Ringo Starr Is Auctioning an Incredible Collection of Beatles Memorabilia, Including His ‘White Album’ No. 0000001 (UCR)

We’ve seen all sorts of Beatles-related memorabilia fetch top dollar at auction over the years, and next month, Ringo Starr is getting in on the action with a heaping helping of strange and wonderful items from his own personal collection.

Read More of Jeff Giles' article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Ringo Starr Is Auctioning an Incredible Collection of Beatles Memorabilia, Including His 'White Album' No. 0000001 

On the turntable this Sunday...Oranges & Lemons

Oranges & Lemons is the eleventh studio album by the English band XTC, released in 1989. The name of the album came from the old English nursery rhyme also referenced in the song "Ballet for a Rainy Day" on their previous album Skylarking.

The band was sent to Los Angeles to record the album, and Paul Fox was recruited for his first producing gig. The album was lushly produced with multiple overdubs on almost every track, yielding its psychedelic feel.

The album produced three singles, "The Mayor of Simpleton", "King for a Day", and "The Loving". "The Mayor of Simpleton" was a minor US hit (reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 46 on the UK singles chart) and was the only XTC song ever to hit the US Hot 100 chart. It was accompanied by a music video, which resembled the opening credits of an Avengers-type TV show and saw significant airplay on MTV, especially on the alternative music show 120 Minutes. In addition, "King for a Day" reached No. 10 on the US alternative / modern rock charts. The album itself was a commercial success, reaching No. 1 on the US college / alternative album chart, No. 44 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart, and No. 28 on the UK album chart.

To promote the album and appease the stage-shy Andy Partridge, the band went on a two-week acoustic radio-station tour of the US on which they performed a few songs from the album and a few medleys of earlier hits, as well as album reject "Blue Beret". The tour commenced on 15 May 1989 in Boston and ended on 31 May 1989 at Eastern Sound Studios in Toronto before a live studio audience of two hundred people.

The album cover, designed by Yellow Submarine artist Heinz Edelmann, is directly inspired by a 1965 WOR-FM 98.7 radio advert poster by Milton Glaser.

The album has been remixed for stereo and 5.1 surround sound from the original analogue tapes by Steven Wilson for upcoming release in 2015.

Read more @ Wikipedia

Bernie Taupin on 48 Years Writing With Elton John and Their New LP (Rolling Stone)

In about a year and a half Elton John and Bernie Taupin will celebrate a rather stunning achievement: 50 years working together as a songwriting team...

Read more of Andy Greene's article @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bernie-taupin-on-48-years-writing-with-elton-john-and-their-new-lp-20151117#ixzz3sKOXq1k0

RSD Black Friday 2015

Another Record Store Day Black Friday is here and locally in Knoxville, TN you have a vast selection of our local independent record stores to choose from:

P	Disc Exchange	Knoxville, TN	VISIT WEBSITE
P	Lost and Found Records	Knoxville, TN	VISIT WEBSITE
P	Raven Records & Rarities	Knoxville, TN	VISIT WEBSITE
P	Wild Honey Records	Knoxville, TN	VISIT WEBSITE
P	Hot Horse	Knoxville, TN	VISIT WEBSITE
P	Basement Records	Knoxville , TN	VISIT WEBSITE
P	Mckay Used Books, Cd's, Movies and More	Knoxville, TN	VISIT WEBSITE

Please see the list below and happy hunting, folks!

downloadable pdf | view list on website

Happy Thanksgiving from The Showbiz Kids!

As you and your families enjoy Thanksgiving, we at The Showbiz Kids are thankful for the support and folks who continue to check out our site. Happy Thanksgiving!

-Will Fisher, The Showbiz Kids

Foo Fighters Release Surprise EP Dedicated to Paris Victims (jambands.com)

Over the last month on Foo Fighters’ website, the band has teased a countdown that was set to end on November 23. With that date now here, the group has revealed a surprise EP dubbed Saint Cecilia that is available to download and stream via the band’s website. Dave Grohl also penned a lengthy open letter detailing the recording process, which stretches back to last October.

