Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 29th, 2016

A three-person board announced on Aug. 29 that it had denied parole for Mark David Chapman, the convicted murderer of John Lennon. The board did not specify the reason for denying Chapman, 61, parole for the ninth time since he was found guilty of slaying Lennon in front of his and wife Yoko Ono's Dakota apartment building in New York City on Dec. 8, 1980, as the couple returned from a recording session. The parole board had reportedly received five letters recommending parole for Chapman in 2016, however, those writing the board requesting it deny parole for Chapman included Yoko Ono. In his last hearing two years ago, Chapman claimed to have found Jesus and said he was an "idiot" for killing Lennon. He added that he was "confused" and "needed a lot of attention at that time, and I took it out on him." - Billboard/New York Daily News, 8/29/16...... Mick Jagger has reportedly reached a five-figure monthly child support deal with his current lover, 29-year-old ballet dancer Melane Hamrick, whom the 72-year-old has been dating on-and-off for the last two years. Hamrick, who is due to give birth in December, announced she had unexpectedly became pregnant during the Rolling Stones' tour of South America earlier in 2016. The hefty payments are said to be around $15,000 a month until the child turns 18, meaning that Hamrick, who currently lives in New York, will bank an estimated total of $3.3 million. Jagger has also agreed to purchase a house for Hamrick and his latest child, which will be his eighth. - WENN.com, 8/29/16...... Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose joined AC/DC for the Aussie rockers' first night of their 10-date Rock Or Bust Tour on Aug. 27 in Greensboro, N.C. The show was highlighted by a performance of "Live Wire" from the band's 1975 album T.N.T., the first time the band have performed the track live since 1982. The tour will be AC/DC's last with Rose, who joins the dates fresh from Guns N' Roses' Not In This Lifetime tour. Rose was recruited after their long-time frontman Brian Johnson was advised against performing live by physicians after experiencing hearing problems. Johnson announced earlier this year that he had met with in-ear technology specialist Stephen Ambrose for treatment of his hearing loss, and says he hopes he can rejoin AC/DC at some future point. After dates in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (8/30), Atlanta (9/1), Cleveland, Oh. (9/6), Detroit (9/9), Buffalo, N.Y. (9/11), New York City (9/14) and Washington, D.C. (9/17), AC/DC will wrap the tour in Philadelphia on Sept. 20. - New Musical Express, 8/28/16...... Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are known for their marathon concerts, and now the band appears to have set a new stateside record on Aug. 23 at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The band performed a 35-song, 3 hour and 52 minute set which the Springsteen fansite Backstreets.com reports is the Boss's longest U.S. show ever. However that concert is shorter than Springsteen's longest concert ever, a 4 hour and 6 minute show in Helinski, Finland, in 2012. Springsteen and his band are performing in seven U.S. cities, including East Rutherford, before wrapping the tour on Sept. 14. The band spent three months performing in Europe on their The River Tour 2016, which kicked off in January. - AP, 8/25/16...... Led Zeppelin has shared a previously unreleased track called "Sunshine Woman" to help promote their upcoming album The Complete BBC Sessions, which is due on Sept. 16. "Sunshine Woman," recorded in 1969, was recently unearthed and previously only available as a bootleg. It will be one of eight unheard recordings to feature on The Complete BBC Session, which is a remastered version of 1997's BBC Sessions, along with additional tracks. - NME, 8/25/16...... The Beach Boys will release all of their pre-Capitol Records recordings in a new 2-disc set, Becoming the Beach Boys, on Aug. 26 via Omnivore Records. Most prior budget label releases of the recordings did not use the master tapes and featured inferior sound quality, until the DCC Compact Classics release Lost & Found 1961-62 in 1991, but that release only contained a fraction of the sessions. Becoming the Beach Boys was produced with the full cooperation of the band and contains all of the available tapes plus studio chatter. The "classic line-up" of the band is featured on the recordings, which included brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. The CD also contains songs by Kenny and the Cadets, which included Brian and Carl Wilson, their mother Audree Wilson, Al Jardine and Val Poliuto. Liner notes were written by Jim Murphy, who authored a book also entitled Becoming the Beach Boys in 2015. - Billboard, 8/26/16...... Legendary pop music producer, instrumentalist and record label executive Herb Alpert has pledged $10.1 million to Los Angeles City College through his Herb Alpert Foundation. The college says it will be able to provide free tuition as well as private lessons to all its music majors for years to come as a result of the donation. "I love the idea that we can open the door to help students who are financially challenged to study at LACC, which is a beautiful college," the "Rise" trumpeter said. "If you haven't been there lately, the campus is alive and kicking, and there are a lot of great teachers and a lot of great energy there," he added. Meanwhile, Alpert is doing sessions with an orchestra at Hollywood's Capitol Studios for his first Christmas album in 48 years. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/26/16...... Country/pop crossover superstar Dolly Parton is on track to score her first Billboard No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart in 25 years with her new LP Pure & Simple. The album is forecast to sell around 20,000 copies in the week ending Aug. 25, which will likely enable the set to debut at No. 1. Parton last topped that chart in 1991 with her Eagle When She Flies album, which was her sixth Country No. 1 LP. Released Aug. 19 on Dolly's own Dolly Records/RCA Nashville, Pure & Simple is the diva's 43rd studio album. - Billboard, 8/25/16...... The family of late funk/pop icon Prince announced on Aug. 25 that it will open Prince's Paisley Park estate in Minnesota to the public beginning in October. The property served as both a production studio and creative hub from 1985 to his death in April this year, and fans will be able to tour his video editing suite, rehearsal rooms and personal concert hall as well as see thousands of Prince artefacts including his concert wardrobe, awards, instruments, artwork, rare recordings and more. - New Musical Express, 8/25/16...... In related news, Kiss singer Gene Simmons has made further controversial comments about Prince's death, implying that the singer's death was "a choice." "I knew Prince and I knew [David] Bowie," Simmons said during an interview with radio station WNOR. "Bowie died from disease. Prince died from drugs, as did Michael Jackson. Drugs killed them, but it was a choice." Shortly after Prince's death, Simmons said Prince had died of a drug overdose, several weeks before the official cause of death was confirmed. In the latest interview, Simmons said that "people got upset" when he said that, "but that's why he died... Drugs are a selfish thing. This generation, and previous ones, believe that drugs use are a part of life, but I reject that. You play with fire, you're going to get burnt." Simmons and his fellow Kiss bandmate Paul Stanley have claimed that they have never consumed alcohol or taken drugs. - NME, 8/26/16..... In other Kiss-related news, comic book publisher Dynamite Entertainment has announced it will publish a new Kiss comic series -- simply titled KISS -- in October. The new comic book series, according to Simmons, will be a "love letter to the fans who've stayed with the band for that time -- as well as newcomers who've never read a Kiss comic before." Kiss made its first appearance in comic books in Howard the Duck No. 12 in 1977, and has been in other comics series from Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing and even Archie Comics through the years. - NME, 8/26/16...... Adam Wakeman, the keyboardist in Ozzy Osbourne's band since 2004, has said in a new interview that Osbourne wants to record a new solo album once the current Black Sabbath farewell tour is over. "Well [Black Sabbath are] finishing on February 4th, and then we'll see what happens with Ozzy after that," Wakeman said. "I mean, he wants to do another tour, he wants to do another album, but there's going to be a period of time when he needs a rest, so yeah, hopefully we'll be back out." Ozzy's last solo album was Scream in 2010, released three years before the last and final Black Sabbath LP, 13. - NME, 8/25/16...... George Clinton has announced he will release a new album on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label. Clinton and Flying Lotus became fdriends with Clinton appeared on a collaboration by Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar. - Billboard, 8/24/16...... Former The Dukes of Hazard star John Schneider's home in Holden, Louisiana, has been flooded as a result of the recent floods that have devastated the state. Schneider says overflow from the Tickfaw River in