ABBA Celebrate 50th Anniversary With First Performance in 30 Years
By Daniel Kreps | June 6, 2016 | Rolling Stone

ABBA celebrated the 50th anniversary of their founding by performing onstage together for the first time in 30 years.

Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad were all in attendance at Stockholm's Berns Salonger Sunday for a private gala honoring the influential pop group, and while the quartet stood onstage together to discuss their career with attendees, ABBA sang a rendition of their 1980 hit "Me and I," Sweden's Expressen reports.

At first, Lyngstad and Faltskog sang the track together as a tribute to Andersson and Ulvaeus, but soon the male half of ABBA joined in toward the end of the song to cap the reunion. The impromptu performance marked the first time since 1986 that ABBA has played music together onstage in public.

Since then, the quartet has reunited sparingly, mostly for promotional purposes: In January, ABBA staged a rare four-member reunion at the opening of Mamma Mia! The Party in Stockholm, a gathering that represented the first time since 2008 that the group was photographed together, EW writes.

In 2010, after it was revealed that ABBA would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Andersson announced that the quartet would not reunite at the induction ceremony for a variety of reasons, including Faltskog's reluctance to fly. "Agnetha is not flying, so I don't know how she's going to get to New York," Andersson told Rolling Stone at the time.

Despite a rumored billion-dollar offer for a reunion tour, ABBA have refused to get back together – both couples, Lyndstad and Andersson as well as Faltskog and Ulvaeus, divorced in 1980 – making their Sunday performance all the more improbable.

"It was absolutely amazing. A lot of emotions," Lyngstad told Expressen of the reunion. "We've made this journey throughout our history. Benny and Björn in particular. It's been very nostalgic."

While no video from the "Me and I" performance has emerged, a few photos of the reunited ABBA have been posted on social media.

watch here

Former Genesis Singer Ray Wilson Says Mike Rutherford Didn’t Want to Continue
By Jeff Giles June 7, 2016

Genesis faced an uphill climb after Phil Collins quit the group, but replacement singer Ray Wilson wishes they’d stuck with it at least a little longer.

Wilson, who came in to record 1997’s Calling All Stations LP after Collins announced his departure from the lineup the previous year, tells Eonmusic that his version of the band was just hitting its stride after it finished the subsequent tour — only for guitarist Mike Rutherford to hit the brakes.

“When I signed my contract to join the band, it was for two albums. It was always the idea to do the first and then go from there, but Mike Rutherford changed his mind – that’s exactly what happened,” said Wilson. “I think he felt he didn’t have the stamina to do another one. All of a sudden you’re faced with going from 15 million albums’ sales to two and a half, and I think he couldn’t find it in himself to do the next one.”

Wilson’s observations echo statements made by Rutherford himself. “I enjoyed the process of making Calling All Stations,” he later explained. “What happened was that, suddenly, the mood changed and I sort of felt that going forward to create a new Genesis required too much work. I just didn’t have it in me, and I had the Mechanics. I know that Tony and Ray wanted to carry on, but I just knew I couldn’t do it.”

For Wilson, the sudden end to his brief time in Genesis remains a source of disappointment — particularly since it’s made it easier for Banks and Rutherford to, as he sees it, sweep that period of the band’s history “under the carpet.” Unlikely as it might have been for this lineup to duplicate the impact achieved during Collins’ tenure, he still wishes they could have at least made the attempt.

“It’s a great shame,” he said of the lack of a Calling All Stations follow-up. “Even if it hadn’t been very good, we didn’t need to release it, but we should have at least sat down together and continued the process, because I think we really became a band after the tour.”

Spinning Around: A History of the Soul LP: A - K Volume 1
by John Lias {2016}

This is the first and definitive attempt in book form to list and discuss thousands of soul LPs that were issued in the vinyl era. Volume 1 addresses album releases by hundreds of artists from the famous - James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Bobby Bland, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Impressions and Aretha Franklin - to the much more obscure - John Byrd, Paul Kelly, Bill Coday, Harmon Bethea and Geater Davis. Beautifully produced in hardback, with over 400 pages and 435,000 words, including 108 colour photographs of LP covers, Spinning Around : The History Of The Soul LP, Volume 1 : A - K, is the first truly comprehensive study of this topic ever undertaken anywhere in the world.

Selena Quintanilla On NBC Universo: When, Where To Watch Back-To-Back 'Queen Of Tejano' Special

The Monkees Earn Highest-Charting Album Since 1968 on Billboard 200 Chart

• NEWS

By Keith Caulfield | June 09, 2016 4:42 PM EDT

Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork of The Monkees perform on Good Morning America on June 1, 2016.

