What I am loving about Gibson's list is that it is getting our members involved in a discussion, and I am discovering some guitarists I wasn't aware of. 30. John McLaughlin As part of the Guitar Trio with Paco de Lucia and Larry Coryell (who was replaced by Al Di Meola), McLaughlin performed dazzling feats of speed and precision, laced with firey passion carried over from his innovative jazz fusion work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. In Shakti in the ’70s, he played a unique Gibson acoustic with two tiers of strings and a scalloped fretboard. McLaughlin’s music is constantly evolving, with recent works including the guitar/synth-driven Floating Point, and Five Peace Band with Chick Corea, Vinnie Colaiuta, Kenny Garrett and Christian McBride. – Peter Hodgson 29. Jorma Kaukonen Even as Jorma was first making the psychedelic San Francisco scene as a member of Jefferson Airplane, his fingerstyle approach to the electric hinted at his musical secret: the guy’s a stone-cold Piedmont blues-style, fingerpicking wizard with an abiding passion for gospel tunes, old-time music and pure, country blues. Through the years, Jorma’s masterful takes on “Hesitation Blues” and the songs of Reverend Gary Davis have inspired countless players to dig deeper into their roots music. On last year’s solo album, River of Time, he proved that his fingerwork is as deft and daunting as ever. – Chuck Crisafulli 28. Nick Drake Drake’s orchestral approach to acoustic guitar involved a wide variety of unorthodox open tunings and various capo placements, but the key to unlocking his innovative works is to listen to his picking patterns. He was a master of striking each string at a different volume, sometimes as part of a cascading arpeggio and sometimes within a single strike. Listen to Fruit Tree for a beautiful example of the expressiveness and complexity he could coax from his guitar. – Peter Hodgson 27. Paco de Lucia No guitarist has done more to popularize modern flamenco guitar than Paco de Lucia has. A child prodigy, the gifted Spaniard mastered traditional flamenco techniques by his mid-teens, and went on to incorporate elements of jazz, salsa and bossa nova into flamenco’s deep roots. His work with jazz greats John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola and Larry Coryell at the turn of the ’80s – especially on the legendary album, Friday Night in San Francisco – remains essential for any student of acoustic guitar. – Russell Hall 26. Son House Eddie “Son” House changed my life the first time I heard him play. I had never heard Mississippi Delta blues played with such stark intensity and poetic grace at the same time. His intense slide playing, rhythmic power and searing vocals display what the blues is really all about, and he represents the very beginning of that unique legacy left by artists such as Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Skip James and many more, who followed in his revolutionary blues footsteps. His “Death Letter Blues” alone is enough to convince you of his sheer power! – Arlen Roth 25. Buddy Miller A soulful artist and versatile musician, Buddy Miller has worked with everyone from country great Emmylou Harris and R&B legend Solomon Burke to alt-country hero Lucinda Williams and rock god Robert Plant (not to mention his brilliant solo records and work with his wife Julie). Counting earthy production and clever songwriting among his many talents, Buddy might be at his best when he’s coaxing soothing tones from an acoustic guitar. Every single detail is there for the benefit of the song – never to show off. In doing so, he proves that he’s one of the best. – Bryan Wawzenek 24. Stephen Stills Perhaps because Stills has created some of his finest work in collaboration with other gigantic talents, it’s sometimes too easy to forget what a phenomenally talented guitar player he is. The beauty and grace of “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” alone is enough to rank him with the finest, but there’s also been tremendous range in his acoustic work, which can touch on country, blues, folk, Latin, and rock and roll influences while always sounding like no one but Stills. – Chuck Crisafulli 23. Martin Simpson Martin Simpson sailed through the ’70s as the most prodigiously talented folk guitarist in Britain. He turned professional at just 15 and went on to work with everyone form Richard Thompson to Martin Carthy and the Albion Band. His jazz-influenced work with June Tabor is legendary. Equally at home with country blues, American styles as well as traditional English folk numbers, and he remains one of the most exquisitely tasteful masters of the non-electric axe in the business. – Andrew Vaughan 22. Phil Keaggy Phil Keaggy is capable of both incredible speed and beautiful grace on either acoustic or electric guitar. Blending classical and Celtic influences, he is able to create an almost harpsichord-like sound with his bare hands while simultaneously coloring his chords and melodies with slides and harmonics, all while appearing almost completely effortless. Keaggy makes it look easy, whether he’s picking out a simple chord melody or unleashing two-handed tapping flourishes and ringing harp-like open string licks. – Peter Hodgson 21. Bob Dylan Had anyone better epitomized the image of the troubadour musician, voice and guitar at hand to lament, protest or woo at will? Back before Dylan strapped on an electric he was the archetypal new breed of acoustic musician – attacking the instrument with a rock and roll fire – less concerned with technique than sound. In those days he played a vintage Gibson Nick Lucas acoustic, his instrument of choice on those legendary folk masterpieces on Another Side of Bob Dylan and Bringing it All Back Home. – Andrew Vaughan

Daily Mail Keith Richards: 'How I nearly died falling 7ft out of a tree' By Ben Todd Last updated at 4:58 PM on 26th October 2010 Keith Richards has revealed he nearly died after falling out of a tree while on holiday in Fiji. The star fractured his skull when he fell from the tree whilst on holiday with wife Patti Hansen, 54, Stones bandmate Ronnie Wood, 63, and his ex-wife Jo Wood, 55. At the time, reports had claimed the tree was 40 feet high - but Richards insisted it was no more than 'seven feet.' Near Fatal: Keith Richards leaving the Ascot Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, following brain surgery in 2006 And writing in his autobiography Life, which came out 25 October, Richards, 66, revealed he did not think anything of the accident until two days later when he developed a headache while on a sailing trip. ‘Forget any palm tree. This was some gnarled low tree that was basically a horizontal branch. ‘It was obvious that people had sat there before because the bark was worn away. And it was, I guess, about seven feet up.’ Richards, who had earlier been swimming, told how he decided to climb out of the tree when it was lunchtime. There was another branch in front of me and I thought I’ll just grab hold of that and gently drop to the ground. ‘But I forgot my hands were still wet and there was sand and everything on them and, as I grabbed this branch, the grip didn’t take. ‘And so I landed hard on my heels, and my head went back and hit the trunk of the tree. Hard. And that was it. It didn’t bother me at the time.’ Unbeknown to Richards at that time, he had just fractured his skull. Two days later, he wrote how ‘a blinding headache’ came on whilst they were on a boat trip. He explained: ‘I found out later I was lucky that the second jolt happened. ‘Because the first one had cracked my skull and that could have gone on for months and months before being discovered, or before killing me. It could have kept on bleeding under the skull. ‘But the second blow made it obvious.’ Richards was given a record-breaking £4.6million advance for his memoirs.

