ROBIN WILLIAMS BY JOHN SEVERIN

Robin Williams' TV character Mork was a pop culture phenomenon.  His wacky, anything goes style fit perfectly with Cracked Magazine's askew take on the world.  Cracked loved Mork, featuring him on the cover of seven issues within 1979 and 1980.  He was so popular he edged out Gary Coleman and Penny Marshall, two other Cracked favorites, for cover face time.  Covers meant be drawn by Cracked mainstay John Severin.  Severin, a legendary comics artist with a knack for likenesses, seems like he had fun drawing Williams' malleable mug.

Severin's original drawing for Williams' first appearance - Cracked #158 (May 1979).

His second regular issue paired him with Coleman, another character who dominated Cracked covers at the time (#161, August 1979)

Pam Dawber gets cover time again with Williams, just two issues later!  I wonder if Severin thought up those pants as Mork's beachwear. (#163, October 1979)

Here he is again, this time cracking up the logo as well (#167, March 1980).

The last time we would see Mork on a cover, in this "Love Boat" parody (#187, July 1982).  The fourth and final season of "Mork and Mindy" ended a couple of months before this.

Here's Williams at the center of this collection of his peers. (Collector's Edition #32, November 1979)

Mork had two "Collectors' Edition" covers all to himself.  The only TV/movie character to do so. (#35, May 1980).

(#29, May 1979)

John Severin's original art for Cracked Collectors' Edition #29.

Cracked Magazine would later do parodies of other Robin Williams' movies - "Hook" (#272, July 1992), "Flubber" (#326, July 1998) and "Patch Adams" (#334, May 1999).  But Williams was never on the cover again.  Those '90s issues are hard to find, so I'm not even sure if Severin ever drew Williams again, but it's a good bet that he did.

While Williams earned his way out of Mork's shadow through stand-up specials and dramatic roles, for millions of viewers who recall being excited by his weekly antics, he would always be Mork.  So, I'll leave you with this parody by Severin from Cracked #164 (November 1979):

ARCHIE

Continuing our reproduction of a May 29, 1966 Sunday comics section (other examples found here.

I didn't grow up with the 'Archie' strip, so it's one that's always a pleasant surprise. I'm more familiar with the Archie comic books and the Archies cartoon show. The strip finds the familiar 'Archie' gang in a gag-a-day format that's had a phenomenal run from 1942 that continues today. The strip has usually been produced by writers and artists who've also worked on the Archie comic book line. The original, and longest-running, artist was Bob Montana, who set the gold standard for the look of the Archie characters. IDW, which produced the 'Terry & the Pirates' collections, has recently announced a plan to reprint these early strips, edited by our pal, Dean Mullaney.

The strip's remaining roster reads like a who's who of Archie legends - John Goldwater, Dan DeCarlo and Stan Goldberg. The strip has been written by Hamilton, Ohio resident Craig Boldman since 1992. It is currently drawn by Fernando Ruiz, although the Creators Syndicate website still has the bio for the recently retired Henry Scarpelli.

Archie has been in the news recently. Last year it was due to a controversial move by Archie Comics to create a line of new look comics, with more updated, realistic versions of their characters aimed at the tween audience. This past month it was due to the announcement that Archie is marrying Veronica. The story takes place in the future, however, and may or may not happen (also known as an "imaginary story", popularized by the Superman titles of the 1950s/60s). If your looking for a copy of Archie #600, in which Archie pops the question, go see my friend Kendall at Up Up and Away (he ordered too many).

I'm continually amazed by the longevity and success of Archie Comics. There's not much interest in Archie in the insular comics world, so his popularity and success comes from regular, everyday folks. His digest-sized exploits can still be found in grocery store checkout lanes across the country. What is the appeal? Is it Archie as everyman? Is it the eternal love triangle of Archie/Betty/Veronica? Or do people just find the name Jughead funny? Whatever it is, we're about 65 years in, and Archie's not even close to retirement.

The strip presented above is by Bob Montana, who at this point had been on the job for 24 years! Instead of Archie and his pals, this strip features Riverdale High's beleaguered principal, Mr. Weatherbee. I love that first panel. Oh, for the days when secretaries sat on the corners of desks!

