George Thorogood

George Thorogood and the Destroyers have recorded songs made famous by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and other Chess Records greats for their new album, “2120 South Michigan Avenue,” due July 12 on Capitol/EMI.

Buddy Guy and Charlie Musselwhite make guest appearances on the 13-track album, which is named for the address of the Chess Records headquarters in Chicago.

Thorogood and the Destroyers are set to begin a stretch of U.S. tour dates on April 7 in Napa, Calif.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The 53rd Annual GRAMMY® Awards Pre-Telecast Ceremony will take place on Sunday, Feb. 13 from 1 – 4 p.m. PT at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will be streamed live internationally on www.grammy.com/live and www.youtube.com/thegrammys beginning at 1 p.m. PT. Well-attended by nominees and industry VIPs, the star-studded ceremony with be co-hosted by current GRAMMY nominees Bobby McFerrin and Esperanza Spalding, and will feature performances by nominees including Afro-Colombian hip hop trio ChocQuibTown, blues musician Buddy Guy, singer/songwriter Cyndi Lauper, American roots interpreter Maria Muldaur, contemporary blues artist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, trombone and trumpet player Trombone Shorty, legendary gospel singer Mavis Staples, jazz musician Kirk Whalum, and R&B singer/songwriter Betty Wright. Presenting the first GRAMMY Awards of the night in 98 categories will be current nominees Laurie Anderson, Sara Bareilles, BT, Kathy Griffin, and Wayne Wallace. The live stream of the Pre-Telecast will remain on GRAMMY.com as video on demand for 30 days following the event. Following the Pre-Telecast Ceremony, the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network from 8 – 11:30 p.m ET/PT. For GRAMMY coverage, updates and breaking news, please visit The Recording Academy®’s social networks on Facebook and Twitter: www.facebook.com/thegrammys and www.twitter.com/thegrammys.

Co-hosts McFerrin and Spalding each have one nomination: McFerrin for Best Classical Crossover Album for Vocabularies, and Spalding for Best New Artist.

Performers ChocQuibTown, Guy, Lauper, Muldaur, Shepherd, Staples, Trombone Shorty and Wright each have one nod: ChocQuibTown for Best Latin Rock, Alternative Or Urban Album for Oro; Guy for Best Contemporary Blues Album for Living Proof; Lauper for Best Traditional Blues Album for Memphis Blues; Muldaur for Best Traditional Folk Album for Maria Muldaur & Her Garden Of Joy; Shepherd for Best Contemporary Blues Album for Live! In Chicago (Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band Featuring Hubert Sumlin, Wille “Big Eyes” Smith, Bryan Lee, and Buddy Flett); Staples for Best Americana Album for You Are Not Alone; Trombone Shorty for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for Backatown; and Wright for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “Go.” Whalum has three nominations: Best Pop Instrumental Album for Everything Is Everything: The Music Of Donny Hathaway; Best Gospel Performance for “He’s Been Just That Good” (with Lalah Hathaway) and Best Gospel Song for “It’s What I Do” (with Jerry Peters).

Presenters Anderson, Bareilles, BT, Griffin, and Wallace each have one nomination: Anderson for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for “Flow”; Bareilles for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “King Of Anything”; BT for Best Electronic/Dance Album for These Hopeful Machines; Griffin for Best Comedy Album for Kathy Griffin Does The Bible Belt; and Wallace for Best Latin Jazz Album for ¡Bien Bien! (Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet).

By Carol Anne Szel

After 34 years since their first album, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers never cease to amaze.  With the rare blend of quality, endurance, integrity, and longevity garnering their  illustrious career, Petty is now set to release his first recording in eight years this June called “Mojo.”

The release is accompanied by a tour that takes this quintet across the nation from June to October this year, proving that fans old and new have been thirsting to quench their musical thirst on some good old rock and roll.  Which is exactly what Petty has provided all these many years selling more than 60 million albums to date with his solo career and with The Heartbreakers.

“Mojo” is unique in that it was recorded in a room.  Not a studio.  Not one member breezing in to do his part and heading out.  In a room.  Face-to-face, singing and playing together as a band.  Bringing music back to its roots, “Mojo” was recorded on the spot, no overdubs, no recording trickery.  The way real rock and roll set out to be.  As Petty has always sought to be and has remained all these decades.

Along with Mike Campbell on Guitar,  Benmont Tench handling Keyboards, Ron Blair on Bass, Scott Thurston with Harmonica and Guitar, and Steve Ferrone tackling Drums, Tom Petty’s latest release “Mojo” highlights the spectrum of musical genres from good old American rock and roll to country to acoustic & electric blues stylings. Look for the album’s release in June, along with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers on the road this summer.

