Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 23rd, 2026

The sequel to the blockbuster Michael Jackson biopic Michael will address child abuse allegations against the late King of Pop "from his point of view", says his nephew Jafaar Jackson, the titular actor in the film. Michael, which has become the highest-grossing biopic ever made, followed the beginning of Jackson's career in the Jackson 5 up until the "Bad"world tour in the late 1980s. Michael notably didn't include any reference to the child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson, though the story was included in the initial screenplay. However, a clause in a legal settlement was discovered, which forbid the Jackson estate from mentioning one of the accusers, Jordan Chandler, meaning that the production spent $15 million on reshoots. The movie ultimately ended at a different point in Jackson's life, shifting the narrative tension onto his relationship with his father, Joe Jackson, played by Colman Domingo. Earlier in August, it was revealed that the sequel is officially set to start filming later in 2026, and now Jaafar has provided some insight into the potential plot. Speaking to GQ Middle East, Jafaar said it will depict the abuse allegations "from [Michael's] point of view." "I think the second film will give even more insight from his point of view, because at the end of the day, [the allegations] are always from someone else's," he said. "It's someone else's story. It's someone else's idea of what it is, and it's mainly driven by an agenda. And that's really the issue we've been having as a family -- not having Michael's voice being heard. I think that's very, very important, especially in the late years," he added. The article points out the screenplay is still in development and that Jafaar has no real say in its story, but is rather noting what he would like to see. After debuting to the largest-ever opening weekend for a biopic, it was confirmed in July that the movie had taken in $1.001 billion (£750 million) globally, making it the first of its genre to pass the milestone. - New Musical Express, 8/22/26...... Legendary British Invasion pop stars The Hollies have announced the end of their touring career after 63 years, bringing one of England's longest-running rock bands to a close. The news was confirmed in a statement on Aug. 20, which explained that guitarist Tony Hicks was stepping away from touring for health reasons. Drummer Bobby Elliott, the other long-running member still with the group, added that he was also retiring in solidarity with his bandmate. "After more than six decades, The Hollies' touring career will come to a close with immense gratitude to the fans who have supported them around the world," the statement read. Naming themselves after legendary '50s Rock & Roll star Buddy Holly, The Hollies were formed in Manchester in 1962 by childhood friends Allan Clarke and Graham Nash and joined by Hicks in 1963, the band made a successful for Parlophone Records at Abbey Road Studios, while Hicks' former bandmate in The Dolphin, Elliott, followed later in the year, with bassist Eric Haydock completing the classic line-up. The band became known for their distinctive three-part harmonies and became one of the defining bands of the British Invasion, with hits including "I'm Alive," "Bus Stop," "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," "Stop Stop Stop," "The Air That I Breathe" and "Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)," a No. 2 US hit in 1972. Nash left the group in Dec. 1968 and went on to form Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, with Terry Sylvester replacing him in the band the following year. Clarke retired from the performing with the band in 2000. Hicks and Elliott remained in the band throughout, being joined in the last two decades by singer Peter Howarth, guitarist Steve Lauri, bassist Ray Stiles and keyboardist Ian Parker. Their most recent album was Then, Now, Always in 2009. The Hollies were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2010, although Hicks and Elliott did not attend the ceremony as The Hollies had a previously booked concert that night. "He's Not Heavy, He's My Brother" became a UK Number One single on re-release in 1988, and The Hollies sold and estimated 60 million+ records worldwide across their career. NME, 8/21/26...... After losing a court battle against the UK paper The Daily Mail in which it was claimed the media outlet published stories after unlawfully obtaining information by hacking into their messages, tapping landlines or acquiring medical records, several high profile celebrities including Elton John and Prince Harry have been ordered to repay a £9.54 million ($13 million) legal bill. On Aug. 21 UK judge Mr. Justice Nicklin detailed the "conduct of the trial" in his ruling and criticized the case put forward by the claimants' legal team. In particular, he noted "the objective breadth and character of the case as advanced, the speculative and inferential foundation on which many serious allegations rested, the maintenance of serious allegations after the evidential position should have been reassessed, the way in which unpleaded or unsupported allegations were put at trial, the failure to withdraw serious allegations when they were no longer being pursued, and the cumulative effect of those matters." An initial payment of £9.54 million will be due by Aug. 28, and Nicklin said that was making an exception order to force the claimants to pay up to £34.5 million ($47 million) in costs incurred by the Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the Daily Mail's publisher, because of the way the case had been brought. John and their co-claimants have until Oct. 2 to attempt to launch an appeal. The interim payment will come ahead of future hearings to decide ANL's legal costs in full. - Billboard, 8/21/26...... Friends and family of Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris have given an update on the musician's recovery from what was described as a critical medical emergency earlier in August that resulted in doctors putting the 58-year-old in a medically induced coma. In a post on the Standing for John Paris Facebook page -- maintained by EW&F co-founder bassist Verdine White and several of Paris and his wife Kathy Merrick's friends -- the past week has featured "encouraging moments and new challenges." They recalled that Paris briefly woke up from his coma and then needed to be sedated again, before recently waking up again. "This time, there was encouraging progress," they wrote. "Over the next couple of days, his medical team monitored him closely. Unlike the first time he awakened, John's blood pressure remained stable and his breathing stayed strong, allowing doctors to continue evaluating his condition. While continuing to evaluate John's condition, doctors performed additional testing that gave them a much clearer understanding of what his body needs to continue healing." The post added it's been determined that Paris will need two more unspecified "major surgeries" as part of his recovery, which will require him to remain in the ICU longer than anticipated. EW&F was back on the tour two days after the postponed show, with former member Sonny Emory filling in for Paris, who joined the veteran band founded in 1969 in 2001; the San Francisco show has been rescheduled for Sept. 26. A GoFundMe has been started to help the family with medical expenses and to date it has raised more than $82,000 of its $90,000 goal. - Billboard, 8/21/26...... The Beatles' company Apple Corps Ltd have announced a new unique partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG) to handle the licensing and merchandising for the renowned band. Apple Corps, founded in 1968 by The Fab Four to handle their business interests, and UMG announced on Aug. 19 that they had reached a "holistic agreement" that will see the latter "take The Beatles' iconic story to fans across generations and around the world." The deal relates to digital and physical merchandising, licensing, and e-commerce surrounding the legendary band. Apple Corps' headquarters at 3 Savile Row will also be open to the public for the first time in 2027, with a fan experience that promises "seven floors of never-seen-before material from Apple Corps Ltd's extensive archives, rotating exhibitions, a fan store, and the recreation of the original studio where 'Let it Be' was recorded." Tom Greene, CEO of Apple Corps Ltd, said in a press release: "We are delighted to partner with UMG on a new global merchandising deal. There has never been a more exciting time to work on The Beatles as we look ahead to the 3 Saville Row fan experience in 2027, and our biopic movies in 2028. The Beatles message has never been more relevant or needed in the world today, and we look forward to delighting millions of fans with everything we have planned." The announcement comes ahead of director Sam Mendes' four-part Beatles biopic The Beatles -- A Four-Film Cinematic Event, due for simultaneous release in 2028. - NME, 8/20/26...... Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell has revealed that he is once again fighting cancer. In an interview with El Salvadorian station YSKL, the 63-year-old musician discussed his philosophy for keeping a positive, hopeful attitude after revealing in 2013 that he was battle Hodgkin's lymphoma, which he said returned in 2015 and yet again recently. "There's only been one time that I felt it was gonna kill me," Campbell said of his diagnosis. "In the winter of 2023, I got really scared about what was happening and the pace at which it was happening. And I realized at that point that I had to do a donor transplant. It was my only hope to survive I did that in January of '25 . Unfortunately, it didn't stick. So the cancer has returned, and I'm continuing treatments to manage it." Campbell said he plans to try another transplant within the next few years with a different donor to see if that will stick, but in the meantime, he is going to keep performing with the band as well as his side project, the Last in Line, and racing rally cars, a lifelong obsession. "I love cars and I love driving," he said. "And as a child, I thought, 'If I don't play guitar for a living, I'm gonna be a race-car driver.' So I'm very, very, very fortunate and blessed that I get to do both." Campbell, who logged time in Ronnie James Dio's band, Dio, as well as Whitesnake and the British new wave metal band Sweet Savage, joined Def Leppard in 1992 following the death of founding guitarist Steve Clark. Def Leppard are slated to play the Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. on Oct. 15, followed by dates in Mexico and Central and South America in October and November. - Billboard, 8/21/26...... Footage has been unearthed from Jimi Hendrix's iconic 1969 Woodstock performance, which was filmed by a drama student who snuck onto the stage. Hendrix's now-legendary gig took place at Woodstock in Bethel, N.Y., in Aug. 1969, where the guitar icon took to the stage with his newly formed band Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, a.k.a. Band of Gypsys. The set closed out the festival, and is now set to mark its 57th anniversary. To mark the occasion, a new film called Jimi Hendrix: Live at Woodstock - A Second Look has been released, and it features rarely seen footage from the show. Some of that new material is recently unearthed footage from 22-year-old drama student Albert Goodman, who snuck onto the stage during the set and filmed some of it using two open-reel videotapes. Goodman hid behind a friend carrying a guitar to get access to the stage, and filmed it from behind percussionist Juma Sultan. He was assumed to be a member of the film crew who were hired to capture footage of the whole show, and his footage shows Hendrix standing just 15 feet in front of him. In the newly unearthed footage, Hendrix is seen playing "Purple Haze," "Voodoo Child," "Message To Love," and his improvised interpretation of "The Star-Spangled Banner," as well as rare footage of him playing "Hear My Train a Comin'." The latter song is available for streaming on YouTube. After storing the footage for three decades, Goodman then made it available to the late guitarist's family. It is now available to view in the new Live at Woodstock - A Second Look film, which premiered on YouTube on Aug. 18. - NME, 8/20/26...... Janie Bradford, the songwriter behind "Money (That's What I Want)" which was later covered by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on Aug. 21, following an extended illness. She was 87. Born in Charleston, Mo. in 1939, Ms. Bradford later moved to Detroit, where her neighbor Jackie Wilson introduced her to Motown founder Berry Gordy. Ms. Wilson had already recorded a number of hits written by Gordy, including "Reet Petite" and "Lonely Teardrops." Ms. Bradford began working with Gordy in 1958, before the Motown label had even been officially founded, and as well as working as a secretary, she quickly became involved in the company's creative process. While Gordy was developing "Money (That's What I Want)" at the piano in 1958, Bradford helped to complete the song by contributing an additional verse. The finished composition was recorded by Barrett Strong and became Motown's first hit single. It later reached a wider audience thanks to a cover version by The Beatles on the closing track of their 1963 album With The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones also recording their own version on their first EP in 1964. Ms. Bradford went on to co-write several other hit songs, including "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" with Strong and Norman Whitfield. The Temptations first recorded the song in 1966, before Marvin Gaye scored a hit with it three years later. She also received writing credits on songs recorded by Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Diana Ross and The Marvelettes. After leaving Motown, Bradford founded the Heroes And Legends Awards, which established a scholarship fund in the 1990s. The awards honored figures from the music industry and supported young people pursuing careers in the performing arts. She was also inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall Of Fame earlier this year. Berry Gordy paid tribute to her in a statement, saying: "Janie was there with me from the very beginning, before there was even a Motown. Janie was smart, clever, witty and fun. She was also talented and determined. In those early days, everybody did what was needed to be done, and