STEVE CANYON

When you've done ten or so years of a popular and successful comic strip, the inclination is to do ten more, and keep doing it until you can no longer do it. That's the comic strip business, where you keep at it because the hard work of launching a strip and building a readership is behind you. But if you were Milton Caniff in 1945 you may have also come to a different conclusion. Caniff had built 'Terry & the Pirates' into a daily part of American life. He lived well and was paid well for his work, but at the end of the day the strip was owned by the Chicago Tribune syndicate. The fate of the strip, and its profits, were out of Caniff's hands. More than anything, Caniff wanted the security for his wife that ownership would provide should something ever happen to him.

The drama of this decision is best detailed in R.C. Harvey's Caniff biography, Meanwhile... (which Harv has thanked me for endlessly plugging). But a highlight includes drawing two more months of 'Terry & the Pirates' than his contract required, so he could bring a fitting end to his 'Terry' before George Wunder took over. There was also his fear that anything he drew for the new strip, announced a year before he left 'Terry', would be the property of the Tribune. So he didn't draw anything for what would become 'Steve Canyon' until he finished out his Tribune contract. This left him with very little lead time, though more than when he took on 'Terry' in 1933, as discussed here. It's hard to imagine today the idea of a "superstar" cartoonist, but that's what Caniff was in 1947. When the strip debuted in January 1947, it was as big as "American Idol" is today.

Canyon, who started out as an ex-military pilot for hire, had been in either uniform or reserve since the Korean War. Now he was involved in Vietnam and in the next few years the tide would turn against the strip, as the public's anti-war sentiment built up and Caniff held fast to his military loyalties.This strip from May 29, 1966, is two decades removed from that auspicious debut, but there is no less respect for Caniff, given the glorious half-page berth on the comics sheet. While 'Steve Canyon' was a daily strip, Caniff was ever mindful that some folks only read the Sundays. This strip wraps up a long storyline, but what it can't do in words it makes up for in movement. Canyon (here in disguise) and the Navy chaplain have a conversation, and while it is a fluid monologue the action does not stay in one room. Caniff takes us from the chaplain's office onboard ship to a smaller boat to the port town to the military base, barracks and airstrip. This is the magic of comics. Played out in real time, the conversation wouldn't have made it off the naval destroyer. But as readers we are so caught up in the chaplain's speech that the distance traveled isn't jarring. Rather, it flows naturally. It's a great example of storytelling techniques that are unique to the comics medium as well as Caniff's mastery of it.

BEETLE BAILEY

Is there much more reliable in our lives than Beetle Bailey? The venerable comic strip is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, a fixture of the funny pages for most of our lives. What's comforting about Beetle Bailey is the endless repetition of running gags performed by the wacky cast of characters based in the Army's mythical Camp Swampy. Some may try to ascribe higher meaning to this...a metaphor perhaps for the dullness of military life or even the sameness of life in general. I think it's more that these are jokes that have always elicited a chuckle, and it ain't broke, keep drawing. Even after 60 years, there's still comedy to mined in new twists or nuances on old gags -

The guiding hand of strip creator Mort Walker is also what makes 'Bailey' special. Though he now relies on a team of five to create Bailey gags and art, Walker is right in there at 87 with writing and drawing and having final say on whatever his collaborators, which include his sons Greg, Neal and Brian, produce. There's a great sampling of strips on BeetleBailey.com. Readers can vote for their favorite to be reprinted in the two weeks surrounding Beetle's anniversary. The strip will also be honored next month with its own postage stamp. The 'Sunday Funnies' stamps will honor five comic strips. The dedication ceremony will take place on July 16 at Ohio State, and guests include Walker, Garfield's Jim Davis and museum curator Lucy Shelton Caswell. More details on the dedication can be found here. While at Ohio State, Walker will no doubt visit the Billy Ireland Cartoon Research Library and Museum, and with good reason.

Few have done more for the preservation of comic strips than Mort Walker. Believing in the medium as an art form equal to others, he founded the Museum of Cartoon Art in 1974, later adding "International" to the front of the name. The museum had several lives, starting in Connecticut and ultimately locating in Florida, where lack of funds forced closure in 2002. The collection has since merged with the Cartoon Research Library's collection, prompting them to add "and Museum" to the title. The recognition and preservation of Walker's own work is currently on display at a different museum, the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco.
There are several 'Beetle Bailey' books out there. The strip was well-represented in the comic strip reprint paperback heyday of the '60s and '70s, with over 100 titles to its credit. Currently, there is a book reprinting the earliest years of the strip, 1950-52. This is from Checker Book Publishing, the same folks who bring us the 'Steve Canyon' reprints, albeit infrequently. I'm not sure if they were planning further volumes, but Titan Books is skipping ahead and reprinting all of the 1965 strips in a book due in October. There's no special 60th anniversary book, but the 50th anniversary book can still be found around, though avoid this guy who wants $185! What you shouldn't avoid, but rather seek out, is the Mort Walker interview in the Comics Journal from last year. Interesting stuff for Bailey fans and fans of comics history in general, conducted by Caniff biographer R.C. Harvey.

