The vinyl record collecting blog - with news about new vinyl record releases, vinyl record sales, new music releases, album cover art and weekly features
Here is the month in review of the top selling ebay vinyl record sales, on a weekly basis, for October of 2010. First and foremost, a special thank you to Norm and Jane atVinyl Record Talk Be sure to listen to their popular radio show for more information about the weekly top 5, vinyl record news and as well as weekly guests.
Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales - Week Ending 10/02/2010
A Beatles "Please Please Me" revisits the top of the list. For the first time in many months two Northern Soul records make the list, and a little known Psych record from 1970 rounds out the Top 5.
1. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK Gold Black label 1st Stereo - $3,750.00
2. 45 - Frankie Beverly and The Butlers "Because Of My Heart" / "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" Fairmount - $2,850.00
3. LP - Sonny Clark "Cool Struttin'" Blue Note 1588 - $2,701.99
4. 45 - The Royal Imperials "This Heart Of Mine" / "Keep It Up Baby" Mello Town - $2,590.00
5. LP - Tripsichord "Music Box" San Francisco Sound - $2,555.00
Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales - Week Ending 10/09/2010
It's a Beatles sandwich this week, with a one-of-a-kind acetate on the top of the list, and another "Please Please Me" at the bottom. The Beatles acetate contains recordings of songs that ended up on "A Hard Day's Night", but reportedly with several alternate takes available nowhere else.
1. LP - The Beatles IBC Studio Acetate - $7,966.00
2. LP - Hailu Mergia & The Walis Band "Ethiopian Instrumentals" Kaifa Greek Pressing - $4,250.00
3. 45 - Jimmy Burns "I Really Love You" / "I Love You Girl" Erica - $4,216.00
4. 78 - Charley Patton "Shake It And Break It But Don't Let It Fall Mama" / "A Spoonful Blues" Paramount - $4,083.00
5. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK Gold Black label 1st Stereo - $3,259.69
Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales - Week Ending 10/16/2010
For the first time in many months a Butcher Cover makes the list at the #5 spot, with a prog classic on Vertigo fetching thirty dollars more. A Northern Soul 45 makes the list again, and classical LP box set gets the #1 spot.
1. LP - Mozart a Paris Oubradous Pathe 7 LP Box Set - $6,999.00
2. 12" - Madonna "Erotica" UK Picture Disc withdrawn - $3,966.17
3. 45 - Lynn Terry "I Got A Good Thing Goin'" / "Till" - $3,716.00
5. LP - The Beatles "Yesterday and Today" LP Butcher First State Mono Promo with recall letter - $3,331.58
Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales - Week Ending 10/23/2010
My favorite 45 makes the list this week; Mixed Feeling's "Sha La La" gets a little over $3k. This is the only stock copy to have ever made the Top 5 list, the others being white label promo's. Two classical box sets make the list, and a Beatles UK box set gets over $4k. A rare Psych LP on the Deram label rounds out this week's Top 5.
1. LP - Johanna Martzy "Bach: The unaccompanied Violin Sonatas" Columbia Box set UK - $5,756.90
2. LP - The Beatles "Let It Be" UK Box Set PXS 1 - $4,465.67
3. 45 - Mixed Feeling "Sha La La" / "Love Will Find A Way" United - $3,250.00
4. LP - Michele Auclair "JS Bach Sonates pour clavier et violon" Les Discophiles Francais - $3,150.00
5. LP - Room "Pre-Flight" Deram - $2,742.08
More on this month's top sellers on Vinyl Record Talk, Tuesday 8:00PM Eastern / 4:00PM Pacific on Radio Dentata.
UnCovered Interview - James Brown's Original Disco Man album cover by Bill Levy
Subject - the making of the cover of the James Brown album titled Original Disco Man, released in 1979 on Polydor Records.
After enjoying a career powered by a never-ending run of smash-hit singles and sold-out live shows, by the early 1970s, many members of James Brown’s classic line-up had left to start up their own acts (only Bobby Byrd remained) and so Mr. Brown set out to add some new life to his own career. He began this effort by putting together a new backing band called The J.B.’s, which included new musical director/trombonist Fred Wesley and musicians Bootsy and Catfish Collins. After releasing the hit single “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine” in 1970, Brown took the band and his record catalog to a new label and distributor, Polydor Records, in 1971.
Brown also launched his own imprint – People – as a way to promote the talents of a number of his band-mates, including Lyn Collins, Hank Ballard and Fred Wesley & The J.B.’s, and he also demonstrated another aspect of his talents by scoring the 1973 film Black Caesar. More hits followed, including The Payback in 1973 and Funky President (People It’s Bad) in 1974, but when Fred Wesley left to join Parliament-Funkadelic and disco slick dance beats became the most-wanted style of popular music, record buyers began to lose interest in Brown’s hard funk focus and, as a result, his star power began to fade a bit.
Now, if you would ask any musician (or music critic) at the time about their feelings about The Godfather of Soul/Hardest-Working-Man-In-Show-Business, they would undoubtedly tell you that he was a major influence on their music/song-writing efforts, with composers from many genres – from jazz, rock, disco, world beat and others – all citing JB as one of their principal influences. His success and stature inside the record business made him both a desirable and precious commodity and one that his record label wanted handled with the same professionalism and respect he expected from all those who worked with him. To that end, they asked Art Director Bill Levy to bring his considerable talents, experience and ability to manage the sometimes-delicate egos of the musical acts he worked with to the table when it came time to produce the cover image for JB's 1979 release titled Original Disco Man. It is that story of creative endeavor and the mutual respect between two artists that is detailed here today in this UnCovered interview.
In the words of our subject, Art Director Bill Levy (interviewed in September and October, 2010) -
In 1979, I was the Creative and Art Director at Polydor Records. Our offices were at 810 Seventh Avenue in New York City and we had the 33th and 34th floors, linked via a circular stairway. James Brown and his People Records company had a production deal with Polydor and a suite of offices in the same building, a few floors below. Although James and his staff pretty much kept to themselves, we’d routinely have combined staff meetings to discuss any product that might be in the pipeline, etc. Prior to my arrival, James relied on his staff to work with various design studios for packaging.
Before coming to Polydor, I had worked with many artists and managers at Columbia and Decca / MCA, a highlight which included working hands-on creating the packaging for Jesus Christ Superstar with Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, along with a full-blown multimedia presentation for an 8-city radio/press tour we did to promote Superstar. We booked time in churches in each of these cities to present the new rock opera in its proper classic context.
My role at Polydor /Mercury initially included working with artists such as John Mellencamp and a young Billy Joel - along with his manager/producer, Artie Ripp - when they were readying Billy’s first album, Cold Harbor, for release. I remember casually asking Billy how he was feeling, and he answered with an eye-rolling, “How would you feel being re-mixed for the thirty-somethingth time?” Artie had a production deal with Polydor /PolyGram for so many releases per year so, needless to say, he would grind them out for the production money, referring to some of the releases as “slices of salami.” Since I wondered why he'd want to spend so much time promoting "salami slices" - as opposed to music he was really proud of - I suggested to Artie, "how about if we use a little code to let me know if you consider a release 'real music' or merely 'another slice of salami'. Since record labels at that time included an “M” for mono and an “S” for stereo, I said, why couldn’t that be a code: “M” for music and “S” for salami? Instead of getting pissed at me for being sarcastic, we shook hands and developed a good working relationship.
