Pulse Music

Sunday -- January 8th -- marks what would've been David Bowie's 76th birthday. Bowie died on January 10th, 2016 -- just two days after his 69th birthday. His death followed a private 18-month battle with cancer, and according to reports from insiders in the Bowie camp, the music legend died from liver cancer, after suffering from a handful heart attacks in recent years. Bowie was survived by his wife of 23 years, supermodel Iman, his son, movie director Duncan Jones, and his daughter with Iman, Alexandria.

Out now is the critically acclaimed Brett Morgen-directed Bowie documentary, Moonage Daydream. Morgen, who's best known for such films of The Kid Stays In The Picture, Cobain: Montage Of Heck, and Jane, was quoted by Rolling Stone as saying, "You know, there might be a few things in Moonage Daydream that the estate isn't happy to have in there. But they gave me final cut, and never told me I had to include this song or that, or make any changes. Right from the start, it was: This isn't David's film. He's not going to see it. This is David Bowie by Brett Morgen. Make it yours."

Recently released is the new book, Bowie 75, which examines the rock legend's life and career through 75 distinct images. The 208-page book is priced at $75. According to the announcement, "Author Martin Popoff guides your through all of Bowie's 27 studio albums, various singles, working with artists like Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Tina Turner, and Queen; collaborations with legendary guitarists, Mick Ronson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nile Rodgers and Earl Slick. Plus, film and television roles, live performances and more."

Long-time fan, and Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott told us David Bowie's 1980 Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) album inspired most of the music that came out of Britain throughout the remainder of the decade: "When you take the Scary Monsters period, which was probably Bowie's' last big artistic statement, because with Let's Dance, I think it just became a commercial -- I wouldn't say 'sell out' -- but it was a commercial success he never achieved in the past. But it was more based on 'normal'; all of a sudden, Bowie's wearing a tie and a suit and bleachin' his hair blonde and having it short. But Scary Monsters, with things like 'Ashes To Ashes' -- you can see where Duran Duran got a lot of their stuff from, and even Spandau Ballet, who would come later on."

In 1983, David Bowie shed light on how and why the character of "Ziggy Stardust" came to exist: "I think I was quite happy to buy into the idea of reinvention, up until the beginning of the '80s, really. When I was a teenager, I had it in my mind that I would be a creator of musicals -- I sincerely wanted to write musicals for the West End and for Broadway, whatever. I didn't see much further than that -- as a writer. And I really had the idea in my head that people would do my songs. And I was not a natural performer; I didn't feel at ease onstage -- ever. And I had created this one character -- 'Ziggy Stardust' -- that it seemed that I would be the one who played him, because nobody else was doing my songs and the chance of my getting a musical mounted were very slim, and so, I became 'Ziggy Stardust' for that period." (40 OC: . . . for that period)

David Bowie explained that his late-1970's work with producer Brian Eno forever shaped the way he thought about songs and music: "The whole idea of using a recording studio as an instrument, of not necessarily thinking that you have to be prepared totally before you go in; that accidents will happen and sometimes planned accidents work our really well. If there's a bad note, you can layer that note several times with other instruments and suddenly that bad note sounds like an extraordinary piece of arrangement."

Although David Bowie will always be best remembered for pushing the creative envelope, until the end he tried to bear witness and give a voice to the plight of the world he saw around him: "Some kind of statement or indictment of an uncaring society, or particularly the response to what's happening in terms of the homeless, people who are totally uncared for in terms of education or being fed properly, or housed properly. There's such a diversity of political stance, where the high powered authority seem to be far more concerned with their relations with Russia or the Middle East and the whole idea of what's happening at home, on the streets with the indigenous people seems to be swept under the carpet."

Only days before his death in 1980, John Lennon looked back fondly on his brief -- but powerful -- 1975 collaboration with David Bowie, which resulted in Bowie's first U.S. chart-topper, "Fame" "Bowie was around and we were talkin' and that -- he'd say, 'Come down,' and I found myself doin' that. So, he's fiddlin' round, he writes 'em in the studio. Y'know, he goes in with about four words and a few guys and stars layin' down this stuff. And he has virtually nothing -- he's makin' it up in the studio. So, I just contributed whatever I contributed, y'know? Like, backwards piano and (sings) 'oooh,' and a couple of things -- repeat of 'Fame.' And then we needed a middle-eight, so we took some Stevie Wonder middle-eight and did it backwards (laughs), y'know -- we made a record out of it, right? So, he got his first Number One -- so I felt that was, like, a karmic thing, y'know, with me and Elton (John) I got my first Number One (with 'Whatever Gets You Through The Night') and I passed it on to Bowie and he got his first Number One -- and I like that track, y'know?"

