Friday, November 30, 2012

AC/DC's iTunes Debut Sells 48,000 Digital Albums, 696,000 Songs

One of the longest hold-outs from iTunes, AC/DC finally reached the digital retailer last week.

The iconic rock band's entire catalog, along with two iTunes-exclusive box sets, became available on Monday, Nov. 19. In the week ending Nov. 25, the band's 25 albums moved 48,000 downloads while its songs shifted 696,000 in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Its biggest selling album, digitally speaking, was the band's classic Back in Black, with 15,000 -- more than 10,000 ahead of its second-biggest title, Highway to Hell (a little under 5,000). Coming in third for the week was the brand new Live at River Plate (4,000), followed by High Voltage (just under 3,000) and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (2,000).

In terms of song downloads, "Thunderstruck" led the way for AC/DC last week, selling 85,000. It debuts at No. 16 on Digital Songs and No. 1 on Hard Rock Digital Songs. On the latter tally -- viewable on billboard.biz -- the entire top 12 positions are owned by AC/DC tunes. The band's second biggest seller last week was "Back in Black" (68,000), followed by "You Shook Me All Night Long" (64,000), "Highway To Hell" (50,000) and "TNT" (40,000). There were 14 AC/DC songs that sold at least 10,000 last week.

Unlike the Beatles' arrival on iTunes in 2010 -- which was heralded with great fanfare and a TV marketing campaign -- AC/DC's entrance to iTunes seemingly dropped out of the sky without hype. Even though there weren't TV commercials touting the iTunes debut (as there was for the Beatles), one could hear the song "Back in Black" in at least two different TV commercials over the busy Thanksgiving shopping weekend. It soundtracked spots for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II as well as Black Friday ads for Walmart.

To compare, when the Beatles catalog arrived, it sold a combined 119,000 digital albums and 1.42 million songs.

Of course, comparing anything to the Beatles is difficult, since the band exists in its own realm of superstardom. That week, the Fab Four's best selling digital album was Abbey Road (16,000), followed by its stereo box set with 13,000. The Beatles' biggest song download that week was "Let It Be" (63,000), followed by "Here Comes the Sun" (55,000), "In My Life" (45,000), "Hey Jude" (38,000) and "Come Together" (38,000).

For a perhaps better side-by-side comparison, we turn to another former hard-rockin' holdout from iTunes: Led Zeppelin. The week its music bowed in the store way back in 2007, its combined albums moved 47,000 (with 33,000 of that for its then brand-new Mothership greatest hits album) while its songs shifted 300,000.

Following Mothership, Led Zep's second-largest selling album that week was the iTunes-exclusive box The Complete Led Zeppelin, with 5,000 sold. In third place was Led Zeppelin IV with 2,000.

As for Led Zeppelin's biggest song downloads that week, unsurprisingly, the iconic "Stairway to Heaven" was its best-seller, with 31,000. At Nos. 2-5 were "Kashmir" (21,000), "Over the Hills and Far Away" (16,000), "Black Dog" (15,000) and "Immigrant Song" (14,000).

Led Zeppelin bowed in the iTunes Store almost exactly five years ago, when download sales weren't as potent as they are today. Thus, seeing AC/DC start with a much larger volume isn't that shocking. (Year to date download album sales stand at 103.46 million -- 39% of the overall market. For the full year of 2007, downloads amounted to 50 million -- or 10% of the market.)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

New Jimi Hendrix Music Coming In 2013

A new Jimi Hendrix album is coming March 5, 2013.

According to the Jimi Hendrix website says People, Hell and Angels contains 12 previously unreleased tracks recorded in 1968 and '69.


Hendrix recorded the songs apart from the Jimi Hendrix Experience as he considered new, experimental directions for his follow-up to Electric Ladyland.

He plays keyboards, percussion and a second guitar on the album.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Former Who Manager Chris Stamp Dead At 70

On stage at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena on Saturday night (November 24), The Who's Roger Daltrey saluted Chris Stamp -- one of the two early managers that launched the group's success -- as a man "without whom we wouldn't be the band we were."

