The Beach Boys' Bruce Johnston Speaks On "A GRAMMY Salute To The Beach Boys"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD3m7WdM75s





The Beach Boys' Al Jardine Speaks In Awe About "A GRAMMY Salute To The Beach Boys"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe4H2LjThrw




Watch Norah Jones Reflect On The Beach Boys' Timelessness


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWCBG3u_x9Y

The Real King of Rock and Roll: New Doc Trailer Delves Into the Life and Music of Little Richard
Little Richard: I Am Everything will be released in April

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/little-richard-documentary-i-am-everything-trailer-watch-1234696707/

"[Brian]: You know, there's nothing like grand opera.
[Al]: Yep and that was nothing like it."

https://kidadl.com/quotes/statler-and-waldorf-quotes-from-the-muppets-old-hecklers


 

The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll: A Conversation With Author Peter Guarlnick


https://youtu.be/zLF-puNYGFo


Michael Gray, VP of Museum Services at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum discusses songs from Sun Records that shaped the future of rock and roll with Peter Guralnick, co-author of the new book The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Illustrated Story of Sun Records and the 70 Recordings That Changed The World.






The Birth of Rock ’n’ Roll: The Illustrated History of Sun Records & the 70 Records that Changed the World






https://sunrecords.com/the-birth-of-rock-n-roll-the-illustrated-history-of-sun-records-the-70-records-that-changed-the-world/

50th Anniversary 12 CD Boxed Set, Soul’d Out: The Complete Wattstax Collection, Honors Legendary Festival And The Social Movement It Supported


https://audiophilereview.com/audiophile-music/50th-anniversary-12-cd-boxed-set-sould-out-the-complete-wattstax-collection-honors-legendary-festival-and-the-social-movement-it-supported/?

Turning 50, 'Elvis On Tour' remains a valuable document of the 1970s
'Elvis On Tour' shows Presley in the midst of the whirlwind touring that dominated his career in the 1970s. 'Elvis On Tour' directors and members of Elvis' backing band tell about the experience — with the film now reissued as an expanded edition in a Blu-ray/CD set.


https://www.goldminemag.com/features/turning-50-elvis-on-tour-remains-a-valuable-document-of-the-1970s

Beautiful! 

And another one gone. FWIW you can find Rhodes playing on Beach Boys and Brian Wilson recordings. He was also part of the Boys' band seen rehearsing for Fan Fair in '96.


Michael Rhodes, Esteemed Bassist and Nashville Session Musician, Dies at 69
Rhodes passed away at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, the morning of March 4.


https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/michael-rhodes-dead-1235279997/

The 50th Anniversary Of Wattstax Benefit Concert Celebrated With New Releases
Stax Records and Craft Recordings have announced a series of releases paying homage to the iconic Wattstax Benefit Concert which took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 20, 1972.

Soul’d Out: The Complete Wattstax Collection is a 12-CD box set featuring the complete 1972 L.A. Memorial Coliseum concert plus recordings from the Summit Club, including 31 previously unreleased tracks across the collection. These recordings are housed in a folio with a 76-page, full-color book featuring an introduction by Wattstax creator Al Bell, and new essays by Rob Bowman and A. Scott Galloway.



https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/wattstax-benefit-concert-50th-anniversary/





Soul’d Out: The Complete Wattstax Collection (Official Trailer)

https://youtu.be/1CKJcytOX0o








Wattstax drew 100,000 people — this 1972 concert was about much more than music


https://www.npr.org/2023/03/02/1158876105/wattstax-drew-100-000-people-this-1972-concert-was-about-much-more-than-music

Gary Rossington, founding Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist, dies at 71


https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-03-06/gary-rossington-death-lynyrd-skynyrd-guitarist-statement

The Beach Boys -- Summer Of Love -- Music Video -- [ remastered, 4K ]


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzSJ-trgybA



I'm sorry to post this, but the quality is really great, which means you can enjoy things like this even more:

Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin explain The Beach Boys' unique creative success in the early 1970s
With the release of The Beach Boys box set 'Sail on Sailor — 1972,' creative brilliance reveals itself through a variety of songs from the albums 'Carl and The Passions — “So Tough”' in 1972, 'Holland' in 1973, and more. Jardine and Chaplin detail it all in exclusive interviews.


https://www.goldminemag.com/interviews/al-jardine-and-blondie-chaplin-explain-the-beach-boys-unique-creative-success-in-the-early-1970s?

