MusicNewsTidBits.com

This guy just keeps doing it over and over again.  His new album titled ‘Western Stars’ is his 20th top 10 album on Billboard 200.  His first top 10 album was Born to Run wayyyy back in 1975.   He’s on a list of 10 other groups that have had 20 or more top 10 albums:

The Rolling Stones – 37

Barbara Streisand – 34

The Beatles – 32

Frank Sinatra – 32

Elvis Presley – 27

Bob Dylan – 22

Madonna – 22

George Strait – 21

Elton John – 20

Paul McCartney/Wings – 20

Drummer Tommy Moore made the fateful decision to quit The Beatles and return to his job of driving a forklift at a bottle works company. He was briefly replaced by Norman Chapman, who was called into National Service after just three gigs. After going drummer-less and mostly jobless for a few weeks, the band hired Pete Best on August 12th, only one day before they were to go to Hamburg to play a string of club dates. Pete Best was fired August 16, 1962 and replaced by Ringo Starr.

June 4, 1942

Glenn Wallichs launched Capitol Records in the US. The label became home to such artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Glen Campbell, Steve Miller, Dr. Hook, Bob Seger, Tina Turner, Heart and countless others. He also is the person who invented sending copies of new releases to disc jockeys!

June 4, 1984

Bruce Springsteen released the album, ‘Born In The USA’, which became the best-selling album of 1985 in the United States. The album produced a record-tying string of seven Top 10 singles (tied with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814).

Ya it sounds crazy but it’s true. Ringo Starr of the Beatles is teaming up with an illustrator to write the children’s book ‘Octopus Garden’ to be released in the UK in October, and the US release in January 2014. Ringo wrote the original song while hanging out on Peter Sellers yacht in 1968. The book will include a CD that will have an unheard portion of the song.

Peace and Love….Peace and LOVE!

This beautiful rare VOX guitar was used by John Lennon and George Harrison and went up for auction last Saturday. Harrison played the guitar while practicing “I am the Walrus” during The Magical Mystery Tour and by Lennon while recording a video session for “Hello, Goodbye.”

The auction house thought they would get about $200,000 for it but it ended up selling for $408,000. Crazy!

I often research music memorabilia auctions to see what’s out there and how much things go for.  Check out this Beatles Record Player from 1964 that still works.  Ya it’s currently $1,750 but damn it’s pretty cool.  Here’s a pic of it and the link if you have some money laying around (ya right!).

Beatles Record Player Auction

The solo in The Beatles ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ is actually played by Eric Clapton.  He was never credited on the album.

The Beatles in Copenhagen 1964

The Beatles “Hey Jude” was written by Paul McCartney in 1968 as the first single from their very own label, Apple Records. The song evolved from “Hey Jules” which was written for John Lennon’s son Julian during John and Cynthia Lennons divorce. It spent nine weeks as number one in the U.S.

Hey Jude, don’t make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

Hey Jude, don’t be afraid.
You were made to go out and get her.
The minute you let her under your skin,
Then you begin to make it better.

And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain,
Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders.
For well you know that it’s a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder.

Hey Jude, don’t let me down.
You have found her, now go and get her.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin,
You’re waiting for someone to perform with.
And don’t you know that it’s just you, hey Jude, you’ll do,
The movement you need is on your shoulder.

Hey Jude, don’t make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her under your skin,
Then you’ll begin to make it
Better better better better better better, oh.

Na na na, na na na na, na na na, hey Jude…

It’s the only museum on The Beatles that belongs to a private collector. Rodolfo Vazquez opened his personal collection museum at The Plaza in downtown Buenos Aires that has over 8,500 Beatles memorabilia. Everything from photos to clothing and even a box of condoms that have Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s image. Um that’s kinda weird!

After waiting and waiting to get the Beatles catalog online, it finally happened. And the winner is…..iTunes of course. On the November 16th EMI CEO Roger Faxon finally got the deal to work out with Apple’s Steve Jobs even with Google and Amazon in the mix. Apparently iTunes offered the best option for the music deal.

As of the other day there were over 15 Beatles songs on the iTunes top 100 and eight albums in the top 20. Nuts.

A 14-minute reel-to-reel tape recording of the August 17, 1996 press conference by The Beatles at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto is up for auction at Bonhams & Butterfields. This is the recording of where John Lennon said the band was more popular than Jesus. The tapes were made by a young photojournalist who attended the press conference. He tried to sell them back in 1966 but nobody cared for them so they sat in a drawer for over 40 years. It’s reported to sell between $20k to $25k at the June 13th auction in Los Angeles.

EMI, the owners of Abbey Road, has put the studio up for sale. EMI is needing some serious cash. EMI bought the property at 3 Abbey Road in London back in 1929 and converted it to recording studios. The Beatles recorded a majority of their songs there; Pink Floyds ‘Dark Side Of The Moon and the scores for “Lord Of The Rings” and “Harry Potter” were also recorded there.

The freak known as Yoko Ono will be writing a book on her life with John Lennon.  Apparently she will be writing about her relationship with John and to clear up the belief that she was behind the breakup of The Beatles.  She says “I would love to do it.  I just have to find the time.  It will be my next book, which will be written in the next five years.”

Ya because you’re so busy with your horrible music.  I just don’t like her!

A very interesting story I found indeed.   John Tefteller of “John Tefteller’s World’s Rarest Records” had received a call from a widow of a Capitol Records executive who told him she had a bunch of records she wanted to get rid of.  When he went  and checked out the albums he found a sealed Sgt. Pepper LP and didn’t really think much of it until he really looked closely at it.  All the faces on the album were Capitol Records executives and no Beatles.  He ended up buying the collection then called Stan “The Beatleman” Panenka to ask about it.  Apparently there were only about 100 copies ever made.  Well a deal is now in the making with Stan Panenka for him to purchase it. I thought it was interesting.  Here is the album cover.