Music News Net

JOHN DENSMORE Out With "The DOORS: Unhinged" Memoir

MUSIC NEWS- Former DOORS drummer John Densmore won a court battle to keep the other surviving members of the classic rock band from using the band’s name on new projects.  Now, he’s hoping to win back their friendship with a new book.

Densmore said recently that he’s mailed copies of ‘The Doors: Unhinged,’ due out April 17, 2013, to both Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger with the hope of mending fences. Mr Densmore and the family of late Doors frontman Jim Morrison were awarded $5M after the drummer filed a lawsuit back in 2003.  At that time, he charged Manzarek and Krieger with having “improperly invoked the Doors’ name and images” when the two toured as “The Doors of the 21st Century” that also had Police drummer Stewart Copeland and the Cult's Ian Astbury as vocalist.

John Fogerty Reveals Plans for His Memoir

MUSIC NEWS- Contemporary music legend, John Fogerty will release his memoir in 2014. One of rock’s biggest icons, Fogerty plans to recount his personal and private journeys throughout his career and life. The memoir is said to include his time as lead singer, guitarist and chief songwriter in one of the most successful rock bands, Creedence Clearwater Revival, who's known for hits like Proud Mary, Fortunate Son and the oft-misheard Bad Moon Rising and will be published by Little, Brown and Company.

Fogerty has said he will tell of his struggles with fame, the turbulent relationships with the CCR members and his battles with his record label for creative freedom that ended up with him before the Supreme Court.  He says that after being victimized by his label , Fantasy Records, he was forced to give it all up while part of the number one band in the world. “I want to tell the story of how I fought—hard—to maintain my artistic integrity in the face of opposing forces,” Fogerty said in a press statement.

GREG LAKE Announces UK Solo Concert Tour

MUSIC NEWS - Legendary prog rockers, singer and songwriter Greg Lake tours the UK and Europe in Songs of a Lifetime, a shared musical journey and performance experience, which
received rave reviews from fans and critics alike in North America. The tour will begin this November 2012 in the UK.

Hailed as an "artistic triumph" and "the experience of a lifetime", Songs of a Lifetime gives new insight into Greg Lake and his influences, while showcasing the influence his writing and voice have had not only for rock and roll, but contemporary music of all types.

Greg Lake has long been a musical powerhouse whose impact changed the landscape of rock and roll. Many simply refer to him as “The Voice.”  Visionary and creative, Songs of a Lifetime provides an evocative, emotional ride into the life and music of one of the world’s most popular songwriters in a unique format which relies on audience involvement as well as the artistry of the performer.

SHAWN COLVIN Readies All Fall Down Album and Memoir

MUSIC NEWS - Next week, Shawn Colvin's new All Fall Down is out, on June 5, 2012 via Nonesuch Records.  The new set is a collection of 11 songs and is Ms Colvin’s eighth studio album and the first to be produced by her longtime friend and cohort Buddy Miller (Robert Plant, Solomon Burke).  It was recorded in Nashville with a group of stellar musicians.  All Fall Down features performances by Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Jakob Dylan, Bill Frisell, Viktor Krauss, Brian Blade, Stuart Duncan, and Julie Miller, among others.

All Fall Down follows her Grammy Award winning 2009 solo acoustic set, Shawn Colvin Live, and her acclaimed 2006 studio record, These Four Walls. 

The new album was recorded in Miller’s home studio, and each song is deeply personal to Colvin, who describes All Fall Down as "an album about loss but also about redemption and resolution." The release of All Fall Down comes on the same date as she publishes her memoir, Diamond In The Rough, (via William Morrow/HarperCollins) which insightfully and candidly looks back over a rich lifetime of highs and lows. The wit, lyricism, and empathy found in the book are traits that have long characterized Colvin’s songwriting and her live performances.  In addition to upcoming concert tour, she's booked two mega bookstore events, none scheduled yet at any indie book stores or public libraries.  Stayed tuned for more news.

Gregg Allman Postpones Book Tour Due to Health Issues

MUSIC NEWS- Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and southern rock music legend Gregg Allman will undergo diagnostic cardiac testing stemming from his recent hernia operation and is postponing his promo book tour as a result. The procedure, scheduled for April 27th at Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, FL, (where the singer previously received a liver transplant in June 2010) will determine what, if any, additional medical attention may be required.

Given these circumstances, William Morrow, Allman's book publisher, today announced a temporary delay of the publicity tour to promote his forthcoming May 1 releasing memoir, MY CROSS TO BEAR. 

 

Shawn Colvin Announces "All Fall Down" Release

MUSIC NEWS - Nonesuch Records will release the new Shawn Colvin album All Fall Down on June 5, 2012 it was announced.  A collection of 11 songs, All Fall Down is Colvin’s eighth studio album and the first to be produced by her longtime friend and musical cohort Buddy Miller (Robert Plant, Solomon Burke).  The album was recorded in Nashville with a group of stellar musicians.  All Fall Down features performances by Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Jakob Dylan, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bill Frisell, Viktor Krauss, Brian Blade, Stuart Duncan, and Julie Miller, among others.

Her new album follows her Grammy Award winner, 2009's solo acoustic set, Shawn Colvin Live, and her acclaimed 2006 studio record, These Four Walls.

 

The Rolling Stones 50th Anniversay Celebrations Continue with New Photo Book

MUSIC NEWS- To mark the 50th anniversary of the first day the Rolling Stones took to the concert stage, the classic rockers will publish a photographic record of their rise to fame and lasting success. Entitled "The Rolling Stones: 50" it will arrive on July 12, the date back in 1962 when the band debuted at the Marquee Club in London's Oxford Street.

