Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on September 14th, 2017

The Rolling Stones kicked off their 2017 European tour in Hamburg, Germany on Sept. 9 before 82,000 fans at the Festwiese am Stadtpark. It was the first live music event at the German venue in 28 years, and the Stones played a 23-song set of fan favorites including the opener "Sympathy for the Devil," lesser performed album tracks "Just Your Fool" and "Dancing with Mr. D," and encores "Gimme Shelter" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash." The band has 13 additional dates planned, including stops in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Holland before wrapping with three dates in France in late October. Meanwhile, the band is reportedly considering headlining a new UK festival at Knebworth in 2018. Sonisphere 2014 was the last major music event to take place at Knebworth, after the 2015 edition of the festival was cancelled. - New Musical Express, 9/10/17...... Bob Dylan announced on Sept. 11 that he'll hit the road with opening act Mavis Staples for a 21-date fall tour set to kick off on Oct. 13 at Harrah's Resort SoCal in Valley Center, Calif. The tour will visit many cities than Dylan missed during his recent Outlaw Music Festival Tour with Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow and more, including Omaha, Neb.; Ames, Iowa; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Akron, Oh.; Uniondale, NY.; and Richmond, Va. The tour wraps on Nov. 16 in Boston. - Billboard, 9/11/17...... As Hurricanes Harvey and Irma ravaged the southern US and several Carribean islands in recent weeks, Barbra Streisand has penned an editorial for HuffingtonPost.com demanding that Pres. Donald Trump acknowledge climate change. "Donald Trump can visit all the disaster areas he wants -- but what can you do when he and his administration don't acknowledge the science behind climate change, even removing information from the Environment Protection Agency website," the diva wrote. Streisand, who noted she had begun her "The Music... The Mem'ries... The Magic! Tour" in Houston (her first ever show in the city), and ended the North American run with three dates in Florida last fall, also called on her fans to "write your representatives" and "call the White House" to "tell them to face the facts -- ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising -- climate change is real!" Streisand was one of the performers in a Hand in Hand Telethon benefiting the hurricane victims on Sept. 12, which raised $44 million in hurricane relief. Stevie Wonder also performed on the telethon and before launching into his set, he delivered a powerful message about equality and environmental responsibility. "We've come together today to love on the people that have been devastated by the hurricanes," he said. "When love goes into action, it preferences no color of skin, no ethnicity, no religious beliefs, no sexual preferences, and no political persuasions. It just loves." After his set, he said that "anyone who believes that there is no such thing as global warming must be blind or unintelligent... Lord, please save us all." - Billboard, 9/13/17...... In related news, several top '70s artists including Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt will headline an all-star "Harvey Can't Mess with Texas: A Benefit Concert" planned for Sept. 22 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Tex. Leon Bridges, Lyle Lovett, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians and Ryan Bingham will also be among the performers, as well as appearances by such Texas-born celebrities as Matthew McConaughey, Dan Rather, Rene Zellweger and Luke Wilson. The event will be broadcast at 9:00-10:00 p.m. on 11 Texas TEGNA stations and stream internationally on YouTube.com/Texas Strong. - Billboard, 9/13/17...... Tom Waits gave his first live performance in two years a Lagunitas Brewery in California on Sept. 12, his first public performance since appearing on The David Letterman Show in May 2015. At the Lagunitas Brewery show, Waits joined Mavis Staples for a rendition of the Staples Singers classic "Respect Yourself." - New Musical Express, 9/13/17...... As a new Eric Clapton documentary called Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 11, the legendary guitarist says he isn't bothered that guitar sales are down. "My kids listen to classic rock, but that may only be because of me, because that's what I've played to them," Clapton said during a press conference earlier in the day. "I mean, from the time of their conception, they've been listening to music through the womb. I played them playlists, just brainwashed my kids, and at the back of it was always the guitar or some kind of solo instrument or a singer. My belief in music is it's all good. It's all good. Even stuff that doesn't appear to be so, it's all good." According to a recent story in the Washington Post, sales of guitars were down to 1 million a year from 1.5 million, and major