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Paul McCartney’s ‘The 7” Singles Box’ Of 80 Career-Spanning Singles Available December 2nd
2022 has seen Paul McCartney celebrate yet another series of landmarks. Just one week after his 80th birthday, Paul headlined the 2022 Glastonbury Festival, playing an unforgettable set that inspired deafening singalongs from the largest crowd the mainstage had ever seen. Hailed as the best gig ever by critics and fans alike, it was a fitting celebration of an extraordinary career. Today, the revelry continues as Paul announces the release of The 7” Singles Box, featuring 80 x 7” Paul McCartney singles – including such global chart smashing tracks as “My Love,” “Live and Let Die,” “Band on the Run,” “Silly Love Songs,” “Coming Up,” “Ebony and Ivory,” “Say Say Say,” “No More Lonely Nights,” “Wonderful Christmastime” and many more. The box set includes 163 tracks totaling over 10 hours of music and will also be released digitally. Preorder The 7” Singles Box HERE.
Recognized by Guinness World Records as “the most successful songwriter of all time,” Paul’s 7” Singles Box is a remarkable testament to this accolade, featuring songs that have sound-tracked our lives and that are loved and sung around the world today.
The format of the 7” single had a profound impact and influence on Paul both as a songwriter and as a music fan. Paul recalls in his foreword that comes with this set how he still enjoys the thrill of flicking through crates in record shops looking for new discoveries and how much respect he and The Beatles had for the B-side.
Available from December 2nd, The 7” Singles Box is the ultimate package for any McCartney fan. From 1971’s “Another Day” to a 7” version of 2022’s Record Store Day Song of the Year, “Women and Wives” (taken from 2020’s chart-topping McCartney III) – the 80 singles included represent half a century of Paul’s life showcasing his prolific creativity and relentless innovation. An absolute treasure trove of music, the box set features recreations of 65 singles – complete with their original B-sides (using restored artwork from 11 different countries) as well as 15 singles never before released on 7”. These 15 singles are made up from tracks previously released on 12”, picture discs, CD singles & promos, digital downloads, music videos, two previously unheard demos, and a previously unheard 7” single edit.
The box set is beautifully presented in a special wooden art crate, designed and built in Derbyshire, UK, and is packed with incredible content, including a 148-page book that features a personal foreword by Paul, an essay by music journalist Rob Sheffield and extensive chart information, liner notes, and single artwork. Each box includes a randomly selected exclusive test pressing of one of the singles.
This numbered limited-edition collection of 80 x 7” singles personally supervised by Paul McCartney contains:
● Recreations of 65 singles/promos using restored original artwork from 11 different countries
● 15 singles never-before-released on 7” including:
Singles previously released on 12”, picture discs, CD singles/promos, digital downloads, and music videos
2 x previously unheard demos
1 x previously unheard 7” single edit
1 x EP
● 1 exclusive test pressing randomly selected from the manufacturing process
● 148-page book containing foreword from Paul, essay by Rob Sheffield, recording notes, release dates, and chart information on each of the singles – each single included is shown on the attached insert, which will be packed into each box
● Remastered and cut at Abbey Road Studios, London
All housed in a two-piece, four-walled FSC-approved Redwood pine and Birch Ply wooden art crate manufactured in the United Kingdom.
