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Tag: linda ronstadt

  • Don Henley Will Long Mourn the Passing of Glenn Frey

    Don Henley will no doubt mourn the passing of his fellow band mate and longtime close friend Glenn Frey for the rest of his life. Frey died less than a week ago, on January 18. He was 67 years old.

    “He was like a brother to me; we were family, and like most families, there was some dysfunction,” Henley said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “But, the bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved. We were two young men who made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles with the same dream: to make our mark in the music industry — and with perseverance, a deep love of music, our alliance with other great musicians and our manager, Irving Azoff, we built something that has lasted longer than anyone could have dreamed.”

    Don Henley and Glenn Frey wrote some of the Eagles’ greatest hits together, including “Hotel California” and “Desperado.” The Eagles split up in 1980, but reunited in 1994. They recorded and toured as a band until 2015.

    Don Henley gives credit to Glenn Frey for the Eagles.

    “Glenn was the one who started it all,” he said. “He was the spark plug, the man with the plan. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and a work ethic that wouldn’t quit. He was funny, bullheaded, mercurial, generous, deeply talented and driven.”

    “We are all in a state of shock, disbelief and profound sorrow,” Henley added. “We brought our two-year ‘History of the Eagles Tour’ to a triumphant close at the end of July and now he is gone.”

    Don Henley first met Glenn Frey when playing backup for Linda Ronstadt in the 1970s.

    “I’m not sure I believe in fate, but I know that crossing paths with Glenn Lewis Frey in 1970 changed my life forever, and it eventually had an impact on the lives of millions of other people all over the planet,” Henley said in a few words of tribute to Glenn Frey. “It will be very strange going forward in a world without him in it. But, I will be grateful, every day, that he was in my life. Rest in peace, my brother. You did what you set out to do, and then some.”

    Glenn Frey is survived by his wife, Cindy, as well as three children–Taylor, Deacon, and Otis.

  • Linda Ronstadt Opens Up About Why She Opted To Leave Tucson

    Linda Ronstadt has been a resident of Tucson, AR for the majority of her life.

    However, the 68-year-old singer recently decided that she needed a change of scenery.

    According to the Arizona Republic, the Grammy Award-winning singer opened up about her decision to pack up and move during a recent interview with The Diane Rehm Show back in July. The interview was conducted shortly after the “You’re No Good” singer was awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities by President Obama.

    During Ronstadt’s hour-long chat with Rehm she opened up about her battle with Parkinson’s disease, her induction into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, and her feelings toward her hometown. She revealed the two main reasons why she desired to move to the west coast.

    “There were two things. One thing, it was a car culture. To take (my son) to school, it would take about 25-30 minutes. It was like living in Los Angeles. And where we moved in San Francisco, my son could walk or ride a skateboard to school; it was just three blocks. It gave him a chance to develop a concept of neighborhood culture that was made on a human scale for foot traffic. ”

    She also shared her opinion of Arizona politics.”Well, the politics were getting so gnarly in Arizona. I just, I mean, I grew up in Arizona, I love it. I’m a part of the desert. I feel like, really, I’m from the Sonoran Desert, which is — extends to both sides of the border. I’m really from that part of Mexico also. And I hate that there’s a fence, you know, running through it.”

    Although she admitted she’s doesn’t favor the modernized Tucson architecture, she’s still quite fond of her hometown.

    “I still like Tucson, I still like to come back and I love to see my friends. I love to go to Mexico, which is more like Tucson was when I liked it than Tucson is anymore … I’m sad about the downtown. I’m glad that people are down there, but the buildings look like Stalinist Russia. They’re so generic. They didn’t seem to realize that Tucson in the old days had a distinctive architecture.”

  • Linda Ronstadt Awarded National Medal Of Arts

    Female rock and roll legend Linda Ronstadt was unable to make her induction ceremony into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last April due to Parkinson’s disease. However, with the assistance of a military aide who brought Ronstadt into the East Room of the White House by wheelchair, she was able to personally receive the highest US arts prize, the National Medal of Arts.

    Ronstadt, who is often referred to as “The First Lady of Rock,” was able to walk to the stage to receive her award from President Barack Obama on Monday. The 68-year-old is considered a pioneer for female rock musicians. Obama spoke of the importance of the ceremony, “The arts and humanities aren’t just there to be consumed when we have a moment … we need them.” He also admitted to having a little crush on Ronstadt when he was younger.

    The White House stated that Ronstadt “defied expectations to conquer American radio waves and help pave the way for generations of women artists.”

    Ronstadt is an 11-time Grammy Award winner. She also spanned many different music genres, some of her songs were considered country, some were thought to be standard rock, while others were geared towards a folk sound. A few of her greatest hits include: It’s So Easy, Different Drum, You’re No Good, Blue Bayou, and When Will I Be Loved. The singer-songwriter has also worked with several brand name rock and roll stars including James Taylor, Neil Young, Glenn Fry, Don Henley, and Emmylou Harris.

    Eleven others were honored with the National Medal of Arts on Monday: novelist, poet and playwright Julia Alvarez; the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Joan Harris, an arts patron; the dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones; the music theater composer John Kander; Jeffrey Katzenberg, the director and CEO of DreamWorks; the novelist Maxine Hong Kingston; the documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles; the architects Billie Tsien and Tod Williams and the visual artist James Turrell.

