MUSIC NEWS

AXL ROSE GETS INJURED Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose suffered an injury while the group was kicking off their tour in Moscow. Axl reportedy hurt his leg when he fell off a table while dancing at the Premier Lounge after their second Moscow concert. Rose tweeted, "Can U say HemaToma?!" Rose reportedly slipped and pulled a hamstring. DISCO LEGEND DONNA SUMMER DEAD AT 63 The Queen of Disco Donna Summer died on Thursday (May 17th) of lung cancer. She was 63 years old. According to TMZ.com, Donna's family said in a statement, "Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith. While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy. Words truly can't express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time." She was reportedly in Florida at the time of her death. Sources say that the singer was trying to keep the extent of her illness quiet. The source added that she was actually focused on completing a new album and was in good spirits. Donna's longtime attorney Gerry Rosenblatt said that the disco icon didn't let people know how sick she was. He told RadarOnline.com, "Donna was a very private person, and I suspected there was an issue because she had turned down very lucrative work over the past year, but she never talked to me about being sick and it was never confirmed. She turned down all the interviews and all scheduled work. You knew that something was up and I suspected a serious illness." He continued, "I am very shaken up, I have been her attorney since 1980, and I know her whole family. This is not a good day. " Donna became a superstar in the 1970's with hits like "Last Dance," "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls" and "Love To Love You Baby". Throughout the 80's, the five time Grammy winner also had huge hits like "She Works Hard for the Money" and "This Time I Know It's for Real." Donna leaves behind her husband of 31 years, Bruce Sudano and three daughters, Mimi Sommer, Brooklyn Sudano and Amanda Sudano. CELEBRITY REACTIONS Celebrities took to Twitter to mourn the death of Donna Summer. Quincy Jones tweeted, "Rest in Peace dear Donna Summer. Your voice was the heartbeat and soundtrack of a decade." Ellen DeGeneres wrote, "I'm so sad about the news that Donna Summer died this morning. I was a big fan. I even used one of her songs in my show that airs today." Mary J Blige: "RIP Donna Summer! You were truly a game changer!" Rihanna: "Donna Summer??" Keri Hilson: "I may be an 80's baby, but I loved the disco era. Donna Summer & Diana Ross were the inspiration for my 70's scene in Pretty Girl Rock vid!" Ryan Seacrest: "I remember sitting in the front seat of my mom's toyota while she sang Donna Summer's "she works hard for the money" songs were just classic" Timbaland: "this cant be true. I can't believe this RIP Donna Summer. At a loss for words" Robin Roberts: "Heard about the passing of #DonnaSummer - fond memories of singing and dancing to her music. Blessings to her family.? Holly Robinson Peete: "#IJUSTCANT. Donna Summer..."The VOICE"... Well Done Diva. #RIPDonna *long tears* Jackee Harry wrote, "Life Is A Dash - But Donna Summer's Was Beautifully Punctuated! #LoveToLove Her. RIP Donna." Niecy Nash: "Whitney. Tina Marie. Vesta. Now Donna Summer. The choir in heaven has a new member. They will be singing up a beautiful storm:) RIP DonnaSummer #discodiva #sadtweet" Rupaul: "Donna Summer, your last dance with remain in our hearts forever." The Roots' ?uestlove wrote, "Donna Summer. Man I can't believe this--- like 'My Baby Understands' was on my workout playlist this morning! This MORNING! God...I just..." BIO LaDonna Adrian Gaines was born on December 31, 1941 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was a groundbreaking artist who merged the sounds of R&B, pop, funk, rock, disco and electronica. As a young girl, Donna sang in church choirs and city-wide choruses. By her early twenties, she launched her music career on stage in Munich, Germany, in productions of Hair and Porgy & Bess. While in Germany, she hooked up with producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellote who produced her first single "Hostage," which became a hit in The Netherlands, France and Belgium. In 1972, she married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer and gave birth to their daughter Mimi Sommer in 1973. The two divorced after she had an alleged affair but she kept his last name, but changed it to Summer. In 1975, Moroder and Bellotte produced "Love To Love You Baby" -- which rose to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. She also released hits like "MacArthur Park," "Bad Girls," "Hot Stuff," "Dim All The Lights," "On The Radio" and Enough Is Enough" as well as the Grammy and Academy award winning theme song "Last Dance" from the Thank God It's Friday film. By 1977, the pressures of fame and past mistakes had begun to take a toll on her. Donna had began suffering from depression and anxiety attacks and had attempted suicide several times. She was also addicted to prescription medicine. Following a nervous breakdown in 1979, Summer became a born again Christian. On her suicide attempt, she once reportedly said, "It sorta snuck up on me, and I think it because I had my daughter, and during that period, my marriage broke up, and I was alone, and I was staying up at night, and I would go out and work and then, I would be getting 2 to 3 hours a sleep a day. It was scary, and so I couldn't deal another minute of it, and I was on my way out the