Monday, December 31, 2012

The Top 50 Songs of 2012

image from paperblog.com

Based on an aggregate of 39 best-of lists, these are the top 50 songs of 2012:

Call Me Maybe

1. Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe”
2. Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know”
3. Usher “Climax”
4. fun. with Janelle Monae “We Are Young”
5. Miguel “Adorn”

Somebody That I Used to Know

6. Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
7. fun. “Some Nights”
8. Kanye West with Big Sean, Pusha T, & 2 Chainz “Mercy”
9. Maroon 5 with Wiz Khalifa “Payphone”
10. Japandroids “The House That Heaven Built”

Climax

11. One Direction “What Makes You Beautiful”
12. Psy “Gangnam Style”
13. The Lumineers “Ho Hey”
14. Grimes “Oblivion”
15. Fiona Apple “Every Single Night”

We Are Young

16. The Wanted “Glad You Came”
17. Nicki Minaj “Starships”
18. Kelly Clarkson “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
19. Frank Ocean “Thinkin’ ‘Bout You”
20. Solange “Losing You”

Adorn

21. Alabama Shakes “Hold On”
22. Beach House “Myth”
23. Adele “Set Fire to the Rain”
24. Icona Pop with Charli XCX “I Love It”
25. Alex Clare “Too Close”

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

26. Flo Rida with Sia “Wild Ones”
27. Kendrick Lamar “Swimming Pools (Drank)”
28. Jack White “Sixteen Saltines”
29. Katy Perry “Wide Awake”
30. Frank Ocean “Pyramids”

Mercy

31. Grizzly Bear “Yet Again”
32. Jai Paul “Jasmine”
33. Katy Perry “Part of Me”
34. Of Monsters and Men “Little Talks”
35. Neon Trees “Everybody Talks”

Payphone

36. Rihanna “Where Have You Been”
37. Jessie Ware “Wildest Moments”
38. First Aid Kit “Emmylou”
39. Bat for Lashes “Laura”
40. Ellie Goulding “Lights”

The House That Heaven Built

41. Kanye West with Jay-Z & Big Sean “Clique”
42. Muse “Madness”
43. Sky Ferreira “Everything Is Embarrassing”
44. Chairlift “I Belong in Your Arms”
45. Frank Ocean “Bad Religion”

What Makes You Beautiful

46. Father John Misty “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings”
47. Train “Drive By”
48. Jason Mraz “I Won’t Give Up”
49. Jessie J “Domino”
50. Bruno Mars “It Will Rain”

Gangnam Style

Resources and Related Links:

The Top 50 Albums of 2012

image from static-the-fly.co.uk

Here, according to an aggregate of 30 best-of lists, are the top 50 albums of 2012. If a link to a publication follows the album title, that means the album was ranked #1 by that publication.

Frank Ocean Channel Orange
Grammy nominee for album of the year, #1: AlbumOfTheYear.org, Billboard – critics’ picks, DMDB, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, Paste, Pop Matters, Spin
Kendrick Lamar Good Kid, M.a.a.d. City

#1: Consequence of Sound, Pitchfork
Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do
#1: Spinner, Time Magazine
Tame Impala Lonerism
#1: Obscure Sound
Grizzly Bear Shields
Beach House Bloom
#1: BestEverAlbums.com
Jack White Blunderbuss
Grammy nominee for album of the year, #1: Mojo
Japandroids Celebration Rock
Miguel Kaleidoscope Dream
#1: USA Today
Killer Mike R.A.P. Music
Grimes Visions
#1: All Music Guide
Dirty Projectors Swing Lo Magellan
Mumford & Sons Babel
Grammy nominee for album of the year, #1: NPR
Cat Power Sun
Swans The Seer
Jessie Ware Devotion
#1: Amazon
Cloud Nothings Attack on Memory
The XX Coexist
Flying Lotus Until the Quiet Comes
Leonard Cohen Old Ideas
#1: Uncut
Chromatics Kill for Love
Godspeed You Black Emperor Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
Bob Dylan Tempest
Bat for Lashes The Haunted Man
Django Django Django Django
Alabama Shakes Boys & Girls
Alt-J An Awesome Wave
#1: Mercury Prize
Taylor Swift Red
#1: best seller of the year, Squidoo
El-P Cancer 4 Cure
Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball
#1: Rolling Stone, my favorite of the year
Fun. Some Nights
Grammy nominee for album of the year
Sharon Van Etten Tramp
Dr. John Locked Down
Spiritualized Sweet Heart Sweet Light
Lana Del Rey Born to Die
Hot Chip In Our Heads
Father John Misty Fear Fun
David Byrne with St. Vincent Love This Giant
Bobby Womack The Bravest Man in the Universe
#1: Q Magazine
First Aid Kit The Lion’s Roar
Death Grips The Money Store
Julia Holter Ekstasis
Purity Ring Shrines
Scott Walker Bish Bosch
Andy Stott Bish Bosch
Divine Fits A Thing Called Divine Fits
The Walkmen Heaven
The Men Open Your Heart
The Maccabees Given to the Wild
Neil Young Psychedelic Pill

Resources and Related Links:

Friday, December 21, 2012

“Gangnam Style” passed 1 billion views on YouTube

Last updated 3/2/2020.

Gangnam Style

Psy

Writer(s): Park Jae-Sang/ Yoo Gun-hyung (see lyrics here)

Released: July 15, 2012

First Charted: September 9, 2012

Peak: 2 US, 10 RR, 32 A40, 1¹ UK, 1⁷ CN, 1⁶ AU (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 1.3 UK, 12.89 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3707.0 video, 200.0 streaming

Awards:

About the Song:

South Korean singer and rapper Park Jae-sang, better known as Psy, was no stranger to the music scene when “Gangnam Style” took over the world, landing at #1 in more than 30 countries. ^WK In the U.S., it peaked at #2 for 7 weeks behind Maroon 5’s “One More Night.” Psy had released five albums and 17 singles ^WK and become a big name in Korea, where his fans had huge expectations about his dancing. Psy told the New York Times he stayed up late about 30 nights to come up with the dance, testing animal-inspired moves with his choreographer before settling on what he called the “invisible horse dance” where he pretends to hold the reins of a horse, spin a lasso, and move his legs in a side-shuffling gallop. ^WK

Psy’s dance moves in the video became a phenomenon, driving multiple parodies and spawning a dance craze unlike anything seen since “Macarena” in the 1990s. It was so successful that it became the first YouTube video to reach a billion views. ^WK Deborah Netburn of the Los Angeles Times called it “one of the greatest videos ever to be uploaded to YouTube.” ^WK MTV’s James Montgomery said the song “is either the track we, as a culture needed right now, or the track we, as a culture, deserved.” ^WK The Washington Post’s Maura Judkis said Psy “has made an extraordinarily stupid-looking dance move suddenly cool.” ^WK Psy himself said the point of the dance is “to dress classy and dance cheesy” ^WK and that for the video the intent was “to be ridiculous as possible.” ^SF Even NASA weighed in, calling it “a dance-filled music video that has forever entered the hears and minds of millions of people.” ^WK

About.com’s Bill Lamb praised the song for “spreading smiles and pure fun around the world in record time.” ^WK He called Psy a “powerfully charismatic…showman.” ^WK Digital Spy’s Robert Copsey criticized the song for being monotonous and The Guardian’s Paul Lester knocked it as “generic ravey Euro dance with guitars.” ^WK The Village Voice’s Robert Myers dismissed the song as an “inspired piece of silliness.” ^WK Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, called the song the greatest cultural masterpiece of 2012. ^WK

