Part from the same titled album of 1984, "Born in the USA" was written by Sprengsteen thinking about Vietnam veterans. As this was the first war that the US actually dindn't win, and while veterans of other wars received a hero's welcome, those who fought in Vietnam were mostly ignored when they returned to the states.

This is one of the most misinterpreted songs ever. Most people thought it was a patriotic song about American pride, when it actually cast a shameful eye on how America treated its Vietnam veterans. Springsteen considers it one of his best songs, but it bothers him that it is so widely misinterpreted. With the rollicking rhythm, enthusiastic chorus, and patriotic album cover, it is easy to think this has more to do with American pride than Vietnam shame.

The original title was "Vietnam." Director Paul Schrader sent Springsteen a script for a movie called Born In The U.S.A., about a Rock band struggling with life and religion. This gave Bruce the idea for the new title. Unfortunately for Schrader, when he was finally ready to make the movie in 1985, the title "Born In The U.S.A." was too associated with the song. Springsteen helped him out however, providing the song "Light Of Day," which became the new title for Schrader's movie and the feature song in the film.

This is the first song and title track to one of the most popular albums ever - Born In The U.S.A. sold over 18 million copies. The single was released in England as a double A-side with "I'm On Fire." It was the first song Springsteen wrote for the album. He first recorded it on January 3, 1982 on the tape that became his album Nebraska later that year.

While campaigning in New Jersey in 1984, Ronald Reagan said in his speech: "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen. And helping you make those dreams come true is what this job of mine is all about."

Springsteen talked about this in a 2005 interview with National Public Radio. Said Bruce: "This was when the Republicans first mastered the art of co-opting anything and everything that seemed fundamentally American, and if you were on the other side, you were somehow unpatriotic. I make American music, and I write about the place I live and who I am in my lifetime. Those are the things I'm going to struggle for and fight for."
Speaking of how the song was misinterpreted, he added: "In my songs, the spiritual part, the hope part is in the choruses. The blues, and your daily realities are in the details of the verses. The spiritual comes out in the choruses, which I got from Gospel music and the church."

Chrysler offered Springsteen $12 million to use this in an ad campaign with Bruce. Springsteen turned them down so they used "The Pride Is Back" by Kenny Rogers instead. Springsteen has never let his music be used to sell products.

This song inspired the famous Annie Leibowitz photo of Springsteen's butt against the backdrop of an American flag. Bruce had to be convinced to use it as the album's cover. Some people thought it depicted Springsteen urinating on the flag.

The drum solo towards the end of the song was completely improvised. Drummer Max Weinberg said that the band was recording in an oval-shaped studio, with the musicians separated into different parts. Springsteen, at the front, suddenly turned towards Weinberg (at the back) after singing and waved his hands in the air frantically to signal drumming. Weinberg then nailed it.

Read also:

• Don Mclean - American Pie (first part & second part)
• Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
• Guns n' Roses - November Rain

The is the 100th post (see here the first one) on this blog celebrated by presenting one of the greatest bands in music history: The Beatles.

The Beatles were John Lennon (guitar), George Harrison (guitar), Paul McCartney (bass) and Ringo Starr (drums). Lennon and McCartney began playing together in The Quarrymen in 1957; Harrison joined later that year. Before they became The Beatles, they were also Johnny and the Moondogs and The Silver Beatles, joined at times by bandmates including bassist Stuart Sutcliffe (23 June 1940 - 10 April 1962) and drummer Pete Best (b. 24 November 1941); Best was replaced by Ringo to form the final foursome. The early Beatles performed shows in Hamburg, Germany and Liverpool, England, playing covers of early American rock and roll plus original songs by Lennon and McCartney. Their 1962 release of "Love Me Do" charted in the U. K., and in 1963 their song "She Loves You" was the biggest hit in U. K. history. Their personal charm and charisma helped boost "Beatlemania," and their tour of the U.S. in 1964 led to sold-out concerts and mob scenes. Their movies A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965) capitalized on their humor and youthful exuberance and were box office successes, and the hit songs kept coming: in 1964 they had five straight number one albums. In the late '60s their songs became more sophisticated and their worldwide celebrity status prompted Lennon to joke "we're bigger than Jesus." By 1970 they were no longer performing in public and were beginning to pursue individual projects. In December of 1970 McCartney brought a lawsuit to dissolve The Beatles as a legal entity, and the group broke up. Their hits are too numerous to mention, and their impact on pop music can't be overstated. In 1980 Lennon was murdered, and in 2001 Harrison died of cancer, but McCartney and Starr continue to have busy solo careers.

This is "Don't Let Me Down" from their best period (1969).

Read also:
Music dictionary - Soft Rock
Cover Art: Abbey Road - The Beatles
The Four Seasons - December 1963 (Oh What A Night)

"Phantom of the Opera" is part of the 1980 Iron Maiden's self titled album which is certainly one of heavy metal's all-time best debuts. Surfacing from the underground along with a host of other New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands (e.g., Def Leppard, Motörhead), Maiden's debut proved to be incredibly influential for future metal bands -- it was one of the first to merge heavy metal's power with punk's riffing and attitude, forging a blueprint for such genres as thrash, speed, and death metal.

