21st April 2015 - AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has pleaded guilty to charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana. The 60-year-old rocker could face up to seven years in prison.
Music lovers everywhere should be happy that RCA Studio A will not be torn down for condos. Because, as the old saying goes — they just don't make 'em like that anymore.
The RCA Studio A has recently been at the center of a preservation battle that saw the historic location nearing demolition, until intervention staved off the wrecking ball.
On this day forty years ago John Lennon dissolved The Beatles
29th December 1974 - John Lennon’s signature officially dissolves the Beatles.
With George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr having already signed off on the band’s demise, the Beatles ended with a stroke of John Lennon‘s pen on Dec. 29, 1974.
28th December 1976 - Freddie King (born 3rd September 1934) an influential American blues guitarist and singer died.
Freddie King placed 15th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
22nd December 2014 - Joe Cocker has died aged 70
died at his home in Colorado after a long battle with lung cancer. The singer was born in Sheffield, England. .
He is best known for his cover of the Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends" and his duet with Jennifer Warnes, "Up Where We Belong" - from the film An Officer And A Gentleman - which hit number one and went on to win both a Grammy and an Academy Award in 1983. He also had a string of other hits. He was made an OBE in 2011.
Chip Young, a producer and guitarist renowned in Nashville circles for his work with Elvis Presley's studio band between 1965 and 1977, Dolly Parton, and a long list of other artists, has passed away at the age of 76.
“Chip was one of the best, hardest-working session picker/producer/engineers Nashville has ever seen". He also played with Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Kris Kristofferson.
22nd December 2002 - Joe Strummer, musician, singer, actor and songwriter who was the co-founder and lead vocalist of the punk rock band The Clash died on this day.
Strummer died suddenly on 22 December 2002 in his home at Broomfield in Somerset, the victim of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect.
Lead Belly sang "Christmas Is A-Comin' (Chicken Crows at Midnight)" and other songs for the Louisiana State Penitentiary governor at Angola prison and gained his release.
Blues icon Stevie Ray Vaughan tops Hall of Fame poll
The late Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band Double Trouble have topped the public poll for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He beats Nine Inch Nails, Joan Jett, Lou Reed, Green Day and others He got 18 million votes.
Vaughan died in a helicopter crash in August 1990 after appearing in a concert with Eric Clapton.
3rd December 2014 - .Ian McLagan, known best as the keyboardist for British rock bands Small Faces and Faces, died Wednesday afternoon aged 69. McLagan died in hospital in Austin, Texas after suffering a stroke the previous day.
2nd December 2014 - Bobby Keys, the saxophonist who played on some of the Rolling Stones‘ biggest and best songs, has died. He was 70 years old. He had been fighting cirrhosis.
November 2014 - Bono, vocalist with U2, suffers serious arm and facial injuries in a cycling accident in Central Park, New York. The Edge says the U2 singer "basically can't move for the next couple of months" after his bicycling accident.
Jack Bruce of Cream died on 25th October 201, aged 71. He played in influential British bands like Alexis Korner’s Blues Inc, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, and Manfred Mann before teaming up with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker in 1966 to form Cream. The band was dubbed the first “supergroup”. Jack Bruce was the vocalist and bass player with Cream.
[ tell me more... ]
Alvin Stardust who had a number of hits during the glam-rock period in the 1970s died on 23rd October 2014, aged 72, from prostate cancer. His hits included "My Coo Ca Choo". He was previously in Shane Fenton and the Fentones during the 1960s. He later appeared in stage musicals including Godspell and The Phantom of the Opera.
He was due to release his first studio album in 30 years on the 3rd November 2014. The release date has been subsequently brought forward to 27th October.
On his 12th birthday, he had been given his first guitar by his mother. He took it with him on a bus to Doncaster to see Buddy Holly and the Crickets. Holly signed the guitar and over the years it was autographed by Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Johnny Kidd, Billy Fury, Bill Haley, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Some may not know his name but Raphael Ravenscroft was the saxophanist responsible for the sax riff on Gerry Rafferty's 1976 hit "Baker Street" which also featured on the "City to City" album. OK you know him now!
He became an in-demand session player who played on albums by Pink Floyd, Daft Punk, Marvin Gaye, Abba and others.
He died following a suspected heart attack early on Sunday, 19th October 2014.
As part of the continuing reminisces of The Who at 50 the early dates of the group (as The High Numbers) report they regularly played at The Mine Club at the rear of The Pheasant Pub near Carpenders Park.
In Quadrophenia the nearby area is credited as the home of the mods.
In another twist of fate the Pheasant pub was recently renamed The Ox. This was due to it being located in a suburb of South Oxhey rather than a reference to the group's legendary bass player John Entwistle, who died in 2002, known as "The Ox".
So now we have Moon House and Daltry (sic) House in Wealdstone and The Ox at Carpenders Park. You could not make it up! [ Read more... ]
We never got past eight-track. All of The Beatles' work was on two-track, four-track or eight-track. Sgt. Pepper was four-track. By Abbey Road we had got to eight-track, and thought that was too many! We thought it was too big a luxury.
