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Willie Nelson Pays Homage to Friend & Fellow Icon Frank Sinatra with His 96th (!!!) Studio Album, That’s Life

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Willie Nelson Pays Homage to Friend & Fellow Icon Frank Sinatra with His 96th (!!!) Studio Album, That’s Life

Willie Nelson will be releasing That’s Life, in tribute to his friend Frank Sinatra on Friday, February 26.

Honoring the enduring influence and inspiration of Frank Sinatra (whose 105th birthday would have been celebrated on December 12), That’s Life continues Willie’s longtime musical appreciation of Sinatra’s artistry and repertoire, an exploration exemplified by 2018’s My Way, which earned Willie the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Solo Album.

Willie’s second album of standards and classics made famous by Frank Sinatra, That’s Life finds Nelson (who has penned a few standards himself including “Crazy,” “Funny How Times Slips Away,” “On The Road Again” and many more) inhabiting more of the most treasured songs in the Great American Songbook. Recorded in the spirit of the groundbreaking 1978 Stardust album (Willie is one of the first contemporary artists to “cover” the Great American Songbook), 2016’s Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin (a Best Traditional Vocal Album Grammy Award winner) and 2018’s My Way, That’s Life pays fresh tribute to one of Willie’s life-long musical heroes.

The album cover painting of Willie and his iconic guitar, Trigger, standing into the glow of a twilight streetlamp, evokes classic Sinatra album images like In The Wee Small Hours (whose title song is featured on That’s Life). Other key tracks on Willie’s new album include “I Won’t Dance” (featuring Grammy and Juno Award winning vocalist Diana Krall) and “A Cottage For Sale” premiering HERE.

Produced by Buddy Cannon and Matt Rollings, That’s Life was recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood–where Frank Sinatra, the first artist to record at the facility, created an unbroken string of album masterpieces from March 1956 to November 1961–with additional recording at Pedernales Studios in Austin, Texas.

Willie and Trigger deliver 11 new studio performances, coming alive in a musical landscape animated by lush string and vibrant horn arrangements on an album mixed by recording industry legend Al Schmitt (who’s recorded and mixed more than 150 gold and platinum albums and won more Grammy Awards than any other engineer or mixer).

Two iconic avatars, each defining a sector of American pop culture, Frank Sinatra and Willie Nelson convey the range of romantic emotion–from the intoxication of love to the hangover of heartbreak–in songs and performances that connect directly to the listener.

Willie and Frank were close friends, musical colleagues and mutual admirers of each other’s work throughout Sinatra’s lifetime. In the 1980s, Sinatra opened for Willie at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas and the two of them appeared together in a public service announcement for NASA’s Space Foundation.

“I learned a lot about phrasing listening to Frank,” Willie said in an interview for AARP magazine. “He didn’t worry about behind the beat or in front of the beat, or whatever—he could sing it either way, and that’s the feel you have to have.”

That’s the attitude Willie brings to That’s Life with his sublime interpretations of Sinatra signature songs including “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” “Just In Time,” “Cottage For Sale,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “I Won’t Dance” (featuring Diana Krall), “That’s Life,” “Luck Be A Lady,” “In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning,” “Learnin’ The Blues” and “Lonesome Road.”

Willie Nelson – That’s Life
track listing (songwriters; Frank Sinatra version, date)
01. Nice Work If You Can Get It (Ira Gershwin & George Gershwin; Sinatra-Basie: An Historic Musical First, 1962)
02. Just In Time (Adolph Green, Jule Styne & Betty Comden; Come Dance With Me!, 1959)
03. A Cottage For Sale (Larry Conley & Willard Robison; No One Cares, 1959)
04. I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Cole Porter; Songs For Swingin’ Lovers!, 1956)
05. You Make Me Feel So Young (Josef Myrow & Mack Gordon; Songs For Swingin’ Lovers!, 1956)
06. I Won’t Dance – featuring Diana Krall (Jerome Kerr, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields; A Swingin’ Affair!, 1957)
07. That’s Life (Dean Kay & Kelly Gordon, That’s Life, 1966)
08. Luck Be A Lady (Frank Loesser; My Kind Of Broadway, 1965)
09. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning (David Mann & Bob Hilliard; In The Wee Small Hours, 1955)
10. Learnin’ The Blues (Dolores Vicki Silvers; Session with Sinatra EP, single, 1955)
11. Lonesome Road (Nathaniel Shilkret & Gene Austin; A Swingin’ Affair!, 1957)

New video for The Clash’s ‘The Magnificent Seven’ Features Unseen Footage Edited by Don Letts

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New video for The Clash’s ‘The Magnificent Seven’ Features Unseen Footage Edited by Don Letts

The Magnificent Seven was released as a single from The Clash’s fourth album ‘Sandinista!, a 3-disc collection of songs released in December 1980 which showcased the band’s wide musical taste and the influence of the burgeoning New York hip hop scene. The song earned the distinction of being the first rap record by a rock group, and until now has had no official video.

