Monthly Archives: May 2013

George Strait – Love Is Everthing

George Strait just celebrated  his 61st birthday last week, but it is his fans who got the present. George released his 40th studio album, Love is Everything on May 14. Fans will not find any surprises in this new album. All 13 songs give us George’s laid back, easy going, southern sound that we have found in his music since his first album back in 1981.

Like most of today’s country artists, George writes some of the music he sings. On this album, he wrote or co-wrote four of the 13 songs. The album starts off with “I Got A Car.” The song makes a point, without a lot of fanfare. It talks about what a simple introduction might lead. You see a pretty girl, walk over, and introduce yourself starting with the sentence ‘I got a car’. Listen to the song and you’ll find out exactly where that opening line might take you.

The second song is George’s current single, “Give It All We Got Tonight.” It’s simply George doing what George does best. It can’t be classified anything but a love song.

“Blue Melodies” could have been sung by Merle Haggard or George Jones, or anyone from our ‘older era of country music.’ But George Strait has his own way of making the song fit right in with the rest of today’s country music.

George originally recorded the fourth song back in 1995, and it was part of his Strait Out of the Box album. “I Just Can’t Go On Dyin’ Like This,” is more proof that George Strait can take a song that is nearly 20 years old, and make fans fall in love with it all over again.

” I Thought I Heard My Heart Sing” is a song you can expect to hear in a dance club in the southwest. I don’t think this one will ever be released as a radio single. And, I’m not so sure it would do well on the radio if he did release it. But, I am sure there will be a lot of Texans kicking up their heels to this great dance tune.

I found my ‘sing-a-long’ song with “That’s What Breaking Hearts Do.” There’s always one song on every album I review that I want to listen to more than once. And, that I find myself singing along with. ‘That’s what breaking hearts do, They cause you so much pain, Make you go insane, That’s what breaking hearts do’. Easy to remember lyrics added to a catchy melody definitely equals a sing-a-long with me song.

“When Love Comes Around Again” is just what you would expect. It’s a song about looking at an old love in a new way. Getting someone back, giving it another try.

I’ve already said that “I Thought I Heard My Heart Sing” is more of a dance tune than a ‘ready-for-radio’ song’. But, I did find one that I think George would do well to release to radio as his next single. The song is “the Night Is Young,” It’s uptempo, with almost a 1960’s rock and roll beat. He’s singing about a Friday night, a place to go, and big plans for what will be a fun-filled weekend. One of my favorites on the album.

“Sittin’ On the Fence” would probably also work as a single. The music is good, the message is simple – when you’re coming out of a bad relationship, you may have trouble getting into a new relationship – even if it has the makings of being a great one. He follows that one with “I Believe.”  I’m sure all of his fans remember, “I Saw God Today,” and in this song – like that one – George doesn’t mind telling us that when he’s at a low point in his life there is someone watching over him.

The title track, “Love Is Everything,” would make you  think of George Strait, even if someone else were singing it. The song is his style, his music, and the great harmony is an added bonus.

George is currently hoping for his 60th No. 1 single. I think he is the only artist about which I can truly say ‘He’s never done a song I don’t like.” However, I wasn’t really thrilled with the 11th song on the album. It’s called “You Don’t Know What You’re Missing.” I’m not really sure why it’s not one of my favorites, I just know it never will be. It’s a good song. It sounds a lot like something George would do. But maybe that’s the problem. Maybe it sounds a little too much like everything else George does. While it isn’t one of my favorites, and I don’t think it’s a bad song, I don’t expect him to eve release this one to radio,

That brings us to “When the Credits Roll.” It’s a little look back at what George has done over the past 40 years. It’s full of mistakes, choices, and wondering … what will the critics think about all this “When the Credits Roll.” I don’t know how it would do as a single. But it is definitely a well-written song that deserves to be heard.

George is currently on his final tour, The Cowboy Ride Again Tour, which will run through 2014. To check show dates, visit www.georgestrait.com. For the latest country music news, be sure to log on to www.countryschatter.com, and follow us on Twitter @countryschatter.