manufacturers (Gibson and Fender) are having financial difficulties, as is the retail outlet Guitar Center. "I don't know. Maybe the guitar is over," Clapton said, laughing. "Good question though." - Billboard, 9/11/17...... A new music festival in Memphis, Tenn. set for Oct. 6-7 at Shelby Farms will showcase Stax Records veterans Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper on the closing day. The ten-piece act Booker T Presents: A Stax Revue & Journey Through Soul, Blues, and R&B will perform the main stage, with an All-Star performance from Steve Cropper & Friends to follow. Other performers headlining the Memphofest show include Dave Mason, Eddie Floyd (who wrote "Knock on Wood" with Cropper), John Popper of Blues Traveler, Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers Band. - Billboard, 9/13/17...... Billy Joel made an appearance on Harry Connick Jr.'s syndicated talk show Harry on Sept. 11. The Piano Man performed his 1980 Glass Houses album track "Don't Ask Me Why" with Connick Jr. as well as "Vienna" from The Stranger. He also took time to poke fun as his buddy Elton John. - Stereogum.com, 9/12/17...... Speaking of Elton, the Rocket Man's Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) will return for its annual New York Fall Gala on on Nov. 7 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The gala -- which celebrates the foundation's 25th anniversary this year -- will pay tribute to founder John and his contributions to his foundation and beyond. "Elton's philanthropic endeavors and activism for human rights and the arts have inspired millions and made a positive difference in people's lives around the world," said EJAF Chairman David Furnish in a press release about the event. "But without a doubt, Elton's greatest contribution as a humanitarian is his 25-year commitment to building one of the most important institutions in the effort to end AIDS -- the Elton John AIDS Foundation." Entertainers and celebrities expected to attend include Ozzy Osbourne, Aretha Franklin, Sharon Stone and Hillary Clinton and former president Bill Clinton. - Billboard, 9/12/17...... Actor/comedian Mike Myers is reportedly set to co-star in the upcoming Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. While it remains unclear who Myers will play in the long-awaited movie -- especially since the director Bryan Singer is still in the midst of filling out the cast -- his casting makes perfect sense, as he and partner Dana Carvey famously rocked out to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the comedy Wayne's World in 1992. Myers once told Rolling Stone that his family was "obsessed" with "Bohemian Rhapsody." "I'd gone to England in '75 with my family and heard 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on the radio," he said. Bohemian Rhapsody is set to be released in the US on Dec. 25, 2018 with Mr. Robot actor Rami Malek portaying late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. - Billboard, 9/13/17...... Country singer Hank Williams Jr., who parted ways with ESPN's Monday Night Football amid controversy in 2010 after comparing former president Barack Obama to Adolph Hitler, has returned to the broadcast with a revamped performance of "All My Rowdy Freinds Are Here on Monday Night" alongside Jason Derulo and Florida Georgia Line. "Monday Night Football has the most famous music video in sports television. It's time to bring it back," Stephanie Druley, the network's senior vice president for events and studio production, told The Washington Post after Williams' return was announced. The song had served as MNF's intro song to ESPN's sports broadcast for more than 20 years before Williams' six-year hiatus. The newly-recorded song was played before the MNF game between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings. - Billboard, 9/12/17...... Former Doobie Brothers member and '80s solo star Michael McDonald will release Wide Open, his first album of original material in 17 years, on Sept. 15. McDonald says most of the songs on Wide Open "have to do with sobriety, that journey in my life of getting sober.... If they're about anything, they're about my coming to terms with my living out in the open and learning to live without substances to fill the hole, without self-medicating." McDonald adds that he became sober in 1986 and that "I think every ounce of pain in just living always ends up being the best thing that happened to me. It's always a growth period. I learn at the speed of pain." McDonald says that recording his background vocals for Steely Dan's "Peg" was "very difficult... because the harmonies are so close" and that Kenny Loggins' "This Is It" is his favorite non-Steely Dan song he sang background vocals on. "It was always fun for me to sing with Kenny -- still is. He's such a phenomenal singer and has such great ideas in terms of backgrounds," McDonald says. - Billboard, 9/12/17...... Speaking of Steely Dan, the band has just announced its first tour since the death of Walter