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The Grouch Stole Xmas Tour 2023: Living Legends, Grouch & Eligh + More

Living Legends co-founder The Grouch has announced the details for his annual Grouch Stole Xmas Tour, which kicks off on November 29 in Seattle. As with years in the past, Grouch is bringing along some of his closest homies, including Eligh and the rest of the Living Legends. Additional support will be provided by Brother Ali and, as always, DJ Fresh. The North American run is comprised of 16 dates and wraps up on December 23 in Los Angeles at The Fonda Theater. Tickets are available here . 

Living Legends are one of Hip Hop’s longest-running collectives. Founded in the late ’90s, the West Coast group — comprised of The Grouch, Luckyiam, Eligh, Sunspot Jonz, Bicaso, Aesop, Scarub and sometimes MURS — grew out of the Mystik Journeymen and evolved into an indie powerhouse. In 2008, L.A. Weekly called them “one of the biggest success stories in the indie-rap movement” after they sold more than 300,000 albums on their own.

After five studio albums, culminating with 2008’s The Gathering , Living Legends branched off and started doing their own thing. MURS signed with Strange Music and focused on his solo career, while Eligh and The Grouch did several projects under the G&E moniker. MURS and The Grouch later connected for Thees Handz. In June 2022, the group reconvened for a new single called “LLXL” featuring Eli-Mac (although MURS opted not to participate). Living Legends MC Aesop recently confirmed another Living Legends album is done. No word on the release date. 

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Living Legends: Frankie Valli On The Four Seasons' Biggest Hits, Impressing Bob Dylan And Inspiring Billy Joel & Elton John

Between a new box set and a Las Vegas residency, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons aren’t slowing down in 2023. Hear from the falsetto king himself about how hits like “Sherry” and “December, 1963 (Oh What A Night!) came to be — and how they live on.

With one of the most recognizable voices in music, a generation-spanning array of hit songs and a life story that has become stuff of legend, Frankie Valli has staked a claim as one of the music industry's most indelible artists. One of the few acts that steadily navigated from the doo-wop age through the disco era, Valli's improbable trajectory with his group, the Four Seasons , was propeled by a golden ear for hits, aided by the songwriter/producer power duo Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe .

That's not to say the 89-year-old is resting on his laurels. His astounding career is on full, vibrant display in the immense new box set aptly dubbed Working Our Way Back to You — The Ultimate Collection . Consisting of 45 discs of every song Valli and the Four Seasons ever recorded — from beloved hits to deep-cuts, demos and other rarities — the set also includes a biographical book filled to the brim with rare images that track their rise from a fledgling New Jersey singing group to Broadway sensations in the form of Jersey Boys.

In addition, later this month Vailli is heading to Las Vegas for a residency at Westgate Resort and Casino where he and the Four Seasons will be appearing until well into 2024.

Valli spoke to GRAMMY.com about his astounding run of hits, the artists he's influenced, the modern covers of his tracks and how his big year started off with a bang during GRAMMY weekend.

You were a surprise performer at the Clive Davis GRAMMY Gala earlier this year and, in a very special moment, everyone in the audience, from Cardi B to Joni Mitchell , jumped up and sang along with you to "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You." What was that moment like for you?

Oh, it was incredible. I never expected it. When Clive first invited me, he said "I want to invite you to my GRAMMY party, but I want you to do a song." I said, "With the generation gap, should I really do a song?" But I was in shock when everybody stood up to sing along. 

It was a really a moment I'll never forget. It's a good thing we have people like Clive who really has an insight on what's happening and where it's going. 

That night, the Italian rock band Måneksin covered your song "Beggin'" which was their breakout hit. The band was just the latest in a long line of artists who have covered Four Seasons music, with "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" done by everyone from Lauryn Hill to Shawn Mendes , to name just two examples. What do you think of all of these artists wanting to cover your work?

It's quite complimentary. When you've been around a long time and people find value in what you've done, it just makes you feel good about what you've done.

In your career, you've also covered so many songs from Cole Porter 's "I've Got You Under My Skin" to Bob Dylan 's "Don't Think Twice (It's Alright)." How did you go about choosing which songs to cover, and how would you put your own spin on these classics to make them your own?

It was really more or less music that we listened to and we loved. We tried to pick songs that were very meaningful for us, but the trick was to be able to do them a little differently than they had been done. 

We were quite successful with it, we did it with songs like "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" We did a version of "Book of Love" and so many others.

Your version of "Don't Think Twice (It's Alright)" is probably one of the most unusual songs in your vast discography considering its subject matter, your exaggerated falsetto, and those background harmonies. How did that come about? I also understand you heard from Bob Dylan himself about it.

We did it in a very campy way, and it really was quite by accident. I was in a studio, and the guy at the soundboard asked me to sing a little bit to get a level on me. So I was clowning around singing in a falsetto like that.

The next thing I know, the button clicks and I hear [Crewe and Gaudio's] voices saying, "Do it like that." I said, "Do what like what?" They said, "Sing it just the way you're singing it." I said, "Come on, you're kidding!" 

We did it and that version of it was a take-off on a singer named Rose Murphy , who had several hits. Many years later, I was shopping at Fred Segal in LA and Bob Dylan came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. We shook hands and he said, "I love the version of 'Don't Think Twice' that you guys did."

Speaking of your singular vocal stylings, I'm wondering how you and the group went about plotting how you'd all harmonize. For example, in a song like "Candy Girl," there's your iconic falsetto, and then suddenly we hear in a very low baritone voice the line "Our love is real! " Is something like that written out? How does it come together in the studio?

It just comes naturally. A lot of credit goes to the fact that we were never chased away from a song because we didn't know what to do with it. We toyed with it until we found what we thought was right for it. There were no direct plans; everything was done from within the group. 

Nick Massi had his job doing a lot of the vocal arrangements, and Gaudio did most of them after Nick had left. We worked together until everybody was satisfied with it. Does it fit? Does it work? It's like a puzzle. You don't want to overdo anything, and you don't want to under-do.

So then let's say in a song like "Walk Like A Man" when the harmonies sing that iconic "Oo-Oooo-Oo-Oo-Oo-Oo-Oo-Ooooo." Where does that come from?

It comes from Bob Gaudio, who wrote the song to sound like that. The first three songs we did were more like a chant, and that's what we created to make what everybody knows as our sound. 

We wanted to be very easily identifiable. If you heard something by us on the radio, you knew that it was us. We were constantly looking for new ways and new things while having fun doing it. We weren't following or listening to anybody else on the radio; we weren't a copycat group. 

Billy Joel has gone on to say that a lot of the inspiration he got came from us. "I love you just the way you are" is the last line in "Rag Doll."

He also said that "Uptown Girl" was an homage to you. Musically it sounds like "Big Girls Don't Cry" but lyrically it's the opposite of "Rag Doll." What do you think when you hear a song like that?

First of all, I'm a big Billy Joel fan. There isn't anything he's ever done that I haven't liked. My favorite of everything is "Just The Way You Are." It sounds so honest and lyrically it's so right, it had to be a hit.

What about a song like "Bennie and the Jets"? It's been said that Elton John was directly inspired by you.

I loved it. He's another guy who has done very little wrong musically. He's an amazing writer and performer. 

You and the group have a lot of name songs: "Sherry," "Marlena," "Dawn." Was that conscious effort, or was it just natural?

It was natural. Bob wrote the songs… He and I have been partners now for over 50 years and he never ceases to amaze me. He's so tuned into everything that's going on, it's really amazing.

Is it true that "Sherry" was originally called "Jackie" in honor of Jackie Kennedy?

No, it was originally called "Perry." Before "Sherry," we weren't signed to a label, so this small independent company owned by a millionaire had a daughter named Perry. And that's what he wanted us to call it, but it was written to be "Sherry" and we just felt very strongly about that and kept it.

What did the owner think of that?

We ended up going with a different company. So we never heard much after that.

One of your biggest hits was "December 1963 (Oh What A Night!)." I always wondered if that was a random date, or if you chose it because that period was a unique moment in history: a month after the Kennedy assassination, but two months before the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan.  

It was originally a song with lyrics about the '20s, '30s and '40s. The lyrics were "Flippers flopping on the floor." It was a totally different song. When Bob brought it into the studio, he was disappointed we weren't crazy about it and he wanted to junk the song. We said, "No, you can come up with something better than this," and he rewrote it to fit the time. 

Is there one song that you thought should have been bigger than it was?

The funny thing about records during the days when we recorded, and the record business was as big as it was, to become a hit it was important that the record company do the legwork and get radio stations to play it, or try it for two weeks. I thought there was a lot of what we did that was overlooked because the record company wasn't that crazy about it. 

For example, I put the single "We're All Alone" out, and the record company didn't want to work it. I did mine with the London Symphony Orchestra. Later, Rita Coolidge came out with the same song and it went to No. 1. Sometimes things like that happen.

A song like "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" was in the can for two or three years. We had to force the record company to release it and hire independent promotion people to work the record and get it on the radio. 

"My Eyes Adored You" was recorded for Motown Records and that one was in the can for three years because they weren't too sure about it. Finally, when we left Motown, we asked if we can buy back the track, and they agreed for us to purchase it. We did and we brought it to every record company in the business and they all said no. 

Eventually, we found Larry Uttal with a brand new record company, Private Stock Records, and he said, "That'll be my first No. 1 record for my new company." And it was!  

From when you first started recording in the early '50s to when "Sherry" hit No. 1 was a period of nine years. That's a long time. Why did you stick with it?  

It was always music first. If I had no success at all, I'd probably still be doing music somewhere in New Jersey or New York. I knew exactly what I wanted to do and wanted to be. 

At first, I rejected the fact that I might have to do pop music, but as I started to do it and it became successful, I realized it was a music that people could understand. And what are you doing music for? You're doing it for people. Without an audience you wouldn't have anything. 

My love of music started out for the very first time with me seeing Frank Sinatra as a boy when my mom took me to the Paramount Theater in New York City. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and I was so inspired; I made up my mind that that's what I wanted to do. 

Living Legends: Nancy Sinatra Reflects On Creating "Power And Magic" In Studio, Developing A Legacy Beyond "Boots" & The Pop Stars She Wants To Work With

Photo: Courtesy of Andrea Bocelli

Living Legends: Andrea Bocelli On His Favorite Duets & What Keeps Him Inspired 30 Years Later

In an interview with GRAMMY.com, beloved vocalist Andrea Bocelli discusses his enduring success, the collaborative process, and releasing the deluxe edition of his new album, 'A Family Christmas.'

