ClassicPopIcons.com brings you news, reviews and features on the all time greats of popular music.

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New releases

New releases

Check the new and upcoming CD, DVD and Blu-ray music releases.

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Tom Jones Praise & Blame - review

Tom Jones Praise & Blame - review

Tom Jones' album "Praise & Blame" takes the Welsh star in a new and interesting direction. The result is his best album in years.

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One hit wonders - ten of the best

One hit wonders - ten of the best

Enjoy our selection of ten of the best one-hit wonders, spanning 1954 to 1979.

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Ten forgotten originals

Ten forgotten originals

Sometimes a cover verison of a song is so popular that it becomes better known than the first recording. Enjoy these "ten forgotten originals."

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Elvis Presley's essential first album

Elvis Presley's essential first album

We look back at Elvis Presley's first album, simply titled "Elvis Presley."

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T.A.M.I. Show DVD - review

T.A.M.I. Show DVD - review

Read the Classic Pop Icons review of one of this year's "must have" music DVD releases.

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Pop legends say Things Go Better with Coke

Pop legends say Things Go Better with Coke

Hear some of the biggest stars of the 1960s singing their Coke jingles, including Marvin Gaye, Roy Orbison and The Moody Blues.

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Lady Gaga to pay tribute to John Lennon

Written by admin on September 1, 2010 – 9:40 pm -


Yoko Ono has announced two concerts to commemorate what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday. The “We Are Plastic Ono Band” shows will take place on October 1 and 2 at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles.

Among the artists scheduled to appear alongside the Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band are Lady Gaga, Iggy Pop, the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, Jane’s Addiction’s Perry Farrell, Sonic Youth members Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, and John Lennon’s son Sean.
John Lennon tribute show - We are Plastic Ono Band


John Lennon would have been 70 years old on October 9. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of his untimely death on December 8.

Click here for “We Are Plastic Ono Band” ticket information.

John Lennon signature box set October 5 will see a major series of John Lennon releases, including remasters of each of his solo albums (available individually or as 12-CD box set), a greatest hits CD and a 4-CD package of rarities.

Head over to the New Releases page for pre-order information.


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Posted in Gigs, New releases, The Beatles | No Comments »


Happy 65th Birthday Van Morrison

Written by admin on August 31, 2010 – 7:45 am -


Van Morrison 65th birthday Van Morrison celebrates his 65th birthday today. He was born George Ivan Morrison in Bloomfield, Belfast, Northern Ireland, on August 31 1945.


Morrison left school at 15 in 1960 and took on a number of jobs before becoming a window cleaner. Music was always a passion though and he played with a number of bands in this period, including the Monarchs, who he went on to tour the UK and Germany with. The band recorded their first single in November 1963 in Germany under the name George and the Monarchs. The single was “Boozoo Hully Gully”/”Twingy Baby” and it was a minor hit in Germany.

The Monarchs disbanded shortly after this and in 1964 Morrison put together a new band, The Gamblers, which was soon renamed Them and signed to Decca Records. This was Morrison’s big break. Over the next two years, Them released two albums and ten singles, including hits with “Baby Please Don’t Go” and “Here Comes the Night.”

Them – “Baby Please Don’t Go”


Them – “Here Comes the Night”


Morrison’s long solo career began when he was signed to Bang Records in 1967. A recording session in New York in March 1967 led to the album “Blowin’ Your Mind!” and the single “Brown Eyed Girl”, which was a top 10 US hit and has become a classic.

After signing for Warner Bros in 1968, Morrison recorded “Astral Weeks” which has become one of the most highly regarded albums of the 1960s, but wasn’t a great commercial success. In 2008 he performed “Astral Weeks” live for the first time since 1968. This can be heard on the album “Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl.”

Morrison’s next album, “Moondance“, was his real commercial breakthrough as a solo artist and would go on to become a multi-platinum seller after initially peaking at number 29 on the US album chart. On “Moondance” Morrison successfully blended elements of jazz, soul, country, and blues to produce a timeless collection of songs. The title track is one of Morrison’s most loved and well known recordings.

Van Morrison – “Moondance”


A string of hit albums and tours followed which solidified Van Morrison’s reputation as a gifted songwriter and performer. This included a resurgence in popularity in the UK in the early to mid-90s, where he scored five top ten albums between 1990 and 1995. His recent output has also been particularly well received, with his latest studio album, “Keep It Simple” (2008), a top ten hit in the UK and the US.

Happy 65th Birthday to Van Morrison.

You can buy the albums referenced above from the following online retailers:

 Title

Van Morrison – Astral Weeks (CD)

Buy Now Buy Now Buy Now Buy Now

Van Morrison – Moondance (CD)

Buy Now Buy Now Buy Now Buy Now

Van Morrison – Keep It Simple (CD)

Buy Now Buy Now Buy Now Buy Now

Van Morrison – Astral Weeks Live At the Hollywood Bowl (CD)

Buy Now Buy Now N/A Buy Now
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Remembering Elvis with Priscilla Presley

Written by admin on August 30, 2010 – 7:44 pm -

Priscilla Presley will be sharing her memories of Elvis with Bill Kenwright in a two-hour interview on BBC Radio 2 on Wednesday night. Priscilla met Elvis in 1959 and the pair were married for six years from 1967 to 1973.

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Song of the Week #17 – “California Dreamin’”

Written by admin on August 30, 2010 – 6:39 am -

Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin The 1965 classic “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and the Papas is this week’s Song of the Week. Today would have been the 75th birthday of the group’s founder John Phillips if he hadn’t died of heart failure on March 18, 2001.

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Posted in 60s pop, Folk, Song of the Week | No Comments »


Dylan at the Oakland Coliseum – February, 1974

Written by admin on August 27, 2010 – 8:31 pm -

Wolfgang’s Vault has served up another slice of rock history by streaming a two-hour concert from Bob Dylan and The Band. The show was recorded at Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California on the evening of 11 February, 1974.

This tour was Dylan’s first for seven-and-a-half years and saw him reunite with The Band who, with the exception of Levon Helm on drums, had backed him on his European tour of 1966 and on the Basement Tapes.

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Posted in American Rock, Folk, Gigs | No Comments »