Phil Collins

The Art of McCartney

Due Nov. 18, the Paul McCartney tribute album ‘The Art of McCartney’ collects more than 40 covers of songs originally recorded by the former Beatle.

The box set has covers from nearly 40 artists including Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Phil Collins, Chris Martin, Nick Cave, Dave Grohl, Florence Welch, Paul Weller and Ozzy Osbourne. Listen to a few of the cuts below.

The set, available for pre-order now, will be offered in a variety of configurations, including a deluxe box, triple-gatefold vinyl, CD and digital.

The best mass musician sing-a-longs EVER

from Hello Giggles

by Sophia Elias

Before Tuesday night, mass musician sing-a-longs were few and far between. Thankfully, BBC Music pulled out all the stops with their star-studded cover of the Beach Boys 1996 hit, “God Only Knows”. In light of the BBC Music launch, the network got everyone (and by everyone, I mean 29 world class musicians) to participate in the promo. With the likes of Elton John, Florence Welch, Pharrell, Lorde, Chris Martin, Dave Grohl and Sam Smith, it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Much like its all-star predecessors, “God Only Knows” will contribute to a good cause. The song is set to be released as a single in order to raise money for the BBC’s Children in Need appeal. I have to say, I haven’t been one to seek out celebrity sing-a-longs, but there is something powerful about world class artists collaborating on a single project. I think we ought take a trip down memory lane and give a nod to all those great musical collabs from the past. There are more than you probably know:

1. We Are The World (1985)

“We Are The World” is the mother of all mass musician sing-a-longs. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, “We Are The World” was released in an effort to raise awareness and bring relief to the famine in Africa between 1983-1985. The song raised over $10 million in record sales from the United States alone. The song included performances from over 44 world class musicians—including Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Ray Charles—who operated under the name of USA for Africa. Fun fact: When the musicians entered the studio, they were met with a sign that read: “Check your egos at the door.” Continue reading →

This Day in Music History — September 2

1970 : An unknown art-rock band named Genesis runs an ad in Britain’s Melody Maker magazine looking for a drummer, an audition 19-year-old Phil Collins will pass by mentioning that he played percussion on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass.

1993 : Pearl Jam’s Jeremy video wins four awards, including Video of the Year, at the MTV Video Music Awards. Pearl Jam responds by not making any more videos until 1998.

1994 : Hootie & the Blowfish make their first of several appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman. They were still well under-the-radar at this point, but took off a few months later.

1995 : The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opens in Cleveland, with opening ceremony performances by Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, Al Green, The Allman Brothers Band, Booker T. & the MG’s, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash,The Pretenders, John Fogerty, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, George Clinton, The Kinks, John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, The Animals’ Eric Burdon, and Boz Scaggs.

2011 : T.I. is arrested just days after serving an 11-month sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary in Arkansas. Under his probation agreement, the rapper was allowed to provide his own transportation from Arkansas to a halfway house in Atlanta. However, prison officials objected to his vehicle of choice – a luxury SUV motor coach – and took him back into custody for violating his parole.