, and the person who knows it best — Nelly himself.

"Behind The Music: Mary J. Blige" Premieres Wednesday, July 27 at 10 PM ET/PT

This episode of "Behind The Music" will take a look inside the life and outstanding career of Mary J. Blige, the reigning Queen of R&B. Watch as VH1 captures the story of how faith, courage and a never-ending search for love and contentment helped one of the world's most talented musicians survive a tumultuous past. After her soulful remake of Anita Baker's "Caught Up In A Rapture" was heard by Uptown Records President Andre Harrell, Mary was signed instantly, changing her life forever. She then joined forces with soon-to-be music legend, Sean "Diddy" Combs and together they changed the music world with her honest and heartfelt debut album "What's The 411?" Although Mary's professional life was flourishing, at home she was dealing with a volatile relationship and hit her lowest moment. Mary needed to make a change and she did. She was ready to better herself. Mary lifted herself out of her hole by praying and keeping the faith that things would change, and they soon did. Mary's prayers were answered and she fell in love with Kendu Isaacs, who would later become her very supportive husband, friend, and manager. He helped and encouraged her on her road to greatness. With Kendu's love, help and guidance, Mary found a new happiness which was reflected in her top selling albums such as "No More Drama" and "The Breakthrough" which won three Grammy Awards. By the time Mary sang for President Obama at the Inauguration Day ceremony in 2009, her world had taken a 180 degree turn and she describes the experience as one of the most meaningful moments of her career. Now, Mary is set to release "My Life Too, The Journey Continues" on September 20 where she continues to deliver timeless hits while discussing her never ending journey. Catch candid interviews with husband Kendu Isaacs, sister LaTonya Blige Dacosta, Diddy, Nas, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Mary J. Blige herself.

"Behind The Music: Enrique Iglesias" Premieres Wednesday, August 3 at 10 PM ET/PT

Enrique Iglesias is the son of a legendary musical family and one of few artists who can legitimately be called a "global sensation." Beginning his career by singing Spanish love songs, Enrique soon conquered the Latin music market and was a breakout star leading the charge of the Latin music explosion into the mainstream pop market in 1999. With more than 58 million records sold worldwide, he's already outlasted many of the artists that followed in his wake and continues to sell out concerts across five continents and top the charts all over the world. In this "Behind The Music," the notoriously private singer will discuss how he got to be the man he is today, what the people in his life mean to him and reveal his inner-most thoughts on rumors and issues that have plagued his career, as well as his ten-year-relationship with tennis superstar Anna Kournikova. Starting out with a $48 million recording contract, Enrique has experienced both highs and lows in his career but now finds himself at the top of his game. Viewers will watch as Enrique Iglesias, a man who has successfully crossed over to both Latin and English music for over a decade and whose 2001 song "Hero" helped a nation through one of the most horrific times in its history, finally feels the success and joy that his life has to offer. In this episode viewers will hear from childhood friend Andres Restrepo, musical artist Pitbull, President and CEO Universal Republic Records Monte Lipman and Enrique himself.

"Behind The Music: Adam Lambert" Premieres Wednesday, August 10 at 10 PM ET/PT

Glam-rock powerhouse, Adam Lambert has taken pop music by storm with his handsome looks, electrifying stage theatrics and jaw-dropping vocal acrobatics. In this episode of "Behind the Music" Adam Lambert opens up to VH1 about the challenges he faced during his childhood including realizing he was gay in 6th grade. After finally coping with his identity, Adam freed himself at the age of 18, coming out to his family and moving to Hollywood, CA to pursue his dream of being an entertainer. Struggling to make ends meet, Lambert received his first big break when he landed a part in the European tour of "Hair" at age 19. The excitement of his first role brought out Adam's wild side as he began to experiment with sex, drugs and rock n' roll. For the next eight years Adam was continually cast in various stage productions including "Wicked." At age 27 and without a record deal, Adam had a realization during a psychedelic experience at the Burning Man festival that if he wanted fame he would have to take control and make it happen. In turn, Adam decided to audition for the iconic TV show, "American Idol." Making the top 13, Adam was poised to go far in the competition until scandalous photos of him dressed in drag and kissing another man leaked on the Internet. Adam remained tight-lipped about the photos to the press, determined to keep the focus on his talent. As he advanced to the final round of the competition, the media began to debate whether America would elect a gay Idol. Placing second, Adam quickly landed a record deal with RCA and 19 Recordings, taking the opportunity to come out about his sexuality in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. However, Adam wasn't done shocking the world, and during his debut television performance at the "American Music Awards" he stunned audiences by kissing his male bassist onstage. Following a huge backlash from viewers, Adam released his debut album "For Your Entertainment," which skyrocketed to #3 on the Billboard chart in its first week. Viewers of this episode of "Behind the Music" will see never-before-seen home video footage, interviews with family, friends, industry experts and musical luminaries including Barry Weiss and "American Idol" Season 8 winner Kris Allen. With constant criticism about being too bold, too offensive and too gay, Adam Lambert comes clean to VH1 about who he really is and the obstacles he has overcome to get where he is today.

"Behind The Music: Ricky Martin" Premieres Wednesday, August 17 at 10 PM ET/PT

Nobody's got female fans' hearts fluttering more than Ricky Martin with his sexy dance moves and sultry voice. As one of the most successful crossover singers in history, Ricky sold upwards of 60 million albums with global chart toppers like "Living La Vida Loca," "She Bangs" and "La Copa de la Vida." In this "Behind the Music," Ricky Martin recounts his career from his early days with the Latin pop group Menudo through his days as a soap opera star and finally to his career as a music phenomenon. Viewers will watch as Ricky opens up to "Behind the Music" for the second time, including discussing his decision to come out a gay man, a topic he first revealed in his 2010 autobiography "Me." Finally, Ricky reflects on his 20-year career and how he balances his life as a father of twin boys and as an international performer.

Select full episodes of "Behind The Music," as well as extended interviews and footage will be available at BehindTheMusic.VH1.com.

The series debuted on VH1 in August of 1997 and was originally created and produced for VH1 by Gay Rosenthal, George Moll and Jeff Gaspin who were responsible for many of the channels 200+ episodes of the series.

The current series is executive produced by Shelly Tatro, Brad Abramson, Stephen Mintz and Jeff Olde for VH1. Executives in charge of music talent are Rick Krim and Leah Horwitz. The Ice Cube and Ricky Martin episodes were executive produced by Mark Ford and Kevin Lopez for Creature Films.

*All times are ET/PT

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 98 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, VH1Games and extensive broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.

For up-to-the-minute and archival press information including releases and photographs, visit VH1's press-only Web site at VH1Press.com

SOURCE VH1

Legacy Recordings Releases "The Complete Albums Collection" - a New Original Albums Series

-Available exclusively at PopMarket.com-

FIRST 4 BOX SETS INCLUDE THE BYRDS, SAM COOKE, STAN GETZ, AND RETURN TO FOREVER

NEW YORK, May 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, announces the first four artists to be featured in The Complete Albums Collection, a new product line for serious music fans and enthusiasts, available exclusively through PopMarket.com beginning Tuesday, May 24.

Launching with comprehensive boxed sets of original album catalogs by The Byrds, Sam Cooke, Stan Getz and Return To Forever, The Complete Albums Collection series will showcase new releases throughout the year, offering music fans and collectors the chance to own classic discographies on CD (with many out of print and rare titles) in 5x5 minijacket reproductions of the original album cover art, a stand-alone booklet with discographical information and photos, all housed in a beautifully packaged clamshell box.

Upcoming artists in The Complete Albums Collection will include some of Sony Music's most notable artists and many their most pivotal recordings.

The Byrds - The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (13 CDs)

(MSRP - $99.98 // D2C - $79.99)

1. Mr. Tambourine Man
2. Turn! Turn! Turn!
3. Fifth Dimension
4. Younger Than Yesterday
5. The Notorious Byrd Brothers
6. Sweetheart of the Rodeo (2 CD Legacy Edition)
7. Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde
8. Ballad of Easy Rider
9. (Untitled)/(Unissued) (2CDs)
10. Byrdmaniax
11. Farther Along

During their original 1965–1971 lifespan, the Byrds were one of rock's most consistently inventive and influential bands, embodying the '60s ideals of restless experimentation and creative risk-taking. Through a lengthy series of artistic evolutions and personnel shifts, the Byrds maintained their place on rock's cutting edge, with founding visionary Roger McGuinn joined over the years by such legendary figures as Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons and Clarence White. The musicians' diverse talents combined to produce one of rock's richest and most rewarding album catalogs. The Complete Columbia Albums Collection includes CD expanded edition versions of all 11 original Columbia albums released by the Byrds between 1965 and 1971, including numerous rarities and unreleased tracks, each individual album packaged in a replica mini-LP sleeve reproducing that album's original cover art and a booklet containing historic photos and track-by-track annotation by veteran journalist Johnny Rogan, author of the definitive Byrds biography Timeless Flight.

Sam Cooke - The RCA Albums Collection (8 CDs)

(MSRP - $89.98 // D2C - $71.99)

1. Cooke's Tour
2. Hits of the '50s
3. Swing Low
4. My Kind of Blues
5. Twistin' the Night Away
6. Mr. Soul
7. Night Beat
8. One Night Stand

Sam Cooke is widely regarded as the first and greatest soul singer, and as one of the most important figures in modern American music. His good looks, personal charisma and golden voice made him a superstar in the 1950s, winning him an unprecedented crossover appeal. Although he died in 1964 at the age of 33, Sam Cooke produced a remarkably accomplished body of work in his short life. This box set celebrates that rich musical legacy, collecting eight of his greatest albums, six of which have never before been released on CD in the United States. This collection charts Sam Cooke's remarkable musical evolution, and stands as a powerful testament to his timeless talent. The RCA Albums Collection includes the most complete package to date of Sam Cooke's '60s albums: Six of the eight albums in this set have never been released on CD in the U.S. and each individual album is packaged in a replica mini-LP sleeve reproducing that album's original cover art.

Return To Forever - The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (5 CDs)

(MSRP - $59.98 // D2C - $44.99)

1. Romantic Warrior (1976)
2. Musicmagic (1977)
3-5. Return To Forever Live (1977) [3 CDs]

Founded by jazz keyboardist Chick Corea, Return To Forever was one of the prime movers of the electric fusion that literally rocked the jazz world in the 1970s. With Corea, who'd played with Miles Davis on In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, and bassist Stanley Clarke at its core, Return To Forever hit its commercial zenith with Romantic Warrior, the group's Columbia Records debut, and sustained an aesthetic peak through the under-rated Musicmagic and the epic swan song Return To Forever Live.

Stan Getz - The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (8 CDs)

(MSRP - $89.98 // D2C - $71.99)

1. Captain Marvel (1972) w/ Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Tony Williams
2. Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto: The Best Of Two Worlds (1975)
3. The Master (1975)
4. Stan Getz/ Jimmy Rowles: The Peacocks (1975)
5. Another World JG 35513
6. Children Of The World
7. Forest Eyes (music composed, arranged & conducted by Jurre Haanstra) CBS (Holland)
8. Bonus Disc (U.S. Only): includes selections from Woody Herman Carnegie

Carnegie Hall 40th Anniversary Concert, Montreux Summit, and Havana Jam.

Jazz saxophonist Stan Getz rose to renown in the late 1940s, dubbed "The Sound" for the warmth of his tone and phrasing before blowing up in '64 with his musical championing of the bossa nova, "The Girl From Ipanema." Getz made some of his most avant-garde fusion recordings for Columbia Records, beginning with Captain Marvel in 1972.

For a limited time, The Complete Album Collection line will also be available at the PopMarket Pop-Up retail store, located in Manhattan on the former site of mythic rock club CBGB's at 313 Bowery. The Pop-Up store will feature the same great daily deals as the PopMarket.com website, plus a weekly series of music-related speakers, movie screenings and in-store events throughout the month of June. Store hours: Wednesday and Friday from 12pm-8pm, Thursday and Saturday from 12pm-7pm; Sunday from 12pm-6pm.

PopMarket.com, the online daily deals site exclusively for music fans recently launched by Sony Music Entertainment, offers the hottest daily deals on premium music and rare, collectible albums, boxed sets and memorabilia. Free PopMarket.com membership gives music fans unprecedented access to the hottest deals on the coolest music on the planet.

SOURCE Legacy Recordings

Ask Mr. Music by Jerry Osborne

FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 23, 2011

DEAR JERRY: Our local paper (Los Angeles Times) ran a list of the most popular American Idol contestants of all time — the key word here being “popular.”

This particular survey reflects who the voters liked the most, and not directly based on their history of show business success or album sales.

Here is their Top 10:

1. Kelly Clarkson; 2. Carrie Underwood; 3. Jennifer Hudson; 4. David Cook; 5. Adam Lambert; 6. Fantasia Barrino; 7. Constantine Maroulis; 8. Kris Allen; 9. Clay Aiken; 10. Chris Daughtry.

It's interesting having three women at the top, but even more so seeing six of the 10 who were not the winner in their particular season. Only Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Kris Allen actually won.

Now I would like to see the Top 10 based strictly on sales figures, and a comparison of the two lists.
—Lara Torrent, Burbank, Calif.

DEAR LARA: It comes as no shock finding that personal popularity and the capacity to create sales are not always directly proportional. Four names — including one winner (Kris Allen) — in the Times' Top 10 are not among the 10 top album sellers (U.S. sales only). Note that the top two gals on this list are flip-flopped:

1. Carrie Underwood (Season 4): 12.3 million; 2. Kelly Clarkson (Season 1): 10.6 million; 3. Chris Daughtry (Season 5): 6 million; 4. Clay Aiken (Season 2): 4.9 million; 5. Fantasia Barrino (Season 3): 2.8 million; 6. Ruben Studdard (Season 2): 2.5 million; 7. David Cook (Season 7): 1.34 million; 8. Kellie Pickler (Season 5): 1.32 million; 9. Jordin Sparks (Season 6): 1.2 million; 10. Jennifer Hudson (Season 3): 1.15 million.

Neither Daughtry, Aiken, nor Pickler won the competition, yet each outsold the Idol winner for their season, some by a wide margin.

