McCartney’s star will be in front of the Capitol Records building at 1759 N. Vine Street, alongside John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, who received their stars in 1988, 2009 and 2010, respectively.

This is the latest in a long line of awards and honours bestowed upon McCartney, including 14 Grammys, the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement and Trustees Awards, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Kennedy Center award, the 2008 Brit award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, the Gershwin Prize For Popular Song and, of course, the knighthood, which he received from the Queen in 1997.

The day after McCartney receives his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he will be named the MusiCares Person of the Year in recognition of his creative achievements and many philanthropic activities.

See also:
McCartney talks about new “Kisses On The Bottom” album

Also nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category were “Undefeated,” “Project Nim,” “Page One: Inside the New York Times,” “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” and “Buck.”

The big winner on the night was the movie “The Artist,” which picked up four awards, including Best Picture, Best Score, Best Costume Design and Best Director for France’s Michel Hazanavicius. George Clooney won Best Actor for his role in “The Descendants.” and Octavia Spencer’s Best Actress award was one of three awards picked up by “The Help.”

Scorsese was also presented with the honorary Music + Film Award by Leonardo DiCaprio and George Harrison’s widow Olivia Harrison.

Olivia Harrison paid the following tribute to Scorsese:

Bob Dylan paid tribute to Scorsese with a performance of “Blind Willie McTell.” Scorsese directed the 2005 documentary “Bob Dylan – No Direction Home.”

There was more good news for Scorsese yesterday, as his work on “George Harrison – Living in the Material World” attracted a Directors’ Guild of America award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary Film. He is also nominated in the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film category for “Hugo.”

The Directors’ Guild of America awards ceremony takes place in Los Angeles on January 28 and will be hosted by Kelsey Grammer.

“George Harrison – Living in the Material World” is not yet available on DVD or Blu-ray in the US (what’s the hold up?), but has been available in the UK since last October.

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George Harrison – Living in the Material World (2 DVDs)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now
George Harrison – Living in the Material World (Blu-ray)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now
George Harrison – Living in the Material World – deluxe (2 DVDs/Blu-ray/CD/book)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now

The Studio Two presentation will include a fascinating talk on “80 Years of Recording at Abbey Road Studios” by “Recording the Beatles” authors Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan. The talk will utilise rare archive photos, film and audio to explore the studio’s decades of landmark recordings and sonic innovations. Artists discussed will include Sir Edward Elgar, The Shadows, Peter Sellers, Helen Shapiro, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Hollies, The Zombies, the Swingin’ Blue Jeans and Kate Bush. There will also be time to consider the magical film scores recorded over the years at Abbey Road, including “Star Wars,” “Lord of the Rings,” and “Harry Potter.”

Visitors will also be able to enjoy an exhibition of vintage instruments, microphones, and studio hardware used to create classic tracks.

Tickets for the event went on sale today, price £75 via www.seetickets.com

Abbey Road Studios is located at 3 Abbey Road, London, NW8 9AY.

Update – The March 10 events are sold out, but two extra sessions have been announced for March 11.

The Christmas number one has long been regarded as a prestigious achievement in the UK, with some of the biggest artists competing for the honour. Over the years, the Christmas number one has been occupied by classic pop songs, fun seasonal offerings, best forgotten novelties and, in recent years, the debut singles of television talent show winners.

The Beatles hold the record for the most UK Christmas number ones with four, followed by Cliff Richard and the Spice Girls who both have three.

* – As established by the Official Charts Company, the official British singles chart is the New Musical Express chart from 1952 to 1960, the Record Retailer chart from 1960 to 1969, and the Official UK Singles Chart from 1969 on.

The 1950s

The first Christmas number one on the UK singles chart was Al Martino’s “Here in My Heart” which was at number one for nine weeks in 1952.

Pre-rock ‘n’ roll favourites Frankie Laine, Winifred Atwell and Johnny Ray all hit the top spot at Christmas after this, with the latter’s “Just Walkin’ in the Rain” staying on top for seven weeks.

The first rock ‘n’ roller to achieve a Christmas number one was Conway Twitty, with the classic “It’s Only Make Believe” in 1958.

Harry Belafonte’s “Mary’s Boy Child” and Dickie Valentine’s “Christmas Alphabet” were the only songs with a Christmas theme to reach number one at Christmas in the 1950s.

Harry Belafonte – “Mary’s Boy Child”

The 1960s

Although Cliff Richard and Christmas are linked in the public consciousness, his first Christmas number one was the chirpy love song “I Love You” which carried no seasonal theme. This trend continued throughout the decade, with none of the remaining Christmas number ones having anything to do with Christmas.

Elvis Presley recorded the best selling Christmas album of all time, but his only Christmas number one was the pop classic “Return to Sender.”