Janie was no exception. She became Motown's first receptionist, but her talents quickly took her far beyond the desk." She is survived by her husband Wardean Hobbs, her daughter Nicole Hobbs, her son Lance Finney and two grandsons. - NME, 8/22/26...... Ray Stevens is set to be honored with a star-studded concert at Nashville's Opry House on Nov. 9. "Don't Look, Ethel! A Salute to the Musical Genius of Ray Stevens" will be hosted by comedian Cledus T. Judd with performances from Ricky Skaggs, Ronnie Milsap, Jamey Johnson, Gretchen Wilson, Mark Chesnutt, The Gatlin Brothers, Lee Greenwood and many more. "I've always been so fond of the Nashville music community, and I'm truly honored that they would want to do this tribute," Stevens said in a statement. "All my life I've wanted to be successful in the music business and have people appreciate what I create. That's impossible without the fans. I'm so grateful for all of them!" In the 1960s, Stevens' slate of novelty hits such as "Gitarzan" and "Harry the Hairy Ape" earned him pop hits, while he also became an in-demand Nashville studio musician and songwriter, including playing trumpet during recording session for Elvis Presley and playing on Waylon Jennings' recording of "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line." Stevens also wrote and produced Dolly Parton's 1966 song "Busy Signal." By 1970, he had been called upon as a summer replacement for television host Andy Williams, and in preparing for the gig, he wrote the uplifting track "Everything Is Beautiful," which won a Grammy in 1971 for best contemporary vocal performance, male. The 1970s and 1980s saw Stevens continue to earn hits with novelty songs including "Mississippi Squirrel Revival," No. 1 Pop and Country smash "The Streak." The line "Don't Look, Ethel!,"( which is part of the name of this event, comes from this song) and "Shriner's Convention." In 1976, he won another Grammy, this time for a fiddle-dominated arrangement of the standard "Misty." He continued expanding his business ventures, opening the Ray Stevens Theatre in Branson, Mo., in the '90s, and in 2015, he launched the weekly music variety cable show Ray Stevens Nashville. Beyond his membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame, he's also a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame, the Georgia Hall of Fame and has a star on the Music City Walk of Fame. - Billboard, 8/18/26...... Barbra Streisand has sent a sweet message to her friend Rosie O'Donnell after O'Donnell filled in for the vacationing Jimmy Kimmel for a week on the late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Streisand reached out with a short but incredibly sweet message on Instagram to celebrate the return to television of the comedian, who has recently relocated to Ireland. O'Donnell shared a screenshot via Instagram on Aug. 20, giving her audience a peek at the unexpected note. "Be still my heart she is a class act what a way to finish my week on Kimmel!!!" O'Donnell wrote alongside the screenshot, adding the hashtags "#love" and "#barbra." The two have shared a memorable history dating back to the comedian's days hosting The Rosie O'Donnell Show, when Streisand appeared as a guest. O'Donnell has previously spoken about how significant that interview was to her, making the singer's encouragement all the more special now. - Billboard, 8/20/26...... Former Queen bassist Barry Mitchell has died. The news was shared on Facebook by Greg Brooks, the band's official archivist. "Terribly sad news just received that early Queen bass player (circa 1970), Barry Mitchell, has passed away," the post read. "His anecdotes at the convention were fascinating and offered rare insight. He will be greatly missed." Mitchell was the second bassist in the band, joining after the departure of founding member Mike Grose. He stayed in the band between Aug. 1970 and Jan. 1971 -- two years before their breakthrough 1973 self-titled debut album -- and reportedly played the original bass lines on songs "Liar" and "Son And Daughter." He left the line-up as he "wasn't enthusiastic enough about their music", he revealed in a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, looking back at his time playing live with Freddie Mercury & co. After leaving Queen, Mitchell went on to join the proto-punk band Tiger, who formed in the late '60s. He then made a comeback in the early '90s, playing as part of Jayne Raydio. Friends and fans have taken to social media to pay tribute to Mitchell following news of his death. "Farewell to a genuinely lovely man," wrote friend Mark Cotterill. "A pleasure to call him friend. He had time for everyone at the Queen conventions. He had some great stories to tell re his music career. A man who could make any hat look cool. RIP Barry." Another friend, Gary Taylor, shared on Facebook: "RIP Barry Mitchell, Queen's second bass player, who sadly passed away on August 17. He was a great guy, and a friend, and we had some very interesting chats over the years on the phone and in person." Born in London, Mitchell attended Claremont High School in Harrow in the mid 1960s, and went on to live in Northampton shortly before his death. Details about his death have yet to be publicly disclosed. - NME, 8/21/26...... Long-tenured ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard, a key part of one of the longest-lasting consistent band lineups in rock history, passed away at his ranch in Richmond, Tex., on Aug. 17. He was 77. A press release from longtime band publicist Bob Merlis confirmed his passing on Aug. 18, stating that Beard was "in hospice care when he passed away at his ranch in Richmond, TX with family members at his side." Born on June 11, 1949, in Frankton, Tex., Beard had served as stickman for the Texas blues-rock trio since 1969, when he made the jump from the more psychedelic-oriented local group American Blues to ZZ Top. At that point, the latter group consisted of Beard, singer-guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Billy Ethridge. After Ethridge quit the band and was replaced by Dusty Hill, the band's power-trio lineup was locked in, and would not change for the next half-century. ZZ Top became national rock stars in the mid-'70s with the release of its breakthrough LP Tres Hombres, with Beard's explosive-but-swinging drumming playing a huge part in the band's sonic identity. While "La Grange," the album's breakout hit single and a future classic-rock radio staple, is perhaps best remembered for frontman Gibbons' limber guitar riffing and haw-haw-haw vocal sleaze, equally crucial was Beard's frisky stick-tapping on the song's intro and clipped gallop on its main groove. The trio found continued success throughout the late '70s and early '80s, hitting the Billboard Hot 100's top 40 with the horny rave-up "Tush" and the spiky Sam + Dave cover "I Thank You." During this time, Beard struggled with substance abuse, with the band going on hiatus in the late '70s as Beard dealt with his issues. He got clean in the early '80s, and shortly after, ZZ Top really went into mid-'80s commercial overdrive, thanks largely to the advent of MTV -- a format not often charitable to the AOR rockers of yesteryear, but one that ZZ Top embraced with particular lan, becoming music video icons as the mystical hairy dudes with the fuzzy guitars, the cool car and the hot chicks. (Ironically, Beard was the one member of the group to go clean-shaven; "Frank's beard is on his driver's license," quipped Gibbons.) ZZ Top's 1983 album Eliminator spawned a trio of MTV smashes ("Gimme All Your Lovin," "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs") and would ultimately be certified diamond by the RIAA, becoming the group's biggest album. While Beard's drumming on the set was somewhat smoothed out by the group's increasingly processed, new wave-friendlier sound, he still helped provide the singles much-needed muscle and backbone under the shiny guitars and synths. (Beard also got married for the second time shortly before the album's release, with he and wife Debbie Meredith remaining together -- with twin sons Rory and Nico born in 1985 -- until his death.) The group released two albums in the 21st century, 2003's Mescalero and 2012's La Futura, and continued to tour with the same three-man lineup it had held since 1969, the longtime consistency of its lineup an extreme rarity among popular rock bands. In 2004, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2019, it was the subject of the Netflix documentary That Little Ol' Band From Texas. Sadly, the group was finally forced into lineup changes with the death of Hill in 2021, with longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis replacing him at live performances. Now, with Beard's death, Gibbons remains the lone living member from the group's classic lineup. The press release also stated that Beard's death "necessitates the cancellation of ZZ Top tour dates that had been scheduled for [Aug. 18] in Salt Lake City and [Aug. 19] in Colorado Springs," but that the band "will resume its current The Big One! Tour this weekend with two dates in at Austin City Limits, one of Frank's favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him." - Billboard, 8/18/26.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 18th, 2026

A previously unheard David Bowie demo titled "Today" has been shared on YouTube, taken from the upcoming David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings album. The release comes as a series of early Bowie songs from 1965 are to be released on a new album featuring a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page. Set to arrive on Sept. 18 via Parlophone, the songs were recorded before the singer -- real name Davie Jones -- went on to adopt the David Bowie moniker. They were all made alongside legendary producer Shel Talmy, who was responsible for hits from The Who and The Kinks. The album will also include 10 previously unheard tracks, as well as musical contributions from The Yardbirds and Nicky Hopkins (The Rolling Stones, The Beatles). - NME, 8/14/26...... Roxy Music has announced on Instagram that an expanded reissue of their 1973 sophomore effort For Your Pleasure is set for release on Nov. 6. With unheard studio recordings, songwriting sketches, rehearsals, outtakes, live sessions and rare unseen performances, the 2026 edition of For Your Pleasure takes listeners back to its creation, and the central question of how to tackle the daunting second album. "It was a good pressure. Realising, now there's an audience to write for. An intelligent audience," Roxy frontman Bryan Ferry reflected. "I felt a responsibility for the work that I hadn't for the first album, certainly with regard to the lyrics. "There was a hunger in the whole band to do more: a very strong urge to get back into a recording studio and make a better record than the first one. Nick de Ville had a cottage in Derbyshire, and offered to let me have it for a few days. So I went up there with the sole purpose of writing songs." "Grey Lagoons (1971 demo)," a track on the new reissue, has been shared on Spotify.com. That demo that formed part of the homemade tape that first brought Roxy Music to the attention of the music press. The 2026 edition of For Your Pleasure will be available in a variety of formats including 2LP Black vinyl, and in Blue Pearl Vinyl as a D2C Exclusive, 2CD, Digital, Blu-Ray, Dolby ATMOS, and as a 3CD+1DVD Super Deluxe Edition. The 2CD Deluxe Edition includes the original album, plus AIR Studios outtakes, singles and BBC sessions, presented in a hardcover digibook with a new essay and unseen images, while the 2LP Vinyl edition features the original album, plus AIR Studios outtakes in a gatefold sleeve. - NME, 8/13/26...... On Aug. 14, Carly Simon released her new studio LP Comes in Waves, her first album of original material since 2008's This Kind of Love. In July, Simon announced she had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and treated for skin cancer. "It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly," she said in a statement. "Parkinson's is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable. Some days I'm so tired I can't get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself." But she says recording new music has been a salve. "Working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape. It gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room. It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life." Simon wrote five of the songs by herself, penning the remaining with numbers of collaborators, including her son Ben Taylor, who also helped produce the set. - Billboard, 8/17/26...... The Four Seasons legend Frankie Valli has responded to his brother's recent claims that 92-year-old Frankie will be retiring soon. Earlier in August Bobby Valli took to Facebook to announce his brother "will soon retire." Alongside a photograph of them together that was taken in 2025, he posted in part: "My brother Frankie whom I am so proud of and love him dearly [has] had a magnificent career in music... He has millions of fans you love him dearly." After listing his brother's achievements over the years, Bobby added: "He will now retire." But Frankie has now denied his brother's claims, writing on his own Instagram page: "In spite of what you might have heard, I am not retired." Bobby then put out another statement on Facebook saying: "I apologize, I was misinformed. I was under the impression my brother Frankie was retiring. Hoping for him to have a speedy recovery to continue his illustrious career!" Frankie was set to continue his farewell, "The Last Encores Tour," which began in 2023, until November of this year. But in a statement earlier this year, he said: "I'm so sorry to disappoint the folks who have purchased tickets to my shows, but I have decided to take the rest of the year off from touring to focus on my health. I'm looking forward to getting healthy and seeing you all again soon," he added. "Thank you for all your good wishes." Vallie's break from performing comes two years after he issued a statement addressing concerns over his health and well-being, sparked by footage that appeared to show him lip-syncing while displaying difficulty keeping up with the music. - NME, 8/17/26...... Founding Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore joined his old bandmates recently at a concert in Wantagh, N.Y. for a rendition of the group's 1972 classic song, "Smoke On The Water," and says the reunion could be the "last time" the bandmates ever see each other. Interviewed