August inundated all of his property, flooding his home with about 4 feet of water as well as another house in which his mother lives. Schneider says he's lost a lot of memorabilia and equipment but his situation is not unique. About 90% of the homes in the parish were flooded, according to Schneider, and that the response by friends and strangers has been "amazing." - AP, 8/27/16...... Rudy Van Gelder, a legendary jazz engineer who worked extensively in the 50s and 60s for labels such as Blue Note, Impulse and Prestige, died at his Englewood Cliffs home in New Jersey on Aug. 25. He was 91. Iconic jazz artists that Mr. Van Gelder worked for include John Coltrane -- on his seminal 1965 LP A Love Supreme -- Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis. - NME, 8/28/16...... Juan Gabriel, sometimes known as the "Latin Elvis," died on Aug. 28 after suffering a massive heart attack in Los Angeles as he was preparing to fly to El Paso, Tex., for another concert. He was 66. At the time of his death, Gabriel, already one of Latin music's biggest superstars, was arguably at the apex of his career, despite his age. He was in the midst of the U.S. leg of his MeXXico Es Todos Tour, a 22-city arena trek that had him playing on 360 stages to accommodate sold out crowds. The week before his death, his latest album, Vestido de Etiqueta: Por Eduardo Magallanes, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart. In the fall, Telemundo will begin airing a TV series based on his life. Gabriel leaves behind a legion of fans spread around the world, and on Aug. 28 he was the top-trending Twitter topic worldwide, outpacing even the MTV VMAs. He is survived by his four children. - Billboard, 8/28/16...... Beloved comedic actor Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedy gems as The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Stir Crazy, died on Aug. 29 at his home in Stamford, Conn. The actor, 83, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease, according to his nephew Jordan Walker-Perlman. Born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee on June 11, 1933, Mr. Wilder began studying acting at the age of 12. After getting his B.A. from the U. of Iowa in 1955, Mr. Wilder enrolled in the Old Vic Theater school in Bristol, where he learned acting technique and fencing. After returning to the U.S., he taught fencing and did other odd jobs while studying with Herbert Berghof's HB Studio and at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg. Mr. Wilder made his feature film debut in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in Brooks' The Producers that same year. Mr. Wilder went on to star in the high profile Brooks films Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, for which he was also nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award with Brooks. He also dabbled in directing, helming four features, including The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, The World's Greatest Lover, The Woman in Red and Haunted Honeymoon. He went on to form a successful on-screen partnership with fellow comedian Richard Pryor starring in Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Another You together over the course of 15 years. In 1982, Mr. Wilder met his future wife, Saturday Night Live player Gilda Radner, as the two were filming the movie Hanky Panky. Radner would die of ovarian cancer, and Mr. Wilder's book Gilda's Disease: Sharing Personal Experiences and a Medical Perspective on Ovarian Cancer was a remembrance of his third wife. Mr. Wilder's other books included a 2005 biography, Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art, and also several novels with his most recent being 2013's Something to Remember You By. - Variety, 8/29/16...... Jeanne Martin, the second wife of Dean Martin, died on Aug. 24 after a battle with cancer at her Beverly Hills, Calif., home. She was 89. Ms. Martin married Dean in 1949 during the height of his fame, and the pair were one of Hollywood's most photographed couples. Matriarch of their large family, she gave birth to three of Dean's children while raising four more from his previous marriage. Their breakup in 1969 caused nearly as much distress to Martin's fans as his professional split with partner Jerry Lewis had in 1956. After their divorce was finalalized in 1972, Dean Martin was wed once more, to Catherine Hawn, a hair-salon receptionist, and legally adopted her daughter, Sasha, but that union ended in 1976. Jeanne Martin never remarried. The pair became reacquainted in 1987 when one of their sons, actor Dean Paul Martin, was killed at 35 while piloting a military jet. Jeanne and Dean remained on good terms until his death from respiratory failure on Christmas Day 1995. She is survived by son Craig Martin; daughters Gail Martin Downey, Deana Martin Griffeth and Gina Martin Romano. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/25/16.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band paid homage to their home state of New Jersey with a marathon 35-song, nearly 4-hour concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Aug. 23. Backed by a string section, the Boss's setlist included songs about growing up in the Garden State including "Sprit in the Night," "Growin' Up," "Wrecking Ball," "My Hometown," "Because the Night" and "Mansion on the Hill," also even getting into the holiday spirit with "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," a request taken from a sign in the audience. "It's the perfect summer song," the 66-year-old rocker quipped. He also told several tales, including one about his late dad prior to "Independence Day," and "Something in the Night," he told fans, was inspired by his playing bars until 3 a.m., then eating at a diner afterwards. Encores included "Jungleland," "Born to Run," "Dancing in the Dark," "Rosalita," "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," "Shout" (with the singer donning a cape in an ode to James Brown), "Bobby Jean" and "Jersey Girl." The band is also set to play the venue on Aug. 25 and Aug. 30. - Billboard, 8/24/16...... Stumping for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Princetown, Mass., on Aug. 21, Cher told Clinton supporters that she believes the former Secretary of State is "genuine" and that "this chick is tougher than Chinese algebra." "I'm here for multiple reasons, but I'm here one out of love and one out of fear," Cher said. "Because I'm so frightened for what's going to happen to this particular community. I know there's going to be other people, other minorities that are going to be totally screwed as well, but I honestly fear for your safety." As for Sec. Clinton's opponent, Republican Donald Trump, Cher said "I just think he's a f---ing idiot." She added that Trump and his anti-LGBT running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, "will try to turn back every clock, they will try to take back every one of your rights." "I feel like, 'What happened to the '70s? We already fought this battle'," she said, adding that "Trump doesn't want to be president... he wants the adulation, he doesn't give a sh-- about the work." - Billboard, 8/23/16...... The city of Berlin, Germany, where David Bowie famously recorded his "Berlin trilogy" of Low, "Heroes" and Lodger, unveiled a plaque honoring the late musician on Aug. 22 at the building where he lived from 1976 to 1978. Mayor Michael Mueller recalled Bowie's "special relationship" with his city as he unveiled the plaque outside the house on a busy street in the city's Schoeneberg district -- currently home to a dental practice among other things and which has been turned into a makeshift Bowie shrine following news of the music icon's death in January at age 69. The plaque quotes the refrain from the latter's title track -- "We can be heroes, just for one day." - AP, 8/22/16...... '70s music superstars Neil Young, Meat Loaf and Olivia Newton-John will be among the guests on the new season of newsman Dan Rather's series The Big Interview, which airs on AXS TV. Young will be featured on the Sept. 13 episode of series at 8:00 p.m. EDT, discussing his new album, Earth, and topics including his childhood polio and his experience with the band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Meat Loaf appears on the Sept. 20 episode, while Newton-John is the guest on Oct. 4. A marathon of past Big Interview shows will air starting at 8 a.m. EDT on Sept. 10, including Rather's conversations with Frankie Valli, Merle Haggard, Gene Simmons and Loretta Lynn. - AP, 8/22/16...... Joni Mitchell, who is on the mend after suffering a brain aneurysm some 17 months ago, made a rare and welcome public appearance at a Chick Corea concert at L.A.'s Catalina Bar and Grill on Aug. 20. Mitchell appeared to be relaxed as she posed for a photo with friends, and later posted it on her official website the following day. On Mar. 31, 2015, the iconic Canadian singer, then 71, was found unconscious in her L.A. home. Friends said her condition appeared to be "gravely serious," and that she was initially unable to speak. Updates on her life-threatening condition have been only occasional since. Three months after that incident, her attorney Rebecca J. Thyne said the artist "has physical therapy each day and is expected to make a full recovery" and by July, Mitchell had returned home to continue with her therapy. - Billboard, 8/21/16...... Aretha Franklin issued a statement on Aug. 22 saying she's cancelling several planned concerts to rest up. "Due to doctors' orders I will have to cancel a few concerts for the next month or so," she said. The performances include an Aug. 26 show at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts near Vienna, Virginia. The 74-year-old Queen of Soul, who was forced to cancel a show in Las Vegas in 2015 because of exhaustion, added she should be back on the road in November. - AP, 8/22/16...... Ringo Starr, helping to promote the upcoming Ron Howard-directed Beatles documentary Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years, has told Mojo magazine that the Beatles never intended to quit touring for good after calling it quits on live performing after their 1966 show at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. "The Beatles were never gone. And they could have come back," Starr said. Paul McCartney, who was also interviewed for the article, noted that "We got a bit conflicted, we got a bit fed up towards the end of it." Their only other live performance after that date included an impromptu concert on the rooftop of the Apple headquarters on Savile Row in 1969. Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years is scheduled for UK release on Sept. 15, and premieres in the US the following day. - New Musical Express, 8/24/16...... Grammy-winning songwriter and singer Burt Bacharach has announced he is cancelling two September concerts as he recovers from a broken arm. A spokesman for the 88-year-old Bacharach said the musician will skip scheduled performances on Sept. 3 in Curacao and Sept. 17 in Lancaster, Calif., and that he plans to resume his touring schedule in October. The publicist said she did not know how Bacharach broke his arm. - AP, 8/23/16...... Former Monkees and First National Band member Mike Nesmith has posted online that he plans on joining fellow surviving Monkees members Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork for one final 50th Anniversary Monkees show, at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 16. "The show is set for September 16th -- which I believe is almost a perfect match for the fifty year anniversary of the TV show," Nesmith wrote, adding that "I am bringing Gretsch, my beautiful, intelligent blonde to help me, and it looks like I'll make it once again." The Monkees musical sitcom premiered on NBC on Sept. 12, 1966, and ran for two seasons. Nesmith has previously performed with Dolenz and Jones on the Monkees 50th anniversary tour twice, via Skype in New York City on June 1, and on stage in Monterey, Calif., on Aug. 5. Nesmith added his upcoming solo projects for 2017 include a promotional tour for his upcoming book, Infinite Tuesday, and a solo concert tour. Meanwhile, Dolenz and Tork will take their Monkees 50th anniversary tour to Australia and New Zealand. - Billboard, 8/19/16...... Jazz harmonica player Jean "Toots" Theilemans, whose moody solos contributed to the soundtracks of such iconic films as Midnight Cowboy, The Getaway and Sugarland Express as well as in the theme song of Sesame Street, died in his sleep in a Belgian hospital on Aug. 22. He was 94. The Brussels-born Mr. Theilemans started playing the harmonica as a hobby and became interested in jazz during the German occupation. His first international breakthrough came in 1950 when he joined Benny Goodman on a European concert tour. After emigrating the the US in 1952, Mr. Theilemans joined Charlie Parker's All Stars, and also played with such pop music icons as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Billy Joel. Mr. Thielemans, who also played guitar, was honored by Belgium's royal family in 2001, when King Albert II gave him the title of baron. He had been hospitalized in July after a fall, but had reportedly been in good spirits after an operation on his shoulder. "We have lost a great musician, a heartwarming personality. All my thoughts are with the family and friends of Toots Thielemans," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel tweeted. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/22/16.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 19th, 2016

After their first wave of vinyl reissues were released in June, Pink Floyd has announced a second batch of vinyl reissues of three of their 1970s albums -- Atom Heart Mother, Meddle and Obscured by Clouds -- will be released on heavyweight 180g vinyl on Sept. 23. The band previously announced that vinyl reissues of The Wall and The Division Bell will hit stores on Aug. 26, and all of Pink Floyd's albums are due to be reissued eventually. - New Musical Express, 8/18/16...... A three-finger hand gesture slyly given by Steven Tyler in the intro video to the Rock N' Roller Coaster at Florida's Disney Hollywood Studios has finally been removed -- some 17 years after the Disney people realized Tyler was pulling one over on them. The gesture, which is hardly wholesome and known as "the shocker," has now been digitally edited to have the Aerosmith frontman holding up four fingers instead. A few hours after learning Disney's action, Tyler responded to the news on social media with a somewhat different hand gesture, a four-letter word hat, and a mocking facial expression. A Disney spokesperson could not be reached for comment. - Billboard, 8/18/16...... Former Bee Gees legend Barry Gibb announced on Aug. 19 that he'll release his first solo album with new material, In the Now, on Oct. 7 via his new contract with Columbia Records. The album sees Gibb collaborating with his sons Stephen and Ashley Gibb, and the three along with other members of Gibb's band will perform never-before-heard material from the new LP before fans at the Hit Criteria studio in Miami, Fla., on Aug. 20 from 7:00 PM-8:30 PM EDT. The event, dubbed In the Now 360 - The Live Stream with Barry Gibb, will be streamed on YouTube using 360 technology, providing fans with a unique opportunity to catch an intimate glimpse of their rehearsal. The live stream can be viewed and the new album can be pre-ordered on BarryGibb.com. - Billboard, 8/19/16...... David Bowie's longtime producer Tony Visconti has revealed in a new essay for the UK music mag Uncut that Bowie once abandonded a planned remake of a Bruce Springsteen song after meeting with the Boss. Visconti writes Bowe planned to cover Springsteen's "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" during the sessions for what would eventually become Bowie's 1975 album Young Americans. "David took [Springsteen] into another room for a private chat," Visconti recalled. "By the time Bruce left, he was more pleasant and said his goodbyes to the rest of us. David and I never worked on 'Saint' after that, although it was finished or re-recorded eventually with someone else." Bowie's version of "Saint," which appears on Springsteen's 1973 debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, eventually appeared on his 1989 box-set Sound + Vision. A new Bowie box set of mid-'70s recordings, Who Can I Be Now? 1974-76, will drop on Sept. 23. Other upcoming Bowie-related releases include the soundtrack of the late music icon's classic 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth. Featuring specially composed music by Japanese prog-rock musician Stomu Yamash'ta and John Philips (the main songwriter for '60s pop band The Mamas And The Papas), the LP uses recently rediscovered "lost" master tapes, and will be released on Sept. 9, the same day the film is reissued in cinemas. The vinyl and box set are due on Oct. 24, the same day the film is reissued on DVD. In still more Bowie news, his widow Inman posted a picture of the couple's daughter Alexandria on Aug. 15 to celebrate her 16th birthday. Alexandria "Lexi" Zahra Jones, the couple's only child, was born in Aug. 2000. "Happy sweet 16th birthday to my baby girl Lexi! Stay sweet "Classy with a hint of sassy," Inman tweeted. - NME, 8/19/16...... Bruce Springsteen posted the foreword of his forthcoming autobiography, Born to Run, on his official website on Aug. 16. The opening lines begin with a bit of embellishment, with the musician writing that he hails from a "boardwalk town," aka Asbury Park, New Jersey (Springsteen grew up inland in Freehold). "I come from a boardwalk town where almost everything is tinged with a bit of fraud," he writes. "So am I. By 20, no race-car-driving rebel, I was a guitar player on the streets of Asbury Park and already a member in good standing amongst those who 'lie' in service of the truth artists, with a small 'a.' But I held four clean aces. I had youth, almost a decade of hard-core bar band experience, a good group of homegrown musicians who were attuned to my performance style and a story to tell." The book, which is due on Sept. 27, will be accompanied by a new album Chapter and Verse. - Billboard, 8/16/16...... Iggy Pop will release an autobiography called Total Chaos on Nov. 17 via Third Man, the vinyl-obsessed record label headed by former White Stripes musician Jack White. Co-authored by Jeff Gold, Jon Savage and Johan Kugelberg, the book boasts that it will be "the first time [his] story has been told in Iggy's own words," and includes Pop's recollections about his days with the proto-punk band the Stooges from 1967-1973, and the Stooges revival in the early 2000s. The