Becker on Sept. 3. The modest 8-date trek will begin Oct. 13 in Thackerville, Okla., also hitting Grand Rapids, Mich. (10/16), Buffalo, NY (10/17), Orilla, Ontario (10/19), Windsor, Ontario (10/20), Wallingford, Conn. (10/22), and Baltimore (10/24) before wrapping in National Harbor, Maryland on Oct. 25. The tour marks Steely Dan's first performances since July's Classic East and Classic West festivals in New York and Los Angeles, respectively. Becker missed those shows due to an unspecified illness; he last played with the group on May 27, 2017. - Billboard, 9/11/17...... Melissa Manchester released her 21st studio album, The Fellas, on Sept. 9 via Long Run Entertainment. The Fellas is the Grammy-winning singer's "tribute to several of the great men singers who rocked my world and informed my soul," she says, noting that she has wanted to record such a set since she released her female companion album Tribute back in 1989. Not suprisingly, the LP features a contribution from Manchester's former love interest, Barry Manilow, for a duet of "For Me and My Gal." Melissa says Barry came up with the scrumptious idea of paying tribute to Gene Kelly with one of Kelly's most famous tunes. "We both loved the original version, sung by Kelly and Judy Garland, from the film of the same name," Manchester says. "Peter Hume did a wonderful orchestration." Manilow says that "I jump at any chance to sing (or just be) with my dear friend Melissa... She has one of the greatest voices and singing styles in music today. And she's a wonderful songwriter. I loved being a part of creating and singing 'For Me and My Gal' with her." - Billboard, 9/12/17...... Sabrina Sutherland, the executive producer of the Twin Peaks reboot Twin Peaks: The Return, has confirmed that David Bowie "gave producers permission" to use his clips in the new series. Sutherland is referring to the doctored footage of Bowie's scene in "Fire Walk With Me" that appears in episodes of The Return. Bowie played mysterious FBI agent Phillip Jeffries in the original series, and in the new series, Jeffries returns to give cryptic advice to two versions of Dale Cooper with a metallic Southern accent. There's been no word yet about whether the plans for Jeffries' transfiguration were generated before or after Bowie's death, or whether Bowie knew about them. - Spin.com, 9/11/17...... Bob Seger confirmed on Sept. 10 that he'll be releasing a new album in November, with the first single from the new set debuting later in September. Seger says he has been working on the album primarily in Nashville, and it will be his 18th studio album and first since Ride Out in 2014. A formal announcement about the project is expected before the end of September. Seger recently added six new shows on his "Runaway Train Tour," including stops in Oakland, Boise, Portland, Seattle and St. Paul before the trek wraps up on Nov. 17 in Chicago. - Billboard, 9/10/17...... Prog-rockers Yes announced on Sept. 12 that they're scrapping the remaining dates on their Yestival Tour with openers Todd Rundgren and Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy following the unexpected death of Yes guitarist Steve Howe's son, Virgil. Virgil, who played drums for the British power-rock outfit Little Barrie, played behind the kit, sang and performed keys on his father's 1993 album The Grand Scheme of Things. Details surrounding Virgil's death have not been disclosed. Yes, whose current lineup also features Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood, issued a statement thanking "all their fans for their support and understanding at this time" and asked that the Howe family's privacy "be respected during this difficult time." On the Yestival Tour, the band mined its first nine albums, from 1969's Yes through 1978's Tormato, with at least one song from each. - Billboard, 9/12/17...... Former Thin Lizzy member Brian Downey has added a second London date to his "Alive and Dangerous" concert in London. Downey will perform at Nells Jazz & Blues in London on Nov. 24 with his new band Brian Downey's Alive and Dangerous to mark the 40th anniversary of one of Thin Lizzy's classic concert LP, Live and Dangerous. The album was recorded live in 1977 at London's Hammersmith Apollo and Toronto's Seneca College, though it wasn't officially released until a year later in 1978. Downey's band features Brian Grace (best known as the guitarist for the Commitments' Andrew Strong), and former Low Rider members Matt Wilson (lead vocals, bass) and Phil Edgar (lead guitar). - Noble PR, 9/12/17...... Don Ohlmeyer, a legendary TV sports producer and executive who helped lead NBC's "Must-See TV" revival in the 1990s, died on Sept. 10 at his home in Palm Desert, Calif. He was 72. Ohlmeyer's death was announced by his longtime friend Al Michaels during the Sunday Night Football telecast on NBC. "He was truly special and one of a kind," said Michaels. Ohlmeyer had a long run as a sports producer at ABC and NBC in the 1970s and 80s before he moved to NBC as West Coast president in 1993. - Variety, 9/11/17.