The roster of artists I’d work with later on at Polydor would grow to include Bon Jovi (and his manager, Doc McGee), Kool & The Gang and Yoko Ono, and I also worked on a lot of soundtrack packages, including Tommy for The Who and movies such as Chariots of Fire with Vangelis, A Chorus Line and two records for The Godfather, including one built around the wedding music they used in the original score. My team regularly included such talented people as Fred Marcellino, Bob Heimall, George Cursillo, Ernie Cefalu and John Kosh.
Anyway, when I came on board at Polydor, I was asked by our president, Bill Farr, to offer James packaging assistance and to try and earn his respect in this effort. I knew this would not be an easy task because, by James’ own direction, he was known to everyone at Polydor as “Mr. Brown” and he in turn would refer to everyone, all the way up the corporate pecking order, the same way.
When it came to packaging the Original Disco Man, I offered to personally take over the project, and he agreed. I brought in two colleagues of mine – Bob Heimall, the well-known designer, and top photographer Joel Brodsky. We booked a photo session, using a vacant NYC disco house as our set, and when I say "vacant", I mean during the day when a disco’s in its 'empty resting mode'.
The concept for the Original Disco Man way pretty basic. With James being a well-known personality trying to sort of reinvent himself by taking advantage of the disco craze, we thought that having a "throne" - which was actually a retro-fitted wingback chair - on the dance floor would be a nice touch. The shot would not necessarily show him sliding into action, but rather relaxing as the “man in charge” that he was. The session itself went pretty quickly.
When it came to final approval of the cover image, it was my style to show an artist or manager a tight comp with lettering done on a full-sized color print, etc. My thinking here was not to leave anything up to the imagination of those approving the cover. This approach had worked for me, over and over again, but when I showed Mr. Brown the finished Disco Man art and mechanical before releasing it to the printer for separations, he made it clear that he had his own idea of something he wanted added to complete the package.
'Mr. Levy,' he said, 'this is what I want. Because this album is going to be so big, I want to have a promotional 'belly band' around every copy that will say, ‘This will be the first hundred-million-selling album!’' I went on to list the reasons why we could not do what he was asking - first and foremost that it would be so obviously misleading that we’d be giving dealers a reason not to carry the album! He thought about this for a moment and added, 'Okay, then how about if we say 'This could be the…etc., etc.' I held my ground and explained further why I felt that it wouldn’t work. After a few moments of silence he stood up and I figured that was his way of saying that the meeting was over and it was time for me to leave. Instead, he came around to my side of his massive desk and put his hand on my shoulder. 'Mr. Levy,' he said, 'from now on, you’re ‘Bill’ and I’m ‘James.’'
I've been told that I'm the only one he ever extended this courtesy to, and I'm proud of that distinction to this day.
About the subject of this interview - Bill Levy (in his own words) -
As for some bio points - I started my career at Columbia Records after having been introduced to the GM there, Bill Gallagher, by a mutual friend. I was brought on as a trainee, which meant I was expected to help out any way possible. Since the company was still small at the time, I did a bit of everything - A&R work, writing, graphics and also producing a regular mailer to give our promo teams information on all of our new releases. Soon after, I was moved to a job in the promotions department, where I worked as the Creative/Art Director for Special Products, where I had clients such as Goodyear and American Airlines.
I then spent time at MCA (where I lead the project on Jesus Christ Superstar) and then followed Bill Gallagher to Gulf + Western's record group. This is the company ultimately morphed into Mercury/Polygram/Polydor Records, and I worked there until 1989, when I left the Isle of Manhattan for the Oasis of Scottsdale, Arizona.
I have been nominated 4 times for Grammy Best Package awards (in 1973, 1984 and twice in 1986). In fact, there’s a story there - in 1971, I tried to lobby the Grammy office to recognize JC Superstar as a candidate for Best Cover. They felt it was too ‘classical’ looking - which was the whole point - but resulted from this meeting was for the Academy to take my suggestion and change the term “Best Cover” to “Best Package.” It was at that same meeting that the famed music historian John Simon (of the Carly Simon family) that John asked me if I’d run for President of the NY NARAS Chapter. To quote John, he said, “Bill, you bring creative stability to a meeting.”
Since moving here, I’ve written a baker’s dozen of screenplays and novels, mostly in the entertainment / humor genre, and a basketball humor book for the Phoenix Suns. I also wrote a treatment for a TV game show based on everyone’s love affair with the movies (we pitched this to Blockbuster and there was serious ‘conference call’ interest…).
I've also served as the Production Designer on a full-length movie called Desert Snow, and am currently consulting on a documentary about J.C. Superstar.
I’m also producing a series of old world art reproductions based on manipulated images of Tuscany (printed on hand-made paper) and have also started to sell limited-edition prints of the many photos I've taken of musical acts I've worked with, including concert and studio shots of Janis Joplin/Big Brother & The Holding Company and The Who during performances of Tommy live at the Fillmore East.
For more information or just to say "hello", you can contact me via email at createzone@aol.com
Photo of Bill Levy in his studio in front of a copy of his Jesus Christ Superstar cover, signed by Rice & Webber.
About UnCovered -
Our ongoing series of interviews will give you, the music and art fan, a look at "The Making Of" the illustrations, photographs and designs of many of the most-recognized and influential images that have served to package and promote your all-time-favorite recordings.
In each UnCovered feature, we'll meet the artists, designers and photographers who produced these works of art and learn what motivated them, what processes they used, how they collaborated (or fought) with the musical acts, their management, their labels, etc. - all of the things that influenced the final product you saw then and still see today.
We hope that you enjoy these looks behind the scenes of the music-related art business and that you'll share your stories with us and fellow fans about what role these works of art - and the music they covered - played in your lives.
All images featured in this UnCovered story are Copyright 2010 Bill Levy - All rights reserved - and are used with his permission. Except as noted, all other text Copyright 2010 - Mike Goldstein & RockPoP Gallery (http://www.rockpopgallery.com) - All rights reserved.
Ripple Music: 2011 Releases - Great Stuff in the Works
Venomin James to re-issue their debut album, 'Left Hand Man,' on vinyl! The album will be specifically mastered for the vinyl format and will include unreleased/live bonus material. Left Hand Man will be available in the first half of the year.
Poobah will be returning in 2011 with a brand new studio album entitled Peace Farmers. Originally self released by Jim Gustafson to a limited run of less than 500 copies, Peace Farmers acts as a great follow up to the re-issue of Let Me In and features a couple of updated renditions of some Poobah classics. Initially, Peace Farmers will be released on CD only, but as the case always seems to be, the door is open to press limited runs of vinyl to accompany the CD edition.
Stone Axe, will be releasing the Heavy Ripples compilation double 7”, which will include the return of Brooklyn-based stoner-fied punks Mighty High, the introduction of blues-based retro rockers from the UK, Grifter, and on loan from the incomparable Small Stone Records, Sun Gods In Exile. The 7” will be packaged in a double gatefold jacket featuring the glorious artistic touch of Wayne Braino Bjerke. Expect to see this monstrous beast of sonic debauchery in April.
Legendary progressive rock veterans URIAH HEEP have entered Liscombe Park Studios in Buckinghamshire, England to begin recording their next album of all-new material for a 2011 release.
URIAH HEEP recently announced plans to release a new live album, 'Official Bootleg Volume II – Live in Budapest, Hungary 2010, which contains recordings from the band's May 4, 2010 concert at the Petofi Hall in Budapest Hungary. The band said, "There are going to be many more recordings from around the world, as this will be an ongoing series, giving fans the chance to hear the band in many different countries.
"These recordings are true official bootlegs in every sense and they reflect that nights performance as it happened, totally untouched. You can almost feel that you are at the concert, so put the CD on, turn it up loud, close your eyes and enjoy a night in Budapest with URIAH HEEP."
"Celebration", the latest album from URIAH HEEP, was released in North America on March 16, 2010 via a new deal between DisManic Distribution and Knife Fight Media.
HEEP history has been an extraordinary journey and it was time that their greatest classics were recorded in studio by the lineup playing them live to fans all over the world for more than 20 years.
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WHITESNAKE: New Album Cover Art Revealed
Legendary rock band WHITESNAKE has set "Forevermore" as the title of its new album, tentatively due at the end of March 2011 via Frontiers Records. Regarding the release's title, WHITESNAKE mainman David Coverdale stated, "Don't forget, 'tis ONE word. Otherwise it sounds like a bleedin' Valentine's Day card, which it ain't!"
WHITESNAKE's the follow-up to 2008's 'Good To Be Bad will be "a solid, natural progression from the band's last opus, which was awarded by the influential Classic Rock magazine as 'Best Album of the Year' in 2008."
"As always, we want to take it to the next level," stated David Coverdale. "I feel that with the last album we achieved a strong WHITESNAKE 'cocktail' that comfortably embraced and mixed all the previous musical aspects and styles of the band's history, while taking our identity a little further… all on one album."
"The new songs are in the very familiar and recognizable WHITESNAKE territory of soulful, bluesy, melodic power rock, with a couple of ballads thrown in for good measure," the singer said. "It can't be a WHITESNAKE album without ballads, mate!"
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STRYPER: 'The Covering' Cover Artwork Unveiled
'The Covering,' the much-anticipated covers album from Christian hard rockers STRYPER, will tentatively be released on February 1, 2011 via Big3 Records. The band has already released its cover versions of BLACK SABBATH's "Heaven And Hell" and KANSAS' "Carry On Wayward Son", which are available for download from iTunes.
Produced by frontman Michael Sweet, "The Covering" will be unlike any previous STRYPER recording in that it's a collection of cover songs from bands that inspired them and helped to shape their sound and musical identity, including hits from JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, LED ZEPPELIN, KANSAS and many others. "The Covering" will also include "God", a new original recording from STRYPER.
"The Covering" cover artwork, which was recently described by Michael Sweet as "modern, powerful, edgy and thought-provoking." You forgot weird.....
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Teena Marie Dies At Age 54
Teena Marie, real name Mary Christine Brockert, passed away in her sleep at her home in California. The singer’s death was confirmed by her manager Mike Gardner, reports BBC News. The details and cause of death have not been announced, but the website babble.com has said that her 19-year-old daughter found her body and that Marie had suffered a serious grand mal seizure about a month ago.
Teena Marie was one of the rare white artists signed to the Motown label and won four Grammy nominations. After initial scepticism, she won huge acclaim from the black audience, who dubbed her “ivory queen of soul".
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New record stores in Istanbul keep old music format spinning
ÖZGÜR ÖGRET ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Far from becoming obsolete in a digital era, as many expected, the record format for music has remained popular enough for brand-new stores to be opened in Istanbul specializing in new and used vinyl.
Though sales can be slow, the collectors-turned-entrepreneurs who own these stores believe records will keep spinning well into the future.
“Vinyl records can be used for approximately 60 years,” longer than any other format, Mete Avunduk, owner of Vintage Plak in Istanbul’s Kadiköy district, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. A record collector since the mid-1980s, Avunduk said opening the store was “a natural result of collecting” and the best way to get introduced to more records.
Vintage Plak sells every type of record, at prices ranging from 3 to 300 Turkish Liras. Avunduk purchases records from antique shops domestically and from flea markets and tucked-away little stores abroad.
A vision of the Christmas celebrations of long ago came to me last weekend in a Best Buy store.
I had wandered down an aisle in the store — obviously some musical portal to my past — and artifacts from it were snuggled between iTunes or Napster gift cards and CD gift boxes of the best of The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
Vinyl record albums.
I had stumbled upon the music of my youth. I received record albums as Christmas gifts when I was younger. I bought vinyl LP albums for siblings and friends.
Scotty Moore - He played on the first Sun Studios session with Elvis Presley and went on to a lengthy career with Presley, playing on many of his most famous recordings including "Baby Let's Play House," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Mystery Train," "That's All Right," "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock." (1931)
Les Maguire - Gerry And The Pacemakers (1941)
Mike Pinder - Moody Blues (1941)
Mike Jones - Foreigner (1944)
Larry Byrom - Steppenwolf (1948)
Terry Bozzio - Missing Persons (1950)
Karla Bonoff (1952)
David Knopfler - Dire Straits (1952)
Youth - Killing Joke (1961)
Jeff Bryant - Ricochet (1962)
Matt Slocum - Sixpence None The Richer (1972)
Hayley Nichole Williams - Paramore (1988)
They Are Missed:
Blues guitarist Freddie King died of heart trouble and ulcers in 1976 (age 42). Eric Clapton covered his "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" on his Layla album. Major influence on British and American blues-rock musicians such as Jimmy Vaughan, Ronnie Earl, Peter Green and Eric Clapton.
American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader Hoagy Carmichael died in 1981 (age 82). Composer of "Georgia On My Mind," (covered by many acts including Ray Charles), "Star Dust" and "Lazy River,"
Walter Scott, lead singer of Bob Kuban & The In-Men, who scored a 1966 US hit with ‘The Cheater’, was seen alive for the last time in 1983. On April 10th, 1987, his badly decomposed, bound body was found floating face down in a cistern, he’d been shot in the back. Scott's second wife, Jo Ann Calceterra, pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution in his murder and received a five-year sentence. Her boyfriend (whom she married in 1986), James H. Williams Sr. was found guilty of two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Walter Scott as well as his previous wife, Sharon Williams. James Williams received two life terms.
In 2003, Dick St. John, one half of the singing team of Dick and Dee Dee, who recorded such hits as "The Mountain's High" (1961), "Young And In Love" (1963) and "Thou Shalt Not Steal" (1965), died from complications suffered in a fall from the roof of his home two weeks earlier. The 63 year-old singer had continued to record and performed regularly until his death.
Singer, songwriter, guitarist, Delaney Bramlett died in Los Angeles in 2008 from complications after gall bladder surgery. Was a member of Delaney, Bonnie & Friends and worked with George Harrison, The Everly Brothers, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, J.J. Cale, and Eric Clapton.
History:
In New York City in 1903, the barbershop quartet favorite, "Sweet Adeline," was sung for the first time.
The musical "Showboat" opened in New York in 1927.
Radio City Music Hall opened its doors to the public for the first time in 1932.
