Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on May 8th, 2017

Rock and R&B-influenced group Roadcase Royale will be releasing a brand new single entitled "Not Giving Up" on May 12. The band is fronted by Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Nancy Wilson of Heart and Liv Warfield of Prince's New Power Generation, and also includes members from each of their respective bands. "Not Giving Up" is a hard rock song that contains politically charged lyrics, following in the footsteps of the band's debut single, "Get Loud," which debuted at the Jan. 21 Women's March. The video for "Not Giving Up" will also be released later in May via the group's YouTube channel. More info can be found on the official Roadcase Royale website. - Miles High Productions, 5/4/17...... In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Billy Joel revealed that he "is planning a potential collaboration with a major pop star," who turns out to be Pink. Joel told the paper that he and Pink had recently gotten together and thrown around some ideas. He wasn't sure what would come of it but said he'd "had a good time." Joel, 67, has famously not released a new album since 1993's River Of Dreams, and has shared only two non-instrumental songs in the past 24 years: "All My Life," a 2007 Valentine's ballad for his third ex-wife, and "Christmas In Fallujah," a charity collaboration with his daughter's ex-boyfriend Cass Dillon the same year. Joel spoke to the Los Angeles Times ahead of his first concert ever at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium on May 13. - Billboard, 5/5/17...... Barbra Streisand gave a shout out to two special guests, former president Bill Clinton and his wife and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during her May 6 concert at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, her hometown. The Funny Girl noted she performed at Pres. Clinton's inauguration and then went on to list his accomplishments, including lowering taxes for some and raising taxes on the rich. "And speaking of taxes, he showed us his tax returns," Streisand said, a dig at Pres. Donald Trump, who has refused to release his. She also introduced Hillary as "the winner of our country's popular vote." Referring to Hillary's recent appearance at a women's forum, Streisand said it "makes us yearn for what could have been, what should have been.... I was thrilled to hear yourself describe yourself as an activist citizen and part of the resistance." The 75-year-old singer called for a bridging of the political divide before breaking into "Happy Days Are Here Again," and hinted that her "mini-tour," which consists of this and another concert in the New York City area, could be her last. "You know -- other things to do," she said. - AP, 5/7/17...... Paul McCartney has topped the London Sunday Times' survey of the U.K.'s richest musicians for 2017. Sir Paul took the top spot with £780 million ($1 billion) with his wife Nancy Shevell, while impresario Andrew Lloyd-Webber, U2, Elton John, Mick Jagger and his Rolling Stones bandmate Keith Richards completed the top 5. Other '70s musicians making the list include Ringo Starr, Sting, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Tom Jones, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and Brian May. - Billboard, 5/4/17...... Blondie released its 11th album, Pollinator, on May 5, featuring modern artists including Sia, Charli XCX, Dev Hynes and the YouTube duo the Gregory Brothers. "It wasn't really a concept for the album, it just developed that way," lead singer Debbie Harry says of the LP, recorded in NYC's now-shuttered Magic Shop. The first single, "Fun," is currently sitting at No. 1 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart, the first Blondie Billboard No. 1 in 22 years. Blondie will kick off its Rage and Rapture Tour behind the new LP with coheadliner Garbage on July 5. - Billboard, 5/5/17...... The Who and Guns N' Roses have announced a co-headlining tour this summer, including two dates in South America this fall. On Sept. 23, the two bands will play Rio De Janeiro's Rock In Rio festival, before jetting over to Argentina for a show in Buenos Aires. Further shows are set to take place in Brazil, Peru and Chile, reports Blabbermouth.com, though these are yet to be officially announced. The news comes after the Who's Roger Daltrey revealed in April that the band's current tour, which includes a residency in Las Vegas in late September/early August, may be their last. "If we get through this year, we're gonna need some time off," Daltrey said. "We'll re-think it after that." - New Musical Express, 5/7/17...... Sources close to Led Zeppelin have responded to rumours that the iconic band has been booked to play the Desert