Exclusive: Veteran entertainment lawyer and business strategist Jason Beekman has exited his role as VP and Head of Business & Legal Strategy at RadicalMedia to join director and former Imagine Documentaries showrunner Ryan Miller in co-founding new production company, Wise Child Studios.
Intended to marry the robust legal and business acumen of a larger studio with the distinguished creative vision and filmmaker-centric attention of a boutique shop, Wise Child will work with the industry’s best, from award winners to emerging talent, in the telling of thought-provoking and character-driven stories. The company is developing most of its projects from the ground up and will also handle post-production and sales for its titles.
Having already built a robust slate across scripted and non-fiction series, features, and podcasts, Wise Child’s projects in development include an investigative series with AMC; the feature doc Up the River about a 1972 concert at Sing Sing Prison,...
Intended to marry the robust legal and business acumen of a larger studio with the distinguished creative vision and filmmaker-centric attention of a boutique shop, Wise Child will work with the industry’s best, from award winners to emerging talent, in the telling of thought-provoking and character-driven stories. The company is developing most of its projects from the ground up and will also handle post-production and sales for its titles.
Having already built a robust slate across scripted and non-fiction series, features, and podcasts, Wise Child’s projects in development include an investigative series with AMC; the feature doc Up the River about a 1972 concert at Sing Sing Prison,...
- 11/15/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Willie Nelson is now officially a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Just don’t ask him what he has to do with rock & roll. “It’s been a long ride from my first DJ job to being here with y’all,” he said during his acceptance speech. “And as a DJ, I was playing those first songs by Elvis. I remember writers calling that ‘rockabilly’ rather than rock & roll, and I never did pay much attention to categories, and I’m not sure the fans did either.
- 11/4/2023
- by Joseph Hudak and Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Willie Nelson has now been selected for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023. But it not the first time that someone is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville and the rock institution in Cleveland. In fact, he is the 16th inductee into both halls. Nelson was voted into the country music museum back in 1993.
The list of 15 people so far only includes two women — Brenda Lee and Dolly Parton. The king of rock and roll — Elvis Presley — is among the group, along with solo singers Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Monroe, Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. Instrumentalists are Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and Johnny Gimble. Sun Records founder Sam Phillips is included along with two groups — the Everly Brothers and Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.
Tour our photo gallery to find out more about each person and when they were...
The list of 15 people so far only includes two women — Brenda Lee and Dolly Parton. The king of rock and roll — Elvis Presley — is among the group, along with solo singers Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Monroe, Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. Instrumentalists are Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and Johnny Gimble. Sun Records founder Sam Phillips is included along with two groups — the Everly Brothers and Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.
Tour our photo gallery to find out more about each person and when they were...
- 5/5/2023
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
When Marty Stuart was growing up in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the Ellis Theater downtown could practically qualify as his second home. He watched the 1969 film Johnny Cash! The Man, His World, His Music in the old movie house, and lived to tell the Man in Black about it after joining his band in 1980.
But today, with decades of success in Nashville to his credit — first as a sideman to bluegrass legend Lester Flatt, then Cash, and finally as a bandleader in his own right — Stuart has reclaimed the 500-seat venue in...
But today, with decades of success in Nashville to his credit — first as a sideman to bluegrass legend Lester Flatt, then Cash, and finally as a bandleader in his own right — Stuart has reclaimed the 500-seat venue in...
- 5/1/2023
- by Jim Beaugez
- Rollingstone.com
Willie Nelson is a front-runner to be selected for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023. If that happens, it will not be the first time that someone is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville and the rock institution in Cleveland. In fact, he would be the 16th inductee into both halls. Nelson was voted into the country music museum back in 1993.
SEERock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023 nominees include Missy Elliott, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Willie Nelson, A Tribe Called Quest
The list of 15 people so far only includes two women — Brenda Lee and Dolly Parton. The king of rock and roll — Elvis Presley — is among the group, along with solo singers Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Monroe, Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. Instrumentalists are Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and Johnny Gimble. Sun Records founder Sam Phillips is included along with...
SEERock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023 nominees include Missy Elliott, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Willie Nelson, A Tribe Called Quest
The list of 15 people so far only includes two women — Brenda Lee and Dolly Parton. The king of rock and roll — Elvis Presley — is among the group, along with solo singers Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Monroe, Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. Instrumentalists are Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and Johnny Gimble. Sun Records founder Sam Phillips is included along with...
- 4/25/2023
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Bob Dylan has been performing for decades, and he once switched up his style to emulate another musician. He has likely perfected his onstage demeanor after years of touring virtually ceaselessly. Still, he greatly admired the other musician. Dylan found the other artist impressive onstage, but he said that the performing style did not go over well for him.
Bob Dylan | Val Wilmer/Redferns Bob Dylan said there were a number of musicians he admired
Dylan said that he gets strong emotional reactions while listening to music.
“A great song is the sum of all things,” he told The Wall Street Journal (via his official website). “It could be the turning point in your life. Louis Armstrong does it like a scat singer, Jimmie Rodgers can yodel it. It’s timeless and ageless. It’s a field holler, it’s blood and thunder, it’s on easy street and in...
Bob Dylan | Val Wilmer/Redferns Bob Dylan said there were a number of musicians he admired
Dylan said that he gets strong emotional reactions while listening to music.
“A great song is the sum of all things,” he told The Wall Street Journal (via his official website). “It could be the turning point in your life. Louis Armstrong does it like a scat singer, Jimmie Rodgers can yodel it. It’s timeless and ageless. It’s a field holler, it’s blood and thunder, it’s on easy street and in...
- 4/5/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The Country Music Hall of Fame has announced its inductees for 2023, with two of the genre’s most successful artists, Tanya Tucker and Patty Loveless, marking the first time since 2011 that two solo women have been inducted in one year. Songwriter Bob McDill rounds out this year’s inductees.
