Rockphiles Blog

UK HALL OF FAME CEREMONIES and SOME PHOTOS!

For some reason, the Brits, who have contributed so much to the world of rock music, just got into the idea of having their own Hall of Fame last year.  This year's ceremonies were held yesterday, at the Ally Pally (that's the Alexandra Palace) in London, with a good turn-out of rock's luminaries, and one of those interesting performances by Mr. Osbourne, where the audience got to see a bit more of Ozzy's anatomy than they had bargained for!  Details here!

The telecast will be shown on VH1 as a two-hour live extravaganza on Saturday November 26th 9:00 PM. The ceremony took place before an audience of 3,000 and features ten legendary artists and one music industry figure to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. For the first time, viewers in America will be able to witness this totally unique and utterly unmissable evening.

VH1 Classic will air the entire, unexpurgated ceremony on Sunday, November 27 at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT and again at 11:00 PM ET/8:00 PM PT.

Whether this will include Ozzy's latest stunt remains to be seen!  Better check it out. 

Here's some photos of folks arriving for the ceremony:

Alannis Morrissette - looking pretty happy here.  Like the new hair-do. 

Mr. Gilmour. 

WALK THE LINE

In the next few days, you're gonna be innundated with promo for "Walk The Line," the biopic of the life of country legend Johnny Cash, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter-Cash 

There is no doubt that June Carter-Cash was the love of Johnny's life, but Vivian Distin was mother of five of his children, his wife for 13 years, and John's huge hit, "I Walk The Line" was written to her.  Kathy Cash, daughter of Vivian and Johnny, has issues with the script of the movie.  USA Today story. 

And speaking of issues, I'm personally having problems with  Witherspoon as June.  It does rhyme, though!

Here's the real thing.  Lest we forget.

SOME PHOTOS FROM THE CMAs

The CMAs first visit to New York went well.  Big winners were Keith Urban for Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist, Gretchen Wilson for Female Vocalist, Rascal Flatts for Vocal Group, Dierks Bentley got the Horizon Award, Glenn Campbell, Alabama and DeFord Bailey (an African-American country star who was the most frequent performer on the Grand Ol' Opry during its seminal years) were admitted to the Hall of Fame, Dolly and Elton duetted, as did Shania Twain and Billy Joel, and Jon Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles (of Sugarland) and Garth Brooks marked his return to country music with an explosive performance from Times Square, after an introduction by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  Anyone who was anyone, and many who weren't, were in attendance.  Here's a few photos. None of Garth so far, but I'll keep looking!  Results right here.

Alison Krauss and Union Station perform Poor Old Heart.  Ahem, Alison, about that dress!   Jerry Douglas of Union Station won Musician of the Year.

Long-time country favorite "Whispering" Bill Anderson is greeted by songwriting partner Jon Randall as they receive the award for Best Song, "Whiskey Lullaby."

Dierks Bentley performs before receiving the Horizon Award for the most promising newcomer in Country Music.

 

Australian's own Keith Urban performs "Better Life."  Later he went on to win Entertainer of the Year, as well as Best Male Vocalist.

Sir Elton John and Miss Dolly Parton performing John Lennon's "Imagine."

Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles and Jon Bon Jovi.

Kristofferson. 

Shania Twain checks out Billy Joel's hair before presenting Entertainer of the Year to Keith Urban.

Mr. and Mrs. McGraw doing what they do best - er, sing that is!

James Gandolfini and LeAnn Rimes share a joke during the presentation for Female Vocalist, which was won by Gretchen Wilson.

MACCA RESCHEDULE

There's been a date change regarding Paul McCartney's 1 hour  appearance on the "Ellen" show. It will now be  MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14th.  Check your local listings. 

HOT THIS WEEK

Three classic acts have made strong entries onto the Billboard Top 200 this week, and a Christmas collection is already high on the charts. 

First, the Divine Miss M with her Bette Midler Sings The Peggy Lee Songbook, enters at No. 10 - way to go, Bette! 

The Man In Black, the unforgettable Johnny Cash, has a collection, The Legend of Johnny Cash, new at No. 11.  The biopic of Johnny's life, Walk The Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, is due out November 18.

