Music News Net

Joel "Taz" DiGregorio of Charlie Daniels Band Dies in Car Crash

MUSIC NEWS- Charlie Daniels says his longtime keyboardist, vocalist, and co-writer of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", Joel "Taz" DiGregorio, 67, was killed Wednesday night in a single-car accident on Interstate 40 west of Nashville, TN while on the way to Georgia for a Charlie Daniels Band. booked for October 13 at the Cumming Country Fair and Festival.  Taz was alone in his SUV when his vehicle flipped over going around a curve, Daniels said.  "He was an intricate part of our sound for 40 years," Daniels said on Thursday. "If you listened to our records, you could hear Taz all over them. He had a riff in `The Devil Went Down to Georgia' which was his idea.   "Wearing an ever present cowboy hat and always to Daniels' right on stage, DiGregorio was a fixture of the band's rocking persona."He just fit in with our music for 40 years. It won't be easy without him," Daniels said.

Former WEEZER Bassist, Mikey Welsh Found Dead

MUSIC NEWS - Chicago, IL police report that former Weezer bassist and artist Mikey Welsh was found dead in a Chicago hotel room.  Police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said Welsh was due to check out of the Raffaello Hotel at 1 pm Saturday.  But when he didn't, hotel staff went to his room and later entered it. Kubiak said Welsh, 40,  was found unconscious and not breathing.

Kubiak said Sunday the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death. She said there's nothing to indicate foul play.

UK Folk Legend BERT JANSCH Dead at 67

MUSIC NEWS - Bert Jansch, the Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle, died in London on Wednesday, British media reported at 67.  Jansch was suffering from cancer and recently cancelled an Edinburgh concert due to health issues.  He was born in Glasgow in 1943 and became well known during the London folk revival during the 1960s as an accomplished acoustic guitar player.

He released “Bert Jansch,” his first album, which was played on a borrowed guitar, in 1965 and two years later formed Pentangle with Jacqui McShee, John Renbourn, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox.  The group performed together first in 1967, released their self-titled, debut album in 1968 and had a brief commercial success, mainly from their 1969 album “Basket of Light.”  Jansch was considered an key musical influence on musicians that range from Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin to Neil Young and Johnny Marr.

"Beatles" Photographer Robert Whitaker Dead at 71

MUSIC NEWS - Reknowed photographer Robert Whitaker, best known for this work with The Beatles back in the 1960s, has died. He was 71.  Whitaker took many pictures of the Fab Four, including a cover for the album Yesterday and Today featuring meat and dismembered dolls.  For the USA release, the controversial image was covered up with a considerably less graphic shot.

Whitaker also worked with other major music performers, such as Cream and Mick Jagger and covered the wars in Cambodia and Vietnam.  Whitaker first photographed the Beatles during their visit to Australia in 1964 where he was emplyed bythe Melbourne Jewish News.

More @ BBC.co.uk

Amy Winehouse, Dead at 27

MUSIC NEWS- Troubled Brit blues/rock singer, Amy Winehouse has been found dead in her north London home, reports the London police and ambulance crews who responded to the scene around 4 pm on  Saturday.

Police confirmed that a 27 year-old woman had been found dead in Camden, they did not offer a cause of death for the soulful singer whose father, a former cabbie, said only a few days ago that despite her going through some rough stuff, "the last few weeks she's been absolutely fantastic."

E- Street Band's CLARENCE CLEMONS, Dead at 69

MUSIC NEWS - Clarence Clemons, the legendary saxophonist and longtime band member in Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, died on June 18th as a result of complications from his recent stroke. Clemons had suffered a massive stroke on June 12 at his home in Singer Island, FL.

While specific details had never been releases, some initial reports seemed hopeful.  While hospitalized the "Big Man" had two brain surgeries, and reportedly took a turn for the worse later in the week. Born in Norfork, VA, he was 69 and was an intregal part of Springsteen's sound since 1972.  Clemons along with bassist Garry Tallent, drummer Vini Lopez, organist Danny Federici (who died in 2008), pianist Dave Sancious and Springsteen, Clemons was an original member of the group before it was the E Street Band.

On his website, Springsteen wrote of Clemons passing; "He was my great friend, my partner. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honoured and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years."

"Lonely Boy" ANDREW GOLD RIP

MUSIC NEWS- American singer/songwriter Andrew Gold died from a heart attack on June 3, 2011 at the age of 59. He's best known for his 1977 hit ‘Lonely Boy’ and 1978’s ‘Thank You For Being A Friend’ which was the theme for the hit TV series The Golden Girls which aired from 1985-1992.  Gold also sang the theme song for ‘Mad About You’, the tune ‘Final Frontier’ (written by Paul Reiser and Don Was).

Andrew Gold was born in Burbank, CA into a show business family.  His mother, Marni Nixon provided the singing voices for many actresses in musicals (notably for Natalie Wood in West Side Story), and his father, Ernest Gold was an Oscar winning composer, Gold joined the biz by his early 20s. His mother Marni Nixon was the singing voice for many Hollywood actresses. She also sang for Deborah Karr in ‘The King And I’ and Audrey Hepburn in ‘My Fair Lady’. His father Ernest Gold was an Academy Award winning composer, who among other projects wrote the music for ‘Exodus’.

TV ON THE RADIO's Gerard Smith RIP

 MUSIC NEWS - TV on the Radio's bassist Gerard Smith, 34, has died of lung cancer, the band have confirmed.  The group posted a statement on Tvontheradio.com today (April 20), confirming that Mr Smith passed away this morning.