At the top is the Sunday strip from May 29, 1966. The Cincinnati Enquirer gave 'Beetle Bailey' a full half page, a testament to its popularity. It's ironic that a strip ideal for the way comics would shrink in the '60s and '70s, with its simple figures and backgrounds, was given so much space. How much space? 13" x 9.5"...almost a full square foot! Contrast that with today's 10 1/8" x 3 3/8", less than a quarter of a square foot. It's the same issue I talked about last year with Blondie. I'm just glad it hasn't gotten any worse.

HI & LOIS

I almost didn't post this, but I'd like to eventually present the complete May 29, 1966 Sunday comics section we began here. 'Hi & Lois' has never been a favorite of mine, but it's usually good for a chuckle and has long been a comforting staple of the funny pages. The payoff in the strip above, however, only tepidly justifies the long build-up.

The strip is relatively young at this point, coming only twelve years after it's 1954 debut. The strip was created by Mort Walker, as writer, and Dik Browne, as artist. It was a spin-off of Walker's 'Beetle Bailey' strip, and if anyone can think of another comic strip spinoff, please let me know. The titular Lois is Beetle's sister. 'Hi & Lois' was more popular in it's early years, earning several peer awards from the National Cartoonist Society, including a Reuben for Browne. Despite it's popularity (it's syndicate website boats 1100 newspapers) it has never migrated much further from it's source, though it did have a short-lived comic series in 1970-71 and was part of the strip reprint paperback boom in the 1970s and early '80s.

The current strip is a true family legacy, as sons Greg and Brian Walker have stepped in for Mort and Chance Browne replaced his late father. I was tickled by this recent daily -

YOGI BEAR

Like the Donald Duck strip we posted here, the 'Yogi Bear' strip was not done by the credited creators. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were running their animation empire, not sitting down at the drawing board each week to create gags.

Given the ghost-written/drawn nature of the strip, it's unclear who contributed to the strip. Most credit Gene Hazelton as the main writer and artist, but according to this post by Hanna-Barbera expert Mark Evanier, Hazelton primarily supervised the creation of this strip and 'The Flintstones'. Others credit Harvey Eisenberg, who did some strips as well as many of the Yogi comic books as part of his legendary work for Western Publishing.

The strip debuted in 1961 along and were part of Yogi's biggest decade. He had his own syndicated cartoon show, a long-running comic book, worked as a pitchman for Kellogg's Corn Flakes and even had his own movie ('Hey There, It's Yogi Bear'). The strip above from May 29, 1966 kind of bugs me. It's a nice sight gag in the last panel, but the idea that Ranger Smith wouldn't go to a dentist for a tooth extraction is kind of odd. Another strange thing is the massive crowd in the stands for a Cub Scout track meet. Maybe one of them could have officiated...or the guy with the starter pistol. OK, maybe I'm overthinking it.

More examples of the strip can be found on Ger Appeldorn's website and from Comicrazys.com.

BLONDIE SHRINKS

From Matt Tauber

[click the duplicate pic at the very bottom to get the best enlarged view]

Last month we saw the debut of the Batman and Robin comic strip on May 29, 1966. Here is the 'Blondie' strip that ran below it. 'Blondie' was started in 1930 by cartoonist Chic Young, who built it into one of the most popular strips of all time. Even at the peak of our beloved Milton Caniff, 'Terry & the Pirates' always trailed behind 'Blondie' in popularity polls.

Chic Young is the sole credit and signer of the strip, going uncredited are his son, Dean, as co-writer, and Jim Raymond, the artist. Raymond, brother of Alex, started out as Young's assistant and would not be credited until Dean Young took over after his father's death in 1973. The strip below is from last Sunday, June 7, 2009. Dean Young, at 71, is still writing the feature, with John Marshall as head artist.

