Vinyl Record Memories

Vinyl Record Memories

written by JUDY SALAMACHA By The Bay

Entertainer Dick Clark said our favorite music is the soundtrack of our lives. The comment made little sense to me until I had a close encounter with a movie soundtrack album cover that triggered a flood of past memories.

Where you were when Pearl Harbor was bombed? President Kennedy was shot? 911 exploded? Michael Jackson died? Gary Freiberg of Los Osos discovered the same question can be asked about a Glen Miller or Ray Charles hit, Elvis or the Beatles on television’s Ed Sullivan Show, or experiencing the Boston Pops for the first time. Regardless of age, music evokes a stroll down memory lane.

Realizing music’s social relevance, Freiberg questioned why audio history is not preserved and studied. Music has recorded transitional social mores since 1877 when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph.

Understanding only 5% of what has been recorded – music, comedy or famous speeches - will be transferred to modern audio formats, he launched his quest to heighten the historical importance of the vinyl record.

In 2002 he convinced the San Luis Board of Supervisors to proclaim August 12 Vinyl Record Day.

Freiberg advocated, “It’s a day to value the good times of our lives by sharing our favorite music.”

He created a website, www.vinylrecordday.org, and in 2007 promoted a well attended event in Mission Plaza. In 2008 he applied for a national stamp series.

“The Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee could use some local support because the series is seriously being considered,” he requested.

He’s consulted with many communities, who celebrate Vinyl Record Day, including a recent request from Australia to associate their plans.

When he wanted to display his own collection of album cover art, he and wife Mary created a user friendly frame 11 years ago. Before it was vogue, he marketed the frame online at www.rockartpictureshow.com.

Thousands of worldwide customers including the Smithsonian, Warner Brothers, and the University of New Hampshire selected the Freiberg frame for displays documenting Vinyl Record cover art as an art form.

Freiberg ultimately sold his San Luis investment brokerage business to devote fulltime to the promotion of vinyl record preservation and his online frame company. He’s collected 3,500 LPs, 1,000 45s, and 8,000 covers, researched numerous behind-the-scenes stories about the artists and industry and designed a poster depicting the history and diversity of cover art.

In 2009 Freiberg invites Vinyl Record Day involvement.

“I feel it will be a success when raising awareness will justify Americans preserving their record collections. I’d like families to spend August 12th together sharing their favorite music and memories with each other.”

However, sharing requires today’s generation to listen without their IPODs.

Source:www.sanluisobispo.com/
Reprinted by Permission

This Date In Music History-August 12

Birthdays:

Mark Knopfler - Dire Straits (1949)
Jerry Speiser - Men At Work (1953)
Pat Metheny - jazz rock guitarist (1954)
Danny Shirley - Confederate Railroad (1956)
Jurgen Dehmel - Nena (1958)
Suzanne Vega (1959)
Roy Hay - Culture Club (1961)
Bragi Olaffson - Sugarcubes (1962)
Sir Mix-A-Lot (1963)


They Are Missed:

Pete Meaden, the Who's publicist and manager in their "High Number" days, committed suicide in London in 1978 by ingesting an overdose of barbituates. A dedicated mod, he introduced the band members to the lifestyle and, with the assistance of Who manager Kit Lambert, turned them into the subculture's figureheads. He was 35.
Joe Tex died of a heart attack in 1982.

Kyu Sakamoto was killed in a plane crash in 1985. He was 43. Had the 1963 US #1 & UK #6 single 'Sukiyaki', the first Japanese artist to hit the top of the US singles chart.

Modern composer and Sonic Youth mentor John Cage died in New York in 1992.

Born today in 1929, country icon Buck Owens. He scored twenty #1 hits on the Billboard country music charts, pioneered what has come to be called the Bakersfield sound—a reference to Bakersfield, California. Died March 25, 2006.


History:


Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877.













Frankie Lymon left the Teenagers to go solo in 1957.

The Crests recorded "16 Candles" in 1958.



In 1960, Pete Best auditioned to become The Silver Beatles' drummer and was asked to travel to Hamburg in Germany for the bands next set of dates. Before leaving for Hamburg, The Silver Beatles changed their name to simply, "The Beatles," the rest is history.

The Beatles first film ‘A Hard Days Night’ opened in 500 American cinemas in 1964 to rave reviews.

The Jefferson Airplane performed their first concert in 1965, at the opening of the Matrix Club in San Francisco.

The Beatles started their final U.S. tour at Chicago's International Amphitheatre in 1966. Earlier in the day, John Lennon held a press conference and apologized for his remark about the band being more popular than Jesus Christ.

Fleetwood Mac made their live debut at London's National Jazz & Blues Festival in 1967. Headliners for the festival were Donovan and Pink Floyd.

Bobbie Gentry's great "Ode to Billie Joe" entered the Top 40 in 1967. It went on to become her only #1 hit.



In 1968, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham played together for the first time when they rehearsed at a studio in Lisle Street in London’s West End. The first song they played was a version of "Train Kept A-Rollin."

“Cheap Thrills,” by Big Brother and the Holding Company, was released on Columbia Records in 1968. It tops the chart for seven weeks.

The supergroup Blind Faith made their U.S. live debut at Madison Square Garden in 1969.

In 1972, the Festival of Hope was the first rock festival to raise funds for an established charity. Acts include Jefferson Airplane, Stephan Stills, James Brown and others. Only half of the expected 400,000 show up the second day and while they raked in $300,000, the festival incurred expenses of $400,000.

The Commodores started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1978 with "Three Times A Lady," (also #1 in the UK) and becoming Motown's biggest British selling single.



As the Olympic Games came to a close in 1984, Lionel Richie performed, "All Night Long" live from Los Angeles to an estimated television audience of 2.6 billion people around the world.

The two day Moscow Music Peace Festival was held at The Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russia in 1989. Western acts who appeared included Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, Skid Row and The Scorpions. This was the first time that an audience had been allowed to stand up and dance at a stadium rock concert in the Soviet Union.

"Woodstock '94" was held in Saugerties, New York in 1994. About 350,000 attended the show, which included mudfights and performances by Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Aerosmith and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

MTV debuts the Fleetwood Mac reunion concert in 1997. The special was taken from two performances at a Warner Brothers soundstage a few months earlier.

In 2000, during an outdoor gig in Mancos, California as 38 Special were mid-set, the wind took hold of an overhead canopy and brought down ten tons of equipment onto the stage. The drum kit was completely crushed, but no one was seriously injured.

Alicia Keys went to #1 on the US singles chart in 2001 with "Fallin."

In 2003, eBay auctioneer Anthony DeFontes said he would sell Elvis Presley's tooth separately after the tooth combined with a lock of the King's hair and a gold record failed to attract a high enough bid.