Read more @ jambands.com

December 2015 New Music Releases (Ultimate Classic Rock)

This list of December 2015 new music releases syncs up with our looming gift-giving season, as a bundle of huge reissues arrive just in time for the holidays. We take a look at some of the most interesting of those upcoming projects, and also offer a peek into what’s in store for early 2016.

Read More of Nick DeRiso's @ Ultimate Classic Rock: December 2015 New Music Releases

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals to Release First Album in Eight Years (jambands.com)

Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals will release their first studio album in eight years, Call It What It Is, in the wake of their recent reunion tour. The album, due out April 8 via Stax Records, follows up 2007’s Lifeline and, as Harper told Rolling Stone, “has been a priority for a while now.”

Read more @ jambands.com

On the turntable this Sunday...Continuum

Continuum is the third studio album by American musician John Mayer, released September 12, 2006 on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during November 2005 to September 2006 at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, California, Avatar Studios and Right Track/Sound on Sound in New York City, and Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.^[4] Production was handled primarily by Mayer and Steve Jordan. It marked a change in Mayer's musical style, and incorporated musical elements of blues and soul more heavily than in his previous work with pop-rock.

The album debuted at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 300,186 copies in its first week. It also reached the top-ten in several other countries and sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Upon its release, Continuum received generally positive reviews from most music critics and earned Mayer several accolades, including a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 49th Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone magazine named it the eleventh best album of 2006.

Mayer made the decision to name his third album Continuum at least a year before the album was released. In his column in the April 2005 issue of Esquire, Mayer wrote, "I'm obsessed with time lately, constantly crunching the numbers to get some sense of where I stand in the continuum." In his column in the September 2005 issue of Esquire he confirmed the title, writing, "I've never experienced anything like the recording process involved in making Continuum, my third-album-to-be.

The album features mainly new songs, though "Gravity" and "Vultures" are available in live versions from John Mayer Trio's Try!, and "Bold as Love", which is a Jimi Hendrix cover: the first Hendrix cover that Mayer has ever recorded as a studio release (although Mayer has recorded other Hendrix songs over time in live settings such as "The Wind Cries Mary" and "Wait Until Tomorrow"). (Mayer had played "Bold as Love" live many times prior to the release of Continuum such as on the televised Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope which aired on January 15, 2005.) The album contains a collaboration between Mayer and 8-string guitarist Charlie Hunter on the tune "In Repair". The song "Stop this Train" was written during a time of, what Mayer calls, "solitary refinement;" He was in bed suffering from double kidney stones, and living in a hotel while finding a new residence. 

Read more at Wikipedia

Jeff Lynne’s Long-Awaited Return to Electric Light Orchestra (Paste)

For the first time in nearly 15 years, esteemed singer/songwriter, producer and musician Jeff Lynne will release a new Electric Light Orchestra album. He’s renamed the band—it’s newly minted as Jeff’s Lynne’s ELO— for the recently released LP titled Alone in the Universe.



 

Read more of Joshua M. Miller's article @ Paste

Geddy Lee Talks Possibility of Future Rush Tours: ‘It Doesn’t Look Good’ (UCR)

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush sat down for a video chat session to answer Rolling Stone readers’ questions, and offered a glimpse of what the future might hold for the band.

Read More of Jeff Giles' article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Geddy Lee Talks Possibility of Future Rush Tours: 'It Doesn't Look Good' 

Tom Petty to Curate Own SiriusXM Channel (Rolling Stone)

Tom Petty will soon be the recipient of his own satellite radio station as SiriusXM have revealed plans to launch Tom Petty Radio. The Petty-curated channel – which will focus on all aspects of his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career, from his solo work and the Heartbreakers to the Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch – will begin its transmission on November 20th on SiriusXM's Channel 31.


Read more @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tom-petty-to-curate-own-siriusxm-channel-20151117#ixzz3rl7Em6Kw

Ween Reunites for Two Colorado Concerts (UCR)

All hail the Boognish! Ween are reuniting for their first concerts in over four years. The group will perform February 12 and 13 at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colo.

