Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on February 28th, 2015

The first trailer for the new Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy with Paul Dano starring the Beach Boys leader has hit the Internet. John Cusack plays Wilson later in life, with Elizabeth Banks playing Wilson's wife Melinda Ledbetter, and Paul Giamatti as Dr. Eugene Landy, a scheming psychologist who pulled Wilson into his orbit during the '80s. According to the trailer, Love & Mercy will hit the big screen in June. In real life, Wilson is also working on a new album, No Pier Pressure, which is due in April. - Billboard, 2/26/15...... Aretha Franklin will be joining American Idol's live Motown-themed episodes in Detroit in early March as a guest menter, it was announced on Feb. 26. The shows, which will air on Mar 4 and 5, will have the cast whittled down to the top 16, performing at the Fillmore theater. The Queen of Soul will also perform on the show, having previously appeared on it via satellite during its season 12 finale. - Billboard, 2/26/15...... Led Zeppelin are on track to top the UK's Offical Album chart with their latest release, a deluxe reissue of their 1975 double-LP Physical Graffiti. Hitting stores on Feb. 23 to celebrate its 40th anniversary, Physical Graffiti has been remastered by Jimmy Page and features a bonus disc of seven previously unreleased tracks, which include rough mixes of the songs "In My Time Of Dying" and "Houses Of The Holy." Meanwhile in the US, Stevie Wonder has returned to the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot 200 albums chart following his Feb. 16 televised Grammy salute, Songs In the Key Of Life - An All-Star Grammy Salute. The greatest hits set zoomed back onto the Hot 200 with 11,000 units (up 205 percent), and it sold nearly 7,000 copies for the week (up 260 percent). Wonder's last appearance on the Top 40 was in November 2005 with his last studio LP, A Time to Love. - New Musical Express/Billboard, 2/26/15...... In other Billboard chart action, it appears rapper Drake is on the verge of breaking a record set by the Beatles 51 years ago with the Fab Four placed 14 songs simultaniously on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. With his surprise album If You're Reading This It's Too Late, which debut at No. 1 for the week of Feb. 28, Drake has charted 14 songs simultaneously on the chart, equaling the 14 titles that the Beatles placed on the Hot 100 dated April 11, 1964. - Billboard, 2/27/15...... In other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney will be headlining the 2015 Firefly Music Festival in its fourth consecutive year at Dover, Del.'s International Speedway on June 18-21. General Admission passes go on sale March 2 via Firefly's official site, fireflyfestival.com. Meanwhile, Sir Paul's childhood home in Liverpool has sold for £150,000 at auction in Liverpool. Paul moved to the three-bedroom terraced house on Western Avenue with his parents at age four in 1947, and the family lived there for six years. The house was purchased for £50,000 more than its guide price by an anonymous bidder during an auction at the historic Cavern Club, which played host to some early Beatles gigs. "We are delighted to have sold such an iconic piece of The Beatles' and Liverpool's history," Andrew Brown, manager of Countrywide Property Auctions, said. Paul Beesley, a Beatles guide, says the house is important in Beatle lore because "it's where Paul spent his formative schoolboy years... He was exposed to music from an early age and his dad had a jazz band... Paul's first instrument was the trumpet." - NME, 2/27/15...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, a George Harrison memorial tree has been planted in a Los Angeles park to replace one that was killed by a beetle infestation in 2014. A yew pine honoring the late Beatles guitarist was planted on Feb. 25 in Griffith Park on what would have been Harrison's 72nd birthday. It was placed near the Griffith Observatory and replaces a Canary Island pine that was planted in 2004. A plaque near the tree site says it honors "a great humanitarian who touched the world as an artist, a musician and gardener." Harrison died in 2001. - AP, 2/26/15...... Yoko Ono, who recently celebrated her 82nd birthday by releasing two 10-inch vinyl records called "Antony & Yoko" and "Yoko Ono & John Zorn," has posted a letter on her website imaginepeace.com asking critics to "let me be free" and "please don't create another old person." "At my age I should be in a certain way. Please don't stop me being the way I am," Ono wrote. "I don't want to be old and sick like many others of my age. Please don't create another old person... Go to a classical concert, if you want to hear a "trained" voice. What I escaped from when I was very, very young. I created my own niche. If I tried to present you classic music it won't be what I created," she added. Ono's birthday also saw the release of a new book by Bob Gruen and Judy Denberg called See Hear Yoko. It includes black and white photos of the singer, as well as 25 years' worth of interviews. - NME, 2/24/15...... A UK court sentenced '70s glam-rock singer Gary Glitter to 16 years in prison on Feb. 27 after he was convicted of sexually abusing three young girls in the 1970s. The 70-year-old Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, showed no response after the verdict was handed down. He had been found guilty earlier in February of one count of attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13. Glitter was arrested in October 2012 under Operation Yewtree, the national investigation British police launched in the wake of a child abuse scandal surrounding the late BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile. Glitter is best known for the hit "Rock & Roll (Part 2)," but he fell into disgrace after being convicted on child abuse charges in Vietnam. - AP, 2/27/15...... In related news, an investigation of veteran English pop singer Cliff Richard relating to claims of sexual assault has "increased significantly in size," a British lawmaker said on Feb. 25. In Aug. 2014, police questioned the 74-year-old Richard and searched one of his homes after receiving what they called "an allegation of a sexual nature." Richard, a fixture on the British pop scene since the late 1950s, has not been arrested or charged. He recorded hit singles in the pre-Beatles era and has been popular ever since, receiving a knighthood in 1995. Richard issued a statement on Feb. 25 calling the allegations "absurd and untrue." "I have never, in my life, assaulted anyone and I remain confident that the truth will prevail," he said, adding that he had cooperated fully with police. - AP, 2/25/15...... Veteran country music singer Charley Pride will launch his first UK tour in three years on Apr. 29 at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall. Pride, one of the few African-American country musicians to experience massive-market commercial success in the country music industry and one of the few African-American singers to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, will also perform in London (5/2), Southend Cliffs (5/3), Birmingham (5/4) and Glasgow (5/6). - Noble PR, 2/25/15...... Classic Rock icons Whitesnake have announced they'll release their 12th studio album, The Purple Album, on May 19 via Fronteirs Music SRL. The Purple Album is a re-imagination of classic songs from frontman David Coverdale's time as the lead singer for Deep Purple's "Mark 3" and "Mark 4" studio albums. "It's a tribute. A homage. It's a huge thank you from me to Deep Purple for