“Gangnam Style” is a Korean phrase referring to a trendy and lavish lifestyle associated with Seoul’s Gangnam District. ^WK Psy compared the area to Beverly Hills in California. Psy said the video and song mock “the posers and wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are ‘Gangnam Style’ – so this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying very hard to be something that they’re not.” ^WK

Resources and Related Links:

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Popular Music Hall of Fame

image from reverbnation.com

This Hall seems to be defunct now. Web searches only turn up the more recent America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame and the pophall.org link is now dead. The Hall had 25 inductees from the pre-rock era:

Andrews Sisters
Tony Bennett
Irving Berlin
Hoagy Carmichael
Rosemary Clooney
Nat “King” Cole
Perry Como
Bing Crosby
Dr. Lee DeForest
Walt Disney
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Edison
Judy Garland
George Gershwin
Benny Goodman
Al Jolson
Jerome Kern
Glenn Miller
Mills Brothers
Patti Page
Cole Porter
David Sarnoff
Frank Sinatra
Kate Smith
Ed Sullivan

Resources:

Popular Music Hall of Fame

Thursday, December 13, 2012

The 12-12-12 Hurricane Sandy Benefit Concert

image from glidemagazine.com

The nearly six-hour concert to raise relief funds for victims of Hurricane Sandy was held 12/12/12 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Tickets ranged in price from $150 to $2500. More than $30 million was raised just on ticket sales. ^HP Millions in the New York and New Jersey areas were left without heat or electricity for weeks and more than 300,000 homes were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. ^HP

The show was televised, streamed, and aired on radio all over the world. It was shown on 37 television stations in the U.S. and over 200 worldwide. ^HP Producers said as many as 2 billion people might tune in. ^HP Locals dominated the show with performances from Jersey’s Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi and New Yorkers’ Billy Joel and Alicia Keys. Live sets consisted of about 30 minutes with celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Adam Sandler, and Brian Williams, making pleas for pledges and introducing acts.

Springsteen opened with a set including “Land of Hope and Dreams,” “Wrecking Ball,” “My City in Ruins,” and a cover of the Impressions’ “People Get Ready.” Jon Bon Jovi joined him for “Born to Run.” Bon Jovi returned later with his band for a set with another hook-up with Springsteen on “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.”

Roger Waters, whose tour for The Wall is the highest grossing of the year, performed a scaled down version of that show with a set featuring classics like “Another Brick in the Wall Part II,” “Money,” and, with Eddie Vedder as a guest vocalist, “Comfortably Numb.”

Eric Clapton was up next with a three-song set of “Nobody Loves You When You’re Down and Out,” the obscure Derek and the Dominos’ song “Got to Get Better in a Little While,” and “Crossroads.” The Rolling Stones, in the midst of celebrating their 50th anniversary, followed with just two songs – “You Got Me Rocking” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Mick Jagger joked about it being “the world’s biggest collection of aged British rock stars,” ^BB a reference to other legendary performers on the bill such as Clapton, The Who, Paul McCartney, and Roger Waters.

The Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, image from Billboard.com

Alicia Keys performed a more intimate two-song set with new song “Brand New Me” and “No One.” She returned at the end of the show with a performance of “Empire State of Mind,” originally a #1 song she recorded with Jay-Z.

The Who, currently touring behind their classic Quadrophenia album, did a limited version of that tour and included favorites like “Who Are You,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Baba O’Riley,” and “Love Reign O’er Me.” It was one of the weaker performances of the night as Roger Daltrey’s voice was not in stellar form. By the way, Mr. Daltrey, you are in great shape for a 68-year-old man, but please button up your shirt.

The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, image from Billboard.com

Kanye West seemed out of place, being “stuck representing youth and the hip-hop community on the bill.” ^BB His shortened versions of his songs didn’t allow his “music to develop a dynamic quality on par with the rock acts.” ^BB

Billy Joel performed a set of several favorites, including the appropriately-themed “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway),” and “New York State of Mind” before Coldplay’s Chris Martin took the stage. He performed a couple songs solo and brought out R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe as a surprise guest on a duet of “Losing My Religion.”

In the most anticipated performance of the night, Paul McCartney performed a set heavier on Wings-era material than Beatles before being joined by former Nirvana members Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear for a new song, “Cut Me Some Slack.”

The full set for all the night’s performers is available at Billboard.com.

Resources and Related Links:

^BB Billboard.com Sandy Concert Rocks NYC with Stones, McCartney, and a Reunited Nirvana by Phil Gallo (13 December 2012)
^HP HuffingtonPost.com 12-12-12 Concert for Hurricane Sandy Victims Includes Music Royalty by David Bauder (12 December 2012)
Spinner.com Paul McCartney + Nirvana’s Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic: ‘Cut Me Some Slack’ by Dan Reilly (13 December 2012)
UltimateClassicRock.com Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Roger Waters and Eddie Vedder Highlight Early Hurricane Sandy Benefit Concert Sets by Chad Childers (12 December 2012)

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2013 Inductees Announced

clockwise, from top left: Public Enemy, Albert King, Randy Newman, Rush, Heart, Donna Summer; image from Billboard

The 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were announced on December 11, 2012 by Flea, the bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (a 2012 inductee). The announcement was made at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater where the induction ceremony will be held April 18. The inductees are Lou Adler, Heart, Quincy Jones, Albert King, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, Rush, and Donna Summer.

Lou Adler Induction category: Ahmet Ertegun Award for Lifetime Achievement

Adler was an American record producer (Sam Cooke, Carole King, The Mamas & the Papas), manager (Jan & Dean), director, and an owner of the famous Roxy Theater. He founded Dunhill Records in 1964 and Ode Records in 1967. He helped produce the Monterey International Pop Festival and cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Carole King’s Tapestry, which he produced, won the Grammy for Album of the Year and rates as one of the top 100 albums of all time. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.

Heart Induction category: Performer

Heart was a rarity in the male-dominated world of classic rock in the ‘70s – a band led by women – sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. Ann said, “Some people have an idea of what the shape of rock & roll is supposed to look like. We’re not really it. Personally that’s why I think it’s taken quite a while…So this kind of acknowledgement is really sweet.” ^RS The band made a name for themselves with classic-rock staples like “Magic Man,” “Crazy on You,” and “Barracuda” before getting a second life in the mid-‘80s as a mainstream pop group with #1 hits “These Dreams” and “Alone.” See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.

Quincy Jones Induction category: Ahmet Ertegun Award for Lifetime Achievement

Jones started as an R&B/jazz musician and bandleader, but made his name as a producer. He ranks as one of the top 50 producers of all time. His most notable work was with Michael Jackson on Thriller, which tops the list of the best-selling albums of all time. That album, as well as Jones’ own Back on the Block, snagged Grammys for Album of the Year. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.

Albert King Induction category: Performer

One of two posthumous inductees (the other is Donna Summer), King already ranked as one of the top 100 blues acts of all time and one of the top 100 greatest guitarists. He was previously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. His 1967 album Born Under a Bad Sign ranks as one of the top 1000 albums of all time. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.

Randy Newman Induction category: Performer

Newman is already an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and ranks as oe of the top 100 songwriters of the rock era. Of his induction into the Rock Hall, he said, “I thought maybe I’d have to die before they let me in.” ^RS He also said, “They’re always a little doctinate about what’s rock & roll and what isn’t rock & roll. It’s nice they opened up a little to let me in.” ^RS His albums 12 Songs (1970) and Sail Away (1972) rank in the top 1000 albums of all time list. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.

Public Enemy Induction category: Performer

They are the fourth hip-hop act to be inducted into the Hall, following Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (2007), Run-D.M.C. (2009), and the Beastie Boys (2012). Their songs “Rebel without a Pause” and “Fight the Power” both rank in the top 100 rap songs of all time; the latter is also in the top 1000 songs of all time list. Their 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back ranks as one of the top 100 albums of all time. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.