Ida Mae Astute/ABC via Getty Images

Hey, hey, it’s The Monkees! The veteran group nabs its highest-charting album since 1968 on the Billboard 200, as Good Times! debuts at No. 14.

The set, which is the act’s first studio album since 1996 (and first recorded without the late Davy Jones, who died in 2012), launches with 23,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending June 2, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 22,000 were in pure album sales -- the group’s biggest sales week since Nielsen Music began tracking data in 1991. (The robust number lands the set at No. 6 on the Top Album Sales chart.)

The Monkees' 10 Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits

The Monkees last charted higher on the Billboard 200 back in 1968, when The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees peaked at No. 3. They previously logged five top 10s, with their first four albums all reaching No. 1 in 1966 and 1967.

The new album commemorates the 50th anniversary of the group’s formation in 1965 and the debut of its eponymous, Emmy Award-winning TV show in 1966. The set also enters at high ranks on a host of other charts, including a No. 1 bow on Tastemakers, No. 6 on Top Album Sales and No. 3 on Top Internet Albums.

Hear the Monkees' New Rivers Cuomo-Penned Single 'She Makes Me Laugh'

The three surviving Monkees (Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork) all appear on Good Times!, as does Jones on one track, via an archival recording.

The album sports new songs written by Rivers Cuomo, Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Ben Gibbard. Those all-new tracks are joined by recently completed songs that date back to the 1960s, by some of the writers who penned The Monkees’ biggest hits (Neil Diamond, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart).

Former Wings Guitarist Henry McCullough Dies at 72

Jorgen Angel, Getty Images

Henry McCullough, who played guitar on some of Wings‘ earliest records, has died. The Irish guitarist, who also played with some of rock’s biggest names, was 72.

In addition to his work with Paul McCartney‘s post-Beatles group, McCullough was also a member of Spooky Tooth, Joe Cocker‘s Grease Band and the traditional Irish folk group Sweeney’s Men.

But he was probably best known for being tapped by McCartney to play guitar on Wings’ second album, 1973’s Red Rose Speedway, as well as a handful of singles from the era, including “Hi, Hi, Hi” and “Live and Let Die.” He also performed the celebrated solo on the No. 1 hit “My Love.”

McCullough got his start in local Northern Ireland bands while in his teens. He later joined Éire Apparent, a group managed the Animals‘ Chas Chandler, who also spearheaded Jimi Hendrix‘s career at the same time. The association led to shows with Hendrix, the Move and Pink Floyd.

By the end of the ’60s, he had joined Cocker as a member of the singer’s Grease Band, and was onstage with them during their career-making Woodstock performance. Around the same time, he played guitar in the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar and then joined Spooky Tooth for an album.

He was then asked by McCartney to join Wings. After a year or so with the band, he left before Band on the Run was recorded. Over the next decade, he performed onstage with and on records by Pink Floyd (that’s him muttering “I don’t know; I was really drunk at the time” on The Dark Side of the Moon), Roy Harper, Marianne Faithfull, Donovan and Dr. Feelgood.

In the ’00s, he continued to release solo albums and play shows throughout Europe. He had a heart attack in late 2012 that left him in critical condition. In March 2015, a benefit concert was held for McCullough that included performances by Paul Carrack, Nick Lowe and others.

Read More: Former Wings Guitarist He...Dies at 72 | http://ultimateclassicroc...ck=tsmclip

Rubén Aguirre Dead: Actor Known As 'Profesor Jirafales' Dies From Complications With Pneumonia

Rubén Aguirre, who was known for his role as “Profesor Jirafales” in “El Chavo del 8,” has passed away this morning, his dear friend Edgar Vivar, who played “Señor Barriga” confirmed on Twitter. He was 82.

“My favorite professor rests in peace now,” Vivar wrote. "Today my good friend Rubén Aguirre left this earth. I will miss you very much.”

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Mi profesor favorito descansa en paz...Hoy mi gran amigo Rubén Aguirre parte de este plano .
Te extrañaré mucho

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Nuestra última foto juntos

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In early June, Consuelo de los Reyes, Aguirre’s wife had mentioned on a TV show that her husband was in serious condition. “From one day to another he lost all his strength and now he’s not moving,” de los Reyes said at the time. “He can’t even roll on the bed and is not talking as much. Diabetes has him like that.”

