Music (107)
First Look: 'Love To Love You, Donna Summer'
Shaped by Summer’s own reflections, the memories of close family, friends and colleagues, and filled with the sounds of Summer’s songs, Love To Love You, Donna Summer is an in-depth look at the iconic artist as she creates music that takes her from the avant-garde music scene in Germany, to the glitter and bright lights of dance clubs in New York, to worldwide acclaim, her voice becoming the defining soundtrack of an era. A deeply personal portrait of Summer on and off the stage, the film features a wealth of photographs and never-before-seen home video footage – often shot by Summer herself – and provides a rich window into the surprising range of her artistry, from songwriting to painting, while exploring the highs and lows of a life lived on the global stage.
Love To Love You, Donna Summer premieres May 20th, 2023 on HBO.
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'Mantis' & 'Gargoyle' Are Unmasked On Tonight's 'The Masked Singer'
The three “Saved by the Bell” singers—Mantis, Gargoyle and Medusa—competed for their spot in the quarter finals. All three were saved by the new “Ding Dong, Keep It On!” bell, but now two will be unmasked and only one will go on to be named the Group Champion. He or she will then battle it out against the three champions for a spot in the semi-finals!
Here are the results from tonight’s episode of The Masked Singer:
"Mantis" is actor/director Lou Diamond Phillips.
"Gargoyle" is Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen.
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Season One Winner Chosen On 'My Kind Of Country'
Micaela Kleinsmith has been chosen as the winner of season one of My Kind of Country, the new music competition series from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and executive producer/multi-Grammy Award-winning star, Kacey Musgraves. As the winner, Micaela Kleinsmith will receive a life-changing experience from Apple, including global exposure across the Apple TV+ and Apple Music platforms.
Micaela Kleinsmith, originally championed by Orville Peck, won over the scouts hearts with her incredible vocals and visible growth as an Artist throughout the journey on My Kind of Country. In the final episode, Kleinsmith sang both an original song "Stupid Love," as well as a unique cover of The Band Perry’s "If I Die Young."
Micaela’s EP “Butterfly” will be released through Platoon on Apple Music on Friday, and includes her three original songs, “Butterfly,” “Eternity,” and “Raise A Cup,” that she had the opportunity to record with renowned music producer Tommy Sims. She is also releasing a rendition of her cover of The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young,” and all are streaming now on Apple Music.
“I was so honored and excited to have been selected as the winner of ‘My Kind of Country.’ This competition has been such a blessing and I'm just so grateful to have been able to learn from so many other talented artists on a global platform like Apple TV+. ‘My Kind of Country’ gave me an opportunity that wouldn't normally have been available to me in the industry, and highlights the need for country music to open its doors to new talent and new ideas,” said series winner, Micaela Kleinsmith. “Thank you to Orville Peck, Mickey Guyton, Jimmie Allen, Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves for giving me this chance. I can’t wait for fans to check out my new EP ‘Butterfly’ on Apple Music.”
“We were all moved by Micaela’s final performances and to be able to witness her growth throughout the competition has made me so proud of my fellow South-African! Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton and I all believe she is ready to be our next country music star,” said Scout, Orville Peck. “We are so thrilled to announce her as the winner of 'My Kind of Country' and have the world listen to her new EP ‘Butterfly’ on Apple Music.”
All of the artists worked under the guidance of Emmy Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Music Director Adam Blackstone. Blackstone is musical director to Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill, Rihanna and most recently the Super Bowl Halftime Show, the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards and The Masked Singer.
“I am so excited that Micaela is the winner of My Kind of Country," said mentor and award-winning music director/producer Adam Blackstone. “She really grew into her own artistry and found her voice throughout the competition. It was a dream to work with her and I can't wait to see what we will do next to take the country music world by Storm.”
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2023 CMT Music Awards: Ashley McBryde & Wynonna Judd Rehearse
Ashley McBryde and Wynonna Judd rehearse for the CMT Music Awards at Moody Center on March 31st, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photos by Catherine Powell/Getty Images for CMT)
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'CMT Hot 20' - Kane Brown & Kelsea Ballerini - 03/29/2023 (Photo Gallery)
Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown are interviewed for CMT Hot 20 at Stubbs on March 29th, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Catherine Powell/Getty Images for CMT)
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Today's 70s Song You Should Know: 'Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft' By The Carpenters
By the time The Carpenters were set to begin work on their 1977 album Passage, the duo was at a bit of a musical crossroads.