Trip 2017 festival later this year, after frontman Robert Plant recently posted a message on his website that read "any time now." The sources say that "no deal is in place" for Led Zep to perform, and that the Desert Trip lineup has not yet been announced for 2017. The fansite Feel Numb recently claimed that the band would be performing at Desert Trip, which in 2016 featured headline performances from the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, and the Who. - NME, 5/5/17...... Patti LaBelle has just released Bel Hommage, which is her first jazz album, as well as her first studio album in more than 10 years. Among the classics featured on the 13-track set are "The Jazz in You," "Here's to Life," "Moody's Mood for Love," "Don't Explain" and "Wild Is the Wind," previously covered by such artists as James Moody, Nina Simone, Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson. LaBelle, who turns 73 on May 24, also recently issued her fourth cookbook -- and sixth book overall -- in late April, Desserts LaBelle, which focuses on her favorite recipes for cakes, cookies, puddings and her famous sweet potato pie. - Billboard, 5/5/17...... Dolly Parton has announced that her Dollywood Foundation has given a total of $10,000 each to nearly 900 families displaced by deadly wildfires in her native area of east Tennessee in 2016. The country music legend, who started her My People fund after wildfires struck in November and killed 14 people in the Gatlinburg area and destroying or damaging thousands of buildings, said in a statement that the final distribution of checks has been made to families in Sevier County to help them rebuild. Parton held a star-studded telethon to bring in hundreds of thousands of donations to the fund, and announced that an additional $3 million will be used to start a new fund called Mountain Tough Recovery, which will continue to aid residents affected by the fires. - AP, 5/6/17...... A new David Bowie picture disc will be released on June 16 to mark the 40th anniversary of the release of Bowie's 1977 album Low. The Low track "Be My Wife" picture disc features a remastered version of the track on its A-side, with the B-side sporting a previously unreleased live version of "Art Decade" (also from Low) which was recorded in Perth, Australia in 1978 during the ISOLAR II tour. Another picture disc, "I'm Afraid of Americans," will also be released featuring a remixed version of the track by Trent Reznor, as well as a live acoustic version of "Heroes." Meanwhile, Bowie's soundtrack LP to the film Labyrinth is set for a re-release on May 12. - NME, 5/3/17...... The famous "Wolf" guitar played by late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia will go under the auctioneer's hammer on May 31 at Brooklyn Bowl, a bowling alley, restaurant and venue for music shows. The sale is being conducted by Guernsey's auction house, who note Wolf first appeared in a 1973 New York performance the Dead gave for the Hells Angels. Wolf is currently owned by devoted Deadhead Daniel Pritzker, a philanthropist, musician and film director who bought it in 2002 at Guernsey's for $790,000. It has been estimated that Wolf's price tag could exceed $1 million this time. The proceeds from the sale will go to the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center. - AP, 5/5/17...... Cher will be the recipient of the ICON Award at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, which will take place on May 21 and be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 8:00 p.m. EDT. During her appearance, Cher will sing her biggest hit, "Believe," which marks her first awards show performance in over 15 years. "I'm honored to receive the 2017 Billboard Music Awards ICON Award and take the stage to celebrate my love of music with my fans," Cher said in a statement. "Seeing so many powerful artists -- especially female artists emerge and take their place in history through the years has been incredible. I'm honored to be amongst the previous ICON Award winners and to celebrate this milestone achievement by performing 'Believe' on the show." Previous ICON award recipients include Celine Dion, Prince, Jennifer Lopez, Stevie Wonder and Neil Diamond. - Billboard, 5/4/17...... Former stars of the '70s sitcom Happy Days came together on May 3 to remember their friend and castmate Erin Moran, who played Joanie Cunningham on the series and died on Apr. 22 at her home in New Salisbury, Ind., from complications of cancer at age 56. Ron Howard, Anson Williams, Don Most, Marian Ross, Scott Baio and Cathy Silvers attended the service and posed for a group photo. Baio posted the pic on his Twitter page, with the caption "Celebrating the life of #ErinMoran #HappyDaysFamily." - Deadline.com, 5/3/17.