However, his daughter, Verónica Aguirre confirmed to CNN en Español that her father passed away from complications with pneumonia. He had been hospitalized in May, but was released on June 7 to rest at home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he took his last breath.

Aguirre was born in Saltillo, Coahuila on June 15, 1934. He began his acting career in Monterrey, working with a famous clown named “Pipo.” From there, he ventured on to Mexico City, where he worked at Televisión Independiente de Mexico, a national television network that operated until 1973 when it merged with Telesistema Mexicano to form Televisa. He oversaw several television scripts to see which ones would make good shows, and that’s how he met Roberto Gómez Bolaños, known as Chespirito, the mastermind behind “El Chavo del 8” and “El Chapulín Colorado.”

Rubén Aguirre passed away Friday morning from complications with Pneumonia. He was known for playing "Profesor Jirafales" in "El Chavo del 8." Televisa

Chespirito noticed Aguirre’s tall, skinny figure and asked him to play Profesor Jirafales on the show he was developing, called “El Chavo del 8.” The name “Jirafales” came from from “jirafa,” which means “giraffe” in Spanish. Aguirre agreed. He was good friends with Carlos Villagrán, whom he recommended for the role of Quico.

After “El Chavo,” Aguirre moved to Argentina, where he opened a circus with the name Profesor Jirafales. He returned to Mexico in 2003 and started working as an announcer at game shows.

Morris Day interview (June 2016)

Peter Gabriel and Sting Kick Off U.S. Tour With Exuberant, Inspired Collaborations: Concert Review

JUNE 21, 2016 2:30pm PT by Lesley Goldberg

'Supergirl': Wonder Woman Lynda Carter to Play President

Lynda Carter Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

Wonder Woman is coming to The CW's Supergirl.

Lynda Carter, the actress who brought the Amazonian superheroine to life on the small screen, has booked a recurring role on Supergirl, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Carter will play the president of the United States and recur on the sophomore season of the CBS-turned-CW drama starring Melissa Benoist. She will first appear in episode three of season two.

Producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg told reporters last season that scoring Carter to play the president in season two was their dream casting for the part. The duo noted that they first envisioned Carter's president for a role in season one, though her schedule did not work out. "We're going to do it, we'll just do it next year," Kreisberg said.

Co-showrunner Ali Adler told THR after the season-one finale that having Carter join the series would be "incredible" and a "true honor." At the time, her casting was contingent on her schedule.

Supergirl marks Carter's first TV role in a few years. She last guest-starred onTwo and a Half Men in 2013, playing herself. She also played Moira Sullivan for an episode of Superman prequel series Smallville in 2007. Carter is best known for playing Diana Prince/Wonder Woman on the ABC-turned-CBS series, which aired for three seasons and nearly 60 episodes in the late 1970s. She is repped by Mavrick Artists Agency, the Katz Co. and Dorit Simone Management.

For Supergirl, Carter becomes the second high-profile casting as the series looks to make noise and retain viewers for its move to The CW. The series castTeen Wolf favorite Tyler Hoechlin to play Superman/Clark Kent, with the character debuting at the start of season two. The series returns Monday, Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. on The CW.

James Earl Jones Confirmed as

Voice of Darth Vader in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

(Photo: Lucasfilm)

You can breathe a deep, assisted breath of relief: James Earl Jones will voice Darth Vader once again in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The character (and actor)'s return to live action comes after several appearances on the animated series Star Wars Rebels in the emotional second season from 2015-2016.

Darth Vader was largely assumed, but only officially confirmed as appearing in Rogue Oneyesterday. The Sith Lord kind of has to be involved when you look at the storyline, the timeframe, and the mission involved: This movie takes place shortly before the events of the original Star Wars, now known as Episode IV - A New Hope, when the still-nascent Rebel Alliance sets out to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's terrifying new weapon. It's the first of the new stand alone films, those that aren't being given an Episode number. The Episodic "saga" films will continue to focus on the story of the Skywalker family, while the stand alone films will cover other characters and eras from throughout Star Wars history.

Jones was confirmed in an interview between Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and EW, where it was also revealed he'll only be in the film for a small amount of time.

"He will be in the movie sparingly," Kennedy warned excited fans, "But at a key, strategic moment, he's going to loom large."

It's somewhat natural - just as much as Vader needs to be present at some point in the film, he could also be considerably overpowering, especially when you don't have a Jedi to balance him out.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16, 2016.

The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years

Watch the first trailer for the highly anticipated documentary feature film about The Beatles’ phenomenal early career The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years.

US THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE SET FOR SEPTEMBER 16 AND AVAILABLE ON HULU DAY AFTER

Press Release
LOS ANGELES, CA June 20, 2016 – Academy Award®-winner Ron Howard’s authorized and highly anticipated documentary feature film about The Beatles’ phenomenal early career The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years has set its US theatrical release date for September 16th, 2016 and debuts the first trailer from the film and the official poster to launch the campaign, it was announced today by Imagine Entertainment, White Horse Pictures and Apple Corps Ltd.

Hulu will be the presenting partner for the theatrical release of the film in the US where the film will become available to stream exclusively to Hulu subscribers on September 17th.

Featuring rare and exclusive footage, the film is produced with the full cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison. White Horse Pictures’ Grammy Award-winning Nigel Sinclair, Scott Pascucci and Academy Award®-winner and Emmy® Award-winner Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment are producing with Howard. Apple Corps Ltd.’s Jeff Jones and Jonathan Clyde are serving as executive producers, along with Imagine’s Michael Rosenberg and White Horse’s Guy East and Nicholas Ferrall.

Studiocanal is an anchor partner on the film having acquired UK, France, Germany and Australia and New Zealand rights.

The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years is based on the first part of The Beatles’ career (1962-1966) – the period in which they toured and captured the world’s acclaim. Ron Howard’s film will explore how John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr came together to become this extraordinary phenomenon, “The Beatles.” It will explore their inner workings – how they made decisions, created their music and built their collective career together – all the while, exploring The Beatles’ extraordinary and unique musical gifts and their remarkable, complementary personalities. The film will focus on the time period from the early Beatles’ journey in the days of The Cavern Club in Liverpool to their last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966.

Richard Abramowitz’s Abramorama will handle the US theatrical release of the film that is set to be an event driven experience with a few special surprises planned for cinemagoers.

Hulu will have the exclusive US streaming video on-demand rights to the film on SVOD beginning September 17th – marking the first feature film to debut on Hulu following its theatrical premiere. The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years is the first film acquired by Hulu’s Documentary Films arm which will serve as a new home for premium original and exclusive documentary film titles coming to Hulu.

Following an all-star world premiere in London on September 15th, the film will roll out theatrically worldwide with release dates set in Japan (September 22nd), Australia and New Zealand (September 16th) and UK, France and Germany (September 15th).

Award-winning Editor Paul Crowder is the editor. Crowder’s long-time collaborator, Mark Monroe, is serving as writer. Marc Ambrose is the supervising producer.


www.thebeatleseightdaysaweek.com

Johnson Publishing sells Ebony, Jet magazines to Texas firm
Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune June 15, 2016

After a 71-year run in Chicago, Johnson Publishing is getting out of publishing.

The company said Tuesday it has sold Ebony, its iconic African-American lifestyle magazine, and the now digital-only Jet magazine to Clear View Group, an Austin, Texas-based private equity firm, for an undisclosed amount.

Johnson Publishing will retain its Fashion Fair Cosmetics business and its historic Ebony photo archives, which remains up for sale. The deal, which closed in May, also included the assumption of debt.

A family-owned business throughout its history, Ebony has documented the African-American experience since it first hit newsstands in 1945. It has shaped culture ever since, coming into its own as it reported from the front lines of the civil rights movement during the 1960s in powerful photos and prose.

In recent years, though, Johnson Publishing has seen declining media revenues as it struggled to evolve from print to digital platforms.

Linda Johnson Rice, chairman of Johnson Publishing and daughter of founder John Johnson, will serve as chairman emeritus on the board of the new company.

"This is the next chapter in retaining the legacy that my father, John H. Johnson, built to ensure the celebration of African-Americans," she said in a statement Tuesday.

The new publishing entity, Ebony Media Operations, will maintain the magazine's Chicago headquarters and its New York editorial office, as well as much of the current staff, according to Michael Gibson, co-founder and chairman of African-American-owned Clear View Group.

It is the first investment in the publishing business for Clear View.

"We made this purchase because this is an iconic brand — it's the most-recognized brand in the African-American community," said Gibson, 59. "We just think this is a great opportunity for us."

Cheryl McKissack, who has served as chief operating officer since 2013, will assume the role of CEO of the new publishing entity under Clear View, operating out of the magazine's Chicago office. Kierna Mayo is stepping down as editor-in-chief of Ebony to pursue other opportunities, Gibson said.

Chicago-based Kyra Kyles, who has headed up digital content for Ebony and Jet since last June, will add the role of editor-in-chief of Ebony, Gibson said.

