Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on Sept. 28th, 2015

A slightly modified version of the new Roger Waters documentary Roger Waters: The Wall will show in theaters worldwide for one night only on Sept. 29. The film, which debuted at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, profiles Waters' three-year "The Wall Live Tour" and documents the former Pink Floyd principal's opulent presentation of the band's 1979 rock opera. The tour played 219 shows before more than four million fans and grossed a record $458.6 million. The movie features live and behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Waters and some of the tour's players and principles. Roger Waters: The Wall will be screened in 2,000 theaters worldwide (500 in the U.S.) on Sept. 29, after premiering in New York the night before. - Billboard, 9/25/15...... Just over a week after two Russian comedians fooled Elton John into thinking he was speaking with a representative for Russian president Vladimir Putin on LGBTI rights during a phone call, the real Vladamir Putin called John and agreed to meet him to discuss the Rocket Man's concerns. "I know that those phone pranksters fooled you. Please don't be angry with them," Putin told Elton on Sept. 24, according to his spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "Putin also said that he understands how popular Elton John is, so if their schedules permit, he will be willing to meet him in the future and discuss any issues that he is concerned about," Peskov added. Earlier in September, John criticized Russia's law against gay "propaganda" and comments by Putin suggesting that gay people "prey" on children. - AP, 9/24/15...... Electric Light Orchestra mastermind Jeff Lynne announced on Sept. 24 that his band will release their next album, Alone In the Universe, on Nov. 13 under the moniker Jeff Lynne's ELO. "When I Was a Boy," the first single from the album, is now available for streaming, and Lynne explained how he came up with the new LP's title: "Music is such a powerful force in our lives. A good song can make people feel much less alone in this universe. And trying to create one of those songs somehow makes me feel less alone too. My whole life -- from being that kid with a dream in Birmingham right until today -- proves how much music can do." In Sept. 2014, ELO performed their first full concert performance in 28 years during BBC Radio 2's "Festival In A Day" in London's Hyde Park, with original ELO keyboard player Richard Tandy. Lynne disbanded ELO in 1986, then reactived the ELO name, with a different line-up, for the 2001 album Zoom. - New Musical Express, 9/24/15...... Two of rock's brashest frontmen -- Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger -- made guest appearances on different nights during pop sensation Taylor Swift's recent two-night stand at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. On Sept. 25, Tyler and Taylor jammed on Aerosmith's 1998 hit ballad "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," the Diane Warren-penned song which was featured in the film Armageddon, which also happens to star Steven Tyler's daughter Liv Tyler. The following evening, Swift delighted fans at her second sold-out show at the venue as Mick Jagger appeared onstage for a duet of the Stones 1965 classic "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." - Billboard, 9/27/15...... Electronic music pioneer and producer Brian Eno deliverd the fifth annual John Peel lecture at the Radio Academy's Radio Festival at the British Library in London on Sept. 27. 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 spoke at length on the subject of "the ecology of culture," and how culture plays an essential and important part in society. Previous speakers include The Who's Pete Townshend and Iggy Pop. - New Musical Express, 9/27/15...... Aretha Franklin shared the stage with Pope Francis in Philadelphia on Sept. 27 during the pope's first-ever tour of the U.S. in the fourth week of September. Franklin led an all-star lineup at the Festival of Families in Philly, one of the events organized by the Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families, which brought Francis to the City of Brotherly Love after visits in Washington and New York. Hosted by actor Mark Wahlberg, the festival blended song, prayer and testimonials on the joys and challenges of family life and also featured Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and the American rock band The Fray. Franklin, 73, performed "Amazing Grace" and "Nessun Dorma" from the opera "Turandot," and told reporters earlier that she planned to present Pope Francis with a gift: a box set of sermons by her father, civil rights activist and preacher C.L. Franklin. Meanwhile, it has been announced that Pope Francis will release a rock album. According to Rolling Stone, the album, titled Wake Up!, will drop on Nov. 27 and feature the Holy Father speaking on a variety of world issues in Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese, with contemporary music in the background. One song from the album, "Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!," is a mix of post-rock and electroncia. - AP/NME, 9/26/15...... Stevie Wonder headlined the third annual Life Is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas on Sept. 26, an event that features performances, world-class street art, and culinary demonstrations on 18 sprawling blocks in the city's downtown. Wonder's performance began at 10:45 p.m., and the Motown legend tore into the desert air with one classic cut after another, including "Higher Ground" and "Master Blaster (Jammin')." The 65-year-old legend never seemed to tire as he glided through more of his classic ballads and closed strong with "Superstitious," "Sir Duke" and "Living for the City." - Billboard, 9/26/15...... James Taylor participated in an intimate conversation and special performance for fans during a benefit appearance at the Grammy Museum in L.A. fon Sept. 25 for the museum's popular "An Evening With" series, which benefits its music education program. During a career-spanning interview, a humble Taylor touched on everything from his early career start and longtime friend/mentor, guitarist Danny Kortchmar, to drug addiction, the creative process and his own style of playing ("I don't play up the neck. It's not particularly fancy but it has served me quite well"). Then he and his longtime keyboardist Larry Goldings segued into a suite of classic tunes, including "Something in the Way She Moves," "Sweet Baby James," "Line Em Up," and, of course, "Fire and Rain." The appearance capped a whirlwind week of promotional appearances on TV behind his latest album, Before This World, his first studio LP in 13 years and his first Billboard No. 1 album. - Billboard, 9/26/15...... Ringo Starr, who will kick off his latest All-Starr Band tour in San Francisco on Oct. 1, is also promoting his latest book of photography, Photograph, which dropped on Sept. 21. Starr says the book also serves as "my autobiography," as he plainly puts it, as the memoir aspect comes via extended photo captions. "This is my autobiography," Ringo says, "This is phase 2. The first phase is on record. I have mentioned that several times over the years when people have asked me to do your autobiography, and I don't really want to do that. I want to do it this way. Pictures are great because they remind you of so much." Ringo added that he even "has enough photos for another book, but don't tell (his publisher) Nick (Roylance, from Genesis Publishing)." Also on tap for Ringo this autumn: an auction of some of his and wife Barbara Bach's collectibles at Julien's in Beverly Hills Dec. 3-5, and the Nov. 6 re-release of the Beatles' 1's collection with 50 value-added video clips. The Julien's auction will include a three-piece Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl drum kit that Ringo played many Beatles classics on 1963 and 1964 and lent to Paul McCartney in 1970 so Paul could record his first solo album. "And 10 years ago, (Paul) said, "Oh, I've got that kit of yours, I'll give you it back." I said, okay. That's how it happened. It wasn't like we planned, "Oh, I'll give you this one," Ringo said. - Billboard, 9/25/15...... Meanwhile, Paul McCartney will reissue deluxe ediitions of two of his 1980s albums, Tug of War and Pipes of Peace, on Oct. 2. McCartney says the albums were "cast like films, except using musicians instead of actors." Stevie Wonder featured on the Tug of War track "Ebony and Ivory," with McCartney recalling "I wanted Stevie... I was just reaching. It was just, you know, if you could have anyone. We had a good time. We were all out on Montserrat, and we had a good time." Macca also recounted how Michael Jackson guested on the Pipes of Peace track "Say Say Say": "He was interested in writing with me. He rang me. It was different. I didn't believe it was him. We had a joke about it, and he said he'd like to write with me. I said great, because I love his voice. He came over to England, and we just sat down. I thought, it's not easy to sit down with anyone you don't know and just write. There's got to be some chemistry there. but I thought, 'it is Michael, I'll just try. If it doesn't work, we'll just throw it away'. 'Say Say Say' ended up on Pipes of Peace. - Billboard, 9/24/15...... Queen guitarist Brian May will debut his short horror film One Night in Hell during Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights on Oct. 31. Visitors to the Hollywood park will watch the six-minute short at various spots around Universal Studios as they wait for entry to mazes inspired by The Walking Dead and This Is the End, among others. For May, it's a chance to share his passion for the Diableries cards, a French series from the 1860s to 1900 depicting a fantastical demonic world of skeletons." It's just kind of a life's work, a labor of love for me, because I've been collecting those cards for 40 years," May said. "Finally we were able to put the main series of 72 together and offer them to people in the 21st century in 3-D in stereoscopic realism, exactly the same as they would have seen them in the 1860s. So this is something quite deep with me." May added that "you'll probably see some Queen activity" in 2016: "I'm in Buenos Aires at the moment. We just headlined Rock In Rio 30 years after we originally did that to another 100,000 people who are kids, really. It's wonderful that our music still appeals to a new generation." - Billboard, 9/24/15...... Country music legend Kenny Rogers announced during an appearance on the Today show on Sept. 25 that he'll embark on a world tour in 2016 that will be his last. "I've done this long enough. There's a fine line between being driven and being selfish, and I think I crossed that line when I was younger," Rogers said. "I really want to be there with my kids and my wife. I don't see enough of them. And I have some things on my bucket list." Meanwhile, Rogers is gearing up for another North America holiday season trek. His "Once Again It's Christmas Tour," behind his new Christmas album Once Again It's Christmas, starts Nov. 12 at Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Details of the 2016 tour haven't been announced yet. Over the course of his career, Rogers has received three Grammys, 11 People's Choice Awards, 18 American Music Awards, eight Academy of Country Music awards and six CMA