Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on Nov. 18th, 2015

In an interview with DigitalSpy.com, former Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters revealed he plans to release his fourth solo album sometime in 2016, his first new studio effort in 24 years. "I'm in the middle of making it now," said Waters, who added that the LP is a concept album involving a granddad and his grandchild searching for certain answers. "Why are we killing the children? That's what it's about," he said. Waters said some of the songs are brand new, while others are from as far back as 15 years ago, and that he will likely tour behind the album. "I'm toying with the idea of trying to make this thing into an arena show," he said. Meanwhile, on Nov. 20 Waters will release Roger Waters: The Wall, a live album from his time spent touring Pink Floyd's The Wall as a solo artist. Waters says a stage version of The Wall is also in the works. And he continues his charity work on behalf of U.S. military veterans who have been wounded in battle, recently co-headlining the Music Heals concert in Washington, D.C., with acts including Billy Corgan, Tom Morello and Sheryl Crow. - New Musical Express, 11/14/15...... '70s artists Barbra Streisand and James Taylor will be among the honorees of the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 24, the administration of Pres. Barack Obama announced on Nov. 16. Other notables to be honored with the medal that evening, among a group of 17, include Gloria Estefan, composer Stephen Sondheim, and conductor Itzhak Perlman. - The Hollywood Reporter, 11/16/15...... After many years of speculation about who is the self-involved paramour sung about by Carly Simon in her No. 1 1972 hit single "You're So Vain," Simon has revealed in a new interview with People magazine that the subject of at least one of the verses is actor Warren Beatty, whom she dated in the early 1970s. "I have confirmed that the second verse is Warren," adding, "Warren thinks the whole thing is about him!" The verse, which begins "You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive," and ends with "I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee, Clouds in my coffee," is the second verse of the classic getting-even song, about which Simon has teased the public with clues of its subject over the years. In 2004, she told talk show host Regis Philbin that the man's name contained the letters "A," "E" and "R." That includes Beatty, but also some of Simon's other exes like James Taylor, to whom she was married for 11 years, and "You're So Vain" background vocalist Mick Jagger. Warren Beatty has long maintained that the song is definitely about him. Simon spoke to People ahead of her forthcoming memoir, Boys in the Trees, which is due on Nov 24. When People asked the singer if she will ever divulge who the other verses are about, she said, "I don't think so, at least until they know it's about them." But, as the song goes, they probably already think it's about them. - Billboard, 11/18/15...... Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has joined such music stars as Justin Beiber in posting a moving tribute to niversal's international project manager for Mercury Records Thomas Ayad, who was among the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks on Nov. 13. "My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Thomas Ayad. Words cannot express the horror of what happened in Paris. I am horrified by the tragic events that took place in Paris last Friday night," Richards tweeted on Nov. 16. Thomas Ayad was at the Bataclan theater during the Eagles of Death Metal concert, where gunmen took hostages and killed 89 people inside the venue as part of a coordinated attack across the city. Meanwhile, Richards has just revealed the video for the latest single from his new solo LP, Crosseyed Heart. Titled "Long Overdue," the single is from the guitarist's first solo effort in over 20 years. - Billboard/NME, 11/18/15...... In other Paris attack news, Cher has weighed in on the tragic events of Nov. 13, expressing her anger that ISIS murdered innocents who were "free" and "loving life" while enjoying life's pleasures. "Ppl Say Isis Attack Was SO WELL PLANNED,But They Had AK47's &Attacked Innocent ppl Who Were FREE,--ING LIFE-- A--Party,Dinner--Music-- Sports--," the she posted on Nov. 17. The diva also called out Pres. Barack Obama, the U.S. congress, and several GOP 2016 presidential candidates. "If we r forced 2fight Isis,I -- NO gop Candidate is POTUS.It Would b like the Dumb leading the Arrogant,leading the Insane Neocons? Deya Vu," she tweeted a day earlier. Cher, 69, also shared her love for Paris, writing that the City of Light is a "Rare Gem" where she spent many of her happiest moments, and offered a message of hope: "EVIL IS NOT SUPREME AND GOOD IS NOT HELPLESS... Good nite Beloved Paris---- You are Strong & You will Survive--you r the city of Light," she wrote. - Billboard, 11/17/15...... In related news, a 34-year-old amateur pianist named David Martello made several TV news reports about the attack after he embarked on a 400-mile trip to perform the iconic John Lennon song about peace and unity, "Imagine," in front of the Le Bataclan theater on a portable piano attached to a bicycle. Martello, who performs under the name Klavierkunst, made the trip after hearing the news on TV in a pub in Germany. Martello also performed at the site of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Jan. 2015, and his website says he plans on "playing in every capital of the world" with his portable grand piano. Also, the popular rock band Coldplay opened their concert in Los Angeles on Nov. 13 with a cover of Lennon's "Imagine" in tribute to those who lost their lives in the attack. - NME, 11/15/15...