The book  is part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for one of rock and roll's biggest acts, but what we want more is another world tour.  And while some members of the group have said a tour was likely, no announcement has been made and questions still remain about the relationship between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Gregg Allman to Publish His Memoir

MUSIC NEWS - Gregg Allman, solo artist and frontman for the legendary Allman Brothers Band, has signed with William Morrow with plans to publish his untitled memoir in the spring of  2012.  The news arrives just two days after Pete Townshend of The Who signed with HarperCollins (which owns William Morrow) for his memoir, and as bestsellers by Steven Tyler, Sammy Hagar and Keith Richards remain active in bookstores and libraries.

William Morrow describes the work as an "unflinching" look at his life. In a statement announcing the deal, Allman said, "When I got out of high school, I thought, I'll take a year or two off and play the clubs, get this out of my system and then go to med school. More than 40 years later, I figure it's finally time to write about this crazy journey that's taken me around the world and back."

BILLY JOEL Tells All in His "Book of Joel"

MUSIC NEWS- The Piano Man has released news that his book THE BOOK OF JOEL UNABRIDGED- A Memoir will be published on June 14 by Harper-Collins.  It's said to be unprecedented glimpse into the heart and soul of one of the world’s best entertainers, Billy Joel. Joel opens up about his highly-publicized battle with alcohol, just weeks after Elton John went public with concerns for his pal's heavy drinking problems in a candid magazine interview.

The NY performer / songwriter will offer a serious and reflective memoir of his life from early hard times to top-of-the-world successes, including the ups and downs of romance (and his marriage to Christie Brinkley, for whom he wrote “Uptown Girl”), his personal insights on fatherhood, and reflections on both the joys and the burdens of superstardom.  This book will captivate you as one of the music world’s greatest storytellers reveals all.

STEVEN TYLER Book Due Out by Father's Day

MUSIC NEWS - Aerosmith frontman and new "American Idol" judge, STEVEN TYLER, has reportedly wrapped out his memoir with plans to have it out May 11, 2011, publisher Ecco announced.  The memoir, "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?" written by Tyler in collaboration with David Dalton has been in the works for two years, reports The Boston Globe .

Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins, reported paid the Boston rocker, Tyler, $2M for the work.  Dalton has previously written books on Andy Warhol, Janis Joplin and James Dean.

BOB DYLAN Signs Six Book Deal with Simon & Schuster

MUSIC NEWS - Folk / rock legend, BOB DYLAN has signed a new six-book publishing deal with Simon & Schuster.  The songwriting legend's new deal will find him releasing two sequels to his 2004 book Chronicles: Volume One and two books based on his XM radio show, Theme Time Radio Hour, reports Crain's New York Business.

No other details about the remaining two books part of the deal have not been released.   Chronicles: Volume One was the first installment of Mr Dylan's memoirs, but didn't feature much material based on his mid-1960s life, when his fame was at its peak.

UPDATE 1/21/11 - The LA Times' Pop & Hiss reports that a Dylan source says there is "nothing to announce. [There is] a grain of truth in the Internet rumors, in that a variety of book projects are always being discussed, but no deal like that has been made."

 

Special KEITH RICHARDS Interview to Air on WFUV

MUSIC NEWS - Early this autumn, a few fortunate New Yorkers got the chance to see legendary Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards in conversation with music writer Anthony DeCurtis at the New York Public Library.  Tickets for this unique event sold out in an amazing 42 seconds, leaving thousands of fans shut outt and reminding them that you can't always get what you want. 

To help out, NYC's public radio station WFUV is making sure you get what you need, by airing the interview to all New Yorkers and Stones fans accross the globe in a special broadcast on Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 9:00 PM EST, two days before Richards' 67^th birthday. 

TOM WAITS, Published Poet ?

MUSIC NEWS- Iconic singer/songwriter, TOM WAITS will publish a book of poetry in March of 2011, via the University of Texas Press reports TwentyFourBit.com.  The tome, called HARD GROUND will be a collaboration with photographer Michael O'Brien and will feature his photographs of the homeless accompanied by Waits' poems.

Despite releasing over 20 albums and appeared in several, Waits has not yet to published any literature and has spoken in the past of his dislike of being labelled as a poet rather than a musician. The book is said to be modelled on Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, a 1941 book by Walker Evans and James Agee.   Like Waits and O'Brien's offering, it's a collection of photographs accompanied by poetry, featuring the downtrodden farmers during the Depression-era.

KEITH RICHARDS Suggests New Rolling Stones Album and Tour in 2011

MUSIC NEWS - Keith Richards has recently said he believes that the Stones will tour in 2011 and confirmed that the band has plans to begin recording new material after this Holiday season.   "There are gems in the vaults, but more interesting for me is that everybody's ready to go out there again," he recently told the BBC in the UK. while promoting his new autobiography, Life.  When he was asked if he was talking about a concert tour he added: "Yeah, I think next year."  

Talking about a new album from the Rolling Stones, Richards, 66, said: "Yes, there will be that too."  He explained that the band has "a lot of unfinished stuff to work on", but added that some newer material is also a possibility. "Knowing Mick as I do, he's a very prolific writer. I have ideas [too] and we'll put them together in December or January," he said. The new set would mark their first since 2005's  A Bigger Bang.

The Rolling Stones last performed live together back in August 2007 at London's 02 venue, with a three-night stand.


More @ BBC 6 Music

KEITH RICHARDS & MICK JAGGER - "marriage with no divorce"

MUSIC NEWS - Today's the day, back in 1961, when Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had a chance meeting on a train near the Dartford rail station in the UK.  Keith was impressed with the imported LPs that Mick had with him, and as they talked about their shared interest in music, especially American R&B, they rekindled their friendship. We all need to thank Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and blues rock & roll don't we?

The relationship continued and in 1962 we got the birth of the longest running rock and roll act in history, the Rolling Stones.