NEIL DIAMOND'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Weekend - Five Decades of Hits!

Early live performance of 'Cherry Cherry' (1966) in stereo!

   

Live performance of 'Holly Holy,' a song Diamond admitted that he wrote, trying to capture the Roy orbison big ballad sound. The song hit #8 in 1969, one of seven top 10 

singles.

   

Diamond does a pretty fair cover of the Drifter's 'Save the Last Dance for Me' on his Brill building covers 

album

 

A rare treat, Neil Diamond's first-ever recording, 'Million Miles Away' 1958

NEIL DIAMOND'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Weekend - Five Decades of Hits!

Neil Diamond was recording music as early as 1958, yet his career didn't get on track until the mid-60s with 'Solitary Man'   his  breakout hit in 1966*, quickly followed up with guitar-based rockers 'Cherry Cherry' and 'Thank the Lord for the Nighttime.'  Diamond hit in country with 'Kentucky Woman' and his first ballad 'Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon' all in the 60s before changing his tune, somewhat, with the times in later decades. Yet, he always  included rock and roll including his album of Brill Building covers in the 1990s. In fact, Diamond was a Brill Building song writer, himself, writing hits for the Monkees (I'm A Believer') and others but it wasn't until the late 60s  until anything stuck. 

*  'Solitary man' really didn't become the big hit   until 1970 when it re-emerged on the charts at #21, up from #55 in 1966 - a rare feat for a song to not only chart twice but reach higher position the second time around!

Neil Diamond is one of those rare artists who, despite changing times and sounds  has, consistently, maintained his fan base for decades. His concerts have always and continue to sell out to this day. Even when his records didn't well, Diamond was one of the top acts and  Diamond   returned to the charts in a big way in recent years, garnering his first No 1 album in decades under the direction of Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash and others).  Modern music critics, led by Rolling Stone, has feasted on crticising   Diamond  him as a lightweight , a sequined nostalgia act - much as they did Roy Orbison before his comeback, yet Diamond has been covered often by contemporary artists  and his 'Sweet Caroline' has become the 'Seventh inning stretch' song for Boston Red Sox  and several other Sports teams (see below).  In his 'comeback' album, Brian Wilson duetted with Diamond on 'Delirious Love,' a top 40 hit in 2006.

• He attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York, where he sang in the All City Choir with Barbra Streisand. The pair went on to record heartache ballad You Don't Bring Me Flowers.
• A longtime back pain sufferer, he had a tumor surgically removed from his spine just before he started shooting "The Jazz Singer" in 1979.
• He won a fencing scholarship to New York University and was a member of the 1960 NCAA men's championship team.
• Artists who have recorded Neil Diamond songs include Elvis Presley, Deep Purple, Lulu, Cliff Richard, The Monkees, UB40, Johnny Cash and Smash Mouth.
• John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline was the inspiration for his hit "Sweet Caroline". Diamond revealed he wrote the anthem after seeing her on the cover of Life Magazine in an equestrian riding outfit.
• "Sweet Caroline" is played during the 8th inning at every Boston Red Sox home game - even though Diamond is a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The song is also played during the 8th inning of every New York Mets home game and at Washington Nationals home games. Ice hockey team the New York Rangers have also adapted it as their own, and play it when they are winning at the end of the 3rd period.
• Diamond became the first-ever winner of a Worst Actor Golden Raspberry Award in 1980 for "The Jazz Singer". He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the same role.
• Famous for wearing colorful, sequin-adorned shirts in concert, Diamond claims he first came up with the idea so everyone in the audience could see him without the aid of binoculars. The Bill Whitten-designed and made shirts cost approximately US$5,000 each. Whitten designed and made the shirts for Diamond from the 1970s until 2007.
• Among his many accolades, the Grammy Award winner and 12-time nominee is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and a recipient of the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest honors bestowed upon songwriters. He was the MusiCares Person of the Year in 2009.
• Diamond has sold more than 128 million records worldwide.

Read more: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/w0009845.html#ixzz2rTY8f05E

NEIL DIAMOND'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Weekend - Five Decades of Hits!



NEIL DIAMOND COLLECTABLES

Neil Diamond sings 'Sweet Caroline'

live for Boston Red Sox fans

Neil Diamond's latest effort,  'Freedom Song'

sung for the Boston Bombing July 2013

   

Note Diamond's progress in this 1962 effort, AT NIGHT

Diamond's symphonic performance of 'America' 

from his movie, 'The Jazz Singer' one of his stronger rockers of later years

Live on Johnny Cash.. after Neil and Johnny play a few bits Neil does 'Brother Loves Travelin Show', a gospel-style fan favorite from Diamond's early, late 60s period

 NEIL DIAMOND, always a big Everly Brothers fan, recorded this on one of his later albums.

