Rush frontman Geddy Lee has announced he'll be releasing a new book detailing the history behind his massive collection of 250 bass guitars. Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book Of Bass will be published by Harper Collins and also feature interviews from famous bassists like John Paul Jones, Adam Clayton, Bill Wyman, Les Claypool and Bob Daisley. It will hit stores on Dec. 4. - Billboard, 8/2/18...... As it prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020, Aerosmith has signed a management deal with Larry Rudolph's ReignDeer Entertainment/Maverick group. Rudolph, who also manages Britney Spears and Pitbull, has handled Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler's solo career since 2014 and took on the whole band recently. While Aerosmith has yet to announce any 50th anniversary celebrations, guitarist Joe Perry said in an April interview that "In 2019 we will be closing in on our 50th anniversary, so we are planning some dates and a tour to celebrate that. Right now we are pretty much laying low and finishing up some solo things before we start that." The band will be part of the Today show's Citi Concert Series on Aug. 15. Their last studio album was 2012's Music From Another Dimension. - Billboard, 8/3/18...... 
The Rolling Stones have wrapped the second leg of their European No Filter tour with 14 more sellouts to lead Billboard's Hot Tours roundup for the week ending Aug. 4. The Stones kicked off the 12-city leg on May 17 at Dublin's Croke Park and concluded at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland, on July 8, grossing $117,844,618 with over 750,874 tickets sold. The Warsaw show also featured a guest appearance by James Bay for a performance of "Beast of Burden." Meanwhile, the band have teamed up with BMG and Universal to curate Confessin' the Blues, a 2-disc compilation of classic blues tracks that have inspired their career. Appropriately kicking off with Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone," the 42-track collection also features the likes of Chuck Berry, B.B King, Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley and more. Frontman Mick Jagger has noted his love for the blues genre, saying "The first Muddy Waters album that was really popular was Muddy Waters at Newport, which was the first album I ever bought." Artwork for the release was created by Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood himself, which he says "depicts the raw passion and emotion the blues artists channelled into their music." - Billboard/New Musical Express, 8/3/18...... Tom Petty has become the first act to posthumously hit the top of the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs airplay list with "Keep a Little Soul (Outtake, 1982)," the first single from his upcoming 60-song box set An American Treasure. "Soul," originally recorded during the sessions for his 1982 album Long After Dark, is Petty's eighth Adult Alternative Songs top 10 appearance (solo and with the Heartbreakers). Petty died on Oct. 2, 2017 of mixed drug toxicity at age 66. - Billboard, 8/3/18...... Rocker and longtime political activist Graham Nash says it was an easy call for him to participate in the upcoming "Lantern Tour: Concerts for Migrant and Refugee Families," a five-date outing starting Oct. 23 that will feature artists such as himself, Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne and Mary Chapin Carpenter who support the struggle to support migrant families seeking refuge as a result of Pres. Donald Trump's zero tolerance policy. "In my heart, and as a father, the thought that children of any age are being separated from their parents or guardians under great emotional stress, panic and fear is abhorrent to me," says Nash, 76. "We are better than this, and we must stand up against this sad affair." Nash says he has known many of the artists on the tour for decades, and "I respect them all... I'm delighted to have been asked to get involved and raise funds and awareness of this human problem and to help in some small way. Let our voices be heard that our humanity is at stake." All proceeds from the tour will benefit the Women's Refugee Commission. - Billboard, 8/3/18...... 
The world premiere of the new PBS Dionne Warwick documentary Dionne Warwick: Then Came You took place on Aug. 1, and the 77-year-old pop singing legend says that she "feels like I've truly been blessed." "I've been fortunate enough to have people who have been loyal over the years to me and have enjoyed the music I've given them, as I have. I always say things happen the way they're supposed to happen, and here I am," she added. Then Came You was produced by TJ Lubinsky, whose grandfather Herman Lubinsky recorded Warwick's first background session in the 1940s for his Savoy Records label, and is part of the PBS series My Music. Then Came You features some of Warwick's most popular hits throughout her five-decade career, as well as interviews with those close to Warwick, including Barry Manilow, Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/3/18...... The Band musician Levon Helm's eastern Arkansas home was added to Arkansas' Register of Historic Places on Aug. 1 by the state's Historic Preservation Program's review board. University of Central Arkansas interior design instructor Ann Ballard Bryan and her students worked to acquire the historic designation, and also organized a fundraiser to help cover restoration costs for the Helm house. Work began in April. Helm was a singer, drummer and mandolin player for The Band, which backed Bob Dylan in the 1960s and went on to record 10 studio albums. - AP, 8/3/18...... A remix of Diana Ross's 1980 hit "I'm Coming Out" called "I'm Coming Out/Upside Down 2018" has topped Billboard Dance Club Songs chart for the week ending Aug. 4. The medley, remixed by Eric Kupper, Chris Cox and StoneBridge, among others, follows another remixed Ross classic, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough 2017," which led the Jan. 20-dated Dance Club Songs list. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, for so many blessings," the pop/soul icon said upon hearing the news. - Billboard, 8/2/18...... Bob Dylan was among the headliners of the 22nd annual Fuji Rock Festival in Niigata, Japan on July 27-29. The overall strong lineup also included hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, N.E.R.D., Jack Johnson, Vampire Weekend, Skrillex and Johnny Marr. Dylan played a number of iconic tracks from his canon, including "Simple Twist of Fate, "It Ain't Me Babe, "Highway 61 Revisited," "Don't Think Twice," "It's All Right, "When I Paint My Masterpiece, "Desolation Row, "Ballad of the Thin Man," and "Blowin' in the Wind. This year the Fuji Rock festival made a huge leap forward technologically with YouTube live streaming the celebration on two channels. As each channel broadcast nine performances, that meant 54 of the roughly 200 performances were accessible in real time around the world. - Billboard, 8/1/18...... Country icon Dolly Parton has announced her Dollywood amusement park in east Tennessee will be opening a $37 million expansion in 2019. Called Wilwood Grove, the expansion will include six ride attractions, featuring a suspended family roller coaster called The Dragonflier, as well as various indoor and outdoor play areas for families. In 2013 Dollywood committed to a $300 million over a 10-year period. - AP, 8/3/18...... 
