Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on February 26th, 2019

Ringo Starr and Carlos Santana have been confirmed to play at the 50th anniversary Woodstock festival at New York's Bethel Woods this summer. Ringo and his All-Starr Band will will perform Aug. 16, along with Arlo Guthrie and Edgar Winter, who both performed at the original festival. Performing Aug. 17 are Santana, who also took the stage back in 1969, and the Doobie Brothers. The festival also announced on Feb. 20 it had to scale back after losing one of its producers. - Billboard, 2/20/19...... John Lennon and Yoko Ono's son Sean Ono Lennon released his second album with his Claypool Lennon Delirium project with Primus's Les Claypool, South of Reality, on Feb. 22. The LP, which is full of references to fishes, crickets, fleas and a creature known as the Toadyman, is described as the group's most lovably left-field co-creation to date. "I have obvious influences from my dad... but the truth is that the artist who is me was birthed from the crucible of the Yoko Ono universe," Sean says. - Billboard, 2/22/19...... Classic rock veteran Peter Frampton has revealed he's been diagnosed with a "rare and incurable" degenerative muscle disease called Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM), a condition which causes muscles to stop functioning. Believing that the disease will eventually spread to his fingers and stop him playing guitar, the British born singer/guitarist has announced a 40-date farewell tour in his adapted continent of North America in 2019, with one European date scheduled at the "Keeping The Blues Alive" blues festival in Barcelona on Aug. 16. "I'm a perfectionist, and I don't want to go out there and feel like 'Oh I can't, this isn't good.' That would be a nightmare for me," the musician told CBS This Morning on Feb. 24. Explaining his love of playing live, Frampton said: "I've been playing guitar for 60 years, it's my passion. I started when I was eight and now I'm 68. So I've had a very good run." He added he was first diagnosed with IBM several years ago but didn't begin to feel the symptoms beginning to progress until 2018. Frampton's 1976 concert LP Frampton Comes Alive is one of the best-selling live albums ever, spending 10 weeks at No. 1 in the US and selling 11 million copies. Frampton has played himself in both The Simpsons and Family Guy, and is known for pioneering the "talk box," an instrument which merged his voice with his guitar and made it sound as if his guitar was singing. He first found fame in Humble Pie with Steve Marriott of The Small Faces, before going solo in 1971. After the success of Frampton Comes Alive, he was involved in a near-fatal car crash in the Bahamas in 1978. Frampton told CBS This Morning he is also undergoing experimental treatment at Johns Hopkins, and he says he'll do a "miracle tour" some day if the drug trial works, but at this point he says he's just being "realistic," so "this really is the farewell tour." - New Musical Express, 2/23/19...... Queen + Adam Lambert kicked off the 91st Annual Academy Awards ceremony at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre on Feb. 24 with an explosive performance of two Queen classics, "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions." Current Queen singer Lambert, dressed in a teal sequin-patterned blazer, took the stage alongside two original Queen members, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor for a performance that had the audience on its feet, with stars like Glenn Close, Lady Gaga and Queen Latifah enthusiastically bopping along to the hits. As the set ended, parks fell from the ceiling and footage of Queen's late original frontman, Freddie Mercury, played on the stage backdrop. Later actor Rami Malek, who portrayed Mercury in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, was awarded a Best Actor Oscar for his work in the film and thanked Queen "for letting me be the tiniest part of your phenomenal, extraordinary legacy. I am forever in your debt." Although the frontrunner for the award, Malek seemed genuinely surprised when it was announced he'd won and wrapped his speech by thanking his Bohemian Rhapsody co-star and real-life girlfriend Lucy Boynton, who plays his lover-then-friend in the film. "Lucy Boynton, you are the heart of this film. You are beyond immensely talented, you have captured my heart. Thank you so much," he said. Meanwhile, Queen and Adam Lambert are heading out on a 23-show tour this summer set to begin this summer on July 10 in Vancouver and finish up Aug. 23 in Charlotte, N.C. Lambert first played with May and Taylor while he was competing on American Idol in 2009, and began to tour with the band in 2012. Lambert also announced on Twitter on Feb. 25 that the band will be releasing a documentary titled The Show Must Go On - The Queen + Adam Lambert Story that's set to air Apr. 29 on ABC. The documentary will contain "rare concert footage" and "brand-new interviews" with Lambert, his parents Leila and Eber, May and Taylor, Simon Cowell, Rami Malek and Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins. - Billboard, 2/24/19...... In other Oscar-related news, Elton John and Welsh actor Taron Egerton, who is set to portray Elton in the upcoming biopic Rocketman, performed a duet of "Tiny Dancer" during the singer's famous AIDS Foundation Academy Award viewing party on Feb. 24 in West Hollywood, Calif. The rendition of the 1972 ballad was Egerton's first-ever live performance, made even better with John's added harmonies. John surprised Egerton by inviting him onto the stage for an impromptu performance of the track. As Egerton walked on stage, he turned towards the audience and said, "It's funny how life turns out, isn't it?" before belting out the song. Egerton, 29, has confirmed that he will be singing all of John's songs featured in the film himself. The movie is currently scheduled for a May 31 release. The producers of Rocketman released a trailer for the film on Feb. 22. Egerton is seen honing his talent at home, rising to fame and grappling with the pitfalls that superstardom can bring. The film also stars Jamie Bell (as John's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin), Richard Madden and Bryce Dallas Howard. John also performed "Daniel" at his AIDS benefit with The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers. Also during the Oscar ceremony, Bette Midler perfomred the lovely ballad "The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns. As red umbrellas levitated and glowed in the background, the Divine Miss M crooned the tune, one of the nominees for Best Original Song, accompanied by Marc Shaiman on piano, who co-wrote the song with Scott Wittman. - Billboard/Variety, 2/25/19...... Aerosmith announced on Feb. 26 that they'll be taking their "Deuces Are Wild" Las Vagas residency on a summer East coast tour of nine performances beginning on Aug. 8 at the The Theater at MGM Grand Harbor in National Harbor, Maryland. After playing two more dates at the venue on Aug. 10 and 13, Aerosmith will head to The Event Center at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, N.J., for two dates on Aug. 16 and 18, then wrap with four dates on Aug. 21, 24, 26 and 29 at the MassMutual Center at MGM Springfield in Springfield, Mass. Their "Deuces Are Wild" Vegas residency begins on Apr. 6 at the Park MGM. - Billboard, 2/26/19...... Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart have announced they'll reunite for the first time in three years on Mar. 7 at the Love Rocks NYC event, an annual benefit concert for God's Love We Deliver, a non-profit that provides meals and nutrition counseling for people living with severe illnesses. "John Varvatos and I are so honored and excited that Ann and Nancy Wilson are kicking off their epic nationwide reunion tour with a special appearance at Love Rocks NYC," said Greg Williamson, the show's co-executive producer, in a statement. The Love Rocks NYC event will take place at New York's Beacon Theatre. Heart previously announced a 39-city "Love Alive" summer tour with openers Joan Jett, Sheryl Crow and Brandi Carlile will kick off on July 9 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Mo. - Billboard, 2/25/19...... Streams for Harry Nilsson's 1971 hit "Gotta Get Up" have surged 2,466% after the song was prominently featured in the new Netflix series Russian Doll, which premiered on Feb. 1. The show stars Natasha Lyonne as a New Yorker who gets stuck in a mysterious Groundhog Day-style loop and repeats the same day over and over. "Gotta Get Up" is the Russian Doll equivalent to Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe," repeated in Groundhog Day. In the tracking week ending Feb. 7, "Gotta Get Up" logged 216,000 on-demand U.S. streams, up 2,466% from the previous week, when it logged 8,000. The song also sold 1,000 downloads, up from a negligible figure. As the show has continued to draw buzz, the latest tracking week (ending Feb. 14) found "Gotta Get Up" up to 294,000 streams (up 36%), and another 1,000 downloads sold. If "Gotta Get Up" reaches a Billboard chart, it would mark Nilsson's first entry on a songs survey since 1974's "Daybreak," nearly 45 years ago. Nilsson last appeared on any ranking in 2013, with Nilsson: Sessions 1967-1975: Rarities From the RCA Albums Collection, which reached No. 13 on Vinyl Albums and No. 18 on Americana/Folk Albums. Nilsson, who died of a heart attack in 1994 at age 52, earned 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits in his career, including one No. 1: "Without You," for four weeks beginning on Feb. 19, 1972. - Billboard, 2/22/19...... The estate of Michael Jackson and Optimum Productions filed suit against cable channel HBO and its parent company Time Warner on Feb. 21, claiming breach of a non-disparagement clause in an old contract over