Search Results for: grammy

The surviving members of legendary punk group The Clash will not perform when they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this month, bass player Paul Simonon said Saturday. One of the most influential bands to emerge from the British punk movement of the 1970s, The Clash split up in the mid-1980s and never reformed. The band’s lead singer, Joe Strummer, died of a heart attack in December at age 50. Simonon scotched rumors that Bruce Springsteen – who sang the band’s “London Calling” in tribute to Strummer at the Grammy Awards last week – would… Read more »

Howie Epstein, a former bass player for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, died of what authorities suspect was a drug overdose. He was 47. Investigators were told Epstein had been using heroin, said Maj. Ron Madrid of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department. Epstein was driven to St. Vincent Hospital by his girlfriend, who described him as “under distress.” He died Sunday. Epstein had been a respected musician and producer for more than 20 years. In addition to his work with Petty, he played on some of Bob Dylan’s albums in the 1980s and produced a Grammy-award winning album for… Read more »

You can tell Fred Durst’s been kind of down lately by the way he’s all agitated when responding to the have-you-and-Britney-been-dating questions and, more importantly, the fact that he’s not sporting his usual jaunty red baseball cap. At the 45th annual Grammy Awards in New York he wore a brown cap, an olive T-shirt over a gray long-sleeve top, and a sour though resolved expression when he admitted that he and Britney were seeing each other for a while, before she “played him out.” Durst was pretty much alone in his dressed-down look at the event, however. The men, everyone… Read more »

Setting aside the famous fractures of their friendship, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited Sunday to open the Grammy Awards show with their Vietnam era ballad “The Sound of Silence.” The folk-rock duo, which sold millions of records in the 1960s before breaking up, was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Grammys. Other such honorees included Etta James, Johnny Mathis, Glenn Miller and Tito Puente. Simon and Garfunkel have reunited periodically since ending their partnership, but this was believed to be their first performance together since 1993. Their appearance led to speculation that they may tour together, but… Read more »

Singer Robbie Williams, R&B artist Ms. Dynamite and the alternative band Coldplay won honors as Britain’s top musicians at the Brit Awards Thursday. Two Americans – rapper Eminem and singer Pink – were named best international male and female solo artists in the British version of the U.S. Grammy Awards. Ms. Dynamite, who emerged recently and has become one of the country’s top music stars, also won best British urban act, and Coldplay got best British album for “A Rush Of Blood To The Head.” Eminem won best international album for “The Eminem Show.” Ms. Dynamite performed a retooled version… Read more »

Multiple Grammy nominee Avril Lavigne picked up six nominations Wednesday for the Junos, Canada’s music awards, including new artist and album of the year for her hit debut release “Let Go.” Shania Twain, who will host the April 6 ceremony at the Corel Center in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, received five mentions, including album (“Up!”) and artist of the year. Four nominations each went to Celine Dion, Our Lady Peace and Remy Shand. Dion is squaring off against Alanis Morissette, Twain, Shand and Daniel Belanger for artist of the year. Our Lady Peace is vying for group of the… Read more »

Pre-teens may be tiring of pop idols like Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, but it seems the R&B community is waking up to Justin Timberlake. The ‘N Sync singer on Monday picked up two Soul Train Music Award nominations, the only white performer to get a mention. Rookie soul divas Ashanti and Amerie led the contenders with three nominations each, while Timberlake was among four acts to earn two apiece, the others being singers Musiq and Nelly, British soul duo Floetry and urban boy band B2K. Winners will be announced during the 17th annual Soul Train Awards, which will… Read more »

From Bruce Springsteen’s breakthrough “Born to Run” to Led Zeppelin’s hit “Stairway to Heaven,” some of the biggest classic-rock titles of the 1970s were inducted on Friday into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The 1975 album that launched Springsteen as a superstar and the 1971 Zeppelin ballad that became one of the most heavily played tracks of the rock era were among 21 recordings to gain Hall of Fame status this year. The eight albums and 13 singles bring to 606 the number of titles recognized since 1973 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for their enduring… Read more »

Sony chose Andrew Lack, NBC’s president and chief operating officer, to take the helm of its music division on Friday, a day after Sony Music chief Tommy Mottola resigned to start a new label. The move was surprising, considering Lack has no experience in the music industry; a veteran newsman, he worked at CBS News from 1976 to 1993 before joining NBC News. He was named president of the entire network in May 2001. “We are delighted that Andy will join Sony and lead our music company,” Howard Stringer, chairman of Sony Corp. of America, said in a statement. “He… Read more »

Sony Music chairman and chief executive Tommy Mottola, who was responsible for building the careers of Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and other superstars, announced Thursday he was leaving the company to start his own music label. The departure ends Mottola’s 14-year tenure at Sony, though the new label is being created in partnership with Sony. Mottola joined the company back when it was CBS Records in 1987. Sony is letting him out of his contract two years early. “I have been thinking about taking up this new challenge for about a year, and really made the decision to go forward… Read more »