John Fogerty

Blink-182's Hits, Santana's All Are No Match For Now 20

9 Nov 2005 10:02:00 EST

Chart-topping compilation features Missy Elliott, Fall Out Boy, Kelly Clarkson and more.
By Chris Harris

Now That's What I Call Music! 20
Photo: Utv Records

With 1999's Supernatural, an album featuring duets with Dave Matthews, Rob Thomas, and Eric Clapton, among others, iconic guitarist Carlos Santana stumbled upon an award-winning, cash-culling formula: Recruit some of music's biggest names, and record tracks with them. Santana's Supernatural, which has gone on to sell more than 11.5 million copies, was followed by 2002's Shaman, which debuted as Billboard's #1 with close to 300,000 in first-week sales; that album included guests Dido, Macy Gray, Seal and Nickelback's Chad Kroeger.

Sticking with that blueprint for success, Carlos Santana once again collected a handful of hitmakers for his latest outing, All That I Am, which features Michelle Branch, Outkast's Big Boi, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, Joss Stone, Metallica's Kirk Hammett and "American Idol" runner-up Bo Bice. The ingredients were all there for All That I Am's chart-topping debut, and with sales of more than 142,000, Santana gave it the old college try. But the producers behind the unstoppable retail force known as the Now That's What I Call Music! series drafted some equally imposing all-stars for the 20th installment in the best-selling compilation franchise.

According to the latest SoundScan totals, Now 20, which boasts tracks from Missy Elliott, Black Eyed Peas, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, the Pussycat Dolls, Ciara, Destiny's Child, Kelly Clarkson, Fall Out Boy and others, crushed Santana to take Billboard's #1, with week-one sales of close to 378,000. But Carlos shouldn't take the defeat too hard — few can top the consistently successful Now collections when it comes to chart debuts.

Santana and the wow of Now aside, it was a frail week at retail for chart newcomers. This week's Billboard totals reflect the advent of the holiday-shopping season, as the chart is riddled with greatest-hits collections released in droves toward the tail end of the year. This week, Blink-182's Greatest Hits debuts at #6 with close to 72,000 copies sold, while Slipknot's 9.0: Live, which is loaded with live renditions of some of the mask-donning metal band's most powerful tracks, opens at #17 with 42,000 plus scans.

John Fogerty's The Long Road Home: The Ultimate John Fogerty/ Creedence Collection debuts at #13 with 47,000 copies sold. Sliver: The Best of the Box, a collection of unreleased Nirvana tracks and a sampling of tunes issued via last year's With the Lights Out box set, debuts at #21 on the chart, selling more than 38,000 units. Ozzy Osbourne's Under Cover, an album of classic rock covers (several of which first appeared on Ozzy's Prince of Darkness box set), debuts at #134, with nearly 9,000 in sales.

A number of previously released hits discs also experienced a surge in sales this week — most notably, Guns N' Roses' Greatest Hits, which takes #60 with more than 17,000 copies sold thanks to an 18 percent increase in retail interest, and Hilary Duff's Most Wanted, in at #52 with 20,000 scans reflecting an 11 percent sales spike.

As for the chart's top 10, Nickelback's All the Right Reasons holds strong at #3 with sales of close to 101,000 while the Black Eyed Peas, who are dominating airwaves with the single "My Humps," finish at #4 with 86,000 in sales for their latest, Monkey Business. Destiny's Child's #1's falls four spots to #5 with week-two scans of 85,000, while Martina McBride's Timeless takes the #7 spot with sales of 63,000 and change. Wherever You Are, the latest from Christian rockers Third Day, debuts at #8 with nearly 63,000 copies flying off record-store shelves, followed at #9 by Rod Stewart's Thanks for the Memory ... The Great American Songbook, Volume IV, which sold 62,000 copies. Ashlee Simpson's I Am Me rounds out the top 10 with sales of 54,000.

