Friday, July 22, 2011

Lyrics to "Spirits Having Flown" by the Bee Gees

The title track from their immensely popular 1979 release, Spirits Having Flown is the featured Unknown/Underrated Song of the Rock Era* from the Bee Gees.




I never fell in love so easily.
Where the four winds blow I carry on.
I'd like to take you where my spirit flies:
Through the empty skies. We go alone,
Never before having flown.

Faster than lightning is this heart of mine.
In the face of time I carry on.
I'd like to take you where my rainbow ends.
Be my lover friend. We go alone,
Never before having flown.

[Chorus]
I am your hurricane, your fire in the sun.
How long must I live in the air?
You are my paradise, my angel on the run.
How long must I wait?
It's the dawn of the feeling that starts
From the moment you're there.

[Bridge]
You'll never know what you have done for me.
You've broken all those rules I live upon.
And I'd like to take you to my Shangri-La,
Neither here nor far away from home,
Never before having flown.

[Chorus]
I am your hurricane, your fire in the sun.
How long must I live in the air?
You are my paradise, my angel on the run.
How long must I wait?
It's the dawn of the feeling that starts
From the moment you're there.
I'd like to take you where my spirit flies,
Through the empty skies we go alone,
Never before having flown.

One of the Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era--"Spirits Having Flown" from the Bee Gees

Recorded at the height of their career, the trio did not want to release it as a single because they didn't want to "flood the market with Bee Gees songs".  That never stopped hundreds of other artists.  In any case, it has become one of their most popular songs, and is at the upper region of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.



"Spirits Having Flown" by the Bee Gees (From the album Spirits Having Flown)

Five Best Songs: Jimmy Buffett

The guy has made a whole empire based on the Margarita theme.  Shrewd businessman and fun-loving singer, here are the Five Best from Jimmy Buffett:



1.  "Margaritaville"



2.  "Come Monday"


 

3.  "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes"



4.  "Fins"


5.  "Migration"

Hits List: Lovin' Spoonful

This great group from the New York City area produced a solid string of hits in the 1960's, especially check out 1966.  Here is the complete Hits List from Lovin' Spoonful:



1965:  "Do You Believe in Magic" (#9)
           "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" (#10)
1966:  "Daydream" (#2)
           "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind" (#2)
           "Summer in the City" (#1)
           "Rain on the Roof" (#10)
           "Nashville Cats" (#8)
           "Full Measure" (#87)
1967:  "Darlin' Be Home Soon" (#15)
           "Six O'Clock" (#18)
           "As Long As You're Here"
           "You're a Big Boy Now"
           "She Is Still a Mystery" (#27)





1968:  "Money" (#48)
           "Never Goin' Back" (#73)
           "(Til I) Run With You"
1969:  "Me About You" (#91)
1970:  "Younger Generation" 

The #18 Album of All-Time in the Rock Era--"Falling into You" by Celine Dion


We are truly getting into the cream of the crop now.  We find ourselves at #18.

Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love and The Colour of My Love didn't quite make it into The Top 100 Albums*. This one did. Falling into You has tons of things going for it. It peaked at #1 for three weeks but more astonishingly also logged 11 weeks at #2 and 13 weeks at #3. That's 27 weeks in being one of the Top Three albums of its time. Falling into You is one of only five albums in the history of the Rock Era (1955-2010) to spend an entire year in the Top 10 (59 weeks total) and it remained a best-seller on the album chart for 113 weeks (over two years).

In just 15 years, it has sold 11 million copies in the U.S. alone and it has sold over 32 million copies worldwide. Falling into You sold over a million copies in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Canada, France, Japan and Australia, becoming only the sixth artist in history to accomplish this. It reached #1 in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, the Netherlands (12 weeks at the top), Belgium (8 weeks), Norway (7 weeks), Switzerland (6 weeks), Australia (4 weeks), New Zealand (3 weeks), Austria (1 week), Sweden (1 week) and Greece. The album also has an outstanding Track Rating* of 9.08.
"Because You Loved Me" is one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*--it peaked at #1 for six weeks on the popular chart and set an all-time record when it lasted for 19 weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and "All by Myself", Celine's cover of the Eric Carmen hit, both made the Top Five. The title song is excellent; I think "Seduces Me" is one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*. Dion also does a great version of "River Deep, Mountain High". This isn't going to be for everyone, but if you love great melodies sung by one of the best, there probably won't be too many songs you don't like.