their scheduled airing of the new documentary Leaving Neverland in March. The estate cites a 1992 contract for the first-ever televised Jackson concert after the release of his album Dangerous which specifies that "HBO shall not make any disparaging remarks concerning Performer or any of his representatives, agents, or business practices or do any act that may harm or disparage or cause to lower in esteem the reputation or public image of Performer." Among the complaints is how Leaving Neverland expressly suggests "Jackson was abusing children in connection with and on the Dangerous World Tour," pointing to a scene where the mother of Wade Robson, one of the minors in Leaving Neverland Jackson is accused of molesting, is shown discussing the children taken on that tour. - Billboard, 2/21/19...... In related news, a former maid who worked at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch for four years has made fresh allegations of child abuse against the late singer. Adrian McManus, who testified against Jackson in his 2005 trial where he was not found guilty on all 14 charges which had been made against him, told 60 Minutes Australia that Jackson was "a manipulator" and alleged that she saw Jackson "fondling" young boys at the residence. "When I would go in the next day, there were little boys' underwear either on the floor with Michael's, or they were in the jacuzzi," McManus alleged, before then claiming that she witnessed the abuse first-hand. "I just saw a lot of fondling, him running his hands in kids' hair, kissing them," she added. "I didn't think it was appropriate because they weren't his children." McManus' allegations follow on from the recent premiere of Leaving Neverland, which centers on allegations of sexual abuse made by two men against Jackson. - New Musical Express, 2/25/19...... Cher was on hand at the VH1 Trailblazer Honors ceremony inside Wilshire's Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 20 to honor Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, while taking a swipe at Pres. Donald Trump. The 72-year-old superstar knows she's often referred to as an "icon," but this night was quick to pass the title on to Speaker Pelosi. "We hear the word 'icon' a lot, you know, describing people like me, and as far as I'm concerned, the one true icon in this room tonight is the woman we're honoring," she said, referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of four women feted during a seamless taping of the ceremony. "Since the days of our founding fathers, since they signed the Declaration of Independence, our country has been run almost exclusively by old white guys. Thankfully, because of Nancy and other strong women, this is changing. Nancy is a fighter who won't back down. She muscled through the [Affordable Healthcare Act], and [she] isn't afraid to go toe to toe with a bully and beat him at his own game," referring to Pres. Trump. "When I see Trump spew his hate and tell his gazillion lies, I get pissed off and I feel uneasy at the same time. I see Nancy come on TV and I think, 'OK, this is all good, Nancy is in the house,'" she added. "Let us thank Cher for honoring us with her presence this evening," Speaker Pelosi said in accepting her trophy to a standing ovation. "I'm honored to receive this Trailblazer award from a trailblazer -- the goddess of rock. Thank you for all that you do to make the world a better place." Meanwhile, Cher continues her Vegas residency with her "Here We Go Again Tour," with nine final dates from Mar. 13-30 before returning to her touring production for much of 2019. - Billboard, 2/21/19...... A documentary about country music legend Charley Pride premiered on many PBS stations across America on Feb. 22. Charley Pride: I'm Just Me is part of PBS's American Masters series and shows how Pride navigated the racial tensions that raged throughout the South in the 1960s to become the first prominent African-American country music artist and the biggest-selling artist on the RCA Records label since Elvis Presley. - Billboard, 2/22/19...... Kool & the Gang will be celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2019 with "a tour, a book, a documentary, a movie" and "a large box set" according to Khalis Bell, brother of the group's frontman Robert "Kool" Bell. They'll kick off the tour on Feb. 23 in Indio, Calif., also hitting cities including Detroit (3/8), Pittsburgh (3/9), Atlantic City, NJ (3/15) and Biloxi, Miss. (4/19) before wrapping in Tampa, Fla. on Apr. 27. Two dates in Japan and one in Italy are also scheduled. Robert says the film is "the story of our lives, our document. Going back to when my father would play albums in the house. He was a boxer and people like Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, back in the day, they would come to see us. The fighters and musicians would hang out, almost like today with Mike Tyson and Jay-Z and all those guys. There's a lot