Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on February 20th, 2017

A picture of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr recording together at Ringo's home studio was posted on Twitter by Starr on Feb. 19, and Starr's publicist has confirmed McCartney was there to contribute to Ringo's forthcoming album. "Thanks for coming over man and playing Great bass. I love you man peace and love," posted Ringo, who also posted a separate picture of himself, Paul and Joe Walsh with the comment, "And look out Joe W came out to play. What a day I'm having. Peace and love." The two surviving Beatles last recorded together for Ringo's Y Not album, released in 2010. Four days earlier on Feb. 15, Starr, McCartney, Walsh, Tom Hanks and Dave Grohl were spotted at at the Giorgio Baldi restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 2/20/17...... In related news, a new song featuring Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Dirty Projectors and Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend with Dave Longstreth of the Dirty Projectors producing. McCartney previously teamed up with Kanye West for the collaborative song "FourFiveSeconds" which also featured Rihanna. The bridge of that song was written by Longstreth. - NME, 2/16/17...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, the movie rights for The Beatle Who Vanished, a book by author Jim Berkenstadt about drummer Jimmie Nichol who once filled in for Ringo Starr on tour for 13 days in 1964 when Ringo became ill, have been secured by Alex Orbison and Ashley Hamilton's 449 Productions. Alex Orbison is the son of rock and roll legend Roy Orbison, for whom the Beatles once opened for on tour before they shot to fame. Berkenstadt's book, first published in 2013, included accounts of Nichol's time with the Beatles, his pre- and post-Beatles career and included many archival photos. After his short tenure in the Beatles, Jimmie Nicol stayed in the music business playing with many groups, including Peter & Gordon, but mostly obscure bands. He has since avoided the spotlight. Alex Orbison says he is also planning a film on his father's life. - Billboard, 2/15/17...... Tohme Tohme, the ex-manager of Michael Jackson, took the stand in a trial over the King of Pop's taxes on Feb. 16, and his testimony could foreshadow an ugly trial ahead in his own separate legal fight with Jackson's estate. Tohme was called as a witness by the IRS, presumably, to show that Jackson had business suitors in the time leading up to his death despite allegations of child molestation. Specifically, he said there had been prospects of a "Moonwalker" sports shoe deal with Nike and a Broadway musical based on Jackson's songs. The legal fight between Tohme and the Jackson estate dates back to 2012, when a pair of dueling lawsuits were filed. That trial is currently set for October and, if Tohme's time on the stand Thursday is any indication, there will likely be fireworks in the courtroom between Tohme and Jackson estate attorney Howard Weitzman, who pulled no punches during his cross examination of Tohme in the current trial. - The Hollywood Reporter, 2/17/17...... In other Michael Jackson news, the late singer's blockbuster 1982 album Thriller has just extended its reign as the highest certified album in U.S. history. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has certified the Quincy Jones-produced set at 33-times platinum in the U.S., and a plaque commemorating the milestone was presented at the home of Epic Records chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid over Grammy weekend earlier in February. The album was released through Sony Music Entertainment's Epic Records and spent 37 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart, and was the first album to generate a record seven Top 10 singles on the Hot 100 pop chart, including two No. 1s: "Billie Jean" (No. 1 for seven weeks) and "Beat It" (No. 1 for three weeks). In 2015, Thriller was named the biggest album of all time by a male artist on the Hot 200 chart, and the No. 3 title overall. Its closest competitor, the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits 1971-75, was last certified in 2006 with 29 million album units. Thriller has sold 105 million copies globally, according to Sony and the Jackson estate. - Billboard, 2/16/17...... Kiss has reached a new merchandising milestone. Over the last year, with the help of longtime merch partner Epic Rights, the band hit the 125 global licensing deal benchmark. Throughout its career, Kiss has sold some half a billion dollars retail value at stores and concerts, which helps back its claim to being the most merchandised band of all time. While Kiss trailblazed new merchandise and fan club territory in the mid-1970s with a torrent of t-shirts, patches, posters, lunch boxes and the formation of the Kiss Army, its latest wares now include Kiss emojis, mobile video games, moisturizing face masks, carbon fiber bikes and credit/debit cards. "We've had thousands of licensing partners over the years but my objective has never been to have bragging rights by accumulating volumes of licensing partners," says Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley. "Rather, it's been about using decades of successes as a spring board to elevate our position in terms of gaining higher stature affiliations." Stanley said original Kiss manager Bill Aucoin was the mastermind behind the Kiss merchandising juggernaut, and "We were snickered at by other bands until they saw the checks we were getting and all of a sudden they joined the parade." As for a Kiss reunion of the original members, including guitarist Ace Frehley, Stanley said: "I have no thoughts of re-visiting the past. With that said I am happy to enhance or do whatever i can for anyone who has helped put me where I am, but that doesn't include getting hitched again to somebody I unhitched from."