MUSIC NEWS: MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015
KACEY MUSGRAVES REVEALS FUN FACTS
Kacey Musgraves is afraid of alien abductions and she says she's seen several U-F-O's. Us magazine asked Musgraves for 25 facts that people don't know about her. Musgraves reveals she's working on a line of cowboy boots and a vodka company, she can't get enough glitter, she once saved a mouse from getting hit on Music Row in Nashville, and she has a framed Willie Nelson joint.
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SOC-WCUP-MUSIC-MCLACHLAN
Singer Sarah McLachlan -- a proud soccer mom herself -- will help kick off the Women's World Cup on Saturday in Edmonton. McLachlan, along with twins Tegan and Sara, and more than 200 other performers, will take part in a brief opening ceremony at Commonwealth Stadium before the tournament opener between Canada and China.
The ceremony will tell the story of a little girl who plays soccer. McLachlan says she's ``super-proud'' to be taking part, and that her soccer-playing daughter Taja will be watching. She plans to perform ``In Your Shoes,'' a song inspired by Malala Yousafzai, the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. Yousafzai, who campaigned for education and wrote an anonymous diary about life under Taliban rule in Pakistan, survived being shot by militants.
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FOO FIGHTERS DO SONIC HIGHWAYS PART 2?
In Nov. 2014, Foo Fighters released Sonic Highways, an album recorded in eight different U.S. cities, with each song inspired by the music of that town. In a recentvideo interview with NME, bandleader Dave Grohl indicated that a second Sonic Highways installment is coming. The question is when.
Grohl confirmed there will be another Sonic Highways season, indicating a reprisal of the HBO series that accompanied the 2014 album. "It might or might not be international," he mused. "It might only be England, or be England and other places, or maybe it's places in America and people from other countries that are inspired by these places in America… It can be anywhere, because every city has a musical history."
So there you have it -- Sonic Highways part two will happen, but we have no idea when, and it could happen literally anywhere. Grohl did admit how tiring the process was ("That's another year of my life," he mused), so it doesn't sound like the second album is just around the corner. But who knows…
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ENRIQUE IGLESIAS SAYS HIS HAND IS SLOWLY GETTING BETTER
Enrique Iglesias is thanking fans for their support while he recovers from an injury to his hand. Iglesias wrote ``thank you'' in red on the palm of his good hand and posted a photo on Instagram. He then conducted a question-and-answer session to thank fans. He says his hand is getting better little by little and he plans to be back on tour in Mexico next month. Iglesias sliced and fractured his hand when he grabbed a drone filming his concert in Tijuana, Mexico, last week.
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OBIT- THE WEAVERS' RONNIE GILBERT DIES
Singer Ronnie Gilbert of The Weavers has died. Her longtime partner, Donna Korones, says Gilbert died Saturday of natural causes at the age of 88 at a retirement community outside San Francisco. Gilbert and The Weavers sparked a national folk revival in the 1950s with their versions of songs like ``Goodnight Irene,'' ''On Top of Old Smokey,`` ''If I Had a Hammer`` and ''Kisses Sweeter Than Wine.`` They eventually disbanded after being targeted by anti-Communists during the McCarthy era. Gilbert had a solo career as a singer, stage actor and psychologist. Her memoir, ''Ronnie Gilbert: A Radical Life in Song,`` comes out this fall.
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''LEMON TREE`` WRITER WILL HOLT DIES
The man who wrote the song ``Lemon Tree'' has died. The Washington Post reports Will Holt died May 31 in Los Angeles at the age of 86. Trini Lopez turned ``Lemon Tree'' into a
top-20 hit in 1965. The song was also covered by The Kingston Trio, Chad and Jeremy, Bob Marley and Peter, Paul and Mary. Holt later wrote music for the stage, including the off-Broadway 1970 rock musical ``The Me Nobody Knows.''
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ROWDY CONCERT CROWD
New Jersey State Police used tear gas last night outside of a major hip-hop concert at MetLife Stadium. Authorities say officers had bottles thrown at them by people in the crowd who were trying to get inside _ some without tickets. Some in crowd at the Hot 97 Summer Jam became upset when the gates were closed and blocked off by police in riot gear. An armoured state police vehicle began blasting a piercing loud noise to try to disburse the crowd and police later used tear gas. The show was headlined by Kendrick Lamar, Trey Song, Big Sean and Chris Brown.
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Thirty-Three HURT WHEN LIGHTNING HITS GERMAN ROCK FESTIVAL
Authorities in Germany say 33 people were hurt after lightning struck twice at the Rock am Ring festival Saturday in the town of Mendig. The first strike hit backstage around 1 a-m after Marilyn Manson had finished his set. Eight people from production teams were hurt. A little before 4 a-m, lightning hit the festival's camping area. Another 25 were injured. No one was directly hit by lightning, and police say those injured were taken to hospitals for observation. The festival continued as planned on Sunday with The Foo Fighters, Bastille, Slipknot and Prodigy.
