Bill Aucoin, former manager of Kiss, dies (1943-2010)

Yesterday, Bill Aucoin passed away. He was 66 years old. Aucoin is best known for discovering Kiss in 1972. Aucoin helped the band get signed the Casablanca Records and helped them become one of the world's biggest bands. Aucoin also helped in merchandising for the band, which became a huge success. Kiss and Aucoin parted ways in 1982. Aside from Kiss, Aucoin managed Billy Idol and other music acts. Aucoin died from his battle with prostate cancer. He was survived by his long-time partner Roman Fernandez and two sister. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have stated on the official Kiss website "We have lost a part of us". Ace Frehley has also commented saying Aucoin was "gifted and had an great eye for talent". Peter Criss stated has stated "He was the 5th Kiss".

Pete Quaife of the Kinks (1943-2010)

Original Kinks bassist Pete Quaife died yesterday on June 24, 2010. The cause of death isn't known. Quaife was 66. The Kinks were, of course, one of the finest British bands to ever exist. Quaife was in the band from 1961 til 1969. In that period of time, the Kinks had made what some consider to be some of the greatest albums ever made. This includes albums such as Something Else By The Kinks and The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. The latter was cited as Quaife's favorite Kinks album.

Well, this isn't good. I love the Kinks although, I'll admit, I'm not the biggest fan. I will definetly be listening to some Kinks albums in memory of Pete.

Rest in peace, Pete.

Michael Jackson (1958-2009)- One year later

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8vHwpRgQrVvhHJREufRqzg

Michael Jackson

August 29, 1958- June 25, 2009

Friday this week will mark one year since Michael Jackson passed away. The King of Pop was preparing for his comeback shows in London's O2 Arena for his "This Is It" tour. Jackson was said to have been in good health but on June 25, Jackson suddenly collapsed and had a heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead at 2:26 pm. Once news got out that Jackson was dead, the internet itself pretty much shut down. Sites like Wikipedia and Google crashed during this time.

Since Jackson's sudden death, there have been a number of things going on after his passing. Just months after his death, a documentary called This Is It was released in theaters. The movie covered the rehearsals of the shows that would've been. Earlier this year, Sony and the Jackson estate agreed on million dollar deal to release new Jackson products. This includes reissues of his albums, DVDs of his music videos, and songs that were never released. Sources say that Jackson left hundreds of songs on his hard drive, which now wait to be released. Also, it has been announced that a new video game called Michael Jackson: The Game will be out during the holiday season. The game will test if fans can sing and dance like the King of Pop.

I will now leave all of you with this: below is something I wrote for my school's coffeehouse in October. It talks about both Jackson's life and a focus on the "Thriller" music video (with it being Halloween in October). There are some things missing in my tribute such as Michael's ever-changing appearance and Neverland Ranch but it'll do. If you are reading this, I advise that on June 25 you not make any speeches or whatever. Just listen to the man's music and watch his videos. This is what I will do and that is why I write this post so early.

Rest in peace, Michael.

I’ll Make You See: The legacy of Michael Jackson and Thriller

Aaron Conn

It’s still an argument today: who made the first music video? The Beatles made movies back in the 1960’s. Still, they aren’t considered music videos. Any video made in the 1960’s and 1970’s are what music junkies call promo videos, short for promotional video. That’s what music videos do: promote an album or song. However these videos are different because few of them had a real concept connected to it. In 1983, MTV started playing nothing but music videos. No one knows for sure who created the first music video but in 1983, Michael Jackson perfected the music video format with “Thriller.”

Michael Jackson and four of his brothers had been household names as the Jackson 5. The group had hit singles and appeared on TV frequently. Michael was the youngest and the clear star of the group. Michael became so big that in 1972 at the age of fourteen, he made his first solo album. Motown Records released Michael’s first four albums. On all the albums, Michael rarely got the chance to write his own music. By 1976, the Jackson 5 (now known as the Jacksons) switched to Epic Records, the label that let Michael create his own music. In 1978 while filming a movie adaptation of The Wiz, Michael met up with the movie’s musical producer Quincy Jones. Michael knew that Jones could help him make a good solo album. A year later, that album Off the Wall became an instant hit. While the album was a hit, Michael knew that his next album had to be better. In 1982, he released Thriller. A year later Michael had the biggest selling album of all time (and still does worldwide, selling 110 million copies) and had hits with the “white guy” rocker “Beat It” and the stalking fan letter confessional “Billie Jean” Jackson wrote both songs by himself. His next single, the album’s self-titled track, written by Rod Temperton, would be another hit. The highly anticipated 14 minute video premiered on MTV on December 2, 1983.

