George Harrison News

George Harrison's GRAMMY-winning Concert for Bangladesh album makes its exclusive digital debut on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) today, 40 years after the historic concert event on August 1, 1971.

HBO has acquired the North American TV rights to Martin Scorsese's GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD from Grove Street Pictures. The film was produced by Scorsese (through his Sikelia Productions banner), Olivia Harrison (through her Grove Street Pictures banner) and Nigel Sinclair (through Exclusive's documentary label, Spitfire Pictures).

Highline Ballroom is located at 431 West 16th Street between 9th Avenue and 10th Avenue.

The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by American Express, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced its jurors - a diverse and talented group of 38 individuals, including award-winning filmmakers and screenwriters, celebrated actors, respected journalists and media pioneers. They will be divided among the six competitive Festival categories and will announce the winning films, filmmakers and actors in those categories at the TFF Awards Night ceremony on April 28 hosted by Gideon Yago, which will be streamed live on TribecaFilm.com. The 2011 Festival runs from April 20 - May 1.

MusiCares® has announced its 20th Anniversary Campaign with a $5 million matching gift from the ELMA Music Foundation and a significant gift from Olivia Harrison and the Material World Foundation in memory of George Harrison.

Yesterday, November 11, RAIN band members and Broadway's newest stars: STEVE LANDES (John Lennon), JOEY CURATOLO (Paul McCartney), JOE BITHORN (George Harrison) and RALPH CASTELLI (Ringo Starr) performed songs from their hit Broadway tribute concert and talked about the career of The Beatles along with SID BERNSTEIN, the famed impresario who brought The Beatles to America. RAIN w signed copies of their live CDs and SID BERNSTEIN also signed copies of his book Sid Bernstein Calling...

'The award-winning Beatles concert, RAIN: A Tribute to The Beatles, returns to Atlanta's Fabulous Fox Theatre from September 17-19. Like The Beatles, the onstage members of RAIN are not only supreme musicians, but electrifying performers in their own right. You can see the show here before it makes its Broadway debut in October. Make plans today to experience RAIN with your loved ones and friends. Tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling 800-982-2787, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the Fox Theatre Box Office.'

Rundgren, IU's ninth Wells Professor, will teach the middle two weeks of a four-week, one-credit hour honors course designed for a maximum of 25 Wells Scholars and Hutton Honors Scholars. The class commences in late October and finishes in mid-November. Co-teaching the class will be IU Professor of Music Glenn Gass -- whose relationship with Rundgren helped make the professorship possible -- and IU Distinguished Professor of Sociology Bernice Pescosolido, who was instrumental in helping to plan the course. Gass, a professor at IU's world-class Jacobs School of Music, said he sees Rundgren's engagement at IU as the start of a trend in which legendary rock stars share their knowledge with a new generation. Rundgren, who performs frequently, gave a concert at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University in Indianapolis on Sept. 11. 'Todd is a treasure trove of memories, knowledge, stories . . .,' Gass said. 'This class is a way for him to celebrate what he's done and allows him to share his experiences with students who really want to hear what he has to say.' In addition to learning about the culture, politics and economics of the music business, from the 1970s through today, students will visit Professor of Anthropology Nicholas Toth at IU's Stone Age Institute to view some of the earliest tools used for making music. 'I think the students will love it. For us, the appeal of the class is really both Todd and Glenn,' said Professor of Physics Tim Londergan, director of the Wells Scholars Program. Londergan is a self-professed rock 'n' roll fan who has audited three of Gass' courses. The Rundgren course is currently full with a waiting list, and course auditors/visitors, including IU students not registered for the class, cannot be accommodated. During his stay in Bloomington, Rundgren will give a public lecture titled 'LONGHAIR: Todd Rundgren on the Beatles Effect' at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 in Ballantine Hall 013. He will also present a Halloween-night recital titled 'CLUSTER: The Birth of the T Chord' at 8 p.m. Oct. 31 in Auer Hall. Both are free and open to the public. Gass said he asked Rundgren to talk about the Beatles both because of Rundgren's collaborations with various members of the band and because of the window it will provide into his own music. 'If it was going to be 'Todd talks about Todd,' he may have felt awkward,' Gass said. 'By asking him to talk about the Beatles, we can get more insight into his music, too.' Rundgren's unique associations with the Beatles include a number of covers, participation in the Ringo All-Star Band and co-producing the power pop band Badfinger with George Harrison. When Harrison died, Rundgren did a highly acclaimed version of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' for a tribute album. In 1980, Rundgren and his then-band Utopia, did a loving sendup of the Beatles (Deface the Music) that Gass calls 'just genius.' Rundgren is also a longtime Beatles fan who credits Harrison with inventing the 'lead guitar' player, Gass said. 'When Todd was in the band Nazz, he wasn't the lead singer -- he was the lead guitar player -- which in the 50s meant one of the backup musicians. Because of George, lead guitar now means you're one of the band's leaders.' Glenn Gass Print-Quality Photo Gass initially met Rundgren in Hawaii, when Gass and his wife were on sabbatical for a year (and where they spent the past two summers). 'The kids start taking the bus together and the next thing you know, you're going to cookouts at Todd's,' Gass said. 'I quickly learned that everything they said about him was true. He's brilliant, articulate, really interesting -- and interested in things far beyond his own work and even his music. He's just a really engaged human being.' Rundgren is also known for staying true to his artistic muse. 'He refused to take the easy way out,' Gass said. 'The easy way would have been to do five more songs like 'Hello, It's Me.' He paid a price for that, but in the long run, in 50 years, I think that's why he'll matter more than starts who may have had more hits.' Rundgren was the highest paid producer of the 1970s, producing bands that ranged from the New York Dolls, The Band and Patti Smith to Meat Loaf, Hall & Oates and Cheap Trick. On Aug. 1, 1981 -- the evening MTV debuted with 'Video Kills the Radio Star' by the Buggles -- Rundgren was ready with his music video for 'Time Heals,' which premiered on MTV the same evening. Always a fan of technology, Rundgren made his music available through online downloads about 10 years before iTunes ('Everyone had dial-up connections then,' Gass commented. 'His fate is always to be just a few years ahead of his time.'). Gass said after the Beatles broke up, he was personally attracted to singer-songwriters like James Taylor, Neil Young, Carole King, Joni Mitchell -- and Todd Rundgren. 'Todd was always one of the best and most interesting performers. Even in those early albums, it was clear he wasn't just a singer-songwriter,' Gass said. At turns, Rundgren played with electric guitar or classical riffs, producing his own double album in 1972, on which he also played all of the instruments. From the time he met Rundgren in Hawaii, Gass starting thinking of ways to bring the performer to IU. A confluence of events sparked by a Rundgren speaking engagement at DePauw University led to the IU professorship. DePauw's executive director of media relations, Ken Owen, is 'a huge Todd scholar -- Todd to him is like the Beatles to me,' Gass said. 'All of a sudden it went from being a day dream to being a real possibility, and now it's actually happening,' Gass said. 'He really can call himself Professor Rundgren. This is not a gimmick: He is the Wells Professor.' About the Wells Professorships The Wells professorships are made possible by gifts from the IU classes of 1941, 1942 and 1963. Previous Wells professors have included the Honorable Helen Suzman, a South African political leader (Class of 1941 Wells Professor in 1993), Sir Malcolm Bradbury, a novelist-screenwriter-critic (Class of 1942 Wells Professor in 1997), and Holocaust scholar Christopher Browning (Class of 1943 Wells Professor in 2003). The most recently appointed Wells Professors were Sir (now Lord) Timothy Garden (Class of 1941 Wells Professor) and artist Robert Colescott (Class of 1943 Wells Professor), both of whom taught at IU in 2004.

