Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Bringing you the Web's best '70s music & culture news since 1997!

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

The Sex Pistols and their current collaborator Frank Carter have announced a North American tour that will kick off at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, Tex. in September, then visiting cities including Washington D.C., Philadephia, Brooklyn, Montreal, Toronto, Denver, and San Francisco before the final date at Los Angeles' Hollywood Palladium on Oct. 16. The "God Save the Queen" rockers haven't performed in the US at all since 2008 and last toured there in 2003, but now guitarist Steve Jones, bassist Glen Matlock and drummer Paul Cook have announced on Instagram that "we're comin to the USA and Canada." The irreverent rockers reformed in 2024 for a UK tour with the Gallows frontman Carter as vocalist in place of John Lydon, and Jones revealed Carter was the only singer they tried working with. "Frank was the first singer we [tried], because me, Cookie and Glen wanted to play. It just worked straight away," said Jones, 69. "He's a lot younger than us. He's 40, so he has all that energy and us old farts can just jam at the back! It was so much fun and people loved it, and I loved looking at people loving it." - Music-News.com, 3/28/25...... At the end of a Sony Pictures CinemaCon presentation on Mar. 31 in Los Angeles, it was revealed that the "Fab Four" in the studio's upcoming Beatles series of films -- one each dedicated to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- will be Harris Dickinson (as Lennon), Paul Mescal (as McCartney), Joseph Quinn (as Harrison), and Barry Keoghan (as Starr). In another blockbuster announcement, project director Sam Mendes revealed that all four films will arrive in Apr. 2028, though not at the same time. Sony Pictures head Tom Rothman added that the franchise will be titled The Beatles - A Four-Film Cinematic Event, and that the films will mark the first "bingeable moment in cinema." Mendes, who has not confirmed the order in which the four films will be released, confirmed that filming all four films will take over a year, but is confident for an Apr. 2028 launch. Mendes says he toyed with the idea of a Beatles mini-series but ultimately decided that "the story was too huge to fit into a single movie." Each of the four films will be told from the perspective of one of the four Beatles. It is also the first-ever film to be granted music rights to the Beatles' discography. The films were first announced back in Feb. 2024. Sony Pictures has also posted on X announcing the full cast. - New Musical Express, 4/1/25...... In other Beatles-related news, a YouTuber named Ian Hartley has uploaded a rare studio recording of the '70s prog rock band Yes covering the Fab Four's "Eleanor Rigby" to YouTube. The intense cover of the 1966 Beatles classic is said to have been recorded by Yes and producer John Anthony at London's Polydor Studios in Feb. 1969. "This particular recording has never been publicly released before," Hartley noted. "Here is the first (failed) take of the ER run-throughs as recorded in raw form at the time. Apart from some speed correction, no remastering was done to the master tapes." The uploader added: "Depending on reactions to this, further such things might follow." There are three known takes of Yes recording "Eleanor Rigby" in the studio, according to the Yes Fans forum, but none have been released officially. The exact origins of the Hartley's Yes audio are not known. Back in 2009, however, Bonhams auction house in London listed a tape recorded with John Anthony on Feb. 14, 1969. This included three other songs: Yes' cover of Stephen Stills' "Everydays," their take on Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's "Something's Coming," and Yes' own composition "Dear Father." Yes released their self-titled debut album later in 1969 via Atlantic. None of the tracks known to have been recorded with Anthony made the final tracklist. However, versions of "Everydays," "Something's Coming" and "Dear Father" were featured as B-sides of Yes' first three single releases. At the time of writing, the Yes's "Eleanor Rigby" cover has been streamed on YouTube over 8,000 times. - NME, 3/31/25...... On Mar. 30 a teenage American Idol contestant -- and aspiring preacher -- caused one of the talent show's judges, Lionel Richie, to have a religious experience during a soulful rendition of Earnest Pugh's "I Need Your Glory." Seventeen-year-old Dallas native Canaan James Hill's pitch-perfect, run-filled version of the gospel track prompted Richie to jump out of his seat while Bryan mimed getting the chills during his performance. "Would you do that again?" Richie said, marching straight up to Hill after the song was over and putting a hand on his shoulder. "You are so blessed. That was something so spectacular, I just can't even describe what I heard." Not only did Richie and the other judges give Hill a unanimous "yes" for his audition, but Richie also presented him with the final platinum ticket of the season, meaning the hopeful gets to skip straight past the first Hollywood round. Hill's glorious Idol audition can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 3/31/25...... Roger Daltrey shocked The Who's fans during the first of two Who shows at London's Royal Albert Hall on Mar. 27 when he opened up about his current medical condition. "The problem with this job is that you go deaf," he said from the stage. "And now I've been told that I am going blind." Referencing the band's 1969 rock opera title character, he added: "Thank God I've still got my voice. If I lost that I'll go full Tommy." The Who played another hits-packed show at the Royal Albert Hall the following night, with proceeds going to the charity concerts that Daltrey founded in 2000. Daltrey, who turned 81 in early March, announced in 2024 that he was stepping down as the TCT concerts curator, allowing The Cure's Robert Smith to take the reins. "I have to be realistic about my age... I'm on the way out," he told the London Times in 2024. "The average life expectancy is 83 and with a bit of luck I'll make that, but we need someone else to drive things," he said about the decision to step down from the curator role, instead opting to "work in the back room... talking to the government, rattling cages." During the Mar. 27 show, The Who performed their Who's Next track "Love Ain't For Keepin'" for the first time in 21 years. They also broke out classic tracks like "Pinball Wizard," "The Seeker," "My Generation" and "Behind Blue Eyes." Fan-shot footage of several performances can be streamed on YouTube. - NME, 3/29/25...... Longtime REO Speedwagon vocalist Kevin Cronin has taken to Facebook to share his thoughts on his lack of inclusion in an upcoming one-off REO reunion event. Cronin, who has been touring with his own Kevin Cronin Band, addressed a fan on Facebook who noted the singer's absence from REO's forthcoming concert in Champaign, Ill. on June 14, responding that organizers of the event could have picked a date when many of the band's former members were readily available to attend. "Instead they chose June 14, 2025, a date where it was public knowledge that I was previously committed to perform with Styx and Kevin Cronin Band in Bend, Oregon," Cronin wrote. "Bottom line, I am being asked to participate in an event on a date when I can't possibly be there in-person. And then being falsely accused of turning down the invitation. I am deeply disturbed and hurt by all of this. After all I have done to help build the legacy of REO Speedwagon, I feel I have earned and deserve to be included in any event honoring that legacy. Instead, I have been knowingly excluded." Cronin joined REO Speedwagon in early 1972, taking over from Terry Luttrell who reportedly left due to personal issues with guitarist Gary Richrath. Though Cronin was himself briefly replaced by Mike Murphy the following year, he returned in 1976 and remained in the band until their end, performing on tracks such as their two Billboard chart-toppers "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling." In late 2024, REO Speedwagon announced that they would cease touring as of Jan. 1, 2025. In a note shared to fans, the group explained that bassist Bruce Hall had not recovered sufficiently from previous back surgery and his inability to tour led to "irreconcilable differences" between Hall and Cronin. REO Speedwagon played their final live performance on Dec. 21 at The Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas, but in March announced they would be playing a special one-off show at the State Farm Center in their hometown of Champaign, Ill. on June 14. Officially titled as an event "Honoring the Legacy of REO Speedwagon," the show is described as a "concert retrospective featuring special guests & former members." Two former REO members (Luttrell and Murphy) are confirmed to attend, and a special tribute will be held to late members Richrath and Gregg Philbin. - Billboard, 3/30/25...... David Bowie's old childhood home in Bromley, Greater London, has been put on the market for £449,500. The late rock icon moved with his family into the two-bedroom terraced house for a year, before they moved to the East End section of London, where they settled at 4 Plaistow Grove. According to a property listing for the house, it has "two double bedrooms, one bathroom, a dining room, living room, small kitchen and moderate back garden." "Possibly the least eye-catching house I have featured architecturally, but interesting because this is David Bowie's childhood home in Bromley, Greater London, which is now up for sale," realtor WowHauser posted on X on Mar. 28. He building is also affectionately described as a "charming two-bedroom period terraced house, located in a quiet residential position close to the heart of Bickley on the borders of Bromley... This Victorian property exudes a sense of peace and tranquillity, making it the perfect place to call home." Meanwhile, Bowie is set to be one of the featured artists in London's brand new Live Odyssey immersive experience that's set to kick off in May 25 in Camden, UK. The attraction -- which combines a show, an exhibition museum and live experience together -- will take attendees through six decades of music via a two-and-a-half-hour adventure that captures the evolution of British music, from the early anthems of the '60s and '70s to the Britpop explosion of the '90s and today's cutting-edge hits. - NME, 3/28/25...... Bachman-Turner Overdrive announced on Mar. 28 they are "takin' care of business" again with the release of "60 Years Ago," a new sentimental single that was penned by BTO frontman Randy Bachman and his son Tal Bachman during their pandemic YouTube show Bachman & Bachman Friday Night Train Wreck aspart of a father-son album that has not yet been released. But after hearing that a highway section in Randy's native Winnipeg was to be renamed the Bachman-Turner Overpass -- with the dedication on Apr. 18, the day before BTO plays the city -- inspired the Bachmans to revise the song and make the song public. "I thought, 'I'll go and get "60 Years Ago," and I'll give it back to Winnipeg as a thank-you,'" Randy Bachman says. "There was no great plan for this song, y'know. But maybe they'll play it on Winnipeg radio, and if you live in Winnipeg maybe you'll want to download it and drive around singing '60 years ago, so damn cold, so much snow' and that kind of stuff. And I have a million BTO fans, followers on Instagram and my web site, so maybe some of them will download it. I have a lot of people asking me, always, 'Is there anything new? Is there anything new?' So now yes, there is." With its remembrances of the Winnipeg music scene of the mid-'60s, Bachman further torqued up "60 Years Ago" with some appropriate guests - childhood friend and fellow Winnipegian Neil Young, whose guitar solo can be heard at the end, and BTO co-founder Fred Turner who, despite spates of bad health, contributed vocals to the song. Both men are name-checked in the lyrics, along with Bachman's The Guess Who partner Burton Cummings and, as Bachman notes, Winnipeg's frigid climate. "60 Years Ago" comes as BTO prepares to hit the road on Apr. 1 for an extensive 22-date Canadian tour, followed by summer dates in the U.S., both on its own and with the Marshall Tucker Band, Jefferson Starship and The Outlaws from July 18 through Aug. 22. He's also hoping that Takin' Care of Business, a documentary about finding his stolen Gretsch 6120 guitar while in the midst of a serious cancer battle a couple of years back, will see wider release after running on the film festival circuit. - Billboard, 3/28/25...... On Mar. 27, London's legendary Abbey Road Studios celebrated its recent extensive restoration with an event called Synergy In Motion, which combined contemporary dance and music in a unique event. The choreography was helmed by Royal Ballet choreographer Joseph Toonga and set to the film scores of composer Daniel Pemberton (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), remixed and arranged by Jordan Rakei, Abbey Road's Artist in Residence. The studio has now reopened and is in operation for recording sessions. Abbey Road Studio One is described by the northwest London studio as "world's largest purpose-built recording studio," and can comfortably host 100-piece orchestras. The room is primarily used for the recording of classical and movie scores, with the soundtracks to a number of blockbusters having been recorded in in the space, including much of John Williams' movie canon, such as Raiders of The Lost Ark, Star Wars: The Return of The Jedi, as well as the Harry Potter movies. The premises was first built as a residential townhouse in 1831, and was converted into a recording studio a century later, reopening as EMI Studios in 1931. A number of classical greats including Edward Elgar and Sergei Prokofiev recorded there; in 1958, Studio Two was opened, with a number of influential acts like The Beatles and Pink Floyd recording in the space. The studio is currently owned by Universal Music imprint Virgin Records. - Billboard, 3/27/25...... Carlos Santana says his latest effort, Sentient, is a metaphor for floral arrangements. "When I go to the lobby in hotels in Europe, they always have these incredible flower arrangements," Santana told Billboard. "They hire some people to come in and arrange the flowers in the lobby. That's how this album was made -- that's how I make all my albums. I feel like a florist who is trying to combine the right colors and textures and create a beautiful ornament. That's what Sentient is, an ornament of flower arrangements -- colors, passions, textures, emotions." The 11-track set, which dropped on Mar. 28 and is the follow-up to 2021's Blessings and Miracles, includes three previously unreleased tracks, while the rest are remastered songs drawn from various points in the musician's career, including collaborations with friends living (Smokey Robinson, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and his wife Cindy Blackman Santana) and deceased (Michael Jackson, Miles Davis). After Sentient's release Santana will begin a nine-date Oneness Tour beginning April 16 in Highland, Calif., and wrapping May 1 at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. His next residency at the House of Blues Las Vegas runs May 14-25, and a European Oneness Tour leg begins June 9 in Poland and runs through Aug. 11 in Copenhagen. The original 1969 Woodstock veteran says he's also working on a multi-day, multi-act worldwide festival with the utopian perspective of Woodstock. "I want to create a global concert that goes around the world and (promotes) unity, harmony, oneness," he says. - Billboard, 3/27/25...... Iconic '80s hitmakers Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo are set to receive the 2025 ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award at the annual Chapin Awards Gala on June 4 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City. The 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and longtime activists, who have been married since 1982, will become the second married couple to receive the award. R&B songwriting greats Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson received it in 2010. The Chapin Awards Gala will include a cocktail reception, dinner, and live music, and additional honorees will be announced in coming weeks. The award's namesake, Harry Chapin, was an early music industry advocate for the world hunger movement. The "Cat's in the Cradle" singer co-founded WhyHunger, for which the ASCAP gala benefits, a full decade before music industry titans came together as USA for Africa to record "We Are the World" in 1985. Chapin gave tirelessly gave of his time and talents to perform at benefits and events in support of a range of social causes before his life was tragically cut short when he was killed in a car crash in 1981 at age 38. (On the afternoon he was killed, he was driving to a benefit, where he was slated to perform.) Previous ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award recipients include the likes of John Mellencamp, Kenny Loggins, Yoko Ono, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand and Peter, Paul & Mary. - Billboard, 3/27/25...... Late Alice star Linda Lavin, who died unexpectedly on Dec. 29 at age 87 due to complications from lung cancer that had been recently discovered, will be honored with a "brutally honest" episode of her new Hulu series Mid-Century Modern. "It was a directive actually from Linda... When she was diagnosed with [lung cancer], she was like, 'I don't know how I'm going to respond to this, but whatever it is, write it into the [Sybil Schneiderman] character," reveals cocreator David Kohan (Will & Grace). How fitting that TV's most iconic waitress knew just what to order. Mid-Century Modern launched its series premiere on Hulu on Mar. 28. - TV Guide, 3/24/25...... Bruce Glover, a prolific character actor known for playing icy villains and no-nonsense lawmen, including an assassin who goes after Sean Connery in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever and a private dick who works with Jack Nicholson in the 1974 neo-noir classic Chinatown, died on Mar. 12 at a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 92. His son, actor and director Crispin Glover, announced the death but did not cite a specific cause. Mr. Glover, a streetwise Chicago native who said he spent years trying to get rid of his "dese, dems and dose" accent, appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, building his resume in the 1960s and '70s with roles on Perry Mason, Adam-12, Mod Squad and Gunsmoke," among other westerns and crime dramas. Although he dabbled in comedy, making a cameo as an eccentric wheelchair-user in Terry Zwigoff's 2001 film Ghost World, he was typically cast as crooks, cops and other assorted tough guys. He played a Tennessee sheriff's deputy in the hit crime movie Walking Tall (1973), reprising the part for two sequels, and was a mob boss trying to recoup a debt from a hustler in the boxing film Hard Times (1975), starring Charles Bronson and James Coburn. He remained best known for his villainous turn in Diamonds Are Forever (1971), the sixth Bond film to feature Connery as the suave secret agent. Mr. Glover played a deceptively polite henchman, Mr. Wint, who teams up with fellow assassin Mr. Kidd (played by the mustached jazz musician Putter Smith) to protect a smuggling operation run by the cat-loving supervillain Blofeld (Charles Gray). For years, Mr. Glover painted and taught acting when he wasn't performing on the stage or screen. His approach was instinctual -- practical, not theoretical -- and honed during his early years performing in summer-stock theatre, when he sometimes did a play a week. "No 12, no 25 steps," he said of his approach. "Think the thoughts of the character. Have a conversation. That's how simple it is." In addition to his son Crispin, survivors include a brother. - The Washington Post, 3/31/25...... Legendary actor Richard Chamberlain, the handsome leading man who thrilled women as the young star of Dr. Kildare and then centered the epic, melodramatic miniseries Shogun and The Thorn Birds, died on Mar. 29 in Waimanalo, Hawaii, of complications following a stroke, according to his publicist. He was 90. On the big screen, Mr. Chamberlain played Julie Christie's brutal husband in Richard Lester's Petulia (1968), the woman-loving Aramis in a trio of Three Musketeers films and the fortune hunter Allan Quatermain opposite Sharon Stone in King Solomon's Mines (1985) and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986). Mr. Chamberlain started off his miniseries career by starring as trapper Alexander McKeag in James Michener's 16 1/2-hour, 12-episode saga Centennial, which aired on NBC in 1978-79, and he was the first actor to portray Jason Bourne onscreen when he starred as the Robert Ludlum character in an ABC miniseries in 1988. Raised in Beverly Hills, Mr. Chamberlain was a rather inexperienced actor when he was hired to play James Kildare, an earnest intern with terrific bedside manner -- and the mentee of Dr. Leonard Gillespie (Raymond Massey) -- on Dr. Kildare. The NBC drama was based on popular MGM radio and film serials (Lew Ayres portrayed the character on the big screen). Female viewers quickly fell for the suave Mr. Chamberlain, and he received upward of 12,000 fan letters a week, more than anyone had ever received at MGM, even Clark Gable. The show aired for five seasons, from Sept. 1961 until Aug. 1966. "I went through life pretending to be perfect, and that helped me play Dr. Kildaire, because he was close to perfect," he once said. In the early 1980s, Mr. Chamberlain gained a reputation as the "king of the miniseries" for his starring roles in Shogun, The Thorn Birds and Wallenberg: A Hero's Story. He received Primetime Emmy nods for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or a special for all three productions. In the Australian-set The Thorn Birds based on Colleen McCullough's novel and which aired on ABC over four nights in Mar. 1983, he portrayed Father Ralph, a Catholic priest who is involved in a tortured romance with the ravishing young Meggie (Rachel Ward), who seeks solace from a ranch hand (Bryan Brown, her future real-life husband). James Clavell's Shogun was originally envisioned as a feature starring Robert Redford. NBC got the rights after those plans fell through and wanted Sean Connery to star as the tempestuous Englishman John Blackthorne. The network then cast Mr. Chamberlain, who had read the book and pushed for the part. He spent six months shooting the miniseries in Japan, and it aired for 12 hours over five nights in 1980. Shogun earned Mr. Chamberlain a best actor Golden Globe and Emmy nomination, and for The Thorn Birds, he took home another Globe for best actor in a miniseries or motion picture for TV. George Richard Chamberlain was born in Los Angeles on Mar. 31, 1934, the youngest of two sons and raised in Beverly Hills, but on the "wrong side of Wilshire Boulevard, the wrong side of Beverly Drive, in an extremely normal neighborhood," he noted. He attended Beverly Hills High School, where he appeared in such plays as "I Remember Mama." His film resume also included Twilight of Honor (1963), Joy in the Morning (1965), The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969), Julius Caesar (1970), The Music Lovers (1971), The Towering Inferno (1974), The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976), Peter Weir's The Last Wave (1977) and The Swarm (1978). More recently, Mr. Chamberlain guest-starred on Nip/Tuck, playing a gay millionaire who forces his younger lover to have plastic surgery so as to resemble himself; recurred on Brothers & Sisters as a former love interest of Ron Rifkin's character; hilariously portrayed Craig Ferguson's mom, Maggie Wick, on The Drew Carey Show; and appeared on the Twin Peaks reboot. In his liberating 2003 autobiography Shattered Love, Mr. Chamberlain, then 69, came out as gay. "When you grow up in the '30s, '40s and '50s being gay, it not only ain't easy, it's just impossible," he told The New York Times in 2014. Mr. Chamberlain learned while growing up "that being gay was the worst thing you can possibly be. I assumed there was something terribly wrong with me. And even becoming famous and all that, it was still there." - The Hollywood Reporter, 3/30/25.

Thursday, March 27, 2025

On Mar. 27 ABBA and their ABBA Voyage team announced the virtual concert residency is receiving a "small" revamp this May for its third anniversary in London. "When we first opened we never imagined that we'd still be in London 3 years on. We're very grateful that so many of you have joined us," the band said in a press release. "Of course, the reason for us being able to sustain our concert for so long is because of our incredible audience. As we say in Sweden Vilken resa!" As a result, the band will be implementing "a little something to our concert" beginning on May 27, three years to the exact date that ABBA Voyage first launched, although details surrounding the exact changes being made remain under wraps. ABBA Voyage first kicked off in May 2022, and was due to wrap in Nov. 2024, but has since been extended to Jan. 2026 due to overwhelming demand. Once the show wraps in London, the band intend on bringing the Voyage experience around the world, including Asia, Australia and North America, with details of the itinerary to be announced later. - New Musical Express, 5/27/25...... Bob Dylan kicked off his 2025 "Rough & Rowdy Ways" tour on Mar. 25 at the Tulsa Theater in Tulsa, Okla., opening with "All Along The Watchtower" (which according to Dylanologists is his most played track, racking up a total of over 2,285 times performed live), then treating the audience to 16 additional tracks, including performances of "It Ain't Me," "I Contain Multitudes," "Black Rider," "My Own Version of You," "To Be Alone With You," "Watching The River Flow," "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and more. A bulk of the night's performance saw the icon play the majority of his 2020 LP Rough And Rowdy Ways. To wrap up the show, he ended with "Every Grain of Sand." Elsewhere, the night revealed that Dylan's previous touring drummer Jim Keltner was replaced by Anton Fig, who previously was the drummer with Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band. Fig and Dylan have a history of working together dating back the 1985 "Empire Burlesque sessions." - NME, 3/26/25...... As Elton John promotes the upcoming Apr. 4 release of Who Believes In Angels?, his new collaborative effort with Brandi Carlile, the Rocket Man revealed in a Smartless podcast on Mar. 25, his 78th birthday, that the project left him confronting his mortality. "I wrote a song at the end of the album and I just get the lyrics, Bernie Taupin's lyrics," John explained. "I'm writing the verse, like, 'Oh, this is really pretty.' And then I get to the chorus and of course it's about my death. When you get to my age, which is near 100, you think, 'How much time have I got left?'" he continued, before his thoughts turned to husband David Furnish and sons Zachary and Elijah. "You've got children, you've got a wonderful husband, you just think about mortality. And so when I got to the chorus, I just broke down for 45 minutes -- and it's all on film." The sessions were recorded as part of the film Elton John: Never Too Late, which was released in October to widespread acclaim. The titular song "Never Too Late" will also be released on Who Believes in Angels? and was recently up for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards. The latest episode of the Smartless podcast was released to subscribers on Mar. 25, and will be officially released to all listeners on Mar. 31. Meanwhile, in a new interview with Carlisle with Rolling Stone UK, Elton said talent shows like The X Factor and American Idol are "the worst" for aspiring artists, and has instead advised them to "go and play in a pub." "Just keep trying to play live," Elton advised. "That's the way you improve as a musician and songwriter. It doesn't matter if you're playing to 40 people. The more experience you get playing to nobody, the better." The singer continued: "....backbone is so important, because the worst thing that can happen to you in the industry are things like X Factor and instant fame on television where you have no experience of playing live. You get put on stage, you go, and you can't do it. That's the worst thing. American Idol -- just the worst. Take risks. Go and play in a pub." - Billboard/NME, 3/26/25...... Home Box Office has announced a new, two-part Billy Joel will premier on the premium cable channel this summer. Billy Joel: And So It Goes is directed by Susan Lacy -- who created PBS' American Masters series and has previously helmed HBO docs such as docs Jane Fonda in Five Acts, and Spielberg -- and Jessica Levin, who produced those projects as well as The Janes. The upcoming doc "will examine the life and music of Billy Joel, exploring the love, loss, and personal struggles that fuel his songwriting." It also includes access to never-before-seen performances, home movies, and personal photographs, along with one-on-one interviews. The doc announcement comes after the Piano Man recently revealed that he was postponing months of touring due to an undisclosed medical condition. - NME, 3/26/25...... Nancy Wilson of Heart didn't mince words about her view of the current state of the US and the world in a new interview with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wilson noted that the band's third single, 1975's "Crazy on You," was written as a critical response to the Vietnam War, though the lyrics have found themselves relevant once again. "We were kind of embarrassed at that time to call ourselves American because of the dirty politics of the Vietnam War," Wilson explained. "To be as subtle as possible, it's more embarrassing now." The discussion also focused on the likes of 1977's "Barracuda," which had been initially written about a sleazy industry figure of the time. However, with reference to an infamous quote from Pres. Donald Trump, Wilson conceded the track "is even more relevant in the salacious billionaire culture with the grab-them-by-the-(expletive) mentality." "These songs will be there long after we are gone," she added, before focusing on the contemporary prevalence of the sexism that inspired "Barracuda." "I think for women in the culture the pendulum will come back again, and there'll be another renaissance in the arts to push back against the oppression of the cranky old rich white guys," Wilson added. "I hope I am alive to see that next revolution." In 2018, Nancy's bandmate sister Ann Wilson claimed that the Seattle band's "Barracuda" could be used by just about any candidate in the 2020 election if they desired. "I think anybody but Trump," she clarified. - Billboard, 3/24/25...... Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham has teamed up with his former bandmate Mick Fleetwood once again, with the pair reuniting in the recording studio recently. News of the pair's musician reunion was detailed on Threads by Swedish producer Carl Falk, shared a photo from the studio where Fleetwood has been working on a new solo album. The sessions have ostensibly also seen Fleetwood working with The War on Drugs' Adam Granduciel. "Slightly unreal moment to sit with Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood to play Lindsey the album we have been working on," Falk wrote. "And to see his genuine happiness for Mick to finally do his own album and offering to play guitar and to sing on it. Can't wait to finish this one." Another post shared by Falk captured Buckingham in the studio with his guitar in hand. "Mick and Lindsey together again, what a flawless guitar player," the caption wrote. Currently, no official details from Fleetwood have been announced in regard to the content or release of the forthcoming album. Buckingham departed Fleetwood Mac in 1987, but rejoined in 1997 as part of the band's classic lineup reunion of himself, Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, John McVie and Christine McVie. He remained with the band until the 2018 announcement he would no longer be touring as part of Fleetwood Mac. The departure occurred almost a year after the release of Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie, an album which featured the band's lineup with the exception of Nicks. Until 2025, it was the most recent collaboration between Buckingham and Fleetwood. - Billboard, 3/25/25...... "Live Odyssey," described as "a celebration of the rich tapestry of British music... offering a unique experience for music lovers of all ages" through "a groundbreaking tribute to the sounds that shaped Britain," is set to launch on May 22 in the London borough of Camden. John Lennon's sister Julia Baird will be unveiling a multi-sensory immersive exhibit dedicated to the late Beatles member on its opening which "details the early years that shaped Lennon through to a life of stratospheric fame with The Beatles." "This is the brutally honest story of The Beatles legend by his sister Julia, who reveals the unorthodox childhood they shared, memories of their mother, renewed family bonds, and the many sides of John Lennon," according to a press release. Elsewhere in the exhibition, fans will move through six different rooms, each immersing guests in a different musical era and recreating the sights, sounds, and cultural moments that define each decade. Also included in the list of acts set to be represented are The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Sex Pistols, David Bowie, Oasis, Duran Duran, Radiohead, Coldplay, Adele and many more. Tickets for the experience are currently on sale, and a portion of sales will support the Music Venue Trust. - NME, 3/25/25...... Bruce Springsteen was a late addition to the lineup for an all-star tribute to Patti Smith on Mar. 26 at New York's Carnegie Hall. The sold out "People Have the Power: A Celebration of Patti Smith" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the punk poetess' legendary 1975 debut album, Horses. In addition to Springsteen, the show also featured appearances from R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, Bangles singer Susanna Hoffs, Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, and such celebrities as Sean Penn, Scarlett Johansson and Michael Shannon. Springsteen and Smith's relationship also stretches back nearly 50 years, when the Boss was struggling to figure out how to finish his song "Because the Night" and his engineer, Jimmy Iovine -- who was also producing Smith's 1978 album Easter at the time -- suggested he give it to Smith. She worked it over and added new lyrics in honor of her husband, the MC5's Fred "Sonic" Smith, and it became her highest-charting single to date, hitting No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Smith will also be hitting the road for a Horses anniversary tour, slated to kick off in Dublin, Ireland on Oct. 6 and criss-cross Europe for a month before landing in Seattle on Nov. 10 for a run of shows that will keep her on the road through a Nov. 29 gig in Philadelphia. - Billboard, 3/25/25...... In other Springsteen news, the rocker has personally praised British actor Stephen Graham for his portrayal of his late father, Douglas "Dutch" Springsteen in the upcoming Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere. After filming wrapped on the movie -- which stars Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen -- the Boss sent one of "the most gorgeous texts I've ever had in my life," according to Graham. "I'm racing to get to the airport, and I got this text, and it was so beautiful," Graham told Edith Bowman on her Soundtracking podcast. "It just said: 'Thank you so much. You know, my father passed away a while ago and I felt like I saw him today. Thank you for giving me that memory.' I was crying reading the text, do you know what I mean?.... You couldn't ask for anything more, you know, to share that with someone was gorgeous. He's a lovely man." The biopic, slated for release later in 2025, covers the musician's life during the making of his 1982 classic album Nebraska. - Music-News.com, 3/24/25...... Just 15 months after performing their final concert, KISS have announced their return to the live stage with a one-off "unmasked" concert as part of the KISS Army fan club's 50th anniversary celebrations. The show was announced via an email sent to fans (viewable on Instagram), confirming that the group would be performing as part of the three-day "KISS Army Storms Vegas" event, which runs from Nov. 14 - 16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Though a full rundown of activities are said to be released soon, the headline of the message is KISS' intention to perform a makeup-free show as part of the event. According to the email, the concert also promises "a special live performance from former KISS member Bruce Kulick, along with other special guests, activities, exclusive experiences and more." While it's unclear if Kulick plans to perform with the band or separately as part of the event, the guitarist had previously been an official member from 1984 until 1996, playing on five KISS albums. The performance will be the band's first since Dec. 2023, where they wrapped up their "End of The Road Tour" with a two-night stand at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Despite their large-scale farewell tour (their second, after 2001's fittingly-titled "KISS Farewell Tour"), fans had speculated that the band could indeed take to the stage again at some point. Bassist Gene Simmons was quick to nix that claim, clarifying the band's plans in an interview with Rolling Stone in Nov. 2023. "I'll say right here, right now, my hand on the Bible, it will be the final KISS-in-makeup appearance," he declared. KISS had previously appeared without their makeup in 1983, beginning their "unmasked"' era alongside the release of their Lick It Up album. This era would continue until 1996, when the group readopted their iconic look ahead of their highly-anticipated "Alive/Worldwide Tour." News of the forthcoming show also coincides with the fact that Simmons recently postponed 17 dates on his forthcoming tour to 2026. An announcement confirmed that the dates were not related to Simmons' health, but offered no further details. This same tour also generated notice after Simmons revealed he would be offering fans the chance to serve as his "personal assistant & band roadie for the day." - Billboard, 3/23/25...... Ozzy Osbourne has confirmed he'll perform from a throne -- possibly even a flying one -- at what's being billed as Black Sabbath's final-ever performance on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, England. Osbourne, 76, has dealt with neck and spinal injuries as well as Parkinson's disease and now occasionally uses a wheelchair, but he says he's determined to make this moment count. Ozzy's longtime collaborator and guitarist Zakk Wylde teased that the frontman could be airborne during the event -- quite literally. "With Oz and his throne that just flies over the stadium or whatever, [where he] shoots out buckets of water and does everything like that," Wylde said in a new interview with Riff X's Metal XS. "So if Oz has a great time and it's just, like, 'I wanna go out on the road again,' it's just, like, 'Good. Let's do it again.' He added, "Ozzy was just sitting at the chair and he was singing 'Mama, I'm Coming Home,' and it sounded great. So hopefully we'll just do this, and then Oz will go, 'Let's just fire up the machine again and we'll do another tour'." "Everybody's gonna be playing Sabbath songs, it's gonna be pretty mind-blowing," he added. Although Ozzy won't be delivering a full set, the "Back to the Beginning" concert is shaping up to be a metal fan's dream, with other heavy metal icons including Metallica, Slayer, Pantera and Anthrax also participating. - Billboard, 3/24/25...... Dead & Company paid tribute to late Grateful Dead bassist and co-founder Phil Lesh on the first weekend of their their 2025 Las Vegas Sphere residency. Dead & Company returned to the venue after a wildly successful residency last year, which saw the band perform in front of the Sphere's 240-foot screens from May to July 2024. Closing out their first weekend of the 2025 residency, the band performed "Box Of Rain" -- which was Lesh's signature track with GD -- as their final song on Mar. 22. It marked the first time the band have performed the song since his passing. The band is due to perform 15 more dates between now and May 17. Lesh died in Oct. 2024 at the age of 84. - NME, 3/24/25...... The '60s "British Invasion" band The Searchers, who are known to be "longest-running band in pop history," are set to play their last ever show at the Glastonbury 2025 music festival. The Liverpool band, best known for their their version of The Drifters' hit "Sweets For My Sweet," "Sugar And Spice," "Love Potion No. 9," and "Don't Throw Your Love Away,", will end nearly 70 years of touring with their debut at Worthy Farm on the Acoustic Stage on June 27, after the line-up was announced on Mar. 22. Founding member John McNally told BBC News: "A Glastonbury debut at 83, can anyone top that? I don't think life gets any better, does it? There will be a few nerves, but in a good way, and we'll be nicely warmed up from our shows in June. We can't wait to see our fans again for this incredible final farewell." Bassist and singer Frank Allen, who joined the group in 1964, added: "I have played shows across the world with The Searchers for over 60 years; Glastonbury has always been an ambition that has eluded us -- until now. The Searchers are finally performing at the greatest music festival of them all. What a way to round off a tour and a career. I can't wait to get up on stage and give our fans one final blast." - NME, 3/23/25...... Legendary crooner Johnny Mathis announced his retirement from live performing via a Facebook post on Mar. 26. "As many of you may already be aware, Johnny Mathis is approaching his 90th birthday this year," the statement reads. "So, it's with sincere regret that due to Mr. Mathis' age and memory issues which have accelerated, we are announcing his retirement from touring and live concerts." The post notes that all shows scheduled after June 2025 will be canceled, as his final show will take place May 18 at the Bergan Performing Arts Center in Englewood, NJ. Known for such tunes as "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and "It's Not for Me to Say," Mathis was honored by the Recording Academy with the Lifetime Achievement Award and he was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three separate recordings: in 1998 for "Chances Are," in 2002 for "Misty" and in 2008 for "It's Not for Me to Say." His achievements also include more than 70 albums on the Billboard Hot 200 LP chart (including the No. 1s Johnny's Greatest Hits, in 1958, and Heavenly, in 1959), 34 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart (including the No. 1 "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" with Deniece Williams in 1978) and 50 entries on the Adult Contemporary airplay chart. His Greatest Hits project spent 490 weeks on the Billboard 200, and was the longest-charting album by a solo artist until 2020. - Billboard, 3/26/25..... The '70s ska revival band The Specials have shared a new single to honour the "fallen heroes" of ska. The new track, "When A Light Goes Out," was aired for the first time during a special event at the 2 Tone Museum in London. It is co-written by founding members of The Specials -- Lynval Golding, Mark Adams and Nikolaj Torp Larson -- and pays respects to giants of the ska genre. Proceeds will go to the Specialized Project & Tonic (Music For Mental Health) charities. The event came just days after the late Specials frontman Terry Hall would have celebrated his 66th birthday. Hall died in Dec. 2022 after being diagnosed with cancer months earlier. He was 63 years old. The rest of the band celebrated the milestone with a post on Instagram, wishing the singer a "happy heavenly birthday." - NME, 3/21/25....... Another beloved '70s UK band, Madness, announced on Mar. 25 they'll embark on a major "Hits Parade" UK arena tour this December. Kicking things off at Sheffield Utilita Arena on Dec. 4, the Nutty Boys will perform 13 dates across the country, culminating with a special hometown show at London's The O2 on Dec. 20. Madness will also be joined by very special guest Squeeze. Celebrating their biggest hits that have defined their lengthy career, Madness will be performing all the classics from their iconic, extensive back catalogue and fan favourites including "Our House," "It Must Be Love," "House Of Fun," "Baggy Trousers," "One Step Beyond," and more. Throughout their career, the band have had 11 UK top ten albums, 15 top ten singles and have won a multitude of awards including a prestigious Ivor Novello. Known for their high energy, raucous sets, Madness have performed on the top of Buckingham Palace as part of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations and set the record for the biggest ever audience for the BBC's Live New Year's Eve Broadcast -- the most watched TV music event of 2018. - Music-News.com, 3/25/25...... Larry Tamblyn, founding member of the '60s garage band The Standells and brother of actor Russ Tamblyn, died of as yet undisclosed causes on Mar. 21. He was 82. The frontman and keyboardist's death was announced by his nephew, Dennis Tamblyn, in a Facebook post. "My uncle Larry Tamblyn passed away today," Dennis posted. "I have very fond memories of him and his family over the years. He lived an incredible life. He was in a band called The Standells, whose hit song 'Dirty Water' is still played to this day whenever the Red Sox or the Bruins win a home game. They also played on an episode of The Munsters." Tamblyn continued: "A few years ago, The Standells played at Hotel Congress here in Tucson, Ariz., and Larry stayed with me. It was so great to hang out with him and catch up. He was still making music well into his later years. You will be missed, Uncle Larry." Mr. Tamblyn, who is the younger brother of Twin Peaks actor Russ Tamblyn and uncle of actress Amber Tamblyn, was born in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 1943. The Standells were formed in 1962 by Tamblyn, guitarist Tony Valentino, bassist Jody Rich and drummer Benny King. In 1966, they recorded their most famous hit "Dirty Water" which is still played after every Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins home win. It peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard charts. "Dirty Water" became the band's calling card, acting as one of the anchors of both the 1972 Nuggets garage rock compilation as well as a sports anthem for a number of Boston-area professional teams. In addition to 1965 episodes of The Munsters, The Bing Crosby Show and Ben Casey, The Standells also appeared in such low-budget films as Get Yourself A College Girl (1964) and Riot On Sunset Strip (1967). After taking a long break to pursue a solo career, Mr. Tamblyn performed again under the band's name in 2009 with bassist John Fleck, guitarist Paul Downing and drummer Greg Burnham. They released their final album Bump in 2013. That same year former drummer Dick Dodd, died aged 68 after battling cancer. In addition to his work with the group, Mr. Tamblyn released an autobiography, From Squeaky Clean to Dirty Water: My Life with Sixties Garage Rock Trailblazers the Standells, in 2022. In Dec. 2023, Mr. Tamblyn was inducted into the California Music Hall of Fame by his brother. - NME, 3/23/25.

Saturday, March 22, 2025

The late The Ramones frontman Joey Ramone will be the subject of a new children's book, Gabba Gabba We Accept You: The Wondrous Tale Of Joey Ramone. Due on June 27 via the record label Drag City, the book "tells the story of a misfit kid who grew up to be a punk rock hero," according to a press release. "The challenging times that Jeffrey Ross Hyman endured before becoming Joey Ramone speak to young folks navigating the complexities of growing up, via teachable punk stuff: being your own person with your own compass, embracing uniqueness, etc.... [and] affirm everyone has a place in the world," it adds. The book's announcement can be viewed on Drag City's X page. Meanwhile, a legal battle has ensued over a planned Joey Ramone biopic, with Pete Davidson in the lead, with Johnny Ramone's estate suing Joey's brother Mickey Leigh over the biopic. It was claimed that Leigh -- real name Mitchel Hyman -- "covertly developed an unapproved and unauthorized Ramones-based biopic" based on his "one-sided recitation of the history of the Ramones." He counter-sued Johnny's widow Linda Cummings-Ramone, calling her attempts to shut down the biopic as "baseless and flimsy." Hyman also later filed a lawsuit against her for allegedly "exploiting" the Ramones' legacy. - New Musical Express, 3/20/25...... The Eagles have added eight more dates to their ongoing residency at Las Vegas' Sphere. Their remaining dates at the mind-bending venue will be on Apr. 4, 5, 11 and 12, with four late summer dates on Sept. 5, 6, 12 and 12. Their original string of gigs kicked off on Sept. 20, 2024, and feature ticket prices beginning at $175. Ensuring that they get into the hands of fans, presale registration is available now at https://eagles.com, and begins Mar. 25) at 1 p.m. ET. Live Nation and SiriusXM presales will launch on Mar. 26 at 1 p.m. ET. Limited VIP ticket packages will go on sale on Tuesday as well at 1 p.m. ET and include premium seats, exclusive merch and parking. Vibee, the hotel & experience package partner for the Eagles Sphere residency, has packages including a concert ticket and two-night stay at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas -- the only resort attached to Sphere -- with guests receiving priority entry to the venue, commemorative keepsakes and more. Vibee packages for the existing and newly announced dates are available now at Eagles.vibee.com. When the Eagles began their residency at Las Vegas' Sphere in September, they also debuted a "Third Encore" fan experience at the neighboring Venetian Resort. The space allowed fans to go inside a re-creation of the famed West Hollywood Troubadour venue where the California rockers got their start in the 1970s and where legend has it that Don Henley and Glenn Frey. Live Nation's travel and music company Vibee expanded the VIP experience to include a Hotel California pop-up, paying tribute to the band's 1976 album and its immortal title track. The most interactive piece of the space is three hotel room doors that open to three different moments in the song, with each room number representing the time code of the corresponding lyrics. Room 052 takes you to a "dark desert highway," with a circa-1970s car dashboard leading the way; room 118 has a "mission bell" hanging above the doorway; and room 354 leads to a spooky mirrored hallway in search of "the passage back to the place I was before." - Billboard, 3/18/25...... Speaking of Sin City, on Mar. 19 Rod Stewart announced another six-pack of residency shows at Las Vegas' the Colosseum for this fall. "Las Vegas! You wanted more, so here we go I've added more shows! I'll be back at @colosseumatcp this September and October, Can't wait to see you all for another round of unforgettable nights," Stewart wrote on Instagram on Mar. 18. Tickets for the shows, which are slated to take place on Sept. 24, 25, 27 and Oct. 1, 3 and 4, went on sale on Mar. 21 through Ticketmaster. Stewart, 80, began a trio of shows at the Colosseum on Mar. 19, and also plays there on Mar. 21 and Mar. 22. After that he heads to Europe, with shows in Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Italy and Portugal through mid-May. He will return to Europe in November for more gigs in Germany, as well as stops in Switzerland, Austria, Bulgaria and Greece. - Billboard, 3/19/25...... Neil Young announced on his Neil Young Archives site on Mar. 20 that he's cancelling a recently-announced free concert in Ukraine over safety concerns. Earlier in March, Young shared word of the forthcoming gig in the war torn country, revealing that his upcoming European tour with The Chrome Hearts would be preceded by his debut performance in the country. "We are currently in talks and will make the announcement of details here at NYA," he wrote on his Archives website. While specifics were not forthcoming, the tour is set to begin in Rättvik, Sweden on June 18, meaning the as-yet unannounced Ukrainian show would have ostensibly occurred in the immediate lead-up. However now the "Heart of Gold" singer says the show is no longer going ahead as initially planned. "We had a good venue, close to a shelter, but the changing situation on the ground was too much," he posted. "I could not in good conscience take my crew and instruments into that area. My apologies to all. Ukraine is a great country with a good leader. Slava Ukraini." In February, Young posted a message titled "Leader of the Free World No More" in which he said "under [Pres. Donald Trump's] leadership, the US has lost its standing. Loyalists will never be stronger than Patriots, and Patriots are in the majority here in the USA. Our Patriots will take to the streets to peacefully demonstrate. There will be a moment of truth in our country and we will show the world who we really are. The USA will again be the leader of the Free World." - Billboard, 3/20/25...... '70s stars Queen and Herbie Hancock will be among the 2025 recipients of Sweden's prestigious Polar Music Prize. The Polar Music Prize, founded in 1989 by ABBA manager/publisher/lyricist Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, is presented at a ceremony in Stockholm in the presence of the Swedish royal family. Each Laureate will receive a cash award of one million Swedish Krona (approx. 74,082 GBP and $93,897 USD). Previous prize Laureates include Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Chuck Berry, Led Zeppelin, Patti Smith, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and Elton John, among others. This year's ceremony will be held on May 27, at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm and is set to broadcast live in Sweden on TV4 at 8 p.m. CET. "We are highly and deeply honoured to be given the Polar Music Prize this year," the three surviving Queen members -- Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon -- said in a statement. "It's incredible, thank you so much." Hancock, 84, said: "The Polar Music Prize is a prestigious honour, and I am both thrilled and humbled to be a recipient. The Laureates who have come before me have left an indelible mark on humanity through their profound examples of inspiration and dedication." - Billboard, 3/18/25...... In related news, Elton John has been named the 2025 recipient of the Glenn Gould Prize, which was established in 1987 by The Glenn Gould Foundation to honor the legacy of legendary Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. Gould, whose 1956 album Bach: Goldberg Variations is considered a classic, died in 1982 at age 50, and he received a posthumous lifetime achievement award from the Grammy Awards' Recording Academy in 2013. "After spending decades admiring the virtuosity of Glenn Gould's work, I am awestruck and honored to receive this award," Sir Elton said in a statement. The Glenn Gould Prize is awarded biennially and includes a CDN$100,000 cash award for the Laureate, who also selects an exceptional young artist to receive the CDN$25,000 Glenn Gould Protege Prize. The prize will be presented to John during a special gala celebration to be held in Toronto this fall. Previous recipients include Philip Glass, Leonard Cohen, André Previn, Pierre Boulez and Yo-Yo Ma. In other Elton news, a concert special showcasing the Rocket Man and his recent collaborator Brandi Carlile, An Evening With Elton John and Brandi Carlile, will air on CBS on Apr. 6 at 8-9 p.m. ET/PT and stream on Paramount+. In a concert filmed on Mar. 26 at London's iconic Palladium Theatre and accompanied by a live band, John and Carlile perform songs from their new album, Who Believes in Angels?, which is due Apr. 4 via Interscope Records. The musicians will also play a selection of their individual greatest hits, and an unreleased track by Carlile. Between these solo and duo performances, the two stars will engage in an intimate sit-down conversation on stage that promises to "pull back the curtain on their 20-year friendship, the journey behind their latest collaboration and share intimate footage from their process," according to the press release. Additionally, throughout the evening, those closest to the stars -- who are both LGBTQ icons -- will pay tribute to the artists' careers. John and Carlile are also set to be the musical guests on NBC's Saturday Night Live on Apr. 5 in an episode hosted by Jack Black. It will be John's fourth time on SNL, after musical performances in 1981 and 1992 and a hosting/performing double stint in 2011. - Billboard, 3/20/25...... In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Grateful Dead's Bobby Weir suggested it's possible for the GD to reunite as a trio following the 2024 passing of bass player Phil Lesh. Lesh died in October, at the age of 84, and before his passing, Weir, 77, and bandmates Bill Kreutzmann, 78, and Mickey Hart, 81, had been planning a 60th anniversary reunion tour with Lesh. But should the band reunite, Weir admits he couldn't replace his beloved bandmate. "I think when Phil checked out, so did that notion, because we don't have a bass player who's been playing with us for 60 years now," he said. "And that was the intriguing prospect. I think you need somebody holding down the bottom. Phil had all kinds of ideas that were pretty much unique to him. I grew up with Phil holding down the bottom in his unique way." Asked about reuniting as a three-piece, he added: "I suppose I could go back out. I wouldn't put anybody in his place, so it would be a trio at this point. It'd be me and two drummers. I'd have to think about that. I haven't thought about it -- it's just now occurring to me that it's a possibility that we could do that, since you asked. I guess we'll just see what the three of us can pull together." In Dec. 2024, the trio turned up with Lesh's son, Grahame, to be honoured by then-Pres. Joe Biden at the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2015, Weir, Lesh, Kreutzmann, and Hart reunited for a "farewell tour," in which they claimed the five shows would be their last together. - Music-News.com, 3/21/25...... Stevie Wonder will headline the UK's BST Hyde Park festival for the third time when he performs on the Great Oak Stage on July 12. The R&B legend will join an already packed roster of BST Hyde Park 2025 headliners that includes the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Zach Bryan, Sabrina Carpenter, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, Jeff Lynne's ELO, the Doobie Brothers, Stevie Winwood and Dhani Harrison during various evenings from June 28-July 13. Wonder's U.K. tour will kick off his "Love, Light & Song" U.K. tour with a July 3 show at the Lytham Festival in Lancashire, followed by a July 5 gig at Co-Op Live in Manchester, a July 7 stop at Utilita Arena in Birmingham and a July 9 gig at Blackweir Field in Cardiff. Wonder was recently on hand at a memorial for Roberta Flack at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, N.Y. - Billboard, 3/17/25...... Alice Cooper is coming out for British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Cooper, who was inducted into the RRHOF himself in 2011, shouted out the band -- who are set to head out on the road this summer with their "Run For Your Lives" tour of the UK and Europe -- during a Q&A session on the Rock Legends Cruise in February. When the "School's Out" singer was asked which artists he'd like to see inducted into the Rock Hall, Cooper mentioned Maiden, saying: "I mean, come on -- Iron Maiden. How can you diss Iron Maiden? They have their own army out there." Alice also commented on the Rock Hall's pivot to include non-rock acts. "It's really hard for me to put somebody, let's say, like Missy Elliott in with The Who," he admitted. "I was in there going, 'Come on. It's rock and roll bands - that's what rock is. But then I kind of loosened up that idea. Even Dolly Parton said, 'I don't belong in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame,' but then she made a rock record. I don't think anybody begrudges her that, but I would still I would prefer to see an Iron Maiden in there before I would see some of these other ones." Iron Maiden have been eligible to join the RRHOF since 2004, although they've only been nominated twice, in 2021 and 2023. Cooper meanwhile has confirmed two upcoming shows for the UK later this summer, marking his only performances in Scotland and Wales for 2025. - NME, 3/17/25...... A Vancouver, B.C. record store owner has discovered he that he bought, unbeknownst to himself, a rare and unknown Beatles recording from 1962. A few years ago, Rob Frith of Neptoon Records bought a reel-to-reel tape labelled "Beatles demo." But he didn't bother to actually listen to it; he just assumed someone had put a Beatles bootleg on the tape. Recently as he was transferring some tapes at broadcaster Larry Hennessey's recording studio and brought along the Beatles tape. "All of a sudden, it was like the Beatles are in the room playing," he said, a sense of astonishment still in his voice. "The quality was that good." Turns out, it really was a Beatles demo -- a legendary session they recorded on Jan. 1, 1962, for Decca Records. Decca rejected the band, which is arguably the biggest mistake in music history. Instead, EMI signed the Beatles a few months later and they became a worldwide sensation. The tape features the Beatles' original drummer Pete Best, not Ringo Starr. Most of the songs are covers like "Money," "To Know Him is to Love Him" and "The Sheik of Araby." But there are three original songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney: "Like Dreamers Do," "Hello Little Girl," and "Love of the Loved." Not all 15 recordings in the Decca session have been officially released, although it's been widely bootlegged. Five songs from the session were officially released on the Beatles Anthology I in 1995. Whoever sold the Beatles tape probably didn't know what it was: they didn't hype it to Frith. "I actually can't remember who I bought it from," Frith said. "I think it was an engineer that worked in Vancouver for years and years that was moving." Frith won't be able to legally reproduce the music on the tape for copyright reasons. But it has value as an artifact: a copy of the Decca sessions that once belonged to Beatles manager Brian Epstein, which had only half the recordings, sold for 62,500 pounds (about CDN$117,000) in 2019. - Canoe.com, 3/19/25...... Marty Callner, an acclaimed TV and music video director responsible for numerous music videos, concert specials, and stand-up performances, passed away at his home in Malibu from natural causes on Mar. 17. He was 78. Helming specials featuring Robert Klein, Redd Foxx, Robin Williams and Myron Cohen, Callner also directed 1981's The Pee-Wee Herman Show, having discovered comedian Paul Reubens at The Groundlings in Los Angeles. Callner shifted his focus towards music with names such as Diana Ross, Paul Simon and Liza Minnelli, before rising to prominence as an unsung hero of the entertainment world through his prolific career directing music videos. Alongside videos for beloved names such as Stevie Nicks, Pat Benatar, Heart and The Bangles, Callner was responsible for some of the most memorable music videos in history. His impressive resum includes Cher,'s "If I Could Turn Back Time," Twisted Sister,'s "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock," Whitesnake,'s "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love," Poison,'s "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," and numerous clips for Aerosmith,, including "Livin' on the Edge," "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," and "Love in an Elevator." His career would also boast numerous live concert specials, including a number of famed pop stars of the '90s and '00s, including Madonna, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and NSYNC. - Billboard, 3/20/25...... Former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, known as much for his gregarious personality as his vicious right hook, died on Mar. 21. He was 76 years old. A two-time heavyweight champion, he also won gold at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and later saw success, in his post-boxing career, pitching the now-omnipresent countertop grill that bears his name. Foreman's family announced his death in a post on Instagram, and they provided no cause of death. "A humanitarian, an Olympian, and two-time heavyweight champion of the world, He was deeply respected -- a force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name -- for his family," it reads. Born Jan. 10, 1949, Foreman was the fifth of seven children and grew up "in the toughest neighborhood in Houston," he wrote in his book George Foreman's Guide To Life: How to Get Up Off the Canvas When Life Knocks You Down, which was published in 2003. "I didn't have a lot to look forward to in life," he wrote. "At least I didn't think I did. I was hungry all the time; I dropped out of school in the eighth grade; I relied on my size and my fists to make my way." At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Foreman, then 19, had already developed what ESPN would go on to call his "wrecking ball fists," and defeated Soviet opponent Jonas Cepulis. The referee had to stop the fight before the end of the second round. Foreman won his first heavyweight title at just 24 with a stunning knockout of the then-undefeated world champion Joe Frazier in 1973. Billed as "The Rumble in the Jungle," Foreman's most famous fight ended in his first professional loss to Muhammad Ali in Oct. 1974. He surrendered the heavyweight title in the knockout loss. But he would regain the belt after a 10-year retirement in a fight in 1994 against Michael Moorer at 45 years old. In the pivot to entrepreneur, Foreman saw success in the 1990s promoting the "George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine," a staple on TV infomercials and home-shopping channels, which was known for its ridged and slanted cooking surface that was designed to allow fat to slide off the grill. There's hardly a single lesson I've learned in life that didn't come the hard way... Everyone in life goes through a hard time sometime, but you can't let that define who you are," he wrote in his 2003 book. "What defines you is how you come back from those troubles and what you find in life to smile about." - ABC News, 3/21/25...... Jesse Colin Young, the co-founder and vocalist for late '60s folk-rockers The Youngbloods, passed away at his Aiken, S.C. home on Mar. 16, according to his wife/manager Connie Young. He was 83. Born Perry Miller in New York City in 1941, Mr. Young grew up in a musical household and was encouraged by his parents to learn piano from a young age. Attending Massachusetts' Phillips Academy on a scholarship, Mr. Young studied guitar but was expelled, later enrolling in Ohio State University after high school before transferring to New York University. Deciding to become a full-time musician in the early '60s, he adopted the Jesse Colin Young moniker from famed western outlaws Jesse James and Cole Younger, and Formula One innovator Colin Chapman. Mr. Young issued his debut album, The Soul of a City Boy, in 1964 via Capitol Records, before following it up with Young Blood on Mercury in 1965. That same year, Mr. Young teamed up with guitarist and folk singer Jerry Corbitt with whom he would form The Youngbloods, named for his recently-released album. The band's second single, "Grizzly Bear," from their 1967 self-titled debut album, gave them their first success when it reached No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The album also featured a version of the Chet Powers-penned "Get Together." The single would only hit No. 62 on the Hot 100 upon its release, but was reissued in 1969 where it went to No. 5, ultimately going Gold, and defining the musical sound that accompanied the peace-loving attitudes of the '60s. "As the frontman of The Youngbloods, he immortalized the ideals of the Woodstock generation with 'Get Together,' an international hit that called for peace and brotherhood during the turbulent 1960s," a statement released following Young's passing noted. "During the decades that followed, Young expanded both his audience and his artistic range, releasing a string of solo albums that mixed socially conscious lyrics with top-tier guitar skills and gorgeous vocals." The Youngbloods would split in 1972 following five albums, though would later reform in late 1984 for a brief tour. Mr. Young returned to his career as a solo musician upon the band's initial breakup, with his most successful record, 1975's Songbird, peaking at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart upon its release. In 2012, Mr. Young retired from performing following a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease, though he returned to the stage in 2016, with Dreamers arriving as his final album in 2019. "An acclaimed songwriter, singer, instrumentalist, producer, label owner, podcast host, and longtime social/environmental activist, [Young] has established a permanent place in America's musical landscape -- while continuing to make modern music that's every bit as vital as his work during the counterculture era," the statement issued upon Mr. Young's passing concluded. Mr. Young is survived by his wife and manager, Connie; their children Tristan and Jazzie Young; and two children from his first marriage, Juli and Cheyenne Young. - Billboard, 3/17/25...... Lenny Schultz, a former stand-up comic and star of Laugh-In, died on Mar. 16 at his home in Delray Beach, Fla. He was 91. A frequent guest on late night shows in the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Schultz was a pioneer among a crop of comedians that embraced wacky and "out-there" comedy. People in the audiences of shows he starred in like Laugh-In would chant "Go crazy Lenny," in order to get him to bust out some of his zanier bits. When he wasn't playing weird characters like the Bionic Chicken, part of what Mr. Schutlz did so well was adding sound effects to his stand-up bits. In his his classic 1977 bit "It Started with a Bang," Mr. Schutlz recounted the formation of the solar system, with an incredible bit that anthropomorphized various explosions as well as the planets themselves. Even though his stand-up career was thriving, Mr. Schultz stuck with his job -- for more than a decade -- as a gym teacher, leaving clubs early when it was a school night. "The next day I'm in a smelly gym with kids! It was crazy!" he noted. In his stand-up act, he often was assisted by his second wife, Helen, who helped him with his sound cues and myriad props (they were married from 1965 until their 1982 divorce). She said he endured two bouts with COVID in his later years. The humble, funny, and delightfully weird Mr. Schutlz was often praised by such comedic legends as Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Crystal, John Stewart and David Letterman. His legacy lives on in the wide world of physical comedy, and anytime a comedian dares to step outside of anything remotely normal. - Men's Journal, 3/18/25.

Monday, March 17, 2025

On Mar. 13 KISS co-founder Gene Simmons joined L.A. TV station Fox 11 to deliver a weather report with numerous KISS references, a quick rap and even tap dancing. Appearing alongsite meteorologist Adam Krueger, Simmons told Krueger that he looks "much better in real life than you do on TV," before going on to discuss the weather. Krueger dropped in a few Kiss references throughout the forecast such as: "There's been a lot of rain lately, and the rain you drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy talking about this rain," Recognizing the reference to "Rock and Roll All Nite," Simmons responded: "Hey, I wrote that. I like that." At the end of the forecast, Krueger told Simmons that it was time to wrap, but the bassist mistook the cue and began rapping "If you go to 7/11, go to heaven" before receiving a round of applause and laughter from the crew in the studio, adding in a quick tap dance. Simmons' debut stint as a weatherman can be viewed on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 3/17/25..... Speaking to NYC radio station Q104.3 on Mar. 16, Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson revealed that several drummers reached out to his band to audition for late Rush drummer Neal Peart's job after Peart passed away in Jan. 2020 of brain cancer at age 67. Lifeson was asked if he and bassist Geddy Lee have considered reforming the band with a new drummer. "Oh, well, yeah, of course, because we're bombarded by it all the time," Lifeson said. "After Neil passed, it didn't take more than a few minutes before we started getting e-mails from all kinds of drummers who wanted to audition for the band, thinking that we were just gonna replace somebody that we played with for 40 years who wrote all the lyrics for our music." He continued: "I don't know what some of these people were thinking. So, yeah, we've had the conversation, because we can't avoid it." Rush last performed together for a farewell tour in 2015 playing 35 headline shows across North America. In 2022, Lifeson and Geddy Lee reunited in public to perform as part of the tribute shows in Los Angeles and London for late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. The pair also participated in a Peart tribute concert in Los Angeles in Sept. 2020. Peart's full interview can be streamed on YouTube. - NME, 3/17/25...... Taking a cue from The Cure's Robert Smith, Neil Young has taken to his Neil Young Archives website to walk back his "Platinum" ticket option, in which Ticketmaster introduced high priced Platinum tickets to the areas where scalpers were buying the most tickets for resale. "I have decided to let the people work this out," Young said. "Buy aggressively when the tickets come out or tickets will cost a lot more in a secondary market," he added. In Oct. 2024, Robert Smith told the London Times that he was "shocked by how much profit is made [by ticketing]." "I thought, 'We don't need to make all this money.' My fights with the label have all been about how we can price things lower. The only reason you'd charge more for a gig is if you were worried that it was the last time you would be able to sell a T-shirt," he said. Young's upcoming tour will see him accompanied on all shows by his new Chrome Hearts band, who released the grungy anthem "Big Change" in January and have an album tentatively scheduled for release in April. - Billboard, 3/16/25...... ZZ Top issued a statement on Instagram on Mar. 14 saying that their co-founding drummer Frank Beard will be taking time off of their tour to undergo a "health procedure." Beard will be replaced on the tour, which kicked off on Mar. 5, by the band's "fellow Texan and longtime tech member, percussionist and drummer" John Douglas, who they say has a "close relationship" with the group and previously filled in when Beard underwent an emergency appendectomy in Paris in 2002. The statement concluded by saying Beard is "looking forward to a speedy recovery." Beard has served as ZZ Top's drummer for over 55 years, after taking over from founding drummer Dan Mitchell who played on the band's first single "Salt Lick." Their most recent LP was the live album Raw in 2022, which followed the death of ZZ Top bassist, Dusty Hill, the previous year. Raw was an 11-track LP recorded for the trio's 2019 Netflix documentary, That Little Ol' Band From Texas. - NME, 3/16/25...... A new documentary claims that The Doors frontman Jim Morrison could still be alive. In Before the End, a new film created by Doors superfan Jeff Finn, conspiracy theories will be examined that suggest Morrison may have faked his own death after becoming disillusioned with the fame and attention his success had brought him. It will examine the "evidence" of the theories that Morrison may still be alive, including one revolving around a man named "Frank X," who works in maintenance in Syracuse, N.Y., but who some believe is actually Morrison in disguise. Morrison was found dead in the bathtub of his apartment in Paris by his girlfriend Pamela Courson on July 3, 1971. He was 27 years old at the time, with the official cause of death listed as heart failure. The trailer for Before The End has been shared on YouTube, and streaming options for the film can be found at www.zmachine.net. - NME, 3/13/25...... On Mar. 14 Journey suddenly halted their Texas concert at NRG Stadium during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo following an electrical fire. Journey had performed just five songs when, during their 1981 hit "Don't Stop Believin'," they were forced to leave the stage after the sound cut out and the projector screens went dark. As the audience continued singing along to their 1981 hit, unaware of the issue, members of Journey's crew were reportedly seen rushing to the stage with fire extinguishers. Shortly after, the crowd was informed that the concert would not continue and that everyone needed to evacuate, according to Houston station KHOU. No injuries were reported. The livestock organization later posted on Facebook that they regretted the incident and apologized to fans, and "will provide updates regarding rescheduling options and refunds as soon as possible." Fan-captured video from the event can be viewed on X. - Billboard, 3/15/25...... Former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Rudy Sarzo says he is "honored" to have been invited to play at the upcoming final concert ever by Ozzy and Black Sabbath. Sabbath has announced they will return for one last concert at Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham on July 5. The upcoming show will see the group's most iconic line-up -- comprising frontman Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward -- play live together for the first time in two decades. Sarzo, who played bass for Osbourne for a year in the '80s, said during an intervew with radio station WDHA 105.5 that last fall that he received a text from Sabbath show co-organizer Tom Morello that said, basically, "Hi, Rudy. [It's] Tom. Sharon and Ozzy asked me to see if you were available and wanted to participate in this event." Reflecting on the significance of the show to him personally, Sarzo said: "At that moment, for so many reasons, it was like time stood still and brought me back, like, 40 years. So after I got out that trance, I immediately said, 'Yes. Of course.'" Osbourne, who last performed a full set in 2018, recently said in a SiriusXM interview that due to his health issues he isn't planning on doing a full set with Black Sabbath, but "little bits and pieces with them... I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable." - NME, 3/14/25...... '70s funk-rock icon George Clinton has filed a $100 million copyright lawsuit against his former business partner Armen Boladian and his Bridgeport Music company over ownership of his music. The Parliament-Funkadelic musician -- who is set to be be inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame later in 2025 -- has alleged that Boladian fraudulently obtained copyrights to approximately 90 per cent of his catalogue. In a lawsuit on Mar. 11 in Florida District Court, Clinton alleged Boladian and Bridgeport, as well as Westbound Records, Nine Records, Southfield Music and Eastbound Records, have unlawfully profited from his music. He went on to hold a press conference outside of the Apollo Theatre to announce the suit alongside his attorney Ben Crump, stating that he aimed to reclaim ownership of his catalogue to provide for his family. Richard Busch, Boladian's lawyer, told Variety that "This is just the latest in a series of lawsuits that Mr. Clinton has filed against Bridgeport and Armen Boladian over the last 30 years raising the same exact issues. He has lost each and every time, including in the very courthouse in which he has filed this latest lawsuit. We will obviously therefore be moving to dismiss this lawsuit and will be seeking sanctions." Parliament-Funkadelic released their last album Medicaid Fraud Dog in 2018, marking their first new music in 38 years. Shortly after, Clinton announced his retirement from the road in 2019 and played his final shows in 2022 after they were delayed by the pandemic. - NME, 3/14/25...... Canadian pop music legend Anne Murray will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Junos in Vancouver, B.C. on Mar. 30. Nova Scotia native Murray, the most Juno-awarded artist in the history of Canada's national music honours, has won 25 Juno Awards. "Canada's National Arts Centre has been honoured to support countless Canadian performing artists from the beginning of their careers to the international stage, including this year's honouree, Anne Murray," says Christopher Deacon, President and CEO of the National Arts Centre. Presented by the National Arts Centre/Centre National des Arts, Murray will be the first performer to receive the recognition since it was awarded to Pierre Juneau in 1989. Murray, the singer behind such classics as "Snowbird" and others has sold over 55 million albums and has won four Grammy Awards, including best female pop vocal performance in 1978 for "You Needed Me." Her debut hit "What About Me" launched her career in 1968. - Canoe.com, 3/13/25...... Actress Amanda Seyfried has denied that her appearance on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon earlier in March in which she performed an impromptu cover of Joni Mitchell's 1971 classic "California" was an audition for Cameron Crowe's forthcoming Joni Mitchell biopic. Speaking with Variety's Just For Variety podcast, Seyfried said she never meant for the cover to be taken as an audition: "It was not an audition. In fact, I didn't even consider that, which is funny. What I know about that project is that I'm very, very much aged-out of [playing] young Joni." Crowe first announced his Mitchell project in 2023, and a cast has yet to be announced though it was reported that Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep -- a close friend of Mitchell's -- was in talks to portray an older version of the singer-songwriter in the biopic. - NME, 3/14/25...... A longtime dream of R&B/soul legend Otis Redding has finally come true as the Otis Redding Foundation has announced that the Otis Redding Center for the Arts (ORCA) will celebrate its grand opening in Redding's hometown of Macon, Ga., on Mar. 22. Following her husband's untimely death in 1967, ORCA president founder Zelma Redding has remained committed to fulfilling their vision of giving back to the community by enriching young people through the arts. "This is a dream that my husband and I shared," she said in a statement. "And being able to turn that dream into a reality with the help of my children, grandchildren and all of those who support us, means more to me than words can express." The Otis Redding Center for the Arts is a state-of-the-art, 15,000 square-foot facility housing seven creative labs, five private lesson rooms, an amphitheater and the O3 Recording Studio. The latter is named after the Reddings' son, Otis Redding III, who died in April 2023. The famed Otis Redding statue, previously located in Gateway Park, now stands outside of ORCA at the corner of Cotton Avenue and Cherry Street. Also nearby is the Otis Redding Museum at 339 Cotton Avenue. Otis Redding, nicknamed "The King of Soul," died on Dec. 10, 1967, in a plane crash near Madison, Wisc., at age 26. - Billboard, 3/13/25...... Joan Baez will appear with an electic panel of fellow guests on the season debut of John Mulaney's new Netflix series Everybody's Live With John Mulaney. In a prelude to a story about Martin Luther King Jr., Baez said she needed to "set the context" for what is going on in our country at the moment. "You said I could say anything I want out here," Baez said to Mulaney. "We're all here to be silly and have fun, and as long as we recognize the fact that our democracy is going up in flames we're being run by a bunch of really incompetent billionaires." Baez did not specifically note who said billionaires are, but it appeared she was talking about Pres. Donald Trump and DOGE boss Elon Musk, who have been deeply slashing the federal government workforce over the past two months in their attempt to cut government spending in a manner that has raised alarms about the impact on the environment, American's health and safety of the LGBTQ+ community. After Mulaney joked about the thought of Baez driving a Tesla, the singer noted that she actually used to own one of Musk's all-electric cars after her assistant suggested she try one, but that she now has serious buyer's remorse. "I hated that thing," Baez, 84, said. "But I thought I was supposed to like it. So I drove off in it. Within 45 minutes I had smashed it into an oak tree on my property I was thinking, 'That's a sign.'" While Baez said the crash was not on purpose, the joke came amid a national, and international, backlash against Musk's chainsaw-like slashing of federal programs that has seen Tesla vehicles and showrooms vandalized. "I hated it," Baez repeated about the car without specifying when she owned it. "It was too big I sold it and got one-half the amount of money I paid for." Baez's appearance on the Mulaney show can be streamed on X. - Billboard, 3/13/25...... Time to "turn it up to 11" once again. The highly anticipated sequel of the 1984 comedy, This Is Spinal Tap, officially has a release date. Spinal Tap II: The End Continues will hit theaters on Sept. 12 with Bleeker Street Studios gaining the U.S. distribution rights, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Rob Reiner is returning as director, and also reprising his role as documentarian Martin "Marty" DiBergi. "This Is Spinal Tap isn't just a movie -- it's a cultural touchstone that pioneered the mockumentary genre and left an indelible mark on both film and music," Bleeker Street CEO said in a statement. "Returning to this world through Spinal Tap II is an extraordinary chance to celebrate its legacy while creating something fresh for both new and devoted audiences." The original film -- in which most of the dialogue was improvised -- follows the rockers on a 1982 U.S. tour to promote their Smell the Glove album. Though the film did modestly at the box office at the time, it has since blossomed into a must-see movie with a cult following, even making it onto the Library of Congress' list of culturally significant artifacts. Spinal Tap II will reunite the band after a 15-year break for one last concert. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer will be returning in the sequel as the fictional English band Spinal Tap, while Fran Drescher will also be reprising her role as publicist Bobbi Flekman. Chad Smith, Lars Ulrich, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are all set to make cameos in the upcoming film. - Billboard, 3/12/25...... The first trailer for the upcoming John Lennon and Yoko Ono documentary One to One has been shared on YouTube. The two-minute clip opens with audio of Lennon calling someone named Howard, in which the woman on the other end begins to spell out the singer's name only to realize who she's talking to. "You're a member of the Beatles?" she asks. "That's right, yeah," Lennon answers nonchalantly. From there, the footage explodes into a collage of images of bombs falling in the Vietnam war and the couple preparing for a charity show as Lennon says, "good morning, folks. Have you had your breakfast yet?," accompanied by footage of the former Beatle having his bowl of morning cereal. The movie, directed by Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald, is a chronicle of the couple's new life in New York post-Beatles in 1972, following them as they move into an apartment in Greenwich Village and prepare for their "One to One" concerts, a two-show all-star charity event for children with special needs that they threw at Madison Square Garden in Aug. 1972. It was the only full-length performance by Lennon in the wake of the Fab Four's split two years earlier and in addition to the Plastic Ono Band it featured sets by Stevie Wonder, Sha Na Na and Roberta Flack, among others. - Billboard, 3/13/25...... Willie Nelson took to Instagram on Mar. 12 to formally announce his 154th studio album, Oh What a Beautiful World, will drop on Apr. 25. Like past albums, Oh What A Beautiful World sees Nelson dedicate an entire album to interpreting the works of notable songwriters. This time, he's focusing on songs written by Rodney Crowell. Nelson has released the title track as the record's first single, and it can be streamed on YouTube. - NME, 3/13/25...... Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell has told Guitar Player magazine that his "conscience is clear" and he "doesn't torture himself" over his bandleader Tom Petty's 2017 death from an accidental drug overdose. Petty's death at age 66 sent shockwaves through the rock community, especially after a coroner's report determined that a mix of opioids -- including fentanyl and oxycodone -- in his system contributed to a fatal "mixed drug toxicity." The rock legend had gone through periods of drug use throughout his life, but famously got clean in 1999 when his future wife, Dana York, convinced him to go to rehab. Campbell, 75, explained that while he recognized Petty was no longer sober near the end of his life, he felt it was impossible to get through to his longtime bandmate of over 40 years. "With Tom it was like, 'Your private life is yours, and mine is mine. I can see what you're doing, but out of respect for you, I'll trust you'll do the right thing. If you need me, call me,'" he recalled. "I could have gone to him and said, 'Hey, you've got to cut this s--- out,' which I kind of did once to the manager. But the thing with Tom was, you could say that and he would just look at you like, 'But I'm Tom Petty. I'm going to do whatever I f---ing want. Get out of my face.'" Campbell, who will release a memoir about his career with Petty called Heartbreaker on Mar. 18, suggested that "the sides of [Petty's] personality" always made it challenging to get close to the musician he worked with for more than 40 years. "He was intimidating, but there was love there. I think one reason we stayed together is because we kept our private lives separate. We didn't socialize that much off tour," he insisted. The last time the pair worked together was only a week before Petty's death, when they concluded their 40th Anniversary Tour at the Hollywood Bowl in Sept. 2017. When Campbell was pressed on why he didn't "get in [Petty's] face" about his noticeable decline, the musician replied: "I don't torture myself. My conscious is clear because Tom knew that I knew, and Tom knew that I wasn't forcing him and getting in his face about it." Since Petty's death in 2017, Campbell and Crowded House's Neil Finn have joined Fleetwood Mac as replacements for Lindsey Buckingham following the latter guitarist's acrimonious departure from the group. - US Weekly, 3/13/25.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Billy Joel announced on Mar. 11 that he's postponing his current North American spring tour for four months due to an undisclosed medical condition. Joel, 75, underwent surgery recently, and says he'll use the time to recover and undergo physical therapy. "While I regret postponing any shows, my health must come first," Joel, 75, said in a statement posted to Instagram. "I look forward to getting back on stage and sharing the joy of live music with our amazing fans. Thank you for your understanding." He's expected to make a full recovery, with the tour resuming at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on July 5. The stadium tour, which includes Joel often pairing with fellow legends Stevie Nicks, Sting or Rod Stewart, had been slated to get underway Mar. 15 in Toronto. It is unknown if the surgery was related to the spill the Piano Man took on stage Feb. 22 during a show at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., while tossing his microphone during "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." Joel quickly recovered from the fall, seemingly uninjured, and finished the show. The delay will not affect Joel's three New York City-area summer shows. He'll play Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on July 18; Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 8; and Citi Field, in Queens, N.Y., on Aug. 21, making him the first artist to play all three NYC-area stadiums in one summer. Stewart will join him July 18, Nicks on Aug. 8 and Sting on Aug. 21. - Billboard, 3/11/25...... Former J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf has just released a new book, Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses, and though it tracks Wolf's childhood to relatively recently, it isn't a standard, linear memoir. Rather, it's a collection of stories -- and a fascinating, good-humored one at that -- as the New York-born Wolf regales readers with his Forrest Gump-like life of encounters with such famous stars as Marilyn Monroe, who once literally fell asleep on him as a 10-year-old while both attended a screening of a film at a local movie theater. Also included are recollections of his interactions and relationships with blues heroes such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker, as well as his fellow rockers Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones, John Lennon and Harry Nilsson, Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin and more. "My goal was to make a book of short stories, treat each chapter like its own short story," explains Wolf, who was an art student and radio DJ in Boston as well as a musician," says Wolf, who joined the J. Geils Band in 1967 and fronted them to multi-platinum fame in 1981 with the chart-topping album Freeze-Frame and its No. 1 smash "Centerfold." Other subjects include his actress former wife Faye Dunaway, to whom he was wed from 1974-79, and the J. Geils Band, which asked him to leave the group in 1983. "I didn't want this to be a kiss-and-tell book; I just wanted to write about these incredible people that I had the privilege to meet and to get to know to certain degrees and capture that," he says. Wolf has recorded an audio version of Waiting On the Moon and has a handful of author appearances planned throughout March, including bookstores in Cambridge, Mass. (3/11), New York City (3/12), Ridgewood, N.J. (3/13), Portsmouth, N.H. (3/18), and Philadelphia (3/27), with an Apr. 8 stop in Madison, Conn. He's also "about 80 percent" finished with his new solo album, which will be his first since 2016's A Cure For Loneliness. "I think if the book connects with people it would even put the wind beneath my wings to finish the record and put it out," he says. A reissue of the J. Geils Band's classic 1972 concert album "Live" Full House is also slated for this year, according to Wolf. - Billboard, 3/11/25...... Such R&B/pop icons as Stevie Wonder, Valerie Simpson, Phylicia Rashad, Dionne Warwick, Alicia Keys, India.Arie and Peabo Bryson were among those lifting up their voices in tribute to the late pioneering singer-songwriter-musician Roberta Flack at a jam-packed celebration at New York's Abyssinian Baptist Church on Mar. 10. Also making unexpected appearances were Ms. Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, with Hill delivering a beautiful and measured take on the Flack classic "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" as emotional Hill sniffled her way through reflections about her late idol. "The artistry of Ms. Roberta Flack was beyond trailblazing.... Roberta Flack is a legend," Hill said in part. Stevie Wonder performed "If It's Magic," a track from his 1976 platinum album Songs in the Key of Life, and a tune that he wrote for Flack, "I Can See the Sun." Noted Wonder at the end, "She spread love all over this world." Also in attendance was a diverse range of artists and industry personages such as Clive Davis ("There will never be another Roberta Flack"), Oprah Winfrey and Flack's former Dakota apartment building neighbor, Yoko Ono. The celebration program also noted that donations in Flack's memory can be sent to the RobertaFlackFoundation.org. Flack died on Feb. 24 at age 88. - Billboard, 3/10/25...... A first-of-its-kind jazz and super club in Chicago's West Loop built and designed in honor of legendary Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia was announced on Mar. 10 by venue impressario Peter Shapiro. Shapiro has long collaborated with original members of the iconic 1960s band through projects like the "Fare Thee Well" concerts honoring the band's 50th anniversary, and also worked as the long-time promoter for late GD founding member Phil Lesh. For the new club, he has enlisted the help of Garcia's family members, including his daughter Trixie Garcia, who said the inspiration for Garcia's was "a live music club with a comfortable atmosphere for artists and guests... A place where Jerry could get his musical fix without going on the road." The 300-capacity concert venue will feature a full bar and restaurant, according to Shapiro, adding that the concept for Garcia's comes from iconic old supper and jazz clubs of yesteryear, including New York's Birdland, Harlem's esteemed Bill's Place or the Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street in New Orleans. A full list of shows at the new venue can be found at GarciasChicago.live. - Billboard, 3/10/25...... A two-hour Ringo Starr special, Ringo & Friends at the Ryman, is currently streaming on-demand on the Paramount+ channel for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers. The special, which premiered on Mar. 10 on the CBS network, celebrates the music and legacy of Starr through the lens of country music. The Beatles drummer brought his love of country to life with two concerts taped at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on Jan. 14-15. In an exclusive clip from Billboard on YouTube, Starr, with a little help from friends like Jack White, performs the Carl Perkins rockabilly classic "Matchbox," which the Beatles covered in 1964. Other "friends" in the special include Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Mickey Guyton, Jamey Johnson, Rodney Crowell, the War and Treaty, and Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle, both of whom appear on Ringo's new album Look Up, a current country Top 10 LP. - Billboard, 3/10/25...... In other Beatles-related news, Lady Gaga has revealed that the late John Lennon would be her dream collaborator. During a fan-led presser for her new album Mayhem, Gaga was asked by a fan was about her dream collaborator, dead or alive. "I think it would have been John Lennon. I think he had such a beautiful heart and I think that's one of my favorite things in like the history of music is when you don't just remember an artist for their music but you remember them for their heart," she said. In 2012, the "Born This Way"' hitmaker was awarded the Lennonono Grant For Peace by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono. She also performed a cover of "Imagine" at the opening of the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan back in 2015. Mayhem, Gaga's highly anticipated seventh album, arrived on Mar. 7. - New Musical Express, 3/7/25...... '80s pop star Rick Springfield, who released his first album in the U.S., Comic Book Heroes, in 1974, has revealed in a new People interview that he has brain damage from a bad stage fall he took in 2000. Springfield, 75, said that after getting a whole-body MRI scan he was told that he still has lasting brain damage from an on-stage tumble during a Las Vegas show 25 years ago. "I fell 25 feet, hit my head and then wood came down and hit my head, and then my head hit the stage again," Springfield said of the nasty fall. "I thought I had just broken my wrist, but on the scan I found out I have some brain damage from the fall, so I'm working on trying to repair that." Despite being halfway through his seventh decade, the "Jessie's Girl" singer said he's still feeling like he's in his 20s in his head thanks to daily exercise, a mostly pescatarian diet and the dialing back of his alcohol intake a few years ago, which has also had a positive impact on his lifelong battle with depression. Springfield released his Big Hits: Rick Springfield's Greatest Hits, Volume 2 in December, and is slated to hit the road on the" I Want My 80s Tour" this summer alongside such fellow 1980s stars as John Waite, Wang Chung, Paul Young and John Cafferty. Details can be found in his Instagram page. - Billboard, 3/10/25...... In other pop idol news, '60s hitmaker Tommy James was forced to end a recent concert in Las Vegas an hour into the performance after suffering from exhaustion. James, 77, was singing "Do Something to Me" at the Golden Nugget casino on Mar. 7 when he was forced to stop the performance and take a breather before he could finish the 90-minute set. His rep said the reason was that he had been up early for his five-hour flight to Sin City. The rep confirmed the "Draggin' the Line" singer was back in New Jersey and doing "fine working on his Sirius XM radio show Gettin Together with Tommy James." James and his band The Shondells are next due onstage on Mar. 15 in Tulsa, Okla. The musician is best known as the frontman of the rock band, who had a string of hits in the '60s with "Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover" and "I Think We're Alone Now." James is a prolific artist, having released 12 solo studio albums and eight albums with the Shondells. More than 300 musicians have recorded renditions of his songs with three of the covers reaching the Top 10 on the hit parade in the 1980s: Joan Jett's "Crimson and Clover," Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now," and Billy Idol's "Mony Mony." - Music-News.com, 3/10/25...... Michael Jackson's eldest son Prince Jackson attended the Sydney, Australia opening night of "MJ: The Musical" at Lyric Theatre, Star City on Mar. 8. This isn't the first time Prince has shown his support for the production, which debuted on Broadway in 2022 and has since expanded globally. In Mar. 2024, he attended the London preview night alongside his siblings, Paris Jackson and Bigi Jackson, continuing their tradition of honoring their father's legacy. Two years prior, he and Paris made an appearance at the 2022 Tony Awards, where "MJ: The Musical" was nominated for multiple awards, including Best Musical. The siblings introduced the cast's performance of "Smooth Criminal "that night, with Prince reflecting on their father's deep love for musicals. "A lot of people seem to think our dad Michael Jackson changed popular music forever. And who are we to disagree?" he said during the awards show. "But what people may not know is that he loved musicals, on film and on the stage." Following its success in New York, the musical has expanded to London's West End, a U.S. national tour, and now Australia, where it will run in Sydney before moving to other cities. The four-time Tony Award-winning production transports audiences back to 1992, inside the high-stakes creative process of Jackson's "Dangerous World Tour." Through the lens of an MTV documentary crew, the musical explores not just Jackson's signature moves and music, but his relentless artistic vision and the challenges behind the scenes. Tickets for "MJ: The Musical" are available now at mjthemusical.com.au. - Billboard, 3/10/25...... Legendary KISS bassist Gene Simmons is giving fans the chance to live out their dreams of rock stardom by letting them be his roadie for a day with his Gene Simmons Band -- but it comes with a hefty price tag. As Simmons prepares to mount a tour with his band in April, the rocker has launched a handful of "Experiences" in which fans can purchase ahead of the upcoming dates. One of them is the "Gene Simmons Bass Experience," which allows you (and three guests) the chance to meet Simmons after the stage. The other of these experiences (dubbed "The Ultimate Gene Simmons Experience"') allows the purchaser to become "Simmons' personal assistant & band roadie for the day." This package costs a total of $12,495 (in addition to the original ticket price), and also includes a bass guitar that had been used by Simmons during a KISS rehearsal. Only one experience per concert is available, with 26 dates currently scheduled across North America between April and August. More info can be found at www.genesimmonsaxe.com. - Billboard, 3/10/25...... Native Englishman and current Connecticut resident Keith Richards is being honoured with a new Connecticut residents award. Richards, who has been living in The Constitution State since 1985, was awarded the Connecticut Governor's Award of Excellence on Mar. 5, which recognizes creativity, passion and generosity in the area. The Rolling Stones guitarist is the first person to receive this award, and he was given a custom-designed medallion during a ceremony at The Westport Library in Westport, Conn. Gov. Ned Lamont, a self-professed Stones fan, praised the veteran musician for his music career and his contributions to local charitable causes. "Well, thank you very much. And thank you Connecticut," Richards while accepting the award. "You kind of get lost for words with something like this around your neck. All I gotta say is, you know, I've been here for 40 years, and it's been a great place for me. The family's had a great life, The kids grew up great and incredibly happy about everything." Meanwhile, the Stones have been reported to be scrapping their plans to tour across the UK and Europe in 2025. According to the UK paper The Times, in late January the group announced they have opted against a return to touring later in the year. This reportedly came following a proposed multi-million pound stop at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium being rejected, amid other shows across Europe. - NME, 3/9/25...... Kraftwerk kicked off the North American leg of their "Multimedia" world tour at Philadelphia's Franklin Music Hall on Mar. 6, then performed on Mar. 8 at the Pittsburgh venue Stage AE Outdoors and on Mar. 10 in Montreal. Some of the tracks played by the German electronic-pop pioneers include "Autobahn," "Airwaves," Spacelab," "Neon Lights," and "Radioactivity." The encore at the Philidelphia gig included "The Robots" and "Planet of Visions." Ralf Hütter & co. announced the tour back in December. In total, 27 dates have been lined up for March and April 2025, including March stops in Montreal, Boston, Brooklyn, New York, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City, Mo. In April, they'll visit Denver, Portland, Ore., Vancouver, B.C., Indio, Calif, Salt Lake City, Indio, Calif., and Austin, Tex., before wrapping in Dallas on Apr. 24. Some fan-captured footage from the opening gigs have been shared on Instagram. - NME, 3/8/25...... After having an Order of Canada and Polaris Music Prize rescinded, Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie has now had a Juno Award along with her induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame revoked after facing criticism and scrutiny following a 2023 CBC investigation that cast serious doubt on her claims of Indigenous identity. The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), the organization that administers the Junos, released a statement, writing that the singer-songwriter does not meet eligibility requirements following her confirmation that she is not Canadian -- similar criteria that the Polaris Prize cited. It was a "not a reflection of Ms. Sainte-Marie's artistic contributions," CARAS writes. CARAS says it made the decision following a thorough review and consultations with the CARAS Indigenous Music Advisory Committee. In January of this year, Sainte-Marie's Order of Canada was terminated. On Mar. 4, The Canadian Press reported Sainte-Marie issued a statement about the termination, saying that she returned the Order "with a good heart" and affirming that she is a U.S. citizen. "My Cree family adopted me forever and this will never change," she added. - Billboard, 3/7/25...... On Mar. 8 New Mexico authorities released a statement saying Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman likely died of heart disease and Alzheimer's after his dead body and his wife Betsy Arakawa's corpse were found dead in his Santa Fe, N.M., home on Feb. 26. Hackman, 95, likely died about a week after Arakawa died due to hantavirus, a medical examiner said. Hackman died of cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease as a significant contributing factor, said Heather Jarrell, the chief medical examiner for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. Arakawa likely died about a week earlier, on Feb. 11, of hantavirus, a potentially fatal virus transmitted by mice. Both deaths fall under natural causes, which can include heart disease, stroke, cancer, respiratory failure, infections and age-related complications. Authorities said at the time they did not suspect foul play, and the investigation continues. - Variety, 3/8/25...... Punk rock pioneer Brian James, founding member of English band The Damned, died on Mar. 6. He was 70. The news of the guitarist's death was shared with fans via a post on James' Facebook page on the day of his death. "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of one of the true pioneers of music, guitarist, songwriter and true gentleman, Brian James," it read. The message added that the musician was surrounded by family when he "passed peacefully." James formed The Damned in 1976 with bandmates Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian and Rat Scabies. That year, they released what is considered the first-ever British punk single: "New Rose." The guitarist would work on two albums with the foursome before leaving the group: 1977's Damned Damned Damned and Music for Pleasure. Captain Sensible honored his late bandmate with a post on X on Mar. 6, sharing a photo of himself with James and writing, "We're shocked to hear that creator of @thedamned, our great chum Brian James has sadly gone." A lovely bloke that I feel so lucky to have met all those years ago and for some reason chose me to help in his quest for the music revolution that became known as punk," he added. "Cheers BJ!" After leaving The Damned, James would form short-lived group Tanz Der Youth before starting The Lords of the New Church with Stiv Bators. His career came full circle in 2022 when James reunited with The Damned for a string of U.K. live shows. He is survived by his wife, Minna, his son, Charlie, and his daughter-in-law, Alicia. - Billboard, 3/7/25.

