Music Minus One has announced the second set of albums in the Weekend Warriors series!

Song titles include:

• At Last (Etta James)
• Chain Of Fools (Aretha Franklin)
• Dancin' In The Streets (Martha & The Vandellas)
• Heatwave (Martha & The Vandellas)
• I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)
• One Way Or Another (Blondie)
• Respect (Aretha Franklin)
• We Are Family (Sister Sledge)
• When Will I Be Loved (Linda Ronstadt)
• You're No Good (Linda Ronstadt)

Future plans for extensions of this scintillating series call for releasing Country Classics for Men, and Country Classics for Women in the Weekend Warriors series, plus Wedding Songs You Must Know in the Weekend Warriors series.

All of these releases will be for piano guitar, bass, drums and singers. Initial reaction to the first release has been over the top, with both domestic and foreign interest at close to a fever pitch.

About Music Minus One

Elmsford, New York – Music Minus One is a music production company, specializing in bringing musicians sheet music with musical accompaniment. The company enhances the experience of practicing by dropping the musician directly into the orchestra or band. This is done strategically, as the company releases both a completed and a “minus” version of the tracks, on albums, given with the sheet music. What places this company above the rest is this idea of a minus version—it subtracts the particular instrument the musician is playing, so the musician is in the spotlight.

Music Minus One offers close to 900 albums devoted to a variety of musical genres, such as Classical, Chamber, Opera, Jazz, Religious, and Popular music. The company has evolved over the course of 63 years, and now offers Karaoke, and digital downloads as well.

Irv Kratka, founder of Music Minus One, began the company in 1950 when he was only 24 years old. Today, he is still highly involved in the company, frequenting the office every day of the work week.

Visit the website at www.musicminusone.com, or like Music Minus One on Facebook.

Presenting “Weekend Warriors”

Are you a weekend warrior, transforming from a doctor, lawyer, or construction worker during the week, to a band musician on the weekends? Music Minus One recently released a new series of books for those of us who, although we may not have time, have a passion for music, and want to have fun with it in our spare  time!

Weekend Warriors offer popular songs for bands, like “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison, “My Girl” by The Temptations, and “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. The songs featured on these albums stay true to the original tempo, key, and parts. Each book is customized for a particular instrument, giving you the opportunity to slide perfectly into the song—and the band! The goal here is to give the weekend warrior the repertoire to be able to sit in with almost any band, to handle commonly requested songs, and to eventually even create their own set list.

Weekend Warriors is available for purchase on the Music Minus One website. You can see the albums under the title “Weekend Warriors.”

There are millions of musicians who don't make their living playing their instruments. Many of thse folks have an unbridled passion for music and performing--they just happen to do something else -- but they are really musicians at their core. When the weekends rolls around, it is incredible how many of these teachers, doctors, lawyers, civil servants, plug in or climb behind the drum kit and launch into their favorite songs in a venue near you. We call those musicians weekend warriors.

The goal here is to give the weekend warriors the repertoire to be able to sit in with most any band, to handle common requests, and to ultimately start creating their own set lists. This series is a wonderful tool to help facilitate that, whether you are a teenager wanting to figure out how to make some gas money on weekends, to a working band that wants to actually capture the essence of the original hits, Weekend Warriors Set List is for you. For the individual musician, this helps make you marketable and useful. For an entire band, this becomes a perfect rehearsal tool to put the whole band on the same page.

Weekend Warriors -- Set List 1  

• Brown Eyed Girl
• Margaritaville
• Mony Mony
• Mustang Sally
• My Girl
• Old Time Rock and Roll
• Soul Man
• Stand By Me
• Sweet Caroline
• Under the Broadwalk

Originally recorded in 1966, this is a freshly-minted copy of the original Chapin Brothers album. A heavily sought after item to the collector, fan, and anyone who appreciates the lasting legacy left by these three brothers.

Chapin, who lit the world on fire with his folk rock songs¸ was also a community pillar and pioneer in his fight against world hunger. In addition to widely-known songs such as “Taxi”and “Flowers Are Red,” Chapin produced a stellar hit that vaulted to No.1 as he wrote and performed “Cat’s In The Cradle.”

The long-standing, immense hit exceeded every other song he or his brothers produced. Chapin was ready-made for even greater fame, for an even brighter spotlight. A tragic and untimely car accident cut his life short, however, as the world lost one of its greatest performers and songwriters.