In support of the current #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, Ann Wilson of Heart has recorded a cover of Lesley Gore's 1963 classic "You Don't Own Me" for her upcoming album Immortal. "I think that ('You Don't Own Me') has come to be way more universal now," Wilson says. "It could be the anthem of anyone who wants respect, anyone at all, not just women. I think we're in a time where we're having a discourse now as a culture about who people really are and how it's important to accept people, and so I thought the song really fits. I think it's really meaningful in today's world." Immortal, which drops on Sept. 14, recorded with original Heart producer Mike Flicker, is Wilson's tribute to friends, colleagues and heroes who have passed away during the past couple of years, including Tom Petty ("Luna"), David Bowie ("I'm Afraid of Americans"), Chris Cornell (Audioslave's "I Am the Highway"), Glenn Frey (the Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane") and others. "I just wanted to honor these people somehow," says Wilson, who's currently on tour with Jeff Beck, Paul Rodgers and Deborah Bonham. With Heart on a hiatus that began in 2016, Wilson is planning a "Storytellers" style tour behind Immortal this fall and says doesn't rule out a second volume of Immortal at some point. She says "when the time is right (sister) Nancy Wilson and I will get back together and do something again...We just wanted to get out and stretch our wings." - Billboard, 8/2/18...... Gloria Hiroko Chapman, the wife of John Lennon's assassin Mark David Chapman, has revealed that her husband told her he was going to murder the Beatles icon two months before he shot and killed Lennon in New York City. In an interview with the UK paper The Mirror, Hiroko Chapman claimed that Chapman didn't carry out the threat because of his love for her, and says she once told Chapman's parole board "It didn't matter how long Mark was in prison. I would wait for him." Lennon was just 40-years-old when he was shot and killed by Chapman on Dec. 8, 1980 outside the New York home Lennon shared with wife Yoko Ono. Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life for murdering Lennon. Gloria said that when news came in about the shooting, she knew her husband was responsible. "I knew it was Mark. How did I know? Two months earlier, Mark had travelled to New York. He came home scarred, telling me that to make a name for himself he had planned to kill Lennon. But he said my love had saved him." She also described the incident as "one of the darkest nights of (my) life." Chapman's next parole board hearing, his ninth, is due to be held during the week beginning Aug. 20. During his last parole meeting, Chapman was refused his freedom when officials said he would reoffend. Yoko Ono said after the last hearing, "One thing I think is that he did it once, he could do it again, to somebody else...it could be me, it could be Sean, it could be anybody, so there is that concern." - New Musical Express, 8/4/18...... In other Beatles-related news, a guitar from the band's last ever gig at the Cavern Club in 1963 is being put up for auction. The guitar, an Australian-made Maton Mastersound MS-500 is expected to fetch between £300,000 to £400,000 when it is auctioned in Wilshire, UK in September. It was played by George Harrison throughout the summer of 1963 as Harrison's regular guitar underwent repairs. Once the guitar was returned, it was bought by Roy Barber, a guitarist with Dave Berry And The Cruisers who had a hit with "The Crying Game" in the 1960's. After Barber's death in 2000, the guitar was on display at The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool. It has previously sold at auction in New York for £373,000 in 2015. Other Harrison memorabilia up for auction include a pair customized Ray-Ban sunglasses he wore during the 70's and 80's. They are expected to fetch more than £3000. - NME, 8/3/18...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, the location that inspired the Beatles' classic "Strawberry Fields Forever" is being turned into a tourist attraction in Liverpool. John Lennon's sister Julia Baird recently buried a time capsule on the site of the Strawberry Field children's home in the Woolton area of their native Liverpool, as work began to make it accessible to the public and reminiscent of the singer's time their as a young boy. "The plans to open Strawberry Field to the public for the first time," says Julia, "so people can see a unique exhibition about the home, how and why the song was written by John, and allow visitors to explore the grounds as John did as a child -- is very exciting." With £1 million needing to be raised to fund the work, donations can be made at StrawberryFieldLiverpool.com. - NME, 8/1/18...... Michigan rocker and vocal gun rights advocate Ted Nugent reportedly banned guns from a concert he gave at the Berglund Performing Arts Theater in Roanoke, Va., on July 31. According to local radio station WSLS, fans were told in a last minute announcement that they were not allowed to bring their guns into the venue, and it was Nugent and his team who made to decision to ban guns, not the venue itself. The announcement came as a change to prior rules where the venue discouraged guns, but couldn't ban people from bringing them on property. - Deadstate.org, 8/4/18...... 
Former Genesis frontman and '80s solo star Peter Gabriel has blasted the UK's foreign policy after a number of acts scheduled to play the Womad Festival from countries including Tunisia, Mozambique and India were refused entry to the UK. "The right to travel for work, for education and even for pleasure is increasingly being restricted and often along racial and religious lines," says Gabriel, who co-founded the festival back in 1980, which is described as "The World's Festival" and is known for its eclectic line-ups. Gabriel added that "It is alarming that our UK festival would now have real problems bringing artists into this country [many of whom] no longer want to come to the UK because of the difficulty, cost and delays with visas, along with the new fear that they will not be welcomed... Musicians travel for a living, and almost everywhere I have travelled I have been met with kindness and generosity. Do we really want a white-breaded Brexited flatland? A country that is losing the will to welcome the world?" - NME, 8/1/18...... Jeff Wadlow, the director of such projects as Truth or Dare, Kick-Ass 2 and Cry Wolf, is teaming up with Blumhouse and Sony Pictures to reimagine the '70s ABC series Fantasy Island into a movie. Sony owns the rights to the original series which was created by Gene Levitt and executive produced by Aaron Spelling. The series ran on ABC from 1977-1984 and quickly became a fan favorite. The island drama dealt with dark themes and the supernatural with a little bit of cheesiness as visitors would come to the island to live out their fantasies. - Deadline.com, 8/1/18...... Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley is reportedly fighting hard to enforce the postnuptial agreement she and her ex-husband signed, and is claiming her soon-to-be ex Michael Lockwood is "feigning amnesia or ignorance" and should be seen for the money grab that it is. Presley and Lockwood are set to appear in court in September in their divorce battle. They will be arguing the validity of the postnuptial agreement they signed in 2007, one year into the marriage. Lisa Marie is the sole trustee and beneficiary of the Promenade Trust, which owns 15% interest in Elvis Presley Enterprises. The stake was worth $62,763,382 when the couple signed the postnup, and Lockwood reportedly had a negative net worth due to significant tax and other debts. - TheBlast.com, 8/1/18...... Netflix has acquired the rights for Quincy, the documentary about legendary composer/producer Quincy Jones that was directed by his daughter Rashida Jones and Alan Hicks. Netflix has set a global release for Sept. 21, and will give the film a limited theatrical release as well. Quincy is an intimate look into the life of Jones, who has been a force in music and pop culture for decades, transcending racial and cultural boundaries. - Deadline.com, 8/1/18...... The family of late Playboy founder/publisher Hugh Hefner has just sold off the last piece of the Playboy empire they owned for $35 million. A deal was struck between the Hugh Hefner Trust and the parent company that owns Playboy Enterprises, calling for the Hefners to sell their last shares in the company for $35 million. The money will be distributed to Hefner's kids and his widow, Crystal Hefner, as well as his other beneficiaries. One of Hefner's sons continues to work with the company but will have no ownership. Hugh Hefner founded Playboy in Chicago in 1953, which he famously funded with a $1,000 loan from his mother. - TheBlast.com, 8/2/18.