The album A Kind Of Hush had been released in 1976 and while it spawned the hits "I Need To Be In Love" (#25) and the title track (#12), the album was considered a bit of a sales disappointment. It was the first album since the group's debut that didn't hit platinum status. And writer/producer Richard Carpenter was feeling burned out and fighting an addiction to sleeping pills. All of this was complicated by a change in Pop radio, who increasingly saw the duo as out-of-touch with younger listeners.
Months were spent trying to find a new producer, but the group was unable to convince any top tier producer to sign onto the project. So Richard Carpenter returned to his producing duties, but decided to shake things up a bit. Passage was the only non-holiday Carpenters album without a Richard Carpenter or John Bettis song and Karen Carpenter didn't play drums on any of the tracks.
The song choices were equally unusual. There was a cover of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "On the Balcony of the Casa Rosada/Don't Cry for Me Argentina." The country-tinged 'Sweet, Sweet Smile," which was co-written by Juice Newton, became the duo's first Top Ten country hit. "I Just Fall In Love Again," was strongly considered as the lead single, but label A&M Records decided the four-minute length was too much for pop radio. The song ended up being recorded by Anne Murray two years later and it became a #12 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" sounds very much like a typical Carpenters tune, but even though it was the album's lead-off track, it topped out in the U.S. at #35 on the Billboard chart.
Then there was "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft."
Written by Terry Draper and John Woloschuk, the song appeared of the debut album by their band Klattu. The original track had become a modest hit in the U.S. in 1976 (topping out at #62), after rumors circulated that Klattu was in reality a secret Beatles reunion project. There were no band photos on the album, Capital Records released it and to be fair, the music was very Beatlesque. Then a DJ in Rhode Island noticed that Ringo Starr's recent solo album featured cover art of Starr appearing in place of the character Klaatu from the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. And so, a crazy rumor was born.
It's still not clear why The Carpenters decided to record the song then stick pretty closely to the original version released by Klattu. But it sounds unlike anything else the duo ever recorded and perhaps that's why it received a mixed reception when it was released as the album's second single. It did slightly better than "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song," hitting #32 on the American pop charts. But it was a top ten hit in a number of countries outside the U.S., including becoming the group's only #1 hit in Ireland.
Despite efforts to mix up the sound of The Carpenters, the group's hit records were mostly a thing of the past. It was three years before the duo hit the Top 40 again, when 1981's Touch Me When We're Dancing became their last hit single, going as high as #16 on the Billboard Top 100.
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Today's 70s Song You Should Know: 'Hello & Welcome Home' By Rollers
While the band had a couple of hits in the United States, they had a string of Top Ten hits in the U.K., including two #1 singles. But by the later Seventies, the band had lost much of its best-known lineup and had reinvented itself as a rock/power pop band. The effort didn't find much commercial success, but it did result in one really strong album that pretty much no one outside the band's few remaining fans listened to.
The band "Elevator" was released in 1979 following the addition of South African-born Duncan Faure as the band's new lead singer. Renamed "The Rollers," the band's new sound was very Beatlesque, with famed alternative magazine "Trouser Press" describing the album as having a "Rubber Soul" feel to it. Despite getting the best reviews of the band's career, "Elevator" was also the band's first album not to chart either in the U.S. or the U.K.
There are probably a half dozen tracks I could highlight, but I've always had a fondness for "Hello & Welcome Home," a Beatles-inspired mid-tempo track that includes some really tight harmonies.
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Think Kiss Is The Band With The Most Crappy Merchandise? Let Me Introduce You To The Beatles
It's hard to imagine that any band has licensed their name for more random pieces of crap than Kiss. Gene Simmons has never met a marketing idea he won't agree to given enough money, and it shows in the massive collection of pointless Kiss "collector's items" available to fans.