the opportunity I was given over 40 years ago," says Coverdale. "As I said to Richie [Blackmore], you guys set me on an incredible journey that continues today and I couldn't have asked for better teachers. The University of Deep Purple is an extraordinary, amazing school to learn from. We can't wait to play these songs in concert." Whitesnake will tour the US behind The Purple Album beginning on May 28 at the Quest Casino in Airway Heights, Wash. The will play 18 more American dates before wrapping on July 18 at the Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana. - Noble PR, 2/25/15...... Country musician and songwriter Bobby Emmons, who wrote hits for Waylon Jennings and George Strait and played on more than 100 chart hits as a session musician, died on Feb. 23 in a Nashville hospital, while being treated for an undisclosed illness. He was 72. The Mississippi-native was a mostly self-taught organ player and keyboardist who became a staple of the Memphis music scene and played on about 120 of chart hits between 1962 and 1972. Emmons' band's hit records included Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds," Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man," Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," Merrilee Rush's "Angel of the Morning," B.J. Thomas' "Hooked on a Feeling," Joe Tex's "I Gotcha," Bobby Womack's "Fly Me To The Moon," and many more. As a songwriter, he had a number of successful tunes to his credit as well, for acts including Waylon Jennings ("Luckenbach, Texas," "Women Do Know How to Carry On" and "Wurlitzer Prize") George Strait ("So Much Like My Dad"), Tanya Tucker ("Love Me Like You Used To") and B.J. Thomas ("Help Me Make It to My Rockin' Chair"). - Billboard, 2/27/15..... Actor Leonard Nimoy, best known for his role as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek franchise, died at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles on Feb. 27. He was 83. Mr. Nimoy was a heavy smoker earlier in his life, and his wife said his death was due to end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The star had been open about his condition, and spoke publicly about it in 2014. "Just can't walk distances. Love my life, family, friends and followers," he wrote on Twitter a week after announcing his diagnosis. Mr. Nimoy portrayed Mr. Spock for 40 years, reprising the role in 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture, 2009's Star Trek and 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness. Aside from his work as Spock, Nimoy sat in the director's chair, helming 3 Men And A Baby and Star Trek films like The Search For Spock and The Voyage Home. He was also an accomplished voice actor, and can be heard in two episodes of The Simpsons, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Transformers: The Movie, The Pagemaster, and dozens of other projects, including video games. More recently, he had a recurring role on the series, Fringe, as William Bell. Mr. Nimoy also released five albums via Dot Records, one of which borrowed from his days as Spock: Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space. Mr. Nimoy had been hospitalized a few days before his death, and many of his former Star Trek co-stars, including George Takei, sent public well wishes. He had become active on Twitter in recent years, and wrote his last message on Feb. 23: "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" He is survived by his wife, two children from his first marriage to actress Sandra Zober, his stepson and grandchildren. - The Huffington Post, 2/27/15.

Cable news channel CNN announced on Feb. 22 it had picked up domestic broadcast rights to the recent Glen Campbell documentary, Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me. CNN says it will premiere the film in June, with an encore in November. Directed by James Keach, I'll Be Me was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song for "I'm Not Gonna Miss You," which was performed during the Feb. 22 Oscars ceremony by Tim McGraw and won a Grammy earlier in February for best country song. "This partnership will guarantee that millions of people will have the opportunity to see our movie and understand just how important it is to both raise awareness -- and find an end -- to Alzheimer's disease," said I'll Be Me producer Trevor Albert. Campbell, 78, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's four years ago and recently admitted to a long-term care facility in Nashville, and now his wife Kim says his condition has declined. "He has lost most of his ability to communicate, but he can say short phrases like, 'I love you,'" Kim says. "He likes to strum on the guitar a bit, and he still prays -- He's got a heart of gratitude and a positive attitude... He's cheerful and content." - The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard, 2/22/15...... The heirs of '70s reggae legend Bob Marley have scored a victory in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in their lawsuit against merchandisers who they say are confusing consumers about who was endorsing Marley T-shirts. Marley's heirs are behind a company called Fifty-Six Hope Road Music, which controls Marley's likeness for licensing endeavors. In 2008, Fifty-Six sued A.V.E.L.A. and others for using Marley photographs in merchandise sold at Target, Walmart and other large retailers. The company was ordered to pay more than 750,000 in profits in 2011, and an additional $300,000 in damages for interfering with the official licensing of Marley merchandise as well as attorney's fees. - Billboard, 2/20/15...... Fleetwood Mac's On With the Show tour has topped the Billboard Hot Tours chart for the week of Feb. 11-17, with shows at three arenas in Michigan, Quebec and Connecticut bringing in $3.8 million in sales from the veteran rock band's 2015 winter trek. The tour will continue its North American schedule of more than 80 concerts through April 14, wrapping in the Los Angeles market at the Forum in Inglewood. Fleetwood Mac will follow that with a two-night stand at London's O2 Arena on May 27. - Billboard, 2/20/15...... Brian Wilson has unveiled a new video for a song called "The Right Time" from his forthcoming LP No Pier Pressure. The clip was filmed in-studio during the track's recording and includes the song's lyrics. Cofounding BB member Al Jardine handles lead vocals, and the song also features a guitar contribution from early band member David Marks. The 13-track album is due for release on Apr. 7. - New Musical Express, 2/22/15...... Hall & Oates will premiere a their new live DVD Recorded Live from Dublin on Feb. 19 with a one-night-only theatrical screening on Feb. 19, with a DVD and Blu-ray release following on Mar. 31. The show was recorded at Dublin's Olympia Theatre, and Hall says there was "something about the room that was at that time very magical to me and very special." Hall & Oates have six spread-out live dates on their calendar for 2015, starting Feb. 26 in Bethlehem, Pa. Theater locations and other details for the screening of Recorded Live from Dublin can be found at FathomEvents.com. - Billboard, 2/18/15...... Longtime jazz musician Clark Terry has died at the age of 94. A native of St. Louis, Mr. Terry rose to fame as a sideman for two legends of swing/big band music, first performing with Count Basie between 1948-1951 and then Duke Ellington from 1951-1959, holding the distinction of being one of few who played in both bands. He made an even bigger impact in the 1960s as the first-ever African-American staff musician at NBC, where he spent 12 years as a featured horn player in NBC's The Tonight Show band. He released more than 80 albums as a bandleader and hundreds more as a sideman to jazz greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Clifford Brown, Milt Jackson and Quincy Jones. Mr. Terry, who was admitted into hospice care earlier in Febrary, also organized countless camps and clinics. "Teaching jazz allows me to play a part in making dreams come true for aspiring musicians," he posted on his website. - The Hollywood Reporter, 2/22/15.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on February 18th, 2015

