Music News

[serious crayons]

I'm not the hugest fan of either Madonna or Bruce (I like them fine, just not intensely) but it's nice to see boomers ruling the chart.

I heard the other day that "boomer" has become a derogatory name even for people who were born long after 1964. A writer at the weekly alternative paper, now owned by the regular daily newspaper where I work, wrote something that I guess some young person deemed fogey-ish and was called a "boomer." He's 31. So he's not even the oldest millennial.

[CellarDweller]

Rock Star Eddie Money  is Dead at the Age of 70





Prolific singer and songwriter Eddie Money has died following a battle with stage 4 esophageal cancer.

Money's publicist, Cindy Ronzoni, said he died peacefully Friday morning in Los Angeles. He was 70.

"I LOVED working with him in so many ways - a down to earth man and super talent," Ronzoni tweeted. "He had a big heart, great voice and loved to tell jokes."

Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who had success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 songs and platinum albums.

He was born into a large Irish Catholic family in Brooklyn. His parents were Dorothy Elizabeth (née Keller) and Daniel Patrick Mahoney.  He grew up on Long Island.  Like his grandfather, father, and brother, Money was a member of the New York City Police Department; he left after two years to pursue a career in music.  In 1968, Money moved to California.

After moving to Berkeley, California, Money became a regular at city clubs. He secured a recording contract with Columbia Records.  He recorded a string of successful singles and albums in the late 70s and early 80s.  His career began to decline after an unsuccessful album in 1983 and struggles with drug addiction.   Money made a comeback in 1986, and returned to the mainstream rock spotlight with the album Can't Hold Back.

Billboard Top 40 Hits

The Love In Your Eyes - Peaked at #24 on 3.18.1989

Maybe I'm A Fool - Peaked at #22 on 4.7.1979

Two Tickets To Paradise - Peaked at #22 on 9.9.1978

Endless Nights - Peaked at #21 on 6.27.1987

I'll Get By - Peaked at #21 on 3.7.1992

Think I'm In Love - Peaked at #16 on 9.18.1982

I Wanna Go Back - Peaked at #14 on 3.14.1987

Peace In Our Time - Peaked at #11 on 2.10.1990

Baby Hold On - Peaked at #11 on 6.10.1978

Walk On Water - Peaked at #9 on 12.24.1988

Take Me Home Tonight - Peaked at #4 on 11.15.1986

[Front-Ranger]

 

[Jeff Wrangler]

Sad news, though I expect we will be hearing more and more of such as time goes by.

[CellarDweller]

Ric Ocasek, The Cars Frontman, Dies at 75





Ric Ocasek, frontman of the popular late 1970s and 1980s band the Cars, was found dead in his New York home on Sunday. He was 75.  The NYPD confirmed that he was found dead after they received a call for an unconscious male at his townhouse. Emergency services pronounced him dead at the scene.   The Cars and Ocasek were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

With a sound that melded new wave and rock, the Cars had 13 top-40 singles including “Just What I Needed,” “Good Times Roll,” and “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight.”

After The Cars broke up in 1988, he went on to produce numerous albums for bands including Bad Brains, Weezer, Guided by Voices, Bad Religion and Nada Surf. He released seven solo albums, but none had the impact of the original Cars material.


Billboard Top 40 hits for The Cars.

Touch And Go - Peaked at #37 on 10.18.1980

My Best Friend's Girl - Peaked at #35 on 12.23.1978

Why Can't I Have You - Peaked at #33 on 3.30.1985

I'm Not The One - Peaked at #32 on 3.22.1986

Just What I Needed - Peaked at #27 on 9.16.1978

Hello Again - Peaked at #20 on 12.22.1984

You Are The Girl - Peaked at #17 on 10.24.1987

Let's Go - Peaked at #14 on 9.8.1979

Magic - Peaked at #12 on 7.7.1984

You Might Think - Peaked at #7 on 4.28.1984

Tonight She Comes - Peaked at #7 on 1.11.1986

Shake It Up - Peaked at #4 on 2.27.1982

Drive - Peaked at #3 on 9.29.1984

[CellarDweller]

Roxette Singer Marie Fredriksson Dies at 61




Marie Fredriksson was a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, pianist and painter, known for forming pop rock duo Roxette in 1986 alongside Per Gessle. The duo achieved international success in the late-1980s and early-1990s with their albums Look Sharp! (1988) and Joyride (1991), and had six top two hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "The Look", "Listen to Your Heart", "Dangerous", "It Must Have Been Love", "Joyride" and "Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)".

In 2002, after fainting at home, Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumour. During her rehabilitation, she continued to record music as a solo artist, resulting in The Change in 2004 and Min bäste vän in 2006, as well as the non-album single "Där du andas" in 2008—her first solo number one single in Sweden. She and Gessle later reunited to record more albums as Roxette, who embarked on a worldwide concert tour. She also continued to record as a solo artist in her native Sweden, releasing Nu! in 2013.

Fredriksson died on 9 December 2019 in Djursholm, Sweden at the age of 61 from complications from a brain tumor.

Billboard Top 40 hits for Roxette.


Church Of Your Heart - Peaked at #36 on 4.4.1992

Spending My Time - Peaked at #32 on 1.4.1992

Dressed For Success - Peaked at #14 on 7.29.1989

Fading Like A Flower (Every Time You Leave) - Peaked at #2 on 8.31.1991

Dangerous - Peaked at #2 on 3.3.1990

Joyride -  Peaked at #1 on 5.11.1991

The Look -  Peaked at #1 on 4.8.1989

Listen To Your Heart -  Peaked at #1 on 11.4.1989

It Must Have Been Love (From "Pretty Woman") - Peaked at #1 on 6.16.1990

[Sason]

It's very sad. It's been big news all over the place here. She was very loved here.

[CellarDweller]

Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' Hits No. 1 For The First Time Ever

By Marianne Garvey, CNN


Can it ever really be Christmas without Mariah Carey?

The self-proclaimed "Queen of Christmas" has landed the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 for her famous holiday hit, "All I Want for Christmas Is You."  This is the first time the 25-year-old song has hit No. 1. The song's previous record was No. 3 on the chart.   Now a holiday classic, the song was first released in 1994 on Carey's "Merry Christmas" album. She was 24 when she recorded it.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/16/entertainment/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-trnd/index.html

[x-man]

FR, Long time no read.  Check out band I SEE HAWKS IN LA, start with a funny self-parody of theirs: "My Parka Saved Me From the Glass."

[Jeff Wrangler]

I heard the other day that "boomer" has become a derogatory name even for people who were born long after 1964. A writer at the weekly alternative paper, now owned by the regular daily newspaper where I work, wrote something that I guess some young person deemed fogey-ish and was called a "boomer." He's 31. So he's not even the oldest millennial.

Youth is no guarantee against fogey-ishness.