By Eric Felten More than a few have commented on just how strange it was that the live pit orchestra at the Oscars last night was performing not in the actual theater, but from down the road at Capitol Studios. As one might expect from Capitol (where such great — and great-sounding — recordings as […]
The other side of love …
Posted February 18th, 2013 at 9:53 pm (UTC+0)
By Katherine Cole OK, enough with the hearts and flowers. If you were anywhere near a newspaper, television or radio last week, you were probably made aware of the St. Valentine’s Day holiday — the most sickly sweet day of the year. And while many radio shows turned your stomach with songs of undying love […]
Fashion-Policing The Grammys
Posted February 8th, 2013 at 6:37 pm (UTC+0)
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By Katherine Cole The stars and their stylists have been shopping for months already, so the “what not to wear” warning issued by the CBS television network this week may be falling on deaf ears. Just a few days after they accidentally broadcast Super Bowl MVP quarterback Joe Flacco uttering a few unsavory words, a […]
Spotted: Billy Joel in Nashville
Posted February 7th, 2013 at 8:25 pm (UTC+0)
By Katherine Cole Except for his powerful performance during the Hurricane Sandy benefit concert last December, we haven’t had a lot of Billy Joel spottings the past few years. But that might be changing. He’s on the lineup of the New Orleans JazzFest this spring and just last week thrilled a crowd at Nashville’s Vanderbilt […]
Who’s the Best New Artist?
Posted February 5th, 2013 at 10:15 pm (UTC+0)
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By Ray McDonald I’ve been following the Grammy awards for four decades and never tire of one category in particular: Best New Artist. It’s sheer entertainment finding out who the Recording Academy sees fit to nominate. Past winners have included such howlers as the Starland Vocal Band and A Taste Of Honey. And let’s not […]
Gabriel’s Trumpet
Posted January 29th, 2013 at 8:26 pm (UTC+0)
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By Doug Levine Meet up-and-coming trumpeter Gabriel Johnson, whose spare, jazzy melodies have drawn comparisons to the legendary Miles Davis. Johnson was especially drawn to the orchestral collaborations between Miles and arranger Gil Evans. But, it was another iconic entertainer that helped jump-start his solo career: filmmaker and jazz enthusiast Clint Eastwood. Johnson recalls making […]
And The Best Rock Album Grammy Goes To…
Posted January 25th, 2013 at 4:21 pm (UTC+0)
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By Ray McDonald Two weeks from Sunday, the 55th annual Grammy Awards ceremony takes place in Los Angeles. Among the 81 categories will be Best Rock Album, one of just four trophies that will be given for Rock (the other three awards for the genre are Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance, and Best Hard […]
A Day To Remember
Posted January 11th, 2013 at 4:11 pm (UTC+0)
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by Ray McDonald Tuesday of this week — January 8, 2013 — presented a convergence of three very different but significant events. First, it was the day that would have been Elvis Presley’s 78th birthday. “The King,” as he was known, was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935, and moved to Memphis, Tennessee […]
And The Winner Is…
Posted January 7th, 2013 at 5:41 pm (UTC+0)
by Ray McDonald If you listened to music in 2012, you had a lot of company. Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BDS, the leading data information systems in the United States entertainment industry, just came out with their year-end sales figures. According to Nielsen’s David Bakula, “Overall music purchases surpassed 1.65 billion units in 2012, up […]
Patti Page, the Singing Rage
Posted January 4th, 2013 at 11:01 pm (UTC+0)
By Katherine Cole Most of the obituaries for singer Patti Page, who died January 1st at 85, included that famous nickname — one I vaguely remember from when I was very young. Very, very young. As I learned more about Ms. Page, it became obvious that her pet name was a fitting one. Can you […]
