Elvis Presley Birthday: King Of Rock 'N' Roll Would Be 79 Today

Happy Birthday Elvis!

Had he lived, King of Rock n' Roll would have been 79 today.

The incredible Elvis life story began when Elvis Aaron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953. 



Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager.

 

In 1954, Elvis began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture. 



He starred in 33 successful films, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award which he received at age 36, and his being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. Without any of the special privileges, his celebrity status might have afforded him, he honorably served his country in the U.S. Army.

 

His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humor endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. Known the world over by his first name, he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture. Elvis died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977.  

Wish you were still with us.

Article by Elvis.com

Happy 65th b'day Robert Plant!

photo credit: Neal Preston

A very happy birthday to Robert Plant, who turned 65 today.  The legendary Led Zeppelin frontman may have reached the traditional age of retirement, but he doesn’t seem to be planning to stop sharing his golden voice with the world anytime soon. 

While Plant hasn’t performed live with his surviving Led Zeppelin band mates since their memorable London reunion concert in December 2007, he’s thrown himself into a number of other projects, including a Grammy-winning collaboration with bluegrass star Alison Krauss.  Currently, Robert has been busy touring with his latest group, the Sensational Space Shifters, and also has been preparing a new solo studio album.

Of course, Plant first and foremost will always be known for his contributions to Led Zeppelin, the band that helped define hard rock and heavy metal.  His banshee wail and seductive stage moves have inspired and influenced countless other singers, while his band’s music continues to serve as the soundtrack rock fans lives all over the planet.

Plant currently has two upcoming concerts with the Sensational Space Shifters on his itinerary — an August 29 show in Bristol, U.K., and a September 31 appearance at the 2013 Electric Picnic festival Laois, Ireland.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

HAPPY B'DAY MICK JAGGER!!!

 

Mick Jagger 1977/photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot

Mick Jagger will celebrate his 70th birthday Friday, his ecstatic reception last month at the Glastonbury Festival still ringing in the ears, as just one of a generation of wrinkly rockers determined not to go quietly.

The Stones raised the roof at the British music festival on June 29 with a two-hour performance featuring hits from their 50-year back catalogue, including “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”.

Still athletic thanks to a rigorous health and fitness regime, Jagger doesn’t have any problems belting out the numbers either.
Pensionable they may be — Jagger’s birthday will bring their combined age to 277 — but superannuated they are not.
The Glastonbury show was so popular one reviewer said a circus contortionist would have been hard pressed to get within 500 yards (metres) of the stage, and it garnered rave reviews as well as affectionately mocking headlines.
“Glastonbury’s night of the living dead”, said the Daily Mail newspaper, joking that while “Mick looked ready for more, Keith looked in need of a warm malt drink”.

Last year, Jagger and fellow pensioners Keith Richards — 70 later this year — Charlie Watts, 72, and Ronnie Wood, 66, also played to packed houses on their “50 and Counting” tour to mark the group’s 50th anniversary.
“I don’t see why there shouldn’t be a 60th anniversary,” said Richards at the time.
And the Stones — creaking hips and knees permitting — are far from alone.

Many of those who started off with them in the sixties are still performing — alongside musicians who grew up listening to their music and are young enough to be their grandchildren.
The Who, with Roger Daltrey, 69, and Pete Townshend, 68, still tour and last year closed the London Olympics with crowd pleasers Baba O’Riley and “My Generation”.
Earlier this year, David Bowie, 66, surprised the music world with a new album, “The Next Day”, his first in a decade.
His wife Iman hinted that a tour might be in the pipeline despite earlier denials.
Last year, Bob Dylan, 72, Leonard Cohen, 78, and Patti Smith, 66, also recorded new albums, dispelling any lingering sense that pop music is the exclusive territory of the young.
All three continue to criss-cross the world to appear on stage.
Brian Wilson, 71, last year reformed the Beach Boys for the group’s 50th anniversary and released an album, and Paul McCartney, also 71, continues to compose and perform to packed houses.

                       photo by Mark Seigler

A documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year saw forgotten 1970s folk musician Sixto Rodriguez rediscovered.
The “Sugar Man” of Detroit, 71, has since undertaken a sell-out world tour and also put in an appearance at Glastonbury.

