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.