R.I.P. - Classic Rock Bottom2024-03-28T16:18:30Zhttp://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/forum/categories/6060463:Category:13419/listForCategory?categoryId=6060463%3ACategory%3A13419&feed=yes&xn_auth=noRIP Tim Bachmantag:classic-rock-bottom.ning.com,2023-05-02:6060463:Topic:3264632023-05-02T10:57:42.649ZTageRychehttp://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/profile/TageRyche
<p>Bachman-Turner Overdrive guitarist Tim Bachman has passed away at the age of 71. You can read the story <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/tim-bachman-founding-guitarist-bachman-001723411.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HERE!</a></p>
<p>Bachman-Turner Overdrive guitarist Tim Bachman has passed away at the age of 71. You can read the story <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/tim-bachman-founding-guitarist-bachman-001723411.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HERE!</a></p> RIP Eddie Van Halentag:classic-rock-bottom.ning.com,2020-10-06:6060463:Topic:1711542020-10-06T22:02:35.906ZJonhttp://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/profile/JonCStephenson
<p>From rollingstone.com</p>
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<p>Eddie Van Halen, the legendary guitar innovator and virtuoso who led Van Halen through five decades and three lead singers, establishing himself as one of the all-time great players in rock history, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 65.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” his son Wolfgang Van Halen wrote. “He was…</p>
<p>From rollingstone.com</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>Eddie Van Halen, the legendary guitar innovator and virtuoso who led Van Halen through five decades and three lead singers, establishing himself as one of the all-time great players in rock history, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 65.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” his son Wolfgang Van Halen wrote. “He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.”</p>
<p>“Heartbroken and speechless,” added Sammy Hagar. “My love to the family.”</p>
<p>Were it not for his titanic influence, hard rock after the late 1970s would have evolved in unimaginably different ways. He may not have invented two-handed tapping, but he perfected the practice and introduced it to a mass audience. Yet despite his complete mastery of the electric guitar, he never learned to read music.</p>
<p>“I don’t know shit about scales or music theory,” he told Rolling Stone in 1980. “I don’t want to be seen as the fastest guitar in town, ready and willing to gun down the competition. All I know is that rock & roll guitar, like blues guitar, should be melody, speed, and taste, but more important, it should have emotion. I just want my guitar playing to make people feel something: happy, sad, even horny.”</p>
<p>Even through Montrose’s Sammy Hagar replaced original frontman David Lee Roth in 1985, Van Halen ruled the rock world from their explosive self-titled LP in 1978 — arguably the most perfect debut by any group in rock history — all the way to the mid-1990s, when they parted ways with Hagar. The 2000s were marked by battles with alcohol, erratic public behavior, and nostalgic reunion tours with Hagar and Roth, but very little in the way of new music.</p>
<p>Still, no matter who was fronting the group or when they had their last hit, fans never stopped flocking to Van Halen concerts to worship at the altar of Eddie Van Halen. “I suppose what bothers me is that often the kids don’t even notice when I’m bad,” he told Rolling Stone. “I come offstage and get compliments up the ass. That’s so frustrating.”</p>
<p>Edward Lodewijk Van Halen was born in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on January 26th, 1955, a year and half after his older brother, Alex. His father, Jan, was gifted at the clarinet, saxophone, and piano. “It was difficult to make money playing his type of music,” Eddie told Rolling Stone in 1995. “So he joined the [Dutch] air force band, and he played marches. Every morning at six o’clock he’d have to go up there freezing his ass off and play marches. We’d listen to all those march records, and Al and I would parade around the table in the living room and take pots and pans, doing all that kind of stuff. And at night we’d hear him playing classical music downstairs. He loved classical and jazz.”</p>
<p>The family immigrated to America when Eddie was eight and settled in Pasadena, California. An infatuation with the Dave Clark Five caused Eddie to take up the drums, while Alex tried his hands at guitar. One fateful day, frustrated that he couldn’t nail the Surfaris’ “Wipe Out” on the drums, Eddie swapped instruments with Alex, and the change stuck.</p>
<p>The duo formed a series of bands in the early 1970s with names like the Broken Combs, the Trojan Rubber Company, and Genesis, but never got significant traction until they came across the charismatic son of a wealthy doctor named David Lee Roth. “Roth was the only guy who had a PA,” Eddie said. “We were renting his PA every weekend for $35 and getting $50 for the gigs. So it was cheaper to get him in the band.”</p>
<p>With Roth at the helm, Van Halen — which also featured Michael Anthony on bass — became one of the most popular groups on the Pasadena rock circuit, playing backyard parties, strip clubs, and whatever other venues they could find. Their repertoire consisted largely of covers, but they slowly began to assemble a collection of original tunes like “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Somebody Get Me a Doctor.” Kiss frontman Gene Simmons recorded a demo with them and tried to land them a deal, but they wouldn’t sign anything until Mo Ostin of Warner Bros. caught one of their gigs and gave them a record contract in 1977.</p>
