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Etta James, 1938-2012

Austin City Limits is saddened to learn of the death of the great Etta James. From “The Wallflower” and “Tell Mama” to “I’d Rather Go Blind” and the immortal “At Last,” this R&B pioneer and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member scattered enough gems across the musical landscape to light the way for many future generations of singers.

ACL was honored to have Ms. James appear on the show in 2004.

 

“Etta James encapsulated an entire era of rhythm & blues, soul, jazz and rock and roll in that amazing voice that came from somewhere deep in her psyche,” said Terry Lickona, ACL Executive Producer.  “Her life story, as told in her autobiography, is one of the most amazing in all of modern music. She was on ACL’s must-have list for many years, and when she finally stepped on our stage it was one of my most gratifying moments. She loved the show, and I’ll never forget when her husband called afterwards to ask for a few extra DVD copies of the program for her to give to her closest friends as Christmas presents. God bless Etta James!”

Our thoughts go out to her family. May she rest in peace.

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New Year – New Episodes!

We’re halfway through the broadcasts of Austin City Limits’ 37 season and you may be asking yourself: how do we follow up shows with Coldplay, Mumford & Sons, the Decemberists, the Steve Miller Band, Miranda Lambert, Raphael Saadiq and Randy Newman (to name only a few)? With a second half equally as strong, of course.

Arcade Fire “We Used to Wait” at ACL: Behind the Scenes from Jonathan Jackson on Vimeo.

Coming up on January 7 we have Seattle up-and-comers The Head and the Heart and British veterans Gomez. On January 14 it’s the return of Album of the Year Grammy winners Arcade Fire. January 21 is ACL acid folk day with Fleet Foxes and Joanna Newsom. January 28 features the debuts of rising stars Florence + the Machine and Lykke Li. We close the season on February 7 with our old pals Wilco.

We’re as jazzed about these new episodes.  Don’t forget to watch on your favorite PBS station!

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Stream the Coldplay New Year’s Eve Special at 11pm!

We want you to be as excited as we are at midnight, so start streaming this video at 11pm sharp to enjoy the countdown to 2012 with Coldplay! Happy New Year from all of us at Austin City Limits. Thank you for your support in 2011, and we look forward to bringing you even more great music in 2012!

http://video.pbs.org/video/2179574429

Watch Coldplay New Year’s Eve: An Austin City Limits Special on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.

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This weekend on Austin City Limits: Coldplay New Year’s Eve

When we recorded Coldplay for their second episode of Austin City Limits, we knew we had a special show on our hands. So we decided to expand our usual 60-minute show into a 90-minute special to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and we‘re thrilled to share the entire show – airing this December 31st at 11 p.m. – with the world. That’s right – the entire show, with no songs cut. There were a few nips and tucks in editing, of course, as there always are. But every song on the setlist is included, from the quintessential hits “Viva La Vida,” “Clocks” and “Yellow” to new classics “Paradise,” “Charlie Brown” and “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.” And since this is a New Year’s Eve celebration, you’ll want to stick around until midnight for the traditional NYE countdown. (Not that you’ll want to change channels before then. Or afterward, for that matter.)

Coldplay “Paradise” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

Check out the episode page for more details – pics, setlist, etc. Visit our Facebook and Twitter pages to leave comments on the show, not to mention catch up with the latest doings in ACL world. (You can sign up for the newsletter for the latter as well.) Visit our Tumblr blog for a photographic trip down memory lane. Next week: another new episode, featuring The Head and The Heart and Gomez.

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ACL Staff Picks for Top Albums of 2011

Well everyone else is doing it…so why not us? Here are the 2011 releases that inspired the people behind Austin City Limits. Cheers to discovering and sharing even more great music in 2012!

