Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on May 15th, 2015

B.B. King, the influential Mississippi-born singer/guitarist who broke through to the American mainstream in the 1970s and later became honored by three American presidents for his contributions to modern electric blues, died peacefully in his sleep on May 14 in his home in Las Vegas. He was 89. Born Riley King on Sept. 16, 1925, in the Mississippi Delta near Itta Bena, Mr. King was raised on a cotton farm by his maternal grandmother, Elnora, after his mother died he was 9. He picked cotton on a plantation in Indianola, Miss., and made his first recording, the "Sharecropper Record," in 1940. After the war, King moved in with Bukka White in Memphis and caught his first break in 1948 performing on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, Tenn. His first record deal was with the small Nashville label Bullet Records, his first single being "Miss Martha King," written for his first wife. That led to a deal in 1949 with the Bihari Brothers, whose labels included RPM, Modern and Kent, and quickly found success. His first hit, "Clock Blues," was recorded at the Memphis YMCA in 1951 with Ike Turner on piano. In the early 1960s, Mr. King signed with ABC-Paramount, then home to Ray Charles, and his records took on a more sophisticated tone mostly due to him working with arrangers for the first time. His 1965 concert album Live at the Regal, recorded in Chicago, became a hallmark concert LP. In Feb. 1967, Mr. King was booked on a bill at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco with Moby Grape and the Steve Miller Band, a booking he thought was a mistake after he arrived, having never played to an all-white audience. In 1969, he scored his first hit single with "The Thrill is Gone," which became his highest-charting single at No. 15. "I had been carrying 'The Thrill is Gone' around for seven or eight years," Mr. King recalled in the liner notes of one of his albums. "Had tried it many times, but it would never come out like I wanted it." Mr. King, who had a catalog of some 375 blues songs, landed 35 of them on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1988, when his duet with U2 "When Love Comes to Town," reached No. 68. Mr. King won 15 Grammy Awards, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987 and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Nearly as famous as the man was the man's guitar, which he named "Lucille" after he witnessed two men fighting in a dance hall over a woman named Lucille. "I named the guitar Lucille to remind me to never do a thing like that again," he said (in 1982 he partnered with Gibson to create the "B.B. King Lucille" guitar model). In Oct. 2014, Mr. King fell ill during a show and after being diagnosed with dehydration and exhaustion, canceled his concert tour and had not returned to touring at the time of his death. He had also suffered from Type II diabetes for two decades. Rock legend Eric Clapton, who collaborated with him on a 2000 album titled Riding with the King, posted a tribute to his close friend on his Facebook page. "I just want to express my sadness and to say thank you to my dear friend B.B. King," Clapton said. "I want to thank him for all the inspiration and encouragement he gave me as a player over the years, and for the friendship that we enjoyed." He also encouraged fans to "go out and find and album called B.B. King: Live at the Regal, which is where it really started for me as a young player." - Billboard, 5/15/15.

The Rolling Stones will take part in their first ever Twitter Q&A on May 18, and are promising to personally respond to select questions with videos and text responses with their official @RollingStones Twitter account. "#AskTheStones! The Rolling Stones are doing their first ever twitter Q&A! Tweet us your questions, answers on Monday 10am PST/ 6pm BST," the band tweeted on May 14. The band announced on Mar. 31 that they will embark on a 15-date North American "Zip Code Tour" this summer, beginning with a May 24 show in San Diego. - NME, 5/14/15...... The entire solo catalog of former Genesis singer/drummer and '80s solo star Phil Collins will be getting a deluxe reissue treatment under a new worldwide deal with Warner Music Group. Collins's first block of solo albums, including the '80s classics Face Value and No Jacket Required, were originally released in the UK via Virgin, and on the Warner Music label Atlantic in the US, the longtime home of his old band Genesis. "I've had a fantastic relationship with Warner and Atlantic throughout my career and I'm thrilled to be continuing that," says Collins. "I'm working with them now on these new presentations. Very exciting." WMG also promises to release "other uniquely curated titles from the vaults" as part of the deal. In addition to eight solo studio albums, Collins has released one live album and two compilations. The first two reissues, 1981's Face Value and 1993's Both Sides, will hit stores this fall. - Billboard, 5/12/15...... After announcing in January that they are planning a series of TV-movies based on Dolly Parton's life and career, NBC released details on May 12 on the first movie, which will focus on the country crooner's early years. Parton was in attendance during the press conference, and took to the stage to perform two of her best known hits, "Coat of Many Colors" and "I Will Always Love You," during NBC's Upfronts presentation. No premiere date has been set and the cast has not been named, though NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt has noted Parton will produce the series and could even see time on screen. - Billboard, 5/12/15...... '70s glam-rocker Gary Glitter has notified a UK Court of Appeal that he will appeal his recent conviction for historic child sex offenses next March. In February, Glitter was jailed for 16 years after being found guilty of abuse offences dating back to the '70s and '80s. Glitter was sentenced for attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under 13. Sentencing Judge Alistair McCreath said that there was "no real evidence" that Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, had atoned for his crimes. There is no scheduled date for the appeal hearing yet. Glitter was previously convicted in 1999 for possession of child pornography and served four months in prison. After his release he relocated to Vietnam, where he was subsequently convicted for child sex abuse offenses. - New Musical Express, 5/12/15...... Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page has filed a second complaint against his neighbor, singer Robbie Williams, in an ongoing feud with Williams over the latter's plans to develop his mansion. Williams has been planning to make changes to the garden and the layout of his house, as well as replacing the roof of its glass studio, and Page was previously thought to have won the battle when Williams withdrew his plans to develop his property. Page objected to the renovations, and hired architects, structural engineers and town planners to put together reports arguing why they should not go ahead. After Williams initially dropped his application, he now has reportedly filed new, scaled-down plans. Williams is reportedly aiming to lower floors and create bigger rooms at his property, with his application stating his intention of creating a "contemporary family living that will ensure the long term occupation and appropriate use of the place into the future." The pair live in west London, where Page has resided since 1972. Williams bought the 17.5 million mansion next door to the Led Zepp guitarist, previously owned by late director Michael Winner, in 2013. - New Musical Express, 5/13/15...... In other Heavy Metal news, Ozzy Osbourne has donated $10,000 to the Louisville Leopard Percussionists, a children's band that scored a viral hit in 2013 with their all-percussion take on the Ozzy hit "Crazy Train." Osbourne said he was compelled to send a note to the group after watching the video. In a typewritten letter dated April 24th, he commended the Louisville Leopard Percussionists with, "Myself, my whole family and my fans all loved your rendition of 'Crazy Train.' Keep up the good work. Also enclosed: a $10,000 check." The Louisville Leopard Percussionists have also covered tracks by Led Zeppelin, for which they earned Jimmy Page's praise, and have performed with My Morning Jacket. - Billboard, 5/15/15...... Paul McCartney is among the artists appearing in a new rap music video to promote celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day campaign, which takes place on May 15. The campaign aims to lobby governments to commit to offering children a better food education, and also participating in the video are Ed Sheeran, Jamie Cullum, Alesha Dixon and Professor Green. Meanwhile, Sir Paul has shared his views on a possibile reunion of '90s alternative faves Oasis. Speaking to fans via Japanese app Line, McCartney said, "I don't know if they will ever make up. It would be good because I think everyone likes brothers to like each other -- and make up. It's a pity because they are very good together. Like many brothers, they are crazy. But it would be nice if they got together." Oasis member Liam Gallagher recently declined to comment following tabloid reports suggesting that the Britpop band would reform without his brother, Noel Gallagher. Oasis split in 2009 with Noel citing an inability to work with his brother as the key reason. - NME, 5/14/15...... '60s pop icons The Monkees will perform their first concert in the UK on Sept. 4 since their sold-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 2011. The concert, under the name "The Monkees featuring Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork," will take place at the London Hammersmith Eventim Apollo. The show will be the band's first UK performance since the untimely passing of Davy Jones in Feb. 2012. Since their 1960s heyday, the band has charted two more Top 20 albums in the UK, in 1989 and 1997. Their new show features all of the Monkees hits, including "Last Train To Clarkesville" and "Daydream Believer," plus an intimate acoustic set and selections from their cult movie classic, Head. - Noble PR, 5/11/15...... Seventies teen idol David Cassidy was fined $900 on May 12 and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service in a case stemming from an upstate New York drunken-driving case. Cassidy, 65, leaded guilty last September to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated. He was sentenced in absentia by a Schodack town justice, who also ordered him to forfeit his drivers license for six months, install an ignition interlock device to prevent him from starting a car drunk, and waive his right to appeal. Cassidy, a resident of Florida, was charged in Aug. 2013 while on his annual summer visit to the Saratoga Race Course, 40 miles north of Schodack. In 2014, Cassidy's attorney said his client had entered alcohol rehabilitation after a previous Los Angeles DWI conviction. - AP, 5/12/15...... Stan Cornyn, a longtime visionary music exec with Warner Brothers Records, died on May 12 at the age of 81 in Carpinteria, Calif., after a long battle with cancer. Mr. Cornyn was regarded as a legend by many of his peers, and worked for Warner Bros. during the time the label signed such groundbreaking acts as the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix. Mr. Cornyn's promotional campaigns included a lookalike contest for the Dead's Ron "Pigpen" McKernan; a "Win a Fug Dream Date Competition" sweepstakes; and mail-in orders for a pile of dirt from Laurel Canyon during its heyday as an artist haven. He also created a series of two-LP Loss Leader sampler collections that Warner Bros. released during the '70s to further expose the label's new releases, and continued to write and consult in the record industry until the past year. - Billboard, 5/12/15...... Actress Elizabeth Wilson, best known for playing the mother of Benjamim Braddock in the 1967 classic film The Graduate, passed away on May 9 in her home in New Haven, Conn. She was 94. Her other notable supporting role was as Roz, the nemesis of Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin in 9 to 5. Throughout her nearly seven-decade career, she also appeared in films such as The Birds, Quiz Show and The Addams Family, and her TV credits include East Side/West Side, Doc, Dark Shadows, All in the Family, and Murder, She Wrote. She was also a famed stage star, and was awarded a Best Actress Tony Award in 1972 for her role in anti-war drama "Sticks and Bones." - WENN.com, 5/11/15.