New Music Releases ~ August 11th, 2009

Al Green – Let’s Stay Together (mp3) from Let’s Stay Together
Alice Cooper - Live
Amazing Blondel - Bad Dreams
Amazing Blondel - Live in Tokyo
Amerie - In Love & War
Anna Ternheim - Leaving On A Mayday
Applejacks - Applejacks
Artillery - When Death Comes
Atlanta Rhythm Section - Dog Days/Red Tape
Babe Ruth - Que Pasa
Balmorhea - All Is Wild, All Is Silent: Remixes (vinyl)
Behemoth - Evangelion
Between The Trees - Spain
Beyond The Pale - Postcards
Black Mold - Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz
Bobby Bare Jr. and David Vandervelde - American Bread EP [
Bobby Freeman - Give My Heart a Break: The Complete King Recordings
Bombay Bicycle Club - I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
Bottle Rockets - Lean Forward (vinyl)
Box Elders - Alice and Friends
Brian Harnetty/Bonnie Prince Billy - Silent City
Buffy Sainte-Marie - Running for the Drum
Cate Brothers - Fire on The Tracks
Cate Brothers - In One Eye and Out the Other
Cate Brothers - The Cate Brothers Band
Circus - Circus
Cobra Starship – Hot Mess
Conway Twitty - 10 Top 10's
Cross Country - Cross Country
Cub Country - Stretch That Skull Cover and Smile
Cure - Into the Dark: The Early Cure 1979-1982 (4-LP vinyl box set)
Current 93 - Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain (vinyl)
Dan Fogelberg - Exiles (Remastered)
Dan Fogelberg - The Wild Places (Remastered)
Dark Meat - When The Shelter Came 7″
David Vandervelde/Bobby Bare Jr - American Bread EP
Destroy All Monsters - 1974-1976 (3 CDs)
Dry Spells - Too Soon For Flowers
Eilen Jewell - Sea of Tears (vinyl)
Emiliana Torrini - Rarities
Emmy the Great - First Love (with bonus tracks)
Erasure – Erasure.Club
Erika Jayne - Pretty Mess
Fanny - Rock & Roll Survivors (remastered)
Fat Mattress - Fat Mattress
Fela Kuti - Fela Kuti and His Koola Lobitos (vinyl)
Fleetwood Mac - Live at the Boston Tea Party (4-LP vinyl reissue)
Flying Burrito Brothers - Relix Collection (reissue)
George Strait - Twang
Hank Snow - When Tragedy Struck
Hawkwind - Chronicle of the Black Sword
Hawkwind - Live 1978
Hawkwind - Love in Space (2-CD)
Herbaliser - Session 1 & 2 (2-CD set)
Holmes - Holmes
Hot Tuna - First Pull Up, Then Pull Down
Housemartin - London 0 Hull 4 (remastered with bonus CD)
Imelda May- Love Tattoo
Iron Age - The Sleeping Eye (vinyl)
Jan & Dean - One Summer Dream
Jessie James - Jessie James
Jets Overhead - No Nations (vinyl)
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Live 1968 Paris/Ottawa (Fan Pack w/Large T-shirt)
John Coltrane - Lush Life (vinyl reissue)
John Martyn - Solid Air (remastered with bonus disc)
Justin Moore - Justin Moore
Kings of Leon - The Interview Sessions
Kiss - The Lowdown Unauthorized
Kites With Lights - The Weight Of Your Heart
Lamb - Sign of Change
Led Zeppelin - Complete Rock Case Studies (dvd)
Lemonheads - Varshons (vinyl)
Liechtenstein/Faintest Ideas - Searching for the Now Vol. 5 7"
Liz Tormes - Limelight
Lovvers - OCD Go Go Go Girls
Lucinda Williams - Happy Woman Blues (reissue)
Luke Vibert - We Hear You
Malcolm Middleton - Waxing Gibbous
Mark Mallman - Invincible Criminal
Merauder - God Is I (reissue)
Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (mp3) from Off the Wall
Michael Jackson - Moonwalking - The True Story of Michael Jackson (dvd)
Michael Jackson - The Document Unauthorized (CD & DVD)
Michael Jackson - The Ultimate Collection (5 CDs)
Michael Jackson with the Jackson 5 - Best of: Japan
Michael McDermott - Hey La Hey
Mike Stern - Big Neighborhood
Miles Davis - Porgy and Bess (reissue)
Mindy Smith - Stupid Love
Mojos - Everything's Alright: The Complete Recordings
Nisennenmondai - Destination Tokyo
Original Cast - Leader of the Pack: The Elle Greenwich Musical
Ozric Tentacles - Strangeitude (vinyl reissue)
Passion Pit - Manners (vinyl)
Patrick Wolf - The Bachelor (vinyl)
Paul Revere & the Raiders - Hungry for Kicks Singles & Choice Cuts 1965-69
Peaches & Herb - Golden Duets
Peaches & Herb - Greatest Hits
Peter Mulvey - Letters from a Flying Machine
Phil Manzanera - 801 Live (Collector's Edition)
Pines - Tremelo
Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets (dvd)
Proclaimers - Notes & Rhymes
Queen Latifah - Persona
Raekwon- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II
Randy Brown - Midnight Desire/Welcome to My Room
Ray Davies - The Kinks Choral Collection
Reigning Sound - Love and Curses
Rhythm del Mundo - Classics
Robben Ford - Soul on Ten
Robert Cray - This Time
Robert Pollard - Elephant Jokes (vinyl)
Robert Wyatt - Radio Experiment Rome, February 1981 (vinyl)
Roots - How I Got Over (vinyl)
Rumble Strips - Welcome To The Walk Alone
Rush - Grace Under Pressure
Sailor - Hideaway
Sam and Ruby - The Here and The Now
Sara Tavares - Xinti
She Keeps Bees – Nests
Showbread – The Fear of God
Sinner - Judgement Day
Sinner - The Nature of Evil
Sinner - There Will Be Execution
Sissy Wish - Beauties Never Die
Slaraffenland - Meet And Greet (vinyl)
Slaughterhouse - Slaughterhouse
Smiths - Meat is Murder (Remastered)
Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come (Remastered)
Smiths - The Queen Is Dead (Remastered)
Smiths - The Smiths (Remastered)
Smoky Mountain Band - The Spirit of the Smoky Mountains
Stevie Wonder – Superstition (mp3) from Talking Book
Stone Roses - Sally Cinnamon EP (reissue)
Stone Roses - The Stone Roses 20th Anniversary
Susan McKeown and Lorin Sklamberg - Saints and Tzadiks
Swashbuckle - Back To The Noose
Temper Trap -'Conditions
Tessa Souter - Obsession
The School/George Washington Brown - Searching for the Now Vol. 6 7" [Slumberland]
Three Dog Night - It Ain't Easy/Naturally
Tommy Castro - Hard Believer
Tommy Sparks - Tommy Sparks
TV Ghost - Cold Fish (vinyl)
U.K. - Danger Money (remastered)
U.K. - Night After Night (remastered)
U.K. - U.K. (Remastered)
Used - The Used (vinyl reissue)
Vanilla Fudge - Live 2004 (with Bonus DVD)
Various Artists - Bob Dylan Radio Radio Vol. 2 (4-CD box set)
Various Artists - Lights Camera Doo Wop!
Various Artists - Teenage Heaven: The Fifties Girl Group Phenomenon
Various Artists - Ze 30: Ze Records Story 1979-2009
Wailin' Jennys - Live At The Mauch Chunk Opera House
Ween: Paintin' the Town Brown - Ween Live '90-'98 (reissue)
Willie Nelson - Lost Highway (vinyl)
Winds Of Plague - The Great Stone War
Woodstock: 40 Years on: Back to Yasgur’s Farm (Box Set)
Yes: Something's Coming - The BBC Recordings 1969-1970 (2-CD set) (2-LP vinyl)
Your Demise - Ignorance Never Dies