Stooges' last studio album, Ready to Die, was released in 2013, and earlier in 2016 Pop released his latest solo album, Post Pop Depression. - Billboard, 8/18/16...... As she campaigned in Cleveland, Oh., on Aug 17, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton stopped by the Quicken Loans Arena where Paul McCartney was soon to be performing and met with Sir Paul and his wife Nancy Shevell behind closed doors. No photos were taken during the meeting, but McCartney later posted a photo on his Twitter account of the two with the headline "She's With Me. pic.twitter.com/vHPMHMjFvV." After the pic was posted on Facebook, reactions ranged from "I love Paul's music but like him just a bit less now" to "Great pic! Rock on Sir Paul!" Meanwhile, Universal Music Group has announced that McCartney is returning to Capitol Records in a new worldwide recording agreement. Touted as a "historic deal," the contract will encompass McCartney's entire catalog of master recordings beginning with the 1970 McCartney album. It also marks a return to the label where he started his solo career. "This is genuinely exciting for me. Not only was Capitol my first U.S. record label, but the first record I ever bought was Gene Vincent's 'Be-Bop-A-Lula' on the Capitol label," McCartney said in a statement. Capitol/UMe will service McCartney's albums on his current label, Concord Records, beginning in July 2017. Capitol also revealed that the former Beatle is currently working on a new studio album. - Billboard,. 8/17/16...... In other Beatles-related news, Yoko Ono has named the four recipients of the 2016 Lennon Ono Grant For Peace, which will be presented in Reykjavik, Iceland on Oct. 9, what would have been John Lennon's 76th birthday. The winners are Chinese activist and artist Ai Weiwei, Inidian artist Anish Kapoor, Danish artist Olafur Eliasson and Hungarian poet and performance artist Catalan Ladik. The award, which is presented every two years, was founded in 2002. - New Musical Express, 8/17/16...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Ringo Starr's rep confirmed on Aug. 15 that the famous drummer is now a great-grandfather, as his granddaughter, Tatia Starkey, and her partner, Adam Low, welcomed a son named Stone Zakomo Low on Aug. 14. Tatia is the daughter of Ringo's son, Zak Starkey, who is a drummer for the Who, and has also drummed in the past with his dad's All-Starr Band and Oasis. Tatia Starkey also has a musical career as a member of the band Belakiss. Ringo will kick off his latest All-Starr band tour in Sonqualmie, Wash., on Oct. 15. - Billboard, 8/16/16...... Barbra Streisand has previewed a duet of "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with Seth MacFarlane that will be featured on Streisand's upcoming duets album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. "I've always loved the song 'Pure Imagination,'" Streisand says in a behind-the-scenes video. "I thought Seth MacFarlane would be great." Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway drops on Aug. 26. - Billboard, 8/17/16...... A deluxe reissue of Big Star's 1978 album Third featuring a whopping 69 tracks including original demos, rough mixes, early mixes, vocal takes and a cover of the Velvet Underground's "After Hours" is being planned for a fall release. Third was actually recorded in chaotic circumstances three years earlier in 1975 with the band disintegrating and the declining mental state of singer Alex Chilton, and by the time it was released, Big Star had already split. The release, called Complete Third, and an accompanying photo book that documents the band's entire career, will be released in October. - NME, 8/16/16...... Thousands of Elvis Presley fans made their way to the King of Rock & Roll's Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn., on Aug. 16 to hold their annual candlelight vigil, despite a heavy rainstorm. Police presence was reportedly heightened due to a nearby protest by activists supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. 2016 marks the 39th anniversary of Presley's death, and the fans walked slowly through Elvis's gravesite while holding candles. It was the culmination of Elvis Week, the annual celebration of his life and career. - AP, 8/16/16...... The Rolling Stone website has posted the full court transcript of Jimmy Page's testimony during the recent "Stairway To Heaven" plagiarism case. The transcript documents the Led Zeppelin guitarist's full questioning during the hearing in Los Angeles in June. Page and the rest of the band had been accused of stealing the band Spirit's song "Taurus" from 1968. The transcripts reveal that the trial contained some moments of humor, including Page's deadpan response of "Well yeah" to the question "you had a gift in being able to play the guitar, correct?" by the prosecutor. - NME, 8/15/16...... A Minnesota judge has given the administrator of Prince's estate the green light to sell six of the late artist's properties.Carver County Judge Kevin Eide gave the trust approval to list the properties, which include homes, vacant lots and buildings in Prince's hometown of Chanhassen, a suburb of Minneapolis. The list includes a commercial building estimated at $22 million and a 156-acre piece of land in Lakes Ann and Lucy valued at $13.7 million. Prince's home and recording studio Paisley Park is not among the 15 properties to be liquidated. - Billboard, 8/14/16...... Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne weighed in on the recent announcement that Mick Jagger is set to become a dad for the eighth time with girlfriend Melanie Hamrick. Appearing on her TV show, The Talk, Osborne said: "The thing that gets me is that at 73 his face is so wrinkly. All I do is I think his genitalia must be so wrinkly... it must be hanging, wrinkly and grey," she shuddered in front of the audience. "I just couldn't think of anything worse. Because you look up and that is wrinkly and you look down and that is wrinkly, and that is like 'no'. He is 73. How much longer is he going to have anyway? Amazing - now he has got somebody to push him around in a wheelchair," she continued, adding that she's never found Jagger attractive. - WENN.com, 8/18/16...... Actor/comedian Jack Riley, best known for portraying Elliot Carlin on the 1972-77 CBS sitcom The Bob Newhart Show as well as appearing in several Mel Brooks films, died in Los Angeles on Aug. 19 after a battle with pneumonia and infection. He was 80. A native of Cleveland, Oh., Mr. Riley began his career as a regular on the 1962-63 ABC sitcom Occasional Wife, which was narrated by Vin Scully. He went on to guest on dozens of popular TV series including I Dream of Jeannie, Hogan's Heroes, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and The Partridge Family before landing what would become his signature role -- the neuroses-laden Elliot Carlin on The Bob Newhart Show, which starred Bob Newhart as a Chicago psychologist. Carlin appeared in nearly 50 episodes as a patient of Newhart's who had a persecution complex and constantly put himself down. He appeared in all six seasons of the show, which also starred Suzanne Pleshette and Marcia Wallace. During that show's run, Mr. Riley could also be seen in episodes of such series as M*A*S*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Happy Days, Cannon, Columbo and Police Woman. In 1976, he played a Hollywood executive in Silent Movie, Mel Brooks' follow-up to Young Frankenstein, and later appeared in the Brooks films High Anxiety (1978), History of the World, Part I (1981) and Spaceballs. He continued to work steadily throughout the '80s and '90s and through the 2000s, with his later-career highlight as the voice of Stu Pickles, the father of Tommy and Dil on Rugrats. Mr. Riley appeared on more than 140 episodes of the animated series, reprising the role in the 1998-2003 film trilogy and several episodes of follow-up series All Growed Up! He is survived by his wife, Ginger Lawrence. - Deadline.com, 8/19/16...... Longtime political talk show host John McLaughlin, the host of The McLaughlin Group for 34 straight years, died on Aug. 16 at the age of 89. Known for his combative and irascible style, Mr. McLaughlin was a former left-leaning jesuit priest and teacher who lurched rightward and embarked on a Senate run in 1970 as a Republican. He became famous defending Richard Nixon during Watergate, telling CBS News that the president was "the greatest moral leader in the last third of this century." He compared the Watergate investigation to the Spanish Inquisition, insisted that Nixon hadn't committed any crimes, and likened the House Judiciary Committee to Lord of the Flies, according to a 2014 story in the Jesuit magazine America. "For 34 years, The McLaughlin Group informed millions of Americans," a post on the show's Facebook page reads. "Now he has said bye bye for the last time, to rejoin his beloved dog, Oliver, in heaven. He will always be remembered." - TheHill.com/CBS News, 8/16/16...... Veteran actor Fyvush Finkel, an Emmy Award winner best known to contemporary audiences for his roles on Picket Fences and Boston Public, died on Aug. 14 in his Manhattan home. He was 93. Mr. Finkel spent most of his early career on Gotham's Lower East Side performing in the Yiddish theater. His son, Ian, said his father had been suffering from heart problems. - Variety, 8/14/16.

