Miles Davis and Edith Piaf Stamps on Sale Today
The U.S. Postal Service today proudly presents music legends Miles Davis and Edith Piaf on stamps. (PRNewsFoto/U.S. Postal Service)
Features First QR Code on U.S. Postage Stamps
NEW YORK , June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – Music speaks an international language, crossing borders and oceans. Today, the United States Postal Service and
La Poste of France celebrate a lively conversation between continents with the issuance of the Miles Davis and Edith Piaf stamps. The U.S. version of the stamps, issued as Forever stamps, go on sale today at Post Offices nationwide. The U.S. version and La Poste versions can be purchased in the United States online at usps.com and by phone at 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724).
This is the first time the United States and France have jointly issued a stamp since 1989, when both countries honored the bicentennial of the French Revolution.
The Miles Davis and Edith Piaf stamps also feature another historic first. For the first time, a QR code is printed on the back of the stamps. The code can be scanned with a smart phone. A landing page opens with an option to listen to music from Davis while viewing photographs and a timeline of the lives of both Davis and Piaf. There are several buttons on the landing site including a Buy Now button that enables purchasing the U.S. and French versions of the Davis and Piaf stamps as well as other related products. The landing site can be emailed, shared on Facebook and Twitter and videos may be added.
Edith Piaf, forever associated with her hometown of Paris, is one of the few French popular singers to become a household name in the United States. The renowned American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis is beloved in France, where he performed frequently and was made a Chevalier in the Legion of Honor. He also was awarded the Grande Medaille de Vermeil by the city of Paris, the equivalent of making him an honorary citizen.
“Miles Davis was one of the great innovators in American jazz, but he was also extremely popular in France, where he performed frequently,” said U.S. Postal Service Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman at the special dedication ceremony held at the Rubin Museum of Art — The Theater in New York.
“Likewise, Edith Piaf, one of France’s best-loved singers, became an icon in the United States,” Stroman said. “These musical greats never performed alongside each other — so the United States Postal Service and France’s La Poste are now bringing them together on these new stamps.
“With our Miles Davis and Edith Piaf stamps, our goal is to encourage more people to learn about these artists and the unique form of musical diplomacy they practiced. Like the music of Miles and Edith and like the friendship between America and France, these stamps will last forever.”
Joining Stroman to dedicate the new Forever stamps were Emmy Award-winning actress Cicely Tyson; Sirius/XM Program Director Mark Ruffin; legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter; musician/producer Don Was, currently chief creative officer of Blue Note Records; legendary music industry executive George Avakian from Columbia Records; world-class musician Jon Barnes, who played in the movie Dirty Dancing; and members of the Davis family, including daughter Cheryl, son Erin, and nephew Vince Wilburn, Jr. A musical tribute was performed by the Julliard School of Music, the alma mater of Miles Davis.
The Miles Davis family commented: “It is an extremely high honor to have the legacy of Miles Dewey Davis recognized with a commemorative stamp. We thank the U.S. Postal Service, along with all of the fans and well-wishers worldwide, who voiced their support for this initiative.”
During the stamp dedication ceremony, Grammy Award-winning composer Mike Stoller spoke about Piaf and her biggest selling single record, L’ Homme e la Moto (Black Denim Trousers and Motor-cycle Boots), which he co-wrote as a member of the songwriting team of Leiber & Stoller. Bulgarian/Italian actress and singer Maria Elena Infantino performed a scene from a one-woman show titled Edith Piaf, about Piaf’s life journey. Biographer Carolyn Burke, who wrote the book, No Regrets, The Life of Edith Piaf spoke at the event.
“She was the little sparrow, a small person physically whose monumental voice made her internationally famous,” said Stoller. “For people everywhere in the world her voice was the voice of Paris. Can you imagine how I felt at age 23 on my first trip to Europe, hearing Edith Piaf sing a song I wrote at L’Olympia Music-Hall?
“In my early years I was a stamp collector and a jazz fan so I’m doubly
pleased to be a part of this event by the U.S. Postal Service honoring Edith Piaf and Miles Davis,” Stoller said.
Americans may know Edith Piaf best for her cheerful song “La Vie en Rose” (“Life in Pink”), about the experience of falling in love and seeing life through rose-colored glasses; the tune is still heard on the streets of Paris today. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Piaf toured the U.S. ten times and sang twice at Carnegie Hall. In 1960, the ailing chanteuse discovered the defiant song that would become her anthem, “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” (“No Regrets”).