of different stories to tell." - Billboard, 2/21/19...... Country music producer and Country Music Hall of Fame member Fred Foster, who helmed many iconic country records including seminal albums from Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton and Ray Stevens, died in his sleep Feb. 20 following a short illness. He was 87. The North Carolina native founded Monument Records in 1958 and also founded Combine Music, which published Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" (co-written with Foster) and "Help Me Make It Through the Night," Orbison's "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" and Tony Joe White's "Polk Salad Annie." Mr. Foster was a member of the North Carolina Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016. His last project was Dawn Landes' 2018 album, Meet Me at the River. "I am heartbroken that my friend Fred Foster has passed on," Dolly Parton said in a statement. "Fred was one of the very first people to believe in me and gave me chances no one else would or could. We've stayed friends through the years, and I will miss him. I will always love him." A memorial service will be planned in March with additional details announced in the coming days. - Billboard, 2/21/19...... Bluegrass legend and Country Music Hall of Fame member Mac Wiseman died on Feb. 24 of natural causes. He was 93. Known as "The Voice with a Heart," Mr. Wiseman was one of the founders of the CMA in 1958, also serving as the association's Board of Directors' first secretary. He left an indelible mark on the genre for over 60 years as a recording artist, radio DJ and record label executive. The Virginia native, recognized for his diverse high tenor and ability to interpret bluegrass standards, also worked with artists including Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs to help change the course of modern day bluegrass and country music. The final surviving member of Flatt & Scruggs' original Foggy Mountain Boys, Mr. Wiseman was also a member of Monroe's Bluegrass Boys and Molly O'Day's band, as well as an esteemed solo performer. - Billboard, 2/25/19...... Songwriter Earl Shuman, whose lyrics can be heard on dozens of songs recorded by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald and Tom Jones, among others, and who nearly topped the Hot 100 in 1970 with the lush track "Hey There Lonely Girl," died on Feb. 13 at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He was 95. In the early 1960s he and Leon Carr wrote "Hey There Lonely Boy," cut by Ruby and the Romantics, though it later found success as Eddie Holman's "Hey There Lonely Girl," reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100. Mr. Shuman also scored a Top 10 country hit in the 1950s with Bonnie Lou's version of "Seven Lonely Days," which was subsequently performed by Jean Shepard, Lynn Anderson and others. He also worked in publishing, and was instrumental in the success of Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell album. - Billboard, 2/21/19...... Mark Hollis, frontman of '80s hitmakers Talk Talk, died on Feb. 25 after a short illness at age 64. "Talk Talk," released as the lead single to Talk Talk's debut album The Party's Over, was a fiery synth-pop missive that hit No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. The group's greatest commercial success would come with the anthemic title track to its second LP, It's My Life, hitting No. 31 on the Hot 100 in 1984 and enduring as one of the most iconic singles of the new wave era, also receiving a hit cover from '80s acolytes No Doubt in 2003. - Billboard, 2/26/19...... Peter Tork, the oldest original member of the '60s pop group The Monkees, died on Feb. 21 at age 77. It's unclear exactly how the musician died, but in 2009 he publicly revealed he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, adenoid cystic carcinoma. In 1966, Tork became the oldest member of The Monkees, joining Mickey Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Davy Jones as a fictitious band meant for an NBC TV sitcom created by producer/writers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider intended to capitalize on the success of the Beatles's A Hard Day's Night. Even though the TV show ended in 1968, the band maintained a cult following and continued performing for years after. Tork performed live with the group through 1971 and on various reunion tours aftewards. He mainly played bass and keyboard for The Monkees, but he also sang lead vocals on multiple tracks including "Auntie Grizelda," and contributed the memorable piano opening to their hit "Daydream Believer." Born Peter Halsten Thorkelsonin Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13, 1942, Tork showed early promise as a multi-instrumentalist moved to New York's after college, becoming enmeshed in the city's burgeoning Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s. It was there that he befriended fellow