Buy these records here:

vinyluniverse.com

insound.com

Classic Rock Videos

Rolling Stones - Heart Of Stone

Vinyl Collective Top 10

Vinyl Collective Top 10 Sales of the past week

1 THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM “Live At Park Ave” 10? Record Store Day exclusive 67 copies
2 MAYLENE AND THE SONS OF DISASTER “III” LP grey vinyl w/ silk screen poster 31 copies
3 PORTUGAL THE MAN “The Satanic Satanist” LP german import white/blue marble vinyl 25 copies
4 PORTUGAL THE MAN “The Satanic Satanist” LP german import orange vinyl 20 copies
5 JOEY CAPE / MIKE HALE “Under the Influence Vol 11? 7? brown vinyl 18 copies
6 PORTUGAL THE MAN “It’s Complicated Being a Wizard” LP light blue vinyl 14 copies
6 HEAVY HEAVY LOW LOW “Turtle Nipple…” LP brown/pink 14 copies
8 PORTUGAL THE MAN The Satanic Satanist LP red/orange 11 copies
8 THE FLATLINERS/ THE SNIPS split 7? blue/red inside outside vinyl 11 copies
8 12” Record Jacket Sleeve. Fits over album jacket. 11 copies
11 THE FLATLINERS/ THE SNIPS split 7? blue/red splatter vinyl 10 copies
11 CAVE IN “Planets Of Old” LP green tea frozen yogurt vinyl 10 copies
11 BROADWAY CALLS “Good Views, Bad News” LP opaque green vinyl VC exclusive color 10 copies
11 O PIONEERS!!!/NEW BRUISES “Under the Influence Vol 10? 7? white vinyl 10 copies

Visit www.vinylcollective.com for some great vinyl records!

Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 08/08/2009

1. 45 - D. A. Hung "Greyhound Blues" / "Lonesome Old Jail" - $10,323.00

2. LP - Johanna Martzy "Bach: The unaccompanied Violin Sonatas" Columbia Box set UK - $5,200.00

3. 45 - William Powell "Heartache Souvenirs" / "The Chicken Shack" - $5,100.00

4. 12" - Led Zeppelin “Road Box” - $4,001.00

5. 45 - The Fix "Vengence" / "In This Town" - $3,500.00


As always, a special thank you to Norm at http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com for this great data. Stop in and listen to their unique radio show Accidental Nostalgia with Norm & Jane On Radio Dentata Thursdays 4PM PDT/7PM EDT

Music News & Notes

Lost Dreams Reveals New Album, "Wage Of Disgrace"

The cover artwork for the forthcoming album from the Austrian, Tirol-based melodic Death/Dark metal band Lost Dreams can be viewed here. The group has entered the “Rape of Harmonies” studio in Germany for the final Mix and Master. According to guitarist Andreas Maierhofer, "'Wage Of Disgrace' is faster and more aggressive than the previous Albums, and will feature a modern mixture of Melody-, Groove- and Highspeedsongs, peppered with deep Growls, aggressive Screams and catchy Vocallines of our new Singer Stefan 'Schleifi' Traunig."

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Nine Inch Nails has decided to experiment with the release of their latest album “Ghosts.”


Unlike previous albums which were produced and released in the same, tired manner as countless others before it, “Ghosts” will be offered to fans in a variety of formats and pricing options that are certain to please everyone.

Here are the available options :

FREE – get Ghosts Vol. I which is 9 high-quality, DRM-free MP3 files and the complete .PDF of the album notes. This can be downloaded from both the album’s site as well as via BitTorrent tracker sites like The Pirate Bay.

$5 – download all 36 tracks of Ghosts I-IV and a 40-page PDF booklet. These tracks are available in a number of formats.

$10 – get Ghosts I-IV in a 2 CD set. This physical version will be available April 8th, but if you order via the site you can download all the tracks immediately in a variety of digital formats.

$75 – the deluxe edition package including the 2 CDs, 1 data DVD with all the tracks in various formats, and a Blu-ray disc filled with ultra high-quality audio.

$300 – everything in the $75 package plus 4 LP vinyl (!) records and two limited edition Giclee prints. Limited to 2500 pieces, numbered and signed by Trent Rez (CURRENTLY SOLD OUT).

Ghosts is a four volume collection of 36 instrumental tracks “…composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall,” reads NIN’s site dedicated to their latest work.

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Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” Coming To Theaters October 30th

The Michael Jackson estate and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced on Monday that "This Is It," a film comprised of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage of Jackson preparing for his 50-concert run at London’s O2 Arena, will be released in movie theaters on October 30th. The two sides struck a deal to release the footage, and were only awaiting the approval of a judge overseeing the Jackson estate case.

According to a press release, the majority of the footage for "This Is It" was shot in the weeks before Jackson’s June 25th death, when rehearsals for the London shows were staged at Los Angeles’ Forum and Staples Center. Proceeds the Jackson estate receives from the film will go to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, with 80 percent benefiting Jackson’s children and mother. Randy Phillips and Paul Gongaware of AEG Live, the concert promoter who were producing the "This Is It" concerts, will serve as producers on the "This Is It" film.

In addition to the concert footage, select theaters will include some of the 3-D sequences that Jackson had planned for his "This Is It" concerts. Additionally, the film will also feature interviews from Jackson’s friends and collaborators and a retrospective over the King of Pop’s career.

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Michael Jackson Tribute Concert To Take Place In September
In Vienna...

A special one-off tribute concert to the late Michael Jackson is set to take place Vienna next month, it's been announced.

The news was confirmed by promoters World Awards Media GmbH who have said that "high-profile lineup of international stars", along with Jaskson's family, are set to take to the stage in tribute.

The concert is reportedly due to take place on a crown shaped stage in front of the Austrian capital's Schoenbrunn Palace with room for up to 85,000 fans.

The date is yet to be finalised, according to the Press Association.

"For one incredible night Michael Jackson's unforgettable music will be brought to life again," a statement on the promoter's website said.

"Some of the world's leading artists will perform Michael's greatest hits live in Vienna in front of one of the most fascinating historical sites in Europe and celebrate the life of the 'King of Pop'."

Tickets will go on sale on August 20th.

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End Of The Line For Brooks & Dunn

Country darlings Brooks & Dunn are calling it quits after over 20 years of making top-notch country music, her's what they say on thier website:

To Our Fans:

After 20 years of making music and riding this trail together, we have agreed as a duo that it's time call it a day. This ride has been everything and more than we could ever have dreamed.... We owe it all to you, the fans. If you hear rumors, don't believe them, it's just time.

