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.