The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry are just a few of the musicians demanding politicians seek approval from artists before playing their songs at campaign rallies. In an open letter penned posted on Medium.com by the Artists Rights Alliance (ARA) ahead of the US elections, those rockers along with the likes of Blondie, Elvis Costello, REM, Lionel Richie, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow, Courtney Love and Panic! At the Disco demand that the major US national political party committees "establish clear policies requiring campaigns to seek the consent of featured recording artists, songwriters, and copyright owners before publicly using their music in a political or campaign setting." The letter continues: "This is the only way to effectively protect your candidates from legal risk, unnecessary public controversy and the moral quagmire that comes from falsely claiming or implying an artist's support or distorting an artists' (sic) expression in such a high stakes public way." The ARA says that political campaigns are obliged to seek permission to use music for their rallies, while music creators hold the ultimate decision over who can use their music. "We've seen so many artists and estates dragged into politics against their will and forced to take aggressive action to prohibit the use of their music usually songs that are broadcast during political rallies. It can confuse and disappoint fans and even undermine an artists' long term income and mostly it's just not right," the letter reads. - Music-News.com/NME, 7/29/20...... 
In related news, Neil Young posted on his Neil Young Archives site on July 26 that he is "reconsidering" suing US Pres. Donald Trump over the president's use of Young's music at his rallies. "I am changing my mind about suing President Trump. Reconsidering," wrote the Canadian born folk-rock star, who said earlier in July that he didn't want a lawsuit to distract Trump from properly responding to the coronavirus pandemic. "I'm looking at it again," he added. "There is a long history to consider and I originally considered it, deciding not to pursue. But then President Trump ordered thugs in uniform onto our streets. His idea... This is all DJT." Young, who became a US citizen in Jan. 2020 after living here for more than five decades, recently criticized Trump for playing his song "Rockin' in the Free World" during the Independence Day celebration at Mount Rushmore. "This is NOT ok with me," he tweeted along with a video of the event at the time. Trump has also used the song previously during his presidential campaign. - Billboard, 7/27/20...... Meanwhile, Barbra Streisand lashed out at the president during a virtual fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on July 28. "Let's face it, Trump is unfit, mentally and morally, to hold this distinguished office," said Streisand, who didn't perform but was given eight minutes to deliver the event's closing remarks. The diva continued: "A few weeks ago, Trump called out the troops against peaceful protesters. That is what cowards do when they are scared. Donald Trump has failed us. And we cannot survive four more years of his incompetence we're feeling right now. (Biden) will listen to people rather than greeting them with guns. All they want is justice. It's as simple as that." The "Celebration for Change" fundraiser reportedly raked in $760,000 (£583,000) for the campaign of Joe Biden, who Streisand said is "the leader we need now." - New Musical Express, 7/28/20...... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has shared more classic performances to its YouTube archive to help fans in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. A number of live outings from past ceremonies have recently been added to the archive, including those from such '70s superstars as Rush, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. There are currently more 200 videos on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame YouTube channel, with new performances being added on a weekly basis. The Rock Hall's 2020 ceremony was due to be held on May 2, but will now take place on Nov. 7 at Cleveland's Public Auditorium. The event will be broadcast live on HBO and will begin at 8:00 pm EST (1:00 am GMT). - New Musical Express, 7/29/20...... 