 

( www.MusicChartsMagazine.com – YOUR ONE STOP “Worldwide” ALL MUSIC – ALL THE TIME – )

George Strait’s Love Is Everything debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — (Wednesday, May 22, 2013) – Love Is Everything, the new album from MCA Nashville recording artist George Strait, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart this week, selling 119,843 units in its first week. That also earned Strait the No. 2 position on the Billboard Top 200. The album contains the hit single “Give It All We Got Tonight,” which Mediabase named as the most played song on country radio this week, earning Strait an unprecedented 60th No. 1 song. Love Is Everythingis Strait’s 40th studio album.

 
“This has been a fantastic birthday week,” said Strait, who turned 61 last Saturday (May 18). “I’m thankful that my fans are excited about the new album and enjoying the music.” 
 
Love Is Everything, which Strait co-produced with longtime collaborator Tony Brown, continues to receive great reviews, including:
 
 “His voice is in superb form and … the album sparkles. Among the highlights is ‘That’s What Breaking Hearts Do,’…. conjuring sensibility similar to Bruce Springsteen’s ‘All That Heaven Will Allow.’ ‘Blue Melodies’ is a reminder of how effectively a heart can be broken by a voice, an acoustic guitar, and lyrics that succinctly summarize when a sentiment is ‘too sad to sing.’”  – Boston Globe
 
“Since he began churning out country hits in 1981…Strait has cultivated a kind of stoic dependability unmatched among his peers. On Love Is Everything, his stirring new album…. [Strait’s] vocals feel newly vulnerable, particularly in ballads like ‘Blue Melodies’… and the gorgeous ‘I Just Can’t Go On Dying Like This,’ which Strait wrote back in the mid ’70s….He’s putting more of himself in the music, too….There’s the unusually vivid language in ‘That’s What Breaking Hearts Do,’ which Strait co-wrote with his son Bubba…. But neither of those cuts prepares you for ‘I Believe,’ another song by George and Bubba Strait (with Dean Dillon) that appears to be about the shooting last year at Sandy Hook Elementary School. ‘The night’s as clear as a big desert sky / But it’s hard to see stars with these tears in my eyes,” Strait sings over delicate acoustic fingerpicking, “Yeah, it’s hard not to cry / There’s 26 reasons why.’ ‘I Believe’ goes on to ponder ‘broken hearts that’ll never beat the same’ and ‘shattered lives still reeling from the pain,’ yet insists in a chorus swollen with strings that ‘there’s someone who’s looking after me.’ Carefully rendered and unabashed in its optimism, it’s as personal as anything Strait has ever recorded. And it’s completely devastating.  Three stars.” – Los Angeles Times 

George Strait – Photo Credit_by Art Streiber

 
Strait kicked off 2013 in high gear for the first leg of his The Cowboy Rides Away Tour. Only the June 1 show in San Antonio’s Alamodome remains in the sold out tour. Known as the “house they built for George,” the Alamodome sold out within an astounding six minutes of going on sale. The Country Music Hall of Fame member is the highest ranked country act on Pollstar’s 2013 Worldwide Tickets Chart. Dates for the second leg of his tour, taking place in 2014, will be announced later this year.
 
For more information on Strait, Love Is Everything, The Cowboy Rides Away Tour and more, visit www.GeorgeStrait.com.

When you think of an artist, do you remember the first time you heard them sing?

When it comes to Frank Solivan (pronounced soul-live-on), I can say yes. It was November 2006 and Prime Cuts of Bluegrass #84 came out with a single “Somebody’s Missing You” by, to me, an unknown singer named Frank Solivan.

I was an instant fan and knew that Solivan would become a name in bluegrass.

Fast forward six plus years and here we are with the release of ON THE EDGE, the sophomore project of Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, and the band is ready to be recognized.

This project, the band’s first release with Compass Records and their first release since receiving the 2012 IBMA nomination for Emerging Artist of the Year, is a showcase not only of Solivan’s soulful tenor voice but also of the talented musicians that make up the Dirty Kitchen band.