Neil Young is teaming up with Supreme, a US clothing company known for skateboarding and street attire, to promote their clothing line. Young is featured in a new ad campaign for the 20-year-old streetwear company, who has partnered with the likes of Lou Reed and Shane McGowan in the past. Supreme are also selling a Neil Young T-shirt which is currently available on their website. - New Musical Express, 2/18/15......Alice Cooper has signed on to perform at the 2015 Rock in Rio festival in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, this September with a backing back that will include Aerosmith's Joe Perry and actor Johnny Depp. The group will perform under the name Hollywood Vampires, which takes its name from infamous group of heavy-drinking rock stars that Cooper formed in the 1970s alongside John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Bernie Taupin, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon and Micky Dolenz. Cooper has recently been serving as he opening act for veteran "hair band" Motley Crue, who are currently in the middle of an 18-month farewell tour that will mark the end of the group after 24 years. Cooper has offered to "kill them onstage" during their final gig on New Year's Eve with one of the infamous guillotines in his live shows. - NME, 2/15/15...... Van Morrison announced on Feb. 17 he'll releasing a new album, Duets: Re-Working the Catalogue, on Mar. 24 via RCA Records that sees the Celtic crooner returning to some of the songs he made famous with the help of classic and contemporary artists. Morrison will rework such tracks as "Wild Honey" with Joss Stone, "Some Peace of Mind" with Bobby Womack, "Higher Than the World" with George Benson, and "Irish Heartbeat" with Mark Knopfler. Recorded in Belfast and London over the past year, the 16-track album was produced by Morrison, Don Was and Bob Rock, and finds the rock icon "deliberately steering away from his more well-known classics." Duets's first single, a new version of 1990's "Real Real Gone" featuring Michael Bublé, is already available. Duets will be Morrison's follow-up to 2012's Born to Sing: Plan B. - Billboard, 2/17/15...... Paul McCartney gave a Valentine's Day present to fans in New York City on Feb. 14 when he performed a semi-private show in an Irving Plaza hall holding barely more than a thousand people for a $40 admission fee. Paul played a mix of Beatles and Wings favorites, including "Matchbox," "Eight Days a Week," "All My Loving," "I've Just Seen a Face," and "Jet," as well as a recent composition, the lovely minor-key ballad "My Valentine." The following day, Macca participated in an all-star afterparty jam for the 40th anniversary celebration of NBC's Saturday Night Live with such stars as Taylor Swift, Prince, Bill Murray, Martin Short and Dan Aykroyd, among others. The set notably included Swift's "Shake It Off" and the Beatles'"I Saw Her Standing There." The massive three and a half hour event included more than 100 guests, and became the most tweeted TV show in history. - The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard, 2/15/15...... In other Beatles-related news, it was announced on Feb. 16 that the historic Abbey Road Studios in northwest London are set for a multi-million pound renovation, in order to bring in more pop stars and also help with the creation of film scores. The studios will boast brand new, state-of-the-art equipment including a Dolby Atmos system, a surround sound system set to be used in the making of film soundtracks. The work is scheduled to be completed in 2016. - NME, 2/16/15...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, a new photo exhibit by Pattie Boyd, the former wife of George Harrison and Eric Clapton, went on display at the San Francisco Art Exchange on Feb. 17. Boyd, 69, took many photos of some of the era's biggest rock stars including Harrison, Clapton, and the Beatles during their 1968 visit to India. "I feel very lucky that I was part of that whole scene in the '60s and '70s," Boyd says. "I love ooking at the photographs because everyone was young, and they were so gorgeous to look at." Boyd was married to Harrison from 1966 to 1977 and Clapton from 1979 to 1989. The photos will remain on exhibit until Mar. 15. - CNN, 2/12/15...... Jimmy Page was honored with a Rock'N'Soul award during the New Musical Express Awards ceremony at London's O2 Academy Brixton on Feb. 17. Page was on hand to accept the award handed out by NME Best New Band honoree Royal Blood and give an acceptance speech. "Thanks so much for this award, NME. It's a real honour to get it, [but] as far as whatever I've managed to do in music, I've learned from records and my heroes. I'm only just passing on the baton. I got the music and passed it on. There it is, for everyone," the guitarist said. Page recently oversaw a remastered deluxe reissue of Led Zeppelin's 1975 double LP, Physical Graffiti. - NME, 2/18/15...... In other award show news, late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia will be among the class of 2015 inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June, it was announced on Feb. 18. The SHOF's 46th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner will take place at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. - AP/Billboard, 2/18/15...... '60s teen singer/songwriter Lesley Gore, known for such epic songs of teen angst including "It's My Party," "Judy's Turn to Cry" and "You Don't Own Me," died of lung cancer on Feb. 16 at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. She was 68. Brooklyn-born and New Jersey-raised, Gore was discovered by Quincy Jones as a teenager and signed to Mercury Records. Her other hits include "She's A Fool," "That's the Way Boys Are" and "Maybe I Know, and she co-wrote with her brother, Michael, the Academy Award-nominated "Out Here On My Own" from the film Fame. Gore also played Catwoman's sidekick in the cult '60s TV comedy Batman. She officially came out to the public when she hosted several episodes of the PBS series, In The Life, which dealt with gay and lesbian issues. During the 2012 presidential campaign, she turned "You Don't Own Me" into an online video public service announcement demanding reproductive rights, and had been working on a stage version of her life when she died. - AP, 2/16/15...... Radio, TV and voiceover performer Gary Owens, best known as the announcer on NBC's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973, died on Feb. 12 at his home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was 80. Mr. Owens, who had been diabetic since the age of 8, also lent his voice to more than 3,000 cartoons, providing the voice of cartoon character Space Ghost as well as Blue Falcon, Roger Ramjet, Powdered Toast Man and even Batman. Mr. Owens' possessed a baritone voice with impeccable nuanced timing, and he was equally adept at comedy or deadpan delivery. He was also the announcer on Sesame Street since its inception in 1969, and was one of the original contributors to PBS series The Electric Company. - Variety, 2/13/15.