awards. - Billboard, 9/25/15...... In an interview with Piers Morgan for the UK TV show Live Stories, former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) claimed that he was once banned by the BBC after speaking out against sex offender Jimmy Savile. During the interview, Lydon described Savile as being "into all sorts of seediness," adding, "We all know about it but we're not allowed to talk about it. I know some rumours." Lydon claims he was banned by the BBC after a 1978 interview in which he was critical of Saville. "I'm very, very bitter that the likes of Savile and the rest of them were allowed to continue. I did my bit, I said what I had to. But they didn't air that," he said. Lydon and his post-Sex Pistols group, Public Image Ltd, released their 10th studio album, What The World Needs Now, on Sept. 4 and launched an eight-date tour of the UK in Bristol on Sept. 25. - New Musical Express, 9/24/15...... As the 1975 camp classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2015, TV's HBO channel celebrated the anniversary with a special midnight screening on Sept. 26. The freaky phenomenon, based on the stage musical of the same name, famously flopped in theaters before gaining a cult following and a second life as a midnight movie staple. HBO is also streaming the flick on its HBO GO and HBO NOW platforms. - Indiewire.com, 9/23/15...... Gladys Knight has released "Just a Little," the first single from her forthcoming LP, which is expected in 2016. Available on all digital platforms on Sept. 25, the upbeat track teams the seven-time Grammy Award winner with fellow Grammy winner and producer Symbolyc One, aka S1 (Kanye West, Beyoncé). "We just wanted to have fun," says Knight. "Most of the singles I've released prior to this were ballads. I wanted something we could dance to." - Billboard, 9/24/15...... A man disguised as late legendary soul singer Rick James is being sought by police after robbing a credit union in Indianapolis on Sept. 19. Witnesses said the suspect sported a wig that looked very much like James's signature long braids with beads, and an accomplice was dressed as the Youngblood Priest from 1970s blaxploitation classic Super Fly. The robbers have not yet been apprehended by police. - Billboard, 9/24/15...... Sony Classical Records has announced it will reissue every Star Wars soundtrack album on vinyl on Jan. 8, 2016. Star Wars: The Ultimate Vinyl Collection will feature the music from all six Star Wars movies, and recreate the artwork from the original soundtrack releases. The collection will also be released on CD format, coming with interviews with composer John Williams and actor Harrison Ford, as well as a DVD showing how the music is used in the film. Meanwhile, the latest Star Wars film, Star Wars: Episode VIII, has started shooting in Ireland. - New Musical Express, 9/26/15...... The South Florida home owned by former Partridge Family singer David Cassidy has sold for just over $2 million after a bankruptcy cour approved the sale on Sept. 25. Cassidy, 65, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case earlier in 2015. He bought the Fort Lauderdale home in 2001 for $1.1 million. The five-bedroom, six-bathroom house was appraised at $1.9 million. - AP, 9/25/15...... Veteran actor Burt Reynolds has finally paid off his spousal support bill more than 20 years after his divorce from former WKRP In Cincinnati cast member Loni Anderson. The Deliverance star split from Anderson in 1993 after a five-year marriage and was ordered to pay her $234,000 in spousal support as part of their divorce settlement. In July 2014, Reynolds was made to pay Anderson the outstanding balance of $154,500, which he had previously failed to hand over due to long-running financial problems. Anderson has now filed court papers to confirm Reynolds has settled the bill. - TMZ.com/WENN.com, 9/28/15.

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour is on track to score his second solo No. 1 album in the U.K. with his latest effort, Rattle That Lock. Gilmour's fourth solo set, Rattle That Lock is 12,000 units ahead of his nearest competition, Lana Del Rey's latest LP Honeymoon on the Official U.K. Charts Company's tally. Gilmour's previous solo albums include his self-titled 1978 debut LP, 1984's About Face, and 2006's On An Island, the latter of which No. 1 in the U.K. and No. 6 in the U.S. In 2014, Pink Floyd's swansong album, The Endless River, bowed in the top spot in the U.K. - Billboard, 9/23/15...... David Bowie has recorded original new music for the theme for an upcoming TV series in the U.K., The Last Panthers. The song, also titled "The Last Panthers," will provide theme music for the new Sky TV original series about the real-life Balkan gang of diamond thieves, being used in opening credits of each episode. "The piece of music he laid before us embodied every aspect of our characters and the series itself -- dark, brooding, beautiful and sentimental (in the best possible incarnation of this word)," said series director Johan Renck. "All along, the man inspired and intrigued me and as the process passed, I was overwhelmed with his generosity. I still can't fathom what actually happened," he added. The Last Panthers, starring Samantha Morton and John Hurt among others, will premiere this fall. "The Last Panthers" will be the Thin White Duke's first contribution of original music for film or television in 20 years, since he recorded "I'm Afraid Of Americans" for the 1995 infamously campy film Showgirls. - New Musical Express, 9/22/15...... The Bay City Rollers, the tartan-touting '70s pop phenomenon who scored chart-topping hits on both sides of the Atlantic, have announed they're reuniting as a three-piece group for a one-off concert in December. The reunited BCR will feature three of the group's classic five-man lineup -- Les McKeown, Alan Longmuir and Stuart Wood -- and are promising "a very special Christmas present to all the fans that have kept the faith with the band over the years" with a gig at Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom on Dec. 20. The trio have reportedly been working on a new single called "Boomerang," and is in talks with another original bandmate, Eric Faulkner, to rejoin the group sometime in the future. "You think we're doing it for money but we're doing it for the glory of Scotland and the glory of the tartan," McKeown said at a recent press conference. "(We're) taking the Scottish name all around the globe. That's what we're doing it for -- to see our fans again one more time," he added. Initially known as The Saxons, the BCR scored a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1976 with "Saturday Night," from its eponymous U.S. LP, and enjoyed No. 1's in the U.K. with "Bye Bye Baby" and "Give a Little Love" (both from 1975). In 2007, six members of the band launched a lawsuit against its American label, Arista Records, accusing them of failing to pay millions of dollars in royalties. That legal case remains unresolved. The group has sold an estimated 100 million albums worldwide throughout its career. - Billboard, 9/23/15...... Bruce Springsteen celebrated his 66th birthday on Sept. 23 one day early during a Jackson Browne concert at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, N.J., by jamming with Browne for over 12 minutes on renditions of the Eagles hit and Browne-co-penned "Take It Easy" and Browne's "Our Lady of the Well." Browne's concert capped off a two-night sold-out stand at the venue, and the singer/songwriter is touring behind his latest album, Standing in the Breach. In 2004, it was Springsteen who inducted Browne into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. - Billboard, 9/23/15...... Appearing on Stephen Colbert's new late night gabfest The Late Show on Sept. 21, Don Henley called out controversial Republican 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump, who also appeared on the show earlier, during one of his song performances. "You don't have to be right, Donald, all the time," Henley sang on "Too Much Pride," a track from his new album Cass County. "You can't go on with all these axes to grind. So why don't you lighten up and let it ride. Too much pride," he added. The Eagles co-founder went again, with the line: "Now listen Mr. Trump, empires rise, and empires fall, you stick around here long enough you'll see it all. Now it looks like it's gone nationwide, too much pride." Henley's first solo LP in 15 years, Cass County was recorded in Nashville and Dallas with country greats like Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton and Miranda Lambert -- but don't call it a country album. "It's pretty eclectic," Henley told Rolling Stone. "It's not all that consistent i terms of labels and genres. Some of it's neotraditional country. There's a couple of blues songs on there. There's some things that might be called Americana." The constants are Henley's voice and songwriting. "The record company prefers to call it a Don Henley record and refuses to put it in any particular category," he adds. "I think that's wise. People can decide for themselves." Cass County drops Sept. 25 via Capitol Records. - Billboard/Rolling Stone, 9/10/25...... Farm Aid cofounder Neil Young played a gloriously ferocious rock 'n' roll set that recalled his days with Crazy Horse during his appearance at the 30th anniversary Farm Aid show in Chicago on Sept. 19. Backed by The Promise of the Real, Young's sonic assault matched the fury of his lyrics, taking aim at corporate agriculture giants like Monsanto and the dominance of "factory farms." Young has been on the road all summer with the The Promise of the Real, led by Lukas Nelson, Young's fellow Farm Aid cofounder Willie Nelson's son. Young, Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and all the other 2015 Farm Aid participants jammed on a version of the classic "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" for the finale. - Billboard, 9/21/15...... The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced it will add a new honor to its annual induction awards gala in 2016. The Curtis Mayfield Award will recognize a promising singer/songwriter "whose work reflects the inspiration, spirit and soul" of the late R&B/soul pioneer, according to SHOF president/CEO Linda Moran. Mayfield, who was inducted into the SHOF in 2000, wrote more than 1,700 songs during the course of his career, and his catalog includes such iconic songs as "People Get Ready," "Keep on Pushing" and "Superfly." The Curtis Mayfield scholarship award coincides with the 60th anniversary of Mayfield's career in music. Earlier in 2015, plans for a multi-faceted Mayfield salute were announced which include a documentary, the repackaging of classic material and the release of a recently discovered cache of songs and memorabilia. "It's time to celebrate and re-evaluate Curtis' legacy," Mayfield's widow Altheida in a statement. "He was a genius who always stood on his own." - Billboard, 9/22/15...... Speaking of songwriting, the world's most popular English language song, "Happy Birthday to You," is now potentially free from copyright after a federal judge ruled on Sept. 22 that filmmakers challenging Warner/Chappell Music's hold on the song should be granted summary judgment. According to the opinion from U.S. District Judge George H. King, "Because Summy Co. never acquired the rights to the Happy Birthday lyrics, Defendants, as Summy Co.'s purported successors-in-interest, do not own a valid copyright in the Happy Birthday lyrics." The ruling means that Warner/Chappell will lose out on $2 million a year in reported revenue on the song. Unless the defendants are granted a request for an appeal, which is not guaranteed, or unless someone else comes forward with a valid claim of ownership to the song, filmmakers like director Jennifer Nelson -- who sued in 2013 over demands as much as six figures to license " will no longer have to pay to feature "Happy Birthday" in motion pictures and television shows."Happy Birthday to You" dates to late 19th century work by a schoolteacher named Patty Smith Hill and her sister Mildred Hill. - The Hollywood Reporter, 9/22/15...... Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler joined the country band The Cadillac Three onstage during a sold-out performance at the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 19. Tyler jammed with the band during their encore for a version of Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion." Tyler -- who is working on his country debut album for Dot Records -- told the audience after the performance that he was joining the band and that they would then be changing their name to "The Cadillac Four." - Billboard, 9/21/15...... A newly-surfaced video in which a Beatles-era John Lennon appears to mock disabled people at a Beatles gig during the 1960s has ignited a new controversy on Twitter and other social media. In the clip from the U.K. TV show It Was Alright, which aired on Sept.19, Lennon encourages the screaming crowd to "clap their hands and stomp their feet," while he speaks with a speech impediment and makes awkward clapping and stomping movements that one Twitter user describes as "distasteful learning disability impressions." In the U.K. paper The Independent, Lorainne Bellamy, a spokeswoman for the disability charity Mencap, who herself has a learning disability, acknowledged the footage was five decades old but said it was "shocking and painful to watch." "Times may have changed," she said, "But I always find it hard to believe how such famous people can have these horrible views about real people." It Was Alright documents many controversial moments from the era, and also features similar moments from the 1970s and 1980s. - New Musical Express, 9/22/15...... In other Beatles-related news, New York auction house Heritage Auctions has sold the first recording contract ever signed by the Fab Four for more than $90,000. The contract, from 1961, was for a recording of a rock and roll version of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," which was recorded in Hamburg, Germany, and released only in that country. But the single, and the contract, is notable because it led to the Beatles being discovered by manager Brian Epstein, who soon guided the band to international fame. The "My Bonnie" session was before Ringo Starr joined the Beatles. Drummer Pete Best signed the contract along with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Heritage Auctions did not identify the buyer, who paid $93,750. - Associated Press, 9/19/15...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, a cover of the Beatles song "And I Love Her" by late alternative rock icon Kurt Cobain will soon be released on vinyl. Cobain's take on "And I Love Her"' first appeared in Brett Morgen's Cobain documentary Montage of Heck earlier in 2015. The song will be featured on as-yet-untitled 7" vinyl LP that is being labelled as a Cobain "solo album" and will feature unheard music from the Nirvana frontman. The LP is due on Nov. 20, two weeks after a DVD of the Montage of Heck film is released. - NME, 9/22/15...... Citing a busy travel schedule, Aretha Franklin has announced she is postponing two upcoming concerts in Oklahoma, in Durant on Oct. 17 and Tulsa on Oct. 22. Franklin, who lives in Detroit, is notoriously afraid of flying and only travels by tour bus. She says she's not prepared to travel so far again after driving to the West Coast this summer. The 73-year-old R&B great, who is set to perform on Sept. 26 during Pope Francis's visit to the City of Brotherly Love, says she will reschedule the Oklahoma dates. - AP, 9/21/15...... Another famous R&B singer, Patti LaBelle, scolded an audience member during a Sept. 19 gig in Vancouver when she lost her cool after the man, who was among several people invited onstage for a rendition of the LaBelle hit "Lady Marmalade," began unbuttoning his shirt. "Don't you dare, not on my stage!" LaBelle demanded. "I am not Nicki Minaj or that little, uh, Miley [Cyrus]." The situation escalated when the audience member arched his back and showed her his backside. "Get off of my goddarn stage, bitch," the singer yelled as security removed the man from the stage. "And stay off. Put him out of the building. Put him out! How dare you!" During a 2007 show in Kansas City, LaBelle displayed an almost identical reaction to another audience member who was dancing a little too close. - TMZ.com/Billboard, 9/20/15...... A new Janis Joplin documentary, Janis: Little Girl Blue, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 18. The 107-minute film, directed by Amy J. Berg, profiles the legendary blues-rock icon who died in 1970 of a heroin overdose with a gentle hand, revealing a warm, fun-loving and endearing side of a talented artist who self-destructed at age 27. "(Janis) put women in rock on the map," Berg says. "She literally was the first female rock star and she did it in such a strong way and we're still reaping the benefits of that today." Berg is currently talking with domestic theatrical distributors about a deal, then it will be aired on PBS' American Masters series. - Billboard, 9/18/15...... Chicago Cubs baseball coach Joe Maddon has accused Aussie rockers AC/DC of "totally messing up" the state of the pitch at the team's Wrigley Field stadium after AC/DC played a concert there on Sept. 15. "Since the AC/DC concert, we've had a little bit of trouble," Coach Maddon told The Chicago Tribune. "I don't know if they were out there taking ground balls before the game, or if they had nine-inch heels or spikes. They totally messed up the infield, and it has nothing to do with the groundskeepers. I've seen a bad hop at third, and a bad hop at second. I didn't see one bad hop all year. We just got to get it ironed out." The sold-out gig at Wrigley Field also drew over 15 noise complaints from residents near the stadium, according to the newspaper. There was also significant noise from helicopters above the stadium shooting aerial shots for a live DVD. - NME, 9/23/15...... Speaking of baseball, Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra died of natural causes on Sept. 22 at his home in New Jersey, according to Dave Kaplan, the director of the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center. He was 90. Renowned as much for his unique way of turning a phrase as for his record 10 World Series championships with the New York Yankees, Mr. Berra was known for such beloved quotes as "When you come to a fork in the road, take it"; "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"; and, "It gets late early out here." Another, and perhaps the best-known, is "It ain't over 'til it's over." The truism doubled as the title of Lenny Kravitz's 1991 single, which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his highest-charting career hit. More recently, Mr. Berra was name-checked in Chris Brown's "New Flame" (featuring Usher and Rick Ross), which hit No. 6 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 27 on the Hot 100 in October 2014. The song's lyrics include a shout-out to the catcher, further entrenching his legend with a new generation. - ESPN.com/Billboard, 9/22/15...... Actor Jack Larson, best known as the sidekick of Clark Kent/Superman on the 1950s TV adventure series The Adventures of Superman, has died at age 87. Mr. Larson, who later produced several films written and/or directed by his longtime companion, the late Oscar nominee James Bridges, died on Sept. 20 at his home in Brentwood, Calif. Further details of his death were not immediately available. - The New York Times, 9/21/15.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on Sept. 18th, 2015

Keith Richards attended the premiere of his new documentary Under the Influence with its director Morgan Neville at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 17. Thrilling the sold-out house at the Princess of Wales Theatre with an onstage interview after the screening, Richards said that he "didn't even know that I was going to make a record at that time; we were just feeling our way through and I think Under The Influence grew organically along with the record [his new solo LP Crosseyed Heart].... I was still just feeling my way with my great friend [producer, drummer, co-writer] Steve Jordan and several other great friends." One of the most shocking moments in the film is when Jordan reveals that Richards told him he was thinking of retirement, but Richards later says that was "just a ploy." "I just wanted to get some action and I thought the only way I'm going to get some is to threaten to retire," he said. Three days earlier, Richards said in an iHeartRadio interview in New York that the Rolling Stones have "definite plans" to record next year after a tour of South America. - Billboard, 9/18/15...... Hollywood Vampires, the new Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp-fronted supergroup, played their first gig on Sept. 16 at The Roxy in Los Angeles. Featuring Cooper on vocals, Depp and Aerosmith's Joe Perry on guitar and Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum on bass and drums, the band was complemented by a rotating cast of musicians for various cover versions. The Who's touring drummer Zak Starkey appeared for a version of The Who's "I'm A Boy." Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler and Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello appeared for Jimi Hendrix's "Manic Depression," while Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell sang lead vocals on Nilsson's "Jump Into The Fire." Devised by Cooper and Depp as a way to cover songs by "their dead friends and heroes," Hollywood Vampires released their debut album on Sept. 11. - New Musical Express, 9/17/15...... The Who announced on Sept. 18 that it is postponing all the remaining shows of its Who Hits 50! anniversary tour after frontman Roger Daltrey was diagnosed with viral meningitis and ordered by his doctors to rest. "We are rescheduling all the shows for next spring 2016," guitarist Pete Townshend told Rolling Stone. "We apologize to all our fans who have supported us in the last 50 years. Once Roger is completely well we will come back stronger than ever and Roger and I will give you all a show to remember." The band previously announced it was postponing the first four dates of its 50th anniversary trek's second leg, citing an unspecified virus. The tour had originally been planned to kick off on Sept. 21 in San Diego. Daltrey also released a statement about the cancellation: "I am now on the mend and feeling a lot better, but I am going to need a considerable time to recover. The doctors tell me I will make a complete recovery, but that I should not do any touring this year." - Billboard, 9/18/15...... Meanwhile, veteran music producer and composer Quincy Jones was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital on Sept. 17 after complaining of shortness of breath. Jones' publicist, Arnold Robinson, said in a statement that the 82-year-old was hospitalized for observations out of caution after having breathing problems, but added that he's going to be OK. Jones' long and storied career has included collaborations with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles, and he has scored soundtracks for numerous films. - AP, 9/18/15...... "Love Song to the Earth," an all-star charity single featuring Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Fergie, Moby, Leona Lewis and 10 additional top pop acts, has debuted on Billboard's Pop Digital Songs chart for the week ending Sept. 26 at No. 36. Billed as "Paul McCartney & Various Artists," the song received 11,000 first-week downloads, according to Nielsen Music. Proceeds from the song's sales go toward the Friends of the Earth and the U.N. Foundation in their efforts to inspire further international action on issues related to global climate change. "Love Song to the Earth" will receive key exposure on Sept. 24 when several of the participants perform it at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. as part of the Rally for Moral Action on Climate Justice. - Billboard, 9/18/15...... The annual Farm Aid benefit concert, founded in 1985 by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp (later joined by Dave Matthews), will also be headlined this year by Imagine Dragons, Jack Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jamey Johnson and Mavis Staples. Willie Nelson's son Lukas Nelson and his band Promise of the Real, who have been backing Neil Young on his current tour, will also be featured. Set for Sept. 19 in Chicago at the FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, the 2015 Farm Aid marks the event's 30th anniversary, and it has become the music industry's longest-running concert for a cause. For the past three decades Nelson, Young, Mellencamp and Matthews have gathered an all-star roster of musicians for a high-profile show to benefit America's independent family farmers, and more than 400 artists have performed at Farm Aid since its founding. - Billboard, 9/18/15...... David Cassidy's waterfront home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has received a high bid of $2 million after the house was put up for sale when the former teen idol filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case earlier in 2015. Cassidy, 65, bought the five-bedroom, six-bathroom house in 2001 for $1.1 million, and it has been appraised at $1.9 million. The previous high bid for the 7,000-square-foot home was $1.8 million, however that offer was soon withdrawn. Cassidy's lawyer, Susan Lasky, says they were hoping to get more for the home to pay off creditors. A bankruptcy judge will be asked to approve the new offer. - AP, 9/18/15...... Soul great Otis Redding was honored with a memorial marker honoring his ties to Gray, Georgia, on Sept. 18. The 7 foot tall marker is designed like a vinyl record, with Redding on the jacket declaring Jones County, Ga., the "Home of Otis Redding." It is located at the corner of Highway 11 and Highway 129, in downtown Gray, GA near The Station. It also includes an interactive panel with Redding songs and photos and graphics depicting Redding's life and legacy as they relate to his hometown community. Redding was born in nearby Dawson, Ga., on Sept. 9, 1941. - Billboard, 9/17/15...... Elton John was the victim of a cruel prank played by a pair of Russian comedians on Sept. 15 when the two duped the rock legend into thinking he was speaking with a representative for Russian president Vladimir Putin on LGBTI rights. Comedian Vladimir Krasnov admitted to posing as Putin's press secretary and calling John about setting up a meeting with Putin after the Kremlin denied any knowledge of the conversation. It was later revealed the call was a hoax conducted by two famous Russian phone pranksters, Krasnov and Aleksei Stolyarov. Elton had met with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko the day before and expressed interest on speaking with Putin on such issues, as Russia is often criticized for its poor treatment of the LGBTI community. On Sept. 17, John posted a rebuttal to the incident on Instagram: "I love Russia and my offer to talk to President Putin about LGBT rights still stands," he wrote. "If this unfortunate incident has helped push this vital issue back into the spotlight, then I am happy to be pranked on this occasion." - Billboard, 9/17/15...... A wildly psychedelic painted 1965 Porsche 356C Cabriolet once owned by Janis Jopin will be put up for auction by RM Sotheby's in New York on Dec. 10. The car, which has been featured at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland for the past two decades, is being sold by the Joplin family and is expected to bring more than $400,000. Joplin bought the pearl white Porsche, which was given a meticulous restoration in the early 1990s, in September 1968 and got a friend to customize it with a psychedelic mural. She drove it regularly until she died of a drug overdose in 1970. - AP, 9/15/15...... The producer of a new Aretha Franklin documentary called Amazing Grace has agreed not to screen the film to the public or to film executives for the next 30 days after Franklin filed a request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the screening of the film at the Toronto Film Festival earler in September. Franklin argued that that the Amazing Grace producer had a contractual obligation to get her permission and that the film festival violated her right of publicity when he didn't. The 30-day stipulation happens as the two sides look to see if there's a settlement to be made. According to court documents in the case, Franklin's camp believes that Amazing Grace is going to net $2 million for the producers, and she is reportedly demanding $1 million for her consent. - The Hollywood Reporter, 9/15/15...... Bruce Springsteen will be among the headliners at the 2015 Stand Up For Heroes benefit concert, which is set for Nov. 10 at New York's Madison Square Garden. Now in its ninth year, Stand Up for Heroes is presented by the New York Comedy Festival and the Bob Woodruff Foundation and is designed to raise awareness and funds to support injured service members and their families. Tickets for the event went on sale on Sept. 16 at bobwoodrufffoundation.org and nycomedyfestival.com. Other celebrities participating this year include Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers and Ray Romano. - The Hollywood Reporter, 9/15/15...... Stevie Wonder has topped the UK album chart with his Definitive Collection following an appearance on US TV's The Late Late Show with James Corden in which he blasted some of his biggest hits during a "carpool karaoke" session on Sept. 14. The soul genius was in fine form as he played sight gags ("all English guys look alike"), and belted out a string of classics, including "Superstition," "Sir Duke," "Isn't She Lovely" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered." At one point, Wonder paused to serenade Cordon's wife with his famous love song, " Just Called To Say I Love You." The video has subsequently gone viral and, as a result, the 2002 Stevie Wonder compilation Definitive Collection has topped the UK iTunes chart. - New Musical Express, 9/15/15...... After Devo co-founder, singer and bassist Jerry Casale married his 26-year-old bride Krista Napp on Sept. 11 in a modest ceremony, the couple held a 9/11-themed wedding reception afterward that many have found distasteful. On Sept. 14, celebrity gossip site TMZ.com ran photos the couple's reception at Michael's Restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif., showing the newlyweds cutting their wedding cake that was shaped like the World Trade Center twin towers with their faces drawn on. Place settings featured an image of a box cutter with "Gerald & Krista" engraved on them, and guests actually got real box cutters as wedding favors, all of which provoked considerable criticism online. Casale, 67, now says that he "apologizes to anyone who was offended, adding that the 9/11 theme was all a surprise to him and his bride. He said now the media attention it's received has "ruined our wedding." Casale explained that they had gotten married on Sept. 11 because the Beverly Hills courthouse is only open on Fridays, and that was the last Friday available before their marriage application expired. "He thought it was some sort of transgressive sick humor, and the problem is, it's not funny," Casale said of his friend who he says planned it all. - Billboard, 9/14/15...... Blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa has been nominated for "Album Of The Year" for "Different Shades Of Blue" and "Film Of The Year" for "Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks" at the Classic Rock Roll Of Honour Awards 2015. The awards ceremony takes place on November 11th at London's Roundhouse venue. Bonamassa will tour in the UK this October, beginning with a show in Newcastle on Oct. 21. - Noble PR, 9/14/15...... Gary Richrath, a former guitarist for REO Speedwagon who also co-wrote the group's hit song "Take It on the Run," died Sept. 13 of undisclosed causes, according to a publicist for the band. He was 65. Richrath was a member of the band when it released its self-titled debut in 1971 and was with REO Speedwagon until 1989. He also co-wrote some of the band's songs, including "Take It on the Run," which became a Top 5 pop hit on the Billboard charts. Richrath last played with the band in 2013, when the band performed a benefit concert in Bloomington, Ill., to raise money for tornado victims. REO Speedwagon's string of successful albums include 1977's You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tune a Fish and 1980's Hi Infidelity, which sold 10 million copies in the United States. After leaving REO Speedwagon in 1989, Richrath occasionally collaborated and performed with area bands, and released a solo album, Only the Strong Survive, in 1992. "My longtime friend and collaborator Gary Richrath passed away earlier today. I feel so sad," REO Speedwagon's lead singer, Kevin Cronin, posted on the band's website and Facebook page on Sept. 13. "Gary was both a unique guitarist and songwriter, and the embodiment of the tough guy with a heart of gold. I learned most of what I know about being in a rock band from Gary Richrath. The entire REO Family mourns his death and shares in the grief of his family, friends, and fans. These words do not come close to expressing the depth of emotions I am feeling at this time," he added. Cronin also said that REO will be "dedicating every show we do for the foreseeable future, probably forever, to Gary." No cause of death has been revealed, but Cronin says Richrath's wife told him that he had abdominal surgery a few days before his death and was in the hospital at the time. Richrath, who had moved back to his native Illinois in recent years, is survived by his wife, Justine, two sons and a brother. A private memorial service will take place soon in Peoria, which Cronin says the band will attend. - AP, 9/14/15...... Bryn Merrick, a former bassist for seminal U.K. punk outfit The Damned, died on Sept. 12 after battling throat cancer. He was 56. Merrick played with The Damned from 1983-89, including on the mid-career albums Phantasmagoria (1985) and Anything (1986). - Billboard, 9/14/15.

