Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on Jan. 27th, 2016

Barry Manilow says he's working on the followup to his 2014 album My Dream Duets, which has been nominated for a Grammy this year. Manilow, a native of Brooklyn, will be mixing his own originals with standards on a new thematic LP about his beloved hometown. This Is My Town: Songs of New York will such famous NYC-themed songs as "On Broadway," "New York, New York," "Downtown," "Lonely Town" and even Don Henley's 1990 single "New York Minute." "It's half standards and half originals. We just got out of the studio with a beautiful 40-piece orchestra. It's gonna be a great-sounding album," says Manilow, who anticipates a release later in 2016. Manilow is also continuing to work with producers on bringing his musical "Harmony" to Broadway after successful runs in Atlanta and Los Angeles. On Jan. 28, he'll kick off the 2016 leg of his One Last Tour trek in Pensacola, Fla., and is considering one more North American leg in the spring before taking the show to the U.K. in June. The 72-year-old pop crooner insists this will be his final full-scale tour, though not a retirement from performing altogether. Meanwhile, Manilow is trying to help spur donations of musical instruments to the International School of Louisiana in New Orleans by giving a Yamaha piano to the institution. Also, anyone who donates a new or gently used instrument to the school between now and Jan. 29 will receive two free tickets to his Jan. 29 show in New Orleans at the Smoothie King Center. - Billboard/AP, 1/25/16...... Parlophone Records UK has announced David Bowie's seminal first six albums from 1969-73 will be getting a vinyl re-release on Feb. 26. Space Oddity, The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups will all be reissued on heavyweight 180g vinyl. Bowie's Bowie at the Beeb box set compilation of recordings from various BBC Radio stations from 1968-1972 will also be released on that day. All the albums have been remastered. Meanwhile, Newsweek is reporting that a treasure trove of new music the legendary artist created will be released in stages beginning in 2017. According to an unnamed source "close to the late artist, there's "a long list of unscheduled musical releases that Bowie planned before he died," which have been "divided into eras," the first of which will hit stores before the end of 2017. Also, a cast album for Bowie's off-Broadway musical "Lazarus" is also in production. The musical, which featured 18 of the artist's biggest hits, closed on Jan. 20 after its two-month run at the New York Theatre Workshop. Meanwhile Labyrinth, director Jim Henson's 1986 fantasy film starring Bowie, is getting a reboot with a script by Nicole Perlman, the co-writer of the hit film Guardians of the Galaxy. Labyrinth told of a teenager, played by Jennifer Connelly in one of her first roles, who has to navigate a fantastical maze in order to save her young brother, kidnapped by a goblin king (Bowie). It is unclear whether the new film, which is being produced by Columbia/TriStar, will be a reimagining of the story or a sequel. Despite the film's popularity in recent years, it was a box-office disappointment at the time of its release and led to Henson's exit from film directing. It was only in the intervening years that the film gained a strong cult following. In other Bowie-related news, his producing partner Tony Visconti will be the opening keynote speaker at this year's 30th annual South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW). The 2016 SXSW Music Festival runs March 15-20 and is expected to showcase 2,000 acts ranging from across all the genres. Visconti's keynote address will take place March 16. Finally, Bowie's son Duncan Jones thanked fans on Twitter on Jan. 23 for their support following his father's death earlier in January. "Hi all. Just wanted to thank you for the incredibly kind words & thoughts. I'll be easing my way back into Twitter- pic.twitter.com/n0ytOiESWb," Jones posted. Jones is the director of the films Moon and Source Code. - Billboard/The Hollywood Reporter/New Musical Express, 1/27/16...... Actor Joseph Fiennes has been cast to play Michael Jackson in a new one-off, half hour British TV comedy, chronicling a fabled road trip that the King of Pop took with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. The unbelievable story is based on a 2011 Vanity Fair article that alleged the three entertainment icons rented a car and fled New York westward following the attacks. Unable to fly, they were hoping to make it home to California and made it as far as Ohio while gorging on junk food in the car, before catching a plane the rest of the way. Taylor's former assistant has claimed the legendary actress never joined Brando and Jackson on the trip, and Fiennes, who has been the subject of controversy over his controversial casting as an African-American, insists that the project is only intended to be lighthearted. "It's a light comedy look. It's not in any way malicious. It's actually endearing," he told Entertainment Tonight. Fiennes is a white British actor best known for his role in 1998's