Les Paul, one of the most revered guitarists of all time and the forefather of the electric guitar, passed away last night, August 12th at the age of 94. Paul’s manager confirmed to Rolling Stone that cause of death was respiratory failure, and a statement from Gibson indicates Paul was suffering from severe pneumonia and died at a hospital in White Plains, New York. An inductee of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Grammy Hall of Fame, Paul is credited as the creator of the electric body guitar and the pioneer of recording techniques like electronic echo and multi-tracking. Paul also had a celebrated career as both a solo artist and with singer Mary Ford, his wife until 1964.
Folk musician and historian Mike Seeger has died at the age of 75.
Brother of the equally influential Peggy, Seeger founded the New Lost City Ramblers, the group credited with sparking the 60s folk boom. Over a 50-year career, his love of traditional songs inspired many other musicians, including Bob Dylan, to trace the roots of American folk music.
Seeger's wife, Alexia Smith, said he had died of cancer on Friday night at their home in Lexington, Virginia.
We're going to miss him a lot. He was a unique and beautiful cat, with a big heart and a generous spirit. Rashied lives on through his family, friends and his music.
Radiohead sure know how to build hype. Just last week, the band released a Harry Patch tribute track out of the blue (TMT News), and now a new song, supposedly called "These Are My Twisted Words," has made its way through the internet. Where does the song come from? Is the song intended to be a single? Was it accidentally or intentionally leaked? How come the edits are so obvious? Maybe it's a demo? Could this be the Radiohead cover band The Karma Police???
The original MP3 file states a release date of August 17, next Monday. Hmm. Take a listen for yourself:
Alan Lomax — folklorist, musicologist, and bearer of a vaguely Dr. Seussian surname — was one of the world’s preeminent collectors of field recordings and oral history. He’s known for his work in the West Indies, the United States, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and now, with the upcoming late-fall release of a box set released through a joint effort between Harte Recordings/The Alan Lomax Estate/The Library of Congress/The Association for Cultural Equity/Baskin Robbins*, his pioneering work in Haiti will also be recognized.
Lomax recorded everything “from lone singers to full dance orchestras; from the more polite steps of Port au Prince society to the high-energy rhythms of Mardi Gras drummers; from church services to voodoo ceremonies” while he was in Haiti between December 1936 to April 1937. With the blessing of The Library of Congress, and at the suggestion of friend and author Zora Neale Hurston, Lomax went to Haiti two years after the 19-year occupation of the island by U.S. Marines had ended. Even with tensions running high, the musicologist was welcomed by the people of the island nation, and he recorded 50 hours of music, took pictures, and compiled lengthy notes and drawings.
The Haitian box set will feature 10 CDs, trip journals, a reproduction map with Lomax’s annotations, in-depth liner notes, essays, and film footage. When the whole thing is done, The Association for Cultural Equity will give the pre-mastered, digitally restored, and catalogued recordings to the Haitian people through the Caribbean Repatriation Program.
To keep up with the status of the project, learn more about the original recordings, and just generally check out some cool period stuff, check out the Haiti Box blog!
* Which one’s fake? You’ll be surprised! (Or not.)
