Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on May 16th, 2020

Rock & roll legend Dion Dimucci has released a new single called "Bam Bang Boom" and shared a YouTube video of the track with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top on lead guitar. "Bam Bang Boom" will be featured on Dion's upcoming album Blues With Friends on Joe Bonomassa's new label KTBA Records (Keeping The Blues Alive Records), which drops on June 5. "Billy Gibbons was a joy to work with on this," says the "Abraham, Martin and John" singer. "He's a true renaissance man. I love the way he communicates with a guitar and in conversation. There's nobody like him." Blues With Friends features 13 tracks with special guests including Gibbons, Bonomassa, Bruce Springsteen, Jeff Beck, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Brian Setzer, Stevie Van Zandt and many more. More information can be found on Dion's official website. - Noble PR, 5/11/20...... Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson is reassuring fans he isn't at death's door after revealing that he had been diagnosed with an incurable lung disease and that his "days are numbered." In an interview with veteran newsman Dan Rather on the US TV channel AXS, Anderson said he had been diagnosed with the lung condition chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). "I'm going to tell you something I've never told anybody in public before -- I am suffering from an incurable lung disease which I was diagnosed with a couple of years back." Anderson said he "struggles" with the condition. "I have what are known as exacerbations: Periods when I get an infection, it turns into severe bronchitis and I have maybe two or three weeks of really a tough job to go out there onstage and play. Fingers crossed, I've gone 18 months now without an exacerbation." He said he believes one of the main factors in contracting the disease was his exposure to smoke machines during live performances with Jethro Tull. But Anderson has now clarified his "days are numbered" statement: "After all, I am 73 years old this August! But I should be OK for a few more years if COVID doesn't get me first." He says that the COPD "has no impact at all on my daily life as long as I don't catch a cold or flu virus and suffer the subsequent heavy bronchitis which, for me, historically follows since I was a young man." - WENN/Canoe.com, 5/14/20...... Alice Cooper has just written and recorded "Don't Give Up," a new single inspired by the COVID-19 lockdown. In a press release, Cooper says he penned the song from isolation at home, where he is recording his new album, before working with his longtime producer Bob Ezrin using remote technology to complete the record. "'Don't Give Up' is out today! It's a song about what we've all been going through right now and about keeping our heads up and fighting back together," Alice explains. "And whatever you do - Don't Give Up!" The song debuted on YouTube on May 15. Cooper also invited his fans to participate in the new video, with Alice and his band filming separately during quarantine. Over 20,000 responded, holding up signs and messages of unity featuring words from the lyrics. A strictly limited 7-inch vinyl single of the song will be released on Aug. 14. Meanwhile, Cooper is re-releasing his classic Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits LP on 140 Gram Vinyl on July 3. - WENN/Canoe.com, 5/15/20...... Queen announced on May 14 it will be hosting a stream of the "Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness" on their YouTube channel for 48 hours, beginning on May 16 at 7pm BST. The gig, which took place to 72,000 people at Wembley Stadium on Apr. 20, 1992, was in tribute to the band's late frontman, who had died from AIDS the previous November. Viewers of the stream are asked to donate the World Health Organisation in Mercury's honour, with Google pledging to match each a $2 donation as part of an ongoing Google/YouTube UN Foundation fundraiser. - NME, 5/14/20...... In 1974 and early 1975, Neil Young recorded a 12-track album called Homegrown that he shelved in favor of his 1973-recorded Tonight's the Night album. Now the Canadian singer/songwriter is making the unheard LP, one of the great "Holy Grails" of his unreleased catalogue, available on June 19 on all formats via Reprise Records. "I apologize. This album Homegrown should have been there for you a couple of years after Harvest," Young posted on his Neil Young Archives site. "It's the sad side of a love affair. The damage done. The heartache. I just couldn't listen to it. I wanted to move on. So I kept it to myself, hidden away in the vault, on the shelf, in the