The just-wrapped Journey and Def Leppard co-headlining summer tour played to over 1 million fans, good for the second spot in Billboard's Hot Tours roundup for the week ending Oct. 20. Journey and Def Leppard's extensive tour played 56 dates across the U.S., plus two shows in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada. The tour grossed $97.1 million, with such classic rock acts as Peter Frampton, The Pretenders, Cheap Trick and Foreigner opening whenever stadium capacity exceeded 30,000. Other '70s acts making the top 10 in the survey were Queen + Adam Lambert (No. 5), Paul Simon (No. 7), and Jeff Lynne's ELO (No. 8). - Billboard, 10/18/18...... SiriusXM radio announced on Oct. 18 that the final three episodes of their Tom Petty radio show will air this fall. Part one of the pre-recorded series, which features Petty's own selections from his music library and his anecdotes, will air on the late rocker's birthday, Oct. 20. Parts two and three will premiere Nov. 19 and Dec. 17, respectively. The episodes feature music from Al Green, Neil Young, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and more. - Billboard, 10/18/18...... 
Bob Dylan's classic 1975 LP Blood on the Tracks is being adapted into a 1970s-based movie, according to Luca Guadagnino, the director of the Oscar-nominated film Call Me By Your Name. Guadagnino told The New Yorker magazine that a producer on Call Me By Your Name has acquired the film rights to the album, and that he agreed to direct it screenwriter Richard LaGravenese agreed to write it, which he did. Guadagnino says he and LaGravenese have invented characters for a story set in the '70s that draw on the album's central themes. Meanwhile, on Nov. 2 Dylan will be releasing a deluxe box set of Blood on the Tracks, More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14, featuring every take from the record. - Billboard, 10/15/18...... Todd Rundgren held his annual Toddstock festival on Oct. 13 in a picturesque setting deep in the redwoods of Northern California. Scheduled activities at the five-day event includind morning vocal warm-ups with Rundgren's wife and singer Michele Rundgren (of The Intoxicats), afternoon painting with Prairie Prince (of The Tubes) in the art barn, and a ukulele jam session with Greg Hawkes (of The Cars). The famously fan accessible Rundgren mingled with the crowd throughout Toddstock, spending time with the participants and accompanying a group on a tour of a local cannabis farm. On Oct. 15, Rundgren performed an unpredictable set that included a cover of Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense & Peppermints," Weezer's "Hash Pipe," and The Call's "The Walls Came Down" alongside tight versions of his own classics "I Saw The Light," "Love of the Common Man," and "Lucky Guy." Toddstock was born out of Rundgren's appreciation for his uniquely devoted fanbase: in 2008, he generously invited fans to camp out in his backyard in Hawaii to celebrate his 60th birthday for the first ever gathering. The tradition continued five years later, when Rundgren celebrated his 65th with fans in Nottaway, Louisiana. This year, for his milestone 70th birthday, Rundgren spread the love over four events in Virginia, Scotland, California and Australia. Rundgren was recently nominated for the first time ever for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and those in attendance were closely monitoring the Hall of Fame standings and reminding each other to vote over breakfast biscuits. - Billboard, 10/18/18...... Gospel/rock singer Mavis Staples of The Staples Singers fame has scored her first solo No. 1 song on Billboard Adult Alternative Songs airplay chart with her contribution to "Nina Cried Power" by Irish singer/songwriter Hozier. Staples first placed a solo song on the chart with "I Have Learned to Do Without You" in 1970. Staples has also appeared on the chart as a featured artist in songs by Natalie Merchant, Arcade Fire and Benjamin Booker. - Billboard, 10/18/18...... 
The Who frontman Roger Daltrey has revealed to the UK's Daily Mirror paper that he was made aware that he was the father of three children he never knew about after his 50th birthday. Daltrey, 74, says the children were born in the period between his divorce from first wife Jackie and marriage to his second wife Heather. "They all came into my life after my 50th birthday," Daltrey said. "It was great -- it's all worked out. They stay in touch and they're close, so that's great. I've tried to do my best about a situation that couldn't change because it happened a long time ago," he added. Daltrey is also the father of five other children: 55-year-old Simon Daltrey from his first wife Jackie; 50-year-old Mathias Daltrey born to Swedish model Elisabeth Aronsson; and Rosie, 46, Willow, 43, and Jamie, 37, with his second wife, Heather Taylor. - New Musical Express, 10/15/18...... Ozzy Osbourne has announced that he is rescheduling four U.S. dates on his "No More Tours 2" tour after canceling the final gigs on his North American leg due to an infection that required surgery on his right hand. Those four dates, which were originally slated for early October, have now been moved to July 2019. The dates include a July 20 concert at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas; a July 23 show at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, Calif.; a July 27 concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif.; and a July 29 show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Osbourne underwent hand surgery on Oct. 6 at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles and though he was expected to return to the stage the same week, his doctors later said that the injury might require further surgery to treat multiple infections in his right hand. - Billboard, 10/18/18...... '70s soul singer Chaka Khan has been named grand marshall of the 2019 Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena, Calif., for the 130th Rose Parade on New Year's Day. The "Tell Me Something Good" singer will ride through the city and participate in the celebration before the 105th Rose Bowl game, which will be a college football playoff semifinal. Khan, who sells hwer own line of gourmet chocolates called Chakalates, said she was honored to be chosen as the parade's grand marshall. - AP 10/17/18...... A 29-year-old British man has been arrested on suspicion of vandalizing a statue of David Bowie in Buckinghamshire, England, in the town of Aylesbury, where Bowie debuted his iconic persona Ziggy Stardust in 1972. The incident marks the second time the life-size bronze statue, titled "Earthly Messenger," has been vandalized since it was first dedicadted in March 2018. It features several of Bowie's personas (with Ziggy Stardust in the center) and speakers that play his music every hour, and was funded through local grants and a crowdfunding campaign organized by music promoter David Stopps, who issued a statement saying that the artwork will be "restored to its former glory as soon as possible. - Billboard, 10/17/18...... 
