Nina Simone

Nina Simone

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Nina Simone, Tom Petty Recordings Among 2019 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inductions

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Aerosmith, Miles Davis, Fats Domino, Ella Fitzgerald, Dolly Parton, Frank Sinatra, and more also included in the 25 recordings in this year's Hall Of Fame class
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jan 24, 2019 - 7:30 am

The Recording Academy has announced the inductees for the 2019 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. The list of 25 recordings includes works by Aerosmith, Miles Davis, Fats Domino, Ella Fitzgerald, Dolly Parton, Tom Petty, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, and more.

This year's class represents a diverse range of both singles and album recordings at least 25 years old that exhibit qualitative or historical significance. From Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" to Davis' 'Round About Midnight. The highly reputed list also features Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George And Ira Gershwin Song Book, Brenda Lee's "Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree," Parton's "Coat Of Many Colors," Simone's "To Be Young, Gifted And Black," Petty's Full Moon Fever, The Platters' "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," and Domino's "I’m Walkin’."

Other inductees include recordings by Leonard Bernstein, Jackson Browne, Leonard Cohen, El Jarocho, W.C. Handy, Miriam Makeba, Curtis Mayfield, Edward Meeker With The Edison Orchestra, Charlie Parker’s Ri Bop Boys, Jaco Pastorius, Jeannie C. Riley, Sonny Rollins Quartet Featuring John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Troggs, Sarah Vaughan, and Link Wray & His Ray Men.

"The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame is proud to be a pillar of musical excellence and diversity year after year, honoring some of the most iconic recordings of all time," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. "We are proud to acknowledge the ever-changing landscape and evolution of musical expression for which the Academy has become known. We’re honored to add these masterpieces to our growing catalog and are delighted to celebrate the impact they’ve had on our musical, social, and cultural history."

Each year recordings are reviewed by a special member committee comprised of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts, with final approval by the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. With 25 new titles, the Hall, now in its 46th year, currently totals 1,088 recordings and is on display at GRAMMY Museum L.A. LIVE.

For more music history in the making, be sure to watch the 61st GRAMMY Awards, which will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS.

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Kim Shattuck

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Kim Shattuck, Singer/Songwriter & Co-Founder Of The Muffs, Dies At 56

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As a member of the Muffs, The Pandoras, The Coolies and Pixies, Shattuck was an influential figure in punk-rock and alternative music
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Oct 3, 2019 - 10:58 am

Singer/songeriter and guitarist Kim Shattuck passed away Wednesday after a two-year battle with ALS disease (Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). Over the past three decades, Shattuck made waves in the punk and indie rock scenes as co-founder of the Muffs and a member of the Pandoras, The Coolies and Pixies. Shattuck was 56.

"Besides being a brilliant songwriter, rocking guitarist and singer/screamer extrordinaire, Kim was a true force of nature," Roy McDonald & Ronnie Barnett of The Muffs said in a statement. "While battling ALS, Kim produced our last album, overseeing every part of the record from tracking to artwork. She was our best friend and playing her songs was an honor. Goodbye Kimba. We love you more than we could ever say." 

Heavily influenced by the Beatles, the Kinks and the Bangles' Sussanah Huff, Shattuck arrived on the L.A. punk scene as part of the Pandoras in the late '80s. She went on to fully realized her dreams and influences when she co-founded the Muffs, who released their self-titled debut in 1993, crafting powerful and catchy songs and delivering them with edge and earnesty that made her an underground indie icon. 

A prolific and unstoppable musical force, Shattuck also briefly joined Pixies, formed the supergroup The Beards, collaborated with White Flag, Bowling For Soup and NoFX, and even started a new group recenlty, The Coolies, who released a brand-new EP earlier this year called Uh Oh! It's... The Coolies.

The Muffs final album, No Holiday, is due out Oct. 18 on Omnivore Records. The label also issued a statement on Shattuck's remarkable life and tragic death. 

"All of us at Omnivore Recordings are devastated by the loss of our friend Kim Shattuck of The Muffs," the statement reads. "We’re thinking about all her friends and fans, especially her family and bandmates. Her creative fire will endure and inspire artists of tomorrow. We’re so grateful to have been in the audience and to have played a small part in getting more of her music out into the world." 