Rush Induction category: Performer

Fan loyalty for this classic prog-rock Canadian trio is rivaled only by KISS fans when it comes to lobbying for enshrinement into the Hall. This year, fans were allowed to vote and the results were counted as one of the six-hundred-something ballots. Rush was the overwhelming favorite. Geddy Lee, th band’s singer and bassist, expressed gratitude to the band’s hardcore fans. “It was a cause they championed. I’m very relieved for them and we share this honor with them, for sure.” ^RS Alex Lifeson, the band’s guitarist, said, “It’s a privilege to be able to play music…and it’s an even greater privilege to have such a fantastic audience.” ^BB The band’s albums 2112 (1976), Permanent Waves (1980), and Moving Pictures all rank in the top 1000 albums of all time list. Among their best-known songs are “Closer to the Heart,” “The Trees,” “Freewill,” “Limelight,” and “Tom Sawyer,” a song ranked as one of the top 100 classic rock songs of all time. See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.

Donna Summer Induction category: Performer

Sometimes known as the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer was hugely successful in the ‘70s and early ‘80s. Her songs “Last Dance” and “Hot Stuff” rank in the DMDB’s top 1000 songs of all time. When she died last May, the DMDB blog featured a tribute to her in which her top 20 songs were ranked (“Last Dance for Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco: May 17, 2012”). See DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry for more.

Resources and Related Links:

^BB Billboard Rock Hall 2013: Rush Has Heart, Donna Summer, Public Enemy as Classmates by Phil Gallo (11 December 2012)
^RH RockHall.com The 2013 Inductees
^RS Rolling Stone Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2013 Inductees: Rush, Public Enemy, Heart and Randy Newman by Andy Greene (11 December 2012)

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Music Lessons from The Pit: The Playlist

Music Lessons from The Pit is my in-progress novel set in the 1980s. The story follows Gil through college as he navigates the trek from youth to adulthood, accompanied by the era's burgeoning college-rock movement. In fact, Gil's life is so tied to music that each chapter is named after a song and the subsequent reflections that ensue in that chapter are inspired by that song.

What follows is a playlist of songs referenced in the book. You can watch the video, buy it via Amazon, or check out the lyrics.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Rolling Stones released Beggars Banquet: December 6, 1968

Released: 6 December 2012

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sympathy for the Devil / No Expectations / Dear Doctor / Parachute Woman / Jigsaw Puzzle / Street Fighting Man (9/7/68; #48 US, #21 UK) / Prodigal Son / Stray Cat Blues / Factory Girl / Salt of the Earth

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, -- UK, 3.0 world

Peak: 5 US, 3 UK

Rating: 4.500 (average of 21 ratings)

Review: “Despite the series of drug-related arrests that had plagued the group,” ^RS Beggars Banquet"marked the return of the Rolling Stones.” ^RS “Their previous LP, Their Santanic Majesties Request, had been mired in psychedelic experimentation of a sort for which the band had little genuine feeling,” ^RS but Beggars Banquet “was immediately acclaimed as one of their landmark achievements.” ^AMG “The Stones had stopped following trends and were back at full force” ^RS “playing fast and loose.” ^RS

Beggars Banquet was “rooted in rhythm & blues” ^RS as evidenced by the “strong acoustic Delta blues flavor [that] colors much of the material, particularly ‘Salt of the Earth’ and ‘No Expectations.’” ^AMG However, the album was also a return to “basic, hard-edged rock & roll,” ^RS especially apparent on “propulsive tracks like ‘Street Fighting Man,’ ‘Sympathy for the Devil,’ ‘Stray Cat Blues,’ and ‘Parachute Woman.’” ^RS

“The album signified ‘the Rolling Stones’ coming of age,’ says Glyn Johns, who engineered the record and had worked with the Stones since their earliest days. ‘I think that the material was far better than anything they'd ever done before. The whole mood of the record was far stronger to me musically.’” ^RS

“Producer Jimmy Miller describes Keith Richards as having been ‘A real workhorse’ on the album, largely because Brian Jones rarely made it in to the studio and when he did, he behaved erratically, due to his drug use and emotional problems…Miller says. ‘He'd show up occasionally when he was in the mood to play…He'd walk in with a sitar, which was totally irrelevant to what we were doing…The others, particularly Mick and Keith, would often say to me, ‘Just tell him to piss off and get the hell out of here.’” ^RS

Street Fighting Man

“Richards’ record collection led the Rolling Stones back to their version of America: country music on Dear Doctor, the blues on Prodigal Son and urban riots on Street Fighting Man” (Rolling Stone 500). As he said, “‘When we had been in the States between 1964 and '66, I had gathered together this enormous collection of records, but I never had any time to listen to them…In late 1966 and '67 I unwrapped them and actually played them’” (Rolling Stone 500).

In regards to the latter song, ‘Street Fighting Man’ was “a reflection of the political turbulence of 1968 [and] one of their most innovative singles.” ^AMG “The driving basic track…was recorded on a cassette deck at Keith's house, with Keith on acoustic guitar and Charlie Watts on a toy drum kit.” ^RS “The political correctness of [the song] – with its ambivalent lines ‘What can a poor boy do/'Cept sing in a rock and roll band’ – was debated intensely and at great length in the underground media.” ^RS

Sympathy for the Devil (live at Altamont)

Sympathy for the Devil, “with its fire-dancing guitar licks, leering Jagger vocals, African rhythms, and explicitly satanic lyrics, was an image-defining epic” ^AMG – “an anthem for the darkness in every human heart.” ^RS500

Despite Brian Jones’ problems, No Expectations “features some beautiful slide guitar work” ^AMG from him, as did “‘Parachute Woman’ and ‘Jigsw Puzzle’ His sitar – and tamboura, as well – can be heard on ‘Street Fighting Man.’” ^RS

“On Stray Cat Blues, Jagger and crew began to explore the kind of decadent sexual sleaze that they would take to the point of self-parody by the mid-'70s. At the time, though, the approach was still fresh.” ^AMG

“The album's original cover art, depicting a bathroom wall covered with graffiti, was banned. The Stones attempted unsuccessfully to fight their record company's decision – and from today's perspective, the cover seems quite harmless. Nevertheless, the dispute held up the album’s release for months.” ^RS

With their return to raw and raunchy blues-rock and “the lyrical bite of most of the material,” ^AMG the Stones had redeemed themselves as the world’s greatest rock & roll band. Their next three albums would be gems as well, but Beggars Banquet will stand as “one of the top blues-based rock records of all time.” ^AMG

Resources and Related Links:

The Rolling Stones’ DMDB Encyclopedia entry
^AMG All Music Guide review by Richie Unterberger
^RS RollingStone.com review, posted online 6/17/97.
^RS500 Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, posted online 11/1/03.

Award(s):

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Grammy Nominations 2013

image from grammy.com

The nominations for the 2013 Grammy Awards were announced in conjunction with a live CBS broadcast in Nashville, Tennessee, which featured performances from Maroon 5, The Who, Fun., Hunter Hayes, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, and Luke Bryan. Taylor Swift and LL Cool J hosted. The Grammys will be awarded February 10, 2013. Here were the nominations for the biggest categories:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

The Black Keys El Camino
Fun. Some Nights
Mumford & Sons Babel
Frank Ocean Channel Orange
Jack White Blunderbuss

RECORD OF THE YEAR: (goes to the performers)

The Black Keys “Lonely Boy”
Kelly Clarkson “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe “We Are Young”
Gotye featuring Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know”
Frank Ocean “Thinkin’ ‘Bout You”
Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”

Somebody That I Used to Know

SONG OF THE YEAR: (goes to the songwriters)

Kelly Clarkson “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe “We Are Young”
Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe”
Miguel “Adorn”
Ed Sheeran “The A Team”

We Are Young

BEST NEW ARTIST:

Alabama Shakes
Fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean

Frank Ocean, Mumford & Sons, fun., Jay-Z, and Kanye West each scored six nominations. The Black Keys landed five and member Dan Auerbach also got one as producer. Miguel and Chick Corea each nabbed five noms. Among other artists scoring more than one nomination are Kelly Clarkson (4), Taylor Swift (3), Gotye (3), Jack White (3), Bruce Springsteen (3), Hunter Hayes (3), Alabama Shakes (3), Carly Rae Jepsen (2), Maroon 5 (2), Coldplay (2), Muse (2), and the Lumineers (2).

Resources and Related Links:

Grammy.com (full list of nominations)
Wikipedia.org 2013 Grammy Awards

Monday, December 3, 2012

Kennedy Center Honors: December 2, 2012

image from tvrage.com

On December 2, 2012, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts held its 35th annual Kennedy Center Honors gala to celebrate contributors to the arts. Actor Dustin Hoffman, TV show host David Letterman, and ballerina Natalia Makarova were honored alongside blues musician Buddy Guy and rock band Led Zeppelin. Chairman David M. Rubenstein said of the honorees that they “have contributed significantly to the cultural life of our nation and the world.” ^KC

Rubenstein said, “Buddy Guy is a titan of the blues and has been a tremendous influence on virtually everone who has picked up an electric guitar in the last half century.” ^KC President Barack Obama teased Guy making his first guitar strings from the wire from a window screen, saying, “That worked until his parents started wondering how all the mosquitoes were getting in.” ^AP

Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page (two on left), and Robert Plant (far right) with Buddy Guy (center); image from bigstory.ap.org

In regards to Led Zeppelin, Rubenstein said the band “transformed the sound of rock and roll with their lyricism and innovative song structures, infusing blues into the sound of rock and roll and layering the foundation for countless rock bands.” ^KC Obama jokingly thanked them for being on their best behavior at the White House considering their history “of hotel rooms trashed and mayhem all around.” ^AP Actor Jack Black called them “the greatest rock and roll band of all time.” ^AP

The honors, given to those who have made significant lifetime contributions to American culture and performing arts, have been an annual event since 1978. They are awarded by the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This year’s gala will be broadcast on television on CBS on December 26, 2012.

Resources and Related Links:

^AP Associated Press Letterman, Hoffman, Zeppelin honored by Obama 3 December, 2012
^KC Kennedy Center Honors
Buddy Guy’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
Led Zeppelin’s DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Rock Memoirs Aren’t All About the Rich and Famous

Originally written for my PopMatters.com "Aural Fixation" column, but not published.

image from nytimes.com

Summary: This fall several superstars added their autobiographies to the ever-increasing market of rock memoirs. However, there’s a lesser-told story deserving of an audience as well: the life of working-class musicians who travel by van instead of private jet, tour clubs instead of stadiums, and are staying in dives instead of suites. Here’s one of their tales.

Music fans salivating for self-penned tales of debauchery and stardom from their favorite rock gods can dive into recent autobiographies from Pete Townshend (Who I Am: A Memoir, Harper), Neil Young (Waging Heavy Peace, Blue Rider Press), and Rod Stewart (Rod: The Autobiography, Crown Archetype). There’s an understandable appeal to getting a (hopefully) unguarded glimpse into the life of a legend. These are musical giants who have lived lives we mere mortals cannot imagine and likely could not have survived.

The bigger the star and the more sordid the life, the better. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Keith Richards’ Life did as well as it did. The guy personifies rock-n-roll at its baddest and best – arguably better than anyone else in history.

When unpacking the personal accounts of a superstar, however, fans aren’t just curious about how these legends achieved immortal status. Readers also want to peak behind the mask to see larger-than-life superheroes drop their oversized personas and reveal their humanity. People want to know that those who have attained unfathomable success have been plagued by fear and failure along the way.

A few months ago, Rob Sheffield put together a list for Rolling Stone on the best rock tomes (“The 25 Greatest Rock Memoirs of All Time,” 13 August 2012). Sheffield acknowledged the all-too-familiar rags-to-riches (and sometimes back to rags) blueprint of the rock memoir.

Unsurprisingly Sheffield’s list is populated with books on Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, and David Bowie. The more intriguing titles, however, are those about more unfamiliar names like Nick Kent and Kristin Hersch. As Sheffield says, “Great rock memoirs don’t always come from great artists: sometimes it takes one-hit wonders, losers, hacks, junkies, crooks.”

In that spirit, the book which caught my attention was Black Postcards (Penguin Books, 2008) by Dean Wareham.

Who?

Exactly. Readers keyed in to the indie-rock scene of the 1980s and ‘90s may know him as the frontman of Galaxie 500 and Luna, but if you’re like me you’d heard of him or his bands.

This seemed like more fertile soil than digging through the conventional bio of one of rock’s elite. For every superstar living a life of stadium tours, private jets, and hotel suites, there are hundreds of working-class musicians gigging in dives, traveling in cramped vans, and crashing in cheap motels.

Wareham actually achieved a measure of success many would be overjoyed to have – albums with tens of thousands in sales, appearances on national talk shows, and videos aired on MTV, even if only on a limited basis.

Still, there’s something which differentiates the Dean Warehams from the Keith Richards of the world. What motivates the musicians who have to keep their day jobs to keep slogging it out? Do they still believe they’ll make it big someday? Did they never dream of stardom in the first place?

For the uninitiated, here’s a brief overview of Wareham’s career. He tells how in the summer of 1987 he was in New York playing with Speedy and the Castanets. “There I was under the lights at CBGB for the first time in my life, just now realizing that I was onstage with a fool and that I needed to quit the band immediately” (p. 32).

After a summer of moping over a lost girlfriend and listening to Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers’ Back in your Life, he hooked up with Damon and Naomi, a pair of Harvard grad students who had dated since high school. As Wareham says, “You can spend your time placing ads…and sifting through messages left on your answering machine by idiot musicians…but the best thing is to start a band with your friends” (33). Galaxie 500, named after an old car, was born. As stated in their All Music bio, “their minimalist dirges presaged the rise of both the shoegazer and slowcore movements of the 1990s.”

However, when Wareham tired of butting heads with the voting block of his coupled rhythm section, he dissolved the band in 1990. After a solo EP in 1991, he formed Luna. With musical influences like Wire, Joy Division, New Order, and Sonic Youth, Wareham wasn’t exactly going to overcome what he cited as one of the dream-pop outfit’s biggest obstacles: they weren’t grunge. Nonetheless, Luna survived personnel changes over a twelve-year career which saw the release of seven studio albums.

I sought out a compilation and was a click away from buying it before opting to explore YouTube first. With apologies to Wareham disciples, I was unimpressed and the album remained on the virtual shelf.

The book left me with a similar dissatisfaction. Wareham chronicles nearly two decades of a life of touring small clubs in the U.S. and Europe. While there are the requisite tales of sexual conquests and drug binges, they are delivered with an aloofness suggesting nothing really excites him. The book cover says it all – a head shot of Wareham with a blank look on his face.

He reports celebrity run-ins with rapper Flavor Flav and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ lead singer Anthony Kiedis with a ho-hum detachment and a mere paragraph or two when seemingly a chapter’s worth of insight could be offered.

There’s also a quality of self-absorption. He was in New York in 2001 when terrorists brought down the twin towers. However, instead of offering moving insight into the immense tragedy happening right in front of him, he focuses on the personal turmoil of leaving his wife for Britta, the bassist in Luna.

