Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on December 27th, 2020

Leslie West, the singer and guitarist for Mountain who were among the acts to play the legendary Woodstock festival in 1969, died on Dec. 23 after a brief illness. He was 75. West's brother Larry West Weinstein had shared news of his brother's rapidly declining health in a Facebook post on Dec. 20. "I am asking for all your prayers. Jenni [Leslie's wife] is by his side in Florida but it's not looking good. Thanks Jenni, he wouldn't have made it this far without you. His heart gave out and he's on a ventilator. May not make it through the night," Weinstein posted. West reportedly entered cardiac arrest on Dec. 21 and was rushed to a hospital near his home in Daytona, Fla. He reportedly did not regain consciousness. Born Leslie Weinstein in Queens, N.Y., on Oct. 22, 1945, West founded Mountain in 1969, alongside Cream associate and producer Felix Pappalardi, N.D. Smart and Steve Knight. Mountain are perhaps best known for their Southern-rock hit "Mississippi Queen," co-written by West, which appeared on Mountain's 1970 debut album, Climbing!. The song was the group's biggest chart hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. More recently "Mississippi Queen" was covered by Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin as part of their "Hanukkah Cover Song Series," which celebrated the religious holiday by paying tribute to Jewish artists. Mountain also had the distinguished honour of performing at Woodstock in 1969. In one of their earliest appearances as a band, the group joined a legendary lineup which featured Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin and more. "Woodstock was just our third job, and it was quite a thrill," West once told Rolling Stone magazine. "Mountain got on the show because our booking agent also handled Jimi Hendrix... I think I had the most amplifiers of anybody there. It was paralyzing because that stage, that setting, was some kind of natural amphitheater. The sound was so loud and shocking that I got scared. But once I started playing, I just kept going because I was afraid to stop." Although Mountain's 11-song set went unrepresented in the original film documentary and soundtrack album, it did figure into the Woodstock II album and the extended home-video cut of the movie. Mountain disbanded for the first time in 1972, before reforming periodically in the years that followed. During one of Mountain's hiatuses, West formed a supergroup with Cream bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Corky Laing called West, Bruce and Laing. West was often cited as one of the all-time great rock guitarists, but he downplayed his ability in a 1987 interview with Guitar World magazine. "I'm no great guitarist technically," he said. "I only play with these two fingers [index and ring]. But you wanna know why people remember me? If you take a hundred players and put them in a room, 98 or 99 of 'em are gonna sound the same; the one who plays different, has some of his own, that's the one you're gonna remember." West had appeared almost unrecognizably thin in recent years, after being big enough at the outset of Mountain's career that the band was said to have been named after his hefty size. He even named his second solo album in 1975 The Great Fatsby. In 2011, he had part of his right leg amputated as a result of complications from type II diabetes. "I lost my leg, but at least it wasn't one of my arms," West said in a 2016 interview. "Otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." The last studio album under the Mountain name, Masters of War, which consisted of Bob Dylan covers, was released in 2007. West continued doing live shows under his own name as recently as the fall of 2019, and also became known to new generations via his appearances on Howard Stern's radio show. Paul Stanley, Tom Morello, Slash and Twisted Sister's Dee Snider are among those to have paid tribute to West following news of his passing. "So very sad. Leslie's tone could stop a rhino in a full charge. Mountain sound was massive. Leslie was a warm and lovely guy. Sad," Paul Stanley tweeted. - Variety.com/Billboard/NME, 12/23/20.