Each of the Beatles’ Christmas number ones were in the 1960s, starting with “I Want To Hold Your Hand” in 1963 and concluding with “Hello, Goodbye” in 1967.

The Beatles – “I Feel Fine”

Tom Jones’ “Green Green Grass of Home” occupied the top spot for Christmas 1966.

The 1970s

In contrast to the previous decade, the 1970s saw several Christmas-themed songs achieve the coveted Christmas number one, including the perennial favourite “Merry Xmas Everybody” by Slade, Mud’s “Lonely this Christmas,” Johnny Mathis’ “When a Child is Born” and “Boney M’s “Mary’s Boy Child.”

Slade – “Merry Xmas Everybody”

The novelty song tends to do well around Christmas time in the UK and the 1970s saw two examples reaching the Christmas number one – Benny Hill’s “Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) and Jimmy Osmond’s “Long Haired Lover from Liverpool.”

The 1980s

The 1980s Christmas chart toppers are a real mixed bag, including the great synth pop song “Don’t You Want Me” by the Human League, a welcome vintage offering in the shape of Jackie Wilson’s “Reet Petite” and a handful of classic Christmas songs.

Band Aid’s “Do they Know It’s Christmas?” reaching the top spot in both its original incarnation and when re-recorded by a new batch of pop stars, including Cliff Richard who had the previous year’s Christmas number one with “Mistletoe and Wine.”

Cliff Richard – “Mistletoe And Wine”

The other seasonal offering to reach the top spot in the 1980s was Shakin’ Stevens’ very catchy and still popular “Merry Christmas Everyone.”

The 1990s

Cliff Richard’s third and final Christmas number one, “Saviour’s Day,” was the only Christmas-themed song to reach the top spot at Christmas in the 1990s.

Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” had already been a Christmas number one in 1975 and repeated the feat in 1991 (backed with “These Are the Days of Our Lives”) in the wake of Freddie Mercury’s untimely death.

The Spice Girls were the biggest thing in pop in the mid-late 1990s, as reflected by their hat-trick of Christmas number ones from 1996 to 1998.

Spice Girls – “2 Become 1″

The year before the Spice Girls’ period of dominance began, Michael Jackson achieved his first and only Christmas number one with “Earth Song.”

2000+

The Christmas number one spot has been dominated by reality tv show winners since 2002. The only exceptions have been Michael Andrews and Gary Jules’ “Mad World” and Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name,” with the latter only achieving the top spot as a result of a Facebook campaign to prevent the X-Factor winner hitting number one.

Robbie Williams was at his commercial peak when his duet with Nicole Kidman on the Sinatra classic “Somethin’ Stupid” reached number one for Christmas 2001.

Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman – Somethin’ Stupid”

The album will feature collaborations with Diana Krall and her band, and also guest appearances from Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder. The bulk of the album will comprise McCartney’s interpretations of the classic American standards that he grew up listening to, but there will also be two new compositions – “My Valentine” and “Only Our Hearts.”

Paul McCartney – “My Valentine”

McCartney has commented on his long held admiration for the standards:

He has also described the recording process for the album:

The album was produced by the three time Grammy Award winner Tommy LiPuma, who has worked with the likes of Diana Krall, Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, George Benson and many more.

McCartney’s new album will be released on Hear Music/Concord Records on February 7 2012.

“The Beatles Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide” includes:

• track-by-track insights and audio samples of every song on every album
• vital stats and facts associated with each release
• album by album appreciations from Jim James of My Morning Jacket, James Taylor, Stevie Nicks, Liz Phair, Steven Van Zandt, Liam Gallagher, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement, Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, Graham Nash, Bob Weir and more
• a guide to the best non-album tracks
• classic Beatles photos.

Also available now is iBookstore’s exclusive “Yellow Submarine” book. The vibrantly illustrated book was designed by Fiona Andreanelli using Heinz Edelmann’s original artwork from the film, and its story has been adapted by Charlie Gardner from the film’s original screenplay, co-written by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelsohn and Eric Segal.

Yellow Submarine book promo

Both titles are available now.

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Rolling Stone – The Beatles Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide	Buy Now
Yellow Submarine	Free Download

The concerts will take place at 2:00 PM (GMT) at St George’s Hall, and at 8:00 PM (GMT) at The Cavern Club. Artists scheduled to perform include Brute Force, The Radha Krishna Temple, Jeff Slate, The Mersey Beatles, Singh Strings, The Liverpool Ukulele Orchestra, The Rebels, Tsema and Andre Barreau from The Bootleg Beatles.

Flags will also fly at half-mast at both the Liverpool City Hall and St George’s Hall.

The 10th anniversary is also being marked in Hollywood with a public candlelight memorial from 6:00 PM (PST) until 8:00PM (PST) at George Harrison’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star, which is located at 1750 N. Vine Street, in front of the Capitol Records Tower Building.

