David Bowie: ‘Lazarus’ Streaming Event
To remember David Bowie on his birthday and to mark the fifth anniversary of his untimely death, producers Robert Fox and RZO Entertainment Inc are exclusively releasing the stream of the London production of Lazarus, captured live on stage. This will be the UK premiere of the filmed version of this remarkable show.
The livestream event will include multiple showings across four different zones running from January 8th, 2021 (Bowie’s 74th birthday) to January 10th, the fifth anniversary after his death. Visit Dice.fm for streaming times and ticket information.
Lazarus includes songs from Bowie’s iconic catalogue as well as new songs written for the stage including the title song, Lazarus.
Inspired by the book, The Man Who Fell To Earth, by Walter Tevis (“The Queen’s Gambit”) Lazarus focuses on Thomas Newton, as he remains still on Earth – a ‘man’ unable to die, his head soaked in cheap gin and haunted by a past love. We follow Newton during the course of a few days where the arrival of another lost soul – might finally set him free.
Michael C Hall (“Dexter”, “Six Feet Under”) stars as Newton, the character famously portrayed by David Bowie in the 1976 screen adaptation of The Man Who Fell To Earth directed by Nicolas Roeg. Lazarus co-stars Sophia Anne Caruso (“Beetlejuice” on Broadway) and the production is directed by Ivo van Hove (“All About Eve”, “Network” and “A View From The Bridge”).
Lazarus opened at The New York Theatre Workshop in November 2015. The London production opened in November 2016 where it played a sold out run.
This live-streamed event will be available for three performances only in multiple time zones (GMT, AEDT, EST, PST, CST) from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 January 2021.
Barry Gibb And Dolly Parton Collaborate On Bee Gees’ “Words” Out Today
Two legendary artists—Barry Gibb and Dolly Parton—join forces on a new version of the beloved Bee Gees’ song, “Words,” out today.
“Words” is the third and final song unveiled from Gibb’s anticipated new album, GREENFIELDS: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1, which will be released next Friday, January 8 on Capitol Records (pre-order/pre-save). Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb, the record finds Gibb realizing his long-time dream of working with some of the artists he admires the most. In addition to Parton, the album features collaborations with Alison Krauss, Brandi Carlile, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (listen to “Butterfly”), Jason Isbell (listen to “Words of a Fool”), Jay Buchanan, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Olivia Newton-John, Sheryl Crow and Tommy Emmanuel. Watch the album’s official trailer HERE.
Gibb continues to receive widespread attention ahead of the release, including an extensive profile at The New York Times, who praises, “Gibb’s voice on ‘Words of a Fool’ is strong but also spectral…Nearly six decades after he first sang on a record, it remains one of the most otherworldly instruments in popular music.” He was also recently featured as part of Rolling Stone’s “Musicians On Musicians” issue speaking with Jason Isbell and, last month, was a guest on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
In addition to the new album, Gibb is the subject of an acclaimed new documentary, The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, directed by Frank Marshall. Out now on HBO Max, the Washington Post heralds, “magnificent…thorough and beautifully appreciative,” while The Hollywood Reporter calls it, “a warm blast of musical nostalgia” and the A.V Club asserts, “a fascinating, unprecedented story.”
Of recording GREENFIELDS, Barry Gibb shares, “From the first day we stepped into RCA Studios in Nashville (the very place where Elvis, Willie, Waylon, Roy, the Everly Brothers and so many other legends made their magic) the album took on a life of its own. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to work with Dave and all the artists who stopped by. They were all incredibly generous with their time and talent. They inspired me more than words can express. I feel deep down that Maurice and Robin would have loved this album for different reasons. I wish we could have all been together to do it…but I think we were.”