The contrast between the two strips is a startling reminder of the shrinking of the Sunday funnies. The comics page used to be an integral part of a newspaper's sales, a drawing card that built paper loyalty. With dwindling newspaper revenue and almost a total absence of competition, they now seem to be an afterthought, kept only because their absence or elimination would raise the ire of longtime subscribers.

The older strip is 12 panels. The strip takes up almost a half page - 6 1/2" high x 13" wide on 14" wide paper. The recent strip is 6 panels. A neat little 5" square on 11" wide paper. After raising the cost of the Sunday paper last year from $1.50 to $1.75, they drastically cut content about a month later. They managed to keep the same number of comics, but in a smaller space.

A look at the online strip below (from Blondie.com) reveals that there are three panels missing. The first is the logo panel. Then there are two "throwaway" panels, which can be discarded by newspapers because they don't effect the story. Note how in the '66 strip the logo panel was also used to begin the story, and if the first three panels were discarded, the entire strip would make no sense. Perhaps I'm living in the past, but the shrinking of the comic strip (a problem comic artists and fans alike have been complaining about for decades) is depressing. But I guess it's better than no comics at all.

A recent B.C. gets the last word on this topic:

DONALD DUCK

Continuing with my plan to post a complete Sunday comics section from May 29, 1966, here is a 'Donald Duck' strip. [earlier strip posts can be found here]

Like most Disney work, even though it is signed 'Walt Disney' it's really the work of other artists - in this case artist Al Taliaferro and writer Bob Karp. Taliaferro had been drawing Donald since the temper-prone duck's comics debut in Disney's 'Silly Symphonies' strip in 1934. It was this earlier strip where we first saw Donald's nephews - Huey, Dewey and Louie - who were the co-creation of Taliaferro and writer Ted Osborne. Donald took the nephews along when he got his own strip in 1938. It was drawn by Taliaferro from then until 1969, so this '66 strip is at the tail end of that historic run. The strip lasted into the late 1990s ('98, maybe? That's the last date I got from the worldwide Disney comics database).

Many of these strips were reprinted in comic book form, though I don't have a good reference for that. Disney currently posts old daily comic strips on their website for fans - D23. Early last year, this Sunday strip made the comics blog rounds, as it shows Donald apparently murdering Goofy!

NOW IN OUR 3RD YEAR!

The second anniversary of this blog on November 9th almost passed unnoticed. Strange that I would pass up an opportunity to pat myself on the back. I've really enjoyed blogging this past year and even though I don't have many readers, I enjoy the creative outlet and I'm proud of the work that goes into these posts (i.e., I try not to half-ass it). Here are some personal highlights -

The posts I'm happiest about are the ones dealing with Milton Caniff. He's the reason I started the blog in the first place. There's not enough Caniff to blog about every week, but I've managed to do about a fourth of my posts about his work. Two of my coups last year were interviews. Dean Mullaney was the editor of The Complete Terry & the Pirates series which ended this year. In addition to Dick Tracy, he's taken on Rip Kirby by Caniff pal Alex Raymond. Lucy Shelton Caswell is the curator of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Research Library and Museum. Since our interview, the library has gone through many changes, the most recent of which is the addition of Ireland's name. The estate for Ireland, who was Caniff's mentor, has made a generous donation of $7 million, and plans are apace to expand the library on campus.

My favorite post of the year was detailing my adventures in Chillicothe tracking down Noel Sickles' sites with my son Noah in tow. It's the most satisfying, personally, and the one I've had the most compliments on. Even folks who normally have no idea what I'm talking about liked it. I hope to get back there sometime. Here are part one and part two.

I don't like to get political on the blog as there are plenty of other forums for that. Using historical inaccuracy to advance an agenda does draw my ire. I think I'm the only one to expose the Obama inaugural train hoax in which the press went overboard trying to compare the new president to Abraham Lincoln.

Another project I've really enjoyed is presenting, strip by strip, a complete Sunday comics section from May 29, 1966. The 1/3 and 1/2 page sizes of the strips make the Sunday funnies of today dinky and miserable. I'd like to think, even in their reduced state, that the comics are still a big selling point for newspapers. I'm only about a third of the way through as they used to print 8 pages of funnies!


