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Paul McCartney once sang, “I go back so far, I’m in front of me.”
Now we’re going to get the whole story, courtesy of eccentric record producer Rick Rubin. The pair are going to make a six part documentary series that I’m sure Apple or Netflix will battle for in an auction. The series is going to cover Paul’s whole career, with all his masters leaving Abbey Road (that’s a mistake, Rubin should gave gone there) for Los Angeles.
McCartney already has a documentary that is presumably finished, made by director Paul Haggis. It’s unclear whether that will stand alone or be subsumed into this project. I know that Haggis’s project was supposed to be quite good, so we’ll see where this all leads.
Meantime, of course, Friday brings McCartney’s “McCartney III” album, which I adore, and is getting great reviews. I can’t wait for everyone to hear some of those songs.
Do the Beatles matter in 2020? Let’s just say that’s the second McCartney item today and the second Beatles story, after Ringo’s announcement earlier today. Will we be able to say that in 50 years about any of today’s contemporary artists? I doubt it.
PS Presumably Paul is also still working on the Broadway musical version of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” He just keeps working! We’re lucky!
PS I do wonder why this trailer begins and ends with a song Paul didn’t write, “Come Together,” but no one asked me!
Ringo Starr has gotten together a crowd of his friends to record a special single written by Diane Warren.
“Here’s to the Nights” features Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Sheryl Crow, Finneas (you know, Billie Eilish’s brother), Steve Lukather from Toto, Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl among others to record the single, the first track off a new EP. Ringo also has a big new gift book coming to celebrate 30 years of his All Starr Band tours.
Other artists on the track include Corinne Bailey Rae, Eric Burton (Black Pumas), Ben Harper, Jenny Lewis, Chris Stapleton and my new favorite singer, Yola.
I can tell you a little secret: Mick Jagger was supposed to participate, but couldn’t at the last minute. With that crowd, he won’t be missed!
“When Diane presented this song to me I loved the sentiment of it,” Ringo says in a statement. “This is the kind of song we all want to sing along to, and it was so great how many wonderful musicians joined in. I wanted it out in time for New Years because it feels like a good song to end a tough year on. So here’s to the nights we won’t remember and the friends we won’t forget – and I am wishing everyone peace and love for 2021.”
The song is the lead single from his forthcoming EP, cleverly titled “Zoom In,” which was recorded at Ringo’s home studio between April and October 2020. For this EP, Starr collaborated with songwriters and producers including Jeff Zobar who penned the title track, “Zoom In, Zoom Out” during the pandemic, and features Robbie Krieger on guitar; and “Not Enough Love In the World” which was written by long time All Starr member Steve Lukather and Joseph Williams.
Taking every precaution, Ringo invited only a few musicians at various times to his home studio to record the music. Joining Starr were musicians Nathan East (bass), Steve Lukather (guitar), Bruce Sugar (synth guitar), Benmont Tench (piano), Charlie Bisharat (violin), Jacob Braun (cello), and Jim Cox (string arrangements and synth strings).
All the proceeds from the book, “Ringo Rocks: 30 Years of the All Starrs,” will go to the Lotos Foundation. The book is on sale online exclusively for $39.99 beginning today at juliensauctions.com.
The official video comes Friday but here’s a preview:
I’ve had to write a lot of obituaries this year, many personal and taken to heart. This is the one I dreaded the most. My father, Arthur Friedman, died overnight from COVID-related issues. He was the biggest star I ever knew, a superstar, more of a Superman than any DC character. He was 88, and had battled back from a bad stroke exactly 14 years ago. He was a warrior. In the last few years he suffered from a condition called Myasthenia Gravis, a neuro-muscular disease, and would not give up. He approached these things with humor and good cheer always, even when I thought it was impossible. He was best friend and comrade in arms.
Arthur Friedman was a highly respected attorney, famous in Fairfield County, a community leader, a politician. His professional credits included building the suburban town of Trumbull, Connecticut serving as Town Attorney from 1961-73. He was also president of the Greater Bridgeport Bar Association. He and my mother were one of a handful of young couples who founded our local synagogue in 1959 in a church basement, and built it into an important religious institution. For years he ran his uncles’ law firm Friedman & Friedman, and then launched his own hugely successful firm, Friedman Mellitz & Newman in 1974 through 2006.
If you want to blame Showbiz411.com on someone, it all traces back to my dad. When I was in sixth grade I started producing a monthly newspaper that he took to an offset printer and paid for and helped me distribute. In high school, when the new faculty adviser for the school paper refused to have me or any student edit the paper, I started my own. Again, he encouraged it, and helped with the printing and advertising. He defended me to the school when they didn’t want the new paper, which by the way went on to win Columbia University’s highest prize, Medalist, for student newspapers. He always said to me I would have to love whatever field I chose in life. I do, and it’s because of him.
