Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on Feb. 16th, 2016

Bruce Springsteen has announced he will release his long awaited autobiography this fall. Titled Born to Run, the book will feature the Boss' memories told in "disarming candor," according to a press release. Springsteen said he began the book after watching the 2009 Super Bowl. "Writing about yourself is a funny business," Springsteen was quoted as saying. "But in a project like this, the writer has made one promise, to show the reader his mind. In these pages, I've tried to do this." Springsteen was reportedly paid a $10 million advance for the memoir from publisher Simon & Schuster. The work will be published in hardcover, ebook, and audio editions by Simon & Schuster on Sept. 27 in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India, and rights have already been sold to publishers in nine countries. - Billboard, 2/11/16...... Sting performed to a sold-out audience at Toronto's Air Canada Center on Feb. 14 during the NBA All-Star Game half-time show. The 64-year-old former Police frontman's 10-minute set included the his 1999 solo hit "Desert Rose," the reggae-rock classic "Message in a Bottle," the hard-rocking "Next to You," and finally the smash hit ballad "Every Breath You Take." Meanwhile, Sting says he's "thrilled and surprised" that "Stolen Car," his duet with French singer Mylene Farmer, has just hit No. 1 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart. "I'm absolutely thrilled and surprised," Sting said. "It's so great to be No. 1, especially on the Dance Club Songs chart. Wow!" An earlier version of the song, featuring Twista, topped the Billboard singles chart in 2004. - Billboard, 2/15/16...... Barry Manilow was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital on Feb. 11 due to "complications from emergency oral surgery that Manilow had on Monday (Feb. 8)," according to a statement on his Facebook page on Feb. 11. The crooner, 72, is in the midst of his One Last Time - One Last Tour trek and had completed a sold-out show in Memphis when he was flown back to Los Angeles. Manilow was forced to reschedule shows in Kentucky and Tennessee due to the emergency, however the singer made a surprise return to the stage for Clive Davis' pre-Grammys party in L.A. on Feb. 14, just days after being hospitalized. Manilow reportedly showed no ill effects when he appeared at Davis' glittering annual party, and opened his performance with a rendition of his 1976 hit "Mandy." "I'm really glad to be here. What a week!," Manilow said after the performance. "This is the 40th anniversary of the release of "Mandy" -- and the beginning of this beautiful party." His latest album was nominated at the Grammy Awards for what would have been second Grammy Award. - Billboard, 2/15/16...... In other Grammy news, Lady Gaga performed an extended tribute to David Bowie during the 58th annual show at the Staples Center in L.A. on Feb. 15. Gaga channeled the late rock icon's Ziggy Stardust persona as she ran through several of his hits, including "Space Oddity," ''Let's Dance," ''Changes" and "Heroes." Days before the Grammys, it was reported Gaga got a large tattoo of Bowie's face on the side of her body. "I don't know who I'd be if I didn't have (Bowie as) a figure in my life. I don't know what my identity would be," Gaga said before the show. Also at the ceremony, the legacy of late Earth, Wind & Fire mastermind Maurice White was saluted as the surviving members of the group, which is the recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, presented the Record of the Year statuette at the show. Late Eagles member Glenn Frey was also honored with surviving current and former members Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Joe Walsh and Timothy Schmit uniting with Jackson Browne to perform the Eagles' 1972 hit "Take It Easy." Two nights earlier, another Frey tribute was held at the Troubadour club in L.A., with Bonnie Raitt, Lee Ann Womack, Jack Ingram and others participating. And a Grammys tribute to former Commodores member and '80s solo star Lionel Richie took place, with Richie, Demi Lovato John Legend performing a medley of some of Richie's biggest hits, including "Easy Like Sunday Morning," "Hello," "Penny Lover," "Brick House" and "All Night Long." - AP/Billboard/New Musical Express, 2/16/16...... The suburban Detroit neighborhood of Royal Oak has approved named a stretch of street after late Eagles star Glenn Frey, who was born in Detroit and grew up in Royal Oak. Glenn Frey Drive will run adjacent to Royal Oak Middle School - the former Dondero High where Frey was a student. On Feb. 11, the Royal Oak School Board voted 12-0 to rename part of Willis Avenue after Frey. New signs are expected to go up by Feb. 18, one month to the date after Frey died of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia in New York at age 67. - AP, 2/11/16...... Phil Collins released the first two titles in his "Take a Look at Me Now" reissue series, 1981's Face Value and 1993's Both Sides, on Jan. 29. The second batch, 1982's Hello, I Must Be Going! and 1996's Dance Into the Light come out Feb. 26. Fans of the original albums my be surprised by the new album cover photos for the series -- which are nearly identical replicas of the original covers save for Collins' current face in place of the initial images. "I wanted to bring something new to (the packages), so we came up with the idea of the second CD and then I had the idea to re-shoot all the album covers," Collins says. "It kind of brought it into this period now that we're living in, and these songs were personal to me then and they're still personal to me now. I had a great team. I had a great photographer and a great computer guy. We had three people there that were just working on the lighting and the look, and we managed to replicate all the covers beautifully." The former Genesis drummer added that the upcoming reissue of his 2010 album Going Back, which was mostly an album of R&B and Motown covers, will come out with fewer songs and a revised sequence. "I loved the original songs and I loved what we've done with my replicas of those songs," he says of the LP. "So we put everything on, but I think maybe it was too much. I think for a number of reasons that album was missed." - Billboard, 2/14/16...... Surviving Doors members Robby Krieger and John Densmore participated in an all-star charity tribute to late Doors member Ray Manzarek at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 12. The two musicians were joined by an eclectic array of guest vocalists filling in for Jim Morrison, including Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters and Andrew Wyatt. But the real thrill for the artists and capacity crowd was seeing Krieger and Densmore play together again on the Doors number "When the Music's Over," featuring Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes on vocals and guitar. Before the song, Krieger shared a story about "When the Music's Over" that began with Morrison and his wife Pam calling him at 3 a.m., having taken too much acid. According to Krieger, they summoned him to their home, freaking out, where he suggested they go into nearby L.A.'s Griffith Park to get with nature and come down off their trip. As a result Morrison missed the session for "When the Music's Over," so they recorded the track without him, only to have him show up later and want to add his part. So the singer overdubbed his vocals. "He got it in one take," Krieger said, drawing applause and laughter from the crowd. The concert benefited the Stand Up To Cancer fund, which was founded by Manzarek. - Billboard, 2/13/16...... Bob Dylan is reportedly working on another album of cover standards to follow up his 36th studio album, 2015's Shadows In the Night, at Hollywood's Capitol Studios. "It's going along great," Schmitt said. "[Dylan] sounds great," says engineer Al Schmitt, who also worked on Shadows. "His mood in the studio is fabulous. We're having a good time. We're like two old shoes together now, we're so comfortable with one another now," he added. Schmitt did not confirm whether the songs would be covers of Frank Sinatra songs like Shadows In the Night. That album, recorded live by Dylan and a five-piece band, debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. - Billboard, 2/14/16...... Black Sabbath performed at the Forum in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, one of the heavy metal gods' first North American dates on their "The End" tour. Sabbath opened with the eponymous first song from their also self-titled debut album, with frontman Ozzy Osbourne struggling to find his voice. Sabbath also treated the crowd to such classics as "War Pigs," "Children of the Grave" and "After Forever." - Billboard, 2/13/16...... Elton John will be among the headliners at an upcoming Hillary Clinton fundraiser concert on March 2 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Clinton, a 2016 presidential hopeful, announced the concert on Twitter, and both former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton will be present at the event. Tickets (at $125 each) will benefit the Hillary Victory Fund. Also headlining the concert will be Katy Perry and Andra Day. - Billboard, 2/12/16...... In other Elton news, the Rocket Man recently told a U.S. radio station that he feels the Rolling Stones are no longer relevant. "I think Mick [Jagger] wants to still be relevant on the radio -- well they are not," Sir Elton said. "What I think the Rolling Stones should do is a great blues record, and go back to what they used to do -- and do things like 'Come On' - the Chuck Berry song like they did in their early career. That is what they should do," he added. John released his latest studio album, Wonderful Crazy Night, on Feb. 5 via Island Records. - New Musical Express, 2/14/16...... Speaking of the Rolling Stones, the members of the band are under a 24-hour armed guard on their South American tour following the shooting of a worker at one of their gigs. The band have taken extra precautions after a man was shot dead in botched attempt to steal drinks takings from their La Plata stadium show. A 55-year-old contractor was killed when three cars attempted to hijack a van transporting cash from alcohol sales after the concert. In the wake of the incident, the Stones have stepped up their security arrangements and will travel separately, escorted by armed bodyguards. Meanwhile, frontman Mick Jagger has revealed in a new Esquire interview that he originally wanted the new HBO series Vinyl, which he co-produced and stars his son James Jagger, to be a movie. "It was a movie idea. I went to Marty (co-producer Martin Scorsese) and said that I'd like to do something that covers the actual inside of the record business, using (his film) Casino as shorthand." Instead, the end result was instead a 10-part TV series, telling the story of 1970s New York-based music executive Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale), with themes of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll featuring heavily. - NME/Esquire, 2/14/16...... Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has blasted Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on a new post on his website. "Trump supporters [are] so seemingly unaware of his lies and bullshit," Byrne said in the lengthy essay, which he titled "The Echo Chamber." Byrne added that Trump's rise coincides with a socio-economic shift in American society. "My guess is that the middle class senses the end of the American dream and that white middle class Americans are experiencing a lack of mobility and opportunity in the economic spheres where they were previously the privileged and entitled majority. This probably drives a lot of Sanders supporters, too," he continues, "though my bias leads me to assume that Sanders isn't propagating outright lies and misconceptions -- he's actually addressing issues and not simply massaging his ego and building his brand." - NME, 2/12/16...... Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has been confirmed to headline the upcoming Teenage Cancer Trust series of gigs, which are being curated by The Who's Roger Daltrey. The gigs will run at the famed 5,000 capacity Royal Albert Hall in London from April 19-24. Gilmour will headline the closing concert on Apr. 24, while other performers include Simply Red (4/21) and New Order (4/23). "I'm very happy to be announcing such a varied line up," Daltrey said in a press release. "The money raised is invaluable to this charity, which receives no government funding in England, to help young people with cancer in the NHS." - NME, 2/15/16...... Carole King gets the American Masters treatment on Feb. 19 when PBS premieres the new documentary Carole King: American Woman. When you see the compelling stories behind her career -- from her years as a behind-the-scenes hit writer for other singers during pop music's Brill Building era to her James Taylor collaborations to Tapestry to winning the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song -- it's clear that King is a natural legend. - Entertainment Weekly, 2/19/16.

What is being touted as the "largest lock of John Lennon's hair" ever sold has been put up for action online by the Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. According to the sales description, the lock of hair was trimmed from the late Beatles legend in Sept. 1966 during the filming of the Richard Lester-directed movie How I Won the War, which featured Lennon. Bidding has reached as high as $12,000 for the lock, and previous locks of Lennon's hair have fetched $48,000 in 2007 and $25,600 in 2015. - Rolling Stone, 2/9/16...... In other Beatles-related news, a new report conducted by the Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Liverpool, and commissioned by Liverpool City Council, has found that the tourist income generated by the Fab Four to their home city adds almost £82 million to the city's economy, and supports as many as 2,335 jobs. The report found that the "Beatles economy" in Liverpool grows 15 per cent each year with "further significant growth potential" in the future. A University of Liverpool professor stressed the importance of "maintaining standards in efforts to promote this legacy," while another prof added that "we need to convey the core point that Liverpool was not just the birthplace of The Beatles, it was their cradle; what they learned as Liverpudlians they took into the world... The self-confidence and openness to cultural influences remains a vibrant and distinctive aspect of the life of the city. The still fresh music of The Beatles reminds us who we are and who we could become." The Beatles formed in Liverpool in 1960 and became instrumental in the local Mersey Beat scene during their early career. In Dec. 2015, the city unveiled a new Beatles statue to mark the band's final performance in the city, on Dec. 5, 1965. - New Musical Express, 2/8/16...... A Grammy tribute to late Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey will feature past and present surviving members of the band -- Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Joe Walsh and Timothy Schmit as well as "Take It Easy" co-writer Jackson Browne -- during the 2016 Grammys, which is set for Feb. 