'The Glenn Miller Show,' also known as "Music that Satisfies," debuted on CBS radio in 1939.
In 1957, 20,000 fans begin lining up at 5:30 in the morning for Alan Freed's Christmas show at Brooklyn's Paramount Theatre, set to kick off at 9:00 AM. The average ticket price was $1.85.
In 1958, Buddy Holly made his first appearance in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas since he became a major star. Along with broadcasting 'live' over KLLL radio from a fruit and vegetable store, he will return to the station's studios to record "You're The One," a song that station management challenged him to write in half an hour.
In 1960, the Beatles appeared at Litherland Town Hall Ballroom in Liverpool. Added to the bill at the last minute, the Beatles were not advertised to appear, so banners had been pasted onto advertising posters, saying "Direct From Hamburg, The Beatles!" Since The Beatles were playing in an area they'd only played in once before, most of the audience assumed they were a German group.
In 1963, the music critics of the London Times name John Lennon and Paul McCartney as The Outstanding Composers of 1963. Two days later, the Sunday Times' music critic Richard Buckle proclaims the same two songwriters "the greatest composers since Beethoven."
The Supremes made their first appearance on TV's "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964.
Having taped “Light My Fire” and “Moonlight Drive” just days earlier (12/24) for the Jonathan Winters Show in 1967, the Doors wheel a TV on stage during their concert at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom so they can watch themselves on the Winters Show (and the audience can watch the band watching themselves). When the segment is over keyboardist Ray Manzarek turns off the TV and it’s rolled off the stage. Far out......
Led Zeppelin II was at #1 on the US album charts in 1969, it went on to sell over six million copies in the US alone. Still a great album!
Diana Ross and the Supremes went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1969 with "Someday We'll Be Together," the group's 12th US #1.
Miles Davis was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in 1969, on sale for 35 Cents.
"Hello, Dolly!" closed on Broadway in 1970 after an astonishing run of 2,844 performances.
In 1971, after a trial run as a summer replacement series, 'The Sonny and Cher Show' began its four and a half year run on CBS.
Former Gospel group, The Staple Singers, scored their second Billboard number one hit in 1975 with "Let's Do It Again." They had earlier topped the chart with "I'll Take You There."
The Four Seasons, "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" was released in 1975. I still hate the song to this day......
The Faces split became official in 1975. Rod Stewart had severed all connections with the group to work as a solo artist, Ron Wood was on permanent loan to the Stones, Ronnie Lane went on to form Slim Chance and drummer Kenny Jones joined The Who.
In 1975, future Smiths singer Steve Morrissey had a letter published in this week’s music magazine the NME, complaining about the lack of media coverage for the New York Dolls.
John and Yoko's 'Double Fantasy' album started an eight-week run a t#1 on the US chart in 1980. "Just Like Starting Over" started a five-week stay at #1 on the singles chart the same day.
In 1983, the Police played the first of four sold-out nights at Wembley Arena in London, England, on their Synchronicity world tour.
In 1989, a former chef at the Chuck Berry owned restaurant Southern Air started court proceedings against Berry alleging that the singer had installed secret video cameras in the ladies toilets. A further 200 other women also took action claiming that the recordings were used for improper sexual fetishes. Pigs......
Harry Connick Jr was arrested at Kennedy Airport, New York in 1992 after police discovered a 9mm pistol in his hand luggage. Ummm...DUH!
Mario was at #1 on the US singles chart in 2004 with "Let Me Love You."
In 2008, thieves broke into a house belonging to Allman Brothers Band singer and keyboardist Gregg Allman in Georgia and stole a coin collection, knives and unreleased concert recordings. Two men where charged with the burglary two days later.
Taylor Swift started a seven-week run at #1 on the US album charts in 2008 with ‘Fearless.'
Rolling Stone published their top Christmas songs, read more here
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love
Happy X-Mas (War is Over) - John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Bruce Springsteen
All I Want For Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
Little Saint Nick - Beach Boys
Run Rudolph Run - Chuck Berry
Chanukah Song - Adam Sandler
Frosty the Snowman - Ronettes
Do They Know It's Christmas - Band Aid
Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney
Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
The Night Santa Went Crazy - Weird Al Yankovic
Christmastime For the Jews - Darlene Love
Christmas in Hollis - Run-D.M.C.
Christmas in Harlem - Kanye West
Merry Christmas from the CVR Blog. Everyone have a great day with family and friends! Birthdays:
Phil Spector - producer, 'The Spector Wall Of Sound.' Member of Teddy Bears, (1958 US #1 single "To Know Him Is To Love Him"). Produced many classic songs including; Ben E King, "Spanish Harlem," the Crystals, "Da Doo Ron Ron," the Ronettes, "Baby I Love You," the Righteous Brothers, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," Ike and Tina Turner, "River Deep, Mountain High." Also produced albums for the Ramones, John Lennon, George Harrison, the Beatles, Cher and Harry Nilsson (1940)
Pete Brown - lyricist, poet, singer, producer, Cream. Also worked with Jack Bruce, Graham Bond, Mick Jagger and Peter Green (1940)
John Edwards - Spinners (1944)
Jimmy Buffett (1946)
Barbara Mandrell (1948)
Annie Lennox - Tourists, Eurythmics, Solo (1954)
Robin Campbell - UB40 (1954)
Shane MacGowan - Pogues (1957)
Alannah Myles (1958)
Dido (1971)
Noel Hogan - Cranberries (1971)
Josh Freese - Nine Inch Nails (1972)
They Are Missed:
In 1954, Johnny Ace ("Pledging My Love") died while playing Russian roulette backstage at a Houston, TX concert.
Born today in 1937, O'Kelly Isley, The Isley Brothers. Died on March 31,1986.
Born on this day in 1943, Trevor Lucas, Fairport Convention, UK folk group. Also worked with Al Stewart and The Strawbs. Lucas died February 4, 1989.
In 1994 Eugene "Bird" Daughtry, vocalist for The Intruders, who scored a Billboard #6 hit in 1968 with "Cowboys To Girls," died of cancer at the age of 55.
Singer, actor and TV host Dean Martin died in 1995. Had the 1956 US #1 single "Memories Are Made Of This" plus other singles including "That's Amore," and "Everybody Loves Somebody." In 1965, Martin launched his weekly NBC comedy-variety series, The Dean Martin Show.
Born on this day in 1944, Henry Vestine, guitar, Canned Heat. Died on October 20, 1997.
Bryan MacLean, guitarist with Love, died of a heart attack in 1998 while having Christmas dinner with a young fan who was researching a book about the band (age 62).
Born today in 1945, Noel Redding, bass, Jimi Hendrix Experience. Died on May 11, 2003 (age 57).
In 2006, James Brown, the ‘Godfather of Soul,' died at the age of 73 after being diagnosed with severe pneumonia. Brown went to his dentist in Atlanta the previous day who told him something was wrong, and sent him to a doctor immediately. He recorded more than 50 albums and had well over 100 songs that hit the US charts, including "I Got You", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Cold Sweat" and "Sex Machine."
In 2008, American actress, singer, and cabaret star Eartha Kitt died from colon cancer at her Weston, Connecticut home at the age of 81. Best known for her 1953 Christmas song "Santa Baby."