But his personal accomplishments were being the most tremendous father, husband, brother, son, nephew, son-in-law and grandfather. Married to my mother for 64 very happy years, he reveled in his family and we loved him beyond description. Born in the Bronx, he lived for the Yankees, and golf, and chocolate ice cream. A Republican when they were moderate, he left the party after Nixon and became a registered Democrat. He feared, in the last year, for our country. He happily voted for Joe Biden and was relieved when he won. He was my anchor in life, and for our whole family. I will miss him forever.
As you may have read, the great Ann Reinking died today at age 71. The Tony winning choreographer of “Chicago” and star of the movie, “All That Jazz,” Bob Fosse’s muse was a major presence in dance and theater. She was nominated three other times for Tony Awards, twice as an actress and once more as a choreographer.
Ann Reinking was so in demand after “All That Jazz” in 1979 there was a considerable effort to launch a movie career apart from Fosse. She starred with Dudley Moore — then the IT guy of the moment — in 1984’s “Micki and Maude,” directed by no less than Blake Edwards and also starring Amy Irving.
She was married four times, never to Fosse but for most of the 1980s to financier Herb Allen. They were an in-demand media couple, appearing in tabloid gossip columns on a daily basis.
But mostly Ann was beloved in the theater world, and everywhere else.
“The world and our family have lost a vibrant, amazing talent and beautiful soul. Ann was the heart of our family and the life of the party,” her family said in a statement on Monday. “She was visiting our brother in Washington state when she went to sleep and never woke up. We will miss her more than we can say. Heaven has the best choreographer available now. I’m sure they are dancing up a storm up there! Annie, we will love and miss you always!!!”
It’s not a good week for Shia LaBeouf. Now he’s got a famous woman with a rhyming name– Sia, the pop star– saying Shia “conned” her into “adulterous relationship claiming to be single.” See below. “I believe he’s very sick and have compassion for him AND his victims.”
Yikes. This comes as a response to performer FKA Twigs filing suit against LaBeouf for abuse.
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler is 44, Shia LaBeouf is 34. How they met is a good question that Sia doesn’t elaborate on.
Will more former LaBeouf “victims” turn up? Stay tuned…
I too have been hurt emotionally by Shia, a pathological liar, who conned me into an adulterous relationship claiming to be single. I believe he's very sick and have compassion for him AND his victims. Just know, if you love yourself- stay safe, stay away. https://t.co/2NNEj9w8b1
Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” is going to become Folklore– and more.
Swift’s second surprise album of the year sold a whopping 134,000 copies on Friday, including around 85,000 CDs and downloads. That’s the one day sale only.
Additionally, “Folklore” sold around 9.2K copies on Friday including streaming and sales.
Taylor is currently taking up 7 slots on the iTunes top 100 albums. She has the top 2 singles on the iTunes charts, plus 7 or 8 other spots on that chart. The single, “Willow,” is number 1 and a remix version of it is number 2.
Listening to the “Willow” remix I realized it’s not so much Joni Mitchell that Taylor sounds like, it’s Suzanne Vega. I think there should be a Suzanne Vega Renaissance in light of “Evermore” and “Folklore.” The influence is quite direct.
But there’s no denying the Taylor Swift tsunami. And she’s even got that boyfriend writing lyrics!
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band looked so happy to be playing live last night on “SNL” and they sounded great. They performed “Ghosts” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams” from the new “Letter to You” album. Their demeanor was actually ebullient. It was like a Chanukah gift!
The show had very good sketches last night including The Dionne Warwick Talk Show– right on the money, very funny– and a parody of Newsmax with Beck Bennett and Timothee Chalamet. There were some political sketches but the show was a lot more even handed last night, less reliant on bashing Trump as we transition into the Biden era. Great to see Cecily Strong back, but Aidy Bryant and Kenan Thompson seemed AWOL.
Charley Pride performed just a month ago on the CMA Awards. Today he has passed away at age 86 from COVID.
He was a superstar, in country music, in black music, in popular music of all colors. Pride transcended all definitions and crossed musical, cultural, and political lines. His influence cannot be underestimated.
His hits included “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’,” “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone,” and “Mountain of Love.” He won the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award in 1971, its top male vocalist prize in 1971 and 1972, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.
Condolences to his fans and friends and family around the world.
The official obit:
Charley Frank Pride was not the first Black artist to make important contributions to country music — DeFord Bailey was a star of the Grand Ole Opry from 1927 through 1941 — but Pride was a trailblazer who emerged during a time of division and rancor.
After a stint in the Army, time working at a Missouri smelting plant, and some unsuccessful attempts to break into big-league baseball, he came to Nashville in 1963 and made demonstration recordings with help from manager Jack Johnson.
Those recordings languished for two years until Johnson met with producer Jack Clement, who offered songs for Pride to learn. On August 16, 1965, Clement produced Pride at RCA Studio B, and the results of that session impressed RCA’s Chet Atkins, who signed Pride to a recording contract.
