We're sad to pass along the news that Eddie Money has passed away. Just diagnosed recently with stage 4 esophageal cancer, Eddie died peacefully this morning according to a statement from his family that included, "It is with heavy hearts we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannon imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he swill live on forever through his music."
We pass along our condolences to Eddie's wife and family. He was one of the most enthusiastic and enjoyable people in Rock to spend time with.
Jimmy Johnson, guitarist with the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, affectionately dubbed The Swampers in Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama, passed away Thursday (9/5). Johnson's credits include engineering Brown Sugar and Wild Horses on Sticky Fingers, the Rolling Stones album recorded in Muscle Shoals. Most notably, Johnson and fellow Swampers Roger Hawkins (drums), David Hood (bass) and keyboard player Barry Beckett made up the rhythm section on a slew of records recorded by Soul and R&B greats Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Arthur Conley, Clarence Carter, Otis Rush the Staples SIngers and others, but his r guitar work can be heard on songs recorded by Skynyrd, Bob Seger, Bob Dylan, Boz Scaggs, Rod Stewart, Traffic, Joe Cocker, JJ Cale, Linda Ronstadt, Leon Russell, Jimmy Cliff, Paul Simon, Jimmy Buffett, Glenn Frey, and dozens of other Rockers.
Fans of great guitarists gather in Dallas September 20 & 21 to feast their ears on Eric Clapton's annual showcase of six string wizardy to raise money for his treatment center to help those struggling with substance dependency. The 2019 Crossroads Giutar Festival is booked into the American Airlines Arena, but those not lucky enough to be there to catch performances by EC, Jeff Beck, Jimmie Vaughan, Bonnie Raitt, Peter Frampton, Robert Cray, Albert Lee, Buddy Guy, the Tedeschi Trucks Band and many others will be able to watch it via a live pay-for-view streams from some cableandsatellite providers for $39.95 per evening for home viewing or at a host of public places carrying the feed. Eric will be on stage with a number of his guests on both nights.
Gary Rossington has confronted health challenges frequent and severe enough that no one would have begrudge him deciding to abandon his role as the lone remaining long-term member in Lynyrd Skynyrd. Rossington had a triple bypass heart surgery nearly 20 years ago and survived a heart attack 4 years ago. Two weeks ago, he had another operation to address a faulty heart valve. Recovery from that has forced him to move a couple of August Lynyrd Skynyrd Farewell Tour dates into October. Rapid recovery wishes and a salute to Gary on behalf of Skynyrd fans his remarkable determination and endurance.
Paul Simon and Bob Weir first met in 1967 when Simon stopped by the Dead's Haight Ashbury house in San Francisco to invite the group to play at the Monterey Pop Festival, but the two had never performed together until last night when Weir joined Paul during his set at the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in Golden Gate Park. Given that Paul had already announced his retirement for live performing, it's a pairing unlikely to ever happen again.
Rapid recovery wishes going out to Willie Nelson and ZZ Top's Frank Beard. Willie has canceled several tour dates while he contends with some breathing problems. ZZ Top's drummer contracted a case of pneumonia and the Top has put some PacNW dates on hold while he recovers.
Bruce Springsteen joined Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes on stage at the Jersey seashore city's Convention Center Wednesday night (8/7) after the Paramount Theatre's red-carpet premiere of Blinded By The Light, the film featuring a number of Springsteen songs as the soundtrack of a young man's life. Bruce, Johnny and the Jukes did renditions of Talk To Me, 634-5789, Sherry Darling and We're Having a Party.
Three Georgia musicians are staging a short tour performing the music of several of the Peach State's best known music makers. R.E.M. bass player Mike Mills, Rolling Stones, and Allman Brothers Band keyboard great Chuck Leavell and violinist Robert McDuffie plan to feature songs from Ray Charles, Gregg Allman, the Allman Brothers, Gram Parsons, the B-52s, Gladys Knight and more during dates in Atlanta (9/29), Birmingham, Alabama (10/2), Savannah, GA (10/4) and Agusta, GA (10/5).?
Locals at the Tick-Tock Diner in Clifton, NJ know good eats (it's rated as one of the best diners in America), but they're not up to par on recognizing Rockers. NJ.com interviewed the waitress that served ham and egg sandwiches and the Tick-Tock's famous Disco Fries to several of the most famous people to ever eat there the day of their north Jersey tour says none of the other customers realized they were dining with the Rolling Stones. The one hostess that had an inkling that one of them looked like Mick Jagger kept it to herself.
Filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker passed away Thursday (8/1) at 94. The pioneering director of concert films and rock documentaries was responsible for Monterey Pop, the early Bob Dylan doc Don't Look Back and movies that took fans behind the scenes with John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, the Talking Heads, Alice Cooper and more.