window . . ." She continued, "I was sticking my foot out, I was shifting my weight, and I got caught in a curtain and the maid opened the door, exactly that time . . . and I thought, 'Oh, my God!,' It really kind of shook me, it woke me up and then I let her in, and I got on the phone, and I think I called somebody said, 'I need help,' and thank God that lady came, because I'd be gone today." In 1980, Donna became the first artist to sign to David Geffen's new label Geffen Records. She released three albums on the label, The Wanderer, 1982's Donna Summer and She Works Hard for the Money. She went on to collaborate with writers and producers like Quincy Jones, Michael Omartian, and England's dance-pop production compound Stock Aitken Waterman and produced hits like "State of Independence," featuring Michael Jackson on backing vocals, and "She Works Hard For The Money," one of the most-played songs of all-time, and "This Time I Know It's For Real." By the mid 1980's Donna Summer was embroiled in controversy. She allegedly made anti-gay comments regarding the-then relatively new disease AIDS. Her comments had a negative impact on her career and saw thousands of her records being returned to her record company by angry fans. Donna allegedly said that AIDS was a punishment from God for the immoral lifestyles of homosexual. She later apologized and denied making the comments. She went on the release the albums Cats Without Claws (1984), All Systems Go (1987), Another Place And Time (1989). In the 90's she released albums such as Mistaken Identity, The Donna Summer Anthology, Christmas Spirit, and Endless Summer: Greatest Hits -- which spawned the #1 hit, "Melody of Love", and Live & More Encore. She continued to tour to sold out audiences worldwide and also made guest appearances on the hit TV sitcom Family Matters. In 1999, Sony/Epic Records released VH1 Presents Donna Summer: Live & More - Encore! an album and DVD of Donna's acclaimed VH1 broadcast taped at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. The show premiered on VH1 as one of the network's highest rated shows to date and featured live performances of Summer's top hits. In 2003, she released The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer. She also released her autobiography Ordinary Girl. In 2008, celebrating four decades of milestones, Donna Summer released a new album in 17 years entitled Crayons. The album debuted at #17 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart making it Summer's highest debuting album ever. It also debuted at #5 on the Billboard R&B chart. " Career Achievements The five-time Grammy winner was the first female artist to have back-to-back multiplatinum double albums and the first female artist to incorporate synthesizers as well as the first artist to create and extended play song. She was also first female to have four #1 singles in a 12 month period; 3 as a solo artist and one as a duo with Barbra Streisand. Donna Summer was the first artist to win the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female (1979, "Hot Stuff") as well as the first-ever recipient of the Grammy for Best Dance Recording (1997, "Carry On"). In 2004, she became one of the first inductees, as both an Artist Inductee and a Record Inductee (for 1977's "I Feel Love") into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in New York City. Donna Summer earned five Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, three consecutive #1 platinum double albums (she's the only artist, male or female, ever to accomplish this), 11 gold albums, four #1 singles, 2 platinum singles, and 12 gold singles. Donna was also the first female artist to have a #1 single and #1 album on the Billboard charts simultaneously ("Live & More;" "MacArthur Park" 1978) a feat she also repeated six months later ("Bad Girls" & "Hot Stuff" in 1979). She charted 22 #1 hits on the Billboard Disco/Dance charts, over a period of 25 years a milestone solidifying her as The Queen of Dance. In addition to her recording and performing career, Summer was an accomplished visual artist whose work had been shown at exhibitions worldwide. Since 1989, she had sold over 1.2 million dollars in original art - with her highest piece going for $150,000. Donna has sold more than 130 million records worldwide. She was ranked at #24 in Billboard Magazine's 50th anniversary issue featuring Hot 100 Artists of All Time. SOUND Donna Summer on growing up: "Growing up in my house was very difficult in, in one sense because you couldn't, you couldn't have privacy. I mean, we took baths together, we went to the bathroom together - I mean, if someone happened to be in the bathtub and you had to go to the bathroom, you just went. And, uh, it was just, you shared just about everything." Donna Sumer on singing at her dad's church at 10-year-old: "It sort of knocked everybody out of the pews. When I looked up through my tears, everyone in the whole church's eyes were downcast and they were crying, and I thought, 'Oh my God.' I looked at my dad and he was crying. It was that, on that first time I ever sang that I heard God speak to me, and He said to me that I was gonna be famous, and that I was not to misuse the power that he was giving me." Donna on painting being therapeutic "The reason I've always done it and never even thought of it as a talent or an art, for me, was because it was therapeutic. It was something that was always there, it was something that I always did. I've done it for years - I'd say, before my oldest daughter