Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on Feb. 26th, 2016

Social media site Instagram's new "InstaMiniSeries" channel, which features original episodic programming packaged as Instagram videos, premiered a new series on Feb. 25 at 8:00 p.m. EST devoted entirely to David Bowie's final album Blackstar. Instagram has also announced subsequent episodes of the series, titled Unbound, will follow every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, for a total of 16 episodes. In a press release, the site says that in the fall of 2015 Bowie granted them "unmediated access to the music and images" from what would prove to be his last album before he passed away on Jan. 10. Unbound, according to Instagram, "will take the audience on a journey of evocative images inspired by the moods suggested in the album's music, lyrics and artwork," and also features visual interpretations of Bowie's songs by actors including Tavi Gevinson and Patricia Clarkson. - Billboard, 2/22/16...... In other Bowie news, it has been revealed that the late rock icon turned down the opportunity to have his music included on the soundtrack for the 1996 film Trainspotting, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Ewan McGregor as a heroin addict in Edinburgh, UK. In a new interview, Boyle says he and his team initially wanted to add a Bowie song and only turned to Iggy Pop's Bowie-produced "Lust For Life" when Bowie turned them down. Since his death, it has emerged that Bowie declined a number of other invitations and collaboration offers, including a Boyle-directed Bowie biopic and collaborations with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Dave Grohl, and others. Meanwhile, Iggy Pop paid homage to Bowie during the annual Tibet House charity benefit concert at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 22 in New York City. Backed by the Patti Smith Group, Pop kicked into a one-two punch of Bowie classics with "Jean Genie" and "Tonight," the latter which he co-wrote with Bowie for Pop's Lust for Life album and later covered by Bowie on his Tonight LP as a duet with Tina Turner Meanwhile on Feb. 25, Bowie's son Duncan Jones praised the Bowie tribute during the Brit Awards earlier in the evening, which included impassioned words from Annie Lennox and actor Gary Oldman, a musical medley of Bowie's hits and a cover of "Life on Mars" from 1971's Hunky Dory, performed by the band Lorde. Oldman also accepted a Brit Icon award on behalf of Bowie and his family. "Finally found the links to tonight's Brits. Just... beautiful. Thank you," tweeted Jones, who the previous week had described Lady Gaga's Bowie tribute at the Grammys as "overexcited or irrational." - New Musical Express/Billboard, 2/26/16...... Bruce Springsteen mistakenly gave a shout out to Pittsburgh when he was actually performing in Cleveland, Oh., during a stop on his The River tour at the rock & roll city on Feb. 23. "Party noises Pittsburgh," Springsteen exclaimed during the show at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. "And Cleveland, too!," he quickly added. However all was forgiven by the enthusiatic Cleveland crowd, as he and his E Street Band rewarded them with a stellar show, including a blistering version of "Youngstown" that included an intense Nils Lofgren guitar solo. The Boss also treated them to a tour premiere of "Growin' Up." - Billboard, 2/24/16...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Elton John turned his war on lyp-synching to Janet Jackson. "You know, f---ing music magazines writing a review of Janet Jackson saying, 'This is the greatest show -- four and a half stars,'" Elton said. "It's f---ing lip-synced! Hello! That's not a show! I'd rather go and see a drag queen. F--- off." John has previously criticized Madonna for lip-synching during her shows, but later said he "probably went too far with Madonna, and I got very personal and I wrote her -- she was very gracious." - Billboard, 2/25/16...... Don McLean announced on Feb. 26 that he is postponing a tour of Australia that was set to begin on Mar. 14 in Hobart following a string of domestic abuse charges leveled at the veteran singer. "Don McLean graciously accepts the willingness of the promoter to postpone the current tour to exactly the same time in 2017 in order to allow Don McLean and his family time to work at reuniting," reads a statement issued on McLean's behalf. "This is an unprecedented moment in the family history. Don McLean thanks all his fans for their patience and love and he looks forward to seeing them next year." A rep for McLean said the artists will make up all the planned Oz shows on the same dates in 2017, as McLean and his family "work at reuniting." On Feb. 22, McLean pleaded not guilty to additional charges stemming from his Jan. 18 arrest in Maine when his wife Patrisha filed a handwritten request for protection. The Knox County district attorney's office had added five charges against McLean earlier in February, bringing the total to