It’s been a sad couple of weeks for music. Not even two weeks since rap pioneer Adam “MCA” Yauch died at age 48, cancer has claimed another music legend as Donna Summer – the “Queen of Disco” – passed away today.
Disco legend Donna Summer died this morning at the age of 63, TMZ reports. The singer had been battling cancer for some time. According to TMZ, Summer was in Florida at the time of her death.
Summer was a five-time Grammy winner best known for smash hits including “I Feel Love,” “Love to Love You Baby” and “She Works Hard for the Money.” Her collaborations with producer Giorgio Moroder in the the Seventies broke ground for dance music and have been hugely influential on electronic music in the decades since.
Adam Yauch, one-third of the pioneering hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, has died at the age of 48, Rolling Stone has learned. Yauch, also known as MCA, had been in treatment for cancer since 2009. The rapper was diagnosed in 2009 after discovering a tumor in his salivary gland.
Yauch sat out the Beastie Boys’ induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April, and his treatments delayed the release of the group’s most recent album, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2. The Beastie Boys had not performed live since the summer of 2009, and Yauch’s illness prevented the group from appearing in music videos for Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2.
Yauch co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz in 1979. The band started off as a hardcore punk group, but soon began experimenting with hip-hop. The band broke big with their first proper album, Licensed to Ill, in 1986, and further albums Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head and Ill Communication cemented the band as a true superstar act.
In addition to his career with the Beastie Boys, Yauch was heavily involved in the movement to free Tibet and co-organized the Tibetan Freedom Concerts of the late Nineties. In 2002, he launched the film production company Oscilloscope Laboratories.
Canadian icon, singer, songwriter, poet. Is there anything that Leonard Cohen doesn’t do? Fans will get a chance to see the legendary – if morose – Cohen live in concert this fall as a new tour was announced today. Read the rest of this entry »
Thus far in 2012, we’re seeing plenty of classic acts in music still doing tours in a big way. The notables include the just-announced RUSH Clockwork Angels Tour, Van Halen, The Beach Boys, Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd fame), Aerosmith, Neil Diamond, Bryan Adams…..the list can go on and on. But for all the acts that are still going, I can’t help but notice that The Rolling Stones aren’t on that list. There are reports that we may see Mick Jagger and the boys at the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Games in London, but it’s hard not to wonder whether us Northwest music fans will see The Rolling Stones in concert again.
Any true Stones fan knows what I’m talking about when I mention ‘A-Train’, the jazzy intro piped over the P.A. system just before the MC says those words we’ve all been anxiously waiting for ever since we skipped school and drove down the I-5:
Please welcome The Rolling Stones!
*enter a fist-pumping Mick Jagger belting out “Under My Thumb”.
That was back in 1981; the Stones were on their ‘Tattoo You’ tour, it was well worth the $16 ticket price and subsequent suspension from the school soccer team for missing a game.
Move forward 13 years, the Voodoo Lounge Tour hit Vancouver for 2 dates in 1994, then again in 2006 as part of the Bigger Bang tour. Now I know they average coming to the Pacific Northwest every 12 or so years but they’re getting old, really old. In fact, they are celebrating their 50 year anniversary this year so I’m saying lets get the petition started and bring them back before it’s too late so we can hear that familar jazz line followed by “Please welcome The Rolling Stones!” one last time.
What are some bands or musicians of decades past that you’d like to see on stage one more time?
CeeLo Green will be joining Justin Bieber, Carrie Underwood and LMFAO as performers at the 2012 Billboard Awards, which will be held on Sunday, May 20th. Leading the pack this year is Adele, who is a finalist in 18 categories. Unlike the Grammys, winners at the Billboard awards are based on record sales, downloads and airplay and not votes.
Want to see CeeLo Green, Justin Bieber or Adele live at the 2012 Billboard Music awards? ShowTimeTickets.com can get you tickets for the Awards show and all the biggest music events; we are never sold out!
Saturday night in Vancouver can yield more than one entertainer and event to choose from, my last Saturday was won by the talented musicians from Coldplay. Working in the entertainment industry I have come to realize there are two types of shows, a big budget experience show and an entertainer-focused, no-gimmick show. I usually lean towards a smaller more intimate experience show that has quality sound, seating and atmosphere with a performer that is there to entertain. But it seems to me that big budget shows with little door gifts and flashing hypnotic lights tend to bring in an immense audience.
Why is this? Are people more entertained by a big budget concert experience than they are with quality vocals and on-stage presents? Read the rest of this entry »
(Photo: Billboard.com)