Read More of Matthew Wilkening's article @ Ultimate Classic Rock : Ween Reunites for Two Colorado Concerts

Prince Cancels European Tour Following Paris Attacks (jambands.com)

Prince’s previously announced solo tour “Piano & A Microphone” slated to start November 21 in Brussels is now cancelled following the terrorist attacks in Paris... 

Read more @ jambands.com

Warren Haynes Adds US Tour Dates for 2016

Warren Haynes has added some U.S. dates for his Ashes & Dust tour, which is currently underway in Europe, with a stop at the Granada Theater in Dallas, TN on February 17th.  

Please follow the link to Warren's site for more information and to purchase tickets.


Warren Haynes 2016 U.S. Tour Dates:

February 17 Dallas, TX—Granada Theater
February 18 San Antonio, TX—Empire Theatre
February 19 Austin, TX—Emo’s
February 20 Houston, TX—House of Blues Houston
February 23 St. Paul, MN—Fitzgerald Theater
February 24 Milwaukee, WI—Riverside Theater
February 26 Cleveland, OH—House of Blues Cleveland
February 27 Lexington, KY—Lexington Opera House
February 28 Knoxville, TN—Bijou Theatre
March 1 Wilmington, DE—Grand Opera House
March 3 Jim Thorpe, PA—Penn’s Peak
March 4 Northampton, MA—Calvin Theatre
March 5 Albany, NY—The Egg 

On the turntable this Sunday...Songs in the Key of Life

Songs in the Key of Life is the eighteenth album by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, released on September 28, 1976, by Motown Records. It was the culmination of his "classic period" albums. The album was recorded primarily at Crystal Sound studio in Hollywood, with some sessions recorded at the Record Plant in Hollywood, the Record Plant in Sausalito, and The Hit Factory in New York City. Final mixing was performed at Crystal Sound.

An ambitious double LP with a four-song bonus EP,   Songs in the Key of Life became among the best-selling and most critically acclaimed albums of his career. In 2005, it was ranked number 57 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In the same year it was preserved into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, which called it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

By 1976, Stevie Wonder had become one of the most popular figures in R&B and pop music, not only in the U.S., but worldwide. Within a short space of time, the albums Talking Book, Innervisions and Fulfillingness' First Finale were all back-to-back top five successes, with the latter two winning Grammy Award for Album of the Year, in 1974 and 1975, respectively. By the end of 1975, Wonder became serious about quitting the music industry and emigrating to Ghana to work with handicapped children. He had expressed his anger with the way that the U.S. government was running the country.  A farewell concert was being considered as the best way to bring down the curtain on his career. Wonder changed his decision, when he signed a new contract with Motown on August 5, 1975, thinking he was better off making the most of his career. At the time, rivals such as Arista and Epic were also interested in him. The contract was laid out as a seven-year, seven LP, $37 million deal and gave him full artistic control, making this the largest deal made with a recording star up to that point.   Almost at the beginning Wonder took a year off from the music market, with a project for a double album to be released in 1976.

There was huge anticipation for the new album which was initially scheduled for release around October 1975. It was delayed on short notice when Wonder felt that further remixing was essential. According to Wonder, the marketing campaign at Motown decided to take advantage of the delay by producing "We're almost finished" T-shirts.  Work on the new album continued into early 1976. A name was finally chosen for the album: Songs in the Key of Life. The title would represent the formula of a complex "key of life" and the proposals for indefinite success. The album was released on September 28, 1976 after a two-year wait as a double LP album with a four track seven-inch EP titled A Something's Extra ("Saturn", "Ebony Eyes", "All Day Sucker" and "Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)") and a 24-page lyric and credit booklet. 

Read more @ Wikipedia

Umphrey’s McGee Release Red Rocks Video via USB Drives (jambands.com)

Umphrey’s McGee’s July 3 Red Rocks performance will be released on video via USB’s available on the band’s website. 