Shakespeare in Love, as well as more recent roles in Hercules and American Horror Story. - Billboard/Vulture.com, 1/26/16...... In other Michael Jackson news, it appears the crazy Internet conspiracy theory that the King of Pop provided uncredited musical contributions to the 1994 Sega video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is true. The gist of the convoluted story is that former Sega exec Roger Hector, who worked on Sonic 3, has confirmed in a recent Huffington Post article that Jackson reached out to Sega in the early '90s to express his admiration for the new Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Sega, which released several titles of Jackson's Moonwalker video game, invited him to visit their office. Jackson was provided with a demo of the game and invited to compose music for it. "He took it from there and started making music," Hector said. After receiving music from Jackson's team for Sonic 3, Hector recalled, "I was really impressed with how much of a signature Michael Jackson sound there was in this, and yet, it was all new." Sega, however, still denies Jackson had any involvement on Sonic 3. Meanwhile, producer John Branca, who's also the co-executor of Jackson's estate, has hinted that more Michael Jackson movies could be on the way. "I'd like to see a movie about the History album and tour," says Branca. "It was his last tour, and his most underappreciated album. Michael was out of favor in the U.S. at the time. But if you listen to it start to finish, it's one of the greatest albums of all time." Branca also says a movie about Jackson's blockbuster 1982 album Thriller is also "definitely a candidate, and that he's planning Halloween-themed events around the album in 2017, its 35th anniversary. But until then, fans will have to be content with the new Spike Lee-directed Showtime documentary Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown to Off the Wall, which premiered on Jan. 24 at the Sundance Film Festival and hits Showtime on Feb. 5. "This (film) shows the story of Michael resurrecting the Jacksons and making his first solo album -- and we all know what happened after that," Branca says. - Billboard, 1/26/16...... Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have rescheduled their postponed Madison Square Garden concert, which was cancelled on Jan. 24 due to a blizzard in New York City, to March 28. Tickets to the original show will be honored on the new night. Springsteen's camp has also announced that his The River Tour is extending its U.S. run with 14 new shows, and the band will play May 19 in Portugal as the headlining act on the first night of "Rock in Rio Lisboa." The new dates will begin with a third and final show at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena March 19, and will extend through Denver, Dallas, and Detroit with two final shows at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on April 23 and 25. The River Tour, Springsteen's first in two years, follows the release of his 1980 The River deluxe reissue The Ties That Bind: The River Collection. The band is performing the entire River record in sequence on every date of the tour, complemented with an additional set of songs to stretch the show to over three hours. - Billboard, 1/27/16...... The attorney for singer/songwriter Don McLean, who was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge on Jan. 18 in Camden, Maine, said on Jan. 24 that he and his wife have agreed to dismiss an order of protection case that followed his arrest. Attorney Walter McKee said the couple have "agreed to move forward" and dismiss the order of protection case, however McClean is still due in court on Feb. 22 in his criminal case. The "American Pie" singer is pleading not guilty, according to McKee. McLean's wife, photographer Patrisha McLean, said in a statement she "did not intend to define Don or our relationship" with her handwritten request for protection. In the request, Patrisha McLean said she feared for her life due to her husband's rage when she called 911. It also documented a pattern of abuse going back decades. She also asked McLean's fans not to focus on the criminal case: "Don has a big heart. He and I had many happy times in the 30 years of our marriage and what has recently transpired is unfortunate for all of us." - AP, 1/25/16...... Brian Wilson has announced he'll be launching an ambitious Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary World Tour on Mar. 26 at Auckland, Australia's Civic Theatre. More than 70 dates are confirmed so far in countries also including Japan, the UK, Spain, Israel and Portugal, with additional shows being added. Wilson, joined by former bandmates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, will also be playing the seminal 1966 album in its entirety in U.S. cities coast-to-coast on the tour beginning on June 14 in Burlington, Vermont, wrapping on Oct. 14 in Lake Tahoe, California. "It's really been a trip to sit here and think about releasing Pet Sounds 50 years ago," the 73-year-old Beach Boys mastermind said in a statement. "I love performing this album with my band and look forward to playing it for fans all across the world," he added. - Billboard, 1/25/16...... Iggy Pop has announced he'll be headlining London's Royal Albert Hall on May 18 with new bandmates, drummer Josh Homme (Arctic Monkeys) and Matt Helders (Queens of the Stone Age). On the same day, Pop will release his new album, Post Pop Depression, which he recorded in secret in 2015. Pop released the first track from the album, "Gardenia," earlier in January. - New Musical Express, 1/27/16...... Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the worldwide rights (excluding France and Germany) to a new documentary on Frank Zappa, Eat That Question -- Frank Zappa In His Own Words. Directed by Thorsten Schutte, the film zooms in on the iconoclastic composer-musician entirely through rare archival footage from his three-decade career and includes clips of rare TV interviews and international performances. "I'm delighted and I'm thrilled that Sony Pictures Classics believes in the film and I feel we're in very good hands," said Schutte, whose film premiered on Jan. 25 at the Sundance Film Festival. "The news of the acquisition is really the cherry on the cake of our world premiere at Sundance," he added. - The Hollywood Reporter, 1/23/16...... Olivia Newton-John, who played Sandy in the big-screen adaptation of the hit stage musical Grease, says there's "something magical" about the story, which will get a live TV treatment on Jan. 31 when the Fox network stages its own staging of the musical, Grease: Live!, with Julianne Hough stepping in as the newest Sandy. "I think Julianne's going to be a wonderful Sandy," Newton-John says. "She's an amazing dancer and has a really lovely energy about her." Fans hoping for a live Grease fix from Newton-John can instead check out the diva singing Grease tunes in her concert residency show in Las Vegas at the Flamingo. The ongoing 90-minute show, Summer Nights, premiered in 2014 and has been extended through 2016. It features a bevy of Newton-John's hits. - Billboard, 1/22/16...... Bette Midler will return to Broadway for the first time since her hit 2013 one-woman play "I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers" with a new production of "Hello, Dolly!" The show will begin Broadway performances on Mar. 13, 2017 and open on Apr. 20, 2017 at a theater to be announced. A "Hello, Dolly!" revival has been on Broadway's wish list for a long time and was mentioned as a suitable vehicle for Midler following "I'll Eat You Last," which then marked her return to the Broadway stage after a nearly 40-year absence. Based on Thornton Wilder's farce" The Matchmaker," "Hello, Dolly!" first premiered on Broadway with Carol Channing in the title role and won ten Tony Awards. - Billboard, 1/19/16...... "Rewind: The 80s Festival," the world's biggest 80s music festival, will return with three UK festivals during July and August 2016. Tickets for all three festivals will go on sale at 9am on Friday January 29th at the official website rewindfestival.com. Artists participating in this year's festivals - Rewind Scotland, Rewind South and Rewind North -- include Adam Ant, Rick Astley, ABC, Big Country, Leo Sayer, Slim Jim Phantom From Stray Cats, Go West, Thompson Twins, Thomas Dolby, and members of Joy Division and Heaven 17. - Noble PR, 1/27/16...... The ABC network is in early stages of developing a Watergate miniseries set in the 1970s Richard Nixon White House during the notorious Watergate burglary and scandal. Written by Jon Maas (The Last Debate) and produced by Bob Cooper, the series takes place amid the sexual revolution of the 1970s and is told through the eyes of John Dean, then-White House Counsel for President Nixon. - Deadline.com, 1/25/16...... Actor Abe Vigoda, best known for his roles as mobster Tessio in The Godfather and as Detective Sgt. Fish in TV's Barney Miller and a spinoff series Fish in which he starred, died of natural causes on Jan. 26 at his home in New Jersey. He was 94. Mr. Vigoda, a tall character actor with the characteristically slouched shoulders and hangdog face, became something of a pop culture figure due to repeated false reports of his demise, which became the subject of jokes. Reflecting his somewhat odd celebrity was the existence of a punk rock band named Abe Vigoda; his recurring appearances in the late 2000s on Late Night With Conan O'Brien; and the existence of a website named "IsAbeVigodaDead.com," which for years consisted simply of a blank page with the word "No." After a few guest roles on TV series, Mr. Vigoda was cast as the aged, malady-laden and slow-moving cop Phil Fish in ABC police sitcom "Barney Miller," which started its long run in 1974. The character was so popular that the network launched a spinoff, simply titled "Fish," in 1977. For a while, Mr. Vigoda appeared on both series, and also guested on series including Hawaii Five-O, Kojak, The Bionic Woman, The Rockford Files and Eight Is Enough. During the 1980s and '90s, he appeared on shows including The New Mike Hammer, Tales From the Darkside, MacGyver, Murder, She Wrote, Law and Order and Wings. Mr. Vigoda also enjoyed steady film work, including the 1990 Tom Hanks comedy Joe Versus the Volcano, which was a box office failure but developed a cult following. In 1986-87 he starred on Broadway in a revival of "Arsenic and Old Lace," and during the 2010 Super Bowl, Mr. Vigoda appeared with Betty White in a commercial for Snickers candy bars. Mr. Vigoda's wife Beatrice died in 1992. He is survived by a daughter. - Variety, 1/26/16.