- Billboard, 2/17/17...... Bob Dylan has released a cover of Frank Sinatra's "My One and Only Love" ahead of his latest album Triplicate, a 3-disc collection of 30 classic songs by American songwriters. Dylan has also released another Sinatra cover -- "I Could Have Told You" -- to promote the new record. Triplicate is due on Mar. 31, and Dylan will showcase songs from the album on his upcoming tour of the UK and Ireland, which gets underway on May 3 in Cardiff. He'll also be visiting Bournemouth (5/4), Nottingham (5/5), Glasgow (5/7), Liverpool (5/8), London (5/9) and Dublin (5/11). - New Musical Express, 2/18/17...... Surviving members of the Jefferson Starship participated in a protest at San Francisco City Hall on Feb. 16 over the city's decision to block a free concert in Golden Gate Park for the 50th anniversary of the "Summer of Love." "The best thing we ever did was to play for free in the park," said David Freiberg, a vocalist and bassist with the Jefferson Airplane and its spinoff, Jefferson Starship. "How can you celebrate the Summer of Love without that? It's impossible. I see no reason why we can't work this out." The June 4 show might still go on but it hit another major bureaucratic hurdle during the 3-hour public hearing on Feb. 16 over concerns about public safety. - AP, 2/16/17...... British publisher/author John Blake has written an essay for the UK paper The Spectator in which he claims that three years ago he acquired a secret, 75,000-word memoir written by Mick Jagger in the 1980s. Jagger has so far refused to release a memoir, but Blake writes that "virtually nobody knows is that he already has." Blake reveals that the book shows a "quieter, more watchful Mick" and "it's delicious, heady stuff. Like reading Elvis Presley's diaries from the days before he grew fat and washed-up in Vegas." But Blake says that Jagger suddenly "wanted nothing further to do with this project... He never wanted to see it published." - Billboard, 2/17/17...... Pay cable channel HBO has acquired the U.S. television rights to the David Bowie documentary David Bowie: The Last Five Years, which chronicles the late rock icon's recording sessions for his final two albums, 2013's The Next Day and 2016's Blackstar, as well as the stage musical "Lazarus." The Last Five Years premiered on England's BBC2 in January and features rare archival Bowie images, recordings from the two albums' studio sessions and interview with a number of Bowie collaborators, including longtime producer Tony Visconti. HBO has not yet announced when The Last Five Years will air. - Billboard, 2/17/17...... Touring in Australia on Feb. 15, Bruce Springsteen invited a teenage fan onstage to perform "Growin' Up" with him at the Brisbane Entertainment Center. "You know it on guitar?" Springsteen asked young Nathan Testa. "Come on up." On Feb. 13, the singer held a private meeting with Australian Adam Brooker, a fan who has a severe intellectual disability and learned to speak through Springsteen's lyrics. - Billboard, 2/16/17...... In other news Down Under, the '70s hit "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band," adapted from John Williams's original Star Wars theme, has been named the country's favorite sex jam. Streaming giant Spotify.com compiled a list of Australia's Top 10 sex jams by scouring playlists with the word "sex" in their title, and "Cantina Band" led the list, followed by songs by Rhianna, Kings of Leon, The Weeknd and Frank Ocean. - NME, 2/17/17...... The Grateful Dead have announced they will release a 40th anniversay box set of their legendary performance at Cornell University's Barton Hall on May 8, 1977. May 1977: Get Shown the Light will be an 11-disc box set and be "the commercial debut" of the Cornell University performance, which is considered so legendary that a copy of the recording was placed in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2011. To be released by the band's official site Dead.net, the set also includes three previously unreleased recordings: Veterans' Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut (May 5, 1977), Boston Garden, Boston (May 7, 1977) and Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York (May 9, 1977). "These four concerts have been the holy grail of wish-list releases both externally and internally for a long, long time," said David Lemieux, Grateful Dead archivist and the set's producer, in a statement. - Billboard, 2/16/17...... The twin daughters of Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley have been placed in the care of California's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) after Lisa Marie claimed to have found indecent photos and videos of children on the computer of their father, Michael Lockwood. Finley and Harper Lockwood, eight, have reportedly been removed from the family home by social workers, and a trial date has been set for March to determine their future. Presley, 49, said of the discovery in the court papers: "I was shocked and horrified and sick to my stomach." She continued to reveal that police raided her former home with Lockwood and discovered 80 of his devices, but these have yet to be fully analyzed. "My understanding is that Tennessee law enforcement is also conducting an investigation related to the photos and videos that I discovered," she said in the documents. Presley and 55-year-old musician Lockwood married in 2006, with the singer filing for divorce last June, citing irreconcilable differences. Presley also claims her $300 million fortune left to her by her father's estate has gone, and she has been forced to move in with her actress daughter Riley Keough, although she still receives a $100,000 monthly allowance from the estate. - WENN.com, 2/17/17...... Just weeks after announcing he was planning to retire at the end of 2017, '70s teen heartthrob David Cassidy appeared to be heavily intoxicated at a concert at The Canyon Club in Agoura, Calif., on Feb. 18 where he slurred his words and struggled to stay on his feet. Footage captured by fans and shared by TMZ.com shows the former Partridge Family star rambling and toppling off the stage during his gig. Cassidy, 66, has battled with alcoholism in recent years, leading to arrest for DUI on several occasions, and according to one gossip columnist wrecked his car last September but managed to get it towed away without the police busting him again. Cassidy has live dates booked in for March and June, according to his website, though TMZ claims he said on stage that the Feb. 18 concert was his final show due to health reasons. - Billboard, 2/20/17...... Former Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters said on Feb. 19 that he's considering performing his band's 1979 classic album The Wall at the US-Mexico border in a protest against U.S. Pres. Donald Trump. "The Wall is very relevant now with Mr Trump and all of this talk of building walls and creating as much enmity as possible between races and religions," Waters said, adding that the LP is "about how detrimental building walls can be on a personal level, but also on broader levels." Waters has also been protesting against Trump with his visuals for his live shows, which have included a flying pig that had the words "F--- Trump and his wall" emblazoned on it, as well as giant, super-imposed pictures of Trump with some members of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1990, Waters famously performed the album in Berlin to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall the previous year. Meanwhile, both Waters and fellow Pink Floyd member Nick Mason have appeared open to the band reuniting to play the U.K.'s Glastonbury Festival. The two appeared together on Feb. 16 at a press conference at the V&A museum in London, ahead of an exhibition focusing on the band which opens in May. Asked about the possibility of