Soul Train' Creator Don Cornelius Dead of Apparent Suicide - (Rolling Stone) - Don Cornelius, who created the long-running R&B and dance-music showcase Soul Train, was found dead in his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., early this morning (Wed., Feb.1). He was 75. Law enforcement officials suspect suicide; the body was found with a gunshot wound to the head. Trained as a journalist on WVON, an African-American talk radio station in his native Chicago, Cornelius conceived of Soul Train during the Civil Rights movement, noting there was no showcase for black music on national television. Soul Train debuted in 1971 and quickly became a popular stop for major acts such as James Brown, the O'Jays and Michael Jackson. Cornelius hosted the show from its inception until 1993; Soul Train ended its long run in its original form in 2006. The show had a huge influence on popular culture and the pop charts. One of its themes, "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)," became a hit record, and references to Cornelius and Soul Train have appeared in dozens of songs over the years. Cornelius famously closed each episode with the parting words, "We wish you love, peace and soul."
Adam Lambert to Sing With Queen - (Rolling Stone) - Adam Lambert is reportedly singing with Queen, replacing the American Idol winner's own late idol, Freddie Mercury. Lambert broke the news to the U.K.'s Daily Star. "The intention is to pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some fucking great songs," he said. "It's to keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would've been proud of." Queen previously toured with former Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers taking Mercury's place. Speculation has been high since Lambert was joined by surviving Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor during his Idol finals appearance in 2009. In November, they performed together at the MTV EMAs in Belfast. Lambert said he had no intention of replacing Mercury, who died in 1991. "That's impossible," he said. "The way I'm choosing to view it is that it's a great honor and one I'm in no way going to shirk." Lambert's second solo album, Trespassing, is due in March. A representative for Hollywood Records tells Rolling Stone, "The Daily Star item only mentions that Adam may perform with Queen at Sonisphere. This is not confirmed. Nothing has been signed. However, if this were to happen, Queen would be returning to the setting of their final concert with Freddie Mercury, which took place in 1986." Lambert took to Twitter to clarify his comments. "Them clever reporters takin my quotes outta context ... I haven't confirmed any guest appearances. I was talking about the EMAs," he tweeted. "That being said, I'm truly flattered by your jump to such glorious conclusions."
Black Sabbath drummer says may pull out of reunion - LONDON (Reuters) - Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has said he will not participate in the British heavy metal band's reunion recordings and tour unless he is offered a "signable" contract. The statement on his website casts further doubt on the much-hyped return of the veteran rockers, who announced last November that the original line-up were getting back together to write and record their first album in more than 30 years. They also unveiled plans for a world tour in 2012. But last month, guitarist Tony Iommi was diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma and, to accommodate his treatment, the band moved from the United States to Birmingham in Britain to continue writing and recording. The founding members of the heavy metal pioneers were Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Iommi, Geezer Butler on bass guitar and Ward. "At this time, I would love nothing more than to be able to proceed with the Black Sabbath album and tour," Ward said on his website. "However, I am unable to continue unless a 'signable' contract is drawn up; a contract that reflects some dignity and respect toward me as an original member of the band." He said he worked with the other Black Sabbath members "in good faith" last year and agreed to appear alongside them at the November press conference in Los Angeles. "Several days ago, after nearly a year of trying to negotiate, another 'unsignable' contract was handed to me." He said he was keen to play on the new album and tour, and was already packed and ready to leave the United States for Britain to join the band. Ward described feeling "lousy and lonely," but added that he stood to lose his "rights, dignity and respectability as a rock musician" if he signed the contract offered to him. "If I'm replaced, I have to face you, the beloved Sabbath fans. I hope you will not hold me responsible for the failure of an original Black Sabbath lineup as promoted." He also said his motives were not "greed-driven" and that he was not holding out for a big pay day "like some kind of blackmail deal." Black Sabbath have sold an estimated 70 million records worldwide, and, like other veteran acts with a large fan base, a reunion tour and recording could prove highly lucrative. The quartet released their last studio album of all original material in 1978 with "Never Say Die." Osbourne was fired from the band in 1979, leading to changing line-ups for several years. The original foursome reunited for a 1998 release and played sporadically together in the early 2000s.
Anthrax Guitarist Fights Viral Infection and Drummer Exits Tour To Be With Ailing Mom - (www.loudwire.com) - Earlier today, we reported that Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian missed last night’s show in Kansas City, Mo., due to an unspecified illness. Now, the band has released a statement explaining that Ian is battling a severe viral infection that caused him to be hospitalized in Los Angeles. In addition, the band also has announced that drummer Charlie Benante has left the tour to be at the bedside of his terminally ill mother in New York. Ian, who had to receive intravenous fluids and was ordered by doctors not to fly, will also miss tonight’s show in Indianapolis, Ind., but is expected to return to the band’s lineup for their Fort Wayne, Ind., show on Saturday (Jan. 28.) As they did last night, guitarists from current tour mates Testament and Death Angel will perform in his place. Starting tonight, Testament drummer Gene Hoglan will fill in for Benante. The U.S. trek is scheduled through a Feb. 8 show in New York City. “We didn’t want to cancel any of the concerts, we didn’t want to let anyone down,” says Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano, “so we decided to figure out a way to keep the show on the road. We’re so grateful to the guys in Testament and Death Angel for stepping up.” We wish Scott Ian a speedy recovery and offer our best wishes to Charlie Benante.
