http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html 60 Classic Rock music news and commentary MFAC 2004-2005 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:43:39 -0600 Super Simple RSS editor*AT*rocknrollzone*DOT*com http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html Original Yardbirds and later-to-be Led Zeppelin guitar legend Jimmy Page has been accused of plagiarizing the blues drenched 'Zep' staple Dazed and Confused from someone else's work. Jake Holmes has stepped forward claiming the song as his own and that it had been offered to The Yardbirds in 1967 while Page was still a member. They did not record it. However, the song was recorded by 'Zeppelin and released two years later on their self-titled 1969 debut album where it was credited as being composed by Page, but with a curiously sperate copyright. Mr. Holmes is suing for total statutory damages of $150,000 USD - a figure that, in light of the song's impressive sales on original albums, reissues and compilations alike, can doubtlessly stand a great deal higher today than if the claim had been hastily pursued four decades ago. (July 1, 2010) Thursday,July 01,2010 17:43 http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html Original Kinks bassist Pete Quaife has died of kidney failure at the age of 66. As a founding member of the infamous "British Invasion" band, Quaife had initially hooked up with brothers Ray Davies and Dave Davies. With Ray fronting and Dave on lead guitar, the rock'n'roll combo passed through a few name changes before establishing themselves as The Kinks in 1964. At that point, the band had an accomplished drummer, Mick Avory on board. What's now regarded as the "garage-band" sound was likely born when their song You Really Got Me ascended to number one on the British Charts, followed shortly by All Day and All of the Night replete with it's signature distorted bass-guitar "grunge." Quaife's full-time involvement with the band ended in 1966 giving way to his departure by 1969. By then, various creative and personal disputes with the other band members had reportedly descended to a physical altercation level. Quaife's health had began failing in the late nineties, culminating in renal failure which necessitated ongoing rounds of dialysis treatment. Residing in Denmark at the time of his death, Quaife is survived by his fiancee and daughter. (June 26, 2010) Saturday,June 26,2010 20:13 http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html A back injury sustained by U2 vocalist Bono during rehearsal training has resulted in a one-year postponement of the band's 2010 North American tour. According to doctors at the German hospital where the fifty year-old singer underwent emergency surgery just days ago, a period of at least eight weeks will be required to both recuperate and begin a rehabilitation program. The sixteen stop U2360 tour was originally set to begin June 3 in Salt Lake City and would have concluded July 23 in New Jersey. A representative of Live Nation Touring announced that details on the rescheduled dates will be made available shortly and advised admission holders to keep their tickets. (May 25, 2010) Tuesday,May 25,2010 16:52 http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html Ronnie James Dio has died at age 67 following a battle with stomach cancer. Dio's earliest bands included The Vegas Kings, Elf and Rainbow. Fame struck in 1979 when he replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. Dio left Sabbath in 1982 and formed his own band Dio with drummer Vinnie Appice. He was inducted into Hollywood's Rock Walk of Fame in 2007. Over the following years, Dio and Appice teamed up with original Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler to perform on the Heaven And Hell tour. Following a stomach cancer diagnosis last year, Dio pulled out of the tour as his health began to worsen. He is survived by his wife Wendy, a son and two grandchildren. (May 16, 2010) Sunday,May 16,2010 19:57 http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html John Mellencamp's son Spek wants his dad to quit smoking - so he made a little deal with his father. It's as simple as this: Spek has started up a dedicated "my dad John Mellencamp will quit smoking" Facebook page and John has agreed that once 1,000,000 have visited the page, he will quit smoking. I might be reading more into this than I should, but considering that "dad" didn't insist on some form of time limit, he just may be content to see this thing drag on as long as possible. (December 6, 2009) Sunday,December 06,2009 17:20 http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html The recent on-stage fall of Aerosmith front man Stephen Tyler has resulted in the postponement and possible cancellation of the next show on their current tour, with some doubt being cast over succeeding shows proceeding as originally scheduled. Initial reports on the accidental fall during an August 5 show in Sturgis, South Dakota, held that Tyler's injuries were sufficiently minor that the tour's forthcoming schedule would not be affected. Unfortunately, the band's management has since informed promoters that today's August 7 stop in Winnipeg Manitoba would have to be postponed in light of a more thorough medical assessment of Tyler's condition. The 61 year old singer had been performing (rather ironically we think) Love In An Elevator to entertain the crowd during a sound system outage when he lost his footing and tumbled quasi-head-first downwards off a narrow cat-walk appendage to the main stage. The incident brought the show to a halt. Tyler, who has already undergone surgery on his foot and knee, had sustained visible head, neck and shoulder injuries. He was reportedly feeling some pain afterwards but remained in good spirits while being airlifted to hospital. Update: Aerosmith has announced that due to the extent of Tyler's injuries, the remainder of the band's summer tour has been postponed. The latest information is posted on the band's website (www.aeroforceone.com). Friday,August 07,2009 12:44 http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html Musician David Byrne, has some harsh words for U2 and it's lead singer Bono. The former Talking Heads vocalist is crying foul over the lavish size and scale of the legendary Irish band's current tour in light of Bono's high-profile urging for leaders of well-off nations to increase their financial stake in the war against third-world poverty. Byrne has posted on his website: "Those stadium shows may possibly be the most extravagant and expensive (production-wise) ever: $40 million to build the stage and, having done the math, we estimate 200 semi trucks crisscrossing Europe for the duration. "It could be professional envy speaking here, but it sure looks like, well, overkill, and just a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all." U2 had previously faced similar criticism over plans to corporately relocate outside of Ireland for the purpose of paying less in taxes. (August 2, 2009) Sunday,August 02,2009 13:37 http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html Procol Harum keybordist Matthew Fisher has been awarded a portion of the royalties the band has been receiving from the classic 1967 song A Whiter Shade of Pale. Although he had both composed and played the song's distinctive organ riff, Fisher's claims for a share of royalty payments have been cast in doubt by arguments from fellow band members Gary Brooker and Keith Reid that Fisher had signed away all his rights to the original recording. The award was part of a ruling handed down by the U.K's highest court which made references to how the riff contributed to the song's success and memorable attributes. (August 2, 2009) Sunday,August 02,2009 13:34 http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html Former Beatles manager and president of ABKCO Records Allen Klein has passed away at the age of 77. Although Klein was best known for his work with the Fab Four, he had also worked with the Rolling Stones and several other "British Invasion" artists. Klein's tenacious business instincts and dogged determination to secure the best deal possible for his clients set him apart from other pop music managers of the 1960's. He was particularly adept at negotiating music royalty deals with record labels. His tenacity often led to disagreement and strife within the bands he represented. Of the four Beatles members, only John Lennon fully supported the direction in which Klein was taking the band with Paul McCartney being starkly opposed - a situation that many to this day feel contributed to the group's eventual breakup. Contrary to his tough reputation, the side-burned Klein proved unsuccessful in securing The Beatles' ownership of their early song catalog. His death followed a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease. He is survived by his girlfriend, a former wife and children. (July 5, 2009) Sunday,July 05,2009 18:01 http://www.rocknrollzone.com/plugged.html Phil Spector has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. The legendary record producer remained expressionless and stared straight ahead as Los Angeles Superior court Larry Fidler handed down a term of 15 years to life for second degree murder with an additional four years for use of a gun in personal circumstances. Spector was also slapped with an order to pay various fees including $16,811 in expenses for Clarkson's funeral. Spector's attorney Doron Weinberg said there will be an appeal based on prosecution testimony the defense claims was admitted in error at the previous trial. Spector was led away to custody immediately after the court session concluded. (May 31, 2009) Sunday,May 31,2009 20:57