Tanya Tucker, who joins as the Veteran Era inductee, had already scored her first major hits when she appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone at age 15. Her long-awaited inclusion as a Hall of Fame member finds her basking in the...
Tanya Tucker, who joins as the Veteran Era inductee, had already scored her first major hits when she appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone at age 15. Her long-awaited inclusion as a Hall of Fame member finds her basking in the...
- 4/3/2023
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
George Harrison liked “highbrow” music, but that doesn’t mean he was more musical than his fellow Beatles. The guitarist admitted many times that he should’ve practiced more.
John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney of The Beatles | Keystone Features/Getty Images George said he liked ‘highbrow’ music but wasn’t sure if he was more musical than the other Beatles
The guitarist interviewed himself in a November 1964 issue of The Beatles Book Monthly (per Beatles Interviews). George asked the questions he thought reporters missed, including if he thought he was the most musical out of The Beatles.
George replied that it depends. He explained that some people have said he is only because he admitted to liking Segovia’s guitar playing, “and they think that’s all very highbrow and musical.”
George believed he loved his guitar more than the others loved theirs. For John Lennon and Paul McCartney,...
John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney of The Beatles | Keystone Features/Getty Images George said he liked ‘highbrow’ music but wasn’t sure if he was more musical than the other Beatles
The guitarist interviewed himself in a November 1964 issue of The Beatles Book Monthly (per Beatles Interviews). George asked the questions he thought reporters missed, including if he thought he was the most musical out of The Beatles.
George replied that it depends. He explained that some people have said he is only because he admitted to liking Segovia’s guitar playing, “and they think that’s all very highbrow and musical.”
George believed he loved his guitar more than the others loved theirs. For John Lennon and Paul McCartney,...
- 2/9/2023
- by Hannah Wigandt
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion will return to the Tennessee-Virginia border Sept. 8-10, bringing a wide-ranging group of performers to the birthplace of country music for its 22nd year.
Margo Price and Nickel Creek top the three-day lineup set to perform along State Street in downtown Bristol, and both will have relatively new albums to showcase for fans. Other artists on the bill include some well-established roots favorites like Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, Watchhouse (f.k.a. Mandolin Orange), Larkin Poe, and the Mavericks. But there are also plenty of relative newcomers including 49 Winchester,...
Margo Price and Nickel Creek top the three-day lineup set to perform along State Street in downtown Bristol, and both will have relatively new albums to showcase for fans. Other artists on the bill include some well-established roots favorites like Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, Watchhouse (f.k.a. Mandolin Orange), Larkin Poe, and the Mavericks. But there are also plenty of relative newcomers including 49 Winchester,...
- 1/26/2023
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
Click here to read the full article.
Jerry Lee Lewis, the flamboyant rock ‘n’ roll founding father, swaggering country shouter and 2005 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, died Friday. He was 87.
Lewis died of natural causes at his home in DeSoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis, his publicist, Zach Farnum of 117 Group, told The Hollywood Reporter. TMZ prematurely reported his death earlier this week.
Nicknamed “The Killer,” Lewis was an electric performer who was still performing into his late 80s. Known for such rock standards as “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin On,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Baby Baby Bye Bye,” “Breathless” and “High School Confidential,” he accumulated 10 gold records during his career, with his biggest, the 2006 all-star duets release Last Man Standing, selling more than a half-million units worldwide.
As a piano player — and unabashed rock star — Lewis blended rockabilly, gospel, blues and country as he feverishly pounded the higher keys with his right hand.
Jerry Lee Lewis, the flamboyant rock ‘n’ roll founding father, swaggering country shouter and 2005 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, died Friday. He was 87.
Lewis died of natural causes at his home in DeSoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis, his publicist, Zach Farnum of 117 Group, told The Hollywood Reporter. TMZ prematurely reported his death earlier this week.
Nicknamed “The Killer,” Lewis was an electric performer who was still performing into his late 80s. Known for such rock standards as “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin On,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Baby Baby Bye Bye,” “Breathless” and “High School Confidential,” he accumulated 10 gold records during his career, with his biggest, the 2006 all-star duets release Last Man Standing, selling more than a half-million units worldwide.
As a piano player — and unabashed rock star — Lewis blended rockabilly, gospel, blues and country as he feverishly pounded the higher keys with his right hand.
- 10/28/2022
- by Jennifer Frederick
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Far removed from music-industry cities like Los Angeles and Nashville, the seeds of American music were sown in Mississippi soil, where the pioneers of blues, country, and rock ‘n’ roll followed dusty roads through forests and flatlands to perform for locals.
Today, visitors from across the U.S. and abroad follow the Mississippi Blues Trail and Country Music Trail into the same communities to learn about the land that birthed Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, and Jimmie Rodgers and experience the roots of contemporary American music culture.
Before you...
Today, visitors from across the U.S. and abroad follow the Mississippi Blues Trail and Country Music Trail into the same communities to learn about the land that birthed Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, and Jimmie Rodgers and experience the roots of contemporary American music culture.
Before you...
- 8/1/2022
- by Jim Beaugez
- Rollingstone.com
After the premiere of “Elvis” at Cannes this week, writer-director Luhrmann compared Elvis Presley to rapper Eminem and their respective musical influences from growing up in Black communities. Presley was raised by his mother in Memphis, Tennessee, and Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, is from Detroit, Michigan.
“The most important thing in this film is to show that a young kid, just like Eminem, grew up in a Black community, their personalities are formed by what they absorb,” Luhrmann said during the Cannes Film Festival press conference. “So the music that came out of Elvis was music that he absorbed and from his friendships with emerging Black musicians who weren’t famous like B.B. King.”
Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays King in the film, led by Austin Butler as Presley and Tom Hanks portraying manager Colonel Tom Parker. Olivia DeJonge plays Priscilla Presley, Kodi Smit-McPhee is country legend Jimmie Rodgers,...
