Rock Encyclopedia

Joe Cocker is, without a doubt, a true musical legend. With 40 years and counting as a major player in the music business, the singer with that unmistakable bluesy soul voice has earned countless accolades for his artistry—Grammys, Golden Globes, Academy Awards and platinum selling albums worldwide.

The iconic singer is now signed to 429 Records in North America and HARD KNOCKS - his 21st album, will be available from January 24th.  HARD KNOCKS is a collection of 9 all-new songs plus a cover version of the Dixie Chicks’  “I Hope.”

Produced by Matt Serletic (Matchbox 20, Carlos Santana), “HARD KNOCKS” has the timeless “Cocker” sound fusing soul, pop and rhythm and blues into an undeniably infectious mix of a singularly unique contemporary style.

The first single, title track “Hard Knocks,” has been racing up the AC Radio charts reaching #19* last week.  Cocker will also be interviewed on a forthcoming edition of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday—date TBD.  Those purchasing the album on iTunes will receive a special bundle which includes the CD, a digital booklet and an exclusive live video of “Hard Knocks.” (more…)

On February 28 , EMI will release ‘Immersion’ and ‘Experience’ editions of Roger Waters’ opus, Pink Floyd ‘The Wall,‘as the final installment of the recent ‘Why Pink Floyd?’ reissues and extended releases. ‘The Wall’ remains Pink Floyd’s biggest-selling release after 1973′s legendary ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon.’

Released in November 1979, ‘The Wall’ topped the album charts in the US, France, Germany, Sweden and Australia. “Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2″ – Pink Floyd’s first UK single since 1968 – became a Number 1 hit, selling more than one million copies within weeks of its release. (more…)

Now complementing The Beatles’ music library in iTunes is a new tablet-friendly guide to the Fab Four’s music catalog.

The app was created by Rolling Stone, thanks in part to vjoon K4 and the integrated Adobe Digital Publishing Suite (DPS) as production tools and digital publishing specialist Managing Editor Inc. (MEI). vjoon, a leading provider of cross-media publishing platforms and a global reseller of Adobe DPS right from the start, announced that Wenner Media has now released its iPad app version of “The Beatles Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide” special-interest publication.

Wenner, the publisher of Rolling Stone and other popular magazines, is using vjoon K4 to manage the project from soup to nuts. MEI designed an iPad publishing workflow that operates alongside Wenner’s print process – Rolling Stone has been managed with the vjoon K4 Cross-Media Publishing Platform since 2008 – tapping into an all-new medium using existing content and familiar tools. (more…)