We will release our #1's and then some" on September 8th and bid you farewell one last time in 2010, with The Last Rodeo Tour...(dates to be announced).

Brooks & Dunn

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Money B Releases New Music

With over 20 years in the music industry, Digital Underground member Money B has successfully made a career spanning from Hip Hop, television, film, and radio. After the release of D.U.'s final album Cuz A D.U. Party Don't Stop [click to read] last year, the Oakland native has continued to make music without the group.

Money B has released four singles on the Mandatory Muzic record label (which he co-founded with fellow D.U. member Cleetis Mack), and will feature guests Crooked I, Ne-Yo, 2Pac, and others. The owners of the label express that they are "dedicated to making sure good music doesn't become extinct."

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Neil Diamond's 'Hot August Night/NYC' Comes To DVD

Veteran music man Neil Diamond stays very busy on tour and writing new material. In fact, a new DVD/CD is due for release this Friday.

"Hot August Night/NYC," which is being sold exclusively at Wal-Mart properties, was filmed and recorded at New York's Madison Square Garden during Diamond's four-night run there a year ago. The DVD features the entire 26-songs performance as well as a documentary, "Welcome Home Neil," in which Diamond visits his childhood haunts in Brooklyn.

CBS is airing a one-hour special culled from the DVD at 8 p.m. ET on Friday.

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Although I am a vinyl music lover, I do understand that it does have limitations so I try and keep you up to speed with the dreaded digital news. Sadly, here it is:

Major labels preparing new digital album format

The four big record companies are to compete with Apple's forthcoming Cocktail project by developing their own format called CMX.

Forget WAV, MP3 and M4A – major labels have something new in mind, and it's called CMX. Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are reportedly preparing a new digital album format that will include songs, lyrics, videos, liner notes and artwork.

The news comes just weeks after reports of a similar project, Cocktail, being developed by Apple. According to the Times, Apple rejected CMX and instead began work on an in-house alternative. It is not clear how Cocktail and CMX will differ, other than ownership.

"Apple at first told us that they were not interested, but now they have decided to do their own, in case ours catches on," a label rep told the Times. "Ours will be a file that you click on, it opens and it would have a brand new look, with a launch page and all the different options. When you click on it you're not just going to get the 10 tracks, you're going to get the artwork, the video and mobile products."

However, this may be of little interest if CMX isn't compatible with iTunes, the default music software for iPods, iPhones and Apple computers. Whereas labels are eager to resuscitate the album format in an age of singles, Apple is concerned with selling hardware, including a tablet computer rumoured to be launching this fall.

The major labels plan to launch CMX, which is just a working title for the format, in November. It will reportedly be "soft-launched" with a few select releases. "We are not going out in force," the industry source said. "What you are going to see is a couple of releases thrown out there to see what people like. We are working with the retailers now."

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Motley Crue Begins Writing New Material

Glam metal legends Motley Crue will begin work on new material soon after their current "Crue Fest" tour ends. The band predicts that this could mean up to a year off of the road.

"We have about a month left (of this year's Crüe Fest 2) and then we're going to be taking quite a bit of time off," Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx tells Billboard.com. "I feel like we're ending being out for quite a long time, touring and Saints Of Los Angeles and the Carnival Of Sins (tour) and Red, White & Crüe...really going away on a big high to start working on writing a new record and looking forward to the next Crüe Fest, which'll probably be in 2011."

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Austrian Death Machine Reveals "Double Brutal" Details

Metal Blade Records Release:

"The heaviest metal band in the world (by sheer mass) has finished their follow up to Total Brutal - get ready for Double Brutal! Not satisfied with the limitations offered by putting out a single disc album, Ahhnold demanded two full cds full of muscle pumping metal! When asked why they needed two discs and why he thought that was best, he quickly replied, “Two discs made it heavy and brutal enough to crush our enemies, see them driven before us, and to hear the lamentations of their women!!!”

"Double Brutal is packed with more “juice” than a professional athlete. Disc one features soon to be classics See You At The Party Richter, and Let Off Some Steam Bennett. Disc two is crammed full of metal covers, complete with Ahhnold’s take on them, including Metallica’s Trapped Under Ice and Killing Is My Business…and Business Is Good by none other than Megadeth."

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Too Hot To Handle

The Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson shows in Glendale, Arizona on Tuesday and Las Vegas on Wednesday have been canceled due to excessive heat. The tour of outdoor minor league ballparks would have forced the three performers and the crowd to be subjected to temperatures of up to 110 degrees.

Umm, it is the 'Desert Southwest'

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Aerosmith Frontman On The Mend

Aerosmith has officially postponed their tour of Western Canada so that Steven Tyler can recover from his fall last week where he broke his shoulder. Guitarist Joe Perry told an Illinois radio station that he believes it could be four weeks to two months before Tyler will be ready to return to the road.

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Folk-Rocker Donovan Honored

Donovan will be given the BMI Icon Award at this year's annual London Awards, set for Tuesday, October 6 at the Dorchester Hotel. The awards recognize the U.K. and European songwriters and publishers associated with Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) whose songs received the most airplay in the past year in the U.S. The Icon Award is given to those songwriters who have "bestowed a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." Donovan had 11 consecutive top forty hits in the late-60's and his music continues to be played regularly.

Here's the BMI press release:

Donovan is a master of poignant simplicity. Capable of evoking passionate idealism and freewheeling emotion in a single word or chord, he transformed popular music in the 1960s and went on to build a legendary career. Donovan enjoyed a three week residency on UK music programme Ready Steady Go without even releasing a single, and then proceeded to generate considerable radio success for the rest of the decade with 11 consecutive Top 40 hits, including Mellow Yellow, Sunshine Superman, Wear Your Love Like Heaven, There Is a Mountain, Lalena, Epistle to Dippy, Atlantis, Hurdy Gurdy Man, and Jennifer Juniper, all of which he wrote alone. While Jennifer Juniper has generated more than 1 million performances, Mellow Yellow has earned more than 2 million and Sunshine Superman has garnered almost 3 million performances.

His compositions have also resurfaced in hit films and television series including Goodfellas, Election, Dumb and Dumber, Rushmore, The Simpsons, Nip/Tuck, Ugly Betty, Clueless, Boys on the Side, Murphy Brown, My Name is Earl and Dancing with the Stars. Donovan’s songs have successfully been included in various advertising campaigns, notably the G.E. commercial for Wind Energy, in which the inclusion of his song Catch the Wind was highly praised.

He was profoundly influential on the Beatles, becoming one of an elite handful of artists who collaborated on songs with the band. In 1965, Catch the Wind earned an Ivor Novello Award for best contemporary folk song, marking the first time the honor was bestowed on an artist’s debut single. Donovan received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from University of Hertfordshire in 2003, and in 2009, he became Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters from the Minister of Culture, France, and garnered the American Visionary Art Museum Baltimore’s prestigious Grand Visionary Award. A man not only of unfathomable talent but of rare conviction as well, he is a well-known proponent and student of Transcendental Meditation and leads the musical wing of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace. Hard at work on a new album entitled Ritual Groove, Donovan plans to tour continuously through 2010.