Hear some valentine love songs

CLICK JUKEBOX

Saving Mr.Banks Meets Mary Poppins - It's 1964 Again! - FREE Interactive Book

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

          

Saving Mr.Banks Meets Mary Poppins - It's 1964 Again!  FREE Interactive Book

'Perhaps the best family movie in 50 years - since, well, 1964 and Mary Poppins! 
***** (Oldies Country)

Seen the movie yet - Saving Mr.Banks? Don't miss it... the story of the making of Mary Poppins, takes you back to 1964 with Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as the 'difficult'   author that Disney/Hanks must convince to allow them to use her book for the screenplay. Great scenes, music, acting. May be trite, old Disney for some , who will call it 'schmaltzy' or corny but we say a movie that captures the feeling of THE ERA perhaps as well as anything since.  The only negative for us is having the movie end and walking back outside into a world that is no longer anything like 1964 - devoid of the hope and spirit of the Kennedy Era (even though Mary Poppins actually came out months after the Assasination). But a couple hours of escapism like this is a rare treat.

  Enjoy the FREE Interactive , multi-media book by clicking, above (you will need Itunes, which is downloadable, also above, if you don't have it).Enjoy! Here's a trailer for the movie...

 

Scene from the original movie,Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews, pictured here, 1964.  In the new movie,  attempting to win over the writer PJ Traverse character, Walt Disney ( Tom Hnaks)  takes Traverse to Disneyland ('the happiest place on Earth') , where -knowing that she loves carousels - gets her onto a merry-go-round despite her initial protestations. 

The Story Behind the Music - Saving Mr. Banks Soundtrack

 Disney legend RICHARD SHERMAN discusses working with Walt Disney on  the  movie Mary Poppins, in 1964 , along with others

 ***********SAVING MR. BANKS STORE***********

Get the Movie, Soundtrack,  Mary Poppins , book and more here

                              

SCENE from the new movie, Saving Mr Banks, where Tom Hanks, playing Walt Disney, tries to  charm the book's 'difficult'  author, PJ Traverse into allowing them to make the movie, Mary Poppins,  in 1964.




*********************************************

MARY POPPINS and ME

A mother today discusses her conflicting feelings about bringing her young son to the new movie, Saving Mr Banks. No sex or vioilence but plenty of emotions, which she's concerned may play heavy on the boy's future (from Huffington Post article)....

I misjudged. He is so grown up, so accustomed to adult conversation, having two college-aged sisters. He is an old 9, so I thought he would be okay at Saving Mr. Banks. It was PG-13 but I hadn't read the reviews closely. I loved Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. We'd all go -- a Christmas night outing.
The movie splices Travers' experience in negotiating the making of the film Mary Poppins in Hollywood with her childhood in Australia. In the golden-glowed flashbacks, young Mrs. Travers is called Helen. When Helen's alcohol-dependent father coughs blood into his handkerchief and falls off a platform at the fair, our son pulls my hand. "I need to leave," he whispers urgently. "Now," he insists  more

(Editor's note: Nice to see a mother today so concerned about her son's feelings - and this is about a family movie)

editor's note... WE'RE NOT DONE YET... COME BACK 

SOON FOR MORE on the wonderful 'Mr.Banks'  Movie 

and  story behind it

PLEASE LET US KNOW, SO FAR,  WHAT YOU THINK OF THE 'MR BANKS' EXPERIENCE:


Pick One:

Like/Share this if you think 'Saving Mr Banks' looks like a real 'throwback' movie, 
even if you haven't seen it (now go see it!)

DISC-overy, Forgotten Forty-Five and Surprise of the Week!

DISC-overy, Forgotten Forty-Five and Surprise of the Week!

DISC-oveory of the Week! 
HOME OF THE BRAVE - Bonny and the Treasures AND Jody Miller
 Well, it's a new year but we're still Stuck in the '50s and 60s - and with a new Feature - DISC-overy of the Week along with Forgotten Forty-five and Surprise of the week ( we'll come as close as we can to that weekly schedule). The song above, is, yes, another PHIL SPECTOR production (written by Mann-Weil)  featuring Bonnie (Charlotte O'hara) and the Treasures - and it's a treature of a song, the only Top 100 record for her from 1965. Spector was still recording at his Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles but his star was fading a bit... Interestingly, country singer Jody Miller (Queen of the House) had a higher scharting version (#25) the same year, with a pretty convincing version. Charted at #77 on Billboard Hot 100 in August 1965. The lead singer is Charlotte O'Hara (pictured). There was a competing version by Jody Miller which charted higher (#25), pretty convincing Phil Spector impression. Tell us WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE VERSION?  Note, also , the 'protest' lyrics, below)  as we were coming into that mid-60s era   Here's Jody.... Lyrics (thanks to ScriptWorker)and Tom Smith for recording: Home of the Brave The school board says he cant come to school no more. Unless he wears his hair like he wore it before. The PTA and all of the mothers, say he ought-a look like the others. Home of the Brave, Land of the Free. Oh, why wont the let him be what he wants to be? The kids all laugh at his hair and his funny clothes. And more than once hes gone home with a bloody nose. Hes not like them and they cant ignore it. So they all hate him for it. Home of the Brave, Land of the Free. Oh, why wont they let him be what he wants to be? (Why?) He never hurt no-body. (Why) Doesnt he belong? (Why?) Cause hes a little bit different. Tell my why is that so wrong? Everybody says I shouldnt take his part. But when they put him down how it breaks my heart. Instead of all the trouble they hand him, why dont the try to understand him? Home of the Brave, Land of the Free. Oh, why wont they let him be what he wants to be? Home of the Brave, Land of the Free. Oh, why wont they let him be what he wants to be? />


