Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 30th, 2019

As Hurricane Dorian bears down on the Florida peninsula and forecast to grow into a deadly category 4 storm, the Rolling Stones announced on Aug. 29 they are moving up their Miami concert, originally set for Aug. 31, up one night to Aug. 30. "Due to the weather forecast, the Rolling Stones Hard Rock Stadium show scheduled for Sat Aug 31 has been moved to tomorrow night, Fri Aug 30. All tickets will be honored for the new date. There will be no opening act-doors will open at 6PM ET & the Stones will go on at 8:30PM ET," the band posted to twitter on Aug. 29. This is the second time a major storm has disrupted the Stones' touring plans. in July, the band delayed a show in New Orleans due to the threat of Hurricane Barry. - Billboard, 8/30/19...... Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders has recorded a jazzy version of the Kinks song "No Return" for her upcoming solo album, Valve Bone Woe. Hynde, who has a daughter named Natalie with Kinks frontman Ray Davies, says she "wasn't really familiar" with the deep cut that originally appeared on the band's 1967 album Something Else By the Kinks. She says the song was chosen by Valve Bone Woe producer Marius de Vries, whose arrangement builds on the Brazilian flavor of the Kinks' original. "I've been wanting to do stuff that's more Brazilian," Hynde says, "and some of that bled into this album." Valve Bone Woe, which drops Sept. 6, features a number of other jazzy covers including the Beach Boys' "Caroline, No," Frank Sinatra's "I'm a Fool to Want You," Nancy Wilson's "How Glad I Am," and Johnny Mathis' "Wild is the Wind." Hynde previewed her new album during concerts in Los Angeles in early July, and UK fans will be able to hear it on Sept. 14 at the BBC's Pomes in the Park and on Nov. 24 at the Royal Festival Hall. She's also working on the next Pretenders album for a 2020 release, along with extensive touring for the band. - Billboard, 8/28/19...... Speaking of Brazil, longtime Amazonian rainforest advocate Sting has issued a dire warning about continued inaction on the fires in the area which are up 85% from last year alone. "Legend has it that the Emperor Nero 'fiddled while Rome burned.' While obviously bristling at the dubious factoid that such a stupid man could have been a musician, none of us, including me, can be complacent about the tragic dimensions of the disaster taking place in the Amazon as I write," Sting and his wife Trudie Styler posted on Facebook on Aug. 27. "Amazonia is on fire at an unprecedented rate - 80% up from last year and with 39% more deforestation - and the world is suddenly taking notice. Populist leaders citing nationalist agendas, or claiming that climate change and its handmaidens are a hoax, are guilty of much more than standing by and doing nothing. This is criminal negligence on a global scale," he added. Sting also appealed to the Brazilian government to change the policies and what he calls "nationalist rhetoric" that have opened up the rainforest to exploitation by farmers and ranchers who have been cutting down trees and burning land to clear it for commerical farming and raising cattle. "The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has openly voiced that he is no friend to the indigenous people and now he is reneging on land treaties already signed, opening up new territories and dismantling the scientific and human rights organisations in Brazil to enable this," the former Police frontman posted. Sting ended his urgent plea by noting that the Rainforest Foundation Fund, which he founded back in 1987, has been working with indigenous peoples for three decades to protect their lands and rights, urging Bolsonaro to rethink his policies. "This is no time for fiddling; the world is burning." - Billboard, 8/28/19...... Van Morrison has announced he'll play five nights at the London Palladium next spring, from Mar. 20-25. The Celtic crooner is also preparing for a UK tour beginning this October, performing in Bournemouth, Cardiff, Oxford, and Nottingham with a stop at Brighton in early December. He'll then pick things up on New Year's Eve with three consecutive nights at Belfast's Stormont Hotel. The dates follow Morrison's two London shows at the Roundhouse as part of Inversions Festival. Morrison is also preparing for another residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. - New Musical Express, 8/27/19...... Yusuf/Cat Stevens has signed with the United Talent Agency for representation in all areas, it was announced on Aug. 27. Yusuf, whose fourth studio album Tea for the Tillerman will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020, is currently furthering his philanthropic efforts with