But if artists are happy to carry on long beyond what many would have once considered their sell-by date, others wonder if such geriatric rock could stifle younger talents.

“We live in a pop age gone loco for retro and crazy for commemoration. Band re-formations and reunion tours, expanded reissues of classic albums and outtake-crammed box sets, remakes and sequels, tribute albums and mash-ups,” British writer Simon Reynolds said in his 2011 book “Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction to its Own Past”.
“But what happens when we run out of past? Are we heading toward a sort of culturalecological catastrophe where the archival stream of pop history has been exhausted?”

by Taboola/The Raw Story

Happy 81st bday Johnny Cash!!!

"You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space." -Johnny Cash

A look at the life of rock and roll and country music legend Johnny Cash, who toured with Elvis and had his biggest hit with Ring of Fire.

Johnny was born into a family of sharecroppers. They were very poor, and Cash claims that he almost died of starvation as a child.

Sadly, his older brother Jack died in a tragic accident while working a table saw in 1944.

His early memories were dominated by gospel music and radio. Taught by his mother and a childhood friend, Johnny began playing guitar and writing songs as a young boy. By the age of twelve he was performing songs on local radio.

After a stint in the Air Force, Cash married Vivian Liberto and signed with Sun Records in 1955. In 1956, Cash recorded his signature hit Folsom Prison Blues, which he was inspired to write after seeing a powerful film about Folsom Prison. That same year, I Walk the Line marked his first No. 1 country hit. The following year, Cash released his debut album, Johnny Cash with His Hot & Blue Guitar.

Although he was Sun's most consistently best-selling and prolific artist at that time, Cash felt constrained by his contract with the small label. As a result he left the label to sign a lucrative deal with Columbia Records, where his single "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" would become one of his biggest hits.

Unfortunately, he became addicted to drugs and alcohol. In 1965, a violent outburst in Nashville had him banned from the famous Grande Old Opry venue. His addictions also caused the break-up of his marriage to Libreto, with whom he had four daughters - Rosanne, Kathleen, Cindy and Tara.

However, in the late 1960s Cash discovered God and met his future wife, June Carter, who offered him support and inspiration. The couple collaborated on a succession of acclaimed duet recordings, including Jackson and Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man (both 1967), before marrying in 1968.

The following year he won two Grammy awards for 'Johnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison'. Cash also presented his own variety program - The Johnny Cash Show - on the ABC television network for three years.

Cash reached a second peak of popularity in 1970. In addition to his television show, he performed for President Richard Nixon at the White House, acted with Kirk Douglas in The Gunfight, sang with John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra, and he was the subject of a documentary film.

His record sales were equally healthy as "Sunday Morning Coming Down" and "Flesh and Blood" were number one hits. Throughout 1971, Cash continued to have hits, including the Top Three "Man in Black." He also became more socially active in the early '70s, campaigning for the civil rights of Native Americans and prisoners.

In the mid-'70s, Cash's presence on the country charts began to decline, but he continued to have a series of minor hits and the occasional chart-topper like 1976's "One Piece at a Time," or Top Ten hits like the Waylon Jennings duet "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" and "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky."

Man in Black, Cash's autobiography, was published in 1975. In 1980, he became the youngest inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame. However, the '80s were a rough time for Cash as his record sales continued to decline and he ran into trouble with Columbia. Cash also teamed up with Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis to record The Survivors in 1982, which was a mild success.

In 1991 he was presented with a Grammy Legend Award and, in 1992, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (adding to his place in the Country Music and Rockabilly Halls). He then collaborated with U2 on their 1993 album 'Zooropa'. His 1994 album, 'American Recordings' earned him a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. He was also invited to appear at rock festival Lollapalooza.

In 1997, another autobiography, Cash: The Autobiography, was published. It was around this time that Cash disclosed that he was suffering from Shy-Drager Syndrome, a progressive nervous disorder characterized by tremors, stiffness, and weakness. He was hospitalised several times with pneumonia and other illnesses.

