Cliffs Vinyl Blog
George Harrison...the Mystery Singer!
It took George Harrisson a while to get recognition as a songwriter. Of course, when one gets the gig beside the greatest composing team of the century, it was always going to be a battle to get songs accepted.It probably wasn’t until he came up with “Here Comes the Sun”, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Something”.But George was also an underrated singer. I didn’t even know he sang “Roll Over Beethoven” until I saw The Beatles live in Adelaide in ’64.As well as singing his solo music on Beatles albums, George contributed great harmony to many Lennon/McCartney songs.One of the best examples is “All My Loving”, features George joining Paul singing the last part of the song after the guitar solo. Excellent harmony.And grab your copy of “With The Beatles” and have a listen to Georges harmony with John on “You Really Got a Hold On Me”. Classic, showing George’s talent to the fullest.Another good example is “This Boy”, featuring the three Beatles in close harmony.Good George tracks while with the Fab Four include “For You Blue” off Let It Be”, the under rated “Old Brown Shou” from the “Blue” double album set, and from the “Help” album, one of his early songs, “You Like Me to Much”. “Taxman’s” a classic to, off “Revolver”.
And his voice got better, as can be heard in his classic albums “All Things Must Pass.” “Cloud 9” and “Brainwashed”.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin Honored
As a change from the tirade of bad news flooding the press, a happy story concerningtwo British legends who came to Washington to receive one of America’s highest cultural Honors.
Elton John, 76, and Bernie Taupin, 73, were awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song — a lifetime achievement award given annually to an artist whose music has left a lasting impact — during a nearly three-hour tribute concert Wednesday night at DAR Constitution Hall. The duo’s songwriting launched John’s six-decade career and spurred record sales of some 300 million and counting. The men are the third pair of writing partners to win the prize since it was established in 2007. (Burt Bacharach and Hal David received the Gershwin Prize in 2012; Gloria and Emilio Estefan received it in 2019.)In his accepting speech, Elton paid tribute to the musicians who inspired him as a child.He especially mentioned Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Little Richard, Ray Charles and Elvis Presley, whose “Heartbreak Hotel” made him want to play rock-and-roll. “Thank you, America, for the music you’ve given us all over the world. … I’m so proud to be British and to be here in America to receive this award because all my heroes were American.”
Oldies Are Still Goldies 4
One thing Creedence Clearwater Revival never had a problem with, was charting a hit or finding a massive audience. These guys became huge stars almost overnight, and without approval of the music press. and though they weren’t together for very long, they produced an amount of work that has “classic hit” written all over them. Music, that survive to this day. The band’s recent performance on one specific ranking show that while their heyday may be long in the past, their work is still being consumed in huge numbers–and possibly by younger listeners as well.
A couple of weeks ago, Creedence Clearwater Revival hit a new career high on one of Billboard’s recently introduced rankings. “Creedence’s Chronicle”, the 20 Greatest Hits album went to No. 48 on the Top Streaming Albums ranking. OK, maybe that’s not a particularly lofty placement on the 50-spot tally, but the fact that CCR’s compilation was able to get in there at all is impressive.
The Top Streaming Albums measures exactly what its name suggests–the most-streamed albums in the U.S. The ranking is typically filled with the latest and most popular releases from the biggest stars in music today. The vast majority of titles that are present on the tally at the moment were released within the past five years.
Oldies Are Still Goldies 4
One thing Creedence Clearwater Revival never had a problem with, was charting a hit or finding a massive audience. These guys became huge stars almost overnight, and without approval of the music press. and though they weren’t together for very long, they produced an amount of work that has “classic hit” written all over them. Music, that survive to this day. The band’s recent performance on one specific ranking show that while their heyday may be long in the past, their work is still being consumed in huge numbers–and possibly by younger listeners as well.
A couple of weeks ago, Creedence Clearwater Revival hit a new career high on one of Billboard’s recently introduced rankings. “Creedence’s Chronicle”, the 20 Greatest Hits album went to No. 48 on the Top Streaming Albums ranking. OK, maybe that’s not a particularly lofty placement on the 50-spot tally, but the fact that CCR’s compilation was able to get in there at all is impressive.
The Top Streaming Albums measures exactly what its name suggests–the most-streamed albums in the U.S. The ranking is typically filled with the latest and most popular releases from the biggest stars in music today. The vast majority of titles that are present on the tally at the moment were released within the past five years.
Oldies Are Still Goldies 3!
Band on the Run Back In The Charts!
Paul McCartney and Wings’ Band on the Run made a classic return to Billboard’s charts of February 17 following the albums 50th anniversary re-issue release on Feb. 2. The album re-enters the Top Album Sales chart at No. 5, after entering at No. 7 on the Vinyl Albums chart re-enters at No. 6 on Tastemaker Albums and debuts at No. 37 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums. On the overall Billboard 200 chart, where the album logged four non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 in 1974, the set re-enters at No. 156 – its first appearance on the chart since Jan. 1, 2011.Band on the Run was reissued in a variety of formats, including a single-LP vinyl release cut at half-speed, a double-LP vinyl set at half-speed with a bonus “under dubbed” version of the album, and as a double-CD set (also with the under dubbed mixes). The 50th anniversary reissues are combined with the original album for sales tracking and charting purposes.
Band on the Run sold 8,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 8 (up 14,681%) according to Luminate.
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