<p>Years of relentless road work had turned the group into a tight unit, which producer Ted Templeman expertly captured on tape. The guitar solo “Eruption” remains a standout for Eddie’s jaw-dropping chops, while their cover of “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks shows their ability to make even the most familiar rock standard fresh and exciting.</p>
<p>But it’s the group’s original material such as “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” and “Jamie’s Cryin'” that helped their self-titled debut album reach Number 19 on the Billboard 200 and get them a stint on the road opening up for Black Sabbath. “Just three years ago I was … up front with the rest of the kids to see Aerosmith,” Eddie told Rolling Stone in 1980. “Then a year later we’re playing with them. That boggled me to death. I mean, I knew I’d always play guitar, but I had no idea I’d be in the position I’m in now.”</p>
<p>They followed it up the next year with Van Halen II and the hit singles “Dance the Night Away” and “Beautiful Girls.” The next five years were a blur of sold-out arenas, wild parties, and smash albums, even if they didn’t land a ton of big radio hits and many of their singles were covers like “Dancing in the Street” and “(Oh) Pretty Woman,” which Eddie later explained were a result of tension within the band.</p>
<p>“Dave and our producer, Ted Templeman, were threatened by [my new studio, 5150],” he told Rolling Stone in 1995. “The first thing I did up here was ‘Jump,’ and they didn’t like it. I said, ‘Take it or leave it.’ I was getting sick of their ideas of what was commercial. That’s how we ended up doing all those covers on [1982’s] Diver Down. I never wanted to be a cover band.”</p>
<p>The band may have been descending towards chaos, but Eddie found peace offstage when he married One Day at a Time actress Valerie Bertinelli in 1981. The guitarist said that Roth was unhappy with the marriage since it interfered with the group’s reputation as wild, single partiers. “I remember once he said, ‘Tell your old lady not to come to Detroit, because we’re doing a Life magazine interview,'” the guitarist told Rolling Stone in 1986. “He was afraid they were going to corner her and ask her some real things. So she ended up not coming to the show. I put up with it. But it hurt my wife. How do you think she felt? She was a newcomer, and not to be accepted in that way hurt her.”</p>
<p>When it came time to record a follow-up to Diver Down, Eddie insisted they record “Jump” and incorporate synthesizers into other tracks. The result was the smash 1984 that turned them into MTV superstars as videos for “Jump,” “Panama,” and “Hot for Teacher” went into heavy rotation and the album began selling by the millions, reaching Number 2 on the Billboard 200. The subsequent tour took them all over the world, but Eddie and Roth were barely speaking offstage. When the tour ended, Roth left the group and began working on a solo album. “I cried,” Eddie told Rolling Stone in 1995. “Then I called my brother and told him the motherfucker quit. I felt like I’d put up with this guy’s shit for all these years just for him to walk.”</p>
<p>Eddie briefly considered cutting a solo album with a parade of guest singers like Phil Collins, Joe Cocker, and Pete Townshend, but he quickly realized the band should simply carry on with a new singer. Ferrari dealer Claudio Zampolli arranged a meeting with former Montrose frontman Sammy Hagar, who’d just had a huge solo hit with “I Can’t Drive 55,” and they tried jamming together. “There was such chemistry, and it was so exciting,” Hagar told Rolling Stone in 2016. “We played until midnight, about 12 hours without stopping. I went to sleep, woke up the next morning, and went, ‘Wow, I’m joining that band.'”</p>
<p>Warner Bros. was unsure about the change and suggested they consider calling the band Van Hagar to separate it from what came before. “It would have been interesting,” said Hagar. “Looking back now, it’s sort of a way to divide the two eras up. But we were so fearless when we realized what we could all do together.”</p>
<p>Anyone who doubted Van Halen’s ability to carry on without Roth were proved wrong in March 1986, when 5150 hit shelves and became their first Number One album. That run at the top of the charts continued with 1988’s 0U812, 1991’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and 1995’s Balance. Even though many hardcore fans preferred the Roth era, Hagar made the band even more popular and brought them huge hits like “Dreams,” “Why Can’t This Be Love,” and “Poundcake.”</p>
<p>Things fell apart, however, when the group got into a fight over, of all things, a contribution to the Twister soundtrack. They’d just completed a long tour and Sammy wanted to take a break with his wife and new baby, but the group wanted to go right into the studio. “I said, ‘Sam, if you want to make another record or do another tour, you’ve got to be a team player,” Eddie told Guitar World. “Van Halen is a band — not the Sammy Hagar show, not the Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, or Michael Anthony show. He finally said, ‘Yeah, goddammit, I’m fuckin’ frustrated. I want to go back to being a solo artist.’ I said, ‘Thank you for being honest.'”</p>
