Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 30th, 2018

A new musical based on soul greats The Tempations, "Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations," debuted at the Ahmanson Theater in Hollywood on Aug. 24. Featuring performances of their all-time classic hits like "My Girl," "Just My Imagination" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" by a cast that includes Ephraim Sykes, Jeremy Pope, Derrick Baskin and Melvin Franklin, "Ain't Too Proud"'s opening night audience included John Legend, Billy Crystal, Berry Gordy and the founding member of the Temptations, Otis Smith. The show will run at the Ahmanson until Sept. 30, before it eventually migrates to Broadway, where it will likely be one of the hottest theater tickets of the year. - Billboard, 8/25/18...... There are reports that Neil Young and actor Daryl Hannah were secretly married over the last weekend in August. Blues guitarist Mark Miller revealed the news via a Facebook post, saying: "Congratulations to Daryl Hannah and Neil Young on their wedding today. may they have a long and happy relationship." The following day Hannah, known for her roles in such films as Blade Runner, Kill Bill and Wall Street, posted a picture of an owl on Instagram with the caption: "someone's watching over us love and only love". It was met with several messages of congratulations from fans. Young, 72, and Hannah, 57, have been dating for four years, following Young's split from his wife of 36 years, Pegi Young. Earlier this year, Young appeared in the Netflix film Paradox, a fantasy Western musical that directed by Hannah. - New Musical Express, 8/29/18...... As the music world prepares for its final tribute to soul queen Aretha Franklin on Aug. 31, fans around the world will be able to say their goodbyes to the music legend when her private funeral service is streamed live online and broadcast on TV. Cable channels CNN and Fox News have announced plans to air portions of the ceremony, and the funeral will also be live streamed by the Associated Press, meaning that it will be picked up by various online media outlets worldwide. It will also be simulcast on the Sirius XM radio's Soul Town Channel (channel 49). Franklin's life will be celebrated in song at her funeral with a star-studded lineup who will perform in tribute, including Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Ariana Grande and Faith Hill. The Rev. Jasper Williams Jr., pastor of Atlanta's Salem Baptist Church, will deliver the eulogy, and former president Bill Clinton, Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, Clive Davis and Clive Davis will also be among the speakers. It's expected to be a marathon service, perhaps lasting five hours or more. Earlier in the week, hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta sorority streamed into the rotunda of Detroit's Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on Aug. 28 to pay tribute to Franklin, who was a member of the sorority. Although the sorority's Omega Omega Service is not usually open to non-sorority members, a rare exception was made for Franklin, who was remembered by her sisters as a proud black woman who demanded respect and loved her community. "She loved Delta and its ideals... she looked for the best in others. Her life was an inspiration," said U.S. House Rep. Brenda Lawrence, a member of the sorority who was elected the first black mayor of Southfield, Mich., in 2001. At least 1,000 Delta Sigma Thetas from across the country attended the service, which lasted nearly an hour and is traditionally performed for any member before her funeral. Thousands of mourners poured into the museum to pay their final respects to Franklin, who was dressed in her sorority's signature crimson. The two-day viewing, which continued on Aug. 29, was part of a week of commemorations for the legend, who died Aug. 16 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 76. Meanwhile, Franklin's 30 Greatest Hits album has climed to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart, making it her highest-charting album in 50 years. 30 Greatest Hits is Franklin's seventh top 10 appearance on the chart, and the first since Amazing Grace reached No. 7 in 1972. Both her I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967) and Aretha: Lady Soul (1968) LP's reached No. 2. - AP/Billboard, 9/29/18...... Paul McCartney has scored his first Top 10 appearance on Billboard,'s Adult Alternative Songs chart in two decades as "Come On to Me" from his upcoming album Egypt Station rose from No. 12 to No. 6 for the week ending Sept. 1. "Come On to Me" is Sir Paul's first top 10 on an airplay chart by himself since 1997, when "The World Tonight" from his Flaming Pie LP peaked at No. 9 on the same chart for week ending June 21, 1997. Macca notably appeared on "FourFiveSeconds" with Rihanna and Kanye West in early 2015, and the song reached No. 6 on the Pop Songs and Rhythmic Songs Chart. Egypt Station drops on Sept. 7 via Capitol. - Billboard, 8/29/18...... In other Beatles-related news, rising