FORGOTTEN FORTY-FIVE of the Week

REVEREND MR.BLACK, The Kingston Trio, 1963 -  This was, surprising to us,  only the second Top 10 Record for the Kingstons (#8) and
the last Top 30 effort. Sounds  a bit like something Johnny Cash would have recorded - and, in fact, Cash did do a version of this song.  We almost went with 'One More Town,'which only charted #77 yet  you would hear it fairly often during the era.Perhpas the Kingston Trio
was just a little bit out of mainstream pop music and did better under other categories like 'folk.'



SURPRISE of the Week
VIDEO - We were pretty SURPRISED to come across this one - the Osmond parents guesting with Bobby Darin, Andy williams and Vic Damone..maybe not quite the voices of their famous offspring but definitely a presence in their own right, from 1965... Well you see for yourself!


NEXT TIME - Stay tune for something special  - again with one  from Phil Spector and  the Wrecking Crew

DISC-overy, Forgotten Forty-Five and Surprise of the Week! 

FREE ELVIS E-CARD & APP Honoring Elvis'79th Birthday - Party Pictures, Music, More

ELVIS JUKEBOX - CLICK TO PICK AND PLAY YOUR ELVIS FAVORITES - OR LET IT PLAY 'EM ALL! 

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FREE ELVIS APP in Honor of Elvis' Birthday 
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FREE ELVIS APP Honoring Elvis'79th Birthday - Party Pictures, Music, More

CELEBRATE THE KING'S BIRTHDAY IN MEMPHIS

As we gear up to celebrate 60 Years of Rock 'n' Roll, we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to help celebrate the life and legacy of the man who started it all. The official 2014 Elvis Birthday Celebration will take place January 8 - 11. 

ELVIS' FIRST RECORDING

 

Elvis first recording, 'My Happiness' , was recorded for his mother and forgotten about for months until Sun Records' secretary helped Sam Phillips recall and bring back Elvis to the studio - and the rest is history... PLAY IT

Here's one from the end of  E's career , by popular demand, that makes us laugh - and cry...Elvis at his comedic best without trying...

FREE E-CARD    SEND AN ECARD from Elvis at Graceland To A Friend or Yourself ***********************************************

ELVIS COUNTRY STORE AND MORE...   www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&field-keywords=elvis&linkCode=ur2&tag=ypc-20&url=search-alias%3Daps CLICK FOR MORE Get Your Own ELVIS APP http://www.elvis.com/elvisweek/ew2013app.aspx It's ELVIS WEEK - Listening Party Video - Schedule, Guests, Map, News - Elvis Country Store

ELVIS' CARS

Elvis' 1955 pink cadillac

ELVIS' '56 El Dorado Cadillac

Elvis and June Juanico flew to Houston to purchase this car on June 12, 1956 at a cost of $10,000. Originally white with a black interior, Elvis squashed a handful of grapes on the fender and told the customiser, Jimmy Sanders of Memphis (who also customised the pink '55 Fleetwood), that was the colour he wanted. The upholstery was changed to white roll and pleated leather, and the floor covered in mouton fur dyed purple. Elvis' initials 'EP' entwined with a guitar and two musical notes inscribed in leather adorned the floor mats and overhead. Elvis traded it in on December 23rd 1957. - See more at: http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvis_presleys_cars.shtml#sthash.HAWqUmRo.dpuf

...and there were many other cars of Elvis including a 1960 Lincln Continental, special Fleetwood 1960 Cadillac used in Viva Las Vegas and this Rolls Royce

For more info on Elvis' cars

On August 16, 1977 , the day Elvis passed, friend and Sun mate Roy Orbison, with tears in his eyes, performed at the Santa Monica Auditorium near Los Angeles before a sold out crowd of around 15,000. It was said to be one of the best and emotional shows ever. Orbison considered cancelling after the loss of his good friend, but glad he went on as it, effecctively, kicked off his 10-year comeback (1977-1988). After the show, Some Hollywood moguls in the audience encouraged Orbison to step up his touring and recording, which he did . So, Roy can thank Elvis, in death, for really giving him the desire to continue, in effect , carrying on for the King. Who knows if the connections would have happened otherwise. . Aicture is believed to be the only one with Roy and Elvis taken together, even though they were good friends and Elvis called Roy the best singer ever.

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Nice tribute to the Starlets who really were Stars in the day... many who worked and were friends with Elvis





 Elvis' seldom heard 1973 song, 'I Miss You'... Elvis did not write the song but the lyrics could pertain to his life and love(s)

  


This live version of 'Are You Lonesome' always makes us laugh... even though it came during Elvis' rough last years it was good to see him laugh, too... Elvis was a very funny guy and not too proud to mess up a rather sacred song