Artist: Dennis Brown; John Holt; Delroy Wilson; Horace And
Genre(s):
Reggae
Discography:
Peace Songs - Roots Reggae Mix
Year:
Tracks: 16
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Dennis Brown; John Holt; Delroy Wilson; Horace And
Artist: Dennis Brown; John Holt; Delroy Wilson; Horace And
Genre(s):
Reggae
Discography:
Peace Songs - Roots Reggae Mix
Year:
Tracks: 16
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Oprah Winfrey - Winfrey Uncovered Careys Wedding Tattoo
TV talk show queen OPRAH WINFREY has smashed through reports MARIAH CAREY's Bahamas wedding was a last-minute thing, by revealing the pop star already had her married name tattooed on her neck when she appeared on Oprah on 14 April (08).
Speaking on her show on Wednesday (07May08), Winfrey admitted she regrets not "making more" of the fact Nick Cannon was backstage with Carey when the singer was promoting her new album, E=MC2.
Carey even introduced Winfrey to the actor/rapper who was to marry her on 30 April (08), but the talk show titan didn't think anything of the magical moment - or of her guest's new tattoo.
She said, "She'd done the tattoo on her back that said `Mrs. Cannon,' so they were already planning on doing it (getting married)."
See Also
Mutabaruka
Artist: Mutabaruka
Genre(s):
Reggae
Discography:
Live at Reggae Sunsplash
Year: 1992
Tracks: 15
His poems experience given voice to a nation and helped hammer an solely modern music genre of music, dub/rhythm poesy. Revolutionary, ardent, scathing, and stinging, Mutabaruka's wrangle ar as powerful on paper as on CD, and so the literary biotic community needful to create a fresh term but for his full treatment -- meta-dub. Born in Rae Town, Jamaica, on December 12, 1952, Allan Hope number one realised the great power of the word when he was in his teens. It was the '60s; the Black Power cause was at its meridian, and legion free radical leaders were putt their thoughts and histories in print. Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver formed the roots of Hope's have aspirations, although his initial calling choice was far removed from their paths. Leaving school, the edward Young man apprenticed as an electrician, and took a job at the Jamaican Telephone Company. Hope was already penning, nevertheless, and in 1971 he foreswear his job to pursue his craft full-time. He affected away from the bustle about and bustle of Kingston out to the quiet of the Potosi hills, in the parish of Saint James. Not farseeing after, nonpareil of his poems was recognized by Swing magazine and from that gunpoint on, they would regularly publish his cultivate.
In 1973, Hope formed the band Truth, his number one attempt to conflate his run-in with music. By at present, the poet had converted to Rastafarianism and taken the advert Mutabaruka. Not a word, just a phrase, mutabaruka comes from the Rwandan speech and translates as "peerless wHO is always victorious." Even as roots was taking hold, Truth did non regain a undermentioned. However, Mutabaruka was finding fans in the literary existence after the publication of his collection, Outcry, in 1973. The next year brought further recognition with the verse form "Wailin',"dedicated to Bob Marley, and written around Wailers song titles. Two age later, Sun and Moon, a divided up loudness of poesy with Faybiene, arrived to practically acclaim. In 1977, Mutabaruka once over again turned to the stage, and gave several alive performances. Joined by the nyabinghi-fueled radical Light of Saba, the poet recorded a reading of his poem "Outcry" the side by side twelvemonth, and institute himself with a Jamaican hit. Meanwhile, guitar player Earl "Chinna" Smith had launched his have High Times label as a home for deep roots music, and swiftly signed the poet. Mutabaruka's star was rising, and his appearance at the National Stadium in Kingston this same year was a shattering achiever. Over the next few age, he cut a clasp of singles for High Times, and received even further literary clap in 1981 with a new volume of poems, The Book: First Poems. That same year, Mutabaruka had a hit with the undivided "Everytime a Ear De Soun," piece his flaming debut at Reggae Sunsplash was captured for posterity for a lively record album released in 1982. It was this performance that brought Mutabaruka to international attention, and guaranteed return appearance at the fete over the following two years.
