Favorite Seventies Artist In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 27th, 2014

Columbia/Legacy announced on Aug. 26 that a six-disc set of Bob Dylan's legendary Basement Tapes he recorded with the Band in 1967 will be the next edition of his Bootleg Series. Dropping on Nov. 4, The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 was compiled from meticulously restored original tapes -- many found only recently -- making the release the definitive chronicle of Dylan's legendary 1967 recording sessions with members of his touring ensemble who would later achieve their own fame as the Band. The set reportedly brings together every salvageable recording from the tapes, including recently discovered songs recorded in the "Red Room" of Dylan's home in upstate New York. The Band's Garth Hudson worked with music archivist and producer Jan Haust to restore the tapes, and the songs run in mostly chronological order based on Hudson's numbering system. Bootleg versions of the collection have varied in size over the last 45 years, a nine-CD version often viewed as the closest to complete. A two-disc version of highlights from the deluxe edition, titled The Basement Tapes Raw and including 12 of the unreleased tracks, will also be released on Nov. 4. This will also be issued as a three LP set on 180-gram vinyl, according to Columbia. - Billboard, 8/26/14.

As the tenth annual Johnny Ramone tribute took place at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Aug. 24, the respective estates of the deceased members of the seminal punk band the Ramones say that going forward, all Ramones tributes will be about the group as a whole. "That was probably the last Johnny Ramone tribute youre gonna see," says Ramones estate co-manager Jeff Jampol. "We're gonna do something moving forward, but its gonna be Ramones. We're all gonna focus on the Ramones, and its that whole thing of, United we stand, divided we fall. The legacy is the Ramones, the music is the Ramones, it was the four of them -- it was Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee and Tommy, and everybody is cooperating and moving in one direction together as a team." For years, Johnny's widow Linda Ramone has controlled Johnny's half of the bands estate, while Joey's brother Mickey oversaw the lead singers half. After a long behind the scenes disputes, all sides say they are finally on the same page. Jampol, who also handles estates for the Doors, Janis Joplin and Otis Redding, among others, says he has big plans for the Ramones moving forward. "The 40th anniversary of the Ramones is coming up in 2016, that's when the first album came out. So we have a lot of projects leading up to that. We're looking at a documentary on the Ramones, we just secured a ton of footage, much of which has never been seen before," he says. The documentary is just one of several projects in the works, Jampol says. Among the others are a theatrical play, a book and a film, which already has Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese attached. The Ramones will also be reappearing in several other ways, including remastered music, fashion and music placement. - Billboard, 8/27/14.

Pioneering rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry was honored with Sweden's prestigious Polar Music Prize during a ceremony on Aug. 26 in Stockholm, but the 88-year-old Berry was unable to attend the gala due to health issues. "He's been struggling with his health for a while," noted Marie Ledin, managing director of the Polar Music Prize, in the lead up to this year's event. Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, in a recorded message played at the gala, said the "My Ding-A-Ling" singer was the source of his inspiration. "He just leapt out of the radio at me," Richards noted. "I ate him basically, I mean I breathed him -- it wasn't just food, he was the air I breathed for many years when I was learning guitar and trying to figure out how you could be such an all-rounder. Such a great voice, such a great player and also such a great showman -- it was all in one package." Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf was again on hand for the 2014 presentation of the prize, which is typically shared by a pop artist and a classical musician, which this year was opera director Peter Sellars. The annual award, worth one million Swedish Kronor ($158,336), was first presented in 1992 and has gone to pop artists such as Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, B.B. King, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. The prize was created and funded in 1989 by Stig Andersson, the manager of Abba (sometimes called "Abba's fifth member") and the founder of two music-publishing companies and a record label as well as the composer of over 3,000 songs. Andersson says his aim was to "endow the world's biggest music prize." - Billboard, 8/27/14.