Following a Grammy Salute to the Bee Gees TV special organized by the Recording Academy on Apr. 16, the Bee Gees' music sales have grown 669%. Overall, Bee Gees' catalog of albums and digital songs sold a combined 83,000 in the week ending Apr. 20 -- up 669% compared to the week previous (11,000). Of the 83,000, traditional album sales comprised 20,000 (up 568 percent compared to 3,000 in the previous frame), while digital song sales equaled 63,000 (up 708 percent compared to just 8,000 in the previous week). Further, the group's songs scored a 71 percent gain in on-demand streams (audio and video combined), rising to 10 million for the week (up from 5.9 million). Four Bee Gees compilation albums have also debuted or re-entered the Billboard charts. - Billboard, 4/26/17...... Glen Campbell has shared a song composed by his longtime collaborator Jimmy Webb called "Adiós," which is the title track from his final album, due June 9. "Adiós," a Top 10 Adult Contemporary hit for Linda Ronstadt in 1990, is one of four Webb songs on the new LP, and Jimmy Webb says "Glen and I used to play that song all the time." "We played it in dressing rooms, hotels, we played it over at his house, we played it at my house. He always loved that song. I heard 'Adiós' this morning and my wife and I both broke down and cried all over this hotel room. It's the first time we ever heard it." Campbell, 81, is in the final stages of Alzheimer's disease, and recorded Adiós" after his 2011-2012 "Goodbye Tour." - Billboard, 5/2/17...... The Eagles have filed a trademark infringement suit against the U.S.-based owners of a small hotel in Todos Santos, Mexico, which originally went by the name of one of the band's most famous songs and its most successful album, 1976's "Hotel California." According to their attorney Laura Wytsma, the small hotel originally opened under the name Hotel California in 1950, but went through subsequent ownership and name changes. When Debbie and John Stewart bought the Todos Santos Hotel in 2001, the complaint states, they sought to revitalize it by creating a reputation "based at least partially on the hotel's reputed, but false, connection to the Eagles." Wytsma says the hotel also plays the Eagles' music and sells t-shirts that refer to the hotel as "legendary," which leave consumers with the impression that "they have visited 'the' Hotel California made famous by the Eagles." The Eagles are seeking an injunction to ban the hotel from using Hotel California, doing anything else to imply it is connected to or approved by the band, and are asking for all related profits plus actual and exemplary damages. An attorney for the hotel has yet to comment on the lawsuit. - The Hollywood Reporter, 5/2/17...... SiriusXM satellite radio announced on May 2 that it will launch an entire channel devoted exclusively to the Beatles on May 18 at 9:09 a.m. -- a nod to the Let It Be track "One After 909." The Beatles Channel, on SiriusXM channel 18, will feature exclusive programming including a daily morning show, weekly call-in roundtables and more exploring the legendary band's unrivaled influence on modern music. "We've worked with The Beatles and Apple Corps Ltd. to create a channel that is as vital today as when the band's music was first recorded," says SiriusXM exec Scott Greenstein. "The channel will be all-things-Beatles, 24/7. The soundtrack of our world, made by John, Paul, George and Ringo." The channel, which has the blessing of surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, will play a new stereo mix of the band's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album on June 1, to mark the landmark album's 50th anniversary. The event -- dubbed "Pepper Day" -- will include commentary from the late George Martin and his son, Giles Martin, who helmed the fresh mixes for upcoming Sgt. Pepper special editions. - Billboard, 5/2/17...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, a new graphic novel based on John Lennon's time in New York, Lennon: The New York Years, is set to be released on May 30. Based on on the 2010 novel Lennon by David Foeniknos, the graphic novel is described as "true biographical fiction" and imagines the Beatles founder recounting his life to an unnamed therapist living in his building. A timeline of John's life is presented including his upbringing in Liverpool, his time with the Beatles, his relationship with Yoko Ono and his solo career. - New Musical Express, 5/2/17...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr's drummer son Zak Starkey is readying an album for his SSHH side project alongside partner Sshh Liguz. Starkey has premiered a video for a song from the album, "Get Up, Stand Up," a reggae classic penned by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. Starkey recently performed a series of gigs with SSHH at the South by Southwest festival, and is gearing up to go on tour with the Who this summer. - Billboard, 4/28/17...... Speaking of the Who, frontman Roger Daltrey recently told New Musical Express that "we don't know if we'll ever play again after the current tour." "People at our age have been popping their clogs [over the last year] so let's just get real here, where we are in our lives," Daltrey said. "We're doing remarkably well for where we are but we just don't know. If we get