PHIL EVERLY (1939 - 2014)

Phil Everly, one half of the pioneering rock group, The Everly Brothers passed away on January 2nd. Along with his brother, Don, the duo helped shaped the early sound with their steel-string guitars and perfect harmonies.

The brothers first began professionally singing with their parents as The Everly Family as young children. By the time they were teenagers, Phil and Don branched off in to their own group and were signed to Columbia Records in 1956. But their only single was a major flop and the brothers were dropped from the label. Chet Atkins, a family friend and successful country musician/producer, encouraged the boys not to lose faith and introduced them to Wesley Rose, a music publisher. Rose promised that if they joined his company as songwriters, he would help get them a new recording contract.

The Everly Brothers joined a fledgling label, Cadence Records and their first single, "Bye Bye Love" was released in 1958. The song became a top five hit on the pop, country and soul charts and sold over a million copies. They followed that up with many other hit songs including, "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have To Do Is Dream", "Cathy"s Clown" and "When Will I Be Loved".

During their career, The Everly Brothers had twenty-six U.S. top forty singles, twenty-nine U.K. top-forty singles, were inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.

"All I Have To Do Is Dream" - The Everly Brothers (1958)

Here is an early live performance of the brothers performing their first hit, "Bye Bye Love":

TAKE TWO: BILLY OCEAN

Billy Ocean made his first appearance on the pop charts in 1984 with the international smash, "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)". After a number of follow-up hit singles, this popular singer seemed to just vanish from the music scene.

Born Leslie Charles in Trinidad and Tobago in 1950, his family moved to England when he was a young child. As a teenager, Leslie decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a musician. He took his stage name from the Ocean Estate in London's East End and sang in clubs before getting a recording contract. His self-titled debut was released in 1976 and was a modest success with a single, "Love Really Hurts Without You" reaching number two on the UK Pop Chart. Ocean recorded other albums which received much less attention and wrote songs for a variety of artists.  With the release of his fifth album, "Suddenly" in 1984, this was Ocean's commercial breakthrough with "Caribbean Queen" (recorded as "European Queen" for Europe's release) reaching number one in the U.S.  The singles, "Loverboy" and the title track also made it to the U.S. top five on the pop chart.

The song, "When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going" was used in the film, "The Jewel of The Nile" in 1985 and became a top five hit across the globe. After his last major hit "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" in 1988, Billy Ocean fell out of favor and failed to receive significant radio play. That certainly hasn't stopped Ocean from making music with "Here You Are", his eleventh studio album, was released last April. He continues to perform and tour across Europe.

Let's go back and listen to two of my favorite songs from Billy Ocean:

BEYONCE'S BIG SURPRISE

I'm quite impressed, especially in this day and age, where a secret was actually kept from the public until it was ready to be revealed. Leave it to Beyonce to be able to pull off this seemingly impossible feat and it's paid off quite nicely for this inventive pop star.

On December 13, Queen B dropped her latest self-titled release exclusively for download on Itunes with no fanfare or advanced warning. Dubbed a "visual album", the record features 14 music tracks and 17 videos with Beyonce wanting to change how her music is presented to the world and how she connects with her fans. And her fans have been waiting for this as the worldwide sales have reached over 800,000 copies in the first three days alone. The traditional CD was released today as well as individual track/video downloads becoming available.

No surprise that Beyonce has managed to get some big name talent to give her a helping hand on this project such as Justin Timberlake, Miguel, Sia, Frank Ocean and her hubby, Jay Z.

Here are the complete vids for the first singles, "XO" and "Drunk In Love" and a few sneak peaks of additional clips:

2013 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Proof that Jay Z has had a very good year is that he leads the pack with the most Grammy Award nominations at nine. Fellow hip-hop artists, Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis, Kendrick Lamar, Jay's touring partner, Justin Timberlake and the one to beat in the Producer of The Year category, Pharrell Williams all received seven nominations each.