Stevie Nicks and Keith Richards will be among the contributors to rocker Sheryl Crow's next studio album. Crow, 54, made the announcement at the BlogHer16 conference in Los Angeles on Aug. 5, where she told the crowd that she has been free of breast cancer for 10 years after being first diagnosed with the disease in 2006. The 54-year-old Crow, who last released an album in 2013, added that she is in the process of recording a new album at her home studio in Nashville that is "inspired by the people who have inspired me since I was a kid." - Billboard, 8/12/16...... Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leonard Cohen will release his 14th studio album in the fall via Sony. Titled You Want it Darker and produced by Cohen's son, Adam Cohen, and will be the follow-up to the 82-year-old artist's 2014 LP, Popular Problems. - Billboard, 8/12/16...... On Aug. 11 the Rolling Stones announced a comprehensive 15-disc box set of mono recordings of their 1960s ABKCO material. Due Sept. 30, The Rolling Stones in Mono features both the British and US releases of their albums from 1964's The Rolling Stones to 1969's Let It Bleed. All 186 of the songs the band recorded in mono will be featured, which includes their B-sides and non-album singles and EPs. The release will be available as 15 CDs, 16 vinyl LPs and digitally. The physical formats feature a 48-page book containing an essay by Rolling Stone's David Fricke and rare photographs of the Stones by rock photographer Terry O'Neill. - New Musical Express, 8/11/16...... In a new interview with the Australian media outlet WA Today, Alice Cooper cited current turbulent world events as the reason why it's "impossible" for a rock band to shock an audience. "I don't honestly believe that a rock band can shock an audience anymore," said Cooper, whose controversial stage antics in the '70s included guillotines, decapitated baby dolls and hanged mannequins. "With ISIS, with people shooting cops, with cops shooting blacks -- now CNN is so much more shocking than Rob Zombie or Marilyn Manson or Alice Cooper," he added. Cooper also said it was "easy to shock the audience in the '70s... because we were much more wholesome... Now, with the internet, it's literally impossible to shock an audience. I mean, somebody just killed 50 people in a gay bar. That shocks me." Earlier in 2016, Cooper launched a campaign to become both Prime Minister of the UK and President of the USA, with a campaign platform including "adding Lemmy [Kilmister] to Mt. Rushmore" and a "ban on taking selfies." - New Musical Express, 8/14/16...... As Elvis Week in Memphis, Tenn., approaches in the fourth week of August, officials at Elvis Presley's Graceland attraction have announced that a new 200,000-square-foot entertainment complex will be built across the street from the Graceland mansion. According to the Aug. 11 announcement, the new $45 million complex will include exhibits that highlight the late singer's life and career exploits in music and film. It will be part of a $137 million expansion that includes the construction of a $92 million hotel, The Guest House at Graceland. The hotel is scheduled to open on Oct. 27, and the new complex is set to be completed in the spring of 2017. In related news, Elvis's daughter Lisa Marie Presley has reportedly checked herself into a rehab center to tackle an addiction to prescription pills. Lisa Marie, 48, has struggled with substance abuse during her youth and is now receiving professional help at the luxury Hills Treatment Center in Los Angeles. "She's doing OK but needed to get this under control," a source close to Presley said. In July, Presley filed for a legal separation from her fourth husband, Michael Lockwood, to whom she has been married for 10 years. - AP/New Musical Express, 8/12/16...... Phil Collins has announced he will play his 1982 smash "In the Air Tonight" at the US Open tennis tournament on Aug. 29, during the event's opening ceremony. The song is particularly appropriate because it will also mark the first occasion where the Arthur Ashe Stadium's new retractable roof will be operational. The performance will Collins' second live performance since coming out of retirement in 2015. In March, Collins gave a seven-song set at a benefit concert in his current hometown of Miami. Collins is also prepping an autobiography which will be published in October. - NME, 8/12/16...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Paul McCartney compares the creative process of his "Only One" collaborator Kayne West to that of pop art icon Andy Warhol. "He's got a room full of guys working on riffs, and he walks around going, 'I like that one'," Sir Paul explained. "It reminded me of Andy Warhol, these artists who use students to paint their backgrounds and things. It's a well-used technique," he added. McCartney also said the two agreed that if their collaboration didn't feel right, they wouldn't tell anyone it happened. Of the sessions that also produced "All Day" and the Rihanna collaboration "FourFiveSeconds," he added, "I thought, 'I don't know how I'm going to fit into that, but let's see. Here goes nothing.'" In the same interview, Macca said that the Beatles were "threatened" back then as Yoko Ono was "sitting on the amps" as they recorded. "Most bands couldn't handle that. We handled it, but not amazingly well, because we were so tight," he said. When asked if he would ever tour with Ringo Starr, McCartney concluded, " I don't think either of us have ever thought why do it, or why not. It's just that our roads are parallel, with intersections and diversions. He's a great drummer, man. That's the thing about Ringo. He has a feel that nobody else has. As to going out on the road, it might be complicated." - Billboard/NME, 8/11/16...... Participating in the unveiling of a plaque at a UK cancer hospital, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi revealed that his cancer is in remission. Iommi has been receiving treatment at the Spire Specialist Care Centre, and Iommi unveiled the plaque which recognized the facility's high standard of patient care. "I can't thank them enough for what they have done for me and others like me," he said. In Jan. 2012, Iommi revealed that he had been diagnosed as being in the early stages of lymphoma, just a few months after Black Sabbath announced it was writing and recording its new studio album, 13. Iommi's condition reportedly forced the band to withdraw as a headliner for the 2012 Coachell festival, but it returned to the road in 2013-14. The band is currently on its farewell tour, which it announced in Sept. 2015, with their last U.S. show set for Nov. 12. In Feb. 2017, the members will play their last dates ever as Black Sabbath in their hometown of Birmingham, UK. - Billboard, 8/10/16...... Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens has announced a string of North American concerts this fall to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his first hit single, "I Love My Dog," in 1966. Dubbed the "A Cat's Attic Tour," the run of intimate-sized venues kicks off Sept. 12 in Toronto, also visiting Philadelphia (9/15), Boston (9/17), New York's Beacon Theatre (9/19, 20), Washington, D.C. (9/22), New York's Global Citizen Festival in Central Park (9/24), Nashville (9/27), Chicago (9/30) and San Francisco (10/3) before winding up with a two-night stand on Oct. 6 and 7 at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. According to a press release, Yusuf's tour will feature "a night of songs, storytelling and goodwill." - Billboard, 8/11/16...... The UK's Rewind South festival will take place on Aug. 19-21 with such acts as Leo Sayer, Adam Ant, Rick Astley, Marc Almond and Andy Bell of Erasure, among others. The festival is celebrating its eighth year and will take place at Temple Island Meadows, Henley-on-Thames. - Noble PR, 8/11/16...... The manager of Ted Nugent's 340-acre ranch in Pulaski Township, Mich., has been charged with supplying a fatal heroin dose to an acquaintance of Nugent's named Jim Lawson, who lived in a house he rented from Nugent on the property