With a career spanning more than five decades, Sir Barry Gibb stands as one of the most renowned and celebrated musicians of the modern era. As co-founder and creative leader of the Brothers Gibb—better known to the world as the Bee Gees—Barry with his brothers, Maurice and Robin, represent one of the most successful vocal groups in rock and roll history, having sold more than 200 million albums to date. With nine #1 singles as a performer, Barry is also amongst the most successful songwriters of all-time (with sixteen #1 singles) and is seventh on the list of most successful producers (with fourteen #1 singles). He is also tied with John Lennon and Paul McCartney for most #1 singles in a calendar year with seven. Among his many awards and honors are eight Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award and, most recently, the 2015 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also the recipient of the American Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, the BMI Icon Award, four BMI Songwriter of the Year Awards, four BMI Song of the Year Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, Barry received one of Britain’s highest honors when the Bee Gees were made Commanders of the British Empire and, in 2018, was Knighted “Sir Barry Gibb” by Prince Charles for his services to music and charity.
GREENFIELDS: THE GIBB BROTHERS SONGBOOK, VOL. 1 – TRACK LIST
“I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” with Keith Urban
“Words of a Fool” with Jason Isbell
“Run to Me” with Brandi Carlile
“Too Much Heaven” with Alison Krauss
“Lonely Days” with Little Big Town
“Words” with Dolly Parton
“Jive Talkin’” with Miranda Lambert, Jay Buchanan
“How Deep Is Your Love” with Tommy Emanuel, Little Big Town
“How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” with Sheryl Crow
“To Love Somebody” with Jay Buchanan
“Rest Your Love On Me” with Olivia Newton-John
“Butterfly” with Gillian Welch, David Rawlings
Justin Bieber ‘Breaks The Internet’ With Massive Global Livestream Concert
Last night, Justin Bieber triumphantly returned to the live stage for the first time in almost four years in a livestreamed NYE concert presented by T-Mobile, and in the process created a frenzied fan response that threatened to “break the internet!”
In front of a massive light array, on the rooftop of the iconic Beverly Hilton hotel, Bieber seamlessly ran through a setlist of his hits, including “What Do You Mean,” “Sorry,” “Baby,” “Love Yourself,” “Holy,” “Where Are U Now,” “Intentions,” and the first ever live rendition of his brand new single “Anyone,” which was released simultaneously on streaming platforms worldwide. Watch the video for “Anyone” HERE.
T-Mobile used its 5G network to launch a swarm of drones during the performance and lit up the sky magenta with a special midnight countdown afterwards. Over 1.2 million T-Mobile customers saved the offer for access to the livestream, making it one of the most successful T-Mobile Tuesdays entertainment offers to date!
For fans who did not catch the initial NYE broadcast, there are three additional re-airings scheduled for Friday, January 1 at 5am EST/7pm JST/9pm AEDT, 3pm EST/8pm GMT/9pm CET and 10pm EST/7pm PST.
New Loretta Lynn Studio Album, ‘Still Woman Enough’, A Celebration of Women in Country Music, Coming March 19, 2021
Loretta Lynn’s new studio album will release Still Woman Enough on Friday, March 19, 2021.
The American music icon’s 50th studio album (excluding her 10 studio duet collaborations with Conway Twitty), Still Woman Enough celebrates women in country music. From her homage to the originators, Mother Maybelle Carter and the Carter Family (via her cover of “Keep On The Sunny Side”) through a new interpretation of her very first single, “I’m A Honky Tonk Girl,” Loretta Lynn acknowledges her role in the continuum of American country music with a special collaboration with Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood (“Still Woman Enough”), and duets with Margo Price (“One’s On The Way”) and Tanya Tucker (“You Ain’t Woman Enough”), sharing the musical torch with some of the brightest lights and biggest stars in contemporary country music.
“I am just so thankful to have some of my friends join me on my new album. We girl singers gotta stick together,” said Loretta Lynn. “It’s amazing how much has happened in the fifty years since ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ first came out and I’m extremely grateful to be given a part to play in the history of American music.”
Loretta Lynn has been long established as the undisputed Queen of Country Music, with more than 50 years of recording and touring to her name. A self-taught guitarist and songwriter, Lynn was one of the most distinctive performers in Nashville in the 1960s and 1970s. She shook up Nashville by writing her own songs, many of which tackled boundary-pushing topics drawn from her own life experiences as a wife and mother. “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Fist City” and “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” are just three of 16 country No. 1 singles.
