Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 29th, 2016

A three-person board announced on Aug. 29 that it had denied parole for Mark David Chapman, the convicted murderer of John Lennon. The board did not specify the reason for denying Chapman, 61, parole for the ninth time since he was found guilty of slaying Lennon in front of his and wife Yoko Ono's Dakota apartment building in New York City on Dec. 8, 1980, as the couple returned from a recording session. The parole board had reportedly received five letters recommending parole for Chapman in 2016, however, those writing the board requesting it deny parole for Chapman included Yoko Ono. In his last hearing two years ago, Chapman claimed to have found Jesus and said he was an "idiot" for killing Lennon. He added that he was "confused" and "needed a lot of attention at that time, and I took it out on him." - Billboard/New York Daily News, 8/29/16...... Mick Jagger has reportedly reached a five-figure monthly child support deal with his current lover, 29-year-old ballet dancer Melane Hamrick, whom the 72-year-old has been dating on-and-off for the last two years. Hamrick, who is due to give birth in December, announced she had unexpectedly became pregnant during the Rolling Stones' tour of South America earlier in 2016. The hefty payments are said to be around $15,000 a month until the child turns 18, meaning that Hamrick, who currently lives in New York, will bank an estimated total of $3.3 million. Jagger has also agreed to purchase a house for Hamrick and his latest child, which will be his eighth. - WENN.com, 8/29/16...... Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose joined AC/DC for the Aussie rockers' first night of their 10-date Rock Or Bust Tour on Aug. 27 in Greensboro, N.C. The show was highlighted by a performance of "Live Wire" from the band's 1975 album T.N.T., the first time the band have performed the track live since 1982. The tour will be AC/DC's last with Rose, who joins the dates fresh from Guns N' Roses' Not In This Lifetime tour. Rose was recruited after their long-time frontman Brian Johnson was advised against performing live by physicians after experiencing hearing problems. Johnson announced earlier this year that he had met with in-ear technology specialist Stephen Ambrose for treatment of his hearing loss, and says he hopes he can rejoin AC/DC at some future point. After dates in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (8/30), Atlanta (9/1), Cleveland, Oh. (9/6), Detroit (9/9), Buffalo, N.Y. (9/11), New York City (9/14) and Washington, D.C. (9/17), AC/DC will wrap the tour in Philadelphia on Sept. 20. - New Musical Express, 8/28/16...... Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are known for their marathon concerts, and now the band appears to have set a new stateside record on Aug. 23 at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The band performed a 35-song, 3 hour and 52 minute set which the Springsteen fansite Backstreets.com reports is the Boss's longest U.S. show ever. However that concert is shorter than Springsteen's longest concert ever, a 4 hour and 6 minute show in Helinski, Finland, in 2012. Springsteen and his band are performing in seven U.S. cities, including East Rutherford, before wrapping the tour on Sept. 14. The band spent three months performing in Europe on their The River Tour 2016, which kicked off in January. - AP, 8/25/16...... Led Zeppelin has shared a previously unreleased track called "Sunshine Woman" to help promote their upcoming album The Complete BBC Sessions, which is due on Sept. 16. "Sunshine Woman," recorded in 1969, was recently unearthed and previously only available as a bootleg. It will be one of eight unheard recordings to feature on The Complete BBC Session, which is a remastered version of 1997's BBC Sessions, along with additional tracks. - NME, 8/25/16...... The Beach Boys will release all of their pre-Capitol Records recordings in a new 2-disc set, Becoming the Beach Boys, on Aug. 26 via Omnivore Records. Most prior budget label releases of the recordings did not use the master tapes and featured inferior sound quality, until the DCC Compact Classics release Lost & Found 1961-62 in 1991, but that release only contained a fraction of the sessions. Becoming the Beach Boys was produced with the full cooperation of the band and contains all of the available tapes plus studio chatter. The "classic line-up" of the band is featured on the recordings, which included brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. The CD also contains songs by Kenny and the Cadets, which included Brian and Carl Wilson, their mother Audree Wilson, Al Jardine and Val Poliuto. Liner notes were written by Jim Murphy, who authored a book also entitled Becoming the Beach Boys in 2015. - Billboard, 8/26/16...... Legendary pop music producer, instrumentalist and record label executive Herb Alpert has pledged $10.1 million to Los Angeles City College through his Herb Alpert Foundation. The college says it will be able to provide free tuition as well as private lessons to all its music majors for years to come as a result of the donation. "I love the idea that we can open the door to help students who are financially challenged to study at LACC, which is a beautiful college," the "Rise" trumpeter said. "If you haven't been there lately, the campus is alive and kicking, and there are a lot of great teachers and a lot of great energy there," he added. Meanwhile, Alpert is doing sessions with an orchestra at Hollywood's Capitol Studios for his first Christmas album in 48 years. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/26/16...... Country/pop crossover superstar Dolly Parton is on track to score her first Billboard No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart in 25 years with her new LP Pure & Simple. The album is forecast to sell around 20,000 copies in the week ending Aug. 25, which will likely enable the set to debut at No. 1. Parton last topped that chart in 1991 with her Eagle When She Flies album, which was her sixth Country No. 1 LP. Released Aug. 19 on Dolly's own Dolly Records/RCA Nashville, Pure & Simple is the diva's 43rd studio album. - Billboard, 8/25/16...... The family of late funk/pop icon Prince announced on Aug. 25 that it will open Prince's Paisley Park estate in Minnesota to the public beginning in October. The property served as both a production studio and creative hub from 1985 to his death in April this year, and fans will be able to tour his video editing suite, rehearsal rooms and personal concert hall as well as see thousands of Prince artefacts including his concert wardrobe, awards, instruments, artwork, rare recordings and more. - New Musical Express, 8/25/16...... In related news, Kiss singer Gene Simmons has made further controversial comments about Prince's death, implying that the singer's death was "a choice." "I knew Prince and I knew [David] Bowie," Simmons said during an interview with radio station WNOR. "Bowie died from disease. Prince died from drugs, as did Michael Jackson. Drugs killed them, but it was a choice." Shortly after Prince's death, Simmons said Prince had died of a drug overdose, several weeks before the official cause of death was confirmed. In the latest interview, Simmons said that "people got upset" when he said that, "but that's why he died... Drugs are a selfish thing. This generation, and previous ones, believe that drugs use are a part of life, but I reject that. You play with fire, you're going to get burnt." Simmons and his fellow Kiss bandmate Paul Stanley have claimed that they have never consumed alcohol or taken drugs. - NME, 8/26/16..... In other Kiss-related news, comic book publisher Dynamite Entertainment has announced it will publish a new Kiss comic series -- simply titled KISS -- in October. The new comic book series, according to Simmons, will be a "love letter to the fans who've stayed with the band for that time -- as well as newcomers who've never read a Kiss comic before." Kiss made its first appearance in comic books in Howard the Duck No. 12 in 1977, and has been in other comics series from Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing and even Archie Comics through the years. - NME, 8/26/16...... Adam Wakeman, the keyboardist in Ozzy Osbourne's band since 2004, has said in a new interview that Osbourne wants to record a new solo album once the current Black Sabbath farewell tour is over. "Well [Black Sabbath are] finishing on February 4th, and then we'll see what happens with Ozzy after that," Wakeman said. "I mean, he wants to do another tour, he wants to do another album, but there's going to be a period of time when he needs a rest, so yeah, hopefully we'll be back out." Ozzy's last solo album was Scream in 2010, released three years before the last and final Black Sabbath LP, 13. - NME, 8/25/16...... George Clinton has announced he will release a new album on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label. Clinton and Flying Lotus became fdriends with Clinton appeared on a collaboration by Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar. - Billboard, 8/24/16...... Former The Dukes of Hazard star John Schneider's home in Holden, Louisiana, has been flooded as a result of the recent floods that have devastated the state. Schneider says overflow from the Tickfaw River in August inundated all of his property, flooding his home with about 4 feet of water as well as another house in which his mother lives. Schneider says he's lost a lot of memorabilia and equipment but his situation is not unique. About 90% of the homes in the parish were flooded, according to Schneider, and that the response by friends and strangers has been "amazing." - AP, 8/27/16...... Rudy Van Gelder, a legendary jazz engineer who worked extensively in the 50s and 60s for labels such as Blue Note, Impulse and Prestige, died at his Englewood Cliffs home in New Jersey on Aug. 25. He was 91. Iconic jazz artists that Mr. Van Gelder worked for include John Coltrane -- on his seminal 1965 LP A Love Supreme -- Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis. - NME, 8/28/16...... Juan Gabriel, sometimes known as the "Latin Elvis," died on Aug. 28 after suffering a massive heart attack in Los Angeles as he was preparing to fly to El Paso, Tex., for another concert. He was 66. At the time of his death, Gabriel, already one of Latin music's biggest superstars, was arguably at the apex of his career, despite his age. He was in the midst of the U.S. leg of his MeXXico Es Todos Tour, a 22-city arena trek that had him playing on 360 stages to accommodate sold out crowds. The week before his death, his latest album, Vestido de Etiqueta: Por Eduardo Magallanes, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart. In the fall, Telemundo will begin airing a TV series based on his life. Gabriel leaves behind a legion of fans spread around the world, and on Aug. 28 he was the top-trending Twitter topic worldwide, outpacing even the MTV VMAs. He is survived by his four children. - Billboard, 8/28/16...... Beloved comedic actor Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedy gems as The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Stir Crazy, died on Aug. 29 at his home in Stamford, Conn. The actor, 83, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease, according to his nephew Jordan Walker-Perlman. Born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee on June 11, 1933, Mr. Wilder began studying acting at the age of 12. After getting his B.A. from the U. of Iowa in 1955, Mr. Wilder enrolled in the Old Vic Theater school in Bristol, where he learned acting technique and fencing. After returning to the U.S., he taught fencing and did other odd jobs while studying with Herbert Berghof's HB Studio and at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg. Mr. Wilder made his feature film debut in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in Brooks' The Producers that same year. Mr. Wilder went on to star in the high profile Brooks films Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, for which he was also nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award with Brooks. He also dabbled in directing, helming four features, including The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, The World's Greatest Lover, The Woman in Red and Haunted Honeymoon. He went on to form a successful on-screen partnership with fellow comedian Richard Pryor starring in Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Another You together over the course of 15 years. In 1982, Mr. Wilder met his future wife, Saturday Night Live player Gilda Radner, as the two were filming the movie Hanky Panky. Radner would die of ovarian cancer, and Mr. Wilder's book Gilda's Disease: Sharing Personal Experiences and a Medical Perspective on Ovarian Cancer was a remembrance of his third wife. Mr. Wilder's other books included a 2005 biography, Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art, and also several novels with his most recent being 2013's Something to Remember You By. - Variety, 8/29/16...... Jeanne Martin, the second wife of Dean Martin, died on Aug. 24 after a battle with cancer at her Beverly Hills, Calif., home. She was 89. Ms. Martin married Dean in 1949 during the height of his fame, and the pair were one of Hollywood's most photographed couples. Matriarch of their large family, she gave birth to three of Dean's children while raising four more from his previous marriage. Their breakup in 1969 caused nearly as much distress to Martin's fans as his professional split with partner Jerry Lewis had in 1956. After their divorce was finalalized in 1972, Dean Martin was wed once more, to Catherine Hawn, a hair-salon receptionist, and legally adopted her daughter, Sasha, but that union ended in 1976. Jeanne Martin never remarried. The pair became reacquainted in 1987 when one of their sons, actor Dean Paul Martin, was killed at 35 while piloting a military jet. Jeanne and Dean remained on good terms until his death from respiratory failure on Christmas Day 1995. She is survived by son Craig Martin; daughters Gail Martin Downey, Deana Martin Griffeth and Gina Martin Romano. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/25/16.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band paid homage to their home state of New Jersey with a marathon 35-song, nearly 4-hour concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Aug. 23. Backed by a string section, the Boss's setlist included songs about growing up in the Garden State including "Sprit in the Night," "Growin' Up," "Wrecking Ball," "My Hometown," "Because the Night" and "Mansion on the Hill," also even getting into the holiday spirit with "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," a request taken from a sign in the audience. "It's the perfect summer song," the 66-year-old rocker quipped. He also told several tales, including one about his late dad prior to "Independence Day," and "Something in the Night," he told fans, was inspired by his playing bars until 3 a.m., then eating at a diner afterwards. Encores included "Jungleland," "Born to Run," "Dancing in the Dark," "Rosalita," "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," "Shout" (with the singer donning a cape in an ode to James Brown), "Bobby Jean" and "Jersey Girl." The band is also set to play the venue on Aug. 25 and Aug. 30. - Billboard, 8/24/16...... Stumping for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Princetown, Mass., on Aug. 21, Cher told Clinton supporters that she believes the former Secretary of State is "genuine" and that "this chick is tougher than Chinese algebra." "I'm here for multiple reasons, but I'm here one out of love and one out of fear," Cher said. "Because I'm so frightened for what's going to happen to this particular community. I know there's going to be other people, other minorities that are going to be totally screwed as well, but I honestly fear for your safety." As for Sec. Clinton's opponent, Republican Donald Trump, Cher said "I just think he's a f---ing idiot." She added that Trump and his anti-LGBT running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, "will try to turn back every clock, they will try to take back every one of your rights." "I feel like, 'What happened to the '70s? We already fought this battle'," she said, adding that "Trump doesn't want to be president... he wants the adulation, he doesn't give a sh-- about the work." - Billboard, 8/23/16...... The city of Berlin, Germany, where David Bowie famously recorded his "Berlin trilogy" of Low, "Heroes" and Lodger, unveiled a plaque honoring the late musician on Aug. 22 at the building where he lived from 1976 to 1978. Mayor Michael Mueller recalled Bowie's "special relationship" with his city as he unveiled the plaque outside the house on a busy street in the city's Schoeneberg district -- currently home to a dental practice among other things and which has been turned into a makeshift Bowie shrine following news of the music icon's death in January at age 69. The plaque quotes the refrain from the latter's title track -- "We can be