None of the three top vote-getters in Season 5, Taylor Hicks (1), Katharine McPhee (2), and Elliott Yamin (3), are among the Top 10 in sales. Daughtry came in fourth that year, and Pickler sixth.

In Season 2, Ruben Studdard's Idol vote total barely exceeded runner-up Clay Aiken's, but at the cash register, Clay's 4.9 million albums sold is about double Ruben's.

Besides Taylor Hicks, other winners and runners-up whose sales do not yet qualify them for a Top 10 slot are: (Season 7) David Archuleta (2nd); (Season 8) Kris Allen (1st) and Adam Lambert (2nd); (Season 9); Lee DeWyze (1st) and Crystal Bowersox (2nd).

A rare and quirky chart event, involving the Season 4 winner and runner-up, occurred in 2005.

Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice both recorded versions of “Inside Your Heaven,” and the two records made their chart debut one week apart.

On Billboard's Hot 100 Singles for the week of July 9, Carrie's version held the No. 3 position and Bo's was No. 2.

Not since early 1957 (Sonny James and Tab Hunter with “Young Love”) do I recall two different recordings of the same song being in Billboard's Top 3 at the exact same time.


IZ ZAT SO? Countless times over Idol's 10 seasons, we've heard the judges refer to when the contestants “make a record.”

Truth is, very few of them make records. CDs and digital files for downloading, yes, and those are recordings, but they are not records.

Of those who do have their name on an actual record, nearly all are promotional pressings made either for juke boxes or 12-inch disco singles for club play.

Mostly from the singers mentioned above, here are those who can honestly say they made a record:

Clay Aiken: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (2003); “Invisible” (2004).
Fantasia Barrino: “Truth Is” (2004); “Baby Mama” (2005); “Hood Boy” (2006).
Bo Bice: “Inside Your Heaven” (2005).
Kelly Clarkson: “A Moment Like This” (2002); “Miss Independent” (2003); “Since U Been Gone” (2004); “Behind These Hazel Eyes” (2005); “Because of You” (2005); “Walk Away” (2006).
Justin Guarini: “Unchained Melody” (2003).
Taylor Hicks: “Do I Make You Proud” (2006).
Katharine McPhee: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (2006).
Kellie Pickler: “Don't You Know You're Beautiful” (2008); “Makin' Me Fall in Love Again” (2008).
Jordin Sparks: “Tattoo Remixes” (2007).
Ruben Studdard: “Flying Without Wings” (2003); “Sorry 2004” (2003); “What If” (2004); “What Is Sexy” (2004).
Carrie Underwood: “Inside Your Heaven” (2005).

Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column.  Write Jerry at: Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368  E-mail: jpo@olympus.net   Visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com.

All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition.

Copyright 2011 Osborne Enterprises- Reprinted By Exclusive Permission

REO Speedwagon's 30-Year Anniversary of Multi-Platinum #1 Breakthrough Hit Hi Infidelity Brings Re-Release With Double-CD Package Due Out July 19, 2011

Anniversary Package To Include Previously-Unreleased Demos of Nine Songs and Liner Notes From Frontman Kevin Cronin

NEW YORK, May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The year 1981 marks the debut of the groundbreaking MTV Networks and, simultaneously, as MTV was hitting the airwaves, REO Speedwagon held the #1 album spot with their multi-platinum Hi Infidelity, making an impression that has also come to last decades. Now, marking its 30th Anniversary, the highest-selling rock LP of 1981 is being commemorated with HI INFIDELITY: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION, with special, never-before-released demos and more. The double-CD set will be released at all physical and digital retail outlets on July 19th through Epic/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.

Hi Infidelity was a career-changing album for REO Speedwagon, achieving a staggering number of accolades, chart positions and sales, among them:

•Highest-selling rock LP of 1981

•Has sold close to 10 million copies in the US

•February 21, 1981; the album hit #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and remained at #1 for 15 weeks straight; taking over John Lennon & Yoko Ono's "Double Fantasy," which previously held the spot for eight weeks

•Remained on Billboard 200 album chart for 101 weeks, unprecedented for an American rock band at the time

•Album certified RIAA Gold and Platinum on February 2, 1981; since been 10x Platinum certified

•Single "Keep on Loving You," certified RIAA gold on March 4th, replaced Eddie Rabbitt's "I Love a Rainy Night" at #1 on Billboard Hot 100 on March 21, 1981

•March 21st, 1981, the first week of Billboard's then new "Top Tracks" chart (now known as the Mainstream Rock Chart) boasted four songs from Hi Infidelity: "Keep on Loving You" and "Take It On the Run," which both hit the top 10; and "Don't Let Him Go"(#11) and "Tough Guys" (#25); "Out of Season," joined those four a week later

•"Take It On the Run" was the 9th music video ever to be played on MTV


HI INFIDELITY: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION will pair the original album with a second CD of previously unreleased 'Crystal Demos' of nine of the album's 10 songs. Additionally, the album packaging will include new liner notes by lead singer Kevin Cronin, as well as original lead guitarist Gary Richrath. Cronin's essay takes the reader on a trip behind the curtain to the roots of many of the songs: "I remember writing the verses to piano, after sleepwalking into my home studio around 4:00 a.m.... A long simmering response to the bullies of my youth came in the form of 'Tough Guys'... Bruce wrote and sang 'Someone Tonight,' which is one of the gems from the Crystal Demos... 'I wish You Were There' [was] a little gospel thing that I had written in the house where I grew up in suburban Chicago."

Originally formed in Champaign, Illinois, REO Speedwagon is still led today by keyboardist Neal Doughty (founding member since 1967), Kevin Cronin (who has fronted the band since 1972 on lead vocals and guitar), and bassist Bruce Hall (who joined in 1977) – along with lead guitarist Dave Amato (member since 1989) and drummer Bryan Hitt (since 1990). Together, REO continues to define the essence of two enduring genres, arena rock on the performance side, and classic rock on the audio and video side. Summer tour dates begin at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre on June 4th and take the band through more than 40 shows where they'll showcase the best of Hi Infidelity with the live performances that audiences have grown to love over the last three decades and continue to sell out time and time again.

As Cronin writes, "Hi Infidelity was a major life changer for all of us. On our eleventh album, we went from being the perennial Midwestern underdog, to at last hitting the global big time. Suddenly, the world was listening, and watching... But the truth is, it all still boiled down to the music, the songs, some inspired performances, and a great deal of good fortune. We were a tight knit, dedicated group of individuals, with a dream, a purpose, and no doubt that we would pull it all off."

HI INFIDELITY: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION by REO SPEEDWAGON (Epic/Legacy 88697 69579 2, originally issued November 1980, as Epic 36844)

Disc One – Selections: 1. Don't Let Him Go 2. Keep On Loving You 3. Follow My Heart 4. In Your Letter 5. Take It On The Run 6. Tough Guys 7. Out Of Season 8. Shakin' It Loose 9. Someone Tonight 10. I Wish You Were There.

Disc Two: The Crystal Demos – Selections: 1. Someone Tonight 2. Tough Guys 3. In Your Letter 4. Follow My Heart 5. Take It On The Run 6. Don't Let Him Go 7. Keep On Loving You 8. Shakin' It Loose (Instrumental) 9. I Wish You Were There. (All tracks previously unreleased.)