“The most important thing in this film is to show that a young kid, just like Eminem, grew up in a Black community, their personalities are formed by what they absorb,” Luhrmann said during the Cannes Film Festival press conference. “So the music that came out of Elvis was music that he absorbed and from his friendships with emerging Black musicians who weren’t famous like B.B. King.”
Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays King in the film, led by Austin Butler as Presley and Tom Hanks portraying manager Colonel Tom Parker. Olivia DeJonge plays Priscilla Presley, Kodi Smit-McPhee is country legend Jimmie Rodgers,...
- 5/26/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The full artist lineup for the “Elvis” soundtrack has been revealed — although still not the actual tracks they’re performing — and among those takin’ care of business on the album are Eminem, Tame Impala, Stevie Nicks, Jack White and Jazmine Sullivan.
A handful of the artists named were already known, including Kacey Musgraves, who said on the Met Gala red carpet that she’ll be doing “Can’t Help Falling in Love” for the film; Maneskin, whose version of “If I Can Dream” was used in a recent teaser trailer; and Doja Cat, whose “Vegas” was already released as the album’s first single.
But that still left room for plenty of surprises in Monday’s announcement. Along with the aforementioned, the lineup includes CeeLo Green, who is listed as a collaborator with Eminem on their mystery track; the combination of Swae Lee and Diplo; and Chris Isaak and Pnau,...
A handful of the artists named were already known, including Kacey Musgraves, who said on the Met Gala red carpet that she’ll be doing “Can’t Help Falling in Love” for the film; Maneskin, whose version of “If I Can Dream” was used in a recent teaser trailer; and Doja Cat, whose “Vegas” was already released as the album’s first single.
But that still left room for plenty of surprises in Monday’s announcement. Along with the aforementioned, the lineup includes CeeLo Green, who is listed as a collaborator with Eminem on their mystery track; the combination of Swae Lee and Diplo; and Chris Isaak and Pnau,...
- 5/23/2022
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
The Presley family legacy was at the forefront of Riley Keough’s mind thanks to the Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.”
The “War Pony” director and granddaughter of Elvis Presley revealed that watching the musical biopic was an “emotional experience” during an interview at Cannes, where the movie is set to premiere out of competition.
“It’s very intense to watch when it’s your family,” Keough said during a Variety interview at Cannes. “The first movie I ever watched in the theater and said I wanted to make movies was [Baz Luhrmann’s] ‘Moulin Rouge,’ I was 12. It was a real honor to know Baz was doing this movie…It wasn’t like I distrusted Baz in any way, but you’re protective over your family.”
Austin Butler stars as the titular King of Rock ‘n Roll, with Olivia DeJonge playing Priscilla. Tom Hanks frames the film as manager Colonel Tom Parker. Recent...
The “War Pony” director and granddaughter of Elvis Presley revealed that watching the musical biopic was an “emotional experience” during an interview at Cannes, where the movie is set to premiere out of competition.
“It’s very intense to watch when it’s your family,” Keough said during a Variety interview at Cannes. “The first movie I ever watched in the theater and said I wanted to make movies was [Baz Luhrmann’s] ‘Moulin Rouge,’ I was 12. It was a real honor to know Baz was doing this movie…It wasn’t like I distrusted Baz in any way, but you’re protective over your family.”
Austin Butler stars as the titular King of Rock ‘n Roll, with Olivia DeJonge playing Priscilla. Tom Hanks frames the film as manager Colonel Tom Parker. Recent...
- 5/23/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Will “Elvis” be the “The King” of musical biopics?
The late Elvis Presley’s real-life daughter Lisa Marie Presley praised Baz Luhrmann’s “absolutely exquisite” ode to the King of Rock ‘n Roll in the Cannes-bound film starring Austin Butler as the singer.
Olivia DeJonge plays Lisa Marie’s mother Priscilla, while Tom Hanks frames the film as manager Colonel Tom Parker. Recent Oscar nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee plays country legend Jimmie Rodgers, Yola Quartey is Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. transforms into B.B. King.
“Let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular,” Lisa Marie Presley tweeted after watching the film, in theaters June 24. “Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully. In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and finally done accurately and respectfully.”
Presley added, “If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot,...
The late Elvis Presley’s real-life daughter Lisa Marie Presley praised Baz Luhrmann’s “absolutely exquisite” ode to the King of Rock ‘n Roll in the Cannes-bound film starring Austin Butler as the singer.
Olivia DeJonge plays Lisa Marie’s mother Priscilla, while Tom Hanks frames the film as manager Colonel Tom Parker. Recent Oscar nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee plays country legend Jimmie Rodgers, Yola Quartey is Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. transforms into B.B. King.
“Let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular,” Lisa Marie Presley tweeted after watching the film, in theaters June 24. “Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully. In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and finally done accurately and respectfully.”
Presley added, “If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot,...
- 5/16/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Lisa Marie Presley is throwing Austin Butler into the Oscar conversation ahead of Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” world premiering at the Cannes Film Festival later this month. Butler stars as the King of Rock and Roll in the film, which also features Tom Hanks as Elvis’ infamous manager Colonel Tom Parker. Lisa Marie, the daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, saw Luhrmann’s movie twice and took to social media to rave about what she saw.
“Let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular,” Lisa Marie said. “Absolutely exquisite. Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully. In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and finally done accurately and respectfully.”
“You can feel and witness Baz’s pure love, care, and respect for my father throughout this beautiful film, and it is finally something that myself and my children and their children can be proud of forever,...
“Let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular,” Lisa Marie said. “Absolutely exquisite. Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully. In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and finally done accurately and respectfully.”
“You can feel and witness Baz’s pure love, care, and respect for my father throughout this beautiful film, and it is finally something that myself and my children and their children can be proud of forever,...
- 5/16/2022
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Summer blockbuster “Elvis” is not a biopic, but rather a superhero film — or, a Shakespearian epic of good vs. evil, rebellion, and the uncertainty of fame, according to director Baz Luhrmann.