through this year, we're gonna need some time off. We'll re-think it after that. Obviously as a singer I've got to keep working if I want to keep singing because that's how voices work. If I stop singing now for a year, it'll be all over." The Who will become the first rock band to play Caesars Palace in Las Vegas when they begin a six-night residency on July 29 that runs through Aug. 11. - New Musical Express, 4/28/17...... Bruce Springsteen was interviewed by one of his most famous and passionate fans, actor Tom Hanks, during the Tribeca Talks series at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival on Apr. 28 in New York City. Springsteen and Hanks first worked together on the 1993 film Philadelphia, which was directed by Jonathan Demme, who passed away just two days earlier. "God bless Jonathan Demme," Hanks said before beginning the hour-long conversation. "We just lost him." Springsteen added, "He was such an inspirational guy. No Jonathan Demme, no Philadelphia, no 'Streets of Philadelphia.'" The Boss also told stories behind some of his biggest hits, and, of course, why he is so proud to call New Jersey home: "When I made my first record, they were trying to tie me to New York, and I felt like I wasn't really a New York artist. I wandered down the boardwalk and picked out the postcard "Greetings From Asbury Park," and it was Jersey all the way ever since." The following evening, Barbra Streisand chatted with director Robert Rodriguez at Tribeca Talks, reflecting on her acting career and her struggles as a director of her own films. "[The criticism] of Yentl must have hurt me more than I thought because I didn't want to direct for years after that," she said. On Apr. 26, Streisand told WNYC public radio that she believes sexism played a role in Hillary Clinton's 2016 election loss: "Power and woman has always been suspect. Strong women have always been suspect in this country." Streisand is currently touring behind her latest album, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, and has two concerts lined up for May. - Billboard, 4/28/17...... A cryptic message on the official website of Robert Plant has led Led Zeppelin fans to believe that the heavy metal icons could be on the verge of a reunion show or possibly a tour. "Any time now" currently sits on Plant's site, and while the message cold be interpreted as the completion of Plant's album with his side project the Sensational Space Shifter, a well-placed source has disclosed that Plant has agreed to reform Led Zeppelin with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones for Desert Trip Festival, which takes place in Indio, Calif., in October. It has also been noted that Led Zep will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2018, with Plant possibly keen to mark the milestone with a special performance -- or tour -- later this year and into 2018. Led Zeppelin last performed together in Dec. 2007, when they played at London's The O2 as part of the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert. - New Musical Express, 5/3/17...... Guitarist Craig Chaquico, a founding member of Jefferson Starship, filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco on Apr. 27 against his former bandmates to block them from using the band's name for upcoming performances and merchandise. Chaquico says the band's members agreed to retire the Jefferson Starship moniker in 1985 after founding member Paul Kantner left the group, and claims the group has been using the Jefferson Starship name without permission, and has used his image to promote shows through early 2018. Chaquico maintains he allowed Kantner to use the Jefferson Starship name for several years, but that right ended when Kantner died in 2016, according to the suit. Chaquico, who was discovered by Kantner, performed with Jefferson Airplane, the precursor of Jefferson Starship, a few times before it disbanded in 1972. Several of the band's members formed Jefferson Starship in 1974, but it broke up a decade later. Chaquico and other members then formed a new group, Starship, which recorded the hits "We Built This City" and "Sara." "This case is about tarnishing the legacy of the original Jefferson Starship band," Chaquico said in a statement. - AP, 4/27/17...... Iggy Pop was awarded France's highest cultural honour, a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, by the French gevernment during a ceremony on Apr. 25 in Miami, Fla., conducted by French Consul General Clement Leclerc. In an accompanying post on Pop's Instagram page, the caption explained: "Iggy has been awarded this distinction for his contribution to the arts in France and throughout the world. It was a very special day." Pop, who recently turned 70, has previously sung in French on his 2009 album Prliminaires as well as on his follow-up LP Aprs, which was released in 2012. - NME, 4/26/17...... Cheap Trick has shared "Long Time Coming," the first single from its upcoming album We're All Alright!, which hits stores on June 17. Cheap Trick recorded We're All Alright! -- whose title references its 1978 hit "Surrender" and 1999's "That '70s Song" -- with Julian Raymond, who also helmed its last LP, 2016's Bang, Zoom, Crazy...Hello. "Long Time Coming" is our interpretation of Slade and MC5 and AC/DC and Aerosmith -- a lot of