In 2003, Bowie spoke about mortality during a rare TV appearance on Britain's Parkinson talk show: (David Bowie): "I had this poetic, romantic, kind of juvenile idea that I would be dead by 30. 'Cause that's -- all artists think: 'I'll be dead by 30! Y'know, I'm going to get TB and die.' (Laughs) But you don't, y'know, you get past it and then suddenly, you're 30 and you're 40 and then you're 50 and 57, and then all that. And it's a new land, y'know?" (Parkinson): 'Sure." (Bowie): "I'm a pioneer -- me and my kind are just sort of scraping the edge of what this think is about, being a rock and roller at the age of 57. But my revenge is all these bands that are below us, they've got to do this -- so, they kind of say: 'Yeah, they're like, really old' -- but secretly they're thinking, 'I better watch how he does it, 'cause I'm gonna get there soon (laughter).'"

On Wednesday (1-5) Sam Smith announced, GLORIA The Tour. This marks the artists' first North American run since 2018.

The 27-city headline arena tour will kick off on July 25 at in Miami, Florida and include shows at New York City's Madison Square Garden as well as The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Jessie Reyez, who guests on Smith's forthcoming album, also titled Gloria, will be the special guest on all dates except one.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on January 13.

TL;DR:

• Sam Smith announced, GLORIA The Tour. Smith's first North American run since 2018.
• The 27-city headline arena tour will kick off on July 25 at in Miami.
• Tickets on sale January 13.

Bruce Springsteen has just issued East Rutherford, NJ - July 18th, 1999 -- a special holiday / year-end official bootleg in his ongoing monthly archive series. The concert, which was culled his 1999/2000 reunion tour with the E Street Band, marks the seventh pick from the historic tour, with the previous shows being Philadelphia - September 25th, 1999; Chicago - September 30th, 1999; Los Angeles - October 23, 1999; Anaheim - May 22nd, 2000, New York City - June 27th, 2000; and New York City - July 1st, 2000.

Highlights include the then-recently released Tracks tunes as the opener "I Wanna Be With You" and "Loose Ends" -- with the then-new "Land Of Hope And Dreams" dedicated to the Kennedy and Bessette families follwoing John F. Kennedy Jr.'s fatal plane crash. Also included is a take on Jimmy Cliff's "Trapped," the rarely-performed autobiograpical "In Freehold" and the legendary "Glory Days" B-side, "Stand On It."

Bruce Springsteen looked back on the reunion tour after a decade apart from the band as being one of the most meaningful of his career: "The nicest thing about it was that we were able to reconstitute the band as an ongoing, sort of creative unit, y'know? And I think that it was a great time for all of us -- that was a big, big, part of our own lives, y'know? And of our audience's lives -- and we wanted to live up to that thing, and we wanted to continue to serve in the fashion that we served before."

Miley Cyrus promised a big announcement this week and she did not disappoint. She posted that her eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation will be released on March 10.

She even shared about a minute of new music through a video clip made up mostly of faded, vintage-looking shots of pool water, blue skies and palm trees. Throughout it, you hear her speaking about meeting someone special for the first time. in the recitation she says, "We danced until there was nothing else cause that's all we knew."

The cover was also revealed, which features Cyrus in a black unitard, sunglasses and heels, swinging from a trapeze bar against a deep blue background.

According to a press release, the album was recorded in Los Angeles.

TL;DR:

• Miley Cyrus posted that her eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation will be released on March 10.
• She even shared about a minute of new music through a video clip.
• The cover was also revealed.

• The Eagles have just tagged six new cities onto the band's ongoing "Hotel California 2023 Tour." The first half of each concert spotlights the band's 1976 Hotel California album performed in its entirety from start to finish, accompanied by an orchestra and choir. The second part of the night features the Eagles tackling a set of the band's greatest hits and select solo favorites.
  • UPDATED: The Eagles tour dates (subject to change):
    February 17 - Lincoln, CA - Thunder Valley Casino
    February 19 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
    February 21 - San Jose, CA - SAP Center
    February 24, 25 - Palm Springs, CA - Acrisure Arena
    March 1 - Phoenix, AZ - Footprint Center
    March 3 - San Diego, CA - Pechanga Arena
    March 25 - Jacksonville, FL - Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena
    March 28 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
    March 30 - Columbia, SC - Colonial Life Arena
    April 1 - Knoxville, TN - Thompson-Boling Arena
    April 4 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
    April 7 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
    
    
• Heart's Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, Nirvana, the Supremes, Nile Rodgers, Slick Rick, Ma Rainey, and Bobby McFerrin will be honored as the Grammy's 2023 Special Merit Award honorees. The Recording Academy will host a Special Merit Award ceremony in February prior to the live telecast event. (Rolling Stone)
  
  
• Bono has added three new dates to his ongoing "Stories Of Surrender" book tour. The newly announced stops are set for May 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 8th at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre.
  