a Pink Floyd Glastonbury reunion with Dave Gilmour, Waters reportedly said to Mason: "The last I heard, David retired. You know David better than me." - New Musical Express, 2/20/17...... Clyde Stubblefield, a drummer for James Brown, died on Feb. 18 at a Madison, Wisc., hospital after a 10-year battle with kidney disease. He was 73. Stubblefield performed on several of Brown's classics in the 1960s and early 70s, including "Cold Sweat," ''Say It Loud -- I'm Black and I'm Proud," ''I've Got the Feelin'," and the album Sex Machine. But he was best known for a short solo on Brown's 1970 single, "Funky Drummer" which, according to Rolling Stone magazine, has been sampled on over 1,000 songs and served as the backbeat for countless hip-hop tracks, including Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride," LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" and Run-D.M.C.'s "Run's House." However his wife, Jody Hannon, said that her husband actually saw "very little" in royalties and never expected them. Stubblefield had lived in his wife's hometown of Madison, Wisc., since the early 1970s and had long been a fixture on the local music scene. - AP, 2/18/17...... Walter "Junie" Morrison, keyboardist and producer for funk band Ohio Players and producer/performer with George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic, has died. He was believed to be 62. After high school, Morrison started a stint with the Ohio Players, working as an arranger, producer and musical director for the band on such hits as "Pain," "Funky Worm" and "Ecstasy." He left the group in 1974 and became a key player in Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic from 1978-1980, contributing to such landmark albums as One Nation Under a Groove and Motor Booty Affair. - Billboard, 2/16/17...... Peter Skellern, the singer behind the 1972 U.K. hit "You're a Lady," passed away on Feb. 17 following a battle with brain cancer. He was 69. Following "You're A Lady," Skellern had another hit with "Love is the Sweetest Thing"' in 1978. In 1984, he formed a group called Oasis with Julian Lloyd Webber and Mary Hopkin, with their self-titled album earning them a silver record. Skellern, who became an ordained priest and a deacon, had revealed that he had an inoperable brain tumour last October. - New Musical Express, 2/17/17...... Irwin Stambler, author of the early pop music sourcebook The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul, died on Feb. 10 in Los Angeles. He was 92. Mr. Stambler's pop encyclopedia, which was first published in 1974, went through several revisions, chronicled the professional and personal lives of everyone from Chuck Berry to The Zombies. In an age before the internet, it provided a convenient and entertainingly written set of mini-biographies. Mr. Stambler's son said his father often did his own research, interviewing musicians and attending concerts. - AP, 2/17/17...... Canadian radio legend Stuart McLean, best known as the host of CBC Radio's The Vinyl Café which was syndicated to some 80 U.S. public radio stations, died in Toronto on Feb. 15. He was 68. McLean began his radio career as a researcher for CBC Radio One's Cross Country Checkup, before getting into radio documentaries for the station's Sunday Morning. In 1994, he launched The Vinyl Café as a summer series, and the show became part of CBC's regular schedule in 1997 and the next year starting taking it on the road to theaters across Canada and into the U.S. - Billboard, 2/15/17.

Blondie has released a new psychedelic video for "Fun," the lead single off their upcoming album Pollinator. Directed by Beyoncé collaborator Dikyal Rimmasch, the video has a vibrant, intergalactic theme which Blondie guitarist Chris Stein says is necessary because "in these trying times, we need some fun... we're very serious about fun." Pollinator, the follow-up to Blondie's 2014 set Ghost of Download, hits stores May 5, and the band hits the road behind the new LP on July 5 in Saratoga, Calif. - New Musical Express, 2/15/17...... David Bowie swept the 2017 Grammy Awards on Feb. 12 in Los Angeles with five posthumous wins for his final album, Blackstar. The late singer was awarded in all four categories in which he'd been nominated -- Alternative Album and Best Engineered Album, for Blackstar, plus Best Rock Performance and Rock Song, for the title track. Additionally, Blackstar's graphic designer took home a Grammy for Best Recording Package. In all, Bowie racked up four times as many Grammys as he'd previously garnered in the entirety of his career. The five Grammys were also the first ever true "musical" Grammy wins for Bowie, having previously won just Best Video in 1985 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. "I was very surprised to learn that he'd only won one Grammy, for a video -- that was shocking to me," said saxophonist Donny McCaslin, the jazz band leader who collaborated with Bowie on the sessions for the album. "I just feel this is such a deep record, regardless of my involvement in it, and I'm just so happy for his family and his fans. We're fans too, so this is really cool," he added. Bowie's son, Duncan Jones, recognized the achievement by sending a tweet of an old photo of himself hugging his dad, saying "So proud of you dad! Would hold you up forever." Meanwhile, the physical release of Bowie's No Plan EP featuring the final tracks he ever recorded for the "Lazarus" musical drops on Feb. 24 on CD, before a vinyl edition is released on Apr. 21. - Billboard/NME, 2/13/17...... In other '70s artist Grammy news, Willie Nelson took home a Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Grammy for his Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin album, while his fellow country legend Dolly Parton shared a Best Country/Duo Perdformance Grammy with Pentatonix for their collaboration on Parton's classic song "Jolene." A Best Music Film Grammy went to the Beatles for the Ron Howard documentary The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years. Meanwhile, Carlos Santana has apologized for a diss of Beyoncé, who lost to Adele in several Grammy categories, by intimating that the "Lemonade" vocalist was "not a singer-singer" but more of a music model. Santana told a New Zealand newspaper that "I think that Adele won because she can sing sing... With all respect to our sister Beyoncé, Beyoncé is very beautiful to look at and it's more like modeling kind of music -- music to model a dress -- she's not a singer, singer, with all respect to her." After his comments drew a firestorm of reaction on Twitter, Santana took to Facebook to clarify his comments, saying he was taken out of context. "My intent was to congratulate Adele on her amazing night at the Grammies," he wrote. "My comment about Beyoncé was regretfully taken out of context. I have the utmost respect for her as an artist and a