Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on October 28th, 2016

Appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Oct. 25, Phil Collins performed his brooding early '80s hit "In the Air Tonight," with some help from the Tonight Show band The Roots. Collins, who was in New York to promote his new autobiography Not Dead Yet: The Memoir, also told Billboard that he has "a house full of anti-(Donald) Trump'ers." "Even my Matthew, at 11, he hates Trump," Collins says. "I just think Trump is an accident waiting to happen -- a big accident waiting to happen." Collins, who has also released a new compilation titled The Singles, recently announced his first full-fledged tour in 11 years, a nine-date European swing with shows in London, Paris and Cologne, Germany, with 14-year-old Nicholas slated to play drums, as he has noted he's coming off back surgery, his right foot isn't in tip-top shape, and he has a problem with a hand. Collins has also wrapped up a year's worth of reissues of deluxe editions of his entire catalog. - Billboard, 10/28/16...... In 1992, Eric Clapton participated in MTV's Unplugged series of live telecasts, and his resulting album from that show became the best-selling entry in the entire Unplugged series, with 7.7. million copies sold. Now Clapton is being sued for crediting one of the songs from that performance, "Alberta," to the wrong blues singer. "Alberta" is Clapton's version of a famous 12-bar blues called "Corrine, Corrina," which dates back to the late 1920s and has long been credited to the artist Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon. A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Nashville charges that Clapton credits the song to a more recognizeable blues legend Lead Belly and not to Chatmon. The complicating factor seems to have been that Lead Belly wrote a completely different song called "Alberta," and that for unknown reasons, Clapton attributed his version of "Corrine, Corrina" (in which he sings "Alberta, Alberta" instead of the original lyric) to Lead Belly. As a result of this case of mistaken song identity, Chatmon's estate says it has received no royalties related to Clapton's performance of it, and that the beneficiary of that misidentification has been Folkways Music, the publisher of Lead Belly's "Alberta." The lawsuit also states that Clapton correctly identified the song on his 2011 album Marsalis & Clapton Play the Blues, and that he and his co-defendants are fully aware that the Unplugged versions have been mislabeled all these years, with publishing royalties going to the wrong place. Chatmon's estate is seeking $5 million in damages, and the defendants have not responded to the lawsuit. - Billboard, 10/28/16...... Bob Dylan has scored his 68th entry in the Billboard Hot 200 album chart with his 2014 compilation The Essential Bob Dylan, which has once again appeared on the chart -- at No. 76 -- after news of Dylan's selection as the Nobel Prize winner in literature on Oct. 13. The LP is Dylan's second charting album in 2016, with his latest studio album, Fallen Angels, peaking at No. 7 in June. In the week ending Oct. 20, Dylan's total album sales grew 104 percent (to 19,000), while his on-demand audio and video streams jumped 53 percent (to 6.7 million). - Billboard, 10/28/16...... Neil Young has announced he'll release a new studio album, Peace Trail, on Dec. 2 via his longtime label Reprise Records. Young wrote and recorded the new album shortly after the release of his offbeat Earth live album, which was released in June. The 10-track Peace Trail was recorded at Rick Rubin's Shangri-La studios and, according to the label, is primarily acoustic. The album features veteran session men Jim Keltner on drums and Paul Bushnell on bass, with Young co-producing alongside John Hanlon. The album, which will be available on CD, cassette and download, is available for pre-order now through Young's website and his online music store PONOMusic. A vinyl edition will be released in January. - Billboard, 10/26/16...... ABBA, along with Spice Girls music mogul Simon Fuller, announced on Oct. 26 that a new ABBA "live digital experience" will launch in 2018. "The aim is to create an original entertainment experience which will enable a new generation of fans to see, hear, and feel ABBA in a way previously unimagined," according to a press release. Although more details about exactly what the project will mean were not announced, it has been speculated that ABBA will appear as holograms, and Simon Fuller has reportedly been "quietly investing in virtual reality technologies and developing hyper-realistic digital humans in the field of entertainment." ABBA's Benny Andersson confirmed that he and his legendary Euro-pop band are participating in the creative development of the "digital experience," saying in the presser that ABBA is "inspired by the limitless possibilities of what the future holds and are loving being a part of creating something new and dramatic here... A time machine that captures the essence of who we were. And are." Although ABBA member Bjrn Ulvaeus said in 2015 that ABBA would never reform, earlier in 2016 all four members reunited for a special 50th anniversary performance, singing "The Way Old Friends Do" at a private party in a Stockholm hotel, and the band previously held brief reunions in 1986 and 1999. The four members also reunited for the opening of an ABBA-themed restaurant in Stockholm for the first time in eight years, however they did not perform. - New Musical Express, 10/26/16...... Paul McCartney debuted a new song called "In the Blink of an Eye" across iTunes' international stores on Oct. 28, in advance pre-order listing of the soundtrack for the forthcoming animated film Ethel & Ernest. From the song's 60-second preview, its sound is reminiscent of McCartney's "(I Want To) Come Home," which he wrote for the 2009 Robert De Niro film Everybody's Fine. The album's advance track listings features a number of songs by Carl Davis, who collaborated with McCartney on "Liverpool Oratorio." The Ethel & Ernest film is adapted from a graphic novel by Raymond Briggs (The Snowman) about the lives of two Londoners and starring Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethlyn. - Billboard, 10/28/16...... In other Beatles-related news, Yoko Ono has honored a reference to her in an old The Simpsons episode. A new piece created by Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson for an exhibition curated by Ono at the Reykjavik Art Museum has the exact title and content of "a single plum, floating in perfume, served in a man's hat," which was depicted in season five of The Simpsons when a Japanese conceptual artist who is clearly modelled on Ono pops into Mo's bar for a drink. Titled "YOKO ONO: ONE MORE STORY," the exhibition runs until Feb. 5. Meanwhile, three classic albums by Ono and featuring her late husband John Lennon are due to be reissued on Nov. 11. - New Musical Express, 10/26/16...... Bette Midler is keeping busy of late by appearing as Blake Shelton's mentor on NBC's The Voice; reissuing her platinum-certified debut album, The Divine Miss M; and starting rehearsals for her starring role in Jerry Zaks' upcoming Broadway revival of "Hello, Dolly!" The 70-year-old singer/actress says her experience on The Voice has been a lot of fun. "This show has a real sweetness at its core," she says. "It's not mean-spirited. And of course, Blake is a hoot!" Midler says her role in "Hello, Dolly!" has a "very steep learning curve" but "I must say it's great. I love to dance. Everyone should dance. The weight just falls right off you!" As for the reissue of The Divine Miss M, Midler says she asked the record company "not remaster this so that it's incomprehensible." "I want the same warm analog sound it had when we first put it out," she says. "I really love this record. I was so young -- barely 28 years old -- and I think you hear it in my voice. This young spirit and real joy at finding myself in such a fantastic situation." - Billboard, 10/27/16...... Stevie Nicks will deluxe editions of her first two albums, 1981's Bella Donna and 1983's The Wild Heart, on Nov. 18. "I've had so much fun reliving the making of Bella Donna and The Wild Heart while working on the liner notes and listening to all of the alternate versions and demo takes," Nicks said in the press release. "The liner notes are so much more than liner notes. They are like a little novel. I tried to make whoever reads this feel like they were there. I think...I succeeded...." Bella Donna includes unreleased versions of her hits "Edge of Seventeen" and "Leather and Lace" along with other rarities off various soundtracks such as "Blue Lamp" from Heavy Metal and "Sleeping Angel" from the Fast Times At Ridgemont High soundtrack. Additionally, recordings from a 1981 concert will be included on the album as well. As for The Wild Heart, hits such as "Stand Back" and "Nightbird" have been revitalized, as well as her Tom Petty collaboration, "I Will Run to You." - Billboard, 10/27/16...... An unnamed California woman has filed a new lawsuit against Michael Jackson, accusing the late King of Pop of molesting her three decades ago. In the suit, "Jane Doe" claims Jackson started abusing her in 1986 after inviting her and her mother inside the Jackson family compound in Encino, Calif., while they were star spotting. The woman claims Jackso fondled her genitals and kissed her mouth and body, and also alleges there was vaginal penetration. According to the documents, the abuse continued through puberty and when she turned 16, she claims Jackson started writing checks to keep her quiet. She says the first was for $2,500 and the biggest one - for $600,000 - came in 1993. She is suing Jackson for emotional distress and negligence, and did not specify why she waited 30 years to come forward with her claims. Jackson died in 2009 at age 50. WENN.com/TMZ.com, 10/25/16...... Exclusive vinyl releases by Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan will be released by Legacy Recordings for 2016's Record Store Black Friday, the label announced on Oct. 25. Hendrix's posthumous Morning Symphony Ideas, which first arrived in 2000, will be re-released an a limited edition 10-inch, translucent-yellow vinyl and features session recordings of "Jungle," and "Room Full of Mirrors." Dylan's Black Friday release will also feature live material, capturing his performance at the Royal Albert Hall from 1996. - Billboard, 10/25/16...... Elvis Presley is on track to make U.K. chart history with his new posthumous release The Wonder of You, the second collection of orchestral re-workings of Presley songs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The album should make Presley the artist with the most U.K. No. 1 albums for any solo artist, with 13. Presley current holds 12 career No. 1s in the market, equal with Madonna. The Beatles own the record for the most No. 1's on the national chart with 15. - Billboard, 10/25/16...... Activist and politician Tom Hayden, known for his radical antiwar protests and as a former husband of actress Jane Fonda, died on Oct. 23 at UCLA Medical Center in California after suffering stroke more than a year ago and battling complications from the illness. He was 76. Hayden, who started out as a journalist, was known for his radical activism in the 1960s and 70s, leading a major anti-Vietnam War Movement, and even traveling to Hanoi in Vietnam as part of the movement. He famously took part in protests outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, for which he was indicted on federal charges of conspiracy and incitement to riot as part of the "Chicago Seven." Hayden was convicted two years later, but the charge was overturned. The conservative nemesis then began a political career, and was elected to the California State Assembly in 1982. He then won a seat in the California Senate ten years later, a position he held for eight years. He also ran for Mayor of Los Angeles in 1997, but lost. Hayden, who penned and edited 19 books throughout his career, married Jane Fonda in 1973, just three days after she divorced her first husband. Fonda joined him on missions to Vietnam, and they had a son, Troy O'Donovan Garity, in July 1973. They also adopted teenager Mary Luana Williams in 1982, and the marriage ended in 1990. "He gave me context and strategy and a loving environment that helped me deepen my activism," Fonda told CNN's Larry King in 2005. Hayden married his second wife Barbara and they adopted a son in 2000. "A political giant and dear friend has passed," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted. "Tom Hayden fought harder for what he believed than just about anyone I have known." - Hollywoodlife.com, 10/24/16...... The city council in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen has voted unanimously to rezone the Paisley Park home and studio of late superstar Prince, meaning the complex can stay open as a museum for public tours on an ongoing basis. Paisley Park has taken tours on a temporary basis while concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety were reviewed. Following the vote, museum management have announced tickets are on sale for tour dates through December 2016, with visits resuming Oct. 28. Tours for 2017 are expected to go on sale by mid-November, according to a statement on the Paisley Park website. The museum on the estate is now being managed by Graceland Holdings, which runs Elvis Presley's Graceland attraction in Memphis, Tenn. The museum says it expects to draw 600,000 people each year. - Billboard, 10/24/16...... Pop singer Bobby Vee, who enjoyed huge popularity and success in the 1960s with such hits as "Take Good Care of My Baby" (No. 1, 1961), died on Oct. 24 after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 73. Vee, a native of Fargo, North Dakota, launched his career in the late '50s after he famously filled in for his hero, Buddy Holly, after Holly died in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959 along with fellow musicians Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. After the news was announced, the organizers of the touring concert Holly was playing in tapped Vee and his new band The Shadows to fill in for the next show in Moorehead, Minn., and their subsequent performance launched Vee's career at the tender age of 15. Vee was also notable for giving Bob Dylan his first professional start in the music industry, by tapping him to play piano for a handful of dates with his band. Dylan paid tribute to Vee during a 2013 concert in St. Paul's, Minnesota, where he praised him as "the most beautiful person I've ever been on the stage with." Vee scored a total of 38 Billboard Top 100 hits and seven gold records in the US, and "Take Good of My Baby" went to No. 3 in the U.K. His other hits include "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes," "Come Back When You Grow Up," "Rubber Ball" and "Punish Her." Vee also performed on the same bill as the Rolling Stones during their first ever U.S. tour dates. The Beatles also cited Vee as an early influence, covering "Take Good of My Baby" during their January 1962 Decca demo sessions and inviting Vee on their U.K. television show, Ready Steady Go. Vee was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's in January 2011, and performed in public for the last time in June of that year. He moved to a memory care facility the month after his longtime wife Karen's death in 2015. - New Musical Express, 10/24/16.

Nominees for the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class, which include Electric Light Orchestra, Yes, J. Geils Band, Chaka Khan, Journey and Steppenwolf, have reacted to the announcement of their nomination by the Rock Hall on Oct. 18. "I'm very proud to see my ELO music getting this great recognition... It's a big honor to be nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame," Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra says, while Yes drummer Alan White notes that "After being nominated three times you tend to put it on the back burner a little bit," but he still believes that the recognition is "great." Peter Wolf of J. Geils Band, which has been nominated three times previously, says, "It's great to be recognized, but it's a drag to be disappointed. I hope that we make it in. That would be great." Grammy award-winning singer Chaka Khan tweeted that the "3rd time's a charm," after her nomination was announced, while Greg Rolie of Journey says "I have to admit the only thing I thought is it might not ever happen, because of whatever politics were involved. I just didn't know. But here we are now, so...we'll see." Steppenwolf frontman John Kay says, "Well, it's a surprise. I want to express my appreciation and say thank you to whoever found Steppenwolf's efforts worthy of a nomination. So thanks for throwing our hat in the ring and we'll see where it goes." - Billboard, 10/21/16...... Neil Young held his annual Bridge School Benefit Concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif., on Oct. 22, with such acts as Metallica, Roger Waters and Jim James of My Morning Jacket also participating. Young and Metallica jammed on a cover of "Mr. Soul," a 1967 tune by Young's former band, Buffalo Springfield. Young also performed a cover of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" alongside Waters and James. Earlier in October, Young was joined onstage by Paul McCartney during his headline set on the second night of Desert Trip festival in Indio, Calif. Both McCartney and Young headlined the Oct. 8 show after Dylan and the Rolling Stones opened proceedings on Oct. 7. - New Musical Express, 10/23/16...... The scrutiny of Bob Dylan's reaction -- or lack thereof -- to recently being named winner of the 2016 Nobel prize in literature continues as his website has posted, then removed, "winner of the Nobel prize in literature." That single clause had been the only public recognition the musician offered the Nobel academy, which had unsuccessfully tried to contact him through his associates before announcing the award on Oct. 18. Since celebrity websites are usually run with limited input from their subjects, it's entirely possible Dylan never knew either that his site had made reference to the prize, or subsequently removed it. However it is less likely that Dylan's manager, Jeff Rosen, would be unaware. Some Dylan fans have suggested that the singer should refuse the Nobel prize because its Swedish founder, Alfred Nobel, was an armaments manufacturer, however an equally likely explanation is that Dylan, in typical form, is intentionally antagonizing the media and his fans. Asked at a press conference in 1965 whether he considered himself primarily a singer or a poet, he replied, "Oh, I think of myself more as a song and dance man, y'know." On Oct. 22, Nobel academy member Per Wastberg told a Swedish paper he thought Dylan's silence on the award "impolite and arrogant." "We have agreed not to lift a finger. The ball lies entirely on his half," Wastberg said. "You can speculate as much as you want but we don't." Even if Dylan decides not to accept the title of Nobel laureate, the Nobel academy do not acknowledge rejections and continue to list winners of its awards. Dylan has been invited to Stockholm to collect his prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf on Dec.10, but according to the Nobel Academy he has yet to confirm his attendance at the event. Other figures who have snubbed the Nobel academy in the past include Albert Einstein and Jean-Paul Sartre. - Jezebel.com/AP/NME, 10/21/16...... In other Bob Dylan news, the rock icon has become the oldest artist to chart on the youth-driven "Social 50" listing, which ranks the 50 most popular artists on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, SoundCloud, Wikipedia, Instagram, Tumblr and Vine. The 75-year-old rocker is also one of only a handful of soloists to reach the Social 50 chart over the age of 50 while still alive. Previous to Dylan, the over-50 Social 50 crowd included David Bowie (in 2013 -- three years before he died), Susan Boyle, Madonna, Juan Luis Guerra and "Weird Al" Yankovic. Artists appearing on the chart in 2016 after their deaths include Glenn Frey, Prince, Merle Haggard and Natalie Cole. - Billboard, 10/20/16...... In a new interview with the London Times, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend admitted live performing no longer appeals to him. "I'm such a boring f--ker... It means nothing to me," said Townshend, who performed with the Who at the recent Desert Trip Festival in California. "I would be a liar if I said, 'It was really fun, man. It was great!' It wasn't great. It was a gig. I did it and I got paid. The fact is, I don't really like performing. But I'm good at it. I'm lucky to be good at something. I could have worked in an abattoir," he added. - New Musical Express, 10/23/16...... Speaking of the Who, former Genesis drummer Phil Collins recently said during a webchat sponsored by the UK paper The Guardian that he would have left Genesis to become the Who's drummer after Keith Moon passed away if he had been asked. "Absolutely would have joined the Who. I would have left Genesis to join the Who," Collins said. "But they've got a great drummer now in Zak Starkey, he's fantastic. Someone with the balls that Keith Moon had." Collins, who announced a comeback tour on Oct. 17, has also said that he'll "never play (drums) the way I used to" and that he suffered a mysterious affliction on the Genesis reunion tour. "One night something happened. It just went. I tried everything -- bigger drumsticks and so on, but it just never came back," he said. - NME, 10/19/16...... During a live interview on BBC Radio 2, Bruce Springsteen revealed that he once wrote a song for the Harry Potter films, but for reasons that are unclear to him, it was never used. Springsteen said the song was titled "I'll Stand By You" and was a "pretty good song" he penned for his eldest son. "It was a big ballad that was very uncharacteristic of something I'd sing myself," the New Jersey rocker noted. "But it was something that I thought would have fit lovely; at some point I'd like to get it into a children's movie of some sort because it was a pretty lovely song." - Billboard, 10/20/16...... Former Commodores founding member and '80s solo superstar Lionel Richie launched a collection of home accessories on Oct. 20 in Los Angeles before an intimate group of friends and fans. "You're witnessing a duck out of water," Richie declared in the middle of Geary's Beverly Hills, which will sell the collection alongside brands Rosenthal and Kelly Wearstler. "You do your research, you find one idea and then two ideas and you realize -- yes, you might be onto something. So if we do this correctly, hopefully in the next 40 years ... I, too, can be Ralph," Richie quipped. Items include dinnerware sets, black onyx highball glasses, a crystal vase, and an "Endless Love" scented