His debut album, Check It, was released in 1983, a dubby classic with the poet accompanied by Smith's fine rootsy guitar. The album was remastered and reissued by the RAS label in 2001. 1985 saw some other successful return to Reggae Sunsplash and a jut out with the American Heartbeat label, overseeing the compiling of the dub poetry album Work Sound 'Ave Power: Dub Poets and Dub. A dub support followed, remixed by Scientist, along with a arcsecond dub poetry mark, Woman Talk: Caribbean Dub Poetry, this time entirely featuring women dub and rapso poets. Mutabaruka too smitten a distribution make do with the American RAS label, and cemented the partnership with the fierce The Mystery Unfolds album in 1986. Self-produced and featuring a host of node musicians and vocalists, including Marcia Griffiths and Ini Kamoze, Mystery was wholly uncompromising. Amidst a host of tough tracks was "Orcus Poem," a numeral meant to puncture non only the listener's expectations, merely the poet's pretensions as considerably. One of Mutabaruka's virtually entertaining, so far thought-provoking poems, it would later be included in the definitive The Routledge Reader in Caribbean Literature.
Although neither 1987's Outcry nor 1989's Any Which Way...Freedom was quite as radically revolutionary as Mystery, Mutabaruka was cursorily establishing himself as both a literary and musical colossus, both in Jamaica and overseas. His Reggae Sunsplash appearances in 1987 and 1988 were highly anticipated, and did non let down. And spell Mutabaruka continued to bring forth or co-produce his albums, he as well now and again cut singles for other producers, including the high-pressure "Great Kings of Africa" for Gussie Clarke, which paired him with Dennis Brown. The Blakk Wi Blak...K...K album appeared in 1991, overseen collectively by the poet and Earl "Chinna" Smith, and featured a followup to "Kings," "Outstanding Queens of Afrika," with guest vocalists Sharon Forrester and Ini Kamoze. It was a prima album filled with tough talk, including the vituperative "Ecology Poem" and the every bit bitter "People's Court." That latter number was followed up on Mutabaruka's every bit first-class album, Melanin Man, which too boasted the stunning "Garvey." That arrived in 1994, by which time the poet had performed at three more Reggae Sunsplash festivals in 1991, 1993, and 1994; he'd bring back in both 1995 and 1996. 1994 as well saw the launch of Mutabaruka's possess Jamaican radio show on the IRIE-FM station. It was wildly pop, but ironically sufficiency that station banned his song "People's Court from the airwaves. Two days afterward, the poet scored a geminate of Jamaican hits, both cut for the Exterminator label. "Saucy Up" paired Mutabaruka with DJ Sugar Minott, spell "Book of Psalms 24" saw him in quislingism with the deeply religious DJ Luciano. 1996 too brought two albums in its rouse, Muta in Dub and Gathering of the Spirits, the latter a dramatic recreation of the roots eRA, boasting a host of roots stars from the Mighty Diamonds, Sly & Robbie, Culture, and Marcia Griffiths amongst them. That same year, Mutabaruka toured Ethiopia with Tony Rebel, Yasus Afari, and Uton Green.
Spike Lee Talks About The Importance Of 'Miracle At St. Anna,' Says It's A Struggle To Make James Brown Biopic
Like his movies or not, it's hard to argue that Spike Lee isn't one of the most important filmmakers alive today, a provocateur who says what he thinks and does what he says — even when he's speaking against a living legend like Clint Eastwood.
MTV News recently caught up with the 51-year-old Oscar-nominated director to talk about his new movie, "Miracle at St. Anna"; his dreams of making a musical; the current state of black cinema; Barack Obama; his Kobe Bryant project; and more.
MTV: I suppose the obvious question is, why a Spike Lee war movie?
Spike Lee: In a couple years, you're going to be asking me, "Why a Spike Lee musical?" The films I make are stuff I'm interested in. I've never done a war film before. I've never shot a film overseas. I've never shot a film in four languages. So these are all challenges to me that were exciting.
MTV: No fair being facetious about musicals, by the way.
Lee: No, I want to do a musical. Musicals are one of my favorite genres. [No specific one] right now, but I would like to do one.
MTV: Could you snap your fingers and make a musical happen? More broadly, at this point in your career, are there films you want to do but can't?