  
• As expected, tensions between Journey's Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain continue to roll on into 2023. Schon has taken to Twitter to confirm that original keyboardist Gregg Rolie will participate in some fashion during the band's upcoming 50th anniversary tour. He also took a swipe against Cain, posting, "No one is going to dictate to me at this point what I can and cannot do in regards (sic) to Journey. I haven't been here and not here to take orders -- never have and never will. It's my band and I'll own it as I should and make the right changes as needed." When pressed as to whom Schon was referring to, he wrote: "Have a guess." (Ultimate Classic Rock)
  
  
• Debbie Harry, Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper announced the upcoming group collaboration on the new single, "Gonna Be You" from the new film 80 For Brady. The song, which will be released on January 20th, was written by Oscar, Grammy and Emmy Award-winning songwriter Diane Warren as the theme to the upcoming comedy starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field. (Press release)
  
  
• REO Speedwagon's sole remaining co-founding member, keyboardist Neal Doughty, is retiring after 55 years. Doughty said in statement, "I want everyone to know that it was all that traveling that finally got to me. I always enjoyed playing the shows and looking out to see all the loyal fans who allowed me to do this for so long." The band hopes that he'll continue to pop up onstage with them from time to time.
  • Frontman Kevin Cronin admitted: "It will be a big change to look around and not see Neal behind the keyboards and we will miss his quick wit and interesting conversation on those long bus rides. But this is what Neal needs, and we support him."
    
    
• The new feature-length concert documentary Home Again: Carole King Live In Central Park filmed on May 26th, 1973 in front of an estimated audience of 100,000, will premiere January 19th at New York's IFC Film Center via Abramorama. The film will then be released wide on King's 81st birthday -- February 9th -- and stream exclusively on The Coda Collection. (Press release)

It was 50 years ago today (January 6th, 1973) that Carly Simon scored her sole chart-topper to date, when "You're So Vain" hit Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of three weeks.

The song, which was produced by Richard Perry and included on Simon's 1972 third album No Secrets, featured solo Beatles sideman Klaus Voormann playing the distinctive bass part, Jim Gordon from Derek & The Dominos on drums, and Jimmy Ryan on guitars. Mick Jagger sang the instantly identifiable backing vocal.

Throughout the years Simon has refused to say publicly who exactly "You're So Vain" was written about and has sometimes said that it was a composite of several different men. She has confirmed that the second verse was indeed about actor Warren Beatty -- but not the entire song.

At the 2003 Possible Dreams charity auction in Martha's Vineyard, Simon auctioned off the identity of the person who "You're So Vain" was about. NBC's Dick Ebersol had the winning bid of $50,000 and learned the secret -- but was sworn to secrecy by Simon, as part of the deal. Simon has also reportedly revealed to both Taylor Swift and Howard Stern who the song is about.

Carly Simon recalled recording the backing vocals to "You're So Vain" with Mick Jagger and Harry Nilsson: "Y'know, Harry and I were in there, we were doing it, it didn't quite have the right character, because it wasn't tough. I didn't ask Mick to come over because I needed a tough voice. Mick just showed up, and so we invited him to join us. And so the three of us were singing it together. And it sounded too sweet. The three-part harmony didn't work, but Harry was the first to notice it, and Harry said, 'Well, why don't the two of you try it together?' Y'know that's how it happened -- but more than anything Harry wanted to go out and have a drink (laughs)."

Billie Eilish posted her stripped down version of Ben Folds' song, "Still."

The intimate, self-shot video shows her sitting at a piano in a room lit only by the white lights of a Christmas tree in the background.

She delivered a very delicate version of the 2006 song. It was part of the soundtrack for the animated film Over The Hedge.

TL;DR:

• The self-shot video shows her sitting at a piano in a room lit only by the white lights of a Christmas tree in the background.

In an interview with People.com, SZA said she can be "really vengeful," but feels she can also be "really sweet."

While promoting her new album, she opened up about how she's embracing who she truly is and in her words even when that means being a "b***h."

She said, "Right now I'm just entering my era where I am accepting that I might be a bitch, and that's OK." She added: "I'm OK with speaking my mind and just being who God designed me to be."

Those different sides of SZA can be heard in her new album SOS, which came out last month.

TL;DR:

• SZA said she can be "really vengeful," but feels she can also be "really sweet."
• She said, "I'm OK with speaking my mind and just being who God designed me to be."

The Weeknd will be releasing a new video tomorrow (5-7). He posted a 20 second teaser clip of "Is There Someone Else?" and told fans it would be out on the 1 year anniversary of Dawn FM.

In the visual, he and a woman are holding hands as they enter a dark apartment. Images of a steamy lingerie photo shoot flash in and out. It ends abruptly as he grabs a creepily realistic mask of a human face.

Dawn FM debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and featured collaborations with artists like Lil Wayne, Quincy Jones, and Tyler, the Creator.

TL;DR:

• The Weeknd posted a teaser clip of "Is There Someone Else?" and told fans it would be out tomorrow on the 1 year anniversary of Dawn FM.
• In the visual, he and a woman are holding hands and it ends abruptly as he grabs a creepily realistic mask of a human face.

