As Alice Cooper prepares to release his 27th album, Paranormal, on July 28, the rock legend told the UK's New Musical Express that he "hates politics with a passion" and he has no desire to use it for commentary on the current political climate. "I know people incorporate politics into rock n' roll -- and I think that the antithesis of rock n' roll is politics," Cooper said. "That would be like me singing the Dow Jones report. When my parents would talk about politics I'd go into my room and put The Yardbirds on as loud as I could, because I couldn't care less about it. And now politics and rock n' roll are in bed together." He continued: "I don't know if it's fair for a rock star to tell his fans for who he's voting for. I just don't think that's fair, because he's using his popularity. What he's saying is that his audiences are sheep and they don't have a brain of their own, so I refuse to do that. The only thing I got political in was doing 'Elected' and that was a total satire on Alice Cooper running against Richard Nixon.... But who wants that job? It doesn't pay very well and I wouldn't take the pay cut." In June, Cooper announced that he and his original Alice Cooper Band will kick off a tour of Ireland and the UK on Nov. 8 in Dublin. - New Musical Express, 7/21/17...... 
Speaking of rock and politics, Randy Newman says he wrote a song about Pres. Donald Trump for his upcoming album, Dark Matter, but it was too "vulgar" to include. Newman says that in addition to a hilarious song called "Putin" -- with lyrics about how Russian dictator Vladimir Putin puts his pants on one leg at a time (and can power a nuclear reactor with the left side of his brain) -- the album almost included a track about Trump. "I did write about him. But the language was too vulgar. It felt too easy," he said. "The song was 'My dick's bigger than your dick/ It ain't braggin' if it's tru / My dick's bigger than your dick/ I can prove it too/ There it is! There's my dick/ Isn't that a wonderful sight?/ Run to the village, to town, to the countryside/ Tell the people what you've seen here tonight.'" But Newman said it just didn't seem like the right call. "I just didn't want to add to the problem of how ugly the conversation we're all having is, so I didn't put it out." But the singer/songwriter says he still has faith in people. "I've found that if you sit next to somebody and start talking they'll be pretty good. I've had no reason to feel differently," he said. Newman has just released the second single from Dark Matter, which hits stores on Aug. 4, called "Sonny Boy," a tribute to Chicago Blues great "Sonny Boy" Williamson. Newman tells a true story of Williamson, tracing his ascent in the Chicago music scene to his untimely end at the age of 34, and becomes "the only bluesman in heaven." He has released the song in a lyric video, a format that works when coupled with his clever and verbose style. - Billboard/Spin.com, 7/20/17...... Veteran producer Quincy Jones took the stand in the Michael Jackson royalties trial on July 20 in Los Angeles, peppering his testimony about his producer agreements with Jackson with colorful bits of music history. Jones, 84, said he considered 800 songs for Jackson's masterpiece Thriller album, noting finding songs is a producer's number one job. "A great song can make the worst artist in the world a star," he said, adding that making music requires extreme love, respect and trust. "I've never in my life done a record for money or fame." Jones, who is suing MJJ Productions, a company controlled by Jackson's estate, says he's owed tens of millions, his share of posthumous profits resulting from the exploitation of songs he produced. Jones told the crowded courtroom he met the King of Pop while working on The Wiz, and went on two produce his first three solo albums, Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. Jones' attorneys argue his written agreements with Jackson clearly state that he's entitled to a share of licensing revenue when the songs he produced are used in films and other projects, while attorneys for MJJ argue the contracts make it clear Jones is only entitled to a share of record sales and anything he was paid beyond that was an act of kindness by Jackson. Jones says that Jackson "absolutely" did right by him creatively, but whether he did financially is open to debate. When asked why he didn't complain about his share of profits while the singer was alive Jones said, "I cared more about him as a human being than about the money." Closing arguments for the trial are expected to begin on July 24. Meanwhile, on July 21 Sony/ATV Music Publishing announced an extension of its worldwide administration pact with Mijac Music, the publishing company that owns all of the songs written by Michael Jackson. Founded by Jackson in 1980, the Mijac catalog also includes iconic songs written by funk icon Sly Stone and legendary soul hitmakers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. Terms of the deal extension were not disclosed. - The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard, 7/21/17...... 