“Thriller” was directed by John Landis. Landis had directed the 1980 movie An American Werewolf in London. Jackson was impressed by the special effects in the movie. Both Jackson and Landis wrote the story for the music video as an old horror movie. The video starts off with a 1950’s-looking couple (Jackson and actress Ola Ray) going back home after a date. When the car breaks down, they start walking. Jackson asks Ray if she’d go steady with him. After she says yes, Jackson says that he’s not like other people. Ray doesn’t understand but when the moon is seen, Jackson turns into a werewolf and chases Ray. This whole scene is all done so well that you almost can’t laugh at how campy it is. Next, we see Jackson and Ray in a movie theater watching a horror movie themselves. When Ray wants to leave, the music starts. As Jackson and Ray walk together, Jackson breaks out into some “walking” dance moves. The listener can’t help but notice that the famous chorus is cut off but still watches the video. The video also got praised for using Vincent Price to read the spine-tingling narration. This was seen as something different and fresh but the truth is that Jackson wasn’t the only musician to use Price in a music project. Rock singer Alice Cooper had Vincent Price on his song “Devil’s Food” for the concept album Welcome to My Nighmare. The main highlight in the video is when Jackson dances with the zombies and sings the chorus right there. Jackson looks great throughout the entire video, wearing a red jacket which is now known as his “Thriller” jacket.

“Thriller” has frequently been cited as the greatest music video ever made. Critics point out that 1983 was when Michael Jackson was at his best. Jackson kept going on. In 1987 Jackson released Bad. It wasn’t like Thriller but managed to have six singles on the charts. Jackson got more creative with his music videos. Martin Scorecese directed the video for the album’s self-titled track, which was also formatted as a short-movie form like “Thriller.” When Jackson released Dangerous in 1991, he recruited John Landis to direct the video for the hit single, “Black Or White”. The video featured many of Jackson’s child-aged friends, one of them being child actor Macaully Culkin. In 1993, one of Jackson’s kid friends got him in trouble when he filed a lawsuit claiming that Jackson had sexually molested him. The case was settled out of court after Jackson paid the boy’s family well over a million dollars.

Jackson continued to make music and also got married twice (first to Lisa Marie Presely, daughter of Elvis Presely, and Debbie Rowe who became the mother of his first two children). Jackson’s last studio album was 2001’s Invincible, which was considered weak. A telvision documentary called Living With Michael Jackson aired in 2003. The director was British journalist Martin Bashir, who went deep into Jackson’s private life. Bashir went so deep that in 2005, Jackson was charged again with counts of child molestation. The jury found Jackson not guilty but it forever ruined his image. In March 2009 Jackson annouced that he would be performing 50 shows at London’s O2 Arena. The concerts were to be Jackson’s comeback. Sadly on June 25, 2009 Michael Jackson died suddenly after suffering from cardiac arrest.

In October, we celebrate Halloween. With Michael Jackson dead, is “Thriller” still in good taste? All I can say is that I’m sure Michael would want his fans and supporters to keep listening to his music and watching his videos. Michael Jackson didn’t create the music video. He perfected the way we make them today and that all began with “Thriller”.

Deep Bands: Jimmy McCulloch

Deep Bands: Jimmy McCulloch

Jimmy McCulloch was a guitarist ahead of his time. While his name may not sound familiar to some, the key moment in his career was playing for Paul McCartney and Wings. However, he died too soon. This is his story.

