Music

As you may have heard, on Friday Adam Yauch died. Yauch was one of the Beastie Boys, one of the musical voices of their generation.

Neal Brennan is a comedian, and the co-creator of the Comedy Central series “Chappelle’s Show.” To honor Yauch, Brennan posted an unreleased Beastie Boys performance on his YouTube page. The performance was supposed to be for season three of “Chappelle’s Show,” but when comedian Dave Chappelle left the program, it never had a chance to see the light of day.

Until today that is.

Unfortunately, lawyers for Viacom have sent a takedown notice to YouTube, and the video has been removed.

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Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

Pete Fornatale, the man at the forefront of the progressive radio movement on FM in the late 1960s died yesterday after complications from a stroke at Manhattan’s Beth Israel Medical Center. He was 66.

Fornatale was an institution in New York radio, and at Fordham University’s WFUV. The Bronx native graduated in 1967 with a B.A. in Communication Arts. Fornatale remained on the school’s station until 1969. His future would soon be tied to WNEW-FM, with two decades at the station that long billed itself as the place “where rock lives!”

Another legendary air personality, Dennis Elsas worked with Fornatale at both stations. He was at the microphone yesterday informing listeners of Fornatale’s passing. Their friendship started 45 years ago. Still a student at Queens College, and working for the school’s radio station, Elsas found Fornatale by mistake on his alarm clock.

“I really enjoyed the show,” Elsas tells FishbowlNY. “…That accidentally hearing of his show, and liking what I heard, was the formation of a relationship, and we quickly saw that we had a lot in common.”

Fornatale had a misstep when he attempted to join WNEW in 1967, as he recalled to me in 2009.

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Whether showing that turbans can be chic or sending the paps into a tizzy just by entering Jay-Z and Beyonce‘s TriBeCa crib, June Ambrose often has the fashion world falling at her feet. And she single-handedly upgraded hip-hop’s street corner image with her innovative approach to music videos. (See this and this.)

In our Media Beat interview, Ambrose explained how she tapped into her West Indian roots for one of her most iconic looks: those shiny suits donned by Diddy and Mase in Notorious B.I.G‘s posthumous “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” clip.

“I showed [Diddy] the red metallic and he said, ‘I am not wearing that.’ I had to make one red leather outfit and one metallic leather outfit and… I won!” the star of VH1′s Styled by June said.

“You have to go into this business very fearless, and you have to have integrity for what you do… I said to him, ‘You have to just trust me. I know that sounds wild, but I put my career on this moment. I’m telling you it will make a huge difference.’ Once he saw the first take and he looked at playback, he looked at me and said ‘okay.’ And that was the beginning of not only a great working relationship, but a great friendship.”

Part 2:June Ambrose on Her New VH1 Show, Styled by June
Part 3: June Ambrose on How to Become a Fashion Stylist
Bonus! June Ambrose on Her Trademark Turban

Subscribe to mediabistroTV on YouTube.

Davy Jones, the devil-may-care Monkee, died today of a massive heart attack in his Florida home. He was 66.

Riding the wave of the Beatles, the Monkees were born in 1966. Jones, a Brit, was placed in the Paul McCartney role. The Monkees were the creation of record producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider. With a stable of songwriters like Neil Diamond, the Monkees became an overnight sensation with an NBC sitcom and their likeness everywhere else.

Jones sang lead on several chart-topping hits including I’m a Believer and Daydream Believer.

WCBS-FM morning man Dan Taylor was saddened to learn of Jones’ passing.

“[He was] always a great performer. I’ve interviewed him several times, and I always enjoyed his stories.” Taylor tells FishbowlNY. “Especially how he had a school chum named Daniel Taylor.”

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It’s a tragedy that resonates with fans around the world. Whitney Houston, one of the great voices of her generation, died suddenly Saturday night. She was 48. At the time of this writing, an autopsy was scheduled to be performed tomorrow.