Read more @ jambands.com 

On the Charts: Chris Stapleton Travels to Number One After Huge CMA Awards (Rolling Stone)

If one were to wager which country music artist would reign atop this week's Billboard 200, the safe bet would have been frequent chart-topper Eric Church, who surprise-released his new album Mr. Misunderstood just hours before the CMA Awards.
Read more @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/on-the-charts-chris-stapleton-travels-to-number-one-after-huge-cma-awards-20151109#ixzz3r19ypLov

Ultimate Classic Rock's List of Top 200 '70s Songs

Ultimate Classic Rock counts down the Top 200 Rock Songs of the '70s, in alphabetical order.

Focusing on a decade in which classic rock came into its own, our list of Top 200 ’70s Songs spans the gamut of cornerstone bands.

Some, as you’ll see by clicking through the above gallery, were sadly on their way out. Luckily, former members of the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel began crafting solo gems for the ages.


Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Top 200 '70s Songs 

Legendary New Orleans Songwriter, Producer and Musician Allen Toussaint Dies at 77 (UCR)

Allen Toussaint, a songwriter and producer whose brilliant compositions and distinctive piano playing made him a revered figure in New Orleans R&B — and were widely influential well beyond the confines of the genre — has died at the age of 77.

Read More of Jeff Giles' article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Legendary New Orleans Songwriter, Producer and Musician Allen Toussaint Dies at 77 

Fleetwood Mac Reveal Full Details of Expanded ‘Tusk’ Reissue (UCR)

Fleetwood Mac fans planning on shelling out for the remastered and expanded edition of Tusk can now take a look at exactly what they’ll be getting...


Read More of Jeff Giles' article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Fleetwood Mac Reveal Full Details of Expanded 'Tusk' Reissue 

Who Is Chris Stapleton: 5 Things You Need to Know About the CMA King (Rolling Stone)

Chris Stapleton swept the CMA Awards last Wednesday night, winning more trophies than any other act while stealing the show with a pair of country-soul duets alongside Justin Timberlake. Already a household name in Nashville's songwriting community, where he's been penning tunes for A-listers like George Strait, Luke Bryan and Adele since 2001, the newly-turned solo artist is still something of a mystery to the general public, leading to plenty of "Who is Chris Stapleton?" queries on social media the rest of the week...

Read more @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/who-is-chris-stapleton-5-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-cma-king-20151105#ixzz3qj2xKGyR

On the turntable this Sunday...Full Moon Fever

Full Moon Fever is the first solo album by Tom Petty, though it features contributions from members of his backing band the Heartbreakers, notably Mike Campbell, along with Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison of the Traveling Wilburys. The record shows Petty exploring his musical roots with nods to his influences. The songwriting is mainly collaborations between Petty and Lynne, who was also a producer on the album. The album became a commercial and critical success peaking at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and being certified 5× platinum in the United States and 6× platinum in Canada.

Petty had just finished a Heartbreakers tour behind the album Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) when he decided to record a solo album without the Heartbreakers (similar to the arrangement between Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band at the time). This stirred some controversy among members of the Heartbreakers, although all but drummer Stan Lynch contributed to the album. The recording process was a low-key affair, with many of Petty's friends contributing, including the members of the Traveling Wilburys, minus Bob Dylan. Recorded mainly in the relaxed atmosphere of Mike Campbell's garage studio, Petty would later say it was the most enjoyable record he had ever worked on.^[7] Recording of Full Moon Fever was actually interrupted to allow time for recording of the first Wilburys' album. A few songs were recorded during the sessions that did not make Full Moon Fever; "Down the Line" and "Don't Treat Me Like A Stranger" were among them, released as B-sides. "Traveling" and "Waiting for Tonight" were released on Playback, with the former featuring all the Heartbreakers including Stan Lynch, and the latter featuring The Bangles. During the sessions, Petty wrote "Indiana Girl", an early draft of what would eventually become "Mary Jane's Last Dance". When playing the songs live, initially, Benmont Tench and Howie Epstein weren't happy about it. Stan Lynch hated it right up until his departure from the band, saying he felt he was in a cover band.