person. She deserves all the accolades that come her way." In still more Grammy-related news, Joni Mitchell made a rare public appearance on Feb. 11 at Clive Davis' annual Pre-Grammy Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, where she was escorted by writer and filmmaker Cameron Crowe. The attendance by the 73-year-old rock/folk icon at the star-studded gala was a big deal, given she suffered from a brain aneurysm in March 2015 and was found unconscious in her L.A. home. Mitchell's health has been a source of concern since, though in late June of that year, her attorney Rebecca J. Thyne said the artist was "expected to make a full recovery." Mitchell, who is now wheechair-bound, was honored at the Grammys with a tribute video and a performance by "Both Sides Now" folk singer Judy Collins. - Billboard, 2/12/17...... Tom Petty was feted on Feb. 10 at a MusiCares' pre-Grammy dinner at the Los Angeles Convention Center by such fellow rock legends as Stevie Nicks, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, Randy Newman and the Foo Fighters, among others. "Twenty years ago, I would have been way too cynical to do this, but I'm 66 now," said Petty, who was named the 2017 MusiCares Person of the Year. Expressing gratitude to his band the Heartbreakers, Petty told the black-tie crowd, "We got together last week and rehearsed for this thing, and I realized I may actually be in one of the best two or three rock and roll bands there is." Performances included Newman ("Refugee"), Browne ("Learning to Fly"), Henley ("Free Fallin'") and ELO's Jeff Lynne ("I Won't Back Down"), with Petty himself and Stevie Nicks singing their big duet hit, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." Recording Academy president Neil Portnow announcing that the evening had brought in more than $8.5 million for musicians in medical or financial need. - Billboard, 2/11/17...... An unreleased song recorded by Bruce Springsteen for the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone -- the first movie in the Harry Potter series -- but was never used appeared briefly on the streaming service SoundCloud.com on Feb. 10, but has since been removed. The ballad "I'll Stand By You Always" was recorded by the Boss in 2001 although it doen'st have any direct reference to Harry Potter, it includes sincere lyrics like, "We'll let the night come and do what it may, together we'll find the courage, we'll find faith/ Until you awake." Springsteen later told the BBC that the song was "very uncharacteristic of something I'd sing myself" and added that he still hopes to get it into a children's movie someday. - Billboard, 2/10/17...... Rick Derringer has been charged with carrying a loaded gun in his carryon bag on a Delta Air Lines flight from Mexico after he was stopped after landing in Atlanta. According to court records, a federal air marshal said that Derringer said he often flies with a gun in his carry-on and has never experienced any problems. Derringer's manager, Kenn Moutenot, said the "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" singer thought he was permitted to have the gun because he has a permit to carry one, that he meant no harm and will work with the government to clear his name. - AP, 2/10/17...... A new Eric Clapton documentary entitled Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars will premiere on the pay cable channel Showtime in 2018 after being released theatrically this fall. The documentary, directed by Lili Fini Zanuck, is described as an unflinching and deeply personal journey into the life of Clapton will screen at domestic and international film festivals later this year, and be released theatrically in the U.S. and Canada this fall. "Despite the fact that (Clapton's) path is strewn with tragedies, addiction and loss, he never fails to regain his bearings and continue to serve what he holds dearest: his music," Zanuck said in a statement. - Billboard, 2/10/17...... '70s New Wave legends Devo have been given their own set of Web emojis, many of which reference memorable moments from videos for Devo hits like "Whip It" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" as well as other imagery unique to the band. Devo formed in 1973 and released debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! in 1978. Their last full-length LP Something for Everybody was released in 2010. - New Musical Express, 2/11/17...... Former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes will participate in a "Storytellers" event at London's historic Cafe de Paris from 12 noon to 4pm on Feb. 25. The event will included the airing of a new 60 minute documentary, featuring never-before-seen classic archival vision of Hughes from the 1970's. The screening will be followed by a 2 hour story telling session hosted by Nicky Horne where Hughes will delve into some of the great and even infamous events in his life to date. - Noble PR, 2/10/17...... Legendary jazz singer Al Jarreau passed away on Feb. 12, two weeks after being hospitalized due to exhaustion and later cancelling his 2017 tour. He was 76. A seven-time Grammy winner, Jarreau's biggest single was 1981's "We're in This Love Together," and he was featured on the all-star 1985 song "We Are the World." Jarreau also sang the theme to television's Moonlighting. A statement on Jarreau's website read in part, "His 2nd priority in life was music. There was no 3rd. His 1st priority, far ahead of the other, was healing or comforting anyone in need. Whether it was emotional pain, or physical discomfort, or any other cause of suffering, he needed to put our minds at ease and our hearts at rest. He needed to see a warm, affirming smile where there had not been one before. Song was just his tool for making that happen." The singer was surrounded by family and friends when he died in Los Angeles, his manager, Joe Gordon, told Ebony magazine. - Billboard, 2/12/17...... Sonny Geraci, the Cleveland-born pop singer who scored national hits as lead singer of The Outsiders in the 1960s and Climax in the 1970s, has died. He was 69, and had been in ill health since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2012. Geraci became the lead singer of The Starfires in 1964, who changed their name to The Outsiders and scored four singles on the U.S. pop charts during the late 1960s, including "Time Won't Let Me," "Girl in Love," "Help Me Girl" and "Respectable (What Kind of Girl Is This)," a remake of the Isley Brothers tune. After leaving The Outsiders in 1970, Geraci eventually formed Climax with Walter Nims, who had been a member of both The Starfires and The Outsiders. That group later scored a Top 3 single with "Precious and Few," written by Nims. Climax disbanded in 1975. Geraci left the music business in the early 1980s, but tried a comeback, under the pseudonym Peter Emmett, in 1983, releasing an unsuccessful album on MCA. Later, he played the oldies circuit, performed for a time with the Grass Roots and toured from 2007-2012 as Sonny Geraci and the Outsiders. - 2/6/17...... Steve Lang, a former bassist for the Canadian classic rock outfit April Wine, has died at the age of 67. No cause of death has been announced, though he had suffered from Parkinson's Disease. Lang joined April Wine in 1975 as a replacement for longtime bassist Jim Clench, and was first featured on 1976's The Whole World's Goin' Crazy. He went on to play on a total of seven April Wine albums over eight years. He split from the band in 1984, eventually going into the finance industry. "Steve played bass with [April Wine] for years and his musicianship was exceptional," April Wine band leader Myles Goodwin posted on Facebook. "My condolences go out to his family. He will sadly be missed by his friends and by fans everywhere." - 2/8/17.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on February 10th, 2017