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr is planning an auction of over 1,200 personal items from his and wife Barbara Bach's residences in London, Beverly Hills and Monaco on Dec. 4 and 5. The Julien's Live online auction will feature drums and guitars from throughout the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's career, from the Beatles to the All-Starr Band as well as memorabilia from the Fab Four era and "custom-made eclectic furnishings, fine art and personal items." One of the most interesting items is Ringo's 1963 Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl three-piece drum kit, which was used for the Beatles' live performances from May 1963 to February 1964, as well as on the recordings of such hits as "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," and "Can't Buy Me Love." The kit is expected to fetch anywhere between $300K-$500K. - Rolling Stone, 11/13/15...... On Perfectamundo, his first-ever solo outing, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons marries his BFG band's bedrock Texas blues boogie with more recent obsessions, most prominently Afro-Cuban rhythms. It's the sound of a Havana moon shining down on Rio Grande mud. Gibbons' musical anthropology is loving and loose, with nods to hip-hop and funk (the "Legs" callback "You're What's Happenin' Baby"), Stones-y rock & roll (on Piedras Negras") and Sixties soul (a tight slide through Roy Head's 1965 hit "Treat Her Right"). It doesn't all come together seamlessly. But the same rumbling gravitas that fired Eliminator keeps things flowing. - Rolling Stone, 11/19/15...... The pre-history of Van Halen, which began in 1973 in Pasadena, Calif., when a cover band called Mammoth started by two Dutch immigrant brothers hired a wealthy doctor's son to be their singer after they became tired of paying him $35 a show to use his PA system, is usually glossed over in accounts of the band. But in Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal, author Greg Renoff devotes an entire book to it. It's the tale of hardworking kids with nothing in common learning to fuse pop and heavy metal into a new sound that completely changed the music world. It also vividly shows that the personality clashes that would later destroy the band were there from Day One. - Rolling Stone, 11/19/15...... No single person "invented" rock & roll. But it's hard to imagine how it could've happened without Sun Records visionary Sam Phillips. Elvis Presley biographer Peter Guralnick's rigorously researched new book Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll tells the story of a Southern white businessman who enabled the careers of epochal artists, black and white -- including Elvis, B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Howlin' Wolf, Ike Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. This definitive work maintains the high standard of Guralnick's other books, and as his lifelong devotion has shown, he's a true believer in rock & roll. You may come away born again too. - Rolling Stone, 11/19/15...... The SiriusXM satellite radio network announced on Nov. 17 that Tom Petty will be getting his how Sirius station beginning on Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. EST. Petty will curating choice cuts of rock, rhythm and blues, as well as play unreleased studio and live recordings and unique cover cuts by his bands the Heartbreakers, Mudcrutch and the Traveling Wilburys. Petty has already been hosting a weekly show with Sirius called Tom Petty's Buried Treasure for nine seasons, which will continue on with new and archival episodes on his new station, dubbed Tom Petty Radio. - Billboard, 11/17/15...... Songwriter Roger Nichols, who penned the sentimental 1975 Paul Anka hit "Times of Your Life," filed a complaint in a California federal court on Nov. 17 alleging that the conservative Super PAC Club for Growth misappropriated his song in a commercial targeting Democratic Wisconsin senatorial candidate Russ Feingold. "The use was particularly egregious because the Club, acting out of its desire to draw attention to its political agenda, utilized the Composition -- a sweet and melancholy song about cherishing the moments of one's life -- to make a derivative work that was a bitter attack advertisement," the complaint reads, adding that Club for Growth "made a distinctive effort to draw an association... by using a singer that was clearly impersonating the style of Paul Anka... to mimic the original recording." The complaint adds: "Nichols does not want his work