My most-read post this year was my overview of George Harrison compilation albums. Thanks to a link from a Dylan fan site (which I've forgotten), I received hundreds of hits. Sadly, a big chunk of my traffic is courtesy of Google Images and not the actual content of the blog (people love Julie Bowen!). Thanks to everyone who subscribes, follows and checks in on a regular basis. I'm gratified by those of you who found it and stuck with me. My only wish is that more of you leave comments so I know that you're out there!

CAPPY DICK

May 29, 1966

I was sad when 'Cappy Dick's Young Hobby Club' disappeared from the Sunday funnies, sometime in the late '80s, and I'm not sure why. 'Cappy' gave a weekly dose of tips for making your own fun. Take peanuts and twigs and make your own mini-tomahawks, for example. Paint pasta and make a necklace. Take an egg carton and buttons and make your own tiddly-wink-style game. I have no childhood memory of ever trying anything I read in 'Cappy Dick', but I remember when it was suddenly gone one Sunday, feeling the disappointment you feel when a piece of your childhood fades out.

Unlike some strips, the web is no fount of information when it comes to 'Cappy Dick'. This page has a great overview, as well as a nostalgic dream of a kid wiling away his Sunday with the craft ideas learned from the strip. I did find an obituary for the Cappy's creator, Robert Cleveland. He died in 1985, at which time the strip was being carried in 64 newspapers. Cleveland was no longer drawing the strip at his death, as it had been taken over in the '60s by 'Buck Rogers' artist Rick Yager. The strip ended in 1987, with cartoonist Bob Weber, Jr. transitioning from 'Cappy Dick' to his own Slylock Fox, which focuses on rudimentary drawing tips and "spot the difference" exercises. I think the only way a hobby strip like 'Cappy Dick' would make it today is if it was renamed 'Cappy Dick's Cheats for Nintendo DS'.

DICK TRACY

I haven't read much 'Dick Tracy', which is the only reason I can give for not being a fan. I've heard many raves about it, particularly for the early stuff being reprinted by IDW under their Library of American Comics imprint. Those volumes are being compiled by our pal Dean Mullaney, the man behind 'The Complete Terry & the Pirates' series.

'Dick Tracy' was created by Chester Gould and debuted in 1931. Gould pitted his straight-shooting, square-jawed detective against an array of bizarre gangster villains, including Pruneface, Measles and B-B Eyes (some of whom showed up in the star-studded 1990 movie version).

By this May 29, 1966 strip, Gould was in his late '60s and the strip was 35 years old, it's heyday long behind it. Rick Fletcher, his assistant since 1963, would take over the art when Gould retired in 1977. This decade of strips is most notable for Gould's odd choice of having Tracy in adventures on the moon with the moon people that lived there. This Sunday seems earthbound, however, with Gould poking fun at the staid nature of his character. Tracy is showing off his collection of bullet-ridden fedoras. Note that one of his trademark hats dates back to 1931, the same year the strip debuted.

The strip is currently written by Dick Locher and drawn by Jim Brozman (example below). Locher has a long history with the strip. He was Gould's assitant the four years before Fletcher, then took over from Fletcher in '83 and was also drawing the strip until this year. Here's the link to the current strip. Sadly, it doesn't live up to Gould's quality and the most interesting aspect are the negative comments posted below the strips.

SUNDAY FUNNIES 1966 - BATMAN AND ROBIN

I recently obtained a complete color Sunday comics section from the Cincinnati Enquirer, dated May 29, 1966. I’ll try to post all of the strips here eventually. First up is a Batman strip meant to cross-promote the live-action TV series starring Adam West. They seem to really be pushing the strip, with the bat-logo in the banner headline of the comics section and the prime real estate of being the first strip on page one. The strip’s content is introductory, but I’m not certain if it’s the first strip or not.

The strip is signed “by Bob Kane”, but Kane didn’t draw it and likely had nothing to do with the strip. The resources I found give the strip writer as Whitney Ellsworth and the artist as Shelly Moldoff. Kane co-created Batman with writer Bill Finger in 1939. Kane, something of a hack swipe artist didn’t do much comic book drawing after 1943, leaving it all to “ghost” artists, that is, uncredited artists like Moldoff whose work appeared under Kane’s name. Kane’s ghost setup, and Batman’s origin, is thoroughly fleshed out on the excellent Dial B for Blog.

The ‘Batman and Robin’ comic strip exceeded the life of the TV series, running until 1974. There was an earlier strip in the 1940s, which has been collected in these reprint volumes. Another ‘Batman’ strip ran from 1989-91, this time cross-promoting the Batman movies starring Michael Keaton.