While the band would branch out musically on future releases, Iron Maiden contains some of their most straight-ahead compositions, such as "Prowler," "Sanctuary," "Charlotte the Harlot," and the title track. The group's more progressive direction is signaled by the seven-and-a-half-minute epic "Phantom of the Opera," as well as by the breakneck instrumental "Transylvania." Also featured was Maiden's first Top 40 U.K. single, the anthemic "Running Free," plus several calmer compositions like "Remember Tomorrow" and "Strange World," which showed that there was more to this young band than just bashing away.

Bassist/leader Steve Harris proved to be the band's main songwriter/wordsmith early on, with lyrics that often proved thought-provoking -- a sharp detour from the expected topic of sex, drugs, and rock & roll that most metal bands relied on, while vocalist Paul Di'Anno's oft-rough vocals were also a main ingredient.

This was inspired by the novel by Gaston Leroux, and the popular musical adaptation. Bass player Steve Harris: "This is a very long song that was done in sections. The middle part was totally separate but it fit in very well. It felt right to go from the slow part into the middle section. Phantom is one of the best pieces I've ever written, and certainly one of the most enjoyable to play. It's got all these intricate guitar lines which keep it interesting. Then there's the slow middle part which creates quite a good mood. It's also got fast heavy parts which are really rockin'. And it's also got areas for crowd participation. It pretty much covers all the bases for the band. It was also a good example of what I wanted to get across."

Read also:

• Iron Maiden - Aces High
• Music dictionary - Tharsh Metal
• AC/DC - Back In Black
• Def Leppard

Reelased in 1988 "...And Justice for All" is Metallica's most complex and ambitious work. This is the first Metallica studio album to feature bassist Jason Newsted, since it is the first after the tragic death of the group's former bassist Cliff Burton. The album's dark subject material, featuring references to injustice in the law system, limited freedom, war, insanity and hate, is accompanied by the most complex song structures to this date in Metallica's discography. The album is also noted for its near lack of bass guitar and dry production and therefore has been called a "slightly flawed masterpiece and the pinnacle of Metallica's progressive years" by www.allmusic.com's reviewer.

The cover of this album is also consifdered one their most profund. Ussually, the band's album art implies simple elements such dark colour, lightning, grafitti written words. Toghether with 2002 album "St Anger" 's cover, "And Justice for All" brings Metallica into a whole new level: expressing ideeas and song concepts through the cover of the album.

The front cover of "...And Justice For All" depicts the statue of Lady Justice cracked and bound by ropes, with both of her scales filled with dollars and both of her breasts exposed. The words "…And Justice for All" are written in graffiti to the right. The cover is made by Stephen Gorman after a concept by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. It is very clear that this cover expresses that decade's corupted society, as Lady Justice - Iustitia, the Roman Goddess of Justice - is on this cover the oposite of what should actually be: a bare-breasted woman carrying a sword and scales, and sometimes wearing a blindfold, standing in fron of a courtroom (Wiki, AllMusic).

Read also:

• Music dictionary - Thrash Metal
• Harvester of Sorrow
• Fade to Black

Pete Townshend originally wrote this about a character in his "Lifehouse" project, which was going to be a film similar to The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia. Townshend never finished "Lifehouse," but the songs ended up on the album Who's Next.

Actually the lyrics are a first-person lament from a man in the Lifehouse story, variously identified as 'Brick' or 'Jumbo', who is always angry and full of angst because of all the pressure and temptation that surrounds him, and the song was intended to be his "theme song" had the project been successful. (The lyrics of the rocking section near the end were actually written by Townshend as a prayer when he was a disciple of Meher Baba after being tempted by a groupie, and incorporated into the song when it was written.) In the incarnation of Lifehouse that was officially released as a part of Pete Townshend's solo box set, The Lifehouse Chronicles the song's meaning changes to the theme song of the story's protagonist, Ray.

The version of "Behind Blue Eyes" on the original Who's Next album was actually the second version the band recorded; the earlier version appears as a bonus track on the remastered CD release, which features Al Kooper on Hammond Organ. Pete Townshend has also recorded two solo versions, one (the original demo of the song) was featured on the Scoop album. The demo along with a newer recording of the song featuring an orchestral backing was featured in The Lifehouse Chronicles.

Limp Bizkit covered this in 2003 on their album Results May Vary. Their version was used in the Halle Berry movie Gothika. Berry appeared in the video, which was directed by Bizkit front man Fred Durst. Conveniently enough, Durst included a scene where he kisses Berry in the video. As the song is rather difficult to be performed, Durst digitally changed his voice for this song and he almost never played it live (Songfacts).

Read also:

• Jimi Hendrix - Little Wing
• Pearl Jam
• The Doors - Brake On Through (To The Other Side)

A songwriter named Arthur Altman wrote the music for this in 1939. The song needed lyrics, so music publishing mogul Lou Levy asked his friend Jack Lawrence to help out. Lawrence had written many popular songs, including "Foolin' Myself" for Billie Holiday, "What Will I Tell My Heart?" for Bing Crosby, and "If I Didn't Care" for The Ink Spots. He agreed and added lyrics to the song. Altman made a few changes to the melody to accommodate the lyrics.