back of my mind.... but I should have shared it." Young says Homegrown is "actually beautiful." "That's why I made it in the first place. Sometimes life hurts. You know what I mean. This is the one that got away," he says. Young says Homegrown is "the unheard bridge between Harvest and Comes A Time, featuring different mixes of songs that turned up on later albums, such as "Star of Bethlehem" (on 1977's American Stars 'n Bars), "Little Wing" and "This Old Homestead" (on 1980's Hawks & Doves), and "White Line" (on 1990's Ragged Glory). Homegrown is "coming your way in 2020," Young concludes, "the first release from our archive in this new decade. Come with us into 2020 as we bring you the past." - Billboard, 5/15/20...... Rod Stewart was so moved after seeing video of a Welsh student nurse named Natasha Jenkins reuniting with her three children following a five-week stay at a Cardiff, Wales hospital where she had spent 22 days on a ventilator, that he decided to get in touch with the COVID-19 survivor so he could send her a $6,000 (£5,000) cheque to help with expenses. "My house phone rang one day, and it was a lady saying, 'I'm calling on behalf of Rod Stewart,'" Jenkins, 35, told People.com. "She said, 'I'm from his PR company. He'd like to send you something.'" Jenkins was pleasantly surprised to receive the call, and two days later, she received an envelope containing a signed promotional picture of the "Maggie May" hitmaker -- and the generous gift. "I was like, 'Wow!' I was only expecting a card or something!" she exclaimed. Jenkins says she plans to hold on to the extra funds unless absolutely necessary. "The money is just going to be put away until I need it really," she said. "There's not too much I can do at the moment but it's just one less worry isn't it, the money issues and everything. It's just so sweet." The nurse also shared her story on Facebook showing off Stewart's personal, handwritten note, which read, "Hi Natasha, a small gift to help you through rough times." - Music-News.com, 5/16/20...... Streams of Little Richard's catalog of classic rock & roll hits have soared by 2,228% after the legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician died on May 9 from bone cancer at age 87. On May 9-10, songs by Richard drew 4.1 million on-demand U.S. streams, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The sum represents a whopping 2,228% surge from the previous two days, May 7-8, during which his songs were streamed 175,000 times. Leading the pack was his 1955-56 hit "Tutti Frutti," which earned 412,000 streams on May 9-10, up 1,210% from 32,000 on May 7-8. His 1958 smash "Good Golly Miss Molly" also racked up 367,000 streams on May 9-10, up 985%, followed by 1956's "Long Tall Sally" (255,000 streams, up 1,056%). As for digital song sales, Little Richard's catalog sold 10,000 downloads on May 9-10, up 6,928% from a negligible amount on May 7-8. Lyrics to his songs are also in demand on LyricFind U.S., with "Good Golly Miss Molly" placing at No. 4 on its top lyrics searches, followed by "Long Tall Sally" (No. 6) and "Lucille" (No. 7). - Billboard, 5/13/20...... Former The Doobie Brothers member Michael McDonald has released live covers of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and the 1965 Burt Bacharach-Hal David penned Jackie DeShannon hit "What the World Needs Now Is Love," and McDonald says there's nothing random about his decision. "We always end our evening with one of those two songs, or both," says McDonald, who's slated to inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Doobie Brothers on Nov. 7. "We've tried to make our live shows leave people with a sense of community and a little something more important than just all of us getting together to hear some live music... And the mindfulness of being a community is always important -- especially now," he says from quarantine in his home near Santa Barbara, Calif. McDonald says he's also been working on a new studio album, the follow-up to 2017's Wide Open, and is also planning an EP of material he's been working on with local musicians in a converted barn studio on a ranch his friend owns north of Santa Barbara. A summer 2020 Doobies tour, with McDonald joining the existing lineup of the band, is slated to kick off July 9 in West Palm Beach, Fla., and has not yet been postponed or canceled, although he says "I can't imagine we'll go out this summer or any time soon." The Doobies Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction has been moved back six months and he says the band is "pretty geared up to go do it -- but such is everybody's fate these days." "I know I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope all the other guys are up for it come next year," he says. - Billboard, 5/13/20...... A YouTuber who goes by the moniker of Funk Turkey has created an AC/DC song using Artificial Intelligence called "Great Balls" and shared it on YouTube. Funk Turkey says he put all of the Aussie headbangers' lyrics through modelling software which then analyzed all the words across AC/DC s back catalogue. The software then picked out the most popular ones and the lyrics were generated on Lyrics.rip before instrumentation and vocals were added over the track. Funk Turkey also noted that "trying to sing like Brian Johnson is extremely hard." - New Musical Express, 5/16/20...... The companion live album to Prince's 1985 concert film Prince and the Revolution: Live has finally been released on major streaming platforms. Prince and his backing band were captured on film performing on Mar. 30, 1985 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. during the Purple Rain tour. On May 15, the audio version of the album was made available to listen to on major streaming and download platforms. The film can be viewed on YouTube until 11:59 PM on May 17. The stream is aiming to raise funds for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organisation, and any viewer donations will include a matching component from Google. - NME, 5/15/20...... LiveAndWell.com, a rare live album from David Bowie, finally made its debut on major streaming services, including Spotify.com, on May 15. The record is one of three remastered live Bowie albums that are set to be released digitally over the coming months. LiveAndWell.com was originally only available to listen to if you subscribed to Bowie's innovative but now defunct ISP BowieNet, and the record didn t receive a subsequent commercial release after it debuted on the online platform in Nov. 1999. The album is comprised of live recordings from Bowie's 1997 "Earthling Tour" featuring songs from his solo albums, including Outside and Earthling and features two new bonus tracks: "Pallas Athena" and "V-2 Schneider," the latter of which was named after the recently deceased Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk. - NME, 5/15/20...... ABBA announced on May 14 it will be reissuing its entire back catalogue on colored vinyl for the very first time. All eight of the Swedish pop group's albums will be neatly collected in a box set titled ABBA: The Studio Albums, complete with replicas of each LP's original artwork. The deluxe box set arrives July 3. - New Musical Express, 5/14/20...... The Who's Roger Daltrey is asking fanse to support a new charity single from '80s hitmaker Bonnie Tyler to keep his Teenage Cancer Trust alive. Tyler and Lorraine Crosby have released an updated version of their 2005 duet "Through Thick And Thin (I'll Stand By You)" to raise funds for the organisation, for which The Who frontman is a patron. "We need a vital lifeline at the moment and we won't get it from the first round of charitable money coming out of the Government, because that's got to be tailored specific," Daltrey told a UK news outlet. "We deserve to survive this and to survive this we have to raise between five to seven million this year. So whatever you can give -- it doesn't matter what it is, it will really help us," he added. It is hoped proceeds will help fill the void left by the cancellation of the charity's 20th annual Royal Albert Hall in London in March, which has been rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic. - Music-News.com, 5/15/20...... After the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2020 induction ceremonies was pushed back from May 2 to Nov. 7, the Cleveland-based hall and museum has been busy sharing footage from previous induction ceremonies on YouTube. Beginning by sharing clips from the class of 2019, the channel then included performances and acceptance speeches from the likes of Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, U2, Mick Jagger, The Pretenders, Roxy Music, The Stooges, Lauryn Hill and Prince. More than 200 clips are currently on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's YouTube channel. - NME, 5/14/20...... Paul Simon has praised the NHS staff of Wales after their stirring cover of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" went viral. Simon says the performance by construction workers, medics and council staff at a field hospital in Llandudno was "extraordinary," and praised workers as Ysbyty Enfys, which means "Rainbow Hospital" in Welsh, for their bravery. "Here is an extraordinary performance of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' by the brave men and women from NHS in honour of the Llandudno's Venue Cymru, which has been turned into a temporary coronavirus hospital," Simon wrote on Facebook. "During this process, the facility has been renamed to Ysbyty Enfys, which is Welsh for Rainbow Hospital, as a symbol for hope," he added. The video has scored more than 80,000 views since Simon reposted it on his own Facebook page on May 13. - New Musical Express, 5/14/20...... The surviving members of the Beach Boys, who have been touring in two separate camps since completing their 50th anniversary tour in 2012, could all reunite in 2021 for a 60th anniversary tour. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Beach Boys co-founder Mike Love, who heads up one of the camps says he is "not against anything like that in terms of another proper Beach Boys reunion." "Anything that's creative and done for positive reasons is good with me," says Love. "We will continue thinking about stuff like that and see what we can do." In March, Al Jardine told a concert industry publication that a full BB reunion tour "will happen... we'll probably do about 20 or 30 [shows] together next year," although Love says he has not spoken with Jardine about a reunion "specifically." "Al's a really good singer, but he's been travelling and performing with Brian Wilson, [and] Brian has some serious health issues," Love said. "We are in a very fortunate and blessed position to be able to do music for a lifetime. It's pretty amazing. I can remember when my cousin Brian was a young boy. He sang "Danny Boy' sitting on my Grandma Wilson's lap. So that's how far back we go musically." Brian Wilson's manager, Jean Sievers, says no one has spoken to Brian about a 60th anniversary tour, however. In February, Wilson urged fans not to attend a Beach Boys show that had been organized by Love as it was taking place at the Safari Club International Convention, a group that supports trophy hunting. - NME, 5/14/20...... Elton John says he's "thrilled" to be the focus of an episode of the BBC television series Killing Eve, in which Villanelle's younger brother Bor'ka is revealed to be a superfan of the musician. In the episode "Are You From Pinner?," which is the name of John's English hometown, several references to Elton's music appear throughout the episode, as well as an inner table rendition of John's hit "Crocodile Rock," and a later scene which sees Bor'ka buy tickets to see the musician live. "#KillingEve is such a groundbreaking series and I was thrilled to be included in this week's episode," John said on Instagram, sharing a still from the episode which sees Villanelle wearing heart-shaped glasses just like John. "I think the glasses suit you @jodiemcomer! = the caption added. - NME, 5/13/20....... Pink Floyd guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour has paid tribute to his late former bandmate Syd Barrett by covering some of the singer-songwriter's solo songs during a lockdown performance, and sharing them on YouTube. Covering the Barrett tracks as part of his and his family's weekly "Von Trapped Family" livestream series, Gilmour also shared some personal anecdotes about Barrett and their time working together. Elsewhere in the livestream, Gilmour revealed that he was asked to proofread a forthcoming book of his late bandmate's lyrics. - NME, 5/11/20...... Astrid Kirchher, the legendary German Beatles photographer and collaborator who is renowned for taking the first ever photograph of the Beatles in her hometown of Hamburg, when they were an unknown five-piece combo, has died at age 81 of as yet undisclosed causes. Enjoying a lengthy collaborative relationship with the Beatles, Ms. Kirchherr is also known as the person who first suggested that the band cut their hair into what would become iconic "mop tops." She was also engaged to one-time Beatles guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe before his death in 1962. "Astrid was intelligent, inspirational, innovative, daring, artistic, awake, aware, beautiful, smart, loving and uplifting," Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn posted in tribute on Twitter. "Her gift to the Beatles was immeasurable." Also among the many fans paying tribute to Ms. Kirchherr on social media, where she was referred to as "the sixth Beatle," was George Harrison's widow Olivia Harrison. "Astrid is and was the sweetest woman, so thoughtful and kind and talented, with an eye to capture a soul. Our family loved her and none more than George. I am truly saddened but honoured to have known her," Olivia said. Ms. Kirchherr's photography of several iconic photos of the band was collated into a 2018 book, Astrid Kirchherr with the Beatles. - New Musical