Lee: Oh, yes. I have a black-biopic, no-money trilogy: Jackie Robinson. Joe Louis and James Brown. Those are three films I have scripts for and am trying to get done but have been unsuccessful so far.
MTV: What do you feel is the resistance to those movies?
Lee: They don't think there's a market for it, they're not interested. Or they think it costs too much. So that's one of those reasons why studios don't make anything.
MTV: I was reading an interview you did in the wake of "25th Hour," and you said that most black films had to be either minstrel-y or buffoonish to get made. Could that also be a reason? Do you think that's changed at all in the years since to be either better or worse?
Lee: People have to do what they do. I know it's very difficult as an African-American filmmaker — that if you're not doing some slapstick-comedy stuff or some drug, gangster, hip-hop, shoot-'em-up stuff — to get a film done is very hard. The subject matter is really ghettoized, even if you're Will Smith, the biggest star on the planet, or Denzel [Washington] or Sam Jackson. I have used the term gatekeeper before. It's very simple. There are four or five people on the mountain within the Hollywood studio system and network-cable TV system. A very select few of these people decide what gets made. When people of color are more able to get into those positions, I think you will see a significant [change]. Of course, it has to be the right person, because if you have a Condoleezza Rice up in there ...
MTV: Forget gatekeeper. Pretty soon, we might have an African-American president.
Lee: I still think a lot of people, even myself, haven't been truly able to comprehend the significance of it. I think in a lot of ways, the rest of the world sees it sooner than we do. This is huge. This change is everything, and I think we can truly become a great country [with Obama]. I do feel that people will put aside their fears and vote for what's best for this country — they're going to do the right thing.
MTV: "Do the Right Thing"! Ever been tempted to do a sequel to that?
Lee: Never, never. After my first film, they wanted a "She's Gotta Have It 2," and I said, "Hell, no." You want a sequel? I've only done one film!
MTV: You recently had some words with Clint Eastwood over war movies. Why is "Miracle at St. Anna" such an important story to tell?
Lee: The guys I met who fought in World War II. I really honor these African-American men who fought for this country, for the red, white and blue, who fought for democracy at a time when they were still second-class citizens. At a time where the United States Armed Forces were still segregated. At a time that many places in the country, you still had to get them at the back of the bus.
MTV: It occurs to me listening to you that a lot of people of my generation might not even know what a Buffalo Soldier is beyond vaguely recalling it as a title to a Bob Marley song.
Lee: [Laughs.] Well, hopefully they'll know some more. I think there's many stories that have yet to be told in this country. I think many young people are interested in the past. I think many are interested in stuff that wasn't taught in their school. I think many people miss the fact that all they learned in school was Washington chopped down the cherry tree and Abraham Lincoln and Christopher Columbus discovered America.
MTV: You're doing a documentary on Kobe Bryant. What about him fascinates you? He seems to me like a guy with a lot of weaknesses.
Lee: As far as basketball?
MTV: No, no. As far as basketball, he's the best player.
Lee: Yeah, but what we're doing is [actually] only one game. We're not doing a documentary on his life. He played on April 13 in the Staples Center. They played against the world-champion San Antonio Spurs. The film's going to be about that one day — that's it. We had 25 cameras on him while he was playing. Phil Jackson allowed us access in the locker room before the game, at halftime and postgame. and he'd never, ever done that before.
MTV: So is Kobe Bryant the best player today?
Lee: Him and LeBron James.
MTV: Yeah, but you're not doing a movie on LeBron.
Lee: Not yet!
Check out everything we've got on "Miracle at St. Anna."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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Staff of 'The Colbert Report' hatches plans in their own little world
NEW YORK - The walls of "The Colbert Report" studio are plastered with letters and artwork of the show's fearless leader submitted by loyal fans. In one painted portrait, Stephen Colbert, astride a horse, is substituted for George Washington.
Outside Colbert's office sits a brand new GPS system, which he had pleaded for on the show just days earlier. A publicist shrugs, "Ask and you shall receive."
Inside, Colbert's desk is surrounded by leftover props and gifts from guests - a veritable record of the absurdity he's created from this place Jon Stewart calls "bizarro world."