History:
"Silent Night" was performed for the first time in 1818, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.
In 1954, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" entered the Billboard Pop chart for the eleventh time. Bing's rendition has sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles. It was the largest selling single in music history until it was surpassed by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997."
In 1958, it was the first day of a 10-day residency in Alan Freeds Christmas rock n' roll spectacular in New York with Chuck Berry, Frankie Avalon, Dion, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley and The Everly Brothers.
Richard Starkey, 18, who later would be known as Ringo Starr, received a drum set for Christmas in 1959.
In 1960, 17 year-old Mary Wells made her debut on the US charts with her first release, "Bye Bye Baby." The record will make the R&B Top Ten and the Pop Top Fifty. Over the next five years, she will provide Motown with eleven Top Forty hits.
Also in 1960, James Taylor received his first guitar, at the age of 12.
In 1964, Beatles fans attacked George Harrison's girlfriend Patti Boyd as they arrived at London's Hammersmith Odeon for tonight's Beatles concert.
The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Miracles, Stevie Wonder and the Marvelettes all appeared at The Fox Theatre, Brooklyn, New York in 1964.
Also in 1964, the Beatles, recorded six songs for the BBC radio program Saturday Club in London: "Rock and Roll Music," "I'm a Loser," "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby," "I Feel Fine," "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey" and "She's a Woman."
Additionally more from 1964 - Murray The K's Big Holiday Show goes on as scheduled with the Zombies, the Nashville Teens and the Hullabaloos after the US Labor Department lifted a ban on granting British artists work visas. The Britain's Musicians Union had retaliated by canceling Fats Domino's upcoming Spring tour, before the whole matter was dropped.
Lou Christie's biggest song, "Lightning Strikes" entered Billboard's Hot 100 in 1965 for a 15 week stay . Although he would have many other hits, this would be Christie's only number one.
Having topped out at #45 in Great Britain, the Dave Clark Five's "Over and Over" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. It would prove to be their only chart topper, although they would place sixteen songs in the US Top 30 during their career. They became the 7th UK act of the year to score a US #1 single.
The Young Rascals entered the Hot 100 for the first time in 1965 with "I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore," which will peak at #52.
The Beatles 6th album 'Rubber Soul' started a nine-week run at #1 on the UK chart in 1965. It spent a total of 42 week's on the UK chart and was also a #1 in the US.
On Christmas Day in 1967, Paul McCartney became engaged to actress Jane Asher. She would end the relationship in early 1968 because of Paul's alleged infidelities.
Melanie started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart in 1971 with "Brand New Key," a song that she would later say took her only fifteen minutes to write It was the first release on her new label Neighbourhood Records.
The Eagles started a eight-week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1976 with 'Hotel California.'
John Lydon's new group, Public Image Ltd, played their first live gig at the Rainbow Theatre, London in 1978.
Michael Jackson phoned Paul McCartney in 1981 and suggested they write and record together, the first result being "The Girl Is Mine." The song was a US #2 & UK #8 in 1982.
In 1981, the J. Geils Band played a Christmas concert for the inmates of Norfolk Correctional Center near Boston, the group's hometown. Following the show, lead singer Peter Wolf tells the audience, "We wanna be the first to buy you all a free drink on the outside."
In one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history, and surely the strangest, 30-year-old David Bowie and 73-year-old Bing Crosby achieved the number one song in the UK in 1982 with "Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy." The song had been recorded in September, 1977 when Crosby was in Great Britain to tape a TV special called Merrie Olde Christmas and having him share a number with Bowie was the brainchild of producers Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion. After the recording circulated as a bootleg for several years, RCA decided to issue it as a single. It has since become a holiday standard, but it is entirely possible that neither Crosby or Bowie were familiar with each other's work.
On Christmas Day in 1990, James Brown was given a 4 day furlough from prison, during which time he performed his first concert in two years. Brown played for an crowd of Ft. Jackson, South Carolina soldiers whose leave had been cancelled because of the impending Gulf War.
Mariah Carey started a four week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1993 with "Hero." Also on this day, Mariah went to #1 on the US album chart with 'Music Box.'
Mariah Carey was at #1 on the US singles chart in 1995 with "Daydream."
In 2003, Michael Jackson recorded his first interview since news of the allegations of sexual abuse with a 12-year old boy. He told the CBS TV network he would 'slit his wrists' before he would hurt a child. He also claimed he suffered a dislocated shoulder after police 'manhandled' him and treated him 'very roughly' during his arrest.
In 2006, an in-concert version of Pink Floyd's "Arnold Layne" performed by Floyd's David Gilmour, with guest vocals by David Bowie, was released as a digital download. Recorded earlier in the year at London's Royal Albert Hall, the song is part of a limited-edition three-track EP dedicated to the memory of the song's composer, Syd Barrett. A 10-inch vinyl version of the EP is available the following day.
Here is the last installment of Rock & Roll Trivia, I hope you enjoyed these oddities and stories behind the music we love:
The set on which Rick Nelson appeared in the TV show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, was an exact copy of the Nelson's real Hollywood home.
Frank Sinatra once called Rock and Roll "The most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression it has been my displeasure to hear."
The musicians who backed The Chiffons on their 1963 #1 hit "He's So Fine" were all members of The Tokens, who had scored their own chart topper with "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1961.
In the Fall of 1965, while the Four Seasons' "Let's Hang On" was a Billboard #3 smash, they also scored a #12 hit with "Don't Think Twice" under the name of The Wonder Who. At the same time, lead singer Franki Valli reached #39 with a solo release called "You're Gonna Hurt Yourself", giving him three Top 40 hits at the same time, all under different names.
While talking on the phone with his mother, Disc Jockey Murray The K mentioned that he and Bobby Darin were soaking their feet after playing a game of softball in Central Park. A few minutes later, she called back to say that she had an idea for a song - "Splish, Splash, take a bath..." Murray and Bobby began sorting out some lyrics while Murray's mother, Jean, who had been a vaudeville piano player, finished the melody. It became the first of Bobby's 22 US Top 40 hits when it reached #3 in the Summer of 1958.
The Beatles recorded two different versions of the song "Strawberry Fields Forever". One was a half-tone higher and slightly faster than the other. The group couldn't decide which rendition they liked better and finally asked producer George Martin if he could put them together somehow. When one was slowed down, it fit perfectly with the other, resulting in the song we know today.
Apparently, Little Richard was not a real smart child. As a lad, he wanted to give one of his neighbors a "creative gift." But his neighbor, Miz Ola screamed when she opened her present. It seems young Richard thought that defecating in a box and wrapping it up as a present for his elderly friend would be a good gift for her. Little Richard stated in his autobiography: "God bless Miz Ola, she's dead now." No word on if he selected other neighbors to receive his thoughtful gift.
When Malcolm Young and Angus Young named their band AC/DC, they apparently didn't realize that the electrical term was also slang for bisexual. But the ambiguous name helped them out in the beginning as the group was hired to play many gay-themed gigs. Work is work, I guess.
In the early days, the Bee Gees were so desperate to sell their records that they actually gave members of their fan club money to go out and buy their records. Thankfully, there were only six members in the fan club or the trio would be broke.
Ironically, only Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys was the group's only surfer.