about the gig by Guitar Player magazine, Blackmore said: "It was very moving because I went on very quickly and had to play immediately. I couldn't warm up, but I wasn't there to be playing correct notes." "I was there to see old friends I hadn't seen in 40 years and we're all getting older. I think we realised it could be the last time we see each other, maybe," he added. Earlier in the conversation, Blackmore explained: "I woke up one morning thinking, the day before their show [thinking], 'You know it would be good for the fans if I just got up for one song, probably 'Smoke' and just show that were not at each other's throats and don't hate each other'." He then spoke further about the "very emotional" reunion with his fellow classic members Ian Gillan, Ian Paice and Roger Glover, admitting that it was "tricky." "I didn't play anything too technical, as I felt I should stick to the rudiments of being simple," Blackmore continued. "I still lost my place at one point, but it's not why I was there. I was there to heal any wounds - but there weren't any wounds. Everyone was like, we were in the army, all along the Western front and we were all getting together again. Very emotional moment." The concert also saw the first performance Blackmore shared with Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey in 44 years, following the latter's exit from Rainbow in 1982. Blackmore discussed his past clashes with Gillan that led to his departure from Deep Purple in 1993, too. "We're two alpha guys," he explained. "I'm used to running a band, and I think he's used to running a band. So we clashed in the old days. But all that changed." Deep Purple are currently out on a North American tour in support of their latest album, Splat!, which was released in July. They'll play a huge show at London's Royal Albert Hall in November as part of their upcoming UK and European leg. In 2025, Ian Gillan revealed he was losing his eyesight and said that retirement was "not far off." "It's one of those things. I've only got 30 per cent vision," he explained. - New Musical Express, 8/18/26...... Dolly Parton has apologized for missing the opening of a new attraction at her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., on Aug. 14 due to her ongoing struggle with unspecified health issues. Dollywood president Eugene Naughton shared a personal video from the 80-year-old country legend welcoming the first riders of the park's newest roller coaster in which she apologized for not being there with them. "Well, hey Eugene. I'm right here Well, kind of. Sorta," Parton said in the whimsical clip in which she sprouted colorful butterfly wings and seemed to be interacting with Naughton in real time. "I'm still in Nashville, and I'm sorry about that. I was supposed to be there in person like I planned." Dolly noted that she's already shared with fans that she's had some recent "health issues" and that sometimes she gets "a little dizzy" and dehydrated, which might explain why her doctors advised her against making the 200-mile trek to the park for the opening of the new attraction. "My Nashville doctor has kinda clipped my wings, saying, 'You ain't traveling this week.' So I guess, if your doctor tells you, 'you ain't traveling this week,' you ain't traveling this week," she laughed. She energetically encouraged Naughton to tell the assembled fans all about the new ride, told them to have fun and promised that she would see them "down the road." Parton has largely been out of the public eye since announcing the postponement of her Las Vegas residency in September due to a "few" undisclosed medical procedures. She made a rare in-person appearance in March to deliver the keynote address marking the 41st anniversary of Dollywood on this year's opening day. - Billboard, 8/18/26...... Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan and Harris Dickinson -- the four actors lined up to portray The Beatles in the upcoming four-part Beatles biopic series, The Beatles -- A Four-Film Cinematic Event -- recently recreated the Fab Four's iconic Abbey Road cover shoot. In footage posted by fans on Instagram of what appears to be the film's recreation of the iconic cover, you can see John Lennon (Dickinson), Paul McCartney (Mescal), George Harrison (Quinn) and Ringo Starr (Keoghan), taking that stroll and then headed back across the street for another take. The four-part project, with each film focusing on a particular member, is slated to release in Apr. 2028. So far, director Sam Mendes has not revealed any of the plot points for the ambitious project that will be the first-ever movie to be granted the rights to the Beatles' discography. The real Beatles originally walked across the road outside the EMI Studios in London on the street that helped name their eleventh studio album -- and the last one they recorded together, though Let It Be was released afterward -- on Aug. 8, 1969. - Billboard, 8/17/26...... Legendary pop songwriter Jimmy Webb is celebrating turing 80 on Aug. 15 by announcing a new album, Yours For the Taking: The Found Songs of Jimmy Webb, due out Oct. 23 on Sun Records. As the title indicates, "it's pretty much overlooked or unrecorded, neglected in a way, music that my wife [album executive producer Laura Savini Webb] and some of the younger people around me really inspired me to go back and finish," Webb -- who penned the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits "MacArthur Park," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston" and "Up, Up and Away," among many other classics -- told Billboard via Zoom from Long Island. "And my children say, 'Y'know, dad, you wrote this. This is great. This could've been a hit.' So the basis of this album is rebirth, recycling that youthful energy and not letting (the songs) just molder away in the attic but to go back and flip those pancakes again and see what we can come up with. It's very invigorating. Very inspiring. Just 'cause I'm 80 doesn't mean I've lost that fire, y'know? I may be 80 on the outside, but I'm always 18 on the inside." The three-time Grammy winner says "Winter Clothes" -- which is presented on the album via the demo as well as a "polished up" new recording with Graham Nash guesting -- dates back to the early '70s, and was written with Frank Sinatra in mind. "Mr. Sinatra thought he might record it, but he thought I needed to work on it," says Webb, who still refers to Ol' Blue Eyes formally "because he might be listening." "When Mr. Sinatra says, 'Y'know, kid, this is pretty good, but I think it needs some work,' you listen to him. He was telling me some really important stuff. I never really took that song back to him, but I never gave up on the idea. I thought it was a pretty good song, so when we decided to do this (album), it felt like it was time to bring it back out." Webb will take the new songs and the rest of his body of work back on the road in November, with tour dates in New York City (Nov. 1), Boston (Nov. 7) and Roslyn, N.Y. (Nov. 21). His official 80th birthday celebration, meanwhile, takes place Feb. 4 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center in California. - Billboard, 8/14/26...... Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris has been placed in a medically induced coma following what his family has described as a critical medical emergency earlier this month. Paris, 58, was hospitalized on Aug. 6, shortly before the group was due to perform with Lionel Richie at the Chase Center in San Francisco. The show was postponed minutes before it was scheduled to begin, with the band citing "a medical emergency involving a member of our band." The SFFD confirmed that crews responded to a report of a cardiac incident at the venue and transported one person to a hospital in critical condition, though the family has not publicly confirmed the nature of Paris' condition. A GoFundMe campaign established to support Paris and his family has raised nearly $70,000 toward a $75,000 goal, with several of his bandmates among the donors. EW&F resumed their tour two days after the postponed show, with former member Sonny Emory filling in on drums. The San Francisco concert has been rescheduled for Sept. 26. Paris joined the band in 2001, playing on studio albums including 2003's The Promise and 2005's Illumination, and has also worked with artists including Patti LaBelle and Sheila E. The band is currently the subject of a Questlove-directed documentary that premiered in June. - Billboard, 8/16/26...... '70s pop singer/songwriter Stephen Bishop has unveiled a new song he recorded for his 1976 debut album, Careless. The album included the now Yacht Rock classic, the swaying "On & On," which peaked at No. 11 on the hit parade, as well as its breezy predecessor "Save It for a Rainy Day," which reached No. 22. Bishop is releasing a 50th anniversary edition of Careless which can be ordered on StephenBishopMerch.com. The 50th-anniversary limited vinyl edition of Careless with two additional previously unreleased songs and a 20-page booklet was released on Aug. 14. Of Careless, which featured Eric Clapton, Art Garfunkel, Andrew Gold and Chaka Khan, and its ongoing popularity (Keith Urban just covered it on his new Yacht Rock album), Bishop says, "It's hard to believe 50 years have gone by. Music was different then -- you brought an album home, put it on the turntable, and listened from beginning to end. I'm thankful Careless has been part of so many people's lives, and it's been wonderful seeing new generations discover it. People of all ages still come up to me and tell me how these songs have stayed with them through different chapters of their lives. Even many of my friends and fellow musicians have shared what the album has meant to them over the years. That's incredibly humbling, and it's an honor I'll never take for granted." The album served as fans' musical introduction to Bishop, who went on to continue his successful solo career, including recording the 1982 top 30 hit "It Might Be You," the theme from Tootsie, which received an Oscar nomination for best original song for songwriters Dave Grusin, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman. Bishop himself was then nominated for a best original song Oscar three years later for writing "Separate Lives," performed by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin from the movie White Nights. Bishop will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Careless at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on Oct. 9. - Billboard, 8/13/26...... The venerable music marketer Columbia House has announced on its website that the company would stop receiving orders after Sept. 15. Columbia House was launched by Columbia Records back in 1955. The service was designed to help music lovers in rural or suburban areas who did not have convenient access to a local music store. Customers could order records by mail and have them delivered straight to the proverbial front door. Membership often came with promo discounts -- if the subscriber promised to purchase a minimum number of regular-priced records within the first year, not including the cost of shipping and handling. Getting out from under the weight of membership was no small task, either. Still, the company was a major player on the music scene for decades. By the mid-90s, Columbia had more than 16 million members, accounting for more than 15% of CD sales in the United States. In the end however, the digital age began a slow and steady decline for the company with the rise of file sharing services like Napster and LimeWire. After a series of ownership changes, Columbia House filed for bankruptcy in 2015. After they stopped selling music to Americans in 2015 and Canadians in 2010, the company focused primarily on DVD and Blu-ray sales, but that section of the marketplace soon dried up with the advent of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV. xisting memberships and outstanding purchases will be honored as the business winds down. On the main page, the company is currently selling DVDs and books. - Toronto Sun, 8/18/26...... Dave Marsh, one of the most influential music writers of his generation and a passionate activist for health care, social justice and freedom of expression, died on Aug. 14. He was 72. The cause of his death has not been reported but he had been in declining health in recent years. Born in Pontiac, Mich., in 1950, Marsh grew up immersed in the sounds of Detroit -- Motown, R&B, and rock 'n' roll -- inspiring a lifelong belief in the power of music. He was among the first editors of Creem magazine when it launched in 1969. He also wrote extensively for Rolling Stone and other publications and authored more than two dozen books on artists including Elvis Presley, The Who and Bruce Springsteen. His 1979 biography, Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story, became a New York Times bestseller. In 1993, Marsh shared a Grammy for best album notes for Aretha Franklin's Queen of Soul. He also co-founded the newsletter Rap & Rock Confidential and, in 2004, joined SiriusXM, hosting Kick Out the for 19 years, along with Live from E Street Nation and Live from the Land of Hope and Dreams. He was married to Barbara Carr, longtime co-manager of Springsteen. Following the death of their daughter, Kristen Ann Carr, in 1993 at age 21 of sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, Marsh co-founded and served as a trustee of the The Kristen Ann Carr Fund to advance sarcoma research and support families affected by cancer. "Here on E Street, the irreplaceable loss of Dave Marsh has us heartbroken," Springsteen wrote in a statement shared on Instagram on Aug. 15. "My great friend Dave, with his straight out of Detroit attitude, was a true Rock 'n' Roll lifer. He was soulful, intelligent, heartfelt, opinionated, bruising and often fantastically argumentative. Watching Jon Landau and Dave drive each other crazy over some arcane piece of music would make my day. He wrote the first book about me, Born To Run, and Dave always had my back. He deeply believed in what I was trying to accomplish and his lifetime of support meant the world to me." In 2021, a host of authors, activists and artists -- including Springsteen, Tom Morello, Pete Townshend, Nona Hendryx, Dion DiMucci, Jackson Browne and Steven Van Zandt -- took part in online sessions billed as "Land of Hope and Dreams: A Celebration of Dave Marsh's Work and Vision." He was predeceased by his daughters Kristen Ann Carr and Sasha Carr, and is survived by his wife, Barbara Carr. - Billboard, 8/15/26.

