Steve Smith: Beach Boys working on new album
Aug 6, 2011 John Deacon
BEACH BOYS NEW ALBUM
This year marks the 50th anniversary of The Beach Boys. The group that grew up in Hawthorne will celebrate that golden anniversary by reuniting to record a new album, announced singer Mike Love, reports Billboard. He said that he and his cousin, Brian Wilson, have each written new songs and that both are taking this project, “very seriously.” He said that it appears that the album will be recorded this fall with a release date in early 2012.
The goal-oriented Love added that the group is already in the Guinness Book for World Records for the longest stretch between No. 1 songs, saying, “Between ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Kokomo’ it was 22 years between No. 1 records. Can you imagine if we got a No. 1 record in 2012? Oh, that would be something.”
WILL THE WHO RETURN?
Roger Daltrey, singer for The Who, said group leader Pete Townshend is nearly “stone deaf” and suffers from severe tinnitus as the result of decades of incredibly loud volume at the group’s concerts. Because of this, he said the band the two of them formed in 1964 may have played its final concert.
Not so, says a rejuvenated Townshend on his blog, who reports that his condition has improved. The guitarist says that The Who is hitting the road next year and they’ll be performing full versions of his 1973 rock opera, “Quadrophenia.”
Daltrey is currently on a marathon U.S. tour that is seeing him and his band perform Townshend’s
1969 rock opera, “Tommy” in its entirety. Townshend said the reason he didn’t join Daltrey on this jaunt is because, “This is entirely Roger’s adventure, one that is bringing him great joy. I don’t belong on this ‘Tommy’ tour.” He ended his post with, “I wish him well, sincerely, and I look forward to playing with Roger again doing `Quadrophenia’ next year.”
CHUCK BERRY GETS STATUE
The city of University City, MO, outside St. Louis, unveiled an eight-foot statue of the 84-year-old “Father of Rock and Roll,” Chuck Berry, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The statue rests across the street from the Blueberry Hill club where Berry still performs monthly.
Berry attended the unveiling and recorded tributes from Little Richard, Elvis Costello, Merle Haggard, former Doobie Brother’s singer Michael McDonald, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and others were played. The statue depicts the composer of “Johnny B. Goode,” “Maybelline,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Rock and Roll Music” and countless other early rock and roll classics in his `50s heyday.
“It’s glorious,” Berry said. “I do appreciate it to the highest.”
He told the assembled throng, “I’m not going to keep you out here for very long. I don’t know how to speak. I can sing a little bit. Thank you. I love you all.”
THAT’S ‘DR. IRON MAIDEN’ TO YOU
Bruce Dickinson, who’s been singing for venerable British metal band Iron Maiden since 1981, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music Degree from London’s Queen Mary University, reports New Musical Express. The 52-year-old Nottinghamshire, England-born Dickinson is a former student who earned a bachelor’s degree in history at the school in 1979.
The multitalented singer is also an author, film script writer, TV broadcaster, a champion fencer, a successful entrepreneur and commercial airline pilot who flies Iron Maiden around the world on their tours on their private Boeing 757 jet.
Since 1980, Iron Maiden has recorded three platinum and 12 gold albums in the U.K. Here, they have six platinum and three gold albums. If you’re in London this weekend, you can possibly catch one of the group’s two shows at London’s O2 Arena.
STEVIE WONDER SURPRISES!
In Toronto, mid-way through his set, Canadian actor-rapper Drake told the crowd, “I’m going to step off for a second. I’ll be back.” With that, roadies quickly set up the equipment of a totally different band. To thunderous applause, out came surprise guest Stevie Wonder, who sat behind his keyboard and had no trouble coaxing the crowd to sing out “da da da da,” before launching into “Sir Duke.”
Over the next half-hour, Wonder blew everybody away by playing his own mini-set that included “My Cherie Amour,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “I Wish,” and “Superstition,” according to CNN.
The Motown legend provided considerable input on Drake’s upcoming album, “Take Care.” “He (Wonder) helped me out with a lot of the music, He just came and sat with me…told me where I could add a couple things to make it more sonically appealing. Not only that, but we actually are writing together, which is an incredible experience,” he said.
MORRISSEY’S FAST FOOD WAR
British crooner Morrissey, former singer for The Smiths, compared the recent massacre of 76 in Norway, most of them kids at a political youth camp, to the slaughter of livestock for use as food at fast food restaurants, reports the U.K.’s Daily Mail. The 52-year-old vegetarian said at a concert in Warsaw, Poland, “We all live in a murderous world, as the events in Norway have shown, though, that is nothing compared to what happens in McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried (blank) every day.
JACKIE DESHANNON RECORDS CD
One of the most successful singer-songwriters of the rock and roll era, Jackie DeShannon, has rerecorded a batch of her biggest hits for a new CD, “When You Walk In The Room,” that comes out next month, on Sept. 27, according to her website. Among the hits she either wrote or co-wrote include “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” and “Bette Davis Eyes,” plus Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono’s “Needles and Pins” and Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” as well as the title song that she wrote in 1963. The new album will be available on Amazon.
LAST LENNON AUTOGRAPH SOLD
A John Lennon autograph signed on the final night of his life, Dec. 8, 1980, at a radio station in New York City, was bought by a memorabilia company, Tracks LTD, for $40,000, according to all Access Music. Lennon signed a poster from his just-released “Double Fantasy” album for an RKO Radio Network engineer who recorded what turned out to be his last interview. He was fatally shot hours later.
CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH’S 40th
The triple album record of George Harrison’s “Concert For Bangladesh,” featuring Beatles Harrison and Ringo Starr, and then-recluses Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton as well as Leon Russell, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar and Badfinger, is now available as a download on iTunes. The proceeds continue to benefit The George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.
CONCERT VIOLENCE
Four concert audience members were shot after a “Unity in the Park” festival headlined by George Clinton and his band, Parliament-Funkadelic at Luke Easter Park in Cleveland, according to the Plain Dealer. The shooter escaped.
Meanwhile, six people attending a Tim McGraw concert in Mansfield, MA, were arrested after a fight left a 19-year-old man with severe head injuries. It is alleged that the fight began over a woman. Excessive alcohol use is also suspected, according to NECN.com.
MEAT LOAF DOWN BUT NOT OUT
The Pittsburgh heat and humidity got to Meat Loaf as he was performing at Station Square, along the Monongahela River downtown. The full-voiced belter passed out onstage, according to that city’s Post-Gazette. He just finished singing one of his hits, “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” when he collapsed. He was down for approximately 10 minutes and many concert-goers suspected the big man had suffered a heart attack. However, the singer told the crowd that he’d suffered an asthma attack and he ended up finishing the show.
Then, after a concert in New Jersey, the singer collapsed again, this time backstage. He requested oxygen and after about 10 minutes, he said he was fine.
The 63-year-old Mr. Loaf told Billboard about his musical plans, including his Christmas album set for 2012 release that features guests Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks.
JOURNEY’S PERRY RESURFACES
Steve Perry, 62, who had been off the scene to the point of being called a recluse since retiring for good as singer for Journey in 1996 (he left Journey and the music biz for seven years from 1987-94), is making a guest appearance on an album, “Follow the Freedom,” by Cassidy, that will be released this fall, Perry sings on the title track and help mix the CD. In 2009, he came out of retirement to provide backup vocals on a song by Street Sweeper Social Club. His last solo CD was “For the Love of Strange Medicine” in 1994.
AMBASSADOR SHERYL CROW
Sheryl Crow has been named an official ambassador of Country Cares for St. Jude Kids, a non-profit organization of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, according to the hospital. Country Cares was formed in 1089 by Randy Owen, leader of the country group, Alabama.
NEW RELEASES
Among the new CDs out includes “What Matters Most – Barbra Streisand Sings The Lyrics of Alan And Marilyn Bergman”; “Essential Early Recordings,” an import by James Brown; “Performance,” an import by Renaissance English folk-rockers, Fairport Convention; “Gift from Tom T. Hall,” an import from the 75-year-old storytelling country singer; “Dirty Jeans Mudslide Hymns,” from John Hiatt; “Official Bootleg 3: Live in Kawasaki, Japan 2010″ from Uriah Heep; a 5-CD set, “Bootleg Box 1″ from former Yes keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman; and “Breathe Out, Breathe In,” the sixth studio album since 1965 (and the first since 2004) by singer Colin Blunstone, organist Rod Argent and their band, The Zombies.
Also, look for the new DVD, “Emerson Lake Palmer – 40th Anniversary Reunion Concert” that was recorded last summer at the first High Voltage Festival in London.
U2 FINALLY DONE
After 110 stadium shows that played to more than seven million fans, Irish rockers U2′s 360 Degree Tour has, at last, ended. The quartet that formed in Dublin in 1976 played its last show of the mammoth tour in Moncton, Canada.
The tour began June 30, 2009.
BILLBOARD’S BEST VIDS
Billboard asked its readers to pick the greatest videos from each of the three decades. Here is the Top three from each decade. The 1980s: “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, “Like a Prayer” by Madonna and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper.
The 1990s: “Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears, “Scream” by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, and “Vogue” by Madonna. The 2000s: “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga, “Toxic” by Britney Spears and “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” by Panic! At the Disco.
ALAN JACKSON TO THE RESCUE
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville kicked off its $75 million, 200,000-square-foot expansion campaign with a concert featuring Ricky Skaggs, fiddler Buddy Spicher and headlined by Alan Jackson, according to the Associated Press. The plan calls for the museum to more than double its current size and will include an 800-seat theatre.
CHEAP TRICK UPDATE
Cheap Trick cancelled an outdoor concert appearance at the Pacific National Exhibition at the PNE Amphitheatre in Vancouver, Canada, because the stage was put together by the same company, Groupe Berger/Mega-Stage, who built the stage in Ontario, Canada, that collapsed in a rainstorm July 17 during the band’s performance, according to the Montreal Gazette. That accident resulted in the injury of several people, and loss of equipment, including guitarist Rick Nielson’s trademark black and white checkered guitar with five necks.
BELLAMY BROTHERS BENEFIT
Country music’s Bellamy Brothers, who hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 40 Pop chart in 1976 with “Let Your Love Flow” (ironically, it only got to No. 21 on the Country chart), dedicated its concert in Lyngdal, Norway, to that nation’s 76 mass murder victims. David and Howard Bellamy have been touring there since 1976 and “have cultivated many friendships” there. David Bellamy told Great American Country, “We’d like them to know that our thoughts and prayers go out to each and every person in their great country … and we hope the healing process can soon begin for everyone. God bless Norway, and peace and love from the Bellamy Brothers.”
