Two men featured in the new Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland who accuse the late King of Pop of molesting them when they were boys received a standing ovation following the screening of the film at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 25. Wade Robson, who says Jackson abused him from ages 7 to 14, and James Safechuck came forward as adults with their abuse allegations after Jackson's death in 2009. The four-hour film is a sprawling account of how the two boys' lives intersected with Jackson's at the height of his fame in the '80s and early '90s, and then later as adults when the trauma of what happened in their youth started to emerge in serious ways. In addition to accounts from Robson and Safechuck themselves, the film also interviews family members including the boys' mothers, wives and Robson's brother and sister. Jackson's voice is heard in the film, through voicemails he left for Robson and an "interview" Safechuck did with Jackson aboard his private plane, and the film also shows some of the many faxes he sent to Robson. The film has stirred up controversy since it was announced just a few weeks ago, with the Jackson estate condemning it for rehashing "discredited allegations." Extra police were dispatched outside Sundance's Egyptian Theater after reports there could be massive demonstrations, however only a handful of people showed up Friday holding posters with the word "innocent" displayed over Jackson's mouth. Leaving Neverland will air in two parts on Britain's Channel 4 and on the US premium cable channel HBO this spring. - AP, 1/25/19...... In other Michael Jackson news, the Jackson estate and Columbia Live Stage revealed more information on the new musical inspired by Jackson's life on Jan. 23. The production will be titled "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" and is currently in development. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage will create the book, while Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon will direct and choreograph. The musical will premiere in Chicago with its first performance on Oct. 29 at the James M. Nederlander Theatre and run through Dec. 1. "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" is set to make its Broadway debut in 2020. - Billboard, 1/23/19...... 
Willie Nelson is scheduled to return to the PBS series Austin City Limits on Jan. 26 after helping to launch the series in 1974. The country/pop icon will perform a 16-song mix of his hits and classics, starting with his perennial opener "Whiskey River." "There would be no Austin City Limits without Willie Nelson -- simple as that," ACL executive producer Terry Lickona said in a statement. "He launched ACL into the television universe in 1974, and has helped keep us going for 45 years. It was truly emotional to witness such an outpouring of love from the audience. This show is Willie Nelson, pure and simple." The episode will premiere on Jan. 26 at 9 p.m. EST on participating PBS stations. - Billbaord, 1/25/19...... Queen guitarist Brian May has apologized for defending fired Bohemian Rhapsody director Bryan Singer, who has been accused of sexually assaulting four men when they were teens, after May was called out on Twitter for defending the controversial director. On Jan. 23, a fan recommended that May unfollow Singer after a new article about Singer in The Atlantic magazine, to which May responded by posting, "you need to look after your own business and stop telling me what to do. And you need to learn to respect the fact that a man or woman is innocent until proven guilty." The next day, May posted a lengthy apology on Instagram, explaining that his initial attempt to apologize to the fan for his "hasty and inconsiderate IG reply" disappeared, so he reposted it on IG. "Dear Sue, I'm so sorry that I responded to your post so snappily and inconsiderately. My response was a result of my perception that someone was telling me what to do," he wrote. "I now realise that I was completely wrong in thinking that. You were actually just trying to protect me, for which I thank you... The only reason I followed Bryan Singer was that we were working with him on a project. That situation came to an end when Mr Singer was removed during the shooting of the film, but I suppose unfollowing him never occurred to me as a necessity. Now, because of this misunderstanding, I have unfollowed. I'm so sorry. This must have caused you a lot of upset." Singer has vehemently denied the allegations in the Atlantic article, telling E! News that the writer of the story "rehashes claims from bogus lawsuits filed by a disreputable cast of individuals willing to lie for money or attention." Singer was replaced as director on the Oscar-nominated Queen biopic by Dexter Fletcher with just a few weeks left in filming. Although Bohemian Rhapsody scored five Academy Award nominations on Jan. 22, including the highest honor for Best Picture, it was removed from the GLAAD Media Awards nominees two days later after the Atlantic expo surfaced. The GLAAD Media Awards honor media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues that accelerate acceptance. - Billboard, 1/25/19...... Although Pres. Donald Trump ended the 35-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, on Jan. 25, a number of artists came forward before his decision to offer free tickets, meals and even jobs to more than 800,000 federal employees. Nile Rodgers of Chic offered 600 free tickets to furloughed workers and their families or friends for his Jan. 26 concert at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, while Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS posted a video to their Rock & Brews Restaurant Facebook page last week, announcing that they would be giving free meals to TSA employees. The producers of the Carole King musical "Beautiful" also offered federal employees free admission to upcoming presentations of the Broadway show. Although Pres. Trump ended the shutdown, he has threatened to restart his fight for a border wall along the U.S. southern border in three weeks depending on how negotiations with congress go. - Billboard, 1/22/19...... After The Who recently announced they'll kick off a new "Moving On!" U.S. tour on May 7 in Grand Rapids, Mich., specially designed double-decker buses recalling their 1969 hit "Magic Bus" have been spotted cruising around New York, Los Angeles and Chicago promoting the tour and offering fans the chance to win a pair of premium tickets in a sweepstakes from concert promoter Live Nation. Fans who see the buses can post a photo of them on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #MagicBusEntry and tagging @LiveNation in the image. The contest runs through Feb. 10, and a winner will be selected at random for a pair of tickets in the tour stop closest to them. The Who, accompanied by a 52-piece orchestra at each stop, will play 29 shows in two legs, one in spring and one in fall, with shows in iconic venues such as New York's Madison Square Garden, Boston's Fenway Park and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The Who have also teased that a "big UK announcement" is coming on Jan. 28 as they shared a cryptic video on Twitter. The clip features snippets of their legendary career while "Baba O'Riley" plays in the background. With rehearsals still three or so weeks away, guitarist Pete Townshend recently told Billboard "I don't know what the f--- is going to happen" when the Who hits the road in May. "It's quite exciting." Townshend and frontman Roger Daltrey are also planning a new Who album, the band's first since 2006. Townshend says he spent from May to August working on 15 tracks for the set, some new and some "rescued from ancient history." With the instrumental tracks currently being recorded, Townshend describes it as "a mixture of stuff... some songs which cater for the part of the Who audience that have a preconception about what is a Who track but are also willing to take some chances." - Billboard/New Musical Express, 1/26/19...... 