Chapin’s brothers carried on in his legacy.

Tom dipped his feet into the children’s music field and made an immediate mark. Steve, at the same meteoric rise as his brothers, began performing his own songs and carrying on tradition.

Harry Chapin discovered music as a singer in the Brooklyn Boys Choir. His affinity for music grew and his skill-set progressed as he turned in the debut album, “Heads and Tails.” It is on this album that Chapin produced the single, “TAXI”

On this original copy, you will find classic hits such as “Foolish Games,” “Ground Hog,” “Thinking Of You Tonight,” “Another Man,” “Blood Water,” and a stockpile of others. Every song is a hit, as it’s a record you can play these songs from 1-14 and then hit the rewind button.

Enjoy the original sounds of this illustrious group, the leader of whom made an impact beyond the recording studios and performances.

View this unforgettable record by following the link below,

http://innercityjazz.com/proscenium/chapin-music.html

The music of Kurt Weill has the ability to bring you to the scenic stages of autumn. It will give you a glimpse of the picturesque setting, with the leaves trembling and the foliage registering its presence.

The sparkling image of an autumn day is featured on the cover of this album, which is more memorable for the creative style of Dick Hyman’s and Weill’s innovative song writing than anything else.

This is the initial recording of a three-part series from Dick Hyman, who served as a jack-of-all-trades as a musician. Hyman was widely recognized for his ability to alter his role, whether he was playing the piano, organ, or serving as the traffic cop and directing the entire show. He was as inventive as any musician who ever walked the earth, and “September Song” will bring autumn bliss to you on the rainiest and snow-drenched days of winter.

View this marquee and memorable album by clicking on the link below and listening to songs such as “Sing Me Not A Ballad,” “Lost In The Stars,” “Speak Now,” “My Ship,” “Trouble Man,” and a steady stream of others.

http://innercityjazz.com/proscenium/september-song-the-music-of-kurt-weill-pr01.html

Inner city jazz is a vast collection of the latest and the greatest international jazz music of the times. To learn more about this sea of epic jazz music, visit www.innercityjazz.com

One of the greatest bop-oriented saxophonists of all time, altoist Phil Woods has had a long and productive career. He was a member of the Charlie Barnet Orchestra in 1954, and spent periods playing with Jimmy Raney, George Wallington, the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Buddy Rich, the Quincy Jones Orchestra, Benny Goodman and the Thelonious Monk Nonet. But most importantly, Woods has led his own bands since the mid-1950s, often modernizing the bop tradition while invigorating the music with both his hard-swinging alto solos and his compositions.

During 1968-72 when Woods lived in France, he took a surprise left turn, performing both freer explorations and fusion with his European Rhythm Machine. On his Inner City release, Woods is joined by keyboardist Gordon Beck, bassist Henri Texier and drummer Daniel Humair for a set of originals. In addition to his alto, Woods is heard on the electric varitone saxophone, clarinet and an English recorder. The music is unpredictable, witty, celebratory, exhilarating and full of surprises with the lengthy “Chromatic Banana” being a particular highpoint. Although he changed direction after returning to the United States, Phil Woods still speaks highly of the creative and colorful music that he played during his European years.

Click here to view this product:

Archie Shepp gained fame in the 1960s as an explosive tenor-saxophonist with a raspy tone that was reminiscent of Ben Webster, and as an uninhibited improviser who could play wild 40-minute free improvisations in concerts. After stints with Cecil Taylor and trumpeter Don Cherry, he emerged as an intense and influential improviser. In later years, Shepp modified his style and proved to be a fine interpreter of ballads while never losing his edge.

Doodlin’ is a unique entry in the discography of Archie Shepp for it has him exclusively playing piano. Recorded in the early 1970s, it features Shepp (with bassist Bob Reid and occasionally drummer Muhammad Ali and flugelhornist Alan Shorter) displaying a stride piano style that sometimes hints at Thelonious Monk. On such songs as Horace Silver’s “Doodlin’,” an abstract “More Than You Know,” “Invitation,” and even “Sweet Georgia Brown,” Archie Shepp performs personal and thoughtful piano solos that will surprise even his most devoted fans.

