The title of John Lennon's most famous song will soon lend its name to a movie. Set to begin filming this spring, Imagine will star Al Pacino, Julianne Moore and Jeremy Renner. The story centers on a letter that Lennon wrote to musician Steve Tilston, who said in a magazine interview in Britain in 1971 tha he feared becoming successful would cost him his creativity. Examiner.com reports that Lennon's letter never went to Tilston, but instead wound up in the hands of a collector, who showed it to him in 2005.
The members of Chicago have adjusted to the massive changes that have happened in the music industry. Co-founder James Pankow told USA Today, "Although the record industry is gone, music is alive and well. The songwriting process continues. Now we have the joy of writing whatever we want to write and making it available to our fans instantly on the web. We we are the record company of now now." The has been in existence, touring and recording, since 1967. Below is a pic from the group's Waco concert a few years ago.
The letter that John Lennon wrote to Eric Clapton in 1971 has sold at auction for $35,000. In the one-page letter, Lennon wrote, "Eric, I know I can bring out something great, in fact greater in you that had been so far evident in your music. I hope to bring out the same kind of greatness in all of us, which I know will happen if/when we get together." The two were already friends at that point. Clapton had played in the 1969 edition of The Plastic Ono Band. He also recorded with The Beatles, having played on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on The White Album.
Felix Cavaliere says The Rascals reunion shows happened because Eddie Brigati finally took the blame for breaking up the 60s band at the peak of its fame. Cavaliere said in a recent interview, "When someone leaves an organization mid-stream, that leaves some pretty bad feelings. We stopped. Even though you tried to keep going, it's not the same. So, all of that had to be resolved." The group is on the road in their reunion tour this year.
Remember the 60s soul group The Bar-Kays? They will be performing at the Illinois Presidential Inauguration Celebration for President Barack Obama on January 20th. The Bar-Kays are best known for their top 10 smash "Soul Finger" in the spring of 1967. The Bar-Kays were a backup band for soul giant Otis Redding and most of the original band members were killed in the plane crash that took Redding's life in 1967.
Rock 'n roll birthdays this week include Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills & Nash fame. The rock 'n roll superstar turns 68 this week. CSN's folk-rock sound garnered millions of fans beginning in the late 60s and they're still touring and Stills still records music.
Legendary Beatles producer George Martin is also celebrating his birthday this week. He turns 87. George Martin was responsible for much of the fame and success of the Fab Four.
2013 promises to be a busy year with rock 'n roll acts on the road. Here's a quick list of what is schedule to happen and what MAY happen:
Touring: Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart & Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Steve Miller, Elton John, The Doobie Brothers, The Who, KISS and Van Halen.
Tours that could happen: Rolling Stones, Eagles (40th anniversary), along with new albums from Paul McCartney, Bob Seger and U2.
The Fleetwood Mac tour (and possible new album) has received the most publicity so far for 2013.
Recently Sir Paul McCartney gave an interview in which he said Yoko Ono was not responsible for the breakup of The Beatles, despite that essentially being her biggest claim to fame. An interview by Yoko from the early 70s has recently surfaced in which she said, "The Beatles are getting very independent. Each one of them was getting independent." She went on to say that John Lennon "was not the first who wanted to leave The Beatles." She also said, "They were getting to be like Paul's band, which they didn't like."