Fleetwood Mac's 1988 greatest hits album has reached even greater heights after a new expanded reissue reached the top 10 on Billboard's 35-year-old Top Album Sales chart for the first time. Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits re-entered the Aug. 15-dated chart at No. 10, besting its previous high of No. 13 (set in 2016), after the album was bolstered with seven additional hits and issued digitally and on multiple physical formats. The standard version of Greatest Hits remains a 16-song edition, and the new deluxe edition adds seven further hits. The deluxe set was released via digital download services and streamers on June 10, and physical formats followed on July 31. The deluxe package bowed across six double-vinyl variants and a two-CD offering. In the tracking week ending Aug. 6, Greatest Hits sold nearly 6,000 copies in the United States, according to Luminate -- a gain of 286% as compared to its sales in the previous week. - Billboard, 8/11/26...... On Aug. 12 Rod Stewart cancelled the remaining dates on his North American farewell tour after undergoing a routine coronary stent procedure. Stewart, 81, had been scheduled to perform at Ohio's Riverbend Music Center on Aug. 9, but cancelled the show at the last minute, stating in a press release that it was due to an "unforeseen but minor medical procedure." The 1994 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee than went on to cancel his remaining tour dates after the procedure. He was set to perform at Morton Amphitheater in Kansas City, Mo. on Aug. 15), Las Vegas on Aug. 18 for a performance at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, followed by gigs in Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, plus a run of shows in Mexico (Sept. 9-13). In a statement issued to Rolling Stone, Stewart's reps said he was "doing well" and that "on the advice of his doctors, he will take the next four weeks to recuperate and regain full fitness before returning to the stage. Unfortunately, this means he will be unable to continue his current tour dates." In his own message posted to Instagram on Aug. 11, Stewart assured fans that he was "already feeling better and very much on the mend." He said that while he was "deeply disappointed to miss these shows," he looked forward to returning to playing live in the future. After touring with the Jeff Beck Group, Faces and as a solo artist for over 60 years. Stewart has most recently been on the road with his "One Last Time" trek since 2024. - Billboard, 8/12/26...... A lawsuit brought by four siblings who claimed they were abused by Michael Jackson has been tossed out of court, with the judge ruling that under the clear terms of a 2019 settlement between the family and the Jackson estate, all related disputes must be handled in confidential arbitration. "Although the allegations are horrific, the court is without discretion to do aught but enforce the language of the arbitration clause," wrote federal judge Herrn D. Vera on Aug. 12. Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo Cascio grew up with Jackson and once referred to themselves as his "second family." While previously staunch defenders of the King of Pop against pedophilia claims, the family members alleged in a February lawsuit that Jackson raped and molested them as children over the course of more than a decade. The Jackson estate strongly denies these claims, which the Cascios first raised in 2019 after the release of the explosive HBO documentary Leaving Neverland. The four siblings, along with their fifth brother Frank, claimed privately at the time that this documentary "deprogrammed" them. The estate paid them a $3.5 million settlement without admitting any wrongdoing. The Cascios now say that settlement is void and unenforceable because they were coerced into signing it. Judge Vera ruled that those arguments, "while serious," clearly do not belong in a public courtroom under the terms of the settlement. "While plaintiffs are fully within their rights to raise questions about unconscionability, those challenges must be presented later before an arbitrator," wrote the judge. Jackson, who died in 2009, was never convicted or held legally liable for any accusation of child sex abuse during his lifetime; he settled a civil claim in 1994 without admitting any wrongdoing, and he was acquitted at a criminal trial in 2005. Two other former young acquaintances of Jackson's, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, continue to litigate civil abuse claims against the estate. - Billboard, 8/12/26...... Rock's most famous combination lead guitarist and astrophysicist has shared his advice on how best to view the solar eclipse in northern Europe on Aug. 12. Brian May, who is qualified astrophysicist after achieving a PHD degree in 2007, gave regular updates about the celestial phenomenon on his Instagram page and shared advice on how best to view it. In one particular post, he showed a partial eclipse, and also warned against "looking straight at the Sun" and not going "anywhere near a telescope or binoculars pointed at the Sun." He also suggested "making a small pin hole in a sheet of cardboard," and "practice projecting an image of the Sun through this hole on to a piece of white card." In another post he shows himself in Spain preparing for the eclipse, saying he is hopeful of seeing a total eclipse but fears "there may be clouds in the way." Speaking to BBC Newsnight about the event May said: "It's kind of a life changing experience, to see at total eclipse of the Sun every time." "This is only 1 minute 40 seconds or so," he went on before adding: "I just wanna use my eyes and ears, every sense to absorb what I'm really taking part in. "It's a unique experience because you feel that you know where you are in space. It's the only time that happens, You're looking in towards the centre of our solar system, the Sun and you can never do this any other time, you can see the little family of planets around you and see the odd star around you... Suddenly you realise you're on this ball of rock and it kind of feels like you could fall off, it's an amazing feeling." Elsewhere, May has insisted "we actually don't need AI" after using the tech to recreate an iconic Queen album cover. May took to Instagram to share a version of the artwork for the classic 1980 Queen record 'The Game', which he used Meta AI to create. The original cover sees all four members of Queen standing side-by-side in matching leather jackets, and is rendered unrecognizable in the AI version May shared. May captioned the picture of the shoddy cover: "I just had to share this with you guys. I asked Meta AI to show me what the cover of THE GAME album looked like. This is what it gave me ! Good job, eh? So this is the kind of intelligence that will soon be ruling the world ??! Well, great. Maybe this is the time to realise WE ACTUALLY DON'T NEED AI !!" May then said that he was "now very serious," adding: "I believe the price we are about to pay for this 'inevitable' development is way too high. We must not allow these hideous Data Centres to be built in the UK. They will destroy our beautiful country, like they are already destroying beautiful America." Addressing UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, May signed off his post by writing: "Dear Andy -- you must stop it now. Before it's too late." - New Musical Express, 8/12/26...... After recently abruptly cancelling an Aug. 5 gig at the Hollywood Bowl due to "unforeseen personal matters," ZZ Top says it will continue with its "The Big One" summer U.S. tour with a replacement drummer after longtime drummer Frank Beard has temporarily left the road for undisclosed reasons. A spokesman for the band says that the outing will continue with founding vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons and late co-founder bassist Dusty Hill's longtime guitar tech, Elwood Francis, who was tapped to join the group following Hill's death at 72 in 2021. Beard, 77, has been behind the kit for the group for more than 55 years and experienced a series of health issues over the past few years. In Mar. 2025, the group announced that he had "temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus in the near term." At the time, longtime drum tech John Douglas stepped up, just as he had in Oct. 2022 when Beard was forced to miss a Paris show due to an emergency appendectomy. Beard has played on all of the group's records from 1971's First Album through their most recent LP, 2012's La Futura. "The Big One" tour is slated to continue to 13 states in the western US and New England, with the final U.S. date taking place in Port Wentworth, Ga. on Oct. 9 before the band moves on to gigs in Mexico and South America in November. - Billboard, 8/11/26...... Rush guitarist Geddy Lee has shared a surreal moment from the start of Rush's "Fifty Something" tour, describing an encounter that left him questioning whether the band's late drummer Neil Peart was somehow in the ether nearby. When asked whether he has felt Peart's presence during the run, Lee laughed at the "spooky question" before revealing a story from the tour's opening night in Los Angeles. He explained to Toronto's Q107 radio station that he was texting bandmate Alex Lifeson from his hotel room when he noticed something unusual on the floor outside his door. The tour's promotional poster features two birds on a wire, with one flying away -- and the creature in front of him looked uncannily similar. "My door to my room was open a crack, and I don't know if you've seen the posters [for Rush's Fifty Something tour] that have two birds on a wire and the one bird is flying away. I looked in front of me, on the floor, and there was a bird on the floor that looked just like that bird in the poster. I was kind of shocked. And, you know, I love birds, so I approached it, and it flew by me and flew into my bedroom and sat on the edge of my bed. And when I approached it, it was like it was looking at me, and then it flew out the door. So, I quickly ran to the computer and was texting Al this crazy story that had just happened." Lee stressed that he's not someone who believes in "mumbo jumbo," but admitted the timing and symbolism made the moment feel "remarkable." - Music-News.com, 8/11/26...... Iconic U.K. New Wave rocker Elvis Costello has announced he will play a solo acoustic show at Canada's Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Nov. 21 as a fundraiser for the Owen Hart Foundation. This will be the second time the foundation has hosted Costello, an iconic and influential performer who released his first album, My Aim is True, in 1977 and quickly emerged as one of the most literate and eclectic songwriters of the punk/New Wave movement. The concert will mark The Owen Hart Foundation's 27th anniversary and will also feature a celebrity online auction to raise additional funds. Named after late Calgary wrestler Owen Hart, who died at the age of 34 in 1999, the foundation was founded by his wife Martha Hart. Funds are raised for education, affordable housing and international aid for vulnerable people. Past concerts have featured Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Martin, Bob Newhart, Sarah McLachlan and Martin Short. In October, Costello will release an ironically named 49th anniversary My Aim Is True box set, featuring a remastered version of the album and 52 never-before-heard demos. - Canoe.com, 8/12/26...... After years of turning down interviews for other people's books, The Brady Bunch actress Eve Plumb is releasing her own memoir, Happiness Included: Jan Brady and Beyond, on Apr. 28. Plumb says the book's title started as a promise stamped on a product. Back when she and her husband were building their company, a branding conversation led her to a single line of copy. "Put a smile on your face," she recalled telling him, and that little tagline eventually grew into "happiness included." The phrase stuck. "I've just always loved that phrase," she shared, and "it just seemed very fitting for the book." It also happened to sum up her life so far. Plumb is passionate about her home goods line, PlumbGoods, and its companion coffee brand, aptly called Happiness Included Coffee. She co-owns both with her husband Ken Pace. "All the coffees are named after different types of terriers," she explained, with each blend built around a little mascot and a personality of its own. She was inspired by her fondness for Scottie and terrier imagery from the 1930's and 1940's when designing the terrier design for the logo and packaging. Another cool thing about their coffee brand is that they give a whopping 50 percent of all their net profits to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Eve and Ken also have a one-eyed terrier mix that they rescued from A New Leash on Life. People had been asking the actress for her Brady memories for years, hoping to include them in their books. But she says she realized that if she was going to share those stories, they belonged in