the launch of the "Peace Train" project, named after his timeless anthem for hope. The initiative is focused on providing relief, medical aid, and education to individuals in need, as well as promoting harmony and respect amongst children of diverse backgrounds. Yusuf was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 and also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier in 2019. He continues to be managed by Yoriyos Adamos at Catch Bull Management. - Billboard, 8/27/19...... On Aug. 29, Pink Floyd announced details of a huge 16-disc box set covering their output from 1987 forward. The Later Years will feature over six hours of unreleased material among a host of other rarities, including concert footage, new mixes of classic tracks and other bonus material. One of the concerts included, a 1990 gig at Knebworth, will be available commercially for the first time. Also included on the 10 CD/6 Blu-ray set is a new version of prog-rock legends' 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason featuring new drum tracks from Nick Mason. The Later Years will be in stores on Nov. 29. - New Musical Express, 8/29/19...... Michael Jackson's accusers have responded after comedian Dave Chappelle claimed that he doesn't believe their allegations of sexual assault by the pop star in his latest Netflix comedy special. On Aug. 26, Netflix began streaming Chapelle's latest Sticks & Stones show, which sees Chappelle talk about Jackson during a segment that focuses on "cancel culture." "This is the worst time ever to be a celebrity. You're gonna be finished. Everyone's doomed. Michael Jackson has been dead for 10 years, and this n----- has two new cases," Chapelle says, before urging his audience not to watch the Leaving Neverland documentary featuring allegations of sexual abuse from Jackson by James Safechuck and Wade Robson. Both Safechuck and Robson have now responded to Chappelle's ranting, with the former telling TMZ.com: "I'm heartbroken for all those children who look to see how they will be received when they finally find the courage to speak out about their sexual abuse. I just want to reach out to other survivors and let them know that we can't let this type of behaviour silence us. Together we are strong." Chappelle's manager then issued a statement defending the comic, saying "we're too blinded by woke outrage to notice what we're really doing to discourse." - NME, 8/27/19...... The estate of Prince announced it will take over management of the late rock star's Paisley Park studio complex near Minneapolis from its current management, Graceland Holdings. Graceland Holdings, which runs Elvis Presley's tourist attraction in Memphis, Tenn., had been operating Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minn. as a museum since October 2016. Prince's oldest sibling, Sharon Nelson, says the family will manage Paisley Park because the contract expires at the end of September. Nelson added the family is not unhappy with Graceland Holdings or making the decision because of economic reasons. Since their are differences of opinions among Prince's heirs, the estate's administrator, Comerica, will be making the final decisions on how to operate the landmark. In other Prince-related news, his half-brother Alfred Jackson was found dead by his half-brother Bruce Jackson -- who is not related to Prince -- on Aug. 29 at his Kansas City, Mo., home. The cause of death is currently unknown, but police believe that Alfred Jackson died of natural causes and that no foul play was involved. Jackson, a US Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam, was one of six heirs to Prince's estate. The estate, which has not been officially valued but is believed to be worth upwards of $200 million and has been tied up in legal proceedings since Prince's death in 2016. Prince died at age 57 of an accidental overdose of fentanyl at his Paisley Park complex on Apr. 21 of that year. AP/NME, 8/27/19...... Lionel Richie has debuted on Billboard's Artist 100 chart for the week ending Aug. 31 for the first time since the list's launch in 2014. The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming and social media fan interaction to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity. The former The Commodores member's reign on the list comes from the strength of his new live album Hello From Las Vegas, his sixth solo top 10 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and first since 2012's Tuskegee, which spent two weeks at No. 1. - Billboard, 8/27/19...... John Travolta made another award ceremony faux pas on Aug. 26 when he mistakenly handed out an MTV VMA award for Video of the Year to drag queen Jade Jolie instead of pop sensation Taylor Swift. In footage posted on