Tributes continue to pour in after the music world lost the legendary "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin on Aug. 16 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Singers, actors and countless other celebrities took to social media to thank and say rest in peace to the inspirational singer who had such an impact on artists of all genres across several decades. "I'm sitting in prayer for the wonderful golden spirit Aretha Franklin," Diana Ross posted on Aug. 16, while Paul McCartney wrote, "She will be missed but the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us forever." "The loss of @ArethaFranklin is a blow for everybody who loves real music: Music from the heart, the soul and the Church. Her voice was unique, her piano playing underrated... she was one of my favourite pianists," posted Elton John, while Carole King tweeted "What a life. What a legacy! So much love, respect and gratitude." 
Barbra Streisand posted "Not only was she a uniquely brilliant singer, but her commitment to civil rights made an indelible impact on the world," while music exec Clive Davis wrote, "I'm absolutely devastated by Aretha's passing. She was truly one of a kind. She was more than the Queen of Soul. She was a national treasure to be cherished by every generation throughout the world. Apart from our long professional relationship, Aretha was my friend. Her loss is deeply profound and my heart is full of sadness." Meanwhile, following her death sales of the Aretha Franklin music catalog have grown tremendously in the U.S., according to figures from Nielsen Music. Aretha's combined album and digital song sales increased by 1,568 percent on Aug. 16, as compared to Aug. 15. On the day of her passing, the legendary diva sold 134,000 combined albums and digital song downloads, up from 8,000 the previous day. Her top 10 selling songs on Aug. 16 were: "Respect" (16,000), "A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)" (13,000), "I Say a Little Prayer" (10,000), "Chain of Fools" (8,000), "Think" (8,000), "Freeway of Love" (4,000), "Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" (4,000), "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), with George Michael (4,000), "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (3,000), and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (3,000). The late singer has also tallied her highest-charting LP on the Billboard Hot 200 Album Chart in 46 years, as her 30 Greatest Hits re-entered the roundup at No. 7 for the week ending Aug. 16 following her death. The album is Franklin's highest-charting album since 1972, when her landmark gospel release Amazing Grace peaked at No. 7 on the July 22, 1972-dated tally. Aretha's funeral will be held on Aug. 31 in her hometown of Detroit, it was announced by her publicist on Aug. 17. The funeral, to be held at Greater Grace Temple, is limited to the late singer's family and friends. Public viewings will take place Aug. 28-29 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. She will be entombed at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, along with her father Rev. C.L. Franklin; sisters Carolyn Franklin and Erma Franklin; brother Cecil Franklin; and nephew Thomas Garrett. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 8/17/18...... Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks conducts an interview with Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson in the latest issue of Carine Roitfeld's CR Fashion Book, which hits newsstands Sept. 13. On her use of social media, Jackson admits to Nicks, who is one of her idols, "Honestly, the less I use my social media, the happier I am, and I've been using it less and less, but when I do use it I make sure to keep it very real and honest and true to myself." Paris also revealed that her current projects include a movie about the '90s rock and roll scene on the Sunset Strip, modeling, and making new music with her band, the Soundflowers. "We have enough material for an album, so I think we are going to get that done by fall," she said. - Billboard, 8/20/18...... 
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced on Aug. 20 that the Eagles' 1976 album Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 has been certified 38x platinum (which means sales and streams of the album have reached 38 million copies), and is has now surpassed Michael Jackson's Thriller as the highest certified album of all time. Thriller, which is 33x platinum, has been pushed to second place, while the Eagles 1977 studio LP Hotel California is now 26x platinum and makes it the third best-selling album of all-time. The last time RIAA tallied sales for the Eagles'< cite>Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 was in 2006, when it said it was 29x platinum. Sales and streams for Thriller were last updated in 2017. "We are grateful for our families, our management, our crew, the people at radio and, most of all, the loyal fans who have stuck with us through the ups and downs of 46 years. It's been quite a ride," co-founding Eagles member Don Henley said in a statement. After breaking up in 1980, the Eagles reunited in 1994 with Henley and Glenn Frey emaining original members. Frey died in 2016, but the Grammy-winning band continues to tour. The Eagles were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2016. - AP, 8/20/18...... The summer co-headlining tour by Journey and Def Leppard has topped the Billboard Hot Tours roundup. The second leg of their six-month trek spanned July 1 to 28 and ranged from 8,500-seat arenas to 45,000-capacity baseball parks, the largest of which was the sold-out show at Denver's Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, on July 21. Their 17 gigs had a total gross of $30,384,259. The two bands were joined in Minneapolis by openers Cheap Trick and in Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, and Detroit by the Pretenders. - Billboard, 8/17/18...... Promoting their upcoming Las Vegas residency which takes place next year, Aerosmith were the musical guests on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Aug. 17. The Boston-based rockers began their set with a knockout rendition of their 1973 hit "Mama Kin," followed by their 1975 hit "Big Ten Inch Record" for a web exclusive. The tongue-in-cheek song had the crowd dancing and in the middle of the performance, Tyler broke out his harmonica, adding that extra bit of flair to the already-bold performance. Aerosmith will launch their headlining "Deuces Are Wild" residency in April 2019 at the Park Theater at the new Park MGM on the Vegas strip. The band will perform until early July. The previous day, Aerosmith performed a set on the Today show, and footage has emerged of frontman Steven Tyler shoving away a fan for attempting to take a selfie with him. The clips shows the rock icon walking into Today's studio, when an overzealous fan bursts through the security barrier and grabs him while holding his phone for a photo. Visibly agitated, Tyler angrily and immediately pushes him away. Tyler then responded to the footage on Twitter, telling followers: "No time, bro-this is LIVE TELEVISION! Come to the show if you want an intimate experience." - Billboard/New Musical Express, 8/17/18...... 
