Classic Pop Icons

After years of waiting, music fans can finally enjoy the T.A.M.I Show on DVD from March 23. It looks to be one of the coolest music DVDs of 2010.

The film comprises footage from concerts held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 28 and 29, 1964. T.A.M.I means either Teenage Awards Music International or Teen Age Music International - both phrases were used in the show’s publicity. The line up for the shows was fantastic, with a number of legendary acts, including James Brown, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and Chuck Berry - all in their prime!

The full list of performers is as follows:

• James Brown & The Flames - “Out Of Sight,” “Prisoner Of Love,” “Please, Please, Please,” and “Night Train”
• Chuck Berry - “Johnny B. Goode,” “Maybellene,” “Sweet Little Sixteen,” and “Nadine (Is it You?)”
• Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - “Thats What Love Is Made Of,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” and “Mickey’s Monkey”
• Marvin Gaye - “Stubborn Kind Of Fellow,” “Pride And Joy,” “Can I Get A Witness,” and “Hitch Hike”
• The Rolling Stones - “Around and Around,” “Off The Hook,” “Time Is On My Side,” “It’s All Over Now,” and “I’m All Right”
• The Supremes - “When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes,” “Run, Run, Run,” “Baby Love,” and “Where Did Our Love Go?”
• The Beach Boys - “Surfin U.S.A.,” “I Get Around,” “Surfer Girl,” and “Dance, Dance, Dance”
• Gerry & The Pacemakers - “Maybellene,” “Dont Let The Sun Catch You Crying,” “Its Gonna Be Alright,” “How Do You Do It?,” and “I Like It”
• Lesley Gore - “Maybe I Know,” “You Dont Own Me,” “You Didnt Look Around,” “Hey Now,” “Its My Party,” and “Judy’s Turn To Cry”
• Jan & Dean - “(Here They Come) From All Over The World,” “The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)” and “Sidewalk Surfin”
• Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas - “Little Children,” “Bad To Me,” “I’ll Keep You Satisfied,” and “From A Window”
• The Barbarians - “Hey Little Bird.”

The show closes with all performers on “Let’s Get Together.”

Rick Rubin has called the James Brown’s performance at the T.A.M.I show “the single greatest rock ‘n’ roll performance ever captured on film.” Keith Richards has said that The Stones decision to follow Brown on stage was one of the worst mistakes of their career because it was impossible to top him.

The T.A.M.I. Show trailer

The T.A.M.I show was directed by Steve Binder who would go on to direct Elvis Presley’s legendary 1968 television special.

As a taster, here’s Chuck Berry’s rocking version of Johnny B. Goode from the T.A.M.I Show:

This is the first time there has been an authorised release of this film in any format. Don’t pass it up.

An iconic red suede jacket worn by Elvis Presley in the 1950s is one of 578 items featured in an online Rock ‘N’ Roll auction from GOTTA HAVE IT® Collectibles .

The auction features original 45s, movie posters, rare photographs, handwritten lyric sheets, signed memorabilia, and jewellery and clothing worn by some of the greats of popular music, including Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, James Brown and many more.

Here’s some of the most interesting items on offer.

Elvis Presley - red suede jacket

This jacket was purchased at the famous Lansky Brothers store in Memphis. There are numerous candid photos of him wearing it, and it was also worn for official RCA publicity shots. Elvis is seen wearing it on the covers of the single releases Playing for Keeps/Too Much, Jailhouse Rock/Treat Me Nice and I Got Stung/One Night.

The jacket comes with a letter of provenance from hairdresser Homer Gilleland.

Minimum Bid: $10,000
Estimate: $20,000-30,000

Click here to view the lot

Elvis Presley - black leather boots from “Loving You”

These boots were worn by Elvis in his second film “Loving You”, which was made by Paramount Pictures in 1957.The boots were worn throughout the movie and Elvis’ name is stamped in them, as well as the Paramount men’s wardrobe department stamp.Minimum Bid: $5,000.00 Estimate: $6,000-8,000

Click here to view the lot

Michael Jackson - stage worn shirt and pants

This light blue beaded shirt and white pants with rhinestones were worn by Michael Jackson on stage during the 1984 “Victory Tour,” which was the largest and final North American concert tour ever performed by The Jacksons.

The outfit was worn on opening night of the Dodger Stadium performances in Los Angeles, California on November 30, 1984.

This is just one of many Michael Jackson lots in the rock ‘n’ roll auction.

Click here to view the lot

Minimum Bid: $30,000
Estimate: $35,000-40,000

Michael Jackson - “Billie Jean” handwritten lyrics

“Billie Jean” is one of the greatest songs of the 1980s and certainly one of Michael Jackson’s finest performances. Here we have six pages of handwritten lyrics by Michael Jackson.

Minimum Bid: $30,000
Estimate: $35,000-40,000

Click here to view the lot

The Beatles - “Hard Days Night” signed album

“Hard Days Night” album covers signed by all four Beatles are hard to come by. This one is in good condition. The price does strike me as a little extreme though.

