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Read all about the stars of stage
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Morty's Cabin: Living in the Limelight
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By Simon Leblovic,
If music be the food of love play on. Let sweet sounds lift my spirits, spiraling at the sky. Music is the life blood that expresses matters of the spirit that are beyond mere words. Music fills us with wonder and joy, and as a form of artistic expression brings us closest to the divine. In descibing the musical genius of Mozart's musical compositions, it was said that he was taking dictation from God. In other words don't that music make you want to get up and dance and feel good like you knew it would.
When I was young my parents had a calypso record by Harry Belafonte that used to get me dancing around the living room of our house. I remember hearing "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" and "Jamaica Farewell," as well as a rhythmic number called "Do Adore Her." Then when I saw Peter Sellers playing the imcomparable Inspector Clouseau, I remember hearing the Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini. And I also heard Shirley Bassey sing the theme song to the James Bond movie Goldfinger. All unforgettable blasts from the past.
When I became a teenager I started to get into rock 'n roll music seriously. I remember hearing a 1960's compilation album with a couple of psychedelic songs on it called "Journey to the Center of the Mind" by The Amboy Dukes and "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night" by The Electric Prunes. I also remember hearing that great make out song called "Go All The Way" by The Raspberries, as well as a sweet song called "Loving You" by Minnie Riperton that became our song with one of my first true loves. I also remember tripping under headphones to "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath and grooving to an American Gangster number called "Superfly" by Curtis Mayfield. And how could I not get down with Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels when I heard songs like "Sock It To Me Baby," "Devil With A Blue Dress On" and "I Got You," the latter of which was originally performed by James Brown. And there were great Canadian rock 'n roll songs like "American Woman" by The Guess Who and "You Could Have Been A Lady" by April Wine. And there was a a song called "Nothing" by a Toronto band called The Ugly Ducklings, who were also known as The Strolling Bones.
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NYC Musician & Songwriter Willy DeVille Dead Of Cancer At 59
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Willy DeVille (August 25, 1950 - August 6, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. First with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1985) and later on his own, DeVille in his 35-year career created songs that are wholly original yet rooted in traditional American musical styles. DeVille worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary music, including Jack Nitzsche, Doc Pomus, Dr. John, Mark Knopfler, Allen Toussaint, Eddie Bo, Brenda Lee, Los Camperos de Nati Cano, and David Hidalgo. The typical DeVille song —if any of his songs can be called "typical"— is filled with romantic conviction and yearning. Latin rhythms, blues riffs, doo-wop, Cajun music, strains of French cabaret, and echoes of early-1960s uptown soul can be heard in DeVille's work.
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Director John Hughes Dead At Age 59
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By Chris Knight
Watching The Breakfast Club in 1985 was the first time I saw myself in a movie. The actor, Anthony Michael Hall, was almost the same age as me, and his character, Brian Johnson, just about as geeky.
He’d been thrown into detention after a flare gun went off in his locker, and now had to spend Saturday cooped up in the high-school library with a menagerie of alien species: a jock (Emilio Estevez), a princess (Molly Ringwald), a delinquent (Judd Nelson) and a misfit (Ally Sheedy). Yet in spite of their differences, they communicated, even made friendships.
It sounds cheesy, but at 15 I learned something from that film that helped me through the tumult of high school. When I heard that its writer/director, John Hughes, had died yesterday morning of a heart attack while walking on a Manhattan street, it was like hearing that a favourite teacher had passed away, too suddenly and too soon. Hughes was 59.
Hughes got his professional start as a writer with National Lampoon magazine, and his first screenwriting credits were on such comedies as National Lampoon’s Class Reunion (1982) and Vacation (1983). But it was the following year that he first made his mark as writer/director with Sixteen Candles, starring Molly Ringwald and Hall. (Amazingly for a movie, both actors were in fact 15 when shooting began.)
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by Richard Citroen (c)2009 SOCAN
This is my account of my time Hamilton legends, The Loved Ones.
While this account might not be 100% historically accurate, this is how I remember it.....
I guess it all started for me in early 1977, when I, a 17 year old high school student and aspiring drummer, went to the local A&A Records in Burlington looking to buy a new album with my hard won allowance to add to my record collection.
This record collection was in itself a fairly alarming. My earlier interest in early 70's glam rock like T.Rex had somewhere along the way given way to grim horrors like Rush's live album, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, and other abominations like Yes' Close To The Edge album.
Sure, there was Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti, a couple of Mott The Hoople things, Spark's Kimono My House and some other good things, including some rather good promo albums from my ex-musician/manager/concert promoter/booking agent father's days working for NEMS (The Beatles organization) in the late 60's, but in the main,
it was horrible.
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Renowned Rock Photographer & Album Designer Tom Wilkes Dead
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Award winning artist and designer Tom Wilkes died unexpectedly on Sunday, June 28 at his home in Pioneertown, CA at the age of 69.
Thomas E. Wilkes was born July 30, 1939 in Long Beach, California and was raised in southern California. He attended Long Beach City College, UCLA and the Art Center College of Design in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
In 1967 Wilkes was the art director of the Monterey International Pop Festival. He created all graphics and printed materials for Monterey Pop, including the program book and the festival’s psychedelic and iconic foil poster.
From 1967 through 1969, Wilkes was the art director of A&M Records. He was partner with Barry Feinstein from 1970 through 1973 in Camouflage Productions, which became record label Blue Thumb’s house art department.
