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  • 2 weeks later...

33 years ago today we lost possibly the most important singer / songwriter in the history of Rock music.

John Winston Ono Lennon

October 9,1940 - Dec 8,1980.

Today also marks the 8th Anniversary of another senseless murder.

Pantera Guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott

August 20, 1966 - December 8, 2004

I didn't know Dimebag shared his birthday with Robert Plant...

Rest In Peace to both of these innovative musicians.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Too little, too late? Grammys finally deem the Beatles legends

Tony Sclafani

TODAY contributor

Talk about a long and winding road. Fiftly years after the Beatles rocked America with their appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," the Grammy Awards have deemed the massively influential British pop band worthy of a lifetime achievement award. Surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are set to reunite on stage when they recieve the honor at Sunday's awards.

And while you know that can't be bad, considering the commercial and critical acclaim the band has recieved, it is, as the Beatles once sang in "Penny Lane," "very strange." Acts with far less success and influence have recieved the award since its inception in 1962. The Grammy gang was all shook up about Elvis in 1971. Fred Astaire, primarily known as a dancer, got a leg up on the Fabs when he received his posthumously in 1989.

Heck, even other '60s groups like the Beach Boys, the Who, and the Grateful Dead beat the Beatles to the punch. Yes, you read that right. The Dead got in before the Beatles. So did Frank Zappa.

Fans of the Liverpool legends, at this point, might wonder what goes on in the minds of the Grammy committee. Probably not a lot of planning, said Tim Riley, NPR music critic and author of books on both the Beatles and John Lennon.

"My mental note was that the Grammys just kind of blew it with the Beatles," Riley told TODAY. "They were so inconsistent when it came to the Beatles. The larger story here is that the Grammys have never been on top of rock and roll at all."

Riley said the reason the Grammys might be paying tribute now is "Ringo and Paul finally agreed to appear on stage together and they said, 'Oh sure we'll give you a Lifetime."

During the band's heyday, they only nabbed a handful of Grammys, though they picked more after their split. Pop culture historian Robert Rodriguez, who has written or co-written nine books on the band, says the Grammys' history with the Beatles is 'kind of spotty.

"They were nominated a lot more than they ever won," he told TODAY. "Which might suprise some people if you look at the people that beat them out, like the Statler Brothers and other acts that came and went and were not quite on the same artistic level."

Rodriquez also said he believes the Grammys purposely held back giving the lifetime achievement award to the Beatles because "they were kind of keeping this event in their pocket to make a big celebration out of it. Afterward they're taping a tribute concert to be run on the anniversary of (the band's 1964) 'Ed Sullivan' appearance."

That Jan. 27 concert is being called "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles." Performers will include Alicia Keys, John Legend, and John Mayer, all of whom, ironically, won more Grammys than the Beatles ever did.

The big question now is what Beatles songs Paul and Ringo will play- and who they'll play with. With John Lennon and George Harrison deceased, it'll be a bittersweet way for them to get back.

http://www.today.com/entertainment/too-little-too-late-grammys-finally-deem-beatles-legends-2D11981962

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Money (That's What I Want): Beatles still earning it 50 years later

Mark Koba, CNBC

Baby, You're a Rich Man.

The Beatles earned a total of $10,000 from three performances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964 and two weeks before the 50th anniversary of their debut on the show, they're still making millions.

They could have gotten more for just a single performance on the popular television show back then, but their manager, Brian Epstein, negotiated for top billing and increased exposure.

He was right. The Beatles were the headliners for each program and got a massive TV audience--including a then-record 73 million viewers for their Feb. 9, 1964, U.S. TV debut.

That kind of thinking, combined with a relentless drive and vast musical history, has kept the Beatles brand making money half a century after John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr took America by storm. And even after the deaths of Lennon and Harrison.

"Their financial impact today is bigger than any other artist living or deceased," said David Florenza, a Villanova University economics professor who specializes in art and entertainment.

"The surviving members and the group's holding company continue to search avenues that weren't available to them in the mid-1960s," he said. "They've always been on the cutting edge."

The business legacy of the Beatles started immediately, said John Covach, a rock historian who teaches a Beatles course at the University of Rochester. "The Gretsch and Rickenbacker guitars they used on Sullivan just flew off the shelves the next day," he said. "Kids wanted to be like them from the instruments to the haircuts."

As of this year, the Beatles sold some 600 million albums worldwide--with 177 million sold in the U.S. alone, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Elvis Presley is second in the U.S. at 135 million sold.

They once held the top five spots on Billboard 100--in April 1964--an achievement that's likely to remain unmatched. They made $25 million in earnings that year, which translates to almost $188 million today. This from a band that sang: "Money (That's What I Want)."

Apple Corp., the Beatles holding company controlled by McCartney, Starr and the estates of Lennon and Harrison, continutes to push out products.