The Who warmed up for their forthcoming residency in Las Vegas with a pair of performances on NBC's The Tonight Show on July 19. Surviving members Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey powered through a rendition of their 1967 classic "I Can See For Miles" and their early '80s number "You Better You Bet" as a web exclusive. Townshend even let rip with one of his trademark windmills. The Who's residency at Caesars Palace runs from July 29 to Aug. 11. - Billboard, 7/20/17...... After members of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church staged a protest outside his concert in Wichita, Kan., on July 19, Paul McCartney posted a meme on Twitter mocking the group, who brought with them signs and placards that said things like "MAN'S JOB: OBEY GOD" and "BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS." After the show, Macca tweeted a doctored image of some of the protestors, where someone had changed some of their signs to read "We can work it out," "I wanna be your MAN!" and "All you need is LOVE." "Thanks Westboro Baptist Church for the warm welcome!" read the post's caption. - NME, 7/20/17...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr turned 77 on July 7, and the famous drummer held a press conference at Capitol Records in L.A. where he held his annual celebrity-packed "Peace and Love"-themed birthday bash. Among other things, Ringo talked about how he almost recorded a country album in Nashville in 2016 with former Eurythmics star Dave Stewart. Starr said he and Stewart tried to knock together a few songs before they arrived in Nashville, but he shelved the idea when he had the opportunity to tour last year. One of the songs, "So Wrong for So Long," is featured on his forthcoming album Give More Love, which arrives on Sept. 15 via uME. Ringo also talked about his tweeting habits. "Twitter, that's the one I do myself," he said. "But I do it at a reasonable hour [laughs]. Sometime in the afternoon, when I've been up for a while. And I love the emojis. It started, like, thanking people for coming to the gig." Ringo added that he'll take his All-Starr Band back out on the road in October, starting with eight dates at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. - Billboard, 7/17/17...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, the infamous Mark Chapman-owned copy of John Lennon's Double Fantasy album is once again up for sale. Auctioneers Moments In Time have a firm $1.5 million starting bid for the LP that Lennon signed for Chapman minutes before he was murdered by Chapman in Dec. 1980. The album, which also features an enhanced Chapman fingerprint and NYPD crime evidence designation, first sold for $150,000 in 1998, and has had several other owners since. - 7/19/17..... Fleetwood Mac will be honored as the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year, organizers announced on July 19. The two-time Grammy-winners are being honored "in recognition of their significant creative accomplishments and their longtime support of a number of charitable causes," including MusiCares, which offers health and human services to the music industry. Proceeds from the 28th annual benefit gala, which will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York during two nights before the 60th annual Grammy Awards, will provide support for MusiCares. Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the MusiCares Foundation and the Recording Academy, described Fleetwood Mac as "a legendary and influential group of artists whose music has provided the soundtrack for music lovers around the world." Drummer Mick Fleetwood issued a statement saying that "it's a tremendous honor to be the first band to receive the MusiCares Person of the Year award.... We are very appreciative of this recognition." Meanwhile, Fleetwood Mac capped the Classic West festival at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 16 with a poignant closing set. Opening with "The Chain," the band then performed "You Make Loving Fun" and deeper cuts like "Dreams," "Second Hand News" and "Rhiannon," "Sara" and "Landslide." They closed the set with the rousing "Go Your Own Way" and "Don't Stop." - The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard, 7/19/17...... 
Judas Priest has released a new mobile game, "Road to Valhalla," via the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The game players to use song stems from Priest's 2016 Battle Cry live album to create new songs to battle characters from Priest's songs and album art to advance through the game until they reach the mythical Valhalla. Priest favorites such as "You've Got Another Thing Comin'," "Breaking The Law," "Electric Eye," "Turbo Lover," "Painkiller" and, of course, "Halls Of Valhalla" are featured as part of the game, which was developed by Babaroga in partnership with the band, Trinifold Management LLC UK and Sony Music Entertainment. "It's like a little microcosm of that world we've created with the characters over these years that come to life in a very good way," frontman Rob Halford says. "The people that made it did a fantastic job, 'cause you don't want people to go, 'Oh, that's cheesy.' Halford adds the band has nearly finished its next album, the follow-up to 2014's Redeemer of Souls, and it's expected to hit stores in the spring of 2018. - Billboard, 7/19/17...... A limited edition picture disc of David Bowie's iconic song "Heroes" is set to be released on Sept. 22 to mark the song's 40th anniversary. "Heroes" is the latest in a long line of Bowie vinyl repressings, following the singer's death in Jan. 2016. Earlier in July, a huge new box-set of his 1977-1982 releases, New Career In a New Town, was unveiled. - NME, 7/19/17...... Kenny Rogers has invited his "Islands in the Stream" duet partner Dolly Parton to take part in his final performance onstage ever, a farewell show at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Oct. 25. Rogers and Parton have been performing together for more than 30 years since "Islands in the Stream," written by the Bee Gees, became a pop crossover platinum hit in 1983. Rogers, 78, said it's been more than a decade since he performed with Parton for a CMT special. "I think we owe it to her to let her go on with her career, but we owe it to me to do it one more time, and we're going to do that," Rogers said after a July 18 press conference. Other performers for the farewell show are Little Big Town, Flaming Lips, Idina Menzel, Elle King, Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss, with more names to be announced. In Sept. 2015, the Country Music Hall of Fame member announced his intention to retire from performing after one final tour. - AP, 7/18/17...... Eagles frontman Don Henley headlined the annual Oceana Backyard Benefit in L.A. on July 17 at the home of veteran manager Keith Addis, who moonlights as president of the eco-charity Oceana's board of directors. "I haven't done a backyard [concert] in a while. Two nights ago I was at Dodger Stadium. Careers go so fast in Hollywood," joked Henley. Henley performed an array of hits "spanning 42 years," he said from the stage. Others in attendance included Bill Murray, who also performed a selection of show tunes, Anjelica Houston, Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson and Sam Waterston. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/18/17...... The favourite song of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has been revealed and it is, suitably enough, ABBA's "Dancing Queen." BBC DJ Chris Evans made the claim as he recounted how a friend had been invited to a posh banquet at Windsor Castle. At one point, the DJ reportedly dropped "Dancing Queen" -- with a huge smile spreading across the monarch's face when she heard the track. Evans says she then immediately made her way to the dance floor, before telling guests: "I always try to dance when this song comes on, because I am the Queen, and I like to dance." Quite understandably, guests were taken back by the surreal occasion, with one reportedly remarking: "My goodness me, there is the Dancing Queen." - New Musical Express, 7/21/17...... 
