Sir Elton and the Queen of Soul

It's time for another installment of musical superstars with the same birthday. For March 25 we have 2 Legendary Popular Music Performers: Elton John (1947) and Aretha Franklin (1942). Talk about big names, these artists are royalty. In 1998 Elton received a knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services" and Aretha is commonly known as the "Queen of Soul."

Sir Elton John was born in Pinner, Middlesex, England. His career spans some 40 years beginning with the 1969 release of his first album, Empty Sky and includes number one songs, albums, and performances.

His 1997 remake of Candle in the Wind, as a tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, sold well over 33,000,000 copies. In addition to his numerous multi-platinum selling albums, Elton has a distinguished Broadway and film repertoire. On Broadway he has penned songs for Lion King, Lestat, Aida, and Billy Elliot the Musical. On the big screen he wrote songs for Lion King (1994 Academy Award Winner for Can you Feel the Love Tonight) and The Road to El Dorado

His long list of awards include the 1991 Best British Male Artist Brit Award, 5 Grammy Awards (1986-2000), 2001 Grammy Legend Award, 2004 Kennedy Center Honor, 11 Ivor Novello Awards (1973 – 2000), 7 Tony Awards, and 1994 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Elton was inducted into Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

The Queen of Soul was born on the other side of the pond from Elton in Memphis, Tennessee. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You was the breakthrough album by Aretha Franklin. It was released in 1967 and included her signature song, Respect.

The debut release established Franklin as a superstar and a major force in the recording industry. In addition to her successful recording career, Aretha has appeared in the memorable role of Mrs. Matt "Guitar" Murphy in The Blues Brothers. In the cult classic film she performed the sing-along hit tune Think.

Aretha has compiled an impressive list of awards. She has won 18 Grammy awards, including the 1995 Lifetime Achievement Award as well as a Living Legends Grammy Award, a 1984 American Music Award, the 1984 Ebony Magazine American Black Achievement Award, Black Entertainment Television’s (BET), 2003Walk of Fame Award. She was the first woman inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - Movie Trailer

BlowItOutaHere Top Selling DVDs of the Week

#1 - Twilight Saga: New Moon 2 DVD Set

Summit Entertainment presents this sequel to the hot box-office phenomenon Twilight with this follow-up adaptation in Stephenie Meyer's series of romantic fantasy novels. The film will tell the continuing tale of the vampire/human romance between Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). New to the series is Dakota Fanning, who joins the cast as Jane, a waifish pixie type with an air of menace.


#2 - Vans Warped Tour 15th Anniversary Blu-ray

The VANS Warped Tour 15th Anniversary Celebration in high definition Blu-ray Disc from the One Night Only September 17th, 2009 theatrical event featured in 450+ theaters nationwide. Featuring larger-than-life performances in crystal clear Dolby TrueHD by 3OH!3, All-American Rejects, The Aggrolites, Bad Religion, Blink 182, Ice-T, NOFX, Ozomatli, Pennywise, The Decaydance All Stars, Rise Against and Underoath.


#3 - Ninja Assassin DVD

V for Vendetta director James McTeigue re-teams with that film's producers Larry and Andy Wachowski for this action-packed tale of a skilled assassin who was trained by a mythical secret society, and patiently awaits the day he will avenge the death of his best friend. Swept off the streets as a young boy, Raizo (Korean pop star Rain) is transformed into an unstoppable killing machine by a secret society known as the Ozunu Clan.


#4 - Bandslam DVD

A gifted young singer-songwriter recruits the new kid in town to manage her fledgling rock band in this music-driven comedy starring Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Gaelan Connell. Charlotte Banks (Aly Michalka) has what it takes to be a true rock star, and with the battle of the bands approaching she's determined to win. Her chief opponent in the upcoming competition is none other than her egotistical ex-boyfriend Ben (Scott Porter).



#5 - Avatar 2 Disc Blu-ray (Pre-Order)

A paraplegic ex-marine war veteran is unwillingly sent to establish a human settlement on the distant planet of Pandora, only to find himself battling humankind alongside the planet's indigenous Na'vi race in this ambitious, digital 3-D sci-fi epic from Academy Award-winning Titanic director James Cameron. The film, which marks Cameron's first dramatic feature since 1997's Titanic, will be shot on the proprietary FUSION digital 3-D cameras developed by Cameron in collaboration with Vince Pace, and will offer a groundbreaking mix of live-action dramatic performances and computer-generated effects.

BlowItOutaHere celebrates Musical Theater Day!

Please join BlowItOutaHere in honoring two of the greatest names in the history of the Dramatic Arts.

Stephen Sondheim  

Notable Works: Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, West Side Story (lyrics), Company, Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Follies, A Little Night Music

Awards: Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards (eight, more than any other composer) including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater, multiple Grammy Awards, & a Pulitzer Prize.

Interesting Fact: He was president of the Dramatists Guild from 1973 to 1981 

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Notable Works: Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats

Awards: Six Tony Awards (40 nominations), three Grammy Awards (with an additional 60 nominations), an Academy Award (two other nominations), seven Olivier Awards (with 100 nominations), a Golden Globe, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006.

Interesting Fact: From 1984 to 1990 he was married to theater siren and Phantom of the Opera lead Sarah Brightman.

Today is both of their birthday's. It is extraordinary to see how many people with similarly successful careers were born the same day. We'll tell you when we notice another one. Cheers!

Randy Rhodes: The Original Guitar Hero

Can you believe it has been 28 years since the untimely death of Ozzy Osbourne's promising young guitarist Randy Rhodes? For those of us that were Ozzy and Black Sabbath fans when the Prince of Darkness was only on the TV news because of his freakish stunts and mishaps as opposed to having his own reality show, Randy was a guitar god.

He was only 25 when the plane he was flying clipped the Osbourne tour bus in Leesburg, FL. At 25 he had only appeared on 2 Ozzy records, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. But fans of the band would say those are probably the 2 best Ozzy records ever.


Randy's work on classic songs like Suicide Solution, Mr. Crowley, Steal Away the Night, Flying High Again, You Can't Kill Rock n' Roll and Over the Mountain (what a killer guitar solo... still) was truly magical. And he was still really young. It is a shame we could not have had the pleasure of hearing just one record... even just one more song.

Just imagine what hard rock would have been like with Randy Rhodes for a little while longer. Would we have even heard of Zakk Wylde? What about Jake E. Lee? Remember, even Brad Gillis from Night Ranger filled in for Randy on the Speak of the Devil Tour.

In today's world everyone is their own Guitar Hero, with plastic guitars and 4 buttons where you do not even play every note. But Randy was a true guitar god. Randy you are still missed. Although we only had you for a little while, it was a pleasure the entire time. Thanks.

The Eagles, Dixie Checks and Keith Urban Summer Stadium Tour

The Eagles, the Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban have announced 8 North American stadium shows for the summer of 2010. It is possible that additional dates will be added later. The tour starts in Toronto, Canada on June 8 and includes stops at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey as well as performances in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis. Keith Urban will only appear in 5 of the 8 shows and it is the first Dixie Chicks tour since 2006. The Eagles are one of the highest grossing in history as far as touring. Here is the run down of the dates.

June 8: *Toronto, ON (Rogers Centre)
June 10: East Rutherford, NJ (New Meadowlands Stadium)
June 12: Boston (Gillette Stadium)
June 14: Philadelphia (Citizens Bank Ball Park)
June 15: Washington, DC (Nationals Park)
June 19: Chicago (Soldier Field)
June 22: *Winnipeg, MB (Canada Inns Stadium)
June 12: *St. Louis (Busch Stadium)

*Keith Urban not appearing at these concerts.

Avatar DVD and Blu-ray Available on April 22

After a little bit of speculation and some scrambling by Fox after James Cameron’s pre-mature mention of the release date on Fox News, the DVD and Blu-ray street date for Avatar has finally been announced. The ground-breaking film will be available for purchase on April 22, 2010. With three Academy Awards wins, the film is this year’s most anticipated release. Although the initial releases will be in 2-D, 3-D versions are expected later in the year.

You can pre-order Avatar on BlowItOutaHere starting today.

Avatar on DVD only $19.22
Avatar on Blu-ray only $25.98

Thriller: MJ’s New Record Deal, Biggest Ever

The estate for Michael Jackson has reportedly agreed to a record agreement with Sony Music Entertainment on a new recording contract that will be worth up to $250 Million. The record breaking deal will apparently include an album of previously unreleased material due around November, a DVD compilation, a video game, a re-release of the King of Pop’s 1979 gem Off the Wall, and more. The deal will also retroactively include the 2 disc CD Soundtrack for This Is It. There have been over 30 million copies of his CD’s sold since his sudden death in June 2009 at age 50.

Upcoming Ludacris on TV

Ludacris is hitting the talk show circuit in support of his new CD Battle of the Sexes over the next couple of weeks. The March 9 release is the 7th studio album from the rapper and was in the making for more than a year. The first single is "How Low" and the album features guests including Ne-Yo, Nicki Minaj, Flo Rida, Ciara, Trey Songz, Lil' Kim, Eve, Trina, and Plies.

Ludacris on TV:

3/16/2010 Late Show with David Letterman 3/17/2010 Live with Regis & Kelly 3/23/2010 Ellen DeGeneres Show 3/26/2010 Jimmy Kimmel Live 3/29/2010 George Lopez Tonight 3/30/2010 Chelsea Lately

Et tu, Brute?

On March 15 in 44 BC (The Ides of March) 60 conspirators assassinated Julius Caesar. BlowItOutaHere loves to rock, but knowledge is power. If we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it, right? BlowItOutaHere offers a wide array of movies including history, nature, science, travel, and educational DVDs that help old and young learn more about their favorite topics.

Pearl Jam Announces New U.S. Dates

Veteran grunge rockers Pearl Jam has announced a string of new U.S. concert dates in May. The dates are in support of their most recent album Backspacer and include performances in New Orleans, Cleveland, Buffalo, Boston, and 2 dates at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Seattle based band is also set to perform as the musical guest on this week’s (March 13) Saturday Night Live.

Here are the recently announced Pearl Jam's U.S. Tour Dates:
May 1: New Orleans (New Orleans Jazz Festival)
May 3: Kansas City, Mo. (Sprint Center)
May 4: St. Louis (Scottrade Center)
May 6: Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena)
May 7: Noblesville, Ind. (Verizon Wireless Music Center)
May 9: Cleveland, Ohio (Quicken Loans Arena)
May 10: Buffalo, N.Y. (HSBC Arena)
May 13: Bristow, Virginia (Jiffy Lube Live)
May 15: Hartford, CT (XL Center)
May 17: Boston (TD Garden)
May 20: New York (Madison Square Garden)
May 21: New York (Madison Square Garden)

Rock Band 3 Coming Soon

Rock Band 3 is rumored to coming to shelves for the 2010 Holiday season later this year. It will be the first edition of the video game that is not exclusively one artist in 2 years. There is speculation that the game will use Microsoft’s new Natal motion-capture camera/controller. This new functionality allows gamers to use gestures for the controller. It will essentially turn the player’s body into a controller. The game should include music from Jimi Hendrix, but other artists are still not known. What artists/songs would you most like to see on the new game?

Hello World!

This is the first post for the new BlowItOutaHere blog. BlowItOutaHere is an entertainment website that sells CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, Records, Video Games, Apparel and more. Visit us on the web at http://www.blowitoutahere.com/. Stay tuned for more!