Bob Dylan announced a 19-city US trek on Feb. 12 that begins on Apr. 10 in Atlantic City, N.J., and hitting other mid-sized markets including Baltimore (4/11), Richmond, Va. (4/12), Savannah, Ga. (4/14), Montgomery, Ala. (4/15), North Charlston, S.C. (4/17) and St. Augustine, Fla. (4/18). Dylan will wrap the tour in San Antonio, Tex., on May 7. Dylan's 36th studio album, Shadows in the Night, has moved 50,000 units in its first week of release, giving it the No. 1 spon on Billboard Top Rock Albums chart. Shadows also scored a No. 7 position on the Hot 200 albums chart, some 50 years after he first reached the Hot 200 Top 10 with Bringing It All Back Home on May 29, 1965. Meanwhile, ELO's 1976 hit "Evil Woman" benefited from Jeff Lynne's performance of the song on the Grammy Awards show on Feb. 8. The song soared on the Rock Digital Songs chart by 958 percent to 6,000 sold. The other track that the Jeff Lynne-led band performed, "Mr. Blue Sky" (from 1978), surged by 822 percent to 5,000. - Billboard, 2/12/15...... Jimmy Buffett has added a handful of summer dates to his 2015 Workin' 'n Playin' tour, which gets underway on Apr. 1 in Key West, Fla. Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band will play St. Louis, Bristol, Va., Cincinnati, and Chicago during June, before wrapping in Camden, N.J., on Aug. 20. Other dates include West Palm Beach, Fla., Orlando, Fla., Tampa, Fla., New Orleans and Houston, Tex. - Billboard, 2/13/15...... Neil Diamond will kick off a 63-date North American tour on Feb. 27 in Allentown, Pa., and is promising fans can expect to be treated to many of his biggest hits along with selections from his latest album, Melody Road. "There's always a lot of songs in a show people know," Diamond says. "I can't leave them out, so the shows get bigger and bigger. This show will probably have more songs in it than any show I've ever done because I don't want to take out 'I Am I Said' or 'Sweet Caroline' or 'Holly Holy.' And there are 15 or 20 like those, and I also want to make sure I do a fair share of the new songs and keep the audience involved in every way. It's going to have a lot of songs, and it's gonna be a big show." The 74-year-old singer added that he's also "anxious" to share newer songs from his last two Rick Rubin-produced LPs because they "work very well." Diamond will be on the road through May 31. - Billboard, 2/13/15...... '70s disco icon Giorgio Moroder will support current pop sensation Kylie Minogue on her 5-date Australian arena tour, which begins Mar. 14 at Perth Arena and will run through Mar. 21 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Moroder, who has produced '70s stars including Donna Summer, David Bowie, Blondie and Freddie Mercury, will play a DJ set at each Kylie show on the tour. - Billboard, 2/13/15...... Former Genesis member Mike Rutherford has just released a memoir, The Living Years: The First Genesis Memoir, in the US after becoming a best-seller in his native Britain in 2014. The Living Years is dominated by Rutherford's life with Genesis, and he credits the book with helping to bring the five key members of the group together for group interview segments seen in the documentary Sum of the Parts that aired on Showtime (and the BBC) during October and was released on DVD in January. Rutherford says there's "nothing planned" for a Genesis reunion. "We've done an awful lot recently. But it's been nice, and I do treasure the fact that we're still sort of friends. That's good." Instead, his main focus now is his spinoff band Mike + The Mechanics, which he reactivated in 2010 with vocalists Tom Howard and Andrew Roachford and recorded a new album, The Road, that came out in 2011. Rutherford is bringing the group across the pond for its first North American tour since 1989, starting February 26-27 in Alexandria, Va., followed by a European trek during April and May. - Billboard, 2/12/15...... Paul McCartney's new collaboration with Kanye West and Rihanna, "FourFiveSeconds," has just topped Billboard's Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, giving the former Beatle a new chart record: he now has the longest span between No. 1 songs in the history of that particular Billboard chart. McCartney first topped the chart in 1983 with "The Girl Is Mine," his duet with Michael Jackson, and now "FourFiveSeconds" gives him a 32-year span on the chart. The record was previously held by Ray Charles, for "Let's Go Get Stoned" in 1966 through 1990's "I'll Be Good To You." - Billboard, 2/12/15...... In other Beatles-related news, Yoko Ono will release two 10-inch vinyls on Feb. 18 to mark her 82nd birthday called "Antony & Yoko" and "Yoko Ono & John Zorn." On "Antony & Yoko," Ono and Antony Zorn perform a vocal duet over piano on song "I Love You Earth," while "Yoko Ono & John Zorn" features "intense and imaginative" improvisations on song "Blink" from Ono and John Zorn. Ono's birthday will also see the release of a new photo book by Bob Gruen and Judy Denberg called See Hear Yoko. It will include black and white photos of the singer, as well as 25 years' worth of interviews. Meanwhile, John Lennon's sister Julia Baird narrates a new documentary called Come Together which features a handful of the world's estimated 8,000 Beatles cover bands as they set out to pay homage to the most influential band of all time during the annual "International Beatleweek" in Liverpool. The film, which was released digitally on Feb. 3, takes place in a variety of Beatle-friendly haunts, including the famed Cavern Club, which launched the four mop-top Brits into international superstars. - New Musical Express/Billboard, 2/9/15...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Ringo Starr has announced that his 18th studio album, Postcards From Paradise, will drop on Mar. 30. The 11-track album will feature original tracks from Ringo, with such guest contributors as Joe Walsh, Benmont Tench, Dave Stewart, Ann Marie Simpson, Richard Marx, Amy Keys, Peter Frampton, Nathan East and Glen Ballard. Starr will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Oh., in its "Award For Musical Excellence" category, on Apr. 18. - NME, 2/11/15...... Def Leppard has announced a 48-date summer concert tour with Styx and Tesla that will launch June 23 in Tampa, Fla., and run through Oct. 4 in Bismarck, N.D. "We've toured with both of these bands before," band frontman Joe Elliott says. "Styx is a great bunch of guys and as American as mom's apple pie all the way through. And we had Tesla on board when we did the Hysteria tour back in '87; they were out for at least six or seven months with us before they went off to do their own thing. So it'll be a great time on stage and backstage, I think." - Billboard, 2/12/15...... Eddie Van Halen traveled to Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12 to donate some of his instruments to the National Museum of American History and discuss making music and his innovative guitar and amp designs, some of which he holds patents on. Van Halen says he considers his most important innovation with his guitar was "combining a Gibson (guitar) with a Fender." "There was no Fender or a Stratocaster-style guitar with a humbucker in it," he says. "After that, every company on the planet made a guitar like that." Van Halen recently announced they will release a 25-track live album, its first with founding singer David Lee Roth, and it's waiting for a release date. - AP, 2/11/15...... Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood says the Stones are planning a summer tour of North America in 2015. "Yeah, we had a meeting in New York with the boys and we're gonna come [to] North America again in the summer," Wood says. Wood offered no details about when those dates will take place or where else the band might play during the year, but in 2014 fellow guitarist Keith Richards mentioned the possibility of South America. The North American tour, if it happens, would be the Stones' first North American dates in decades without saxophonist Bobby Keys, who died Dec. 2 after skipping the Australia and New Zealand dates due to his declining health. Meanwhile, Wood is prepping for the May release of a diary he wrote in 1965 about the year he spent playing in his first band, the Birds, titled How Can It Be? A Rock & Roll Diary, via Britain's Genesis Publications. The book replicates his handwritten pages and adds some new commentary and sketches. - Billboard, 2/11/15...... On Feb. 11 AC/DC announced formal plans for a late summer North American tour, named the Rock or Bust Tour (after their 2014 album). The 13-date trek will kick off on Aug. 22 in Foxboro, Mass., and hit venues in East Rutherford, N.J. (8/26), Montreal (8/31), Ottawa (9/3), Detroit (9/8), Toronto (9/10), Chicago (9/15), Vancouver, B.C. (9/22) and San Francisco (9/25) before wrapping in Los Angeles on Sept. 28. The tour will follow a string of European dates which begins on May 5 and runs through late July. The dates will include replacement drummer Chris Slade, who performed with the band on Feb. 8 at the Grammys. AC/DC last toured the world 2008 through 2010 on the Black Ice World Tour. - Billboard, 2/11/15...... Barry Manilow kicked off what he promises will be his "last big tour" on Feb. 11 in Omaha, Neb. The crooner's final tour will include 27 dates before wrapping up June 17 in his hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y. "It doesn't mean I'm retiring or anything. I'll do shows and I'll promote albums if I make any more, but no more big tours," Manilow says. "That's it. It's too much packing. It's 40 years -- more than that, really -- of packing and waiting for room service. People think it's glamorous, but glamorous is the last word I would use for this job. You don't see anything; you see the inside of your hotel room, you see the inside of a car, you see the inside of your dressing room and then you're gone. I haven't gone sightseeing, ever. It's a job." Manilow's One Last Time! Tour also coincides with the 40th anniversary of "Mandy," his first No. 1 hit and a song that launched a string of 16 top 10 hits between 1974 and 1981. "I'm trying to do as many of the well-known songs as I can, hardly any album cuts this time," he adds. - Billboard, 2/11/15...... Chic featuring Nile Rodgers have announced a March 2015 UK tour in support of "I'll Be There," their first single in 23 years. "I'll Be There" will be released on Mar. 20, coinciding with a UK tour, while their new album will be out later in 2015 after it was announced that they had signed to Warner Bros Records. The group will play London (3/20), Leeds (3/22), Glasgow (3/23), Manchester (3/24), Birmingham (3/25) and London (6/21). - New Musical Express, 2/9/15...... On Feb. 10 a federal appeals court revived a copyright lawsuit against Frankie Valli and fellow Four Seasons band member Robert Gaudio over "Jersey Boys," the popular musical about the band. Donna Corbello, the widow of Four Seasons band member Thomas DeVito, sued Valli and Gaudio in 2011 for copyright infringement, claiming the musical was based in part on an unpublished autobiography that her late husband ghost-wrote. DeVito maintains she is entitled to share in the profits from the musical's success. Daniel Mayeda, an attorney for Valli and Gaudio, said he was disappointed in the ruling, but he had not yet decided whether he would appeal. Corbello is also suing DeVito. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that DeVito had transferred his copyright in the autobiography to Valli and Gaudio, and therefore had to account to Corbello for any profits he obtained from it. - AP, 2/10/15...... It has come to light that last November Donny Osmond personally called a lifelong fan who is dying of cancer and was in hospice care until her impending death. The woman, unable to walk and ravaged by brain cancer, was in her mid 50's and a loyal fan of Osmond's. The woman's husband, not knowing how to get in touch with Osmond, or knowing anyone in show business at all, sent a message through Osmond's website, basically a "Hail Mary" pass, explaining the situation and that there wasn't much time, and asked if there was some way for the busy entertainer to please get in touch with his wife and provide a few words of cheer. Four days later, the entertainer personally called the woman to ask how she was doing and thank her for her support all these years....... In other '70s teen heartthrob news, David Cassidy filed for bankruptcy protection on Feb. 11. Cassidy, 64, reportedly owes hundreds of thousands to creditors, with debts to companies such as Wells Fargo ($292,598), American Express ($21,952), and Citi ($17,150). Cassidy's financial troubles are in addition to his brushes with the law recently for drunk driving arrests. He was arrested for DUI for the third time in Jan. 2014, after having been previously arrested for drunk driving in Aug. 2013 and Nov. 2010. In Feb. 2014, Cassidy's wife Sue filed for divorce after 23 years of marriage. "This has been looming for some time," Sue told TMZ.com of the breakup. "I am truly heartbroken that our marriage is ending." - US Weekly, 2/12/15...... Joe Maudlin, the bassist for Buddy Holly and the Crickets, died on the morning of Feb. 7 in Nashville. He was 74. The Lubbock, Tex.-born Maudlin replaced Crickets bassist Larry Welborn in 1957, and over the next two years the band scored a string of Top 10 pop hits, including "That'll Be the Day," "Maybe Baby," "Oh Boy!," "Rave On" and "Heartbeat." Holly's dream came to an end on Feb. 3, 1959 when he, Richie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed in a light plane accident outside of Clear Lake, Iowa. Mauldin left the Crickets in 1965 and moved into sound engineering, doing much of his work at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. He also occasionally reunited with drummer Jerry Allison as the Crickets over the decades. The Crickets, including Mauldin, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 in a special committee vote that was meant to right the mistakes made in the past of inducting lead singers without their backing bands. He is also a member of the West Texas Walk of Fame in Lubbock and the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. 2/8/15...... Actress Lizabeth Scott, whose sultry looks and smoky voice led many a man astray in 1940s and '50s film noir, died of congestive heart failure on Jan. 31 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She was 92. Scott aspired to be a stage actress but was stereotyped as the femme fatale in the hard-boiled, film noir world of crime, tough talk and dark secrets. - L.A. Times, 2/2/15.