Officials in San Francisco have denied a permit for a 50th anniversary "Summer of Love" concert that was to be held on June 4 in Golden Gate Park's Polo Field and headlined by surviving members of such legendary bands as Jefferson Airplane, Santana and Big Brother and the Holding Company. The "city by the bay" was at the center of the '60s counterculture movement, and the concert was expected to draw tens of thousands of people, but city officials have informed event promoter Boots Hughston that his request for a permit was being denied. In a sharply worded, 3-page letter, the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department said that Hughston had made "numerous misrepresentations of material fact" that left them with deep concerns about safety and security measures for the concert. Hughston denied making any misrepresentations and called the letter a "character assassination," saying he has a flawless record as a concert promoter and had organized events at Golden Gate Park and elsewhere since the 1970s without any problems. Hughston said he plans to file an appeal against the permit denial and added he still hopes the event can take place. - AP, 2/9/17....................... Black Sabbath played their last ever show in their hometown of Birmingham, UK on Feb. 4 at Birmingham's NEC Arena. The heavy metal legends, who wrapped up their 81-date The End tour, played a 15-song set including "War Pigs," "Iron Man," "Children of the Grave," and bowed out with an encore of 1970's "Paranoid." Founding members Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler all participated in the The End tour, and in November 2016 Osbourne told Classic Rock magazine that he has no plans to retire from either recording or performing live. "It's not me that wants to retire, it's Black Sabbath," Osbourne said. "I'll be continuing my own musical thing. My wife is good at telling me partial information, but I know I'm not hanging my boots up for a while." On Feb. 6, Tony Iommi told Planet Rock that he would also quit touring, but he was "sure" Black Sabbath would continue as a band, and that he was open to releasing more music with Black Sabbath, although the band hasn't discussed it yet. - New Musical Express, 2/5/17...... In other Heavy Metal news, AC/DC guitarist Angus Young pranked his friends Guns N' Roses on Feb. 8 by dressing up as a member of airport security staff and ordering a search after Guns N' Roses touched down in Sydney ahead of five councerts in Australia. "Told we had to stay on plane last night in Sydney; 'airport security' wanted to do a check. We waited. It was Angus Young is an orange vest!," Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan tweeted. The bands have grown close over the past year as Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose has been filling in for AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson, who was forced to step down after being warned by doctors he could lose his hearing. Earlier in February, Johnson thanked a group of Swedish AC/DC fans for hosting an event raising funds for organisations searching for a cure for Alzheimer dementia, which has afflicted founding AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young. "I know Malcolm would be so proud of you," Johnson posted on the event's blog on Feb. 7. "I am and I want to thank you for doing this. We've tried to tell people about this awful disease, tried to get a cure for it. You guys are helping and I'm so proud of you." - NME, 2/7/17...... The estate of late rock icon Prince has granted Universal Music Group exclusive licensing rights to much of Prince's catalog of released and unreleased works. Under the deal, the estate is licensing the 25 albums Prince released under the NPG Records label between 1979 and 1995, plus UMG can now work with the estate on the artist's vault of career-spanning unreleased works. The agreement means UMG is now the home for much of Prince's recorded music, plus publishing rights and merchandising. - Billboard, 2/9/17...... Michael Jackson's mother Katherine Jackson has accused one of her nephews, Trent Lamar Jackson, of being an "abusive con man" who has been attempting to take control of her finances for years. The Jackson matriarch has obtained a restraining order against Trent Lamar Jackson, after accusing him of taking cash from her accounts, and a Los Angeles judge has ordered the man to stay away from his aunt and return all his house keys. Trent Lamar Jackson reportedly disappeared from the Jackson compound shortly before sheriff's deputies and her lawyer arrived to force him off her property, and Katherine says she now fears for her safety if he returns. Katherine Jackson is currently in London visiting her newest grandson, Eissa, who was born to her daughter Janet Jackson in January. - WENN.com, 2/9/17...... Cher launched a residency at the Park Theater at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Feb. 8 after an illness forced her off the road for nearly three years. Cher's "Classic Cher" show featured the diva's hit singles, glamorous Bob Mackie-designed outfits, and her legendary sense of humor, as she joked about her breasts, her age, and her love of Dr. Pepper. The 90-minute show plays a series of dates at Park Theater in February and May, as well as at The Theater at MGM National Harbor outside Washington, D.C. in March, August and September. - Billboard, 2/9/17...... Interviewed by a Detroit TV station on Feb. 8, Aretha Franklin revealed that she plans on retiring at the end of 2017 after releasing a new album in September. "I must tell you, I am retiring this year," said Franklin. "I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now. I'll be pretty much satisfied, but I'm not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn't be good either," she added. Franklin, 74, added however that she will remain open to "some select things, many one a month, for