As one of the world’s most beloved vocalists, the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has built a legendary career over 15 solo albums, a regular schedule of blockbuster tours and five GRAMMY nominations , most recently for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Si in 2020.

Originally setting his dreams onto a career as a soccer player, life set Bocelli on a new path after a mishap playing the sport resulted in the loss of his vision. Worldwide stardom came after his musical success in his native Italy, and since the release of his debut album in 1994, he’s staked a claim as one of the best-selling artists of all time. 

It’s a legacy that continues with the recent release of the deluxe edition of his album A Family Christmas. Originally released to acclaim last year, it features his children Virginia and Matteo; the updated version is composed of 10 new tracks, including the single “Let It Snow.”

Bocelli spoke to GRAMMY.com about the new album, his current nationwide tour and the album that first turned him into a global sensation: “The result went beyond my wildest dreams.” 

A Family Christmas features your kids Virginia and Matteo. Over the years, you also recorded blockbuster duets with everyone from Tony Bennett and Beyonce , Ed Sheeran and Celine Dion, among many others. Can you point out the most memorable duet of your career?

I wouldn’t mention one in particular, to not offend the others. As you know, I love duets; mixing voices is a challenge, a wager, a meeting of souls. Singing together, either opera or pop music, is always a gratifying experience. In my thirty-year career, I have had the honor to sing with extraordinary artists, from the already mentioned Celine Dion to Barbra Streisand , from Stevie Wonder to the unforgettable Tony Bennett. In the lyrical world, I hold close to my heart the memory and privilege of making music with Placido Domingo , Jose Carreras , and Luciano Pavarotti.

You were nominated for the Best New Artist GRAMMY in 1999. What do you remember about that show, and your introduction to America in general?

I remember, with great emotion, the duet that my dearest friend, Celine Dion, and I sang together, interpreting that little masterpiece that was “The Prayer”, written by another great friend of mine, David Foster. A very intense relationship with the United States was taking shape at the time, and then followed a continuous upward curve, to the extent that today I consider it my second home. This extraordinary country immediately showed me love!

You're currently on tour, and are known for your epic performances and specials, whether performing in Milan's Duomo or riding horseback across the country. How do you come up with these ideas? Is the idea to go bigger and bigger, or did these just happen organically?  

The source of my inspiration is always the same, and I can summarize it in one word: love. Love across the board: sensual love, love for life, for beauty, for the brotherhood that unites us, and for He who created us.

I believe that there is a purpose conceived for each one of us. Every life is a story that reflects a specific plan. Every woman, every man is born with a talent that is a gift by heavenly design. It is up to our conscience, to our free will to cultivate and honor it or vice versa squander it.

I personally tried to honor mine, making my voice available to share values, such as love, optimism and brotherhood. After that, everything is in the hands of our good Lord, so what I do is look up to the heavens every day and give thanks, ask for help, pray and whisper, “Your will be done.”

Romanza is one of the best selling albums of all time. When you were recording it, did you feel it was going to be something special — or did its success take you by surprise?

I experienced alternating feelings of hope and disappointment. People appreciated my singing and proved it to me consistently. It was show business itself that didn’t consider me a marketable “product.” I was often told, “you better find a new job.” There were so many potential opportunities lost by a breath, and considering the fact that I was no longer a young artist, at times my expectations of transforming this passion of mine into a profession were truly dim.

How did that change?

When Romanza was released, I, of course, aspired to find my own audience, be it in pop or opera. The result went beyond my wildest dreams, beyond my rosiest and most passionate expectations. This recording project holds within it a very important part of my own personal and professional story. To date, I find it hard to understand the reasons for such an overwhelming success, despite realizing that its songs still today, after so many years, are capable of communicating intense, uplifting emotions.

Do you know right away how to musically interpret a song, or is there a process?

There is always a long, complex and challenging process of reflection and elaboration. There is a first phase of listening to the entire interpreted narrative of the song. Then comes the creative phase, alternating with an analytical phase for the end result, with a constant fine-tuning of the vocal and instrumental solutions.

I must say that I consider this deluxe version of the Christmas album, with extra songs, special for personal reasons. Mainly because I was able to work with my children. But also for its innovative recording, orchestral arrangements and the creative process. For each song, we started off with the piano using a felt to dampen the sound. Then it was overwritten by classical and pop instrumentation, always looking to create sculpted sounds for each individual piece. Everything was first sampled, then recorded with a full orchestra.

When it comes to putting the Christmas album specifically, how do you find fresh songs to cover and interpret?  The classics have been covered countless times.

After evaluating hundreds of songs, we chose [together with our record label team] the most intense; the ones capable of evoking the Christmas spirit we were looking for. It is, in some ways, an unusual selection, inspired by the sentiment of universal solidarity. It is a phonic kaleidoscope of international songs, alternating celebratory and festive tones with more intimate and reflective ones.

The album is the genuine musical product of a family dedicated to all families. In it are three voices, three stages of life, three inevitably different sensitivities (despite our strong emotional ties) competing in a mix of genres, but at the same time, looking to recreate that magical state of mind that Holy Christmas can give us. This is what A Family Christmas is about: an album that is markedly different from the one I released in 2009, because it has a more modern and diversified track, with original and bespoke arrangements, fully adapted to our different voices.

Speaking of covers, your version of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is very unique. Can you tell me the story behind choosing that, and the arrangement?

The atmosphere created with this arrangement, and through the timbre and expressiveness of Matteo's voice offer a truly different, and I hope, interesting rendering. A decisive contribution to creating this and other songs comes from two extraordinary professionals, Ross Cullum and Stephan Moccio. Both worked in all of the vocal recording sessions, with meticulous and very refined precision on the choice of tonality, rhythm, dynamics, the vocal range of the scores, and orchestral colors.

What songs get the biggest reaction on your current tour?

It's actually hard to give a ranking of my most liked songs. Of course, songs tied to the imminent Christmas festivities warm the heart and are received with joy. But warm reactions are also generated by my operatic repertory with its most famous and beloved arias, as do also my pop classics.

The U.S. public, that I have the honor to have frequented for a quarter of a century, is, to my mind, the ideal audience. It's upbeat, generous, ready to get involved. It's an audience that can still get emotional, can participate and be responsive to what is happening on stage. It can experience with healthy simplicity and enthusiasm the emotions generated by listening. 

You uniquely weave your charitable foundation in with your shows. What's it like trying to think of fresh ideas for your foundation? Do you have fun with it?

The Andrea Bocelli Foundation was established in 2011. With the mission to empower people and communities, we chose education as a true key to offer people and communities the opportunity to live to their full potential. We do so by trying to be innovative in approach and planning our work with a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and consultants coming from different backgrounds and aligned with global objectives, such as the UN 2030 Agenda. We use tools and informal disciplines like art or digital music and promote the development of cross-cutting skills. For this reason, the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations invited us to bring our expertise and best practices to the UN this December in recognition of our work as meaningful and innovative.

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Photo: Al Pereira/WireImage

Living Legends: Burning Spear On New Album, 'No Destroyer' & Taking Control Of His Music

Burning Spear is one of reggae’s most distinctive and esteemed voices. Fifty years into his career, the roots reggae artist continues to share messages of Rastafarianism and resistance, all through impeccably crafted rhythms.

Living Legends is a series that spotlights icons in music who are still going strong today. This week, GRAMMY.com spoke with reggae icon Burning Spear. His latest album, No Destroyer , is his first release in 15 years.  

Fifty years ago, venerable Jamaican artist Burning Spear released his debut album, Studio One Presents Burning Spear . While not as well-known as the Wailers ’ Catch A Fire and Burnin’ (both of which were also released in 1973), Burning Spear is nonetheless a pillar in the construction of roots reggae’s foundation. 

Produced by Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd and released on Dodd’s legendary Studio One label, the album’s solid rhythms are anchored in thunderous basslines (played by the Heptones’ Leroy Sibbles) and embellished with cascading horns that majestically frame Spear’s mesmerizingly intoned vocals.

Rife with mystical lyrics steeped in his Rastafarian way of life, uncompromising words of resistance, and supported by impeccably crafted bass-heavy reggae beats with flourishes of jazz and highlife accented horns, Burning Spear’s debut album ­­established him as one of reggae’s most distinctive and esteemed voices. Fifty years on, those characteristics resonate just as strongly on Spear’s latest release No Destroyer .

Recorded in 2011 at the Magic Shop in New York City, Spear decided to release No Destroyer — his first album since 2009’s GRAMMY-winning Jah Is Real — in August because "the time was right." 

"I think people will enjoy this album, I am saying things I never say before," Burning Spear told GRAMMY.com in a recent Zoom. "The people, the fans, will find something to hold on to, to take them places or to certain situations. The album shows you where you are coming from, your tribulations, the distance you are traveling. When I listen back to it, I didn’t quite know I was putting out all that energy, sending out lyrics not only connecting musically but connecting to all the people." 

Burning Spear announced his retirement in 2016, though his time away was brief. He returned in 2021 with a new single "Mommy," which honors women who hold their families together, especially in challenging times; "Mommy" was No Destroyer’s first single. In 2022 Spear returned to the concert stage and has since performed at festivals across the globe and onboard Damian Marley ’s Welcome to Jamrock reggae cruise. 

"I wasn’t thinking about coming back but my wife, Sonia Rodney, thought I should do a few shows here and there, for the fans who have supported I man for so many years,"  Spear acknowledges."So I did some shows for the people who really wanted to see me again and it was great." Spear, however, has not performed in his native Jamaica in nearly 20 years. "I do go back to Jamaica to spend time and have a little fun but that is about it," he says. 

Born Winston Rodney in Jamaica’s rural St. Ann’s Bay, Winston took his moniker from African freedom fighter Jomo Kenyatta, who was previously known as the Burning Spear and later became the president of Kenya. Kenyatta and Spear were deeply influenced by the teachings of Marcus Garvey, the St. Ann Jamaica born pan-Africanist and fiery orator who preached self-reliance and political unification for all African descendants. Garvey’s teachings have exerted a tremendous influence on the Rastafari way of life and the United States’ civil rights movement.  

More so than any Rastafarian reggae artist, Spear has used his music to create an ongoing awareness of Garvey’s philosophies. Spear’s international breakthrough arrived with the release of his Marcus Garvey album in 1975; Spear has continued to invoke Garvey’s name on all of his subsequent albums. Prior to reggae becoming the island’s most recognized global export, Marcus Garvey "opened the door of Jamaica and spread Jamaica all over," sings Spear on the No Destroyer track "Jamaica."