riffs that are reminiscent of The Move, but they're not steals," Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen says. "It's just, like, all the bands we like." Cheap Trick will be promoting the album with a summer tour with Foreigner and John Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience. Foreigner and Cheap Trick will both be celebrating 40th anniversaries this year -- Cheap Trick for the release of its first two albums in 1977. - Billboard, 4/27/17...... A vinyl reissue of David Bowie and Trevor Jones' soundtrack for the baby-snatching cult film Labyrinth will arrive May 12 from Capitol, with artwork and EMI America branding replicated from the original release. Released in 1986, the Labyrinth movie, ostensibly for children, was directed by Muppets creator Jim Henson and stars a 15-year-old Jennifer Connelly opposite Bowie in a mullet. It features five original songs by Bowie and seven instrumental pieces by Jones. - Spin.com, 4/26/17...... The family of Prince is reportedly developing a new TV reality show that will focus on how the late rock icon's family's "lives have changed since he died." The program is allegedly in the early development stages with a production company in place, but no network signed on as yet. Prince's estate recently sued to block the release a new EP of unreleased recordings called Deliverance that dated from around 10 years ago, and Prince's relatives allegedly want to use those recordings in their planned reality show. Meanwhile, Prince's former home in Toronto, Canada, is on the market for $18 million. Prince lived in the 14,280 square foot compound the late rock star lived in with his wife Manuela Testolini from 2001-2006, when the couple divorced. The house was reportedly listed for just under $9.5 million two years ago, but the seller pulled it off the market after the singer's death in 2016. The six-bedroom mansion has a grand entrance with classical columns,10 bathrooms, a gym, marble floors, a formal dining room, and a plush lounge with deep burgundy carpets. - NME/Billboard, 5/1/17...... Peter Frampton appeared on Washington D.C.'s Capitol Hill on Apr. 26 to lobby Congress on ASCAP's "Stand With Songwriters' Advocacy Day." "For all the streaming companies that played 'Baby I Love Your Way' -- some 56 million times -- I got $3,000," an incredulous Frampton told legislators about his hit single from the 1976 smash album Frampton Comes Alive! "That's not going to even cover the mortgage payment... well maybe one mortgage payment," he said. ASCAP's initiative is looking to redress what it feels is an inequitable and unjust royalty system for songwriters based on consent decrees created more than 75 years ago that have failed to keep up with technological changes such as streaming. "The market place has changed rapidly," the 67-year-old guitar hero added, "and the work of all American songwriters is completely undervalued. We're most the regulated small business there is. 70 percent of what we earn as songwriters is regulated by the Federal Government. There isn't any other artistic industry that's regulated like that. The consent decrees are outdated, they began in 1941 and the last update was in 2001. These are the things we need changed and updated." - Billboard, 4/26/17......Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director of such acclaimed films as Silence of the Lambs and the 1984 Talking Heads documentary Stop Making Sense, died of esophageal cancer and complications from heart disease on Apr. 26. He was 73. Demme also directed Philadelphia, the first mainstream film dealing with the AIDS crisi, and won acclaim for his direction of Melvin and Howard, an offbeat saga about a man who claimed to have given Howard Hughes a ride and later received $150 million in the reclusive billionaire's will. His talents were multiple and his subject matter diverse: He also directed Swing Shift, starring Goldie Hawn as a woman working in a World War II defense plant, and the oddball comedies Something Wild and Married to the Mob. He directed three films focusing on Neil Young, including Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006), Neil Young Trunk Show (2009) and Neil Young Journeys (2011). He helmed other concert films for such performers as New Order, Fine Young Cannibals, Suburban Lawns and Robyn Hitchcock. "The fiction films, the music films and the docs are all filled with so much passion and love," former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne posted on his website. "He often turned what would be a genre film into a very personal expression. His view of the world was open, warm, animated and energetic." - The Hollywood Reporter, 4/26/17...... Kerry Turman, a longtime bassist for The Temptations, died of apparent natural causes after a performance with the group on Apr. 26 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He was 59. A coroner says Turman was found dead at a local hotel early Sunday, shortly after performing Saturday night in Cape Girardeau. Turman had performed with The Temptations since the 1980s. The Temptations are currently touring with the Beach Boys. The group announced Turman's death on its Facebook and Twitter accounts, saying: "The Temptations lost a dear member of our family. ... Rest In Peace, much love, much respect." - AP, 4/26/17.