Classic Pop Icons

Sir Paul McCartney is funding the restoration of the piano that was played on many of the classic Motown recordings of the 1960s.

McCartney visited the Motown Historical Museum in Detroit earlier this year and was disappointed when told that the 1877 Steinway grand piano is no longer playable.

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The New Releases page has been updated to include music CD, DVD and Blu-ray releases for November.

With Christmas coming, it’s no surprise that this is a busy month for new releases. Highlights include:

• the “Ed Sullivan Shows starring the Rolling Stones” on DVD – Nov 1 (US/CA)
• The Beach Boys’ “Smile Sessions” in multiple formats – Nov 1 (US/CA), Oct 31 (UK)
• Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” in Immersion and Experience Editions – Nov 8 (US/CA), Nov 7 (UK)
• Thin Lizzy “Live at the BBC” box set and 2-CD editions – Nov 15 (US/CA), Nov 7 (UK)
• The Who’s “Quadrophenia Director’s Cut” – Nov 15 (US/CA), Nov 14 (UK)
• The Rolling Stones “Some Girls” box set and “Some Girls – Live in Texas” releases – Nov 21 (US/CA/UK).

You can browse the music CD, DVD and Blu-ray releases for previous months in the New Releases archive.

Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight and Christina Aguilera were among the stars who paid tribute to Michael Jackson at the Michael Forever concert at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium last night. The controversial event proved a success, despite late withdrawals from performers and the abandoned Facebook stream.

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The New Releases page has been updated to include music CD, DVD and Blu-ray releases for October.

This months’s highlights include:

• the “Ed Sullivan Shows starring the Rolling Stones” on DVD – Oct 4 (US/CA)
• Martin Scorsese’s “George Harrison – Living in the Material World” on DVD and Blu-ray – Oct 10 (UK)
• the Complete Smiths Collectors’ Edition – Oct 11 (US/CA), Oct 3 (UK)
• the “Leonard Cohen Complete Studio Albums Collection – Oct 18 (US), Oct 19 (CA), Oct 10 (UK)
• the “Phil Spector Presents The Philles Album Collection” box set – Oct 24 (US/CA), Oct 31 (UK)
• the new Tom Wait’s album, “Bad As Me,” in standard, deluxe and vinyl editions – Oct 24 (US/UK), Oct 25 (CA).

You can browse the music CD, DVD and Blu-ray releases for previous months in the New Releases archive.

The Miracles’ timeless hit “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” is “Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons. “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” joins the likes of “Rock Around the Clock” and “Be-Bop-a-Lula” in the list of classic recordings that were originally only deemed worthy of B-side status. As was often the case, savvy DJs recognised the hit potential of the song and it soon replaced “(Have A) Happy Landing” as the A-side.

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