TV channel PBS announced on July 30 that it will air a 50th anniversary documentary about the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival in 2019 as part of its American Experience series. Directed by Barak Goodman, the two-hour special will examine the events that led up to the three-day festival that would become one of the defining moments of the tumultuous 1960s. In related news, an elusive '70s Colorado band named Magic Music will be the subject of a new documentary called 40 Years in the Making: The Magic Music Movie that follows the band through their journey in the 1970s Colorado music scene to today. The Boulder, Co., band was a favorite of university students, however it broke up in 1975 without having signed a music deal. The film has been screened at the Woodstock, Napa, Newport, Richmond, Florida and Boulder Film Festivals, winning numerous awards along the way. The Orchard will release the film digitally on Sept. 4. - AP, 7/30/18...... 
Speaking of Colorado, Neil Diamond honored firefighters who are battled an intentionally set fire near his home at Lake Christine by giving a surprise performance for dozens of firemen gathered at the command post for a fire currently burning near Basalt, Col. Diamond took to the stage on July 27 to play his classic "Sweet Caroline," and a video of the event shows the pop music icon thanking firefighters for their efforts to save his community. Diamond, 77, retired abruptly from touring in January after he says he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Two people have been arrested for igniting the Lake Christine fire on July 3 by firing incendiary tracer rounds at a shooting range. - AP, 7/29/18...... Elvis Costello and his band The Imposters released two new songs -- "Under Lime" and "Unwanted Number" -- on July 27, also announcing an Oct. 12 release date for their first album in a decade, Look Now. "I knew if we could make an album with the scope of Imperial Bedroom and some of the beauty and emotion of Painted From Memory, we would really have something," Costello said in a press release. The 12-track Look Now will feature guest performances by such artists as Burt Bacharach and Carole King, and Costello and the Imposters will launch a 20-date North American tour behind the new LP in Bethlehem, Pa. on Nov. 2. - Billboard, 7/27/18...... Two weeks after Craig Raymond Turner, the 59-year-old son of Tina Turner was found dead of an apparent suicide on July 3, Tina paid tribute to Craig on July 27 with a Twitter post featuring a moving picture of her saying her final goodbye. Turner, 78, is pictured wearing a dark grey suit jacket and black gloves, about to drop a rose into the ocean with the caption, "My saddest moment as a mother. On Thursday, July 19 2018, I said my final goodbye to my son, Craig Raymond Turner, when I gathered with my family and friends to scatter his ashes off the coast of California." The son of Tina and Kings of Rhythm saxophonist Raymond Hill -- who was adopted by the singer's first husband, Ike Turner -- Craig was a real estate agent in the San Fernando Valley. - Billboard, 7/27/18...... Two members of '60 hitmakers The Byrds reunited on July 24 during a 50th anniversary tribute to the Byrds album Sweetheart fo the Rodeo at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman took Byrds fans down memory lane by performing the landmark country/rock LP in its entirety, and closed the set, after three tribute tracks written by their late protege Tom Petty, with the Byrds classic "Turn! Turn! Turn!." - Billboard, 7/27/18...... The "supergroup" Hollywood Vampires comprised of Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp have released a six-minute behind-the-scenes video chronicling their first world tour behind their self-titled debut album. The video opens with a montage of photos, soundtracked by the band covering The Who's "My Generation," before taking you onstage, backstage and everywhere else as the group hangs with such rockers as Duff McKagan and Toni Iommi of Black Sabbath. - Billboard, 7/26/18...... 
'70s rockers Toto have revealed they will release a cover of the alternative band Weezer's "Hash Pipe" after a fan-driven campaign prompted Weezer to cover Toto's hit "Africa" in May. Toto's Steve Lukather said Toto originally wanted to cover Weezer's "Beverly Hills," "(but) "I thought 'Hash Pipe' had a better melody... I love the message, you know what I mean? And we wanted to do it justice." Lukather and his Toto bandmate Steve Porcaro were interviewed on L.A.'s KROQ on July 29, and also discussed Weezer's cover of "Africa," giving it a "B++". Weezer "kicked ass on it," they said. - New Musical Express, 7/30/18...... A new study from two North American academics claims that Paul McCartney "misremembers" writing the Beatles' "In My Life" and it was actually John Lennon who wrote the sentimental 1965 Rubber Soul track. The new study, led by Harvard's senior lecturer in statistics Mark Glickman and Dalhousie University's Jason Brown, a Professor of Mathematics, concludes the song more stylistically resembles one of Lennon's musical creations, and an analysis found that there is a "less than 1 in 50 chance" that Sir Paul wrote the music to "In My Life." The study analyzed such features as frequency of chords, chord transitions and melodic notes from Beatles songs which were written between 1962 and 1966, and the probability that the tune was written by McCartney "is .018... Which basically means it's pretty convincingly a Lennon song. McCartney misremembers." The ownership of the song has been debated in the intervening years, however, with McCartney telling Paul Gambaccini a decade later: "Those were the words John wrote, and I wrote the tune to it. That was a great one." A spokesperson for McCartney has said that he will not be responding to the results of the survey. - New Musical Express, 7/30/18...... Meanwhile, Paul McCartney played a 27-song set at Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club on July 26 in a stunning return to the humble venue where the Beatles got their start. Hundreds of fans had gathered outside the club by the crack of dawn to see the music legend kick off the gig with an unnamed jam before diving into "Twenty Flight Rock," the Eddie Cochran song Paul played to prove his chops to John Lennon at the garden fete at St Peter's Church, Woolton, on July 6, 1957. Fab Four and solo classics followed, including "Magical Mystery Tour," "Jet," "All My Loving," "Letting Go," "Come on to Me," and a "Let Me Roll It/Foxy Lady" medley. The 76-year-old rock icon closed his set with "I Saw Her Standing There," "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)," and "Helter Skelter." McCartney briefly interrupted his show at one point to berate the crowd for using phones at the Cavern. "You've all been told not to take photos," he said. "You're taking them, and you're taking them, and it's putting me off! So, you know, play by the rules, man!" McCartney has announced he will resume touring later this year in support of his upcoming 17th solo album Egypt Station, which is set for release on Sept. 7. - NME, 7/26/18...... 
Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick is the latest musician showcased by Foo Fighters on their current North American tour. During a Foo Fighters concert at Chicago's Wrigley Field on July 29, frontman Dave Grohl invited Nielsen -- who hails from Illinois -- on to the stage to play Cheap Trick's famous cover of Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame," which the veteran power popsters have been playing live since the late '70s. Grohl played drums during the cover, while Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins -- who took on lead vocals -- was spotted wearing a Cheap Trick vest during the gig. Joe Walsh and John Travolta have previously jammed with Foo Fighters on their tour. - NME, 7/30/18...... Tom Jones posted an apology on Twitter on July 28 after a planned concert at the UK's York Racecourse on July 27 was cancelled at the last minute due to weather conditions. "So disappointed about York last night and so sorry for you all," Sir Tom wrote. "But lightening is unpredictable, dangerous and causes havoc so much better safe than talking about something tragic today. Hopefully see you soon, we are working on it." The show was due to take place after the Welsh legend cancelled a number of earlier dates due to illness. His apology was met with a mixed response, with one fan tweeting: "Everybody knew the weather was bad but people travelled from all over to see you, why didn't you come up in the morning. Disgrace. I wouldn't go to my back garden to see you now." - NME, 7/28/18...... Former Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten (real name John Lydon) will voice a "power hungry mutant pig" in a new cartoon series titled Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it was revealed during the San Diego Comic-Con festival on July 19. Lydon will play a character called Meat Sweats in the Nickelodeon series that will air in September. It will be the fourth animated version to be produced based on the comics and 1980s cartoon about the crime-fighting New York turtles. - NME, 7/27/18...... Universal Music, which owns the rights to the late Prince's music, has shut down a video which shows fans in Minneapolis singing Prince's "Purple Rain" just hours after he died after citing "copyright infringement." According to Universal, the footage violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA). The clip was filmed by Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Aaron Lavinsky, who responded on Twitter that Universal's action is "very disturbing." "...I shot of thousands of Prince fans singing Purple Rain the night of his death. This was clearly fair use and UMPG and Twitter are in the wrong," he posted. The DMCA, which "bars the unlawful reproduction, distribution or performance of copyrighted Works," was originally passed in order to help curb online peer-to-peer file sharing, on platforms including Napster. But the fair use standard can often excuse material that is used for factual work, noncommercial purposes, or nonprofit educational purposes. It is unclear whether the Star Tribune will fight the DMCA takedown. - NME, 7/27/18...... 
Actor Alan Alda revealed that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease on July 31 during an appearance on CBS This Morning. However the beloved M*A*S*H star, 82, says he's not angry and considers it a challenge, and that he has acted and given talks since his diagnosis. Alda added that he hopes revealing his diagnosis might be helpful to others with Parkinson's by demostrating that there are still things they can do. Alda said he was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder three and a half years ago. - AP, 7/31/18...... Iconic '70s sitcom producer Norman Lear has announced his Act III production company has signed a two-year first look deal with Sony Pictures TV. The pact includes the option to re-imagine titles from Lear's extensive library including All In The Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, among others. "I couldn't be prouder and more excited about joining Sony Pictures Television, who has the guts to go with a kid," quipped Lear, who celebrated his 96th birthday on July 27. Sony Pictures TV, which owns the Norman Lear library, has been his partner for the past few years and currently produces the reboot of One Day at a Time on Netflix. Executive produced by Lear, the comedy is currently filming its third season. Lear, a Kennedy Center honoree, has won four Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards. He is also the founder of People for the American Way. - Deadline.com, 7/27/18...... Accomplished TV/film composer Patrick Williams, an Emmy- and Grammy-winning composer who worked on scores for such series as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, The Streets of San Francisco, Columbo, Lou Grant and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, died on July 25 at age 79. Mr. Williams also received an Oscar nod for his work in the 1979 film Breaking Away, and worked on concerts with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Natalie Cole, Neil Diamond and Gloria Estefan. - Billboard, 7/26/18...... Dan Cleary, a booking agent and personal manager who represented the likes of Nat King Cole, Olivia Newton-John and the Carpenters during his half-century in the music industry, died of natural causes on July 8 in Los Angeles, it was announced on July 24. He was 89. Mr. Cleary also repped Patti Page, Andy Williams, Burt Bacharach and Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, and left his position at a talent agency to become a personal manager for Newton-John, The O'Jays, The Commodores, Ronnie Milsap, John Farrar, Natalie Cole and others. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/24/18.
Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Yoko Ono has announced she'll release a new album, a stripped-down effort titled 
Posting on The Who's Facebook page on July 25, Roger Daltrey confirmed details of the long-awaited biography that he first announced back in Oct. 2017. "We're thrilled to reveal the cover of Roger Daltrey's autobiography which will be published on 18 October (23 October in the US)," the post reads. The post reveals the title will be 
Judy Collins has turned her song "Dreamers," an a cappella paean about the plight of immigrants and asylum seekers in America, into a moving and provocative video. "I think people are yearning to hear something that gives the reality to a situation that is so frightening," Collins says about the clip, which is comprised of still photographs of immigrant children and their parents. "It puts a face on the story which, because of the headlines and the news cycles, becomes kind of lost in this 24-hour stream that we get all the time. We don't see the individual people, and I think this does paint a portrait and makes it more accessible." "Dreamers" is sung from the perspective of an immigrant mother, Maria, fearing for her daughter's deportation, declaring in the chorus that, "This land was made by dreamers, and children of those dreamers/We came here for democracy and hope/Now all we have is hope." Collins says that with one exception, a concert in Atlantic City, it's played to rapt silence from audiences, followed by massive ovations. Along with her own upcoming shows she and former lover Stephen Stills are gearing up for a fall leg together, and Collins predicts they'll tour during 2019 as well. They've recorded a live album from their co-headlining 2018 shows, and Collins says there's a possibility they will go back into the studio for a follow-up to last year's joint project Everybody Knows. "I'm having an awfully good time," Collins says. "The band we have with us is so wonderful, and our crew. There's no reason to stop now." - Billboard, 7/24/18...... Eagles member Joe Walsh performed a surprise jam of his 1973 classic "Rocky Mountain Way" with Foo Fighters during the band's stop at Boston's Fenway Park on July 22. During the show, the Foos pulled out their regular renditions of Queen's "Under Pressure" and the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop." The crowd were then surprised by Walsh taking to the stage to perform "Rocky Mountain Way." Saturday Night Fever star John Travolta also joined the band onstage earlier in their North America tour in support of their 2017 record, Concrete and Gold. - New Musical Express, 7/25/18...... Celebrated blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Joe Bonamassa will return to the legendary Royal Albert Hall in London for three concerts in the spring of 2019. The three concerts, on 4/24, 4/25 and 4/26, will follow his October UK Arena Tour in Plymouth, Nottingham and Bournemouth and feature Bonamassa performing material from his forthcoming studio album Redemption, which is due Sept. 21 Provogue/Mascot in the UK and J&R Adventures in North America. Tickets are currently available through ticketmaster.co.uk. - NoblePR, 7/23/18...... 
Bryan Ferry has reacted to the sudden death of his ex-wife, the former model and socialite Lucy Birley, who passed away at age 58 on July 23. Posting on Twitter, the former Roxy Music frontman said: "I'm much saddened and shocked by this tragic news of Lucy's death. The family request that our privacy be respected during this difficult time." Birley died while on holiday in Ireland, and the cause is yet to be confirmed. A statement from the family said that she died "surrounded by her beloved dogs, Daisy, Peg and Daphne. Her husband, Robin, and her sons are understandably devastated and request that their privacy be respected during this difficult time." Birley, formerly known as Lucy Helmore, was married to Ferry, 22 years her senior, from 1982 until 2003. The two had four children together, Otis, Isaac, Tara and Merlin. She appeared on the front cover of Roxy Music's classic 1982 album Avalon, and has been credited with helping Ferry to recover from cocaine addiction. - NME, 7/25/18...... It has been revealed that the first ever demo recorded by David Bowie when he was just a teenager has been discovered in an old bread basket. Recorded when he was 16-years-old when Bowie, known then as David Jones and primarily a saxophonist, "I Never Dreamed" was the first time the young artist's voice was recorded with his first band, The Konrads. It was turned down by the label Decca, long before Bowie would find fame as a solo artist. The tape has now resurfaced in an old bread basket and is expected to sell for at least £10,000 at auction. The tape was discovered former Konrads drummer and manager David Hadfield when he was moving home, when he also found booking forms, photographs, promotional sketches, letters and bills relating to the band. "We had decided that we would do a couple of guitar instrumentals and one original song," said Hadfield. "I chose 'I Never Dreamed' as it was the strongest, the other two were a bit weak. I also decided that David was the best person to sing it and give the right interpretation. So this became the very first recording of David Jones singing 55 years ago." Paul Fairweather of the UK's Omega Auctions described the tape as "completely unique and of great historical interest, being the earliest studio recording of a fledgling musician who would go on to super stardom." It will go up for auction through Omega in September. - New Musical Express, 7/23/18.
'70s singer/songwriter Yusuf Islam, better known by his stage name Cat Stevens, has extended his deal with BMG Music, which was originally inked in 2010. Under this new agreement, Stevens is entrusting the media company with over 50 years of his original songs and recordings, as well as other visual, audio and literary content. In addition to administering rights for Yusuf/Steven's entire music publishing catalog, BMG will also be responsible for releasing celebrated titles from his collection dating back to 1976. Moving forward, BMG will be collaborating with the artist's own Cat-O-Log Records company to honor his existing body of work while also striving to reach new audiences. "We are happy to continue our relationship with the BMG family," Stevens said in a statement. "I feel very at home and lots of new creative ventures will soon come to light through the ethical vision we share." According to a press release, the first of many anticipated reissues and new releases will become available in 2019. Stevens celebrates his milestone 70th birthday on July 21. - Billboard, 7/19/18...... Former Styx member Dennis DeYoung, who parted ways with Styx acrimoniously in 1999, says he's happy to hear the band has decided to play "Mr. Roboto" during their current summer tour, but adds he feels the decision to play the song was driven by tour promoters after "hey had gotten so many complaints from the fans that the guys weren't playing the hits." Styx's recent return to "Mr. Roboto" has made news because band members James "J.Y." Young and Tommy Shaw have long been critical of the song and of the accompanying Kilroy Was Here concept album, which they blame for "killing the golden (Styx) goose." DeYoung, who spearheaded the Kilroy project, disagrees that the album was harmful to the band's career, noting it was an "experiment" that still went platinum and launched two Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 singles, "Mr. Roboto" and "Don't Let It End." In his lenghty social media post, DeYoung says it was actually Tommy Shaw's decision to depart for a solo career in 1984 that really brought that phase of Styx's career to a close. "It really did catch us off guard and stunned the other four guys in the band," says DeYoung, who says he fought against a move to immediately replace Shaw and continue on, including a planned stadium tour for 1984. "That's what really killed the momentum or the golden goose in my opinion. At that very moment MTV was just beginning to take a foothold in this country then and the band Styx missed that whole first weave of the video revolution that was taking place." - Billboard, 7/20/18...... ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons announced on July 21 that he'll release a new solo album, 