"Marcus Garvey is our hero, he stood firm, he opened the gate for Jamaica, Rastafari spread the roots and the culture," offers Spear. "I would especially like Jamaican people to listen to the track 'Jamaica' and as Jamaicans of African descendents, question themselves. Of course, the whole world needs to listen to the album, too."

Burning Spear was referred to Studio One — largely considered Jamaica’s Motown due to the label’s consistent output of hit records and the many reggae luminaries who launched their careers there — by another St. Ann native: Bob Marley. Spear’s first single for Studio One, 1969’s "Door Peep Shall Not Enter," sounded unlike anything released by Dodd. Along with vocal trio the Abyssinians’ "Satta Massagana" issued the same year, Spear’s song was critical in shaping the Rastafarian roots reggae movement that came to prominence in the next decade. 

Spear’s spoken intro on "Door Peep" — " I and I, son of the Most-High, Jah Rastafari"— resounds like a direct announcement from the Messiah. The song’s biblically laced lyrics caution informers who attempt to interfere with Rastafarians, considered societal outcasts at the time in Jamaica; Spear’s repeated call to "Chant down Babylon," supported by Rupert Willington’s evocative, deep vocal tone, creates a spellbinding effect.

"When Mr. Dodd first heard 'Door Peep' he was astonished; for a man who’d been in the music business for so long, he never heard anything like that," Spear. recalls. "I went there on a Sunday and the next day I recorded it, my first song, my first time recording. Mr. Dodd made a lot of income off of that song. A lot."

Spear released another solid roots reggae set with Dodd, the soulful Rocking Time , in 1974. His next album, 1975’s Marcus Garvey is considered a benchmark of Jamaica’s 1970s roots reggae golden era. Marcus Garvey features Willington and Delroy Hinds’ sublime supporting vocals and the extraordinary musical accompaniment of the Black Disciples band.  

The magnificent title track was originally intended for exclusive play on producer Lawrence "Jack Ruby" Lindo’s Hi Power sound system. However, the song was so popular at Ruby’s dances, he released it as a single and it became an immediate hit. Spear followed that with another stirring reggae anthem, the haunting lament, "Slavery Days"; the Marcus Garvey album soared to the top of the Jamaican charts, which led to a deal for its wider release via Island Records.

Burning Spear would go on to release Man in the Hills , again featuring Willington and Hinds, for Island. Yet his subsequent albums on the label throughout the 1970s were released as a solo artist. Spear released albums for a variety of labels throughout the 1980s before signing to Island again, issuing just two albums with them in the early 1990s.

Spear contends he didn’t make money from any of these recordings, and only started to see returns when he and his wife took control of his catalog circa 2002 and began releasing Spear’s music through their Burning Music Productions.

 "When I started out, a lot of us was getting nothing from what we been doing musically," Spear explained. "People listening to all those beautiful songs thinking that we, the artists and musicians, were well taken care of but we were not."

Spear rails against the shady deals and corruption within the music industry on several of No Destroyer ’s tracks. "Independent" is Spear’s story of persevering despite experiencing many unethical business transactions; "No Fool" lashes out at record companies "committing fraud and they think they are so smart." "They Think" calls out individuals who doubted that Spear could succeed as an independent artist. "Talk" takes aim at the "musical sharks" who "eat up the small fish," whom he dismisses with the unyielding refrain: "No more slave trade, no more surrender."  

"Sometimes we as artists can’t explain ourselves just by talking. Through the music we explain how much we hurt, the things that hurt us, what’s been done to us," Spear says. "As artists and players of instruments, we have to talk of these things, so the world will hear fully what we’ve been through in the music industry, things I have gone up against, things that shouldn’t have taken place, but they happened."

Like so many young Jamaican artists in the 1970s and 1980s, Spear perhaps did not have a full understanding of the international record deals he was signing. More than likely, it was never explained that the advances artists receive are intended to cover the cost of recording their albums and that money must be recouped by the label from album sales before an artist will receive any revenue. During that era, recording companies owned the master recordings and required artists to give them their publishing rights, too.

After decades of receiving little financial returns for his albums, Spear and Sonia sought to identify the specific barriers that prevented the money from coming in. Sonia taught herself the nuances of the music business by reading books, attending seminars and talking to seasoned professionals. One of the first things she did was launch a Burning Spear merchandise line, which immediately generated revenue. They also learned how to manufacture their own albums/CDs, and handled their own distribution. 

"We started making connections with other people, give them our works on consignment and right away we see that independence is not so easy. There are a lot of sharks, unreasonable people with dirty business practices who come at you because you are independent, saying, ‘how dare you be independent,’" Spear says.

Spear now owns the copyrights to most of his songs. After some research and a subsequent lawsuit, he bought back some of the copyrights to his earlier music from the estate of a deceased former manager who had never purchased those rights. Spear is especially proud of his 2009 Best Reggae Album GRAMMY Award for Jah Is Real , a significant accomplishment for Burning Music Productions.

No Destroyer also addresses the struggles endured by musicians that came up with Spear, while recognizing their efforts in establishing reggae as a globally embraced music. "Robert Nesta Marley built his foundation the hard way," sings Spear on "Open The Gate." The song also honors Culture, Alton Ellis, Gregory Isaacs , Sugar Minott, ska pioneers the Skatalites, Peter Tosh

and Delroy Wilson, among the many Jamaican music legends who "opened the gate for reggae music."

"The artists and musicians who were there before us and those who were there before them, opened the gate and the gate is still open, or else you wouldn’t have a new generation of reggae music," Spear remarks. "It was just the love of reggae music, coming from mento, ska, rocksteady, (that kept us going). We all went through the same thing before we stood strong and saw that we weren’t being taken care of properly."

Spear’s taking control of his music and becoming an independent artist is a present day fulfillment of the self-reliance Marcus Garvey advocated for over a century ago. In his concluding comments, Spear appealed to the authorities to clear Marcus Garvey’s name of all criminal charges. Garvey had been a target of the J. Edgar Hoover-led FBI for several years and aAs his following increased — on Aug. 1, 1920, an estimated 25,000 delegates gathered at Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden for the first international convention of Garvey’s Negro Universal Improvement Association — the FBI intensified their efforts to subdue him. 

In 1923, Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in the United States after his Black Star Line shipping company — founded with the aim of providing passage for Africans in the diaspora who wanted to return to the continent — sent out advertisements showing a steamship that the company was in the process of purchasing (but didn’t yet own.) Garvey was fined $1,000 and received a five-year prison sentence that was later commuted; he was then deported to Jamaica. Garvey’s descendants, political leaders and others have petitioned President Biden for a posthumous presidential pardon, following an unsuccessful petitioning of President Obama.

"Marcus Garvey’s record should be set free," declares Spear. He also implored Jamaica’s government to institute a public holiday honoring Garvey and include him in the curriculum for all Jamaican students.

" I am a musician; I don’t want to sound like a politician, but the time is right for a Garvey subject in school. We want the upcoming generation to have a full understanding of who Marcus Garvey was and what he stood up for," he says. "Jamaica must come together and make sure that it is done. The time is right to let the people’s voices be heard."

So, too, the time is right for Burning Spear’s voice to be heard, again.

Living Legends: Reggae Great Marcia Griffiths Looks Back On Her 60-Year Legacy, Working With Bob Marley & Inspiring The Next Generation

Photo: Timothy White

Living Legends: Michael Bolton On How Comedy Changed His Career & Why He's "The Forrest Gump Of The Music Business"

Amid one of the busiest years of his career since his '80s and '90s heyday, Michael Bolton has traded his signature long locks for a new signature trait: gratitude.

Presented by GRAMMY.com, Living Legends is an editorial series that honors icons in music and celebrates their inimitable legacies and ongoing impact on culture. Ahead of his Sept. 3 show at the iconic Hollywood Bowl, Michael Bolton looks back on the trying times of his early career and how it led to blending his love of music and comedy.

Nearly 50 years into his career, Michael Bolton isn't worried about staying relevant — he's simply trying to have fun. 

This year alone has seen Bolton perform incognito on "The Masked Singer," co-star alongside Awkwafina in "Nora From Queens," and cameo on the HBO Max sitcom " Clone High ." And amid all of his screen time, Bolton reignited his love of songwriting with Spark of Light , his first album of original music in 14 years. 

Whatever he's doing, Bolton's goal remains the same: never take a moment for granted. Perhaps that's because his legacy took 18 years to begin, or due to his humble Connecticut roots.

Despite being a two-time GRAMMY winner with more than 75 million albums sold worldwide, Bolton has never thought of  himself as one of the greats — but he's always been happy to be considered as such. That humility has given him longevity, along with a  comedic sensibility that proves he's never taken himself too seriously. 

Bolton's humorous side was most famously displayed in 2011, when Bolton teamed up with comedy troupe the Lonely Island for "Jack Sparrow," a hilarious short that ironically saw him dress as Gump himself (and, of course, Jack Sparrow). Since then, Bolton's career has opened up to generations who he never imagined would know the likes of "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" or "When A Man Loves A Woman." 

Combining his loyal longtime fan base with the new, Bolton is still getting to play venues like the famed Hollywood Bowl at age 70 — and, of course, taking in every minute of it.

Just after getting back from a stretch of shows in Asia, Bolton caught up with GRAMMY.com about his resurgence as a comedic actor, his advice for struggling artists, and why he considers himself the industry's Forrest Gump. 

You, sir, have had quite the ongoing impact on culture, I must say.

Are you talking about my long hair or my records? [ Laughs .]

Well, both, but also you're still doing all of these different things, between "The Masked Singer" and "The Dating Game" and such. It's really cool to see the ways that you're staying active in today's pop culture, not just leaning on your legacy.

I guess that's what they mean when they say "staying relevant."

Yeah, I suppose. [ Laughs .] But it always feels genuine for you. I think there's a difference between trying to stay relevant and doing a genuine thing.  

Creative work is the thing that leads to legacy and allows you to continue momentum moving forward. And it gets you together with really great creative people like the Lonely Island guys. 

I was starting to have a great career of hits, and I realized I love comedy. And I had this opportunity, working with the Lonely Island guys from "Saturday Night Live," that I could have fun, take shots at myself — and others — and keep it musical as well. I think we're over 250 million views on the "Jack Sparrow" video. 

And I agree with you — you can't get there by chipping away and refining and digging into details. You have to do it naturally, because people can feel it when it's contrived. But they also can feel it when it's real.

That's why we're working with a lot of creative people who are making films as well as streaming TV. I've worked with a lot of young songwriters and producers on this newest record, Spark of Light , to get their input and get a fresh take on music today. At the same time, the young writers and producers are looking to me to get a classic take on music. Because they want their music to be part of a catalog that [lives on] 30, 40 years later. People know your music for all different reasons than just putting it on a record and promoting it. 