was born, or just around the time that she was born, I started really getting into it again. But I was too - I wouldn't let anybody see anything, 'cause the people that painted that were around me were much, much more advanced than I was. So I would kind of paint and keep it to myself." On her 2008 album Crayons: "I just felt like it was okay for me to explore some areas that I probably would have been reluctant to explore before, and once I got going I determined that every song -- no two songs would go on the album if they were alike. It really had to be different. So that was my criteria for the album. And I wanted each song to possibly be able to be a single." Summer recalled how the process of recording Crayons came about: "Two years before this album got done, my record company came to me and asked me to do, you know, like a standards record, which I told them 'no.' And they said, 'But people your age, we don't know if there's market there for you, they don't really know what to do with people (laughs) your age...' I said, 'What does my age got to do with it? I mean isn't it about the songs?' I was talking one day to Clive Davis, who I totally respect and love. I said, 'Clive, which direction should I go?' And he said, 'Listen Donna, It's all about the songs. Just get great songs.'" GLEN CAMPBELL FIGHTS ALZHEIMER'S ON CAPITOL HILL Glen Campbell visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday (May 15th) to promote awareness of Alzheimer's. The legendary singer was joined by his wife, Kim, and his children Ashley, Cal and Shannon, as well as Harry Johns, the CEO of the Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's Awareness advocates and Glen's friends, actress Jane Seymour and her husband, James Keach, were also in attendance. Glen's daughter, Ashley, gave a reportedly tearful speech at the conference, during which she reminisced about going fishing with her dad. She added that soon, he "won't recognize who I am." On Wednesday (May 16th) night, Glen performed for a full house at the Library of Congress. Glen continues on his Goodbye tour tonight (Friday, May 18th) in Paducah, Kentucky. The trek runs through July. GO TO ROCK CAMP WITH GENE SIMMONS Rock N' Roll fantasy camp has announced that in honor of their 15th anniversary co-founder and bassist for KISS, Gene Simmons will be headlining the camp. The camp takes place from October 10 to October 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Gene Simmons said, "I can't wait to reveal the secrets of becoming a rock star. Rock N' Roll Fantasy Camp is a grueling, military style musical training process. And I'm just the guy to be your Sergeant. Now, drop and give me twenty." Simmons will join the campers in jam sessions and give all talent levels a taste of what it's like to be a real rocker. The campers will jam nightly with the stars and write and record an original song and perform it live on stage in front of family and friends. The camp will host special rock stars including Zakk Wylde, Vince Neil and Sebastian Bach. You can choose between a three-day or five-day package. Both packages cover accommodations, food and classes. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PETE TOWNSHEND!!! Happy Birthday to Pete Townshend, who turns 67-years-old on Saturday (May 19th)!!! Townshend, who is the primary creative force behind the Who, wrote nearly all of the band's music and has been responsible for crafting the stories and themes behind such rock classics as Tommy, Who's Next, and Quadrophenia. Earlier this year, announced a publishing deal with Harper Collins for his long awaited autobiography, to be titled, Who He? The publishing house refused to reveal the terms of deal for the book, which is due out in October. In 2010 he pushed back a series of Who dates to complete his latest multimedia project based around an aging couple called Floss. He was quick to explain that the project is not the Who's next "rock opera" posting on TheWho.com, "Floss is not a new Who album. It is a musical play. Some of the music might work for Roger (Daltrey) and me; I am still working on it. I reckon I have another year to go writing." In 2009 he had announced the Floss project by stating: "Floss will be a (sound and light) musical piece, intended for outdoor performance, or arenas. Several of the more conventional songs from Floss will be featured on a forthcoming Who recording for release in 2010. Floss will be heard in concert for the first time in 2011, at a venue and date yet to be established. I am already having talks with producers in New York." There is still no date set for Floss' stage premiere. That same year Townshend and his wife of 40 years, Karen Astley, were granted a preliminary divorce in London's High Court. The couple had been separated since 1994. Townshend has been romantically linked with musician Rachel Fuller since 1996. In 2006, after a 24-year-wait, Townshend wrote and produced the Who's comeback album Endless Wire. Despite the album hitting Number Seven in the U.S. charts, Townshend has stated that he felt the album fell short of his commercial expectations, and complained that none of the songs garnered the level of airplay he had come to expect with previous Who projects. A while ago, we asked Townshend why he needs grand concepts such as Tommy, Quadrophenia, and the recent Wire And Glass mini-opera, behind most of his work: "I just write. I'm just a songwriter, y'know that's what I do. Which is why it's very important for me to have some kind of concept to