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It seems a sure bet the Eagles and Browne's setlist will include "Take It Easy," which was written primarily by Browne with contributions from Frey. Frey died at age 67 of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia after several months of illness. His last performance with the Eagles took place in Louisiana on July 29, 2015. The Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on CBS on Feb. 15. - Billboard, 2/10/16...... Elton John has told a British music website that he's planning on collaborating with the contemporary band The Killers and their frontman Brandon Flowers for the next Flowers LP. "I'm hoping to go to Vegas and write with Brandon for the new Killers record| So that'll be interesting," said John, who also expressed his love of working with other artists in the studio. "It's just great to be able to see how other people sing, what they write, how they do it, and it gives you an idea of, 'Oh they do it that way'," Sir Elton remarked. - New Musical Express, 2/9/16...... Late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister will be honored with a life-size, bronze statue to be erected outside his favorite bar in Los Angeles, the Rainbow Bar & Grill on the Sunset Strip. Fans commissioned the statue, which was made by L.A. artist Travis Moore, through a crowdfunding campaign, with over $15,000 raised for the project so far. Kilmister was a regular at the bar before he passed away on Dec. 28 at age 70, and the bar recently hosted a memorial in his honor. - New Musical Express, 2/8/16...... Iggy Pop, who will be releasing a new studio album, Post Pop Depression, on Mar. 18, has revealed that it could be his last. "I feel like I'm closing up after this. That's what I feel. It's my gut instinct," Pop said in an interview on Feb. 6. Pop added that he still might perform occasionally -- such as "singing 'Happy Birthday' at your mother's (or) something like that" -- but "to really make a real album you really have to put everything into it and the energy's more limited now." Pop, 68, recently announced that he will headline London's Royal Albert Hall with his new band in May, and then play selected dates around the globe. Pop released the first track from Post Pop Depression, "Gardenia," in late January. - NME, 2/6/16...... The Grateful Dead-spawned superground Dead & Company has announced it keep on truckin' with a summer tour of 17 American dates beginning on June 10 in Charlotte, N.C. Other stops on the tour, with original GD members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman along with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti, include Cincinnati; Noblesville, In.; Camden, N.J.; Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Bristow, Va.; Flushing, N.Y.; Hartford, Conn.; Boulder, Col.; Detroit; East Troy, Mich.; and Pittsburgh before the tour wraps with a two-night stand in Boston on July 15 and 16. The band is also set to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Feb. 18. - Billboard, 2/8/16...... It appears former Chicago principle Peter Cetera won't be participating in Chicago's upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. Cetera, the group's original singer and bassist who left the group in 1985, posted a copy of a note he sent to Rock Hall Foundation chief Joel Peresman and induction ceremony producer Alex Coletti on his website on Feb. 8 that reverses previous statements that he was willing to play with the band during the April 8 ceremony at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. "Unfortunately this scenario doesn't work for me," Cetera wrote. "I know we all did our best to make it happen, but I guess it's just not meant to be. Personally I'm frustrated and tired of dealing with this and it's time to move on. I have a life with two beautiful daughters and a solo career and its time to get back and give them the full attention they deserve. Thanks for all your help and consideration! Have a great show and please send any individual award I receive to the contact you have for me," he added. In December, Chicago singer/keyboardist Robert Lamm announced that Cetera, along with founding Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine, would be attending and performing at the ceremony, only to be corrected by Cetera. Lamm subsequently apologized for making the announcement without Cetera's confirmation, and in January, Cetera posted a letter on his website saying he was willing to perform "25 or 6 to 4" that night, also suggesting that all of Chicago's living members, past and present, be invited to play the song. Earlier in February, Lamm told Billboard that "I don't even know if our band is going to play... I don't know if it's going be a house band or Paul Shaffer playing. I have no idea. It'll all be worked out, I'm sure, but as to what I know now, it's very little." Lamm said Cetera's refusal to take part in the ceremony could have been due to his "wanting to to play [the song] in a different key if he was going to play with us, which is definitely not going to happen, and then he wanted to play with his band but not with us and sing his songs or sing whatever songs the Hall wants him to sing... It's all very strange." As of now, Lamm and remaining co-founders Lee Loughnane, James Pankow and Walter Parazaider are confirmed to participate in the induction. - Billboard, 2/8/16...... Don McLean has pleaded not guilty to a domestic violence charge after the "American Pie" singer was arrested on Jan. 18 when his wife filed a handwritten request for protection. McLean's attorney announced on Feb. 8 that the singer entered the plea in writing and will not appear in court in Maine when his case is heard on Feb. 22. The attorney says nothing substantial will come of the misdemeanor count on that date because of the handwritten plea. McLean and his wife later announced through the attorney that they had "agreed to move forward," and the protection order was dismissed. McLean and his wife life in Camden, Maine. - AP, 2/8/16...... A home in Mayfair, London where Jimi Hendrix once lived that has been