Beach Boys member Mike Love has released a video of the classic BB tune "Do It Again." The music was recorded live during the band's performance on PBS' A Capitol Fourth on July 4 in Washington, D.C., while the video was filmed during the afternoon in the group's hotel. Featured on the harmony-heavy song are Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, with John Stamos playing drums. Love says he considers the new "Do It Again" "a reincaration" of the original song. "It's been born again," he says. "I couldn't be happier. We just had the greatest time and neatest time together doing this whole thing." Love says that he and the band have known Pres. Donald Trump for decades, and that "he's been nothing but nice to us." 'We have fans and friends of all different political affiliations, so I don't use our stage as a place to deal with all that [political] stuff," Love says. Not that I don't care about things; I'm very much into the environment and against war. But the Beach Boys is about having fun and getting away from all of that for a while, so I don't use it as a pulpit to express my views." - Billboard, 7/18/17...... Actor John Heard, perhaps best known as the dad of Macaulay Culkin's character in the '90s Home Alone films, died on July 22 after undergoing back surgery recently. He was 72. Although his death is still under investigation, no foul play is suspected. Heard began his acting career on the stage in the 1970s before making the leap to the screen, and his breakthrough role came alongside Jeff Bridges in Cutter's Way. His other bigscreen credits include The Trip to Bountiful, Big, The Pelican Brief, Miami Vice and Modern Family, among many others. On TV, Heard earned an Emmy nomination for best guest star in a drama series in 1999 for his role as Detective Vin Makazian on HBO's The Sopranos, and recently, he appeared on WGN's TV drama Outsiders and CBS' MacGyver. Heard was briefly married to Superman actress Margot Kidder and later had a child with Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo. He had two other children with second wife, Sharon Heard. He is survived by children John Matthew, Annika and Max Heard. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/22/17.
The first of the Eagles' "Classic West/East" summer festivals was held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 15, with special guests Bob Seger, Vince Gill and late Eagles member Glenn Frey's son Deacon Frey helping the iconic '70s band through its two-and-a-half-hour set. The Eagles started their show as they had so many times before: standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a beautifully blended a cappella version of "Seven Bridges Road." Guitarist Joe Walsh then announced "We are the Eagles from Los Angeles," as if the band needed an intro, then said: "We're back, and we're back for our family, and you are part of our family. This one's for you, Glenn. You're in our hearts, and the music goes on. Let's give a warm Eagles family welcome to Deacon Frey." Frey and Gill traded off lead vocal duties on several of Glenn's biggest hits, including "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Already Gone," "Lyin' Eyes," "Tequila Sunrise," "Take It to the Limit" and "New Kid in Town." Bob Seger, who met Frey as a backup singer in the 1960s in their native Detroit, surprised the crowd to perform a song he co-wrote with the band, 1979's "Heartache Tonight." "This is for Glenn!" Seger hollered after Henley introduced him as "one of the most beloved figures in American rock and roll music." The 23-song set also included "One of These Nights," "Life in the Fast Lane" and a two-part encore, "Hotel California" and "Desperado." Also performing on day one of the Classic West was Steely Dan, with longtime associate Larry Carlton filling in for guitarist Walter Becker, who fell ill before the show. Day two of the Classic West fest, held the following evening, featured performances by Fleetwood Mac, Journey and Earth, Wind & Fire. The Eagles will also headline the Classic East shows, set for July 29-30 at New York's Citi Field. - Billboard, 7/16/17...... 
The Doobie Brothers member John McFee, who was also once a member of the San Francisco band Clover which is best known as Elvis Costello's band on his 1977 debut album My Aim Is True and for also featuring Huey Lewis and several members of Lewis' future band, has announced he is re-recording songs from both of Clover's late '70s albums with help from his former bandmates as well as Costello. "It's cool for me. It's something I've always wanted to do," the multi-instrumentalist says. "We had done two albums for the Fantasy label that we were never happy with because we were too young to really know how to make records, and Fantasy assigned a producer to work with us who was a brilliant guy and a nice person and fun to work with but had never produced a record before. We felt like we had some good songs, some good ideas, but we weren't happy with the records. So this is a chance to do it again." Meanwhile, the Doobies are currently on tour with Chicago for the summer, and the group has also been in the studio starting work on a new album -- its first since the country-flavored Southbound in 2014. The group has recorded four songs so far -- two written by Tom Johnston, two by Pat Simmons -- with current keyboardist Bill Payne from Little Feat on board. "We're looking to get a new project going and hopefully get it out probably some time early next year," McFee says. "It sounds kinda like the Doobie Brothers; what's cool is from the inside sometimes it's hard to always judge exactly what's going on and everything, but I know that our family and stuff, when they heard it they went, 'Wow, this really sounds like classic Doobies.'" The Doobies also participated in the aforementioned Classic West concert in L.A. on July 15, and will play a Classic East show on July 29 in New York. - Billboard, 7/14/17...... The inaugural Loudwire Music Awards, sponsored by the hard rock/heavy metal website Loudwire.com, will take place on Oct. 24 at the Novo Theater in Los Angeles and pay tribute to Black Sabbath guitarist Toni Iommi. Iommi will be honored with the Courage Award, which recognizes both his musical output and his bravery in his battle with cancer. The guitarist was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011, and is currently in remission. Going forward, the award will be called the Iommi and presented to future generations of courageous artists. Iommi's hand also served as the original mold for the official Hand of Doom trophy that will be presented to all winners and honorees. "Of all the funny things that I've done in my life, this was another one. I was asked if I would do a mold of my hand so that they could make it into an award," says Iommi. "I was very honored." Visitors to the Loudwire.com site will be able to vote for several award categories, including album and song of the year, beginning Aug. 15. - Billboard, 7/13/17...... 