One night in the Seventies, music-biz executive Russ Regan had a strange dream. "I saw Japanese planes flying ot Pearl Harbor with 'Here Comes the Sun" playing," he says. "I thought, 'Wow.'" That vision paved the way for one of the oddest rock movies ever, All This and World War II, which paired covers of Beatles songs with footage from newsreels and movies: Tina Turner singing "Come Together" to images of Japanese soldiers, Rod Stewart doing "Get Back" to marching Nazi troops, the Bee Gees' "Golden Slumbers" to the bombing of London. "It was sometimes a bit of a reach," admits director Susan Winslow, "but there had to be some connection." The movie -- a flop when it was released in 1976 -- remains in the can, but its soundtrack (which also includes Fab Four remakes by Elton John, Keith Moon, Bryan Ferry and more) has just been reissued by Culture Factory USA. "The interpretations are compelling," says the label's Rory MacPherson. Regan, who's still proud of the project, knows it remains controversial: "At the time, I said, 'There might be a lot of people out there who don't understand what we're doing here,' and I was right. But there will never be anything like it. It's one of the first music videos." - Rolling Stone, 2/12/15.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on February 8th, 2015

Van Halen announced on Feb. 7 that they will release their first concert album with original vocalist David Lee Roth. The 25-track Tokyo Dome Live in Concert was recorded on June 21, 2013, in Japan and will drop as a 2-CD set, a 4-LP set on 180-gram vinyl, and digitally. Highlights include such hits as their Roy Orbison cover "(Oh) Pretty Woman," "Hot for Teacher," and the finale, "Jump," along with such rarities as "Ice Cream Man" and "Hear About It Later." In 1993, the band released their first live set, Right Here, Right Now with replacement singer Sammy Hagar. VH also announced they will release newly remastered editions of their 1978 eponymous debut album and 1984's 1984 on the same day as the live album. Re-releases of the Roth-era records Diver Down, Women and Children First, Van Halen II and Fair Warning will drop at a later date. The San Francisco-based band has sold over 80 million albums since forming in 1972. - Billboard, 2/7/15...... John Lennon's son Sean Lennon is being sued by the parents of actress Marisa Tomei who claim the roots from a tree in the yard of his Manhattan brownstone are destroying their Greenwich Village home on West 13th Street. Gary and Addie Tomei say they contacted Lennon a year ago about removing the 60-foot-high ailanthus tree, which they say has warped their foundation and compromised basement walls, but he is "always traveling" and never responded. Now the Tomeis have filed a $10 million lawsuit against the musician. Lennon purchased his home six years ago for $9.5 million. He has focused on remodeling the ritzy residence since then and has yet to respond to this lawsuit, though his lawyer says he was shocked when he learned just how much the Tomeis are looking for in damages. The ailanthus is an invasive tree species that was introduced to the United States through China and grows new roots constantly as it tries to steal from the supply of other plants. - The Daily Mail UK, 2/4/15...... After a two-week trial, a British jury on Feb. 5 convicted former glam rock singer Gary Glitter of a string of sex crimes against three young girls in the 1970s. Glitter, 70, was found guilty of one count of attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault, and one count of sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13. Det. Chief Insp. Michael Orchard said that Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, "has shown himself to be a habitual sexual predator who took advantage of the star status afforded to him by targeting young girls who trusted him and were in awe of his fame" and that Glitter's lack of remorse and defense that the victims were lying makes his crimes all the more indefensible." Glitter reportedly blew kisses to a public gallery full of reporters as he was remanded in custody to await sentencing on Feb. 27. The maximum sentence in Britain for unlawful sex with a minor is life imprisonment. Best known for Rock & Roll (Part 2)," a hit in both the U.S. and Britain, Glitter fell into disgrace after being convicted and imprisoned on child abuse charges in Vietnam. - AP, 2/5/15...... In related news, folk singer Roy Harper, a hugely influential musician during the '70s who Provided lead vocals on Pink Floyd's 1975 track "Have a Cigar," while Led Zeppelin named their 1970 track "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper" in his honor, was acquitted of two sex offenses in Worcester on Feb. 5. The jury deliberated for over 13 hours over two indecent assault charges one of assaulting a 16-year-old girl in 1980 as well as an 11-year-old in the mid-1970s. It failed to come to a majority verdict on two more accounts of indecent assault as well as two of indecency with a child, and one of sex with a child. Harper released his debut album, Sophisticated Beggar, in 1966, and released his 22nd album, Man and Myth, in September 2014. - New Musical Express, 2/6/15...... Journey guitarist Neal Schon filed a federal lawsuit against the city of San Francisco on Feb. 6, alleging the city overcharged him to use the Palace of Fine Arts for his lavish Dec. 2013 wedding to former reality TV star Michaele Salahi of Real Housewives of D.C. Schon's suit claims San Francisco officials overcharged him for use of the venue and an adjacent building after learning the wedding would be broadcast as a pay-per-view television show. Schon, who says he initially agreed to pay $58,000 to use the facilities and that city officials unfairly hiked the cost of the permit less than a week before the wedding, is seeking unspecified damages. City officials have yet to respond to the lawsuit. - AP, 2/6/15...... Bob Dylan delivered a bold and lenthy 40-minute speech at the annual MusiCares gala at the Los Angeles Convention center on Feb. 6, where he was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year. After being introduced by former president Jimmy Carter, who praised the musician for his words that "are more precise... and permanent than anything said by a president of the United States," Dylan admitted that "right from the start, my songs were divisive," and named several artists who supported him early in his career, including songwriter Doc Pomus, Sun Records label owner Sam Phillips, and country stars Buck Owens and Kris Kristofferson. He also expressed appreciation for former Columbia Records president John Hammond, who signed him to the label, and those artists who have covered his songs, including Peter, Paul & Mary, the Turtles, the Byrds, Sonny and Cher, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash and Joan Baez. Such artists as Beck, Jackson Browne, John Mellencamp, Tom Jones, Jack White, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Sheryl Crow performed some of Dylan's most famous songs, and the audience included Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Jeff Bridges, Ric Ocasek, Mickie Hart and John Densmore. The event raised a record-breaking $7 million for the MusiCares charity that assists musicians in need. Dylan released his latest album, the Frank Sinatra covers LP Shadows in the Night, on Feb. 3. - Billboard, 2/7/15...... In related news, former Arista Records president Clive Davis was among those honored at the 46th NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 6. Davis, who nurtured the careers of artists including Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Alicia Keys, received the Vanguard Award, which recognizes work that increases understanding of racial and social issues. Davis said he was proud to be honored for his efforts to help black artists reach their full potential. - Billboard, 2/7/15...... Guitarist Brian May of Queen is apparently considering running as an independent member of the British Parliament in the general election. His agent, Phil