Miles Davis was at the forefront of jazz musicians for decades, setting trends and exploring musical styles from bebop through cool jazz, fusion and funk. His restless musical exploration made him a hero to jazz lovers throughout the world. Among his many influential recordings are Birth of the Cool, Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain, and In a Silent Way. He was also a great bandleader, and many important musicians rose to prominence in his bands, including saxophonists John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter; drummers Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette; and pianists Bill Evans, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock.
Davis’ music will long be remembered for its profound depth of feeling. By the time of his death in 1991, he had won many prizes and honors, including a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. A congressional resolution was unanimously passed to honor the legacy of Kind of Blue on its 50th anniversary. In 1984, he received Denmark’s prestigious Leonie Sonning Music Prize. In 1989, he was awarded the Grande Medaille de Vermeil by the city of Paris, which was presented to him by Jacques Chirac, then mayor and later president of France.
A second Miles Davis stamp dedication is scheduled in Los Angeles on June 27 at the Hollywood Bowl’s Museum Terrace from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The dedication will be followed by the Herbie Hancock hosted “Miles Davis Celebration” concert at the Hollywood Bowl featuring Marcus Miller “Tutu Revisited,” the Miles Electric Band (featuring Vince Wilburn, Jr. on drums) and Kind of Blue: Jimmy Cobb’s “So What” Band. For ticket information please visit hollywoodbowl.com.
Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps using an undated, black-and-white photo of Piaf made by Studio Harcourt Paris and a black-and-white photo of Davis, from 1970, by David Gahr.
The Miles Davis and Edith Piaf stamps are being issued as Forever stamps in self-adhesive sheets of 20 (10 of each design) and are being sold at a price of 45 cents each, or $9 per sheet. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.
Customers may view the Edith Piaf and Miles Davis Forever stamps, as well as many of this year’s other stamps, on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps , through Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview . Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for background on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark, Miles Davis and Edith Piaf Forever Stamps
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at a local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724). They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others) and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:
Miles Davis/Edith Piaf Stamp
Postmaster
421 Eighth Ave., Rm. 2029B
New York, N.Y. 10199-9998
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes by mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by August 12, 2012.
How to Order First-Day Covers
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog, online at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724). Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724) or writing to:
U.S. Postal Service
Catalog Request
P.O. Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014
Philatelic Products
There are eight philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
- 469562, Joint First-Day Cover Set of 2, $3.95.
- 469563, First-Day Cover Set of 2, $1.78
- 469568. Digital Color Postmark Set of 2, $3.20
- 469574, Folio, $16.95
- 469584, Uncut Press Sheet, $36.00.
- 469591, Ceremony Program (random single), $6.95.
- 469597, Panel, $9.95.
- 469599, Cancellation Keepsake (DCP Set 2 w/Pane), $12.95.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation — 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office™ Boxes. The Postal Service™ receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com®, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
Follow the Postal Service on www.twitter.com/USPSstamps and at www.facebook.com/USPSSTAMPS
SOURCE U.S. Postal Service
Web Site: http://www.usps.com
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Categories: News Tags: bassist, Bill Evans, Birth of the Cool, Blue Note Records, Chick Corea, Columbia Records, Edith Piaf, France, Grande Medaille de Vermeil, Herbie Hancock, In a Silent Way, Jack DeJohnette, Jazz, John Coltrane, Jon Barnes, Julliard School of Music, Kind of Blue, Leiber & Stoller, Life in Pink, Maria Elena Infantino, Miles Davis, Miles Electric Band, Music, No Regrets, QR code, Ron Carter, Rubin Museum of Art, Singer, Sketches of Spain, smart phone, Stamps, The Life of Edith Piaf, Tony Williams, trumpeter, U.S., United States Postal Service, Wayne Shorter
Columbia Records/RPM Records/Legacy Recordings Releasing Tony Bennett – The Complete Collection in Honor of Singer’s 85th Birthday
Unprecedented Landmark Anthology, Available Exclusively Through Barnes and Noble, Assembles Artist’s Entire Album Catalog Plus The Columbia Singles, Outtakes & Rarities, Historic Television Specials & More on 73 CDs and 3 DVDs
Tony’s Legendary 1964 Live At The Sahara Performance Finally Available as Full Album in The Complete Collection
Available Tuesday, November 8
NEW YORK, Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — In celebration of the artist’s 85th birthday, Columbia Records/RPM Records/Legacy Recordings will release Tony Bennett – The Complete Collection, an extraordinary compilation chronicling the entire career of the great American pop vocalist as documented in the albums and singles he’s made for Columbia Records (beginning in 1952 through the present), as well as his recordings for Roulette (an historic encounter with Count Basie and Orchestra in 1959), MGM (1972-73), Improv (Bennett’s own label from 1973-76) and Fantasy (a pair of sublime titles with pianist Bill Evans, released in 1975-76).
Tony Bennett – The Complete Collection will be available exclusively at select Barnes and Noble retail locations on Tuesday, November 8. BN.com and tonybennett.com will be the exclusive online retail sites and fans can pre-order the collection online starting today.
Len Riggio, Chairman of Barnes and Noble commented, “Tony Bennett’s amazing career seems to be ascending as he celebrates his 85th birthday, therefore we are excited about the opportunity to sell his new Duets Album as well as the historic collection of his entire lifetime in music. Go Tony, go!”
Assembled chronologically, Tony Bennett – The Complete Collection presents the breathtaking entirety of Bennett’s recorded repertoire, more than a thousand individual songs spanning six decades, across 73 CDs and 3 DVDs.
At the core of the collection are Tony’s original albums, each with its original jacket design and original sequencing and, in many cases, bonus material. In addition to Bennett’s best-selling album titles, this monumental anthology includes two newly curated collections — “Rarities, Outtakes and Other Delights” (2 CDs) and “The Columbia Singles” (6 CDs) — available exclusively in this set.
“The Columbia Singles” brings together for the first time all of the singles Bennett recorded for Columbia Records, the label he signed with in 1950. Most of them recorded in the early 1950s, “The Columbia Singles” includes the a-sides and b-sides that were not included on individual albums.
“Rarities, Outtakes and Other Delights” collects rare tracks, previously unreleased outtakes, guest appearances on other artist’s albums, soundtrack songs and more beginning with the recently discovered 1946 V-Disc recording of “St. James Infirmary Blues” that “effervescent delight,” which was Tony’s very first known recording. Nestled among the “Rarities” are two tracks from another fabled concert Bennett gave at the Latin Casino in Philadelphia with the Count Basie Orchestra, which was recorded and never released.
Tony Bennett fans will rejoice at the inclusion of a pair of rare previously unreleased full album sets on Tony Bennett – The Complete Collection: On The Glory Road and Live at the Sahara, two mythic sessions, recorded June 1962 and April 1964 respectively, at the height of Tony’s early 1960s career.
A lost Tony Bennett masterpiece, On The Glory Road had been recorded, assigned a catalog number and assembled, only to be left on the shelf when Tony’s “(I Left My Heart In) San Francisco” (originally the b-side to “Once Upon A Time”) became a national hit and a compilation album of the same name was released instead. A smattering of tracks from Glory Road have been released but this is the first time the whole album has been presented in its originally intended form.
Live at the Sahara is a live document of Tony’s incandescent performances at the legendary Las Vegas casino during the swinging 1960s. Culled from four different nights, the performances on this album have never been heard before.
Rounding out Tony Bennett – The Complete Collection are three DVDs, each covering an essential aspect of Tony’s career: Tony Bennett Sings… with the London Philharmonic, a rarely seen BBC “Show of the Week” from 1971 (released as the Get Happy LP); MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett, the 1994 breakout performance that introduced Tony to a whole new generation of fans while earning the 1995 Album of the Year Grammy; Tony Bennett: An American Classic, the 2006 star-studded Rob Marshall-directed television special celebrating Tony’s 80th birthday that won 7 primetime Emmys.
Tony Bennett is an artist who moves the hearts and touches the souls of audiences. He’s not just the singer’s singer but also an international treasure honored by the United Nations with its Citizen of the World award, which aptly describes the scope of his accomplishments.
Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born in the Astoria section of Queens, New York. Tony’s big break came in 1949 when comedian Bob Hope noticed him working with Pearl Bailey in Greenwich Village. His initial fame came via a string of Columbia singles in the 1950s, including such chart-toppers as “Because of You,” “Rags To Riches” and a cover of Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold Heart.” He has placed two-dozen songs in the Top 40, including “I Wanna Be Around,” “The Good Life,” “Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)” and his signature hit, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.” One of only a few artists to have albums chart in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and the new millennium, he’s introduced multitudes of songs into the Great American Songbook that have become pop music standards. Thus far, Tony has earned 15 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Tony Bennett became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2005, was named an NEA Jazz Master in January of 2006. His 2006 CD released in honor of his 80th birthday, DUETS became a multi-platinum hit, won three Grammys and is the singer’s best selling recording to date. A multiple Emmy winner, Tony’s AN AMERICAN CLASSIC TV special, directed by Oscar winner Rob Marshall (“Chicago,” “Memoirs Of A Geisha”), won 7 Emmy Awards in 2007. Tony is a dedicated painter whose interest in art began as a child. He continues to paint daily, even while touring. He has exhibited work around the world, and three of his original paintings are part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institutions in Washington, D.C. Throughout his career, Tony Bennett has always put his heart and time into humanitarian concerns. The United Nations presented him with their 2007 Humanitarian Award. In 2001, Tony established the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, one of the highest rated public high schools in New York City. With his wife Susan, they founded Exploring the Arts, a non-profit organization that supports arts programs in 14 NYC public high schools in all five boroughs.
Tony Bennett celebrated his 85th birthday on August 3, 2011. In honor of this milestone, Tony’s new DUETS II CD will be released in September, featuring Tony performing duets with many celebrated artists including Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Aretha Franklin, Josh Groban and Amy Winehouse.
“It amazes me to realize that it has been over 60 years since I was signed to Columbia Records,” writes Tony Bennett in his introduction to Tony Bennett – The Complete Collection. ”Being with Columbia has provided me with the ultimate music education: I’ve been blessed to perform, record and be properly involved with such brilliant musicians as Count Basie, Stan Getz, Ralph Burns, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Duke Ellington, and many other great artists.. To be an artist with Columbia was an adventure into the very heart of the creative arts world. My ambition has always been to create a hit catalogue rather than hit records. Columbia gave me the platform to do so, and I have been fortunate enough to introduce some three dozen songs into the “Great American Songbook.” To me there is no such thing as an old song, just a great song. No other country in the world has produced more popular standards than the United States – and those wonderful songs can all be found on Columbia.”
Tony Bennett – The Complete Collection
1. Rarities
2. Rarities, vol. 2
3. The Columbia singles, vol. 1
4. The Columbia singles, vol. 2
5. The Columbia singles, vol. 3
6. The Columbia singles, vol. 4
7. The Columbia singles, vol. 5
8. The Columbia singles, vol. 6
9. Cloud 7
10. Tony
11. The Beat Of My Heart
12. Long Ago And Far Away
13. Basie/Bennett
14. In Person!
15. Hometown, My Town
16. To My Wonderful One
17. Alone Together
18. A String Of Arlen
19. Tony Sings For Two
20. My Heart Sings
21. Mr. Broadway
22. On The Glory Road
23. I Left My Heart In San Francisco
24/25. Tony Bennett At Carnegie Hall
26. I Wanna Be Around
27. This Is All I Ask
28. The Many Moods Of Tony
29. When Lights Are Low
30. Who Can I Turn To
31. If I Ruled The World
32. The Movie Song Album
33. A Time For Love
34. Tony Makes It Happen
35. For Once In My Life
36. Yesterday I Heard The Rain
37. Snowfall
38. I’ve Gotta Be Me
39. Tony Sings The Great Hits Of Today!
40. Something
41. Love Story
42. Get Happy
43. Summer Of ’42
44. With Love
45. The Good Things In Life
46. Listen Easy
47. Tony’s Greatest Hits, vol. 7
48. Sunrise, Sunset
49. Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs
50. 10 More Rodgers & Hart Songs
51. Life Is Beautiful
52. Tony Bennett & Bill Evans
53. Tony Bennett & Bill Evans: Together Again
54. Tony Bennett/The McFarlands & Friends…
55. The Art Of Excellence
56. Bennett/Berlin
57. Astoria
58. Perfectly Frank
59. Steppin’ Out
60/61. MTV Unplugged
62. Here’s To The Ladies
63. Bennett On Holiday
64. The Playground
65. Bennett Sings Ellington
66. Our Favorite Things
67. Playin’ With My Friends
68. A Wonderful World (with k.d. lang)
69. The Art Of Romance
70. Duets – An American Classic
71. Duets 2
72. Christmas With Tony Bennett
73. A Swingin’ Christmas
74. Live At The Sahara: From This Moment On
75. Tony Bennett Sings… with the London Philharmonic (DVD)
76. An American Classic (DVD)
SOURCE Columbia Records/RPM Records/Legacy Recordings
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