“Elvis” stars triple-threat Disney alum Austin Butler in the role of rock ‘n roll icon Elvis Presley, along with Olivia DeJonge playing Priscilla, Kodi Smit-McPhee as country legend Jimmie Rodgers, Yola Quartey as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. playing B.B. King. The film will be released in theaters on June 24 after premiering at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
And while Presley is an icon, Luhrmann wants to set the record straight that the film “isn’t a nostalgia piece” but, rather, an ode to the King.
“While respecting and loving the fans, I’m opening Elvis’ journey out to a new audience that knows only the guy in the jumpsuit and doesn’t understand that he was a rebel,...
“Elvis” stars triple-threat Disney alum Austin Butler in the role of rock ‘n roll icon Elvis Presley, along with Olivia DeJonge playing Priscilla, Kodi Smit-McPhee as country legend Jimmie Rodgers, Yola Quartey as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. playing B.B. King. The film will be released in theaters on June 24 after premiering at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
And while Presley is an icon, Luhrmann wants to set the record straight that the film “isn’t a nostalgia piece” but, rather, an ode to the King.
“While respecting and loving the fans, I’m opening Elvis’ journey out to a new audience that knows only the guy in the jumpsuit and doesn’t understand that he was a rebel,...
- 5/13/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Elvis Presley’s ex-wife Priscilla Presley gave a stellar review of the new film “Elvis,” praising actor Austin Butler in his lead role as the King of Rock and Roll.
After a private screening, Presley applauded the storytelling and creativity of director Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming film, “Elvis.” The Warner Bros. film stars Butler in the title role, with Tom Hanks as Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker and Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley.
“This story is about Elvis and Colonel Parker’s relationship,” Presley wrote on Twitter. “Austin Butler, who player Elvis is outstanding. … Bravo to him… he knew he had big shoes to fill. He was extremely nervous playing this part.”
Presley also praised Hanks in his role of Parker, especially for portraying the “two sides” of him: “What a character he was,” she continued.
pic.twitter.com/cjiec1Md0i
— Priscilla Presley (@Cilla_Presley) April 29, 2022
Titled “Elvis,...
After a private screening, Presley applauded the storytelling and creativity of director Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming film, “Elvis.” The Warner Bros. film stars Butler in the title role, with Tom Hanks as Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker and Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley.
“This story is about Elvis and Colonel Parker’s relationship,” Presley wrote on Twitter. “Austin Butler, who player Elvis is outstanding. … Bravo to him… he knew he had big shoes to fill. He was extremely nervous playing this part.”
Presley also praised Hanks in his role of Parker, especially for portraying the “two sides” of him: “What a character he was,” she continued.
pic.twitter.com/cjiec1Md0i
— Priscilla Presley (@Cilla_Presley) April 29, 2022
Titled “Elvis,...
- 5/1/2022
- by Antoinette Siu
- The Wrap
First the 1920s and now the 1950s, Baz Luhrmann is holding a microscope up to 20th century Americana.
The Australian filmmaker shared a sneak peek at upcoming Elvis Presley biopic “Elvis” during the Warner Bros. Discovery CinemaCon panel in Las Vegas on April 26, ahead of the film’s upcoming premiere at 2022 Cannes.
“This is not really a biopic,” Luhrmann said on stage. “It’s really for me about America in the 50s and 60s and 70s. If you want to talk about America in the 50s and 60s and 70s, at the center of culture, for the good the bad and the ugly, was Elvis.”
Luhrmann continued, “Shakespeare would explore culture through kings.”
So, why not focus on “The King” himself, Presley?
“If it feels a bit like a superhero film, it is,” Luhrmann added. “Because actually Elvis is like the original superhero.”
According to writer-director Luhrmann, “Elvis” is told...
The Australian filmmaker shared a sneak peek at upcoming Elvis Presley biopic “Elvis” during the Warner Bros. Discovery CinemaCon panel in Las Vegas on April 26, ahead of the film’s upcoming premiere at 2022 Cannes.
“This is not really a biopic,” Luhrmann said on stage. “It’s really for me about America in the 50s and 60s and 70s. If you want to talk about America in the 50s and 60s and 70s, at the center of culture, for the good the bad and the ugly, was Elvis.”
Luhrmann continued, “Shakespeare would explore culture through kings.”
So, why not focus on “The King” himself, Presley?
“If it feels a bit like a superhero film, it is,” Luhrmann added. “Because actually Elvis is like the original superhero.”
According to writer-director Luhrmann, “Elvis” is told...
- 4/27/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.
The biopic starring Austin Butler in the title role will open domestically on June 24.
Luhrmann hasn’t made a film since 2013’s lavish “The Great Gatsby,” which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan, and grossed over $350 million worldwide. While not exactly prolific, Luhrmann’s work is certainly distinct, and fans are curious to see the “Moulin Rouge!” director’s take on this American music icon.
Luhrmann co-wrote the screenplay for “Elvis” with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner. The ensemble cast includes Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley, Yola Quartey as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Luke Bracey as Jerry Schilling, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as B.B. King, Dacre Montgomery as Steve Binder and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Jimmie Rodgers.
Production on the film began in Australia in January 2020, but was shut down in...
The biopic starring Austin Butler in the title role will open domestically on June 24.
Luhrmann hasn’t made a film since 2013’s lavish “The Great Gatsby,” which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan, and grossed over $350 million worldwide. While not exactly prolific, Luhrmann’s work is certainly distinct, and fans are curious to see the “Moulin Rouge!” director’s take on this American music icon.
Luhrmann co-wrote the screenplay for “Elvis” with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner. The ensemble cast includes Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley, Yola Quartey as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Luke Bracey as Jerry Schilling, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as B.B. King, Dacre Montgomery as Steve Binder and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Jimmie Rodgers.
Production on the film began in Australia in January 2020, but was shut down in...
