This just in from the Pops:
Grammy Award-winning pop icon Neil Diamond will perform on the BOSTON POPS FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR, an entertainment special to be broadcast live from the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, Saturday, July 4 (10:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Craig Ferguson (CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”), in his third consecutive year as host of the special, will travel directly from a week-long USO tour overseas with U.S. troops to Boston for the annual 4th of July event.
Diamond will perform some of his classic hits with The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra under the direction of conductor Keith Lockhart.
The BOSTON POPS FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR, in its 36th year, is the orchestra’s annual free outdoor Fourth of July concert and is sponsored by insurance company, Liberty Mutual Group. The final 21 minutes of the broadcast, featuring the spectacular fireworks display, will be presented commercial free by Liberty Mutual Group.
Neil Diamond’s eclectic and universally beloved songs – as well as his charismatic and openhearted performances of them – continue to make him an international force both as a record maker and a live entertainer. In an impressive musical career that has spanned nearly five decades, he has released dozens of albums and sold more than 125 million records worldwide, with a remarkable track record of 15 Top Ten albums and 37 Top Ten singles. From songs such as “Sweet Caroline,” “I Am…I Said,” “Cracklin’ Rose,” “America,” “Song Sung Blue,” “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” to the rest of his vast catalog of hits are also the reason that this Grammy winning artist has been inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame as well as receiving the same organization’s prestigious Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award. Among Diamond’s many other notable honors, he has to date received a Golden Globe Award and twelve Grammy nominations, and, in February, was named the 2009 MusiCares Person of the Year. His latest release, the critically acclaimed Number One album Home Before Dark, spawned one of his most successful worldwide tours ever, solidifying his status as one of the most dynamic performers of our time.
Craig Ferguson joined the late-night television arena as host of THE LATE LATE SHOW in January 2005, following a career that encompassed film, television and the stage. The Scottish-born actor, writer, director and producer brings a fresh approach to late-night television, which has quickly evolved into appointment viewing for America’s nightly insomniacs and for which he has received an Emmy nomination. Each weeknight, Ferguson, a gifted conversationalist, goes one-on-one with guests from the worlds of film, television, sports, news and publishing. Additionally, THE LATE LATE SHOW continues to spotlight eclectic, edgy musical acts and rising stand-up comedians. THE LATE LATE SHOW with CRAIG FERGUSON is broadcast weeknights (12:37-1:37 AM, ET/PT) following broadcasts of the “Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS. (On the web: www.cbs.com/latenight/latelate) Ferguson was sworn in as a United States citizen in February 2008. He is currently writing his memoir, American On Purpose, an achingly funny account of living the American dream as he journeys from a small town in Scotland to the entertainment capital of the world. The book is scheduled for release in September 2009.
The Boston Pops, “America’s Orchestra,” performs in front of nearly 900,000 people annually in Boston, across the country and around the world, and reaches millions more through its recordings and television broadcasts. Keith Lockhart became the 20th conductor of the Boston Pops in February 1995 and marks his 15th season this year. He has conducted more than 1,000 Boston Pops concerts, made 66 television shows, and led the Boston Pops on 33 national tours and four tours of Japan and Korea. He and the Boston Pops Orchestra have recorded eight albums with RCA Victor, and more recently, have released four self-produced recordings (available at bostonpops.org), including Sleigh Ride, America, Oscar & Tony, and, most recently, The Red Sox Album, presently at Number Five on the Billboard’s Classical Crossover chart. In 2010, the Boston Pops will mark its 125th season. Though the Pops have performed free concerts on Boston’s Charles River Esplanade since 1929, the July 4th concert took on a new dimension in 1974 with the introduction of the concert’s now-famous grand spectacular fireworks finale.
Boston 4 Productions (www.july4th.org) has produced this annual event for the past 36 years for which approximately 500,000 people pack Boston’s Charles River Esplanade. In addition, more than seven million people across the country and the globe join “America’s Orchestra” through the annual televised broadcast, sponsored by Liberty Mutual Group.
The BOSTON POPS FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR broadcast and live event will be produced by Boston 4 Productions and White Cherry Entertainment, in collaboration with IMG Media. Boston 4 Productions’ David G. Mugar is executive producer. Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner will produce the national telecast; Michael Mathis of IMG Media and Sheryl Bourisk for WBZ-TV will produce the local telecast seen on WBZ-TV Boston. Glenn Weiss will direct both the local and Network broadcasts.