Wayne Shorter, jazz saxophone pioneer, dies at 89
Shorter, a tenor saxophonist, made his debut in 1959 and would go on to be a foundational member of two of the most seminal jazz groups: Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the Miles Davis Quintet.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/wayne-shorter-jazz-saxophone-pioneer-dies-89-rcna73145

Smithsonian Announces New Releases Drawn From Legendary Mack McCormick Collection
Releases Include Book “Biography of a Phantom,” Box Set “Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from the Collection of Mack McCormick, 1958 – 1971” and Display at National Museum of American History


When blues master Johnson’s little-known recordings were rereleased to great fanfare in the 1960s, little was known about his life, giving rise to the legend that he gained success by selling his soul to the devil. On April 4, Smithsonian Books will publish Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey, McCormick’s all-consuming search, from the late 1960s until his death in 2015, to uncover Johnson’s life story. McCormick spent decades reconstructing Johnson’s mysterious life and developing theories about his untimely death at the age of 27, but never made his discoveries public. Smithsonian Books will publish this compelling work, Biography of a Phantom, for the first time, including 40 unseen black-and-white photographs documenting McCormick’s search. More information and how to preorder the book are available.


Source: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-announces-new-releases-drawn-legendary-mack-mccormick-collection





New Robert Johnson biography to feature unreleased photos and new life insights, Smithsonian announces
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - New details will be revealed about the life and circumstances of one of the most mysterious figures in American music next month, according to an announcement made by the Smithsonian Institute last week.


A new biography of Johnson entitled “Biography of a Phantom” was left unfinished by folklorist Mack McCormick, who died in 2015. Now, the book is set to be released on April 4 by Smithsonian Books. The biography is expected to fill much-discussed gaps left open by a lack of record-keeping during the blues guitarist’s life. Johnson died a mysterious death at age 27 in 1938 after a performance in the Mississippi Delta.


Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/new-robert-johnson-biography-to-feature-unreleased-photos-and-new-life-insights-smithsonian-announces/ar-AA185Rd9 

I've never seen the Boys giving this award to Prince (where was Carl?):



American Music Awards, Los Angeles 1985

https://youtu.be/9tRKLSDmRfg?t=38

So, it looks like I will have some hours to spend in Copenhagen in April and thought I'd look for some used vinyl. Do you have any recommendations for a record shop? Broadly speaking, I'm looking for blues/soul/rock/country/jazz/pop up until the early 70s.

Oh, okay. They have used this fake-stereo which is currently very popular in the bootleg scene, it seems. Again, I've only listened through my laptop speakers and therefor can't say very much about the quality. But the show is great. It's also good to hear Burton having a solo on "Hound Dog". Songs like "Hound Dog" and "Blue suede Shoes" benefit from a guitar solo because otherwise Elvis just ran through them in under one minute.

What about the FTD release opening night Jan 1972-do you think that will be any good or was that not a great show?

I like that show very much. But I am not sure I understand what you mean. Has there a FTD release of this show been announced (I have not kept track of the FTD concert releases)? There's a recent release by the Memphis Recording Service label which I only listened to via youtube and through laptop speakers, but it sounded ok.
The show itself is really good imo. And the setlist was full of "new" songs. You can see that Elvis and his band put a lot of work into this. Then again it probably was the last time that he presented a fresh show, except for a couple of months in '74/'75.

For the upcoming Record Store Day:





"Burning Love: The RCA Rehearsals compiles the best of the recordings made during rehearsals for Elvis’ April 1972 US tour, and the tracks are all taken from the new Elvis On Tour collection.

The 2LP Record Store Day 2023 set features rare and unreleased versions of “Burning Love”, “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Jailhouse Rock,” [sic!] along with some of Elvis’ favorite cover songs, gospel songs and more."


Side A
1. Burning Love - Take 3 *
2. For The Good Times - Take 5 *
3. Always On My Mind - Take 3
4. Separate Ways - Take 2
5. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Side B
1. See See Rider - Take 2
2. Proud Mary - Take 2
3. Never Been To Spain - Take 2
4. Until It’s Time For Me To Go
5. Polk Salad Annie
6. All Shook Up
7. Heartbreak Hotel

Side C
1. Help Me Make It Through The Night
2. Young And Beautiful
3. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy
4. Release Me (And Let Me Love Again)
5. A Big Hunk O’Love - Take 2
6. Funny How Time Slips Away
7. Can’t Help Falling In Love

Side D
1. I, John
2. Bosom Of Abraham
3. You Better Run
4. Lead Me, Guide Me
5. Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus/Nearer My God To Thee
6. How Great Thou Art *

* previously unreleased



Source: https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/15745

Upcoming documentary highlights Maconite Little Richard life and influence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eEPZ8N5Gng

In Memoriam: Huey "Piano" Smith

Huey "Piano" Smith, one of the hitmakers of early rock'n'roll and major contributor to the infectious New Orleans R&B sound, died February 13, 2023 in Baton Rouge.