Poco founding member Rusty Young is preparing the release of his first ever solo album, Waitin' For the Sun, which includes a track called "My Friend" that pays tribute to his Poco bandmates. "That's about the band and 50 years and just talking to the guys that have been in that band," Young says about the track, which features Poco alumni Richie Furay and Timothy B. Schmit on backing vocals. "It's just an overview of the whole thing, looking back on this last 50 years -- not just for me, but for all of us. The guys have all done really well... We've been down a long road together, so I want to write about that." Waitin' For The Sun, due out Sept. 15, was produced by longtime Poco bassist Jack Sundrud and recorded in Nashville. Other members of Poco, including Jim Messina and George Grantham, also appear on the set. Young has also announced he'll be touring behind the album, as well as continuing to play Poco shows -- with details of a 50th anniversary Poco celebration to be announced soon. - Billboard, 7/14/17...... A former roadie who used to tour with Queen in the 1980s has revealed to the UK paper The Guardian that there is "other material Queen recorded with Bowie that never got released" and he was there in the studio when it happened. In June, Queen guitarist Brian May hinted that there were leftover tracks from their time in the studio around their 1981 collaboration "Under Pressure," saying "not all of what we did in those sessions has ever come to light, so there's a thought." Now roadie Peter Hince says that "they performed some original songs they did together and also covers... They were just jamming in the studio and it all got recorded -- 'All the Young Dudes', 'All the Way from Memphis' and various rock classics." Hince continued: "There's stuff with Freddie and David singing together -- proper full-length rock'n'roll tracks. Raw, but good." Queen, with Adam Lambert filling in for late frontman Freddie Mercury, will kick off a fall tour of the UK on Nov. 25 in Dublin. Meanwhile, Queen has posted on its official website that a long-in-the-works biopic of the band is "finally happening." Queen's Roger Taylor and Brian May, who are serving as executive music producers, said that Mr. Robot actor Rami Malek, who has been cast as Mercury, "has great presence and he's utterly dedicated to the project.... He's completely living and breathing Freddie already, which is wonderful." Director Bryan Singer will begin pre-production in late July, and principal photography will start in London as soon as mid-September. - New Musical Express/Stereogum.com, 7/14/17...... 
John Lennon's customized 1964 Rolls-Royce Phantom V, which is currently on display in the province of British Columbia, will return to the U.K. later in July for public display to help celebrate the 50th anniversary re-release of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. It will be part of an automotive design exhibition "The Great Eight Phantoms" coordinated by Rolls-Royce and Bonham's auction house, to celebrate the unveiling of Rolls-Royce's latest flagship, the Phantom VIII. It will join stellar examples of the unbroken series of Phantom automobiles dating back to the mid-1920s, the longest running model name in automotive history. Lennon bought the 6,600 lb. luxury car in Dec. 1964, and it was in this vehicle that the Beatles visited Buckingham Palace in 1965 to receive their Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) medals from Queen Elizabeth II. In 1967, the car was given a psychedelic paint job which included colorful bursts and swirls inspired by Romany gypsy caravan designs, as well as the zodiac. Lennon took the car to Buckingham Palace again in 1969, when he publicly returned his MBE to the Queen in protest over the British military's involvement in the civil war in Nigera and support of the American war in Vietnam. Lennon brought the car to the U.S. in 1970 and loaned it out to other stars including Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, but tax issues caused him to donate it to the Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design for an exhibition. It was sold at auction in 1985, some years after his death, to the Canadian entrepreneur Jimmy Pattison, for $2.3 million. Pattison ran the chain of Ripley's Believe it or Not museums and displayed it there as the World's Most Expensive Car. He later donated it to the province of British Columbia for display. - Billboard, 7/12/17...... Country music legend Loretta Lynn, who was was hospitalized in May after she suffered a stroke, has announced she is canceling her summer tour and postponing a new album as she recovers from her illness. "My new album, Wouldn't It Be Great, was originally scheduled to come in August this year. I now want to wait to release it next year because this record is so special for me," Lynn said in a statement. "I'm just letting everybody know that Willie [Nelson] ain't dead yet and neither am I, and I can't wait to see all of you on the road!" - Stereogum.com, 7/12/17...... 