Paul McCartney The 7” Singles Box Track Listing:
1970, Sweden
1A: Another Day
1B: Oh Woman, Oh Why
1971, US Mono
Promotional Release
2A: Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey [Mono]
2B: Too Many People [Mono]
1971, UK
3A: The Back Seat of My Car
3B: Heart of the Country
Previously unreleased on 7”
4A: Love Is Strange [Single Edit]
4B: I Am Your Singer
1972, UK
5A: Give Ireland Back to the Irish
5B: Give Ireland Back to the Irish [Version]
1972, UK
6A: Mary Had a Little Lamb
6B: Little Woman Love
1972, Belgium
7A: Hi, Hi, Hi
7AA: C Moon
1973, Israel
8A: My Love
8B: The Mess [Live at The Hague]
1973, Sweden
9A: Live and Let Die
9B: I Lie Around
1973, Spain
10A: Helen Wheels
10B: Country Dreamer
1974, Germany
11A: Jet
11B: Let Me Roll It
1974, Germany
12A: Band on the Run
12B: Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
1974, The Netherlands
13A: Mrs. Vandebilt
13B: Bluebird
1974, Belgium
14A: Junior’s Farm
14B: Sally G
1975, Australia
15A: Listen to What the Man Said
15B: Love in Song
1975, Germany
16A: Letting Go
16B: You Gave Me the Answer
1975, Belgium
17A: Venus and Mars / Rock Show
17B: Magneto and Titanium Man
1976, France
18A: Silly Love Songs
18B: Cook of the House
1976, Germany
19A: Let ‘Em In
19B: Beware My Love
1977, Japan
20A: Maybe I’m Amazed (Live)
20B: Soily (Live)
1977, UK
21A: Mull of Kintyre
21AA: Girls’ School1978,Germany
22A: With a Little Luck (DJ Edit)
22B: Backwards Traveller/Cuff Link
1978, UK
23A: I’ve Had Enough
23B: Deliver Your Children
1978, The Netherlands
24A: London Town
24B: I’m Carrying
1978, France
25A: Goodnight Tonight
25B: Daytime Nightime Suffering
1979, UK
26A: Old Siam, Sir
26B: Spin It On
1979, UK
27A: Getting Closer
27AA: Baby’s Request
1979, Japan
28A: Arrow Through Me
28B: Old Siam, Sir
1979, UK
29A: Wonderful Christmastime
29B: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reggae
1980, UK
30A: Coming Up
30B: Coming Up (Live at Glasgow) 30BB: Lunch Box/Odd Sox
1980, UK
31A: Waterfalls
31B: Check My Machine
Previously unreleased on 7”
32A: Temporary Secretary
32B: Secret Friend
[7” Single Edit]
1982, UK
33A: Ebony and Ivory
33B: Rainclouds
1982, UK
34A: Take It Away
34B: I’ll Give You a Ring
1982, UK
35A: Tug of War
35B: Get It
1983, UK
36A: Say Say Say
36B: Ode to a Koala Bear
1983, UK
37A: Pipes of Peace
37B: So Bad
1984, UK
38A: No More Lonely Nights (Ballad)
38B: No More Lonely Nights (Playout Version)
1984, UK
39A: We All Stand Together
39B: We All Stand Together (Humming Version)
1985, US
40A: Spies Like Us
40B: My Carnival
1986, US
41A: Press [Video Edit]
41B: It’s Not True
1986, Art reformatted from US 12” promotional vinyl
42A: Pretty Little Head (Remix)
42B: Write Away
1986, US
43A: Stranglehold
43B: Angry (Remix)
1986, UK
44A: Only Love Remains
44B: Tough on a Tightrope
1987, UK
45A: Once Upon a Long Ago
45B: Back on My Feet
1989, US
46A: My Brave Face
46B: Flying to My Home
1989, UK
47A: This One
47B: The First Stone
1989, Australia
48A: Figure of Eight [7” Bob Clearmountain Mix]
48B: Où Est le Soleil
1989, UK
49A: Party Party
49B: Artwork etching
1990, UK
50A: Put It There
50B: Mama’s Little Girl
1990, Europe
51A: The Long and Winding Road
51B: C Moon
1990, UK
52A: Birthday
52B: Good Day Sunshine
1990, UK
53A: All My Trials
53B: C Moon
Previously unreleased on 7”
54A: The World You’re Coming Into
54AA: Tres Conejos
54B: Save the Child
54BB: The Drinking Song (Let’s Find Ourselves a Little Hostelry
1992, Europe
55A: Hope of Deliverance
55B: Long Leather Coat
1993, Germany
56A: C’Mon People
56B: I Can’t Imagine
1997, Reformatted from 7” picture disc
57A: Young Boy
57B: Looking for You
1997, Reformatted from 7” picture disc
58A: The World Tonight
58B: Used to Be Bad
1997, Reformatted from 7” picture disc
59A: Beautiful Night
59B: Love Come Tumbling Down
1999, UK
60A: No Other Baby
60B: Brown Eyed Handsome Man
60BB: Fabulous
2001, Europe
61A: From a Lover to a Friend
61B: Riding into Jaipur
2004, Europe
62A: Tropic Island Hum
62B: We All Stand Together
2005, Europe
63A: Fine Line
63B: Growing Up Falling Down
2005, Europe
64A: Jenny Wren
64B: Summer of ’59
Previously unreleased on 7”
65A: Dance Tonight
65B: Dance Tonight [Demo]
Previously unreleased on 7”
66A: Nod Your Head
66B: 222
2007, Europe
67A: Ever Present Past
67B: House of Wax (Live)
Previously unreleased on 7”
68A: Sing the Changes
68B: Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight [Radio Edit]
Previously unreleased on 7”
69A: (I Want To) Come Home
69B: (I Want To) Come Home [Demo]
Previously unreleased on 7”
70A: My Valentine
70B: Get Yourself Another Fool
2012, US
Christmas Kisses
71A: The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
71B: Wonderful Christmastime
Previously unreleased on 7”
72A: New
72B: Early Days
Previously unreleased on 7”
73A: Queenie Eye
73B: Save Us
Previously unreleased on 7”
74A: Hope for the Future
74B: Hope for the Future [Thrash Mix]
Previously unreleased on 7”
75A: In the Blink of an Eye
75B: Walking in the Park with Eloise
2018, Global
76A: I Don’t Know
76AA: Come on to Me
Previously unreleased on 7”
77A: Who Cares
77B: Fuh You
2019, Global
78A: Home Tonight
78AA: In a Hurry
Previously unreleased on 7”
79A: Find My Way
79AA: Winter Bird / When Winter Comes
Previously unreleased on 7”
80A: Women and Wives
80B: Women and Wives (St. Vincent Remix)
New Order Announce Release Of ‘Low-Life’ Definitive Edition And Limited Edition 12” Singles
New Order are delighted to announce the release of the definitive edition of their 1985 studio album Low-Life. The collection includes an LP (180g), x2CDs, x2DVDs, a book and features unreleased rare material across the different formats and new sleeve designs.