After this was written, Lou Levy found 3 prominent orchestras to record it. One of the orchestras was led by Freddy Martin, another by Jimmy Dorsey (with vocals by Bob Eberly), and the third by Harry James. James had recently discovered a 23-year-old vocalist from Hoboken, New Jersey named Frank Sinatra, who sang this in his version. Despite strong renditions from big-name orchestras, all 3 singles disappeared without a hint of public interest. Even though this was a flop, Sinatra's career took off. He joined Tommy Dorsey, the most successful bandleader of the early '40s, and became the featured vocalist on 39 Top-20 singles. He was a heartthrob sensation, headliner and show business icon. He was the most talked-about performer in the music industry, and signed a deal with Columbia Records, one of the biggest labels in the business.

his remains one of the most recorded American song standards. It has been recorded by vocalists Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Perry Como, as well as Jazz musicians like John Coltrane, George Shearing, Count Basie and Chet Baker. Other artists to record it include Barry Manilow, Diana Krall, Little Jimmy Scott, Al Jarreau and Little Anthony And The Imperials (Songfacts).

On this day in 1943, Frank Sinatra made his debut as vocalist on radio's "Your Hit Parade."

Read also:

• Summertime Stories
• Liza Minnelli - New York, New York
• Ella and Louis
• The World's First Album Cover

Jazz played by a small ensemble featuring collective and solo improvisation. The term is often ascribed especially to the New Orleans pioneers of jazz, although many critics of popular music believe the term better describes the music of a later wave of white Chicago musicians including Jimmy McPartland, Bud Freeman, and Frank Teschemacher. The earliest jazz ensembles grew out of the ragtime and brass bands of New Orleans, incorporating elements of the blues. In early jazz ensembles, such as those led by King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton, the trumpet or cornet plays the melody, with clarinet and trombone providing accompaniment. The tension created by soloists contrasts with the release of ensemble refrains. It is played with a distinctive two-beat rhythm, resulting in a joyous cacophony at fast tempos or slow, mournful dirges. Dixieland groups usually include banjo, tuba, and drums (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia).

The term Dixieland became widely used after the advent of the first million-selling hit records of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917. The music has been played continuously since the early part of the 20th century. Louis Armstrong's All-Stars was the band most popularly identified with Dixieland, although Armstrong's own influence runs through all of jazz.

The swing era of the 1930s led to the end of many Dixieland Jazz musicians' careers. Only a few musicians were able to maintain popularity. Most retired.

There was a revival of Dixieland in the late 1940s and 1950s, which brought many semiretired musicians a measure of fame late in their lives as well as bringing retired musicians back onto the jazz circuit after years of not playing (e.g. Kid Ory). Many Dixieland groups of the revival era consciously imitated the recordings and bands of decades earlier. Other musicians continued to create innovative performances and new tunes. For example, in the 1950s a style called "Progressive Dixieland" sought to blend traditional Dixieland melody with bebop-style rhythm. Steve Lacy played with several such bands early in his career. This style is sometimes called "Dixie-bop".

While the term Dixieland is still in wide use, the term's appropriateness is a hotly debated topic in some circles. For some it is the preferred label (especially bands on the USA's West coast and those influenced by the 1940s revival bands), while others (especially New Orleans musicians, and those influenced by the African-American bands of the 1920s) would rather use terms like Classic Jazz or Traditional Jazz. Some of the latter consider Dixieland a derogatory term implying superficial hokum played without passion or deep understanding of the music.

Today there are three main active streams of Dixieland jazz:

• Chicago style (Jimmy McPartland, Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier Bud Freeman) differs from its southern origin by being faster paced, resembling the hustle-bustle of city life; The rhythm sections of these bands substitute the string bass for the tuba and the guitar for the banjo. Musically, the Chicagoans play in more of a swing-style 4-to-the-bar manner.

• West Coast Revival The "West Coast revival" is a movement begun in the late 1930s by the Lu Watters Yerba Buena Jazz Band of San Francisco and extended by trombonist Turk Murphy. It started out as a backlash to the Chicago style, which is closer in development towards swing. The repertoire of these bands is based on the music of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and W.C. Handy. Bands playing in the West Coast style use banjo and tuba in the rhythm sections, which play in a 2-to-the-bar rhythmic style.

• New Orleans Traditional The "New Orleans Traditional" revival movement began with the rediscovery of Bunk Johnson in 1942 and was extended by the founding of Preservation Hall in the French Quarter during the 1960s. Bands playing in this style use string bass and banjo in the rhythm section playing 4-to-the-bar and feature popular tunes and Gospel hymns that were played in New Orleans since the early 20th century.
  

"When The Saints Go Marching In" is one of the best known dixieland "hit". This is a version from the '40s performed by The Dukes of Dixieland:

As promised, here it is the short history of a huge rock band:
Deep Purple survived a seemingly endless series of lineup changes and a dramatic mid-career shift from grandiose progressive rock to ear-shattering heavy metal to emerge as a true institution of the British hard rock community; once credited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the globe's loudest band, their revolving-door roster launched the careers of performers including Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, and Ian Gillan.

Deep Purple was formed in Hertford, England, in 1968, with an inaugural lineup that featured guitarist Blackmore, vocalist Rod Evans, bassist Nick Simper, keyboardist Jon Lord, and drummer Ian Paice.

