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Features of ‘The Beatles: Rock Band’

GetListy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:17:01 +0000

Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison have announced the major features of The Beatles: Rock Band, to be released Sept. 9, 2009:

The Beatles: Rock Band story mode will take fans on an interactive, experiential journey through The Beatles career. Along the way, venues, set lists, clothing and instruments will replicate the band‘s rise to fame, represented in The Beatles’ touring period from 1963 to1966 and their studio days from 1966 to 1969.
The game begins during the band‘s earliest days at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. Gamers will then travel across the Atlantic to experience the band‘s unforgettable 1964 performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the sold-out concert at New York‘s Shea Stadium in 1965, and conclude at The Beatles‘ memorable concert at Budokan in Tokyo, Japan in 1966.
The Beatles‘ studio years will come to life in legendary Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios. Highlighting the studio years are inspired artistic visual expressions known as Dreamscapes, intended to transport players to imaginative environments that capture the essence of The Beatles‘ genre-busting musical and fashion transformations during their later years.
Three-part vocal harmonies will allow gamers to revel in the unparalleled vocal stylings of the Fab Four
Previously unreleased authentic voice recordings from John, Paul, George and Ringo chatting between takes during studio sessions recorded at Abbey Road more than four decades ago
45 songs will be available on-disc: Those announced so far include “I Saw Her Standing There,” “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “I Feel Fine,” “Taxman,” “Day Tripper,” “Back In The USSR,” “I Am The Walrus,” “Octopus’s Garden,” “Here Comes The Sun” and “Get Back.” Additional songs will be announced at a later date
The entire Abbey Road album will be available for future download purchase, as will additional music from The Beatles‘ catalogue
“All You Need Is Love” will be released exclusively on Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft as a downloadable song for The Beatles: Rock Band through Xbox LIVE on September 9, 2009 with all Apple Corps Ltd, MTV Games and Microsoft proceeds benefitting Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
The game follows The Beatles to 1969 where story mode culminates with their final performance on the rooftop of the Apple Corps Headquarters
The Beatles: Rock Band will offer a new set of hardware replicas representing the instruments made famous by John, Paul, George and Ringo. Featured in the set are the Rickenbacker 325 and Gretsch Duo Jet guitars—hailed as two of the celebrated, signature instruments played by John Lennon and George Harrison throughout their careers. Also included is a Höfner bass controller—a large-scale replica of the bass famously used by Sir Paul McCartney. Rounding out the set is a Ringo Starr inspired, Ludwig-branded Rock Band 2 drum set with a classic pearl finish and vintage replica Beatles kick drum head
The Beatles: Rock Band will be available simultaneously worldwide in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other territories for the Xbox®360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system from Sony, and the Wii™ home videogame console from Nintendo on September 9, 2009.
The game will be compatible with all Rock Band™ instrument controllers, as well as most Guitar Hero® and other third party music video game peripherals and microphone.
The Beatles: Rock Band marks the first time that Apple Corps, along with EMI Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Harrisongs Ltd and Startling Music Ltd has agreed to present The Beatles music in an interactive video game format.
The Beatles: Rock Band will be published by MTV Games and developed by Harmonix, the world‘s premier music video game company and creators of the best-selling Rock Band. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) will serve as distribution partner for the game. In addition, Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles innovative LOVE album project, is providing his expertise and serving as Music Producer for this groundbreaking Beatles project.

Source: TheBeatlesRockBand.com

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Billboard Hot 100 appearances

Bill Sullivan — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:40:34 +0000

In celebration of 50 years of charting popular music, Billboard went through all those old lists to determine which artists had racked up the most appearances on its Hot 100.

The all-time leader probably comes as no surprise, and he leads by a comfortable margin.

Who else made the cut?

Here’s the list:

1. Elvis Presley: 108

2. James Brown: 89

3. Aretha Franklin: 73

T3. Ray Charles: 73

5. The Beatles: 72

6. Elton John: 67

7. Stevie Wonder: 63

8. The Rolling Stones: 57

9. Marvin Gaye: 56

T9. Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons: 56

T9. Dionne Warwick: 56

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Billboard Most Weeks No. 1

Bill Sullivan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:35:28 +0000

The history of popular music is littered with one-hit wonders. Being able to deliver time and time again requires a different kind of gift.

Billboard has been keeping tabs on pop music charts for more than 50 years. Needless to say, the editors have seen ‘em come and seen ‘em go.

A few of those artists, however, have had more staying power than others. As part of its 50th birthday celebration, Billboard compiled a list of performers who have spent more time atop the charts than any others.

Here’s their ranking of those who have enjoyed the most collective weeks at No. 1:

1. Mariah Carey — 79

2. The Beatles — 59

3. Boyz II Men — 50

4. Usher — 43

5. Michael Jackson — 37

6. Elton John — 34

7. Janet Jackson — 33

T8. Beyonce — 32

T8. Madonna — 32

10. Whitney Houston — 31

To see more, and to find out which hits fueled these long runs at the top, visit Billboard.

Best cover songs

Michael Hurd — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:28:08 +0000

The passing of Isaac Hayes started us thinking about cover songs, the tunes made popular, or not, by someone other than the original artists.