SNUFFY SMITH

[click the picture to enlarge]

Before Google was a website and a verb, there was 'Barney Google', a comic strip about a diminutive, gambling rascal, was created in 1919 by Billy DeBeck. The strip, which focused on the antics of Google and his horse, Sparkplug, was a big hit in the roaring '20s. He even spawned a hit song - Barney Google ('with the Goo-goo-googly Eyes' [click link to hear it!]) - which my Grandpa used to sing now and then. Sparkplug was also the origin of Charles Schulz' lifelong nickname - 'Sparky'.

When Google's travels took him to the hill country in 1934, he met Snuffy Smith. Smith's hillbilly notions and phraseology proved so popular that Smith became the co-star of the strip. Soon the strip was renamed 'Barney Google and Snuffy Smith', a name it retains today, though Google was all but gone by 1954, with Smith's mountain clan having taken over the whole shebang.

In the midst of this transition, DeBeck died and his assistant, Fred Lasswell, took over and helmed the strip for a phenomenal 59 years. While Smith was DeBeck's creation, it was Lasswell who's responsible for building Snuffy and his cast as we know them today. The strip continues, albeit in shrunken form, under Lasswell's former assistant, John Rose. Above is the May 29, 1966 strip, which plays off the reader's knowledge that Loweezy, Snuffy's wife, is an inveterate gossip.

MATT'S MUSIC REPORT - SUMMER 2014

No reviews this time around, but FYI - the new John Hiatt is a good listen and the new Willie breaks his string of lackluster releases.  And wow, First Aid Kit?  Sing it, ladies...

Recent Releases of Note

• Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong and His Friends [reissue of 1970 LP]
• Louis Armstrong - The Complete Satch Plays Fats [reissue of 1955 LP w/ 10 bonus tracks]
• Bee Gees - The Warner Bros. Years, 1987-1991
• reissue of the three studio albums they did for Warner Bros.
• 1 CD of demos and outtakes
• 1 CD of an unreleased 1989 live concert
• Johnny Cash - Out Among the Stars
• Chicago - Chicago XXXVI: Now
• Eric Clapton and Friends - The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale 
• featuring Tom Petty, Willie Nelson and Mark Knopfler
• Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - CSNY 1974 [3 CD/1 DVD live set]
• John Denver - Take Me Home [reissue of 1994 autobiography in print, Kindle and audio versions]
• Bob Dylan - Rome Press Conference 2001
• First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
• John Hiatt - Terms of My Surrender
• Jayhawks - separate reissues of post-Mark Olson albums, all with bonus tracks
• Sound of Lies
• Smile
• Rainy Day Music
• Billy Joel - A Matter of Trust - The Bridge to Russia [2 CD/1 DVD] [from 1987 trip to USSR, includes concert and documentary]
• Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
• Single disc reissue of John's 1973 smash, or
• Deluxe edition w/ a disc of rarities and covers, or
• Super Deluxe edition w/ above + 2-CD live 1973 concert and a DVD documentary]
• Elton John - The Million Dollar Piano [recent concert on DVD or Blu-ray]
• Led Zeppelin - reissue of first three albums
• Single disc reissues of each album, or
• Deluxe editions for each, featuring live and unreleased material [3 CD for the 1st album, 2 CDs apiece for II & III]
• Vinyl versions of the deluxe editions
• Super Deluxe Edition with the CD, vinyl, download & book which Jimmy Page comes to read to you at your home]
• John Lennon & Yoko Ono - The Smith Tapes: I'm Not the Beatles [8 CDs of interviews]
• Jenny Lewis - The Voyager [7/29]
• Paul McCartney - Off the Ground [remastered 1993 album with no bonus tracks]
• Paul McCartney - iPad appversions of the recent Deluxe Edition box set reissues from Concord
• McCartney, Ram, Band on the Run, Wings Over America, McCartney II
• apps include the music, books and video content - all for $7.99 apiece!
• Mike + the Mechanics - Living Years: 25th Anniversary Edition [2 CD w/ bonus & live cuts][UK only]
• Willie Nelson - Band of Brothers
• Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl
• 1 CD/1 DVD reissue of 1989 album w/ bonus tracks, documentary and music videos
• Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Hypnotic Eye [7/29]
• Frank Sinatra - reissue of eight albums from his Reprise years
• Frank Sinatra - Rat Pack Live [combination of two previous Rat Pack releases as a 2 CD/1 DVD set]
• They Might Be Giants - Idlewild [compilation album of the last decade's releases]
• They Might Be Giants - the first album played live [free download at TMBG.com]
• "Weird Al" Yankovic - Mandatory Fun
• Neil Young - A Letter Home
• various - Bob Dylan in the 80s [covers tribute]
• various - Country Boy: A Bluegrass Tribute to John Denver
• various - Petty's Peculiar Picks [compilation of songs played by Petty on his XM Radio show]
• various - 2776
• comedy-music journey through American history at the Bimillennial
• Will Forte, Aubrey Plaza, Andy Richter, Patton Oswalt, Aimee Mann, Dick Cavett, Triumph, Neko Case, Ed Helms and more