There is a stage where you're thinking, Is this too much? But I learned that comedy and music create the gift that keeps on giving.

And that's exactly why people love the Lonely Island, right?

Yeah, yeah. And I never planned on that. I was a big fan of theirs, and I was a big fan of "Saturday Night Live," but I never thought I would carve out something like the "Jack Sparrow" video, which opened up a generation, or two generations, behind me who have become fans since then. 

Did you feel like you saw a shift in your audience after that? You said that it opened up your music to new generations, but was that a tangible thing?

Yeah, I witnessed it. I felt it. 

[The night it aired], I found a place to hide in the ["SNL"] building while everyone was watching it, because if they [didn't] like it, I [didn't] really want to go through that. And they loved it. 

John Mayer was there that night — he's a friend of mine from Connecticut. And he said to me, "Tomorrow, you're gonna see something you've never seen before." And I said, "Well, tell me it's gonna be good." And he said, "No, no, they're gonna love this."

The next day, I came downstairs, and my daughter was at the kitchen table, reading the quotes that were coming in from people, their responses to the video. She looked at me and said, "Dad, you're not going to believe what's going on." 

From that time on, younger people in the streets would recognize me — it would be about "Jack Sparrow" and about the comedy, when for many, many years before, it was always about long hair, the hits, my rock days. The people who love this video were eager to hear what I was doing next musically. 

Was comedy something that you were passionate about before then? Or something that you wanted to bring into your career?

I've always loved it from a certain distance, because my primary focus was music since I can remember. I was probably around 11 or 12 years old when I picked up my first guitar. I was listening to a lot of blues, like the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. I fell in love with the blues and started playing electric guitar, and put together a band. I knew what I wanted to do, and it was make music.

But comedy was something I loved. I was constantly in trouble with the principal at my school, because I couldn't take the work seriously. When they found out that I was being signed to Columbia Records, to Epic Records, they stopped putting pressure on me to cut my hair. And the next thing we all knew, I was having a career in the business. But it took me 18 years to have my first hit.

So many people would have given up after waiting that long. What kept you going?

What kept me going was that love for it. I'm grateful that I was surrounded by women most of my younger life. And my mother was so supportive of me pursuing music [growing up], and [now] I have three daughters. 

But if I knew how hard it was going to be, I'm not sure I would've made the trek. Because there was so much time when there were no paychecks coming. And you're in the music business in Connecticut, if it snows, your concert is closed. So the promoters will call and apologize, but when you hang up the phone, you realize you have to figure out how you're going to feed your kids at night. That's the most intense pressure and excruciating experience for the "starving artist" syndrome — the reality that you may not be able to provide for your family.  

We were getting eviction notices and our landlord would beg me to make sure the next check didn't bounce. So I started writing songs for other artists, and I was able to put full focus on my next record, and the one after that, and the one after that in '83. It all came together.

I tell young people that, whenever somebody says, "I've been at this for 10 years already," I say, "It took me 18 for my first hit, so don't give up. But know that it can take that long. And when it does finally happens, it's an even greater success story." 

What do you tell people when they ask you about how to have longevity as an artist, especially since you did have such a long road to success?

My first instinct is compassion for anybody who's been at it this long… Having success once is not enough. I've seen people win GRAMMYs, and the next year, they disappeared from the map. 

It took me longer to appreciate the success that I was having, because there was a part of me that was so protective of my own heart. I didn't want to get too excited. I find that it's not as big of a success as everyone was claiming it was. I didn't know how to celebrate success until I was sure [it was a success]. 

When you finally start to have success, and you've been hungry for so many years, you move into a different gear, to a different mode, wanting to ensure the continuation of success for your catalog. You realize that you can't take anything for granted, so you learn how to promote your records better. You learn how to partner, be a better teammate for the record label. 

If you do your job right in the studio, making your record, it's going to do most of the heavy lifting for you. It's going to create word of mouth, you're gonna have core fans coming out and supporting you. But you can never take it for granted.

You started out as a songwriter and had a lot of success doing that. Is there a song that you gave away that you wish you would have recorded?

I don't think so. I've passed on some songs that were played for me, that were ballads that felt a lot like what I've done in my career already. And it felt like they're not a career changer. I think I could've had fun singing it, but it's not a real test record — like a real, career-establishing record. 

I have the good fortune of the bar being kind of high — like, the vocal performances require the kind of intensity that is not common for a male voice. So my job basically was to hit it out of the park. 

When I was a kid, I grew up [being] into the Yankees. I found out later in my career that [some] power hitters became fans of mine because they related to the intensity, and  the power of [my] music.

I hope Aaron Judge is blasting some Michael Bolton to get inspired in the locker room.

[ Laughs .] Everybody could use a lot more Aaron Judge.

When you look back at your catalog, which song — or songs — feel the most like the artist that you set out to be?

Probably a combination of a few. The biggest hit that I've had is "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?" It went to everyone twice because I released it again. It was [originally] released by Laura Branigan, and it did really well with her. 

About eight, nine years later, I released it myself as an artist compared to just being a songwriter. And something else happened — that version is much bigger than the first time around. 

At the same time, "Said I Loved You, But I Lied" is one of my favorite records that I've ever made.

Why is that?

Mutt Lange was my producer, and he's always done something very different that makes the record itself stand out in the middle of these hit songs — and none of them specifically sound like a Mutt Lange record.

It's pretty amazing, the good fortune of finally doing what I love to do on my own terms. And that's what happens when you have enough success.

What's a standout memory for you from everything that you've done?  

I had a chance to sing with Luciano Pavarotti . And I am a tenor — we don't use the term tenor or baritone or anything like that in pop music. But when a tenor hears another tenor on the radio, you stop what you're doing and you listen to how these high notes get sung and held for a long time. The control and the power that the great tenors had is something that really excited me, and I had the opportunity to work with all three tenors and do something that I had never, ever dreamed.

It took me about two months to learn Italian and to learn opera. I was up until 5, 6 o'clock in the morning, almost every night trying to absorb it all before this performance in Italy in Pavorotti's home city.

I can only imagine trying to actually sing something like that, let alone on stage, with one of the most iconic stars from that country.  

It was very daunting. Exciting, like, otherworldly. But it was very, very daunting.

Pavarotti walked in after we were warming up the orchestra. It was an outside venue, an amphitheater, and Princess Di was in the front row. Bono was on stage during a song or two. 

We began getting ready, and Pavarotti heard me singing with the opera, and he walked over to me. I was nervous. And he said, "I see you have been studying the tenor."

I said, "Actually, I've been studying you. And I don't know what I've been doing with my voice all these years." He smiled ear to ear and said, "You do not sell as many records as you have if you're not doing the right thing. Let's rehearse." 

That was the beginning of our friendship.

How does the career that you've built compare to what you envisioned for yourself when you were first starting out in the business?

Sometimes I feel like I'm the Forrest Gump of the music business. Because each scene, I'm standing next to Stevie Wonder , or Ray Charles , or Pavarotti, or Paul McCartney , or somebody who's a part of my love of music and were a powerful influence on me. I never thought, One day I'd love to meet this person or with this person. It just happened. When it finally started happening, it just became surreal. Dream-like.

What's left on the Michael Bolton bucket bucket list?

I think there's definitely some more recording to do. There is also definitely more streaming television, film, comedy. And maybe it's a musical, maybe it's a film, I'm not sure, but there are a couple of projects looming. 

At the same time, when we got offered to do the Lonely Island "Jack Sparrow" video, it was a surprise. So I'm kind of thinking that what's gonna happen it's gonna reveal itself, and surprise me again. 

Do you think you'd ever do another Lonely Island thing, was that such a moment that you can't really repeat it?  

I would do it in a heartbeat if the script had "funny" written all over it. That's the only sin you can have with comedy, is for it not to be funny. Then you can't get away with anything.

Living Legends: Duran Duran Are Still Hungry After All These Years

Living Legends: Kool & The Gang Are Still Celebrating On New Album, 'People Just Want To Have Fun'

The last original members of three-time GRAMMY-winning group Kool & The Gang discuss stories behind their classic hits, hip-hop samples, and how they kept the creativity going on their new album.

Living Legends is a series that spotlights icons in music who are still going strong today. This week, GRAMMY.com spoke with Robert Bell and George Brown, respectively the bassist and drummer of legendary funk/disco group Kool & The Gang. Their latest album ,  People Just Want To Have Fun , is out now and the group are touring throughout the summer and fall .

Fifty-nine years into their career, Kool & The Gang 's music endures and still gets the party going. You can't go to a wedding or other big celebration without hearing one of the GRAMMY winners' many undeniably groovy, joyful classics — "Jungle Boogie" (1973), "Celebration" (1980), "Get Down On It" (1981), "Ladies Night" (1979), to name a few.  And they're still making new music!

The group's iconic horns and drums are the DNA of so much other music — over 1900 tracks — including many classic hip-hop tracks, making them one of the most-sampled bands ever. Their chilled 1974 instrumental "Summer Madness" is featured on DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince 's "Summertime," Ice Cube 's "You Know How We Do It," and more recently, as the main instrumental in Jhené Aiko 's "Summer 2020." Elements of "Jungle Boogie" can be heard on Luniz and Mike Marshall's "I Got 5 on It," TLC 's "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg," Madonna 's "Erotica" and Public Enemy 's "Welcome to the Terrordome." Last year, 23-year-old Brazilian house sensation Mochakk paid tribute to one of their deep cuts, "Sombrero Sam," with a dance floor reimagining of the jazz track.

Kool & The Gang often get tagged as a disco band, but real heads know they got their start in jazz. Their 1970 self-titled debut album is fully instrumental and opens with a funky, swinging, jubilant mission statement that just makes you feel good. The group's fourth studio album, 1973's Wild And Peaceful saw them channel their funk and disco power and breakthrough into the charts and the wider public consciousness, with "Funky Stuff," "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging."

Their funky tunes have also soundtracked a wide range of memorable moments in film. 1976's "Open Sesame" was featured in the wildly popular film (and soundtrack) Saturday Night Fever , cementing their status as household names in disco. "Summer Madness" was featured in another huge blockbuster, 1976's Rocky , and in 1994, Quentin Tarantino featured "Jungle Boogie" in Pulp Fiction (and on the soundtrack), bringing their music to another generation.

