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.