In Junior High that all changed. Our choir teacher, Mr. Benoit, used to take a break from warm ups and choir songs to allow us to sit back and sing songs he loved. He would play guitar as we sang songs by great artists like John Denver (“Country Roads”) and Simon & Garfunkel (“Slip Slidin Away”) but my very favorite song we sang was called “Eight Days a Week.” That was my first formal introduction to The Beatles, excluding playing “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in Pep Band.

Throughout High School, my love of The Beatles grew, as did my appreciation for their music. Now, several years later, I’m a huge fan of the boys from Liverpool. I have all of their music. I know their entire catalogue of music. I know I’m not alone. The Beatles are going to live on in infamy because of their revolutionary sound style. The way they brought music to people around the world makes them unique to other bands out there.

There are so many wonderful Beatles songs. Depending on my mood, I can listen to any number of their songs. It’s hard to narrow down the number to just one. For example, one of those songs I like to listen to is “I’m Looking Through You.” It has a simple melody, but it is very catchy. Other songs I can listen to over and over include, “Eleanor Rigby,” “Yesterday,” “Something in the Way She Moves,” “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and “A Day In The Life.”

These are just a few of the amazing songs by The Beatles. Of course, there are two songs that are especially near and dear to my heart. The first is for its simple, but peaceful message. The other is just pure musical and melodic genius.

The first song I consider my absolute favorite Beatles song is “All You Need is Love.” I love the message behind this song. I love how catchy the lyrics are. I think its a fun song for parents to share with their children; for people to share with one another. It’s this kind of compassion that made The Beatles such an inspiring band.

The second and final song I consider to be the best of the best is “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” I love everything about this song. I love the lyrics, the emotion, the feeling it evokes when I listen to this song. It’s one of The Beatles’ best songs.

09.09.09 is a big day for The Beatles. Harmonix and MTV are releasing The Beatles Rock Band. I already received my copy for review, so you’ll soon be able to read my review of the game on Gamerrazzi. Also, a remastered collection of The Beatles catalogue is available today. This brings me to The Beatles Lithograph and our contest.

ENTRY RULES:
LI Reviews is proud to be giving away a Beatles lithograph. To enter all you need to do is leave us a comment listing your favorite Beatles song. Please be sure to only leave one.

COMMENTS ARE MODERATED to avoid spam, so it will not show up right away. People who leave multiple comments will be deleted from the contest altogether. If you do not see your comment within a day then by all means leave another one. Otherwise, do not worry as we accept comments several times a day.

ENTRY GUIDELINES:
To enter you need to be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the US. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible.

GET AN EXTRA ENTRY:
Want an extra entry? Twitter about this contest! Just click the Tweet button in the bottom left corner of this article’s box!

You can post the URL to your Tweet in your initial comment for this contest.

To find out about all our latest contests feel free to add us to your Twitter:

@dominickevans
@ashtynevans

You can also get extra entries (one entries for each) into our contest by:

-Posting on your blog/website about out contest with a link back to LI Kids (please let us know where to find said link so we can give you an extra entry)
-Digging or Stumbling this post (list your Digg/Stumble username in your comment)
-Becoming a Member of our Facebook Fan Page
-Subscribing to our YouTube Page

*******Please only leave ONE comment – If you Twitter, Digg, Blog about, or Stumble this contest you can post all relevant information in that comment. We will make sure to add extra entries for each extra thing you’ve done when we randomly pick winners.

CLAIMING YOUR PRIZE:
Winners will be sent an email shortly after the end of the contest. To claim your prize all you will need to do is send us your address in a reply to the congratulation email that you will receive. If we do not receive a reply from you within three days, your winnings will be forfeited and your prize will be offered to another contestant.

ENTRY DEADLINE:
We will begin emailing winners for this the week of September 17, 2009, which means you have until September 16, 2009 at 11:59 to enter.

You can see a picture of the Lithograph up above.

Technorati Tags: The Beatles, Lithograph, Favorite Song, John Lennon Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, The Beatles Rock Band

Shocked and saddened by the loss of a pop icon, since Jackson passed away last Thursday (July 25, 2009), we wish not to reflect upon the troublesome times in Jackson’s life. Instead, we prefer to look at all of the contributions he made to pop, music in general, and his impact in the music world. We’ll be counting back to number one through the top songs of Jackson’s solo career.

But…before we can do that, we need to mention all Michael did for the Jackson Five. We’ve listed his two biggest hits (and the two best Jackson Five songs he sang) in the spot of Honorable Mention. Without these songs or his popularity we have to wonder if Michael Jackson would have transformed into the pop legend he was.