a book of her own, and now turned out to be the perfect time for her to share them. "I think you know when things are right," she reflected, describing how a project can sit in the back of your mind for years before it finally feels ready. Plumb, a recovering breast cancer victim, says she only decided to include her experiences with breast cancer in the book after a dinner with friends that included Christopher Knight, her former co-star who played Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch. Sitting around a table at the Smoke House in the San Fernando Valley, Plumb floated the idea of leaviing the diagnosis out, and the people who love her wouldn't hear of it. "You have to," they told her. She's glad she listened. "It's been so long and I'm so removed from it that it's easier to talk about." "You don't push yourself forward. You don't brag about yourself," she said of the old-fashioned values she grew up with, which made writing a memoir a genuine step outside her comfort zone. - Y! Entertainment, 8/8/26...... Ben Jones, the actor-turned-politician best known for playing Cooter Davenport on the 1979-1985 CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard, died on Aug. 9 from a heart attack, according to his wife Alma Viator. He was 84. Viator announced her husband's death in a Facebook post that afternoon with a photo of Mr. Jones holding his dog. "I lost the love of my life today. Ben passed from a massive heart attack," she wrote. "He was home resting in his favorite chair waiting for the raves to come on and whoop the Yankees. Ben had the most amazing, rich, full life. He loved and was loved by so many. He will be missed. I loved him so much." In The Dukes of Hazzard, Mr. Jones played Cooter Davenport, the Hazzard County mechanic and an honorary member of the Duke clan. Appearing in 142 episodes, he starred alongside Tom Wopat, John Schneider, Catherine Bach, Denver Pyle, Sorrell Brooke and Waylon Jennings. Dukes star Wopat paid tribute to Mr. Jones on social media. He wrote in an Instagram post, "'The Dukes of Hazzard' lost another integral part of their cast today. Ben Jones was a fine friend and a fierce advocate of all the best things we can offer in the entertainment business. He will be sorely missed... Denver Pyle frequently said to Ben, 'I'm not your Uncle Jesse!' But I feel like we lost a Duke cousin today." In 1988, Mr. Jones ran for Congress in Georgia's Fourth Congressional District and won by 20 points. He was reelected in 1990. Four years later, redistricting took his seat, and he lost his next race against Newt Gingrich. - Variety, 8/10/26.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 8th, 2026

On Aug. 7 Neil Young announced details of his new album with The Chrome Hearts called Second Song. The follow-up to his 2025 set Talkin To The Trees, the new LP features seven tracks five of which are previously unreleased along with two unreleased versions of "Casting Me Away From You" and "I'll Love You Forever." Second Song will drop on Sept. 18 via Reprise Records. Young has also shared the soothing lengthy title track on YouTube. On it, he sings of the life he's experienced, with lines such as, "I dream a way of living/ A way of sharing what we find/ A way of walking slowly through the smokey leaves of time." In a press release for the new album, Young says: "In times when lives are tested, this is music that gathers the past into a hopefulness for the future. It allows those hearing the inner feelings of what gives Neil Young himself the belief needed to face our obstacles in their deepest divisions. 2026 faces us in ways society hasn't been faced before. It is not a time to look away." He had previously revealed that he was channelling anger at the Donald Trump administration into the new album. - New Musical Express, 8/7/26...... Lindsey Buckingham says he and Stevie Nicks are "talking all the time now" after a rift between himself and Nicks resulted in his firing from the band in 2019. Interviewed by E! News at Variety's Power of Young Hollywood event in Los Angeles on Aug. 6, Buckingham explained that he and other members of Fleetwood Mac have found that their collaboration on an upcoming FM documentary has been "a very circular healing process for all of us." "Because we had left things in 2019, maybe as far as I was concerned, not in a very good place for all the wrong reasons," he said. "No one was happy about it, and all of that has been healed and worked out." Buckingham's relationship with Nicks especially has been famously fraught over the decades, but according to him, "Stevie and I are talking all the time now." His interview comes nearly two years after Apple announced production on a definitive FM documentary directed by Frank Marshall, featuring rare insights from the surviving band members themselves. A release date has not yet been announced, but the project is expected to arrive in 2027. In 2025, Buckingham and Nicks teamed up to re-release their 1973 album, Buckingham Nicks, which reached No. 3 on the Top Album Sales chart in September. Buckingham also teased to E! that future projects with his old bandmates could be in the cards. "Next year should be a pretty interesting year. I think quite a few things will reveal themselves," he said. Elsewhere, and alleged stalker of Buckingham has been ruled unfit to stand trial. Michelle Dick, 55, is accused of attacking and stalking the musician and violating a restraining order taken out against her in 2024. In court filings, Buckingham claimed that Dick told police that he was her father and accused him of "suffocating her as a child." The woman allegedly confronted the musician last March, throwing an unknown substance in his face. At the time, police said they believed she had been waiting for his arrival. Buckingham was uninjured. She was then arrested in Indiana in April and additionally charged with stalking another victim named in the documents as "Stephanie N," along with vandalising Buckingham's vehicle and making a criminal threat against the musician in March. Dick has pleaded not guilty on all seven charges. Now, Judge Robert S. Harrison has told Dick that she is not "trial-competent" or "able to handle your case," He additionally ruled that it was "medically appropriate to treat the defendant's psychiatric condition with medication," following a report from a court-appointed doctor. Further rulings will be made in a hearing scheduled for Aug. 27. If she qualifies for and successfully completes a mental health diversion program, her charges could be dismissed. - Billboard/NME, 8/7/26...... ZZ Top was forced to cancel their performance at the Hollywood Bowl scheduled for Aug. 5 due to "insurmountable obstacles," according to frontman Billy Gibbons. "Friends, fans and followers of ZZ Top are the best in the business and the band is counting on everyone to bear with us for this brief interruption," he posted on Instagram. ZZ Top is in the midst of its summer 2026 "The Big One" tour. Earlier this year, the band extended its 2026 tour with nearly two dozen new dates for the summer. - Rolling Stone, 8/5/26...... Bob Dylan has switched up his live lineup once again, bringing blues veteran Jimmie Vaughan onstage during his US tour closer at Nashville's Ascend Federal Credit Union Amphitheater on Aug. 1. Vaughan appeared five songs into the set, joining Dylan for the Rough and Rowdy Ways LP track "False Prophet" before sticking around to help cover Bo Diddley's 1961 deep cut "I Can Tell." He later returned near the end of the night to play on "Goodbye Jimmy Reed", another song from Dylan's 2020 album. Vaughan -- older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan -- first worked with Dylan in the early 1990s, amid his Under The Red Sky era, playing on "Handy Dandy" and teaming up with Stevie Ray for "God Knows," "Cat's In The Well" and "10,000 Men." He also joined Dylan for several tracks at a 2024 Austin show. Vaughan's latest appearance comes amid a period of rapid guitarist turnover in Dylan's touring band. Bob Britt, who had played with Dylan since 2019, recently confirmed he left the lineup "of his own accord" after fans speculated that he'd been fired. Britt said he wouldn't disclose his reasons but insisted there was no bad blood, adding he planned to return to session work. Britt's exit followed Doug Lancio's departure earlier in the summer, with Julian Lage stepping in for several dates. At present, Joel Paterson is reportedly Dylan's only full-time guitarist -- though Vaughan's Nashville cameo suggests Dylan may continue rotating players as the tour evolves. It remains unclear who will join Dylan for the UK and European leg of the "Rough and Rowdy Ways" tour, which begins in Norway in October before reaching Bournemouth on Nov. 25. - Music-News.com, 8/5/26...... Roger Daltrey and Robert Plant are scheduled to participate in a one-off concert on Dec. 6 to celebrate the life and career of legendary British music broadcaster Bob Harris OBE. Titled Stand By Me: Bob Harris - A Celebration of Life In Music, the landmark event brings together an extraordinary lineup of rock, folk, country, and pop icons who have been championed by the famous presenter throughout his five decades on air. Royal Albert Hall will welcome a stellar gathering of musical talent for the occasion, featuring performances by Daltrey, Plant, Paul Weller, Suzi Dian and Rick Wakeman. The celebration comes as Harris continues to manage ongoing treatment for prostate cancer, having briefly stepped back from his regular BBC Radio 2 show earlier in 2026. - Music-News.com, 8/4/26...... A new documentary about the late Rush drummer Neil Peart will debut on Canada's CBC network on Sept. 23. Neil Peart: No One's Disciple will tell Peart's life story, and feature interviews with Rush co-founders Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, as well with a crew of legendary drummers talking about his influence. Also for the documentary, Lee and Lifeson filmed rehearsal hall performances of classic Rush songs with some well-known guest drummers, including the Police's Stewart Copeland, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith, and Tool's Danny Carey. Peart, who is widely considered one of the greatest rock drummers of all time, died of cancer in 2020. - Rolling Stone, 8/5/26...... Earth, Wind & Fire called off a co-headlining show with Lionel Richie at San Francisco's Chase Center on Aug. 6 at the last minute due to an illness affecting a member of the band. According to a local TV station, thousands of fans already inside the arena and those still in line were forced to exit the building. In an Instagram statement, EW&F wrote, "We are unable to perform as scheduled tonight at Chase Center in San Francisco due to a medical emergency involving a member of our band." EW&F has not provided any additional information on which member of the group had fallen ill or the nature of the medical issue. As a result of the call-off, the show will be rescheduled on a date to be announced soon. The band asked ticket holders to hold on to their original tickets, which will be honored for the new date; otherwise, refunds will be available at the point of purchase. "We sincerely apologize for the unexpected change and appreciate everyone's understanding," EW&F wrote. The group is scheduled to continue its tour on Aug. 8 in Palm Desert, Calif. - Billboard, 8/7/26...... In related news, Barry Manilow called off his planned Aug. 4 show in Lexington, Ky. for a second time, citing "unforeseen circumstances." An Instagram message from the 83-year-old "Mandy" singer read "Due to unforeseen circumstances tonight's show in Lexington has been rescheduled." Manilow was originally scheduled to play Lexington's Rupp Arena on Mar. 9, but that show was postponed while he underwent treatment for stage 1 lung cancer. In the comments on Manilow's post, many fans wished the singer well, with one even jokingly apologizing for wearing him out after he played "all those fast loud song[s]" on Aug. 2 in Columbus, and another saying they would be happy if he just came out and pointed to his fans without even singing. Manilow has five more U.S. shows booked through the end of the August before his planned return to Las Vegas for the resumption of his Hits Come Home! residency, which will have him playing an average of six shows a month through December. He revealed his cancer diagnosis in Dec. 2025 and underwent surgery to remove a cancerous spot from his left lung later that month. That resulted in the singer pushing back his planned February Las Vegas residency dates, as well as his February, March and April arena shows on doctor's advice that he needed more time to recover. In March, his new single, "Once Before I Go," became a top 10 hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, making Manilow the only artist to ever score an A/C hit in six consecutive decades during a run that has stretched from the 1970s through the 2020s. His first new album in 15 years, What a Time, was released in June. In