Bruce Springsteen's inspirational 2002 track "The Rising" is being used in a powerful new get-out-the-vote video for the Serve America PAC. The video, entitled "Women Rising," features a number of female candidates, including veterans of the U.S. armed forces, who are running for office for the first time. The video, published just a few days ago, has already gained attention from celebrities like Amy Schumer, Chelsea Handler, Katie Couric, Bette Midler, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Debra Messing, and the Boss himself gave permission for his "The Rising" song to be used in the background of the clip ahead of the crucial Nov. 6 election. - Billboard, 10/15/18...... Paul McCartney participated in a very candid interview with iHeartRadio's Inside the Studio program on Oct. 16 in which he about his long musical journey with the Beatles and secrets of his emblematic career. Sir Paul insisted that despite being one of the most recognizeable rock stars in the world, he lives a normal life and enjoys just walking down streets. "I walk down streets. They're for walking down," he said. "I like to get out and about and people say, 'Oh no, you've got to have acres of security behind you and stuff,' but I like to just get out, just so as you feel like yourself, instead of like a rock star. So I like to just get out like I always did when I was a kid. It keeps me sane. I've got quite a lot of freedom, actually, and I value it," he added. On the subject of the Beatles, Paul commented: "The story sticks that John was the dark one, I was the light one, George was the mystic one, you know. To some degree that's true, but we each had aspects of all those kind of forces, and Ringo too." - Billboard, 10/16/18...... In other Beatles-related news, an acoustic demo recording of the band's 1968 song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" has been officially released for the first time. The demo, recorded on July 25, 1968 by its author George Harrison, features George issuing instructions and singing lines that were cut from the track's final version, including: "I look from the wings at the play you are staging / As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging." It will be included on the upcoming deluxe box set re-release of The Beatles ("The White Album"), which will celebrate the landmark record's 50th anniversary. - New Musical Express, 10/18/18...... The Royalty Exchange, an online marketplace that turns music loyalties into assets for investment, announced on Oct. 15 that it had completed a private syndicate offer for Dire Straits' former manager Ed Bicknell's portion of their catalog. "There's an entire generation of music industry veterans like myself and my colleagues who are looking for smart ways to organize our finances," said Bicknell in a statement. "For many of us, the royalties we earn are our most important asset. So it's important that we treat them with care, not just for ourselves as individuals, but for our families." - Billboard, 10/15/18...... 
Paul Stanley of Kiss said on Oct. 15 that Kiss's upcoming farewell tour (its second) could including former members performing with the current members onstage for one last time. Speaking to an AP reporter in Atlantic City where he was promoting his artwork, Stanley said the band's "End of the Road" 2019 world tour could include former members. Although Stanley did not single out anyone by name, the living ex-members of Kiss include Ace Frehley, Vinnie Vincent, Bruce Kulick and drummer Peter Criss. Since the tour was announced in September, Kiss fans have been clamoring for a farewell that includes former members. "I wouldn't discount any possibilities," said Stanley. "I learned long ago to never say never. Would I negate the possibility of former members making appearances? Absolutely not. I don't know in what capacity." Stanley then praised the current lineup of Kiss, which includes himself, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Tommy Thayer, as "the crux and the core of the band on tour." As for Stanley's art, he says he started painting several years ago while in the midst of a divorce. "Anyone who's been through a divorce probably spent a lot of time either banging their head on the wall or crying a lot," he said. "It's a very tumultuous time. My best friend said to me, 'You should paint.' I never painted. But my life is pretty much built on the premise of 'why not?' instead of 'why?' I had no idea how or what I was going to do. And I started painting." Stanley's pieces include self-portraits, paintings of fellow Kiss band members, as well as Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, and more abstract art. He has sold over $10 million worth of art through the Wentworth Gallery in the past five years. - AP, 10/15/18...... In other Kiss news, Gene Simmons revealed in a recent interview with OK! magazine that he hates performing the classic Kiss disco-influenced song "I Was Made For Lovin' You" live, despite its popularity. Simmons said that when bandmate Paul Stanley first introduced him to the track, which featured on the band's 1979 album Dynasty, he was very taken by Stanley's opening lyrics, but then became very disappointed when his part in performing the song was revealed to him. "You're killing me. I'm going to sing like my grandmother?," he says he told Stanley when informed he would be singing the catchy chorus melody. "I hate playing that song today," Simmons added. "Stadiums full of people jumping up and down like biblical locusts. They go nuts jumping up and down and I'm going, 'Do, do, do, do, do, do, kill me now.'" - New Musical Express, 10/18/18...... 
Billy Joel announced on Oct. 15 that he will perform a concert at London's iconic Wembley Stadium on June 22, 2019. The show will mark the Piano Man's first performance in the U.K. in over three years, and is the only U.K. date he has scheduled for next year. Tickets for the concert go on sale to the general public on Oct. 19, 9:00 am GMT, and will be available through the Wembley Stadium official website. - Billboard, 10/15/18...... A reboot of the 1976-1985 sitcom Alice is reportedly in the works, with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (Juno, Tully) and Liz Astrof (2 Broke Girls, The King of Queens) writing and executive-producing the new sitcom. The original Alice, which starred Linda Lavin in the title role, told the story of a widow who moves cross country with her teenage son, and starts her life over as a waitress in a roadside diner in Phoenix. It won a total eight Golden Globes, including Best Television Series and Best Actress for Lavin, and was nominated for three Emmys during its run. Cody and Astrof's reboot will change Alice's backstory from widow to divorcé. - CominSoon.net/Deadline.com, 10/18/18...... The Canadian rock band Glass Tiger will be performing at the Boston Music Room in Tufnell Park in North London on Oct. 19. The band's London show will be followed by the Rockingham Festival at Nottingham Trent University on Oct. 21. To celebrate their 30th Anniversary, earlier in 2019 Glass Tiger, best known for its 1986 hit "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)," released a new album entitled 31 which includes two new songs and re-imagined recordings of all their hit singles. - Noble PR, 10/18/18.
Paul Simon was surprised by the cast and crew of NBC's Saturday Night Live on Oct. 13 with a birthday party celebrating his 77th birthday. After performing "Can't Run But" off his 1990 LP The Rhythm of the Saints and an exceptionally moving rendition of the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Simon was presented him with a birthday cake by the cast and crew at the end of the show when it came time for everyone to take a bow. Simon has been a regular on SNL since the show's inception in 1976, having hosted the show himself (on its second-ever episode) and been the featured musical guest several times over the course of the show's 43 years. Simon recently wrapped his "farewell tour" in his native Queens, N.Y. - Billboard, 10/14/18...... 