until his death on Apr. 29. The property manager, Melissa Mullins, faces a court hearing on Aug. 16 to determine if there's enough evidence to send the case to trial. Lawson appeared in Surviving Nugent, a 2003 documentary on cable channel VH1, and after his death Ted Nugent posted a message on his Facebook page saying that "hearts are shattered" because of the death. - AP, 8/14/16...... Actor/director Robert Redford rescued a horse stranded by a freeway in New Zealand earlier in August as he was on his way to the set of the upcoming Disney movie Pete's Dragon. "There was a horse that was on the side of a freeway that we would all take to get to work and we noticed for 24 hours this horse continued to be there... There's no water, there's no hay and the horse looked like it was abused," Redford's co-star Bryce Dallas Howard noted on the TV show The Talk. "Bob saw this... and figured it out, went door to door; no one said, 'This is my horse', and he got folks to come in and bring the horse out and rescue it and now he's set up the horse for the rest of its life... He actually is the horse whisperer." Howard added that Redford was "an incredible, phenomenal human being... He would walk to work every day. He was so present with everyone. He's this wonderful man." - WENN.com, 8/9/16...... Folk singer/songwriter Glenn Yarbrough, a founding member of the folk trio The Limeliters and who later charted such solo hits as "Baby the Rain Must Fall," died on Aug. 11 at his home in Nashville, Tenn., after a bout with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia and other health issues. He was 86. The Milwaukee-born Mr. Yarbrough sang and played guitar with fellow Limeliters members Lou Gottlieb and Alex Hassilev from 1959 and 1963. The group was known for such songs as "There's a Meetin' Here Tonight," "City of New Orleans," "A Dollar Down" and "Lonesome Traveler." After leaving the group in 1963 (though he often returned for reunion tours), Mr. Yarbrough had a solo career that spanned nearly 40 years, with his highest-charting success in 1965 with "Baby the Rain Must Fall," which was featured in the Steve McQueen and Lee Remick movie of the same name. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and No. 12 on the Hot 100 pop singles chart. Mr. Yarbrough was also a sailing enthusiast who, according to his daughter, "would sail until the money ran out; then he'd get back on the road to play some more shows." He continued this routine until he was 80. Though he suffered from dementia in the last years of his life, his daughter said her father remained a "warm happy man." - AP, 8/12/16...... Barbara Gibb, the mother of Bee Gees members Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb as well as Andy Gibb, died in Miami on Aug. 12. She was 95. Born in Manchester, England, Mrs. Gibb had lived in Miami for the past 20 years. With her late husband Hugh Gibb, she managed the Bee Gees early career. Sadly, Mrs. Gibb saw three of her five children (she also had a daughter named Lesley) pass away during her lifetime: Andy in 1988 at age 30 of a heart condition, Maurice in 2003 at age 53 due to complications of a twisted intestine, and Robin in 2012 at age 62 from liver and kidney failure after battling cancer. - Billboard, 8/13/16...... Veteran music industry manager David Enthoven, who helmed the careers of such '70s acts as T. Rex, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Roxy Music as well as contemporary singer Robbie Williams, as died at age 72. Enthoven was also the co-founder of the London-based management company ie:music, which he formed in 1992 with former Island Records executive Tim Clark. Williams was always its star client, but the pair also helped guide the careers of Sia and Bryan Ferry, with its current roster including Lily Allen, Lamar, Passenger and Will Young. - Billboard, 8/12/16...... British actor Kenny Baker, best known for portraying the Star Wars droid R2-D2, has died at age 81 after a long battle with a lung condition. Mr. Baker's family paid tribute to the diminutive 3 ft. 8 in. actor by issuing a statement saying he "brought happiness to a lot of people." Mr. Baker received a credit in the latest Star Wars film which came out in 2015. - The Daily Mail, 8/13/16.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 9th, 2016

Australian songwriter Bob Daisley has filed a lawsuit over $2 million in unpaid royalties he claims he is due as the co-writer of Ozzy Osbourne's 1980 song "Crazy Train." Osbourne, Daisley and Ozzy's late guitarist Randy Rhoads are credited with writing the song, but according to court documents filed in Nevada on Aug. 8, Daisley is seeking $2 million in unpaid royalties. The complaint alleges that "although royalties have been paid to Daisley over the years, an audit conducted in 2014 showed that Osbourne and his company had been improperly deducting undisclosed fees before distributing royalties to Daisley and improperly withholding Daisley's rightful share of royalties owed under the publishing agreements for the commercial exploitations of the songs." Daisley is a former bassist on Osbourne's band and also co-authored several of the songs on Ozzy's LP Blizzard of Ozz, which includes "Crazy Train," as well as songs on Osbourne's Diary of a Madman, Bark at the Moon, The Ultimate Sin and No Rest for the Wicked. Reps for Ozzy Osbourne responded to the lawsuit in a statement, saying "For the past 36 years Mr. Daisley has been receiving bi-annual royalty statements and checks" from Ozzy's Blizzard Music Limited, and that "several different auditing firms [hired by Mr. Daisley] found no discrepancies... He has previously filed lawsuits in the UK and the US and has lost on each occasion." - New Musical Express/Billboard, 8/9/16...... Styx will release a new live DVD called Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas on Sept. 2, the latest in a series of concert videos the band has released since its last album of new material, Cyclorama, dropped in 2003. Styx co-founder/guitarist James "J.Y." Young says the live DVD series suits the group better than a new studio album right now." "Look, we know what people want from us, and it's 'Come Sail Away' and 'Lady' and 'Light Up' and 'Too Much Time On My Hands' and...the hits," Young says. "We're doing great on the road now, better than ever, and we're getting a lot of young people too, which is really gratifying. So why put in all that time and money into making something [new] that people may or may not by when we can put out something we know they want and they'll really like." Young's bandmate, Tommy Shaw, adds that a video release is easier to keep control of than streaming. "Since radio has changed so much, this is something that's a little harder to lose control of," Shaw says. "It's more of our doing than something that's just out there streaming, and you don't know where it's playing, if it's playing, are you getting compensated for it. We shoot it. We edit it. We put it out and we know how many are sold. It really feels like ours," he added. Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas was filmed in July 2014, and is the most recent document of Styx in concert. "We haven't shot one since then," Shaw says. "I don't think we've held any back, either. But I'm sure we'll do more when we feel the time's right." As for new music from the band, Young says that "Touring has been the complete focus of this band since '99, but there needs to be a new record from us at some point. I just don't know when, but I think that's less than five years away." - Billboard, 8/9/16...... On Aug. 8 the judge in the Led Zeppelin - "Stairway to Heaven" royalty dispute trial ruled that the band has no right to recoup nearly $800,000 in legal fees because the lawsuit against them was not frivolous. Judge R. Gary Klausner rejected the arguments of lawyers for Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, who contended the suit was brought only to shake down the wealthy rock stars for money and that awarding defense costs would deter future old and meritless copyright claims. Klausner said he had found the suit had enough merit to go to trial and there was no evidence that the plaintiff, the estate of the late Randy California of the band Spirit, "harbored nefarious motives." - AP, 8/8/16...... '70s disco producer Giorgio Moroder's latest project is the soundtrack of a new USA Network series titled Queen of the South, a show about a woman on the run in the US after her drug-dealer boyfriend is murdered in Mexico. "I liked Queen of the South because it reminded me a bit of Scarface," Moroder says, adding that working with a 30 minute format is completely different from a feature length film. Moroder, whose movie scoring credits include the 1979 smash Midnight Express, will be performing on Sept. 8 and 9 at an "immersive musical experience" in Brooklyn named after one of his famous Donna Summer-sung hits, "I Feel Love." Queen of the South airs Thursdays on USA Network at 9:00 pm CST. - Billboard, 8/9/16...... A hologram of legendary late heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio closed out the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany on Aug. 6. Created by Eyellusion, the hologram was seen by 75,000 fans who attended the massive metal event, which featured such as Iron Maiden, Ministry, Testament, Bullet For My Valentine and the Ronnie James Dio spinoff group, Dio Disciples. Dio Disciples guitarist Craig Goldy says there plans to take the Ronnie James Dio hologram on tour in 2017. "We can't wait to bring this experience to even more of his fans and perhaps even a newer generation when we bring this incredible live experience on the road next year," he said. Dio died in 2010 at the age of 67 after a battle with stomach cancer. - Billboard, 8/7/16...... Former Deep Purple vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes kicked off his first ever U.S. solo tour on Aug. 9 in Annapolis, Maryland. "When I came back in the early '90s, I wasn't represented appropriately. I always had a career in Europe," Hughes says. "I just think when I got sober, I pretty much focused on the United Kingdom or Europe in general and the Far East. But it's very clear to me that the door is open in America. I love this country. I want to go back to where it all started for me, which is playing in clubs, a lot of people coming into this tiny little place, crammed to the hilt. I just want to go back and get that vibe," he added. Hughes will be releasing a new solo album in November through Frontiers Records. His U.S. tour wraps Sept. 3 in Los Angeles. - Billboard, 8/5/16...... Gregg Allman has canceled all his U.S. tour dates through mid-October as he battles "serious health issues," according to an Aug. 5 press release. The 68-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member is currently being treated by the Mayo Clinic, and no further details were given on his condition. The string of axed dates include an Aug. 12 performance at Scranton, Pennsylvania's Peach Music Festival, and conclude with an Oct. 16 gig in Clearwater, Fla. Allman has promised to return Oct. 29 for his own Laid Back Festival in Atlanta, with all shows after that on as scheduled. "I want to thank my fans and friends for supporting me while I rest up and focus on getting better and back on the road as soon as I can," Allman said in the statement. "I've been working hard with my band, my pride and joy, to play our music for everyone. We'll see y'all in October." Allman's health troubles in recent years include a battle with Hepatitis C, which he contracted through a tattoo needle decades earlier, and in 2010 he underwent liver transplant surgery. In 2011, he was forced to cancel tour dates over an upper respiratory condition, for which he eventually required lung surgery. Allman, whose last studio effort was 2011's Low Country Blues, has hinted he's working on a new album that he hopes to release in early 2017, a collaboration with producer Don Was. - Billboard, 8/5/16...... The soundtrack of the 1983 David Bowie-starred movie Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence will be reissued on Oct. 21 via Milan Records. Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who won a BAFTA award for Best Film Music for his score, also starred alongside Bowie in the film, in which Bowie plays a British solider held captive in a Japanese prison camp during WW2. Bowie's character develops an intimate relationship with one of the guards, Captain Yonoi, played by Sakamoto. - New Musical Express, 8/8/15...... Singer/songwriter Jack Tempchin will release a new solo album, One More Song, on Sept. 2 through Blue Elan Records. One More Song is titled after one of the nine songs on the set, which has previously been recorded by former Eagles' bassist Randy Meisner and Kate Wolf and performed live by Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt. A re-recording of the Tempchin-penned song "Slow Dancing," a hit for Johnny Rivers, will also be included. - Billboard, 8/5/16...... Todd Rundgren will release a live multi-media extravaganza titled An Evening With Todd Rundgren - Live At The Ridgefield on Aug. 26. Available on CD, Vinyl, DVD, and Blu-ray, the album was recorded live at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Conn. on Dec. 15, 2015, and includes some of the versatile artist's best known songs, including "Hello It's Me," "I Saw The Light" and "Bang The Drum." Also included are fan favorites that haven't been performed live in decades, including songs from Rundgren's eclectic Utopia and Nazz albums. - Noble PR, 8/5/16...... Singer/songwriter/guitarist Pat Upton, a former member of the band Spiral Starecase who wrote the band's iconic 1969 love song "More Today Than Yesterday," died on July 27. He was 75. "More Today Than Yesterday" was a No. 12 hit for the Sacramento, Calif.-based Spiral Starecase, and the year's No. 50 song. Upton once said that he wrote the song "by accident, in a motel room in Las Vegas" and "was thinking about Bobby Golsboro singing it." The song has been covered by artists such as Andy Williams, Sonny and Cher, Lena Horne, Patti Austin and Diana Ross, and is a popular wedding selection. Upton was also once a backup singer for Rick Nelson, and in 1983 he returned to his native Alabama to open P.J.'s Alley in Guntersville, Ala. The club was the last venue Rick Nelson performed in before a Dec. 31, 1985 plane crash in Texas claimed his life. Upton last saw Nelson that morning, before his plane took off from Guntersville Airport, and had a photograph taken with him then. - 7/28/16...... Legendary New Orleans jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain passed away on Aug. 6 after recently suffering a stroke and undergoing heart surgery. He was 86. In the 1950s, Mr. Fountain was the bandleader for Lawrence Welk's TV show but he left after two years to return to New Orleans. He would continue to make appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show. Mr. Fountain performed for four different U.S. presidents and in 1987 performed "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" at a Mass in New Orleans led by Pope John Paul II. - TheDailyBeast.com, 8/6/16...... Ricci Martin, the son of late singer Dean Martin, died at his home in Utah on Aug. 3 of as yet undiscosed causes. He was 62. Ricci Martin enjoyed a career as a musician, releasing a single titled "Stop, Look Around" in 1975, which featured on Beached, an album produced by Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys. Wilson later became a brother-in-law to Martin. Martin also performed with Desi Arnaz Jr. and Billy Hinsche in the 1990s, who were in a band called Dino, Desi and Billy with Martin's brother Dean Paul Martin. Ricci Martin stepped in following his brother's death in 1987 in a plane crash. More recently Ricci Martin had been performing tribute concerts to his father, and even published a book about growing up as part of the large Martin family, titled That's Amore. - NME 8/7/16...... Musician Gary S. Paxton, who was "Flip" in the pop act Skip & Flip, has died at the age of 77. Paxton also wrote and produced for several '60's acts including The Monkees.