<p>A brief reunion with Roth to record two new songs for a compilation album blew up when the group quarreled backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards. Extreme frontman Gary Cherone, who shared management with the band, was brought in to become their third singer. “The guy got out of the car, and immediately I could tell he was real,” Van Halen told Rolling Stone in 1998. “Not a hint of bullshit, no ego.”</p>
<p>But their 1998 effort Van Halen III failed to connect with fans, and the tour was soft in some markets. When it wrapped, Cherone was given his walking papers and the group went into an extended hiatus. When they reemerged in 2004 with Hagar for a reunion tour, Eddie was deep in the throes of alcohol addiction and acting extremely erratic. “He told me he cured himself [of tongue cancer] by having pieces of his tongue liquified and injected into his body,” Hagar wrote in his memoir. “He also told me when he had his hip replacement, he stayed awake through the operation and helped the doctors drill a hole.”</p>
<p>The tour was marred by sloppy performances and bad reviews. A little more than a year after it wrapped, Bertinelli filed for divorce. When the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, Eddie didn’t make the ceremony, reportedly because he was in rehab. Later that year, the group finally reunited with Roth, though they pushed Michael Anthony out of the band to make room for Eddie’s teenage son, Wolfgang, on bass.</p>
<p>In 2012, they finally released the new LP A Different Kind of Truth, though many of the songs originated as demos in the 1970s. They promoted it with a tour in 2012, and three years later they went out again to play U.S. amphitheaters. But Eddie said that writing new music with Roth was almost impossible. “It’s hard, because there are four people in this band, and three of us like rock & roll,” he told Billboard in 2015. “And one of us likes dance music. And that used to kind of work, but now Dave doesn’t want to come to the table.”</p>
<p>He also said that any sort of offstage relationship with Roth was virtually impossible: “He does not want to be my friend. How can I put this? Roth’s perception of himself is different than who he is in reality. We’re not in our twenties anymore. We’re in our sixties. Act like you’re 60. I stopped coloring my hair, because I know I’m not going to be young again.”</p>
<p>But the last time that Van Halen performed in public, at the Hollywood Bowl on October 4th, 2015, Roth embraced Eddie onstage as they both smiled warmly. “The best years of my life,” he said, “the high points of all my life — onstage with you, homeboy.”</p> 2019 MUSIC DEATHStag:classic-rock-bottom.ning.com,2019-09-16:6060463:Topic:1623502019-09-16T23:18:14.651ZRJhog (Admin)http://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/profile/JeffHogland
<p><strong>The list below is in no way complete. If I am missing someone that you would like added, please add it in the comments.</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p>Daryl Dragon - Captain & Tennile, Beach Boys (January)</p>
<p>Eric Haydock - The Hollies (January)</p>
<p>Peter Tork - The Monkees (February)</p>
<p>Mark Hollis - Talk Talk (February)</p>
<p>Hal Blaine - The Wrecking Crew (March)</p>
<p>Bernie Torme - Gillan (March)</p>
<p>Paul Raymond - UFO (April)</p>
<p>Phil McCormack - Molly Hatchet…</p>
<p><strong>The list below is in no way complete. If I am missing someone that you would like added, please add it in the comments.</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p>Daryl Dragon - Captain & Tennile, Beach Boys (January)</p>
<p>Eric Haydock - The Hollies (January)</p>
<p>Peter Tork - The Monkees (February)</p>
<p>Mark Hollis - Talk Talk (February)</p>
<p>Hal Blaine - The Wrecking Crew (March)</p>
<p>Bernie Torme - Gillan (March)</p>
<p>Paul Raymond - UFO (April)</p>
<p>Phil McCormack - Molly Hatchet (April)</p>
<p>Dr. John (June)</p>
<p>Elliott Roberts - Record Executive (June)</p>
<p>Gary Duncan - Quicksilver Messenger Service (June)</p>
<p>Ian Gibbons - The Kinks (August)</p>
<p>Larry Taylor - Canned Heat (August)</p>
<p>Neal Casal - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Blackfoot, Chris Robinson Brotherhood (August)<br/> <br/> Eddie Money (September)<br/> <br/> Ric Ocasek (September)</p>
<p>Ginger Baker (October)</p> RIC OCASEK (RIP)tag:classic-rock-bottom.ning.com,2019-09-16:6060463:Topic:1625252019-09-16T07:11:44.690ZJonhttp://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/profile/JonCStephenson
<p>from NPR.org:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Ric Ocasek, the lead singer of the rock band The Cars, died Sunday in New York; he was found unconscious Sunday afternoon at his townhouse in Manhattan. A New York Police Department spokesman confirmed Ocasek's death to NPR. There is some confusion about Ocasek's age: The NYPD said that he was 75; public records list his age as 70 years old.</p>
<p>The Boston-based band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018; the Rock Hall called The Cars "the…</p>
<p>from NPR.org:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Ric Ocasek, the lead singer of the rock band The Cars, died Sunday in New York; he was found unconscious Sunday afternoon at his townhouse in Manhattan. A New York Police Department spokesman confirmed Ocasek's death to NPR. There is some confusion about Ocasek's age: The NYPD said that he was 75; public records list his age as 70 years old.</p>