February, "Once Before I Go" reached No. 25 on Billboard's A/C chart, more than 50 years after he first topped the chart with "Mandy." - Billboard, 8/5/26...... On Aug. 6 Barbra Streisand announced she is stepping into the world of children's literature with a debut picture book, And By the Way.... Set to arrive in the spring of 2027 via Flamingo Books, And By the Way... tells the story of a loving grandparent and grandchild who spend the day together doing fun activities and adventures that lead to understanding some of life's core truths. The Grammy-winning singer said in a statement that the project is a very personal one for her. "I love being 'Gamma Barbra' to my three wonderful young grandchildren," she said. "One of our favorite activities is reading picture books together -- sometimes the same ones over and over again! So, I thought it would be fun to write my own book... for them... and hopefully, for other parents and grandparents to read to their little ones!" The title of the book also has everything to do with Streisand, as it's one of her signature phrases. "It's an expression I use quite often," she explained. "It seems like there's always one more thing to say!" She added that the overarching message centers on "discovery, self-expression, self-reliance and of course, love." Streisand has four grandchildren through her marriage to actor James Brolin, with whom she tied the knot in 1998. Her stepson Josh Brolin has four children -- who are the singer's step-grandchildren. And By the Way will officially be released on Mar. 30, 2027. - Billboard, 8/6/26...... Gary Glitter has appeared in a London court over a historical sex offence charge dating back to 1978. In July 2025 Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) was accused of one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13, and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14. Appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Aug. 5, Glitter denied the charges. He appeared via video link from HMP Channings Wood in Devon, where he is currently being held. He was remanded in custody and instructed to appear at the Old Bailey in London on Sept. 2, either in person or via video. He then confirmed his name and date of birth. Throughout the hearing, the court heard how Gadd denied the allegations against him, adding that he did not know the complainant. The prosecutor said the offences took place between 1978 and 1981 when the accuser was eight to 11-years-old. Glitter reportedly lived nearby the girl, where he allegedly groomed her by giving her chocolate and inviting her inside his house. Gadd was one of the UK's biggest musicians throughout the 1970s, but was arrested in 2012 while police were conducting an investigation into Jimmy Savile's abuse claims. He was later arrested over eight sex offence charges involving girls aged between 12 and 14 in 2014. Though he denied the allegations, he was found guilty on several counts and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Though he was freed from jail after serving half his sentence in 2023, he landed back behind bars one month later after allegedly viewing downloaded images of children. - NME, 8/6/26...... Bruce Springsteen has praised health care workers who have helped his wife and E Street Band bandmate Patti Scialfa's battle with cancer in a pre-recorded message played at the 47th annual Pan-Mass Challenge fundraiser on Aug. 4. The Boss had generous, loving words for the many doctors and nurses who have helped Scialfa while sharing that the singer is in remission from multiple myeloma during the gala for the Pan-Mass Challenge bike race supporting cancer research and treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "We're a little late, but here we are and it's a pleasure to be with you," Springsteen said in an 8-minute prerecorded video, joking about how PMC founder and chairman Billy Starr first invited him to ride in the annual event way back in 1984. As he strummed an acoustic guitar from inside his home studio in New Jersey, Springsteen added, "Since 1980, you have inspired a community that has done something remarkable. You've never stopped believing that ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference. And because of that countless lives have been saved." He then made it personal, revealing to the room that Scialfa -- who he's been married to since 1991 and has three grown children with -- has been getting treatment at Dana-Farber for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer in which abnormal plasma cells group out of control. "As you know, Patti's been living with her multiple myeloma for over eight years," Springsteen said in the pre-tape uploaded to X/Twitter by a fan. "But now, thankfully, she is in remission." Scialfa, 73, who was diagnosed in 2018, talked about her diagnosis in their 2024 documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. After thanking the team again, the Boss played an unplugged version of what he called "one of my best riding songs," before busting into a an acoustic "Born to Run." Springsteen and the E Street Band wrapped up their summer 2026 "Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour" on May 30 with a show In Philadelphia. - Billboard, 8/4/26...... Dolly Parton is set to receive the Americana Music Association's lifetime achievement award during the 2026 Americana Honors & Awards at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on Sept. 16. The award honors Parton's commitment to excellence as an artist, songwriter and creator, and her work in building a music catalog that is rooted in Appalachian traditions while also threaded with honest storytelling and a tapestry of sounds including country, folk, bluegrass, Gospel and pop music. The "9 to 5" singer will accept the honor via video during the ceremony. Previous recipients include Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris and Buddy Guy. "We at the Americana Music Association have long admired Ms. Parton's work as a singer, songwriter, entertainer and one of the greatest ambassador's music has ever known," an AMA exec said in a statement ."With all of her extraordinary accomplishments -- from philanthropy to television, film and business -- our desire is to honor Dolly for what has always been at the heart of her legacy: a definitive songwriter and artist whose songs have shaped generations." With a career spanning more than six decades, East Tennessee native Parton has earned 10 Grammys, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. - Billboard, 8/6/26...... On Aug. 4 Van Morrison announced 10 more dates on his upcoming fall UK tour. The Celtic crooner had previously shared details of a five-night London residency in May, scheduled to take place at the new British Airways ARC arena in September. It'll follow the release of his latest album, Somebody Tried To Sell Me A Bridge, in January. Now it's confirmed that Morrison will make an additional appearance in the capital when he headlines the New Wimbledon Theatre on Sept. 26. Following the extended 6-date London stint, Morrison is set to perform at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on Oct. 8 and 9. He'll then make stops at Swansea Arena, Bristol Beacon, Plymouth Arena and Torquay's Princess Theatre, before closing out the month with a pair of gigs at Brighton Dome. In early November, he'll head to Scotland for shows at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and Edinburgh's Usher Hall on Nov. 2 and 3 respectively. This spring, Morrison was given the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Jazz FM Awards. He recently performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and in summer 2025 opened for Neil Young at BST Hyde Park in London. - NME, 8/4/26..... The family of Michael Jackson has announced that Marlon Jackson is developing a new docuseries exploring the life of Jacksons patriarch Joe Jackson. Per a post made by The Jacksons on Instagram, the eight-episode series will be titled The Manager, The Mythology, The Legend, and will reportedly be an inside look into the man who guided the Jackson family's rise from Gary, Ind., to global superstardom. "Our father's life is replete with triumphs and challenges, and we firmly believe that this series will offer a distinctive and accurate portrayal of the man behind our family," Marlon Jackson, who is helping narrate and develop the program, told the gossip column Page Six. "We are thrilled to share my father's indelible legacy with fans worldwide, granting them an intimate glimpse into the remarkable individual we knew and loved." No premiere date has been announced, though streaming platform BLK Prime says more details about production and casting will be revealed in the coming months. - Billboard, 8/3/26...... Phil Collins detailed his recent battles with alcoholism in a wide-ranging interview with London's Sunday Times on Aug. 3. In it, the 75-year-old reflected on large portions of his career, discussed his personal life and spoke on mending his relationship with Paul McCartney. Collins revealed that in Apr. 2024, he was hospitalized in Switzerland following a relapse with alcohol and that his manager of 50 years summoned his five children to see him at his bedside. "Because there were some decisions to be made about 'Do we keep Phil on life support?' kind of thing. My kidneys were packing up, my organs were just seizing up," Collins said. "People were coming to say goodbye. But I don't remember them coming, I didn't have no idea this was going on. They were all worried that they wouldn't see me again. It could all have gone so terribly wrong." In Nov. 2023, Collins was rushed to hospital and discharged three days later; several weeks later, he was rushed back into intensive care and spent seven months in hospital. "I was very lucky to have come out of that. Needless to say, I haven't had a drink since." Collins last performed live in 2022 as part of Genesis' farewell tour. He is no longer able to drum due to nerve damage and numerous knee and spine surgeries. Elsewhere in the interview, the "In the Air Tonight" singer discussed healing a rift with former Beatle McCartney after he said in a previous interview that the latter treated him "condescendingly." McCartney read the interview and reached out, "saying, 'I'm a bit disappointed, blah blah'. He said don't be so 'sacrosanct' was the word he used. I'm not sure what that means, but anyway it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth and obviously left a bad taste in his." An upcoming charity auction involving Collins and the King's Trust helped mend the relationship, when McCartney agreed to donate an item after Collins wrote him a letter. "I wish I hadn't said it, although it did happen. But we've made up, he's happy about the fact that we discussed it, and I'm happy we discussed it, so it was just really lovely that it's gone full circle now," he said. Collins is set to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo act in November. "I think people on the board thought I was already in," Collins said on his belated entry. Had he not ever been inducted, "I'd have just put it down to being English and just being invisible." He was inducted as part of Genesis in 2010. - Billboard, 8/3/26...... Iconic Star Trek actor William Shatner has announced he's releasing a heavy metal album in the near future and revealed he is one of the Coachella festival's first bookings. When CNN anchor Elex Michaelson recently asked what he was most excited about these days, the 95-year-old Shatner didn't hesitate: "My heavy metal!" he replied, steering the conversation toward his latest creative venture, his upcoming heavy metal album his newly formed band, The *uckers. While running through the band's upcoming schedule, including their live debut at Riot Fest in Chicago on September 20th, he added that they would also be playing "the one in the desert." Michaelson quickly interjected, "Coachella?" and both Shatner and Gretsch answered in unison, "Coachella," letting slip a festival booking organizers have yet to announce. The group is set to perform material spanning Shatner's musical catalog while previewing songs from its forthcoming debut album, What the F Is Heavy Metal. As unlikely as a William Shatner metal project may sound, the actor has spent decades boldly carving out a parallel music career alongside his acting resume. Beginning with his 1968 spoken-word debut The Transformed Man, Shatner has since released a dozen studio albums, collaborating with artists including Ben Folds, Henry Rollins, Joe Jackson, Brad Paisley, Peter Frampton and Iggy Pop. Along with the heavy metal album, Shatner also recently confirmed the release of a new spoken-word project due out in August. Coachella has not officially announced its 2027 lineup. If Shatner's appearance is indeed locked in, he'll head to Indio in April fresh off his Riot Fest debut. Shatner and Michaelson's delightful conversation can be viewed on Instagram. - Consequence.net, 8/2/26.