Listeners of the BBC's Radio 2 have named Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" as the "Greatest Guitar Riff of All Time," after a contest was announced in July. "Whole Lotta Love" was selected from list of 100 songs compiled by a panel of music experts. Other top guitar riffs in the top ten included songs by Guns N' Roses ("Sweet Child O' Mine"), AC/DC ("Back in Black"), Deep Purple ("Smoke on the Water"), Derek and the Dominoes ("Layla"), The Smiths ("How Soon Is Now?"), Status Quo ("Down Down"), Dire Straits ("Money For Nothing"), The Kinks ("You Really Got Me"), and Pink Floyd ("Money"). After hearing the news that "Whole Lotta Love" had been voted the top riff song, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page said that he was "knocked out by this, because I didn't expect that to happen." "There's been so many wonderful riffs along the way. 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. There was this intent to have this riff and the movement of it, so it was menacing as well as quite sort of caressing," he said. - New Musical Express, 8/26/14.

Stevie Nicks has revealed a new song entitled "Lady" from her forthcoming double album 24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault. Set for release on Oct. 7, 24 Karat Gold is made up of songs that were mostly written between 1969-87 but were recorded recently in Nashville and Los Angeles. The LP was produced by Nicks, Dave Stewart and Waddy Wachtel. Meanwhile, Nicks and Fleetwood Mac say they've almost finished eight songs for a possible new album. The recent recordings feature Christine McVie, who in January announced she had rejoined the band, although Nicks was not present at the sessions owing to other commitments. - New Musical Express...... Neil Young has filed a petition for a dissolution of marriage from his wife Pegi Young, to whom he has been married for 36 years. The petition was filed by Young, who often collaborated and toured with Pegi and duetted with her during a 1990s Academy Awards show, on July 29 in San Mateo, Calif., with a hearing set for Dec. 12. The couple first met when Neil visited a diner near his California home, where Pegi was working as a waitress. Pegi is the inspiration for some of Young's most enduring love songs, including "Such a Woman," "Unknown Legend" and "Once an Angel." She began serving as his background singer in the 1990s, sharing the stage with him at the 1994 Academy Awards and numerous tours over the past 20 years. In 1986, the couple co-founded the Bridge School to provide educational opportunities for students with severe physical impairments, with their son Ben in mind, who suffers from cerebral palsy. Pegi, who released a self-titled debut album in 2007 and frequently tours on her own, was scheduled to perform with Neil at Farm Aid in Raleigh, N.C., on Sept. 13, though Pegi's name was recently removed from the line-up. - Rolling Stone...... Cliff Richard issued a statement on Aug. 24 saying allegations that he assaulted a boy at a religious rally in Sheffield, northern England, in the 1980s is "completely false." The British pop star said that he was questioned by South Yorkshire Police by appointment, who have not arrested or charged him so far. British authorities do not name suspects unless they are formally charged, and merely say that "a 73-year-old man was interviewed under caution at a police station on Aug. 23." "Under caution" means the interview was recorded and could be used in future prosecutions. Earlier in August, police searched Richard's house near London after receiving what they called "an allegation of a sexual nature at a religious event at the Bramall Lane stadium in Sheffield in 1985." Richard was recently scheduled to be presented with the keys to the Portuguese city of Albufeira -- his adopted home -- but following recent events he chose not to accept the honor. - AP...... Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood took part in the popular "ice bucket challenge" to raise awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on Aug. 26. Wood had a bucket of ice water thrown over his head before nominating his son, Tyrone, his former Faces bandmate Rod Stewart, and actor Woody Harrelson, to also take the challenge. - NME...... Acclaimed British actor and director Richard Attenborough died on Aug. 24 at age 90 after having been in poor health for some time, according to his son. Mr. Attenborough won an Academy Award for best director with Gandhi in 1982, only one of many highlights of a distinguished 60-year career as actor and director. With his abundant snow-white hair and beard, he appeared in a many major Hollywood films, directed a series of movies and was known for his extensive work as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and other humanitarian causes. As a director, Mr. Attenborough made several successful movies, from Oh What a Lovely War in 1969 to Chaplin and Shadowlands in the 1990s. But his greatest success was Gandhi, a film that was 20 years in the planning and won eight Oscars, including best picture. He also played the failed theme park developer in Jurassic Park and Kriss Kringle in a remake of Miracle on 34th Street. He was knighted in 1976, and 17 years later received a life peerage, becoming Baron Attenborough of Richmond upon Thames. Mr. Attenborough had been in frail health since a fall at his house in 2008, and spent his last years in a nursing home with his wife. - CNN