This is where Colbert and his staff hatch plans for where they might next fling their bloviating, perpetually suit-clad creation. Like a malfunctioning heat-seeking missile, he might go anywhere.
Colbert may inject his character into politics and the media, just as he might wind up in the Smithsonian or Canadian junior league hockey. He's created a kind of satire in action, teetering between his self-made universe and an often equally absurd real world. It's a constant balancing act that last year nearly had him on the road to the White House.
"The Report" recently aired its 400th episode. On June 16, he will stroll into the Waldorf-Astoria and accept the prestigious Peabody Award for his show. Colbert says he also expects to play the role of "kingmaker" in this year's election.
The race has already been swayed by "Saturday Night Live" (whose debate parody altered how the press covered Barack Obama), but the comedy of Colbert has a different effect. In his hall of mirrors, reflections may be distorted, but never unflattering. A study has even shown that his self-declared "Colbert bump," an upswing in popularity for a politician after appearing on the show, is largely factual.
The presidential candidates have already had to reconcile themselves to dealing with Colbert, and the presumptive nominees - Barack Obama and John McCain - would be wise to play along.
That's because Colbert doesn't demand a particular agenda of anyone, only the tacit, wink-wink acknowledgment that most any agenda - and all the image-conscious apparatus behind it - is a bit absurd, don't you think?
His particular talent is in blurring reality while at the same time illuminating it. In a world where kids on MySpace trumpet a cult of personality just as politicians do on the stump, his act has larger reverberations.
We all have a truthiness.
Hastily finishing a sandwich at his desk, Colbert is busy. Lining the wall to his right are index cards of segments that may or may not make the week's shows.
"Mostly I know what I'm doing today and tomorrow and have an idea about the day after that," he says. "And tomorrow might change and I'm not sure about tonight."
"The Colbert Report" debuted Oct. 17, 2005, with what might still be its biggest success - the coining of the term "truthiness." The term, which means a truth one feels in the gut rather than learns in books, was a home run in the first at bat. Colbert calls it the "thesis statement" to everything that's followed.
"The Report" was then seen (and largely still is) as a parody of Bill O'Reilly's "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox. While that was indeed the inspiration - a satire of conservative political punditry - anyone who's watched the show consistently knows that its tentacles of farce reach far beyond any simple spoof.
"People say, 'Aren't you going to be sad when Bush goes?' " says Colbert. "No. The show is not about that. The show is not about O'Reilly. The show is not about the shout fest. The show is about what is behind those things, which is: 'What I say is reality.' And that never ends. Every politician is going to want to enforce that, or every person in Hollywood - every person."
The 43-year-old Colbert grew up in Charleston, S.C., the youngest of 11 children in a Catholic family. In 1974, his father and two of his brothers were killed in an airline crash. His mother, Lorna, recently said of her son on South Carolina public television network ETV, "I can never nail him down as to exactly what he is" - which makes you wonder what hope the rest of us have.
In his nearly decade-long tenure, Colbert became a standout correspondent on "The Daily Show," and "The Report" was spun-off by Stewart's company, Busboy Productions.
"Stephen has such encyclopedic knowledge and I figured using himself as the foundation of a character like that, there was no question he could do this every day," says Stewart. "He was just ready. He wears that character so perfectly."
So far, Obama has appeared on "The Report" via satellite and Clinton has made a quick cameo, but McCain hasn't yet stopped by. His preferred Comedy Central visit is "The Daily Show," where he's guested 10 times.
A politician's appearance to "The Report" certainly comes with risks. In a sit-down interview, Colbert memorably - and in a keen journalistic fashion - asked Georgia Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, who had lobbied for the Ten Commandments to be displayed in government buildings, to name them. Westmoreland managed only two and got one wrong, while Colbert sat patiently counting.
Still, few lose when they enter Colbert World. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee's unlikely rise late in the Republican primaries could partly be attributed to appearances on "The Report." Though viewership for the program is relatively small (it draws around 1.2 million nightly on average), Huckabee showed himself to have a better sense of humour than his competitors.