Other notable debuts on this week's chart include former Phish-erman Trey Anastasio's Shine, which opens at #64 with 16,000 copies sold, and Imogen Heap's Speak For Yourself, which debuts at #182 with 6,000 in sales.

For more on Blink-182's break, see the feature "Tom DeLonge: No More Compromises"

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Vote For Change Kickoff: Springsteen Seeks Humanity, Oberst Wants 'This Madman' Out

4 Oct 2004 03:55:00 EDT

Tour of swing states launched with several shows across Pennsylvania Friday.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by John Norris and SuChin Pak

Michael Stipe and Bruce Springsteen in Philadelphia on Friday
Photo: Scott Gries

When Bruce Springsteen strode onstage Friday night at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center for the kickoff of the Vote for Change Tour, he made his strongest statements without saying a word.

First, the Boss blasted through a ragged take on "The Star-Spangled Banner," and then was joined onstage by his E Street Band for a version of "Born in the U.S.A.," a song he wrote more than 20 years ago but one whose anti-war message is certainly applicable to events today.

"We're here tonight to fight for a government that is open, rational, forward-looking and humane," Springsteen finally said to the crowd. "And we plan to rock the joint while doing so."

Springsteen headlined the Vote for Change concert in Philadelphia, on a bill that also featured R.E.M., John Fogerty and Bright Eyes. It was one of six stops that the tour — organized by pro-John Kerry political action committee MoveOn — made on Friday in Pennsylvania, a swing state seen as a must-win for Kerry if he is to take the White House.

"Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Springsteen, Others Join Vote For Change Tour"). The final concert of the tour, from Washington, D.C., will be broadcast live on the Sundance Channel.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

For more political news, insight into the 2004 presidential election and information on registering to vote, check out Choose or Lose.

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Beck, Deftones, Others Rally For Bill That Could Change Recording Contracts

24 Jan 2002 12:00:00 EST

Tom Morello, Dexter Holland, Don Henley, Sheryl Crow also on hand at California's State Capitol.
By Corey Moss

Sheryl Crow
Photo: UNI/A&M

Beck, Deftones and Offspring singer Dexter Holland joined Recording Artists Coalition founders Don Henley and Sheryl Crow at California's State Capitol on Wednesday to support new legislation that could change the relationship between recording artists and their labels.

Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, Matchbox Twenty's Paul Doucette, Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Carole King, Ray Parker Jr. and Jonatha Brooke also appeared in Sacramento, California, calling on legislators to support Democratic Sen. Kevin Murray's Senate Bill 1246, legislation that would allow artists to function more like free agents, according to a spokesperson for the Recording Artists Coalition.

Murray's bill aims to repeal Section 2855, Subsection B of the California Labor Code, which states that all entertainers and workers in California, except recording artists, have the right to terminate a personal service contract after seven years.

California's 56-year-old Labor Code protected musicians until 1987, when record companies secured an amendment that made artists liable for albums still owed to labels after seven years with them.

"This practice of singling out recording artists is discriminatory and it restricts the basic American philosophy of free-market competition," Henley said in a statement Wednesday. "A recording artist, like any other working person, should be given the ability to seek higher compensation and test his or her value in the open marketplace."

Joining the Recording Artists Coalition in meeting with legislators Wednesday was the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, along with other prominent figures, including members of the American Federation of Musicians and the Hollywood Entertainment Labor Council.

Hole's Courtney Love, Henley, country singer LeAnn Rimes and others testified on the so-called seven-year statute at a hearing chaired by Murray in September that persuaded the former music agent to pursue legislation (see "Courtney Love, Don Henley, LeAnn Rimes Testify On Artists' Rights").

The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents record companies, believes the 1987 amendment provides needed protection for the labels, who they say take massive financial risks and endure the failure of 90 percent of their acts. The labels argue they will be unable to take risks on new artists if they can not hold on to their profitable acts.