<p>The Boston-based band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018; the Rock Hall called The Cars "the ultimate New Wave dream machine: a hook-savvy super-charged quintet that fused 60s pop, 70s glam and avant-rock minimalism into a decade of dashboard-radio nirvana."</p>
<p>Ocasek — The Cars' lead singer, guitarist and songwriter — was born in Baltimore and raised in Cleveland. He co-founded the group with Benjamin Orr, a bassist and vocalist with whom he had begun playing in Ohio. The two began traveling as a duo before landing in Boston. The Cars came together in 1976 with three other musicians: guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboard player Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson.</p>
<p>Within a year, the group was signed to Elektra. During the initial wave of publicity for their eponymous debut album, then-Rolling Stone critic Jon Pareles predicted the band's lasting appeal. He wrote: "Everybody liked it: New Wavers recognized Ocasek's Velvet Underground debts and the cunning ambivalence of his lyrics, while rock fans and radio programmers picked up on the catchy tunes and meticulous arrangements."</p>
<p>Several cuts from The Cars became instant radio staples, including "Just What I Needed," "Good Times Roll," "My Best Friend's Girl" and "You're All I've Got Tonight." Each of the group's next four albums emerged as huge commercial successes as well.<br/> Rhino YouTube</p>
<p>But even at its most Top 40-friendly, The Cars wove offbeat, New Wave elements into its sound and look that were a perfect match for the MTV age, such as in 1984's "You Might Think," which won the first-ever Video of the Year honor at the MTV Video Music Awards.</p>
<p>Ocasek also worked in A&R and produced work by New Wave-era peers like Suicide and Romeo Void. The Cars broke up in 1988, but Ocasek's influence in rock extended well beyond the apex of the group's career. In addition to releasing half a dozen solo albums, he worked as a producer for leading bands of a younger generation, including Weezer, No Doubt, Guided by Voices and Bad Religion. Orr died of pancreatic cancer in 2000, but in 2011, the surviving members of The Cars reunited and released a new album, Move Like This.</p> EDDIE MONEY (RIP)tag:classic-rock-bottom.ning.com,2019-09-16:6060463:Topic:1626252019-09-16T07:09:58.414ZJonhttp://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/profile/JonCStephenson
<p>from Variety:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Eddie Money, the prolific singer and songwriter whose songs “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Shakin'” and “Take Me Home Tonight” soundtracked popular music in the 1980s, died Friday (Sept. 13). He was 70.</p>
<p>A statement provided by his family reads: “The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world…</p>
<p>from Variety:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Eddie Money, the prolific singer and songwriter whose songs “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Shakin'” and “Take Me Home Tonight” soundtracked popular music in the 1980s, died Friday (Sept. 13). He was 70.</p>
<p>A statement provided by his family reads: “The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever through his music.”</p>
<p>Money recently revealed that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.</p>
<p>A reality television series about Money and his family, “Real Money,” had aired on AXS TV starting in April 2018. It chronicled his life at home, on the road and with his family, as well as his health struggles.</p>
<p>Money made his home in the Bay Area in the 1970s where he performed at the city’s clubs regularly. A star of MTV’s formative years, he saw major chart success with such songs as “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets to Paradise” and, in 1986, “Take Me Home Tonight,” a duet with Ronnie Spector, his biggest radio hit. He was signed to Columbia Records and released 11 albums throughout his career, starting with his self-titled debut in 1977 which saw three songs chart, “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise” and “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me.”</p>
<p>Born Edward Joseph Mahoney in Brooklyn, New York, Money, who grew up on Long Island, originally started out in law enforcement, his father’s profession, spending two years as a New York City police officer before deciding to try music. In Berkeley, Calif. following his move out west, he palled around with local musicians of the San Francisco club scene which led him to legendary promoter Bill Graham, whom Money met in 1976. Graham would become Money’s manager helping him achieve multi-platinum album sales in the 1980s.</p>
<p>Money’s arsenal of hits includes 1978’s”Baby Hold On” (peak position on the U.S. chart: No. 11) and “Two Tickets to Paradise” (No. 22), followed by “Maybe I’m a Fool” the following year (No. 22), “Think I’m in Love” (No. 16) and “Shakin'” (No. 63) in 1982, “Take Me Home Tonight” in 1986, which reached No. 4 (his highest charting song) and “Walk on Water” (No. 9) in 1988.</p>
<p>During that decade-plus, Money also descended into drug and alcohol abuse, nearly dying of an overdose that left him unable to walk for a year.</p>
<p>Eventually working his way back to performing live, Money was featured on a 2016 episode of “Oprah: Where Are They Now?” That led to the series “Real Money,” which debuted on AXS TV in 2018 and was on its second season.</p>