Symes, says the 67-year-old musician is "frustrated at a system that he sees as failing the electorate," and that he could run under his Common Decency project banner -- which aims "to re-establish common decency in our lives, work and Parliament." May has previously said CD aims to "get rid of the current government" and the MPs who were in Parliament for reasons other than "representing our interests." May, who has also been active in campaigning for animal rights including protesting the country's annual badger cull and the Tories' attempts to bring back fox hunting, is currently touring Europe with Queen. - New Musical Express, 2/4/15...... Heartland prog-rockers Kansas premiered their new documentary Miracles Out of Nowhere on Feb. 2 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The film traces Kansas's rise from a local band in Topeka to an unlikely deal with the late Don Kirshner's record company and international stardom with enduring hits such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind. The Charley Randazzo-directed documentary deals with the first six years and five albums in the group's history, and Kansas will release an accompanying Miracles Out of Nowhere DVD/CD on Mar. 24. - Billboard, 2/5/15...... During a listening playback for the remastered companion disc to the upcoming Led Zeppelin reissue Physical Graffiti, Jimmy Page hinted that he will return to live performing, saying he's "getting match fit" to perform again and that he's currently "warming up on the touchlines." "How it starts off is that you have to play guitar and get match fit, so currently I'm sort of in the process of doing that but I'm also in process of doing this [reissue series] too," Page said. "[Live shows] would more or less be closer to the end of the year rather than next month. But you know, I'm definitely warming up on the touchlines, let's put it that way," he added. The guitarist's latest comment follow reports in Sept. 2014 that Page expressed a desire to start a new group to play career-spanning tracks from his former band. Page also stated that he's not holding anything back" when clearing the vaults for the current reissue series, adding that he "still has a few surprises to come." The Physical Graffiti re-release, out Feb. 24, follows similar reissues in 2014 of the band's first three albums, as well as Led Zeppelin IV and Houses Of The Holy. - NME, 2/3/15...... The US premiere of Love & Mercy, the biography of Brian Wilson as founder of the Beach Boys and during his dark years under the care of Eugene Landy; a film on former Doors and Ramones manager Danny Fields; and a rarely seen film focused on Leon Russell's Oklahoma years in the early 1970s are among the selections this year at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival. The 2015 SXSW Festival is set for March 13-21 in Austin, Tex. - Billboard, 2/3/15...... In a recent interview with the California radio show Frame, Neil Young said their was no legitimate reason for music lovers to buy vinyl in 2015, and that vinyl is "nothing but a fashion statement" because "all new products on vinyl are actually CD masters." "A lot of people that buy vinyl today don't realise that they're listening to CD masters on vinyl and that's because the record companies have figured out that people want vinyl," said Young, who launched his own Pono digital music player earlier in the year. "And they're only making CD masters in digital, so all the new products that come out on vinyl are actually CDs on vinyl, which is really nothing but a fashion statement." In the US, the vinyl format saw a 49 per cent increase in 2014, with almost 8 million sales. In the UK, vinyl sales passed the one million mark in 2014 for the first time since 1997. Young's Pono offers high-quality audio and is capable of storing up to 2,000 high resolution songs. "(Pono) doesn't create an analog sound; it creates the best digital sound. It's capable of creating the best sounds that people can create in the digital realm in the recording studios," Young said. - NME, 2/3/15...... After former AC/DC drummer Chris Slade was spotted with the band during preparations for their upcoming appearance on the Grammy Awards, their are rumours that Slade may be rejoining the band, at least temporarily. Slade is rumoured to be standing in for estranged drummer Phil Rudd, who is at home in New Zealand awaiting trial on on charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis, for the band's performance at the annual awards ceremony on Feb. 8. Slade was also photographed alongside the rest of the band at a charity signing event on Feb. 6 in Los Angeles. Slade was a member of AC/DC between 1989-1994 and played on the album The Razor's Edge. He was replaced by returning drummer Phil Rudd. In January, AC/DC said they have yet to "resolve" whether Rudd is still a member of AC/DC, and suggested Rudd would not performing on the 2015 tour. On Feb. 5, Rudd's appearance in court in New Zealand to face his charges was delayed until April due to a change in lawyers. He was due to appear in the Tauranga District Court on Feb. 10. - NME, 2/7/15...... "Orphan," the first single from Toto's upcoming album Toto XIV, is available to view now on YouTube. Toto XIV will hit stores in North America on Mar. 24, and a day earlier in the UK. The album will be released on CD, with a Deluxe Edition available featuring a "Making Of" documentary on DVD, as well as a 2-LP vinyl set. - Noble PR, 2/6/15...... A UK paper is reporting that a local Santa Barbara, Calif., businessman has bid $40 million for Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch with the intent to transform it into a place where young victims of sexual abuse can seek help. "His goal is for the place to be used to help children in a serene setting recover from the trauma of sex abuse," a source said. The California property is up for sale by the hedge fund that currently owns it, and proposals for using the 2,700 acre property are also said to include a shrine to the late pop star, who died in 2009, and a state park. Jackson was previously accused of child sexual abuse charges but was acquitted in 2005. He lived in the sprawling property in Santa Barbara County, Calif., from 1988 until his death. In 2014, fresh allegations of child abuse were made against Jackson, five years after his death. - NME, 2/3/15...... The children and wife of late actor and comedian Robin Williams have gone to court in a fight over his estate. In papers filed in December in San Francisco Superior Court, Williams' wife, Susan, says some of the late actor's personal items were taken without her permission and asks the court to exclude the contents of the Tiburon home that she shared with Williams from the jewelry, memorabilia and other items Williams said the children should have. The children, Zachary, Zelda and Cody, counter that Susan Williams is "adding insult to a terrible injury" by trying to change the trust agreement and rob them of the late actor's clothing and other personal items. Williams died at his Tiburon home in August. The coroner ruled his death a suicide that resulted from asphyxia caused by hanging. - AP, 2/2/15...... R&B singer/songwriter Don Covay, who wrote songs popularized by Aretha Franklin ("Chain of Fools"), the Rolling Stones ("Mercy Mercy") and Little Richard, died in his sleep on the morning of Jan. 31 after a two-decade long battle with debilitating illness resulting from a massive stroke in 1992. His age was widely reported as 76 at his death, however, Eurweb.com cites Covay's publicist saying he was 78. Through the 1960s, Covay worked as a musician and songwriter, including a job with the famed Brill Building in New York that included credits on hits such as Solomon Burke's "I'm Hanging Up My Heart for You," Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Letter Full of Tears" and Wilson Pickett's first single on Atlantic "I'm Gonna Cry." In 2000, Covay released his final album, Adlib, which featured contributions by Paul Rodgers, Wilson Pickett and Paul Shaffer, among others. - Billboard, 2/3/15.