Jimmy McCulloch was born June 4, 1953 in Glasgow, Scotland. At an early age, Jimmy became interested in playing the guitar. The first band Jimmy was in was called the Jaygars when he was 11 years old. The Jaygars evolved into the band One in a Million. The group managed to release a single or two and then split. When Jimmy was only 16, he joined Speedy Keen and Andy Newman in Thunderclap Newman in 1969. The trio recorded their first album with the Who’s Pete Townshend. Jimmy wrote one song on the album called “Hollywood Dream” and later a single called “I See it All”. The album Hollywood Dream was released in 1970. The album featured the hit single, “Something in the Air”. The band had a tour planned and Jimmy’s brother Jack had joined along with bassist Jim Avery. However, Thunderclap Newman broke up and remained a one-hit wonder. After leaving Thunderclap Newman, Jimmy toured with John Mayall for a three week tour in Germany. He even formed his own band but that didn’t last very long. In 1972, Jimmy joined Stone the Crows. Stone the Crows had just faced a tragedy as their guitarist Les Harvey died after being electrocuted on stage. Jimmy had big shoes to fill. In 1972, the band released their fourth album Ontinuous Performances (Jimmy played only two songs on the album). While Jimmy was in Stone the Crows, he and drummer Colin Allen wrote two songs called “Medicine Jar” and “Wino Junko”. The songs were never used until much later. The band played a couple of shows and as singer Maggie Bell recalls, they loved Jimmy. Still, the band didn’t feel the same after Harvey’s sudden death. As a result, Stone the Crows broke up in 1973. For a short time, Jimmy was a member of Blue. The band had a minor hit with “Little Jody” but Jimmy’s stay wasn’t long.

In 1974, Jimmy McCulloch was asked to join Paul McCartney and Wings. Wings had just released Band on the Run, which became a huge hit when released in 1973. The band consisted of Paul, his wife Linda, and Denny Laine. Also joining Wings was drummer Geoff Britton. The band went down to Nashville in 1974 and recorded the hit single “Junior’s Farm”. Britton didn’t last for long and after a few recording sessions with him, he left the band. He was replaced by drummer Joe English. In 1975, the band released Venus and Mars. McCartney wanted Wings to be more than a backing band and allowed the other members sing their own songs. On Venus and Mars, Jimmy sang “Medicine Jar” which he wrote with Colin Allen a few years back. “Medicine Jar” later became a part of the live set. In 1975, the band embarked on their Wings Over the World tour. In between, Wings At the Speed of Sound was released. The album featured another song from Jimmy called “Wino Junko”. When Wings came over to the USA, the shows started to sell out and the crowds went crazy. Critics were praising McCartney and Wings for putting on a great show. However, there was craziness on the road. One story had to with Jimmy not wanting to come back for the encore. One story puts it that Paul and Jimmy got into a fight so intense that Paul decked Jimmy. Still, the success of Wings made Paul the most popular ex-Beatle. In 1977, the band decided to record on a yacht called the Fair Carol in the Virgin Islands for the next album London Town. The sessions were stopped by Linda’s pregnancy. London Town was later released in 1978 and before its release, Jimmy left the band.

When Jimmy finished his tour with Wings, his brother Jack, and Dave Clarke formed White Line. The band released one single “Call My Name”, which Clarke sang. Jimmy sang the b-side song “Too Many Miles”. An album with all of the band’s recordings was released in 1994. In 1977, Jimmy joined a reunited version of the Small Faces. The band went on a one month tour and released an album called 78 in the Shade. In 1979, Jimmy joined the Dukes. The band released a self titled album. One song, “Heartbreaker”, had Jimmy on lead vocals. The band later toured with Wishbone Ash. Sadly on September 27, 1979, Jimmy McCulloch was found dead in his flat in Maida Vale, West London. The Dukes found a replacement but soon broke up.

Holy Diver: A Tribute to Ronnie James Dio

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjforster/ / CC BY 2.0

Heavy metal has had its share of critics. Some dismiss the music and genre. Believe it or not, heavy metal has some of the best musicians out there. When it comes to metal singers, Ronnie James Dio is probably the best. His credits are amazing. Sadly, he passed away on May 16, 2010. Still, Dio was one of a kind.

Ronnie James Dio was born on July 10, 1942 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. When he was just in his teens, he began to sing and play in bands. He was in numerous bands throughout the 1960's until he was in Elf in the early 1970's. Elf released a few albums and one time, opened up for Deep Purple. By this time, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore was about to leave Deep Purple. When Blackmore Met Dio, he recruited him to be the singer in his new band Rainbow. In 1975, Rainbow's debut album was released to positive reviews. While Rainbow went through personnel changes, Dio stayed for two more studio albums (Rising and Long Live Rock N Roll) and a live album before leaving in 1979.