six. McLean said in a statement that the new charges do not change his position that he is not guilty. He says the case is "a tragedy for our family and especially my wife." Patrisha McLean posted on Don's website saying that "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." - Billboard, 2/26/16...... The Boston Pops have announced their 2016 spring concert schedule will include a tribute to composer John Williams's Star Wars soundtrack, as well as concerts featuring the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson and guitarist Tom Scholz of the band Boston. "We couldn't be happier with the terrific lineup of guest artists joining us for the 2016 Boston Pops season," Pops conductor Keith Lockhart says. "I can't remember a more diverse season with such great potential, both to please our loyal audiences and reach out and entice music lovers of all ages." The Pops also will pay tribute to late rock legends David Bowie and Eagles member Glenn Frey, in "Beatles to Led Zeppelin" concerts on May 10-11 featuring Scholz and devoted to classic rock. - AP, 2/21/16...... Peter Frampton released an album of entirely acoustic music on Feb. 26 with the 11-track Acoustic Classics." I spent a few months going in every day doing different performances of different songs until I found the ones that worked for me and I thought people would like," says Frampton, who recorded the album in his Nashville studio, playing acoustic guitar and bass and a bit of piano on "I'm In You." The LP also includes acoustic takes on such Frampton classics as "Wind of Change," "Show Me the Way," "Lines on My Face," "Baby, I Love Your Way," and even an unlikely selection, "Do You Feel Like I Do." "I thought, 'Look, I've done all the others. Let's give it a go,'" Frampton recalls about the latter song. Frampton, who plans to be on the road with his full band this summer doing dates with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Gregg Allman, added he's already looking forward to beginning work on his next album. "I want to move on to something different and then maybe the album after that might be a live acoustic show," he says. "Even though new music from me isn't going to leap to the Top 40 stations or streams or whatever, it doesn't matter because it's what I do every day. I'm always creating. Whether people want to hear it or not, I'm gonna do it." - Billboard, 2/22/16...... AC/DC has topped the latest round-up of Billboard Hot Tours list for the week ending Feb. 22 with sold-out shows in Fargo, N.D., St. Paul, Minn., and Chicago. The shows generated $5.7 million in revenue from 47,939 sold seats. AC/DC's Rock or Bust tour kicked off in April 2015 with a headlining appearance at the Coachella music festival in Indio, Calif., followed by a three-month stadium run through European markets beginning in May. The band performed in North America in Aug. and Sept., before returning Down Under for shows in Australia and New Zealand. Their 2016 winter trek through U.S. arenas will stretch into early April, and a final stint in Europe is on the books for May and June. - Billboard, 2/23/16...... Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and his wife Sally, who are expecting twin girls, have announced that Sally won't be accompanying the band on its tour of Latin America due to fears of exposure to the Zika virus. It's "too dangerous" Wood tweeted on Feb. 23, adding that Sally has been "sent home." The Stones played the first Brazilian gig of their Ole Tour at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium on Feb. 20. Next they head to Sao Paulo, then Porto Alegre, before traveling to Peru, Colombia and Mexico. The mosquito-borne Zika virus has been described as being particularly harmful to pregnant women and their babies. - AP/Billboard, 2/23/16...... A rare Beatles recording of "Till There Was You" and "Hello Little Girl" that sat dormant in an attic for 50 years is set to be auctioned in March. The 10-inch vinyl recording, which is dated from 1962, belongs to Les Maguire, former keyboardist for beat group Gerry and the Pacemakers, one of the Fab Four's fellow Liverpudlian bands. The 78 rpm disc, produced at the HMV shop in London's Oxford Street, has been described as a "Holy Grail item" of Beatles memorabilia by rare record price guide editor Ian Shirley. Although a starting bid has yet to be set, it's thought that it could command at least £10,000. In other Beatles-related news, South Korean fans of the band will soon be able to legally stream the group's music after Universal Music Korea announced that a total of 17 of their albums will be available for streaming beginning on Leap Day, Feb. 29. The delay is the result of long-stalled negotiations over licensing fees, according to the Korea Times. Until now, Korean fans had to buy actual albums or songs either physically or digitally via iTunes to get their Beatles fix. In Dec. 2015, Beatles streaming officially arrived to the rest of the world via Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play and Tidal. - New Musical Express/Billboard, 2/26/16...... Electronic pioneer Brian Eno has announced a new album, The Ship, to be released on Apr. 29. Eno says the album was in part inspired by doomed liner The Titanic, with one of the albums two tracks, "Fickle Sun," split into three distinct movements. The first hears a poem narrated by British actor Peter Serafinowicz, while the last movement, "I'm Set Free" is a cover of the Velvet Underground's song of the same name. Eno says he was inspired by the battlefields of WWI and the final resting place of the Titanic, which "persist and we pass in a cloud of chatter." - NME, 2/25/16...... Veteran country music singer Sonny James, best known for the crossover teen anthem "Young Love," died on Feb. 22 in Nashville. He was 87. Mr. James helped personify a lighter musical style of country in the mid 1950s, continuing his career through the early 1980s. Known as "The Southern Gentleman," Mr. James was also one of the first artists in the format to consistently see his records cross over to the pop charts. His streak of 16 consecutive No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart from 1967 through 1971 established a success level that went unsurpassed for close to two decades, helping him to eventually gain membership into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006. In Dec. 1956, "Young Love" entered various country charts, and quickly became his first No. 1 country single. It also rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, and remained on that chart for 17 weeks. Another hit the same year, "First Date, First Kiss, First Love," peaked at No. 25 on the pop chart. Mr. James also served as the host of the first-ever CMA Awards in 1967 and produced Marie Osmond's 1973 song "Paper Roses," which hit No. 1 on Hot Country Songs and reached No. 5 on the Hot 100. - Billboard, 2/22/16...... Elvis Presley's personal physician George C. Nichopoulos, better known as "Dr. Nick," died in Memphis on Feb. 24. He was 88. Mr. Nichopoulos was Presley's doctor for 11 years before the singer's death from heart disease on Aug. 16, 1977. The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners later suspended and ultimately revoked Mr. Nichopoulos's medical license after it ruled he had over-prescribed potentially addictive drugs to 13 patients, including Presley and fellow singer Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1981, a jury acquitted him of criminal charges of indiscriminately and negligently prescribing drugs to Presley. In a 2009 interview with a Memphis paper, Mr. Nichopoulos said, "I don't regret any of the medications I gave him. They were necessities." - Billboard, 2/26/16...... A judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed by producer Quincy Jones against the estate of Michael Jackson and record label Sony over royalties on some of Jackson's biggest hits can go trial. On Feb. 25, Superior Court Judge Michael Stern said a jury should decide the numerous factual disputes about whether Jones -- who worked with Jackson on three of his most popular solo albums: Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad - is owed any money. Jones sued the estate and Sony Music Entertainment in 2013, seeking at least $10 million. He contends the defendants re-edited songs for the This Is It film and a pair of Cirque du Soleil shows to deprive him of royalties and production fees. Jones is also seeking a credit on the film that was done by using Jackson's final rehearsals for a planned series of comeback concerts in London. Jones's lawsuit states his contracts call for him to have the first opportunity to re-edit or alter the songs, in part to protect his reputation. In other Michael Jackson-related news, a solo piano rendition of Jackson's 1987 hit "Bad" by a 13-year-old Korean boy Yoham Kim has become a viral sensation. The performance has racked up over 64,000 Facebook reactions and over 87,000 views on YouTube. - AP, 2/25/16...... Actor Tony Burton, who played the trainer to both Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers in the Rocky films, died on Feb. 26 after frequent illness in the past year. He was 78. Mr. Burton played Tony "Duke" Evers, the trainer to Weathers' Apollo Creed character, in the original 1976 movie and its 1979 sequel. After that character's death in 1985's Rocky IV, his character joined the team behind Stallone's Rocky Balboa, where he remained for four more Rocky movies, concluding with 2006's Rocky Balboa. Mr. Burton, a native of Flint, Mich., began his acting career in 1974, hoping to parlay his two Golden Gloves light-heavyweight titles into a Hollywood career. He was also in 1976's Assault on Precinct 13, 1980's The Shining, and had a steady string of TV guest spots. He retired from acting in 2007, the year after his final Rocky movie. "Sad news. RIP Tony Burton. His intensity and talent helped make the Rocky movies successful," Carl Weathers tweeted on Feb. 26. - USA Today 2/26/16.

