Ringo puts up a Beatles reunion

Unless somebody gets the permission from the members and their families to produce a show with hologram versions of The Beatles, then I believe that this instance will be the closest we will ever get to a reunion of the Fabulous Four all of our lives.

The man responsible is no other but the Beatles’ drummer himself, Ringo Starr. Like the other surviving member of the group, Paul McCartney, Ringo remains active in concerts and recordings. Now he has a new album coming up next month titled What’s My Name and in one of the cuts is the very first time that the Liverpool lads have reunited in a song recording after they separated 50 years ago.

Here is how it happened. One of the cuts included in Ringo’s latest is a composition by the late John Lennon titled Grow Old With Me. The song was written shortly before Lennon was tragically killed on Dec. 8, 1980. It was later released in the posthumous album Milk and Honey that also features Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono. Ringo remembered those Lennon songs and decided to include one of them in What’s My Name.

He narrates how the accidental reunion happened in a statement sent to the Rolling Stone magazine. “I sang it the best that I could. I do well up when I think of John this deeply. And I’ve done my best. We’ve done our best. The other good thing is that I really wanted Paul to play on it, and he said yes. Paul came over and he played bass and sings a little bit on this with me. So John’s on it in a way. I’m on it and Paul’s on it. It’s not a publicity stunt. This is just what I wanted. And the strings that Jack arranged for this track, if you really listen, they do one line from Here Comes The Sun. So in a way, it’s the four of us.” Here Comes The Sun is a George Harrison song.

So there you have it. A Lennon song, McCartney on bass, Ringo on vocals and a bit of Harrison in the music. I can already imagine die-hard Beatles fans downloading Grow Old With Me the moment it drops come Oct. 25 and then listening closely to hear McCartney’s guitar and that little bit of Harrison. And then the thought returns, couldn’t these boys have stayed together longer? Then things might have turned out different.


What’s My Name is Ringo’s follow-up to his Give More Love album from two years ago. It also features collabs with Joe Walsh, Edgar Winter, Dave Stewart, Sam Hollander, Gary Nicholson, Steve Lukather and others. Ringo, who was recently on tour with his All-Star Band, is set to launch a new book, Another Day in the Life soon.

More Beatles news. Tourists can now visit the Strawberry Fields Orphanage in Liverpool. This was formerly a Salvation Army Children’s Home located beside the house of Lennon’s aunt. As a kid, he would often go over the fence to play with the children and those memories inspired him to write Strawberry Fields. The place is now a quiet sanctuary where young people with learning disabilities are taught skills to help them find employment.

Speaking of Here Comes The Sun, Harrison’s beautiful composition, has a new stereo mix that was released along with a new video last week. The video sees the sun rising behind the Abbey Road Studios where the song was recorded 50 years ago. It includes previously unseen photos and footage shot by the late Linda McCartney. The release is part of the 50th anniversary commemoration of the landmark album, Abbey Road.


Also part of the celebration is a new, truly grand mix of Something, another timeless and most affecting Harrison song, that is now available on Spotify.

As for McCartney, he is at present on the North American leg of his Freshen Up Tour for the album Egypt Station that has already taken him around the world. Did you know that he performed for free for over 400,000 people in Mexico? Well, only the likes of McCartney, one of the greatest entertainers of today can do that. He is also working on his first musical.

Happily for their fans, there is no end in sight for the Beatles.

source: philstar.com

Super Bowl halftime show a big stage, even for music’s biggest stars

LOS ANGELES | As Coldplay gears up to take the Super Bowl halftime stage on Sunday, there’s a lot at stake — even for a band Rolling Stone deemed “one of the most commercially successful acts of the new millennium.”

Upwards of 100 million U.S. viewers are expected to tune in for the intensely choreographed live 15-minute set, more than 50 times the audience of the band’s last major tour in 2012, according to figures from concert tracker Pollstar.

“In an incredibly divided and fragmented media environment, the Super Bowl halftime show is absolutely one of the biggest, if not the single biggest way to expose music to an enormous audience,” said Brian Hiatt, senior writer at Rolling Stone.

With a third of the U.S. population expected to watch the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos battle for the National Football League championship, the Super Bowl offers a rare and coveted opportunity for advertisers and performers alike.

Coldplay, better known for brooding hits such as “Yellow” and “Fix You,” takes the halftime stage on the heels of high-octane crowd pleasers Katy Perry, Beyonce and Bruno Mars.

“It’s all about the artist and their brand,” Keith Caulfield, co-director of Billboard charts, told Reuters.

Coldplay last week announced a U.S. tour and released a new music video featuring Beyonce, who is reportedly joining the halftime show this year after headlining in 2013. Rihanna, who just released a new album, is also reported to be a potential performer.

While there is no definitive way to quantify it, spikes in sales and on social media suggest a significant Super Bowl effect.

Last year, 118 million U.S. viewers tuned in to Perry’s pyrotechnics-laden extravaganza featuring a 1,600-pound robotic lion and dancing sharks.

Despite no new album or U.S. tour last year, sales of Perry’s existing work surged 92 percent in the week after her performance. YouTube videos of Perry’s halftime show racked up views in the millions.

Mars, best known for R&B and funk-infused radio hits such as “Uptown Funk!” was one of the lesser-known headliners in 2014.

Mars saw an 82 percent bump in album sales post-performance according to Billboard, and grossed $84 million in concert ticket sales, according to Pollstar.

“There are sports fans who aren’t watching the Grammys or American Music Awards and are not familiar with artists as a live spectacle, and maybe they would be interested in seeing them after the Super Bowl,” Caulfield said.

source: interaksyon.com

Pope Francis lands cover of 'Rolling Stone'

Pope Francis is taking his place alongside the icons of American popular culture by appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, which hits newsstands Friday.

It's the first time the staunchly liberal rock-music bible has featured a Roman Catholic pontiff on its cover, which is typically graced by pop stars and movie idols.

"Pope Francis: the times they are a-changin'," reads the cover headline that borrows the title of Bob Dylan's classic early 1960s anthem.

The Argentine-born pope, who took office in March last year, has previously been Time magazine's Person of the Year. He also made the cover of The Advocate, the respected US gay rights magazine.

In an accompanying 8,000-word profile, seen on its website Wednesday, Rolling Stone hailed the pontiff's relaxed style and his less aggressive stance on such hot-button issues as homosexuality compared to his two predecessors.

In a statement, Rolling Stone's editors said they had been struck by his seeming effort to play down "culture war issues" and his willingness to talk "about real world economic issues in starkly moral terms."

"His tone is a breath of fresh air, but his message is a wake-up call," they said.

Roman Catholics make up the biggest Christian denomination in the United States, but polls indicate lay Catholics don't all share the national church leadership's hardline stance on abortion, contraception and gay marriage.

source: interaksyon.com