Toxicology tests showed there were no illegal substances in British singer Amy Winehouse’s system when she died last month aged 27, her spokesman said on Tuesday.
In a statement, he added that alcohol was present, but that it could not be determined what part, if any, it played in her death.
“Toxicology results returned to the Winehouse family by authorities have confirmed that there were no illegal substances in Amy’s system at the time of her death,” the statement read.
“Results indicate that alcohol was present but it cannot be determined as yet if it played a role in her death.”
It added that Winehouse’s family were awaiting the outcome of an inquest into the “Rehab” singer’s death. The inquest was opened in July and is due to resume on Oct. 26 in London.
The soul singer, famed for her beehive hairstyle and erratic behaviour on and off stage, was found dead at her home in north London on July 23.
Matt Zarley has been an openly gay singer/songwriter for over a decade now and his brand of straight up pop music has gotten rave reviews from critics all over the music spectrum. While he may be an indie artist, this is high-quality, well-produced material.
Chuck Taylor at Billboard Magazine: “Stunning tenor range, crafty harmonic layers and spine-tingling money notes… Tweens have plenty of idols to swoon over. Hereʼs a crush for grown-ups, whose earthy machismo is quite the complement to his musical muscle!”
The Advocate: “Lead dance single “WTF” (currently on the Billboard Dance Chart) anchors a sexy collection of swoon-worthy songs about falling in love and healing from heartbreak. The standout title track benefits from backup vocals by Broadway Inspirational Voices.”
My personal favorite tracks on the new album are “Apology” – stripped down arrangement and vocals lets the song and voice do it’s thing, and “Change Begins With Me” – great build and who doesn’t love big vocals with a gospel choir?
Matt’s campy, funny video for “WTF” has gone viral with over 100,000 views on youtube and vimeo since it was released. Gossip and music sites like DListed.com have picked up on the ‘over the top’ sense of humor (and the hunky men) displayed in the music video.
Matt Zarley’s new album “Change Begins With Me” is available today at all digital download retailers. See links below.
Nick Ashford, one half of the legendary Motown songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson that penned classics for the likes of Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye and funk hits for Chaka Khan and others, died Monday at age 70, his former publicist said.
Liz Rosenberg, who also was Ashford’s longtime friend, told The Associated Press that Ashford — who along with wife Valerie Simpson wrote some of Motown’s biggest hits — died in a New York City hospital. He had been suffering from throat cancer and had undergone radiation treatment.
Though they had some of their greatest success at Motown with classics like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Reach Out And Touch Somebody’s Hand” by Ross and “You’re All I Need To Get By” by Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Ashford & Simpson also created classics for others, like the anthem “I’m Every Woman” by Khan (and later remade by Whitney Houston).
They also had success writing for themselves: Perhaps the biggest known hit sung by them was the 1980s hit “Solid As A Rock.”
Ashford is survived by his wife and two daughters.
With so much attention this past weekend on the Kim Kardashian wedding (where one news person referred to the couple as “our American royalty” and I gagged) I wanted to post this truly beautiful and moving video about a gay wedding that happened, like many weddings, without a lot of fanfare except for those involved.
It’s beautifully shot, framed and edited; and it really captures the honest emotions of what happens on what is, for many of us, the most important day in our lives. Not millions of dollars, not lots of hype or press. Just the honest emotion of two people.
Patrick and Scott’s wedding was beautifully shot by John Hoel, who writes: “It was truly a day I’ll never forget and I was so honored to have captured it. Elizabeth couldn’t have put it more eloquently during the ceremony, ‘When our law lags behind, people continue to live their truth and create their own version of a family, and this is what Patrick and Scott are deciding to do today.’
I completely relate to so much of this video. When Michael and I were first married in Toronto in October 2003, the things I remember most were getting dressed, walking to the Toronto courthouse, fixing each other’s ties, holding hands while exchanging vows and the incredible weight and importance of the moment.
We married again in Palm Springs, CA, in October 2008 (we are one of the 18,000 couples who got to keep our married status) and again the same things stick with me: getting dressed, waiting for the mayor to marry us, being in the moment as we exchanged vows.
It’s a very powerful day of emotion that I never thought I’d experience. And much of my passion for marriage equality is based on how I was affected by getting married and what it meant to us.
With all due respect to Ms. Kardashian, this video comes much closer to what “marriage” is about to me.
Michael and I getting married in Toronto – October 17, 2003
Saw Josh Groban last night in concert here in Las Vegas. Seriously a world class voice. Period. A great voice. No question. He clearly has a great vocal talent and a great vocal coach.
And – he’s really stepped up showing his quirky, funny side during the concert which really makes him more endearing to the audience.
My one quibble – can I use the word ‘quibble?’ – is that for his encore he comes back on stage to sing arguably his biggest hit song “You Raise Me Up” which the entire audience clearly was waiting for.
HOWEVER, Josh invited the audience to sing along with the song. Now, while I love singing along at home with Josh in my shower or living room, I personally feel there are people who paid good money to hear JOSH GROBAN sing his big hit song – not the woman next to me who took Josh up on his offer to sing along, and did so at full voice.
So instead of hearing the world-class “over a $100 dollars a ticket” Josh Groban, I got to hear “Nancy from Ohio” standing next to me sing “You Raise Me Up” full voice in my ear. Nothing against “Nancy from Ohio” – but I wasn’t there to hear her sing Josh’s hit song. And truth be told, she was just taking Josh up on his invitation.
Please Josh – while it’s friendly and quirky to invite the audience to sing along, I believe there are a lot of folks who come to your concerts to hear YOU sing. Not “Nancy from Ohio.”
Can you imagine paying good money to see Celine Dion and the woman next to you in the audience belting out “My Heart Will Go On” full voice? Or the guy next to you at an Olivia Newton-John concert singing along with abandon as Olivia sings “I Honestly Love You”? Think about it.
OK – ummm… I had to post these screen captures (from superherofan.net) of tonight’s True Blood episode featuring Joe Manganiello’s backside as he gets into bed.
Yes. I had to. Physically could not restrain myself from posting.
In 2000, then-Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry tried to stop a police officer from giving his aide a speeding ticket, saying, “Why don’t you let us get on down the road.” At the 1:22 mark Rick Perry gets out of the car and says “Do you need to see my ID?”
Since when does a passenger show their ID for a speeding stop? Perhaps when you’re the Lt. Governor and you think it might make a difference…
Here is the touching scene from the Oscar-winning Wings (1927) featuring one of the first, if not the earliest surviving, on-screen same-sex kisses in film history.
The music is a beautiful choice to support the scene.
I think it’s possible this would have never made it past censors in the 1930s – 1960s. The fact that this was made during the Roaring 20s probably helped this stay intact.
From ThinkProgress: A top Bank of America executive was caught on camera yesterday whispering to Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), “Bank of America. We’ll help you out,” as the GOP presidential candidate attended New Hampshire’s Politics and Eggs breakfast. The executive has been identified by the financial website Zero Hedge as James Mahoney, Director of Public Policy for the bank.
Over the years Gov. Perry has benefited greatly from Bank of America’s financial support, and it appears that support will continue as he seeks the presidency on a platform of — coincidentally enough — bank deregulation. His gubernatorial campaigns have received $125,900 from Bank of America’s PAC and executives since 2003.
I guess it’s not all that damning except, if you watch the video, the very sly kind of quick comment Mahoney makes, then quickly moves on. It’s clearly not a “Hi, how are you? Thanks for coming” kind of comment. The physicality of the comment says more than the content.
