Music News Net

Legendary Singer/Songwriter JJ CALE Dead at 74

MUSIC NEWS - The legendary American singer, songwriter, JJ Cale, passed away on Friday July 26 of a heart attack at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, CA at 74. The news was reported on his management company's website and on his Facebook page.  JJ Cale (John W. Cale) was born on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, OK. A nightclub owner in California who was employing Cale in the mid-1960’s came up with the “JJ” moniker to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground’s John Cale.

A composer, guitarist and vocalist, he was one of the innovators of the “Tulsa Sound” that draws on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. In an interview, JJ once said, “I don’t think there is a Tulsa sound as such. It’s just individuals. But I know what you mean. In western Oklahoma you’ve got a lot of country music. Then in eastern Oklahoma, it’s closer to the Mississippi and you’ve got more blues musicians. In Tulsa we got influenced by both and there’s some jazz in there too. So I guess that’s what made my sound.”

Tonight Show Drummer, Ed Shaughnessy, Dead at 84

MUSIC NEWS- Tonight Show drummer Ed Shaughnessy has died at the age of 84, according to the Los Angeles Times obituary.  The world class drummer suffered a heart attack on May 24 at his home in Calabasas, CA.

Shaughnessy grew up in Jersey City, NJ in the 1930s and started playing drums while in his teens.  He soon began playing jazz drums in New York City and became a staff musician at CBS in the 1950s.  He also became a well-known big band drummer, playing with stars such as Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey.

RAY MANZAREK, Founding Member of The Doors Dead at 74

MUSIC NEWS - Ray Manzarek, a founding member and keyboardist of the legendary 1960s rock group The Doors, died on Monday at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family at age 74, said the group's manager Tom Vitorino.  Manzarek died following a battle with bile duct cancer, the band said in a statement.

Singer Jim Morrison and Mr Manzarek formed The Doors in 1965 after the two met at UCLA film school and later a chance meeting at Los Angeles' Venice Beach.  Manzarek's keyboard work would go on to be a touchstone of hits like "Break On Through to the Other Side" and "Light My Fire."   "I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate  Ray Manzarek today," The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger said in a statement. "I'm just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him."

Country Music Icon, George Jones, Dead at 81

MUSIC NEWS - Country Music Hall of Famer, Grand Ole Opry member, Kennedy Center Honoree and legend George Glenn Jones died Friday, April 26, 2013 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 81 and had been hospitalized April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure.

Born September 12, 1931, Jones is regarded among the most important and influential singers in American popular music history. He was the singer of enduring country music hits including “She Thinks I Still Care,” “The Grand Tour,” “Walk Through This World With Me,” “Tender Years” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” the latter of which is often at the top of industry lists of the greatest country music singles of all time.

Rock Album Cover Artist, Storm Thorgerson, Dead at 69

MUSIC NEWS - Iconic rock album cover designer, Storm Thorgerson has passed away at age 69. He had been treated for cancer for some years.  His incredible body of work and his long-term relationship with Pink Floyd, designing covers for the likes of Darkside Of The Moon and Wish You Were Hear among many others made him and his Hipgnosis firm, legendary.  Thorgerson was also commissioned, and well known for his work with Peter Gabriel, Led Zeppelin, Muse, Phish, Styx, Biffy Clyro (his final work, for their OPPOSITES album ), Black Sabbath and more.

More @ Stormthorgerson.com

 

DEFTONES' Chi Cheng Passes Away at 42

MUSIC NEWS - Deftones bass guitarist Chi Cheng, 42, passed away this morning, Sunday, five years after a car crash left him in a coma, his mother announced.  "This is the hardest thing to write to you," Mom J, the name his mother used with his fans, said. "Your love and heart and devotion to Chi was unconditional and amazing."

Her statement was posted today on OneLoveForChi.com, a website that was set up to communicate with Chi's fans and to raise money to help care for Cheng since his disabling accident.   "He was taken to the emergency room, and at 3 am today, his heart just suddenly stopped," his mother wrote. "He left this world with me singing songs he liked in his ear."