Discography:
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 1976
You’re Gonna Get It! 1978
Damn the Torpedoes 1979
Hard Promises 1981
Long After Dark 1982
Southern Accents 1985
Pack Up The Plantation: Live! 1985
Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) 1987
*Full Moon Fever 1989
Into The Great Wide Open 1991
Greatest Hits 1993
*Wildflowers 1994
Playback 1995
Songs and Music from ‘She’s The One’ 1996
Echo 1999
Anthology: Through The Years 2000
The Last DJ 2002
*Highway Companion 2006
The Live Anthology 2009
Mojo 2010

* Denotes Tom Petty solo album

Three days before Record Store Day … here is the latest.

Vanguard Records/Welk Music Group will celebrates Record Store Day with exclusive vinyl re-issues of Joan Baez, Buddy Guy and more. It is Vanguard’s 60th anniversary in 2010 so they are in the right state of mind.

They will re-issue Joan Baez’s “Joan Baez” (at left), Mississippi John Hurt’s “Today,” John Fahey’s “The Yellow Princess,” Doc Watson’s “Doc Watson,” and Buddy Guy’s “A Man and the Blues.” Each with original vinyl artwork.

To find participating retailers in your area, go to www.recordstoreday.com

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Tulsa, OK’s Jacob Fred Odyssey will release “The Sensation of Seeing Light” on limited edition 7-inch vinyl, available exclusively at Record Store Day, on Saturday, April 17. The track offers a sneak peak into the band’s forthcoming new album, “Stay Gold,” due June 22 on Kinnara Records/Royal Potato Family.

JFJO also appear for two in-store performances on Record Store Day. The first at Starship Records in their Tulsa hometown and then later in Norman, OK at Guestroom Records.

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In a weirder series of events, the LimeWire Store is doing a test partnership with Record Store Day in conjunction with the Yep Roc label and Redeye Distribution.

A “Live at Lime with The Soundtrack of Our Lives” EP will be released on CD on Record Store Day. This is the first time any of the Live at Lime digital titles have been made available in physical format. It is being distributed in limited quantities to select participating Record Store Day stores on April 17, 2010.

Strange for digital to support Record Store Day, isn’t it?

Michael Kurtz, co-founder of Record Store Day, says “I don’t think anyone expects Record Store Day to partner with an online entity like LimeWire Store but we love experimentation. Especially if the experiment pushes people to real record stores and helps the artists we love and the labels who support them. In this case, Record Store Day is helping to bring attention to the Soundtrack of Our Lives latest album, Communion, while giving fans of record stores a special release from the band and LimeWire Store.”

The LimeWire Store was launched in the spring of 2008 by the makers of the popular p2p software. It sells 256kbps, DRM-free MP3s provided by leading distributors. Its digital music offering has grown to include more than 5 million recordings by today’s top indie artists and music legends. LimeWire Store also produces exclusive content, such as its Live at Lime series, which includes live sessions by artists Matt  Kim, Juliana Hatfield, Sloan, School of Seven Bells, Langhorne Slim, Lisa Loeb, Tom Morello, and others. LimeWire Store’s music team is committed to providing participating artists and labels unique promotional opportunities with exclusive releases, targeted marketing and events. For more information, visit www.store.limewire.com. It is located in New York City at 45 Howard Street, New York, NY 10013.

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Coming To Indie Retailers on  DVD April 17:  “The Death (or Possible Survival)  of the Independent Record Store” featuring Thurston Moore, Ian MacKaye, Noam  Chomksy, Mike Watt, Lenny Kaye and  more. MVD Visual will realease the DVD for North American distribution on Record Store Day. It will be offered to independent record stores for a period of 90 days. Afterwards, it will be available on July 27.

“Guerilla filmmaker”  Brendan Toller presents a documentary feature  examining why over 3000 independent record stores have closed across the U.S. in the past decade. The DVD concludes: greedy record labels, media consolidation, homogenized radio,  big box stores, Ecommerce, shoddy “stars” pushed by big  money, and the digital revolution all pose threats on the very well being of our favorite record stores and  the music industry at large.

Will these stores die? Will  they survive?

Featuring  discussion and commentary by THURSTON MOORE of Sonic Youth, IAN MACKAYE of Dischord Records  Fugazi/Minor Threat, activist/author NOAM CHOMSKY, MIKE WATT of the Minutemen, LENNY KAYE guitarist of the Patti  Smith Group, CHRIS FRANTZ of the Talking  Heads/Tom Tom Club, guitar composer GLENN BRANCA, PATTERSON  HOOD of Drive-By Truckers, PAT CARNEY of the Black Keys, punk  author LEGS MCNEIL, rock photographer BOB GRUEN, BP HELIUM guitarist from Of  Montreal, and many indie record stores across the  United States.

“This film  has been a four year labor of love playing at over 25  film festivals worldwide (and continuing),” said  Toller. “So when it came time to craft the DVD we  packed it with 2+ hours of candid interview extras with:  Thurston Moore, Mike Watt, Ian MacKaye, Lenny Kaye,  Patterson Hood, Glenn Branca, Pat Carney, and Legs  McNeil.” The film  also features amazing animation by MATT NEWMAN.