Former Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham filed a lawsuit on Oct. 9 in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking damages against his former bandmates for lost wages from the band's current tour and more. Buckingham alleges Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie and John McVie conspired to kick him out of the band without just cause, and estimates his earnings from the current Fleetwood Mac tour would have been upwards of $14 million. While the common belief is Buckingham was ousted from the band because he refused to tour with them this year and instead wanted to focus on his solo career, in his suit the musician claims that is untrue. While Buckingham, 69, admits to asking his bandmates to tour later in the year so he might release and promote his own album first, he says he conceded to their timeline when they refused to budge. He also claims he was willing to accommodate Nicks' demand the band perform no more than three shows a week. And even though he was looking to fill the rest of his schedule with solo performances on an accompanying side tour, he states the Fleetwood Mac tour would have been his priority. Buckingham says he was booted unceremoniously and without warning just days after Fleetwood Mac's performance at the 2018 MusiCares ceremony in January. In a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Buckingham said he was informed he was being fired from the band during a phone call with Fleetwood Mac manager Irving Azoff, who told him "Stevie never wants to be on a stage with you again." Buckingham claims Nicks took issue with him during the MusiCares performance, saying that he "smirked" during her speech and had an "outburst" during their introduction music. In the lawsuit, Buckingham states that, "After 43 years of camaraderie and friendship, not a single member of Fleetwood Mac has returned any of Buckingham's phone calls to provide him with an explanation for his purported expulsion from Fleetwood Mac." Ironically, the band did postpone the tour to accommodate Buckingham's replacements, guitarist Mike Campbell and vocalist Neil Finn. On Oct. 12, a rep for Fleetwood Mac issued a statement saying the band "strongly disputes the allegations presented in Mr. Buckingham's complaint and looks forward to their day in court" and that they've retained attorney Dan Petrocelli to handle the case. - Billboard, 10/11/18...... Elton John paid homage to late Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin during his concert in Franklin's hometown of Detroit at the Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 12 by telling the audience during his introduction of his 1970 single "Border Song" that his song publisher told him one day in the early '70s that someone had covered the song. "We asked who. They said Aretha Franklin," John recalled. "Can you imagine two young writers, white boys from England...We were gobsmacked. In fact, we nearly pissed our pants in sheer delight at the fact the woman we loved so much then and grew to love even more afterward would actually record one of our songs." Franklin recorded "Border Song" for her Young, Gifted and Black album in 1972, billing it as "Border Song (Holy Moses)." Franklin's version climbed to No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, 55 points higher than John's original recording. John also told the crowd that he and Franklin eventually became friends who happened to share the same birthday (March 25). "I loved her so much," he said. "I used to call her on her birthday sometimes and wish her a happy birthday, to say thank you -- not just for being Aretha, but for every piece of music she made that inspired me." John, who is currently in the midst of his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour, also dedicated the latest episode of his "Rocket Hour" Apple Music Beats 1 show to Detroit, playing music by Franklin, Bob Seger and other famous Detroit musicians and interviewing Detroit's own Eminem. Meanwhile, the auction house Bonhams has announced it is putting the handwritten lyrics of Elton's songwriting partner Bernie Taupin for John's 1971 breakthrough hit "Your Song" up for auction on Nov. 19 in Manhattan. Taupin once recalled that he was waiting for John on a London rooftop when he wrote the now-famous line: "I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss." After getting the verses, it took John just 10 minutes to come up with the melody. Its 1970 release helped launch John and Taupin into stardom. Bonham's estimates the lyrics, which are currently owned by Taupin's ex-wife Maxine Taupin could sell for a sum "in the six-figure range." - Billboard/AP, 10/13/18...... 
Roberta Flack was honored by the Jazz Foundation of America on Oct. 13 with its lifetime acheivement award during the organization's annual loft party at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Flack sang her first public performance in at least a year, after suffering a stroke more than two years ago and suffering a collapse that led to a brief hospitalization for the 81-year-old singer earlier in 2018. Participants included Flack's longtime friend, Valerie Simpson, along with Macy Gray. "I'm very excited that they want to give me an award, and I'm excited about the cause of the award, and the whole thing. I'm hyped about it," Flack said before the event. Flack also lauded the Jazz Foundation, which provides assistance of all types to musicians who have suffered setbacks, whether they're medical, financial or both. "It seems like we get a lot of musicians who don't need help, who do it themselves or do it on their own, and that's not true, that's not true, they need a lot of help," she said. "I'm happy to help." - AP, 10/12/18...... Britain's Official Charts Company announced on Oct. 13 that the Beatles' 1967 psychedelic masterpice Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the most popular British album in history. The OCC based their conclusion on physical sales, downloads and streams in the U.K. Sgt. Pepper's edged out Adele's monster hit album 21, which came in second, and the 1995 Oasis album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Meanwhile in other Beatles-related news, Yoko Ono released a minimalist cover of her late husband John Lennon's "Imagine" on Oct. 9 to mark what would have been John's 78th birthday. The stripped-back "Imagine" is taken from Ono's forthcoming album Warzone which drops on Oct. 19. "'Imagine' was the only one I was totally nervous about, because everyone in the world knows about it and I could be criticised, but I thought it was very important to do it and my nervousness must be secondary... John and I created a lot together and he would be very happy that I did it," Ono remarked. In 2017, Ono finally received a co-songwriting credit for "Imagine" more than 45 years after its original release. The album's title track was the first single released from the LP in July. Warzone follows a new six-disc box set in celebration of Lennon's Imagine LP which was released on Oct. 5. It features a never-before-heard version of "Imagine" as well as scores of previously unheard demos, rare outtakes and a new track-by-track documentary which explores the journey of the songs from demo to master recording. - AP/New Musical Express, 10/13/18...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Paul McCartney has just released a music video for "Come On to Me," the third single from his new album Egypt Station. The video first focuses on a bored security guard who is lounging in his office. He glares at the speaker in the roof playing a lackluster song and decides to jam to "Come On to Me" instead. He dramatically dances through the department store, lip-synching to the song and moving his arms and swinging his hips. A dog walker slowly joins in, bopping his head in time with the music, and the pair jams to the track together in the humorous conclusion. - Billboard, 10/10/18...... Steve Perry has revealed why he decided to retreat from the spotlight for nearly 25 years until the release of his new album Traces, saying it was out of necessity even though he knew his fans would be disappointed. "It was something I had to do because I had lost my passion for the music that I love so much and I wasn't gonna just keep going with some empty sort of connection," the former Journey lead singer says. "I didn't know if it was gonna come back, to be honest with you. So, I just kept going and then years go by and the further away I got from it, the more I thought I'll just keep going that way." Perry also explained how his late girlfriend Kellie Nash, who passed away from breast cancer, inspired his new album, saying, "I purposefully walked away years ago and the easiest thing for me to do was to not let my heart experience anything remotely close to trying to touch that emotional side of me." Perry says that Nash changed his life: "I found myself with not only just a broken heart but an open heart. And from that came rock and roll. Came happy songs about reunions and also some couple of loss songs." Perry added that after recording the new LP he needs a vacation, and after that, he will start thinking about planning some live shows. - Billboard, 10/12/18...... 