Honorable Mentions: ABC & I Want You Back

While Michael had a great career with his brothers, it was truly his solo career that led him down the path to become the “King of Pop.” Constantly reinventing his song style, Jackson has inspired the likes of Justin Timberlake and other pop stars of today. His video and song premieres were massive launch events, where people gathered around to watch them on fledgling MTV and sat poised, listening to radio stations across the world. Michael Jackson owned the 80s and the world will never forget his contribution to music.

Here are the top ten songs of Michael’s solo career, counting down from awesome to the best of the best.

10. You are Not Alone

9. Rock with You

8. Smooth Criminal

7. Remember the Time

6. The Way You Make Me Feel

To see the rest of the list, go to Page Two

Creedence Clearwater Revival [Expanded Reissue]: This album included CCR’s first smash hit, the Dale Hawkins song “Suzie Q,” plus the classic cover of Screaming Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You.” The reissue contains four bonus tracks: “Call it Pretending” (the B-side of the band’s first single), the band’s first recording of a cover of Bo Diddley’s “Before You Accuse Me” (later re-recorded for Cosmo’s Factory), a live version of “Ninety-Nine and a Half” recorded at the Fillmore Auditorium in 1969, and a full-length live version of “Suzie Q.” Almost famous former Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres wrote the notes.

Bayou Country [Expanded Reissue]: Creedence Clearwater’s second album was chock full of hits and much-played album tracks: “Proud Mary,” “Born on the Bayou,” the Little Richard cover “Good Golly Miss Molly,” the seven-minute “Graveyard Train” and the eight-minute “Keep on Choogling.” The reissue also contains a longer alternate take of the album track “Bootleg,” live versions of “Born on the Bayou” and “Proud Mary,” and a psychedelic blues jam recorded live by San Francisco’s seminal KSAN-FM called “Crazy Otto.” Annotator was San Francisco Chronicle pop music editor Joel Selvin.

Green River [Expanded Reissue]: Green River contained the hits and notable album tracks “Green River,” “Bad Moon Rising” and “Lodi” plus a cover of Ray Charles’ blues standard “Night Time is the Right Time.” Bonus material includes “Broken Spoke Shuffle,” the instrumental track to a song John Fogerty never finished, another unfinished track called “Glory Be,” plus three live tracks: “Bad Moon Rising” from the 1971 Berlin concert, “Green River/Suzie Q” from the 1971 Stockholm show, and “Lodi,” recorded in Hamburg. Liner notes by the esteemed critic Dave Marsh.

Willy & the Poor Boys [Expanded Reissue]: Willy came out in 1969, when, as annotator Ed Ward writes, “a period when Creedence, surely the most anomalous band in the San Francisco explosion of the late ‘60s, was also proving its most commercial seller of them all.” The album contains the anthemic “Fortunate Son” along with “Down on the Corner” and a cover of the traditional folk song “The Midnight Special.” Bonus tracks include live versions of “Fortunate Son” and “It Came Out of the Sky,” plus an unreleased studio version of “Down on the Corner” recorded with Booker T & the MGs for a TV special at the band’s Berkeley rehearsal hall. The song features John Fogerty trading licks with guitar hero Steve Cropper.

Cosmo’s Factory [Expanded Reissue]: Cosmo’s Factory was the fourth and biggest of the string of five Top 10 albums Creedence Clearwater Revival released in 1969 and 1970. Included were “Travelin’ Band,” “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” “Run Through the Jungle” and covers from Marvin Gaye (CCR’s signature take on “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”), Bo Diddley, Roy Orbison and Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup. Bonus material includes a bare bones, horns-free remake of “Travelin’ Band,” a live version of “Up Around the Bend” from the 1971 European tour, plus an unreleased version of “Born on the Bayou” emanating from the CCR/Booker T & the MGs summit which took place in 1970 at Cosmo’s Factory studio. Notes were penned by Robert Christgau.

Pendulum [Expanded Reissue]: Creedence by this time was the top-selling rock band in the world, coming off seven consecutive Top 10 hits. The album contained the hits “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” “Hey Tonight” and “Molina.” Bonus tracks include a live “Hey Tonight” plus “45 Revolutions Per Minute (Parts 1 & 2), the rarest of CCR collectibles, which was packaged in a plain white sleeve alluding to the Beatles’ White Album. Produced under the spell of the Fab Four’s “Revolution No. 9,” the tape montage tries to impart the elusive Creedence humor with the help of Bay Area DJ Tom Campbell. Joel Selvin wrote the liner notes.

Technorati Tags: September 30, 2008, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Rock, Music, Video Clips, New CD, Extended, Greatest Hits, Pendulum, Bayou Country, Green River, Willy & the Poor Boys, Cosmo’s Factory

Some of the recognized tracks on the CD will include:

“What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “Private Dancer,” “Better Be Good To Me,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),” “Proud Mary” (1993 version), “Nutbush City Limits,” and “River Deep Mountain High.”