As a massive blizzard bears down on much of the Eastern U.S. on Jan. 22, concerts by such artists as Jackson Browne and former Styx member Dennis DeYoung have been postponed due to States of Emergency being declared. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory's edict forced Browne to postpone a show in Asheville set for Jan. 22, and DeYoung's concert at the Paramount in Huntington, Long Island, N.Y. has been put off until Feb. 25. New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., are also among the cities expected to be hammered with snow, sleet and freezing rain. - Billboard, 1/22/16...... Police in Maine arrested Don McLean on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge at his Camden home on Jan. 18, and court records show she then filed a handwritten request for protection that claims her 70-year-old husband's rage was "unfathomably deep and scary." In the request, she said McLean's abuse often left her bruised, and that she feared for her life when she called 911 earlier in the week. "Don terrorized me for four hours, until the 911 call that I think might have saved my life," she wrote. On Jan. 21, McLean issued a statement saying his marriage is experiencing a "very painful breakdown," that he is "not a villain," and that it is an emotional time for his family. "I may never recover from this but I will try and hope to continue to entertain you all as I always have," McLean said. The singer/songwriter was released from the Knox County Jail on a $10,000 bail the same day and is due in court Feb. 22. McLean's attorney, Walter McKee, said his client will plead not guilty when the case returns to court, and that McLean "vigorously denies" his wife's allegations. McLean, who grew up in Port Chester, N.Y., and has resided in the wealthy coastal Maine town of Camden for years, is best known for his chart-topping 1972 song "American Pie," about the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959 -- "The Day the Music Died." - AP, 1/21/16...... Rock legend and political activist Graham Nash has weighed in on the current U.S. presidential campaign, calling it the "strangest" one he's seen. Nash, a native of Britain who became a U.S. citizen in the late 1970s, says he's "watched the American political climate for almost 50 years... and this is by far the strangest one." "I have never seen a party in such disarray as the Republicans and such extreme levels of hatred and animosity towards other people," Nash said, and singled out New York real estate developer Donald Trump in particular. "We're just feeding his show, his shtick... There are an incredible amount of people in this country that are not so bright and he is appealing to a great many of them and a great many of their fears, the boogie man waiting to take their guns and come and rape their daughters in the middle of the night... He's playing upon all those fears and it's dreadful to see, but nobody I know has the will or the power to shut him up." Nash says he's backing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the race for the White House, and although he "doesn't believe right now he can be elected," he thinks Sanders' campaign can continue to build momentum. "If Bernie Sanders wins Iowa or New Hampshire, I think you'll see an enormous wave of energy coming his way," he added. Nash, 74, is releasing his new album, This Path Tonight, on Apr. 15, and he previewed the new LP on Jan. 20 at L.A.'s landmark Village studios, where he recorded the recorded the album, for a gathering of friends, family and industry people. Before the presentation, he said in an interview that late Eagles member Glenn Frey had been a friend of his "since the late '60s, early '70s because he was growing up in Laurel Canyon, making music the same that we all were at the time and I hung with him several times in the journey of the Eagles... we actually lived on the same island in the Hawaiian chain for 30 years so I did see him occasionally." Nash also said he met the recently deceased David Bowie a couple of times, and he was "an artist who displayed genious qualities at times." "On both occasions I was very impressed with his intelligence and the energy that poured out of that man was amazing," Nash said. - Billboard, 1/22/16...... Other musicians are remembering Glenn Frey, including Jimmy Buffett, who described the Eagles co-founder as "a friend, professional, inspiration, and sometimes a handful." Buffett, who was asked to induct the Eagles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, says after he first met Frey in August of 1975 when his band was invited to open for the Eagles, "Glenn and I went on to become close friends, songwriting collaborators, and neighbors in Aspen. He and Don [Henley] were instrumental in