Friday, March 7, 2025

Cher rocked an Elvis outfit in drag as she performed at the ninth annual LOVE ROCKS NYC benefit concert at New York's Beacon Theatre on Mar. 6. The concert, which supports the God's Love We Deliver charity (this year, the proceeds also benefit Los Angeles' Project Angel Food in response to the devastating wildfires), featured musical performances by everyone from Cher to Beck to Alicia Keys to Bill Murray (yes, really). All-time legend that she is, Cher went beyond the stage to support the nonprofit before the show even started. Two days prior to the concert, she stopped by the God's Love We Deliver kitchen in NYC to personally thank the volunteers and staff for their hard work in cooking and delivering medically tailored meals for people too sick to shop or cook for themselves. During her performance, Cher covered Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis," with her distinct, resonant vocals gave the soft-rock smash a punch. After a costume change, she followed it with a full-throated, thematically appropriate "Song for the Lonely" and wrapped with "Believe." Other '70s artists performing that evening included Mavis Staples and Michael McDonald, who dueted on The Staple Singers' chart-topping classic "I'll Take You There," and a Roberta Flack tribute was performed by 17-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys. - Billboard, 3/7/25...... As Jethro Tull released Curious Ruminant, its third album in three years and its 24th studio album, in late January, frontman Ian Anderson says he took a new approach to songwriting on the LP and it's one of his most personal collection of songs ever. "My points of view and my feelings are expressed much more than they would normally be in most of the lyrics I've written in my life," Anderson, 77, told BANG Showbiz. "There's a lot more I/me pronouns than usual. Usually it's he/she/it. This one's a kind of an I/me album. And yet, ironically, it's very much a band album, it's not a solo album," he adds. "Interim Sleep," the final track, is perhaps his most personal effort on the album, as it diverts from the expected with a spoken word entry. Based on a poem he wrote a few years ago "for somebody bereaved," the song is delivered in a spoken-word format because Anderson says it "seemed more appropriate to the subject material than a melody would be." He explained: "I needed something a bit quieter on the end of the album. With that in mind, I decided it would be a spoken word piece that would be rather intimate, and I based it on that poem I had written." He continued: "In that poem, I was talking from beyond to the person, saying, 'Hey, cheer up', and giving some positive thoughts about death not being final. We will be together in another life." Anderson -- who is the only constant member of Jethro Tull -- and his current band head out on their European tour in April with shows scheduled until December. Ticket information can be found at JethroTull.com. - Music-News.com, 3/7/25...... Former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers member Benmont Tench has just released The Melancholy Season, his first solo album in 11 years. The keyboardist says that a heavy work load with both Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch kept him busy during the interim. Also a nearly decade-long battle with oral cancer (which included jaw reconstruction during 2023), Petty's death in 2017, and the birth of his first daughter, Catherine, shortly after that -- not to mention the pandemic -- also contributed to the gap between works. "I made a better record because I didn't make it right away," explains Tench, 71, also an A-list session player who filled time after Petty's passing playing for the likes of Ringo Starr, The Who, The Rolling Stones and Chris Stapleton. Tench says he thinks using fewer instruments and be just as effective as the "Wall of Sound" technique employed by Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. "That's what we did on this record; there were some songs we cut with more (instrumentation) and pulled them back to make (the songs) better." Tench previewed The Melancholy Season during a solo residency at a New York nightclub in February, and he has West Coast club dates on Mar. 12 and Mar. 19 in Los Angeles, also hitting Ojai, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Grass Valley, Calif., and Sonoma, Calif., in April. - Billboard, 3/7/25...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Stephen Stills opened up about how his sobriety journey is benefitting the next stage in his career. Stills, 80, has been completely sober for the past three years, and says his sobriety "gets me back to the kid I was before this madness started, pretty affable and friendly." "Things were so special at the beginning of my career before I sold a single record. But when you add poison into that mix I'm just glad I have my original personality back," he adds. Stills has been performing a number of one-off gigs in recent years, since retiring from the road in 2018. Earlier in 2025, he took the stage at the L.A.'s Kia Forum alongside Dawes, Mike Campbell and his former bandmate Graham Nash for the star-studded FireAid benefit concert. The "Love the One You're With" singer also revealed that he's working on a memoir, though he admits he's "going one word at a time" and looking through old newspaper articles to help him remember life events. "I've looked at the issues from my birthdays throughout the years," he says. "That's been very helpful since it puts you in that timeframe and suddenly your memories opens up." Stills is also participating in singer-songwriter Judy Collins' 85th birthday celebration at New York's Town Hall on March 8. - Billboard, 3/4/25...... Heart's Ann Wilson has been performing in a wheelchair on Heart's "Royal Flush" tour because she suffered a nasty fall five days before her tour kicked off. Wilson, 74, postponed Heart's 2024 tour last summer after being diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer and undergoing surgery, but she has since completed treatment and revealed her current health woes are down to a recent tumble. During a recent episode of her After Dinner Thinks With Ann Wilson podcast, she explained: "I think some people thought that I was in a wheelchair because of cancer, which I just kicked its ass and I'm nice and clear now. It's not about cancer. It's about me being a klutz and missing a step and falling into a parking lot and busting my elbow in three places and then having to have it pinned back together with screws and all that kind of stuff." She went on to add: "In other ways, I'm perfectly fine. It's just I don't have the use of my left arm right now. So it's hard to navigate when you just have one hand and your other whole arm is in a sling. And you don't have the same balance. So I had to get used to that. And singing on stage, I really think that the pain level is still way too high for me to take it out of the sling so I chose to sit because then I can just concentrate on singing and not on keeping my balance and having somebody out there catching me when I reel to the side." Heart kicked off its current tour in Las Vegas on Feb. 28 and they will continue performing across North America this spring and summer until they wrap with a set at The Great Allentown Fair in Allentown, Penn. on Aug. 27. - Music-News.com, 3/7/25...... On Mar. 5 Pink Floyd released the trailer for the newly restored version of their concert film Pink Floyd At Pompeii MCMLXXII on YouTube. The new 4K restoration of the classic 1972 film is set to be released in cinemas and on IMAX worldwide from Apr. 24. A press release states: "Pink Floyd At Pompeii pre-dates the release of 'The Dark Side Of The Moon'. The film documents what Pink Floyd did before they became giants of the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic -- where their music remains celebrated to this day." - NME, 3/5/25...... On Mar. 3 Neil Young announced plans on his Neil Young Archives website to give his Ukrainian fans a free concert during his upcoming European tour. "Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts will open the upcoming Love Earth Tour of Europe in UKRAINE with a Free Concert for all!" Young wrote. "We are currently in talks and will make the announcement of details here at NYA." As the "Rockin in the Free World" singer's post indicates, specifics are yet to be detailed, though Feb. 24 saw the announcement of European and North American tour dates for Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts. The tour currently begins in Rttvik, Sweden on June 18, meaning the as-yet unannounced Ukrainian show will ostensibly occur in the immediate lead-up. It will also be the rocker's debut appearance in the country. The timing of Young's Ukrainian show announcement seems rather pertinent given the outpouring of global support received by Ukranian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy following his meeting with U.S. Pres. Donald Trump on Feb. 28. The highly-contentious meeting resulted in widespread criticism of Trump, and took place only days after Young himself focused on the President in a post titled "Leader of the Free World No More." "Under 47's leadership, the US has lost its standing," Young wrote. "Loyalists will never be stronger than Patriots, and Patriots are in the majority here in the USA. Our Patriots will take to the streets to peacefully demonstrate. There will be a moment of truth in our country and we will show the world who we really are. The USA will again be the leader of the Free World." Young has also shared the first trailer for his forthcoming documentary Coastal on YouTube. The project was shot and directed by filmmaker and Young's wife Daryl Hannah, and will be screened in cinemas for one night only worldwide on April 17. - Billboard, 3/3/25...... In related news, Rod Stewart has also weighed in on the clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stressing that "we must keep supporting the Ukrainians." On the day after the contentious meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy ttended a summit of European leaders in London the following day, and now Stewart has posted an image on his Instagram Stories of Starmer and Zelenskyy shaking hands in Downing Street. "Proud to be British," he wrote. "Well done Starmer in welcoming Zelensky to the number 10." Underneath the image, he added: "We must keep supporting the Ukrainians." Meanwhile, the 80-year-old "Maggie May" singer has become a grandfather for the fourth time after his son Liam, 30, and his wife Nicole Artukovich welcomed a daughter into the world on Mar. 2. The newborn is the second child for hockey player Liam and Nicole, who already have a 21-month-old son named Louie. The baby shares her name with Rod's mother, Elsie Gilbart, who died in 1996 at the age of 91. - NME, 3/6/25...... Paul McCartney is giving a little help to his late friend Joe Cocker as the "blue-eyed soul" singer is a contender for the class of 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sir Paul has written a letter to the Rock Hall -- an international voting panel composed of more than a thousand artists, historians and music industry professionals -- suggesting that Cocker be chosen for induction. "Joe was a great man and a fine singer whose unique style made for some fantastic performances," McCartney wrote of the "Woman to Woman" singer in the letter obtained by Billboard. "He sang one of our songs 'With a Little Help From My Friends,' a version produced by Denny Cordell which was very imaginative." Macca continued: "All the people on the panel will be aware of the great contribution Joe made to the history of Rock and Roll. And whilst he may not have ever lobbied to be in the Hall of Fame, I know he would be extremely happy and grateful to find himself where he deserves to be amongst such illustrious company." The Beatles legend sweetly signed the note, "Paul (McCartney)." McCartney is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoree, as he was inducted in 1988 as a member of The Beatles and in 1999 as a solo artist. Cocker, who died in 2014, is a first-time nominee. He's up for the Rock Hall's Class of 2025 alongside 13 other musical greats, including Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Chubby Checker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Man, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden and The White Stripes. Cocker, who died from lung cancer in 2014 at the age of 70, has been eligible since 1989, and is currently sitting in the top seven selections of the online fan vote that's being conducted by the Rock Hall. Fan voting is being conducted via vote.rockhall.com until Apr.21. Voters can vote once per day and choose up to seven of the 14 nominated acts. The Class of 2025 will be revealed in late April, and this year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Los Angeles in the fall. - Billboard, 3/3/25...... On Mar. 4 Eric Clapton announced details of a six-city run of 2025 US tour dates which will kick off on Sept. 8 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. From there he'll head over to Cleveland for a stop at the Rocket Arena on Sept. 11 and then to Philadelphia for a show at the Wells Fargo Center on Sept. 13. Other shows include gigs at the TD Garden in Boston on Sept. 16 and Madison Square Garden in New York on Sept. 19. The tour wraps up the following night with a final stop at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on the 20th. Slowhand is touring behind his recently released studio album, Meanwhile, and contained the singles "One Woman" and "The Call. It also saw guest contributions from Van Morrison, Bradley Walker, Judith Hill, Daniel Santiago, Simon Climie and the late Jeff Beck. The US tour dates will follow Clapton's upcoming UK leg of live shows set for this spring, which kick off in Nottingham in May 18. In other Clapton news, it was recently announced that MTV would be sharing a new feature-length special around the artist, titled Eric Clapton Unplugged: Over 30 Years Later. - New Musical Express, 3/4/25...... Carl Dean, a Nashville businessman and beloved husband of Dolly Parton for nearly 60 years, died on Mar. 3 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 82 years old. The news of his death was announced via Parton's Instagram page, along with a statement from the country superstar. "Carl and I spent many wonderful years together," the statement reads. "Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy." The statement ends with requests for privacy from the family. Mr. Dean and Parton met outside a laundromat in Nashville as young adults, the same day Parton arrived in Music City at 18 years old to pursue her dreams of a music career (at that point, Parton had released a handful of non-charting singles). Parton and Dean wed on May 30, 1966 in Ringgold, Georgia. They renewed their vows in Nashville on their 50th anniversary in 2016. Mr. Dean has famously been averse to the spotlight, and only rarely do photographs of the couple emerge. At various times during her career, she has even had to debunk rumors that her husband doesn't exist. In a message posted to her Instagram on Mar. 6, Dolly wrote in part, "He is in God's arms now, and I am okay with that," before quoting her own 1982 classic hit: "I will always love you." Parton also released a heartbreakingly beautiful tribute song to Mr. Dean, "If You Hadn't Been There," on Spotify.com. - Billboard, 3/3/25...... Trailblazing "Godfather of Soul" James Brown has placed a new song on a Billboard chart for the first time since 1993 as "Bad," his co-billed collaboration with rapper 310babii, has reached No. 37 on the music industry outlet's Rhythmic Airplay chart dated Mar. 8. The new single samples Brown's "The Boss" from his 1973 album, Black Caesar. For Brown, who died in 2006 at age 73, "Bad" is the legend's maiden appearance on the Rhythmic Airplay chart, which launched in Oct. 1992. It's his first new recording on any Billboard songs chart since 1993's "Can't Get Any Harder," which netted a No. 76 high on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Some of his best-known recordings, including "I Got You (I Feel Good)," "Living in America" and "Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto" banked time on digital song sales or other charts in recent years due to commercial syncs or holiday-fueled consumption. From 1958-1986, Brown accumulated his 91 Billboard Hot 100 hits, with a No. 3 career high through "I Got You (I Feel Good)" in 1965. Thanks to his storied career, Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's inaugural 1986 class alongside legends such as Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. The official video of 310babii & James Brown's "Bad" can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 3/6/25...... Mick Jagger made a surprise appearance at the 97th annual Academy Awards in L.A. on Mar. 2 to present the Best Original Song Oscar. "You're so kind. I'm greatly honored to be invited to give this award," said the Rolling Stones frontman. "Much as I love doing it, I wasn't the first choice. The producers really wanted Bob Dylan to do this. But Bob Dylan won't do it because he said the best songs in a movie this year were in A Complete Unknown," Jagger joked before adopting a pretty fair Dylan impersonation. "Bob said, 'You should find somebody younger.'" Jagger laughed. "Hey, I'm younger than Bob Dylan!" (For the record: Dylan is 83, Jagger is a sprightly 81.) After it was a revealed that the Emilia Prez song "El Mal" had nabbed the trophy, Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard took the stage, with Camille nodding to Jagger's presence by singing out a bit of the "woo-woo" portion of the Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil." A Complete Unknown, the Dylan biopic, went 0-8 on the night, making it the night's biggest shutout. This marked the second time in three years that a biopic about a top-tier music legend has been shut out. Two years ago, Elvis went 0-8 on the night. In both cases, stars who were thought to have a good chance at winning Best Actor went home empty-handed. Austin Butler was nominated for playing Elvis Presley; Timothée Chalamet for playing Dylan. Meanwhile Elton John, who was nominated for best original song for co-writing "Never Too Late" from the documentary Elton John: Never Too Late, also went home Oscarless, marking the first time the Rocket Man was snubbed on a night he was nominated. (He won in 1995 for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King and in 2020 for "[I'm Gonna] Love Me Again" from Rocketman.) Just over an hour after the Oscars came to a close, John's annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Party was preparing for its hotly anticipated performance from the Grammy-winning artist Chappell Roan. Following an introduction and thank you from Sir Elton himself, Roan kicked off her hour-long set with the rousing "Femininomenon" followed by "Naked in Manhattan." Prior to dueting on Roan's hit "Pink Pony Club," the pair performed a stunning rendition of John's Hot 100 No. 1 "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with John on the ivories. And earlier, Roan had tucked in another ode to the legend with an incredible cover of his touching top 10 track, "Your Song." - Billboard, 3/2/25...... In other Elton John news, the superstar is speaking out against the Donald Trump administration's proposed cuts to USAID. The Trump administration announced plans on Thursday (Feb. 27) to eliminate more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development's foreign aid contracts, as well as $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance worldwide, according to the Associated Press. USAID has been the world's largest single aid provider for decades. "The U.S. Administration's abrupt decision to cut over 90% of USAID contracts could have devastating effects on the HIV response," John wrote on Instagram on Mar. 1, alongside an official statement from his Elton John AIDS Foundation. "We are working with our 90+ partners to ensure they can continue to provide lifesaving services and are launching The Rocket Response Fund to help cover immediate gaps in essential care." John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 to fund research aimed at eradicating HIV and AIDS. Over the past three decades, the organization has grown into one of the world's largest independent AIDS charity organizations. Meanwhile, on Mar. 5 Elton and Brandi Carlile shared "Swing for the Fences," the latest single from their upcoming album, on Spotify.com. The new track marks the latest preview of the duo's forthcoming collaborative album Who Believes In Angels?, which was announced in February, along with the title track as the lead single. - Billboard, 3/2/25...... Dan Fogelberg's breakthrough 1974 second album Souvenirs will be introduced to a new generation on May 30 with a digital remastered version and special vinyl reissue to celebrate the album's 50th anniversary. The Joe Walsh-produced album, originally released in Oct. 1974, was Fogelberg's first album to reach the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and has been certified double platinum by the RIAA. The upbeat, philosophical single, "Part of the Plan," reached No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and was also an Adult Contemporary chart hit, peaking at No. 22. The digital version will include four bonus tracks via Sony's Legacy Recordings, including previously unreleased tune, "I Know a Thief," a delicate, yet intense song that will be available on all streamers today. Also included on the digital release, which will be available for streaming in full on Apr. 4, are three other bonus tracks: early versions of "As the Raven Flies" and "Illinois" and the original demo of "There's a Place in the World for a Gambler." Sony found the recordings in their vaults as work began on the reissues. The 180-gram audiophile vinyl LP version will be limited to 3,000 numbered copies, and will ship on May 30. The Chris Bellman-remastered edition includes a 16-page booklet featuring previously unseen photographs by Henry Diltz, as well as liner notes from Charles L. Granata and exclusive interviews with many involved in the album's creation, including Fogelberg's friend and manager Irving Azoff, producer/engineer Bill Szymczyk and bassist Kenny Passarelli and Gerry Beckley of America. Impex Records/Sony Music will release both projects in conjunction with Azoff's Iconic Artists Group (IAG), which oversees Fogelberg's legacy in partnership with his estate. Azoff and Fogelberg, who died in 2007 from cancer, dropped out of the University of Illinois together in the early 1970s to come to Los Angeles, moving into a one-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood from which Azoff oversaw Fogelberg's nascent career. "When Dan made the first record [1972's Full Moon], that was kind of the post-Neil Young After the Gold Rush era. He was inspired by a lot of the production on those records," Azoff says. "But he wanted to go more electric on the second album. We are always looking for a new generation of fans and I think his music will identify with younger people. There seems to be room now for sensitive lyrically relevant music. We are just happy to try to put his work in front of fans new and old," Azoff adds. - Billboard, 3/4/25...... American jazz and funk musician Roy Ayers, known as the "Godfather of Neo Soul," has passed away at the age of 84. News of Mr. Ayers' passing was confirmed on Mar. 5, with a statement shared via his official Facebook page. Born in Los Angeles in 1940, Mr. Ayers performed music throughout high school thanks to a church choir and local bands and launched his musical career in earnest in 1962, serving as a sideman for saxophonist Curtis Amy and cool jazz outfit The Jack Wilson Quartet, releasing his debut solo album West Coast Vibes in 1963. By 1970, Mr. Ayers had formed his own group under the name Roy Ayers Ubiquity, and in 1973 he found wider fame after soundtracking the blaxploitation film Coffy, starring Pam Grier. Roy Ayers Ubiquity experienced years of chart success in the latter half of the decade, starting with 1975's Mystic Voyage, which hit No. 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and 1976's Everybody Loves the Sunshine, which reached No. 10 on the same chart, and No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. The title track to the latter record would become one of Mr. Ayers' best-known compositions, going on to be sampled by artists such as Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and Common, and covered by the likes of D'Angelo, Jamie Cullum and Robert Glasper. It also cemented his status as one of the more prominent figures in the neo-soul scene, with the likes of Pharrell Williams citing Mr. Ayers as one of his most influential artists. His biggest chart success came by way of 1980's No Stranger to Love, which reached No. 22 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Mr. Ayers would continue composing and performing into the 21st century, working with the likes of Erykah Badu, Tyler the Creator, Kerri Chandler, and more. He is survived by his wife Argerie, and their two children Mtume and Ayana Ayers. - Billboard, 3/5/25...... Joey Molland, the guitarist and last surviving member of the Beatlesque '70s rock band Badfinger, passed away on Mar. 1 while surrounded by his longtime partner, Mary, his two sons and other family members, according to a post on Badfinger's Facebook page. He was 77. While a cause of death was not specified, Molland had faced ongoing health challenges in recent years, including a recent battle with pneumonia. "Thank you, Joey for keeping the band's music alive for so long and for being a friend to us all," the Facebook post read. The Welsh band Badfinger, originally known as The Iveys, was one of the first acts signed by The Beatles' Apple Records. Molland joined the group in 1969, after the recording of their debut album, Magic Christian Music, which featured the Paul McCartney-written hit "Come and Get It." The song reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1970. Molland's first album with Badfinger was 1971's No Dice, co-produced by Beatles road manager Mal Evans. The set featured two of the band's most iconic tracks: "No Matter What" and "Without You." The latter became a No. 1 hit after being covered by Harry Nilsson, with Mariah Carey also covering the tune later. Badfinger's main lineup of Molland (guitarist), Pete Ham (singer/guitarist), Tom Evans (bassist) and Mike Gibbins (drummer) recorded five albums together through 1974, producing hit singles like "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue" from 1972's Straight Up, both co-produced by George Harrison. "Baby Blue" was notably featured in the closing scene of the final episode of the TV series Breaking Bad in 2013. After the death of Ham, who died by suicide in 1975, Molland and Evans (minus Gibbins) reunited to revive Badfinger, with the guitarist taking on a larger role in songwriting and vocals for the albums Airwaves (1979) and Say No More (1981). Outside of his work with Badfinger, Molland contributed to Harrison's epic All Things Must Pass and The Concert for Bangladesh albums, and played guitar on John Lennon's 1971 classic "Jealous Guy" and Imagine's "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier." Throughout his career, Molland recorded music both as a solo artist and as a member of the band Natural Gas. In the early 1980s, he formed his own version of Badfinger, known as Joey Molland's Badfinger, and continued to tour with the act until the summer of 2024. Molland was the last surviving member of Badfinger's core lineup, following the deaths of Ham, Evans (who also died by suicide in 1983) and Gibbins, who passed away from a brain aneurysm in 2005. - Billboard, 3/2/25.

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Interviewed by the London Sunday Times, Daryl Hall insisted he'll never work with his former Hall & Oates partner John Oates again. "That ship has gone to the bottom of the ocean. I've had a lot of surprises in my life, disappointments, betrayals, so I'm kind of used to it...," Hall said. "I've been involved with some pretty shady characters over the years. That's where the problems start." In 2023, Hall sued his former musical partner to stop him from selling their stake in their publishing company, Whole Oats Enterprises -- a move he branded "the ultimate partnership betrayal" -- and while he can't talk about the ongoing legal proceedings, the "Rich Girl" hitmaker admitted things have gone too far for them to reunite. Hall, 78, also admitted he feels frustrated that his prolific songwriting in Hall & Oates -- who sold 60 million records -- has largely gone unrecognized. He said: "The songs with his lead vocal are the songs he wrote, and all the other ones, which is about 90 per cent, are the ones I wrote... It was very frustrating." Since Hall and Oates went their separate ways, Hall has worked with former Eurythmics star-turned-producer Dave Stewart on several projects and insists their partnership is far more "meaningful" than the one he had with John. "[Dave is] a whirlwind. Witty and amusing, for sure. Also manic. He never stops," Hall said. In May, Hall is set to head out on the road with Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook and, despite his advancing years, he still loves performing live. "[Playing live] is the way that music is supposed to be communicated, and it's unforgiving. What you do is what people hear." - Music-News.com, 3/2/25...... Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes are revisiting their 1999 collaboration with an expanded edition of Live at the Greek, and they've just shared a fresh taste from it on YouTube -- a newly unearthed live recording of Zeppelin's "The Lemon Song." Originally recorded during a soundcheck, this take on the Led Zeppelin II classic captures the raw chemistry between Page and the Crowes as they breathed new life into Led Zepp's bluesy, groove-heavy material. It's one of several unreleased tracks included in the expanded reissue, which drops Mar. 14. "I'm really looking forward to the soon-to-be-available release of Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes material from concerts in 1999," Page said in a statement. "The new mixes capture the collaboration of those historic encounters and provide the full explosive passion and exciting energy of those alchemical moments." - Billboard 2/25/25...... The Rolling Stones producer Andrew Watt has defended the legendary British band winning Best Rock Album at the most recent Grammys for their 2023 LP Hackney Diamonds. The Stones beat out the likes of Green Day, IDLES, Fontaines D.C and Jack White with their comeback album, their first full-length for 18 years and their first since the death of drummer Charlie Watts. However, some claimed their win was the result of their rich musical legacy as opposed to the quality of the album itself, and as such felt the other artists nominated were "robbed." Now Watt, who produced the album, has argued that the songwriting still made the Stones worthy of the Grammy. "They are in their 80s, They're 82 and 83 years-old. Tell me another band ever in history that has made a latter-day album that good in their 80s, with that level of songwriting, that level of performance?" Watt said in an interview with Rolling Stone's Music Now podcast. Watt accepted the award on the band's behalf during the ceremony. "Talked to Mick [Jagger] yesterday and he just wanted to say a big thank you to the Academy from the entire band. For a little boy that grew up playing guitar, it was one of the most amazing experiences to be around those musicians," he said at the time. Meanwhile, Watt has revealed that Ozzy Osbourne is back in the gym in preparation for the upcoming final Black Sabbath gig in Birmingham, UK on July 5. "He's OK. It's just his body is not doing what he wants it to do all the time," Watt explained. "But I talked to him a couple days ago, and he's, like, starting to get in the gym again a little bit by little, get himself ready for this last concert." - New Musical Express, 2/28/25...... On Feb. 28 Neil Young announced he'll be headlining a July 11 at the UK's annual BST Hyde Park festival in London, where he will be joined by "Peace Train" singer Yusuf/Cat Stevens and Van Morrison, with more support acts to be announced later. The gig will be Young's first at BST Hyde Park since a 2019 co-headlining gig there with Bob Dylan. Young's show will join a growing roster of 2025 BST Hyde Park headliners, which also include Jeff Lynne's ELO and such rising artists as Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Zach Bryan and Noah Kahan. The addition of the Hyde Park show expands Young's burgeoning 2025 "Love Earth" tour roster, which is slated to kick off in Europe on June 18 at Dalhalla in Rttvik, Sweden before moving to North America on Aug. 8 with a show in Charlotte, N.C. - Billboard, 2/28/25...... The ever inscrutable Bob Dylan has inexplicably posted a 2016 video of an in-store performance by Machine Gun Kelly at the Park Ave. CDs record store in Orlando, FL. While Dylan has posted some on-brand messages lately, including a tribute to his friend and late The Band member Garth Hudson in January following the death of The Band's longtime keyboardist, the MGK love is in keeping with his out-of-left-field online activity. Earlier in 2025, the 83-year-old folk rock legend joined TikTok just days before what was slated to be a ban of the app, posting a kind of career retrospective clip, followed by a half dozen other archival videos. Perhaps we'll never know why the rock bard feels such love for MGK, but both Kelly and his good pal, singer/producer Mod Sun, were beyond pumped at the unexpected shout-out. "You having a phone is so rad," Kelly wrote in the comments on the post, with Mod Sun adding, "This is my favorite thing that's ever happened on the internet. What does it all mean? Who knows? But in the immortal words of Dylan: "don't criticize what you can't understand." - Billboard, 2/27/25...... Pink Floyd's beloved 1972 concert film, Pink Floyd at Pompeii -- MCMLXXII -- will return to movie theaters worldwide beginning on Apr. 24. The film directed by Adrian Maben, will also be screened on IMAX in a digitally remastered, 4K version taken from the original 35mm footage, with enhanced audio that has been newly mixed by Steven Wilson, representing what a press release said is the "definitive version of this pioneering film." "Since 1994, I have searched for the elusive film rushes of Pink Floyd At Pompeii, so the recent discovery of the 1972 original 35mm cut negative was a very special moment," said Lana Topham, Floyd's director of restoration in a statement. "The newly restored version presents the first full 90-minute cut, combining the 60-minute source edit of the performance with the additional Abbey Road Studios documentary segments filmed shortly after." The movie's re-release will be accompanied by a Legacy Recordings release of the live album on Blu-ray and CD, digital audio and for the first time in Dolby Atmos and on vinyl on May 2, featuring performances of the songs "Careful With That Axe, Eugene," "Something Else," "Syncopated Pandemonium," "Storm Signals" and "Echoes -- Part II," among others. - Billboard, 2/26/25...... Nick Simmons and Evan Stanley, the sons of KISS' Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, have recorded 10 songs together, and the pair recently shared photos with fans on Instagram showing themselves beside recording equipment as they performed as yet unheard material. Another post featured Nick and Evan performing an original track with guitarist Jacob Bunton, which Paul Stanley called "magic!!!" while Nick's sister Sophie Simmons gushed "we want the album" in the comments. Bunton has also been writing with the duo, although it remains unclear if an actual album will materialize. Meanwhile, Simmons recently responded to those who criticised his involvement in the recent Ronald Reagan biopic. The singer/bassist recorded a cover of the 1933 classic "Stormy Weather" for Reagan. During an appearance on Bill O'Reilly's podcast No Spin News, he was asked if he had received any pushback for his contribution to the movie. "How do I say this as nicely as I can? I don't give a squat," he said. - NME, 2/27/25...... Paul McCartney has commented on his forthcoming Wings book Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run. Scheduled for release on Nov. 4 via Liveright/W. W. Norton and Allen Lane/Penguin Press, the book is authored by McCartney and edited by historian Ted Widmer, featuring an in-depth personal account of his post-Beatles band, as told by McCartney, key players, and family members. "I'm so very happy to be transported back to the time that was Wings and relive some of our madcap adventures through this book," said McCartney in a statement. "Starting from scratch after The Beatles felt crazy at times. There were some very difficult moments and I often questioned my decision. But as we got better I thought, 'OK this is really good.' We proved Wings could be a really good band. To play to huge audiences in the same way The Beatles had and have an impact in a different way. It was a huge buzz." A description of the book notes that it is "organized around nine Wings albums," implying the narrative begins with 1971's Ram and also includes 1976's triple live record Wings over America. The volume also contains 150 black-and-white photographs, of which many are unseen, and focuses on many iconic stories of the band's history, including how they "survive a robbery on the streets of Nigeria [during the 1973 Band on the Run sessions], appear unannounced at various university halls, [and] tour in a sheared-off double-decker bus with their children." Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run follows a number of recent Wings-related releases, including a 50th anniversary reissue of Band on the Run and the long-awaited arrival of the live record and film One Hand Clapping in 2024. A 50th anniversary reissue of 1975's Venus and Mars is also scheduled to arrive on Mar. 21. - Billboard, 2/26/25...... In other Beatles-related news, a piece of toast that was left behind by George Harrison in 1962 has been sold. The crust of the bread left over by the late Beatles legend was saved by a fan named Sue Houghton, who was 15-years-old at the time. According to the Daily Express, she preserved the bread on a scrapbook page alongside the caption: "Piece of George's breakfast 2-8-63." The date noted indicates that the bread was from around the time that the Fab Four made their return to Liverpool after seven weeks of touring. As reported by the New York Post, the fan had taken the remains from Harrison's plate after befriending his family and making a visit to their home. Her scrapbook also contained other memorabilia from Harrison, including fluff from under his bed and thread from his jeans. The bread was originally sold in 1992 when Houghton auctioned off her scrapbook for $1,600 (1,265) to fund home repairs. Now it has been reported that the leftover piece of bread has changed hands again, with memorabilia collector Joseph O'Donnell buying the piece of toast, although the price he paid has not been publicly disclosed. O'Donnell did, however, say that it has been preserved by being framed in UV-protected glass of museum standard. "It's a brilliant story that is both bizarre, historical and a story I'll continue telling friends, memorabilia collectors and fellow Beatles fans," he said. The NY Post also highlights that word of the swiped piece of toast has made its way over to members of The Beatles, and has become an inside joke to the members. In 1992 for instance, Harrison jokingly claimed that the toast couldn't have belonged to him in an interview with Vox.com, saying: "I ate all my toast! I never left any!" Harrison died in November 2001 following a battle with lung cancer at age 58. - NME, 2/27/25...... Tom Waits has added his talents to the final episode of Italian documentary series, Il Fattore Umano (The Human Factor), with his work accompanying stories of homelessness in America. The eight-part series, created by the Italian public television channel RAI3, offers investigative insights into how human rights have been violated by authoritarian regimes, autocracies and even democratic regimes. Focusing on how the most vulnerable and minorities face oppression in these countries, the final episode - titled "Ultima Fermata (The Last Ride)" -- serves as an in-depth look at American poverty. Looking specifically at four southern states -- Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana -- filmmakers travel through the regions on public buses, discovering forgotten communities while exploring the dignity and solidarity of those forced to live in marginalized conditions thanks to a system that lacks safety nets. "The Last " pairs the stories of these individuals with the voice of Waits, who shares performances on acoustic guitar and piano while also reading from his poem "Seeds on Hard Ground." A trailer for the episode is soundtracked by Waits performing "The Fall of Troy," which originally appeared on the soundtrack to 1996's Dead Man Walking. "I am an individual who is deeply concerned with the inequities as we all are, but ill equipped to solve any of them," Waits said in a statement. "I tell the world in the only way I know how: through my music. I don't deal with politics or laws, and I don't have answers to the big questions that concern us all. All I can do is try -- through songs and poems -- to inspire someone. I'm here to open up the window and open up our eyes. I guess a little bit, if I can." The episode was made available for global streaming on Feb. 26 via RAI's RaiPlay streaming platform. - Billboard, 2/25/25...... As the divisiveness in American politics grows increasingly sharper, veteran classic rock producer Bob Ezrin has said he plans to renounce his US citizenship and make a full return to his native country of Canada from his most recent US base, Nashville. Ezrin explained to the UK paper The Globe that the current polarized state of American politics and society is the driving force behind this move. "In the last few years, it seems as if America is split in half," Ezrin says. "The voices of a radical right have become so much louder. Conspiracy theories abound, people are armed to the teeth, and it's just a different place than the place I went to." Already a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Ezrin was recently named as a recipient of the lifetime artistic achievement award by The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation, honoured for a legendary discography that includes milestone albums by such international stars as Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, U2, Deep Purple, Rod Stewart, Nine Inch Nails, Kiss, Lou Reed, Taylor Swift and many more. He received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year in 1981 as producer of Pink Floyd's The Wall, which was subsequently voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. Ezrin and his family moved to Los Angeles from Toronto in 1985, and he became heavily involved in the community of that area. The following decade, he became a US citizen in order to vote. He teamed up with U2's the Edge co-found Music Rising, an initiative to replace musical instruments lost in natural disasters. He is also a board member of the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, a national initiative that supports music in U.S. schools by donating musical instruments to under-funded music programs. - Billboard, 2/28/25...... Billy Joel will make history this summer when he plays all three New York City-area sports stadiums, making him the first artist to ever play all three in one summer. His impressive feat will come over a month-long period. Joel will play Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on July 18; East Rutherford, N.J.'s Metlife Stadium, home to the New York Giants and New York Jets, on Aug. 8; and Citi Field, home to the New York Mets, in Queens, N.Y., on Aug. 21. Rod Stewart will join him July 18, Stevie Nicks on Aug. 8 and Sting on Aug. 21. The feat is all the more remarkable in that it comes on top of ending his 10-year residency at New York's Madison Square Garden last July after playing the vaunted venue once a month for 10 years. Joel's 2025 tour kicks off March 15 in Toronto and ends Nov. 1 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. - Billboard, 2/24/25...... Brian May says he fears for the music industry as the UK government plans to make changes to AI copyright laws. The Queen guitarist is among those protesting the proposed amendment that would see artists have to opt out of having their work mined by AI algorithms. Sir Brian believes the damage is already done and has hit out at the "monstrously arrogant billionaire owners" of artificial intelligence and social media, making it "impossible for artists to be able to "afford to make music." May, 77, gave his stark warning to the UK's The Daily Mail as part of their campaign against the Labour government's proposed AI law changes. My fear is that it's already too late -- this theft has already been performed and is unstoppable, like so many incursions that the monstrously arrogant billionaire owners of Al and social media are making into our lives," May said. "The future is already forever changed." May backing the campaign comes after more than 1,000 artists -- including Kate Bush, Damon Albarn and Annie Lennox -- released a silent album in protest to the new changes. - Music-News.com, 2/28/25...... Robert John, the Brooklyn-born singer-songwriter whose inimitable voice lent itself to a number of Billboard Hot 100 hits including "Sad Eyes" and an enduring version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," died on Feb. 24. He was 79 years old. The singer's son, Michael Pedrick, confirmed the news of his death to Rolling Stone. While no cause of death was given, John was still recovering from a stroke he suffered a few years prior to his passing. Born Bobby Pedrick, Jr., in Brooklyn, N.Y., first made waves in the pop world at just 12 years old with the single, "White Bucks and Saddle Shoes." The song peaked at No. 74 on the Hot 100 in 1958, marking his first of many hits on the chart. In 1965, he changed his name and by 1971, he notched a major hit, a cover of The Tokens' 1961 classic, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." John's version, one of the most popular renditions of the track to this day, made its way to No. 3 on the Hot 100 and No. 6 on the Adult Contemporary songs chart. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, John was a mainstay on the Billboard charts, hitting No. 49 with 1968's "If You Don't Want My Love," No. 71 with 1970's "When the Party Is Over," and No. 99 with 1972's "Hushabye." In 1979, after John worked as a staff writer for Motown for a few years, he topped the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with his seminal hit, "Sad Eyes," which also hit the top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. At the 22nd annual Grammy Awards, "Sad Eyes" was nominated for best pop vocal performance, male. "Sad Eyes" was also featured on John's third, self-titled album, which peaked at No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart. His career continued throughout the 1980s, with the release of his last album, Back on the Street in 1980. Overall, John earned a collective 10 Hot 100 tracks and five Adult Contemporary hits. John is survived by his four sons and several grandsons, his ex-wife Diane and his partner Susan. - Billboard, 2/25/25...... The Isley Brothers member Chris Jasper -- also an award-winning songwriter, producer and keyboardist -- died on Feb. 23 after being diagnosed with cancer in December. He was 73. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer's family broke the news with a notice on Facebook posted one day after Jasper's death. "He will be deeply missed and his legacy will live on as an inspiration for generations," it reads. Born Dec. 30, 1951, and educated at the Juilliard School of Music, the Cincinnati native helped transform The Isley Brothers from vocal trio to full-fledged band when he joined the original lineup -- comprised of brothers O'Kelly Jr., Rudolph and Ronald Isley -- in 1973 alongside Ernie and Marvin Isley. During his decade with the group, they scored numerous entries on the Billboard Hot 100, including top 10 hits "That Lady (Part 1)" and "Fight the Power Part 1," both of which Jasper helped write. The Isley Brothers also charted a dozen albums on the Billboard Hot 200 during Jasper's tenure, including 1975's No. 1 LP The Heat Is On. 1973's 3+3, 1976's Harvest for the World, 1977's Go for Your Guns, 1978's Showdown and 1980's Go All the Way also all reached the top 10. After the group disbanded in 1984, the pianist formed Isley-Jasper-Isley with Ernie and Marvin, and recorded hits such as 1985's "Caravan of Love." He would later go on to pursue a solo music career, becoming known for tracks such as "Superbad" and "The First Time." He released his final album, It Started With a Kiss, in 2023. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with the rest of his Isley Brothers bandmates in 1992. In 2014, the Grammys honored the group with a Lifetime Achievement Award, eight years after which the Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted the members into its 2022 class. He is survived by his wife, New York attorney and author Margie Jasper, as well as his three sons Michael, Nicholas and Christopher. - Billboard, 2/25/25...... David Johansen, frontman with glam rock band New York Dolls, died on Mar. 1 at his home in New York City. He was 75. "David Johansen died at home in NYC on Friday afternoon holding hands with his wife, Mara Hennessey, and daughter Leah, surrounded by music, flowers and love," his rep said in a statement. "He died of natural causes after nearly a decade of illness." The news of Johansen's death comes after the punk pioneer announced in early February that he was battling stage 4 cancer and a brain tumor. The musician was diagnosed in 2020, and after a fall that broke his back in two places in Nov. 2024, he decided to share his story. "We've been living with my illness for a long time, still having fun, seeing friends and family, carrying on, but this tumble the day after Thanksgiving really brought us to a whole new level of debilitation," revealed Johansen, who also acted and has appeared in films such as Scrooged and TV shows including Oz. "This is the worst pain I've ever experienced in my entire life. I've never been one to ask for help, but this is an emergency. Thank you." The Staten Island-born Johansen joined the Dolls in 1971, playing his first show with the group at a homeless shelter on Christmas Eve that year. Favoring simple, sloppy rock n' roll over the increasingly complex and conceptual rock music of the early '70s, New York Dolls made up for what they lacked in technical mastery and professionalism with attitude, gender-bending fashion (women's clothes and high heels) and gobs of lipstick. Gigging around Manhattan in 1972, the group steadily increasing in popularity among young, disaffected audiences looking for something different and the NYC art crowd. The group's self-titled 1973 album is a no-notes distillation of their rough-and-tumble, campy take on the straight-forward, blues-boosted rock n' roll of the '50s. "Personality Crisis" is a wild, careening send-up of self-obsessed people manufacturing drama for attention that rings as true today as it did half a century ago; "Looking for a Kiss" opens with a cheeky reference to The Shangri-Las; and while the Dolls weren't renowned for their lyricism, "Frankenstein" is a clever metaphor for the lumbering, confused and patched-together New York City of the '70s. Despite inspiring countless punks, glam rockers, heavy metal bands and Morrissey (who cites seeing the band on TV as a watershed moment in his life), the band's debut only reached No. 116 on the Billboard Hot 200, and its follow-up, In Too Much Too Soon (another seminal classic), peaked at No. 167. The band broke up in the mid '70s, and thanks in no small part to superfan Morrissey, eventually reunited in the '00s, playing several reunion shows before hitting the studio for three well-received albums: One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This(2006), Cause I Sez So (2009) and Dancing Backward in High Heels (2011). Johansen released four solo albums between 1978 and 1984, the first three of which included members of the New York Dolls in some capacity. While his self-titled solo debut found him delivering a slightly more polished version of the Dolls' rock ("Funky But Chic" is a treat), he began experimenting with disco ("Swaheto Woman") on its follow-up, In Style, and by 1981's Here Comes the Night, he was contemporizing his rock palette in a fashion that set him up for a commercial breakthrough with 1987's Buster Poindexter, the debut LP from his martini-swigging, lounge lizard alter ego Buster Poindexter. "We were a band's band in a lot of ways," Johansen said of the New York Dolls in an interview featured in Personality Crisis: One Night Only. "We influenced a lot of bands and a lot of kids were influenced by us who started bands. Take The Ramones. The Ramones saw us and they looked at each other said, 'Hey, if these guys can do this, we can do that.' To have an influence like that on people is really good. To give people the idea, like, 'Hey, I can do that.'" Johansen is survived by his wife, Mara, and daughter, Leah. - Billboard, 3/1/25.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Gene Hackman, the Oscar-winning actor whose gruff but soulful turns in classics such as The French Connection, The Conversation and Unforgiven made him one of the most respected performers in Hollywood, was found dead in his Santa Fe, N.M., home on Feb. 26. He was 95 and found dead alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64, a classical pianist, and the couple's dog, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. "Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time however exact cause of death has not been determined. This is an active and ongoing investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office," a statement by the authorities said. In a remarkable acting career that spanned six decades, Mr. Hackman established himself as one of the most distinctive and dependable film stars of his generation, and compiled one of the most impressive filmographies in the history of American cinema. He was part of a group of unconventional leading men who helped define the "New Hollywood" cinema of the 1970s, but he was just as prominent across the '80s and '90s. Born Jan. 30, 1930, in San Bernardino, Calif., Mr. Hackman dropped out of school at 16 and fibbed about his age to join the U.S. Marines. He was trained as a radio operator and served in China, where he picked up work as a disc jockey. He took his talents to the radio industry, moving to New York City following his military discharge to learn the trade at the School of Radio Technique. He eventually switched gears and decided to pursue acting, enrolling at the Pasadena Playhouse in Southern California, where he was deemed "least likely to succeed." In time, Mr. Hackman left Pasadena and moved back to New York, where he roomed with fellow striving thespians Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall. George Morrison, a former instructor at the famed Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, took Mr. Hackman under his wing and schooled him in the Method technique, teaching him to draw from personal experiences in his acting. Mr. Hackman started to get gigs in theater and on various television shows, such as the first episode of the CBS courtroom drama The Defenders, and in 1964 he landed his first meaty movie part alongside Warren Beatty and Jean Seberg in the psychological drama Lilith. Impressed with Mr. Hackman, Beatty chose him to play his older brother Buck Barrow in his breakout role in 1967's Bonnie & Clyde, a shockingly violent crime drama that mixed classic outlaw archetypes with the energy of the French New Wave and the playful spirit of the American counterculture. He picked up more film work in the late 1960s, including as a quietly intense Olympic coach in Downhill Racer, and opposite Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in The Gypsy Moths as a barnstorming skydiver. But with William Friedkin's The French Connection (1971), Mr. Hackman catapulted to new heights of fame and acclaim as vulgar, bigoted NYC narcotics cop Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle. The action-packed film, which featured one of the most electrifying car chases in movie history, picked up five Oscars, including best picture and best actor for Mr. Hackman. The thriller propelled him to memorable turns in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Scarecrow (1973), Night Moves (a 1975 French Connection sequel), A Bridge Too Far (1977) and as Lex Luthor in the 1978 blockbuster Superman. Mr. Hackman's portrayal of obsessive surveillance expert Harry Caul in The Conversation (1974) was a highlight of his 1970s filmography. Tamping down the volcanic anger that fueled The French Connection, he created an introverted character ravaged by paranoia and suspicion. The film and Mr. Hackman's tragic performance brilliantly captured the unease of the Watergate era. He entered one of the busiest stretches of his career in the 1980s, taking on a combination of leading roles and supporting parts in various dramas, action flicks and romances. He played a magazine editor in Beatty's epic Reds, a small-town basketball coach in Hoosiers and the secretary of defense in the noirish political thriller No Way Out. He capped his busy 1980s run with Mississippi Burning, playing an FBI agent, a role based on real-life investigator John Proctor, who was looking into the mysterious disappearances of three civil rights volunteers in a fictional Mississippi county. Mr. Hackman, who seemed drawn to projects that explored moral gray areas, earned his second Oscar in 1992 for his supporting work as the brutal Sheriff Little Bill Daggett in Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood's revisionist Western drama. The movie picked up four Oscars, including the best picture prize and best supporting actor for Mr. Hackman, and six years later the film earned a spot on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 best American movies ever made. In the 1990s, Mr. Hackman continued to work at a steady clip and frequently played a grizzled foil to younger stars, including Tom Cruise in The Firm, Denzel Washington in Crimson Tide, Robin Williams in The Birdcage and Will Smith in Enemy of the State, a frenetic surveillance thriller that paid homage to The Conversation. In 2001, he endeared himself to a new generation of moviegoers as the deeply flawed but rakishly charming family patriarch in Wes Anderson's ensemble film The Royal Tenenbaums, showing off his comedic chops and a more mischievous side of his public persona. Three years later, he left Hollywood behind, making his final film appearance in the largely forgotten Ray Romano vehicle Welcome to Mooseport. In a rare 2004 interview, Mr. Hackman told Larry King that he did not have any film projects in the pipeline and expected that his screen acting days were mostly behind him. He remained creative even in retirement, however, writing four historical fiction novels -- Wake of the Perdido Star, Justice for None, Escape From Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War and Payback at Morning Peak: A Novel of the American West -- as well as the 2013 police thriller Pursuit. Mr. Hackman, who spent his final years in Santa Fe, N.M., is survived by three children -- Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie -- from his first marriage to Faye Maltese. - NBCNews.com, 2/27/25.

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

On Feb. 24 Neil Young announced he'll hit the road with his new band The Chrome Hearts this summer, playing Europe in June and July and North America in August and September -- a total of 24 cities in all. The first leg of his "Love Earth" tour will kick off in Europe on June 18 at Dalhalla in Rttvik, Sweden before moving on to gigs in Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. On Aug. 8, he'll begin the North American leg with a show at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, N.C., hitting Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto, New York, Chicago throughout the month, then in September visiting Denver and Vancouver before winding down on Sept. 15 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. More dates are expected to be added later. Young, 79, will be accompanied by the Chrome Hearts, whom he debuted during a 2024 concert and has said an album from the group is tentatively slated for release in April. After taking a break from regular touring during the Covid-19 pandemic, Young toured for a few dates with his longtime backing band Crazy Horse in summer 2024 before cancelling the remaining dates due to an unspecified health issue. - Billboard, 2/24/25...... Midwestern '70s and '80s prog rockers Kansas have been forced to cancel two shows following the revelation that their current frontman, Ronnie Platt, has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Platt, who has been singing with the band for a decade, took to social media on Feb. 19 to announce his diagnosis, assuring fans his cancer has been caught early. "For all of you asking, Tuesday I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer but before everyone gets all excited, it has a 99 per cent survival rate," said Platt, who took over lead vocal duties with Kansas from Steve Walsh in 2014 before singing with the band Shooting Star. "It has not spread. It's contained to my thyroid. I just have to have my thyroid removed. Go through some rehab time and be right back in the saddle." Ahead of the announcement the band nixed their Feb. 21 show in New Orleans citing "band illness," and have also canceled a Mar. 1 show in Louisiana for the same reason. The "Carry On Wayward Son" band celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. - Music-News.com, 2/21/25...... In a new interview with Mojo magazine, Phil Collins says he isn't "hungry" to make music nowadays because he's been "very sick." Collins, who is 73 and has been plagued with health issues for several years, disclosed that he's thought about getting back behind the kit, but hasn't been able to, due in large part to his condition. "I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens. But I'm not hungry for it anymore. The thing is, I've been sick. I mean, very sick," he said. The "In the Air Tonight" singer's health issues stem from a 2007 spinal injury that left him with severe nerve damage and limited mobility, complicating his ability to play the instrument. He went into further detail about his condition in a December documentary titled Phil Collins: Drummer First, in which he revisited his drums for the first time in years. "It's still kind of sinking in," Collins says in the doc, which premiered on the Drumeo YouTube channel on Dec. 18. "I've spent all my life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock." Collins' son, Nic Collins, explained in the doc how years of playing such a physically demanding instrument also took its toll on his father's body. In 2022, Nic took over drumming duties for his dad during Genesis' farewell tour, while Phil sang sitting down. - Billboard, 2/21/25...... Actor Timothée Chalamet was plainly surprised when he walked away with an outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role SAG (Screen Actors Guild) award on Feb. 23 at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles. "I was not expecting this at all," Chalamet told the audience as he accepted the honor for his titular role in the A Complete Unknown Bob Dylan biopic. "I know the classiest thing would be to downplay the effort that went into this role and how much this means to me. But the truth is it was five-and-a-half years of my life. I poured everything I had into playing this incomparable artist, Mr. Bob Dylan, a true American hero, and it was the honor of a lifetime playing him." Adrien Brody had won in the leading male category at most other 2025 awards shows for The Brutalist and was expected to win the SAG award too. Chalamet, 29, is the youngest actor to win SAG's lead actor prize, replacing Nicolas Cage who was 32 when he won for Leaving Las Vegas in 1996. Individual SAG winners for film acting generally go on to win Oscars, and Chalamet is vying to also become the youngest Oscar winner for best actor on Mar. 2. However the SAG win, and Chalamet's thoughtful acceptance speech, won't affect his Oscar chances as final-round voting closed Feb. 18. - Billboard, 2/18/25...... Despite announcing his retirement from touring in late 2023, Elton John set to headline Singapore's 2025 Formula 1 Grand Prix, closing out the huge three-day motor racing event on Oct. 5. More than two years after concluding his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour with an emotional concert in Stockholm, Sweden, Sir Elton will make his highly-anticipated return to the stage on the Padang Stage in Zone 4 after the F1 race. John previously told fans that he would possibly still play "the odd show" after retiring from touring, and since concluding his mammoth Farewell Yellow Brick Road run, he has made live appearances at numerous events. These include the 50th annual Candlelight Concert in the US last December, and the opening of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center over the summer. In 2023, Elton played live at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony where he inducted his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. Last October, he made a surprise appearance during his "Cold Heart" collaborator Dua Lipa's orchestral show at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In March, he played at the 2024 Gershwin Prize in Washington, D.C. - where he and Taupin were honoured with the Library Of Congress Gershwin Prize For Popular Song. On Apr. 4, he'll release Who Believes In Angels?, a collaborative effort with Brandi Carlile. - New Musical Express, 2/20/25...... Variety magazine revealed on Feb. 20 that Michael Jackson accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck are readying a sequel to their bombshell 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, in which the two men first described in graphic detail how the late King of Pop allegedly molested them at his Neverland Ranch in California when they were both minors -- accusations Jackson's estate has continuously and emphatically denied. Airing Mar. 18 on the U.K.'s Channel 4, the hourlong follow-up will catch up with the two men as they share how they've fared against the public's varying responses to their allegations since Leaving Neverland aired, with Dan Reed returning as director. This time around, though, HBO is not involved. In 2019, Jackson's estate sued the cable network for $100 million over claims the documentary violated a 27-year-old non-disparagement clause from a 1992 concert film for the King of Pop's "Dangerous" world tour. The case was sent to private arbitration that year and was still pending as of September. Robson and Safechuck make up just two of several accusers who have alleged sex abuse claims against Jackson before and after his 2009 death. The star was never convicted or held legally liable on any of the claims, however, and he and his estate have always maintained his total innocence. - Billboard, 2/20/25...... Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren will be fêted by The New York Pops at the orchestra's 42nd birthday gala this spring. "Words and Music: Diane Warren" will take place on Apr. 28, in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, with a guest artist lineup that includes Taylor Dayne, Sofia Carson, Micaela Diamond, Shoshana Bean and Anglique Kidjo. Several of these artists have noteworthy ties to Warren -- Dayne sang "Love Will Lead Me Back," which in Apr.1990 became Warren's fifth No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 as a songwriter. (She has since had four more.) Carson sang "Applause" in the film Tell It Like a Woman, which two years ago became Warren's 14th song to receive an Oscar nomination for best original song. (She has since had two more.) Diamond was an original Broadway cast member of "The Cher Show." Cher sang two of Warren's 33 top 10 hits on the Hot 100 to date -- "If I Could Turn Back Time" (perhaps Cher's most iconic hit) and "Just Like Jesse James." Warren co-wrote the latter song with Desmond Child. Warren has penned nine No. 1 and 33 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Her songs have been featured in more than 150 films, leading to 15 Academy Award nominations for best original song. In Nov. 2022, she became the first songwriter in history to receive an Honorary Oscar, as voted on by the Academy's Board of Governors. She has won a Grammy, a Primetime Emmy winner and two Golden Globes. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001 and received that organization's top prize, the Johnny Mercer Award, in June 2024. - Billboard, 2/19/25...... Former The Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon (née Johnny Rotten) has dismissed a new Sex Pistols tour in 2025 featuring his fellow original band members Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock as "karaoke." News of a new Sex Pistols tour emerged in 2024 when it was first announced that the band -- sans Lydon -- were to reunite for a two-night affair to benefit West London's Bush Hall. Instead, the group was to be fronted by Frank Carter, who has previously fronted acts such as Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes. The initial shows soon led to further dates around the U.K. and Europe, with the band billed as "Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter." Further shows have since been announced for Australia, New Zealand, and other European countries throughout 2025. In January, Jones confirmed U.S. dates would follow, though specifics are yet to arrive. Although Lydon has remained largely quiet about the new Sex Pistols activity, on Feb. 13 he spoke to British publication The i Paper about the tour, explaining that he largely felt "annoyed" by the whole affair and feared it would tarnish the group's legacy. "When I first heard that the Sex Pistols were touring this year without me it pissed me off," he explained. "It annoyed me. I just thought, 'they're absolutely going to kill all that was good with the Pistols by eliminating the point and the purpose of it all.' I didn't write those words lightly. They're trying to trivialise the whole show to get away with karaoke but in the long term I think you'll see who has the value and who doesn't. I've never sold my soul to make a dollar. It's the Catholic in me -- that guilt I don't want to trip." The Sex Pistols initially existed from 1975 until 1978, releasing their sole studio album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols in 1977. Lauded as a pioneering punk outfit despite their short initial tenure, the band would later reform in 1996 for a world tour, and undertook sporadic tours until 2008. Famously -- or perhaps infamously -- the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, though refused to attend the ceremony, labeling the institution a "piss stain." - Billboard, 2/18/25...... In other '70s punk rock news, on Feb. 24 The Stranglers announced a raft of autumn 2025 UK tour dates on social media, with support from The Buzzcocks. The Stranglers will be bringing their "51 Tour" to the UK between Oct. 17 and Nov. 1, including two nights at London's Roundhouse. "They say 'making it to a goal is one thing, but making it further is even better'," the post read. "We are thrilled to announce The Stranglers 51 UK Tour. Fifty-one years on the road and still going strong." The Stranglers tour will make stops at cities including Newcastle, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester and Aberdeen, as well as London. The Buzzcocks will join the band on all dates, except in Scotland -- a support act for their Scottish shows will be announced at a later date. The Stranglers will also mount tours in Australia and New Zealand this year, where they will be playing in cities including Sydney, Perth, Auckland and Christchurch. These shows are part of their "50 Years In Black World Tour." The band has scored 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades -- making them one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the UK punk scene of the 1970s. - Music-News.com, 2/24/25...... British singer Lulu announced on Feb. 24 that she's launching her very own charitable fund, Lulu's Mental Health Trust, a restricted fund operating under the auspices of Prism the Gift Fund. Lulu says she decided to set up the fund while writing her memoir, which celebrated 60 years since she stormed into the UK charts with her iconic hit "Shout" and realized the part mental health has played throughout her life, whether her own or her loved ones. For her first initiative, Lulu will lead a mammoth sponsored walk on May 16 which will take her from the school where she filmed the 1967 movie To Sir With Love in E1 0AQ to the old Decca studio where she recorded "Shout" in NW6 3AU -- passing more places connected to her incredible six-decade long career along the way. "I have been on such an amazing journey filled with so many memories over the last 60 years, but it has come with lows as well as the incredible highs as my memoir will detail," Lulu says. "While writing my book, I had the chance to reflect on how mental health has played a big part in my life whether mine or people I love, and I feel compelled to give help to those going through their own struggles." Lulu is known for her dedication to charity work, having supported: Comic Relief, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Help For Heroes, Prince's Trust, Teenage Cancer Trust, and Young Lives vs Cancer amongst many others throughout her career. In 2021, she was awarded a CBE by the late Queen Elizabeth II for her services to charity as well as music and entertainment. - Music-News.com, 2/24/25...... British cult folk musician and songwriter Bill Fay died "peacefully" on the morning of Feb. 22 in London at the age of 81. A cause of death has not been given, though Mr. Fay had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. After being dropped from his label in the 1970s, Mr. Fay's career was revived nearly 40 years later when his music was discovered by the likes of Jim O'Rourke, Jeff Tweedy and Nick Cave. Born in North London in 1943, Mr. Fay went to Wales to study electronics at University. During his time studying, he began writing songs on the piano and harmonium, recording some demos that were noticed by former Van Morrison drummer Terry Noon. Noon helped Fay sign to Decca Records subsidiary Deram and he released two albums: 1970's Bill Fay and 1971's Time of the Last Persecution. His second LP didn't sell well, and he was eventually dropped from his label. After his music career seemed to come to an end, Mr. Fay pursued various other careers, as a groundskeeper, fishmonger and fruit picker. In 1998 -- almost 40 years after the release of Time of the Last Persecution -- a small British label reissued his music, leading to its discovery by producer Jim O'Rourke. O'Rourke played the albums for Jeff Tweedy during the writing and recording sessions for Wilco's seminal Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and Tweedy liked the songs so much that he began performing a cover of "Be Not So Fearful" during their live shows. Mr. Fay eventually joined the band to perform the song, once in 2007 and once in 2010. Mr. Fay never toured and made only one television appearance on Later with Jools Holland. In their statement, Dead Oceans Records shared that he had been working on an album at the time of his death. "Our hope is to find a way to finish and release it," they wrote. - NME, 2/23/25...... Jerry Butler, the beloved Chicago soul singer, producer and, later, politician who began his career in the late 1950 singing alongside childhood friend Curtis Mayfield in The Impressions, died on Feb. 20 of undisclosed causes after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 85. Working alongside singer/guitarist Mayfield -- whom he'd met as a teenager singing in a church choir -- Mr. Butler began his career in the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers group before joining the Roosters, who in short order became known as The Impressions. The group struck gold off the bat with the Mr. Butler co-written "For Your Precious Love," a slow-burning, yearning song inspired by a poem Mr. Butler wrote in high school -- credited to Jerry Butler & the Impressions -- that melded the friends' church-based gospel roots with a stirring soul sound. The single, released by Vee-Jay Records and ranked in 2003 as the No. 335 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, would be one of only two Mr. Butler recorded with the group, followed up by that same year's No. 29 Billboard R&B chart hit "Come Back My Love." Tensions in the group over Mr. Butler's first-billing status led to the singer going out on his own, though his first solo hit was a reunion with Mayfield on the 1960 Vee-Jay co-write "He Will Break Your Heart." That song peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. While Mayfield soon became a star in his own right thanks to his funky soul soundtrack to the 1972 blaxploitation film Superfly and such civil rights anthems as "People Get Ready," Mr. Butler embarked on run of hits in the 1960s and 70s that included 38 career Hot 100 entries -- including three top 10s -- as well as 53 songs on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. In 1961, Mr. Butler's impressive vocal range and always fresh attire earned him the career-long nickname "The Iceman" from WDAS Philadelphia DJ George Woods, bestowed on the singer after he kept his cool and continued to sing after the PA system burned out on him at a Philly show. He scored another top 10 hit in 1964 with the hopelessly-in-love ballad "Let It Be Me," a collaboration with singer Betty Everett on the Everly Brothers-written song that appeared on their joint Delicious Together album and peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100. Mr. Butler's third top 10 song came in 1969 with the inspirational soul stirrer "Only the Strong Survive," one of the singer's collaborations with the hit songwriting team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The song appeared on his The Ice Man Cometh album and served as his highest-ever charting single after reaching No. 4 on the Hot 100, as well as spending two weeks at the top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (then called the Billboard Black Singles Chart). One of his most enduring hits, the song would later be covered by, among others, including Elvis Presley, Rod Stewart and Bruce Springsteen, who also made it the title of his 2022 R&B/soul covers solo album. Mr. Butler, whose vocals often climbed from a deep baritone to a crystal falsetto, would land Hot 100 hits in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, last charting on the singles tally in 1977 with "I Wanna Do It To You," which peaked at No. 51. Born in Sunflower, MS on Dec. 8, 1939, Mr. Butler moved to Chicago at age three, where he grew up in the since-demolished Cabrini-Green housing projects. With is biggest music years behind him by the early 1980s, Mr. Butler -- who had earlier set up his own short-lived record label, Memphis Records and production company -- pivoted to running a Chicago beer distributorship. He entered politics a few years later after being inspired by the city's first Black Mayor, Harold Washington. Former Black Panther and longtime Chicago alderman Bobby Rush encouraged Mr. Butler to run for the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 1985, where the singer served three four-year terms before his retirement from public office in 2018. The singer kept performing live into the early 2000s and hosted oldies R&B specials (Doo Wop 50, Rock Rhythm and Doo Wop) for PBS, as well as serving as the chairman of the board for the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the Impressions. Mr. Butler published his autobiography, Only the Strong Survive: Memoirs of a Soul Survivor, in 2000. "He was one of the great voices of our time," Motown legend Smokey Robinson told the Chicago Sun-Times. "We will really miss Jerry. He was a one of a kind music legend!," songwriters Gamble and Huff said in a statement. - Billboard, 2/21/25...... Roberta Flack, the beloved, Grammy-winning 1970s singer best known for such hits as "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly With His Song" died on Feb. 24. She was 88 years old. No cause of death has been announced, but it was previously revealed that she had been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for the past three years. "We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025," read a statement from her representative. "She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator," it added. Born Roberta Cleopatra Flack in Black Mountain, N.C. on Feb. 10, 1937, and raised in Virginia, Ms. Flack began singing at various churches throughout her childhood, before learning piano at age nine and going on to get a full scholarship to Howard University. After graduating, she began a career as a music teacher and started getting work as a singer in various clubs. It was around the late '60s that she made a shift to pop music and famously performed at Mr Henry's Restaurant on Capitol Hill -- getting recognition from the likes of Bill Cosby, Woody Allen and more. By 1969, Ms. Flack had shared her debut album First Take with Atlantic Records, and in 1971 she famously starred in the Ghana Independence Day concert film Soul To Soul, which also featured Santana, Ike & Tina Turner and more. Throughout the '70s, her success continued to grow. Her now-classic track "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" was notably chosen by Clint Eastwood to feature in his directorial debut Play Misty for Me. It would later go on to win Record Of The Year at the '93 Grammys and become her first chart-topping single. She would work with the revered Hollywood star again in his 1983 film Sudden Impact. That same year her Killing Me Softly album saw her take home Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Performance at the 1974 Grammys and reach the top of the charts again. "Feel Like Making Love" marked another No. 1 hit, and was released in 1974. "Killing Me Softly" would go on to get more recognition over two decades later, when The Fugees dropped their hit cover for The Score. She would also continue making music up until the late 2010s. Her final album Running was shared in 2018, and she also paid homage to The Beatles in 2012 with her covers album Let It Be Roberta. Ms. Flack was a resident of NYC's The Dakota apartment building, and had a close relationship with Dakota neighbors John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono, helping to comfort Ono after the murder of Lennon in Dec. 1980. In 2020 Ms. Flack was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony, and went on to announce her amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis, a neurodegenerative disease that impacts the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, in 2022. The disease sadly left Ms. Flack unable to sing. Her final years saw her work on projects including a children's book and a documentary about her life. The latter was titled Roberta, and was shared in Nov. 2022, while the children's book, The Little Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music, arrived the following year. In total, she was given 13 Grammy nods throughout her career, with the last coming in 1995 for Roberta, which was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. An activist and philanthropist, Flack remained a teacher at heart. She established the Roberta Flack Foundation in 2010 to help young people fulfill their dreams through education and mentorship. She is survived by her son Bernard Wright, who is also a musician. - Billboard/NME/Music-News.com, 2/24/25.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Smokey Robinson has responded to a rumor about a '70s song he wrote which is speculated to be about an alleged affair with his fellow Motown legend Diana Ross, saying he "could not possibly have experienced everything" he has written music about. Robinson, 84, spoke to The Times about his music, the soul genre, and hanging out with the likes of The Beatles and Marvin Gaye. He was also asked about his 1975 track "The Agony and The Ecstacy" (available on YouTube) and whether it was about the affair he was having with Ross at the time. "As a songwriter, I could not possibly have experienced everything I've written about, and that song seemed like a good idea because so many people were in that situation," he said. "I've known Diana Ross since she was eight years old, man! She's precious to me. She's my longest living friend. Oh yeah, she's my babe." Smokey had been married to Claudette Robinson for more than a decade when he had the alleged affair with Ross. Robinson is scheduled to play his first UK show in over 15 years this summer in East Sussex. He will play a headline set at the "Love Supreme Jazz Festival" in Glynde Place in the South Downs, which will run from July 4 to 6. - NME, 2/17/25...... He isn't quite "slip-slidin' away" yet -- on Feb. 18 Paul Simon announced an ambitious 2025 North American tour on Twitter/X, some seven years after he retired from playing live. The 55-show, 19-city "A Quiet Celebration" trek will kick off in New Orleans' Saenger Theater on Apr. 4, hitting most major American cities and Vancouver, B.C. Runs of five shows in New York's Beacon Theater (6/16,18, 20, 21, 23) and Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall (7/9, 11, 12, 14, 16) are included in the run, which finally wraps in Seattle's Benaroya Hall on Aug. 3. The legendary 83-year-old singer-songwriter played what at the time was described as his final ever concert in Sept. 2018 in Queens, New York's Flushing Meadows Corona Park. "I've often wondered what it would feel like to reach the point where I'd consider bringing my performing career to a natural end," he said at the time. "Now I know: it feels a little unsettling, a touch exhilarating and something of a relief." In 2024, Simon opened up about being diagnosed with hearing loss while recording his 2023 album Seven Psalms, describing the process as "incredibly frustrating." A year earlier he had told The Times that he lost "most of the hearing in my left ear," saying the process happened "quite suddenly." "Nobody has an explanation for it," he explained, "so everything became more difficult." However, Simon went on to tell The Guardian in Nov. 2024 that he was "optimistic" about returning to perform live, saying he was "hoping to eventually be able to do a full-length concert." On Feb. 16, Simon made a surprise return to live performing when he was joined by rising singer Sabrina Carpenter for a duet of the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Homeward Bound" on the 50th-anniversary episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live. Introducing the performance, Simon told the audience: "I sang this song with George Harrison on Saturday Night Live in 1976," to which Carpenter responded: "I was not born then. And neither were my parents." Their duet can be streamed on YouTube. NBC has said the 3 1/2 hour extravaganza was watched by nearly 15 million people, the network's most-watched prime-time entertainment telecast in five years. It will be available to stream on Peacock. - NME, 2/18/25...... Speaking of the SNL special, Paul McCartney closed out the event with a stirring performance of The Beatles' Abbey Road medley, "Golden Slumbers"/ "Carry That Weight"/ "The End." Sir Paul, who was a musical guest on the show in 1980, 1993, 2010 and 2012 and made cameos in 2006, 2013 and 2015, also previously appeared on SNL's 40th anniversary special. His performance with members of his touring band -- guitarist Rusty Anderson, bassist/guitarist Brian Ray, keyboardist Paul "Wix" Wickens and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. -- can be viewed on YouTube. In 1993, McCartney appeared in a skit with the late SNL cast member Chris Farley in which a starstruck Farley asked the Beatle legend "In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.' Is that true?," before being overjoyed when the artist said he thinks it is. Now some fans are speculating Macca's latest SNL performance was a nod to Farley. The skit can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 2/17/25...... In other Beatles-related news, details of the forthcoming John Lennon documentary Borrowed Time: Lennon's Last Decade have been revealed. The film follows the legend as he evolves beyond The Beatles, creating revolutionary music and standing at the forefront of anti-war protests that would make him one of the most influential pop culture icons of all time. Musicians, journalists, and close friends of the man himself set the record straight on the truth behind many famous Lennon moments, brought to life by rare archive footage, including never-before-seen interviews. For the first time ever, the full story of how John and Yoko Ono met is revealed and the curtain is lifted on the 1981 comeback tour that, sadly, never came to be. Speaking on the upcoming release director Alan G. Parker said: "I am so excited to share Borrowed Time: Lennon's Last Decade with UK audiences. I've made a number of films, but this is the first one that feels personal. I never met John Lennon, but through his music he became the older brother that this bullied kid needed." Borrowed Time: Lennon's Last Decade opens in UK cinemas on May 2, with an exclusive Director's Cut available on the Icon Film Channel on the same day. Special Q&A events about the documentary are to be announced soon. - Music-News.com, 2/20/25...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Ringo Starr has told Britain's Mojo magazine that he loves living in Los Angeles, where he has lived on and off since 1973. "When I first came to America and we landed in New York, I wanted to live in New York," said Starr, who was born and raised in Liverpool. "And then we want on tours around and we came to Los Angeles, I'd think, 'Uh ... maybe Los Angeles. No New York! Maybe Los Angeles. L ... A!' I just loved the atmosphere. I loved the light. I loved the heat." Despite this, Ringo says he's never been tempted to surf in the Pacific Ocean. "It took me seven years to go to the ocean. A limo took me down the Pacific Coast Highway. I got out the car, walked across the beach, put my feet in the water, turned around, walked back to the car and went for lunch." - Music-News.com, 2/17/25...... In what is likely a major disappointment to many fans, Ozzy Osbourne has said he won't play a full Black Sabbath set at the band's upcoming farwell show on July 5 in Birmingham, UK. Osbourne made the announcement on his Ozzy Speaks program on SiriusXM channel Ozzy's Boneyard, where he provided an update as to his plans for the recently-announced "Back to the Beginning" concert with the "ultimate" Sabbath lineup of Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. "I'm not planning on doing a set with Black Sabbath but I am doing little bits and pieces with them," the "War Pigs" singer explained. "I am doing what I can, where I feel comfortable." Osbourne hasn't performed a full set since Dec. 31, 2018 on the final date of his "No More Tours" tour. Just two months later, the heavy metal pioneer was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and any plans for further large-scale performances have been affected by numerous cancellations and health issues. "I am trying to get back on my feet," Osbourne added. "When you get up in the morning, you just jump out of bed. I have to balance myself, but I'm not dead. I'm still actively doing things." Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Guns N' Roses, Tool and Jason Mamoa have been added to the lineup of the final Black Sabbath concert. Aquaman actor Momoa will host the event, while Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello will serve as musical director. Other previously announced acts include Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Rival Sons, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, songwriter-producer Andrew Watt, and bassist Dave Ellefson. Osbourne and Billy Morrison have shared their new single, "Gods Of Rock N Roll," on YouTube. The track is a reworking of the Morrison song "Gods," which appeared on his 2015 album God Shaped Hole. The track saw Ozzy co-write and sing on the original, and now it has been reimagined with a 61-piece orchestra featuring new guitar aspects from Steve Stevens. - Billboard, 2/16/25...... Matt Sorum, a former drummer with Guns N' Roses, says Steven Tyler will never return to touring just weeks after the Aerosmith frontman made a return to the stage as part of his sixth annual "Jam for Janie" Grammy Awards viewing party. With Sorum serving as Musical Director, the event was only the second time that Tyler had performed live since a 2023 vocal injury which halted Aerosmith's touring schedule, and the first time since the band announced their formal retirement in August of 2024. During Jam for Janie, Tyler sung covers of songs by Extreme and Led Zeppelin, and four Aerosmith staples. However, despite the positive response from fans, Sorum told Joe Rock of Long Island radio station WBAB that the strain of global touring would prevent Tyler from performing on a large scale once again. "Some fans were a little bit, like, 'Well, he can sing.' Well, let me just explain what's happening with Steven Tyler, 'cause he's a really good friend," Sorum explained. "He went out and sang. And it was a really big moment for him because he hurt himself bad. Now, is he gonna tour again? No, he's not. Because, and I explained this to people, Steven cannot put himself under the rigors of doing a full worldwide tour because there's a lot of pressure." Sorum went on to explain that Tyler "is 77 years old and a perfectionist... And if he doesn't sing correctly, it bothers him." On Sept. 9, 2023, Tyler fractured his larynx, necessitating the postponement of shows on Aerosmith's Peace Out tour. Ultimately, these shows were canceled entirely when the band announced their retirement from touring in Aug. 2024. In January, Aerosmith's Joe Hamilton said that "if [Aerosmith does] anything in the future, it would come from him." - Billboard, 2/18/25...... Queen guitarist Brian May. Created with significant design input from May, only 100 of the Brian May SJ-200 12-String models will be available worldwide in a limited run via Gibson.com, the Gibson Garage Nashville and London, and authorized Gibson dealers. In a press release, May said he "had the idea for the guitar when I needed a 12-String on tour, and the one I was accustomed to wasn't performing right on stage." "The guys at Gibson very kindly said, 'We'll make you something special that you can use on the tours.' One of the things I asked for was for the octaves to be placed around the other way from where it is normally done, because I like to pick upwards and hear the top notes when I'm playing," he added. Referring to his other career as an astronomer, he said: "Gibson was able to put the universe on it in a figurative way and the planet Mercury is here, and that is a little nod to a friend of mine that is always with me." An episode of the Gibson TV podcast with May introducing the instrument has been shared on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 2/19/25...... The Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown has topped the $100 million threshold in worldwide box-office grosses, according to boxofficemojo.com. The film, which has grossed $104 million as of Feb. 18, now ranks No. 8 on Billboard's list of music biopics with the highest worldwide grosses -- between the 2004 Ray Charles biopic Ray at No. 7 ($124 million) and the 2019 French singer Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose at No. 9 ($87.5 million). Released in December, A Complete Unknown received eight Oscar nominations on Jan. 23, and made Oscar history as the first music biopic to receive three acting nods -- for Timothée Chalamet as Dylan, Edward Norton as Pete Seeger and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. The runaway all-time highest grossing biopic continues to be the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), with a worldwide gross of $910.8 million. - Billboard, 2/16/25...... In other rock biopic news, Jimmy Page has thanked fans for their "humbling and inspiring" reaction to the new IMAX documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin. Page took to Instagram on Feb. 17 to send his personal thanks for the film's enthusiastic reception. "In light of your incredible responses and the demand for the Becoming Led Zeppelin film from those of you that have either viewed it at the IMAX or during its general cinema release, I must say that feedback from fans is just humbling and inspiring," he wrote. Currently in UK cinemas, Becoming Led Zeppelin is the first authorized account of the band's history ever to come to the big screen, and has been in production since first being announced back in 2019. Since hitting IMAX screens on Feb. 5 and receiving a general cinema release two days later, Zeppelin fans have been flocking to see the film, which features new interviews with Page, frontman Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones, as well as rare archival interviews with the late drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980. - NME, 2/17/25...... A unique version of the classic Procol Harum single "A Whiter Shade of Pale" featuring late singer Gary Brooker is among the songs on the new charity album Think Loud 4 Parkinson's. The LP was put together by esteemed manager Ian Grant -- who helped steer the careers of the likes of Big Country, The Cult, The Stranglers, Elizabeth McGovern and many more -- and music producer Paul Mitchell, along with two others, in response to Grant's own experience living with Parkinson's disease for the last nine years. For the special version of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," Mitchell took the performance of the song from the "Remembering Gary Brooker" memorial concert that took place at G Live in Guilford, England, on Dec. 4, 2023. That performance features a 15-year old live vocal recording of Brooker -- who passed away from cancer in Feb. 2022, at the age of 76 -- matched to Procol Harum's live rendition of the track in tribute to the singer at that gig. Speaking at the launch of the album at the offices of Cure Parkinson's in London, Mitchell said: "Gary's widow Frankie Brooker very kindly allowed us to take some tracks from that concert. "The 'Whiter Shade of Paler' version on this -- and this is how valuable this album is going to be -- is super rare. The music is the band playing live in December 2023, but the vocal is Gary Brooker's vocal from Boston in 2010 and it's all synchronised together. It is an absolute one-off." All profits from the LP go to Cure Parkinson's to help the charity fund their vital research into the neurodegenerative disease. It additionally features an array of covers and rare tracks from such other music legends as Leo Sayer, Queen drummer Roger Taylor and former Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley. - Music-News.com, 2/16/25...... Rick Buckler, a longtime rocker best known as the drummer for legendary UK band The Jam, has died. He was 69 years old. News of his death was announced on X via a heartfelt message from his bandmate Paul Weller. "I'm shocked and saddened by Rick's passing.... We went far beyond our dreams and what we made stands the test of time & Rick was a good guy and a great drummer whose innovative drum patterns helped shape our songs. I'm glad we had the chance to work together as much as we did. My thoughts are with [Rick's wife Lesley] and his family at this very difficult time." The Jam was formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey. Buckler was in the original lineup as drummer, and the group released their debut single "In the City" in 1977, and released their debut album of the same name that same year. The band made waves via their political statements, rising up against police brutality, the British government and beyond. Overall, the group released six albums, their final project being 1982's The Gift, which peaked at No. 82 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart. After a world tour in support of the album, the group disbanded due to a decision from Weller. After his time in The Jam, Buckler formed Time UK with Jimmy Edwards and Ray Simone, and later formed a new The Jam tribute band called The Gift. - Billboard, 2/18/25...... Scottish drummer Jamie Muir, a former drummer of the British prog rock group King Crimson, died of as yet undisclosed causes on Feb. 17. He was 82. News of his passing was confirmed by his friend and bandmate Bill Bruford, who wrote on Facebook: "Jamie Muir died today, 17.02.2025, in Cornwall, UK, with his brother George by his side." Mr. Muir was best known for his stint with the legendary King Crimson from 1972 to 1973, playing most prominently on their fifth studio album Larks' Tongues In Aspic, released in 1973. Born in Edinburgh in 1942 and educated at the Edinburgh College Of Art, he moved to London in the 1960s as a passionate jazz trombonist, before switching to percussion. In London, he was involved in several free improvisational groups, including The Music Improvisation Company, and played with respected figures such as Derek Bailey and Evan Parker. King Crimson leader Robert Fripp invited him to join the band via a phone call in the summer of 1972, alongside a new incarnation of the band that included Yes drummer Bruford, bassist John Wetton and violinist David Cross. After just a year, and just days after the release of Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Muir abruptly left King Crimson and moved to a monastery in southern Scotland to pursue life as a Buddhist monk. He did return to music in 1980, appearing on albums by Bailey and Parker, as well as the soundtrack of the 1983 British independent film Ghost Dance. In 1990, he withdrew from the music industry once again, opting to devote his time to painting. Mr. Muir's passing comes just months after King Crimson songwriter and lyricist Peter Sinfield died, aged 80, on Nov. 14. Robert Fripp paid tribute to Mr. Muir on Instagram, writing: "Jamie Muir was a major, and continuing, influence on my thinking, not only musical. A wonderful and mysterious person. Of the five members of KC 1972, Jamie had the greatest authority, experience and presence. Fly well, Master Muir." - NME, 2/18/25.