or reputation to be associated with the Club for Growth, Donald Trump, or any controversial political or social views associated with them or their supporters." In relevant legal precedent, a judge previously ruled that satirical lyrics on top of familiar music for a campaign ad was not covered by fair use in Don Henley's lawsuit against California senatorial candidate Chuck DeVore. Given that Nichols' lawsuit a complaint over an audiovisual commercial rather than a campaign rally (like what Trump recently faced), legal experts say Nichols potentially has an easier road ahead. The commercial was posted on YouTube, aired on broadcast and cable, and was published on Politico.com and other media outlets, according to the complaint. As for the nostalgic song, "Times of Your Life" was originally commissioned by Kodak for use in their Paul Anka-sung commercial, and was most recently used by AMC for the series finale trailer of Mad Men. The song became a No. 30 hit for Anka on the pop hit parade in November 1975. - The Hollywood Reporter, 11/17/15...... Although Rush may have performed their final major tour when their R40 tour wrapped earlier in 2015 due to ailments suffered by guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Pert, Lifeson says that speculation about the band's demise have been greatly exaggerated. "I don't think it is the end, and we never really said this is definitively our last tour. I think it's likely to be our last major tour, but we're still in contact, very close contact with each other, all three of us, and I don't think it's certainly the end of the band," he told Billboard on Nov. 16. "There are still lots of things we want to do. It's not to say that we wouldn't do something in the future on a smaller scale, and there's always the fun project of making a record, which we've all loved forever. Right now I think we're just kind of relaxing and taking it in and getting reconnected with our families and friends and more of a domestic life, and then we'll kinda sort of review it, I think, in the new year and see what we want to do," Lifeson added. As Rush is in hiatus, Peart is preparing for the Nov. 20 publication of Clockwork Lives, his second science-fiction novel co-written with Kevin Anderson, while Lifeson has been working on electronic music projects with his son and singer Tyler. - Billboard, 11/16/15...... Bruce Springsteen confirmed on Nov. 17 via Twitter that he and his E Street Band will take the Saturday Night Live stage for its Christmas episode, which will be broadcast on Dec. 19. "Mark your calendar... Bruce hits the @nbcsnl stage on December 19, hosted Tina Fey & Amy Poehler!," reads the post tweeted from his Twitter account. Also appearing on the Dec. 19 episode will be Chance the Rapper and Leon Bridges.- Billboard, 11/17/15...... Jimmy Buffett officially opened his new Margaritaville Beach Resort in Miami, Fla., on Nov. 14, a $150 million attraction that features nearly 350 rooms, eight bars and a spa. Buffett also treated his Parrotheads to a free concert at the city's iconic Bandshell later in the evening. The Bandshell, built in the 1970s, will feature local music several nights a week, but is now run by Margaritaville. The city of Miami contributed more than $20 million to the project and is hoping it will transform the area into a more sophisticated vacation escape with a Caribbean-themed vibe. - AP, 11/16/15...... David Bowie will premiere a 10-minute long single titled "?" (pronounced Blackstar) from his forthcoming album of the same name on the UK's Sky Atlantic network on Nov. 19 at 8.45 p.m. The single will be presented alongside a short video of the single, which is featured in the opening credits of the new Sky Atlantic drama The Last Panthers. "?" is the title track of Bowie's upcoming 25th studio album, which will be released on his 69th birthday (Jan. 8, 2016). - New Musical Express, 11/13/15...... Foreigner announced on Nov. 16 they will commence a 2016 summer tour of Europe and Israel at The Paladium in London on June 7. The show will be followed by dates at Tel Aviv’s Caesarea Amphitheatre (6/14 and 15) Belgium’s Graspop (6/17), Cologne’s Tanzbrunnen (8/8), and many more during their 12-city trek. Tickets for the band's London concert go on sale Nov. 20 at 9 a.m. GMT on the LiveNation website. - Noble PR, 11/16/15...... Cable TV's CMT channel will honor country music veteran Kenny Rogers as Artist of a Lifetime during the CMT Artists of the Year awards show in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 2. Rogers, 77, recently announced his retirement from touring, saying he will do a final world tour in 2016 before retiring from the road so he can spend more time with his family. "When you start out in the business you don't think about awards, you think about survival," Rogers said. "And the longer you survive, you get an award for survival." The CMT awards show will air on CMT on Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. EST. - AP, 11/17/15...... Gary Glitter has lost his appeal against his child sex conviction in the U.K. In February, the "Rock and Roll Part 2" singer was jailed for 16 years after being found guilty