In addition to Solivan’s mandolin and fiddle playing, making up Dirty Kitchen are three extremely gifted musicians that can hold their own against any headline picker today. Mike Munford plays the banjo for the group and is a true monster on the five string. On the upright bass is Danny Booth. In addition to playing bass and harmony vocals, Booth penned and sang lead on “Wild Unknown”. Rounding out the ensemble is Chris Luquette on guitar and harmony vocals. Just saying the Luquette plays the guitar is such an understatement, he owns the guitar...

Read the rest here:  http://prescriptionbluegrassreviews.blogspot.com/2013/04/cd-review-frank-solivan-and-dirty.html

 

Dave Adkins To Perform National Anthem for NCAA Division I Baseball Championships

Dave Adkins To Perform National Anthem for NCAA Division I Baseball Championships

Posted: 29 May 2013 12:37 PM PDT

Image635054276711243985Rural Rhythm recording artist Dave Adkinsof the driving new bluegrass group Dave Adkins and Republik Steele will perform the U.S. National Anthem for the 2013 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship – Nashville Regional at Vanderbilt’s Hawkins Field this Saturday, June 1, at 7:00 p.m. CDT. 

Adkins will perform the Anthem as a guest on the Children’s Hospital & Arena Tour, which combines National Anthem performances at major sporting events with visits to local Children’s Hospitals.

 

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Festival of The Bluegrass Gets Ready for 40th Run

Posted: 29 May 2013 12:08 PM PDT

Image635054255746794887The Cornett Family will hold its 40th annual Festival of the Bluegrass at the Kentucky Horse Park June 6-9.

This four-day music festival is delighted to welcome The Masters of Bluegrass, featuring Del McCoury, JD Crowe, Bobby Osborne, Bobby Hicks, and Jerry McCoury who take the stage Saturday.

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20 Year Anniversary Video By James Reams Released

Posted: 29 May 2013 11:39 AM PDT

Image635054241677840189James Reams who is celebrating 20 years as the leader of the Barnstormers this year has just released a celebration video looking back at his early years right through today. 

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE at the end of this post .

 

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Nathan Stanley Salutes His Bluegrass Forebears In THE LEGACY CONTINUES

Posted: 29 May 2013 09:14 AM PDT

Image635054138329288990No bearer of a distinguished musical heritage brings more devotion and intensity to the task than Nathan Stanley. 

Here, in The Legacy Continues, his sixth solo album, the grandson of Dr. Ralph Stanley gathers and reinterprets familiar songs that have become the very fabric of bluegrass music.  And he introduces some newer tunes that have all the earmarks of enduring.

 

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Compass Readies Claire Lynch’s DEAR SISTER for Release Next Week

Posted: 28 May 2013 04:45 PM PDT

Image635053561375959147By any measure, Claire Lynch is high on the bluegrass world’s A-List, with accolades that include two International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Female Vocalist of the Year awards and two Grammy nominations for Best Bluegrass Album, and most recently, Lynch won the 2012 USA Artists $50,000 Walker Fellowship.

Now, on the heels of the prestigious award, Lynch has prepared her highly awaited Compass debut DEAR SISTER to be released by Compass Records next Monday, June 3rd.

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New Banjo Picker for THE ROYS

Posted: 28 May 2013 03:58 PM PDT

Image63505353201326969718-year old Daniel Patrick will join the award-winning ROYS on stage for the first time in Auburn, AL at the University Station Bluegrass Festival (May 30-31).

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Marshall Lytle

Marshall Lytle

Marshall Lytle (September 1, 1933 – May 25, 2013) was an American rock and roll bassist, best known for his work with the groups Bill Haley & His Comets and The Jodimars in the 1950s.

Born in Old Fort, North Carolina, Lytle was a guitar player before joining Bill Haley’s country music group, The Saddlemen, in 1951. But Lytle was hired to play double bass for the group, replacing departing musician Al Rex, so Haley taught Lytle the basics of slap bass playing. Lytle, who was only a teenager at the time, grew a moustache in order to look a little older, and became a full-time member of The Saddlemen and, in September 1952, he was with the group when they changed their name to Bill Haley & His Comets. Soon after, Lytle co-wrote with Haley the band’s first national hit, “Crazy Man, Crazy” although he did not receive co-authorship credit for it (until 2002).