"The heavens, our emotions, the music business, and REO fans all over the world, were all perfectly aligned. There was a common sense of purpose, of longing and loss, within the band members' collective psyche, that erupted with a burst of creativity, and resulted in the music of Hi Infidelity."

– from the liner notes written by Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon

"Kevin and I go way back, having met right about the time I joined Styx. There was probably no one more keenly aware of their chart positions than we were for all those weeks back in 1981. Most exciting days indeed!" – Tommy Shaw of Styx

www.reospeedwagon.com , www.legacyrecordings.com

SOURCE Legacy Recordings

Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

i spend my time searching for vinyl related stories and came across one of the most indepth and fascinating posts about record collecting and i thought i would share it with you. i contacted jim and he gave me the ok to post part of his post, please take the time to visit his site and read the rest - i know you will love it!

All About Record Collecting

by Jim

I spent most of my middle and high school years sorting through stacks of old records at various Atlanta record stores, working the floor at record shows, pouring over Goldmine magazine and burning up transatlantic phone lines with calls to record shops in the UK.

I was what you’d call a record collector, although I wasn’t much of one in the greater scheme of things. There are record collectors out there who have tens of thousands of albums filling their basements and garages, like John Cusack in High Fidelity. But I was never one of them. I kept my collection small, filling it with records I loved as well as records to “flip”. In fact, flipping records is how my love affair with Madonna started. Like most teenage guys in the 80s, I thought that she was super-hot, but I didn’t much care for her music. But I noticed that her records sold quickly and expensively, so I started buying the occasional Madonna picture disc just to flip it into a rare Cure record I wanted.

Although vinyl collecting almost died, it’s going through a renaissance of sorts lately. Many independent record stores are reporting that vinyl is now outselling CDs, although this has as much to do with people who used to buy CDs now using iTunes as it does people buying more vinyl records. Still, vinyl sales are up, and because of this, I thought I’d dust off this old post and spruce it up some.

By using the following guide, you should be able to suss out the value of most any disc, be it a CD you bought a year ago or a box full of your parents’ old vinyl records you found cleaning out the attic. And given the rise of the Internet – specifically, auction sites like eBay and online memorabilia retailers like GEMM – you can quickly sell those discs (if you choose) as never before.

Read the rest of this great post at jimcofer.com

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100 Worst Album Covers of All Time

here we go again, another list of album covers to make you cringe. some i have seen before (over and over again in someone's list of bad album covers), but there are some new ones on this list. for shits and giggles, check it out at sandiegoreader.com



















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Kim Kardashian Calls Her Lawyers Over Album Cover

Kim Kardashian has threatened two music producers with legal action after they used an image of her naked body on their album cover without permission. The reality star noticed that the photograph on the cover of Terrace Martin and Devi Dev's album was from her nude spread in fashion bible W Magazine according to a TMZ report. The album, Terrace Martin & Devi Dev Present: The Sex EP, used a close-up of Kardashian's bare breasts from the magazine spread.

She instructed her lawyers to send a cease and desist letter to the two producers demanding they swap the picture, stating, "We cannot imagine why you thought you had the right to use this photograph without permission."

The photograph was later changed to another woman's body. The producers claimed that they did not know they had originally used Kardashian's image. Yeah right......








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The Menzingers announce vinyl release

Mightier Than Sword Records and Shop Radio Cast is releasing The Menzingers' debut album 'A Lesson in the Abuse of Information Technology' on vinyl for the first time this June.

The first pressing for 1000 records :

100 180g Vinyl on Black
450 Solid White (Exclusive MTS Color)
450 Solid Army Green (Exclusive Shop Radio Cast Color)

You can pre-order this release through the Mightier Than Sword website on Friday, May 27th. The official release date for the vinyl is Tuesday, June 28th.

Formed in 2006, The Menzingers are a Scranton, PA-based punk band whose second full-length, 'Chamberlain Waits' made it onto multiple 2010 "Best Of" lists, and who announced their signing to Epitaph Records earlier this month. "A Lesson in the Abuse of Information Technology" was originally released on Go-Kart Records in 2007 but never available on vinyl until now.

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Silverchair Go into ‘Indefinite Hibernation’

here is what the band posted on their facebook page:

We formed Silverchair nearly 20 years ago when we were just 12 years old. Today we stand by the same rules now as we did back then ... if the band stops being fun and if it's no longer fulfilling creatively, then we need to stop.

Therefore after much soul searching we wanted to let you know that we're putting Silverchair into "indefinite hibernation" and we've decided to each do our own thing for the foreseeable future.

Read what else they have to say at facebook.com

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GRIMEY'S BEST SELLERS 5/16 - 5/22, 2011

Top 25 Vinyl:

1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
2. Ty Segall - I Can't Feel It 7"
3. Queens Of The Stone Age - Queens Of The Stone Age
4. Tyler The Creator - Goblin
5. Bake Sale - As Predicted 7"
6. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
7. Natural Child - 1971
8. Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
9. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
10. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
11. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
12. KORT - Invariable Heartache
13. The Antlers - Burst Apart
14. Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
15. Hank Williams III - Hillbilly Joker
16. Cy Barkley & The Wayoutsiders - Rock Together
17. Kleenex / Lilliput - Kleenex & Lilliput
18. Iron & Wine / Low Anthem - Daytrotter Sessions
19. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
20. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
21. Booker T. Jones - The Road To Memphis
22. TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light
23. Lonely Island - Turtleneck & Chain
24. My Morning Jacket - At Dawn
25. Whiskeytown - Pneumonia

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and in music history for today:

In 1965, blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, Sonny Boy Williamson died in his sleep. Van Morrison, Aerosmith, The Who, The Animals, Yardbirds and Moody Blues all covered his songs. According to the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods, touring the UK in the 60's, Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.

The Rolling Stones released "Jumpin' Jack Flash" in 1968.

The Hollies recorded "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" in 1969 (with Elton John on piano).



In 1973, Carole King played a concert in New York's Central Park, which attracted an audience of 100,000.

In 1978, the Who performed a concert in London to be filmed for their documentary movie on the band's history, 'The Kids Are Alright.' This proved to be Keith Moon's last performance with the band before his death on September 7th.

Dio released the album "Holy Diver" in 1983.

In 1995, the earliest known recording of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, from 1961, was sold at Christies in London for $85,425.

In 1996, Bradley Nowell (Sublime) was found dead in his San Francisco motel room of a drug overdose at the age of 26. what a shame.....



In 1997, a report showed that Elvis Presley was now the world’s bestselling posthumous entertainer with worldwide sales of over one billion, over 480 active fanclubs and an estimated 250,000 U.K. fans who still buy his records.

In 2009, a former member of Wilco, died at his home in Illinois at the age of 45. Jay Bennett worked as a sound engineer and played instruments for the band between 1994 and 2001

birthdays today include Lauryn Hill of The Fugees (1975), Klaus Meine of the Scorpions (1958), country vet Tom T. Hall (75) and musician Paul Weller (1958); among others.

