THE BEATLES AT THE CAVERN CLUB

The Beatles had a landmark moment on my birthday...Feb 09 1961. The first Beatles lineup of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best played a lunchtime gig at famous Cavern Club

From their website:

The Cavern Club ...Where it all began...

The Cavern Club located on Mathew Street in Liverpool featured " beat groups" that changed the course of music for all time. The Beatles played at the Cavern about 300 times between March 1961 through August 1963. An endless stream of famous groups came out of the Cavern, such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Searchers, Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, and many others. It was the birthplace of the British Invasion. In the early days Cilla Black was in charge of the cloakroom. Pete Best was the Beatles drummer , later being replaced by Ringo Starr, who had been playing with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. The club is full of history.

Of course I wasn't to hear them until my birthday in 1964 when they played on Ed Sullivan and I fell in love with Paul McCartney. Being in love in second grade was tough and heart breaking... But I made up for unrequited love by buying Beatle lunch boxes, notebokks, shoes, dolls, posters and more... I loved the Beatles perhaps more than any other band of my life time.

KOKO TAYLOR: QUEEN OF THE BLUES

CHICAGO – Hundreds of mourners turned out Thursday at a music-filled wake and memorial service for Chicago blues icon Koko Taylor, whose regal bearing and powerful voice earned her the nickname "Queen of the Blues."
Among those who paid tribute to Taylor were Mayor Richard Daley and musicians Delores Scott and Vance Kelly. The "Queen" lay in a glass-topped casket at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters on Chicago's South Side, dressed in an elegant off-white silk brocade dress, gloves and a tiara .... RIP Queen Koko

MACHINEGUN THOMPSON: NEW YOU TUBE VIDEO

Machinegun Thompson

Machinegun Thompson and Kimmer were talking about filming a “Round Table” discussion featuring MGT meeting with young musicians to discuss the music industry and current world news events.Ran into a friend of mine from way back Jim King’s son Al on My Space one night and emailed him about putting this meeting together.

Al King is quite a high energy young drummer with Mazinga and other bands as well. Asked Al to find a kid with a camcorder to film this round table discussion. Al gets Dan Boyd a very talented Video Engineer at Madonna University in Livonia, MI

Al brought his friend, the fabulous Chris Taylor a band mate from Mazinga. Talented high energy guitarist, Chris brought a wide variety of things to the table and contributed some very interesting thoughts to the discussion Thanks Chris and Al!

Here is the new Video!

SONNY AND CHER RIPPED OFF

LOS ANGELES – Cher has sued Universal Music Group, claiming the company owes her and Sonny Bono's heirs more than $5 million.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Santa Monica claims Cher and Bono's widow and children are owed royalties on songs that were included in recent greatest-hits compilations. The suit also states UMG has failed to provide key records that would show how much is actually owed.

UMG spokesman Peter LoFrumento (Lo-FROO'-men-toe) says the lawsuit is "without merit" and the company expects to win in court.

Bono and Cher were married for nearly 10 years before divorcing; their daughter Chastity stands to receive some of the royalties if the suit prevails. Bono later became a U.S. congressman and died in a skiing accident in 1998.

THE BEACH BOYS FROM HAWTHORNE CA

The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Initially managed by the Wilsons' father Murray, the Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962. The band's early music gained popularity across the United States for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance. By the mid-1960s, Brian Wilson's growing creative ambition and songwriting ability would dominate the group's musical direction. The primarily Wilson-composed Pet Sounds album and "Good Vibrations" single (both released in 1966) featured a complex, intricate and multi-layered sound that represented a departure from the simple surf rock of the Beach Boys' early years.

SHAG DANCING!

The Shag Dance is sort of a lazy jitterbug, done on beaches at night, always with someone of the opposite sex. Therefore, the music shaggers picked for their soundtrack had to be sunny, sexy, fun, and lazy. Depending on who you talk to, shagging can be done to songs as diverse as Elvis' "Return To Sender" and Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing," but the general consensus is that there should be a slow shuffle at the bottom and some sort of southern soul on top.

The big hits of shag are almost all one-hit wonders, cherry-picked for their utility - Willie Tee's "Teasin' You," the O-Kaysions' "Girl Watcher" - but that also gives the scene room to breathe. And, as has been proven by its continuing popularity, room to expand.

My favorite Shag Dance song!

PHIL SPECTOR GETS 19 YEARS FOR MURDER

Phil Spector was finally sentenced Friday to 19 years to life in prison for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot through the mouth in the music producer's home six years ago. Spector, 69, looked straight forward and showed no emotion as Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler ordered a term of 15 years to life for second-degree murder plus four years for personal use of a gun. He'll probably be out in 5 years. If he gets a break he may be able to obtain a mentally illness release to a mental illness facility.

Not saying that Spector is not guilty, but he is obviously mentally ill. LOOK at the FACE! OMG what a mess. OJ they let roam free to torture more people and destroy his children's lives too. Hollywood finally convicts a celebrity, frail, tiny, and insane Phil. Well the world is finally safe from Phil.... we can all now finally sleep at night...

Here is a good bye to poor old Phil: