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Mann had his biggest commercial success with a rocking 1959 version of ‘Mona Lisa.’Carl Mann, the rockabilly singer and pianist who was one of the last of the original rockers championed by Sam Phillips at Sun Records, died on December 16 at the age of 78. Mann, described in a 2012 book as the Last Son of Sun, had his biggest commercial success with a rocking 1959 version of “Mona Lisa,” Nat King Cole’s 1950 No.1, which reached No.25 in the US. Mann became a key part of the significant revival of interest in rockabilly that swept Europe in the...

UW-Madison is moving forward on a plan to remove a boulder from Observatory Hill after calls from students of color who see the rock as a painful reminder of the history of racism on campus. The 70-ton boulder is officially known as Chamberlin Rock in honor of Thomas Crowder Chamberlin, a geologist and former university president. But the rock was referred to at least once after it was dug out of the hill as a “ni--erhead,” a commonly used expression in the 1920s to describe any large dark rock.

'Zappa' is a thorough introduction to the life and musical career of the most idiosyncratic and talented artists of the 20th century.Although he departed this Earth some 27 years ago, Frank Zappa continues to both fascinate and befuddle. He fascinates because of the sheer brilliance of his guitar playing, his compositional skills, his astute and often biting satire and parody, and his invaluable ability to put together some of the most stellar band lineups of the rock era.He befuddles, because, let’s face it, some of his lyrical output is little more than puerile scatology, often misogynistic and, frankly, and worst...

EXCLUSIVE: Hitmaker Spencer Davis died on Monday, October 19 at the age of 81 and a friend of the musician has told that he was "ill for some time"

Most people spend their entire lives trying to achieve some measure of immortality. It only took Edward Lodewijk van Halen one minute and 42 seconds. Eddie Van Halen, guitarist and American original, is dead at age 65 and there’s no possible coda for a musical legacy this big. Most people spend their entire lives trying to achieve some measure of immortality. It only took Edward Lodewijk van Halen one minute and 42 seconds.That’s the length of “Eruption,” the short guitar solo piece that is the second track on Van Halen’s eponymous 1978 debut. It starts off with some fast pull-off...

(CU News) - Almost a year before his death at the age of 70, Johnny Cash would gain a younger generation of fans by covering a Nine Inch Nails song from 1994 entitled “Hurt”. The question of how did he end up covering that specific song is bound to be asked? It seemed like a strange choice at the time while also being very appropriate given his stage life. The original version of “Hurt” is a much different take on the song. However, Cash’s version applies an entirely unique translation based simply on who is singing the lyrics. The original...

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ROUND 6 OF THE '50S TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS COMMENCES! The FINAL 4! Votes due: Sunday, June 7 @ 6:00 pm Eastern. (My birthday, FYI; don't disappoint me!) 4 songs, 2 pairs, 2 winners! Vote for your favorite in each pair listed. No reply, no vote. (NO abstentions this time! Must vote both contests - you can handle 2, cantcha?) Any ties will be broken with a run-off which will end the following Monday. Format: Billboard rank/seed - year - song title - act

ROUND 5 OF THE '50S TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS COMMENCES! The GREAT 8! Votes due: Sunday, May 31 @ 6:00 pm Eastern. 8 songs, 4 pairs, 4 winners! Vote for your favorite in each pair listed. No reply, no vote. (You may abstain from some pairs but please don't overdo it! No onesies, please, or anything less than half!) Any ties will be broken with a run-off which will end the following Monday. Format: Billboard rank/seed - year - song title - act

ROUND 4 OF THE '50S TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS COMMENCES! Votes due: Sunday, May 24 @ 6:00 pm Eastern. 16 songs, 8 pairs, 8 winners! Vote for your favorite in each pair listed. No reply, no vote. (You may abstain from some pairs but please don't overdo it! No onesies, please, or anything less than half!) Any ties will be broken with a run-off which will end the following Monday. Format: Billboard rank/seed - year - song title - act

ROUND 3 OF THE '50S TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS COMMENCES! Votes due: Sunday, May 17 @ 6:00 pm Eastern. 32 songs, 16 pairs, 16 winners! Vote for your favorite in each pair listed. No reply, no vote. (You may abstain from any pairs but please don't overdo it! No onesies, please.) Any ties will be broken with a run-off which will end the following Monday. Format: Billboard rank/seed - year - song title - act

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Little Richard, the flamboyant singer, songwriter, and musician known for a string of rock and roll hit songs and fiery showmanship, has died, according to his pastor. He was 87. The cause of death was not known Saturday.

