Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on July 16th, 2019

In an interview with the New York paper Poughkeepsie Journal on July 16, Woodstock 50 co-organizer Michael Lang said the anniversary concert may not happen this year, but he remains optimistic. "If it doesn't work this year, it doesn't work this year. We've tried everything we can. We've done our best. We'll continue to do our best until we find out one way or the other whether it's going to happen," Lang said. Lang and the other organizers recently applied for a permit to hold the event in the combined race track and casino "racino" at Vernon Downs in upstate New York, east of Syracuse, but the event was recently denied a permit. The Town of Vernon's planning board is set to hear an appeal on the evening of July 16, exactly a month before the festival would begin. Oneida County, N.Y. Administrator Anthony Picente Jr., was previously quoted as saying: "We could have done this with a year or 16 months advance [planning], but to do it in three to six weeks is really a near impossibility from a public safety and health standpoint. As someone who was here for 1999 [Woodstock], some names have changed but it's largely the same situation." - New Musical Express/Billboard, 7/16/19...... Three years after playing his final Bridge School Benefit concert in 2016, Neil Young has announced he'll be headlining a new charity show called the Harvest Moon Benefit concert on Sept. 14 at the Painted Turtle Camp, about an hour north of Los Angeles. Performances by Young, Father John Misty and Norah Jones will be set against the backdrop of the Los Angeles National Forest, with fans siting on a grassy hillside just a stones throw from the picturesque Lake Hughes. Harvest Moon will also raise money for the Painted Turtle, a non-profit providing children living with serious medical conditions a traditional camp experience, free of charge. From 1986-2016, Young's Bridge School Benefit concert series at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Calif., hosted more than 100 artists annually, including Paul McCartney, Elton John and Metallica to provide free education to children with severe speech and physical impediments. More info can be found at the HarvestMoonGathering.com website. - Billboard, 7/16/19...... In other Neil Young news, Young and his fellow iconic folk/rock superstar Bob Dylan shared a stage for the first time in 25 years when they performed together on the final show of their co-headlining Never Ending Tour at Nowlan Park in Kilkenny, Ireland on July 14. To mark the occasion of the tour's final show, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers performed "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," a traditional hymn with origins dating back to the early 1900s. It's reportedly just the second time they've played this song together since 1975, when they joined forces at the SNACK Benefit at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. And it marked the first time they've performed together in a quarter century, the last time in 1994 at New York's Roseland Ballroom. Their tour also played London's Hyde Park on July 13, but there was no special duet that night. - Billboard, 7/15/19...... Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen will be competing for an Emmy award this year after the 71st annual Emmy Awards were announced on July 16. The McCartney and CBS The Late Show host James Cordon were nominated in the Best Variety Special, Pre-Recorded category for Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live From Liverpool, while Springsteen's Springsteen on Broadway and specials by Beyoncé, Wanda Sykes and Hannah Gadsby were nominated in the same category. Two previous Carpool Karaoke specials won in this category in 2016-17. Veteran music producer T Bone Burnett, who has won 13 Grammys and an Oscar, is also vying to win his first Emmy for the HBO's series True Detective, in the Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series category. The 2019 Emmy Awards will be presented Sept. 22 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and telecast live on the Fox network. - Billboard, 7/16/19...... Sharon Osbourne has explained her hubby Ozzy Osbourne's absence from Black Sabbath's Lifetime Achievement Grammy win in May, when Osbourne's Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward were present to accept the award, but there was no sign of Ozzy. "I was just so pissed off at the Grammys this year because they gave them a Lifetime Achievement Award, but wouldn't give it to them on the TV show that we all know as the Grammy Awards," Osbourne told the syndicated show Celebrity Access. "They did it at a separate ceremony which goes out on another network later on. I wouldn't let Ozzy go because I just thought it was shocking what they did to them. So I wouldn't let Ozzy go," she added. Sharon went on to describe the spin-off event as "some pissy f---ing ceremony" and argued that the group should have been recognized at the main Grammys show, which took place back in February. "So not to put them on the proper show, it was like, 'How dare you?' I was so angry. I just thought, 'F--- you. I am not going to give you the honour of having Ozzy at your sh---y ceremony.'" At the time, many fans suspected Ozzy's no-show was down to his recent health issues -- with the star being forced to postpone a number of shows earlier in 2019. - NME, 7/16/19...... The Rolling Stones were forced to postpone their concert in New Orleans, La., on July 14 to the following evening after Hurricane Barry wreaked havoc on the gulf coast the same weekend. "Due to the weather we're moving Sunday's Superdome show to Monday. Hang onto your tickets, they will be honored on July 15. We're here with you -- we'll get through this together," the band posted on Twitter. Dates for the Stones' No Filter tour were already postponed in the past, due to Mick Jagger, 75, who recently had a heart procedure. All 17 of the previously announced dates were moved around and rebooted for a June 21 launch in Chicago. Luckily, all tickets sold were honored for the rescheduled dates. - Billboard, 7/12/19...... Paul McCartney got by with a little help from his friend Ringo Starr on the final night of his "Freshen Up" US tour in at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 13 when the former Beatle brought out his old band's drummer to keep the beat on extended versions of the "White Album" classic "Helter Skelter" and "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)." The reunited pair could be seen hugging and mouthing the words "I love you man" to one another, with Ringo throwing his drum sticks into the crowd after performing the two classic Beatles tracks. As Starr left the stage, the crowd at the LA Dodgers stadium chanted his "peace and love" phrase in unison. Sir Paul also introduced Eagles star Joe Walsh to jam on guitar as part of a nostalgic climatic rendition of the Abbey Road closer "The End." The epic three-hour show featured 32 songs from the legendary 77-year-old's Beatles and solo repertoire, plus encores of "Birthday," "Sgt. Pepper's," "Helter Skelter," "Golden Slumbers," "Carry That Weight," and "The End." McCartney was driven by his excellent tour band, which includes Rusty Anderson on guitar, Brian Ray on bass, Paul Wickens on keyboard and percussion, and crowd pleaser Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums. - New Musical Express/Billboard, 7/14/19...... In other Beatles-related news, it has been revealed that the new Beatles-themed movie Yesterday nearly featured cameos from all of the Fab Four, instead of only John Lennon. During an appearance on the "Empire" podcast, writer Richard Curtis and director Danny Boyle revealed they had originally intended to feature all four members of the band. "When [Jack] first goes to Liverpool, I'd written a long scene where he just goes to a pub and he bumps into George [Harrison] and Ringo [Starr]," Curtis said. "It was, I hope, a sweet scene, and they were just two delightful, oldish men who'd once been in a band together -- music enthusiasts who had never got any further." Curtis continued to explain that Paul McCartney would have appeared at the end of the film. "[Jack] was going to move to the Isle of Wight, to a cottage, and you were going to hear outside his window someone saying, 'Vera, Chuck, Dave!'" Curtis explained. "There were going to be three dogs and Paul was going to be walking them." Explaining why only Lennon made it into the final cut, the screenwriter said: "It was the scene that had the most meaning, and was in some ways the pivotal scene of the film." In the movie, singer-songwriter Jack (played by Himesh Patel) wakes up to discover the Beatles never existed and he is the only person with any knowledge of their music. After attempting to remind the world of the group, he begins to play their songs as his own and achieves huge success. - NME, 7/12/19...... Jackson Browne made a suprise appearance during Gaby Moreno's headlining performance at the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival on July 12. As the evening drew to a close, Moreno told the crowd that her new album, Spangled, a collaboration with famed Los Angeles songwriter and producer Van Dyke Parks, would arrive Oct. 4 and that she'd just released the album's first single, "Across the Borderline," a song written in the early '80s by Ry Cooder, John Hiatt and Jim Dickinson. "I sing it as a duet with Jackson Browne," she said. "And guess what? Jackson Browne is here tonight, you guys! And we're going to sing it for all of you." Browne, bearded but still boyish at 70, walked onstage, gave Moreno a hug and recalled playing at the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival a decade earlier before the pair performed the timely refugee-themed song "Across the Borderline." - Billboard, 7/13/19...... In an Instagram post on July 15, Queen guitarist Brian May insisted that late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury would have approved of Queen's latest frontman Adam Lambert and that Queen would never tour with a "Freddie Mercury impersonator." "And here is the Modern Marvel without whom, for sure, Queen would not be out here delivering at the top level. ADAM LAMBERT is only now beginning to be recognised by the greater public as the true phenomenon that he is," wrote May. "Gifted with a voice in a billion, for himself he is a passionate and unyielding perfectionist. Gifted to us, he is the reason that we are still alive as a functioning rock band. And still able to take on new challenges. Plus he's nice. That's a big deal when you're a touring family. Freddie would approve, big time." - NME, 7/15/19...... After an intense search that included such high profile names as Harry Styles and Ansel Elgort, the producers of an upcoming Elvis Presley biopic have selected Austin Butler (TV's The Carrie Diaries and Arrow) to portray the King of Rock & Roll in the new project from Warner Bros. The movie, to be directed by Baz Luhrmann (Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby), is described as focusing on Elvis's rise and zenith, with a major aspect being his relationship with Col. Tom Parker. Tom Hanks is set to play Parker, the manager who controlled every aspect of Elvis' life. Luhrmann is also co-producing the feature with wife Catherine Martin. The two have been developing the project since the director wrapped up The Great Gatsby. "I knew I couldn't make this film if the casting wasn't absolutely right, and we searched thoroughly for an actor with the ability to evoke the singular natural movement and vocal qualities of this peerless star, but also the inner vulnerability of the artist," said Luhrmann in a statement. "Throughout the casting process, it was an honor for me to encounter such a vast array of talent. I had heard about Austin Butler from his stand-out role opposite Denzel Washington in 'The Iceman Cometh' on Broadway, and through a journey of extensive screen testing and music and performance workshops, I knew unequivocally that I had found someone who could embody the spirit of one of the world's most iconic musical figures." Austin Butler will also be seen in this summer's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood from director Quentin Tarantino. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/15/19...... Jerry Lawson, the original lead singer of the a cappella group The Persuasions, died on July 10 "after a long illness" at a hospice in Phoenix. He was 75 years old. Lawson co-founded the group in Brooklyn in 1962. Six years later, they signed a record deal with Frank Zappa's Straight Records label and released their debut album Acapella in 1970. They released 24 more albums before Lawson left in 2002, although a further three records featuring his voice were released after his departure. Lawson released his first and only solo album Just A Mortal Man in 2015. After quitting The Persuasions, he had moved to Arizona and begun working with disabled adults. A documentary about Lawson was already in the works before his death and is expected to be released later in 2019. Rod Stewart is among those who have paid tribute to the late singer. "After working together at the Hurricane Katrina Benefit Concert, I admired the undeniable depth in Jerry's big voice," he said in a statement. "A true soul singer." - New Musical Express, 7/12/19.

During a Rolling Stones concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. on July 7, Mick Jagger got in a jab at Pres. Donald Trump for Trump's recent July 4 gaffe in which he said "our army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over airports, it did everything it had to do" during the Revolutionary War." "In fact, the president made a very good point in his speech the other night," Jagger told the crowd. "He said, 'If only the British had held on to the airports, the whole thing might have gone very differently for us.'" Jagger's jab came as the legendary group is in the midst of its rescheduled North American "No Filter" tour, which was postponed earlier this year after Jagger underwent a heart procedure. It is the latest back-and-forth between the group and Trump, following several requests from the band that he stop using their music at his political rallies. - Billboard, 7/9/19...... In related news, Kiss bassist/singer Gene Simmons says he thinks Donald Trump becoming the 45th President of the US has forever changed politics. Appearing on the UK's Good Morning Britain TV show on July 9, Simmons said that "politics has forever changed... whether you like it or not, this president has changed it." "I understand this thing," Simmons said of Trump's public spats. "It's a New York streetfighter. If you say, 'What are you looking at? You're looking at me?' Politics are over. Now this guy is just saying, 'I don't care what my guys are saying. Did you just say something bad about me? I'm coming after you.'" Simmons, who appeared on Trump's Celebrity Apprentice TV series in 2008, reportedly "politely declined" the chance to play at Trump's inauguration in 2016. - New Musical Express, 7/10/19...... On July 10 former Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters announced a new Us + Them concert film which will be screened in select cinemas in the UK on Oct. 2 and Oct. 6. Waters wrapped his mammoth tour in Dec. 2018, performing for over two million people across 150 shows which spanned 18 months. The Us + Them film is co-directed by Waters and Sean Evans, who directed Waters' 2014 film Roger Waters: The Wall. Us + Them is comprised of footage from the four nights Waters and his band played at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome in June 2018, the film will also showcase the "state-of-the-art visual production and breath-taking sound" from the tour. - New Musical Express, 7/10/19...... Stage times for Bob Dylan and Neil Young's headlining sets at the Hyde Park Festival in London were announced on July 11. Young will be taking the main Great Oak stage on July 12 at 6 p.m. GMT, while Dylan will follow at 8:30 p.m. GMT. 65,000 people are expected to attend the mammoth event, which will also feature performances from the Doors, Sam Fender, Cat Power and Laura Marling Meanwhile, Young treated fans to a rare performance of his 1974 track "On the Beach" during a concert in Antwerp, Belgium on July 9. It was the first time Young had performed the track live in over 16 years, and the first time since the '70s that he performed it while backed by a full band. He also played a series of some of his biggest hits during the gig, including "Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)" and "Rockin' In The Free World" alongside the likes of "Mansion On The Hill" and "F---in' Up." - New Musical Express, 7/11/19...... Aerosmith was featured in the History Channel series American Pickers on July 8 as hosts Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz spotted the band's old tour van, a 1964 International Harvester Metro, on a property in Massachusetts. In the episode, Wolfe and Fritz drive the van to Las Vegas to show the legendary rock band their former travelling haunt. "I have some of my fondest memories in this van," Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer said in the episode, which is now available to watch online. Aerosmith are currently in the midst of their "Deuces Are Wild" residency in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry said in a new interview with Consequence of Sound that Aerosmith will be recording a new album "when the time is right." "I had just finished working on my last solo album [before the new Hollywood Vampires album], so I had been in the studio for the three or four months before we started on the Vampires record," Perry said. "So I was already rolling in the studio. It doesn't take much to get me going -- I love to record. So, when the time is right, Aerosmith will come around to do another record." Perry also weighed in on Aerosmith's Vegas residency. "We started talking about [the residency] a year ago, so it was a big production. So far, it seems to be working. I'm pretty surprised, if you wanna know the truth." - Billboard, 7/9/19...... Willie Nelson announced on July 9 his 34th annual Farm Aid benefit concert will be staged on Sept. 21 at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. Bonnie Raitt, Margo Price and Tanya Tucker will be headlining along Willie and his fellow Farm Aid co-founders, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. LiveNation.com will place tickets for Farm Aid 2019 on sale at 10 a.m. CT on July 12. A limited number of pre-sale tickets will be available at 10 a.m. CT on July 10 at FarmAid.org/festival. Farm Aid, the longest-running concert for a cause, was first staged by Nelson and his fellow musicians at a time when a wave of foreclosures were pushing family farmers off their land. Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised $53 million for programs to benefit family farmers and to support a family farm-centered food system in the U.S. - Billboard, 7/9/19...... The beleaguered Woodstock 50 festival co-organized by original Woodstock promoter Michael Lang could be about to make its last stand as they appeal a denial by an inspector in Vernon, N.Y. of their application to stage the festival. On July 11, organizers refiled their application for a temporary event permit after city officials denied the permit without comment or opportunity, other than saying it was "incomplete and filed too late." According to one source, local laws in Vernon say the application needed to be filed 120 days before the start of the event, which would mean it was due on Apr. 18 when Woodstock 50 was still a sketchy idea but still had its original financial backers, a venue in Watkins Glen New York and Superfly as a producer. Lang has been instructed by the team now trying to pull off the event to stop making statements to the press and city officials. Vernon Downs is the second location Woodstock 50 has tried to secure as a venue. Its original venue, Watkins Glen International, rescinded the event's permit application on June 10 with less than 70 days to go. That followed a number of setbacks for the festival, which started in late April when its investor Dentsu pulled out from the festival and then Lang and Peck lost a string of court hearings aimed at retaining the financer's promised funds. - Billboard, 7/10/19...... David Crosby's new biopic, David Crosby: Remember My Name' Is a Bittersweet, hits theaters on July 19, but don't expect to see new footage of Crosby's closest collaborators in the film. All of Crosby's Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmates appear in individual archival audio and video footage to comment on him. As of 2000, Neil Young wants nothing to do with him because of a misunderstanding gone awry. Graham Nash matter-of-factly tells Paul Shaffer in a 2018 interview that his 40-year friendship with Crosby is over for good, and Stephen Stills is never heard from. Crosby reveals with palpable twinges of hurt that none of his former bandmates want to talk to him, and the feelings will never change. "Music is the only thing I have to offer," Crosby says in the documentary. He's bothered by the present, haunted by the past. He doesn't have an answer as to why he made it to old age and many of his contemporaries did not. "Time is the final currency," he muses. "How do you spend it?" So Crosby continues to grind it out on the road with backup musicians half his age, tweets like a millennial and recently completed a new album. Cocaine has been replaced by prescription medication that he must take in nondescript hotel rooms. End or no, you have to admire that Crosby's still determined to teach the children well. - Billboard, 7/10/19...... Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson recreated their A Star Is Born magic at the British Summer Time Hyde Park festival on July 7 in London when they duetted on their 1976 tear-jerker "Lost Inside of You." After a performance of fan favorite "Evergreen" from the film, Streisand called out Kristofferson, who she said was "one of my favorite leading men," adding, "Here's a song that we sang together in the movie, right... I love this song." After planting a kiss on Kristofferson's cheek, Streisand walked him across the stage and launched into the ballad as she held his hand in front of the sold-out crowd of 65,000-plus. Kristofferson also appeared on the day's bill, along with Roxy Music singer and solo star Bryan Ferry. Streisand also brought out Lionel Richie, who joined her for a run through their 2014 duet on "The Way We Were." - Billboard, 7/8/19...... The Mattel toy company announced on July 11 that their iconic Barbie doll will honor David Bowie's legacy with a new collectible Bowie Barbie doll. Dubbed "Barbie as Bowie," the doll is dressed as the late superstar's extraterrestrial glam-rock alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, complete with his iconic striped metallic "space suit" and platform red boots. The dramatic look is topped off with Ziggy's signature fiery-red hairdo and astral sphere forehead icon. The doll was created by Mattel in partnership with the 2019 The David Bowie Archive under license to Perryscope Productions LLC/Epic Rights. The doll retails for $50 and can be purchased on Mattel's website or at retailers nationwide starting now. Its July 11 release marks the 50th anniversary of the UK release of Bowie's "Space Oddity" single, from the singer's eponymous 1969 album. A 7-inch EP box set is also being released to mark the single's 50th anniversary. It also includes a double-sided poster featuring an original "Space Oddity" print advertisement, and a Ray Stevenson shot of Bowie taken on stage at the Save Rave '69 concert at the London Palladium on Nov. 30, 1969, the backdrop of which features a NASA astronaut. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 7/11/19...... Bruce Springsteen called in to SiriusXM's Springsteen radio channel E Street Radio on July 10 to chat with hosts Dave Marsh and Jim Rotolo about his new top 10 album, Western Stars. During the interview, Springsteen revealed that he shot a concert film where he performs the album in its entirety. "We knew we weren't going to tour," Springsteen said. "So I was looking for a way to get some of the music live to an audience and so we figured that was the best way to do it. We're looking forward to getting it to the fans when we can." The Boss also said he's pleased with fans' reaction to his latest studio set. "I really didn't know quite know what kind of response it was going to get. But just walking around and talking to fans on the street and seeing how the record was received was very exciting. It made us look how for we can further that experience for the fans without going out and playing live right now because I'm still working on some other things." A release date for the film has not been announced. - Billboard, 7/10/19...... Auction house Kruse GWS Auctions announced on July 10 that three of Elvis Presley's vehicles will be put up for sale on Aug. 31 as part of its Artifacts of Hollywood auction. The vehicles include a white-on-white 1973 Lincoln Continental stretch limo which the King drom many times around his hometown of Memphis, Tenn.I t features an old-school TV and other amenities. There are photos showing Presley driving the car he was in when he stopped at a car accident in Memphis in 1976. Elvis's 1976 Harley Davidson FLH 1200 Electra Glide motorcycle was the last motorcycle he ever purchased. He transported it from California to Memphis and sold it 90 days before he died in 1977 at age 42. The Harley has been on display at the Pioneer Auto Museum in Murdo, S.D., since the late 1980's. The third Presley vehicle is one of three GMC pickups that Presley purchased in 1967 for his Circle G Ranch in Mississippi. Two years later, his father, Vernon Presley, sold them back to the same dealership, the auction house said. It has undergone a total restoration. - AP, 7/10/19...... Jackson Browne has teamed up with Leslie Mendelson for a new song called "A Human Touch" that appears in the end credits of 5B, a new documentary about the San Francisco General Hospital AIDS ward during the early '80s and how nurses and doctors there learned how to best treat patients during the burgeoning epidemic. Browne says "A Human Touch" was "an assignment offered to me that I didn't want to take." But now he says he's glad he did. "It was an interesting thing to collaborate on a subject like this," explains Browne, who first met with Mendelson and her regular collaborator Steve McEwan last December. "In very few cases and very few times have I gotten into a discussion with anybody about a line and what it's supposed to mean. Some of these songs can be indistinct in their meaning. We really got into every line and nearly every word in depth to make sure it was what we wanted to say and convey in the song, because (5B) is such a human movie and really shows the courage and humanity of these nurses and the hospital staff and the population of people who were just suddenly struck by this epidemic and were devastated by it." Meanwhile, a new "A Human Touch" video has been released that intersperses scenes from the movie with Browne and Mendelson performing the song in Santa Fe, N.M., while Browne was visiting one of his sons and his family there. Browne, who's back on the road in August including three dates at the Venetian in Las Vegas, says he's hoping to write more with Mendelson and McEwan in the future. - Billboard, 7/9/19...... The very first managment contract signed by the Beatles on Jan. 24, 1962, has sold for $347,875 at a Sotheby's auction benefitting the Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation. The document was signed by principal members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and original drummer Pete Best for the services of manager Brian Epstein. The contract guaranteed Epstein -- who died of a drug overdose in Aug. 1967 -- a 10% fee that would rise to 15% if the band's income exceeded $150 a week; McCartney had negotiated the fee down from 20%. "This contract was a transformative document not only for The Beatles, but also for the 1960s and popular culture of the time," said Sotheby's Books and Manuscripts specialist Gabriel Heaton. In other Beatles-related news, five of the Fab Four's songs have re-entered the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart for the week ending July 13 following the theatrical release of the Beatles-themed movie Yesterday, which premiered on June 28 and features many of the band's iconic tracks. The songs include "Here Comes the Sun," "Let It Be," "Hey Jude" and "Come Together." Yesterday actor Himesh Patel version of "Yesterday" from the film has also bowed on the chart at No. 37. - Billboard, 7/10/19...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Paul McCartney's fashion designer daughter Stella McCartney has drawn directly on the Beatles' musical messages of peace, love and understanding for her fall 2019 menswear and pre-fall 2019 womenswear collections. On July 8, Stella released an 85-piece "All Together Now" collection of apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Her website refers to the collection as "a fun, uplifting and hopeful statement of unity at a time when it feels more important than ever." The line, ranging from $295 to $6,840, features the film s psychedelic graphics including yellow submarines and Lucy (in the sky with diamonds, natch) as well as song lyrics such as "All You Need Is Love" on a sweater and "All Together Now" embroidered on a jean jacket. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/9/19...... Steve Miller has shared an alternate version of his 1977 hit "Swingtown" as he prepares to release his upcoming rarities box set Welcome to the Vault on Oct. 11. Vastly different than the kinetic, Teflon-slick to 20 single from his 1977 set Book of Dreams, this "Swingtown" starts with a ringing, psychedelic intro before going into a gentle chug that takes the track into its familiar melody. But throughout its three and a half minutes the song takes a few curves and left turns, almost as if Miller is tossing ideas on the proverbial wall and seeing what sticks. "I remember (co-writer) Chris McCarty had a basic idea for the song, and it was quite different -- quite a different intro," Miller says. "You can hear there's sort of a musical prelude and then it goes into 'Swingtown.' And then as we were working on it, it was the era of the two-minute-and-30-second single and it had to be made for radio and there were always limitations. So I took what we had and edited and pared it down. It's interesting to compare the two... I've listened to it a lot and I really like the intro to (the alternative track). I'm glad we're getting that out there for people to hear." The alternate "Swingtown" will also appear on the Vault box set, along with 37 other previously unreleased rarities on the three-CD/DVD collection, including more studio and live material as well as five previously unheard Miller songs dating back to the late '60s. Miller and his band are currently on the road all summer, and he says he has another album in the works as well -- a compilation of live collaborations with Peter Frampton from tours the two did together during 2017 and 2018. - Billboard, 7/11/19...... As the Grateful Dead spinoff band Dead & Company wrapped their summer tour on July 6 in Colorado, the band have announced the dates for their upcoming "Playing in the Sand" destination event. CID Presents will host the event from Jan. 16-19 at Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico. The group will play three nights on the sand for the third annual event. Dead & Company consists of former Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, along with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti. - Billboard, 7/9/19...... On July 6 The Who played their first show at London's Wembley Stadium since their 1985 Live Aid performance, bringing out Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and debuting a new song. Vedder joined the Who for the Quadrophenia track "The Punk and The Godfather," with frontman Roger Daltrey telling the crowd, "He's going to share this song with me because he knows where it came from." The pair also shared a laugh before the song when Daltrey asked "What one were you? You were also the one with the stutter?" and Vedder responded, "No, I'm still the punk." The band also performed a new song called "Hero Ground Zero." - Billboard, 7/7/19...... Dolly Parton will star in a new yuletide Hallmark Channel film this Christmas entitled Christmas at Dollywood. In the movie, the Grammy-winning country singer will be featured alongside Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years, Project Mc), who plays the role of Rachel Lewis, a Broadway producer and single mother who has learned that investors have mismanaged the funds for her upcoming show into bankruptcy. Rachel then hears of an opportunity to produce a show for the 20th anniversary of the Smoky Mountain Christmas Festival at Dollywood and returns to her home of Tennessee with her nine-year-old daughter, Amy, to work on the event. "I grew up watching Dolly Parton on TV," McKellar says. "I love her. She is everything. I got to meet her -- she is charismatic and gorgeous and lovely, and she's the best person ever. I'm so excited that I get to work with her." Filming begins in Tennessee in August and McKellar promises the project will include "a lot of really fun Dolly surprises." - Billboard, 7/11/19...... During a concert at London's BST Festival on July 6, Stevie Wonder took a moment to reveal that he's taking a break from performing to undergo a kidney transplant this September. "I'm all good, I'm all good, all good, I have a donor and it's all good," the Motown legend assured fans after informing them of the upcoming surgery. "I want you to know, I came here to give you my love and thank you for your love. You ain't got to hear no rumors. I told you what's up. I am good. I love you and God bless you." Wonder, 69, said he'll be performing three more shows before going on hiatus to receive the procedure. - Billboard, 7/6/19...... Rock & roll pioneer Dave Bartholomew was laid to rest at a New Orleans funeral on July 8 after passing away at age 100 on June 23 at a suburban New Orleans hospital. Along with Fats Domino, Bartholomew co-wrote and produced such Domino classics as "Ain't That a Shame," "I'm Walkin'" and "Let the Four Winds Blow." Bartholomew was a trumpet player since childhood and a bandleader and arranger before World War II. He befriended Domino in the late 1940s and they collaborated on dozens of hits that captured Domino s good-natured appeal, made him one of rock s earliest stars and made New Orleans a popular music center. - AP, 7/8/19...... James Henke, the first curator at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, died on July 8 after a long battle with dementia. He was 65. Henke joined the Rock Hall before the groundbreaking on the repository of musical treasures designed by famed architect I.M. Pei had even taken place, following a 16-year run at Rolling Stone magazine, where he was credited with helping to write landmark stories on everyone from U2 -- penning the first major profile of the group in the U.S. before the release of their 1981 debut, Boy -- to Bruce Springsteen and The Clash. "Jim was a friend for many years and I owe him for his stewardship of the Rolling Stone music section for many years and then taking the responsibility of helping to found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner said in a statement. "He will be missed by all of us." - Billboard, 7/9/19...... Legendary actor Rip Torn passed away on July 9 at his home in Lakeville, Conn. He was 88. Mr. Torn won an Emmy for his portrayal of the deliciously devious producer Artie on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show and is also known for his work on Broadway, being a Tony-nominated actor who appeared on the Great White Way ten times. He is survived by his wife Amy Wright, their daughter Katie Torn, and his daughter with former wife and actress Geraldine Page, Angelica Page. - JustJared.com, 7/9/19...... Robert Rackstraw, the lead suspect in the notorious 1971 DB Cooper airplane hijacking case, passed away from natural causes on July 9 at age 75. A man -- dubbed DB Cooper by the FBI -- hijacked a plane in 1971, demanded $200k as it was still at the airport and then parachuted from it with the cash. The FBI first considered Rackstraw as a suspect seven years after the hijacking in 1978, with investigators saying so many things about him seemed to match with Cooper. An unexpected breakthrough came in 2018 when cold case expert and author Thomas J. Colbert identified Rackstraw, a military vet with a murky past riddled by murder accusations and con-artistry, as the man responsible for the crime, citing a decades-worth of research as evidence. The FBI had closed the investigation in 2016 saying Cooper most likely died of exposure in the woods after the daring escape. - DailyMail.co.uk, 7/9/19.