RON WOOD, TV HOST
Following his great success as a radio show host in England, now sober Rolling Stones and Faces guitarist Ron Wood has gotten his own TV show on the Sky Arts channel. Woody and his guests, most being recording artists, will debate issues related to the music industry. Specially recorded live performance will also be included.
GENE McDANIELS DIES
Pop and soul singer Gene McDaniels, who recorded 10 Top 10 hits in the early `60′s hits, died at 76 at home in Kittery Park, ME, after a brief illness. From 1961-62, McDaniels teamed with producer Snugg Garrett to record his biggest hits, “A Hundred Pounds of Clay” and “Tower of Strength.”
As a songwriter, he wrote Roberta Flack’s 1974 No. 1 hit, “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” That song reached the top of the pop, soul and easy listening charts. Jazz singer-musician Les McCann and jazz tenor sax player Eddie Harris had a major hit with McDaniels’ “Compared to What” in 1969.
CELEB-OWNED RESTAURANTS
The food and restaurant-related webpage, The Daily Meal, posted its list of the 25 best celebrity-owned restaurants. Justin Timberlake’s Southern Hospitality in New York City came in at No. 23. At No. 22 was Toby Keith’s Oklahoma City establishment, I Love This Bar Grill. Soul legend Gladys Knight’s place, Gladys and Ron’s Chicken and Waffles in Atlanta was voted No. 16. And No. 1? The Market Restaurant and Bar in Del Mar owned by skateboard king Tony Hawk
TOP 10 BOOKS ON AMAZON
1. “Does the Noise In My Head Bother You?: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir” by Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler
2. “Just Kids” by Patti Smith
3. “Life” by Keith Richards
4. “Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970″ by David Browne
5. “Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock” by Sammy Hagar, former Montrose and Van Halen and current Chickenfoot and Wabos singer
6. “Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank” by Barbara Sinatra
7. “Motley Crue: The Dirt – Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band” by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx
8. “The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star” by Motely Crue bassist Nikki Sixx
9. “This is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photgraphy and Life Through the Distorted Lens of Nikki Sixx” by Sixx
10. “Scar Tissue” by Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedes Larry Sloman.
SHANIA AND BUBLE
Fellow Canadians Shania Twain and young retro crooner Michael Buble have recorded a duet of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” The song will appear on Buble’s upcoming holiday album due out later this year, according to The Boot.
BONNIE POINTER’S NEW CD
Bonnie Pointer, she of the famous `70s and `80s hit-making clan, The Pointer Sisters, released her first album in 27 years. “Like a Picasso,” features 14 songs and is her first solo album since “If the Price is Right” came out in 1984.
Bonnie left the Pointer Sisters in 1977. Last summer, she and her sisters Ruth and Anita performed together for the first time in 15 years at a show at the Greek Theatre.
CHRIS CHRISTIE VS. THE BOSS
A recent poll by Public Policy polling showed that, in a hypothetical political race in New Jersey, if Bruce Springsteen ran for governor against current Republican Governor Chris Christie, each would receive 42 percent of the vote.
RICH QUEEN
The three surviving members of Queen, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon, and the estate of the late singer Freddie Mercury, will each receive $16 million for the release of the remastered versions of the group’s second five albums. Each is being released as a 2-CD with rare songs, re-mixes and live cuts. It’s reported that the band made a profit of more than $70 million this year from album sales and downloads.
Tags: John Deacon
Queen To Release New DVD Featuring Two Full Wembley Stadium Concerts
Aug 6, 2011 Brian May
(RTTNews) – Foo Fighters have posted to the web a documentary of their promotional tour for their most recent release, Wasting Light. The unique format of the tour took them to fans’ garages around the country. The band held a contest to play the gigs for the winners and 50 of their friends. The 40-minute rock-doc, dubbed Garage Tour, captures some of the highlights from the eight-date run which took the Foo’s across the country from New York to Seattle. It is the second streaming doc the band has released of late. They are also streaming their infamous set from the iTunes festival from July 12, during which frontman Dave Grohl physically removed a fan from the venue. While playing at London’s Roundhouse, Grohl observed that the rowdy fan had started a fight in the crowd and took it upon himself to remove the fan. by RTT Staff Writer For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Tags: Brian May
Noel Sullivan on his leading man role in We Will Rock You heading for the Liverpool Empire
Aug 6, 2011 Brian May
Noel Sullivan in We Will Rock You
NOEL Sullivan is dancing around his dressing room waving his arms in the air. But it’s not an impromptu rehearsal, or a spontaneous burst of elation.
It turns out he’s simply trying to get the motion-sensitive lighting to stay on.
“Sorry, this goes off,” he apologises.
The 31-year-old is between matinee and evening performances of the Queen-inspired We Will Rock You, but despite just spending most of the previous two-and-a-half hours bounding around the stage he appears fresh as the proverbial daisy.
Maybe it’s because he’s enjoying the experience so much?
“It still blows my mind every night,” he enthuses. “I’ve done a lot of shows and this one really takes the biscuit when it comes to feeling like a rock star in your job.
“And to top it all off, on most occasions when we’ve opened in new theatres Brian May has come to play Bohemian Rhapsody, which is just electric.”
The chancellor of Liverpool John Moores, together with the other members of Queen, have remained close to the project since Ben Elton first came up with the idea for the jukebox musical a decade ago.
In fact, Noel had to audition in front of them (he had seven auditions in all) to win the leading role of Galileo Figaro in the touring production.
