Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
UPDATE – Who’s “So Vain,” Carly??
Is the subject of Carly Simon’s song “You’re So Vain” really record mogul David Geffen?
Update: Apparently not, according to Roger Friedman on the Showbiz 411 blog for The Hollywood Reporter. Friedman says Simon emailed him Saturday night and said the song had “nothing to do with David Geffen!” Friday, many celebrity websites were reporting the decades-old mystery of the song’s subject had been solved. Read our post below and Friedman here.
Some creative putting of two and two together led Britain’s The Sun newspaper to declare on Friday that entertainment mogul Geffen — who made his fortune in music and co-founded the Dreamworks movie studio — is the man who “walked into the party, like he was walking onto a yacht” , almost 40 years ago.
Simon, who has kept the name a secret, sparked the guessing game by telling Britain’s Uncut music magazine in its new issue that she whispers a name at the end of her new version of the song “and it’s the answer to the puzzle” of the mystery man that for years Simon has refused to divulge.
Uncut editor Allan Jones told Reuters that the name did indeed appear to be David.
But how The Sun came up with Geffen, who came out publicly as gay in the 1980s, seems to have involved some guess work.
The usual suspects have includes Simon’s first husband James Taylor, or actor Warren Beatty, singer Cat Stevens, Mick Jagger or Kris Kristofferson. In hints over the years, Simon has said the name contains a A, an E and an R. But where’s the “R” in David Geffen? Apparently, his middle name is Lawrence, and he had a romance with singer Cher in the 1970s before coming out.
Rolling Stones reissue program omits bonus tracks
The Rolling Stones are once again reissuing all their post-1971 studio albums, but fans hoping for bonus tracks won’t get any satisfaction.
Instead Universal Music Group, which took over the band’s catalog last year, said on Thursday that 13 of the albums would simply be remastered. Special, undisclosed plans were underway for a 14th album, the band’s 1972 opus “Exile on Main Street,” which will come out later in the year.
No reissue plans were announced for any of the band’s live albums from the the era, such as “Love You Live” and “Stripped,” or its many compilations.
The reissues will roll out in three batches, grouped by the albums’ original release dates, beginning on May 4 with 1971′s “Sticky Fingers,” 1973′s “Goats Head Soup,” 1974′s “It’s Only Rock’n'Roll” and 1976′s “Black And Blue.”
Four albums — 1978′s “Some Girls,” 1980′s “Emotional Rescue,” 1981′s “Tattoo You” and 1983′s “Undercover” — will roll out on June 8.
The final five — 1986′s “Dirty Work,” 1989′s “Steel Wheels,” 1994′s “Voodoo Lounge,” 1997′s “Bridges To Babylon” and 2005′s “A Bigger Bang” will reach stores on July 8.
The band’s previous label, Virgin Records, launched a reissue program in 1994 with deluxe versions of the catalog, from “Sticky Fingers” to “Tattoo You.” While they did not contain bonus tracks, the packaging was designed to mimic the original vinyl releases. The cover of “Sticky Fingers,” for example, contained a working zipper.
nothing new here-just an attempt to repackage and sell some old music. so whats next mick? let me guess…more rolling stones trading cards. how about a tour instead?
Keith Richards vs. Mick Jagger, part 96?
Even if Keith Richards did not vote for Mick Jagger in Rolling Stone magazine’s recent poll of the 100 greatest singers of all time, all is apparently peace and love with rock’s longest-wed couple.
The Rolling Stones guitarist was one of 179 high-profile voters in the survey. They had to choose their top 20 singers in order, and the magazine has published some of the ballots on its Web site (http://www.rollingstone.com/photos/gallery/24160218/the_100_greatest_singers_inside_t/photo/1).
Richards’ top pick was Aretha Franklin, who ended up coming in at No. 1 overall. His ballot included the usual suspects: collaborators (George Jones, Toots Hibbert), people whose songs he has covered (Jimmy Cliff, Buddy Holly), and old buddies (Gram Parsons, Tom Waits). And of course, he voted for himself at No. 20.
One glaring omission: his former schoolmate and current bandmate of almost half a century, Mick Jagger, who came in at No. 16 on the overall list.
The so-called “Glimmer Twins” have had their issues in the past, breaking up the band in the 1980s, and even as recently as 2003 an infuriated Richards tried to push Jagger off the stage during a concert in Osaka for no apparent reason.
But Richards’ manager Jane Rose — each member has his own manager — quickly doused any talk of a new rift.
“They are all getting on well,” she wrote via email. “When Keith got the ballot he just thought his vote was for ‘outside’ the family. If Keith Richards did not think Mick was his favorite, they would not be the Glimmer Twins!”
As with most such contests/surveys, this means very little. As surmised, people vote due to relationships (including a monumental ego, as in the case of Richards), and even memory (more recent singers have an advantage). Aretha Franklin as the best singer ever? She has been a very good singer with some catchy tunes, but best ever? Sometimes a good singer gets lost in the shuffle (e.g., Roberta Flack is widely remembered as the singer of “Killing Me Softly,” though Lori Lieberman recorded it first– and it was based on a poem she wrote– and, in my humble opinion, did a better job).
i thought back in the day it was warren beatty