heroes, just for one day." - AP, 8/22/16...... '70s music superstars Neil Young, Meat Loaf and Olivia Newton-John will be among the guests on the new season of newsman Dan Rather's series The Big Interview, which airs on AXS TV. Young will be featured on the Sept. 13 episode of series at 8:00 p.m. EDT, discussing his new album, Earth, and topics including his childhood polio and his experience with the band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Meat Loaf appears on the Sept. 20 episode, while Newton-John is the guest on Oct. 4. A marathon of past Big Interview shows will air starting at 8 a.m. EDT on Sept. 10, including Rather's conversations with Frankie Valli, Merle Haggard, Gene Simmons and Loretta Lynn. - AP, 8/22/16...... Joni Mitchell, who is on the mend after suffering a brain aneurysm some 17 months ago, made a rare and welcome public appearance at a Chick Corea concert at L.A.'s Catalina Bar and Grill on Aug. 20. Mitchell appeared to be relaxed as she posed for a photo with friends, and later posted it on her official website the following day. On Mar. 31, 2015, the iconic Canadian singer, then 71, was found unconscious in her L.A. home. Friends said her condition appeared to be "gravely serious," and that she was initially unable to speak. Updates on her life-threatening condition have been only occasional since. Three months after that incident, her attorney Rebecca J. Thyne said the artist "has physical therapy each day and is expected to make a full recovery" and by July, Mitchell had returned home to continue with her therapy. - Billboard, 8/21/16...... Aretha Franklin issued a statement on Aug. 22 saying she's cancelling several planned concerts to rest up. "Due to doctors' orders I will have to cancel a few concerts for the next month or so," she said. The performances include an Aug. 26 show at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts near Vienna, Virginia. The 74-year-old Queen of Soul, who was forced to cancel a show in Las Vegas in 2015 because of exhaustion, added she should be back on the road in November. - AP, 8/22/16...... Ringo Starr, helping to promote the upcoming Ron Howard-directed Beatles documentary Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years, has told Mojo magazine that the Beatles never intended to quit touring for good after calling it quits on live performing after their 1966 show at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. "The Beatles were never gone. And they could have come back," Starr said. Paul McCartney, who was also interviewed for the article, noted that "We got a bit conflicted, we got a bit fed up towards the end of it." Their only other live performance after that date included an impromptu concert on the rooftop of the Apple headquarters on Savile Row in 1969. Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years is scheduled for UK release on Sept. 15, and premieres in the US the following day. - New Musical Express, 8/24/16...... Grammy-winning songwriter and singer Burt Bacharach has announced he is cancelling two September concerts as he recovers from a broken arm. A spokesman for the 88-year-old Bacharach said the musician will skip scheduled performances on Sept. 3 in Curacao and Sept. 17 in Lancaster, Calif., and that he plans to resume his touring schedule in October. The publicist said she did not know how Bacharach broke his arm. - AP, 8/23/16...... Former Monkees and First National Band member Mike Nesmith has posted online that he plans on joining fellow surviving Monkees members Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork for one final 50th Anniversary Monkees show, at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 16. "The show is set for September 16th -- which I believe is almost a perfect match for the fifty year anniversary of the TV show," Nesmith wrote, adding that "I am bringing Gretsch, my beautiful, intelligent blonde to help me, and it looks like I'll make it once again." The Monkees musical sitcom premiered on NBC on Sept. 12, 1966, and ran for two seasons. Nesmith has previously performed with Dolenz and Jones on the Monkees 50th anniversary tour twice, via Skype in New York City on June 1, and on stage in Monterey, Calif., on Aug. 5. Nesmith added his upcoming solo projects for 2017 include a promotional tour for his upcoming book, Infinite Tuesday, and a solo concert tour. Meanwhile, Dolenz and Tork will take their Monkees 50th anniversary tour to Australia and New Zealand. - Billboard, 8/19/16...... Jazz harmonica player Jean "Toots" Theilemans, whose moody solos contributed to the soundtracks of such iconic films as Midnight Cowboy, The Getaway and Sugarland Express as well as in the theme song of Sesame Street, died in his sleep in a Belgian hospital on Aug. 22. He was 94. The Brussels-born Mr. Theilemans started playing the harmonica as a hobby and became interested in jazz during the German occupation. His first international breakthrough came in 1950 when he joined Benny Goodman on a European concert tour. After emigrating the the US in 1952, Mr. Theilemans joined Charlie Parker's All Stars, and also played with such pop music icons as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Billy Joel. Mr. Thielemans, who also played guitar, was honored by Belgium's royal family in 2001, when King Albert II gave him the title of baron. He had been hospitalized in July after a fall, but had reportedly been in good spirits after an operation on his shoulder. "We have lost a great musician, a heartwarming personality. All my thoughts are with the family and friends of Toots Thielemans," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel tweeted. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/22/16.