The plot revolves around Galileo, a teenager of the future where Earth has been renamed Planet Mall and is ruled over by the megalomaniac Killer Queen and the Globalsoft Corporation.
Live music is banned along with real instruments, with Globalsoft pedalling computer-generated indentikit pop to the masses.
Galileo falls foul of the regime because he hears snatches of ancient lyrics, and dreams of a lost music (by Queen naturally) that will liberate the planet.
There’s a moment in the show where one of the followers of the ‘Rhapsody’ voices his disdain for manufactured pop bands.
I ask whether Noel, a member of the original TV talent search band Hear’say, appreciates the irony.
“It’s huge!” he laughs. “I remember I went to see the show eight years ago and it made me squirm when they said that – and now I’m playing the part.
“But I’m here because of my talent and not because of anything I’ve done previously. They were very certain to tell me that when I got the job as well, which was lovely to hear because I’ve been carving out a career in musical theatre for the last eight years.”
The former Cardiff choirboy, whose gran is a classical musician, always wanted to be in musical theatre – when he went for Popstars in 2001 it was just for the audition experience he reveals.
Since then Noel has appeared in a host of stage musicals including Flashdance, Loveshack and What a Feeling that have all played Liverpool.
“I’ve trodden the boards at the Empire a few times,” he smiles.
Now he’s on his way back with We Will Rock You.
The show boasts some classic rock numbers, with Noel getting to sing everything from Under Pressure to We Are the Champions.
In his spare time he’s also writing his own debut album. So has he asked Brian May for any songwriting tips?
He grins: “Not yet. I’m still a little bit in awe of him. Every time I meet him, I try to act as cool as I can.
“But he’s gentle and lovely and kind and is not what you expect a rock legend to be you know?”
We Will Rock You is at the Empire from September 6-24.
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Tags: Brian May
Classic Queen Concerts Coming To DVD
Aug 5, 2011 Freddie Mercury
Breaking Benjamin Breakup Details
Metallica and Motorhead For Hesher
Hear Mick Jagger’s New Band SuperHeavy
Kings of Leon Tour Canceled For Rehab?
Mike Portnoy’s Adrenaline Mob Releasing New Music and Touring
Meat Loaf Says He Didn’t Pass Out at Festival
First Taste of Sebastian Bach’s Kicking Screaming
Taking Back Sunday, Flaming Lips, Interpol, BMRC Lead Quiksilver Pro Lineup
Classic Queen Concerts Coming To DVD
Duran Duran’s Le Bon On The Mend, Band To Resume Touring
New KISS Book Focused On Early Years
Watch Foo Fighters Fan Garage Tour Documentary
Steve Hackett New Album Details
Slash Delayed By Broken Toilet
Tiger Army Announce Octoberflame Shows
Never Shout Never Time Travel Tour
Watch Big Audio Dynamite Rock Fallon
Unreleased Nile Recordings Coming
Hatesphere’s New Album Set For Release
Milo Greene Touring With The Civil Wars This Fall
Jefferson Airplane Inspired Noel Gallagher’s New Project
Iggy the Stooges Raw Power Live DVD and Blu-Ray
Megaton Leviathan Celestial Lineage Tour
Apostolum To Deliver Winds of Disillusion
Klaxons Helping Keira Knightley Learn How To Rock
Singled Out: Being There’s Tomorrow
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Tags: Freddie Mercury
The Utah Symphony will rock you as festival ends
Aug 5, 2011 Freddie Mercury
The Utah Symphony’s Deer Valley Music Festival closes it successful 2011 season with a bang and wail this weekend.
Live cannon fire will echo off the mountains surrounding the Deer Valley’s Snow Park Amphitheater during Friday’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s “1812” Overture, as Utah tradition requires. On Saturday, a cover band rocks the music of Queen, with the orchestra adding color and power to tunes such as “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Are the Champions.”
The Queen show’s conductor/arranger, Brent Havens, concedes there never will be another voice like departed Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s, but swears Las Vegas star Brody Dolyniuk’s four-octave set of pipes might fool you if you close your eyes.
Havens said adding strings, brass, woodwinds and plenty of percussion to Queen’s signature sound is a formula audiences seem to love.
“One thing about Queen’s music: It crosses a number of generations,” he said. “We’ve had 80-year-olds down to 5-year-olds at these concerts.”
Friday’s concert is another crowd-pleaser, by definition: The light classics on the program were chosen by audience survey. Grieg’s Incidental Music to “Peer Gynt” Suite is on the program alongside Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” and Mussorgsky’s thrill-filled “Night on Bald Mountain.”
Ukrainian pianist Dmitri Levkovich, bronze medalist of the 2010 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, will perform Grieg’s ever-popular Piano Concerto in A Minor; guest conductor David Lockington will be at the podium for the evening of classics under the stars.
Utah Symphony | Utah Opera CEO Melia Tourangeau said this year’s Deer Valley Music Festival has been one of the most successful ever, and generated great momentum on the Wasatch Front and Back.
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“We’re somewhat the talk of the town,” she said. “People are just talking about it, which is what you want — you want to be the buzz.”
Tourangeau attributes the good vibes to her organization’s willingness to listen to its audience and the fact that people are learning where they can find the music they want at the festival, whether that is the pop-flavored outdoor amphitheater shows at Deer Valley or the classical concerts in Park City’s St. Mary’s Church.
Another sign that the festival is hitting its stride: The festival’s benefit salon concerts featuring guest artists, held in some of the Park City area’s beautiful homes, have sold out and had waiting lists, she said.