The estate of Prince has asked Pres. Donald Trump to cease and desist from using the late rock star's signature tune "Purple Rain" at Trump campaign rallies. A statement retweeted on behalf of the estate by Prince's half-brother Omarr Baker on Oct. 12 said, "The Prince Estate has never given permission to President Trump or the White House to use Prince's songs and have requested that they cease all use immediately." "Purple Rain" has frequently been on Trump's playlist at recent rallies, including one earlier in October in South Haven, Miss. Neither an attorney for the estate nor a White House spokeswoman immediately responded to messages from the AP. Meanwhile, Beach Boys singer Mike Love was among the musicians present on Oct. 11 at the White House when Pres. Trump hosted a signing event for the 2018 Music Modernization Act. The law is a historic piece of legislation that is the culmination of years of advocacy on Capitol Hill that represents the biggest overhaul of copyright legislation in a generation. It changes some of the considerations used in setting music publishing rates, and also compels digital and satellite radio to pay a royalty on pre-1972 master recordings to labels and artists and it codifies the procedure by which SoundExchange can pay producers and engineers royalties for the records it works on. - AP/Billboard, 10/12/18...... Ozzy Osbourne announced on Oct. 11 that he is canceling the final four shows of his North American "No More Tours 2" tour. Ozzy's farewell tour was supposed to close out with three shows in California and one in Las Vegas, when the former Black Sabbath front man had to undergo hand surgery on Oct. 6. The three California shows, in Mountain View on Oct. 6, Chula Vista on Oct. 9, and the Hollywood Bowl in L.A. on Oct. 11, were recently rescheduled due to the surgery, but now all four shows will move to 2019. "I'm so fu--ing bummed about cancelling these shows," Osbourne said in a press release. "The tour had been going great and we were really looking forward to these last few gigs. We're hoping everyone will be patient and we'll look forward to seeing them at the shows next year." Osbourne underwent hand surgery on Oct. 6 at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles and was expected to return to the stage the same week. His doctors are now saying he may require another surgery to treat multiple infections in his right hand. The next leg of his No More Tours 2 tour is set to kick off on Jan. 19 in Dublin, Ireland, and run through March 16 when he'll conclude in Auckland, New Zealand. - Billboard, 10/11/18...... Former The Police frontman Sting and his latest collaborator Shaggy have releaesed a music video for "Gotta Get Back My Baby," from the duo's joint album 44/876. The video stars Sting and Shaggy as two Miami detectives getting into hijinks and other iffy situations in the tradition of classic buddy-cop movies. Golden Globe-nominated actor Steven Bauer plays their police captain. Sting and Shaggy are currently touring behind 44/876. - Billboard, 10/11/18...... Barbra Streisand released her latest single, a mash-up of John Lennon's "Imagine" and the pop classic "What a Wonderful World," a hit by the late Louis Armstrong, on Oct. 12. The single is taken from Streisand's latest album Walls, which is her 36th album and hits stores on Nov. 2. "Imagine / What a Wonderful World" follows Streisand's first single from the new album, "Don't Lie to Me," which skewers Pres. Donald Trump. - Billboard, 10/12/18...... 
Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters caused a stir during his Oct. 9 concert in Sao Paulo, Brazil after calling the leading candidate in October's presidential election a "neo-fascist." A big screen behind the stage at Waters' concert showed the words "Resist neo-fascism." And then it displayed a list of names -- including that of far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro. The crowd of more than 40,000 fans at the Allianz Parque stadium was split, with some cheering Water's position, while others booed. Waters also displayed "Not Him" on the big screen, the slogan of a movement against the right-wing former army officer. Waters' action drew more than 2,800 comments n the singer's Facebook channel debating the criticism of Bolsonaro. "Roger Waters, just sing your song. Don't put your finger where you don't know," said one post. "When you go to another country don't talk about politics, you don't know anything about Brazil or what happens in the country." Bolsonaro won the first-round of Brazil's presidential elections with 46 percent. His adversary in the Oct. 28 runoff is left-leaning Fernando Haddad, who finished second in the opening round with 29 percent. Waters will be performing in Brazil until Oct. 30 during his 2018 "Us + Them" tour. - AP, 10/10/18...... Late soul/pop/country legend Ray Charles was given a rare salute by the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 8 as a diverse cast of singers including Darius Rucker, Ronnie Milsap, Charlie Wilson, Boyz II Men and LeAnn Rimes honored the music genius during a taping that will be the subject of a new PBS television special airing in Feb. 2019. "The Opry meant everything to him. He loved everybody at the Opry," Ray Charles Foundation president Valerie Ervin said. "He loved country music, so to have it here, it just seals it for me. I felt what he felt back in 1962 when he really wanted to be a part of the country world and there was no better place to do it than the Opry." Charles' landmark 2-LP set, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, is credited for changing country music in the 1960's. Recorded in New York with lush strings and backing choir, Charles doesn't just reinvent several classic country songs, he left his unique mark on them, fusing soul and jazz, country lyrics and orchestral pop. Fifty years later, the album still holds up as one of the greatest of the genre. The record spent 14 weeks on the top of the Billboard albums chart. "I Can't Stop Loving You" spent five weeks at No. 1 on the pop charts and 16 weeks at No. 1 on the R&B charts and won the 1962 Grammy Award for best rhythm and blues recording. The tribute, 14 years after his death, raises questions about why Charles has been left out of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Most of the performers on the special believe he deserves a spot among the country legends for exposing the genre to a much broader world. "I would never tell the Country Music Hall of Fame who to put in, but I think all the artists, if they let Ray in, they would understand and believe that Ray should be there," Darius Rucker said. - AP, 10/10/18...... 
