Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Johnny Cash had a voice that rumbled as deep as bone and songs that secured his reputation as one of the greats of country music. Now, seven years after his death, his final album, American VI: Ain't No Grave, will be released on 26 February – which would have been his 78th birthday. But while his millions of fans may have believed Cash to be an all-American outlaw, the man himself was obsessed with his Scottish roots.

The unlikely tale begins in the late 1970s when Cash was returning to the United States and found himself seated next to Major Michael Crichton-Stuart, hereditary keeper of Falkland Palace in the Kingdom of Fife on the east side of Scotland. Cash mentioned that he had heard that his family originated in Scotland. Crichton-Stuart told the singer that he knew this to be the case since there were farms and streets in Fife that still bore the Cash name.

Inspired by the chance meeting on the plane, Cash visited a genealogist and discovered that he was of Scottish descent and that his clan had originated around the 12th century in the Strathmiglo area of Fife. The connection was traced back to when the niece of Malcolm IV (1153-1165) – who was named Cash or Cashel – married the Earl of Fife. The first American Cash connection came in 1612 when mariner William Cash sailed from Scotland to Salem, Massachusetts, with a boatload of pilgrims.

What may to others have appeared a tenuous Celtic connection was for the country star something altogether more profound and meaningful. The shared roots of country music and Celtic music inspired Cash to visit Scotland and he travelled to Fife at least three times – most notably in 1981 when he recorded a Christmas special for US television.

Local people were startled to see Cash, dressed in trademark black trench coat and battered leather boots, walking the streets of their tiny town with fellow singer Andy Williams. Bob Beveridge, who runs a secondhand violin store in Falkland, was charged with looking after Cash while he was in town.

"He was a lovely man," Beveridge recalled. "He spent most of his time inquiring about the local people rather than the other way round. There is a wooden post outside the palace and I remember seeing Johnny just perching on that post and talking to anyone who would walk past."

Beveridge, who still lives in Falkland, will reveal in a BBC Radio 4 documentary how, seven years ago, he bumped into Cash's daughter outside his store. "I asked her: 'What's your name', and she told me it was Rosanne Cash, and I said: 'That's strange because Johnny Cash also traced his family to here.' 'That was my dad,' she said. So I went upstairs and dug out my old photographs of her dad and me and told her what a wonderful man he was and she burst out crying. Ever since then she has regularly been in touch with me."

Rosanne was in Fife only months after her father's death. "There was something about going there and feeling so connected and welcomed that satisfied my grief and soothed it," she said. "The knowledge that I was returning to the place where our family's story started and going to somewhere that gave my father so much pleasure and pride."

The links between Cash and Scotland were also musical. "Going further back into our Celtic past made him realise that this was where he derived his tone of voice, the mournful quality to his music," she said, "and it was that sense of place and time that was passed on to him and then on to me."

Rosanne has returned frequently to Fife, visiting Falkland Palace and driving around searching for places that carried the Cash name. She paid tribute to the Cash connection with Fife in a song called 'Good Intent', after the ship that carried the first Cash across the Atlantic in the 17th century.

The connection that her father felt with his Scottish heritage endured until his death. "Our family was descended from King Malcolm IV of Scotland," she said, "and when my dad was very ill and in his last years of life whenever he visited hospital he did not check in as Johnny Cash – he always went under the name of Malcolm."

Johnny Cash Of Easter Cash, presented by Sarfraz Manzoor, can be heard next Saturday 13th Feb at 10.30am(GMT) on BBC Radio 4 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4)

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

From 22 to 28 February, Camden Town will be home to London's first Rhythm and Blues Festival, held at music venue The Blues Kitchen. The week-long event will feature performances from some of the world's finest blues bands, including 60s pioneers The Pretty Things and blues maverick Son Of Dave. There will also be a harmonica tutorial and a New Orleans-themed Mardi Gras party, both on 27 February. The opening night, featuring The Pretty Things, is the only ticketed event (£8); all other events are free (+44 [0]207 387 5277; theblueskitchen.com).

Source: http://www.nme.com/Jack White played a surprise show last night (February 4) at his new Third Man music venue in Nashville.

The show was in support of Dex Romweber Duo - whose new material he recently produced.

The White Stripes man treated the 250-strong crowd to an impromptu solo rendition of one of the pair's songs before they played their full set.

"Thank you for coming to my house," White said, before playing the song on his Gretch acoustic guitar. He then retired to behind the mixing desk to watch the show.

Later White loaned the pair his guitar after they broke some strings during the show.

Fans could by vinyl recordings of the gig – which were pressed up in a room next to the venue as the show ended. White has announced that all gigs that take place at the venue will be available to buy as live albums in the same manner.

See Thirdmanrecords.com for more information.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

A member of Aerosmith has revealed that frontman Steven Tyler auditioned for – and was rejected from – a possible Led Zeppelin reunion.