Tourangeau’s personal favorite amphitheater show of the 2011 DVMF season featured jazz trumpeter Chris Botti with the Utah Symphony.
“That kind of show in that setting is an ideal pop show for us,” she said. “It integrated the orchestra so well, and the musicians in his band were fantastic. To me, that’s the highlight.”
So far. There’s still one more weekend left if you want to picnic on a mountainside while listening to a Utah Symphony concert under the stars.
features@sltrib.com
Tags: Freddie Mercury
STEVE SMITH: Classic rock, pop and country – Long Beach Press
Aug 4, 2011 John Deacon
- STEVE SMITH MUSIC COLUMN
- Jul 28:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- Jul 21:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- Jul 14:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- Jul 7:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- Jul 4:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- Jun 23:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- Jun 16:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- Jun 9:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- Jun 2:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- May 26:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- May 19:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic pop, rock and country
- May 5:
- STEVE SMITH: Classic rock, pop and country
BEACH BOYS TO RECORD NEW ALBUM This year marks the 50 th anniversary of The Beach Boys. The group that grew up in Hawthorne, CA, will celebrate that golden anniversary by reuniting to record a new album, announced singer Mike Love, reports Billboard. He said that he and his cousin, Brian Wilson, have each written new songs and that both are taking this project, “very seriously.” He said that it appears that the album will be recorded this fall with a release date in early 2012. The goal-oriented Love added that the group is already in the Guinness Book for World Records for the longest stretch between #1 songs, saying, “Between ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Kokomo’ it was 22 years between #1 records. Can you imagine if we got a #1 record in 2012? Oh, that would be something.”
THE WHO WILL RETURN Roger Daltrey, singer for The Who, said group leader Pete Townshend is nearly “stone deaf” and suffers from severe tinnitus as the result of decades of incredibly loud volume at the group’s concerts. Because of this, he said the band the two of them formed in 1964 may have played its final concert.
Not so, says a rejuvenated Townshend on his blog, who reports that his condition has improved. The guitarist says that The Who is hitting the road next year and they’ll be performing full versions of his 1973 rock opera, “Quadrophenia.”
Daltrey is currently on a marathon U.S. tour that is seeing him and his band perform Townshend’s 1969 rock opera, “Tommy” in its
entirety.
Townshend said the reason he didn’t join Daltrey on this jaunt is because, “This is entirely Roger’s adventure, one that is bringing him great joy. I don’t belong on this ‘Tommy’ tour.” He ended his post with, I wish him well, sincerely, and I look forward to playing with Roger again doing ‘Quadrophenia’ next year.”
CHUCK BERRY GETS HIS STATUE The city of University City, MO, outside St. Louis, unveiled an eight-foot statue of the 84-year-old “Father of Rock and Roll,” Chuck Berry, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The statue rests across the street from the Blueberry Hill club where Berry still performs monthly.
Berry attended the unveiling and recorded tributes from Little Richard, Elvis Costello, Merle Haggard, former Doobie Brother’s singer Michael McDonald, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and others were played. The statue depicts the composer of “Johnny B. Goode,” “Maybelline,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Rock and Roll Music” and countless other early rock and roll classics in his ’50 s heyday. Berry said, “It’s glorious. I do appreciate it to the highest.” He told the assembled throng, “I’m not going to keep you out here for very long. I don’t know how to speak. I can sing a little bit. Thank you. I love you all.”
THAT’S “DR. IRON MAIDEN” TO YOU Bruce Dickinson, who’s been singing for venerable British metal band Iron Maiden since 1981, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music Degree from London’s Queen Mary University, reports NME (New Musical Express).
The 52-year-old Nottinghamshire, England-born Dickinson is a former student who earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History at the school in 1979.
The multitalented singer is also an author, film script writer, TV broadcaster, a champion fencer, a successful entrepreneur and commercial airline pilot who flies Iron Maiden around the world on their tours on their private Boeing 757 jet.
Since 1980, Iron Maiden has recorded three platinum and 12 gold albums in the U.K. Here, they have six platinum and three gold albums. If you’re in London this weekend, you can possibly catch one of the group’s two shows at London’s O2 Arena.
STEVIE WONDER SURPRISES! In Toronto, mid-way through his set, Canadian actor-rapper Drake told the crowd, “I’m going to step off for a second. I’ll be back.” With that, roadies, quickly set up the equipment of a totally different band. To thunderous applause, out came surprise guest Stevie Wonder, who sat behind his keyboard and had no trouble coaxing the crowd to sing out “da da da da,” before launching into “Sir Duke.”
Over the next half-hour, Wonder blew everybody away by playing his own mini-set that included “My Cherie Amour,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “I Wish,” and “Superstition,” according to CNN.
The Motown legend provided considerable input on the 24-year-old’s upcoming album, “Take Care.” “He (Wonder) helped me out with a lot of the music, He just came and sat with me…told me where I could add a couple things to make it more sonically appealing. Not only that, but we actually are writing together, which is an incredible experience,” he said.
MORRISSEY’S FAST FOOD WAR British crooner Morrissey, former singer for The Smiths, compared the recent massacre of 76 in Norway, most of them kids at a political youth camp, to the slaughter of livestock for use as food at fast food restaurants, reports the U.K.’s Daily Mail. The 52-year-old vegetarian said at a concert in Warsaw, Poland, “We all live in a murderous world, as the events in Norway have shown, though, that is nothing compared to what happens in McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried (blank) every day.