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Today in Music History for June 8:
In 1940, singer Nancy Sinatra, the eldest child of Frank Sinatra, was born in Jersey City, N.J. After hooking up with producer Lee Hazelwood, she hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966 with ``These Boots Are Made For Walkin'.'' Nancy Sinatra also had several hit duets with Hazelwood, and one with her father, ``Somethin'
Stupid,'' in 1967.
In 1942, Chuck Negron, lead vocalist for ``Three Dog Night,'' was born in New York City. Formed in Los Angeles in 1968, ``Three Dog Night'' became one of the most commercially successful American rock bands of the '70s. Negron was a session vocalist when he was recruited by group founder Danny Hutton. ``Three Dog Night's'' first album in 1969 yielded a million-seller, ``One.'' Their other hits included ``Easy to Be Hard,'' ``Joy to the World'' and ``An Old-Fashioned Love Song.'' ``Three Dog Night's'' commercial magic had waned by 1975, and the group gradually broke up. The three original vocalists -- Negron, Hutton and Cory Wells -- reunited in 1981. But Negron sued the other two in 1998, claiming they'd shut him out of another band reunion. Negron has released several solo CDs, including 2001's ``Live In Concert'' 2-CD set. He also wrote a book called ``Three Dog Nightmare.''
In 1961, Elvis Presley's seventh film, ``Wild in the Country,''
premiered in Memphis.
In 1964, Alton Delmore of ``The Delmore Brothers'' country duo died in Huntsville, Ala., at age 55 from a hemorrhage brought about by a liver disorder. Alton and Rabon Delmore were longtime favourites on the Grand Ole Opry and had a top-five hit in 1949 with ``Blues Stay Away From Me.'' The song has since been recorded by dozens of other artists. ``The Delmores'' were elected to the songwriters section of the Country Hall of Fame in 1971.
In 1965, Bob Dylan recorded an hour-long TV show for the BBC in London. It was broadcast in two half-hour segments -- on June 12 and 24.
In 1968, ``The Rolling Stones'' released the single ``Jumpin'
Jack Flash.''
In 1972, blues and jazz singer Jimmy Rushing died in New York City of leukemia. He was 68. Known as ``Mr. Five-By-Five'' because of his short and wide physique, Rushing was a feature attraction of the Count Basie orchestra from 1935 to '50. He influenced generations of vocalists from jazz to rock.
In 1974, keyboards player Rick Wakeman left the progressive rock band ``Yes'' following completion of the album ``Tales From Topographic Oceans.'' Wakeman openly expressed his bewilderment and disillusionment with the album and the band. Wakeman rejoined ``Yes'' in 1976, but split from the group again in 1980. They reunited for a tour in 2002, disbanded again, and then reunited in
2008 and are still touring.
In 1987, Yogi Horton, a drummer for R&B singer Luther Vandross, jumped to his death from the 17th floor of a New York hotel. He was 33. He is reported to have told his wife that he was tired of living in Vandross' shadow.
In 1987, thousands of East German youths clashed with police who blocked them from listening in on an open-air rock concert in West Berlin by ``Genesis.'' About 4,000 young people converged on the Berlin Wall, some hurling bottles, rocks and firecrackers at police.
Officers responded by beating dozens of youths and dragging them into police cars and vans.
In 1989, Rod Stewart became the first performer to play Toronto's SkyDome (now Rogers Centre). There was a sold-out crowd of 26,000.
In 1991, Bruce Springsteen married longtime girlfriend Patti Scialfa in a private ceremony at the couple's mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif. Bob Dylan was among the guests. It was the second marriage for Springsteen, who divorced model Julianne Phillips in 1988, and the first for Scialfa, who sings in Springsteen's ``E Street Band.''
In 1998, hundreds of mourners sang ``Let It Be'' at a private memorial service in London for Linda McCartney. The wife of Paul McCartney had died of breast cancer on April 19. Among those in the historic St. Martins-in-the-Fields church were George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Sting and Elton John.
In 2005, singer Rivers Cuomo of ``Weezer'' graduated from Harvard with a degree in English.
In 2010, singers Nelly Furtado and David Clayton-Thomas were among a group named to Canada's Walk of Fame.
In 2011, ``Bon Jovi'' lead guitarist Richie Sambora rejoined the group's tour in Zagreb, Croatia, after spending over a month in rehab. Phil ``Phil X'' Xenidis handled guitar duties in his absence.
In 2011, Taylor Swift took the top honour at the CMT Music awards _ the fan-voted video of the year award for ``Mine.'' Miranda Lambert took female video of the year for ``The House That Built Me'' while her husband Blake Shelton was the only multiple winner taking male video of the year for ``Who Are You When I'm Not Looking'' and best web video for ``Kiss My Country Ass.'' Canadian pop heartthrob Justin Bieber took home best collaboration with ``Rascal Flatts'' for ``That Should Be Me.''
In 2011, rapper Ja Rule headed to prison to begin serving a two-year sentence after he pleaded guilty in December to attempted criminal weapon possession. (In July, he was also sentenced to a 28-month term for failure to pay taxes on $3 million he earned between 2004-06).
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(The Canadian Press)