Lytle played on all of Haley’s recordings between mid-1951 and the summer of 1955, including the epochal “Rock Around the Clock” in 1954.

He played a late 1940s model Epiphone B5 upright double bass, purchased in October, 1951, for about $275. He used gut strings for the G and D strings while the A and E strings were wound. Lytle’s style of playing, which involved slapping the strings to make a percussive sound, is considered one of the signature sounds of early rock and roll and rockabilly. The athletic Lytle also developed a stage routine, along with Ambrose, that involved doing acrobatic stunts with the bass fiddle, including throwing it in the air and riding it like a horse.

In 2012, Lytle was inducted as a member of the Comets into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Lytle

 

 

 

If you are trying to break into country music, and your last name is Cyrus, you have some very big footsteps to follow. Bobby Cyrus, cousin to Billy Ray Cyrus, will be releasing his debut country album on May 21. Now that all know who his cousin is, I have this to say… Billy Ray and his Achy Breaky Heart may be the better known Cyrus, but Bobby is definitely the more ‘country’ of the two!

The album, titled Homeplace, features 13 tracks, nine of which were written or co-written by Bobby. Produced by renowned vocalist and Bluegrass musician, Don Rigsby, the album features special guest appearances by Billy Ray Cyrus, and Country legend, Tom T. Hall.

The first one, ‘Cut My Teeth On (Waylon and Willie)’ sounds like he did! With a melody that reminds you of the music of Waylon and Merle, and lyrics that tell a story, this song has everything that makes country music ‘country’. It has a very traditional sound, and anyone who grew up listening to the best country music had to offer is going to like this song.

That one is followed by ‘Homeplace’. It’s a great song, but I wasn’t happy with the dialogue at the beginning. I understand it is a spoken word stanza from Bobby’s father. And, I’m sure it is an important element in this song that is painting a picture of the Cyrus family home in Louisa, Ky. But, I just don’t really like talking in my music. However, when that short ‘spoken word stanza’ ends, we get to hear an awesome song, with a great melody – and a story that could possibly be told by just about everyone who grew up in that part of the country.

The next one is “’Milkman’s Eyes’. I got to hear this one several months ago, and I didn’t like it. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was the message it was sending. I mean, I’m old – I grew up with a milkman who arrived at our house a few times a week before 7 a.m., and put the glass, quart-size bottles of milk, in a little insulated box on our front porch. Most people listening to country music these days don’t have a memory like that…because many were born years after the milkman ceased to exist. Looking at someone’s child, and suggesting to them that the kid ‘has the milkman’s eyes’ probably wouldn’t even strike them as amusing. This song is an obvious attempt at humor from Bobby and his cousin, Billy Ray in this duet.

Beautiful is the only word needed to describe “Send Me Wings,” the fourth song on this CD. It’s Bobby and a piano, and an emotional story. I don’t even want to tell you about it – it’s a song you have to listen to… and you might cry just a little bit. “If little boys can be angels, send me wings so I can fly.” It’s a great song. I want to hear this one on the radio!

Bobby shows us he can rock a bit with “Hillbilly Man” – It’s a fast song, about moonshiners. It has a beat that might push it into the country/rock category – but it’s still country enough for me.

Tom T. Hall is featured in “A Rose For Marie.” It’s another slow one. I love this ballad side of Bobby Cyrus. And I really loved a little Tom T. on this album. Tom had a hand in writing this one, and bobby said the song was inspired by the death of John Hartford’s wife, Marie, after Tom T. had visited her gravesite.”

Bobby wrote “Daddy’s Home,” and calls it an autobiographical acoustic track. It’s about the memories he had of his father. It brought back memories I have of my father, too. I think it is going to do that for a lot of people who hear it. ‘Broke Down In Georgia” had a familiar melody, I thought – but I can’t put it with any other song, really. It’s slow, it’s good, it tells a story. And Bobby has a great way of telling stories.

Picking up speed again with “If I’da Wrote That Song,” How many times have we all thought – ‘wish I had written that one.’ It just tells us where he might be and what he might be doing if he had written ‘that song.’ He slows us back down with “Carved Our Names In Stone”. This one is a story of young love – and what happens when that young love ends.