CD 2 contains previously unreleased mixes and alternative versions, including Love Vigilantes and Sub-Culture instrumentals, Sooner Than You Think Full Length Unedited.
The two DVDs include an unreleased performance from The Manhattan Club, Belgium and rarely seen footage from Rotterdam Arena (Netherlands), International Centre (Toronto, Canada) and a BBC filmed Whistle Test at The Hacienda, 1985.
The 180g vinyl LP will be wrapped in its original ‘heavyweight tracing paper’, designed by Peter Saville. In addition, the CD will also be wrapped in the same way for the first time ever
Also included in the set is a beautifully presented hardback book featuring rare photos and a new interview with all band members.
In addition to the boxset, New Order are also releasing the 12” singles including a limited edition version of The Perfect Kiss pressed on Crystal Clear vinyl in a ‘mirror sleeve’. Sub-Culture’s plain black (no label) sleeve has also been updated with a new design, incorporating the original concept.
Peter Saville says of The Perfect Kiss “The mirror finish for The Perfect Kiss sleeve was the idea at the time (1985) that unfortunately was not realised. I have wanted to see it ever since. The original concept was intended to evoke the reflective glamour of a lipstick (re Perfect Kiss) in a minimal / pop art style. The Perfect Kiss in this form will be transformative and a must-have for fans and collectors alike”.
Peter Saville says of Sub-Culture “LABEL ONLY was specified in 1985 due to time pressure around the original release and as a consequence, a sleeve design for the re-release has no actual precedent. However, exploring the principle ‘the solution is in the problem’ has led to the subliminal evocation of a sleeve that is still LABEL ONLY”.
Low-Life was recorded in 1984 at Jam and Britannia Row Studios and produced by New Order.
TRACKLISTING AND FORMATS
12” Singles
● Sub-Culture (with updated sleeve)
● Shellshock
● The Perfect Kiss
● The Perfect Kiss D2C exclusive (Crystal Clear vinyl & Mirror Sleeve)
LP 180g Vinyl
Side one
1. Love Vigilantes
2. The Perfect Kiss
3. This Time of Night
4. Sunrise
Side two
1. Elegia
2. Sooner Than You Think
3. Sub-Culture
4. Face Up
CD1
1. Love Vigilantes
2. The Perfect Kiss
3. This Time Of Night
4. Sunrise
5. Elegia
6. Sooner Than You Think
7. Sub-Culture
8. Face Up
CD2: Extras
1. Love Vigilantes – TV Pitch Instrumental Edit (mono)
2. The Perfect Kiss – Writing Session Recording
3. Untitled no. 1 – Writing Session Recording
4. Sunrise – Instrumental Rough Mix **
5. Elegia – Full Length Version *
6. Sooner Than You Think – Album Session Unedited Version
7. Sub-Culture – Album Session Early Instrumental Version
8. Face Up – Writing Session Recording
9. Let’s Go – Album Session Instrumental
10. Untitled no. 2 – Writing Session Recording
11. Sunrise – Writing Session Recording
12. Love Vigilantes – Writing Session Recording
13. Sooner Than You Think – Writing Session Recording
14. Skullcrusher – Demo
All tracks previously unreleased except * and ** (previously unreleased on CD and Digital)
