Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's new album, The Rising, sold nearly 525,000 copies its first week out to debut at Number One (week ending August 17) on Billboard's Top 200 chart. The album also debuted at Number One in England, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Denmark and Norway.
On August 13, Columbia Records will release James Taylor's first new album in five years, October Road. Guests include Ry Cooder, saxophonist Michael Brecker and Taylor's daughter Sally, who sings background vocals on two tracks. The album includes Taylor's current hit On the 4th of July. August 13-16, he'll perform concerts in New York and Boston. On September 4, Taylor will begin a series of European concerts in London, England. He's also scheduled to perform in Glasgow, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Rome, Milan and Manchester.
The 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death will be marked on August 16. As part of a year-long tribute to The King, a three-volume DVD set that chronicles his rise to fame will be released on August 13. Volume One of Elvis: The Great Performances begins with his 1956 television debut on Stage Show and runs through his final television performance from a 1977 special. Volume Two features videos from a number of other TV specials, including "Aloha From Hawaii," "Elvis On Tour," and "Welcome Home Elvis." Volume Three is narrated by U2's Bono and covers Presley's eight appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and a number of his performances set to rare video footage. In related news, on August 13, Tomato Records will release a 16-track collection of Presley's live radio performances from the mid-1950s. Elvis Presley/Rots Revolution: The Louisiana Hayride Recordings features such classics as That's All Right Mama, Blue Moon of Kentucky and Maybellene.
The Recording Industry Association of America recently certified Garth Brooks' Double Live CD for sales exceeding 15 million units. This latest certification brings Garth's total album sales to 105 million. He remains the biggest-selling solo artist in the United States.
Speaking of RIAA certifications, the Dixie Chicks' album Fly received a Diamond Award for hitting the 10 million mark in sales. The trio received its first Diamond Award for Wide Open Spaces, which has sold more than 11 million copies to-date. This week (August 15 and 16), the Dixie Chicks will be in Hollywood, California to perform songs from its upcoming CD Home.
NEW ALBUM RELEASES / AUG. 13:
LOOK WHO'S GOING ON TOUR!
August 13 - veteran rock group Aerosmith will kick off a North American tour in Holmdel, New Jersey. Also on the bill are Kid Rock and Run-DMC. They'll perform 40 shows on the tour, which wraps up on November 14 in Mountain View, California. Aerosmith's latest album, O' Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits, includes two new songs, Lay It Down and the band's current single, Girls of Summer.