In 1979, the band brought in Brazilian producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Eumir Deodato and their first lead vocalist James "J.T." Taylor. This led to a string of hit singles and albums: Ladies' Night in 1979, Celebrate! in 1980 and Something Special in 1981. The band continued with a prolific release schedule through the '90s, followed by two studio albums each in the '90s and '00s. In 2021, they released Perfect Union, their first original music in over a decade and final project with Ronald Bell.

The band began in 1964 with brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald "Khalis" Bell, along with high school friends Dennis "D.T." Thomas, George Brown, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Ricky West and Charles Smith in their hometown of Jersey City, New Jersey. The surviving original members – bassist Robert "Kool" Bell and drummer George Brown – are keen to continue their mission of bringing joyful music to the world with live shows and new music as long as they can. 

They recently released a new LP — their 34th studio album! — People Just Want To Have Fun and are touring North America this summer, along with a Las Vegas residency in October. The album features some of the last studio work from the band’s late legendary horn players Thomas and Ronald Bell. Brown also has a brand-new memoir, Too Hot: Kool & The Gang & Me , detailing the legendary self-taught drummer and songwriter's musical and life journey.

GRAMMY.com sat down with the living funk legends Robert Bell and Brown to discuss the stories behind some of their classics, the hit-making partnership with Deodato and Taylor, and their new album.

Kool & the Gang has performed continuously longer than any other R&B group and y'all have been together for 59 years. What's your secret?  

George Brown : A love for the art of music and for the arts as a whole, and a love for performing for people to give them two hours of happiness and relief from the everyday humdrum and all that's going on in this world. We love to perform and it gives us a release as well. It brings people together big time. And that changes the quality of society and culture because you're bringing people together, and all those cultures mix and we believe makes us all better for it. 

Robert "Kool" Bell: Well, sticking together. When we first started, our parents always told us, "Be sure that you guys stick together." That was many years ago. Before Kool & the Gang, we called ourselves the Jazziacs, which we started in 1964. Then we were the Soul Town Band, then Kool & the Flames, then Kool & the Gang in 1969 when we put out our very first record. We have been together for all those years; next year will be 60 years. 

Kool & the Gang is one of the most-sampled bands. What does it mean to you that your music has played such an important part in hip-hop, throughout its continued evolution over the past 50 years?  

Brown: It's a great honor for the younger artists to see and hear what we were doing and to apply it into their music. [It's like] people saying, "We love what they've done. Let's try it in our music and make another entity out of it." You can't get more honored than that. 

Bell : It's a blessing. We are the most sampled band in hip-hop, but we are also [one of] the most sampled bands in the world.  

What do you feel when you hear Kool & the Gang's horns and drums on another track, in a whole new context?  

Brown: Once again, I feel honored. It shows the awareness people have of Kool & The Gang, and that's a wonderful thing that adds to the longevity and to the mystique. And I think it also adds to the genius of the band, in what we created — I don't mean it in an egotistical way — where it can be co-opted into somebody else's music and it works for them too. 

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine to be honored this way. When we started [making music] there was no such thing as sampling and even in the early '80s when things started coming up, we didn't think we were going to be such a darling of the hip-hop world. Now, we're [one of] the most sampled bands and I'm the most sampled drummer. An interviewer said I'm like the grandfather of this music and I said " Really ?" My bandmates and I don't let it go to our heads. At the end of the day, like everybody else, we're guys who write songs to make people happy. 

Bell: It tells me that people are listening and respect what we do. There have been some very creative songs [sampling our music]—"Summer Madness" on Will Smith's "Summertime" Diddy and Mase [did "Feel So Good"] with "Hollywood Swinging," A Tribe Called Quest [on "Oh My God" and "Mr. Muhammad."] There's many, many more.  

"Jungle Boogie" is one of those iconic, oft-sampled tracks. How did that one come together?

Bell: My brother Ronald was the key writer for "Jungle Boogie." We were dealing with some issues with our record company at the time. They came to us and said, "Listen, you guys have some regional hits but we have a guy that we want to work with you.” He had some big records, [including] "Soul Makossa" by Manu Dibango. We met with the guy one time and we weren't really feeling it. So we went to the studio — Baggy's in Downtown New York — one morning and we created "Funky Stuff," "Hollywood Swinging" and "Jungle Boogie" — Top 5 records. Well, Top 40 for "Funky Stuff," but No. 1 on the R&B chart for six or seven weeks and the other two [were] Top 5 on the pop charts. 

Brown: Long story short, we started working on some tracks as we got to rehearsal studio and Ronald had the horn line and I came in over that groove, which is kind of derivative of "Funky Stuff." We were going to call the song "Jungle Gym" but Dennis Thomas came in and said "Let's call it “People Boogie" or "Jungle Boogie." So we started putting horns that kind of sounded like elephants.  

Quentin Tarantino did us one of the biggest favors of all when he put it in Pulp Fiction . It was crazy. Who would have thought? 

It was the same with "Hollywood Swinging." Ricky said, "I have an idea for a song called 'Hollywood.'" Frankie Crocker was a big [radio] DJ in New York and he had a thing where he'd go " Hollywooood ." It's a life story about him, going out to California to become successful, sort of like a reverse of "Midnight Train to Georgia." We don't say “These are hits!” we just say, "Okay, sounds good." And people get it and take it to another level. It's amazing. 

Do you think that the specific combination of the bandmates being friends and having known each other for a long time helps creatively?

Brown: Absolutely. Because if you take any band and the way they play guitar or bass or horns or piano, the pressure that they play with, the way they strum their guitar, the way they move the air, it's personal to them. When the chemistry works between the drummer and the bass player, because of the sensitivities and the way they play, it just works . And next thing you know, you have a whole band and the chemistry is there, no matter how long you've been apart. As soon as you sit down together, that same sound comes out. 

In the late '70s, the band started working with Brazilian producer Eumir Deodato. How did that partnership come together and how did he help shape the band's sound?

Brown: That's my dude. He's a wonderful musician. You know, when he was in Brazil at 17, so many people asked him to produce and write strings and arrangements. He's got a bunch of his own gold and platinum albums, [in addition to] other artists'. 

Deodato acknowledged my writing and took it to another level. 

I was always writing poems and lyrics and playing piano and I'd get a solo on the album. But it wouldn't be taken as seriously until he came along. Everything we worked on with him went platinum. It was like he had a magic wand. I presume it was from learning from him when we were working together, just bringing up our acumen as producers and musicians. 

Bell: Deodato was doing his album at the House of Music and that's how we met him, because we also chose that studio to record the Ladies Night project. Of course, we knew Deodato because he was a jazz guy, and my brother was a jazz lover as well. We thought that would be a perfect match. 

We figured that working with Deodato we'd do a jazzier album. [ Laughs .] But it was less jazz and more pop. For the session when we did "Celebration" and Deodato brought in a 40-piece orchestra. When they started mixing the record, my brother went into the studio and said, "What happened to the strings?" Deodato said, "Well, that's not the record. This is the record. This is a hit. Here's a tape of the orchestra so you can listen to it whenever you want." 

["Celebration" became the] most played record in the world, a No. 1 record; they even played on the space station. Deodato knew it. He knew where we wanted to go and where he wanted to take us. That was a successful match for three albums. 

What do you think Deodato helped bring out of you, George?

Brown: He was the guy that said, "That sounds great. Those chord changes and that melody, that works." He'd come in when I was playing piano in the studio before work, I'd be playing flowery stuff, just making up stuff. But he would say, "Señor, you've done it again! That's quite cute." He knows . And that's the genius. I think [he has] that type of personality that can really see through a maze and say there's something there and point it out.

Did y'all have any idea "Ladies Night" would be as big as it was?

Bell: Well, we felt good about it. This was our very first record with a lead singer. I was hanging out in New York with my wife and we were going to Studio 54 and Regine's and some of the other hotspots in New York at the time. And we realized that every weekend there was a ladies' night. I went to the guys and said, "Hey, I have a great idea for a song with our new lead singer. Ladies night." My brother said, "Wow. There's one of those everywhere around the world." Frankie Crocker broke that record in New York. 

Brown: It was also a big surprise. I was coming from my manager's office, walking down Seventh Avenue, and I came up with a baseline and when I got back to my apartment, I started harmonizing the piano chords. 

When all of us started working on it, we put some horns in there that were expressing the same lyrics the girls were singing, and some disco sounds. It was the right tempo and everybody sounded great. Then it's platinum, platinum, platinum, overnight. It just kept going. Holy smokes, it was crazy. When I showed [Deodato] the track he said, " Ah , señor, this is what we're looking for!" Getting with the right people and taking their counsel always works.

The band started out jazzier, then went funk and disco, into R&B and '80s flavor and beyond. How have you been able to adapt to a changing music landscape while staying fresh and true to yourselves?  

Bell: Well, when you hear one of our records, you can tell that it's Kool & The Gang. On the vocal side, there's been some changes. We've had different lead singers since J.T. left, but we always put our little sound in there; in the horns, in the baseline, guitar parts. 

Brown: We write we want and what we feel, not because everybody's writing this now. And we're pretty eclectic. We were interviewed in England and the gentleman said, "You guys are very eclectic, you got some big cojones. Most artists find their niche and stay there." We never have. 

It's something very specific about the band because we've always been open. We were teenage jazz musicians turned pop stars. Jazz is very eclectic… it's not just a common cadence. That's what we love, so that's how we've always been. 

You have a new album, People Just Want To Have Fun . Tell me about the inspiration for it.

Brown: It is like everything we've done from the beginning to now, but all the new harmonics and cadence. The vocals and lyrics are different, but we're still talking about having fun. And we're still bringing some wonderful love songs and some songs of unrequited love and temptation and party songs.

The lyrics and the vocal quality are different. Sha Sha Jones, who's a great [song]writer who has been writing on our team for years, she's doing some of the leads, which is unusual for Kool & The Gang. [She has a] gorgeous voice. It's harmonically, lyrically and vocally new. We have different mixes coming out. The "Let's Party" pop mix is out and a rap with Afrobeat mix is coming.

Has it been challenging to continue the legacy of the band after the loss of Ronald and Dennis? 

Brown : Well, that's why we did the album. We lost our manager some months ago as well. We're moving right along and the band is doing well. And the legacy of the band — God willing, 100 years from now they'll still be playing our songs. I do believe that. 

It goes on — it's sad, but there's nothing you can do but press on regardless, because that's what life is all about. You can't say, "Oh, that's it." You have to pick yourself up each time and strengthen yourself and move forward. That is the spirit of humanity. 