Initially dubbed Roundabout, the group was first assembled as a session band for ex-Searchers drummer Chris Curtis but quickly went their own way, touring Scandinavia before beginning work on their debut LP, Shades of Deep Purple. The most pop-oriented release of their career, the album generated a Top Five American hit with its reading of Joe South's "Hush" but otherwise went unnoticed at home. The Book of Taliesyn followed (in the U.S. only) in 1969, again cracking the U.S. Top 40 with a cover of Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman."

With their self-titled third LP, Deep Purple's ambitions grew, however; the songs reflecting a new complexity and density as Lord's classically influenced keyboards assumed a much greater focus. Soon after the album's release, their American label Tetragrammaton folded, and with the dismissals of Evans and Simper, the band started fresh, recruiting singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover from the ranks of the pop group Episode Six.

The revamped Deep Purple's first album, 1970's Concerto for Group and Orchestra, further sought to fuse rock and classical music. When the project, which was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, was poorly received, Blackmore took creative control of the band, steering it towards a heavier, guitar-dominated approach which took full advantage of Gillan's powerful vocals. The gambit worked; 1970's Deep Purple in Rock heralded the beginning of the group's most creatively and commercially successful period. At home, the album sold over a million copies, with the subsequent non-LP single "Black Night" falling just shy of topping the U.K. pop charts.

1971's Fireball was also a smash, scoring a hit with "Strange Kind of Woman." Plans to record the follow-up at the Casino in Montreux, Switzerland, were derailed after the venue burned down during a live appearance by Frank Zappa, but the experience inspired Deep Purple's most enduring hit, the AOR staple "Smoke on the Water." The song, featured on the multi-platinum classic Machine Head, reached the U.S. Top Five in mid-1972 and positioned Deep Purple among rock's elite; the band consolidated its status with the 1973 studio follow-up Who Do We Think We Are and the hit "Woman From Tokyo." However, long-simmering creative differences between Blackmore and Gillan pushed the latter out of the group that same year, with Glover soon exiting as well; singer David Coverdale and bassist/singer Glenn Hughes were recruited for 1974's Burn, and Gillan meanwhile formed a band bearing his own name.

All the changes clearly took their toll, however, and following a farewell tour, the group dissolved in 1976 with Coverdale going on to form Whitesnake; Bolin died of a drug overdose later in the year. The classic lineup of Blackmore, Gillan, Lord, Glover, and Paice reunited Deep Purple in 1984 for a new album, the platinum smash Perfect Strangers; The House of Blue Light followed three years later, but as past tensions resurfaced, Gillan again exited in mid-1989. Onetime Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner was recruited for 1990's Slaves and Masters before Gillan again rejoined to record The Battle Rages On..., an apt title as Blackmore quit the group midway through the supporting tour, to be temporarily replaced by Joe Satriani.

In 1994, Steve Morse took over the guitar slot, fresh from a stint in Kansas; the revitalized group returned to the studio for 1996's Purpendicular, which proved a success among the Purple faithful. 1998's Abandon followed, as well as a 1999 orchestral performance released the following year as Live at the Royal Albert Hall. Deep Purple was given the box set treatment the same year with the four-disc set Shades: 1968-1998, which collected hits, demos, live takes, and unreleased tracks from throughout the years (touching upon all of Purple's different lineups). The late '90s/early 2000s saw the release of several other archival releases and collections (Machine Head 25th Anniversary, Friends & Relatives, Rhino's The Very Best Of, and Days May Come and Days May Go: The 1975 California Rehearsals), as well as a slew of DVDs (Total Abandon: Live Australia 1999, In Concert with the London Symphony Orchestra, Bombay Calling, and New Live & Rare). Former member Blackmore also kept himself busy after leaving the band by issuing a single album with his briefly resuscitated outfit Rainbow (1998's Stranger in Us All), before forming the Renaissance-inspired Blackmore's Night with fiancée/vocalist Candice Night.

Despite numerous lineup upheavals during their career, Deep Purple remains alive and well in the 21st century. (All Music Guide)

This is "Highway Star" in a live performance from 2007. For the meanings of this hit read this article.

Read also:

• Songmeanings - Deep Purple , "Highway Star"
• Deep Purple - Son Of Alerik
• Whitesnake
• Biographies - Joe Satriani, "Always With You, Always With Me"

I will post soon the discograpy of Deep Purple and
song meanings for "Smoke on The Water". Untill
then, enjoy it loud.



Read also:

• Deep Purple - Highway Star
• AC/DC - Back In Black
• Deep Purple - Son Of Alerik

"Every Breath You Take" was released on Police' 1983 album Synchronicity. The single was one of the biggest of 1983, topping the UK charts for four weeks and the Billboard Music Charts (North America) for eight weeks. Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the Grammy Awards of 1984 for "Every Breath You Take". The song ranks #84 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song also ranks at #25 on Billboard's All Time Top 100.

This is one of the most misinterpreted songs ever. Although considered a very romantic song by the most, in fact is about an obsessive stalker, but it sounds like a love song. Some people even used it as their wedding song. Sting wrote it after separating from his first wife, Frances Tomelty.

The recording process created a great deal of tension in the studio. Sting was very particular about his song and would not let the other members of The Police (Andy Summers and Stuart Copeland) do much with it. The Police broke up after this album.

