The Voice - Review - Top 6 Revealed -

Left to right: Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton.

Last night, I predicted Will Champlin, Tessanne Chin and Matthew Schuler were the Top 3 performances, and Cole Vosbury, Caroline Pennell, and Jacquie Lee to be the Bottom 3. A quick look at iTunes sales tells me America disagrees with me in a big way. Via iTunes at the close of voting this morning, Will's At Last led the way, followed by Cole, and James Wolpert. At the other end of the spectrum, Mathew's "It's Time" was the lowest selling by far, followed by Ray Boudreaux and Caroline. On the Rickey.Org poll, the Top 3 vote-getters when asked about going home were Ray, Caroline and Cole. The only thing that proves is no one knows what will be happening tonight! If iTunes holds true, and Matthew, Ray, and Caroline are in the bottom, who will be saved by Twitter? Only time will tell, and it must in the next 60 minutes! Because I honestly a not sure what will be happening tonight!

Clockwise: Team Adam, Team Blake, Team Xtina, and Team Cee Lo.

As is always the case, the show opens with host Carson Daly, on stage with the Top 8 and introducing the coaches. That quickly led to the recap clips, and how happy the coaches were with their charges. #1 on the Rock charts, #1 on the Reggae charts, and #1 on the Country charts, and one who landed in the overall Top 10, the contestants were making their voices heard. Since the show began, they have surpassed 15 million iTunes downloads. And even more exciting, they have musical guest Ellie Goulding to sing her latest hit, "Burn", with James, Matthew and Will.

Once that performance is finished, it is time for a commercial break, and then time to see who are the first people safe. The coaches are worried about who might be going home, and think their artists were great last night. Carson announces he will be asking random questions tonight, and starts with Tessanne, asking her about her mentor. She loves him, and holds him in such high esteem, for all the support he offers both on and off camera. But it is time for business. The first artist safe tonight is from Team Adam, and it is Will Champlin. That is no surprise, he was the on with the Top 10 placement, the most downloaded song of the week. After a break, Carson chats with Ellie Goulding, and she is a sweetie. Then it is time for Top 8 to get together and sing "Will The Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)", the song made famous by the Carter Family, and later by June Carter Cash and husband Johnny Cash.

They did a nice job, but soon it is time to get back to the results. First, Matthew is asked about his Coach, Christina, and he loves her, and the way she pushed him to be a better artist. Now we learn the second person saved by the votes this week, Cole Vosbury from Team Blake is safe. Interestingly enough, the two safe so far are both artists procured with a 'Judge's Steal'. After another break, Carson chats with Adam and Blake, to kill time so Cee Lo Green could prepare to team up again with Big Gipp and the Goodie Mob is back! They sing "With Amy".

After that, it is time for the coaches and contestants to do quick impressions, which are obviously not their forté. But there are six artists wanting to find out who is safe, so Carson tells us it is Jacquie Lee from Team Xtina. She and Christina have a big hug, but there are still three artists who are not leaving that are sweating bullets up there. And a big group of fans wanting to know it they have to save their favorite via Twitter, with the #VoiceSave and the first name of a singer. After a break, we learn Ryan Tedder, of One Republic fame, will be writing a song with the final three, who will then sing it live on the finale! They are so excited, the Top 8 sing the OneRepublic medley, starting with the hit "Apologize".

As soon as they are done, Carson calls them into a line to announce two more as safe. Tessanne Chin is the next artist called to safety. That is followed by the final save from last night, and it is James Wolpert, making Team Adam clean once again. That leaves Ray, Matthew, and Caroline in peril. Blake, Cee Lo, and Christina ask for the fan's support of their artists, and it is time for the Save. Carson asks Adam about who he thinks will be saved, and he thinks it might be Matthew, but he loves and supports them all. America saved Matthew Schuler, and Ray Boudreaux and Caroline Pennell are sent home.

Tune in next week, when the Top Six will return to the stage to see if they can keep the dream alive! To learn more about 'The Voice', visit the official website. You can also 'like' them on Facebook, and 'follow' them on Twitter.

This Train • Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison & Carl Perkins

Left to right: Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Sometimes we do get the best presents for Christmas. On a 1977 Christmas Special starring Johnny Cash, the man in black invited a few friends to sing a song, and dedicate it to Elvis Presley, who had just recently passed away. Billed as the "Class of '55", a subtle nod to the original 'Million Dollar Quartet', when Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley met at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, in a recording studio, and some believe that was the birth of Rock 'N Roll in the United States. With Elvis gone, the men invited Roy Orbison to complete the quartet as they sang the great gospel classic "This Train" for Elvis.