Twitter (pic.twitter.com/z8MsJtcp1V), Travolta is seen attempting to hand Jolie the trophy -- only for Jolie, who co-stars on RuPaul's Drag Race show, to kindly laugh off the error and give Travolta a side-hug. The Saturday Night Fever star, after doing a double take, laughed it off with the drag star. In Travolta's defense, Jolie bears a strong resemblance to the star and is even known for her extremely accurate impression. Travolta also famously butchered Idina Menzel's name at the Oscars earlier this year. - NME, 8/26/19...... New documents obtained by Vice magazine reveal that organizers of the ill-fated Woodstock 50 concert were hoping to book one of either Kacey Musgraves, Kings of Leon, The Black Crowes, or Beck for a headline appearance on the Saturday evening (Aug. 17) show. Joining the headlining roster on Aug. 16 would have been Miley Cyrus, with Imagine Dragons topping the bill on the final night, Aug. 19. Organiser Greg Peck told Vice that $23 million had been spent on securing talent alone, and explained there were currently no plans to attempt to regain these funds, with most coming from investors Dentsu Aegis. Invoices obtained showed that around $28,000 worth of the overdose-relieving drug Narcan had been purchased. Also, a list of "prohibited items" was revealed. In a statement announcing the cancellation of Woodstock 50 in July, co-founder Michael Lang said: "We are saddened that a series of unforeseen setbacks has made it impossible to put on the Festival we imagined with the great line-up we had booked and the social engagement we were anticipating. When we lost the Glen and then Vernon Downs we looked for a way to do some good rather than just cancel. We formed a collaboration with HeadCount to do a smaller event at the Merriweather Pavilion to raise funds for them to get out the vote and for certain NGOs involved in fighting climate change." - NME, 8/28/19...... Interviewed on the SiriusXM radio show "Ozzy's Boneyard" on Aug. 28, Ozzy Osbourne said "it's been one of the most f---ed up years of my life." "I broke my neck in January, I had pneumonia, I've had f---ing blood clots It's been an eventful year, to say the least... I have been in such pain this year," said Ozzy, who was was forced to postpone his tours in North America and Europe after a fall at his home in Los Angeles in February. Osbourne said he required neck surgery following his fall, which he said involved "cutting through all the nerves." He also added that he had been put on blood thinners due to blood clots in his legs. Osbourne's UK tour dates are now set to begin in Nottingham on Jan. 31, 2020, with the European leg following in February. - NME, 8/28/19...... Former Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry performed at Los Angeles' Greek Theater on Aug. 29 in a nearly sold-out show that dipped from Roxy's 1972 debut album through his solo LPs. At 73, Ferry is every bit as debonair as he was during Roxy Music's glam-rock '70s heyday, and he seldom spoke to the audience other than to say "thank you" and introduce 1978's "Can't Let Go" by saying he "wrote it in Canoga Park." Ferry's 23-song set contained seven songs from 1982's Avalon, Roxy Music's final studio album and its best seller in the U.S. Ferry's backing band is composed of musicians who have played with him for decades, including guitarist Chris Spedding, and others who are new additions, including guitarist Vanstiphout and saxophonist Jorja Chalmers. - Billboard, 8/30/19...... Iggy Pop has shared a video of his new single "Sonali" from his upcoming album Free. "Sonali" finds the punk rock icon intoning, "To park the car/ We must find parking/ On the freeway/ Stay in your lane" over dragging, jazzy beats and eerie keys. Pop has described his new album Free, which drops Sept. 6, as "an album in which other artists speak for me, but I lend my voice... I have lived my life thus far in the belief that (freedom) is all that is worth pursuing... not happiness or love necessarily, but the feeling of being free. So this album just kind of happened to me, and I let it happen." Meanwhile in an interview with The New Yorker, Iggy said he occasionally uses a cane to support his otherwise fit and healthy body. The 72-year-old rocker, known for parading his muscular body around the stage, said that he sometimes needs a cane because his "skeleton is my weak area" despite his muscles, including in his midsection, remaining quite firm. Elsewhere in the interview Pop addressed how reviled his band The Stooges were and the impact it had on him. "It's not a personal lack of confidence so much as an imposed one," Pop said. "For a long time, I wasn't doing that well on the industry side of things. There weren't that many people coming to shows--sometimes there were very few people. I'm more cat than dog when it comes to how comfortable I allow myself to get, let's put it that way. The phone rings; I get offered work. And, you know, there's always my Apple stock," he said, laughing. "I have taken pains to diversify outside of the music industry." - NME, 8/28/19.