Eric Clapton announced on Aug. 17 that he will release his first full-length Christmas album, Happy Xmas, on Oct. 12 via Bushbranch Records/Surfdog Records. The album's 14 tracks are a mix of yuletide standards -- including "White Christmas," "Silent Night," and "Away in a Manger" -- and lesser known holiday tunes. An original new track, "For Love On Christmas Day," will also be featured. Co-produced by Clapton and his longtime music producer Simon Climie, Happy Xmas, is the legendary singer/guitarist's 24th studio album and his first since 2016's I Still Do. - Billboard, 8/17/18...... Over 20 albums recorded by Prince from 1995 to 2010 are now available for streaming across digital music platforms. The 23 albums now available represent a first wave of digital catalog releases, including rare and out-of-print recordings, that include The Gold Experience (from 1995), Emancipation (1996), Musicology (2004) and more. Anthology, which was assembled and curated with the Prince estate and comprises tracks from the era, is also available for streaming. The posthumous reissue campaign comes after Prince's estate and Sony Music Entertainment announced in June an exclusive distribution agreement that covers 35 of the icon's previously-released efforts. Other titles from 1978-2015 will be re-issued in years to come. - Billboard, 8/17/18...... Neil Diamond says he's "doing pretty well" after his announcement in January that he was retiring from the road due to being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. "I take my meds. I do my workouts. I'm in pretty good shape. I'm feeling good. I want to stay productive. I still have my voice. I just can't do the traveling that I once did, but I have my wife there supporting me (and) friends," he told The Associated Press on Aug. 16. "It does have its challenges, but I'm feeling good and I feel very positive about. I'm feeling better every day," the 77-year-old added. "Just dealing with it as best I can, and just keep the music coming." On Aug. 17, Diamond released Hot August Night III a live concert 2 CD/DVD set chronicling his return to the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in Aug. 2012. The 2-hour+ performance featuring 33 songs celebrated the 40th anniversary of his original Hot August Night live album, also recorded at the Greek in August 1972. "It brings back memories -- very deep, loving and warm memories," he said of his performance. "Playing there and doing music relating to the audience, it was special. It's a special experience for me," Diamond says. He adds he re-watched the 2012 footage recently as it was edited for the new release, and he calls it "one of the best live performances that I've done and I'm proud of it." Diamond says he's not sure he can perform more than one song at the moment "but I think I can and I will give it a try at some point." "I'm glad to still be around," he says. "The fact that I'm still singing well is a bonus and I hope to continue doing it, but in a format that I can handle." - AP, 8/16/17...... Elvis Presley fans held their annual silent vigil in Memphis, Tenn., during Elvis Week during the third week of August. During the candlelight vigil on Aug. 15-16, solemn mourners moved slowly past his resting place in the Meditation Garden at his former home, Graceland, to remember the King of Rock and Roll on the 41st anniversary of his death. Attendance at the vigil was lighter than during last year's 40th anniversary vigil, but security remained tight. Presley died Aug. 16, 1977. Graceland now draws about 500,000 visitors annually. - AP, 8/15/18...... 
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, the co-stars of the 1978 film version of the smash musical Grease, reunited on Aug. 15 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. for a special 40th anniversary screening and Q&A celebrating the film sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Newton-John, wearing a pink shirt, matching sneakers and a white suit for the landmark occasion, was all smiles at the event, while Travolta, dressed in jeans and a black blazer, couldn't resist busting out some dance moves on the red carpet. They were joined by movie's director, Randal Kleiser, and costars Didi Conn, who played "Beauty School Dropout" Frenchie, and Barry Pearl, who played fellow T-Bird Doody. - Billboard, 8/17/18...... A new biography of late Beatles producer George Martin claims that Sir George was "frozen out" when the iconic rock quartet recorded their 1968 double-LP The Beatles (aka "The White Album"). Author Kenneth Womack claims a "cold war" broke out between Martin and the band with Martin speaking "only if he was called on by The Beatles." Gathering accounts from sound engineers and tape operators who worked on the White Album sessions, the biography also claims that Martin would turn up to the sessions with "a large stack of newspapers and a giant bar of chocolate," sitting at the back of the studio. Womack argues that the reasons behind the "freezing out" of Martin, known as the "fifth Beatle" due to his significant influence in producing all of the Beatles albums, were two-fold: the uncertainty caused by the death of Beatles manager Brian Epstein and an article in Time magazine which credited Martin as the mastermind behind the Beatles' seminal album, Sgt. Peppers. "They didn't take very well to that and let him knowI do think this was the beginning of the struggle over 'who's the genius behind the Beatles?'," Womack writes. The biography, Sound Pictures: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin, the Later Years, 1966-2016, hits stores Sept. 4. - New Musical Express, 8/19/18...... Tom Waits made a rare public appearance at a Jack White concert in San Francisco on Aug. 16. "Tom waits came to Jack White's performance in San Francisco and made all the musicians in the band confirm and pay testament to their love of the religion of music," a post on White's @officaljackwhitelive Twitter account says. "He also stole jacks watch. A million thanks and tributes to Saint Tom from Jack and the band." It was the first public apparance by Waits since he duetted with Mavis Staples in Sept. 2017. Prior to that, Waits appeared on David Letterman's late night talk show in 2015, shortly before the long-running show came to an end. - New Musical Express, 8/19/18.