candle. - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/21/16...... Attorneys representing the Beatles' Apple Corps filed a motion on Oct. 19 to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the company assigned to represent the intellectual property of 1965 Beatles Shea Stadium concert promoter Sid Bernstein after footage from the concert was included in the recent Ron Howard-directed film Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years. Bernstein's lawyers claim that Bernstein proposed the idea for the concert to Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, that the contract provided that Epstein's company had the right to film and record the performances, but that Bernstein "planned, managed and paid for virtually every aspect of the production." Apple Corps contends that its predecessor, Nems Enterprises (controlled at the time by Epstein), had the "sole and exclusive right" to film the concert, and that Bernstein just "observed the filming and recording," and that the lawsuit is "frivolous." - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/20/16...... In other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney is backing a campaign to protect the dwindling number of grassroots music venues throughout the U.K. "I've been lucky enough to play in venues of all different shapes and sizes, from tiny clubs to massive stadiums all over the world," McCartney said in a statement on Oct. 19. "Without the grassroots clubs, pubs and music venues my career could have been very different," said the rock legend, who has pledged his support to the Music Venue Trust's #FIGHTBACK campaign. On Oct. 18, around 500 delegates attended the third annual Venues Day conference at London's Roundhouse venue, which saw executives from across the industry address some of the threats to Britain's once-thriving live scene. In London the problem is particularly acute, with such venues as the Marquee, Astoria, 12 Bar Club and Madame Jojos having closed since 2007. The 100 Club, which played host to early gigs by the Rolling Stones and Sex Pistols and saw McCartney play an intimate lunchtime gig in 2010, was only saved from extinction after signing a sponsorship deal with Converse in 2011. - Billboard, 10/19/16...... Carlos Santana says he's supportive of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his controversial choice to kneel during the National Anthem to protest police killings of black people. "I love it. I think he stepped up. I salute my brother because it takes a lot of balls to go against people who will say, 'Oh, you're not patriotic' and all that," Santana says. "So for [Kaepernick] to put one knee down and other people are copying him, I think it's wonderful," the Bay Area resident added. - Billboard, 10/20/16...... Appearing on the U.K. TV show Loose Women on Oct. 20, Donny Osmond reminisced about his heady days as a teen heartthrob and revealed that "fans used to hide in my dressing room." "There have been times, yeah, there have been times when people have snuck into the dressing room and snuck into the shower," the 58-year-old Osmond said. "This one girl was banging on the door like crazy, I finally let her out but, I'm kidding! I'm kidding!," he joked the singer who has just had his Las Vegas show with sister Marie Osmond renewed for a ninth year. Donny went on to brush the incident off as "innocent" and noted how devoted he is to his wife Debbie, who the Mormon married in 1978, in the Salt Lake Temple at the tender age of 20." I am dedicated to my wife completely and always will be, but this is the loyalty of the fans who still follow me," he said. - WENN.com, 10/21/16...... The Rolling Stones were forced to cancel a concert scheduled for Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena on Oct. 19 after frontman Mick Jagger came down with a bad case of laryngitis. "I'm so sorry about the cancellation of Wednesday's show in Las Vegas, I've got bad laryngitis," Jagger posted on Twitter on Oct. 19. "I do apologise to everyone who bought tickets," he added. According to a statement issued by the band, their frontman has been advised by doctors to rest his voice. "We hope to have information about the possibility of rescheduling this date very soon," note reps for the band. The Stones recently headlined both weekends of Desert Trip at The Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., earlier in October. Toward the end of their set on the second weekend, Jagger's voice noticeably cracked as he spoke between songs, which prompted a quip from the singer about the throat-wrackingly "dry and windy climate." - Billboard, 10/19/16...... In related news, Queen guitarist Brian May has cancelled a solo tour set for this December with his frequent touring partner Kerry Ellis due to a "persistent illness." "We're very sad today to announce the indefinite postponement of our 'candlelight' concert dates this coming December," May wrote on his website on Oct. 20. "This is a decision I've agonized over, but in the end it has become inevitable. I managed to complete the recent Queen and Adam Lambert dates in Asia but I have been increasingly battling with a persistent illness which is destroying my energy and my will." May added he hopes this step will "give all our team a chance to re-plan their time in December... Sincere apologies to all." - New Musical Express, 10/21/16...... On Oct. 18, New York's highest court heard oral arguments in a case pitting the owner of The Turtles' 1967 hit song "Happy Together" against Sirius XM Radio. The issue was whether the copyright holders of recordings made before 1972 have a common law right to make radio stations and others pay for their use. The suit was filed by Flo & Eddie Inc., a company controlled by two founding members of the band -- Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan -- that owns the rights to the recordings and claim they're entitled to royalties. Sirius argues it's not required to pay royalties for recordings made before the federal Copyright Act was changed in 1972 to establish limited protections for recordings. The case was referred to the Court of Appeals from a federal appeals court. - AP, 10/18/16...... Several Prince reissues and unreleased Prince material have been announced for the coming months, which include a greatest hits album, Prince 4Ever, on Nov. 22, a deluxe reissue of the 1984 classic Purple Rain in Apr. 2017, and a third album that contains previously unreleased Prince songs, rumoured to be the first of many, on a date to be announced. Prince's estate are reportedly unsure of what the vault contains as they have only begun the process of cataloging the recordings. - NME, 10/21/16...... Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page was spotted attending a London club show by the Kings of Leon on Oct. 18. Page, who has been seen at many of the band's gigs over the years, was seen standing in a private fenced-off enclosure by the mixing desk at the 229 Club in London. The Kings of Leon are in England promoting their new LP, WALLS. - NME, 10/19/16...... Former Deep Purple singer Glenn Hughes has premiered a new song called "Let It Shine" from his new solo album Resonate, which hits stores on Nov. 4 in the U.K. Hughes kicks off a UK tour behnd the new album on Nov. 8 in Leamington Spa, with openers Stone Broken. Resonate is Hughes' first solo album in over 8 years. - Nobel PR, 10/19/16...... Veteran record executive Phil Chess, co-founder of the legendary Chicago-based rhythm and blues label Chess Records which many credit with inventing rock 'n' roll, died on Oct. 19 at his home in Tuscon, Ariz. He was 95. Mr. Chess and his brother Leonard, both Polish immigrants, founded Chess Records in 1950 in Chicago and at first focused on blues and R&B, cutting songs by artists including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon and Memphis Slim. A year after forming, Chess Records released what many consider to be the first rock single, "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston/Ike Turner and his Delta Cats. In 1955, the Chess brothers began a long a fruitful relationship with rock pioneer Chuck Berry, who recorded such classics as "Maybellene," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Johnny B. Goode" for the Chess offshoot, Checker Records. Chess or Checker was also home to guitar icon Bo Diddley, who cut his biggest singles with the label. The Chess brothers sold the label to General Recorded Tape (GRT) in 1969, for $6.5 million. Leonard died later that year, and Phil retired in 1972. - Billboard, 10/19/16...... Robert Bateman, the songwriter behind such Motown hits as "Please Mr. Postman" and "Playboy," died on Oct. 16 in Sherman Oaks, Calif., of a massive heart attack. He was 80. The deep-voiced Mr. Bateman, an Illinois native, had been among the first personnel enlisted at Berry Gordy Jr.'s fledgling Motown Records in 1959, initially working as a backing singer and engineer. He acquired Motown's first set of recording gear -- a tape machine discarded by Detroit radio station WJLB. His own group, the Satintones, recorded several singles for the label. With "Please Mr. Postman" -- which he cowrote and coproduced for The Marvelettes in 1961 -- Mr. Bateman helped give Motown its first No. 1 hit on the U.S. pop charts. The song was famously revived two years later by the Beatles for the group's second album. Mr. Bateman left Motown Records in 1963 but remained in the music industry, moving to New York to work at Capitol Records and produce material with artists such as Wilson Pickett. He was also present at the Woodstock festival in 1969, according to his nephew Tony Stovall. Mr. Bateman's last public appearance in Detroit came Aug. 21 in Dearborn, where he was inducted into the R&B Hall of Fame. - 10/16/16...... Robert "Big Sonny" Edwards of the R&B band The Intruders, best known for the chart-topping R&B single "Cowboys to Girls," died of a sudden heart attack at a Philadelphia hospital on Oct. 15. He was 74. The news of Edwards' death was announced on Oct. 18 by Philadelphia International Records co-founders Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. As one of the first acts signed to Gamble & Huff's fledgling Gamble label, The Intruders scored a string of R&B hits from the mid-'60s through the early '70s -- and simultaneously set the stage for the writing/production duo's pioneering Philly soul sound and the establishment of the legendary Philadelphia International label. The Philly-based Intruders' additional top 10 hits include "(Love Is Like a) Baseball Game," "When We Get Married," "I'll Always Love My Mama" and "I Wanna Know Your Name." - Billboard, 10/18/16.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on October 18th, 2016

