Music News Net

Peter Frampton's Long Lost Guitar Returns to the Concert Stage

MUSIC NEWS- This week, on February 18 at NYC's Beacon Theater, Grammy winning guitarist Peter Frampton will play his restored 1954 Gibson Les Paul for the first time.  The long-lost guitar, now dubbed The Lady Pheonix,  was recently discovered on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao after its disappearance in a plane crash 32 years ago. Frampton was reunited with the guitar in an emotional meeting in Nashville this past December. Now, with the help of the Gibson Guitar’s Custom Shop, Frampton will debut the recovered guitar during his NYC concert on his world tour celebrating the 35^th anniversary of multi-platinum selling live album Frampton Comes Alive!.

Paul McCartney Names New Album - Kisses on the Bottom

MUSIC NEWS - UK's The Sun newspaper reports that Sir Paul McCartney's new album is to be called KISSES ON THE BOTTOM.  While no official announcement on the title has been made, the album will be released by Hear Music/Concord Records on February 7, 2012 and is Paul’s tribute to his personal favorites along with two new self penned compositions. 

While recently discussing the new work, Sir Paul said: "When I kind of got into songwriting, I realised how well structured these songs were and I think I took a lot of my lessons from them. I always thought artists like Fred Astaire were very cool. Writers like Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, all of those guys - I just thought the songs were magical," he added. "And then, as I got to be a songwriter I thought it's beautiful, the way they made those song'."

Give a listen to one of McCartney's new tunes,  My Valentine, below-

More @ The Sun

U2 Tops 2011 Concert Tour List With $231.9M in Sales Worldwide

MUSIC NEWS- Irish rockers, U2 are #1 for concert touring this year! The band won the honor with their highest-grossing tour both in North America and around the globe in 2011.   The band grossed $156M in USA/Canada from over 1.7 million tickets sold, according to the music site Pollstar. The group grossed $231.9M worldwide on 2.39 million tickets sold.

In the top five highest-grossing touring acts in North America were Taylor Swift ($97.7M), Kenny Chesney ($84.6M), Lady Gaga ($63.7M) and at #5, NJ's Bon Jovi ($57.1M).   For the worldwide top five, U2 were followed by the reunited Take That ($224M), Bon Jovi ($148.8M), Ms Swift ($104.2M) and former Pink Floyd man Roger Waters ($103.6M) . Tickets on U2's 360 Degrees tour sold for an average price of $97.15 worldwide and $91.67 in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

PETER FRAMPTON Files Digital Royalties Suit Against Universal Music

MUSIC NEWS -  Singer/songwriter/guitarist Peter Frampton has joined the growing list of performers filing lawsuits over digital music royalites.  Mr Frampton has filed a suit against his longtime record label, Universal Music Group for a half-million dollars in unpaid digital royalties and for unspecified damages.   Frampton's attorneys filed the suit on Friday, December 23 in a Los Angeles federal court.

The day before, on Thursday, the sister (and heir) to Bruce Gary, the drummer for The Knack, the rockers you know for their 1979 hit “My Sharona,” filed a similar suit against Capitol Records claiming the label withheld digital music royalties.

PETER GABRIEL's 25th Anniversary "So" Release Would Like Your Help

MUSIC NEWS- With the 25th Anniversary of his "So" album, Peter Gabriel is working on a 25th anniversary edition of thes landmark album, and he's asking for your help. In a video (below), he's requesting pictures, objects, memorabilia, etc that you may have for possible inclusion in the upcoming album's book or on his website.

You can submit your memorabilia via; http://petergabriel.com/so-submissions/

FLAMING LIPS Announce NEW YEAR'S FREAKOUT 5

MUSIC NEWS - As Wayne Coyne tweeted earlier today, THE FLAMING LIPS have announced they will perform two shows to celebrate the New Year at the Bricktown Events Center in Oklahoma City, OK on December 31 and January 1, 2012. The band promises to pull out all the stops with MORE of everything! More confetti, more balloons, massive volume, and maximum weirdness for its NEW YEAR'S FREAKOUT 5, which also features very special guests YOKO ONO PLASTIC ONO BAND. Tickets go on sale today, Friday Nov 25th, and are priced at $100 per night or available at a special package price of $150 for both nights. 

Rolling Stone Names Best Guitarist- EVER !

MUSIC NEWS - Legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix has been named the greatest guitar player of all time today by Rolling Stone magazine and tops their list of guitarists that was compiled by music experts and top guitar players.

"Jimi Hendrix exploded our idea of what rock music could be: He manipulated the guitar, the whammy bar, the studio and the stage," said Grammy-winning guitarist Tom Morello in the magazine's upcoming issue, citing Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" as key tracks. Hendrix tops the Top 10 listed that includes Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend (full list below).

 

The panel was recruited to vote for their favorite guitar players includes musicians like Lenny Kravitz, Eddie Van Halen (who was named #8), Brian May and Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), along with a group of Rolling Stone's senior writers and editors. The experts also weighed in on their top picks, with Pearl Jam's Mike McCready saying Eddie Van Halen is the "a master of riffs" and Joe Perry praised Jimmy Page's "vision of how to transcend the stereotypes of what the guitar can do."

The full list will be featured in a special issue of RS with four special covers of Van Halen, Clapton, Hendrix and Page, and will be on newsstands and online this Friday.