converted to a museum was opened to the public for the first time on Feb. 10. Hendrix lived at the flat at 23 Brook Street, which was owned by Hendrix's then girlfriend Kathy Etchingham, for a year between 1968-69. Among the items on display at the museum are a copy of Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited that is stained with Hendrix's blood. Fans will also be able to view the top floor of the home with organisers having spent two years renovating it to its original form. - New Musical Express, 2/9/16...... Carlos Santana has taken to Facebook to criticize his hometown of San Francisco for not featuring "local" Bay Area bands to be featured in the Super Bowl 50 halftime show on Feb. 7. "I do feel compelled to point out to you that the Halftime Show should have included some of the local iconic bands that the World would have loved to see perform," reads a Feb. 9 post by Santana, who was featured in a Super Bowl highlight reel playing guitar. "Bands like Metallica, Steve Miller, Journey and yours truly. We would have rocked the Half Time Show and done the SF Bay Area proud," he added. After reading Santana's post, Journey updated their own Facebook page with the message, "Thank You Carlos, and yes we would have all Rocked it!" - Billboard, 2/9/16...... David Bowie's widow Inman has broken her silence for the first time since her late husband's passing on Jan. 10 with a simple message on Twitter. "'Love & Gratitude' - Iman," she posted on Feb. 6. Inman had posted a number of Twitter messages in the days leading up to Bowie's death, including: "The struggle is real, but so is god" and "Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory." Meanwhile, Bowie's Duncan Jones has revealed on Twitter that he's going to become a dad. "1 month since dad died today. Made this card for him at Christmas. Due in June. Circle of life. Love you, granddad," Jones posted on Feb. 10, alongside a cartoon drawing of an unborn foetus. Jones then went on to ask for parental advice in a series of tweets, saying: "So how knackering is it having a baby? Moon shoot knackering or morning after a house party knackering?" - NME, 2/10/16...... In related news, Mick Jagger's son James Jagger has told Britain's The Independent paper that he actually prefers The Kinks to his dad's famous rock band. "When people ask me if I prefer the Rolling Stones or the Beatles, then I will always say the Rolling Stones. But if someone asks if I prefer the Rolling Stones or The Kinks, I'd choose The Kinks," said James. The 30-year-old son of Mick and model Jerry Hall, who has begun a career in acting, is due to star in the new HBO drama series Vinyl, which premieres on the channel on Feb. 14. - NME, 2/8/16...... Paris Jackson, the 17-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson, has suggested she has troubles with alcohol and is attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings during a series of furious rants on Instagram. "This is f---ing ridiculous. I am expected to literally sit on my ass all day replying to comments people leave me (positive and negative)?" Paris posted. "I have AA meetings to go to. Family obligations. Personal obligations. Its so f---ing selfish that I am literally attacked on every f---ing thing I post just because people that I don't even know aren't getting what they want," she added. Paris' rant comes more than two years after she was hospitalized following an apparent suicide attempt in June, 2013. - WENN.com 2/5/16...... San Francisco-based musician Dan Hicks, who began his music career in the 1960s and was the founder of Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, died on Feb. 6 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 74. Hicks, a veteran Bay Area singer/songwriter/band leader, formed the Hot Licks after leaving the band The Charlatans, a pioneer of the '60s psychedelic "San Francisco sound" along with the likes of the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. The Hot Licks produced several successful albums but broke up in 1973, at the height of its popularity. Perhaps best known for the songs "I Scare Myself" and "Canned Music," Hicks' songs were frequently infused with humor, as evidenced by the title of one of his tunes, "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away?" Hicks' latest album, Live at Davies, was released in 2013. Hicks was diagnosed with throat and liver cancer in 2014, and in March 2015 he announced on his website that he had been stricken with liver cancer and, while "confident" in his recovery, would be postponing all live performances. "My darling darling husband left this earth early this morning. He was true blue, one of a kind, and did it all his own way always," his wife CT Hicks posted on Dan's Facebook page on Feb. 6. - AP/Billboard, 2/6/16...... Singer Joe Dowell, who was briefly popular in the early 1960s with a No. 1 hit titled "Wooden Heart," died on Feb. 4 at a hospital in his longtime hometown of Bloomington, Ill. He was 76. "Wooden Heart" already had been a hit for Elvis Presley in Europe when Dowell's version was released in the US. With its bouncy tempo and echoed vocal track, the song topped the Billboard chart in early Sept. 1961. Dowell's other songs included "The Bridge of Love" and "Little Red Rented Rowboat." In subsequent years he recorded commercial voiceovers and gospel songs.