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Willie Nelson's 13th annual Luck Reunion concert has been set for March 13 at his ranch in Spicewood, Tex. Nelson's Willie Nelson & Family will top the bill, but the 2025 will also feature the likes of Charley Crockett, Steve Earle, Taj Mahal, Willie's sons Micah and Lucas Nelson, and "more than one surprise guests." The concert will also feature a tribute to Willie's late close friend and Country Music Hall of Famer Kris Kristofferson. Ticket information is available at www.luckpresents.com. - Billboard, 2/14/25...... The lineup for the 2025 Love Rocks Benefit concert, set for the legendary Beacon Theatre in NYC on Mar. 6, will feature sets from Cher, Peter Frampton, Michael McDonald, Alicia Keys, Beck, Kate Hudson, Mavis Staples, Phish's Trey Anastasio and many more. The ninth annual benefit supports God's Love We Deliver -- an organization that cooks and delivers medically tailored meals for people too sick to shop or cook for themselves. God's Love We Deliver was founded in 1985 as a response to the AIDS pandemic and now serves people living with more than 200 different diagnoses. The organization has served more than 40 million meals to date, with this year marking the group's 40th anniversary. Past performers at God's Love shows have included Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Jon Bon Jovi, Dave Grohl, Dave Matthews and The Black Crowes. - Billboard, 2/12/25...... A rep for Don Felder says the former Eagles guitarist is "feeling much better" after a medical emergency during a Rock Legends Cruise performance on Feb. 13. In a video shared by an attendee and posted on the celebrity gossip site TMZ.com, Felder is seen introducing the Eagles classic, "Tequila Sunrise," sharing the inspiration behind the song before he began strumming his guitar to perform it. He then appears to look to crew members on the side stage and lose balance, before a member of his team and his bandmates helped escort him offstage. The crowd cheered in support for the musician before the video ends. Posting on Instagram, his rep said medical personnel determined that Felder "was deemed to be suffering from dehydration... He was given fluids, and is feeling much better." The statement continued that the remainder of Felder's cruise performances will be rescheduled to "ensure he has ample time to rehydrate and recover fully," before concluding, "Thank you for your understanding and remember -- drink your water!" Felder, 77, performed with the Eagles from 1974 to 2001, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 1998. After his departure from the group, he filed two lawsuits alleging wrongful termination, breach of implied-in-fact contract and breach of fiduciary duty, though the case was settled in 2007. Felder published the book, Heaven and Hell: My Life in The Eagles, in 2007. - Billboard, 2/14/25...... In other Eagles-related news, a rare book dealer filed a lawsuit against band co-founder Don Henley, their manager Irving Azoff, and their attorneys in New York state court on Feb. 6. Henley and his co-defendants are being sued by Glenn Horowitz, one of the men who was criminally charged for allegedly attempting to sell handwritten lyrics connected to the Eagles' 1976 album Hotel California, claiming they and their attorneys engaged in a "malicious prosecution" that harmed his reputation and caused him financial losses and emotional distress. Horowitz claims the parties falsely alleged that he and his two co-defendants in the criminal case "knew or had reason to believe" that the lyric sheets "had been unlawfully obtained" and nonetheless attempted to profit off of them via an online auction. However, Horowitz claims the men and their attorneys knew all along that the notes had been acquired through legal means in the first place. Horowitz, a rare book dealer, and his co-defendants -- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi and memorabilia auctioneer Edward Kosinski -- were criminally charged in 2022 over an alleged conspiracy to resell the lyrics that had been handwritten by Henley while working on the band's iconic Hotel California. At the time, prosecutors had accused the three men of hiding the fact that the documents had been stolen from Henley's home by Ed Sanders, a journalist hired by Henley and Azoff to write a never-published book on the Eagles in the late 1970s. But in a stunning turnaround in March 2024, Manhattan prosecutors dropped the case after Henley produced new evidence previously withheld under attorney-client privilege that cast doubt on his and Azoff's allegations. The judge in the case subsequently dismissed the charges and chastised Henley, Azoff and their attorneys for "obfuscat[ing] and hid[ing] information that they believed would be damaging to their position that the lyric sheets were stolen." Horowitz and his wife are asking for damages amounting to more than 10 million dollars over being "deprived of their liberty, suffering humiliation, defamation, diminished reputation and loss of business and/or wages." Henley and Azoff's attorney, Dan Petrocelli, said the Horowitzes' suit "highlights the dark underbelly of the memorabilia business that exploited the brazen, unauthorized taking and selling of Mr. Henley's handwritten lyrics... The only malicious prosecution involved here is the filing of this case by Mr. Horowitz." - Billboard, 2/10/25...... English Heritage, the charity responsible for the National Heritage Collection of England, announced on X/Twitter that late T. Rex legend Marc Bolan will be among several Londoners who will be honoured with a new London blue plaque in 2025 for their significant impact on the city's cultural landscape. Bolan, the charismatic frontman of glam-rock band T. Rex, was known for his flamboyant style and shape-shifting music and will be honoured with a plaque at one of his former addresses in West London. Others to be honoured with a blue plaque include actress Audrey Hepburn, poet Una Marson, ballerina Alicia Markova, novelist Barbara Pym and artist Graham Sutherland. In 2024, English Heritage paid tribute to George Harrison by unveiling a blue plaque at Harrison's childhood home in Liverpool. - New Musical Express, 2/13/25...... Performing a surprise concert at New York's iconic Bowery Ballroom on Feb. 11, Paul McCartney relived his Beatlemania days with several of the band's classic tracks and paid tribute to late bandmate John Lennon. McCartney, 82, announced the impromptu gig earlier in the day and, unsurprisingly, it swiftly sold out, with 575 lucky fans treated to a once-in-a-lifetime show. Sir Paul, backed by guitarist Rusty Anderson, guitarist and bassist Brian Ray, keyboardist Paul "Wix" Wickens and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. -- kicked off proceedings in style performing the 1964 Beatles hit "A Hard Day's Night," then dusted off his '70s band Wings' 1975 track "Letting Go," which he hadn't performed live in 11 years. 1966's Revolver track "Got to Get You Into My Life" followed, and other rarities included Wings' "Let Me Roll With It" -- which was last featured in his set at the iTunes Festival in 2007 -- alongside a jam of "Foxy Lady" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Elsewhere, Macca gave a stirring stripped-back acoustic performance of the tear-jerking Beatles tune "Blackbird." McCartney was amused to reminisce about the Beatlemania days when he heard a "Beatles scream" and demanded more shrieking from the "girls." "OK, let's get it out of the way. Girls, give me a Beatles scream," he quipped. Paul also paid tribute to Lennon when performing The Beatles' "final song," 2023's "Now And Then," which Lennon had penned in the 1970s and was finished with the help of AI. He said: "Let's hear it for John." After performing a three-song encore of "Golden Slumbers," "Carry The Weight" and "The End" from Abbey Road, the legend declared: "This has been a blast -- we've loo-ved it." McCartney was in the Big Apple to help NBC's Saturday Night Live celebrate its 50th anniversary on Feb. 16. The venerable comedy show announced on X/Twitter on Feb. 14 that musical performances by McCartney, Paul Simon, Cher, Sabrina Carpenter, Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne and other famous acts will be combined with a three-hour primetime special which will feature various live sketches which will see both past and present SNL cast members, special guests, and retrospectives celebrating the show's 50th anniversary. The special will air 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC and simulcast on Peacock. - Music-News.com/Billboard/NME, 2/14/25...... Appearing on TMZ's new 2 Angry Men podcast on Feb. 12, Village People frontman Victor Willis told hosts Harvey Levin and Mark Geragos that the group's 1978 classic "Y.M.C.A." has an intentional dual meaning. "That was something that I credited myself on is writing my songs with what is called a double entendre," Willis said. "I would write a song to where you can take it any kind of way you wanted it. If you're straight, you can take the lyrics for somebody straight or if you were gay, you could take it for somebody gay." Willis then insisted that "there's like 10% of the gay community that have been coming to my shows and have been there over the past 10 years," although Levin and Geragos insisted that the number would be higher. Willis recently sent a cease and desist letter to Jim Jeffries after the comedian's claims about the song being a "gay anthem." "[Jeffries] went over the line when he got into saying it had to do with men having sex in the bathroom," Willis said. "There is nothing in my lyrics that says anything about that. We approached him and he apologized and said he was going to rephrase what it was he said and say it differently, because the way he said it as worded was defamatory," he added. - Billboard, 2/13/25...... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame revealed its nominees for the Class of 2025 on Feb. 12, with Mariah Carey, Oasis, Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden and The White Stripes making the cut. Eight of those 14 acts -- Bad Company, the Black Crowes, Checker, Cocker, Idol, Maná, Outkast and Phish -- are first-time nominees, while the other six have been in RRHOF consideration in years past. Those names will now be narrowed down by an international panel of more than 1,200 artists, historians and music industry players, with a fan-voted element factored in. That group's selected nominees will be revealed in late April, as well as whether they'll be entering in the Musical Influence or Musical Excellence categories, and who the year's Ahmet Ertegun award recipient will be. An induction ceremony in Los Angeles will follow in the fall. Industry insiders predict Oasis, The White Stripes, Outkast, Phish, Mariah Carey, Cyndi Lauper and Joe Cocker, in that order, have the best odds of being inducted, while an informal Billboard fan poll showed support for Phish, Mariah Carey, Cyndi Lauper, Bad Company, Billy Idol, Soundgarden and Chubby Checker. Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers says that "[Our] fans and friends have been lobbying for this nomination persistently for years and they never gave up, so big thanks to them. According to them, Bad Company fits all of the criteria and then some to be inducted." Drummer Simon Kirke, however, is more inclined to also note that it's about time. "I think it's been a long time coming. It has rankled me a bit," Kirke says. "We've been around a long time and we've influenced a lot of bands, and I think it's a place that we deserve. I'm just pleased that we're at least on the ballot. I'm happy and I'm honored, and fingers crossed that we make it." Formed during 1973 in London, Bad Company brought together Rodgers and Kirke from Free, guitarist Mick Ralphs from Mott the Hoople and bassist Boz Burrell, fresh out of King Crimson. The group was managed by the legendary Peter Grant and signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label. Its self-titled 1974 debut hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200, going five-times platinum and launching enduring rock radio hits such as "Can't Get Enough" (No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100), "Movin' On" (No. 19) and the song "Bad Company." Four of the band's other 11 studio albums went platinum or better, as did the 1985 compilation 10 From 6. All told Bad Company sold more than 40 million records worldwide, with a cadre of other top 40 Hot 100 hits such as "Feel Like Makin' Love," "Young Blood," "Shooting Star" and "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy." The original Bad Company foursome came to a stop in 1982, and Bad Company last toured during 2019. Kirke confirms that "I think it's safe to say (the band's) playing days are pretty much over." He and Rodgers are still active, however. Though Rodgers is also battling health issues -- he's suffered several strokes since 2016 and 2019 -- he released the solo album Midnight Rose during 2023 and is continuing to write new material. Kirke, meanwhile, has written a stage musical about addiction that's currently being shopped and is planning to record his fourth solo album during the spring. - Billboard, 2/12/25...... On Feb. 12 The Jacksons shared details of three UK shows this summer. Comprised of founding members Jackie Jackson and Marlon Jackson, brothers of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson, the band are set to break out hits from their lengthy discography as they headline GuilFest at Stoke Park in Guilford, Surrey on July 5. From there, they'll take to the stage at the Heritage Live Shows at the Englefield House in Berkshire on July 19. For their set at GuilFest, the band -- formerly known as The Jackson 5 -- will join Razorlight at the top of the bill. They also join other previously announced acts on the 2025 line-up, including KT Tunstall, Soul II Soul, The Amy Winehouse Band, Sleeper, Elvanna, Stereo MCs and Dub Pistols. At the Heritage Live gig, they will appear alongside Sister Sledge, Boney M and Maizie Williams. For the Essex show, Sister Sledge will also be performing, as will Miss Disco. The news of their UK shows arrives months following the death of founding member Tito Jackson, who passed away on Sept. 15 at age 70 after he suffered a heart attack while driving from New Mexico to Oklahoma. At the time, the group's manager said The Jacksons were "far advanced" in the process of recording and releasing their first album since 1989's 2300 Jackson Street. - NME, 2/12/25...... Though not known as a country artist, Sammy Hagar will be among the eclectic lineup of headliners at this year's Stagecoach Country Music Festival, set for the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., on April 25-27. Hagar will perform on the final night of the festival on the event's Palomino Stage, with other notable performers during the three days including Lana Del Rey, Nelly, Tracy Lawrence, Goo Goo Dolls, Tommy James & the Shondells and Crystal Gayle. - Billboard, 2/11/25...... Patti Smith has announced she'll be hitting the road in the U.K. and U.S. this fall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her iconic debut album, Horses. The singer will be joined by longtime side men guitarist Lenny Kaye and drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, who both played on the seminal 1975 LP that is considered a punk classic and is often cited by R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe as the album that made him want to make music, and has been enshrined in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry as a historically significant work. Her Patti Smith Group will kick off the 20-date jaunt on Oct. 6 at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The outing is then booked to hit Madrid, London, Burssels, Oslo and Paris before moving over to the U.S. for theater gigs in Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. before winding down on Nov. 29 at the Met in Philadelphia. "Please join us to help celebrate the final ride of our irreverent thoroughbred," read a statement announcing the run that will mark the first time in 20 years that Smith, 78, has performed the whole album. In 2005, she celebrated its 30th anniversary at that year's Meltdown Festival in London, which she curated. Before she hits the road, Smith will be feted at a March 26 all-star concert at New York's Carnegie Hall, "People Have the Power: Celebrating the Music of Patti Smith," which will feature appearances by Stipe and members of Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeah's. In January, Smith assured fans that she was okay after collapsing on stage in So Paulo, Brazil on Jan. 29. The health scare came a month after Smith was ordered by a doctor to rest following a brief stay in an Italian hospital to deal with what was described as a sudden, unnamed illness, resulting in the cancellation of a pair of European shows. - Billboard, 2/11/25...... Van Morrison has added two Scotland shows to his forthcoming 2025 UK tour. In addition to the initially confirmed four gigs in Nottingham (3/18), Birmingham (3/19), Oxford (3/23, 24) and Stroud (3/24), Morrison has scheduled a pair of headline concerts in Scotland at the end of the trek. He'll take to the stage at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall on Mar. 30, before heading to Edinburgh for a performance at Usher Hall the following night. Morrison had previously announced two homecoming shows at Whitla Hall in Belfast on February 21 and 22, as well as European headline gigs in Antwerp, Brussels and The Hague. - NME, 2/11/25...... The legacy of legendary folk singer Joan Baez was celebrated on Feb. 8 with a star-studded Sweet Relief Musicians Fund benefit show at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. Performers included Emmylou Harris, Rosanne Cash, Margo Price, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Morello, Joe Henry, Lucinda Williams, Taj Mahal and Baez herself. There were also appearances by Jackson Browne and the Glide Ensemble. Actress Monica Barbaro, who recently received an Oscar nomination for playing Baez in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, was in attendance, as were Linda Ronstadt and local counterculture icon Wavy Gravy. Eric Steinberg, executive director at Sweet Relief Musicians Fund said, "We're thrilled to celebrate 30 years of Sweet Relief while honoring the great Joan Baez and her amazing career. Joan has supported our charity for many years, and it was a privilege to honor her alongside so many incredible artists." Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides services and financial assistance for career musicians and music industry professionals. Grants are earmarked for medical and vital living expenses, including insurance premiums, prescriptions, medical treatment and operative procedures, housing costs, food costs, utilities, and other basic necessities. The event raised more than $600,000, and 100% of all donations will go to Sweet Relief for California fire relief for distribution to victims. - Billboard, 2/10/25...... 10cc's Graham Gouldman and Kevin Godley celebrated the 50th anniversary of their 1975 hit "I'm Not In Love" on Vernon Kay's BBC Radio 2 program Piano Room on the morning of Feb. 14. Accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra at the BBC Maida Vale studios, Gouldman and Godley performed their seminal hit "I'm Not In Love" plus their new single -- "I Don't Wanna Get To Heaven," and a cover of The Everly Brothers' "All I Have To Do Is Dream." When Kay asked about "I'm Not In Love" going through different iterations, Godley said: "There were two versions, the first recording of it was dreadful. It sucked. So we put it to one side. We knew it was a good song and then we came back to it when we were deeper into the album and discovered this new way of approaching it and suddenly it came to life." A full 10cc reunion seems unlikely however, as Godley said "no" when asked if there was a chance the band would be getting back on stage together. - Music-News.com, 2/14/25...... On Feb. 12, Nordoff and Robbins, the UK's largest music therapy charity that uses music to transform lives, announced the first wave of winners for the 2025 O2 Silver Clef Awards. Pink Floyd's David Gilmour will be the 2025 recipient of the coveted O2 Silver Clef Award, which celebrates outstanding contributions to music. "It's such an honour to receive the O2 Silver Clef Award," Gilmour said in a statement. "Music speaks its own language and it's inspiring to see Nordoff and Robbins using it to make a real difference to people's lives. What they do reminds us of music's ability to reach across boundaries and bring people together." Gilmour and other 2025 winners, including Rick Astley and Soul II Soul, will be celebrated at an exclusive awards evening hosted by broadcaster Edith Bowman on July 2 at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, London. Previous winners of the prestigious O2 Silver Clef Award include David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Ed Sheeran, The Rolling Stones, Kylie Minogue and many more. First held in 1976, the O2 Silver Clef Awards is Nordoff and Robbins' largest annual fundraising event, raising over 13.5 million for the charity across its 49-year history. - Music-News.com, 2/12/25...... Ozzy Osbourne's new single "Gods of Rock N Roll" has already appeared on the charts days before its official release date of Feb. 14. It comes as the song as a new version of the Billy Morrison song "God," which appeared on his 2015 album God Shaped Hole The track saw Osbourne co-write and sing on the original, and now it has been reimagined as an orchestral edition featuring new guitar contributions from Steve Stevens. The reason that it has found its way onto the charts already comes as Morrison gave the new version of the track its premiere while on SiriusXM's Ozzy's Boneyard channel last month. Since then, it has been picked up by other radio stations and has made its way to the Number 26 spot on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. "Gods Of Rock N Roll (Orchestral)" is set to feature on the upcoming deluxe edition of Morrison's 2024 album The Morrison Project, which will arrive digitally on Feb. 21. - NME, 2/11/25...... Sir Tom Jones and Sugababes have been unveiled as headliners for the UK's 2025 Camp Bestival. The "She's A Lady" hitmaker and the "Freak Like Me" group will top the bill at the family festival at Lulworth Cove in Dorset, which takes place between July 31 and Aug. 3. They join previously confirmed headliners Basement Jaxx. Other acts on the stacked bill include Lightning Seeds, The Zutons and drum and bass legend Goldie, who will perform with a full band. - Music-News.com, 2/12/25...... The Stylistics have shared their first new song in more than 16 years, "Yes, I Will," featuring country star Shania Twain. The '70s soul legends -- who are behind the hits "You Are Everything," "Betcha by Golly, Wow," "I'm Stone in Love with You," "Break Up to Make Up" and "You Make Me Feel Brand New" -- have joined forces with the "You're Still the One" hitmaker on the lead single from their star-studded album Falling In Love With My Girl, their first in almost 20 years. Twain says she came up with the song and just so happened to be with musicians Steve Luthaker, Ray Parker Jr and Nathan East at the time, who contributed to the finished tune, but she says it wasn't until The Stylistics added their vocals that it "really came together." "I'm not known for making Soul records but Soul has always been a big influence for me musically," Twain says. "I'm so in awe of The Stylistics for their natural talent and effortless delivery. I can listen to their voices endlessly. I had this idea for the song Yes, I Will it all came together quite quickly for me lyrically and melodically, it was just a natural flow." The 21-track collection by the iconic group -- comprised of Airrion Love, Herb Murrell and Jason Sharp -- also features the likes of Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, KISS' Gene Simmons, and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons. Falling In Love With My Girl -- the group's follow-up to 2008's That Same Way -- drops on Feb. 21. - Music-News.com, 2/13/25....... In a new interview with People, Elvis Presley's ex-wife Priscilla Presley set the record straight on the end of her relationship with the King of Rock & Roll. Priscilla, 79, was married to Elvis from 1967 until 1973 and birthed his only child -- the late Lisa Marie Presley, who died in 2023 aged 54. Director Sofia Coppola released her film, titled Priscilla, in 2023 and it chronicled the romance between the star and the late music legend -- who died in 1977 aged 42. While the film was based on Priscilla's 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me, Presley says the film failed to depict the end of the relationship accurately. "The only thing was the ending. I wasn't really happy about the ending. It didn't end that way, and we ended -- Elvis and I ended very lovingly," she told People. Presley made her comments to the magazine during a panel event at MegaCon Orlando -- where she went on to explain she remained close to Elvis after their divorce. She divulged, "We kept our relationship. We did. He would drop by my home unannounced, and I was going with someone by the way, and he would come unannounced. Thank God it was two o'clock in the morning, and I knew who it was, so I quickly tried to get to the door before he rang the doorbell, and of course he came in, we went in the kitchen, we talked for a couple of hours." - Music-News.com, 2/12/25.

Monday, February 10, 2025

After announcing his first U.S. tour dates for 2025 at the end of January, Bob Dylan has unveiled a much lengthier list of dates for the next seven months for his ongoing "Rough and Rowdy Ways" tour, which also include a number of shows as part of the 2025 installment of the "Outlaw Music Festival" tour, where he will play alongside Willie Nelson, Billy Strings and others. Dylan's tour will kick off on Mar. 25 in Tulsa, Okla., also visiting Little Rock, Ark. (3/26), Springfield, Mo. (3/28), Witchita, Kan. (3/29) and Topeka, Kan. (3/30). April will see the folk rock icon play 15 shows in mostly medium-sized cities, with approximately half that amount in May, June, July, August and September as part of the Outlaw Music Festival. The tour will wrap on Sept. 19 in East Troy, Wisc. - New Musical Express, 2/9/25...... As part of the huge wave of releases for Record Store Day on Apr. 12, previously unreleased performances from John Lennon's post-Beatles final full-length solo concerts will be released on vinyl as Power To The People - Live At The One To One Concert, New York City, 1972. The special 180-gram yellow vinyl will feature performances by John and Yoko Ono' Plastic Ono Band, backed by the NYC group Elephant's Memory, from their pair of "One to One" benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City. John and Yoko played a matinee and evening performance to a total of 40,000 people on Aug. 30, 1972, to benefit children with special needs, and raised a whopping $1.5 million, with some of the money raised going to the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, N.Y., which was infamous for its poor conditions. The historical event, two years after the dissolution of the Beatles, also saw performances by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack. Produced by the couple's son, Sean Ono Lennon, the four tracks have been remixed and re-engineered from the original multi-track tapes by Paul Hicks and Sam Gannon. They include the previously unreleased performances of "Well Well Well," "Cold Turkey" and Yoko's "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking For A Hand In The Snow)," while "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" has been newly remixed. The release is limited to just 5500 copies worldwide, and more info can be found on recordstoreday.com. Meanwhile, the One To One concerts are explored in great detail in the forthcoming film, One to One: John & Yoko. Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, Marley), the documentary is an expansive look at the 18 months John and Yoko spent living in Greenwich Village in the early 1970s and delivers never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of John's only full length, post-Beatles concert. The film will air on HBO in the US and will be available to stream on Max in late 2025. - Music-News.com, 2/7/25...... Celebrated Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie has had her appointment to one Canada's highest honors -- The Order of Canada -- terminated by the country's Governor General following an investigation into Indigenous ancestry. Sainte-Marie had claimed she believed she was born on the Piapot First Nation reserve in Saskatchewan and had been adopted by the Santamaria family that raised her in Wakefield, Mass., attributing her adoption to the "Sixties Scoop," a period in the 1960s when many Indigenous babies were taken from their parents and adopted by white families. In the fall of 2023, however, a CBC Fifth Estate investigation cast doubt on her claims of Indigenous ancestry. The investigation produced a birth certificate for Sainte-Marie which lists her presumed adoptive parents as her birth parents. It also features interviews with Sainte-Marie's family members calling her claim to Indigenous identity "an elaborate fabrication," and contextualizes Sainte-Marie's career within a phenomenon of high-profile public figures who have fabricated Indigenous identity. As a young adult, Sainte-Marie was adopted by Emile Piapot and Clara Starblanket Piapot of the Piapot First Nation in Saskatchewan in accordance with Cree law and customs. Sainte-Marie issued a statement around the investigation. "For a long time, I tried to discover information about my background," she wrote. "Through that research what became clear, and what I've always been honest about, is that I don't know where I'm from or who my birth parents were, and I will never know." In a follow-up statement, she affirmed her truth. "I have never lied about my identity," Sainte-Marie said, adding that the investigation included "mistakes and omissions." In her six-decade career, Sainte-Marie has won an Oscar and a Golden Globe (both for co-writing "Up Where We Belong" from An Officer and a Gentleman), the Polaris Music Prize, seven Juno Awards (including four in categories honoring aboriginal or indigenous music), and the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, in addition to her appointment to the Order of Canada. She was first appointed to the Order in 1997, and in 2019 was made a Companion of the Order, the highest level within the Order. The 83-year-old artist also had a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 with "Mister Can't You See." - Billboard, 2/10/25...... David Johansen, the co-founder and frontman of the iconic '70s punk band The New York Dolls, has revealed that he is battling a brain tumor and stage four cancer. The news came via a Sweet Relief Fund in his name seeking to raise money for the singer's ongoing care in which his daughter, Leah Hennessey, revealed the extent of her 75-year-old father's health issues. "Five years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we discovered that David's cancer had progressed and he had a brain tumor," Leah wrote. "There have been complications ever since. He's never made his diagnosis public, as he and my mother Mara are generally very private people, but we feel compelled to share this now, due to the increasingly severe financial burden our family is facing." She noted that in a further blow, the singer known for his outrageous, high-energy stage persona, fell down a flight of stairs after Thanksgiving and broke his back in two places. Following a week-long hospital stay and a successful surgery, Leah said her dad has been bedridden and incapacitated since then and "due to the trauma, David's illness has progressed exponentially and my mother is caring for him around the clock." The family said that their most immediate needs are for full-time nursing, physical therapy and funding for day-to-day vital living expenses, aimed at helping Johansen regain "some mobility and independence." Donations to Johansen can be made via the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund at sweetrelief.org. Johansen has long been a beloved figure on the New York scene, beginning with his time as the lead singer and provocateur of the gender-bending New York Dolls. That band -- which also featured guitarists Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain, bassist Arthur Kane and drummer Jerry Nolan -- emerged from the fertile underground New York rock scene in the early 1970s, releasing a pair of albums in 1973 and 1974 that helped set the template for the punk revolution and, later, inspired the lipstick and Aqua Net late 1980s hair metal scene. In addition to the occasional reunion with the Dolls over the years, Johansen also hosted a freewheeling Sirius satellite radio show, David Johansen's Mansion of Fun and acted in projects including the HBO series Oz and the movies Scrooged, Let It Ride, Freejack, Mr. Nanny and others. He was also the subject of the 2020 Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi-directed Showtime documentary feature Personality Crisis: One Night Only, which told the singer's life story and chronicled one of his freewheeling shows at New York's Café Carlyle. - Billboard, 2/10/25...... On Feb. 7 the estate of Prince and Netflix announced a new "mutual agreement" and the cancellation of a long-awaited documentary on the late musical legend. The estate took to social media to announce its new partnership with Netflix, which will allow the estate to "develop and produce a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince's archive." The statement also confirmed the cancellation of Ezra Edelman's planned Prince documentary for Netflix, which had been in development for over four years. Edelman -- best known for his work on the O.J.: Made In America documentary -- had been working on the film for the past four years after he replaced Ava DuVernay and was given extensive access to Prince's archives. In July 2024, however, it was reported that Edelman's product had been blocked and "dead in the water" after multiple disputes with Prince's estate. The late artist's estate claimed a first cut of the Netflix film was filled with "dramatic" factual inaccuracies and "sensationalised" renderings of certain events from his life, according to Variety. The deal for the documentary also called for a six-hour series but Edelman reportedly delivered nine hours, which is said to be a violation of the agreement. Prince died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, and as he had no will, his six heirs were left to inherit equal parts in his estate. It also sparked a long legal battle over how the estate would be managed going forward. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2024. - NME, 2/7/25...... On Feb. 5 it was revealed that the most iconic lineup of Black Sabbath -- frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward -- will play live together for the first time in two decades on July 5 at Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham, UK. The news of the final live show, dubbed "Back To The Beginning," was announced at the home of Aston Villa by Iommi and Sharon Osbourne, the manager and wife of the iconic Sabbath frontman Ozzy, as well as on X/Twitter. All profits will go to the charities Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice -- a Children's Hospice supported by Aston Villa. Fans immediately took to X/Twitter to express their excitement about the long-awaited reunion. One said: "I will be doing anything to get this ticket. Sabbath and Ozzy have raised me since a teen. They are my soundtrack to this day. And the foundation of most of the music I ever listen to. God bless all 4 of you." Other acts on the bill include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax and Mastodon, and special appearances from Billy Corgan, Duff McKagan and Slash of Guns, among many more. Black Sabbath played the final show of their last farewell tour back in 2017, wrapping up the stint at Birmingham's arena. However, in May 2024 Osbourne said that he was somewhat disappointed that the last date they played didn't include Bill Ward. The drummer had parted ways with the metal legends in 2012, due to what he claimed was an "unreasonable contract." Ozzy also addressed his declining health and shared that he might have to "accept the fact" that a live comeback would potentially not be possible due to issues such as his battle with Parkinson's disease and recovery from multiple surgeries. Speaking to the BBC, Osbourne's wife and manager Sharon explained that the show was a chance for Osbourne to end a career which has been affected in recent years by numerous cancellations and health issues. "He's doing great. He's doing really great," she said. "He's so excited about this, about being with the guys again and all his friends. It's exciting for everyone. Ozzy didn't have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there's no been no full stop. This is his full stop." The news of the final Sabbath show comes as the 76-year-old Osbourne revealed he can no longer walk during his SiriusXM program Ozzy's Boneyard "I have made it to 2025. I can't walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all my complaining, I'm still alive," he said. "I may be moaning that I can't walk, but I look down the road, and there's people that didn't do half as much as me and didn't make it." NME/Billboard/Music-News.com, 2/5/25...... The new Led Zeppelin documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin premiered in IMAX theaters in the UK on Feb. 7. In May 2019, Becoming Led Zeppelin was announced via an excitable press release featuring quotes from each member. After that: radio silence -- except for news of a 7-inch vinyl "Immigrant Song" single that was confirmed in Oct. 2020 but abruptly cancelled without explanation a day before it was due out. On top of that, neither Robert Plant, Jimmy Page nor John Paul Jones attended the film's premiere events in Los Angeles and London earlier in 2025. Director/co-writer Bernard MacMahon says the involvement of the surviving Zeppelin members was "a miracle" and there's no way of telling whether the film could precipitate a potential band reunion. "That's the exciting thing about Zeppelin. There's no way of telling what's gonna happen or what's gonna go on. There's nothing predictable about them -- and that's what makes them interesting." The official trailer for Becoming Led Zeppelin has been shared on YouTube. - NME, 2/7/25...... Rod Stewart revealed on Feb. 9 that his friend and old Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood will be joining him during his prestigious Sunday afternoon Legends slot performance at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival this summer. "Rod is really excited about his big Worthy Farm gig and wanted to give a nod to the beginning of his career, so thought it would be fitting to bring out Ronnie," a source close to Sir Rod told the UK paper The Sun's Bizarre column. "He knows the pair of them together will be a huge crowd pleaser," the source added. Stewart, 80, previously declared that he is "proud, ready and more than able to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury" next summer. He wrote on Instagram: "I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that I'll be playing Glastonbury Festival 2025! After all these years, I'm proud and ready and more than able to take the stage again to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury in June. I'll see you there!" Rod will become the first artist to have headlined Glastonbury and later been given the Legends slot after he previously topped the bill at the festival in 2002 alongside Coldplay and Stereophonics. Fans in America can catch Stewart at Atlantic City's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Feb. 23. - Music-News.com, 2/9/25...... The UK's Royal Mail announced on Feb. 6 that they will celebrate Australia's AC/DC with an official series of 12 special Royal Mail stamps. The stamps will mark the 50th anniversary of the band's debut album High Voltage and will depict the group in live performances in venues around the world. There will be 12 stamps in total, with four of them featuring the covers of four of the band's classic albums - High Voltage, Highway To Hell, Back In Black and Power Up. That band line-up will also be presented in a miniature sheet together. David Gold, director of external affairs and policy at Royal Mail, said: "AC/DC is one of the most successful rock bands in the world. Over the past half century, they have recorded some of the best-known rock anthems and have given us 'Back In Black' -- the biggest-selling rock album of all time. These stamps capture a sample of their electrifying live performances, along with some of their most iconic album covers, and celebrate their significant contribution to the world of rock music." AC/DC become the eighth artist to be honoured with their own dedicated Royal Mail stamp range, following on from The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden, Spice Girls and The Who. The AC/DC stamps can be viewed and pre-orderd at shop.royalmail.com/acdc. AC/DC recently announced a new European tour for 2025, consisting of 12 dates across 10 countries. Kicking off in Prague on June 26, it runs through to Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium on Aug. 21, their first Scottish show in a decade. - NME, 2/6/25...... The heirs of two former member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience say Sony owes them millions, and now their lawsuit is headed to trial after a UK court rejected Sony's appeal. The estates of bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell say they own a share of the rights to three albums created by the trio's JHE, and they've been battling in court with Sony and Experience Hendrix LLC for more than three years to prove it. In a ruling on Feb. 6, the U.K.'s Court of Appeal upheld a decision issued in 2024 that said the dispute must be decided at trial, rejecting Sony's request to overturn that ruling and dismiss the case: "In my judgment the judge was correct," Lord Justice Richard Arnold wrote in the new ruling. In a statement celebrating that ruling, a rep for Redding and Mitchell's heirs say that their case is now scheduled to proceed to trial in December -- more than four years after they first sued. "Noel and Mitch first issued their complaint in November 2021 and after the latest delaying tactic of Sony to deny them justice the case now moves to a full trial," said Edward Adams, a director for the heirs. "We retain our faith in the justice system that they and [Experience Hendrix] will be finally held fully to account at that time." A spokesperson for Sony did not immediately return a request for comment on the ruling. - Billboard, 2/6/25...... Neil Young announced on his website on Feb. 5 that he's eying an April release for his debut album with his new band The Chrome Hearts. The Chrome Hearts, as Young himself describes, "reconfigures musicians he has worked with before," with guitarist Micah Nelson, bassist Corey McCormick, drummer Anthony Logerfo, and organist Spooner Oldham comprising the lineup. While Nelson, McCormick, and Logerfo have performed with Young as members of Promise of the Real, Oldham has worked with Young for decades, appearing on records such as 1978's Comes a Time and 1992's Harvest Moon. Young added that the record is now in the mastering stage for vinyl, CD, and digital copies that are expected to be released in only a couple of months. "I am very happy and relieved to have ths [sic] done in the short time it took," he explained. "The album art has been completed and handed in with Jenice Heo. I am working on the lyric sheets now, hoping to hand-write the words and get them in, in time. It is a happy feeling I have today, knowing I have made an album I think people will enjoy. I hope it's out in April. That would be pretty fast," he added. Young and The Chrome Hearts will also be performing at England's Glastonbury Festival in June. - Billboard, 2/5/25...... Donny Osmond is set to share the stage with a younger version of himself from 1972 "thanks to some mind-blowing AI and CGI technology." The Osmonds star, 67, has shared introduced his new "co-star" for the remaining dates of his solo residency at Harrah's Las Vegas -- an avatar of 14-year-old teenage heartthrob Donny. In an Instagram video introducing "AI Donny," he said: "I have a new co-star at my Las Vegas residency, and we are going to be making history together. Can you imagine sharing the stage with your 14-year-old-self? Well, it's happening, thanks to some mind-blowing AI and CGI technology, I'm going to be talking and singing with Donny Osmond, you know the one from 1972." Donny is then joined by the avatar and asks him: "What does it feel like to sing with yourself 50 years in the future?" The young Donny said it was like performing with his "grandpa." To which, the real Donny replied: "You're my grandson, Daxton Osmond." At a click of the fingers, Donny and Daxton's faces interchanged. The "Puppy Love" hitmaker started his residency at Harrah's in Las Vegas back in 2021 and it will wrap in June. Speaking about the rise in the use of AI (artificial intelligence), Donny previously told Fox News Digital: "AI is a tool, not a substitute. So, I love the prospects of AI. I love what it can do for me as a producer, as an artist -- as a tool. And that's it." - Music-News.com, 2/7/25...... Guitarist Mike Ratledge, a co-founder of the British psych-rock band Soft Machine, died on Feb. 5. He was 81. The news of his passing was shared by his former Soft Machine bandmate John Etheridge, who explained that the death was related to a recent illness. "Incredibly sad news that my great friend and Soft Machine legend passed away two hours ago after a brief illness," he wrote. "Mike was the backbone of Soft Machine in the early years and a man with an absolutely incisive mind -- a marvellous composer and keyboardist. A real renaissance man -- so talented, cultured, charming -- and a wonderful companion. We used to meet every few weeks for over 40 yrs -- a treat for me. What a loss to all of us and his sisters and wonderful girlfriend Elena, who were with him at the end." Mr. Ratledge was born in Kent in 1943 and began his time in the music industry as a teenager when he Daevid Allen and joined his band the Daevid Allen Trio. As well as that, he grew up learning piano and clarinet and went on to get a degree in psychology and philosophy from Oxford's University College. He formed Soft Machine with Allen, Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers in 1966, and although the members would shift over the years, he remained the longest-serving member. He left the group in 1976. The band would make a name for themselves through their psych-pop, progressive sound and blend of jazz fusion. Alongside his work with Soft Machine, Mr. Ratledge also took on work as a composer and producer, working on various projects on television and in the theatre. He also famously joined forces with composer Karl Jenkins for his Adiemus: Songs Of Sanctuary album, and continued to work with Jenkins in the following years. - NME, 2/6/25.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

A year-long celebration of the legacy of Bob Marley will kick off Feb. 6 with an "Uprising Bob Marley Tribute Concert" livestream from the Marley family's Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica. In memory of what would have been the 80th birthday of the reggae icon, the concert features a slew of popular and new Jamaican entertainers, including Mortimer, Bugle, Kumar Fyah, Naomi Cowan, Quan Dajai, Kelly Shane, and Alexx A-Game, several of whom were featured in the 2024 Bob Marley: One Love movie. Other highlights featured in the livestream will be a countdown of the best live performances from past birthdays, stand-alone performances paying tribute, a showcase of the ongoing impact of his charitable Bob Marley Foundation organization, and more. The livestream happens on Feb. 6 from 3:00 pm ET-7:00 pm ET on Tuff Gong TV's official YouTube channel. Additional festivities include the premiere episode of Bob Marley & I on Tuff Gong TV's livestream, with more episodes being showcased throughout the year. Additional information on MARLEY 80 events will be revealed soon. One-quarter of all reggae music listened to in the US is Bob Marley's, and his Bob Marley's Legend compilation was recently re-certified 18x platinum by the RIAA. Legendis the fourteenth-biggest-selling album of all time and the third-biggest-selling Greatest Hits package in United States history. - Music-News.com, 2/5/25...... On Feb. 5 Elton John and Brandi Carlile announced details of a new collaborative album called Who Believes In Angels? that is set to drop on Apr. 4 via Island EMI. According to a press release, the album was started in Los Angeles back in Oct. 2023 and came together in less than three weeks. As for the sound, it is set to "draw comparisons with some of Elton's very finest works [as] ballads co-exist with raw rock and roll, pop songs and country-hued Americana rub shoulders with synth-heavy psychedelia." The album sees the artists join forces with long-time collaborators Andrew Watt -- who produced the record -- and John's longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. Other contributors include Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith, Pino Palladino (Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan and David Gilmour) and Josh Klinghoffer (Pearl Jam, Beck). The album will also feature the 2025 Oscar-nominated song "Never Too Late," which was created especially for the Disney+ Elton documentary of the same name. The title track of Who Believes in Angels? and a making-of film can be viewed on YouTube. John and Carlile have also confirmed a special one-off concert showcasing the album at The London Palladium on on Mar. 26. Elton's last album was 2021's The Lockdown Sessions, and his last album of original material was 2016's Wonderful Crazy Night. - New Musical Express, 2/5/25...... MTV has announced a new feature-length Eric Clapton special of Clapton's 1992 MTV Unplugged performance. An all-new extended, remixed and remastered edition of the iconic session, Eric Clapton Unplugged - Over 30 Years Later, will be available to stream globally on Paramount+ beginning Feb. 12. It will also include exclusive content of the legendary guitarist/singer discussing the inspiration behind specific songs and performances with the crew just before he took the stage at Bray Studios in Windsor, Berkshire for the show, seamlessly integrated with the performance footage. A subsequently released live album of the session, Eric Clapton: Unplugged, sold over 26million copies and would also go on to become the best-selling live album of all time. The new 90-minute Over 30 Years Later film premiered in select UK and US cinemas in January, and its official trailer can be streamed on YouTube. Meanwhile, Clapton is readying to head out on the road in the UK this May, in support of his 22nd and latest album Meanwhile. He'll play three headline shows at the historic Royal Albert Hall in London, and perform at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. The forthcoming dates are set to be Clapton's only UK gigs of 2025. His stop in Nottingham will mark his first visit to the city since 2008. - NME, 2/5/25...... On Feb. 5 heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath announced details of their final-ever live show, set for July 5 in Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham, England. During a press conference in Villa Park, Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne's wife/manager Sharon Osbourne said the show has been dubbed "Black Sabbath - Back To The Beginning" and in addition to Ozzy and Iommi will feature the other two members of the band's classic lineup, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward, with the quartet playing together fir the first time in two decades. "It's my time to go 'Back To The Beginning' time for me to give back to the place where I was born," Ozzy said in a statement. "How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever." Alongside Black Sabbath reuniting, the gig will play host to performances from dozens more icons of the genre, including sets from Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, as well as the likes of Pantera, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Alice In Chains, Halestorm and recent Grammy Award-winners Gojira. Profits from the show will go to the following charities: Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice, a Children's Hospice supported by Villa Park and Aston Villa. - Billboard, 2/5/25...... Cheap Trick will be among the headliners at the upcoming Pure Imagination Fest on May 17 in Prescott, Ariz. Other headliners include Grammy-nominated artist Matisyahu, and Grammy winning hip-hop group Arrested Development. Also on the bill is the 80s ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk outfit English Beat, as well as Gone Gone Beyond, Kelsey Waldon, Ponderosa Grove, Bird and Byron, Kids In America, Pijama Piyama and Dutch Holly. Since its debut in 2022, the female-founded and curated Pure Imagination Fest has become a standout experience, seamlessly merging music, nature, and culture with an eco-conscious ethos in the traditional lands of several Native American tribes. "Pure Imagination is about more than just music," event founder Candace Devine says. "It's about creating an unforgettable experience where people can connect, be inspired, and celebrate the power of art in one of the most beautiful places in the world." The event's 2024 promo video can be viewed on YouTube, and tickets are on sale now at www.pureimaginationfestival.com. - Billboard, 2/4/25...... Van Morrison has announced he'll launch a brief UK headline tour at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham on Mar. 18, then visiting Birmingham's Symphony Hall (Mar. 19), the New Theatre Oxford (23) and The Subscription Rooms in Stroud (24). The forthcoming tour is described as a "unique opportunity to experience Van Morrison live" in intimate, "specially selected venues." The Celtic crooner had previously announced two homecoming shows at Whitla Hall in Belfast on Feb. 21 and 22, as well as European headline gigs in Antwerp, Brussels and The Hague. Morrison is supporting his latest album, 2024's New Arrangements And Duets, comprised of unreleased material the Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer had in his catalogue. The collection boasts collaborations with the likes of Willie Nelson, Joss Stone, Curtis Stigers and Kurt Elling. Morrison last performed live in the UK in Sept. 2024, and played a show at London's historic Royal Albert Hall last summer. - NME, 2/5/25...... On Feb. 4 The Doobie Brothers shared details on Instagram of a new 2025 UK and Ireland summer tour that kicks off on July 11 in Glasgow, also visiting London's BST Hyde Park on July 13 (opening for Jeff Lynne's ELO), Manchester (July 15), Birmingham (July 17) and London's The O2 (July 19) before wrapping at 3Arena in Dublin on July 21. The Doobies are touring behind their forthcoming studio effort, Walk This Road, set for June 6. It sees the band feature the reunited line-up of Tom Johnson, Patrick Simmons, Michael McDonald and John McFee, and will be their first LP since 2021's Libert. That band is scheduled to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame later in 2025. They were first inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, and then added to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004. Speaking of Jeff Lynne's ELO, support acts for the band's headlining London BST Hyde Park set on July 13 have been confirmed. In addition to the Doobie Brothers, Steve Winwood and Dhani Harrison will also be opening for Lynne and his band. Winwood is expected to break out songs from his time with bands like Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith, and Harrison is expected to play selections from his famous dad George Harrison's catalogue, alond with songs from his two albums IN///PARALLEL and INNERSTANDING. In other Jeff Lynne news, ELO has also shared news of more farewell shows, taking place across the rest of the UK later in 2025. Two dates were confirmed, with the first being held on July 5 at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, and the second at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on July 9. - NME, 2/4/25...... The Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 2 featured a star-studded tribute performance recognizing producer/composer/instrumentalist Quincy Jones's varied musical achievements throughout the decades. The performance was introduced by actor Will Smith, who acknowledged his career would not be what it is without Jones, who produced Smith's debut acting gig TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The musical portion of the tribute to Jones began with legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock playing Jones' classic '60s instrumental "Killer Joe." Hancock was then joined by vocal powerhouse Cynthia Erivo for a show-stopping performance of "Fly Me to the Moon," which became a signature song for Frank Sinatra with Jones arranging his performance. The duo were then replaced by country star Lainey Wilson for a rollicking performance of Jones' '90s rave-up "Let the Good Times Roll." After that, Hancock was welcomed back to the keys, along with all-time great Stevie Wonder on harmonica for a rendition of Jones' version of jazz staple "Bluesette." Wonder then capped the tribute by introducing (and leading the crowd in a singalong of) "We Are the World," the all-star USA for Africa charity single that Jones produced 40 years earlier in 1985. Jones is one of the most decorated figures in the history of the Grammys, winning 28 awards over the course of his generation-spanning career -- including two album of the year wins for Micheal Jackson's Thriller (1984) and his own Back on the Block (1991). Also during the Grammys, The Rolling Stones picked up a Best Rock Album award for their 2024 album Hackney Diamonds. Accepting the trophy on the Stones' behalf, Andrew Watt, producer of Hackney Diamonds, said: "Talked to Mick [Jagger] yesterday and he just wanted to say a big thank you to the Academy from the entire band. The legendary Frankie Valli of The Four Seasons was also honored with a Special Merit Award by the Recording Academy on Feb. 1. Valli made note of how long it took the Recording Academy to get around to him. Valli has never won a Grammy, on his own or in the Four Seasons, which landed their first three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962-63. "This has been an incredible evening," he said. "I don't know what took so long, but that's the way it goes." - Billboard, 2/2/25...... As he attended the Janie's Fund Grammys viewing party in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood opened up to US Weekly about his former bandmates Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham "I always have a fantasy that [Stevie] and Lindsay would pal up a bit more and just say everything's OK for them both. But we've had such an incredible career," Fleetwood told the magazine. This is not the first time Fleetwood has opened up about wanting Nicks and Buckingham to be friendlier. In 2024, he spoke to Mojo and shared: "It's no secret, it's no tittle-tattle that there is a brick wall there emotionally. Stevie's able to speak clearly about how she feels and doesn't feel, as does Lindsey. But I'll say, personally, I would love to see a healing between them -- and that doesn't have to take the shape of a tour, necessarily." In 2024, Buckingham shared that he would rejoin the Fleetwood Mac line-up "in a heartbeat," and Nicks has said there's "no reason" for the band to get together after the passing of Christine McVie. It was announced in 2024 that a "fully authorised," "definitive" Fleetwood Mac documentary to chronicle the history of the legendary band is in the works. - NME, 2/4/25...... Also at the Janie's Fund Grammy Viewing Party at the Hollywood Paladium, former Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler made his first return to the stage since Aerosmith's announcement that they were retiring from touring. Performing with Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt, Tyler's six-song set featured a rendition of Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic", Extreme's "More Than Words" with Mick Fleetwood, and "Dream On" with Lainey Wilson. Joined by Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton and the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson for performances of "Sweet Emotion," and "Walk This Way," the high-profile set closed out with a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker." The performance was only Tyler's second time appearing on stage since his vocal injury. In May 2024 -- months before Aerosmith announced their retirement from touring -- Tyler performed "Mama Kin" with the Black Crowes in London. At the time, the Black Crowes were planning to resume their role as the opening act for Aerosmith's then-postponed "Peace Out" tour later in the year. While performing in Elmont, NY on Sept. 9 of that year, Tyler fractured his larynx, necessitating the postponement of shows on their "Peace Out" tour. Ultimately, these shows were canceled entirely when the band announced their retirement from touring in Aug. 2024. It's currently unclear whether Tyler's return to the live stage could result in anything more in the future, though Hamilton did speak to Boston's WBUR in January to give an update on the possibility of one-off Aerosmith appearances down the line. "Steven's healing process is going really, really well, but it goes at its own pace," Hamilton told the station. "Maybe Aerosmith will do something in the future, but it's a big if and the last thing I want to be doing is to try and push Steven in that direction. If we do anything in the future, it would come from him." - Billboard, 2/3/25...... AC/DC announced on Instagram on Feb. 3 that they're bringing their "PWR UP" tour back to Europe this summer with a 12-date run of shows as part of their ongoing global tour. The new shows will kick off on June 26 at LetH
any Airport in Prague, Czech Republic, and touch down in stadiums in Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Estonia, Sweden, Norway and France before winding down at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium on Aug. 21. The new European dates join the Aussie headbangers' first planned U.S. tour in nine years. That run is slated to hit 13 stadiums across the nation from April 10 through May 28. The shows will kick off on April 10 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN, before moving on to Arlington, TX, Pasadena (CA), Vancouver, Las Vegas, Detroit, Foxborough (MA), Pittsburgh, Landover (MD), Tampa, Nashville and Chicago before winding down on May 28 at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland. - Billboard, 2/3/25...... A special vinyl edition of David Bowie's 2003 concert album Ready, Set, Go! set for release on Record Store Day (Apr. 12) via Parlophone Records. The limited edition double vinyl LP is a live recording of Bowie's Sept. 8, 2003 interactive satellite event which took place at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, London. The event aired in 86 theatres across 26 countries and featured a Q&A segment with Bowie himself. The one-off concert saw the rock icon perform his album Reality in its entirety for the first time ever. - NME, 1/31/25...... Paul McCartney has paid tribute to the late "beautiful, sweet" UK singer Marianne Faithfull who passed away in London on Jan. 30 at age 78. The following day Sir Paul took to his official Instagram account o share a black and white photo of him alongside Faithfull, writing. "What sad news that Marianne Faithfull has passed away." He continued: "She came into my life in the Sixties and was a beautiful, sweet 17 year old who radiated innocent joy. Then through the years I was lucky enough to run into her and to become a life-long friend. It's very sad to think that I won't be meeting her again but my memories of our encounters over the years will always bring me joy. May god bless you Marianne and guide you in the next steps of your journey - Paul." Faithfull was a key figure in the 'Swinging London' arts and music scene in the '60s, becoming one of the leading female artists during the British Invasion era. She is remembered for hits including 'As Tears Go By' and for her roles on stage and screen, and also for her four-year relationship with The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. - NME, 1/31/25...... Speaking of The Rolling Stones, the band has reportedly scrapped plans for a 2025 UK and European tour citing complications with venues and travel. According to various reports from outlets including London's The Times, the iconic group opted against a return to touring later in 2025 following a proposed multi-million pound stop at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium being rejected, amid other shows across Europe. The outlets state that the band's remaining members, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, were presented with multiple-date options for shows in 2025, but these were soon dismissed due to complications around suitable venues, travel and pre-existing commitments. These reportedly included visits to Paris, Barcelona, Rome and four gigs at the aforementioned Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. - NME, 1/31/25...... An auction featuring items once belonging to the late Leonard Cohen is set to take place on February 28 in Los Angeles via Julien's Auction. The lot is comprised of 164 items, with the majority of them coming from the collections of Cohen's longtime friend Aviva Layton and romantic and creative partner Anjani Thomas. Among the items in the collection set to go under the hammer are various typed and handwritten works by Cohen including lyrics, letters, poems, postcards and manuscripts. Those items are expected to be bought for prices within the low thousands. One of the more impressive pieces that is included in the lot is one of the legendary musician's personal notebooks from 2007 which features 76 pages of notes, poems, and drafts of lyrics. The notebook is expected to sell within the $8,000-$12,000 range. An announcement of the auction has been shared on Julien's Instagram page. - NME, 1/31/25...... Joni Mitchell made a rare live appearance at the LA FireAid benefit show at the Kia Forum on Jan. 30. At the event to provide financial support for the victims of the recent devastating Los Angeles wildfires, one of the most memorable moments came as the 81-year-old iconic singer-songwriter took to the stage for a moving rendition of her hit "Both Sides Now" from her 1969 album Clouds. The singer remained seated on a gold throne as she broke out the track, and was joined by Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, as well as Lucius, Taylor MacKall, Blake Mills, and Abe Rounds. Footage of the performance can be viewed on X and YouTube. The appearance of Mitchell comes after the legendary artist has only made a select few live performances in recent years. The most recent of which was a set called the "Joni Jam" -- her first headline show in Los Angeles in 24 years, where she broke out rarities that had not been played live in decades. Before then, she delivered a moving set at the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony, which led to a standing ovation from the audience. - NME, 1/31/25...... Brian Murphy, the UK actor and comedian best known for his role in the 1970s British sitcoms Man About the House and George and Mildred, passed away at his home in Kent on Feb. 2. He was 92. Born on the Isle of Wight in 1932, Mr. Murphy's acting career began in the 1950s when he became a member of the pioneering Theatre Workshop. Founded by Joan Littlewood and her partner Gerry Raffles, it was dedicated to modernising theatre and reaching working-class audiences. Mr. Murphy performed in many Shakespeare productions directed by Littlewood, and acted in her only feature film, the kitchen sink comedy Sparrows Can't Sing. Mr. Murphy was best known for his role in Man About the House, an ITV sitcom exploring the dynamics of one man and two women sharing a flat together in the 1970's, which later became the inspiration for a hit American spin-off, Three's Company. He went on to star in the spin-off George and Mildred, in which Mr. Murphy played a henpecked George Roper opposite fellow Theatre Workshop actress Yootha Joyce as his wife. He is survived by his wife, Hi-de-Hi! actress Linda Regan, and his two sons. - BBC.com, 2/5/25.

Friday, January 31, 2025

Patti Smith is reassuring her fans that she's "fine" after collapsing on stage in São Paulo, Brazil, on Jan. 29. "This is letting everyone know that I am fine," the 78-year-old singer-songwriter posted on her Instagram the following day, alongside a selfie smiling and waving at the camera. "A grossly exaggerated account is being spread by the press and social media. I had some post migraine dizziness. Had a small incident, left the stage, and returned 10 minutes later and talked to the people, told them I was fine and sang them Wing and Because the night." Adding that she was "absolutely fine" after being checked out by a health professional, the "Gloria" singer concluded with "With all the strife in the world, this explainable incident does not merit so much attention. Thank you everyone for your concern. Trust me I am fine." Smith is currently on the South American leg of her "Correspondences Tour" with the experimental duo Soundwalk Collective, which will also visit Argentina, Chile and Colombia. - Billboard, 1/30/25...... Alice Cooper took to Instagram on Jan. 28 to share details of two UK concerts this summer. Cooper and his band will play Cardiff's Utilita Arena on July 22 and Edinburgh's Playhouse on July 23, marking his only performances in Scotland and Wales for 2025. The shock rock icon is expected to break out a number of fan favourites like "Under My Wheels," "Schools Out," Poison," "Billion Dollar Babies" and "No More Mr Nice Guy," along with selections from his latest album, 2023's Road. Both cities were chosen as neither made it onto the tour itinerary for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee last time. "Cardiff and Edinburgh - you can't escape! We missed you last year, but now we're coming back. Alice would never let you down," Cooper posted. "Can't wait to see all the Sick Things at our shows at Utilita Arena in Cardiff on July 22 and the Edinburgh Playhouse on July 23." According to a press release, the shows will bring fans closer than ever to the show, incorporating "giant video screens blending the live action with pre-recorded scenes to delve deeper into Alice's world." - NME, 1/28/25...... Despite having starred in a Pizza Hut commercial back in 1995, Ringo Starr revealed he's actually never eaten pizza before during an appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Jan. 29. As part of his chat, host Jimmy Kimmel asked Ringo to set some rumors about himself straight, including the claim that the famous drummer had never eaten pizza. "I've never had a pizza," Starr confirmed, as the audience expressed their shock at the news. "Or a curry." "I'm allergic to several items," he continued. "With pizza, you don't know what you're putting in it half the time. Or the curry. So I'm strict with myself since it makes me ill immediately." "I used to think you had the greatest life, and now I realize mine is better," Kimmel joked in response. Added Starr: "Yours is better because you've had a pizza." In a 1995 Pizza Hut marketing campaign, Starr promoted the pizza chain's newly-introduced stuffed crust as part of a 30-second spot which saw him teasing a reunion from The Beatles. The ad's punchline sees Ringo joined by members of The Monkees instead ("Wrong lads," he quips), with all four musicians appearing to bite a piece of pizza -- crust-first. Ringo is promoting his 21st studio album Look Up, which has debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard all-genre Top Album Sales Chart and at No. 27 on the Top Country Albums Chart. - Billboard, 1/29/25...... In other Beatles-related news, Wings' classic 1975 set Venus and Mars will be reissued in a special half-speed master vinyl edition to mark its 50th anniversary. The original version of the LP arrived ahead of Macca and co's legendary "Wings Over The World" tour, and was preceded by the US Number One single "Listen To What The Man Said". Additionally, the album featured "Letting Go" -- a fan favorite in McCartney's solo live set to this day. The album peaked at No. 1 in the US and UK, and went on to sell over four million copies worldwide. The 50th anniversary vinyl edition was cut at half speed using a high-resolution transfer of the original master tapes from 1975 by Miles Showell at the historic Abbey Road Studios in London. The 50th anniversary edition Venus and Mars is set for release on Mar. 21, and the album will also arrive in Dolby Atmos on streaming sites for the first time, newly mixed by Giles Martin and Steve Orchard. The reissue marks the first scheduled Wings release of 2025, following the theatrical release of the film One Hand Clapping and its accompanying 1974 live-in-studio album in 2024. Wings also shared a five-decade edition of their 1973 third album, Band On The Run, in early 2024. In December, McCartney teased that he hoped to finish a new solo album in 2025. - New Musical Express, 1/28/25...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, pop sensation Robbie Williams has tied The Beatles' record for the most UK No. 1 albums with his latest album Better Man. The original soundtrack to his acclaimed Michael Gracey-directed biopic, Better Man is currently at the top of the UK's Official Albums Chart, drawing level with The Beatles' 15 UK No. 1's. - Music-News.com, 1/25/25...... Cher once sang she wanted to "turn back time," and now the superstar diva has filmed a hilarious new commercial for Uber Eats in Australia in which a mysterious time machine is delivered to the singer's doorstep just as she's listening to her own 1989 smash "If I Could Turn Back Time." Cher immediately knows where she wants to go -- "Take me back to the '80s," she tells the device -- but instead of the 20th century, she ends up in the 1680s. When she arrives in the middle of a colonial settlement, it's hard to say who's more confused -- Cher or the locals, who take note of her futuristic appearance and accuse her of being a witch. "I'm not a witch -- I'm an icon!" she says in futile protest, with the villagers proceeding to burn her at the stake. In a statement about the project, Cher said, "I get approached to do commercials all the time -- but the creativity and hilarity that Uber Eats presented appealed to me right away. I am really proud of the final product. I sincerely hope Uber will get me back my boots." Cher's time travel commercial can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 1/29/25...... '70s stars Smokey Robinson, John Fogerty and Emmylou Harris will be among the artists celebrated at the upcoming 2025 American Music Honors ceremony set for Apr. 26 at Monmouth University in New Jersey. The event will be hosted by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music, and Springsteen, his wife Patti Scialfa and Springsteen's fellow E Street Band members Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren will serve as presenters. "This year's honorees represent a cross-section of American music," said Robert Santelli, founding executive director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives. "Rock, Americana, soul, and country are all represented by some of the most important artists from each genre. We are most excited to honor them and welcome them into the American Music Center family." Other honorees include NJ natives Tom Morello and Joe Ely. - Billboard, 1/29/25...... A tribute to late legendary producer Quincy Jones will be headlined by Stevie Wonder at the 2025 Grammy Awards. Wonder and rising singer Janelle Monáe will lead the celebration of Jones, who died at the age of 91 in Nov. 2024 following a battle with pancreatic cancer, as part of the in-memoriam segment during the upcoming ceremony, with Herbie Hancock, Cynthia Erivo and Lainey Wilson to also feature. "The entire Grammys could have actually been Quincy Jones," says Grammys exec producer Raj Kapoor. "The wealth of work, the wealth of genres, the amount of music that he has touched - he really is the dude," he praised, referencing Quincy's 1981 album, The Dude. A separate tribute to the city of Los Angeles amid the recent wildfires featuring several top artists is also being planned. The 2025 Grammy Awards will take place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 2. - Music-News.com, 1/30/25...... Posting on X/Twitter on Jan. 27, Bob Dylan paid tribute to late The Band member Garth Hudson, just days after the beloved Canadian musician's death at the age of 87. Dylan took to his newly-created X account to share a brief reflection on Hudson's musical legacy. "Sorry to hear the news about Garth Hudson. He was a beautiful guy and the real driving force behind The Band," Dylan wrote. "Just listen to the original recording of The Weight and you'll see." Hudson died on Jan. 21, becoming the final member of The Band's most famous lineup to pass away. Hudson officially began his tenure with The Band in 1965, after they had finished a two-year stint as The Hawks, the back-up group for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. That same year, The Band met Dylan who recruited them to become his backing group for a 1965 U.S. tour and an accompanying world tour in 1966. The following year, Dylan and The Band recorded the 1967 sessions known as The Basement Tapes which would later form the basis of The Band's 1968 debut, Music from The Big Pink. Alongside many of their best-known songs, the record also included what is possibly their best-known song, "The Weight," as referenced by Dylan in his own tribute. In Sept. 2024, Dylan released the expansive box set The 1974 Live Recordings, which featured 431 live live tracks documenting the titular 1974 tour with The Band as his backing group. Alongside his tribute to Hudson, Dylan also announced the initial dates for his 2025 touring plans. The first four dates see Dylan performing in Tulsa, Okla. (3/25), Witchita, Kan. (3/29), Mankato, Minn. (4/4) and Green Bay, Wisc. (4/6). - Billboard, 1/27/25...... The Sex Pistols have announced a US tour with singer Frank Carter. The iconoclastic "God Save the Queen'" rockers haven't performed in America at all since 2008 and last toured there in 2003 but guitarist Steve Jones has confirmed he, bassist Glen Matlock and drummer Paul Cook are excited to be heading out on the road with their new singer, though he refused to share any specific details. Jones says "...no one knows where we're going to be playing... I don't wanna put my foot in it! I'm excited. I know the dates, so I know it's gonna be good." The Sex Pistols reformed in 2024 for a UK tour with Gallows frontman Carter as vocalist in place of John Lydon and Jones revealed Carter was the only singer they tried working with. "Frank was the first singer we [tried], because me, Cookie and Glen wanted to play. It just worked straight away," Jones said. The group have also recently announced an Australian tour, and will perform at London's Royal Albert Hall in late March as part of the charity concert series in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The shows, taking place from Mar. 24-29, will also feature performances by The Who on Mar. 27 and Mar. 30. The Sex Pistols featuring Carter will perform on Mar. 24. - Music-News.com, 1/28/25...... Two of David Bowie's closest former collaborators have announced they are reuniting for a 16-city "Berlin Trilogy" tour of the UK and Europe in 2025. The D.A.M. Trilogy, made up of drummer Dennis Davis, guitarist Carlos Alomar and bassist George Murray, worked regularly with Bowie during his Berlin period in the late 1970s. Now, they'll reunite in a 16-date tour which will honour both Bowie's legacy and Davis', who died in 2016. The band, which will include additional new members, will play hits from across the late singer's Berlin album trilogy: Low, "Heroes" and Lodger. Coined the "Back To Berlin" tour, the string of shows will kick off in the city on Nov. 7, before they head to Oslo, Malmo, Paris, London and more. They'll wrap up on Dec. 1 with a final performance in Dublin. Alomar, who recorded with Bowie across 11 albums, including Young Americans, the Berlin Trilogy and, most recently, 2003's Reality, says: "Where other bands have toured Bowie's songs extensively since his passing, these songs haven't been performed the way they were meant to be. Until now. The Spiders from Mars are well known, but the D.A.M. Trio remains rock and roll's best-kept secret. It's time to honour our legacy, including Dennis's." Elsewhere, Bowie lieutenants Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey have announced a 2025 UK tour dubbed "A Celebration Of David Bowie." - NME, 1/27/25...... Queen guitarist Brian May's actress wife Anita Dobson has revealed that her husband is a huge Star Wars fan and has accumulated a vast collection of figures and ships inspired by the sci-fi film series that premiered back in 1977. Dobson, who played Angie Watts in the UK series EastEnders in the 1980s -- says Brian buys new Star Wars merchandise too and he always purchases two items, one to keep in the box and one to gift to his grandchildren. Speaking recently at the launch of Cirque du Soleil show Corteo at London's Royal Albert Hall, she said: "Brian is a collector of 'Star Wars' toys. And astronomical stuff, Queen stuff. He's a big collector... He's bought quite a lot. It's eased off a bit, as he's gone through life. His favourite is the little green guy, he loves Yoda. He also loves dinosaurs, like most kids do, and prehistoric creatures." Anita added Brian's collection of Queen memorabilia is staggering and will one day go on display for fans of the band to enjoy. She said: "He's got all his costumes, all his records, all those one-off records, loads of stuff. His legend will live on forever, as will Queen's." - Music-News.com, 1/26/25...... A scene from the 1970s Wonder Woman television series has resurfaced, sending social media into a frenzy. The 94-second clip features iconic '70s Wonder Woman Lynda Carter pulling off a skateboard car chase that has captivated viewers for all the wrong -- or maybe right -- reasons. With over a million views on X, the video (also available on YouTube) has sparked equal parts nostalgia, laughter, and secondhand embarrassment. The clip begins with Diana Prince (Wonder Woman's alter ego) transforming into her superhero persona through her signature twirl. But instead of the usual star-spangled outfit, she emerges in full skateboard safety gear: a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. Viewers are then treated to Wonder Woman chasing down a car while expertly maneuvering a skateboard through city streets. The scene features plenty of questionable physics, slow-motion hero shots, and a vibe that screams, "We had a tight budget, but we made it work!" And while it may have been groundbreaking in the 1970s, modern audiences can't help but laugh at its over-the-top execution. The Wonder Woman series, which ran from 1975 to 1979, was undeniably a product of its time. The skateboarding chase highlights the charm -- and occasional cheesiness -- of action sequences from an era when practical effects and stunt work took center stage. One fan described the scene as a "94-second treat from start to finish," noting that while the premise is ridiculous, it's impossible to look away. It's a time capsule of 1970s television, where superheroes fought crime with heart, ingenuity, and, occasionally, a skateboard." - Yahoo! News, 1/26/25...... The Eagles have announced that veteran Dallas session guitarist Chris Holt will be replacing Seuart Smith as the band's touring guitarist. In an Instagram video posted Idol Records, co-founding Eagles member Don Henley welcomed Holt "on the first night of his side hustle with the Eagles." The Dallas Morning News recently reported Smith was stepping down due to a diagnosis of Parkinsonism, a neurological condition that causes slow movements, tremors and stiffness. "I'm trying to fill the giant shoes of all three that came before me," Holt told the paper in reference to previous Eagles guitarists Don Felder and Bernie Leadon. "It's some of the most beautiful guitar work ever recorded, in my opinion. It's the highest honor for me to do it, and it's my duty to get it right," he added. The paper noted that Smith and Holt are good friends who've performed together in the past in Henley's solo band, and on Jan. 17 at the Eagles' launch of their 2025 residency at Las Vegas Sphere, Holt took the stage and was introduced by Henley. The paper also noted that in a separate statement, Henley -- the group's only remaining original member -- thanked Smith for his long tenure. "The Eagles will be forever grateful for the extraordinary talents that he brought to both our recordings and live performances," he said. "Steuart will be greatly missed, but he will always be a part of our musical family. We know our many fans join us in wishing him well." The Eagles' Sphere residency continues in February with for dates (14, 15, 21, 22). - Billboard, 1/24/25...... Marianne Faithfull, the beloved British singer, songwriter, actress and iconic figure of the 1960s, died on Jan. 30 of as yet undisclosed causes. She was 78 years old. "It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull," a statement shared to BBC reads. "Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed." Born in the Hampstead area of North London on Dec. 29, 1946, Faithfull was the daughter of an Austrian aristocrat and a British intelligence officer. Starting a career as a folk singer in the early '60s, she made the acquaintance of Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham, who introduced her to the band's circle, and offered her "As Tears Go By," a composition co-penned by the band's Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The sparse, acoustic ballad hit the top 10 in the U.K. in 1964, and also crossed over in the US to the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, peaking at No. 22. She followed up "As Tears Go By" with several other hits in the UK and US, including "Come and Stay With Me," "This Little Bird" and "Summer Nights," and soon became a British tabloid fixture, particularly after she began an affair with Jagger in 1966, ultimately leaving her first husband John Dunbar to live wth him. Early the next year, she made headlines for being at the scene of a drug bust at Richards' house, dressed only in a fur rug at the time of the arrest. Although her hits would dry up by the late 1960s, she continued to be a pop/rock presence, singing backing vocals on The Beatles' No. 2 hit "Yellow Submarine" and co-writing the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers classic drug ballad "Sister Morphine." However, her drug addiction ended up consuming much of what should have been her prime years, particularly after she split with Jagger in 1970 and lost custody of her son Nicholas (with first husband Dunbar). After 1967's Love in a Mist album -- her last on Decca Records -- she would not release another album until 1976. She made her first and most resounding comeback in 1979, with the new wave and disco-influenced Broken English album. By then her voice had transformed into something lower and more weathered with her drug usage, and the set drew rave reviews for its modern sounds and brittle energy. Substance abuse sapped the momentum the Grammy-nominated set earned Faithfull's career, until a 1987 reinvention as a jazz and blues singer on her Strange Weather set. In the 1990s she was a high-profile guest on Roger Waters' live tour in 1990, and as a featured vocalist on Metallica's 1997 single "The Memory Remains." She experienced another critical resurgence in the early 21st century with 2002's Kissin Time LP -- including songs written by popular alt-rock figures Beck, Blur and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins -- and released further albums of originals and covers for the next two decades, most recently with 2018's Negative Capability, her highest-charting set on the U.K. albums chart since 1965, and 2021's She Walks in Beauty alongside Australian composer Warren Ellis. Outside of her recording career, Faithfull also had a successful run as an actress, appearing in theatrical roles on the stage, in television and in film. She holds the distinction of being the first person to ever say the "f word" in a mainstream movie, doing so in the 1967 Michael Winner film I'll Never Forget What's'isname, and had small 21st century rules in the hit British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (as God), and in the Sofia Coppola-directed biopic Marie Antoinette (as Empress Maria Theresa). For her starring role in 2007's Irina Palm, as a 60-year-old widow who becomes a sex worker out of necessity, she was nominated for a European Film Award for best actress. The star also endures as one of the defining popular figures of '60s Swinging London, iconic for her voice and her fashion, and for being a muse to many of the musicians in her orbit, primarily of course the Rolling Stones. She was ranked 25th in VH1's 1999 list of the Greatest Women of Rock and Roll, and in 2009, she was named icon of the year at the U.K.-based Q Awards. " I'm glad you can hear the experience in my voice," she told Time Out New York in 2016. "I should think so, after 50 years." Faithfull's passing prompted several tributes on social media, including Jagger ("...She was so much part of my life for so long. She was a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer and a great actress. She will always be remembered"), Richards ("My heartfelt condolences to Marianne's family! I'm so sad and will miss her!! Love, Keith"), and Ronnie Wood ("Marianne will be dearly missed. Bless her xx"). - Billboard, 1/30/25.

Sunday, January 26, 2025

The Rolling Stones are expected to announce in the coming weeks that they'll play four UK dates at Tottenham's Hotspur Stadium in northern London as part of a European tour this summer. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood -- all in their 70s and 80s -- have reportedly been planning an extension of their "Hackney Diamonds" tour -- which launched in the US in Houston in Apr. 2024 and concluded in Missouri in July -- for months. The Stones haven't played a gig in their home country since 2022, when they wowed audiences at two Hyde Park concerts. An official announcement by the band is expected in the coming weeks. It is reported to include dates in Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam and Paris along with the London gigs. - Music-News.com, 1/23/25...... After the British government expressed support for a policy that would allow tech companies to use creators' works to train AI models unless creators specifically opt out, Paul McCartney says the proposed AI copyright law could "rip off" artists. In an interview with the BBC set to air on Jan. 26, Sir Paul warned that the proposal could "rip off" artists and lead to a "loss of creativity." "You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don't own it, and they don't have anything to do with it. And anyone who wants can just rip it off," McCartney, 82, said. "The truth is, the money's going somewhere Somebody's getting paid, so why shouldn't it be the guy who sat down and wrote 'Yesterday'?" In late 2024 the UK government, currently controlled by the Labour Party, launched a consultation to explore how copyright law can "enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training" while also ensuring "AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content." But McCartney maintains that it's the government's job to protect the people. "So you know, if you're putting through a bill, make sure you protect the creative thinkers, the creative artists, or you're not going to have them," he said in the interview. The Beatles' final song, "Now and Then," released in 2023, utilized a form of AI called "stem separation" to help surviving members McCartney and Ringo Starr clean up a 60-year-old, low-fidelity demo recorded by John Lennon, making it suitable for a finished master recording. In early 2024, around 200 musicians signed an open letter directed at tech companies, digital service providers and AI developers. The letter criticized irresponsible AI practices, calling it an "assault on human creativity" that "must be stopped." - Billboard, 1/25/25...... In other Beatles-related news, a new documentary focusing on a pivotal 18-month period in the lives of John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono will be released exclusively in IMAX on April 11. One to One: John & Yoko, directed by Kevin Macdonald, will then make it's streaming debut later in 2025 on the Max platform. The core of the film will focus on John and Yoko's "One to One Concerts," a two-show charity event for children with special needs that took place at Madison Square Garden in Aug. 1972. The concert featured the only full-length performances by Lennon following the Beatles' split two years earlier. The benefit shows also featured performances by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Sha Na Na and Roberta Flack, among others. One to One made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2024 and will be featured this month at the Sundance Film Festival. A high-energy one-minute trailer for the doc, available for streaming on YouTube, features home movie footage of the couple on the Staten Island Ferry, hanging with Andy Warhol and visiting the Statue of Liberty, where they both famously gave a power fist salute to the quintessential symbol of freedom and opportunity. The montage is cued to their song "New York City," a chronicle of the couple's love affair with the city Lennon called home until his murder in Dec. 1980. - Billboard, 1/22/25...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Ringo Starr's new country album Look Up has debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard all-genre Top Album Sales Chart for the week of Jan. 25. The 11-song album, recorded in Nashville and produced by T Bone Burnett, was released Jan. 10 and reached the No. 7 position on the chart in its debut week. It also opens at a career-best No. 27 on the Top Country Albums Chart, marking Ringo's second entry on the list, and at No. 12 on Americana/Folk Albums Chart. - Billboard, 1/22/25...... An anxiously awaited Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Michael's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role, has been delayed due to a recently-revealed, decades-old legal agreement barring any portrayal of the family of one of his abuse accuser. Lionsgate Films announced in Nov. 2024 that the film is being pushed back from an April 2025 release to October 2025 with no further explanation at the time, however now it has been revealed by Puck.com that the filmmakers were forced to scrap key portions of the movie because they would potentially violate a legal contract reached with the family of Jordan Chandler, a then-13-year-old boy who accused the superstar singer of molestation in the 1990s. In the agreement, Jackson's team reportedly promised not to dramatize the Chandlers in any capacity, however the script reportedly portrays Jackson as a "naive victim of the money-grubbing Chandlers" and features a scene of the boy's father "threatening to leverage his son's accusations to 'destroy' his ex-wife and Jackson's career." Jackson's estate is reportedly funding the necessary re-shoots to the movie, and the filmmakers will seek Lionsgate's approval for a revised script and shooting strategy as soon as possible. Lionsgate is reportedly "hopeful" about the October release date and producer Graham King says he is "confident that his team can fix the movie." The Jackson estate has always vehemently denied all claims of child molestation by Michael, pointing out that the singer was acquitted in a 2005 criminal trial and arguing that his accusers are simply seeking monetary gain from an artist who cannot defend himself because defamation law does not extend to dead individuals. - Billboard, 1/24/25...... Meanwhile, the superstar singer credited with helping to discover Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 has announced details of a "Symphonic Celebration" UK tour. Diana Ross announced on Jan. 24 that she'll embark on a seven-date arena tour of the UK on June 22 at Birmingham's BP Pulse Live arena. The tour continues the following night with a stop at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, before heading to the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on June 25. The "Touch Me In the Morning" singer will then visit Manchester (26/6), Leeds (28/6), and Liverpool (30/6) before wrapping at The O2 in London on July 2. The Hall Orchestra will be accompanying the singer on the Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool shows, while the Royal Scottish National Orchestra will perform in Glasgow and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra will take to the stage with Ross in London. - New Musical Express, 1/24/25...... The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame wants a federal judge to toss out a copyright lawsuit over an image of Eddie Van Halen, arguing that it made legal fair use of the image by using it as part of a museum exhibit designed to "educate the public about the history of rock and roll music." The lawsuit, filed in 2024, claims the Rock Hall never paid to license photographer Neil Zlozower's image -- a black-and-white photo of late-'70s Van Halen in the recording studio -- before blowing it up into an eight-foot-tall display in the Cleveland museum. But in a motion to dismiss the case filed on Jan. 21, the Rock Hall says it didn't need to. Attorneys for the museum say the offending exhibit was protected by "fair use," a rule that allows copyrighted works to be reused legally in many contexts, including education and commentary. Zlozower filed his case in October, claiming the Hall made an "exact copy of a critical portion of plaintiff's original image" for the exhibit, which he claimed "did not include any photo credit or mentions as to the source of the image." - Billboard, 1/22/25...... The first trailer for the eagerly anticipated new Sly Stone documentary, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), dropped on Jan. 22 on YouTube. Directed by The Roots drummer Questlove, the film promises to unpack the unbelievable highs, and shocking lows of '70s musical supernova Sly Stone and his band Sly and the Family Stone. Set to begin streaming on Hulo on Feb. 13, Sly Lives! chronicles the pioneering multi-racial band, who burst onto the scene in 1968 with their first hit, "Dance to the Music," before becoming household names thanks to 1969 No. 1 hit "Everyday People." The group that preached unity and brotherhood went on to score a number of other indelible Top 10 hits, including "Hot Fun in the Summertime," "Dance to the Music," and No. 1 smashes "Family Affair" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)." The film, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in January, is the follow-up to Questlove's Oscar-winning 2021 Summer of Soul doc about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival (aka "Black Woodstock"). - Billboard, 1/24/25...... KISS's "I Was Made for Lovin' You" has topped the final 2024 week of Billboard's Top TV Songs chart after a synch in the Disney+ show What If?. "I Was Made for Lovin' You" racked up 8.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads in Dec. 2024 after being heard in the fourth episode of the third season of What If?, according to Luminate. The anthology series based in the Marvel Cinematic Universe premiered its third season on Dec. 22 with an eight-episode run that concluded Dec. 29. It's the second high-profile synch for "I Was Made for Lovin' You," a No. 11 hit on the Hot 100 singles chart in Aug. 1979, in the last year, following the song's appearance in the 2024 film The Fall Guy (both KISS' original and a cover by Yungblud). "I Was Made for Lovin' You" also reached a new peak of No. 2 on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart dated Jan. 18, 2025, as viewers continued to catch up on What If?. - Billboard, 1/23/25...... Songwriter Diane Warren received her 16th Oscar nomination for Best Original Song during the Oscar nominations ceremony on Jan. 23 -- a tally equaled by only three other songwriters in the 91-year history of the category. Warren was nominated this year this year for "The Journey," sung by H.E.R. in The Six Triple Eight, and also becomes the woman with the most Best Original Song nods. Meanwhile, Elton John received his fifth Oscar nomination for co-writing "Never Too Late" for his documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. It's the second nod for his collaborator Bernie Taupin; and the first for fellow collaborators Brandi Carlile and Andrew Watt. Also, the new acclaimed Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown received a total of 8 nominations across various Oscar categories. - Billboard, 1/23/25...... Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler's sixth annual "Jam for Janie" Grammy Awards viewing party has been set for Feb. 2 at the Hollywood Paladium. Hosted by Grammy-winning comedian Tiffany Haddish, the evening features a powerhouse lineup of performers, including Tyler's fellow Aerosmith members Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton along with Billy Idol, Joan Jett and Linda Perry, among others. A special highlight will be a reunion performance by members of Aerosmith, who played their final show in Sept. 2023 before announcing they were disbanding. The event supports Janie's Fund, the rocker's nonprofit aiding young women and girls who have survived abuse, and expands its philanthropic reach this year to benefit the L.A. Fire Department Foundation and the Widows, Orphans, and Disabled Firefighter's Fund. The event will welcome more than 100 firefighters who have been at the forefront of combating the California wildfires, to celebrate the major night in music. The event is named after Aerosmith's 1989 hit "Janie's Got a Gun," which peaked at No. 4 on the hit parade and won the band their first Grammy for Best Rock Performance. Tickets and sponsorship details are available at JaniesFund.org. - Billboard, 1/23/25...... '70s artists Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rod Stewart, Sting, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks are among the performance line-up for the upcoming FireAid benefit concert. The event was first announced earlier this month in support of the victims of the devastating early January Los Angeles wildfires and will take place on Jan. 30 concurrently at the Intuit Dome and the KIA Forum. Other major artists confirmed for the event include Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rod Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day. The full lineup can be viewed on Instagram. - NME, 1/22/25...... The four founding members of Black Sabbath -- vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward -- have been recommended to be honoured in their hometown of Birmingham UK with the honorary title of City Freeman. The title recognizes the contributions that the recipient has made to the city. "Birmingham has a fantastic musical culture and Black Sabbath are a major part of that history, a pioneering band that still influences today's musicians," said city council Deputy Leader Cllr Sharon Thompson. "They have become synonymous with the city and have been true ambassadors throughout their phenomenal careers. Conferring these honors on these Birmingham legends would be the perfect way of saying thank you for all that they have done for the city." Black Sabbath, who first formed in the inner-Birmingham area of Aston in 1968, are long considered to be pioneers of heavy metal, with their influence being felt by bands such as Metallica, who inducted the rock legends into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2019, Birmingham named both a bench and a bridge after the band. In 2024, Osbourne stated his desire to visit the bench, claiming he would do so "if I have to crawl there." - Billboard, 1/22/25...... In related news, fans of heavy metal will now have a chance to study their favourite genre at degree level thanks to a Dutch university. Summa College in Eindhoven has a new faculty called "The Metal Factory" where it teaches students how to "master the art of growling" in its singing classes, as well as playing guitar, bass, drum and keyboard for metal audiences. According to a post on The Metal Factory's official website, the curriculum "train[s] you to become an independent artist/entrepreneur in the music industry" and goes on to say that career opportunities after completing your degree include composing, producing and "teaching and coaching." It adds: "We also have alumni who eventually graduated in copyright, management, music therapy or speech therapy. Metal Factory offers everyone who wants to be professionally involved in music a broad foundation for the future." Any potential students interested in studying on the course can attend an open day at Dynamo Eindhoven on Jan. 26. - NME, 1/20/25...... A previously unreleased Tina Turner song, "Hot For You Baby," will appear on the the upcoming 40th anniversary edition of the late rock icon's 1984 career-peak album, Private Dancer. The uptempo rocker featues Turner's signature gritty, urgent vocals over a galloping beat and a chorus of male backing vocalists repeating the title phrase back to her. Private Dancer rose to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart and included the Hot 100 No. 1 smash "What's Love Got to Do With It." The previously unreleased song will be featured on the anniversary release due out on Mar. 21, which will also come in a 5CD/Blu-Ray version that will rope in more never-before-released songs, live performances and music videos. Among the special extras is an upgraded 55-minute "Private Dancer Tour" show filmed in 1985 that featured guest spots from David Bowie and Bryan Adams. "Hot For You Baby" has also been shared on YouTube. - Billboard, 1/23/25...... Sting announced on Jan. 22 that he is pulling out of his next few public engagements as he recovers from a temporary throat infection. In a post on his Instagram, the former The Police frontman's team wrote that he would be canceling his scheduled appearance at the Jan. 23 Bass Magazine Awards, as well as his Jan. 24 and Jan. 26 concerts in Phoenix and Wheatland, Calif., based on "advisement from his doctor." The message also confirmed that Sting can no longer perform at Cherrytree Music Company's 20th-anniversary concert in Los Angeles, which was slated for Jan. 25 but will now take place May 29. Rapper Shaggy, Mike Einziger of Incubus and more guests were also expected to perform. Sting's Phoenix show has been rescheduled to June 1, while his Wheatland performance has been postponed to May 28. "Fans should retain their tickets for the postponed shows, as they will be honored on the new dates," the post on his Instagram reads. "Sting sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience and extends his gratitude to the fans for their understanding." One day after the announcement, Sting personally addressed fans with a follow-up message on his account. "I am steadily improving from a temporary throat infection which has prevented me from singing," he revealed, thanking fans for "all of the well wishes." "I'm looking forward to resuming my performances and rescheduled shows soon," he added. Sting is currently in the midst of his "Sting 3.0" tour. After a special joint performance with Billy Joel at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium on Feb. 8, the "Every Breath You Take" singer will embark on a run of Latin American shows starting Feb. 14 in Rio de Janeiro. - Billboard, 1/22/25...... After more than a yearlong hiatus, season four of the Rock & Roll High School With Pete Ganbarg podcast launched on Jan. 23 with an interview with Chaka Khan. This season's other guests include Tony Orlando, Squeeze's Chris Difford, Randy Bachman, Al Stewart, Tears for Fears' Curt Smith, Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian and America's Gerry Beckley. New episodes will debut every other Thursday and are available on all major streaming outlets and the podcast's website. Host Pete Ganbarg started Rock & Roll High School, named after the beloved Ramones' punk classic, several years ago as president of A&R at Atlantic Records when he realized that a number of the younger A&R staffers at Atlantic were unaware of the roots of popular music. At first it was an in-person lecture series, and he then began bringing in guests, including Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice and iconic record executives such as Clive Davis and Seymour Stein. - Billboard, 1/22/25...... Garth Hudson, The Band's virtuoso keyboardist and all-around musician who drew from a unique palette of sounds and styles to add a conversational touch to such rock standards as "Up on Cripple Creek," "The Weight" and "Rag Mama Rag," has died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of Jan. 21 at a nursing home in Woodstock, N.Y. He was 87. A rustic figure with an expansive forehead and sprawling beard, Mr. Hudson was a classically trained performer and self-educated Greek chorus who spoke through piano, synthesizers, horns and his favoured Lowrey organ. No matter the song, Mr. Hudson summoned just the right feeling or shading, whether the tipsy clavinet and wah-wah pedal on "Up on Cripple Creek," the galloping piano on "Rag Mama Rag" or the melancholy saxophone on "It Makes No Difference." The only non-singer among the five The Band musicians celebrated for their camaraderie, texture and versatility, Mr. Hudson mostly loomed in the background, but he did have one showcase: "Chest Fever," a Robbie Robertson composition for which he devised an introductory organ solo ("The Genetic Method"), an eclectic sampling of moods and melodies that segued into the song's hard rock riff. Formed in the early 1960s as a backing group for rocker Ronnie Hawkins, The Band was originally called The Hawks and featured the Arkansas-born Levon Helm and four Canadians recruited by Helm and Hawkins: Mr. Hudson, Robertson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel. The Band mastered their craft through years of performing as unknowns -- first behind Hawkins, then as Levon and the Hawks, then as the unsuspecting targets of outrage after hooking up with Bob Dylan in the mid-1960s. All joined Dylan on his historic tours of 1965-66 (Helm departed midway), when he broke with his folk past and teamed with The Band for some of the most stirring and stormiest music of the time, enraging some old Dylan admirers but attracting many new ones. The group would rename itself The Band in part because so many people around Dylan simply referred to his backing musicians as "the band." Mr. Hudson played briefly with the English band The Call; appeared with various latter incarnations of The Band, usually featuring Mr. Hudson, Danko, and Helm; assisted on solo albums by Robertson and Danko; and joined Danko and Helm for a performance of Pink Floyd's The Wall at the Berlin Wall. Other session work included records by Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen and Emmylou Harris. The son of musicians, Mr. Hudson was born in Windsor, Ont., in 1937 and received formal training at an early age. He was performing on stage and writing before he was even a teenager, although by his early 20s he had soured on classical music and was playing in a rock band, The Capers. Mr. Hudson also organized his own projects, although his first solo effort, The Sea to the North, came out on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In 2005, he formed a 12-piece band called The Best!, with his wife on vocals. "Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of The Band" was a 2010 tribute featuring Neil Young, Bruce Cockburn and other Canadian musicians. Mr. Hudson was the eldest and last surviving member of The Band: Robertson, the band's guitarist and lead songwriter, died in 2023 after a long illness. Keyboardist-drummer Manuel killed himself in 1986, bassist Danko died in his sleep in 1999, and drummer Helm died of cancer in 2012. The Band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. - AP, 1/22/25.