Aretha Franklin, the definitive female soul singer of the 1960s whose influence on popular music in the latter half of the 20th century cannot be overstated, died on Aug. 16 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 76. "It is with deep and profound sadness that we announce the passing of Aretha Louise Franklin, the Queen of Soul," her longtime publicist Gwendolyn Quinn said in a statement. "(She) passed away on Thursday morning, August 16 at 9:50 a.m. at her home in Detroit, MI, surrounded by family and loved ones.... (her) official cause of death was due to advance pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type, which was confirmed by Franklin's Oncologist, Dr. Philip Phillips of Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, MI." The statement continues: "In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family... Thank you for your compassion and prayers. We have felt your love for Aretha and it brings us comfort to know that her legacy will live on. As we grieve, we ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time." Born on March 25, 1942, in Detroit, Aretha was one of five children of Rev. C.L. Franklin, himself a well-known figure in gospel music, having released over 70 regularly-selling albums of recorded sermons on the Chess Records label. As a child she sang with her brothers and sisters in the choir of her father's New Bethal Baptist Church, and upon turning 14 joined her dad on his evangelistic tours, gaining a reputation as a remarkable soloist with his choir. After turning 18, Aretha was encouraged to broaden her musical horizons by adding blues songs to her repertoire, and moved to the East coast to try the pop market. Aretha was auditioned by John Hammond of Columbia Records, who signed her to a contract but the label seemed not to know how to produce her, or what type of material she was best equipped to handle. In the winter of 1966 Aretha left Columbia for Atlantic Records, which had a better track record of producing blues and soul artists, and Atlantic head Jerry Wexler immediately took her to the legendary Muscle Shoals studios where he produced her first hit, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Loved You)" (#9 pop, #1 R&B), a song that unleashed the incredible fire and passion of her voice and became a gold record. That song almost single-handedly changed the course of soul music, and Aretha was dubbed "Lady Soul," a title that has never been contested. Her string of hits in the closing years of the 1960s included "Respect" (#1 pop, #1 R&B), "Baby I Love You" (#4 pop, #1 R&B) and "I Say a Little Prayer" (#10 pop, #3 R&B), and her albums sold consistently. 
Overseas, she was never quite able to equal her success in America, however her 1968 European tour was considered a complete triumph, and produced the live LP Aretha in Paris. In 1968, "Think" (#7 pop, #1 R&B) became her first self-composed million-seller, and she began to start writing and helping to produce her own material, though the main production duties continued to be trusted veteran Atlantic poducers Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin. As the '70s arrived, Aretha's personal problems (in 1968 she was arrested for reckless driving and again in 1969 for disorderly conduct, also around this time she was rumored to be drinking heavily) forced her into semi-retirement, and for about 18 months her apparently lukewarm interest in her career was an open secret. However she was coaxed back into regular recording and touring, though rarely outside the U.S. Her hits continued, giving her more million-sellers than any other woman in recording history until her record was recently broken by rapper/singer Nicki Minaj. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (#6 pop, #1 R&B), "Spanish Harlem" (#2 pop, #1 R&B), "Rock Steady" (#9 pop, #2 R&B), and "Day Dreaming" (#5 pop, # 1 R&B), became huge hits at the start of the decade, and during that time she gave birth to her fourth son, Kecalf, and married actor Glynn Turman in 1978. Although she appeared to be searching, sometimes aimlessly, during this time, she nevertheless had high points with the acclaimed albums Spirit in the Dark (1970), Live at Fillmore West (1971), and Young, Gifted and Black (1972). Her next effort, the pure gospel Amazing Grace (1972), would be her last with Wexler at the helm (and became one of the best-selling gospel albums of all time). In the late '70s, a bad experience while flying resulted in a phobia that curtailed her touring, and her upredictability would begin to dog her career. In 1980, she left Atlantic for Arista Records, and her first two albums for that label were produced by Arif Mardin, and each included an old soul standard as well as glossier MOR material. 
Aretha appeared in The Blues Brothers movie, singing "Respect" and "Think," and her version of Sam and Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'" earned her a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female. However another series of personal tragedies, which included an attack on her father during a robbery which later resulted in his death, would halt her commercial comeback. In 1982, she moved back to the Detroit area where she remained for the rest of her life, and in 1985 she came back into the public eye with the hit album Who's Zoomin' Who, which spun off three hit singles -- the title track, "Freeway of Love" and "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves." Her newfound pop crossover success continued with 1986's Aretha, which included the Top 30 "Jimmy Lee" and a version of the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" produced by and featuring Keith Richards. In 1987, she scored another No. 1 hit, "I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)," a duet with George Michael. Subsequent albums were less popular, though her 1987 LP One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism was a critically acclaimed and Grammy-winning effort featuring Mavis Staples and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Though the title track of 1989's Through the Storm was a hit duet with Elton John, the album peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 200. 1991's What You See Is What You Sweat would be the lowest chart debut of any album of her career. 