pop star Ed Sheeran will play himself in a new Fab Four-inspired movie directed by Danny Boyle. The as-yet-untitled project, written by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill), will tell the tale of a singer/songwriter, played by Himesh Patel, who wakes up one day as the only person in the world with any memory of the Beatles. "And then I discover him and take him on tour," Sheeran explains. "Then he gets much, much bigger than me through doing stuff. Yeah, it's very clever." Sheeran adds his parts were filmed earlier in 2018, during his latest tour. "It was a very intense two months," he said. "I would have four days of gigging and then three days of shooting a film. I was playing myself so I don't think I was that bad. There wasn't much to [mess] up." The movie is scheduled for release in September 2019 and will also reportedly star Lily James, Kate McKinnon, Joel Fry, and more. - New Musical Express, 8/29/18...... Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters has come under fire in Ukraine for supporting Russia's annexation of Crimea in an interview published in a Russian newspaper prior to his concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the interview, Waters defended Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014, saying that "many agreements and other papers" exist that prove Russia's claims for Sevastopol, a major military port in Crimea. Waters went on to say that Moscow's actions were "provoked" by ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych, which he claimed was orchestrated by Washington. The Ukrainian non-government organization Mirotvorets ("Peacemaker"), which aims to inform local law enforcers about foreign citizens who allegedly committed crimes against Ukraine, reacted by putting Waters on its unofficial blacklist. Ukrainian authorities have not yet made any comments regarding Waters' statements. Waters is scheduled to perform in St Petersburg on Aug. 29 and in Moscow on Aug. 31. - Billboard, 8/28/18...... Reps for Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks announced Nicks' Twitter page on Aug. 27 that the diva was officially rejoining Instagram. In Nicks' first Instagram post since 2015, she is seen in a backstage photo from a shoot of her upcoming appearance on the popular FX show American Horror Story. She is shown wearing bold eye makeup and heavily crimped hair with the caption, "3am selfie after shooting." Her team promised that fans will get to see "exclusive photos" of her on Instagram in the weeks ahead. - Billboard, 8/28/18...... In other Fleetwood Mac-related news, the band will be among the guest lineup for the premiere week of the sixteenth season of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which launches Sept. 4. Fleetwood Mac will appear on the show on Sept. 5 for a rare performance of two of their classic hit songs prior to their North American tour, which kicks off in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 7. Cher will also make an appearance on the show's premiere week on Sept. 7. She will sit down with host Ellen DeGeneres for an interview, then perform "SOS" from her upcoming ABBA tribute album Dancing Queen which hits stores on Sept. 28. - Billboard, 8/27/18...... Former president Jimmy Carter and former CBS talk show host and Indiana native David Letterman have helped launch a Habitat for Humanity project in northern Indiana. The retired late-night TV host praised Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, for their dedication to the nonprofit during an Aug. 26 event at the University of Notre Dame that kicked off a five-day Habitat for Humanity effort to build 23 homes in adjacent Mishawaka, Ind. Letterman noted the Carters' long involvement with the group, telling the roughly 4,000 attendees that if it weren't for the Democratic former president and his wife, he wouldn't have become a Habitat for Humanity volunteer. The 93-year-old former president reportedly said he and his wife get "more out of it than we put into it" when they build Habitat homes. - AP, 8/28/18...... The African American Museum in Philadelphia hosted a 90th anniversary celebration of the venerable Philly gospel group The Dixie Hummingbirds on Aug. 27. Although Stevie Wonder was unable to attend the event, the Motown icon called in during the event to praise the group for its contributions to modern music. The Dixie Hummingbirds was formed in Greenville, S.C., and eventually moved to Philadelphia in 1942. They notably provided soulful backups for Paul Simon on his 1973 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. - AP, 8/28/18...... Country/pop crossover stars Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Kris Kristofferson are among the vocalists appearing on a new tribute album to late country legend Roger Miller. King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller also features the likes of Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss, Kacey Musgraves and Asleep at the Wheel covering such Miller classics as "Dang Me," "Do Wacka Do," "England