You are welcome Danny. I put the details of the private function on another thread. Remember that it takes place on the evening of Thursday 4th, with the general viewing on the 5th and 6th. The Traffic Taliban are all over the place! You could maybe get a photo of Halfin with his fake tan and dyed hair:D. Perhaps Jimmy might spot Misses Big Dan, fall in love at first sight and run away with her BTW, your boy has done us all proud with his military service, and he is a good looking lad too.

Thanks Sam

From Genesis' Publications website:- Jimmy Page Talks About His New Genesis Limited Edition In the latest issue of the bi-annual arts magazine, Lid, Jimmy Page talks about his new limited edition book, Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page.With a portfolio of photographs from the book and contributions from photographers Michael Zagaris and Kate Simon - author of the acclaimed Genesis limited edition Rebel Music - the interview, by the book's photo editor Dave Brolan, sees Jimmy go into more depth than ever before about the making of this ground-breaking limited edition. 'It makes sense that Jimmy would work with Genesis on a book of this magnitude because they are the most civilised publisher on the planet. Catherine and Nick are lovely people who are as devoted to their craft as Jimmy is to his. Their books are printed on the finest papers and made by craftsmen of the highest calibre. Jimmy was thorough and focused in orchestrating the creation of this book... he's a hard-working artist.'Lid is available to order from the website [www.lidmagazine.net] but we've printed a short extract from the interview below as a taster How did you become involved with Genesis Publications? Jimmy Page: I had actually bought one of their George Harrison and Ravi Shankar books so I was aware of the quality that they strove for. I had seen some of their catalogue so I fully understood the pure quality that was their benchmark - the printing, the binding, and everything else. Dave Brolan: This is quite unlike any other book though. Jimmy Page: I rather like to try something that somebody else hasn't done before, even if it's of epic proportions which, quite clearly with the amount of photographers and images that were going to need to be trawled in, this was going to be quite something Dave Brolan: It's entirely appropriate that you should choose to do a photographic book as the camera was there right at the beginning of your musical career and is always present in one way or another. Jimmy Page: I liked the idea of doing something from the first shot where I was involved with music, curiously enough taken when I was a choirboy, by the choirmaster who was an amateur photographer... The whole point here is that it's a life in music and so I can see I'm really living it, the way that I was living it. Considering this starts off properly in 1958 or whatever with the Tony Busson pictures, it's a bunch of kids that have got this rock & roll ethic in their dreams you know? Although those dreams don't necessarily translate beyond a front room in somebody's house, it's living that sort of dream their own way and you can see this attitude, I love those photos Dave Brolan: There were thousands of pictures for you to consider, how was the experience, seeing your life from a visual, rather than your more familiar musical point of view? Jimmy Page: Well, I'll be perfectly honest, as you're collating the photographsthere does come a point where you say, 'Well I think I've finished for the day,' because, you know, I'm starting to look...(laughing) Well, you're aging in front of your eyes and of course people don't normally go through that so intensely.Dave Brolan: How did you decide to caption some of the images? Jimmy Page: the story behind a picture can sometimes be a little disappointing rather than just looking at it and enjoying it for what it is and making you own conclusions, and I certainly apply that to listening to music too. I don't really want too much imagery around it, I don't want to see videos with music, I want to hear what was going on in the studio, the creative process. So I intentionally kept the written information minimal. There was a lot of reflection and thought about the captioning but I really honed it down so that it didn't become boring to read it again the second time around. It's setting the scene. Dave Brolan: Overall, do you think the book achieved what you set out to do, your original idea of a career in photographs? Jimmy Page: What I was trying convey was the whole gathering of time and living, very passionately, my role in music, what became a career in music. And this illustrates all of that so in those terms it's a success.

Hi Laura, Would you let us know exactly what the documentary is about? Is it purely about Zeppelin? When is the projected date for transmission? Will you be interviewing any of the three remaining band members, road crew or management?