A less conventional memorial will take place at New York City’s City Winery where fans will gather at 8:00 PM (EST) for a wine tasting to George Harrison’s music. The event will feature seven different “flights” with wines paired to three Harrison songs each round.

George Harrison was born in Liverpool on February 25, 1943 and died of lung cancer in Los Angeles on November 29, 2001 aged 58.

The auction, organised by Gotta Have Rock and Roll, includes stage and video worn costumes, concert played instruments, personal clothing, handwritten lyrics, set lists and letters, signed and inscribed guitars and album covers, contracts, never-before-seen photographs, rare concert posters, gold album awards and much, much more.

Among the many highlights of the auction are a pair of leopard spotted mohair shoes worn on stage by Elvis Presley in 1954, which are expected to fetch $45000 – $50000. Other top Elvis lots include the leather boots worn by the star in his legendary 1968 NBC television special, and a suit he wore on stage in 1956 during his short season at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. The suit was purchased at Lanskys In Memphis.

These are just two of 59 Elvis-related lots up for auction. The Beatles are also very well represented with 175 items relating to the band or the members’ solo projects, including a “Twist and Shout” promotional flyer signed by all four members, and a McCartney-signed “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album.

There are 32 Hendrix items, including the publishing agreement for his first album and a guitar strap worn on stage at the 1968 Lincoln Center in New York. Bruce Springsteen is also represented by 32 items, including a copy of the “Born To Run” album signed by Bruce and E Street Band members Clarence Clemons (now deceased), Roy Bittan, Garry Tallent, Danny Federici (now deceased), Max Weinberg, Steven Van Zandt, Patty Scialfa and Nils Lofgren.

Other highlights in the Rock & Pop Culture Auction include:

• Prince’s stage used “Yellow Cloud” guitar
• Bob Dylan’s stage used Martin acoustic guitar
• a fedora worn by Michael Jackson on stage
• Joni Mitchell handwritten “For Free” lyrics
• a motorcycle jacket jacket worn by Madonna
• the 1990 “Stravinski” Custom Strat used by Slash on Guns N’ Roses “Use Your Illusion” Tour
• a “Concert For New York City” drum head featuring over 50 signatures from musicians and VIPs, including Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elton John, and President Bill Clinton.

Click here to view the full Rock & Pop Culture Auction catalogue.

The letter, dated 12 August, 1960, was written by McCartney in response to a notice placed by the drummer in the Liverpool Echo. McCartney was inviting the drummer to audition for the then unknown Beatles, noting that he must be available for a trip to Hamburg, expenses paid £18 per week (approx.), for 2 months.

The Beatles left for Hamburg with drummer Pete Best a few days after the letter was written, and this is the first evidence that they considered a drummer other than Best for the Hamburg gigs.

Image credit: Christies Auction House

Neil Roberts, of Christie’s, told the BBC:

The letter was one of 215 lots in Christie’s “Pop Culture: Rock and Pop Memorabilia” auction. The item that attracted the highest bid was a hand-written placard written by John Lennon to display at the Montreal Bed-In for Peace in 1969. The placard sold for £97,250 ($155,892).

Image credit: Christies Auction House

Other high selling items included the guitar Pete Townshend played at Live Aid in 1985 (£34,850/$55,865), 35mm black and white transparencies of John Lennon and Yoko Ono taken in Paris in March, 1969 (£30,000/$48,090), and a flamboyant cropped jacket worn by Marc Bolan on stage between 1975 and 1977 (£3,750/$6,011).

Jackson was unhappy with the finished documentary and so decided not to release it, but he did give a VHS copy to his chauffeur as a bonus. It is this copy that is being sold and the lot does not come with distribution rights.

Fame Bureau’s CEO, Ted Owen, told The Independent:

Other highlights of the unusually named “Rock ‘n’ Roll & Holy Soles” auction include:

• Elvis Presley’s Alden solid body copper/bronze finish guitar that he used while in the army. This comes complete with its original valve amplifier and lead
• Roger McGuinn’s Regal 12-string acoustic guitar. This was the first 12-string that McGuinn ever owned
• Frank Zappa’s customised 1952/53 Les Paul Goldtop Guitar, which he used during the early to mid 1960s on stage and in the studio
• an original 1966 Hofner left-handed violin bass gitar used by Paul McCartney in 2002
• the Rolling Stones Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus photo archive with copyright
• a Fender Duo-Sonic guitar played by John Lennon in the 1970s.

Click here to view all the lots in the auction.

For those whose budget doesn’t stretch to £4 million there is a new Michael Jackson documentary out this month titled “Michael Jackson – The Life of an Icon.”

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Michael Jackson – The Life of an Icon (DVD)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now
Michael Jackson – The Life of an Icon (Blu-ray)	Buy Now	Buy Now	* Buy Now	Buy Now

* – the UK edition is a Blu-ray/DVD combo