TODAY'S TOP GUITAR RELATED NEWS STORIES

The guitarist related news items below have been gathered from various sources on the internet, and assembled here for you in one place for your convenience.

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Pop, jazz guitarist, singer-songwriter Kenny Rankin dies (Chicago Tribune)
A well-regarded guitarist, he wrote the hit song 'Peaceful' for Helen Reddy and played in Bob Dylan's backup band on the influential 1965 album 'Bringing It All Back Home.' Kenny Rankin, a singer-songwriter and musician whose song "Peaceful" was a hit for Helen Reddy and who had popular covers himself of a pair of Beatles hits, has died. He was 69.

Bucky Pizzarelli is a jazz guitarist for the ages (Seattle Times)
Legendary jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli is on tour with pianist Benny Green; the pair comes to Seattle's Jazz Alley on June 9 and 10, 2009.

Slash?s mother dies in Los Angeles (Stuff)
Costume designer Ola Hudson - who made outfits for the likes of David Bowie, John Lennon and Ringo Starr but is perhaps better known as the mother of former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash - has died after a battle with lung cancer, a longtime friend said.

Anthrax Guitarist Has Open-Heart Surgery (antiMUSIC)
Former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz underwent open-heart surgery on Friday

Guitarist Jonny Buckland riffs on the meaning of life in Coldplay (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
Photo by Stephan CraneansckiColdplay headlines the New Orleans Arena on Tuesday, June 9. In the Fountains of Wayne minidrama "Someone to Love," lovelorn corporate attorney Seth Shapiro "puts Coldplay on, pours a glass of wine/curls up with a book about...

Celebrity birthdays for June 7-13 (The Globe Gazette)
June 7: Singer Tom Jones is 69. Actor Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell on ``Leave It To Beaver'') is 66. Talk show host Jenny Jones is 63. Actor Liam Neeson is 57. Singer-songwriter Johnny Clegg is 56. Actor William Forsythe is 54. Record producer L.A. Reid is 53. Musician Prince is 51. Singer-guitarist Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes is 46. Rapper Ecstasy of Whodini is 45. Drummer Eric Kretz (Stone ...

Rock star to replace actor for UCLA commencement speech (Los Angeles Times)
Actor James Franco, who had become the target of an Internet protest, bows out at the last moment. Brad Delson, lead guitarist for Linkin Park, will step in. Hollywood actor alumnus out. Rock musician alumnus in.

Benefit Held For Longview Guitarist (KLTV 7 Tyler)
An east Texas musician, fighting a debilitating disease, gets help from a benefit concert in Gladewater.

Today's Birthdays | June 9 (The Kansas City Star)
?guitarist-inventor Les Paul is 94.

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