According to guitarist Joe Perry, Tyler was called in for the aborted Led Zep reunion attempted by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham in 2008. Though Robert Plant refused to be involved, the remaining band-members spent several months under the illusion that they could replace him. Their talks with singer Myles Kennedy are well documented, but Perry claims Tyler also staggered into the Zeppelin practice room. "It's something I've never talked about before," Perry told The Pulse of Radio. "It's a kind of window into how hard it's been to keep the [Aerosmith] partnership together."

"Steven disappeared and I called around. Somebody said he was in London trying out for Led Zeppelin." The rehearsals, Perry said, were "shambolic" – and Tyler didn't even seem familiar with the Led Zeppelin catalogue. The ill-fated New Led Zep decided to pass. "Page felt really awkward about the audition, but ultimately it was a group decision."

With Tyler in rehab for an addiction to painkillers, Aerosmith may also pass on their long-time singer. Tyler has threatened to sue, but Perry maintains that Aersomith are considering replacements. "You've gotta think outside the box," he said. The band's new singer could even be a woman. "[There were female singers in] a lot of the bands I was in before [Aerosmith] ... It was really good – a lot of great songs. So that's definitely a possibility."

Perhaps Perry could put in a call to Mary J Blige. The R&B icon has recorded a new version of Stairway to Heaven with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, guitarist Steve Vai, American Idol judge Randy Jackson and former Michael Jackson side-woman Orianthi. "I've been a rock'n'roll fan for years," Blige told the LA Times. "Once you get lost in the rock'n'roll moment of [singing], all you can do is scream to the top of your lungs or go as low as you need to go. It's not a head thing – it's a spirit thing."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

A man claiming to be Paul Simon has been arrested for attempting to withdraw money from the musician's account. Rafael Ramos's caper was cut short when the cashier noticed Ramos was almost a foot taller than the man he was trying to impersonate.

On Wednesday afternoon, Ramos strolled into a Citibank branch in the heart of Manhattan, according to the New York Post. In his pocket, the 54-year-old carried a credit card and forged driver's licence with the name Paul Simon. Ramos was not pretending to be just any Paul Simon, mind you: the photo on the licence was that of the 68-year-old legend who wrote Mrs Robinson. Ramos asked to withdraw $4,300 (£2,728), using cards for identification. He also had Simon's social security number.

Lucky for the Bridge Over Troubled Water singer, there was one problem with Ramos's plan: his height. Even if they looked similar, Ramos, 6'1", would have loomed over Simon, 5'3". As Simon's height was noted on the driver's licence, the bank teller was alerted to the scam – and Ramos made a run for it. Police tracked him down, it is reported, charging him with attempted larceny. Ramos was later taken to hospital after telling officers he felt depressed. Hopefully, somebody gave him a copy of Sounds of Silence.

Contacted by police, the real Paul Simon said he had never met Ramos. It's not yet known how the impostor obtained the songwriter's information

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Autopsy results for garage-pop musician Jay Reatard show that cocaine and alcohol led to his death, coroners said yesterday. The 29-year-old Memphis musician was found dead at his home on 13 January.

Reatard, whose real name was Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr, died from "cocaine toxicity, [with] alcohol [as] a contributing factor", according to Dr Karen E Chancellor, medical examiner for Tennessee's Shelby county. Prior to the autopsy, friends said Reatard had been suffering from "flu-like symptoms" in the week leading up to his death. There were also rumours of a murder inquiry, spurred by Memphis police's routine homicide inquiries.

With just two solo LPs to his name, Reatard was a key figure in the American noise-pop underground. He released dozens of singles over the last decade, breaking into the indie mainstream with last year's album, Watch Me Fall.

Though notorious for his crazed gigs and wild behaviour, Reatard dismissed his reputation as a substance user. "You can go online and there's people on message boards trying to dismiss my music by saying, 'This guy is a huge fucking cokehead, man!'" he told the Onion AV Club in January 2009. "I don't even drink alcohol. I haven't for quite a while. I haven't touched drugs or drank alcohol in months."

To the frustration of many fans, Reatard was not included in the In Memoriam segment at this Sunday's Grammy awards. Representatives for the broadcast have not commented on the omission.

Source: http://www.nme.com/

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have had a number of guitars stolen after one of their lockers was broken into.

Much of what was stolen belonged to Michael Been, the band's soundman and father of singer/bassist Robert Levon Been.

Reporting the news on the group's website BlackRebelMotorcycle.com, the group have appealed to fans for information in hope that the equipment may be recovered.

The following kit was stolen:

• Fender 1954 Esquire (Yellow With Black Pick Guard)
• Ampeg 1968 Scroll Top Fretless Bass
• Black Fender 1964 Precision Bass
• Gretsch Country Gentleman 1968 Single Cutaway

Meanwhile, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are set to release their new album 'Beat The Devil's Tattoo' on March 8 and will embark on a tour of the UK in April.