Paul McCartney and his recent collaborator Kayne West will be among the musical stars helping NBC's Saturday Night Live celebrate its 40th anniversary during a three-hour special set for Feb. 15. Other music acts, including Paul Simon, Justin Timberlake and Taylor Swift, will join past and present SNL "Not Ready for Prime-Time Players" and show hosts including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Eddie Murray and Christopher Walken on the program, which begins at 8:00 p.m. EST. McCartney and West's most recent collaboration, a Rhianna single called "FourFiveSeconds" from Rhianna's upcoming studio album, has entered the Billboard Hot 11 at No. 54 following its release on Jan. 24. - Billboard, 2/2/15...... In other Beatles-related news, a recently uncovered collection of rare and intimate images of the Fab Four and the Rolling Stones taken by the bands' former tour manager Bon Bonis, has been made available to purchase via eBay. Bonis, the groups' tour manager from 1964-1966, is making the photos available to purchase over the next two years in limited edition prints beginning at $175. Once an edition sells out, it will never be reprinted. They include what are said to be the only close up photos of the Beatles taken during their 1965 stadium performance in Minnesota, and a never-before-seen Stones recording session at Chess Records Studio in Chicago. - New Musial Express, 2/2/15...... Founding Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler was arrested after a drunken altercation at a bar in Death Valley National Park in California on Jan. 27. The British-born Butler, 65, was charged with misdemeanor assault, public intoxication and vandalism after, according to witnesses, a fight flared up which resulted in an individual "being struck," and a window broken. Butler was released after "detox and citation," according to a statement issued by local police. On Jan. 29, Butler tweeted that the brawl was an "unfortunate altercation" and thanked his fans for their support following the arrest. "Thx for your messages & support following the unfortunate altercation that occurred," he posted. Black Sabbath, which was formed by Butler, singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward in 1968, released its latest album 13 in 2013 and have said they intend to reunite for one more album, which is expected to be their last ever record. The current line up includes Osbourne, Iommi, and Butler. - Billboard, 1/29/15...... In other heavy metal news, Alice Cooper offered to theatrically chop off the heads of hard rockers Motley Crue during the final show of Motley Crue's 18-month farewell tour at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve 2015. "They finish up in the United States on New Year's, and that's their last gig," the 66-year-old Cooper said during an interview with an Australian classic rock station. "I told them, 'Why don't you let me kill you onstage? That finishes everything.' Four guillotines, floomp! Done!," added Cooper, who has been known to include guillotines in his live shows. - New Musial Express, 1/31/15...... Country star Tim McGraw will perform a tribute to Grammy winner and Oscar-nominee Glen Campbell during the 87th Oscars awards show on Feb. 22. McGraw will sing Campbell's "I'm Not Gonna Miss You," which is featured in the Campbell documentary I'll Be Me, a film about the pop/country superstar as he struggles with Alzheimer's. Since his diagnosis, Campbell has been the subject of a CMAs tribute by Keith Urban, Brad Paisley and Vince Gill and the Grammys, where Blake Shelton and The Band Perry performed his songs. "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" is nominated in the Best Original Song category, where it will compete against songs from The Lego Movie, Selma, Beyond the Lights and Begin Again. - Billboard, 1/29/15...... Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson will release his 11th solo album, No Pier Pressure, in April. The LP will be Wilson's first studio album of original material since 2008, and feature appearances by She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward), Kacey Musgraves, fun.'s Nate Ruess and Capital Cities' Sebu Simonian. The 13-track set will also boast contributions from many of Wilson's Beach Boys pals, including Al Jardine and David Marks, along with work by session players Jim Keltner, Don Was, Dean Parks and Kenny Aronoff. Wilson's latest projects include a George Gershwin covers album, a Disney covers album, and a remaster of the long-bootlegged tapes of the Beach Boys' unreleased masterpiece SMiLE. - Billboard, 1/29/15...... '70s songstress Melissa Manchester will release her first new album in a decade, You Gotta Love the Life, on Feb. 10. Al Jarreau, Dionne Warwick and Keb' Mo' are among the contributors to new LP, while Stevie Wonder contributes some of his famous harmonica work on the album's first single, "Your Love Is Where I Live." The "Midnight Blue" singer will be hitting the road on Feb. 15 for a quick eight-date tour behind the new set, and more shows are also in the works. - Billboard, 1/30/15...... Speaking of Stevie Wonder, the Motown icon will be the subject of an all-star Grammy tribute during Grammy week on Feb. 10 in Los Angeles. "Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life - An All-Star Grammy Salute" will feature Wonder salutes by such artists as The Band Perry, Usher and Chris Martin during the concert, which will be held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE. It will take place two days after the 57th annual Grammy Awards, and the show will air as a two-hour special on CBS on Feb. 16. - AP, 1/30/15...... Chic have announced they will release their first album in 23 years this June via a new record deal with Warner Bros. The first single from the album, the follow-up to 1992's Chic-Ism, will arrive on Mar. 20. Chic were founded in the mid-seventies by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards, who passed away in 1996, and the act shot to the top of the charts in 1979 with "La Freak." - Spin/NME, 2/2/15...... Rod McKuen, a Grammy-winning poet and songwriter sometimes known as the "King of Kitsch," died on Jan. 29 at rehabilitation center in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he had been treated for pneumonia. He was 81. The husky-voiced Mr. McKuen, whose music, verse and spoken-word recordings in the 1960s and '70s won him an Oscar nomination and made him one of the best-selling poets in history, was an astonishingly successful and prolific force in popular culture, turning out hundreds of songs and poems and records, including the Academy Award-nominated song "Jean" for the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Mr. McKuen's best-known songs, some written with the Belgian composer Jacques Brel, include "Birthday Boy," ''A Man Alone," ''If You Go Away" and "Seasons in the Sun," a chart-topper in 1974 for Terry Jacks. He was nominated for an Oscar for "Jean" and for "A Boy Named Charlie Brown," the title track for the beloved Peanuts movie. Mr. McKuen honed his hushed, throaty style after an early life as a rock singer which cracked his natural tenor, and his material was covered by such artists as Frank Sinatra, Dolly Parton, Madonna and Chet Baker. Mr. McKuen had been ill for several weeks and was unable to digest food, according to a family member. - AP, 1/29/15.