"You take what you need and you leave the rest, But they should never have taken the very best" is a refrain from The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, one of the best known songs of The Band.
Levon Helm, the revered drummer and singer of group the Band who kept the band's heart for more than three decades, died "peacefully" on April 19.
From CNN:
Born in Elaine, Arkansas, in 1940, the son of a cotton farmer, Helm rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s as a member of The Band, a folk rock group.
His soulful, drawling vocals highlighted many of the group's hit recordings, such as "The Weight," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and "Up on Cripple Creek."
Helm, 71, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998. He fell on hard times as cancer took his voice and medical bills threatened his house.
"You got to pick one -- pay your medical bills or pay the mortgage. Most people can't do both, and I'm not different," he told CNN in 2010.
So The Barn, as the residence is known around Helm's adopted hometown of Woodstock, New York, became the setting for what he called a "last celebration." Not quite. Instead, The Barn became the center of an unlikely and unrivaled rock 'n' roll revival.
It was there that Helm regularly hosted the Midnight Ramble, weekly concerts that attracted sell-out crowds and all-star support. The result not only paid the bills but also led to a creative resurgence for Helm, with his collaborations producing back-to-back Grammy-winning albums: 2007's "Dirt Farmer" and 2009's "Electric Dirt."
"If I had my way about it, we'd probably do it every night," Helm said. "I never get tired of it."
From Wikipedia:
Helm remained with "The Band" until their 1976 farewell performance, The Last Waltz, which was recorded in a documentary film by director Martin Scorsese (an excerpt is embedded above). Many music enthusiasts know Helm through his appearance in the concert film, a performance remarkable for the fact that Helm's vocal tracks appear substantially as he sang them during a grueling concert.
In the late 1990s, Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer suffering hoarseness. Advised to undergo a laryngectomy, Helm instead underwent an arduous regimen of radiation treatments at Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Although the tumor was then successfully removed, Helm's vocal cords were damaged, and his clear, powerful tenor voice was replaced by a quiet rasp. Initially Helm only played drums and relied on guest vocalists at the Rambles, but Helm's singing voice grew stronger. On January 10, 2004, he sang again of his Ramble Sessions. In 2007, during production of Dirt Farmer, Helm estimated that his singing voice was 80% recovered.
The Midnight Ramble was an outgrowth of an idea Helm explained to Martin Scorsese in The Last Waltz. Earlier in the 20th century, Helm explained, traveling medicine shows and music shows such as F.S. Walcott Rabbit's Foot Minstrels, featuring African-American blues singers and dancers, would put on titillating performances in rural areas. This was also turned into a song by the Band, "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show," with the name altered so the lyric was easier to sing.
"After the finale, they'd have the midnight ramble," Helm told Scorsese. With young children off the premises, the show resumed: "The songs would get a little bit juicier. The jokes would get a little funnier and the prettiest dancer would really get down and shake it a few times. A lot of the rock and roll duck walks and moves came from that."
Helm has refused to play The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down since 1976 even though he continued to hold "Midnight Rambles" concerts several times a month at his private residence in Woodstock, New York.
References:
Fans remember Levon Helm as he faces final stages of cancer. CNN.
Levon Helm, co-founder of The Band, dead at 71. CNN.
Levon Helm, icon of Americana music, 'in the final stages of cancer'. Guardian.
Fauquier ENT Blog: Levon Helm, Singer/Drummer for The Band, Dies of Throat Cancer http://goo.gl/tDgxL
Levon Helm. Wikipedia.
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Beethoven's deafness and his three styles (video)
That Beethoven suffered from deafness is well known, but how did the progression of the condition affect his composition? In this 8-minute video the Isola string quartet demonstrate how his style changed over time:
Read about the science behind the video in the paper, Beethoven's deafness and his three styles, from BMJ.
Switch to lower notes
Details of Beethoven’s hearing loss can be derived from his own letters. His left ear was affected first, and he reported bilateral tinnitus, high tone hearing loss associated with poor speech discrimination, and recruitment with loud noises. After 1812 people had to shout to make themselves understood.
In 1818 Beethoven started to communicate through notebooks.
There are no reports that he could still understand spoken conversation after 1825, and his deafness was almost complete by then.
The symptoms suggest a sensorineural hearing loss with its origin in the organ of Corti.
The BMJ article claims that Beethoven's progressive deafness shaped his later musical style as he switched to lower notes as he had difficulty hearing higher ones.