The 56th Annunal Grammy Awards will presented on January 26, 2014 at the Staples Center in L.A. For the complete list of nominees, please go to: Grammy.com


ALBUM OF THE YEAR 

Sara Bareilles – "The Blessed Unrest"
Daft Punk – "Random Access Memories"
Kendrick Lamar – "Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City"
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – "The Heist"
Taylor Swift – "Red"

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams – “Get Lucky”
Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive”
Lorde – “Royals”
Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”
Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell Williams & T.I. – “Blurred Lines”

SONG OF THE YEAR

Pink featuring Nate Reuss – “Just Give Me a Reason”
Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”
Katy Perry – “Roar”
Lorde – “Royals”
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert – “Same Love”

BEST NEW ARTIST 

James Blake
Kendrick Lamar
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Kacey Musgraves
Ed Sheeran

BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE

Sara Bareilles – “Brave”
Lorde – “Royals”
Bruno Mars – “When I Was Your Man”
Katy Perry – “Roar”
Justin Timberlake “Mirrors”

BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE 

Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams – “Get Lucky”
Pink featuring Nate Reuss – “Just Give Me a Reason”
Rihanna featuring Mikky Eiko – “Stay”
Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell Williams & T.I. – “Blurred Lines”
Justin Timberlake featuring Jay Z – “Suit & Tie”

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM 

Lana Del Rey – "Paradise"
Lorde – "Pure Heroine"
Bruno Mars – "Unorthodox Jukebox"
Robin Thicke – "Blurred Lines"
Justin Timberlake – "The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience"

BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM

Tony Bennett & Various Artists – "Viva Duets"
Michael Buble – "To Be Loved"
Gloria Estefan – "The Standards"
Cee Lo Green – "Cee Lo’s Magic Moment"
Dionne Warwick – "Now"

BEST COUNTRY SOLO PERFORMANCE 

Lee Price – “I Drive Your Truck”
Hunter Hayes – “I Want Crazy”
Miranda Lambert – “Mama’s Broken Heart”
Darius Rucker – “Wagon Wheel”
Blake Shelton – “Mine Would Be You”

BEST COUNTRY DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE

The Civil Wars – "From This Valley"
Kelly Clarkson featuring Vince Gill – “Don’t Rush”
Little Big Town – “Your Side of the Bed”
Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban – “Highway Don’t Care”
Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton – “You Can’t Make Old Friends”

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM

Jason Aldean – "Night Train"
Tim McGraw – "Two Lanes of Freedom"
Kacey Musgraves – "Same Trailer, Different Park"
Blake Shelton – "Based on a True Story"
Taylor Swift – "Red"

BEST DANCE RECORDING 

Duke Dumont featuring AME & MNEK – “Need U”
Calvin Harris featuring Florence Welch – “Sweet Nothing”
Kaskade – “Atmosphere”
Armin Van Buuren featuring Trevor Guthrie – “This Is What It Feels Like”
Zedd featuring Foxes – “Clarity”

BEST DANCE ALBUM 

Daft Punk – "Random Access Memories"
Disclosure – "Settle"
Calvin Harris – "18 Months"
Kaskade – "Atmosphere"
Pretty Lights – "A Color Map of the Sun"

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE

Alabama Shakes – “Always Alright”
David Bowie – “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)”
Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive”
Led Zeppelin – “Kashmir”
Queens of the Stone Age – “My God is the Sun”
Jack White – “I’m Shakin’”

BEST ROCK ALBUM 

Black Sabbath – "13"
David Bowie – "The Next Day"
Kings of Leon – "Mechanical Bull"
Led Zeppelin – "Celebration Day"
Queens of the Stone Age – "…Like Clockwork"
Neil Young With Crazy Horse – "Psychedelic Pill"

BEST R&B PERFORMANCE

Tamar Braxton – “Love and War”
Anthony Hamilton – “Best of Me”
Hiatus Kaiyote featuring Q-Tip – “Nakamarra”
Miguel featuring Kendrick Lamar – “How Many Drinks?”
Snark Puppy with Lalah Hathaway – “Something”

BEST URBAN CONTEMPORARY ALBUM

Tamar Braxton – "Love and War"
Fantasia – "Side Effects of You"
Salaam Remi – "One: In the Chamber"
Rihanna – "Unapologetic"
Mack Wilds – "New York: A Love Story"

BEST R&B ALBUM

Faith Evans – "R&B Divas"
Alicia Keys – "Girl on Fire"
John Legend – "Love in the Future"
Chrisette Michele – "Better"
TGT – "Three Kings"

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE

Drake – “Started From the Bottom”
Eminem – “Berzerk”
Jay Z – “Tom Ford”
Kendrick Lamar – “Swimming Pools (Drank)”
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz – “Thrift Shop”

BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION

J. Cole featuring Miguel – “Power Trip”
Jay Z featuring Beyonce – “Part II (On the Run)”
Jay Z featuring Justin Timberlake – “Holy Grail”
Kendrick Lamar featuring Mary J. Blige – “Now or Never”
Wiz Khalifa featuring The Weeknd – “Remember You”

BEST RAP ALBUM

Drake – "Nothing Was the Same"
Jay Z – "Magna Carta… Holy Grail"
Kendrick Lamar – "Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City"
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – "The Heist"
Kanye West – "Yeezus"

MY TUNE OF THE DAY

Due to a sad and unfortunate circumstance, I am now in Michigan for a while and to me, it's just too cold. Although I grew-up here, I have lived in Los Angeles for over twenty-five years and have managed to avoid the bitter winter season. The song that keeps popping in my head is that classic, "California Dreamin'" by the Mamas and The Papas. This is probably the first time in my life that the lyrics actually connect to me.