There’s a new clip for ‘The Magnificent Seven,’ shot and edited by filmmaker Don Letts and uses footage of The Clash (Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon & Topper Headon) performing the song live on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder (a late-night New York chat show) cut with previously unseen film of the group in and around New York and during their legendary 17-night residency at Bond’s International Casino, near Times Square.

“They were always ahead of the game – Sandinista! signposted the multi-cultural way music was going and the elements that make The Clash great are still a currency that’s recognized by youth in the 21st century,” says all-around genius and great guy Don Letts.

Video: The Breakdown – “When Do I Need To Work With A Manager?”

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Video: The Breakdown – “When Do I Need To Work With A Manager?”

Words & Music is happily extending its helpful “how-to” series for their members, “The Breakdown,” into the realm of short, question-and-answer videos.

In this episode, SOCAN A&R Representative Racquel Villagante talks with Miranda Bonavia, who manages the careers of reclusive, highly successful singer-songwriter Allan Rayman and upcoming Indigenous artist Ruby Waters. Bonavia has also interned at Bedlam Music Management / Dine Alone Records, and volunteered in office administration at Ottawa Festivals, a networking environment for local, capital-area fests, special events, and fairs.

Their question this time is, “When do I need to work with a manager?”

The Go-Go’s, Cherie Currie, Cindy Blackman Santana, Amy Lee, & More Will Be Honored at the 2021 SHE ROCKS AWARDS

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The Go-Go’s, Cherie Currie, Cindy Blackman Santana, Amy Lee, & More Will Be Honored at the 2021 SHE ROCKS AWARDS

The Women’s International Music Network (the WiMN) proudly announces a stellar array of honorees for the 2021 She Rocks Awards, sponsored by Positive Grid. This year’s ceremony will be very different, as it will be done virtually. With the current pandemic situation, and NAMM moving to a virtual convention, the She Rocks Awards are reimagining the ceremony to fit the current times. The ceremony itself will continue to pay tribute to women in the music industry with the ninth annual She Rocks Awards taking place at 6:30 pm PT on Friday, January 22, 2021. This high-energy evening will include live virtual music performances, awards and speeches, celebrity appearances, a fabulous silent auction, and much more, all available online. A VIP gift box and afterparty are available for the ultimate She Rocks experience.

This year’s virtual event is open to the public, and VIP tickets can be purchased at sherocksawards.com.

The 2021 She Rocks Awards recipients include:

The Go-Go’s – the first all-female band to top the Billboard charts that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments
Cherie Currie – founding member of the pioneering all-female rock band The Runaways
Cindy Blackman Santana – respected jazz and rock drummer with Santana and Lenny Kravitz among many others
Amy Lee – co-founder and lead vocalist for the rock band Evanescence
Margaret Cho – Emmy and Grammy-nominated stand-up comedian, actress, fashion designer, author, and singer-songwriter
Starr Parodi – composer, pianist, conductor, arranger, music director and president of The Alliance For Women Film Composers
Ann Mincieli – GRAMMY-winning recording engineer, studio coordinator for Alicia Keys and co-founder of NYC-destination studio Jungle City
Sharon Hennessey – co-president and co-owner of The Music People
Gwen Riley – Senior VP of Music for Peloton Interactive

Additional honorees and featured guests will be announced soon. This year’s event will be hosted by previous award recipient, LZZY HALE frontwoman for the rock band, Halestorm, with Yahoo Entertainment’s Lyndsey Parker hosting the pre-show countdown.

This year’s opening performers will be Lexington, Kentucky, rock and soul band Magnolia Boulevard, sponsored by PRS Guitars, and featuring lead vocalist Maggie Noelle, guitarist Gregg Erwin, drummer Todd Copeland, keyboardist Ryan Allen, and bassist John Roberts.

She Rocks Awards founder Laura B. Whitmore comments, “The She Rocks Awards was created to bring us together and lift us all up with an evening of positive community and shared experience. This year is no different! I am so thrilled to honor these amazing role models and share their inspiring stories.”