The middle of the song was finished last. They didn't know what to do with it until Sting sat at a piano and started hitting the same key over and over. That became the basis for the missing section.

Sting knew this would be the band's biggest hit when he wrote it, even if he didn't think he was breaking new ground. In Rolling Stone magazine, he said: "'Every Breath You Take' is an archetypal song. If you have a major chord followed by a relative minor, you're not original."

"Every Breath You Take" was included in several movie soundtracks (Ally Mcbeal, The Runaway Bride, The Replacements) and was covered by many artists and music bands in the last 20 years (Sources: Songfacts, Wiki )

This is a live version from 2007 in Rio, in front of 70,000 spectators.

Read also:

• Bob Dylan - Hurricane
• Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds
• Album Cover Art - Hotel California (The Eagles)

This is the newest category of Music Blessing JukeBlog. As the title clearly states here you will find career info on several artists mostly of corse from rock music (and genres...) but also from music linked domains.

Joe Satriani
Along with teaching some of the top rock guitar players of the '80s and '90s, Joe Satriani is one of the most technically accomplished and widely respected guitarists to emerge in recent times. Born on July 15, 1956, in Westbury, NY, and raised in the nearby town of Carle Place, Satriani -- inspired by guitar legend Jimi Hendrix -- picked up the guitar at the age of 14 (although he was initially more interested in the drums). Quickly learning the instrument, Satriani began teaching guitar to others and found a kindred spirit in one of his students, Steve Vai. By the late '70s, however, Satriani had relocated to Berkeley, CA. With his sights set on his own musical career, "Satch" kept teaching others, including such future rock notables as Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Larry LaLonde (Primus), David Bryson (Counting Crows), and jazz fusion player Charlie Hunter.

In the early '80s, Satriani got a gig playing guitar with power popster Greg Kihn, doing some session work and touring with the group (an archival release recorded around this time, King Biscuit Flower Hour, was later issued in 1996), and issuing his own solo self-titled EP in 1984, financing and releasing the project entirely on his own. But when Vai hit the big time as the guitarist of David Lee Roth's solo band in 1986, he offered praise for his good friend and former teacher in several major guitar publications, leading to widespread interest in Satriani's playing. The timing couldn't have been more perfect for Satch, as he'd just issued his first full-length solo album, Not of This Earth, which automatically made ripples in the rock guitar community.

But the best was still to come, in the form of his sophomore release, 1987's Surfing with the Alien. Almost overnight, Satriani was widely regarded as one of rock's top guitarists, as the album earned gold certification and the guitarist would finish at the top of guitar magazine polls for years afterward. He was even handpicked by Mick Jagger to accompany the famous singer on a tour of Australia and Japan around this time. A stopgap EP, Dreaming #11, combed both studio and live tracks and was issued a year later, and in 1989, Satriani issued his third solo full-length, Flying in a Blue Dream. Another sizeable hit, the album also marked Satch's debut as a vocalist on several tracks. His career received another big push the same year when his song "One Big Rush" was included on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's hit movie Say Anything.

The '90s began with Satriani creating his own line of guitars for the Ibanez company (the JS Joe Satriani model), but it wasn't until 1992 that he would issue his next solo release, The Extremist. The double-disc set Time Machine followed a year later (a combination of new tracks, live material, and the long out-of-print Joe Satriani EP from 1984), and in 1994, Satch filled in on tour for the departed Ritchie Blackmore for heavy metal pioneers Deep Purple. Although he was asked to become a full-time member, Satriani turned down the offer to return to his solo career.

Satriani issued two more solo albums during the '90s -- 1995's self-titled release and 1998's Crystal Planet -- and also started the G3 guitar showcase tour with Vai in 1996, becoming an annual event and issuing a live document of the tour's initial run, G3: Live in Concert, a year later. 2000 saw Satriani issue his most musically daring release yet, the electronic-based Engines of Creation, and a year later, Live in San Francisco. Engines was nominated for a Grammy the next year, and after a successful tour he stepped back into the studio. The result, Strange Beautiful Music, was released in 2002. Electric Joe Satriani: An Anthology arrived in 2003, followed by Is There Love in Space? in 2004, Super Colossal in 2005, and Satriani Live! in 2006. In addition to his own albums, Satriani has guested on several other artists' albums over the years, including Blue Öyster Cult's Imaginos, Alice Cooper's Hey Stoopid, Stuart Hamm's Radio Free Albemuth, Pat Martino's All Sides Now, and Spinal Tap's Break Like the Wind.

"Always With Me, Always With You" is part of the 1987 album "Surfing With The Alien", (re-realesed in 2007).

Read also:

• Deep Purple - Highway Star
• Jimi Hendrix - Little Wing
• Metallica - Harvester of Sorrow

The cover of the 1972 Led Zeppelin's album still remains today full with controversy, even if some of the stories have been revealed in the past years.

Here is the "official" version of the story behind the cover which is also close to the truth as you will see bellow:

The cover art for Houses of the Holy was inspired by the ending of Arthur C. Clarke's novel Childhood's End. (The ending involves several hundred million naked children, only slightly and physically resembling the human race in basic forms). It is a collage of several photographs which were taken at the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland, by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis. This location was chosen ahead of an alternative one in Peru.