Express, 5/16/20...... Phil May, the frontman of the influential 1960's rock band The Pretty Things, died on the morning of May 15 at hospital in Kings Lynn, England, according to a rep for the band. He was 75 and died from complications after falling off his bicycle and undergoing emergency hip surgery. The Pretty Things, who formed in 1963, were peers of the Rolling Stones, and featured former Stones bassist Dick Taylor in their line-up on guitar. The band's 1968 album SF Sorrow has gone down in rock history as one of the first rock & roll concept albums, and The Pretty Things were publicly adored by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie, who covered one of their tracks on his 1973 album Pin-Ups. In 2014, May was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema, and while the band never officially broke up, May did take a break from touring following the diagnosis. The band played a "Final Bow" gig in Dec. 2018, at which they were joined on stage by Van Morrison, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and more. The band continued to release iconic and influential recordings, right up to the present day, with a new album due for release this year. Among those paying tribute to May was Dave Davies of The Kinks, who called him "a very talented guy" who "will be sorely missed." - NME, 5/16/20.

Tributes to Little Richard continue to pour in after the rock & roll pioneer died in Tennessee on May 9 at age 87 of bone cancer. Elton John, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page and Ringo Starr are just a few of the artists who mourned the loss of Little Richard on Twitter and elsewhere. "Without a doubt -- musical, vocally and visually -- he was my biggest influence. Seeing him live in my teens was the most exciting event in my life at that point," Elton John began his Twitter tribute. Bob Dyan tweeted that he was "so grieved" about Richard's passing and that "He was my shining star and guiding light when I was only a little boy... His was the original spirit that moved me to do everything I would do." Mick Jagger posted that he was "so saddened to hear about the passing of Little Richard, he was the biggest inspiration of my early teens and his music still has the same raw electric energy when you play it now as it did when it first shot through the music scene in the mid 50's." Jimmy Page said his "thoughts are with (Little Richard's) loved ones... I got to hear him and his band at the Newport Lounge in Miami and boy were they good." Ringo Starr captioned a pic of Richard, himself and the other three Beatles while on tour with the rocker in the 1960s with "A night to remember... Little Richard... And the boys peace and love." Richard's fellow 1950s rock & roll legend, Jerry Lee Lewis, also paid his respects, calling the late icon "one of a kind." "He will live on always in my heart with his amazing talent and his friendship! He was one of a kind and I will miss him dearly," Lewis said. - Billboard, 5/9/20...... On May 7, Bob Dylan released his third new track of 2020, "False Prophet," and announced on Twitter he'll release a new album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, on June 19. "False Prophet," which Dylan shared on YouTube, is accompanied with a sinister piece of artwork that could be an old poster from a 1940s horror movie. It features a skeleton in a sharp suit and top hat, carrying an old-school hypodermic in one hand, and a mystery present in another. His shadow is that of a man hanging from a noose. "False Prophet," along with Dylan's two other recently released singles, "Murder Most Foul" and "I Contain Multitudes," will all appear on Rough And Rowdy Ways. The LP will be Dylan's follow-up to his 2017 set Triplicate, a 30-song compilation of "classic American tunes." - Billboard, 5/8/20...... Queen guitarist Brian May is nursing an injury that caused him to tear a butt muscle that he attributes to "over-enthusiastic gardening." On May 6, May uploaded a video of himself to Instagram in the hospital wearing a protective mask, adding the caption: "Reality check! For me. No - the Virus didn't get me yet - thank God. Hope you're all keeping extra-safe out there. A decision to relax controls doesn't suddenly make the danger go away..." May, 72, promised that he'd be back soon after he takes a "complete break" to recover. "I managed to rip my Gluteus Maximus to shreds in a moment of over-enthusiastic gardening... So, folks... I need to go dark for a while, getting some complete rest, at home. Please, please don't send me sympathy - I just need some healing silence for a while." Meanwhile, May has told Rolling Stone magazine that there probably won't be a sequel to Queen's Academy Award-winning biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. May said he and the filmmakers "don't really think there's another movie there" despite having "looked at it pretty seriously." "I think we should look somewhere else. There are other ideas that we had, but I don't think a sequel will happen... Things could change, I suppose, but I think it would be difficult," he said. Althought Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek, who portrayed Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the film, has suggested a sequel could delve deeper into Mercury's relationship with his longtime partner Jim Hutton, his upbringing, and his battle with Aids, May said "I don't think that would be an uplifting thing to do... there is a great story there, but we don't feel that's the story we want to tell at the moment." - WENN/Canoe.com/NME, 5/8/20...... The original Led Zeppelin debut album artwork designed by English graphic designer/illustrator George Hardie is scheduled to be auctioned off in June, with the iconic cover based on a famous Hindenburg disaster image by photographer Sam Shere expected to bring an estimated $20,000 to $30,000. "In terms of rarity, this is a unique object... I don't think you can get rarer than that," said senior specialist Peter Klarnet of Christie's Auctions, which will conduct the sale between June 2-18 in New York. "(The cover) marked a major turning point in the history of pop music, heralded by the debut of Led Zeppelin. It was louder, bolder than what had come before and would come to define the shape of hard rock for generations." George Hardie produced his take on the photo while studying at the Royal College of Art in London in 1969. His friend, photographer Stephen Goldblatt, had recommended his work to Led Zeppelin, with Jimmy Page later suggesting he use Shere's Hindenburg photo. Led Zeppelin reportedly paid Hardie only £60 for his efforts, though he is said to have discovered a note reading "George's pension fund upon finding the original tracing years later." - New Musical Express, 5/9/20...... The Rolling Stones' recent quarantine anthem "Living in a Ghost Town" has surged on the Billboard rock charts after being released on Apr. 23. It rose 3-1 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart dated May 9, becoming the band's first No. 1 on that list and selling 16,000 downloads in its first full tracking frame (Apr. 24-30), according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. On the all-genre Rock Airplay Chart, it jumped 44-34 fueled by its No. 21 debut on Adult Alternative Songs and early airplay on mainstream rock stations. The song becomes the Stones' highest-ranking song on a Billboard airplay chart since "Doom and Gloom," which peaked at No. 10 on the Adult Alternative Songs chart in Nov. 2012. "Living in a Ghost Town" is expected to appear on the band's new album that the legendary rockers have been recording for several years, the follow-up to their 2016's covers set Blue & Lonesome and their first album of newly-written material since 2005's A Bigger Bang. - Billboard, 5/6/20...... In a new interview on Sirius XM/s "Trunk Nation" radio show, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi says he's "not opposed to doing anything" with his iconic heavy metal band, which hasn't performed since Feb. 2017. "It was great to be able to go out and do a final tour," Iommi said. "I think that it would be good, if we could do [a one-off show]. The hard thing is, certainly with Sabbath, because it's such a big thing, you can't just do an occasional show, because of the crew, and you have the whole setup. It would have to be a year or an 18-month tour... I'm not opposed to doing anything; I just would do it in a different way." In April, Iommi revealed that he's been in touch with Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne on a daily basis during the coronavirus-enforced lockdown "and that people had been keeping an eye on him too." "Neighbours have dropped a note through the door asking if I want any shopping, the guitarist said of being stuck indoors at his home in Worcestershire. "They're looking out for the poor old sod!," he said. - New Musical Express, 5/6/20...... The late Ricky Nelson's sons Matthew and Gunnar Nelson are marking what would have been the 80th anniversary of their dad's birthday on May 8 with a 2-hour documentary called Ricky Nelson Remembered that, according to Matthew, "tells the stories behind the songs, with videos playing behind us with people like Paul McCartney, John Fogerty and Kris Kristofferson talking about our pop, and words from the man himself." "He had this