I have posted this in the 'Other Bands/Music' forum because so many non-Zep artists are featured in the list. It will be interesting to see how far up the list Jimmy features when Gibson publish the remaining musicians this week. Gibson.com's Top 50 Acoustic Guitarists of All Time 10.25.2010 Electric guitarists get all the glory - stacks of amplifiers, arenas full of fans, that big, big sound sending shockwaves through adoring crowds. Meanwhile, the acoustic players of the world are the sensitive souls, playing delicately and carefully in their unamplified corners of music history. The best acoustic guitarists have quietly made innovative sounds and amazing tunes that have altered how people think about the guitar. Well, Gibson.com thought it was high time that the most legendary of acoustic players finally got their due. In tribute to these masters of the guitar, Gibson.com is counting down the Top 50 Acoustic Guitarists of All Time - as voted on by Gibson's editorial team, writing staff and, most importantly, you, the readers. Today, we reveal #50-#41 on the list. Check back each day this week, as we unveil 10 more acoustic guitarists, with the Top 10 arriving on Friday morning. 50. Mississippi Fred McDowell An acoustic blues genius, McDowell is perhaps the foremost example of the North Mississippi sound (although he's often associated with the Delta players). Whether picking or sliding (he first used a pocket knife and a beef rib bone), the bluesman crafted droning, hypnotic wonders that would influence the likes of R.L. Burnside and The Rolling Stones (who covered "You Gotta Move"). Although he declared on the title of his 1969 album, I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' Roll, he was friendly with the rockers he inspired, and even taught Bonnie Raitt his slide technique. – Bryan Wawzenek 49. David Lindley It would seem to be an immutable law of nature that if an object in our universe has strings on it, David Lindley can make some amazing music with it – either on his own or in somebody else's band. While often recognized for his distinctive slide work, a true measure of Lindley's musical genius is in the way his expressive, flawlessly understated acoustic playing has elevated the music of such varied folks as Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton and Bob Dylan. – Chuck Crisafulli 48. Arlen Roth Roth may just be the whole world's guitar teacher. In between working as a solo artist and with such legends as John Prine, Art Garfunkel and Phoebe Snow, he founded Hot Licks where his video lessons taught millions how to play. Meanwhile, his Complete Acoustic Guitar book remains an invaluable resource. Roth was also instrumental in performing and directing most of the guitar scenes in the blues-inspired film Crossroads. Check out Drive It Home, his 1998 all-acoustic album. Plus, Roth continues to share his expertise on Gibson.com. – Peter Hodgson 47. John Hammond It's hardly surprising that John Hammond has been called "the white Robert Johnson." For four-plus decades, Hammond has, like many itinerant country-blues artists before him, played acoustic guitar with a fast-fingered finesse that leaves audiences marveling at his technique. Like Johnson, Hammond sometimes gives the impression he's playing two guitars simultaneously – one holding down the bass line, and the other delivering fiery rhythm work and solos. No artist has devoted himself more fully to keeping country-blues alive in its purest form. – Russell Hall 46. Duane Allman Although primarily known as an electric slide master, Duane Allman began by learning the acoustic blues on his brother Gregg's acoustic guitar, and he never forgot his roots. Check out the instrumental "Little Martha" from the Allman Brothers Band's Eat a Peach, a beautiful duet with Dickey Betts, for an example of Allman's acoustic prowess. His resonator-driven rendition of "Come on in My Kitchen" with Delaney and Bonnie is also well worth seeking out. – Peter Hodgson 45. Brownie McGhee Brownie McGhee was always one of the most influential country blues players of the "true" blues era, and along with his long-time partner Sonny Terry, created some of the most iconic tunes and guitar parts ever. He always displayed great sophistication, playfulness and humor with his playing, and was unquestionably an important innovator in acoustic blues guitar. His wonderful playing, smiling face and incredible voice left an indelible mark for all of us to love forever! – Arlen Roth 44. Rik Emmett To the casual fan, Triumph was known for their hard-driving rock and visually stunning concerts, complete with lasers, explosions and about a gazillion lights. But for Rik Emmett, the driving force behind Triumph, the music always reigned supreme, and despite their reputation as a hard rockin' band, a jaw-dropping classical acoustic piece from Emmett was always right around the corner. When he eventually, thankfully, left the constraints of Triumph, Emmett was finally able to really stretch his acoustic/classical guitar legs, and it's been nothing but an absolute joy to behold. – Sean Patrick Dooley 43. Bryan Sutton Bryan Sutton first gained notice as a member of Ricky Skaggs' Kentucky Thunder country/bluegrass band and quickly earned his reputation as a flatpicking virtuoso in his mid-20s. He's since gone solo, releasing his own records and becoming a top-flight session guitarist in Nashville. He's collaborated with an amazing array of bluegrass (and other) musicians from Dolly Parton and Doc Watson to the Dixie Chicks and Béla Fleck. Sutton has been named the guitar player of the year five times by the International Bluegrass Music Association. – Bryan Wawzenek 42. Martin Carthy Martin Carthy's intricate but percussive fingerpicking style, use of unusual tunings and fascinating interpretations of traditional material made him a folk legend in London in the early '60s. Paul Simon was heavily inspired by Carthy's arrangement of "Scarborough Fair" and musicians acknowledge Cathy as a master. Now a master craftsman, he continues to ply his trade with consummate ease, picking perfection and not a little inspiration. – Andrew Vaughan 41. Eric Clapton Old Slowhand earned his bones playing electric blues-rock in the '60s, but a whole generation of fans mostly knows Eric Clapton as an acoustic player. That's due to his 1992 Unplugged album (which earned him an armload of Grammys) and the subsequent blues release From the Cradle. The man formerly known as God proved his divine talents translated brilliantly when stripped down – his tasteful solos and clever licks shining through on Robert Johnson covers or a reworked version of "Layla." – Bryan Wawzenek 40. Albert Lee When Albert Lee is reeling off impossibly speedy country licks on an electric guitar, it's quite obvious the guy deserves to be considered among the most heroic of guitar heroes. But when Lee turns his talents to an acoustic, it becomes strikingly clear that, beyond heroics, he is quite simply a virtuoso of the instrument. There aren't many who can play faster, but the brilliance of Lee's acoustic playing is in its tastefulness and melodicism – every Lee solo seems to tell a beautiful story. When Emmylou Harris, the Everly Brothers, Dolly Parton and Eric Clapton have needed some killer acoustic support, they've called in Albert. – Chuck Crisafulli 39. Tony Rice In terms of stylistic innovation and influence, Tony Rice is to bluegrass music what Jimi Hendrix was to rock and roll. In addition to furthering the idea of the flatpicked acoustic as a lead instrument in bluegrass, the 59-year-old Rice almost single-handedly introduced an improvisational jazz-guitar component into the music. Manzanita, The Tony Rice Unit's 1979 debut album, remains a prime touchstone for bluegrass flatpickers to this day. – Russell Hall 38. Al Di Meola Di Meola combines the technique and precision of a progressive rock or shred guitarist, with the passion and rhythm of a flamenco musician. An already intimidating presence on electric guitar, when he switches to acoustic he leaves no one standing. He reached particularly lofty heights with Paco Di Lucia and John McLaughlin on the live Guitar Trio album Friday Night in San Francisco. His work features many world music influences filtered through jazz and Latin styles, and his technique ranges from elegant and restrained to the almost impossible. – Peter Hodgson 37. Scotty Anderson Scotty just might be the finest technical guitar player in the world. He can do things with his picking hand that are not done by anyone else! I first discovered Scotty in the mid-'80, and quickly documented this magnificent musician for a Hot Licks video, and the sheer breadth of his abilities began to unfold. He seems to never run out of creative ideas, and does it so effortlessly it just leaves you speechless. His work on acoustic and electric guitar is equally impressive, showing no signs of "slowing up" on an acoustic. If you haven't yet, you must be sure to check out the "King of the double- and triple-stop." – Arlen Roth 36. Steve Howe With the possible exception of Jimmy Page, it's likely no rock guitarist inspired more young players to try their hands at classical-style guitar in the early '70s than Steve Howe did. "Clap," the sprite acoustic instrumental Howe penned for the 1971 disc, The Yes Album, split the difference between ragtime and country blues, and was unlike anything a "rock" guitarist had previously recorded. "Mood for a Day," the flamenco-tinged instrumental Howe wrote and played on Yes's Fragile album, is today considered a classic, and rightly so. – Russell Hall 35. James Taylor It was readily apparent from just the intro to James Taylor's song, "Something's Wrong," on his self-titled debut album, that Taylor was a wonderful acoustic guitar player. The song's intro is a bluesy-classical take on the holiday hymn "What Child is This" – Taylor's finger-picking reveals an educated musician so comfortable with his craft that he makes the difficult sound breezy and subtle. Because of Taylor's warm and inviting vocals, it's sometimes easy to overlook his prowess as an acoustic player. – Sean Patrick Dooley 34. Jerry Reed One doesn't acquire the nickname "Guitar Man" without having some serious chops on the fretboard. A big fan of both Merle Travis and Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed was a dazzling guitarist with a unique fingerstyle of playing. Amazingly, Reed fancied himself more of a songwriter than a picker, and it was Atkins who actually convinced Reed to include instrumental numbers on his albums. Chet was not too proud to say that Reed was a better fingerstyle player than himself, and that, alone, speaks volumes. – Sean Patrick Dooley 33. Bill Frisell Bill Frisell has been called the Miles Davis of acoustic guitar in the sense that, in his hands, the instrument can take on many guises. Though long considered one of jazz guitar's preeminent stylists, Frisell defies categorization, as his work ranges from Americana to progressive folk to country music and beyond. Artists as diverse as Marianne Faithfull, Elvis Costello and Ginger Baker have enlisted him for their own albums, while Frisell's solo discs contain some of the most eclectically brilliant acoustic work of our times. – Russell Hall 32. Clarence White Clarence, who was a great influence on yours truly on electric guitar with his innovative Parsons/White B-bender invention, helping to define my string-bending, was actually just as important as an acoustic picker. His work with the Kentucky Colonels, and with his brother Roland White, exhibits some of the most sensitive and delicately phrased bluegrass picking ever recorded. His influence it still felt in many of today's finest acoustic pickers. There's no question that Clarence White, along with Doc Watson, certainly led the way for the acoustic guitar to finally "step out" in Bluegrass music! – Arlen Roth 31. Neil Young It seems like there have always been two sides to Neil Young – sonically speaking. There are the brash, squealing electric workouts and there are the intricate, emotive acoustic tunes. With an acoustic guitar in hand, Young's delivered some of his most beautiful and soulful recordings, from the legendary folk-rock of Harvest to the country-infused Prairie Wind. Young might forgo the frenzied distortion when he unplugs, but he never comes up short on passion. – Bryan Wawzenek Votes for the Top 50 Acoustic Guitarists of All Time were included from Michael Wright, Bryan Wawzenek, Andrew Vaughan, Sean Dooley, Arlen Roth, Russell Hall, Ted Drozdowski, Paolo Bassotti, Dave Hunter, Peter Hodgson, Chuck Crisafulli and the Gibson.com Readers Poll.

Here's an interview with Jake Holmes. Obviously, there is a gag on him talking about the case, but he explains why he is now pursuing it. I have underlined the important part of the interview. http://www.examiner.com/led-zeppelin-in-national/far-from-dazed-and-confused-an-interview-with-jake-holmes Far from Dazed and Confused: An Interview with Jake Holmes October 25th, 2010 2:18 pm ETDuring the 60s, there was a plethora of folk singer/songwriters, so many that they carved out their own sub-genre in rock. One of the most talented and relevant to emerge was Jake Holmes, a folk-rockster with a comedy edge. Starting out at the Bitter End as part of a parody duo, he artfully went from writing parodies to penning sincere ballads for the Four Seasons and Frank Sinatra.Recently buzz has been going around about his suing Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page for what became one of Zepp's signature songs, "Dazed and Confused." Jake took the time to speak with Examiner.com about his career and where he's at now. Examiner: What first piqued your interest in music? Jake Holmes: When I was about ten, there was a kid who used to come over to our house. He played some things. Then my sister had a friend who I had a crush on. She played the baritone ukulele. I wrote a song about her. Examiner: What was the first song you sold? JH: My wife Katherine and I were part of an experimental lyric opera theater. Fred Weintraub, owner of The Bitter End, paid us for one song, he liked it. He asked us to do five or six more for the bill. Examiner: How do you think your music reflected the times? JH: Katherine and I had an act, Allen & Grier, and we did a parody of folk artists. We were comedians as well as musicians. The lyrics were more important to us than the music. We had a song, "Basketball Bill," it was about a scandal at the time. That was the kind of stuff we did. We also did a work song, like a chain gang song, about working in a diner...! Examiner: How did you get hooked up with the Four Seasons? JH: We had the same manager. They wanted to do something more serious, hipper; they wanted to have a Sgt. Pepper's. I remember I'd be standing outside the Bitter End with my comedian buddies. A limo would come to pick me up at the Bitter End to go work with Bob. The guys would be standing there with their mouths open! Examiner: What was it like working with Bob Gaudio compared to working solo? JH: He'd do the music, then I'd have to do the lyrics. I was used to doing both at the same time. With him, I had to bend the music to fit the words. There was always a nice New Jersey crowd around when we worked, too. (laughs) I remember this one guy showed me a stereo system in the trunk of his car. They warned me never to play ping pong with him because he'd been in jail and was a pro at playing...! Bob kept asking Sinatra to come over to the house. Once, Sinatra called on a Monday and said he'd be over on Saturday. But there was no pool! How could you have Sinatra over without a pool? (chuckles) Bob had his buddies dig a hole that week for a pool. All of the blow dryers were out that Friday night, trying to dry that thing up! (laughs) Of course, Sinatra called on Saturday and said he couldn't make it! Examiner: What was the most difficult song to do on Sinatra's Watertown album? JH: That was so long ago, I don't remember any of the songs being difficult to do. One that wasn't on the original album, that somehow slipped out, was "Lady Day," which was about Billie Holiday. Examiner: How did you get into doing jingles? JH: HEA Productions asked me to do an anti-drug public service announcement. I ended up working with Carly Simon on a lot of anti-war jingles. Examiner: Do you have a songwriting process? JH: I throw down a lot on paper and on tape. Sometimes while I'm practicing on the guitar, I'll think of a song. At a certain point, I got used to writing on demand. I developed a habit of writing like I hired myself! I also like to write about things that affect me emotionally. Examiner: How did you start working with Harry Belafonte? What projects did you work on with him? JH: Bob Freedman had me record a song for Harry. Harry liked it, performed it. So I started writing for him. He'd heard Paul Simon's Graceland and wanted to do something similar but couldn't go to South Africa, so he sent me and his musical director. I have to admit...I was a little scared! I thought I was going to get arrested...a white guy traveling in South Africa with a black guy. But little did I know they didn't care. Anti-apartheid lit was available...if you looked for it, it wasn't easily accessible. The trick was that the main newspapers, the government-owned papers, were a clutter of banality. Kind of similar to what we have here! (laughs) If you wanted the Soweto Times, you had to really go to great lengths. Examiner: How did Dangerous Times come about? What's your favorite song on the album? JH: It was just an album I wanted to do. I got a few guys together at my house and we did it. Richard Bona, Tony Levin. I'd say "The Wall," which is acapella, is probably my favorite off that album. It's about Vietnam. Examiner: Who are some of your favorite current day musicians? JH: Too many to mention! Off the top of my head, I'd have to say Richard Bona. Back when I was first starting out, I used to think there wasn't that much talent out there. Boy, was I wrong! In the jingle world, I worked with Will Lee and Ira Siegel, great musicians. Made me think my skills were really limited. I really like world music. I used to think it was simple but it's far from that. Many of the African musicians are well-schooled and well-versed...what they do takes a high level of musicianship. I really like Berto Gismonti, who's from Brazil. I don't know what's happening with current music, with this auto-tune and fake R&B, but the center of music is no longer in the U.S. The problem is most of the music is in another language and this country is very insular. It kind of feels like the 50s now, with pop at the top, but all of the wonderful music underneath. Examiner: What's happening with your "Dazed and Confused" lawsuit? JH: We're suing, that's about all I can say...there's a gag on it. Examiner: What made you decide to sue now, after all this time? JH: There was a change in the law, a precedent was set with the "Whiter Shade of Pale" case. My lawyers thought it was time and apparently I have a strong case. Examiner: You've seen the music industry change since you first started. Do you think it's been for better or worse? JH: I think for the better. Less demand on the creator to make big bucks. Everybody can perform, there are so many outlets. Musicians are no longer limited. In the past, the record companies made most of the money. I for one am not sorry to see them fade away. I have never made it a secret that they've often pissed me off...I've been ripped off a few times. Now artists can make money independently of them. Tom Rush, Ani DiFranco...they make the system work for them. I remember when Luther Vandross was dropped from his label, I suggested to him that he start his own label. When I wrote for Clive Davis, I felt like my writing was being twisted because I was supposed to be writing hits, not what I wanted to write. There are lots of ways for singers and songwriters to make money now. Most true musicians don't do it for the money, they do it because they love it. When I did slam poetry, it was a great way for me to express myself, I loved it. Examiner: What advice would you give up-and-coming musicians? JH: Don't expect to make a living on it. Be able to hammer a nail or do retail, doing your music on the side! (laughs) I have some friends in the business who are in it to make money. Now that's a different question, with a different answer. But, if you love it, you'll do what you have to do to do it. Examiner: What are you currently working on? JH: Working on a musical with Sam and David Buskin about Baby Boomers. Also, my producing partner, Amanda Homi, and I are working on a travel series and DVD project. And, of course, writing songs! "Be all you can be" is one of the catchy, ingrained-in-your-memory jingles that Jake crafted in the 70s. Seems the artist has indeed taken his own words to heed. Politically active, a promoter of world music, and a prolific songwriter who's true to his art and himself, this 60s folk journeyman is on a road less traveled, but well paved.

Faint shades of Sabbath in Ozzy's addled brain The Independent on Sunday (London); Jul 4, 2010; Simon Price; p. 62 Considering all he's been through, Osbourne makes a decent job of resurrecting the old hits Rock Ozzy Osbourne Leas Cliff Hall FOLKESTONE One unshakeable fact emerges as I revisit Ozzy Osbourne's back catalogue while the train rolls on towards Folkestone: I bloody love Black Sabbath. It's all too easy to caricature Sabbath as pseudo-mystic dumbos, a Led Zeppelin for CSE kids, all upside-down crosses and Aleister Crowley, but find the footage of their early TV appearances and you'll see a straightahead, speed-freak, gonzo garage rock band, essentially a British Stooges, right down to their "motor city" origins. When they came into their own, however, was when they killed the speed and locked into a sludgy, dinosaur-footed groove, like a diplo-docus wading to its slow death through the La Brea tar pits, as exemplified by "Sweet Leaf", sampled by the Beasties, Buttholes and countless others. Sabbath exuded a specifically working-class strain of youthful nihilism, mistrustful of the treachery of the adult world, cynical about the employment conveyor belt, concerned only with making the rent, smoking weed and waiting for the apocalypse: "Hole in the sky, take me to heaven ..." And, in the forlorn, woe-is-me voice of Ozzy Osbourne, those sentiments had the perfect vehicle. Taking the Ozzy Osbourne of 2010 seriously, however, is a challenge. It wasn't The Osbournes that blew Ozzy's gravitas: he'd already done that himself with his campy 1980s persona. But since that series, he's become a nationally treasured, substance-damaged jester, shouting "Sharooonnn!" in novelty greetings cards, rerecording "Changes" - Sabbath's suicidal end-of-relationship lament - as a soft-centred Father's Day gift, and appearing in the Beeb's appalling patriotic montage before England's World Cup humiliation. He's got some ground to reclaim, and no mistake. And, to my mild surprise, the old man makes a decent fist of it. For starters, either I'm going blind, the make-up's thick, or the lighting's sympathetic ... or he really is looking relatively lean and healthy. Corpse-like pallor, black nail varnish, smudged eyeliner, maniacal grin: this is the Ozzy you want to see. Admittedly, he does that doddery, confused walk familiar from his family's reality show. Admittedly, the guy sitting side-stage with the laptop, advancing the lyrics line by line for Ozzy's autocue, is a vital member of the crew. Admittedly, his slurring speech is difficult to decipher, besides a repeated "I can't hear you!" which, at his age, might be a genuine cri de coeur rather than showbiz banter. But his charisma is so strong it's ridiculous, and that voice is as magnificently mournful as ever. Taking the stage in a diamante-sleeved cape for "Bark at the Moon", he hurls bottles of mineral water into the crowd. Immediately, someone sprays the contents back at him, whereupon he roars "Let's 'ave a fuckin' war!", and retaliates with a whole bucketful, a stunt he repeats three times. Solo hits such as "Shot in the Dark" and "Mama I'm Coming Home" are all very well, but I'm here for the Sab stuff, and tonight we get Beavis & Butt-Head favourite "Iron Man", "Fairies Wear Boots" (one of the brilliant Sabbath songtitles) and an encore of proto-punk anthem "Paranoid", whose opening line "Finished with my woman cos she couldn't help me with my mind" is a great blues lyric, never mind heavy metal. It matters little that I'm not hearing it performed by original Sabbath personnel, nor even by long-time sidekick Zakk Wylde. Ozzy has easily as much right to these songs as Tony Iommi, who sullied the band's reputation in the 1980s by putting out "Sabbath" albums featuring just one original member: himself. These days, Oz is backed by three tattooed longhairs of above average competence, and a drummer whose riser, hilariously, is half the height of the room. And they're perfectly adequate. What's a guitarist anyway, except a hired hand? He promises more songs if we "go wild", and I'd have sold my soul for "War Pigs" (if only to bellow along with legendary non-rhyme "Generals gather in their masses/Just like witches at black masses ..."), but the lights come up, so Folkestone must have failed to go wild enough for Ozzy's liking. Then again, maybe he just didn't hear us.