When Elvis Presley was inducted into the US Army on March 24th, 1958, Uncle Sam started losing an estimated $500,000 in lost taxes for each year that Private Presley served. Ship him off...makes sense to me...
In a tale of irony, Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead was brought in as a session musician to play steel guitar on Brewer and Shipley's March, 1971 hit, "One Toke Over The Line".
Jorma Kaukonen - Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna (1940)
Ron Bushy - Iron Butterfly (1941)
Ariel Bender - Mott The Hoople, Spooky Tooth (1949)
Dave Murray - Iron Maiden (1958)
Eddie Vedder - Pearl Jam (1964)
Montsho Eshe - Arrested Development (1974)
They Are Missed:
Born today in 1939, Johnny Kidd - Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, (1960 UK #1 single 'Shakin' All Over'). Killed in a car crash while on tour in Manchester, England on October 7, 1966.
Born on this day in 1946, Duster Bennett, singer, guitarist, harmonica player. Worked with Alexis Korner, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac and B.B. King. Killed in a car crash on 26th March 1976.
Born today in 1941, Tim Hardin, US singer, songwriter. Wrote "Reason To Believe" and "If I Were A Carpenter." Died of a heroin overdose on December 29, 1980.
Born on this day in 1935, Esther Phillips, US soul singer. She died on August 7, 1984.
In 1984, 48-year-old Dan Hamilton, of Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds, suffered a stroke and died. The group is most often remembered for their 1971 hit, "Don't Pull Your Love."
Jackie Landry of The Chantels died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 56. The group placed four songs on the Billboard Top 40 between 1958 and 1961, including "Maybe" (#15) and "Look In My Eyes" (#14), as well as an answer to Ray Charles' "Hit The Road Jack" called "Well, I Told You" (#29).
Born today in 1940, Eugene Record, vocals, The Chi-lites, (1972 US #1 single "Oh Girl"). He died of cancer on July 22, 2005.
Clint Ballard Jr. died in 2008. He wrote "Game Of Love," a hit for Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders and Linda Ronstadt's, "You're No Good." His songs have been recorded by The Hollies, Frankie Avalon, Ricky Nelson, The Zombies and Jan And Dean.
History:
The Champs recorded their signature song "Tequila" in 1957.
In 1957, the title song to his movie 'April Love' becomes Pat Boone's fifth US number one hit.
The Drifters recorded "This Magic Moment" in 1959.
In 1959, Chuck Berry was arrested for transporting a minor across a state line for an immoral purpose. Berry claimed he was only giving a young lady a ride to her job as a hat-check girl at his St. Louis nightclub. Unbeknown to Berry, 14 year old Janice Norine was working as a prostitute. Although he will be convicted and given a five year sentence, the charges are eventually dropped after the judge allegedly made racist remarks.
During his first visit to the UK in 1962, Bob Dylan performed at the King and Queen pub in London’s West End, the singer songwriter’s third UK gig.
The Beatles appeared at the Star-Club, Hamburg, West Germany in 1962.
In 1964, pirate station 'Radio London,' started broadcasting from the former US Minesweeper 'Mv Galaxy.'
Also in 1964, the Beach Boys make their debut appearance on Shindig, a nationally televised pop music program. Because it’s the holidays they perform “Little St. Nick.” Later that evening, the Beach Boys leader and creative force, Brian Wilson, suffers a nervous breakdown as the group flies from L.A. to Houston. This breakdown, plus another two over the next 18 months, forces Wilson to cease performing with the group. Glen Campbell replaced Wilson for the bands live shows.
BBC-TV broadcast Ready, Steady Go! for the last time in 1966 after the Musicians Union enforced a ban on miming. The weekly program was the UK's most popular Pop music television show, helping many of Britain's finest musical acts get their start. The special guests for the farewell show are Mick Jagger, The Who, Eric Burdon, The Spencer Davis Group, Donovan and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich. Music shouldn't be 'mimed,' ever.....
The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Foxy Lady" was released in 1967.
In 1968, Apple Records hosted a party for employees' children with John Lennon and Yoko Ono acting as Santa and Mrs. Claus. No injuries were reported, as Yoko didn't sing....
In 1969, Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin begin writing songs together. The pair have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.
In 1972, the former manager of Grand Funk Railroad, Terry Knight, showed up at a benefit concert staged by the group, along with two deputy sheriffs and a moving van. Knight has a court order that gives him the right to seize and hold $1 million in money or assets pending settlement of several lawsuits between the him and the band. However, since the show can't go on without the equipment, Knight is not allowed to touch the amps or drums until after the concert.
Also in 1972 - Little Jimmy Osmond started a five week run at the top of the UK singles chart with "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool." At nine years of age, he was the youngest person to have a UK #1 record.
John Lennon's film "Imagine" premiered on national TV in 1972.
George Harrison released a holiday single in 1974, "Ding Dong, Ding Dong."
Cat Stevens formally changed his name to Yusef Islam in 1977.
Rod Stewart gets in on the Disco craze in 1978 when the insipid cut "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" was released. It would rise to the top of the Billboard chart during an amazing 18 week run.
1979 New records making their first appearance on the US record charts in 1979 included: Rod Stewart's "I Don't Want to Talk About It," Anne Murray's "Daydream Believer," Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker" and Neil Diamond's "September Morn."
During a concert by LL Cool J at a Rollerrink in Baltimore in 1985, a fight broke out, one person was trampled underfoot and three people were shot. Not Cool J....
In 1985, Judas Priest fans Raymond Belknap and James Vance shot themselves after listening to the Judas Priest album ‘Stained Class.’ The two had drunk beer, smoked marijuana and then listened to hours of the album. Afterwards they took a shotgun to a nearby school playground where Belknap shot and killed himself. Vance then blew away his jaw, mouth and nose but lived for more than three years before dying of effects of the shooting.
Phil Collins started a four week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1989 with "Another Day In Paradise," his 7th US solo #1 hit.
In 1991 - James Brown sued the producers of the movie "The Commitments." Brown claimed that one of the characters too closely resembled him. He lost the case.
In 1999, George Harrison's home in Maui was broken into by Cristin Keleher, who cooked a frozen pizza, drank beer from the fridge, started some laundry and phoned her mother in New Jersey. Keleher was arrested and charged with burglary and theft.
In 2002, Sir Paul McCartney was granted his own coat of arms by the College of Arms, the English heraldic body formed in 1484. The crest features a bird that appears to be holding a guitar in its claw. Four curved emblems resembling beetles' backs reflect his career with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The motto is "Ecce Cor Meum", Latin for "Behold My Heart", which is the title of an oratorio he composed. McCartney applied for the crest in 1997, the year he was knighted for his contribution to British music and society, but the death of his first wife Linda in 1998 delayed its design and approval.
In 2005, Geezer Butler, the bass player with Black Sabbath offered £5,000 ($7,700) for any information leading to the safe return of Toga, the three-month-old penguin that had been stolen from a zoo on the Isle of Wight a few days earlier.
Ciara was at #1 on the US album chart in 2006 with ‘Ciara : The Evolution’ the American singers second album.
In 2007, the Police were named as the highest earning touring group for the past year, bringing in nearly £66.5m, ($132m). The band's 54 date North American tour had generated almost double the total of the second-placed act, Country star Kenny Chesney.