September 2014 - AC/DC have announced that Malcolm Young will not be returning to the band due to health reasons. A new album is due for release in December 2014.
The Birmingham pub, The Crown, where Black Sabbath played their first gigs has closed down and been sold. Attempts to turn it into a museum/cafe/bar have failed. It is the latest in an increasing number of music venues that are closing down. Led Zeppelin and UB40 also played gigs there.
On the 19th September 1973, 41 years ago, Gram Parsons, formerly with The Byrds, dies at the Joshua Tree Inn, California. Many stories abound about his burial and body snatch.
On this day - 16th September 1970 - at the Savoy Hotel
from Jimmy Page
16 September 1970 - By 1970, Led Zeppelin had risen in the categories of The Melody Maker Poll. Melody Maker was the most prestigious of the music papers in the UK at the time.
The Melody Maker Poll awards ceremony was hosted at the Savoy Hotel in London. Led Zeppelin were awarded number one Group, number one UK Album and number two International Album with Led Zeppelin II, Robert Plant number one Male Singer.
In the guitar category,
I was number two, with Eric Clapton number one and Jimi Hendrix number three.
John Gustafson was the bass player in the Big Three, and later played in the Merseybeats, Quatermass, Hard Stuff, Roxy Music, Ian Gillan Band and as a session musician. The Big Three are best known for the 1963 recording of "Some Other Guy". He died on 12th September 2014 aged 72. [read more...]
The Railway Hotel, Wealdstone was a typical old rock 'n roll pub/hotel. The Who played their first gig there as "The High Numbers".
At the R&B club run by Richard Barnes, Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp first saw The Who. This is the site of The Who's first ever gig.
Pete Townshend cracked his guitar neck on the low ceiling and so began The Whos notorious auto-destruction.
The derilect building was destroyed by fire in 2000. It was replaced by two blocks of flats named Moon House and Daltry (sic) House after members of The Who.
Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love has been voted the greatest guitar riff of all time by listeners of BBC Radio 2.
Led Zep guitarist Jimmy Page said he was "knocked out" by winning the vote. "I wanted a riff that really moved, that people would really get, and would bring a smile to their faces, but when I played it with the band, it really went into overdrive," he said.
MOJO magazine has a great article about the re-mastering of the Beatles in mono to replicate the original releases. See the October 2014 issue (published on the 26th August, yes folks that's right, the 26th August).
Apparently the mono versions were the originals and different to the stereo versions (which were produced as an afterthought and with less care).
Blues guitarist Johnny Winter, known for his energetic solo performances, has died at the age of 70 in Zurich days after playing at the Lovely Days Festival in Austria.
Winter - hailed as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time - rose to fame in the 1970.
Former Deep Purple and Whitesnake keyboard player Jon Lord dies 16th July 2012, aged 71.
He was a founder member of Deep Purple and co-wrote Smoke On The Water.
Gerry Rafferty died on 4th January
2011, aged 63, in Scotland. His Baker
Street song from the album City to
City was instantly recognisable with
it's haunting sax sound. He was also
the singer in Stealer's Wheel who
had a big 1970's hit with Stuck In
The Middle With You.
Jeff Healey has died in Toronto aged
41 on 2nd March 2008. His new album
"Mess of Blues" was due out
the same day.
Healey who suffered blindness from age
one died of the same disease that caused
his blindness. He was grammy nominated
for his 1988 album "See the Light".
Mike Smith (far left), lead vocalist, with the
band died on the 28th February 2008.
He suffered a spinal cord injury in
2003. The DC5 sold over 100 million
records and enjoyed 30 hit singles worldwide
before breaking up in the 1970s.
They are due to be inducted into the
US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New
York on 10th March 2008.
Bobby "Boris" Pickett, famous for
Monster Mash, died aged 69 in Los
Angeles on 25th April 2007. Although
a one-hit wonder, the song charted
in 1962, 1970 and in 1973 in the USA
gaining him three gold discs, and
reached number three in the UK.
Pickett joking at his shows: "And
now I'm going to do a medley of my
hit".
Syd Barrett - founder member of
Pink Floyd -
dies July 2006 aged 60
Syd Barrett, a founder member of
Pink Floyd, died in Cambridge UK,
in July 2006. After leaving the group
of which he was an inspirational member
in 1968, he became a reclusive figure
in subsequent years.
Reggae star Desmond Dekker died of
a heart attack aged 64.
He was at the forefront of reggae
music in the UK. With his group the
Aces he topped the UK charts with
Israelites.
Shadows drummer Tony Meehan (far
right) dies, aged 62, after a fall.
He was the original drummer of the
group and later played with Jet Harris
on several hit singles.
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The White Stripes certainly wowed
Glastonbury with a fabulous set. Their
intensity, changes in sound dynamics
and variety of music styles reminded
me of the great Led Zep - so they must
be good.
June Pointer, the youngest of the
Pointer Sisters, has died in Los Angeles
on 12th April 2006 aged 52. Their
1984's Break Ou albumt won two Grammys
for Automatic and Jump (for My Love).