Bell: Yes, it has always been a little difficult when you lose original members. That was with Ricky Wes, Spike Mickens, Charles Smith, now my brother and D.T. There's no one left but George and I. The blessing is that we're still here, people are loving the music, and we're still touring and having fun. [ Chuckles ] 

When you were a kid in Jersey City, did you ever imagine you'd still be making music now, and that your music would be so loved and celebrated? 

Brown: Believe it or not, yes . Ronald knew it. I knew that what we were doing was going to blossom. To what extent, I didn't know. As kids in Jersey City, working in the clubs when we were teenagers to two o'clock in the morning, that gave us a taste. And it just blossomed.

When we did amateur hour at the Apollo Theater, the musicians who were in the orchestra said, "You guys are going to make it. You guys got this new thing." Honi Coles was emceeing and he said, "You see these kids, ladies and gentlemen, they come out and they play jazz, they're not playing the songs of today. You're going to hear from them. Watch." 

Bell: It definitely has been a blessing, in a business that can sometimes be very difficult to survive in, with so much competition and making the right decisions, etcetera, etcetera. I have a saying, you live and learn, and then you learn to live. People sometimes ask me, "Would you do it the same way again?" Yeah, because that's how I learned what it's all about. That's why we're still around today. And that, indeed, is a blessing.

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Living Legends to Start Off the New Year with Vibrant Pre Tour Performance

The living legends begin the year as its performers represent a variety of cultures, creating connection amidst the global pandemic.

Through costume, storytelling, dance and music Living Legends present their pre tour performance in a celebration of Polynesian, Native American and Latino American cultures and a debut of their new show “Storytellers.” Indigenous performers will share their talents as they present a sweeping view of heritage from North and South America and the South Pacific.

The performance will take place in the Richards Building Dance Performance Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 14.

For ticket information, visit arts.byu.edu .

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All patrons are required to wear a mask while indoors at campus performance venues, regardless of vaccination status.

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Living Legends, Brother Ali, Reverie, Hobbyist: How The Grouch Stole Xmas

December 1, 2023 @ 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm.

Midtown Events Presents Living Legends, Brother Ali, and Reverie “How The Grouch Stole Christmas Tour 2023” Friday, Dec. 1 at Midtown Ballroom in Bend! Special guests Hobbyist. Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm. This is an all ages show.

VIP available at https://www.therealgrouch.com/

The Living Legends, a loose collective of MCs and DJs from Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Japan, and Europe. They are unique for both their down-to-earth songs and approach to the music business. One of the leaders of the DIY movement during the late 90’s, the Legends also chose to stay independent from record labels, joining the likes of Rhymesayers and Def Jux. After a four year hiatus since they last co-headlined Paid Dues in 2012, w/ Wu-Tang and Odd Future, the Living Legends are making their comeback to the stage starting in November 2015 at the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival.

The founding nucleus of the Living Legends, The Grouch, Sunspot Jonz, and Luckyiam, met in 1995 and soon after embarked on the first of a long series of self-funded tours abroad to Europe and Japan. Upon their return, they met up with a trio called 3MG or Three Melancholy Gypsies (MURS, Eligh, and Scarub) who had broken off from their Los Angeles-based group Log Cabin of the Good Life Cafe and reunited in Oakland. The sextet officially formed Living Legends in 1996 (along with Aesop and Bicasso) and gained national recognition for their self made and distributed releases, totaling over 20 in 97-99 alone.

As their fame grew, the Legends tirelessly visited the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Over the next 8 years the group would go on to release seven albums as Living Legends and over 100 titles as either individuals or sub-groups, selling well over a million units and maintaining the independent business model. One of the groups leaders, Murs would eventually found the world renowned Paid Dues Festival which was a festival celebrating independent artists and grew to 30k attendees in 2012. The festival hosted performers such as Kendrick Lamar, Odd Future, De La Soul, Rakim, Black Hippy, Atmosphere, Wu-Tang, Heiroglyphics, Ice Cube, Dilated Peoples, DJ Quick, Macklemore, and many many more.

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In a performance of culturally inspired dance, music, and costumes, Brigham Young University’s Living Legends celebrates the Latin American, Native American, and Polynesian cultures in their show, Storytellers.

There is nothing new in the legend that we are about to tell. It has been told in every age, in every land, in every tongue. It is the story of today and tomorrow—of how we connect with the Earth, each other, and those who have gone before. This is the story of the Living Legends.

Spectacular choreography, colorful costumes, and heart-pounding music bring to life the skill, beauty, and authenticity of these traditional cultures. All Living Legends members are of Native American, Latin American, or Polynesian heritage. Storytellers reflects the cycle of civilizations and weaves together the legends of the past with the reality of today. From the exciting Polynesian haka and poi and the graceful Mexican Fiesta dances to the expertise behind the Native American Hoop Dance, this is an experience you won’t want to miss.

Living Legends tours around the globe to places such as Australia, Canada, Europe, the Pacific Islands, and South America. In 2021, the group toured the eastern United States where they performed in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and California. In 2022, the group will tour Mexico, where they will perform in Guadalajara, Querétaro, Mexico City, Puebla, Oaxaxa, Mérida, Cancún, and Tulum.

During the summer of 2013, Living Legends traveled to Central America and performed for enthusiastic crowds in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. One of the highlights was a performance in Nicaragua, where the president of the National Assembly, Santos René Núñez Téllez, and his council were present in the audience. Mr. Téllez expressed he was profoundly moved and impressed with the show. He remarked that, “a culture does not die when it dies, it dies when it is forgotten. Your show rescues culture and heritage.”

In addition to performances while on tour, Living legends participates in community services and school assemblies, where they encourage students to pursue higher education.

One of the main goals of Living Legends is to encourage all people to take pride in their individual heritage and continuously better themselves. This focus is demonstrated in performances worldwide. The Office of Culture in Guatemala said, “Your performance was wonderful. Your presence here teaches our people something—to have high ideals and to talk proudly as a people. We hope this community will not be the same after tonight.”

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1110 New York Avenue, Alamogordo, NM 88310

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BYU Living Legends

Feb 20, 2022, 3:00 – 5:00 AM

U.S. - Sacramento

To buy tickets, see link in "About this Event" section below. BYU Productions is bringing their Living Legends tour group to Sacramento this February. We are excited to be hosting this group for one performance only at the Harris Center located at Folsom Lake College on Saturday Feb 19, 2022.

About this event

Buy your tickets at: https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/byumanagementsociety/6863/event/1253566.

BYU Productions is bringing their Living Legends tour group to Sacramento this February. We are excited to be hosting this group for one performance only at the Harris Center located at Folsom Lake College on Saturday Feb 19, 2022. All profits from the show will be donated to our local chapter of the BYU Alumni Association’ scholarship fund to support students from the Sacramento Area. 

Sunday, February 20, 2022 3:00 AM – 5:00 AM UTC

Harris Center - Folsom Lake College 10 College Parkway Folsom, 95630

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Life After Racing

Meet the legends.

We provide the perfect setting for people of every age to mix and mingle, get up close and personal, and really come to know these former champions. Through guided tours, photo opportunities, options to feed and pat, visitors are treated to one on one interactions with equine royalty.

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Tickets for the tours are available from the Woodlands Homestead on arrival or book via the online shop.

Please contact our staff to arrange group bookings so that our team can accommodate your plans and ensure your needs are met.

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Our menu offers a selection of snacks, treats, light meals and beverages, and our speciality, Devonshire Tea from 10am-3.30pm each day.

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Woodlands Historic Park

Explore & discover.

Woodlands Historic Park totals over 700 hectares (1730 acres). The park contains valuable remnants of the most southerly Victorian extent of grassy woodland open forest.

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You can combine a pleasant walk in the Australian bush with the opportunity to see scores of eastern grey kangaroos bounding across the sweeping grasslands of Woodlands Historic Park, together with plenty of other Australian native wildlife.

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2024 GROUP DISCOUNTS - Living Legends 16 2-Pack: Entry, Air for Two + 5 Cases: $237/person w/ 2.5 cases each, Save $100+ (474.95) SAVE $100+   ($449.95 total ) 4-Pack: Entry, Air for Four + 10 Cases: $231/person w/ 2.5 cases each, SAVE $200+   ($924.95 total) 6-Pack: Entry, Air for Six + 15 Cases: $229/person w/ 2.5 cases each, SAVE $350+   ($1,374.95 total) 8-Pack: Entry, Air for Eight + 20 Cases: $224/person w/...

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World Famous Living Legends, the most talked-about paintball event in the world, heads home to Hells Survivors in MI - the CAN'T-MISS event for 2024. May 16-19, 2024 Pre-Registration Pricing -Entry $59.95-Air $14.95-Paint: $74.95 per case. Day of Event:-Entry: $74.95-Air: $14.95-Paint: $79.95 per case

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Ballroom Dance Company

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About Living Legends

In a celebration of the cultural heritage of North and South America and the South Pacific, Living Legends presents a vibrant display of energy, music, costume, and dance. Talented performers of native descent capture the rhythms of Polynesia, portray the fascinating legends of Native American people, and dazzle the senses with the energy of Latin […]

"A culture does not die when it dies, it dies when it is forgotten. Your show rescues culture and heritage."

President Santo René Núñez Téllez, Managua, Nicaragua

The Boss is back: Bruce Springsteen launches 2024 tour with a joyous Phoenix concert

W hen Rolling Stone invited readers to vote for the greatest live acts of all time in 2011, it’s doubtful the results came as a huge surprise to anyone.

Not only did Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band win the popular vote, they did it without “a close second anywhere in sight."

And that’s because their concerts were — and are , as they reminded us as Springsteen relaunched his postponed world tour on Tuesday, March 19, at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix — the stuff of legends.

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Springsteen and The E Street Band stretch the boundaries of what it means to prove it all night while chasing moments of transcendence that can range from deeply moving to profoundly silly.

Bruce Springsteen setlist 2024: Every song he sang at Phoenix tour relaunch

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band relaunched their tour in Phoenix

The last time Springsteen brought the E Street Band to Phoenix , on a tour in 2016 re-exploring “The River,” they turned in a 3½-hour concert whose truly awe-inspiring six-song encore ended in a spirited revival of the Isley Brothers’ “Shout.”

The fans who flocked to Footprint Center on Tuesday night were on a pilgrimage to see the relaunch of the E Street Band’s first tour since then — a tour cut short in 2023 as Springsteen was treated for peptic ulcer disease, a potentially serious gastrointestinal condition.

Springsteen turned 74 in late September 2023. Four days later, he broke the news that he’d been forced to postpone all remaining concerts booked for 2023 “out of an abundance of caution.”

Naturally, I went into the Springsteen concert on Tuesday night assuming I might feel the need to make allowances for age and health and everything those words imply, especially when used that close together.