Roadcase Royale, the new "supergroup" featuring Nancy Wilson of Heart and Liv Warfield (formerly of Prince's New Power Generation Band) will perform at The Gramercy Theatre in New York on Sept. 10. Roadcase Royale also has gigs scheduled at Milwaukee's Pabst Theater on Sept. 24; Charlotte, N.C.'s Neighborhood Theatre on Oct. 1; Knoxville, TN's Bijou Theatre on Oct. 4; Nashville's City Winery on Oct. 8; and the Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City, OK, on Oct. 15. On Sept. 22, Roadcase Royale will release its debut album, First Things First, which was produced by by fellow Roadcase Royale band member Dan Rothchild, who has also played with Heart, along with the band. - Miles High Productions, 9/8/17...... Barbra Streisand will be among the headliners of a Hurricane Harvey benefit telethon set for Sept.12 at 8:00 p.m. ET on the four major broadcast networks and cable channel CMT. The Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief, organized by Houston rapper Bun B and SB Projects head Scooter Braun, will be based in Los Angeles at the Universal Studios lot, with stages also at New York's Times Square, Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, and San Antonio's Majestic Theater. Other musicians set to appear inlcude Beyoncé, The Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber, Drake, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Lyle Lovett and George Strait, among others. Non-music celebrities include George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Jamie Foxx, Adam Sandler, Ryan Seacrest, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts and Matthew McConaughey, among others. Organizers have also announced that the telethon will be expanded to help those affected by the impending Hurricane Irma in Florida. - Billboard, 9/6/17...... Rising actress Lucy Boynton, most recently seen in the music-themed and critically acclaimed film Sing Street, has signed on to portray Freddie Mercury's lifelong companion Mary Austin in the upcoming Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. While Austin and Mercury lived together in London for several years, he later had relationships with male lovers, and told Austin of his homosexuality. The pair remained friends however, and Mercury wrote several songs about Austin, including "Love of My Life." Shooting is scheduled to begin on Bohemian Rhapsody this month, and the film, with Rami Malek portraying Mercury and Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello and Gwilym Lee playing band members Roger Taylor, John Deacon and Brian May, respectively, is slated for U.S. release on Dec. 25, 2018. In other Queen news, Brian May met with UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for the first time on Sept. 4 at the Lush Summit 2017 in London, and described the politician as "very impressive" and afterward tweeted that Corbyn "speaks like a human being rather than a politician." May, an animal rights activist, has been a local Labour supporter in the past and recently criticised Prime Minister Theresa May's stance on fox hunting. May also praised Corbyn for "talking good sense on attacking wildlife crime." - The Hollywood Reporter/New Musical Express, 9/7/17...... David Crosby has shared the title track from his forthcoming solo album Sky Trails, set to drop on Sept. 29. Crosby says he wrote the "Sky Trails" track with Becca Stevens, drawing on both of their experiences as touring artists. "When you're on the road, after the second or third week you don't know where you are," Crosby notes. "You're out there somewhere, and all the cities look roughly the same, and you lose track. I know it sounds funny, but it happens to us road musicians all the time, and that leads to a kind of disorientation." Crosby will hit the road behind Sky Trails in late October with a two-night stand at the City Winery in Chicago on Oct. 30 and 31. As for Crosby, Stills and Nash (and sometimes Young), Crosby says he has "no idea" if either the personal or professional relationships among the four can be repaired for future recording and touring. Crosby also recently commented on his love for social media, saying: "I like talking to people. I like Facebook and Instagram, too, but I function best on Twitter because I'm a words guy. I like communicating with people. It's fun for me. I don't answer questions if they're too dumb. I get in trouble there, mind you. I get in trouble there saying Kanye West has absolutely no talent and is a complete poseur. I get in trouble there saying Donald Trump is a walking intelligence-free zone. But I have fun." - Billboard, 9/6/17...... The Rolling Stones have just unveiled a new psychedelic video of "She's a Rainbow" for their upcoming 50th anniversary release of their landmark 1967 album, Their Satanic Majesties Request. "She's a Rainbow" was a minor hit for the band in the year of the Summer of Love, and along with "2000 Light Years From Home," remain the only