BILLY CORGAN On Opera Version Of 'Mellon Collie' Album: 'We're Not Trying To Do 'Rock And Roll Goes Opera''
SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan spoke to WGN News about his decision to team up with Lyric Opera of Chicago, his hometown company, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band's massive, decade-defining double album "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness". Regarding how the collaboration came about, Billy said "A mutual friend put us together with the Lyric. And I kept saying for years, 'cause it kept coming up, 'I think they wanna work with you,' and I kept thinking, 'There's no way they're gonna wanna work with me.' So when we finally did have the meeting, I pitched them on this idea, and they loved it. And now we're doing seven nights. It's almost completely sold out. Full orchestra, full chorus, operatic interpretations of the 'Mellon Collie' album. And I'm singing too. And I was in rehearsals yesterday with the great opera singers, and it's amazing to hear your music sung with incredible artists like themselves. So it's really emotional. And if you know the album, it's an emotional experience. If you don't know the album, then it's made so if you're an operatic fan or a classical fan, it's interpreted that way. So we're not trying to do 'rock and roll goes opera.' It's actually — we're taking rock and roll into the opera."
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Did You Know That There's a Song Featuring Vocals by Madonna and Ozzy Osbourne?
An Ozzy Osbourne / Madonna collaboration would have been interesting, right? Well, what if I told you it already sort of happened?
Remember that group Was (Not Was)? They're best known for the song "Walk the Dinosaur".
Well, in the early '80s, they recorded a song called "Shake Your Head", featuring vocals from Ozzy and Madonna BEFORE SHE WAS FAMOUS.
But then she blew up and either she or her people refused to let them release it. So they replaced Madonna with Kim Basinger, who was apparently trying her hand at pop stardom.
That version ended up on the 1983 Was (Not Was) album "Born to Laugh at Tornadoes".
The Madonna version squeaked out three decades ago on a compilation album called "Now Dance 92". It was also uploaded to YouTube two years ago, but people are just starting to discover it.
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These Are the "Big 4" of Yacht Rock
If you had to create the "Mount Rushmore" of Yacht Rock, who would you put on it? UltimateClassicRock.com might've nailed it.
They say the Big 4 of Yacht Rock are: Kenny Loggins . . . Steely Dan . . . Boz Scaggs . . . and Michael McDonald.
No love to Christopher Cross?
Steely Dan fans might not like seeing them on this list, and Ultimate Classic Rock acknowledges that they have plenty of songs that AREN'T yacht rock.
But they add, quote, "When they downshifted into silky smooth gems like 'Peg', 'Dirty Work', and 'Hey Nineteen', Steely Dan set the studio standard. It's the kind of ageless yacht rock that no iceberg could ever sink."
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Billboard chose their 50 best rock bands of all time. Obviously The Beatles are at #1.
(Here's a Beatles montage to use while you discuss the band that so many other musicians mention as their reason for getting into music.)
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