Why Ozzy Osbourne was this songwriter's favourite artist to work with
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Jim Vallance, a Canadian songwriter and producer, says Ozzy Osbourne was his 'favourite artist that he ever worked with.' Vallance, who co-wrote two songs with the superstar, says the day of Osbourne's death 'is a sad day.'
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CTV News
9 minutes ago
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Tom Lehrer, song satirist and mathematician, dies at 97
Musician Tom Lehrer sits beside the piano in his house in Santa Cruz, Calif., on April 21, 2000. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File) LOS ANGELES — Tom Lehrer, the popular and erudite song satirist who lampooned marriage, politics, racism and the Cold War, then largely abandoned his music career to return to teaching math at Harvard and other universities, has died. He was 97. Longtime friend David Herder said Lehrer died Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He did not specify a cause of death. Lehrer had remained on the math faculty of the University of California at Santa Cruz well into his late 70s. In 2020, he even turned away from his own copyright, granting the public permission to use his lyrics in any format without any fee in return. A Harvard prodigy (he had earned a math degree from the institution at age 18), Lehrer soon turned his very sharp mind to old traditions and current events. His songs included 'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,' 'The Old Dope Peddler' (set to a tune reminiscent of 'The Old Lamplighter'), 'Be Prepared' (in which he mocked the Boy Scouts) and 'The Vatican Rag,' in which Lehrer, an atheist, poked at the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church. (Sample lyrics: 'Get down on your knees, fiddle with your rosaries. Bow your head with great respect, and genuflect, genuflect, genuflect.') Accompanying himself on piano, he performed the songs in a colorful style reminiscent of such musical heroes as Gilbert and Sullivan and Stephen Sondheim, the latter a lifelong friend. Lehrer was often likened to such contemporaries as Allen Sherman and Stan Freberg for his comic riffs on culture and politics and he was cited by Randy Newman and 'Weird Al' Jankovic among others as an influence. 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Lehrer said he was never comfortable appearing in public. 'I enjoyed it up to a point,' he told The AP in 2000. 'But to me, going out and performing the concert every night when it was all available on record would be like a novelist going out and reading his novel every night.' He did produce a political satire song each week for the 1964 television show 'That Was the Week That Was,' a groundbreaking topical comedy show that anticipated 'Saturday Night Live' a decade later. He released the songs the following year in an album titled 'That Was the Year That Was.' The material included 'Who's Next?' that ponders which government will be the next to get the nuclear bomb ... perhaps Alabama? (He didn't need to tell his listeners that it was a bastion of segregation at the time.) 'Pollution' takes a look at the then-new concept that perhaps rivers and lakes should be cleaned up. He also wrote songs for the 1970s educational children's show 'The Electric Company.' 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That's what I wanted to be, and unfortunately, you can't be a Ph.D. and a grad student at the same time.' He began to teach part-time at Santa Cruz in the 1970s, mainly to escape the harsh New England winters. From time to time, he acknowledged, a student would enroll in one of his classes based on knowledge of his songs. 'But it's a real math class,' he said at the time. 'I don't do any funny theorems. So those people go away pretty quickly.' Former Associated Press writer John Rogers contributed to this story. Rogers retired from The AP in 2021. Gillian Flaccus, The Associated Press
CTV News
39 minutes ago
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Anishnaabe Days 2025: celebration of culture, community and connection
Naawi-Oodena was filled with people celebrating and paying tribute to Indigenous culture. Hosted by the Treaty 1 Development Corporation, the two-day festival brought together community members and visitors for a weekend of music, dance, art and storytelling. The event featured a traditional powwow, Anishinaabe Idol, an Indigenous market and children's activities — all with free admission. 'Four years ago, when the first one was coming up, our governing council said: 'There's no real big urban event for our membership.' And they said, let's start that happening,' said Cody Mercer, chief development officer, reflecting on the event's history. 'The first one was held at Assiniboine Downs and we had about 800 people attend. Today, about 3,000 to 3,500.' This year marks the first time the event was held at Naawi-Oodena. 'It's the largest urban, jointly held reserve in Canada. It gives our members a site to hold these events,' Mercer said. 'It's not just Treaty 1 holding events here. We have a lot of communities reach out and say, 'We need a site for our urban membership to do something,' and we say, 'Come on down, you're more than welcome.'' Naawi-Oodena is a 65-hectare urban reserve that previously housed the Kapyong Barracks military base. The site continues to host events for various Indigenous organizations, including upcoming gatherings for wildfire evacuees organized by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