tracks from the trippy LP that the Stones have ever played live. Their Satanic Majesties Request arrives as a limited edition deluxe double vinyl and double hybrid Super Audio CD package on Sept. 22. Meanwhile, the Stones kick off a European tour in Hamburg, Germany, on Sept. 9, a 14-date jaunt that will also see them visiting Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Holland, Denmark and France, wrapping with three shows in Paris on Oct. 19, 22 and 25. - New Musical Express, 9/8/17...... Cher says she was livid when Pres. Donald Trump announced he was going through with his plan to end the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program put in place by Pres. Obama in 2012 to protect "DREAMers" (named for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), who came into the country as children from being deported. The pop singer has labeled Trump a "complete coward" for his action, is vowing to take in some of those affected, and is encouraging her fans to do the same. "Those who can must take a DREAMER in2 their home & protect them!!" she tweeted on Sept. 5. "I'm ready 2 do this." - Billboard, 9/6/17...... A posthumous release from Gregg Allman, Southern Blood, was released on Sept. 8 on Rounder Records, and is the followup to the former Allman Brothers Band frontman's 2011 Grammy-nominated Low Country Blues. Producer Don Was says the root of Southern Blood was Allman's 1973 solo debut Laid Back. "Laid Back had that great pedal steel on it and incorporates a little more of Gregg's roots than maybe what you heard from just the Allman Brothers," Was explains. "One of the things Gregg and I did speak about was making the texture of this record something along the lines of what Laid Back would have sounded like if it were recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals in 2017." - Billboard, 9/6/17...... An enhanced version of Michael Jackson's legendary 1983 video for his smash "Thriller" called "Michael Jackson's Thriller 3-D" was screened at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 4, alongside a behind-the-scenes "Thriller" documentary that has never been shown in cinemas before. Director John Landis, who helmed the original video and the new version, says the backstage documentary about the 1983 video shows Jackson "happy and joyous" and at his creative peak. "It's a celebration of Michael I didn't expect, and very emotional for me," says Landis, who added that Jackson's 2009 death was a tragedy that robbed the world of a brilliant performer. He said: "I was horrified, and I'm still upset about it." Meanwhile, a new Jackson Halloween-themed compilation entitled Scream was announced on Sept. 5. The release will be a 13-track greatest hits collection that brings together Jackson's most danceable tracks across his discography, including the title track, a '90s duet with sister Janet Jackson, as well as "Thriller," "Dirty Diana," "Dangerous," "Leave Me Alone" and "Is It Scary." The album will also include bonus track "Blood On The Dance Floor X Dangerous," a mash-up from The White Panda of MJ's "Blood on the Dance Floor." Scream will drop on Sept. 29. - AP/New Musical Express, 9/4/17...... The CBS television network announced on Sept. 7 that it will celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Carol Burnett Show with a two-hour special set for Dec. 3. The Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special will film on Stage 33 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, the show's original soundstage. Hosted by Burnett, who will reminisce about her favorite sketches, her memorable wardrobe and bloopers, and Q&As with the studio audience, the special will also feature original cast members Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner, costume designer Bob Mackie, as well as other comedians, comic actors and friends, including Bernadette Peters, Jim Carrey, Kristin Chenoweth, Stephen Colbert, Harry Connick Jr., Bill Hader, Jay Leno and Martin Short, among others. - Deadline.com, 9/7/17...... In a new interview on the celebrity gossip show Entertainment Tonight, Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne says she and her 68-year-old hubby have learned to laugh about the veteran rocker's recent infidelities to help them heal following a brief separation. "We speak about it, we laugh about it! Because it helps you get through it," Sharon said, admitting keeping her feelings bottled up would otherwise drive her crazy. "You know, you have to find some humour in something," she continued. "The bottom line is that I love him, he loves me..." Earlier in the week, Sharon told Britain's Daily Telegraph that the musician had cheated on her with a total of six different women, but they have worked through their problems by addressing the situation head-on. "We've worked for so much together, we've achieved so much together," the 64-year-old Sharon said. "Our family, our friends, and I just don't want to give that up (sic)!" Meanwhile, the History Channel has just