For one of Hyundai's two big Super Bowl XLVIII commercials, the automaker lined up a couple of stars, plenty of special effects and one instantly recognizable classic-rock hit.
Jeff Lynne has contributed a wealth of important influence to the world of recording over the decades that he’s been engaged in making music. If the albums crafted with Electric Light Orchestra had been his sole contribution as an artist, it still would have been an impressive legacy to leave behind.
Jeff Lynne and ELO are beginning 2013 in the same way they ended 2012, with three new CDs. On April 23, Frontiers Records will release a live album from Electric Light Orchestra, a reissue of one of the band's more recent albums and a reissue of Lynne's debut solo album.
Jeff Lynne seems to be in a reflective mood lately -- the two albums he released in 2012, 'Long Wave' and 'Mr. Blue Sky - The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra,' found him recording classic pop standards and revisiting hits from the ELO catalog -- and he continued his focus on the past in a recent Clash interview that looked back on the earliest years of his career.
Court proceedings have concluded surrounding the exceedingly bizarre death of former Electric Light Orchestra cellist Mike Edwards, with a pair of English farmers cleared of negligence in the events leading up to the tragedy.
Now airing throughout October on VH1 Classic is Mr. Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne And ELO. The documentary, which contains unbelievable access to Lynne at work in him home studio in L.A., features testimonials from such high profile friends and collaborators as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Joe Walsh, ELO bandmate Richard Tandy, Olivia and Dhani Harrison, Roy Orbison's widow Barbara Orbison, and Monty Python's Eric Idle. Check you local listings for stations and times.
Electric Light Orchestra singer Jeff Lynne has been busy over the past year, re-recording past favorites for the 'Mr. Blue Sky' album as well as taking on a number of older standards for the companion disc, 'Long Wave.' Despite the wealth of new music, it's likely that Lynne will not be touring.