Widespread Panic rewarded fans that waited out a stormy day and endured a sweltering night Friday (8/2) in northeast Florida to catch their concert at the great St. Augustine Amphitheatre. John Bell and the band worked in covers from Neil Young (Don't be Denied and Walk On), Curtis Mayfield (Pusherman), J.J. Cale (Travelin' Light) and the Talking Heads (Heaven), along with a couple of early deep tracks from the Grateful Dead - Cream Puff War and New Speedway Boogie.
Gainesville, Florida will soon gain a historical marker honoring Tom Petty. The double sided marker will get placed in the neighborhood he grew up in. One side will cover the native son's early years, the other his career. It's about time! This honor comes after a state senate member's proposal to rename a portion of US Highway 441, a road Tom included in the lyrics to American Girl, named in his honor failed to pass. The city has renamed a park in Petty's honor.
We've documented the boondoggle Michael Lang's proposed festival marking the anniversary of his 1969 event has become. Just when it seems it can't get any more ridiculous, it does. Lang evidently released all of the previously announced artists from any obligation to appear after John Fogerty and The Dead and Company dropped out. (Jay-Z did too, but him being out of the lineup would probably increase interest). Lang probably had no legal basis for requiring performances since the contracts specified Watkins Glen as the site and were made between the bands and the anniversary festival's early financial backers. The backers lost confidence in Lang and backed out, and Watkins Glen denied him permits, as did another potential site. He finally landed a venue, Merryweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, and a promoting partner willing to run the event "if the bands show up". His latest ploy is rebranding it as a benefit concert to raise money to fight climate change and encourage voter turnout in the next election. Whether enough people will pay to attend a festival that can't guarantee who is going to perform to make it viable is such an obvious problem that there's even talk they could end up giving tickets away to fill the venue that holds 32,000.
The July 2, 1969 death of Brian Jones just a few weeks after he got kicked out of the Rolling Stones was officially attributed to "misadventure". The circumstances could well have contributed to that conclusion being reached.
The guitarist was hosting what has been described as a raucous party at his place. Guests were said to have been indulging in copious quantities of alcohol and reportedly enjoying cakes with hashish baked into them.At about 9pm, the 27 year-old host's body ended-up at the bottom of the swimming pool many guests at the event had frollicked in earlier that night.
The cause of death has been questioned ever since the results of the investigation into it got announced. Many contend it wasn't an accident.
Alternate reasons for his death will be the subject of a Netflix documentary based on a book about the tragedy written by Terry Rawlings, who has uncovered a number of inconsistencies in accounts provided by witnesses at the party, including Jones' manager, who accounts claim denied he'd even been there that night for a number of years.
Whether the doc actually gets to the bottom of why Jones ended-up at the bottom of the pool remains to be seen, but it should be interesting viewing.
The multiple failures to secure a location and many other missteps along the way have made it look as though it was a longshot that Woodstock 50, the 3 day anniversary event Michael Lang put together, would take place at all. Early on, Lang lost his financing and then tried to sue to get reimbursed on some of the money fronted by the backer and failed. He then found another backer but lost his venue when Watkins Glen officials lost confidence in the plans Lang submitted. He then attempted to relocate the event to Vernon Downs, a harness racetrack between Utica and Syracuse, a move that would have reduced it's attendance potential from close to 100,000 to less than 65,000. Officials in that town rejected three applications over security, traffic, and health concerns. Yesterday, just a few weeks from the event's August 16 opening day, Woodstock 50 apparently found a site willing to host it. Merryweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland has reportedly signed on to host it. If it takes place there, capacity will get cut by another 50%. The amphitheater seats around 20,000, but could accommodate an additional 10,000. Tickets will apparently be priced at $129 and $595. Whether the announced lineup of Acts remains intact remains to be seen. Evidently, the acts were under contract to the firm that originally financed the event and the terms specified Watkins Glen as the location. If that's the case, some could be able to leagally opt out of appearing and keep the money advanced them.
David Bowie's great 1969 song inspired by that summer's Apollo spacecraft's lunar landing module manned touchdown has gotten a masterfully done reboot for the 50th anniversary of the mission.
The irrepressible Ronnie Wood is working on a new solo album. It's been almost a decade since the former Faces and current Rolling Stones member put out an an album on his own. This one will coincide with a documentary film about Woody.
Officials in Vernon, New York dashed Michael Lang's likely last chance for finding a venue willing to host his ill-fated Woodstock anniversary concert by rejecting his third appeal to stage it at Vernon Downs, a harness race track between Utica and Syracuse. That probably means the 50th anniversary of the iconic musical and cultural will pass without a big event to mark the occasion. But the US Postal Service will issue a small something to commemorate the 1969 event with the release of a Woodstock Forever Stamp on August 8th.