Woodstock 40 Years Later

Woodstock Music & Art Fair

When: August 15 to August 18, 1969

Where: Bethel, New York (Max Yasgur's 600 acre farm)

Who: Thirty-two Rock, Folk, Blues Artists.

Founded by: Michael Lang, John P. Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld

Ticket Price: $18 in advance / $24 at the gate (for all 3 days)


On Friday, August 15, 1969, the historical concert event that was billed as “An Aquarian Exposition” quickly became one of the greatest moments is music history. The organizers thought they could attract between 50,000 and 100,000 people, which was an ambitious and optimistic estimate at the time. No one knew that more than 500,000 music lovers would turn Woodstock into a fairyland of sound, peace, love, drugs and human conformity.

However, there were a multitude of problems, which one could understand given the magnitude of the event. Hunger, bad sanitation, water shortages, inclement weather, traffic jams, first aid issues, bad drugs, why the list seems endless. However, even with these issues, it was a victory for the youth of America and the music world as well. There was no racial tension at a time when racial tension was at its peak. There was little resentment toward your fellow man; it was a place of social harmony and free love. It was a major coup for the counterculture, despite the obvious problems.

Countless books, documentaries, interviews, news articles have captured all the specifics that occurred on Max Yasgur’s farm. But more than the aforementioned qualities, errors in judgement and logistical nightmares, it was after all, one of the most successful events in music history. Let’s explore the time line and some of the little known facts behind this massive musical experience.

The Players:

DAY ONE - August 15, 1969
1. Richie Havens
2. Swami Satchidananda
3. Country Joe McDonald
4. John B. Sebastian
5. Sweetwater
6. Incredible String Band
7. Bert Sommer
8. Tim Hardin
9. Ravi Shankar
10. Melanie
11. Arlo Guthrie
12. Joan Baez

DAY TWO - August 16, 1969
1. Quill
2. Keef Hartley Band
3. Santana
4. Canned Heat
5. Grateful Dead
6. Mountain
7. Creedence Clearwater Revival
8. Sly & The Family Stone
9. Janis Joplin
10. The Who

DAY THREE - August 17, 1969
1. Jefferson Airplane
2. Joe Cocker
3. Country Joe & The Fish
4. Ten Years After
5. The Band

After midnight - Monday Morning) - August 18, 1969
6. Blood Sweat And Tears
7. Johnny Winter
8. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
9. Paul Butterfield Blues Band
10. Sha-Na-Na
11. Jimi Hendrix (Hendrix insisted on being the final performer and was scheduled to perform Sunday at midnight. He didn't take the stage until 9 A.M. on Monday morning and played for 2 hours to a dwindling audience)


Musical Acts That Declined Invitations:

The Beatles declined because John Lennon said he couldn't get them all together at the time.

Led Zeppelin was asked to perform, their manager Peter Grant stating: "We were asked to do Woodstock and Atlantic were very keen, and so was our US promoter, Frank Barsalona. I said no because at Woodstock we'd have just been another band on the bill." Instead the group went on with their hugely successful summer tour, playing that weekend south of the festival at the Asbury Park Convention Hall in New Jersey.

Jethro Tull declined to perform. Ian Anderson is reported to have later said he "didn't want to spend [his] weekend in a field of unwashed hippies." Another theory proposed that the band felt the event would be "too big a deal" and might kill their career before it started. Little did they know just how important this could have been for the band. Ironically, in the film Jethro Tull songs can be heard playing in the background between acts.

Bob Dylan was close, but pulled out when his son became ill. He also was very turned off by the number of hippies hanging around his house, which was near the originally planned site.

The Byrds were invited, but chose to defer, figuring that the event would not be any different from all the other music festivals that summer. Additionally, there were monetary concerns and they had trouble earlier that year at a performance at the first Atlanta International Pop Festival, held at the Atlanta International Raceway on July 4 and July 5, 1969, where a melee had broken out.

"We were flying to a gig and Roger [McGuinn] came up to us and said that a guy was putting on a festival in upstate New York,” recalled bassist John York. “But at that point they weren't paying all of the bands. He asked us if we wanted to do it and we said, 'No'. We had no idea what it was going to be. We were burned out and tired of the festival scene. [...] So all of us said, 'No, we want a rest' and missed the best festival of all.”

Tommy James & the Shondells declined the invitation because of being misinformed about the size and scope of the event.

Lead singer Tommy James stated later: "We could have just kicked ourselves. We were in Hawaii, and my secretary called and said, 'Yeah, listen, there's this pig farmer in upstate New York that wants you to play in his field.' That's how it was put to me. So we passed, and we realized what we'd missed a couple of days later."

The Moody Blues were included in the original posters as performers, but backed out after taking a gig in Paris on the same weekend.

The band Mind Garage declined because they thought it wouldn't be a big deal and had a higher paying gig elsewhere. Oops.

The Randy California-led band Spirit also declined, they had other shows planned and did not want to back out of their commitments; not knowing how big that Woodstock would ultimately become.


Cancelled appearances:

The Doors were considered, but they canceled at the last minute, most likely due to frontman Jim Morrison's distaste for performing in large outdoor venues. However, band member John Densmore did attend.

The Jeff Beck Group was an England rock band formed in London in January 1966 by ex-Yardbiirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues was a major influence on popular music during the late 1960s and early 1970s....They were scheduled to perform at Woodstock, but failed to make an appearance because the band broke up the week before.

Iron Butterfly was a psychedelic rock and early heavy metal music band, well known for their 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” They were enroute, however were stuck at an airport, and their manager demanded helicopters and special arrangements just for them. At one point, helicopters were the only means of transportation that could get to the location. They were wired back and told, as impolitely as Western Union would allow, "to get lost," and they left without playing.

Singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell was scheduled to perform, but her agent recommended that she appear on The Dick Cavett Show. However, she wrote a song from what she had heard from then-boyfriend, Graham Nash, about the festival appropriately called “Woodstock,” that became a major hit for Matthews Southern Comfort and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. She was also discouraged by the audience response to her performance at the Atlantic City Pop Festival that was held earlier in August prior to Woodstock. The audience was so rude that she was not able to complete her set and she walked off the stage, sobbing.

Canadian band Lighthouse were originally was scheduled to play at Woodstock, but in the end they decided not to, fearing that it would be a bad scene. Later, several members of the group would say that they regretted the decision.

Musician Ethan Brown was scheduled, but was arrested for LSD possession just three days before the event.


More About Woodstock:

In 2009, complete performances from Woodstock by Santana, Janis Joplin, Sly & the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, and Johnny Winter were released separately and were also collected in a box-set entitled “The Woodstock Experience.”

It's also being reported that Woodstock promoter Michael Lang has had to drop plans for a 40th anniversary concert. When asked why he abandoned the pursuit for a third anniversary concert celebrating the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, Lang simply lamented: “Money. No sponsors.”