The presidential run in South Carolina was the comedian's ultimate attempt to inject himself into the news, and many pundits and politicians resented the mockery - especially since Colbert was polling ahead of half the Democratic field. Eventually, party officials voted to keep him off the ballot, claiming he was a distraction.
"When a fictional person declares something news, is it responsible for you to agree? Isn't that interesting?" wonders Colbert. "But so many real people declare fictional news and the press agrees. For instance, the surge is a success, don't you think?"
Does it scare Colbert that a fake person can be taken so seriously?
"It does not scare me at all because I don't take myself seriously," he says. "My character wants to do these things. We're making jokes. We never stop making jokes."
On camera, his devotion to staying in character is total but, off-camera, he's himself, intelligent, relaxed and quick to laugh. Before taping episodes, he asks the studio audience if anyone has any questions "to humanize me before I say horrible things." He begins every interview by telling his guest that his character is "an idiot" and to "disabuse me of my ignorance."
Many of the show's greatest hits have been entirely apolitical, like the "meta-free-phor-all" with Sean Penn, or singing "Go Down Moses" with civil rights activist and politician Andrew Young, author Malcolm Gladwell and the Harlem Gospel Choir.
After such shows, Colbert likes to sarcastically announce to his staff: "Remember, it's just like O'Reilly!"
Since falling while running around his "C"-shaped desk and breaking his wrist, he's advocated "wrist awareness" by selling "WristStrong" bracelets. All proceeds go to the Yellow Ribbon Fund to assist injured service members and their families.
When asked how long he plans to keep wearing the band and stick with the joke, Colbert turned more serious than at any other point in our conversation. He replied firmly, "Not until the war is over."
That's about as close as Colbert comes to any kind of political statement.
"It is a sketch comedy show," he says. "So far, it's a 2 1/2-year sketch. I think of the entire show as a single scene. I'm just working on an 84-hour comedy project, and that's how we think of it."
In such a comedy project, Colbert compares himself to a "wind-up toy." Unable to plan ahead, he must always react to the news, to the initiations of his devoted audience and to his reflection in the media.
"I am not a passive verb," he says. "This is first person, present tense, at all times. I am a verb. As Buckminster Fuller said, 'I seem to be a verb.' The show is present tense, present active. We're not passive, we don't observe. We set the news agenda. We create the news. We throw the pebble of the show into reality and we report on our own ripples."
It's a clearly frantic, near-insane job ("I'm tired all the time," he admits) and one can't help but wonder how much longer Colbert - who lives with his wife and three kids in Montclair, N.J. - can keep it up.
When asked this, he puts his head down and is silent for a full 20 seconds. He finally breaks the quiet, "The short answer is, I don't know. The facile answer but maybe the true answer is, as long as it's fun."
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Smith wins damages over Hitler allegation
Actor Will Smith has won an apology and undisclosed damages in a London court over a false allegation that he described World War Two Nazi leader Adolf Hitler as a "good person".
The High Court heard that the Oscar-nominated actor was left deeply distressed and acutely embarrassed over the wrong story published by an entertainment newswire service.
Judge David Eady was told that Smith's comments, originally published in the Scottish Daily Record newspaper, were then "wholly misrepresented" by the London-based World Entertainment News Network (WENN).
The agency, which says on its website that it provides information to more than 1,000 media outlets in 25 countries, picked up the interview and then wrongly published worldwide a story headlined "Smith: Hitler was a good person".
Reuters reports that Smith's lawyer Rachel Atkins said in court: "The article alleged (Smith) had declared in an interview that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was a good person. It wholly misrepresents (his) actual words."
The lawyer said that Smith, who was not in court, actually thought Hitler was "vile and heinous".
"The allegations that he could think otherwise is deeply distressing... and has caused him acute embarrassment," she said.
WENN retracted the story and issued a correction and an apology, but no media published it, leaving the libel "at large", according to Atkins.
She said the undisclosed compensation WENN had agreed to pay would be donated to an unnamed charity. It also will meet Smith's legal costs.
John Melville Smith, defending WENN, said his client apologised for the story, which they now admitted was wrong.
He said: "(WENN) offers its apologies to (Smith) for any distress and embarrassment caused by this article."