Swings" and "Engine, Engnie #9." The album drops Aug. 30 via BMG. - Billboard, 8/28/18...... Speaking of Dolly Parton, the singer has made her first appearance on Billboard's Social 50 Chart after posting a meme of her song "Jolene" to Twitter's Distracted Boyfriend meme on Aug. 20. Parton's meme received a whopping 123,000 reactions on Twitter in the Aug. 17-23 tracking week. The Social 50 is powered by data tracked by music analytics company Next Big Sound and ranks the most popular artists on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Wikipedia and Tumblr. - Billboard, 8/28/18...... Engelbert Humperdinck has announced he'll be following up his 2018 album The Man I Want To Be, his first set of original material in more than a decade, with a new Christmas album titled Warmest Christmas Wishes. "It's been such a long time since I recorded a Christmas album, and fans have been asking me, 'When are you going to do another one?'," said the 82-year-old pop legend, who released the first of his several holiday sets, Christmas Tyme, in 1977. "Finally, we decided to do it. I love (Christmas). From me growing up with a large family and everybody singing around the Christmas tree, it was a wonderful, wonderful upbringing. So (Christmas) is very special with me to share." Humperdinck is currently filming a PBS special in Hawaii, which will feature five of the songs from Warmest Christmas Wishes as well as other favorites from throughout his career. He says he has no plans to retire: "I don't feel the age I am -- and I don't act it and I don't speak like it. When God calls me, that's when I stop. Until then I'm going to just keep going." - Billboard, 8/27/18...... The estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music won an appeal on Aug. 28 over supposedly fake vocals on his posthumous album Michael when a California appeals court ruled that claims on the album cover didn't constitute commercial speech and must be protected under the First Amendment. Vera Serova, who insisted that Jackson wasn't the lead singer on three of the LP's tracks, attempted to lead the class action suit with the allegation that the album amounted to a misrepresentation that was punishable under California's Unfair Competition Law and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act. The judge concluded that statements on the album cover and the promotional video for the album amounted to commercial speech subject to regulation. Meanwhile, SiriusXM radio celebrated what would have been Jackson's 60th birthday on Aug. 29 by airing an hour-long King of Pop tribute across seven of its channels. Jackson's music also aired in blocks all day once an hour the channels. - Billboard, 8/28/18...... British pop star Cliff Richard has announced he'll release a new album called Rise Up on Nov. 23 that will address "the bad period I went through in life." The album follows the singer's long but victorious legal battle with the BBC after it was reported back in 2014 that he was being investigated over historical child sexual assault claims. A court ruled in July that the BBC had breached Richard's privacy by broadcasting a police search of his home, and he was awarded over 200,000 in damages. Richard, 77, says he's now looking to resume his music career. Richard says he chose the title track, which debuted on BBC Radio 2 on Aug. 29, as the name for the new album "because after the bad period I went through in my life, I've managed to 'Rise Up' out of what seemed like a quagmire... I love the lyric 'They're never gonna break me down, they're never gonna take me down, they know I'm gonna rise up feeling stronger'." - New Musical Express, 8/29/18...... Roger Taylor of Queen joined the alternative rock band Foo Fighters onstage to perform a cover of one of his band's classic songs at an LA pop-up shop show on Aug. 27. Before the Foo Fighters took to the stage as "The Holy Shits," drummer Taylor Hawkins led the covers band Chevy Metal through a number of classic rock songs, including the Queen and David Bowie duet "Under Pressure." Taylor took over drum duties, while Hawkins handled Freddie Mercury's vocals. - NME, 8/28/18...... Jim Croce's son A.J. Croce sings his late dad's songs in his occasional "Croce Plays Croce" concerts, but he's stayed away from recording any of them -- until now. A.J. has announced he is releasing a new version of his late father's posthumous 1973 hit "I Got a Name." Just out via digital retailers and streaming services, the new "I Got a Name" was commissioned for a new Goodyear ad campaign paying tribute to retired race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. For the single's art Croce also came up with the idea of recreating the iconic image of his father smoking a cigar from the 1973 release. "I thought it was funny and kind of just tongue-in-cheek, and a nice nod to (the original)," he says. Don't look for Croce to start recording more of his father's music, though. "I would be a very wealthy man if I'd taken those opportunities, but I've turned every one of them down in