Stamp -- who not only co-managed The Who with the late Kit Lambert but also co-founded the group's Track Records label and executive produced most of its albums and film projects starting in 1968, died from cancer on Saturday at the age of 70 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Daltrey went on to say that Stamp "flew into the universe on a pair of rainbow wings. Chris, we can never thank you enough -- well, I can't, for what you brought to my life" just before he and Pete Townshend performed a duo rendition of "Tea & Theatre" that, while not specifically dedicated to Stamp, certainly had the quiet and dignified air of a tribute.

Born and raised in London's East End, Stamp started out as filmmakers at Shepperton Film Studios, where he met Lambert. The two worked on projects such as I Could Go On Singing, Of Human Bondage and The L-Shaped Room before deciding in 1963 to make a film about the growing British rock scene, meeting The Who, then known as the High Numbers, when the group was playing at the Railway Hotel.

The filmmakers and the musicians became fast friends, and Daltrey referred to Stamp and Lambert as "the fifth and sixth members of The Who," with Stamp "the expert in cool, menace and scams." Stamp and Lambert bought out the High Numbers then-manager Peter Meaden, persuaded the quartet to re-adopt The Who moniker they'd been using previously and build on its popularity in Britain's Mod scene. They did make a film about the group -- a promotional piece that was sometimes shown before the group took the stage -- and encouraged The Who's early live performance mayhem, even tossing smoke bombs onto the stage themselves.

After The Who's first two albums, they started Track Records in 1966, though it began with releases of the Jimi Hendrix Experience single "Purple Haze" and the album Are You Experienced?, as well as the Crazy World of Arthur Brown's hit single "Fire" and early efforts by the Dutch band Golden Earring. Stamp's first Who production credit was for the Magic Bus album in 1968, and he also executive produced Tommy, Who's Next, Quadrophenia and the soundtrack for the 1975 Tommy  feature film, as well as several Who compilations.

The band's relationship with both Stamp and Lambert eroded during the mid-70s, however. "They lived like rock stars, too," Townshend said last year, "and they really stopped functioning as managers -- or the type of managers they had been, and that we still needed."

The duo and The Who parted ways in 1975, with Stamp and Lambert moving to New York and continuing the Track label, with, among others, Labelle. Lambert died after suffering a brain hemorrhage in 1981, but Stamp entered rehab in 1987, cleaned up and became a therapist, specializing in psychodrama treatment and addiction counseling in New York. He also re-established and maintained a connection with The Who, appearing in documentaries and writing liner notes for the re-release of the A Quick One album in 1995. He also sat on the board of the John Entwistle Foundation started in memory of the late Who bassist.

The Who posted a message on its official web site calling Stamp's passing "hard to bear" and promising a tribute would follow. Stamp is survived by Calixte, his wife of 22 years, his two married daughters and several grandchildren.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Rolling Stones Return To Stage To Mark 50 Years

The Rolling Stones take to the stage later tonight (Sunday, November 25) after a five-year hiatus to celebrate the golden jubilee of one of the most successful and enduring bands in rock and roll history.

Now in their mid-60s to early 70s, lead singer Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts will perform five concerts - two at the O2 Arena in London on November 25 and 29 and three in the United States next month.

Joining them at the O2 on Sunday will be former band members Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor, the first time the two ex-Stones have performed with the group in more than 20 years.

And in a fresh announcement on Saturday, American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige and guitar great Jeff Beck have also been added to the lineup as special guests.

The flamboyant veterans behind a string of hits including "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" have promised a "stunning" gig lasting more than two hours.

A sellout crowd of some 20,000 people is expected, in spite of widespread complaints from fans at ticket prices that ranged from 95 pounds ($150) to up to 950 pounds for a VIP seat.

Costs went far higher on secondary ticketing websites, although by Friday eBay was offering several seats to Sunday's show at below face value and there were places still officially available at around 400 pounds apiece.

The band has defended the prices, saying that the shows are expensive to put on, although Billboard, a specialist music publication, reported that the quartet would be paid $25 million for the four shows first announced. A fifth was added later.

The concerts are the culmination of a busy few months of events, rehearsals and recordings to mark 50 years since the blues-infused rockers first took to the stage at the Marquee Club on London's Oxford Street in July, 1962.