In 1995, there was the release of the "Beatles Anthology" documentary, along with the book and CD. A compilation of No. 1 hit singles was released as an album in 2000--and went to the top of the charts. It became the best selling album from 2000 to 2010.

Other deals include the "Beatles Rock Band" music video game, released in 2009--with multimillion sales--as well as the ongoing show "Love," which features Beatles music and performances by Cirque Du Soleil in Las Vegas.

In 2012, the TV show "Mad Men" paid about $250,000 for the rights to use the Lennon-McCartney song, "Tomorrow Never Knows" in an episode.

Also in 2012, after years of squabbles with Apple Inc over naming and music rights, (the Beatles formed their company in 1968 for tax advantages--the computer company was founded in 1976) the Beatles finally allowed their music to be sold on iTunes.

"It's remarkable for a band that stopped recording in 1970, they still have such interest." said Darrin Duber-Smith, a marketing professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

What's helped the Fab Four's staying power, said Duber-Smith, is being a first mover. In marketing terms, that means they were the first in their category and came to symbolize a significant movement in time.

"They represent the British musical invasion and the change in music that came with it," he said. "We've had other moments like (Grunge) with Pearl Jam and Kurt Cobain, but nothing like the Beatles did for their time. They were a transformative band, and that has longevity."

Of course, it was the business part of their careers that helped end the Beatles' recording career. The death of Epstein in 1967 from a perscription drug overdose sent the group, by their own admission, into a business tailspin.

The resulting bickering over managing their financial affairs kept the band battling each other into the mid 1970s. It reached a point where Apple Corp., once listed on the London Stock Exchange, nearly disbanded in 1975. But it was kept on to manage the business aspect of the Beatles recording library.

It turned out well, as Apple Corp ranked second in 2010 on Fast Company magazine's list of the world's most innovative companies in the music industry.

Rumors of a Beatles reunion, and there were many, ended suddenly with Lennon's murder in 1980. Twenty-one years later, George Harrison died of cancer. But both continue to sell records, with Lennon's estate taking in some $12 million in 2011 and Harrison's $6 million that year.

McCartney and Starr still tour and make music headlines. Both are scheduled to appear on the Grammy Awards on Sunday and will tape a concert to help mark the 50th anniversary of their Sullivan performances.

Starr's worth is listed at around $300 million. McCartney is said to have a net worth of $800 million.

There could be more money ahead for him and the Lennon estate in 2018. That's when full rights to the Lennon-McCartney catalogue of songs revert back to the songwriters. Lennon and McCartney have recieved a percentage of royalties over the last decades. It was singer Michael Jackson who outbid McCartney in 1985 for the rights--paying nearly $50 million for them. Jackson later sold half rights to Sony for $95 million.

The Beatles themselves were circumspect about their longevity, according to Larry Kane, a former news anchor in Philadelphia and reporter who covered the Beatles on their U.S. tours in 1964 and 1965.

"It was always a big question for them--when was the bubble going to burst," said Kane, who has written three books about the band. "I don't think they had any idea it would go on like this."

But there was one among them who did.

"I asked Brian Epstein in 1964 how long it would last," Kane added. "He said, 'Larry, the children of the 21st century will be listening to the Beatles.' He was right."

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/money-thats-what-i-want-beatles-still-earning-it-50-2D11988270

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  • 2 weeks later...

That was a great video above. I have wondered about zep's cover of, the song remains the same and thought a black and white, or sepia toned photo of a dilapidated venue would have worked. But I guess with it being a soundtrack and movie, the marketing of the other format was sure to work.

I am enjoying the tons of media coverage on the beatles. One beatles writer, compared the beatles cultural impact to the internet and called them a new form of communication for their day.

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Damn, has time flied? 50 years ago The Beatles rocked the Ed Sullivan show... twice. The first one was prerecorded to air on the third consecutive Sunday of Beatle appearences on the show. The second was the more famous 250 million viewer one. Anyone watching the Grammys special tonight?

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Oh yes, although I don't know yet what channel or time it will be on.

Damn, has time flied? 50 years ago The Beatles rocked the Ed Sullivan show... twice. The first one was prerecorded to air on the third consecutive Sunday of Beatle appearences on the show. The second was the more famous 250 million viewer one. Anyone watching the Grammys special tonight?

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Oh yes, although I don't know yet what channel or time it will be on.

Considering CBS has spent millions advertising this special, you've just given them a heart attack...how can anyone not know what channel it's on?

CBS 8pm ET/PT. Who are among the acts joining Paul and Ringo? Stevie Wonder, Jeff Lyne, Imagine Dragons, Katy Perry(singing "Yesterday"), Alicia Keys, and a reunion of the Eurythmics - Annie Lennox & Dave Stewart. One of the highlights I was told by someone who was at the taping last week is the ubiquitous Dave Grohl with Joe Walsh and Gary Clarke, Jr. trading licks on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".

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