Music News & Notes

Larry Knechtel Dead at 69

Larry Knechtel, a keyboardist who won a Grammy for his arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” has died of an apparent heart attack at age 69. Knechtel was born in Bell, Calif., and performed live and in studio recordings with a wide range of artists, including Neil Diamond, Randy Newman, Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Jr. and Elvis Costello. He also played keyboard on the Dixie Chicks' Grammy award-winning album "Taking the Long Way" and performed on the Hammond organ for the group's tour of the same name.

In 1971, Knechtel joined Bread with whom he recorded the albums Baby I'm A Want You and Guitar Man and toured as the band's bassist. After the breakup of the group, Larry continued working with leader David Gates.

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R.I.P John E. Carter

Lung cancer has claimed the life of two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee John E. Carter at age 75. Carter was the last surviving founding member of the Flamingos, a doo-wop group he left in 1960 to join the Dells, a quintet formed by some of his high school friends from Harvey.

The Dells' 1954 breakout hit, "Oh What A Night," sold more than a million records when it was reissued in 1969 with Carter on falsetto lead.

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Steven Tyler News

The Boston Herald and Rock Radio are reporting that Steven Tyler may be back to his hard drinking ways and it could have been a factor in his falling and breaking his shoulder during an Aerosmith show. A source told the paper "Truthfully, he’s a liability for the band. He’s uninsurable because of all the accidents and canceled dates. All of this didn’t happen overnight. The fall was just the final straw. Everyone is very worried about him."

It's also being said that the rest of the band are, in effect, on strike against Tyler until he is once again sober, stopping work on their upcoming album.

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Vinyl Collective Top 10 Sales of the past week

1 CHUCK RAGAN “Break Our Bread” 7 85 copies
2 CHAD PRICE “Smile Sweet Face? LP Transparent Brown vinyl 56 copies
3 TIM BARRY/ FRANK TURNER split 7″ black vinyl 30 copies
4 7” Record Jacket Sleeves (20) 7-1/4″ x 7-1/4 28 copies
5 EVERY TIME I DIE “New Junk Aesthetic” LP 27 copies
6 TIM BARRY/ FRANK TURNER split 7″ all 3 colors set 26 copies
7 TIM BARRY/ FRANK TURNER split 7″ blue vinyl 23 copies
7 HEAVY HEAVY LOW LOW “Turtle Nipple…” LP brown/pink 23 copies
9 MARIACHI EL BRONX “S/T” LP 22 copies
10 BOUNCING SOULS “20th Anniversary Series: Volume Three” 7″ 21 copies
10 CHAD PRICE “Smile Sweet Face” CD 21 copies
11 BOLLWEEVILS “Heavyweight” LP 16 copies
11 BROADWAY CALLS “Good Views, Bad News” LP green vinyl 16 copies
11 NORMA JEAN 4 x LP Vinyl Box Set colored vinyl set B limited to 700 16 copies
11 EVERY TIME I DIE Big Dirty LP purple w/ black splatter 16 copies
11 NINJA GUN “Restless Rubes” LP transparent green vinyl 16 copies

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Cooper Making Guest Appearance

Alice Cooper is writing a couple of songs and will sing on Slash's upcoming solo album. Also guesting on the album will be Ozzy Osbourne and Flea.