Cher, who is starring in the new ABBA-inspired movie sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, revealed on the Today show on July 16 that she has recorded an entire album of ABBA covers. Cher covers Abba's "Fernando" in the movie, and she says there's way more where that came from. "After I did 'Fernando,' I thought it would really be fun to do an album of ABBA songs, so I did!," she told Today host Kathy Lee Gifford. "It's not what you think of when you think ABBA, 'cause I did it in a different way," she added. Though Cher recently hinted that she has a new album coming out in September, it is unclear whether she was referring to the ABBA covers album or a new collection of songs. Her last album of new music was 2013's Closer to the Truth, which spawned a No. 1 single on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, "Woman's World." Cher, who attended the premiere of Mamma Mia! 2 with its other stars at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith in London on July 16, recalled her first interaction with gay people in a press conference ahead of the premiere. "I came home from school and there were these two guys in our living room," Cher said. "They were talking to my mom and her best friend, and they were so happy and excited about everything they were talking about, so animated. I thought, 'These guys are much more fun than the regular men that come over to visit. And I didn't know that they were gay, but I just thought 'These guys are great,' and it all started from then." - Billboard, 7/19/18...... In related news, ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus has revealed details about two brand-new ABBA tracks at the Mamma Mia! 2 premiere. "One of them is a pop tune, very danceable," while "the other is more timeless, more reflective, that is all I will say. It is Nordic sad, but happy at the same time," Ulvaeus said. The two new tracks will be the Swedish quartet's first new material in over 35 years. ABBA previously revealed the name of one of the songs, "I Still Have Faith In You," which will be featured in an NBC/BBC special that is slated to air in December. - Billboard, - 7/17/18...... Willie Nelson announced on July 17 that his upcoming album, 
Phil Collins has just announced details of a huge, 59-track box set titled 
Veteran British pop star Sir Cliff Richard has won his high-profile legal fight against the BBC over its coverage of a 2014 police raid on his home. The 77-year-old Richard, who was knighted in 1995 and is one of Britain's biggest-selling recording artists, had sued the broadcaster for "invasion of privacy" after it reported he was being investigated over historic child sex assault claims. Richard was never arrested or charged with any offence. Ruling in his favour, High Court judge Mr Justice Mann said that the BBC -- which had received an advance police tip-off about the raids and flew a helicopter over the singer's home to film them taking place -- had infringed Sir Cliff's privacy rights in a "serious" and "somewhat sensationalist" way. He awarded Richard an initial £210,000 ($270,000) in damages, a sum that includes £20,000 in aggravated damages after the BBC submitted its coverage of the story for a 'scoop of the year' award. The BBC has defended its actions as being in the "public interest" and said it is considering an appeal. Richard was in attendance as the verdict was read, and is reported to have cried with relief when the ruling was announced. Speaking outside the court, the "Devil Woman" singer said it was "going to take a little while for me to get over the whole emotional factor. I hope you'll forgive me." A spokesman for the BBC cautioned that the judgement "represents a dramatic shift against press freedom." - Billboard, 7/18/18...... Former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth will mount a UK tour beginning at the Corporation in Sheffield on Nov. 29, followed by University of London Union on Nov. 30, Coventry's Kasbah on Dec. 1, Manchester's Academy 3 on Dec. 2, Glasgow's Oran Mor on Dec. 3, and Milton Keynes' The Stables on Dec. 5. Roth is fresh off his G3 European and UK tour with Joe Satriani and John Petrucci. Roth played his first ever show in December 1968 -- at the age of 13 -- and to celebrate his upcoming 50th Stage Anniversary, he will play the six very special UK concerts. - Noble PR, 7/17/18...... Artworks owned by late actor/comedian Robin Williams and memorabilia from his career including autographed scripts, awards and props will be auctioned in the fall, auction house Southeby's announced on July 20. The sale will include street art by Banksy and Shepard Fairey, furniture and decorative art and more than 40 watches from Williams' personal collection. The items are now in the possession of Willams' wife, Marsha, and will be auctioned in New York on Oct. 4. A portion of the proceeds will benefit organizations including the Juilliard School, the Wounded Warrior Project and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. Williams, star of movies including Mrs. Doubtfire and Good Will Hunting as well as his breakthrough TV series, Mork & Mindy, died by suicide in 2014. - AP, 7/20/18...... Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson is the star of Los Angeles fashion brand RE/DONE's new shoe collaboration with G.H. Bass & Co.'s iconic Weejuns penny loafers, and the 20-year-old model is showing some skin for its latest campaign. The campaign, shot by German photographer Juergen Teller, features a certain picture in which the only thing covering Jackson's upper body is a single shoe. In an older post from 2017, the Paris defended her love of nudity saying, "The human body is a beautiful thing and no matter what 'flaws' you have, whether it be scars, or extra weight, stretch marks, freckles, whatever, it is beautiful." - Billboard, 7/19/18...... Appearing on the TV show Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on July 17, Steven Tyler's daughter Liv Tyler said she finds it "a bit weird" when her dad wears thong underwear. Liv explained that Steven, 70, and her mother Bebe Buell both have a tendency to make "cringy" statements, but it is her father's choice of underwear that really takes the cake. "He wears a thong, sometimes that's a bit weird," she said, recalling a recent time in which he flashed his racy thong in front of a car full of people. "I was in the car with five friends and in came my dad's ass first, so he took his trousers off, sat on a towel. Someone pulled them off -- they were wet or something -- and there was maybe a leopard thong involved. And then he started eating a sandwich, wrapped in a towel," the 41-year-old actress added. - WENN.com, 7/18/18...... 