Robert Plant announced on July 29 that he's releasing a career-spanning anthology CD set titled Digging Deep: Subterranea on Oct. 2 via his own Es Paranza label. The 2-CD set, which will accompany the third season of his podcast Digging Deep With Robert Plant, will include 30 tracks from across Plant's 11 solo albums, with guest appearances by his Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page as well as the likes of Phil Collins, Buddy Miller, Nigel Kennedy, Richard Thompson and more. The album is slated for release on Oct. 2 via Plant's own label, Es Paranza. In February 2020, Plant released an 8-record box set of his 7" singles also called Digging Deep. The third season of his Digging Deep With Robert Plant podcast began on July 27. Five new episodes will be released fortnightly over Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. - NME, 7/29/20...... Actor Sam Rockwell is reportedly in talks to star as late country music legend Merle Haggard in an upcoming biography about Haggard's life. To be directed by Robin BIssell, who directed Rockwell in The Best of Enemies, the project will be co-written by Bissell and Haggard's widow, Theresa Haggard, based on the Haggard' memoir Sing Me Back Home. Rockwell will do his own singing of Haggard's songs, recorded during the '60s when the picture is set. The film will focus not only on Haggard's three years in prison at San Quentin, but also heavily on his complicated love affair, which played out on-stage and off, with singer Bonnie Owens -- his singing partner who eventually became his wife. Haggard, who scored 9 number one Country hits from 1966 to 1970, died on Apr. 6, 2016 -- his 79th birthday -- at his ranch in Shasta County, Calif., having recently suffered from double pneumonia. - New Musical Express, 7/28/20...... Van Morrison and The Bootleg Beatles have joined the summer line-up for the UK's first distanced music venue. The Virgin Money Unity Arena, which is set to open at Newcastle Racecourse in August, will allow music fans across the North East to enjoy live music for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began. Morrison will play the venue on Sept. 3, while The Bootleg Beatles will play an earlier show on Aug. 16. Taking place until Sept. 13, fans can also expect sets from the likes of The Libertines, Two Door Cinema Club, Tom Grennan and Maximo Park as well as comedy shows from Bill Bailey and Jason Manford. - NME, 7/27/20...... Rolling Stone magazine's website is currently sharing a previously unreleased version of Paul McCartney and Steve Miller's collaborative track "Broomstick" in conjunction with the remastered deluxe re-release of McCartney's 1997 album Flaming Pie. "Broomstick," which features on the album, is a tune McCartney cut with Miller, who played guitar on most of the well-received album. It was released as a B side to the single "Young Boy" (which Miller also sang and played guitar on) but has since faded into obscurity. "As long as we're together, it's gonna be just fine/ Well, I heard it on the broomstick, dashing through the middle of the night," Sir Paul sings on the smooth track that hears Miller play a bluesy solo. Although it won't appear on the boxset, a previously unreleased all-acoustic instrumental jam version of "Broomstick" has been shared by Rolling Stone. - Rolling Stone/NME, 7/25/20...... 
Peter Green, the influential blues rock guitarist and co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, died in his sleep over the fourth weekend of July according to a statement shared by his family members to the BBC. He was 73. "It is with great sadness that the family of Peter Green announce his death this weekend, peacefully in his sleep. A further statement will be provided in the coming days," the statement reads. Born in London in 1946, Green began his career as a teenager in 1965 as the guitarist for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, where he replaced Eric Clapton. In 1966, Green teamed up with drummer Mick Fleetwood to form Fleetwood Mac. The two later recruited John McVie on bass. The first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac, under Green's direction, released Fleetwood Mac (1968), Mr. Wonderful (1968) and Then Play On (1969). During his time in the group, Green penned such popular songs as "Albatross," "Man of the World," "Oh Well" and "Black Magic Woman," which later became a huge hit for Santana. Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1970 and was later diagnosed with schizophrenia, forcing him to seek treatment in psychiatric hospitals, however he continued to release music, including his 1970 solo debut, The End of the Game. Because of his mental illness, however, the guitarist wouldn't release another solo album until 1979, and his last solo release was 1983's Kolors. During the 1990s, Green teamed up with guitarist Nigel Watson and drummer Cozy Powell to form Peter Green Splinter Group, releasing numerous albums in the late '90s and early 2000s. In 1998, Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with seven other past and present other members of Fleetwood Mac, who after Green's departure later went on to achieve major success with the new lineup of Fleetwood, McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. In Feb. 2020, Mick Fleetwood organized an all-star tribute to the early years of Fleetwood Mac with Green, featuring performances by Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Steven Tyler and others. In a statement, Mick Fleetwood called the loss of his former bandmate as "monumental." "No one has ever stepped into the ranks of Fleetwood Mac without a reverence for Peter Green and his talent, and to the fact that music should shine bright and always be delivered with uncompromising passio ... Peter, I will miss you, but rest easy your music lives on," he said. Stevie Nicks tweeted that Green's guitar playing "was one of the reasons I was excited to join Fleetwood Mac" and "my biggest regret is that I never got to share the stage with him." Green is survived by his daughter, Rosebud, who he had with ex-wife Jane Samuels. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 7/25/20...... Miss Mercy, a member of the Frank Zappa-associated band The GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously, died on July 28 at age 71, as confirmed on Instagram by Pamela Des Barres (aka GTOS' Miss Pamela), and later the author of the memoir I'm With The Band. "My beloved sister for most of my life, Miss Mercy has just passed. Words don't work for me at this moment. I can't imagine my world without her in it," she wrote. Born Judith Edna Peters on Feb. 16, 1949 in California, Miss Mercy met Zappa in the '60s, who would go on to encourage Peters and future bandmates Miss Christine and Cinderella to form The GTOs. The GTOs, which at first numbered seven members, then five, were only active between 1968 and 1970. They recorded one studio album, 'Permanent Damage', through now-defunct label Straight. The record, which featured musical contributions from Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart, was produced by Zappa. Following their separation, The GTOs joined forces again four years later for a reunion. Mercy would go on to marry American musician Shuggie Otis, with whom she had a son, before they separated. - New Musical Express, 7/29/20...... John Saxon, the ruggedly handsome actor and close friend of the late Bruce Lee who appeared in Lee's classic Enter the Dragon as well as three Nightmare on Elm Street movies for director Wes Craven,, died of pneumonia in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on July 25, according to his wife Gloria. He was 83. An Italian-American from Brooklyn, Mr. Saxon played characters of various ethnicities during his long career. His portrayal of a brutal Mexican bandit opposite Marlon Brando in The Appaloosa (1966) earned him a Golden Globe, and he had a recurring role on ABC's Dynasty as Rashid Ahmed, a powerful Middle East tycoon who romanced Alexis Colby (Joan Collins). On another 1980s primetime soap, CBS' Falcon Crest, he played the father of Lorenzo Lamas' character. Years earlier, Mr. Saxon starred from 1969-72 as the surgeon Theodore Stuart on The New Doctors' rotating segment of the NBC drama series The Bold Ones. Discovered by the same agent who launched the careers of Rock Hudson and Tab Hunter, Mr. Saxon first gained notice for his performance as a disturbed high school football star who taunts Esther Williams in The Unguarded Moment (1956). Other big screen credits include Rock, Pretty Baby (1956), Summer Love (1958), The Reluctant Debutante (1958), Cry Tough (1959), Joe Kidd (1972), The Swiss Conspiracy (1976), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) and God's Ears (2008). He was married three times, to screenwriter Mary Ann Murphy, airline attendant turned actress Elizabeth Saxon and, since 2008, cosmetician Gloria Martel. Survivors also include his son, Antonio, and his sister, Dolores. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/25/20...... 
Beloved U.S. TV personality Regis Philbin, the Emmy-winning host of such popular television shows as Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, passed away on July 24 of a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, due to coronary artery disease and hypertension (high blood pressure). He was 88. Over the years, Mr. Philbin also hosted Miss America pageants and was nominated for 37 Daytime Emmy Awards throughout his career and won six. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and two years later was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Television Academy Hall of Fame. He also holds the world record for most hours on US television, according to Guinness World Records, with more than 16,700 hours on air. Regis Francis Xavier Philbin was born in New York on Aug. 25, 1931, Mr. Philbin got his start in show business as a page on NBC's The Tonight Show. He later hosted The Regis Philbin Show out of San Diego before joining The Joey Bishop Show as Bishop's sidekick. After a stint as the host of a local Los Angeles TV talk show, Philbin became the co-host in 1983 of The Morning Show on WABC. Kathie Lee Gifford became Philbin's co-host in 1985, and in 1988 the show was syndicated and renamed. The duo continued hosting together until 2000, at which point Philbin hosted the show alone -- then dubbed Live with Regis -- until he was joined by Kelly Ripa in 2001. He finally left the show in November 2011. In a tribute posted to Instagram, Gifford said there were "no words to fully express the love I have for my precious friend, Regis." "I smile knowing somewhere in Heaven, at this very moment, he's making someone laugh," she wrote. "It brings me great comfort knowing that he had a personal relationship with his Lord that brought him great peace. "There has never been anyone like him," Gifford said. "And there never will be." - CNN, 7/25/20...... Legendary actress Olivia de Havilland, a cast member of the 1939 film Gone With the Wind and considered to be one of the last remaining stars of Old Hollywood, died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Paris, France, on July 25. She was 104. The British-American Dame was the sister of actress Joan Fontaine and enjoyed a remarkable life and career, evening winning two Best Actress Oscars for To Each His Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949) respectively. Born in Tokyo in 1916, Ms. De Havilland, Fontaine and their actress-mother Lillian moved to California in 1919 after their father Walter, a British patent attorney, left them to pursue a relationship with their housekeeper. She went on to make her on-screen debut in Max Reinhardt's elaborate 1935 adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy, "A Midsummer Night's Dream." In 2018, Ms. de Havilland famously took legal action against the cable TV network FX and director Ryan Murphy, after she alleged Murphy never sought her permission to depict her or use her name in the drama Feud: Bette & Joan. The eight-episode series about Joan Crawford and Bette Davis saw Olivia played by fellow Oscar-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, however, the lawsuit was later dismissed. - Variety, 7/26/20...... Fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto, who worked closely with David Bowie during his career, died on July 21 due to acute myeloid leukemia. He was 76. Mr. Yamamoto was the first Japanese designer to host a fashion show in London in 1971, and he soon established friendships with the likes of Bowie, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. Mr. Yamamoto formed a creative partnership with Bowie during the early 1970s, with the designer producing numerous stage outfits for the late musician. Their collaboration was particularly notable during Bowie's 1973 Aladdin Sane tour, with Yamamoto's outfit designs helping bring Bowie's various stage personas, such as Ziggy Stardust, to life. David Bowie's official Twitter account paid tribute to Yamamoto after learning of his passing. - New Musical Express, 7/27/20.