However, Lang remains busy with Woodstock-related projects. On August 8th, he will join Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee and screenwriter/producer James Schamus in Woodstock, New York, for an advance screening of the comedy “Taking Woodstock,” which hits theaters Aug. 28. The film, directed by Lee, with screenplay by Schamus, is based on a book written by Elliot Tiber, who along with his parents ran a motel in Bethel during the Woodstock festival. Should be interesting…..

In 1997, the site of the concert and 1,400 acres surrounding it was purchased by Alan Gerry for the purpose of creating the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. The Center opened on July 1, 2006 with a performance of the New York Philharmonic. On August 13, 2006, Crosby Stills Nash & Young performed to 16,000 fans at the new Center — 37 years after their historic performance at Woodstock.

The Museum at Bethel Woods opened in June 2008. The Museum contains film and interactive displays, text panels, and artifacts which explore the unique experience of the Woodstock festival, its significance as the culminating event of a decade of radical cultural transformation, and the legacy of the Sixties and Woodstock today.

VH1 on Friday, Aug. 14, will air, “Woodstock: Now & Then,” a documentary directed by Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple. Original Woodstock promoter Michael Lang is executive producer of the film. The History Channel will show “Woodstock: Now & Then” on Aug. 17.

On August 23, 2009 at Belleayre Mountain, which is just west of Woodstock, Lang will co-present Kidstock, with a “Tribute to Woodstock” by young musicians from Paul Green’s School of Rock, the inspiration for the Jack Black movie.

Written By Robert Benson www.collectingvinylrecords.com

Music News & Notes

Julian Lennon's Atlantic Years To Be Reissued

When a son of John Lennon announces his own musical career and shows up looking and sounding very much like his iconic dad, critics and listeners alike are bound to react with arms firmly folded. But Julian Lennon's gifts as a songwriter quickly broke down skepticism and sent the young artist soaring up the American album and singles charts. Three of his original Atlantic Records albums have long since fallen out of print, only to be reissued by Noble Rot, a subsidiary of Collectors' Choice Music in the Infinity Entertainment Group. The albums "The Secret Value of Daydreaming," "Mr. Jordan" and "Help Yourself" will hit retail on September 8, 2009, (the day before the remastered album catalog of his dad's group appears in stores). Author Gene Sculatti wrote the liner notes.

Lennon's first single, "Valotte," and "Too Late" from his 1984 Phil Ramone-produced "Valotte" album notched the No. 9 and 5 positions on the Billboard pop singles chart. The platinum-certified album received a Grammy nomination, and Sam Peckinpah directed the videos.

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Bowie 40th Anniversary Space Oddity


Forty years ago, David Bowie released his eponymous first album, or Man of Words/Man of Music as it was known in the States. Soon after, the LP adopted the name of its biggest hit, Space Oddity. Now, four decades later, the Thin White Duke will reissue his debut album as a double-disc collection due out this October. The first disc features the album as it was originally presented in 1969, plus a second disc full of demos, B sides and other unreleased recordings, Bowie’s official site announced this weekend.

davidbowie.com

This Date In Music History-August 10

Birthdays:

Jimmy Dean (1928) “Big Bad John”

American singer and entertainer Eddie Fisher (1929)

James Griffin – Bread (1943)

Ian Anderson - Jethro Tull (1947)

Ronnie Spector - The Ronettes (1947)

Patti Austin (1948)

Gene Johnson - Diamond Rio (1949)

Mark Price - All About Eve (1959) Also worked with The Cure and Right Said Fred.

Julia Fordham - singer, songwriter (1962)

Todd Nichols - Toad The Wet Sprocket (1967)

Michael Bivins - New Edition (1968)


They Are Missed:

Michael "Panic" Houser, guitarist for Widespread Panic, died of pancreatic cancer in 2002 (age 40).

Born on this day in 1940, Bobby Hatfield, singer, The Righteous Brothers , “You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin.” He died on November 5, 2003.



Born today in 1909, Leo Fender, inventor of The Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars. Died March 21, 1991.


History:

Recorded in ’58, while Elvis Presley was on furlough during his Army stint, “A Big Hunk O’ Love” is released over a year later (1959) and takes only five weeks to reach #1.

In 1959, four members of The Platters were arrested after a gig in Cincinnati after being found with four 19 year old women, (3 of them white), in various stages of undress. The scandal resulted in radio stations across the US removing Platters records from their playlists.

13 year-old Little Stevie Wonder started a three week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1963 with “Fingertips part II,” making him the youngest singer to top the charts.

Cream started a four-week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1968 with “Wheels Of Fire.”

In 1968, the Who released their single "Magic Bus," which later went to #25.

The trial of Doors' singer Jim Morrison began in 1970. He faced numerous charges (lewd and obscene behavior) resulting from a '69 Miami concert. Morrison was found guilty but files an appeal which was still pending at the time of the singer's death less than a year later.

Following a concert in Sweden in 1972, Paul & Linda McCartney are busted for drug possession. They pay a fine and are on their way. (Paul is fined $1,000 and Linda $200)

In 1970, Elvis Presley began a 58-show stand at the Las Vegas Hilton International Hotel.

After doing two albums for Elektra/Asylum Records, Bob Dylan returned to his longtime label, Columbia Records in 1974.

John Denver went to #1 on the US album chart in 1974 with “Back Home Again.”

Roberta Flack went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1974 with “Feel Like Makin' Love,” the singers third US #1.

In 1976, Elton John played the first of ten nights sold out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The $1.25 million generated from the shows broke the record set by The Rolling Stones in 1975.

Canadian singer, guitarist Bryan Adams scored his first US #1 album in 1985 with “Reckless.”

In 1985, Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran was air lifted to safety when his boat 'Drum' overturned while racing off the English coast. Le Bon was trapped under the hull with five other crew members for twenty minutes, until being rescued by the Royal Navy.

Also in 1985, after Paul McCartney advised him to invest in a music catalog, Michael Jackson buys ATV's for $47.5 million. The catalog contained 251 Beatles songs written by Lennon and McCartney.

"Like A Virgin," by Madonna, became the first 5 million seller by a solo female artist in 1985.

In 2004, Sammy Hagar’s career, his Montrose and solo efforts (but not Van Halen), was chronicled in “The Essential Red Collection.” Spanning 1973 – 1999, the Red Rocker’s set features twenty tracks, including two previously unreleased demos – “Call My Name” and “Thinking Of You,” recorded in 1975.

Classic Rock Videos

Rolling Stones Play with Fire

Bird And Animal Names In Rock And Roll History- part twenty-four

Let’s continue our article series about “bird” and “animal” band names and individuals in rock and roll history:

Formed in the 1980s, the Boston-based band Buffalo Tom has received critical acclaim for their thundering guitar hooks and innovative folk-tinged songs. Produced by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, some say that the band was just an extension of Mascis, who produced their first album in 1989.

However, Buffalo Tom was able to strip away these comparisons and was able to develop their own musical niche by blending their meat and potatoes rock and roll to go along with their insightful ballads.