the past," he says. "I don't know what the point would be. If you want to hear Jim Croce, go buy the records." A.J. adds he does not rule out the idea of documenting a "Croce Plays Croce" concert for release at some point, however. - Billboard, 8/24/18...... A California judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed by Spinal Tap actor Harry Shearer in 2016 can go forward. Shearer originally sued entertainment groups Vivendi and StudioCanal for $125 million, saing he has received only $81 in merchandising income from Spinal Tap's enduring array of albums, tours, swag, and home video sales. In 2017, Shearer's lawsuit brought on fellow bandmates Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, as well as Rob Reiner, the director of the original film, upping the damages sought to $400 million. Judge Dolly Gee's ruling denied Vivendi's motion to have the fraud claim dismissed, clears the way for the case to make its way into a courtroom. - Deadline.com, 8/29/18...... Blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Joe Bonomassa has announced he will return to Glasgow's SEC Armadillo on Apr. 22, 2019. Bonomassa's only Scottish date, the concert will kick off his April 2019 UK tour two days before he performs three consecutive nights at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall on Apr. 24, 25 and 26. The Glasgow SEC Armadillo and the Royal Albert Hall shows will feature Joe performing alongside a hand-picked group of world-class musicians playing material from Joe's forthcoming studio album, which will be released in September 2018. - Noble PR, 8/28/18....... The London-based band Jawbone, who has played with the likes of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Ten Years After, Van Morrison and Robert Plant, will self-release their eponymous debut album on Nov. 9. In January 2018, Jawbone were chosen to back Clapton, Morrison and Tom Jones at Paul Jones' legendary charity show at G-Live in Guildford. Named after a song taken from The Band's self-titled 1969 second album, Jawbone tracked all the songs live as a four piece with minimal overdubs at London's State of The Ark Studio. Jawbone will kick off a 6-date UK tour at Milton Keynes' The Stables on Sept. 6. - Noble PR, 8/29/18...... Arizona Sen. John McCain, the six-term Arizona senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee, died on Aug. 25 at his Arizona ranch with his family after a battle with brain cancer. He was 81. The son and grandson of Navy admirals, Sen. McCain was a former Navy pilot and was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years. He was elected to Congress in the early 1980s and elected to the Senate in 1986, replacing Barry Goldwater who retired. Sen. McCain gained a reputation as a lawmaker who was willing to stick to his convictions rather than go along with party leaders. Sen. McCain had recently decided to discontinue medical treatment. Though Sen. McCain had "surpassed expectations for survival," the family said in an Aug. 24 statement about the decision that "the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict." The senator had been away from the Capitol since December. Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is expected to name a replacement who would serve out the remainder of McCain's term through the 2020 election. Sen. McCain ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, then won it in 2008 before losing the general election to former president Barack Obama. On Aug. 28, it was announced that actor Warren Beatty will be among the pallbearers at Sen. McCain's memorial service on Sept. 1 at the Washington National Cathedral. - AP, 8/25/18...... Neil Simon, the creator of such Pulitzer and Tony award-winning plays as "The Odd Couple," "Barefoot in the Park" and "Lost in Yonkers," died on Aug. 25 at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City from complications from pneumonia. He was 91. Mr. Simon's unparalleled career in the theater included more than 30 plays and musicals that opened on Broadway over a span of four decades. He made his playwriting debut in 1961, with "Come Blow Your Horn," and concluded his Broadway run with "45 Seconds From Broadway" in 2001. He established his reputation writing some of Broadway's most successful comedies, including "Barefoot in the Park," "The Odd Couple," and "Plaza Suite." Many of his later plays explored darker themes, as those found in "Biloxi Blues," "Broadway Bound" and "Lost in Yonkers." Born in the Bronx, N.Y., on July 4, 1927, Mr. Simon grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School. He studied at NYU and the University of Denver while serving in the U.S. Army Air Force Reserve. He began his career in the early 1950s, working as a team with his older brother, Danny, writing scripts for radio and television shows, including The Garry Moore Show. After 10 years in television, Simon turned his attention to writing for the stage. His first Broadway show was a comedy, "Come Blow Your Horn" (1961). Next came two of the biggest hits of the 1960s, "Barefoot