Friday 20 January 2012

LL Cool J : Host in Grammy 2012 (Leads Prayer For Whitney Houston)



Whitney Houston is set to be honored at the 2012 Grammy Awards on Sunday night, when Jennifer Hudson and Chaka Khan take the stage to pay tribute to the fallen star, who died suddenly and tragically Saturday in Los Angeles.

Before Khan and Hudson took the stage, host LL Cool J kicked off the show with prayer, a heartwarming moment in which attendees like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift bowed their heads in homage to Houston and her undeniable contributions to pop music.

MTV News had the pleasure of speaking to Grammys host LL Cool J on the red carpet, and he shed some light on the conversations that went down before Sunday's big show as producers scrambled to fit a tribute to the star into the show.

"We were up all night, and we just wanted to figure out show Whitney Houston the love, the appreciation, the love, the respect she deserves based on her as a human being and the career that she had and give her that love and make sure that people know we care," LL explained. "And we are connected to her in that way."

But LL noted that while Houston deserves love at the show, producers also want to make sure that every artist involved with Sunday's broadcast gets the attention they deserve as well. "At the same time, there are so many other artists here that are nominated. This is a new Grammy experience for some of them, some are back again, and they deserve to have a good time and enjoy themselves and not be weighed down by the burden," noting that it was "about finding a balance. I think we got it right. We're gonna find out."

As for his own responsibilities as a host, he explained, "It affects it. It affects how I open. It affects the tone overall. We're not gonna get here and then change the rules on the artist; we're gonna celebrate her life... and then give them room so that they can go out there and do what they do."

Speaking about the tribute, Grammy executive producer Ken Ehrlich said in a statement, "It's too fresh in everyone's memory to do more at this time, but we would be remiss if we didn't recognize Whitney's remarkable contribution to music fans in general, and in particular her close ties with the Grammy telecast and her Grammy wins and nominations over the years."


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Thursday 19 January 2012

Bon Iver Comments on Best New Artist Grammy Winner


Like Arcade Fire's surprise Album of the Year win at last year's Grammys, Bon Iver taking home Best New Artist on Sunday night (February 12) over more established artists like Nicki Minaj was bound to raise a few eyebrows. When you asked "Who are Arcade Fire?" in 2012, we had you covered, and we've been following Wisconsin singer Justin Vernon (the man behind Bon Iver) for quite some time — long before he snagged BNA and Best Alternative Album at this year's ceremony.

Quite the pleasant surprise for the under-the-radar folk singer, who recently became the face of a Bushmills whiskey ad to boot. Bon Iver's second, self-titled disc was released in early 2011 but is still clearly getting the attention it deserves. He may have made a few public derogatory comments about the Grammy Awards ceremony itself, but that didn't sway the voters or the singer from showing up.

To put his "underground" status into perspective: Bon Iver debuted at #2 in June 2011 on sales of just under 104,000, but its total album sales to date (just over 357,000) are nothing compared to a powerhouse-seller like Adele's 21.

A helpful primer on Justin Vernon/ Bon Iver: The former All-State high school football star and World Religion college major began his career playing in the jazzy party band Mount Vernon, which transitioned into DeYarmond Edison, formed with some old high school pals who all moved to North Carolina in 2005 to spread their musical wings. A year later, things fell apart with his band and his girlfriend, just as he was laid low by a vicious bout of mono, driving Vernon back to Eau Claire for some physical and psychic healing.

He holed up in isolation in a deer-hunting log cabin built by his dad in the woods in northwestern Wisconsin and began writing the high and lonesome songs that would become For Emma. After months spent drinking and watching "Northern Exposure" DVDs, he alighted on the name Bon Iver, which is a French phrase used as a greeting in the show that translates to "good winter."

The tunes he recorded were intended as a demo, but once they got some blog love, he was signed to indie Jagjaguwar, and For Emma was released in May 2008. The album became an indie sensation, and its mix of acoustic folk and manipulated, Auto-Tuned vocals not only landed him on the "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" soundtrack, but also on a number of songs from Kanye West's Grammy-nominated My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Even as his star was rising, Vernon kept collaborating with a number of other artists, lending his voice to the indie supergroup Gayngs, playing in the side project Volcano Choir and hooking up with English singer James Blake recently on the song "Fall Creek Boys Choir."

Bon Iver continued to be his main focus, so Vernon built his own cabin to record his self-titled project, again just outside of Eau Claire, turning what used to be an indoor pool into a recording studio where he tracked the songs mostly by himself. (The live version of the band includes a drummer, guitarist and bassist.) The denser, 10-track album featured help from a number of collaborators, including renowned session player and pedal steel maestro Greg Leisz, as well as a number of percussionists and horn and string players.

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Monday 9 January 2012

Life Story Phoebe Snow


Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for her chart-topping 1975 hit "Poetry Man".

She was described by The New York Times as a "contralto grounded in a bluesy growl and capable of sweeping over four octaves."

Personal life
She was born in New York City in 1950, and raised in a musical household in which Delta blues, Broadway show tunes, Dixieland jazz, classical music, and folk music recordings were played around the clock. Her father, Merrill Laub, an exterminator by trade, had an encyclopedic knowledge of American film and theater and was also an avid collector and restorer of antiques. Her mother, Lili Laub, was a dance teacher who had performed with the Martha Graham group.

Snow grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey and graduated from Teaneck High School. She subsequently attended Shimer College in Mount Carroll, Illinois, but did not graduate.