Sunday (January 8th) marks what would have been the "King of Rock n' Roll" Elvis Presley's 86th birthday. From his meteoric rise to fame in the 1950's, to his death at the age of 42 in 1977, through to the present-day; the world is still fascinated by everything that is Elvis. After working as a movie theater usher and a truck driver for a Memphis Electrical Company, Elvis began singing locally as "The Hillbilly Cat," and signed to the late Sam Phillips' Sun Records, who then sold his contract for $35,000 to RCA Victor in 1955. Elvis went on to become rock's first true global superstar.

Following years of declining health and prescription drug abuse, Elvis died of a heart attack on August 16th, 1977 at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He remains among the highest earning dead celebrities. Internationally, Elvis has sold well over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 140 different albums and singles. Elvis starred in 31 films and made history with his television appearances and specials.

Director Baz Luhrmann's critically acclaimed biopic, Elvis, opened this past June 24th and has earned a whopping $286 million at the box office. The film has earned seven Critics Choice nominations along with three Golden Globe noms -- as well as numerous other accolades across the globe.

Back on February 27th, 1970 during a rare press conference in Houston, Texas, Elvis shed some light on his earliest musical influences: "I liked all kinds of music when I was a child; of course the Grand Ole Opry was the first thing I heard, probably. But I liked the blues and I like gospel music -- gospel quartets and all that."

He looked back at his early days onstage and admitted that he couldn't see what the fuss was all about: "Man, I was tame compared to what they do now -- 'you kiddin'? (Laughter) I didn't do anything except jiggle, y'know?"

Elvis was proud that after then-15 years in the business, his audience represented the broadest spectrum of fans: "Well, I found that in the audiences that we have, it's mixed. It's older people, younger people, and the very young -- all types of people, y'know, which is good."

Two years later, on June 9th, 1972, only hours before launching his sold-out, four-concert run at Madison Square Garden, marking "The King's" first-ever Big Apple arena shows, Elvis spoke to the press, and shed light on why he returned to live performance: "I just missed it. I missed the closeness of an audience -- of a live audience. . . So just as soon as I got out of the movie contracts, I started to do live performances again. There's so many places that I haven't been yet. Like, I've never played New York here. I've never been to Britain either. I'd like to go to Europe. I'd like to go to Japan and all those places. I've never been out of this country except in the service, y'know?"

ELVIS HISTORY

MUSIC

Elvis Presley was signed to Sun Records in 1954 and recorded pivotal singles for the label, including "That's All Right," "Good Rockin' Tonight," and "Mystery Train." Upon signing with RCA/Victor in 1955, he scored 18 Number One Hits, including "Heartbreak Hotel," "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender," "It's Now Or Never," "Are You Lonesome Tonight," and his final Number One "Suspicious Minds" in 1969. Despite all his success in rock n' roll, all three of his Grammys were awarded for his gospel recordings.

In 2008, Elvis fans were up in arms over a recent change in Billboard policy which has demoted "The King's" ranking on the Billboard charts from being Number Three in the list of top acts of the rock era with 17 Number One hits, down to Number 14 -- with only seven chart toppers. In the trade's new series of charts commemorating the past 50 years of Billboard's weekly Hot 100 singles chart, the rock era has been pushed forward to start with the Hot 100's first appearance on August 4th, 1958 -- which excludes Presley's 10 Number One hits that predated the Hot 100's launch.

FAMILY

Elvis met future wife Priscilla Beaulieu in 1960 while he was stationed in the Army in Germany. Her father was an Air Force officer also stationed there. In 1963 Priscilla moved to Memphis to be with Elvis, first living with his father and stepmother while she finished high school, before eventually moving into Graceland with Elvis.

Elvis and Priscilla were married on May 1st, 1967 at Las Vegas' Aladdin Hotel. The short eight-minute ceremony, which took place at 9:00 a.m., was officiated by State Supreme Court Justice David Zenoff. Following the vows, a special banquet was held below the hotel's casino for around 100 guests who dined on "ham, eggs, Southern fried chicken, Oysters Rockefeller, roast suckling pig, poached and candied salmon, lobster, Eggs Minnette, and champagne." Following the banquet, the Presley's held a press conference before flying out of Las Vegas.

The couple had one child together, Lisa Marie Presley, who was born nearly nine months to the day after their wedding. Priscilla has said that although they had been living together for several years, they did not consummate the relationship until they were married. Elvis and Priscilla separated in 1972, and divorced in 1973.

Tragically, on July 13th, 2020 Elvis and Priscilla's only grandson, Lisa Marie's child, Benjamin Keough. Keough shot himself with a shotgun at his home in Calabasas, California. He was 27-years-old.

FILMS & TV

Elvis starred in 31 movies between 1956 and 1973. Most of them were musical comedies like Blue Hawaii (1961), Viva Las Vegas (1964) with Ann Margaret, and Clambake (1967) -- yet several of his films, such as King Creole (1958) with Walter Matthau, Flaming Star (1960), Charro (1969), and Change of Habit (1969) with Mary Tyler Moore, were dramatic pieces that proved him to be a serious actor with true talent. Elvis also released two concert films. Elvis: That's The Way It Is chronicled the rehearsals and opening week of his July 1970 Las Vegas stint, while 1972's Elvis On Tour featured footage from that year's U.S. Tour.