In 1967, Pride’s recording of Clement’s “Just Between You and Me” broke into country’s Top Ten, and Pride quit his job as a smelter. Iron ore was behind him, and platinum records lay ahead.
Between 1967 and 1987, Pride delivered 52 Top 10 country hits, won Grammy awards, and became RCA Records’ top-selling country artist. His musicality opened minds and superseded prejudice.
“We’re not color blind yet, but we’ve advanced a few paces along the path and I like to think I’ve contributed something to that process,” Pride wrote in his memoir.
Today, Black artists including Allen, Rucker, Mickey Guyton, Rissi Palmer, Rhiannon Giddens, Yola, and others add new chapters to country music’s story. Charley Pride’s impact is evident and important to all of them, and also to every other country performer who builds bridges with melody and sincerity.
Charley Pride escaped the cotton fields, where labor hurt his hands, back, and knees. He transcended and ascended through connection. Through fortitude and artistry, he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry and a beloved American icon.
Charley Pride was the son of Tessie Stewart Pride and Mack Pride, Sr. He was the husband of Ebby Rozene Cohran Pride. His children are Carlton Kraig Pride, Charles Dion Pride, and Angela Rozene Pride. His grandchildren are Carlton Kraig Pride, Jr., Malachi Pride, Syler Pride, Ebby Pride, and Arrentino Vassar. His two great-grandchildren are Skyler Pride and Carlton Kraig Pride, III. he is preceded in death by brothers Jonas McIntyre, Mack Pride, Jr., Louis Pride, Edward Pride, and Joe L. Pride, and by sister Bessie Chambers. He leaves behind siblings Harmon Pride, Stephen Pride, Catherine Sanders, and Maxine Pride, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to The Pride Scholarship at Jesuit College Preparatory School, St. Philips School and Community Center, The Food Bank, or the charity of your choice.
There’s no one better than Dionne Warwick, celebrating her 80th birthday today. Happy Birthday, Dionne!
Dionne’s sultry voice and delicious presentation came to us in the 1960s with hit after hit by Hal David and Burt Bacharach including “Walk on By,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and dozens more. Through the 1970s she stayed on the charts, starting with her Spinners hit, “Then Came You,” that showed her voice just aged like fine wine.
In the late 70s and early 80s, Dionne was one of Clive Davis’s original hits on Arista Records with songs like “Deja Vu,” “I’ll Never Love This Way Again,” and my favorite, the Bee Gees-written, “Heartbreaker.” It was Dionne who put together “That’s What Friends Are For” with Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John, a humongous hit and an them for the war on AIDS.
She comes from a musical dynasty, too. Dionne’s mother and Cissy Houston were sisters, and Whitney Houston was her cousin. Dionne’s sister, Dee Dee Warwick, was a knockout singer who had plenty of R&B hits and was beloved.
Now Dionne is a Twitter sensation. She’s jumped in with the help of her niece and she’s a welcome presence on social media. She doesn’t hold back, either. Dionne tells it like it is!
So happy birthday, Dionne! We’re so glad no one “made you over.” You’re an original, an independent force!
New York’s most prestigious and one of its oldest eateries, the 21 Club, is not dead. It’s just closed for the time being.
Last night there was a flurry of anxiety over a story — in the NY Post, where else? — that 21 was closing for good. But in reality it’s been shuttered since last March and next March 2021 the owners have filed to release the staff. That doesn’t mean it’s over. It’s just in floating in the ether until the pandemic is over.
The 21 Club, at its current location of 21 West 52nd St. since 1930, is currently owned by Belnord, aka the Orient Express Company. I knew the second generation owners of the original families from the 1980s. In 1983, I helped put together an episode of the Merv Griffin Show there. It was a week with the chef Pierre Franey, whose best selling cookbook “The 60 Minute Gourmet,” was my task to promote at Ballantine Books. That began my long association with the famous restaurant and its secret wine cellars, and so on.
In the last decade or more ’21’ was a regular gathering spot for lunches and dinners to promote movies and Broadway show openings, events for films in the Oscar race and so on put on by Peggy Siegal. I think it always startled the corporate regulars downstairs on the first floor, in famed bar, to see movie stars trooping upstairs. And they loved it.
Strangely, the building does not have Landmark Commission status from New York City. I don’t know how that’s possible since the edifice is one of a kind and has important historical significance — not just the exterior with the jockeys but the inside with the dining rooms and the wine cellars that extend in the basement. But Belnord assures me that “in recognition of its iconic status, the company is exploring potential opportunities that will allow 21 Club to remain a viable operation in the long term, while retaining its distinctive character.” Indeed, ’21’ is the only vestige of the architectural history on that block.
What that means, I hope, is that once the vaccine has been distributed and indoor dining resumes, the 21 Club will brush itself off and get back on track. The 21 Burger, according to the menu, is still a bargain at $36! I can’t wait to bite into one ASAP.
There’s no one better than Dionne Warwick, celebrating her 80th birthday today. Happy Birthday, Dionne!