<p>Occasionally, Money was also the subject of controversy. Most recently, and not of his doing, music industry pundit Bob Lefsetz took issue with a crack Money made during a talk at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, calling it anti-Semitic. As Money explained to Rolling Stone: “I said, ‘My wife always looks like a million bucks and she spends so much money on clothes and I hate it. It’s the Jew in me.’ And when I said that, because my mother is Jewish, Bob didn’t realize that and mentioned it [in his popular newsletter]. He thought I was Irish Catholic, Polish or German or something and all of a sudden he said I was anti-Semitic. … It was a misunderstanding and I thought it was a funny joke because I got Jewish blood in me.”</p>
<p>More than anything, Money’s music was considered blue-collar at its core, which led him to be featured on “The King of Queens” in 2002, where he performed a selection of his hits for friend and star Kevin James.</p>
<p>Known also for his comedic manner, both in his music videos and in interviews, he said last year that, despite his string of hit songs, he “missed the boat when it [came] to the big money.” In his typically self-deprecating manner, Money capped the conversation with this view: “The kids aren’t in jail, they’re not in rehab, nobody’s wrecked the car this week and there’s still milk in the refrigerator. I’m having a good month.”</p>
<p>Money is survived by his wife Laurie and five children, daughter Jesse Money, and sons Zachary, Joseph, Desmond and Julian.</p>
<p>Said Mark Cuban, founder of AXS TV: “We are deeply saddened that we have lost the incomparable Eddie Money. Eddie was a true American original and a rock legend through and through. His enduring hits have been the soundtrack for generations of fans, and his one-of-a-kind sense of humor endeared him instantly to everyone he met. We have sincerely enjoyed working with him and his entire talented family on his reality show ‘Real Money’, and we extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Laurie; their children Zach, Jesse, Joe, Dez and Julian; and his many friends during this difficult time. He will be missed immensely by all of those who knew and loved him. But, if we know Eddie, he’s rocking right now in heaven, doing what he always loved.”</p>
<p>Donations on behalf of Eddie Money can made to the Eddie Money Cancer Research Fund at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Find more information here.</p> MARTY BALIN (RIP)tag:classic-rock-bottom.ning.com,2018-09-29:6060463:Topic:1575582018-09-29T12:40:38.347ZJonhttp://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/profile/JonCStephenson
<p>from Rollingstone.com</p>
<p></p>
<p>Jefferson Airplane vocalist-guitarist Marty Balin, who co-founded the San Francisco psychedelic rock band in 1965 and played a crucial role in the creation of all their 1960s albums, including Surrealistic Pillow and Volunteers, died Thursday at the age of 76. Balin’s rep confirmed the musician’s death to Rolling Stone, though the cause of death is currently unknown.</p>
<p>Born Martyn Jerel Buchwald, Balin was a struggling folk guitarist on the San…</p>
<p>from Rollingstone.com</p>
<p></p>
<p>Jefferson Airplane vocalist-guitarist Marty Balin, who co-founded the San Francisco psychedelic rock band in 1965 and played a crucial role in the creation of all their 1960s albums, including Surrealistic Pillow and Volunteers, died Thursday at the age of 76. Balin’s rep confirmed the musician’s death to Rolling Stone, though the cause of death is currently unknown.</p>
<p>Born Martyn Jerel Buchwald, Balin was a struggling folk guitarist on the San Francisco scene when he formed a band with Paul Kantner after meeting the 12-string guitarist at a hootenanny. They met up with guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, bassist Jack Casady, drummer Skip Spence and singer Signe Toly Anderson and cut their 1966 debut LP Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. They developed a strong following around the budding San Francisco rock scene, but became nationwide superstars in 1967 when Anderson left the group and was replaced by Grace Slick.</p>
<p>Balin co-wrote five songs on their breakthrough LP Surrealistic Pillow , including “Comin’ Back to Me” and album opener “She Has Funny Cars,” and his tenor voice became a key component of their signature sound. He played with the group at all of their most famous gigs, including the 1967 Human Be-In in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, The Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock and Altamont. At the latter gig, Balin was brutally beaten by the Hells Angels after he dove into the audience to help an audience member in distress. “I woke up with all these boot marks all over my body,” he told Relix in 1993. “I just walked out there. I remember Jorma saying, ‘Hey, you’re a crazy son of a bitch.'”</p>
<p>A little over a year later, Balin quit the group. “I thought everybody [was] kind of an asshole,” he said earlier this year. “It was a period of cocaine then…everybody took cocaine. And people I would work with, they would yell at you and it got intense. The Airplane was on that kind of trip. You know, I personally just drank alcohol. But some of the chemicals made people crazy and very selfish, and it just wasn’t any fun to be around for me. So I bailed.”</p>