In fact, on the band’s second album, 1990s “Birdbrain,” saw the trio guitarist Bill Janovitz, bassist Chris Colbourn, and drummer Tom Maginnis broaden their musical horizons with improved sonics and lyrical content and found themselves becoming popular on alternative radio play lists.

In 1992, Buffalo Tom’s breakthrough album “Let Me Come Over,” was filled with a gritty set of rock and roll adeptly mixed with melancholy ballads, including the splendid cut “Taillights Fade.” But, despite the increased airplay and critical praise, the album didn’t sell particularly well.

The follow-up album, 1993s “Big Red Letter Day” was a much more radio-ready, polished production, but the record received limited radio play and MTV requests. However, Buffalo Tom became one of the more popular alternative rock bands by the mid nineties in part because of the minor alternative hit single “Sodajerk,” which was featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 television series “My So-Called Life.”

After a year-long tour, the band regrouped and in the summer of 1995 released the LP “Sleep Eyed,” which musically brought the band back to their roots and the musical styling of the LP “Let me Come Over.” In 1998, the band released “Smitten” and two years later released a best of album called “Asides from Buffalo Tom.” After almost a decade of inactivity, Buffalo Tom returned in 2007 with an appearance at SXSW and a new full-length album on the New West label, “Three Easy Pieces.”

In 2009, Buffalo Tom have been writing and rehearsing about 15 new songs in one of the coldest, bleakest Boston winters in recent memory. Buffalo Tom also played their first show in quite some time at Boston's Paradise Rock Club, Friday June 26, 2009. Expect more to come from this seminal alternative rock and roll band.

Since 2002, the Aardvarks have been praised by bar owners, employees and fans alike for their ability to cater to any crowd by performing eclectic sets of musical genres and by adding their compelling repertoire of sound for a variety of events including weddings, local festivals and weekend shows.

In 2002, guitarist/vocalist Mike Rauscher and piano player Ron Walls decided to take a break from the grind of being musicians and playing with a number of other bands that included the Honeybuzzards, Seamrippers and the Armadillos. However, their break did not last long and within a few weeks they formed a duo called, A Pair of Armadillos and the pair performed throughout Lehigh Valley, in Eastern Pennsylvania. In 2003, the duo added Bassist Scott Erickson and drummer Jay Sanita. Just a year later, the band went through more personnel changes, this time adding bassist Jon Novak and vocalist Jay Morgan. Remaining true to their penchant for naming the band after an animal (fits right into our theme), the new bandmates decided to try a new breed of 'A" animal and the Aardvarks, as we know them today, were born.

Since 2004, The Aardvarks have assembled a song catalog of over 100 songs and are constantly expanding their repertoire both with covers of popular hits as well as originals. They are very popular with the locals of Lehigh Valley and perform regularly throughout the region.

Despite record setting attendances and an impressive music catalog, perhaps the most endearing quality of The Aardvarks is their youth and energy. No matter the age or size of the crowd, type of event or location, the band delivers quality performances consistently making them a local favorite and guaranteed good time for friends, family, employees, guests and fans alike. Although the band may not have any national hits, they make our list because of their fondness to name their groups after animals.

There are a couple of other bands named the Aardvarks. David Waggoner (aka David Wagner) of the 1960s psychedelic band Crow released several 45rpm singles prior to joining up with that band. Several of these singles are highly collectible and can fetch anywhere between $20 to $800, depending on the record label and the songs contained on the record. We will explore more bands with this moniker in future articles.


The soft-rock pop duo of Jim Seals and Dash Crofts were formed in 1969 after a stint with singer Dean Beard in 1958. Beard was later invited to join the group the Champs (of Latin-rock hit fame, the instrumental smash hit “Tequila”) along with Seals and Crofts and they stayed with that group until 1965. After both worked as session musicians and in unsuccessful bands, they decided to team up and after two largely ignored album releases, the duo hit the big time after signing with Warner Brothers Records in 1971.

It was their second album on Warner Brothers Records (Summer Breeze-1972) that propelled Seals and Crofts to mainstream pop-rock success. With timeless, breezy and accessible songs such as “Hummingbird,” “Diamond Girl,” the perfect mellow summer song “Summer Breeze” and the Top 40 Billboard hit “We May Never Pass This Way Again,” the duo attained worldwide acceptance. But their fame was fleeting, and ignoring the advice of Warner Brothers Records executives, they released the album “Unborn Child,” that contained the blatantly anti-abortion song called “Momma, Don’t” (which was written by Crofts’ sister) and the album was a critical and commercial flop.

Over a year later the duo released the LP “I’ll Play For You” and the following year cut the album called “Get Closer,” with the title song topping out on the charts at number six. This was Seals and Crofts’ last Top 40 album release. They sang music for a Robby Benson’s movie “One on One” which produced the single called “My Fair Share” (number 28 on the Top 40 Billboard charts in 1977).

The following year the album “Takin’ It Easy” resulted in the duo’s last Top 40 single called “You’re In Love” and their final studio effort “The Longest Road” did not even enter the charts (despite musicians Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke making guest appearances). The pair were subsequently dropped by Warner Brothers Records and have played together sparingly for many years except for a short reunion tour in 1991-1992, and appearances together at religious gatherings promoting their faith (Baha I).

Come back next week for more of this interesting article series about bird and animal band names in rock and roll history!


Buffalo Tom Tidbits:

The band's name is derived from the band Buffalo Springfield and the first name of the drummer, who is the shyest of the three. Combining the two is something of a joke among the members.

Buffalo Tom also wrote the theme song to the extremely short-lived 1999 sitcom The Mike O'Malley Show.

In 1999 the song "Taillights Fade" was used in the Breckin Meyer/Elizabeth Berkley independent film Taillights Fade.

They also recorded The Jam's "Going Underground" for the 2000 tribute album Fire and Skill: The Songs of the Jam.

They were the final musical guest on Jon Stewart's The Jon Stewart Show wherein he showered the band with moderate enthusiasm for their sound and their musical integrity.


Seals and Crofts Tidbits:

Seals' younger brother, Dan Seals was also well known as one half of the successful soft rock band in the same time period, England Dan and John Ford Coley, as well as a very successful country artist in the mid-1980s. Dan Seals died on March 25, 2009.

Jim Seals and Dash Crofts are both members of the Baha'i Faith. A number of their songs are inspired by Baha'i writings, and several contain references to tenets of the faith and actual passages of Baha'i scriptures. When they appeared in concert they often remained on stage after the performance to talk about the faith while local Baha'is passed out literature to anyone who was interested.

Crofts has lived in Mexico, Australia and Nashville, playing country music and making an occasional hit single. Seals moved to Costa Rica and has lived on a coffee farm off & on since 1980, and Crofts now lives on a ranch in the Hill Country of central Texas.

In 2003, Seals and Crofts reunited and recorded a new album called “Traces” for the first time since 1998.