But the Springsteen who rocked that arena in Phoenix on Tuesday didn’t need my well-intentioned qualifiers.

He 'just kind of shot through the roof': How Phoenix radio made Bruce Springsteen the Boss

Springsteen brought his A-game to the relaunch of his world tour

The man brought his A-game at the helm of an 18-member E Street Band (or 17 if you’re not counting Springsteen as a member of that band, which seems a bit ridiculous) in a breathless journey through their glory days with an energy that only seemed to flag in the course of their nearly three-hour performance when the song itself demanded it.

He’s certainly scaled back on the physicality of his performance style.

There were no bent-knee slides across the stage. No leaping to rival a young Pete Townshend. But the sense of showmanship remains, from the playful rapport of Springsteen's onstage antics with the members of the E Street Band to the charming self-awareness of his dance moves to that moment toward the end where he tore his shirt open for no apparent reason other than to entertain.

His voice has aged a bit since the first time he followed that iconic shout of “1-2-3-4” with “the highway’s jammed with broken heroes on a last-chance power drive.” But he’s too good a singer to let that compromise the essence of his vocals, settling into a more conversational delivery on “Born to Run” that made it feel like you were hearing those same lyrics for the first time after knowing them for nearly 50 years while also sidestepping the high notes.

Springsteen and the E Street Band are on a search-and-rescue mission

My favorite Springsteen memory is the E Street Band reunion show I saw in 1999 at the Meadowlands in Jersey, where the Boss announced that they were on a “search-and-rescue mission” to regenerate, rejuvenate and otherwise rekindle the spark that is “the majesty, the mystery and the ministry of rock ‘n’ roll.”

Of course they were.

And 25 years later? Springsteen seemed as committed as ever to that search-and-rescue mission, from the time he and his bandmates made their entrance one-by-one to set the tone with “Lonesome Day,” one of three songs they played from “The Rising,” to the raucous rendition of “Twist and Shout” that brought the encore to a joyous climax, having been requested by an 18-year-old fan whose sign said this was his first Springsteen concert.

That kid obviously picked a good night to be introduced to what it means to witness Springsteen in his element, leading the E Street Band in a 29-song overview of his career.

Highlights ranged from 'Born to Run' to 'Dancing in the Dark'

The setlist made its way through countless classics, reaching back to his first album, “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.,” for a loose-limbed “Spirit in the Night,” and touching on a number of the most beloved songs on “Born to Run” and “Darkness on the Edge of Town” as well as “No Surrender,” “Dancing in the Dark” and other crowd-pleasing highlights of “Born in the U.S.A.,” a 17-times-platinum mainstream-saturating exercise in world domination that remains his most successful album.

They also dusted off a handful of the soul and R&B songs Springsteen covered on his latest album, 2022’s “Only the Strong Survive,” and three songs from his latest album of original material, “Letter To You,” including the solo acoustic version of “I’ll See You In My Dreams” that brought the encore to a haunted finish.

But what made that concert special went beyond what songs they played.

The E Street Band remain a force of nature, despite the loss of Clarence Clemons — “the Big Man” as his joining of the band is celebrated even now in “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” — and Danny Federici, who played organ, glockenspiel and accordion from the time they put the band together in Belmar, New Jersey, until his death in 2008.

Springsteen honored their memory during “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," during which their images were flashed across the screens above the stage.

The new, expanded E Street Band was brilliant

The current edition of the E Street Band is a three-guitar army with Springsteen, the Valley's own Nils Lofgren and Steven Van Zandt taking turns in the spotlight, two great keyboard players (Roy Bittan and touring member Charles Giordano), violinist Soozie Tyrell, the stellar rhythm section of drummer Max Weinberg and bassist Garry Tallent, and 44-year-old Jake Clemons still doing an excellent job of honoring his uncle, Clarence Clemons, who died in 2011, with the swagger (and physical stature) one would need to even try to fill those shoes.

There’s a flashiness to Lofgren’s soloing that’s undeniable while Springsteen squeezes out the sparks in solos that rely more on the power of each individual note and how it’s phrased, as evidenced on “Prove It All Night,” in particular, while indulging in some low-end twang Duane Eddy would’ve envied on a fantastic “Letter to You.”

The E Street Band’s ranks are further fleshed out in their current incarnation by four backup singers, a four-man horn squad and percussionist Anthony Almonte.

It was quite the crowded stage.

Springsteen kept the banter to a minimum in Phoenix

Springsteen's legend is based in part on his conversational approach to showmanship, as evidenced by the classic monologues captured on “Live/1975–85.” 

But he kept the chit-chat to a minimum for much of Tuesday’s concert.

Taking the stage in a red-and-black flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled extra high, he greeted the fans with a quick “Good evening, Arizona. 1-2-3-4” and barely said another word until he’d made it through “The Promised Land,” the 10th song of the night.

Springsteen eulogized his teenage bandmate George Theiss

His first big monologue was 14 songs deep, after “Mary’s Place,” when he introduced the poignant “Last Man Standing” with the story of George Theiss, a bandmate he met at 15.

“It was 1965,” he began.

“I was 15 years old and I had been playing guitar for about six months when one summer afternoon, I heard a knock on my door and it was George Theiss, a school friend of mine, and he was looking for a guitar player to audition for his band.”

Springsteen passed the audition in a “shotgun shack” and “embarked on the greatest adventure of my life,” he said. “I played in my first real rock ‘n’ roll band and it lasted for three years. As kids. Three years! That’s a lifetime for teenagers.”

Fast forward 50 years and a much older Springsteen is visiting Theiss on his deathbed as his former bandmate is dying of cancer.

“He only had a few days to live,” Springsteen said. “And I realized that his passing would leave me as the last living member of that first band, the Castiles.”

Springsteen spoke of 'death's final and lasting gift to us'

Death brings a certain clarity, Springsteen said. “Death’s final and lasting gift to us, the living, is you get an expanded vision of the life you can live yourself. George’s death made me realize, again, just how important it is to try and live every moment you’re here.”

And with that, the stage was set for “Last Man Standing,” a haunted highlight of his latest album of original material, “Letter to You.”

The tribute to his fallen bandmate carried over into “Backstreets,” one of several emotional highlights that ventured into existential territory.

He didn’t mention the loss of his mother, Adele Ann Springsteen, who died in January at 98. But there’s no doubt that she was on his mind.

Even "Night Shift," the Commodores cover from "Only the Strong Survive," felt like it tied into the existential theme.

After bringing the show to a crowd-pleasing climax in an encore packed with some of Springsteen’s most enduring calling cards, from “Born to Run” to “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” “Glory Days,” an anthemic “Dancing in the Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” Springsteen sent the other members of the E Street Band away after a joyous “Twist and Shout” to end the night with a solo acoustic rendition of “I’ll See You in My Dreams.”

"I'll see you in my dreams," he sang. "We'll meet and live and laugh again. I'll see you in my dreams, yeah, around the river bend. For death is not the end and I'll see you in my dreams."

Springsteen apologized for postponing his Phoenix concert

But first, he said he was sorry he had to reschedule his world tour.

“First, I want to apologize if there was any discomfort because we had to move the show last time,” he said. “I had a mother (expletive) of a bellyache. I hope we didn’t inconvenience you too much.”

Then after making a plea on behalf of St. Mary’s Food Bank , he brought the concert to an existential close with “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” a suitably haunted reflection on the friends he lost along the way.

It was a fitting close to a concert steeped in existential musings by a legend who invited us to take that long walk on his first release with “Growin’ Up.”

More than 50 years later, Springsteen is still growin’ up, inviting us to come along. It’s a beautiful thing if you’re willing to let your guard down and experience the ride.  

Bruce Springsteen setlist 2024: Every song he played in Phoenix

Here’s every song Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.

• “Lonesome Day”
• “No Surrender”
• “Two Hearts” (with snippet of “It Takes Two” by Marvin Gaye/Kim Weston)
• “Darlington County”
• “Prove it All Night”
• “Darkness on the Edge of Town”
• “Letter to You”
• “The Promised Land”
• “Spirit in the Night”
• “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)” (Ben E. King cover)
• “Night Shift” (Commodores cover)
• “Mary’s Place”
• “Last Man Standing”
• “Backstreets”
• “Because the Night”
• “She’s the One”
• “Wrecking Ball”
• “The Rising”
• “Thunder Road”
• “Born to Run”
• “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)”
• “Glory Days”
• “Dancing in the Dark”
• “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
• “Twist and Shout” (The Top Notes/Isley Brothers/Beatles cover by sign request)
• “I’ll See You in My Dreams”

Reach the reporter at  [email protected]  or 602-444-4495. Follow him on X  @ EdMasley .

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The Boss is back: Bruce Springsteen launches 2024 tour with a joyous Phoenix concert

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• Moscow State University: The tallest of Moscow's Seven Sisters, it's been housing the State University since 1953, being the tallest educational building in the world with its 240m of height.
• Zuev Workers' Club: Projected by Ilya Golossov to be a recreational center for factory workers, its construction was finished in 1929 and it's still a reference in Constructivist architecture.
• Spasskaya Tower: Overlooking the Red Square, this clock tower on the Kremlin's walls was built by Milanese architect Pietro Antonio Solari back in 1491, and once the Kremlin's main entrance.
• State History Museum: The State History Museum complex has been open since 1872, and houses many artifacts, varying from pre-historical relics to artworks acquired by the old royalty.
• Mercury City Tower: The 5th tallest builing in Russia and Europe overall, this 338m tall skyscaper in the International Business Center stands out for its copper glass façade and spiky shape.
• Bolshoi Theater: First opened in 1825, it's home of the internationally renowned classical ballet company, and premiered works of composers such as Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich.

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40 facts about elektrostal.

Written by Lanette Mayes

Modified & Updated: 02 Mar 2024

Reviewed by Jessica Corbett

Elektrostal is a vibrant city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia. With a rich history, stunning architecture, and a thriving community, Elektrostal is a city that has much to offer. Whether you are a history buff, nature enthusiast, or simply curious about different cultures, Elektrostal is sure to captivate you.

This article will provide you with 40 fascinating facts about Elektrostal, giving you a better understanding of why this city is worth exploring. From its origins as an industrial hub to its modern-day charm, we will delve into the various aspects that make Elektrostal a unique and must-visit destination.

So, join us as we uncover the hidden treasures of Elektrostal and discover what makes this city a true gem in the heart of Russia.

