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News from the darkest corners of the
musical universe:
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Thursday, May 31, 2007 ◦
Pianist and arranger George Greeley, who composed the theme for "My Favorite Martian," died of emphysema May 26 in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 89. A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 1 at 3 p.m. in Los Angeles.
Born in Westerly, R.I., Greeley served during WWII conducting the Air Force band and entertaining the troops. He attended Juilliard School of Music, and entered the music biz after meeting Sy Oliver, Duke Ellington's arranger. Oliver taught him the art of arranging for big bands and he joined the Tommy Dorsey band in Indianapolis, the same day Frank Sinatra became the band's new vocalist.
His career as a performing artist, arranger and conductor was launched when he was signed by Warner Brothers Records for a series of 25 albums based on the popular piano concertos.
Greeley collaborated on the background musical scores of hundreds of movies at Columbia Pictures, including "Picnic" and "The Eddy Duchin Story" (his hands were used when Tyrone Power sat at the piano in the movie). He was the composer for the film "Hellcats of the Navy" starring Ronald Reagan.
In the 1960s, he segued into television when he created the background music and theme for "My Favorite Martian" starring Ray Walston and Bill Bixby. The Martian theme, punctuated by the sound of the theremin, a high-pitched instrument, established an immediate recognition of the show and created almost a cult following of Martian fans.
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Wednesday, May 23, 2007 ◦
Ben Weisman, a classically trained pianist who helped write nearly 60 songs for Elvis Presley, including many for his movies, has died. He was 85.
Weisman, who had Alzheimer's disease and suffered a stroke last month, died Sunday at a long-term care hospital in Los Angeles, said Barbara Gleicher of New York, who is married to Weisman's nephew.
Weisman, whom Presley called "the mad professor," wrote or co-wrote a string of gold- and platinum-selling songs for Presley, including "Follow That Dream" and "Fame and Fortune."
His songs include "Wooden Heart" for the movie "G.I. Blues," "Rock-a-Hula Baby" for "Blue Hawaii" and "Crawfish" for "King Creole."
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Tuesday, May 22, 2007 ◦
In honor of Sun Ra's birthday - or Sunny's arrival day, as his followers prefer to call it - the Red Saunders Research Foundation site has added a page on Ra's years in Chicago:
http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/sunra.html
Authors are Chris Trent, Bob Pruter and Robert Campbell.
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Wednesday, May 16, 2007 ◦
Out now on Important Records: Crystal Rainbow Pyramid, a brand new full length album from the Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO featuring their recent addition, female vocalist Kitagawa Hao. Recorded over a period of four months at The Acid Mothers Temple this is a very clean sounding and polished Acid Mothers album. Kawabata Makoto admitted, only half joking, that this has the "cleanest sound in AMT history!"
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Saturday, May 12, 2007 ◦
The late Do Ho's daughter, 51-year-old Dayna Ho-Henry, has been found dead on the North Shore. That's according to her brother, Dwight Ho.
Ho-Henry's death comes less than a week after the Waikiki funeral for her legendary father, who died April 14th.
Ho says his sister was not responsive this morning and was pronounced dead. He says the family is terribly sad and trying to cope.
Honolulu Medical Examiner's office says it has no information to release about the death.
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Monday, May 07, 2007 ◦
Alvin Batiste, a clarinetist who toured with Ray Charles, recorded with Branford Marsalis and taught the pianist Henry Butler, died on Sunday only hours before he was to perform with Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He was 74.
The cause was apparently a heart attack, festival officials said. Mr. Marsalis's record label, Marsalis Music, released the CD "Marsalis Music Honors Alvin Batiste" just a few weeks ago; Marsalis played on the album.
Alvin Batiste was born in New Orleans in 1932. He was considered one of the founders of the city's modern jazz scene and wrote for and toured with Billy Cobham and Cannonball Adderley.
He was a longtime teacher at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., where he created his own jazz institute, one of the first of its kind in the country; he also taught jazz at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. His students included Branford Marsalis, Donald Harrison, Kent Jordan, Michael Ward, Herlin Riley, Charlie Singleton and Woodie Douglas.
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Sunday, May 06, 2007 ◦
Thousands of fans of different generations gathered on a beach at Waikiki to honor Hawaiian crooner Don Ho, some clad in bikinis and others in electric wheelchairs.
At a sunset memorial on the beach Saturday, they brought flowers and reminisced about the late entertainer's earlier years.
Officials expected as many as 25,000 people to attend, making it one of the largest crowds ever in Waikiki, according to city officials. The city arranged extra buses, parking and traffic control.
Ho, known for his catchy signature tune "Tiny Bubbles," died April 14 of heart failure at age 76.
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Wednesday, May 02, 2007 ◦
The all new Weirdomusic.com is online!
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