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

A new 50th anniversary vinyl reissue of David Bowie's ninth album Young Americans will arrive via Parlophone Records on Mar. 7 -- the same day the original collection was released back in 1975. The disc will be available on a half-speed mastered LP and a picture disc LP with a poster, pressed from the same master. Per a press release on X, the follow-up to 1974's Diamond Dogs saw Bowie "broaden his musical horizons once more, embracing what he called 'Plastic Soul'." The now-classic single "Fame" (co-written by John Lennon and Bowie's then-guitarist, Carlos Alomar) would give the late icon his first No. 1 in the US. The Young Americans album -- featuring the lead single of the same name -- was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Penn., with a band that featured Mike Garson (keys), the late Luther Vandross (vocals) and David Sanborn (saxophone). Sessions also took place at New York City's Electric Lady and the Record Plant. Produced by Bowie's longtime collaborator Tony Visconti, the full-length project had been partly inspired by the "Philly Sound." - NME, 1/16/25...... On Jan. 21 Lynyrd Skynyrd announced a summer four-city UK arena tour set to begin on July 15 at the Manchester AO Arena. The run will mark the first new dates for the legendary Southern Rock band in England since 2019, as well as the half century since the band's debut, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd. "Celebrating 50 Years of Lynyrd SkynyrdUK Tour" dates also include Birmingham (16/7) and Brighton (18/7) before wrapping at London's OVO Arena Wembley on July 19. "It's about the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and what it stands for, what the fans are all about," frontman Johnny Van Zant said in a statement. "There's nothing like getting out there, playing a great show with Skynyrd and seeing people love this music." In 2023, the band announced that they would be continuing following the passing of guitarist Gary Rossington, the only member of Skynyrd to play on all of their albums and was the last surviving member of the original line-up. Opening for the band on the tour will be Blackberry Smoke, and £1 from every ticket sold will go to supporting grassroots music via the newly launched Live Trust. - New Musical Express, 1/21/25...... Steve Lukather of Toto has criticized the alternative band Weezer for its cover of Toto's hit "Africa," calling the circumstances surrounding it "weird." Weezer covered the tune in 2018 following a fan-driven campaign, and Toto returned the favor the same year with their take on Weezer's "Hash Pipe." Although Toto gave their seal of approval at the time, now it seems that things aren't so friendly between the two bands. Speaking to host Matt Pinfield on his New & Approved podcast, Lukather provided some new insight into their relationship, after Pinfield mentioned Cuomo "loving" "Africa." Lukather quickly interjected, saying: "I don't know about him loving the song, man. I don't think that's the case at all." He went on to say that he didn't believe the cover was done in good faith, but that Toto had the last laugh anyway. "I think he did it to take the piss out of it and it blew up in his face," he told the podcast. "Now he's gotta play it every night!" Lukather continued, saying that Cuomo wasn't so open to him: "I tried to reach out to this guy and be friendly and it just got weird," he explained. "I don't want to get into it, but peace and love. It was good for them, it was good for us. God bless." Meanwhile Toto is preparing for a 2025 UK and European headline tour, which includes a stop at London's Wembley Arena. - NME, 1/20/25...... The lineup for the 2025 MusiCares Person of the Year benefit gala held in tribute to the Grateful Dead in Los Angeles was revealed on Jan. 20, as The Hollywood Reporter announced the artists attached to the Grammy Week event scheduled for Jan. 31 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Dead & Company (which includes Grateful Dead co-founders Bob Weir and Mickey Hart), John Mayer, Mick Fleetwood with Stewart Copeland, Norah Jones, Vampire Weekend, Dwight Yoakam, Sammy Hagar and the War on Drungs are among those set for the event, as well as previous GD collaborator Bruce Hornsby. Andy Cohen will be the MC. Original GD members Weir, Hart and Bill Kreutzmann will be recognized for their contributions to music, their philanthropic efforts and the groups pioneering role in fostering communities through their concerts and activism. Two of the bands founding members, the late Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh, who passed away in Oct. 2024, will be honored posthumously. It was confirmed that the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year event will go on as planned last week, amid the wildfires that have devastated the Los Angeles area. The announcement came a day after the Recording Academy said the Grammys are still on for Feb. 2. The MusiCares Person of the Year gala raises funds for the support of the MusiCareshealth and human services programs. - Billboard, 1/20/25...... Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton has shared "Sound of a Train," the debut single of his new band Close Enemies, on YouTube. Announced by Hamilton in 2024, Close Enemies kicked off a US tour on Jan. 8 in Philadelphia and a full length album from the band is thought to be in the works although as yet, no release date or album title has been revealed. The tour will also hit Pawling, N.Y. (1/23), Nashville (1/25) and Chicago (1/28) before wrapping in Chicago on Jan. 29. Close Enemies is made up of Hamilton, a founding member of the UK band The Babys, alongside drummer Tony Brock, guitarists Peter Stroud and Trace Foster and singer Chasen Hampton. Foster was Hamilton's bass technician in Aerosmith, and Stroud has previously worked with names including Sheryl Crow and Don Henley. - NME, 1/20/25...... Carole King's 1975 children's album Really Rosie is being rereleased on vinyl on Feb. 28 to commemorate its 50th anniversary. A collaboration with the late legendary children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, Really Rosie featured 11 songs which she composed and performed, with story and lyrics by Sendak. The project encompassed an animated TV special that aired on CBS on Feb. 19, 1975 and also a soundtrack album. The album did very well, reaching No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and later receiving a Grammy nod for Best Recording for Children. Another reason for Really Rosie's success was King didn't "dumb down her songwriting just because the songs were aimed at kids." AllMusic.com called it "that rare children's album with the wit and intelligence to capture the imaginations of adult listeners as well." Really Rosie was co-produced by industry legend Lou Adler, who produced all of King's albums from Tapestry (1971) through Thoroughbred (1976), and Sheldon Riss. King voiced the title character in the TV special, which was released on VHS in 1993 but has never been released in its entirety on DVD. The stage production of "Really Rosie" has remained a staple for children's theater groups since premiering in 1978. - Billboard, 1/17/25...... Neil Young and his new band The Chrome Hearts shared their first single, "big change is coming," on YouTube on Jan. 17. Stylised in all lower-case, the boisterous, defiant track captures a rock song in its purest form. "Big change is coming, you know what you gotta do/ Big change is coming, could be bad or it could be good," Young promises throughout, while huge guitars and drums drive the track forward. "For seven decades, [Young's] songs have addressed where life has been and where it is going," according to a press release. "'big change Is coming' takes another big bold step in looking at where that might be. The way this new song confronts the big questions facing life right now makes it an instant thriller," it adds. Young and Chrome Hearts are scheduled to headline one of the nights at the UK's Glastonbury Festival later in 2025. Young recently announced that he is set to release his "lost" album Oceanside Countryside from the '70s, and shared his praise for the "great" new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. - NME, 1/17/25...... Queen guitarist Brian May's wife has shared a health update about her husband following his minor stroke in Sept. 2024. At the time, May told fans about the minor stroke he experienced, saying it came on "all of a sudden, out of the blue,"and left him without any control over one of his arms. He said the incident was "a little scary" but praised the "fantastic" medical care he had received. Throughout his recovery, his actress wife Anita Dobson has shared updates with fans. Late last year, she revealed that while it was "a challenge", he had regained use of the affected arm. Late last year, she revealed that while it was "a challenge," he had regained use of the affected arm. The most recent update, given in an interview with the UK paper The Sun, seems to be as encouraging, with the 75-year-old saying her husband was "stable." "The start of the year has been up and down," she said. "We both had the flu but we took the kids to Lapland. 15 of them." "Brian is stable now," she added, noting that he had "never been happier" since they moved to the countryside. She said long-time animal rights activist May "loves the birds and the animals" and spends his time feeding "the birds and the badgers, foxes and pheasants." The Doctor Who actress also said they're "taking each day as it comes," adding: "It makes you realise that at any minute it could be you. You don't have to necessarily be old, It could be anyone." In 2020, the guitarist was admitted to hospital after suffering a heart attack caused by an arterial disease. He told fans that he was "very near death" after doctors found he had three congested arteries. Queen wrapped up a run of tour dates with Adam Lambert in February of 2024, and do not have any other live shows scheduled currently. - NME, 1/18/25...... Although Devo's song "Uncontrollable Urge" from its 1978 album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! was never released as a single, its use in the MTV staple Ridiculousness earns its author, Devo co-founder and vocalist Mark Mothersbaugh, an estimated $1 million per year. When Ridiculousness first launched in 2012, the viral video series used a cover of "Uncontrollable Urge" by host Rob Dyrdek. Over 12 years later, the program boasts over 1,500 episodes, becoming a staple of MTV in the process. Famously, the show saturates the network so much that in Aug. 2020, the industry outlet The Ringer noted it was played on repeat for 36 hours straight. Two months earlier, Variety noted that 113 of a single week's 168 hours (or 67.3%) were filled with episodes of Ridiculousness. For Mothersbaugh -- who has penned music for beloved series such as Rugrats and Pee-wee's Playhouse, and scored films for directors such as Wes Anderson -- the revenue from the ubiquity of Ridiculousness generates around $1 million annually, according to estimates from his wife and manager Anita Greenspan. "I've written so many other songs for films and television shows," Mothersbaugh recently explained to Rolling Stone. "I would've been shocked [years ago] if you told me this is the one that would become this prime source of income." Devo's biggest single on the pop chart, however, is 1980's "Whip It," which peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 after being issued as the second single from their Freedom of Choice LP. - Billboard, 1/16/25...... After 50 years of touring with the likes of Montrose, Van Halen and his own successful solo tours, Sammy Hagar says he's sick of touring and plans to concentrate on residencies at major night clubs instead for his live performing. Hagar, 77, made the admission to The Miami Herald ahead of a recent guest appearance at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, where he expressed his disdain with the grueling nature of the touring cycle. "I don't think I want to go on tour anymore. I hate to say that, because I don't want to piss my fans off, Hagar explained. "I'll go out and do a one-off show and do things like that, but the residency is going to give me a good extension of my career. That's what Im hoping for," he adds. The Red Rocker's comments came just months after his The Best of All Worlds Tour, which saw him perform throughout the U.S., Canada, and Japan. Even then, a series of Birthday Bash performances throughout Mexico and Las Vegas followed, with 2025 set to feature a number of performances for Hagar, namely his "The Best of All Worlds Tour Residency" in Las Vegas throughout April and May. "With this, I don't have to travel, I don't have to unpack and pack and get on an airplane every day, he continued. "You know, at my age, it hurts my shoulders to do all this. And I have to perform. I'm a performer, at the end of the day. I keep telling my manager, 'Don't take any tours, let me do this residency. If I like it enough, Ill do another one. And if that's successful I'll do another one, and I can squeeze a few more years out of my career." Hagar last released a studio album, Crazy Times, in 2022, with his band The Circle. That album was also promoted with a series of dates throughout North America, though it remains their last large-scale tour to date. - Billboard, 1/16/25...... Actor David Schwimmer revealed that during his previous career as a process server one of the more prominent interactions he had was with rock icon Rod Stewart. "One summer after my freshman year in college, I was just looking for work," Schwimmer said during an appearance on CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. "And my mom said, 'Well, you can be a process server for me. My mom was a divorce lawyer. So I was the guy who would pop out of the bushes and serve you divorce papers. At the time I was 18, and I'm like James Bond. Im not James Bond! 'Cause you're tipped off as to where they might be. As he continued, Schwimmer turned his focus to one of his more famous "targets during this line of work." "Once, and oh man, thank goodness I've never run into him since, added, "but I served Rod Stewart. I don't even know if he knows. I don't think he knows. "He knows now, replied host Stephen Colbert before jokingly giving Schwimmer some sage advice. "Change your locks, man. He is vengeful." Stewart was previously married to Alana Stewart from 1979 to 1984, which coincides with the timeframe of Schwimmer's time as a process server. In 1990, Stewart married Rachel Hunter, though they would divorce in 2006 following a separation in 1999. Since 2007, hes been married to Penny Lancaster-Stewart. Stewart is set to hit the road once again in February, performing across the U.S. before returning to Las Vegas to continue his Caesars Palace residency. He's also confirmed to play Glastonbury 2025. - Billboard, 1/15/25...... Bob Dylan's original lyrics to his 1960s hit "Mr. Tambourine Man" have sold at auction for a whopping $500,000, almost 60 years to the day after Dylan first recorded it. The lyrics were sold via Juliens Auctions alongside a number of other Dylan items -- including a signed oil painting and numerous pieces of original art -- which were originally part of the personal collection of late American journalist Al Aronowitz. Famed for introducing Dylan to The Beatles in 1964 and for being the first manager of The Velvet Underground, Aronowitz spoke about his unique connection to "Mr. Tambourine Man" in a 1973 article -- of which an original version was included in the sale: "Bob Dylan wrote 'Mr. Tambourine Man' one night in my house in Berkeley Heights, N.J., sitting with my portable typewriter at my white formica breakfast bar in a swirl of chain-lit cigaret [sic] smoke, his bony, long-nailed fingers tapping the words out on my stolen, canary-colored Saturday Evening Post copy paper while the whole time, over and over again, Marvin Gaye sang 'Can I Get a Witness?' from the 6-foot speakers of my hi-fi in the room next to where he was, with Bob getting up from the typewriter each time the record finished in order to put the needle back at the start." Aronowitz continued, "At the breakfast bar I found a waste basket full of crumpled false starts. I took it out the side door to empty it into the trash can when a whispering emotion caught me, like a breeze that sometimes gently stops you cold just because of its own ghostly power to make you notice it. I took the crumpled sheets, smoothed them out, read the crazy leaping lines, smiled to myself at the leaps that never landed and then put the sheets into a file folder. I still have them somewhere." The lyrics as sold made up two pages of yellow paper which contained three progressive drafts of the lyrics, typewritten and providing an insight into Dylans writing process. The lyrics are believed to date back to March of 1964, based upon the information available. Dylan first began performing "Mr. Tambourine Man" privately in 1964, eventually recording the track as part of a number of takes on Jan. 15, 1965. The song was later included as the first song on the acoustic side to Dylan's fifth album, Bringing It All Back Home, in Apr. 1965. Though "Subterranean Homesick Blues" from the same album was Dylan's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, "Mr. Tambourine Man" would become his first to top the chart, albeit when The Byrds released a cover as their debut single that same month. Meanwhile, Dylan has seen his massive back catalog earn 11.6 million U.S. on-demand streams in the week ending Dec. 26 following the release of the new acclaimed Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. - Billboard, 1/19/25...... Ringo Starr celebrated the release of his new country album Look Up with two concerts at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium on Jan. 14 and Jan. 15. Each show featured Starr welcoming a star-studded lineup of his fellow music luminaries, including Sheryl Crow, Jack White, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, The War and Treaty, Jamey Johnson, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Mickey Guyton, Sarah Jarosz and Larkin Poe. Legendary producer/musician T Bone Burnett, the producer of Look Up, hosted the show, welcoming artists throughout the evening, as some performances featured artists in collaboration with Starr, while other performances featured the evenings guest offering solo performances. "I feel blessed tonight, with all these great players coming out," Starr told the audience, as he performed a selection of songs from Look Up with the other musicians. The show concluded, appropriately, with an all-star singalong of The Beatles classics "Yellow Submarine" and "With a Little Help From My Friends," which saw additional artists join Starr onstage, including rock and country music trailblazer Brenda Lee (the Beatles once opened for Lee back in the 1960s, prior to the Fab Four's breakthrough). - Billboard, 1/16/25...... In related news, Ringo's son Zak Starkey says he was "s------g my pants" before playing the iconic Liverpool venue The Cavern for the first time with his band Mantra of the Cosmos. Interestingly, Zak had only visited his dad's home city once before and had never stepped foot inside the famous music venue where the legendary Liverpool band -- which also included Paul McCartney and the late John Lennon and George Harrison -- started out. That all changed when Zak's group -- completed by Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder and Bez and former Oasis bassist Andy Bell -- played two shows there in one day, with Zak admitting it was a "surreal" experience. Ahead of the gigs, former Oasis drummer Zak contacted the group's guitarist Noel Gallagher for some reassurance. The Wonderwall hitmaker sings on the supergroup's latest single, "Domino Bones (Gets Dangerous)," which was launched at the Cavern gig. Zak told the Liverpool Echo: "It was very surreal. I was s------g it -- proper s------g it until I got on there and it was amazing. The music is like holy music isn't it." Recounting his conversation with Noel, he added: "Before I was ss------g my pants. I was sitting in my room, and I text Noel saying I was s------g it. He said, 'Get down there and get on, what are you talking about?'" Ahead of the gigs, Zak spoke about playing the venue his parents used to go on dates to. The musician -- whose late mother Maureen worked as a hairdresser in Liverpool -- said: "Can't believe I've never even been there. There's a great deal of family heritage at the Cavern, aside from the Beatles, my parents courted there who knows I may have even been conceived there." - Music-News.com, 1/20/25...... David Lynch, the iconic experimental filmmaker known for his dark, surrealist vision in the television classic Twin Peaks, as well as films including Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet, died on Jan. 16. He was 78. His death comes just five months after he announced that he was housebound over fears he'll contract COVID-19 after being diagnosed with emphysema from many years of smoking. At the time, he added that he wasn't planning to make another film. "I would try to do it remotely, if it comes to it, Lynch said. "I wouldn't like that so much. The Missoula, Montana, native, was a one-time painter who enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before he shifted his focus to making films. His breakthrough came via 1977's Eraserhead, which became popular in the midnight movie underground circuit. Among his many notable films include 2001's Mulholland Drive starring Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts and Laura Harring; and 1986's Blue Velvet, starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern. On the small screen, he was best known as the visionary behind the mystery drama series Twin Peaks, which ran for two seasons from 1990 to 1991 and returned for a third season in 2017. The series won three Golden Globes and two Emmys, as well as a 1991 Grammy for best pop instrumental performance for the Angelo Badalamenti-composed theme music. Lynch also directed several music videos for artists including Nine Inch Nails and Moby. "There's a big hole in the world now that he's no longer with us," his family said in a statement. "But, as he would say, 'Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole. It's a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.'" - Billboard, 1/16/25...... Legendary baseball player/broadcaster/comedian Bob Uecker, the voice of his hometown Milwaukee Brewers who after a short playing career earned the moniker "Mr. Baseball" and honors from the Hall of Fame, died on Jan. 16 after a battle with small cell lung cancer since early 2023. He was 90. Mr. Uecker was best known as a colorful comedian and broadcaster who earned his nickname during one of his numerous appearances on Johnny Carson's late night show. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Mr. Uecker was a beloved member of the baseball community and a pillar of the sport in Wisconsin. He signed his first professional contract with the Milwaukee Braves in 1956 and reached the majors in 1962. He'd last six seasons in the big leagues as a backup catcher, finishing with a .200 average and 14 homers. He won a World Series ring with St. Louis in 1964 and also played for Atlanta and Philadelphia. Career highlights? I had two," he often joked. "I got an intentional walk from Sandy Koufax and I got out of a rundown against the Mets." Even as his celebrity status grew nationwide, Mr. Uecker savored the opportunity to continue calling games to fans in his hometown. "To be able to do a game each and every day throughout the summer and talk to people every day at 6:30 for a night game, you become part of people's families," Mr. Uecker once said. "I know that because I get mail from people that tell me that. That's part of the reward for being here, just to be recognized by the way you talk, the way you describe a game, whatever." Mr. Uecker was honored by the Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick award in 2003 and spent nearly 20 minutes keeping the Cooperstown, N.Y., crowd of about 18,000 in stitches. Mr. Uecker was honored by the Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick award in 2003 and spent nearly 20 minutes keeping the Cooperstown, New York, crowd of about 18,000 in stitches. "I still -- and this is not sour grapes by any means -- still think I should have gone in as a player," he quipped. But Uecker's comedy was just a part of his abilities. His warm storytelling and delivery made Uecker a natural to become one of the first color commentators on network TV broadcasts in the 1970s with ABC. In the '90s, he teamed up with Bob Costas and Joe Morgan for the World Series. From there, Mr. Uecker reached most households as one of the Miller Lite All-Stars in popular commercials for the beer brand based out of Milwaukee and Uecker later launched his TV acting career in 1985 on the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere. Uecker played George Owens during the successful 122-episode run of the series that lasted six years, as the head of the family and sports writer in a home that brings in a butler who struggles to adapt to an American household. The Brewers announced Mr. Uecker's death, calling it "one of the most difficult days in Milwaukee Brewers history." In a statement released by the club, Mr. Uecker's family said he had battled small cell lung cancer since early 2023. "Even in the face of this challenge, his enthusiasm for life was always present, never allowing his spirit to falter," the family said. - CBSNews.com, 1/16/25...... Former Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes has died at age 65. "It is with great sorrow we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer," according to a statement on social media. "He will be remembered by many as a man with exceptional musical talent but for those who didn't know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind, and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room." The statement continued, "He certainly marched to the beat of his own drum and always pulled for the underdog. In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude for his fans who stuck by him through all these years." Sykes joined Thin Lizzy in 1983, appearing on their album Thunder and Lightning. He then joined Whitesnake in 1987, contributing to two of their albums. - Music-News.com, 1/21/25.

Thursday, January 16, 2025

On Jan. 14 Bob Dylan created a TikTok account days before the popular social media platform could get banned in the US. "Explore the world of Bob Dylan, now on TikTok. #bobdylan," stated the caption of the first, and currently only, post which features a series of clips from various Dylan eras soundtracked to songs including "Like a Rolling Stone," "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," and "Hurricane." Dylan's move comes as TikTok has announced plans to cease operations in the US on Jan. 19 unless the Supreme Court blocks or delays its ban. This, however, would be a last resort if the Supreme Court decides to enforce laws that will force the Chinese-owned platform to sell to a third party and break ties with parent company ByteDance. ByteDance has said that it has no intentions to sell the app. Dylan's last-minute attempt to see what TikTok is about follows a pattern in his behavior. In 2024, Dylan started to use X (formerly Twitter) more than he did before, posting birthday wishes and general messages on top of his usual announcements, as new Twitter owner Elon Musk was driving people away from the platform. Meanwhile, actor Timothée Chalamet rode a Lime bike into London for the UK premiere of the Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. Once he hit the red carpet, Chalamet got off the bike and ended his ride using his mobile phone before turning to get photographed. Dylan has praised Chalamet's performance in the film, describing him as a "brilliant actor" and saying he is "sure he's going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me." The film will hit cinemas on Jan. 17 in the UK. - New Musical Express, 1/15/25...... As Elvis Presley fans recently celebrated what would have been the King of Rock & Roll's milestone 90th birthday on Jan. 8, Elvis' granddaughter Riley Keough says her late mother Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson "were in love" when they were married in 1994. In a conversation with podcast host Alex Cooper on Cooper's Call Her Daddy show on Jan. 15, Keough, 35, shed some rare insight on her mom's romance with the King of Pop. "The one thing I know is that they were in love, and that their love for one another was genuine," Keough told Cooper. "Everything else I don't know, because I wasn't there for it." Lisa Marie -- Elvis' only child, who died at 54 years old in Jan. 2023 -- shared Riley and late son Benjamin Keough with first husband Danny Keough. Lisa Marie was later married to Jackson from 1994 to 1996, after which she wed Nicolas Cage (2002-04) followed by music producer Michael Lockwood (2006-21), with whom she shared twin daughters. Riley also reflected on how her childhood changed with Jackson -- who died in 2009 -- entered the picture. "Our life wasn't crazier," she said candidly. "That already existed: the press, the crazy, the paparazzi and all that. I think when she saw Michael's life, there were things he had that she didn't have," continued the Daisy Jones & The Six actress. "Before that, she was with my dad, and their life was very simple. She didn't have 10 million assistants. She didn't need all that, and I think that changed." Keough's full Call Her Daddy interview can be heard on Spotify.com. Meanwhile, Elvis' ex-wife and Riley's mom Priscilla Presley paid tribute to Lisa Marie on Jan. 12, the second anniversary of her late daughter's death. Next to an Instagram post featuring a picture of Lisa Marie crouching down, with a slight smile on her face, Priscilla wrote, "I miss you more than words can say. I wish I could hold you, talk to you, see your smile just one more time. I wish you could see how much you are still loved, how deeply you are missed by all of us who carry you in our hearts." The message cued to a lilting instrumental version of the 1972 Elvis hit "Always on My Mind" and signed "Mom," was a poignant memorial for the late singer who died of a heart attack in Jan. 2023 at age 54. - Billboard, 1/15/25...... The Sex Pistols have announced the upcoming release of three live albums from their raucous 1978 US tour. For the first time, fans will be able to relive the punk legends' ferocious concerts that led to their demise at their final concert at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on Jan. 14, 1978 -- before they reformed in 1996. The sets were recorded at South East Music in Atlanta, Ga., on Jan. 5, Longhorns Ballroom in Dallas, Tex., on Jan. 10, and the finale at Winterland Ballroom. The first vinyl, available in red, from the Atlanta gig will be available from Feb. 28. The white vinyl of the Dallas concert goes on sale on Mar. 28, and the San Francisco vinyl, in blue, on Apr. 25. All three shows will also be available digitally and on CD. - Music-News.com, 1/14/25....... The Eagles announced on Jan. 15 that they are pledging $2.5 million to FireAid, the benefit concert for Los Angeles wildfire victims set for Jan. 30 at the Intuit Dome. There is no word whether the Eagles, who are currently in the middle of a residency at Sphere in Las Vegas, will play the show, and no acts have been announced for the benefit yet. The event, billed as "an evening of music and solidarity" and produced by longtime Eagles manager Irving Azoff and his family alongside concert promoters Live Nation and AEG Presents, with proceeds donated toward an organization created to rebuild Los Angeles infrastructure, as well as support displaced families and advance fire prevention technologies and strategies. The timing works in their favor to take advantage of artists in town for the Grammys, which are slated for Feb. 2. An estimated 1,000+ people in the music community in Los Angeles are also being supported by MusiCares -- the non-for-profit arm of The Grammys and Recording Academy. MusiCares says scores of people had been in touch since they launched their "Fire Relief Effort" on Jan. 8. The series of wildfires, which began on Jan. 7, have led to the confirmed deaths of 24 people, the evacuation of more than 180,000 residents and an estimated 12,000 buildings destroyed. It has been confirmed that the 2025 Grammys will proceed as planned and raise funds for those hit by the LA wildfires. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 1/15/25...... In related news, Ringo Starr has announced he is taping special L.A. wildfire relief concerts at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium on Jan. 14 and 15 to give a little help to his friends in the West. The former Beatle's upcoming concert special will air this spring on CBS and Paramount+, with some of the proceeds benefiting wildfire relief amid the ongoing crisis in the Los Angeles area. Titled "Ringo & Friends at the Ryman," the two-hour special will find Starr performing songs from his new country album, Look Up, which arrived Jan. 10. He'll be joined by a star-studded list of friends on stage, including Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle -- both of whom collaborated on the drummer's new LP -- as well as Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Mickey Guyton, Emmylou Harris, Sarah Jarosz, Jamey Johnson, Brenda Lee, Larkin Poe, The War and Treaty, and Jack White. Ringo will also delve into his life and career as his guest stars reflect on their own personal memories of his influence in the special. Proceeds from the show will go toward the American Red Cross supporting people affected by the fires devastating L.A. County. Meanwhile, Starr has revealed that he and Elton John's mum left one of the Rocket Man's gigs due to not knowing any of his songs. Speaking to The Sunday Times about an Elton concert that he attended at London's Wembley Stadium, Starr said: "He came on and said, 'I'm only going to do the new album.' Me and his mother left after three tracks because we didn't know them." Addressing why he no longer introduces new songs during his All-Starr Band shows, the drummer said: "The band sounds great. We have a fun time and we just do it. In the late '90s I would put in, like, two or three from the new album, and you could feel the room empty. It happens to everybody." Elsewhere in the chat, Ringo also addressed his vocals, admitting that he is not a fan of his voice. "I can hold a tune, as long as it's in my key," he told the paper. "And it just worked out with the Beatles because John and Paul were great writers. That's what made us. I'd get one song. And a couple of them were really good, you know, 'With a Little Help from My Friends' and 'Yellow Submarine.' They're still huge and I still do them on tour. They wrote me a lot of really nice songs." - Billboard/NME, 1/14/25...... David Bowie lieutenants Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey have announced details of a new 8-city UK Bowie tribute tour for 2025, which will see them celebrating the music and life of the late rock superstar. Visconti was Bowie's long-time producer and friend, as well as the bass player on his early LP The Man Who Sold The World, while Woodmansey was one of the Spiders From Mars and the artist's drummer from between 1970 and 1973. They will perform live renditions of some of Bowie's best known songs as part of the supergroup Holy Holy. The tour launches on May 15 in London at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, followed by dates in Leeds (15/5), Birmingham (16/5), Manchester (18/5), Newcastle (21/5), Oxford (29/5) and Bristol (30/5) before wrapping at Liverpool's O2 Academy on May 31. Bowie passed away in Jan. 2016 at the age of 69. - NME, 1/14/25...... In a new interview with the Speaking with Podpakas podcast, original AC/DC singer Dave Evans revealed the story behind how the hard-rocking Aussies came up with their name. Evans recalled how the members were writing music together as part of an unnamed band, when Alan Kissacks, a man involved with putting the band together, told them that they had secured a New Year's Eve slot at Australia's Chequers nightclub. "We had to get a name because it was only in a few weeks. So we started tossing names around between us, but no one could agree," Evans explained. "I had some really great names, but they didn't like them. What we said was that, [in time for] the next rehearsal, we'd all come with three names each, put them in a hat and we'd pick one out. And whatever it was, that was what we were gonna call ourselves," he added. According to Evans, he arrived with three potential names the following day, but the band decided to scrap the idea after being suggested the name "AC/DC" by a relative. "When we all arrived together, Malcolm Young said to us, 'Look, my sister-in-law' [wife of his older brother, George] has suggested a name AC/DC'. And I thought it's an easy name to remember and it was on the side of a lot of electrical appliances," Evans told Podpokas. AC/DC means alternate current and direct current [and] a lot of appliances were AC/DC. I thought: 'Free advertising free advertising on the side of all these appliances, and it's easy to say, and it means power.' It all went through my head very quickly. And I said yes." Concluding, he recalled: "Malcolm looked at us and said, 'Well, shall we call ourselves AC/DC?' And we all put our hands up. It was unanimous. We all shook hands and we were AC/DC those three names [I came up with], I went home and threw them away." According to Evans, he arrived with three potential names the following day, but the band decided to scrap the idea after being suggested the name "AC/DC" by a relative. "When we all arrived together, Malcolm Young said to us, 'Look, my sister-in-law' [wife of his older brother, George] has suggested a name AC/DC'. And I thought it's an easy name to remember and it was on the side of a lot of electrical appliances," Evans told Podpokas. "AC/DC means alternate current and direct current [and] a lot of appliances were AC/DC. I thought: 'Free advertising free advertising on the side of all these appliances, and it's easy to say, and it means power.' It all went through my head very quickly. And I said yes." Concluding, he recalled: "Malcolm looked at us and said, 'Well, shall we call ourselves AC/DC?' And we all put our hands up. It was unanimous. We all shook hands and we were AC/DC those three names [I came up with], I went home and threw them away." AC/DC is set to play 13 stadium shows across the US and Canada throughout April and May. The band wrapped up the 2024 UK and European leg of the trek in Dublin's Croke Park on Aug. 17. Their ongoing "Power Up" tour is in support of AC/DC's 17th and latest studio album of the same name, which was released in 2020. - NME, 1/13/25...... After a tumultuous relationship with incoming president Donald Trump over the use of their songs at his political rallies, the Village People took to Facebook on Jan. 13 to announce that they have "accepted an invitation from President Elect Trump's campaign to participate in inaugural activities, including at least one event with President Elect Trump." The post continued: "We know this won't make some of you happy to hear however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics. Our song Y.M.C.A. is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost. Therefore, we believe it's now time to bring the country together with music which is why VILLAGE PEOPLE will be performing at various events as part of the 2025 Inauguration of Donald J. Trump." According to TheHill.com, the group will perform at Trump's "victory rally" at Capital One Arena in Washington, and at the Liberty Inaugural Ball. "Y.M.C.A.," along with "Macho Man," were popular song choices at Trump campaign rallies during his 2020 and 2024 campaign rallies. In December, Village People frontman Victor Willis doubled down on why he chose to let the president-elect play "Y.M.C.A." at rallies and events, saying he "didn't have the heart" to block the usage -- despite originally asking Trump to stop in 2020 -- upon realizing that the politician seemed to "genuinely like" and was "having a lot of fun" with "Y.M.C.A." Plus, as Willis noted, the dance tune has only "benefited greatly" in terms of chart placements and sales for the group since the twice-impeached Trump incorporated it into his campaign. - Billboard, 1/13/25...... Rod Stewart and wife Penny Lancaster have been appointed ambassadors for The King's Foundation. The couple have come on board as King Charles III celebrates 35 years of his charity, which focuses on practical education and training programs aimed at building stronger communities and transforming lives. Stewart, who just turned 80, and Lancaster, 53, join other celebrity ambassadors including Sienna Miller, David Beckham and Naomi Campbell. "We are so pleased to be coming on board as ambassadors for The King's Foundation and look forward to lending our support to this worthwhile cause, particularly during such a significant year for the charity," the "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" singer said. Penny added, "As a volunteer special constable, the Foundation's approach to building communities -- and how access to green spaces can help build better, healthier places -- is particularly important to me. It's an honour to be working with the Foundation and I can't wait to meet more of the inspiring people who both learn with and work for the organisation." The couple are set to visit the charity's headquarters, Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, later in January. During the visit, they will meet staff at the health and wellbeing centre to learn more about their perimenopause programs and support services. Stewart has been a long-time supporter of King Charles' other charities, including the Prince's Trust (now the King's Trust) which helps disadvantaged young people access business opportunities that may not be available to them in their everyday lives. Stewart will play the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City on Feb. 23. - Music-News.com, 1/14/25...... Speaking with Boston radio station WBUR, Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton revealed that he and his former bandmates "could do something" in the future if frontman Steven Tyler was willing. Hamilton said that while Tyler is well underway with his "healing process" after seriously injuring his voice during a gig in 2024, the chances of the band making any new announcements are slim. "Steven's healing process is going really, really well, but it goes at its own pace," he said. "Maybe Aerosmith will do something in the future, but it's a big 'if', and the last thing I want to be doing is to try and push Steven in that direction. If we do anything in the future, it would come from him." The comments come after the bassist was asked last summer how hopeful he is, on a scale of one to 10, that the band will reunite. "On the hope scale, I'm somewhere between seven and nine. We won't be doing any tours from now on, but I'll always have hope that other types of opportunities will come along," he told AARP magazine. "This isn't the first time black clouds have been on our horizon -- and somehow the sun managed to come out. Time and hope are all we have at the moment," he added, while also dismissing hopes for a Las Vegas residency. Aerosmith's final live show, at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY in Sept. 2023, was held as part of their "Peace Out" tour, which began earlier that year but only saw the band play three nights, before rescheduling the rest of the dates after Tyler injured his larynx. Hamilton said in 2024 he "can't imagine" the band continuing with a new singer, and added: "I'm sure all of us have music in our future and it will manifest itself in ways that we haven't planned yet. I've been playing in a band with some good friends. We have a bunch of really good songs and we hope to be putting them out soon and hopefully doing some gigs." Shortly afterwards, the bassist announced details of his first shows with a new band called Close Enemies. - NME, 1/13/25...... Remembering late legendary soul singer Sam Moore of Sam & Dave who passed away on Jan. 10 at age 89, Bruce Springsteen shared a heartfelt message on Instagram on Jan. 11. "Over on E Street, we are heartbroken to hear of the death of Sam Moore, one of America's greatest soul voices. There simply isn't another sound like Sam's soulful tenor in American music," the Boss wrote. He continued, "Having had the honor to work with Sam on several occasions, he was a sweet and funny man. He was filled with stores of the halcyon days of soul music, and to the end had the edge of deep authenticity in his voice I could only wonder at." The two friends shared both the stage and studio over the years. Moore contributed backing vocals to several tracks on Springsteen's 1992 album, Human Touch, while Springsteen reciprocated on Moore's 2006 song "Better to Have and Not Need." One of Springsteen and Moore's most memorable live performances took place at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary concert in New York in Oct. 2009, where they joined the E Street Band to perform "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'." Moore passed away in Coral Gables, Fla. The cause of death was complications from surgery. - Billboard, 1/11/25.

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Billy Joel took to Instagram on Dec. 10 to announce a one-off summer 2025 concert with Rod Stewart at New York's Yankee Stadium on July 18. The event is part of Joel's ongoing string of stadium shows with A-list guests, which have also included Stevie Nicks and Sting, John Mayer, Jason Bonham and Trey Anastasio. On Jan. 17, the Piano Man will kick off his 2025 touring schedule with a gig at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla., followed by a team-up with Sting at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium on Feb. 8. Sting will also join Joel in Syracuse on Apr.11, Milwaukee on Apr. 26, Charlotte on May 10 and Salt Lake City on May 23. Nicks will share the stage with him on Mar.h 29 at Ford Field in Detroit and the last scheduled date so far this year, an Aug. 8 show at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Stewart will also be on hand for a gig at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on July 5 in a prelude to the Yankee Stadium gig. - Billboard, 1/10/25...... Ringo Starr released his new country & western-themed album, Look Up, on Jan. 10 via Lost Highway/UMG Nashville. Produced by T Bone Burnett, the set is Starr's first full-length album in six years after releasing a series of EPs. "I did love country music before I was in the band," says the former Beatles drummer, who tried to move to Texas when he was 18 because of his fondness for country and blues music. "We got plenty of it in Liverpool, because the lads who were in the merchant navy would bring not only rock and roll over, but country -- and when country bands went on tour in England, they always played Liverpool." With Ringo singing lead, the Fab Four famously remade such country hits as Buck Owens' "Act Naturally" and Carl Perkins' "Honey Don't," and in 1970, Starr's second solo LP, Beaucoups of Blues, was a country album he recorded in Nashville with noted country producer/musician Pete Drake, famous for his work with Tammy Wynette, Bob Dylan and Charlie Rich. Burnett recruited leading Americana, folk and bluegrass music artists including Alison Krauss, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Larkin Poe and Lucius to appear on Look Up, many on multiple tracks. Look Up's first single, "Time on My Hands," features classic country elements of heartbreak and lost love over an aching pedal steel, but like many Ringo songs -- and as reflected in the album's title -- it ends on a positive note. "If you listen to a lot of my songs, not only the country but the pop songs, the last verse is always an up," Starr says. "That's what I want to present -- there's a break in the clouds and the light comes through." - Billboard, 1/10/25...... Elton John's 2017 greatest hits collection Diamonds has finally hit No. 1 on the UK's Official Albums Chart in its 374th week on the tally (Jan. 10). Featuring a number of the Rocket Man's biggest hits, including "Your Song," "Tiny Dancer, "Rocket Man" and "Candle in the Wind," the compilation has surged to the top to dethrone Ed Sheeran at No. 1. When first released in 2017, Diamonds reached No. 5 and peaked at No. 2 following Elton's Glastonbury headline set in June 2023. The Official Charts Company reports that it hasn't left the top 100 since its release and has spent more weeks on the chart than any of John's other LPs. Meanwhile, Elton announced on Instagram on Jan. 7 that rising country singer Chappell Roan will perform at his annual Oscars viewing party in March. Joining Elton and his husband David Furnish as co-hosts for the event will be the likes of Jean Smart, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka to raise funds for AIDS research and to quell the negative stigma surrounding AIDS in the LGBTQ community. "David and I are thrilled to gather with friends and supporters once again, and we're honoured to welcome the bold and authentic Chappell Roan as this year's performer, whose artistry embodies the power of music to inspire change," John told Rolling Stone magazine. Other confirmed attendees at the event include Mick Jagger, Sean Penn, Sharon Stone, Megan Thee Stallion and Hozier. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 1/10/25...... Actor Rob Lowe has used a recent episode of his Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast to reflect on how he almost embarked upon a music career thanks to the L.A.-based hitmakers Toto. During a chat with journalist, author, and fellow podcaster Bill Simmons, the pair switched their focus to the world of '80s music and the recent Yacht Rock genre documentary Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary. Lowe responded to Simmons' praise about Toto's success at the 1983 Grammy Awards (in which they won three awards, with group leader David Paich winning two additional awards) by recalling how he once had a brush with the Los Angeles rockers. "I got one for ya," Lowe said. "There was a minute in the '80s where I was definitely doing too much Bolivian marching powder and just being a f--king lunatic," Lowe remembered. "And [it was] also coming at the time in a young actor's career where they're too old to play the roles they've been playing, but they're too young to play the roles that will last you the rest of your life, which are really the great ones. And you can kind of feel it. I love music so much, as evidenced by this talk and all of that, that I got it into my head that maybe I should think more about music and I cut a demo with Toto." Lowe did not elaborate on the track further, and it's unclear what happened to the demo that he recorded with Toto, or if it may ever see a potential release - ideally on a future sequel to the Yacht Rock documentary. Lowe's full chat with Simmons can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 1/9/25...... Appearing on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Jan. 8, Cher reflected on her partnership with her late singing partner and ex-husband Sonny Bono, shared the story behind her iconic driver's license, and revealed unexpected anecdotes from her legendary journey. "Doing the show kept us together because on the show we had so much fun," she told host Jimmy Kimmel. "We were equal. That was...I mean, I loved it. We worked so well together, and it really kept us closer longer than I really wanted." Starting with their breakthrough hit "I Got You Babe" in 1965, Sonny & Cher became one of the defining musical acts of their era. The duo's humor and chemistry later transitioned seamlessly into television, making The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour a staple of 1970s entertainment, even as their personal relationship faced challenges. in a lighter moment, Cher discussed the process of obtaining a driver's license that features only her first name. "I don't have a last name, so it just says Cher on my driver's license," she explained. "You have to prove that someone could know you, like the populace could know you by that name. It's not easy." As Cher fans eagerly anticipate the follow-up to her new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, Cher joked that she "hasn't even started" the second volume yet. At the end of the interview, Cher left the audience laughing as she told Kimmel, "You're a lot nicer and funnier than I thought you would be." - Billboard, 1/8/25...... Bob Dylan has been rolling "like a rolling stone" on the streaming charts in the wake of the new Timothée Chalamet-starring Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. During the week ending Dec. 26, one day after the release of A Complete Unknown in the US, Dylan's catalog earned 11.6 million U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate, leaping to 20.2 million streams the following week (ending Jan. 2), in the first full tracking week since the film's wide release. Compared to Dylan's streaming numbers from one month earlier, in which his catalog earned 8.1 million streams in the week ending Dec. 5, A Complete Unknown has helped the legend's weekly streaming numbers grow by roughly 150%. Meanwhile, some of Dylan's early classic songs (which Chalamet sings himself in the film) have gotten replayed since its release, with listeners wanting to either revisit or discover the original versions. "Like a Rolling Stone" earned 1.64 million streams in the week ending Jan. 2, a 232% increase from its streaming total five weeks ago (494,000 during the week ending Nov. 28). Meanwhile, "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin' posted streaming jumps of 215% and 174%, respectively, from their weekly totals during the last full tracking week of November. With the announcement of the Academy Awards nominations set for Jan. 17, and the Oscars ceremony scheduled for Mar. 2, these streaming numbers may stay boosted -- or keep climbing -- for a few more months. - Billboard, 1/8/25...... In related news, as multiple devastating wildfires continue to spread through the greater Los Angeles region, music and music-related events -- including several tied to the current film awards season in the city -- are being canceled or postponed out of both safety concerns and respect for the unfolding situation. An A Complete Unknown screening and dinner set for Jan. 9 is among the events canceled. As dangerous wildfires continue to rapidly spread across Los Angeles County, a number of famous residents are among the thousands of people whose homes were affected by the tragedy. Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren took to Instagram on Jan. 8 to reveal that her beach home was one of the properties that was burned down. "This is the last pic I took of [my late friend] Leah's rock from my beach house," Warren posted. "I've had this house for almost 30 years. It looks like it was lost in the fire last nite. There's a rainbow shining on it which I'm taking as a sign of hope for all creatures who have been affected by this tragedy. The animals and the rescue ranch are OK tho which is the most important thing. Stay safe everyone." The west-side Palisades Fire, fanned by strong winds, has caused 30,000 people to evacuate as it has burned at least 28,000 acres and claimed 16 lives as of Jan. 11. Meanwhile, a benefit concert for victims of the LA wildfires has been announced. Dubbed FireAid, the show has been described as an "evening of music and solidarity," and will take place at LA's Intuit Dome on Jan. 30. Proceeds from the concert will help to rebuild the communities lost by the wildfires that began on Jan. 7, supporting displaced families and advancing fire prevention technologies to ensure that, in the future, the city is better prepared for fire emergencies. - Billboard/NME, 1/8/25...... As former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Jan. 29 at age 100, was memorialized at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 9, country stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood paid tribute to the nation's 39th commander-in-chief with a moving cover of John Lennon's 1971 homage to peace, "Imagine." Brooks played the song's iconic melody on an acoustic guitar, singing, "Imagine there's no heaven/ It's easy if you try/ No hell below us/ Above us, only sky," his voice echoing through the majestic 188-year-old Washington National Cathedral, which has hosted the funeral and memorial services for almost all of the 21 Presidents who've died since Congress approved its charter in 1893. The deliberate pace of the performance -- and the addition of a piano accompaniment -- appeared to move many of the dignitaries on hand, which included all the former living Presidents. Soon-to-be-ex-President Joe Biden bowed his head at one point as his successor, former President Donald Trump seemed to close his eyes briefly during the performance. "You may say I'm a dreamer/ But I'm not the only one," Brooks sang as wife Yearwood joined in, matching his vocals on the lines, "I hope someday you'll join us/ And the world will live as one." That final line was delivered as the couple looked into each other's eyes and held the moment for a beat, with Brooks leaning in to give Yearwood, his wife since 2006, a kiss on the cheek. In addition to the Brooks/Yearwood performance and a number of other moving tributes from Carter's family, the funeral included a eulogy by Biden, who is less than two weeks away from the end of his term, after which he will be replaced by twice-impeached former President Trump. After the funeral, Pres. Carter's body will be flown back to Georgia for a private family funeral before he is buried on the grounds of his home in Plains next to his late wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter. Footage of the "Imagine" performance has been shared on YouTube. - Billboard, 1/9/25...... The official trailer for the upcoming Led Zeppelin biopic, Becoming Led Zeppelin, has been shared on YouTube. The film, powered by awe-inspiring, psychedelic, never-before-seen footage, performances, and music by the seminal heavy metal band, will be screened in IMAX theaters on beginning Feb. 7. The film is told in Led Zeppelin's own words and is the first officially sanctioned film on the group. - Music-News.com, 1/10/25...... An Australian construction company has issued an apology following the demolition of a Sydney home that once housed future AC/DC members Angus Young and his brother Malcolm Young. The house, which had been located at 4 Burleigh Street in the Western Sydney suburb of Burwood, was reportedly razed in late 2024 following a sale in Feb. 2023 for AUD $5.8 million. The Young family moved to the Burleigh Street address in 1965 after time spent at other houses in the suburb, with brothers Angus and Malcolm honing their musical talents while living there. In 1973, the pair would co-found AC/DC, who have since become one of Australia's most successful rock exports of all time. The legacy and importance of the address to the Sydney community had been recognized numerous times over the years. In 2013, the house was listed on the National Trust Register of Historic Houses, and in 2024 the local Burwood Council commissioned a mural of Angus and Malcolm by artist Claire Foxton which is still visible on the side of 12 Burleigh Street. News broke of the house's demolition in late December, with outrage from both fans and the local community reaching the Burwood Council, who defended the demolition despite the presence of the address on the National Trust. In a statement from Burwood Square general manager Leon Kmita, the company has shared their regret for the demolition, claiming they were unaware of the cultural importance held by the house. "We regret that the previous long-term owner did not share this vital part of the property's background with us," Kmita said. "Learning about this connection after our plans were already underway has shocked us. We are genuinely sorry for this oversight." According to Kmita, the Burwood Square team are in the process of attempting to salvage materials so they can create a "special space" for fans of AC/DC to "gather to celebrate the band's enduring legacy." "While we cannot change the past, we are dedicated to celebrating this significant part of their story," he added. "To the global fanbase of AC/DC, please know that we hear you, appreciate your deep admiration for this legendary band, and are devoted to making this right." - Billboard, 1/7/25...... KISS principals Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have reached a settlement to end a wrongful termination lawsuit accusing them of firing their longtime hairstylist after he complained about "unsafe working conditions" amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With a jury trial set to get underway later in January, attorneys for both sides told a Los Angeles judge on Jan. 7 that they had "resolved" the case, in which David Mathews claimed that he had been abruptly terminated in 2022 after serving as the band's hairstylist for 30 years. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed in court filings and neither side immediately returned requests for comment. Mathews sued the iconic rock band in 2023, alleging he had been fired in retaliation after he repeatedly raised concerns about the band's allegedly lax approach to the pandemic. Among other allegations, he said he was forced to work in close proximity to band members like Simmons even when they were sick. "He was coughing and blowing his nose in the dressing room while still insisting that he felt fine," Mathews wrote of one encounter with Simmons. "Once again, Mr. Mathews was required to be in Mr. Simmons presence to perform his job duties." Mathews isn't the only person to sue over Kiss over the band's COVID-19 protocols. The band is also facing a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of Francis S. Stueber, a longtime guitar tech who died in Oct. 2021 while quarantining in a hotel room. The suit claims that the band ignored their own safety rules and failed to arrange medical aid to Stueber after he fell ill. - Billboard, 1/7/25...... Rush have reflected on their 2015 farewell tour, saying that they "let our British and European fans down" by not giving them the chance to say goodbye. The Canadian band played 35 headline shows across North America almost 10 years ago, having formed over four decades prior. Drummer Neil Peart died from brain cancer in early 2020, aged 67. During a new interview with ClassicRock.com, bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson recalled how they had initially wanted to visit more countries as part of the trek -- but said Peart didn't want to head out on the road at all. "I'd pushed really hard to get more gigs so that we could do those extra shows and I was unsuccessful," Lee said of the trio's "R40 Live" tour. "I really felt like I let our British and European fans down. It felt to me incorrect that we didn't do it, but Neil [Peart] was adamant that he would only do 30 shows and that was it." He continued: "That to him was a huge compromise because he didn't want to do any shows. He didn't want to do one show. So, in his mind, he'd compromised already. He said, 'I'll do 30 gigs, don't ask me for any more'. I just kind of felt I owed an explanation to them, the audience. It's part of why I went into the detail I did about Neil's passing in the book [Lee's memoir, My Effin' Life], was to let fans in on what went down. That it wasn't a straight line." Elsewhere, Rush paid tribute to their former producer Peter Collins in summer 2024 following his death aged 73. - NME, 1/7/25...... Folk singer Peter Yarrow of the beloved 1960s trio Peter, Paul & Mary died on Jan. 7 at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan following a four-year battle with bladder cancer. He was 86. With his high tenor melding seamlessly with baritone Paul Stookey and contralto Mary Travers, Mr. Yarrow and this singing partners produced some of the most beloved songs of the 1960s, taking the lead on classics "Puff the Magic Dragon," "The Great Mandala" and "Day Is Done," all of which he wrote or co-wrote. Perhaps the group's most well-known track, "Puff the Magic Dragon," was penned by Mr. Yarrow based on a poem by fellow Cornell grad and author Leonard Lipton about a magical dragon name Puff and his human friend, child Jackie Paper, who take off on adventures in the magical land of Honalee. Fans of the 1963 song -- which was later turned into a beloved 1978 animated special and two follow-up sequels -- were convinced that it was larded with secret drug references, tagging it as a trojan horse ditty about smoking weed, a claim both Lipton and Mr. Yarrow repeatedly denied. The song was one of the group's most successful on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 2 on the tally in May 1963. Following Mr. Yarrow's death and Travers' passing in 2009 at age 72, Stookey, 87, is the group's last living member. "Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life. The world knows Peter Yarrow the iconic folk activist, but the human being behind the legend is every bit as generous, creative, passionate, playful, and wise as his lyrics suggest," daughter Bethany Yarrow said in a statement. Born in Manhattan on May 31, 1938, Mr. Yarrow began performing in New York's burgeoning Greenwich Village folk scene after graduation from Cornell University in the late 1950s. After a performance at the Newport Folk Festival, he met the event's founder and famed music manager Albert Grossman, who shared his idea for putting together a vocal group in the vein of The Weavers, a harmony quartet from the 1940s and 50s that sang traditional folk and labor songs as well as children's tunes and gospel; it originally featured beloved folk singer/songwriter Pete Seeger. It was Bob Dylan manager Grossman's idea to put Mr. Yarrow and Travers together, with the latter later suggesting the addition of Stookey, who both had performed with on the folk scene. After signing to Warner Brothers Records, they debuted in 1962 with the song "Lemon Tree," which peaked at No. 35 on the Hot 100. Quickly establishing their folk credentials, they followed up with the 1949 Seeger/Lee Hayes-penned protest anthem "If I Had a Hammer," which won them two Grammy Awards in 1962 for best folk recording and best performance by a vocal group; they were also nominated for best new artist that year. They picked up two more Grammys the next year in the same categories for their cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and a fifth one in 1969 (best recording for children) for the Peter, Paul and Mommy LP, which peaked at No. 12 on the album chart. Among their string of hits on the Billboard Hot 100 were their 1969 No. 1 cover of John Denver's "Leavin' on a Jet Plane," as well as the No. 9 charting "I Dig Rock and Roll Music" and the No. 21 hit "Day Is Done." They were also well-known for their charting covers of such Dylan classics as "Blowin' in the Wind" (No. 2, 1963) and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" (No. 9, 1963), scoring a total of five top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart. Two of those albums, a self-titled collection from 1962 and 1963's In the Wind, reached No. 1. In keeping with the tenor of the era, the group were also notable for their strong, progressive political stance in song ("The Cruel War," "Day Is Done") and in practice. They participated Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington in 1963, performing Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" (and "If I Had a Hammer") on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, helping to cement that song's place as a civil rights anthem. It was around that time that Mr. Yarrow was accused of taking "immoral and indecent liberties" with a 14-year old girl, Barbara Winter, after she and her older sister came to his hotel room for an autograph and he answered the door naked and forced her to perform a sex act on herself. The singer was indicted and sentenced to one to three years in prison, and ended up serving just three months. He later apologized for the incident and was granted a presidential pardon by Jimmy Carter in Jan. 1981, just before the late president's final day in office. Mr. Yarrow was also an indefatigable anti-war protester, helping to organize the anti-Vietnam National Mobilization to End the War protest in 1969 in Washington that drew nearly 500,000 fellow anti-war activists, as well as 1978's anti-nuclear benefit show Survival Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl, which featured appearances by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash and Gil Scott-Heron, among others. In 2000, he founded Operation Respect, a non-profit that aimed to tackle the mental health effects of school bullying. Following solo ventures by all three, the trio reunited several times over the ensuing years, including for a 1972 concert to support George McGovern's failed presidential campaign, his 1978 Survival Sunday anti-nukes show and a summer reunion tour that same year. By 1981 they were back together for good, performing and releasing five more albums before Travers' death. - Billboard, 1/7/25...... Grammy-nominated singer and controversial anti-gay rights activist Anita Bryant has died at age 84. The news was shared by The New York Times, which reported that Ms. Byrant died from cancer on Dec. 16 while at her home in Edmond, Oklahoma. Local newspaper, The Oklahoman, also made the announcement and shared a statement from the singer's family which read: "May Anita's memory and her faith in eternal life through Christ comfort all who embraced her." Born in Oklahoma in 1940, Ms. Bryant first began singing at age six and went on to make various television and radio appearances throughout her childhood. She was given her own show, The Anita Bryant Show, aged just 12-years-old. As a teenager, she took home the trophy at the Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant and came second runner-up in the 1959 Miss America pageant, also going on to share her debut album that same year. As she centred her efforts on her music career, she performed at both Republican and Democratic national conventions and also made her way into the US charts with songs "Till There Was You," "Paper Roses" and "In My Little Corner Of The World." Towards the end of the '60s, she became a spokesperson for Florida Citrus, although was later dropped from the role after becoming a vocal opponent of gay rights. The late '70s saw her lead an anti-LGBTQ+ raly that tried to repeal a Florida ordinance that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. The "Save Our Children" rally was successful, although it damaged her image and led to a nationwide boycott of the juice from the state. In solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, bars also stopped serving screwdriver cocktails. Later, she would reveal in an interview that she lost roughly $500,000 in concert bookings as well as a deal to host her own television show. She also became one of the first people to be hit in the face with a pie as a form of protest in 1977. She was dropped by Florida Citrus in 1980 and her split from husband Bob Green also saw her lose support from conservatives. She later married Charles Dry, although never succeeded in reviving her career. In 2019, a biopic about her life starring Ashley Judd was reported as being in the works, and before then she was the subject for both the 2016 play Anita Bryant's Playboy Interview and the 2018 musical "The Loneliest Girl In The World." - NME, 1/10/25...... Legendary soul singer Sam Moore, half of the seminal duo Sam & Dave, died on Jan. 10 in Coral Gables, Fla., due to complications from surgery. He was 89. Mr. Moore, who was revered by artists including Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, Garth Brooks and Jon Bon Jovi, had an instantly recognizable tenor, first heard on such call-and-response classics as Sam & Dave's 1960s hits "Hold On, I'm Coming" and the Grammy-winning "Soul Man," both of which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, as well as "I Thank You" and "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby." The duo, who performed at Martin Luther King Jr.'s memorial concert at Madison Square Garden following his assassination in 1968, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 by Billy Joel. Mr. Moore, who grew up in Miami, began singing in church and drew the attention of another legendary Sam, Sam Cooke, who wanted Mr. Moore to replace him in his gospel group The Soul Stirrers. However, after seeing Jackie Wilson perform, Mr. Moore shifted from gospel to pop and was performing at the King O'Hearts Club when he met Dave Prater and the two formed Sam & Dave. Legendary Atlantic Records executives Ahmet Ertegun, Tom Dowd and Jerry Wexler saw the pair at the King O'Hearts Club and signed them to the label in 1965. Wexler passed them to Atlantic's southern partner, Stax Records, where Isaac Hayes and David Porter took them under their wing and produced their iconic hits. Following Sam & Dave's breakup in 1970, Mr. Moore signed to Atlantic as a solo artist. He recorded a solo album produced by King Curtis featuring Donny Hathaway and Aretha Franklin. However, after Curtis was murdered in 1971, the album was shelved. He reunited with Dave for a few years, but spiraled into heroin addiction, which was chronicled in the DA Pennebaker/Chris Hegedus documentary Only the Strong Survive. Interest in the duo was greatly revived by 1980's The Blues Brothers movie, starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. The pair's main theme was their boisterous version of "Soul Man." In the early '80s, Mr. Moore became sober with the help of Joyce McRae, whom he married in 1982 and who became his manager. Mr. Moore went on to perform for six U.S. presidents -- Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump -- and was a frequent performer at the Kennedy Center Honors. Springsteen invited Mr. Moore to perform on his 1992 Human Touch album, as well as Only the Strong Survive, his 2023 album of soul covers. At the time of his death, Mr. Moore was working on a gospel album with Rudy Perez. He is survived by Joyce, daughter Michelle and grandchildren Tash and Misha. - Billboard, 1/11/25...... Cult psychedelic folk musician and painter Ed Askew has died at age 84. Mr. Askew was born in Connecticut in 1940 and began his career as a painter, graduating from Yale School Of Art in 1963, before making the shift to become a musician. He released his debut album Ask The Unicorn in 1968, and went on to gradually develop a cult following in the '80s after moving to New York City and developing a unique style of acid and folk. Ask The Unicorn was later re-released by Drag City Records in 2015 as a resurgence of interest in Mr. Askew's work arose, and throughout his career the songwriter shared 11 studio albums. One of his most listened-to releases was the 2013 album For The World. Released via Tin Angel, it included musical collaborations with Sharon Van Etten, Mary Lattimore, Marc Ribot, and more. Aside from the full studio albums, Mr. Askew also self-released hundreds of songs on cassettes and later on his Bandcamp page. - NME, 1/7/25.

Monday, January 6, 2025

Appearing alongside his recent "Never Too Late" collaborator Brandi Carlile as a presenter at the 2025 Golden Globes cereminy in Los Angeles on Jan. 5, Elton John joked about his recent eyesight issues as the pair announced Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as winners of the best original score category. "It's a very special night for me to be here because, I don't know if you know, but there's been stories going around about my regressive eyesight," John said. "I just want to reassure everybody -- it's not as bad as it seems. I'm so pleased to be here with my co-host, Rihanna," he said, pointing to Carlile. When Carlile announced that the Nine Inch Nails duo had won, John raised both fists into the air and let out a huge cheer. Elton opened up about his eyesight problems in November during a Good Morning America interview: "I unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the South of France," he said. "It's been four months now since I haven't been able to see. And my left eye is not the greatest." - Billboard, 1/5/25...... Speaking to the UK paper The Times, Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry reflected on turning 80 later in 2025 and the "beauty of aging." "I don't walk around thinking every minute, 'Oh God, I'm going be 80' - but that's sort of how I feel," said Harry, who reaches her milestone decade on July 1. Harry continued: "My mother used to say in her head she was 25 and I'm the same. But thinking about it all the time could be your downfall. And I don't really want the same kind of life I did when I was younger. I've done that! That's the beauty of ageing -- you know what it's about. You have it in your heart and soul and your memory bank or does that sound like an excuse? Should I go out and party every night?" The "Call Me" singer also opened up about the prospect of dating in her advanced years. When asked whether she was currently in a relationship, she responded: "No! God forbid! I'm terrified. No, I'm kidding, but I don't think [being in a relationship] is possible. Do you?" Harry, who was once in a relationship with Blondie co-founder Chris Stein, explained that she wasn't "in the right position to be dating online," before being told about the celebrity dating app Raya.com. "OK, OK, I'll do it!" she replied. "And I'm going to get back in touch and let you know how it went. I'm definitely not so adventurous as I was, but I'm still curious. I like the way the world spins." Additionally, Harry revealed that she likes to flirt in the local hardware store. "Home Depot is where I do all my flirting... There are some big, strong men there." She remembered: "I found somebody there I thought was really sexy. He was working in the garden department. But he was busy. We just sort of looked at each other and did that [look]." Elsewhere in the interview, the frontwoman recalled how she was once surrounded onstage by a group of Hell's Angels. Blondie are due to release a new album later in 2025, helmed by in demand Grammy-winning producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers, The War On Drugs). It'll be the follow-up to 2017's Pollinator. - New Musical Express, 1/6/25...... In a new interview with the UK publication The Guardian, John Lennon's eldest son Julian Lennon says he's "not part of The Beatles' "inner circle." With the recent resurgence of the legendary quartet's work, including Peter Jackson's Get Back (2021), David Tedeschi and Martin Scorsese's Beatles '64 (2024), and the 2024 restoration of Michael Lindsay-Hogg's 1970 film, Let it Be, Julian said he's often the last to know about any activity with the Fab Four's camp. "It's news to me half the time. I'm not part of the inner circle -- I never have been," he admitted. "You have to realise that when Dad left, when I was between three and five (it was a bit of a process), it was just mum and me, and we had nothing to do with the Beatles or Dad. I visited him on the odd occasion but we were very much on the outside. I'm thankful that Sean and I get on like a house on fire -- we're best buddies and he tells me what he can, but things are pretty secret on the Beatles front." He continued: "[It's] extraordinarily strange but I'm not upset about it. I'd rather be excited and impressed by what they did and continue to do. As a fan, I'm just as curious as anybody else, although I do find myself going, 'how is it possible that there's another Beatles film?'" Julian also spoke about his photography work and his newest release, the coffee table book Life's Fragile Moments. Alongside discussions of how new music isn't on the cards just yet (a failed attempt to hit the late-night talk show circuit in 2024 left him "heartbroken"), Julian said he continues to "build up a body of work, a foundation that I can stand on, that nobody can take away from me." "And I continue to do so," he said. "It's not to show off, it's just to prove to myself that I can actually do this stuff. I'm not interested in fighting other people's opinions." Lennon recently took to social media in December to urge his followers to undergo regular doctor visits following an emergency surgery after a second skin cancer diagnosis. Just before the end of the year, on Dec. 30, Lennon updated his followers that he had received "the 'all clear'" from his doctors. - Billboard, 1/5/25...... A statue of legendary Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher was unveiled in Belfast city centre on Jan. 4. Gallagher, a County Donegal native, often played the Northern Ireland capital over his three-decade career and now has been immortalised with a bronze statue outside the city's Ulster Hall on Bedford Street, with a ceremony being held to mark its unveiling. "He's finally here!" announced the venue on X on Jan. 4. "Today we're celebrating the legacy of Rory Gallagher with the unveiling of a new statue of the legendary guitarist outside Ulster Hall." Members of Gallagher's family were joined by fans and local signatories for the unveiling, with the Lord Mayor of Belfast Mickey Murray commending Gallagher's authenticity and talent. The statue itself was created by Anto Brennan, Jessica Checkley and David O'Brien of Bronze Art Ireland, with the design being inspired by a photograph that first featured on the cover of a Jan. 1972 issue of Melody Maker magazine. Gallagher, who is often cited by the likes of Eric Clapton, The Edge and Brian May as one of the greatest players of all time, has sold over 30 million records worldwide. His most celebrated albums include his self-titled solo debut in 1971, Deuce later the same year and the live albums Live! In Europe (1972) and Irish Tour '74 (1974). In 2011, his "lost" live album Notes from San Francisco was released 33 years after its recording. Ulster Hall also screened a documentary film inspired by the latter album to mark the occasion. Gallagher had a number of health problems, before being admitted to hospital in London in 1995 for liver failure. After contracting a hospital superbug known as MRSA, he passed away later that year at the age of 47. - NME, 1/4/25...... After less than two weeks in release, the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown has already ranked among the top-grossing music biopics of all time. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the film has grossed $41.7 million worldwide since its Dec. 25 release, securing a position between No. 18 Notorious (a 2009 Notorious B.I.G. biopic) and at No. 20, the 1993 Tina Turner biopic What's Love Got To Do With It. Timothée Chalamet stars in the film, which follows Dylan from Jan. 1961, when he moved from Minnesota to New York City, to July 1965, when he caused an uproar among fans by "going electric" at the Newport Folk Festival. Still riding high among the all-time top-grossing musicals are the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody ($910.8 milloin worldwide gross), followed by Elvis (2022, $288.7 million); Straight Outta Compton (2015, $210.6 million), and Rocketman (2019, $195.3 million). - Billboard, 1/5/25...... The Temptations are commemorating 60 years in show business with a 14-day Mexican Riviera Voyage on the Discovery Princess cruise ship in Dec. 2025. Serving as host for the cruise on the Discovery Princess, which is known as "The Love Boat" and is also celebrating its 60th anniversary, will be Jill Whelan, who portrayed the character Vicki Stubing on The Love Boat television series. Whelan, and The Tempts, were on hand on Jan. 4 on board the Discovery Princess to announce the special sailing. Prior to the performance, Whelan described the upcoming voyage as a "trip down memory lane" as she recalled that the iconic R&B group appeared as themselves on an episode of The Love Boat 40 years ago. During that episode, the group premiered its No. 2 R&B hit, "Treat Her Like a Lady." Of the group's timeless legacy, she added, "The Temptations have also been responsible for spreading messages of love over 60 years. And what is better than that." The Tempts also performed their classic hit "My Girl," which was released 60 years ago. The Royal Princess will depart from the Port of Los Angeles on Dec. 6 with an itinerary including two overnight stays in Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, as well as visits to Loreto, Manzanilla and Mazatlan. Additional music and other special guests plus various anniversary festivities will be announced soon. - Billboard, 1/5/25...... Carlos Santana has been forced to postpone his return to Las Vegas' House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino later in January due to a minor injury to his finger. The venue announced on its website Friday (Jan. 3) the postponement of the eight shows between Jan. 22 to Feb. 2, noting that ticket holders will receive refunds. In a statement to Variety, Michael Vrionis, president of Universal Tone Management, revealed that the guitarist suffered a fall that left him with a broken finger. "I am sorry to say that Carlos was out taking a walk at his vacation home in Kauai," he explained. "He took a hard fall, and he broke his little finger on his left hand. He had to have pins inserted in the finger. Unfortunately, he won't be able to play guitar for approximately six weeks. Doctors do say that he will recuperate fully." The statement continued: "Carlos is doing well and is anxious to be back on stage soon. He just needs to heal. Santana profoundly regrets these postponements of his upcoming performances, but accidents happen, and his health is our number one concern. He is looking forward to seeing all of his fans very soon." While the new dates are yet to be announced, Santana is set to return to the venue for nine shows starting on May 14 and wrapping up on May 25. He's also scheduled to go on a small Oneness Tour starting on Apr. 16. - Billboard, 1/3/25...... The latest in a seemingly endless stream of "lost" Neil Young albums, Oceanside Countryside, will be released on Feb. 14 via Reprise Records. "This analog original album was recorded in 1977 and unreleased. These songs are the original mixes done at the time of the recordings in the order I planned for the album," Young said in a statement about the latest release in his Analog Original Series (AOS). Oceanside Countryside was originally recorded from May-Dec. 1977, just before the release of his 1978 folk/country album Comes a Time, which featured such beloved songs as the title track, "Lotta Love," "Human Highway," "Field of Opportunity" and "Four Strong Winds." "I sang the vocals and played the instruments on Oceanside in Florida at Triad studios and Malibu at Indigo studio," Young aded. "I sang the vocals and recorded with my great band of friends, Ben Keith [steel guitar], Joe Osborn [bass], Karl T. Himmel [drums], and Rufus Thibodeaux [fiddle] at Crazy Mama's in Nashville on Countryside. I hope you enjoy this treasure of an Analog Original recording, recorded by Tim Mulligan, as much as I do. Listening to it now, I think I should have put it out back then." All the songs on Oceanside are performed solo by Young, with a group of friends joining him on Countryside, including Keith, Thibodeaux, Himmel and Osborne, with Tim Drummond on bass for "The Old Homestead," which also features The Band's Levon Helm on drums. Young noted that the tracklist for the upcoming album -- which was recorded on tape -- reflects how he originally planned to release the LP, which will be available in analog and on vinyl for the first time ever with the original mixes done at the time of the recording. - Billboard, 1/3/25...... In other Neil Young news, the singer has announced that he will be headlining the UK's Glastonbury Festival in June, just days after he said that he would withdraw from the festival and called it a "corporate turn-off." On Jan. 1, Young posted to his website: "The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all time favorite outdoor gigs," Young wrote in the brief update. "We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being. We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour." On Jan. 3, Young gave this update: "Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved. Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!" Glastonbury will take place at Worthy Farm, Somerset in England on June 25-29, and he will perform with his new band The Chrome Hearts. Young previously topped the bill in June 2009. - Billboard, 1/3/25...... As he spends time hanging around the set for an upcoming biopic of himself, Bruce Springsteen says so far he's very impressed with the movie's star, Jeremy Allen White. White, best known for playing perpetually harried chef Carmy Berzatto on the streaming TV series The Bear, has been filming the movie, titled Deliver Me From Nowhere, that will tell the story behind the making of the Boss' stark 1982 album Nebraska. In a recent chat with SiriusXM E Street Radio's Jim Rotolo, Springsteen, 75, talked about whether it's been strange to be on set as he watches Allen portray a thirtysomething version of him. "A little bit at first, but you get over that pretty quick and Jeremy is such a terrific actor that you just fall right into it," Springsteen said. "He's got an interpretation of me that I think the fans will deeply recognize and he's just done a great job, so I've had a lot of fun. I've had a lot of fun being on the set when I can get there." Springsteen continued: " [White] sings very well. You know, and Jeremy Strong [as Springsteen's longtime manager Jon Landau] and Odessa Young [as then-girlfriend Faye], you know, it's a tremendous cast of people. They cast the film beautifully, so it's very exciting." Directed and written by Scott Cooper and adapted from Warren Zanes' book of the same name, the movie has gotten full support from Springsteen. In the same interview with Rotolo, Springsteen also confirmed a late 2024 press release teasing that this year will bring a new collection that will "look back at Springsteen's storied recording career, featuring never-before-heard material." The full interview can be heard on YouTube. - Billboard, 1/3/25...... Billy Joel teamed up with drummer Jason Bonham for a rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" during a New Year's Eve concert at Long Island's UBS Arena on Dec. 31. Joel's end-of-year spectacular was a special for numerous reasons: not only was the night preceded by Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening as the opener, but the lengthy set saw the veteran musician roll out plenty of fan favorites for the night, along with a few rarer tracks from his extensive back catalog. While the seldom-heard 1982's "A Room of Our Own" from The Nylon Curtain LP got a look-in, rarer still was a performance of 1974's "Souvenir," from his album Streetlife Serenade, which received only its 13th showing from across the past 40 years. However, one of the most notable songs from the evening was one that wasn't Joel's own. Just over a third of the way through the set, Joel switched his focus to welcome Bonham and his band to the stage for a rendition of 1969's "Whole Lotta Love." "We're going to bring a guest onstage and do this next song," Joel said to the crowd. "We have fun playing this, especially with this guy. Please welcome Jason Bonham. You all know this song. It's not a piano song." With Bonham performing drums on the song his father helped make famous more than five decades ago, Joel's longtime guitarist and vocalist Mike DelGuidice sang lead on the track, relegating Joel to the background somewhat. The show also featured renditions of The Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up," and Derek and the Dominos' "Layla," which was used to fill time ahead of the midnight countdown. The concert also wrapped up a big year for Joel, who not only concluded his record-breaking 10-year Madison Square Garden residency (earning $266.7 million from 1.9 million ticket sales to 104 shows), but also released "Turn the Lights Back On" -- his first new lyrical single in nearly 20 years. - Billboard, 1/1/25...... John Sykes, the chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has said the institution will not be renamed, despite pressure from some artists. In recent years, there has been discussion whether the Hall should still use the "Rock and Roll" moniker after inducting a number of artists from outside traditional rock music, including Eminem, A Tribe Called Quest, Mary J. Blige, Dolly Parton and Missy Elliott, however Sykes recently told Vulture magazine that he has no plans to change the name, stating that instead he will "communicate that rock and roll is open to all." "I think it's because some people don't understand the meaning of rock and roll," Sykes explained. "If you go back to the original sound in the '50s, it was everything. As Missy Elliott calls it, it was a gumbo. It just became known as rock and roll. So when I hear people say, 'You should just change it to the Music Hall of Fame,' rock and roll has pretty much covered all of that territory. Rather than throwing the name out, it's doing a better job of communicating to people where rock and roll came from and what it's truly about. Once they hear it that way, they understand." Sykes went on to explain what he believes are the true criteria that should qualify artists for the Hall. "It's music that has spirit to it, like a youth spirit," he said. "I think rock 'n' roll should have a very, very broad sense. I think there's room for a lot of different genres." - NME, 1/2/25...... Former Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee says he's "lucky to be alive" following a sepsis diagnosis over the holiday period. Posting on Facebook on Dec. 2, the Swedish percussionist shared news of his health scare, explaining that he had been hospitalized following a blood infection he described as "very serious." "I was admitted for three weeks but now I am home fighting this bastard bacteria," he shared. "Thankfully, I have received fantastic care at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, my hometown. So thanks a million to all the Doctors and Nurses that have been giving me the most excellent care. After several operations, I am now back home and the numbers are all going in the right direction. Still lots of recovery and rehab in front of me," he added. In a strange coincidence, Dee's brush with death occurred almost nine years to the day since his Motörhead bandmate Lemmy Kilmister passed away, on Dec. 28, 2015. Notably, his health scare also took place mere weeks after he took to social media to refute premature reports of his death. - Billboard, 1/2/25...... Two Maine businessmen have purchased radio station WKIT-FM from best-selling horror author and Maine resident Stephen King after he announced that the station and two others he owns would go silent after New Year's Eve. The buyers are the Maine-based duo Greg Hawes and Jeff Solari, who formed Rock Lobster Radio Group to run the station. "WKIT is the most legendary station in the region. It has tremendous history. We couldn't let it die," they said in a statement. King is a lifelong rocker and performed with the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band that featured literary icons performing for charity. He announced late last year that at age 77 he thought it was time to say goodbye to the radio stations. "I'm sorry as hell to be closing down WKIT and its sister stations," King posted earlier this month on social media. "I held off the suits for as long as I could." Since getting into the terrestrial radio business in 1983, King has written over 50 novels, including well-known works such as It, Misery, The Dark Tower series, Pet Sematary, Under the Dome, Skeleton Crew, The Green Mile and 11/22/63, among many others. - AP/Billboard, 1/1/25...... Wayne Osmond, the second-oldest of the legendary teen idol group The Osmond Brothers (later simply The Osmonds), died on Jan. 1 after suffering a "massive stroke," according to his brother Merrill Osmond. He was 73. The singer and guitarist's family confirmed the news of his death in a statement to Salt Lake City news station, KSL TV. "Wayne Osmond, beloved husband and father, passed away peacefully last night surrounded by his loving wife and five children," the statement reads. "His legacy of faith, music, love, and laughter have influenced the lives of many people around the world. He would want everyone to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that families are forever, and that banana splits are the best dessert. We love him and will miss him dearly." Following the news of his death, a number of Wayne's family members took to social media to honor him, including Donny Osmond who posted on X: "Wayne brought so much light, laughter, and love to everyone who knew him, especially me. He was the ultimate optimist and was loved by everyone. I'm sure I speak on behalf of every one of us siblings when I state that we were fortunate to have Wayne as a brother." Wayne, one of nine Osmond siblings, started a barbershop quartet in 1958 alongside his brothers Merrill, Alan and Jay Osmond. After getting discovered from a Disneyland performance, the boys were cast over a seven-year period on NBC's The Andy Williams Show beginning in 1962. When brothers Donny and Jimmy Osmond joined the group, they became known as The Osmonds and were the standout teen idols throughout the 1970s. The Osmonds had four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart -- "One Bad Apple" (No. 1 in 1971), "Yo Yo" (No. 3 in 1971), "Down by the Lazy River" (No. 4 in 1972) and "Love Me For a Reason" (No. 10 in 1974). Alan and Merrill Osmond co-wrote "Down by the Lazy River," making it the group's biggest self-penned hit. The group's top-charting album on the Billboard Hot 200 LP chart was Phase-III, which reached No. 10 in 1972. The Osmond family was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003. Wayne is survived by his wife Kathlyn Louise White and their five children. - Billboard, 1/2/25.