Bob Dylan being named as the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Nobel prize in literature on Oct. 18 has spawned a media frenzy, with columns written and debates sparked from several sources, but the iconic singer/songwriter has yet to chime in on the win himself. So on Oct. 17 the Swedish Academy -- responsible for choosing the Nobel Laureates in Literature -- announced it had stopped trying to contact him for his reaction to the announcement. "Right now we are doing nothing," Sara Danius, the Academy's permanent secretary, told Swedish radio. "I have called and sent emails to his closest collaborator and received very friendly replies. For now, that is certainly enough," she added. It is also unclear if the 75-year-old artist intends on showing up for the official ceremony, set for Dec. 10 and presided over by Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf, and give a speech the way most recipients generally do. "If he doesn't want to come, he won't come," Danius said. "It will be a big party in any case, and the honor belongs to him." Meanwhile, streams of Dylan's songs have reportedly increased by more than 500 percent globally on the streaming service Spotify.com after the announcement of prize. Dylan's most listened-to song after the announcement was "Like a Rolling Stone," which increased by 258%. Fellow musicians congratulating him on the honor include his Sony labelmate Bruce Springsteen, who described him on his official website as the "father of my country." "He planted a flag, wrote the songs, sang the words that were essential to the times, to the emotional and spiritual survival of so many young Americans at that moment," Springsteen posted. - Billboard, 10/17/16...................... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced a long list of 19 nominees for the 2017 induction class into the Cleveland-based hall and museum on Oct. 18. The impressively varied list includes Classic Rock stars Electric Light Orchestra, J. Geils Band, Journey, Steppenwolf, The Cars and Yes, along with Chaka Khan, Joan Baez, The Zombies, Kraftwerk, Joe Tex, MC5, Pearl Jam, Jane's Addiction, Janet Jackson, Depeche Mode, Bad Brains, Tupac Shakur and, of course, perennial nominees Chic, their eleventh nomination since 2003. The nominees where revealed by 2014 Rock and Roll HOF inductee and E Street Band member Steve Van Zandt and RRHOF Foundation CEO Joel Peresman live on SiriusXM's new all music talk channel Volume, during the "Feedback" morning show. To be eligible for nomination, the acts must have released their first recording no later than 1991 (i.e. 25 years after the release of their first commercially available record). As in previous years, fans can participate in the selection process by visiting rockhall.com to vote for who they believe deserves to be inducted. The top five artists on the fans ballot will be counted along with the other ballots to help choose the 2017 nominees; voting will be open through Dec. 5, with one ballot per day. The final list of inductees, chosen by an international voting body of more than 800 artists, historians and members of the music industry, will be announced in December, with the ceremony slated for New York's Barclay's Center in April 2017. - Billboard, 10/18/16...... Two of the three previously-unheard David Bowie songs that will appear on the official soundtrack album for Bowie's "Lazarus" musical were unveiled by the BBC on Oct. 18. The songs, which include "No Plan" and "When I Met You," were produced by longtime Bowie producer Tony Visconti and the band which contributed to Bowie's final LP, Blackstar. A third and final unreleased song -- "Killing a Little Time" -- has yet to be revealed. The "Lazarus" musical soundtrack hits stores on Oct. 21, and the "Lazarus" musical will make its London premiere Oct. 25 at King's Cross Theatre, with dates scheduled through Jan. 21, 2017. It first premiered in late 2015 in New York City. - Billboard,. 10/18/16...... Rock & Roll legend Chuck Berry celebrated his 90th birthday on Oct. 18, and has announced plans to release his first new album in 38 years via Dualtone Records in 2017. Simply titled Chuck, the album is comprised primarily of new and original songs written, recorded and produced by Berry. In making the announcement, Berry said the LP was "dedicated to my beloved Toddy," eferring to his wife of 68 years, Themetta Berry. "My darlin' I'm growing old! I've worked on this record for a long time. Now I can hang up my shoes!" After a string of nearly two dozen albums on the Chess label released from the late 1950s through the mid-1970s, Berry's last album to date was 1979's Rock It on Atco Records. - Billboard, 10/18/16...... As rumoured, Phil Collins has officially announced plans to mount comeback concerts in 2017 in three European cities including London (at Royal Albert Hall on June 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9), Cologne (June 11 and 12), and Paris (June 18 and 19). He's also rumoured to be appearing at the 2017 Glastonbury festival. Speaking to reporters in London on Oct. 17, the 65-year-old former Genesis frontman said he initially retired to spend more time with his family but started to drink after his family split up. "I've changed my mind," he said of leaving the stage for good. "I'm living with my young kids. They want me to go out on the road and do my thing, and why not?" Collins, who first retired in 2002 but decided to tour again in 2007, also said he's not likely to play drums on tour, however he might try performing the introduction to "In the Air Tonight." Collins explained that his son Nicholas will be taking over drum duties on the upcoming tour. The Spotify.com streaming service reported that streams of Collins' song have nearly doubled since he announced his live comeback, with "You Can't Hurry Love," "In the Air Tonight," "Against All Odds," "You'll Be in My Heart" and "Another Day in Paradise" leading the pack. - AP/New Musical Express, 10/17/16...... The Zombies have announced the final tour dates for full album performances of their classic 1968 set Odessey & Oracle. The Zombies -- including founding members Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent -- will play 26 dates in North America in 2017, beginning on Mar. 17 in the Philadelphia suburb of Glenside and wrapping on Apr. 29 in Los Angeles. Additionally, the Zombies are releasing an album-sized (12" x 12") coffee table book in March 2017 featuring stories about making Odessey & Oracle, handwritten lyrics and artwork from Terry Quirk (who designed the LP's timeless cover art) and Vivienne Boucherat. - Billboard, 10/17/16...... Former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters has confirmed he is working on a new album with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Waters said he has spent the last year working on a new record, which will be the followup to his 1992 LP Amused to Death. "We've got some really good work in the can," Waters said. "Nigel's really good. He said to me, 'People always want to do these long records. How long was The Dark Side Of The Moon?' I said '38 minutes.'" Waters added that he's "also been falling in love, deeply in love... So the record is really about love -- which is what all of my records have been about." He added that he was "really happy" that his former Pink Floyd bandmates, Dave Gilmour and Nick Mason, recently "reunited" to release a joint statement, condemning Israeli forces over the detention of female activists sailing to Gaza. "It is an issue I care about deeply," he said. - New Musical Express, 10/13/16...... Cher announced on Oct. 18 that she will call her 2017 tour "Classic Cher" and will begin the tour with a residency at the Park Theater at Monte Carlo on Feb. 8. After playing 9 shows at that venue through Feb. 25, the diva will then travel to Washington, DC to finish off the tour with three shows at The Theater at MGM National Harbor on March 17, 19 and 20. The opening act will be Bruno Mars, both in Las Vegas and Washington. - Billboard, 10/18/16...... Elton John performed at a private, star-studded fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Oct. 13 at the Los Angeles home of Casey and Laura Wasserman. Tickets for the event started at $33,400 and went as high as $100,000. John performed a strong set and was heard telling the crowd why he backs Clinton. "We need a humanitarian in the White House, not a barbarian," said Elton, who added that he loves all that Clinton stands for: "Equality, decency, kindness and respect." John also noted Hillary's efforts to combat the AIDS epidemic, saying "I've dedicated the past quarter century of my life to the fight against AIDS -- to advocating for the human rights of all people ... no matter who they are, who they love, or where they live. And Hillary has been doing this important work -- fighting for equality, for the rights of all people -- long before I was." Earlier in October, the 69-year-old John announced that he will soon publish a "no-holds-barred" autobiography, although a release date has yet to be confirmed. - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/14/16...... Paul McCartney played a rare small club show on Oct. 13 at Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace in Pioneertown, located near Joshua Tree in Yucca Valley in Southern California. A vegetarian buffet, befitting the vegetarian McCartney, was served, but there were no dinner reservations and no one was allowed to leave once inside. McCartney was in the area as one of the headliners of the Desert Trip festival earlier in the month, which took place at the site of the Coachella festival in Indio, Calif. - Billboard, 10/13/16...... In other Beatles-related news, the Lego toy company announced on Oct. 12 that it is teaming up with the Fab Four for a new "Yellow Submarine" toy set. Hitting stores on Nov. 1, the set will include four mini-figures of John, Paul, George and Ringo costumed in their Yellow Submarine outfits that can ride inside the model (the top of which comes off), plus over 550 Lego bricks. Adding to the play is a mini-figure of the Yellow Submarine movie character Jeremy Hillary Boob. The U.S. list price is $59.99. "The Yellow Submarine is bright, fun, and colorful, which also made it a good subject to translate into Lego form," says creator Kevin Szeto. - Billboard, 10/13/16...... Songwriter Carole Bayer Sager released her autobiography, They're Playing Our Song, on Oct. 18, in which she humorously revisits her life, from almost drowning when she was 2 months old to her very happy ending with third husband, former Warner Bros. CEO Bob Daly. Along the way, the beautiful Oscar- and Grammy-winning lyricist partnered both professionally and personally with collaborators Marvin Hamlisch and Burt Bacharach on hits such as "Midnight Blue," "When I Need You," "Nobody Does It Better," "Don't Cry Out Loud," "It's My Turn," "Heartlight," "Arthur's Theme," "That's What Friends Are For," and countless others. Sager, 69, also spills stories about writing with everyone from Bette Midler and Michael Jackson to Bob Dylan and Clint Eastwood. - Billboard, 10/17/16...... Chic featuring Nile Rodgers have announced that they're set to play a special one-off Christmas show in London, at Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith on Dec. 23. The event will be a charity show to raise money for Autism Rocks. Rodgers' first UK appearance since headlining FOLD Festival back in the summer, which he curated. - NME, 10/17/16...... Appearing on PBS' Austin City Limits series on Oct. 14, former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant performed Zeppelin's classic 1968 track "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You." The performance marked Plant's first time on the Austin City Limits stage for more than a decade, and he performed for a full hour with his band the Sensational Space Shifters. Other numbers included "Rainbow," "Turn It Up" and "Little Maggie." Meanwhile, Plant recently joined the "We Are Not Afraid" campaign, along with Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, Ringo Starr, Debbie Harry and Yoko Ono. "We Are Not Afraid" is a global campaign aimed at raising funds for the refugee crisis and victims of religious and political violence. - NME, 10/15/16.

The Desert Trip Festival, a classic rock summit held at the site of the Coachella festival in Indio, Calif. and headlined by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, The Who and Roger Waters over three nights, got underway on Oct. 7 with the Stones and Dylan playing the first night. "I'm not going to make any age jokes," Mick Jagger quipped as the Stones took the stage, adding "Welcome to the Palm Springs Retirement Home for Genteel Musicians." After referring to Dylan as the "opening act," which drew gasps from some in the pit, the Stones played a 19-song set that opened with "Start Me Up" and encored with "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." On Oct. 8, Day 2 of the fest welcomed Paul McCartney and Neil Young, with the former Beatle bringing out opening act Young for a three-song collab that had eyes wide and phones in the air. The two music legends traded vocals on "A Day in the Life," and instead of finishing the song with the usual orchestral climax, they transitioned into John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance," inviting the audience to chant along as peace signs flashed on the screen behind them. Grunge pioneer Young then jammed with McCartney on the Beatles' own scorcher, "Why Don't We Do It In the Road." On Oct. 9, the Who headlined Day 3 with Roger Waters. The Who's two-hour, 22-song set kicked off with "I Can't Explain" and encored with "Won't Get Fooled Again." "We were 1967's version of Adele or Lady Gaga or Rihanna or Bieber," Townshend joked as he introduced "I Can See For Miles," the Who's first US hit. "Roger and I are so glad to be out here at our age," Townshend also said. "And I couldn't do it without Roger." - Billboard, 10/8/16...... Bob Dylan was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature on Oct. 13 for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." "Bob Dylan is a great poet in the English-speaking tradition," said Sara Danius, the Nobel Academy's permanent secretary and literature professor at Stockholm University. "If you look back, far back, 2,500 years or so, you discover Homer and Sappho and they wrote poetic texts that were meant to be listened to, that were meant to be performed, often with instruments -- and it's the same way with Bob Dylan." Danius' statement also praised the singer-songwriter's creative output over five decades, including his constant reinvention of himself, and as "a wonderful sampler, a very original sampler." Dylan being awarded the Nobel prize for literature for 2016 came as a surprise to many, as his odds of beating out such favorites as American novelist Philip Roth and Japanese author Haruki Murakami was given odds of 50/1 by the London bookies. The Nobel Committe's additional statement that Dylan had "recorded a large number of albums revolving around topics like the social conditions of man, religion, politics and love" and that his words have repeatedly been republished could be taken as seeking to forestall criticism of their decision. - CNN, 10/13/16...... Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters announced he'll kick off a 40 date "Us + Them Tour" of North American arenas next year in Kansas City, Mo., on May 26. The tour, which includes two-night stands in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Boston and Toronto before wrapping on Oct. 28 in Vancouver, BC, is Rogers' first tour not themed around a specific Pink Floyd album since the early 2000s. It follows his three-year "The Wall" trek, which went down as the most successful tour by a solo artist in touring history. "The new show's going to be called 'Us + Them' because it's really specifically about the line from this 1973 song 'Us and Them' that goes 'With, without/And who'll deny that's what the fighting's all about,'" Rogers said in a statement. "Because the main message that I have to propagate, if I can, is embodied in the (concept) that the idea of perpetual war, which has been embraced by the neocons particularly in the United States of America, is an entirely wrong way for the human race to live," he added. Waters says he's currently in the process of recording a new solo album that he expects will be in fans' hands before the tour begins in May. He's been working in L.A. with producer Nigel Godrich of Radiohead collaborating fame. - Billboard, 10/13/16...... Officials in Nassau County, N.Y., have announced that Billy Joel will play the first concert at the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum on Long Island on Apr. 5, 2017. In Aug. 2015, Long Island native Joel played the last show at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum before its renovation, and has played the venue 32 times over the course of his career. - Billboard, 10/11/16...... Elton John announced on Oct. 13 that he'll release his first ever memoir in 2019. "I'm not prone to being a nostalgic person," Sir Elton said in a statement. "I'm often accused of only looking forward to my next gig or creative project. It's come as quite a surprise how cathartic I am finding the process of writing my memoirs. As I look back, I realize what a crazy life I have had the extreme privilege of living." John said he's working with The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis on the autobiography, which will be published by Henry Holt & Company, a division of Macmillan, who won the rights in a bidding war with two other publishers. Elton's memoir will follow a string of acclaimed memoirs from other rock icons over the last decade, including Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Patti Smith, among others. - Billboard, 10/13/16...... Over 100 pieces of furniture from David Bowie's private collection are set to be auctioned in November by Sotheby's. "The works produced by the historical avant-garde design collaborative Memphis Milano, led by Ettore Sottsass, could not have found a more receptive and tuned-in audience than David Bowie," said Ccile Verdier of Sotheby's. The auction takes place on Nov. 11, with two other "Bowie/Collector" auctions will focus on his collection of art, accompanied by an exhibition, taking place on Nov. 10 at Sotheby's. Meanwhile, the official script and song lyrics from Bowie's musical "Lazarus" will be released in a new book in November. The "Lazarus" musical will get its UK premiere on Oct. 25 at the Kings Cross Theatre in London, after first premiering in New York in late 2015. Bowie's final ever recordings will be heard when the official soundtrack album for the "Lazarus" musical is released on Oct. 21. - New Musical Express, 10/13/16...... Michael Jackson has once again topped the list of top-earning dead celebrities compiled by Forbes magazine, with his empire earning a staggering $825 million in the past year. Earlier in 2016, Sony bought Jackson's half of Sony/ATV Publishing for $750 million, giving the pop legend his highest payout to date. Other '70s artists making the 2016 highest-paid dead celebrities list include Elvis Presley ($27 million), Prince ($25 million), Bob Marley ($21 million), and John Lennon ($12 million). - Billboard, 10/12/16...... Recently interviewed for The New Yorker magazine, Leonard Cohen revealed that he feels he is ready to embrace the end of his life. "I am ready to die," Cohen said. "I hope it's not too uncomfortable. That's about it for me." Cohen, whose health has been declining in recent years, is gearing up for the release of his latest album You Want It Darker, and sings "I'm ready, my Lord," in the album's title track. The LP will be the follow-up to the 82-year-old Cohen's 2014 album, Popular Problems. - Billboard, 10/12/16...... The concert website eFestivals.com is reporting that Phil Collins is on the verge of announcing a massive string of UK comeback concerts, some 15 years after the former Genesis drummer played his last major solo shows. Collins could be considering headlining such major UK festivals as the Isle of Wight Festival and Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time at London's Hyde Park (Collins' live promoter John Giddings is also the organizer of the Isle of Wight Festival). Collins retired from playing live in 2002, citing injuries to his back and arms caused by years of playing drums. He went on a brief reunion tour with Genesis in 2007, but has since been absent from performing concerts. In Oct. 2015, he announced that he was coming out of retirement to play live shows, saying he'd love to take his sons Nicholas and Matthew "out on the road." On Oct. 20, Collins will release his autobiography, Not Dead Yet. - NME, 10/13/16...... Just call him "Sir Roderick David Stewart" -- Rod Stewart was made a Knights Batchelor by Prince William at Buckingham Palace in London on Oct. 11. Prince William paid homage to Stewart's Scottish heritage by wearing tartan-patterned pants and a jacket with military-style red and gold trim. The "Maggie May" singer received the honor for services to music and charity, and joins the likes of such previously knighted rock stars as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Mick Jagger and Tom Jones. - Billboard, 10/11/16...... '70s artists Sammy Hagar, Bette Midler and Joan Jett appeared as guest advisors on the NBC talent series The Voice on Oct. 10. "The more you are like yourself, and the way you sing, the way you play your instruments, the better chance you have of making it", Hagar advised Adam Levine's group of contestants. Midler assisted Blake Shelton's group, while Jett advised Miley Cyrus' group. - Billboard, 10/11/16...... A Linda Ronstadt tribute concert has been set for Dec. 11 at Los Angeles' Ace Hotel, with such artists as Jackson Browne, Maria Muldaur, Grace Potter, Sara Watkins and Dawes headlining. Ronstadt revealed to AARP magazine in Aug. 2013 that she was suffering with Parkinson's Disease, and all proceeds from the show will go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. In a statement, Maria Muldaur said she's known Ronstadt since 1966. "It is heart-wrenching to think that this mysterious ailment known as Parkinson's disease has robbed us of her gorgeous, enthralling voice, but I'm happy to report firsthand that it has done nothing to diminish her spirit and keen mind," Muldaur said. "I'm honored to participate in this celebration of Linda's music, which will benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research to speed a cure for Parkinson's disease, which can't come a moment too soon," she added. - Billboard, 10/11/16...... Actress Michelle Williams is in early negotiations portray Janis Joplin in director Sean Durkin's long-in-the-works biopic centering on the famous female rock icon. The movie, titled Janis, is based on Love, Janis, which was penned by Joplin's sister, Laura Joplin. It uses Joplin's letters to family and friends to tell the story of a young woman rising from playing at coffeehouses to playing at Woodstock, dealing with sudden fame and celebrity while combating alcohol and heroin addiction all the while trying to keep her creativity. Janis is only one of several competing Joplin movie projects in development, as Hollywood has been trying to make a biopic on the late singer for at least two decades. - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/10/16...... John Lennon will be getting his own comic book biography, as IDW Publishing unveiled a new graphic novel focusing on the former Beatle on the final day of 2016's New York Comic Con. The new book will adapt the 2010 novel by French author and screenwriter David Foenkinos, which retold Lennon's story through the framework of transcriptions of sessions between Lennon and an imaginary therapist. The story travels through Lennon's entire life, from childhood, worldwide fame and his solo career and marriage to artist Yoko Ono. - Billboard, 10/9/16...... The Boston Pops Orchestra has announced it will turn Steven Spielberg's classic 1975 shark thriller Jaws into a live concert presentation. "Jaws In Concert," which will feature an orchestra playing John Williams' iconic score as the film unspools, will have its world premiere at the Boston Pops Orchestra (which Williams famously helmed from 1980-1993) in the summer of 2017 with Keith Lockhart conducting. Though Williams is not composing any new music for the live concert presentation, there is approximately five minutes from the original music composed for the film that was not used, and that music will be restored specifically for the new live presentation. - Billboard, 10/11/16...... In other '70s-related movie news, the producers of Star Wars have been forced to pay $2 million after Harrison Ford's leg was "crushed" on the set of the latest Star Wars installment, The Force Awakens. Prosecutors in the UK compared the accident at Pinewood Studios, in which a hydraulic door on the iconic Millennium Falcon fell "millimetres from Ford's face" and crushed his leg like a "blunt-edged guillotine," to a "car collision that could have killed Ford when the 74-year-old actor broke his tibia and fibula. The Disney subsidiary Foodles Productions pleaded guilty to two criminal charges of failing to protect workers, and was fined £1.6million. - New Musical Express, 10/13/16...... Singer/songwriter/guitarist/bassist Don Ciccone, a former member of the Four Seasons, died on Oct. 8, according to a statement released by his daughter. He was 70. Ciccone, a New Jersey native, was a founding member of the 1960s band The Critters, who charted Billboard hits with "Mr. Dieingly Sad" and "Younger Girl," both written by Ciccone. After leaving The Critters and joining the U.S. Air Force during which he served in the Vietnam War, he was tapped by Frankie Vallie to join the Four Seasons, where he played guitar and bass. He also contributed lead vocals to songs including "Rhapsody" and their No. 1 hit, "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)." After leaving the Four Seasons in 1981, he began touring with Tommy James & the Shondells as their bassist and musical director, remaining on until 1987. Later in life, he pursued a solo recording career, recording albums including "Lost & Found." He is survived by his wife, Stephanie, and his two children, Marli and D'Arcey - 10/10/16...... Joan Marie Johnson Faust, a founding member of the 1960s girl group The Dixie Cups, has died in New Orleans of congestive heart failure. She was 72. Faust, Barbara Ann Hawkins and her sister Rosa Lee Hawkins were the three original members of The Dixie Cups, who famously knocked the Beatles out of the top spot on hit parade in 1964 with their hit "Chapel of Love" and went on to become New Orleans music legends. - 10/6/16.