of abuse offenses dating back to the '70s and '80s. According to the BBC, Glitter's legal team argued that the media's coverage made a fair trial impossible. However, judges said that there was nothing "unsafe" about the conviction. Glitter was sentenced for attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under 13. Sentencing, Judge Alistair McCreath said that there was "no real evidence" that Glitter -- real name Paul Gadd -- had atoned for his crimes. Glitter, who denied all charges, was acquitted of three other counts in February. - NME, 11/17/15...... P.F. Sloan, an esteemed singer/songwriter who penned several hits in the '60s for such artists as The Turtles and Barry McGuire ("Eve of Destruction"), The Grass Roots ("Where Were You When I Needed You"), and Johnny Rivers ("Secret Agent Man"), succumbed to a battle with pancreatic cancer at his Los Angeles home on Nov. 15. He was 70. Sloan honed his talents during L.A.'s pop and rock explosion during the 1960s, and as a 12-year-old once asked Elvis Presley for a guitar lesson. Born Philip Gary Schlein, Sloan landed a deal at the tender age of 13 with Aladdin Records, and a year later released his debut single, "All I Want Is Loving." In 1965, his single "Sins of a Family" peaked at No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Sloan had recently published his memoir, What's Exactly The Matter With Me?, and his latest album was 2014's My Beethoven. - Billboard, 11/16/15...... Music promoter/producer/nightclub owner Gene Norman, best known for founding the record label GNP Crescendo and helping to bring some of the most renowned jazz artists of the 20th century to the West Coast, died on Nov. 2 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93. Mr. Norman founded GNP Crescendo (its initials stand for "Gene Norman Presents"; Crescendo was the name of the nightclub Mr. Norman opened in Los Angeles) in 1954, and artists recorded by the label over the years include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Max Roach, George Shearing and Art Tatum....... Carol Doda, a legendary stripper who helped introduce topless entertainment in the U.S. more than 50 years ago, died on Nov. 9 in San Francisco of complications related to kidney failure. She was 78. Doda went topless in 1964 at Frisco's Condor Club and soon changed every nightspot on busy Broadway. She left the club in 1985 and later owned a lingerie store. Doda, known for her augmented bust, rode onto stage atop a piano on an elevator platform, debuting the same day Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson drew half a million people in a visit to San Francisco. It wasn't long before the big news in town was "The Girl on the Piano." An illuminated sign on the club in Doda's likeness later became a landmark. - AP, 11/12/15.

A live stream concert from Paris that was to feature such artists as Elton John, Duran Duran and others was suspended on the evening of Nov. 13 after Paris was rocked by several deadly terrorist attacks. To be hosted by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, the broadcast was to feature musical performances from locations around the globe, from Rio de Janeiro to Miami, Sydney and Cape Town, with the aim of raising awareness about global warming a few weeks before world leaders gather for the COP 21 Paris climate summit opening Nov. 30. The three Paris attacks, which included a shooting at the Le Bataclan concert hall where the Eagles of Death Metal were performing, is officially the deadliest concert shooting of all time, with gunmen killing at least 118. Also, the band U2 canceled a planned concert in the Paris area on Nov. 14 in light of the attacks. "We are devastated at the loss of life at the Eagles of Death Metal concert and our thoughts and prayers are with the band and their fans," U2 posted on its official website. - AP, 11/13/15...... Olivia Newton-John has earned her first No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart for the week ending Nov. 21 with her new single "You Have to Believe." The track, which features contributions from Dave Aude and Newton-John's daughter Chloe, is a reinterpretation of Olivia's 1980 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 "Magic," from the film Xanadu, in which she starred. Newton-John's last hit came in 1992 with "I Need Love," which peaked at No. 44. - Billboard, 11/12/15...... The cable channel AMC has announced it will sponsor all-star concert celebrating the 75th anniversary of the birth of John Lennon on Dec. 5 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. With performances by such artists as Peter Frampton, Steven Tyler, Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Tom Morello and Eric Church, Imagine: The John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert will be taped and air exclusively on AMC on Dec. 19 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. More artists are expected to be announced later. Meanwhile, a 1962 J-160E Gibson acoustic guitar that Lennon played on such early Beatles songs as "P.S. I Love You" and "Love Me Do" sold for $2.41 million on Nov. 8 at a Julien's auction in California. The guitar had for