I just heard that Annie Lennox was recently married (for the third time but who's counting?) and just heard one of my favorite songs from this amazing artist today.
"No More I Love You's" was the first single from her 1995 album, "Medusa" which was a collection of cover songs with this tune being the least known on the record. The song was first recored by the British new-wave band, The Lovers Speaks in 1986 and Lennox delivers a bubbly, eccentric take with her charming version.
Annie hasn't put out any new music since her Christmas album in 2010, so let's hope we will get something very soon. In the meantime, have a listen to this classic by Ms Lennox:
"No More I Love You's" - Annie Lennox (1995)
This is the video of an incredible duet featuring Annie Lennox and David Bowie performing "Under Pressure" with Queen during a Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992:
There have been many musical artists referred to as a "chameleon" but there has really been only one individual that that term can truly be applied to and that is David Bowie. Rock & roll has always involved theatrics but Bowie took it to whole other level as he literally became a completely different persona while recording and performing live on stage. He created several characters during his time but the one that made a major cultural impact was his first; Ziggy Stardust. This gender-bending, larger-than-life alien was inspiring, mind-blowing and (at the time) a little frightening. Ziggy would certainly be considered tame by today's standards but that's because Bowie paved the way to challenge convention and open minds.
Throughout his long career, he not only reinvented himself visually but musically. Bowie greatly appreciated the sounds of the past but was always looking forward, which allowed him to create innovative and exciting moments in rock. I think one of the main reasons why Bowie has had such a profound and powerful impact was that he made anyone who felt or looked different feel that it was okay to embrace that and should be celebrated.
He was born David Jones on January 8, 1947 in Brixton, London. As a young child, David was interested in art, dance and music, most especially early American rock & roll introduced to him by his father. By fifteen, he learned to play the sax and formed his first band, The Komrads, where they played at school functions and weddings. David soon became frustrated by his band-mates lack of ambition and joined another group, The King Bees. In 1964, Jones recorded his first single, "Liza Jane" under "Davie Jones and the King Bees" although it didn't achieve much success. David quickly moved on to perform with a succession of other blues-rock bands such as The Manish Boys, The Lower Third, The Buzz and The Riot Squad. Although he managed to record a single with each of these groups but none of them were a hit so David soon decided to go forward as a solo artist.
Unhappy with his surname and not wanting to be confused with Davy Jones of The Monkees, he renamed himself "Bowie" which was the name of a nineteenth-century fighting knife. David Bowie released his first self-titled studio album in 1967 which was written mostly by him and featured a collection influenced by folk, music hall and psychedelic pop. This record was another commercial failure and Bowie took some time off before attempting to record a follow-up album.
By 1969, he released his next album which was originally also self-titled but would later be renamed "Space Oddity" after the success of this single. This song reached number five on the U.K. charts and was the first to feature his astronaut character, "Major Tom", inspired by the film, "2001: A Space Odyssey". Bowie met American model/actress, Angela Barnett in April of that year and he would marry her a year later. Angela would become a major influence to Bowie's music and style.
The release of Bowie's third album, "The Man Who Sold The World" in 1970 played up his androgynous looks and featured him wearing a dress on the original U.K. cover which he would wear during interviews while doing publicity in the U.S. The record's sound was heavy rock which was an extreme departure from his previous work and was the beginning of what would later be described as "glam-rock".
Following the 1971 album, "Hunky Dory" (which featured the classic song, "Changes" although it was never a big commercial success), came the album which completely altered the course of his career; "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars" was released in 1972 and introduced the world to this character, Ziggy Stardust who was an alien in the human form of an excessive rock & roller who came with a message of peace and love. Inspired by British rocker, Vince Taylor, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, Ziggy Stardust was a fashion-forward creation with many costumes designed by designer, Kansai Yamamoto. The music on the album fused heavy metal with the lighter pop sounds of his earlier work combined with a highly successful elaborate stage show that featured his band, The Spiders From Mars helped turn Bowie in to a major music star, most especially in Brittan. A documentary was filmed by D.A. Pennebaker which showcased the final concert of the tour in 1973 at the Hammersmith Odeon with Bowie announcing that he was retiring Ziggy Stardust.
In 1974, Bowie moved to the United States; first to New York before settling in Los Angeles. "Diamond Dogs" was released that year which was a concept album inspired by George Orwell's novel, "1984" combined with elements of the glam-rock of Ziggy Stardust and soul music. The single, "Rebel Rebel" became a U.K. top five hit.