In 1969, Hayes, known more for the theme from Shaft, made what would become a classic R&B cover of Glenn Campbell’s country ballad, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” Hayes’ remake came in at a little over 18 minutes. Incidentally, Hayes also wrote “Soul Man,” the Sam and Dave hit that was covered by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as the Blues Brothers.

Unfortunately, Hayes’ cover of the Campbell hit didn’t make the DigitalDreamDoor.com top ten, but here are the tunes that did. The complete list is at Digitaldreamdoor.com, a music and movies site based in Boca Raton, Fla.

– “All Along the Watchtower,” Jimi Hendrix (1968), original by Bob Dylan (1967)
– “Respect,” Aretha Franklin (1967), Otis Redding (1965)
– “Crossroads,” Cream (1968), Robert Johnson (1938)
– “With a Little Help From My Friends,” Joe Cocker (1969), the Beatles in 1967)
– “Mr. Tambourine Man,” The Byrds (1965), Bob Dylan (1964)
– “Hound Dog,” Elvis Presley (1956), Big Mama Thornton (1953)
– “You Shook Me,” Led Zeppelin (1969), Muddy Waters (1962)
– “Hallelujah,” Jeff Buckley (1994), Leonard Cohen (1985)
– “Hurt,” Johnny Cash (2003), Nine Inch Nails (1994)
– “Statesboro Blues,” Allman Brothers (1971), Blind Willie McTell (1928)

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Billboard Hot 100

Bill Sullivan — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:26:22 +0000

Which are the “hottest” songs of the past 50 years? That can be pretty subjective, of course, but Billboard attempted to bring a bit of reason to the process.

In August of 1958, Billboard launched its Hot 100. Rather than tracking songs by sales or plays on jukeboxes or on radio, the magazine began to measure popularity by incorporating both sales and radio play into the equation.

The 50th Anniversary Hot 100 Song and Artist charts are based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100, since the chart’s inception in August 1958 through the issue dated July 26, 2008. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least.

Who’s the hottest of the hot?

Here are the Top 10, in reverse order:

10. “Un-Break My Heart,” Tony Braxton (1996)
9. “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey (2005)
8. “Hey Jude,” The Beatles (1968)
7. “You Light Up My Life,” Debby Boone (1977)
6. “Physical,” Olivia Newton-John (1981)
5. “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” Los Del Rio (1996)
4. “How Do I Live,” LeAnn Rimes (1997)
3. “Mack the Knife,” Bobby Darin (1959)
2. “Smooth,” Santana Featuring Rob Thomas (1999)
1. “The Twist,” Chubby Checker (1960 and 1962)

Source: Billboard

Billboard all-time hot 100 top songs

Tom Kessler — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:30:14 +0000

From Billboard

To celebrate 50 years of its Hot 100 song list, Billboard magazine has put together a massive package of all kinds of Hot 100-based charts as well as a special All-Time Hot 100 chart and the commemorative Hot 100 Anniversary issue of Billboard Magazine. The definitive list of the Hot 100’s top 100 songs from the chart’s first 50 years includes video performances and the history of each song. Here are the top 10 all-time Hot 100 songs:

1. “The Twist” — Chubby Checker

2. “Smooth” — Santana, featuring Rob Thomas

3. “Mack the Knife” — Bobby Darin

4. “How Do I Live” — LeAnn Rimes

5. “Macarena” (Bayside Boys Mix) — Los Del Rio

6. “Physical” — Olivia Newton-John

7. “You Light Up My Life” — Debby Boone

8. “Hey Jude” — The Beatles

9. “We Belong Together” — Mariah Carey

10. “Un-Break My Heart” — Toni Braxton

For more on the Hot 100, go to Billboard.

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Billboard No. 1s By Artist

Bill Sullivan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:30:37 +0000

Billboard’s Top 100 is turning 50 (years old, that is), and to celebrate, the magazine is publishing a series of lists of Hot 100 record holders in a variety of categories. The promotion is scheduled to wrap up the week of Sept. 8 with — you guessed it — the Top 100 songs of all time.

To kick things off, Billboard lists most No. 1 singles by artist. That august group includes:

1. The Beatles — 20

2. Mariah Carey — 18

3. Michael Jackson — 13

T4. Madonna — 12

T4. The Supremes — 12

To see the rest, visit Billboard.

Courting Lyrical Opinions

Cyndi Hughes — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:59:00 +0000

he New York Times gives us the “Most Cited Rockers in Judicial Opinions,” assembled by Alex B. Long. The list comes from an article Long wrote on the use of popular music in legal writing, published in 2007 in The Washington & Lee Law Review.

Bob Dylan (26)
Paul Simon/Simon & Garfunkel (12)
Bruce Springsteen (5)
The Rolling Stones (4)
The Beatles (3)
The Grateful Dead (2)
Joni Mitchell (1)

According to the Times, “Professor Long freely notes that his casual methodology, which involved typing names of artists into the LexisNexis database and searching federal and state cases, might have missed some artists and citations.”

Long’s entire article — complete with oft-cited lyrics — is here.