"When we make an investment, that's what we look for — a strong team that can actually run the company," Gibson said. "We're not managers or experts by any stretch of imagination in the media business. What we bring to the table is very strong networking and the ability to raise financing and the ability to establish a vision for the company."

Desiree Rogers, the former social secretary for President Barack Obama who has been steering Johnson Publishing since 2010, will remain CEO, focusing on the cosmetics business, which represents about half of the company's total revenue.

"The overall strategy of separating these two distinct businesses — media and cosmetics — will ensure that both iconic brands are positioned for future investment and growth," Rogers said in a statement.

Under Rogers, Johnson Publishing made a number of moves in an effort to shore up finances. Those included taking on a minority partner in 2011, and taking the money-losing weekly digest Jet out of print circulation in 2014.

In January 2015, Johnson Publishing put its entire photo archive up for sale, hoping to raise $40 million. The historic collection spans seven decades of African-American history, chronicling everyone from Martin Luther King Jr. to Sammy Davis Jr.

The collection is still for sale, Rogers said Tuesday.

While the publishing industry continues to face headwinds — year-over-year magazine revenue is down 9 percent through April, according to Standard Media Index — Gibson said Ebony will remain in print for the foreseeable future. At the same time, he recognizes the need to ramp up digital growth.

"There's a lot of good reasons to keep the print," Gibson said. "That will always be our anchor. We want to grow the digital platform more consistently with both Ebony and Jet."

Gibson also sees opportunity in leveraging and expanding Ebony's events business. But in the end, the greatest asset he acquired was the legacy of a brand, one which he hopes will be influential for years to come.

"It's a dream come true," Gibson said. "Growing up, we had Ebony and Jet in our household all along. You knew you made it when you made it to the cover of Ebony or Jet. It is just exciting — I pinch myself every morning."

Thanks MD! Looking forward to the film.

The anticipated new TV drama 'Queen of the South' makes its debut Thursday night. The series is based on the global best-selling novel "La Reina Del Sur", and tells the tale of Teresa Mendoza, a woman who is forced to run and seek refuge in America after her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico. Teresa then becomes a force to reckon with in her own right.

"Piloto" Episode 101 -- Pictured: (l-r) Alice Braga as Teresa Mendoza, Jon Ecker as Guero Benedicte Desrus / Getty Images

The series takes after the novel by internationally acclaimed Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte.

The novel was also adapted into a top-rated series, La Reina del Sur, that aired on Telemundo, USA Network's sister station (both are part of NBC Universal).

"Mendoza teams up with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run", according to the show's release.

c

Meet the Latina Stars of 'Queen of the South' 2:13

Mendoza, the main character, is played by Brazilian actress Alice Braga, who is known for her roles in City of God and Lower City. The Brazilian actress has won multiple awards for her acting in both the US and Brazil. She is also the niece of the famous Brazilian actress, Sonia Braga.

Many noted Latino actors star in the new series. "Everybody is phenomenal in this cast, everyone is Latino", said actress Justina Machado, who plays Brenda Parra in the series, in a recent interview with NBC Latino.

"Piloto" Episode 101 -- Pictured: Alice Braga as Teresa Mendoza Eniac Martinez / Getty Images

"It has a Little bit of everything you know, it has revenge, it has love, it has hatred, it has survival, it has action, so it's a good story. The characters are endearing, even though they're criminals, most of them. I think when you have a good story people will connect", said actress Veronica Falcón.

"Caurenta Minutos" Episode 102 -- Pictured: (l-r) Alice Braga as Teresa Mendoza, Juan Filipe Barrientos as The Charger, Veronica Falcon as Camila Vargas Bill Matlock / Getty Images

"All of the actors are from different backgrounds, one is from the Dominican Republic, I'm from Brazil, there's one from just the border of Tejas, [and] a Puerto Rican, and that's something I think is very important nowadays, for us to have so many Hispanics who live in the U.S. We have such a big Latin community, that just to be part of a show like this is very special", Alice Braga told NBC News in a recent interview.

Bluegrass music patriarch Ralph Stanley dies at 89

Published June 23, 2016

Associated Press

March 11, 2011. Ralph Stanley poses for a photo backstage at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn. (The Associated Press)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Ralph Stanley, a patriarch of Appalachian music who with his brother Carter helped expand and popularize the genre that became known as bluegrass, died Thursday. He was 89.

His publicist, Kirt Webster, confirmed Stanley's death but did not have details.