Aerosmith, with Rockin' The Joint: Live At The Hard Rock, Las Vegas, storms onto the chart at a strong No. 24. 

Simon Cowell is probably smiling somewhere as his newest 'boy band' Il Divo with their Christmas Collection begins it's hopefully upward climb at No. 32.  Il Divo will be touring with Hayley Westenra in the coming weeks.

I WANNA BE IN PICTURES

A few photos from last week's performances:

Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day at the European MTV Awards in Lisbon, Portugal. 

Coldplay's Chris Martin at the same event.

In the spirit of "if you got it, flaunt it" (and she's a pretty good singer, too) Shakira on TV in Mannheim, Germany

Madonna, same venue as Shakira.  She has a new album out, in case you haven't heard!   

NOTES FROM ALL OVER

Ozzy Osbourne has been invited to play for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance, an annual do, that will take place in Cardiff, Wales on November 21.  I am having trouble with the mental picture on that one.  Sure it will be lovely!  Ozzy's official site can be found at the Black Sabbath artist page.

The Eagles will tour Europe next year.  Dates in Germany, Holland, Ireland and the UK in June are already announced.

On the morning of November 8, for reasons yet to be explained, Pete and Geoff, who host a breakfast show for Virgin Radio, mentioned that Don Felder will rejoin the band for this leg, as they have apparently put all their recent difficulties (a lawsuit for $200M brought by Don Felder) behind them.  Hm.  In the meantime, you can check out the tour dates on the Eagles artist page, and click on the eaglesband link.  That's the official site.

THE LATEST FROM THE GREATEST!

While contemplating the gift-giving season, ponder the following! 

The Band charts its musical journey with The Band: A Musical History, comprised of five CDs and one DVD, includes more than 100 tracks, and was curated by Robbie Robertson.  Rolling Stone interview with Robbie Robertson. Their Artist Page and official site.

No Direction Home.The DVD of the early days of Bob Dylan, directed by Martin Scorsese, more than lives up to the hype.  Scorsese also directed 1978''s "The Last Waltz." The DVD of this remarkable recounting of the last performance and history of The Band is essential viewing. 

The Last Great Traffic Jam DVD, featuring archival footage of both performances and interviews with this 60s British supergroup.  Steve Winwood remains a seminal 60s master vocalist/writer/musician who hasn't lost one iota of what it was that made him a star in the first place. 

Cream's DVD of their reunion concert at the Royal Albert Hall last May - these guys will not be reuniting.  They also played New York in October, but for those couldn't make the pilgrimage, Royal Albert Hall May 2-3-5-6 2005 should certainly suffice. Get your Pressed Rat and Warthog here!

GOODBYE GROKSTER

In a surprise capitulation, Grokster, one of the great pirates of internet file sharing, has agreed to shut down, pursuant to a plea agreement in a case brought by the Hollywood film studios and the record industry.  A Federal judge will be making an announcement in the next few hours.

Good news for some, bad news for others, but certainly news. And no more whining allowed from these illegal download site owners who say that the whole mess is basically the fault of people who download.  That excuse is out the window for good.

This is a significant victory for copyright holders, and follows hard on the heels of the Supreme Court decision last June, in which it was ruled that the entertainment industry can file lawsuits against filesharing pirates who encourage their customers to illegally download.  This effectively removed the last legal foothold available to the pirate companies. 

And here's more from Billboard.

HELLO DOLLY

Country music has morphed so entirely over the last ten or so years, that I know folks feel that the soul has gone out of it, that the sell-out is totally blatant, that country music as a true American art form is slipping away. 

Many of the founders have passed into musical history, leaving fond memories of good times gone by, an era in America that seems nearly gone.  Cash.  Atkins.  Williams.  Reeves. Cline. Jennings.  Wynette.  Carter-Cash.  The music of our childhood.

Ms. Dolly Parton. a founder and a fighter, has not succumbed.  Still one of the voices that made country music famous, Dolly will duet on "Turn the Lights Out When You Leave"  with Sir Elton John at the CMAs. CMA official site.

November 15.