Posted by Administrator on Aug. 29th, 2015
AC/DC appears to be strangely involved in the infamous AshleyMadison.com hack, as it was revealed in a recent press conference that when employees of the dating-by-way-of-infidelity website logged into their computers July 12, they were greeted to a message from the hackers accompanied by AC/DC's 1990 song "Thunderstruck." The band itself had nothing to do with the hacks, which became national news after compromising the privacy of over 33 million accounts and allegedly leading to two suicides. Avid Life Media offered a $500,000 reward to anyone providing information leading to the prosecution of the hackers behind the invasion, known as the Impact Team. "Thunderstruck," from AC/DC's 1990 album The Razors Edge, is one of the Aussie rockers' most iconic songs. - Billboard, 8/25/15...... A cover of The Who's "My Generation" will be featured on the new Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp-fronted band Hollywood Vampires, which will release its new self-titled album on Sept. 11. Devised by Cooper and Depp as a way to cover songs by "their dead friends and heroes," Hollywood Vampires also features Slash, Brian Johnson, Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney and Perry Farrell and includes renditions of songs by John Lennon, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, T Rex and Small Faces. - Billboard, 8/26/15...... 
Posting on Facebook on Aug. 19, Neil Young said his digital music download service Pono is looking for a business leader, and he hopes to expand it as more funds come in. "Pono is a labor of love, not some 21st century fake shallow Xerox facsimile, with all of the essence taken away and replaced by a thin exterior with no passionate core," the iconic singer/songwriter posted. "Music matters and sound matters. Not just any music or any sound. It needs to have all of its resonance, all of its echo, all of its soul and you can't get it from downgraded super compressed files which are so ubiquitous today. It has not been easy but we are doing what we love to do: making music sound GREAT," he added. Pono currently just has one venture capitalist, according to Young, and his company is searching for the right person who will share its vision. Pono's original Kickstarter campaign brought in over $6.2 million in 2014. Young added that Warner Music Group, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and independent record labels are working with Pono, and he listed several of the company's partners, including SalesForce, Ayre Acoustics, PCH and Omniphone, that are "enabling us to deliver hi-res proven provenance Pono music to our customers." - Billboard, 8/23/15...... In an interview with the UK's Uncut magazine, Paul McCartney revealed that he feared for his own life after his former Beatles bandmate John Lennon was assassinated in 1980. Sir Paul said he was on "high alert" after Lennon was killed by deranged gunman Mark Chapman, and that his own home in rural south England was still largely unprotected and in a remote woodland location. McCartney said he was left terrified days after the killing when he spotted several armed men advancing on the property. "It was weird because in the days that followed it, I was sitting in the house. We had a little perimeter fence, mainly to keep foxes out, because we had some chickens. I'm aware of security threats, so I'm on high alert and I look out and I see someone with a f---ing gun, like a machine gun, an assault rifle - 'Wha?!' He's in full military gear, and then I see there's a whole patrol of them. I'm going, 'Holy shit, what's going on?'." Macca added he doesn't recall exactly what he did: "I think I rang the police. It turned out to be army manoeuvres. (They said) 'Oh, sorry. Are these your woods?' I'd put two and two together and made a thousand. God, I don't know how I lived through it. You think you'd just faint dead on the ground. But they were all there, coming through these woods." - New Musical Express, 8/24/15...... 