<p>Balin spent a few years managing rock bands in San Francisco, but was pulled back into the group’s orbit by Kantner in 1974, though by this point Casady and Kaukonen had defected and the remaining members were billing themselves as Jefferson Starship. The offshoot band was incredibly successful and scored more hits than the original Airplane, including the Balin-penned “Miracles” from Red Octopus, hitting Number Three in 1975. But by 1978, Balin grew tired of touring, especially since Slick’s alcohol issues caused many uneven performances, and he left the group for a solo career. In 1989, he participated in the short-lived Jefferson Airplane reunion tour and returned four years later to Jefferson Starship, finally leaving for good in 2008.</p>
<p>In 2016, Balin underwent open-heart surgery at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. He later sued them for medical malpractice, claiming they caused him a myriad of injuries, including a paralyzed vocal cord, bedsores, kidney damage and the loss of his left thumb and half of his tongue.</p> ARETHA FRANKLIN R.I.P.tag:classic-rock-bottom.ning.com,2018-08-18:6060463:Topic:1570742018-08-18T02:14:44.103ZRJhog (Admin)http://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/profile/JeffHogland
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1273266870?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1273266870?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="500"></img></a></p>
<p><a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/tags/aretha-franklin/">Aretha Franklin</a>, the<span> </span><a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/aretha-franklin-rock-hall-of-fame/">first woman</a><span> </span>to be inducted into the<span> </span><a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/category/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame/">Rock and Roll Hall of Fame</a>, has died…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1273266870?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="500" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1273266870?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="500" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/tags/aretha-franklin/">Aretha Franklin</a>, the<span> </span><a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/aretha-franklin-rock-hall-of-fame/">first woman</a><span> </span>to be inducted into the<span> </span><a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/category/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame/">Rock and Roll Hall of Fame</a>, has died according to the<span> </span><a href="https://apnews.com/616951e51eaa4aa09f894b6ea9d9df44?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP&utm_campaign=SocialFlow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. The cause of death was advanced pancreatic cancer. She was 76.</p>
<p>A canny ability to blend soaring gospel and soul-deep R&B, city attitude with country values, gritty feminism and stark emotion transformed Franklin into a towering figure in popular music. "No one can copy her," Jerry Wexler, Franklin's legacy-defining Atlantic Records producer,<span> </span><a href="http://backtorockville.typepad.com/back_to_rockville/2012/05/aretha-franklin-still-getting-tides-of-love-and-respect.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">memorably argued</a>. "She's all alone in her greatness."</p>
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<p>Still, Aretha Franklin's life was not without its twists and turns.</p>
<p>Originally from Memphis, she moved to Detroit in 1946 when her father C.L. Franklin took over as pastor at New Bethel Baptist Church. Aretha was 3. By the time she was 6, her parents had separated; Franklin's mother died before she was 10. Not long after, Aretha performed publicly for the first time. She began her musical life, and her professional career, in gospel – following her father's career path with 1956's<span> </span><em>Songs of Faith</em>.</p>
<p>It seemed almost preordained. C.L. Franklin, after all, had become known as the "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1994/12/04/aretha-franklin-baring-her-soul/514828c3-da31-4d9d-bcfc-3531e00e902c/?utm_term=.8ebced35e3e0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">million dollar voice</a>" while touring as a celebrity speaker on the gospel circuit. Franklin joined her dad's traveling gospel revue at 14. "His delivery was very dynamic," Aretha told<span> </span><em><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/aretha-franklin-on-feminism-beyonce-and-who-should-star-in-her-biopic-196080/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rolling Stone</a></em><span> </span>in 2014. "If he had chosen to be a singer, he would've been a great one."</p>
<p>Aretha had her own dreams. The elder Franklin's home often welcomed a broad variety of African-American leaders and celebrities – including Sam Cooke, a crossover artist who encouraged Aretha to consider a shift to popular music. Unfortunately, that initially led to a series of embarrassing stumbles with Columbia Records. Franklin struggled to establish her own identity with a label that wanted to fashion her into a lounge singer.</p>
<p>She seemed destined for obscurity while still a teen. In fact, the<span> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UucGF5fEvfk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obviously ill-fitting</a><span> </span>"Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody" was her biggest pre-Atlantic Records hit, and it reached only No. 37. Columbia never knew what to do with Franklin, eventually losing<span> </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2013/02/27/172875514/aretha-franklin-before-atlantic-the-columbia-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as much as $90,000</a><span> </span>on some half dozen albums. Then Atlantic stepped in, pairing her with producer Jerry Wexler, and all of the embryonic talent buried on those sleepy Columbia sides came bursting forth for the future Queen of Soul.</p>