The Brooklyn, NY indie rockers wrote: "We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer. Gerard passed away the morning of April 20, 2011. We will miss him terribly."

Atlanta Rhythm Section's RONNIE HAMMOND R.I.P.

MUSIC NEWS- Macon, GA native Ronnie Hammond, former lead singer of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, passed away today, Monday at a local Georgia hospital.  Hammond, 60, died of a heart attack around 11am, said his brother, Jimmy Hammond.  Hammond had a history of respiratory problems, including diabetes and lung problems

ARS, one of the champions of bluesy southern rock had several national hits during the 1970s, including “Doraville,” “Jukin,” “Champagne Jam,” “Imaginary Lover,” “So Into You,” “I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight,” and a remake of the Classics IV hit “Spooky.”  Hammond left the band in the early 1980s to pursue other interests. During his years off the road, Hammond continued to write music, with songwriting partner, producer (and ARS manager) Buddy Buie.  Hammond also built houses around the Macon, GA area including his own near Lake Tobesofkee. He rejoined the group in 1989 for TRUTH IN A STRUCTURED FORM album and again in the mid '90s.  The group was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1996.

"I know he'd want to be remembered for some of his accomplishments in music," Hammond's older brother, Jimmy Hammond, told the Macon Telegraph nedwspaper.  "Ronnie is one of the most gentle, kindest, humble people you could ever run across," Jimmy Hammond told the paper. "That's just the way he was."

Blues Guitarist, EDDIE KIRKLAND, Killed in FL Crash

MUSIC NEWS - The Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported that blues guitar legend Eddie Kirkland, "The Gypsy Of The Blues", was killed Sunday (February 27) morning in a Florida car crash.

Kirkland, 88, was born in Jamaica and was a former bandleader for Otis Redding. He recorded with John Lee Hooker, among others.  Kirkland performed Saturday night at the Dunedin Brewery, nearTampa, according to his website. Just before 8:30 am on Sunday, Kirkland was driving a 1998 Ford Taurus when he attempted a U-turn and turned into the path of a Greyhound bus, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Rock Guitarist GARY MOORE, R.I.P.

MUSIC NEWS - Legendary rock guitarist Gary Moore is dead at 58.   Adam Parsons, who managed Moore during his days with Thin Lizzy, confirmed to BBC News that the Irish musician passed away this morning (February 6, 2011) in his sleep while on vacation in Spain.

Robert William Gary Moore, was born in 1952 and joined the Dublin blues-rock band Skid Row at the age of 16, becoming friends with vocalist Phil Lynott.  He later teamed up with Lynott when he replaced Eric Bell in Thin Lizzy in 1974.  He only spent a few months with the band during his initial stay, but later returned to the band up in 1977, replacing Brian Robertson, and in 1978 for their Black Rose tour.

James Bond Composer, JOHN BARRY, RIP

MUSIC NEWS - John Barry, the well known composer of Born Free, Out of Africa and James Bond films, has died in New York City of a heart attack aged 77.

 Fellow Bond composer David Arnold wrote on his Twitter account; "It was with a heavy heart that I tell you John Barry passed away this morning". 



"I think James Bond would have been far less cool without John Barry holding his hand," Arnold added. 

He received five Oscars in a career that spanned many years.  In addition to his music work on eleven Bond films, he won music Academy Awards for Dances With Wolves, Out of Africa and Born Free.

More @ Guardian.co.uk
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Music Impresario, Don Kirshner, Dead at 77

MUSIC NEWS- Legendary music impresario, Don Kirshner, 77, known as "The Man With The Golden Ear," died yesterday, January 17 of heart failure in Boca Raton, FL.  1970's music fans know Mr Kirshner from his weekly music show "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert," which featured live performances from rock & pop artists.

Kirshner's music career started in the 1950s when he discovered Bobby Darin and later at Aldon Music with Al Nevins.    Aldon Music, based in the famed Brill Building in NYC was one of the "song factories", pumping out hundreds of hit songs, written by more than a dozen young songwriters, including the newcomers Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka and Barry Mann.  Kirshner, who wrote "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" for the Righteous Brothers, was well known for his skill at recognizing hit songs.  

Charlie Daniels Band's TOMMY CRAIN Dead at 59

MUSIC NEWS - John Thomas "Tommy" Crain, former CHARLIE DANIELS BAND guitarist and one of the writers of the classic CDB tune, The Devil Went Down to Georgia, passed away on Thursday in Franklin, TN. He was 59. It has been reported that he died in his sleep; however, no cause of death has been released.

Crain joined the band in 1975 after his group, Buckeye, played at Daniel's Volunteer Jam in 1974.   He appears on over twenty albums and also co-wrote over sixty songs including the band's most famous record on which he can be heard in a guitar/fiddle duel with Daniels and for which he won a Grammy.

GERRY RAFFERTY, "Baker Street" Musician Dead at 63

MUSIC NEWS - Scottich singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, whose Stuck in the Middle with You, Baker Street (videos below) and Get it Right Next Time tunes brought him world wide acclaim in the 1970s, has died this morning after a long illness. He was 63.  In November, he had been admitted to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital with liver failure.

His family reports that he died peacefully at home peacefully with his daughter Martha.  Rafferty was born in Paisley, near Glasgow, played with Billy Connolly's folk outfit the Humblebums, and co-founded the soft-rock group Stealer's Wheel, before enjoying a his own successful solo career.