She Rocks Awards pays tribute to women who display leadership and stand out within the music industry, and has become a standard at the NAMM Show. Previous award recipients include Melissa Etheridge, Pat Benatar, Gloria Gaynor, The B-52s, Suzi Quatro, Colbie Caillat, Sheila E, Chaka Khan, Ronnie Spector, Orianthi, Lisa Loeb, The Bangles, and many more, plus a collection of role models from all walks of the music and audio industries.

The 2021 She Rocks Awards is sponsored by Positive Grid, Sweetwater, Roland, PRS Guitars, PreSonus, NAMM, Fishman, Marshall, D’Addario, Reverb, The Music People, Cuccio, MAC Cosmetics, Clif, WRiiG, Berklee School of Music, Parade, Future Publishing, Guitar World, Musicradar and Guitar Girl Magazine.

Morgan Freeman Plays a Smooth Talking Disc Jockey on ‘The Electric Company’ In 1971

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Morgan Freeman Plays a Smooth Talking Disc Jockey on ‘The Electric Company’ In 1971

Morgan Freeman as you may have never seen him before.

“Okay brothers and sisters, misses and misters. Here’s your daddy-o with the sounds to go. No shucking, no jiving, I’m telling you your music’s arriving. It’s Mel Mounds here with your special request game called ‘Same As Your Name’. That’s right one of you lucky listeners out there will get the chance to pick the next song and that song will have a sound that sounds the same as your own name. …And the name is Brenda Bradley.”

Simon Collins Conjures Up Prog Rock Masterpiece, “Becoming Human”

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Simon Collins Conjures Up Prog Rock Masterpiece, “Becoming Human”

Having spent his entire life in and around music, Simon Collins may well have released the most stunning album of his career. Becoming Human has already drawn rave reviews and coverage from the likes of Prog Magazine as an intelligent, expansive combination of prog rock and futuristic electronic pop, exploring lyrical themes such as personal loss; addiction and the nature of our place in the universe. Led by the title track which describes a journey of personal transformation and discovering what it truly means to be human, Simon Collins’ Becoming Human reasserts the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist as one of the major forces in progressive rock.

As the son of musical legend, Phil Collins, Simon has song-writing in his DNA, learning to drum from the age of five and composing from the age of 14. Having been a rave DJ in Vancouver, he quickly moved to recording his own compositions, bringing his skills as a singer, drummer and producer to three previous solo projects; All of Who You Are; Time for Truth and U-Catastrophe, as well as one album with his band, Sound of Contact, Dimensionaut. Becoming Human was produced by keyboardist and sound designer Robbie Bronnimann and features one of the key players from Sound of Contact, acoustic and electric guitarist Kelly Avril Nordstrom. Released on Frontiers Records, Becoming Human, transposes the classic prog era of Genesis and brings it firmly into the 21st Century, with atmospheric swathes of electronica mixing with rock, pop and even heavier industrial textures to form a sound entirely of his own. Led by the hugely successful singles, Becoming Human and The Universe Inside of Me, the album continues to deliver after repeated listen, a journey through almost Vangelis-esque keyboards and profound lyrics commenting both on Simon’s personal journey through life and Mankind’s through the cosmos.

Track List
1. Into The Fray
2. Becoming Human
3. The Universe Inside Of Me
4. Man Made Man
5. This Is The Time
6. Thoughts Become Matter
7. I Will Be Waiting
8. No Love
9. Living In Silence
10. 40 Years
11. So Real
12. Dead End

Record Store Day 2021 to take place on June 12

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Record Store Day 2021 to take place on June 12

Record Store Day can today announce that the 2021 edition of the event will take place on Saturday 12 June.

The annual event traditionally takes place on the third Saturday in April, however 2021 will see the celebration taking on a later spot in the music calendar.

Record Store Day, supported by BBC Sounds, is the one day of the year when hundreds of record shops in the UK (and thousands more around the globe!) come together to celebrate their unique and independent culture and the art of vinyl. Special vinyl releases are made exclusively for the day with parties and live performances taking place in record shops all over the world.

Look Good. Do Good. Music Matters Launches Line of Designer T-Shirts to Support MusiCares

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Look Good. Do Good. Music Matters Launches Line of Designer T-Shirts to Support MusiCares

COVID-19 has devastated all facets of the live music industry leaving thousands of creators and workers in crisis. In an effort to assist members of the music community in need, Impact Entertainment has launched a line of designer t-shirts.

The Music Matters Now initiative features a selection of limited edition, collector’s item t-shirts. Shirts are available online for $24.99, plus shipping and handling. For every shirt sold, Music Matters Now is donating $10 to MusiCares.