But long before that band vowed to rock and roll all night, The Beatles set the high water mark for craptastic licensing schemes. And unlike Kiss, most of the vintage Beatles merchandise tended to be cheap consumer products. There was no such thing as an adult "collector's market" in the 1960s. It was all about impulse buying and how much disposable income you could pry away from the pockets of hormone-filled teenage girls.
Nearly all of these items date back to when The Beatles were still together. And a lot of the merchandise is either cheap or just plain ugly.
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Review: 'Jolene' By Olivia Newton-John & Dolly Parton
The late Olivia Newton-John's last studio recording sessions centered about music slated for her upcoming posthumous album Just the Two of Us: The Duets Collection, Volume One.
While the album won't be released until May 5th, one of the tracks was released digitally this week and it features Newton-John getting some help from Dolly Parton on Jolene.
This version is a solid, if not unexpected version of one of Parton's most famous compositions. But it'll be fun to listen to if you're a fan of either singer and the video (included below) is worth watching.
Other duet partners on the set reportedly include Michael McDonald, John Travolta, Barry Gibb, Mariah Carey, Jon Secada, and Newton-John's daughter Chloe Lattanzi.
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New In Dad Rock: 'The King' By The Guess Who
If you're a fan of classic 1970s classic rock, the band The Guess Who was a familiar fixture on Top 40 radio. After nearly a decade toiling away with modest success in its native Canada, the band led by Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman had their first hit in the U.S. with the #6 hit These Eyes. The band cranked out a dozen Top 40 hits through 1975, with another dozen or so singles hitting lower on the charts. While the band doesn't get much airplay on classic rock radio channels in 2023, tunes like American Woman continue to be covered and performed by others.
But the post-hit era history of The Guess Who is as crazy and confusing as any band in the classic rock era. And it explains why The Guess Who is now releasing new music with a group whose only original member is the drummer.
As was often the case when a rock band became successful in the 1970s, The Guess Who had some personnel issues. Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings began fighting and Bachman exited the group, eventually forming the successful group Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Cummings continued as the band's lead singer and primary songwriter along with Kurt Winter. A number of musicians cycled through the band over the next few years and by the time the group broke up in October 1975, Cummings and drummer Peterson were the only connection to the band's glory years.
But that's when things gets a little weird. In 1977, two years after the band broke and five years after he left the group, founding bassist Jim Kale asked Cummings for permission to use the band's name for a one-off concert. Cummings agreed, but Kale discovered that no one had ever trademarked the band's name and he did so. And other than a couple of high profile reunion concerts, Kale has blocked Cummings and Bachman from using the band's name. Instead opting to license it to others, most recently to a group headed by original drummer Garry Peterson.
That decision has had several consequences. Its forced Cummings and Bachman to tour and record under the name Bachman-Cummings. It's also meant that since the band touring and intermittently recording as The Guess Who sounds nothing like the band most fans remember, the group has mostly faded from the cultural zeitgeist.
The King is the latest single released under The Guess Who name and to its credit, it does have a mid-1970s sound to it. Inexplicably, it mostly sounds like second string Yes, which makes for an odd listening experience. Written by Derek Sharpe (who has been part of the group since 2008), the track has this prog-light vibe, with nothing that would remind you of The Guess Who. It's not a bad song, but honestly, releasing under the band's name doesn't do anyone any favors. It's not going to please fans of the band's glory years and if a listener is into the new sound, they're likely to ignore it thinking that this just some rehashed classic rock lineup.
A new album is apparently also on the way and while I wish them well, I also wish I could go see a Guess Who lineup with the people who made me love the band in the first place.
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Review: 'Sometimes Late At Night' By Carole Bayer Sager
For all of the talent of the 1960s and 1970s singer-songwriter movement, it didn't produce very many great albums. Carole King's Tapestry is an obvious one. Perhaps something from James Taylor or Neil Diamond. But even the best of that generation were a lot more successful cranking out hit singles than albums that hung together creatively and thematically.
Iconoclassic has just released one of the rare exceptions to that rule and the fact you probably aren't familiar with the album or with the solo career of Carole Bayer Sager is a near crime.