In 2008, a spokesman for Michael Jackson denied reports the singer was suffering from a rare respiratory disease and was in need of a lung transplant. Dr Tohme Tohme said in a statement issued to Reuters that stories claiming the singer was unwell were not true. He added that author Ian Halperin had made the claims to promote his unauthorised biography of the 50-year-old singer.
Also in 2008 - A cassette tape of John Lennon performing Lloyd Price's "Just Because" sold at auction in Los Angeles for $30,000 (£20,200). The song was recorded 'live' with an unknown backing band in the autumn of 1973, during the 18-month period Lennon later called his "lost weekend," when he left his wife Yoko Ono and moved from New York to Los Angeles.
In 2009, Ozzy Osbourne, blasted the Christmas holiday saying the best Christmas he ever had was when he was unconscious after breaking his neck in an ’03 ATV accident. "I hate Christmas, I hate it," humbugs Ozzy. "Everything stops. When I used to drink it was a good excuse to get drunk for two weeks. Now I just hate it. I have to unravel all these presents. What a waste of paper!" I'm with you Ozzie - Bah Humbug!
DEAR JERRY:One of the Sirius satellite oldies channel dee jays played “The Chipmunk Song,” then followed it by saying it is the only Christmas record ever to be the nation's No. 1 hit on Christmas day.
If true, that is utterly amazing! With so many holiday million sellers, it's hard to imagine they either didn't make it to No. 1, or did but not on December 25th.
Please make some sense out of this for me. —Darlene Watson, Deming, N.M.
DEAR DARLENE: To be truly accurate, the announcer could have said: Since 1948, “The Chipmunk Song” is the only Christmas song to be No. 1 on Christmas day.
Although, I suppose it is reasonable to think listeners would appreciate an amazing Chipmunk factoid, one reflecting over 60 years of recordings. It obviously sparked your curiosity.
First came Spike Jones and His City Slickers, atop the chart December 25, 1948 with “All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth).”
The next time, and the last, is when David Seville and his Chipmunks (Alvin, Theodore, Simon) held the No. 1 position for four weeks, beginning December 22, 1958.
Between Jones and Seville are a couple of hits that came mighty close:
Gene Autry missed December 25th by a few days in 1949, but still reached No. 1 with “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Jimmy Boyd did the same with “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” in 1952.
Moreover, not since “The Chipmunk Song” has any real Christmas song even reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100.
One significant sidebar involves some arbitrary years, mostly from 1963 through '73, when, for four weeks (mid-December to mid-January) Billboard relegated Christmas singles and albums to a completely separate section. Over the years, the title of this feature changed four times: “Christmas Records”; “Top Christmas Sellers”; “Best Bets for Christmas”; and “Christmas Hits.”
Cash Box, meanwhile, continued to rank holiday hits among their regular Top 100.
Billboard's section for Christmas records was geared to retailers and coin machine operators, and most of the listings were “catalog” titles — perennial favorites of years past.
Recapping familiar Christmas product with some selected new releases added is fine, but this service could have been accomplished without completely eliminating holiday music from the esteemed Hot 100.
Were this ill-advised plan in effect in 1958, “The Chipmunk Song” would have sold millions of records without even being regarded as smash hit it was.
Nevertheless, I do not believe any of the singles denied a chart opportunity by the Christmas format would have reached No. 1 anyway.
I chose some examples of singles that, if they were eligible, would have probably made the Billboard Hot 100. As an analogous reference, the Cash Box Top 100 peak position of each is given:
1963: Brook Benton, “You're All I Want for Christmas” (59); Bing Crosby, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” (66); Beach Boys, “Little Saint Nick” (69); Andy Williams, “White Christmas” (81); Alan Sherman, “The Twelve Gifts of Christmas” (93).
1965: Jim Reeves, “Snow Flake” (58).
1967: Royal Guardsmen, “Snoopy's Christmas” (10); Becky Lamb, “Little Becky's Christmas Wish” (59); Lou Rawls, “The Little Drummer Boy” (78).
1970: Carpenters, “Merry Christmas Darling” (41).
1971: John & Yoko with the Plastic Ono Band, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” (36).
1972: Singing Dogs, “Jingle Bells” (72); Leon Russell, “Slipping into Christmas” (94).
1973: Elton John, “Step into Christmas” (56).
Billboard's intent during the years of the separate Christmas listings was to not include holiday records among their Hot 100; however, a couple apparently slipped through the cracks.
In mid-December 1963, the “National Breakout” tune (i.e., highest debut of any new single), Roy Orbison's “Pretty Paper,” began a seven week chart ride eventually peaking at No. 15. It was the only Christmas song on the Pop chart that season, but was reassigned to the Christmas section in December '64.
The same thing happened in 1973 with Merle Haggard's “If We Make It Through December.” Even though Christmas is mentioned twice in the lyrics, this one is more about December, and getting through the winter.
Appropriately, it did well on all three regular charts (Country, Pop, and Easy Listening), plus is in the 1973 Christmas section.
“If We Make It Through December” is the only record ever to appear on all four of those surveys in the same year.
IZ ZAT SO? Today's Christmas singles topic is bound to inspire the same inquiry regarding albums, so let's meet it head-on.
On December 16, 1957, when “Elvis' Christmas Album” began a four week residency at No. 1, it marked the first time a Christmas LP (long play) topped the charts on Christmas day.
It would also be the last time for that rare amalgamation. It never happened again!
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 2010 Osborne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission
The studio group who helped Boz Scaggs record the bulk of his hits in the 1970s, including "Lido Shuffle" and "Lowdown" would go on to form the nucleus of the band Toto. Jeff Porcaro, David Hungate and David Paich scored four Top Ten hits of their own with "I Won't Hold Back" (#10), "Hold The Line" (#5), "Rosanna" (#2) and "Africa" (#1).
In 1984, former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page founded a new band called The Firm with ex Bad Company and Free vocalist Paul Rodgers. Page said the group was to be a vehicle to show people that he was not a washed up drug user. In the fall of the same year, he was arrested for possession of cocaine.
Janis Ian got the inspiration for her hit "At Seventeen" while sitting at the kitchen table reading a New York Times article about a debutante. The opening line of the story was "I learned the truth at 18." Janis wrote the lyrics as "at seventeen" because it flowed better.
Five different record companies, including Decca, Roulette, Columbia, RCA and Atlantic turned down "That'll Be The Day" by Buddy Holly. Finally, Bob Thiele at Coral / Brunswick Records heard the demo and signed Holly to a contract.
In order to give fans a "gold record", the first 100,000 copies of "We're An American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad were stamped out of gold colored vinyl.
Lesley Gore appeared in two episodes of the TV show Batman in 1966. She played the role of "Pussycat", one of Catwoman's henchwomen. She may have had a little help landing the role, as Howie Horwitz, one of the show's producers, was her uncle.
Even though they have such strange names as Moon Unit, Diva, Dweezil and Ahmet Rodan, Frank Zappa once said that he believed that his kids would always have more trouble because of their last name.
Years before scoring 1972's number one smash "I Can See Clearly Now", Johnny Nash entered a talent show in Houston Texas. He lost to a young Soul singer named Joe Tex, who would have a chart topping hit of his own in 1968 with "Skinny Legs and All".