getting Irving Azoff to become my manager, and eventually open for the Eagles on the Hotel California tour of America, which was the rocket ship we rode to eventually becoming a headliner." Meanwhile, even one of Frey's most well-known antagonists, former Eagles member Don Felder, is offering praise for his ex-bandmate. "Glenn's passing was so unexpected and has left me with a very heavy heart filled with sorrow," said Felder in a statement. "He was so young and still full of amazing genius. He was an extremely talented songwriter, arranger, leader, singer, guitarist, you name it and Glenn could do it and create 'MAGIC' on the spot. His visions and insights into songs and lyrics have become legendary and will echo throughout time on this earth for decades to come." Eagles manager Irving Azoff provided additional details of Frey's Jan. 18 passing on the following day, saying his death was caused partly be medications. In an interview with TheWrap.com, Azoff said that the "complications of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Acute Ulcerative Colitis and Pneumonia" that were announced on the Eagles' website were "side effects from all the meds." "Glenn died from complications of ulcer and colitis after being treated with drugs for his rheumatoid arthritis which he had for over 15 years," said Azoff. "I can't believe he's gone... I can't believe everything we accomplished. It was a staggering body of work and just an amazing run. I don't think there will ever be another American band as successful." Also paying tribute to Frey are his "Take It Easy" co-writer Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen. On Jan. 19, Browne played "Take It Easy" during a show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida, his first concert following Frey's death the previous day at the age of 67. Springsteen also performed an acoustic version of the breezy song with just a guitar at the beginning of his encores during a concert at Chicago's United Center on Jan. 19. - Billboard, 1/20/16...... Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has received permission from Simon & Garfunkel to use one of their songs in what has been described as one of the most effective campaign commercials so far -- a 60-second spot that uses the Grammy-winning duo's folksy 1972 hit "America" as a backdrop for scenes of snowy fields and average American families bundling hay in the cold and feeding their cows. Sanders is shown hugging the elderly, and millennials high-fiving while waiting in line for the Senator. - Billboard, 1/21/16...... Billy Joel has pledged $1 million to help save an school for the arts in his beloved Long Island, N.Y., from closing. On Jan. 22, a spokeswoman for the Piano Man said the singer's foundation would donate the money if the Nassau County Board of Cooperative Educational Services vows to keep the Long Island High School for the Arts open for three years. School officials have said that the school is facing closure because of low enrollment. They say it has a deficit of about $400,000 for the current academic year. Joel, a native of Hicksville, N.Y., attended public schools and credited his music teachers for giving him the tools to succeed. - AP, 1/22/16...... The late David Bowie has earned his first No. 1 Billboard Hot 200 album chart debut with his new album Blackstar, and Bowie's greatest hits album Best of Bowie has re-entered the chart at No. 4, marking the highest charting hits package on the Hot 200 in over a year. A whopping total of ten of Bowie's albums are on the Billboard Hot 200 chart dated Jan. 30, the most concurrently charting titles for an artist since the Beatles racked up 13 on the March 1, 2014 chart. Bowie's haul is the most for a soloist since Whitney Houston landed 10 on the March 10, 2012 chart, following her death. The depth of appreciation for the late artists is also evidenced on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, where he has landed his first Top 40 hit single in more than 28 years with the Blackstar track "Lazarus." The song debuted at No. 40 on the Hot 100, his first Top 40 hit since "Never Let Me Down" reached No. 28 in September of 1987. "Lazarus" is Bowie's 14th top 40 entry on the Hot 100 overall. On Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart, Bowie boasts a record 21 songs, including all seven tracks from Blackstar. "Lazarus" was also the most-streamed Bowie song of the week with 8.1 million streams, and "Space Oddity" was his top-selling track with 44,000 purchases. Bowie's total U.S. music sales have increased more than 5,000% in the wake of his death, and the wave of tributes to the singer include New York mayor Bill deBlasio declaring Jan. 20 "David Bowie Day" in the city where Bowie resided. Acting Commissioner Luis Castro of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment presented the proclamation that evening at the sold-out final performance of the New York Theater Workshop production of "Lazarus," which was conceived and co-created by Bowie. In the U.K., a David Bowie fan has launched a campaign to organize a mass sing-along in honor of the late star at the 2016 Glastonbury