The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Oprah, Usher, Mayer honour Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Posted: 19 Apr 2013 03:05 AM PDT
Disco queen Summer, producer Jones and comedy-rock singer Newman were inducted along with Canadian progressive rock band Rush, blues guitarist Albert King, hip hop pioneers Public Enemy, rockers Heart and veteran producer Lou Adler. Television personality and media mogul Winfrey, who said she was discovered by veteran R&B producer Jones when he cast her in "The Color Purple" in 1985, praised his decades-long career, during which he launched stars such as the late Michael Jackson. "He defines the word legend, he is remarkable and everybody knows it," Winfrey said. "I continue to be amazed at what goes on in his head ... he's of this time and so far ahead of this time," she added as she present Jones, 80, with his induction trophy. "Queen of Disco" Summer, who died last May aged 68, was inducted by singer Kelly Rowland, who praised Summer's career for paving the way for female artists "Her words remind us of exactly who we are," she said.
Newman, 69, kicked off the night with "I Love LA", joined on stage by musicians Tom Petty, Jackson Browne and John Fogerty and later performed his songs "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" and "I'm Dead" with former Eagles member Don Henley. Henley, who inducted Newman, criticised the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for its delay in including Newman, calling it "one of those inductions long overdue, in fact, shamefully overdue." Newman was less critical, saying he was "glad" to be inducted while he was still alive. "I always wanted to be respected by musicians ... it means a great deal to me that the people I respect are giving me respect," Newman said. TRIBUTE TO THE BLUES Grammy-winning singer-songwriter John Mayer paid homage to late pioneering American blues guitarist Albert King, who died in 1992 aged 69. "The blues is in every undercurrent of the music that I play ... Albert is forever embedded in that music," Mayer said. Seattle rockers Heart, fronted by sister duo Nancy and Ann Wilson, were inducted by Chris Cornell and performed their hits "Barracuda" and "Butterfly". "Equality is coming right along. For us, music is the real church, it's a life calling, it's bigger than men and women put together, music makes us all equal and human," Nancy said. Canadian progressive rockers Rush had the largest number of fans in the Nokia theater, receiving rousing standing ovations as they were inducted by Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins. The night's longest speech went to Public Enemy's eccentric rapper Flavor Flav, who giggled and rambled as he talked about the influence of his group's music. Public Enemy - comprising rappers Flavor Flav, Chuck D, Professor Griff and DJ Lord - were influential in bringing a political and social conscience to hip hop in the 1980s. "We all come from the damn blues. Let's not get it twisted. We studied the forms of music in DJ culture ... we've always known and paid respect to where music comes from," Chuck D said. The hip hop collective also sampled music from Summer, Jones and Rush as they performed their tracks "Bring The Noise", "911 is a Joke" and the seminal "Fight The Power". To be eligible for induction in 2013, a candidate must have released their debut album or single at least 25 years earlier. The ceremony will be televised on HBO on May 18. The eight inductees were chosen by some 500 voters of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which includes past inductees and for the first time, allowed fans to vote. — Reuters |
| Montreux jazz festival draws Prince, Sting, Marcus Miller Posted: 19 Apr 2013 12:29 AM PDT  Mathieu Jaton with this year's poster after the presentation in Lausanne. — Reuters picLAUSANNE, April 19 — Prince, Leonard Cohen and Marcus Miller will headline the Montreux Jazz festival in July, expanded by the opening of a third concert hall "Lab", organisers said yesterday. Cohen will open the 47th edition of one of Europe's most prestigious summer music events, on July 4, and give a second concert the following night. Prince was already booked for three back-to-back evenings (July 13-15) at the festival running from July 4-21, the first since the death of founder and director Claude "Funky" Nobs in January after a skiing accident. "Three nights, three shows, he's back. It is a huge honour," festival director Mathieu Jaton said at a news conference in Lausanne. "We never know what Prince will do, or who he's coming with, but we're used to his incredible surprises." Tickets for Prince — ranging from 175 Swiss francs (RM572) to 395 francs — are already sold out, while all others go on sale this morning (0800 GMT) Other highlights include Sting on the 16th, the electronic group Kraftwerk on the 17th, Diana Krall on the 18th and Joe Cocker on the 20th. For blues fans, Bonnie Raitt opens on the 11th for Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite. Brian May of Queen fame and Deep Purple appear on the 19th and are likely to jam, says Jaton. Claudia Leitte headlines the traditional Brazilian night on the 12th, along with Tulipa Ruiz and Gal Costa. Miller, a top American bass player injured in a bus accident in Switzerland in November, returns to the Montreux stage on the 21st, opening for an 80th birthday concert for Quincy Jones. "Quincy is transforming his birthday part into an homage for Claude," Jaton said, noting that the legendary Los Angeles-based producer served as co-director of the festival in the 1990s. "Wyclef Jean is returning, last time he carried Claude Nobs on his shoulders at a concert that went on to four o'clock in the morning. It's a wink to Claude to have him back," he added. American comeback musician Sixto Rodriguez, enjoying a second career at age 70, will inaugurate the "Lab" on July 4, a new venue with a capacity of 2,000. "Searching for Sugar Man", a film by Malik Bendjelloul that won the Oscar for Best Documentary this year, chronicles an amazing bid to find the mysterious Detroit-based Rodriguez who shot to fame in South Africa but remained unknown in America. Rodriguez made only two albums in the early 1970s, "Cold Fact" and "Coming from Reality". His poetic lyrics about the drug scene and poverty are tinged with "anti-establishment blues" and led to a cult following in apartheid-era South Africa — which he learned of only decades later. The festival along Lake Geneva, whose two traditional venues are the larger Stravinski Auditorium and more intimate Miles Davis Hall, draws some 250,000 music fans each year. — Reuters |
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