Terry Lickona, Executive Producer
The Head and The Heart (self-titled)
Gillian Welch: The Harrow & The Harvest
Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto
Florence + The Machine: Ceremonial
Tom Waits: Bad As Me
Bon Iver (self-titled)
Adele: 21
Radiohead: The King of Limbs
Lupe Fiasco: Lasers
Raphael Saadiq: Stone Rollin’

Leslie Nichols, Associate Producer
The Head and The Heart – S/T
Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Wilco – The Whole Love
Wild Flag – S/T
Quiet Company – We Are All Where We Belong
Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean
The Jayhawks – Mockingbird Time
Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong
The Decemberists – The King Is Dead
Gillian Welch – The Harrow & The Harvest
Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire

Emily Joyce, Associate Producer / Digital & Interactive Director
The Head and the Heart (self-titled)
Wilco – The Whole Love
M83 – Hurry Up We’re Dreaming
Bon Iver (self-titled)
Real Estate – Days
The Antlers – Burst Apart
The War on Drugs- Slave Ambient
Blitzen Trapper – American Goldwing
Tom Waits – Bad as Me
The Jayhawks – Mockingbird Time

Tom Gimbel, General Manager Austin City Limits
1.  tUnE-yArDs – whokill
2.  White Denim – D
3.  Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
4.  Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
5.  Radiohead – The King of Limbs
6.  Motopony – Motopony
7.  TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
8.  Wilco – The Whole Love
9.  Cults – Cults
10.  M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
11.  The Black Keys – El Camino
12.  My Morning Jacket – Circuital

Maury Sullivan, Publicist
Wilco – The Whole Love
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Vetiver – The Errant Charm
Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts
Jay-Z and Kanye – Watch the Throne
Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
Bill Callahan – Apocalypse
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
Real Estate – Days
Destroyer – Kaputt

Ed Bailey, VP Brand Development
Blitzen Trapper: American Goldwing
Rapael Saadiq: Stone Rollin’
Jessica Lea Mayfield: Tell Me
The Echocentrics: Sunshadows
James Vincent McMorrow: Early in the Morning
A Tribute to John Martyn: Johnny Boy Would Love This
Bill Callahan: Apocalypse
Jonathan Wilson: Gentle Spirit
Johnny Nicholas: Future Blues
Robyn Ludwick: Out of These Blues

Tamra Wilson, Project Manager
1. “Blood Pressures” The Kills
2. “Let England Shake” PJ Harvey
3. “21” Adele
4. “Velociraptor” Kasabian
5. “Biophilia’ Bjork

Michael Toland, National Productions Manager
The Bevis Frond – The Leaving of London (Woronzow)
The Blurries – Paper Cuts (self-released)
The Breakers – s/t (Wicked Cool)
Brother Eye – Emotional Fingers (self-released)
The Decemberists – The King is Dead (Capitol)
The Feelies – Here Before (Bar/None)
Leatherbag – Yellow Television (self-released)
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’ (Columbia)
Gillian Welch – The Harrow & the Harvest (Acony)
Wiretree – Makeup (self-released)

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This weekend on Austin City Limits: Tom Waits

The Tom Waits episode of Austin City Limits is one of the most requested shows in our 37-year archive. In the spirit of the holiday season, we’ve put this Season 4 delight back on the air for the first time in over a decade. Tune in this Saturday 12/24 – that’s right, Christmas Eve – to see this classic episode once again.

Recorded in December 1978, the show came in through the back door, so to speak. Terry Lickona, who became producer in Season 4, was trying to book singer Leon Redbone. Redbone and Waits shared a manager, who promptly requested that Terry book his other client as well. In order to make sure the Redbone show happened, Terry agreed, even though he was nervous that the roots-oriented audience ACL had already built in its previous three seasons might think that Waits’ avant-garde gutter poetry was too radical for the show.

The rest is, well, you know the cliche. Supporting his classic LP Blue Valentine (but aren’t they all classics?), Waits was deep in the transitional phase of his career, evolving out of the jazzy beat poetry of his early work (“I Wish I Was in New Orleans”) and into the bluesier, more dissonant sounds (“Sweet Little Bullet From a Pretty Blue Gun”) for which he became known in the 80s and beyond. He acknowledged the season with the streetwise but lovely “Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis,” which incorporates a few bars of a better-known Xmas hymn. And he debuted “On the Nickel,” one of his greatest ballads, and which wouldn’t be released on record until Heartattack and Vine in 1980.

Tom Waits “Silent Night / Christmas Carol From a Hooker in Minneapolis” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

You can check out the episode page for pics, the set list and the original liner notes for the episode. Don’t forget to visit our Facebook and Twitter pages and/or sign up for our newsletter for the latest news on ACL happenings, or to go to our Tumblr blog for a look back at ACL’s photographic past. Next week: our New Year’s Eve blowout with Coldplay!