six months out of the year." Franklin's new LP will be an ode to her hometown of Detroit, composed of original works and recorded in the Motor City, and feature songs produced by Stevie Wonder. - Billboard, 2/9/17...... Speaking of Stevie Wonder, the legendary Motown singer has joked to TMZ.com that he will "reveal the truth" about his sight later this year, and claims that he has "flown planes." Wonder was recently stopped by TMZ and asked whether he would ever star in a reality TV show. His response was that it would be "too invasive." The artist went on to claim that he has flown planes twice before and actually landed one. When the TMZ reporter then joked that Wonder might one day come out and say he can actually see, he said (most likely in jest): "This year, I will reveal the truth." - New Musical Express, 2/7/17...... Blondie announced on Feb. 8 that it will kick off a 22-city North American tour on July 5 at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga, Calif. Blondie's "Rage and Rapture Tour" will come on the heels of the band's new album, Pollinator, which hits stores on May 8. The tour will run through an Aug. 12 date at Southside Ballroom in Dallas, Tex., and the opener will be Garbage. - Billboard, 2/8/17...... Willie Nelson announced on Feb. 8 he was postponing two more concerts -- one in Arizona and one in New Mexico -- due to illness. According to his website, concerts at Desert Diamond Casino in Sahuarita, Ariz., on Feb. 10 and the Route 66 Casino in Albequerque on Feb. 11 will be rescheduled. Two days earlier, the 83-year-old Nelson postponed three concerts in California and one in Tucson, Arizona. In late January, he canceled two of his five shows in Las Vegas due to a cold. On Jan. 31, Nelson was seen at an event in Las Vegas to promote his new line of specialty cannabis and played three shows at the Venetian on Feb. 1, 3 and 4. Nelson is due to release his latest album, God's Problem Child, on Apr. 28. - Billboard, 2/8/17...... Bob Dylan has added three warm-up shows at intimate venues to his upcoming UK arena tour, which is set to kick off on May 3 at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena. Dylan will play a trio of shows at the London Palladium on Apr. 28, 29 and 30 ahead of the main jaunt. The tour will also see the rock icon visiting Bournemouth (5/4), Nottingham (5/5), Glasgow (5/7), Liverpool (5/8), London (5/9) and Dublin (5/11). - NME, 2/8/17...... Elton John, Quincy Jones, George Clinton and Sean Lennon will be among the artist-curators of a new vinyl record subscription service called Experience Vinyl. For under $30 a month, subscribers to the new service will receive one of the artist's favorite albums (not their own album) along with personalized commentary, the artist's top ten albums list, access to the Experience Vinyl store and various rewards. A portion of the sales wil go to the artist's charity of choice. The service's first curator, Elton John, has directed a portion of his sales be donated to The Elton John AIDS Foundation. Co-founder Brad Hammonds called Experience Vinyl "a different kind of subscription service and a dream for any vinyl lover... Who better to send you great music each month than artists themselves?" - Billboard, 2/8/17...... In related news, David Bowie's No Plan EP is set to be released on vinyl later in 2017. No Plan is the latest posthumous release from Bowie, who died in Jan. 2016, and features three songs from his Lazarus musical, as well as "Lazarus" from his final album Blackstar. The EP was released digitally on Jan. 8 -- Bowie's birthday -- and features recordings from Bowie's final ever recording sessions. CD versions of No Plan will drop on Feb. 24, before the vinyl edition is released on Apr. 21. A special edition vinyl, which is a dye-cut version that comes with an accompanying lightograph, will follow a month later on May 26. - NME, 2/6/17...... Steven Van Zandt, the longtime guitarist in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, has been named the speaker for this year's graduation ceremony at Rutgers University. Van Zandt, who also appeared in an acting role in HBO's The Sopranos, will also receive an honorary doctor of fine arts at the May 14 ceremony in Newark. Van Zandt was born in Massachusetts but moved to New Jersey when he was seven. The musician was chosen after a selection process involving students, faculty and staff, and he follows in the footsteps of former US Pres. Barack Obama, who delivered the keynote address in 2016. - AP, 2/8/17...... As the 1992 film Wayne's World was screened in US cinemas on Feb. 8 to mark the Mike Myers and Dana Carvey comedy's 25th anniversary, Alice Cooper has reflected on the movie's "we're not worthy" scene which featured him. The scene sees Wayne and Garth meeting Cooper backstage, and when the Coop asks the pair to "hang out," they bow to their knees and say: "We're not worthy, we're not worthy, we're scum." "I think we did it in two takes," Cooper reflected. "They [Myers and Carvey] were doing everything they could to get me to break up. But they didn't realise my iron will, so I went right through that dialogue and I think I surprised them." Cooper also revealed that some fans still re-enact the scene during chance run-ins. "Airports is when everybody does, 'We're not worthy!' I always try to let them think it's the first time anybody's ever done that. And they're so clever," he said. - Billboard, 2/8/17...... The creators of the classic rock "mockumentary" This Is Spinal Tap have reunited to file a $400 million lawsuit against Vivendi SA for "engaging in anti-competitive and unfair business practices, as well as fraudulent accounting" in its management of movie, which has been voted the funniest comedy film of all time. Co-creators Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and director Rob Reiner have formally joined fellow co-creator Harry Shearer in the lawsuit, which was originally filed by Shearer in October 2016. The co-creators are claiming they have been denied "their rightful stake in the production's profits." Commenting on the lawsuit, Guest said: "The deliberate obfuscation by Vivendi and its subsidiaries is an outrage. It is vital that such behavior is challenged in the strongest way possible." Shearer said of his co-creators' decision to join: "Their participation will help demonstrate the opaque and misleading conduct at the heart of this case. We're even louder now." - NME, 2/8/17...... Elton John paid tribute to his late friend George Michael during an interview on the UK radio show Beats 1 on Feb. 6. "George was one of Britain's most brilliant songwriters" and "the kindest, most generous man," Elton said, adding he'll miss Michael's "humanity most of all." Michael died at his England home at age 53 on Christmas Day. - AP, 2/7/17...... Former The Police frontman Sting was named one of the 2017 Polar Music Prize