New Vinyl Record and Music Releases - May 24, 2011

Acephalix - Interminable Night
Aerosmith - Tough Love: Best Of The Ballads
Against Me! - Total Clarity
Aidan Moffat & Bill Wells - Everything's Getting Older
Al Stewart - Images: His First Three Albums (2 CDs)
Alexandre Desplat - The Tree Of Life (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Alpinist - Licthlaerm || Minus.Mensch
Amon Tobin - Isam
Arnaud Rebotini - Someone Gave Me Religion
Art Brut - Brilliant Tragic
Ash Black Bufflo - Andasol
Asva - Presences of Absences
Atlanta Rhythm Section - With All Due Respect
Aventura - 14 Plus 14
Baby Baby - Money
Basemint - No Retro b/w Basemint
Battles - Ice Cream
Bill Black's Combo - Solid And Raunchy
Billy Fury - The Sound Of Fury
Bird Call - Other Creatures (EP)
Bird of Youth - Defender
Black Tusk - Passage Through Purgatory
Bob Desper - New Sounds
Book Of Black Earth - The Cold Testament
Bootsy Collins - Tha Funk Capitol Of The World (vinyl)
Boris - Attention Please
Boris - Heavy Rocks
Brad Paisley - This Is Country Music
Brendan Perry - Ark
Bringers Of Disease - Gospel Of Pestilence
Buck Owens & Susan Raye - Very Best of Buck Owens & Susan Raye
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus: 25th Anniversary Edition (2 CDs)
Cave In - White Silence
Chet Atkins - Teensville
Chip Taylor - Rock and Roll Joe
Christmas Island / Meth Teeth - Split
Cold Showers - Highlands
Conway Twitty - Icon
Craig Douglas - Craig Douglas
Crosby & Nash - Another Stoney Evening (vinyl)
Danielson - Grow Up
Danny Elfman - Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box (16-CD box set)
Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez
David Bazan - Strange Negotiations
David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name (reissue)
Deep Purple - Phoenix Rising (2 CDs)
Deep Purple - Shades of Deep Purple
Dels - Gob
Destroyer 666 - To the Devil His Due
Devil Whale - Teeth
Devolved - Oblivion
Dinah Washington - What A Diff rence A Day Makes
Dot Dot Curve - I'm Still Here
Drainland - And So Our Troubles Began
Duane Eddy - Plays Songs Of Our Heritage
Duff McKagan's Loaded - Sick (CD/DVD)
Dynasty - Truer Living With a Youthful Vengeance
Ear Pwr - Ear Pwr
Eddie Vedder - Longing to Belong (vinyl)
Efrim Manuel Menuck - Plays "High Gospel"
Electric Wizard - Black Masses (vinyl)
Face Candy - Waste Age Teen Land
Fan Modine - Gratitude for the Shipper
Fireworks - Gospel
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors (reissue)(vinyl)
Fonzi Thornton - Pumpin'
For The Fallen Dreams - Back Burner
Foster the People - Torches
Franke & The Knockouts - The Best of Franke & The Knockouts (remastered)
Frederik - Na Na Ni (reissue) (vinyl)
French Horn Rebellion - The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion
Friendly Fires - Pala
Garage a Trois- Always Be Happy: But Stay Evil
Gary Moore - Live at Montreux 1997 (2 LPs)(vinyl)
Graham Nash - Songs for Beginners
Group Doueh - Zayna Jumma
Hank Williams - Icon
Human Eye - They Came From The Sky
In Solitude - The World.The Flesh.The Devil.
Inevitable End - The Oculus
Jessica 6 - See The Light
Johanna & The Dusty Floor - Northern Lights
Joseph Arthur - Graduation Ceremony
Journey - Eclipse
Jozef Van Wissem - The Joy That Never Ends
Kate Bush - Director's Cut
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
Kate Bush - The Dreaming (remastered)
Kate Maki - Moonshine
Kate Voegele - Gravity Happens
Kay Starr - Movin'
King Creosote and Jon Hopkins - Diamond Mine
Kitten - Sunday School (vinyl)
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Lady Gaga - Judas
Lana Sisters - Chantelly Lace: Complete Singles Plus
Lo-Pan - Salvador
Louis Armstrong - Icon
Love - Forever Changes (reissue)
Mamas & the Papas - Icon
Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs (remastered with bonus CD)
Mesh - Alternative Solution
Miles Davis - Blue Haze (reissue) (vinyl)
Mist - House (vinyl)
Monkees - Changes (remastered with bonus tracks)
Monkees - Monkeemania (reissue)
Monkees - Present (remastered with bonus tracks)
Motopony - Motopony
Mr. Scruff - Wobble Control
Muddy Waters - Icon
Nat Baldwin - People Changes
Neal Morse - Testimony 2
Neighbors - The August EP
New Edition - Icon
New Kids On The Block & Backstreet Boys - NKOTBSB
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Boatman's Call
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Let Love In
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part
Other Lives - Tamer Animals (vinyl)
Paul Lawrence - Haven't You Heard
People Like Us - Welcome Abroad
Phathom - The New Piracy
Philip Glass - The Music of Philip Glass & Foday Musa Suso (from the Philip Glass Recording Archive Vol. VI)
Planningtorock - W
Presidents - 5-10-15-20-25-30 Years of Love: The Greatest Hits
Pretenders - Pretenders (reissue)
Pretenders - Pretenders II (reissue)
Ray Charles - The Genius Hits The Road
Ray Manzarek & Roy Rogers - Translucent Blues
Ray Price - Songs of Inspiration
Robin Guthrie - Emeralds
Rosanne Cash - Essential Rosanne Cash (2 CDs)
Royal Bangs - Flux Outside (vinyl)
Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside - Dirty Radio
Santana - Moonflower (vinyl)
Sarabeth Tucek - Get Well Soon
Scarlet Season - The Taxidermist
Sculptress - “Cuckold” (12")
She Wants Revenge - Valleyheart
Smod - Smod
Snailhouse - Sentimental Gentleman
Soema Montenegro - Passionaria
Spandau Ballet - True (reissue)(vinyl)
Stephen Marley - Revelation Part 1: The Roots of Life
Tara Jane O'Neil and Nikaido Kazumi - Tara Jane O'Neil and Nikaido Kazumi
Teenage Fanclub - Thirteen (reissue) (vinyl)
The Bewitched Hands - Birds and Drums
The Felice Brothers - Celebration, Florida (vinyl)
The French Horn Rebellion - The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion
The Men - Leave Home
The Moaners / Jennyanykind - Split (vinyl)
The Moaners - Nocturnal
The Prodigy - World’s On Fire
The Vertebrats - Screaming Like a Mad Choir
These Trails - These Trails
Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts (vinyl)
Toddla T - Cherry Picking (vinyl)
Tokimonsta - Creature Dreams EP
Various Artists - Marijuana Madness
Various Artists - Glee: The Music, Volume 6
Various Artists - IMPREC300 (vinyl)
Various Artists - Kitsune Maison Compilation 11: Indie Dance
Various Artists - Nigeria 70 Sweet Times: Afro-Funk Highlife (vinyl)
Various Artists - Pianos in the Kitchen (From the Kitchen Archive No.5)
Various Artists - The Hangover, Part II: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists - The Rhythms Of Black Peru (vinyl)
Vieux Farka Toure - The Secret
White Denim - D
Willie DeVille - Come a Little Bit Closer
Willie Nelson - Icon
Yourself and the Air - Who's Who in the Zoo


New Jazz Releases

Remember, if you are a record company and have new releases or know of any I missed (especially vinyl), please email me and I will add your music to the list. I also do reviews of new vinyl, email me for more information.

