Prince Cancels European Tour Following Paris Attacks (jambands.com)

Prince’s previously announced solo tour “Piano & A Microphone” slated to start November 21 in Brussels is now cancelled following the terrorist attacks in Paris... 

Read more @ jambands.com

Warren Haynes Adds US Tour Dates for 2016

Warren Haynes has added some U.S. dates for his Ashes & Dust tour, which is currently underway in Europe, with a stop at the Granada Theater in Dallas, TN on February 17th.  

Please follow the link to Warren's site for more information and to purchase tickets.


Warren Haynes 2016 U.S. Tour Dates:

February 17 Dallas, TX—Granada Theater
February 18 San Antonio, TX—Empire Theatre
February 19 Austin, TX—Emo’s
February 20 Houston, TX—House of Blues Houston
February 23 St. Paul, MN—Fitzgerald Theater
February 24 Milwaukee, WI—Riverside Theater
February 26 Cleveland, OH—House of Blues Cleveland
February 27 Lexington, KY—Lexington Opera House
February 28 Knoxville, TN—Bijou Theatre
March 1 Wilmington, DE—Grand Opera House
March 3 Jim Thorpe, PA—Penn’s Peak
March 4 Northampton, MA—Calvin Theatre
March 5 Albany, NY—The Egg 

On the turntable this Sunday...Songs in the Key of Life

Songs in the Key of Life is the eighteenth album by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, released on September 28, 1976, by Motown Records. It was the culmination of his "classic period" albums. The album was recorded primarily at Crystal Sound studio in Hollywood, with some sessions recorded at the Record Plant in Hollywood, the Record Plant in Sausalito, and The Hit Factory in New York City. Final mixing was performed at Crystal Sound.

An ambitious double LP with a four-song bonus EP,   Songs in the Key of Life became among the best-selling and most critically acclaimed albums of his career. In 2005, it was ranked number 57 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In the same year it was preserved into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, which called it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

By 1976, Stevie Wonder had become one of the most popular figures in R&B and pop music, not only in the U.S., but worldwide. Within a short space of time, the albums Talking Book, Innervisions and Fulfillingness' First Finale were all back-to-back top five successes, with the latter two winning Grammy Award for Album of the Year, in 1974 and 1975, respectively. By the end of 1975, Wonder became serious about quitting the music industry and emigrating to Ghana to work with handicapped children. He had expressed his anger with the way that the U.S. government was running the country.  A farewell concert was being considered as the best way to bring down the curtain on his career. Wonder changed his decision, when he signed a new contract with Motown on August 5, 1975, thinking he was better off making the most of his career. At the time, rivals such as Arista and Epic were also interested in him. The contract was laid out as a seven-year, seven LP, $37 million deal and gave him full artistic control, making this the largest deal made with a recording star up to that point.   Almost at the beginning Wonder took a year off from the music market, with a project for a double album to be released in 1976.

There was huge anticipation for the new album which was initially scheduled for release around October 1975. It was delayed on short notice when Wonder felt that further remixing was essential. According to Wonder, the marketing campaign at Motown decided to take advantage of the delay by producing "We're almost finished" T-shirts.  Work on the new album continued into early 1976. A name was finally chosen for the album: Songs in the Key of Life. The title would represent the formula of a complex "key of life" and the proposals for indefinite success. The album was released on September 28, 1976 after a two-year wait as a double LP album with a four track seven-inch EP titled A Something's Extra ("Saturn", "Ebony Eyes", "All Day Sucker" and "Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)") and a 24-page lyric and credit booklet. 

Read more @ Wikipedia

Umphrey’s McGee Release Red Rocks Video via USB Drives (jambands.com)

Umphrey’s McGee’s July 3 Red Rocks performance will be released on video via USB’s available on the band’s website. 

Read more @ jambands.com 

On the Charts: Chris Stapleton Travels to Number One After Huge CMA Awards (Rolling Stone)

If one were to wager which country music artist would reign atop this week's Billboard 200, the safe bet would have been frequent chart-topper Eric Church, who surprise-released his new album Mr. Misunderstood just hours before the CMA Awards.
Read more @ Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/on-the-charts-chris-stapleton-travels-to-number-one-after-huge-cma-awards-20151109#ixzz3r19ypLov

Ultimate Classic Rock's List of Top 200 '70s Songs

Ultimate Classic Rock counts down the Top 200 Rock Songs of the '70s, in alphabetical order.

Focusing on a decade in which classic rock came into its own, our list of Top 200 ’70s Songs spans the gamut of cornerstone bands.

Some, as you’ll see by clicking through the above gallery, were sadly on their way out. Luckily, former members of the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel began crafting solo gems for the ages.


Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Top 200 '70s Songs 

Legendary New Orleans Songwriter, Producer and Musician Allen Toussaint Dies at 77 (UCR)

Allen Toussaint, a songwriter and producer whose brilliant compositions and distinctive piano playing made him a revered figure in New Orleans R&B — and were widely influential well beyond the confines of the genre — has died at the age of 77.

Read More of Jeff Giles' article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Legendary New Orleans Songwriter, Producer and Musician Allen Toussaint Dies at 77