On Jan. 23 the Fender guitar company revealed a prototype of its recreation of Jimmy Page's famous "Dragon" guitar, a long-lost piece of six-string history that marked the guitar hero's last days in the Yardbirds and first days in Led Zeppelin. The instrument with the psychedelic green-and-red serpent on its body represents "a pivotal moment for the guitar and music," said Paul Waller, the master builder who worked side-by-side with Page to make him a spot-on match of the guitar before making 50 more by hand to sell to the public. The reboot was hatched when Page was looking through photographs for a book celebrating last year's 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin. The dragon guitar, which he says was once his "Excalibur," kept popping up in them, and he started to think it was time to get past his bitterness about its fate. Page would use the guitar to write and record songs like "Dazed and Confused" for the first Led Zeppelin album, but a clueless house-sitter, not thinking much of Page's painting, put his own mosaic artwork over the dragon and presented it to Page as a gift. Page said it was all he could do not to hit the guy over the head with it. Instead, he stripped it bare and angrily threw it into storage, where it sat for 50 years. Page wanted to recreate not just the design, but the form, feel and sound of the original, so Waller went to his house in London and the two took out the old guitar and took it apart piece-by-piece so they could recreate each part for the rebuild. Page even made a trip to Fender's California plant -- the rocker's first time inside a guitar factory -- to inspect and help with the finished products. "All the employees lost their minds," Waller said with a laugh, "to watch somebody like Jimmy Page be totally enthralled with the machinery and act like a kid and be taking pictures." The 75-year-old Page painted at least a stroke on each of the 50 instruments Waller built. "He was adamant about applying paint to every one," Waller said. Fender is also selling assembly-line models of the guitar that are more affordable than the many thousands the handmade ones are likely to bring in. - AP, 1/24/19...... Bob Dylan's iconic 1963 protest anthem "Blowin' in the Wind" is set to be featured in a new ad for Budweiser during the upcoming Super Bowl showdown between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams. The spot, which stars an adorable dalmation, tells the story of "Budweiser's commitment to renewable electricity for a more sustainable future" and features the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales, the Budweiser dalmatian April alongside wind turbines," set to the Dylan song, according to a release announcing the spot, which notes that Budweiser is now brewed with 100 percent renewable electricity from wind power. Super Bowl 53 is slated for Feb. 3 in Atlanta, Ga. - Billboard, 1/24/19...... Paul McCartney has previewed artwork for his first children's book, Hey Grandude, which is due later in 2019. "I'm excited to share the cover of my new children's book 'Hey Grandude!' which will be out later this year," Sir Paul explains in a message posted to his official website on Jan. 24. "I've worked on this with a great illustrator called Kathryn Durst and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do." Hey Grandude follows the adventures of a magical man named Grandude and his four grandchildren, who he calls "Chillers." McCartney originally got the idea for the book after one of his eight grandchildren began to refer to him as "Grandude," and the nickname stuck. "I wanted to write it for grandparents everywhere, so it gives them something to read to the grandkids at bedtime," McCartney said. Hey Grandude, announced late last year, will be published in September 2019 under the Random House Books for Young Readers imprint in the U.S. and the Puffin imprint in the U.K. McCartney's "Freshen Up" tour of the Americas kicks off in March. - Billboard, 1/24/19...... In other Beatles-related news, a newly discovered letter written by a Capitol Records executive to Apple Records reveals that the legendary quartet's "Hey Jude" was almost shelved as a single thanks to its "pornographic" label. Capitol Records' president Stan Gortikov had warned the Beatles' imprint on Aug. 28, 1968 not to release the record because its vinyl logo -- the profile of a sliced apple -- resembled a vagina. Gortikov was worried that traders would not want to stock the single. "Here's a wild and unanticipated problem to brighten up your day I just received a call from a very large and influential rack jobber in the western United States," Gortikov wrote. "He opened the conversation by saying, 'Are you guys serious? Do you know what you're doing? Do you really intend to sell products bearing the new Apple label?'" Gortikov went on to explain that the trader in question felt that the new Apple label was pornographic and depicted a vagina. Despite concerns, the logo was unchanged and "Hey Jude," with its B-side "Revolution," went on to sell 8 milion copies worldwide. - New Musical Express, 1/25/19...... 
The Dukes of Hazzard stars John Schneider and Tom Wopat have announced they'll be reuniting this spring along with their famous car "The General Lee" for a "Good Ole Boys" concert tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1979-1985 series. The MuscleKingz Car Show & Concert Series will debut on Apr. 13 at Bakersfield, Calif.'s Kern County Raceway and will visit at least 10 markets in 2019. The events will take place in outdoor facilities that can accommodate a car show. Wopat, a.k.a. "Luke Duke," will open the concert, followed by Schneider, a.k.a. "Bo Duke," and then the pair will sing together. Up to five acts will appear at each event. Other members of the cast are also expected to participate. In addition to The General Lee, a bright orange 1969 Dodge Charger that became synonymous with the action/comedy series, the car show will also feature hot rods, muscle cars, "Uncle Jesse" pick-up trucks and "Daisy Duke" Jeeps. In addition to their acting careers, both Wopat and Schneider have found success in music. Schneider had a string of country hits in the '80s, including chart-toppers "What's a Memory Like You (Doing In A Love Like This)" and "You're The Last Thing I Needed Tonight." In 2018, he released a new album, Odyssey, as well as releasing a new single each week online. Wopat has also released country records over the years and most recently has recorded jazz projects and songs from the Great American Songbook. Both Schneider and Wopat say they are proud of the show's enduring fan base. "It was one of those shows that really had a multi-generational appeal," says Wopat. "Grandparents could watch. The little kids could watch. Everybody would find something to enjoy in it." - Billboard, 1/24/19...... After a run on the cable TV network Showtime in 2018 and a release on CD and DVD, the Jimi Hendrix documentary Electric Church is set for a 36-city theatrical run beginning on Jan. 31 at the ArcLight Hollywood, with a post-screening discussion with director John McDermott, record producer/engineer Eddie Kramer and Experience Hendrix CEO Janie Hendrix. Other openings will take place into early April, and the Feb. 25 screening in Nashville will feature a Q&A with longtime Hendrix bassist Billy Cox. Besides Hendrix's performance, Electric Church also features interviews with bandmates Cox and drummer Mitch Mitchell, along with the likes of Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood, Metallica's Kirk Hammett, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi. - Billboard, 1/22/19...... It has been revealed that former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters recently used his private jet to reunite a mother with her kidnapped children. Felicia Perkins-Ferreira had not seen her children in over four years after they were kidnapped and taken to Syria by their father in 2014. After hearing of their plight, Waters flew Perkins-Ferreira out to the Iraq-Syria border so she could be reunited with her children, Ayyub and Mahmud. The children have been looked after in a camp where a friend of Waters', Clive Stafford-Smith, became aware of their plight. When asked about Waters, he said: "[Roger] agreed to pay for it all and flew the mother over from Trinidad. We're going to make sure that they get on with a really productive, decent life." Perkins-Ferreira later thanked Waters and all those who helped to reunite her with her children saying that she was "really, really grateful" and would like to meet them "and embrace them" to express her thanks. - NME, 1/23/19...... Actress Kaye Ballard, the boisterous comedian and singer who appeared in Broadway musicals and nightclubs from New York to Las Vegas and starred with Eve Arden in the 1960s TV sitcom "The Mothers-In-Law," died on Jan. 23 at her home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., after a fight with kidney cancer. She was 93. The Mothers-In-Law, in which Ms. Ballard starred with Arden (of the 1950s sitcom Our Miss Brooks), aired from 1967 to 1969. It marked a high point in a career that began when Ms. Ballard was 12 and lasted into the 21st century. The Mothers-In-Law was set in a Los Angeles suburb and featured its stars as women who become thorns in their married children's lives, with comedic results influenced by the screwball style of I Love Lucy. Desi Arnaz, who starred with wife Lucille Ball in that classic sitcom, produced and directed 24 episodes of the Ballard-Arden show. Ms. Ballard made a mark in every form of show business except movies. She did appear as a secondary player in a few films, including 1958's The Girl Most Likely and in 1964's A House Is Not a Home, but her high-octane personality may have been too potent for the big screen of that era and its more restrictive portrayals of women. Ms. Ballard was also a regular on The Doris Day Show in the 1970s and the 1990s TV series Due South, and she also became a favorite of talk show hosts, making repeat appearances with Jack Paar, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson. Ms. Ballard, who never married, was on hand earlier in January when a documentary on her life and career premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. - AP, 1/23/19...... 
Oscar-winning French composer Michel Legrand, known for his 1968 song "The Windmills of Your Mind" and movie scores for such films as Summer of '42 and Yentl, died in the early hours of Jan. 26 at his home in Paris. He was 86. During his career, Mr. Legrand became one of the world's most highly regarded composers, and worked with musical giants such as Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli and Edith Piaf. After earning his first Oscar for Best Original Song in 1968 for "The Windmills of Your Mind," Mr. Legrand achieved further Academy Awards success with the scores to 1971's Summer of 42 and Yentl starring Barbra Streisand. He also scored five Grammys from 17 nominations and became an integral part of French New Wave Cinema in the 1960s as he worked with iconic film directors including Jacques Demy and Jean-Luc Godard. Paying tribute, French composer Vladimir Cosma told AFP: ""For me, he is immortal, through his music and his personality. He was such an optimistic personality, with a kind of naivety in optimism, he saw everything in rosy colours!" Mr. Legrand is survived by three children and his third wife, Macha Meril. - NME, 1/26/19...... Edwin Birdsong, the 1970s funk and jazz keyboardist whose songs earned a second life via samples by Daft Punk, De La Soul and Gang Starr, died on Jan. 21 at age 77. Following a stint in Vietnam, Birdsong moved to New York, where he began developing his unique jazz/funk hybrid, signing to Polydor Records in 1971 and releasing his debut, What It Is, in 1972, followed up by Supernatural in 1973. Birdsong's jazz-influenced playing on songs such as 1979's "Phiss-Phizz" and co-writing and co-producing alongside funk/soul icon Roy Ayers earned him cult status. Birdsong also appeared on "Spiritual Walkers" on Stevie Wonder's 1985 In Square Circle album. - Billboard, 1/23/19...... Maxine Brown Russell of the country trio The Browns has died at age 87. A songwriter and singer, Ms. Russell and her siblings launched their careers on the Louisiana Hayride in the 1950s and had a several chart-topping songs in the 50s and 60s, including "The Three Bells," "The Old Lamplighter," "Scarlet Ribbons," and "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On." They also appeared on TV on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand and The Jerry Lewis Show. - AP, 1/22/19.