Houston rocketed to superstardom in 1985 with her self-titled Whitney Houston. She remains the only artist to chart seven consecutive number ones on the Billboard Hot 100.

Bob Slade, the KISS FM news director and longtime music host, has early memories of the songstress.  He interviewed Houston at the radio station in the spring of 1985.

“Her debut album had just dropped,” Slade recalls. “She was very shy and reserved… A year and a half later I met the ‘real’ Whitney. [It was] night and day, full of life, funny, and was having a ball.”

Life, though, was not always a ball for the 80s iconic singer. In 1992, after a three-year courtship, Houston married singer Bobby Brown, and a downward spiral was underway.

Houston’s perfect image was tarnished by the end of the 1990s.  She admitted to drug abuse and her behavior was, at times, erratic.

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Legendary saxophonist Clarence Clemons who traveled with the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for decades, died Saturday following complications of a stroke the week before. He was 69.

He was so much more than a part of the band.  The “Big Man” could be considered a sidekick to “The Boss.”

Carol Miller, the legendary Classic Rock jock, who does the night shift on Q 104.3 (WAXQ), saw the Clemons/Springsteen partnership blossom, as Bruce’s first album hit the shelves in 1973.

Miller was still working at Philadelphia’s WMMR when the future of Rock was on display.

“Bruce came on first, alone in those early shows, and did ‘Does the Bus Stop…’ Then, he would bring out the band,” Miller recalls. “When Clarence started playing, to be completely honest yet corny, he literally blew everyone away.”

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The lifeblood of Billboard has always been its music charts, like the Hot 100 or Top 200 Albums. Yet, now that Apple has officially killed Tower Records, it’s easy to assume that the Billboard brand is suffering right along with physical album sales.

Not true, says editorial director Bill Werde. With conferences like its upcoming Country Music Summit and cover subjects that keep folks buzzing, Werde says his mag has been able to adapt (thrive, even) with the times.

“I think there’s some important differentiation between what iTunes does and what Billboard does,” @bwerde explained. “I think iTunes is great for measuring immediacy. If you wanna see just a quick thing, like someone was on Glee last night. [To see] how did that song do, the next morning you can go to the iTunes chart and see there was an immediate response.”

In the full video, Werde details more of Billboard‘s cover strategy and reveals whether  he’s Team Kim or Team Nicki.

You can also watch this video on YouTube.

Part 1: Billboard‘s Bill Werde: ‘If You’re Gonna Write About Music, You Better Love It’
Part 2: Billboard‘s Bill Werde Takes On Idol, Reality TV

 

While Billboard has long been required reading for music industry professionals, its online counterpart Billboard.com has expanded over the years to be more consumer friendly, often covering whatever musical moment is in the zeitgeist.

So, for the second installment of our @MediaBeat interview, we got editorial director Bill Werde to weigh in on music television, like Danielle Staub‘s quest for the Hot 100, and why  American Idol has produced more flops than platinum plaques. (We see you, Taylor Hicks.)

“Once you get off of Idol, it’s just such a fleeting window of opportunity generally,” @bwerde said. “We’ve seen –  and the labels now know — that when you finish second, or third, or fourth, or somewhere in the top 10 on Idol, you’ve had an enormous amount of exposure. But you better get those records out fast because, in like 20 minutes, people are going to forget about you.”

You can also watch this video on YouTube.

Part 1:Billboard‘s Bill Werde: ‘If You’re Gonna Write About Music, You Better Love It’
Part 3: Bill Werde: ‘iTunes’ Success Does Not Equal Billboard‘s Detriment’

As all eyes watch American Idol dwindle down to the final four, fans of the show will recall Robbie Rosen. The melodic, Merrick native, Rosen had an untimely exit from the popular Fox talent competition after reaching the Top 24.

Rosen, now making the rounds, especially on Long Island, appeared at the Folio Awards in Woodbury last week. He sang the National Anthem.

The unassuming junior from Calhoun High School would have liked to continue on Idol, but considers himself lucky.

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