announed it will renew Ozzy and son Jack Osbourne's new reality show World Detour for a second season, and move it to its sister channel, A&E. - WENN.com, 9/7/17...... Wilko Johnson, the original guitarist for Dr. Feelgood, will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Wilko Johnson Band and his 70th birthday with a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on Sept. 26. Johnson, known for his distinctive chopping guitar style, recently found further fame on TV in Game Of Thrones, and also rose up the charts once more after teaming up with the Who frontman Roger Daltrey on the hit 2014 album Going Back Home, which features incendiary re-workings of songs from Wilko's Dr. Feelgood days, including "All Through The City" and "Going Back Home." Johnson's bestselling memoir Don't You Leave Me Here has recently been published in paperback edition. - Noble PR, 9/6/17...... Former Tower of Power singer Rick Stevens, who sang lead on the group's first two albums, including on the hit songs "Sparkling in the Sand" and "You're Still a Young Man," died on Sept. 5 after a short battle with cancer. He was 77. Stevens, who joined the Oakland-based Tower of Power in 1969, was convicted of murder for killing three people in 1976 during a drug deal gone wrong. He spent 36 years in prison, and was paroled in 2012. Current Tower of Power leader Emilio Castillo called Stevens a soulful singer who had a strong personality. "He went above and beyond the call of duty and carried his message of faith and redemption to many," Castillo posted the same day. - Billboard, 9/5/17...... Country music legend Don Williams, who scored 17 No. 1 singles and 45 Top 10 singles on the country charts including "Tulsa Time," "Good Ole Boys Like Me" and "I Wouldn't Want To Live If You Didn't Love Me," passed away on Sept. 8 after what his reps describe as a "short illness." He was 78. Born on May 27, 1939 in Floydada, Tex., Williams began his solo career in 1971, and wrote for the publishing company of legendary Nashville producer Jack Clement. A crooner as much as a country singer, Williams topped the country chart in 1979 with "It Must Be Love" and "Love Me Over Again," and recorded the 1981 crossover hit "I Believe in You," which hit No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in addition to hitting the top of the Hot Country Songs chart. "Tulsa Time," perhaps Williams' most rockin' performance, was released in 1978 and covered by many artists, most notably Eric Clapton, who released the song as the B-side to "Cocaine" in 1979. Williams' star shined throughout the '80s decade with hits such as "Stay Young," "Desperately," and "Old Coyote Town," keeping his records in the top 10 through label changes to Capitol (1986) and RCA (1989), where he notched his final top 10 hit, 1991's "True Love." All in all, Williams' Hot Country Songs chart numbers include 45 top 10 hits and 17 No. 1s, with his final chart-topper being 1986's "Heartbeat in the Darkness." The laid-back artist, known as "The Gentle Giant" for his broad six-foot-plus frame and big, smooth baritone voice, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010, and retired from music in 2016. - Billboard, 9/9/17...... Holger Czukay, co-founder of legendary German '70s experimental act Can, passed away on Sept. 5 at the age of 79. Though his cause of death is unknown, Czukay was found dead in Can's studio in Weilerswist, near Cologne, according to a German newspaper. Czukay, born in Poland in 1938, formed Can with bandmate Irmin Schmidt in 1968. Can pioneered the "Krautrock" movement, mixing rock, electronic and world music, and released numerous albums, including 1973's notable Future Days. "I Want More," Can's biggest hit, peaked at No. 26 on the U.K. singles chart in 1976, but the group's sound proved influential to many artists. Czukay also released several solo albums, with his latest being 2015's Eleven Years Innerspace. - Billboard, 9/5/17...... Famed tour manager and rock photographer Harry Sandler passed away on Sept. 2 after a brief fight against cancer. He was 73. Sandler spent much of his career as a tour manager working with Irving Azoff, assisting with the careers and tours of artists like John Mellencamp, Eagles, Katy Perry, Billy Joel, Jewel, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Nicks. "Harry Sandler worked for me for 32 years," said John Mellencamp. "We fought many a round together against unscrupulous promoters, record companies, managers, merchandisers, and tried to keep ticket prices fair from dishonest ticket scalpers. Harry even produced a movie for me. He gave many people their start in this business. Harry was part of my family. All my kids grew up knowing him, and we traveled the world together. I don't recall having any serious arguments with Harry. He was generally correct about most things. But mostly I remember just laughing with him." Sandler had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on June 29 and died 66 days later. - Billboard, 9/3/17.