Sager was still a student at New York's High School Of Music in 1966 when she co-wrote "A Groovy Kind of Love" with Toni Wine. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Top 100 and it became a #1 hit 22 years later when Phil Collins released his version.
That song kicked off an impressive songwriting career, that has included songs such as "Nobody Does It Better," "Don't Cry Out Loud," "I'd Rather Leave When I'm In Love," "When I Need You," "Come In From The Rain," "Midnight Blue," "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," and "That's What Friends Are For." And along the way she won an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, a Grammy Award as well as The Johnny Mercer Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
She also tried her hand as a solo artist, although with mixed commercial success. But now her third and final (so far) album is now being rereleased forty years after its original debut and it's one that has rightfully been described as the "Sgt. Pepper of singer/songwriter albums."
Sometimes Late At Night came at a pivotal time for Sager. She had recently begun a relationship with composer Burt Bacharach (who she would later marry) and the duo collaborated on this album. The songs are an exploration of the arc of a relationship through a woman's perspective, with each track blending into the next to create a seamless wave of emotions. The tracks take you on a journey in the same way that any classic concept album does. But despite its range, it never feels like a forced effort to make everything fit together into a hackneyed overarching theme.
The album included Sager's lone Top 40 solo hit - "Stronger Than Before" - but what really makes the album something special are the murderer's row of collaborators. Michael Jackson contributed so much to the duet "Just Friends" that he was given a co-production credit. Neil Diamond collaborated on the track "On the Way to the Sky." And there were other contributions from Melissa Manchester, Peter Allen, Marvin Hamlisch, David Foster, and Bruce Roberts.
The production by veteran Brooks Arthur is impeccible and he assembled a who's who of musicians, including Steve Lukather and Jeff Porcaro of Toto, Richard Page of Mr. Mister and Pages, Lee Ritenour, Ian Underwood and Jim Keltner.
This reissue includes the entire original album, along the original single versions of both "Stronger Than Before" and "Easy to Love Again" which feature additional instrumentation and unique endings. There is also about twenty minutes of commentary from Sager and Bacharach that was taken from a radio-only promo released along with original album.
The album is accompanied by a 24-page booklet, which features photos, memorabilia, and a 5,600-word essay which draws on fresh and previously unpublished interviews with Carole Bayer Sager, Burt Bacharach, Melissa Manchester, and the late Brooks Arthur.
You likely haven't heard this album before. But if you're a fan of the genre, that's a mistake you can correct right now.
Sometimes Late At Night By Carole Bayer Sager hits stores on Friday, February 3rd, 2023.
The Complete Track Listing:
1) Prologue
2) I Won't Break
3) Just Friends
4) Tell Her
5) Somebody's Been Lying
6) On The Way To The Sky
7) You And Me (We Wanted It All)
8) Sometimes Late At Night
9) Wild Again
10) Easy To Love Again
11) Stronger Than Before
12) You Don't Know Me
13) Reprise
14) Conversation with Carole and Burt, Part 1 (from The Carole Bayer Sager Radio Special with Burt Bacharach, Boardwalk promotional LP NBS-002, 1981)
15) Stronger Than Before (Single Version) (Boardwalk single WS8-02054, 1981)
16) Conversation with Carole and Burt, Part 2 (from The Carole Bayer Sager Radio Special with Burt Bacharach, Boardwalk promotional LP NBS-002, 1981)
17) Easy To Love Again (Single Version) (Boardwalk single NB7-11-118, 1981)
18) Conversation with Carole and Burt, Part 3 (from The Carole Bayer Sager Radio Special with Burt Bacharach, Boardwalk promotional LP NBS-002, 1981)
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New To Streaming: 'Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Ram' By Ram Jam
Like a number of bands in the 1970s, Ram Jam started out almost as an accident.
Lead singer Bill Bartlett's first band was the late 1960s group Lemon Pipers, which was formed by a group of Ohio-based college students. They developed a reputation as a solid live band, once coming in second to the James Gang in a 1967 "Battle Of The Band" in Cleveland. The following year, they signed a deal with Buddah Records, which decided to add the group to its "bubblegum rock" roster.