"Young Americans" was recorded in Philadelphia and was heavily influenced by American r&b. The title track was released first as a single and briefly became his highest charting in the U.S.at number twenty-eight before the next, "Fame" (co-written with John Lennon) would become Bowie's first number one pop song in 1975. The song even made it on the r&b charts, peaking at number twenty-one. In fact, Bowie would be one of the few white artists to perform on "Soul Train" where he did this song and "Golden Years", the first single off of the follow-up album, "Station To Station" which reached the top five in the U.S and U.K. in 1976. During this time he was the lead in his first major film, "The Man Who Fell To Earth", created another character, "The Thin White Duke" to perform during his tour and became heavily dependent on drugs, specifically cocaine.
With his health deteriorating, Bowie left L.A.and eventually ended up in Berlin. After he finally went in to recovery, he was ready to return to music and teamed-up with musician, Brian Eno, a fellow Brit, to work on a series of avant-garde albums that would be referred to as "The Berlin trilogy". The first album was "Low" in 1977, followed by "Heroes" released later that same year and "Lodger" in 1979. Influenced by the emerging electronic music scene happening in Germany, these critically acclaimed and somewhat, commercially successful records contained experimental sounds and abstract lyrics which touched on his struggles with addiction and recovery.
Bowie entered the 1980's newly energized with the album, "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)" which featured "Ashes To Ashes" that placed him back at number one on the British pop charts. Bowie returned to acting and appeared on Broadway in "The Elephant Man" in 1980 and he teamed up with Queen to record a single, "Under Pressure" which became a world-wide smash the following year.
In 1983, Bowie changed directions again and teamed with Nile Rodgers, the musician and producer of the disco group, Chic to work on a dance heavy album, "Let's Dance". The title track went to number one in eight countries and with the help of the successful follow-up singles, "Modern Love" and "China Girl", the album would become the biggest commercial hit of his career, selling ten million copies worldwide.
After this achievement, Bowie continued to record, although with more modest results, mostly in Europe. He decided to form another rock band in 1989 and Tin Machine was born. The group recorded two albums and toured extensively but the project was never a big success. Bowie's last solo album to date is "Reality", released in 2003 which was followed by his last tour to support this record that ended in 2004.
David Bowie has recorded twenty-three studio albums, he was inducted in to The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 and has sold one hundred and forty million records over his career.
Bowie has been married twice; He was married to Angela Bowie for ten years before separating in 1980. They had a son they named Zowie in 1971 but he now goes by Duncan Jones and is a film director. Bowie married super-model, Iman in 1992 and they have a daughter, Alexandria, born in 2000.
Enjoy just a few of my favorite Bowie tracks:
"Changes" - David Bowie (1972)
"Rebel Rebel" - David Bowie (1974)
"Golden Years" - David Bowie (1975)
"Fashion" - David Bowie (1980)
"Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" - David Bowie (1982)
Bowie was one of the first artists to use the music video not only for promotion but also as a creative visual extension of the song. Here is an early video for "Life On Mars" with Bowie looking very glam:
I love the song, "Ashes To Ashes" and I really love the music video:
Finally, this video for "Boys Keep Swinging" as I've always been a sucker for a man in a dress:
One of the hottest producers working today is Calvin Harris. After putting out four highly successful singles world wide, the Scottish DJ has finally announced the release of his third studio album, "18 Months" which is due in the U.S. on October 30th.
There is an interesting collection of guest vocalists featured on the album including Rihanna, Kelis, Ellie Goulding, Tinie Tempah, Ne-Yo and Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine who performs on the newly released fifth single, "Sweet Nothing". This is another superb track that perfectly utilizes the dramatic sweep of Ms Welch's voice combined with the pulsing electro beats provided by Mr. Harris.
Here is the music video for the last hit song by Calvin Hariis, "Let's Go" which became his highest charting in the U.S. to date and features r&b singer, Ne-Yo:
For more info on the artist, check out his website:
Along with his long-time musical partner, Burt Bacharach, Hal David wrote some of the world's most beloved pop songs, most during the 1960's, that are still being performed to this day. Mr. David passed away yesterday at the age of 91
David and Bacharach met while they were part of a large team of writers working at the Brill Building who wrote pop songs to sell to publishers. Their first big hit recording together was in 1957 with "Magic Moments" performed by Perry Como.
In 1959, they were introduced to a young singer named Dionne Warwick and the team was quite impressed with the range of her voice and how easy she could handle their complicated melodies. The trio had their first success with "Don't Make Me Over" in 1962 which was followed by a long string of hit songs for them. David and Bacharach created hits for other notable performers including Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, B.J. Thomas and The Carpenters.
This successful duo broke-up after the difficult work on the disastrous musical remake of "Lost Horizon" in 1973. Shortly thereafter, David and Bacharach sued each other and Warwick sued them both for breach of contract. The cases were eventually settled out of court in 1979 but this dynamic trio eventually made up and came back together in 1992 to record one final song, "Sunny Weather Lover".
Here are just a few of the notable songs by Hal David and Burt Bacharach:
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" - B.J. Thomas (1969)
"What the World Needs Now Is Love" - Jackie DeShannon (1965)
"One Less Bell to Answer" - The Fifth Dimension (1969) "Wishin' & Hopin"" - Dusty Springfield (1964)
The beautiful, Scottish pop vocalist, Sheena Easton was actually one of the first reality stars after she auditioned for a BBC program called "The Big Time". The documentary followed the then twenty year old aspiring singer as she attempted to achieve a music career. A year after the first episode aired in 1980, Easton was offered a contract with EMI Records while the camera crews continued to follow her as she recorded her first single.
The first single, "Modern Girl" had been released before the show aired but didn't have much impact but after her follow-up single, "9 To 5" (renamed "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" here in the U.S. so not to be confused with Dolly Parton's recent hit featuring the same title) hit the U.K. top ten, the song was re-released and also reached the top ten. This officially launched the new artist as an international music star with a string of hit songs including singing the theme for the 1981 James Bond film, "For Your Eyes Only".
Easton moved away from the sweet girl-next-door image to a much sexier one after she recorded the notorious Prince song, "Sugar Walls" as well as a duet with the artist on, "U Got The Look". Her last major hit was the r&b tune, "The Lover In Me" (written and produced by Babyface and L.A. Reid) released in 1988.
Sheena Easton has recorded sixteen studio albums, had fifteen U.S. top-forty hits and won two Grammy Awards. She currently lives in Las Vegas while she continues to act and perform.
Here are two of my favorite songs by Sheena Easton:
Scott McKenzie's hit single captured the spirit of the 60's flower-power movement and inspired a generation. "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)" - Scott McKenzie (1967)
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the British musical group who are known as "The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band", The Rolling Stones.
Childhood friends, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards both shared a deep love for the blues and r&b and decided to form a band. On July 12, 1962, they first performed with Jagger providing vocals and Richards, guitar along with guitarist, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart on piano and Tony Chapman on drums, as "The Rollin' Stones" at the Marquee Club in London. The band started off playing mostly blues covers but were encouraged by their management to write their own material with Jagger and Richards teaming up to become the group's main songwriters.
The Rolling Stones had their first U.K.top-ten recording with a cover of Buddy Holly's classic, "Not Fade Away" in February 1964 but reached the U.S. pop charts later that year with the song, "Time Is On My Side", peaking at number six. After the song, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" became the band's first international number one smash in 1965 (also the first big hit written by Jagger and Richards), this began a long string of hit records and world tours for The Rolling Stones.
Bill Wyman joined the group later in 1962 to play bass and Charlie Watts replaced Chapman to become the band's drummer in 1963. Also that year, Ian Stewart was removed from the group as their manager felt he didn't fit properly with their image of a "rock & roller" but he would remain as The Stones' road manager and occasionally play piano on recordings until his death in 1985. After developing a serious drug problem causing his inability to properly contribute to the group, it was decided that Brian Jones should leave The Stones in June 1969 but less than a month later, Jones drowned at home in his swimming pool. Mick Taylor joined The Stones as a guitarist shortly after Jones had been released from the band and stayed with the group until 1974. Ron Wood, who was the guitarist for The Faces, toured and recorded with The Rolling Stones in 1975 but didn't decide to officially join The Stones until the following year when his band broke-up. Bill Wyman retired from the group after "The Steel Wheels" Tour in 1992. He later formed a blues-rock band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings in 1997 and continues to perform with them.
This highly successful band has recorded twenty-nine studio albums to date, seventeen live albums and released over one hundred singles to wind up selling over two hundred million records worldwide. They were inducted in to The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1989.
There are rumors that The Rolling Stones are planning a tour to commemorate their anniversary, possibly to begin later this year or 2013 but no exact details have been revealed yet.
Here are a few of my favorite tunes by The Rolling Stones:
"Get Off Of My Cloud" - The Rolling Stones (1965)
"Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones (1969)
"You Can't Always Get What You Want" - The Rolling Stones (1973)
"Beast Of Burden" - The Rolling Stones (1978)
"Shattered" - The Rolling Stones (1978)
"Start Me Up " - The Rolling Stones (1981)
Here is a live appearance by The Stones on "The TAMI Show" concert performing their first U.S. hit, "Tine Is On My Side":
The Stones perform live another hit song, "Angie":
This great video for "Love Is Strong" from The Rolling Stones' 1994 album, "Voodoo Lounge" was directed by film director, David Fincher:
.jpg)