Legendary '70s disco producer Giorgio Moroder announced on Oct. 10 that he is embarking on his first-ever live tour in Europe in 2019, beginning on Apr. 1 at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham, UK. "I'm excited to be finally doing this," Moroder told the UK paper The Guardian. "It is something I have always wanted to do. Fans kept reaching out to me, asking if I would ever do a real tour. Back in the day, it was unthinkable for producers to ever leave their studios -- that territory was reserved for the singers. Today, DJs and music producers have become the superstars of popular dance music, so the time feels right," he added. The 15-city tour, which also Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy before wrapping in Amsterdam on May 21, will feature the artist performing on the piano, vocoder and synths alongside a full live band and vocalists. A pioneer in the pop world, Moroder began DJing and producing in the '60s and made it big with his top-charting collaboration with Chicory Tip, "Son of My Father." Later in 1977, the Italian producer would change the pop game by adding a touch of disco to it with Donna Summer's legendary "I Feel Love," becoming one of the first and most renowned producers in what would later turn into dance music. - Billboard, 10/10/18...... Blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonomassa will be participating in a "Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea: Mediterranean" sea cruise entertainment event that will set sail from Barcelona, Spain on Aug. 21, 2019 and include stops in Monte Carlo, Monaco and Valetta, and Malta. The Mediterranean voyage will feature non-stop music across multiple stages as guests immerse themselves in five days of music-filled events and one-of-a-kind collaborative sets from many additional artists, including Peter Frampton,J oanne Shaw Taylor, Larkin Poe, Eric Bibb, Bernie Marsden, Curtis Harding and Philip Sayce. In addition to a plethora of live performances, guests will enjoy a variety of music-centric activities, including one activity each with both Bonamassa and Frampton, plus autograph sessions with select Blues stars and opportunities to jam with fellow cruisers. Interested Fans can pre-register now at bluesaliveatseaeurope.com. - Noble PR, 10/12/18.
On Oct. 9 the 
In other Eagles-related news, guitarist Joe Walsh and his wife Marjorie were honored on Oct. 8 by the nonprofit group "Facing Addiction with NCADD" for the couple's support of the recovery movement and their efforts to raise awareness about drug and alcohol abuse. Walsh, sober for 25 years, and Marjorie told the audience of their own stories of alcohol and drug dependence, with Joe reminiscing about his rocky childhood in the 1950s struggling against what are now recognized as attention-deficit disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Asperger's syndrome. "There was no awareness of what that was. ... You were just difficult. I was difficult," the 69-year-old rocker said. "I was different that way from the other kids, and because of that I was terrified. I was truly terrified because I felt stupid and alone and that nobody understood. ... In my late teenage years I tried to play guitar in front of some people and I couldn't do it. I was so scared. I could not do it. I hyperventilated. I started shaking. I started crying." Walsh said he chose to drop the traditional anonymity of AA members to help others, and because "most of the world knew I was a mess anyway." Walsh and his wife, who is the sister of Ringo Starr's wife Barbara Bach Starkey, helped launch Facing Addiction on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in 2015. Ringo and Barbara were also in attendance at the event, which featured entertainment from Walsh, Eagles member Vince Gill, and former Doobie Brothers member Michael McDonald. The Walshes were presented with the Adele C. Smithers Humanitarian Award, named for a longtime advocate of the cause and a former board member of the NCADD. - AP, 10/9/18...... After the new Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody recently premiered in London and San Francisco, the first reactions to the long awaited film have been shared online. There appears to be a lot of love for Rami Malek's turn as iconic Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, even if the film itself isn't entirely spectacular. "Bohemian Rhapsody is a straight-on biopic with plenty of Queen music and a strong performance by Rami Malek", tweeted IndieWire's critic Anne Thompson. "It will get mixed reviews. It might play with audiences," she added. New York Times reviewer Kyle Buchanan posted that "Bohemian Rhapsody is a glorified Wikipedia entry but Rami Malek plays Freddie Mercury (and wears his wonderful costumes) with incredible gusto," with critic Wolf Mantz gushing, "HOLY HELL!! #BohemianRhapsody is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!! A rousing emotional cinematic champion that will rock you!" Meanwhile, a teaser video was released in late September that showed the extensive training undertaken by Malek as he prepared to become Mercury. The film will be officially released on Oct. 24. - New Musical Express, 10/8/18...... After announcing on Oct. 6 that he was canceling a concert that night at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif., due to surgery for an infection in his hand, Ozzy Osbourne released a presser on Oct. 8 saying he will be postponing two additional shows as he recovers. Osbourne has also rescheduled his Oct. 9 show at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre in Chula Vista and his Oct. 11 concert the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Those shows will now occur Oct. 15 at the Hollywood Bowl and Oct. 18 at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre. The Mountain View show was previously rescheduled for Oct. 16, but will now be held on Oct. 20 at Shoreline Amphitheatre. Tickets for the rescheduled concerts will be honored at the new dates. Refunds are also available at the point of purchase. Ozzy's North American "No More Tours 2" tour will resume in Las Vegas on Oct. 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. - Billboard, 10/8/18...... 