Lynn is also one of the most awarded musicians of all time. She has been inducted into more music Halls of Fame than any female recording artist, including The Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and was the first woman to be named the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year in 1972. Lynn received Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. In 2015, she was named recipient of Billboard’s inaugural Women in Music “Legend” Award. Lynn has won four Grammy Awards (including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010) and sold more than 45 million records worldwide.
Like its Legacy predecessors–the critically-acclaimed, Grammy-nominated Full Circle (released March 2016), White Christmas Blue (2016) and Wouldn’t It Be Great (2018), Still Woman Enough was mainly recorded at the Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with producers Patsy Lynn Russell and John Carter Cash.
The album premieres 13 new Loretta Lynn recordings, intimate and electrifying performances of a career-spanning selection of songs illuminating different aspects of her repertoire. The collection is centered around Loretta’s original compositions–from new songs like “Still Woman Enough” (which shares its title and attitude with her 2002 autobiography and was cowritten with her daughter, Patsy Lynn Russell) through fresh interpretations of classics including “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” (her first single, originally released March 1960), “You Ain’t Woman Enough” (the title track for her first #1 Billboard Hot Country Album in 1966), “My Love” (from 1968’s Here’s Loretta Lynn), “I Wanna Be Free” (1971) and a deeply emotional “Coal Miner’s Daughter Recitation,” commemorating the 50th anniversary of the release of her signature song (October 5, 1970) and album (January 4, 1971).
In mid-2020, Loretta reunited with director David McClister to collaborate on a short film version of “Coal Miner’s Daughter Recitation.” Shot on location at her ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, Loretta’s new music video includes scenes filmed in her “Butcher Holler” replica home.
In addition to her original compositions, Still Woman Enough includes Loretta’s take on American traditional music (“I Don’t Feel at Home Any More,” Stephen Foster’s “Old Kentucky Home”), country-gospel (The Carter Family-popularized “Keep On The Sunny Side,” “Where No One Stands Alone,” “I’ll Be All Smiles Tonight,” Hank Williams’ “I Saw the Light”) and contemporary singer-songwriting (Shel Silverstein’s satirical view of motherhood, “One’s On The Way,” a hit for Loretta in 1971).
For the cover portrait on Still Woman Enough, Loretta’s wearing a newly-designed couture dress–created especially for this album by her longtime dressmaker Tim Cobb–inspired by the iconic gown she wore on the original Coal Miner’s Daughter album cover. Loretta’s said that “Coal Miner’s Daughter” is the song she’s most proud of having written; it’s the title of her 1976 memoir and the Oscar-winning 1980 film adaptation starring Sissy Spacek. With the autobiographical Coal Miner’s Daughter, Lynn introduced the world to a crucial aspect of American life that was rarely acknowledged. Already a country star with chart-topping singles in the 1960s, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” the title track, led to a string of # 1 hits in the 1970s and became the first Loretta Lynn recording inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall Of Fame. She was among a notable list of singer/songwriters who brought a woman’s perspective to country music.
Loretta Lynn – Still Woman Enough
01. Still Woman Enough (featuring Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood) (Loretta Lynn and Patsy Lynn Russell)
02. Keep On The Sunny Side (A.P. Carter)
03. Honky Tonk Girl (Loretta Lynn)
04. I Don’t Feel At Home Any More (Traditional, arrangement by Loretta Lynn)
05. Old Kentucky Home (Stephen Foster and Loretta Lynn)
06. Coal Miner’s Daughter Recitation (Loretta Lynn)
07. One’s On The Way (featuring Margo Price (Shel Silverstein)
08. I Wanna Be Free (Loretta Lynn)
09. Where No One Stands Alone (Lister Mosie)
10. I’ll Be All Smiles Tonight (T.B. Ransom)
11. I Saw The Light (Hank Williams)
12. My Love (Loretta Lynn)
13. You Ain’t Woman Enough (featuring Tanya Tucker) (Loretta Lynn)
My Next Read: “Barrett” by Russell Beecher and William Shute
Barrett is the only official Syd Barrett book and is now available in paperback. This large format book is the definitive visual companion to Syd’s life. Full of unseen and rare images of Syd and Pink Floyd, the book also collects and catalogues for the first time artworks and photographs by Syd himself.