In 1979, Dio was hired to replace Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. In 1980, the band released Heaven And Hell and then the following year, Mob Rules was released. It was during Dio's stay in Black Sabbath that he popularized the "metal horns". Dio would lift his index and pinky finger and hold down his middle and ring finger with his thumb. Dio would cite years later that he got the "horns" from his grandmother, who would do it to keep evil spirits away. After the release of a live album, Dio and drummer Vinny Appice left Black Sabbath and formed the band Dio. Their debut album, Holy Diver, was a commercial success. Although Dio went through changes in their line-up, Ronnie remained the stable member. Dio took a short break in 1992 when Ronnie went to reunite Black Sabbath for 1992's Dehumanizer. Ronnie went back to making music with Dio until 2006 when he reunited with Black Sabbath again only this time; the band went under the name Heaven & Hell. In 2009, The Devil You Know was released. In December 2009, Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Dio went under chemotherapy and was well enough to attend VH1's Revolver Golden God Awards, where he was awarded "Best Metal Singer". On May 4th, Heaven & Hell were forced to cancel their summer tour due to Dio's health. On May 16, 2010, Ronnie James Dio passed away.

Dio's passing has been a huge loss in the world of heavy metal music. I myself was lucky enough to see he and Dio perform in 2003. Whether it's Rainbow, Black Sabbath, or Dio, Ronnie James Dio's music will live on forever. Without a doubt, Ronnie James Dio was and forever will be the best metal singer.

Ronnie James Dio dies at 67

Ronnie James Dio

July 10, 1942-May 16, 2010

Sadly today at 7:45 am, Ronnie James Dio passed away. He was 67 years old. Without a doubt, Dio had one of the best voices in the metal world. Dio started out his career in a few bands and by the early 1970's, he was in Elf. In 1975, he was the lead singer for Rainbow until 1978. He replace Ozzy Osbourne in 1980 in Black Sabbath. Sabbath would end up making three studio albums and one live album with Dio. Then in 1983, Dio formed his own group called Dio. In recent years, Dio has been the singer for Sabbath spin-off band Heaven and Hell. In December 2009, Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Heaven and Hell were forced to cancel their summer tour as a result.

Words cannot describe how sad I am about Ronnie's passing. Ronnie was and will forever be on of my favorite singers of all time. He had one of the best set of pipes in metal for sure. Ronnie's music will never die and live on forever. Rest in peace, Ronnie. We'll miss you a lot man!

The Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street reissue

The Rolling Stones

Exile On Main Street

1972

Rating: **** 1/2

Bonus Disc Rating: ****

The Rolling Stones were at a peak in 1972. They had released Sticky Fingers and were touring constantly. The band made Exile in Paris, France in Keith Richards' house and then put the finishing touches on it in California.

In this special reissue, Exile on Main Street has been expanded. The first disc you get with the two disc edition is the original classic album from 1972 remastered. Compared to the 1994 remaster, this version is a bit louder and cleaner. Seriously I don't think Exile needed a reissue, along with the band's albums from Sticky Fingers to Bridges to Babylon. The albums sound fine on the 1994 remasters but because the Stones are now signed to Universal, they had to reissue them. If you don't own Exile for some odd reason, go and buy the single disc version but you may want to reconsider if you're a die-hard Stones fan like me. The deluxe edition includes a second disc with ten never before released tracks. This disc has some goodies for the Stones junkie in everyone. "Pass The Wine" is almost like a meaner version of "Honkey Tonk Women" while "Plundered My Soul" is a feel-good R&B number. "I'm Not Signifying" is a piano-blues based track and "Following the River" is a great ballad. "Dancing In The Light" and "So Divine" are both hip shakers but the alternate takes of "Loving Cup" and a Keith-sung version of "Soul Survivor" don't match up to the greatness of the original versions on the album. "Good Time Women" seems to be an early version of "Tumbling Dice" and "Title 5" is just the band messing around.

Exile on Main Street is one of my all time favorite albums, as it sits at #8 on my list of 200 albums. The reissue will be out everywhere on May 18 but if there's a local record store in your town, they may already have it. There are several versions of the remaster. There's a single disc version and a two disc version. Along with this, there's a vinyl reissue out for those who prefer vinyl and if you have the money there's a monster box set with three discs and the vinyl! A documentary called Stones In Exile should be out on June 22 on DVD.