Read more at Wikipedia

James Bond Movie Theme Songs, Ranked Worst to Best (Rolling Stone)

James Bond movie theme songs are the cinematic equivalents of paperback book-series covers — they suggest familiarity and course with the promise of a compelling new adventure for Western culture’s most unkillable pop icon. Bond's first big screen adventure, 1962's, Dr. No, had no precedent to follow, and therefore no need for the bombastic title treatments that would come to define the franchise (it opted for a gentle calypso medley). By the time the franchise's third film was released two years later, we already had Shirley Bassey roaring "Goldfinger"over the credits, and audiences knew just what kind of fun 007 had in store for them...
Read more @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/james-bond-movie-theme-songs-ranked-worst-to-best-20151102#ixzz3qM9PIZep

Kirk Hammett Talks New Metallica Album (Ultimate Classic Rock)

As Metallica continues to work on their upcoming studio album, guitarist Kirk Hammett has been keeping busy, both inside and outside of the recording studio....

Read More of Matt Wardlaw's article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Exclusive: Kirk Hammett Talks New Metallica Album, 'Ghoul Screamer' Effects Pedal 

Tool Cover Led Zeppelin, Bustout Old Material at Monster Mash Festival (jambands.com)

Despite some negative comments earlier in the week from Maynard James Keenan, Tool hit the stage at Tempe, AZ’s Monster Mash Festival for a special Halloween show from the band.

Read more @ jambands.com 

40 Years of Bohemian Rhapsody (Ultimate Classic Rock)

If 40 years of “Bohemian Rhapsody” have taught us anything, it’s that Queen‘s masterpiece will only continue to grow in stature and cultural impact. Here’s one measure: Ultimate Classic Rock hasn’t even been around five years yet, and we’ve already covered over two dozen stories about this innovative, one-of-a-kind song

Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Mama Mia! 40 Years of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' 

Widespread Panic Recreated The Andy Griffith Show In Asheville (Liveforlivemusic.com)

Widespread Panic impressed fans in Asheville, NC with an incredible Halloween performance, bringing out big bust outs and debut covers for the occasion. The band dressed as characters from the Andy Griffith Show, complete with a cover of the classic folk tune "Dooley" with Steep Canyon Rangers fiddle player Nicky Sanders, as performed on the show....

Read full review @ liveforlivemusic.com

Rolling Stone review of Thunderbitch

Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes doesn't just "reinvent" rock tradition, or "make it her own." She makes it her bitch. Hence this well-named side band, in which she goes on a garage-rock spree with some buddies from Nashville, bringing out the New York Dolls junk-shop strut that's always lingered around the edges of the Shakes' roughed-up Southern rock and soul.

Read more of Jon Dolan's review @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/thunderbitch-thunderbitch-

On the turntable this Sunday...The Lonesome Jubilee

The Lonesome Jubilee is the ninth album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, credited as John Cougar Mellencamp. The album was released by Mercury Records on August 24, 1987 (see 1987 in music). Four singles were released from the album, the first two in 1987 and the last two in 1988.

The album was one of Mellencamp's most successful worldwide, charting in ten countries. The album was most successful in Canada where it topped RPM magazine's Top Albums chart and became the artist's highest certified album by Music Canada (formerly the Canadian Recording Industry Association) becoming 6x platinum.

"We were on the road for a long time after Scarecrow, so we were together a lot as a band," Mellencamp said in a 1987 Creem Magazine feature. "For the first time ever, we talked about the record before we started. We had a very distinct vision of what should be happening here. At one point, The Lonesome Jubilee was supposed to be a double album, but at least 10 of the songs I'd written just didn't stick together with the idea and the sound we had in mind. So I just put those songs on a shelf, and cut it back down to a single record. Now, in the past, it was always 'Let's make it up as we go along' – and we did make some of The Lonesome Jubilee up as we went along. But we had a very clear idea of what we wanted it to sound like, even before it was written, right through to the day it was mastered."