- 3/15/2022
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Elvis has entered the building. The first trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming biopic starring Austin Butler (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was released Thursday, and the resemblance is uncanny. The trailer also confirmed that the previously untitled Warner Bros. film will be called “Elvis.”
The film explores two decades in the life of superstar Elvis Presley before his early death in 1977 at the age of 42, focusing on his complex relationship with manager Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). The film follows his rise to fame from poverty and features an all-star cast including Olivia DeJonge (“The Visit”) as Elvis’ wife Priscilla, singer-songwriter Yola as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) as Jimmie Rodgers, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) as B.B. King, Luke Bracey (“Little Fires Everywhere”) as Jerry Schilling and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Presley’s mother,...
The film explores two decades in the life of superstar Elvis Presley before his early death in 1977 at the age of 42, focusing on his complex relationship with manager Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). The film follows his rise to fame from poverty and features an all-star cast including Olivia DeJonge (“The Visit”) as Elvis’ wife Priscilla, singer-songwriter Yola as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) as Jimmie Rodgers, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) as B.B. King, Luke Bracey (“Little Fires Everywhere”) as Jerry Schilling and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Presley’s mother,...
- 2/17/2022
- by Sasha Urban
- Variety Film + TV
Fans of music biopics have a lot to look forward to right now. Timothée Chalamet is playing Bob Dylan in “Going Electric,” from “Walk the Line” director James Mangold. Bradley Cooper is directing and starring in “Maestro,” his take on Leonard Bernstein. And “King Richard” director Reinaldo Marcus Green is set to helm a Bob Marley biopic starring Kingsley Ben-Adir. But one of the most anticipated music films is “Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming film about the legendary Elvis Presley.
The idea of the flashy Australian director with a penchant for films about music taking on the showmanship-loving singer seemed like a match made in heaven for many film fans when the project was first announced in 2014. The role of Elvis Presley — which has been played in other projects by everyone from Michael Shannon to Jonathan Rhys-Meyers — was extremely coveted, with the likes of Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, and Harry Styles vying for the part.
The idea of the flashy Australian director with a penchant for films about music taking on the showmanship-loving singer seemed like a match made in heaven for many film fans when the project was first announced in 2014. The role of Elvis Presley — which has been played in other projects by everyone from Michael Shannon to Jonathan Rhys-Meyers — was extremely coveted, with the likes of Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, and Harry Styles vying for the part.
- 2/17/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
The Bob Dylan Center teased its newly acquired trove of early Dylan recordings with a previously unreleased live rendition of “He Was a Friend of Mine.”
The performance comes from Dylan’s first major solo gig, Nov. 4, 1961 at Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York City. The gig was organized by Izzy Young, owner of the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village, and it took place not long after Dylan inked his record deal with Columbia.
The rendition of “He Was a Friend of Mine” Dylan performed at that Carnegie Chapter Hall...
The performance comes from Dylan’s first major solo gig, Nov. 4, 1961 at Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York City. The gig was organized by Izzy Young, owner of the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village, and it took place not long after Dylan inked his record deal with Columbia.
The rendition of “He Was a Friend of Mine” Dylan performed at that Carnegie Chapter Hall...
- 11/16/2021
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Benedict Cumberbatch and Kodi Smit-McPhee are ready to have the hard conversations about “The Power of the Dog.”
Jane Campion’s evocative Western, which premiered to great acclaim in Venice and launched its cast into the Oscar race, brings a radical new perspective to its late-1920s backdrop. The adaptation of Thomas Savage’s novel finds Cumberbatch playing ruthless Montana cattle rancher Phil, who projects a crude, macho presence even as he develops unexpected chemistry with Peter (Smit-McPhee), the son of a widow (Kirsten Dunst) who moves onto the ranch after she marries Cumberbatch’s brother (Jesse Plemons).
“I feel very sensitive about representation, diversity, and inclusion,” Cumberbatch said in an interview out of the Telluride Film Festival, where he arrived from Venice. “One of the appeals of the job was the idea that in this world, with this specific character, there was a lot that was private, hidden from view.
Jane Campion’s evocative Western, which premiered to great acclaim in Venice and launched its cast into the Oscar race, brings a radical new perspective to its late-1920s backdrop. The adaptation of Thomas Savage’s novel finds Cumberbatch playing ruthless Montana cattle rancher Phil, who projects a crude, macho presence even as he develops unexpected chemistry with Peter (Smit-McPhee), the son of a widow (Kirsten Dunst) who moves onto the ranch after she marries Cumberbatch’s brother (Jesse Plemons).
“I feel very sensitive about representation, diversity, and inclusion,” Cumberbatch said in an interview out of the Telluride Film Festival, where he arrived from Venice. “One of the appeals of the job was the idea that in this world, with this specific character, there was a lot that was private, hidden from view.
- 9/5/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Arguably no other state has contributed as much to American music and culture as Mississippi. Situated smack in the middle of the Americana music triangle, whose anchor points are Memphis, Nashville, and New Orleans, Mississippi is the cradle of blues, country and rock & roll music.
It’s easy to overlook mostly rural Mississippi when metropolises like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York have long been home to celebrated music hotbeds that have produced incredible artists. But Mississippi is where the beat was born. Before there could be Chicago blues, there was Delta blues.
It’s easy to overlook mostly rural Mississippi when metropolises like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York have long been home to celebrated music hotbeds that have produced incredible artists. But Mississippi is where the beat was born. Before there could be Chicago blues, there was Delta blues.
- 8/31/2021
- by Jim Beaugez
- Rollingstone.com
Don Everly, who with his brother, Phil, was part of the Everly Brothers, a huge chart success in the late 1950s and early 1960s that grew into Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, died on Saturday at his home in Nashville. He was 84.
A family spokesman confirmed the death to The Los Angeles Times. No cause was given.
The duo were one of the first pop-rock acts to emerge from Nashville, and became instant hitmakers on the strength of the soaring harmonies in such songs as “Wake Up Little Susie” and “Cathy’s Clown.” They became a major influence on everything to follow, from the British Invasion through the Southern California county-rock scene.