In 1987, Aretha became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1993 she starred in her own television special, Duets, which featured collaborations with a number of current pop stars, including Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, Smokey Robinson, George Michael and Rod Stewart. Subsequent honors include the famed Apollo Theater's hall of fame and the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame. A Kennedy Center honoree in 1994, Aretha was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. Aretha charted 73 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, the most of any female artist and ninth-most of all artists. Dealing with health issues in recent years, Aretha denied she was suffering from rumored pancreatic cancer when she underwent surgery in 2010 for an undisclosed illness. In 2017 she canceled a series of concerts citing "doctor's orders," and her last public performance was on Nov. 2, 2017 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York. The mother of four sons, Franklin was married twice: to her former manager Ted White and actor Glynn Turman. "I'm absolutely devastated by Aretha's passing," said Clive Davis, who signed Aretha to his Arista Records in 1980, on Twitter. "She was truly one of a kind. She was more than the Queen of Soul. She was a national treasure to be cherished by every generation throughout the world. Apart from our long professional relationship, Aretha was my friend. Her loss is deeply profound and my heart is full of sadness." Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days. - Billboard/The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock, 8/16/18.
The Kinks announced on Aug. 15 they will release a a 50th-anniversary edition of their iconic 1968 album The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society on Oct. 26. While not a commercial success when it was initially released, the album is now considered one of the most influential albums from the seminal British rock band's catalog and included the singles Starstruck" and "The Village Green Preservation Society," both which failed to chart in the US. The album features timeless songs written by frontman Ray Davies about growing up in the UK and the decline of national culture and its traditional ways through wit, sadness and regret. The 50th-anniversary edition will include previously unreleased tracks like "Time Song," which was only heard by the public once at a live performance in 1973. A deluxe box set of VGPS will include extra sleeve notes, interviews, photographs and stories of the album's production, release and cultural impact. - Billboard, 8/15/18...... John Lennon's assassin Mark David Chapman is scheduled to go before New York's parole board during the fourth week of August, in what will be his 10th attempt to win his freedom. Chapman, 63, is serving a 20 years to life sentence in the Wende Correctional Facility in western New York after being convicted of shooting and killing Lennon outside his Manhattan Dakota apartment on Dec. 8, 1980. Chapman was last denied parole in 2016, with the board noting he has since described the murder as "selfish and evil." The board determined that Chapman should remain behind bars, in part because of the premeditated and "celebrity-seeking" nature of the crime. A decision on his latest hearing is expected within two weeks. - AP, 8/15/18...... In other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney released the third single from his upcoming album 
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Phil Collins revealed that he's open to a reunion with his iconic prog-rock band Genesis -- if his 17-year-old son Nic Collins is sitting in for him on drums. "I wouldn't say there isn't not a possibility. Me, Mike [Rutherford] and Tony [Banks] are pretty close still. I can't imagine what it would be like if I didn't play the drums, but anything is possible," Collins said. Collins says that he spoke to Rutherford and Banks when they saw his show in London last summer. "They both were raving about Nic," says Collins. "Mike made the appropriate comment of, 'He just gets it. He just gets what is needed and what is required and why you're doing this for that song.' I thought that was a wonderful thing to say. He was 16 at that point. I think that, yeah, if we did anything, I think it would have to be with Nic on drums, because I don't think I'm capable of it. I think their opinion of Nic is high enough for them to take him on board as part of the band.... I did mention to Tony very quietly if we did anything again it would be with Nic on drums. He kind of didn't say no. But I'm not sure if he heard me or not." - Rolling Stone/Billboard, 8/15/18...... It was a head-banging extravaganza down under when more than 450 guitarists gathered at the Sydney Guitar Festival in Australia to perform the AC/DC classic "Highway to Hell" in an attempt to break the Guinness world record for most people playing the same song on the electric guitar at once. Participants used small battery-powered amps while Australian band the Choirboys performed the song onstage. "They were tiny amps but they got the sound happening," festival spokeswoman Tatiana Marchant said. "It was such a great atmosphere." The previous record was 368 guitarists set in India in 2013. It could take Guinness upward of six weeks to verify the Sydney record. - Billboard, 8/15/18...... Records from the classic rock and pop era have dominated the midyear marketplace report compiled by online music retailer Discogs.com. Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Michael Jackson's Thriller came in at Nos. 1 and 2 respectively atop the online vinyl/CD/cassette seller's top 30 most popular albums list. All told, Pink Floyd landed five titles in the top 30 -- and four in the top 11 (Wish You Were Here, No. 4; The Wall, No. 7; The Piper At the Gates of Dawn, No. 11) -- tying the Beatles for the most albums in that region. Dark Side of the Moon also landed atop Discogs' lists for most wanted albums, most collected albums and top catalog sales. Other artists among the top 10 of the most popular titles include Fleetwood Mac (Rumours, No. 3), the Beatles (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, No. 5; Abbey Road, No. 8), Dire Straits (Brothers In Arms, No. 6) and Led Zeppelin (IV, No. 9; Led Zeppelin II, No. 10). - Billboard, 8/15/18...... The BBC announced on Aug. 15 that it will not appeal a recent court ruling in favor of singer Cliff Richard who had sued over the U.K. public broadcaster's coverage of a police raid at his home in 2014. The BBC had reported that Richard was being investigated for claims of child sex assault in the past. Richard, who was never charged or arrested, sued for invasion of privacy for naming him and airing helicopter footage of his apartment, which was searched by police as part of the probe. In July a judge awarded the music star an initial £210,000 ($274,000 at the time) in damages, saying that possible further damages for the financial impact on Richard, such as canceled book deals or concerts, would still have to be assessed. The BBC said back then that it would look at an appeal and criticized the court decision as a threat to the freedom of press. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/15/18...... Aerosmith announced on Aug. 15 it will launch a Las Vegas residency on Apr. 6, 2019 at the Park Theater, the same venue where Lady Gaga will launch her own residency in December. Aerosmith announced 18 shows for April, June and July. Tickets, priced from $75 to $750, go on sale Aug. 24. Promoter Live Nation says the residency will be the "world's first THX Certified live performance presented in L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound." - AP/Billboard, 8/15/18...... 