The distance Wareham puts between himself and his lifestyle does provide the benefit of preventing this book from becoming a why-didn’t-we-make-it-big whine fest. Wareham confesses he’d “never lain awake at night dreaming of being a big rock star” (106) and that he wasn’t interested in shoehorning catchy choruses into his songs in return for radio airplay. He relayed a meeting in which he said, to the disappointment of the record executive, that he just wanted to make records. “It never occurred to me to want to be a household name.”

Dean Wareham lacked the necessary ambition and possibly talent to ever make it big. He was never destined to be a Pete Townshend, Neil Young, or Rod Stewart. He never dreamed of stardom, but Black Postcards offers an account of someone who succeeded. His life wasn’t necessarily one filled with passion, but Wareham seemed to live the life he wanted – and that’s all anyone can hope for.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Rihanna notches 12th #1 with "Diamonds"

Updated 11/28/2018.

image from stereoload.com

Diamonds

Rihanna

Writer(s): Sia Furler, Benjamin Levin, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen (see lyrics here)

Released: 9/27/2012

First Charted: 9/30/2012

Peak: 1³ US, 27 AC, 1¹⁴ RB, 1¹ UK, 1⁴ CN, 6 CN (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales *: 6.0 US, 1.35 UK, 9.34 world (includes US + UK)

Radio Airplay *: --

Video Airplay *: 1253.639

Streaming *: 200.00

* in millions

Review:

Unlike her usual themes of unhealthy relationships, “Diamonds” finds the Barbadian singer crooning about love. She has said, “It gives me a great feeling when I listen to it. The lyrics are hopeful and positive.” ^SF She told MTV News, “I think a lot of people are afraid of being happy..They’re afraid to embrace that…and love themselves…and do what makes them happy.” ^SF

Norwegian production duo Benjamin “Benny Blanco” Levin and Stargate produced the track. Blanco had never worked with Rihanna, but Stargate collaborated with Rihanna on hits such as “Don’t Stop the Music,” “Only Girl in the World,” “Take a Bow,” “Rude Boy,” and “What’s My Name?” ^SF They were looking for something different and tapped Australian singer/songwriter Sia Furler, who hit the top ten with David Guetta on “Titanium.” She wrote the song in fourteen minutes and when Rihanna recorded it, she so closely mirrored Sia’s demo that when Sia heard the recording she thought it was still her voice. ^WK Sia later hit #1 on her own with “Cheap Thrills.”

The video, directed by Anthony Mandler, showcases Rihanna in a variety of settings representing the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Rihanna told MTV News the clip “concentrates more on emotion than any tangible storyline.” ^SF Mandler told MTV News, “We tried to bring up these deeper questions that relate to the song and her life and finding beauty in chaos.” ^SF

The song topped the charts in over twenty countries, and in the U.S. marked Rihanna’s 12th trip to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with Madonna and The Supremes as the female acts with the second-most #1 songs (behind Mariah Carey’s 18 #1’s). ^SF As the lead single from her seventh album, Unapologetic, the song also meant giving up another record. Rihanna had landed more #1 songs than anyone without ever having a #1 album. Unapologetic finally gave her a #1 album. ^SF

Resources and Related Links:

Note: Footnotes (raised letter codes) refer to sources frequently cited on the blog. Numbers following the letter code indicate page numbers. If the raised letter code is a link, it will go directly to the correct page instead of the home page of a website. You can find the sources and corresponding footnotes on the “Lists” page in the “Song Resources” section.

Awards:

December: Music Makers' Birthdays

Click on any date below to see music makers’ birthdays on that day. Click here to return to the main music makers’ birthday page. Note: Names listed in bold have had dates verified with at least two sources to (hopefully) ensure accuracy. Please email Dave’s Music Database with any corrections.

DEC. 1

Brad Delson (1977). Rock musician from Linkin Park (2000’s Hybrid Theory).

Julee Cruise (1956)

Jaco Pastorius (1951). American jazz bassist. Born John Francis Anthony Pastorius III. Died 9/21/1987.

Gilbert O'Sullivan (1946). Irish singer/songwriter (“Along Again (Naturally)”) born Raymond Edward O’Sullivan.

Bette Midler (1945). American singer and actress.

John Densmore (1944). American rock drummer with The Doors.

Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult) (1944)

Sandy Nelson (1938). American session drummer who also had hits on his own (“Teen Beat”, “Let There Be Drums”). Born Sander Nelson.

Billy Paul (1934). American singer (“Me and Mrs. Jones”). Born Paul Williams.

Lou Rawls (1933). American soul/blues singer (“You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”). Died 1/6/2006.

DEC. 2

Britney Spears (1981). Pop singer (“Baby…One More Time”, “Toxic”).

Nelly Furtado (1978)

Treach (Naughty By Nature) (1970)

Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters) (1968)

Rick Savage (1960). Rock bassist with Def Leppard (1983’s Pyromania).

Michael McDonald (Doobie Brothers) (1952)

Ted Bluechel Jr. (1942). American drummer with the Association.

Tom McGuinness (1941). English bassist with Manfred Mann.

Maria Callas (1923). American opera singer. Died 9/16/1977.

Pop Staples (1915). Guitarist.

Adolph Green (1914). Composer.

DEC. 3

Daniel Bedingfield (1979)

Trini (1978). Rapper.

Montell Jordan (1971)

Ozzy Osbourne (1948). English heavy metal singer with Black Sabbath (“Paranoid”, 1970’s Black Sabbath, 1970’s Paranoid, 1971’s Master of Reality, 1972’s Vol. 4). Born John Michael Osbourne.

Ralph McTell (1944). English musician (“Streets of London”) born Ralph May.

Andy Williams (1927). Singer.

Ferlin Husky (1925). American country singer.

Connee Boswell (1907). American singer. Died 10/11/1976.

Anton Webern (1883). Composer.

DEC. 4

Jay-Z (1969). American rapper and businessman born Shawn Corey Carter.

Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge) (1962)

Bob Griffin (The BoDeans) (1959)

Cassandra Wilson (1955). Singer.

Southside Johnny (1948). American singer/songwriter who fronted Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes. Born John Lyon.

Dennis Wilson (1944). American rock drummer with the Beach Boys (“Good Vibrations”, Pet Sounds).

Chris Hillman (1942). American rock bassist with the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Freddy Cannon (1940). American musician (“Tallahassee Lassie”) born Frederick Anthony Picariello.

Eddie Heywood (1915). American pianist (“Beguin the Beguine”). Died 1/2/1989.

DEC. 5

Glen Graham (Blind Melon) (1968)

Johnny Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls) (1965)

Jack Russell (Great White) (1960)

Jim Messina (1947). American rock guitarist with Poco and duo Loggins & Messina.

Andy Kim (1946)

J.J. Cale (1938). American blues-rock guitarist born John W. Cale.

Little Richard (1932). American R&B singer and pianist. Early rock ‘n’ roller (“Tutti Frutti”). Born Richard Wayne Penniman.

Reverend James Cleveland (1931). American gospel singer. Died 2/9/1991.

Sonny Boy Williamson II (1899). American blues harmonica player and singer/songwriter (“Don’t Start Me Talkin’”, “Help Me”) born Alex “Rice” Miller. Died 5/25/1965.

DEC. 6

Ulf “Buddha” Ekberg (1970). Swedish pop keyboardist with Ace of Base.

Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl) (1962)

David Lovering (1961). American rock drummer with the Pixies (1988’s Surfer Rosa, 1989’s Doolittle).

Peter Buck (1956). American rock guitarist with R.E.M. (“Losing My Religion”, 1983’s Murmur, 1991’s Out of Time, 1992’s Automatic for the People).

Rick Buckler (Jam) (1955)

Jonathan King (1948). English musician (“Everyone’s Gone to the Moon”) born Kenneth King.