Stanley was born and raised in southwest Virginia, a land of coal mines and deep forests where he and his brother formed the Stanley Brothers and their Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946. Their father would sing them old traditional songs like "Man of Constant Sorrow," while their mother, a banjo player, taught them the old-time clawhammer style, in which the player's fingers strike downward at the strings in a rhythmic style.

Heavily influenced by Grand Ole Opry star Bill Monroe, the brothers fused Monroe's rapid rhythms with the mountain folk songs from groups such as the Carter Family, who hailed from this same rocky corner of Virginia.

The Stanleys created a distinctive three-part harmony that combined the lead vocal of Carter with Ralph's tenor and an even higher part sung by bandmate Pee Wee Lambert. Carter's romantic songwriting professed a deep passion for the rural landscape, but also reflected on lonesomeness and personal losses.

Songs like "The Lonesome River," uses the imagery of the water to evoke the loss of a lover, and "White Dove," describes the mourning and suffering after the death of a mother and father. In 1951, they popularized "Man of Constant Sorrow," which was also later recorded by Bob Dylan in the '60s.

The brothers were swept into the burgeoning folk movement and they toured the country playing folk and bluegrass festivals during the '60s, including the Newport Folk Festival in 1959 and 1964.

But when Carter died of liver disease in 1966, Ralph wasn't sure he could continue. His brother had been the main songwriter, lead singer and front man, and Ralph, by his own account, was withdrawn and shy, although he had overcome some of his early reticence.

"Within weeks of his passing, I got phone calls and letters and telegrams and they all said don't quit. They said, 'We've always been behind you and Carter, but now we'll be behind you even more because we know you'll need us,'" Stanley told The Associated Press in 2006.

After Carter's death, Ralph drew even deeper from his Appalachian roots, adopting the a cappella singing style of the Primitive Baptist church where he was raised. He reformed the Clinch Mountain Boys band to include Ray Cline, vocalist Larry Sparks and Melvin Goins. He would change the lineup of the band over the years, later including Jack Cooke, and mentored younger artists like Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs, who also performed with him.

Dylan and Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia praised his work and, in the case of Dylan, joined him for a remake of the Stanley Brothers' "Lonesome River" in 1997.

He was given an honorary doctorate of music from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, in 1976, and he was often introduced as "Dr. Ralph Stanley." He performed at the inaugurations of U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, was given a "Living Legends" medal from the Library of Congress and a National Medal of Arts presented by the National Endowment for the Arts and President George W. Bush. He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2000.

But at age 73, he was introduced to a new generation of fans in 2000 due to his chilling a cappella dirge "O Death" from the hit Coen Brothers' "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" movie soundtrack. The album was a runaway hit, topping the Billboard 200 chart, as well as the country albums and soundtrack charts, and sold millions of copies.

He won a Grammy for best male country vocal performance in 2002 — beating out Tim McGraw, Ryan Adams, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Lyle Lovett — and was the focus of a successful tour and documentary inspired by the soundtrack. The soundtrack, produced by T Bone Burnett, also won a Grammy for album of the year. The following year he and Jim Lauderdale would win a Grammy for best bluegrass album for "Lost in the Lonesome Pines."

He said in an interview with The Associated Press in 2002 that younger people were coming to see his shows and hear his "old time music," and was enjoying the belated recognition.

"I wish it had come 25 years sooner," he said. "I am still enjoying it, but I would have had longer to enjoy it."

Despite health problems, he continued to record and tour into his 80s, often performing with his son Ralph Stanley II on guitar and his grandson Nathan on mandolin.

[Edited 6/24/16 19:48pm]

Jerome Teasley, drummer for Motown, R&B legends, dies in Phoenix at 67
Ed Masley, The Republic | azcentral.com 11:36 p.m. MST June 21, 2016

By the time he moved to Phoenix in the ’80s, Jerome Teasley had played drums for such iconic figures in the history of soul and R&B as Wilson Pickett, Al Green, Ike and Tina Turner and Jr. Walker & the All-Stars, appearing on three Walker albums and Green’s first album, “Back Up Train.” He also played with bebop legend Sonny Stitt.

Bob Corritore recruited Teasley, who died Thursday, June 16, to drum for a group he and Janiva Magness had just formed, the Mojomatics, when the drummer left Detroit for Phoenix.

“He was just unbelievable,” Corritore says. “For the soul show drumming, fantastic. There’s a whole bunch of videos on YouTube of him and Jr. Walker & the All-Stars. He was that guy that provided the perfect power that you always needed. Very powerful. I mean, it took me a little while to get used to his handshake because it was so strong, it would pretty much crush your hand.