in the Park" (1963), starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley, and "The Odd Couple" (1965), starring Walter Matthau and Art Carney. Both shows were directed by Mike Nichols. Simon won the 1965 Best Author Tony Award for "The Odd Couple." "The Odd Couple" was arguably Simon's largest commercial success, with the film adaptation and an ABC series, which ran from 1970-75 and starred Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. However, one of Simon's regrets was selling the screen rights to Paramount, and he didn't watch the show for the first two years because he was so upset. A reboot of the series, starring and executive produced by Matthew Perry (he played Oscar Madison), ran for three seasons on CBS starting in 2015. His original screenplays include The Out-of-Towners (1970), directed by Arthur Hiller, The Heartbreak Kid (1972), directed by Elaine May, and Murder by Death (1976), directed by Robert Moore. Mr. Simon received a 1971 Writers Guild Award for The Out-of-Towners. The Goodbye Girl (1977), directed by Herbert Ross, starred Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfuss. In addition to a Pulitzer Prize and four Tony Awards, Mr. Simon received many honors, including four Writers Guild of America Awards, an American Comedy Awards Lifetime Achievement honor, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's Monte Cristo Award. Mr. Simon is survived by his third wife, the actress Elaine Joyce Simon, whom he married in 1999, and two daughters from his marriage to his first wife, dancer Joan Baim. - Deadline.com, 8/26/18...... Influential British dancer, choreographer and mime artist Lindsay Kemp, known for tutoring singers David Bowie and Kate Bush during his career, died on Aug. 25 at 80. Mr. Kemp, who often performed in stark-white face makeup and dramatic costumes, was born in 1938 and formed his dance company in the 1960s. He is credited with helping Bowie create his Ziggy Stardust persona and teaching Bush to dance. He choreographed and performed during Bowie's celebrated Ziggy Stardust concerts in London in 1972, and also made cameo appearances in the films The Wicker Man and Velvet Goldmine. - AP, 8/25/18.

Paramount Pictures announced on Aug. 23 that the upcoming Elton John biopic will be released on May 17, 2019, two weeks later than originally announced. Taron Egerton (Kingsman) will portray the pop idol from his days at the Royal Academy of Music to his rise on the rock scene in the '70s, also exploring his drug and alcohol addiction in the '90s. Egerton will do the singing and has already recorded songs at Abbey Road Studios. The ensemble cast includes Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard and Gemma Jones. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/23/18...... The Who's Roger Daltrey confirmed in a recent interview with the BBC that development of a Keith Moon biopic, which has been in the works since 2013 but has stalled in recent years, has begun again. "I've got to find a Keith Moon," Daltrey said. "It's going to be very, very dependent on the actor and the actor's eyes. Because you've got to cast it completely from the eyes because Moon had extraordinary eyes." Daltrey added that people "didn't really know Keith." "I don't know whether anybody outside the band really got to know him like we did. He was a strange bunch of people," he said. The singer also explained that he was searching for "the right screenplay" and that he hoped production would begin "next year." - New Musical Express, 8/24/18...... A Mick Jagger and Carly Simon duet apparently recorded in 1972 and thought to have been lost has been found more than 45 years after it was first recorded. The song, believed to be named "Fragile," is a slow love ballad that has Jagger and Simon seemingly sitting together at a piano and singing and was found recently on a tape owned by Rolling Stones collector Matt Lee. Lee, an entrepreneur from London, declined to say where the tape of the song came from. But he said Wednesday that he sent a digital copy of the song to Rolling Stone magazine because they promised to give it to Simon. "I'm not doing it for the money," he said. "I'm a collector. My motive for sending it to Rolling Stone was to pass it to Carly." Jagger does most of the singing on "Fragile," with Simon adding some harmonies, and when the song ends, a female voice believed to be Simon's gasps: "Good song." Simon and Jagger famously worked together in 1972 when the Stones frontman sang backup vocals on Simon's hit "You're So Vain." For many years, it was thought that Jagger was the subject of that song, but Simon has denied that. - Billboard, 8/23/18...... Former president Bill Clinton, who hosted Aretha Franklin at both of his inaugurations, and Franklin's fellow Detroit native Smokey Robinson will be among the speakers at Franklin's funeral at Detroit's Greater Grace Temple on Aug. 31. Other speakers will include former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, music mogul Clive Davis and the Rev. Al Sharpton, according to a