"(It) accepts that the allegations concerning (him) were misleading and published in error."
The High Court heard that the Oscar-nominated actor was left deeply distressed and acutely embarrassed over the wrong story published by an entertainment newswire service.
Judge David Eady was told that Smith's comments, originally published in the Scottish Daily Record newspaper, were then "wholly misrepresented" by the London-based World Entertainment News Network (WENN).
The agency, which says on its website that it provides information to more than 1,000 media outlets in 25 countries, picked up the interview and then wrongly published worldwide a story headlined "Smith: Hitler was a good person".
Reuters reports that Smith's lawyer Rachel Atkins said in court: "The article alleged (Smith) had declared in an interview that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was a good person. It wholly misrepresents (his) actual words."
The lawyer said that Smith, who was not in court, actually thought Hitler was "vile and heinous".
"The allegations that he could think otherwise is deeply distressing... and has caused him acute embarrassment," she said.
WENN retracted the story and issued a correction and an apology, but no media published it, leaving the libel "at large", according to Atkins.
She said the undisclosed compensation WENN had agreed to pay would be donated to an unnamed charity. It also will meet Smith's legal costs.
John Melville Smith, defending WENN, said his client apologised for the story, which they now admitted was wrong.
He said: "(WENN) offers its apologies to (Smith) for any distress and embarrassment caused by this article."
"(It) accepts that the allegations concerning (him) were misleading and published in error."
Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies at 79
Shaped electric guitar, influenced scores of musicians
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock 'n' roll whose distinctive "shave and a haircut, two bits" rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired legions of other musicians, died Monday after months of ill health. He was 79.
Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Fla., spokeswoman Susan Clary said. He had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after suffering a stroke while touring in Iowa. Doctors said the stroke affected his ability to speak, and he had returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation.
The legendary singer and performer, known for his homemade square guitar, dark glasses and black hat, was an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and received a lifetime achievement award in 1999 at the Grammy Awards. In recent years he also played for the elder President Bush and President Clinton.
Diddley appreciated the honors he received, "but it didn't put no figures in my checkbook."
"If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey," he quipped.
The name Bo Diddley came from other youngsters when he was growing up in Chicago, he said in a 1999 interview.
"I don't know where the kids got it, but the kids in grammar school gave me that name," he said, adding that he liked it so it became his stage name. Other times, he gave somewhat differing stories on where he got the name. Some experts believe a possible source for the name is a one-string instrument used in traditional blues music called a diddley bow.
His first single, "Bo Diddley," introduced record buyers in 1955 to his signature rhythm: bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp, often summarized as "shave and a haircut, two bits." The B side, "I'm a Man," with its slightly humorous take on macho pride, also became a rock standard.
The company that issued his early songs was Chess-Checkers records, the storied Chicago-based labels that also recorded Chuck Berry and other stars.
Howard Kramer, assistant curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, said in 2006 that Diddley's Chess recordings "stand among the best singular recordings of the 20th century."
Diddley's other major songs included, "Say Man," "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover," "Shave and a Haircut," "Uncle John," "Who Do You Love?" and "The Mule."
Diddley's influence was felt on both sides of the Atlantic. Buddy Holly borrowed the bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp rhythm for his song "Not Fade Away."
The Rolling Stones' bluesy remake of that Holly song gave them their first chart single in the United States, in 1964. The following year, another British band, the Yardbirds, had a Top 20 hit in the U.S. with their version of "I'm a Man."
Diddley was also one of the pioneers of the electric guitar, adding reverb and tremelo effects. He even rigged some of his guitars himself.
"He treats it like it was a drum, very rhythmic," E. Michael Harrington, professor of music theory and composition at Belmont University in Nashville, said in 2006.
Many other artists, including the Who, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello copied aspects of Diddley's style.
Growing up, Diddley said he had no musical idols, and he wasn't entirely pleased that others drew on his innovations.
"I don't like to copy anybody. Everybody tries to do what I do, update it," he said. "I don't have any idols I copied after."
"They copied everything I did, upgraded it, messed it up. It seems to me that nobody can come up with their own thing, they have to put a little bit of Bo Diddley there," he said.