David Bowie's farewell 2016 album Blackstar has been nominated to win Britain's prestigious Mercury music prize. Since the Mercury Prize often favors eclectic and obscure performers over better-known ones, the rock icon's haunting Blackstar still may not be the overwhelming favorite, as it has to compete with releases by artists such as Laura Mvula, Bat For Lashes, Anohni, Jamie Woon and Michael Kiwanuka. The 2016 winner will be announced on Sept. 15. In other Bowie-related news, the late singer's good friend Iggy Pop paid tribute to Bowie on Aug. 2 during his BBC 6 Music radio show Iggy Confidiential by playing such tracks as "Boys Keep Swinging," "Diamond Dogs," "Paper Monsters" and "Under Pressure." "The way I chose them was from memory," Pop said of his song selection. "I took out a piece of paper and a pen and closed my eyes and just remembered what I liked at different times | I'm weighing things that are a little more low on the totem pole, but not obscure." Pop also discussed his memories of Bowie during the show, which is part of a larger BBC tribute to Bowie the same week. A Bowie tribute concert at Royal Albert Hall the first weekend in August is also planned featuring performances from John Cale, Amanda Palmer and Marc Almond, among others. - AP/New Musical Express, 8/4/16...... In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Ringo Starr revealed that he voted for Britain to leave the EU in the recent Brexit referendum because the EU is in a "shambles." "I voted for Brexit, because I thought the European Union was a great idea, but I didn't see it going anywhere lately," the Beatles legend said. "It's in shambles, and we're all stuck with people who want to make arrangements for their own country and don't think for the other countries. Britain should be out and get back on its own feet," Starr added. "And now Scotland wants to leave and Wales wants to leave. Then it will be Devon. God knows where it will end." Although his former bandmate Paul McCartney admitted in July that he didn't vote in the June Brexit poll because he was on tour at the time, Sir Paul told the Washington Post that he was leaning for Britain to remain in the EU: "I think I would have come down on the remain side because people like the Governor of the Bank of England, a lot of financial experts, were saying that." Starr also commented on the late arrival to streaming services by the Beatles, who only made their catalog widely available to stream in 2015: "We're just moving with the times. When we started with vinyl, and then CDs came out, that was good for us financially, because it wasn't in the contract. We had to go to CDs in the end. We were pretty late there. We were late to iTunes, too, but went there so you could buy the tracks. Streaming is huge now, so we're moving on. Who knows what's going to be next?" Ringo added that he doesn't stream music himself, but prefers to listen to the radio instead. "If I'm in the car, I usually listen to the radio, 88.5 Northridge [KCSN-FM, operated by California State University at Northridge]. I just love that channel, because it's such a mixed bag," he said. - New Musical Express, 8/4/16...... In a hearing on Aug. 4, lawyers for Prince's ex-wife Manuela Testolini argued that records from the couple's 2006 divorce should remain sealed. The Minneapolis Star Tribune has sought to have the couple's divorce records released publicly, but Testolini's attorneys objected, saying the records are tied to a private settlement. An attorney for the paper argued that "Prince's privacy died with him and that the court files are newsworthy, given Prince's death and the case surrounding his estate," which has an estimated value of $300 million or more. The judge ruled that he was taking the matter under advisement. Testolini was the second wife of Prince, who died on Apr. 21 from an accidental overdose of fentanyl. Meanwhile, on July 29 a Minnesota state judge barred 29 people who claim to be Prince's heirs -- including five alleged children, 11 alleged siblings and 13 people claiming more distant family relationships -- from seeking a share of the late pop superstar's multi-million dollar estate. However, Carver County District Judge Kevin Eide allowed a possible niece and grandniece to continue to pursue their claims, saying they may submit to genetic testing to prove a blood relationship, as will Prince's sister Tyka and three of Prince's half-siblings. - AP/Billboard, 8/4/16...... Cher has created an "I'm With Cher" campaign, a play on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's "I'm With Her" slogan, to celebrate her many hears of political advocacy. Cher has not been shy about weighing in on the 2016 campaign and her distaste for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (whose name she always accompanies with a toilet emoji) and her support for Clinton. Tweeting to her more than 3 million followers, Cher voices her disapproval of Trump daily, calling him (in all-caps, no less) a "LYING CON MAN" and a "PUNK ASS." Now Cher's series of tweets has inspired one fan to design posters, buttons and bumper stickers sporting the phrase "I'm With Cher" and some of the artist's greatest "down with Trump" tweets. Creator and designer Anna Niess says she has received so many requests to order the merchandise that they will now be available for purchase for Cher fans and Trump haters alike. Niess claims on the website that the "I'm With Cher" merchandise proceeds will benefit the organization Everytown for Gun Safety, "or an organization of Cher's choice." - Billboard, 8/2/16...... Prog-rock icons Kansas will release its first new album in 16 years, The Prelude Implicit, on Sept. 23, and Kansas drummer Phil Ehart says it will "start a new chapter in the book of Kansas." "The title of the album, The Prelude Implicit, means without a doubt this is a new musical beginning for the band," Ehart says. "This is the prelude, this is the beginning of a new musical expanse for us. The thing that [guitarist] Richard [Williams] and I realized is: it's the music, the Kansas music. If the band Kansas stops, then the music stops. Yeah, you can still listen to your CD and pop in a video or something, but it's a great live band, and the fans are not only coming, but they're coming more so now. We're enjoying a real resurgence of sorts, so it's something we want to continue." Kansas has recruited a new singer-keyboardist, Ronnie Platt, and also added former lighting director David Manion on keyboards and Zak Rizvi on second guitar. Ehart added that with the previous incarnation of the band, "it just wasn't meant to happen." "We discussed it. We talked about it, but the enthusiasm wasn't there with certain members. The new material wasn't being written. It didn't want to be written. But once the new personnel came on, boy, it happened overnight. It really ignited," he said. Kansas' 100-plus tour dates in 2016 include a fall run beginning on Sept. 30 in Pittsburgh during which the group will not only promote the new LP, but also play its 1976 breakthrough album Leftoverture in its entirety to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary. Ehart says he's confident there won't be another 16 years before the followup to The Prelude Implicit, as its record label Inside Out Music has already asked for a follow-up in early 2018. - Billboard, 8/4/16...... '70s/'80s hitmakers Kool & the Gang have charted their first Billboard hit in 10 years with "Sexy (Where'd You Get Yours)," which has debuted at No. 28 on the Adult R&B Songs roundup for the week ending Aug. 13. The single arrives as the group is currently in the midst of its Keepin' The Funk Alive U.S. Tour, which runs through the end of August. Kool & the Gang is comprised of veteran founding members, Ronald and Robert "Kool" Bell, Dennis Thomas and George Brown, along with new vocalist Walt Anderson. Kool & the Gang charted nine No. 1's on the charts in the 1970s and 1980s with hits like "Hollywood Swinging" (one week at No. 1 in 1974), "Ladies Night" (three weeks in 1979) and "Joanna" (two weeks in 1984). - Billboard, 8/3/16...... Content provider Netflix is working on an original animated series for kids based on the famed Jobete Music catalog of Motown hits from artists including Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, the Supremes, the Temptations and Stevie Wonder. With Smokey Robinson serving as executive music producer, the first season of the untitled project will feature songs covered by contemporary artists and will be released on Melodia/Motown Records to coincide with the as-yet-unannounced launch date of the show. "I am thrilled to be a part of this wonderful new series that will embrace the magic of Motown and present our songs to a whole new generation of fans and their families," says Robinson, who will curate the song choices and select cover artists. Netflix's Motown project follows the recent announcement of a Beatles-themed animated series for children, Beat Bugs, which features covers of Fab Four songs performed by artists including Jennifer Hudson, Pink, Sia, Rod Stewart and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. That series began streaming on Netflix on Aug. 3, with its soundtrack available the same day. - Billboard, 8/3/16...... People magazine is reporting that Ozzy Osbourne is currently undergoing "intense therapy" to overcome a sex addiction issue that he's been afflicted with for the past six years. In the same story, Ozzy's hair colorist Michelle Pugh said that Osbourne not only gave her "the greatest love of [her] life" but also "a very real relationship" and what felt like "an old-fashioned romance." She expressed doubt that Ozzy had a sex addiction and claimed they'd known each other professionally for a year before Ozzy "made the first move on her." Pugh has also filed a defamation lawsuit against Ozzy's daughter Kelly Osbourne over a series of tweets made by Kelly after rumors of the alleged affair between Ozzy and Pugh leaked out. In May, Ozzy's wife and longtime manager Sharon Osbourne kicked out of their house over what some outlets reported was an affair with Pugh. "I don't know where I'm going, who I'm going with," she admitted on CBS' The Talk, which she co-hosts. "And I just need time to think. And really think about myself, about what do I really want. Because I'm 63 years of age and I can't keep living like this." In July, Ozzy told Good Morning America that his marriage was "back on track." Meanwhile, Ozzy and Black Sabbath are in the midst of a worldwide farewell tour, with the next show set for Aug. 17 at Wantagh, NY's Jones Beach Theater. - Billboard, 8/3/16...... Elton John has given permission for guitarist Slash of Guns N' Roses fame to record a cover of his classic outer space-themed song "Rocket Man" for a Kickstarter.com campaign by motorcycle daredevil Eddie Braun, who plans to leap across the Snake River Canyon in Idaho on Sept. 17. Slash's version of "Rocket Man" will serve as the theme for Braun's dangerous stunt, which almost took the life of famed motorcycle stuntman Evel Knievel in Sept. 1978. Braun plans to jump the canon with the the help of a 10,000 horse-power rocket called the "Evel Spirit" which Braun says can go from 0 to 400mph in three seconds. Evel Knievel tried and failed in his attempt. Braun says he plans to live-stream his jump attempt, and fans can download Slash's "Rocket Man" after the action. - Billboard, 8/3/16.