'70s reggae legend Jimmy Cliff has premiered the video for "Life," his latest single. Shot in his native Kingston, Jamaica, the video includes residents of different ages singing, playing dominoes and celebrating "Life" with the ever-youthful Cliff. "Shooting the 'Life' video there was like walking back in time, I grew up in west Kingston and many of the producers from back when I started out were around those areas," Cliff says. "Going back there now, everybody knew me, everybody put their best into the video so there was a lot of excitement and I really felt great shooting the video there," he added. "Life" is taken from Cliff's forthcoming album, which he describes as "socio-political, inspirational or about relationships." "The album actually reminds me of The Harder They Come because these are the kinds of songs you either need to write a movie to or find a movie for," says Zoe K. Espitia of Zojak Worldwide Records. "I have never heard anything like it." - Billboard, 7/12/17...... A rare collection of unreleased Michael Jackson songs are set to be auctioned in a public sale of rock and pop memorabilia starting July 19. Jackson's unreleased songs, which are said to be of "master quality," will be part of the Gotta Have Rock and Roll online sale, which will also include items from Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, Beyonc, the Rolling Stones and U2. Lot #236 ("Michael Jackson Personally Owned Unreleased Last Album") promises that all the tracks are "master quality" and while the first three songs ("Monster," "Breaking News" and "Stay") have been released before with different mixes on the 2010 posthumous album Michael, the other nine songs are reported to be previously unreleased. According to Rolling Stone, organizers said they expect the final bid to potentially reach $1 million, though the owner will not have rights to the songs and cannot distribute or reproduce them. Other Jackson items in the auction include a stage worn and signed "Smooth Criminal" white fedora, an MJ-worn Trump Plaza baseball hat, one of the singer's teddy bears, his Star Wars sleeping bag, a "Best Daddy in the World" Oscar statuette gifted to MJ from his children, and a pair of the singer's worn colorful boxer shorts. - Rolling Stone, 7/12/17...... Actor Mark Hamill and his fellow late Star Wars cast member Carrie Fisher were named as Disney Legends during a ceremony on July 14 at the company's biannual fan convention, the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif. "I wish Carrie were here," Hamill said as he accepted the award. "She would be making me laugh and be off camera extending her middle finger -- one of her favorite gestures. But, she would also want us to be having a good time and not be sad." Hamill, 65, reprises his role as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will be released December. Fisher also appears in the film as Skywalker's sister, Leia Organa, a princess-turned-general. Fisher died unexpectedly in December 2016. - AP, 7/15/17...... 
Martin Landau, the chameleon-like actor who gained fame as the crafty master of disguise in the 1960s TV show Mission: Impossible and later capped his long and versatile career with an Oscar for his poignant portrayal of aging horror movie star Bela Lugosi in 1994's Ed Wood, died on July 15 of unexpected complications during a short stay at UCLA Medical Center. He was 89. Mission: Impossible, which also starred Mr. Landau's wife, Barbara Bain, became an immediate hit upon its debut in 1966. It remained on the air until 1973, but Mr. Landau and Bain left at the end of the show's third season amid a financial dispute with the producers. The pair later starred in the British-made sci-fi series Space: 1999 from 1975 to 1977. Born in New York, Mr. Landau studied drawing at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and worked for a time as a New York Daily News cartoonist before switching careers at age 22. He had dabbled in acting before the switch, making his stage debut in 1951 at a Maine summer theatre in "Detective Story" and off-Broadway in "First Love." On Broadway, Mr. Landau won praise for his work in "Middle of the Night," which starred Edward G. Robinson. He toured with the play until it reached Los Angeles, where he began his film career. His big screen credits also include Cleopatra (1963), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), The Hallelujah Trail (1965), and Nevada Smith (1966). On TV, he appeared in episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, I Spy and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Mr. Landau and Bain had two daughters, Susan and Juliet. They divorced in 1993. - AP, 7/16/17...... Director George Romero, known as the "Father of the Zombie film," died on July 16 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 77. The Pittsburgh-born Romero made the 1968 cult classic Night of the Living Dead for $114,000, thus spawning an unrelenting parade of zombie movies and TV shows. His 1978 sequel Dawn of the Dead was made for $1.5 million and grossed $55 million, and he followed that by writing and directing Day of the Dead (1985), Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009), a decomposing body of work that earned him the nickname Father of the Zombie Film. Night of the Living Dead, the story of seven strangers trapped in a farmhouse besieged by a lynch-mob posse of staggering zombies, premiered at the Fulton Theater in Pittsburgh on Oct. 1, 1968, and quickly caught on as a staple of midnight screenings around the country. But most of the profits eluded the investors because of a mistake by the distributor. "We lost the copyright on the film because we put it on the title," Romero said. "Our title was Night of the Flesh Eaters; they changed it to Night of the Living Dead." Glimpses of the man himself can be seen in many of his films, and he had a cameo as an FBI agent in Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Thanks to Romero, Pittsburgh has been called the "Zombie Capital of the World" and each year hosts an event called Zombie Fest, complete with a brain-eating contest. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/17/17.