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

When the Grammy Awards' Recording Academy nominated The Beatles for two awards -- Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance -- for their "final" single "Now and Then," fans of the band were pleased. However only the two surviving Beatles -- Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr -- will be eligible to receive a Grammy because due to Recording Academy rules the two deceased Beatles -- John Lennon and George Harrison -- have each been dead for more than five years and cannot meet the test for "new recordings" -- "material that has been recorded within five years of the release date." There is precedent for this. Nat "King" Cole was not nominated when daughter Natalie Cole won Record of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Performance in 1992 for their studio-created duet "Unforgettable." He had died in 1965. Furthermore, Lennon was not included the last time the Fab Four were nominated, 28 years ago, for Best Pop Performance and Best Music Video, short-form, both for "Free as a Bird," and Best Music Video, long-form for The Beatles Anthology. McCartney co-produced "Now and Then" with Giles Martin, the son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin. Both McCartney and Giles Martin are nominated for Record of the Year as producers of the single, as are eight engineer/mixers and a mastering engineer -- but not John and George. If "Now and Then" wins Record of the Year, McCartney will complete his sweep of the Big Four awards, though it will have taken him longer to do so than any other act in Grammy history. He won Best New Artist in 1965 (with The Beatles), Song of the Year in 1967 for "Michelle" (in tandem with Lennon) and album of the year in 1968 for The Beatles' landmark Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The winners of the 68th Grammy Awards are set to be revealed at a ceremony on Feb. 2, 2025 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. - Billboard, 12/31/24...... Former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar has labeled VH drummer Alex Van Halen's oversight of the "Van Hagar" era in his recent memoir Brothers as "blasphemy." Hagar, who fronted VH from 1985 to 1996, and again from 2003 to 2005, criticized Alex for effectively stopping the VH story after the departure of vocalist David Lee Roth, and overlooking not only Hagar's time as vocalist, but the temporary lineup featuring Gary Cherone, and their ultimate reunion with Roth. Sharing a photo of himself and guitarist Eddie Van Halen from 1991 on Instagram, Hagar began responding to comments on the post, including one who opined that "most purists believe VH ended with DLR." "It could have [ended], my friend, but instead we went on to sell over 50 million records for [a] No. 1 album [then] sold out every building and stadium in the world for a whole decade," Hagar responded. "That never happened again." VH experienced some of their biggest successes with their album 1984, which featured the No. 1 single "Jump," and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and become their highest charting release of the Roth era. The follow-up, 1986's 5150, was their first released with Hagar on vocals, and was the first of four consecutive No. 1 albums released with Hagar at the helm. Continuing his response, Hagar contended that Alex was doing both the band and his late brother a disservice by leaving the era out of the memoir. "Alex is not doing his brother's musical legacy justice by not acknowledging all the No. 1 albums and some great music Eddie and I wrote together -- not Alex -- but Eddie and I wrote together," Hagar continued. "To not acknowledge [those] 10 years of music is blasphemy to his brother's musicianship, songwriting and legacy." However, Hagar recently told Rolling Stone that he still hopes that he and his former bandmate are able to make peace at some point. "I understand he probably couldn't have done the whole era in one book. It would've been the Bible, the dictionary, so maybe he's got plans for a Volume 2. Who knows?" said Hagar. "I want to be friends, though. I don't want to play in a band with Al. I'm not asking for that. I can see that he's not capable of doing that. If he was, I'd be happy to play with him, but it's not what I'm looking for. I just want to friends again." - Billboard, 12/31/24...... Elvis Presley's The Classic Christmas Album has topped Billboard Top Rock Albums for the first time, rising two places to No. 1 on the Jan. 4, 2025-dated survey. In the week ending Dec. 26, the set earned 40,000 equivalent album units, a jump of 59%, according to Luminate. The Classic Christmas Album was released in 2012 and features 17 holiday-themed hits from Presley's catalog, including "Blue Christmas" and "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)." "Blue Christmas" was the album's top performer in streaming last week. It ranks at No. 2 on Rock Steaming Songs with 27.1 million official U.S. streams (up 61%). "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" also appears on the tally, at No. 11 (8.1 million, up 43%). The collection, which previously reached a No. 2 best on Top Rock Albums over the 2020 holiday season, is Presley's second No. 1 on the chart, which began in 2006, after Elvis Presley Forever led for a week in 2015. That album accompanied a "forever" postage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service that year. "Blue Christmas" was the set's top radio track, with 9 million in audience (up 33%). Meanwhile, Elton John has scored his 60th Billboard Top 40 hit with his 2021 collaboration with Ed Sheeran, "Merry Christmas." The holiday song rose four places to No. 38, marking its first week in the chart's top 40 -- and John's milestone 60th top 40 hit and Sheeran's likewise landmark 25th. The collab, which Sheeran and John co-wrote, was released in 2021 and first peaked at No. 42 a year later. Presley is currently at No. 4 on the list of artists with the most Top 100 hits, behind Drake, Taylor Swift and Lil Wayne, while John is tied with Beyoncé in ninth place with 60 each. - Billboard, 12/31/24...... The Doobie Brothers shared details of a new album in 2025 in a Facebook post on Dec. 30. "It's hard to believe another year just shot by like a rocket!" the band wrote in their year-end wrap-up. "We're currently celebrating almost 56 years together as a band. 55 years since we released our very first self titled album The Doobie Brothers. It's been a long winding road since those early days but we're still working together, doing our best to remain creative, and looking forward to bringing our music to you folks out there again next year." They went on to write: "We have 10 new songs sung by Tom [Johnston], Michael [McDonald], and Pat [Simmons]. The three of us wrote songs and collaborated together. We had a lot of fun recording it and we feel very proud of the results. John McFee added his incredible musical talents as well. Once more we turned to the amazing John Shanks who produced, wrote, and played on the tracks with us. Fortunately we're back working with our friends at Warner Brothers/Rhino Records on this release. We'll probably debut a song soon after the first of the year and the full album will follow sometime in the Spring/Summer." The most notable takeaway from the band's update is the return of McDonald on an album of original music. Joining the band ahead of their Takin' It to the Streets LP in 1975, McDonald remained lead vocalist of the band until their 1982, overseeing some of their most popular releases, including 1978's Minute by Minute -- their only album to top the Billboard Hot 200. The last studio album of original material he recorded with the Doobies was 1980's One Step Closer, though he would feature on one song from 2010's World Gone Crazy, and feature on the band's 2014 covers/collaboration album Southbound. While McDonald rejoined the band as a full-time member in 2019, he was ultimately absent from their 2021 album, Liberté. - Billboard, 12/30/24...... Actress Monica Barbaro, who portrays Joan Baez in the new Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, has revealed that Baez was "not fussed" about her portrayal in the film. "I struggled with this feeling of just so much gratitude for everything she's done and for being willing to speak to me and how much I admire her -- I tried to let that get out of the way and just have a conversation, but that's hard," Barbaro said in an interview with the UK paper The Guardian. Barbaro continued, sharing the research she did in preparation for the role: "Having studied her voice so closely -- her speaking voice, every interview in the 60s -- and then hearing Joan's voice now in her 80s, in real time, speaking to me, was an incredibly emotional experience: really cool and kind of mind-blowing." She added that Baez "was really not fussed" about her portrayal in the film. "I think I was more concerned on her behalf than she was for herself. I was sort of saying: you deserve your own biopic! So many biopics with different chapters of your life! And she said: 'I'm just sitting in my back yard watching the birds.' You know: I lived it, I did it." Starring Timothée Chalamet in the main role, A Complete Unknown premiered in US theaters on Christmas Day and will have its UK premiere on Jan. 17. - New Musical Express, 12/30/24...... In related news, the producer of A Complete Unkown has revealed he's attached for a new biopic on Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett and is in talks with "Mama Cass" Elliot's estate for a new film about the late The Mamas and the Papas singer. Peter Jaysen owns the company, Veritas Entertainment, that was involved in securing the rights to Dylan's musical archive and life story for A Complete Unknown. In an appearance on the podcast The Town With Matthew Belloni, he revealed that more big-name projects were in motion. "Due to our involvement with Bob [Dylan] doing A Complete Unknown, we've been fortunate enough that right now we're working on, with Wash Westmoreland, the great writer-director, a Syd Barrett movie, one of the founders of Pink Floyd," he confirmed. "We have had multiple Zooms with the estate of Mama Cass Elliot and met with her daughter, Owen, and are close to acquiring the rights to her book, My Mama Cass." Jaysen didn't mention release dates for either biopic nor give any timelines for their production. Barrett founded Pink Floyd in 1965 as their frontman and principal songwriter before leaving in 1968 over issues with his drug use and mental health. He spent the rest of his life out of the spotlight in Cambridge until he passed away in 2006. Meanwhile, Elliot, better known as Mama Cass, rose to fame as a member of The Mamas and the Papas in the 1960s. She died in 1974 at the age of 32. - NME, 12/27/24...... In a newly released fan capture of former Deep Purple members Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale participating in a Q&A event in Sydney, Australia on Oct. 3, Hughes revealed that his experience attending the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony of his former band Deep Purple was "f--king uncomfortable." "There was no, 'How are you tonight?' None of that," he said of his cold treatment by the other DP inductees -- Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Ian Paice. "There was no family vibe, there was no hugging, there was no handshaking, there was no, 'How're you doing, pal?' None of that. And it was f--king uncomfortable. Let me tell you, it was uncomfortable." Hughes continued, saying that at the end of the event, he wanted to congratulate Gillan with a hug, but Gillan had put his arm out "'cause he did not want me to get near him." Hughes added that the incident "really upset me to the point of tears." "So I grabbed him and said to him, 'Oh shit.' I can't tell you what I said, but I thought it was very f--king stupid to do it on live TV where you have to show resentment or whatever you wanna call it. I was really upset. It didn't make me angry. It really hurt my feelings. Why did he do that? I don't know." Hughes added: "I've had my fair share of crappy, weird things happen. I wasn't the nicest guy when I was drunk. But to do that to a family member whilst I was thanking and congratulating him on his award He didn't wanna know it, didn't wanna fucking know. That was really rude." In 2024, Deep Purple embarked on their "=1 More Time" tour in support of their latest album =1, which included a performance at Montreux Jazz Festival. - NME, 12/30/24...... Neil Young has dug into his archives again for the latest addition to his "Fireside Sessions," pulling out "Pardon My Heart" for its first performance in over 50 years. The live rendition was shared to his Neil Young Archives website as part of his "Fireside Sessions" series, which in late December resulted in a rare performance of the track "Silver and Gold" on Dec. 25. Now, the second entry in the series has gone even deeper, resulting in an exceedingly-rare version of "Pardon My Heart." Originally released on Neil Young & Crazy Horse's Zuma album in Nov. 1975, the track had only ever been played twice previously, and not at all since its official release. Its debut performance took place at the Bottom Line in New York on May 16, 1974, when Young performed a surprirse set following a Ry Cooder show. Appearing as the penultimate song of the set, Young prefaced its debut by describing it as "a love song I learned recently." "I wrote it too," he added. "This is a love song. It's one of the saddest love songs I've ever heard." Just three months later, the track received its final live appearance when it was performed during Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's reunion tour in New York on Aug. 15. "Pardon My Heart" was penned by Young about the disolution of his relationship with Carrie Snodgress, who also inspired much of his Homegrown album. Despite being recorded throughout 1974 and 1975, Homegrown did not see a release until 2020. Though it currently remains to be seen whether more Fireside Sessions performances will arrive, Young also used his first entry in the series to announce that he would be releasing a new album titled Talking to the Trees, which will be accompanied by a North American and European tour with his new band, the Chrome Hearts. - Billboard, 12/29/24...... The former Morrison Hotel, immortalized by The Doors and their 1970 album of the same name, was significantly damaged by a fire that erupted in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 26. The four-story building, which has been vacant more than a decade, burned for nearly two hours before more than 100 firefighters brought the flames under control, according to the L.A. Fire Department. The Morrison Hotel was featured on the cover of The Doors' fifth album. Celebrated L.A.-based music photographer Henry Diltz made the image in 1969 and said years later that it took a little trickery to pull it off. A hotel clerk told the band they weren't allowed to take photos inside, but when the clerk stepped away, the group ran into the lobby and Diltz quickly got the photo looking through the window, with legendary frontman Jim Morrison in the middle. "It was a great old wooden building with many small rooms upstairs where transients and drinkers could sleep it off on a cot for $2.50 a night!" Diltz says. "I think the beautiful front window with "Morrison Hotel" in red letters was the best part of it! So did The Doors!" The album was viewed as a comeback to their roots for the band, coming on the heels of Morrison's on-stage arrest at a Miami concert that saw him convicted of indecent exposure and profanity. Los Angeles firefighters who first arrived at the blaze found heavy flames on the building's top floor. Several people who were in the building escaped without injuries, including three people rescued by firefighters from the third floor, according to the department. The building's roof collapsed, leaving its structural integrity in doubt, the department said. The building in recent years had been used as a training site for firefighters. Morrison and The Doors would release one final album, L.A. Woman, before he was found dead in a Paris bathtub on July 3, 1971. - Billboard, 12/28/24...... Marvin Gaye III, the eldest son of legendary singer Marvin Gaye, is being accused of assault, battery, false imprisonment and more in a new lawsuit. According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, the accuser, referred to as Jane Doe, claims she was called to Gaye's home in Jan. 2023 to mediate an argument between him and his then-wife Wendy. She states that her intention was to assist in "diffusing the situation," but events "escalated into a series of violent and threatening acts" perpetrated by Gaye including physical assault, verbal threats of death and the retrieval of a firearm. In court documents, the accuser claims that Gaye physically attacked her, pointed a gun at her and Wendy, and threatened to kill them. Gaye is further accused of orchestrating "acts of intimidation," including tampering with her vehicle by cutting the brakes, and arranging for his associates to surveil her home. As a direct result of Gaye's alleged conduct, the woman claims in court paperwork that she has suffered severe emotional distress including anxiety, depression, panic attacks, insomnia and weight loss. She is asking the court for an undisclosed amount of damages. Gaye denied the accusations to Us Weekly: "No way did that happen. It's all bullshit. I wouldn't do that. These are false claims." - Music-News.com, 12/31/24...... Legendary BBC Radio 2 broadcaster Johnnie Walker died on New Year's Eve at the age of 79, just two months after drawing his 58-year career to a close. The news was confirmed live on air on the station on Dec. 31 by his friend and colleague Bob Harris, who had taken over Walker's Sounds Of The 70s show after his recent retirement. Walker had the lung condition pulmonary fibrosis and stepped down from his shows, which also included The Rock Show on Radio 2, at the end of October. Walker's wife Tiggy said she "couldn't be more proud" of her husband for "how he kept broadcasting almost to the end and with what dignity and grace he coped with his debilitating lung disease." "He remained his charming, humorous self to the end, what a strong amazing man. It has been a rollercoaster ride from start to finish," she said. "And if I may say -- what a day to go. He'll be celebrating New Year's Eve with a stash of great musicians in heaven. One year on from his last live show. God bless that extraordinary husband of mine who is now in a place of peace." Walker was born on Mar. 30, 1945 and started his radio career in 1966 on pirate station Swinging Radio England before moving to the legendary Radio Caroline. He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1969 and helmed the lunchtime show from 1971, where he promoted emerging artists such as Lou Reed, Steve Harley and Steely Dan. After a stint on US radio, he presented shows on BBC Radio 5 Live and GLR before joining Radio 2 in 1997, where he presented Drive from 1998 to 2006. He had presented Sounds Of The 70s since 2009 and The Rock Show since 2018 before bowing out of both programmes in late October to tend to his poor health. His final words on his final show were: "Walk into the future with our heads held high, and happiness in our hearts." The BBC's director general Tim Davie has paid tribute to Walker, describing him as a "pop radio pioneer and champion of great music," while Radio 2 boss Helen Thomas added: "Everyone at Radio 2 is heartbroken about the passing of Johnnie, a much loved broadcasting legend." The BBC have said that a collection of programmes showcasing Walker's life and career will be available on BBC Sounds shortly. - NME, 12/31/24...... Actress Linda Lavin, star of the long-running CBS sitcom Alice and a Tony winner for Neil Simon's play "Broadway Bound," died on Dec. 29. She was 87. A representative for Ms. Lavin confirmed the actress died unexpectedly due to complications from lung cancer that had been recently discovered. As recently as Dec. 4 Ms. Lavin attended the premiere of Netflix's dark comedy series No Good Deed at the streamer's Tudum Theater in Hollywood. Ms. Lavin established herself as a beloved character actor with her decade-long stint on Alice, the CBS comedy series adapted from Martin Scorsese's 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, with Ellen Burstyn in the title role. The series, which ran from 1976-85, starred Ms. Lavin as Alice Hyatt, a widow with a young son (played by Philip McKeon) who starts life again in Arizona, where she works at Mel's Diner (whose eponymous owner was played by Vic Tayback), alongside fellow waitresses Flo (Polly Holliday) and Vera (Beth Howland). Ms. Lavin was Emmy nominated for her work on the series in 1979, and won the Golden Globe for actress in a comedy or music for Alice in 1979 and 1980 and was nommed again in 1981. Alice was a top-30 show throughout its first eight seasons, finishing the 1979-80 season at No. 4, before finally dropping off in its last season. The series subsequently appeared in syndication. In 2015 she appeared in the comedy The Intern, starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, and also kept busy with roles on such series as Netflix's No Good Deedand CBS' Elsbeth as well as the CBS comedy 9JKL. Other TV credits include appearances in B Positive, Being the Ricardos, Madame Secretary, Mom, The Good Wife, The Sopranos, Room 104 and more. Though Lavin made appearances on television after Alice, she was actually more of a stage actress and was Tony-nominated six times for roles in "Last of the Red Hot Lovers," "Broadway Bound," "The Diary of Anne Frank," "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife," "Collected Stories" and "The Lyons." Born in Portland, Maine, Ms. Lavin first took the stage at the age of 5. She graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1959 with a degree in theater. The actress made her Broadway debut in 1962 in the Harold Prince-directed musical comedy "A Family Affair," followed by "The Riot Act" the next year. She made her television debut in a 1963 episode of The Doctors and Nurses and appeared in a 1969 segment of CBS Playhouse called "Sadbird." There were a few TV movies and guest appearances on Rhoda and Harry O before she did a one-season run from 1975-76 on ABC's hit police comedy Barney Miller as Det. Janice Wentworth. After starting Alice in 1976 she continued guested on other shows, including Phyllis and Family. Ms. Lavin was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2011. She was thrice married, the first time to actor Ron Liebman from 1969-81, the second time to actor Kip Niven from 1982-92. She is survived by her third husband, actor-drummer Bakunas. - Variety, 12/30/24...... Jimmy Carter, the Georgia peanut farmer who won the presidency in 1976 in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100. The longest-lived American president, Pres. Carter died more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Ga., where he and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who preceded him in death in Nov. 2023 at age 96, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. "Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia," the center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world, Pres. Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation's highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. "My faith demands -- this is not optional -- my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference," he once said. A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon's disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. Pres. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women's rights and America's global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential center where Pres. Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet his electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in Apr. 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn't long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 -- losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox -- and then immediately focused on the next campaign. In 1970, he ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman he mocked as "Cufflinks Carl." Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Mr. Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Mr. Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. A self-declared "born-again Christian," Pres. Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he "had looked on many women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times." The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced -- including NBC's new Saturday Night Live show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. He campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he'd "kick his ass," but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with "make America great again" appeals and asking voters whether they were "better off than you were four years ago." The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his "malaise" speech, although he didn't use that word. He declared the nation was suffering "a crisis of confidence." By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. At 56, Pres. Carter returned to Georgia with "no idea what I would do with the rest of my life," and eventually founded The Carter Center. Among the center's many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee's 2002 Peace Prize cited his "untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. "I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything," hetold the AP in 2021. "But it's turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years." Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. "I'm perfectly at ease with whatever comes," he said in 2015. "I've had a wonderful life. I've had thousands of friends, I've had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence." "When I look at Jimmy Carter, I see a man not only for our times, but for all times," Pres. Joe Biden said in a tribute on X. "A man who embodied the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away. And while we may never see his likes again, we would all do well to try to be a little more like Jimmy Carter." Pres. Biden has declared Jan. 9 a national day of mourning for the late president, who will be honored with a state funeral in Washington, D.C. before being buried in his native Plains, Ga. - AP/Billboard, 12/29/24.

Sunday, December 27, 2024

REO Speedwagon played their final gigs under the REO Speedwagon moniker with gigs on Dec. 20 and 21 at Las Vegas' Venetian Theatre. At the Dec. 21 show, frontman Kevin Cronin said during a parting speech (shared on YouTube): "The REO Speedwagon name is being retired tonight. But the music, the spirit, the songs of REO Speedwagon will live on with this band and with me under the name Kevin Cronin. We hope you join us on that adventure." The band split their 19-song set into two portions: the first half saw them perform their 1980 No. 1 LP Hi Infidelity in full, while the second half saw them play an assortment of career hits. Cronin has announced will make his solo debut in January, and hopes to continue on with REO's current touring roster -- which includes Matt Bissonette, Dave Amato, Bryan Hitt and Derek Hilland -- albeit under a different name. Cronin has also suggested that he can see a case in which longtime REO bassist Bruce Hall joins the bands for select shows here and there, but doesn't consider Hall's return as a full-time member "as an option." In September, the announced that though "heartbroken" to do so, they will cease touring at the end of 2024, bringing an end to the popular Midwestern rock band due to "irreconcilable differences" between Cronin and Hall. - NME,12/23/24...... Gene Simmons of KISS announced on X on Dec. 24 that he'll hit the road with his Gene Simmons Band in the spring of 2025, with the tour kicking off at the Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park, Calif. on Apr. 5. After five dates in Florida cities from Apr. 25-30, the tour will resume in Beaver Dam, Ky., on May 3, then move northeast with gigs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario before hitting Nashville, Ind., on May 20 and wrap with three Texas dates in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston on May 22, 23 and 24, respectively. KISS, meanwhile, are working on their upcoming avatar show, which band co-founder Paul Stanley has described as "Cirque Du Soleil meets Star Wars and a KISS concert." The production is being overseen by the company behind ABBA's Voyage show, in which the Swedish pop quartet were represented by holographic virtual avatars on stage. - NME, 12/24/24...... Speaking to podcast host Leona Graham on her Leona Graham Podcast, Queen's Brian May discussed such topics as potential new Queen music and how he "still get chills up the spine" when he hears classic tracks by Buddy Holly. "I think Roger (Taylor) and I both put stuff down from time to time," May said when asked about talk of new Queen music. "We do. And sometimes we get together and go, what you got? You know? So that kind of stuff happens and maybe there will be a point where we where we actually make the decision to do it." May said there's a "feeling of almost rebirth" because "selling (their copyrights) out to Sony.... means is they own the copyrights in all the past, but we will own the copyrights in the future. So in a way that's a kind of invitation to create something. And I think we may be able to rise to that challenge in some way." Reflecting on his biggest musical inspirations, May said most of all it was Holly and his band The Crickets: "I was just blown away, I still am, I still get chills up the spine when I hear like 'Maybe Baby'. It was so breathtakingly new, but also had this haunting beauty with those harmonies. And I've done my own versions of some of those songs, but they're always there inside me. Buddy Holly had a very short career. He had like two and a half years of of being a rock star. But the melodies he delivered during that time and the whole vibe of this rock music was, to me, immortal. And it's definitely still part of what I do." The full B side and first 3 episodes of The Leona Graham Podcast are now available to stream now free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. - Music-News.com, 12/24/24...... Speaking of new music, Paul McCartney has revealed that one of his 2025 New Year's resolutions is to finish an album. The former Beatles, who has just wrapped his 2024 "Got Back" tour, published a Q and A on his official website, answering end-of-year questions from fans. Topics ranged from his plans for the holiday season and what he is most grateful for. One fan asked McCartney if he has any New Year's resolutions for 2025. "Here's one: finish an album!," he responded. "I've been working on a lot of songs, and have had to put it to the side because of the tour. So, I'm hoping to get back into that and finish up a lot of these songs. So, how's about that? My New Year's resolution is to finish a new album! How about that for a teaser?" His last solo album was 2020's McCartney III, the long-awaited follow-up to 1970's McCartney and 1980's McCartney II While Sir Paul has no more scheduled shows for 2025, he ended his final London show on Dec. 19 by bringing out former bandmate Ringo Starr and saying "See you next time." - NME, 12/23/24...... After the acclaimed new Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unkown debuted in the US on Christmas Day, the BBC4 is preparing fans for its UK premiere on Jan. 17 by unveiling plans to run a series of programmes that will dive into the career of the musician beginning Jan. 10 at 10:20pm GMT with a broadcast of the 2005 Dylan documentary Bob Dylan: No Direction Home. Afterwards, BBC4 will air Bob Dylan: Shadow Kingdom, a live concert film shot in California in 2021, while Dylan's "Never Ending Tour" was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Timothée Chalamet-starred A Complete Unknown charts the music great's transition from acoustic folk idol to electric rock star in the mid-'60s. Chalamet stars alongside Edward Norton (Pete Seeger) and Elle Fanning (Sylvie Russo), a fictionalised version of Dylan's first New York girlfriend Suze Rotolo, who died in 2011). The film is based on Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, And The Night That Split The Sixties. Meanwhile, clothing giant Levi Strauss & Co. has announced a new clothing line inspired by Chalamet's depiction of Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Levi's has launched "Levi's Vintage Clothing x A Complete Unknown," a collection that includes a jacket and a pair of jeans that are directly inspired by Chalamet's look in the film, which itself was closely modelled on original outfits donned by Dylan in the '60s. Among the options are a yellow tan, 100% leather jacket for $1200 (£955), which comes with sheet music for "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," a replica cue card from the "Subterranean Homesick Blues"' video, special costume lining notes and a still photo of Chalamet wearing the same jacket. Also available are a $495 (£395) pair of jeans with a D-shaped buckle belt and sheet music for "Girl From The North Country" and a liner note quoting Dylan: "I'll let you be in my dreams / If I can be in yours." Levi's announced the clothing line in an Instagram post on Dec. 22. - NME, 12/23/24...... On Dec. 20 former Fleetwood Mac member Lindsey Buckingham was granted a permanent restraining order by a judge in Los Angeles against an alleged female stalker who showed up at his house. During the hearing Buckingham, 75, testified as part of his plea for protection against a 53-year-old woman named Michelle. The court previously granted the rockstar a temporary restraining order but now Buckingham was awarded a full five-years of protection. Buckingham showed the judge the picture that Michelle left at his house when she showed up, and he also played an "unmarked audio clip" as evidence. The judge determined Buckingham had presented enough evidence to warrant a permanent order and ordered Michelle, who did not appear for the hearing despite being served with notice, to stay 100 yards away from Lindsey, his wife Kristen Buckingham and his son William Buckingham. The woman was also ordered to not contact, harass or threaten Buckingham in any manner. The restraining order will expire in Dec. 2029. In his petition for the restraining order, Buckingham accused accused Michelle of harassing his family since 2021 and claimed she accused him of being his father, which he said was not true. He said it all started when Michelle found his wife's business cell phone number. He said Michelle started calling Kristen, "sometimes, leaving long drawn-out messages that included the claim that she was my child and threats to kill me and my family." He said, "She also blamed me for facial deformities she apparently suffered as a child and demanded money." "I do not know [Michelle] and I am not her father," he told the court. The "Trouble" singer said police instructed Michelle to stop contacting Lindsey and his family in 2022. He said he believed it all stopped so he decided not to take any legal action, but then Michelle reappeared in 2024 when she showed up to his house to leave a collage of photos of her face with his face. He said two weeks later after Michelle made false reports to the police about his son being in danger in the house, police showed up at his home and conducted a search for 20 minutes, "leaving me outside in the cold handcuffed... and shaken" until they realized it was a false report. The court granted the petition in full at the hearing. - InTouchWeekly.com, 12/23/24...... On Dec. 25 Neil Young shared an Instagram video of him performing the title track of his 2000 album Silver and Gold for the first time in almost two decades. Written in 1981, "Silver and Gold" has rarely been performed live, and the last time the Canadian-born folk/rock legend sang it before a live audience was 2007. Interviewed in 2000, Young said he "tried [the song] several ways... I think, a total of 11 times with different people in all kinds of different configurations." He went on to say: "And we got 'em all, none of them are worth listening to. But this one here finally just got back to the roots of it and just sat down with my guitar and played it and said, 'That's it.' Because I love the song and I feel the song now and it means something to me now." In the video Young is shown playing guitar and softly singing while sitting by a fire. As it cuts off at the end, he can be heard saying: "Is that our first fireside session?" - New Musical Express, 12/26/24...... A cover of the Grateful Dead song "Ripple" by rising country music singer-songwriter and actor Sturgill Simpson during the GD's Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in Washington on Dec. 8 has been shared on YouTube. The GD were among the honorees in Pres. Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' final Kennedy Center Honors hosting. Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart and Bob Weir were in attendance at the ceremony, while bassist and co-founding member Phil Lesh, who died in October at age 84, was represented by his son Grahame. Former frontman Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995, was represented by daughter Trixie Garcia. During the ceremony, Simpson performed a cover "Ripple," though footage of the performance hadn't been shared until Dec. 22, when the ceremony was broadcast to public. Elsewhere during the ceremony, Pres. Biden said of the band: "In the San Francisco Bay at an inflexion point in history, the Grateful Dead have long since transcended 1960s counterculture." He went on to say: "Look, there's still a lot of Deadheads around," before pointing at himself, and adding: "No two performances even the same, but their spirit and joy is enduring. Tonight we honour Bobby, Bill and Mickey." The band's current touring ensemble, Dead & Co., has announced it will reprise its wildly successful "Dead Forever" residency at Las Vegas' Sphere in 2025 in celebration of its 60th anniversary. - NME, 12/23/24...... Classic rock fans can finally watch the 2024 Rock & Roll Induction Ceremony that went down in October on ABC on Jan. 1 at 8:00 p.m./9:00 central. The long-overlooked Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Kool & the Gang, A Tribe Called Quest, Mary J. Blige and Dave Matthews Band were all inducted. Matthews said of the honored musicans: "We are swimming in deep water here." But the best moments, of course, revolved around the musical performances, of which there were many. Highlights include Cher and Dua Lipa belting out "Believe"; Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, Chad Smith, Slash and Sammy Hagar banding together to salute Foreigner; Jennifer Hudson crooning alongside Dionne Warwick; and Dave Matthews Band "Burning Down the House" with a Talking Heads tribute at the end of the night. - TV Guide, 12/30/24...... Legendary Philly soul group The Stylistics have announced their first new album in nearly two decades, with the likes of Shania Twain, KISS's Gene Simmons, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood, The Darkness' Justin Hawkins and the Tower of Power Rhythm Section all set to feature. Now, 56 years after their original formation and a full 17 years since their last full-length album That Same Way, the vocal group have announced a brand new album, Falling In Love With My Girl. Dropping on Feb. 21, the LP will be previewed by its lead single "Yes, I Will," a song co-written and co-performed by Twain, which will be available on Feb. 14. Stylistics singer Airrion Love has spoken about working alongside Twain on the track: "I fell in love with Shania Twain the first time I heard 'You're Still the One' -- a great song that I still love. When we heard there might be a chance to do something with her we said, "Hell yeah!" Twain said of the track, "It's a special song that came together on one special day at my home where I was hanging out with some friends and musicians. So I think it turned out great and I'm just really excited to share it with the whole world." The Stylistics recently completed a UK tour and are set to play a handful of shows in the US in January. - NME, 12/22/24...... Hard rock icons Alice Cooper and Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford have released "My Christmas List," a kid-friendly holiday song. The wholesome song is a collaboration with the charity Rock For Children, and is set to benefit Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Centers organisation, a non-profit that provides teenagers with after-school training in sound engineering, staging, lighting and video production. "My Christmas List," which can be streamed on YouTube, involves the singers telling Santa Claus of the things on their Christmas list, including a "rock balloon that can fly to the moon" and a "12-string can I can play in a band," while they also let Santa know to enjoy his trademark milk and cookies. In a spoken word section, Cooper suggests other things a child could ask for, telling them: "Seriously kid, always remember to never stop dreaming of the impossible, and believe in the magic of your imagination." A boy replies: "Thanks, Mr. Cooper! If I don't end up with those things from my list, then what I want for Christmas is this," as he holds up a scroll with the words "kindness and love" written on it. The track first appeared on the Rock For Children compilation Solid Rock Revival, released on Aug. 30.E arlier in December, meanwhile, Judas Priest announced two new UK headline shows in July as part of their 2025 European tour, including a co-headline show with Cooper. In May, Cooper is set to play the inaugural edition of Boardwalk Rock Festival in Ocean City, Maryland, alongside headliners Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Nickelback and Shinedown. - NME, 12/20/24...... Alfa Anderson, the singer on some of Chic's biggest hits, has died aged 78. Anderson's bandmate Nile Rodgers confirmed the news on Dec. 17 via Instagram. No cause of death has been given. Though initially she was studying to become a teacher, the Augusta, Ga.-born Anderson began recording background vocals for the likes of Dionne Warwick and Roy Buchanan, as well as on the Quincy Jones-produced 1978 soundtrack for The Wiz. During her time working on the film's soundtrack in 1977, she met Luther Vandross, who encouraged her to audition for Chic. At the time the band were recording their debut self-titled album, which Anderson wound up singing backing vocals on. Following the departure of Norma Jean Wright in 1978, she went on to become the group's lead vocalist. She then began to feature prominently on Chic's music, including their biggest albums: 1978's C'est Chic and 1979's Risque. Her voice can be heard on some of their most recognizable hits, including "Le Freak," "Good Times" and "My Forbidden Lover." Chic dissolved in 1983, and Anderson went on to become a frequent guest on Soul Train and the UK's Top of the Pops. She also sang on Chic-produced albums like Sister Sledge's We Are Family and Diana, by Diana Ross, and reunited with Vandross to tour internationally in the mid-1980s. The next two decades saw her appear on albums by Bryan Adams, Mick Jagger, Teddy Pendergrass, Jennifer Holliday, Billy Squier, Sheena Easton and Bryan Ferry, among others. n 2015, she reunited with Chic to serve as one of the lead vocalists on "I'll Be There," their first single in nearly 25 years. That same year, Chic's "Le Freak" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and, three years later, was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. - NME, 12/22/24...... Actor Michael Cole, who died Dec. 10 at 84, was a high school dropout who reportedly slept under Hollywood freeways before his big break as Pete Cochran, part of ABC's hip undercover series The Mod Squad (1968-73), alongside Peggy Lipton and Clarence Williams III. Cole initially turned down the role that made him a star because, as he once told legendary producer Aaron Spelling, "I'm not going to take part of a guy who finks on his friends." He relented after realizing their job was to take down the adults exploiting kids. Befitting his character, Mr. Cole embraced the '60s hippie movement: "Isn't it interesting that a society would want to outcast somebody who wants to advocate love?" All three Mod Squad members reprised their roles in 1979's TV movie, The Return of the Mod Squad. - TV Guide, 12/30/24...... Richard Perry, one of the great record producers of the 1970s and '80s whose greatest hits include the likes of No. 1 singles "Without You" by Nilsson and "Your So Vain" by Carly Simon, died on Dec. 24 of cardiac arrest in a Los Angeles hospital, according to his friend Daphna Kastner. He was 82. Mr. Perry produced more than 30 top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including Barbra Streisand's dynamic version of Laura Nyro's "Stoney End," in which one the legendary star dove into contemporary pop music for the first time; and a long string of hits by The Pointer Sisters, including the exhilarating "I'm So Excited" and "Jump (for My Love)." Other hits that have the unmistakable immaculate, powerful and precise Perry stamp include Leo Sayer's "When I Need You" (also a No. 1 on the Hot 100) and Burton Cummings' stately "Stand Tall" (a top 10 hit on the Hot 100 in 1977). Mr. Perry also received back-to-back Grammy nods for producer of the year, non-classical in 1977 and 1978. He had a 42-year span of top 10 albums on the Billboard Hot 200. He first made the top 10 in July 1968 with a very unlikely project, an album by pop-culture phenomenon Tiny Tim. He produced back-to-back No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 by two different artists -- Ringo Starr ("Photograph" and "You're Sixteen" in 1973-74) and Sayer ("You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and "When I Need You, both in 1977)." The Starr smashes were historic -- the first and only time that a former Beatle had back-to-back singles that reached No. 1 on the Hot 100. Although very much a pop producer, Mr. Perry's music touched other genres, too. He produced Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson's "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1984 and won single of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards and was nominated in that category at the Country Music Association Awards. Mr. Perry also had No. 1 hits on the R&B and dance charts. He was born Richard Van Perry in Brooklyn, New York, on June 18, 1942, to Mack and Sylvia Perry, who manufactured and sold musical instruments and also served as music teachers. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1964 with a degree in music and theater, Mr. Perry returned to New York. He formed his own independent record production company, Cloud Nine Productions, in June 1965. In March 1967, he moved to Los Angeles. His first album production job was Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band's debut, Safe as Milk, which he co-produced with Bob Krasnow. The album was released in June 1967. That November, Perry was hired by Warner Bros. Records as a staff producer. His first assignment was recording Tiny Tim, who had become a novelty sensation on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, the runaway No. 1 show on TV. The ukelele-playing falsetto singer's debut album, God Bless Tiny Tim, rose to No. 7 on the Billboard 200, boosted by a remake of the 1920s novelty tune "Tip-Toe Thru' the Tulips With Me," which became a top 20 hit on the Hot 100. Mr. Perry also recorded albums with legendary stars Fats Domino (Fats Is Back) and Ella Fitzgerald (Ella), both of which cracked the Billboard 200. Mr. Perry left Warner Bros. in 1970 and almost immediately became one of the most in-demand producers in pop. In 1973, Mr. Perry produced Starr's album Ringo. John Lennon wrote the opening track, "I'm the Greatest," which constituted the closest thing to a Beatles reunion in the decade between the band's breakup in 1970 and Lennon's death in 1980. Starr, Lennon and George Harrison all played on the track (along with Billy Preston and Klaus Voormann). Paul McCartney wasn't involved in the track, but he and Linda McCartney contributed another song, "Six O'Clock," which they appeared on. The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, kept out the top spot by Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. In Jan. 1974, Rolling Stone named Mr. Perry "Producer of the Year" for 1973 in its Rolling Stone Music Awards "for his work with Carly Simon (with session drop-in Mick Jagger) and with Starr (with visitors Lennon, Harrison and McCartney)." In 1978, Mr. Perry played a record producer in American Hot Wax, a film about DJ Alan Freed. (In 1955, at age 12, Mr. Perry had been a regular at Freed's live shows at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater.) Mr. Perry and Carly Simon reunited in 2004 for the standards collection Moonlight Serenade, which reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and received a Grammy nod for best traditional pop vocal album. His last album project to make the top 10 was Rod Stewart's "Fly Me to The Moon" from The Great American Songbook, Vol. 5 in Nov. 2010. In Apr. 2020, he published his memoir, Cloud Nine: Memoirs of a Record Producer. His death was mourned by Rod Stewart and Barbra Streisand, among others, on Instagram. He is survived by his younger brothers Roger, Fred and Andrew. His marriages to Linda Goldner and Rebecca Broussard ended in divorce. Mr. Perry was in a relationship with actress and activist Jane Fonda from 2009 to 2017. - Billboard, 12/25/24.

Sunday, December 22, 2024

To paraphrase a lyric by Michael McDonald in "What a Fool Believes," the Yacht Rock genre "has a place in our lives." The smooth-sounding genre, a mix of pop rock with jazz and R&B melodies, mostly consists of songs popular in the late 1970s and early '80s (think McDonald, Christopher Cross and Kenny Loggins, for example). It's explored in Yacht Rock: A Documentary, a new Music Box doc which premiered on MAX on Dec. 11. Yes, the genre's name is silly -- but that's because it came from a low-budget 2005 comedy webseries that was also responsible for reigniting passion for the style. "I thought it was so unique that you have this 'genre' invented 25 years after this music was dominating the pop charts," says director Garret Price, who features interviews with McDonald and Cross, as well as newer musicians such as Questlove and Mac DeMarco, in his film. "While the name originated from comedy, the music itself was anything was a joke," he adds. A joke? That's what a fool believes. - TV Guide, 12/9/24...... Seventies artists Frankie Valli, The Clash and Prince are among the artists who were selected to receive lifetime achievement awards from the Grammy's Recording Academy in 2025. As a member of The Four Seasons, Valli was nominated for a best new artist Grammy in 1963, but lost to Broadway star Robert Goulet. Valli, 90, has been nominated for five competitive Grammys, for both Four Seasons and solo works, but has yet to win. His 1967 swoon-classic "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" was nominated for two Grammys. He received his most recent nod as a featured artist on the Grease soundtrack, which was nominated for album of the year, and his sleek and sexy recording of Barry Gibb's title song became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Formed in 1976 in the vanguard of British punk, The Clash were pioneers in integrating elements of militant reggae, dub, funk, jazz, and hip-hop into their music. The Clash won their sole Grammy in 2003 -- best long form music video for "Westway to the World." That same year, the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Their classic LP London Calling was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. Frontman Joe Strummer, who died in 2002, is being honored with this lifetime achievement award along with fellow band members Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Nick "Topper" Headon, all of whom are now 69. Prince, who died in 2016 at age 57, won seven Grammys and an Oscar (best original song score for Purple Rain), and three of his albums -- 1999, Purple Rain and Sign o' the Times -- have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 in his first year of eligibility and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2024. Other lifetime achievement award recipients include Frankie Beverly, Dr. Bobby Jones, Taj Mahal and Roxanne Shante. Those honored with trustees awards include producer/engineer Glyn Johns, known for his work with The Who, The Faces and The Eagles and "Misty" songwriter Erroll Garner. The awards will be presented during Grammy Week at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony on Feb. 1 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles. - Billboard, 12/20/24...... In other awards news, Elton John is among the artists shortlisted for the 2025 Oscars for best original song by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on Dec. 17. John and Brandi Carlile are shortlisted for co-writing "Never Too Late," the title song of Elton's new documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. Eno, documentary about legendary British musician Brian Eno, was also shortlisted for an Oscar for best documentary feature, however the Elton John: Never Too Late documentary failed to make the shortlist. Nominations will be announced Jan. 17, and the 97th Oscars will be held on Mar. 2, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide. The show will also stream live on Hulu for the first time. - Billboard, 12/17/24...... Speaking of Elton John, the Rocket Man revealed during his Dec. 18 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that "the juices have never dried up" and his creative drive remains as strong as ever. "They never want to dry up because I'm always looking to create things. It's just having the space now to do it at my own time. Of course there will be new Elton John music," he said to cheers from the crowd. His "Never Too Late" collaborator joined him during the interview. The two shared stories about their friendship and creative process, including how Brandi's heartfelt letter to Elton sparked their relationship. Elton described their bond, saying, "I was doing a residency in Vegas at the time, so I asked her to come to Vegas and I played and sang on the record and as soon as I saw her, I became friends with her. It was like I'd known her all my life." Elton and Carlile's full Late Show interview can be watched on YouTube. Meanwhile, a new waxwork of Sir Elton was unveiled by Madame Tussauds London on Dec. 20. The new figure depicts a moment from the musician's high-flying early days, when America came calling and the artist was at the peak of his powers -- out in space and at his gravity-defying best. The attraction, which can be viewed on the LondonLive X page, is styled from Elton's legendary 1975 Midsummer Music one-day festival at Wembley Stadium -- hands on the key, bejewelled jumpsuit, flamboyant glasses, and platform-shoed feet in the air. "Capturing Elton's phenomenal stage presence -- and that iconic keyboard handstand -- in figure form is quite the challenge, and the result is one of our most technically ambitious figures to date," Madame Tussauds London general manager Steve Blackburn said in a statement. In still more Elton news, the 78-year-old pop superstar unveiled a brand new video for his holiday classic, "Step Into Christmas," on Dec. 18. In the video, actress/model Cara Delevingne takes on the lead role as 1970s Elton. In the Dan French-directed clip, the 1973 yuletide song is given new life when Delevingne slips on a pair of John's signature flashy shades and colorful, quilted bell-bottom suit with high-heeled boots to lip synch along to the jaunty ditty that has long been an upbeat antidote to the melancholy, wistful sounds of other Christmas standards. The new (and old) "Step Into Christmas" videos can be streamed on YouTube. - Billboard, 12/18/24....... Over 30 minutes of rare Black Sabbath footage from their 1976 "Technical Ecstacy" tour has now emerged online available for fans to view. The newly unearthed live film was shot at the iconic metal band's show at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California on Nov. 9, 1976. The venue held a 10,000 capacity and saw the likes of Bob Segar & The Silver Bullet Band and Boston open for the group. The footage shows a young, fresh-faced Ozzy Osbourne dominating the stage while adorned in what appears to be a navy blue jacket with a long white fringe hanging down across its wingspan. Of the night's 14-song set, the newly released footage only shows Sabbath's performances of "Symptom Of The Universe," "Snowblind," "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)," "War Pigs," "Gypsy" and "Children Of The Grave" -- with the latter song previously available on YouTube for a few years now. The rare footage can be checked out on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 12/18/24...... A Dec. 20 press release from the Bruce Springsteen camp has revealed the 75-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend will be extending his global tour with the E Street Band, as well as celebrating some milestones and dusting off unheard gems from the archives. "Upcoming releases in 2025 will include a look back at Springsteen's storied recoding career, featuring never-before-heard material," read the release, which did not specify when the songs are from or what format they will be released in. In 1998, Springsteen dropped the hefty four-disc box set Tracks, which featured 66 songs, mostly never-before-released, as well as b-sides, demos and alternate versions of previously released material. It also noted that the New Jersey rocker will "continue his involvement" in the upcoming biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere, in which The Bear star Jeremy Allen White will portray a young Bruce. A celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Boss's landmark album Born To Run is also on tap for 2025, along with a 45th anniversary marking of 1980's The River and he 30th anniversary of the Grammy-winning acoustic folk rock album The Ghost of Tom Joad and the 20th of 2005's Devils & Dust. Bruce and the band will kick off a spring/summer run of European dates in the spring in Manchester, UK on May 14. The tour will include stops in France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain before winding down on July 3 in Milan, Italy at San Siro Stadium. - Billboard, 12/20/24...... Paul McCartney was joined by his Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood on the final night McCartney's global "Got Back"' tour at London's The O2 arena on Dec. 19. After honoring his late bandmate John Lennon during "I've Got A Feeling," McCartney said to a giddy crowd, "We've got another surprise for you. Bring to the stage the mighty, the one and only Mr Ringo Starr." The pair hugged on stage before McCartney quipped, "Should we rock? Get on your kit lad" to Ringo before the two jammed on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" and "Helter Skelter." Wood also appeared onstage during the show, playing guitar on "Got Back." McCartney introduced the song by talking about his old Höfner bass guitar that was stolen over 50 years ago, and was eventually returned after a public appeal. Holding the Höfner onstage, McCartney revealed that it was the bass' first stage appearance since it had gone missing: "I haven't played it in 50 years." There was also a festive surprise with a performance of his 1979 song "Wonderful Christmastime," accompanied by the Capital Choir who provided backing vocals on the song as snow confetti filled the venue. McCartney, who looked visibly emotional at the conclusion of "Now and Then," the 'final' Beatles song released in 2023 which was completed through the use of assistive AI, has no more shows lined up in the near future, but promised the crowd at the conclusion that "we'll see you again soon." His performance with Ringo has been shared on YouTube. - Billboard, 12/20/24...... In other Beatles news, whisky maker Ballantine's has launched limited-edition John Lennon and Elton John celebratory whiskies just in time for the holidays. The new duo of limited-edition bottle designs which have been crafted to capture the essence of Lennon and John are the latest addition to Ballantine's True Music Icons collection, which previously saw the whisky company pay tribute to the likes of AC/DC and Queen. The new editions not only honour Lennon and John for their contributions to music, but also celebrate their friendship which was highlighted by the former Beatle's single "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" featuring pair's iconic performance together in New York City's Madison Square Garden back in 1974, 50 years ago. Lennon's edition of the Whisky sees his self-portrait sketch logo on the bottle's label, while John's edition features a blue label with a holographic 'E' star logo as well as a drawing of his legendary 1975 performance at Dodger Stadium. The whiskies can be purchased at the ballantines.com website. - NME, 12/17/24...... John Lennon's son Julian Lennon has undergone emergency following a skin cancer diagnosis. Julian recently took to Instagram to reveal his recent health scare, explaining that he had been on the way to New York for a Good Morning America appearance and press junket in support of his latest book, Life's Fragile Moments, when he received word from Dr. Tess Mauricio that melanoma had been discovered on his skin. "So instead of going home to put my Christmas tree up and happily finish the year off, relaxing at home, I flew directly back to Los Angeles, after all my work in New York was done, and went directly from LAX airport, to surgery, with a surgeon recommended by Dr Tess, [Dr. Tim Neavin] -- who spent several hours cleaning up and operating on me, with large margins, in the hope that we have, at the end of the day -- clear margins, which would mean being free from cancer," Lennon wrote. "The operation was a success, but we have yet to have the results of the biopsy, which we may not receive before Christmas." As he continued his post, he shared his gratitude for his medical team for their fast work at coordinating such rapid surgery and for "hopefully saving my life." "One can never be too confident in circumstances like this, but we all believe that Dr Tim has saved the day. So fingers crossed for now," he wrote, concluding with "this is also a timely reminder to all, to please get yourself checked out by your doctor... and you may just be saving your own life." Lennon's fittingly-titled latest book, Life's Fragile Moments, was released earlier in December as is his first photography collection, and features stills taken over two decades, including landscapes, urban scenes, and intimate portraits. - Billboard, 12/19/24...... Blondie have announced the release of a new album in 2025, with production helmed by Grammy-winning producer John Congleton. The news was shared on social media by guitarist and co-founder Chris Stein, who posted a black-and-white photo of lead singer Debbie Harry and Congleton in the studio on Bluesky, accompanied by the caption, "With John Congleton. New Blondie record next year." The new album will mark the band's first album since 2017's Pollinator, also produced by Congleton. That record earned critical acclaim and featured collaborations with artists like Joan Jett, Charli XCX and Johnny Marr. Known for his work with St. Vincent and Angel Olsen, Congleton's involvement hints at a modern, innovative approach for Blondie's upcoming release. - Billboard, 12/19/24...... To honor what would have been the 83rd birthday of Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White on Dec. 19, Maurice's younger brother Verdine White With its vibrant fusion of R&B, soul and pop, "Superman" is immediately reminiscent of EWF's legendary zeitgeist. As Verdine expresses in a pleasing tenor (the first time that the group's renowned bassist is singing solo) on the song's chorus, "More than any other/ He would always understand/ He called me his little brother / I called him Superman." "Would you believe this is my first time [singing solo]," White says. "I was nervous, but it turned out beautifully. Now that the pressure is off, I think I'll do more." Still going strong 55 years after it 1969 inception, EWF hit the road earlier in 2024 year for a string of solo shows in addition to joint shows with Lionel Richie and Chicago. In 2025, the group will play the Hollywood Bowl on July 2, 3 and 4. Also in the works is an EWF documentary directed by Questlove. Asked how Maurice would react to "Superman," White says, "I think he'd chuckle and say, 'Man, I didn't know you could sing like that.'" A video of "Superman," which features photos and clips of Maurice, can be streamed on YouTube. - Billboard, 12/19/24...... Unheard and unreleased music from Michael Jackson has been uncovered in an abandoned storage unit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, several cassette and DAT tapes containing unheard music from the late King of Pop were unearthed in an old storage unit in San Fernando Valley. The cache was discovered by former highway patrol officer Gregg Musgrove, who was "treasure hunting" at a friend's recently purchased abandoned storage unit in Van Nuys, which at one point belonged to singer and music producer Bryan Loren. A total of 12 tapes were uncovered, dating between 1989 and 1991. According to Musgrove's inventory list, at total of 15 unheard songs were found on the tapes, some of which had previously been teased, or have had snippets leaked. Some songs have been completely unheard of. Among those unreleased songs is a collaboration with LL Cool J titled "Truth On Youth." Earlier in 2024 the rapper confirmed they had recorded music together but that the songs weren't "good enough" to be released. However it appears that outside of Jackson's estate, it seems Musgrove would be the only one to hear the tapes. Musgrove and his attorney approached Jackson's estate with the tapes, but noted that the late "Billie Jean" singer's estate declined to purchase the tapes. Musgrove was later sent a letter by Jackson's estate, noting that while it doesn't claim ownership over the tapes, anyone who purchases the tapes in the future will not own the rights to the recordings or compositions -- which already belong to the estate. Jackson's estate has since confirmed that the tapes aren't master copies of the recordings -- the masters are currently housed in the estate's vault. "It should be clear to all that ownership and rights of exploitation to the recordings remain vested in MJJP Records and that nothing commercial or otherwise can be done with the DAT copies," the letter also stated. This essentially means that the tapes can never be released publicly, but can be heard privately by whoever is in possession of the recordings. Musgrove and his attorney have since made clear their intention to auction off the tapes to Michael Jackson enthusiasts, and have planned to bring them to four major auction houses soon. They estimate that the tapes will fetch a minimum of seven figures. - NME, 12/18/24...... A new documentary about former Genesis member and '80s/'90s solo star Phil Collins, premiered on Dec. 18 on the Drumeo YouTube channel. The doc, titled Phil Collins: Drummer First, captures the musician revisiting his drum kit for the first time in years, a moment that's both poignant and powerful. "It's still kind of sinking in," Phil says in the documentary. "I've spent all my life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock." Collins, now 73, has faced numerous health challenges stemming from a 2007 spinal injury that left him with limited mobility and complications such as drop foot. His drumming, once the heartbeat of Genesis and his solo career, has been sidelined in recent years. During Genesis' 2022 farewell tour, Collins passed the torch to his son Nic, who filled in on drums. Still, his connection to the instrument remains unshakable. "If I can't do what I did as well as I did it, I'd rather relax and not do anything," he reflects. "But if I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks, then I'll have a crack at it. But I just feel like I've used up my air miles." The film also sheds light on Collins' legendary career, including anecdotes that illustrate his profound impact on music. - Billboard,12/19/24...... The Temptations celebrated the 60th anniversary of their enduring hit "My Girl" on the recent NBC special A Motown Christmas, which aired Dec. 11. Surviving co-founding member Otis Williams and the other members of the group -- whose current lineup also features Ron Tyson, Terry Weeks, Tony Grant and Jawan M. Jackson -- performed a three-song set of hits that included "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Get Ready" and, of course, "My Girl." "When we finished putting the vocals down on the song [in 1964], I said to [producer] Smokey [Robinson] in the control room, 'Man, I don't know how big a record this is going to be. But this is going to be a record," Williams says. "I still can't believe that here we are, some 60 years later and we're still going strong. Most groups don't get that kind of break. It was God's timing for Motown to start when it did. And here we are a part of something that will outlive all of us." Written and produced by fellow Motown legends and The Miracles founding members Robinson and Ronnie White, "My Girl" was released through Motown subsidiary Gordy on Dec. 21, 1964. Three months later, in March 1965, the song had ascended to the top of Billboard's pop and R&B charts, giving The Tempts their first No. 1 hit. In the years since its release, "My Girl" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Then the Library of Congress chose it for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2017, calling the song "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The mega-hit has also crossed the 1 billion streams mark on Spotify. - Billboard, 12/17/24.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Barbra Streisand took to social media on Dec. 15 to give props to rising singer Gracie Abrams after Abrams performed two songs on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 14. "I just saw a wonderful new singer named GRACIE ABRAMS (@gracieabrams) on Saturday Night Live this weekend. And it turns out she's the daughter of my friend JJ Abrams!," the Funny Girl actress wrote, shouting out the Star Wars: The Force Awakens director, while sharing a photo of Abrams singing and playing guitar. The SNL performance of Abrams, who recently opened for Taylor Swift on the latter's record-breaking "Eras" tour, can be viewed on YouTube. Abrams and Streisand also have something else in common: Both are up for awards at the 2025 Grammys. The former is in the running for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance thanks to her "Us" duet with Swift, while Streisand earned nods for Best Song Written for Visual Media thanks to "Love Will Survive" (from the Peacock series The Tattooist of Auschwitz) and Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling recording for her memoir My Name Is Barbra. - Variety, 12/16/24...... After REO Speedwagon announced on Instagram on Sept. 16 that their upcoming U.S. dates will be their last, frontman Kevin Cronin says he wants to make it perfectly clear that ending REO was not his idea -- or desire. "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever see this coming," says Cronin, who will make his solo debut on Jan. 25 in Thackerville, Okla. and will be part of next summer's "Brotherhood of Rock" tour with Styx and former Eagles guitarist Don Felder. "I didn't want to end REO Speedwagon. This is sad, and I would do anything in my power to continue (as) REO Speedwagon. I never quit the band; I never will quit the band. I just got outvoted and... have to stop calling it REO Speedwagon at the end of this year." The vote Cronin refers to was a 2-1 decision with keyboardist Neal Doughty -- REO's sole remaining founding member from 1967, though he retired from touring during 2023 -- and Bruce Hall, bassist since 1977. Hall took a leave of absence during November of 2023 to have back surgery, with his spot filled by longtime Elton John and former David Lee Roth bassist Matt Bissonette. All three retained ownership interest in REO, however. In announcing its dissolution, the group said that Hall "had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect" and that "due to this complex situation, irreconcilable differences arose between Bruce and Kevin." It also noted that Hall "never had any intention of retiring or walking away from the band, fans and crew he has loved for almost 50 years" while Cronin "too has never had any intention of leaving the band, and the fans and crew mean the world to him, as well." The initial Cronin solo tour show in Thackerville, Okla. on Jan. 25 will be titled "The Songs of REO Speedwagon," and he vows to continue playing the hits and fan favorites from his more than 40 years in the band. "It's gonna be called Kevin Cronin, but if you want to see an REO Speedwagon show, that's what it's going to be," explains Cronin, who's also been writing a memoir. Cronin adds he's also "really excited" to still be riding the storm out, but under his own name. "What I'm trying to concentrate on now is the future, and how fortunate I am to be in the position I am right now, artistically and creatively and musically," he says. "What I get in return for not touring under the name REO Speedwagon is to be able to tour in a band that is just firing on all cylinders and makes me happy and makes me fulfilled." The final show under the REO Speedwagon moniker takes place Dec. 21 at the Venetian in Las Vegas. - Billboard, 12/16/24...... A New Jersey politician has been found to have shared a fake Spotify Wrapped in a bid to champion Bruce Springsteen. The Garden State's Democratic representative Josh Gottheimer took his eagerness to support Jersey legend Springsteen to the next level -- posting his results from Spotify Wrapped 2024 on X and showcasing his commitment to listening to The Boss. "No surprises here Fun fact: My first ever concert was at Meadowlands to see The Boss!" he shared, alongside an image which showed his top five songs of the past 12 months being the singer's hits "Thunder Road," Because the Night," "Glory Days," "Badlands" and "The Rising." Upon the results being shared, however, some viewers were quick to notice slight discrepancies between the politician's results and the Wrapped results shared online by other Spotify users. After outlets like the New Jersey Monitor weighed in and asked him for comment, Gottheimer went on to reveal he had doctored the results to avoid including his children's choice in music in the list in another X post. "This would be my Spotify Wrapped if I didn't share my account with my 12 and 15-year-old kids," Gottheimer said in a statement. "While it's Springsteen all day for me -- don't get me wrong, I still love listening to Taylor Swift!" Later, he went on to clarify his actual results for the Top Five songs and artists he had on Spotify for 2024 in yet another post. Springsteen still took first place on the artist list, and other names included Billy Joel, Drake, Travis Scott and Swift. The 2024 edition of Spotify Wrapped arrived earlier in December and, as ever, allowed users to reflect on their listening habits from the past 12 months in its "Celebration Of Your Year" experience. - NME, 12/12/24...... Lady Gaga has hooked up with AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson to sing the classic AC/DC number "Highway to Hell" for Apple TV's A Carpool Karaoke Christmas special, which the streaming service premiered on Dec. 15. During Gaga's segment, she was joined by special guest Johnson to whom she revealed she has been a decades-long AC/DC fan. The pair then clasp hands and start belting out the band's "Highway To Hell" together. In the segment, Gaga also revealed she was a "headbanging" extra in an AC/DC video as a teenager. When Johnson first entered the car to join Gaga and Zane Lowe, Gaga said: "You want to hear something funny? I was in [2000's] 'Stiff Upper Lip' video." "I was 17 and I was an extra in the back and I was headbanging," she continued, prompting fans to share screenshots of her brief appearance in the video on social media. And they were like, 'Don't headbang. We want it to be modern.' And I was like, 'No, I can't. Like, there's only one move that I can do.'" The full episode of A Carpool Karaoke Christmas can be viewed on Apple TV+, and the Gaga/Johnson collaboration can be streamed on X. - New Musical Express, 12/16/24...... As his ongoing "Get Back" tour stopped in Manchester, UK on Dec. 14, Paul McCartney treated fans to a rare live rendition of his festive yuletide tune "Wonderful Christmastime" -- a moment that hasn't been seen live in six years. Sir Paul, 82, was joined by children from the You Should Be Dancing Theatre Academy, transforming the Co-Op Live arena into a winter wonderland. This performance was particularly special, as McCartney has only played "Wonderful Christmastime" live about a dozen times throughout his extensive solo career. The last time fans were treated to a live version was back in 2018 during a series of December shows in England and before that, it was during a Dec. 2016 performance on The Tonight Show. Originally released in 1979 as a standalone single, "Wonderful Christmastime" has become a staple of holiday playlists worldwide. The song was later included as a bonus track on some editions of the Beatles legend's McCartney II album. Earlier in December, "Wonderful Christmastime" reappeared on Billboard's Rock Streaming Songs chart at No. 15. It has previously flown to the runner-up rung in the 47 weeks it's spent on the list of the most-streamed rock tunes in the US. During the Manchester performance, Macca also treated fans to a mix of deep cuts and iconic hits like "Hey Jude" and "Band on the Run," in a hit-filled three-hour set. The early Beatles tunes that peppered the first hour of the set included a souped-up "Drive My Car" and the Motown-inspired "Got to Get You into My Life." McCartney's Manchester "Wonderful Christmastime" performance has been shared on YouTube. Meanwhile, the longtime vegetarian has launched an anti-bullfighting appeal ahead of his concerts in Madrid, Spain. In a new PETA campaign in Spain, the music legend declares, "I am Paul McCartney, and I oppose bullfighting." It comes as animal rights advocates in the country gather signatures for the No Es Mi Cultura popular legislative initiative, which aims to repeal the law that designates bullfighting as "cultural heritage" and empower Spanish communities to prohibit the violent blood sport. "Bulls feel pain and fear just as humans do, yet in the bullring they're terrorised, mutilated, and barbarically slaughtered in front of jeering crowds," says PETA Vice President for Europe Mimi Bekhechi. "PETA urges compassionate people everywhere to join Sir Paul McCartney in taking a stand against these bloody, merciless spectacles." International condemnation of bullfighting has continued to grow, including in Spain, where 93% of young people say they don't support the cruel spectacles. More than 100,000 PETA supporters have urged Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to ban bullfighting. In more McCartney news, pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter has given Macca a shout-out during an appearance on CBS's The Late Show on Dec. 12. "When I was very, very young, my dad played me 'Rocky Raccoon' for the first time and I was so mesmerized by that song and the songwriting of it all that I fell in love with Paul McCartney," Carpenter told host Stephen Colbert. "I was convinced that was my husband, my future husband," she added of the now-82-year-old pop icon. "But he was quite old and I was so young I didn't understand that he was much older than me because I was looking at all these photos," she recalled thinking. "No, he's young, he's only like 10 years older than me. I didn't understand math I was a child." Colbert then asked Carpenter what it was like when she was finally able to meet the Beatles legend. "I just formed tears in my eyes and he was just so normal and casual and was so charming," she said. "It felt like I was entering an alternate universe like the Upside Down vibes? Like Stranger Things, but a lot happier than Stranger Things." What isn't strange, Carpenter noted, is that in every room McCartney enters he makes everyone feel "seen and heard," which was inspiring to see from someone she's "obsessed" with. Carpenter's Late Show interview can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 12/16/24...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Ringo Starr participated in a playback of his new country music-themed album Look Up at Third Man Records in London on Dec. 13. "I love my voice on this. I love all the tracks actually, and you know, they're all in my key," the world famous drummer told the UK paper The Sun. Starr was joined at the event by famous faces including ex-Led Zeppelin frontman Jimmy Page, 80, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, 77, Eric Clapton, 79, Sir Bob Geldof, 73, and 66-year-old Jools Holland. Ringo's new album comes after he told Variety he suffered a near-fatal illness that forced him to cancel solo shows this year. He said he had a high white blood cell count of 12,000, which can mean an infection or inflammation, describing it as "a mad thing eating my body." Ringo, a father of three, added: "That's what saved your life -- they were fighting the attacker. And so with pills and medication, I got over it in two weeks." - Music-News, 12/14/24...... Timothée Chalamet channeled Bob Dylan's early blonde-haired look at the New York premiere of the new Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown at New York's SVA Theater on Dec. 13. Chalamet, 28, paid tribute to the folk-rock icon by recreating Dylan's style from a 2003 Sundance Film Festival event. Dressed in a light blue beanie, black leather coat, gray patterned scarf, red flannel shirt and sporting dyed blonde bangs, Chalamet's ensemble closely mirrored a look Dylan wore to the Masked and Anonymous movie screening more than two decades ago. A Complete Unknown, which has its general release on Christmas Day, stars Chalamet as a younger version of Dylan. The film also features Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro and Edward Norton. After His Bobness himself gave his stamp of approval to Chalamet's performance in the film on X earlier in December, Chalamet tweeted in response that he was "Floored... I am so grateful. Thank you, Bob." - Billboard, 12/14/24...... The new Elton John documentary Never Too Late began streaming exclusively on Disney+ on Dec. 13. Celebrating the extraordinary 50-year career of one of the biggest names in pop and rock music, it gives fans a peek at the legendary singer's life behind his rhinestone-encrusted glasses, as he prepares for his farewell live concert at Dodger Stadium, the same venue of his iconic 1975 performance. Directed by R.J. Cutler and John's husband/manager David Furnish, the film is jam-packed with unseen footage, rare interviews and an array of Elton's greatest hits as he explores the inspiring full-circle journey of his career. In his own words, the Rocket Man recounts the many struggles he's faced early on in life, to his rise to fame and career-defining sold-out shows. The official trailer for Elton John: Never Too Late can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 12/12/24...... In other Elton news, his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin recently told Time magazine in an interview to mark John being named the magazine's "2024 Icon of the Year" that the work he and Sir Elton did when the singer was in the depths of drug addiction "not the best." "I was terrified for him. It was absolutely horrible a lot of the work that we did in the times when he was at his worst wasn't the best of both of us," Taupin said. He added about watching Elton battle addiction forcing him to reform his heavy drug use for the sake of his work: "I wasn't able to creatively invest any time in writing material that related to him until he actually found himself, and then it was easier for me to reflect upon it." John has said he was introduced to cocaine around 1974 at the peak of his productivity, and even though he initially enjoyed the powder freeing him from his crippling shyness, it "soon took over his life." Time reported Elton now "divides his life into pre- and post-sober periods." Its profile highlighted how he has helped a series of others kick drugs, which has seen him become rapper Eminem's sponsor and get late The Band member Robbie Williams into rehab for the first time. Elton said about trying to coach people into giving up addictions: "It's tough to tell someone that they're being an a--h---, and it's tough to hear. Eventually I made the choice to admit that I'm being an a--h---." - Music-News.com, 12/14/24...... Cher has been "required to evacuate" her home in the wake of the dangerous Malibu wildfire. Known as the Franklin Fire, the conflagration has destroyed nearly 4,000 acres since beginning on Dec. 9. Other celebrities who reside in Malibu, including legendary comedy actor Dick Van Dyke and actress Mira Sorvino, have revealed they've also evacuated since the start of the Southern California natural disaster. The wildfire has caused forced evacuation orders and warnings for over 20,000 residents due to the wind-driven fire, according to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone. - People, 12/11/24...... KISS bassist/singer Gene Simmons spent decades traveling the world as the fire-breathing bass player for KISS, taking with him the large road crews required for massive -- and expensive -- productions on some of music's biggest stages. Since KISS's final show in Dec. 2023, the former fire-breathing musician has been traveling considerably lighter as the frontman for the Gene Simmons Band, playing KISS favorites, some rarely heard Simmons solo tunes and familiar classics by the likes of Van Halen and Motörhead. Speaking with Billboard's "Behind the Setlist" podcast, Simmons says he has stripped down the tour to the essential elements -- the musicians -- and pockets more money from a Gene Simmons Band show than he netted as a member of KISS. "The local promoters provide the back line, and we just get up there and play," Simmons says. That's a sharp contrast to the complex -- and expensive -- production required to take KISS on the road. As a solo artist playing festivals and theaters, Simmons has "no managers, no private jets, no 20 tractor trailers, no 60-man crew, no huge shows -- and the pyro alone for every [KISS] show is ten grand, sometimes 50 [thousand dollars] if you go outdoors," he explains. "Enormous, enormous costs for doing that." Simmons adds he is "proud" to have performed those massive productions, but the Gene Simmons Band tour isn't trying to replicate the KISS stage show. "It's almost as if you decided to rent some amps in a garage and plug in," he says, "and then everybody from the neighborhood comes in It's very informal and a lot of fun." Simmons' entire interview can be heard on Spotify.com, as well as Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, Podbean or Everand. - Billboard, 12/12/24.

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Def Leppard has been confirmed to co-headline the inaugural Boardwalk Rock Festival in Ocean City, Md. in 2025. The two-day event, which runs May 17 and 18, will also feature the likes of Mötley Crüe, Alice Cooper, Nickelback, Shinedown, Bush, Chevelle, Puddle of Mudd, 3 Doors Down, Candlebox, Night Ranger and Everclear. The festival will feature three stages two on the beach and one on the iconic Ocean City boardwalk offering fans a scenic and immersive experience. The event also includes access to the boardwalk's restaurants, bars, and shops, along with Jolly Roger at the Pier amusement park, home to a Ferris wheel, double-decker carousel, roller coaster, and more. Tickets go on sale Dec. 13 and start at $165 for single-day general admission, with two-day passes available for $195. - Billboard, 12/12/24...... Paul McCartney's ambitious yet ultimately abandoned collaboration with legendary sci-fi author Isaac Asimov has been unveiled in vivid detail through a new book published on Dec. 10, The McCartney Legacy, Volume 2: 1974 80, by authors Adrian Sinclair and Allan Kozinn. The proposed film that never came to fruition, tentatively titled Five and Five and One, featured an eccentric plot that intertwined aliens, McCartney's band Wings -- consisting of his wife Linda McCartney and ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine -- and their efforts to take Earth by storm. McCartney's original treatment for the story was brief, about 400 words long, but Asimov expanded it into a more detailed 1,800-word version. A fragment of McCartney's treatment reveals the unique premise: "A 'flying saucer' lands. Out of it get five creatures. They transmute before your very eyes into 'us' [Wings]. They are here to take over Earth by taking America by storm and they proceed to do this supergroup style. Meanwhile -- back in the sticks of Britain -- lives the original group, whose personalities are being used by the aliens." McCartney personally approached Asimov in 1974 to collaborate on the script, meeting in New York since Asimov had an aversion to flying. He quipped about the author's reluctance: "He can imagine himself into far-off galaxies, but he wouldn't get on a plane." Asimov expanded on the story, evolving the alien invaders into "energy-beings" from a dying planet who sought to occupy the Wings members rather than clone them. However, the beings were unable to comprehend human emotions like love, adding a philosophical layer to the narrative. Despite the intriguing concept, the project stalled. By early 1975, the collaboration was shelved, with Asimov reportedly leaving a pointed critique scrawled on the first page of his treatment: "Nothing ever came of this because McCartney couldn't recognize good stuff." The new book is part of a larger series chronicling McCartney's career and follows the first volume covering 1969-1973, which was published in 2022. In other McCartney-related news, actor Paul Mescal has apparently been tapped to star as Macca in the upcoming Beatles biopic series about each of the four members. During a conversation with director Christopher Nolan after a screening of Gladiator II at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, the film's director Ridley Scott discussed his next project, a thriller titled The Dog Stars. When asked if Mescal will star in the movies following his Gladiator role, Scott noted that the actor's schedule might prevent that from happening as he will be starring in Sony Pictures' upcoming Beatles project. "Paul is actually stacked up, doing the Beatles next. So I may have to let him go," he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sony has yet to officially confirm Mescal's casting in the biopics, which will be helmed by Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes. - Billboard, 12/20/24...... In a new interview with ClassicRock.com, former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman said the passing of Stones drummer Charlie Watts in 2021 at age 80 "would've been a good time" for the band to end. Wyman joined the Stones in 1962, replacing Dick Taylor on bass and remained with the band for over 30 years until his departure in 1993. Watts would join the group officially as their drummer in 1963, a role he held until his death in 2021. Wyman told ClassicRock.com that although Stones principals Mick Jagger and Keith Richards attempted to get him to stay in the band, his desires for other projects outweighed the prospects of the band. Wyman also added that while he viewed himself as a replaceable member, he felt that the group's demise would have coincided with the death of Watts. "When Charlie left, I thought they would close. I really did," he explained. "They could replace the bass, but I didn't think they could replace Charlie, and his charisma, and what a great guy he was, but they went on, which surprised me. I wouldn't say it disappointed me, but it surprised me. I think it would've been a good time for them to.... But I don't think they've got anything else to do, otherwise they'd do it, wouldn't they?" he added. Watts says he still keeps busy, noting "I've got six different things I'm doing all the time, and I'm so happy doing them." Wyman added bass to a track on the band's 2023 album, Hackney Diamonds, his first time recording with the group since 1989, and has performed live with the band on a handful of occasions since his exit. Meanwhile, the Stones are celebrating the one-year anniversary of Hackney Diamonds with a special 2-LP vinyl re-issue. The special edition on "clear blue splatter" vinyl features the original 12-track album plus seven additional live tracks recorded at a record release party at the Racket venue in New York. That bonus disc features a mix of new tracks from the album ("Bite My Head Off," "Angry," "Whole Wide World"), as well as such classics as "Shattered," "Tumbling Dice," "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and a live version of "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" with Lady Gaga. The band has posted a Hackney Diamonds anniversary edition announcement on Instagram. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 12/10/24...... On Dec. 10 James Taylor announced he is hitting the road next summer with his all-star band for an extensive 2025 North American tour. The 24-show, 20-city outing will feature support from vocal harmony trio Tiny Habits. The tour is slated to kick off on May 5 with a show at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ, followed by amphitheater gigs in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Toronto before winding down at the BankNH Pavilion in Gilford, N.H. on July 1. The outing will feature a few double-downs, including a pair of nights at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego, a pair at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, CA, two at the Chateau St. Michelle Winery in Seattle, Wash. and a double-night run at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Col. Sales to the general public began on Dec. 11 through Ticketmaster. Taylor, 76, is headed back on the road after a busy 2024, which found him hitting amphitheaters across the U.S. and playing a benefit "Concert for Carolina" in October to raise funds for North Carolinians impacted by Hurricane Helene, as well as performing at the DNC and at a Kamala Harris/Tim Walz rally in October. - Billboard, 12/10/24...... During a recent conversation with Lifeminute, former Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler shared the plans that Ozzy Osbourne has for the final Sabbath performance. Butler revealed that he remains in contact with the ailing Osbourne and said: "Ozzy was talking to me about, when he does his farewell concert -- which he still wants to do -- He's dying to still get out there and play, and he suggested, at his very final concert, for the four of us to get up onstage and maybe do three or four songs together. And that would be it, finished." Butler also noted that the potential show would be a "one-off" and not any kind of lasting Black Sabbath reunion, adding: "Definitely no more tours." In Nov. 2023, Ozzy addressed his declining health and shared that he might have to "accept the fact" that a live comeback would potentially not be possible due to issues such as his battle with Parkinson's disease and recovery from multiple surgeries. "I'm taking it one day at a time, and if I can perform again, I will," he told Rolling Stone UK at the time. "But it's been like saying farewell to the best relationship of my life." Butler's full interview can be viewed on YouTube. Meanwhile, Butler recently reacted to the Aston Villa Football Club debuting its new "Black Sabbath football kit," calling it a "dream come true." - NME, 12/11/24...... The widow of the Ramones member Johnny Ramone, Linda Cummings-Ramone, has won a legal victory over band frontman Joey Ramone's brother, Mickey Leigh, in their never-ending feud over control of the pioneering punk band's legacy. The decision made public on Dec. 10 by an arbitrator says that Leigh's manager, David Frey, must be terminated as a director on the board of Ramones Productions Inc., the corporate entity that controls the Ramones' music and other assets. Ruling that Frey had breached his fiduciary duty to the company, the arbitrator said Leigh's manager had "fostered a dysfunctional and disruptive relationship" with Cummings-Ramone and had engaged "in conduct that harms the Ramone brand, rather than promoting that brand." The latest scuffle began in January, when Cummings-Ramone sued Leigh in New York state court, including allegations that he and Frey had "covertly" developed an "unauthorized" biopic not just about Joey, but "the story of the Ramones." In the lawsuit, Cummings-Ramone said that any "authoritative story of the Ramones" would require her sign-off: "To permit defendants alone to tell the authoritative story of the Ramones would be an injustice to the band and its legacy." The ruling, which must be confirmed by a New York judge, resolves only a single issue in the larger lawsuit and leaves other issues to be resolved in court. Leigh has also sued Cummings-Ramone in a separate lawsuit in federal court, accusing her of trademark infringement and other violations; that case also remains pending. - Billboard, 12/11/24...... An animated Patti LaBelle will feature in an upcoming holiday episode of The Simpsons. As announced on Dec. 11, the "On My Own" singer will deliver a musical performance in the double episode premiering Dec. 17 on Disney+, exactly 35 years after the original The Simpsons holiday special aired in 1989. The streaming platform also shared a trailer for the project, titled "The Simpsons: O C'mon All Ye Faithful," on YouTube, showing Homer wreaking havoc on Springfield after famed mentalist Derren Brown hypnotizes him into thinking he's Santa Claus. - Billboard, 12/11/24...... As Elvis Costello prepares to kick off his 2025 "Radio Soul" tour in Seattle on June 12, the "Watching the Detectives" singer says he'll focus heavily on his early material. "For any songwriter, it has to be a compliment if people want to hear songs written up to fifty years ago," Costello said of decision to focus on his early work, namechecking the draft of "Radio Radio" as an example. The tour takes its name from an early version of "Radio Radio," which Costello had written in 1974 as a member of Flip City. Initially inspired by Bruce Springsteen, the final version was issued on 1978's This Year's Model and has since been considered one of Costello's finest works. The tour will see Costello lifting from his first 11 albums, ranging from 1977's My Aim is True to 1986's Blood & Chocolate. This period featured some of Costello's most enduring tracks, including "Watching the Detectives", "Pump it Up", "Everyday I Write the Book" and "Oliver's Army" to name a few. For the tour, Costello will be joined by his backing band The Imposters. "The Imposters are a living, breathing, swooning, swinging, kicking and screaming rock and roll band who can turn their hands to a pretty ballad when the opportunity arises," he said. The tour will run for 17 dates with stops including Portland, Or., San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Nashville, Tenn., before wrapping up in Miami Beach, Fla., on July 12. - Billboard, 12/10/24...... On Dec. 11 Elton John was named by Time magazine as its 2024 Icon of the Year. In a new cover story for the magazine -- which will reveal its pick for Person of the Year on Dec. 12 -- John sat for an interview in which he looked back over his career, and considered his own legacy. "If people remember that we tried to change the world a little bit, we were kind, we tried to help people And then, apart from that, there was the music," he said. Throughout his wide-ranging interview, John talked about myriad aspects of his life, including his faith, sobriety and relationship with his late mother. He also reflected on aspects of his job in the industry, including his distaste for performing in music videos. "Music videos should be made by good-looking people like Harry Styles. I'm not very good at looking at myself," he explained "I don't think you ever lose that body consciousness. I just think it stays with you forever." It was also revealed that John moves onto a new song if he can't nail a melody in an hour. "He likes to write fast -- if he can't get a tune for the lyrics he's given in an hour or so, he moves on to new ones," his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin said. Time's cover featuring Icon of the Year Elton John can be viewed on the Time.com website. Meanwhile, in a new interview clip with Good Morning America posted on YouTube on Dec. 10, the 77-year-old icon opened up about the moment he realized his name change had "caught up" to him: right before his historic performance at Dodger Stadium in 1975. "Reginald is a really old-fashioned name," Elton began. "It's shortened to Reggie, which I hated." "I just didn't like it, and as soon as I could, I changed my name," he continued. "I was very clever, I thought, 'No one's really called Elton, so I'll be Elton and I'll be the only Elton.' I wanted to leave my childhood and that persona behind, and that caught up with me. I realized I put everything into my work and my art, my recording, and there was nothing underneath there. I was just a void. I left little Reggie behind, but little Reggie was still inside of me," he added. - Billboard, 12/11/24...... Santana have announced some UK headline shows for their summer 2025 "Oneness" tour, suggesting that a Glastonbury performance could be on the cards. Fronted by Carlos Santana, the band is due to play gigs at Glasgow's OVO Hydro, Manchester's Co-op Live and London's O2 in June 2025. This will follow a run of dates in Europe, and come ahead of further concerts on the continent. These include stops in Budapest, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna and Cologne. The announcement says the band will "perform high-energy, passion-filled songs from their 50-year career, including fan favourites from Abraxas to Woodstock to Supernatural, and beyond." The newly confirmed shows currently leave Santana available for a potential slot at Glastonbury 2025 on June 27 or June 29. However, the group do have performances scheduled in Europe on either side of these days. The full tour schedule can be viewed on Instagram. Santana released their 26th and most recent studio album, Blessings And Miracles, in 2021. A documentary film about the group's frontman, titled Carlos, arrived in 2023. - NME, 12/11/24...... The musical legacy of revered but complex and underappreciated pop songwriter Laura Nyro is being celebrated with the recent release of Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995, a limited-edition box set from Britain's Madfish Records. It includes Nyro's 10 studio albums, along with six live albums (two previously unreleased), the 1966 demo tape that landed her first recording contract at the age of 18 and a "Live & Rarities" disc including more demos, alternative versions, outtakes and live tracks. The collection also comes with a coffee-table sized book of liner notes by Vivien Goldman, a foreword by Elton John and remembrances from Calello, Jackson Browne, Clive Davis, Lou Adler, John Sebastian and others. The Bronx-born Nyro possessed a three-octave voice and was best known for songs such as "Wedding Bell Blues," "Stoned Soul Picnic," "And When I Die" and "Stoney End," which were turned into hits when covered by the the likes of The Fifth Dimension, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Barbra Streisand. In addition to music Nyro was an avid feminist and animal rights activist. She passed away Apr. 8, 1997 from ovarian cancer at the age of 49 (her mother died of the same disease, at the same age 22 years earlier) and was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2012). - Billboard, 12/9/24...... Neil Morrissey -- the voice of Bob in the UK-based children's show Bob The Builder -- has revealed that there were once some talks about involving Bruce Springsteen in a rendition of the theme tune, but the plans were nixed by the record label to avoid appearing "political." Speaking to The Guardian, Morrissey looked back at the time the show's creators decided to release the theme as an official single, and how they were taken aback by the impressive mark it left on the UK charts. "The TV show was going bonkers all around the world. By the time it came to the end of 2000, someone said: 'Why don't we re-record the theme tune as a single?' We didn't think anything would come of it, even though it was a lot of fun," Morrissey recalled. Morrissey went on to recall how there were brief talks to bring the single into the spotlight once again when Barack Obama began his campaigns in the US presidential election. The idea arose as the leader of the Democratic Party would adopt the slogan "Yes we can" -- which also features in the theme song for the children's show. "When Barack Obama came into office and started to say 'Yes we can' all the time, I said: 'Here's an opportunity -- we could phone up Bruce Springsteen and see if he wants to record a version,'" Morrissey revealed, before confirming that the idea was shot down in a bid to not divide opinion. "But Hit Entertainment, who owned the rights, weren't biting. I don't think they wanted Bob to get in any way political." The first episode of Bob The Builder aired in April 1999, and the series would continue regularly up until New Year's Eve 2011. - NME, 12/10/24...... According to new figures released on Dec. 9, ABBA's Voyage virtual concert residency has contributed £140 billion to the UK economy. Voyage, which features digital avatars depicting the Swedish pop icons as they appeared in 1979, generated the sum between its opening in May 2022 to May 2024. During that time, the live concert experience has attracted over two million visitors, with 31 per cent travelling from outside of the UK. According to a new report by music, culture and creative economy consultancy Sound Diplomacy, attendees spent an average of 220 per day in London, as well as the cost of the ticket to the show at Stratford's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The most positive impact is felt in the local boroughs of Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, with local restaurants and bars receiving £51.26 million, commercial shops gaining £27.28 million and accommodation £66.38 million. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said: "ABBA Voyage has been a phenomenal success story for London, boosting our economy by more than £1 billion and showing again why our capital is a global leader for music and culture." - NME, 12/9/24...... Judas Priest announced on Instagram on Dec. 9 that they have extended their 2025 European tour by announcing two new UK shows -- one of which being a co-headline date with Alice Cooper. The first of which will take place on July 23, and see frontman Rob Halford and co. joined by Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons as they head to the Scarborough Open Air Theatre. The latter will be held two days later and is scheduled as a co-headlining gig with Cooper at The O2 in London on July 25. This is now the final scheduled gig of the upcoming tour. The tour comes in support of the band's latest album, Invincible Shield, and was originally set to consist of 12 shows with stops in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, France and more between June and July. The upcoming run of shows comes shortly after the band completed their run of North American shows. - NME, 12/9/24...... George Joseph Kresge Jr., better known to generations of TV watchers as the mesmerizing entertainer and mentalist "The Amazing Kreskin," died on Dec. 10 in Caldwell, N.J., where he spent much of his life. He was 89. Kreskin's friend and former road manager, Ryan Galway, told the AP that Mr. Kresge had not been feeling well in recent weeks but otherwise did not provide a cause of death. Inspired by the crime-fighting comic book character Mandrake the Magician, The Amazing Kreskin launched his television career in the 1960s, making guest appearances on talk shows hosted by everyone from Merv Griffin to Johnny Carson to Jimmy Fallon. Fans would welcome, if not entirely figure out, his favorite mind tricks -- whether correctly guessing a playing card chosen at random, or, most famously, divining where his paycheck had been planted among the audience. He also hosted his own show in the 1970s, gave live performances and wrote numerous books, including Secrets of the Amazing Kreskin and Mental Power Is Real. Though Kreskin made "predictions," he did not claim to have paranormal or clairvoyant powers, and did not like to be considered a "psychic". One of his best known tricks was to find his own check for his current performance. If he did not find it, he did not get paid for that day. He would instruct the audience to hide an envelope containing his paycheck, while he was escorted off stage and into seclusion by other members of the audience. He then re-emerged and hunted through the audience, almost always being able to ferret out the correct location. Although he was a talk show regular, one host wasn't amused by a Kreskin stunt. In 2002, he claimed that a UFO would appear over Las Vegas on the night of June 2, and added that he would donate $50,000 to charity if he was wrong. Hundreds of people gathered in the desert, in vain. Kreskin acknowledged to radio personality Art Bell that his prediction was a hoax, a way of proving that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the year before had made people susceptible to manipulation. Bell called the ruse "lame, lame, lame" and banned him from his show. Kreskin's popularity peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s, though he continued to perform into the 2020s. He appeared regularly on WPIX in New York City, and annually on both the Fox News Channel and CNN to give his New Year's Day predictions for the coming year. His last television appearance was on Fox Business on May 2, 2023, predicting the 2024 Super Bowl winner, and his last scheduled performance was on March 7, 2024, a "pendulum seminar" on Zoom. The 2008 movie The Great Buck Howard is based on the experiences of writer-director Sean McGinly, who worked briefly as Kreskin's road manager. Galway said that Kreskin continued to make live appearances well into his 80s, and only stopped earlier this year after injuring himself in a fall. Kreskin never married and left no immediate survivors. "His career was his life. That was his marriage," Galway said. "He was dedicated to his craft." - AP, 12/11/24.