After hinting on his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube accounts on Aug. 14 that he was planning a comeback of sorts, long-absent former Journey singer Steve Perry released a video on Aug. 15 for "No Erasin'," his first new song on 20 years. The mid-tempo song begins, appropriately enough, with the line, "I know it's been a long time coming," before going into a tale of "love that won't go." The video features Perry performing the song in a studio with a band. Perry also took to his website to explain his absence and announce his new album, 
The Guess Who have just finished recording their first new studio album in 23 years, The Future Is What It Used To Be. One of its tracks, "In America," reflects some of the ambivalence have toward their neighbors in the south. "The chorus says, 'In America, you can get anything you want, you can get anything that you need,'" says drummer Garry Peterson, the sole remaining founding member in the current lineup. "It's in the spirit that America's a land of opportunity; If you really want to work hard you can become a rock musician, you can become a brain surgeon, you can become a doctor -- you can become president, if that's really what you want to be. It kind of celebrates that," Peterson adds. Peterson also says the band's No. 1 US single 
Randy Newman performed a 28-song set a L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 12. The audience seemed to be just happy to see the legendary singer/songwriter after he canceled a string of dates in Europe earlier this year to undergo urgently needed knee surgery. Newman performed such classic hits as "Leave Your Hat On," Short People," "You've Got a Friend in Me," and "I Love L.A.," along with other favorites. He even name-checked Tom Jones and Joe Cocker as "other geriatric artists" who had done "Leave Your Hat On," while pointing out their cover versions were each "real excited about sex" while his writerly intent was to portray the song's narrator as more "on the fence." - Billboard, 8/13/18...... Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley accused her ex-husband of stealing "millions" from her in Los Angeles Superior Court on Aug. 14. During her testimony, Presley said she believed her estranged husband Michael Lockwood reviewed the postnuptial agreement before he signed it on November 2007. When asked by Lockwood's attorney whether she thought it was fair that Lockwood did not receive any spousal support if their marriage ended, Presley answered, "Correct." "You thought it was fair because you would not have wanted a man who wanted money from you, had you known if he was that way, right?" the attorney asked Presley. "Not true," she answered. At the heart of the legal drama between the feuding exes is whether or not the postnuptial agreement signed by Presley and Lockwood is valid. Presley filed for divorce from Lockwood on June 2016 after 10 years of marriage. They have two twin 9-year old daughters, Harper and Finley. - RadarOnline.com, 8/14/18...... Actress Patricia Benoit, who played Nancy Remington, the sweetheart and eventual wife of Wally Cox's character on the 1950s NBC sitcom Mister Peepers, died at her home in Port Chester, N.Y., on Aug. 12. She was 91. NBC's Mister Peepers, broadcast live from a New York theater for three seasons from July 1952 to June 1955, starred Cox (later the voice of the superhero Underdog and a Hollywood Squares regular) as the mild-mannered Robinson Peepers, a science teacher at Jefferson City Junior High. Benoit's Nancy was a nurse and the object of Peepers' awkward affection. Ms. Benoit also starred as a divorcee on the short-lived 1958 NBC soap opera Today Is Ours and later worked on CBS' As the World Turns as well. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/12/18...... Morgana King, an acclaimed jazz singer who released dozens of albums but is perhaps best known for portraying the wife of Marlon Brando's Don Vito Corleone in the first two Godfather films, died March 22 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 87. Ms. King's death had gone unreported until a friend, John Hoglund, wrote about her recently week on Facebook. Ms. King had a music breakthrough in 1964 with her operatic version of "A Taste of Honey," originally composed by Bobby Scott and also recorded by the likes of Herb Alpert and Billy Dee Williams. At the 1965 Grammys, she lost to the Beatles (who also performed "A Taste of Honey" early in their career) in the category of best new artist. Ms. King, who also had a hit with "Corcovado" ("Quiet Nights"), made a comeback with 1973's New Beginnings and recorded her final nine albums for Muse Records. In Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972), Ms. King as Mama Carmela Corleone dances with Brando and sings "Luna mezz' 'o mare" during the opening wedding sequence. When she didn't want to be photographed in a coffin in the 1974 sequel, Coppola's mother, Italia, doubled for her. She also appeared in Brooklyn State of Mind (1998) with Danny Aiello and on the ABC soap opera All My Children. - Billboard, 8/15/18.