There has been a photo album, two new songs, a music video, a documentary film, a blitz of media appearances and a handful of warm-up gigs in Paris.

The O2 Arena was where another top band of the 1960s and 70s, Led Zeppelin, staged an eagerly awaited one-off reunion in 2007, and while the Stones have appeared together far more regularly, it is their first arena performance in six years.

One factor behind the long break has been Wood's struggle with alcohol addition, according to Rolling Stone magazine, while Jagger and Richards also fell out over comments the guitarist made about the singer in a 2010 autobiography.

"We can't get divorced - we're doing it for the kids!" joked Richards in a recent interview after apologizing to Jagger.

While the rock and roll excesses of the swinging 60s and 70s are in the past for the band, and their very best songs may be behind them, music critics praised their recent single "Doom and Gloom" from the GRRR! greatest hits album just released.

And there have been hints from the band that the five gigs which wind up at the Newark Prudential Center on December 15 may not be the end of their reunion.

"Once the juggernaut starts rolling, it ain't gonna stop," Richards told Rolling Stone. "So without sort of saying definitely yes - yeah. We ain't doing all this for four gigs!"

Monday, November 19, 2012

AC/DC Releases Catalog Through iTunes

The digital music world is a bit louder this morning. AC/DC, the Australian hard rock band whose heavy metal thunder has never been available for legal download, has stepped into the 21st century and released its music through iTunes, the band announced Monday (November 19) morning.

After years of stubbornly arguing that iTunes was, in the words of singer Brian Johnson, “going to kill music if they’re not careful,” the band reached a deal with the company to sell its entire catalog -- 16 studio albums, four live albums and three compilations -- through the service. It’s too early to predict whether this move marks the death knell for melody, rhythm and/or song.

But “Hells Bells” sure sounds great. Like the rest of the Australian band’s big-riffed music, the classic 1980 song about Satan, death and “black sensations” has been remastered, and the opening church bells have never rang clearer (that is, unless you’ve grabbed a copy of “Back in Black” on vinyl for a dollar at a garage sale, but that’s a whole other conversation).

Until Monday, AC/DC was one of the last high-profile holdouts from the digital music marketplace. It had outlasted the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, all of which jumped into the realm long after much of the population had accepted the downloading future. Only two artists remain steadfast: Garth Brooks and Kid Rock, neither of whom offer downloadable versions their back catalog, but Rock recently broke ranks and is selling his new album Rebel Soul via iTunes.

Angus Young, AC/DC’s lead guitarist (known for wearing a schoolboy’s uniform when performing), had long argued against hawking the band’s music via iTunes or any other digital service. He didn’t like the idea of allowing for individual song downloads -- submitting that the group’s albums were designed to be listened to from beginning to end.

“It’s like an artist who does a painting,” he said in 2008. “If he thinks it’s a great piece of work, he protects it. It’s the same thing: This is our work.”

He’s since changed his mind. Each of the group’s songs -- “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Highway to Hell,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” “Thunderstruck” and “Whole Lotta Rosie” among them -- is available individually for $1.29. Albums are priced at $9.99.

In keeping with Young's point, iTunes also offers a package deal that buys mega-fans the entire lot -- live albums, compilations and all -- for $149.99. And for those who haven’t had the time or sense to manually insert CD versions of the band’s studio albums into their computer and import them into iTunes, a mere $99 provides digital copies of all those in one fell swoop.

The untethered option is a good thing, however, because while AC/DC’s peaks have been spectacular over its nearly 40-year career, it’s also put forth a lot of compost. For example, suffering through “Big Balls” just to get to “Ride On" when buying Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap isn’t too good a deal, especially when a used CD is also dirt cheap.

Still, AC/DC's brand of proto-metal remains timeless, and its ability to resist the technology until now proves how devilishly immortal the band's sound remains in any format. Even if its work were only available carved into stone tablets, fans would still find a way to listen.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Springsteen, McCartney To Perform Concert For Sandy's Victims

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Paul McCartney, Kanye West and Jon Bon Jovi will perform at a special "12.12.12" Concert for Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden next month, according to organizers.