Saturday, December 7, 2024

Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson has announced her engagement to her longtime boyfriend and bandmate/producer Justin Long. Paris, 26, is the only daughter of King of Pop Jackson and released her debut album, Wilted, in 2020. Paris addressed her sexuality on Instagram in 2018 after a fan asked if she was bisexual. "That's what you guys call it so I guess, but who needs labels," she said a the time in later-deleted post. In the end she said, "and i'm not 'bisexual,' i just love people for people. i don't label myself so please don't label me." Paris, who began dating Long in 2022, announced the engagement with a series of pictures on Instagram. - Billboard, 12/6/24...... Alice Cooper, his daughter Calico, and Guns 'n Roses guitarist Slash have teamed up for a motorcycle-themed kids song called "Freewheelin'." The high-energy track, which can be streamed on YouTube, sees Alice and Calico sing "I'm freewheelin' on my new bike / It's the best thing that I like / Now you're freewheelin' riding by yourself / Pedalling faster without any help," describing the joys of riding a bike while Slash throws in an electrifying guitar solo. The song is featured in the children's album Solid Rock Revival, which also features the likes of Judas Priest's Rob Halford and Run DMC's Daryl "DMC" McDaniels and was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Children's Music Album category in 2025. Proceeds from the LP benefit Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Centers -- a nonprofit organisation providing free after-school training in music, dance, art, and more for teens ages 12-20. Cooper was recently announced as an opening act for the pop-punk New Jersey band My Chemical Romance's 2025 US stadium tour, a somewhat divisive choice after the shock rocker's comments in 2023 that being transgender was mostly "a fad." - New Musical Express, 12/6/24...... German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk announced a 2025 North American tour on YouTube on Dec. 5. Kicking off in Philadelphia on Mar. 6, the 25-city run includes the group's previously announced performances at Coachella 2025. This tour celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the group's fourth album, Autobahn, widely considered one of the essential blueprints for electronic music, along with Kraftwerk's first U.S. tour in 1975 behind the LP. Following the trek, the group will also perform in June at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, U.K. On the upcoming trek, called the Multimedia Tour, the four-man group will include original Kraftwerk member Ralf Hütter, who co-founded Kraftwerk with Florian Schneider in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1970. (Schneider passed away in 2020 at the age of 73.) The 2025 tour announcement comes with a corresponding video by pro skateboarder and noted Kraftwerk fan Tony Hawk, with the clip showing the skater and three pals doing skate tricks while dressed in the de facto Kraftwerk uniform of a crisp shirt and tie. Kraftwerk, who will also co-headline the the inaugural Forever Now festival in the UK on June 22, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. - Billboard, 12/5/24...... In a Facebook post on Dec. 2 defending President-elect Donald Trump's use of the Village People's iconic disco song "Y.M.C.A." at his campaign rallies, VP frontman Victor Willis says he'll sue if the song is referred to as a "gay anthem," but legal experts say he's unlikely to win. Willis sharply denied that he had intended the track to be aimed at the gay community -- calling it a "false assumption" and "completely misguided." But he also went a step further than that, warning that next month his team would "start suing each and every news organization" that refers to "Y.M.C.A" as a "gay anthem," calling such a description "defamatory." "The song is not really a gay anthem other than certain people falsely suggesting that it is," Willis wrote in the post. "And this must stop because it is damaging to the song." However top attorneys who specialize in media law say that if Willis does sue "because it was not written to be a gay song because of the simple fact I'm not gay," such claims would face serious obstacles in court. "Mr. Willis' threatened libel claim would be a nonstarter for numerous reasons," says Adam I. Rich, a music and free speech attorney at the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine. Rich says for starters, to prove such an accusation -- also known as libel -- Willis would need to show that an offending news outlet had made a statement of fact that's capable of being proven false, and not merely a statement of opinion that he disagrees with -- a form of speech safeguarded by the First Amendment. Another, even more basic problem for any lawsuit against media outlets is the fact that Willis is a "public figure" -- a status that makes it very hard to win a defamation lawsuit. Under U.S. Supreme Court precedents, he'd need to prove that offending statement (either calling his song a "gay anthem" or claiming a hidden lyrical meaning) was not only factually false, but that the writer knew it was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Released by the Village People in Oct. 1978, "Y.M.C.A" eventually reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was emblematic of the late-1970s disco craze. The buoyant track and its trademark alphabetic dance have become one of music's enduring phenomenons, blasted for years at sporting events, wedding dance floors and, of late, Donald Trump rallies. - Billboard, 12/5/24...... A new trailer for the upcoming Led Zeppelin authorized documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin features previously-unheard audio from late Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Soundtracked by the band's 1969's track "Whole Lotta Love," the trailer (available on YouTube) features visuals of the band's kaleidoscopic career, interspersed with recent interviews with surviving band members. "The first time we played together, it was stunning," Bonham says at the end of the trailer. "It was like a gift from heaven, wasn't it?" The doc has been in the works for some years, with director Bernard MacMahon helming the project following the success of his 2017 exploration into U.S. roots music, American Epic. Featuring the participation of the three surviving members -- singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, and bassist John Paul Jones -- the project was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, at which point it was noted as being in the post-production phase. "When I saw everything Bernard had done both visually and sonically on the remarkable achievement that is American Epic, I knew he would be qualified to tell our story," Page said at the time. Becoming Led Zeppelin is set for release in IMAX cinemas on Feb. 7. - Billboard, 12/5/24...... In other Zeppelin news, Jimmy Page has teamed up with Gibson Guitars to launch new EDS-1275 Doubleneck VOS custom guitar, modeled after the one he defined in the 1970s after the guitar was introduced in 1958. Gibson and Page joined forces in a new partnership at the start of the year, and first shared a limited Collector's Edition version of the guitarist's iconic double neck axe back in March as part of Gibson's celebration of its 130-year history. Priced at just under $8,800, the spec of the new variant includes a double-cutaway one-piece mahogany body, both necks having a 12" radius, bound Indian rosewood fretboards, aged cellulose nitrate parallelogram inlays and more. "The Gibson EDS-1275 allowed him to play the numerous 6 and 12-string acoustic and electric guitar parts of 'Stairway to Heaven' during live performance," a description from Gibson reads. "He also later used the EDS-1275 for 'The Song Remains the Same', 'The Rain Song', 'Celebration Day', 'Tangerine', and more recently live at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in a November 2023 tribute to Link Wray." More information can be found on the Gibson.com website. - NME, 12/5/24...... Brian May's wife Anita Dobson has shared another update on the musician after he suffered a stroke earlier in 2024. "He's much better now, he's stabilised now, which is brilliant," Dobson told the UK's The Mirror paper on Dec. 5. "I just hope we don't have any more reoccurrence." She continued: "He's got the use of that arm, which was a bit of a challenge, back now. So, yeah, he's good to go now. He's playing the piano quite a lot in the house. He likes a lot of Beethoven. I love it - the piano in the house is really, just very relaxing. He didn't actually try [to play an instrument] until after he'd recovered quite a bit. And then he very slowly started to pick up an acoustic guitar and gradually just exercise the muscles. And it very quickly came back." She added: "He's just retraining the messages from your brain to that arm, that it's actually okay to do what it used to do. It was scary. And also being a genius for someone like that. His brain's overloaded, that's what it is. He's too clever for his own good." The Queen guitarist, 77, told fans about the health scare in a post on social media in September, but assured his followers that he was on the road to recovery. He explained that the "minor stroke" came on "all of a sudden, out of the blue," and left him without any control over one of his arms. He said the incident was "a little scary" before recalling the "fantastic" medical care he had received. "The good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days," he said at the time. Later, actor Dobson (EastEnders) explained that her husband was "doing great" and said the couple were "very pleased" with the progress he was making. She went on to say she was "completely confident" that May would "make a full recovery." Queen wrapped up a run of tour dates with current frontman Adam Lambert in February, and do not have any other live shows scheduled currently. Meanwhile, Queen Extravaganza, the official tribute band of Queen, are due to embark on a UK and Ireland tour in 2025. The upcoming gigs will celebrate the 50th anniversary of "Bohemian Rhapsody." - NME, 12/5/24...... On Dec. 4 the Grateful Dead touring ensemble Dead & Co. announced it will reprise its Dead Forever residency at Las Vegas' Sphere in 2025 in celebration of its 60th anniversary. The 18 shows, slated to take place from March to May, follow the band's 30-date run at Sphere in 2024, which grossed $131.8 million. Dead & Co. is comprised of founding Dead members Bobby Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, alongside Jeff Chimenti, Oteil Burbridge and John Mayer. Kreutzmann played with Dead & Co. from 2015 to 2022 but sat out its 2023 final tour and 2024 Sphere residency; a representative for Dead & Co. confirmed Kreutzmann will not perform with the band at Sphere in 2025. "[The Sphere is] a marvel in terms of what you can do visually with it during a show," Weir says. "It was an interesting challenge for us -- but I thought we met it." "Very cool, very cool, Sphere, very cool," Hart adds. - Billboard, 12/5/24....... As Sean Lennon and the rest of his family prepare to mark the 44th anniversary of father John Lennon's death in New York City in 1980 on Dec. 8, Sean recently told BBC Radio 6 that his dad's untimely passing has had an impact on countless individuals throughout the world. No more have felt that impact, Sean says, than his mother Yoko Ono. Sean claimed that Yoko "never has moved on from that relationship" since John's passing, but agreed that the recent rerelease of John's 1973 LP Mind Games was something of a "love letter" to his parents. "I've never put it that way but I would say it's my best effort to try to be a good son," Sean said. Sean touched on his parents' relationship around the record's creation. At the time of Mind Games' writing, John was in the midst of the 18-month "lost weekend"' period in which he was separated from Ono. "A lot of people said like, 'Yoko wasn't around for this record, why are they featuring her in the booklet' or something," Lennon began. "And I think there's a lot of history, there's a lot of assumptions made about that time period because they were sort of on their way towards that famous separation that people called The Lost Weekend. But the truth is, even when they were apart they were always talking, so I don't think they ever really broke up, all his stuff was still in the apartment with my mum, it's not like they had a real separation. And on top of it, all my dad was thinking about was her. You look at the album cover, it's a collage of my mum literally the size of a mountain, and he's this little tiny thing sort of fading into the background" he continued. "And I think it's clear what his view of my mum was in his life. She was monumental, obviously. And the whole album is about her." - Billboard, 12/4/24...... In a new interview with Planet Rock radio's podcast, Uriah Heep founding guitarist Mick Box revealed that the band will continue to tour after their 2025 UK farewell dates, which were announced at the end of September. Uriah Heep announced the UK leg of their final tour will kick off in Birmingham on Feb. 19, with the string of headline shows also seeing them play Bristol, Gateshead, Glasgow, Manchester, London and Bexhill through Feb. 27. "Well, it'll take two to three years to go around, and then once we've done that, we'll still be doing festivals and weekend work and stuff like that, but the long arduous tours we're not gonna do anymore," Box told Planet Rock. "And I don't think it's logistically possible now with the way things are with carnets for equipment to get through territories. Bus prices tripled. And we did 11 flights the other month and five of them were cancelled, so it's getting really hard to make those things work," he added. Box then went on to discuss his plans for life post-Uriah Heep. "I guess we'll do [some] writing and go in the recording studio and do other aspects of the of the game," he said. "But as I say, we're still gonna be touring, still gonna be playing. It's just that we're not doing the really long stuff. We'll do it in sections rather than a whole long splurge." Box's full interview can be viewed on YouTube. The Heep's 25th and most recent full-length record, Chaos & Colour, came out in early 2023. The band's current line-up consists of Box alongside Phil Lanzon, Bernie Shaw, Russell Gilbrook and Dave Rimmer. - NME, 12/4/24...... Posting on X/Twitter on Dec. 4, Bob Dylan has given his stamp of approval to the upcoming Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, as well as its starring actor, Timothée Chalamet. "There's a movie about me opening soon called A Complete Unknown (what a title!). Timothee Chalamet is starring in the lead role," the rock legend wrote. "Timmy's a brilliant actor so I'm sure he's going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me. The film's taken from Elijah Wald's Dylan Goes Electric -- a book that came out in 2015. It's a fantastic retelling of events from the early '60s that led up to the fiasco at Newport. After you've seen the movie read the book," he added. Also starring Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz and Scoot McNairy, the biographical drama was directed by James Mangold, who has revealed that the "Blowin' in the Wind" artist personally gave feedback on the script. - Billboard, 12/4/24...... On Dec. 3 Eric Clapton announced a run of UK headline shows for 2025. "Eric will return next year to London's @RoyalAlbertHall for a limited run of 3 shows," his X/Twitter post reads. "Additionally, he will play just one show outside the capital, at Nottingham's @nottinghamarena, his first show in that city since 2008." Clapton will play Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena on May 18 -- his first stop in the city since 2008 -- then head to London for three performances at the historic Royal Albert Hall on May 21, 23 and 24. Clapton played four concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall this May following gigs in Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, Dublin and Manchester. Slowhand has since hit the road in Europe, South America and North America. He released his 22nd solo studio album, Meanwhile, online in October. Physical editions of the record will come out in January. - NME, 12/4/24...... The creators of the hit Broadway play "Stereophonic" have reached a settlement to resolve a copyright lawsuit claiming they stole elements of the show from a memoir about the infamous recording of Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album Rumours. The deal will resolve a case, filed in October by music producer Ken Caillat, that called playwright David Adjmi's Tony Award-winning show an "unauthorized adaptation" and "willful infringement" of the 2012 book Making Rumours, a memoir detailing his work on the famed album. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in court filings, and neither side immediately returned requests for comment. "Stereophonic" debuted on Broadway last fall, eventually winning five Tony Awards including best play, best direction of a play and best featured actor in a play. Featuring the music of Arcade Fire's Will Butler, it tells the story of a fictional rock band struggling to record an album in the mid-1970s. Critics quickly noted the similarities to the difficult process behind Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, which featured high tensions and heavy drug usage. A reviewer for the Wall Street Journal said the play was "fictionalizing Fleetwood Mac"; another critic said the play "isn't literally about Fleetwood Mac, but c'mon." In their Oct. 2 lawsuit, Caillat and co-author Steven Stiefel said the hit play "presents a nearly identical story arc as Making Rumours," told from the same perspective of a sound engineer in a recording studio, about five characters who are "undeniably analogous to the members of Fleetwood Mac." If the case had gone to trial, it would have presented tricky legal questions. Under U.S. law, historical events cannot be monopolized under copyrights, and nobody can claim exclusive ownership over the real story behind the making of Rumours. But specific creative elements of how such a story is told can be protected by copyrights, and film, TV and stage producers often license non-fiction books as the basis for their works. - Billboard, 12/4/24...... More than a decade since it first launched, Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer has announced the closure of his Rockin' & Roastin' Coffee line. Kramer announced the news via a message shared to the coffee brand's website on Nov. 29, citing "no realistic alternative" to its impending closure. "To all of Rockin' & Roastin"s loyal subscribers and my coffee loving fans along the way - It is with deep deep sadness that we have had to make the decision to close the business of Rockin & Roastin' Coffee," the message read. "After the years of working to recover from the devastation to our business from the impact of Covid, significant increases in the cost of doing business and the tragic, painful loss of my wife, Linda, there just is no realistic alternative but to close our proverbial doors." Kramer closed the post by noting that all orders received through Saturday, Nov. 30 would be filled, but no orders will be taken thereafter. Rockin' & Roastin' Coffee was first launched by Kramer in 2012 after years spent on the road as a touring musician and being subjected to copious cups of bad coffee. "I set out to streamline my experiences and become a coffee expert," he said. "I knew I had to come up with something that would satiate even the most discerning java enthusiast. After countless amounts of research (I might be an honorary chemist by now), sampling endless batches and hitting the presses in nearly every continent, my Rockin' & Roastin' Coffee dream was born. The result? Some of the finest, purest kick-ass coffee on the planet, sure to please the palate of any 'coffee-sseur.'" In 2013, Rockin' & Roastin' Coffee landed a hotel partnership deal, and in 2016, Joey Kramer's Rockin' & Roastin' Cafe opened its doors in North Attleboro, Mass., about 40 miles outside Aerosmith's birthplace of Boston. - Billboard, 12/1/24...... Barry Manilow announced on Dec. 3 that he signed on for a "lifetime residency" at his longtime venue: the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. "It's been an incredible journey performing at the International Theater," the "Copacabana" singer said in a statement about signing on the dotted line to continue his long run at the resort's International Theater. "David Siegel and the Westgate team have been like family to me, and I am deeply grateful to have the opportunity to call Westgate home for the rest of my career." Earlier this year, Manilow set a new Sin City record when he passed Elvis Presley's run of 636 performances at the venue. Manilow launched his "The Hits Come Home" residency at the Westgate Hotel in 2021, marking the third Vegas hotel at which the "Mandy" singer has had a residency. He set up shop at the Las Vegas Hilton from Feb. 2005 to Dec. 2009, during which he had two shows, "Manilow: Music and Passion" (which was filmed for a Primetime Emmy-winning PBS special) and "Ultimate Manilow: The Hits." He followed with his "Manilow Paris Las Vegas" at the Paris Hotel & Casino at Las Vegas in March 2010, which ran through Dec. 11, 2012. Manilow will be back on stage at the International in December when he kicks off his annual run of "A Very Barry Christmas" holiday shows on Dec. 5, followed by gigs on Dec. 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14. His 2025 International Theater dates begin on Feb. 13. Tickets are on sale now through the Westgate Resorts website. Manilow performed across the U.S. this summer as part of his "Last Concerts" tour, winding down with a series of five shows at New York's Radio City Music Hall in October. On Dec. 19, Manilow and his band will perform a medley of holiday carols on the NBC special A Very Barry Christmas. The singer will also be performing a selection of his greatest hits, including "Copacabana" and "Mandy," in the special which originates from the Westgate and airs at 10:00 p.m./9:00 central. - Billboard, 12/3/24...... Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison and King Crimson's Adrian Belew have announced their 2025 "Remain In Light" UK and European tour on Instagram. The five-date run will see Harrison and Belew make their way across the EU and UK beginning with a gig in Stockholm on May 18. From there, the duo will make stops in cities such as Oslo, Copenhagen, Cologne, Warsaw and Luxembourg before heading over to the UK with stops in Manchester and Wolverhampton. The tour will wrap up on June 7 in London. The tour is named "Remain In Light" which also serves as the title of Talking Heads' 1980 LP. It marked the third and final of the band's albums to be produced by Brian Eno, and saw a number of additional musicians brought in to contribute to the LP, including Belew, who played guitar. - NME, 12/3/24...... One year after playing their final live appearance at New York City's Madison Square Garden on Dec. 2, 2023, KISS are celebrating the show with a new video recap of the performance. "One year ago, today -- December 2, 2023 -- The last KISS Tour ever reached The End Of The Road with one final epic performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City!" the group wrote on social medoa. "Re-live the magic of that night with this awesome MSG concert recap." The video has been shared on YouTube. Across 23 tracks, the band waved goodbye to their legions of fans with a fitting set full of their famous hits and live favorites -- complete with their trademark stage spectacle. The concert, played before a 20,000-strong crowd, was also streamed live via PPV.COM. Notably, the final show was accompanied by the news that the group intend to live on as digital avatars after their split. The band made the surprise announcement at the end of the show, with vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley telling fans "your love, your power, has made us immortal... The new Kiss era stars now!" - Billboard, 12/2/24...... Elton John made it to the opening night of his new musical in London on Dec. 1, but the pop icon admitted that he could hear the show, but could not see any of it. John, 77, said he struggled to watch the stage debut of "The Devil Wears Prada" because, as he told the audience, "I haven't been able to come to man of the previews because, as you know, I have lost my eyesight." He added, "So it's hard for me to see it, but I love to hear it and, boy, it sounded good tonight." The singer wrote the score for the stage musical based on the beloved 2006 movie about an eager young journalist (Anne Hathaway) trying to make her mark at a fashion magazine lorded over by an imperial, demanding editor (Meryl Streep). John recently told Good Morning America's Robin Roberts that he suffered an eye infection this summer that has turned into a complete loss of vision in his right eye, which has impacted his ability to work on new music. "I unfortunately lost my eye sight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the South of France," said Elton. "It's been four months now since I haven't been able to see. And my left eye is not the greatest." John teased a new album last year, but now that project is up in the air as the manages his poor vision. "There's hope and encouragement that it will be okay," John said. "But I'm kind of stuck in the moment, because I can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording& I don't know. Because I can't see a lyric, for start." John's most recent album was 2021's Record Store Day reissue of a shelved late 1960s album Regimental Sgt. Zippo. - Billboard, 12/2/24...... AC/DC have announced they will hit the road in spring 2025 for their first U.S. tour in nine years. The 2025 "Power Up" North American tour is slated to hit 13 stadiums across the nation from April through May. The outing is slated to kick off on Apr. 10 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN, before moving on to Arlington, TX, Pasadena (CA), Vancouver, Las Vegas, Detroit, Foxborough (MA), Pittsburgh, Landover (MD), Tampa, Nashville and Chicago before winding down on May 28 at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland. The North American swing in support of the band's 2020 Power Up album is an extension of the 2024 European leg of the tour, which also filled stadiums. - Billboard 12/2/24...... Roger Daltrey has added two huge outdoor gigs to his 2025 "Alive And Kicking And Having Fun" UK tour. The first of The Who frontman's new shows will be held in Halifax on July 30, and comes as part of the "TK Maxx presents Live at the Piece Hall" series. The second will be held on Aug. 8, and is as part of the Margate Summer Series at Dreamland. "Here we go again! After touring the US with this band of phenomenal musicians, I can't wait to get back on the road in the UK with these shows," Daltrey said in a new statement on Instagram. "It's a joy to be on stage performing and sharing familiar songs in an unfamiliar way." Now, two new shows have been confirmed for next summer, and each will see him backed by a nine-piece band and playing the hits from across his solo discography and time with The Who. The shows come as an extension to his already announced tour dates for the UK next year. These include a slot at London's Palladium, as well as gigs in Brighton, Dundee, Glasgow, Manchester and more. Daltrey, who kicked off a solo, semi-acoustic North American tour on Dec. 6, recently told Billboard that he's "sick" of fans looking up his setlists on the internet ahead of his live shows: "Too many people reveal songs. There's no surprises left with concerts these days, because everybody wants to see the setlist. I'm sick of it. The internet's ruined the live shows for me. Who wants to know what's coming next? People forget about surprises. I can't stand it." - NME, 12/2/24...... Legendary Motown icon Smokey Robinson will perform his first UK show in over 15 years next summer at the Love Supreme Jazz Festival in East Sussex. The festival returns next summer to Glynde Place in East Sussex from July 4 to July 6. Robinson will also perform at Boston's Boch Center Wang Theatre on Dec. 8. Robinson also co-hosts the Dec. 11 Christmas special A Motown Christmas on NBC at 9:00 p.m./8 central. Co-host Halley Bailey will join Smokey and such stars as The Temptations, Gladys Knight, Jamie Foxx and Jordan Sparks. - Music-News.com/TV Guide, 12/3/24.

Monday, December 2, 2024

Speaking to The Empire Files podcast, Roger Waters has attacked Thom Yorke of Radiohead over his stance on the Israel-Palestine issue. Waters revealed that he had an email exchange with Yorke after signing an open letter urging Radiohead not to play in Israel as "a system of apartheid has been imposed on the Palestinian people." Waters said: "I wrote [Yorke] a sort of email that went, 'I'm sorry if you thought I was being confrontational'. He wrote back and he said, 'Normally, people on one side of an argument at least have the decency or the grace or the something to have a conversation.' So then I wrote him back, and I said, 'Thom, the people in BDS (the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement) have been trying to have a conversation with you for months! And so have I!'" Asked how the conversation concluded, Waters replied: "That the guy's a complete prick!" Waters also addressed the criticism Radiohead member Jonny Greenwood faced when working on a musical project with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa this summer. "It's complete bullshit," he said. "There is no argument to be made. There is the oppressed and the oppressor. The oppressed are the indigenous people of Palestine, the oppressor are the settler-colonial visitors from North America and North Europe There is nothing difficult to understand. It is not a conflict. It is a genocide, Thom and Jonny!" Greenwood performed with Tassa in Tel Aviv in May, and the day before, he reportedly participated in protests calling for hostages held in Gaza to be released and new elections to be held. Waters' complete interview can be viewed on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 12/1/24...... Appearing on the pilot episode of John Mayer's new SiriusXM show How's Life on Nov. 28, Billy Joel debuted an unheard song called "Every Time." Asked by Mayer if he had any parts of an unfinished song he would be comfortable sharing with listeners, Joel revealed that there was indeed a "spare part" that he had been toying with for "years and years and years and years." He said he "had always told myself I was going to do something with this, something's going to happen with this. It's a really nice piece of music." Confirming that he did not think anyone had ever heard it, he began to play a dramatic, moody solo piano break named "Every Time." He quipped, "The thought behind that was, 'I'll screw it up every time'." Joel and Mayer appeared on stage together in October in Los Angeles for a rendition of Joel's The Bridge track "This Is The Time" for only the second time in public. Joel's interview with Mayer can be streamed on YouTube. Joel recently announced two new UK live shows -- in Edinburgh and Liverpool -- for June 2025, and has also announced a string of new tour dates across the US for 2025 with support from Sting and Stevie Nicks. - NME, 11/29/24...... Speaking to the UK sports radio show talkSPORT on Nov. 27, Rod Stewart said his upcoming performance at the UK's Glastonbury festival in the Sunday teatime Legends slot will "cost him a fortune," but he has no regrets. Stewart told the hosts that he required no time to mull over the offer, claiming he accepted the opportunity to perform "immediately." "It's a great honour, it's going to cost me a fortune to do it - $300,0000," Stewart explained. "I've got to bring all my band back from America, of course Glastonbury don't pay for that. But I don't care if it cost me $1,00,000, I would have done it. It's a great honour. It really is the greatest honour," he added. "I'm proud, ready and more than able to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury in June." This will be Stewart's first appeance at the festival since he headlined the festival's Pyramid stage in 2002. He will return to North America in March as part of his "One Last Time" 2025 tour. With various dates scheduled betwen March and August, he'll also be returning to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas throughout March, May and June for more shows in his extended Vegas residency. Meanwhile, the "Maggie May" singer has slammed British TV host Gregg Wallace for allegedly "bullying" his current wife, Penny Lancaster. Stewart, 79, has been married to wife number three Lancaster, 53, since 2007, and in 2021 she was a contestant on the BBC's Celebrity MasterChef. Rod says Penny was "humiliated" by Wallace, 60, while she was competing on the show and he was a judge. Wallace is currently suspended from the BBC show following accusations of past inappropriate sexual comments -- which he has denied. Taking to Instagram, Sir Rod unleashed on the disgraced host, writing, "So Greg Wallace gets fired from Master Chef. Good riddance Wallace... You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn't you? You're a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya. Sir Rod Stewart." Wallace has been accused by 13 people of making inappropriate sexual comments while working with him across various iterations of the MasterChef show over a 17-year period. Wallace's lawyers told the BBC that it is "entirely false" that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. An investigation by Masterchef's production company Banijay UK is ongoing. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 11/28/24...... In other Glastonbury festival news, Nile Rodgers has accidentally confirmed that he and Chic will be performing at Glastonbury 2025. Taking to the stage at London's Roundhouse for the UK's Rolling Stone Awards on Nov. 28, the musician accepted the award for Music Icon and let slip that he was already preparing to get up to some havoc with previously announced headliner Rod Stewart at the Worthy Farm site. "We're going to have a blast because we follow him directly," Rodgers joked. "Rod and I have been friends for 80 gazillion years, so that means he's gonna play tricks on me He's probably gonna pinch my bum, because he always does that. I don't know what the hell he gets out of that." He continued: "We're gonna have a great time together. I don't know who's in his current band, but we'll probably be jamming. Regardless of what the world may think, Rod Stewart and I, we really love each other. We really are quite close." Usually, the first line-up poster for Glastonbury is unveiled in early March, meaning no further artists are confirmed for roughly four months. Rodgers was soon notified by someone that his appearance hadn't been announced, to which he laughed and responded: "Am I not supposed to give that away? I always say too much." The first batch of general admission tickets for Glastonbury 2025 sold out in just 35 minutes on Nov. 15, following a sale of coach/ticket packages three days prior. This year, organizers introduced a new online queuing system to purchase tickets -- which divided customers. - NME, 11/29/24...... Responding to rumors that actor Barry Keoghan will portray him in an upcoming four-part Beatles biopic, Ringo Starr recently told Entertainment Tonight that "I think it's great... I believe he's somewhere taking drum lessons. I hope not too many!" Keoghan is already an Oscar nominee, thanks to his work in 2022's The Banshees of Inisherin. Starr's interview can be viewed on the Entertainment Tonight website. Although no official casting announcements have been announced yet, other actors rumored to be circling the project include Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney and Charlie Rowe as George Harrison. Early in 2024, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced four separate Beatles biopics -- one focusing on each member of music's most iconic band. Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning director whose credits include American Beauty (1999), Skyfall (2012) and 1917 (2019), will helm all four films and produce them through his Neal Street Productions. "I'm honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies," Mendes said in a statement at the time. - Billboard, 11/27/24...... In other Beatles news, a handwritten letter which sees John Lennon pitching a new band to Eric Clapton is set to be auctioned in December. The eight-page letter, which is dated Sept. 29, 1971, is a draft of the final version which was sent to Clapton that same year. The contents of the letter show the beginnings of what could have been an interesting chapter in the story of rock music, with Lennon asking Clapton to form a new band. "You must know by now that Yoko (Ono) and I rate your music and yourself very highly, always have," the letter begins. As Lennon continues, he touches on Clapton's then-current dark period, which was marred by heroin addiction and a retreat from public appearances. "Eric, I know I can bring out something great, in fact greater in you that had been so far evident in your music," Lennon adds. "I hope to bring out the same kind of greatness in all of us, which I know will happen if/when we get together." The letter ultimately pitches the idea of Clapton performing as part of the prospective band, which would have included previous Plastic Ono Band members Klaus Voorman, Jim Keltner, Nicky Hopkins and Phil Spector. "And of course we had YOU!!! in mind as soon as we decided," it continues. By the time of the letter's writing, Clapton had previously performed as part of the Plastic Ono Band, appearing as part of the iterations of the group that existed between September and December 1969. Ultimately, Clapton would turn down Lennon's offer of joining the John's "supergroup." The draft of the letter also includes numerous corrections and edits, though it's unknown what the final version that was sent to Clapton looked like. Helmed by International Autograph Auctions Europe SL, the missive will go to auction on Dec. 5 for an expected sale of £100,000 - £150,000 (approximately $104,000 - $157,000), with bidding registrations already open. This isn't the first time the letter has gone up for sale, however, with a 2012 auction expecting the item to sell for a total of $30,000. The letter can be viewed on the autographauctions.eu website. - Billboard, 11/26/24...... Some of the ashes of late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister are set to go on display at Stringfellow's strip club in London. Kilmister, who is considered to be one of the most influential figures in metal rock history, died in Dec. 2015 at the age of 70, shortly after learning he had been diagnosed with cancer. Stringfellow's, founded by late UK businessman and nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow, was a popular destination for the Motörhead frontman, who was a longtime friend of Stringfellow's. For the display, the ashes will be arriving on Dec. 18, and set to be displayed in an urn shaped like the singer and bassist's trademark cavalry hat. A ceremony will be held to celebrate the permanent fixture arriving in the venue, and is set to be attended by Lemmy's bandmate, guitarist Phil Campbell. "Stringfellow's always held a special place in Lemmy's heart. He loved the rock'n'roll spirit Peter brought to the club, he loved the relaxed environment, and he certainly loved the view," said Motörhead manager Todd Singerman. "I know he's relieved he can get back to enjoying one of his favorite places on the planet!" This is far from the first time that Lemmy has made headlines for the location in which his ashes will be displayed -- a convoy of 55 Harley Davidson bikers escorted a bust of his ashes to Nottingham Rock City earlier this summer. As well as that, some went to Los Angeles Rainbow Bar & Grill, some got scattered at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany, and Metallica's James Hetfield has even had some of the ashes incorporated into a spade tattoo on his middle finger. In February of this year, it was confirmed that plans to erect a statue of Killmister in the town where he was born had been approved by Stoke-on-Trent City Council. - NME, 11/28/24...... In a recent appearance on CBS This Morning, the Grateful Dead revealed that they were planning a 60th anniversary prior to the death of GD member Phil Lesh, who died on Oct. 25 at age 84. Surviving band members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart said that a reunion project for the Grateful Dead's 60th anniversary had been in the works, with plans for the four members to get together and jam once more. "We were going to see where it goes," Weir said. "But we were just going to play the four of us. And now there's only three of us." "I was hoping that we could play with him again one more time," added Kreutzmann. "So that was my sadness on that one, 'cause I know he wanted to play with us again, too." "We were kickin' it around," Weir continued. "In fact, we were gonna get together and kick some songs around tomorrow." The Grateful Dead first formed in 1965 and performed for 30 years with various lineups until their split following the passing of lead guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia in 1995. The four musicians previously reunited for the 50th anniversary "Fare Thee Well" concert in 2015. Lesh, Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart will be saluted in December as part of the prestigious 2024 Kennedy Center Honors, with 2023 recipient Queen Latifah hosting. - Billboard, 11/27/24...... The Beach Boys have announced a huge outdoor concert in the UK next year as their only show in Britain for 2025. The iconic California-based band's "The Sounds of Summer" tour will hit Englefield House in Berkshire on on July 20. "Rock On" hitmaker David Essex is on board to perform as a special guest, as well as "To Sir With Love" singer Lulu, who earlier this year announced her retirement from touring after 60 years in music. The current iteration of the BB will not feature founding member Brian Wilson, who retired from touring in 2022 and was recently placed under a court conservatorship due to a "major neurocognitive disorder." This summer, the band was joined on tour by Full House actor John Stamos, who played drums with the band for 16 shows as they commemorated the 50th anniversary of their 1974 compilation album Endless Summer. An authorized documentary directed by Frank Marshall, The Beach Boys, was also released in 2024. It was touted as a "celebration of the legendary band that revolutionized pop music." - NME, 11/29/24...... The Kinks have launched their own variety of premium loose leaf teas, inspired by the hits from their discography. Posting the announcement on X/Twitter on Nov. 25, the band says each variation is a nod to their discography, and has been blended and roasted in Sussex. They include "Waterloo Sunset," "Victoria" and "Autumn Almanac." "We're thrilled to share The Kinks' tea collection, which is available to pre-order now! Sit down and have a cuppa with your Kinks tea and teapot, and then you can do the dishes with your Kinks tea towel! Hallelujah!," the band posted, along with a link at TheKinksTea.com. According to a press release, "The theme and lyrics of each song is mirrored in the blends and corresponding packaging, creating an all round sensory experience for the discerning tea drinker. With black, herbal and low caffeine teas included in the range, they can be enjoyed at any time of the day, any day of the year. Or even, all day and all of the night. It also draws light to the lyrics "Tea in the morning, Tea in the evening, Tea at supper time," which featured on their 1971 album Muswell Hillbillies. As well as the different tea blends, a range of ceramic teapots and teacups are also available, as well as a bespoke Kinks tea towel. The teas come in packs of 100g, and are priced at £6 each. The ceramics and accessories are all limited edition and range between £12 and £50. News of the new tea range comes amid long-running rumours that the band could be reuniting. While the group have never formally split, brothers Dave and Ray Davies have had a tumultuous relationship over the years. In 2023, frontman Ray said a potential Kinks reunion remained "in the lap of the gods," and would only come to fruition if they could lock in "a show that gives us the credit we deserve." In 2021, the Kinks staged a livestream event, titled The Moneygoround, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their classic album Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One. More recently, member Dave Davies reacted to what hes described as a "fucking horrible AI cover of one of the bands songs, and also spoke out after spotting his Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame trophy being put up for auction on eBay. Formed in 1963, the original four members of the Kinks -- Dave, his brother Ray, bassist Pete Quaife and drummer Mick Avory -- were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990, reuniting for the first time in many years. - NME, 11/26/24...... The last filmed show of the '70s ska band The Specials with lead singer Terry Hall, before his untimely death in 2022, is set to air on UK television. The Specials: Live From Coventry Cathedral was filmed in the band's hometown in 2019 as part of their 40th anniversary tour over a four-day engagement at the local landmark. The band announced its release on social media yesterday on Nov. 28. The concert film will now be screened for the first time via Sky Arts on Dec. 20 at 9:00 pm UK time. The final performance of The Specials with Hall took place on Aug. 20, 2022 at Ottery St. Mary in Devon as part of the Beautiful Days Festival. Hall, the band's charismatic frontman and a mental health advocate, passed away at the age of 63 after a "brief illness." The band's bassist, Horace Panter, subsequently confirmed that Hall had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that had spread to his liver. - NME, 11/29/24...... Legendary musician, composer and producer Brian Eno has spoken to the BBC World Service programme In The Studio about his creative process and the innovative ways music can be used for the good of the planet. The documentary follows Eno into the studio as he works in collaborative partnerships on new material that list "Earth" as co-writer. On climate change, Brian says: "I notice that hardly any of our politicians are talking about the most important problem. The most important problem isn't a few immigrants coming into the country on boats. The most important problem isn't China developing AI. The most important problem is that the ship is sinking, and it's happening quite fast, and a lot of my friends and people I knew were also concerned about this issue. What can we do about it? Those people in government aren't doing anything about it. How can the rest of us do anything, well, we have to somehow take it into our own hands." In 2021 Eno founded the ground-breaking organisation EarthPercent, a charity which aims to raise $100 million by 2030. The money -- from royalties of partner artists -- is being used to reduce the environmental impact of the music industry. Among the musicians with whom he is currently collaborating are Coldplay, Nile Rogers, Michael Stipe, Anna Calvi and Louis VI. The In The Studio program aims to "take you into the minds of the world's most creative people, with unprecedented access." - Music-News.com, 11/30/24...... Marshall Brickman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter whose wide-ranging career spanned some of Woody Allen's best films, the Broadway musical "Jersey Boys" and a number of Johnny Carson's most beloved sketches, died on Nov. 29 in Manhattan, his daughter Sophie Brickman told The New York Times. He was 85 and no cause of death was cited. Best known for his extensive collaboration with Allen, beginning with the 1973 film Sleeper, Mr. Brickman and Allen co-wrote the acclaimed films Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979) and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993). The loosely structured script for Annie Hall, in particular, has been hailed as one of the wittiest all-time comedies. It won Mr. Brickman and Allen an Oscar for best original screenplay. In his acceptance speech (Allen skipped the ceremony), Mr. Brickman referenced one of the film's many oft-quoted lines, saying: "I've been out here a week, and I still have guilt when I make a right turn on a red light." "If the film is worth anything," Mr. Brickman told Vanity Fair in 2017, "it gives a very particular specific image of what it was like to be alive in New York at that time in that particular social-economic stratum." Mr. Brickman and Allen had met in the early 1960s, when Allen was breaking through as a stand-up comedian. Mr. Brickman was brought on to write jokes for him. At the time, he had been playing banjo for the folk group the Tarriers. In one of the many twists of Mr. Brickman's career, it was an album he and his college roommate Eric Weissberg recorded that later made the soundtrack to 1972's Deliverance, including "Dueling Banjos." Mr. Brickman, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was the son of Jewish socialists Abram (who fled Poland during WWII) and Pauline (Wolin) Brickman, who was from New York. They later moved to the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, where Mr. Brickman grew up. His start in show business, after graduating from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in science and music, came with the Terriers, replacing actor Alan Arkin in the group. By the late '60s, Mr. Brickman was head writer for Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. There, one of his most enduring contributions were the Carnac the Magnificent sketches, during which Carson played a "mystic from the East" who could divine answers to unseen questions. Mr. Brickman's other TV credits included Candid Camera, The Dick Cavett Show and The Muppet Show. Mr. Brickman wrote and directed the 1980 film Simon, starring Arkin as a psychology professor brainwashed into believing he's from outer space. He also directed 1983's Lovesick, with Alec Guinness as the ghost of Sigmund Freud, and 1986's The Manhattan Project, about a high schooler who builds a nuclear weapon for a school project. With Rick Elice penning the music, Mr. Brickman wrote the Broadway musical "Jersey Boys," about the 1960s rock group The Four Seasons. It ran on Broadway for 12 years beginning in 2005, and was later adapted into a movie helmed by Clint Eastwood. He and Elice also wrote the 2010 musical "The Addams Family." He is survived by his wife, Nina, daughters Sophie and Jessica, and five grandchildren. - AP, 12/1/24.

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

The Eagles announced their remaining 2024 and upcoming 2025 shows at Las Vegas' Sphere in an Instagram post on Nov. 26. Demand to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers has surpassed that of the amount of dates, which has led the rock band to extend its Sphere stay for a sixth time -- especially after the rave night-one review of their debut Sept. 20 performance. After most recently adding four new dates, the Eagles residency will now go until mid Apr. 2025, giving fans even more chances to see the band perform. The Eagles currently have 20 shows scheduled from Dec. 6 through Apr. 12. They took over from Dead & Company, who brought their never-ending road trip to the venue from May through August, who took over from Phish's four-show residency in late April. U2 kicked off the Sphere's concert shows in Sept. 2023, doing 40 shows through early Mar. 2024. The 18,000-seat immersive venue has drawn rave reviews for its 160,000-square-foot wraparound 16K LED screen and seat-shaking array of more than 1,500 speakers. - Billboard, 11/26/24...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Sammy Hagar says he wants to try to make peace with Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen after their nearly two-decade long estrangement. "It's on my bucket list that I will not take this to my grave, and I don't want Al taking it to his grave," Hagar says. "I've put the olive branch out there many times, and I just put it out again to (Van Halen manager) Irving Azoff." Hagar famously replaced VH's original singer David Lee Roth in 1985 after the latter left the group to pursue a solo career. Along with Eddie Van Halen on guitar, brother Alex on drums and Michael Anthony on bass, they recorded four platinum records before Hagar left the band in 1996, replaced by Gary Cherone. He reunited with the band for a 2004 tour, but their fractious relationship continued offstage leading Hagar to exit the band once again. Roth returned to the lineup in 2007 and they embarked on three world tours over the next eight years, making one record along the way -- 2012's A Different Kind of Truth. Hagar's comments come after the recent release of Alex's memoir Brothers, which deals with the early years of VH but doesn't include any mention of Sammy's time with the band. "Why he left me out, I would like to hear him explain that someday, because I don't get it completely," Hagar said. "I know that he's bitter about some things, whatever that is It's like, 'If you don't want that era, that even gives me more justification to say I own it then,' because no one else can do it, and he can't do it even without me," he added. But Hagar credited Alex for focusing on his brotherly bond with Eddie, who died of throat cancer in Oct. 2020, and said that maybe his era with the band will be covered off in a sequel. "I understand he probably couldn't have done the whole era in one book. It would've been the Bible, the dictionary, so maybe he's got plans for a Volume 2. Who knows?" - Canoe.com, 11/25/24...... Interviewed by the U.K. paper The Sun at London's Lyceum Theatre on Nov. 25, Cher said that her next album will be her last ever. "This is probably my last album that I'm gonna do," the 78-year-old singer said. "I'm really excited. They are great songs and I'm just really excited that I'm doing it. I'm really excited to be doing anything now." She joked, "I'm older than dirt now, OK? I'm the oldest person I meet in almost every room unless I'm in an old folks' home. I don't care if you're 50. I'd give anything to be 60 again. I was a f---ing hottie!" Reflecting further on her age, she continued, "It's weird too because I know I'm older, but I don't know how to feel it. I don't know how to feel any different than the way I've always felt. I like hanging with younger people, not just men. I like young people because a lot of my friends don't want to have that much fun. They can just go off and be old fogies." Cher's career began in 1964 as part of the hitmaking duo Sonny and Cher with her late ex-husband Sonny Bono. Her most recent original album, Closer to the Truth, was released in 2013 -- while an album of ABBA covers, titled Dancing Queen was unleashed in 2018. She released her first Christmas album in 2023. One of the revelations in Cher's new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, is that the name on her birth certificate was wrong. Cher explained that when her mother, Georgia Holt, gave birth to her in 1946, a nurse visited her room and asked what she planned to name her baby. "My mother replied, 'Well, Lana Turner's my favourite actress and her little girl's called Cheryl. My mother's name is Lynda, so how about Cherilyn?'" When the Grammy winner decided to change her legal name to Cher in the late 1970s, she dug out her birth certificate. "I was shocked to discover that I was officially registered as Cheryl," Cher wrote in her memoir, "and asked my mother, 'Do you even know my real name, Mom?'" Her mum, who gave birth to her at age 19, responded, "Let me look at that!" before adding, "I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break." - Music-News.com, 11/26/24...... The UK's legendary Glastonbury Festival announced on X/Twitter on Nov. 26 that Rod Stewart will perform at next year's Sunday teatime Legends slot, which often draws some of the biggest crowds of the entire weekend. Stewart, 79, previously appeared at the festival as a headliner in 2002, joining Coldplay and Stereophonics as bill-toppers that year. Speaking about the booking, Stewart said he was "proud, ready and more than able to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury." The Sunday Legends slot is one of the most coveted in the festival's history, with the likes of Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Lionel Richie, Kylie Minogue, Diana Ross and Shania Twain taking on the Legends slot since its first edition in 1970. 2025's edition will mark the final event to take place at Worthy Farm before the traditional fallow year in 2026, which sees the landowner Michael Eavis and his family allow the grounds to recover every four years. The festival will return again in 2027. - Billboard, 11/26/24...... In an interview that aired on Good Morning America's Robin Roberts on Nov. 25, Elton John revealed that an eye infection he suffered this summer has turned into the loss of vision in his right eye, which is impacting his ability to create. John, 77, told Roberts that "it's been a while" since he's worked on new music, something he's been unable to figure out because of his poor eyesight. "I unfortunately lost my eye sight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the South of France," said John in the interview during which his eyes were somewhat obscured by a pair of green framed eyeglasses with a yellow tint to on the lenses. "It's been four months now since I haven't been able to see. And my left eye is not the greatest." Roberts flew to England to talk to Sir Elton about his new doc, Never Too Late, noting that at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year he teased a new album, a project whose future is now up in the air due to his poor vision. "There's hope and encouragement that it will be okay," John said. "But I'm kind of stuck in the moment, because I can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording I don't know. Because I can't see a lyric, for start." John said he's working on getting his eyesight back, but the infection has "floored" him for the moment because he can't see, or watch anything. When Roberts suggested that, after all his health struggles, John is "still standing" -- as he sang on his 1983 hit "I'm Still Standing" -- the singer had to agree. "Exactly. I'm so lucky. I'm the luckiest man in the world," he said. John has been open in the past about his various health struggles, including hearing loss, knee and hip replacement surgery, as well as prostate cancer and a the implantation of a pacemaker to treat an irregular heartbeat. He recently told Rolling Stone: "I don't have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix," in reeling off his many surgeries. "I don't have a prostate. I don't have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee. In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip." Never Too Late, which Elton says is titled after a new song he's recorded that was written by his friend Brandi Carlisle, will begin streaming on Disney+ on Dec. 13. The full interview can be viewed on the Good Morning America website. - Billboard, 11/25/24...... Disney have announced the replacement of its famous Aerosmith-themed Rock 'N' Rollercoaster in its Hollywood Studios park in Florida, ostensibly after the Boston-based rockers announced earlier in 2024 that their touring days have come to an end after frontman Steven Tyler seriously injured his voice during a gig. The ride is described on the website as featuring three inversions, two rollover loops, and one corkscrew. It also has a peaking speed of just shy of 60mph. Named the Rock 'N' Rollercoaster, the attraction has had Aerosmith as the face of the ride for over two decades, while the band's biggest hits including "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)," "Walk This Way," "Back In The Saddle" and "Sweet Emotion" play from the speakers. Now, it has been confirmed that Tyler and co. will be replaced on the ride, and The Muppets will now be the main attraction. Similarly, The Muppets released a rock-inspired series on Disney+ last year called The Muppets Mayhem, which included appearances from huge names like Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee and actor Danny Trejo. In a statement from Disney, a spokesperson said "The Muppets will be taking over Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, teaming up with some of music's biggest stars for a rockin' music festival!" The Rock 'N' Rollercoaster opened in July 1999, and a second version opened at the Walt Disney Studios Park in France in 2002. The latter was ultimately re-designed with an Avengers theme. An official closing date for the Aerosmith-inspired Rock 'N' Rollercoaster has not been shared yet. A promo video for the current Rock 'N' Rollercoaster can be viewed on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 11/25/24...... A new Beatles documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi, Beatles '64, is set to premiere on the Disney+ streaming channel on Nov. 29. Its subject is a familiar one: the Fab Four's arrival in the United States on Feb. 7, 1964, and the cultural maelstrom that followed. "Visually they are a nightmare: tight, dandified, Edwardian-Beatnik suits and great pudding bowls of hair," Newsweek sneered in a contemporaneous cover story quoted at length onscreen. "Musically they are a near-disaster: guitars and drums slamming out a merciless beat that does away with secondary rhythms, harmony, and melody." But while most accounts of the Beatles' U.S. invasion treat the boys themselves as conquering heroes, Beatles '64 does something a little different. It turns a refreshing and revealing lens on the band's first stateside fans as well -- the vast majority of them teenage girls, a group all too easily dismissed at the time. "These young women discovered something that nobody else knew," director Tedeschi (who previously edited Scorsese's Rolling Thunder Revue and George Harrison: Living in the Material World documentaries), tells Yahoo Entertainment. "And it turned out to be true." To capture that bigger, broader picture, Tedeschi raided the archives of the Maysles Brothers, the revolutionary fly-on-the-wall documentarians who followed the Beatles for their entire two-week initial visit, unearthing 17 minutes of never-before-seen footage in the process. All of the Maysles' material was then restored to crystalline 4K by director Peter Jackson's Park Road Post studio in New Zealand. Meanwhile, the Beatles' iconic Ed Sullivan Show appearances and raucous first U.S. concert at the Washington (D.C.) Coliseum were demixed and remixed using the same AI-assisted innovations as their other recent releases. And a handful of hardcore fans were asked to reflect on their youthful obsession, 60 years after the fact. The result is a triumph of technology and storytelling -- our clearest view yet into what Beatlemania looked like, sounded like and, most importantly, felt like for those who lived it. - Yahoo! Entertainment, 11/26/24...... In other Beatles-related news, Sean Ono Lennon has revealed to People magazine that he started making music in order to "fill the void" left by the death of his father, John Lennon. "I never played music because I was good at it," Sean explained. "I lost my father and I didn't know how to fill that void. Learning how to play his songs on guitar was a way to process the loss with an activity that made me feel connected to him," added Sean, who was born in 1975 to John and the artist Yoko Ono, and was only five years old when his father was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in 1980. "When you've lost a parent, things like that motivate you- because you're trying to find them. Making music always made me feel like I was getting to know him better." Sean has released a number of solo records, including this year's Asterisms, and in recent years has become a sought-after producer for alternative bands including Fat White Family, Temples and The Lemon Twigs. Sean has also recently been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for the reissue of his father's 1973 album Mind Games, for which Sean oversaw new "meditation" mixes. "The whole album is about my mum," Sean explained in the new interview. "My dad declared to the world that 'John and Yoko' were one word. I think he always had his heart set on her. He was so in love with her. They had a legendary love and I think that this album is infused with that love. You can hear it." - NME, 11/23/24...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, a guitar played by George Harrison in the early days of the Beatles has sold at auction for $1.27 million (£1.01million). The Resonet Futurama guitar was purchased by Harrison at a music store in Liverpool in 1959 and he went on to play it at at least 324 Beatles shows. The Nashville auction house Julien's had listed the expected price between $600,000 and $800,000, but the eventual price tag makes the instrument the most expensive guitar owned by Harrison ever to be sold at auction. The item was sold as part of an auction titled "Played, Worn & Torn II' that ran on Nov. 20-21. Other lots from music history were also donated by the likes of The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Nirvana and Prnce. - NME, 11/23/24...... Jon Davison, the current vocalist for prog-rock legends Yes, has addressed the accusations made in a lawsuit by former bandmate Riz Story, calling them "blatant lies." Story sued the band earlier in November claiming the band stole parts of his song "Reunion" from his 2014 film A Winter Rose for their own track "Dare To Know" (available for streaming on YouTube). Story alleged that the melody was first conceived of when he and Davison were in a band with late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins back in the '90s. He also claimed they were founding members of a band called Anyone. While Davison has confirmed that they were in a band with Hawkins, they were not founding members of Anyone. Instead, they were in a band called Blash Meth, and he left before it became Anyone years later. "Any suggestion that I might have heard this generic melody when we were younger, let alone thought it was worthy of Yes, is utterly absurd," he wrote. "As anyone who studies the Yes albums will know meticulous care is taken on every song to correctly credit the songwriters. On The Quest, I have credits on 6 of 11 songs, hardly the "nearly every other song" that is incorrectly stated in their claim to try and support their fiction," he added. Davison implied that Story filed the lawsuit because he felt rejected after "hoping to work with Yes, and, I'm sorry to say, failing." He also argued that the melody isn't original. In other Yes news, former keyboardist Rick Wakeman has been playing his final solo tour in the United States, stating when it was announced that it is time "to call it a day." - NME, 11/22/24...... Alice Brock, whose Massachusetts-based eatery helped inspire Arlo Guthrie's deadpan Thanksgiving standard, "Alice's Restaurant Massacree," has died at age 83. Her death, just a week before Thanksgiving, was announced on Nov. 22 by Guthrie on the Facebook page of his own Rising Son Records. Guthrie wrote that she died in Provincetown, Mass., her residence for some 40 years, and referred to her being in failing health. Other details were not immediately available. "This coming Thanksgiving will be the first without her," Guthrie wrote. "Alice and I spoke by phone a couple of weeks ago, and she sounded like her old self. We joked around and had a couple of good laughs even though we knew we'd never have another chance to talk together." Born Alice May Pelkey in New York City, Brock was a lifelong rebel who was a member of Students for a Democratic Society among other organizations. In the early 1960s, she dropped out of Sarah Lawrence College, moved to Greenwich Village and married Ray Brock, a woodworker who encouraged her to leave New York and resettle in Massachusetts. Guthrie, son of the celebrated folk musician Woody Guthrie, first met Brock around 1962 when he was attending the Stockbridge School in Massachusetts and she was the librarian. They became friends and stayed in touch after he left school, when he would stay with her and her husband at the converted Stockbridge church that became the Brocks' main residence. On Thanksgiving Day, 1965, a simple chore led to Guthrie's arrest, his eventual avoidance of military service during the Vietnam War and a song that has endured as a protest classic and holiday favorite. Guthrie and his friend, Richard Robbins, were helping the Brocks throw out trash, but ended up tossing it down a hill because they couldn't find an open dumpster. Police charged them with illegal dumping, briefly jailed them and fined them $50, a seemingly minor offense with major repercussions. By 1966, Alice Brock was running The Back Room restaurant in Stockbridge, Guthrie was a rising star and his breakout song was an 18-minute talking blues that recounted his arrest and how it made him ineligible for the draft. The chorus was a tribute to Alice -- whose restaurant, Guthrie pointed out, was not actually called Alice's Restaurant -- that countless fans have since memorized: "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant/ You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant/ Walk right in it's around the back/ Just a half a mile from the railroad track/ You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant." Guthrie assumed his song was too long to catch on commercially, but it soon became a radio perennial and part of the popular culture. Alice's Restaurant was the title of his million-selling debut album, and the basis of a movie and cookbook of the same name. Alice Brock would write a memoir, My Life as a Restaurant, and collaborate with Guthrie on a children's book, Mooses Come Walking. At the time of her death, they had been discussing an exhibit dedicated to her at her former Stockton home, now the Guthrie Center, which serves free dinners every Thanksgiving. Brock ran three different restaurants at various times, although she would later acknowledge she initially didn't care much for cooking or for business. She would also cite her professional life as a cause of her marriage breaking up, while disputing rumors that she had been unfaithful to her husband. Her honor was immortalized by Guthrie, who late in "Alice's Restaurant" advised: "You can get anything you want" at Alice's Restaurant, "excepting Alice." - Billboard, 11/23/24...... Chuck Woolery, the affable, smooth-talking host of such game shows as Wheel of Fortune, Love Connection and Scrabble who later became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about COVID-19, died on Nov. 24 at his home in Texas. He was 83. Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Mr. Woolery served in the U.S. Navy before attending college. He played double bass in a folk trio, then formed the psychedelic rock duo The Avant-Garde in 1967 while working as a truck driver to support himself as a musician. Mr. Woolery began his TV career at a show that has become a mainstay. Although most associated with Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Wheel of Fortune debuted Jan. 6, 1975, on NBC with Mr. Woolery welcoming contestants and the audience. Mr. Woolery, then 33, was trying to make it in Nashville as a singer. In 1983, Mr. Woolery began an 11-year run as host of TV's Love Connection, for which he coined the phrase, "We'll be back in two minutes and two seconds," a two-fingered signature dubbed the "2 and 2." In 1984, he hosted TV's Scrabble, simultaneously hosting two game shows on TV until 1990. Other career highlights included hosting the shows Lingo, Greed and The Chuck Woolery Show, as well as hosting the short-lived syndicated revival of The Dating Game from 1998 to 2000 and an ill-fated 1991 talk show. In 1992, he played himself in two episodes of TV's "Melrose Place." Mr. Woolery became the subject of the Game Show Network's first attempt at a reality show, Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned, which premiered in 2003. It shared the title of the pop song in 1968 by Mr. Woolery and his rock group, The Avant-Garde. It lasted six episode and was panned by critics. Mr. Woolery, with his matinee idol looks, coiffed hair and ease with witty banter, was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978. His death was announced by his podcast co-host and friend Mark Young. "Chuck was a dear friend and brother and a tremendous man of faith, life will not be the same without him," Young wrote. In addition to his wife, Mr. Woolery is survived by his sons Michael and Sean and his daughter Melissa, Young said. - AP, 11/24/24.

Friday, November 22, 2024

The widow of guitar great Jeff Beck has decided to put her late husband's guitar collection up for auction in January. Beck's widow Sandra said it was a "massive wrench" to let the guitars go, but added, "I know Jeff wanted for me to share this love. After some hard thinking I decided they need to be shared, played and loved again." Valued at an estimated $1.3 million (£1 million), the 90 guitar collection includes an oxblood Gibson Les Paul that Beck played throughout the 1970s and features on the cover of his 1975 album Blow By Blow. That item alone is expected to fetch between $440,000 (£350,000) and $630,000 (£500,000). Other items include a 1954 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster and a white Stratocaster that Beck played for 16 years. Amelia Walker, head of Private and Iconic Collections at Christie's, described the guitars as "really beautiful" and said "These are things that he used. They've got the indents of his fingernails on the fret boards." Beck replaced Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds in 1965, before forming his own Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and others, and going on to have a long and successful solo career. He died suddenly at the age of 78 in January 2023, after contracting bacterial meningitis. - Music-News.com, 11/18/24...... In related news, a piano used by members of Fleetwood Mac to compose classic songs such as "Sara" and "Songbird," before later being played by Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and more, is headed to auction. The Grand Hamilton piano is being offered for sale by English singer/songwriter Robbie Patton, who first came across the instrument when beginning a lifelong friendship with Stevie Nicks in 1975. "One day, I'm in the house of Stevie and she has two pianos, one of them was this black Grand Hamilton Piano where she wrote most of her songs on," Patton explained. "She wrote everything on the piano, she really cherished it as her own." Some of the songs composed on the piano include "Songbird" from the band's 1977 classic Rumours, and "Sara," which peaked at No. 7 on the hit parade upon its release as the second single from 1979's Tusk. The piano hit the road that same year, with Patton serving as opening act for the band on their tour. Christine McVie reportedly used the piano on stage between 1982 and 1983 in support of their Mirage album before it returned to Nicks' home. The lead single from that album was "Hold Me," which was co-written by McVie and Patton and peaked at No. 4. Patton requested the instrument as payment, where it came into his possession and found some famous players in the process. "I used to work for all the big musicians, Elton John, for four and a half years," he explained. "John Reid managed Elton John and then Queen. Freddie Mercury even came by for a recording session and used the piano. Elton John used the piano. The people who have touched this piano are crazy!" Though it has since been refurbished and lacquered, the listing states that the keys have never changed. It also comes with a letter of authenticity signed by Patton, Nicks, and the late McVie in 2015. Bidding on the piano, conducted by GottaHaveRockAndRoll.com, is open until Dec. 16, with a minimum bid of $50,000. Only a handful of bids are expected, it seems, with an estimated sale range of between $100,000 and $200,000. - Billboard, 11/22/24...... In other Fleetwood Mac news, Apple Original Films has unveiled plans for a new definitive and fully authorized documentary chronicling the legendary band. Promising to "delve into Fleetwood Mac's meteoric rise and the personal and professional dynamics that shaped their legacy," surviving band members will, for the first time, narrate their own extraordinary story, supported by exclusive interviews, archival footage, and unseen material, including tributes to the late Christine McVie. The documentary, which is yet to be titled, is being directed by five-time Academy Award nominee Frank Marshall, and joins Apple Original Films' prestigious catalog of projects, including the Academy Award-winning CODA and the Emmy-winning STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie. - Billboard, 11/19/24...... In more auction news, Olivia Newton-John's iconic leather Grease jacket is being auctioned for a good cause by Julien's in conjunction with Turner Classic Movie's A Week of Hollywood Legends program. The event, which will take place from Dec. 10 to Dec. 13 at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and online at Julien's Auctions' website, will feature an auction of more than 400 pieces of the legendary Grammy winner's iconic wardrobe, instruments, fine art, jewelry, memorabilia, personal mementos and more. A standout piece from the auction is the beloved leather jacket that Newton-John wore as Sandy Olsson in the final scene of the 1978 classic film, Grease. Other treasures up for bidding include her "Summer Nights," "Physical" and "Have You Never Been Mellow" gold record awards, and her1974 American Music Award for favorite country female vocalist. A portion of the auction proceeds will benefit the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, that was founded by Newton-John and her husband, John Easterling. The independent charity sponsors global research into plant medicine treatments for cancer. Newton-John died in Aug. 2022 at the age of 73 after a decades-long battle with breast cancer. A preview of A Week of Hollywood Legends can be viewed on YouTube. The auction event comes just weeks after an exhibition of Newton-John's collection opens at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Nov. 22. - Billboard, 11/20/24...... In a new interview with the U.K.'s The Sunday Times, Pete Townshend revealed that he has "suicidal" thoughts when he wakes up every morning. "When I first wake up I'm suicidal, actually suicidal," he said about what he describes as "chemical depression." The Who guitarist spoke about choosing to wake up between 2am and 5am each day to help with his mindset, explaining: "I'm still in the state that I was the day before." Townshend added he has "a couple of cups of tea" and "two digestive biscuits," which he says is "apparently equal to 17 sugar lumps, and I feel happy." Townshend sought help from a professional therapist as a younger man, but did not find it to be useful for him, but he does find value in keeping journals. "If I start my journals before I have my cup of tea, I'll paint a very bleak picture of my life. Despite the fact that I have everything that I want and everything that I need. And I have had a really extraordinary life." - NME, 11/18/24...... Bob Dylan has responded to a woman who claimed to be one of his past backing dancers after she posted that she was told not to make eye contact with the legendary singer/songwriter. After Dylan shared his thoughts on Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds after watching their recent concert in Paris in a tweet on his official X/Twitter account, a woman by the name of Cheryl Henry responded: "My Joy was taken away after rehearsing as one of the Backup dancers for your set on the Grammys in NYC 1991. We all had to walk single file to exit thru the backstage area, past the dressing rooms where you were standing wearing a hooded black robe, kinda like the boxers used to wear & you said to me as I passed you 'Now don't you go cutting that long red hair of yours before tomorrow night," began her tweet. She continued: "By the time I reached the exit door at Radio City, I had been told not to return. Nadine (who was running things) had told us all before NOT to make eye contact with you! I guess I snuck a peek as I passed you! I had a letter with me also from an old friend of yours Katherine Perry who knew you in your West Village days. It wasn't meant to be Gemini Man," referring to Dylan's zodiac sign. Dylan then responded to her post on Nov. 20: "Saw your reply. Just want you to know I've never told anybody not to make eye contact with me. That is just ridiculous. And the next time you see me please look straight into my eyes." Meanwhile, first reactions to the new Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown have praised titular star Timothée Chalamet for delivering "the performance of the year." Chalamet stars alongside Edward Norton (Pete Seeger) and Elle Fanning (Sylvie Russo, a fictionalised version of Dylan's first New York girlfriend Suze Rotolo, who died in 2011) in the film which is based on Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, And The Night That Split The Sixties. Film critic Scott Menzel wrote: "Timothée Chalamet delivers the performance of the year in A Complete Unknown. A true tour-de-force where Chalamet is never seen. Chalamet's performance is not just about the voice and look but rather all of the little nuances and mannerisms that he perfectly brings to his life in his portrayal of Bob Dylan. Great supporting performances too from Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez and Edward Norton as Pete Seeger." Other critics praising Chalemet and his co-stars include Clayton Davis of Variety and The Playlist's Gregory Ellwood. Directed by James Mangold and exec-produced by Dylan, A Complete Unknown charts Dylan's controversial switch from acoustic to electric guitar in the mid-'60s and will be released in US cinemas on Dec. 25, with a UK release to follow on Jan. 17. - New Musical Express, 11/21/24...... A live Chicago release, Chicago & Friends - Live at 55, hits stores on Nov. 22 and captures the iconic band's epic 31-song performance filmed over two nights before 10,000 fans at Ocean Casino Resort in celebration of their 55th birthday party in Atlantic City, N.J. in 2023. At both shows the current incarnation of the band was joined by guest vocalists (Chris Daughtry, Robin Thicke, Judith Hill, VoicePlay) and guitarists (Steve Vai, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram) as well as pedal steel virtuoso Robert Randolph. The brassy group's five and a half decades of hits are well-represented, and there's no question the additional personnel injected a little more octane into the shows. Live at 55 was directed by Brian Lockwood and produced by Academy Award winner Barry Summers. It was screened in North American movie theaters during April. The shows celebrated the anniversary of Chicago's debut Chicago Transit Authority album (the group changed its name shortly thereafter), which turned 55 on April 28 of this year. Chicago trumpeter Lee Loughnane says new Chicago music may be coming soon: "There's always music going on. We all write. We're all still creative. We can always do an album; it's just a matter of the circumstance and the timing and all the other aspects of putting an album together. But the ability is always there." - Billboard, 11/21/24...... The Elton John documentary Elton John: Never Too Late is among the 169 features that are vying for nominations in the best documentary feature film category for the 2025 Oscars. Members of the Academy Awards' documentary branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. The shortlist of 15 films will be announced on Dec. 17, and a complete list of eligible films can be viewed at Oscars.org. Meanwhile, a new Broadway musical featuring music by John and lyrics by Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears will be closing on Dec. 8, after just 29 regular performances from its premiere on Nov. 14. "Tammy Faye: The Musical," about the scandal-plagued 1970s-80s televangelist/singer Tammy Faye Bakker, scored decent reviews in its premiere run in London in 2022, but was plagued by poor reviews in New York, where it failed to find an audience. Sir Elton reacted to the news on social media by congratulating the cast and crew for their "extraordinary hard work and talent... it's been a true honour to collaborate with you all." John composed the music for one of Broadway's most enduring modern hits, "The Lion King," as well as for the Tony- and Grammy-winning "Aida," "Billy Elliot: the Musical," "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Lestat," with the latter also having a brief run on Broadway, closing after 33 preview and 39 performances in 2006. - Billboard, 11/21/24...... In a new interview with CBS Mornings, Paul Simon spoke to reporter Anthony Mason about his journey with hearing loss and his search for ways to manage it. In 2023, Simon explained to British paper The Times that he began to experience hearing loss in his left ear while recording his 2023 song cycle, Seven Psalms. "Quite suddenly, I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it," he explained. "So everything became more difficult." Simon admitted to Mason that "it was incredibly frustrating." "I was very angry at first that this had happened," noting his greatest fear is the possibility or no longer writing or composing. "I guess what I'm most apprehensive about would be if I can't hear well enough to really enjoy the act of making music," he added. Though Simon wrapped up his final tour in 2018, he's still making sporadic appearances here and there. Most recently, he performed a surprise set at New York City's Irish Arts Centre, and weeks prior, he performed for The SoHo Sessions as part of a fundraiser for the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss. "I'm going through my repertoire and reducing a lot of the choices that I make to acoustic versions. It's all much quieter," he explained. "It's not 'You Can Call Me Al.' That's gone. I can't do that one." But Simon said that his desire to create hasn't been affected despite his ability to perfectly hear the fruits of his labor. "You know Matisse, when he was suffering at the end of his life, when he was in bed, he envisioned all these cut-outs and had a great creative period," he noted. "So I don't think creativity stops with disability. So far, I haven't experienced that. And I hope not to." - Billboard, 11/20/24...... The audiobook version of Cher's new memoir Cher: The Memoir, Part One, which dropped on Nov. 19, is available for a limited time to Amazon.com customers for only 99 cents. For a limited time, eligible Amazon customers can join Audible for only 99 cents per month for the first three months. The Audible membership will renew at $14.95/month after the promo ends but you can cancel anytime. In her new memoir, Cher talks love, motherhood, loss and triumph -- from her earliest childhood memories to her marriage and divorce from Sonny Bono and forging her own path as a solo artist. The book also details Cher's relationship with rocker Gregg Allman, motherhood and her bout for independence. The audiobook is read in part by Cher and narrated by Tony Award-winning actress Stephanie J. who starred in The Cher Show. Cher and Brooks alternate between chapters creating a "unique audiobook treatment" to immerse listeners into her life story. Other juicy tidbits include her revelation that Bono once "seriously thought" about killing her. Cher also claims in the book that John Lennon once stripped off his clothes during a drunken night at the Playboy Mansion in 1974. The "Believe" hitmaker recalled having dinner at a restaurant in Los Angeles with the Beatle and his friend, singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, and asking the pair if they wanted to visit Hugh Hefner's famed mansion for its Sunday movie night. According to Cher, Lennon was "dying" to see the property so she drove them to the mansion, at which point she realised her companions were "drunker than I'd thought." Cher, a regular guest at the Playboy Mansion, led Lennon and Nilsson to the swimming pool's Grotto -- where they stripped naked. "Giggling and falling over each other, John and Harry followed me out into the grounds. Sitting them down inside the infamous Grotto -- it was like a huge cave that one end of the swimming pool went into -- I went to find a drink and when I came back they were standing in the middle of the Grotto naked but still in the water, thank God," she wrote in the book, which has been serialized by The Daily Mail. When the pop legend told the pair they were not a "pretty" sight, they threatened to leave the water. "I was trying not to laugh, but it was impossible not to as they threatened to wander around the mansion naked. It took me ages to get them back in their clothes. It was like herding drunks," Cher continued. She noted that while the mansion was "notorious for drunken orgies," the Sunday movie nights were more relaxed events featuring cocktails, dinner and the latest films. Meanwhile, Cher and Bono's widow, Mary Bono, are currently in a dispute over the royalties to some of the duo's biggest songs, including "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On," six years after conflict first arose when Bono's copyright grants became eligible for termination. At the time, Mary intervened to invoke the right, and was then sued by Cher in 2021 for $1 million (£792,000), with Cher saying she was left blindsided by Mary's attempt to claim her half of Sonny's composition royalties. In May 2023, a judge ruled that Cher's divorce agreement with her ex-husband would overrule Mary's bid to claim his profits, but in a court hearing on Nov. 18, Mary's lawyer argued that Cher's right to collect half of the composition royalties for the two aforementioned hits ended over two years ago, on July 1, 2022. - Billboard/NME, 11/19/24...... German electro-pop legends Kraftwerk will be among the headiners at the 2025 Coachella festival, which returns to Indio, Calif., over two weekends this April 13-15 and 20-22. As always, the bill is heavy on electronic artists -- of the roughly 150 artists on the bill, a third are dance/electronic acts. Other headliners include Green Day, Lady Gaga and Post Malone, with a special set from Travis Scott. Kraftwerk is set to perform on Apr. 13 and 20. - Billboard, 11/20/24...... Stevie Wonder has announced he'll be bringing his "Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart" concert to Los Angeles on Dec. 14. His upcoming performance at the city's Crypto.com Arena will also be part of the celebration marking the legendary Motown artist's 25th House Full of Toys holiday benefit. Borrowing its name in part from Wonder's current single, "Can We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart," the initial 11-date tour launched Oct. 8 in Pittsburgh and wrapped on Nov. 2 in Chicago. Its nine other stops included New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Greensboro, N.C. and Grand Rapids, Mich. And as Wonder noted at the onset of the tour's initial run, he "will be offering a designated number of complimentary tickets to those in our communities who are already working tirelessly to fix our nation's broken heart." Tickets go on sale Nov. 22, and more info can be found on the Crypto.com Arena website. - Billboard, 11/19/24...... Headlining the Corona Capital Festival in Mexico City on Nov. 17, Paul McCartney invited guitarist Jack White and singer-songwriter St. Vincent on stage to jam some Beatles songs. Macca treated fans in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Stadium to a 29-song set covering the breadth of his career. For "Get Back," Sir Paul invited St. Vincent to the stage, with Annie Clark lending searing guitar solos to a spirited performance of the 1969 track, before exchanging kisses with McCartney. St. Vincent made a second appearance for the show's epic finale, a rendition of "The End," which also saw Jack White adding his distinctive serrated guitar tone to the mix. Fan-captured footage of the performance can be viewed on YouTube. McCartney's performance was the grand finale of his tour in the region. In his fourth performance on Mexican stages -- and his first time at the famous festival in Mexico City -- the star achieved the feat of gathering the largest number of attendees the Corona Capital has seen in its 14-year history, according to promoter Ocesa, with nearly 82,000 people. - NME, 11/18/24...... Ringo Starr has shared the new track "Thankful" featuring Alison Krauss, the latest single from his upcoming country album Look Up, on YouTube. "I love this track," Starr said in a statement. "I wrote it with my producer and engineer Bruce Sugar, and I feel we put an LA country sound to it. For the lyrics, I always like to focus on the positive, and for this song in particular, about what we can be thankful for. I hope it brings you some joy and peace and love." Starr previously shared the album's lead single "Time On My Hands." Comprised of 11 songs, Starr wrote the album alongside T Bone Burnett, Billy Swan and Bruce Sugar, and it marks his first full album in the country style in over 50 years and first LP since 2019. Starr is set to showcase the album in Nashville with a headline show at the Ryman Auditorium on Jan. 14 and 15. - NME, 11/18/24...... Ozzy Osbourne has unveiled a T-shirt he designed in support of a campaign seeking to ban trophy hunting -- a hobby he calls "totally crazy." A video clip published on YouTube on Nov. 18 by Ban Trophy Hunting UK shows Osbourne and his wife Sharon decked out in his custom-made t-shirts, which read "Ozzy says 'No trophy hunting!'." "You've got to be barking to kill an innocent animal and then take photos of yourself laughing about it," the former Black Sabbath frontman said in a statement. "We've all got to do our bit. I like to design things so I've done a t-shirt for the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting. The government said it would ban hunting trophies, so get on with it! Tell your MP you want it banned right now! Get yourself an Ozzy t-shirt for Christmas and help save the animals!" Sharon added that they hope "everyone buys this t-shirt and help raise funds to fight these awful people." Right-wing musician and avid hunter Ted Nugent reacted to Ozzy's video by posting his own video of himself with signed skulls of animals he's killed. - NME, 11/19/24...... Sammy Hagar took to Instagram on Nov. 18 to announce a Las Vegas residency, after $1 million of his and Guy Fieri's tequila was hijacked in a heist in Texas 11 days earlier. The residency will feature his Best Of Both Worlds band, which is comprised of guitarist Joe Satriani, bassist Michael Anthony, and drummer Kenny Aronoff. The string of dates is made up of nine nights at the Dolby Live at Park MGM. The musician will take over the venue on Apr. 30 2025 followed by May 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, and 17. "I'm so looking forward to this residency and being able to stay in one place so we can get the sound and production completely dialed in," Hagar said in a press release. "It also allows the band to experiment with the setlist every night -- that's why it's going to be exclusive to Las Vegas." As a celebration of the residency, Hagar and Anthony will perform during the halftime show of the upcoming Las Vegas Raiders game against the Denver Broncos on Nov. 24th at Allegiant Stadium. The announcement of Hagar's Vegas residency comes after Hagar and Guy Fieri's joint tequila business -- Santo Tequila -- experienced a hijack with thieves stealing two trucks with roughly $1 million of merchandise in Texas during the weekend of Nov. 9. According to Fox News, a representative of Hagar shared that the trucks were stolen in Laredo after crossing the boarder into the US. A total of 4,040 cases of tequila (24,240 bottles) were stolen. The representative added that the robbery appeared to be an "organized crime effort where the trucks were illegally double brokered to different carriers who transferred the product to their trucks." - NME, 11/18/24...... Sting will be among the headliners at the Cherrytree Music 20th Anniversary Concert, planned for Jan. 25 at the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Net proceeds will go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The record label, management firm and music publisher, established in 2005 by Grammy-award songwriter/musician/producer, music executive and artist manager Martin Kierszenbaum, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Kierszenbaum was nominated for two Grammy awards for his writing, performance and production work on Lady Gaga's The Fame album and his writing, playing and production on Sting and rapper Shaggy's expectation-defying collaboration, 44/876. - Billboard, 11/19/24...... In a remarkable coincidence, two Bee Gees drummers have died just four days apart. The death of Dennis Bryon, who played on some of the platinum-selling sibling trio's biggest hits, at age 75 was confirmed by former Bee Gees member Blue Weaver on Facebook on Nov. 14. "I am lost for words at the moment Dennis has passed away. Kayte, Dennis's wife has just called me and asked if I would let all friends and fans know. This was such a shock," he wrote in the update. "Dennis has been my friend, since we were in our first band together age 15. His great drumming will always Stay Alive," Weaver wrote. The two also worked together in the UK bands Amen Corner and Fair Weather. Born in Cardiff, Wales in 1949, Byron began drumming as a teenager and went on to join the Gibb brothers in 1973 -- just as they made their transition into disco. He famously contributed to hits including "Night Fever," "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive" and "You Should Be Dancing, and and continued recording with the band through the rest of the decade, with his final recorded efforts with the Gibbs appearing on 1979's Spirits Have Flown, which spawned yet more No. 1 hits in "Tragedy", "Too Much Heaven" and "Love You Inside Out." Bryon has the distinction of being the only drummer in pop history -- besides the Beatles' Ringo Starr -- to have five songs in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously. After leaving the Bee Gees, Bryon moved to Nashville and began a long career as a session musician, performing and recording with Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Edmunds and, more recently, The Italian Bee Gees. He released a memoir, You Should Be Dancing, in 2015. Bryon took over the drum seat from Colin "Smiley" Petersen, who died on Nov. 18 at the age of 78. Petersen joined the English-Australian band formed by brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb in 1966, playing on a string of early hits that cemented the trio's vocal prowess, including "To Love Somebody," "I Started a Joke" and "Holiday." He first contributed to the band's 1966 album Spicks and Specks, before playing on all four of their LPs released under Polydor/Atco. Petersen's final album with the Bee Gees was Cucumber Castle in 1970, after which he eventually left the group following disagreements with manager Robert Stigwood. He subsequently formed the band Humpy Bong with singer-songwriter Jonathan Kelly and Tim Staffell, which broke up shortly after. He then went on to start a management company in 1969 with his wife Joanne Newfield. The couple have two sons, Jaime and Ben. Petersen performed shows with the band as recently as Nov. 16 in Queensland, Australia. Following the deaths of Maurice Gibb in 2003 at 53 and twin Robin in 2012 at age 62, eldest sibling Barry, 78, is the last surviving member of the Bee Gees. - NME/Billboard, 11/20/24.

