OutKast’s “Ms. Jackson” was released as the second single from their fourth album, Stankonia, and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week on February 17, 2001, and also reached number one in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. In October 2015, NME placed it at number 81 on its list of the, “150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years” and in June of the same year Rolling Stone ranked it at number 55 in their, “100 Best Songs of the 2000s”
Video: Vintage Footage Of Robin Williams And Jim Varney Hanging Out Together Will Make You Miss Them Both
Robin Williams and Jim Varney hang out backstage and riff off each other for a minute and half.
Nominations for the 20th Anniversary INDIES are Now Open!
Canadian Music Week announces the 20th Anniversary Canadian Independent Music Awards – Live Streamed on Friday, May 21st, 2021.
Part concert and part awards, the 2021 Jim Beam Indie Awards are a celebration of new music and the artists who inspire the independent spirit, both nationally and internationally. Submit your nomination(s) today for a chance to be recognized among industry peers, media and fans alike. Submissions are being accepted through indies.ca until February 5, 2021. Artists or their representatives (including labels, agents, managers, and publishers) can submit nominations on their behalf. The eligibility period for all awards categories runs from January 1, 2019 through January 1, 2021. Nominees must have been active during the eligibility period and are based on the performance of the group or artist. For complete submission details, eligibility criteria and award categories, see “Criteria” on the Indies website.
Past winners include The Weeknd, Arcade Fire, Carly Rae Jepsen, Deadmau5, Alexisonfire, Lights, Marianas Trench, Mother Mother, Arkells, Jessie Reyez, KAYTRANADA, Death From Above, The Strumbellas, Crystal Castles, and many more! Past nominees include Daniel Caesar, City and Colour, MAGIC!, Alvvays, Purity Ring, Coeur de Pirate, BADBADNOTGOOD, Chromeo, Bob Moses, Mac DeMarco, and more.
Past performers include Janelle Monae, Tokyo Police Club, Billy Talent, Metric, The New Pornographers, Passion Pit, Rural Alberta Advantage, Bombay Bicycle Club, Born Ruffians, Arkells, and many others!
Calgary’s K BESD nominated at 3rd Annual Canadian Independent Music Video Awards for Cover of Goddo’s “TUFF TIMES”
Canadian singer/songwriter dynamo K BESD has turned rock, pop, and hip hop genres on their heads as she pays homage to Goddo’s 1978 iconic hit in “TUFF TIMES” — available now.
This week, the video has been announced as a finalist for The Canadian Independent Video Awards, conceived to share a spotlight on the incredible videos that are created by independent artists across the country. Last year the contest received over 100,000 votes and this year is set to be higher.
Round one ends with four finalists chosen, per genre. Two videos will move forward based on Judges choices and two based on fans votes. These finalists will move on to round two. The finalists will be decided between a combination of Judge and fan votes. The winners will be announced at a live (and potentially virtual) event in 2021, the date and venue for this event have yet to be announced at www.independentmusicvideoawards.com.
Executive produced by Goddo’s Greg Godovitz himself — and co-produced by Trey Mills (KRS One, Canadian Brass, Forest Blakk) and Eddie Kramer (The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix) — the track was mastered by multi-GRAMMY Award-winning engineer John Greenham (Billie Eillish).
“I’ve known Greg since I was a kid, and ‘Tough Times’ has always been one of my favourite songs of Goddo’s,” K BESD (Kelly Abesdris) recalls. “My producer and I were sitting at the studio brainstorming ideas and played the beginnings of Post Malone’s ‘Take What You Want’ and Goddo’s ‘Tough Times’ — they both have a great guitar riff in the intro, and I love the idea of blending genres to create what Post Malone calls ‘shmusic.’ We realized it was time for me to make a call to Greg and luckily he said yes to allowing me to rework his song.
“A lot of magic happened right from the beginning,” she recalls. “Trey started working on the beat and soon enough, the lyrics simply flowed out of me. I knew I wanted the original hook, and to incorporate some of the other lyrics — but also make them my own.
The rap feature involves Calgary-based artist Jackie Art. “I felt the way he wrote and delivered his lyrics would fit perfectly so I reached out to him on Instagram and, within 24 hours, he had written and sent over his idea.
“It was perfect.”
The pieces had come together but, before releasing “TUFF TIMES” to the world, K BESD was keen to glean Godovitz’s thoughts on the reimagined track. “Once we had it somewhat put together, I sent it to Greg on my way home from the studio one night. He called shortly after and said, ‘ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!’
“I held my breath for a moment,” she reveals. “I was wondering if this was a good or bad reaction? It turns out it was good, and he immediately sent it over to his pals Paul Dean (Loverboy) and Eddie Kramer, both of whom shared his enthusiasm.”
So much so that Kramer would come aboard to co-produce the track. “He really had a hand in shaping the vision and the sound of the single.”
At 15,000+ streams across platforms, “TUFF TIMES” is K BESD’s sophomore single release; it follows this year’s hit “L.I.Y.E. (Lights in Your Eyes),” and lands ahead of the Toronto-based artist’s forthcoming EP.
Alexandria, ON’s Contemporary Jazz-Pop Artist KATIE DITSCHUN Releases Ethereal New Single, “The Moon”
Artfully ominous and delicately foreboding, Alexandria, ON’s contemporary jazz-pop artist Katie Ditschun steps surely into winter’s evening glow with the release of “The Moon” — her moody, ethereal new single and video available now.
“This song came to me in a sudden rush,” the multi-talented Canadian singer/songwriter recalls. “I sat at the piano and was astonished at how quickly it flowed out of me.
“It was like it had been poured into me.”
The third single to shine from the Alexandria, Ontario-based artist’s debut album, Spare Skirt, “The Moon” is a song about secrets, and reflects the anxieties of these inauspicious times. There are three characters in the lyric: “I,” “you,” and “the moon” — the narrator, someone who keeps secrets, and someone who knows everybody’s secrets, respectively.
“I’m fascinated when people tell me which character they identify with, and whom they cast in the other roles,” Ditschun explains. “It’s definitely open to interpretation; one friend said they thought it was about the loss of privacy in the digital age, and another said it resonated with her experience growing up closeted in a small town.
“Given its relatively simple song structure, I realized I needed to stretch it out when it came time to record,” she continues. “The idea of this enchanting extended cello solo as a middle section just struck me as perfect for the song as a whole.”
Cellist Noël Campbell stepped into the moonlight, per se, to fill the role; he also stars in the video. Filmed amongst the marshes on the Glengarry Trails in North Glengarry, Ontario, the video also features a goat named after one of the G.O.A.T.’s — Johnny Cash.
Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Ditschun spent time in Montreal, Quebec following her studies at Berklee College of Music for jazz and contemporary vocals before returning to her home province; she is also a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association. Though she was diagnosed at 18 months old with juvenile arthritis, beginning piano lessons at age four to keep her fingers moving, it was the onset of her mother’s terminal illness that gave Ditschun the push to pursue music full-time.
As an artist featured across radio nationwide, including CBC and with 15,000+ streams across platforms, “The Moon” follows Ditschun’s previous singles “Here We Are,” “This Is That,” and “Be Still.”
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)