<p>"She was my personal project," Wexler later told the<span> </span><em><a href="http://media.freep.com/respect/thestory.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Free Press</a></em>. "I had heard her voice on her records on Columbia and it really demonstrated her brilliance, but they were not commercially feasible in my opinion – and in the opinion of the buying public – because at Columbia, they tried to make her everything from Edith Piaf to Judy Garland to Peggy Lee."</p> VINNIE PAUL (RIP)tag:classic-rock-bottom.ning.com,2018-06-23:6060463:Topic:1564222018-06-23T10:26:16.653ZJonhttp://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/profile/JonCStephenson
<p>from Billboard.com:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Drummer Vinnie Paul, co-founder of metal band Pantera, has died. Currently a member of Hellyeah, Paul was 54.</p>
<p>His representative confirmed the legendary drummer’s death to Billboard, but added that no further details are available at this time.</p>
<p>"Vincent Paul Abbott aka Vinnie Paul has passed away," reads a statement on the Pantera Facebook page. "Paul is best known for his work as the drummer in the bands Pantera and Hellyeah. No further…</p>
<p>from Billboard.com:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Drummer Vinnie Paul, co-founder of metal band Pantera, has died. Currently a member of Hellyeah, Paul was 54.</p>
<p>His representative confirmed the legendary drummer’s death to Billboard, but added that no further details are available at this time.</p>
<p>"Vincent Paul Abbott aka Vinnie Paul has passed away," reads a statement on the Pantera Facebook page. "Paul is best known for his work as the drummer in the bands Pantera and Hellyeah. No further details are available at this time. The family requests you please respect their privacy during this time."</p>
<p>Along with his brother, Dimebag Darrell, Paul (born Vincent Paul Abbott) formed Pantera in 1981. The group found mainstream success with second lead singer Phil Anselmo. Throughout its career, Pantera earned four Grammy nominations and charted nine albums on the Billboard 200, including its 1994 album Far Beyond Driven, which debuted at No. 1 on the chart.</p>
<p>Following Pantera’s demise, the Abbott brothers formed Damageplan in 2003. The band was performing on Dec. 8, 2004, when Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed onstage during a concert in Columbus, Ohio.</p>
<p>Since 2006, Paul was the drummer for Hellyeah, a heavy metal supergroup that also includes Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray and Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell.</p>
<p>Born in Texas, Paul credited his Lone Star roots for his powerful groove. “The Texas thing is part of it, growing up on a healthy dose of ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan, but I also was a metal-head from day one. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Van Halen, all my favorite bands had really great grooves to their music,” he told OnlineDrummer.com a few years ago.</p> DANNY KIRWAN (RIP)tag:classic-rock-bottom.ning.com,2018-06-10:6060463:Topic:1566052018-06-10T11:29:40.432ZJonhttp://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/profile/JonCStephenson
<p>From Rollingstone.com</p>
<p></p>
<p>Danny Kirwan, the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist who played on five of the British band's albums, died Friday at the age of 68.<br></br><br></br></p>
<p>Mick Fleetwood, who recruited the then-18-year-old Kirwan to join Fleetwood Mac in 1968, confirmed Kirwan's death with a tribute on the band's Facebook. No cause of death was announced.</p>
<p>"Today was greeted by the sad news of the passing of Danny Kirwan in London, England. Danny was a huge force in our early…</p>
<p>From Rollingstone.com</p>
<p></p>
<p>Danny Kirwan, the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist who played on five of the British band's albums, died Friday at the age of 68.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Mick Fleetwood, who recruited the then-18-year-old Kirwan to join Fleetwood Mac in 1968, confirmed Kirwan's death with a tribute on the band's Facebook. No cause of death was announced.</p>
<p>"Today was greeted by the sad news of the passing of Danny Kirwan in London, England. Danny was a huge force in our early years. His love for the Blues led him to being asked to join Fleetwood Mac in 1968, where he made his musical home for many years," Fleetwood wrote.</p>
<p>"Danny's true legacy, in my mind, will forever live on in the music he wrote and played so beautifully as a part of the foundation of Fleetwood Mac, that has now endured for over fifty years. Thank you, Danny Kirwan. You will forever be missed!"</p>
<p>Kirwan joined Fleetwood Mac following the release of 1968's Mr. Wonderful – his first appearance with the band was their Number One single "Albatross" – and would record five albums with the band while serving as guitarist and singer: 1969's Then Play On (the band's last Peter Green album) and Blues Jam at Chess, 1970's Kiln House (the first Mac album to feature Christine McVie), 1971's Future Games and 1972's Bare Trees.</p>
<p>Due to his alcoholism, Kirwan was fired from Fleetwood Mac during the tour in support of Bare Trees in 1972. Over the second half of the Seventies, Kirwan released four solo albums. However, Kirwan's next few decades were reportedly marred by bouts of mental health issues and homelessness.</p>