Sunday, November 17, 2024

AC/DC fans are speculating that the Aussie headbangers may be gearing up to announce a new North American tour for 2025. While nothing has been officially announced by the band at time of writing, fans have begun speculating that a tour announcement is on the way after a new update briefly appeared online. On Nov. 11, several fan sites for the band reported how a Facebook event was listed for AC/DC -- taking place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. on Apr. 11, 2025. It was soon removed from Facebook, and the band have yet to comment about it. Prior to it being taken down, the page reportedly stated that tickets would be going on sale on Nov. 15 -- meaning that if a US tour is to be announced, the official confirmation should be coming imminently. If a North America tour does come to fruition, it'll come on the heels of band wrapping up the 24th and final show of their "Power Up" UK and Europe tour. The last date of the extensive tour took place at Croke Park in Dublin on Aug. 17. AC/DC are also rumored to be among the headliners for the 2025 Glastonbury festival, alongside Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Green Day and more. - NME, 11/12/24...... As an expanded two-disc anniversary edition of George Harrison's 1973 chart-topping album Living In The Material World hit stores on Nov. 15, George's son Dhani Harrison says that his father "really loved this album because of what it stood for." "It was designed to help people living in the material world -- it had a purpose," says Dhani, who curated the new release with his mom and Harrison's widow Olivia Harrison. "It always meant a lot to him. He named his charity after it, so it was also the beginning of the foundation, which still goes on today." Royalties from the 50th anniversary edition will go to the Material World Foundation. The new set is part of an expanded deal with BMG that the Harrison estate's Dark Horse Records signed with BMG in 2023. It features a new mix of the original LP by Grammy Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks, a second disc (on LP and CD) that includes an outtake of each song as well as two rarities, "Miss O'Dell" and, on CD only, the unreleased "Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)" (which Harrison contributed to Ringo Starr's 1973 album, Ringo, and recorded with Starr and members of The Band). The package also includes a 60-page hardcover book featuring previously unseen images and memorabilia from the period. "We're going in chronological order," says Dark Horse CEO Dhani about the estate and label's approach to reissuing his father's catalog. "There was obviously (The Concert For) Bangladesh in-between but that's a full concert movie, so that doesn't affect the order as we release his solo studio albums." Dhani says the estate began working concurrently on The Concert for Bangladesh, with Peter Jackson helping to restore footage of the film "so it's of the same quality as Get Back." Dark Horse is looking at doing something similar with Harrison's 1974 tour as well. "If there's any way of doing Dark Horse (the album) and the Dark Horse '74 tour in the same way as well, that's my ultimate goal," Dhani says. "The band is incredible, and the shows set the template for bringing classical Indian music and rock n' roll together. "All these releases require so much work. It took us five years to do the All Things Must Pass 50th anniversary. We started doing all this in 2001 -- we've been at it for nearly 25 years and we're only up to the second album." - Billboard, 11/15/24...... In other Beatles-related news, a rare Patek Philippe watch bought for John Lennon by Yoko Ono just months before his death is to be returned to her. Estimated to be worth $4.5 million (£3.6 million), was a 40th birthday gift to the former Beatle in 1980. It bears the inscription "(JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER LOVE YOKO 1091980 N.Y.C", on the back of its 18-carat gold face -- a line from a song the couple composed together the same year, court documents showed. The watch is said to have changed hands and countries several times after it was taken by Ono's Turkish chauffeur in 2006, the court heard. He claimed he had her consent to take the watch. Once in Turkey, the watch, which Ono bought just two months before Lennon's assassination, changed hands again in 2010 before being sold to a German auction house who sold it to an Italian national living in China. The court heard she only discovered that it had been stolen in 2014 after a Geneva-based company, commissioned by the Italian to assess its value, tipped off her lawyer. On Nov. 14, a Swiss court ruled that the watch did not belong to the Italian, paving the way for its return to Ono. It is currently being held for safekeeping in Geneva by the lawyer of the appellant. - NME, 11/15/24...... In a new interview with Kate Thornton's Greatest Hits Radio podcast on Nov. 15, Elton John opened up about his children's relationship with his fame, saying they are "not interested in being in the limelight." The Rocket Man and his husband David Furnish have two sons, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, 13, and Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John, 11, both born via surrogacy. Explaining how his parenting style is different from that of his own parents, he added: "When the kids were born I didn't want them to have any fear. I grew up in the 1950s and everything was 'children should be seen and not heard.' I was treading on eggshells everywhere and I didn't ever want my children to feel like that." Elton continued: "They're not interested in being in the limelight. In fact Zachary, our eldest, didn't really want to be filmed at all, he doesn't like it, but we explained the situation to him and he agreed to be filmed at the Dodgers Stadium." John was referring to the filming of Never Too Late, the new Disney+ documentary that followed him as he prepared for his final North American stadium show at the Los Angeles stadium in Nov. 2022. "At the end of the day what matters most? My career and my success or my family and I've got it in perspective now - my family matters most," John said. "I'm lucky enough to have had the career I've had and still have but now it's being able to enjoy that part of my life and really focus on the important things." The film has a limited theatrical release in the UK and US on Nov. 15, before its premiere on Disney+ on Dec. 13. The doc "pulls back the curtain" on Elton's life, featuring "never-before-seen concert footage of him over the past 50 years, as well as hand-written journals and present-day footage of him and his family." It received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Also on Nov. 15, a song of the same name that was written specifically for the film was released and shared on YouTube, a duet between John and Brandi Carlile. The official trailer for Elton John: Never Too Late can also be viewed on YouTube. Meanwhile, Elton's friend and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin revealed in May that John's 32nd studio album is "all done and recorded," though no release date has been announced. - NME, 11/15/24...... Cher has revealed that her relationship with her former singing partner and late ex-husband Sonny Bono "wasn't love at first sight" because Sonny didn't find her "particularly attractive." In a new interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Cher gave her unfiltered side of the story of first time crossing paths with her Sonny & Cher counterpart. "I thought it was like when Tony met Maria," she told interviewer Anthony Mason, recalling how she met him at a coffee shop in 1962. "I mean, everybody disappeared. And it was just the two of us," Cher continued. "But he didn't like me. It wasn't love at first sight. It was something. I never felt it before." But while the "Believe" artist was all about Bono from the start, she says he preferred her friend. "He said, 'You know, you can come and stay with me,'" she reflected. "And I was like, 'Okay, you know.' And he went, 'No, no, I don't find you particularly attractive.' So, I was upset and happy at the same time." Cher was famously 16 when she met a then-27-year-old Sonny, with the couple eventually getting married in 1964 and rising to fame via their husband-and-wife band. They split up a decade later and finalized their divorced in 1975, and Sonny, a former member of Congress, tragically died in a 1998 skiing accident at age 62. While speaking to CBS, Cher also disputed that their age gap ever felt "strange." "[Sonny] was kind of childish," she said. "He got to be with me & because I didn't expect anything. I didn't want money. I didn't think about anything, you know. And all these other women that were his age, they wanted him to be grownup." A clip of Cher recounting her memories about Sonny can be viewed on X. - Billboard, 11/14/24...... A new documentary shows Elvis Presley like he's never been seen before. Netflix's Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis (streaming now) explores the significance of the rock and roll legend's Singer Presents....ELVIS, commonly called the "'68 Comeback Special," that aired on NBC on Dec. 3, 1968, when he was at a major crossroads in his career. Through its use of rarely seen rehearsal footage, the doc shows just how much unease Elvis had about this moment' "People would think, 'How could he be nervous? He's Elvis Presley," the singer's ex-wife Priscilla Presley says. "[But] he was very nervous." Though Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, tried to get him to do a family-friendly Christmas special, Elvis insisted on a return to his rock roots. The special went on to become the highest-rated show of the year for NBC. Elvis dedicated himself to live performances from then on, and he played hundreds more concerts before his death at age 42 in 1977. With the documentary, Priscilla says, "I really want the kids of this generation to know why he was the King of Rock and Roll." Meanwhile, Elvis Evolution, a new Presley immersive experience that's using AI to bring back the King, is set to debut in London in May. The show will use archival material and cutting-edge technology to bring Presley's musical journey to life. - People, 11/25/24...... After first announcing their farewell tour over two years ago, The B-52s are still going strong, announcing an additional run of dates for their ongoing Las Vegas residency on Nov. 12. Announced alongside the completion of their current residency, the New Wave vets will return to The Venetian Resort in Vegas next year, performing five shows across Apr. 11, 12, 16, 18, and 19. The trio, comprised of Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson and Fred Schneider, initially announced shows at The Venetian back in 2022 when they revealed their ongoing farewell tour. That run of dates included three shows at the venue in Oct. 2022, though additional shows were announced for May, and Aug. and Sept. 2023. The group wrapped up their latest residency on Nov. 13, having played another handful of shows in April. Known for their pioneering status in the new wave genre and unique aesthetic, the group's lineup has revolved around the quartet of Schneider, Pierson, Wilson and Keith Strickland. Founding guitarist Ricky Wilson died from an AIDS-related illness in 1985. Strickland, meanwhile, has not been part of the touring ensemble since 2013. - Billboard, 11/12/24...... Some of John Lydon's (aka Johnny Rotten) handwritten lyrics to Sex Pistols songs are set to be auctioned through RR Auctions. In 1977, Lydon penned the lyrics to two Sex Pistol hits, "Holidays In The Sun" and "Submission," on a single sheet of paper when putting together the band's one and only album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. Lydon's handwritten lyric sheet also includes the lyric "A cheap holiday in other people's misery" at the top corner, suggesting it might've been a last-minute addition. The lyric sheet is the spotlight item in RR Auction's Marvels of Modern Music sale, which also includes a copy of With The Beatles signed by all four members, a signed copy of Queen's A Night At The Opera, a custom Prince guitar and more. The auctions can be checked out at the RR Auctions website. Meanwhile, Lydon and his band Public Image Ltd (PiL) have announced a UK and Ireland headline tour for 2025, set to kick off on May 22 at Bristol's O2 Academy. - NME, 11/13/24...... The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced on Nov. 15 that beloved late actress Betty White will adorn one of its 2025 Forever stamps. Known for roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls, Boston Legal, and others, the actress died in late Dec. 2021, less than three weeks before her 100th birthday. The Postal Service hasn't announced a release date for the stamp. "An icon of American television, Betty White (1922-2021) shared her wit and warmth with viewers for seven decades," the Postal Service said in announcing the stamp, which depicts a smiling White based on a 2010 photograph by celebrity photographer Kwaku Alston. "The comedic actor, who gained younger generations of fans as she entered her 90s, was also revered as a compassionate advocate for animals." Boston-based artist Dale Stephanos created the digital illustration from Alston's photo. "I'd love to send a letter back to my 18-year-old self with this stamp on it and tell him that everything is going to be OK," Stephanos posted on Facebook. - Billboard, 11/16/24...... Rod Stewart is threatening to sell his luxury Italian sports cars due to a long-running battle over potholes in his native UK. "I am extremely fortunate and eternally grateful to be the owner of these five beautiful hybrid sports cars, which, in my opinion, are true 'works of art'," posted "Hot Rod," who lives in Harlow, Essex, on his Instagram account. He continued: "Unfortunately, because of the potholes on our roads, I may have to find new owners for them. I've been driving these iconic Italian cars since the 70s, and I absolutely love and adore them. This post is for my fans -- thank you, as you are the sole reason I own them. And to all the trolls don't bother; I never read the comments." Stewart's latest pothole rant comes after he previously took it upon himself to try to fix the roads in 2022, claiming "no one can be bothered to do it" in a post of himself and friends filling in the holes. "People are bashing their cars up. The other day, there was an ambulance with a burst tyre. My Ferrari can't go through here at all," he posted at the time. "This is the state of the road near where I live in Harlow and it's been like this for ages. So me and the boys thought we would come and do it ourselves." In response to his latest pothole concerns, a spokesperson for Essex County Council told BBC News: "We'd like to reassure Sir Rod Stewart that Essex County Council is investing more money this year than ever in maintaining and repairing the roads of Essex. An additional 37m is being invested to address potholes and carry out larger scale works, like resurfacing and vegetation clearance, through our priority one programme. As a result, more potholes around the county are being fixed, so Sir Rod can join other Essex residents sailing along our roads." - New Musical Express, 11/15/24...... The cause of death of music legend Quincy Jones, who passed on Nov. 3 at age 91, has been revealed. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health revealed on Nov. 13 that he died of pancreatic cancer, with no other contributing factors cited. On Nov. 11, the 28-time Grammy-winning producer, arranger and composer was laid to rest in an "intimate ceremony included Mr. Jones' seven children, his brother, two sisters, and immediate family members," according to a statement shared with The Associated Press. Among his family's survivors are his seven children, including actress Rashida Jones. - Billboard, 11/13/24...... Peter Sinfield, a songwriter and lyricist for '60s/'70s prog-rock icons King Crimson and also collaborated with the likes of Roxy Music, Cher, Cliff Richard and Celine Dion, died on Nov. 14. He was 80. Although no cause of death was announced, Mr. Sinfield was said to have been suffering from declining health for several years. Instrumental in King Crimson's success, Mr. Sinfield co-founded the band with guitarist Robert Fripp and was responsible for naming them and finding their first rehearsal space in the cafe basement on Fulham Palace Road. The band's original roadie and lights operator, he also sourced the artwork by his friend Barry Godber for the front the cover of King Crimson's 1969 debut album, In The Court Of The Crimson King. From 1969 until 1971, he provided the group's lyrics and took on the role of art director commissioning the covers of the albums Court, In The Wake Of Poseidon, Lizard and Islands, which he also co-produced with Fripp. Mr. Sinfield departed from the band a year later, after Fripp asked him to leave, but he went on to produce Roxy Music's self-titled debut album before releasing his own solo album Still in 1973. That same year he was recruited by fellow prog pioneers Emerson, Lake & Palmer, with whom he contributed lyrics for "Benny The Bouncer" and "Karn Evil 9 3rd Impression" for their fourth studio album Brain Salad Surgery, as well as other ELP songs. In 1975, he also co-wrote the UK Number Two ELP hit, "I Believe in Father Christmas," with Greg Lake. During the '80s and the '90s, he was responsible for co-writing successful hit singles for the likes of Cher, Cliff Richard, Celine Dion, Bucks Fizz and Five Star. In 2014, Fripp invited Mr. Sinfield to provide an updated take on the lyrics of "21st Century' Schizoid Man." News of his passing was shared by Fripp on his and the band's X/Twitter page. - NME, 11/15/24...... Shel Talmy, the pioneering American producer behind the hits of '60s "British Invasion" bands including The Who and The Kinks, died at his Los Angeles home on Nov. 13 from complications due to a stroke, according to his friend, songwriter and archivist Alec Palao. He was 87. An instrumental figure in the British Invasion, Mr. Talmy helped shape British rock's sound in the 60s. Having moved from Chicago to London in 1962, he got his start in the music industry in the late fifties at Decca Records. He started working with The Kinks two years later, and produced their landmark hit, "You Really Got Me," and played a significant role in The Who's early career, having signed them to his production company and produced "My Generation" and "I Can't Explain." Elsewhere, he worked on David Bowie's early singles and produced for The Easybeats, Manfred Mann, Chad & Jeremy, Pentangle and more. In his later years, Mr. Talmy took to sharing tales of "swinging London" with fans on Facebook, and also prepared a written statement before his death that was shared posthumously: "Preferably [read] with 'You Really Got Me', 'My Generation', 'Friday On My Mind' or your choice of favourite ST production cranked in the background.... Hi to all, and many thanks to all of you who have been reading my rock stories for all this time, it has been greatly appreciated," it read. "Please note, that if you're reading this now, this is my final vignette, as I am no longer residing on this plane of existence, and have "moved on", to wherever that may be." Wrapping up the post, Mr. Talmy wrote that he "had a good run," but was "delighted" to have been told he had a "legacy that will last even longer." In the post's final line, he joked: "I look forward to meeting some of you in the future who are reading this, but LOL, don't hurry to get here, I'm not going anywhere!" Kinks guitarist Dave Davies has led tributes to Mr. Talmy, writing on X/Twitter: "I really loved the man. He was really crucial to the beginning of our career. I send all my love and condolences to his family. He was a really sweet gentle soul. Rest in Peace Shel Talmy." - NME, 11/15/24...... Jazz drumming pioneer Roy Haynes, who performed with the likes of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and more, died on Nov. 12. He was 99 years old. In 1956, Mr. Haynes teamed up with Quincy Jones -- who sadly also died earlier in November at the age of 91 -- to release the split LP Jazz Abroad. The two would later reunite for Ray Charles' 1961 classic Genius + Soul = Jazz. Throughout the rest of his career, Mr. Haynes would on appear on jazz classics by such legendary artists as Coltraine, Davis, Eric Dolphy, Jackie McLean, and many more. He had appeared on hundreds of albums -- both as bandleader and a sideman -- and released his last album Roy-Alty in 2011. Among the numerous accolades he collected during his life include two Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2012 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jazz Foundation of America in 2019. He was one of the last surviving drummers from the swing and bebop eras of jazz music. "Thanks for all your hipness dad R.I.P," his son Craig Holiday Haynes posted in tribute. - NME, 11/14/24.

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

On Nov. 11 The Who's Roger Daltrey announced plans for a 2025 UK solo tour set to launch on Apr. 20 at Brighton Dome. Daltrey will also play London (4/21), Southend-on-Sea (4/23), Wolverhampton (4/24), Dundee (4/26) and Glasgow (4/28), Edinburgh (4/30), and Gateshead (5/1) before wrapping at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on May 4. "Here we go again!," Daltrey said about the tour. "After touring the US with this band of phenomenal musicians, I can't wait to get back on the road in the UK with these shows. It's a joy to be on stage performing -- up close and personal for the audience, chatting with them and playing familiar songs in an unfamiliar way." Meanwhile, Daltrey's surviving Who co-founder Pete Townshend recently revealed that he found Daltrey's pro-Brexit stance "very problematic." Townshend himself voted "Remain" in the 2016 EU referendum and told the UK's Daily Telegraph he didn't agree with his bandmate's stance on Brexit: "[That was] very problematic for me. I think he was wrong. But we are a nation divided down the middle." Despite Daltrey's views on Brexit, the guitarist added: "He's not a fascist Right-winger, he's a very decent man. But it felt to me that with respect to the arts, and particularly to music, the free flow of life from all of the history of Europe was going to be denied to our young people." The Who recently confirmed they would "definitely" return in 2025, according to Townshend. - New Musical Express, 11/11/24...... The estate of Jerry Garcia has partnered with an AI voice company to bring the late Grateful Dead guitarist, singer and songwriter's AI-recreated voice to its Iconic Listening Experience on the ElevenReader app. Now, Deadheads using the app can hear Garcia's voice read out audiobooks, e-books, articles, poetry, fan stories, PDFs and more in 32 different languages. In addition to the ElevenReader, Garcia's voice model will also be used in various upcoming projects associated with the Jerry Garcia Foundation. This could include narrated documentaries, audio art exhibits and more. Garcia is the latest in a string of partnerships between ElevenLabs and the estates of famous celebrities. Already, the AI voice company has rolled out voice models for Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds and Sir Laurence Olivier to its Iconic Listening Experience. According to a company spokesperson, ElevenLabs worked "in close collaboration with the Jerry Garcia Estate to ensure that the reproduction of Garcia's voice was as authentic and true to his legacy as possible." - Billboard, 11/11/24...... Bruce Springsteen opened his first post-election concert in Toronto on Nov. 6 with a rousing performance of "Long Walk Home." "This is a fighting prayer for my country," Springsteen told the crowd at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto as he and the E Street Band launched into the 2007 song "Long Walk Home" from 2007's Magic album. The band then tore into the mid-tempo rocker whose lyrics felt especially timely in light of Springsteen's vocal, emphatic support of Vice President Kamala Harris' losing campaign against former and now future president Donald Trump. "Last night I stood at your doorstep/ Trying to figure out what went wrong," he sang on the song with the poignant refrain: "It's gonna be a long walk home/ Hey pretty darling, don't wait up for me/ Gonna be a long walk home." Though he didn't comment further on the relevance of the song's themes, their plainspoken poetry did the talking for him. "My father said 'Son, we're lucky in this town/ It's a beautiful place to be born/ It just wraps its arms around you/ Nobody crowds you and nobody goes it alone,'" he sang, followed by another verse layered with Springsteen's signature dream of a better tomorrow and faith in the resilience of the American spirit: "Your flag flyin' over the courthouse/ Means certain things are set in stone/ Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't." The Boss had been all-in for Harris, throwing his weight behind the 11th-hour candidacy by filming the moving "Hope and Dreams" campaign video in which he said, "This election is about a group of folks who want to fundamentally undermine our American way of life. Donald Trump does not understand this country, its history, or what it means to be deeply American. I want a president who reveres the Constitution, who wants to protect and guide our great democracy, who believes in the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power, who will fight for women's rights and a woman's right to choose, and who wants to create a middle class economy that serves all our citizens." Fan video of the performance can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 11/7/24...... Appearing on Steve-O's Wild Ride! podcast, Paul Stanley has said KISS' upcoming avatar show will be like "Cirque Du Soleil meets Star Wars and a KISS concert." The future production will be overseen by Pophouse Entertainment, the company behind ABBA's Voyage show, in which the Swedish pop quartet were represented by holographic virtual avatars on stage. "What we'll be doing with these amazing avatars will take us to another place, another level. Now, those [preview images] images at the Garden were really -- I had mixed feelings about showing those because they're so early on, they look nothing like that," the guitarist/vocalist said. He continued: "I mean, the avatars are identical. I mean, they look like us. And I think the idea was really just to show people that we're going to move on and continue, but it won't be like that. And what we're putting together with George Lucas and Pophouse, this amazing company out of Sweden, is an immersive experience that you'll come to, and there'll be heat and fire and wind and things flying around. The idea of us making a recreation of a concert, I mean, how long can you look and go, 'Wow, that looks just like an amplifier'? That's not what we're doing. I would say it's Cirque Du Soleil meets Star Wars and a KISS concert. So it's gonna be amazing." Pophouse acquired KISS' catalog, brand name and IP in April, while the band first unveiled their 'new era' at the final show of ftheir farewell tour last December in Madison Square Garden. After leaving the stage, the band members' avatars were revealed, and they went on to perform "God Gave Rock And Roll To You." Stanley's full interview can be viewed on YouTube. - NME, 11/9/24...... David Gilmour brought the first of five nonconsecutive shows in November to New York's Madison Square Garden on Nov. 9. Prior to the show beginning in earnest, Gilmour's bassist Guy Pratt (also a member of Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets band) came out to politely but firmly urge the audience to stay "present" throughout the show and avoid the urge to watch the entire thing through the screen of a cell phone -- and more importantly, keep your phone's flashlight off ("David hates that"). The songs from The Dark Side of the Moon in the first half of his set got the biggest roar of approval, and while it was immensely satisfying to hear faithful renderings of tunes like "Breathe (In the Air)" and "Time," his stripped-down take on "The Great Gig in the Sky" during the night's second half was arguably more memorable. The visuals on this tour behind his new solo album Luck and Strange aren't quite as theatrical or prop heavy as what former bandmate Roger Waters brings to the road, but it boasts its fair share of production flourishes, from bouncing inflatable balls during "High Hopes" to harrowing video animations to blazing green lasers. For the encore, Gilmour and his band performed "Comfortably Numb" from what looked like a prison cell of white lights. Despite the show featuring eight songs from Luck and Strange, the MSG crowd stayed present, riveted, mostly seated and "comfortably numb" until the very end. Meanwhile, in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Gilmour claims he was "bullied" into making the final Pink Floyd album The Endless River in 2014. Gilmour explained that while recording The Division Bell in 1994, they'd produced many hours worth of ambient music that was originally meant to make up a new instrumental record. However, when this release never happened, Gilmour claims their record label then insisted that the ambient recordings were released. Gilmour explained: "I'll tell you: When we did that album, there was a thing that Andy Jackson, our engineer, had put together called 'The Big Spliff' -- a collection of all these bits and pieces of jams [from the sessions for The Division Bell] that was out there on bootlegs. A lot of fans wanted this stuff that we'd done in that time, and we thought we'd give it to them. My mistake, I suppose, was in being bullied by the record company to have it out as a properly paid-for Pink Floyd record. It should have been clear what it was -- it was never intended to be the follow-up to The Division Bell. But, you know, it's never too late to get caught in one of these traps again." Gilmour also addressed rumors that Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon was written to synchronize with the 1939 classic movie The Wizard Of Oz during a Nov. 7 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. When asked if the theory was true, Gilmour joked: "Well of course it was." He went on: "We listened to it Polly [Samson, Gilmore's wife] and I, years ago. Somebody said you put the needle on and on the third roar of the MGM lion, you put the needle on for the beginning of 'Dark Side' and there's these strange synchronicities that happen." Gilmour then admitted: "There are these strange coincidences." In 2016, it was also suggested that the album syncs perfectly with Star Wars: The Force Awakens by another fan theory after a video was uploaded of the album playing in time with the movie. Gilmour's Tonight Show interview has been shared on YouTube, as well as his performance of "Dark and Velvet Nights" from Luck and Strange. - Billboard/NME, 11/10/24...... Robert Plant has starred in a new commercial for Italy's Trenitalia rail service and its Frecciarossa high-speed trains. The new ad, which has been shared on YouTube, features clips of the singer at a terminal in Rome, travelling on a train, and performing with his acoustic band, Saving Grace -- whose cover of Low's "Everybody's Song" soundtracks the ad. Plant is also seen having coffee with Saving Grace vocalist Suzy Dian at the first-class Freccia Lounge, and chatting to her in another moment while travelling in one of Frecciarossa's Executive Class train cars. Earlier in 2024, Plant and Dian completed a UK headline tour, and performed as part of this year's Teenage Cancer Trust concert series at London's Royal Albert Hall in March. Following the UK dates, Plant and Alison Krauss set off on a North American tour that wrapped in September, having last toured together in 2022, which itself was their first complete tour in 12 years. In June, they shared a new version of Led Zeppelin's classic track "When The Levee Breaks," the duo's first single since their second collaborative album Raise The Roof was released in 2021. The pair also performed Zeppelin classics "The Battle Of Evermore" and "Rock And Roll," as well as a medley that includes "Gallows Pole." It was recently revealed that the long awaited Zeppelin documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin has been completed and is finally set for a cinema release. The authorized film features new interviews with Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, as well as rare archival interviews with the late John Bonham, who died in 1980. An official release date for the documentary is yet to be announced. It is the first time that Led Zeppelin have participated in a documentary in 50 years. - NME, 11/8/24...... In other Led Zeppelin-related news, Jimmy Page's ongoing feud with neighbor Robbie Williams has reignited over plans to fell a "fungus-infested" tree. Williams has made a request to the Kensington and Chelsea Council to axe a tree in his garden, after his tree surgeon Michael Goatly has said the Norway maple is reportedly afflicted with honey fungus. But now an objection has been apparently submitted by Williams' neighbors. Page has not been explicitly listed in the objection, but he did previously object to Williams' plans to cut down trees last year. "There is no explanation as to why this tree need be felled, only a series of photos showing parts of it are damaged," the objection reads. "Should there not be a written report that accompanies each proposed felling and what courses of action could be done before the final resort of felling this tree?" The pair, who live in West London, have been involved in a long-running feud since 2014. Page originally objected to Williams' home renovations after concerns its vibrations would cause "catastrophic damage." Despite the Take That frontman being granted permission to renovate his reported £17.5 million home, Williams complained that he couldn't move into his home, and later calling the Led Zeppelin guitarist "mentally ill" -- for which he then apologized. The feud flared up once again in 2018 after reportedly Williams wanted to build an underground gym and pool, with Page once again citing his fears that the vibrations caused from the renovations could cause "irreversable damage." That same year, Kensington and Chelsea Council granted the singer permission to go ahead with the changes. - NME, 11/8/24...... On Nov. 8 The Beatles' purported "final song" "Now and Then" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance at the 2025 Grammy Awards -- marking the first time a song created with the assistance of artificial intelligence has earned a Grammy nomination. When "Now and Then" first came out in late 2023, the disclosure that it was finalized utilizing AI caused an uproar. At the time, many fans assumed that the remaining Fab Four members -- Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr -- must have used generative AI to deepfake the late John Lennon. That was not actually the case. Instead, the Beatles used a form of AI known as "stem separation" to help them clean up a 47-year-old, low-fidelity demo recorded by Lennon around 1977 and to make it useable in a finished master recording. However, some fans have drawn attention to the use of AI to isolate Lennon's original demo recording in the song. One post on X/Twitter noted (in Spanish): "Everything is fine with The Beatles - But this Grammy nomination is quite forced - And on top of that with AI to try to separate John Lennon's vocals from the piano of the original demo." This was countered by another X user, however, who argued: "The Beatles DID NOT USE AI to create a song but rather to isolate John Lennon's voice from a record that already existed and recorded new parts in a traditional way. winning the Grammy would be the least they could do for the last song made by the greatest band of all time." The two nominations for "Now and Then" mark the Fab Four's first nominations at the Grammy Awards in decades and the fourth time the group has been nominated in the Record of the Year category. They were first nominated in the category in the mid-1960s with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and were later nominated for "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be" as well. The Beatles have never won in this category. With this nomination, the Beatles are setting the record for the longest span between nominations for any artist in history. However, Lennon and Harrison, who died in 1980 and 2001 respectively, do not meet Grammy eligibility requirements as they did not contribute newly recorded elements to the track, and are not listed in the official nomination. The winners of the 68th Grammy Awards are set to be revealed at a ceremony on Feb. 2, 2025 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. - Billboard/NME, 11/8/24...... In other Grammy-related news, former president Jimmy Carter is on track to become the oldest Grammy winner ever for his audiobook Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration. Pres. Carter, 100 years old, is nominated for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording. If Pres. Carter wins, this would be his fourth Grammy, which is more than any other president. He previously won in 2007 for Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis, in 2016 for A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety, and in 2019 for Faith -- A Journey for All. Two other former U.S. presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, have each won two Grammys. The oldest Grammy winner record is currently held by blues pianist Pinetop Perkins, who was 97 in 2011 when he won best traditional blues album for Joined at the Hip. He is followed by the late Tony Bennett (95 in 2022), and the late George Burns (also 95 in 1991). Carter, who was president from 1977-1980, has had the longest life of any U.S. president. - Billboard, 11/11/24...... Sting has said he had doubts about appearing on as a mega mentor for Gwen Stefani and Snoop Dogg's teams on NBC's singing competition series The Voice on Nov. 11. "I was reticent, to be honest," Sting says. "The premise of the show is frightening to me, this sort of competition. I think art and music aren't really competitions. If you win the U.S. Open, you are the best player at that particular time. But singing is different. Everybody's voice is unique." But the former The Police frontman says he found the experience rewarding. "It was very nourishing to see a small piece advice that you're given and then their next run through, they put that into action and the whole thing is raised," he says. Sting, a former schoolteacher, adds he found the contestants needed very little instruction. "I'm still a student of music, but I've been doing it for a long time, so I can give them a tiny hint," he says, "but the standard of singing is so high, there's nothing you can say. They know how to sing. There's little bits of presentation or posture or the way that you present yourself I can probably help, but technically, they're great singers." As far as the best advice he ever got from a mentor came from his dad and he clearly took it to heart. "He said go to sea. See the world. Make something of yourself," he says. "Basically, take a risk." On Nov. 12, Sting's stripped-down "Sting 3.0" tour starts a five-date run in Los Angeles. The outing wraps in Sweden in July. Meanwhile, Sting has revealed his thoughts on the legacy of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" following the numerous allegations against Sean "Diddy" Combs. In 1997, Diddy sampled The Police's 1983 chart-topping song for his own release, "I'll Be Missing You." Now that Diddy is facing charges for sex trafficking, racketeering and transporting for prostitution, Sting has shared his thoughts on the disgraced rapper's sample. In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sting replied when asked if he thought the Police hit had been polluted by Diddy's cover: "No. I mean, I don't know what went on [with Diddy]. But it doesn't taint the song at all for me. It's still my song." In 2023, Diddy said that he was forced to pay Sting £4,020 ($5,000) each day for the rest of his life for the sample. However, he quickly backtracked the comment, saying he was "was joking! It's called being facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time! He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for 'Missing You.' He probably makes more than $5K a day from one of the biggest songs in history." Diddy was first arrested in September, and was charged with sex trafficking, transporting for prostitution and more. He was denied bail after offering a $50 million bond and was reportedly placed on suicide watch as he awaits trial in a Brooklyn, NY jail. The artist has since appealed against the bail denial. His trial date is scheduled for May 5, 2025. - Billboard/NME, 11/8/24...... Quincy Jones was laid to rest in a private ceremony in Los Angeles on Nov. 10, a week after his death in the Bel Air section of L.A. on Nov. 3 at age 91. The family of the 28-time Grammy-winning producer, arranger and composer said in a statement to The Associated Press that the "intimate ceremony included Mr. Jones' seven children, his brother, two sisters, and immediate family members." The family did not reveal the cemetery where the ceremony took place, and added that they remain "enormously grateful for the outpouring of condolences and tributes from his friends and fans from around the world." A larger, more public memorial is also being planned. Tributes to the music giant after his death came from some of the biggest figures in media and politics. Saturday Night Live, which he once hosted, paid tribute to him a night before his service with a memorial photo in a quiet moment of the show. In lieu of flowers, Jones' family asks for donations to JazzFoundation.org. - Billboard, 11/11/24.

Thursday, November 7, 2024

After UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed the country's new budget in an Oct. 30 speech, The Who's Roger Daltrey has criticized it as a "kick in the balls" to the charity sector. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Daltrey said that some of the changes announced may have "catastrophic effects" on cancer charities, including his own Teenage Cancer Trust, which he has curated for over 20 years. Although he has recently stepped back from some of his responsibilities for the organization, he remains passionate about supporting cancer charities. He warned that tax hikes may force cancer charities to get rid of specialist nursing staff. Daltrey said, in part: "If we can't raise more money we will have to lay people off. We have specialist nurses that are trained specifically to care for that 13-24 age group, and I don't like to think about the consequences of this. To lose nurses would be catastrophic." In other Who news, Pete Townshend said the band will "definitely" return in 2025. Speaking to the Standard, Townshend revealed that The Who will "do something next year." Though he never explicitly shared what that is, his answers to the newspaper imply that they may be hitting the road. He revealed that he had "met with Roger for lunch," and that they're in "good form". "We love each other. We're both getting a bit creaky, but we will definitely do something next year." - New Musical Express, 11/6/24...... Former president Donald Trump's decisive win over Vice Pres. Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election has drawn stunned reaction from many in Hollywood and the music industry, including one of his longtime detractors, Bette Midler. Taking to social media, Midler quoted journalist and essayist H.L. Mencken in one of the night's most scathing responses. "When a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental. The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people." The quote continues, "On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." Trump would be the first former president to return to power since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election. He also stands to be the first person convicted of a felony to be elected president and, at 78, he will be the oldest person at the outset of a presidential term. - Billboard, 11/6/24...... Former Genesis frontman and '80s solo star Peter Gabriel announced on Nov. 5 that his WOMAD festival will be taking a break next year, before returning to a "new home" for 2026. WOMAD, which stands for World of Music, Arts and Dance, was founded by Gabriel in 1980 with the aim of spotlighting an eclectic mixture of genres. Since then, the festival has travelled to 27 countries across the world, while the main UK event has taken place in Charlton Park in Wiltshire since 2007. This year was its 42nd edition and will be its last in Charlton Park. In a statement, Gabriel has shared that, after 17 years in Wiltshire, WOMAD is "moving to a new home" that is "not far" from the current site. "To ensure that the festival can continue to thrive for years to come in our new location, we have decided to take a year off in 2025 before returning fully charged in 2026," he added. In 2023 Gabriel appeared in a video by Artist for Action to Prevent Gun Violence, an organization that asks Americans to vote to eradicate gun violence in the country. "As much as I love the United States, I am always appalled at the ease with which anyone can get a weapon," Gabriel says in the video. He also weighed in on the AI debate, saying, "I'm probably just as scared [of AI] as everybody else, but I like to jump in the river rather than talk about itI do think about it quite a lot, and I think not enough people are thinking about it." - NME, 11/5/24...... Bruce Springsteen stopped by the set of the upcoming biopic about him, Deliver Me From Nowhere, on Nov. 4 to visit its titular star, Jeremy Allen White during filming. Springsteen and The Bear actor were photographed together alongside director Scott Cooper while shooting a scene in a car dealership in Bayonne, New Jersey. White and Springsteen were seen hugging and sharing a smile, as well as taking a look at some classic cars. The cars included a Chevrolet Z28 Camaro, which the Boss has said was the first car he ever bought, and could indicate the content of the scene being filmed. In the movie, White will play '80s-era Springsteen, with the film chronicling the recording of his acclaimed 1982 album Nebraska. The biopic is being produced by Disney's 20th Century Studios, and the shoot is happening mostly on location in Springsteen's native New Jersey and New York. The biopic was first announced in April. Springsteen recently shared his thoughts on White's casting, saying: "I only had to see him on The Bear, and I knew he was the right guy, because he had that interior life, but he also had a little swagger." Deliver Me From Nowhere does not yet have a confirmed release date, but should arrive on screen sometime in 2025. - NME, 11/6/24...... In a new interview with the UK paper The Sun, Art Garfunkel revealed that a recent reunion with Paul Simon left him in tears, feeling he had "hurt" his former musical partner. Simon & Garfunkel were one of the best-selling acts of the 1960s, selling over 100 million records and recording timeless hits such as "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "The Sound of Silence" and "Mrs. Robinson." However, they also became known for their troubled relationship, with artistic disagreements leading to their breakup in 1970. They have performed together sporadically since then, but not since 2010. That year, they had planned a huge reunion tour across North America, but it was shelved after one show, with Garfunkel suffering from vocal issues. Simon later commented that he felt "let down" by the cancelled tour. "I didn't feel I could trust him any more," he told biographer Robert Hillman. Garfunkel, in response, described Simon as a "monster with a Napoleon complex." However, in the new interview Garfunkel revealed that the duo shared a lunch together recently and that "it was very, very warm and wonderful." Recounting his complex emotions from the meeting, he added: "There were tears. I was crying at a certain point because I felt that I had hurt him. But there were hugs. I'm cherishing this two-week-old memory of having lunch with Paul Simon." In October, Simon revealed that he was feeling "optimistic" about a potential live return, after going through the "scary, frustrating" experience of a near-total loss of hearing in his left ear. He had previously spoken about how he had not "accepted" his hearing loss but was in the process of finding a new solution which would help him return to the stage. - NME, 11/4/24...... Judas Priest announced on their Instagram page on Nov. 4 that the band will embark on a new string of tour dates across Europe in 2025. Touring behind their latest album Invicible Shield, Priest's tour will consist of 12 shows with stops in Norway (6/14), Germany (6/17, 18), Italy (7/1), Switzerland (7/3), Poland (7/7), Sweden (7/10), France (7/15) and more. The European tour announcement comes shortly after the conclusion of Judas Priest's North American tour. During that tour, the band performed a mix of Invincible Shield and fan favorites across nine classic albums. Recently, the band's bassist Ian Hill has said that Judas Priest are in the midst of re-mixing their debut album Rocka Rolla, which has just turned 50: "It's just coming out shortly, I believe. It's only a few weeks away, I'm sure it is It's gonna be re-released, which is great news. It's finally got the production it's always needed." - NME, 11/5/24...... It has been announced that Eddie Murphy will portray funk-rock legend George Clinton in an upcoming biopic directed by Bill Condon and produced by Murphy. The script, written by Virgil Williams, is based on Clinton's memoir Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard On You?, which traces his roots in 1940s North Carolina to becoming a pioneer of funk and founding the musical collective Parliament-Funkadelic. Murphy and Condon previously joined forces on 2006's Dreamgirls, another musical drama, inspired by Motown Records and The Supremes starring Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson. Murphy received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film. Parliament-Funkadelic released their last album Medicaid Fraud Dog in 2018, marking their first new music in 38 years. Shortly after, Clinton announced his retirement from the road in 2019 and played his final shows in 2022 after they were delayed by the pandemic. In 2024, he appeared on Kamasi Washington's new album Fearless Movement, on the track "Get Lit." Clinton has previously been portrayed by Wiz Khalifa in the 2023 film Spinning Gold. Clinton will also executive produce the new biopic. - NME, 11/2/24...... On Nov. 4, Iggy Pop took to Instagram to announce two "landmark" UK shows in London and Glasgow for 2025. The shows will celebrate Iggy's musical legacy and will see him perform hits from across his five-decade career -- from his work with The Stooges to his solo music. According to a press release, the punk icon will also be joined by "special guests" and a band of "celebrated collaborators," though no names have currently been announced. The two UK shows will take place at London's iconic Alexandra Palace on May 28, before heading to Glasgow on June 3 to play O2 Academy. Iggy has been re-visiting his back catalogue recently, singing a collection of Stooges songs for the first time in over a decade earlier this year. During a performance with Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner and Matt Sweeney, the punk icon surprised fans with some of the band's classic hits, from "1970" to "I Got A Right." Pop also recently announced a new live album titled Live At Montreux Jazz Festival 2023. The 18-track record captures his career-spanning set at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July last year. It is due for release on CD, Blu-Ray, 2LP gatefold vinyl, digital download and streaming on Jan. 24 via earMUSIC. - NME, 11/4/24...... In a new interview with the Associated Press, Willie Nelson paid tribute to his "great friend" and former The Highwaymen bandmate Kris Kristofferson, saying he "hated to lose him." "He was a great songwriter. He left a lot of fantastic songs around for the rest of us to sing, for as long as we're here," Nelson said. "Kris was a great friend of mine. And, you know, we just kind of had a lot of fun together and made a lot of music together -- videos, movies. I hated to lose him. That was a sad time." Reflecting on their work together, he added, "If you just take the music part of it and go back to, you know, Waylon [Jennings] and Kris and John [Johnny Cash] and, you know, all of us working together, the Highwaymen. And then I am the only one left. That's just not funny." Kristofferson died on Sept. 28 at the age of 88, four years after announcing his retirement from the entertainment industry. Known for songs like "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," he was also a celebrated actor, starring in films including A Star Is Born and Heaven's Gate. Nelson recently released an emotional version of The Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??," taken from his upcoming 153rd album Last Leaf On The Tree. - NME, 11/3/24...... Could '70s singer-songwriter and pop-rock hitmaker Andrew Gold be the new "King of Halloween"? For most of his career, Gold (who died 2011) was primarily associated with two singles: The heartrending story song "Lonely Boy" (a No. 7 hit in 1977) and the heartwarming "Thank You for Being a Friend" (a No. 28 hit in 1978 -- though better associated with a Cynthia Fee cover version, used as the theme to the '80s sitcom The Golden Girls). But thanks to some TikTok trending that first started at the end of the 2010s, Gold is now best known to younger fans as the guy behind 1996's "Spooky, Scary Skeletons," a cartoon-y Halloween number that has been remixed and memed to death over the past half-decade. "Skeletons" (available for streaming on YouTube) racked up 11.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending Nov. 2, according to Luminate -- a massive number, and a bump of 1,146% from the 898,000 streams the song notched six weeks earlier. It's not the only song of Gold's to see such gains, either, as his entire 1996 set Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music is also way up, including his version of the classic theme to The Addams Family -- which amassed 2.1 million streams for that same week. All in all, Gold totaled 14.7 million streams for the week, up 1,040% from his 1.3 million total the week of Sept. 19 -- proving that Gold is on the verge of becoming the standard for Halloween-week streaming performance. - Billboard, 11/6/24...... Speaking to Guitar World magazine, Black Sabbath guitarist Toni Iommi says that the Hard Rock Café won't let him have one of his favourite guitars back, despite agreeing that they would. Iommi says that his beloved 1964 Gibson "Monkey" SG Special, which he played on the early Sabbath albums, has been in possession of the restaurant chain, and now they are reluctant to let him have it back. "The guy who used to buy memorabilia for the Hard Rock came to England and visited me," Iommi explained. "He wanted to buy some stuff and I said it should be fine. I'd retired the Monkey SG because it was too valuable to me; I didn't want to take it on the road and risk it getting damaged. He offered to buy it and it seemed like a good idea because the guitar could be displayed for people to see and kept safe, instead of sitting in a case somewhere in my storage. But the deal was if I ever wanted it back, I could let him know and buy it back for the same price. It seemed fair enough, a good deal." However, Iommi revealed that the individual in question has since passed away, and the deal he made is now seemingly lost. "We tried to get in touch with Hard Rock to get it back and they knew nothing about the deal," he added. The Hard Rock did, however, commission a run of replicas of the Monkey SG in 2021, including a limited edition batch that included the knicks and stickers of the original model. - NME, 11/3/24...... Former Jackson 5 star Tito Jackson was laid to rest during a funeral service in Los Angeles on Nov. 4. Tito, the brother of Michael Jackson, died on Sept. 15 at the age of 70 following a heart attack while on a road trip with his business partner Terry Harvey in New Mexico. Tito's family and friends, including siblings LaToya and Marlon Jackson, Michael's daughter Paris Jackson and son Bigi Jackson, gathered at Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles to pay their respects to the late singer. In addition to his three sons, Tito is survived by his mother Katherine Jackson, 94, and siblings Rebbie, Jackie, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Randy and Janet. Michael passed away in 2009 aged 50. - Music-News, 11/5/24...... Musical titan Quincy Jones, the composer and producer who added his tasteful polish to recordings by everyone from Ray Charles to Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, died on the evening of Nov. 3 at his home in Bel Air, Calif., surrounded by his children, siblings and other family members. He was 91. "Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones' passing," the Jones family said in the statement. "And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him. He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones' heart will beat for eternity." A renowned jazz and pop musician, Mr. Jones was also a prolific cross-genre arranger, conductor, record label executive and civil rights advocate. His talent and drive led to an almost unparalleled career in entertainment, with a long and varied list of credits including composing the score for the Oscar-winning film, In the Heat of the Night," producing Michael Jackson's blockbuster Thriller album and gathering dozens of pop and rock stars to record the 1985 charity single "We Are the World." Quincy Delight Jones Jr. was born in Chicago on March 14, 1933 to a carpenter father and a mother who suffered from mental illness, Jones developed a love of music early on and took up the piano. His family eventually moved to Seattle, Wash., and Mr. Jones began taking lessons from famed horn player Clark Terry. He also met and became close friends with a then-unknown pianist named Ray Charles. The pair would enjoy a lifelong friendship. As a teenager he began performing with jazz bands, and his talent at composing and arranging music drew the attention of bandleader Lionel Hampton. He earned a scholarship to Schillinger House (now known as Berklee College of Music) in Boston, from which he graduated in 1951. After graduation he headed out on tour with Hampton and his band, and soon arranging and recording for such legends as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan and his friend Ray Charles. In 1961 Mr. Jones was hired by Mercury Records as their artists-and-repertoire director. He made history three years later when he was promoted to vice president, making him the first African-American man to hold such a position within a white owned record label. He had his first pop hit with Leslie Gore's No. 1 1963 single "It's My Party," and also worked with the likes of Sinatra and Peggy Lee during his time with the label. That same year found him scoring what would be the first of many Grammys, with the initial one being for the arrangement the Count Basie Band song "I Can't Stop Loving You." In the 1960s he also began composing music soundtracks including In The Heat of the Night and In Cold Blood. He worked with A & M Records from 1969 to 1981 and formed his own label his own record label, Qwest. In 1982 Mr. Jones had one of his most famous collaboration when he produced Michael Jackson's best-selling album Thriller. Thriller sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone, helped Jackson become the first major Black artist to have a video played on MTV and influenced countless performers. Three years later he called on Jackson and a host of other stars for the charity single "We Are the World." That same year he found success on the big screen with producing the Steven Spielberg-directed film The Color Purple. Jones also had a hit on the small screen with and the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which starred Will Smith. Mr. Jones was married to his high school sweetheart Jeri Caldwell from 1957 to 1966, and the couple had had one daughter, Jolie. In 1967 he married Swedish model Ulla Andersson, and they had two children, Martina and Quincy Jones III, before divorcing in 1974. That same year Mr. Jones married actress Peggy Lipton, a union which lasted until 1990, and produced two daughters, actresses Rashida Jones and Kidada Jones. He also had a daughter, Rachel, with dancer Carol Reynolds, and a daughter -- fashion model Kenya Kinski-Jones -- with actress Nastassja Kinski. Mr. Jones didn't slow down personally or professionally in his later years; in 2014 he produced the documentary Keep on Keepin' On about his mentor, jazz trumpeter Clark Terry. In 2023, Mr. Jones celebrated his 90th birthday with a star-studded two-night tribute at the Hollywood Bowl, which featured performances from Stevie Wonder among others. In the wake of his passing, Elton John was one of the many famous musicians who paid their respects with a photo of the two men together at one of the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Oscar viewing parties on Instagram. "Nobody had a career as incredible as Quincy Jones. He played with the best and he produced the best. What a guy. Loved him," John wrote on Instagram. "Always a loyal supporter of this important fundraiser," he added. His "We Are The World" collaborator Lionel Richie posted on X: "Wow, Q -- what a great ride!! -- with love always." - CNN, 11/4/24.

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Elvis Costello has said that suing Olivia Rodrigo over her song "Brutal," which seemingly took inspiration from his angsty 1978 anthem "Pump It Up," would be "ludicrous." "[Sometimes] artists allude to [other songs] in their own arrangements. Like Olivia Rodrigo's producer obviously did," Costello said in a new interview with Vanity Fair. "Now, I did not find any reason to go after them legally for that, because I think it would be ludicrous. It's a shared language of music. Other people clearly felt differently about other songs on that record," the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer explained. Costello is seemingly referring to a series of copyright issues with Rodrigo's singles, including "Deja Vu," which she once said was partly inspired by Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer" before quietly retroactively crediting Swift as a co-writer. For her single"Good 4 U," she retroactively credited and split royalties with Paramore's Hayley Williams and Josh Farro after listeners pointed out similarities between the song and "Misery Business." - Billboard, 10/30/24...... In related news, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled on Nov. 1 that Ed Sheeran's hit "Thinking Out Loud" did not infringe the copyright to Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On", saying the two songs share only "fundamental musical building blocks" that cannot be owned by any single songwriter. In a ruling issued more than a decade after the contemporary pop star's chart-topping hit was first released, the court rejected an infringement lawsuit filed by Structured Asset Sales, a company that owns a small stake in the rights to Gaye's song. The case argued that Sheeran's song copied a chord progression and rhythm from Gaye's 1973 No. 1 hit, but the appeals court said the lawsuit was essentially seeking "a monopoly over a combination of two fundamental musical building blocks." Sheeran has faced multiple lawsuits over "Thinking," a 2014 track co-written with Amy Wadge that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and ultimately spent 46 weeks on the chart. He was first sued by the daughter of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the famed 1973 tune with Gaye. That case ended in a high-profile trial last year, resulting in a jury verdict that cleared Sheeran of any wrongdoing. Although the ruling is a major victory for Sheeran, he still faces another lawsuit from SAS claiming his song violates the copyright covering the sound recording to "Let's Get It On" rather than the written music. - Billboard, 11/1/24...... In other Motown-related news, NBC has announced it will be ringing in the holiday season with A Motown Christmas special. Hosted by Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey, the two-hour special will feature Motown legends (Gladys Knight, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations) and contemporary stars (Ashanti, Andra Day, BeBe Winans, Jamie Foxx) performing more than 25 of the label's timeless hits as well as holiday favorites. A Motown Christmas will air Dec. 11 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and the next day on Peacock. Prior to A Motown Christmas, NBC has aired two Motown television specials: Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever and Motown Returns to the Apollo. Each won the Emmy Award for outstanding music or comedy program. - Billboard, 11/1/24...... R.J. Cutler, the co-director of the forthcoming Elton John documentary Never Too Late, has spoken about how the early part of Elton's career came at a "dark time." Cutler, who directed the film with John's husband David Furnish, said that despite being prolific at the start of his career in 1970, it was an uncertain time in the music industry following the deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. "I shared with David that there was a great story to be told about the first five years of [Elton's] career," Cutler told IndieWire.com. "Between 1970 and 1975, Elton released 13 albums in five years, seven of which went to Number One. It was a remarkable creative output at a time when rock and roll didn't know what its future was. The Beatles had broken up, the [Rolling] Stones weren't touring. Jimi [Hendrix] was dead. Janis [Joplin] was dead. It was a dark time." Elton John: Never Too Late aims to "pull back the curtain" on John's life, featuring "never-before-seen concert footage of him over the past 50 years, as well as hand-written journals and present-day footage of him and his family." It follows the musician as he reflects on his life and 50-year career as he prepared for his final North American stadium show at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium in Nov. 2022. The documentary received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and will have a limited theatrical release on Nov. 15 in the US and the UK before its worldwide premiere on Disney+ on Dec. 13. - New Musical Express, 10/31/24...... As a newly remixed and restored edition of Queen's 1973 debut album hit stores on Oct. 25, Queen guitarist Brian May explained to Britain's Mojo magazine why he decided to revamp all the guitar parts for the reissue. "I'm not saying the original version was bad -- it just wasn't what we dreamed of," he told the outlet. "Freddie [Mercury, singer] and John [Deacon, bassist], too, were always conscious of this thing in our past which seemed like it couldn't be fixed." May went on to explain that "everything" from the original version had been improved on the reissue. "Every instrument has been re-examined from the bottom up. The guitars were originally recorded very dry, so we've remedied that," he added. May then recalled some criticism he had received from his father about the sound of Queen's debut record. "I remember my dad saying, 'There's no ambience, Brian. I don't feel like I'm in the room with you playing next to me'," he said. But we weren't in a position to lay down the law, and we felt that if we stepped out of line we would lose the opportunity altogether." Queen I - 2024 Mix is available on single CD and vinyl formats, as well as a 6-CD/1-LP deluxe boxset. - NME, 10/30/24...... Jeff Lynne's ELO announced on X/Twitter on Oct. 29 they have extended their UK "Goodbye Tour," adding two new UK dates for 2025. The first of the two new dates will be a homecoming show -- held on July 5 and taking place at the Utilita Arena in the band's home base of Birmingham. The second will be held at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on July 9. The announcement comes just days after the band shared details of what would be their final tour -- confirming a farewell show at London's BST Hyde Park on July 13. The band's 2025 London show marks their first slot at the outdoor music series in over a decade. They last took to the stage at Hyde Park in 2014, and that gig marked their first festival performance in 30 years. - NME, 10/29/24...... Grateful Dead guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir threw his support behind the Democratic presidential ticket of Vice Pres. Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz on Oct. 28, taking to Instagram to share a photo of himself wearing a Dead-inspired Harris-Walz 2024 shirt, alongside a snap of Walz holding the tee and another with his wife, Natascha Muenter, holding up a Harris sign. Weir is the latest musician to put his support behind Harris as the presidential election nears. Most recently, Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin were among the artists who showed support for the VP after a speaker at a recent Donald Trump rally made a racist joke about Puerto Rico. Meanwhile a 50th anniversary edition Grateful Dead lyric book has found its way back to the top of Amazon.com's bestselling chart for music bibliographies and indexes. The Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics, originally published in Oct. 2015, offers an in-depth guide for Deadheads curious about the stories behind your favorite GD songs. It's even been given GD's stamp of approval with founding member Weir saying, "this book is great... Now I'll never have to explain myself," according to the book's official description. - Billboard, 10/28/24...... In more election-related news, the estate of Aretha Franklin has given its blessing to a new Kamala Harris campaign ad that uses the Queen of Soul's 1968 classic "Think" in the background. As Harris reminds voters of freedoms achieved over the decades over historic footage -- including the right to vote for Black Americans and women, as well as a woman's right to "make decisions about her own body" -- the song's "Freedom" refrain plays. Franklin's estate reportedly reached out to the Harris campaign after Harris expressed her love for Franklin at the Democratic National Convention. The estate made her music available and specifically suggested "Think" as a good option. The campaign fully embraced the idea for the get-out-the-vote ad, which is running on YouTube and other online outlets, as well as connected TV/premium streaming services. Franklin, who passed away in 2018, supported Democrats for decades, including performing the national anthem at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. She sang a majestic version of "My Country, Tis of Thee" at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration in 2009. She also sang at a farewell event for Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, in 2015. - Billboard, 10/30/24...... In a new interview with MSNBC's Morning Joe program, Stevie Nicks revealed she didn't vote until age 70, and she regrets it. "I never voted until I was 70, but I regret that. I've told everybody that onstage for the last two years," Nicks, 76, said. "I regret that and I don't have very many regrets. There's so many reasons. You can say, 'Oh, I didn't have time. I was this and that.' In the long run, you didn't have an hour? You didn't have an hour of your time that you could have gone and voted." The Fleetwood Mac frontwoman also discussed the inspiration behind her recently released track, "The Lighthouse", a song inspired by the fight for abortion access following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. "We have to find a way to bring back Roe vs. Wade," she explained, noting that musicians should speak out more about causes in their music. "In the end of the 50s and 60s and into the 70s, everyone was writing protest songs. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills -- it was lots and lots and lots. I would say to all my musical poets that write songs to write some songs about what's happening like I did." Nicks' full Morning Joe interview can be streamed on MSNBC.com. - Billboard, 10/30/24...... Bruce Springsteen and John Legend performed during a Kamala Harris rally in Philadelphia on Oct. 28. Alongside speeches from Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, and former Pres. Barack Obama, the event at Temple University's Liacouras Center also featured a handful of songs performed by Legend and Springsteen. Springsteen's three-song acoustic set followed Legend's performance, opening with a rendition of his 1978 single "The Promised Land," and featuring a version of 2001's "Land of Hope and Dreams." The New Jersey rocker closed his performance with a rendition of "Dancing in the Dark," which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 and marks the highest-charting song of his career. Fan-shot footage of the performance has been shared on Instagram. Springsteen's appearance at the Philadelphia rally took place just days after he appeared at Harris' rally in Georgia, wherein he told supporters that while Harris is "running to be the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant." Meanwhile in a new interview with the UK paper The Telegraph, the Boss lashed out at Trump, describing him as "mentally ill." "This is a guy who is committed to none of these things. He's an insurrectionist," Springsteen said. "You know, he led a coup on the United States government, so there's no way he should be let anywhere near the office of the presidency." He also chimed in after his friend, manager and producer Jon Landau described Trump's message as the polar opposite of former President Barack Obama. "Not to mention, he's mentally ill," Springsteen said. Meanwhile on Oct. 28, Disney's 20th Century Studios shared the first look at actor Jeremy Allen White, who will portray Springsteen in a new biopic of the music icon due in 2025, with a new photo. Wearing a very Springsteen-esque combo of a black leather jacket and a slightly unbuttoned red flannel shirt, White gazes pensively into the distance with his darkened curls perfectly capturing a younger version of the "Born in the U.S.A." singer. "I only had to see him on The Bear, and I knew he was the right guy, because he had that interior life, but he also had a little swagger," Springsteen recently told The Telegraph of his of his new movie doppelgänger. - Billboard/NME, 10/30/24...... Appearing at the Detroit Opera House on Oct. 28 to promote her new book Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty, former First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that here eighth book (fifth as the sole author) was inspired by watching Joni Mitchell sing "Both Sides Now" -- the hit song that gave Clinton's book its title -- at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February. "I saw her and she sang 'Both Sides Now,' which is one of my all-time favorite songs," said Clinton, who suggested the "young people" in the crowd Google it. "It's about life and love and I listened to her sing it. She'd had a cerebral aneurysm [in 2015] and there she was back on stage singing that incredible anthem about what you think of life, what you think of love at different points of your own journey. I heard that song in my twenties. Obviously I've heard it in every decade of my life, and I wanted to take a moment to write some essays about where I see my life now, and particularly about my family, about my friends, about some of these experiences I've had, like being First Lady of our country, but also politics, which I care deeply about." - Billboard, 10/29/24...... Jackson Browne will be among the headliners for Steve Earle's 10th Annual Benefit to Help the Keswell School for Autistic Students concert at Town Hall in New York on Nov. 4. Earle's son, John Henry, was diagnosed with autism when he was 19 months old and for the past decade, Earle has used his artistry and career-long friendships to raise funds to help the school with an annual performance. The show is a rare opportunity to see Browne in a small venue. "Jackson and I have been showing up for each other's causes for a long time," says Earle. Presented by Earle and City Winery, the benefit will feature a guitar pull format, "all four artists on stage at the same time, just kind of swapping songs and telling stories," Earle says. "It's a unique experience for the audience." Earle will draw from his repertoire of classics like "Guitar Town" and "Copperhead Road," which he recently re-recorded live for his new solo acoustic concert album Alone Again. Other performers on the bill include Bob Dylan collaborator Margaret Glaspy and the husband-and wife duo of Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams. - Billboard, 11/1/24...... Speaking to the UK's Evening Standard, Pete Townshend says that The Who will "definitely return" in 2025. Townshend recently told the paper that the band will "do something next year," and though he never explicitly shared what the band's plans entail, his comments suggest that the band could be hitting the road sometime in 2025. Now he has revealed that he had "met with Roger [Daltrey] for lunch a couple of weeks ago," and that they're in "good form." "We love each other. We're both getting a bit creaky, but we will definitely do something next year," he said. The guitarist went on to explain: "The album side of it Roger's not keen. But I would love to do another album and I may try to bully him on that. The last big tours that we've done have been with a full orchestra, which was glorious, but we're now eager to make a noise and make a mess and make mistakes." In March, Townshend teased that the band had one "final" thing left to do before they "crawl off to die" and teased a farewell tour. Less than a month later, he retracted his statement, saying he was "being sarcastic." On another note, Townshed said he was "disappointed" that UK alternative faves Oasis have decided to reunite for a highly anticipated upcoming world tour, "because I really like their solo albums." Oasis's Liam Gallagher has released three solo records from 2017-2022, while brother Noel Gallagher made four records with his band High Flying Birds, that latest being 2023's Council Skies. - NME, 10/29/24...... Michael Jackson has scored his fifth entry in YouTube's "Billion Views Club" with his 1988 gangster-themed single "Smooth Criminal." The track from Jackson's seventh album, 1987's Bad, was brought to vivid life by director Colin Chilvers, who tapped into a 1930 gangster nightclub vibe for one of MJ's most beloved videos. Jackson also paid homage to one of his musical and dancing heroes in it via a white suit and matching fedora that tipped its hat to dancer/actor/singer Fred Astaire. The nearly 10-minute mini movie also features the King of Pop's signature "anti-gravity lean." "Smooth Criminal," which can be watched on YouTube, joins a handful of other all-time-classic MJ videos with more than one billion YouTube views, including such beloved hits as "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "They Don't Care About Us" and MJ's Halloween-appropriate 14-minute scarefest, "Thriller." - Billboard, 10/30/24...... A star-studded concept album inspired by the 1979 cult film The Warriors has debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Compilation Albums chart, and in the top 25 on both the Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales rankings (all dated Nov. 2). The new 26-song project, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis, was released on Oct. 18 and boasts such artists as Cam'ron, Ghostface Killah, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Marc Anthony, Nas, Billy Porter, Busta Rhymes, RZA and Shenseea. In addition, two cast members from the 1979 film also appear on the album: James Remar and David Patrick Kelly. Warriors was available to purchase in its first week as a CD, digital download and vinyl LP. - Billboard, 10/29/24...... Prolific actress/singer/dancer Terri Garr, who brought her buoyant personality to Mel Brooks' 1974 classic Young Frankenstein and was Oscar-nominated for the 1982 romantic comedy Tootsie, died on Oct. 29 after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 79. An influential performer to comedians including Tina Fey, Garr was a familiar face in dozens of TV shows and films of the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Born in Ohio, she moved to Los Angeles, graduated North Hollywood High School, and attended Cal State Northridge before moving to New York to study acting. Starting out as a go-go dancer, she can be seen shimmying behind the performers in filmed rock concert The T.A.M.I. Show and in six Elvis Presley features, most choreographed by her mentor David Winters. During the 1960s and 1970s, she had bit parts on sitcoms including That Girl, Batman, The Andy Griffith Show, M*A*S*H, The Odd Couple and The Bob Newhart Show. Garr's first speaking role came in The Monkees' offbeat feature film Head, written by Jack Nicholson, whom she had met in an acting class. On the "Assignment Earth" episode of Star Trek, she played a ditsy secretary, the first in a string of many such roles. She became a regular singer and dancer on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour before landing a role in Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation. Coppola cast her again in One From the Heart. Among her other roles were the wife of John Denver's character in Oh, God the mother of the boy protagonist in The Black Stallion and roles in Dumb and Dumber and Mom and Dad Save the World. She hosted Saturday Night Live three times and appeared frequently on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night With David Letterman. Her career slowed in the late 1990s, though she continued to take on small roles in films including Dick and Unaccompanied Minors, and as the voice of Mary McGinnis in two Batman animated films, Batman Beyond: The Movie and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. On the TV sitcom Friends, she played Phoebe Abbot in three episodes in 1997 and 1998. She published an autobiography, Speedbumps: Flooring It Through Hollywood, in 2006. The actress revealed in 2002 that she had been diagnosed with MS, and she suffered an aneurysm in 2006. She is survived by her daughter, Molly O'Neil, and grandson Tyryn. - Variety, 10/29/24.

Monday, October 28, 2024

Bruce Springsteen is pushing back on a July report in Forbes magazine that the blue collar hero had an estimated fortune that it pegged as "conservatively north of $1.1 billion." "I'm not a billionaire. I wish I was, but they got that real wrong," Springsteen, 75, told the U.K.'s Telegraph paper on Oct. 27 without offering up a more accurate net worth. He did, however, note that the figure was even less likely because, he's spent "too much money on superfluous things," again without specifically describing what those things are. The Boss did, however, reveal to another publication that he pays the members of his E. Street Band -- which include the band's six longest-tenured core members, as well eight additional live performers and a four-man horn section -- "a tremendous amount of money... that greases the wheels pretty good." Springsteen, who sold his catalog to Sony in 2021 for an estimated $500 million, was speaking to London's Business Insider to promote his new Hulu doc, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. On Oct. 24, Springsteen performed at a political rally for Vice Pres. Kamala Harris in Atlanta, treating the crowd to "The Promised Land," "Land Of Hope And Dreams" and "Dancing In The Dark." Before launching into his acoustic performance, Springsteen hit out at opposing Presidential candidate Donald Trump. His performance can be viewed on YouTube. Springsteen has long been political in his music, but first publicly endorsed a President in 2008 when he announced his support for Barack Obama. Since then, he's endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, going as far as to narrate his campaign ad and perform at his inauguration in early 2021. Meanwhile, James Taylor joined Harris' VP choice, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, during his rally in Wilmington, N.C. on Oct. 24. Taylor performed alongside his wife, Kim, and his son, Henry. - Billboard/NME, 10/28/24...... In related news, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters took to X/Twitter on Oct. 28 to urge his followers not to vote for either Harris or Trump, due to their respective stances on the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Waters claims both candidates "both support murdering children... they are both evil beyond all imagination... there is no lesser evil." The controversial musician then urged followers to vote for independent candidates Dr. Jill Stein, Butch Ware, Cornel West, Melina Abdullahor Socialist Equality candidate Joseph Kishore, instead. Waters has frequently spoken on the issue since October 2023 when over a thousand Israelis were killed by Hamas forces at a music festival. In still more election-related news, Stevie Wonder is teaming up with John Legend and other contemporary African-American artists as part of the Democratic National Committee's Black Voter Outreach Campaign. On Oct. 28, the DNC announced a historic "I Will Vote" ad campaign targeting Black voters through ads in 55 Black publications and on 48 Black radio stations across the United States. Wonder, Legend, and former Destiny's Child member LeToya Luckett-Coles are set to lend their voices to the campaign, alongside Emmy-winning actress and producer Kerry Washington. Some of the Black digital and print publications that will feature the new ad campaign include African News Digest, The Baltimore Times, Ebony News Today, The New Orleans Tribune, Pride Magazine, Star of Zion, Word In Black and The Villager. - NME, 10/28/24...... Promoting his new memoir Brothers, Alex Van Halen has told Rolling Stone magazine that his brother Eddie Van Halen took a whole bottle of steroid pills shortly before he died because he liked the "superhuman feeling" they gave him. Alex says Eddie took the pills not in an effort to harm himself, but to chase the feeling he thought they would give him, explaining that Eddie had the pills as medication to combat swelling after surgery to remove a brain tumour. "Common sense was not Ed's strong point," he said. "If two's good, twenty's better. That was our mantra." Alex recently shared the full six-minute version of "Unfinished," the final song that he and Eddie wrote and recorded together, on YouTube. - NME, 10/26/24...... Grateful Dead, a band that was never even nominated for a Grammy but nevertheless became one of the most legendary live rock acts in history despite charting only one Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, will be honored as the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year during Grammy Week in January. The 34th annual Persons of the Year benefit gala will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Jan. 31, 2025, two nights before the 67th annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena. Grateful Dead is the third band to receive the honor, following Fleetwood Mac in 2018 and Aerosmith in 2020. Marking the band's 60th anniversary in 2025, original members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bobby Weir will be recognized for their contributions to music, their philanthropic efforts and their pioneering role in fostering communities through their concerts and activism. The event will also include posthumous tributes to Jerry Garcia, one of the band's founders, who died in 1995 at age 53, and Phil Lesh, who died on Oct. 25 at age 84 (see below). "It's simple: we all need music. It speaks to each of us, offering what we need to face what life presents -- enhancing our joys, helping us spread them, and making our sorrows easier to bear. We can't imagine a world without it," the band said in a joint statement. "As our ol' pal, Jerry, used to say, 'You get some, you give some back,' a tremendously effective way to share those benefits... We also want to recognize the community of Dead Heads for their unwavering support over the years -- we wouldn't be here without you." Formed in 1965, Grateful Dead is one of the most influential bands in American history, renowned for their distinctive blend of rock, folk, jazz and avant-garde music. In December, the band will be included in the 47th class of the Kennedy Center Honorees, alongside Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval, Francis Ford Coppola and the Apollo Theater in Harlem. - Billboard, 10/25/24...... Eagles guitarist and solo star Joe Walsh's 2024 VetsAid annual benefit show, which was set for UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY on Nov. 11, has been canceled by its organizers, citing "reasons beyond their control." Despite the cancellation, VetsAid will still disburse $400,000 in grants to the recently announced grant recipients. "The wellbeing of our veterans and their families remains my foremost concern and the primary mission of VetsAid," Joe Walsh said in a statement announcing the cancellation. "While I am disappointed in the cancellation of this year's event and apologize for any inconvenience to our fans, I am thrilled to share that VetsAid will provide $400,000 in grants to these fine organizations who will focus these funds on the ground in New York and New Jersey to veterans who have sacrificed so much and asked for so little in return." Walsh added that Ticketmaster will be contacting all ticket holders with refund instructions. The first VetsAid took place in 2017 and featured Walsh -- a Gold Star son -- jamming on his own songs and collaborating with Zac Brown Band, Keith Urban and Gary Clark Jr., while subsequent editions welcomed the likes of Chris Stapleton, Ringo Starr, ZZ Top, Brad Paisley, Eddie Vedder, Gwen Stefani, Nine Inch Nails, Black Keys, Dave Grohl, Jeff Lynne's ELO and Stephen Stills. To date, the events have distributed $3.5 million. More info about VetsAid can be found on its website. - Billboard, 10/25/24...... In 1980, King Crimson co-founder Robert Fripp contributed lead guitar to David Bowie's album track "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" for Bowie's Scary Monsters album. Now to celebrate Halloween, Fripp and his wife Toyah Wilcox have covered "Scary Monsters" as part of their ongoing Sunday Lunch video series. The duo's performance clip can be viewed on YouTube. This December, the duo will hit the road for their Christmas Party 2024 tour of the UK, which will see them visit Edinburgh, Sunderland, Bath, and London before wrapping in Wolverhampton days before the yuletide holiday. Meanwhile, King Crimson has just released a 50th anniversary edition of their 1974 album Red, which features new mixes of its songs by producer and band manager David Singleton dubbed as the "Elemental Mixes." - New Musical Express, 10/28/24...... Queen's Brian May has revealed that the band's ex-bassist, John Deacon, "still has a 'yes' or 'no' say" in Queen. May made the revelation in a new interview with the UK's Mojo magazine, telling them Deacon still had input in Queen's decisions -- despite officially retiring in 1997 (and having only performed periodically with the band since Freddie Mercury's death in 1991). "John still has a 'yes' or 'no' say," May said.. "We get messages that he's happy with what we're doing, but he doesn't want the stress of being involved creatively, and we respect that. Freddie [Mercury] we can't talk to, sadly. But the four of us worked as a team for so long that Roger [Taylor] and I have a pretty good idea what our fellow Queen members would be saying. This thing is longer that anybody's marriage." Recently, Taylor has been teasing new Queen music to come, which will be their first new material after 30 years. - NME, 10/24/24...... The console used to record the Beatles' legendary Abbey Road album has been restored and is up for sale on Reverb.com. The EMI TG12345 recording console -- which was used by the Fab Four to create their final LP in 1969 -- was created specially for EMI studios in 1968 and was the first of 17 consoles created by EMI. It played an important role in the ambitious sound that the band sought for Abbey Road The recording console, which disassembled and remained unused for over five decades, took five years to restore under the guidance of Beatles collaborator and former EMI engineer Brian Gibson. Gibson and a team of audio engineers and technicians were able to assemble the console with 70 per cent of its original parts and "faithfully reproduced the replacement parts to seamlessly work alongside their older counterparts." Speaking about the console on Reverb.com, Dave Harries -- who participated in numerous Beatles recording sessions with the machinery in the 1960s -- shared: "Abbey Road is one of the best albums that's ever been made, and it sounds so good because of this recording console. Because of the way that Abbey Road was recorded, the album has a distinctive sound that hallmarked the future of pop recording." He continued: "This particular console is a one-off. It's unique. You can't replace it. It sounds so good that it holds up against any modern console and, in many respects, it's probably better. Because in those days, it was built to a different standard -- cost, no object. EMI built this to be the best in the world." After the Beatles' breakup in 1970, the console was also used for various solo projects by all four members -- John Lennon ("Instant Karma!"), George Harrison ("All Things Must Pass"), Ringo Starr (Sentimental Journey) and Paul McCartney. A video presentation of the console by Reverb has been shared on YouTube. - NME, 10/23/24...... In other Beatles-related news, a rendition of the group's classic "Michelle" by late soul singer-songwriter Luther Vandross is among the 21 tracks featured on Vandross's upcoming album Never Too Much: Greatest Hits. The compilation, due Dec. 13, is part of the celebration underscoring the Nov. 1 theatrical premiere of the new Vandross documentary Luther: Never Too Much. In announcing the release of "Michelle" and Never Too Much: Greatest Hits, Epic Records and Sony Music's catalog division Legacy Recordings note that additional details about the recording "remain a mystery." What is known is that is longtime friend and background vocalist Fonzi Thornton discovered a cassette labeled "Luther Vandross Michelle 6/1/89." However, no further information about the recording such as location or session players has yet come to light. Vandross's "Michelle" can be streamed on YouTube. - Billboard, 10/25/24...... In a new interview with CBS Sunday Morning on Oct. 27, Stevie Nicks explained why she decided to champion the historically polarizing cause of abortion in her new song "The Lighthouse," which was inspired by the fight for abortion access following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. "Because everybody kept saying around me, not to me, just around me, 'Well, somebody has to do something...somebody has to say something,'" she told correspondent Tracy Smith. "And I'm like, 'Well, I have a platform,'" she continued. "I tell a good story. So maybe I should try to do something. I was also there. I was, been there, done that." Nicks has previously been open about having sought reproductive care when she was younger. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, she reflected on getting an abortion in the late '70s after getting pregnant by her "Leather and Lace" collaborator Don Henley. "Don was the first guy I actually went out with after Lindsey [Buckingham] and I broke up," she told the publication. "I go to my GYN, and he says, 'Well, you've been protected by your Copper-7 IUD, but you have a tipped uterus. That IUD is only protecting half of you, and we didn't know that.'" "Now, what the hell am I going to do?" she continued. "I cannot have a child. I am not the kind of woman who would hand my baby over to a nanny, not in a million years. So we would be dragging a baby around the world on tour, and I wouldn't do that to my baby. I wouldn't say I just need nine months. I would say I need a couple of years, and that would break up the band, period. So my decision was to have an abortion." Women's healthcare is one of the reasons the "Edge of Seventeen" singer is backing Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Nicks' full interview can be viewed on X/Twitter. Meanwhile in a new interview with Rolling Stone Nicks said she hopes Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce get married and have kids "if she wants that," and that she gave her former Fleetwood Mac bandmate and romantic partner Lindsey Buckingham"300 million chances" before cutting him off for good. - Billboard, 10/25/24...... Dolly Parton has been named the 2024 recipient of the PEACE Through Music Award, which honors an American music industry professional, artist or group who has played an invaluable role in cross-cultural exchanges and whose music works to advance peace and mutual understanding globally. The award is presented jointly by the Recording Academy and the U.S. State Department. Parton, a 10-time Grammy winner who also received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2011, was celebrated on Oct. 25 at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. She was not in attendance, but sent a video acceptance. "To say that I was honored to accept the PEACE Through Music Award from the Recording Academy and the U.S. State Department would be putting it mildly," Parton said. "I was very touched and moved by that. If I have been an inspiration in any way through some act of kindness or through some music that I have written, well, that makes me feel like I have done my job properly. Thanks again for such a great honor." - Billboard, 10/25/24...... Blondie co-founder, guitarist and photographer Chris Stein took to his official Instagram account on Oct. 25 to reveal that Blondie will be releasing a new album sometime in 2025. Stein shared a black and white photo of Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry sitting in the studio, with the caption "New Blondie album next year." The band's last full-length release was 2017's Pollinator, which marked their 11th studio LP and featured contributions from Johnny Marr, Joan Jett, Laurie Anderson, Sia, Dev Hynes and Dave Sitek. The album was recorded at the famous NYC recording studio The Magic Shop, which is where David Bowie laid down his final album Blackstar. - NME, 10/25/24...... In a new interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, director Cameron Crowe has revealed that he expects to release his new Joni Mitchell biopic Christmas 2025. "I'm super excited. We're going to start in by the end of this year and hopefully have it done for Christmas next year," the Almost Famous director revealed. While he did not share any information on the film's cast, or the specific periods of Mitchell's life that the movie will explore, Crow likened the biopic to the 1983 Tom Petty documentary Heartbreakers Beach Party. "It's Joni's life, not through anybody else's prism. It's through her prism. It's the characters who impacted her life that you know and a lot that you don't know. And the music is so cinematic," he noted. Earlier in 2024, it was reported that Meryl Streep -- a close friend of Mitchell -- has been in talks to portray an older version of the singer-songwriter in the upcoming biopic. Neither Crowe, Streep or Mitchell have confirmed the casting. Meanwhile, Mitchell performed her first headlining concerts in Los Angeles in 24 years on Oct. 19 and 20, and also hosted a secret star-studded jam backstage that included Elton John, Chappell Roan, Brandi Carlile, Lucy Dacus and more. A full video of the backstage antics has been shared on Instagram. - Billboard/NME, 10/24/24...... Billboard magazine's inaugural Top Movie Songs chart has just debuted, and the Bee Gees' "Tragedy" claims the first No. 1 spot after its synch in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The film, a sequel to the 1988 favorite Beetlejuice, was released on Sept. 6 and again stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara alongside franchise newcomers Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe and more. In September, "Tragedy," which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in 1979, earned 3.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams and earned 2,000 downloads, according to Luminate. "Tragedy" also featured in one of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's pre-release trailers. The movie has topped the US box office in its first three weeks of release. - Billboard, 10/23/24...... The Rolling Stones' "Hackney Diamonds Tour" has been confirmed as the biggest summer tour ever of their vaunted career. The tour kicked off at Houston's NRG Stadium on Apr. 28, bringing the Stones to more than 40,000 fans. By the time the band wrapped at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on July 17, it had scored the highest-earning summer of its career. Its 2022 jaunt, "Sixty," earned $120.8 million, and the biggest of its four "No Filter Tour" legs brought in $177.8 million in 2019. While they've made more money on yearslong treks, Mick Jagger & co. have never earned more than $200 million in a single season. The tour was in support of the band's Hackney Diamonds album, released in Oct. 2023. The set marked the Stones' first album of original material since 2005's A Bigger Bang. Hackney Diamonds debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 200 -- the group's highest-charting album since Bang also hit No. 3 -- and extended the band's record for the most top 10s on the chart. - Billboard, 10/24/24...... Former Commodores and '80s solo superstar Lionel Richie has announced he'll be heading back to the UK and Ireland for a summer 2025 arena tour. The tour will be Richie's first UK and Ireland shows since 2016. The tour kicks off at the SSE Arena in Belfast on May 31 before moving on to Glasgow on June 4 and stopping off in London, Sheffield, Birmingham and two nights in Manchester. The run of dates will conclude with another night in London on June 15. - NME, 10/24/24...... Actor Ron Ely, the hunky and handsome Texas native who portrayed the Lord of the Jungle on the first Tarzan series for television in the 1960s, died on Sept. 29 at the home of one of his daughters near Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 86. The 6-foot-4, blue-eyed Mr. Ely had appeared opposite Clint Walker in The Night of the Grizzly and with Ursula Andress in Once Before I Die in films released in 1966 when he was hired to don the loincloth in a new NBC series executive produced by Sy Weintraub. Mr. Ely was offered the Tarzan gig after former NFL linebacker Mike Henry, who had played the Edgar Rice Burroughs creation in three '60s films, abruptly quit after he was bitten in the jaw by a chimp. (He would go on to sue over unsafe working conditions.) Tarzan, which also filmed in Central America and Mexico, premiered in Sept. 1966, and Mr. Ely had to perform his own stunts during the two-season, 57-episode run. (Since he was wearing hardly any clothing, it was hard to find a look-alike stunt double, he said.) Ronald Pierce Ely was born on June 21, 1938, in Hereford, Tex. He graduated from Amarillo (Texas) High School in 1956 and then attended the University of Texas at Austin for a year before heading to California. He made his screen debut playing a pilot in the 1958 film adaptation of "South Pacific", then signed a contract with 20th Century Fox. A year later, he tried to smooch Betty Anderson (Elinor Donahue) on an episode of Father Knows Best, played the older brother of Dwayne Hickman's character in the pilot for The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and appeared with Barbara Eden on the syndicated TV version of How to Marry a Millionaire. He also starred as the pulp adventurer Doc Savage in a 1975 film and replaced Bert Parks as host of the Miss America pageant. In the 1990s, he played a retired Superman on Superboy and a big-game hunter in the syndicated Tarzan the Hunted and had published two novels that featured private eye Jake Sands. A tragedy in Mr. Ely's life occurred on Oct. 15, 2019, when his second wife, former Miss Florida Valerie Lundeen Ely, 62, was stabbed to death in their Santa Barbara-area home by their son, Cameron, 30, who deputies found outside the house and fatally shot. Survivors include his daughters Kirsten and Kaitland. "The impact he had on others is something that I have never witnessed in any other person -- there was something truly magical about him," Kirsten said in a statement. - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/23/24...... Singer Jack Jones -- the velvet-voiced crooner who had such hits as "Wives and Lovers" and "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)," but may be best-known today for singing TV's The Love Boat theme -- died on Oct. 23 at Eisenhower Medical in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 86. His widow, Eleonara Jones, said the cause of his death was leukemia, which he had battled for two years. Mr. Jones had three No. 1 hits on Billboard's Easy Listening chart (now known as Adult Contemporary): "The Race Is On" (1965), "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)" (1966) and "Lady" (1967). Mr. Jones received a Grammy nod for best vocal performance, male for "The Impossible Dream," the standout ballad from the Broadway musical "Man of La Mancha." The song, which also received a Grammy nod for song of the year, was so popular on TV variety shows and in nightclubs that it became a cliché. Earlier in the 1960s, Mr. Jones won two Grammys for best vocal performance, male for his renditions of Tony Velona's "Lollipops and Roses" and Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Wives and Lovers." Mr. Jones had three top 20 albums on the Billboard Hot 200: Wives and Lovers, Dear Heart and The Impossible Dream. Mr. Jones' death comes just seven months after Steve Lawrence, a singer of similar quality and style, died at 88. They were two of the finest singers of what was then known as easy listening music -- music that fell out of favor as rock boomed in the late 1960s and 1970s. That music has seen a rebirth in recent decades under a new branding -- traditional pop -- with such new stars as Michael Bublé. Mr. Jones, born in Los Angeles on Jan. 14, 1938, was married to actress Jill St. John from 1967-69. They were one of the top celebrity couples of that era, each with a highly successful career. It was one of Mr. Jones's six marriages. He continued to perform in casinos, performing arts centers and cabarets until shortly before his death. In addition to his current wife Eleonora Donata Peters, he is survived by two daughters and two stepdaughters. - Billboard, 10/24/24...... Grateful Dead bassist and co-founder Phil Lesh "passed peacefully" on Oct. 25, according to a statement from his family. He was 84 and died of as yet undisclosed causes. "He was surrounded by his family and full of love. Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love. We request that you respect the Lesh family's privacy at this time," the statement read. Born in Berkeley, Calif. on Mar. 15, 1940, Mr. Lesh was originally a classically trained trumpeter and appreciator of avant-garde classical and free jazz. After short-lived studies at a variety of music schools, he met bluegrass banjo player Jerry Garcia in 1962. He was part of the original line-up of Grateful Dead in 1965, alongside Garcia (on lead guitar and vocals), Bob Weir (on rhythm guitar and vocals), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (on keyboards, harmonica, and vocals), and Bill Kreutzmann (on drums). He was the last to join the band under their original name of the Warlocks before they changed it to Grateful Dead. At the time of joining, Mr. Lesh had never picked up a bass guitar but grew to develop a distinctive style influenced by jazz in particular that sometimes made his instrument sound like a second lead guitar. He contributed especially significantly to some of the band's earliest works and played on all 13 of the Dead's studio releases and 10 official live albums between 1967 and 1990. Following the death of Garcia in 1995, Mr. Lesh participated in various touring iterations of the band including the Other Ones (1998-99), the Dead (2003-04, 2008-09) and Furthur (2009-13). The surviving members performed publicly together for the last time on the "Fare Thee Well" tour shows in Northern California and Chicago. Mr. Lesh was not a part of the recent incarnation Dead & Company featuring Weir and the band's other significant drummer Mickey Hart alongside John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane. He did, however, play in Phil Lesh and Friends and with the Terrapin Family Band, an offshoot of his family-run music hall and restaurant Terrapin Crossroads, which opened in California in 2012. Mr. Lesh had run into health issues in the final decades of his life, including a liver transplant in 1998. He was treated for prostate cancer in 2006 and later bladder cancer in 2015 before undergoing surgery on his back in 2019. In 2017, Bass Player magazine ranked Mr. Lesh as the 57th greatest bassist of all time. "More an improvising composer than mere bassist, Lesh elevated the Grateful Dead from hippie jam band to an artistic ensemble capable of reaching heights of interactive ecstasy," the magazine wrote. "Balancing roots with bouncy, offbeat upper-register figures, he could spin long motivic statements sometimes lasting over a minute, often steering the band into daring new harmonic territory." - NME/Billboard, 10/25/24.