winners on Feb. 2 by Alfons Karabuda, chairman of the Prize committee. Sting and saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter will accept their Polar Music prizes from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a gala ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall on June 15. The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, the manager and music publisher of ABBA. A well-known lyricist, he also was the co-writer on many of their early hits. The prize was first presented in 1992. Previous winners of the Polar Music Prize include Elton John, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith. - Billboard, 2/7/17...... Music author and journalist Ritchie York, who penned books on such rock stars as Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison, and most recently John Lennon and Yoko Ono, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in his native Australia on Feb. 6. He was 73. Yorke, who was the senior music writer for Brisbane's Sunday Mail for 20 years until 2007, and also earlier served as Billboard's Canadian editor for a decade in the 1970s. His books include Led Zeppelin: The Definitive Biography, The Music: The Van Morrison Biography and The History of Rock 'n' Roll. - Billboard, 2/7/17...... "Professor" Irwin Corey, the wild-haired comedian and actor known for his improvisational riffs and nonsensical style who billed himself as "The World's Foremost Authority," died on Feb. 6 at his home in Manhattan. He was 102. Mr. Corey's dizzying mix of mock-intellectual circumlocutions, earnest political tirades and slapstick one-liners made him the king of comedic confusion and earned him the nickname "professor." "Did you hear about the guy who went to the druggist and wanted to get some cyanide?" one of his jokes went. "The guy takes a picture of his wife out of his wallet, and the druggist says, 'I'm sorry, I didn't know you had a prescription!'" Mr. Corey became a staple on television talk shows and in comedy clubs in the 1960s and 1970s, and his film career included working with Jackie Gleason and Woody Allen. He often wore sneakers, a skinny black tie, black tails and his hair was disheveled. It was never clear exactly what he was an authority on. Often he would begin his act with long-winded gobbledygook filled with sentences that followed their own logic before pausing and then saying, "What was the question again?" Mr. Corey's son, Richard, alled his father "original and one-of-a-kind, iconic." - AP, 2/7/17.

Bob Dylan announced on Jan. 31 that he'll be releasing a 3-disc studio album, Triplicate, on Mar. 31 that will feature 30 "brand-new recordings of classic American tunes." All three discs of Triplicate will be individually titled ('Til The Sun Goes Down, Devil Dolls and Comin' Home Late), and each album will include a thematically arranged 10-song sequence. Triplicate will be the artist's 38th album release, and the first ever triple-length set of his career. Produced by Jack Frost, Triplicate will feature such pop standards as "As Time Goes By," "Once Upon a Time," "The Best Is Yet to Come," "Stardust" and "Stormy Weather." - Billboard, 1/31/17...... Two classic rock legends, Steve Miller and Peter Frampton, have announced a coheadlining 30-city summer tour of North America that will get underway in Holmdel, N.J., on June 15 and wrap on Aug. 13 in Murphys, Calif. Major cities along the way include Toronto (6/20), Philadelphia (6/27), Salt Lake City (8/2), Las Vegas (8/8) and Los Angeles (8/11). Steve Miller expounded on his long history with Peter Frampton in a Jan. 31 statement: "Peter and I first met at Olympic studios in London in the late sixties when we were both just starting our recording career. He was a wonderful guitarist and songwriter then and he is even more so today. Over the years, we've played together in venues from theaters to football stadiums and everything in between.... I'm looking forward to a summer of great music, exceptional performances and fun. Peter is remarkable musician." - Billboard, 1/31/17...... High profile movie producer Michael De Luca (Captain Phillips, Moneyball, The Social Network) is working on a new, currently-untitled movie about the relationship between John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as well as their antiwar efforts. "The story will focus on ripe and relevant themes of love, courage and activism in the U.S. -- with the intention of inspiring today's youth to stand up for and have a clear vision for the world they want," De Luca said in a statement on Feb. 1. "I am also honored and privileged to be working with Yoko Ono, [writer] Anthony McCarten and [Immersive Pictures chief] Josh Bratman to tell the story of two amazing global icons." McCarten is the author behind The Theory of Everything and an upcoming Winston Churchill biopic starring Gary Oldman. During their 11-year marriage, John and Yoko collaborated on multiple creative projects, including what would become Lennon's final solo effort, 1980's Double Fantasy. In 2016, Yoko Ono reissued three of her albums from the 1970s, the start of a full reissue campaign of her music. - The Hollywood Reporter, 2/2/17...... In other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney has unveiled a rare demo on the web featuring Elvis Costello called "Twenty Fine Fingers" as part of his ongoing Archive Collection. "Twenty Fine Fingers" is the first of nine demo tracks from the sessions for Macca's 1989 solo album, Flowers In the Dirt, that are set to be released in 2017. McCartney and Costello collaborated on four of Flowers In the Dirt's 12 tracks, with Costello credited as a featured artist on the song "You Want Her Too." While "Twenty Fine Fingers" has already featured on McCartney bootlegs since Flowers In the Dirt was released (incorrectly titled as "Twenty-Five Fingers"), this is the first time that the demo has been officially released by its creator. A deluxe reissue of Flowers In the Dirt is set to drop on Mar. 24, which will contain eight other McCartney/Costello demos in addition to "Twenty Fine Fingers." A super deluxe version will contain a bonus DVD, 64-page photo book, and many other extras. - New Musical Express, 2/1/17...... In a post on his official website on Feb. 1, David Cassidy said he's planning to retire by the end of 2017 after playing a Las Vegas show on Feb. 17 and his final West Coast concerts on Feb. 18 and Feb. 19. Cassidy, 66, said that "traveling and my arthritis" have made performing around the country difficult in recent years. "This is not a complete 'Good bye' but I'm planning on working much less," the one-time The Partridge Family teen heartthrob said. A spokeswoman for Cassidy says he will perform some East Coast dates in March as well. - AP, 2/1/17...... As he continues his tour Down Under with the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen isn't letting up at all on US Pres. Donald Trump. During his show in Melbourne on Feb. 2 at AMMI Park, The Boss played a cover of The Orions' 1962 No. 4 pop single "Don't Hang Up" to mock an allegedly disastrous phone call between Pres. Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The unlikely cover of the doo-wop song, which features the lyrics "Don't hang up (no no)... Don't hang up like you always do/ I know you think our love is true/ I'll explain the facts to you, don't hang up," came after the Australian media spent the day obsessing over what has been described as a tense conversation between Trump and Turnbull on Jan. 29 when the two men reportedly clashed over the American president's controversial immigration policy. Meanwhile, on Feb. 2 E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt tweeted "Australia is, was, and always will be one of the USA's best friends and closest allies. Apologies for today's temporary embarrassment." The tweet came after Springsteen spoke out against Trump's immigration policy at a concert in Adelaide on Jan. 30. - Billboard, 2/2/17...... Organizers of 2017 Tribeca Film Festival announced on Feb. 2 that a new documentary about music mogul Clive Davis, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, will open the event this April. Based on Davis' bestselling 2013 autobiography, The Soundtrack of Our Lives explores Davis' life and historic career in the music industry, from his humble Brooklyn beginnings and brief stint as a lawyer to his development of major record labels (Columbia, Arista, J). Some of the top acts who Davis helmed during his career, including Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson and Earth, Wind & Fire, will perform after the doc's world premiere at New York's Radio City Music Hall on Apr. 19. The 16th Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, runs Apr. 19-30. - Billboard, 2/2/17...... Premium cable network Showtime has announced a new documentary about the Beach Boys' 1966 classic LP Pet Sounds will air on their network later this year. The Beach Boys: Making Pet Sounds will premiere on Showtime in April and feature interviews with BB principal Brian Wilson as well as members Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks. The documentary will also feature footage from the band's 1960s studio sessions as well as outtakes from recordings. Released in May 1966, the hugely influential Pet Sounds is considered one of pop music's greatest masterpieces. Meanwhile, Brian Wilson has announced a 50th anniversary Pet Sounds tour of the UK that will include the Kendal Calling and Camp Bestival festivals, as well as London's Eventim Apollo on Aug. 1 and Sheffield City Hall on Aug. 2. "I'm really happy to be able to come back to the UK and perform Pet Sounds yet again for all our fans," Wilson said in a statement. "The response from everyone has been amazing and that's why we decided to come back and play Pet Sounds for one last time." - New Musical Express, 2/4/17...... Blondie released the first single, called "Fun," from their upcoming studio album, Pollinator, on Jan. 31. Blondie's core trio of vocalist Debbie Harry, guitarist Chris Stein and drummer Clem Burke are joined by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio on "Fun," which features the uplifting chorus "You're my fun when I'm down/ You pick me up again, you pick me up again/ You're my fun too, much fun/ I get the feeling that you're changing my mind." Pollinator also features contributions from Joan Jett, Laurie Anderson, Johnny Marr and Nick Valensi of the Strokes, and was the final album recorded at the legendary New York studio The Magic Shop. The studio was the site of sessions for David Bowie's final album, Blackstar, and has since closed due to rising rent costs. Pollinator, the follow-up to Blondie's 2014 album Ghosts of Download, is due on May 5. - Billboard, 2/1/17...... Appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Feb. 1, actor Keanu Reeves recalled the time Alice Cooper once babysat for him. "I grew up in Toronto and I lived on this street called Hazelton and there was a recording studio (near) there called Nimbus 9 and my mother was in costume design, she was in rock 'n' roll, in the business, and they had friends and she had friends, and so Alice Cooper -- I'm told -- babysat me. I don't know how that could possibly happen, but it did... Supposedly." Reeves will appear in the upcoming film John Wick: Chapter 2, as well as an upcoming new Bill & Ted project. - WENN.com, 2/2/17...... In a new interview with People magazine, the late Mary Tyler Moore's husband Dr. S. Robert Levine opened up about how her death has left him devasted. "I can't believe she is gone," he said. "Mary was my life, my light, my love. The emptiness I feel without her with me is without bottom." Revealing how she had remained fiercely independent even as her health failed after a long-term battle with diabetes and heart and kidney troubles. "She was a force of nature who fiercely defended her autonomy even as her health was failing," he said. "Mary was fearless, determined, and wilful. If she felt strongly about something, or that there was truth to be told, she would do it, no matter the consequences." Dr. Levine added that "My sadness is only tempered by the remarkable outpouring of good wishes, tributes, and personal 'Mary stories' told, with heart, by those touched by her grace." The death certificate for Mary Tyler Moore, who passed on Jan. 25, noted she died of "cardiopulmonary arrest, with aspiration pneumonia, hypoxia, and diabetes mellitus also listed as contributing factors." - WENN.com, 2/1/17...... John Wetton, a prog rock legend who was the ex-bassist for King Crimson and frontman for the '80s group Asia, died on Jan. 31 after losing his battle with colon cancer. He was 67. Born on July 12, 1949, in Derby, England, Wetton sang and played with the likes of Family, Mogul Thrash, Uriah Heep, Roxy Music, Wishbone Ash and King Crimson, before he formed the prog supergroup UK in the 1970s, and later the acclaimed and successful Asia with Geoff Downes, Steve Howe and Carl Palmer. Wetton also enjoyed a successful solo career, and played with the likes of Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, David Cross, Ayreon and District 97. Wetton joined King Crimson two years after the departure of Greg Lake who, also sadly, died last month. "With the passing of my good friend and musical collaborator, John Wetton, the world loses yet another musical giant," Carl Palmer posted on Facebook. "John was a gentle person who created some of the most lasting melodies and lyrics in modern popular music. As a musician, he was both brave and innovative, with a voice that took the music of ASIA to the top of the charts around the world," he added. Wetton is survived by his wife Lisa, son Dylan, brother Robert and mother Peggy. - NME, 1/31/17.