Key Takeaways:

• Elektrostal, known as the “Motor City of Russia,” is a vibrant and growing city with a rich industrial history, offering diverse cultural experiences and a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.
• With its convenient location near Moscow, Elektrostal provides a picturesque landscape, vibrant nightlife, and a range of recreational activities, making it an ideal destination for residents and visitors alike.

Known as the “Motor City of Russia.”

Elektrostal, a city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia, earned the nickname “Motor City” due to its significant involvement in the automotive industry.

Home to the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Elektrostal is renowned for its metallurgical plant, which has been producing high-quality steel and alloys since its establishment in 1916.

Boasts a rich industrial heritage.

Elektrostal has a long history of industrial development, contributing to the growth and progress of the region.

Founded in 1916.

The city of Elektrostal was founded in 1916 as a result of the construction of the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Located approximately 50 kilometers east of Moscow.

Elektrostal is situated in close proximity to the Russian capital, making it easily accessible for both residents and visitors.

Known for its vibrant cultural scene.

Elektrostal is home to several cultural institutions, including museums, theaters, and art galleries that showcase the city’s rich artistic heritage.

A popular destination for nature lovers.

Surrounded by picturesque landscapes and forests, Elektrostal offers ample opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and birdwatching.

Hosts the annual Elektrostal City Day celebrations.

Every year, Elektrostal organizes festive events and activities to celebrate its founding, bringing together residents and visitors in a spirit of unity and joy.

Has a population of approximately 160,000 people.

Elektrostal is home to a diverse and vibrant community of around 160,000 residents, contributing to its dynamic atmosphere.

Boasts excellent education facilities.

The city is known for its well-established educational institutions, providing quality education to students of all ages.

A center for scientific research and innovation.

Elektrostal serves as an important hub for scientific research, particularly in the fields of metallurgy, materials science, and engineering.

Surrounded by picturesque lakes.

The city is blessed with numerous beautiful lakes, offering scenic views and recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike.

Well-connected transportation system.

Elektrostal benefits from an efficient transportation network, including highways, railways, and public transportation options, ensuring convenient travel within and beyond the city.

Famous for its traditional Russian cuisine.

Food enthusiasts can indulge in authentic Russian dishes at numerous restaurants and cafes scattered throughout Elektrostal.

Home to notable architectural landmarks.

Elektrostal boasts impressive architecture, including the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Elektrostal Palace of Culture.

Offers a wide range of recreational facilities.

Residents and visitors can enjoy various recreational activities, such as sports complexes, swimming pools, and fitness centers, enhancing the overall quality of life.

Provides a high standard of healthcare.

Elektrostal is equipped with modern medical facilities, ensuring residents have access to quality healthcare services.

Home to the Elektrostal History Museum.

The Elektrostal History Museum showcases the city’s fascinating past through exhibitions and displays.

A hub for sports enthusiasts.

Elektrostal is passionate about sports, with numerous stadiums, arenas, and sports clubs offering opportunities for athletes and spectators.

Celebrates diverse cultural festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal hosts a variety of cultural festivals, celebrating different ethnicities, traditions, and art forms.

Electric power played a significant role in its early development.

Elektrostal owes its name and initial growth to the establishment of electric power stations and the utilization of electricity in the industrial sector.

Boasts a thriving economy.

The city’s strong industrial base, coupled with its strategic location near Moscow, has contributed to Elektrostal’s prosperous economic status.

Houses the Elektrostal Drama Theater.

The Elektrostal Drama Theater is a cultural centerpiece, attracting theater enthusiasts from far and wide.

Popular destination for winter sports.

Elektrostal’s proximity to ski resorts and winter sport facilities makes it a favorite destination for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter activities.

Promotes environmental sustainability.

Elektrostal prioritizes environmental protection and sustainability, implementing initiatives to reduce pollution and preserve natural resources.

Home to renowned educational institutions.

Elektrostal is known for its prestigious schools and universities, offering a wide range of academic programs to students.

Committed to cultural preservation.

The city values its cultural heritage and takes active steps to preserve and promote traditional customs, crafts, and arts.

Hosts an annual International Film Festival.

The Elektrostal International Film Festival attracts filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts from around the world, showcasing a diverse range of films.

Encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.

Elektrostal supports aspiring entrepreneurs and fosters a culture of innovation, providing opportunities for startups and business development.

Offers a range of housing options.

Elektrostal provides diverse housing options, including apartments, houses, and residential complexes, catering to different lifestyles and budgets.

Home to notable sports teams.

Elektrostal is proud of its sports legacy, with several successful sports teams competing at regional and national levels.

Boasts a vibrant nightlife scene.

Residents and visitors can enjoy a lively nightlife in Elektrostal, with numerous bars, clubs, and entertainment venues.

Promotes cultural exchange and international relations.

Elektrostal actively engages in international partnerships, cultural exchanges, and diplomatic collaborations to foster global connections.

Surrounded by beautiful nature reserves.

Nearby nature reserves, such as the Barybino Forest and Luchinskoye Lake, offer opportunities for nature enthusiasts to explore and appreciate the region’s biodiversity.

Commemorates historical events.

The city pays tribute to significant historical events through memorials, monuments, and exhibitions, ensuring the preservation of collective memory.

Promotes sports and youth development.

Elektrostal invests in sports infrastructure and programs to encourage youth participation, health, and physical fitness.

Hosts annual cultural and artistic festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal celebrates its cultural diversity through festivals dedicated to music, dance, art, and theater.

Provides a picturesque landscape for photography enthusiasts.

The city’s scenic beauty, architectural landmarks, and natural surroundings make it a paradise for photographers.

Connects to Moscow via a direct train line.

The convenient train connection between Elektrostal and Moscow makes commuting between the two cities effortless.

A city with a bright future.

Elektrostal continues to grow and develop, aiming to become a model city in terms of infrastructure, sustainability, and quality of life for its residents.

In conclusion, Elektrostal is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant present. From its origins as a center of steel production to its modern-day status as a hub for education and industry, Elektrostal has plenty to offer both residents and visitors. With its beautiful parks, cultural attractions, and proximity to Moscow, there is no shortage of things to see and do in this dynamic city. Whether you’re interested in exploring its historical landmarks, enjoying outdoor activities, or immersing yourself in the local culture, Elektrostal has something for everyone. So, next time you find yourself in the Moscow region, don’t miss the opportunity to discover the hidden gems of Elektrostal.

Q: What is the population of Elektrostal?

A: As of the latest data, the population of Elektrostal is approximately XXXX.

Q: How far is Elektrostal from Moscow?

A: Elektrostal is located approximately XX kilometers away from Moscow.

Q: Are there any famous landmarks in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to several notable landmarks, including XXXX and XXXX.

Q: What industries are prominent in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal is known for its steel production industry and is also a center for engineering and manufacturing.

Q: Are there any universities or educational institutions in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to XXXX University and several other educational institutions.

Q: What are some popular outdoor activities in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal offers several outdoor activities, such as hiking, cycling, and picnicking in its beautiful parks.

Q: Is Elektrostal well-connected in terms of transportation?

A: Yes, Elektrostal has good transportation links, including trains and buses, making it easily accessible from nearby cities.

Q: Are there any annual events or festivals in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal hosts various events and festivals throughout the year, including XXXX and XXXX.

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Moscow Metro Tour

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Description

Moscow metro private tours.

• 2-hour tour $87:  10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off
• 3-hour tour $137:  20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. 
• Metro pass is included in the price of both tours.

Highlight of Metro Tour

• Visit 10 must-see stations of Moscow metro on 2-hr tour and 20 Metro stations on 3-hr tour, including grand Komsomolskaya station with its distinctive Baroque décor, aristocratic Mayakovskaya station with Soviet mosaics, legendary Revolution Square station with 72 bronze sculptures and more!
• Explore Museum of Moscow Metro and learn a ton of technical and historical facts;
• Listen to the secrets about the Metro-2, a secret line supposedly used by the government and KGB;
• Experience a selection of most striking features of Moscow Metro hidden from most tourists and even locals;
• Discover the underground treasure of Russian Soviet past – from mosaics to bronzes, paintings, marble arches, stained glass and even paleontological elements;
• Learn fun stories and myths about Coffee Ring, Zodiac signs of Moscow Metro and more;
• Admire Soviet-era architecture of pre- and post- World War II perious;
• Enjoy panoramic views of Sparrow Hills from Luzhniki Metro Bridge – MetroMost, the only station of Moscow Metro located over water and the highest station above ground level;
• If lucky, catch a unique «Aquarelle Train» – a wheeled picture gallery, brightly painted with images of peony, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers and each car unit is unique;
• Become an expert at navigating the legendary Moscow Metro system;
• Have fun time with a very friendly local;
• + Atmospheric Metro lunch in Moscow’s the only Metro Diner (included in a 3-hr tour)

Hotel Pick-up

Metro stations:.

Komsomolskaya

Novoslobodskaya

Prospekt Mira

Belorusskaya

Mayakovskaya

Novokuznetskaya

Revolution Square

Sparrow Hills

+ for 3-hour tour

Victory Park

Slavic Boulevard

Vystavochnaya

Dostoevskaya

Elektrozavodskaya

Partizanskaya

Museum of Moscow Metro

• Drop-off  at your hotel, Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills or any place you wish
• + Russian lunch  in Metro Diner with artistic metro-style interior for 3-hour tour

Fun facts from our Moscow Metro Tours:

From the very first days of its existence, the Moscow Metro was the object of civil defense, used as a bomb shelter, and designed as a defense for a possible attack on the Soviet Union.

At a depth of 50 to 120 meters lies the second, the coded system of Metro-2 of Moscow subway, which is equipped with everything you need, from food storage to the nuclear button.

According to some sources, the total length of Metro-2 reaches over 150 kilometers.

The Museum was opened on Sportivnaya metro station on November 6, 1967. It features the most interesting models of trains and stations.

Coffee Ring

The first scheme of Moscow Metro looked like a bunch of separate lines. Listen to a myth about Joseph Stalin and the main brown line of Moscow Metro.

Zodiac Metro

According to some astrologers, each of the 12 stops of the Moscow Ring Line corresponds to a particular sign of the zodiac and divides the city into astrological sector.

Astrologers believe that being in a particular zadiac sector of Moscow for a long time, you attract certain energy and events into your life.

Paleontological finds 

Red marble walls of some of the Metro stations hide in themselves petrified inhabitants of ancient seas. Try and find some!

• Every day each car in  Moscow metro passes  more than 600 km, which is the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
• Moscow subway system is the  5th in the intensity  of use (after the subways of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai).
• The interval in the movement of trains in rush hour is  90 seconds .

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

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