Ozzy 's regrets at show The Express 02 August 2010; EDITED BY LIZZIE CATT WITH LISA HIGGINS, DANA GLOGER AND JACK TEAGUE HIS family became reality television's most famous stars but Ozzy Osbourne now says he regrets appearing in the hit show. While he acknowledges MTV's The Osbournes revitalised his career Ozzy now thinks it was harmful to his family and says it's unlikely that he would ever repeat the experience. The 61-year-old singer, who starred in the show alongside wife Sharon and children Jack and Kelly from 2002 until 2005, says: "The kids couldn't handle it and my wife couldn't handle it - she had colon cancer. "On the one hand the show was phenomenal but on the other hand I had to watch my family suffer." Recalling the surreal experience of having his home turned into a television set he adds: "You go to bed one day and you wake up and the world's completely different. Everywhere there's cameras, you get attacked by the things." Despite the cost to his family the singer remains proud to have been involved in what he considers ground-breaking TV. "We invented a new form of television, " he insists. "We started the ball rolling for these new shows now. But would we do it all over again? I don't know. I don't think so." The Black Sabbath star was speaking as he re-ignited his feud with rival rocker, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, who dramatically clashed with Sharon back in 2005 during an Ozzfest event in San Benardino. "You know what? Unbeknown to me at the time he was going on stage every night and slagging me off and that really wasn't fair, " Osbourne now explains. "He needs a psychiatrist if he does that, he's nuts. It's an irresponsible thing to do."