DVD1
Live in Tokyo
The Koseinenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan 1985
1. Confusion
2. Love Vigilantes
3. We All Stand
4. As It Is When It Was
5. Sub-Culture
6. Face Up
7. Sunrise
8. This Time Of Night
9. Blue Monday
Live in Rotterdam
The Rotterdam Arena, Netherlands 1985
10. As It Is When It Was
11. Everything’s Gone Green*
12. Sub-Culture*
13. Ceremony*
14. Let’s Go*
15. This Time Of Night*
16. The Village
17. The Perfect Kiss*
18. Age Of Consent*
19. Sunrise
20. Temptation*
21. Face Up*
Live in Manchester
Whistle Test, The Hacienda 1985
22. As It Is When It Was
23. Sunrise
24. Face Up – Restored version using available footage from The Hacienda Dec ‘85 and July ‘85.
DVD2
Live in Leuven
The Manhattan Club, Leuven, Belgium 1985
1. Let’s Go*
2. The Perfect Kiss*
3. Age Of Consent*
4. State Of The Nation*
5. As It Is When It Was*
6. The Village*
7. Sub-Culture
8. Atmosphere*
9. Blue Monday*
Bonus Tracks
10. Thieves Like Us*
11. Temptation*
12. Confusion – Restored version from damaged tape with mixing desk audio.*
Live in Toronto
Filmed by Paul Boyd
The International Centre, Toronto, Canada 1985
13. Elegia*
14. Sub-Culture*
15. The Village*
16. Sunrise*
17. We All Stand
18. As It Is When It Was*
19. Love Vigilantes*
20. 586*
21. Age Of Consent
22. Temptation
23. Ceremony*
24. The Perfect Kiss*
The Perfect Film
Rehearsal Room, Cheetham Hill, Manchester 1985
25. The Perfect Kiss
*unreleased
Toronto’s Legendary GROSSMAN’S TAVERN Announces The Five And Ten and Wayling James Win Annual Amy Louie / Grossman’s Music Scholarship
The Five And Ten and Wayling James are the winners of the annual Amy Louie / Grossman’s Music Scholarship, which returned to Toronto’s legendary Grossman’s Tavern after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
Created in memory of the late Amy Louie — a member of the family that has owned Grossman’s Tavern since 1975 — the ALGMS is an artist development bursary that provides two musicians or bands from the Greater Toronto Area $2000 and $1000 to help with career development.
Winner of the $2000 was The Five And Tens, an instrumentals band built around the Vidal brothers, Ray (guitar), Anthony (keyboards) and Nick (drums), alongside Sean Jackson (bass). The $1000 runner-up prize was awarded to Wayling James, a group comprised of Tim Wayling (vocals, guitar), Darrell James (vocals, bass), Chris Bender (drums), Rob Pelletier (guitar) and Larry Gould (guitar).
Performers at the Sept. 27 event were The Swingin Blackjacks, Caution Jam, Frankie Foo, The Happy Pals, Action Sound Band, Quail, Hedifine & Roderman, Camp Combo, Mike Nagoda & The Spectrum Blues Band and both scholarship recipients.
The fundraiser segment of the event raised $1005.
Artists submitted applications to participate. The successful candidates were chosen a panel of judges that included members of the Louie family, music industry professionals, and individuals with long-standing connections to Grossman’s Tavern.
Previous recipients of the scholarship include The Big Butter and Egg Men, Mike Nagoda, The Swingin’ Blackjacks, Dan McKinnon, Bad Luck Woman & Her Misfortunes, Chloe Watkinson & Park Eddy, Jerome Godboo, and The Responsables.
As one of the longest-running live music venues and a stalwart within Toronto’s vibrant and dynamic music scene, Grossman’s has long been considered an incubator for an impressive roster of local artists who got their start inside the Tavern, including the late Jeff Healey, the Downchild Blues Band, Rough Trade, and more.
Breakthrough Musical Pioneers Bara Jonson and Free Tease New Album With “The Sky Is The Limit”
Bara Jonson and Free, simply put, are pioneers in the music world, introducing the world to their unique brand of music – Crockpop. Fusing country, rock, and pop music, this dynamic duo delivers a listening experience unlike any other in their newest single “The Sky Is The Limit.”
Teasing the release of their newest album, BjF – New Era, Bara Jonson, and Free have been hard at work touring and promoting. Performing one-offs during the live shows combined with a unique blend of bluegrass and pop synths gives this breakthrough duo of musicians the perfect ingredients to have a successful launch – and a highly anticipated one at that.
“The Sky Is The Limit” is a well-executed fusion of everything this band is passionate about, featuring uplifting messages of “making it or faking it” while “shaking off people who get in our way.” Jonson and Free passionately refer to themselves as “hardheaded fools who invite you to board their Crockpop train where “The Sky Is The Limit.”
Jonson and Free speak on their newest song’s message: “Never let anyone else put you down or deter you from what you want to achieve. Believe that anything is possible – that The Sky Is The Limit.”
“The Sky Is The Limit” has been a well-received single drowning in praise and admiration. This powerful Crockpop anthem prepares audiences for the duo’s up-and-coming album release, BjF – New Era. Bred through mystery and improvisation, the 14-track vinyl includes an interwoven story from a distant future – possibly even a parallel universe.
Jonson and Free describe how they feel about the album saying, “The show we announced the album release at was interrupted occasionally with fragments of pictures or video snippets. We couldn’t really tell where it came from. As we showed off our album again… it had changed right before our eyes!”
Songs from this album reflect the dynamic duo’s views on climate change, the decline of democracy, separations, and the endlessness of possibilities for change so long as you believe. You know – “The Sky Is The Limit.”
Jonson and Free are breakthrough musicians with unparalleled chemistry. The duo has recently been nominated as “Best Emerging Artist – International” at Indie Week Showcase Festival in Toronto as well as selected as INES#Talent for 2020/21.
The duo recently was picked up by Canadian management company Entertainment Music Group for distribution through the Americas as well as MusicHelp for distribution through Sweden and Europe. While this has bolstered the group’s level of seniority, Jonson and Free are no strangers to Swedish music festivals and showcases. Their live performances have taken them to venues throughout Denmark, Holland, Germany, UK, France, and Canada.
2021 saw the debut of Jonson and Free’s own music festival, Lilla By Festivalen which has already grown into a hybrid festival – walking the line between a music festival and a showcase.
Most recently, the group opened with Cirque Arte Diem at Byggnad’s 2022 Congress in Stockholm, spreading the duo’s message while giving them a global platform to reach hundreds of thousands of listeners. It is this dedication to music and positivity that sets this duo far above the rest and will drive them to lengths unseen – the sky is the limit for this Jonson and Free.
Lady Charles’ Single “Noella (Can’t Get Enough of You)” Elevates Relationship Adoration and Self-Love
Right out of Ottawa, Canada, comes an ethereal-sounding pop delight, otherwise known as Lady Charles. Lady Charles radiates exuberance and shiny tones throughout their explorative and vivid discography.
Ethereal-sounding lyrics emanate from Lady Charles’ flirtations into the meshings of bright electropop and subtle rock genres. Following their latest single off their album Manic Pixie Dream World, ‘Godx’, a synthy, electronic pop delve into the relationship between gender and religion, Noella (Can’t Get Enough of You) is a deeper look into what the pandemic meant for loving relationships. On the surface, Noella explores a romantic relationship, one shared between those in the spotlight. Lady Charles and their partner, Stef, concocted fictional personas for the subjects of this track. Noella personifies a glorified version of Stef as a Youtuber who shapes their persona around the “parody of the eccentric artist archetype.”
Lady Charles admitted the original iteration of the single included calls of real names of some YouTubers who Stef and they enjoyed watching. After the controversy, cancellations, and negative media connotations, Lady Charles scrapped the references and landed on “a wannabe YouTuber, singing a love song to this artist who he barely understands.”
During the production and writing of Noella, Lady Charles mentioned their rising popularity in Latin America, and their visit to Frida Kahlo’s house reverberated through the construction of the song. “She is the reason I don’t pluck my eyebrows. This is how the line ‘You’re Frida, but I’m no Diego’ came to be – both as a nod to a country that has supported me and an artist that has inspired me.”
The tune opens with a catchy piano and electric guitar lick before dissolving into warm lyrics shrouded in infatuation. The vocals fluctuate throughout the song from higher-pitched glows to deeper, almost spoken-word phrases like “Have you had enough of me? And you’re not regretting cuffing me?” These dialogue licks serve to evaluate the relationship of the singer with the alleged love interest, but also with Lady Charles’ connection to their musical talent.
“On a different level, the song speaks to my own relationship with art, Lady Charles explained. “I feel at home wearing crazy outfits and glamorous makeup because that’s authentic to me, even though I’ve had people tell me I should just keep it simple. I am drawn to artists who get labeled as pretentious or try hard because I admire their commitment to pushing the boundaries of art itself, even if they don’t really succeed. In a way, Noella is my love letter to art itself.”
Classic Rockers Blu Bones Recall “Summertime In Europe” With New Single
Rock five-piece Blu Bones are digging up nostalgia on their latest emotive single, “Summertime In Europe” – out now on the traditional platforms, but also on the SING! Market.
The song is equal parts rock anthem, scored with pounding percussion, electric riffs and soaring vocals as it is a longing, journal entry to yesterday’s memories – turning the key, and unlocking them from the past.
The track “was inspired by an experience lead singer Gord Prior had with his girlfriend Lana while on vacation a couple of years ago,” the band explains, adding: “They shared an unforgettable psychedelic experience one evening that is subtly referenced in the song.”
Blu Bones – comprised of Gord Prior (lead singer); Boris Novosel (guitars) ; Barry Donaghy (bass guitar); Steve Thomas (drums) and Ray Coburn (keyboards) – reunited after 25 years apart, dropping their comeback single “She’s Got A Way With Love” in February, 2021. Wasting no time as performers and songwriting comrades, “Summertime In Europe” falls neatly in line with the group’s charismatic hard rock sound. It chisels away at familiarity, while taking exciting chances through the lyrics and Prior’s exceptional vocals. The song was written by masters of their craft.
“It’s a bit of real life, a bit of fantasy, and some psychedelia all rolled into one!” says Novosel, with Prior explaining: “It’s a song of hope and about moving forward, out of pain and into bliss. Falling in love. Starting a new journey. Something all of us can relate to.”
Recorded and engineered by Siegfried Meier, with mix by Matty Green at Studio 55, Los Angeles (Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Weezer). The track was produced by Gord Prior, Boris Novosel, Siegfried Meier and Matty Green, and its subsequent video was shot by legendary director, Frank Gryner (Alice Cooper, Def Leppard).
The music video plans to land ahead of the Canadian Thanksgiving (October 9th, 2022), with Gryner’s artistic vision at the helm. “It’s a brilliant song. Gord’s vocal performance is so dynamic and uninhibited. You don’t often hear that sort of thing in indie music, unfortunately,” Gryner says, adding that having 100% reign over the video was a “dream come true, artistically”. “I think Gord is at a place in his career and life where he values relationships and artistry over ego,” Gryner explains. “It’s a hard thing to not micro-manage a project to death when you care so much about it, but ironically, when you choose the right people to help you and let those people do their thing freely, then the end outcome ends up being so much better.”
Take a summertime journey through Europe with rock warriors, Blu Bones. It’ll leave you asking for directions to the rest of their discography. And on a road trip through how rock and roll was first created – authentically loud, and insanely good.
Bad Bunny is Apple Music’s Artist of the Year for 2022
Global recording artist Bad Bunny was announced today as Apple Music’s Artist of the Year, in acknowledgement of the musician’s artistic excellence and influence on global culture in 2022. So many of music’s biggest stars released amazing music in 2022 — one truly owned the year. Released this past May, Un Verano Sin Ti, the artist’s sixth project in four years, is Apple Music’s most streamed album of 2022 and now the biggest Latin album of all time. And beyond the eye-popping numbers, Bad Bunny has truly ushered in a seismic shift in global pop over the past few years.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate the achievements of Bad Bunny, whose influence on every corner of culture could not be ignored in 2022,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats. “Watching Bad Bunny ascend from an Apple Music Up Next artist in 2018 to our Artist of the Year this year has been nothing short of extraordinary. We congratulate him on his record-breaking year and for continuing to bring Latin music to a massive global audience.”
“When I started, I didn’t have a global fan base,” Bad Bunny tells Apple Music in an exclusive film, out today, that gets up close and personal with the 2022 Artist of the Year. “I’m grateful for everything I’ve accomplished and everything I’ve experienced. The Latin music movement has grown so much. I would never take full credit or say, ‘It’s because of me.’ No, it’s every one of us. A whole generation. Our energy and presence is always felt.” Upon being presented with the Apple Music Award, he adds: “Thank you to Apple Music and to all the people who listen to my music every day. I’m super happy!”
Explore Bad Bunny’s meteoric rise, the music he helped revolutionize, and the historic 2022 that made him Apple’s Artist of the Year here.
Today, Bad Bunny takes over the La Fórmula playlist and handpicks his favorite tracks from Myke Towers, Rauw Alejandro, Mora, Jhayco, and others across Apple Music. And on Apple Music 1, it’s all Bad Bunny, all day. Listeners can tune in to an array of radio content celebrating Bad Bunny — including new specials, archived programming, early career interviews, and playlists that showcase the many different sides of the artist and his historic year. Tune in at apple.co/am-1.
A Look Back at Some of Bad Bunny’s Biggest Moments on Apple Music
- Bad Bunny is the biggest Latin artist of all time by streams worldwide on Apple Music.
- Upon its release on May 6, 2022’s Un Verano Sin Ti became the biggest Latin album of all time on Apple Music, holding the record for first-day streams worldwide.
- Bad Bunny’s “Moscow Mule” holds the record for the biggest Latin song of all time by first-day streams worldwide.
- Bad Bunny has logged 22 songs on the Daily Top 100: Global, breaking the record for most simultaneous entries by a single Latin artist.
- Bad Bunny’s songs have reached No. 1 on the Daily Top 100 in 34 countries worldwide — more than any other Latin artist. He’s hit the top 10 of the chart in 77 countries.
- 44 of Bad Bunny’s songs have reached the Daily Top 100 in countries across the globe, and three of his songs have hit No. 1 on the Global chart — more than any other Latin artist.
- Bad Bunny holds the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 Latin albums by first-day streams.
- In February 2018, Bad Bunny became Apple Music’s first Latin Up Next artist for the platform’s rising artist program.
- He also served as the debut host for Trap Kingz, the first Spanish-language global radio show on Beats 1 radio, and hosted the show’s first six episodes in 2017.
“Folsom Prison Blues” : The Story Behind The Johnny Cash Song
By Julia Menard
My band is performing Folsom Prison Blues soon and my experience is that learning the historical or narrative feel for a song can strengthen the depth of connection to it.
So I dived in…
Come with me!
Folsom Prison Blues was written about a real prison in California and about Johnny’s experiences in prison.
Or was it?
Johnny Cash never really did spend time in jail.
He did spend one night in jail – seven times – almost always for drunk and disorderly conduct. Once it was for trespassing late at night onto private property to pick flowers! A musician through and through.
What did happen was in 1953, Cash saw the crime film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. It was shot inside the real Folsom Prison, close to Sacramento, and depicted many of the brutalities of prison life, if in fictional form.
That piece of film art did work its magic on Cash and resulted in him writing Folsom Prison Blues as his response.
Story goes Cash was serving in the US Air Force in 1953, stationed in Germany and scheduled to catch a plane out of Memphis. He saw the movie and immediately after boarded the plane. While on the plane and refusing his meal (how do people know this) – he put pen to paper and got it written.
Folsom Prison Blues wasn’t only a song, it became a defining part of Cash’s life.
Not only did he open most of his shows with that song, that original inspiration grew into him becoming a big advocate of prison reform. He’d go on to perform in multiple prisons over the years, for free. He recorded live albums at several prisons in front of the prisoners. He was in letter correspondence with prisoners.
He even performed a song that one of the Folsom Prison inmates penned, called Greystone Chapel. He wanted that song recorded for the live 1968 album. He’d learned that one of the inmates, Glen Sherley, had written a song about Folsom’s Greystone Chapel. Cash learned the song the night before and performed it the next day. There’s more to that story that tells more of the magic of the man, but will leave that aside there!
Cash encouraged compassion and rehabilitation for prisoners, including eventually going on to testify in front of a US Senate subcommittee on national penitentiary reform.
At that time, Cash was also invited to a personal audience with Richard Nixon. He talked prison reform and when Nixon asked him to perform a few songs, Cash chose songs which were anti-war, advocating for indigenous rights, for the disenfranchised and the vulnerable. He chose:
- What Is Truth?
- Man In Black
- The Ballad of Ira Hayes
So, Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues was the start of, and the clarion call for, his life’s mission as both a musician and a man.
And what made Folsom Prison Blues so popular?
Well, he originally brought the song to Sam Phillips at Sun Records and was able to record it there in 1955 as part of his debut studio album. That was near the start of his career.
But it was more than a decade later, when he convinced Columbia Records to let him record the album live at Folsom Prison in 1968, that the song and his own acclaim really took off.
His career had taken a dip and June Carter was still only his girlfriend. But he wanted to record Folsom Prison Blues live in the prison – and that’s what he did. The Live album hit number one on the Country Music charts and top 15 on the national charts.
Now, it is true that Cash did take the melody and some lyrics from the song Crescent City Blues written by Gordon Jenkins and sung by his wife Beverly Mahr. But it wasn’t a secret as Cash had told Sam Phillips of Sun Records that he had used Crescent City Blues as its base. Phillips apparently told Cash that because the original blues number hadn’t become a hit, there was no need to be concerned about a plagiarism lawsuit.
Years later, Jenkins did hear the song, when it came out the second time on the Folsom Prison Blues Live album in 1968 and he did pursue a plagiarism lawsuit. There was an out of court settlement Cash paid of $75,000 as an acknowledgement that Crescent City was indeed a key influence.
The original song was centered on love – Cash’s changes were significant, not only to the lyrics but the tempo and adding guitar licks.
One example of the lyrics is the infamous verse in Folsom Prison Blues, when Johnny laments that he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.