Little Richard, a founding father of rock and roll whose fervent shrieks, flamboyant garb, and joyful, gender-bending persona embodied the spirit and sound of that new art form, died Saturday. He was 87. The musician’s son, Danny Penniman, confirmed the pioneer’s death to Rolling Stone, but said the cause of death was unknown. Starting with “Tutti Frutti” in 1956, Little Richard cut a series of unstoppable hits – “Long Tall Sally” and “Rip It Up” that same year, “Lucille” in 1957, and “Good Golly Miss Molly” in 1958 – driven by his simple, pumping piano, gospel-influenced vocal exclamations and sexually...

President Donald Trump slammed former FBI Director James Comey on Fox & Friends Friday, calling him “dumb as a rock” and saying that “there’s something wrong with him.”   “You don’t have Clapper, and Brennan, who’s sleaze, and a guy like Comey, who’s a sick man, I mean Comey’s a sick man. He played it so cute with Hillary. He was trying to play it cute. He was trying to help her. And, ultimately, he might have hurt her. He was trying to help her so much that he might have ended up hurting her,” Trump said.He continued, “And he’s just a stupid guy. He’s dumb...

ROUND 2 of the greatest hits of the '50s begins! Due date: Sunday, May 10 @6:00 pm (Eastern) This Round takes the top 6 songs of each year of the '50s per BILLBOARD, along with the best 4 #7s as voted in Round 1, and pairs them in play-off brackets. Round 1: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3838848/posts

OK, FREEPERS, LET'S START THIS CONTEST FOR THE GREATEST SONG OF THE '50S! The baseline for the contest is the top 7 hits of each year of the '50s, as compiled by BILLBOARD. This is NOT based on personal preferences, biases, prejudices, or counter-culture fringe-element reactionaries. Round 1 involves listing all 10 #7 candidate songs in order of preference. (The remaining rounds are handled as play-off brackets, starting with 32 pairs of songs to compare.) ROUND 1 We begin by using the #7 songs of each year, which we'll pare from 10 songs to 4 (to set up play-off brackets...

The Rolling Stones haven’t had a number 1 hit probably since 1981’s “Start Me Up.” They’ve had scattershot singles since then– they were never a great singles chart band. They certainly have never had a number 1 hit on iTunes, a relatively new service. But this morning the nearly 60 year old Best Rock and Roll Band in the world is number with “Living in a Ghost Town.” The single was dropped yesterday to great acclaim. With a nod to the Specials’ “Ghost Town,” the song by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards couldn’t be more timely. Ironically. the group recorded...

Anyone want to participate in a music play-off bracket-type poll for best songs of the '50s? At the start of this year, as well as 2 and 5 years ago, I ran "tournaments" to pick the best songs of the '60s, '70s and '80s, based on Billboard rankings, so only the best of the best were included! Normally it'd probably be next year before I'd even attempt. But given this stay-home COVID nonsense, I thought maybe everyone would like another something to do. You can view how the earlier versions played out here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3818895/posts http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3635562/posts http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3249477/posts I can do this...

British rock band Genesis have confirmed they are reforming for a 2020 tour -- their first in 13 years. Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford made the announcement during an appearance on Zoe Ball's BBC Radio 2 breakfast show Wednesday morning. Revealing details of their comeback tour, they said they will perform a series of shows across the UK later this year. The trio -- the band's classic line-up -- will be joined by Collins' 18-year-old son Nicholas on drums and longstanding associate Daryl Stuermer on guitar and bass.

ROUND 7 - THE FINAL - OF THE '60S TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS COMMENCES! Votes due: Sunday, March 1 @ 6:00 pm Eastern. The FINAL! Just 2 songs! Pick your favorite! No reply, no vote. Please be clear what your intentions are! Cuteness is fun, but often misunderstood. Any ties will be broken with a run-off which will end (hopefully) the following Monday.