Iconoclastic former Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters has been receiving a less than enthusiastic reception in some cities in the southern US as he displays unflattering images of US Pres. Donald Trump on his 
As Debby Boone's record-setting Billboard chart hit 
Blondie's summer co-headlining tour with the alternative band Garbage hit the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on July 9, with the iconic New Wave band playing a 13-song, 70-minute set that opened with the hits "One Way or Another" and "Hanging on the Telephone." Frontwoman Debbie Harry, who did those two songs wearing an elaborate bee mask (the tour is themed to their new album 
A new 20-track digitally remastered compilation from '70s rocker Suzi Quatro, 
The Rolling Stones issued a press release on July 6 announcing a new Stones album accompanied by a new retrospective book will be released later in the year. The Rolling Stones: On Air in the Sixties, a chronicle of the band's radio and TV appearances during their first decade, will be published by Penguin Random House on Sept. 8. Featuring "previously unseen facsimile documents from the BBC and commercial TV and radio archives [and] many stunning unseen images," the book will be accompanied by a "tie-in" album and a new BBC documentary of the same name. The band has not disclosed further details about the album. Meanwhile, the band previously announced it will not be playing in the the UK this fall as part of its 2017 European "No Filter" tour -- blaming a "lack of available venues." In May, the Stones announced that they'd be playing 13 shows in 12 different European cities this autumn, but sporting events have made venues of adequate size unavailable and that they "hope to be here in 2018." - New Musical Express, 7/6/17...... British fans of ABBA will have an unprecedented look at the platinum-selling Swedish quartet when a new immersive exhibition celebrating the iconic pop band opens at Southbank Centre in London in Dec. 2017. Dubbed "ABBA: Super Troupers," the exhibit will provide fans with a chance to see items from the band's private archives for the first time ever in the UK. As well as items from the group's past, the exhibition will also take visitors through individual rooms that each represent a key moment of their history -- including a replica of the Brighton Grand Hotel room where they stayed during their 1974 Eurovision triumph. "Since our songs, which were written in the 70s, are still being played today it's particularly interesting that the Southbank Centre exhibition is placing them in the temporal context in which they were created," says ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus. "We are so excited that the exhibition is taking place at the Southbank Centre, which is just a few short steps away from Waterloo," added ABBA vocalist Frida Lyngstad. Tickets to the exhibit, which will run from Dec. 14 through Apr. 29, 2018, went on sale on July 4. - NME, 7/3/17...... As a court case pitting Eddie Money against his former drummer Glenn Symmonds heads to trial in November, the rocker and former NYPD officer is appealing the recent denial of his motion to dismiss some of the suit's claims, which include wrongful termination, age discrimination, and other allegations. Money had sought to dismiss some of the allegations by filing an "anti-SLAPP" motion, used when defendants believe certain actions are within their First Amendment rights. "Last I checked, this was still America and artists have the right to decide who plays in their faceless back-up band," one of Money's lawyers, Dina LaPolt, says. "To force well-respected, seasoned artists to retain specific support musicians would strike an unacceptable blow to artistic integrity and we will not stand for it. Eddie is fighting for the rights of all musicians to have the freedom to choose how they want to express themselves." Symmonds, who had played with Money on and off over four decades, sued the 68-year-old rocker for wrongful termination in Oct. 2015, and his fiancee joined the suit in 2016, claiming Money sexually harassed her while mocking Symmonds' disabilities on stage. The suit alleges that at a 2013 event, Money dedicated "Think I'm in Love" to Symmonds' wife and while facing her onstage "unzipped his pants, and put his thumb through his zipper (intending his thumb to look like his penis) and began to gyrate his hips and dance while he wiggled his thumb." Symmonds also claims he was subjected to "constant ridicule and harassment" because of disabilities stemming from bladder cancer and a back injury. Money's attorney, Lincoln Bandlow, counters that "everything alleged in this lawsuit is a pack of lies." - Billboard, 7/7/17...... 
As he celebrates his 77th birthday on July 7, Ringo Starr has announced he'll release a new full-length studio album, Give More Love, on Sept. 15 via uME. Starr has also previewed the title track of the LP, which includes a long-awaited new collaboration from Starr and fellow Fab Four member Paul McCartney on a number of tracks. Other contributors include Peter Frampton, Benmont Tench, Joe Walsh and Edgar Winter, among others. In addition to the new tracks, Give More Love will also include bonus tracks in the form of new renditions of such Ringo classics as "Back Off Boogaloo," "Don't Pass Me By," "Photograph" and "You Can't Fight Lightning." Ringo says the title track is a sincere effort to call on the world to reach out to one another to "Give more love" because "It's what we know we need more of." - Billboard, 7/7/17...... The new 
A collection of around 1,000 classic books owned by late eclectic rocker Warren Zevon by such authors as W. Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Hunter S. Thompson, Carl Hiaasen and Stephen King are now being catalogued by his dauther and will all gradually be sold online on the online auction site eBay. One just sold for $400 and another one, a Robert Craft biography of Igor Stravinsky, who Zevon met as a teenager, is now up for sale. Zevon, who died in 2003, never graduated from high school but read everything, but his daughter says he "read everything." "He loved classic writers, he loved current writers, he loved hanging out with writers, he loved to talk about books," Ariel Zevon said of her father, who also played with the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band made up of published authors including King, Dave Barry and Amy Tan. Stephen King also dedicated one of his books to Zevon after his death. Crystal says she and her daughter decided to sell the books to raise money to support a community retreat house she bought in her village of East Barnet, VT, that has been used as a retreat for activist groups for gardening talks and weekly potlucks. - AP, 7/2/17...... Bob Dylan was among the headliners at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, a 10-day event that runs from June 28 to July 9. Dylan, who performed in Montreal's Centre Bell arena (home of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team), treated fans to selections from his iconic canon, reprising the same tunes that have been in his repertoire for 50 years with roughly the same amount of enthusiasm he's had all along. Among the highlights was "Autumn Leaves," when he was positively crooning as he delivered a reverent rendition of the pop standard. - Billboard, 7/6/2017...... Clint Eastwood and Warner Bros. studios are being sued by Donna Corbello, the widow of Rex Woodard who once assisted The Four Seasons member Tommy DeVito in an autobiography, over the movie version of the Four Seasons play "Jersey Boys." After a decade in court over the Broadway version "Jersey Boys," Corbello convinced a jury in Nov. 2016 that Eastwood, Warner Bros. and surviving members of the Four Season violated her copyright to her late husband's unpublished Four Seasons biography. But then on June 14, U.S. District Court judge Robert Jones bypassed an assessment of damages by coming to the conclusion that that Woodard's biography was fairly used. The judge determined that only a small portion had wound up in the musical and that what was incorporated was significantly transformative. The decision is headed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal for review, but in the meantime, Corbello is now targeting Eastwood's 2014 movie too. Eastwood's film was hardly a hit, earning only about $47 million at the box office domestically after costing $40 million to produce. Nevertheless, Corbello claims she's due damages from the alleged misappropriation of Woodard's work. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/3/17...... 