In response to the pandemic’s overwhelming effect on the music industry, MusiCares, in partnership with the Recording Academy, established the COVID-19 Relief.

“COVID-19 has rocked the music industry. Through the work of our esteemed partners, like Music Matters Now, we keep the music playing by providing critical assistance to music people impacted,” says MusiCares Executive Director Laura Segura.

“Since the establishment of our COVID-19 Relief, we’ve supported over 20,000 music professionals. However, the urgency remains high and the need for support continues.”

Music Matters Now is the brainchild of Alan Jacoby, founder and executive producer of Impact Entertainment, a live entertainment and sports event production company. “While the pandemic has destroyed the live event business since March of this year, we are optimistic about the future.

“To help us get to the other side, we must support the people in our music community who are suffering the most. Music fans of every genre are craving live music events. Music Matters Now provides them with an opportunity to express their anticipation and positivity while making a financial contribution to the industry.”

Designed by Dustin Gilleland, t-shirts in the collection make a bold, bright statement, are Made in the USA and printed by X-Treme Apparel, a national merchandise manufacturer. For additional information and to purchase shirts, go to www.MusicMattersNow.org.

Smooth Jazz Vocalist CAT BERNARDI Releases Her First Holiday Single, “Let’s Get Cozy”

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Smooth Jazz Vocalist CAT BERNARDI Releases Her First Holiday Single, “Let’s Get Cozy”

From smooth jazz vocalist Cat Bernardi, comes her very first holiday single, “Let’s Get Cozy”, with music video to come on December 21st. This single is the title track of a holiday season EP of the same name and was generously supported by the Mississauga Arts Council’s MicroGrant award.

“Lots of people are unable to connect with those outside of their households and unable to partake in the typical activities they would at this time of year,” says Bernardi of her new holiday single, “It celebrates the simple beauty of being at home and making a special event out of spending time with people in your household and taking a break in the solace of the home.”

Bernardi studied Jazz Vocal Music at both York University and Humber College, where she had the opportunity to train under accomplished musicians such as Jane Fair, Maria Farinha, Sacha Williamson and Michael Donovan. Through Toronto Jazz Workshops, she has also had the opportunity to train with jazz legend, Barry Harris. It was not long before she began composing her own music, arranging her favourite standards and playing with several ensembles around the city including the Toronto Jazz Chorus, York University Jazz Choir, and her own group, the Cat Bernardi Quartet.

Harmonium Goes GOLD In Canada in Less Than 3 Weeks For New Album

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Harmonium Goes GOLD In Canada in Less Than 3 Weeks For New Album

Released on December 3, the instrumental album Harmonium symphonique – Histoires sans paroles has just been certified gold record by Music Canada, a recognition that underscores the 40,000 copies sold. This result is all the more remarkable since the album is offered on a single platform, the Oziko store.

Histoires sans paroles, the first symphonic project from the world of Harmonium, brings together the complete works of the group adapted by Simon Leclerc and performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) under his direction. Totaling more than 140 minutes of music, Histoires sans paroles is a co-direction by Serge Fiori and Simon Leclerc, under the artistic direction of Nicolas Lemieux, president of GSI Musique. 

The double album is available exclusively at www.harmoniumsymphonique.com, in digital version or in two-CD or four-vinyl boxes (available as of February 2021), accompanied by a booklet illustrated with photos taken during the recording at the Maison symphonique.
 
The first project from the fabled Harmonium since the release of L’Heptade 44 years ago, the symphonic performance of Histoires sans paroles, totaling more than 140 minutes, is more than simple orchestral interpretations. It’s a reworking of the songs revealing the compositions in a whole new light. The exquisite flavor, the subtlety and the multiple layers offered by this instrumental work, invite each listener to imagine their own new stories of what for many had become part of the soundtrack of their life.
 
Harmonium is one of the most influential bands in Quebec music history and their success reached across North America as the sound of progressive rock came to characterize the 1970’s music scene. The success of their three albums Harmonium, Si on avait besoin d’une cinquième saison and L’Heptade and the single Pour un instant resulted in an invitation to Los Angeles, where the National Film Board of Canada filmed Harmonium en Californie. In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine listed Si on avait besoin d’une cinquième saison at number 36 of the Best 50 Progressive Rock Albums and declared it the Best Progressive Folk Album. In 2007, all three of Harmonium’s studio albums were named among the 100 greatest Canadian albums of all time in Bob Mersereau’s book The Top 100 Canadian Albums. The influence they had on the sound of Quebec music was immense and still resonates.

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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