The wife of late Jimi Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell is warning fans of the guitar legend to beware of fake memorabilia currently flooding online auction sites. Dee Mitchell claims most of the Hendrix items on sale now, including equipment, clothes, books and instruments, have been falsely attributed as having come "From The Estate of Mitch Mitchell" or from herself, and according to her most of them are "tacky, cheap rubbish" and advises collectors to "ask for plenty of authentication, dates, and a full provenance with loads of information" before making a purchase. "Any provenance from me would be detailed and packed with information" she said, and that potential buyers should "take great care not to buy anything which seems a bit dodgy." Mitch Mitchell was the drummer in Hendrix's Jimi Hendrix Experience, playing on the Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland albums. - New Musical Express, 8/23/15...... The home of Kiss bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was served by a search warrent by Los Angeles police on Aug. 20, however neither Simmons nor anyone in his family is suspected in the case. Lt. John Jenal of the LAPD says the warrant was served at Simmons' Benedict Canyon home near Beverly Hills, and that the 65-year-old Simmons and his family were "extremely cooperative" and none of them are suspected of a crime. Police would give no further comment on the investigation. Simmons and his family were the subject of a reality TV series that aired for several years. - AP, 8/21/15...... An attempt by one of late blues legend B.B. King's daughters to obtain her dad's medical records from an executor who she alleges mishandled her father's finances and health before he died was denied by a probate court commisioner in Las Vegas on Aug. 21. An attorney for King's estate maintained that Patty King was fishing for evidence to support false claims the musician's longtime business manager and power-of-attorney, LaVerne Toney, looted his accounts and hastened his death on May 14 at age 89. Toney is now executor of the estate. An autopsy by the Clark County coroner found no evidence to prove allegations by Patty King and her sister, Karen Williams, that their father had been poisoned. King died of Alzheimer's disease, plus physical conditions including coronary disease, heart failure and the effects of Type 2 diabetes, the coroner found. B.B. King was survived by Patty King and 10 other adult children, and family members count 35 grandchildren. Several lent support to a failed court effort to block Toney's appointment June 25 as executor of the estate. Outside court, King's lawyer promised to keep fighting to get the medical records, and characterized the judge's ruling as a setback on a procedural issue. - AP, 8/21/15...... 
'70s funnyman and Grammy-winning musician Steve Martin, who teamed up with singer Edie Brickell for a studio album in 2013 called Love Has Come For You, has announed he and Brickell will release a second album, 
British pop singer Cliff Richard paid tribute to late singer and UK TV personality Cilla Black on Aug. 20 by singing at her funeral service in Liverpool at St. Mary's Church. Richard, a longtime friend of Black's, called her "a woman of commitment and dedication," adding: "She had the determination and above all she had the gift -- she was able to do what she set out to do." Richard opened the service by singing "Faithful One" from his 2004 album Something's Goin' On. Other guests included Tom Jones, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Christopher Biggins, Paul O'Grady and Carol Vorderman. Prior to her death, Black was sunbathing on the balcony at her villa in Estepona, Spain on Aug. 1 when she fell and hit her head. She was knocked unconscious by the fall and subsequently died of a stroke. She was 72. - NME, 8/20/15...... Actress Melody Patterson, best known as the character Wrangler Jane in the 1960's series F-Troop, died in a nursing home on Aug. 20 after multiple organ failure. She was 66. Patterson, a child actress, was only 16 when she debuted in F-Troop, and her character was said to be based on the 1953 Doris Day movie Calamity Jane. As Wrangler Jane, Patterson lustily pursued Captain Parmenter, played by Ken Berry. A running gag on the program had Jane kissing Parmenter, who avoided her affection by stating, "Jane, please, not in front of the men!" Patterson got the role by telling producers she would turn18 on her next birthday, but they did not find out her real age until after seven episodes had aired and she had already clicked with viewers .After the cancellation of F-Troop, Patterson appeared on radio, on stage, in films, and on TV, including several episodes of Hawaii Five-O, which featured her then husband James MacArthur. She also enjoyed appearing at F-Troop reunion gatherings, signing autographs for fans. - The Examiner, 8/21/15...... TV producer Bud Yorkin passed away Aug. 18 at age 89 in his L.A. home. Mr. Yorkin worked with Norman Lear on projects including All in the Family and Sanford and Son. - TV Guide, 8/31/15.