Keith West (1943). English musician (“Excerpt from a Teenage Opera (Grocer Jack)”) born Keith Hopkins.

Dave Brubeck (1920). American jazz pianist.

Ira Gershwin (1896). Amercan lyricist who worked with his brother, composer George Gershwin (“I Got Rhythm”, “Someone to Watch Over Me”, 1935’s Porgy and Bess). Born Israel Gershowitz. Died 8/17/1983.

DEC. 7

Aaron Carter (1987). Singer.

Sara Bareilles (1979)

Nicole Appleton (1974). Musician with All Saints.

Barbara Weathers (Atlantic Starr) (1963)

Tim Butler (1958). Alternative-rock bassist with the Psychedelic Furs.

Tom Waits (1949). American singer/songwriter (1983’s Swordfishtrombones, 1985’s Rain Dogs).

Harry Chapin (1942). American folk singer (“Cat’s in the Cradle”). Died 7/16/1981.

Louis Prima (1910). American jazz/big band leader (“Buona Sera”). Died 8/24/1978.

DEC. 8

Corey Taylor (1973). Singer.

Ryan Newell (Sister Hazel) (1972)

Sinéad O'Connor (1966). Irish alternative rock singer/songwriter (“Nothing Compares 2 U”).

Bushwick Bill (The Geto Boys) (1966)

David Shea (1965). DJ.

Kat Bjelland (1963). American singer and guitarist with the Neurotics, Venarays, and Babes in Toyland.

Marty Friedman (Megadeth) (1962)

Paul Rutherford (Frankie Goes To Hollywood) (1959)

Phil Collen (1957). Rock musician with Def Leppard (1983’s Pyromania).

Warren Cuccurullo (1956). Rock guitarist who joined Duran Duran in 1990.

Gregg Allman (1947). Rock musician with the Allman Brothers Band (“Whipping Post”, 1971’s At Fillmore East1972’s Eat a Peach).

George Baker (1944). Dutch musician (“Paloma Blanca”) born George Bouwens.

Jim Morrison (1943). American rock singer/songwriter/poet best known as the lead singer of The Doors (“Light My Fire”). Died 7/3/1971.

Bobby Elliot (The Hollies) (1942)

Jerry Butler (1939). American R&B singer/songwriter with the Impressions and a solo artist (“Only the Strong Survive”).

Jimmy Smith (1928). Jazz pianist. Died 2/8/2005.

Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925). American entertainer (“The Candy Man”, “Me and My Shadow”). Died 5/16/1990.

Floyd Tillman (1914). Country musician.

Jean Sibelius (1865). Finnish classical composer. Died 9/20/1957.

DEC. 9

Tré Cool (1972). German-American punk-rock drummer with Green Day (Dookie, American Idiot). Born Frank Edwin Wright III.

Geoff Barrow (Portishead) (1971)

Jakob Dylan (The Wallflowers) (1970)

Brian Bell (Weezer) (1968)

Nick Seymour (1958). Rock musician with Crowded House (1991’s Woodface).

Donny Osmond (1957). American pop singer (“Puppy Love”, “Young Love”).

Randy Murray (BTO) (1955)

Joan Armatrading (1950). Singer born in the West Indies.

Dennis Dunaway (1948). American bassist with Billion Dollar Babies.

Walter Orange (The Commodores) (1946)

Peter Sarstedt (1943). Indian musician (“Where Do You Go to My Lovely”).

David Houston (1938). American country singer. Died 11/30/1993.

Freddy Martin (1906). American bandleader and tenor saxophonist. Died 9/30/1983.

DEC. 10

Meg White (1974). Drummer with the White Stripes (“Fell in Love with a Girl”, “Seven Nation Army”, 2001’s White Blood Cells).

Scot Alexander (Dishwalla) (1971)

Timothy Christian Riley (Tony! Toni! Tone!) (1966)

Jermaine Jackson (1954). American R&B/pop singer with the Jackson 5 and also a solo artist.

Johnny Rodriguez (1951). American country singer.

Ralph Tavares (Tavares) (1948)

Chad Stuart (Chad & Jeremy) (1943)

Morton Gould (1913). American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist. Died 2/21/1996.

DEC. 11

Zacky Vengeance (1981). Guitarist.

Justin Currie (1964). Best known as singer/songwriter/bassist for Scottish pop/rock band Del Amitri (“Roll to Me”).

Nikki Sixx (1958). Rock drummer with Mötley Crüe (Dr. Feelgood).

Mike Mesaros (The Smithereens) (1957)

Jermaine Jackson (1954)

Brenda Lee (1944). American country, pop, and rockabilly singer (“I’m Sorry”) born Brenda Mae Tarpley.

Frank J. Wilson (1941). American singer (“Last Kiss”) born John Frank Wilson. Died 10/4/1991.

David Gates (1940). American singer/songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist with Bread.

Tyner McCoy (1938). American jazz pianist.

Big Mama Thornton (1926). American R&B singer (“Hound Dog”) born Willie Mae Thornton. Died 7/25/1984.

Benny Spellman (1931). Musician.

Pérez Prado (1916). Cuban jazz/big band leader and pianist. Died 9/14/1989.

Hector Berlioz (1803). French classical composer. Died 3/8/1869.

DEC. 12

Dino Meneghin (The Calling) (1977)

Hank Williams III (1972). Musician.

Danny Boy (House Of Pain) (1968)

Nick Dimichino (Nine Days) (1967)

Sinead O’Connor (1966). Irish alternative-rock singer (“Nothing Compares 2 U”).

Eric Schenkman (Spin Doctors) (1963)

Sheila E. (born Sheila Escovedo, 1957)

Clive Bunker (1946). Musician with Jethro Tull (1971’s Aqualung).

Tony Williams (1945). American jazz drummer. Died 2/23/1997.

Rob Tyner (1944). American singer with the MC5. Died 9/17/1991.

Dickey Betts (1943). American rock guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band (“Whipping Post”, 1971’s At Fillmore East1972’s Eat a Peach).

Grover Washington Jr. (1943)

Terry Kirkman (1941). American singer and multi-instrumentalist with the Association.

Dionne Warwick (1940). American R&B singer (“Walk on By”, “That’s What Friends Are For”) born Marie Dionne Warrick..

Connie Francis (1938). American pop singer (“Who’s Sorry Now?”, “Where the Boys Are”) born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero.

Frank Sinatra (1915). American pop crooner (“I’ll Never Smile Again”, “My Way”, “Strangers in the Night”, “New York, New York”, 1956’s Songs for Swingin’ Lovers) born Francis Albert Sinatra. Died 5/14/1998.

DEC. 13

Taylor Swift (1989). American country singer (“Teardrops on My Guitar”, “Love Story”, “You Belong with Me”, 2008’s Fearless).

Amy Lee (1981). Goth-rock singer with Evanescence (“Bring Me to Life”).

Tom DeLonge (Blink-182) (1975)

John Anderson (1954). American country singer.

Berton Averre (The Knack) (1954)

Randy Owen (Alabama) (1949)

Tom Verlaine (1949). Rock guitarist with Television (1975’s Marquee Moon) born Thomas Miller.

Lester Bangs (1948). American music journalist who wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone. Has been called “America’s Greatest Rock Critic”. Died 4/30/1982.

Ted Nugent (1948). American rock guitarist (“Cat Scratch Fever”, “Wango Tango”).

Lou Adler (1933). American producer.

Vestal Goodman (1929). Gospel singer. Died 12/27/2003.

DEC. 14

Brian Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) (1975)

Mike Scott (The Waterboys) (1958)

Peter Stacy (The Pogues) (1958)

Randy Owens (1949). American country singer and guitarist with Alabama.