<p>"I've been through a bit of a rough patch but I'm not too bad," Kirwan told the Independent in a rare interview in 1993, after Mick Fleetwood asked the Missing Person Bureau to seek out his former guitarist. "I get by and I suppose I am homeless, but then I've never really had a home since our early days on tour. I couldn't handle it all mentally and I had to get out. I can't settle."</p>
<p>For his contributions to Fleetwood Mac, Kirwan was among the eight members of the band – along with Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, John McVie, Christine McVie and Jeremy Spencer – that were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998; Kirwan did not attend the induction ceremony.</p> RIP MIKE HARRISON (SPOOKY TOOTH)tag:classic-rock-bottom.ning.com,2018-04-02:6060463:Topic:1553272018-04-02T23:33:30.057ZRJhog (Admin)http://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/profile/JeffHogland
<p><img src="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/files/2018/04/mike-H.jpg?w=980&q=75"></img></p>
<div><p>Mike Harrison, lead singer of Spooky Tooth, has passed away. He died Sunday, March 25 at the age of 72. No cause of death has been reported.</p>
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<div><p>The news was reported by the<span> </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/localnews/2653775-carlisle/0#post_5ab8abe573c3010685eb3fbd" rel="noopener" target="_blank">BBC</a>. They referenced his beginnings in the North West England city of Carlisle, forming a band called the V.I.P.'s with …</p>
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<p><img src="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/files/2018/04/mike-H.jpg?w=980&q=75"/></p>
<div><p>Mike Harrison, lead singer of Spooky Tooth, has passed away. He died Sunday, March 25 at the age of 72. No cause of death has been reported.</p>
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<div><p>The news was reported by the<span> </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/localnews/2653775-carlisle/0#post_5ab8abe573c3010685eb3fbd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a>. They referenced his beginnings in the North West England city of Carlisle, forming a band called the V.I.P.'s with <a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/tags/keith-emerson/">Keith Emerson</a>, Greg Ridley, Luther Grosvenor and<span> </span><a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-kellie-dies/">Mike Kellie</a>. But in early 1967, Emerson departed for London to found the Nice. The band changed their name to Art and issued <em>Supernatural Fairy Tales</em><span> </span>in 1967. It remains a psychedelic classic.</p>
<div><p>Art lasted only that one LP, but the band would soon take on a new member, keyboardist Gary Wright, and change their name again, this time to Spooky Tooth. With their 1968 debut,<span> </span><em>It's All About</em>, they began in a somewhat soulful psychedelic vein, but on their next release,<span> </span><em>Spooky Two</em>, the band would sharpen their sound, adopting a more straight ahead hard edged style.<span> </span><a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/tags/judas-priest/">Judas Priest</a><span> </span>famously covered the song "Better by You, Better Than Me" on their 1978 LP<span> </span><a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/judas-priest-stained-class/"><em>Stained Class</em></a>.</p>
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<div><p>In 1969, the band teamed up with avant garde composer Pierre Henry for a unique collaboration titled<span> </span><em>Ceremony</em>. Unlike their first couple of albums, the material wed experimental electronic ideals to the band's rock and roll. Though they considered themselves as the backup band to Henry here, the record company decided to release it as the third Spooky Tooth album, confusing standing, and potential fans to some degree and ultimately causing Gary Wright to leave the band.</p>
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<div><p>They would rebound with the classic<span> </span><em>The Last Puff</em><span> </span>in 1970, an album still regarded by many fans as their pinnacle. The album opens with a dramatic take on the<span> </span><a href="http://ultimateclassicrock.com/tags/the-beatles/">Beatles</a>' "I Am the Walrus" that Spooky Tooth incredibly manages to put their own stamp on it.</p>
<div><p>The following year, while still a member of Spooky Tooth, Harrison would issue his first solo album, simply titled<span> </span><em>Mike Harrison</em>. It showed a different style from his work with Spooky Tooth and stands as one of his finest works. A second record,<span> </span><em>Smokestack Lightning</em>, arrived the next year and saw him working with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.</p>
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<div><p>Harrison left Spooky Tooth following 1973's <em>Witness </em>and a third solo effort, <em>Rainbow Rider</em>, was released in 1975. Spooky Tooth would issue one more album before calling it a day, though they would reunite, with Harrison involved, for one final album in 1999.</p>
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<div><p>Harrison would continue making music sporadically throughout the years, issuing what would be his final solo album,<span> </span><em>Late Starter</em>, in 2006.</p>
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