According to friends and associates, Elvis was approached to co-star with Barbra Streisand in her 1976 re-make of A Star Is Born, yet turned the role down when he was refused top billing over Streisand.

He also starred in several incredibly successful TV specials including 1968's Singer Presents Elvis -- more commonly known as "The '68 Comeback Special" -- which spurred a triumphant resurgence in his career, and Elvis: Aloha, From Hawaii which featured him live in concert and was broadcast worldwide in 1973.

ELVIS REMEMBERED BY FRIENDS AND FANS

During his 2012 keynote address at Austin's South By Southwest music festival, Bruce Springsteen spoke about the social change that Elvis sparked upon breaking on the national scene in 1956: "Elvis gave us full access to a new language, a new form of communication, a new way of being, a new way of looking, a new way of thinking about sex, about race, about identity, about life. A new way of being an American, a human being, and a new way of hearing music. Once Elvis came across the airwaves, once he was heard and seen in action, you could not put the genie back in the bottle. After that moment, there was yesterday, and there was today -- and there was a red-hot rockabilly forging of a new tomorrow before your very eyes."

Springsteen went on to break down the cultural importance of Elvis Presley's early career: "Elvis was the first modern, 20th century man. He was a precursor of the sexual revolution, of the civil rights revolution, drawn from the same Memphis as Martin Luther King, creating fundamental outsider art that would be embraced by a mainstream popular culture."

In 1975 John Lennon spoke frankly about "The King" to French TV: "I'm an Elvis fan, y'know, 'because it was Elvis that really got me out of Liverpool, y'know? But after he went into the army, I think they cut le bullocks off (laughs) in the army, y'know? They not only shaved his hair off, they shaved between his legs, too. He did some good stuff after the army, but never quite the same, it was like something happened to him, psychologically."

Over 65 years after first hearing him, Paul McCartney still considers himself to be a heavy-duty early Elvis fan -- and has always named "All Shook Up" as one of his all-time favorites: "I love a lot of Elvis' tracks -- 'All Shook Up' is one of my big favorites. I love 'Love Me Tender.' You could choose anything off his first albums and I'd love that. Anything till he went in the army, and I went off him after that. It just never seemed the same to me. It seemed like they'd tamed him."

Keith Richards credits Elvis for making rock a truly colorless art form: "The beautiful thing about Elvis was that, wow, he's just sort of turned everybody into everybody it doesn't matter now -- 'Is the guy black or white' anymore. . . Y'know, and maybe even you can do it!"

Robert Plant recalled the night he and Led Zeppelin met Elvis back in 1974: "We talked with Presley for about three hours, it just went on and on and on. And we were talking about the root -- where did it come from, and it came from him. And he still got it. He still was into that Delta (music) thing -- y'know, 'Good Rockin' Tonight, y'know, all that stuff that got him going in the first place. But he also knew -- and he had a great sense of humor -- and he knew that he was locked in this self-parody."

Like many original fans, Plant admits that Elvis' post-Army period fell short of his most important and exciting work. "When the songs dried up -- when (songwriters Jerry) Leiber and (Mike) Stoller and (Doc) Pomus and (Mort) Shuman -- when that whole era of creative writing started to wane and things changed; I didn't want to hear Elvis doing a Neil Diamond song. And it was bad enough him coming out of the army and doing 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' -- y'know, I wanted him to stay wild, to give me all those edges, to give me that kind of howl that he had. But, y'know, he was just amazing and spectacular. And it was just that he really opened the door to my, my whole love of music."

Pete Townshend told us he was amazed by Elvis Presley's guitar playing as featured in the expanded versions of Presley's '68 Comeback Special DVD's: "Y'know the offstage 'unplugged' thing that he did, well it's quite clear that this guy is a great acoustic guitar player too. Y'know, he did this long before anybody did 'unplugged.' He could play them, he delivered them, and it was just him -- just spectacular stuff. And it was never meant to be released."

It was 50 years ago today -- January 5th, 1973 -- that Bruce Springsteen released his debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Springsteen, who was signed as a solo artist, was signed to Columbia Records -- the only label he's ever recorded for by record producer John Hammond.

Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. was produced by Springsteen's then-managers and publishers Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos and recorded in Blauvelt, New York's low-rent 914 Studios. Although not billed as such, the early E Street Band is featured on the set -- Clarence Clemons, Garry Tallent, David Sancious, "Mad Dog" Vini Lopez -- and an uncredited Steve Van Zandt, who provides a rumble blast of ambient amplifier noise.

Among the instant classics included on the set are "Blinded By The Light' -- a 1977 chart-topper in a drastically reworked prog version by Manfred Mann's Earth Band -- "Spirit In The Night," "Growin' Up," "For You," and "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City."

