“GLEE” RETURNS TO NUMBER ONE!

Although we hear complaints everyday that there isn’t enough great music on television, that just isn’t true anymore. We’re in the middle of the best season of “American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars” (although I still can’t figure out which ones are the stars) and this Tuesday night on FOX, following “American Idol”,  starts the second season of “GLEE”, by far the best music show on television!

Last year when I was creating a video jukebox for my friend, songwriter Dean Pitchford (“Fame”, “Footloose”), he asked me if I had seen “GLEE” yet.  He told me that twelve years ago he cast the show’s teacher, Matt Morrison, in the first national tour of the “Footloose” stage musical. It was apparent even then that he was a star in the making,” Dean remembers.  “Now everyone sees what I saw then.”

He also said that, as a music man, I would love this show because “it flips the traditional formula on its head:  instead of the ‘cool’ kids playing in rock ‘n’ roll bands, “Glee” is about the misfits who, despite the judgment of their classmates, come together (like a dysfunctional  family) to do really terrific choral arrangements of classics.  And they do them with amazing flair!”

Dean was right, “GLEE”, more hope opera than soap opera, is the weekly story of the trials and tribulations of a modern high school Glee club. They use  songs of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s as well as recent hits to move the stories along much like a Broadway musical. Most of their songs are not only the kind you want to sing along with, but also the kind the want to buy, as demonstrated by the two number one albums they’ve had in the past year!

Copyright 2010 by Artie Wayne https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/about-artie-wayne/

TO WATCH PREVIOUS FULL EPISODES OF “GLEE” http://www.fox.com/glee/

My friend Alan O’Day updated his classic, “ROCK AND ROLL HEAVEN” (Stevenson/ O’Day), which includes many recent Rock and Roll Star passings, and I think The Cast of GLEE could have a number one hit with it. Since the demo was put up on YouTube it’s received almost 600,000 views! What do you think?

To reach Alan O’Day http://alanoday.com

To reach Dean Pitchford http://deanpitchford.com/

For The DEAN PITCHFORD VIDEO JUKEBOX https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/the-dean-pitchford-video-jukebox/

BACK TO ARTIE WAYNE ON THE WEB https://artiewayne.wordpress.com

THE DEAN PITCHFORD VIDEO JUKEBOX

Before there was a “High School Musical” One, Two, or Three, “So You Think You Can Dance”, “American Idol” and “Glee”, there was the little movie that was a blueprint for them all, “FAME”! This 1980 musical, featured a cast of unknowns, who chronicled the lives of a group of students attending the High School of Performing Arts in New York City. It showed what it takes for young talent to pursue an artistic dream in a world filled with bores and whores.

“FAME” was not only a number one film around the world, it spawned a TV series “The Kids from Fame” that ran between 1982 and 1987…and the remake opens this weekend. I’ve only seen short preview clips, but I’m positive the world won’t be disappointed by what looks like a long MTV music video.

The musical glue that holds each of the franchises together is the Academy Award winning theme song “Fame” by my pals Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore, which I still consider one of the most inspiring anthems ever written!

When I asked Dean about the whole experience he said, “The idea behind “Fame” — that the journey to artistic expression and fulfillment has many, many routes — is timeless; it’s wonderful to know that the very material that excited and inspired me and Michael Gore twenty-nine years ago (!!!) can still fascinate a new generation.”

As I watched Irene Cara sing “FAME” from the first film again…I thought about all the hits Dean Pitchford has had in his career and decided to put together THE DEAN PITCHFORD VIDEO JUKE BOX

Now here are his hits including “FAME” and “FOOTLOOSE” in no particular order…

copyright 2009 by Artie Wayne

FOR THE STORY BEHIND “FOOTLOOSE” https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/celebrating-the-25th-anniversary-of-footloose-and-genghis-cohen/

To reach Dean Pitchford http://www.deanpitchford.com/

BACK TO ARTIE WAYNE ON THE WEB https://artiewayne.wordpress.com