Genesis confirmed on July 24 that their much-anticipated reunion tour, set to take place across the UK and Ireland this November and December, has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Genesis members Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks announced in March that their "The Last Domino" tour would commence this fall, their first live shows in 13 years. Now due to coronavirus restrictions, the trio has postponed the tour until Apr. 2021. It kicks off on Apr. 1 in Glasgow, also hitting Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Dublin, Belfast, Leeds, and Liverpool before wrapping with three shows at London's O2 Arena in late April. Two additional dates were added at Birmingham's Utilita Arena and London's O2 Arena on Apr. 7 and Apr. 30, respectively. Meanwhile, the band has spent the coronavirus lockdown uploading a series of classic gigs, streaming one new show every weekend. - New Musical Express, 7/24/20...... Barbra Streisand will be among the co-headliners of a Joe Biden presidential campaign fundraiser on July 26 at 8:00 p.m. EDT. The "Celebration for Change" virtual event will be hosted by comedian Jay Leno and also feature appearances by John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Kristin Chenowith, Julianne Moore, Rob Reiner, Pete Buttigieg, and more. - Billboard, 7/23/20...... A new exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary UK music festival Isle of Wight will open at west London's Masterpiece Art gallery beginning July 27. "Wight Spirit, 1968-70" will display pictures and associated artwork from the festival, including unseen photos from its iconic 1970 edition, the year from which 50 years is marked, when 600,000 people watched Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell play what has become known as "Europe's answer to Woodstock." Sculptures by Guy Portelli and a selection of photos taken by the late Charles Everest -- some of which have never been publicly seen before -- will be displayed until Sept. 5. Some as yet unnannounced musicians who played at the festival from 1968-70 will also stage live performances at the gallery as well as at the showroom of guitar brand Gibson beginning in August. The Masterpiece Art gallery will also stage a one-day exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix's death on Sept. 19, 1970. Meanwhile, the 2020 edition of Isle of Wight was recently cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The 50th anniversary festival now takes place on June 17-20, 2021, with sets from Lionel Ritchie, Lewis Capaldi, Duran Duran, Snow Patrol, and others. - New Musical Express, 7/23/20...... KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley has called for compassion over rapper Kayne West's mental health after West's wife Kim Kardashian recently spoke out about her husband's mental struggles with bipolar disorder. Writing on her Instagram feed, Kardashian West said that "those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words sometimes do not align with his intentions." This came after West posted a series of now deleted Tweets which claimed he had been trying to divorce Kardashian and that she had tried to "lock me up." This prompted Kardashian West to issue a response in which she wrote: "As many of you know, Kanye has bipolar disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand... I feel like I should comment on it because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health." This prompted Paul Stanley to retweet her post with his own message: "Let's have compassion and commend this. So many struggle with mental illness and depression and we can all make a difference." - NME, 7/23/20...... 