Tina! features two new, exclusive tracks, titled “It Would Be A Crime” and “I’m Ready.”

A number of concert recordings are also included:

“I Can’t Stand The Rain,” recorded live at Amsterdam Arena (1996), “Addicted To Love,” recorded live at London’s Camden Palace (1986), and two that have never before been released on CD, “The Best,” recorded live at London’s Wembley Arena (2000) and “Let’s Stay Together,” recorded live at Amsterdam Arena (1996).

Turner’s world tour will being on October 1, 2008 in Kansas City, MO.

Other tour stops include:

Newark, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, DC, Toronto, and Montreal. At least 28 stops will be made in US cities.

On top of the US stops, 31 European dates will follow, from January 14 to April 3, including four nights of shows in Cologne, London, Manchester and Munich, three in Hamburg and Antwerp, two in Vienna, Paris and Arnhem and single dates in Paris, Berlin, Hannover and Zurich.

Until the tour begins and the new CD is released, you can check out the audio stream:

Technorati Tags: Tina Turner, World Tour, Audio Stream, Party Stream, Greatest Hits, New Songs, Music

To enter you need to be 18 years of age and a resident of the US. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible. Winners will be announced here. If we do not hear from you within 3 weeks from the date the winners are announced you forfeit your prize and we will select another winner. Prizes will be shipped within 45 days from the day you win.

We will begin choosing winners for this the week of July 5, 2008, which means you have until July 4, 2008 at 11:59 to enter.

From the Press Release:
In his book, The Greatest Music Never Sold, author Dan Leroy writes about the Stone Of Sisyphus, the great lost Chicago album. Recorded in 1993 and produced by Peter Wolf, Sisyphus became a cult record immediately after Warner Bros. refused to release it because it wasn’t the Chicago record that was expected. Knowing what they had created and not willing to compromise, the band left Warner Bros. and took the album with them.

Now, 15 years later, on June 17, this 11-song album with four bonus tracks will finally be available from Rhino Records at all physical and digital outlets, including www.rhino.com, for a suggested list price of $18.98 for CD and $9.99 for download.

Powered by Chicago’s celebrated horn section, the tracks on SISYPHUS have bite, power and swing, and the “fire in the belly” that one associates usually with debut albums. The songs touch on a wide range of styles and moods, including the energetic horn-driven title track, “Stone Of Sisyphus,” the cool funk groove of “Mah-Jong,” the anti-corporate rock broadside “Plaid,” the touching emotional lyrics of “The Pull” and Robert Lamm’s rap on “Sleeping In The Middle Of The Bed.” “Bigger Than Elvis” features contributions from musicians who worked with “The King” himself, including The Jordinaires and Jerry Scheff (father of Chicago bassist Jason Scheff).

“We wrote songs that were more experimental, songs that were more daring in terms of musical direction and chord construction, more than anything,” remembers James Pankow, whose innovative horn charts had been an integral part of Chicago’s distinctive sound from the start. “We got into really feeling our oats in terms of being the voice of Chicago again. It had been a long time since we had made a record like that.”

Looking back, the band members wish they had found a way to release SISYPHUS sooner, but there is intense pride in having stood up for their creative integrity — a Chicago trademark. While Sisyphus became an underground classic, widely bootlegged by fans, Chicago continued to defy music business conventions by forming their own record company, and recording hugely successful big band and holiday records before it was the fashion.

To date, Chicago’s remarkable achievements include a Grammy” Award, record sales that exceed 100,000,000, including 21 Top 10 singles, five consecutive #1 albums, five #1 singles, 13 platinum albums and five gold singles. An incredible 25 of their 30 albums have been certified platinum, and Chicago is the first American band to chart Top 40 albums in five decades.

CHICAGO: STONE OF SISYPHUS (XXXII)
Track Listing

1. “Stone Of Sisyphus”
2. “Bigger Than Elvis”
3. “All The Years”
4. “Mah-Jong”
5. “Sleeping In The Middle Of The Bed”
6. “Let’s Take A Lifetime”
7. “The Pull”
8. “Here With Me (A Candle For The Dark)”
9. “Plaid”
10. “Cry For The Lost”
11. “The Show Must Go In”

Bonus Tracks
12. Love Is Forever (Demo)
13. Mah-Jong (Demo)
14. Let’s Take A Lifetime (Demo)
15. Stone Of Sisyphus (No Rhythm Loop)

Technorati Tags: Literary Illusions, Contest, Giveaway, Rhino Records, Chicago, Lost CD, Demo, Stone of Sisyphus, XXXII, The Greatest Music Never Sold