Iggy Pop is kissing off a worldly disastrous 2020 with a track called "Dirty Little Virus," an ode to the rapidly spreading pandemic. The song, which can be streamed on YouTube, features lyrics like "Grandfather's dead/Got Trump instead," and "She's only 19, but she can kill you/ She ain't my type/ But it is what it is." Iggy also explained what motivated him to write "Dirty Little Virus": "I was moved to write a direct lyric, not something too emotional or deep, more like journalism. If there was still a Man of the Year, it would be the virus, so I wrote the lyric," he said. - Billboard, 12/21/20...... In related news, Van Morrison is continuing his campaign against what he feels are harsh Covid restrictions with a new song called "Stand & Deliver," and has recruited Eric Clapton to contribute. "Do you wanna wear these chains/ Until you're lying in the grave?," Morrison and Clapton sing on the track released on Dec. 18. The song supports Morrison's Save Live Music campaign, and all proceeds will benefit the Celtic crooner's Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund, which aims to assist musicians who are struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. Morrison has also shared "Stand And Deliver" on YouTube. - Billboard, 12/18/20...... A San Diego-based indie brewing company named Duckfoot Brewery Co. has teamed up with the estate of Frank Zappa to create a new tribute beer, hilariously named "Why Does It Hurt When IPA?," a play on the 1979 Zappa Joe's Garage track "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?" Described as containing "notes of passion fruit, spice and the rocker's favorite, grapefruit," Why Does It Hurt When IPA? features never-before-published photos of Frank on the cans and was launched on Dec. 21 to mark Zappa's birthday. Duckfoot's co-founder, Matt DelVecchio, says he's a Zappa fan from childhood and also a longtime friend of a member of the Zappa Plays Zappa touring band fronted by Frank's son, Ahmet Zappa. "Stay home, be safe and enjoy Why Does It Hurt When IPA? responsibly," Ahmet said in a press release. "All the Zappa Trust proceeds from this batch will go to support the music community in need. Music is the Best!," he added. U.S. residents can purchase the beer at ZappaBrew.com. - Billboard, 12/21/20...... As he embarks on a promotional campaign for his new album McCartney III, Paul McCartney appeared on the CBS show Sunday Morning on Dec. 20 and reminisced about the lasting legacy of the Beatles and whether the Fab Four might've eventually set aside their differences and reunited. "[John Lennon] was showing no signs of slowing up. You know, he was still making great music," McCartney said of Lennon's newly re-energized solo career. "The question is: Would we have ever got back together again? I don't know. We don't know." McCartney also discussed how he recorded McCartney III in isolation at his Sussex studio earlier in 2020. "It's not like working with the band, because I know what I want to hear, and I don't even have to tell anyone," he said. "I just said, 'Let's do some drums.' I'll sit on the drums and I'll think, 'OK, I wanted doo doo doo ... doo doo dah.' So, it's all in my head," he added. The full interview can be viewed on YouTube. Meanwhile, Macca has just shared a video for "Find My Way," a track from McCartney III, on YouTube. Directed by Roman Coppola, the video shows Paul playing every instrument on the song -- including guitar, drums and piano -- in a collage of footage taken by a staggering 46 cameras. Much like 1970's McCartney and 1980's McCartney II, the former Beatle is at the helm of every instrument on every one of McCartney III's songs. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 12/20/20...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, director Peter Jackson has shared a preview clip of his upcoming documentary The Beatles: Get Back on YouTube. Announced on the Beatles' official Twitter account, the film aims to "take audiences back in time to The Beatles' intimate recording sessions during a pivotal moment in music history" and has already had its release date moved from 2020 to August 27, 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Jackson says that he and the producers "wanted to give the fans of The Beatles all over the world a holiday treat, so we put together this five-minute sneak peek at our upcoming theatrical film The Beatles: Get Back... We hope it will bring a smile to everyone's faces and some much-needed joy at this difficult time." - NME, 12/21/20...... Neil Young returned to his hometown of Omemee, Ont. recently for a new performance of his classic "Comes a Time" in an empty theatre. "Coronation Hall in Omemee, Ontario, is a wonderful old theater," Young wrote on his Neil Young Archives website. "It holds memories of my family, all together in that little town. My dad played Coronation Hall once in a local show as my mother, my brother, and I sat in the audience... I know this time of year is going to be hard for a lot of us as we long to be with our loved ones. Our hearts go out to all of you. We send much love and a Coronation Hall quarantine 'Comes a Time'," he added. The "Comes a Time" performance, one of a host of new and archived footage of Young on his website that's free to watch until the end of the year, can be watched on his Archives site. - NME, 12/22/20...... Eddie Van Halen has been posthumously honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the U.K.'s National GUITAR Museum. "Several of the people we've honoured over the past decade have left us in the years since we presented them with the award," a statement reads from the museum, which has previously honoured the likes of B.B. King, Tony Iommi and Glen Campbell. "In this case, however, the sadness of Eddie Van Halen's passing is somehow harder to accept. Several of the people we've honoured over the past decade have left us in the years since we presented them with the award. In this case, however, the sadness of Eddie Van Halen's passing is somehow harder to accept. Thanks, Eddie. We only wish we could deliver this in person," it added. Meanwhile, Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen has said the iconic hard rock VH band will never return without his father, who passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer in October. Replying to a since-deleted Tweet on Dec. 17 from one of many people asking whether he would reform the band, Wolfgang said: "I can confidently say I will NEVER replace my father in Van Halen and tour around the world disrespecting my father's memory. No EVH = No VH. Get the f--- over it, but if you can't, just quit bothering me about it and demanding I do it when I've made it very clear how I feel." - Music-News.com/NME, 12/21/20...... Soul singer Al Green has just released his first new recording in a decade, a cover of Freddy Fender's 1975 hit "Before the Next Teardrop Falls". Green recorded the song with Matt Ross-Spang in 2018, a decade after his last LP release, 2008's Lay It Down. "As a lifelong Memphian, I've always been a massive fan of Al Green and his Producer Willie Mitchell," Ross-Spang said at the time. "Together they created some of the most enduring soul music. Sonically speaking, Willie and Al also really invented a distinct sound that separated them from Stax or Motown." The cover was released in 2018 as part of Amazon Music's "Produced By" series, and two years on, is now available on other music platforms. Green's cover of "Teardrop" can be heard at YouTube. Although Green is currently on an extended hiatus, he has kept up an active presence on social media, regularly posting on Twitter and Facebook. - NME, 12/21/20...... Bruce Springsteen has announced on Instagram the details of a mammoth new 24-disc box set from his Darkness on the Edge of Town era. "Eight of the finest performances from Bruce Springsteen's 1978 tour are now available in a limited, collectible box set," the announcement aid of the new release, which is due on Feb. 1, 2021. "This 24-CD set contains all five of the legendary radio broadcasts on the Darkness tour: The Roxy in L.A., The Agora in Cleveland, The Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ, Fox Theatre in Atlanta and Winterland in San Francisco. Rounding out the collection are the second shows in Passaic and San Francisco, plus the December 8 show in Houston, Texas. A limited number of empty boxes are also available to hold previously purchased CDs," it added. - NME, 12/19/20...... Bob Dylan has announced a new box set of material recorded in 1970 with George Harrison to celebrate its 50 year anniversary. 1970 (50th Anniversary Collection), a 3-disc set, is due on Feb. 26, 2021 via Columbia/Legacy and features outtakes from Dylan's sessions for studio albums New Morning and Self Portrait, as well as his infamous 1970 studio session with Harrison. Artwork and a full tracklisting can be viewed on Instagram. - NME, 12/19/20...... Appearing on cable news channel CNN on Dec. 17, Cher candidly discussed the difficulty surrounding her son Chaz Bono's transition from female to male in 2009. Cher, 74, remembered the extremely difficult moment when she called his answering machine and heard his old voice. She also looked back on the light-bulb moment when she realised she hadn't "lost" her only child -- previously known as Chastity -- but that he had simply changed "shape." "It was very unlike me to, in the beginning, have a problem with Chaz being gay, and it disappeared like that, Cher said of her initial struggle to accept Chaz's transition. "But it wasn't easy. I remember calling, and the old [voicemail] message was on the phone, and that was very difficult," she added. Chaz, a successful writer and actor, was also the first transgender star to appear on Dancing With The Stars in 2011. He is currently in a relationship with former child star, Shara Blue Mathes, and is "unbelievably happy," according to his mom. Cher is now a staunch supporter of transgender rights and recently spoke out following a report that Pres. Donald Trump's administration is considering implementing a policy which would eliminate the recognition of transgender individuals. - Music-News.com, 12/19/20...... Former Talking Heads frontman has told England's New Musical Express that he is hopeful about an America after the presidency of Donald Trump, though he adds its "too early to celebrate. "For me Trump was not so much a shock; we knew who he is," Byrne told NME. "He was around New York before that, in the reality show [The Apprentice], we knew what kind of character he was. What shocked me was how quickly the Republican party all fell into line behind him, behind this guy who's obviously a racist, misogynist liar and everything else. But it's kind of encouraging -- although it's taken four years and with some it's only with the prospect of him being gone -- that quite a few have been breaking ranks. There are some possibilities of bridge building being held out." Byrne then warned that it is "too early to celebrate" following Trump's loss to former vice-president Joe Biden the election, discussing the current Republican control of the Senate. "[This] is what happened with [Pres.] Obama..." Byrne said. "I want to see real change happen," and added that "climate change absolutely needs to be a priority." - NME, 12/21/20...... As Keith Richards celebrated his 77th birthday on Dec. 18, the Rolling Stones frontman has been honoured with a cockroach named after. Officials at the Children's Museum in West Hartford, Conn. have decided to name a Madagascar hissing cockroach after the Rolling Stones icon -- and have even given the insect its very own custom miniature guitar to crawl all over. The news was revealed to acknowledge the fact that both Keith Richards and cockroaches have great survival rates, according to the celebrity gossip site TMZ. "Keith the Cockroach" has been adopted by Denver, Colorado's classic rock radio station 103.5 The Fox, although it will permanently remain at the museum's wildlife sanctuary -- not far from the town of Weston, where Richards has a home -- and it will be cared for by staff at the museum, noting that "all of his rider demands will be met" thanks to a generous contribution from 103.5 The Fox. "It is said the only two things to survive a nuclear war would be cockroaches