Have new music for the list? Email me at rbenson30@wi.rr.com

Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales - Week Ending 05/21/2011

The Mixed Feelings 45 made the list but got beat out of the top spot by the frequent flier Martzy Bach box set. The Beatles and Sex Pistols show up again with a "God Save The Queen" production acetate selling for almost $1500 more than an original "Love Me Do" promo 45 with the original sleeve.

1. LP - Johanna Martzy "Bach: The unaccompanied Violin Sonatas" Columbia Box set UK - $5,023.69

2. 45 - Mixed Feelings "Sha-la-la" / "Love Will Find A Way" United - $4050.00

3. 45 - Sex Pistols "God Save The Queen" Acetate - $3,684.36

4. 45 - The Beatles "Love Me Do" / "P.S. I Love You" Parlophone UK Demo - $2,200.56

5. 45 - The Pelicans "Aurelia" / "White Cliffs Of Dover" Parrot 793 - $3,484.34

More on this week's top 5 on Vinyl Record Talk, Tuesday 8:00PM Eastern / 5:00PM Pacific on Radio Dentata.

Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

the CVR Blog is being featured at teachstreet.com!

www.teachstreet.com



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a true dylan fan and his treasures!

Collector's 'labor of love' is a wonder to behold

By ANDREW KERSHAW

From the outside it's just another concrete building rising up nine or 10 stories on a downtown Tokyo street. Inside, it's no more impressive — until Shinichiro Tatsumi opens the well-secured door to his own, private Bob Dylan heaven.

What confronts the visitor, Dylan fan or not, is a breathtaking sight. Occupying a room some 15 meters long and 5 across, it is what Tatsumi confirms as being certainly the largest collection of Dylan material in Japan. And who's to say if not in the world.

Truly the eyes pop, and pop again and again, as the brain tries to take in the scale and scope of this trove. Over almost 35 years of collecting, Tatsumi, 49, has now assembled here a mind-boggling 2,500 copies of officially released vinyl albums by Dylan, including compilations and promo albums and ones related to his sidemen, as well as around 1,000 copies of comparative vinyl singles. And even though Tatsumi can instantly lay his hand on anything here, each and every item in this one-room cornucopia is also meticulously documented on his computer.

That's just as well, because along with those vinyl records from all over the world, there are some 2,000 officially released CDs, hundreds of DVDs and — wonder of wonders — nearly 450 bootleg CD albums which, together with CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, cassettes and DAT recordings, cover an incredible 2,500 of Dylan's roughly 3,000 concerts in the more than 55 years he's been performing in some 30 countries.

Read the rest of this indepth report at search.japantimes.co.jp

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great article about collecting music:

Old music, new ears: Louisvillian Nathan Salsburg helps carry on work of folklorist Alan Lomax

Written by Jeffrey Lee Puckett

The hard drives stacked on Nathan Salsburg's desk in his downtown Louisville office look innocuous enough, but they contain a life's work: thousands of songs collected over more than six decades of world travel, living histories of dozens of cultures.

The famed folklorist and ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax collected the material, which has now become the focus of Salsburg's work.

For 11 years, he has been part of small group of music obsessives who run the Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), a nonprofit founded by Lomax and based in Manhattan. Lomax, who died in 2002, actively cataloged the world's music for more than 60 years through field recordings and extensive documentation.

Salsburg is currently the editor of ACE's digital catalog, and curated the first five releases for Global Jukebox, a massive project first envisioned by Lomax that will compile thousands of hours of music from Lomax's archives to be released as digital downloads, LPs and CDs.

Read the rest at courier-journal.com

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is this possible?

Cassette tapes make a comeback

By Caitlin Curran

Four years ago, cassette tapes were headed toward their funeral. In 2007, British tabloid The Sun declared the death of the cassette, after the announcement that a major electronics retailer in the United Kingdom would cease selling cassette tapes. In 2009, the webzine Pop Matters bid cassettes good riddance: “Some mediums are just meant to die and never experience a revival. Cassettes seem destined to fall into this category.”

Then, last year, cassettes began to rise from the dead. In the fall, NPR reported that cassettes were having a “kind of” revival, with at least 25 labels in the United States putting out new music exclusively on tape. In a lengthy essay in Pitchfork, contributor Marc Hogan detailed examples of the “broader underground resurgence” of cassettes.

So, are cassettes at death’s door or enjoying a healthy renaissance? It depends on whom you ask. Cassette culture has never waned in certain circles, specifically among noise and experimental bands. But cassettes have gradually been popping up in non-underground places. Lady Gaga probably won’t be releasing music on cassette tape anytime soon, but well-known independent bands such as Animal Collective, Deerhoof and the Mountain Goats have all put out cassettes this year.

Read the rest at washingtonpost.com


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USA

Albums:
1. Adele :21
2. Various :Now 38
3. The Lonely Island :Turtleneck and Chain
4. Christina Perri :lovestrong.
5. Tyler The Creator :Goblin
6. Beastie Boys :Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
7. The Cars :Move Like This
8. Fleet Foxes :Helplessness Blues
9. Jennifer Lopez :Love
10. Jason Aldean :My Kinda Party

Singles:
1. Adele :Rolling In The Deep
2. Katy Perry feat. Kanye West :E.T.
3. Lady Gaga :The Edge Of Glory
4. Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer :Give Me Everything
5. Black Eyed Peas :Just Can't Get Enough
6. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull :On The Floor
7. Bruno Mars :The Lazy Song
8. Britney Spears :Till The World Ends
9. Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes :Look At Me Now
10. Jeremih feat. 50 Cent :Down On Me


UK

Albums:
1. Adele :21
2. Kate Bush :Director's Cut
3. Adele :19
4. Hugh Laurie :Let Them Talk
5. Bruno Mars :Doo-Wops & Holligans
6. Friendly Fires :Pala
7. Chase & Status :No More Idols
8. Jessie J. :Who You Are
9. Foo Fighters :Wasting Light
10. Caro Emerald :Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor

Singles:
1. Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer :Give Me Everything
2. Bruno Mars :The Lazy Song
3. LMFAO :Party Rock Anthem
4. Aloe Blacc :I Need A Dollar
5. Chris Brown feat. Benny Benassi :Beautiful People
6. Lady Gaga :The Edge Of Glory
7. David Guetta :Where Them Girls At
8. Lady Gaga :Judas
9. Snoop Dogg Vs. David Guetta :Sweat
10. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull :On The Floor


Europe

Albums:
1. Take That :Progress
2. Rihanna :Loud
3. Bruce Springsteen :The Promise
4. Shakira :Sale El Sol
5. Pink :Greatest Hits ... So Far
6. Bon Jovi :Greatest Hits
7. James Blunt :Some Kind Of Trouble
8. Susan Boyle :The Gift
9. Kings Of Leon :Come Around Sundown
10. JLS :Outta This World

Singles:
1. Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull :On The Floor
2. Rihanna :S&M
3. Adele :Rolling In the Deep
4. Lady Gaga :Born This Way
5. Black Eyed Peas :Just Can't Get Enough
6. Jessie J. feat. B.o.B. :Price Tag
7. Katy Perry :E.T.
8. Snoop Dogg Vs. David Guetta :Sweat
9. LMFAO :Party Rock Anthem
10. Bruno Mars :Grenade

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Vinyl records make a return

Melinda Newman - Los Angeles Times

Music on discs, the big, old-time kind, is popular again. Baby boomers and even kids seek it out. The industry responds.