For each successive album, you would expect more and more accolades and factors in its favor. Celine won Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. The monumental hit "Because You Loved Me" won both a Grammy for Best Song from a Motion Picture and an Academy Award (both for writer Diane Warren) for Best
Original Song for a Motion Picture (Up Close & Personal).



Dion won World's Overall Best Selling Recording Artist of the Year, World's Best-Selling Pop Artist of the Year and World’s Best Selling Canadian Recording Artist of the Year at the World Music Awards and Dion won Artist of the Year at the VH1 Awards. She won Juno Awards for Best Selling Album, Female Vocalist of the Year and a special International Achievement Award and a BMI Award for Pop Song of the Year ("It's All Coming Back To Me Now". Dion also won 17 other awards for this album that are too numerous to mention here.
Dion was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Because You Loved Me") at the Grammys and for Favorite Female Rock Artist and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist at the American Music Awards.


 Falling Into You:
1.    "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (Jim Steinman) --7:37
2.    "Because You Loved Me" (Diane Warren) --4:33
3.    "Falling into You (Billy Steinberg, Rick Nowels, Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo) --4:18
4.    "Make You Happy" (Andy Marvel) --4:31
5.    "Seduces Me" (Dan Hill, John Sheard) --3:46
6.    "All by Myself" (Eric Carmen and Sergei Rachmaninoff) --5:12
7.    "Declaration of Love" (Michael Jay & Claude Gaudette) --4:20
8.    "Dreamin' of You" (Aldo Nova & Peter Barbeau) --5:07
9.    "I Love You" (Nova) --5:30
10.  "If That's What It Takes" --4:12
11.  "I Don't Know" (Galdston, Goldman, J. Kapler) --4:38
12.  "River Deep - Mountain High" (Phil Spector, Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich) --4:10
13.  "Call the Man" (Andy Hill & Peter Sinfield) --6:08
14.  "Fly" (Galdston, Goldman) --2:58


Falling into You was recorded from 1995 to 1996.  Babyface, Roy Bittan, Jeff Bova, David Foster, Humberto Gatica, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Rick Hahn, Dan Hill, John Jones, Rick Nowels, Aldo Nova, Steven Rinkoff,  Billy Steinberg, Jim Steinman and Rick Wake produced the album.   It was 
released March 8, 1996 on Epic Records.


Celine Dion achieves #18 of All-Time with Falling into You.

This Date in Rock Music History: July 23

1955:  Slim Whitman had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Rose Marie".


1955:  Fats Domino continued to roll, watching "Ain't It A Shame" (now better known as "Ain't That A Shame") post its 10th week on top of the R&B chart.
1963:  Neil Young went through his first recording session at radio station CKRC in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.











1964:  The Beatles were at The Night of a Hundred Stars at the Palladium in London.
1964:  The Beatles registered their fifth U.K. #1 when "A Hard Day's Night" reached the top.
1965:  The Kinks performed "You Really Got Me" on the television show Where the Action Is.
1966:  British Prime Minister Harold Wilson was on hand as the Cavern Club reopened in Liverpool.
1966:  Jack Jones reached #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "The Impossible Dream".








1966:  The Lovin' Spoonful had the perfect hit for the season--"Summer In The City", which moved from #53 to #21 on this date.  
1966:  Frank Sinatra's Strangers in the Night may have moved into the #1 slot, but the Beatles meant business, moving from 18 to 2 with their album Yesterday...And Today.  











1966:  "Hanky Panky" by Tommy James & the Shondells remained at #1 with "Wild Thing" from the Troggs trailing.  Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs had their follow-up to "Wooly Bully"--it was "Lil' Red Riding Hood" moving from 9 to 3.  "The Pied Piper" by Crispian St. Peters also made a nice move (12-4) while Dusty Springfield came in fifth with "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me".  The rest of the Top 10:  The Beatles' former #1 "Paperback Writer", Paul Revere & the Raiders from Boise, Idaho moving up to #7 with "Hungry", the Cyrkle with "Red Rubber Ball", the Mamas & the Papas entered the Top 10 with "I Saw Her Again" and Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea" at #10.
1971:  The Rolling Stones and Brian Jones' father filed a lawsuit against former Stones manager Allen Klein, alleging that Klein mismanaged the group's money.
1969:  The Rolling Stones topped the U.K. chart with "Honky Tonk Women".
1971:  The Moody Blues released the album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour.









1973:  Grand Funk released the single "We're An American Band".













1973:  Cher released the single "Half Breed".










 



1973:  B.W. Stevenson released the single "My Maria".













1977:  Judas Priest began their first American tour at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California, opening for Led Zeppelin.
1977:  We didn't yet know all that was in store for this album, but "Don't Stop" from Fleetwood Mac's Rumours moved from 60 to 31 this week.
1977:  The Emotions enjoyed their fourth consecutive week at #1 on the R&B chart.
1977:  England Dan & John Ford Coley celebrated five weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "It's Sad To Belong".









1977:  Barry Manilow made it to #1 with "Looks Like We Made It", his eighth hit, sixth Top 10 and third chart-topper.  Andy Gibb closed to #2 with "I Just Want to Be Your Everything", Shaun Cassidy fell with "Da Doo Ron Ron" and Peter Frampton's title track from his album I'm In You was at #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  "My Heart Belongs To Me" from Barbra Streisand, Hot with "Angel In Your Arms", Alan O'Day slipped to 7 with "Undercover Angel", Jimmy Buffett's signature song "Margaritaville" at #8, Peter McCann with "Do You Wanna' Make Love" and the Emotions crashed into the Top 10 with "Best Of My Love".  
1977:  After just one week away from being #1, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac returned to #1 for a third time on the Album chart.  It had reached  11 weeks at the top and the third stay was going to be even longer.  
1980:  Keith Godchaux of the Grateful Dead died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Marin County, California.  He was 32.
1983:  The Police performed at Comisky Park in Chicago, Illinois.
1983:  Paul Young rose to the top of the U.K. chart with his remake of the Marvin Gaye song "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)".




 
1983:  Synchronicity reached #1 on the Album chart in only the fourth week of release for the Police.  In those days, it was tough to get to the top because of the stronger competition.  The Soundtrack to "Flashdance" was up to #2 while Thriller by Michael Jackson relinquished its stranglehold on the top spot...for the time being, and Def Leppard's great album Pyromania had to stay at #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Stevie Nicks with The Wild Heart, David Bowie's Let's Dance, Loverboy had a solid album at #7 with Keep It Up, Men At Work's Cargo was #8, Prince's solid album 1999 was at #9 and Eddy Grant remained at 10 with Killer on the Rampage.








                                                             You are missed, Michael Hutchence...

1988:  Richard Marx scored a #1 with "Hold On To The Nights".  Def Leppard was on fire, however, with "Pour Some Sugar On Me", INXS had a red-hot song with "New Sensation" and Steve Winwood was closing fast with "Roll With It".  The rest of the Top 10:  Cheap Trick's former #1 "The Flame", newcomer Breathe was at 6 with "Hands To Heaven", Eric Carmen had song #7--"Make Me Lose Control", Pebbles was down with "Mercedes Boy", Terence Trent D'Arby moved from 14 to 9 with "Sign Your Name" and former Go-Go Jane Wiedlin entered the Top 10 with "Rush Hour".








1988:  Def Leppard finally reached #1 on the Album chart...in their 49th week of release with Hysteria.  Van Halen dropped to 2 with OU812, Faith by George Michael (now down to #5), and the "Dirty Dancing" Soundtrack (#3) were on their way down.   Guns N' Roses edged up to #4 with their superb Appetite for Destruction.  The rest of the Top 10:   Steve Winwood moved from 15 to 6 with Roll With It, Tracy Chapman's incredible debut was at #7, Sade was at 8 with Stronger Than Pride, Poison dropped with Open Up and Say...Ahh! and Bruce Hornsby & the Range had another winner with Scenes from the Southside.








1989:  Ringo Starr began his first tour with his All-Starr Band (Joe Walsh, Billy Preston and Clarence Clemons) at the Park Central Amphitheater in Dallas, Texas.  Over the years, the lineup has changed, but the concept remains--everyone on stage is an "all-star in their own right".
1990:  John Mellencamp began work on his acting and directing debut in the movie Falling From Grace.
1987:  The surviving members of the Beatles sued EMI-Capitol for $40 million representing back payments and the right to own their own music.
1992:  Bruce Springsteen opened his world tour with the first of 11 shows at Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey.
1993:  Nirvana made a surprise appearance at Roselnad Ballroom in New York City, playing songs from their upcoming In Utero album.
1994:  The Eagles were in concert at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.