wonderful, silent strength, and a kindness and gentleness," Gunnar mused of his father, who died in a plane crash on Dec. 31, 1985. "We're doing this show not because we have to, but because we want to." The special can be streamed on the Nelson twins' website. - Billboard, 5/8/20...... Betty Wright, a legendary soul/R&B singer known for classics such as "Tonight Is the Night," "No Pain, (No Gain)" and "Clean Up Woman," died on May 10 from cancer at her home in Miami. She was 66. Wright earned a top 10 single in 1972 with "Clean Up Woman," which peaked at No. 6 on the pop chart, and would go on to be sampled by numerous artists, including Mary J. Blige, Afrika Bambaataa and Sublime. By the mid-'70s, Wright had scored big with songs "Tonight Is the Night" and "Where Is the Love," which earned her a Grammy for for best R&B song in 1975. In the 1980s, Wright founded her own record label, Ms. B Records, and released the album Mother Wit, featuring the popular song "No Pain (No Gain)." - Billboard, 5/10/20...... Brian Howe, lead singer in a later incarnation of the English hard rock band Bad Company, died on May 5 at his home in Lake Placid, Fla., from a cardiac arrest. He was 66. The Portsmouth, England native established his reputation as a powerhouse vocalist with bands such as Shy and White Spirit. He came to the U.S. and joined Ted Nugent's band in 1983, singing on Nugent's 1984 album Penetrator but leaving over business issues. Two years later, Howe was recruited by original Bad Company members Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke to join a rejuvenated version of the band, replacing original frontman Paul Rodgers for an eight-year run that started with 1986's Fame and Fortune. Howe was with Bad Company through 1994, releasing five albums with the group -- one platinum and two gold. He went on to release three solo albums as well as a single, "Hot Tin Roof," in 2017. - Billboard, 5/7/20...... Florian Schneider, co-founder of the German electronic pop band Kraftwerk, died after a short battle with cancer on May 6, just a few days after of his 73rd birthday. Schneider formed the influential group and multimedia project with Ralf Hütter in 1970. With its use of electronic instruments that included homemade and custom-built devices, Kraftwerk has been credited with pioneering the electronic music and influencing several music genres, including including hip-hop, synthpop and rock. Schneider -- who played the synthesizer, vocoder, flute, sax and more, as well as provided vocals -- left the band in 2008 after four decades. The late David Bowie once recognized Schneider and Kraftwerk's influence by titling his mostly instrumental track "V-2 Schneider" on his 1977 album "Heroes" after the musician. Though nominated for the Rock Hall of Fame six times, the influential electronic band has yet to be inducted. Prior to his death, Kraftwerk had announced that the band would be embarking on a summer tour of North America to celebrate the group's 50th anniversary, which unfortunately had to be canceled due to the global coronavirus pandemic. - Billboard, 5/6/20...... Actor/comedian Jerry Stiller, known for his role as cantakerous fathers on the TV sitcoms Seinfeld and The King of Queens, has died at age 92 of natural causes, his actor son Ben Stiller posted on Twitter on May 11. "He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad," Ben posted. Jerry Stiller was part of a 1960s comedy team Stiller and Meara with wife Anne Meara, who died in 2015 at age 85. Stiller and Meara worked together in the Compass Players comedy troupe before forming their own team. By the 1960s, they had become a popular comedy duo on U.S. television and appeared 36 times on The Ed Sullivan Show. Their act included skits such as an interview with the biblical Jonah after his encounter with the whale and parodies of TV commercials. Mr. Stiller later did some Broadway work and appeared in films including Airport 1975 and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. He was in his mid-60s when he got what would become his signature acting role -- Frank Costanza, father of ne'er-do-well George Costanza (played by Jason Alexander) on Seinfeld, a tense, bombastic man always on the verge of apoplexy. The show, one of the most highly regarded in U.S. TV history, was in its fourth season at the time but Mr. Stiller said he had never watched a minute of it and had to ask, "Who's Seinfeld?" Mr. Stiller also had roles in both the 1998 and 2007 versions of the movie Hairspray and appeared in films starring son Ben such as Zoolander and The Heartbreak Kid. He is also survived by a daughter, Amy Stiller, also is an actress. - Reuters, 5/11/20.