The Who announced Sept. 8 that they are postponing the first four dates of their 50th anniversary tour as singer Roger Daltrey recovers from an "unspecified virus." Scheduled to kick off on Sept. 14 in San Diego, the "Who Hits 50!" tour also canceled shows for Sept. 16 in Anaheim, Calif.; Sept. 19 in Las Vegas; and Sept. 21 in Los Angeles. A Sept. 18 performance at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas has also been scrapped, and a rep for the band provided no other details about Daltrey's illness. The Who will resume its tour on Sept. 24 in Portland, Ore., and so far no make up dates for the postponed shows have been announced. - AP, 9/8/15...... Yoko Ono announced during a John Lennon Educational Tour Bus stop outside New York's City Hall on Sept. 12 that she will be commemorating what would have been the 75th anniversary of her late husband's birth on Oct. 9 by organizing the world's largest human peace sign. The event is set for Oct. 6 at New York's Central Park, and interested participants can sign-up on site by 12 noon EST, or in advance at eventbrite.com. An aerial photograph showing the human peace sign will take place at 12:30 p.m. EST. Ono says she hopes as many as 10,000 people will participate in the event, which is being sanctioned by the Guinness World Record organization. During the event, Ono's Imagine Peace organization will be accepting donations for the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a non-profit mobile facility that allows students to get audio and video recording experience. - Billboard, 9/12/15...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr is asking his old bandmate Paul McCartney, along with Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, to sort through their old pictures for an exhibition which will go on display at London's National Portrait Gallery. The gallery has just unveiled a new exhibition of private photos taken by Starr, and during a launch event there on Sept. 9 Ringo urged McCartney and the two widows to also "dig out (their) negatives." "The other boys had cameras too, so the next plan is I want to get the rest of my pictures, Paul's pictures, Yoko will have John's pictures, Olivia George's... it would make a great book. I'll be in a lot more photos. If I put it out there, they might respond," he said. Starr said he came across photos he didn't know he had when he "had a lot of stuff in storage and had to move everything." The following day Ringo told the BBC that he's been an avid photographer since the age of 19, and that he's a big fan of the "selfie." In conjunction with the exhibit, Ringo will be releasing a new book of the photos, Photograph, on Sept. 21. - New Musical Express, 9/9/15...... In related news, famed glam-rock photographer Mick Rock is planning the release of a deluxe, limited-edition $700 David Bowie photo book called The Rise of David Bowie, and a launch party for upcoming book at publisher Reule Golden's gallery in Los Angeles was held on Sept. 9 before some 600 interested Bowie fans. Rock, who also compiled a Bowie photo book entitled Moonage Daydream in 2002, said he didn't want to pursue another Bowie book without getting the artist involved, and when he approached Bowie with the idea he said yes. "I never presume with David -- David's David, he does what he wants.... Once he said yes, everything was signed on pretty quickly," Rock explained. "The big thing for me, and for David, was that the book had to have a load of previously unseen pictures." - Billboard, 9/11/15...... Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler previewed songs from his upcoming country music inspired LP at New York City's Melrose Ballroom on Sept. 10. Accompanied by his backing band Loving Mary, Tyler played new material like "Love Is Your Name" (his first appearance on the Hot 100 single chart since 2001) as well as country versions of several Aerosmith songs, including "Cryin'," "What It Takes" and "Pink." Earlier in 2015, Tyler announced his countrified solko project, telling Rolling Stone that "I grew up in the woods of New Hampshire... I have more country in me than people think." His new solo album is expected to be released in 2016. - Billboard, 9/13/15...... AC/DC is known for being Australia's premiere hard rock band, however its original lead singer, the late Bon Scott, was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland. Now the band's fans have launched a crowdfunding effort to raise more than £48,000 to erect a statue of Scott in Kirriemur some 35 years after his death. The original goal of £45,000 was passed on Sept. 4, two years after it began, and is now quickly approaching £50,000 as the Sept. 24 deadline nears. The campaign's website says any extra money outside of the original goal will go toward a memorial garden surrounding Scott's statue. Designed by John McKenna, the statue depicts Scott, who played the bagpipes in the AC/DC song "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)," in a sleeveless denim jacket and tight pants holding a set of bagpipes. The statue will be unveiled at DD8 Music's Bonfest 2016 in April. Meanwhile, AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson recently told The Morning Sun paper that the band's 17th album, 2014's Rock or Bust, could be their last. "Y'know, retirement is like anything. A good footballer, a good ice hockey player, they don't want to retire, but unfortunately, sometimes there's a time when you have to call it quits," Johnson said. "So it's an ongoing thing with us; we never say no, and we never say never.... we just play 100 per cent every night and give it everything we've got. If that's the secret of success, we'll pass it on." - Billboard/NME, 9/11/15...... In a new interview with London's The Daily Mirror, Keith Richards said that he wants his daughters -- Theodora, 30, and Alexandra, 28 -- to snort his creamated ashes after he passes away, just as he reportedly did with his own father's ashes. "I'll give them a straw," said Richards, who clarified the time he snorted his dad's ashes. "I opened my dad's ashes and some of them blew out over the table. What am I gonna do? Do I desecrate them with a dustbin and broom? So I wet my finger and I shoved a little bit of Dad up me hooter. The rest of them I put round an oak tree." Richards will release Crosseyed Heart, his first solo LP in 23 years, on Sept. 18. and a documentary of his life, Under the Influence, is now available on Netflix. Directed by Oscar winner Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom), Under the Influence charts the life and times of rock's original bad boy, looking back at his original jazz and blues inspirations as he plans his first solo album in 23 years. - New Musical Express/The Hollywood Reporter, 9/10/15...... Diana Ross gave a rare performance on Sept. 10 on the eve of the 40th Toronto International Film Festival. Ross deliverd a rare, knockout 30-minute concert at the event, which held at the Four Seasons in Yorkville and was emceed by comedian Martin Short. Subtitled "Cinema to Help the World," the event was held to raise money for the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which champions environmental causes and aims to combat climate change. - The Hollywood Reporter, 9/11/15...... Jimi Hendrix has earned his 46th Billboard Hot 200 charting album with his latest LP, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival, which debuted at No. 63 for the week ending Sept. 3. The live set moved 8,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music (nearly 7,000 were pure album sales). - Billboard, 9/10/15...... A running feud between Kiss vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has apparently escalated into a full blown Classic Rock war. The beef between the two singers began in March when Snider made some criticisms of Kiss on the SiriusXM satellite radio show, calling Kiss's current lineup with guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer replacing Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, respectively, as "insulting" and that he didn't understand how Kiss fans could accept this "Ace imitation." Stanley responded in a new episode of former pro wrestler Chris Jericho's "Talk is Jericho" podcast on Sept. 9, calling Snider "a wannabe" and his band "a bunch of buffoons." Then in an open letter to Stanley on Facebook later that day, Snider wrote: "For some reason you are oddly threatened by me," and said Stanley was just trying to divert attention away from the real issue he brought up before. Snider added that the "buffoon" comment seems like "a pretty ironic statement" coming from Stanley since the "argument could easily be made that Kiss is the 'king of the buffoons', so in an odd way you've paid Twisted Sister quite a compliment." Snider also challenged Stanley and Kiss to a battle of the bands, saying they should do it "old school," meaning "no costumes, no pyro, no bulls--- -- let's just get up there and rock... I will bury you, son." - Billboard, 9/10/15...... Deep Purple co-founder and current Blackmore's Night leader Ritchie Blackmore says his latest band will release its 10th studio album, All Our Yesterdays, on Sept. 18. Blackmore's wife Candice Night, who's also a member of Blackmore's Night, says the first single from the LP, "Will O' the Wisp," came from watching the animated feature Brave with the couple's two young children. "I didn't know about the Celtic folklore of the Will O' the Wisp until i saw the wisps that were appearing in the movie that basically led the character of Merida through the forest and through the stone circles to the witches cottage," she said. "It caused me to do more research into these little lighted beings that appear and disappear and change your life, change your fate through the woodlands. It was fascinating." Blackmore says he's is gearing up to take the band to Europe next June -- most likely England, Germany and Sweden. "I'm now 70, so I just felt like playing some rock 'n' roll for a few days," he says. "We're going to do four or five dates of just playing the old rock stuff, Purple stuff and Rainbow. I'm doing it for the fans, for nostalgia, and the singer I found is very exciting; he's a cross between Dio meets Freddie Mercury. So this will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I'm sure he'll become pretty famous because of his voice." - Billboard, 9/10/15...... The Grateful Dead will release its biggest box set yet, 30 Trips Around the Sun: The Definitive Live Story, on Sept. 18 via Rhino Records. Celebrating the band's 50th anniversary, the release comes as either an 80-disc collection (also available on flash drive) or a condensed four-CD set. Both contain material from 30 previously unreleased concerts