David Bowie has been named by the British public as the greatest entertainer of the 20th century in a BBC Two poll for its historical TV series Icons. American actress Kathleen Turner submitted Bowie along with Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin and Billie Holiday in the series' entertainer category, and advocated passionately for all names. Speaking of Bowie, Turner said: "[He] raised the creative bar for all entertainers and that is why he truly deserves to be crowned the ultimate icon of the 20th century by the British public." Bowie, who died in Jan. 2016 at age 69 after a battle with cancer, will now compete against the likes of Nelson Mandela and Ernest Shackleton in an additional final poll for the greatest icon of the 20th century overall. - New Musical Express, 1/17/19...... Singing the U.S. national anthem at the start of the NFC Championship game between the LA Rams and the New Orleans Saints on Jan. 20, Jimmy Buffett capped his performance with an unexpected mic-drop. Before the teams took the field, the "Margaritaville" singer sang his rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and tossed his mic to the ground, clutching a Saints hat in his other hand. Prior to the performance, Buffett tweeted a photo of himself loading his gear into the back of the car, writing, "Sunday Funday! Who dat!! We are excited to share that Jimmy will be singing the National Anthem before the Saints/Rams game this Sunday afternoon." 
In related news, Gladys Knight has been confirmed to sing the National Anthem at the upcoming 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta on Feb. 3, and the seven-time Grammy winner says she's proud to use her voice to "unite and represent our country" in her hometown of Atlanta despite many artists, including Rihanna and Cardi B, refusing to perform at the NFL event to show support for Colin Kaepernick who alleges he has been blacklisted from playing for his "take a knee" protests during the pre-game national anthem. "I understand that Mr. Kaepernick is protesting two things, and they are police violence and injustice," Knight, 74, told Variety. "It is unfortunate that our National Anthem has been dragged into this debate when the distinctive senses of the National Anthem and fighting for justice should each stand alone. I am here today and on Sunday, Feb. 3 to give the Anthem back its voice, to stand for that historic choice of words, the way it unites us when we hear it and to free it from the same prejudices and struggles I have fought long and hard for all my life, from walking back hallways, from marching with our social leaders, from using my voice for good -- I have been in the forefront of this battle longer than most of those voicing their opinions to win the right to sing our country's Anthem on a stage as large as the Super Bowl LIII." - Billboard, 1/20/19...... ABBA spokesperson Grel Hanser revealed on Jan. 21 that new music from the Swedish quartet will be delayed until later in 2019. In 2018, the group announced their intention to record and release their first new music in over 35 years prior to a digital ABBA avatar tour that they said they hoped to release by Christmas, but the songs have yet to materialize. "The songs will definitely not come before the summer, possibly afterwards," Hansel told the UK's The Daily Star. "There will be two songs released. No album." A new song titled "I Still Have Faith In You" was due to premiere on the BBC back in December. Another new song is called "Don't Shut Me Down." This comes after ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus hinted that the band's recent recording sessions could lead to "a new album, possibly." "Or four songs or something like that - that's possible," he continued, before repeating his insistence the band would not tour. "But for us to perform on stage that's just not going to happen. That's a definite." - New Musical Express, 1/21/19...... Former Jackson Five member Jermaine Jackson is claiming his ex-wife Halima Rashid has been collecting his music royalties without his knowledge for over a year and even diverted $250,000 of their money without his permission. In newly filed court documents in his divorce case, Jakcson claims to have discovered late in 2018 that his royalties were being diverted from him to his ex-wife at her direction. Jackson claims since December 2017, Rashid has collected a total of $93,991.12 which he says is his money. He also accuses his ex of transferring $250k from their community assets to a company without permission. He believes Rashid has sold off a few of their cars, despite them both having rights to them. In a letter written by his lawyer to hers, he calls her actions "criminal" and advises them to work out a resolution over the money and property being transferred or sold. Jackson also says he is behind $29k in child support to another woman. Rashid filed for divorce in 2016 following a domestic violence incident between the two where she allegedly bit his leg. The criminal case was dismissed by prosecutors. The two were married in 2004 and have no kids together. - TheBlast.com, 1/21/19...... 
Ozzy Osbourne is celebrating the 37th anniversary of his infamous 1982 bat-biting incident with a "detachable head" bat plush toy. "Today marks the 37th Anniversary since I bit a head off a f---ing bat! Celebrate with this commemorative plush with detachable head," the former Black Sabbath leader posted on Jan. 20. The 12" $40 toy bat -- whose first edition has already sold out -- features the Ozzy logo and a Velcro detachable head. The toy celebrates Ozzy's Jan. 20, 1982 show at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, IA, where he grabbed what he thought was a rubber bat thrown on stage by a fan and bit its head off, not realizing until later that it was a live animal. Osbourne recently added a new summer leg to his 2019 North American "No More Tours 2" final tour which is slated to kick off on May 29 in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Osbourne recently sent some of his platinum records to a former bandmate who wanted to own them before he died. Lee Kerslake, who was the drummer on Ozzy's first two solo albums, revealed in December that he has terminal cancer. One of his bucket list wishes was to receive the platinum discs of the records he worked on. So Ozzy posted on his social media pages that he sent the platinum discs for Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman to Kerslake. "I'm so glad that Lee Kerslake is enjoying his Blizzard and Diary platinum albums. I hope you feel better. Love -- Ozzy Osbourne," he tweeted on Jan. 18. Ironically Kerslake, who along with bassist Bob Daisley, sued Ozzy and his wife Sharon Osbourne for proper royalties on the same two albums, but eventually lost their case. Kerslake told The Metal Voice magazine in December that the litigation had left him "bankrupt." Both records were re-recorded in the '00s with Faith No More's Mike Bordin and Metallica's Robert Trujillo, who were members of Osbourne's solo band at the time. Despite losing the case, Kerslake said that he still wrote to the Osbournes to request they send him the discs, "to hang on my wall before I die. It's on my bucket list." - Billboard/NME, 1/21/19...... Yet another Aretha Franklin tribute concert is set for Feb. 1 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. "A Celebration of The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin in Song and Dance" will be headlined by organizer Joan Belgrave, wife of late jazz trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. Other scheduled Detroit artists include Thornetta Davis, Mark Scott of The Miracles, Emmanuel EJ Johnson of Enchantment and the Motown Legends Gospel Choir. Meanwhile, the Isley Brothers paid tribute to the late Queen of Soul during the duo's first performance in her home town of Detroit since her death last August. Ronald Isley, who sang at Franklin's funeral, shed tears while introducing "Jesus Loves Me," recalling for the crowd at the Motor City Casino Hotel's Sound Board that he met Franklin during 1959. "I thought she was the best singer I ever heard in my life," Isley said. "She was my best friend in show business from that day in 1959 all the way up to 2018. Isley recalled how he and Franklin "used to stay up all night and talk about Sam Cooke," and he credited Franklin with turning him on to Whitney Houston. The Isleys dedicated "Jesus Loves Me" to both Franklin and Houston, and the next song, "For the Love of You," to Franklin alone. - AP/Billboard, 1/20/19...... 