    What’s your favorite Linda Ronstadt song?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Nirvana Among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees

    The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame officially announced its 2014 inductees today, with upcoming members including Nirvana, Kiss, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens and Linda Ronstadt.

    Beatles manager Brian Epstein and original Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham will both receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers, and The E Street Band will be given the Award for Musical Excellence.

    Musicians are eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single. The induction ceremony will be held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 10th, 2014. The general public will be able to attend the event for the first time in New York City, and tickets go on sale in January. HBO will broadcast the ceremony in May.

    Below is Nirvana’s video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Ah, middle school:

    Commenting on Nirvana’s swift induction, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President and CEO Joel Peresman said, “People see the relevancy of that band (Nirvana). We’re just getting into the creative of the show, so I don’t know what’s going to happen with that performance. They have to figure it out.”

    Kiss, being very serious:

    Some have wondered why Kiss, who has been eligible for induction for 15 years now, were finally selected. Peresman commented, “The Kiss Army has descended on Cleveland in recent years. And we’ve gotten thousands of letters. They also did extremely well in the public vote.”

    Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer:”

    Gabriel was previously inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010, but was unable to attend the ceremony “This time I will definitely go,” the singer told Rolling Stone. “I’m very grateful to have gotten in again. It’s a huge honor since it’s for your whole body of work and not just a specific project.”

    Image via YouTube.

  • Hall & Oates to be Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame

    In surprising news to Daryl Hall and John Oates, their band Hall & Oates will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn next April.

    A band becomes eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years following their first music release, whether it be an album or a single. Following this metric, Hall & Oates would have been eligible for induction in 1997. However, this is the first year the group has appeared on the ballot.

    In an interview with Rolling Stone, Daryl Hall commented on why he believed it has taken so long for his band to receive the recognition it deserves: “I didn’t think it would happen as long as the people who were in power stayed in power. I’ve always been sort of on the other side of the fence with the old guard and the powers-that-be. So it was a bit of a surprise to me… It’s probably because they had their own opinions about what constituted exceptional music in that period of time and it was based on a lot of things that I wasn’t really interested in. I have slightly different roots than most of the writers.”

    His band-mate, John Oates, shared Hall’s sentiments: “I felt that the Rock Hall, the powers that be, had a point of view and that we didn’t fit into that point of view and it didn’t bother me because if that’s how it is, that’s how it is. I kept saying, ‘If it happens it happens, and if it does it’s going to be great.’ ”

    That being said, both Hall and Oates are extremely grateful to be receiving the award, with Oates stating, “I will be there with bells on. I’m dusting off my suit, man… So I’m really going to enjoy it and I think it’s a great class, so to speak. I think the artists are really cool and I’m honored to be in this particular class and with all the other prior inductees.”

    Other inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 include Cat Stevens, Peter Gabriel, Linda Ronstadt, KISS, and Nirvana. This was Nirvana’s first year to be eligible for induction, yet it is no surprise the band made the list on their first attempt: “For once … I’m speechless. From the basements, to the dingy clubs, to the broken down vans, to … the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I’d like to thank the committee not only for this induction, but also for recognizing Nirvana for what we were: pure rock and roll,” stated Dave Grohl, former drummer for Nirvana and current front-man for the Foo Fighters.

    Voting for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is conducted in two stages, with voting from 700 Rock Hall members and also from fans. This year, fans cast nearly 1.4 million votes to determine who would be inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame. The top fan nominees to not be inducted were Yes and Deep Purple, each receiving approximately 150,000 votes and besting all the inductees besides KISS and Nirvana. Fortunately for the other 4 new members, fan results only count for one vote.

    The 29th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on April 10, 2014 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Tickets will go on sale next month, and the induction will be aired live on HBO.

    Image via RockHall.com

  • Linda Ronstadt, Nirvana To Be Inducted Into R&R Hall Of Fame

    Linda Ronstadt and Nirvana are among the artists chosen to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year, it was announced on Tuesday morning.

    The list of inductees also includes Kiss, Cat Stevens, Peter Gabriel, and Hall & Oates. Among those nominated who didn’t make the cut are Yes, N.W.A, Chic, the Meters, Deep Purple, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, LL Cool J, the Replacements, Link Wray and the Zombies.

    Ronstadt spoke candidly about her nomination recently, saying, “It’s not anything I’ve ever given a second thought to.” The 67-year old is battling Parkinson’s Disease and has said she is completely unable to sing anymore, but she’s never been one to pay much attention to accolades. One of the reasons she never aspired to be inducted into the Hall of Fame is that her music has never really had any boundaries, crossing genres to defy what is considered “rock and roll”.

    “I never thought of myself as a rock ‘n’ roll singer — I’ve thought of myself as a singer who sang rock ‘n’ roll, who sang this, who sang that,” she said.

    The ceremony will be bittersweet for Nirvana fans, as only two members of the band will be there to accept the award; singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994 after years of battling depression and drug abuse.

    The ceremony will take place in New York on April 10, 2014.

    Image: Wikimedia Commons