Paul McCartney treated fans a the 17th annual Austin City Limits Festival to a historic headlining set on Oct. 5. Sir Paul performed only two tracks from his latest chart-topping album 
Bette Midler has issued an apology after tweeting the title of the controversial John Lennon/Yoko Ono song "Women Are the (N-Word) of the World" in response to the recent controversial nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. "The too brief investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh infuriated me," Midler posted on Oct. 5. "Angrily I tweeted w/o thinking my choice of words would be enraging to black women who doubly suffer, both by being women and by being black. I am an ally and stand with you; always have. And I apologize." The quote received an influx of criticism that claimed Midler was undermining the historical struggles of black women and systematic oppression. In a since deleted tweet, following the quote, Midler wrote that women are "Raped, beaten, enslaved, married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance; enduring the pain and danger of childbirth and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years They are the most disrespected creatures on earth." - Billboard, 10/5/18...... Rod Stewart has scored his ninth U.K. solo No. 1 album with his latest LP 
On Oct. 8 the BBC announced details of a new David Bowie documentary, The First Five Years. The film follows the 2013 Bowie doc Five Years, which told the story of Bowie's creative peak between "Ziggy Stardust" and the end of his "Berlin period," and The Last Five Years, which gave insight into his final work on The Next Day and Blackstar. The new film will relive the period before the iconic star shot to fame and features exclusive interviews with Bowie's first cousin and lifelong-friend Kristina Amadeus, former girlfriend and muse Hermione Farthingale, producer Tony Visconti, and Woody Woodmansey, the last remaining Spider from Mars, among others. The documentary will air on BBC Two in 2019, while the BBC have confirmed that they'll also be televising Bowie's full Glastonbury 2000 performance for the first time later in October in conjunction with a release of a 
The producers of a new musical based on the life of legendary soul singer Tina Turner announced on Oct. 3 that "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" will be heading to Broadway in the fall of 2019. "Tina," which premiered in London in April, has continued to play to sold-out houses. "Tina," presented with the cooperation of Turner herself, follows the singer as she rises from humble beginnings and triumphs over adversity to become one of the world's most successful singers. "Bringing this musical to life on stage and working with this team has meant so much to me, I feel that it is in many ways a culmination of my career," she said in a statement. "London audiences have been and continue to be extraordinary. Now, the bright lights of Broadway are calling, and I'm very excited to share this beautiful show with New York audiences next year," she added. Turner is currently played by Tony-nominated actress Adrienne Warren. Casting, performance dates, and the venue for the Broadway "Tina" will be announced at a later date. - Billboard, 10/3/18...... In related news, a play by Conor McPherson based on and including songs by Bob Dylan which opened in London in the fall of 2017 is now playing at The Public Theater in New York. "Girl from North Country" is described as a mysterious and dark story, populated by characters that could have walked out of Dylan songs, and set in the 1930s in Duluth, Minn., where the rock bard himself was born. The play is about the father of a baby carried by Marianne, a young African-American woman who was abandoned by her own parents and adopted by Nick and Elizabeth Laine, who own the boarding house where the play is set. The first two songs the audience hears are two lesser known Dylan tunes called "Sign on the Window" and "Went to See the Gypsy" from his album New Morning, so the play is hardly a "jukebox musical" in the vein of "Mamma Mia!" - Billboard, 10/2/18...... Meanwhile, a musical based on the director Cameron Crowe's '70s retro film 
Musicians around the world took time to pay homage to iconic rocker Tom Petty on Oct. 2, the one-year anniversary of his death. John Fogerty, The Lumineers and Eddie Vedder are just a sample of artists who posted one-of-a-kind renditions of Petty songs, exclusive covers, and heartwarming posts on the internet as they remember the rocker's music, legacy and impact on the rock world. "Tom Petty was truly as good as it gets. The pain we feel from his loss is indescribable, but lucky for us the music will love on forever!," John Fogerty posted on his Twitter account, while The Lumineers released a stripped-down version of Petty's "Walls." During his annual Ohana Fest in California on Sept. 28, Eddie Vedder took the time to pay tribute to Petty by covering both the iconic 1989 "Won't Back Down" and "Wildflowers" alongside the Heartbreaker's own Scott Thurston. A new Petty box set curated by Petty's daughter Adria and wife Dana, 
After bowing out of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band in 2017, Todd Rundgren has announced he'll play three all-star David Bowie tribute shows, joining former Bowie guitarist Adrian Belew, Fishbone's Angelo Moore, Paul Dempsey and others on Oct. 3 in Los Angeles and Oct. 7-8 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Rundgren say the latter locale is part of the reason he signed on to sing "Life On Mars," "Changes" and more during the week. I like doing these kinds of events where I get to play with other musicians, some of whom I do not know, and that's part of the fun of it -- and the fact we're going to Iceland, which I've never been to before and would like to see," Rundgren says. "It's kind of a no-brainer in some ways." Rundgren says he saw Bowie and his Spiders From Mars' first show at New York's Radio City Music Hall and struck up a friendship with Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson after he took up residence in Rundgren's hometown of Woodstock, N.Y. "David and I were never pals hanging out and talking or anything like that," Rundgren recalls, "but I would run into him on occasion at Max's Kansas City and things like that." Keyboardist Roger Powell from Rundgren's '70s band Utopia also played with Bowie later in the decade with Belew, "so you can see there's all kinds of little threads that sort of tie it together." Rundgren says his leaving Starr's band is "kind of a relief." "This one stayed together for a long time, but after six or so years of doing it and play substantially the same set every night I was ready to move on and I think it was probably good for the band as well to get some other players in there so they could work on some other material," he says. Rundgren did, however, reunite Utopia for a spring tour earlier in 2018, which although he says was satisfying is unlikely to happen again. Rundgren is also currently playing his own shows and has contributed to new music by the likes of Neil Finn, Steve Vai, Rivers Cuomo and Iggy Pop. He also hopes to publish his memoir, The Individualist, which he's been working on since the '90s but "just kept getting distracted." "I don't get into elaborate descriptions of evenings of debauchery or anything like that... But it is revealing about things that have happened to me and causalities and results of all that." - Billboard, 10/1/18...... Speaking of David Bowie, a new live Bowie release of his legendary headline set at the 2000 Glastonbury festival is set to be released this fall for the very first time. 