JACKIE DESHANNON RECORDS CD One of the most successful singer-songwriters of the rock and roll era, Jackie DeShannon, has rerecorded a batch of her biggest hits for a new CD, “When You Walk In The Room,” that comes out next month, on Sep. 27, according to her website. Among the hits she either wrote or co-wrote include “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” and “Bette Davis Eyes,” plus Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono’s “Needles and Pins” and Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” as well as the title song that she wrote in 1963. The new album will be available on Amazon.
LAST LENNON AUTOGRAPH SOLD A John Lennon autograph signed on the final night of his life, Dec. 8, 1980, at a radio station in New York City, was bought by a memorabilia company, Tracks LTD, for $40,000, according to all Access Music. Lennon signed a poster from his just-released “Double Fantasy” album for an RKO Radio Network engineer who recorded what turned out to be his last interview. He was fatally shot hours later.
CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH’S 40 th The triple album record of George Harrison’s “Concert For Bangladesh,” featuring Beatles Harrison and Ringo Starr, and then-recluses Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, as well as Leon Russell, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar and Badfinger, is now available as a download on iTunes. The proceeds continue to benefit The George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.
CONCERT VIOLENCE Ironically, four concert-goers were shot after a “Unity in the Park” festival headlined by George Clinton and his band, Parliament-Funkadelic at Luke Easter Park in Cleveland, according to the Plain Dealer. The shooter escaped.
Meanwhile, six attendees at a Tim McGraw concert in Mansfield, MA, were arrested after a fight left a 19-year-old man with severe head injuries. It is alleged that the fight began over a woman. Excessive alcohol use is also suspected, according to NECN.com.
MEAT LOAF DOWN BUT NOT OUT The Pittsburgh heat and humidity got to Meat Loaf as he was performing at Station Square, along the Monongahela River downtown. The full-voiced belter passed out onstage, according to that city’s Post-Gazette. He just finished singing one of his hits, “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” when he collapsed. He was down for approximately ten minutes and many concert-goers suspected the big man had suffered a heart attack.
However, the singer told the crowd that he’d suffered an asthma attack and he ended up finishing the show.
Then, after a concert in New Jersey, the singer collapsed again, this time backstage. He requested oxygen and after about ten minutes, he said he was fine.
The 63-year-old Mr. Loaf told Billboard about his musical plans, including his Christmas album set for 2012 release that features guests Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks.
JOURNEY’S PERRY RESURFACES Steve Perry, 62, who had been off the scene to the point of being called a recluse since retiring for good as singer for Journey in 1996 (he left Journey and the music biz for seven years from 1987-94), is making a guest appearance on an album, “Follow the Freedom,” by Cassidy, that will be released this fall, Perry sings on the title track and helped mix the CD. In 2009, he came out of retirement to provide backup vocals on a song by Street Sweeper Social Club.
His last solo CD was “For the Love of Strange Medicine” in 1994.
AMBASSADOR SHERYL CROW Sheryl Crow has been named an official ambassador of Country Cares for St. Jude Kids, a non-profit organization of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, according to the hospital.
Country Cares was formed in 1089 by Randy Owen, leader of the country group, Alabama.
NEW RELEASES Among the new CDs out includes “What Matters Most – Barbra Streisand Sings The Lyrics of Alan And Marilyn Bergman;” “Essential Early Recordings,” an import by James Brown; “Performance,” an import by Renaissance English folk-rockers, Fairport Convention; “Gift from Tom T. Hall,” an import from the 75-year-old storytelling country singer; “Dirty Jeans Mudslide Hymns,” from John Hiatt; “Official Bootleg 3: Live in Kawasaki, Japan 2010″ from Uriah Heep; a 5-CD set, “Bootleg Box 1″ from former Yes keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman; and “Breathe Out, Breathe In,” the 6 th studio album since 1965 (and the first since 2004) by singer Colin Blunstone, organist Rod Argent and their band, The Zombies.
Also, look for the new DVD, “Emerson Lake Palmer – 40 th Anniversary Reunion Concert” that was recorded last summer at the first High Voltage Festival in London.
U2 FINALLY DONE After 110 stadium shows that played to more than 7 million fans, Irish rockers U2′s 360 Degree Tour has, at last, ended. The quartet that formed in Dublin in 1976 played its last show of the mammoth tour in Moncton, Canada.
The tour began June 30, 2009.
BILLBOARD’S BEST VIDS Billboard asked its readers to pick the greatest videos from each of the three decades. Here is the Top 3 from each decade.
The 1980 s: “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, “Like a Prayer” by Madonna and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper.
The 1990 s: “Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears, “Scream” by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, and “Vogue” by Madonna.
The 2000′s: “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga, “Toxic” by Britney Spears and “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” by Panic! At the Disco.
ALAN JACKSON TO THE RESCUE The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville kicked off its $75 million, 200,000-square-foot expansion campaign with a concert featuring Ricky Skaggs, fiddler Buddy Spicher and headlined by Alan Jackson, according to the Associated Press. The plan calls for the museum to more than double its current size and will include an 800-seat theatre.
CHEAP TRICK UPDATE Cheap Trick cancelled an outdoor concert appearance at the Pacific National Exhibition at the PNE Amphitheatre in Vancouver, Canada, because the stage was put together by the same company, Groupe Berger/Mega-Stage, who built the stage in Ontario, Canada, that collapsed in a rainstorm July 17 during the band’s performance, according to the Montreal Gazette. That accident resulted in the loss of its equipment, including guitarist Rick Nielson’s trademark black and white checkered guitar with five necks, and injured several people.