Former 
A new David Bowie documentary titled David Bowie: The First Five Years is reportedly in the works, the Bowie fansite David Bowie News reported on July 15. It will act as the prequel to David Bowie: Five Years and David Bowie: The Last Five Years, which previously aired on the BBC, and air sometime in 2019. In other Bowie-related news, The Muppets covered the late rock legend during their show at London's The O2 on July 14. The beloved troupe marked their final show at the venue with a cover of Bowie's 1972 track "Suffragette City," and also covered Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." They also gave a shout-out to England's World Cup performance. - New Musical Express, 7/15/18...... Sony/ATV Music Publishing announced on July 13 that it will become a co-producer and investor of the new Elvis Presley stage musical, "Heartbreak Hotel." The musical will be a prequel to the Tony-award winning "Million Dollar Quartet," which featured early recordings by Presley, Jerry Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash at Sam Phillips's Sun Studios in Memphis. Sony/ATV has also agreed to license to Heartbreak Hotel more than a dozen songs recorded by Presley, including his first No. 1, "Heartbreak Hotel," as well as "Jailhouse Rock," "Mystery Train," Lawdy Miss Clawdy" and "Rip It Up." The Floyd Mutrux-written and directed musical recently had a record-breaking world premiere at the Ogunquit Playhouse, and will next be presented in Chicago. - Billboard, 7/13/18...... In related news, 
Mick Jagger, who unexpectedly released a pair of solo songs in 2017 including "England Lost" which starts with the tale of someone ostensibly going to watch England play a soccer match and finishes with some political commentary about Britain's exit from the European Union, reinforced the idea that he is something of a jinx at World Cup soccer stadiums as he was in attendance in Moscow on July 11 when England lost to Croatia in a semi-final match. Jagger arrived in Russia for the World Cup after he and his Rolling Stones bandmates completed a short European tour in Warsaw on July 8. He attended the July 10 match between France and Belgium in St. Petersburg, and then travelled to Moscow with his sons Lucas and James to see his home national team play -- and lose to -- Croatia. Jagger has also been cited as a harbinger of bad luck in soccer games featuring Brazil, Portugal and Italy. - AP, 7/11/18...... John Travolta joined the Foo Fighters onstage on July 14 for the second time this year for a cover of his Grease classic 
Paul Simon announced on July 12 that he'll release a new album called In the Blue Light that will see him offering a fresh perspective on 10 of his favorite solo songs, including "One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor" and "Ren and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War." "I hope the listener will find these new versions of old songs refreshed, like a new coat of paint on the walls of an old family home," Simon said in a statement. In the Blue Light will be Simon's 14th studio album, and is due on Sept. 7. Simon added that a wide cast of musicians will be contributing to the project. "Happily, this opportunity also gave me the gift of playing with an extraordinary group of musicians, most of whom I hadn't recorded with before," he said. The new LP will coincide with Simon's final leg of his "Homeward Bound - The Farewell Tour" in September, including four performances in the New York City area and culminating with the Final Performance on Sept. 22 in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Simon recently played a farewell show in the U.K. as part of the British Summer Time Festival. - New Musical Express, 7/12/18...... Heritage Auctions announced on July 11 that it will be auctioning off 27 items personally owned by Prince in Dallas on July 21. Items include everything from a personally owned and worn blue silk suit to a Jehovah's Witness Bible, and come with a certificate of authentication. Also included in the auction are various documents, such as unused bank checks and a note to a lawyer -- with opening bid prices at $500 and $750, respectively. The Prince Estate issued a statement saying it is not associated with the auction and says it "has requested the return of any items belonging to the Estate." - Billboard, 7/11/18...... In a new interview with Sirius XM radio, the Kinks frontman Ray Davies gave an update on a potential Kinks reunion, which he first hinted at in June. "I've got all these great songs -- I think they're great -- that need to be aired," Davies told hosts Mark Goodman and Alan Light. "There's something about the chemistry of the Kinks -- if I can get them on the right day, we can produce it. It will be down to the music -- if we can make four or five tracks that we really feel are energized and in keeping with what we can do, I'll consider it." "Individually they're both up for it," Davies added, referring to his brother Dave Davies and Mick Avory. "There's a whole reservoir of songs we half-did in the '70s and '80s, so there's material there -- we wouldn't just go out and play the hits. If I can get Dave and Mick in the same room -- I've spoken with them independently and they're both on board spiritually, but whether they can handle it, I don't know," he said. The band's last album was 1994's To The Bone and the Davies brothers haven't performed together since 1996. - New Musical Express, 7/13/18...... 
Lou Reed's solo years following the initial end of his tenure in the Velvet Underground will be the subject of a new book titled My Week Beats Your Year: Encounters With Lou Reed. Edited by Pat Thomas and compiled by Michael Heath, the book will be published in August and feature over 30 archive interviews with Reed, who passed away in October 2013 at the age of 71. - NME, 7/12/18...... Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson revealed that she's bisexual during an impromptu Q&A on Instagram on July 14. "Are you bi?" asked one of Paris' 3.2 million Instagram followers when she told them they could ask her anything. Paris replied: "that's what you guys call it so i (sic) guess but who needs labels." Rumours of bisexuality first surrounded Jackson after she was spotted getting cosy with British model Cara Delevingne at a restaurant in West Hollywood in March. However, sources close to the pair told People that the girls were just having fun and have a "flirty friendship." - WENN.com, 7/15/18...... Nancy Sinatra Sr., the childhood sweetheart of Frank Sinatra who became the first of his four wives and the mother of his three children, including pop singer Nancy Sinatra, died on July 13 at the age of 101. Nancy Sr., whose maiden name was Nancy Barbato, and Frank began dating as teenagers and were married on Feb. 4, 1939, just as Frank's singing career was about to take off. During the marriage's early years, the Sinatras lived in a modest apartment in Jersey City, where their two eldest children were born. For a time she was employed as a secretary while her husband worked as a singing waiter. "My mother passed away peacefully tonight at the age of 101," Nancy Jr. posted on Twitter. "She was a blessing and the light of my life. Godspeed, Momma. Thank you for everything." - cbsnews.com, 7/14/18.