Their harmonies on such hits as “Bye Bye Love” and “All I Have To Do Is Dream” are timeless and unforgettable. Don Everly usually sang lead, with his brother handling the higher harmony.
“It’s almost like...
A family spokesman confirmed the death to The Los Angeles Times. No cause was given.
The duo were one of the first pop-rock acts to emerge from Nashville, and became instant hitmakers on the strength of the soaring harmonies in such songs as “Wake Up Little Susie” and “Cathy’s Clown.” They became a major influence on everything to follow, from the British Invasion through the Southern California county-rock scene.
Their harmonies on such hits as “Bye Bye Love” and “All I Have To Do Is Dream” are timeless and unforgettable. Don Everly usually sang lead, with his brother handling the higher harmony.
“It’s almost like...
- 8/22/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
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Country music is just “three chords and the truth,” according to songwriter Harlan Howard. While music has become more complex in the decades since his claim, today’s hits still provide a snapshot of real life. Perhaps that’s why country music has remained popular for...
We may receive payment from affiliate links included within this content. Our affiliate partners do not influence our editorial opinions or analysis.
Country music is just “three chords and the truth,” according to songwriter Harlan Howard. While music has become more complex in the decades since his claim, today’s hits still provide a snapshot of real life. Perhaps that’s why country music has remained popular for...
- 5/20/2021
- by Becky Pokora
- Rollingstone.com
Before “country music outlaw” became just another outfit for would-be badasses to try on, Johnny Cash made it a job description. But among the seven arrests he accrued during his most tumultuous years, from the late 1950s to 1967, none was quite like the time he was arrested in Starkville, Mississippi while picking flowers on May 11th, 1965.
The way the Man in Black told the story of his mishap in the song “Starkville City Jail,” from his 1969 live album Johnny Cash at San Quentin, he was innocently picking dandelions and daisies...
The way the Man in Black told the story of his mishap in the song “Starkville City Jail,” from his 1969 live album Johnny Cash at San Quentin, he was innocently picking dandelions and daisies...
- 5/14/2021
- by Jim Beaugez
- Rollingstone.com
Jimmie Rodgers, singer of the 1957 hits “Honeycomb” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” whose career in music and movies was disrupted by a severe head injury a decade later, has died at age 87.
Rodgers died from kidney disease on Jan. 18 in Palm Desert, California, and had also tested positive for Covid-19, publicist Alan Eichler said Saturday, citing family.
Rodgers performed for $10 a night around Nashville while stationed there with the U.S. Air Force after the Korean War. He appeared on a talent show and got an audition with Roulette Records, which signed him after ...
Rodgers died from kidney disease on Jan. 18 in Palm Desert, California, and had also tested positive for Covid-19, publicist Alan Eichler said Saturday, citing family.
Rodgers performed for $10 a night around Nashville while stationed there with the U.S. Air Force after the Korean War. He appeared on a talent show and got an audition with Roulette Records, which signed him after ...
- 1/24/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Jimmie Rodgers, singer of the 1957 hits “Honeycomb” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” whose career in music and movies was disrupted by a severe head injury a decade later, has died at age 87.
Rodgers died from kidney disease on Jan. 18 in Palm Desert, California, and had also tested positive for Covid-19, publicist Alan Eichler said Saturday, citing family.
Rodgers performed for $10 a night around Nashville while stationed there with the U.S. Air Force after the Korean War. He appeared on a talent show and got an audition with Roulette Records, which signed him after ...
Rodgers died from kidney disease on Jan. 18 in Palm Desert, California, and had also tested positive for Covid-19, publicist Alan Eichler said Saturday, citing family.
Rodgers performed for $10 a night around Nashville while stationed there with the U.S. Air Force after the Korean War. He appeared on a talent show and got an audition with Roulette Records, which signed him after ...
- 1/24/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sturgill Simpson has surprise-released a second bluegrass album. Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 2 – The Cowboy Arms Sessions arrived early Friday morning with 12 new recordings, including the previously unheard “Hobo Cartoon” — a song written by Simpson and Merle Haggard.
“I wish I was riding a steam train right out of the pages of time,” Simpson sings in the nostalgic tune, which namechecks “The Singing Brakeman” Jimmie Rodgers and Bing Crosby and celebrates the “heyday of the railroad.” “This is a song how the way things used to be/in the script of a hobo cartoon,...
“I wish I was riding a steam train right out of the pages of time,” Simpson sings in the nostalgic tune, which namechecks “The Singing Brakeman” Jimmie Rodgers and Bing Crosby and celebrates the “heyday of the railroad.” “This is a song how the way things used to be/in the script of a hobo cartoon,...
- 12/11/2020
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
When producer T Bone Burnett’s soundtrack to the Coen Brothers’ 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? was released 20 years ago this month, it launched a roots-music boom. Many artists on the album — from new traditionalists Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss to bygone legends like Ralph Stanley — saw boosts to their careers, while package tours of old-timey music, like Down From the Mountain, sold out around the country.
Most importantly, the unlikely success of the soundtrack, which placed Jimmie Rodgers-era country-blues (“In the Jailhouse Now”) alongside stark mountain spirituals...
Most importantly, the unlikely success of the soundtrack, which placed Jimmie Rodgers-era country-blues (“In the Jailhouse Now”) alongside stark mountain spirituals...
- 12/4/2020
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will put to use some of the most iconic instruments in the genre’s history for its upcoming “Big Night” fundraiser, set for Wednesday, October 28th. Included among the newly announced instrument and artist pairings are guitars once owned by Johnny Cash, Mother Maybelle Carter, and Jimmie Rodgers.
The artist lineup for the event, which will be hosted by Marty Stuart, runs the gamut from contemporary stars like Miranda Lambert and Kane Brown to Americana favorites like Keb’ Mo’ and Lucinda Williams,...