Although the album did not crack the Top 40 on the Billboard 200 albums chart -- it eventually made its way up to Number 60. Reviewers hailed Springsteen as the "new Dylan" -- despiote the fact that Bob Dylan was still actively recording and only 31. Rolling Stone has since rated the album 37th on their list of "Greatest Debut Albums list.

The tracklisting to Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. is: "Blinded By The Light," "Growin' Up" "Mary Queen Of Arkansas," "Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?," "Lost In The Flood," "The Angel," "For You," "Spirit In The Night," and "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City"

By 1972, Bruce Springsteen had only recently scaled his act down to being a solo acoustic performer, having made his bones in and around New Jersey's shore circuit leading such bands as the Castiles, Child, Steel Mill, Dr. Zoom & The Sonic Boom, and the Bruce Springsteen Band.

In 1998 Springsteen recalled to BBC TV how original manager Mike Appel secured an audition on May 2nd, 1972, purely through the gift of gab: "He just talked his way into an audition with John Hammond. I remember I came up on the bus with my acoustic guitar with no case. I was embarrassed carrying it around New (laughs) York City, like, y'know, at my side. . . And we had the audition, and I played a couple of songs and he said, 'You gotta be on Columbia Records.'"

Original E Street Band drummer "Mad Dog" Vini Lopez played in nearly all of "The Boss's" pre-fame groups, and spoke about the camaraderie that surrounded Springsteen's back line in the early days when they literally lived hand to mouth: "Well, we all stuck together, ‘cause, strength in numbers, and we weren't liked in most of those communities, so we stuck together and nobody messed with us and we had a good time. We did. Y'know, me and Clarence (Clemons), David (Sancious) -- we all hung out. Danny (Federici) -- we all hung out."

In March 1999, during his acceptance speech at his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, "The Boss" took time out to thank the past and current staff at Columbia Records for their faith and support over the decades: "They created a conduit for a lifetime of thoughts and ideas. A place where I was a. . . I felt safe and supported and encouraged to do my best and my truest work. I've heard enough record company horror stories, right from this stage, to realize -- to appreciate the fact that I don't have one."

On November 22nd, 2002 -- the final date of their Working On A Dream -- Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. in its entirety for the first time at Buffalo's HSBC Arena.

FAST FORWARD

In December 2021, Bruce Springsteen sold his publishing and recorded works to Sony for a reported $550 million. Rolling Stone reported, "A rep for Sony declined to comment on the deal. Springsteen has remained with Sony's Columbia Records since he launched his career, and was given ownership of his earlier albums. According the RIAA, his album catalog has sold 65.5 million in the U.S., which includes his 15-times platinum Born In The U.S.A. and five-times platinum The River.

In Sony's official announcement regarding the deal, Springsteen was quoted as saying: "I am one artist who can truly say that when I signed with Columbia Records in 1972, I came to the right place. During the last 50 years, the men and women of Sony Music have treated me with the greatest respect as an artist and as a person. I'm thrilled that my legacy will continue to be cared for by the company and people I know and trust."

A few days ago, Miley Cyrus announced that her new single, "Flowers" will drop on January 13th. Now, TMZ has pointed out that the date happens to be her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth's 33rd birthday.

That may not seem like much except the short snip of the song that she shared included the lyrics "I can love me better, I can hold my own hand" and "I can buy myself flowers."

Cyrus ended her post with "New Year, New Miley."

According to a press release, more announcements will be dropping this week.

If you add up the weeks that Taylor Swift has been #1, as of now, the total is 59. That extends her own record on the Billboard Artist 100 chart, making her the first act to rule that chart in eight separate years.

She is also the top musical act in the U.S. thanks to the continued success of her album Midnights, which has been on the album charts for 10 weeks and has been #1 for five of those weeks.

TL;DR:

Phoebe Bridgers is mourning the death of her father. The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter made the announcement online. She shared a throwback photo of them listening to music on the same pair of headphones.

She wrote online: "Rest in peace dad." No other information was provided about his death.

She wrote her song "Kyoto" about him and more specifically about "not being angry with him anymore." In an interview with NPR a couple of years ago, she talked about it and said writing it was a good way to address their "difficult relationship."

TL;DR:

• Phoebe Bridgers is mourning the death of her father.
• She shared a throwback photo of them and wrote: "Rest in peace dad."

Billie Eilish told Vogue magazine that she developed body positivity after being in a dark place while in her teens. She said at the time, she hated herself and the development of her body.

She talked about a Face Time conversation with a male friend, while wearing a tank top. He told her to put a shirt on! And she responded loudly to him. She explained that "Someone with smaller boobs could wear a tank top." Calling it stupid that she could wear the exact same thing and get "slut-shamed" because of it.

Now that she's 21 years old, Eilish says she embraces her curves.

Her interview appeared as Vogue's first-ever video cover.

