The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| McCartney, Starr sing Beatles classics to mark US TV debut 50 years on Posted: 28 Jan 2014 06:05 AM PST In a rare joint appearance singing Beatles numbers, McCartney and Starr were flanked on stage by artists including Stevie Wonder, R&B singer Alicia Keys and country singer Keith Urban to celebrate the night in 1964 when The Beatles were watched by 73 million Americans on the Ed Sullivan Show. In a concert being filmed for "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles," McCartney and Starr paid special tribute to their former band members, John Lennon and George Harrison. Lennon was shot and killed in 1980. Harrison died of cancer in 2001. "We were in a band called The Beatles and whenever we play George and John are always with us," Starr told the crowd. McCartney said: "Tonight we are remembering our beautiful friends John and George." The Beatles, wearing black suits and mop top hair, appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9 1964, to screaming crowds in what became a seminal moment for the British band, and US television. Nearly 50% of American households with televisions tuned in. Technicians on the Ed Sullivan set 50 years ago were broadcast at Monday night's tribute explaining that the "crowd shot" was born that night in 1964. The teenage audience was so hysterical that a camera was devoted entirely to their reaction, a television first. McCartney, playing guitar, and Starr on drums, brought Monday night's tribute to a rousing close both with "Hey Jude" and another classic Beatles song, "With a Little Help from My Friends". They were watched by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, 80, and Harrison's widow, Olivia. The last time McCartney and Starr performed Beatles songs together was to celebrate Starr's 70th birthday, in 2010. In a three hour tribute before they appeared, a series of artists performed Beatles numbers. British pop duo Eurythmics – singer Annie Lennox and musician Dave Stewart – reunited to perform "The Fool on the Hill", and US singer Katy Perry sang a version of "Yesterday". Oscar-winning actors Tom Hanks, Jeff Bridges and Sean Penn were among a Hollywood crowd which danced along to the music. Even the Beatles' backing musicians were not anonymous journeymen, they included The Eagles' Joe Walsh and singer-songwriter Peter Frampton. The 50th anniversary tribute will air on CBS on February 9. – Reuters, January 28, 2014. |
| US folk singer Pete Seeger dead at 94 Posted: 27 Jan 2014 11:53 PM PST Legendary American folk singer Pete Seeger, known for renditions of songs like 'If I had a Hammer' and 'Where Have all the Flowers Gone', has died at the age of 94, US media reported. Seeger passed away yesterday in New York after being hospitalized for a week. He is also known for popularizing the hymn of the civil rights movement, 'We Shall Overcome'. His death was confirmed by his grandson, Kitama Cahill Jackson, who said he died of natural causes at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the New York Times reported. Seeger played 12-string guitar or five-string banjo. He sang topical songs and children's tunes as well as anthems, and often urged his audience to sing along. The Times said his agenda mirrored the concerns of the American left. He sang for the labor movement in the 1940s and 1950s, for civil rights marches and anti-Vietnam War rallies in the 1960s. He also intoned for environmental and anti-war causes in the 1970s and beyond. He was a mentor to folk and topical singers in the '50s and '60s, among them Bob Dylan and Don McLean. Bruce Springsteen drew on Seeger's work in his 2006 album, 'We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions', from Seeger's repertoire of traditional music about turbulent American life. At a Madison Square Garden concert celebrating Seeger's 90th birthday, Springsteen introduced him as "a living archive of America's music and conscience, a testament of the power of song and culture to nudge history along," The Times said. – AFP, January 28, 2014. |
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