Patti Smith has revealed she was giddy and almost at a loss for words after being granted an audience with Pope Leo XIV on July 31. "Hi," she said softly as she sat down across from Pope Leo at his desk in the Apostolic Palace. After the meeting, Smith took to Instagram to say "This is a moment that shall forever produce a smile." Wearing a crucifix necklace and hair in her trademark braids, Smith has become an increasingly visible presence at the Vatican thanks to her friendship with the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary in the Vatican's culture ministry. She has said that while she is not Catholic, she was drawn in particular to Leo's predecessor Pope Francis and his "gentle, open, and steadfast sense of humanity." She also had a thing for the revered Pope John Paul I: Her 1979 tune "Wave" is about a make-believe conversation with the pope who had just died after a 33-day papacy. It begins "Hi. Hi," uttered in the same breathy voice Smith used with Leo on July 31. The pope clearly was familiar with the tune. "That was marvelous," he said. - Billboard, 8/1/26...... Roger Waters has shared a "reimagined" version of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" in hopes it will be seen as "prophetic." The new nine-minute "Comfortably Numb" version transforms the song from 1979's The Wall into a tribute to the Palestinian people, featuring new English and Arabic lyrics and a video with footage filmed in war torn Gaza. Waters, along with Palestinian singer Mona Miari, have transformed original refrain of "I have become comfortably numb" has been adapted by Waters and Miari into: "I will never become comfortably numb." A new section written by Miari, titled "Hind's Lullaby," has also been added, inspired by the story of Hind Rajab, the six-year-old Palestinian girl killed alongside members of her family in Gaza in Jan. 2024. In an interview with Wired.com, Waters said he hopes that people hearing the song would resonate a decade from now. "I hope they'll hear that it was prophetic -- there is a right and a wrong," he said. "This is not complicated, and this song is on the right side of history." Miari added: "I hope 10 years from now, whoever listens to 'Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined' could also experience a free Palestine and look back at it as a testament about the truth and what happened, and just cherish that sense of resistance and urgency for freedom." Waters also addressed the accusations of anti-Semitism that have surrounded him in recent years. "I don't have an anti-Semitic bone in my body," he said. "I never did and I never will have. I couldn't give a shit what your religion is, frankly. I'm not interested in it." Waters has repeatedly denied accusations of anti-Semitism, arguing that his criticism is directed at the Israeli government and Zionism rather than the Jewish people. In 2023, Berlin police investigated the musician after he wore a Nazi-style uniform during a concert. He said the performance was "quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice and bigotry." That same year, the Campaign Against Antisemitism released the documentary The Dark Side Of Roger Waters, which included allegations about his past conduct. He dismissed the film as a flimsy, unapologetic piece of propaganda. "Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined" can be viewed on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 8/2/26...... Speaking on the BBC Radio 2 program Tracks of My Years, Phil Collins recalled being "blown away" by Taylor Swift before her rise to international pop superstardom. Collins to interviewer Vernon Kay that he recalled meeting Swift at a Songwriters Hall of Fame event years ago, before she reached her current level of fame, and watching her perform her song "White Horse." "This very nice lady then got up on stage with a guitar and sang 'White Horse,' and it blew me away completely," he said. "Not only was the song great, and the sentiment of the song really got me, but she sang it beautifully. And it was just so simple, you know, her on a guitar." Collins added he has "always had a soft spot" for the track since. "I'm so pleased that she's the hugest thing in the world now because she kind of feels like she deserves it," he said. "I mean it's easy to knock someone that's got so much success, but I think she really deserves it." Elsewhere in the interview, Collins revealed that his signature solo hit "In the Air Tonight" was largely improvised. "A lot of my lyrics are kind of improvised. The classic example of that would be 'In the Air Tonight,' which was pretty much 80% improvised," he said, explaining that the song's atmospheric sound came from a Prophet-5 keyboard and that he "certainly didn't labor on it." He described the result as "the scenario of luck and good fortune" rather than craft. Collins is set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2026 -- 16 years after entering as a member of Genesis. Across his solo career he scored seven No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 during the 1980s, including "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)," "One More Night," "Sussudio" and "Groovy Kind of Love." "In the Air Tonight," the 1981 debut solo single he referenced, reached No. 19 on the Hot 100 but became one of the most enduring recordings of his career, later finding new life through film, television and a viral 2020 reaction video. - Billboard, 8/2/26...... Rod Stewart helped raise $1.7M for Stevie Van Zandt's TeachRock Education nonprofit during a fundraiser in Southampton, N.Y., on July 30. The intimate private concert for 200 guests at the home of philanthropists Bob and Lauren Day Roberts raised $1.7 million in support of TeachRock's mission to bring arts education to classrooms across the country. According to a release, one of the highlights of the night was when E Street Band member and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Van Zandt joined Stewart on stage for performances of Sam Cooke's "Having a Party" and The Faces' "Stay With Me." "Playing alongside the legend that is Stevie Van Zandt for TeachRock -- what a night," Stewart said in a statement about the event. "Music changed my life, and TeachRock is making sure it can change theirs too." "Rod didn't just give us an unforgettable performance this evening, he gave our mission a tremendous boost," Van Zandt said later. "Every dollar raised helps us put free arts education into more classrooms, and that's something worth celebrating." TeachRock's mission includes supplying educators with free, stardards-aligned curriculum that uses the history of popular music to engage students across subjects including history, social studies, language arts and science. The organization currently reaches more than one million students nationwide. - Billboard, 7/31/26...... Elton John marked 36 years of sobriety on July 31 by raising a glass of his sparkling non-alcoholic Elton John Zero Blanc de Blancs champagne. "36 years sober today," a smiling Sir Elton, wearing a patterned shirt and oversized square-framed glasses, captioned a celebratory photo on Instagram. "Raising a 0% glass to life. Grateful for every single day." He later shared the same image via Instagram Stories with his 1983 hit single and ode to perseverance, "I'm Still Standing," playing in the background. John opened up about his struggles with addiction in his 2019 memoir, Me, detailing his dependencies on cocaine and alcohol at the height of his fame. "You block it out until the problem of the thing you're facing becomes such a monumental thing that you explode with rage, and that's the way I handled confrontation," he told NPR in an interview that October. "I hated my addiction. I hated the way I behaved. I hated how I treated people. I hated what I'd become." John and his husband, David Furnish, announced their venture into the lucrative non-alcoholic drinks market in January this year. "What drew us to this product is the fact that it's the first one of its kind and that it's made differently," Furnish shared of the cuvée at the time. "All the non-alcoholic drinks we've all tried and haven't really enjoyed very much are made with alcohol and then de-alcoholised, whereas with this product, the grapes are fermented with good cultures and that creates all of the properties of a beautiful blanc de blancs." Elton's longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin, recently told Rolling Stone that he thinks John may release a new album in 2026, though nothing is concrete yet. "Well, he's got a record coming out, I think, at the beginning of next year that I contributed to," Taupin said. "But I literally don't know when that is. He did it with [producer]Andrew Watt again. And he wrote it in a completely different way simply because of his eyesight problem." Elton's eye issues began in the summer of 2024, when an infection left him blind in his right eye. The new record will follow his 2025 joint LP with Brandi Carlile, Who Believes in Angels?. - Music-News.com, 7/31/26...... A year after his passing, the life and crazy times of late heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne will be the subject of the new Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness haunted house at Universal Studios theme parks during this year's annual "Halloween Horror Nights" event. "Ozzy Osbourne's shocking image was as haunting as his heavy metal hits. Now you'll enter the Prince of Darkness's kingdom where music and mayhem collide -- and everything's gone off the rails," according to a press release announcing the attraction. "Veer through a decaying world ripped straight from Ozzy's lyrics in this haunted house inspired by one of rock 'n' roll's greatest legends. Let the madness begin!" The new attraction will join the raft of other haunted houses at this year's Halloween Horror Nights, including ones dedicated to other Universal produced projects including Evil Dead Burn, Hellraiser and season five of Stranger Things and Sinners. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Osbourne's widow and longtime manager, Sharon Osbourne, said the experience that's part of HHN's 35th anniversary edition will tell the rocker's story from his working class childhood in Birmingham, England to his run as the frontman of Black Sabbath. "His music throughout every room is at the heart of it all," Sharon told the outlet. "Fans will also see scenes inspired by Ozzy's journey, from his early days as a little boy growing up in Birmingham, England, riding the train to and from London, to the iconic imagery and characters from across his career." The promo preview video for Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness haunted house can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 7/29/26...... In other Black Sabbath-related news, guitarist Tony Iommi has announced his first solo album in over two decades, From the Dark. Set to arrive on Oct. 23 via BMG, the new album marks the first solo release from Iommi since he released his third solo project Fused back in 2001 alongside vocalist Glenn Hughes. It also marks his first new music since the death of his late Black Sabbath bandmate Ozzy Osbourne in July 2025. The first preview of the album is out now in the form of blistering lead single "World Alone" -- which received its premiere on July 30 at a special global streaming event in Iommi's hometown of Birmingham. The preview took place close to where the famous Black Sabbath Bridge is located, which was opened as a civic tribute to the iconic band in 2019. From The Dark will be available in several deluxe vinyl and CD formats, and the deluxe CD version will contain two bonus tracks called "Scent Of Dark" and "Defied." A limited edition 7" single of "World Alone," backed exclusively with an instrumental version, will be out on Sept. 4. - NME, 7/30/26...... The Beatles' official website announced on July 29 that a Super Deluxe edition of the band's seminal 1965 album Rubber Soul will be released by UMG and Apple Corps Ltd later in 2026 with a bevy of new mixes, never-before-heard home demos and an 88-page book with an introduction by Paul McCartney. Newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell, the definitive version of the album will be released on Oct. 2 via Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe and be packaged in a 4CD/5LP edition featuring new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes alongside the original mono mix and the original Capitol U.S. album version. The new stereo mix was sourced directly from the original four-track master tapes and the audio enhanced with the help of cutting-edge "de-mixing" technology developed by the team at director Peter Jackson's WingNut Films Productions Ltd. for Jackson's Get Back