Johnny Cash • "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic"

As today is the official day to celebrate Veteran's Day, I thought I would offer you a very specsal version of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic."  Here is is sung by the late, great Johnny Cash. Please enjoy it.

Have a great Sunday!

Johnny Cash & Linda Ronstadt Duet

Sometimes I am at a total loss for words - hard to imagine, I know, but it does happen. And when I try to figure out what to say about two people I respect so much, that is precisely what happens. And it is the case when the immortal Johnny Cash duets with one of the most remarkable voices ever, Linda Ronstadt. When Linda was breaking into the Country music, she appeared on Johnny's show a couple of times, between 1969 and 1971. Here they sing the traditional folk song I Never Will Marry. Much later, Ronstadt will record the song with another Country superstar, Dolly Parton, as part of her 1977 release, Simple Dreams. But here she sings with with The Man In Black.



And all I can do is sigh.

Sunday Morning With Johnny Cash

I thought I might included a couple of songs by the great Johnny Cash for the weekly nod to gospel music. While the Man In Black might have been better known for his Country stories, he was certainly no stranger to singing Gospel music. The first clip is God Must Have My Fortune Laid Away, which Johnny recorded in 1962 as part of the Hymns From The Heart album. It was written by Ted Harris.



This is a clip from television, although I do not know much about it. It was recorded in 1962, on the same album as the first song. He certainly does a great job with the traditional standout, Swing Low Sweet Chariot.



And, finally, this is a clip from a 1971 episode of The Johnny Cash Show. Johnny and June Carter Cash are joined by the Carter Family, the Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins and the Tennessee Three on Albert E. Brumley's 1929 favorite, I'll Fly Away. It was originally recorded by Cash on his 1959 release, Hymns By Johnny Cash. It was his first of eleven gospel albums Cash released.



Have a great Sunday.

When James Met Johnny

When I had done my post the other day on James Taylor, I came across this clip, and it just didn't suit the post. However, as I was thinking of the weekend, I thought it would do quite nicely. In 1971, not long after James had released Sweet Baby James, he appeared on the John Cash Show, and even did a bit of a duet with the man in black. They performed an exceedingly beautiful version of Oh, Susannah, which was a cut off the album.



Hope that was a pleasant way to bring in your Saturday.

Sunday Morning with Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash was known for his spiritual music as well as his 'Man In Black' stories of crime and punishment. So he seemed like a likely candidate for the Sunday morning slot. The two songs I chose, however, are perhaps not as likely. The first is a duet with Kris Kristofferson, Sunday Morning Coming Down, which was originally released in 1970.



The second was a cut from the 2003 album, American IV: The Man Comes Around. Ths song is the Depeche Mode hit, Personal Jesus.



Johnny Cash passed away in 2003, but left a rich legacy of music. To find out more, you can check out his official website here.

Million Dollar Quartet Opens Tonight

Million Dollar Quartet, the story of a historic night when Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis in the studio together at Sun Studios. Among the stars is Levi Kreis, a favorite of mine as a recording artists, and now as a Broadway actor as well.



Check out the official website here to get more information, or to order tickets. I'll tell you, when I saw it in previews, it had me outta my seat and happy as can be. If you can, go see it!

‘Million Dollar Quartet’ Scores Its Broadway Cast

From the New York Times, By Dave Itzkoff

Finding an Elvis Presley impersonator in New York probably isn’t too much of a challenge; hiring convincing doubles for Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins is probably a few degrees of difficulty harder. But why bother when you’ve already got a cast that can do it, and has been doing it for more than a year?

The principal foursome from the Chicago production of the musical “Million Dollar Quartet” will reprise their roles when it transfers to Broadway, joined by a pair of New York stage veterans, the show’s producers said on Thursday. The musical, about a 1956 jam session that brought together four of the biggest names in rock and roll, will star Eddie Clendening (as Elvis Presley), Lance Guest (Johnny Cash), Levi Kreis (Jerry Lee Lewis) and Rob Lyons (Carl Perkins), all making their Broadway debuts. Added to the cast are Hunter Foster (of “Urinetown” and “Little Shop of Horrors”), who will be playing the Sun Records producer Sam Phillips, and Elizabeth Stanley (Broadway’s “Cry-Baby,” “Company”) who will play Elvis’s girlfriend, Dyanne.

The musical, which includes songs like “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” is to begin previews on March 13 at the Nederlander Theater and open on April 11. It is directed by Eric Schaeffer with a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux.

I am near-giddy about this. I cannot wait to see this live, and to see Levi Kreis live on stage. I have featured Kreis on this blog a couple of times, and have yet to see him live. For information about the show or for tickets, click here.