Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

Paul McCartney on Playing Yankee Stadium

Anne Erickson

Paul McCartney made a high-profile stop at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas this week to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles show, Love. The appearance gave McCartney a chance to open up about his recent announcement that, for the first time ever, he will play Yankee Stadium on July 15.

“I love New York…

Read the rest at Gibson.com

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E Street Band Saxophonist Clarence Clemons Has Suffered a Stroke

His condition remains uncertain

By Andy Greene

Rolling Stone can confirm reports that Clarence Clemons has had a stroke. The news broke this evening at 411.com, which reported that Clemons is "seriously ill after a stroke at his home in Florida." We have no information on the severity of the stroke, but we have independently confirmed that the E Street Band saxophonist has suffered a stroke.

Get the rest of the information of this sad news at rollingstone.com

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Whitehorse Progression For America

At A Loss Recordings have announced the vinyl and digital North American release of Whitehorse's latest album, 'Progression.'

'Progression' was initially released early this year on CD by Sweat Lung Records, to coincide with Whitehorse's 2011 American tour. The brutal venture took the band through a massive amount of the country, including several performances at this year's SXSW as well as a full Southeast/East Coast tour alongside The Body, who they not only co-released a split 7" with but who are also now labelmates with via At A Loss Recordings.

At A Loss will release Progression digitally on July 5, 2011, and the deluxe LP vinyl format will be released later in the summer. The lacquers are currently being cut at Chicago Mastering Service by Jason Ward and a final release date will be announced very soon.

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Coasters Frontman Carl Gardner Dead at 83Gardner's voice can be heard on 'Poison Ivy,' 'Yakety Yak' and 'Charlie Brown'

By Andy Greene

Carl Gardner, the lead singer of the 1950s vocal group the Coasters whose tenor voice powered such classics as "Poison Ivy," "Yakety Yak," "Charlie Brown," "Young Blood" and "Searchin'," has died of unknown causes. He was 83.

Get the rest of the information of this sad news at rollingstone.com

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Historic Beatles Photo Collection Up For Auction

US photographer Mike Mitchell is auctioning his Beatles photo collection at Christie's in July. According to a Reuters, Mitchell received a press pass to the Beatles' first US concert at the Washington Coliseum in 1964, fresh off their historic The Ed Sullivan Show appearance.

"Things were much different back then," he told Reuters. "There was no big security presence, the press wasn't corralled and I was free to sort of embrace my own ambition."

Mitchell was just eighteen when he shot the historic photographs. "You cannot forget 8,000 screaming girls," he said. "It was like the birth of my generation."

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pitchfork has a wonderful review of one of my favorites:

Album Review

Mickey Newbury
An American Trilogy

Stephen M. Deusner, June 9, 2011

The years preceding the American Bicentennial were especially good ones in Nashville. Not only did country music graduate from a rather large niche market to the mainstream, but the talent on the city's periphery began to insinuate itself into the center, as songwriters like Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson, Donnie Fritts, and Willie Nelson attracted so much attention that the scene became known as the "New Nashville." In practice, this group of musicians raised hell all over town and wrote aching songs with unpretentiously poetic lyrics, passing their compositions up the ranks for royalties and notoriety. A few became stars in their own right: Nelson's Red Headed Stranger was a critical and commercial hit, and Kristofferson became the scene's sex symbol. But some of the most talented songwriters simply faded into the background, with albums that were invariably praised by critics but largely ignored by listeners. Despite a robust voice and a thoughtful way with medleys, Larry Jon Wilson retreated to Augusta, Georgia, but managed a comeback just prior to his death last year. Mickey Newbury, disgusted with industry politics in Nashville, absconded to the mountains of Oregon, releasing albums on his own label until his death in 2002 (his final record, A Long Road Home, was recorded between oxygen treatments for emphysema).

Read the rest at pitchfork.com

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Ringo Deathstarr release new compilation album ‘Sparkler’

Following on from the success of their debut album “Colour Trip”, released earlier this year, Club AC30 Records release a compilation of vintage Ringo Deathstarr tracks, on vinyl LP “Sparkler”.

The Austin, Texas based band have fused their initial self-released five track EP with the follow up single “In Love” / “Summertime” and two extra tracks to make the “Sparkler” compilation. There will be three limited versions of vinyl available – transparent with silver glitter, transparent blue with silver glitter, and white & blue swirly vinyl.


Read more: bloginity.com

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Vinyl record sales increase in Iowa City, nationwide

BY LUKE VOELZ

Greg Markus was bored at his friend’s cabin in Galena, Iowa. The lakeside house was dusty, cramped and almost completely devoid of electronic entertainment.

The 14-year-old’s opinion changed when he saw a weathered record player in the basement, flanked by a row of vinyl albums — also known as LPs — from the seventies. He found an album he often listened to on CD, Neil Young’s “Harvest,” and placed the needle on top. Young’s sonorous croon lit up the basement, delivered with a clarity Markus said he never heard on CD or MP3.

“I’ll never buy CDs again — stupid plastic cases, little discs,” said Markus, now 22.

Read the rest at dailyiowan.com

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and in music history for the day:

In 1964, the Rolling Stones make a television appearance on Hollywood Palace, a show hosted by Dean Martin. Dino made some jokes at the Stones' expense -- after a trampolinist's act, Dean quipped, "that's the father of The Rolling Stones; he's been trying to kill himself ever since."

In 1970, the Beatles had their last original single, "The Long and Winding Road" hit number 1 in the US. Since then, they've reached the top of the charts with re-releases of "Got to Get You Into My Life" and "Back in the USSR" (1976), "The Beatles' Movie Medley" (1982), "Twist and Shout" (1986, included in the movies, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Back to School), "Baby It's You" and "Free As a Bird" (both 1995) and "Real Love" (1996).

Also in 1970, Mungo Jerry, a British band with an unusual name and a unique sound, had the top tune in the UK with "In The Summertime". It went on to become the best selling UK single of the year, spending seven weeks at #1 and was a hit in 26 other countries including the US, where it would rise to #3 in mid-August.



In 1972, Clyde McPhatter died of a heart attack at the age of 39. He had been the original lead singer of The Drifters before having solo hits like "A Lover's Question" and "Lover Please".

In 1975, John Lennon made his last TV appearance to sing "Imagine."

In 1988, the biggest charity rock concert since Live Aid three years earlier took place at London's Wembley Stadium, to denounce South African apartheid. Among the performers were Sting, Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams, George Michael, Whitney Houston and Dire Straits. Half of the more than $3 million US in proceeds from the event went towards anti-apartheid activities in Britain. The rest was donated to children's charities in southern Africa.

In 1992, law enforcement officials in Texas call for a ban on Ice-T's "Cop Killer" LP. Following the publicity, sales double on the West Coast and in Texas. In an ironic twist, Ice-T (real name: Tracy Morrow) would land a role on the TV police drama, Law and Order in 1999.

Alanis Morissette released the album "Jagged Little Pill" in 1995.

In 2007, widely hailed by critics as one of the best albums in Paul McCartney's solo career, "Memory Almost Full" sold 160,541 copies across all retail outlets in the US in its debut week, landing the record at #3 on Billboard Top 200 chart.

In 2010, Jimmy Dean, a Country-crossover artist most often remembered for his two US Top Ten hits, "Big Bad John" in 1960 and "P.T. 109" in 1962, died of natural causes at his home in Varina, Virginia. Along with placing eight songs on Billboard's Top 40 between 1958 and 1976, Dean was also elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in February, 2010.

birthday wishes to Dennis Locorriere from Dr. Hook (1949) and Rivers Cuomo of Weezer (1970)