Musician Loses Battle With Cancer at 69 DEC 8, 2016 – Musician Greg Lake, most known for his work with Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP), passed away yesterday after losing his battle to cancer. He was 69. Read more about Greg Lake’s musical life on Wikipedia here, and watch his solo song “I Believe in Father Christmas” on…
Manager Says Leonard Died in Fall at His House NOV 18, 2016 – The music world still in mourning over Leonard Cohen’s death are learning the cause of this death. His manager revealed that Leonard fell in his home and died quickly and peacefully. Read more on HuffPo below. (photo credit: joni1973/CC) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/leonard-cohen-cause-of-death_us_582d7912e4b030997bbd9870
Glenn Frey of Eagles Passes at 67 JAN 19, 2016 – JTMP and the music world is in mourning today, we have lost a Music Titan, Glenn Frey of the Eagles. Glenn came up from Michigan working-class roots, worked hard and made it to California and Linda Ronstadt’s back-up band, and then with his lifetime…
GRIEVING FATHER POSTS VIDEO OF 13-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER PLAYING PIANO IN HOPES IT WILL “GO VIRAL” NOV 7, 2014 – Anna van Keulen was like many 13-year-old girls, and hopped on her bike one day to ride around. She never came back home. Her parents lost her (car accident) one day, and had to deal with an…
OCT 28, 2013 – The musical world is in shock and in mourning, as we woke up to the sad news that one of music's biggest pioneers, Lou Reed, has died. He stayed strong till the last moments, even doing Tai Chi about an hour before he passed. I blogged about him last May when Lou underwent a liver transplant, and he was working hard on his rehab program saying on his website he is "bigger and stronger" than ever. Unfortunately though, he passed away at his home in Southampton, New York over the weekend, and numerous tributes to Lou Reed via Twitter poured out from musicians. Lou had a huge impact on the musical scene and the world.
My first contact with a Lou Reed was indirect. It was 1973, and I was about 10, and the rock band Brownsville Station had a song on their "Yeah" album I thought was one of the coolest rock guitar rhythms ever; that song was Sweet Jane. (Here is the Brownsville Station version I grew up on) Later when I was in my teens, my sister put on a Velvet Underground album that had the man who wrote that song in it, and I was floored. Pure musical genius, very original and creative; the music I heard coming out from those speakers inspired me and many other musicians to pick up the guitar and start a rock band. There is the famous quote from Brian Eno of where he comments on the first Velvet Underground only selling 30,000 copies to which Eno replied, "I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band". Count me in that crowd.
Probably the most hard hit musician was his band mate in Velvet Underground, John Cale. In a statement on his Facebook page Cale says, "The news I feared most, pales in comparison to the lump in my throat and the hollow in my stomach. Two kids have a chance meeting and 47 years later we fight and love the same way – losing either one is incomprehensible. No replacement value, no digital or virtual fill…broken now, for all time. Unlike so many with similar stories – we have the best of our fury laid out on vinyl, for the world to catch a glimpse. The laughs we shared just a few weeks ago, will forever remind me of all that was good between us." Watch a video below of Lou with Velvet Underground live playing one of the badass rock rhythm guitar riffs ever, Sweet Jane, and read more about the creative musical genius that had a huge impact on the rock scene on his Wikipedia page here and I recommend this NY Times article about Lou's career and passing here. JTMP joins in the mourning of Reed's passing, and also join the celebration of the musical genius he brought to the world. We will miss you Lou! (Photo credit: Marcelo Costa/CC)