Classic Pop Icons

We are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the day that Elvis Presley recorded “That’s All Right” and kick-started one of the most remarkable careers in music history.

Elvis’ timeless reworking of the Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup blues song was recorded during a try out at Sam Phillips’ Sun Studio in Memphis, TN on July 5, 1954.

Read more »

BBC Radio Two’s “Scotty Moore and the Guitar that Changed the World” features a fascinating interview with the legendary guitarist at the Sun Records recording studio at which Scotty recorded many classic recordings with Elvis Presley. The radio special celebrates the 60th anniversary of “That’s All Right,” the first professional recording of Elvis Presley’s career and one of the most important songs in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.

Read more »

Legacy Recordings has commemorated the 25th anniversary of Roy Orbison’s “Mystery Girl” with the release of expanded and deluxe editions of the album.

Read more »

Chuck Berry will be awarded the Polar Music Prize at a ceremony in Stockholm on August 26. Berry and fellow recipient, US opera and theatre director Peter Sellars, will each receive £100,000 (~$169,000).

The Polar Music Prize was founded by ABBA manager Stig Anderson. It is regarded as the music world’s equivalent to the Nobel prize.

Read more »

Franny Beecher, guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets, died on Monday morning (February 24) at a nursing home in Philadelphia, aged 92.

Born Francis Beecher on September 29, 1921 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, he began playing guitar professionally aged 17 and would go on to play with the likes of Buddy Greco and His Three Sharps, and the Benny Goodman Orchestra, before joining Bill Haley & His Comets at the end of 1954.

Read more »