Cher has recently been named a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center honor, and although she says the news was certainly welcome, she says she really wanted to receive it during the presidency of Barack Obama instead of Donald Trump. A regular at anti-Trump rallies and marches, Cher ranks among the most outspoken celebrities against the current U.S. president, and her participation in the upcoming ceremony might make for an awkward gathering. The White House has said no decisions had been made on whether Pres. Trump would participate in this year's Kennedy Center Honors program. The Kennedy Center prize is given to those in the performing arts for lifetime contributions to American culture, and this year's other recipients include composer and pianist Philip Glass, country music entertainer Reba McEntire, and jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter. Meanwhile, the man recently arrested at Cher's Malibu, Calif., home in late September has just been slammed with a series of drug and weapons charges. Donovan Ruiz has been hit with counts including possession of narcotics for sale, possession of a controlled substance, possession of methamphetamines, and possession of a baton, according to court documents. All seven of the charges against him are felonies. Cher was not at home when cops raided the property and arrested Ruiz, who is Cher's assistant's son, on a tip that allegedly linked him to the death of a drug dealer. - PageSix.com/WENN/Canoe.com, 10/1/18...... In a new interview with the UK's Evening Standard, Bjrn Ulvaeus of ABBA suggested the famous foursome could release a new album following recent recording sessions. Ulvaeus said the band's time in the studio this year could lead to "a new album, possibly." "Or four songs or something like that -- that's possible," he continued, before repeating his insistence the band would not tour. "But for us to perform on stage that's just not going to happen. That's a definite." While a full-length ABBA record has not been officially confirmed at present, a new ABBA song titled "I Still Have Faith In You"' will reportedly premiere on the BBC in December. - New Musical Express, 10/2/18...... Willie Nelson unveiled a new political song called "Vote 'Em Out" on Sept. 29 while performing at an Austin rally for Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke. Nelson, 85, has been openly supporting O'Rourke's bid to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in the upcoming midterms, drawing ire from some of his "red state" Texas Trump-supporting fans. Together, Nelson and O'Rourke, who delivered a typically styled speech with electrifying progressive populism, drew tens of thousands of supporters, which Democratic Coalition co-founder Scott Dworkin said was more "than any Trump rally I've seen this year." - SplinterNews.com, 9/30/18...... In an interview with the long-running CBS newsmagazine 60 MInutes on Sept. 30, Paul McCartney revealed he sometimes relearns his widely-recognized tracks as he often forgets his chart-topping hits. "When I'm doing shows I listen to a lotta music, Beatles music, Wings music, to see what ones we're gonna do. And to learn them," the 76-year-old music legend said. Surprised by his remarks, the interviewer asked Sir Paul whether he often forgets his tracks, to which he responded: "There's too many. Too many words. Too many notes. They're very hard. I mean, you know, it's not like they're all three chords." McCartney is promoting his new No. 1 album, 
In other Beatles-related news, the band's chief recording engineer, Geoff Emerick, died from a massive heart attack on Oct. 2. He was 72. Remembered as an innovator behind the desk, Emerick was just 15 when he began working at Abbey Road Studios. He was assistant engineer on such songs as "Love Me Do," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," and "A Hard Day's Night." Just prior to turning 19, he became the Beatles' main engineer and helmed Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road, as well as much of Magical Mystery Tour and The Beatles ("The White Album"), which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its release this year with an 
Former Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship vocalist Marty Balin died on Sept. 27 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 76. Born Martyn Jerel Buchwald in San Francisco on Jan. 30, 1943, Balin's tenor voice provided hits for the '60s psychedelic band and its more mellow '70s spin-off band, the Jefferson Starship. His songwriting credits for the Airplane included "It's No Secret," "Today," "Comin' Back To Me," "Plastic Fantastic Lover," "Share a Little Joke," and "Volunteers" -- the latter sung at the iconic 1969 Woodstock festival. During their Airplane concerts, Balin and vocalist Grace Slick traded vocals in battles that became increasingly feverish, giving the band a volatile sound. After the Jefferson Airplane unofficially retired in 1972, Slick and Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner formed the Jefferson Starship in 1974, and Balin tentatively rejoined the band in 1975. The group's big breakthrough came with 
Their followup LP, 1976's 
The official website of the upcoming Elton John movie Rocketman shared the first official photo from the movie on Sept. 28. Welsh actor Taron Egerton, who portrays Sir Elton in the movie, is shown dressed in a gold bomber jacket and blue, red and gold winged boots. He is also seen sporting some glittery sunglasses and John's red hair. "TaronEgerton stars in #Rocketman, an epic musical fantasy about the uncensored human story of Sir Elton John's breakthrough years. Experience it in theatres Summer 2019. pic.twitter.com/fwMMoGxSnb," reads a tweet on the site. Rocketman, first announced in 2011, is billed as a "larger than life movie musical spectacle that tells the story of a child prodigy turned music legend." Dexter Fletcher, who worked on the Eddie The Eagle biopic with Tom Egerton, will be directing. John will serve as an executive producer on the project and is planning to "re-record many of his iconic hits to parallel the emotional beats of the film." In other Elton-related news, the singer has just added 25 more North American dates to his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour, in September, October and November of 2019. John kicked off the tour on Sept. 8 in Allentown, Pa. On the tour, fans will get a unique glimpse into the personal meaning behind many of the Rocket Man's hits, with never-before-seen photos and videos displayed throughout the show to commemorate his 50-year career. The tour is currently scheduled to wrap on Nov. 16, 2019, in Long Island, N.Y. - NME/Billboard, 9/28/18...... The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has overturned a 2016 jury verdict that found that Led Zeppelin did not steal any original music from "Taurus," an obscure 1968 instrumental by the Los Angeles band Spirit. "Taurus" was written by the late Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe, better known as Randy California, whose trust brought the copyright infringement lawsuit. A trustee for Wolfe's estate claims Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant was inspired to write "Stairway to Heaven" after hearing Spirit perform "Taurus" while the bands toured together in 1968 and 1969, and that Wolfe never got any credit. The jury in the 2016 trial found that the two songs were not substantially similar, and supported the defendants' claim that Wolfe was a songwriter for hire who did not have a copyright claim, and that the opening of "Stairway" -- a descending chromatic four-chord progression -- is a common musical convention that did not deserve copyright protection. Now the federal appeals court panel that overturned the 2016 ruling held that parts of the jury instructions in that trial were erroneous and prejudicial, and that the first trial abused its discretion by not allowing recordings of "Taurus" to be played during the proceedings. Meanwhile, Led Zeppelin continues the celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2018 with the release of a new 50th Anniversary Interviews album, which is currently available for streaming on Spotify.com. The release is comprised of 34 new interview clips from the band's surviving members, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones who reflect on their career, as well as specific songs and albums. The band has also digitally released their recent Record Store Day single, which featured unreleased versions of both "Rock And Roll" and "Friends." - NBCNews.com/New Musical Express, 9/28/18...... Rod Stewart's 30th studio album, 
Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, the Beatles announced on Sept. 24 that they are releasing new versions of The Beatles (White Album) on Nov. 9 -- adding new 2018 mixes and a wealth of unreleased demos from the vaults to celebrate the original two-disc album's 50th anniversary of release in November, 1968. The mixes for the new packages were done by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell. The packages include a 
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason returned to London's Roundhouse venue on Sept. 24 for a gig with his new band Saucerful of Secrets, over a half century since he first played there with Pink Floyd. Mason's group kicked off the set with "Interstellar Overdrive" and "Astronomy Domine," both from the band's 1967 debut The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Mason said that his new live project Saucerful of Secrets, named after Pink Floyd's 1968 album, was born after he had "finally given up waiting for that phone call from Roger [Waters] or David [Gilmour]," adding that he was "thrilled to be back at The Roundhouse." Other highlights included a searing "Lucifer Sam" and the visceral white noise rush of "Set The Controls For The Heart of the Sun," while early singles "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne" were reborn with a fresh intensity and power. Pink Floyd famously opened the venue on Oct. 15, 1966, performing alongside The Soft Machine at an "All Night Rave" to launch the underground newspaper International Times. It was attended by a who's who of countercultere '60s London, including Paul McCartney, Marianne Faithfull and Blow Up director Michelangelo Antonioni. Acid-laced sugar cubes were said to have been handed out at the door. - Billboard, 9/25/18...... Former Deep Purple bassist/singer Glenn Hughes will kick off his "Glenn Hughes Performs Classic Deep Purple Live" tour of Ireland and the UK on Sept. 29 in Belfast. It will be the first time ever that Hughes performs Deep Purple material in Ireland. After a Sept. 30 show in Dublin, Hughes then will continue on to the UK on Oct. 2 in Bristol with special guest Laurence Jones. Hughes' eleven-date tour will also visit Leamington (10/3), Southampton (10/5), Cardiff (10/6), Leeds (10/9), Newcastle (10/10), Glasgow (10/12) and Manchester (10/13) before wrapping at London's Electric Ballroom on Oct. 15. - Noble PR, 9/27/18...... The estate of late teen idol and country/rock singer Rick Nelson filed a class action lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment on Sept. 25 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging the label violates contractual agreements with its artists by assessing an intercompany charge on international streaming revenue that deprives artists of accurate royalties from foreign sales. The suit alleges that Sony underreports revenue generated by artists abroad by adding a charge on revenues collected by region-specific subsidiaries such as Sony Music UK and Sony Music Australia. The lawsuit asks the court for a jury trial with hopes to compel Sony to remove the intercompany charge for international sales and include 100 percent of income in the accounting. Nelson signed with CBS/Epic in 1976, four years after his last big hit -- the country rock classic "Garden Party." A year after signing with Epic he released Intakes, which sold poorly. A followup for the label was recorded in 1978, though the tracks were shelved until after his death in 1985. - Billboard, 9/26/18...... Adam Cohen, the son and producer of late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Leonard Cohen, revealed on Sept. 28 that he's working to complete some of his dad's unfinished songs for a new album to be released sometime in 2019. "I was tasked with finishing a few more songs of his that we started together on the last album, so his voice is literally still in my life," Adam said in an interview with CBC q's Tom Power. "To make a long story short, I believe that there are some really beautiful new songs of Leonard Cohen that no one's heard that are at some point going to come out," he added. Adam Cohen will also be releasing The Flame, a book of Leonard Cohen's unpublished poems, on Oct. 2. Leonard Cohen passed away in 2016 at the age of 82. - Billboard, 9/28/18...... 
Blondie announced on Sept. 24 that they'll be playing two nights in Cuba next March as part of a four-day cultural exchange program. Blondie will play two concerts during their March 14-18 visit in Havana, which will also feature Cuban musicians Alain Perez, David Torrens and Sintesis. The program, in which fans can also come along, will also include visits to Cuban museums and cultural institutions, studios and galleries and photography and architecture tours. Pricing for the trip, which includes a hotel reservation, ranges from $2,700 to $5,600. Blondie drummer Clem Burke says the band has been experimenting with Caribbean sounds for years on songs like, "Rapture" and "The Tide Is High" and they've always loved Cuban music. - AP, 9/24/18...... Ventura County, Calif. detectives were called to the Malibu mansion of Cher on Sept. 27 to execute a search warrant a man related to a recent drug overdose that occurred in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The man is reportedly 23-year-old Donovan Ruiz, who is Cher's assistant's son. Ruiz was reportedly arrested for a felony for supplying narcotics to someone who died. Cher was not home during the incident, as she is in the midst of her international tour. Her next show is scheduled for Brisbane, Australia on Sept. 28. Meanwhile, during a recent appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Cher revealed that she would like to collaborate with Adele and Pink, but "not Madonna." Cher has expressed her disdain for Madonna since the 1990s, saying that while she respected Madonna's music and business-savvy approach to the industry, she found her to be "mean," "spoiled" and "a bitch." - Billboard, 9/27/18...... Appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Sept. 27, former Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson was asked about her brief love triangle with Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley. "Billy and I were living together in Central Park West, we were friendly. I think he was dating Christie at the time, just starting to. I got ousted," Macpherson said. Host Andy Cohen also questioned Elle over the rumour that Joel's 1983 song "Uptown Girl" was about her. But the blonde beauty insisted that the hit tune was inspired by a variety of women. "I think it's (about) all the uptown girls, put it that way. I don't need to take any ownership over that. He liked tall girls," the 54-year-old Macpherson mused. Joel and his second wife Brinkley were married from 1985 until 1994, with the pop star currently wed to his fourth wife, Alexis Roderick. - WENN/Canoe.com, 9/28/18...... 
Actor/comic Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison on Sept. 25 for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004. Cosby, 81, was sentenced to "total confinement" by Judge Steven O'Neill, five months after his conviction in the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. Ahead of the sentencing, O'Neill ruled that Cosby is a "sexually violent predator." The classification means that Cosby must undergo monthly counseling for the rest of his life and report quarterly to authorities. His name will appear on a sex-offender registry sent to neighbors, schools and victims. Cosby, who was once known as "America's Dad" for his role as Dr. Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, was facing anywhere from probation to 10 years in prison after being convicted in April. His lawyers had asked for house arrest, saying 81-year-old Cosby -- who is legally blind -- is too old and helpless to do time in prison. Prosecutors asked for five to 10 years behind bars, saying the TV icon could still be a threat to women. Cosby's publicist, Andrew Wyatt, denounced the outcome in a statement outside court, calling it "the most racist and sexist trial in the history of the United States." Cosby became the first black actor to star in a primetime TV show, I Spy, in 1965. He remained a Hollywood A-lister for much of the next half-century. - AP, 9/25/18...... Film producer Gary Kurtz, one of the major forces in the creation of the