When the opening chords of a familiar Beatles tune drifts out of the doors of the Fabulous Fox Theatre on September 17th, passers by might just think they stepped back in time 40+ years to Liverpool, England. And if they come see RAIN - A Tribute to the Beatles presented by Theater of the Stars September 17 - 19 they might just succeed in that time travel. RAIN - A Tribute to the Beatles, a show that has been called "the next best thing to seeing The Beatles," boasts a repertoire of Beatles favorites, ranging from such beloved songs as "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Hey Jude" to classic hits including "Revolution" and "Come Together." Playing all those familiar songs, in the guise of George Harrison is Joe Bithorn who will be a part of the show when it returns to Atlanta. I caught up with Joe to learn a little more about his journey.

'The award-winning Beatles concert, RAIN: A Tribute to The Beatles, returns to Atlanta's Fabulous Fox Theatre from September 17-19. Like The Beatles, the onstage members of RAIN are not only supreme musicians, but electrifying performers in their own right. You can see the show here before it makes its Broadway debut in October. Make plans today to experience RAIN with your loved ones and friends. Tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling 800-982-2787, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the Fox Theatre Box Office.'

The Beatles are back in both look and sound when '1964'...The Tribute returns by popular demand to Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre for concerts on July 5 and 6.

The Hollywood Bowl launches its 89th season with the 2010 edition of the always-memorable Opening Night at the Hollywood Bowl and Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame Concert, Friday, June 18, at 8:30 p.m.

Composer/pianist/singer/actor/bandleader Hoagy Carmichael wrote four of the most-recorded American songs of all time: 'Stardust,' 'Georgia on My Mind,' 'The Nearness of You,' and 'Heart and Soul.'

Composer/pianist/singer/actor/bandleader Hoagy Carmichael wrote four of the most-recorded American songs of all time: 'Stardust,' 'Georgia on My Mind,' 'The Nearness of You,' and 'Heart and Soul.'

Composer/pianist/singer/actor/bandleader Hoagy Carmichael wrote four of the most-recorded American songs of all time: 'Stardust,' 'Georgia on My Mind,' 'The Nearness of You,' and 'Heart and Soul.'

Composer/pianist/singer/actor/bandleader Hoagy Carmichael wrote four of the most-recorded American songs of all time: 'Stardust,' 'Georgia on My Mind,' 'The Nearness of You,' and 'Heart and Soul.'

Cirque du Soleil's Love launched in Las Vegas in 2006 and features music from the Beatles that dates back almost a half-century. However, this tour de force shows no signs of aging; it's a gorgeous multi-media masterpiece, a Vegas gamble on which you can't lose.

Arguably one of the most popularly-beloved pop acts of the 20th century, the Beatles -- that engaging Liverpool, UK foursome comprised of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- have not only left an indelible mark in music history, but have also carved themselves a place in pop culture that still resonates today. It's no surprise, then, that when RAIN®: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES took the stage of the Orange County Performing Arts Center (performances continue through March 28), there were plenty of screams, lots of heads bopping (to the beat of the music), and ample breakouts of infectious sing-alongs. Steeped in affectionate nostalgia, the theatrically-leaning concert production is an enjoyable multi-media presentation that is huge in both sound and visuals.

The 2009-10 Broadway Series continues in South Bend when the award-winning Beatles concert, RAIN - A Tribute To The Beatles, makes its debut at the Morris Performing Arts Center March 12-13.