Meanwhile, Robinson's fellow Motown legend Stevie Wonder performed a surprise pop-up concert also on Aug. 17 at Central Park's SummerStage in New York to promote the extension of his Songs In the Key of Life Performance tour for an additional (and final) 21 U.S. dates. Wonder treated the crowd to a generous eight-song helping from the 
A GoFundMe.com campaign started by the satiric website Clickhole has raised over $1500 to send Bob Dylan "a nice bed." Clickhole, an offshoot of The Onion, noted that for 50 years Dylan "has given us everything while asking nothing in return" and "we think it's about time that America said 'thank you' for all his contributions to our ears and our hearts." "Hence, we have started this GoFundMe page with the goal of purchasing Bob a brand-new Sleep Number adjustable bed," the messages continues. "This includes a classic c2 Sleep Number mattress, a sturdy modular base, and an intuitive wireless remote for adjusting the bed's firmness." Having raised a total of $1,555, Clickhole claimed that they've shipped the bed to Dylan. "Bob's bed officially shipped over the weekend," a message posted to Facebook read. The campaign predictably attracted some outraged comments, with one user posting: "You idiots do know that Bob Dylan is worth millions, right? He can probably afford his own fricking bed. Donate your money to someone who actually needs it." - New Musical Express, 8/18/15...... Cable TV's CMT channel will premiere a new Johnny Cash documentary entitled Johnny Cash: American Rebel on Sept. 12 at 9:00 p.m. EDT. The release will combine never-before-seen interviews with Cash's friends and family, including Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristoffeson, Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock, archival concert footage, and personal mementos from his life. The documentary also marks the first time Cash's children John Carter Cash and Rosanne Cash, as well as June Carter's daughter Carlene Carter, appear together in a film about him. - Billboard, 8/18/15...... Elton John has spoken out against Venice, Italy mayor Luigi Brugnaro for removing books from schools that feature same-sex families. Brugnaro, who was elected in June, made headlines by banning 49 children's books that made reference to gay marriage from schools, claiming that they are "not suitable for pre-school children" and justified his action by saying that his predecessors had imposed their "personal view of society" onto school kids. Posting on Instagram, John described Brugnaro as "the extremely silly looking mayor of Venice." "Instead of encouraging a world based on inclusiveness, tolerance and love, [Brugnaro is] championing a future society that's divisive and fosters ignorance... beautiful Venice is indeed sinking, but not as fast as the boorishly bigoted Brugnaro," Elton said. - New Musical Express, 8/18/15...... Tom Jones blasted BBC execs in recent Facebook and Twitter posts for dropping him from the fifth season of the BBC's The Voice U.K. with no notice. "In good faith, as part of the team, I'd put the time in my schedule to be involved in Series 5, as I've done so for the last 4 years," Jones posted. "I've supported the show and the BBC since the beginning. I was told yesterday, with no consultation or conversation of any kind, that I would not be returning... This sub-standard behavior from the executives is very disappointing," he added. The BBC said Jones was never promised to keep his role as a coach and the decision on next season's lineup of coaches came only on Aug. 13, and Jones' team was informed before a press announcement to avoid a press leak. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/18/15...... 
Kiss bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was joined by the band Extreme and actor Johnny Depp for a fundraising concert on Aug. 16 for MendingKids.org, an organization that provides hundreds of free corrective surgeries each year for children around the world. Simmons, a supporter of MendingKids.org for several years, took the stage last and invited anyone with $1,000 to donate to the organization to come up and sing with the band. About 10 donors took him up on the offer, including his son and daughter, and they shared the stage with him, Depp and the rest of the band during the closing number, the Kiss hit "Rock and Roll All Nite." - AP, 8/17/15...... Brian Eno has been announced as the guest speaker for this year's John Peel Lecture, set for Sept. 27 during the Radio Academy's Radio Festival at the British Library in London. The annual event, named after influential Radio 1 DJ John Peel, sees a keynote speaker sharing their views on issues relating to the music industry and its wider culture. Eno said that Peel had "a profound effect on my musical life and indeed my becoming a musician at all... His career as a non-musician who altered the course of music has been an inspiration to me and forms the basis of this talk." - NME, 8/18/15...... Former Deep Purple frontman Glenn Hughes will kick off a 10-date solo tour of the U.K. on Oct. 17 in Southampton, also visiting cities including Norwich (10/19), Newcastle (10/20), Belfast (10/22), Glasgow (10/23), Holmfirth (10/25), Bilston (10/26), York (10/28) and Manchester (10/29) before wrapping at London's Electric Ballroom on Nov. 1. Hughes will be backed by drummer Pontus Engborg and ex-Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich and showcase highlights from his career including his stints in Deep Purple, Trapeze, Black Country Communion and California Breed, along with his solo material. - Noble PR, 8/19/15...... Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter announced on Aug. 12 that he has cancer, which was discovered during a recent liver surgery. The 90-year-old senior statesman and 39th president underwent surgery Aug. 3 to remove a mass in his liver. "A more complete public statement will be made when facts are known, possibly next week," said Carter, who was president from 1977-1980. He will undergo treatment at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta. The former president, a 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has maintained an active post-presidency through the Carter Center. He travels frequently and has generally maintained good health at his advanced age. - USA Today, 8/13/15...... Prolific music producer Bob Johnston, who helmed such iconic albums as Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde and Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison, died in Austin, Tex., on Aug. 14. He was 83. Mr. Johnston first got into production work for Kapp and Dot Records before working for Columbia. Mr. Johnston also produced the Dylan albums John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline, Self Portrait and New Morning and is the "Bob" that Dylan is talking to when he asks, "Is it rolling, Bob?" at the start of the song "To Be Alone With You," on Nashville Skyline. He also played an integral role in the creation of many of Johnny Cash's albums, and worked on Simon & Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Leonard Cohen's Songs of Love and Hate and more. More recently, as an independent producer, he worked with Willie Nelson on The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories? in the '90s. - Billboard, 8/15/15...... 