How low can you go? Record label launches bass hunt - LONDON (Reuters) - The Decca music label is looking for a singer who can go where no other singer is believed to have gone before -- a low "E," which is nearly three octaves below a middle "C" on the piano. Paul Mealor, the composer behind the surprise British Christmas chart hit "Wherever You Are" sung by The Military Wives choir, has written a composition called "De Profundis (Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.)" It features a low E which is six semitones lower than the "B Flat" from Rachmaninov's "Vespers." "My setting of De Profundis calls for a rich and powerful voice; a voice that can not only touch the heart with its sincerity and truth, but also make every fabric of the human body resonate as it plunges into the very lowest parts of the vocal spectrum," Mealor said in a statement. The search for the bass will be conducted through trade magazines on the Internet. According to Guinness World Records, the lowest known note produced by a human voice is a low "F Sharp" achieved by American Roger Menees in 2010. Singers have been invited to send in demo tapes or upload recordings of their voice to the website www.howlowwillyougo.com. Voices will be judged by Mealor and Grammy-award nominated producer Anna Barry, an authority on Russian choral and vocal music which is one of the composer's main inspirations. The record is set for international release in the spring. Mealor rose to prominence after being selected to compose new music for the 2011 royal wedding of Britain's Prince William to Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge -- one of the biggest public events in recent years. This is his first choral work since then.
Lung cancer forces "Wild Thing" singer to retire - LONDON (Reuters) - Reg Presley, lead singer of British band The Troggs, famed for their 1966 anthem "Wild Thing," said on Thursday that he was retiring after being diagnosed with lung cancer. In a statement on the band's website, Presley, 70, said he had been diagnosed with the disease after he was taken ill at a gig in Germany in December. "I am receiving chemotherapy treatment and at the moment not feeling too bad," Presley said. "However I've had to call time on The Troggs and retire. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the cards and calls and for your love, loyalty and support over the years." Wild Thing, a cover of a song originally by the Wild Ones, propelled The Troggs, who hailed from Andover in southern England, to fame. Amongst their other hits was "Love Is All Around," which was covered by Wet Wet Wet in 1994 for the British film "Four Weddings and a Funeral," achieving massive international success as a result. According to media reports, Presley joked he would spend the royalties the song earned on investigating crop circles and UFOs, a phenomena with which he had become fascinated.
Neil Young building digital music device for downloading - New York, Jan 31 (TheWrap.com) - Neil Young said Tuesday that he is picking up where Steve Jobs left off, working on a device that can offer digital music without sacrificing quality as iTunes, Amazon and others have done. "Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music, but when he went home he listened to vinyl," Young told Peter Kafka and Walt Mossberg at AllThingsD's Dive Into Media Conference. "I have to believe if he lived long enough he would have tried to do what I'm trying to do." The legendary rocker is working on a separate device that downloads each song at the highest possible resolution, but that also takes 30 minutes to complete a single download. Young said he is trying to make legal music as convenient as possible, but some worried that the long download times would be inconvenient. Young disagreed. "While you're sleeping, your device is working for you," he said. Young did not invoke Jobs' name at random. He said that he had been talking with Jobs about the project, but that since the Apple co-founder died in October there is "not much going on now." In order for it to hit the market the "rich people out here" --meaning the conference audience-- need to help. Yet just because Young resents digital music and technology companies for reducing the quality of most audio content, that doesn't mean he takes a backwards approach to illegal music or the Internet. "I look at Internet as the new radio and radio as gone," Young said. "Piracy is the new radio; it's how music gets around." What does that mean for record companies? Young hopes they hang around. "I like Warner Bros. I like my record company," he told Kafka and Mossberg, the latter of whom asked what record companies can really do for someone of his stature. "It's not what's for me but for other musicians," Young said. "What I like about record companies is they nurture an artist, they keep encouraging artists to grow. That doesn't exist on iTunes. That doesn't exist on Amazon." But Young also acknowledged that the record companies make bad business decisions because they are music people who live "in another world from Silicon Valley." Acknowledging those that proclaim record companies are obsolete, all Young could say was "maybe they are."
Gingrich sued over use of "Rocky III" theme song - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich faces a lawsuit over his use of "Eye of the Tiger," the theme song to the movie "Rocky III," court documents show. The claim for copyright infringement, lodged on Monday by Rude Music Inc in an Illinois federal court, relates to Gingrich's use of the song at his political rallies. Rude Music Inc is owned by Frank Sullivan, who co-wrote the Grammy-award winning song. In addition to Gingrich, the complaint names his campaign, Newt 2012 Inc, and the American Conservative Union, an advocacy organization, as defendants. The complaint states that the violation it alleges is intentional since Gingrich is "sophisticated and knowledgeable" concerning copyright laws. Rude Music Inc has requested the court to order an end to unauthorized use of the song by the defendants, and to award Rude Music Inc damages. A Gingrich campaign spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. The case is Rude Music Inc v Newt 2012 et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, no. 1:12-cv-00640.
New app takes cyber-jamming to a new level - LOS ANGELES, Feb 1 (TheWrap.com) - Music junkies looking to looking to live out their rock 'n' roll fantasies in a virtual realm will have their chance in March. The upcoming WholeWorldBand app -- set to launch next month -- brings musical collaboration to a new level, allowing users to jam with established musical artists, either by adding themselves to an artist's video performance and playing along with them, or substituting themselves with any member of the band. (Note: It might not be wise to swap yourself with Keith Richards -- some things are best not tried at home, kids.) The app will also allow users to videotape themselves performing music and collaborate with other members of the WorldBandApp community. WholeWorldBand hopes to distinguish itself from other music-collaboration services with its heightened visual element. While some sites allow collaboration but contain no visual element, and others have a visual element but lack full interactivity, WholeWorldBand seeks to fill the gap between the two. What's more, users actually stand to take in a little cash from their efforts; each time a user's video is downloaded and shared by another user, the video's creator earns money. And people say that it's difficult to make it as a professional musician. The app will be available for the iPhone 4 and 4s, and the iPad2. Start polishing your chops now.