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

The Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA), which honors composers, songwriters and music supervisors for their contributions in music for film, TV, and other media, has tapped Elton John's longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin for an Outstanding Career Achievement Award. The ceremony, now in its 15th year, will be held on Nov. 20 at The Avalon in Hollywood, Calif. Taupin and John were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and received that organization's top honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, in 2013. In 2020, they received both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best original song for co-writing "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from the hit biopic Rocketman. Earlier in 2024, they received the Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, as well as an Ivor Novello for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Most recently, Taupin cowrote (with John, Brandi Carlile and Andrew Watt) the original song "Never Too Late" for the Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. Remarkably, their only songwriting collaboration to receive a Grammy nomination was the soundtrack to the 1971 teen romance film Friends, which won Best Original Score for a Motion Picture or a Television Special. Past HMMA Career Achievement Award recipients include Kenny Loggins, Smokey Robinson, Diane Warren, Earth Wind & Fire, Glen Campbell and Dave Mason. - Billboard, 10/23/24...... Gibson Guitars has announced a limited run of Jimmy Page 1964 SJ-200 guitars, as well as a Collector's Edition, to celebrate its 130th anniversary. Gibson is paying homage to the guitar that Page played on Led Zeppelin's self-titled 1969 debut album -- the iconic mid-60s Gibson SJ-200. Available now, the faithful recreation of the historic guitar has been designed to capture all distinctive traits -- including the vivid Cherry Tea sunburst finish. Only 50 of the 1964 SJ-200 Collector's Edition, which included a signature from Page, and 100 of the Jimmy Page 1964 SJ-200 have been made, each with "significant input" from the guitarist, according to a press release. Page talks about his collaboration with the guitar manufacturer on the Gibson TV YouTube channel. Earlier in 2024, Page joined Queen's Brian May and Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi to launch the new "Gibson Garage" in London. Gibson also announced a new Jeff Beck "YardBurst" 1959 Les Paul Custom in honor of the late former Yardbirds member earlier in the year. - New Musical Express, 10/22/24...... The '60s British Invasion band The Zombies have partnered with music distributor Q Prime to re-release the band's first four albums, it was announced on Oct. 22. Under the agreement, Q Prime will manage marketing, manufacturing, distribution and licensing for the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees' new imprint, Beechwood Park Records. The imprint includes The Zombies' catalog, which the group acquired the rights to in 2023 from Marquis Enterprises Ltd., its original production company it signed with in 1964. Starting in 2024, Q Prime will physically reissue four of The Zombies' albums, remastered from the original tapes. This includes the band's seminal 1968 album, Odessey & Oracle, in its original mono mix; the LP, which was recorded for £1,000, includes the classic songs "Time of The Season," "Care of Cell 443 and "This Will Be Our Year." Its release will coincide with a new Zombies documentary, Hung Up On A Dream, directed by musician and filmmaker Robert Schwartzman. The Zombies' four surviving founding members are lead singer Colin Blunstone, keyboardist Rod Argent, bassist Chris White and drummer Hugh Grundy. The band first charted in the U.S. in 1964 with "She's Not There," which peaked at No. 2. - Billboard, 10/22/24...... In a new interview with Guitar World magazine, KISS co-founder Gene Simmons speaks about his bass-playing preferences, saying that Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers doesn't have a "memorable" style. "There are an awful lot of amazing bass players, like Jaco Pastorius and the jazz guys. Or guys like Flea, who is really good on his instrument, but I can't remember anything he plays -- and I also do not like the sound of a bass being slapped," Simmons said. The bassist/vocalist explained that he has a "less is more" approach, before quoting Eric Clapton: "The hardest thing to do is to know what notes to put in a solo, and what notes not to put in a solo. Sometimes, if it's shockingly simple, and barely moving at all, but I can hum it, that's what matters because it's memorable." He added that "I don't consider myself -- and was never really interested in being -- a bass virtuoso. I don't like show-offs in music. I'm much more attracted to things that are memorable. It's part of the joy of music for me." KISS finished their farewell tour in New York in December 2023, but they have since shared plans for an "immersive" avatar show that will be "beyond anything that anyone else has contemplated." - NME, 10/22/24...... Stevie Wonder called out Donald Trump for the former president's recent derogatory remarks about Detroit during Wonder's concert at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 22. "I just gotta say for the record, I don't like nobody talking bad about Detroit," the Motown icon told a sold-out crowd on the latest stop of his "Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart Tour." He then led the audience in a chant of "Don't cha do it!," pointedly aimed at Trump. Wonder was referencing Trump's disparaging remarks during an Oct. 13 speech to the Detroit Economic Club, where he warned that if his Democratic opponent, Vice-President Kamala Harris, is elected, "the whole country will end up being like Detroit -- a mess." Wonder, who has endorsed Harris as "not just any woman, a wonderful woman, and she has done the work consistently," announced his Sing Our Song! tour in September, a few weeks before its Oct. 8 opening in Pittsburgh. The tour will see him playing 11 shows, mostly in "swing states," in the wake of his surprise single, "As We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart." The song is available for streaming on YouTube. Wonder's tour wraps up Nov. 2 in Chicago. - Billboard, 10/23/24...... In related news, Bruce Springsteen has announced he'll be headlining a series of "When We Vote We Win" concerts in late October in support of Democratic presidential nominee Vice-Pres. Kamala Harris. The two events will take place alongside Harris and former President Barack Obama on Oct. 24 and 28 in Atlanta and Philadelphia, respectively. Additional shows will be announced in the coming days, according to Rolling Stone. Earlier in October, Springsteen took to Instagram to voice his support for the Harris/Tim Walz ticket. He shared that what makes America "great" are values that Harris believes in -- "freedom, social justice, equal opportunity, the right to be in love with who you want," he shared, before adding that Donald Trump "is the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime." Meanwhile, the Boss attended the Los Angeles premiere of his new Hulu documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, on Oct. 21 at the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum's David Geffen Theater. The Thom Zimny-directed documentary, a must-see for any Springsteen fan, pulls back the curtain on how the now-75-year-old rocker's 1923-24 global trek with the E Street Band came together. By the time the first show was played in Tampa in Feb. 2023, Springsteen had released three new albums and it had been six years since the E Street Band had toured due, in part, to the Covid pandemic. The film takes fans behind the scenes from the first day of rehearsals in a small, black box theater in New Jersey to stages across the world and, in the process, tells the story of the band's 50 year friendship. In one of the film's more poignant passages, musician and Springsteen's wife Patti Scialfa reveals she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2018 and how that has affected her ability to tour with the band. The deaths of longtime band members Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons are also discussed in loving detail. Also attending the L.A. premiere were the likes of Jackson Browne, John Densmore, Richie Sambora, Brandi Carlile, Catherine O'Hara and Danny DeVito. Road Diary premieres on TV in the US on the Hulu and Disney+ streaming channels on Oct. 25, and gets its UK TV premiere on the Disney+ channel the same day. - Billboard, 10/22/24...... Highlights of the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Oct. 19 in Cleveland include Dua Lipa and Cher kicking off the show with a stunning rendition of Cher's "Believe," and Cher throwing some shade on the Rock Hall during her induction acceptance speech. The live audience came together to celebrate the extensive RRHOF Class of '24, which includes Cher, Mary J. Blige, Ozzy Osbourne, Kool & the Gang, A Tribe Called Quest, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner and Peter Frampton. Alexis Korner, John Mayall and Big Mama Thornton were honored for their musical influence; and Jimmy Buffett, Dionne Warwick, MC5 and Norman Whitfield each earned awards for musical excellence. Dressed in a slinky, black dress, Dua Lipa brought the audience to their feet in the opener with a rendition of Cher's "Believe." By the time the bridge came around, Cher herself emerged dressed in a leather bustier and black chaps, helping Dua finish out the song in fabulous fashion. For those that wanted to see the 78-year-old icon deliver a solo performance, Cher made sure to give them an encore before accepting her induction into the Rock Hall, performing a rousing rendition of "If I Could Turn Back Time" to a screaming crowd. Known for her sharp wit, Cher didn't spare anyone during her induction speech -- including the Rock Hall itself. When remarking on her long-awaited induction into the Hall, Cher cracked that it felt harder than it needed to be. "It was easier getting divorced from two men than it was getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame," she joked. "I want to thank David Geffen, because he wrote a letter and sent it to the directors, and now, ha ha, here I am!" After being inducted by Pearl Jam's Michael McCready, Peter Frampton triumphantly took to the stage to perform some of his greatest hits, kicking things off with "Baby (Something's Happening)." But the performance's best moment came when Keith Urban joined the legendary guitarist onstage for a guitar-sparring duet to "Do You Feel Like We Do." Trading licks back and forth (and even pulling out a talk box for the song's iconic breakdown), the pair made for one of the best rock performances of the evening. Dave Matthews served double duty at Saturday's ceremony, attending as both an inductee and an artist paying tribute to one of the greats: Jimmy Buffett. Taking to the stage armed with his acoustic guitar, Matthews bid a tearful farewell to the iconic tropical rock singer. "I'm so happy to be here to honor Jimmy," he said, fighting back tears. "He made everyone feel special; he made me feel very special. I wish he could be here, but it's too late." A cavalcade of rock and pop stars performed several of Foreigner's hits, including Demi Lovato, Sammy Hagar and Kelly Clarkson. Kool & the Gang performed an absolutely thrilling medley of their greatest hits, powering through "Hollywood Swinging," "Get Down on It," "Ladies Night," and "Jungle Boogie," before closing out their stellar set with a banging rending of "Celebration." Ozzy Osbourne watched as his legacy as the "greatest frontman in history" (as Jack Black put it) was tributed by a parade of some of the biggest names in music, including Wolfgang Van Halen, Jelly Roll, Billy Idol and Zakk Wylde. After a hilarious introduction from Julia Roberts -- which included the tale of her misadventures Googling the band she was honoring -- the Dave Matthews Band closed out 2024 RRHOF induction ceremony with one, glorious jam of some of their most beloved tracks -- "Ants Marching," "Crash Into Me," "So Much to Say" and "Too Much" -- before encoring with what Matthews said was some "walking away music" -- a fired up rendition of Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House" in honor of the 40th anniversary of the band's Stop Making Sense documentary. - Billboard, 10/20/24...... Joni Mitchell performed her first headlining concerts in Los Angeles in 24 years on Oct. 19 and 20, breaking out numerous rarities that had not been played live in decades. The legendary singer-songwriter kicked off the 27-song "Joni Jam" set with "Be Cool," which was last performed in 2000 (fan-shot footage can be viewed on YouTube). She then gave "Harlem In Havana" its live debut before moving on to "Hejira," which was also last played in 2000. Other songs that we performed for the first time in years included "Cherokee Louise" (first time since '95), "Coyote" (first since '01), "God Must Be A Boogie Man" (first since 1983), "Sunny Sunday" (first since 1995), and more, including the politically charged "Dog Eat Dog," which she had not performed since 1985. After performing that tune, a fan shouted an insult directed towards Donald Trump, promoting Mitchell to echo back: "F--- Donald Trump." Mitchell continued: "Everybody get out and vote. This is an important one. I wish I could vote -- I'm Canadian. I'm one of those lousy immigrants." She performed a second night of her all-star Joni Jam on Oct. 20. Across both nights, Mitchell's band was made up of musicians such as Brandi Carlile, Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold, Annie Lennox, Marcus Mumford, Jon Batiste, Jacob Collier and many more. Earlier in 2024, Mitchell won her 10th Grammy Award, for Best Folk Album for her 2023 live album Joni Mitchell at Newport. The album was recorded at the musician's 2022 surprise set at the legendary music festival -- at which she last appeared in 1969 -- delivering a 13-song set that featured Brandi Carlile on the tracks "Carey," "A Case Of You" and "Big Yellow Taxi." - NME, 10/21/24....... Ringo Starr is returning to one of his favorite genres -- country music -- on his first new full-length album in six years, Look Up. The album, set for release on Jan. 10 and teased on Oct. 18 with the release of the weepy ballad "Time On My Hands," finds the former Beatles drummer collaborating with the legendary T-Bone Burnett on both songwriting and production duties. "I have loved Ringo Starr and his playing and his singing and his aesthetic for as long as I can (or care to) remember," said Grammy-winning producer/songwriter Burnett, 76, in a statement. "He changed the way every drummer after him played, with his inventive approach to the instrument. And, he has always sung killer rockabilly, as well as being a heartbreaking ballad singer. To get to make this music with him was something like the realization of a 60-year dream I've been living. None of the work that I have done through a long life in music would have happened if not for him and his band. Among other things, this album is a way I can say thank you for all he has given me and us." Burnett wrote or co-wrote nine of the songs on Starr's 21st solo album, on which the peace-and-love advocate sang and played drums; one song so written by Billy Swan and another was co-written by Starr and Bruce Sugar. According to a press release announcing the project, Starr co-wrote the album's closer, "Thankful," which features one of Burnett's previous collaborators, bluegrass singer/fiddler Alison Krauss. From the country-tinged Beatles songs he performed and wrote, including "Act Naturally," "What Goes On" and "Don't Pass Me By," to his 1970 sophomore solo album Beaucoups of Blues, Starr has dipped his toe into the genre since his early, pre-Beatles days playing in Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. In fact, the release added, Starr was so enamored with country and blues as a teenager that he tried to emigrate from London To Texas in his younger years after learning that blues great Lightnin' Hopkins lived there. Starr's first new full-length album since 2019's What's My Name will get a proper country welcome on Jan. 14-15, 2025 when the singer/drummer headlines the legendary Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, Tenn.; tickets for the show will go on sale on Oct. 25. - Billboard, 10/18/24...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Apple Corps Ltd CEO Jeff Jones has announced he'll be retiring from the company after 17 years in the role. Apple Corps Ltd was founded in 1968 by the Fab Four to control the band's interests across music, film, publishing and more. The role of CEO was previously held by the band's longtime publicist Neil Aspinall from 1968 to 2007. Jones joined the team in 2007 following a role as an executive vice president at Sony/BMG, with a history repackaging classic catalogs from artists like Miles Davis. During his time as CEO of Apple Corps, Jones led several projects for the company including the launch of the band's website and spearheaded the move to make The Beatles' music available digitally on iTunes in 2010. He also worked with video game producers Harmonix to launch the Beatles' Rock Band game and the company's 18-year partnership with Cirque Du Soleil for the "The Beatles: Love" stage show which ended in July 2024. Jones also acted as an executive producer on several filmed projects, such as Ron Howard's documentary The Beatles: Eight Days A Week -- The Touring Years and Peter Jackson's three-part Get Back series, released in 2021 on Disney+. He also supervised the remastering and repackaging of several of the band's iconic albums including "The White Album," and his most recent projects included overseeing the release of the Beatles' final song "Now and Then" in 2023, and serving as an executive producer on the upcoming Beatles '64 documentary, produced by Martin Scorsese and directed by David Tedeschi, set to be released in November. A statement from Apple Corps Ltd on Oct. 21 reads: "The whole Apple Corps family wishes Jeff Jones all the very best and would like to express our sincere gratitude for his invaluable contributions to the company and the legacy of The Beatles." - Billboard, 10/21/24...... Among the salacious details in former John Lennon and Yoko Ono assistant Elliott Mintz's new memoir We All Shine On: John, Yoko, and Me is how Ono was "forced" to listen to John having "loud, raucous sex" with another woman in their bedroom one night in 1968 after John became upset and got drunk after Richard Nixon was elected to his first term as president. "Throughout it all, Yoko sat on the sofa, in stunned, mortified silence, as other guests began awkwardly getting up to leave - until they realized that their coats were in the bedroom where John was having sex," Elliot, 79, writes. Elliot explains the event created a rift between the couple that they struggled to repair, adding Yoko told him, "I can forgive him, but I don't know if I can ever forget what happened. I don't know if it will ever be the same." We All Shine On: John, Yoko, and Me hit stores on Oct. 22. - Music-News.com, 10/23/24...... After their founding 55 years ago, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), led by Jeff Lynne, have announced their date and location of their final live show. The gig will take place in London's Hyde Park next year as part of BST Summertime festival on July 13, 2025. Jeff Lynne's ELO are the first act to be announced for the annual run of gigs in the central London location. "My return to touring began at Hyde Park in 2014," Lynne said in a statement. "It seems like the perfect place to do our final show. We couldn't be more excited to share this special night in London with our UK fans. As the song goes, 'we're gonna do it One More Time!'" Tickets for the show go on sale on Oct. 25, and a range of special guests are set to join the lineup, which will be announced at a later date. Jeff Lynne's ELO are currently in the midst of their "Over and Out" US tour, which will conclude with a pair of shows at Los Angeles' Kia Forum on Oct. 25 and 25. Formed in 1970 in Birmingham, ELO became a stalwart of the British rock scene throughout the following decades. Initially composed of Lynne, songwriter Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan, the group released their eponymous debut album in 1971 and went on to release 14 studio albums, most recently in 2019 with From Out of Nowhere. In the late '70s and early 1980s, the band amassed six Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking with "Don't Bring Me Down" in 1979 at No. 4. They had similar success on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart with five Top 10 entries . Several of their albums, including 1977's Out Of The Blue, were awarded platinum status in the US by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). - Billboard, 10/21/24...... Alex Van Halen has unveiled the full six-minute version of "Unfinished," the final song that the Van Halen drummer wrote and recorded with his late brother Eddie Van Halen. In September, it was reported that the last song the siblings ever wrote together would be included in the audiobook version of Alex's new memoir, Brothers, with Alex sharing a brief clip of the track with fans on Instagram alongside a series of family photos. While the drummer has previously been absent from the public eye following Eddie's death in 2020, he made a rare statement and shared his motivations for writing the book. "This is my tribute to my brother; my way of saying goodbye," he said. "Ed, I love you and miss you. When I see you again, I'm gonna kick your ass!" The book hit shelves on Oct. 22 via HarperCollins. The final track he and Eddie wrote together was a marked departure from VH's signature sound and is instead more of a sombre instrumental, featuring electric and acoustic guitar. The full version can be downloaded from van-halen.com or streamed on YouTube. - NME, 10/22/24...... The V&A family of museums in London has announced that it will be opening a new visitor attraction, the V&A East Storehouse, in 2025, which will be home to a new David Bowie store and visitor attraction. The East Storehouse will be open to the public from May 31, and located at East Bank -- the new cultural quarter in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is set to home over 500,000 works, including the Glastonbury Festival Archives, costumes from Elton John and PJ Harvey, vintage shirts, Samurai swords and many more. It will also house over 100 curated mini-displays. Later in 2025, the long-awaited David Bowie Centre will be opening at the new site and expected to contain an archive of over 90,000 items related to the iconic artist, including some of his most famous outfits and song lyrics. The items will trace Bowie's "creative processes as a musical innovator, cultural icon, and advocate for self-expression and reinvention," and have been acquired by the V&A through the David Bowie Estate, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group. The Victoria and Albert Museum began as the Museum of Manufactures in London in 1852, and its foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1899. It has evolved into state-of-the-art galleries, spanning the last 5,000 years of human existence. - NME, 10/22/24...... 60 years after its debut, The Temptations' 1964 hit "My Girl" has become a hit at Citi Field in Queens, NYC since New York Mets star Francisco Lindor began using it as his walk-up song in late May, and fans continue singing the lyrics even after Lindor's plate appearance is underway. This prompted The Tempts to detour to NYC on an off day from their current tour to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "My Girl" before the Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-6 on Oct. 18 and closed to 3-2 in the NL Championship Series. Wearing blue tuxedos with orange pocket squares, the five singers stood on the warning track behind home plate and sang an a cappella version of the national anthem that highlighted their harmonic excellence as Lindor watched from the foul line behind first base and sang along. They then donned Mets jerseys and sang "My Girl" with music backing them on the sound system as Lindor warmed up with sprints on the outfield grass, smiling widely and bobbing his head. He reached the dugout by the end and exchanged his special pregame handshake with with teammate Pete Alonso. Asked whether he was a baseball fan, the 82-year-old Temptations founder Otis Williams coughed and said in a low, sing-song voice: "Dodgers." Released on Dec. 21, 1964, "My Girl" became the soul group's first No. 1 hit the following March and has been streamed 1 billion times on Spotify.com. The song's impact became clear to Williams during a 1965 concert at Harlem's Apollo Theater. "We went out on the stage and we did the show without 'My Girl'. They damned near called us every name except the child of God," he said, "so we know we can never, ever take that the song out." Williams, who turns 83 on Oct. 30, is the last original member of the group. He has no intention of retiring. "I tell people I'm going to ride the hell out of the horse," he said. "When I get off the horse, it's going to be bald. That's a lot of rides when you ride the horse bald." - Billboard, 10/19/24.

Friday, October 18, 2024

An Oct. 17 concert in London by rising singer Dua Lipa featured a surprise performance by Elton John as the Rocket Man joined Dua during an encore of their 2021 smash hit collaboration "Cold Heart." The show was filmed for an upcoming television special, which is set to be announced soon. The pair had previously performed "Cold Heart" live at John's concert at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium in 2022. A clip of the performance can be viewed on X. Meanwhile, Sir Elton's remarkable half-century career is being honored by Madame Tussauds London when the wax museum unveils a one-of-a-kind, gravity-defying figure later this year that pays homage to the pop icon's wild and wooly 1970s heyday. According to a press release, a new exhibit will feature a wax model of the singer doing one of his patented keyboard handstands, with his legs in the air above his head and his hands firmly planted on the piano keyboard. "Back in the 1970s, his first figure was our first talking figure, and in 2024 we're determined to go big again," says a Madame Tussauds spokesman. "The figure's iconic, gravity-defying pose will capture the essence of Elton's legendary early performances in a way that only Madame Tussauds London can. This will be our most structurally complex figure to date in our centuries-old history and it is going to be a real showstopper when we unveil it later this year." The museum released behind-the-scenes images from the creation of the figure on Instagram on Oct. 16. Elsewhere, a new Elton John documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, debuts on Disney+ on Dec. 13. - Billboard, 10/16/24...... Fleetwood Mac fans are buzzing about a potential band reunion after a wave a recent online activity by the legendary group. Recently a new "official" account for the band was launched on Instagram. The verified page is currently set to private, and is followed by just eight people -- including members Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood. An official Fleetwood Mac profile was also set up on TikTok recently -- although no content has been shared there as of yet. However, the account has almost 14,000 followers at the time of writing. "Fleetwood Mac making an official Instagram and TikTok we are cooked," wrote one user on X/Twitter on Oct. 12. Another shared: "Fleetwood Mac making an Instagram. Somebody sedate me." This came as Nicks made her first appearance on Saturday Night Live in 41 years on Oct. 12, where she performed her new single "The Lighthouse" (shared on YouTube) and her classic solo track "Edge Of Seventeen" (also shared on YouTube ). While some people discussed a potential reunion, others noted the recent 45th anniversary of the band's 12th album Tusk -- and said a reissue could be in the works. Elsewhere, guitarist/singer-songwriter Lindsey Buckingham -- who was fired from the band in 2018 -- wished Tusk a "happy birthday" in a post on Instagram. In the caption, he reflected on drawing "a creative fork in the road" with the experimental record following "the enormous commercial success" of its predecessor, 1977's Rumours. In other Fleetwood Mac news, founding drummer Mick Fleetwood has just released Blues Experience, a collaborative album with ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro. The album's most stunning moment is its closing, a rendering of Christine McVie's FM signature song "Songbird" followed by a spoken word coda by Fleetwood, mourning McVie's death on Nov. 30, 2022. "'Songbird' came out of the blue, and we couldn't not include it," Fleetwood says. "It was around the time when Christine had passed, and we found ourselves doing that song, which was not predetermined... Christine was a huge loss for me and for millions and millions of people." - New Musical Express/Billboard, 10/15/24...... As the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame prepares for its class of 2024 induction ceremony on Oct. 19, word has spread that two of Foreigner's inductees, founding guitarist Mick Jones and drummer Dennis Elliott, won't be attending the event. Jones, who founded Foreigner during 1976 in New York, is battling Parkinson's disease, and Elliott posted a note to Facebook that he would also not be attending the event. "We were finally given the schedule last night, and it is not to our satisfaction," Elliott posted. "So we are staying home. We have been asking for weeks, and they have waited until the very last minute to send it knowing we were all packed and going to bed. Totally unacceptable to us. Hope you have a good time." RRHOF sources say one specific point of contention was that only band members were to walk the red carpet before the show, without their spouses. Fans responding to Elliott offered support, with one writing "this is very sad news" and another calling it a "travesty." Foreigner did issue a statement via its social media saying, "FOREIGNER is greatly looking forward to Saturday's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The band will be joined by Demi Lovato, Sammy Hagar and Kelly Clarkson in a set celebrating the induction of the guys who started it all almost fifty years ago. Original members Lou Gramm, Al Greenwood and Rick Wills will be there to accept the awards on behalf of the band's leader and founder Mick Jones, drummer Dennis Elliot, and Ian McDonald and Ed Gagliardi who are no longer with us." Foreigner, which finished third in the RRHOF fan vote, will be part of a class of 2024 that also includes Mary J. Blige, Cher, the Dave Matthews Band, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest in the performer category. - Billboard, 10/17/24...... In related news, former Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson lead guitarist James Burton is set to become a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame at their Medallion Ceremony on Oct. 20. Burton will become the 17th individual to be inducted into both the Country Music and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He was admitted to the Rock Hall in 2001, with his induction speech given by longtime fan Keith Richards. Since the 1950s, Burton has recorded and performed with many artists, including several who are likewise in both Halls: Presley, Johnny Cash, The Everly Brothers and Jerry Lee Lewis. He is just the second person to be admitted to both Halls who is not known, at least in part, as a recording artist. The other is Sun Records founder Sam Phillips. Burton, 84, is one of just four of these double inductees who is still living. The others are Willie Nelson, 91; Brenda Lee, 79; and Dolly Parton, 78. Three double inductees -- Cash, The Everly Brothers and Phillips -- lived to see both of their inductions, though they have since died. - Billboard, 10/14/24...... On Oct. 14 Disney+ announced on X that a new Beatles documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi, Beatles '64, will premiere on the streaming platform on Nov. 29. Per an official description, the forthcoming doc "captures the electrifying moment of The Beatles' first visit to America" over 60 years ago. "Featuring never-before-seen footage of the band and the legions of young fans who helped fuel their ascendance, the film gives a rare glimpse into when The Beatles became the most influential and beloved band of all time," the press release continues. Co-produced by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison's widow Olivia Harrison, John Lennon's son Sean Ono Lennon, the film includes rare footage filmed by documentarians Albert and David Maysles and features live performances from the Beatles' debut US live concert at the Washington, DC Coliseum and their Ed Sullivan Show appearances. Additionally, viewers will see newly filmed interviews with McCartney and Starr, as well as fans whose lives were transformed by the Fab Four. To coincide with the film's release, seven US 1964 Beatles albums have been analogue cut for 180-gram audiophile vinyl from their original mono master tapes for global release on Nov. 22 via Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe. The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums In Mono features the 1964 Beatles albums which have been out of print on vinyl since 1995. - NME, 10/14/24...... In other Beatles-related news, a shirt signed by football legend Pelé has been gifted to Paul McCartney. Pelé signed the shirt in 2019 before his death from cancer in 2022 at age 82, with the intention of giving it to iconic rock star, but a meeting never materialized. Now, McCartney has been presented with the shirt by Pelé's manager and sister ahead of Paul's second stadium show in So Paulo, Brazil on Oct. 16. In a photograph, the Beatles icon can be seen holding up the shirt, which reads: "Paul, keep the ball rolling. I love you. Pelé." Elsewhere, McCartney helped a couple get engaged during a soundcheck on his "Got Back" tour stop in Santiago, Chile on Oct. 11. The music icon noticed Chilean couple Yamil Alamo, a McCartney lookalike, and Leonora Pereira, dressed as 1970s versions of himself and his late wife Linda McCartney, holding a sign that read: "Paul: Give us a handshake and we'll get married." During the soundcheck at Estadio Monumental, Santiago, Sir Paul invited the couple on stage. Alamo knelt down and proposed to his girlfriend of six years in front of McCartney. McCartney's "Got Back" tour is set to continue across South America, the UK and Europe over the coming weeks. In still more Beatles news, it was been announced on Oct. 15 that the U.K.-based organization PPL will collect broadcast and public performance royalties globally for both the estate of John Lennon and Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. "PPL has shown they are the leaders in advocating for neighboring rights globally," said the Lennon estate in a statement. "We have the utmost respect for the team and look forward to working with them." Lennon released 11 solo albums as a performer, and landed 25 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 both as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist. He also landed three No. 1 albums as a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 200. Meanwhile, the Beatles have been named as the ultimate British group by BBC Radio 2 listeners. The Fab Four saw off competition from the likes of Queen, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd to top the poll that was organized to mark National Album Day -- which has the theme of Great British groups this year -- on October 19. - NME/Billboard, 10/17/24...... In a new interview with ClassicRock.com, former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman opened up about his tenure with the "World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band," revealing that he and some of his bandmates were struggling financially. Wyman was asked if he left the band at the right time -- he left in 1993 -- and replied that he should have left earlier. "I hung on for a three-tour ending across '89 and '90, after seven years of nothing, and I'd ended up with a bank overdraft of £200,000, because we weren't earning anything," he explained. Wyman continued: "Mick [Jagger] and Keith [Richards] were totally wealthy, so they weren't bothered, but me, Charlie [Watts] and Ronnie [Wood] were scraping by. Ronnie started to do art to feed his family. Anyway, I only started playing with them again in the hope it'd only be a couple of years, because I had all these other things I wanted to do." He explained that Jagger and Richards had greater wealth due to their songwriting and publishing royalties, but that he, Jones, Watts and Wood were only making about a tenth of what Jagger and Richards were. He also discussed the criticism the band received after they left the UK in 1971, becoming tax exiles in the south of France. "We had no f---ing money," he said. "[Former Stones manager Allen] Klein had all the money, and when you wanted anything you begged him to send you some money. You're in the red with your bank, so you weren't partying all the time, you were worrying about how to pay your bills. It was a nightmare," added Wyman, who briefly returned to the Stones in 2023 to record a track for their album Hackney Diamonds. - New Musical Express, 10/17/24...... Cher stunned the audience of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Oct. 15 with powerful performances of two of her most inspiring hits, "Strong Enough" and "Believe." After a powerful choir intro, with photos of Cher from different stages in her career flashing on the back screen, the superstar appeared onstage in a sparkling black jumpsuit and matching jet-black hair. She kicked off the performance with her 1998 hit, "Strong Enough," and delivered the emotive verses surrounded by her dancers, before belting the empowering chorus. The 78-year-old star then strutted down the runway and stepped onto a gold platform to perform her 1998 classic, "Believe," as some of Victoria's Secret's most beloved models walked the runway in angel wings and classic red and pink lingerie, including Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Candice Swanepoel and Adriana Lima. Cher headlined the all-female lineup of the 2024 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, following performances from LISA, Orianthi and Tyla. Fan-shot footage of Cher's performance has been shared on X. - Billboard, 10/15/24...... Billy Joel reunited with his pals Axl Rose and John Mayer during a concert at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Oct. 12. Mayer was brought out as the first guest of the night, joining Joel for a rendition of "This Is The Time." It is only the second time that the pair have performed this song together; the first time being in 2008. Later on in the show, Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose joined the Piano Man onstage to perform a cover of Wings "Live and Let Die." In July, Joel played his historic 150th -- and last -- show as part of his Madison Square Garden residency, bringing out Rose to perform a number of songs. He had been playing one show at the iconic venue every month since Jan. 2014. Fan-shot footage of the Mayer and Rose performances can be streamed on YouTube. - NME, 10/14/24...... Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese is set to direct the filming of a tribute concert in honor of late The Band member Robbie Robertson. Scorsese will direct the "Life Is A Carnival: A Musical Celebration Of Robbie Robertson" tribute concert, which took place at LA's Kia Forum on Oct. 17), for a future release. Artists performing at the show included Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Mavis Staples, Margo Price, Warren Haynes, Bruce Hornsby and Taj Mahal, among others. Robertson, who died in August 2023 at age 80, scored several of Scorsese's films, including Raging Bull, Casino, The Wolf Of Wall Street, The Irishman and Killers Of The Flower Moon. Scorsese previously documented The Band's farewell show The Last Waltz, which was released in 1978 and is widely considered an all-time classic music documentary. - NME, 10/17/24...... It was announced on Oct. 17 that Randy Newman has sold his share of his recorded music and publishing rights to Litmus Music, a catalog-acquiring firm backed by private-equity giant Carlyle Group. The deal encompasses Newman's seminal film scores along with his catalog of popular solo hits. The rights acquisition includes his compositions for Disney franchises like Toy Story ("You've Got a Friend in Me," "We Belong Together"), Monsters, Inc. ("If I Didn't Have You") and The Princess and the Frog ("Almost There"), among others. The list of non-animated movies he has worked on over the decades includes The Natural, Three Amigos, Awakenings, The Paper, Maverick, Ragtime, Pleasantville, Meet the Parents, Seabiscuit and his recent pairing with director Noah Baumbach, for The Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story. The lifelong Angeleno, who turns 81 in November, launched his career in 1968 with a self-titled solo debut but came into his own in the following decade with a string of critically acclaimed albums including 1970's 12 Songs, 1972's Sail Away, 1974's Good Old Boys and 1977's Little Criminals. - Billboard, 10/17/24...... Village People co-founder Victor Willis says he will not be taking legal action against the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump after Trump has continued to play the group's 1979 hit "Y.M.C.A." despite his objections. "I have been inundated with hundreds of complaints from the public and press about Donald Trump and his campaign's use of my song," Willis recently told Billboard. "Me, and the Village People as well, have in the past opposed Trump's use of 'Y.M.C.A.' and we have made this very clear to him," says Willis, who is the song's lyricist and one of the owners of the song's copyright. "Some fans are demanding that I sue. I am not going to sue the President over his use of 'Y.M.C.A.' because it's stupid and just plain hateful," Willis added. "Though I don't dislike Trump, I am a registered Democrat who supports Kamala Harris for President." He added that Harris is also free to play the song if she wants to. RNC spokesperson Taylor Rogers noted that the Trump campaign has the appropriate licenses from performing rights organizations BMI and ASCAP to play "Y.M.C.A." and other music heard at Trump's town hall event in Oaks, Pa. on Oct. 14 during which Trump halted the planned Q&A session to cue up a playlist of his favorite songs. Trump has accrued a long list of artists who have objected to his use of their songs at his events, including Beyoncé, Foo Fighters, Jack White, Adele, Celine Dion, Earth, Wind & Fire, Neil Young, Ozzy Osbourne, R.E.M. and the estates of George Harrison, Isaac Hayes and Prince. - Billboard, 10/16/24...... The Eagles have added four more dates in March 2025 to their ongoing residency at Las Vegas' Sphere. The legendary country-rock band will play the mind-bending venue on Mar. 7, 8, 14 and 15, after their previously announced gigs in October, November, December, January and February. The full list of Eagles dates can be viewed on Instagram. - Billboard, 10/16/24...... Ozzy Osbourne is expressing his "shock" over the shooting of his former guitarist Jake E. Lee, calling it "another senseless act of gun violence." Lee was shot multiple times in Las Vegas on Oct. 15, and a rep for the musician says he is expected to make a "full recovery." Local authorities are currently investigating the shooting and said they believe that is was "completely random. Lee performed in Osbourne's solo band between 1982 and 1987, contributing to his albums Bark At The Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986). He also joined the Prince Of Darkness on numerous tours. Speaking to TMZ.com, Osbourne explained: "It's been 37 years since I've seen Jake E. Lee, but that still doesn't take away from the shock of hearing what happened to him today. It's just another senseless act of gun violence. I send my thoughts to him and his beautiful daughter, Jade. I just hope he'll be OK." - NME, 10/16/24...... Juicy tidbits from Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen's upcoming memoir Brothers include Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Cornell and Joe Satriani almost becoming members of VH, and why the band's plans to reunite with vocalist David Lee Roth fell through. Alex says he and late brother Eddie Van Halen had met Ozzy with wife and manager Sharon Osbourne in 2001 to lay out plans for him to record an album with the band, however, Ozzy became entangled with MTV to launch The Osbournes, the reality show about the family that became a smash hit upon its debut in 2002, and couldn't follow through with joining VH. After the death of Eddie, Alex says he brought to Roth the idea to pay tribute to Eddie during each gig on a VH tour. "I said, 'Dave, at some point, we have to have a very overt -- not a bowing -- but an acknowledgment of Ed in the gig. If you look at how Queen does it, they show old footage.'" he recalls. "And the moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave f---in' popped a fuse. The vitriol that came out was unbelievable." This moment was "the thing that broke the camel's back," Alex adds. "'You talk to me like that, motherf---er, I'm gonna beat your f----ing brains out. You got it?'" he recalls how he felt towards Roth. "And I mean that. And that's how it ended." Brothers is set for an Oct. 22 release via HarperCollins. - NME, 10/15/24...... In a new interview with the UK's Uncut magazine, Queen drummer Roger Taylor hints that the band may release their first album of new material almost 30 years after their last. "Brian [May] and myself were talking the other day, and we both said that if we feel we have some good material, why not? We can still play. We can still sing. So I don't see why not." Since the death of frontman Freddie Mercury in 1991 and the posthumous release of the Queen album Made in Heaven in 1995, surviving band members May, 77, and Taylor, 75, have continued to tour as the band -- with American singer Adam Lambert providing lead vocals. - Music-News.com, 10/15/24...... Authorities in the UK have upgraded the 1977 ABBA film ABBA: The Movie to PG for its commentary about group member Agnetha Faltskog's bottom. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has changed the film's rating from a U to a PG because of its "mild sex references" and "language." The mockumentary follows a fictional radio DJ as he tries to get an interview with the quartet -- which also includes Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad -- during the band's 1977 sellout tour of Australia. Among the scenes highlighted by the BBFC are two sequences when members of the band express "rueful amusement" about the press's preoccupation with Faltskog's bottom, two years after she won the "Rear of the Year" award. The board said some people might find the language "discriminatory." It has produced new parental guidance for the film 47 years after its release, drawing attention to the use of the words "bloody," "God" and "hell" as well as an excerpt from the Swedish band's song "When I Kissed The Teacher." The board also highlighted a conversation between band members when they referred to press reports about them ordering a "kinky velvet bed." Parents are alerted to cigarette smoking in the film and a conversation when band members tell a reporter they don't use drugs. - Music-News.com, 10/13/24...... Alice Cooper has told the UK paper The Metro that he didn't expect to be performing after he turned 30 years old, but he's "still having fun." Asked if he is surprised by his longevity, Alice told the paper's "Sixty Seconds" column: "You can ask Mick Jagger that too, and Keith Richards! We never thought we would even reach the age of 30. That was the age we all thought we would retire. I had no idea that 46 years later I would still be doing this and still having fun. It's amazing my energy level has maintained. I can't explain it except for the fact that I got sober 41 years ago." Cooper added: "I've always stayed slim, I never got overweight. I can still wear clothes that I wore in high school. I don't really have to watch my diet, I just don't eat very much." The legendary shock-rocker added that he has no intention of calling time on a career that has spanned more than 60 years any time soon. Alice explained: "I've always said I'll retire when I physically can't do it anymore, or when the audience doesn't show up. That right there tells you you're done if nobody is showing up. We've sold out every show, pretty much. Why would you retire from something that you love doing? I genuinely still get off on it." Cooper is currently on the road again with Rob Zombie on their "Freaks on Parade" tour. - NME, 10/11/24...... In the wake of John Amos's death on Aug. 21 at age 84, Amos's family and and friends are still fighting over the Good Times star. A group of loved ones including his daughter Shannon Amos, 58 -- who accused her brother K.C., 54, of elder abuse in 2023 -- claimed in a statement on social media that K.C., Eugune Brummet and John's longtime publicist Belinda Foster prevented access to the actor before he died. "We were deeply concerned that our father may have been neglected and isolated during his final days," they said, while revealing that they learned of his death 45 days later when the news was made public on Oct. 1. Foster claims it was John's wish to delay the announcement of his death and pointed to an appearance he filmed for Suits L.A. prior to his death, medical professionals who deemed John "mentally sound" and his media interviews as evidence of his "state of mind." - People, 10/21/24...... Former The Police frontman and '80s/'90s solo star Sting made a surprise appearance at the funeral of Robert F. Kennedy's widow Ethel Kennedy at the Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle in Washington, DC, on Oct. 17. Following a eulogy by former Pres. Bill Clinton, Sting, guitar in hand, performed a rendition of this emotional 1987 hit "Fragile." "We have a surprise that's not on the program, but we are incredibly grateful and honoured to have a singer who my grandmother loved," Ethel Kennedy's grandson Joe Kennedy III told the funeral attendees. Pres. Joe Biden, who spoke at the end of the service, became visibly emotional while listening to the song. Joe Kennedy later told the audience he was "honored to announce one final surprise" before Biden's eulogy, introducing Stevie Wonder as a "dear friend of my grandfather and grandmother." The Motown legend sang The Lord's Prayer before going into a special rendition of "Isn't She Lovely," inserting Ethel's name into the song and calling for the audience to sing along while he played the harmonica. Ethel Kennedy died at 96 years old on Oct. 10. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in June 1968 while he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination. - Music-News.com, 10/17/24...... Mitzi Gaynor, the effervescent peformer was known for appearing in Hollywood musicals including There's No Business Like Show Business and Anything Goes alongside Bing Crosby, died on Oct. 17. She was 93 years old. Ms. Gaynor's managers announced her death in an Instagram post, noting that she "passed away peacefully" of natural causes. "For eight decades she entertained audiences in films, on television and on the stage," read the announcement. "She truly enjoyed every moment of her professional career and the great privilege of being an entertainer." Ms. Gaynor, born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber in Chicago on Sept. 4, 1931, was best known for her run of starring roles in a series of 1950s movie musicals, including 1954's There's No Business Like Show Business, 1956's Anything Goes and 1957's Les Girls. Born to a violinist father and dancer mother, Ms. Gaynor got an early start on her career when her family moved from Detroit to Los Angeles when she was 11-years-old, leading to her landing a spot as a singer/dancer in the Los Angeles Civil Light Opera two years later. By 17, she signed a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, making her film debut in 1950's My Blue Heaven, where she starred alongside Betty Grable. By the next year she landed her first starring role in the musical western Golden Girl, where she played a character based on early 20th century actress Lotta Crabtree. Her first big screen success came in 1952 with the musical Bloodhounds of Broadway -- based on a Damon Runyon story -- which kicked off nearly a decade of starring roles that showcased her versatility and winning, shining personality, which manifested in film with a mix of innocence and sex appeal. Her winning streak continued with top billing in the WWII romantic musical South Pacific, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for best motion picture actress - comedy/musical for her exuberant performances of "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair" and "Some Enchanted Evening." She appeared in a handful of other movies over the next few years, including 1963's For Love or Money with Kirk Douglas, Gig Young and Julie Newmar, before pivoting to a successful run as the hots of a series of TV specials. Ms. Gaynor also famously performed between the two sets by the Beatles on a Feb. 16, 1964 episode of The Ed Sullivan Show, singing a 13-minute medley of "Too Darn Hot" along with "The More I See You," "Birth of the Blues" and "When the Saints Go Marching In." The episode from the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach aired a week after Sullivan legendarily introduced the Fab Four to American audiences in one of the most-watched TV moments of all time. The statement announcing Ms. Gaynor's death and some of her career highlights can be viewed on Instagram. - Billboard, 10/17/24.

Sunday, October 13, 2024

Barbra Streisand is among the top contenders for a Grammy for best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording category for the audiobook of her long-awaited memoir, My Name Is Barbra. That was also the title of her first TV special in 1965, for which she won a Primetime Emmy (outstanding individual achievements in entertainment -- actors and performers), and a companion album for which she won a Grammy (best vocal performance, female). My Name Is Barbra isn't the only case where a music star repurposed one of their old titles. Former The Doobie Brothers member Michael McDonald is entered with his audiobook What a Fool Believes, which he titled after Doobies' classic, which won Grammys for record and song of the year in 1979. Dolly Parton's audiobook Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones could also receive a Grammy nod. The country queen was nominated in at least one category in 36 of the Grammys' first 66 years, a remarkable show of sustained voter appeal. She has been nominated in each of the last five years. But she has yet to be nominated in this category. The Recording Academy will announce its list of nominations for the 2025 Grammy Awards on Nov. 8, and the 2025 Grammys take place on Feb. 2 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. - Billboard, 10/10/24...... Just a week after Bruce Springsteen released a video supporting the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket of Vice-Pres. Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, two more major Seventies pop/rock stars have added their names to the growing list of musicians supporting the Harris/Walz ticket. Writing on his Neil Young Archives site on Oct. 11, Neil Young officially came out in support of Harris for the next president, describing her as "an honest, forthright truth teller." "She is an honest forthright truth teller who is experienced in the White House, free from ambiguity or evasiveness, who goes straight to the point," Young wrote. "Clear headed, young enough to hold the office for a couple of bright future terms, Kamala Harris is a good person who is unafraid to take on criminals and uphold the law of the USA. She's my candidate for the future of this great country." Young added he believes Harris "will take on the billionaire class and make them pay their share of taxes. She will not owe them any favors. She is a kind, considerate American." In August, Young granted Harris' running-mate Walz permission to use his song "Rockin' In The Free World" on the campaign trail, after having sued former president and Republican contender Donald Trump for his use of it. Meanwhile, Stevie Wonder has "re-endorsed" the Harris campaign in a new political ad with Oscar-winning director Spike Lee. The video, which was shared by Harris on X/Twitter on Oct. 11, sees the Motown legend, 25-time Grammy winner and 1989 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee discussing his friendship with her in a conversation with Lee. "I was excited about Kamala years before people knew who she was," Wonder says. "I'm very happy for the future. I'm very happy because I know and believe that she will be the next president of these United States. Not to make you guys feel bad, but it takes a woman. But not just any woman, a wonderful woman. And she has done the work consistently." Wonder previously endorsed Harris at the Democratic National Convention back in August. Upon taking to the stage on the DNC's third night, he told the crowd: "We must keep on keeping on until we are truly a united people of these United States and then we will reach a higher ground," before performing his 1973 hit "Higher Ground." - New Musical Express, 10/12/24...... Accepting a Legacy Award at the 2024 Attitude Awards in London on Oct. 9, Elton John mocked multi-billionaire Elon Musk. Taking to the stage to accept his trophy from awards sponsored by the British gay lifestyle mag Attitude, Sir Elton said he was "honored" by the award, and also used his acceptance speech to recall how he "loves being gay." "It's been a long journey for me, with lots of ups and downs, and finally, peace of mind," he began. "Music saved me - when I was happy, and when I was miserable." Recalling how he went on to create his non-profit organization, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, he said that he was inspired after watching "everyone else march and do so much for people who were being ignored in the USA and around the world." John added that "I'm so happy to be a gay man." "I love my husband, my children -- I have benefits as a gay man I never thought I'd be able to have. It's been the most incredible success," he added. "We're very lucky to live in a country that gives us the rights we have. But there are still people who don't have those rights, and I intend to fight for those rights until the day I die." After being presented the trophy -- which comes in the shape of the letter 'A' -- Sir Elton concluded: "Is this the award? What does 'A' stand for? 'Arsehole' comes to mind but let's not talk about Elon Musk tonight - let's have a good time!" While he didn't elaborate more on why he feels that way about Musk, the comments do come after the Rocket Man announced that he was quitting Twitter in 2022, shortly after Musk's takeover of the platform. In his announcement, he cited changes in the social media platform's policy allowing "misinformation to flourish unchecked," as his reason for the departure. After Musk bought the company, a spike in hate speech on the site was reported. - NME, 10/10/24...... The estate of '70s R&B icon Barry White has filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court claiming that a prominent sample at the heart of Future and Metro Boomin's chart-topping hit "Like That" infringes the copyright to a 1973 song by White -- but they aren't accusing the stars of any wrongdoing. White's estate is claiming that a 1986 hip-hop song called "Everlasting Bass" by the duo Rodney-O (Rodney Oliver) & Joe Cooley stole key elements from White's 1973 song "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby." Attorneys for the White estate say they waited nearly four decades to sue over the song because it was "released prior to the internet and was not widely distributed," leaving the estate "unaware of the song when it was first released." However they certainly became aware when the song was heavily sampled in "Like That," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year -- so prominently that Future and Metro Boomin credited Rodney-O & Joe Cooley as co-writers. By using an infringing sample, the lawsuit claims that "Like That" also infringes White's copyrights: "'Like That' copies substantial elements of 'I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Babe' and including but not limited to the iconic, immediately recognizable bass line," the estate wrote in its complaint. But crucially, the White estate isn't accusing Future, Metro Boomin or co-creator Kendrick Lamar of any legal wrongdoing. The lawsuit pins the blame solely on Rodney-O & Joe Cooley, saying they agreed to defend the stars against such accusations when they cleared the sample. White's "Gonna Love You" is one of the legendary singer's top commercial hits, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1973 and ultimately spending 18 weeks on the chart. - Billboard, 10/9/24...... Retired KISS principal Gene Simmons is being slammed on social media for what some dub his "creepy" remarks during his judging stint on the Oct. 8 "Hair Metal Night" installment of ABC's Dancing With The Stars. Some viewers said Simmons treated the female dancers as if they were in a beauty pageant, pointing to Simmons saying he couldn't decide which of the contestants Amendola and pro dancer Witney Carson was more "hot hot hot," and 24-year-old actress Chandler Kinney (Pretty Little Liars) that she "fogged up my glasses" and that she "moved me -- not just with your gyrations, but with your beautiful face." "ABC needs to issue an apology after having Gene Simmons on there and subjecting their cast to that... Why didn't a producer tell him to knock it off," wrote one X user, while another joked, "Gene Simmons comments about the ladies are giving the energy of the gross uncle who corners you at the reunion." Well known for speaking his mind on all manner of subjects, Simmons has been called out before for his thoughts on the opposite sex, including over a passage in his 2017 book, On Power, in which he wrote that "leveraging sexuality is still the fastest route to the top for women." - Billboard, 10/9/24...... After dropping on Oct. 8, Lisa Marie Presley's posthumous memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown is the No. 1 bestseller in Amazon.com's "love and loss" category, and even became an Oprah's Book Club pick. Readers have rated the memoir 4.8 stars, describing it as a "heartbreaking" read that was a "labor of love." Before Lisa Marie's death in 2023, she had one last request for her daughter Riley Keough: to finish her memoir. According to the official description, Keough used tapes recorded by her mother to complete the memoir. As the only daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, the late 54-year-old Lisa Marie lived a riveting life, which is retold by not only her, but the Daisy Jones & The Six actress Keough as well. Keough wrote a letter that opens the book and provides a touch of her own perspective, including her thoughts and process on "faithfully" completing her mother's memoir. Among the sensational revelations in the book is that Lisa Marie was so overcome with grief following the death of her son Benjamin Keough that she kept his body packed in dry ice in her home for two months. "My mom had my brother in the house with us instead of keeping him at the morgue," Keough wrote in the book. "They told us that if we could tend to the body, we could have him at home, so she kept him in our house for a while on dry ice." Keough said that it was important for her mother to have proper time to say goodbye to her son, who died by suicide in 2020. "The same way she'd done with her dad. And I would go and sit there with him," she said, noting that California doesn't have any laws that mandate exactly when a body needs to be buried or disposed of. Both Lisa Marie and her son are buried at Graceland, where Elvis is also interred. - Billboard, 10/9/24...... Bruce Springsteen's new touring documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, will become the latest rock doc to be showcased in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Screening Series when the movie will be shown at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan on Oct. 15, followed by a screening at the David Geffen Theater at the Motion Picture Academy in Los Angeles on Oct. 21. Both showings -- which are private, and invite-only -- will be followed by a conversation with Springsteen, his longtime manager/producer Jon Landau and the movie's director, Thom Zimny in a chat moderated by RRHOF chairman John Sykes. The screening series that launched in 2023 to showcase the best in music films and documentaries will preview the Springsteen film before it debuts on Hulu and Disney+ on Oct. 25. "Bruce Springsteen is one of the great artists and storytellers of our time," said Sykes in a statement. "With this film, we hear firsthand from Bruce about how music has shaped his life and learn the story behind how his legendary E Street Band continues to redefine the live music experience for over five decades." Road Diary had its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, where the director talked about the film chronicling the band's preparation for their 2023-2024 world trek. Meanwhile, the E Street Band's global trek will keep rolling on Oct. 31 when it hits the Bell Centre in Montreal. - Billboard, 10/8/24...... To mark the 60th year of the formation of The Doors back in 1965, the band is planning releases of some key archival material, a new book, and more. On Nov. 22, a limited edition (3,000 copies) audiophile vinyl box set The Doors 1967-1971 that houses the band's six studio albums the band released during late frontman Jim Morrison's lifetime. A week later, for Record Store Black Friday, Rhino High Fidelity will release a four-disc remastered vinyl edition of Live in Detroit, taken from a May 8, 1970, concert at the city's famed Cobo Arena. The 25-song set is the longest concert the Doors ever performed, according to current band manager Jeff Jampol of JAM Inc. Following those recordings, in early 2025, will be Night Divides the Day, a 344-page book from Britain's Genesis Publications that includes new interviews with drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger, archival material from Morrison and the late keyboardist Ray Manzarek, commentary from other colleagues, friends and admirers, a treasure trove of photos, and a foreword by Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic. The 2,000 numbered box sets will be signed by Krieger and Densmore and come with rare demo recordings of "Hello, I Love You" and "Moonlight Drive" on a 7-inch vinyl disc. Jeff Jampol says these are only the beginning of the Doors' 60th festivities. "Here we are 60 years later talking about them, and they're just as relevant and the music is more relevant than ever, and the message," Jampol, who also represents the Morrison estate, says. "I want to preserve it because I think it's relevant for new generations. We're trying to do two things here. We want to do interesting things and fun things for Doors fans, who are great 'cause they've always been here with us and they'll support whatever it is we're doing, and they're excellent passers-on of the baton. Then we also want to expose the Doors to people who are not as familiar and this group of potential new fans, which is thousands of times larger. So we're trying to serve those two distinct fan bases." Other 60th anniversary plans for 2025 are still being finalized, including museum exhibitions and art installations and possibly additional archival releases. Densmore -- who played with Krieger during February of 2016 in Los Angeles for a "Stand Up to Cancer" benefit on what would have been Manzarek's 77th birthday -- says he'd also like to see some sort of performance be part of the celebration. "The Doors 60th at the Hollywood Bowl would be quite wonderful," Densmore says of the venue where the group recorded and filmed a concert during July 1968 (and returned in 1972, after Morrison's death in 1971). "Willie Nelson did his 90th birthday at the Bowl, so it'd be wonderful to have something like that -- me and Robby would play a little bit here and there, and there'd hopefully be lots of wonderful artists that would show up for that. I'd love to see something like that happen." - Billboard, 10/8/24...... Johnny Neel, a songwriter and former member of the Allman Brothers Band and the Dickey Betts Band, has died at age 70 of as yet undisclosed causes. One of his former bandmates, Warren Haynes, confirmed the news of Neel's death in a heartfelt post on Facebook. "Aside from being an amazing musician and singer, Johnny was one of the funniest people on the planet -- a true character... There was always music in his head. It was his savior. Whenever we were writing together, he was an endless fountain of ideas, and the same on stage or in the studio.... we had a lot of fun times and created a lot of beautiful memories. Hence the stories. Johnny's music and his legend will live on forever. Miss you Neely." Born on June 11, 1954 in Wilmington, Delaware, Neel joined the ABB on keyboards and harmonica in 1989 and worked with the group on the 1990 album, Seven Turns, on which he co-write four songs including the hit single "Good Clean Fun." He also co-wrote "Maydell" from the group's final album, 2003's Hittin' the Note. - Billboard, 10/8/24...... Cissy Houston, a Gospel music legend and the mother of Whitney Houston, died on Oct. 7 while under hospice care for Alzheimer's disease. She was 91. Cissy Houston -- born Emily Drinkard -- began her musical career in 1938 as part of the vocal group the Drinkard Four alongside her sister Anne and brothers Larry and Nicky. She then formed a group called The Sweet Inspirations in 1963 with her niece Dee Dee Warwick. The Sweet Inspirations later provided backing vocals for the likes of Dionne Warwick (also Cissy's niece), Otis Redding, recorded on tracks like Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl," Jimi Hendrix's "Burning of the Midnight Lamp," Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way," and in 1969 backed Elvis Presley during his Las Vegas residencies. Rebranding herself Cissy Houston and venturing into a solo career in 1970, Ms. Houston quickly grew to be a prominent name in gospel music, but would also lend her voice to R&B, soul and disco projects. She won two Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album; once in 1997 and again in 1999. She also recording backing vocals for the likes of Chaka Khan, Paul Simon, Beyoncé and more. She would also provide live backing vocals for her superstar singing daughter Whitney for a short period of time, and had appeared in several of Whitney's music videos and films. Following Whitney's death in 2012, Cissy released a memoir in which she revealed new information about her late daughter's substance abuse issues and that she was "angry she died alone." "Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives," her daughter Pat Houston said in a statement. "A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared greatly about family, ministry, and community. Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts." - NME, 10/8/24.

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Dolly Parton announced on Oct. 4 that she's donating a total of $2 million to aid relief efforts for the recent Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of her native east Tennessee along with Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The Country Music Hall of Famer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee apeared at a press conference at a Walmart parking lot in Newport, Tenn. to reveal she's donating $1 million of her own money, and add another $1 million for relief efforts through her various business enterprises, such as Dollywood and Dolly Parton's Stampede. "I'm sure a lot of you wondering where I've been," Parton, 78, said during the event. "Everybody's saying, 'Where's Dolly?' Well, I've been like everybody else trying to absorb everything going on, trying to figure out all the best ways to do this." She added, "I look around and I think, 'These are my mountains, these are my valleys, these are my riversthese are my people, and this is my homeI just want you to know, I am totally with you, I am part of you, I love you." Also appearing at the event was Walmart president/CEO John Furner, who pledged his corporation's charity foundation would add upwards of $10 million toward relief efforts. Parton has previously donated millions to help relieve flooding in Middle Tennessee in 2021, COVID vaccine research at Vanderbilt University on 2020, and wildfire relief in east Tennessee in 2016. - Billboard, 10/4/24...... Paul Simon took to Instagram on Oct. 7 to update fans about his near-total hearing loss condition in his left ear, which he first revealed in 2023. The veteran singer-songwriter said he hadn't "accepted" his hearing loss but was in the process of finding a new solution which would help him return to the stage, but that he's now "optimistic" about a live return. In another interview with The Guardian, he explained that he is "hoping to eventually be able to do a full-length concert" and is "optimistic" after performing seven songs with two guitarists at a fundraiser for the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss, his longest performance in five years. However, he did say that "six months ago I was pessimistic" and that it was a "scary, frustrating" feeling to lose his hearing. In 2023, the "Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover" singer revealed that he had suddenly lost the majority of his hearing in his left ear while recording his 15th studio LP Seven Psalms. In 2018, Simon embarked on his "Farewell" tour and played what was billed as his final concert at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, N.Y. Reflecting on the show in the same interview, the musician shared that it was "an act of courage to let go" and went on to describe the "natural end" of performing as "a little unsettling, a touch exhilarating and something of a relief." - New Musical Express, 10/7/24...... During a recent reader interview in The Guardian, David Gilmour swore that he'll never work with his former Pink Floyd bandmate Roger Waters again, saying he avoids people who "support genocidal and autocratic dictators." Asked by a fan if he'd ever perform again on stage with Waters, Gilmour said "absolutely not." Then, in a pointed attack seemingly aimed at some of Waters' more controversial comments in recent years about the war in Ukraine and his seeming support of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and authoritarian Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, Gilmour took aim at the bassist/singer. Waters has frequently stirred controversy with his political views about Israel and the war in Ukraine. His comments about the government of Israel led to his record company, BMG, dropping the Floyd co-founder and solo performer earlier in 2023 after Berlin police opened an "incitement to public hatred" investigation into the musician, who had scheduled a concert in the German capital, over Holocaust victim Anne Frank imagery, also wearing a costume resembling the Nazi SS soldier uniform. Water denied the claims, writing on X, writing "The elements of my performance that have been questioned are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice, and bigotry in all its forms. Attempts to portray those elements as something else are disingenuous and politically motivated." Gilmour and Waters have been at odds since the bassist split with the group in 1984, trading barbs in the press as Waters continues to tour and perform Floyd music alongside his solo material, while the Gilmour-led Floyd ceased touring in 1994. - Billboard, 10/4/24...... In related news, former Roxy Music member and veteran producer Brian Eno shared an open letter on Instagram on Oct. 7 imploring the International Criminal Court to "exercise the mandate it has been given to prosecute war crimes" against Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas terrorists, who attacked the country one year ago. Eno and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis wrote that the ongoing military campaign from Israel "amounts to a well-planned, fully-fledged genocide." According to Reuters, Palestinian health authorities have said Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 people. The attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 killed over 1,200 people. "Israel retaliated with overwhelming military force," Eno continued. "A year on the carnage continues, resulting in at least 50 thousand Palestinian deaths so far, and no sign of an end... If this is allowed to happen without any serious reaction from the rest of the world we will have sacrificed any right to the moral high ground and given the nod to any other state that wants to behave in a similar fashion. So, in the following letter we are appealing to the International Criminal Court to exercise the mandate it has been given to prosecute war crimes." Eno has been a vocal force amid the ongoing atrocities, and joined forces with Nadine Shah, Maxine Peake and more in performing at a special benefit event in support of Palestine at London's Union Chapel in April, with all proceeds going to Amos Trust's emergency appeal for Gaza. - NME, 10/7/24...... It's not exactly a shocker, but Bruce Springsteen endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Vice Pres. Kamala Harris in an Instagram post on Oct. 3. "We are shortly coming up on one of the most consequential elections in our nation's history," he explains in the video, in which the liberal "Born in the U.S.A." star is seen at the bar of what appears to be a diner. "Perhaps not since the Civil War has this great country felt as politically, emotionally and spiritually divided as it does at this moment. It doesn't have to be this way. The common values, the shared stories that make this a great and united nation are waiting to be rediscovered and retold once again. That will take time, hard work, intelligence, faith and women and men with the national good guiding their hearts." He continued that what makes America "great" are values that Harris believes in -- "freedom, social justice, equal opportunity, the right to be in love with who you want," he shared, before adding that Donald Trump "is the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime." He concluded by noting that his right to vote is "one of the most precious possessions I have," and that he respects everyone's "choices" as a fellow American citizen. The Boss's endorsement was praised by Harris' VP running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. "Wow. As a lifelong fan of The Boss, I couldn't be more honored to have his support," Walz wrote on X the following day along with a repost of Springsteen's plainspoken video. Springsteen is among a long list of A-list stars who've lined up to support the Harris/Walz campaign, joining Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, Lil Nas X, Barbra Streisand, Ariana Grande, Stevie Nicks, Cardi B, Katy Perry and many more. - Billboard, 10/3/24...... During the 2024 Harvest Moon benefit gig in Lake Hughes, Calif. on Oct. 5, Neil Young and Stephen Stills joined forces to perform their song "Hung Upside Down" for the first time in 57 years. To start the collaboration, the two former Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and Buffalo Springfield bandmates broke out a rendition of the title track from their collaborative 1976 album Long May You Run, before continuing with "Human Highway." The latter was originally meant to be released as part of CSNY's Deja Vu album, but instead was released on Young's 1978 solo LP Comes A Time. From there, the two turned heads by playing the Buffalo Springfield song "Hung Upside Down" for the first time in 57 years. Originally released in 1967, the song hadn't been played live since Buffalo Springfield's heyday. "The worst four words you can hear in a live performance are 'here's a new song'. But this is actually a new version of an old song that took two centuries to write. It's called 'Hung Upside Down'," Stills said before the rendition. Other tracks the two performed together included "Helplessly Hoping," "Helpless," "Field Of Opportunity," "Love The One You're With" and more. The event helped to raise funds for the Bridge School and the Painted Turtle Camp. The former is a non-profit organisation for children with severe speech and physical impairments, while the latter was formed by Paul Newman, and looks to give opportunities to children who are faced with life-threatening and chronic illnesses. The appearance with Stills came as the two reunited in 2023 to pay tribute to late bandmate David Crosby. It marked their first on-stage appearance together in four years. - NME, 10/7/24...... As the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame prepares for its class of 2024 induction ceremony on Oct. 19, the Cleveland-based hall and museum revealed on Instagram on Oct. 4 that Ozzy Osbourne's solo career induction will feature the likes of Jelly Roll, Jack Black, Billy Idol, Wolfgang Van Halen and Zakk Wylde. "I don't know what to think. I'm still in shock that I'm getting inducted for a second time," Ozzy, who was previously enshrined with Black Sabbath in 2006, told Rolling Stone. Ozzy said having the country singer Jelly Roll on board makes perfect sense. "Who doesn't love Jelly Roll?," Ozzy said. "His voice is soulful, pure, and dirty. I'm so honored that someone would do this for me who I've never had the pleasure of meeting." it is unknown if Osborne -- who retired from touring in 2023 following a series of serious health issues over the past few years -- will perform at the event that will also feature the inductions of Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Peter Frampton and Kool & the Gang. The 2024 RRHOF induction ceremony will livestream on Disney+ on Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. ET. ABC will air a primetime special featuring the evening's biggest moments on Jan. 1, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET, which will be available on Disney+ and Hulu on Jan. 2. Meanwhile, Osbourne admitted that he is "not completely sober" and has been "tempted" to use "stronger drugs" due to his ongoing health issues" in a recent appearance on the Madhouse Chronicles Podcast. His full interview can be streamed on YouTube. - Billboard, 10/4/24...... Elvis Costello has announced a new boxset reissue of his 1986 album King Of America. The record, and this expanded deluxe version, is a celebration of Costello's love of American music, and was originally recorded with producer and Americana legend T Bone Burnett. It will feature a total of 97 tracks and a 35-page essay written by Costello, illustrated with never-before-seen photographs from Costello's tours from the era. The 57-page booklet will also be housed in a 12" x 11.5" package, complete with cover art by Terence Donovan. In conjunction with the boxset, Costello has shared a cover of the new release's track "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line," a 1968 track originally recorded by Waylon Jennings, on YouTube. The recording was captured live at the Royal Albert Hall in London when Costello played a six-date residency at the venue in early 1987. Recorded with backing band The Confederates, it has never been made available before. The full 1987 Royal Albert Hall concert is included in the boxset, as is a disc of demos and three discs of albums from throughout Costello's career that are also inspired by traditional American music. - NME, 10/5/24...... Streams of Kris Kristofferson songs have skyrocketed nearly 2,300% following the death of the beloved country legend on Sept. 28 at age 88. Kristofferson's official on-demand U.S. streams reached nearly 1.9 million in total for his catalog on Sept. 30, a jump of 2,292% from the 79,000 total his discography had amassed the prior Monday (Sept. 23), according to Luminate. A big chunk of that number of course went to "Why Me," Kristofferson's lone No. 1 hit on Billboard's Country Airplay chart and his biggest crossover hit (No. 16) on the Billboard Hot 100, with the song rising 1,442% over the same timespan. Meanwhile, The Highwaymen -- the outlaw country supergroup which counted Kristofferson among its members -- also saw a serious spike in listening, gaining 229% to 725,000 streams. And though they were performed by other artists, a couple of the most famous hits he wrote also saw more modest gains: Janis Joplin's Hot 100-topping "Me and Bobby McGee" was up 19% to 110,000 streams, and Sammi Smith's "Help Me Make It Through the Night" was up 56% to 11,000 streams. - Billboard, 10/3/24...... Paul McCartney debuted a live performance of what has been billed as the "final" Beatles song during the kickoff of his marathon South American leg of his Got Back tour in in Montevideo, Uruguay on Oct. 1. Sitting at a piano as the AI-assisted Peter Jackson-directed video for the song unspooled behind him, McCartney, 82, crooned the melancholy ballad whose wistful chorus found him singing, "Now and then/ I miss you/ Oh, now and then/ I want you to be there for me/ Always to return to me." According to Setlist.fm, McCartney's sprawling 37-song, nearly three-hour setlist at Estadio Centenario included a mix of Beatles classics ("A Hard Day's Night," "Getting Better," "Blackbird," "Something," "Helter Skelter") and Wings hits ("Junior's Farm," "Let Me Roll It," "Let 'Em In," "Jet"). "Now and Then" debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in Nov. 2023, marking the group's historic 35th top 10 entry. The song was billed as the last-ever song by the group that split in 1970. It was first recorded as a demo in 1977 by the late John Lennon and was originally slated to appear on one of the editions of the band's Anthology series before being shelved due to the poor quality of the original recording. Fan shot footage of the performance can be viewed on YouTube. In other Beatles-related news, a 60th anniversary vinyl reissue of the Fab Four's 1964 A Hard Day's Night LP has been announced for Oct. 19 in celebration of National Album Day. It will come in the form of a limited edition 180g white pressing. Released as the Beatles' third studio album, A Hard Day's Night also served as a partial soundtrack to the band's first film of the same name and includes its titular track and "Can't Buy Me Love" which both became transatlantic No. 1 singles for the group. In still more Beatles news, a new documentary titled 1964 is coming to Apple TV+ this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the group conquering the United States. The film will reportedly document the band's rapid rise in American culture, including new interviews and archival footage of the band's shows. The news comes after the announcement in September that a new boxset comprised of the US versions of the band's albums in 1964 and 1965 would also be coming out on Nov. 22 via Apple Corps Ltd., Capitol and UMe. The 180-gram audiophile vinyl have been made from the original mono master tapes. - Billboard/NME, 10/3/24...... On Oct. 2 The Eagles announced more dates for their 2024 and 2025 residency at the Las Vegas Sphere. The gigs, which kicked off on Sept. 20, feature ticket prices beginning at $175. Since kicking off its run of concerts on Sept. 29, 2023 with the first of 40 shows by U2, the 18,000-seat immersive venue has drawn rave reviews for its 160,000-square-foot wraparound 16K LED screen and seat-shaking array of more than 1,500 speakers. The full list of Eagles dates can be viewed on Instagram. - Billboard, 10/2/24...... Former Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert is slamming what she calls "apalling" Little House reunion events, claiming organizers misled attendees into believing she was participating when she was not. The cast of the beloved period drama recently announced that they would no longer support or appear at fan events produced by Jack Bishop and Gravel Road Markets, and now Gilbert, who played writer Laura Ingalls Wilder on the series, is tearing into the allegedly mismanaged events. "From what I understand, it became a waking nightmare," Gilbert said of an event in Pennsylvania in a new interview with People magazine. "They ran [out of] food. He oversold tickets. He didn't pay the vendors." Gilbert said that the events were "a shocking affront to the fans of Little House on the Prairie," adding, "If I were the owner of the IP, I would be infuriated because I think it really sheds a terrible light on the brand." Gilbert and more than a dozen of her Little House costars, including Karen Grassle (Caroline Ingalls), Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) and Charlotte Stewart (Miss Beadle), announced on Sept. 6 that they had cut ties with Bishop's company, citing "disappointing events in Connecticut and Pennsylvania." The cast said they asked Bishop to remove their names and likeness from any promotional assets for future events, which were scheduled to take place in Tennessee, South Dakota, Missouri, and Texas. "This decision was not made lightly but with compassion, concern, and great respect for the well-being of our multigenerational fans," they wrote in their statement. Then, on Oct. 1, the cast released another joint statement accusing Bishop of failing to comply with their wishes and "refusing to announce the cancellation" of future Little House events, claiming that Bishop is listing the castless events as "sold out" rather than canceled. "Mr. Bishop appears to be taking advantage of Little House fans by failing to inform them and his ticket vendor, Eventbrite, that the Little House cast has permanently ended our relationship with him," they wrote. "This misrepresentation of event status has likely confused ticket buyers and complicated the process of requesting refunds." With a cast led by former Bonanza actor Michael Landon, Little House on the Prairie debuted on NBC on Sept. 11, 1974, running for nine seasons before wrapping on Mar. 21, 1983. - Entertainment Weekly, 10/5/24.

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Sony Music announced on Oct. 2 that they've bought the recorded music assets, merchandising and name, image and likeness of Pink Floyd for $400 million, however the band's music publishing assets were not a part of the deal. Since the group started shopping its recorded music assets about two years ago, the assets were shopped to all the big players -- BMG, Concord, Primary Wave and other private equity-backed music buyers -- but Sony always had the inside hand on the deal given that it serves as the group's distributor. For a while, the assets were pulled off the block due to some infighting between group members, according to published reports. This deal marks the third big music asset deal Sony has made in the last 12 months, having previously bought 50% of Michael Jackson's music assets in a deal that valued them at $1.205 million; and Queen's music assets for about $1.2 billion. - Billboard, 10/2/24...... To celebrate one of the UK's most innovative and influential bands of the rock and roll era, Britain's Royal Mail revealed on Oct. 3 that a set of 60th anniversary The Who stamps are available for pre-order at www.royalmail.com/thewho and by telephone on 03457-641-641. The eight stamps feature images of some of the band's most popular and iconic album covers: My Generation (1965); Tommy (1969); Who's Next (1971); Quadrophenia (1973); Who Are You (1978); Face Dances (1981); Endless Wire (2006); and WHO (2019). Completing the set is a miniature-sheet featuring two publicity group shots and two images of the band's dynamic live performances at the Marquee Club, London, in 1967 and the Kings Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester, in 1973. Commenting on the honor, frontman Roger Daltrey said: "The artwork on the album sleeves was almost as important to the success of the record as the music. It's great to be reminded of them," while guitarist Pete Townshend said: "Stamp! Stamp! Stamp! It's what I've done on stage all my life, sometimes in the air. At last, my stamping, and that of my buddy Roger, has been honoured properly, and will help letters, parcels and birthday cards travel through time and space, just as we have." The Who become the seventh music group to feature in a dedicated Royal Mail stamp issue -- following on from: The Beatles (2007); Pink Floyd (2016); Queen (2020); The Rolling Stones (2022); Iron Maiden (2023); and The Spice Girls (2024). - Music-News.com, 10/3/24...... A producer who worked on Fleetwood Mac's legendary 1977 album Rumours is suing the creators of the hit Broadway play "Stereophonic," claiming they stole material from his memoir about working on the legendary album. In a lawsuit filed on Oct. 2 in Manhattan federal court, Ken Caillat and co-author Steven Stiefel call the Tony Award-winning show an "unauthorized adaptation" of their 2012 book Making Rumours -- and accuse "Stereophonic" playwright David Adjmi of "flagrant and willful infringement." "'Stereophonic' copies the heart and soul of Making Rumours," attorneys for the two men write in their complaint. "The striking similarity is readily apparent right from the beginning of the show." Featuring the music of Arcade Fire's Will Butler, "Stereophonic" debuted on Broadway last fall, eventually winning five Tony Awards including best play, best direction of a play and best featured actor in a play. Critics quickly noted the similarities to the infamous story of the recording session for Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, which featured high tensions and heavy drug usage. A reviewer for the Wall Street Journal said the play was "fictionalizing Fleetwood Mac"; another critic said the play "isn't literally about Fleetwood Mac, but c'mon." The case presents tricky legal questions. Under U.S. law, historical events cannot be monopolized under copyrights, and nobody can claim exclusive ownership over the real story behind the making of Rumours. But specific creative elements of how such a story is told can be protected by copyrights, and film, TV and stage producers often license non-fiction books as the basis for their works. In their case, Caillat and Stiefel claim that Adjmi copied those exact kinds of creative choices when he created his play: "'Stereophonic''s audience not only sits in the same place that Mr. Caillat sat, but the show also depicts Mr. Caillat's wild ride as it is described in Making Rumours." - Billboard, 10/2/24...... Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton has shared details of his first shows with a new band called Close Enemies. News of the new band comes as Aerosmith confirmed that their days of touring had come to an immediate end, following frontman Steven Tyler seriously injuring his voice at a gig. "Hey, I need to tell you something about a band I'm playing with called Close Enemies. We have a bunch of good songs recorded. We're going to release one soon," Hamilton posted on X/Twitter. "Meanwhile, we're doing a show in Nashville on October 11 in Nashville at a place called Eastside Bowl. Please come!" The rest of the Close Enemies line-up is comprised of drummer Tony Brock (The Babys), singer Chasen Hampton, and guitarists Peter Stroud and Trace Foster. Aerosmith's final ever live show took place at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. in Sept. 2023. It was held as part of their 'Peace Out' tour, which began last year, but only saw the band play three nights, before rescheduling the rest of the dates after Tyler injured his larynx. - NME, 9/30/24...... Frankie Valli has "cleared the air" after viral videos of him at recent shows sparked concern from fans. Footage of the Four Seasons legend, who turned 90 this year, performing during his recent concerts appeared to show him lip-syncing while displaying difficulty keeping up with the music. A series of videos circulated on social media over the weekend, with many expressing concern over his wellbeing. "I love Frankie Valli but this isn't right," one person shared on Twitter, with another calling it "a tough watch." Now the singer has told People magazine that "I get a chuckle from the comments wondering if someone forcing me to go on stage." "I know there has been a lot of stuff on the internet about me lately so I wanted to clear the air," he said. "I am blessed to be 90 years old and still be doing what I love to do and as long as I am able, and audiences want to come see me, I am going to be out there performing as I always. I absolutely love what I do. And I know we put on a great show because our fans are still coming out in force and the show still rocks. How do we do the show?! The Four Seasons sound was always about layering vocals and instruments. We use our 60 years of experience so we sound like the records. I sing, I have singers who sing, great arrangements & everything. I get a chuckle from the comments wondering if someone forcing me to go on stage. Nobody has ever made me do anything I didn't want to do." The "Grease" singer concluded: "I plan to be doing shows as long as I can, delivering that great Four Seasons sound. Like that line in 'Jersey Boys,' I'm like that bunny on TV, that just keeps going and going and going. Chasing the music." In August, a representative for Valli dismissed claims that the singer was having health problems, telling the New York Post: "Frankie is doing just fine and super happy to still be performing. The audiences are filling venues and listening to some great music. Frankie is doing what he loves to do at 90. We should all be so lucky." Valli is still actively touring and has a string of US dates planned throughout the rest of 2024 and into 2025. - NME, 10/1/24...... Speaking at the premiere of his new career-spanning documentary Elton John: Never Too Late on Oct. 1, Elton John joked with the crowd that "To be honest with you, there's not much of me left." "I don't have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix. I don't have a prostate, I don't have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee," the Rocket Man said. "In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. But I'm still here." John went on to credit his fans and his family for his ongoing career, calling them "the people that made me". "I want to thank David, Zachary and Elijah for making me the happiest man in the world," he said. "I found complete and utter happiness and bliss when I met David [Furnish], and when I had my children, our children. And it satisfied me so much. I've never felt happiness like I have now." Elton John: Never Too Late follows the musician as he reflects on his life and 50-year career as he prepared for his final North American stadium show at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium in Nov. 2022, which was also livestreamed on Disney+. The film is due to premiere on Disney+ on Dec. 13 worldwide, and will reportedly "pull back the curtain" on the singer's life, featuring "never-before-seen concert footage of him over the past 50 years, as well as hand-written journals and present-day footage of him and his family." The official trailer for the film can be streamed on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 10/2/24...... Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band announced on Oct. 1 that they've added eight new shows to their previously-rescheduled European jaunt -- including concerts in England, France, Germany and Spain. The newly-confirmed dates kick off May 17 with the first of two nights at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. All told, Springsteen and Co. will play 12 dates on their 2025 run of the U.K. and Europe, including previously-rescheduled shows in Marseille, Prague and Milan, which were initially called off in May on doctor's orders, as the rock legend recovered from "vocal issues." The announcement of new dates follow the world premiere of the Thom Zimny-directed documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which arrives Oct. 25 on Hulu and Disney+. - Billboard, 10/1/24...... Late soul music legend Otis Redding will be honored posthumously with a star the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, Oct. 4, at 11:30 a.m. PT at 6150 Hollywood Blvd. Redding's star is in the category of live theatre/live performance. Five-time Grammy-winning producer (and previous Walk of Fame honoree) Jimmy Jam will emcee the star ceremony. Accepting the award will be the singer's daughter, Karla Redding-Andrews. "The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is honored to dedicate a star to the legendary Otis Redding, whose music continues to inspire generations," Ana Martinez, producer of the Walk of Fame ceremonies, said in a statement. Redding has long been regarded as one of the greatest soul singers in popular music history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 1999. After releasing a slew of hits between 1964 and 1967, Redding played at the Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. But less than six months later, on Dec. 10, 1967, he died in a plane crash in Madison, Wisc. en route to a concert. He was just 26. His deeply moving posthumous single, "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay," shot to No. 1 in early 1968 on the pop and R&B charts. - Billboard, 9/27/24...... Emmylou Harris will receive the ASPCA Henry Bergh Award at the 2024 Humane Awards for her passionate commitment to animal welfare. In 2004, Harris established Bonaparte's Retreat with the goal of rescuing shelter dogs. Bonaparte's Retreat continues to save dogs most in need at Metro Nashville Animal Care and Control and at municipal shelters in surrounding counties. She is also a board member of Crossroads Campus, a nonprofit that transforms lives by creating opportunities for individuals facing poverty and homelessness to care for homeless dogs and cats. Harris has recorded 32 studio albums since her debut on tiny Jubilee Records in 1970, received Billboard's Century Award in 1999, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, and received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2018. She has aalso massed 13 Grammy Awards, including album of the year for her featured role on the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack, and won three CMA Awards, again including album of the year for that Billboard Hot 200-topping soundtrack.- Billboard, 9/30/24...... Following news the death of Kris Kristofferson at the age of 88 on Sept. 28, tributes have poured in from some of the biggest names in the music industry, honoring the legendary songwriter and actor whose influence spanned decades. Barbra Streisand, who co-starred with Kristofferson in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born, spoke of the qualities that made Kristofferson not just a talented performer, but also a deeply respected figure in both music and film. "The first time I saw Kris performing at the Troubadour club in L.A., I knew he was something special," Streisand wrote on Instagram. "Barefoot and strumming his guitar, he seemed like the perfect choice for a script I was developing, which eventually became A Star Is Born." In the film, the duo performed "Evergreen," the love theme that Streisand herself had composed for the movie. The song (with lyrics by Paul Williams) went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, becoming a hallmark of their collaboration. Streisand fondly recalled the magic of their musical partnership: "In the movie, Kris and I sang the song I'd written for the film's main love theme, 'Evergreen.'" Meanwhile Dolly Parton, who also shared a close friendship with Kristofferson, posted "What a great writer. What a great actor. What a great friend. I will always love you." in an Instagram post. Kristofferson and Parton performed duets such as "From Here to the Moon and Back" and "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" over the years. Other country artists posting tributes to Kristofferson include Reba McEntire, Travis Tritt, Eric Church, Roseanne Cash and rock & roller Sammy Hagar, who shared a photo on Facebook of the two fishing together. "heynow old friend. I hope the fishin's good where you're going," Hagar wrote. "we're all gonna miss you. RIP" - Billboard, 9/30/24...... On Sept. 30 Neil Young shared details of a limited edition of his classic 1974 album On the Beach to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Set to arrive on Nov. 8 via Reprise, the new version will come exclusively on a limited edition clear vinyl. It'll be available via the Neil Young Archives, as well as standard music retailers. On The Beach came as the follow-up to Young's chart-topping Harvest album, which was shared two years earlier, and it marked the second entry in his "Ditch Trilogy." It featured collaborations from The Band's Rick Danko and Levon Helm, Crazy Horse's Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina and his longtime CSNY collaborators Graham Nash and David Crosby. "This was Young at his most adventurous, and pointed to several new musical directions for him, yet to be defined," reads a press release, recalling how 'On The Beach' saw the singer-songwriter hit a new milestone in his career. - NME, 9/30/24...... On Sept. 30 Billy Joel announced new UK live shows for next year which will mark his only European tour dates for 2025. The first will be take place at Edinburgh's Scottish Gas Murrayfield on June 7, marking his first time playing in the city for 46 years. The second is scheduled for June 21, when Joel will head to Liverpool's Anfield Stadium to perform his first gig in the city for 45 years. The two exclusive UK shows come just days after the Piano Man took to social media to announce a string of new tour dates across America. Kicking off at the start of the New Year, the run of shows begins with an opening gig in Florida on Jan. 17, and is followed by shows in Indiana, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and many more across the first half of 2025. - NME, 9/30/24...... Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Johnny Van Zant revealed on Sept. 26 that his daughter has been diagnosed with "brain mass" and that four forthcoming Skynyrd shows would not be going ahead as Johnny, 63, would be leaving the tour to be with his daughter following an "emergency illness." Van Zant says his youngest daughter Taylor has been diagnosed with brain mass, an abnormality often associated with a tumour. Johnny said that doctors do not believe the mass is cancerous, but tests are ongoing, he added: "We are not out of the woods yet, but we are in a lot better position than we thought we were in in the beginning." The musician also revealed that his longtime tour bus driver, Brad Gibson, is currently in intensive care following a freak accident on a scooter. Johnny took over frontman and songwriting duties from his late brother, Lynyrd Skynyrd founder, Ronnie Van Zant, when the band was revived in 1987. The elder Van Zant was killed along with two other group members Steve Gaines, and his sister Cassie Gaines, in a plane crash in 1977. - Music-News.com, 9/30/24...... The English post-punk band Gang Of Four have announced their 2025 US farewell tour set to kick off next early next spring. They will be performing their classic 1979 debut album Entertainment! in its entirety as well as a handful of fan favourites and deep cuts from their discography. The tour will commence on Apr. 20 2025 at the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville, Massachusetts. From there, the group will make stops in cities such as Montreal, Toronto, New York, Chicago, Witchita, Seattle, San Francisco and more before wrapping on May 29 2025 at the Music Box in San Diego, Calif. All the farewell tour dates can be viewed in their Instagram post. Elsewhere, Gang Of Four will be releasing a remastered edition of their third album, 1982's Songs of the Free on vinyl. The pressing is set for release on October 25 via Matador Records. - NME, 10/2/24...... Prince's "Purple Rain" house has been listed on the popular rental site Airbnb.com. The singer's former bandmates will allow paying guests to stay at the Minnesota property for the first time, with only 25 one-night stays available. Newly restored, the property features extravagant interiors boasting velvet wallpaper, mirrored ceilings and even a golden toilet, with Prince's former Revolution bandmates Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman explaining they wanted to pay tribute to his 1984 movie, Purple Rain. "Purple Rain is the greatest movie of all time. This is not opinion, this is fact," the women wrote in the property's Airbnb listing. "Now, 40 years after the movie's release, we're bringing it back to life. Not only did we lock down The Kid's unforgettable childhood home, but we also restored the interior to a new level of glory. The whole place is a tribute-nay, a shrine-to both the movie itself and the moment in time that launched Prince into the stratosphere." One night at the Purple Rain house will cost guests just $7 (£5.24). Visitors will also have the opportunity to discover a "secret door" to a hidden "room filled with treasures" in the house, as well as see some of Prince's most famous stage costumes. Prince died in 2016 from a self-administered Fentanyl overdose, with his death ruled an accident by the medical examiner. - Music-News.com, 9/27/24...... Baseball great Pete Rose died of natural causes which stemmed from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease on Sept. 30 at his home in Las Vegas. He was 83. Diabetes also was cited as a contributing factor, according to the findings of the Clark County coroner. Mr. Rose was one of the most controversial figures in baseball for decades. The 17-time all-star holds the major league record for hits with 4,256. He also earned two Gold Gloves and won three World Series championships during his 24-year career, spent mostly with the Cincinnati Reds. However, he was banned from the sport in 1989 for betting on baseball, which made him ineligible for enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame. While he spent years denying the allegations, Rose ultimately owned up to his mistake in 2004, but insisted that he had never bet against his own team. Major League Baseball released a tribute to Rose following his death, but did not mention his ban. "Major League Baseball extends its deepest condolences to Pete Rose's family, his friends across the game, and the fans of his hometown of Cincinnati, Philadelphia and beyond who admired his greatness, grit and determination on the field of play. May he rest in peace," the league said in the statement. Mr. Rose was reportedly in good spirits the day before his death, spending Sunday with fellow members of the Reds' World Series teams from 1975 and 1976. A photo from the Facebook page of the Music City Sports Collectables and Autograph Show showed Rose in a wheelchair along with former teammates Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Tony Perez and Ken Griffey Sr. - Canoe.com, 10/2/24...... It was revealed on Oct. 1 that John Amos, the Emmy-nominated actor who starred as the stoic father on the Norman Lear-developed '70s sitcom Good Times, died Aug. 21 in Los Angeles of natural causes, his son, K.C. Amos, announced. He was 84. "He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold and he was loved the world over. Many fans consider him their TV father," K.C. said in a statement. "He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor." Mr. Amos played football at Colorado State University and had training camp tryouts with the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League, before seeing his showbiz career take off after he landed a gig to play WJN-TV weatherman Gordy Howard on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The New Jersey native received his Emmy nom for portraying Toby, the older version of Kunta Kinte, on the acclaimed 1977 ABC miniseries Roots, and he had a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on NBC's The West Wing. After showing up a dozen times as the good-natured Gordy on the first four seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the barrel-chested Amos was invited to read for the part of James Evans Sr., the husband of Esther Rolle's Florida Evans and father of their three kids, on a new CBS series, Good Times. The 1974-79 show, created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by Norman Lear, was set in an inner-city Chicago apartment located in the projects. It was the first sitcom to center on an African-American family. Amos starred on the show for three seasons, but he soon disapproved of the silly, stereotypical storylines that surrounded their oldest son on the series, J.J. -- played by the comic Jimmie Walker -- and he went public with his criticism, which led to his firing from the landmark sitcom for objecting to stereotypes and admittedly letting his temper get the best of him. "I wasn't the most diplomatic guy in those days, and [the show's producers] got tired of having their lives threatened over jokes," he said in an interview. "So they said, 'Tell you what, why don't we kill him off? We can get on with our lives!' That taught me a lesson -- I wasn't as important as I thought I was to the show or to Norman Lear's plans." Mr. Amos also had a career on the big screen, beginning with Melvin Van Peebles' blaxploitation classic Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971), and he played the manager of a McDonald's-like restaurant who hires an African prince (Eddie Murphy) and his right-hand man (Arsenio Hall) in Coming to America (1988). John Alan Amos Jr. was born on Dec. 27, 1939, in Newark, N.J. His father drove a tractor-trailer and worked as a mechanic, and his mother, Annabelle, was a housekeeper who eventually went back to school and became a nutritionist. At East Orange High School, Mr. Amos drew cartoons and wrote columns for the school newspaper, played a convict in a production of "The Man Who Came to Dinner" and was a star running back. - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/1/24.