folk singer Stephen Stills, who passed along a tip to his pal about a new musical variety show that was being developed that he might be interested in. Tork performed on a 1986 20th reunion Monkees anniversary tour and an accompanying album, Then and Now, as well as on a 1987 album, Pool It! and on a 2012 45th anniversary tour in tribute to late singer Davy Jones, who died in February of that year at age 66. He also performed with his various side projects, Shoe Suede Blues, The Dashboard Saints and The Peter Tork Project throughout the 1980, '90s and early 2000s. "There are no words right now...heartbroken over the loss of my Monkee brother, Peter Tork," Mickey Dolenz posted on Facebook. It was only eight days ago, on Feb. 13, that Dolenz posted a 77th birthday wish on social media for Tork, saying "Happy Birthday to my Monkee brother, Peter Tork!" Michael Nesmith initially posted "I am heartbroken" on Facebook, then issued a longer statement: "Peter Tork died this AM. I am told he slipped away peacefully. Yet, as I write this my tears are awash, and my heart is broken. Even though I am clinging to the idea that we all continue, the pain that attends these passings has no cure. It's going to be a rough day.... I can only pray his songs reach the heights that can lift us and that our childhood lives forever -- that special sparkle that was the Monkees. I will miss him -- a brother in arms. Take flight my Brother." Following Tork's death, Monkees music saw an increase of 1,172%, according to initial reports from Nielsen Music. - Billboard, 2/21/19...... Actress Beverly Owen, best known as the "original Marilyn" on the '60s sitcom The Munsters, died on Feb. 21 at age 81. Ms. Owen appeared in the program's first 13 episodes, replaced midway through the first season by Pat Priest, who appeared in the rest of the series' 57 episodes. The Munsters originally aired on CBS from 1964 to 1966, and while the series was not a ratings hit during its first run, it has lived on in syndication for decades. The character of teenaged niece Marilyn was played by a stunning actress, juxtaposed by the ghoulish appearance of the rest of the family, who often referred to her, ironically, as "the plain one." Both Marilyns were blondes; Ms. Owen donned a wig for the role. The program ranked #18 for the 1964-1965 season, but ratings fell precipitously in January 1966 when ABC counter-programmed it with the live action series, Batman, and The Munsters was cancelled after its 1965-1966 season. Butch Patrick, who played young Eddie Munster in the series, posted a short tribute on his Facebook page on Feb. 24: "Beautiful Beverly (sic) Owen has left us. What a sweet soul. I had the biggest crush on her. RIP Bev and thanks for your 13 memorable Marilyn Munster episodes." Ms. Owen was born May 13, 1937 in Ottumwa, Iowa. She was 27 when she left The Munsters cast to marry Jon Stone, an original crew member on Sesame Street. The two were divorced in 1974. She leaves two daughters, Polly and Kate. Patrick and Priest are the series' only survivors. Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster) died in 1993 at age 66; Al Lewis (Grandpa Munster) died in 2006 at 82; and Yvonne De Carlo (Lily Munster) died in 2007 at 84. - 2/25/19.

Ozzy Osbourne announced on Feb. 19 he is canceling an additional string of dates in Australia, New Zealand and Japan on his "No More Tours 2" trek as he continues to recuperate from pneumonia. A spokesperson for Ozzy's wife Sharon Osbourne says "Ozzy recently developed pneumonia and has spent some time in hospital. Thankfully he is now through the worst part. His doctors have advised that he stay at home to recuperate for a full six weeks with no travel." Osbourne had been slated to play shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Christchurch, Australia, in early March, with an additional gig in Auckland, New Zealand on Mar. 16, followed by a gig at the Download Festival in Japan on Mar. 21. His next scheduled date is on May 24 at the Rocklahoma Festival in Pryor, Okla. The latest cancellations come less than a week after Sharon revealed that Ozzy had been released from the intensive care unit and was breathing on his own again after suffering complications from the flu, which forced the 70 year-old rocker to postpone a planned European tour. - Billboard, 2/19/19...... Yoko Ono used the occasion of her 86th birthday on Feb. 18 to announce that her third collaborative LP with husband John Lennon will be reissued in March. 