Longtime civil rights activist and former NAACP chairman Julian Bond died on Aug. 15 in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., after a brief illness. He was 75. Bond, who first came on the national scene in the 1960s as a student activist, brought the NAACP back to credibility during his longtime chairmanship. After serving in the Georgia House, Bond spent six terms in the Georgia Senate, from 1975 to 1986. In 1968, he led a delegation to the Democratic National Convention and became the first black American to be nominated for vice president, but he had to withdraw because he was too young. In 1998, he took over as chairman of the then-troubled NAACP, with 500,000 members, and served until 2010. He was also president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Montgomery, Ala., from its founding in 1971 to 1979 and was later on its board of directors. "(Julian) advocated not just for African Americans, but for every group, indeed every person subject to oppression and discrimination, because he recognized the common humanity in us all," said SPLC co-founder Morris Dees in a statement. - USA Today, 8/16/15...... Actress Yvonne Craig, best known as "Batgirl" in the classic '60s TV series Batman, passed away at her home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Aug. 17 of complications brought about from breast cancer that had metastasized to her liver. She was 78. Craig began her theatrical career as the youngest member of The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and toured for three years when she was accidentally discovered by John Ford's son Patrick and cast for the lead in the movie The Young Land. This led to many roles in film and television, including two Elvis Presley movies, It Happened at the World's Fair and Kissin' Cousins. However, she is probably best known for her role as Batgirl in the 1966 series Batman, or for her character Marta from the third season of Star Trek, in the episode "Whom Gods Destroy" where she played the well remembered insane green Orion Slave Girl who wanted to kill Captain Kirk. Her other TV credits include The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Six Million Dollar Man, Land of the Giants, Mod Squad, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Love American Style, Emergency and Courtship of Eddie's Father, among many others. She then embarked on a real estate career and with her sister Meridel went into the prepaid phone card business at its inception producing phone cards for charitable events. In 2000, she wrote a book of anecdotal memoirs, From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond, which covered some of her years in the ballet and her theatrical career. - YvonneCraig.com, 8/17/15.
A new Elvis Presley postage stamp was launched on Aug. 12 with the help of Presley's ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, and Postmaster General Megan Brennan in a dedication ceremony on the front lawn of Presley's Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn. Featuring a black-and-white image of the iconic rock 'n' roller, the "Elvis Presley Forever" stamp is part of the Postal Service's "Music Icons" series and shares the same name of a new Elvis 18-track CD compilation that is also being sold through the USPS. The following day, the stamp went on sale in Presley's hometown of Tupelo, Miss., with a dedication ceremony at Elvis' boyhood home. In other Elvis news, a West Tennessee woman who was his private nurse from 1972 until 1983 has released a book about her life while in Presley's employ. Letetia Henley Kirk, now 73, lived on the grounds of Graceland with her husband and two young daughters from 1972 to 1983 and often traveled with the star on tour. 