He was partner in Wilkes & Braun, Inc. from 1973 through 1974, and art director of ABC Records from 1975 through 1977. In 1978 he started Tom Wilkes Productions and became President of Project Interspeak, a not-for-profit environmental and human rights organization devoted to planetary enhancement programs.
Wilkes designed and directed such hit record covers as Rolling Stones’ “Flowers” and “Beggars Banquet”, Neil Young’s “Harvest”, and George Harrison’s “Concert for Bangladesh” and “All Things Must Pass.” He received a Grammy Award in 1974 for Best Recording Package for The Who’s rock opera “Tommy,” as performed by the London Symphony Orchestra & Choir.
Among his many album cover credits:
Janis Joplin - “Pearl”Ike & Tina Turner - “Outta Season”Eric Clapton - “Eric Clapton”Dave Mason - “Alone Together”Joe Cocker - “Mad Dogs & Englishmen”Flying Burrito Brothers - “Gilded Palace of Sin”John Prine - “John Prine”Emmylou Harris - “Blue Kentucky Girl” and “Elite Hotel”Leon Russell - “Stop All That Jazz”REO Speedwagon - “You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can’t Tuna Fish”
In addition to creating hundreds of posters, logos, books, trade ads and illustrations, Wilkes produced and directed TV and radio spots, music videos, films, mixed media presentations and special events.
He recently completed a book of his artwork and memoirs, called “Tommy Geeked a Chicken,” and was negotiating publishing arrangements. At this time, plans are being made to proceed with publication of the book.
A memorial service will be held for Wilkes on Saturday, July 11th, in Orange, CA.
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Posted by Marty on Sunday, July 26 @ 10:40:51 CDT (147 reads)
(comments? | Score: 0)
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Newsman Walter Cronkite Dead At 92
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Walter Cronkite, the CBS news anchor who was considered “the most trusted man in America,” died yesterday at his New York home at age 92, after suffering for many years from cerebrovascular disease, according to family members.
Cronkite anchored the “CBS Evening News” from 1962 to 1981 and was easily the most influential broadcast journalist of the 20th century.
Millions of viewers came to depend upon the St. Joseph, Mo., native for his stately reading of headlines. He ended each newscast with his trademark signoff,“. . . and that’s the way it is.”
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The King Of Pop, Dead At 50
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Michael Jackson, 50, died Thursday in Los Angeles as sensationally as he lived, as famous as a human being can get.
He was a child Motown sensation who grew into a moonwalking megastar, the self-anointed King of Pop who sold 750 million records throughout his career and enjoyed worldwide adoration.
But with that came the world's relentless curiosity, and Jackson came to be regarded as one of show business's legendary oddities, hopping from one public relations crisis to another.
Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in Holmby Hills, Calif. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his home for nearly three-quarters of an hour, then rushed him to the hospital, where doctors continued to work on him.
"It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known," his brother Jermaine said. Police said they were investigating, standard procedure in high-profile cases.
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Painkillers & Stress Likely Causes In Michael Jackson's Death
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Michael Jackson’s death from a cardiac arrest has been blamed on prescription drugs or the stress of rehearsing for his forthcoming tour.
The Jackson family lawyer and spokesman, Brian Oxman, blamed “enablers” in the singer’s entourage for aiding and abetting Jackson’s reliance on painkillers, an addiction he had battled throughout his career, and compared the tragedy to the drugs-related death of Anna-Nicole Smith.
The star was taking painkillers to cope with performance-related injuries, Mr Oxman said. Toxicology tests will be carried out on Jackson’s body to establish what substances were in his system at the time of death.
“This is not something that has been unexpected... because of the medications which Michael was under,” Mr Oxman told CNN. “I do not know the extent of the medications that he was taking but the reports we had been receiving in the family is that they were extensive. When you warn people that this is what’s going to happen and then it happens... where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Mr Oxman said of Jackson’s rehearsals for the London tour: “His injuries, which he had sustained performing, where he had broken a vertebra and he had broken his leg from a fall on the stage, were getting in the way. I do not know the extent of the medications that he was taking.”
Michael Levine, Jackson’s former publicist, said the star’s death in such a manner felt inevitable. “I must confess I am not surprised by today’s tragic news. Michael has been on an impossibly difficult and often self-destructive journey for years. His talent was unquestionable but so too was his discomfort with the norms of the world. A human simply cannot withstand this level of prolonged stress.”
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Farrah Fawcett Loses Her Battle With Cancer At Age 62
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U.S. actress Farrah Fawcett, who starred in the television crime-fighting series Charlie's Angels and received critical acclaim for the movie The Burning Bed about domestic abuse, has died at age 62, according to her spokesman.
Fawcett died Thursday morning in a Santa Monica hospital, said Paul Bloch.
Her longtime companion, actor Ryan O'Neal, and close friend Alana Stewart were at her side, Bloch added.
"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," O'Neal said.
"Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."
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TV Host Ed McMahon Dead At 86
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Ed McMahon, the loyal “Tonight Show” sidekick who bolstered boss Johnny Carson with guffaws and a resounding “H-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s Johnny!” for 30 years, died early Tuesday. He was 86.
McMahon died shortly after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his wife, Pam, and other family members, said his publicist, Howard Bragman.
Bragman didn’t give a cause of death, saying only that McMahon had a “multitude of health problems the last few months.”
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