The artist lineup for the event, which will be hosted by Marty Stuart, runs the gamut from contemporary stars like Miranda Lambert and Kane Brown to Americana favorites like Keb’ Mo’ and Lucinda Williams,...
- 10/14/2020
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
Bob Dylan will release his first album of original songs in eight years, Rough and Rowdy Ways, on June 19th. Early Friday morning, Dylan dropped a third song from the album, the swaggering, guitar-heavy “False Prophet,” which follows “Murder Most Foul” and “I Contain Multitudes.” “I ain’t no false prophet,” Dylan growls over a slinky striptease-blues groove, powered by a downright filthy fuzz-guitar riff. “I just know what I know.”
The song’s lyrics veer between existential weariness, Willie Dixon-worthy boasts, unabashed come-ons (at one point addressing two...
The song’s lyrics veer between existential weariness, Willie Dixon-worthy boasts, unabashed come-ons (at one point addressing two...
- 5/8/2020
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
John Prine, who for five decades wrote rich, plain-spoken songs that chronicled the struggles and stories of everyday working people and changed the face of modern American roots music, died Tuesday at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was 73. The cause was complications related to Covid-19, his family confirmed to Rolling Stone.
Prine, who left behind an extraordinary body of folk-country classics, was hospitalized last month after the sudden onset of Covid-19 symptoms, and was placed in intensive care for 13 days. Prine’s wife and manager,...
Prine, who left behind an extraordinary body of folk-country classics, was hospitalized last month after the sudden onset of Covid-19 symptoms, and was placed in intensive care for 13 days. Prine’s wife and manager,...
- 4/8/2020
- by Stephen L. Betts and Patrick Doyle
- Rollingstone.com
Millions in Ireland, Northern Ireland and throughout the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, commemorating the death some 1,556 years ago of the patron saint of Ireland. While much is still unknown about St. Patrick, who wasn’t actually born in Ireland but in what was at the time Roman Britain, Ireland’s influence on American culture (green beer and corned beef and cabbage notwithstanding) is undeniable, especially when it comes to music.
Throughout his lifetime, Arkansas-born Johnny Cash was obsessed with his ancestry. His family’s roots...
Throughout his lifetime, Arkansas-born Johnny Cash was obsessed with his ancestry. His family’s roots...
- 3/17/2020
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Two-time Grammy winner John Prine has been named one of the recipients of the Recording Academy’s 2020 Lifetime Achievement Awards. The singer-songwriter, whose self-titled 1971 debut LP was enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015, scored three Grammy nominations last year for his album The Tree of Forgiveness.
Other 2020 Lifetime Achievement honorees are pop-rock group Chicago, singer Roberta Flack, late soul legend Isaac Hayes, punk pioneer Iggy Pop, hip-hop innovators Public Enemy, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and gospel-rock icon Sister Rosetta Tharpe. A special award presentation and...
Other 2020 Lifetime Achievement honorees are pop-rock group Chicago, singer Roberta Flack, late soul legend Isaac Hayes, punk pioneer Iggy Pop, hip-hop innovators Public Enemy, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and gospel-rock icon Sister Rosetta Tharpe. A special award presentation and...
- 12/19/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Imagine how intimidating it must be to sing with Bob Dylan for the first time. Now think of how Dylan must have felt singing alongside Johnny Cash in 1969 when the pair united for a loose recording session in Nashville. Cash was nine years Dylan’s senior, and had put out his first single in 1955, seven years before Dylan, who turned 28 that year. It’s rare to hear Dylan sound like a fan trying to be a peer, but that’s what’s evident here. Those sessions serve as the core of Travelin’ Thru,...
- 10/25/2019
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Kathy Mattea could hardly contain her amusement. The West Virginia-born country singer hasn’t had a song on the country charts in nearly 30 years, but after the airing of Ken Burns’ eight-part Country Music documentary, she woke up last week to find that both her greatest hits collection and her 1989 song “Where You’ve Been” were included among the 40 top-selling country songs and albums on online retailers like Amazon and iTunes.
“I’ve been laughing about it all day,” says Mattea, who served as a consultant and talking head in the documentary.
“I’ve been laughing about it all day,” says Mattea, who served as a consultant and talking head in the documentary.
- 10/1/2019
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Ken Burns’ “Jazz” had a huge impact on jazz catalog sales — the tail of which is still being felt, 18 years later — so it’s no surprise that his “Country Music” series would instigate some kind of stampede back to classic country. Still, there’s room to be additionally impressed at just how thoroughly decades-old albums by artists featured on the PBS show are taking over the Amazon and iTunes charts.
As of Thursday morning, on Amazon’s physical media chart, classic country artists who’ve been given the spotlight on “Country Music” command eight of the top 20 spots among all-genre sales and 35 of the general top 100.
On iTunes’ all-genre album download chart, which is naturally going to skew a bit younger, albums by artists featured on Burns’ “Country Music” account for 14 out of the top 80 spots.
If you’re looking strictly at the country charts, of course, the numbers are even more impressive.
As of Thursday morning, on Amazon’s physical media chart, classic country artists who’ve been given the spotlight on “Country Music” command eight of the top 20 spots among all-genre sales and 35 of the general top 100.
On iTunes’ all-genre album download chart, which is naturally going to skew a bit younger, albums by artists featured on Burns’ “Country Music” account for 14 out of the top 80 spots.
If you’re looking strictly at the country charts, of course, the numbers are even more impressive.
- 9/26/2019
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Blues icon B.B. King often said in interviews that the blues and country music were “first cousins.” Riley B. “Blues Boy” King was born on this day in 1925, and is being paid tribute in today’s Google Doodle, which depicts the legendary musician playing his signature guitar, “Lucille.” Hitchhiking to Memphis in 1947 from his home in tiny Itta Bena, Mississippi, King would soon become one of the most renowned blues musicians in the world. While he excelled as a solo artist King also collaborated with a number of acts outside blues,...
