Classic Pop Icons

Thousands of fans have gathered in Memphis to pay tribute to Elvis on the fortieth anniversary of his untimely death.

The best way to remember Elvis is through his superb music. The temptation is to highlight this via a career overview, but there are few better examples of Elvis’ brilliance than what he achieved in one evening/overnight session on 3rd/4th April, 1960. During that single session, Elvis recorded two of his most well-known and successful recordings, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and “It’s Now or Never”, as well as fan favourites such as “The Girl of My Best Friend”, “Fever”, “Such a Night”, “Like a Baby” and, perhaps best of all, “Reconsider Baby”. A number of the songs would feature on the great album “Elvis is Back”.

The re-release of 2000’s “Fifty Greatest Hits” will give Elvis another impressive chart placing in the UK this week, following number ones in 2015 and 2016. “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and “It’s Now or Never” are among the classic recordings on that two-CD collection.

Elvis endures because he created wonderful music. Here’s just three examples.

Elvis Presley – “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”

Elvis Presley – “It’s Now or Never”

Elvis Presley – “Reconsider Baby”

Legendary guitarist, Scotty Moore, sadly passed away on Tuesday (June 28th) in Nashville, aged 84. Scotty was one of the pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll guitar, playing on many classic Elvis Presley hits, beginning with “That’s All Right” in 1954. His innovative guitar work would influence generations of performers, including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Keith Richards, who once said “Everyone else wanted to be Elvis – I wanted to be Scotty.”

We pay tribute to the great Scotty Moore by remembering his guitar work on eight classic recordings.

Elvis Presley – “Good Rockin’ Tonight”

Elvis Presley – “That’s All Right”

Elvis Presley – “Baby Let’s Play House”

Elvis Presley – “Mystery Train”

Elvis Presley – “Hound Dog”

Elvis Presley – “Heartbreak Hotel”

Elvis Presley – “Blue Suede Shoes”

Elvis Presley – “Too Much”

Elvis Presley’s “If I Can Dream” album continues to achieve impressive sales, retaining the number two spot on the UK album chart on what would have been the late singer’s 81st birthday. The album, which features collaborations with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, originally hit the top spot for a couple of weeks back in November and has now been in the top three for 10 consecutive weeks, selling over 900,000 copies in the UK alone. “If I Can Dream” was the UK’s fourth best selling album of the year in 2015 and Elvis’ first number one album since “The King” in 2007.

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Rod Stewart reunited with The Faces for the first time in forty years for a charity gig on Saturday night. The gig at Hurtwood Park Polo Club in Ewhurst, Surrey was a benefit for Prostate Cancer UK.

Credit: Rod Stewart’s Official Twitter

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Tom Jones’ latest album “Long Lost Suitcase” will be released in October, accompanied by his long awaited autobiography “Over the Top and Back”. As with 2010’s “Praise & Blame” and 2012’s “Spirit in the Room”, the album sees Jones embracing his roots and tackling a strong selection of country, folk and R&B songs that have inspired him over the years. Fans of the first two albums will be pleased to know that Jones reunited with producer Ethan Johns for this third in the trilogy of albums.

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