MUSIC NEWS: MONDAY, MAY 25, 2015
B.B. KING IS CELEBRATED
B.B. King's last engagement in Las Vegas got him a standing ovation. A memorial for family and friends drew more than
350 people on Saturday. Eight of his children and 10 of his grandchildren gave speeches in his honour. Tony Coleman, King's drummer for 37 years, joked that King fired him five times and hired him six times. Carlos Santana and Richie Sambora also attended.
Yesterday, hundreds of music fans turned out in King's hometown of Indianola, Mississippi, as he was celebrated at the B.B. King Homecoming Festival. The festival was scheduled before King's death and he had played it many times. King's coffin will be taken in a procession down Beale Street in Memphis on Wednesday, then he will be buried in Indianola on Saturday.
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TAYLOR SWIFT GIVES SEX SHOP A BOOST
The erotic boutique that lent sexy clothes used as costumes for Taylor Swift's ``Bad Blood'' video is seeing an uptick in sales. Shawn Gentry of The Stockroom in Los Angeles tells The New York Post the shop lent $13,000 worth of clothes for the video shoot. Gentry says the flesh-colored dress Swift wears in the opening scene retails for about $235 and is usually custom fit, but Swift wore it off-the-rack, probably in size extra-small. Billboard reports The Stockroom has gotten calls, usually from men, asking to buy the items Swift wore. Gentry says it will not rent or sell the items used in the video shoot because that's ``tacky.''
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MAN DIES AT CHEVELLE CONCERT
A 24-year-old man fell to his death at a Chevelle concert in Chicago on Friday. Police say Kyle W. Kirchhoff fell off a catwalk onto protruding pieces of metal at the Aragon Ballroom. He suffered two chest wounds and was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later. Chevelle cut the concert short and expressed concern for the victim on Facebook.
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ROCKLAHOMA GETS FLOODED OUT
The Rocklahoma festival had to be evacuated this weekend because of bad weather. The festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, was hit by a powerful storm with torrential rain that caused flooding Saturday. Anthrax and Halestorm managed to get their sets in, but headliner Linkin Park was cancelled. Rocklahoma resumed yesterday with careful monitoring by an on-site meteorologist.
Sunday's lineup included Queensryche, Breaking Benjamin and Tesla.
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JANA KRAMER IS A BRIDE
Jana Kramer has married former NFL tight end Michael Caussin. People magazine reports their wedding was Friday in Charlottesville, Virginia. They were engaged in December after dating four months. Kramer was previously married twice, including to actor Johnathon Schaech. Both marriages lasted only a few months. Kramer had previously been engaged to Brantley Gilbert. It's Caussin's first marriage.
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BILL WARD APPEARS WITH BLACK SABBATH
For one night, drummer Bill Ward was back with Black Sabbath. Unfortunately, singer Ozzy Osbourne wasn't. Britain's New Music Express reports Ward showed up at the Ivor Novello Awards in London Thursday as Black Sabbath was presented with a lifetime achievement award. Ward and Osbourne have an ongoing dispute, and Ward has not been playing with the band. Ward says he's not going to participate in the band until the dispute is resolved, but it feels nice to hang out with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler. Iommi says they keep in touch with Ward and they're always thinking of each other.
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PAUL WELLER IS TOO LOUD, ACCORDING TO HIS KIDS
Lots of parents yell at their kids to turn down the music. Former Jam frontman Paul Weller says it's his kids telling him to turn it down. Weller says after you've been in the rock-and-roll business for 50 years, you're bound to have a different perspective on parenting. Weller had young parents and he would bond with them over Beatles and Chuck Berry records. He says music is the common bond for kids and their parents and he learned about Skrillex and George Ezra from his 10-year-old. Weller has a new album out called ``Saturns Patterns.''
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BILLY JOEL: DO WHAT YOU LOVE
If you're not doing what you love, you're wasting your time. That's the advice Billy Joel gave to graduates at Stony Brook University during his commencement speech Friday. Joel says he is one of the lucky ones and he knew he wanted to be a musician at a young age. He says he hopes the graduates have the commitment to make what they love their life's work and the stamina to get past tough times. Joel was also awarded an honorary doctorate of music.
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''BLUE HAWAII`` HOTEL WILL BE TORN DOWN
The Hawaiian resort made famous by the Elvis Presley film ``Blue Hawaii'' is set to be demolished. The Garden Island reports the Coco Palms Resort could be torn down within the next two months. The resort suffered major damage after Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and never reopened. It will be rebuilt as a hotel and is expected to open in 2017.
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MARCUS BELGRAVE DIES
Trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, who played on Motown records and became a jazz artist, has died. His family says Belgrave died of heart failure yesterday at a care facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was 78. Belgrave played in The Ray Charles Band in the late 1950s before becoming a session musician for Motown Records. He played on hits like ``My Girl,'' ''The Way You Do The Things You Do`` and ''Dancing In The Street.`` He later co-founded Tribe Records and was an original member of Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
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CASEY KASEM - WIDOW
The long, drawn-out drama over the last days of radio host Casey Kasem seems to be over _ at least as far as the legal system is concerned. Prosecutors in Los Angeles say they won't file elder abuse charges against Kasem's widow. They had been urged to take action by three of Kasem's children _ who felt he wasn't being properly cared for by Jean Kasem. A report issued by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office says Kasem received consistent medical care toward the end of his life _ and it would be inappropriate to charge his widow. Kasem was the longtime host of radio's ``American Top 40'' music countdown show and was the voice of Shaggy in the ``Scooby-Doo'' TV cartoons.
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