There are rumors that AC/DC are working on new music with their former frontman, Brian Johnson, and their ex-drummer, Phil Rudd, after the pair were recently spotted together in Vancouver. Johnson voluntarily left the band in 2016 after suffering hearing loss, before being replaced by Axl Rose. Rudd, meanwhile, departed in 2015 after a string of publicized legal problems, and was replaced by Chris Slade for the band's Rock or Bust World Tour. AC/DC have recorded all their albums in Vancouver over the last two decades, and Johnson and Rudd were spotted outside the city's Warehouse Studios, where it's thought the other members of AC/DC are working on a new LP. - New Musical Express, 8/8/18...... Hall & Oates are among the artists who are releasing a classic album from their catalog on pink vinyl to benefit the cancer charity Gilda's Club NYC. The limited edition pink vinyl LPs will be available at retailers across the country from Sept. 25 to Oct. 26, and can be ordered at 
During a recent interview on SiriusXM's Beatles Channel, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry seemingly confirmed his iconic hard rock band will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2019 with a residency in Las Vegas. "We're going to be doing a residency in Vegas starting next spring," Perry said. "What we want to do is something that I haven't seen before just downsizing our live show, just playing in a smaller place. We want to do something different. We're in the middle of the production now. What we're talking about is having an experience that you wouldn't be able to see on a regular Aerosmith tour," he added. Aerosmith is expected to announce the full details of the residency, which Perry says he's quite excited about, on Aug. 15 with the band performs on NBC's Today show. Meanwhile, a van used by Aerosmith has just been discovered in a Massachusetts forest during the filming of the popular antiques reality show American Pickers. Hosts Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe stumbled upon the 1964 American Harvester Metro van while filming a new episode, and its authenticity has been confirmed by former Aerosmith member, Ray Tabano, who was with the band early on when it traveled New England playing to smaller crowds. The owner of the property in Chesterfield, Mass., about 100 miles west of Boston said the van was there when he bought the land from someone with a connection to Aerosmith. The pickers paid $25,000 for the dilapidated vehicle, with Wolfe noting it is "a piece of American rock and roll history." - New Musical Express/AP, 8/10/18...... After Paul McCartney filmed a segment for CBS late night host James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" series in June showing the Beatles icon and Corden riding around in McCartney's icon's hometown of Liverpool and the 23-minute clip became so popular, CBS has announced it will air a one-hour special, Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live From Liverpool, later in August. Featuring never-before-seen footage, the special will air in prime time on the network on Aug. 20 at 8 p.m. EST/PST. Meanwhile, McCartney took to Twitter on Aug. 6 to share a photo of himself recording his upcoming album Egypt Station at London's Abbey Road Studios. The photo depicts Paul putting the finishing touches on the LP at the edge of a sound board and empty pages of sheet music waiting to be filled. Egypt Station is due on Sept. 7. - Billboard, 8/7/18...... The estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music have announced a celebration for what would have been Jackson's 60th birthday on Aug. 29 will be held on that evening at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. The "Michael Jackson Diamond Birthday Celebration in Las Vegas" will kick off with an early evening performance of "Michael Jackson One" by Cirque du Soleil, followed by an exclusive after-party at Daylight Beach Club. Jackson fans from around the world are expected to flock to the celebration, which is expected to be attended by Jackson's children Paris and Prince Jackson as well as his brothers, Jackie, Marlon and Tito Jackson. There is no word yet on whether Sony plans to release or reissue any Jackson material around the birthday. - Billboard, 8/6/18...... 
Stevie Nicks will be returning to the FX series American Horror Story this fall as it premieres its eight season, dubbed American Horror Story: Apocalypse. Ryan Murphy, the creator of the horror anthology series which will be in its eight season, tweeted on Aug. 8 that Nicks and previous cast members including Taissa Farmiga and Gabourey Sidibe will be together again and he's "so thrilled." The new season will be a crossover between American Horror Story: Murder House and American Horror Story: Coven, which 
Former NSYNC pop boy band member Lance Bass is set to meet with bosses of cable TV's HGTV after the U.S. lifestyle channel outbid him for the iconic home shown in the opening and closing scenes of the '70s sitcom 
The Rolling Stones have wrapped the second leg of their European No Filter tour with 14 more sellouts to lead Billboard's Hot Tours roundup for the week ending Aug. 4. The Stones kicked off the 12-city leg on May 17 at Dublin's Croke Park and concluded at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland, on July 8, grossing $117,844,618 with over 750,874 tickets sold. The Warsaw show also featured a guest appearance by James Bay for a performance of "Beast of Burden." Meanwhile, the band have teamed up with BMG and Universal to curate Confessin' the Blues, a 2-disc compilation of classic blues tracks that have inspired their career. Appropriately kicking off with Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone," the 42-track collection also features the likes of Chuck Berry, B.B King, Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley and more. Frontman Mick Jagger has noted his love for the blues genre, saying "The first Muddy Waters album that was really popular was Muddy Waters at Newport, which was the first album I ever bought." Artwork for the release was created by Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood himself, which he says "depicts the raw passion and emotion the blues artists channelled into their music." - Billboard/New Musical Express, 8/3/18...... Tom Petty has become the first act to posthumously hit the top of the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs airplay list with "Keep a Little Soul (Outtake, 1982)," the first single from his upcoming 60-song box set 