spokesperson for Franklin. The Rev. Jasper Williams Jr., pastor of the Salem Baptist Church in Atlanta, will deliver the eulogy, and Chaka Khan, Ronald Isley, Fantasia and Yolanda Adams are among the approximately 30 artists slated to give musical tributes to the late Queen of Soul. The funeral will be private, but some public seating might be made available. A separate free tribute show will take place the evening before at Chene Park, featuring Johnny Gill, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and Dee Dee Bridgewater, among others. The concert will be part of a four-day Aretha memorial that includes open-casket public viewings on Aug. 28-29 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and on Aug. 30, at New Bethel Baptist Church. Meanwhile, the celebrity gossip site TMZ.com is reporting Franklin, who died on Aug. 16 at age 76, died without a will. Franklin's not having a will was somewhat surprising for two main reasons: she had reportedly been ill for quite some time (she finally succumbed to pancreatic cancer); and, according to TMZ, one of her adult children, Clarence, has special needs, and requires "financial and other forms of support for his entire life." The good news is that Franklin left an estate reportedly worth more than $80 million, which will be split evenly among Clarence and his three brothers, according to Michigan state law. The executor, who administers the process of transferring assets, will be appointed by the court, however without a will the executor can collect millions in fees while the family receives nothing until the value of the estate is established. - AP/Billboard/TheRoot.com, 8/24/18...... John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman was denied parole for the 10th time by New York's parole board on Aug. 23 and will remain behind bars for at least two more years. Chapman, 63, appeared before the board on Aug. 22 and is serving 20-years-to-life in the Wende Correctional Facility in western New York. The board cited Chapman's "callous disregard for the sanctity of human life and the pain and suffering of others (by killing) someone who was not only a world renown person and beloved by millions." The board said releasing Chapman would not only "tend to mitigate the seriousness of your crime," but also would endanger public safety because someone might try to harm him out of anger or revenge or to gain similar notoriety. Chapman will be up for parole again in August 2020. During the hearing, politicians and fans in New York City called for his release to be denied during a rally at Strawberry Fields, Lennon's memorial in Central Park across from his former home. - AP, 8/23/18...... In other Lennon news, Geffen Records announced on Aug. 23 that a 6-disc box set, John Lennon: Imagine: The Ultimate Collection, will be released on Oct. 5 -- four days before what would have been his 78th birthday. The set will feature rare, unheard demos, outtakes, isolated tracks, films and more from the making of Lennon's most celebrated album, 1971's Imagine. Also being re-released is the 1971 John and Yoko Ono-film Imagine packaged with the 2000 documentary Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon's Imagine. - Billboard, 8/23/18...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr has taped an interview for the 100th episode of Dan Rather's AXS TV show The Big Interview which will be aired on Oct. 2. In the interview, Ringo says though he's the centerpiece in his All-Starr Band he's happiest when surrounded by other musicians. "I'm a band guy. I play with all these other guys," he says. "When the band first started, I was so insecure, though I'd said yes, there were three drummers. I was in the middle, Jim Keltner, my hero from L.A., drummer, was on this side and Levon Helm was on this side and we were all boogieing away. Life is good." Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kansas, Joan Baez and Kenny Loggins are among the other '70s artists scheduled to appear on Rather's show this fall. - Billboard, 8/21/18...... Alice Cooper will release a new 2-disc live album, A Paranormal Evening at the Olympia Paris, on Sept. 28 via earMUSIC. Cooper, curringly on a North American tour in support of his latest studio LP Paranormal, reflected on how rock has changed over his long career: "Well, three generations of people come to the show: the grandfather who was there at the beginning, the father and now the kid who's 16 or 17 and goes, 'Wow, this is rock'n'roll.' Now, I'm as all-American as Pat Boone." - Billboard, 8/24/18...... The music video for the previously unreleased alternate version of the Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' song "You And Me" which appears on Petty's upcoming box set An American Treasure was released on Aug. 23. The box set , which also includes alternate versions of classic songs, rarities, historic live performances and deep tracks, hits stores on Sept. 28. - Billboard, 8/23/18...... The Band will release a 50th anniversary edition of its classic 1968 album Music From The Big Pink