As a student, she carried her prized Martin 00018 acoustic guitar from club to club in Greenwich Village, playing and singing on amateur nights. Her stage name is a fictional advertising character created in the early 1900s for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad: Phoebe Snow was a young woman who appeared dressed all in white. Also, a DL&W passenger train called the Phoebe Snow ran from Hoboken to Buffalo between 1949-1960.

Snow was briefly married to Phil Kearns, and in December 1975 she gave birth to a severely mentally impaired daughter, Valerie Rose. Snow resolved not to institutionalize Valerie, and cared for her at home until Valerie died on March 18, 2007 at the age of 31. Snow's efforts to care for Valerie nearly ended her career. She continued to take voice lessons, and she studied opera informally.

Professional life
It was at The Bitter End club in 1972 that Denny Cordell, a promotions executive for Shelter Records, was so taken by the singer that he signed her to the label and produced her first recording. She released an eponymous album, Phoebe Snow, in 1974. Featuring guest performances by The Persuasions, Zoot Sims, Teddy Wilson, David Bromberg, and Dave Mason, Snow's album went on to sell over a million copies in the United States and became one of the most acclaimed recordings of the era.

This spawned a Top Five single on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Poetry Man" and was itself a Top Five album in Billboard, for which she received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and established her as a singer/songwriter. The cover of Rolling Stone magazine followed, while she performed as the opening act for tours by Jackson Browne and Paul Simon (with whom she recorded the hit single "Gone at Last" in 1975). 1975 also brought the first of several appearances as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, on which Snow performed both solo and in duets with Paul Simon and Linda Ronstadt. During the 1975 appearance, she was seven months pregnant with her daughter, Valerie. Her backup vocal is heard on Paul Simon's hit song "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" along with Valerie Simpson and Patti Austin, from 1975. She also duets with him on the song gospel-tinged "Gone At Last". Both songs appear on Simon's Grammy-winning 1975 album "Still Crazy After All These Years".

Legal battles took place between Snow and Shelter Records. Snow ended up signed to Columbia Records. Her second album, Second Childhood, appeared in 1976, produced by Phil Ramone. It was jazzier and more introspective, and suffered disappointing sales. She moved to a harder sound for It Looks Like Snow, released later in 1976 with David Rubinson producing. 1977 saw Never Letting Go, again with Ramone, while 1978's Against the Grain was helmed by Barry Beckett. After that Snow parted ways with Columbia; she would later say that the stress of her parental obligations degraded her ability to make music effectively. In 1981, Snow, now signed with Mirage Records, released Rock Away, recorded with members of Billy Joel's band; it spun off the Top 50 hit "Games".

The 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide summed up Snow's career so far by saying: "One of the most gifted voices of her generation, Phoebe Snow can do just about anything stylistically as well as technically ... The question that's still unanswered is how best to channel such talent." Snow would spend long periods away from recording, often singing commercial jingles for AT&T and others in order to support herself and her daughter. During the 1980s she also battled her own life-threatening illness.

Snow returned to recording with Something Real in 1989 and gathered a few more hits on the Adult Contemporary charts. Also, Snow composed the Detroit's WDIV-TV Go 4 It! campaign in 1980. She sang Ancient Places, Sacred Lands composed by Steve Horelick on Reading Rainbow's tenth episode The Gift of the Sacred Dog which was based on the book by Paul Goble and narrated by actor Michael Ansara. It was shot in Crow Agency, Montana in 1983.

Snow performed in 1989 on stage at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City as part of Our Common Future, a five hour live television broadcast originating from several countries.

In 1990, she contributed a cover version of the Delaney & Bonnie song "Get ourselves together" to the Elektra compilation Rubáiyát which included Earth Wind & Fire guitarist Dick Smith. In 1992, she toured with Donald Fagen's New York Rock and Soul Revue and was featured on the group's album recorded live at the Beacon Theater in New York City. Throughout the 1990s she made numerous appearances on the Howard Stern radio show. She sang live for specials and birthday shows. In 1997, she sang the Roseanne theme song a cappella during the closing moments of the final episode.

Snow joined the pop group, Zap Mama, who recorded its own version of "Poetry Man," in an impromptu duet on the PBS series, "Sessions At West 54th." Hawaiian girl group Na Leo also had a hit on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1999 with their cover version of "Poetry Man".

In May 1998, Snow received the Cultural Achievement Award by New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. She was also the recipient of a Don Kirschner Rock Award, several Playboy Music Poll Awards, New York Music Awards and the Clio Award.

Snow performed for U.S. President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton, and his cabinet at Camp David in 1999.

In 2003, Snow released her album Natural Wonder on Eagle Records, containing ten original tracks, her first original material in fourteen years. Snow's single "Harpo's Blues" was wrongly referred to as "Harpo's Song" in Series 5 of The Sopranos, where Tony cites the song as the source for his sister Janice's son Harpo's name. Snow performed at Howard Stern's wedding in 2008, and made a special appearance in the film Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom as herself. Some of her music was also featured on the soundtrack of the film. Her Live album (2008) featured many of her hits as well as a cover of "Piece of My Heart".

Death
Phoebe Snow suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on January 19, 2010 and slipped into a coma, enduring bouts of blood clots, pneumonia, and congestive heart failure. Snow died on April 26, 2011 at age 60 in Edison, New Jersey.


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