1994:  Elton John registered his 27th Top 10 hit (#5 all-time) with the great song "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from the movie The Lion King.
1998:  Iron Maiden had to cancel the rest of their U.S. tour after a doctor told Blaze Bayley not to sing for a month.
1998:  It was a Retro 80's tour as Culture Club, Howard Jones and the Human League performed the first show of the tour at the Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
2000:  Farrah Franklin left Destiny's Child just five months after she joined.








2000:  'N Sync reached #1 with "It's Gonna' Be Me".
2000:  The Corrs had the top U.K. album with In Blue.
2004:  Linkin Park began a tour at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
2004:  Bill Brown, guitarist with the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, died of smoke inhalation at his home in Springfield, Missouri.
2006:  McFly had the #1 song in the U.K. with "Please Please".
2006:  Razorlight was #1 on the U.K. Album chart with their self-titled release.
2008:  A wax image of Amy Winehouse was unveiled at Madame Tussauds in London.








2011:  Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning in London.




Born This Day:
1935:  Cleveland Duncan of the Penguins ("Earth Angel" from 1954) was born in Los Angeles, California; died November 7, 2012 in Los Angeles.  (Note:  some websites are confused as to his birth year--according to the Doo Wop Music Hall of Fame, he was born in 1935.)
1943:  Tony Joe White ("Polk Salad Annie") was born in Goodwill, Louisiana.  (Note:  several websites report White was born in Oak Grove, Louisiana, but according to 'MTV', Tony was born in Goodwill, near Oak Grove.)

1944:  Dino Danelli, drummer of the Rascals, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.
1946:  Andy MacKay, saxophonist with Roxy Music, was born in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, England.











1947:  David Essex ("Rock On" from 1973) was born in  Plaistow, London.












1948:  John Hall of Orleans and a United States Congressman from New York from 2007-2011, was born in Baltimore, Maryland.












1950:  Blair Thornton, one of the hard-driving guitarists of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
1952:  Janis Siegel of Manhattan Transfer ("Boy From New York City") was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1954:  Marisa DeFranco, keyboardist of the DeFranco Family
1961:  Martin Gore, singer-songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist and a founding member of Depeche Mode, was born in Basildon, Essex, England.
1968:  Nick Menza, drummer of Megadeth, was born in Munich, Germany; died May 21, 2016 in Los Angeles of heart failure while performing with his band OHM.  (Note: various websites show his birthday as 1963 or 1964, but our best research indicates Nick was born in 1968.)
1964:  Tim Kellett, keyboard and trumpet player for Simply Red, was born in Knaresboroug, Yorkshire, England.









1965:  Slash, elite guitarist of Guns 'n Roses, was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England.
1970:  Sam Watters, singer/songwriter of Color Me Badd and later a producer and record executive, was born in Camp Springs, Maryland.
1971:  Chad Gracey, drummer of Live, was born in York, Pennsylvania.
1971:  Dalvin DeGrate, half of the duo Jodeci, was born in Hampton, Virginia.









1980:  Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child was born in Rockford, Illinois.
1980:  Steve Jocz, drummer for Sum 41, was born in Ajax, Ontario, Canada.
In this game, there are several songs listed below.  Pick the song out that is not from Billy Ocean.


The answer can be found by clicking on "Read More" at the bottom of the post.


"Caribbean Queen"
"Love Really Hurts Without You"
There'll Be Sad Songs"
"Loverboy"
"Suddenly"
"For the Love of Money"
"Get Outta' My Dreams, Get Into My Car"





Which of the Following Songs is NOT from 1979?


In this game, there are 10 songs listed. All but one of them are from 1979, a pretty good year in music. Can you spot the one that is NOT from 1979? I chose it from a year that is at least a few years away from 1979 so as not to make it too difficult.


The answer can be found by clicking on "Read More" at the bottom of this post. Good luck!


"I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor
"Tragedy" by the Bee Gees
"Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet
"What a Fool Believes" by the Doobie Brothers
"Reunited" by Peaches & Herb
"Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer
"My Sharona" by the Knack
"Escape" by Rupert Holmes
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by Charlie Daniels Band"
"We Are Family" by Sister Sledge





Don Henley

Henley was born in Gilmer, Texas on July 22, 1947. He began college at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas and transferred to North Texas State (now University of North Texas) in Denton, Texas from 1967-1969. Henley had to leave school, however, so he could be with his dying father.