on Aug. 31. Adding studio chatter and additional annotation, the new edition offers a broader look at what's considered one of the most seminal debut albums in rock history, taking The Band from its previous incarnation as Bob Dylan's backing group and vaulting it into the limelight. The Band's Robbie Robertson says he expects there will be 50th anniversary editions of The Band's other albums in the future, meanwhile, he's keeping himself busy by writing a sequel to his 2016 memoir Testimony, writing the score to Martin Scorsese's next film The Irishman (about controversial labor union leader Frank Sheeran), and a solo album that he predicts will come as a surprise to listeners. - Billboard, 8/23/18...... The family of Prince filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County (Minn.) District Court on Aug. 24 alleging Prince's doctor failed to treat him for opiate addiction and therefore bears responsibility for his April 2016 death. Authorities say Dr. Michael Schulenberg admitted prescribing oxycodone to Prince under his bodyguard's name to protect Prince's privacy, though Schulenberg has disputed that. The suit claims the doctor and other defendants had the opportunity and duty during the weeks before Prince's death to diagnose his opioid addiction and prevent his death, but failed to do so. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000. - AP, 8/24/18...... Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has sent a cease & desist letter to Pres. Donald Trump after the president once again used the Aerosmith tune "Livin' on the Edge" at a campaign rally in West Virginia on Aug. 21. "It has come to our attention that President Donald J. Trump and/or The Trump Organization (collectively, "Mr. Trump") have been using our client's song 'Livin' On The Edge' in connection with political rally events, including at an event held yesterday at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia on August 21, 2018," read the letter from Tyler's attorney Dina LaPolt. "As expressly outlined in the Previous Letters, Mr. Trump does not have our client's permission to use any of our client's music, including 'Livin' On The Edge.'" As referenced in the letter, this is not the first time the veteran rock band has asked Trump to stop using their music at his political events. During the 2015 presidential race, Aerosmith fired off a similar cease & desist letter after Trump played 1973's "Dream On" during campaign rallies, noting that the real estate mogul needed Tyler's "express written permission" to use the song and that doing so without was a violation of Tyler's copyright. A White House spokesperson could not be reached for comment. - Billboard, 8/22/18...... An "Across the Great Divide" benefit concert featuring the likes of John Prine, Bob Weir, Lucinda Williams and Lee Ann Womack has been set for Oct. 1 at the Ace Theatre in Los Angeles. The concert is co-sponsored by the Americana Music Association and The Blues Foundation. - Billboard, 8/22/18...... As part of their 50th anniversary celebration, prog-rockers Yes will release Live at the Apollo on Sept. 7, a new live LP featuring a dozen songs from the Yes canon. Also being released are accompanying DVDs and Blu-rays of the performances taped at the Manchester Apollo in early 2017. Yes kicks off a U.S. tour on Aug. 26 at the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles. Yes is touring under the moniker Yes ARW, which refers to members John Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman, which the group adapted shortly after its Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2017. - Billboard, 8/21/18...... Speaking of 50th anniversaries, Judus Priest will be celebrating theirs in 2019, and frontman Rob Halford says the heavy metal icons are "already having discussions every now and again in the band, with our label, our promoters and management" to mark the milestone. "We have some ideas and when we get close to solidifying something, we'll let you know," Halford said in a recent interview with Philadelphia radio station 93.3 WMMR. "It's going to be a great year -- what a celebration. Another incredible milestone for Judas Priest that we're looking forward to sharing with everybody." - Billboard, 8/21/18...... The Heaven Hill liquor distillery in Kentucky has filed a cease & desist letter against Bob Dylan's new whiskey Heaven's Door Spirits, which is co-owned by the musician and debuted earlier in 2018, over Heaven's Door's "stacked" logo which they say is similar to Heaven Hill's. The lawsuit says Heaven's Door attorneys replied that they didn't expect confusion over the logos and didn't plan to change or comply with the demands. Heaven's Door is a reference to Dylan's song "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 17 in U.S. District Court in Louisville. It said Bardstown-based Heaven Hill has used the trademark for more than 80 years. - AP, 8/20/18...... Former Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King, who co-wrote Skynyrd's huge hit "Sweet Home Alabama," died on Aug. 