The book has been made in conjunction with the Barrett family. Their recollections together with access to their family art and photograph archive have combined to show reveal Syd the creative, a man who was a dedicated, practising artist throughout his life.
The book splits into three sections:
- Syd’s life in photographs – from growing up through to working and performing with Pink Floyd and his life as a solo artist.
- Unseen and unpublished illustrated letters sent to Libby Gausden-Chisman and Jenny Spires between 1962-1965, as Syd was finding himself as a painter and a musician.
- All of Syd’s existing work as a visual artist from 1962 until his death.
The book contains over 250 images. These include:
- Over 100 unseen images and many more reproduced in fine art quality for the first time.
- Over 40 artworks including: paintings, drawings, mosaics, collages, and sculptures.
- Over 50 unseen photographs taken by Syd of his artworks, including: images of his “destroyed” works seen here for the first time, studies in preparation for his artworks, images of his work area.
The Art section also includes:
- An extensive commentary on Syd’s artworks by Barrett art expert Will Shutes.
- Notes on Syd’s diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, and his History of Art project.
- The Catalogue Raisonné of Syd’s art – listing and dating all the artwork known to have existed.
The 50th Annual JUNO Awards to be celebrated in Toronto this May
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced today that the JUNO Awards, returning to Toronto for the 50th anniversary, will move to May 2021. Originally scheduled for March, the 50th annual JUNO Awards will now broadcast nationwide on Sunday, May 16, 2021 on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and globally on CBCMusic.ca/junos.
CARAS also unveiled three stunning new JUNO Award statuettes inspired by the late Shirley Elford’s individually crafted trophies, that were awarded between 2000-2010. To commemorate its 50th anniversary next year, a gold version will be awarded to JUNO Award winners, a silver version for Special Award recipients and a gold and silver version for Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees.
To help celebrate the JUNO Awards 50th anniversary, MusiCounts, Canada’s music education charity, will be awarding $1.5 million dollars worth of instruments and equipment to schools and community organizations across Canada through the MusiCounts Band Aid Program and TD Community Music Program. Teachers in search of support for a school music program are encouraged to apply, before December 11, 2020, to musicounts.ca. Applications for the TD Community Music Program will open this spring.
The origins of the JUNO Awards date back to 1970. In that year, Walt Grealis and Stan Klees, publishers of the weekly trade publication, RPM, organized the Gold Leaf Awards, held at the St. Lawrence Hall in Toronto. A year later, the name of the award was changed to honour Pierre Juneau, the first head of the CRTC and responsible for the implementation of the Canadian Content Regulations in 1971.
The 50th annual JUNO Awards will celebrate 50 years in Canadian music, broadcast, on May 16, 2021, on CBC TV, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, the free CBC Gem streaming service in Canada and globally at www.cbcmusic.ca/junos.
1-minute tip for artists: Mindful vinyl.
Music brings us together, and now you can help with your next run of vinyl.
The Beatles painting Images Of A Woman, Tokyo, 1966
The Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr) painting Images Of A Woman, Tokyo, 1966
The oil and watercolour artwork was created by The Beatles in June and July 1966, while on tour in Tokyo. Tight security measures meant they were unable to leave their suite at the Hilton hotel for three nights, so they collaborated on a painting which became known as Images Of A Woman.
Each Beatle painted parts of the 30″x40″ paper, working by the light of a lamp in the centre. When the painting was complete the lamp was removed, and The Beatles signed the empty space next to their contributions.
The paper and paints were provided by the Japanese promoter, Tats Nagashima, who suggested that the completed painting be auctioned for charity. It was subsequently bought by a cinema manager and local fan club president Tetsusaburo Shimoyama.
Images Of A Woman is believed to be the only instance of a painting by all four Beatles. It was sold again in Osaka for ¥15 million, and in 2002 appeared on the eBay auction website.
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll & Ukuleles
The members of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain bring their own unique spin to the classic track Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll by Ian Dury and the Blockheads.