"Jerome was very cool and always came to play, always had a fantastic, very positive, ready-to-go, ready-to-sweat animal instinct to his playing. It was always refreshing. You could always feed off of that.”

Teasley had Stage Four cancer in his lungs and liver. Diagnosed a year and a half ago, he was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix two days before his death. He was 67.

Teasley’s daughter, Charlie, says, “There were a lot of things that factored into my dad’s death. He got pneumonia and the bacterial virus on the pneumonia spread to the blood. The cancer that he had in his liver and his lungs spread, too. And then his kidney’s failed. He also wasn’t getting any oxygen to the brain and his lungs weren’t working."

Still going out and playing

The last time Corritore saw Teasley, he had no idea he’d been ill.

“Apparently, Jerome didn’t want anybody to know about his illness,” Corritore says. “He was getting out and playing. And he was hanging out, too. The last time I saw him was a couple weeks ago at one of our gigs at the Rhythm Room. I didn’t realize he was dealing with all that stuff. It was just good old Jerome. He looked great. He looked very on. I didn’t realize at the time that he was just making sure that everybody felt real connected to him. But we had some good smiles together.”

Charlie says, “My dad was up walking around and playing the drums, living an independent life, three days before he was admitted to the hospital.”

Charlie says her father was “a very optimistic” man who loved eating at Lo-Lo's Chicken & Waffles

“He always looked at the positive side of things,” the daughter he called Cha Cha says. “No matter how negative I was, he was always positive and uplifting. If you ever needed anything, he would help you any way he could. He just wanted everyone to be happy and everything to be OK. And he was really funny.”

Music was his world

“That’s all he wanted me to do in life was to be a musician," Charlie says. "But unfortunately, I didn’t get that talent from him. I mean, I’m sure he thinks I do have talent but I just don’t try hard enough, but I never really got that talent.”

Teasley drummed for a number of legendary artists through the years, but he's best remembered for his long association with the All-Starrs. Although he signed on after “Shotgun,” he appears on 1969’s “Home Cookin’” album, which included three Top 40 entries on the Billboard Hot 100: “Come See About Me,” “Hip City Pt. 2” and “What Does It Take (To Win Your Love).”

There are reviews online that mention Teasley playing drums for Walker gigs as recently as 1994, a year before the All-Star's death. And he never stopped playing in Phoenix.

For the past five years or so, he's been a regular at Chuck E. Baby's Sunday Night Menagerie Jam, sitting in with the band at Prankster's Too in Scottsdale.

"The guy's groove was impeccable," says A.D. Adams, who drums for Chuck E. Baby and tours with Louis Prima Jr. "His left hand and his timing on his backbeat, I think that's what I felt the most when he played. There was such a sense of patience with him. He was such a wise, wise drummer. He wasn't gonna out-flash you. He wasn't gonna outrace you. This was no Keith Moon affair. He just kept that steady pocket. That backbeat was incessant. No matter if he was was syncopating the groove or not, you always felt the backbeat. That two and that four just clobbered you. And that's what he would always say. He goes, 'Nothing else matters. If that backbeat is there, that's the ticket. He just had his way of signing things. You could be outside and hear the drums and go, 'Oh, that's Jerome Teasley.'"

As a fellow drummer, Adams says, "To me, every time Jerome walked on the stage, school was in session. The drummers knew school was in session. You could play everything he played. But he played it better. He played it like him."

Teasley tried to teach the younger drummer a few of his signature moves, Adams says.

"And I would play it right," Adams says. "Technically. But it never felt like him. There was something in his touch that was so clean and precise but effortless, that's what drove me nuts about trying to emulate some of his chops. They were so effortless for him and I was trying so hard. And he'd laugh and go, 'You're trying too hard.'"

Adams also enjoyed the stories Teasley told about his storied past while partaking in his favorite drink -- a double bourbon with a single ice cube.

"I guarantee," Adams says. "There's a double bourbon with one ice cube waiting at the Pearly Gates for that guy."

Drum Talk TV posted video of Teasley playing drums at Pranksters Too in early April on its Facebook page Monday, and there was clearly still plenty of fire and force in his playing at that point.