In a new interview with Classic Rock magazine, Pink Floyd singer/guitarist David Gilmour confirmed that he's "done" with Pink Floyd. "I'm done with it. I've had 48 years in Pink Floyd -- quite a few of those years at the beginning, with Roger (Waters)," Gilmour said. "And I certainly don't want to let the other five per cent color my view of what was a long and fantastic time together. But it has run its course, we are done -- and it would be fakery to go back and do it again." Gilmour, 69, will release a new solo LP, 
Deep Purple will release a pair of concert albums -- From The Setting Sun...(In Wacken) and ...To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo) -- on Sept. 18. The albums consist of material from the band's 2014 performances at the Wacken Festival in Germany and the Budokan in Japan, respectively. Both titles will be released on CD and DVD, with the Tokyo set also available on Blu-ray and the Wacken on Blu-ray 3D. Both releases feature the "Mk. VIII" edition of Deep Purple, which is the longest-lived lineup of the band (since 2002). Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover says the band has already had one recording session this year, during February and March, to come up with material for a follow-up to 2014's Now What?!, which was the group's first new album in eight years. After wrapping its summer tour, the band has more recording time planned for Feb. 2016. - Billboard, 8/12/15...... Billy Joel and his fourth wife, Alexis Joel, welcomed a baby girl into the world on the morning of Aug. 12, according to Joel's official site. Named Della Rose, the baby weighed in at 7 lbs., 6.5 oz., and is the stepsister of Alexa Jay Joel, Joel's daughter with model and ex-wife Christie Brinkley. In July, Joel broke the record for most solo performances at Madison Square Garden, an honor previously held by Elton John. - Billboard, 8/12/15...... Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates and his second wife, Amanda Aspinall, have filed papers in a Connecticut court to end their marriage. While the couple have no children together, Aspinall's two children from a previous relationship, March and Orson, lived with the couple at its Connecticut estate, and March even appeared on Hall's 2011 solo album, Laughing Down Crying. Hall was previously married to Bryna Lublin from 1969 to 1972, and he also enjoyed a relationship with songwriter Sara Allen for over 30 years before their split in 2001. - WENN.com, 8/13/15...... Patti Smith's latest memoir, Just Kids, will become a limited series on cable network Showtime, the punk poetess announced in a press release on Aug. 11. "A limited series on Showtime will allow us to explore the characters more deeply, enabling us to develop stories beyond the book and allow a measure of unorthodox presentation," Smith said. "The medium of a television limited series offers narrative freedom and a chance to expand upon the themes of the book." - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/11/15...... 
Former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty will join the hit NBC series The Voice in the upcoming season as an advisor to coach Adam Levine. Also on the new season, Selena Gomez will join coach Gwen Stefani, Missy Elliot will mentor for Pharrell, and Brad Paisley will advise Blake Shelton's singers. - Billboard, 8/10/15...... Aretha Franklin has announced she will be canceling her Aug. 14 show in Las Vegas due to exhaustion. The 73-year-old Queen of Soul said in a statement dated Aug. 11 that she has to reschedule the planned performance at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace after driving her bus from Detroit to the West Coast for concerts. "I thank all of my fans, friends and supporters who bought tickets. I hope to see you all soon," she said. - AP, 8/11/15...... Marvin Gaye III, the son of late soul great Marvin Gaye, is reportedly preparing to sue the producers of the Fox TV show Empire, claiming he had the idea for a similar-sounding series years ago. According to TMZ, Gaye III claims he registered a treatment for a show about a black family in the music business -- think Dynasty with a hint of Sopranos -- to the Writers Guild of America in 2010. Gaye III's show, titled Diamonds & Ballads, was said to have been shopped to various television executives, including ones with ties to Empire co-creator Lee Daniels, who said last year that he "wanted to make a black Dynasty." Empire recently won TV Program of the Year at the TCA Awards in Beverly Hills. - Billboard, 8/10/15...... The new Grateful Dead spinoff band Dead & Company has added a second show to its upcoming Halloween concert at Madison Square Garden. Due to strong demand, the band will play a second show on Nov. 1. The Grateful Dead wrapped its "Fare Thee Well" concerts in early July. Dead & Company is comprised of the Core 4 -- Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir -- along with longtime fan and collaborator John Mayer. - Billboard, 8/10/15...... Hollywood Vampires, a new band featuring Alice Cooper and actor Johnny Depp, has announced it will play two live dates in September. The band will perform twice in Los Angeles, at the Roxy on Sept. 16 and 17, and at the Rock In Rio festival in Brazil in September following the release of their 
Actress Melissa Gilbert of The Little House on the Prairie fame announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for a Michigan congressional seat on Aug. 10, saying "fresh voices" are needed to help improve the economy for people who have fallen behind. Gilbert, 51, moved to Michigan from California in 2013 after marrying actor Timothy Busfield, and will be seeking the nomination for the state's 8th congressional district, which stretches across three counties from the northern Detroit suburbs to the state capital of Lansing and has been in GOP hands for 15 years. First-term Republican Rep. Mike Bishop of Rochester won the seat in 2014 after then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers decided not to seek re-election. Gilbert, who has never held public office, campaigned for Michigan gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer and was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001-05 after playing Laura Ingalls on Little House in the 1970s and 1980s. A spokesman for Rep. Bishop said in a statement that Gilbert's "values are out of whack with the district." - AP, 8/11/15.
The Washington Post newspaper is reporting that Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler was in attendance at the much-ballyhooed Republican presidential debate in Cleveland, Oh., on Aug. 6, and went as a guest of controversial candidate, Donald Trump. The other members of Aerosmith accompanied Tyler at the debate, and the band was in Cleveland to play at the following day's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony in nearby Canton. Tyler's rep told People magazine: "Steven Tyler is a bipartisan advocate on issues that he is passionate about. Why wouldn't he support the Republican debates? Some of his closest allies in Washington, D.C. on copyright reform are Republican. He believes many things can be accomplished when you get along with everyone and work across party lines." Meanwhile, Aerosmith ended its 2015 summer "Blue Army Tour" at the first-ever Concert For Legends at the Pro Football HOF's Enshrinement Festival, the night before the shrine's class of 2015 was inducted." I consider every gig we play a special gig...," guitarist Joe Perry said. "But any time there's something like this, that raises it above, it's great. There's a first involved, and we're gonna get to meet some guys that I've looked up to and admired over the years. That's a pretty amazing thing." Perry added with "all the different projects going on on the side" (including Tyler's upcoming country-flavored album), that he doesn't think "there's gonna be room in there for any kind of, like, full-blown studio album," but "these days a lot of that doesn't matter; you can record in a hotel room, for chrissakes, and throw it online and there you go, there's some new material. That may be more likely for us than doing the whole big studio thing, so we'll see." - Billboard, 8/7/15...... In a new interview with Esquire magazine, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards says the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album is a "mishmash of rubbish." The guitarist, known for never betraying his thoughts on a subject, said that there's "not a lot of roots" in the Beatles' music and slammed the George Martin-produced recorded music landmark, which was released back in 1967. "I think they got carried away. Why not? If you're the Beatles in the '60s, you just get carried away -- you forget what it is you wanted to do. You're starting to do Sgt. Pepper. Some people think it's a genius album, but I think it's a mishmash of rubbish, kind of like [the Rolling Stones album] Satanic Majesties -- "Oh, if you can make a load of shit, so can we." Richards is currently promoting his first solo album in 23 years, 
The three surviving members of the '70s rock band the Faces -- Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Kenney Jones -- have announed they will play a one-off reunion concert for a charity gig in September. The trio will reunite to headline the Rock 'n' Horsepower event at Surrey's Hurtwood Park Polo Club. The annual event benefits Prostate Cancer UK and is organised by Stewart and Jones. It celebrates its third year in 2015. "The years of the Faces were some of the best of my life and I'm so proud to have been a part of the band," drummer Kenney Jones said in a statement. "I'm unbelievably excited to have the opportunity to get up on stage with Rod and Ronnie again." The Faces last reunited in 2010 with Simply Red's Mick Hucknall on lead vocals in place of Stewart and played a headline set at the Vintage at Goodwood Festival. That line-up of the band then went on tour in 2011. On Aug. 28, the band releases 
An announcement on ZZ Top's official website on Aug. 9 says frontman Billy Gibbons will release his first solo album on Concord Records in October. It also suggests the new LP will be a bilingual record with "Afro-Cuban flavor." As a teen, Gibbons took Latin percussion classes from Tito Puente, who was a friend of his bandleader father, Freddie Royal. In 2014 he was invited to Havana to perform at the Havana Jazz Festival and although he didn't wind up going, he says Cuban music inspired the new album, which was recorded in his Houston studio, and in Los Angeles, Austin and Spain. The album's fantasy Spanish title, Perfectamundo, is taken from a word popularized by Fonzie on the classic Happy Days TV show. But the album includes tracks sung in actual Spanish, and songs that are a mix of Cuban and other Latin styles with music Gibbons' fans would more likely expect. - Billboard, 8/9/15...... Appearing on a New Zealand TV show on Aug. 9, drummer Phil Rudd of AC/DC said that he intends to rejoin AC/DC for upcoming live shows and says he "has a lot of game left." "I've got a lot to think about now, I've grown up, but not grown old. I hope there's a difference. I still want to play the drums. I've got a lot of game left and I reckon I'm just starting to get cleared up. So I just want a chance to get back in with the boys and just carry on from there," Rudd said. Rudd added that he has "no idea what [replacement drummer Chris Slade is] doing up there. I've got nothing against Chris. He hasn't got a permanent job -- I hope. I'm the man." On July 9, Rudd was sentenced to eight months of home detention for possession of methamphetamine and marijuana and threats to kill. Rudd has not played live with AC/DC since his arrest but did record new album with them. He was replaced on the band's current world tour by Slade. - New Musical Express, 8/9/15...... The '60s pop band The Zombies, whose members include Rod Argent of the '70s group Argent, have announced plans to release a new album, Still Got That Hunger, on Oct. 9 via The End Record. It's the Zombies' first album in four years and just sixth overall in a career that stretches back to the 1960s. Meanwhile, the surviving members of the band to work on 1968 album Odessey & Oracle -- Argent, singer Colin Blunstone, bass player Chris White and drummer Hugh Grundyis -- are preparing to tour behind the record in a series of US dates this September and October. - NME, 8/8/15...... 