When I listened to “Bodan’s Home” I was thinking LINE DANCE! It had the perfect beat – and I was more interested in the music than I was the lyric. All I know is that there are some references to Jekyll and Hyde and the Boogie Man, and apparently there’s an urban legend somewhere in there. But, I’m still thinking line dance!

Next we have “Lucky Guy” – Bobby wrote this one, too. It is described in the ‘cut by cut’ as “an inspirational track that starts as a daydream before moving into the reality of Cyrus’ pursuit of a career in music.’ It’s a song you would have had to live, to write. And he’s obviously lived it.

 “Lucky Man” is the last song on the album, but then – we get Homeplace (The Poem). It was written by Bobby’s dad. It’s great. But, again, I’m not much into ‘readings’. And, as good as this poem is, I think I would have rather had it printed in the album jacket, and read it for myself. But I probably wouldn’t have read it as well as Bobby did. While this one track isn’t something I’ll listen to often, I’m glad I got to hear it at least once.

( Bobby Cyrus – “Homeplace” – Country Music Album Review is brought to you by Music Charts Magazine and Country’s Chatter – www.MusicChartsMagazine.com & www.CountrysChatter.com )

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Marty Raybon’s voice puts me into a comfort zone……. you know, like a nice warm snifter of something smooth after supper sittin’ by the fire. Or, slippin’ into your favorite flannel shirt after you’ve come in cold and wet from workin’ outside.

Maybe that comfortable feeling of mine is because that voice has been around so long, and I’ve never heard Marty sound anything but GOOD!

I knew goin’ in that I was going to like this CD, but, I didn’t know I was going to like it this much! WOW! What a recording this one is!

Marty produced this one himself, recording the instrumental tracks at Mojo Recording Studio, in Greenback, TN., with Josh Molen and Lewell Molen doing the engineering, mixing and mastering. For all of his lead vocal recordings, Marty went to Wishbone Studios, in Muscle Shoals, AL. He must have known exactly what he wanted, and where to go to get it, because, from a technical side, everything, instruments and vocals, all sound crystal clear, warm and rich. I love it when the microphone is up close and personal, like it is here, and you can hear the singer breathe. If you have headphones on, it’s almost like the artist is singing just to you…… Marty has that natural ability to convey his emotions in the most genuine way, and when his singing is matched by top quality equipment and technicians really listening for that magic in his voice, THIS recording is the result. I’ve never heard Marty’s voice sound better. Marty Lewis and Mike McGuire were the engineers waving their magic wands over these vocal tracks, and they did a wonderful job! Mike McGuire is Marty’s old friend and was the drummer for “Shenandoah.”

It’s not just Marty’s vocals that shine so well on this CD. It should be noted that Marty’s brother, Tim Raybon, handled all the harmony vocals. Tim and Marty sing together with an affinity for each other that is marvelous to hear. That “brotherly” intuitiveness shows up again! Listen to how they sound on “Only You, Only You,” and you’ll be as impressed as I am. The ending of the song has the voices moving with a powerful, almost gospel, movement that is simply beautiful to hear. For singers to sing like this, it takes years and years of working on breath control, diaphragm strength, vocal technique and ears listening to the nuances of each other….. OR….. just growin‘ up brothers singin‘ together will get the job done! Either way, Tim and Marty’s harmonies are exquisite!

Of the ten songs on this CD, Marty co-wrote five of them….. three of them with John Fountain. The afore mentioned “Only You, Only You,” which I do believe is my favorite song, the very first tune on the CD, “That Janie Baker,” and “A Little More Sawdust On The Floor.” Every one of them is a winner and qualify as single material. Marty and John definitely need to write together more, and as often as possible! “Janie Baker” is solid, wide open, full steam ahead bluegrass guaranteed to catch your interest. “Sawdust,” has a country, bar room feel that will have you lookin’ for a dance partner. The arrangement is pure bluegrass instrumentation, but the feel would fit just about any honky tonk juke box sittin’ right next to the dance floor. All three songs are lyrically picturesque and melodically catchy and memorable. I haven’t been able to stop humming “Only You” for about a week now! “The Big Burnsville Jail,” co-written with Thom Case and Michael Bonagura is as good an outlaw tale as I’ve heard in years. The defendant in question had more hutzpah, self-assured escape plans, AND self-indulgent ways to spend his ill gotten gains than Butch and Sundance ever thought of. Great lyrical story …… and maybe even a video! Lots of imagery to go with a fun song.