Cliff Williams (1949). English rock bassist with AC/DC since 1977. (“You Shook Me All Night Long”, 1979’s Highway to Hell, 1980’s Back in Black).

Jane Birkin (1947). English singer (“Je Taime…Mo Non Plus”).

Charlie Rich (1932). American country singer (“Behind Closed Doors”, “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”). Died 7/25/1995.

Clark Terry (1920). American jazz trumpeter.

DEC. 15

Paul Simonon (1956). Rock musician with The Clash (1977’s The Clash, 1979’s London Calling).

Carmine Appice (1946). American drummer with Vanilla Fudge and Cactus.

Dave Clark (Dave Clark Five) (1942)

Cindy Birdsong (The Supremes) (1939)

Jesse Belvin (1932). American singer/songwriter and pianist. Died 2/6/1960.

Jerry Wallace (1928). American country/pop singer. Died 5/5/2008.

Alan Freed (1921). American early rock-n-roll radio DJ. Born Albert James Freed. Died 1/20/1965.

Stan Kenton (1911). American jazz bandleader. Died 8/25/1979.

John Hammond (1910). American blues producer. Died 7/10/1987.

Cab Calloway (1907). American jazz singer and bandleader born Cabell Calloway III. Died 11/18/1994.

DEC. 16

Flo Rida (1979)

Michael McCary (1971). American R&B bass singer with Boyz II Men.

Christopher Thorn (Blind Melon) (1968)

Alex Fergusson (1952). Scottish guitarist with Alternative TV.

Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) (1949)

Benny Andersson (1946). Swedish singer/songwriter with Abba (“Dancing Queen”).

Tony Hicks (The Hollies) (1943)

DEC. 17

Nat Wolff (1994). Musician.

Craig “DJ Homicide” Bullock (Sugar Ray) (1972)

Sarah Dallin (1961). English pop singer with Bananarama.

Bob Stinson (1959). American alternative-rock guitarist with the Replacements. Died 2/18/1995.

Mike Mills (1958). American rock bassist and keyboardist with R.E.M. (“Losing My Religion”, 1983’s Murmur, 1991’s Out of Time, 1992’s Automatic for the People).

Paul Rodgers (1949). English rock singer/songwriter with Free (“All Right Now”) and Bad Company.

Paul Butterfield (1942). American musician. Died 5/4/1987.

Eddie Kendricks (1939). American R&B singer with The Temptations. Died 10/5/1992.

Art Neville (Neville Brothers) (1937)

Tommy Steele (1936). English musician (“Singing the Blues”) born Thomas Hicks.

Arthur Fiedler (1874). American classical conductor. Died 7/10/1979.

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770). German classical composer and pianist (1806’s Violin Concerto in D Major). Died 3/26/1827.

Ray Noble (1903). English bandleader, composer, and arranger. Died 4/3/1978.

DEC. 18

Christina Aguilera (1980). American pop singer.

DJ Lethal (Limp Bizkit) (1972)

DMX (1970)

Elliot Easton (The Cars) (1953)

Bill Nelson (1948). English guitarist, singer, and keyboardist with Be-Bop Deluxe.

Keith Richards (1943). English rock guitarist with The Rolling Stones (“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, “Get Off of My Cloud”, “Paint It, Black”, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “Honky Tonk Women”, “Brown Sugar”, 1968’s Beggars Banquet, 1969’s Let It Bleed, 1971’s Sticky Fingers, 1972’s Exile on Main Street).

Chas Chandler (1938). English rock bassist with the Animals. Also the manager for Jimi Hendrix and Slade. Born Bryan James Chandler. Died 7/17/1996.

Fletcher Henderson (1897). American jazz bandleader and pianist. Died 12/28/1952.

DEC. 19

Kevin Shepard (Tonic) (1968)

Limahl (Kajagoogoo) (1958)

Doug Johnson (Loverboy) (1957)

Janie Fricke (1947). American country singer.

John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) (1945)

Alvin Lee (1944). English rock guitarist and singer with Ten Years After.

Zal Yanovky (Lovin' Spoonful) (1944)

Maurice White (1941). R&B musician with Earth, Wind & Fire (1975’s That’s the Way of the World).

Phil Ochs (1940). American folk singer. Died 4/9/1976.

Little Jimmy Dickens (1925). Country musician.

Professor Longhair (1918). Blues musician.

Edith Piaf (1915). French singer. Died 10/11/1963.

DEC. 20

JoJo (1990)

Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes) (1966)

Billy Bragg (1957)

Anita Ward (1957). American disco singer (“Ring My Bell”).

Alan Parsons (1948). British producer/engineer (The Beatles’ Abbey Road, 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon) and musician (Alan Parsons Project).

Lloyd Courtney (1947). English musician with Arrival.

Peter Criss (1945). American rock drummer with Kiss (1976’s Destroyer) born George Peter John Criscuola.

Bobby Colomby (1944). American rock drummer with Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Kim Weston (1939). Musician.

DEC. 21

Brett Scallions (Fuel) (1971)

Gabrielle Glaser (Luscious Jackson) (1965)

Nick Gilder (1951)

Carl Wilson (1942). American rock guitarist with the Beach Boys (“Good Vibrations”, Pet Sounds). Died 2/6/1998.

Frank Zappa (1940). American experimental rock singer/musician (Hot Rats, We’re Only in It for the Money). Died 12/4/1993.

Freddie Hart (1926). American country singer/songwriter.

DEC. 22

Jordin Sparks (1989). Singer.

Richey Edwards (1967). Alternative-rock rhythm guitarist and lyricist with Manic Street Preachers. Missing and presumed dead since 2/1/1995.

Maurice Gibb (1949). British pop/disco singer in the Bee Gees (“Stayin’ Alive”, “Night Fever”, 1977’s Saturday Night Fever soundtrack) with his brothers. Died 1/2/2003.

Robin Gibb (1949). British pop/disco singer in the Bee Gees (“Stayin’ Alive”, “Night Fever”, 1977’s Saturday Night Fever soundtrack) with his brothers.

Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) (1946)

Barry Jenkins (Animals) (1944)

André Kostelanetz (1901). Russian orchestral music conductor and arranger. One of the pioneers of easy listening music. Died 1/13/1980.

Edgard Varèse (1883). French composer born Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse. Died 11/8/1965.

Giacomo Puccini (1858). Italian composer. Born Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini. Died 11/29/1924.

DEC. 23

Montsho Eshe (1974). American dancer with Arrested Development (“Tennessee”, “Mr. Wendal”) born Temelca Gaither.

Eddie Vedder (1964). American grunge-rock singer/songwriter/musician with Pearl Jam (“Jeremy”, “Alive”) and Temple of the Dog. Born Edward Louis Severson III.

Victoria Williams (1959)

Dave Murray (Iron Maiden) (1958)

Bruce Hornsby (1955)

Adrian Belew (1949)

Robbie Dupree (1946)

Tim Hardin (1940). American musician. Died 12/29/1980.

Jorma Kaukonen (1940). Rock musician with Jefferson Airplane (“White Rabbit”, 1967’s Surrealistic Pillow) and Hot Tuna.

Johnny Kidd (1939). English singer with Johnny Kidd & the Pirates (“Shakin’ All Over”). Born Frederick Heath. Died 10/7/1966.

“Little” Esther Phillips (1935). American musician (“Double Crossing Blues”) born Esther Mae Jones. Died 8/7/1984.

Chet Baker (1929). American jazz trumpeter and singer. Born Chesney Henry Baker, Jr. Died 5/13/1988.

DEC. 24

Robert Schwartzman (1982). Singer.

Ricky Martin (1971). Puerto Rican pop singer (“Livin’ La Vida Loca”).

