Ronstadt, Cat Stevens, Hall & Oates Make Rock Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selected its class of 2014 on Tuesday, December 17, and several oldies artists have made it into the pyramid: Linda Ronstadt was elected her very first time out, as were Cat Stevens and Hall & Oates. Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, and KISS were also chosen on their first nomination, but Donna Summer is still unhonored after six tries, Chic after eight, and The Meters after three.


Two British Invasion moguls will also be honored with the Ahmet Ehrtegun Lifetime Achievement Award: Beatles manager Brian Epstein and Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. The induction ceremony will be held April 2014 in New York City. 

Beatles US Albums Re-released for Beatlemania 50th

Though Beatlemania, that first flowering of fan love for the Fab Four, first raced through the UK in October 1963, for Americans their first taste of the Beatles madness happened a few months later -- February 7, 1964, to be exact, when the group arrived at JFK Airport in New York for their milestone of an appearance on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show. Rumors have been circulating for months that Apple would celebrate the American anniversary with the CD release of the last four unreleased US Beatles albums -- the American versions of A Hard Day's Night and Revolver as well as the US-only compilations Yesterday and Today and Hey Jude. But the big news is better than that... all 13 of the Beatles' American albums will be released in remastered CD form, retaining their unique mixes, art, packaging, track order and all, on January 21, 2014, including the audio documentary double album The Beatles Story (and a new 64-page booklet).If you prefer to buy them separately, individual discs will be released for a limited time, except for Story.

Preorders are available right here at Amazon.com!   

2014 Grammy Nominees Announced

The nominees for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards were announced on Friday, December 7, and the list includes several oldies artists honored for recent releases of all-new material: Herb Alpert'sSteppin' Out is up for an award in the Pop Instrumental Album category, while Tony Bennett's multilingual Hispanic album Viva Duets and Dionne Warwick's remake album Now are both in the running for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In the Americana Album contest, Mavis Staples'One True Vine squares off with Allen Toussaint'sSongbook, whose song "Shrimp Po-Boy, Dressed" is also nominated for a new category called American Roots Song. Meanwhile, in what's left of country music, "You Can't Make Old Friends" could be a possible Best Country Duo/Group Performance winner for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. Finally, the "Motown: The Musical" cast recording is eligible for Best Musical Theater Album. No word on whether Robin Thicke's possible "Blurred Lines" Grammys will be shared with the estate of Marvin Gaye. The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles and broadcast on CBS.