The Who, Roger Waters, Billy Joel and Alicia Keys have also signed up for the December 12 event, which its producers said is shaping up to be a showcase of rock royalty.

"The response from the entertainment community to help those most affected by Hurricane Sandy has been nothing short of astounding," the Madison Square Garden Company, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment and The Weinstein Company said in a joint statement.

"We expect to announce additional legendary performers in the near future and we are confident that the event will ensure those in need will not be forgotten, and vital aid will be directed to rebuilding our communities along the East Coast."

More than 130 people were killed when the superstorm pummeled the east coast of the United States late last month. Thousands more were left homeless as the storm tore through areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, causing an estimated $50 billion in damage.

Donations raised from the one-night event concert will go to the Robin Hood Relief Fund, which will provide money and materials to groups helping people hardest hit by the storm.

The organizers of the concert also produced the 9/11 benefit The Concert for New York City in 2001, which raised more than $30 million.

A concert and telethon on NBC earlier this month raised almost $23 million for people affected by the storm.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Guitar Auction To Benefit Ronnie James Dio Cancer Fund

The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, founded in memory of the world-renowned voice of Dio, Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Heaven & Hell, will participate in the upcoming Icons & Idols-Rock ‘n’ Roll Auction at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday, December 1st at 2 P.M.

Nearly 100 donated guitars signed by a variety of celebrities from the music world will go on the auction block to benefit the Fund’s mission of cancer prevention, research and education.

The collection includes guitars signed by the Jonas Brothers, Slash, Tom Morello, Tony Iommi and members of Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, the Alice Cooper Band, Metallica and Iron Maiden. Among the rarities are a prototype electric guitar made for and signed by Eddie Van Halen and a custom hand-carved Ronnie James Dio memorial guitar created by DBZ Guitars.

Also in the collection is an Epiphone electric guitar signed by a host of country music stars, among them Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney, an ESP acoustic electric guitar signed by Twilight film star Robert Pattinson and three guitars hand painted by the famous elephants of the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project in Thailand.

Online bidding has already commenced, and items included in this auction are available for viewing at http://www.juliensauctions.com/auctions/2012/icons-and-idols-rock/index.html.

A free public exhibition of many of the items included in the auction will be available for viewing during the auction house’s regular business hours of 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. beginning Monday, November 19 through Friday, November 30. For hours, visit http://www.juliensauctions.com.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Who Take On Teenage Cancer

"All you rich rock stars out there: get off your butts!" yelled Roger Daltrey, lead singer of the Who, to the packed lunchtime house at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C on Monday (November 12).

However, the only other wealthy rocker in the room happened to be Daltrey's bandmate, Pete Townshend; the two were on hand to raise awareness for Who Cares: Teen Cancer America, the U.S. extension program of their two-decade-old UK effort, Teenage Cancer Trust.

Daltrey and Townshend joined teen cancer survivors and medical professionals on Monday to kick off Who Cares, and Daltrey was vocal about his cause. The initiative joins with hospitals to create facilities and support programs for cancer patients ages 13 to 24; as Daltrey explained to the audience, the organization began 22 years ago after he learned of a "huge gap in the health system" that offered no clinical recognition to teenage and young-adult cancer patients. All too often, they are recognized and treated insufficiently as either pediatrics or adults. However, as Daltrey noted, teenagers often suffer the most aggressive and rarest forms of cancers and are diagnosed later.

At the luncheon, Daltrey spoke passionately of Who Cares, which relies solely on charitable donations; he explained from the stage that the trust aims to provide age-appropriate treatment in the right environments. It creates communities within hospitals to offer patients and their families built-in support groups to "unload some of the terror in their hearts." He emphasized that six teenagers are diagnosed with some form of cancer every day and that Who Cares attempts to share that burden; its first U.S. facility, the UCLA Daltrey/Townshend Teen and Young Adult Zone, has treated 16 patients since its establishment in California one year ago. Who Cares is also working with Duke Children's Hospital at Duke University in North Carolina.

If results in the United Kingdom are any indication, concentrating on teen cancer is resulting in more young lives saved. The survival rate for teenagers who utilized the teen-centric UK centers is, according the Teenage Cancer Trust, 10 to 15 percent better than the rate for those who turned to the UK's National Health Service. Daltrey noted that if any drug displayed similar success, the world would "throw billions at you."

Daltrey's earnest and lengthy endorsement of Who Cares was not without its moments of levity. In a press Q&A, when asked if the band might offer entertainment for teenage cancer patients, he raised an eyebrow and quipped, "We might kill off the rest of the hospital!"

The Who are currently performing their classic rock opera Quadrophenia on tour; one dollar from each ticket goes to the Who Cares organization. For more information, visit the Who Cares website.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Rock Legends Cruise II Announces Performance Schedule

Twenty five artists will soon be boarding Rock Legends Cruise II on January 10, 2013 for what promises to be the biggest and best music festival at sea to date!

With over 75 Top 40 hits to choose from, the artists will be performing a vast selection of those songs along with other music gems during the four day excursion aboard Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas.

Artists appearing on the first night alone include Blue Oyster Cult, 38 Special, Bachman & Turner, Molly Hatchet, Foreigner, Bobby Keys & The Suffering Bastards and the Pat Travers Band.

And if you're up by the crack of noon on Friday, you'll arise just in time for the sounds of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, who will lead off three full days and nights of ultimate classic rock on three separate stages.

69 live performances are scheduled!

Only three "vacation days" are necessary as Rock Legends Cruise II departs Fort Lauderdale, Florida on a Thursday evening (January 10) and returns the following Monday morning (January 14, 2013).

Oh yeah... did we mention the expected 80+ degree weather in Labadee, Haiti on Saturday?

Don't be left at the dock... it's time to rock!
 
For further information about Rock Legends Cruise II, please go to www.rocklegendscruise.com or call 888-666-1499.

For information on Liberty of the Seas, please see: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do?shipCode=LB.

Pricing currently begins at $699.00 per person (party of four in the same Interior cabin), with many cabin levels still available.

Cabins are going fast!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Mick Jagger's Love Letters Up For Auction

Love letters written by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger to American singer Marsha Hunt, discussing poetry and his personal turmoil, will hit the auction block next month.

Hunt, with whom Jagger had his first child, Karis, told Britain's Guardian newspaper she was selling the letters, written in July and August 1969, because she had been unable to pay her bills.

"I'm broke," Hunt, who lives in France, told the newspaper.

The Guardian said on Friday the 10 letters would be sold by Sotheby's on December 12.

The auction house values the letters from between 70,000 and 100,000 pounds ($111,000-$160,000).

Jagger wrote them to Hunt while filming the Tony Richardson movie Ned Kelly in Australia.

They are described as showing a sensitive side of the then-young singer, who wrote about the poetry of Emily Dickinson, meeting author Christopher Isherwood and an unrealized multimedia project.

Jagger's relationship with Hunt, who is African-American, was kept under wraps until 1972.

"The sale is important," Hunt told The Guardian. "Someone, I hope, will buy those letters as our generation is dying and with us will go the reality of who we were and what life was."

Hunt has said she was the inspiration for the Rolling Stones' song "Brown Sugar," which Jagger wrote while in Australia.

The rock star also cites in the letters the disintegration of his relationship with singer Marianne Faithful, whom he was also dating at the time, and the death of Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Andy Summers Film Documents Surviving The Police

Police guitarist Andy Summers has always been a multifaceted artist - musician, songwriter, photographer and author. Now he can add filmmaker to his extensive resume.

Can't Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police, Summers' 90-minute documentary film that chronicles his musical career and life with supergroup, has its world premiere at the DOC NYC festival in New York on Friday (November 9).

Summers, who narrates the film, describes it as "a musical journey" that uses live footage from the 2007-2008 Police reunion world tour, along with lots of archival material from both the early Police days and the London punk scene.

"But it's not done as a chronological story," he says. "We establish the fact we're doing the reunion tour early on, and then it dips in and out of live Police concert footage, and then starts going back to the earlier days."

