Congratulations Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2014

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All of us at Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert would like to congratulate the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2014:

Cat Stevens was one of the most popular singer-songwriters of the ‘60s and ‘70s, responsible for hits such as “Wild World,” “Father and Son,” and “Peace Train.” In the 80s he dropped out of the music business after a public conversion to the Muslim faith and changed is name to Yusuf Islam. For the next several years he would focus on recording devotional music and only recently has he performed and recorded secular tunes.

Daryl Hall and John Oates were the most successful recording duo of their era. With a long string of hits such as “She’s Gone” and “Man Eater,” they released 13 albums that went either gold or platinum. They were even pronounced the most successful rock duo of all time by Billboard Magazine. With their laid back, easy going style, they had long, successful careers that continue to this day.

Nirvana was at once the 90s greatest success story and its greatest tragedy. Led by their inscrutable frontman Kurt Cobain, the band’s music spoke to the youthful angst of Generation X.  One of the most successful acts of the Seattle grunge scene, the band achieved massive fame following the release of their 1991 album Nevermind and its smash hit single “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” After releasing just 3 studio albums, the band dissolved following the shocking death of Kurt Cobain in April of 1994. Surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic released the live recording of their MTV Unplugged session, featuring hauntingly restrained renditions of several Nirvana songs as well as covers of some of Cobain’s favorite artists.

Linda Ronstadt was without a doubt one of the top female solo artists of the 70s. She wrote and recorded in a diverse array of styles such as rock, folk, jazz, and country. Her highly successful solo career earned a plethora of accolades including 11 Grammy awards.

KISS changed the perception of what a rock band could be with their trademark makeup, explosive live shows, and their die-hard fans dubbed the KISS Army. The band was founded by Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley, and Peter Criss in the early 70s and grew into one of the decade’s most iconic groups. Their affinity for pyrotechnics, body armor, and space-age sets secured their place as one of rock’s top spectacles. In addition, with their own brand of action figures, lunch boxes, and comic books, they become one of the most well marketed bands in rock history since The Beatles.

Peter Gabriel first came to prominence as the lead singer of the popular progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving the group to start a solo career, Gabriel initially struggled to carry on the success he had with his former band. After releasing four self-titled albums, he recorded So, the best selling record of his career. Among several hits was the song “In Your Eyes,” which was immortalized by its use in the signature scene of the 1989 film Say Anything.  In addition, Gabriel found great success among the MTV generation with his innovative use of the music video, which conveyed the experimentalism that had always been present in his music. The video for the song “Sledgehammer” won nine MTV Video Music Awards, a record that stands to this day, and is the most played video in the network’s history. In addition to his music, Gabriel has spent much of his career involved in humanitarian efforts such as Amnesty International and the campaign against apartheid in South Africa. Genesis was inducted into the Hall in 2010, making Gabriel a two-time inductee.

Though a talented group in their own right, The E-Street Band will be forever linked through their work with Bruce Springsteen. Born out of the music scene of Asbury Park, New Jersey, the band was founded by saxophonist Clarence Clemons, bassist Garry Tallent, and keyboardist Danny Federici. Guitarist Steven Van Zandt, keyboardist Roy Bittan, and drummer Max Weinberg would later join to form the classic lineup that would back Springsteen on his first seven studio albums. The band’s big sound would play a major role in shaping some of the Boss’ most memorable albums such as Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, and Born in the USA.

Brian Epstein is perhaps the most important manager in rock history. In 1961, during a visit to Liverpool’s Cavern Club, Epstein discovered a local foursome named The Beatles. Epstein saw great potential in the group and signed on to represent them. Through the use of his business savvy he was able to successfully market The Beatles’ natural talent and charm, which led to them becoming the UK’s most popular band. Epstein was also instrumental in arranging the group’s first visit to the United States in order to make their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, sparking Beatlemania. Epstein would continue as The Beatles manager and confidant until his unexpected death in 1967 at the age of 32.