1969's The Wedding Album will be released via Secretly Canadian and Chimera Music as part of the ongoing Yoko Ono Reissue Project on Mar. 22. The release, including wedding photos of the couple, drawings by John and Ono, a copy of their marriage certificate, photos of their iconic "Bed-In" honeymoon and more, will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Ono and Lennon's marriage, which took place on Mar. 20, 1969. It will also be available on limited-edition white vinyl and digital formats. - Billboard, 2/18/19...... In other Beatles-related news, rising singer Ariana Grande has just become the first artist since the Fab Four to take all three top spots on the Billboard Hot 100 pop single chart. Grande currently holds the number 1, 2, and 3 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart simultaneously, the first time anyone has achieved the feat since the Beatles in 1964. Grande's album. Thank u, next also debuted at number 1 on the Hot 200 albums chart after its release on Feb. 8. Between March and April 1964, the Beatles held the top three spots for five weeks before eventually claiming all the top five spots. - New Musical Express, 2/19/19...... The National Museum of African American Music is finally getting close to opening in the city of Nashville, Tenn. Located in downtown Nashville, already the home of the well established Country Music Hall of Fame, the museum space will occupy 56,000 sq. feet and have permanent and temporary exhibits that will take visitors from the influence of slavery on American music through present time, including "Wade in the Water," a gallery on religious music that highlights the 1940s-1960s; "Crossroads," an exhibit on blues and the Great Migration; "Love Supreme," a gallery on the emergence of jazz; "One Nation Under a Groove," an exhibit about R&B, funk, techno, disco, go-go and more from the 1960s-1990s/early 2000s; and "The Message," a space dedicated to hip-hop from its early iterations to today. The museum, first conceived of in 2002 and which has hosted events to honor the likes of Nile Rodgers of Chic and Pattie LaBele, will also boast a 200-seat theater and according to its president H. Beecher Hicks III will open either later in 2019 or in early 2020. - Billboard, 2/20/19...... In related news, cable channel BET's new series American Soul brandishes the beats of the '70s in a retelling of the iconic music show Soul Train. From producer Jonathan Prince, who charted the musical explosion of the '60s in the 2002 NBC drama American Dreams, American Soul features a celestial list of cameos-playing-cameos, including Kelly Rowland as Gladys Knight and Michelle Williams as Diana Ross. BET is airing the series on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. - Entertainment Weekly, 2/15/19...... Speaking of Diana Ross, the diva announced on Feb. 19 she'll be hitting the road this year for 8 live performances in 2019. Ross, who headlined a recent 75th birthday tribute to her at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, will perform for three nights at the Encore Theater at the Wynn Las Vegas on Feb. 20, 22 and 23, followed by shows at the Hard Rock Hotel in Tulsa, Okla on Apr. 13 and the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans on Apr. 25. In June, she'll perform at New York's Radio City Music Hall on 6/22 and at The Barns in Vienna, Va., on 6/27, wrapping with a July 22 date at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Morrison, Col. - Billboard, 2/19/19...... The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced via their Twitter account on Feb. 18 that Queen + Adam Lambert will be performing at the upcoming 2019 Oscars ceremony on Feb. 24 in Los Angeles, when the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody will be in the running for five Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Actor (for Rami Malek's portrayal of Freddie Mercury), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. "Is this real life? Is this just fantasy?" the account quoted from the band's song "Bohemian Rhapsody." The announcement included a compilation of clips that showed the band and current lead singer Lambert performing as Queen's hit "We Will Rock You" played. Queen, who also shared the news on its Twitter account, will join previously announced performers Jennifer Hudson, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga and Bette Midler, who will all perform songs nominated in the best original song category. Midler announced on Feb. 16 that she will be performing "The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns. "So, (drum roll) Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be chanteusing (that's singing) on the Oscars on Feb 24...the nominated song from "Mary Poppins.".."The Place Where Lost Things Go" ...so excited!!" Midler posted. The 2019 Oscars will take place Feb. 24 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/PT. - The Hollywood Reporter, 2/18/19...... A new exhibit dedicated to Prince called "Prince from Minneapolis" will be opening at the MoPOP museum in Seattle, Wash., on April 6, the museum announced on Feb. 15. It will be part of the museum's general admission and will feature work from four photographers -- Allen Beaulieu, Nancy Bundt, Terry Gydesen and Robert Whitman -- all of whom shot the late funk/rock icon in his early career. The exhibit will