Lead poisoning
The famous composer's health has been a focus of research in recent years. "Lead poisoning made Beethoven grumpy", summarized Chicago-Sun Times profoundly in 2005.
Asthma
In addition to a number of other chronic diseases, Beethoven apparently had asthma too. He is listed among the "Faces of Asthma", on the "Breath of Life" website maintained by the NLM.
References:
Beethoven’s deafness. BMJ 2011; 343 doi: 10.1136/bmj.d7589 (Published 20 December 2011). Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d7589
Noise Chart as It Relates to Hearing Damage and Hearing Loss http://goo.gl/tjZh1
Read about the science behind the video in the paper, Beethoven's deafness and his three styles, from BMJ.
Switch to lower notes
Details of Beethoven’s hearing loss can be derived from his own letters. His left ear was affected first, and he reported bilateral tinnitus, high tone hearing loss associated with poor speech discrimination, and recruitment with loud noises. After 1812 people had to shout to make themselves understood.
In 1818 Beethoven started to communicate through notebooks.
There are no reports that he could still understand spoken conversation after 1825, and his deafness was almost complete by then.
The symptoms suggest a sensorineural hearing loss with its origin in the organ of Corti.
The BMJ article claims that Beethoven's progressive deafness shaped his later musical style as he switched to lower notes as he had difficulty hearing higher ones.
Lead poisoning
The famous composer's health has been a focus of research in recent years. "Lead poisoning made Beethoven grumpy", summarized Chicago-Sun Times profoundly in 2005.
Asthma
In addition to a number of other chronic diseases, Beethoven apparently had asthma too. He is listed among the "Faces of Asthma", on the "Breath of Life" website maintained by the NLM.
References:
Beethoven’s deafness. BMJ 2011; 343 doi: 10.1136/bmj.d7589 (Published 20 December 2011). Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d7589
Noise Chart as It Relates to Hearing Damage and Hearing Loss http://goo.gl/tjZh1
Monday, December 26, 2011
Mick Jagger (68) on staying fit: "Don’t look at the clouds of tomorrow through the sunshine of today"
Mick Jagger on staying fit: "You watch what you eat, you exercise, you have a bit of fun. You keep on going forward. Don’t stop. Do what makes you happy. Don’t look at the clouds of tomorrow through the sunshine of today. That’s it."
In other news, you can do anything with a blog (full website and all) - the launch site of Mick Jagger's supergroup SuperHeavy is basically a blog: http://www.superheavy.com
Their new hit "Miracle Worker" plays with medical terminology:
"You have a medical condition.
In an emergency I'm very well prepared
My scalpel, mask and gloves; don't ever get too scared.
No need for anesthetics, I'll go check your charts
You're a Miracle Worker.
You're a surgeon of love."
-- Lyrics from SuperHeavy - Miracle Worker.
Mick Jagger is well-known as an exercise fanatic: "We were busy recording a song and Mick Jagger (68) was doing 120 situps and pushups and singing at the same time time", says Eurythmics founder Dave Stewart.
References:
Mick Jagger's new supergroup with Joss Stone and Dave Stewart. DailyMail.
Redefining age 65 - when your job description is "rockstar"
In other news, you can do anything with a blog (full website and all) - the launch site of Mick Jagger's supergroup SuperHeavy is basically a blog: http://www.superheavy.com
Their new hit "Miracle Worker" plays with medical terminology:
"You have a medical condition.
In an emergency I'm very well prepared
My scalpel, mask and gloves; don't ever get too scared.
No need for anesthetics, I'll go check your charts
You're a Miracle Worker.
You're a surgeon of love."
-- Lyrics from SuperHeavy - Miracle Worker.
Mick Jagger is well-known as an exercise fanatic: "We were busy recording a song and Mick Jagger (68) was doing 120 situps and pushups and singing at the same time time", says Eurythmics founder Dave Stewart.
References:
Mick Jagger's new supergroup with Joss Stone and Dave Stewart. DailyMail.
Redefining age 65 - when your job description is "rockstar"
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Redefining age 66 - when your job description is "rockstar"
Deep Purple and Orchestra - Maybe I'm a Leo, Mainz, Germany, July 2011:
Ian Gillan, 65, is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. Roger Glover, 65, is the bassist and songwriter for the group. Ian Paice, 63, is the drummer. He is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has released during the last 43 years (Deep Purple was founded in 1968).