Help Preserve Polka Music

I have been in communication with the president John Ziobrowski of Polka America Corporation, based out of Ringle, Wisconsin. The organization seeks to help educate the public about the genre and to help preserve this format of music. Honestly, this is not a genre of music that I listen to, but I do recognize that there are millions who love Polka Music and I feel that it is very important to help to preserve the vinyl from years past. So I thought I would let you know about the organization. Stop by the website for more information. http://www.polkaamericacorporation.org/

Polka America Corporation Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 10, 2009

Contact: Info@PolkaAmericaCorporation.org

PAC ANNOUNCES NATIONAL ARCHIVE PROGRAM FOR POLKA MUSIC IN CONJUNCTION WITH COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Manhattan, NY - A new program for the digitization and archiving of polka music which has been instituted by Polka America Corporation, in conjunction with Columbia University and the Archive of Contemporary Music, is accepting donations of polka music collections. This program provides the only national large-scale public archive collection point for all styles of polka music, and will afford polka music its place in history as a viable and documented form of music.

Collections can be donated at any time and in any amount. Donations submitted will be digitized and archived for record keeping and historical purposes. Any original form is acceptable to include 78s, 33s, cassettes, etc. Digital recordings created by Columbia are exact replicas of the recording submitted. No enhancements are a part of the process. A copy of the digitized recording is returned to the owner once it has been processed by Columbia University. The University maintains ownership of the copy donated to them for the polka category. Substantial polka music libraries can be named in honor of the donor.

Donation maximums of $4500 per year can be written off on your taxes. Donations/record collections exceeding that amount will require a professional appraisal in order to receive larger tax write-offs. Columbia University does not determine the value of a collection.

The archive of polka music will be available on the Internet through Columbia’s websites. This will provide an instant access point of musical history in the polka genre for all to reference.

Further info, along with mailing information can be obtained by contacting Polka America Corporation at info@PolkaAmericaCorporation.org or by calling PAC at 715-446-3098.


Polka America Corporation, PO Box 413 Ringle, WI 54471

Music News & Notes

Them Crooked Vultures Play Live

The new "supergroup" Them Crooked Vultures (John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age) will be playing their first live show tomorrow (Sunday) at Chicago's Metro rock club.

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Daryl Hall and John Oates Set Delayed Again

The Daryl Hall and John Oates box set has been pushed back yet again to October 6. As of now, there still isn't a track list available, although we now know that it will be 4-CDs with 74 tracks, 16 of which are unreleased. There will also be a 60-page book.

The duo will be appearing on QVC to promote the set on September 21 at 6 PM EST.

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This Will Make Your Head Spin (A Sunday Morning Wake Up Call)

Shockhound.com has premiered the video from black metal band Sothis. The video for the title track to the band's current album, De Oppresso Liber, was filmed in the band's hometown of Los Angeles and features computer animation and performance footage of the six-piece band. Just having completed their first national US tour alongside labelmates Absu, the band continues to promote their full-length debut released last fall via Candlelight Records.

This Date In Music History- August 9

Birthdays:

Barbara Mason ("Yes, I'm Ready") is 62

Vic Prince - Pretty Things (1944)

John Parry, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (1946)

Marinus Gerritsen - Golden Earring (1946)

Bruce Thomas - Elvis Costello and The Attractions (1954)

Rapper Kurtis Blow (1959)

Aimee Mann (1960)

John Farriss – INXS (1961)

Whitney Houston (1963)

Baroque singer/songwriter J.C. Hopkins, whose work has been likened to Brian Wilson and Charles Ives, was born in 1967.

Arion Salazar - Third Eye Blind (1972)


They Are Missed:

Born today in 1939, Billy Henderson, singer with the Detroit Spinners (died from complications from diabetes on Feb 2, 2007 (age 67).

Bill Chase and three members of his band were killed in a plane crash in 1974. Chase had the 1971 US Top 30 hit “Get It On.”

Born on this day in 1955, Benjamin Orr of the Cars (Orr died of cancer on October 3, 2000).

Jerry Garcia guitarist and singer from The Grateful Dead died from a drugs-related heart attack at the Serenity Knolls rehabilitation clinic in San Francisco in 1995 (age 53). Garcia co-founded the New Riders of the Purple Sage and also released several solo albums. He was well known for his distinctive guitar playing and was ranked 13th in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarist's of All Time."



History:

In 1952, Kitty Wells became the first woman to top the country charts with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels."

Mantovani and his Orchestra were at #1 on the UK singles chart in 1953 with “Song From The Moulin Rouge,” the first ever instrumental #1 on the UK chart.

Britain’s answer to Elvis, 17 year old Cliff Richard, signed a record deal with EMI records in 1958. Also on this day Cliff Richard started a four-week residency at Butlins Holiday Camp in Clacton-On-Sea, Essex as Cliff Richard and the Drifters.

The Coasters hit #1 in 1958 with the Atlantic single "Yakety Yak."
Johnny Horton cuts "North To Alaska" at his last recording session in 1960.

The first ever edition of 'Ready Steady Go! was shown on UK TV in 1963. Introduced by Keith Fordyce and 19 year-old Cathy McGowan. The first show featured The Searchers, Jet Harris, Pat Boone, Billy Fury and Brian Poole and The Tremeloes. The final show was in Dec 1966 after 175 episodes. Originally 30 minutes long, it expanded to 50 minutes the following year, and soon attracted the most popular artists, including The Beatles, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Rolling Stones, The Four Tops, The Kinks and many others.



The Rolling Stones appeared at the New Elizabeth Ballroom in Belle Vue, Manchester in 1964. Two policemen fainted and another was taken to hospital with broken ribs after trying to control over 3,000 screaming teenagers.

The Silkie recorded a cover of the Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" in 1965. But they had a little help. Paul McCartney played guitar, George Harrison played tambourine and John Lennon produced the whole ensemble.

While performing at the Sunberry Jazz and Blues Festival in England in 1967, Jerry Lee Lewis got the crowd going in such a frenzy that festival officials halted his show and asked him to leave the stage.

In 1968, after the other Beatles had gone home for the evening (2.00 am), Paul McCartney stayed behind and recorded “Mother Nature's Son,” taping 25 takes at Abbey Road studios. The song was included on the White Album.

Actress Sharon Tate and four others were killed by followers of Charles Manson in the first of two nights of bizarre slayings in the Los Angeles area in 1969. Manson, who was later convicted of murder, claimed that the Beatles spoke to him through secret messages in the lyrics of five songs on their "White Album." Nutjob, thankfully he’s still in prison….

"Hot Fun in The Summertime," by Sly and the Family Stone, and "Easy to Be Hard" (from the Broadway production "Hair") were released in 1969.

The Bee Gees started a two week run at #1 on the singles chart in 1975 with “Jive Talkin,” the group's second #1 (#5 in the UK).

Bachman-Turner Overdrive disbanded in 1977. The group, who had gold singles "Takin' Care of Business" & "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," called it quits just as their popularity is beginning to decrease. Nice coincidence.



Blues legend Muddy Waters performed at a White House picnic for President Jimmy Carter in 1978.

Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger," which was the theme song for the hit movie "Rocky III," went gold in 1982.

Queen gave what would be their last ever live performance when they appeared at Knebworth Park in England in 1986. The last two songs the band played were “We Are The Champions” and “God Save The Queen.”