Jimi Hendrix was hired as the Monkees opening act for their 1967 Summer tour. Unfortunately, US audiences had never seen anything like Hendrix before and booed him off of the stage. He quit the tour after two weeks.
According to BMI, the performing rights organization that represents, songwriters, composers and music publishers, Mason Williams' 1968 hit, "Classical Gas" has received more radio airplay than any other instrumental.
Before starting his run at the legendary Whisky A Go Go, Johnny Rivers hired a fill-in bass player named Sylvester Stewart. Things didn't go well the first night and Stewart was promptly fired. A few years later, he would re-appear on the music scene as the leader of his own band...Sly and The Family Stone.
According to guitarist Robbie Robertson, Bob Dylan's backup band resisted all conformity, even naming their ensemble. After landing their own recording contract, record company executives pressed them for a group name, but had to settle for simply The Band.
In April, 1967, the Greyhound bus company began offering a guided tour of what they called "Hippyland" in San Francisco.
According to producer Mickie Most, The Animals went into a recording studio at 8 A.M. to cut "House Of The Rising Sun" and 15 minutes later, the track was complete. With studio time costing the equivalent of $20 an hour, the song cost $5 to record, but would go on to top both the US and UK charts. Amazing....
It is being reported that Green Day are readying a new two-disc set live album for release in early 2011. The album, 'Awesome As Fuck', is listed by online retailers as having a US release date of March 15.
The band first announced they were planning a new live album last August via their official Twitter page, Twitter.com/greenday. "We've been recording our live shows since the beginning of tour," they wrote. "Possible live album coming."
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The Worst Christmas Album Covers Ever
Gigwise gets in the festive spirit...
With Christmas less than a week away and Father Christmas's sleigh bells tinkling away in the distance, Gigwise has gone all festive this week.
Check out some really bad x-mas album cover art: Gigwise.com
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Yes, this does happen in real life, although my thoughts are that the man knew what he had and wanted to donate to the charity. Read for yourself and decide.....
Woodbridge: Rare Beatles albums found at charity shop
By Jonathan Barnes
A CHARITY shop received some early Christmas presents when it was donated rare, high-value records by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Staff at the British Red Cross shop, in Woodbridge, UK, were delighted to find many of the vinyl LPs were worth more than £50.
The most valuable is a first pressing of The Beatles’ debut album Please Please Me, which has a rare gold and black label. Experts believe it is worth £230.
Early copies of Fab Four albums With The Beatles, Rubber Soul and Revolver have been valued at £50 each, while three Rolling Stones records – all first pressings – have also been individually priced at £50.
The rare vinyl records on sale also include albums by 60s legends The Hollies, The Monkees and Adam Faith.
The LPs, all in excellent condition, were among bags and boxes of records brought into the shop, in the Thoroughfare, by a man who was seemingly clearing out his record collection.
Staff do not know who the man was, but wish to thank him again for his donation.
Merriam Keeble, manager of the shop, said: “The records were brought in as a job lot – there were bags of them and a couple of boxes.
A zebra crossing in London that became a Mecca for Beatles fans after it featured on one of their album covers has been given "listed" status.
Thousands of people, including other bands, have recreated the photograph of the Fab Four walking across Abbey Road more than 40 years ago.
Now the site has been given Grade II status by the heritage minister John Penrose - a status normally given to buildings.
The crossing is outside the world-famous Abbey Road studios where Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr recorded much of their music.
Sir Paul welcomed the news, saying: "It's been a great year for me and a great year for The Beatles and hearing that the Abbey Road crossing is to be preserved is the icing on the cake."
Countless online and print music publications, as well as grassroots campaigns such as Record Story Day, have extolled ad infinium the virtues of supporting your local brick and mortar music store – a seemingly altruistic notion in the presence of free and cheap music online. However, when you buy music at the record shop, you’re not just supporting them, you’re helping yourself in the end (at least if you’re a music fan). Some people, as recently demonstrated here in Louisville, don’t see the value in an influential and active physical goods music destination, so The Decibel Tolls is adding another commentary to the fray before our holiday shopping season ends. This one’s for the haters.
Just before Thanksgiving, ear X-tacy – a record store that publications like Rolling Stone, SPIN, and Paste have ranked as one of the best in the country – created a FaCeBoO!k event with this video message from owner John Timmons asking for the city’s continued support.
Per norm, few releases this holiday week, although some major stars are releasing and reissuing some fantastic music. As always, CVR Blog picks are in red:
ABBA -The Vinyl Collection Box Set(9-LP box set) (vinyl)
Adele - Rolling the Deep
Alexanre Desplat-Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows-Pt 1: Limited Edition Collector's Box Set (soundrack)
Asking Alexandria - Life Gone Wild
Avant - The Letter
Bill Haley & the Comets - Bill Haley & the Comets (Hits) Boston -Boston (vinyl) Buzzcocks - Trade Test Transmissions
Carter Burwell - True Grit (soundtrack)
Chicken Shack - Unlucky Boy
Dave Van Ronk - Sings
Dock Boggs - Dock Boggs
Dock Boggs - Volume 2
Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now
Frank Sinatra - A Swingin' Affair
Frank Sinatra - Close to You
Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me / Come Dance With Me
Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours
Frank Sinatra - Look to Your Heart
Frank Sinatra - No One Cares
Frank Sinatra - Only the Lonely
Frank Sinatra - Swing Easy / Songs for Young Lovers
Frank Sinatra - This Is Sinatra
Frank Sinatra - This Is Sinatra 2
Frank Sinatra - Where Are You Funkadelic - The Electric Spanking of War Babies (Vinyl)
Ghostface Killah - Apollo Kids
Hex Hector - Allura
Jamie Foxx - Best Night of My Life John Lee Hooker - Original Texas Slim
John Lee Hooker - Sings Blues Jonathan Richman - O Moon, Queen of Night on Earth (vinyl)
June Carter Cash - Press On (reissue) (vinyl)
Keri Hilson - No Boys Allowed
Keyshia Cole - Calling All Hearts
Kinks - Introspective (vinyl)
Little Johnny Taylor & Bobby Patterson - Volume 3: Soul Jewels
Loreena McKennitt - Wind That Shakes the Barley (vinyl) Marc Bolan & T-Rex - Thunderwing
Mike Bloomfield - Live Adventures (vinyl)
Motley Crue - Afraid (2 Remixes)
Mott the Hoople - London to Memphis
New Lost City Ramblers - With Cousin Emmy
Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday (vinyl) Otis Rush - I Cant Quit You Baby
Perry Como - Dream Along with Mr. C
R Kelly - Love Letter
Ride - Nowhere (reissue) (vinyl)
Royal Thunder - Royal Thunder
Scott Miller - Are You With Me?
Smoke Fairies - Through Low Light & Trees
Thunderhead - Classic Killers Live
Tom Waits - Closing Time (reissue) (vinyl)
Tom Waits - Heart of Saturday Night (reissue) (vinyl)
Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner (reissue) (vinyl)
Tom Waits - Small Change (reissue) (vinyl)
Tony Bennett - Golden Songs
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.
New Music Releases are put together from a variety of sources by blog owner Robert Benson
(vinyl)
(vinyl)