This is the same group almost 40 years ago, in 1972:
I have attended two concerts of Deep Purple, the last one was in June 2011 and it was quite impressive. The audience age ranged from 5 to 75 and everyone rose to their feet to the sound of Smoke on the Water.
From Time-Colonist, Vancouver, Canada:
Welsh-born Roger Glover, now a 66-year-old grandfather, says "when you're on stage, you're still the 19-year-old boy you once were, in thrall with the music. I probably enjoy it more than I did before."
Back in the early 1970s, Deep Purple toured relentlessly. In 1972 alone, the band undertook six tours of North America and a tour of Japan — and wrote an album. Overwork sapped their joy, with the band folding (albeit temporarily) in 1976.
"Now, every night I step on stage I value it immensely. [Performing] is something very few people get to experience, therefore I can't take it for granted," Glover said.
"That's the only time when there's no distractions. There's no phone calls, there's no computers, there's no family, there's no children. There's nothing except for your music and the audience. . . . It's a lovely moment in time, and you're so in the moment. You brain is whizzing along at light speed, because you react to what the others are playing. It's a moving, liquid thing. You keep it together as possible, and also as expressive as possible."
Older and greyer, Glover nonetheless remains slim and trim. Asked whether he maintains a fitness regime, he laughed. He is, after all, still a rock 'n' roll star.
"I'm not really an exercise person. I should be," he said. "I work out on stage. Two hours every night is like two hours in a gym. It is physical."
How long can the group go on? According to Ian Gillan: “People like to do stuff that they’re good at, that they enjoy, that they get something out of. So while it’s fun and we’re all getting older and bits are dropping off here and there, it’s still great. I think there probably will be another album.”
References:
Videos from Deep Purple at Ravinia Festival 2011, 3 part series.
Deep Purple – review, The Guardian, 2011.
"During the monster-rocking ““Smoke on the Water” the middle-aged man in front of me inserted a pair of earplugs and started singing as if for all his life" http://goo.gl/OaWCa
Jon Lord says thank you for Classic Rock Innovator Award, 2011, http://goo.gl/aAFRG
Deep Purple live: 66-year-old vocalist, a plastic cast on his foot, seems to build up steam as the night goes on http://goo.gl/roZzH
Legendary UK Deep Purple band soldiers on: "We haven’t eaten for 2 days, we look at each other, and "it’s the glamour that keeps us going" http://goo.gl/N4SGV
Deep Purple not for the faint of heart. Time-Colonist, Vancouver, Canada, 02, 2012.
Comments from Facebook:
Deep Purple shows shades of youth - British hard rock group are still on the road after 40 years, a feat in itself - Toronto, 2012
I've seen Deep Purple in concert twice (2000 and 2012), Ian Gillan once, in the 1990s. Amazing energy.
They're the basis of my "How to be a Twitter rockstar" talk for physicians... :)
Ian Gillan, 65, is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. Roger Glover, 65, is the bassist and songwriter for the group. Ian Paice, 63, is the drummer. He is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has released during the last 43 years (Deep Purple was founded in 1968).
This is the same group almost 40 years ago, in 1972:
I have attended two concerts of Deep Purple, the last one was in June 2011 and it was quite impressive. The audience age ranged from 5 to 75 and everyone rose to their feet to the sound of Smoke on the Water.
From Time-Colonist, Vancouver, Canada:
Welsh-born Roger Glover, now a 66-year-old grandfather, says "when you're on stage, you're still the 19-year-old boy you once were, in thrall with the music. I probably enjoy it more than I did before."
Back in the early 1970s, Deep Purple toured relentlessly. In 1972 alone, the band undertook six tours of North America and a tour of Japan — and wrote an album. Overwork sapped their joy, with the band folding (albeit temporarily) in 1976.
"Now, every night I step on stage I value it immensely. [Performing] is something very few people get to experience, therefore I can't take it for granted," Glover said.
"That's the only time when there's no distractions. There's no phone calls, there's no computers, there's no family, there's no children. There's nothing except for your music and the audience. . . . It's a lovely moment in time, and you're so in the moment. You brain is whizzing along at light speed, because you react to what the others are playing. It's a moving, liquid thing. You keep it together as possible, and also as expressive as possible."
Older and greyer, Glover nonetheless remains slim and trim. Asked whether he maintains a fitness regime, he laughed. He is, after all, still a rock 'n' roll star.