The two children who modelled for the cover were siblings Stefan and Samanatha Gates. The photoshoot was a frustrating affair over the course of ten days. Shooting was done first thing in the morning and at sunset in order to capture the light at dawn and dusk, but the desired effect was never achieved due to constant rain and clouds. The photos of the two children were taken in black and white and were multi-printed to create the effect of 11 individuals that can be seen on the album cover. The results of the shoot were less than satisfactory, but some accidental tinting effects in post-production created an unexpectedly striking album cover. The inner sleeve photograph was taken at Dunluce Castle near to the Causeway.

Like Led Zeppelin's fourth album, neither the band's name nor the album title was printed on the sleeve. However, manager Peter Grant did allow Atlantic records to add a wrap-around band to UK copies of the sleeve that had to be broken or slid off to access the record. This hid the children's buttocks from general display, but still the album was either banned or unavailable in Spain and some parts of the Southern United States for several years. The first CD release of the album in the 1980s did have the title logos printed on the cover itself(Wiki)

But while the sleeve design is familiar across the globe, what no one knows is that the young boy who appears in the photo montage is now a well-known television presenter.

Stefan Gates, of BBC2's Cooking In The Danger Zone, was just five when he and sister Sam were innocently snapped in the nude for the shoot on the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Stefan, 40, has travelled to some of the world's most dangerous regions fronting his show. But the photoshoot over ten rainy days in County Antrim remains prominent in his mind. He had followed Sam, now 42, into child modelling after she was spotted by a talent scout. They posed together for knitwear patterns and appeared separately in commercials and TV dramas, including Poldark.

Stefan said: "We only got a few quid for the modelling and the chance to travel to places we had never been before.Our family wasn't well off, we certainly couldn't afford holidays, so it worked out great for us. For the Zeppelin cover we went to Ireland during the Troubles. I remember arriving at the airport and seeing all these people with guns. We stayed in this little guest house near the Giant's Causeway and to capture the so-called magic light of dawn and dusk we'd shoot first thing in the morning and at night."

Stefan and Sam Gates on the album's cover, crawling over the Giant's Causeway in Ireland. Several multiple-exposure shots give the impression of lots of children.

"I've heard people saying they put wigs on several children. But there was only me and my sister and that's our real hair. I used to love being naked when I was that age so I didn't mind. I'd whip off my clothes at the drop of a hat and run around having a great time, so I was in my element. My sister was older so she was probably a bit more self-conscious."

There is endless debate among rock fans over the significance of the image.

While as said, Powell has claimed he was inspired by the science-fiction book Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke, in which children climb off the end of the world, Stefan is sceptical of all the theories about the artwork's meaning, including Powell's:

"In a lot of cases with graphical design work it's an evolving process and they think up the explanation later. I personally have no idea what it means. There's something about it though that is disturbing and haunting, perhaps more so because I am in it." (Daily Mail)

In 1974 the album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of best album package. The cover was rated #6 on VH1's 50 Greatest Album Covers in 2003.

Jimmy Page has stated that the album cover was actually the second version submitted by Hipgnosis. The first, by artist Storm Thorgerson, featured an electric green tennis court with a tennis racquet on it. Furious that Thorgerson was implying their music sounded like a "racket", the band fired him and hired Powell in his place. Thorgerson did, however, go on to produce the album artwork for Led Zeppelin's subsequent albums Presence and In Through the Out Door.

This is "The Song Remains The Same" from the album:

Read also:

• Led Zeppelin - Moby Dick
• Album Cover Art
• "The Back Catalogue" - Pink Floyd, designed by Storm Thorgerson

"Back in Black" contains one guitar riff that is simply unforgetable. It was recorded in The Bahamas and produced in New York by Mutt Lange, who also later went on to work with Def Leppard, Celine Dion, and Shania Twain (who he married).

The band got the idea for the title before writing any of the song, although Malcolm Young had the main guitar riff for years and used to play it frequently as a warm-up tune. Bon Scott had several lyrical ideas for the album, but those were abandoned by the band in favor of new lyrics by Brian, Malcolm and Angus. Former AC/DC manager Ian Jeffrey claims to still have a folder that contains lyrics of 15 songs written for Back In Black by Bon.

This was released 5 months after lead singer Bon Scott died. The song is a tribute to Scott, and they lyrics, "Forget the hearse 'cause I never die" imply that he will live on forever through his music. With Brian Johnson on lead vocals, the Back In Black album proved that AC/DC could carry on without Scott.

Actually the album sold over 19 million copies in the US, the 6th highest ever. Worldwide, it has sold over 40 million. The album had a black cover with the band's logo on it. It was a tributed of course to Bon Scott.

Years before passing away, Bon Scott saw Brian Johnson singing for another band in a pub, and was so impressed by his vocals, when he met back up with AC/DC he told them to get Johnson if anything should ever happen to him. After Bon's death, Angus Young called Johnson up and offered him the position of lead vocalist. Johnson told him where he could put it and hung up (he thought someone was pranking him). Eventually, of course, it worked out.