22 in Nashville, Tenn. He was 68. A cause of death was not specified, though King had been battling lung cancer and had recently been hospitalized for the disease. A California native, King was a founding member of the psychedelic '60s band Strawberry Alarm Clock, known for their hit "Incense and Peppermints." He offered to join Skynyrd when, opening for the band at the Jacksonville, Fla., bar the Comic Book Club in 1968, he heard them rehearsing the song "Need All My Friends." It wasn't until 1972, however, when King would sign on with Skynyrd, temporarily replacing bassist Leon Wilkeson and then becoming a full-fledged member as third guitarist. King played on the band's first three albums: 1973's Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd, 1974's Second Helping and 1975's Nuthin' Fancy. He most famously co-wrote Second Helping's "Sweet Home Alabama" (that's him counting off "1, 2, 3" in the song's intro) which, along with "Free Bird," has become synonymous with the group. After a dust-up with frontman Ronnie Van Zant, King, tired of the Skynyrd drama and propensity for fighting, left the band in 1975. King moved over to guitar when Wilkeson re-joined the band and then took his first leave in 1976, replaced by Steve Gaines. Ronnie Van Zant, Gaines and sister Cassie Gaines were tragically killed in a plane crash in October 1977. King was again part of Lynyrd Skynyrd when the band reformed in 1987, but was forced to leave the group again due to complications from congestive heart failure, for which he underwent a successful heart transplant in 2011. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the other pre-plane crash members in 2011. "Ed was our brother, and a great songwriter and guitar player," Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossignton said in a statement. "I know he will be reunited with the rest of the boys in Rock and Roll Heaven. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family." - Billboard, 8/23/18...... Guitarist Eddie Willis, who played on many of the best-known Motown hits from the Detroit era as a member of the so-called Funk Brothers, died on the morning of Aug. 20 at home in Gore Springs, Miss. He was 82. His daughter Terez Willis said he had been suffering complications from a childhood bout with polio. Mr. Willis started with Motown in 1959, and remained with the label as it moved operations to Los Angeles in the early 1970s. Mr. Willis soon returned to Detroit, working as a touring guitarist with Eddie Kendricks and spending about two decades with the Four Tops. With the death of Mr. Willis, only guitarist Joe Messina remains from the seminal, core lineup of the Funk Brothers, the revered Motown house band that largely worked in obscurity. - 8/20/18...... Veteran celebrity journalist Robin Leach, best known for his work on TV's Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, died on Aug. 23. He was 76. He had been hospitalized since Nov. 21 after suffering a stroke in Cabo San Lucas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where Leach worked as a celebrity columnist. Born on Aug. 29, 1941, Leach wrote for The Harrow Observer while he was attending the Harrow County School for Boys, earning $6 a week at the newspaper after he graduated. He went on to become the youngest editor at London's Daily Mail at 18, then wrote for the New York Daily News, Ladies' Home Journal, People and The Star after moving to the U.S. in 1963. Leach parlayed his fame into appearances in such films as She-Devil (1989) and Free Money (1998) and on TV programs like Hoteland A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle. Leach joined the Review-Journal in 2016 as an entertainment columnist to beef up the newspaper's celebrity and lifestyle coverage across all platforms. He also was an early investor in the Food Network. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/24/18...... Barbara Harris, the Tony Award-winning actress whose comic-neurotic charms lit up the Broadway stage and helped her steal films including Nashville, Freaky Friday and A Thousand Clowns, died on Aug. 23 of lung cancer in Scottsdale, Ariz. She was 83. Ms. Harris played the mother who switched bodies with Jodie Foster in the original Freaky Friday in 1976, the same year she starred in Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot but it was Robert Altman's 1975 Nashville that would become her best-known film with her memorable performance of "It Don't Worry Me" in front of a shell-shocked crowd after the violent climax. She played a pathetic wannabe on the periphery of the action who in the end proves to be a truly good singer, attempting to calm a crowd that has just witnessed the on-stage shooting of a star. Ms. Harris was one of the performers in the historic first cast of Chicago's Second City improvisational theater, which opened its doors in late 1959. Over a half-century it has become the proving ground for dozens of now-famous actors and comedians, from John Belushi to Stephen Colbert. Ms. Harris had no surviving family. - AP, 8/22/18.