documentary. The Super Deluxe editions will feature 24 early session recordings, including 20 previously unreleased takes and three previously unheard John Lennon demos, including early versions of "Day Tripper," "We Can Work It Out" and "Little Girl," a previously unheard John Lennon song outline that has never been released before. There will also be 2CD and 2LP versions with a curated selection of session highlights, demos and the album version of the double A-side lead single, "We Can Work It Out"/"Day Tripper." Originally released on Dec. 3, 1965, the Fab Four's sixth studio album was fronted by the double A-side single and was recorded over four weeks beginning in October of that year. The LP expanded the group's pop sound with the addition of the sitar and harmonium, helping to pave the way for the psychedelic rock revolution of the late 1960s, while expanding the parameters of what was possible on a cohesive pop album. It contains such classics as the frenetic "Drive My Car," the meditative "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," as well as "Nowhere Man," "Michelle," "Girl" and the introspective "In My Life." The long-awaited Rubber Soul revamp comes after similar treatments for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (2017), The Beatles (White Album) (2018), Abbey Road (2019), Let It Be (2021), Revolver (2022) and Anthology (2025). A taste of the new release, "Michelle (Take 1)," has been shared on YouTube. - Billboard, 7/29/26...... In other Beatles news, Paul McCartney is among a dozen artists nominated for a prestigious 2026 Mercury Prize, which is awarded annually and recognizes artistic achievement in albums across a range of genres. Sir Paul is nominated for his 20th solo studio album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, the first time McCartney has been nominated for the prize in his storied career. Albums released between Aug. 30 2025 and July 17, 2026 were eligible for consideration this year. The 12 shortlisted albums were chosen by an independent judging panel chaired by Jeff Smith, head of music, BBC 6 Music & Radio 2. The prize will be awarded at a ceremony at Newcastle's Utilita Arena on Oct. 22. Fans can purchase tickets for the ceremony, which will include a number of performances by the nominated artists, at the Mercury Prize awards' official website. - Billboard, 7/30/26...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, The Kinks' Dave Davies has revisited the band's old rivalry with The Fab Four, saying George Harrison was the only member he "really liked." Davies made the comments at the launch of the band's new art exhibition, "The Kinks: Brothers," at Gibson Garage London. "John Lennon didn't like The Kinks, he really didn't," Davies said, via The Mirror. Laughing, he continued: "In fact, John Lennon didn't really like anybody! George Harrison was the only one I really liked. He was the nicest guy. Paul McCartney wrote a few decent songs, yeah." Davies has previously recalled Lennon being fiercely protective of The Beatles' equipment when the two groups played together. "He wouldn't let us touch anything," he said. "'Don't you dare touch those!' He was a paranoid guy, but funny." After reports of his latest comments were published, however, Davies clarified that he remained a fan of the Liverpool band on X/Twitter. "I like the Beatles and I do appreciate all the kind words Paul McCartney has said about the Kinks," he wrote. The rivalry between the groups dates back to the early stages of The Kinks' career, when they appeared below The Beatles at Bournemouth's Gaumont Cinema on Aug. 2, 1964. The show came two days before the release of The Kinks' breakthrough single "You Really Got Me," which went on to give them their first UK Number One. Kinks frontman Ray Davies later recalled Lennon making a dismissive remark about The Kinks being there solely to warm up the audience, only for their performance of "You Really Got Me" to receive an ecstatic response. "The Kinks: Brothers" exhibition reimagines a 1968 passport photobooth picture of the siblings taken in East Finchley, North London, through a series of mixed-media works on paper and canvas. The exhibition will run at Gibson Garage London until Sept. 6. - NME, 7/27/26...... Willie Nelson has weighed in on the current controversy of the profusion of AI data centers being proposed across America. Posting an open letter on X/Twitter on July 28, the country icon addressed his post to "whom it may concern and to everyone else as well," in which he lamented that potential plans to build one of the energy- and water-hogging plants could change the nature of Abbott, Tex., where he owns a home and farm. "I grew up in Abbott, and I still have a home there with farmed land where I can still see stars at night," Nelson, 93, wrote. "And now our community, like many others, needs to fight against data centers invading our land. The last thing we need is a loud, water thieving, light polluting, data center anywhere near our town (or any others for that matter)." Nelson -- who has spent more than four decades raising money and awareness about the plight of small American farms via his co-founded annual concert Farm Aid -- wrote that the strength of rural America has never come from "big industrial footprints," but rather from "generations of people, open spaces, local businesses, and a connection to the land. All of America deserves thoughtful stewardship that doesn't steal farmland (where our essential shared-food is grown) and small family farmers' livelihoods, and not data centers that only destroy the environment around them." Like many local, state and federal authorities, Texas politicians are in a heated battle about the building of massive data centers to support the AI boom. After previously calling the Lone Star State the global "epicenter of AI development," Republican Gov. Greg Abbott recently pushed for a ban on AI centers in rural neighborhoods and stricter regulations on utility and water usage to protect the state's power grid and save his constituents from rapidly rising electricity rates. It is not clear if Nelson's letter was targeting a specific data center near Abbott, which is about an hour south of Dallas. But a May Gallup Poll reported that seven in 10 Americans oppose local construction of AI data centers, with 48 percent strongly opposed and just seven percent strongly in favor. Nelson ended his letter with a stark warning: ""Whoever controls food and water, controls the masses. Let's not allow our own demise or give up control over necessary resources in the U.S. and especially in Abbott." - Billboard, 7/29/26...... Tom Waits has released the full version of his sardonic spoken-word track "The Fly." The track serves as the B-side to "Boots On The Ground," Waits' politically charged collaboration with Massive Attack, which was released online in April and marked the singer-songwriter's first new original music since his 2011 album Bad As Me. A tease of "The Fly" was released several months ago, but now the entire track has been shared, and it sees Waits offer a begrudging tribute to the brief and unloved life of the common housefly. "You have no house, well you have mine / You have no real friends, stay away from the wine. House fly go to sleep, say goodbye / No one will weep when you die," he recites. The lyric video, illustrated by the artist's son Casey Waits, can be viewed on Instagram. - NME, 8/1/26...... Arlene Smith, one of the co-founders and lead vocalists of the pioneering 1950s girl group The Chantels, died of a heart attack at a New York City hospital on July 29. She was 84. The Chantels were formed in early 1950s by a group of school friends from St. Anthony of Padua in the Bronx and were one of the first Black girl groups to score national chart success. With a combination of flawless harmonies and emotion-packed lovesick ballads such as "The Plea" and "He's Gone," the group's mix of doo wop, soul and R&B swing helped distinguish them at a time when Black female pop acts were a rarity on the charts. Born on Oct. 5, 1941, Ms. Smith was a classically trained vocalist who got her break when as a 12-year-old she scored an audition alongside her childhood friends and future bandmates Sonia Gorin, Lois Harris, Jackie Landry and Rene Minus for record producer Richard Barrett (of the doo-wop group The Valentines) when the group's members were all in their teens, ranging from 14 to 17. They landed a recording contract in 1957 with End Records, future home to such groups as Little Anthony and the Imperials and The Miracles, and their debut single, the barbershop quartet-meets-soul lament "He's Gone" -- co-written by Smith and Barrett -- landed at No. 71 on the Billboard Top 100, the predecessor to the Hot 100 singles chart. That set the table for their breakthrough with the Barrett-penned "Maybe," the aforementioned boyfriend heartbreak ballad about trying to win back a lover who is "gone, gone, gone" that ran all the way up to No. 2 on the Most Played R&B by Jockeys chart and is considered one of the greatest girl group songs of all time. After receding from music in the 1970s, Ms. Smith got her master's degree in education and taught music at a Bronx elementary school until her retirement in the 2000s. The Chantels were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002 and made the final ballot for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and 2009, but have so far not made the final cut. - Billboard, 7/31/26...... Original Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm joined his old band for a song during a co-headlining concert by Foreigner and Lynyrd Skynyrd at Toronto's RBC Amphitheatre on July 30. Gramm, now 76 years old with his performing retirement coming this year, showed up to introduce the group, plug his first solo album in 17 years, Released, and later sang lead vocals on the last song of Foreigner's 90-minute set, "Hot Blooded." Even though all the original members of Foreigner are no longer on the road, the industry itself still accepts them as a group and certainly the thousands of fans who packed the amphitheatre from the seats right up to the lawns seemingly had no problems watching them, purists aside. The diminutive but powerful Mexican-born Luis Maldonado, who's performed with Foreigner since 2021 but moved to frontman at the end of 2025 when Kelly Hansen retired, otherwise sang lead vocals during the group's hits-heavy performance with such standouts as "Double Vision," "Cold as Ice," "Waiting For a Girl Like You," "Jukebox Hero," and "I Want To Know What Love Is," the latter accompanied by a youth choir from Guelph. Guitarist Mick Jones still serves as the official group leader for Foreigner even though he gave up touring in 2022 due to Parkinson's disease and is currently dealing with Alzheimer's. As for Lynyrd Skynyrd, who lost three band members in a 1977 plane crash, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, their southern rock went down smoother in some places than it did others. Led by Ronnie's brother, Johnny Van Zant -- who's been lead vocalist since the group reformed in 1987 -- the nine-member ensemble kicked their hour-and-40-minute set off strong with "Working For MCA," "What's Your Name," "That Smell," and "Saturday Night Special." "Canada! Skynyrd's in the house!" yelled Van Zant, with an American flag wrapped around his mic stand, to huge cheers. They wrapped their set with a one-two punch of "Sweet Home Alabama" (and its Neil Young-bashing verse) and encore signature song "Free Bird." - Canoe.com, 7/31/26...... Actor Vincent Pastore, who was best known for playing Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on HBO's The Sopranos, died of natural causes at his home on City Island in the Bronx on Aug. 1. He was 80. Mr. Pastore played a pivotal role during the first two seasons of The Sopranos as a close confidante of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini). Once Tony learned that the FBI had managed to flip Salvatore and turn him into an informant, he was killed in the Season 2 finale. Salvatore continued to appear in later episodes either through flashbacks and archival footage. In addition to acting in films like Mickey Blue Eyes, Revolver and Shark Tale, Mr. Pastore also appeared in 1990's Goodfellas, 1993's Carlito's Way and A Bronx Tale. Elsewhere on TV, Mr. Pastore had roles in Law & Order, Blue Bloods, Bull, Hawaii Five-0 and also competed on seasons of Celebrity Apprentice and Dancing With the Stars. "He loved being an actor," his manager Robert Attermann told Fox News. "He was passionate about his craft and was always encouraging, respectful, and generous with young actors, taking the time to offer guidance and support whenever he could." He is survived by his daughter Renee. - Canoe.com, 8/2/26.