and Keith Richards," the museum wrote in a press release. "Chances are the real Keith will outlive the newly named, oval-shaped invertebrate whose life span is two to five years," it added. The museum said it was inspired to name the nightcrawler after Richards, who himself has notoriously cheated death on several occasions, including when he fell out of a coconut tree in 2006, and in 1978, when someone laced his dope with strychnine, which landed him in a coma. Stones fans can visit Keith the Cockroach by getting tickets on the website of the Children's Museum in West Hartford. Admission is $8 for both adults and children. - The New York Post, 12/18/20...... Ozzy Osbourne is reportedly "about halfway through" his next studio album, according to producer/guitarist Andrew Watt, and it includes contributions from members of Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica. The new band, Watt explained in a new interview, features Ozzy on vocals, himself on guitar, Metallica's Robert Trujillo on bass, and Taylor Hawkins and Chad Smith sharing drumming duties. "There's a bunch of people involved," Watt told Guitar World magazine. "I can't say for sure until the end, but I started doing a bunch of basic tracks with Chad and Robert Trujillo, who used to play in Ozzy's band. Osbourne released his well-received last studio album, Ordinary Man, earlier in 2020, just before the pandemic hit. - NME, 12/18/20...... John Prine has been honoured posthumously with an Artist of the Year prize at the 19th annual Americana Honors and Awards. Prine, a 2003 Americana Lifetime Achievement Award winner, becomes the first artist in Honors & Awards history to be posthumously nominated in this category. There will be no in-person awards ceremony this year due to the COVID crisis and the winners were announced via social media on Dec. 15. Prine lost his battle with the coronavirus in April. - WENN/Canoe.com, 12/15/20...... Actor Jeremy Bulloch, best known for playing Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy, died on Dec. 17 from health complications after living with Parkinson's disease for many years, according to his agent. He was 75. Bulloch played bounty hunter Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and the character has since featured in the second season of Star Wars spin-off series, The Mandalorian. Bulloch also appeared in James Bond film Octopussy in 1983, and the BBC TV series Doctor Who in the 1970s. Born in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, Bulloch's first major role was in the musical film Summer Holiday in 1963, aged 17, when he starred alongside pop star Sir Cliff Richard. His death follows the passing of fellow Star Wars actor David Prowse, the actor behind the menacing black mask of Darth Vader, on Nov. 29. - BBC.com, 12/18/20...... British '60s pop singer Chad Stuart, one half of '60s hitmaking folk-pop duo Chad & Jeremy, has died at age 79, according to a post on the duo's Facebook page on Dec. 20. Born David Stuart Chadwick, Stuart met Jeremy Clyde at London's Central School For Speech and Drama, and the pair started performing together as a folk duo in the early '60s. After briefly attempting a side rock band and separating after graduation, they reassembled as Chad & Jeremy -- both members singing and playing guitar -- and released their debut single, the upbeat-but-melancholy "Yesterday's Gone," in 1963. The song became a No. 37 hit in their home country, but was more successful on U.S. shores, where it peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, as part of a growing wave of popular post-Beatles U.K. acts collectively known as the British Invasion. The group would score two more Stateside hits off their eventual 1964 album, also titled Yesterday's Gone: "A Summer Song" (No. 7) and "Willow Weep For Me" (No. 15). Stuart continued to find work in entertainment after Chad & Jeremy's split in 1968, becoming the musical director for The Smothers Brothers' variety TV show, and later working as a staff producer for A&M Records. Chad & Jeremy informally reunited in the late '70s, and eventually began to record and tour again, releasing the Chad Stuart & Jeremy Clyde album in 1983. They separated again from 1987 to 2002, but resumed touring for much of the 21st century, playing at a number of '60s and British Invasion-themed gigs and on such package tours, before Stuart officially retired to Sun Valley, Idaho in the late '10s. "He just loves being at home and puttering about," Clyde said about Stuart in 2019. "He has a shed and he does all sorts of woodwork, and feeds the birds and watches and identifies them, and has a lovely time." According to the Facebook post, Stuart contracted pneumonia in the fall, after having been admitted to the hospital for non-COVID-related reasons. "The family would like to thank his fans from around the world for the outpouring of birthday wishes and gifts he received every year," his family noted. "Chad took the time to read each and every card. The world has lost a legend today, but his voice will continue to touch our lives through his music," they added. - Billboard, 12/21/20...... Country star K.T. Oslin, a three-time Grammy-winning country singer and songwriter, died on Dec. 21 after battling Parkinson's Disease and being diagnosed with COVID-19 the previous week. She was 78. The Crosssett, Ark., native won a trio of Grammys in the late 1980s for her songs "80s Ladies" and "Hold Me." She took home best country vocal performance by a female for "80s Ladies" in 1988, then won the same award and best country song for "Hold Me" in 1989. The singer-songwriter also topped the charts with her 1990 song "Come Next Monday." At the Country Music Association awards, Oslin was named the 1988 female vocalist of the year, and "80s Ladies" earned the song of the year award. It was the first time a female songwriter took home the prestigious honour. Oslin would go on to influence several of today's songwriters, including Grammy-nominated country music singer Brandy Clark, who remembered her in a Twitter thread as "Larger than life, smart, funny, elegant, beautiful...the list could go on and on." - Variety.com, 12/21/20.