Mary Ramsey (10,000 Maniacs) (1963)

Ian Burden (Human League) (1957)

Jan Akkerman (1946). Dutch guitarist.

Lemmy (1945). English heavy metal singer and bassist with Motörhead (1981’s No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith). Born Ian Fraser Kilmster.

Jake Hess (1927). Gospel singer. Died 1/4/2004.

Lee Dorsey (1924). American musician (“Working in the Coal Mine”) born Irwing Lee Dorsey. Died 12/2/1986.

Dave Bartholomew (1920). American R&B songwriter (Fats Domino’s “Ain’t It a Shame”) and producer.

DEC. 25

Dido (1972)

Noel Hogan (The Cranberries) (1971)

Bob Stanley (1965). Musician.

Shane McGowan (1957). Irish rock guitarist and singer with the Pogues.

Annie Lennox (1954). Scottish singer with the Eurythmics (“Sweet Dreams Are Made of This”, “Here Comes the Rain Again”) and later a solo artist.

Robin Campbell (UB40) (1954)

Steve Wariner (1954). American country singer.

Barbara Mandrell (1948). American country singer.

Jimmy Buffett (1946). American singer/songwriter (“Margaritaville”).

Noel Redding (1945). English rock bassist with the Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967’s Are You Experienced?, 1967’s Axis: Bold As Love, 1968’s Electric Ladyland).

Trevor Lucas (1943). Australian guitarist with Fotheringay and Fairport Convention. Died 3/4/1989.

Chris Kenner (1929). American musician (“Land of 1000 Dances”). Died 1/25/1976.

Tony Martin (1913). American actor and traditional pop singer.

Nathaniel “Nat” Shilkret (1889). American composer, conductor, and musician. Died 2/18/1982.

Aleksandr Scriabin (1871). Composer.

DEC. 26

Chris Daughtry (1979)

Peter Klett (Candlebox) (1969)

J. Yuenger (White Zombie) (1967)

Lars Ulrich (1963). Rock drummer with Metallica (“Enter Sandman”, “One”).

Steve Witherington (1953). English drummer with Ace.

Phil Spector (1939). American record producer and songwriter. Originated the “Wall of Sound” production technique.

Abdul Fakir (The Four Tops) (1935)

DEC. 27

Hayley Williams (1988). Singer.

Matt Slocum (Sixpence None The Richer) (1972)

Youth (1960). Musician.

Karla Bonoff (1952)

David Knopfler (1952). Co-founder, with brother Mark, of rock group Dire Straits (“Sultans of Swing”, 1978’s Dire Straits).

Terry Bozzio (1950). American drummer with Frank Zappa and Missing Persons.

Larry Byrom (Steppenwolf) (1948)

Mick Jones (1944). Rock musician with Spooky Tooth andForeigner).

Pete Quaife (1943). Rock musician with The Kinks (“You Really Got Me”, “Waterloo Sunset”, Village Green Preservation Society).

Mike Pinder (1941). Rock keyboardist with the Moody Blues (1967’s Days of Future Passed).

Scotty Moore (1931). American early-rock guitarist in Elvis Presley’s backing band, the Blue Moon Boys. Born Winfield Scott Moore III.

Anna Russell (1911). Singer.

Oscar Levant (1906). American composer and pianist. Died 8/14/1972.

DEC. 28

John Legend (1978)

Alex Chilton (1950). American rock singer/musician with the Box Tops (“The Letter”) and Big Star (1972’s #1 Record, 1974’s Radio City, 1978’s Third/Sister Lovers). Died 3/17/2010.

Hugh McDonald (1950). American touring bassist with Bon Jovi since 1995.

Edgar Winter (1946). American musician with the Edgar Winter Group.

Charles Neville (The Neville Brothers) (1938)

Dorsey Burnette (1932). American musician (“Tall Oak Tree”). Died 8/19/1979.

Johnny Otis (1921). American musician (“Willie and the Hand Jive”), bandleader, and record producer. Has been called “The Godfather of Rhythm & Blues”.

Roebuck “Pops” Staples (1915). American R&B singer and guitarist with the Staple Singers. Died 12/19/2000.

Earl “Fatha” Hines (1903). American jazz pianist. Died 4/22/1983.

Roger Sessions (1896). Composer.

Giuseppe Sarti (1729). Composer.

DEC. 29

Glen Phillips (Toad The Wet Sprocket) (1970)

Yvonne Elliman (1951). American singer (“If I Can’t Have You”).

Marianne Faithfull (1946). English singer (“As Tears Go By”).

Rick Danko (1942). Canadian rock bassist and singer with The Band. Died 12/10/1999.

Ray Thomas (1941). Musician with the Moody Blues (1967’s Days of Future Passed).

Johnny Otis (1921). American musician (“Willie and the Hand Jive”). Born John Veliotes.

Pablo Casals (1876). Spanish cellist. Died 10/22/1973.

Frank C. Stanley (1868). American bass-baritone singer, stage performer, and banjoist. Born William Stanley Grinsted. Died 12/12/1910.

DEC. 30

Tyrese (1978)

Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) (1969)

Tracey Ullman (1959). English singer (“They Don’t Know”) and actress.

Jeff Lynne (1947). English rock singer and guitarist with Electric Light Orchestra (“Don’t Bring Me Down”) and member of supergroup Traveling Wilburys.

Patti Smith (1946). American singer/songwriter and poet (“Because the Night”, 1975’s Horses).

Davy Jones (1945). Musician with the Monkees (“I’m a Believer”).

Michael Nesmith (1942). American musician with The Monkees (“I’m a Believer”). Born Robert Michael Nesmith.

John Hartford (1937)

Paul Stookey (1937). Singer/songwriter.

Del Shannon (1934). American rock singer (“Runaway”) born Charles Weedon Westover. Died 2/8/1990.

Skeeter Davis (1931)

Bo Diddley (1928). American rock/blues singer/songwriter. Born Ellas Otha Bates; last name later changed to McDaniel. Died 6/2/2008.

Vincent Lopez (1895). American jazz bandleader. Died 9/20/1975.

DEC. 31

Joe McIntyre (New Kids On The Block) (1972)

Scott Ian (1963). American heavy metal guitarist with Anthrax.

Paul Westerberg (1959). American alternative-rock singer/songwriter and rhythm guitarist with the Replacements (“I’ll Be You”, “Bastards of Young”).

George Thorogood (1952). Blues-rock singer (“Bad to the Bone”, “I Drink Alone”).

Tom Hamilton (1951). American rock bassist with Aerosmith (“Dream On”, “Walk This Way”, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”, 1975’s Toys in the Attic, 1976’s Rocks, 1980’s Greatest Hits, 1987’s Permanent Vacation, 1989’s Pump, 1993’s Get a Grip).

Donna Summer (1948). American R&B/disco singer (“Hot Stuff”, “Bad Girls”, “On the Radio”).

Burton Cummings (1947). Canadian rock singer and keyboardist with the Guess Who.

John Denver (1943). Country singer (“Take Me Home, Country Roads”, “Rocky Mountain High”). Born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. Died 10/12/1997.

Andy Summers (1942). English new-wave rock guitarist with The Police (“Every Breath You Take”, “Roxanne”, 1983’s Synchronicity).

Odetta (1930)

Jule Styne (1905). British-American musical theater composer. Died 9/20/1994.

Nathan Milstein (1903). British violinist. Died 12/21/1992.

This page last updated June 7, 2013.

Pages

Monday, December 31, 2012

Friday, December 21, 2012

Gangnam Style

Psy

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Chapter 1: Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Chapter 2: Blue Monday

Chapter 3: Like a Virgin

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Resources and Related Links:

Award(s):

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Monday, December 3, 2012

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Saturday, December 1, 2012