Former New York Giants NFL quarterback and sports broadcasting legend Frank Gifford died on Aug. 9 of natural causes at his home in Connecticut. He was 84. A college star at USC and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Mr. Gifford worked on ABC's 
Bruce Springsteen made yet another surprise appearance at a private gig at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, N.J., on Aug. 2, performing with his wife Patti Scialfa and her brother Michael Sciafa's band Timepiece. The Boss took over vocals on the Van Morrison hit "Brown Eyed Girl," as well as Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Born on the Bayou," and assisted on rhythm guitar on the classics "634-5789" and "You Really Got a Hold on Me." In early July, Springsteen also played the venue with the Pittsburgh band, Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers, for a two hour show, then on July 31, he made an appearance onstage with U2 for two songs -- "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and a cover of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" -- at U2's final show at New York's Madison Square Garden. "This man showed up... delivered," U2 singer Bono said, as the Garden erupted in cheers of "Bruuuce." Famous concertgoers that night included former president Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. On July 30, Paul Simon showed up to jam with U2 on his hit, "Mother and Child Reunion." - Billboard, 8/3/15...... On Aug. 1, former AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd pleaded not guilty to breaching the rules of his home detention sentence by drinking alcohol in a New Zealand court. The judge allowed Rudd, 61, to remain in home confinement on bail pending a November hearing on the possible breach. Rudd could face further sanctions, including jail time, if the judge determines he is in breach of his conditions. However, drinking alcohol would likely be considered on the lower end of potential breaches. Asked how he would be spending time on bail, he responded with a lopsided grin "Self-improvement," before his lawyer hustled him into a waiting car. Rudd's erratic behavior outside the courthouse has become a feature of his recent appearances. At one hearing he clowned around by jumping on the back of a security guard; at another he raised his middle fingers to journalists. Also he typically doesn't wear his dentures, sometimes making his soft-spoken answers difficult to understand. He was sentenced to eight months of home confinement on July 9 after pleading guilty to threatening to kill a former employee and possessing methamphetamine and marijuana. Rudd's lawyer says he is appealing Rudd's convictions and sentence, and the drummer's future with AC/DC remains unclear. - AP, 8/2/15...... Veteran film critic Peter Travers is reportedly fighting for his job at Rolling Stone magazine, as the magazine currently undergoes a tumultuous restructuring following a Nov. 2014 University of Virginia campus rape story that turned out to be bogus. Travers and Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner are said to have engaged in a heated shouting match on Travers' new status as a contract writer. "He was told that either way he has to be out of his office next week," one source said. One of America's most recognizable critics, Travers has contributed to the iconic music, politics and pop-culture magazine for over two decades, and his lively and blurb-friendly reviews have been a favorite of Hollywood studios since he joined the magazine in 1989. The magazine's managing editor, Will Dana, officially resigned from his role on July 29 after spending nearly 20 years at the magazine. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/30/15...... Yoko Ono was joined by U2's Bono on July 29 at Ellis Island in New York City for an unveiling of artwork depicting the New York borough Manhattan as a yellow submarine and her late husband John Lennon displaying a peace sign. Lennon appears on the artwork commissioned by Art for Amnesty founder Bill Shipsey to thank Ono on behalf of human rights group Amnesty International. The organization raised more than $5 million in royalties from covers of Lennon's post-Beatles music since 2004. The artwork is on display at Ellis Island's National Museum of Immigration. "This is a very happy moment for the family," Ono said. "John had to fight to get here. John had to fight to actually be accepted here," she added. Also at the event, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito declared July 29 as John Lennon Day. - AP, 7/30/15...... 