Well, no, that was not in the Crescent City version and no, Johnny Cash never did shoot no one…
He said he thought of what could be the worst thing he could think of doing and that line came to him. Some prisoners didn’t known that and of course that endeared him even further.
Interestingly, the opening line of the song is identical in both Folsom Prison Blues and in Crescent City Blues:
“I hear the train a comin’ it’s rolling ‘round the bend…”
Crescent City veers off to a torch song though:
“And I ain’t been kissed Lord, since I don’t know when.”
Although the opening lines are identical, inspiration would have it that there was great significance to the train in the context of the prison.
A lot of significance.
Free labour was used to build that railroad using those very prisoners. Those prisoners were also used as free labour to build the nearby canal and dam.
This song is a cry for justice.
And that railroad is a symbol of injustice, as it has been for other disenfranchised and oppressed groups. So what better way to start that song than by talking about hearing a train.
Plus it situates the listener right in the prison. So much empathy built for the listener – right in that first sentence:
“I hear that train a comin’ it’s rolling round the bend.
And I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when.“
Why?
“I’m stuck in Folsom prison and time keeps draggin’ on“
Thank you Johnny. Thank you.
References
https://folsomcasharttrail.com/the-trail/blog/the-real-story-behind-johnny-cash-folsom-prison-blues
https://pen.org/i-hear-the-train-comin/
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/johnny-cash-richard-nixon-man-in-black-1972/
Happie Pens Op-Ed For Spin On Her Jewish Heritage, Antisemitism In The Music Industry
Today, in a moving op-ed for SPIN Magazine, the indie-pop artist HAPPIE, who doubles as the cantorial soloist for one of the largest congregations of Reform Judaism in the U.S., reflected on her Jewish heritage, her experience performing at Auschwitz-Birkenau in the past, and the recent wave of antisemitism that has riddled the country and music industry. “While I might not be on a physical platform like I was at Auschwitz, I have the responsibility to say that this is not ok. It’s not normal,” she writes. “I am grateful for the support of my non-Jewish friends and leaders who have spoken out and have stood up for a loving humanity. It’s on each of us to continue to call it out and continue to build a community where hate is not only not accepted, but is rooted out.”
The op-ed comes just before the release of HAPPIE’s debut EP ‘Heartbreak Season’ on Friday, November 18th. Mixing warmly organic instrumentation with sleek electro-ambience, storyteller narratives, sultry grooves, and seductive sentimentality, the album has received critical acclaim over the past few months, with SPIN calling it “a stunning debut,” Under The Radar Magazine describing it as “sleek and seductive,” and The Big Takeover writing: “HAPPIE is a revelation.” Last month HAPPIE stunned audiences on the main stage of the Austin City Limits Festival, just after leading Yom Kippur services at Temple Israel in Memphis.
HAPPIE recently shared “Heartbreak Season,” the title track of her new EP. Written in the middle of a New York winter, Happie describes the song as a “soulful and sultry expression of a moment in time.” The release followed the EP’s first single “All I Needed,” a sultry and honest offering that exudes a sensual longing, featuring a mix by David Block of The Human Experience, whom HAPPIE met while performing in Antarctica.
HAPPIE’s fans have long said that her voice helps them access their emotions. For that calling, she’s traveled the globe delivering soulful catharsis in song as a full-time musician. Today, HAPPIE’s musical mission is a personal one. ‘Heartbreak Season’ is an emotive 5-song collection that marks a radical reinvention, born from the end of romantic and professional relationships and an artistic rebirth.
“These are the most vulnerable songs I’ve ever released, and I definitely shed tears writing them,” HAPPIE reveals. “’Heartbreak Season’ is about what we have to go through to find real love. It doesn’t have to represent sadness, but rather bravery, empowerment, growth, truth, excitement, and knowing that anything is possible – that the love I’m seeking is seeking me.”
Conceptually, ‘Heartbreak Season’ is a snapshot of dating, relationships, and the quest for deep romantic connections. The EP was written with HAPPIE’S dear friend, the pop-rock artist iRO Music, aka Ori Rakib—a talented songwriter who has worked with Macklemore, Shane McAnally, and won NBC’s Songland songwriting television competition. It also features the soul/electronic/folk production and multi-instrumentalist skills of Gene Evaro Jr.
Previously, HAPPIE toured the world as one half of indie folk duo Eric & Happie, with Eric Hunker. The duo specialized in modern indie-folk versions of traditional Jewish music and new originals, and took their vibrant musicality around the world, including powerful performances in Poland, Russia, and Moldova, at festivals like SXSW and the Sundance Film Festival Israel, and for the UN.