BELLAMY BROTHERS BENEFIT Country music’s Bellamy Brothers, who hit #1 on Billboard’s Top 40 Pop chart in 1976 with “Let Your Love Flow” (ironically, it only got to #21 on the Country chart), dedicated its concert in Lyngdal, Norway, to that nation’s 76 mass murder victims. David and Howard Bellamy have been touring there since 1976 and “have cultivated many friendships” there. David Bellamy told Great American Country, “We’d like them to know that our thoughts and prayers go out to each and every person in their great country…and we hope the healing process can soon begin for everyone. God bless Norway, and peace and love from the Bellamy Brothers.”
RON WOOD, TV HOST Following his great success as a radio show host in England, now sober Rolling Stones and Faces guitarist Ron Wood has gotten his own TV show on the Sky Arts channel. Woody and his guests, most being recording artists, will debate issues related to the music industry. Specially recorded live performances will also be included.
GENE McDANIELS DIES Pop and soul singer Gene McDaniels, who recorded ten Top 10 hits in the early ’60 s hits, died at 76 at home in Kittery Park, ME, after a brief illness. From 1961-62, McDaniels teamed with producer Snugg Garrett to record his biggest hits, “A Hundred Pounds of Clay” and “Tower of Strength.”
As a songwriter, he wrote Roberta Flack’s 1974 #1 hit, “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” That song reached the top of the pop, soul and easy listening charts. Jazz singer-musician Les McCann and jazz tenor sax player Eddie Harris had a major hit with McDaniels’ “Compared to What” in 1969.
CELEB-OWNED RESTAURANTS The food and restaurant-related webpage, The Daily Meal, posted its list of the 25 best celebrity-owned restaurants.
Justin Timberlake’s Southern Hospitality in New York City came in at #23. At #22 was Toby Keith’s Oklahoma City establishment, I Love This Bar Grill. Soul legend Gladys Knight’s place, Gladys and Ron’s Chicken and Waffles in Atlanta was voted #16. And #1? The Market Restaurant and Bar in Del Mar, CA, owned by skateboard king Tony Hawk.
TOP 10 BOOKS ON AMAZON 1. “Does the Noise In My Head Bother You?: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir” by Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler 2. “Just Kids” by Patti Smith 3. “Life” by Keith Richards 4. “Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970″ by David Browne 5. “Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock” by former Montrose and Van Halen and current Chickenfoot and Wabos singer Sammy Hagar 6. “Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank” by Barbara Sinatra 7. “Motley Crue: The Dirt – Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band” by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx 8. “The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star” by Motely Crue bassist Nikki Sixx 9. “This is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photgraphy and Life Through the Distorted Lens of Nikki Sixx” by Sixx 10. “Scar Tissue” by Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedes Larry Sloman.
SHANIA AND BUBLE Fellow Canadians Shania Twain and young retro crooner Michael Buble have recorded a duet of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” The song will appear on Buble’s upcoming holiday album due out later this year, according to The Boot.
BONNIE POINTER’S FIRST CD IN 27 YEARS Bonnie Pointer, she of the famous ’70 s and ’80 s hit-making clan, The Pointer Sisters, released her first album in 27 years. “Like a Picasso,” features 14 songs and is her first solo album since “If the Price is Right” came out in 1984.
Bonnie left the Pointer Sisters in 1977. Last summer, she and her sisters Ruth and Anita performed together for the first time in 15 years at a show at the Greek Theatre.
CHRIS CHRISTIE vs. THE BOSS A recent poll by Public Policy polling showed that, in a hypothetical political race in New Jersey, if Bruce Springsteen ran for governor against current Republican Governor Chris Christie, each would receive 42 percent of the vote.
RICH QUEEN The three surviving members of Queen, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon, and also the estate of singer Freddie Mercury, will each receive $16 million for the release of the remastered versions of the group’s second five albums. Each is being released as a 2-CD with rare songs, re-mixes and live cuts. It’s reported that the band made a profit of more than $70 million this year from album sales and downloads.
Readers, email your questions and comments to Steve Smith at classicpopmusicnews@gmail.com. Read this week’s complete Classic Pop, Rock Country Music News online at www.presstelegram.com.
Tags: John Deacon
Free concert by ‘Almost Queen’ at Oak Ridge Park, Aug. 17
Aug 4, 2011 Freddie Mercury
Almost Queen
CLARK — The Union County Summer Arts Festival concert series continues its 51st season of music on Wednesday, Aug. 17, with an evening of music performed by Almost Queen. The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, led by Chairman Deborah P. Scanlon, invites the public to attend this free concert that begins at 7:30 p.m. at Oak Ridge Park in Clark.
Almost Queen blends the vocal layering and precision that is a signature of the band with the energy and spectacle of a live Queen concert. The band can boast an unbroken string of sold out shows from New York to San Diego, while headlining major rock festivals here and abroad. Lead singer Joseph Russo (as Freddie Mercury) is a Broadway stage veteran who has toured throughout the world. He and the other Almost Queen members – Steve Leonard, John Cappadona, and Randy Gregg – flex all of their musical chops in proudly presenting the penultimate live Queen concert.
“Bring the entire family for a spectacular evening of music at Oak Ridge Park in Clark,” said Freeholder Chairman Scanlon. “Pack a picnic basket, bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on, and enjoy the sounds of summer under the stars.”