- 9/16/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
In the opening minutes of the engrossing Ken Burns film Country Music, premiering Sunday on PBS, Cma Award-winning singer Kathy Mattea recalls her days as a tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the hours she spent in close study of one of the museum’s greatest treasures, “The Sources of Country Music,” a six-by-ten-foot mural painted by Thomas Hart Benton and completed just before his death in 1975. With gospel singers, a cowboy strumming guitar, fiddlers, a dulcimer player, and an African-American banjo picker, the...
- 9/15/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
“There was a saying: ‘The blues had a baby and they called it rock & roll.’ I always say, ‘Yeah, and I think the daddy was a hillbilly.” That’s Country Music Hall of Fame member Bobby Braddock, writer of songs including “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” on the genesis of rock music. He makes the case that its birth, near the end of the first half of the 20th century, was as influenced by country music as it was the blues.
Related: 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time
Braddock is...
Related: 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time
Braddock is...
- 9/15/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Marty Stuart’s led a willfully charmed life. As an 11-year-old, he met hit singer Connie Smith at a concert he attended, and told his mom he’d marry Smith some day (he did). He hit his career stride at 13 playing virtuoso mandolin and guitar with bluegrass architect Lester Flatt; he joined Johnny Cash’s band (and married his daughter Cindy) in the Eighties, became a solo hitmaker in the Nineties, and an expansive Americana standard-bearer in the 2000s. Stuart’s also one of the world’s foremost country experts...
- 9/15/2019
- by Will Hermes
- Rollingstone.com
Earlier in 2019, Ken Burns and his Florentine Films collaborators Dayton Duncan and Julie Dunfey took a whirlwind bus trip that whisked them around and across the entire state of Tennessee in a few short days. Their itinerary included several places with significant ties to the history of country music: Bristol, site of Ralph Peer’s 1927 and 1928 recording sessions that first captured the Carter family and Jimmie Rodgers; Knoxville and Sevierville, central to Dolly Parton’s story among others; Memphis, the birthplace of rock & roll with Sam Phillips’ Sun Studio and...
- 9/13/2019
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
Ken Burns was in Dallas some years ago visiting a good friend, philanthropist Cappy McGarr. The filmmaker was working on his 2012 Depression-era miniseries, The Dust Bowl, and as usual for a workaholic who often has six or seven films brewing, Burns was turning over ideas for his next project. When McGarr suggested tackling country music, “it just exploded in my brain — like, of course,” Burns says. “And as we got into it, we saw that it was as real, important, and emotionally compelling as any film we’ve made.”
Related:...
Related:...
- 8/30/2019
- by Will Hermes
- Rollingstone.com
Fifty years ago, a handful of milestone albums set the tone for rock of the following decade. Crosby, Stills & Nash initiated a fresh approach to harmonies and looser group names; the eponymous debut by the Allman Brothers Band laid the foundation for the Southern rock of the Seventies. And setting the scene for the white soul-pop that would explode with the likes of Hall and Oates was Boz Scaggs’ self-titled album, which Atlantic Records rolled out on this day in August 1969.
Technically, Boz Scaggs wasn’t a debut; Scaggs had...
Technically, Boz Scaggs wasn’t a debut; Scaggs had...
- 8/27/2019
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Ruston Kelly puts an atmospheric, modern spin on one of the most mournful ballads of the last century with his just-released version of the Carter Family’s “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow.” Shortening the title to “Weeping Willow,” Kelly’s rendition of the historic tune replaces the classic mountain-bred instrumentation and three-part harmony of the 1927 original with a more dirge-like pace, adding steel guitar, spare yet dramatic drum beats, and synthesized effects to the singer’s aching vocal performance.
“Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow” was the first of...
“Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow” was the first of...
- 8/2/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Just ahead of the September 15th premiere of the eight-part PBS documentary Country Music – A Film By Ken Burns, Legacy Recordings will unveil musical highlights from the 16-and-a-half-hour series with a deluxe five-cd set spanning the history of the genre.
The impressive track list represents artists featured in each of the series’ episodes, from the first stars of the genre, such as the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, to influential acts from the latter half of the 20th century, including Randy Travis and the Judds. The set will be released Friday,...
The impressive track list represents artists featured in each of the series’ episodes, from the first stars of the genre, such as the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, to influential acts from the latter half of the 20th century, including Randy Travis and the Judds. The set will be released Friday,...
- 6/13/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Tony Sokol May 30, 2019
Leon Redbone showcased the music that led to rock and roll in the rock era and maintained his mystery throughout.
Cult singer Leon Redbone, best known for his Panama hat, dark sunglasses and Frank Zappa mustache and goatee, died on Thursday of causes as-yet unknown. The guitar-playing singer's age was officially announced as 127, but according to Variety, was 69.
“He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover and a simple tip of his hat,” Redbone's family said in a statement. “He’s interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett and Jelly Roll have been up to in his absence, and has plans for a rousing singalong number with Sári Barabás. An eternity of pouring through texts in the Library of Ashurbanipal will be a welcome repose, perhaps followed by a shot or two of whiskey with Lee Morse, and some long overdue discussions with his favorite Uncle,...
Leon Redbone showcased the music that led to rock and roll in the rock era and maintained his mystery throughout.
Cult singer Leon Redbone, best known for his Panama hat, dark sunglasses and Frank Zappa mustache and goatee, died on Thursday of causes as-yet unknown. The guitar-playing singer's age was officially announced as 127, but according to Variety, was 69.
“He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover and a simple tip of his hat,” Redbone's family said in a statement. “He’s interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett and Jelly Roll have been up to in his absence, and has plans for a rousing singalong number with Sári Barabás. An eternity of pouring through texts in the Library of Ashurbanipal will be a welcome repose, perhaps followed by a shot or two of whiskey with Lee Morse, and some long overdue discussions with his favorite Uncle,...
- 5/30/2019
- Den of Geek
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