In other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney performed his recent collaborative track with Rihanna and Kanye West, "FourFiveSeconds," as he headlined Lollapalooza festival in Chicago on July 31. Paul wrote and recorded the song with West and Rihanna, releasing the single in January, and later performed the track at this year's Grammy Awards. McCartney also performed the Beatles' "Get Back"' with Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard at the Lollapalooza show. McCartney performed 31 songs in total at Lollapalooza. Meanwhile, five unreleased McCartney songs are set to be included on new reissues of his 1980s albums Tug of War and Pipes of Peace. 1982's Tug of War has been remixed, while extras on the bonus disc include the previously-unreleased songs "Something That Didn't Happen" and "Stop, You Don't Know Where She Came From," the B-sides "Rainclouds" and "I'll Give You A Ring," McCartney's solo version of "Ebony And Ivory" and six demos of album tracks from Tug Of War. Extras on 1983's Pipes of Peace include the previously unreleased songs "Christian Bop," "It's Not On" and "Simple As That," "Say Say Say"'s B-side "Ode To A Koala Bear," a new remix of "Say Say Say" by U2 producer Mark Stent and "Twice In A Lifetime," which was originally released on the album's 10th anniversary reissue, as well as demos of three album tracks. In still more Macca news, Paul claims that he and John Lennon forgot "dozens" of potential Beatles songs before getting the opportunity to record them in a new interview with London's Evening Standard paper."There was always the risk that we'd just forget it. If the next morning you couldn't remember it, it was gone," he said of his 1960s collaborations with Lennon. "In actual fact you had to write songs that were memorable, because you had to remember them or they were lost! There must have been dozens lost this way," he added. - NME, 8/1/15...... After bringing rock's "longest, strangest trip" officially to an end on July 5 in Chicago, the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Mickey Hart have announced they will be performing and contributing to the Lockn' Music Festival on Sept. 12. Weir will perform as the Featured Guest Of The Day appearing in unique artist collaborations on Sept. 12, while Hart will curate a "deep rhythm experience" at Lockn's forest stage during two consecutive one-of-a-kind late night presentations, tuning The Woods with sound, lights, and vibrations and performing a third evening on the main stage with EOTO. Lesh is also set to perform with legendary guitarist Carlos Santana during his headlining set. The festival will also feature a celebration of the late Joe Cocker and a concert commemorating 50 years of Jefferson Airplane. - Billboard, 7/30/15...... As the UK's Labour Party prepares for a leadership election to be held from Aug. 14-Sept. 10 following the resignation of predecessor Ed Miliband after this year's General Election, composer/producer Brian Eno voiced his support for Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn at a rally held in London on Aug. 3. Eno declared that Corbyn was his preferred candidate during a talk at the Camden Centre in north London, hosted by Corbyn. "I don't think electability really is the most important thing. What's important is that someone changes the conversation and moves us off this small-minded agenda," Eno said. Corbyn, the MP for Islington North since 1983, is leading the opinion polls in the Labour Party leadership race, ahead of rivals Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall. - NME, 8/4/15...... Details of the planned Mick Jagger/Martin Scorsese-produced new music industry dramatic series for HBO, Vinyl, have been announced. Vinyl is based on Jagger's initial idea of two friends who survive for four decades in the music industry. It has been turned into a show about struggling record company boss Richie Finestra, who sets out to revive his label by trying to find talent in New York's disco and punk scenes. The nine-part series will air on HBO in 2016. Finestra is played by Bobby Cannavale, best known for playing gangster Gyp Rosetti in Boardwalk Empire, the HBO series also produced by Scorsese. Jagger's son James Jagger plays Kip Stevens, singer in fictional punk band The Nasty Bits. Jagger and Scorsese previously collaborated on Shine a Light, a documentary of the Stones' 2006 concert at New York's Beacon Theater during their A Bigger Bang tour. - NME, 8/1/15...... 
Actress Valerie Harper was reportedly hospitalized on the evening of July 29 after being found unconscious backstage prior to a performance of her musical "Nice Work If You Can Get It" at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine. The 
Country singer Lynn Anderson, best known for her 1970 country/pop crossover smash