The Union County information van will be at the concert site with personnel from the Office of the Union County Clerk along with other knowledgeable Union County staff to answer questions and offer information about interesting programs and recreational activities that are available to Union County residents.
Admission is free of charge. Sponsored by Union Center National Bank and the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Summer Arts Festival concerts continue through August on Wednesday evenings beginning at 7:30 p.m. The remaining concerts in the series will be held at Oak Ridge Park in Clark and at Echo Lake Park on the Mountainside-Westfield border. Lawn chairs, blankets and picnic baskets are encouraged. Refreshments and snacks will be available from vendors.
The other free concerts in the Union County Summer Arts Festival series include:
Aug. 24 – Parrotbeach (Jimmy Buffett cover band); at Echo Lake Park.
Aug. 31 – The Nerds (high energy party band); at Oak Ridge Park.
For rain information call the Union County Department of Parks and Community Renewal at 908-558-4079 after 3 p.m. on the day of the scheduled concert, or visit the Union County web site: ucnj.org
Tags: Freddie Mercury
Win tickets to see We Will Rock You at the Liverpool Empire (From Wirral Globe)
Aug 4, 2011 Brian May
Win tickets to see We Will Rock You at the Liverpool Empire
11:45am Tuesday 2nd August 2011
QUEEN’S smash hit musical We Will Rock You comes to the Liverpool Empire next month as part of its national tour.
Written and directed by Ben Elton, the Olivier-award winning show will be staged in the city from September 6-24.
Set in the future, it features more than 24 of the band’s hits in a show that boasts the scale and spectacle of their legendary live performances.
Ben Elton said: “The show is about legend. We take the legend of Queen and create our own fantastical story of young kids battling the mighty corporations who want to suppress their individuality
and their love of music.
“They need a hero who can help them in their struggle, and we have two – the dreamer Galileo and the sassy rock chick Scaramouche. Guess who ends up winning?”
The show, which opened at at the Dominion Theatre in London 10 years ago, is the ninth longest running show in the capital’s West End. There have, so far, been more than 3230 UK performances.
According to the show’s website, an average of 620,000 tickets are sold in the UK every year and more than 12million have been bought worldwide.
Queen’s guitarist, Dr Brian May, and drummer Roger Taylor are the show’s music supervisors. Arlene Phillips is choreographer.
Dr May, who is also chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University said: “The touring production of We Will Rock You has taken our show to new places in more ways than one!
“The London show thunders on, and continues to delight audiences, but the touring cast and band have brought a new interpretation and style all of their own. It’s a tonic!”
The Globe has two pairs of tickets to give away for the show’s opening night.
To be in with a chance of winning, answer the following question: Who wrote Queen’s 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody?
Send the answer to: We Will Rock You, Wirral Globe, Haymarket Court, Hinson Street, Birkenhead. The entry deadline is 5pm on Monday, August 15.
Tags: Brian May
Rainey's finely tuned hobby
Aug 2, 2011 Brian May
Timaru musician Dylan Rainey is fine tuning a hobby making guitars.
Mr Rainey, a joiner by trade, is also a luthier – crafting guitars from scratch in his spare time.
Inspired by guitarist Brian May, of Queen fame, Mr Rainey researched the possibility of making the instrument, which he has only been playing for 22 months.
He started his hobby a year ago and has completed three guitars so far including a six string electric and a six string acoustic. He stepped his hobby up a notch for his latest project, a double neck electric guitar which he completed on Sunday. Each guitar has taken him four weeks to complete.
“About a year ago I found out guitarist Brian May, from Queen, built his own guitar and I thought that’s pretty neat so I looked into it. I didn’t know if I could do it so I did some research and gave it a shot, and it worked.”
Mr Rainey’s first attempt at the project was his six string electric guitar, which he built with wood from an old apricot tree that had been chopped down in his backyard, along with mahogany his grandfather sent to him and paua he inserted along the finger board. He wired it up incorporating in-phase, out of phase and series parallel. He can also split the coils on the “pick ups” to allow different tones to be used.
Pleased with his first attempt, Mr Rainey moved onto his second project an acoustic six string guitar using mahogany and white pine. He has since added a third guitar to his collection, a double neck electric guitar, which is now his favourite.
Although it was twice the work of his other two guitars, it still took him just 80 hours over four weeks to complete and cost about $1000.
“I got a bit faster at making it.”
He said wiring it up proved to be the most difficult aspect.
“For the double (guitar) I couldn’t find a diagram for wiring so I guessed, but it works.”
The top neck has 12 strings and the bottom has six, which can be alternated using dials and switches.
Mr Rainey’s projects look technical, however he plays that down with a description that makes it sound easier than it looks.
“For the body I cut out two pieces of wood, join them together and thickness it. I make up templates just on a piece of paper and draw it out and cut it out on a bandsaw.”
The majority of work is done using hand tools, he said.
Mr Rainey enjoyed woodwork at school and has made furniture including a dresser and piano stool in the past but never dreamed he would one day be making guitars.
Now he takes his craftmanship to perform a repertoire of rock music with friends, including songs by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Rage Against the Machine, Metallica and, of course, Queen.
– The Timaru Herald
Tags: Brian May
Queen To Mark Freddie Mercury Birthday With Classic Albums Release
Aug 1, 2011 Freddie Mercury
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Tags: Freddie Mercury