SAJ, I wanted to help get your Ozzy thread off to a flying start. Did you know that Ozzy does a column in the UK Sunday Times entitled 'Ask Dr Ozzy'? The ST do caution readers that Dr Ozzy is in no way medically qualified;). Here is an example from the October 17 2010 edition:- Ask Dr Ozzy The Sunday Times (London); Oct 17, 2010; p. 13 Full Text: (Copyright © Times Newspapers Limited 2010) 'The good thing about being Dr Ozzy is that I sometimes get the chance to save lives. So count yourself lucky -- under no circumstances suggest to your girlfriend that she should get a boob job' Dear Dr Ozzy My husband has bought a hot tub and put it in our garden, but I refuse to get in it as I've heard horror stories about the water becoming a breeding ground for germs. He says I'm worrying too much, and spends half the weekend in there. What's your opinion? Betty, Portsmouth You're both right. There's nothing better than being outdoors in a hot tub on a crisp October evening, drinking a nice glass of something cold. But if you don't maintain it properly, it can turn into a swamp, with algae, frogs and God-knowswhat-else floating in there. Even though it's shiny and blue, with pressure jets and mood lighting, a hot tub is still basically a big boiling cauldron of chemicals. The worst is when you have a party and a bunch of hairy blokes climbs in. Another thing with hot tubs: you gotta watch the heat. I used to get blasted on cocaine, feel my heart pounding, then try to calm down by jumping into 900-degree water. Once, my head almost exploded. But if your husband cleans his new toy regularly -- he can even sign up for a maintenance service -- there's no reason you shouldn't take a dip. It might even improve your love life. I wish my girlfriend was better endowed. Would it be rude to suggest a boob job? I'd pay for it. Stan, Cheshire The good thing about being Dr Ozzy is I sometimes get the chance to save lives. Stan, count yourself lucky, 'cos that's what I'm about to do: under no circumstances bring this up with your girlfriend. If I made this suggestion to Sharon, the Osbourne crown jewels would end up halfway up my esophagus. To be honest, I wouldn't blame her. I mean, imagine if the situation was reversed, and your girlfriend asked you to get an enlargement of your own? How would that feel? If it's that important to you, dump the girl and find yourself a Page 3 model. I'm a 28-year-old virgin (ouch). I recently met a girl and we tried to make love, but I couldn't 'finish'. She accused me of indulging in solitary pleasures and wearing the big chap out. Is this possible? We tried again in the morning but I couldn't even achieve match fitness. Chris, Reading This could just be nerves, Chris. Also, if you were drinking before your first attempt, that might have stopped you from reaching the fireworks ceremony. Then again, maybe you are "wearing the big chap out" -- you don't exactly seem to be denying it, do you? So my advice to you is calm down, don't drink beforehand, and cut out the five-knuckle shuffles. I keep getting a build-up of debris in my belly button. It freaks me out, especially in the shower, when the fluff looks like a black spider crawling down my front. Gary, Iver Heath, Bucks Where's this fluff coming from? What are you wearing under your shirt -- a shag-pile carpet? The first thing I'd suggest is washing more (ie, more than once a year) and using a cotton-wool bud. Maybe you've got a really big belly button? So why not put it to good use? After you've cleaned out the fluff, try keeping a pack of mints in there or something. That should stop debris building up. And mints always come in handy. I keep hearing humans need to drink eight glasses of water a day. This can't be right, can it? Billy, Leicester I tried drinking eight glasses of water a day for a while, and my bladder felt like a red-hot cannon ball. The way I look at it is: if you eat lots of fruit and veg, you'll get water from your food. On top of that, drink till you're not thirsty any more -- which means if you lose water from exercise, you'll be thirstier and need to drink a bit more. That's what animals do when they go to a watering hole. We ain't different. My wife keeps nagging me to get a pedicure. Is this really something men get done these days? What's wrong with a few jagged toenails? I'm a bloke. Pete, Merseyside You have two choices: get nagged, or give in. If it's any consolation, I'm the Prince of Darkness and I've had more pedicures than hot dinners. Think of your pedicurist as more or less the same thing as a "chiropodist". I'm at the point now where I quite like getting a good old foot pruning. Ozzy was talking to Chris Ayres Do you have a question for Dr Ozzy? Email him at askdrozzy@sunday-times.co.uk Warning: Ozzy Osbourne is not a qualified medical professional. Caution is advised SURGERY NOTICE BOARD Thanks to Jane, a Dr Ozzy reader who emailed to say how her brother handled a malodorous co-worker (Marie, Stoke-on-Trent, October 3). She says: "My brother turned to his colleague, lifted his arm, sniffed his own armpit, smiled and said, 'Well, it isn't me.' This did the trick."

The phone number of the gallery is 020 7836 6747. Their website is www.elmslesters.co.uk. Up to date information regarding the exhibition will be posted on the website. They are awaiting final details from Genesis Publishing.

I phoned the Gallery this morning. I said to the woman who answered the phone "would you tell me which days this is open to the public, because I would not want to turn up and find that there is a private function on, and then have to go away!". She then told me that there will be a private function at the gallery the evening before, i.e. Thursday, 4 November. She added that it is 'invite only'. So there you are, if you are within travelling distance, get there with your cameras, video recorders. She said that the 5/6 November is open to the public and that it is free. I asked how many photos would be exhibited and she said "a lot". She added that the opening hours will be put on their website. It appears that this is being done in conjunction with Genesis.

There's a BBC programme which goes out in the morning on weekdays called 'Homes Under The Hammer'. It is a programme in which experts uncover the tricks of the property auction trade. Last week, when the two presenters were going round one of the houses bought at auction, 'Houses of the Holy' from Physical Graffiti was playing throughout as the background music.

Source:- Mail On Sunday I would draw your attention to the fact that the article says that the drug dealer known as the 'acid king' was never seen again after the raid in 1967, yet one of the photo captions states that here he is with Keith in 1973B). How the Acid King confessed he DID set up Rolling Stones drug bust for MI5 and FBI By Sharon Churcher and Peter Sheridan Last updated at 2:46 PM on 24th October 2010 It is one of the most intriguing chapters in the history of the Rolling Stones. The drugs raid on a party at guitarist Keith Richards’s Sussex home, Redlands, more than 40 years ago very nearly destroyed the band. And one of the 1967 episode’s unexplained mysteries was the identity of the man blamed by Richards and Mick Jagger for setting them up, a young drug dealer known as the Acid King. Crime scene: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards outside Redlands, the home that was raided by police in 1967 He was a guest at the party – and supplied the drugs – but vanished after the raid, never to be seen or heard of again. Jagger and Richards were arrested and jailed for possession of cannabis and amphetamines, though later acquitted on appeal. Richards claimed last week in his autobiography, Life, that the Acid King was a police informant called David Sniderman. The truth appears to confirm Richards’s long-held belief that the band was targeted by an Establishment fearful of its influence over the nation’s youth. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Sniderman was a Toronto-born failed actor who told his family and friends he was recruited by British and American intelligence as part of a plot to discredit the group. After the Redlands bust, he slipped out of Britain and moved to the States where he changed his name to David Jove, and lived in Hollywood, later working as a small-time producer and film-maker. Informant: David Jove pictured with his wife Lotus Weinstock at a family wedding Maggie Abbott, a Sixties talent agent, met him in Los Angeles in 1983 and became his lover. He told her how he infiltrated the group but said he was now ‘on the run’. She said: ‘David was a heavy drug user but had a quick wit. He was the perfect choice to infiltrate the Stones. ‘He never showed any remorse for what he did. It was all about how he had been “the victim”. He was a totally selfish person. ‘Mick had been my friend as well as a client and I thought about trying to persuade David to come clean publicly. ‘But he was always armed with a handgun and I feared that if I gave him away, he’d shoot me.’ His identity was confirmed by a scion of a family of American philanthropists, James Weinstock. Close: Jove, pictured here with Keith Richards in 1973, was a heavy drug user with a quick wit. As a result, he was easily able to infiltrate the Stones' inner circle Still rocking and rolling: Keith Richards has recently published his autobiography, Life Two years after the Redlands raid, ‘Dave Jove’ married Mr Weinstock’s sister, Lotus, in Britain. ‘They’d come up with some new way to make acid and decided to go to the UK and sell it,’ Miss Abbott said. But David was caught carrying pot by Customs. ‘Some other guys turned up – he implied they were MI5 or MI6 – and they gave him an ultimatum: he’d get out of prison time if he set up the Stones.’ The British agents were in cahoots, he told Miss Abbott, with the FBI’s notorious Counterintelligence division, known as Cointelpro, which specialised in discrediting American groups deemed to be ‘subversive’. On Christmas Day in 1969, ‘Jove’s’ new wife, Lotus, gave birth to a daughter, Lili. Their marriage lasted 18 years, though they never lived together. ‘I first met David when I returned to California from Bali, where I had gone searching for God,’ said James Weinstock, Lotus’s brother. ‘One New Year’s Eve, he showed me a gun and said he’d just killed a man who was messing with his car.’ Later he was rumoured to have murdered a TV personality, Peter Ivers, the presenter of a TV show that ‘Jove’ produced. Miss Abbott said: ‘There was talk that Peter had decided to leave the show and David was angry. ‘I discovered “Jove” wasn’t David’s real name when he shot himself through his heel with his gun. ‘When we checked him into hospital, he used a made-up name and later I found out his real name was Sniderman.’ Satisfaction: The Rolling Stones pictured in their 1960s heyday His first half-hearted admission was to Mr Weinstock: ‘He told me he was tight with the Rolling Stones in England, but had a falling-out with them,’ he said. ‘He was arrested for some ser­ious offence, but managed to extric­ate himself, and he said it all looked very suspicious when the police busted the Rolling Stones. They froze him out after that.’ In 1985, Miss Abbott and an old friend, Marianne Faithfull, went out for dinner in Los Angeles. Miss Abbott introduced her to ‘Jove’ – but Ms Faithfull soon told her she wanted to leave. Miss Abbott says: ‘When we got into my car, she said, “It’s him, the Acid King. He set up the Redlands bust. Don’t ever see him again”. ’ Miss Abbott added: ‘Two months after the evening with Marianne, I finally had it out with him. ‘To my amazement, he told me everything. He said, “It’s a relief to be able to talk about it”. ’ ‘Jove’s’ final confession was made to his daughter, Lili Haydn, now a 40-year-old rock violinist. She said: ‘Shortly before his death he said he was the Acid King. ‘He told me he wasn’t a drug dealer. He felt he was expanding the consciousness of some of the greatest minds of his day.’ Later in his life he was ostracised by his glamorous LA set after his drug use became ‘voluminous’. He died alone in 2004.