Legendary Opera Singer Jessye Norman Dies At 74

 

Serj Tankian of System Of A Down

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System Of A Down Plot 2020 European Tour

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On the heels of a few overseas festival appearance announcements, the GRAMMY-winning band has revealed plans to tour Europe next June and July
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Oct 1, 2019 - 5:51 pm

System Of A Down's gradual return continues, as the band has announced a string of 2020 European tour dates. The run will kickoff June 3 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and touch down in 12 countries in all, wrapping at VOA Heavy Rock Festival in Lisbon, Portugal one month later.

The new European trek comes just after the GRAMMY-winning band revealed they will make several major festival appearances overseas, including Download Festival in England and Nova Rock Festival in Austria.

In May of this year, the band reunited for Sonic Temple in Colombus, Ohio, and while it's been 14 years since their most recent album, the double-LP Mesmerize/Hypnotize, the band has reportedly been working on new music off and on since 2011.

SOAD earned their first GRAMMY nomination in 2001 for "Chop Suey!" for Best Metal Performance. Four years later, they took home their first GRAMMY win for "B.Y.O.B." from Mezmerize for Best Hard Rock Performance. Their most recent nomination came one year later for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Lonely Day" from Hypnotize.

Tickets for the newly announced shows go on-sale Friday, Oct. 4 at 10 a.m. local time. For more info visit the band's website.

Green Day Partner With NHL To Feature New Songs On Hockey Nights

 

 

Huey Lewis

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Huey Lewis And The News Drop First New Single In A Decade With "Her Love Is Killing Me"

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The '80s pop-rock icons are back with the first new song from their forthcoming LP, due out in 2020
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Sep 26, 2019 - 10:23 am

Few voices or sounds in rock and roll can transport you back in time as fast as Huey Lewis And The News. Now the GRAMMY-winning group have returned with a new single, "Her Love Is Killing Me," their first new song in 10 years.

The snappy song harkens back to the signature pop-rock sonics of the band's '80s megahits, adding a coat of soul to their catchy sound with touches of of their most recent recording effort, 2010's Stax Records tribute album Soulsville.

"Her Love Is Killing Me" is also the first song off Huey Lewis And The News' forthcoming album. The LP title has not been revealed, but its release is expected in 2020 and will mark the band' first album of original songs since 2001's Plan B.

“We were in no hurry with these songs,” Lewis said in a statement. “The more we road-tested them the tighter they got, and I think we ended up with some of our best work.”

Just last year, Lewis was forced to cancel the band's 40-date tour due to hearing loss and subsequent diagnosis of Meniere’s disease. 

After five career GRAMMY nominations, Huey Lewis And The News won their first career GRAMMY in 1985 for Best Music Video, Long Form for "Heart Of Rock 'n' Roll at the 28th GRAMMY Awards.

Vince Gill Tackles The Tough Conversations On His New Album 'Okie' & Recalls First GRAMMY Win

Christopher Rouse

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Christopher Rouse, GRAMMY And Pulitzer Prize-Winning Composer And Teacher, Dies At 70

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During his celebrated career, Rouse was commissioned by the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics, the London Symphony Orchestra, his hometown Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and many more
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Sep 23, 2019 - 11:38 am

Christopher Rouse, a GRAMMY and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and educator, died Saturday due to complications from kidney cancer. He was 70.

Born Feb. 15, 1949, in Baltimore, Rouse began composing at age 7 and honed his craft studying at Oberlin Conservatory and Cornell University. He earned a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1976 and began teaching composition at University of Michigan.

Rouse's went on to have his work was performed by every major orchestra in the U.S. and many more abroad, and he was commissioned by the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics, the London Symphony Orchestra, his hometown his hometown Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and many more.

In 1993, he won the Pulitzer Prize in music for his Trombone Concerto, dedicated to the late GRAMMY-winning composer Leonard Bernstein. He also eaned the GRAMMY for Best Classical Contemporary Composition for Rouse: Concert De Gaudí For Guitar & Orchestra at 2001's 44th GRAMMY Awards.

Boosey & Hawkes, Rouse's publisher, called him “one of America’s greatest orchestral voices," pointing to the, “Extreme emotional depth and colorful orchestration" in his work, which "reflected his insatiable curiosity for music from across Western music history to popular rock.”

A beloved educator and mentor, Rouse shared his talents and insight with an entire generation of young composers, teaching composition for over 20 years at The Juilliard School and at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University. His final composition, Symphony No. 6, is scheduled to premiere Oct. 18-19 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Louis Langrée.

Rouse is survived by his wife, two children,,and three grandchildren. His musical legacy looms large in the compositions he created and the composer he taught and mentored in his lifetime.

Yonrico Scott, GRAMMY-Winning Drummer, Dies At 63