Despite his success, Diddley claimed he only received a small portion of the money he made during his career. Partly as a result, he continued to tour and record music until his stroke. Between tours, he made his home near Gainesville in north Florida.
"Seventy ain't nothing but a damn number," he told The Associated Press in 1999. "I'm writing and creating new stuff and putting together new different things. Trying to stay out there and roll with the punches. I ain't quit yet."
Diddley, like other artists of his generations, was paid a flat fee for his recordings and said he received no royalty payments on record sales. He also said he was never paid for many of his performances.
"I am owed. I've never got paid," he said. "A dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun."
In the early 1950s, Diddley said, disc jockeys called his type of music, "Jungle Music." It was Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed who is credited with inventing the term "rock 'n' roll."
Diddley said Freed was talking about him, when he introduced him, saying, "Here is a man with an original sound, who is going to rock and roll you right out of your seat."
Diddley won attention from a new generation in 1989 when he took part in the "Bo Knows" ad campaign for Nike, built around football and baseball star Bo Jackson. Commenting on Jackson's guitar skills, Diddley turned to the camera and said, "He don't know Diddley."
"I never could figure out what it had to do with shoes, but it worked," Diddley said. "I got into a lot of new front rooms on the tube."
Born as Ellas Bates on Dec. 30, 1928, in McComb, Miss., Diddley was later adopted by his mother's cousin and took on the name Ellis McDaniel, which his wife always called him.
When he was 5, his family moved to Chicago, where he learned the violin at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. He learned guitar at 10 and entertained passers-by on street corners.
By his early teens, Diddley was playing Chicago's Maxwell Street.
"I came out of school and made something out of myself. I am known all over the globe, all over the world. There are guys who have done a lot of things that don't have the same impact that I had," he said.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock 'n' roll whose distinctive "shave and a haircut, two bits" rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired legions of other musicians, died Monday after months of ill health. He was 79.
Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Fla., spokeswoman Susan Clary said. He had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after suffering a stroke while touring in Iowa. Doctors said the stroke affected his ability to speak, and he had returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation.
The legendary singer and performer, known for his homemade square guitar, dark glasses and black hat, was an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and received a lifetime achievement award in 1999 at the Grammy Awards. In recent years he also played for the elder President Bush and President Clinton.
Diddley appreciated the honors he received, "but it didn't put no figures in my checkbook."
"If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey," he quipped.
The name Bo Diddley came from other youngsters when he was growing up in Chicago, he said in a 1999 interview.
"I don't know where the kids got it, but the kids in grammar school gave me that name," he said, adding that he liked it so it became his stage name. Other times, he gave somewhat differing stories on where he got the name. Some experts believe a possible source for the name is a one-string instrument used in traditional blues music called a diddley bow.
His first single, "Bo Diddley," introduced record buyers in 1955 to his signature rhythm: bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp, often summarized as "shave and a haircut, two bits." The B side, "I'm a Man," with its slightly humorous take on macho pride, also became a rock standard.
The company that issued his early songs was Chess-Checkers records, the storied Chicago-based labels that also recorded Chuck Berry and other stars.
Howard Kramer, assistant curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, said in 2006 that Diddley's Chess recordings "stand among the best singular recordings of the 20th century."
Diddley's other major songs included, "Say Man," "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover," "Shave and a Haircut," "Uncle John," "Who Do You Love?" and "The Mule."
Diddley's influence was felt on both sides of the Atlantic. Buddy Holly borrowed the bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp rhythm for his song "Not Fade Away."
The Rolling Stones' bluesy remake of that Holly song gave them their first chart single in the United States, in 1964. The following year, another British band, the Yardbirds, had a Top 20 hit in the U.S. with their version of "I'm a Man."
Diddley was also one of the pioneers of the electric guitar, adding reverb and tremelo effects. He even rigged some of his guitars himself.
"He treats it like it was a drum, very rhythmic," E. Michael Harrington, professor of music theory and composition at Belmont University in Nashville, said in 2006.
Many other artists, including the Who, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello copied aspects of Diddley's style.
Growing up, Diddley said he had no musical idols, and he wasn't entirely pleased that others drew on his innovations.