Rolling Stone's top 10 greatest guitarists follow:

1. Jimi Hendrix

2. Eric Clapton

3. Jimmy Page

4. Keith Richards

5. Jeff Beck

6. B.B. King

7. Chuck Berry

8. Eddie Van Halen

9. Duane Allman

10. Pete Townshend

As with all lists of this type there's room for discussion. So, do you agreee? Who do you feel should be on the list?

Nils Lofgren Back With "Old School"

MUSIC NEWS- With five years behind us since the release of Nils Lofgren's last studio album it's past time for his return, but we finally have it with Old School.  A projectthat's been in the works since the wrap of Springsteen's Working on a Dream Tour in November of 2009, Lofgren's Old School covers a range of topics that include desperation, self-doubt, true love, departed friends, holding on to your dreams and the world gone mad.  And, a tribute to the late, great Ray Charles.

 

"These songs reflect characters with some radical feelings and beliefs," said singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lofgren. "They're definitely thought-provoking." 

 

The CD, out Tuesday, November 1, is his eighth studio release on Vision Music, the label also responsible for 2008's The Loner - Nils Sings Neil (an homage to Neil Young, whom Nils started his career with over four decades ago) and 2006's Sacred Weapon.

  

David Bowie Featured on Local UK Currency

MUSIC NEWS- To mark the second birthday of the Brixton pound, the UK’s first urban local currency revealed their new designs for their 2nd edition notes featuring some famous ex-Brixton residents.

PSDK.com reports that the currency, designed to support local businesses and trade, is used by independent retail shoppes in the south London area.  The Brixton-based agency, This Ain’t Rock ‘n’ Roll, reimaged the notes and incorporated the famous images of four ‘Brixton Heroes’. Check them out below, David Bowie is featured on the B£10 note, and on the others are co-founder of the Black Cultural Archives, Len Garrison (B£1 note), Chicago Bulls basketball player Luol Deng (B£5 note), and WWII spy Violette Szabo (B£20 note).

Hear Metallica & Lou Reed's LULU Album in NYC !

MUSIC NEWS - Speaker company Bowers & Wilkins will host a Sound Sessions event in NYC next week for Metallica and Lou Reed's new project on October 24 (before its' November 1 release).  It's a listening event for their collaboration album, LuLu.  And we're sure it'll sound amazing with Bowers & Wilkins gear in use!

Leading up to the event, there's is a flyaway contest exclusively on the Bowers & Wilkins Facebook page to enter.  You can win tickets to listen to the new Metallica/Lou Reed album as well as meet the members of the band who will be attending the event.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Collection Goes to College

MUSIC NEWS - New Jersey's Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ will be the new home for nearly 15,000 documents associated with NJ rocker, Bruce Springsteen it was announced. Books, concert programs, magazines and newspaper articles formerly kept at the Asbury Park Public Library will be moved to Monmouth University on November 1.

The collection of Boss-related material has outgrown the local library, which offered viewing by appointment only. With the move, the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection will be accessible to all and will have enough space for to grow, and will include recordings, film footage and other documents.

The university president, Paul Gaffney II said the school’s music industry students state will benefit greatly from having access to the documents. And, the Boss can stop by, the school is about five minutes from his Rumson, NJ home and from Asbury Park, NJ !

The Bridge School Benefit Concerts on CD / DVD, Special Theatrical Screening

MUSIC NEWS - Reprise Records has announced plans to release The Bridge School Benefit Concerts 25^th Anniversary Edition  on October 24, 2011.  The release will a three-DVD set and a two-CD collection that will feature unique live performances from many of the artists who've performed over the past twenty five years at the annual Bridge School Benefit concerts that are organized by Neil Young and his wife Pegi Young.

To celebrate the release, the concert film from the DVDs will screen in theaters in select cities for one night only on the same day, October 24. Theater listings below.

 

Paul Simon to Take "Graceland" on the Road (the album, not the house)

MUSIC NEWS  - Paul Simon ha said he plans to take his iconic album from 1986, Graceland,  on the road in 2012, to mark the 25th anniversary of his 1987 tour for the album.  The tour is currently under development and is said to have Simon touring with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who was featured on the Grammy winning album (1987's Album of the Year and Record of the Year, for the song) and performed live with him in '87.  The 2012 will be timed to coincide with upcoming ‘Graceland’ box set and legacy edition releases of the album due out in Spring 2012.

ELTON JOHN Film, Rocketman, Set for the Big Screen

MUSIC NEWS- An Elton John biopic is set to be made by Billy Elliot author Lee Hall.

The film is to be entitled Rocketman, with Sir Elton as  executive producer, is expected to use musical sequences that center on his hit songs in order  to tell the story of a child prodigy who became a global star, reports Deadline.   Steve Hamilton Shaw, who will produce the film, said it would be "as unique as Elton's life" and it would "transport people through the many intense experiences... that helped define Elton".   With a script now ready, producers ar on the hunt for a director and star (or perhaps stars) to play Elton, now 64.

The film will be the second collaboration between John and Hall. The singer also wrote the award-winning score for the musical adaptation of Billy Elliot with him.  No word yet on theatrical release dates,

Goodbye to R.E.M. - The Band Calls It a Day

 
MUSIC NEWS-  No surprise, with the word that former "indie rockers" R.E.M., known to many as "America's Best Rock & Roll Band", have announced today that they're ending their run and will "call it a day" after 30+ years of music making.  Members of the band posted the news on their website, thanking fans for the loyalty and said they have astonished even themselves with their musical accomplishments.

"To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. "We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening," the band wrote.