Bob Geldof, whose band The Boomtown Rats hit No. 1 in the U.K. in 1979 with "I Don't Like Mondays," has revealed that the band will be releasing its first album in over 30 years. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Geldof said the Boomtown Rats have recorded 26 new tracks and plan to release them in fours in a series of EPs before bringing them all together for an album entitled Mega. "We've done 26 tracks," Geldof says. "We're mixing them now, I've done the vocals on them. We're getting really excited, we think they're great. We did a lot of songs. We have a situation now where a song comes out and a day later it's dead. I'll release four tracks and then a couple of months later another four tracks, and then another four, which allows us to space out the music but also do different things. I've no idea if we'll call each EP something different, but when we collect them and make one album." The band's original line-up split in 1986 but reformed in 2013 and made an appearance at the Isle Of Wight festival that year. Their last LP was 1984's The Long Grass. Geldof, who went on to become a leading philanthropist for world hunger and other causes, recently delivered a speech at the Trinity College Dublin Law Society discussing the state of society post-Brexit, urging students to "stop banging on about transgender toilets" and focus elsewhere. "You guys are inheriting a deeply significant moment. My generation has failed more spectacularly than most -- you have Brexit, Trump, the referendum in Italy, le Pen in France," he said. - New Musical Express, 7/6/17...... Actor Skip Homeier, perhaps best known for portraying the Nazi-like character Melakon in the original Star Trek TV series, passed away on June 25 at the age of 86. Mr. Homeier, a Chicago native, also appeared in scores of Westerns and war films including The Gunfighter (1950), Between Heaven and Hell (1956), Dakota Incident (1956), Comanche Station (1960), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) and Muhammad Ali's The Greatest (1977). He also played the judge who heard the case against Charles Manson in the acclaimed 1976 CBS telefilm Helter Skelter. The lanky actor's TV credits also include the 1970-71 CBS drama The Interns as well as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Millionaire, The Addams Family, The Outer Limits, Mission: Impossible, Mannix, Fantasy Island, Vega$ and Quincy M.E. He is survived by his wife Della and his son Michael. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/3/17.
Diana Ross was among the headliners on the first day of the Essence Music Festival at the Superdome in New Orleans on June 30. The Motown legend kicked off her set, appropriately, with "I'm Coming Out," then covered such solo hits as "Touch Me in the Morning" and "Upside Down," as well as such Supremes smashes as "Stop! In the Name of Love" before a crowd of both young and old fans. Other artists performing during the three-day event include Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Chance the Rapper, India.Arie and John Legend. - Billboard, 7/1/17...... In a new interview with London's The Times paper, Mick Jagger said that an editorial in the same publication 40 years earlier was responsible for helping him avoid prison for a minor drug offense in 1967. The editorial stated that Jagger had been sentenced to three months in jail not because of the severity of his crime but because band members were being "scapegoats" by an older generation critical of their lifestyle, and that he should be treated "exactly the same as anyone else." "That editorial got me out jail," the 73-year-old Rolling Stones frontman said. "One day it dropped, and the next thing I was out." He credits the editorial with telling the establishment "come on guys, this is just not English fair play kind of thing." - AP, 7/1/17...... Phil Collins announced a string of new UK concerts for this fall, beginning with a Nov. 22 show at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. After a concert in Sheffield on Nov. 24, the former Genesis member will play two shows at London's Royal Albert Hall on Nov. 26 and 27, which were originally set to take place on June 8 and 9 but were postponed due to the musician suffering an injury. Collins will then play Manchester (11/29), Glasgow (12/1), Newcastle (12/2) and Birmingham (12/3). Collins was also among the headliners at the British Summer Time festival at London's Hyde Park on June 30. Collins had announced he was retiring from music in 2011, and his concerts earlier in 2017 were the first time he had performed live in a decade. "I thought I would retire quietly," he said in a press release. "But thanks to the fans, my family and support from some extraordinary artists I have rediscovered my passion for music and performing. It's time to do it all again and I'm excited. It just feels right." - New Musical Express, 6/30/17...... 