When the doorbell rings at Monti Olson's Glendale home in the middle of the night, it can mean only one thing: Jeff Bowers, his partner in Original Recordings Group, has brought new album artwork for him to inspect. "I'll come out in my pajamas and look it over," Olson said. "He drives home, and I'll go back to bed."

Olson's doorbell is chiming more frequently these days. Since starting vinyl-only label ORG in December 2006 in Olson's kitchen, the label is bursting at the seams. "By the end of the year, we will have gone from making zero money to projecting that we will gross over $1 million," said Olson, who nevertheless has kept his day job as senior vice president of A&R at Universal Music Publishing Group.

The label, which primarily licenses material from Universal Music Group, will release 10 vinyl albums in 2008 and expects to put out twice that number in 2009. But ORG isn't the only one reaping the rewards. Many Southern California companies -- large and small -- are benefiting from this sonic boom.

According to the Recording Industry Assn., shipments of vinyl soared 36.6% from 2006 to 2007. That amounts to 1.3 million units nationwide. While the numbers are minuscule compared to CD shipments of 511 million for 2007, the news is much-welcomed by a faltering music industry.

"This is a little bright star," said Jane Ventom, vice president for Hollywood-based EMI Music Marketing. Next month, Capitol/EMI will launch "From the Capitol Vaults," with the release of 13 titles on vinyl, including Radiohead's "OK Computer" and Steve Miller Band's "Greatest Hits 1974-1978."

Baby boomers, many of whom had long tucked away their turntables, began to feel nostalgic for their youth and the warm sound of vinyl. Concurrently, a younger generation, raised on CDs and tinny, compressed MP3 files, traded in their earbuds for a less isolated music experience.

Long the provenance of indie record stores, vinyl can now be found at such mass marketers as Best Buy and Costco.

"I have family friends whose 10-year-olds are asking for turntables," said Tom "Grover" Biery, Warner Bros. Records' executive vice president of promotion and the Burbank-based label's vinyl guru.

Read the rest at sott.sott.net

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well, after reading the full page ad in the usa today on friday, i was convinced the world was coming to an end, well, maybe they will be right the next time they predict it :O)



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and in music history for today:

The Everly Brothers started a five-week run at #1 in the U.S. in 1960 with “Cathy's Clown.”

In 1964, The Beach Boys released "I Get Around" which will go on to become the group's first #1 hit, topping the US chart for two weeks.

The Beatles' "Paperback Writer" b/w "Rain" single was released in 1966.



In 1967, Pink Floyd went into the studio and recorded “See Emily Play,” the group's second single. Original frontman Syd Barrett wrote the song.

Iron Butterfly broke up in 1971.

In 1973, Jefferson Airplane were barred from playing Golden Gate Park in San Francisco after the city council banned electric instruments in public concerts.

In 1991, photographer Michael Lavine took what would be the publicity shots for Nirvana’s Nevermind album at Jay Aaron Studios in Los Angeles. The idea for the front cover shot of the baby swimming was taken after Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl saw a TV documentary on water babies. Kirk Weddle was the photographer. Several babies were used; five-month old Spencer Eldon’s photo came out best.

Rosemary Clooney was born in 1928 (died 2002)

birthday wishes to Danny Klein (J. Geils Band) (65), Rick Fenn (10cc) (58), Luka Bloom (56) and Jewel (1974), just to name a few

Michael Fremer Album Review

Talking Book
(reissue)
Stevie Wonder
Tamla/Mobile Fidelity MOFI 1-009 140g LP
Produced by: Stevie Wonder
Engineered by: Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff
Mixed by: N/A
Mastered by: Paul Stubblebine at Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs
Recordists: Joan De Cola Austin Godfrey

MUSIC

SOUND





Mobile Fidelity Reissues Wonder's Post- Coming of Age Album
by Michael Fremer
May 20, 2011

No one before sang quite like Stevie Wonder does on this groundbreaking album, but everyone did afterwards. Wonder's tonality and phrasing on Talking Book were breakthroughs in soul/pop vocalizing.

An explosion of artists began singing the word "baby" the unusual and exaggerated way Wonder does here. Even if they sounded completely different on the rest of the song they were performing, when they got to the word "baby" it came out sounding like Wonder's exaggerated "baby."

You can hear from where Michael Jackson got his falsetto cackling. The slow, sticky, funky rhythm on "Maybe Your Baby" was startlingly new back in 1972 and it served as a template for an entire genre of music.

Wonder's shift from soul to rock and jazz also startled a generation as did his daring use of the then novel Moog synthesizer—far more prominent here than on Abbey Road to which the Cecil/Margouleff team also contributed.

But while many think of Talking Book as Wonder's "coming of age" album, they are forgetting about his previous album Music of my Mind, which was Wonder's launch into manhood much as Off the Wall, which preceded Thriller, was Jackson's.

The songwriting is as sophisticated as the production, particularly the gorgeous ballads "You are the Sunshine of My Life, "You and I," "Blame it on the Sun" and the finale, "I Believe (When I Fall in Love it Will Be Forever)."

These achievements almost get lost in the shadow of "Superstition," which combines a powerful message, an insistent funk beat, and that clavinet riff that was a new and sensational sound in 1972 and still grips today.

Let's not leave out the fact that Stevie also plays the drums, keyboards and other instruments. This album established him as one of the greats even were he not to follow up with Innervision and the others.

The album combines funk, social commentary, dramatic expressions of love, rock, a new sound paradigm and on and on.

No wonder it sounds as fresh and focused today as it does when it was released, though if you were there then, the seismic wave that rippled through the music community was gigantic on a scale that's difficult to appreciate if you came to this album much later.

Jeff Beck, Ray Parker, Jr. and Buzzy Feiton (misspelled "Feton" on the original LP) add the guitar licks and David Sanborn alto sax on "Tuesday Heartbreak." The contributions made by other musicians are equally important to the album and speaking of groundbreaking, don't forget the background singing and especially the background singing arrangements that have voices breaking through aggressively in ways that hadn't yet been heard.

Even the cover, with Wonder wearing African garb, his hair cornrowed, sitting in the dirt, announced a major shift in his world view, even if the songs mostly remained steeped in Tin Pan Alley style balladry.

While the original (Tamla T-319L) jacket features braille, Mobile Fidelity's reissue does not, nor do any of the other pressings I've got here. Otherwise, Mo-Fi has done a very nice job with the gatefold packaging, especially considering it's part of their less expensive "Silver Label" series pressed at RTI on 140g instead of 180g vinyl.

This was never a sonic spectacular. It was merely good. There are probably numerous overdubs and parts added in Europe and America and it sounds somewhat less than immediate and present on the George Marino mastered original (the initials M.B.G. on the lead out groove area must be George's way of "hiding" while taking credit. When he later joined Sterling Sound, he scribed nothing to indicate his mastering).

Motown began using RCA to plate and press its records from the beginning. In the early days when the label was pressing "Living Stereo" records this was a benefit for Motown and for record fans and audiophiles. Motown's records in those early days were beautifully pressed on thick vinyl.

That association became a curse by the early '70s when RCA went to thin "Dynaflex" vinyl. Motown's records became equally thin and many suffered "non-fill" at the outer extremes, which was evident as noise. Plus, by that time there was a vinyl shortage, which is probably what led RCA to begin producing such thin records.

Rainbo's Steve Sheldon related some stories of pressing plant desperation in those days when literally anything that could be melted was added to the pellets to make them go further. So it's not likely you'll find or own a quiet, clean original.

Mine original is pretty good but has some noise. There's an excellent German "two-fer" if you can find it, with this album plus Music of My Mind. What makes it particularly worthwhile is that both LPs were mastered by Marino and feature the same inner groove information as the original, so you get a cut from the fresh master tape and superb German plating and pressing.

If you can find that, don't pass it up but good luck finding it.

There was also a very good late '70s Japanese pressing (VIP 6003) that cost 3500 yen ($30) back then that's beautifully pressed and comes in a thick, leather-textured jacket, plus the mastering is very faithful to the original.

As for this MOFI reissue, it is very, very good. Understand that when you hear occasional vocal sibilance it's on the tape because it's also on every pressing I have here. Also, the drums on "Superstition" are somewhat dark and lacking in snap and presence. That's just the way the recording must sound since every version I have here sounds that way too.

However, it's also fairly safe to say this was issued on Mo-Fi's Silver Label series because the master tape wasn't available and that's not surprising. Universal lost a great deal of their masters in the disastrous Universal Studios backlot fire of June, 2008.

It's doubly tragic because there had been numerous fires at Universal yet management still chose to warehouse the audio tape masters along with a huge collection of video masters instead of putting them in a more secure location.

Fortunately, much of the jazz catalog, particularly the Verve material had been stored more securely on the East Coast and ironically many of the Impulse masters were out at AcousTech being mastered for vinyl reissues.

Most likely, a good deal of the Motown masters were lost in the fire, this being one of them.

Still, since most of the records we treasure from the "golden age" were cut from production cutting masters and not original tapes, reissues like this should sound close to as good as the originals minus whatever losses occur as tapes age.

In the case of this album, Paul Stubblebine did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the original pressing, which was relatively warm, sweet and somewhat distant in parts, but with great presence and transparency in others—and sometimes it varies instrument by instrument on the same tune. Thankfully, he didn't try to "jazz it up" with high frequency EQ to "put back" what wasn't there to begin with.

Add a really quiet RTI 140g pressing and a $22.99 price tag and it adds up to a great reissue and a cause of celebration that Mo-Fi got to this before some of the overseas frauds cutting from CD and claiming to be "vinyl lovers."

Unless you can find that German "Milestones" series two-fer (Tamla-Motown 5C 184-50371/72) or a clean, quiet original (good luck with either), this numbered, limited edition is the one to have.

Thanks to Michael over at www.musicangle.com   for the exclusive rights to reprint this material. Stop by MusicAngle.com for more reviews and features.

©2011 MusicAngle.com & Michael Fremer - - All rights reserved

Reprinted by Permission

Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

this from the uk, glad to see vinyl is doing well in britian!

New record shop gets vinyl fanatics in a spin

As the internet puts music shops across the country out of business a vintage store has turned back the clock and opened a vinyl record shop upstairs.

Everything from Blondie to Bruce Willis can be found among more than 5,000 records on the first floor of Sellars Secondhand Allsorts in Lower Street, Kettering.

And the huge range collected over six months is proving a big hit with customers.

Daz Sellar, 41, who opened the vintage and retro shop two years ago, said: “It has been really good.

Read the rest at northantset.co.uk

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music store in mississippi closing down

BeBop closing after 36 years

Cassandra Mickens

Jennifer Chesler could think of no better way to spend her day off than browsing the aisles of BeBop Record Shop.

But Wednesday as she approached the independent music store at Maywood Mart, a row of signs taped to the windows stopped her in her tracks.

STORE CLOSING. EVERYTHING MUST GO.

"I was just floored. This is like the main CD store I come to," said Chesler, a 25-year-old drummer and budding violinist who moved to Jackson in 2007 from Atlanta. "I'm not from Mississippi, but I know this place is a staple for Mississippi."

After a 36-year run, BeBop will close its doors May 28, said co-owner Kathy Morrison, who's quick to remind people that BeBop has always been, always is and always will be about the music.

Read the rest of this sad story at clarionledger.com

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interesting take and opinions on the vinyl revival, although how can anything be taken seriously (for me anyway) by a man who calls himself 'peanut butter wolf?

Peanut Butter Wolf on His History with 45s and Why the Vinyl Comeback Is Overhyped

By Christina Li

Bay Area native Chris Manak, aka Peanut Butter Wolf, is best known for his distinctive production style of jazz, hip-hop, and funk-soul beats. Starting out his career in the early '90s with emcee Charizma, the then-teenage duo found instant success but never chose to conform to outside pressures. Gaining notoriety without releasing an album, they seemed unstoppable, opening for artists including Nas and the Pharcyde. But with Charizma's untimely death in 1993, everything changed. Three years later, Peanut Butter Wolf decided to start Stones Throw Records......

Read the rest at blogs.sfweekly.com

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and in music history for today:

In 1955, Chuck Berry recorded his first single, “Maybellene,” at the Universal Recording Studios in Chicago. According to Berry’s partner, Johnnie Johnson, the song was a reworking of the traditional “Ida Red,” renamed “Maybellene” after producer Leonard Chess spotted a mascara box in the studio bearing that name. The song hit #5 on the U.S. pop charts and #1 on the R&B charts.

In 1956, during a performance at the Municipal Auditorium in Topeka, Kansas, Elvis Presley had to make a hasty exit when 2,500 fans stormed the stage. The Topeka Daily Capital reported, “With movements which would put a burlesque queen to shame, Elvis squirms out his songs. He keeps himself so breathless from the physical contortions that the pleasant timbre of his lower baritone notes can seldom be detected.”

In 1957, 16 year old Paul Anka records "Diana" at the ABC-Paramount studios in New York. The song would reach #1 in the US the following September and became the first of his 33 US Top 40 hits. It was also a chart topper in the UK.

In 1963, 13 year old Little Stevie Wonder recorded a song that would be his first number 1 hit, "Fingertips Pt. 2" at a concert in Detroit. The 7 minute song was later edited into two parts for radio play.

In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began a ten-day "bed-in" in Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel.
John Lennon Merchandise

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young recorded "Ohio" in 1970.



Paul McCartney released "Ram" in 1971.

birthday wishes to Ronald Isley (Isley Brothers) (70), Leo Sayer (63) and Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) (61), just to name a few....