Billy Joel announced on Jan. 19 that he'll play eight stadiums in the U.S. in 2019, including four ballparks he has not played in the past. The Piano Man will also play his first ever concert at Camden Yards in Baltimore on July 26, which will end a 20-year ban on music concerts at the venue. That date sold out in less than 30 minutes. Joel is also playing his first concerts at Denver's Coors Field on Aug. 8 as well as Globe Life Park, home to the Texas Rangers, in Arlington on Oct. 12. He'll kick off the run on March 9 at Chase Field in Phoenix, before playing Miller Stadium in Milwaukee, his first performance at the home of the Milwaukee Brewers and his only Midwest show this summer. Joel is also playing Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia on May 24 and Fenway Park in Boston on Sept. 14, his sixth concert at the stadium and already sold out. Joel, who will reach his milestone 70th birthday on May 9, is also making his only appearance in Europe this year, performing at London's Wembley Stadium on June 22. He's also continuing his successful residency at Madison Square Garden in New York, which shows booked through July. - Billboard, 1/19/19...... Filmmaker Rudi Dolezal, who enjoyed a close friendship with the late Freddie Mercury and shot the 1991 video to Queen's "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" which would prove to be Mercury's final appearance with the band before his death later that year, has revealed that Mercury, Elton John and Rod Stewart once considered forming a supergroup. In an interview with the New York Post, Dolezal said the unlikely idea was discussed when both John and Stewart were in attendance at one of Mercury's now-legendary parties at his Kensington home. "Freddie invited me to his private functions often, and, at one dinner party, the guests included Rod Stewart and Elton John," Dolezal recalled. "I remember there was a lot of bitching about other artists, and about themselves. I think Rod came up with the idea of forming a group called Nose, Teeth & Hair, because Rod had a big nose, Elton had problems with his hair and Freddie had his teeth!" Dolezal's comments come after Rod Stewart previously discussed the idea in his autobiography and explained how it was initially touted during a meeting in Los Angeles. "The band Queen rented a house in Bel Air, Los Angeles, for a while, and Elton and I spent a long evening there with Freddie Mercury, a sweet and funny man whom I really adored, discussing the possibility of the three of us forming a supergroup," Stewart said. "The name we had in mind was Nose, Teeth & hair, a tribute to each of our most remarked-upon physical attributes. The general idea was that we could appear dressed like the Beverley Sisters. Somehow this project never came to anything, which is contemporary music's deep and abiding loss." - New Musical Express, 1/18/19...... 
Backup singer Clydie King, whose earthy, gospel-rooted voice was heard on dozens of rock classics, including the Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," died on Jan. 7 of as yet undisclosed causes. She was 75. Along with Merry Clayton, Venetta Fields and Shirley Matthews, King was one of the most in-demand backup and session singers of her time. "I don't remember all the people who I sung for," she said in a 1971 interview in which she estimated she's sung on 300 records by then. In addition to several tracks on the Stones' Exile on Main St., the list included hits like Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good," Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans," Graham Nash's "Chicago," and Elton John's "The Bitch Is Back." King also sang on albums by Steely Dan, Humble Pie, Joe Walsh, Phil Ochs, Carly Simon, Neil Diamond and Ringo Starr as well as the soundtrack to Barbra Streisand's A Star Is Born remake. (King appeared in the film as well as one of The Oreos alongside Fields.) King also recorded with both Ray Charles and Bob Dylan, the latter during his born-again years. "She was my ultimate singing partner," Dylan once told Rolling Stone. "No one ever came close. We were two soulmates." Born Aug. 21, 1943, King grew up in Dallas and sang in a gospel choir as a child. She was considered so gifted that she even appeared, at age 8, on Art Linkletter's national TV talent show. King and her family moved to Los Angeles soon after, where she recorded a number of singles for the Specialty, Philips, Imperial and Minit labels. For three years starting in 1966, she and her longtime friend Clayton were in The Raelettes, Charles' backing singers. "We thought we knew how to sing, but he taught us both how to do it in a group," Clayton remembered. "We learned to do what we do and how to be a beautiful woman and how to stand and sit." Leaving Charles after three years to travel less and spend more time with her children, King became one of the go-to voices starting in the late Sixties and throughout the Seventies. King talked Clayton into performing on "Sweet Home Alabama" after Clayton initially refused ("I'm not singing about Alabama! I remember those poor little girls killed by racists") and after the session, King told Clayton, "We did our part and this song will live in infamy, Merry. And we'll continually get paid." King would attempt to carve out her own solo career with several solid, but commercially unsuccessful, albums and returned to singing backup. She stopped recording in recent years to deal with unspecified health issues, but Clayton remembers her as sweet, but tough. "She didn't take any crap," Clayton says. "She knew how to put you in your place, but she was so sweet you didn't know you were there until a week later." - 1/11/19...... Larry Cunningham, singer for the R&B group The Floaters, has died at age 67. The Floaters had one crossover hit, "Float On," filled with astrological signs and cheesy pickup lines. The group evolved from The Detroit Emeralds, formed in 1968, and "Float On" was a 1977 release. The band recorded the song in a garage recording studio. Cunningham had reportedly been suffering from health problems for years and was hospitalized with chest pains in December. - 1/11/19.
Carlos Santana announced on Jan. 16 that he'll be commemorating the anniversaries of his smash 1999 Supernatural album and his 1969 Woodstock appearance with a 29-date North American tour that will get underway on June 29 in Phoenix, Ariz. Santana will be playing classics from his back catalog, and adding new songs from his forthcoming EP In Search of Mona Lisa, which is set to drop on Jan. 25. "We're always moving forward, and we have incredible new songs and melodies that will inspire you," Santana said in a statement. "I feel like a 20 year old on stage playing with this band, and they deliver on every song. When we hit the stage, we know we will touch your heart and make you dance, sing, cry, laugh and leave your baggage behind." The tour will hit most major American markets, including Los Angeles (6/24), Seattle (6/29), Denver (7/3), Dallas (7/6), St. Louis (7/12), Chicago (8/4), Detroit (8/11), Washington, D.C. (8/14) and Boston (8/20) before wrapping on Aug. 25 in Wantagh, N.Y. - Billboard, 1/16/19...... Aretha Franklin was honored with a star-studded "Aretha! A GRAMMY Celebration For The Queen Of Soul" tribute concert at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Jan. 13. Jennifer Hudson, who will star in Franklin's biopic Respect, kicked off the tribute with an energetic "Think," before Alicia Keys and SZA performed a duet of "Day Dreaming." Celine Dion received a standing ovation before she performed Franklin's version of "A Change is Gonna Come," and Patti LaBelle's voice soared on "Call Me." Smokey Robinson took a moment to remember his good friend Franklin, who he called his "little sister." He told the packed auditorium that he still misses his longtime friend who he grew up with in Detroit. The tribute was presented by the Recording Academy and music mogul Clive Davis, who told the crowd "There will never ever be another Aretha Franklin." Franklin died at the age of 76 from pancreatic cancer in 2018 in her Detroit apartment. Some of her family members including her grandson who spoke at her funeral were in attendance at the tribute, which was hosted by filmmaker and actor Tyler Perry. - AP, 1/14/19...... In other Aretha Franklin news, a Detroit TV station is reporting that a criminal investigation has been opened as a result of the Queen of Soul's Bloomfield Township home allegedly being burglarized prior to her passing. The criminal probe reportedly also includes unauthorized use of Franklin's funds. While it's unclear exactly how much money is missing, the report was filed in June. The news comes on the heels of the IRS claiming Franklin left almost $8 million in tax debt ($3 million of which her estate asserts has been paid since her passing), in addition to legal bills and other expenses that remain unpaid. - TheRoot.com, 1/13/19...... The Rolling Stones will be among the headliners at the annual New Orleans Jazz Fest, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019. The two-weekend event runs April 25-28 and May 2-5 at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, with a diverse lineup also featuring Katy Perry, Jimmy Buffett, Bob Seger, Santana, Van Morrison, Al Green, John Fogerty, Tom Jones, Aaron Neville, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Matthews Band, Gladys Knight, Alanis Morissette and Chaka Khan. The New Orleans Jazz Fest was first produced by Newport Folk Festival co-founder George Wein in 1970. For the first time, this year the event is expanding to four days each weekend. - Billboard, 1/15/19...... 