Based on his 2006 memoir One Train Later, the documentary also incorporates rare footage dating back to the 1960s, when Summers, now 69, was involved with the early British rock scene and seminal artists including British vocalist and keyboard player Zoot Money and Eric Burdon. The film also features many still photographs that the rock star took along the way.

"I was always interested in photography, so it was very natural for me to document everything, whether it was backstage at some grungy club or on early tours with the Police," he said.

"So there's a lot of intimate moments and interesting shots and archival stuff, especially in the first 25 minutes of the film, with the Sex Pistols appearing and so on."

Following his book's lead, the film also documents the serendipitous nature of the formation of the Police, one of the biggest bands in rock history, when Summers "just happened to bump into" drummer Stewart Copeland in a London Underground station one day in 1977.

The two decided to have coffee and discuss forming a new band with a then-unknown singer called Sting, whom they had just met.

"One train later, and it all might never have happened," recalled Summers, "which is why I titled the book One Train Later."

He would have preferred that title for the documentary. "It's much hipper and doesn't pander to the obvious Police connection," he said, "so I'm hoping at some point we'll change it to that."

Inevitably, the film also focuses on the breakup of the always-combustible and often acrimonious trio.

"It's obviously a very painful and poignant moment, when we all realize, ‘Well, that's it,'" Summers said of the 2008 footage documenting the band's final dissolution.

"The camera lingers on all our faces, and you can see the raw emotion there. It's very bittersweet."

As for rumors that the Police may re-form yet again for another tour, Summers does not think that is likely, even though their 30th reunion tour grossed more than $350 million.

"But then I never thought we'd get back together to do the last tour, so I never shut the door on anything," he said. "I personally think that my book was somewhat of a provoking agent in getting the Police reunited, so maybe this film will do the same thing again."

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Encore Screenings Of Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day Being Added

Following the worldwide success of Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day, the cinema concert event which presented live footage of the band’s 2007 reunion concert at London’s O2 Arena, there has been an enormous response from fans – 1.7 million fans have visited the fan’s website.

The film was screened in 15,000 cinemas around the world for a strictly limited engagement on Wednesday, October 17, 2012. Fans who were unable to attend the original tribute concert for Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun in 2007, when more than 20 million fans applied for the 18,000 available tickets in a worldwide lottery, finally had the opportunity to see it as if they had front row tickets. The film earned $2 million in a single night and was a phenomenal success.

Omniverse Vision, the UK-based distribution company that released Celebration Day, a two-hour-plus tour de force of Zeppelin’s signature blues-infused rock ‘n’ roll, has been working with online marketing specialist Distrify to track the response from fans online via an interactive platform on the Led Zeppelin website. With 100,000 hits a day, including 46,000 searches for show times and 4,000 requests for local screenings, Distrify has been able to compile the information needed for Omniverse Vision executives to agree to schedule encore performances in select markets to meet the demands of Led Zeppelin’s fans. There has been overwhelming interest in additional screenings from the U.S., the UK, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Germany, France, Mexico and Australia.

For younger fans, this film may be the first time that they will see founding members John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, along with Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, together on stage. For older fans, this might be their last chance to see these iconic rockers perform 16 songs from their iconic catalog. The band made it all too clear in press conferences announcing Celebration Day that there were no plans for a reunion tour. The set list for the cinema concert event includes:

1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Ramble On
3. Black Dog
4. In My Time Of Dying
5. For Your Life
6. Trampled Under Foot
7. Nobody’s Fault But Mine
8. No Quarter
9. Since I’ve Been Loving You
10. Dazed And Confused
11. Stairway To Heaven
12. The Song Remains The Same
13. Misty Mountain Hop
14. Kashmir
15. Whole Lotta Love
16. Rock And Roll

Celebration Day will be presented in high definition with surround sound in movie theatres for an encore performance on Tuesday, November 13. Tickets are limited.

For a list of theatres and show times, please refer to the Led Zeppelin website.

Celebration Day will then be available in multiple video and audio formats on November 19, 2012 from Swan Song/Atlantic Records.

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Doors "Live At The Bowl '68" Debuts At #1 With Theatrical Screenings To Follow

The Doors' newly released Live At The Bowl ’68 makes an impressive debut at #1 on the Billboard Top Music Video Chart.