NASA has announced it has renamed a rock on Mars after the Rolling Stones after its InSight robotic lander recently captured a little stone rolling across the surface of the fourth planet from the sun. Actor Robert Downey Jr. took the stage at the band's Aug. 22 performance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. (just a stone's throw from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory) to make the formal announcement. After the Stones came on, Mick Jagger took a moment between songs to tell the crowd that "NASA has given us something we have always dreamed of, our very own rock on Mars. I can't believe it. I want to bring it back on put it on our mantelpiece." - AP, 8/23/19...... On Aug. 24, Eddie Money revealed on his AXS television series Real Money that he's currently battling stage 4 esophageal cancer. "I thought I was going in for a check-up and [the doctor] told me I have cancer," Money says in the video. "We found out that I had cancer and that it was stage 4 and that it was in my liver and my lymph nodes and a little bit in my stomach... It hit me really, really hard." The "Two Tickets to Paradise" singer's wife, Laurie, noted specifically that her husband has been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. "It's in his esophagus, it's in the top of his stomach -- it's where the tumor is -- and it's also spread to his liver," Laurie says. Earlier this summer, Money announced he was canceling his summer tour dates after developing pneumonia following a recent heart valve surgery, but according to Rolling Stone, the rocker still plans to tour later in 2019. "What I don't want to do is I don't want to keep the fact that I have cancer from everybody," he says. "It's not honest. I want to be honest with everybody. I want people to know that cancer [treatment] has come a long way and not everybody dies from cancer like they did in the Fifties and Sixties. Am I going to live a long time? Who knows? It's in God's hands." - Billboard, 8/24/19...... After being the subject of a Grammy salute special earlier in 2019, the legendary Motown record label is continuing to celebrate its 60th anniversary this year with the premiere of the new documentary Showtime with Hitsville: The Making of Motown which debuted on the Showtime network on Aug. 24. A Los Angeles premiere attended by Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder was held earlier in August, and on Aug. 23 members of Martha and the Vandella and the Funk Brothers attended a premiere at an invitation-only screening hosted by the Motown Museum in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak. "There's a good vibe to the film," says Funk Brothers guitarist Dennis Coffey. "Everyone involved told a good story about Berry [Gordy Jr.]'s vision and how it came to fruition." In addition to the Showtime run, Hitsville is accompanied by a soundtrack album, while a home video release is planned for the future. A Hitsville Honors concert featuring the Temptations, the Four Tops, Mary Wilson of the Supremes and Martha Reeves is also set for Sept. 21. - Billboard, 8/24/19...... Speaking of anniversaries, the next 50th anniversary event up in 2019 is Elvis Presley legendary "comeback concerts" at the Las Vegas' International Hotel in the summer 1969. From his invitation-only July 31 show to the Aug. 28 closing date, the King of Rock & Roll laid the groundwork for a Vegas comeback that cemented his near-mythological status in pop culture. In conjunction with the anniversary, Sony Legacy released a limited edition deluxe 11-disc box set, Live 1969, on Aug. 9. The release features 11 complete sets from the first of his many engagements at The International, several of which are released in full for the first time, with one show entirely unreleased. - Billboard, 8/23/19...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Ozzy Osbourne revealed that he's been recording new music as he recovers from his recent neck surgery after a fall in his LA home in January caused him to "re-injure his back, neck and shoulders." The injury and subsequent surgery forced Ozzy to reschedule all of his 2019 live dates on the "No More Tours 2 Tour" for 2020. Osbourne said after the surgery he "was in agony beyond anything I ever experienced before in my life" and kept himself occupied by recording new music. The Black Sabbath frontman also said that he didn't think he could perform right now ("I'll go, 'Hello,' and that's it"), but he's "keeping his fingers crossed" to be fit for the first rescheduled tour date in January. Ozzy will kick off his 2020 UK and Ireland concerts on Jan. 31 at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena, and wrap on Feb. 14 in Birmingham. Meanwhile, a new huge career-spanning vinyl box set from Ozzy entitled See You on the Other Side is due on Nov. 29. Featuring 16 albums across 24 vinyl records, the collection will feature B-sides, live albums and rarities in addition to all of Osborne's solo work to date. It will include all of Ozzy's solo work from 1980's Blizzard of Ozz to 2010's Scream. The concert LP's Live & Loud and Live at Budokan, as well the EPs, Mr Crowley and Just Say Ozzy, will also be included. - New Musical Express, 8/22/19...... Uriah Heep keyboardist Phil Lanzon has just released his second solo album, 48 Seconds, on Phil Lanzon Ditties/Cargo Records. The 10-song album mixes up many musical styles, including orchestra and big-band, while "Look at the Time" is the closest to Lanzon's work with Uriah Heep. 48 Seconds is the follow-up to Lanzon's impressive first solo LP, If You Think I'm Crazy!, and Lanzon also contributed to Uriah Heep's acclaimed 25th studio album Living the Dream which many fans consider to be the best of the group's 21st-century releases. 48 Seconds' title song tells the story of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and its aftermath, an event that has long fascinated Lanzon, and he says he hopes to perform it with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and a 60-piece choir on the anniversary of the event (April 18), possibly in 2020. "That's what I intend to do," he says. "I'd have to sling at least half an hour of music around that. It can't just be the one song. But that would be the highlight that pertains to that city." - Billboard, 8/23/19...... An all-female roster of artists have contributed to a new tribute album to hardcore troubadour Tom Waits. Come On Up The The House: Women Sing Waits will drop on Nov. 22 and feature a stellar cast of female singer/songwriters including Aimee Mann, Roseanne Cash, Patty Griffin and Corinne Bailey Rae, among others. The album will be available in a number of configurations, including a bundle with a limited-edition 180 gram white double vinyl. - Billboard, 8/23/19...... A new twist to the battle over Aretha Franklin's estate has developed after almost of $1 million in uncashed checks were discovered during an inventory of the Queen of Soul's possessions. Franklin had a check for $702,711.90 from Sound Exchange and Screen Writers Guild as well as uncashed checks to her publishing company, Springtime Publishing, from EMI, BMI, Carlin Music and Feel Good Films in the amount of $285,944.27. In total, $988,656.17 in uncashed checks were found. Franklin, who died on Aug. 16, 2018 at the age of 76, left behind four sons, Clarence, Edward, Teddy and Kecalf. Originally, no will was found and under Michigan law, her estate was set to be divided equally between her children. But nine months after her death, three handwritten wills -- two from 2010 and one from 2014 -- were found in her house. The discovery of the wills, if valid, would change the distribution of Franklin's assets. Each of the brothers have retained their own legal teams. The authencity of the found documents is under review by a handwriting expert. - Billboard, 8/21/19...... Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne announced on Aug. 25 he's launching a new online magazine called "Reasons To Be Cheerful." "It often seems as if the world is going straight to hell," Byrne says. "I wake up in the morning, I look at the paper, and I say to myself, "Oh no!" Often I'm depressed for half the day. I imagine some of you feel the same. Recently, I realized this isn't helping. Nothing changes when you're numb. So, as a kind of remedy, and possibly as a kind of therapy, I started collecting good news. Not schmaltzy, feel-good news, but stuff that reminded me, 'Hey, there's positive stuff going on! People are solving problems and it's making a difference!' I began telling others about what I'd found." After the positive feedback Byrne says he received, he decided to "make the endeavor more formal" and assembled a team to commission stories from other writers and redesigned the website. In 2018, Byrne released his latest solo album, American Utopia, and launched a critically acclaimed tour behind the new LP. - New Musical Express, 8/25/19...... Michael Jackson's former manager Raymone Bain announced the establishment of the MJ Legacy Foundation during a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 22. Bain says the foundation will endeavor to "preserve, protect and defend his name while supporting the numerous organizations he supported during his life." "[Jackson] may no longer be with us, but through the foundation we're hoping he'll continue to live among us," she added. Bain also defended Jackson against the allegations of abuse which were made against the singer in the controversial Leaving Neverland film, which she labelled as "a biased, one-sided documentary." Meanwhile, cable channel HBO is calling for the Jackson estate's $100 million lawsuit against Leaving Neverland to be dismissed. In a motion for dismissal filed on Aug. 20, HBO claims that their documentary is protected under the First Amendment and California Code of Civil Procedure. "HBO's distribution of this documentary -- which recounts the personal stories of two individuals who describe in detail how, as young boys, they were sexually abused for years by Michael Jackson, arguably one of the world's most famous public figures -- constitutes protected activity under the First Amendment and California Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16," the motion reads. A hearing on the motion has been set for Sept. 19. - NME, 8/22/19...... David Bowie's live session for the VH1 Storytellers series is finally being released on vinyl, some 20 years after the original session. Bowie performed on the show on Aug. 23, 1999, and delivered a career-spanning setlist that also featured some lesser-known gems including "Can't Help Thinking About Me" and "Word on a Wing." VH1 Storytellers Live at Manhattan Center will include all of the songs from his live session, including four bonus tracks, and will hit stores on Oct. 11. - New Musical Express, 8/22/19...... The new ZZ Top documentary, That Little Ol' Band from Texas, had its world premiere on Aug. 13 at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. Relying mostly on interviews with the band and those intimately involved with their career, the documentary brings in the occasional star for brief commentary about their musical personality, including actor Billy Bob Thornton who says being at a ZZ concert "is like seeing Bugs Bunny in person." With the exception of a closing scene, the movie speaks to each band member -- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard -- on his own, as if to guarantee equal time. The film mostly covers the band's beginnings and early history, and pretty much stops in the mid-1980s, when they rose to international stardom with the monster-selling Eliminator album. The 90-minute Sam Dunn-directed film will hit selected theaters across the U.S. in the fall. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/21/19...... Pop instrumentalist and former record label head Herb Alpert will release his new solo album, Over the Rainbow, on Sept. 20. In addition to the Judy Garland title track, the album features Alpert's interpretations of such songs as Earth, Wind & Fire "Fantasy," Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine," Barry Manilow's "Copacabana," Joe Cocker's Billy Preston cover "You Are So Beautiful," and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World," among others. "I just pick a song that I like to play," the 84-year-old musician says. "When I hear a song that I think I can do in a way that's not been heard quite that way before, that excites me." Alpert continues to play live, with wife Lani Hall singing, as well as paint and sculpt -- with pieces at museums in Chicago and Jackson Hole, Wyo. He's also currently assisting in the making of a documentary about his life and career. - Billboard, 8/21/19...... A new Miles Davis documentary called Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool will make its theatrical debut on Aug. 23 at the Abramorama in New York City. The film celebrates the 60th anniversary of the late trumpeter's groundbreaking record Kind of Blue, which hit stores on Aug. 17, 1959. The documentary offers never-before-seen archived footage and photos provided by the Miles Davis Estate along with video interviews from contemporaries such as Quincy Jones and Carlos Santana as well as the sole remaining member of the Kind of Blue sextet, drummer Jimmy Cobb. - Billboard, 8/21/19...... Larry "The Mole" Taylor, a founding member of Canned Heat, passed away on Aug. 19. He was 77. The bassist for Canned Heat, Taylor was previously a session player on records by The Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis. He also contributed to several Tom Waits albums, from Heartattack and Vine in 1980 through Bad as Me in 2011. Other contributions include albums by Albert King, Solomon Burke, Buddy Guy, Wanda Jackson, Tracy Chapman, Kim Wilson, Charlie Musselwhite, JJ Cale, Ry Cooder, John Lee Hooker and Boyce & Hart. - 8/20/19.