In other Rolling Stones news, Keith Richards has announced he'll be celebrating the 30th anniversary of his 1988 debut solo LP Talk Is Cheap with a 
Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson, Grateful Dead veteran Bob Weir, and country music icon Willie Nelson will headline L.A.'s first ever coastal music festival, the BeachLife Festival, set for May 3-5 at the Seaside Lagoon in Redondo Beach. "We've painstakingly curated this lineup to capture what we believe is the unique spirit of BeachLife," reads a statement from co-founders Allen Sanford and Rob Lissner. Sanford is the owner of the popular Saint Rock nightclub in Hermosa Beach, and Sanford and Lissner are the brains behind LiveList, a tech platform to stream live music performances around the world. The festival will also feature an innovative 50-seat, pop-up restaurant on the main stage with reservations starting at $150, available to be booked March 1. Organizers say the Side Stage concept will "give festival-goers access to an unprecedented upscale dining experience "just feet from headliner performances." The festival will also feature a Beyond Side Stage area with a curated wine village, a massive craft beer bar focused on LA breweries and food by celebrity chef David LeFevre. - Billboard, 1/14/19...... Country music legend Loretta Lynn's upcoming 87th birthday will be celebrated on Apr. 1 with an all-star concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, it was announced on Jan. 14. Among the artists participating in "Loretta Lynn: An All-Star Birthday Celebration Concert" are Alan Jackson, Brandy Clark, Darius Rucker, Garth Brooks, George Strait, Jack White, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Margo Price, Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies and Trisha Yearwood. When asked during the press conference about her status as a pioneer within the industry, Lynn responded emphatically, "It feels great. I love all of the artists coming on [the show]; I don't know all of them, but I've listened to all of [their music], and this all just feels great." Lynn, a four-time Grammy winner, has long been the undisputed Queen of Country Music, with more than 50 years of recording and touring to her name. With 17 Billboard Hot Country Songs No. 1 singles to her credit, she is also one of the most awarded musicians of all time. - Billboard, 1/14/19...... Led by such major classic rock acts as the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie, vinyl album sales in the U.S. have hit their 13th consecutive year of growth. Vinyl album sales continue to be a bright spot among an otherwise bleak album sales picture. 16.8 million vinyl albums were sold in 2018, according to Nielsen Music (up 14.6 percent) -- marking the 13th consecutive year of growth for the format. 16.8 million is also a new yearly high for vinyl album sales since Nielsen Music began tracking sales in 1991. The top-selling vinyl albums artist in 2018 was the Beatles, with 321,000 copies sold of their catalog on vinyl. Their biggest seller was Abbey Road, which finishes the year as the No. 4 largest-seller, with 76,000 copies. The Fab Four also have two more titles among the year's top 15-sellers: their self-titled The Beatles ("White Album") is No. 11 (56,000) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is No. 13 (50,000). The top 10-biggest selling vinyl acts of the year are rounded out mostly by classic and veteran rock acts: Pink Floyd (177,000), David Bowie (150,000), Panic! at the Disco (148,000), Fleetwood Mac (139,000), Led Zeppelin (138,000), Michael Jackson (131,000), Jimi Hendrix (119,000), Metallica (116,000) and Queen (113,000). The CD format continues to be the leader for all album purchases, while the digital format is the runner-up with 53.4 million digital albums sold in 2018 (down 20.7 percent). - Billboard, 1/12/19...... Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson has reportedly checked into a treatment facility to seek professional help regarding her "physical and emotional health," taking time off after a busy working year. "After a busy year of work engagements that took her all over the globe, Paris decided that she needed to take some time off to reboot, realign and prioritise her physical and emotional health," a source close to Paris told the UK outlet Metro. "She checked herself into a treatment facility to aid in her wellness plan and is looking forward to coming out of this revitalised and ready to tackle the exciting new projects that await her," the source added. Paris was hospitalised due to depression and anxiety in 2013. In 2018, she denied reports that she had checked into rehab due to a "mental breakdown." - New Musical Express, 1/16/19...... 
A neighbor of Jimmy Page and Robbie Williams in west London has claimed Williams once blasted music by Led Zeppelin's rivals and dressed up as frontman Robert Plant in a bid to annoy the iconic Led Zepp guitarist. The two musicians have been at odds with each other since Williams submitted plans to add a basement gym and swimming pool to his home in west London five years ago. Page was concerned the work could damage his Grade I-listed mansion and has objected to planning proposals on several occasions. According to The Telegraph, a local resident called Johnny wrote to Kensington and Chelsea council to report Williams' behaviour, after councillors had given him planning permission. "The committee may not have been aware that Robbie Williams has been playing loud '70s rock music on outside speakers when he views Jimmy Page outside his home," the letter read. "What's been most annoying is that Mr. Williams has played rock arch-rival bands Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple. He obviously knows this upsets Mr. Jimmy Page. There have also been some reports that Robbie Williams has dressed up to imitate iconic Led Zeppelin frontman and lead singer Robert Plant." A spokesperson for Williams told the paper the claims were "a complete fabrication and nonsense." - NME, 1/12/19...... It appears Paul McCartney won't be among the headliners at the U.K.'s Glastonbury festival, which takes place from June 26-30, after Sir Paul recently announced he'll be performing two U.S. shows at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix on June 26, before heading to Las Vegas' T Mobile Arena on June 29. The Beatles legend was previously among the favourites rumoured to be headlining at the Worthy Farm classic this summer. Meanwhile in the UK, a pothole in Lancashire has become an unlikely sensation online after its questionable resemblance to Macca was first noticed. The hazardous crack in the road surface was first spotted by the Lancashire Evening Post, who were keen to point out the similarities in appearance to the Beatles icon. Upon first inspection, the gravel surrounding the hole looks extremely similar to Macca's famous mop-top hairstyle, and there's even individual stones that are making up his eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth. Responding to the unusual photo, one user joked: "Why is no-one Fixing A Hole?" Another quipped: "Is this one of the 4000 holes in Blackburn Lancashire?" - NME, 1/15/19...... Shirley Boone, the wife of '50s music legend Pat Boone and mother of 
Veteran actress/singer/comedian Carol Channing, the lanky, ebullient musical comedy star who delighted American audiences over almost 5,000 performances as the scheming Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly" on Broadway and beyond, died of natural causes on Jan. 15 in Rancho Mirage, Calif. She was 97. Besides "Hello, Dolly," Ms. Channing starred in other Broadway shows, but none with equal magnetism. She often appeared on television and in nightclubs, for a time partnering with George Burns in Las Vegas and a national tour. Her outsized personality seemed too much for the screen, and she made only a few movies, notably The First Traveling Saleslady with Ginger Rogers and Thoroughly Modern Millie with Julie Andrews. Over the years, Ms. Channing continued as Dolly in national tours, the last in 1996, when she was in her 70s. Critic Tom Shales of The Washington Post once called Ms. Channing "the ninth wonder of the world." Born Jan. 31, 1921, in Seattle, Ms. Channing majored in drama and dance at Bennington College in Vermont, and later found a job in a New York revue. For several years she worked as an understudy, bit player and nightclub impressionist, taking jobs as a model, receptionist and sales clerk during lean times. Landing in Los Angeles, Ms. Channing was the hit of "Lend an Ear" in a small Hollywood theater, and she captivated audiences and critics when the show moved to New York. As the innocent gold digger in the musical "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," her stardom was assured. One reviewer reported "she hurls across the footlights in broad strokes of pantomime and bold, certain, exquisitely comical gestures." The show's hit song, "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," became her signature number. But she returned over and over again to the surefire "Hello, Dolly," which earned her $5 million on one tour. She considered Dolly Levi "a role as deep as Lady Macbeth," ut added that the essence of her character was her unquenchable thirst for life. That description fit Carol Channing, who attributed her sunny optimism to her lifelong faith in Christian Science. Ms. Channing had two early marriages that ended in divorce -- to novelist Theodore Naidish and pro footballer Alexander Carson, father of her only child, Channing. Her son became a successful political cartoonist. Ms. Channing had reportedly suffered two strokes in the past year. - AP, 1/15/19...... Verna Bloom, the actress who portrayed the wife of the dean in the hit '70s movie 