"Recording artists sign these contracts in good faith, fully intending to honor them," the Offspring's Holland said in a statement. "But the record companies know from experience that it is highly unlikely artists will be able to fulfill their requirements due to the demands they place on the artists, including touring, video shoots and other marketing chores. The labor code which exempts artists from the seven-year rule must be repealed to level the playing field and make it fair for everyone."

The Recording Artists Coalition has organized four benefit concerts on February 26, the night before the 44th annual Grammy Awards, to raise money for its cause (see "Ozzy, No Doubt, Korn, Weezer To Play Benefits For Musicians' Rights Group").

Henley and Crow formed the Recording Artists Coalition in 2000 to lobby for artists' rights (see "Henley, Petty, Love Urge Artists To Fight The Labels' Power"). Last spring, the coalition's select members testified before the U.S. Senate on the issue of online rights (see "Morissette, Henley Tell Senate To Remember Needs Of Artists").

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Brian Setzer, Courtney Love, John Fogerty, Lisa Loeb Honored At 1999 Gibson Guitar Awards

24 Feb 1999 02:15:00 EST

Brian Setzer

As entertainers began amassing in Los Angeles for tonight's presentation of the Grammys, some of the nominees headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe at the Beverly Center last night for the announcement of this year's Gibson Guitar Awards.

Courtney Love and her Hole band mate Melissa Auf Der Maur, Lisa Loeb, Jim Creeggan of the Barenaked Ladies, and Mike Ward of the Wallflowers were among the winners in attendance for the Gibsons -- which featured Brian Setzer receiving the 1999 Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award.

But some of the evening's most entertaining moments were courtesy of the acceptance speeches offered up by Love and Auf Der Maur, who were named Best Female Rock Guitarist and Best Female Bassist, respectively.

"This is the last award I ever thought I would get -- a guitar award -- but it means so much to me," Love said. "When I was 14, I got a 1959 Gibson Melody Maker, and it really saved my life, it really helped me to communicate everything that I really feel inside."

"It's a really important thing for young people, and young girls especially, to get a hold of guitars, particularly electric ones. I'm so thankful for people like Nancy Wilson and Joni Mitchell that showed me that you could play guitar and be a girl and get somewhere."

In Auf Der Maur's acceptance speech, the bassist talked about the importance of the Gibson tradition and its importance among her peers.

"When I found out a month ago I was up for this award, I started thinking back about growing up as a rock lover," Auf Der Maur said, "and I think that I knew about Gibson guitars before I even knew the difference between a bass and a guitar, so the aesthetic of that was always there."

"Obviously guitars and basses have been some of the world's greatest heroes' partners," she added. "and the relationship between me and my instrument is one of the most personal things I have in the whole world, and what a better institution to recognize that [than Gibson]."

David Strickland, the co-star of "Suddenly Susan," hosted the event, and all proceeds from the Gibson Awards will benefit the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation. The Foundation helps severely handicapped and autistic children through the use of improvisational music at their clinic based at New York University.

Here's the full list of winners of the 1999 Gibson Awards:

Best Rock Guitarist:

Male: John Fogerty

Female: Courtney Love

Best Acoustic Guitarist:

Male: Steve Earle

Female: Lisa Loeb

Best Blues Guitarist:

Male: Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Female: Melissa Etheridge

Best Jazz Guitarist:

Male: John Scofield

Female: Leni Stern

Best Country Guitaris:

Male: Steve Wariner and Randy Scruggs

Female: Deana Carter

Best Bassist:

Male: Jim Creeggan

Female: Melissa Auf der Maur

Les Paul Horizon Award for Most Promising New Guitarist:

Mike Ward

Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award:

Brian Setzer

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John Fogerty - When Will I Be Loved

29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EDT

When Will I Be Loved

Artist: John Fogerty
Label: Verve Forecast
Director: David Gelb

John Fogerty - Don't You Wish It Was True

4 Sep 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Don't You Wish It Was True

Artist: John Fogerty
Label: Fantasy