display almost 50 artifacts, including photos, artwork, a Prince guitar and outfits from the Purple Rain Tour and film. - Billboard, 2/15/19...... Producer/engineer/musican Joe Hardy, who worked on many ZZ Top albums from 1985's After Burner to playing bass on guitarist Billy Gibbon's 2018 release The Big Bad Blues, died on at his home in Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 12 after a brief illness. He was 66. Since beginning his career in the late 70s, Hardy went on to work with a range of artists, from engineering and mixing The Replacements' Pleased To Meet Me and Steve Earle's Copperhead Road to producing The Georgia Satellites' Another Chance and Steve Earle and The Dukes' The Hard Way. He also worked with a spate of Canadian acts, including Colin James, Jeff Healey, Kim Mitchell and Tom Cochrane, producing Cochrane's U.S. solo breakthrough Mad Mad World featuring the Billboard Top 10 single "Life Is a Highway." His long history with ZZ Top began with engineering work on 1985's After Burner, and continued with 1994's Antennae, 1996's Rhythmeen, 1999's XXX, 2003's Mescalero, and 2012's La Futura. He also co-produced Gibbons' solo debut, Perfectamundo. Born in Kentucky, Hardy relocated to Memphis in 1972 when he recorded at Ardent Studios as a member of the band The Voice of Cheese. He then chose a career behind the board instead, working out of Ardent as one of their in-house engineers/producers. Hardy moved to Texas, home of ZZ Top, at the start of the millennium. He last worked with them on 2016's live album, Greatest Hits from Around the World, which he helped mix. "Our friend Joe Hardy played a huge role in our lives," ZZ Top posted on its Facebook page. "He was a true innovator in a field where many just did it 'by the book.' He threw away 'the book' and wrote his own." - Billboard, 2/13/19...... His "Midnight Rambler" days are apparently over -- Mick Jagger is reportedly ready to settle down with his current girlfriend Melanie Hamrick. A friend of the "Satisfaction" singer reportedly told the UK paper The Mirror that they believe Jagger, 75, has been "tamed" by the 31-year-old ballet dancer, after initially suggesting that the pair would not be "exclusive." The news comes after Hamrick gave birth to their son, Deveraux, in 2017, making the Rolling Stones frontman a father for the eighth time at the ripe age of 73. Since becoming a mother, American Ballet Theatre dancer Hamrick is thought to have reined in the music star's renowned adulterous behavior, though in a June 2018 interview she insisted that she doesn't think of herself as a "baby mama" despite not being married to the singer. "In the technical sense, I'm not married to the father of my child," she admitted. "But I am in a great, wonderful relationship with him. So I don't see myself like that." Four months later, Hamrick described herself and Jagger as "fantastic co-parents," suggesting that she gets "more support from him than some of my married friends get from their husbands." She went on to dismiss rumors surrounding the rocker's promiscuous reputation, stressing that she feels "secure" with her partner. - WENN/Canoe.com, 2/18/19...... Iconic Chanel fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, whose accomplished designs as well as trademark white ponytail, high starched collars and dark enigmatic glasses dominated high fashion for the past 50 years, died on Feb. 19. He was around 85 years old. Though he spent virtually his entire career at luxury labels catering to the very wealthy -- including all of 20 years at Chloe -- Mr. Lagerfeld's designs quickly trickled down to low-end retailers, giving him an almost unprecedented impact on the entire fashion industry. At Chanel, he served up youthful designs that were always of the moment and sent out almost infinite variations on the house's classic skirt suit, ratcheting up the hemlines or smothering it in golden chains, stings of pearls or pricey accessories. They were always delivered with wit. "Each season, they tell me (the Chanel designs) look younger. One day we'll all turn up like babies," he once told The Associated Press. In 1982, he took over at over Chanel, which had been dormant since the death of its founder, Coco Chanel, more than a decade earlier. "When I took on Chanel, it was a sleeping beauty not even a beautiful one," he said in the 2007 documentary Lagerfeld Confidential. A photographer who shot ad campaigns for Chanel and his own eponymous label, Mr. Lagerfeld also collected art books and had a massive library and a bookstore as well as his own publishing house. Following his widely known relationship with a French aristocrat who died of AIDS in 1989, Mr. Lagerfeld led a solitary life. "I have to be alone to do what I do," he told the New York Times. "I like to be alone. I'm happy to be with people, but I'm sorry to say I like to be alone, because there's so much to do, to read, to think." - AP, 2/19/19.