Live At The Bowl ’68 features a newly restored version of the band’s the legendary 1968 Hollywood Bowl concert. For the first time, the film from the historic performance has been painstakingly restored using the original camera negatives and the audio has been remixed and mastered from original multitracks by the group’s engineer and co-producer Bruce Botnick.

This new restoration offers a stunning visual upgrade from earlier versions and will give fans the closest experience to being there live alongside Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek, who opined, “You can hear it as if you were at the Hollywood Bowl, on stage with us.”

Check out our review of the Live At The Bowl ’68 Blu-Ray.

Live At The Bowl ’68 will also debut theatrically later this week with several exclusive “one night only” screenings. The first screenings are set to begin on November 6 and will continue in select markets across the U.S. throughout the month of November. For a list of specific theaters and dates, please visit www.thedoors.com/liveatthebowl.html.

A trailer for the film can be viewed at http://youtu.be/o5nQr7fzS9Y.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Jerry Garcia and Prince's Royalty Rates Up For Auction

SongVest launches two blockbuster auctions today: the music of Jerry Garcia and Prince (with 94 East). Passion meets opportunity now that fans can own a revenue-producing piece of musical history by sharing in the royalties of their favorite songs.  SongVest’s auctions with featured memorabilia are one of a kind and a rare find for the music loving investor.

The bonus packed Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders’ SongVest auction celebrates the recent release of the highly anticipated “Keystone Companions” recordings. This is an opportunity to own 33% of the complete catalog of Saunders’ studio albums.  Included in this set is the Keystone Live Recordings Collection which contains the entire body of work from the influential Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders 25-year musical partnership. 

Saunder’s catalog also features his numerous collaborations with The Grateful Dead, David Grisman, Bonnie Raitt and many others.  Also offered in this auction are the future royalties from 200+ previously unreleased masters of Jerry Garcia-Merl Saunders live shows as well as the future royalty rights to the very popular Legion of Mary and Jerry Garcia Band: Live at Berkeley 1973 and 1974 recordings.

As a bonus, the highest bidder will received tickets to a private tribute concert of the Keystone Companions collection by Merl Saunders’ son, Tony Saunders, and Keystone Revisited.  In addition, the lucky buyer will get a professional platinum record plaque that showcases ownership of the catalog.

To view this auction please go to http://www.songvest.com/category/362/Rock/listings/316/Garcia-and-Saunders-Catalog.html

The exclusive auction of Prince’s first-ever professional recording on guitar starts today at www.SongVest.com.  This event offers the original 2” recording master (and the safety copy) with the original separated tracks of Prince performing at age 17 with Pepé Willie and the 94 East band on The Cookhouse Five album. 

This special auction offers the rare opportunity for ownership of the copyright as well as the legal rights to market and promote the recording. This 1975 album is slice of history – recorded at Cookhouse Studios in Minneapolis; this is the beginning of a remarkable career where Prince began to define the Minneapolis Sound! 

To view this auction please go to: http://www.songvest.com/category/362/Rock/listings/317/Prince-(feat-94-East).html.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel Plan Sandy Benefit

Bruce Springsteen and other stars are stepping up to help out hurricane victims.

The Boss and Jon Bon Jovi, both of whom have strong New Jersey roots, along with Billy Joel of Long Island, have signed on to perform at a benefit telethon concert, Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together, for NBC.

Sting, Christina Aguilera and newsman Brian Wiliams, who often talks fondly of his childhood on the Jersey shore, are also slated to appear.

Hosted by Matt Lauer, the concert will air at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, broadcast from NBC facilities in Rockefeller Center in New York City. It be tape-delayed in the West.

The telecast will benefit the American Red Cross and will be shown on NBC and its cable stations including Bravo, CNBC, USA, MSNBC and E! Style Network and G4, and online at NBC.com, Today.com and NBCNews.com. Other networks are invited to join in.

Money collected will go to the American Red Cross, which is providing food, shelter and other support to those affected by the hurricane and other disasters. To donate, visit RedCross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

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