Read also:

• Def Leppard
• Deep Purple - Highway Star

The Piedmont blues (also known as Piedmont fingerstyle or East Coast blues) is a type of blues music characterized by a fingerpicking approach on the guitar in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger, occasionally others. The result is comparable in sound to piano ragtime or later stride. The Piedmont style is differentiated from other styles (particularly the Mississippi Delta style) by its ragtime-based rhythms which lessened its impact on later electric band blues or rock 'n' roll, but it was directly influential on rockabilly and the folk revival scene. It was an extremely popular form of African-American dance music for many decades in the first half of the 20th century.

The basis of the Piedmont style began with the older "frailing" or "framming" guitar styles that may have been universal throughout the South, and was also based, at least to some extent, on formal "parlor guitar" techniques as well as earlier banjo playing, string band music, and ragtime. Varieties of the older styles can be heard in players such as Peg Leg Howell and the Hicks brothers from Georgia, plus various musicians from other areas, including Mississippi's John Hurt, Frank Stokes (from Memphis), and Mance Lipscomb (from Texas)--but if one is going to group musicians into regional styles, these clearly cannot be classed as Piedmont players. What was particular to the Piedmont was that a generation of players adapted these older, ragtime-based techniques to blues in a singular and popular fashion, influenced by such guitar virtuosi on records as Blind Blake and Gary Davis (as well as less-recorded masters like Willie Walker).

The Piedmont blues typically refers to a greater geographical area than the Piedmont plateau, which mainly refers to the East Coast of the United States from about Richmond, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia. Piedmont blues musicians come from this area, as well as Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and northern Florida, eastern Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama - later the Northeastern cities like Boston, Newark,NJ or New York. Recording artists such as Blind Blake, Josh White, Buddy Moss, and Blind Boy Fuller helped spread the style on the strength of their sales throughout the region... there were others on record of lesser impact, plus hundreds who never got into a studio. It was a nationally popular commercial Black musical form for over two decades in the early twentieth century from about the mid-20's through to the mid-40's judging from record sales and their substantial influence: Blind Boy Fuller's 1940 recording of "Step It Up & Go" apparently sold over half a million copies to both Blacks and Whites. This one style essentially overrode all other local styles over a vast area of the American South East, finding national favor among Black record buyers and party-goers.

Eugene "Buddy" Moss (Jan 16, 1914 – October 19, 1984) was, in the estimation of many blues scholars, the most influential East Coast blues guitarist to record in the period between Blind Blake's final sessions in 1932 and Blind Boy Fuller's debut in 1935. A younger contemporary of Blind Willie McTell and Curley Weaver, Moss was part of a near-legendary coterie of Atlanta bluesmen, and one of the few of his era lucky enough to work into the blues revival of the 1960s and '70s. A guitarist of uncommon skill and dexterity, he was a musical disciple of Blind Blake, and may well have served as an influence on Piedmont-style guitarist Blind Boy Fuller. Although his career was halted in 1935 by a six-year jail term, and then by the Second World War, Moss lived long enough to be rediscovered in the 1960s, when he revealed a talent undamaged by time or adversity. (Wiki)

This is "Going to Your Funeral In A Vee Eight Ford" by Buddy Moss (sorry for the statics)

Read also:

• Music dictionary
• Otis Reeding - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay

"Suspicious Minds" is one of the most apreciated hits of "the king". In fact, the song is not from his best period; this actually was a big comeback song for Elvis. It was 7 years since his last #1 hit. Moreover, this was the last #1 hit for Elvis during his lifetime. A remixed version of "A Little Less Conversation" hit #1 in the UK in 2002.

Memphis singer Mark James wrote this. He recorded and released his own version, but it didn't go anywhere. Memphis Soul producer Chips Moman brought this to Presley in 1969, and Elvis immediately fell in love with it and decided he could turn it into a hit, even though it had flopped for James.

"Suspicious Minds" was recorded between 4-7 in the morning, during the landmark Memphis session that helped Elvis reclaim his title of "The King." Elvis' publishing company, along with his manager Col. Tom Parker, tried to get their usual cut of the royalties from this and threatened to stop the recording if they didn't. Elvis insisted on recording the song regardless.

This song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

Yesterday, 8th January 2009 Elvis would have had his 74th anniversary. Long live the King!

Read also:

• The Four Seasons - December 1963 (Oh What a Night)
• Music dictionary - Heartland Rock

The Scottish band Pilot were formed by former Bay City Rollers members David Paton (bass and vocals) and Billy Lyall (synthesizer, flute and vocals). They were joined by drummer Stuart Tosh and session guitarist Ian Bairnson. They achieved transatlantic success with their single "Magic" in 1974, before "January" topped the UK chart the following year. The band followed it up with their only other UK single chart hits "Call Me Round" and "Just A Smile." After that they achieved little success and after the band disbanded in 1978 Tosh, Paton and Bairnson became part of the Alan Parsons Project and Tosh also worked with 10cc. Lyall died of an AIDS-related illness in 1989.

"January" was written by the band's bassist David Paton and produced by Alan Parsons. It arrived at #1 in the UK on 28th January 1975, spending 3 weeks at the top.