Favorite Seventies Artitsts In The News

Posted by Administrator on October 8th, 2016

Cher has joined the chorus of protest against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump after a video recording from 2005 featuring Trump making vulgar comments about women was released on Oct. 7. Posting on Twitter, Cher said, "LADIES--WE R NOT DISPOSABLE BLOW UP DOLLS,4RICH MENS PLEASURE.I HAD SCARY EXPERIENCE W/RICH IMPORTANT FILM PROD.& I WAS CHER/? I WANTED JOB--." Cher, who has more than 3 million Twitter followers, has voiced her disapproval of Trump often in the past year, often calling him a "LYING CON MAN" and a "PUNK ASS." - Billboard, 10/7/16...... A David Bowie tribute event is being held in Carinda, Australia, on Oct. 8 and 9, where the star filmed his classic "Let's Dance" video. "Let's Dance Carinda" will feature a re-enactment of the famous clip and a Bowie covers act named Lady Stardust. A tiled wall that Bowie stands in front of in the clip still remains, and is called "the David Bowie wall." - New Musical Express, 10/4/16...... After teasing a potential new album for more than a year, the Rolling Stones announced on Oct. 5 that they'll end their longest-ever studio album drought on Dec. 2 with the release of Blue & Lonesome, a 12-track all-blues effort described in a press release as taking "the band back to their roots and the passion for blues music which has always been at the heart and soul of The Rolling Stones." Produced by Don Was and the "Glimmer Twins" (the longtime pseudonym used by Stones frontman Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards for their production work), the Stones' first all-blues album will be released by Interscope Records and is currently available for pre-order. Blue & Lonesome was reportedly recorded "spontaneously," with live studio playing and no overdubs by the band -- currently comprised of Jagger, Richards, drummer Charlie Watts and guitarist Ronnie Wood, as well as longtime touring sidemen Darryl Jones (bass), Chuck Leavell (keyboards) and Matt Clifford (keyboards). Eric Clapton also contributes fret work to two tracks on album after his old friends asked him to participate as he was recording his own album in an adjacent studio. As they announced the new LP, the Stones unveiled the blue-tinged remake of their iconic lips symbol by projecting them across several locations in London on the evening of Oct. 5, including Marble Arch and the Centre Point building. Meanwhile, two days earlier on Oct. 3 the Stones played a surprise set for 1,200 truckers in Las Vagas, Nev. Semi truck company Freightliner hired the band to play a surprise set at their annual customer appreciation dinner, which took place inside the Bellagio conference room. The Stones treated the crowd to renditions of "Start Me Up," "Wild Horses" and "Gimme Shelter" as well as a rare performance of "Mixed Emotions" from Steel Wheels, a song they haven't played in 25 years. - Billboard, 10/6/16...... The start of legendary producer Quincy Jones' lawsuit against Sony Music and MJJ Productions over royalties Jones claims he's owed from posthumously released Michael Jackson albums has been delayed after a court has ruled the two defendants can no longer share the same legal team. In September, Judge Michael Stern have Quincy Jones the green light to pursue damages claims related to payment from permanent digital downloads. Jones is essentially arguing that he was cheated out of his share of royalties because Sony was underpaying MJJ, a song company controlled by the late artist's estate. The payment of digital downloads is an area of continual conflict between artists and labels and has taken center stage in several major lawsuits in the past decade. Jones' legal fight with Sony began in 2013, when he sued both Sony and MJJ, claiming master recordings he produced were remixed after Jackson's death to avoid paying him backend profit participation. The trial had originally been scheduled for mid-October, and It remains to be seen exactly how long it will take for new attorneys to get up to speed and get a trial back on the books. A status conference is currently scheduled for November. - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/7/16...... Roger Daltrey has again blasted a planned remake of the Who's 1979 Quadrophenia movie project, which will be made and set 35 years after the original film and star several of the original cast, including Phil Daniels. "It's just someone fishing to make some money," Daltrey told the UK paper The Daily Mirror. "It becomes a nonsense. The whole point of Quadrophenia was that it was a moment in time captured in a film... That moment in time is gone. It doesn't matter what those characters are doing now. It was about what we all went through at that age," he added. Ray Burdis, the director and writer of 1979's Quadrophenia, has defended the project, entitled To Be Someone, insisting it was not a sequel and was based on the novel by author Peter Meadows, who says his book was merely "inspired by" Quadrophenia. - NME, 10/7/16...... Sole surviving Bee Gees member Barry Gibb recently premiered new songs from his new album In the Now before an intimate listening party of 25 at Miami's Hit Factory/Criterion Studios -- along with more than 20,000 Bee Gees fans watching online. Gibb and his 11-piece band worked through four new songs from the album, then pivoted to the Bee Gees catalog for their 1977 classic "How Deep Is Your Love." "This one's for mum," he says (his mom Barbara Gibb recently died at 95). In the Now drops on Oct. 7 via Columbia Records. - Billboard, 10/6/16...... The surviving members of the tension-plagued Pink Floyd have just "reunited" -- at least online -- to release a joint statement condemning Israeli forces over the detention of female activists sailing to Gaza. In a joint statement posted on the Pink Floyd Facebook page, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Roger Waters say that "Pink Floyd reunites to stand with the Women of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla" and they fully support Women's Boat to Gaza, an activist group that sailed from Barcelona to Gaza last month and were arrested by the Israeli navy earlier in October. They are expected to be deported. - NME, 10/7/16...... Prince's Paisley Park estate in Minnesota was opened to the public for the first time on Oct. 6 since the singer's death in April. The thousands of fans who attended were given a surprise treat when it was revealed that Prince's remains were being kept in an urn within the studio -- the same place where the "Purple Rain" singer passed away in the spring. The remains are being held in an urn designed by Prince's sister and nephew, who teamed up with Foreverence, a company that has created custom burial urns for such recently deceased rock legends as Lemmy Kilmister and Scott Weiland. The urn is designed to resemble a miniature version of Paisley Park, and features signature Prince details, like his purple Yamaha piano and white doves. - Billboard, 10/7/16...... Appearing on the CBS late night talk show The Late Late Show With James Corden on Oct. 6, Stevie Nicks revealed she was inspired to write the "Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)" from her 2011 album In Your Dreams after seeing the second Twilight movie New Moon. Nicks then said that she couldn't just release one single, and therefore crafted the entire album around the track. Nicks told Twilight star Taylor Lautner, who was also on the panel, that "If it hadn't been for your movies... I've since made two records -- In Your Dreams, and 24 Karat Gold -- I would never have never made those albums because I was so staunch in my belief that it was over." - Billboard, 10/7/16...... Jimmy Page's guitar solo on the classic 1971 Led Zeppelin track "Stairway to Heaven" has just been voted the greatest solo ever by Classic Rock magazine. "Stairway to Heaven" was recently the subject of a lawsuit which the band won after after a jury deemed that the band did not plagiarise Spirit's 1968 song "Taurus." Trustees for late Spirit member Randy California have filed an appeal against the original verdict, with their lawyer saying there are "many appealable issues" for him to build a case on. - New Musical Express, 10/6/16...... Bruce Springsteen has debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart for the week ending Oct. 15 with his new career retrospective Chapter and Verse. The album, which accompanies Springsteen's recently released autobiography, Born to Run, is Springsteen's fifth No. 1 on the chart (which began in 2006), with all five having debuted at the summit. Chapter and Verse features 18 songs spanning the New Jersey rocker's nearly 50-year career. Meanwhile, Springsteen has told Rolling Stone magazine that he admires San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest, while acknowledging the difficulty of making political statements in sports. "I admire Kaepernick, but it's a very difficult field to be outspoken in," Springsteen said. As for the Black Lives Matter movement, he said it is a case of "chickens coming home to roost." "Black Lives Matter is a natural outgrowth and response to the injustices that have been occurring for a very long time in the United States," he told the magazine. - Billboard/Rolling Stone, 10/5/16...... Excerpts from Brian Wilson's forthcoming autobiography I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir have been posted online at Google Books and include part of the first chapter entitled "Fear," in which the Beach Boys mastermind recalls his fear about going onstage in 2004 at London's Royal Festival Hall where he played the Beach Boys album Smile for the first time. In addition to the book project, which hits stores on Oct. 11 via Da Capo Press, Wilson is also planning to release a concert film called Brian Wilson & Friends. - New Musical Express, 10/7/16...... The Country Music Association announced on Oct. 4 that Dolly Parton will be received the 2016 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the upcoming 50th annual CMA awards on Nov. 2 in Nashville. Parton is a nine-time CMA winner, including Entertainer of the Year. Willie Nelson was the first recipient of the award, presented in 2012. It honors an artist who has achieved national and international fame through performances, philanthropy, humanitarian efforts and record sales, and previous recipients also include Kenny Rogers and Johnny Cash. The 2016 CMA awards will air on ABC on Nov. 2. - AP, 10/4/16...... There is now new hope that AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson could perform live with the band again "within six months" after hearing aid developers Asius have been in contact with the 68-year-old singer about letting him test a hearing aid prototype that could help protect his hearing in the live arena. "We need to know he can test it without further damaging his hearing. And I expect those tests will go very successfully," says Asius' Chief Scientist Stephen Ambrose. Ambrose adds the company intends to make it's technology available "at a price point that people can afford." Johnson was replaced by Guns 'n Roses frontman Axl Rose for the band's recent "Rock Or Bust" world tour. In other AC/DC-related news, a new book maintains that sharks like listening to heavy metal music and in particular, AC/DC. Matt Waller, a chartered boat operator in Southern Australia, says he first noticed in 2011 that sharks behaved in a much calmer manner when played heavy metal music. "I started going through my albums and AC/DC was something that really hit the mark. Their behaviour was more investigative, more inquisitive and a lot less aggressive," he writes. - NME, 10/5/16...... A New York City street situated at the at the intersection of 67th Avenue and 110th Street will officially be renamed Ramones Way after the iconic '70s punk band the Ramones on Oct. 23. The street's location marks the main entrance to Forest Hills High School, where all four original Ramones members -- Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee and Tommy -- attended. In April, the Queens Museum opened an exhibit of Ramones memorabilia, and an expanded version of the exhibit will move to the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles later in October. - Billboard, 10/4/16...... Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has announced that he will be showcasing an art exhibition focused on neuroscience. According to a statement, "The Institute Presents: Neurosociety"is described as "an immersive theatrical experience" that will present the work of 15 cognitive neuroscience labs. Byrne co-created the exhibition with Mala Gaonkar. Speaking to The New York Times, Byrne said, "We won't be running these experiments like the labs do, but recreating some of their work in more entertaining or theatrical ways." The exhibition will open on October 28 and will run until May 31 at Pace Gallery in Menlo Park, Calif. - NME, 10/4/16...... Damian Marley, the youngest son of reggae legend Bob Marley, has announced that he will convert a prison into a cannabis factory. Marley has teamed up with the company Ocean Grown Extracts to turn California State prison into a growth space cultivating medical marijuana. "Many people sacrificed so much for the herb over the years who got locked up," says Marley. "If this [project] helps people and it's used for medicinal purposes and inspires people, it's a success." - Billboard, 10/4/16...... Rod Temperton, a legendary songwriter best known for penning some of Michael Jackson's biggest solo hits including "Thriller," "Rock With You" and "Off the Wall," died in London in early October after what a spokesperson described as a "brief aggressive battle with cancer." He was 66. Temperton's first break came as co-founder and keyboardist of the pioneering funk/disco band Heatwave, for whom he wrote a string of platinum singles including "Boogie Nights." Temperton left Heatwave in 1978 and began working with Quincy Jones on what would become Jackson's solo breakthrough album, 1979's Off the Wall, for which he also wrote the song "Burn This Disco Out." The collaboration continued on what would become Jackson's most iconic work, 1982's Thriller, for which he wrote the title track, as well as "Baby Be Mine" and "The Lady in My Life." His biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit, as a songwriter, came with "Baby, Come to Me," a 1983 hit by Patti Austin with James Ingram, which hit No. 1 for two weeks. His other compositions include "Hey Lover" by LL Cool J, "Sweet Freedom" by Micheal McDonald and "Stomp!" by the Brothers Johnson. Temperton and Jones were nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar in 1986 for the song "Miss Celie's Blues" from the movie The Color Purple. His passing was announced by Jon Platt, Chairman & CEO of Warner/Chappell: "Rod Temperton, British composer and musician, died last week at the age of 66 in London following a brief aggressive battle with cancer. His funeral was private. He was often referred to as The Invisible Man. He was the sole writer of multiple successful songs such as "Thriller", "Off The Wall", "Rock With You", "Give Me The Night", "Sweet Freedom", "Always & Forever" and "Boogie Nights" to name just a few. His family is devastated and request total privacy at this, the saddest of sad times." - Billboard, 10/4/16...... North Carolina concert promoter Marc Hubbard pleaded guilty on Oct. 4 to defrauding the University of Hawaii of $200,000 by promising to produce a Stevie Wonder fundraising concert that never happened. Hubbard pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court in Honolulu, saying he lied about his ability to secure Wonder for a concert. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors will recommend that Hubbard's sentence run concurrently with the sentence he receives for a similar case in Pennsylvania. Hubbard is scheduled to be sentenced in Pennsylvania later in October and in Hawaii on Feb. 16. - AP, 10/4/16.

After a David Bowie box set of mid-'70s recordings, Who Can I Be Now? 1974-76, dropped on Sept. 23, another posthumous Bowie release has been announced. Bowie Legacy is a collection of the rock icon's "finest singles" along with selections from his final album, Blackstar, plus a previously unreleased version of the classic 1971 single "Life On Mars?" mixed by its original producer Ken Scott. Bowie Legacy will be available on CD, vinyl and download in standard and deluxe formats. The CD and digital versions will be released on Nov. 11, before the double vinyl edition drops on Jan. 7, 2017 -- the week of the anniversary of his death. On Oct. 21, a 2-disc release of cast recordings from the Bowie-inspired and created musical "Lazarus" will hit stores and feature Bowie's final studio recordings ever -- "No Plan," "Killing A Little Time," and "When I Met You." - New Musical Express, 9/28/16...... After first experiencing a stalker problem in 1977, Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth has posted on his website that another (or possibly the same?) stalker is terrorizing him in recent weeks. Roth says the obsessed fan has called his phone early in the morning nearly 100 times in the past few months. "Help! I have a stalker. A very real one. 75 stalker phone calls in the last four months. All of them at 5:30 to 6 in the morning... Every now and then at 2 in the afternoon. Never on the weekend. The phone calls show up on my old phone but they don't show up on the phone bill." Roth added that this stalker is "particularly obsessed" and "knows a little about tech." "They can remove the number out of my phone when they want to," he posted. Roth says that he's called in "the professionals," who told him the calls are designed to terrify him and ruin his day. "It's exactly what happened to me during my first stalker experience in 1977 (and) the second time (is) even worse." "I was more afraid and more intimidated the second time around. It really threw me off in the way where you stop eating or you eat too much and you sleep all the time," he says. - WENN.com, 9/29/16...... Paul Simon participated in a Q&A at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on Sept. 30. Simon, 74, says he's more determined to be full of surprises than ever in his advanced years. "I know how easy it is to become bored with popular music," he said. "Because I am bored to death of it. I know that applies to me as it applies to every other artist If you want people to listen, you really better make it interesting, because there are a lot of choices of things to do -- not only things to listen to." Hosted by veteran rock journalist David Wild, the Q&A was largely devoted to Simon's latest album, Stranger to Stranger, Simon's most critically acclaimed album since perhaps The Rhythm of the Saints. Simon went on to say that he felt it was Art Garfunkel's burgeoning movie career that broke up Simon & Garfunkel. "It was the movies that broke us up," Simon said. "We were separated for too long by two movies that Artie made. But no matter what, we couldn't have followed Bridge Over Troubled Water with a (similarly epic) album... It would have been like my first solo album anyway, because you have to go down and make it smaller and more rhythmic. And that would not be playing to Simon & Garfunkel's strength, which includes having a big ballad, which Artie can knock out of the park." But he also suggested his wandering interests in Jamaican and other world music would have eventually split the duo if Garfunkel's films hadn't: "I already wanted to go to a Jamaican rhythm ... I thought, if I want to get this, I've gotta go to Jamaica. That would not have been an easy argument to make to Artie... He wouldn't have liked that." Asked what he thinks constitutes a hit, he said: "I always say the song I wish I wrote: 'Silent Night.'" - Billboard, 10/2/16...... A new musical based on the life and music of reggae legend Bob Marley is coming to the UK in 2017. "One Love: The Bob Marley Musical" will feature some of Marley's most popular tracks, including "No Woman No Cry," "Exodus" and "Jamming." Premiering at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Mar. 10, the musical will run though Apr. 8. It is an updated version of director/writer Kwame Kwei-Armah's show "Marley," which he staged in Baltimore in 2015. - New Musical Express, 10/1/16...... A massive collection of mid-'60s Bob Dylan recordings is being planned for release this holiday season. The 1966 Live Recordings, a new box set with a whopping 36 discs that captures numerous shows Dylan played across the US, Europe and Australia, will drop Nov. 11. Adam Block of Legacy Recordings says the inspiration for the new box set came when his label was culling material from the 2015 mid-'60s Dylan compilation, The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series Vol. 12. "We were continually struck by how great his 1966 live recordings really are... the intensity of Bob's live performances and his fantastic delivery of these songs," Block noted. The vast majority of the recordings have never been released before, and Dylan's May 26 Royal Albert Hall show is also being released as a standalone album on Dec. 2. - Billboard, 9/30/16...... The new Ron Howard-directed Beatles documentary Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years has sold enough tickets in its first two weeks to warrant keeping it in cinemas for a third week. Eight Days a Week became available by streaming for home viewers on Hulu after its world premiere on Sept. 15. The film will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on Nov. 18. Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for the film industry site comScore, says the movie's popularity is "a testament to the inexhaustibly profound interest that exists by today's audiences in the Fab Four." The cumulative take for the film since its opening was $2,088,918, which Dergarabedian calls a success. "In the indie documentary world, $2 million is a lot of bucks at the box office," Dergarabedian says. Eight Days a Week was also the most profitable film in 48 of the top 50 theaters in its first week of release, according to its distributor, Richard Abramowitz of Abramorama. - Billboard, 10/2/16...... Ringo Starr has premiered a new version of his peace anthem "Now the Time Has Come" featuring Colombian superstar Fonseca, who sings a Spanish verse on the powerful track. The release follows a peace treaty signed in late September by Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and the rebel group FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia). "Now the Time Has Come," written by the ex-Beatle and producer Bruce Sugar, was initially premiered in partnership with United Nations in celebration of the International Day of Peace. - Billboard, 9/30/16...... After a Philadelphia fifth-grader named Michael Fenerty skipped school for the chance to meet Bruce Springsteen at a book signing for Springsteen's new autobiography Born to Run on Sept. 27, Springsteen signed an absentee note for the boy to present to his school. The boy's father brought along a pre-typed note that Springsteen signed to excuse his son's absence, and Springsteen quipped to the boy that he would have to read the note first because that's how he got in trouble with his first music contract. The school's principal reportedly only received a photocopy of the note. - AP, 9/30/16...... Tom Petty has been named the 2017 MusiCares Person of the Year for his charitable work for the homeless, the MusiCares Foundation and the Recording Academy president and CEO Neil Portnow announced on Sept. 28. Petty will receive the honor at the annual MusiCares dinner and benefit concert in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, two days before the 59th annal Grammy Awards. Participants in the concert will be revealed at a later date. "I am so very pleased to be honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year. I have so much respect for this organization, which really does care about the people in our industry," Petty said in a statement. "I myself know many people who MusiCares has aided in desperate situations. Again, let me say this is a true honor." Petty, a three-time Grammy Award winner, and his wife Dana were given the Midnight Mission Award in May 2011. Midnight Mission offers emergency help and drug and alcohol assistance programs for the homeless in the Los Angeles area. - Billboard, 9/28/16...... During his first of three scheduled gigs in Mexico City on Sept. 27, Roger Waters lashed out at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with a message projected on the stage behind him that called Trump an offensive name in Spanish. "We don't want a wall that separates us from our sister, our mother earth, or from each other," Waters also told the crowd. The former Pink Floyd member also criticized Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, blaming his administration for many of the thousands of people who have gone missing since Mexico's drug war began in 2006. "Mr. President ... Where are they? What happened to them?," Waters said. - AP, 9/29/16...... After Iggy Pop posed nude for a New York Academy of Art-organized class back in March, a collection of drawings from the event are set to go on display at the the Brooklyn Museum in November. "It was not about anything silly," Pop noted at the time. "It wasn't about my winkie, or anything. It was just a documentation of what's left of me," the 69-year-old former Stooges frontman noted. The drawings from the class will also be featured in a new art book, Iggy Pop Life Class, which carries the same name as the exhibition and will be released on Oct. 25. - NME, 9/28/16...... Sony Corp. announced on Sept. 30 that it has completed its acquisition of the Michael Jackson's estate share of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, giving it sole ownership of the music publishing powerhouse. The deal was first announced in March, but it took a while to close because the transaction had to be scrutinized by the EU Commission and because the Jackson estate needed to do some house cleaning in preparation for cashing out, sources say. In a press release, Sony said it had paid $750 million for the Jackson estate's 50% share in the company. Both Sony and the Jackson estate still have a stake in EMI Music Publishing, which is administered by EMI. The Jackson estate still has substantial interests in other music assets, including all of Jackson's master recordings as well as Mijac Music, the publishing company that owns all of the songs written by Jackson as well as songs by some of his favorite songwriters and artists that were acquired by Michael during his life. - Billboard, 9/30/16...... After the celebrity gossip site TMZ.com posted on Sept. 30 that police had rushed to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's mansion in Los Angeles when several other news outlets received a tip that the 90-year-old Hefner had passed away, Hefner posted a message on Twitter later that night. "I wish the tabloids had informed me a little earlier in the week that I'm sick. I might have cancelled my weekend plans," he posted. A representative for Playboy Enterprises also confirmed that Hef "was fine." "It is no secret that over the past few years he has suffered with back pain that has made it a bit more challenging for him to get around, but at 90 years of age, he is enjoying his life and still very involved in the day-to-day activities of editing the magazine," the statement said. Rumors first began to swirl that Hefner's health was failing after a New York Post/Page Six report on Sept. 29 claimed the reclusive media mogul was "super sick" and had dropped to 90 pounds. Hefner -- who married third wife Crystal, 30, a former Playmate, in 2012 -- sold his famed Playboy Mansion for $100 million in August. The deal gave him the right to continue living there for the rest of his life. - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/1/16...... Tom Jones will be returning as a coach for the UK version of The Voice in ITV's reboot of the show, along with new coaches Gavin Rossdale and Jennifer Hudson. Jones, Rossdale and Hudson will be joining long-standing coach Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas on the singing talent show, after ITV bought the rights to the show beginning in 2017. Earlier in 2016, Sir Tom famously told the BBC to "go f--- themselves" when he was replaced by Boy George without consulting him -- slamming them for what he said was "sub-standard behaviour." - New Musical Express, 9/29/16...... A crowdfunded statue of late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has been erected in his favorite bar in Hollywood -- the Rainbow Bar and Grill on the Sunset Strip. The crowdfunded effort to finance the statue was first announced in February, and a total of $23,000 was raised for a life-sized statue constructed by artist Travis Moore. Moore says the statue was modelled on a photograph taken by legendary rock photographer Robert John. Kilmister died in December 2015. - NME, 9/28/16...... Ozzy Osbourne's daughter Kelly Osbourne has settled a legal spat with an alleged former mistress of Ozzy's, hairdresser Michelle Pugh. Pugh had accused Kelly of "elder abuse" after it emerged she had conducted a four-year affair with rocker Ozzy behind his wife Sharon's back. The scandal rocked the Osbournes' marriage, led to a brief separation earlier in 2016, and resulted in Ozzy seeking therapy for sex addiction. Pugh claims she was targeted with abuse and became the victim of bullying after she was identified as the other woman in May. She initially filed papers in August, accusing Kelly of publicly disclosing "private facts" and causing "intentional infliction of emotional distress" to her on Twitter, but now her lawyer says the dispute has been "privately resolved." Sharon was asked about Kelly's actions on her TV show The Talk and she admitted she found Kelly's tweets about Pugh funny. She explained, "She loves her mom. She loves her dad so much... I'm always proud of my girl. What are you going to be mad (about)? She's an adult." - WENN.com 10/1/16...... Legendary guitarist Robin Trower launched a 13-date tour of the UK on Sept. 30 in Norwich. The "Bridge of Sighs" guitarist also visits Holmfirth (10/1), Manchester (10/6), Clitheroe (10/7), Chester (10/8), Gateshead (10/10), Glasgow (10/11), Stockton (10/12), Frome (10/14), Leamington (10/15), Exeter (10/16) and London (10/18) before wrapping in Brighton on Oct. 19. Trower is touring behind his 2016 release, Where You Are Going To, and the opening act on all dates is the Stevie Nimmo Band. - Noble PR, 9/30/16...... In a new interview with AARP magazine, actor Warren Beatty denies a claim by author Peter Biskind in his 2010 unauthorized Beatty biography that Beatty has bedded 12,775 women in his life. Although Bonnie and Clyde star once had a playboy reputation in the '60s and '70s, the 79-year-old Oscar winner told AARP it wouldn't have have been possible to reach that number. "Think about it, sleeping with 12,775 people? That would mean not just that there were multiple people a day, but that there was no repetition," he said. Beatty said while he may have been promiscuous in the past, he has never had an issue with any of his former lovers. "Look, I never misled anyone and... I'm a nice guy," he says. In 1992, the actor settled down after marrying actress Annette Bening, and the two have four children together. "I waited a long time to be married," he continues. "When you don't get married until you're 54... well, as (playwright) Arthur Miller said (in "Death of a Salesman"), 'It comes with the territory'." - WENN.com, 9/28/16...... Accomplished pop/country songwriter John D. Loudermilk, who penned The Raiders' 1971 No. 1 hit "Indian Reservation," passed away on Sept. 21 at the age of 82. Among Mr. Loudermilk's many other compositions that became big hits for a variety of artists are "Abilene" and "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" (George Hamilton IV), "Ebony Eyes" (The Everly Brothers), "Everything's Alright" (The Newbeats), "Norman" and "Paper Tiger" (Sue Thompson), "Talk Back Trembling Lips" (Johnny Tillotson), "Waterloo" (Stonewall Jackson) and "Tobacco Road" (The Nashville Teens)....... Conductor Neville Marriner, the founder of the London Orchestra, has died at 92. Mr. Marriner founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields with the dream of creating a chamber ensemble, and started by having a group of friends gather to rehearse in his living room. The academy first performed at the London church on Trafalgar Square, which gave the ensemble its name, in 1959. The London Orchestra enjoys one of the largest discographies of any chamber orchestra worldwide. Mr. Marriner worked with orchestras around the world, and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 and a Knight Bachelor in 1985. In 2015, he was made a Companion of Honour for his services to music. - AP, 10/2/16.