hold me down, some kind of concept to give my work shape, focus, and direction. Because I don't feel that the Who ever had a clear brief (on what to write for them), ever, ever, ever, ever." Pete Townshend says that he realized very early on that the Who's relationship with their fans differed greatly from the traditional showbiz precedents: "What we suddenly realized is that we weren't speaking for our audience, our audience were telling us what to say. Now, that's a very, very, different process. And it's one that I discovered when I was very, very young, it's one that I continue to honor today. So what I'm trying to do is, when people say to me, 'Hey Pete, your songs are very personal. How do you think that Roger can feel about singing them?' Roger can sing them 'cause they're not personal at all. My songs are your songs." He says that he makes no apologies for veering away from rock music to dabble in theater, films and novels: "Y'know, some of those people that still to this day regard me as being pretentious because I aspire to live my life as an artist rather than a 'cash is king' rock n' roll performer. If that's pretentious, so be it." JOE WALSH EXPANDS 'ANALOG MAN' TOUR Joe Walsh keeps expanding his tour behind his upcoming album, Analog Man, which is his first new album in nearly two decades and is set for release on June 5th. Walsh and his band will now makes stops in Dublin, Ohio; Lansing, Michigan; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Salamanca, New York; Vienna, Virginia; Aspen, Colorado; and Richmond, BC. Walsh kicked off the tour last night (May 17th) in Catoosa, Oklahoma. Joe Walsh told us that although he enjoys touring as a solo act, he's really a band member at heart: "Solo tours are good, but they're demanding. You're the boss and you're in charge of everything. Being in a band takes the edge off that -- it's a little easier. You sing a few and get to play on other people's music." UPDATED: Joe Walsh tour dates (subject to change): May 18 - Winnie, TX - Nutty Jerry's, Winnie Arena May 20 - Richardson, TX - Wildflower Festival May 26 - Whites Creek, TN - The Woods At Fontane May 27 - Little Rock, AR - Riverfest at Downtown Little Rock May 31 - Toledo, OH - Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre June 2 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE June 30 - Naperville, IL - Ribfest July 3 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest July 4 - Dublin, OH - Coffman High School July 10 - Lansing, MI - Common Ground Music Festival at Adado Riverfront Park July 14 - Riverside, IA - Riverside Casino and Golf Resort July 28 - Sioux Falls, SD - Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival at Yankton Trail Park August 1 - Hyannis, MA - Cape Cod Melody Tent August 3 - Cohasset, MA - South Shore Music Circus August 4 - Westhampton Beach, NY - Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center August 7 - Morristown, NJ - Mayo Performing Arts Center August 10 - Hampton, NH - Hampton Beach Casino August 11 - Salamanca, NY - Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel Outdoor Venue August 13 - Vienna, VA - Filene Center At Wolf Trap August 18 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen August 19 - Littleton, CO - The Hudson Gardens Events Center August 25 - Salem, OR - Oregon State Fair at L.B. Day Amphitheatre August 30 - Tulalip, WA - Tulalip Resort Casino Amphitheatre September 1 - Richmond, BC - River Rock Casino Resort MICK JAGGER SET FOR 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE' THIS WEEKEND Mick Jagger will host tomorrow night's (May 19th) season finale of NBC's Saturday Night Live. Rumors began swirling earlier this month that the Stones would be joining Jagger on the show when news leaked that he group had been rehearsing in Manhattan and Weehawken, New Jersey. Strangely, it was Keith Richards who revealed to Rolling Stone that Jagger would be playing without the band. Jagger will perform three times on Saturday, being backed by Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, and Jeff Beck and his band, respectively. Jagger reportedly signed on to close out the show's 37th season at the personal request of executive producer Lorne Michaels. Jagger has appeared on SNL a total of five times over the years, performing as a musical guest once with the Stones on October 7th, 1978; twice as a solo act on February 6th, 1993 and again on December 8th, 2001; and made two cameos on the show -- on December 16th, 1978, singing with Peter Tosh and on February 6th, 1986 with a walk-on part with then-wife -- and that week's host -- Jerry Hall. Although Jagger appeared in various sketches during four of his five appearances, Saturday's show marks the first time he's hosted and performed since the Stones' 1978 debut. Bill German, the author of Under Their Thumb -- How A Nice Boy From Brooklyn Got Mixed Up With The Rolling Stones And Lived To Tell About It, and the editor of the legendary Stones fanzine Beggars Banquet, says the cultural importance of the Rolling Stones appearing on Saturday Night Live in 1978 cannot be underestimated: "Seeing them on (laughs) TV, on Saturday Night Live was, I think it was our generation's 'Beatles on Sullivan' (moment.) But, to see them really just take over the city, take over the country, take over Saturday night television; there was just such an electricity going on in New York City, and in the rock world, that the Stones are going to be live on TV at NBC Studios. It was, it was just overwhelming and exciting and, yeah, technically, maybe they didn't play that great, y'know -- they all lost their voices that week, and it was very rough, but it had. . . it had balls! Y'know, it had gravitas." STYX APPEARING ON 'THAT METAL SHOW' THIS WEEKEND Styx's Tommy Shaw and James "J.Y." Young will be making an appearance on VH1 Classics' That Metal Show airing on Saturday (May 19th) at 11 p.m. ET/PT. Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Damageplan, and Hellyeah will also appear on the episode. Styx is currently on the road with REO Speedwagon and Ted Nugent on the "Midwest Rock 'n Roll Express" tour and will be performing on Saturday night in Virginia Beach, Virginia at the Farm Bureau Live At Virginia Beach. J.Y. Young says that aside from Styx's greatest hits still receiving constant airplay, there's a relevancy in their song's lyrics that still connects with fans both old and young: "That music continues, and y'know, particularly Pieces Of Eight, like, 'Blue Collar Man.' Tommy was living in Michigan at the time he wrote that and it has such, unfortunately, such relevance today. So some new music that wrote and created and popularized 35, 34 years ago fits perfectly, sadly, fits perfectly with what's going on in America today." VAN HALEN POSTPONES 31 SUMMER SHOWS Van Halen has postponed 31 concerts starting from their July 7th show at Uncasville, Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Arena through their September 25th concert at Milwaukee's Bradley Center. There's been no statement as to why the shows have been postponed, whether they will be rescheduled, or any information regarding refunds. Although neither the band nor it's promoter, Live Nation, would comment on the scrapped gigs, an unnamed insider close to the band told Rolling Stone that Van Halen's members "hate each other" and that "the band is arguing like mad. They are fighting." The magazine questioned an industry source as to why the band is, seemingly, shelving such a large amount of dates, saying: "You want to know the absolute f***in' truth? I have no f***in' idea." A source at the 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena, where the band was scheduled to play on July 7th, said: "It's selling pretty good -- I don't know why they would say it's being canceled." A major selling point of Van Halen and David Lee Roth reuniting was that all of the squabbles and musical differences that tore the band apart in the mid-'80s had been resolved -- a point that Roth and Van Halen have always been quick to drive home to the public: (David Lee Roth) "We really have reformed this team like a brother team that it never was before. I think you hear that in my voice here, and we think we got it right this time. You come and judge the performance harshly. Please, I beg you, come on down and see." (Eddie Van Halen) "None of us want to give you less than our best and we are at our best." POSTPONED VAN HALEN TOUR DATES July 7 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena July 9 - Hampton, VA - Hampton Coliseum July 11 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center July 13 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center July 15 - Baltimore, MD - 1st Mariner Arena July 17 - Rochester N.Y. - Blue Cross Arena July 19 - Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena July 21 - London, ON - John Labatt Centre July 24 - Toledo, OH - Huntington Center July 26 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena July 28 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena July 31 - Fort Wayne, IN - Allen County Memorial Coliseum August 2 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center August 4 - Knoxville, YN - Thompson-Boiling Arena August 6 - Memphis, TN - FedEx Forum August 8 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC Arena August 10 - Greenville, SC - BI-LO Center August 12 - Cincinnati, OH - US Bank Arena August 21 - Spokane, WA - Spokane Arena August 23 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden August 25 - Sacramento, CA - Power Balance Pavilion August 28 - Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center August 30 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center September 4 - Salt Lake City, UT - EnergySolutions Arena September 8 - Albuquerque, NM - Tingley Coliseum September 11 - El Paso, TX - Don Haskins Center September 13 - Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center September 15 - Oklahoma City, OK - Chesapeake Energy Arena September 17 - Wichita, KS - Intrust Bank Arena September 21 - Moline, IL - Iwireless Center September 25 - Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center Van Halen tour dates (subject to change): May 19 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center May 22 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center May 24 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center May 27 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena June 1 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center June 3 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena June 5 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion June 12 - Anaheim, CA - Honda Center June 14 - San Diego, CA - Viejas Arena June 16 - Phoenix, AZ - US Airways Center June 20 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center June 22 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center June 24 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center June 27 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena