On September 28th, Time Life will release a special DVD set featuring the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts. Filmed over two nights in October 2009 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the historic event brought together a stellar lineup of artists spanning from the ‘50s through today for groundbreaking performances and once-in-a-lifetime collaborations. The Time Life release marks the first time this amazing event is available on DVD, including the full four hour, Emmy-nominated highlight special that aired on HBO along with unseen bonus performances and a collector’s issue of Rolling Stone magazine featuring behind-the-scenes stories.
Featuring a who’s who of rock ‘n’ roll, the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Anniversary Concerts included sets by Crosby, Stills & Nash; Stevie Wonder; Paul Simon; Simon & Garfunkel; Aretha Franklin; Metallica; U2; Jeff Beck and Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band. Joining this iconic line up on stage were special guests including: Jerry Lee Lewis, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Smokey Robinson, B.B. King, Annie Lennox, Lou Reed, John Fogerty, Mick Jagger, Fergie and others.
The 3-DVD set, The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts, captures performances from all of these legendary artists over a span of 51 complete performances and an additional 16 bonus performances not seen on HBO. Highlights from the lineup include:
* Mick Jagger and Fergie in a blistering version of the Rolling Stones’ classic “Gimme Shelter” with U2 as the backing band
* Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel on-stage for a rollicking rendition of “Born to Run”
* Sting joining Jeff Beck for the Curtis Mayfield classic “People Get Ready”
* Paul Simon, David Crosby and Graham Nash joining together for a spine-tingling “Here Comes the Sun”
* Ozzy Osbourne singing with Metallica on the Black Sabbath classics “Iron Man” and “Paranoid”
* John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen sharing vocals on Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman”
A complete list of performances is included below.
“These concerts capture the spirit of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which recognizes the truly outstanding and inspiring artists that have made an impact with their music,” says Jann Wenner, Co-Founder of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Publisher of Rolling Stone Magazine. “We are grateful to all of the amazing artists who joined together to create one of the best concert events ever recorded.”
The DVD release of the concerts follows the success of another Time Life partnership with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live DVD set. Featuring rare performances and speeches from the past 24 years of Rock and Roll Hall of fame induction ceremonies, the collection was recently certified triple platinum.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame again and honored to be releasing such an amazing piece of music history,” said Michael Mitchell, Time Life Vice President Marketing and Strategic Partnerships. “The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts captures a truly magical event that brought together an extraordinary lineup of artists, and we are delighted to be able to bring it to music fans.”
The highlight special, originally airing on HBO in November, scored five nominations for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards to be handed out in August. Nominations include: Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special; Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special; Outstanding Picture Editing for a Special (Single or Multi-Camera); Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or Special and Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.
The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts DVD set will be available at retailers September 28th with a Blu-ray version of the package available exclusively at Best Buy for the first 30 days.
About Time Life:
Headquartered in Fairfax, VA, Time Life began in 1961 as a direct marketing division of Time Inc., specializing in books and music. The business has been operated as a separate company since the mid – 1970’s when it relocated to Virginia, and has since grown to become one of the world’s largest direct marketers of audio and video products. The company has set the standard in the direct response industry by pioneering direct marketing techniques and building one of the most trusted and recognized brands in commerce. Time Life also sells its products through major traditional and non-traditional retailers. The company was sold in 2003 to private investors. Time Life and the Time Life logo are registered trademarks of Time Warner Inc. and affiliated companies, used under license by Direct Holdings Americas Inc., which is not affiliated with Time Warner Inc. or Time Inc.