TL;DR:

• Billie Eilish says she developed body positivity after being in a dark place while in her teens.
• Now that she's 21 years old, she embraces her curves.
• Her interview appeared as Vogue's first-ever video cover.

BTS member Jimin has teamed with another K-pop star for a new single that's coming out next week. Taeyang of Big Bang shared a photo of the two of them on the video set for a new song called "Vibe."

As BTS members have been finding their own path, this will be Jimin's first official solo release since BTS announced that they were going on hiatus.

This will mark Taeyang's first new solo music in nearly 6 years.

TL;DR:

• BTS member Jimin has teamed with another K-pop star, Taeyang of Big Bang for a new single that's coming out next week.
• They shared a photo from the video set for a new song called "Vibe."

During a look back at Rush's 1981 breakthrough album, Moving Pictures, surviving members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson discussed the album's breakout classic -- "Tom Sawyer."

Geddy Lee told Classic Rock, "I mean, when we were working on 'Tom Sawyer,' actually for the longest time it was the worst song on the record. We had more trouble with that song than almost any other song. I had real doubt about whether the song was working at all. I remember when we came to do the solo, and we're having a lot of trouble getting a sound that (to Alex Lifeson) you were happy with. All of a sudden, (album engineer) Paul Northfield kind of jumped into action and came up with this idea of mic-ing the stereo speakers and doing your solo in a stereo spread. Then it gave it that kind of tubular sound. And then it finally came to life."

He went on to recall, "But when we finished and were even mixing the song, we'd had problems with the computer that was running the mix, so we all had our hands on different parts of the console, operating it manually because we didn't trust the f***ing thing. . . Then when we heard it back in full, it was like: 'Holy f***!' when those bass pedals came in. It was like: ‘Okay, this works.' But up until that point there was a lot of doubt about that song."

Alex Lifeson went on to say "It went from being this immovable thing to being the obvious candidate to open the record -- that opening and then Neil (Peart's) drums. But I do remember it being a real relief to tick off the chalkboard."

Geddy Lee explained: "We always had a chalkboard. We'd put the songs up and the parts left to record, and would check them off as we worked."

1981's Moving Pictures remains Rush's biggest album to date, while "Tom Sawyer" remains their best-known song. Alex Lifeson recalled for us the impact the record had on the Canadian band's career at the time: "That took us up to the next level. After the release of that album, we were headlining everywhere we were going, and, y'know, our audiences increased by a large percentage. And it just gave us that much of a push forward into what was coming."

Not too long ago, Rush's late, great drummer and lyricist Neil Peart spoke with George Stroumboulopoulos and shed light on the importance of the Moving Pictures sessions: "We had been together for six years and had had enough success that the industry wasn't leaning on us anymore about what we were going to do. And there was a real maturity (and) coming of age for us as a band, because we had been doing so much experimenting of all kinds as individual instrumentalists and as a group of instrumentalists. . . There was nothing self-indulgent, or so-called pretentiousness about it. It was true boyish enthusiasm that was involved in creating all those things."

Paul and Linda McCartney's daughter Mary McCartney is receiving great notices for her new documentary, If These Walls Could Sing. The film, which chronicles the 90th anniversary of London's legendary Abbey Road Studios, is now streaming on Disney+.

During a chat with The Guardian, Mary, now a mother of four boys, was asked to describe her life growing up the child of such famous parents: "Adventurous is how I'd describe my childhood. Our parents toured the world, and we went, too. It was full of contrasts. In remote, quiet corners, we'd have nature-filled family time. Then we'd watch them fill stadiums, have our car chased and be stared at all the time. None of us kids found them particularly interesting."

Mary, who followed in her late-mom Linda's footsteps as a working photographer admitted, "Finding my own path was overwhelming at times. Working out how to make my own mark felt confusing. I loved taking pictures, but assumed everyone could. Then one day a friend showed me her awful holiday snaps and I realized maybe I did have something. I think a lot about how my surname shaped my career. Yes, the name opened doors at the start, but that's not sustainable. I wouldn't have got gigs for so long, I don't think, if people didn't like what I delivered."

Mary went on to say, "My siblings are still my best friends. Stella and I in particular have a real closeness. We're two years apart, and shared a bedroom growing up. On the road we only had each other for entertainment. We check in with each other every morning."

The world at large got one of its first glimpses of baby Mary on the back cover of her dad's 1970 McCartney album, where she was tucked into his leather bomber jacket: "What's so beautiful about it, as well as the light, I did ask Dad, I was like, 'Why am I zipped up in your coat?' And he was. . . apparently it was 'cause they were going for a horse ride and they just took me along in his jacket."

It was 54 years ago today (January 5th, 1969) that Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) released its second album and breakthrough collection, Bayou Country. The set, which was the first of three albums John Fogerty wrote and produced for the band during 1969, will always be remembered for its opening cut, "Born On The Bayou," and CCR's signature hit, the Top Two smash and instant rock standard, "Proud Mary."