Parlophone Records announced on Jan. 8 it is releasing a new David Bowie 7" vinyl singles box set this spring in celebration of what would have been Bowie's 72nd birthday. Spying Through a Keyhole (Demos and Unreleased Songs) features nine previously unreleased recordings, including the earliest known version of one of his most beloved songs, "Space Oddity." Though most of the tracks in the collection have familiar titles, these versions had never been released before 2018, with most comprised of solo vocal and acoustic home demos. It will be the first physical release of the songs, which were briefly available on streaming services for a limited time in December. - Billboard, 1/8/19...... Previously unseen artifacts marking the 60th anniversary of The Motown Museum will go on display at the iconic Detroit recording studio and museum in 2019. The museum announced on Jan. 11 that it will begin to display several new items the following day, including documents that show Motown label founder Berry Gordy Jr.'s repayment of the $800 family loan that helped launch the company with a recording in 1959. Scores of stars, including The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles recorded hits there before the label moved its operations to California in 1972. The museum also said it has plans for more new displays throughout the year. - AP, 1/11/19...... Speaking of Detroit, hometown buddies Bob Seger and Kid Rock continued their long history of jamming with each other onstage when Kid Rock joined headliner Seger and his Silver Bullet Band for a rendition of "Rock N' Roll Never Forgets" at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Jan. 11. "I've known (Rock) since he started in music," Seger told the crowd, while Kid Rock said that it was "an honor to be here tonight, joining my friend and absolute musical hero here... Over 50 years, one of the best singer-songwriters in American history. Maybe his last time in Nashville. I sure hope not." Seger will continue with his North American "Final Tour" at least into May, but it could stretch into the summer and perhaps beyond. - Billboard, 1/12/19...... Movie studio MGM announced on Jan. 10 that the long-gestating Aretha Franklin biopic Respect will finally begin production in 2019 with stage director Liesel Tommy set to direct. In the lead role will be Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson, who was chosen by Franklin to portray her in Jan. 2018 shortly after Hudson performed a medley of Franklin's songs at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy bash. Liesel Tommy was nominated for a Tony Award for directing the 2016 Broadway production of "Eclipsed," and she is also set to direct a film adaption of Trevor Noah's autobiography. Callie Khouri, who penned 1991's acclaimed Thelma & Louise, will write the script. In other Aretha Franklin news, The Grammy Awards' Recording Academy announced on Jan. 9 that Smokey Robinson will be among the headliners of an "Aretha! A GRAMMY Celebration For The Queen Of Soul" tribute concert set for Jan. 13 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Robinson is the latest addition to the all-star list of performers that also includes Hudson, Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Patti LaBelle and BeBe Winans, among others. The special will be taped and broadcast later in 2019 on the CBS Television Network. - AP/Billboard, 1/11/19...... Movie studio Twentieth Century Fox announced on Jan. 9 that the Golden Globe-winning Queen biopic will be released as a sing-along in more than 750 theaters in North America beginning Jan. 11. The film, which includes some of the band's most popular songs including "We Will Rock You," "We Are the Champions" and the title track, is also being expanded from 1,000 theaters to more than 1,300 the same day. "We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to see this outstanding Golden Globe-winning film featuring Rami Malek's amazing Golden Globe-winning performance in theaters all over the U.S. and Canada in both its original form and in a never-before-experienced 'sing-along' version," said Chris Aronson, Fox's president of domestic distribution in a statement. Meanwhile, Queen guitarist Brian May has accused British critics of sending a subtle message that Bohemian Rhapsody is not worthy of its recent awards success, despite being nominated for seven BAFTA awards (Britain's equivalent of the Oscars). May congratulated Malek on his BAFTA nomination for "Leading Actor" via Instagram on Jan. 10, but was quick to point out the film's glaring omission from the "Best Film" category days after it won the equivalent accolade at the Golden Globes. May also said he was disappointed to learn that the film wasn't nominated for its special effects. "I can only conclude that these people don't really understand what was achieved by our team. There are no explosions or rocket ships, but the re-creation of Wembley Stadium as it was in 1985 is a massive triumph." he wrote. Bohemian Rhapsody is the worst-rated film to win a Best Picture award at the Golden Globes since 1986, achieving a rating of only 62% on the Rotten Tomatoes site (the lowest Best Picture winner since Out of Africa in 1986). Nevertheless, Bohemian Rhapsody has become the highest-grossing music biopic of all-time, overtaking the Abba movie Mamma Mia! after making $600 million (£478m) at the box office. - AP/NME, 1/10/19...... 
Leaving Neverland, a documentary about the lives of two boys who accused Michael Jackson of sexual abuse, has been added to the lineup of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Produced and directed by Dan Reed, Leaving Neverland tells the stories of two boys, aged 7 and 10, who began long-running relationships with Jackson at the height of his stardom. Now in their 30s, they tell the "gut-wrenching" story of how they were sexually abused by Jackson, and how they came to terms with it years later. The two-part, 236-minute documentary, is slated to premiere on Jan. 25 in the festival's Special Events Category. Michael Jackson's estate has released a statement in response to the news, blasting the doc as "yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson," adding "this so called 'documentary' is just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations. It's baffling why any credible filmmaker would involve himself with this project." On Jan. 10, the King of Pop's nephew Taj Jackson also came to his late uncle's defense, posting on Twitter that he is "so tired of these lies about my uncle... I doubt the media wants to learn the truth or is even interested in it. Negativity sells. But please post below on what we all can do to expose this documentary." Sundance runs from Jan. 24 to Feb. 4 in Park City, Utah. - The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard, 1/9/19...... Revered director Martin Scorsese has revealed he will be directing a new concert documentary for Netflix that chronicles the famous 1975-76 Bob Dylan Rolling Thunder Revue tour. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story will trace the tour in which Dylan gathered an ensemble of collaborators and musicians including Joan Baez, T-Bone Burnett and Mick Ronson. Scorsese previously helmed the Dylan project No Direction Home, a 2005 Grammy-winning documentary which detailed Dylan's evolution between 1961 and 1966. The announcement comes three months after director Luca Guadagnino said that he planned to adapt Dylan's classic 1975 album Blood On the Tracks into a film. - The Hollywood Reporter/NME, 1/10/19...... The previously unseen Paul McCartney movie The Bruce McMouse Show is set to be shown in cinemas in selected cities in the UK, US, Australia and Canada beginning Jan. 21. The part concert film/part animated feature tells the story of how McCartney and his band Wings initially met Bruce McMouse, the film's animated protagonist. It also features unseen footage from Wings' 1972 European tour in support of the Red Rose Speedway album, along with animated footage that shows the family of mice who are living under the stage. - New Musical Express, 1/10/19...... 
Joe Jackson realized a while back that 2019 would mark 40 years since the release of his debut, 
The Who have announced they are planning a new album and tour for 2019. In an interview with Rolling Stone, guitarist Pete Townshend disclosed that he told promoters Live Nation that he wouldn't agree to a new tour unless they band had a new songs in the works. "I said I was not going to sign any contracts unless we have new material," Townshend explained. "This has nothing to do with wanting a hit album. It has nothing to do with the fact that The Who need a new album. It's purely personal. It's about my pride, my sense of self-worth and self-dignity as a writer." The upcoming new record will be the British rockers' first since 2006's Endless Wire, which came 24 years after their previousl full studio effort, 1982's It's Hard. The untitled album, which Townshend describes as a "dark ballads, heavy rock stuff, experimental electronica, sampled stuff, and cliched Who-ish tunes," currently exists as 15 demos, all of which were written and recorded by Townshend last year. Bandmate Roger Daltrey is expected to record vocals for the tracks later this year, with a 2019 release currently planned. Daltrey, also interviewed in the same article, added: "They're all great songs. But sometimes I hear them and I think, 'I can't add anything to this to make my job as singer worthy of doing anything better than what Pete has already done.' There's at least five or six I can lay into and I'm sure they'll come out incredible. Now that I'm healed up, I'm going to spend time getting into them. Okay, so I didn't get back to him quickly at first. It doesn't mean anything! I was deaf for about three weeks. It wasn't even possible for me to bloody hear what was in them!" The US tour dates have yet to be officially announced but the jaunt will consist of a total of 31 dates and will kick off at New York's Madison Square Garden in April, with a local symphony orchestra joining the band for each performance. "I'll be 75 years old in March and this feels like a dignified way to go and do music," Daltrey said about the tour. "That's all we're really left with. We're old men now. We've lost the looks. We've lost the glamour. What we're left with is the music and we're going to present it in a way which is as fresh and powerful as ever." The first leg of the tour will see The Who play 14 shows from April onwards, with the tour resuming in September and October to visit cities in Canada and the western US. As for their UK tour plans, Townshend confirmed that the band will play festivals in the UK over the summer, with a possible tour planned on these shores for the end of 2019. Daltrey says he's still working on a biopic of late The Who drummer Keith Moon, but "it's so difficult because biopics generally don't work." "The only one I've seen that really works was the one on Brian Wilson (2014's Love & Mercy), where they used two different actors. I loved that one because it had the balls to be a movie, and I want to make a movie, not just a biopic." - New Musical Express, 1/11/19.