over their entire career. The band has just released a song from the collection ahead of its release, a live version of "Uncle John's Band" performed in 1974 at Paris' at Parc des Expositions. The GD spinoff group Dead & Company will kick off a 10-date fall tour on Oct. 29 in Albany, NY. - Billboard, 9/10/15...... In an awkward, tense live TV interview on Sept. 11, former The Partridge Family singer David Cassidy made viewers squirm as he shouted at the interviewers, Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford of the British show This Morning, and demanded that they stop quizzing him about his bankruptcy filing, and accused them of trying to "rubbish" him. Asked how he was feeling at the start of the interview, Cassidy -- who has filed for bankruptcy and put his home up for sale -- turned his head away from the screen in disgust and said tersely, "Absolutely wonderful, thank you." When pressed to discuss his bankruptcy filing, Cassidy then launched into a bizarre rant about U.S. Presidential hopeful Donald Trump, saying, "You know there is someone in our country whose name is Trump, yeah? And he has declared bankruptcy four times. I just did it to reorganize because I'm in the middle of a divorce, but my life is pretty fantastic, thank you very much." The mood turned even more tense when Cassidy was asked about his "debts," as he shook his head in annoyance as he insisted he is not in financial peril. "When you declare bankruptcy in this country, it's something that you do in order to reorganize what you have, your assets etc. So I'm not going to discuss that... Are you just here to rubbish me? Is that the course of your interview?," he snapped. Cassidy's home is on the market for a reported $1.8 million, seven months after he filed for bankruptcy in February. His wife Sue filed for divorce last year after 23 years of marriage, and the troubled entertainer has also been involved in several DUI incidents in the US in recent years. - WENN.com, 9/11/15...... Guitarist Don Griffin, a former member of the post-Smokey Robinson R&B group The Miracles and who also performed with singer Anita Baker, died on Sept. 3 after being involved in a car accident. He was 60. Griffin, the brother of The Miracles lead singer Billy Griffin, played lead and rhythm guitar with The Miracles starting in 1974 and contributed to the group's double-platinum-selling album City of Angels and its No. 1 1976 smash single "Love Machine (Part 1)". After that group split, Don Griffin formed the dance band Madagascar, which was signed to Arista Records by Clive Davis and charted a single, "Baby Not Tonight," in 1981. Griffin then rejoined his brother Billy as the touring guitarist on his solo project and collaborated with him on the platinum single "Hold Me Tighter in the Rain." In 1986, he was recruited by Anita Baker to become her rhythm guitarist and recorded on her album Rapture. Most recently, he had formed a new funk band in Denver for a residency at a Las Vegas club this winter. - Billboad, 9/8/15...... Singer Dennis Greene, a former member of the '50s revival group Sha Na Na, passed away on Sept. 5 at age 66. Sha Na Na were one of the first rock nostalgia acts, and skyrocket to fame thanks to a standout peformance at the Woodstock festival in 1969. The group also appeared in the 1978 movie Grease and performed multiple songs, including "Tears on My Pillow" (with Greene on lead) and "Born to Hand Jive." Later, they starred in their own TV series from 1977 to 1981. After performing with Sha Na Na for 15 years, Greene left the group to pursue a career in law, eventually earning a degree from Yale and becoming a law professor. - Billboard, 9/10/15.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on Sept. 8th, 2015

Kiss member Gene Simmons says he's stepping up his computer security after he was blindsided by a police raid on Aug. 20 during an investigation to trace an offender who downloaded child porn using his wireless network. "We came back from hiking and there was a crack taskforce from the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles Police Department, and they asked for permission to come in and search our home, and we said, 'Sure, why not'," Simmons told News.com.au. "So they came in and searched all over the place, and then two or three hours later we all sat down. What happened was, we were off on tour about a year ago, and somehow our (Internet connection) was used by some very bad people to do porn of a certain kind -- the worst kind. So they checked the records, found out that I was on the east coast of America -- they deemed that from there you couldn't do that -- our kids were off in Canada, (my wife) Shannon was outside the country... They're (the police) on the trail, and we're actually helping the FBI and the cops track down the bad guy." Simmons went on to say he has no idea who could have accessed his home Internet, but he has now increased security so it cannot happen again. "They're (the police) not sure (who did it). Because you can be right outside of somebody's home... and if you have the (network) information you can actually do stuff right outside the home, like on the street," he said. "I have no idea (who did it), I'm certainly the last person to understand that stuff. But they have to be in the area, either inside the home or one of the people coming to clean -- we have people coming into the house all the time food deliveries, workmen -- or they were nearby... The FBI came and helped us put in a firewall, whatever the hell that is." - WENN.com, 9/4/15...... Aretha Franklin testified via speakerphone from Detroit during a trial in federal court in Denver to block the screening of Amazing Grace, a documentary a 1972 concert of hers, at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado without the Queen of Soul's written consent. Franklin says she objects to the screening of the film, which was scheduled to be shown at Telluride three times (with the first showing only a few hours before she testified) because of a technical mistake in the film. The film's director Sydney Pollack, who died in 2008, neglected to synchronize the sound and the music documentary ended up being a silent film. Hundreds of hours were fruitlessly spent trying to match the correct sound to the right piece of footage (with the choir director of the Watts church where the performance was recorded even being enlisted to read lips). Amazing Grace ended up languishing in the studio vaults for decades. "For him to show that film, for him to completely and blatantly ignore me would be terrible," she said of the film's producer, Alan Elliot, whom she sued in 2011 to prevent a prior showing of the movie. "For him to do that would encourage other people to do the same thing and have no respect for me." Attorneys representing Telluride complained that Franklin's move came at the last minute -- an agent who represents her had been told the film would appear two to three weeks earlier -- and that the screenings at a modest theater in a remote southwestern town would not harm her. They also contended that a recently unearthed 1968 recording contract Franklin signed gave away rights to the footage of her concerts. Judge John L. Kane said Franklin deserved the right to control how her image is used. "She would suffer immediate and irreparable damage by this showing," Kane said in issuing his order. The festival could appeal the ruling, but would have to reverse judgment before the last scheduled screening on Sept. 13. - AP, 9/5/15...... Pink Floyd principal David Gilmour has just released a "making of" video for the second single from his forthcoming album Rattle that Lock, which is due Sept. 18. In the video for "Today," Gilmour goes into detail on his collaboration with former Roxy Music member Phil Manzanera, who co-produced the single and previously contributed to Gilmour's 2006 solo album On An Island. The debut single and title track from Rattle That Lock was released in late July. Gilmour is currently on tour with a small number of dates behind the new LP, including five dates at London's Royal Albert Hall on Sept. 23, 24 and 25). After touring the U.K. and Europe into mid-October, he heads to South America in December before coming to North America for shows in five cities during late March and early April. - New Musical Express, 9/6/15...... In a new interview with his hometown paper The Birmingham Mail, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi confirmed the upcoming Sabbath tour will be its last. "I still love gigging. It's all the travelling and the exhaustion that goes with it that's the problem," says Iommi, who was diagnosed with lymphoma in early 2012 and underwent successful treatment for the illness in Jan. 2013. "That side of things has a big impact on me. Yes, we may fly in luxury, stay in the very best hotels, ride in the most comfortable limos, but there's still a physical cost to touring. Even when we build in rest breaks, I have to have blood tests every six weeks. I find it tough going." The musician also said a followup to the band's last LP, 13, is far from a certainty. "I've been busy writing songs ever since the 13 sessions. At that point, we thought there might be another Sabbath album. But that's up in the air now so I don't know when or where they might appear. The tracks are ready, though." Black Sabbath announced in early September that their farewell tour, expected to last a year, would get underway in Nebraska in mid-January. Dates outside of America, Australia and New Zealand are yet to be announced. - NME, 9/6/15...... Rod Stewart hooked up with his mates from his old band the Faces on Sept. 5 in Surrey, England for a benefit concert for Prostate Cancer U.K. Stewart, guitarist Ronnie Wood and drummer Kenney Jones were backed by nine additional musicians who filled in for bassist Ronnie Lane (who passed away in 1997) and keyboardist Ian McLagan (who died in 2014). Other than a one-off gig at the 1993 Brit Awards, Stewart has not performed in public with the Faces since the band split up in 1975. After the show, Stewart tweeted the night's seven-song set list along with the message "A perfect rockin' evening with my mates": "A perfect rockin' evening with my mates @RonnieWood @KenneyJones! #FacesReunion pic.twitter.com/wgxEOFLSry - Rod Stewart (@rodstewart) September 6, 2015." - Billboard, 9/6/15...... Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler have an impromptu performance in Moscow, Russia on Sept. 2 when he joined a street performer to sing Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." A video of the unexpected performance was uploaded to YouTube on Sept. 4. Tyler, who is prepping a new country music inspired solo album, landed in Moscow on Sept. 2, according to a tweet he posted that day. Tyler -- whose debut country single, "Love Is Your Name," was released in May -- ended the "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" duet with a high five before posing for photos in front of the cheering crowd. Tyler has previously gone viral with videos of other impromptu performances in Lithuania and Finland. - Billboard, 9/6/15...... Meanwhile, rock legends Ringo Starr and Robert Plant paid tribute to one of their early influences, '50s rock & roller Jerry Lee Lewis, on Sept. 5 for Lewis's upcoming 80th birthday which will occur on Sept. 29. A special gig in Lewis's honor took place at the London Palladium as part of his "farewell U.K. tour." Starr and Plant wheeled a birthday cake onto the stage and joined a host of other musicians and fans in singing "Happy Birthday" to the veteran musician. "Had a great time at the Jerry Lee Lewis show in London happy birthday Jerry peace and love," Ringo later tweeted. - New Musical Express, 9/7/15...... Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Fergie, Natasha Bedingfield and Sean Paul are among the 16 international artists who have lent their voices to "Love Song to the Earth," a song recorded to spur action on global climate change. "Love Song to the Earth" will be released exclusively on Sept. 11 through iTunes and Apple Music's Connect radio station. The artists, producers and directors of the "Love Song" project and Apple are donating their respective proceeds to Friends of the Earth U.S. and the United Nations Foundation. - Billboard, 9/3/15...... In more Beatles-related news, the Fab Four's first management contract will be sold at auction on Sept. 29 in London and could fetch as much as £250,000. Also signed by their manager Brian Epstein, the contract was famously agreed to by Epstein despite McCartney annoying the manager by attending a meeting late as he was taking a bath, and cosigned by some of the Beatles' parents because they were too young to sign legally themselves. Other items up for sale in the Sept. 29 auction include a copy of the Beatles' Please, Please Me LP signed by all four members of the band, and one of Eric Clapton's Fender Stratocasters. - NME, 9/5/15...... Queen guitarist Brian May led a funeral march protest in London on Sept. 8 to demonstrate against the government-sanctioned cull of badgers. May, a longtime animal rights activist, has been vocal about anti-badger cull issues and was accompanied by fellow protesters at the march organised by animal welfare group Team Badger. The demonstrators led a hearse with flowers bearing the number "2,263," the alleged number of badgers that were killed in the last badger cull in the U.K. between 2013 to 2014. In a recent guest editorial for The Mirror, May accused the U.K. government of "bone-headedly, doggedly pursuing a policy of murdering British badgers." - NME, 9/8/15...... Ska and reggae trombonist Rico Rodriguez, a member of the 2 Tone revival band the Specials since 1979, passed away in London on Sept. 4 at the age of 80. Mr. Rodriguez, who was born in Cuba but moved to Jamaica as a child, joined the Specials in 1979, appearing on their cover of Dandy Livingstone's "A Message To You Rudy." He was also a solo artist and released his 1977 LP Man From Wareika prior to joining the Specials. He also played with Jools Holland's Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and was awarded an MBE for services to music in 2007. - NME, 9/5/15...... Candida Royalle, a former actress in pornographic films who appeared in dozens of X-rated films since 1975, died on Sept. 7 after a battle with ovarian cancer. She was 64. Born Candice Vadala, she studied music and dance at Parsons The New School of Design in New York and went on to pursue a career in the porn industry. Through her Femme Productions firm, which was established in 1984, Vadala was considered a pioneer for making movies aimed more at pleasuring women and helping couples maintain a healthy sex life. She was also a board member of the Feminists for Free Expression movement and the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists. - WENN.com 9/8/15...... British actress and comedienne Judy Carne, best known to Americans as the popular "Sock It To Me" fall girl on the hit NBC comedy sketch series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, died in the U.K. on Sept. 3 at Northampton General Hospital after a battle with pneumonia. She was 76. The bouncy, auburn-haired won overnight fame in the 1960s after joining the Laugh-In ensemble, then returned, albeit briefly, to the limelight in 1985 when she published an autobiography in which she told of her volatile relationship with her first husband Burt Reynolds, confessed to a string of affairs with members of both sexes and chronicled battles with drug addiction. Carne was already a fairly successful TV actress when she joined Laugh-In in 1968, and became the most popular person on the show for her zany, daffy, mini-skirted comic persona, continually getting doused with a bucket of water, or subjected to some other humiliation, every time she uttered the words "Sock it to me!" After leaving that show, she became a heroin addict and her career went into a tailspin. She had married Reynolds in 1963, recalling that when they first met "we were immediately in love, so we immediately made love. I was engulfed by him, my small body lost in his large frame." After their marriage ended in 1966, he became abusive, she alleged. In 1977 and 1978, her life hit rock bottom when, in the space of four months, she was busted three times -- on charges ranging from drug possession to car theft. In June 1978, while celebrating her acquittal on charges of heroin possession, she and her current husband Robert Bergmann (who was driving) were involved in a near-fatal car accident which left her with a broken neck. Carne then returned to her native Northampton and began writing her autobiography, claiming that the process of writing had helped her to put her life back together again, but it would be some time before her troubles were properly resolved. However she did finally fine an lement of peace in the village of Pitsford, Northamptonshire, where she lived a quiet life with two dogs and was much liked by her neighbors. - The Telegraph UK, 9/7/15...... Martin Milner, the handsome actor whose wholesome good looks helped make him the star of two hugely popular TV series, Route 66 and Adam-12, passed away on Sept. 5 near the La Costa neighborhood of Carlsbad, Calif., of undisclosed causes. He was 83. Mr. Milner began his career as a teen actor and shot to fame in 1960 as Tod Stiles with co-star George Maharis in the iconic TV drama Route 66, which found two restless young men roaming the highway author John Steinbeck had dubbed "The Mother Road" in a red Corvette convertible. In 1968, he signed on to do another buddy series, Adam-12, as veteran LAPD Officer Pete Malloy, assisted by rookie cop Jim Reed, played by Kent McCord. The series was produced by Jack Webb, who applied the same realistic treatment of day to day police activities that had made his Dragnet TV show a huge hit and last for seven seasons. "I had a long, long friendship with Marty and we remained friends up till the end," said McCord upon learning of his death. "He was one of the really true great people of our industry with a long, distinguished career... Wonderful films, wonderful television shows, pioneering shows like Route 66. He was one of the great guys. I was lucky to have him in my life." Mr. Milner's big screen credits include The Sands of Iwo Jima, Marjorie Morningstar, Sweet Smell of Success, The Long Gray Line, Mister Roberts, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Valley of the Dolls, and Three Guns for Texas, among others. He married actress-singer Judy Jones in 1951, and they had four children: Amy, who died in 2004, Molly, Stuart and Andrew. - AP, 9/7/15.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, the Kinks' Dave Davies said that there is only an "outside shot" of his former band reforming. "I'd say there's an outside shot, but where there's life, there's hope," he said. "I know Ray [Davies] has a lot coming up, and I do as well, so we'll see how things span out in the next few months. A lot of it depends on how Ray and I feel by the end of the year, physically, emotionally and psychologically. I wish I could give you a more definitive answer, but I don't want to jump the gun." Dave, who has not performed with his brother Ray since 1996, had previously said there was a "50/50" chance of the Kinks reuniting for live shows. The pair had apparently began to mend fences after Ray helped with the music for the new Kinks musical "Sunny Afternoon," which Dave saw and reportedly liked. Meanwhile, a new Kinks biopic directed by Julien Temple is currently in the works. - NME, 9/3/15...... Meat Loaf says his upcoming album Braver Than We Are is "completely different from anything else" he or anyone else has done. "There are a couple of normal rock pieces but, for the most part, it's completely different. When you hear the opening track, your mouth's gonna hang open," says the Grammy-winning rocker. "The first song people will either love or despise, which is the way I like it. The opening number is pretty wild. It's not long; the second song is long, and the third song is really long, and the fourth song is kind of long, and then the fifth song goes into a 'down and out kind of guy,' and what's the sixth song? I can't remember pass that," he said of the LP, which reunites him with his longtime collaborator Jim Steinman. Meat Loaf is currently finishing up the album in Nashville for a likely March 2016 release, and kicks off his first tour in two years this fall on Oct. 23 in Temecula, Calif. Meat Loaf also shared some thoughts about his former Celebrity Apprentice boss and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump: "Donald's very, very smart. I don't want to get myself in trouble here, but if anybody knows how to put people to work, it's Donald Trump. That I know." - Billboard, 9/3/15...... A public domain battle is brewing in Canada over early '60s recordings by such acts as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys which, alongside works like Ian Fleming's James Bond character have become subject to a lesser copyright term. A company called Stargrove Entertainment says it submitted royalty payments in order to sell CDs full of recordings in the public domain in the country at Walmart for five bucks each, and they became a hit. But music giants like Universal and Sony are now interfering with Stargrove's marketing of the budget albums, and the publishers (which also include ABKCO and Casablanca) allegedly sent out instructions to a Canadian agency charged with such license applications to stop issuing mechanical licenses to Stargrove, and their sales came to a grinding halt. In a complaint filed on Sept. 2 with the Canadian Competition Tribunal, Stargrove says it has lost out on opportunities, and that its sales are now zero. Sony/ATV declined to respond while Universal hasn't yet responded to a request for comment. In June, Canada extended the copyright term from 50 to 70 years for published sound recordings, meaning that late '60s recordings by the Beatles are no longer on the precipices of being in the public domain there. - The Hollywood Reporter, 9/2/15...... Black Sabbath posted a video on Sept. 3 announcing plans for their final farewell tour, promising fans "their most mesmerizing production ever." The heavy metal icons' "The End" tour will launch in Nebraska in January 2016 before wrapping in Australia and New Zealand in April. ''It's the beginning of the end," the video says. "It started nearly five decades ago with a crack of thunder, a distant bell ringing and then that monstrous riff that shook the earth. The heaviest rock sound ever heard. In that moment heavy metal was born, created by a young band from Birmingham, England barely out of their teens. Now it ends, the final tour by the greatest metal band of all time, Black Sabbath. Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler close the final chapter in the final volume of the incredible Black Sabbath story...When this tour concludes, it will truly be the end, the end of one of the most legendary bands in Rock 'n Roll history... Black Sabbath." It is not clear who will be playing drums on the tour after original stickman Bill Ward fell out with his bandmates, however Tommy Clueftos, who plays with Ozzy's solo group, played on the band's reunion album 13 and subsequent tours. - New Musical Express, 9/3/15...... Speaking of Black Sabbath, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, never one to mince words, described the band as "a joke" in a new interview with the New York Daily News. "Millions are in love with Metallica and Black Sabbath. I just thought they were great jokes," says Richards, who will release his first solo LP in 23 years, Crosseyed Heart, on Sept. 18. Richards wasn't any kinder to the hip-hop/rap genre: "'Rap' -- so many words, so little said. What rap did that was impressive was to show there are so many tone-deaf people out there. All they need is a drum beat and somebody yelling over it and they're happy. There's an enormous market for people who can't tell one note from another." Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Richards said that he'd like to get the Stones into he recording studio as soon as they have finished their scheduled tour dates in early 2016. "I'm trying to get the Stones into the studio, but I don't quite honestly see it happening this year," he said. - NME, 9/3/15...... '70s rock legends David Bowie and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith will be among the artists contributing to a new nautical-set musical based on the popular Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. The Flaming Lips, John Legend, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, Panic! at the Disco and They Might Be Giants will also be participating in the songwriting for the show, which will make its world premiere in Chicago's Oriental Theatre on June 7, 2016, running through July 3 before it eventually heads to Broadway. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/31/15...... In his forthcoming memoir Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music, former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty reveals why he refused to play with surviving former CCR bandmates, bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford, at the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. "Way back in 1968, I had made an agreement with [his brother] Tom [Fogerty, who died in 1990], Doug and Stu to be equal partners. I let them share in my songwriting money. At the time, I thought I was dealing with people who understood the responsibility of what we had. But in 1988, they sold their votes to [producer Saul] Zaentz for $30,000 each -- that's right, thirty pieces of silver. Stu told me, 'I don't care what they do with the music -- just give me the money'? I was disgusted." Fogerty continued: "When the Hall of Fame called in late 1992, they said, 'We are going to induct CCR into the Hall of Fame. Would you perform with the other band members?' I said, 'No.' I'm just not going to stand on a stage with those people three in a row, play our songs and be presented as a band -- particularly because these guys sold their rights in that band to my worst enemy." Fortunate Son is due via publisher Little, Brown and Company on Oct. 6. - Billboard, 8/31/15...... In other rock star memoir news, Elvis Costello's upcoming autobiography, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, is likely to take its place alongside recent bestselling books by Patti Smith, Bob Dylan and Keith Richards. The book, due Oct. 13 from Blue Rider Press, could include juicy relevations about his famous relationship with model Bebe Buell and the time he got banned from Saturday Night Live. And Carly Simon will finally be spilling everything to her career to her marriage to James Taylor in Boys in the Trees: A Memoir, which drops via Flatiron Books on Nov. 24. But will we finally find out who's so vain? Doubtful. Finally, Grace Jones's ironically titled I'll Never Write My Memoirs, from Gallery Books on Sept. 29, traces her journey from Jamaica to the fashion runways of Paris and then onto Studio 54 and Hollywood with appearances from Andy Warhol, Jessica Lange, Arnold Schwarzenegger and many others.- Billboard, 8/31/15..... Former The Police frontman Sting has announced a new collaboration with French pop star Mylene Farmer. On Aug. 28, the track called "Stolen Car" whic originally appeared on Sting's 2003 album Sacred Love, was released via iTunes in France on Aug. 28 and debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes chart. Sting's Facebook page has posted that the song will be available in the U.S. on Sept. 4 via Cherrytree Records. The song will also be featured on Farmer's upcoming album, Nbuleuses. - Billboard, 8/30/15...... On what would have marked his 57th birthday on Aug. 29, Michael Jackson was remembered by his family, friends and fellow artists with several posts on social media. Jackson, who died on June 25, 2009, received a flood of messages and photo tributes from his siblings Jermaine and La Toya Jackson, as well as fellow musicians and celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Pharrell, Chris Brown, Shawn Mendes and more. "Hold close the memories," Jermaine Jackson posted, while La Toya tweeted "Your Presence Elevated Everyone! Your Music Brought Us Joy! Your Gift Will Be With Us Always!" Jackson died on June 25, 2009. - Billboard, 8/29/15...... Less than a month after ending his longtime relationship with Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog has reportedly moved on with an ABC exec named Denise, who's also a pig. "She's always stopping by the set of Up Late," a source tells People.com. "He calls her his girlfriend." But Miss Piggy apparently hasn't been sitting at home since splitting with Kermit. Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth has posted an Instagram photo of himself looking into Miss Piggy's eyes with the caption, "Spent Friday with the most beautiful girl in the world. Kermit, #SorryNotSorry. #TheMuppets #misspiggy." Kermit and Miss Piggy's high profile breakup could make things awkward for the execs of the new Muppets docuseries The Muppets, which will make its debut on Sept. 22. - WENN.com/Postmedia Network, 9/1/15...... Actor Dean Jones, best known for leading roles in several Walt Disney films of the 1960s and '70s including The Love Bug and That Darn Cat!, died on Sept. 1 from complications related to Parkinson's disease. He was 84. Born on January 23, 1931, in Decatur, Ala., Jones began acting after a stint in the Navy during the Korean War. Jones worked steadily throughout the 1950s and made his Broadway debut in 1960 opposite Jane Fonda in the brief run of "There Was A Little Girl." Later that year, he starred on the Main Stem in "Under The Yum Yum Tree," which ran for six months, and reprised his role for the 1963 feature. He already was a veteran presence on TV and in films when he was cast opposite Hayley Mills in 1965's That Darn Cat!, followed by starring roles in such family films as The Ugly Dachshund (1966), Monkeys, Go Home! (1967), Blackbeard's Ghost (1968) and The Love Bug, in which he portrayed a race car driver who works with a VW Beetle named Herbie that has a mind of its own. He reprised that role for a 1977 sequel -- the only one of several theatrical Herbie pics in which he appeared -- and a short-lived 1982 TV series. Earlier in his career, Jones appeared in such features as Tea And Sympathy, with Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock (1957), Handle With Care (1958) and Never So Few (1960). His TV credits in that era include Bonanza, Wagon Train and Ben Casey. - Deadline.com, 9/2/15...... Director Wes Craven, best known for helming the first Nightmare on Elm Street film as well as the first four Scream movies, died on Aug. 30 at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with brain cancer. He was 76. Born Aug. 2, 1939 in Cleveland, Craven briefly taught English at Westminster College and was a humanities professor at Clarkson College, where he served as a disc jockey for the campus radio station. Craven wrote and directed his first feature film, The Last House on the Left, which was a rape-revenge movie that appalled some viewers but generated big box office. Next came another film he wrote and helmed, The Hills Have Eyes (1977). In 1984, he re-invented the youth horror genre with the classic A Nightmare on Elm Street, which he also wrote and directed. His iconic Freddy Krueger character horrified viewers for years, and he later conceived and co-wrote sequels including Elm Street III as well. In 1999, in the midst of directing, he completed his first novel, The Fountain Society, published by Simon & Shuster, and in 2005 directed the psychological thriller Red Eye, another box office hit starring Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy. In 2009 he produced a remake of The Last House on the Left, and his most recent written and directed film, My Soul to Take, followed a year later. Survivors include his wife, producer and former Disney Studios vice president Iya Labunka.. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/30/15.