Read the rest of this great review at Presciption Bluegrass’s website here:  http://prescriptionbluegrassreviews.blogspot.com/2013/04/cd-review-marty-raybon-back-forty.html

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(Bluegrass Album & Artist Reviews are brought to you by MusicChartsMagazine.com & PrescriptionBluegrassrReviews.blogspot.com)

 

 

A  Big Music Charts Magazine Welcome to Big Al Weekley (above) from KRVN in Nebraska. 

In celebration of “International Bluegrass Month of May 2013” our 2nd guest is Big Al Weekley and his bluegrass radio show “The Big Al Bluegrass Show”. 

Big Al will play some bluegrass tunes and this show is of course special as it has an emphasis on this very special Memorial Day weekend 2013.  Enjoy the show and stay tuned for more Bluegrass this May 2013!

 

Show:  “The Big Al Bluegrass Show” – with “Big Al Weekley” – Enjoy!

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Henri Dutilleux (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ʁi dytijø]; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His work, which has garnered international acclaim, follows in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in an idiosyncratic style.

Dutilleux numbered as Op. 1 his Piano Sonata (1946–1948), written for pianist Geneviève Joy, whom he had married in 1946. He renounced most of the works he composed before it because he did not believe them to be representative of his mature standards, considering many of them to be too derivative to have merit.

Dutilleux died 22 May 2013 in Paris.

Awards and prizes:

Grand Prix de Rome (for his cantata L’Anneau du Roi) – 1938

UNESCO’s International Rostrum of Composers (for Symphony No. 1) – 1955

Grand Prix National de Musique (for his entire oeuvre) – 1967

Praemium Imperiale (Japan – for his entire oeuvre) – 1994

Prix MIDEM Classique de Cannes (for The Shadows of Time) – 1999

Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (for his entire oeuvre) – 2005

Prix MIDEM Classique de Cannes (for his entire oeuvre) – 2007

Cardiff University Honorary Fellowship (for his entire oeuvre) – 2008

Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society – 2008

Kravis Prize – 2011

Grand-Croix de la Légion d’honneur – 2004

 

Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Dutilleux

Today in Rock in Roll

– May 22 –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        1935

Mahalia Jackson lands her first recording contract after she’s heard singing at a funeral.

1942

Calvin “Thang” Simon was born.

1945

Joe Liggins hits #1 on the R&B chart and #13 on the pop chart with “The Honeydripper.”

1951

Roy Milton hits #2 on the R&B chart with “Best Wishes”.

1951

The Dominoes hit #6 on the R&B chart with “Do Something For Me” and #1 on the R&B chart and #17 on the pop chart with “Sixty Minute Man”.

1958

As Jerry Lee Lewis begins a British tour, a scandal erupts over his marriage to a barely teenage relative, as well as his two prior divorces. Lewis is booed offstage, the tour is canceled after three shows, and he returns to the U.S. to find himself mired in controversy.

1961

“Mother-in-Law,” written and produced by Allen Toussaint and recorded by Ernie K-Doe, hits #1 on the national chart.

1963

Frank Zappa opens Studio Z in Cucamonga, California.

1965

The Dixie Cups hits #20 with “Iko Iko”.

1965

“Iko Iko” by the Dixie Cups charts at #20.

1966

When a Man Loves a Woman (Percy Sledge) was a hit.

1971

Ray Charles Orchestra hits #36 with “Booty Butt”

1976

ELO hits #14 in the US with “Strange Magic”.

1982

Adam & the Ants hit #1 with “Goody Two Shoes”.

1982

Japan hits #24 in the UK with “Cantonese Boy”.

1988

One More Try (George Michael) was a hit.

1999

Robbie Williams’ US album debut, ‘The Ego Has Landed’, a compilation of his two UK albums, reaches #85 on the US charts.

1999

Fatboy Slim hits #36 in the US with “Praise You”.