December 1, 2012

Music News December 2012

Music news
  • The Doors drummer John Densmore was born in Los Angeles on December 1, 1944.
  • Neil Young was sued by Geffen Records on December 1, 1983 because his new music for the label was "not commercial in nature and musically uncharacteristic of his previous albums.”
  • Post impressionist artist Georges-Pierre Seurat was born in Paris on December 2, 1859.  He is known for the pointillism painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte(Artic)
  • Metallica launched a new record label, Blackened Recordings.  The band will release its 2009 live concert Quebec Magnetic on December 10.  (Metallica)
  • Radiohead released 2011 New York Roseland Ballroom concerts for charity.  (Yahoo)
  • Led Zeppelin received Kennedy Center Honors from the President on December 2.  (CNN)
  • German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg was born on December 5, 1901.  He received Nobel prize in Physics in 1932 for the creation of quantum mechanics and the discovery of the allotropic forms of hydrogen.
  • Howlin’ Wolf's guitarist Hubert Sumlin died of a heart failure in a Wayne, N.J. hospital on December 4, 2011.  He was 80 years old.  (Sun Times)
  • Paul McCartney and Pete Best were arrested in Germany for pinning a condom to a brick wall and then igniting it on December 5, 1960  They were told to leave Germany.
  • Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck died from heart failure on December 5.  He was 91.  (LA Times) 
  • Blues musician Leadbelly died on December 6, 1949.
  • Jim Morrison was born in Melbourne, Florida on December 8, 1943.
  • John Lennon was shot outside his New York apartment by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980.
  • Revisit John Lennon's final day.  (Guardian)
  • The official released Notorious B.I.G.'s autopsy report fifteen years after the rapper was gunned down.  (Billboard) 
  • French filmmaker Georges Méliès was born on December 8, 1861.  He was the inspiration of Brian Selznic's illustrated novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  The book was later made into a film Hugo by Martin Scorsese.
  • Guitarist J Mascis was born in Amherst, MA on December 10, 1965.
  • Norwegian expressionist artist Edvard Munch was born on December 12, 1863. 
  • For the first time, Paul McCartney said Yoko Ono was not to blame for The Beatles' split in a TV interview.  (Guardian)
  • John Lennon's letters and postcards made known to the public revealed a private side of the rocker.  (LA Times)
  • British author Arthur C. Clarke was born in December 16, 1917.  He is most known for his science fiction 2001: A Space Odyssey.
  • Rolling Stone debunked some of Led Zeppelin rumors.  (Rolling Stone)
  • The Simpsons was first aired on December 17, 1989.
  • Rock musician Don Van Vliet, famously known as Captain Beefheart, died at 69 on December 17, 2010.  (LA Times)
  • Frank Zappa on Captain Beefheart: “If he’d been produced by professional famous producers, there could’ve been number of suicides involved.”
  • The Who's manager Kit Lambert is planning on his own biopic.  (Rolling Stone)
  • Keith Richards was born in Dartford, England on December 18, 1943.
  • J.J. Thomson was born in Cheetham Hill, England on December 18, 1856.  He is credited for the discovery of the electron and isotopes.  He received Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 for the discovery of the electron and for his work on the conduction of electricity in gases.
  • Rod Stewart released his book Rod: The Autobiography and new holiday album Merry Christmas, Baby with collaborators from Cee-Lo Green to Mary J. Blige.  (NPR)
  • Ronnie Wood tied the knot with Sally Humphreys in a private ceremony in London on December 21st.  (People)
  • Progressive rock musician Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 21, 1940.
  • On the evening of Decenber 23, 1888, Van Gogh confronted Gauguin with a razor blade. Then fled to a brothel and cut off his left ear lobe.
  • Nirvana started recording their first album Bleach on December 24, 1988 with $600 borrowed from their friend.
  • The most influential scientist Issac Newton was born in Lincolnshire, England on December 25,1642.
  • Noel Redding best know as the bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience was born in Folkestone, England on December 25, 1945.
  • Jim Morrison was pardoned in late December 2010 for his 1969 indecent exposure case.  His widow Patricia Kennealy Morrison said Morrison wouldn’t have wanted a pardon. 
  • Rhythm and blues musician Bo Diddley was born in McComb, Mississippi on December 30, 1928.  He played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock & roll and influenced musicians including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, and The Rolling Stones.  He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a Grammy Award. 

Sound Check

  • Who Gives A DamnWho Gives A Damn

    The catchy hook in this upbeat pop song will make you sing along.

  • Drama QueenDrama Queen

    Classic rock ballad. Start off with soft pickings of acoustic guitar and end with passionate electric guitar solo.

  • Les MiserablesLes Miserables

    A blend of rock, techno and poetry. Song inspired by Victor Hugo.