David Paton recalls in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: My wife was reading a book and the main character was called January. She told me this and I wrote the chorus with that in mind. The verse was about how I felt at the time with the success of 'Magic'. I didn't write the song in January, it was in October, just after the release of 'Magic.' It was quickly recorded as the next single. We were recording the album, Second Flight, in Air Studios in London when 'January' got to #1. I didn't know the song was #1 until I arrived at the studio where I was greeted with handshakes and congratulations." (Source)

Read also:
American Pie I and II
Music dictionary: Soft Rock - Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

Christmas time tends to be one of the most inspitational moments of the year for the musicians. From 1930's to our days, from Judy Garland to George Michael artists all over the world felt that they had to sing about the Christmas and the way they saw it.

Merry Christmas everyone ... and enjoy it.

10. Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt

Madonna brought this one out of obscurity in 1987 for the Very Special Christmas album, and it's become a holiday standard for any diva who craves a special sugar daddy this time of year. Eartha Kitt's original helped make the future Catwoman a star.



9. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland

Garland was much more than Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. In 1944 she starred in the film Meet Me In St. Louis, which featured this song. It was a big hit with soldiers fighting overseas during World War II.



8. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love

Phil Spector wrote this for his 1963 Christmas album, which had the misfortune of being released on November 22, 1963 - the day US president John F. Kennedy was shot and killed. The album was pulled, but the song eventually became a Christmas classic, thanks in no small part to U2's cover in 1987 for A Very Special Christmas.



7. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

A rare Elctro-Pop Christmas song, McCartney used a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synth, which you also hear in Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" and the Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes." All four members of The Beatles released Christmas songs as solo artists.



6. Father Christmas - The Kinks

This isn't your typical Christmas song, it's about a kid who gets mugged by performing as St. Nick, then asks for a machine gun and a job for his dad for Christmas. Where the Kinks come from, Santa Claus is known as "Father Christmas."



5. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee

Written by the same guy who wrote "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," Lee was 13 when she recorded this song in 1958. Something not a lot of people think about - Christmas songs are usually recorded in the summer. That was the case here, as Lee recorded it on a hot July day in Nashville. Her producer turned up the air conditioning and set up a Christmas tree to get her in the mood.



4. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band-Aid

The first big group charity song, this was organized by Bob Geldof to raise money for famine relief in Africa. The next year, Geldof got much more ambitious, organizing "We Are The World" and Live Aid. Appearing on this song, in order: Paul Young, Boy George, George Michael, Simon Le Bon, and Bono. The chorus included David Bowie, Phil Collins, and Paul McCartney.



3. You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch - Thurl Ravenscroft

Written for the 1966 Dr. Seuss TV Holiday Special How The Grinch Stole Christmas, this is one of those songs that you gotta love even if you're burned out on Christmas music. Ravenscroft was the voice of Tony the Tiger, who said of Frosted Flakes cereal: "They're Great." In 2000, the movie was remade, and this song recorded by Jim Carrey and Busta Rhymes.



2. Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley

Originally recorded by Ernest Tubb in 1950, Elvis sang the definitive version in 1957. After all, you can't have a White Christmas without that special someone, and who better than Elvis to express the pain of longing?



1. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon

In 1969, John and Yoko bought billboard advertisements in major cities around the world that said, "War is over! (If you want it)." Two years later they turned the slogan into this Christmas song with an anti-war message. This is the second entry on the list produced by Phil Spector, who also worked on Lennon's "Instant Karma." Listen at the beginning as John and Yoko whisper to their children Kyoko and Julian.



and two special ones: Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song and Wham - Last Christmas

This is the song that became the name of the band. They were using the name "Earth" when they realized another band had the same name. They liked the name of this song so they used it for their band. From Black Sabbath: The Ozzy Osbourne Years: "While rehearsing new material, the band formerly known as Earth experienced a supernatural experience. Geezer and Tony were playing new riffs for Ozzy and Bill when, much to everyone's surprise, they both strummed the same notes at the same tempo – although neither had ever before heard the other one play the piece! Convinced that this was an omen, Geezer christened the song and the group Black Sabbath (after the 1964 Borris Karloff's movie.)."

"Black Sabbath" was the first song on the first Black Sabbath album. The album cost $1200 to make and took about 8 hours to record.

As a result of the title, many fans associated the band with Satanism, an image they played up throughout their career. The song is actually about anti-satanism, or at least expresses a healthy fear of the devil. Godsmack lead singer Sully Erna describes this as "The darkest song ever." Godsmack got a big break when they were invited on the 1999 Ozzfest tour.

During a July, 2001 interview with Geezer Butler, Guitar World magazine explained that "having borrowed a 16th century tome of black magic from Osbourne one afternoon, Butler awoke that night to find a black shape staring balefully at him from the foot of his bed. After a few frightening moments, the figure slowly vanished into thin air." Geezer continued to describe how he "told Ozzy about it. It stuck in his mind, and when we started playing 'Black Sabbath', he just came out with those lyrics. . . It had to come out, and it eventually did in that song – and then there was only one possible name for the band, really!"

This has been covered by Vader, Widespread Panic, Dance or Die, Flower Travellin' Band, Amber Assylum, Jello Biafra (with Ice T), Acheron, Mistress, and Cryptal Darkness. Type O Negative covered this, except they changed the lyrics so that the song is from Satan's point of view. The song was called "Black Sabbath (from The Satanic Perspective)." It was on the albums Nativity in Black: Tribute To Black Sabbath and Type O Negative's The Least Worst of Type O Negative.