With their trio of classic 1969 albums -- Bayou Country, Green River, and Willy And The Poor Boys -- CCR's legacy was cemented for all time. We asked John Fogerty, who was only 24 at the time, how he was able to pump out three of the most iconic and beloved rock albums in a single calendar year: "I kinda took stock, and y'know, my situation was, I was on a tiny label, and also it was a jazz label and really, they didn't have a clue about rock n' roll. We didn't have a manager, we didn't have a publicist. There was really no big money-push behind us. I said, 'I guess I'm just gonna have to do it with music.' Which meant -- it was up to me (laughs)."

We asked Creedence drummer Doug Clifford if when the band was walking such a fine line between being an AOR and singles act, where he actually saw the band fitting in: "I thought we were more of an FM band, because we were right at the epicenter of FM rock -- and that's where we got our first radio play and got started. I think it was sort of an extra little gold chip in the bucket to have the AM success."

John Fogerty credits his wife and manager, Julie, for inspiring him in recent years to take a closer look at what his '69 songs meant to him and his fans: "Because that year was certainly a momentous year in my career and development -- and of course the band, Creedence -- I always just looked at it as, sort of, ‘well, yeah, that's what happened, I got really busy.' I mean, y'know, I was busy on purpose, of course (laughs), but in '69, I released three albums, but you just sort of move on. You're presenting an era is what you're doing, really."

The tracklisting to Creedence Clearwater Revival's Bayou Country is: "Born On The Bayou," "Bootleg," "Graveyard Train," "Good Golly, Miss Molly," "Penthouse Pauper," "Proud Mary," and "Keep On Chooglin'."

Dolly Parton and Dionne Warwick are teaming up to duet on a song that Dolly wrote. Dionne shared the news during a visit to The Tamron Hall Show earlier this week. She says the tune is a gospel song.

Dionne explained that Dolly had pitched her one song, which she loved, and then a second song, which turns out to be the duet.

Dionne said, "It's a gospel song, called 'Peace Like a River. She wrote it. And I am very excited about this. I really am. I've done so many duets over the years. But this one's gonna be very special, it is."

There's no word yet on when that collaboration will be available to fans.

Iggy Pop wants fans to be sure that his new album, Every Loser, which drops tomorrow (January 6th) will not be taking any out of the blue left-turns for listeners.

The new set is produced by Andrew Watt and geatures contributions from Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

Every Loser marks the Stooges frontman's 20th solo set and he told us once you hear it -- you'll know it's Iggy Pop: "One clue about my (laughs) that gives away that it might be me is they're all in one way or another, kind of rough sounding. They never get totally polished. Maybe Lust For Life, maybe a couple of things on Brick By Brick -- and there are some smoother tracks on this one. But, I think something about my influence(s) -- I like Link Wray better than Yngwie Malmsteen."

Adele is struggling to walk due to the pain from her sciatica.

Cosmopolitan UK reports she told the audience of her Las Vegas residency Saturday (December 31st), "I have to waddle these days and I have really bad sciatica."

According to WebMD, the condition can cause "pain that radiates from your lower back into the back or side or your legs."

Paul McCartney revealed he's been recording with producer Andrew Watt -- best known for his recent work with Ozzy Osbourne on Patient Number 9, Eddie Vedder on Earthlings, and Elton John on his collaborative covid-based album, The Lockdown Sessions.

During an end of year Q&A on his official website (PaulMcCartney.com), the former-Beatle was asked what he was looking forward to in 2023, and said, "Well, I'm going on holiday -- I'm definitely looking forward to that! And I'm doing some more recording. I've been recording with a couple of people, so I'm looking forward to doing even more. I've started working with this producer called Andrew Watt, and he's very interesting -- we've had some fun. Beyond that, I don't have anything massive planned. . . at the moment!"

Over the course of his career Andrew Watt has also produced sessions and albums for Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, One Republic, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, blink-182, Zac Brown Band, and Maroon 5, among others. Watt is also the guitarist for Eddie Vedder's solo band, the Earthlings.

Having had his work across the decades considered cutting edge, in-favor, out of favor -- and back in -- Paul McCartney admitted that these days he only writes for himself: "I went through a period of writing for listeners, but I think that's a bad mistake -- 'cause you don't know who's really listening anyway. And you sort of write for critics, or, y'know, what you think they're gonna want. I think it's a bad idea. I think you've gotta write for yourself. I figure, if I like it, there's a chance they might. If I start to write something I think they'll like, and I don't like it -- that's fatal. So I make a point these days of satisfying myself first."

Justin and Hailey Bieber spent the holidays in Aspen, Colorado with celebs like Kylie Jenner and Stassie Karanikolau.

The 26-year-old model shared a series of snaps from the end of 2022 on Instagram Monday (January 2nd) that showed her cuddled up on the snowy slops with her husband.

Jenner and Karanikolau shared their own photos of the trip on social media, including a shot of the three women bundled up outside of a large black SUV.