“When I first met him, he had just come into town,” Corritore says. “And I had heard that he was a great drummer who used to play with Jr. Walker and the All-Stars. Janiva Magness and I were forming a band called the Mojomatics at that time I put him to work. I mean, the guy was unbelievable. He had a really pushy uptown shuffle so he could relate really well to the blues. But he could also, if we were doing a funky number or something that was an R&B groove, you weren’t gonna find anybody any better than that.”

Watching Teasley play was a special treat for Charlie.

“It was really magical and inspiring,” she says. “Whatever rough patch my dad came across in the music industry, whether he had jobs or he didn’t, he never gave up on his passion. And he always just made it happen.”

Her father was writing a book, Charlie says, “about what it was like to be the drummer, playing behind the stars like Junior Walker and Tina Turner because not many people hear the story of the people who played behind the stars.”

He didn't come away from the experience a wealthy man. But Teasley didn't seem to mind.

"He was dead broke," Adams says. "And that always bothered me. Here's this guy, he's another one of those victims of showbiz. But his soul was so intact. Through all that, getting ripped off left and right, I never heard him badmouth anybody. He wasn't bitter about it. If he was upset, he never said it. I don't think he ever felt that he had ever been defeated. All he sensed was 'I gotta play.' He'd go to every jam in town just to play. And he wasn't making a dime. But he just had to play. His DNA says 'Play the drums.' And he did it so effortlessly, that was the beauty of it – the simplicity of his strokes and the purity of the music. He left so much room for everybody else. I loved his playing but more than anything else, I truly, truly loved the man. Everywhere he went, he just endeared himself to everyone."

The Rhythm Room has planned a Teasley tribute on July 10, for which Magness is coming to town to take part.

Rick Springfield will be performing on ABC Television Network's "Greatest Hits" this Thursday, June 30 at 9pm ET! Check your local listings!

Prince’s Yellow Cloud Guitar Sells for $137,500 to Colts Owner Jim Irsay

You might say Jim Irsay got a bargain.

On Saturday, June 25, the Indianapolis Colts owner and guitar collector bought a Yellow Cloud guitar owned by Prince for $137,500 at Heritage Auction’s Entertainment and Music Memorabilia Signature auction. The guitar was one of the late artist’s favorites and was among the main guitars he used from 1988 to the mid 1990s.

Of course, $137,500 hardly seems a bargain—unless you consider what else is in Irsay’s collection. He paid considerably more in February 2015 when he dropped $343,750, including commission, for Les Paul’s Black Beauty.

But that was nothing compared to the small fortune he’s spent on Beatles gear in recent years. A keen collector of the group’s instruments, Irsay paid $567,500 for George Harrison’s cherry-red 1964 Gibson SG and $408,000 for a 1966 Vox Kensington prototype guitar once owned by John Lennon.

His other auction prizes include Lennon’s 1964 Rickenbacker 325 Fireglo “Beatle Backer” ($910,000), Jerry Garcia’s custom Doug Irwin Tiger ($957,500), and Bob Dylan’s 1964 Fender Stratocaster, which the folk-rock legend played at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival for his infamous electric set ($965,000).

But even those prices pale in comparison to the $2.125 million Irsay paid last November for Ringo Starr’s drum head with the Beatles logo, seen during the group’s 1964 performances in the U.S., and the $2.2 million he dropped the following month for Starr’s first 1963 Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl three-piece drum kit, purchased at the same auction where he bought Lennon’s Beatle Backer.

So $137,500 for a guitar that was one of Prince’s favorites? It’s small change by comparison.

The bright yellow guitar, serial number P.M. 16644, was built by luthier Andy Beech and features gold-colored hardware, including Schaller tuners, a Floyd Rose Original tremolo (with bar), one volume knob, one tone knob, a three-way switch, nut and truss rod cover. The pickups are an EMG humbucker in the bridge position and an EMG single-coil in the neck. The auction included a custom hard case and seven original Prince guitar picks of six different designs and colors.

The guitar was authenticated by Prince’s former guitar tech Zeke Clark, who notes that the instrument was the second Cloud guitar that Beech built for Prince, preceded by P.M. 16643. Prince used the guitar for recording and at performances for several years until he broke the neck at a French TV studio. Clark repaired it and at the same time installed the Floyd Rose, the first one that Prince had ever used.

Chris McKinney, curator for Irsay’s collection, says his boss “is delighted this historical instrument will reside with many others.

“The collection is about preserving pieces of music history and this guitar will join those used by some of the world's greatest musicians—of which Prince certainly deserves a place of honor.”

In the video below, McKinney shows a few of the Colts owner’s guitars, including instruments once owned by Lennon, Harrison and Garcia.

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