A lock of John Lennon's hair that was snipped when he got a haircut for his role in the 1967 film How I Won the War sold for $35,000 at an auction conducted by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions on Feb. 20. UK-based memorabila collector Paul Fraser purchased the 4-inch lock that had been cut and kept all these years by a German hairdresser. Also during the auction, a photo of the Fab Four signed by all four members went for $42,500, and a sealed copy of the band's notorious "butcher" cover for the Yesterday and Today album went for $125,000. Meanwhile, Lennon's widow Yoko Ono was presented with New Musical Express's 2016 Inspiration Award during the NME Awards on Feb. 17 at London's O2 Academy Brixton. The multimedia artist and activist, who turned 83 the following day, said she was "excited to get this award... I didn't expect it at all. It's great to be busy together," before a video of her life was screened for the audience. - AP/NME, 2/10/16................ Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan has responded to a Facebook post by his fellow Deep Purple founding member Ritchie Blackmore saying that he had been banned from participating in the band's upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Apr. 8 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Blackmore left the band in 1993, and Gillan says since there are no circumstances under which a "reunion" could take place, "DP inductees will accept the awards and then the living breathing Deep Purple will perform." "It should be stressed that there is no slight intended nor any desire to upset anyone regarding this decision; it is purely a mark of respect to [current DP members] Steve Morse and Don Airey... So, let's all get up there, shake hands, smile for the cameras and get it done with dignity and respect for all the existing and past members of a very special family," Gillan wrote. A rep for Blackmore posted a message on his Blackmore's official site on Feb. 18 saying that Blackmore was "honored" by the induction and "was discussing the possibility of attending, until we received correspondence from the President of the Rock Hall of Fame who said that [DP manager] Bruce Payne...had said 'No'.......!!!!! Therefore Ritchie will not be attending the ceremony. He sincerely thanks all the fans that voted for him for their support." As it stands now, the current lineup of DP will be performing at ceremony, and Blackmore will not be attending. - Billboard, 2/19/16...... Late Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett will be honored with a memorial and tribute concert in Cambridge, UK on Oct. 27, the same day that he will also be remembered with an unveiling of a statue of him at the city's Corn Exchange venue. The date coincide with the anniversary of the musician playing his final handful of concerts with Floyd at the city's legendary venue. The Swedish group Men On The Border will "reinterpret" the music of Barrett and Pink Floyd, with further backing music supplied by the Swedish Sandviken Symphony Orchestra. "Syd loved Cambridge, it always meant home to him," Barrett's sister Rosemary Breen says. "He would have been very surprised and delighted to be recognised in such a unique way. His family would like to thank everyone involved with this memorial." Barrett died in 2006 of pancreatic cancer. - New Musical Express, 2/17/16...... In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Feb. 18, presidential candidate Donald Trump name-dropped some of his favorite musicians, including Elton John, the Beatles and Michael Jackson. Trump said he became closely acquainted with Jackson when the King of Pop lived at the Trump Tower for several weeks, after getting married to Lisa Marie Presley at one of his VIP clubs. "He was up there for one week with her and he never came down," Trump said. "I don't know what was going on but they got along." Trump went on to say that Jackson was an "unbelievably talented guy" but "lost tremendous confidence" after undergoing plastic surgery on his face. "He had people that did numbers on him that were just unbelievable... Believe it or not, when you lose your confidence in something, you can even lose your talent," Trump added. - Billboard, 2/19/16...... Bruce Springsteen announced on Feb. 19 that he and his E Street Band will play four dates in the UK this summer on their The River world tour. As with his US dates, Springsteen and the band are expected to play the 1980 double-LP in its entirety. The dates include Manchester (5/25), Glasgow (6/1), Coventry (6/3) and London's Wembley Stadium on June 5. - NME, 2/19/16...... Cable TV's HBO channel has renewed the new '70s record industry-based series Vinyl for another season after the premiere episode of the show aired on Feb. 14. Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese directed the two-hour pilot, which stars Bobby Cannavale as a record label president in the 1970s trying to save his company. Vinyl is also exec-produced by Scorsese and Mick Jagger, with Jagger's son James Jagger also appearing in the show. - The Hollywood Reporter, 2/19/16...... Hall & Oates brought their 2016 tour to New York's Madison Square Garden on Feb. 19 with a selection of their '70s and '80s smashes. The duo stoked the adoring crowd's eagerness by playing only singles released between 1973 and 1984, including "Sara Smile," "She's Gone," "Kiss on My List," "One on One" and "I Can't Go for That," with "Las Vegas Turnaround" being the only album cut in the set. The 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees encored with a cover of the Delfonics' hit "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time," after guitarist John Oates declaring earlier in the show, "It's a love fest here in New York City." - Billboard, 2/20/16...... Additional acts including Blondie's Debby Harry, Bette Midler and Mumford & Sons have been added to already star-studded David Bowie two-night tribute-turned-memorial concerts on March 31 and Apr. 1 in New York City. Harry will perform a solo set at March 31's Carnegie Hall concert, as well as a set with her Blondie bandmates at the Apr. 1 Radio City Music Hall show, while Midler will perform during the March 31 show and Mumford & Sons at the Apr. 1 show. Previously announced acts include the Pixies, Michael Stipe, Cyndi Lauper, Laurie Anderson, Cat Power, the Roots and Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart. - Billboard, 2/17/16...... In other posthumous Bowie-related news, the iconic rocker will be given an official tribute during the UK's 2016 Glastonbury Festival. An entire set of Bowie's Glastonbury set in 2000 will be screened for the crowd at the Worthy Farm event, and fans had already planned a "mass singalong" to pay homage the Ziggy Stardust legend during the festival. Meanwhile, composer Philip Glass is in talks to stage a tribute to Bowie during the 26th Annual Tibet House Benefit Concert in New York on Feb. 22. Glass helped form the Tibet House, which works to preserve and further Tibetan culture and identity, in 1987. Meantime, Chic's Nile Rodgers, who produced some of Bowie's hit albums in the 1980's, is defending the Bowie tribute by Lady Gaga during this year's Grammy awards, which has been disparaged by some, including Bowie's son Duncan Jones. Rodgers fired off a series of Tweets on Feb. 17 saying that "we did what we thought and still think was right in our short time slot" and that he would know what Bowie would or would not have appreciated. Lady Gaga's Bowie tribute was the most-talked-about Grammy moment on Facebook across the country, according to the site. NME/Billboard, 2/19/16...... Speaking of the Grammys, rapper Tyga has said that he wishes he had known that a group that included Paul McCartney, Beck and drummer Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters had not been allowed entrance into a post-Grammy party that he headlined at the Hollywood club Argyle on Feb. 15. "I had no knowledge -- I was inside performing," Tyga said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Feb. 17. "I wish I knew that [Paul] was outside. I would've went out there with the mic, brought him in and perform 'Rack City' with me." Tyga then extended a personal invitation to McCartney on-air for his Feb. 26 show at L.A.'s Club Nokia, even offering, "I'll personally walk you in." - Billboard, 2/17/16...... Def Leppard say they'll be back on the road this spring, despite frontman Joe Elliott's vocal problems that forced the postponement of 10 shows on the group's most recent U.S. tour. The band plans to make up the postponed shows in May and then go on with a planned North American tour in June. Def Leppard's latest album, released in October 2015, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart and is still selling well. "I still think it's the strongest record the band's made since I've been in the band," says DL guitarits Vivian Campbell, who joined the group in 1992. - Billboard, 2/17/16...... Eric Clapton has revealed that vocals and guitar work by George Harrison will be featured posthumously on Clapton's forthcoming solo album, I Still Do. Harrison's playing and singing will be used on the track "I Will Be There" under the pseudonym "Angelo Mysterioso," which Harrison used when he contributed to Clapton's supergroup Cream's 1969 Goodbye album. Produced by veteran UK boardman Glyn Johns, who also worked on Clapton's 1978 LP Backless, the 12 track I Still Do is due out on May 20 via Clapton's own Bushbranch imprint, in association with Surfdog Records. It will also feature cover artwork by UK graphic designer Sir Peter Blake of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band fame. - New Musical Express, 2/19/16...... A Kickstarter.com campaign has been initiated to fund a movie based on the '70s CBS sitcom Good Times. "In the case of Good Times there is going to be a comparison, but it's not an infringement of copyright," says attorney Shaun Weiss, who represents Bernadette Stanis, who played Thelma in the series, and will be reprising her role in the crowd-funded effort. - Deadline.com, 2/17/16...... Pulitzer Prize-winning author Harper Lee, who wrote the acclaimed 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, passed away at the age of 89 on Feb. 18 in an assisted living facility in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. The book, a landmark in American literature and required reading in many US high schools, brings to life the 1930s tale of Southern lawyer Atticus Finch, who is tasked with defending an African-American man, Tom Robinson, accused of rape. Gregory Peck portrayed Finch in director Robert Mulligan's equally praised 1962 screen adaptation of the book, which claimed eight nominations at 35th Academy Awards and nabbed three wins. Another novel by Ms. Lee, Go Set a Watchman, was released in 2015. Originally written prior to To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman saw a revision of the Finch character in a storyline set two decades after the events of the first book. Ms. Lee famously avoided giving interviews in recent decades, her last lengthy one being in 1964. - The Hollywood Reporter, 2/19/16.