Andrew Loog Oldham started off as a publicist working on promoting acts such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan, which led to him crossing paths with a burgeoning London rhythm and blues band called the Rollin’ Stones. Though only 19, he was signed on to be their manager. Under his advice, they altered their name to The Rolling Stones and obtained a recording contract with Decca Records, who were still reeling from their failure to sign The Beatles. He is also widely credited with promoting the Stones’ bad boy image, which was a marked contrast from many of the other “clean cut” bands of the subsequent “British Invasion.”

New Documentary About Jim Morrison and The Doors

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Just days after The Doors finished recording the album “L.A. Woman” in January 1971, the band’s iconic front man Jim Morrison left for Paris, France. He would never return, as 6 months later, the world lost a great artist and musician.  While he left us far too early, the incredible music legacy of Jim Morrison and The Doors continues to live on to this day.

Over the past few decades, The Doors have managed to remain one of the most popular and successful bands of all time. On January 24th 2012, roughly 40 years after the release of “L.A. Woman,” The Doors are once again front and center with the new documentary “Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman.”  This film provides fans a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the making of an album with one of legendary bands of all-time.

The feature length documentary, whose title Mr. Mojo Risin’ is a famous anagram for Jim Morrison, revolves around the making of the band’s final masterpiece “L.A. Woman,” its recording and what was happening to the band at the time. The film features rare videos from just days before Morrison’s death, archive footage of The Doors’ performances, and new interviews with Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger, and John Densmore. Most notably, the new two-disc set includes the previously unreleased “She Smells So Nice/Rock Me,” a raw, smoldering blues track discovered by album co-producer Bruce Botnick in the Doors archives.

Don Kirshner Inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

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It has been announced that Don Kirshner will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!  Don Kirshner will receive the Ahmet Ertegun award for his contribution to rock & roll as a non-performer.  Other inductees of the 2012 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class will include Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, the Small Faces/Faces, Donovan, Laura Nyro, Freddie King, Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd and Glyn Johns.

Don Kirshner was an accomplished song publisher, producer and music executive who changed the music landscape of the 20th century.  Don Kirshner was giant in the music industry throughout the latter half of the century, best known for managing the songwriting talent and artists responsible for the “Brill Building Sound,” helping launch “The Monkees” and creating the popular television music show “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.”  Over the years, Don Kirshner worked with many great musicians including Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond, Carole King and The Rolling Stones. He was an all-around music impresario with a knack for discovering hit songs that earned him the nickname “The Man with the Golden Ear.”

Despite his long legacy of music accomplishments, Don Kirshner has often remained overlooked in the annals of rock history.  However in the last few years, Don has started to get the recognition he rightly deserves as a pioneer of music hit-making.  In 2007, he received the Songwriters Hall of Fame Abe Olman Publishing Award and today he was finally bestowed one of music’s top honors as a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Being inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was something Don Kirshner had also wanted.  Don left a large impact on music history and it is gratifying to see the rock & roll community recognize him with this incredible honor.  While it is too bad he is no longer with us to accept and enjoy the award, I’m sure he would be smiling from “ear to golden ear” now that he will finally be inducted.

Congratulations to Don and the Kirshner family!

Bands

Beatles George Harrison Living in the Material World

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Once again legendary film director, Martin Scorsese puts together another great music documentary.  The film, Living in the Material World,  is about  “The most enigmatic Beatle,” George Harrison.

The idea for the film came to life in 2005 at the London premier of Scorsese’s Bob Dylan Documentary, No Direction Home. Olivia, George Harrison’s widow, expressed her wish to make a movie of that same caliber about her husband. 

The Beatles story has been told many times before, however Scorsese captures this story from Harrison’s point of view, with rare, unseen footage from archives kept by Harrison himself. From his desire to restore his country estate, to his work as a movie producer, to dealing with challenges in his marriage, the film shows a George Harrison outside of the Beatle mania and the music world.

The film features interviews by Yoko Ono, George Martin, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, as well as, compelling interviews by the remaining Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. McCartney argues how people have mistakenly thought that he and John Lennon were the most important members of the group while in actuality it was George. Ringo Starr shares his sad experience of visiting Harrison during the guitarist’s battle with lung cancer. 

 George Harrison was on a search for spirituality and a life fulfilled with anything other than material items.  George wanted to have a simple life and this film demonstrates how he managed to live his way following his music career with The Beatles.

 Trailer for Living in the Material World