https://www.wwoz.org/blog/866626



Huey "Pano" Smith - Rockin' Pneumonia & the Boogie Woogie Flu:

https://youtu.be/g3S50GplyQc



Huey "Piano" Smith - Sea Cruise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7BA1pu4sXk



Huey "Piano" Smith - Don't You Just Know It:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sxnXO2RjVg

What I find amazing about his songs is that you know fter the first bar exactly who wrote that song. Just like you know by some instrumentalists who plays after they hit the first note. Bacharach definitely had a sound

Thanks to Mark A. Moore for sharing this. I saw it on Facebook:


Documentary Film on Jan Berry (Jan & Dean)

https://www.gofundme.com/f/documentary-film-on-the-life-of-jan-berry?



Jan Berry, leader of the music duo Jan & Dean from the late 1950s to mid-1960s, was an intense character who experienced more in his first 25 years than many do in a lifetime. As an architect of the West Coast sound, he was one of rock 'n' roll's original rebels--brilliant, charismatic, reckless, and flawed. As a songwriter, music arranger, and record producer for Nevin-Kirshner Associates and Screen Gems-Columbia Music, Berry was one of the pioneering self-produced artists of his era in Hollywood. He lived a dual life, reaching the top of the charts with Jan & Dean while transitioning from college student to medical student, until an automobile accident in 1966 changed his trajectory forever. Suffering from brain damage and partial paralysis, Jan spent the rest of his life trying to come back from Dead Man's Curve. His story is told here in-depth for the first time, based on extensive primary source documentation and supplemented by the stories and memories of Jan's family members, friends, music industry colleagues, and contemporaries. From the birth of rock to the bitter end, Berry's life story is thrilling, humorous, unsettling, and disturbing, yet ultimately uplifting.

Jan & Dean Fans . . . After an initial consultation with a producer, I am currently working with Voyage Media to produce a feature documentary film (and possibly a podcast) on the life of Jan Berry and Jan & Dean, based on my award-winning book, “Dead Man’s Curve: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Life of Jan Berry” (McFarland, 2021). Five grand gets us started. Ten grand gets us A-List talent and narration. All donors will be acknowledged onscreen.

Are you a Baby Boomer who experienced the music during its original era? Are you a Gen-Xer who was introduced to Jan’s story through the fictionalized 1978 TV film “Deadman’s Curve”? Are you from a younger generation who loves these guys and their music? This is your opportunity to step up and help bring the real story of Jan Berry and Jan & Dean to a national audience.

A Voyage Media representative is available to answer questions about this project (serious inquiries only). Submit questions to Mark A. Moore. If warranted, a direct connection can be facilitated.

Gotta take that one last ride . . .

Time to listen to "What Love can do":



This song was included on a Target album New Music from an Old Friend, where several well-known artists, including Brian Wilson, did a new recording of an old song, and then laid down one new tune.
 
Singer-songwriter Tonio K found himself collaborating with two music legends when he penned this song with Brian Wilson and Burt Bacharach. Tonio had taken on the Hal David role with Bacharach on a number of other tunes, but this was the only time either of them had written with Brian Wilson. Speaking with us in a 2013 interview, Tonio told us how this one-off collaboration came about: "He and Burt, I don't know if they even knew each other," he said. "They must have said hello over the years at one function or another, but he and Burt I think were seated at the same table at some Grammy function and someone at the table was going, 'Hey, have you two guys ever written a song?' They went, 'No, actually. We've never written a song together.' And I think Melinda, Brian's wife and kind of manager aide-de-camp put it together.

So one day Burt called me up and he goes, 'Hey, I'm going to write a song with Brian Wilson. First time I've ever written with him before. Do you want to write the lyric?' I went, 'Oh, gee, let me think about that.' So anyway, we did.

But Brian had a verse, melody, and background harmonies, which are really cool. Some real Beach Boy kind of background stuff that he already had. He was hoping Burt would come up with a great Burt Bacharach '60s chorus, which Burt did. I'm sitting around with my legal pad, looking at the two of them on a piano bench working it out at Burt's house, and I said, 'Burt, you know me well enough to know I don't do this, but I'm sitting here looking at Burt Bacharach and Brian Wilson sharing a piano bench as we're writing this song. I've got to have a picture of that. Are you guys okay if I bring a camera tomorrow?' [Laughing] This was pre iPhone. They went, 'Sure.'

I don't do that, but that one just struck me as something no one was ever going to see again, and I needed to get a picture of it."


Source: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/brian-wilson/what-love-can-do




"What Love can do":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8A_J4KSvRg

Nice to see the Boys together. And imo it's probably for the better that they didn't perform. I guess those days are over.