Festival. An unnamed individual has launched the Twitter account @BowieGlasto2016 in an attempt to get thousands of people singing the late singer's hits at the Pyramid Stage during the Wednesday evening edition of Glastonbury, which takes place at Worthy Farm over the week of June 22-26. - Billboard, 1/21/16...... One of the more bizarre stories to come out following the death of Bowie is a claim by country singer Dwight Yoakam that Elvis Presley wanted to work with Bowie, who also recorded for his label RCA Records, in 1977. Yoakam told the Orange County Register that he met Bowie in 1997, and Bowie told him that six months before Presley's death in Aug. 1977, Bowie received a call from the King of Rock & Roll. Bowie said that Elvis had been impressed by Bowie's song "Golden Years, which was originally penned with Presley in mind, and Presley was interested in having Bowie produce his next album. "I thought 'Oh my God, it's a tragedy that he was never able to make that'," said Yoakam. "I couldn't even imagine 1977 David Bowie producing Elvis. It would have been fantastic. It has to be one of the greatest tragedies in pop music history that it didn't happen, one of the biggest missed opportunities." Bowie was known for his love of Presley, with the pair also sharing a birthday (January 8). - New Musical Express, 1/21/16...... One of Bowie's former collaborators, Iggy Pop, is teaming up with Josh Homme of the band Queens of the Stone Age for a new album. The new set, called Post Pop Depression, was recorded in secret sessions over the past year. Pop and Homme told the New York Times that the new album picks up where Pop's acclaimed 1977 Bowie-produced solo album Lust for Life left off. "Where those records pointed, it stopped.... But without copying it," Homme said, "that direction actually goes for miles. And when you keep going for miles you can't see these two records any more." - Billboard, 1/21/16...... ABBA members Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad made a rare group appearance for the Jan. 20 opening of an ABBA-inspired restaurant, Stockholm's Mamma Mia! The Party. The legendary Europop foursome arrived and left separately and declined to be photographed together on the red carpet, according to reports. Though the Swedes did stand beside one another on the stage -- a momentous occasion which was captured on camera. "We are here to party," Ulvaeus told reporters. ABBA, who split in 1982 and haven't performed together since 1986, purportedly once turned down a $1 billion offer for a comeback tour. - Billboard, 1/21/16...... Elton John has confirmed that he's working with Lady Gaga on music for Gaga's next album. "I've heard two songs, which are killer. They're just great songs," Sir Elton said during an interview on Jan. 19 on the U.K.'s Beats 1 program. The show's host, Zane Lowe, also Tweeted that John said he'd be "writing with Gaga tomorrow." Meanwhile, Elton has released a new video for "Blue Wonderful" from his new studio album, Wonderful Crazy Night. The video shows a pair of dancers moving in surreal, dream-like motions, floating through the air to create the feeling of magic in an otherwise unmusical, suburban setting. John previously released a video for the first single, "Look Up." Wonderful Crazy Night, John's 33rd studio album, is due Feb. 5 via Island Records. - Billboard, 1/20/16...... Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers will be among the artists headlining the 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which is set for April 22-24 and April 28-May 1. The hundreds of artists set to appear also include Neal Young + Promise of the Real, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Bonnie Raitt, Arlo Guthrie, Boz Scaggs, Herbie Hancock, Nick Jonas and My Morning Jacket. - Billboard, 1/19/16...... Former Police frontman Sting and former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel have announed they'll be co-headlining a 19-date tour of North America beginning on June 21 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Oh. "I have no idea what they're going to do together, but I do know that whatever they do together will feel totally natural and great," said Live Nation touring division exec Arthur Fogel. - Billboard, 1/19/16...... The linuep for a planned two-night Fleetwood Mac tribute concert in Los Angeles in February has been announced. Artists and celebrities include Mark Ronson, Alison Mosshart (The Kills), Joanna Newsom, Perry and Etty Farrell, Cold War Kids, Sarah Silverman, Will Forte and Danny Masterson, among others. The tribute is set for L.A.'s Fonda Theatre on Feb. 9 and 10. The show will benefit Sweet Relief Musicians Fund and The Sweet Stuff Foundation. There is no word yet if anyone from Fleetwood Mac will make an appearance. - Billboard, 1/20/16...... A Kris Kristofferson tribute concert set for March 16 at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena will feature performances by Willie Nelson, Rosanne Cash, Eric Church and Lady Antebellum. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter will also perform at "The Life and Songs of Kris Kristofferson," and the show will be taped for a future telecast. - AP, 1/20/16...... Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne has announced that his band has opted not to record a final album to go along with the band's upcoming The End tour, but they will have a final piece of product to offer fans. Osbourne and Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler say the group has prepared an eight-track CD that will be sold only at shows featuring four unreleased tracks from sessions for 2013's Grammy Award-winning 13, which was also Sabbath's first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. The set includes "Season of the Dead," "Cry All Night," "Take Me Home" and "Isolated Man," along with live versions of the 13 tracks "God Is Dead?," "Age of Reason" and "End of the Beginning" and the Vol. 4 deep cut "Under The Sun." The End tour kicks off Jan. 20 in Omaha, Neb., with dates currently booked into September. The lineup will include Osbourne, Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi from the original band, with drummer Tommy Clufetos sitting in for co-founder Bill Ward, who remains on the outs with the group and its management. - Billboard, 1/19/16...... Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler will be among the artists appearing on the upcoming season of the PBS performance series Front and Center. Tyler, who is expected to release a country-influenced solo debut album in 2016, will appear on the Feb. 29 edition of the show. - Billboard, 1/20/16...... The official cause of death of late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has been revealed, with the surprise death now being attributed to prostate cancer. His death certificate also lists congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia as contributing factors. Kilmister's death was originally attributed to an "extremely aggressive cancer" when the singer passed away on Dec. 28 at age 70. - TMZ.com, 1/19/16...... The Ann Wilson Thing!, Heart frontwoman Ann Wilson's solo project, has announced its digital live EP, Live at The Belly Up, is available now at BellyUpLive.com. It will be released through all digital outlets on Jan. 29. Recorded at Solana Beach, CA's legendary Belly Up nightclub, the EP features seven riveting performances that refresh works by artists from Bob Dylan to Aretha Franklin and everywhere in between. The EP will available via all digital outlets beginning Jan. 29. In Sept. 2015, Wilson's "passion project" The Ann Wilson Thing released it's first EP, #1, and embarked on her first solo tour ever, with stops in intimate venues across the country throughout September and October. - Miles High Productions, 1/20/16...... Drummer Dale Griffin, a former member of the British glam-rock outfit Mott the Hoople, passed away in his sleep on Jan. 17 after having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease a decade ago. He was 67. Griffin was a founding member of the group that released eight albums over their five-and-a-half years as a band. Mott the Hoople are best known for their hit "All The Young Dudes," which was penned by David Bowie. The band were on the verge of splitting in 1972 when Bowie wrote "All The Young Dudes" for them, after originally offering them "Sufragette City." "All The Young Dudes" became a hit and spurred the band on to create more hits with "Honaloochie Boogie," "All The Way From Memphis" and "Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" all following. Mott The Hoople split in 1974 after completing a European tour. Griffin continued playing alongside bassist Pete Overend Watts and Morgan Fisher under the name Mott in 1976. The original band reunited in 2009 for their 40th anniversary but Griffin was unable to perform with the group due to ill-health, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at the age of 58. Griffin later worked as a producer for BBC live music sessions by bands including Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins and Pulp. - New Musical Express, 1/19/16...... Mic Gillette, a talented trumpet and trombone player and founding member of the Oakland, Calif., soul-R&B powerhouse Tower of Power, died unexpectedly on Jan. 16. He was 64. Gillette was a key component of Tower of Power's legendary horn section, which is routinely ranked among the best of its kind over the last 50 years. He also touched many in his East Bay neighborhood with his tireless involvement with and support for middle and high school music programs. The acclaimed brass player, who performed on both trumpet and trombone, was prominently featured on the band's best-known recordings, including such hits as "You're Still a Young Man," "So Very Hard to Go" and "What Is Hip?" He remained with Tower of Power until the mid-1980s, when he decided to trade in the touring life to spend more time with his family. He rejoined the seminal Oakland act from 2009 to 2011. "Mic was without a doubt the greatest brass player I've ever known," Tower of Power band leader Emilio Castillo said on the band's website. "Our sincere condolences go out to his wife, Julia, and his daughter, Megan, and their entire family." - 1/19/16.