In somewhat of an upset, the hit 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody beat out the latest Lady Gaga-starred remake of A Star Is Born for "Best Picture - Drama" at the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 6 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Bohemian Rhapsody actor Rami Malek also won Best Actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, and during his acceptance speech Malek tipped his hat to the original Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor, who were in the audience, for "ensuring authenticity and inclusivity exist in music and in the world and all of us" before honoring Mercury with "Thank you to Freddie Mercury. I love you, you beautiful man, this is because of you, gorgeous." Backstage, Brian May praised Malek and the others involved in the film, saying "We found the right people at the right time, or we wouldn't be standing here." Bohemian Rhapsody's big night at the Golden Globes was just the latest achievement for the movie, which has already grossed nearly $200 million in the U.S. alone, becoming the highest-grossing musical biopic film ever released, and also spawned a hit soundtrack, which hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart. Meanwhile, the upcoming 
70s teen idol Donny Osmond has released a whopping 61 total albums during his nearly 50 years in show business -- either as a solo artist, with sister Marie Osmond, or as a member of The Osmonds -- and on Jan. 6 he shared a "little secret" as he put it with his fans on Twitter. "I've officially started working on my 62nd album! -- I'll keep you posted throughout the year as I continue creating it, but I have a feeling you're going to love it," he tweeted along with an illustration of himself wailing on a keytar. Osmond says the LP will be a compilation of notable covers, including his take on Michael Jackson's "Ben" and the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road." - Billboard, 1/6/19...... Neil Young shared a tribute to his late ex-wife Pegi Young, who passed away on New Year's Day after a yearlong battle with cancer, on Jan. 5. The post, titled "Such A Woman: Pegi Young 1952-2019," includes lyrics from Young's song "Such A Woman," inspired by Pegi, with lines like "our love will live until the end of all time." Neil and Pegi Young were married for 36 years prior to their divorce in 2014, and they have two children, Ben and Amber. In 1986, they started the Bridge School non-profit to help children with severe physical and speech impairments, inspired by their own experiences trying to find schools for their son Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy. Pegi's own music career began in 1994 -- at the nationally televised Academy Awards ceremony, singing backup for Neil Young on his Oscar-nominated song "Philadelphia." She eventually became a regular backup singer on his tours and sang and played occasional acoustic guitar on some of his albums, including Greendale, Prairie Wind, Chrome Dreams II and more. She also took photographs for Neil's Silver & Gold and for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1999 comeback album Looking Forward. Graham Nash, a longtime friend and musical partner of Neil Young, said "Pegi was a very strong woman in many ways, certainly a lady to be admired." She passed away "surrounded by friends and family in California," according to an official statement, and memorial plans are pending. - Billboard, 1/6/19...... Cher has chimed in on a new viral video by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez which shows the newly elected Democratic congresswoman dancing on a roof during her student days at Boston University. "Know The Feeling @AOC SOMETIMES---JUST GOTTA DANCE, Good Thing You Can, Sponsor a Bill, Put On, & Kick Ass At The Same Time," Cher tweeted on Jan. 5. Ocasio-Cortez's video became a meme in record time, as different songs were paired with the visual continued to pick up steam. Ocasio-Cortez was understandably pleased to see Cher's tweet, posting "The Queen has spoken!" soon afterward. - Billboard, 1/5/19...... 
Bob Seger, who has said he may be retiring from the road in 2019, told fans at his Jan. 3 farewell concert at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Mich., that "in 2020 I'll be available for weddings...Keep me in mind." The quip has been the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's parting line since his "Final Tour" with his Silver Bullet Band began in November. Seger said goodbye with high-octane, 22-song two-hour show that included a few surprises. "Since I'm retiring soon I figured we better roll out some of the ones we've never played," said Seger who's also been opening some shows with his chart-topping Beverly Hills Cop II hit "Shakedown." "I'm pulling 'em out. Now's the time." He accompanied some of the songs with video screen montages of vintage images and lingered a bit longer on stories about "Like a Rock," "Her Strut" and "Turn the Page." He dedicated "We've Got Tonight" to his late mother, explaining that it's her "favorite song I ever wrote," while a cover Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" was a homage to the late Eagles' founder Glenn Frey, a close friend, and "some other people that we lost along the way," with photos of Tom Petty, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Prince, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Gregg Allman and Chuck Berry scrolling on the screen during the performance. He wrapped with his familiar encore set of "Against the Wind," "Hollywood Nights," "Night Moves" and "Rock and Roll Never Forgets." Seger's Final Tour is currently booked through May 2, but there's talk of more dates into the summer. - Billboard, 1/4/19...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason recalled Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett's mental breakdown in 1968 owing to acid-induced schizophrenia. Mason described how the band were "young and immature" with regard to "coming to grips" with Barrett's mental health issues. "So many songs were written by Syd in such a short time period. It was less than two years from out first public show in October of 1967," Mason said. "At that time we had only two or three original songs. And just about a year later, it was already sort of burning out," he added. Barrett died from complications arising from diabetes in 2006, aged 60. - Rolling Stone/NME, 1/3/19...... 
Olivia Newton-John reassured fans in a new video shared on Jan. 2 that recent rumors of her having only weeks to live "have been greatly exaggerated." Newton-John, 70, had announced in September that she is battling cancer for the third time after doctors discovered a tumor at the base of her spine, but in her video the healthy looking singer wished everyone a happy new year and said "rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated, to quote a very famous quote." "I'm doing great. I want to wish all of you the happiest, healthiest 2019 possible," she continues. "Thank you all for your wonderful love and support for me and my Olivia Newton John Wellness Center in Melbourne, Australia." Several Australian media outlets had picked up a Radar Online story claiming that a "ravaged" Newton-John was "clinging to life," and that her "bodily functions appear to be shutting down." The story also cited several doctors, none of whom have treated Newton-John personally, who insisted on the seriousness of her condition. "She almost certainly is going to die!" exclaimed one in what reads a lot like glee. A rep for Newton-John called the report "crap." - Billboard/Jezebel.com, 1/2/19...... Oscar-winning English actor Gary Oldman has confirmed he will be providing narration on a forthcoming app based on the David Bowie "Is" exhibition. The exhibition -- which explored "the broad range of the late artist's collaborations with artists and designers in the fields of fashion, sound, graphics, theatre, art, and film" -- shut permanently back in July, five years after it debuted at the V&A in London (where it became the renowned institution's most-visited touring exhibition). Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh curated the exhibition, which drew over 2 million visitors across 12 cities. Bowie and Oldman enjoyed a close and enduring friendship in the years preceding Bowie's death in 2016, with Oldman appearing in Bowie's controversial video for "The Next Day." The Augmented Reality (AR) app will be available in iOS and Android, and will grant fans access to the show's hundreds of costumes, videos, handwritten lyrics, original works of art and much more. Dozens of items not featured in the original exhibition will also be included, including some entirely new and exclusive to the AR version of the app. It will arrive on Jan. 8 at a cost of £7.99. - New Musical Express, 1/3/19...... Dean Ford, the former frontman with the Scottish guitar-pop band Marmalade, has died at age 72. Ford, whose real name was Thomas McAleese, grew up in Airdrie and formed his first band, the Tonebeats, aged 13 before joining local band the Cravats aged 16. He went on to front Dean Ford and the Gaylords, who became established in the nascent "swinging London" scene of the mid-60s, before changing their name to Marmalade. The band became the first Scottish group to top the UK singles chart, with their cover of the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" in December 1968. They had another seven UK Top 10 hits, including "Reflections of My Life," co-written by Ford, which also reached the US Top 10 and sold over 2 million copies worldwide. The band toured with the Who and Ford once duetted with country star Bobbie Gentry. Ford went solo after Marmalade split and released an unsuccessful album in 1975. Eventually he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a limousine driver to stars including Michael Jackson, Tom Waits, Susan Sarandon and Bob Dylan, as well as delivering pizza and flowers. He also developed an alcohol problem before going sober in 1986. "The only thing that spoiled my life was alcohol," he said in a 2015 interview. "I spent a lot of money on alcohol. And drinking took me away from what I should be doing." - 1/2/19...... 
Keyboardist Daryl Dragon, best known as the hat-wearing "Captain" in the '70s pop group The Captain and Tennille, died due to renal failure in Prescott, Ariz. on Jan. 2. He was 76. A classically trained pianist, L.A.-born Dragon played keyboard for the Beach Boys from 1967-1972, where he was given the nickname "Captain" by lead singer Mike Love due to Dragon's penchant for wearing a captain's hat onstage. In 1971, Dragon met his future wife, Toni Tennille, when she hired him to play piano for a musical called "Mother Earth. "Shortly thereafter, Dragon suggested that Tennille join the Beach Boys on their next tour as an acoustic pianist. While on the tour, Dragon and Tennille soon began a romantic and musical relationship, performing in smaller venues together when not on tour with the Beach Boys. Going by the stage name the Captain and Tennille, the duo quickly formed a following. On the strength of the song "The Way I Want to Touch You," the team scored a record deal with A&M Records in 1974. Their song 
The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, N.Y., announced on Dec. 27 that it is planning a golden 50th anniversary Woodstock festival in 2019. Set for Aug. 16-18 at the concert venue built on the original Woodstock site, the Center says the festival will feature "live performances from prominent and emerging artists spanning multiple genres and decades, and TED-style talks from leading futurists and retro-tech experts." "Festival goers will also be able to visit the Museum at Bethel Woods, which tells the story of the 1960s through immersive media, interactive engagements, and artifacts from the 1969 festival, as well as experience the special 2019 exhibit We Are Golden: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the Woodstock Festival and Aspirations for an Aquarian Future," the statement continues. The original Woodstock, on Aug. 15-18, 1969, took place on a diary farm in the Catskill Mountains north of New York City. It quickly grew from a ticketed event to a massive free-for-all that drew more than 400,000 to a muddy 600-acre diary farm for one of the most iconic rock events of all time, featuring sets from Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Who, The Band, Joe Cocker and Santana, among others. At least three Woodstock tributes have been held since: a 25th anniversary concert in Saugerties, New York, in 1994, with performances from Cocker, Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails and Bob Dylan; a Woodstock '99 concert in Rome, N.Y., which drew 400,000 people to a former Air Force base for a chaotic three-day gatherng marred by excessively hot weather, fan rioting and reports of sexual assault; and a smaller event on the site of the original Woodstock in 2009, with sets from a number of the original show's performers, including Country Joe McDonald, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Canned Heat, Jefferson Starship, Mounatin and the Levon Helm Band. The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is a concert venue built on the original Woodstock site in the town of Bethel in Sullivan County, a rural area 85 miles (140 kilometers) northwest of New York City. A newspaper in nearby Middletown has reported that many motels, bed-and-breakfasts and AirBnB rentals in Sullivan County have been sold out for some time. Officials in Sullivan County recently said they plan to install 36 fiberglass dove statues to commemorate the upcoming 50th anniversary in a nod to the original event's iconic logo. Original Woodstock promoter Michael Lang has said he has "definite plans" to put on his own 50th anniversary Woodstock celebration, though it won't be on the site of the original and no further details have been released. - Billboard, 12/28/18...... Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, Dunkirk director Christopher Nolan, and Monty Python icon Michael Palin are among the leading personalities from the world of entertainment who have been recognised in Queen Elizabeth II's New Year honours list. Mason will be receiving a CBE for his services to music. Mason, who founded Pink Floyd in 1965, is the only member to feature on every one of their albums. Palin meanwhile bagged a Knighthood for his diplomatic service to travel, culture and geography. Commenting on his time with the Monty Python troupe, Palin said: "Discovering there were five other people who had the same sort of sense of humour as myself and we all appreciated each other's work and that the work that we did, both on television and film, is still being replayed and still being appreciated, that's quite something, really, after 50 years. It will be 50 years since Python started, next year. That's something that hit a high spot that will last forever, so I'm very grateful to all the other Pythons and I am very proud of Python." - NME, 12/29/18...... 
Legislators in Washington state have voted unanimously to rename the Renton Highlands Post Office in the Seattle suburb of Renton "The James Marshall 'Jimi' Hendrix Post Office." The post office is located less than a mile from the Jimi Hendrix Memorial in Greenwood Memorial Park cemetery, where Seatlle native Hendrix is buried. "I am honored to join in paying tribute to rock and roll icon and Seattle native Jimi Hendrix with the renaming of the Renton Highlands Post Office as the James Marshall 'Jimi' Hendrix Post Office Building," Rep. Adam Smith, who sponsored the bill to rename the post office, said in a statement. "This designation will further celebrate Hendrix's deep connection to the Puget Sound region and help ensure that his creative legacy will be remembered by our community and inspire future generations." In 2018, a deluxe 
A documentary showcasing the life and legacy of iconic funk musician Sly Stone and his band Sly and the Family Stone has been announced for 2019. Directed by Brady Spensor, the film will also delve into Stone's money troubles and the U.S. Music Modernization Act that ultimately saved him from financial turmoil. In 2015, Stone won a lawsuit against his former manager Gerald Goldstein and lawyer Glenn Stone after Sly alleged that they had diverted money away from him to them for 11 years from 1989 to 2000. The jury ended up awarding £1.6 million ($2.5 million) in damages to the singer against Even St Productions, the company with with which they made him sign an employment and shareholder agreement, as well as £1.6 million ($2.45 million) against Goldstein and £32,932 ($50,000) against Stone. In 2011 Stone entered rehab to seek treatment for drug addiction after revealing that he had been living out of a van in the LA neigborhood of Crenshaw. It was then that he opened the case against Goldstein, suing him for $50 million. Brady Spensor says he conducted several interviews with the reclusive artist for the documentary in what's described as a decade-long process. "It took months before Sly even remembered my name," Spensor told Deadline.com. "But soon after, I would get called at all hours, day or night. When Sly finally collected his royalties after years of being financially strapped and homeless, it warmed my heart." No official release date for the documentary has been set but it's scheduled to drop sometime in 2019. - New Musical Express, 12/29/18...... The Osmond Family member Jimmy Osmond was treated for a stroke on Dec. 27 following his performance as Captain Hook in the Peter Pan pantomime at the U.K's Birmingham Hippodrome. "On the evening of Thursday 27 December, after pushing through the evening's performance of Peter Pan at Birmingham Hippodrome, Jimmy Osmond was driven straight to hospital and diagnosed with a stroke," his spokesperson told the BBC. "He is grateful for all the well wishes and will be taking time out in the new year." Speaking of his role in the panto in November, Osmond told a local paper: "For me, I kind of took to panto well. I'm from this vaudevillian background. I grew up doing TV variety shows. I started as a three-year-old kid on the Andy Williams TV show and worked with Bob Hope and Andy Williams and all of those great people. And then when I came over here as a kid, it made me feel British because I would watch pantomimes. I never thought I'd be so lucky as to be in them. I think my background helps me because in variety TV you have to learn how to do the jokes and communicate with an audience. I was always a performer." - NME, 1/1/19...... 
Ray Sawyer, a former member of Dr Hook & The Medicine Show, died peacefully in his sleep on Jan. 1, his wife Linda Sawyer posted on social media. He was 81. Mr. Sawyer, known for wearing an eye-patch after losing his eye in a car crash, found fame in the 1970s with Dr Hook, which charted such hits as