"I don't like to copy anybody. Everybody tries to do what I do, update it," he said. "I don't have any idols I copied after."
"They copied everything I did, upgraded it, messed it up. It seems to me that nobody can come up with their own thing, they have to put a little bit of Bo Diddley there," he said.
Despite his success, Diddley claimed he only received a small portion of the money he made during his career. Partly as a result, he continued to tour and record music until his stroke. Between tours, he made his home near Gainesville in north Florida.
"Seventy ain't nothing but a damn number," he told The Associated Press in 1999. "I'm writing and creating new stuff and putting together new different things. Trying to stay out there and roll with the punches. I ain't quit yet."
Diddley, like other artists of his generations, was paid a flat fee for his recordings and said he received no royalty payments on record sales. He also said he was never paid for many of his performances.
"I am owed. I've never got paid," he said. "A dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun."
In the early 1950s, Diddley said, disc jockeys called his type of music, "Jungle Music." It was Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed who is credited with inventing the term "rock 'n' roll."
Diddley said Freed was talking about him, when he introduced him, saying, "Here is a man with an original sound, who is going to rock and roll you right out of your seat."
Diddley won attention from a new generation in 1989 when he took part in the "Bo Knows" ad campaign for Nike, built around football and baseball star Bo Jackson. Commenting on Jackson's guitar skills, Diddley turned to the camera and said, "He don't know Diddley."
"I never could figure out what it had to do with shoes, but it worked," Diddley said. "I got into a lot of new front rooms on the tube."
Born as Ellas Bates on Dec. 30, 1928, in McComb, Miss., Diddley was later adopted by his mother's cousin and took on the name Ellis McDaniel, which his wife always called him.
When he was 5, his family moved to Chicago, where he learned the violin at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. He learned guitar at 10 and entertained passers-by on street corners.
By his early teens, Diddley was playing Chicago's Maxwell Street.
"I came out of school and made something out of myself. I am known all over the globe, all over the world. There are guys who have done a lot of things that don't have the same impact that I had," he said.
Colin Farrell - Farrell Accuser Wins Prostitution Battle Takes Aim At The Police
The woman who tried to sue COLIN FARRELL for sexual harassment has been cleared of prostitution and loitering charges.
Dessarae Bradford was exonerated from all hooker accusations in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday (20May08).
Delighted Bradford says, "The jury took a little over an hour to reach their unanimous decision, and I have been cleared of all charges."
Since her arrest in November (07), Bradford has reported the officer who landed her in trouble.
She says, "He is still now under investigation by internal affairs because of this matter.
"My brilliant attorney, Jessica Canada, and I are now preparing the civil court documents required to now sue the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) for $20 million, because of the public defamation, false arrest, profiling, racism and other police misconducts that I experienced and that I am still emotionally disturbed by.
"The court papers will be filed against the LAPD this month."
See Also
Brian Setzer And The Tomcats
Artist: Brian Setzer And The Tomcats
Genre(s):
Rock & Roll
Discography:
Rockabilly Boogie
Year: 1980
Tracks: 13
Ray Winstone - The Things The Say
Megan Follows receives double nomination for Dora Award for theatre work
Theatre, stage, film and television veteran Megan Follows has been nominated twice this year for a Dora Mavor Moore Award, Canada's version of the Tonys for live theatrical productions in Toronto.
Follows, best known to TV viewers for her long-running role in "Anne of Green Gables," is nominated for outstanding performance by a woman in a play for her roles in "Top Girls," and "Three Sisters." The Dora nominations were announced Thursday.
Soulpepper Theatre Company's "Top Girls" also tied with The Canadian Stage Company's "Fire" for the most nominations in the general theatre division with seven each.
In all, 219 productions in all categories - 47 of them new plays or musicals in the general and independent theatre production divisions - were eligible for awards this year.
Opera Atelier's "Idomeneo" led the opera division with four nominations, plus two more in the general theatre division for a total of six.
DanceWorks dominated the dance division with nine nominations for its presentation of "Bas Reliefs."
The Dora Awards will be given out June 30 in Toronto at the Winter Garden Theatre.
News from �The Canadian Press, 2008
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