I have underlined the text to which I want to draw your attention. I wonder if Jimmy will be turning up in person to this display? If so, there's a chance for our London based members to hang around and see the great man in person. Source:- NME 23 October 2010 Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page', a limited edition photographic autobiography from the Led Zeppelin guitarist, has sold out despite not being officially released yet. The book – which cost £495 – is 512 pages long and features over 650 images of Page from throughout his career. Selling out through pre-orders, the hefty book from Genesis Publications, is bound in leather and wrapped in silk and was compiled by Page himself, who also wrote the text. A selection of pictures from the book, taken by photographers such as Kate Simon, Neal Preston, Ross Halfin and Pennie Smith will be on display on November 5-6 at Elms Lester Painting Rooms in Covent Garden, London. Source:- Londontown.com Elms Lesters PaintingRooms Address: Elms Lesters Painting Rooms, 135 Flitcroft Street, Covent Garden, WC2H 8DH Telephone: 020 7836 6747 Elms Lesters Painting Rooms are housed in an extraordinary space, purpose built as a painting studio in 1904. Since 1984 the gallery has been specialising in contemporary artists who began their careers working on the street. The building still serves its original purpose as there's not only an exhibition space here but artists rooms and facilities for artists to work in residence. These affiliated artists often produce site specific work which is displayed in the gallery. Close to theatre land, the scenic painting studios have been used to create masterpieces for theatre backdrops for more than a hundred years.

Hi Deborah J, Could it be Jackie de Shannon? She was blonde and American.

Later with Jools Holland Friday 29 October 11:50pm - 12:55am BBC2 7/10, series 37 Paul McCartney performs songs from Band on the Run to celebrate the re-issue of the 1973 album, and singer-songwriter Neil Diamond plays a set containing numbers from his forthcoming release Dreams. Plus, Elvis Costello provides tunes from National Ransom, Ohio-based blues rockers the Black Keys play material from Brothers, and Californian R&B artist Aloe Blacc sings from his Good Things album. Extended version of Tuesday's edition. VIDEO Plus+: 900639

Yes Magic, and it is being repeated on the same evening at 2320 hrs for anyone who missed the first showing.

Thanks Sam

SAJ, I was thinking about this too, just after I posted it. It doesn't make sense to me either, and I have to say that I think it is a piece of made up nonsense. Jason's children are 17 and 14 years old - they are not small children who would perhaps have never met, or seen recent pictures of, RP,JP and JPJ. Obviously, I do not know if they were in attendance at the O2, but they are bound to have seen the post-gig press photos, and they were in Robert's company shortly thereafter. The three remaining LZ members have not aged that much since December 2007.

Well done Deborah J for finding photos of the ceremony - I was hunting high and low, yet could not find anything. Obviously, it's congratulations to JPJ for this award. He is, and always has been, a tremendous musician and arranger. Also, he has worn very well!!!

Magic, I'm dreading the rest of this book. Sam (Webmaster) posted an excerpt of his (Davis') encounter with Bonzo. Davis' persistent naming of Bonzo as 'the Beast' is highly objectionable. Obviously, Davis is well aware that you cannot defame the dead. What I think I shall do is stand in Waterstones and look through the book during my lunch hour. I do not wish to give Mr Davis a penny piece of my money for what will probably be a revisionist history!

Magic, I was joking when I posted this . When I saw the item, I simply couldn't believe that anyone would give that amount of money for a Johnny Rotten pictorial book! The other book which I can't see selling even half a dozen copies, is Ross Halfin's imminent travel book through Genesis Publications. With the way the economy is going in Britain, publishers are going to have to be a bit more careful to whom they give deals. BTW, I saw your comment regarding the unreadable link on the Mary McCartney book launch thread, and have posted some pictures and info about her book on the thread. LOL