Tragically, June Carter Cash died of complications following heart valve replacement surgery in May 2003. She was 73. Less than four months after his wife's death, Johnny Cash himself died at the age of 71. The cause was given as complications stemming from diabetes.

source: www.thebiographychannel.co.uk

Happy B'day Kurt Cobain

"Punk is musical freedom. It's saying, doing and playing what you want. In Webster's terms, 'nirvana' means freedom from pain, suffering and the external world, and that's pretty close to my definition of Punk Rock" 
Kurt Cobain

                A Brief Bio of his life and career 

Kurt Donald Cobain was born on the 20th of February to Wendy and Donald Cobain. They were a happy functional family up until his parents divorced when he was eight. Kurt became very sad and withdrawn. His parents both remaried soon later. He was swapped in between families constantly between 1975 and 1984. Kurt and Chris (Krist) met up a year later when Chris moved to Aberdeen. Later on Kurt started taking guitar lessons but didn't receive his first guitar until his forteenth birthday. Krist graduated from high school but Kurt dropped out halfway through 1985. In 1989 Kurt's great uncle commited suicide and not long after that another one of his uncles commited suicide, it was apparent that suicide went back a long way in Kurt's family history.

Towards the end of 1988 Nirvana released the 'Love Buzz/Big Cheese' single and at the start of '89 released their first album, entitled 'Bleach'. This recorded for only $606.15 After that was released they toured around for a while and released the 'Blew' EP and the 'Sliver' single. Nirvana toured around a bit more until Kurt wrote the hit 'Smells like teen Spirit' and the signed with Geffen Records. They went on to release their second album 'Nevermind' which first debuted at #144 on the Billboards. The did a massive European tour promoting the album for a while and toured a little with Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers as well as playing 'Saturday Night Live'. After that their album almost immediately went to No. #1 and suddenly they were the biggest band in the world (Maybe not quite).

Nirvana did a world tour starting at Toronto. 'Hormoaning' was released in Australia and Japan. On the 24th of February Kurt Cobain married Courtney Love on a cliff overlooking Waikiki beach, Hawaii. Nirvana continued touring but Kurt collapsed in Belfast due to stomach problems towards the end of June in '92. On the 18th of August Frances Bean Cobain was born. Nirvana played 'Lithium' at the MTV awards and won 2 awards.

'Incesticide' was released on the 15th of December '92. 'In Utero' recorded in two week early '93. 'In Utero' released in September. Nirvana began the 'In Utero' tour October '93. In November '93 Nirvana record 'MTV Unplugged'. In February '94 Nirvana started a European tour but it was ended early to a supposed 'accidental' drug overdose (Kurt was said to have popped over 60 pills, followed by Shampagne which he knew was a lethal combination). Kurt's friends and relatives started to really worry about him and pleaded him to straigten his life out and get of the heroin. They finally convinced him to check into a Rehab centre but after a few days he scaled the wall and escaped

Courtney hired a private detective and they searched everywhere for him. Kurt Cobain was found dead in his Seattle home due to a self inflicted gun shot wound when an electrivian came to install a security system in April '94.

Sure, Kurt Cobain wasn't exactly a role model but his music spoke out to the so called "Generation X" Nirvana shocked the world after the release of Nevermind with the huge hit "Smells like Teen Spirit" but nobody was a shocked as much as Kurt himself. He didn't want to be an idol to millions and he didn't handle the fame very well. He soon started abusing heroin and other drugs. He claimed he used them to numb his stomach pains more than anything else. Kurt became very moody and depressed and very soon his colleagues and friends started to get sick of him.

Kurt often refered to himself as the 'Pisces Jesus man" Kurt was in fact a pisces and showed a lot of these qualities: Sensitive, artistic, prone to addiction to drugs/alcohol, romantic, kind, gullible. These pretty much summed Kurt up. Sure it's sad he went and shot himself, but we were lucky to have him and his music for as long as we did, and we should be thankful for that.

If Kurt Cobain hadn’t committed suicide when he was 27, he’d be 46 years old today. Happy B'day.