Releases from this past Record Store Day on April 19th

• ABBA - Waterloo [7" single]
• Byrds - Straight for the Sun [2-LP 1971 live concert]
• Johnny Cash - With His Hot & Blue Guitar [reissue of 1957 debut LP, limited to 3000]
• Sam Cooke - Ain't That Good News [reissue of Cooke's last studio LP]
• Creedence Clearwater Revival - The '69 Singles [10" record]
• Everly Brothers - Roots [LP reissue]
• Everly Brothers - Songs Our Daddy Taught Us [LP reissue]
• Fleetwood Mac - Dragonfly [7" single from 1970]
• Genesis - From Genesis to Revelation [LP reissue]
• Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky [LP reissue]
• Idle Race - The Birthday Party [reissue of 1968 debut on gold vinyl]
• Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown [LP audiophile reissue]
• Dean Martin - Dream with Dean [reissue of 1964 LP]
• Randy Newman - Randy Newman [LP reissue of debut album]
• Jimmy Page & the Black Crowes - Live at the Greek [3 LP on colored vinyl]
• Jill Sobule - Dottie's Charms [new album that will debut on LP, released on digital and CD in May]
• Ronnie Spector & the E Street Band - Say Goodbye to Hollywood [reissue of 1977 single]
• Regina Spektor - You've Got Time [7" single on orange vinyl]
• Bruce Springsteen - American Beauty [12" 4 song EP]
• Hank Williams - The Garden Spot Programs, 1950 [10" vinyl EP]
• various - The Folk Box [reissue of 4-LP box set originally released by Elektra in 1964]

Upcoming Releases

• Beatles - The Beatles in Mono [14-LP reissue box set of the UK versions of the albums][9/8]
• Bob Dylan - Shadows in the Night [late 2014]
• Loudon Wainwright III - Haven't Got the Blues (Yet) [9/9]
• various - The Art of McCartney [late 2014]
• tribute featuring Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Brian Wilson, Barry Gibb, Steve Miller Band]

On Tour in the Tri-State

• America - Louisville - 8/16
• Beach Boys - Columbus - 7/29; Cleveland - 9/7
• Mike Birbiglia - Dayton - 9/12; Cleveland - 9/13; Indy - 9/18
• Chicago - Indy - 8/10; Cincinnati - 8/13
• Crosby, Stills & Nash - Evansville - 8/19
• Christopher Cross - Cleveland - 8/1
• Miley Cyrus - Louisville - 8/9
• Iris Dement - Cleveland - 9/19; Columbus - 1/16
• Fleetwood Mac - Columbus - 10/19; Indy - 10/21
• Jim Gaffigan - Indy - 8/17
• Herman's Hermits - Belterra - 12/30
• Indigo Girls - Akron - 8/14; Goshen - 9/13
• Gary Lewis & the Playboys - Indy - 10/11
• Jenny Lewis - Indy - 7/31
• Paul McCartney - Louisville - 10/28
• Don McLean - Cleveland - 10/10
• Moody Blues - Kettering - 8/29
• Willie Nelson - Indy - 8/23
• New Pornographers - Cleveland - 11/15
• Katy Perry - Columbus - 8/13; Cleveland - 8/14; Louisville - 8/16
• John Prine - Cincinnati - 9/19; Indy - 9/20
• St. Vincent - Cleveland - 9/30; Columbus - 10/1
• Steely Dan - Cincinnati - 8/12; Columbus - 8/13
• Styx - Louisville - 8/15
• Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons - Cleveland - 11/9