Shortly after his father's death, Henley moved to Los Angeles to record an album with his band Shiloh. The album was produced by friend Kenny Rogers. In Los Angeles, Henley met Glenn Frey and the two became members of Linda Ronstadt's band.






With Ronstadt's encouragement, Henley and Frey formed a new group with Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner in September, 1971. The Eagles flew off and never looked down as they enjoyed one of the most successful careers in the Rock Era.  The group was known for their incredible, tight harmonies and production and the consistent quality of their releases.  Twelve of their 18 singles through 1980 were Top 10 hits for most radio stations with five going to #1.  In addition, "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and "Already Gone" are in The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, not because of their chart performance but because of the huge popularity of the group and the tremendous airplay that they have achieved.  

Further, songs like "Tequila Sunrise", "The Last Resort", "Wasted Time" and "In the City" have gotten considerable airplay in the years since.  Henley wrote most of the lyrics for the group's hits with songwriting partner Glenn Frey providing a good deal of the music. Henley quickly became one of the best lead singers to also play drums, singing on such classics as "Witchy Woman", "Desperado", "One of These Nights", "Best of My Love" and "Hotel California".

Just as the Eagles' success seemed to come out of nowhere, so did the band's seemingly permanent breakup in 1980.  Personal tensions and a difficult concert tour led to the split.  In 1981, Henley teamed with girlfriend Stevie Nicks (whom he dated in the late 70's and early 80's) for the classic song "Leather and Lace".  It went to #1 for most radio stations.  In 1982, Henley became engaged to Maren Jensen, an actress in the television series Battlestar Galactica.  




Henley began a long successful solo career with his debut release I Can't Stand Still in 1982. The album's title reflects Henley's conscious decision to cease being silent about matters that he cared about deeply. He saw things deteriorating in America and wanted to address those issues. Concerned with the lack of education funding that began in the 1980's and the effect it would have on those children (who are now in their 40's, many of whom are unemployed), Henley wrote the song "Johnny Can't Read".  People were attracted to the song because it essentially says that there are numerous factors responsible for the decline--teachers, parents, society, the president (Reagan) and most of all, Johnny himself.  As Henley says in the song "RECESS IS OVER!"  Jensen sang backing vocals on the song, but the couple separated in 1986.




The biggest hit from the album, "Dirty Laundry", was a commentary about television news and its fall from glory. Specifically, Henley sang about the trend in accentuating the negative and about "the bubble-headed bleach-blonde...who...comes on at 5...and.. she can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye." Henley's biting criticism hit home and, while it probably didn't change things much, it won him a lot of fans who agreed with him. "Dirty Laundry" reached #3, sold over a million copies and earned him a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. The title track from I Can't Stand Still was also released as a single.




Henley's follow up album was Building the Perfect Beast in 1984. "The Boys of Summer" hit #1 and won a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and a nomination for Record of the Year while the video won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video of the Year and was nominated for Best Concept Video, Best Male Video and Viewer's Choice. "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" reached #9. 




Casual listeners may think it's a party song about a girl dancing but they don't know Henley well. The song is another Henley commentary on the apathy that had become prevalent in America. When you listen to the song, you will hear one line talk about the girl and her happy-go-lucky life, while the next line mentions the serious things that are happening in the world, the girl apparently oblivious to all that is going on around her. "Sunset Grill" and "Not Enough Love in the World" were other hits for Henley on the album.




Henley's peak as a solo artist came with the release of The End of the Innocence in 1989. The title song was his collaboration with elite piano player Bruce Hornsby and was a continuation of Henley speaking out. The song told the story of American president Ronald Reagan, who seemed to coast by in popularity despite making decisions that were unpopular with the American public. Reagan was dubbed "The Teflon President" because problems and scandals (most notably the illegal guns for hostages Iran-Contra affair) seemed to bounce off of him. 




Henley noted that, as Reagan's two terms were coming to an end, the innocence was over.  The song was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards and Video of the Year, Viewer's Choice, Best Cinematography and Best Editing at the MTV Video Music Awards while the album earned another Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.



"New York Minute" was one of the great tracks on The End of the Innocence and yet another great song was "The Last Worthless Evening" about Henley's quest to find true love.  To prove that his lyrics could cut both ways, Henley wrote "How Bad Do You Want It?" about the escapades of Democratic presidential hopeful Gary Hart.  Usually, the Grammys will award Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for one song but in this case, he was noted for the entire album. 