The two resulting albums (both released in 1968), were an odd mix of lightweight rock singles written by Paul Leka and Shelley Pinz, and longer hard rock-oriented tracks written by the band members. Despite the creative tensions, the band scored a #1 hit single (Green Tambourine) and two Top 50 hits (Rice Is Nice, Jelly Jungle).
By the following year, the Lemon Pipers had left Buddah and dissolved. Bartlett, keyboardist Robert G. Nave, and bassist Steve Walmsley formed a band named Starstruck and began recording demos. One of the tunes was a track Bartlett based around a 90-second Lead Belly song. Black Betty was released on the band's TruckStar label and had some regional success. Starstruck had already broken up at this point and two producers built a band around Bartlett, reworked the track and released it under the name Ram Jam.
The band consisted of Bill Bartlett (guitar and lead vocals), Howie Arthur Blauvelt (bass), Pete Charles (drums), and Myke Scavone (lead vocals). Blauvelt had previously played in several bands with Billy Joel, including The Hassles.
Black Betty became a platinum-selling track that topped out at #18 on the Billboard Top 100 Singles chart. The accompanying album - 1977's Ram Jam - went to number 34 on the albums chart.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram came out a year later and the title was a play on James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Unfortunately for the group, the album and several singles failed to chart and the band's run was over. Although producers Jeffry Katz and Jerry Kasenetz have released an album and a flurry of singles over the years since under the band name. Although none of the original members participated.
While the album is woefully short of anything resembling a hook-filled single, it is a solid example of late 1970s heavy metal - comparable to a lesser KI$$ or Warrant album. If that's your jam, it's well-worth listening to.
As for the band's post-recording years, both Bartlett and Scavone remained in the music business on some level. In 2015, Scavone was recruited to play in the reformed Yardbirds in a reunion tour led by Jim McCarty. Howie Blauvelt died in 1993 at age 44, and Pete Charles died in 2002 at age 49.
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Winter 2023 TCA: 'Black Broadway' (Photo Gallery)
Black Broadway is a new concert special that celebrates iconic stage performances made famous by Black artists and features the best of the current generation of Black Broadway stars. Performing classics from The Wiz, The Color Purple, Company, Porgy & Bess, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and more, the cast is joined by multiple guest conductors and a choir of students from HBCUs Howard University and Morgan State University. All are accompanied by the American Pops Orchestra, founded by Music Director Luke Frazier.
Filmed on October 5th, 2022, at Howard University’s Cramton Auditorium, Black Broadway: A Proud History, A Limitless Future premieres on Tuesday, February 28th, 2023.
(All photos courtesy PBS, 2023)
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Apple TV+ Orders New Country Music Competition Series
Apple TV+ announced on Friday that it has ordered My Kind Of Country, a new country music competition series from Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves.
The series will have three scouts - Grammy-nominated and 2021’s CMA New Artist of the Year Jimmie Allen, four-time Grammy nominee Mickey Guyton and critically acclaimed songwriter, country recording artist and activist Orville Peck. The trio will "search the globe to find talented artists and break the next big country star."
My Kind Of Country will premiere Friday, March 24th, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Here is the show's logline:
My Kind of Country is a fresh take on a competition series, breaking down barriers in country music by providing an extraordinary opportunity to diverse and innovative artists from around the world. Scouts Allen, Guyton and Peck each hand-pick a roster of exceptional up-and-coming artists and invite them to the home of country music in Nashville, Tennessee, to showcase their unique sound. The competition winner will receive a life-changing prize from Apple Music, receiving unprecedented support and exposure on the platform.
Witherspoon and Musgraves executive produce the series alongside Hello Sunshine’s Sara Rea and Lauren Neustadter; Sandbox Entertainment's Jason Owen; the illustrious Emmy nominated showrunner Izzie Pick Ibarra (The Masked Singer, Savage x Fenty Vol 3, Dancing With the Stars, Ladies of London); and Done + Dusted’s Katy Mullan (The Disney Family Singalong, John Legend’s A Legendary Christmas with John and Chrissy, The Little Mermaid Live!, Dear Class of 2020, London Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies). Emmy Award-winning Adam Blackstone serves as music director (musical director to Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill, Rihanna and for Super Bowl Halftime Show, the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards, The Masked Singer).
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