"I'm not really an exercise person. I should be," he said. "I work out on stage. Two hours every night is like two hours in a gym. It is physical."
How long can the group go on? According to Ian Gillan: “People like to do stuff that they’re good at, that they enjoy, that they get something out of. So while it’s fun and we’re all getting older and bits are dropping off here and there, it’s still great. I think there probably will be another album.”
References:
Videos from Deep Purple at Ravinia Festival 2011, 3 part series.
Deep Purple – review, The Guardian, 2011.
"During the monster-rocking ““Smoke on the Water” the middle-aged man in front of me inserted a pair of earplugs and started singing as if for all his life" http://goo.gl/OaWCa
Jon Lord says thank you for Classic Rock Innovator Award, 2011, http://goo.gl/aAFRG
Deep Purple live: 66-year-old vocalist, a plastic cast on his foot, seems to build up steam as the night goes on http://goo.gl/roZzH
Legendary UK Deep Purple band soldiers on: "We haven’t eaten for 2 days, we look at each other, and "it’s the glamour that keeps us going" http://goo.gl/N4SGV
Deep Purple not for the faint of heart. Time-Colonist, Vancouver, Canada, 02, 2012.
Comments from Facebook:
Deep Purple shows shades of youth - British hard rock group are still on the road after 40 years, a feat in itself - Toronto, 2012
I've seen Deep Purple in concert twice (2000 and 2012), Ian Gillan once, in the 1990s. Amazing energy.
They're the basis of my "How to be a Twitter rockstar" talk for physicians... :)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tom Jones at 70: "I will sing as long as I possibly can. My enemy is time"
He's sold over 150 million records, but Sir Tom Jones has confessed that he dreads the day that he can no longer sing.
The 70-year-old veteran -- whose latest album 'Praise and Blame' is a meditative collection of gospel and blues songs dealing with spirituality and mortality -- was speaking to CBS News when he revealed his fear.
"I dread the day. Time is my enemy. Time will catch up with me vocally. And I dread that,' he said. "I dread to think about life without singing because I can express myself, it's a great release, it's a wonderful feeling to get on stage and pour all this stuff out and for people to go, 'Yeah!'''
From the comments on the YouTube video:
catcando75: I grew up listening to this man who belted out a song like no other & always did it in skin tight pants! His voice was clear & crisp yet deep & raspy. When you watched him you knew he loved every note because he wore it like a banner on his face. He pushed tv limits without a pause, his charisma was strong. This is a man so in love with music he knows no boundaries...
References:
Tom Jones: Time Is My Enemy. CBS.
'Time is my enemy': Tom Jones confesses to US TV network CBS that he 'dreads' the thought of retirement. Daily Mail.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Doctors blends cardiology and country music
Listen to the Doctor: Cleve Francis, cardiologist and country singer.
Dr. Francis, who recently turned 65, is a genteel singer of country and pop songs. He favors vintage ballads.
A man inching up the line in a walker can't believe it. "You want his autograph? I get it on a prescription every three weeks," he says.
References:
Dr. Francis, who recently turned 65, is a genteel singer of country and pop songs. He favors vintage ballads.
A man inching up the line in a walker can't believe it. "You want his autograph? I get it on a prescription every three weeks," he says.
References:
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Peace and Love
Ringo Starr's Peace and Love Birthday Wish 2010: Ringo Starr asks everyone to join him in a Peace & Love moment on his birthday July 7 2010 at noon where ever you are. "Perhaps one day everyone will have a moment of Peace & Love all over the world".
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Rock legend Ronnie James Dio is fighting stomach cancer
On 25 November 2009, Dio's wife and manager announced that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer:
"Ronnie has been diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer. We are starting treatment immediately at the Mayo Clinic. After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans. Long live rock and roll, long live Ronnie James Dio. Thanks to all the friends and fans from all over the world that have sent well wishes. This has really helped to keep his spirit up." -- "He has had a few hiccups between Christmas and New Year's," she said in a statement to fans. "He has had a blood clot, a trip to the emergency room, and a three-day stay at the hospital."
ArtisanNewsService — April 13, 2010 — "One of heavy metal's premiere vocalists Ronnie James Dio shares his thoughts on his battle with stomach cancer at the Revolver Golden Gods awards."