The world premiere of the new PBS Dionne Warwick documentary Dionne Warwick: Then Came You took place on Aug. 1, and the 77-year-old pop singing legend says that she "feels like I've truly been blessed." "I've been fortunate enough to have people who have been loyal over the years to me and have enjoyed the music I've given them, as I have. I always say things happen the way they're supposed to happen, and here I am," she added. Then Came You was produced by TJ Lubinsky, whose grandfather Herman Lubinsky recorded Warwick's first background session in the 1940s for his Savoy Records label, and is part of the PBS series My Music. Then Came You features some of Warwick's most popular hits throughout her five-decade career, as well as interviews with those close to Warwick, including Barry Manilow, Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/3/18...... The Band musician Levon Helm's eastern Arkansas home was added to Arkansas' Register of Historic Places on Aug. 1 by the state's Historic Preservation Program's review board. University of Central Arkansas interior design instructor Ann Ballard Bryan and her students worked to acquire the historic designation, and also organized a fundraiser to help cover restoration costs for the Helm house. Work began in April. Helm was a singer, drummer and mandolin player for The Band, which backed Bob Dylan in the 1960s and went on to record 10 studio albums. - AP, 8/3/18...... A remix of Diana Ross's 1980 hit "I'm Coming Out" called "I'm Coming Out/Upside Down 2018" has topped Billboard Dance Club Songs chart for the week ending Aug. 4. The medley, remixed by Eric Kupper, Chris Cox and StoneBridge, among others, follows another remixed Ross classic, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough 2017," which led the Jan. 20-dated Dance Club Songs list. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, for so many blessings," the pop/soul icon said upon hearing the news. - Billboard, 8/2/18...... Bob Dylan was among the headliners of the 22nd annual Fuji Rock Festival in Niigata, Japan on July 27-29. The overall strong lineup also included hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, N.E.R.D., Jack Johnson, Vampire Weekend, Skrillex and Johnny Marr. Dylan played a number of iconic tracks from his canon, including "Simple Twist of Fate, "It Ain't Me Babe, "Highway 61 Revisited," "Don't Think Twice," "It's All Right, "When I Paint My Masterpiece, "Desolation Row, "Ballad of the Thin Man," and "Blowin' in the Wind. This year the Fuji Rock festival made a huge leap forward technologically with YouTube live streaming the celebration on two channels. As each channel broadcast nine performances, that meant 54 of the roughly 200 performances were accessible in real time around the world. - Billboard, 8/1/18...... Country icon Dolly Parton has announced her Dollywood amusement park in east Tennessee will be opening a $37 million expansion in 2019. Called Wilwood Grove, the expansion will include six ride attractions, featuring a suspended family roller coaster called The Dragonflier, as well as various indoor and outdoor play areas for families. In 2013 Dollywood committed to a $300 million over a 10-year period. - AP, 8/3/18...... 
In support of the current #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, Ann Wilson of Heart has recorded a cover of Lesley Gore's 1963 classic "You Don't Own Me" for her upcoming album 
Former Genesis frontman and '80s solo star Peter Gabriel has blasted the UK's foreign policy after a number of acts scheduled to play the Womad Festival from countries including Tunisia, Mozambique and India were refused entry to the UK. "The right to travel for work, for education and even for pleasure is increasingly being restricted and often along racial and religious lines," says Gabriel, who co-founded the festival back in 1980, which is described as "The World's Festival" and is known for its eclectic line-ups. Gabriel added that "It is alarming that our UK festival would now have real problems bringing artists into this country [many of whom] no longer want to come to the UK because of the difficulty, cost and delays with visas, along with the new fear that they will not be welcomed... Musicians travel for a living, and almost everywhere I have travelled I have been met with kindness and generosity. Do we really want a white-breaded Brexited flatland? A country that is losing the will to welcome the world?" - NME, 8/1/18...... Jeff Wadlow, the director of such projects as Truth or Dare, Kick-Ass 2 and Cry Wolf, is teaming up with Blumhouse and Sony Pictures to reimagine the '70s ABC series 
Speaking of Colorado, Neil Diamond honored firefighters who are battled an intentionally set fire near his home at Lake Christine by giving a surprise performance for dozens of firemen gathered at the command post for a fire currently burning near Basalt, Col. Diamond took to the stage on July 27 to play his classic "Sweet Caroline," and a video of the event shows the pop music icon thanking firefighters for their efforts to save his community. Diamond, 77, retired abruptly from touring in January after he says he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Two people have been arrested for igniting the Lake Christine fire on July 3 by firing incendiary tracer rounds at a shooting range. - AP, 7/29/18...... Elvis Costello and his band The Imposters released two new songs -- "Under Lime" and "Unwanted Number" -- on July 27, also announcing an Oct. 12 release date for their first album in a decade, Look Now. "I knew if we could make an album with the scope of Imperial Bedroom and some of the beauty and emotion of Painted From Memory, we would really have something," Costello said in a press release. The 12-track Look Now will feature guest performances by such artists as Burt Bacharach and Carole King, and Costello and the Imposters will launch a 20-date North American tour behind the new LP in Bethlehem, Pa. on Nov. 2. - Billboard, 7/27/18...... Two weeks after Craig Raymond Turner, the 59-year-old son of Tina Turner was found dead of an apparent suicide on July 3, Tina paid tribute to Craig on July 27 with a Twitter post featuring a moving picture of her saying her final goodbye. Turner, 78, is pictured wearing a dark grey suit jacket and black gloves, about to drop a rose into the ocean with the caption, "My saddest moment as a mother. On Thursday, July 19 2018, I said my final goodbye to my son, Craig Raymond Turner, when I gathered with my family and friends to scatter his ashes off the coast of California." The son of Tina and Kings of Rhythm saxophonist Raymond Hill -- who was adopted by the singer's first husband, Ike Turner -- Craig was a real estate agent in the San Fernando Valley. - Billboard, 7/27/18...... Two members of '60 hitmakers The Byrds reunited on July 24 during a 50th anniversary tribute to the Byrds album Sweetheart fo the Rodeo at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman took Byrds fans down memory lane by performing the landmark country/rock LP in its entirety, and closed the set, after three tribute tracks written by their late protege Tom Petty, with the Byrds classic "Turn! Turn! Turn!." - Billboard, 7/27/18...... The "supergroup" Hollywood Vampires comprised of Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp have released a six-minute behind-the-scenes video chronicling their first world tour behind their self-titled debut album. The video opens with a montage of photos, soundtracked by the band covering The Who's "My Generation," before taking you onstage, backstage and everywhere else as the group hangs with such rockers as Duff McKagan and Toni Iommi of Black Sabbath. - Billboard, 7/26/18...... 
