Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Rock News

-- Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, suffered a serious stroke at his Florida home over the weekend. Clemons, known to fans as "Big Man", has been battling health issue for the past few years, undergoing knee and back surgery in 2008. Early reports listed Clemons as "seriously ill" also reporting that members of the band were encouraged to visit him "as soon as possible." Subsequent reports however have Clemons' condition improving dramatically, including regaining partial movement on his right side, which was initially paralyzed after the stroke.

--Carl Gardner, lead singer for 1950's doo-wop band The Coasters passed away Monday morning from unknown causes at the age of 83. The Coasters, the first band inducted into the Rock-&-Roll Hall of Fame, had a string of hits starting in 1955 including "Yakety-Yak," "Poison Ivy," "Charlie Brown," and "Searchin." Gardner was the only member to stay with the band through it's entire 55 year history, and the last remaining member of the original line-up. Gardner spent a good portion of his later life touring with a revamped Coasters line-up, and battling impostors who billed themselves as The Coasters.

--Seth Putnam, lead singer and founder of the grindcore band Anal Cunt (AC, AxCx) died Saturday night of an apparent heart attack. Formed in Boston in 1988, Putnam decided to name the band "the most offensive, stupid, dumb, etc name possible." Putnam attempted suicide in 2004 by intentionally overdosing on the sleep aid Ambien and spent nearly 2 months in a coma. AxCx had been working on a new album at the time of Putnam's death. He was 43.

--Former White Stripes guitarist/singer Jack White has announced that he, and musician/model wife Karen Elson, are separating after six years of marriage. The couple announced their impending divorce at a party held on their sixth wedding anniversary. The party was billed as a celebration of " [the] making and breaking of the sacred union of marriage." The couple have 2 children, Scarlett Teresa White and Henry Lee White, born in 2005 and 2007 respectively.

--Lawyers for Willie Nelson have announced that they have reached a plea bargain in a drug possession case which could have sent the country music icon to jail for up to 2 years. Nelson was busted near Sierra Blanca, Texas, and charged with possession of 6-ounces of marijuana in 2010 after a state trooper smelled smoke coming from Nelson's tour bus. In the plea Nelson will avoid all jail time by pleading "no contest" to the charges and staying clean for 30 days, at which point the charges will be dropped entirely.


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