decades been in the possession of John McCaw, a novice musician who bought it in the late 1960s without knowing it had been stolen from the legendary Beatle several years before. Half of the proceeds from the sale of the guitar, which was stolen from Lennon at a December 1963 Christmas concert, will go toward the Spirit Foundation, a charitable organization that he and his widow, Yoko Ono, created, auctioneer Darren Julien said. Also selling at the same auction was the Beatles drum head that Ringo Starr played when the band made their historic appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. It sold for $2.1 million, Julien said. - NBC News, 11/8/15...... In more Beatles-related news, viewers of the U.K.'s ITV channel have voted "Hey Jude" as the U.K.'s favorite number one record by the Fab Four. On Nov. 11, the station broadcast The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One, a rundown of results from a poll to determine which of the band's 17 Number One singles is the most loved. The top five songs on the list were "Hey Jude," "Yesterday," "Let It Be," "Eleanor Rigby," and "All You Need Is Love." - New Musical Express, 11/12/15...... Elvis Presley has topped the U.K. album chart for the second week in a row with his latest posthumous LP If I Can Dream, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The album sold more in its second week than its first, a rare feat in modern chart history, with a combined sales and streaming tally of 88,600, compared with 79,000 in its first week. In more chart action, Rod Stewart's new album Another Country fell from No. 2 to No. 4, while the new incarnation of the Beatles' 1 compilation, 1+, debuted at No. 5. On the singles chart, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" re-entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 tally at No. 45, with a Halloween bump. Jackson's 1984 creepy classic also returned to the Hot 100 the previous two years for a week each after Halloween (No. 32 in 2014; No. 42 in 2013). - Billboard, 11/13/15...... Meanwhile, David Bowie has released a creepy clip from his forthcoming album Blackstar, which is due in 2016 on Bowie's birthday, Jan. 8. The title track will be released on Nov. 20, and both the single and the short film, which features a bejeweled skull in an astronaut's helmet and Bowie himself clutching some kind of bible, will premiere at Brooklyn's Nitehawk Cinema before that date. - Billboard, 11/13/15...... In an interview with ABC Radio on Nov. 12, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood said the Stones could return to the studio as early as this December. "We'll maybe go in the studio in December and cut a few tracks and see what happens," Wood said. He also noted that the band would be laying "some groundwork" for a possible new album project in the coming weeks. "We'll take it from there, see how it all goes," he added. "One thing at a time." - Billboard, 11/13/15...... Former Mountain and West, Bruce and Laing frontman Leslie West has paid tribute to his late WBL bandmate, Jack Bruce, with a cover of the Willie Dixon classic "Spoonful," which will be included in his forthcoming new studio LP, Soundcheck. "When I found out Jack died I was very sad, so I put that on there as a tribute to him because there'll never be another Jack Bruce," West said. Soundcheck is due out Nov. 20 and also features collaborations with Queen's Brian May, Peter Frampton, Bonnie Bramlett and others. - Billboard, 11/12/15...... A federal court judge has ordered that Journey guitarist Neal Schon be paid $290K by officials in San Francisco to settle a lawsuit brought by him over his lavish 2013 wedding to a former reality television star. Schon married Real Housewives of D.C. star Michaele Salahi in December 2013 at the Palace of Fine Arts with a reception at an adjacent building that once housed the Exploratorium science museum. Schon said he agreed to pay the city $58,000 for the use, but was surprised to learn days before the wedding that he would have to pay $240,000 for the opulent event to go on. He reluctantly paid, likening the price hike to "extortion." The couple sued in federal court in February, claiming that the city unfairly jacked up the fee after learning the couple planned to broadcast the event on pay-per-view. - AP, 11/11/15...... Bruce Springsteen was among the headliners of the ninth annual Stand Up For Heroes fundraiser at The Theater of Madison Square Garden In New York City on Nov. 10. The event was emceed by comedian Jon Stewart, who introduced the Boss saying he always admired the man because "he got out of New Jersey, a place where I also grew up and wanted to desperately leave." "And where do I live now?" he quipped. "New Jersey." Springsteen played a taut, four-song set that included "For You," "Darlington County," and "Dancing in the Dark." Presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival, the event has raised $30 million in 275 programs nationwide since it was founded in 2006. - Billboard, 11/11/15...... Jeff Lynne's ELO have announced a series of dates in the U.K. in spring 2016, beginning in Liverpool on April 5. The band will then play Nottingham, (4/7), Leeds (4/9), Manchester (4/10), Glasgow (4/12), Newcastle (4/14) and Birmingham (4/16/17), before wrapping at London's O2 on April 20 and 22. Jeff Lynne's ELO released its first album under the ELO name in 14 years, Alone in the Universe, on Nov. 13. - New Musical Express, 11/11/15...... Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford has told Billboard magazine that he feels "a little bit abandoned" by Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, who is currently concentrating on a new country-influenced solo album. Whitford said that Aerosmith had plans to tour in early 2016, but they were put on hold by Tyler who he said "doesn't want to do it." "It's unfortunate. We kind of feel a little bit abandoned by him. I guess he seems to think his solo career is going to go great guns, and he doesn't seem to realise that -- in my opinion -- his fans around the globe want to see him in the context of Aerosmith and don't really care for whatever he thinks he's gonna do," Whitford said. "I don't know if he gets that but, hey, that's what he wants to do. I can't put a gun to his head. It's just pretty disappointing," he added. Tyler's solo LP, which is being recorded in Nashville, is expected to be released in 2016. - New Musical Express, 11/10/15...... Alice Cooper has released a "souped-up version" of the children's symphony classic "Peter and the Wolf." Cooper narrates the newfangled tale of the famed story by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev and gives voice to all of the characters, including Peter, now cast as a lonely Russian boy in Los Angeles who becomes a media celebrity after capturing a wolf that escapes from the zoo. He also plays Peter's grizzled grandfather, a laid back SoCal gardener who takes Peter in after he is orphaned in Russia. "I kept picturing Cheech and Chong," Cooper says of the grandfather character, which was his favorite to portray in the story. "You know, an old hippie. I kind of channeled Tommy Chong and gave him that voice: 'Hey man, cool.'" Cooper's Peter and the Wolf in Hollywood album arrives on the Universal Music label Deutsche Grammophon, with music performed by The National Youth Orchestra of Germany, and includes all of the familiar music from the original "Peter and the Wolf." - Billboard, 11/10/15...... Veteran Eagles manager Irving Azoff will be honored at the 2016 Pre-Grammy Gala at the Beverly Hilton, organizers announced on Nov. 9. Azoff, chairman and CEO Azoff MSG Entertainment, will be presented with the President's Merit Award in recognition of his significant contributions to the music industry and his numerous philanthropic endeavors. Azoff will join previous recipients which include Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, Clive Davis, Berry Gordy, Mo Ostin, Ahmet Ertegun and David Geffen, among others. The ceremony will take place at the 2016 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons event, which will again be presented by Davis and The Recording Academy on Feb. 14, 2016, a day before the 58th Grammy Awards. - Billboard, 11/9/15...... Authorities in New Zealand have announced a strict no-drinking policy for AC/DC's upcoming concert in Auckland on Dec. 15. AC/DC s set to perform at the city's Western Springs Stadium on that date, and fans will not be able to purchase alcohol in or around the venue due to a temporary liquor ban which aims to curb crime in the area. Police Sergeant Antony Wilson wrote to Auckland council requesting the ban, expressing fears for alcohol-related crime in relation to the show. Wilson also said that a ban "significantly assisted in curbing alcohol-related harm and offending in public areas." The band has not yet commented on the ban. - New Musical Express, 11/12/15...... Queen and Adam Lambert have been confirmed the first headliner of the U.K.'s 2016 Isle of Wight Festival. The gig will be Queen's first ever U.K. festival show and will be their only U.K. peformance in 2016. They will close the annual festival on Sunday, June 12. "I think Queen at The Isle of Wight Festival is a date that was long overdue," guitarist Brian May said. "How incredible to take on this challenge at this point in our lives. With an injection of new blood in the shape of the incredible Adam Lambert, Queen will be ready to tear it up on this legendary stage in 2016. Freddie [Mercury] would have loved it. Can't wait," he added. - NME, 11/10/15...... Influential British folk singer Roy Harper, who provided lead vocals on Pink Floyd's 1975 track "Have a Cigar," says he's been left "incredibly angry" after sex abuse allegations brought against him by U.K. authorities were dropped in October. Harper was recently acquitted of two indecent assault charges, one of allegedly assaulting a 16-year-old girl in 1980 and one of abusing an 11-year-old in the mid-1970s. Speaking following a three-year battle to clear his name, Harper said: "I have now been acquitted on all the charges that were brought. This case should never have gone as far as this, or taken so long to resolve. The psychological and personal cost to my wife and myself has been enormous and the financial cost hugely unfair. I lost my livelihood and I spent my savings... and more, on my defence." Harper added: "I realise these are difficult issues at this time in this society, and I thank my lawyers for standing by me and working so hard to show the truth. Despite coming out of this without a blemish on my name, I cannot recoup my costs and that's left me incredibly angry." - NME, 11/10/15...... New Orleans music legend Allen Toussaint, a songwriter, producer, and performer helped define the sound of soul and R&B in New Orleans and beyond, died following a performance in Madrid, Spain on Nov. 9. He was 77. Toussaint, who grew up in New Orleans, began his career producing for local talent like Ernie K-Doe, Irma Thomas, Art and Aaron Neville, and Lee Dorsey in the early 1960s. Adopting the second-line piano style of artists like Professor Longhair, he brought the New Orleans aesthetic to a national audience with hits like "Mother-In-Law," "Fortune Teller," "Ride Your Pony," and many more. By the 1970s, Toussaint had gone international, collaborating with everyone from Paul McCartney (he played on the Wings album Venus and Mars) to Solomon Burke to Paul Simon (with whom he had just announced a New Orleans benefit concert in early November). He also launched his solo career during this era with a trio of R&B albums for Warner Bros. Between his solo work and his writing for other artists, his songs have been covered by everyone from the Rolling Stones and Jerry Garcia to Bonnie Raitt and Glen Campbell. His production for seminal funk groups like The Meters has also found a second life as the backbone of some of hip-hop's most recognizable beats. He re-emerged as one of the musical voices of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, recording with Elvis Costello and Eric Clapton and touring widely. Already a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Toussaint's new solo work earned him six Grammy nominations through 2013 and 2014, as well as a National Medal of the Arts. Sorry to hear that Allen Toussaint died after a concert in Spain," Paul McCartney posted after learning of his death. "Having worked with him in New Orleans I know what a sweet and gentle guy he was and a massive songwriting talent with songs like 'Fortune Teller', Southern Nights', 'Working in the Coal Mine' and 'Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)'. His songs will be cherished by people like me who will have fond memories of Allen forever. Deepest sympathies and love to his family from me and my family," McCartney added. - Billboard, 11/10/15...... Scottish drummer Andy White, a session musican who played drums on some of the Beatles' earliest tracks, passed away on Nov. 9 in New Jersey after suffering a stroke. He was 85. Mr. White appeared on the US release of the Beatles' 1962 recordings of "Love Me Do" and "PS I Love You," and is also thought to have played on the album version of "Please Please Me." As well as playing with the Beatles, Mr. White also provided drums for Tom Jones' 1965 single "It's Not Unusual" and Lulu's 1964 cover of "Shout." In 2009, White said in an interview with a New Jersey paper that he was paid a one-off fee of £5 for three hours work with the Beatles and received no further royalties from the recordings. "You could tell it was something different and very special," Mr. White said in 2012. "But I didn't know just how special it would become." - NME, 11/12/15...... Actor Gunnar Hansen, best known for portraying the Leatherface character in the classic 1974 horror flick The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, died of pancreatic cancer in Northeast Harbor, Maine, on Nov. 7. He was 68. After interviewing with Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper in 1973, Hansen was given the part of Leatherface the retarded killer. After Texas Chainsaw Massacre he tried to make a living as a writer, and worked as a magazine editor for a while. Hansen, who was originally from Iceland, also directed a documentary on Greenland, and spent some time as a web designer. He was currently casting and re-writing the movie The Last Horror Picture Show....... Original Motörhead drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor has died at age 61. Taylor drummed with the pioneering British heavy metal outfit from 1975 to 1984 and then again from 1987 to 1992, which means he played on the bulk of the band's classic recordings. Although he officially left Motörhead decades ago, he linked up with the band's current lineup to perform the immortal "Ace of Spades" in Birmingham in Nov. 2014. - Billboard, 11/12/15...... Rock drummer Edward "Fast Eddie" Hoh, who played on many well-known '60s rock songs by such acts as Donovan and The Monkees, passed away on Nov. 7 in Westmont, Ill. He was 71. He also performed at the seminal 1967 Monterey Pop Festival as a member of the Mamas and the Papas touring band. In 1968, he participated in the recording of Super Session, the highly successful 1968 Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper/Stephen Stills collaboration album. Hoh's flurry of activity came to an end by the early 1970s, and since then he had remained out of the public eye.