Dissatisfied with Geffen Records, Henley wanted to be released from his contract to sign with EMI. Frustrated with that experience Henley became active arguing for musician's rights. He testified at a California Senate hearing on the state's contractual laws on September 5, 2001 and the following year, was elected the leader of the Recording Artist's Coalition, which he and Sheryl Crow had founded. The goal was to raise funds to challenge the major record labels on several issues that many musicians felt unfair.


Specifically, Henley and the group wanted to challenge copyright ownership, long-term control of intellectual property and unfair accounting practices that led to many artists popular in the 1960's still not being paid royalties for their songs. Henley also testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in 2003. The group was successful in the Napster case getting that company (and others by extension) to pay royalties to recording artists. 

While Henley was waiting for his dispute with Geffen to be settled, he recorded "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" for the movie Leap of Faith and his duet with Patty Smyth ("Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough") was a huge #1 hit in 1992.




Meanwhile, Henley and Frey began to patch up their differences and to their fans' delight, the Eagles reunited in 1994 with a highly successful reunion tour and album called Hell Freezes Over. The live album and DVD contain most of the Eagles' biggest hits as well as four new very popular tracks--"Get Over It", "Love Will Keep Us Alive", "The Girl from Yesterday" and "Learn to Be Still".




In 1995, Henley finally found that love he had been searching for. He married Sharon Summerall. Glenn Frey, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, John Fogerty, Jackson Browne, Sting and Sheryl Crow were among the performers at his wedding. The couple have three children, two girls and a boy. Henley also has a daughter from a previous relationship who was born in 1975.




In 2000, Henley released the album Inside Job, an album that largely reflected Henley finally finding a wife. The big hit from that album was "Taking You Home", for which Henley was nominated for a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocalist. He was also nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the song "Workin' It".  In 2006, Henley performed a duet with Kenny Rogers ("Calling Me") and joined country star Reba McEntire for "Break Each Other's Hearts Again". In January of this year, Henley began work on another solo album.




As one can tell from listening to his lyrics, he is passionate about politics and has devoted a good deal of time and money to political and environmental causes, such as the Walden Woods Project. Henley founded the organization to protect Walden Woods from development. In 1993, the album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles was released with portions of the proceeds going towards the project. In 2005, Elton John assisted Henley with a fundraising concert to purchase Brister's Hill, part of Walden Woods, and turn it into a hiking trail.




Henley co-founded the Caddo Lake Institute in 1993 to underwrite ecological education and research. One of the achievements of the Caddo Lake Institute is the protection of the Texas wetland where Henley grew up. With the progress made in restoring the area, Caddo Lake was included as the 13th site on the Ramsar Convention's list of significant wetlands in the United States.




The Eagles are still together touring to this day and just enjoyed one of the biggest albums of their career Long Road out of Eden. Several of the songs on that album portray Henley's distinct dislike of U.S. President George W. Bush, specifically the Iraq War. The album was a huge success. Since their 1994 reunion, one thing the Eagles allow themselves this time, however, is the freedom to do individual projects.




The Eagles have now gone over 120 million in sales, making them the #1 group in the United States and one of the top five groups of all-time. They have won six Grammy Awards, and enjoyed five #1 singles, 17 Top 40 hits and six #1 albums. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Don Henley



As a solo artist, Henley has 11 hits and has sold over 10 million albums. He also has two Grammys and five MTV Video Music Awards to his credit.

The #19 Album of All-Time in the Rock Era--"Come Away with Me" by Norah Jones


81 albums down, 19 to go...

#19 for All-Time in the Rock Era*--Come Away with Me from Norah Jones. In a time when music had fallen into a terrible period, Jones helped rescue it, at least temporarily. There hadn't been a talent like her in years, perhaps a decade or more. Jones incorporated elements of jazz, folk, soul and country into this smooth debut. And she hasn't slowed down since.

Come Away with Me finished the year 2002 as the #1 album on most "album of the year" lists. It spent four weeks at #1, one week at #2 and four weeks at #3. The album remained in the Top 10 for 36 weeks and on the chart for 153 weeks (nearly three years).  It has sold 10 million copies in an incredibly short time and has an outstanding Track Rating* of 9.11.
The album was one of the most-honored of the Rock Era.  Eight Grammy Awards were bestowed upon Come Away with Me--Album of the Year,  Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Don't Know Why", Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album--Non-Classical and Producer of the Year--Non-Classical, and a Best New Artist statue for Jones.  She won a BRIT Award for Best International Breakthrough Artist.