 Click here to view this product

Dancing in the Moonlight

By Maury the Musichead

This guy was dancing the night away, unleashing a barrage of moves on New Year’s Eve while I was trying to enforce some moves of my own. Instead of coordinating with me, he seemed more amped up to block me from dancing with the same buffet-line of girls that he seemed to have struck an immediate connection with.

Not only did he move like Jagger, he won over the hearts of these beautiful vixens like Casanova! I was envious. But there’s an old cliché in the Delta handbook that we all subscribe to. It started off as an adage but has been played over and over, so I guess you can say its been passed on through the years.

(drum roll). Don’t get mad, get even. How exciting. I know. It’s not exactly an earth-shattering, motivational maxim. Still, it holds very true.

I will get even by practicing dance moves with a sing-a-long and dance-a-long collection by Pocket Songs. It’s Pocket Songs’ Casanova Cowboy, a package which features 10 songs from country/pop icon Carrie Underwood.

Included in this piece are songs such as “Cowboy Casanova,” “Look At Me,” “Temporary Home,” “Quitter,” and “Change.”

Sing the hits and jive to the beats while wearing your country boy attire, before you hit up the backroad in your beat-up pickup truck.

Get even today by picking up some practice with this can’t-miss product on Pocket Songs

http://pocketsongs.com/new-releases/casanova-cowboy-songs-in-the-style-of-carrie-underwood-pscd6184.html

For more products of this type, pore through the endless supply of karaoke and pop-centric pocket songs at www.pocketsongs.com

Music is an emotional and uplifting aspect of life. I’m sure all of MMO’s faithful readers out there can conjure up a time in their life when they went to see a concert or a Broadway play and left feeling moved. The music permeates your brain and some performances are simply considered life-altering.

Take it from a guy who has vast experience. I mean we’re talking over 1,000 concerts starting at age 9.

There’s always one special performance that has an undertone or subplot to it, which gives you a chill and a shiver. There’s always a thrilling performance that elicits a response from you from more than just your music fan perspective. A performance which left a smile etched across your face, but additionally always you to tap into a different compartment of your brain.

Of course, there are countless concerts that bring out the musical spirit and emotion in people. Never, however, have I seen a performance with more of an intriguing, concerning subplot than Eminem and Elton John’s performance at the Grammy’s in January of 2011. They became a tandem when they performed “Stan,” a whopping hit for Eminem.

This was twelve years ago. Grasp that for a second. There was no youtube, no facebook, no twitter, and no IPAD. We lived in a society that wasn’t dominated by online headlines and he-said, she-said celebrity non-sense. Nobody had even heard of Kim Kardashian (really? OMG) back then.

Yet, remembering it and visualizing it still sends shivers down my spine. Think I need to let go of the past and move on sometime? Sure, but think about this performance.

Elton John, an iconic figure, openly gay. Eminem, a fast-rapping, homeboy from Detroit’s inner city. Quite the odd couple for a show, especially when you weigh that Eminem's lyrics indicate he’s a major homosexual basher.

High expectations and hype swirled around the world before these two performed together. Eminem was heavily scrutinized for the manifesto of hate his songs spewed on the gay community. He would reveal, prior to this performance, that he was not anti-gay and that he used hate terms to symbolize other meanings.

Elton knew there was nothing hateful about Eminem and gave him a grand old hug at the end of their performance, a beautiful moment that has played on in my head ever since.

Sing the Hits of Elton John by kindly clicking the link below,

http://pocketsongs.com/elton-john-pscdg1061.html

Money doesn’t equal greatness. Long term contracts don’t equal greatness. Fanfare doesn’t equal greatness. Unforgettable performances don’t equal greatness.

Groupies and entourages don’t equal greatness.

Owning a particular nightclub, where you’ve rocked the house time and time again, doesn’t equal greatness.

Only greatness equals greatness.

Longevity is a key role in the workaday definition of greatness. There are those bands that have attained greatness because they have stood the test of time.

 The sight of Mick Jagger jamming it out on stage and still being able to get fans on their feet merits greatness and a world of respect.

This week, we take an inside look at bands that are tried and true.

So, here is my list of bands, performers, and singers that have produced timeless hits and records and have been around for decades and continue to do their thing.

“A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I’m still doing it.”-Miles Davis

What are your favorite bands, performers, and singers who have stood the test of time?