Neil Young and his recent collaborators Promise of the Real band have dropped a patriotic video for a new song called "Children of Destiny" just in time for the Fourth of July holiday. Featuring plenty of American flags, kids celebrating Independence Day, sweeping landscape shots and recent protest footage, the visual accompanies lyrics like "Stand up for what you believe/ Resist the powers that be/ Preserve the ways of democracy so the children can be free." "Children of Destiny" was recorded with a 56-piece orchestra at Hollywood's Capitol Studios. The track can be streamed and purchased on the 
Songwriter Jack Tempchin, who collaborated with the Eagles on several of their hits, has teamed up with Rita Coolidge for a duet of his classic hit "Slow Dancing," which he wrote more than 40 years ago and was previously a hit for Johnny Rivers under the title "Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancin')." The track is taken from Tempchin's new album 
Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of fame opened a new exhibit on the first weekend in July called "Power of Rock," featuring film clips, laser lights, concert smoke, under-seat speakers and recorded stories by Hall of Fame inductees, including former Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes. The exhibit is the centerpiece of an overhaul of the Hall of Fame, in which $15 million has been invested so far. Fans will be able to enter an interactive booth and listen to Hughes, visited the Hall on June 29 to record his story of how a Rolling Stones concert he attended as a teenager ignited his passion for rock. The exhibit brings to life more than 30 years of the Hall's legendary induction ceremonies through digital displays, memorabilia exhibits and a 12-minute film of ceremony highlights by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme, played on five moving screens. "The artist is suffering. It's difficult to make a living," Hughes told the AP. "But I see the same endeavor, the same hunger, as when I started out, and that's all that really matters." - AP, 6/29/17...... Actor Ben Hardy, known for his role as Angel in the 2016 action film X-Men: Apocalypse has reportedly been cast as drummer Roger Taylor in the long-awaited Queen docudrama. "Ben caught the eye of producers and he has worked with director Bryan Singer on X-Men," an unnamed source reportedly told the UK tabloid The Sun. "After a couple of screen tests, bosses decided he was the perfect man for the job and signed him up. He's very excited." Hardy was also a member of the cast of the British TV show EastEnders. Mr. Robot star Rami Malek is attached to play Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the new film after Sacha Baron Cohen pulled out over creative differences with the band. Queen are currently touring North America with Adam Lambert. - New Musical Express, 6/29/17...... Sony Corp. has announced that one of its factories near Tokyo is restarting production of vinyl records beginning in March 2018, the first time mass production of vinyl has happened in 30 years. Sony says it has already installed record-cutting equipment at a recording studio in Tokyo, which will cut the master copies before they're sent to the factory for mass production. The initial albums will contain mostly older Japanese music, but could expand to include today's hit songs, which Japanese youth are increasingly searching for on vinyl, according to Sony. "A lot of young people buy songs that they hear and love on streaming services," Sony Music CEO Michinori Mizuno said. Japan currently has one active record manufacturer that makes limited qualities of new releases, but it often cannot keep up with demand. Nearly 800,000 vinyl records were sold in Japan last year, an eightfold increase from 2010. Meanwhile in the US, the United Record Pressing plant near Nashville, Tenn., which has manufactured vinyl since 1949, is reportedly planning to expand its operations, doubling its current production capacity. In addition to manufacturing commercial records, United also offers custom record-making services to consumers. - PCMag.com, 6/30/17...... 
The iconic disco dance floor from 1977's 
Stevie Nicks has re-recorded "Gypsy," a track from Fleetwood Mac's 1982 album Mirage, for a new Netflix show of the same name and which was inspired by the song. Gypsy show creator Lisa Rubin says she wrote the new show's pilot episode after listening to the Fleetwood Mac track, and Nicks subsequently offered to re-record the song for Gypsy's opening credits. "I'm very excited for the world to hear 'Gypsy' more like I wrote it -- on piano. I am very proud of this version," Nicks told Entertainment Weekly. The 10-episode first season of Gypsy will be available for streaming on Netflix on June 30. - New Musical Express, 6/26/17...... Glen Campbell's final studio album, 
A 
Bee Gees surviving brother Barry Gibb played the renowned "legends slot" at the UK's Glastonbury Festival on June 25, drawing heavily from the group's vast back catalogue during his 75-minute set. Early in the set, Gibb dedicated the Bee Gees' hit "Words" to the "people of Manchester and London," who have undergone recent terror attacks. He finished the set with "Tragedy" in a Bee Gees-style gold jacket given to him by a festivalgoer. Also appearing at this year's Glastonbury was Chic mastermind Nile Rodgers, whose set included a rendition of his collaboration with the late David Bowie, "Let's Dance." Referring to his recent battle with an extremely aggressive cancer, Rodgers told the crowd: "I feel like the luckiest man in the world tonight, because six years after that doctor told me to get my affairs in order, today, six years later, I am cancer-free!," to wild cheers from the audience. - New Musical Express, 6/25/17...... Paul McCartney participated in a Facebook Live web chat with comic Tim Minchin on June 21, after previously announcing his first tour of Australia and New Zealand in 24 years. Asked his best memories of Australia, which he last toured in 1993, McCartney said, "I think it's the wildlife because we don't have that here. We don't have kangaroos or koalas. So we went to a zoo and were able, me and the kids, were able to hold a little peaceful koala." A fan asked if he'd consider adding the McCartney solo song "Ode to a Koala Bear" to his set list and he said whimsically, "That's a thought, isn't it?" Presale tickets for the Down Under concerts, which take place from Dec. 2-Dec. 16, are currently available on PaulMcCartney.com, with general sales beginning July 4. - Billboard, 6/22/17...... Queen and Adam Lambert gave their first US live performance since 2014 when they appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live on June 23. The band performed the Queen track "I Want It All," and also a snippet of a new Adam Lambert song, entitled 'TwoFux', during the set. Queen and Lambert recently announced a huge US tour for 2017, with European and Australian runs also following later in the year. Lambert, who rose to fame on the US talent show American Idol, has been Queen's touring frontman and replacement for Freddie Mercury since 2011. - NME, 6/24/17...... 
Jon Walmsley, who portrayed Jason Walton on the classic 1970s TV series