Elvis Costello has revealed that he is battling a "very aggressive" form of cancer and has cancelled his European tour. The 63-year-old London-born musician, whose real name is Declan Patrick MacManus, has been advised to rest by his doctor following surgery for cancer. Costello, whose pseudonym comes from a mixture of Elvis Presley and his musician father's stage name, was due to perform gigs in Manchester, Pula, Croatia, Graz and Vienna in Austria, Tysnes in Norway and Rattvik, Sweden. He had previously cancelled dates in Southend and Plymouth in June and at the time said it was due to "medical reasons." - The Daily Mail UK, 7/6/18...... Tom Osmond, the 70-year-old older brother of Donny and Marie Osmond, is reportedly on life support after undergoing quadruple bi-pass heart surgery. "He's on life support right now & fighting to hang on... We don't know what the future holds, but it's in the Lord's hands," Donny posted on Twitter on July 10. "Our entire family would appreciate your thoughts & prayers on behalf of my sweet brother." Tom, who was born with a severe hearing impairment, is the second oldest of the nine Osmond family brothers and sisters and performed occasionally with the famous family band on their 1970s and 80s TV specials." My brother Tom is a great example of our Savior's love," Marie Osmond posted on July 8. "He has a broken -- and contrite spirit!... see why he needs prayers today. I love you my sweet Brother." - Billboard, 7/10/18...... The childhood home of Bruce Springsteen at 39 Institute Street in Freehold, N.J., has been sold for $255,000 after originally being listed for $269,900 in November 2017. The Springsteens lived on the left side of the two-family home, according to the Asbury Park Press. In other Springsteen news, the Boss officially released his legendary 1978 Roxy concert through his ongoing archival live series on 
Ringo Starr celebrated his 78th birthday on July 7 in Nice, France, where he and his All-Starr Band were currently on tour. Sir Ringo and his wife, Lady Barbara Starkey, joined with fans to say "Peace & Love" at noon around the world, according to his representative. Also on hand were his brother-in-law Joe Walsh and his wife Marjorie, who is Barbara's sister, plus All-Starr Band members Graham Gouldman, Colin Hay, Steve Lukather, Gregg Bissonette and Warren Ham, who performed two of the Beatles drummer's hits for him in tribute. Ringo's annual Peace & Love celebrations began in Chicago in 2008 and have since included events in New York, Hamburg, Germany, Nashville and Los Angeles. After playing two dates in Italy on July 9 and 11, Ringo and his band will travel to the US for a stateside tour beginning on Sept. 1 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Tulsa, Okla. Meanwhile, Ringo's former bandmate Paul McCartney recently confirmed in an interview that The Beatles will be doing some celebrating of their own this year with a deluxe re-release of The Beatles (The White Album) for the album's 50th anniversary. There's been no official announcement yet of when it will be released or what it will contain. - Billboard, 7/9/18...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, beginning on July 9 Beatles fans will be able to see theater screenings of the best-looking version of the 1968 animated classic Yellow Submarine they've ever seen. Triage Motion Picture Services has re-scanned the film to the 4k resolution used on the Blu-ray and DVD release in 2012, as well as the theatrical cut that has just debuted. "The restoration that I did is state-of-the-art, the best that it can be," says Triage's Paul Rutan Jr. Although most of the work was used for the release of the Blu-ray and DVD, there have been other improvements that theater viewers will notice, too. "The changes that were made were made basically was replacing scenes that had been shortened, correcting sequences that had been changed for the United States market, and also inserting the 'Hey Bulldog' sequence (which was not seen in the version of the film originally shown in the U.S.)," Rutan notes. "And Apple did a new 5.1 stereo track." "The film is as fresh, clever and exciting 50 years on as it was in 1968. It's all in the mind, you know," says Beatles historian and author Bruce Spizer. Spizer will be introducing the film at several screenings July 13 through 15 at the Prytania Theatre in New Orleans. - Billboard, 7/9/18...... In more Beatles-related news, George Harrison's first wife Pattie Boyd has been interviewed by pop queen Taylor Swift about being married to Harrison during the height of Beatlemania for a new feature in Harper's Bazarre magazine. Swift asked Boyd what living inside Beatlemania was actually like to which Boyd replied, "absolutely terrifying." "I got to see the Beatles play at a theater in London, and George told me that I should leave with my friends before the last number," she told Swift. "So before the last song, we got up from our seats and walked toward the nearest exit door, and there were these girls behind me. They followed us out, and they were kicking me and pulling my hair and pushing us all the way down this long passageway." Boyd also said she was "heartbroken" when John Lennon couldn't attend her marriage to second husband Eric Clapton, which was attended by George, his wife Olivia, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. "John couldn't go. He said later that he would have loved to come. That night there was a huge jam session, and had he been there it would have been the last time the Beatles played together. Can you imagine? I was heartbroken." - New Musical Express, 7/10/18...... 
'70s rocker Elvin Bishop will release the second LP from his current band Big Fun Trio, called 
Actor Tab Hunter, the 1950s Hollywood heartthrob who appeared in Damn Yankees! and also made a name for himself in the music industry, died suddenly on July 8 of a blood clot in his leg that caused cardiac arrest," his spouse Allan Glaser said. He was three days shy of his 87th birthday. Mr. Hunter made a flurry of movies in the latter half of the 1950s, aimed at capitalizing on his popularity with young girls. The films included such war dramas as 1955's Battle Cry and 1958's Lafayette Escadrille, as well as such Westerns as 1956's The Burning Hills and 1959's They Came to Cordura. From 1957 through 1959, Mr. Hunter also charted seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts, including the million-selling No. 1 US and UK hit "Young Love," and in 1960-61 he was the star of his own regular series, The Tab Hunter Show. Other notable roles include 1955's The Sea Chase (1955), Ride the Wild Surf (1964), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), the TV-movie Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold (1978), and Grease 2 (1982). In 2015, a documentary about his life entitled Tab Hunter Confidential based on his autobiography of the same name. - FoxNews.com, 7/9/18...... Vince Martin, an influential singer-songwriter in New York's Greenwich Village and Florida's Coconut Grove folk scenes, died in a nursing home facility near his native Sheepshead Bay, N.Y., on July 7 after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and hospitalized in March. He was 81. Mr. Martin's career began when he recorded the 1956 pop song "Cindy, Oh Cindy," with the Tarriers. The song was Mr. Martin's only Top 40 hit and peaked at No. 9. Eddie Fisher covered the song and his version broke the Top 40 in the same year. "Cindy, Oh Cindy" was revived in 1962 when the Beach Boys released a standalone cover that would later appear as a bonus track on reissues of Surfin' Safari/Surfin' U.S.A. In Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, Mr. Martin formed a duo with singer-songwriter Fred Neil. When Mr. Martin moved to south Florida in the early 1970s, he became similarly influential in Miami's Coconut Grove scene of the 1960s, out of which David Crosby and Joni Mitchell emerged. His second album, Vince Martin, was released in 1973. In 2003, he released what would be his final album, Full Circle, on a small New York label. He remained active in music ever since. - 7/7/18...... Acclaimed British composer Oliver Knussen has died at age 66 following a short, undisclosed illness. The beloved English classical music figure was known for his operatic adaptations of two children's works in conjunction with author Maurice Sendak: "Where The Wild Things Are" and "Higglety Pigglety Pop!." His Third Symphony (1973-9), dedicated to American composer/pianist Michael Tilson Thomas, is regarded as a twentieth-century classic. In addition to the 1980s Sendak collaborations, Knussen left behind several ensemble works of note, including 1975's Ophelia Dances and 1979's Coursing (1979). - Billboard, 7/9/18.