The Beatles come to Pittsburgh - 50 Years ago this week (1964)

I had the very good fortune this summer to meet the man who was largely responsible for bringing the Beatles to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during their first US tour. This would end up being the Beatles one and only appearance in the "steel city", and was near the beginning of Pat DiCesare's legendary career in the concert business.

Pat DiCesare started out as a songwriter and Doo Wop performer in the 1950s and later moved on to booking shows and concerts. In time, he and his partner Rich Engler became the single most powerful force in the Pittsburgh area concert business. It wasn't long before DiCesare-Engler Productions became one of the top grossing concert companies in the entire US. Their dominance in that industry would continue for over 3 decades. During that time, Pat and Rich would go on to produce and promote concerts by legendary artists including Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Janis Joplin, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin and many, many more.

My wife and I both were fortunate to meet Pat this past August during a Quantum Leap conference (nope, its not about the very cool TV show, but instead it's an incredible training and mentoring program). It turns out Pat took his lifetime of experiences and stories and turned them into an amazing book "Hard Days, Hard Nights" and was there like us learning how to promote his book. This amazing book of musical journeys tells many of Pat's own personal stories of working with and promoting many of the legendary artists we all grew up with.

To honor Pat and his incredible career, the governor of Pennsylvania just announced that the week of Sept 14th was The Beatles week to honor the Fab Four visit to our state 50 years ago on their inaugural US tour. In addition, the governor named the day of the Beatles concert, Sept 14th, as Pat DiCesare Day in Pennsylvania. I can't believe I met someone who has a day named after them how cool is that! In talking with Pat, both in person and on the phone, you can tell he's just about the nicest and most genuine person you will ever meet, especially in this crazy music business. If you are a music fan like me, I highly recommend you head over to Amazon or Barnes and Noble and pick up a copy of "Hard Days, Hard Nights". You will absolutely enjoy the experience!

That's all for today kiddies. I will be back tomorrow with another post, but that topic will be a mystery until I put my writing hat on tomorrow :) Have another great nite and we'll see you soon!

Music, Love & Laughter,

Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com

AMAZING - 41% Increase in Music Education in the UK over the last 15 years, BUT...

I was astounded to read that over the last 15 years, there has been a 41 percent increase in the number of kids in the UK that know how to play an instrument. WOW, that's just amazing! A study by ABRSM, the exam board of the Royal School of Music, also found that the piano, recorder and classical guitar were the favorites with drums, electric guitar and bass guitar not far behind. Now, I'm thinking if they did this in the 60's, guitar, bass and drums would have been tops thanks to the Beatles and the entire British music invasion.

But, back to the topic: In an article I just read, the Royal School of Music study credits this positive musical trend on recent government initiatives, particularly in England. The piece doesn't specifically mention what those initiatives are, but perhaps we need to dig a little deeper. Some of these ideas could possibly be implemented in the US and other countries.

One interesting thing about the article: It mentions that the children from well-off families have a much higher chance of playing an instrument, which itself is not surprising. But I also found it very odd that the title of the article mentions that fact, but not the dramatic increase in the number and percentage of kids playing an instrument. I know as musicians, and for me especially, as part of our "Keep Music Alive" mission, we want to shout out from the mountain tops "WE NEED MORE MUSIC!". But we also need to trumpet out the good news stories where more music is being played. This provides a fairer and more balanced (and ultimately more believable) argument, and also provides us with positive examples that others can learn from.

Here's a link to the article - take a read and post your comments and let me know your thoughts on the topic: Music education still a preserve of the rich, UK study shows

On Deck: Pat DiCesare and "Hard Days, Hard Nights"

We're back on the blog kick folks and we're gonna try to do at least one short blog post EVERY day. Tomorrow we'll be talking about my new music friend Pat DiCesare who is a legend in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania concert world. Pat was instrumental in bringing The Beatles to their one and only appearance in Pittsburgh back in 1964. He also went on to produce hundreds of concerts over 40 plus years, hosting acts like Led Zeppelin, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations and many, many more. So look for the new post on Pat and his new book Hard Days, Hard Nights tomorrow. Till then have a grrrreat nite all!

Music, Love & Laughter,

Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com