Minimum Bid: $30,000
Estimate: $40,000-50,000

Click here to view the lot

Bob Dylan - “My Back Page” handwritten lyrics

These are Bob Dylan’s handwritten working lyrics to “My Back Page” and “Ballad in Plain D.” Both songs appeared on Dylan’s 1964 album “Another Side of Bob Dylan.” The first three verses of “Ballad in Plain D” appear on the reverse of the sheet.

Minimum Bid: $50,000
Estimate: $50,000-75,000

Click here to view the lot

Guitar greats signed guitar

This is one of the coolest items in the auction, if not the most valuable. Ten guitar greats have signed this Epiphone guitar, including Chuck Berry, Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley, Les Paul, Otis Rush and Steve Winwood.

Minimum Bid: $2,000
Estimate: $2,100-2,300

Click here to view the lot

The online auction runs until Wednesday March 10, 9pm EST.

Click here to view the complete catalogue

Al Jardine’s forthcoming solo CD, “A Postcard From California”, will include a Beach Boys song from 1978 that has never been released. The basic track for “Don’t Fight the Sea” was recorded in 1978, along with the late Carl Wilson’s vocals. Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine have recently completed the overdubs.

Al Jardine - Don’t Fight the Sea

The full track list for “A Postcard From California” will be:

1. A Postcard From California
2. Looking Down the Coast
3. Don’t Fight the Sea
4. Tidepool Interlide
5. California Saga
6. Honking Down the Highway
7. Driving
8. San Simeon
9. Help Me Rhonda
10. California Feelin’
11. And I Always Will
12. California Dreamin’.

Among the artists guesting on the album are Neil Young, Flea, Brian Wilson, Glen Campbell, Stepehn Stills, David Crosby and Steve Miller.

You can hear some track samples at:
http://www.aljardine.com/photo.html

Gene Pitney would have been 70 years old today. He died on April 5, 2006 at the age of 66 in a hotel in Cardiff, Wales, midway through a UK tour.

Gene Francis Alan Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut on February 17, 1940, but spent most of his youth in Rockville, Connecticut. He had musical ambitions from a young age and formed a band while a student at Rockville High School. His first singles were released as part of a duo called Jamie and Jane, with singer Ginny Arnell, and included the song “Classical Rock and Roll.” The singles were not hits and the duo was soon abandoned.

Gene Pitney’s first real success came as a songwriter. He wrote or co-wrote several very big hits, including “Rubber Ball”, which was a number one for Bobby Vee, “He’s a Rebel”, which was the Crystal’s biggest hit, and “Hello Mary Lou,” which was one of Ricky Nelson’s most memorable hits. It was in this period that Pitney also forged important alliances with producer Phil Spector and fellow songwriters Burt Backarach and Hal David.

As a point of interest, it’s strongly rumoured that The Blossoms (Darlene Love, Famita Jones, and Gracia Nitzschke) are the real singers on “He’s a Rebel,” as The Crystals were out of town and Phil Spector was impatient about getting the recording done.

After briefly recording under the pseudonym Billy Bryan, Pitney reverted to his own name and recorded “(I Wanna) Love My Life Away” in 1961, which featured ambitious multi-tracked vocals and overdubbed instruments. Pitney achieved his first top 40 hit with this single. The experimentation was taken to the next level on “Every Breath I Take,” which was produced by Phil Spector and is an early example of the “Wall of Sound.” The song was written by the amazing songwriting duo, Gary Goffin and Carole King. Despite the greatness of the recording, the single failed to make the top 40.

Gene Pitney - “Every Breath I Take”

Pitney’s first really big hit was “Town Without Pity” in 1962, which reached number 13 on the Hot 100. This was followed by a series of hits penned by Bacharach and David, including “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” “Only Love Can Break A Heart” and “Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa.”

Gene Pitney - “Town Without Pity”

In 1963, while on a UK tour, Pitney met and befriended The Rolling Stones, who had not yet broken in the US. Pitney sat in on a recording session for the band’s first album, 12 x 5, and is rumoured to have played piano on some tracks. He recorded the Jagger/Richards song “That Girl Belongs to Yesterday” and this became the first song composed by The Rolling Stones to chart in the US and the first to hit the top 10 in the UK.

Gene Pitney with The Rollings Stones and Phil Spector

In 1965, Gene Pitney recorded an album of duets with country star George Jones. The double act also scored several moderate hit singles on the country chart.

Like Del Shannon, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, Gene Pitney was more popular in the United Kingdom than in America. He had 16 top 40 songs in the USA from 1961 to 1968, but managed more than 40 top 40 hits in the UK up to 1989. The last, in 1989, was a duet with Marc Almond on his old hit “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart.” This was the first number one hit of Pitney’s career. The song had already been a top five hit for Pitney in the UK in 1967.

Gene Pitney was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Gene Pitney’s death came as a surprise in 2006 as he had shown no signs of ill health and was receiving great reviews on his tour. He spoke to the BBC about this tour, just days before his death:

Some living outside the UK might not be able to view the above interview. Apologies if that’s the case.

Let’s conclude with one of Gene Pitney’s most memorable hits.

Gene Pitney - “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart”

Great purchases