Guns N’ Roses

Guns N’ Roses ‘Greatest Hits’ Makes Its Vinyl Debut On September 25th

Includes The Band’s Top Five Hit “SHADOW OF YOUR LOVE

By Greg Fontaine We’ve got great news this month for Guns N’ Roses fans out there… especially the vinyl enthusiasts. Geffen / UMe will be reissuing their Top 10 hit album, Greatest Hits this month on vinyl! The album will be hitting the streets on September 25 th . This is the first time that Greatest Hits has ever appeared on vinyl. When it was first released in 2004, it came out digitally and on CD. Greatest Hits made it to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 Chart and No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart. By 2007 it had reached No. 1 on the Catalog Albums chart. Greatest Hits has been certified 5 times Platinum by the RIAA, and in the United Kingdom it reached 7 times Platinum. No doubt that this vinyl edition will be raising that score significantly. The album reentered the Billboard 200 chart again in 2012, selling around 85,000 copies due to a promotion by Amazon and Google Play. Greatest Hits is also one of the longest charting albums in Billboard history. It is only one of seven albums to ever reach this status. Till now, the album has spent 441 weeks on their chart. When it did come out in 2004, there was a bit of controversy about the album. Axl Rose had wanted the album delayed a bit because the band was working on their new album Chinese Democracy. Some fans believed that the album wasn’t long enough and left off some of the hits. Face it folks, this was a one-off album of greatest hits. To satisfy the pickiest of fans you would have had to include just about every song the band ever did and a 10 CD greatest hits album was out of the question. At any rate, this album featured a fair selection of their songs and really did go on to satisfy the fans, or how else would they have sold so many copies. This album contains all eight of Guns N’ Roses Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 Tracks, with six of them reaching the RIAA certified Gold status. It really did contain a lot of the band’s hit songs, such as “Welcome To The Jungle,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” “Paradise City,” “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” “Live And Let Die,” and “Sympathy For The Devil” from the Interview With The Vampire. Yeah, there is a lot of great material here. All the songs mentioned here along with eight more of their greatest definitely make this album release a good listen. There are songs her from Appetite For Destruction, G N’ R Lies, Use Your Illusion 1, Use Your Illusion 2, and The Spaghetti Incident. The new reissue of Greatest Hits be pressed as a 2 LP set on 180 gram audiophile black vinyl. There will also be two additional deluxe pressings of the album. One will be a 2 disc, silver colored vinyl with red and white splatter. The second deluxe set will be done as a 2 disc, picture disc. The picture disc set will be released exclusively through the band’s website. Artwork on the cover appears to be a direct copy of the original artwork from the CD. Obviously if you’re a Guns N’ Roses fan, this is going to have to be added to your collection. I know your turntables are screaming out for this cool new reissue.

“The Twist” At 60 Celebrated With Physical Releases Of Original Twist With Chubby Checker Album + New’ Dancin’ Party: The Chubby Checker Colection (1960 - 1966) + “The Twist” 7” EP

By Greg Fontaine This month, we are celebrating “The Twist” along with ABKCO Records which is reissuing “The Twist” by Chubby Checker. The Twist was not just a song and a dance, it is a phenomena. From 1959 through the early sixties, this became the hit dance of the time. It was so popular that it went on to inspire dances such as The Jerk, The Pony, The Watusi, The Mashed Potato, The Monkey, and many more, but none remained as popular as The Twist. Performer Hank Ballard took advantage of this and wrote a song about the dance, which he also called “The Twist.” Here’s where the plot thickens…. Television producer and dance host, Dick Clark heard the song and wanted to feature it on his show, American Bandstand. However Dick thought that Ballard’s version, albeit the original, was too raunchy for Dick Clark’s audience, so he approached the Philadelphia label, Cameo/Parkway to record a new version of the song. His suggestion and choice to sing the new version was the legendary Chubby Checker. Chubby Checker was a young, wholesome singer, and fit the demographics of Clark’s audience. Chubby had already had a hit song with another cover called “The Class” and just fit the bill perfectly. And a star was born… Chubby Checker released the song and on September 24 th it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Chubby has become synonymous with “The Twist.” In fact, most people don’t even remember who Hank Ballard was, but definitely know ‘Mr. Twist’ himself, Chubby Checker. To celebrate this occasion, ABKCO Records is celebrating the 60 th Anniversary of the b-side. ‘The Twist’, Chubby Checker, and the In 2008 when Billboard celebrated the Cameo/Parkway labels with commemorative 50th anniversary of their Hot 100 single releases scheduled this month on September chart, “The Twist” was reported as the 25 th . This will include a 7" vinyl 45 of “The number one song of that half-century span. Twist”, along with CD and Vinyl LP versions Again when they celebrated their 60 th of the new, definitive “Dancin’ Party: The anniversary, “The Twist” held onto the top Chubby Checker Collection (1960 - 1966).” position again. Other accolades have been “Dancin’ Party” contains twenty-one songs, given to “The Twist” and Chubby Checker as of which seventeen became Top 40 hits. well. It is in the National Recording Registry Twelve of those hit the Top 20 and seven at the Library of Congress, and it has been went to the Top 10 with two of them reaching inducted into the Grammy® Hall of Fame. It the #1 status. It also includes “The Twist”, was also recognized by the Recording which by the way made it to Number 1 twice, Academy as the Best Rock & Roll Recording once in 1960 and then again in 1962. It was at the 1961 Grammy® Awards. the first #1 hit to hit the charts at #1 twice, Chubby Checker’s follow up to “The something that hasn’t ever happened again. Twist” was a hit with “Let’s Twist Again.” Another thing to note about that was that the Without a doubt, “The Twist” made an impact first time it was released, the b-side was on the music history. It is also included on “Toot” and in 1961 when it was reissued “Dancin’ Party: The Chubby Checker again, the b-side was “Twistin’ USA”. The Collection (1860 - 1966). reissued 45 coming out this month will The other hits being released again feature both “Toot” and “Twistin’ USA” on during this celebration include You Can’t Sit 88 Rock and Blues International • September 2020 Down: Cameo Parkway Dance Crazes 1958 - 1964 with features performance by Chubby Checker, The Orlons, Dovells, Dee Dee Sharp, Bobby Rydell, The Applejacks and others. Highlights of this release are the songs, The Orlons’ “Wah-Watusi,” Dee Dee Sharp’s “Mashed Potato Time,” “The Bristol Stomp” and “You Can’t Sit Down” by the Dovells, “Slow Twistin’” by Chubby Checker and Dee Dee Sharp as well as Bobby Rydell’s “Cha Cha Cha” plus sixteen more. To round out this celebration, another release is You Got The Power: Cameo Parkway Northern Soul 1964 - 1967. These would go on to become part of Britain’s Northern Soul “lifestyle phenomena”. These included singles by Frankie Beverly & The Butlers, Bunny Sigler, The Orlons, Evie Sands, Candy and the Kisses, Christine Cooper and Eddie Holman. This 20-track collection is extraordinary. Well, we urge you to take part in this great celebration of “The Twist” and the