On 14 March 2010, Dio's wife and manager Wendy posted an online update on his condition:
"It has been Ronnie's 7th chemo, another cat scan and another endoscopy, and the results are good - the main tumour has shrunk considerably, and our visits to Houston (MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas) are now every three weeks instead of every two weeks."
"Ronnie has been diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer. We are starting treatment immediately at the Mayo Clinic. After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans. Long live rock and roll, long live Ronnie James Dio. Thanks to all the friends and fans from all over the world that have sent well wishes. This has really helped to keep his spirit up." -- "He has had a few hiccups between Christmas and New Year's," she said in a statement to fans. "He has had a blood clot, a trip to the emergency room, and a three-day stay at the hospital."
ArtisanNewsService — April 13, 2010 — "One of heavy metal's premiere vocalists Ronnie James Dio shares his thoughts on his battle with stomach cancer at the Revolver Golden Gods awards."
On 14 March 2010, Dio's wife and manager Wendy posted an online update on his condition:
"It has been Ronnie's 7th chemo, another cat scan and another endoscopy, and the results are good - the main tumour has shrunk considerably, and our visits to Houston (MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas) are now every three weeks instead of every two weeks."
Ronnie James Dio passed away on May 16, 2010 at age 67. The music lives on: http://www.ronniejamesdio.com
References:
Ronnie James Dio. Wikipedia.
Black Sabbath, Dio singer Ronnie James Dio gives cancer update. NME.com.
References:
Ronnie James Dio. Wikipedia.
Black Sabbath, Dio singer Ronnie James Dio gives cancer update. NME.com.
Metal legend Ronnie James Dio dead at 67. USA Today, 2010.
Ronnie James Dio, Rock Singer, Dies at 67. NYTimes, 2010.
Ronnie James Dio died at age 67. YouTube.
Ronnie James Dio Remembered By Metallica's Lars Ulrich. MTV.
The Lighter Side of Ronnie James Dio. NYTimes.
Lars Ulrich's letter to Dio.
Ronnie James Dio, Rock Singer, Dies at 67. NYTimes, 2010.
Ronnie James Dio died at age 67. YouTube.
Ronnie James Dio Remembered By Metallica's Lars Ulrich. MTV.
The Lighter Side of Ronnie James Dio. NYTimes.
Lars Ulrich's letter to Dio.
Dio, another day. Nigel Britto, TOI Crest, May 22, 2010.
Dio monument in Bulgaria - source one, two, three (in Bulgarian), 10/2010.
Dio monument in Bulgaria - source one, two, three (in Bulgarian), 10/2010.
Updated: 10/24/2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Rock star Ozzy Osbourne to CNN: "Between drugs and STDs, I'm lucky to be alive today"
"Ozzy Osbourne, the former front man of rock group Black Sabbath, says that after decades of living a life of drugs and sex, he's lucky to be alive today.
Osbourne described how he often played a dangerous game when it came to using drugs and having promiscuous sex. "With the drugs, it nearly killed me on a daily basis -- I did a lot of heavy drug taking for a long time and I survived it by the grace of God.
Answering a viewer's question on whether he realized his power to change people's lives, Osbourne replied with shock. "When you're on the inside looking, you don't see it that way," Osbourne said. "But I suppose you're right. I do -- I do have the power to change people's lives."
References:
Ozzy Osbourne: I'm living on borrowed time. CNN.
"Researchers studying Ozzy Osbourne's DNA found that the singer is descendant of Neanderthals" http://goo.gl/7Fa8
Related:
Related:
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Metallica drummer struggles with tinnitus: "Once your hearing is gone, it's gone"
From CNN:
"I've been playing loud rock music for the better part of 35 years," said Ulrich, 46, drummer for the heavy metal band Metallica. "I never used to play with any kind of protection."
Early in his career, without protection for his ears, the loud noise began to follow Ulrich off-stage. "It's this constant ringing in the ears," Ulrich said. "It never sort of goes away. It never just stops." It is a condition called tinnitus, a perception of sound where there is none.
"I try to point out to younger kids ... once your hearing is gone, it's gone, and there's no real remedy."
The military is generating a tremendous number of tinnitus patients."
References:
Metallica drummer struggles with ringing in ears. CNN.
Tinnitus relief: Suggestions for patients. CCJM, 2011.
Noise Chart as It Relates to Hearing Damage and Hearing Loss http://goo.gl/tjZh1
Noise Chart as It Relates to Hearing Damage and Hearing Loss http://goo.gl/tjZh1
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