Jones was also nominated at the American Music Awards for Favorite Album.  She was nominated for Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year and Internet Artist of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards, for Best International Album and Best International Female Solo Artist at the BRIT Awards and "Don't Know Why" was nominated for a MTV Video Music Award.

This will only affect the album's placing in The Top Albums of the World* when Inside the Rock Era presents that list, but Come Away with Me was on the German chart for 141 weeks, one of the longest-running albums of all-time.  It was number one in Canada, Australia and the U.K.

What you won't find on this album are a boatload of smash hit singles.  What you will find is an album full of great songs.  "Don't Know Why", "Come Away with Me" and "Turn Me On" were the singles; the former was the biggest hit of the three, reaching #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #30 on the so-called "popular chart".  All are much better than radio would have you believe.  "Cold Cold Heart", "Lonestar", "I've Got to See You Again", "One Flight Down" and "Nightingale" are all excellent tracks.


Come Away with Me:
1.   "Don't Know Why" (Jesse Harris) --3:06
2.   "Seven Years" (Lee Alexander) --2:25
3.   "Cold Cold Heart" (Hank Williams) --3:38
4  . "Feelin' the Same Way" (Alexander) --2:55
5.   "Come Away with Me" (Norah Jones) --3:18
6.   "Shoot the Moon" (Harris) --3:57
7.   "Turn Me On" (John D. Loudermilk) --2:33
8.   "Lonestar" (Alexander) --3:05
9.   "I've Got to See You Again" (Harris) --4:13
10. "Painter Song" (Alexander, J.C. Hopkins) --2:41
11. "One Flight Down" (Harris) --3:03
12. "Nightingale" (Jones) --4:11
13. "The Long Day Is Over" (Jones, Harris) --2:44
14. "The Nearness of You" (Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington) --3:09
 
Jones played piano, electric piano and wurlitzer on the album. Lee Alexander played bass, Brian Blade was on drums and percussion, Joseph Quevedo played drums, Kenny Wollesen played percussion, Kevin Breit played acoustic, electric and National steel guitar, Jesse Harris and Adam Levy played both acoustic and electric guitar, Tony Scherr played acoustic and slide guitar, Bill Frisell played electric guitar, Adam Rogers played guitar, Rob Burger was on accordion and pump organ, Jenny Scheinman played violin and Sam Yahel played Hammond organ.

Come Away with Me was recorded in 2001 at Sorcerer Sound in New York City and Allaire Studios in Shokan, New York.  Norah Jones, Arif Mardin, Jay Newland and Craig Street produced the album; the engineers were S. Husky Hoskulds and Newland.  Mardin and Newland mixed the album while Ted Jensen and Mark Wilder mastered it.  Jessica Novod designed the album and was also the Art Director and Joanne Savio was the photographer.  It was released February 26, 2002 on Blue Note Records.
The incredible album from Norah Jones Come Away with Me places at #19 All-Time*.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Discography: ZZ Top

Two things that strike me about ZZ Top:  1)  They're a rock & roll band from Texas, a "haven" for country music and 2) They get so much sound on their music for being a trio.  One of the great groups from the mid-70's to the 80's, here is their complete Discography:













1971:  ZZ Top's First Album
1972:  Rio Grande Mud (#104)



1973:  Tres Hombres (#8)
1975:  Fandango!  (#10)
1977  Tejas (#17, #21 Sweden)
1979:  Deguello (#24)
1981:  El Loco (#17, #26 Sweden)



1983:  Eliminator (#9, #3 U.K., #13 Sweden)
1985:  Afterburner (#4, #2 U.K., #3 Sweden
1990:  Recycler (#6, #8 U.K., #2 Sweden)
1994:  Antenna (#14, #3 U.K., #3 Sweden)
1996:  Rhythmeen (#29, #32 U.K., #6 Sweden)
1999:  XXX (#100, #26 Sweden)
2003:  Mescalero (#57, #22 Sweden)



Live Albums:
2008:  Live from Texas
2009:  Double Down Live

Compilations:
1977:  Best of ZZ Top (#94)
1992:  Greatest Hits (#9, #5 U.K., #2 Sweden)
1994:  One Foot in the Blues (#25 Sweden)
2003:  Chrome, Smoke & BBQ
2004:  Rancho Texicano (#77)