Noted Music Producer and Engineer, ANDY JOHNS Dies

MUSIC NEWS- Noted music producer/engineer Andy Johns, who worked on classic rock albums as Led Zeppelin IV and the Rolling Stones ‘Exile On Main Street’, has died.  He was 61.  The news was confirmed to Billboard by guitarist Stacy Blades, who had been working on a as yet untitled project with Johns until the producer was hospitalized last week.  Johns was part of a family of sound engineers. His older brother, Glyn Johns, is well known for his work with The Who, The Eagles, Rolling Stones as well as Led Zeppelin and his nephew is Ethan Johns, who's worked with Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, Rufus Wainwright).

He was born in Surrey and latera student at the King's School in Gloucester.  He put aside an early ambition "to be the next greatest bass player of all time" to follow his brother into the studio world. "It looked a lot better than working," Johns told Universal Audio.   Andy Johns began his music tech career as a tape operator in Olympic Studios in London where he worked with Rod Stewart, Jethro Tull and Humble Pie.  Johns worked with the Rolling Stones from 1968-1973 and captured the sounds for ‘Exile On Main Street’ at Keith Richards’ mansion in the South of France in the early 70s.  Johns later moved to Los Angeles and worked with Ozzy Osbourne, Joe Satriani and Van Halen.  His more recent work includes Steve Miller Band's 2011 ‘Let Your Hair Down’ and the 2009 Chickenfoot album.

Johns' sons also went into music; singer-songwriter Will Johns has released a pair of albums, including "Hooks and Lines" in 2012 and Evan Johns played drums in the band Hurt.

Funeral arrangements are still pending.

Indie Rocker, JASON MOLINA, Dead at 39

MUSIC NEWS - Ohio-born indie rock singer and songwriter Jason Molina , member of the bands Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. passed away on Saturday at the age of 39 after a long battle with alcoholism, his record company announced today.

“Jason is the cornerstone of Secretly Canadian,” read a statement issued Monday by the Bloomington, IN, based label. “Without him there would be no us -- plain and simple. His singular, stirring body of work is the foundation upon which all else has been constructed. After hearing and falling in love with the mysterious voice on his debut single "Soul" in early 1996, we approached him about releasing a single on our newly formed label. For some reason he said yes.”

Prog Rock Guitarist PETER BANKS Dies

MUSIC NEWS - Best known for his innovative and unique guitar work with YES and Flash, as well
as his own critically acclaimed solo albums, guitar legend Peter Banks passed away at his home in London on March 8, 2013. Banks, a founding member of the ground breaking progressive rock group YES, performed on the band's first two albums, 'Yes' and 'Time And A Word'. He went on to form Flash and release three well-received albums (Flash, In The Can, Out Of Our Hands), along with several successful tours of Europe and the US, culminating in an appearance on the widely watched late night American TV show 'The Midnight Special'. With an admitted fondness for improvisation, music critics touted Banks as a cross between Pete Townshend and Wes Montgomery. Even Pete Townshend, one night after witnessing a YES performance, walked up to Banks, slapped him on the back and said, “You're great!”

Southern Rock Guitarist, Dan Toler, Dead at 64

MUSIC NEWS -  Dan Toler, better known to many as Dangerous Dan Toler passed away today.  Guitarist Toler became popular in the late 1970s as a member of Dickey Betts & Great Southern and was featured on the albums Dickey Betts & Great Southern and Atlanta's Burning Down. He went on to become a member of The Allman Brothers Band with Betts from 1979 thru 1982 appearing on Enlightened Rogues, Reach for the Sky and Brothers of the Road.

Toler and his brother David (Frankie) Toler were members of the Gregg Allman Band in the 1980s, featured on his albums I'm No Angel (1987) and Just Before The Bullets Fly (1988) as well as a reformed version of Great Southern in the 2000s. Dan played with jazz fusion multi instrumentalist Mark Pettey in Sarasota, FL in the early 1990s, recording a short demo, and performing live shows in the Tampa Bay area. Mark and Dan continue to collaborate on jazz influenced projects together.

Founding MOTHERS OF INVENTION Member, Ray Collins, Dead at 76

MUSIC NEWS- RAY COLLINS, one of the founding members of Mothers of Invention with Frank Zappa, died on Monday, December 24 at age 76.  Before Collins starting his music career with Zappa, Collins was doing backup vocals on doo-wop records in the Los Angeles area during the 1950s and 60s.  But, in 1964 he joined up with Jimmy Carl Black, Roy Estrada and Frank Zappa to form the cover band The Soul Giants. That band would later become known as Mothers of Invention.

Collins was the lead vocalist on the band’s early albums, including Freak Out!, Absolutely Free and Cruising With Ruben & The Jets. Collins left the band soon after as he clashed with Zappa over creative differences. "I wanted to make beautiful music," Collins told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in 2009. "I was raised on Johnny Mathis and Nat King Cole." Regarding the band's outlandish stage shows, Collins said, "I didn't like  doing that stuff on stage. Too much comedy, too much making fun of  stuff."

He did contribute to a few Zappa projects afterwards throughout the 70s. Later in life, Collins supported himself through social security and songwriting royalties.

Legendary Rock Talent Agent Frank Barsalona Passes Away at 74

MUSIC NEWS - Frank Barsalona, a pioneering music agent who began Premier Talent agency in 1964, forever changing the rock music touring business, passed away early Thursday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.  His death was originally reported in a post on the Steve Hoffman Music Forum, saying he 'died peacefully in his sleep".    

Mr Barsalona is credited with revolutionizing the rock concert business which he told the     Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was regarded "lower than the rodeo".   Before he founded Premier Talent in NYC, Barsalona, who was born in 1938, began his career at GAC, a New  York-based talent agency where he booked the first USA appearances by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds.  He launched his own agency with the Who, Herman's Hermits and Mitch Ryder and moved the shows to larger venues with full-length shows.  Before then, most rock  shows were presented as package tours and variety shows with short 15-minute sets by each act.     

RENNAISANCE Guitarist/Composer Michael Dunford Passes Away

MUSIC NEWS- Michael Dunford, musical composer and guitarist of the progressive Brit folk/rock band Renaissance passed away on Tuesday, November 20, 2012. He had recently returned home after the band wrapped up the first leg of their North American concert tour.  He suffered a massive Instantaneous Cerebral Hemorrhage while dining at his home in Surrey, England on Monday night and was rushed to a local hospital where doctors declared his condition irreversible and terminal. He passed away at 11:06 pm GMT, his family at his side, without having regained consciousness.

The reclusive and soft-spoken composer, a mainstay in the world of progressive rock, was born, raised and educated in Surrey. His first job was selling clothing in a local shop followed by a stint as an airside driver at Heathrow Airport which enabled him to form a “skiffle” group.  This lead to his first rock band called Nashville Teens in the early 1960s. Nashville Teens reached #6 on U.K. singles charts with their version of Tobacco Road. After leaving them, he formed several other bands including The Pentad and The Plebes. One night he saw the original Renaissance performing live at a local venue and ended up joining them in the early 1970s. The original band members were Jim McCarty, Louis Cennamo, John Hawken, Keith Relf and Jane Relf.

Jackie Guthrie, Wife of Arlo, Dies at 68

MUSIC NEWS - Folk singer Arlo Guthrie announced the death of his wife, Jackie, at age 68.  Ms Guthrie had inoperable cancer and died Sunday, 10/14 at the couple's winter home in Sebastian, FL, according to the news released by Arlo Guthrie's record label. The couple had recently celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary.

In a Facebook posting, Guthrie says his relationship with his wife was "a very great love." "We didn't always like each other," he stated. "From time to time there were moments when we'd have our bags packed by the door. But, there was this great love that we shared from the moment we met - a recognition - It's YOU! And we would always return to it year after year, decade after decade and I believe life after lifetime."

STARSHIP Lead Guitarist, Mark Abrahamian, Dead at 46

MUSIC NEWS - Mark Abrahamian, lead guitarist for the rockers Starship, died of a heart attack after a concert in Norfolk, NE, his road manager said.  Road manager Scott Harrison said Abrahamian, 46, collapsed after a performance Sunday night.

"We had just finished the show. We were back in the dressing room eating. He apparently told the bass player he wasn't feeling well," Harrison said Monday.

Abrahamian went into the next room and was talking to his fiance on the phone when he collapsed, Harrison said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  Harrison said an autopsy was done Monday.