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.