Written by group members, John Phillips and his then-wife, Michelle shortly before getting signed to a recording contract by Lou Adler with Denny Doherty and "Mama" Cass Elliot. This song was first recorded by Barry McGuire which they provided background vocals. The Mamas and The Papas later recorded their own version using the original backing track with additional instrumentation. Their take of "California Dreamin'" didn't exactly get much attention initially but after a Boston radio station started spinning the record, the song broke through nationally. The record became their first major hit with it peaking at number four on the Billboard pop chart. This song has continued to endure in popularity with it being recorded by many different artists.

NEW SOUNDS

VALERIE JUNE

The fact is that the number of African-Americans who have professionally performed country music can be easily counted on one hand. Although Valerie June may not necessarily be considered a country artist but there is a certain amount of twang to her sound.

The music that first inspired this Tennessee native was gospel and soul music as a child. She moved to Memphis as a teenager where she was exposed to bluegrass and folk. During this time, Valerie June learned to play many instruments including the banjo and ukulele. She began performing with her husband, Michael Joyner as Bella Sun and they recorded an album, "No Crystal Stair" in 2004.

After later separating from Joyner, Valerie June began to work as a solo artist where she first stared to combine country and the blues to her music. The artist recorded three self-released albums that brought her plenty of buzz and the attention of Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. The musician co-wrote and produced her first album on a major label, "Pushin' Against A Stone". Valerie June is an amazing, unique artist who offers music that defies categories.  Have a listen to one of my favorite songs:

"Wanna Be On Your Mind" - Valerie June

FEFE DOBSON

Fefe Dobson has never wanted to follow any preconceived ideas of what type of music she should perform simply because of her race. This artist's style is more rock and punk and she's determined to follow what inspired her.

Born Felicia Dobson outside of Toronto in 1985, she began actively pursuing a professional music career at the age of eleven. At thirteen, Dobson learned piano and wrote songs which lead to serious interest from record labels. However, the labels only wanted to mold her in to a pop or r&b artist and Dobson wanted to rock. She rejected the offers and sought out the help of Chris Smith, the manager of fellow Canadian musician, Nelly Furtado. He managed to get her signed to a recording contract on her terms. The self-titled debut was released in 2003 and was a modest success with the single, "Everything" receiving the most attention.

Dobson has recently dropped a new single, "Legacy" that should be a part of her fourth album due sometime next year. Here is a great video that has been made for the tune:



JANELLE MONAE

Much like her musical idol, Prince, Janelle Monáe adds elements of rock and eccentricity to her funky sound. Originally from Kansas City, Monáe knew what she wanted to do since she was a child. She attended performing arts schools in New York and Philadelphia before heading out to Atlanta. While there, Monáe meet Big Boi of the hip-hop outfit, Outkast and formed the Wonderland Arts Society which was a safe haven for unconventional artists. She self-released an EP, "The Audition" in 2003 and although it didn't sell much, it did properly announce a fresh new voice in music. With her towering pompadour, skinny suits and ties, Janelle Monáe offers a unique look that is the polar opposite of the more common scantily clad female performers these days as well as delivering a refreshing prospective to r&b and pop.

Big Boi brought Monáe to the attention of Sean ("Puffy", "P. Diddy", whatever) Combs and quickly signed her to his label, Bad Boy Records. The album, "Metropolis" was the first part or "suite" of a series of seven concept records. The second suite, "The ArchAndroid" was released in 2010 and now the third and fourth, "The Electric Lady" is now out. This project is the most ambitious to date as it incorporates assistance from a wide range of fellow iconoclastic musicians such as Miguel, Solange, Esperanza Spalding, Erykah Badu and making a rare appearance, "the Purple One", Prince.

Here is a sample with the title track:

"The Electric Lady" - Janelle Monáe featuring Solange

60 GREAT ALBUMS YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T HEARD

New York Magazine has compiled a list of sixty albums starting from the 1950's to today that many people haven't heard but should. To be honest, I don't know much about most of these artists here which explains why they are little heard but I always love to discover new interesting music.

Click below to see the complete list:

60 Great Albums You Probably Haven’t Heard