phenomena that it created. Here’s a chance to get back to your dance roots this September 25 th . ABKCO’s September 25 Cameo Parkway releases

Twist with Chubby Checker (Remastered) – vinyl and digital

1. Twistin’ U.S.A. 2. The “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” Shimmy 3. The “C.C. Rider” Stroll 4. The Strand 5. The Chicken 6. The Hucklebuck 7. The Twist 8. The Madison 9. “Love Is Strange” Calypso 10. The “Mexican Hat” Twist 11. The Slop 12. The Pony

The Twist (Remastered) 7’’ EP and digital

1. The Twist 2. Toot 3. Twistin’ U.S.A.

Dancin’ Party - The Chubby Checker Collection: 1960 - 1966 – CD

1. The Twist ** 2. The Hucklebuck 3. Pony Time ** 4. Dance The Mess Around 5. Let’s Twist Again ** 6. The Fly ** 7. Dancin’ Party 8. Slow Twistin’ ** 9. Popeye The Hitchhiker ** 10. Limbo Rock ** 11. Let’s Limbo Some More 12. Twist It Up (single version) 13. Birdland (single version) 14. What Do Ya Say! 15. Loddy Lo 16. Hooka Tooka 17. Hey, Bobba Needle 18. Lazy Elsie Molly 19. (At The) Discotheque 20. You Just Don’t Know (What You Do To Me) 21. Hey You! Little Boo-Ga-Loo **DENOTE CHARTS IN TOP TEN

You Can’t Sit Down: Cameo Parkway Dance Crazes 1958-1964 – CD

1. The Twist - Chubby Checker 2. The Wah-Watusi - The Orlons 3. Bristol Stomp - The Dovells 4. Mashed Potato Time - Dee Dee Sharp 5. You Can’t Sit Down - The Dovells 6. The Third House (In From The Right) - Bobby Rydell 7. Do The Bird - Dee Dee Sharp 8. Slow Twistin’ - Chubby Checker w/Dee Dee Sharp 9. Shimmy Shimmy - The Orlons 10. The 81 - Candy And The Kisses 11. (Everybody Do) The Swim, Pt 1 - The Marlins 12. The Popeye Waddle - Don Covay 13. Do The New Continental - The Dovells 14. Baby, Do The Froog - Dardenelles 15. Rocka-Conga - The Applejacks 16. The Hucklebuck- Chubby Checker 17. The Mash - Tom Young & The Hippies 18. Mexican Hat Rock - The Applejacks 19. The Cha-Cha-Cha - Bobby Rydell 20. When You Dance - The Turbans 21. Everybody South Street - The Taffys 22. Twistin’ U.S.A. - Chubby Checker You Got The Power: Cameo Parkway Northern Soul 1964-1967 – CD

1. You Got The Power - The Four Exceptions 2. Because Of My Heart - Frankie Beverly & The Butlers 3. (Whoa, Whoa) I Love Him So - Nikki Blu 4. Girl Don’t Make Me Wait - Bunny Sigler 5. It’s Rough Out There - Jerry Jackson 6. Envy (In My Eyes) - The Orlons 7. Picture Me Gone - Evie Sands 8. Country Girl - Vickie Baines 9. Night Owl - Bobby Paris 10. Village Of Tears - Ben Zine 11. You Just Don’t Know (What You Do To Me) - Chubby Checker 12. The 81 - Candy And The Kisses 13. Shake And Shingaling (Part 1) - Gene Waiters 14. S.O.S. (Heart In Distress) - Christine Cooper 15. Eddie’s My Name - Eddie Holman 16. Pass Me By - Hattie Winston 17. The Grass (Will Sing For You) - Lonnie Youngblood 18. (Your Love Was Just A) False Alarm - Tari Stevens 19. Who Do You Think You Are - The Soul City 20. You Didn’t Say A Word - Yvonne Baker