http://forum.songfacts.com/showforum.php?fid/9/What is new and interesting in the world of music? This is the place to share current news stories.enFri, 03 Feb 2012 17:15:42 GMTFri, 03 Feb 2012 17:15:42 GMThttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssFusionBB 3.1 Final 2 (www.fusionbb.com)http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/149054http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/149054
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2rvdPFR870

Enjoy it! ]]>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:06:10 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/149052http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/149052
Soul Train was a cultural triumph, filled with a casual elegance that would never survive a focus group. Don Cornelius was the fatherly host, always in control and making sure it stayed classy - not easy when Rosie Perez was dancing. He kept the show on the air by following his instincts and focusing on the dancers. "The Line" seems like a pretty simple idea, but no one had done it before, and it was impossible to take your eyes off of it.

In the brilliant VH1 documentary of the show, we learned that James Brown was shocked when he went on the show and found out that Don didn't have some white conglomerate putting up the cash. The Robot went national when Michael Jackson did it on the show; the Moonwalk originated with an enterprising Soul Train dancer. We also found out how Cornelius scrambled the troops when Dick Clark launched a copycat show called Soul Unlimited, which lasted exactly one episode thanks to the uproar. The Soul Train brand extended to a music label (the group Shalimar) and awards shows, but Cornelius kept it manageable and focused on the show. It would have spread him too thin, but it's too bad he didn't start BET when cable was in its infancy.

It was the Olympics of black music: you went on Bandstand for the exposure, but Soul Train for the love. Former guests on the show tell a familiar story of the excitement they felt, and that warmth that Cornelius showed them. As Penny Ford put it:
"Mr. Cornelius came into my dressing room to welcome me to the ST family. Such a memory forever stamped into my being. RIP Don Cornelius...Thanks for being such an incredible part of my journey and the journey of all of us little black kids with a dream..." ]]>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:10:44 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/149049http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/149049
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1RxdeqxF-U&a mp;fea...

]]>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:24:30 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/149047http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/149047
Presenting Campbell to the public, awkward memory lapses and all, gives us a chance to eulogize him while he is still alive, and also makes us reconsider these degenerative brain disorders. It's a fascinating look at what happens when we can confront the condition out in the open.

Here's the Chicago Sun-Times interview with Campbell, where you'll see that in his mind, things are pretty good. At one point, the reporter quotes from our Jimmy Webb interview, where it becomes clear that Campbell is still moved by the adulation of his peers.

Last Hurrah for Glen Campbell ]]>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:30:41 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/149041http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/149041
MacNaughtan, in his mid-40s, reportedly suffered a heart attack while in California shooting his old friends, Rush.

A member of the band’s local management staff told the Star the office was “heartbroken over here,” while Rush members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart issued a joint statement in MacNaughtan’s honour via their Facebook page: “We’re deeply shocked and heartbroken to learn of the sudden passing of our close friend and longtime photographer, Andrew MacNaughtan. He was a sweet person and a very talented artist. Words cannot describe how much he will be missed.”

PHOTOS: Andrew MacNaughtan’s pictures

MacNaughtan’s sharply designed photographs, familiar to most Canadians from magazines and album covers even if they never knew his name, constitute a veritable Who’s Who of CanCon star power. He shot everyone from Bryan Adams, Celine Dion and the Tragically Hip to Peter Mansbridge, Margaret Atwood and the Trailer Park Boys during his career. A three-time Juno winner for album design, he also directed the occasional music video for such artists as Great Big Sea and Michael Bublé. (He won a fourth Juno for Music DVD of the Year for Rush in Rio.)

MacNaughtan’s most recent work was nevertheless something of a departure. He published a collection of photographs taken during his travels in Kenya and Tanzania last November entitled Grace: Africa in Photographs. Proceeds from the book went to Art Gives Hope, a charity MacNaughtan founded in 2006. He said at the time he hoped the book would result in 500 new sponsors for African children in need through World Vision, a charity to which Art Gives Hope gave generously.

He got the idea for Art Gives Hope while shooting the Live 8 concert in 2005, he told the Star in a 2006 interview.

“I was shooting backstage and I thought, I have this extensive archive of photos of all these great Canadian musicians and something good can come of this,” he said. “At the same time it sort of seemed silly that these pictures could do some good.”

That first Art Gives Hope exhibit and sale of signed-by-the-subject prints went on to raise $55,000 for World Vision.

MacNaughtan’s friend Jann Arden was one of the first to mark his passing through her Twitter feed.

“My dear friend Andrew MacNaughtan passed away yesterday in L.A.,” she wrote. “I will miss his kind and generous heart. Safe travels, dear Andrew.”

© Copyright Toronto Star 2012 ]]>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:34:48 GMT