'70s rockers Toto have revealed they will release a cover of the alternative band Weezer's "Hash Pipe" after a fan-driven campaign prompted Weezer to cover Toto's hit "Africa" in May. Toto's Steve Lukather said Toto originally wanted to cover Weezer's "Beverly Hills," "(but) "I thought 'Hash Pipe' had a better melody... I love the message, you know what I mean? And we wanted to do it justice." Lukather and his Toto bandmate Steve Porcaro were interviewed on L.A.'s KROQ on July 29, and also discussed Weezer's cover of "Africa," giving it a "B++". Weezer "kicked ass on it," they said. - New Musical Express, 7/30/18...... A new study from two North American academics claims that Paul McCartney "misremembers" writing the Beatles' "In My Life" and it was actually John Lennon who wrote the sentimental 1965 Rubber Soul track. The new study, led by Harvard's senior lecturer in statistics Mark Glickman and Dalhousie University's Jason Brown, a Professor of Mathematics, concludes the song more stylistically resembles one of Lennon's musical creations, and an analysis found that there is a "less than 1 in 50 chance" that Sir Paul wrote the music to "In My Life." The study analyzed such features as frequency of chords, chord transitions and melodic notes from Beatles songs which were written between 1962 and 1966, and the probability that the tune was written by McCartney "is .018... Which basically means it's pretty convincingly a Lennon song. McCartney misremembers." The ownership of the song has been debated in the intervening years, however, with McCartney telling Paul Gambaccini a decade later: "Those were the words John wrote, and I wrote the tune to it. That was a great one." A spokesperson for McCartney has said that he will not be responding to the results of the survey. - New Musical Express, 7/30/18...... Meanwhile, Paul McCartney played a 27-song set at Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club on July 26 in a stunning return to the humble venue where the Beatles got their start. Hundreds of fans had gathered outside the club by the crack of dawn to see the music legend kick off the gig with an unnamed jam before diving into "Twenty Flight Rock," the Eddie Cochran song Paul played to prove his chops to John Lennon at the garden fete at St Peter's Church, Woolton, on July 6, 1957. Fab Four and solo classics followed, including "Magical Mystery Tour," "Jet," "All My Loving," "Letting Go," "Come on to Me," and a "Let Me Roll It/Foxy Lady" medley. The 76-year-old rock icon closed his set with "I Saw Her Standing There," "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)," and "Helter Skelter." McCartney briefly interrupted his show at one point to berate the crowd for using phones at the Cavern. "You've all been told not to take photos," he said. "You're taking them, and you're taking them, and it's putting me off! So, you know, play by the rules, man!" McCartney has announced he will resume touring later this year in support of his upcoming 17th solo album 
Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick is the latest musician showcased by Foo Fighters on their current North American tour. During a Foo Fighters concert at Chicago's Wrigley Field on July 29, frontman Dave Grohl invited Nielsen -- who hails from Illinois -- on to the stage to play Cheap Trick's famous cover of Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame," which the veteran power popsters have been playing live since the late '70s. Grohl played drums during the cover, while Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins -- who took on lead vocals -- was spotted wearing a Cheap Trick vest during the gig. Joe Walsh and John Travolta have previously jammed with Foo Fighters on their tour. - NME, 7/30/18...... Tom Jones posted an apology on Twitter on July 28 after a planned concert at the UK's York Racecourse on July 27 was cancelled at the last minute due to weather conditions. "So disappointed about York last night and so sorry for you all," Sir Tom wrote. "But lightening is unpredictable, dangerous and causes havoc so much better safe than talking about something tragic today. Hopefully see you soon, we are working on it." The show was due to take place after the Welsh legend cancelled a number of earlier dates due to illness. His apology was met with a mixed response, with one fan tweeting: "Everybody knew the weather was bad but people travelled from all over to see you, why didn't you come up in the morning. Disgrace. I wouldn't go to my back garden to see you now." - NME, 7/28/18...... Former Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten (real name John Lydon) will voice a "power hungry mutant pig" in a new cartoon series titled Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it was revealed during the San Diego Comic-Con festival on July 19. Lydon will play a character called Meat Sweats in the Nickelodeon series that will air in September. It will be the fourth animated version to be produced based on the comics and 1980s cartoon about the crime-fighting New York turtles. - NME, 7/27/18...... Universal Music, which owns the rights to the late Prince's music, has shut down a video which shows fans in Minneapolis singing Prince's "Purple Rain" just hours after he died after citing "copyright infringement." According to Universal, the footage violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA). The clip was filmed by Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Aaron Lavinsky, who responded on Twitter that Universal's action is "very disturbing." "...I shot of thousands of Prince fans singing Purple Rain the night of his death. This was clearly fair use and UMPG and Twitter are in the wrong," he posted. The DMCA, which "bars the unlawful reproduction, distribution or performance of copyrighted Works," was originally passed in order to help curb online peer-to-peer file sharing, on platforms including Napster. But the fair use standard can often excuse material that is used for factual work, noncommercial purposes, or nonprofit educational purposes. It is unclear whether the Star Tribune will fight the DMCA takedown. - NME, 7/27/18...... 
Actor Alan Alda revealed that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease on July 31 during an appearance on CBS This Morning. However the beloved