"I Do Believe I Love You," a rare unreleased David Bowie demo, is set to be auctioned on July 23 and is expected to fetch up to £5,000. The demo was recorded when Bowie signed as a songwriter to Orbit Music in 1966, and was discovered by a London-based music seller who found it in their back catalog collection. It is amongst several other rare Bowie items being sold at the auction at Wessex Auction Rooms, including a signed copy of the singer's 1970 LP The Man Who Sold The World. "As one of only a few people in the world who have heard the recording, I am still amazed that this musical treasure has been uncovered after all of these years," says Auctioneer Martin Hughes. "David Bowie is one of the most iconic artists of all time, and I am sure that this item is going to create a buzz around the globe amongst fans of Bowie as well as collectors of pop culture," he added. - NME, 7/21/20...... As first reported in late June, Elton John's ex-wife Renate Blauel confirmed she was suing her former rock superstar husband by filing documents at London's high court on July 22. According to the documents, comments made by Elton in his 2018 memoir Me broke the terms of an agreement the couple made when they divorced 32 years ago. The documents state that John allegedly agreed to remove certain passages before publication of the book, but Blauel claims that they triggered existing mental health problems. Blauel, a German-born sound engineer, married Elton in Australia in 1984, but they split in 1988, around the same time the singer came out as gay. Describing the pain of their split, John wrote in his book: "I'd broken the heart of someone I loved and who loved me unconditionally, someone I couldn't fault in any way. Despite all the pain, there was no acrimony involved at all. For years afterwards, whenever something happened to me, the press would turn up on her doorstep, looking for her to dish the dirt, and she never, ever has." He also wrote about having very limited contact with Blauel following their separation, but had invited her to meet his children because he "wanted her to be part of our lives, and us part of hers, in some way." ut she didn't want to," he said. "And I didn't push the issue. I have to respect how she feels." Blauel had initially filed an injunction against John but that has now resulted in a civil case. He is yet to respond to Blauel's latest legal action. - New Musical Express, 7/23/20...... A release date for a 40th anniversary edition of Motörhead's landmark 1980 album Ace of Spades has been set for this fall. The reissue of Ace of Spades is due Oct. 30 and will come in various deluxe editions that include hardback book-packs in 2-CD and 3-LP formats, and a collector's edition Ace Of Spades' box set will contain "a bevvy of era-specific treasures and 42 previously unreleased tracks," according to a press release. Ace of Spades was led by its classic title track, which went on to become one of the band's signature songs during their career. - NME, 7/22/20...... In an interview with the BBC's Zoe Ball Breakfast Show radio program on July 22, Mick Jagger gave a progress update on the next fresh Rolling Stones music as he marked the release of "Scarlet," the Stones' previously unreleased collaboration with Jimmy Page. When asked about how the Stones' next set of songs are progressing, Jagger said: "I don't know and don't hold you breath! We recorded a bunch of tracks at the same time we did (Living In a) Ghost Town, (a standalone track released by the band in April) so actually I've been finishing off the vocals and some other instruments on them, and doing some mixes. So I'm working on it." Jagger continued: "We've got to get together and do a couple more sessions on them. But we're not really gonna get together right now. But it sounds good, what we've already done -- [it] sounds pretty good to me." About the "Scarlet" track, which will feature on the band's September-released expanded edition of their 1973 album Goats Head Soup, Jagger said: "I remember first jamming this with Jimmy and Keith [Richards] in Ronnie's basement studio. It was a great session." The Stones have shared the previously unreleased "Scarlet" track on YouTube. - NME, 7/22/20...... 
Speaking of Jimmy Page, the Led Zeppelin mastermind has has reiterated that it's "really unlikely" that Led Zeppelin will ever reunite to go on tour again in the future. During an interview on the BBC's Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on July 22, Ball asked Page if Zeppelin could ever return to go back on tour, referencing Mick Jagger's comments in their earlier interview in which he said he was "so disappointed" that the band didn't go on tour after their one-off 2007 reunion show at The O2 in London. "At the time of the O2, we thought -- myself, John Paul Jones and Jason [Bonham] -- that there was going to; it was said that there were gonna be some more dates," Page said. "It would've been really good to have done that after the O2, 'cos we'd put a lot of work into The O2 and we were really on it, y'know? But it didn't come off." Page added: "It seems really unlikely that there would be a tour in the future. Unlike the Rolling Stones, they do sort of know that the fans love that -- also I know that with Led Zeppelin [fans too]. But it doesn't look as though there's anything in the future, unfortunately. We're talking about a concert that was gigantic at the time, but that was 2007: time passes, y'know?" - NME, 7/22/20...... Eddie Van Halen's son and newest Van Halen member Wolfgang Van Halen has given VH fans some hope that a future VH tour could still happen, despite recent comments by VH singer David Lee Roth to the New York Times that the band wouldn't reunite anytime soon. In the interview, Roth said: "I don't know that Eddie is ever really going to rally for the rigours of the road again. I don't even want to say I've waited -- I've supported for five years. Because what I do is physical as well as musical and spiritual -- you can't take five years off from the ring. But I did. And I do not regret a second of it. He's a band mate. We had a colleague down. And he's down now for enough time that I don't know that he's going to be coming back out on the road. You want to hear the classics? You're talking to him." After seeing Roth's comments, VH bassist Wolfgang retweeted them and added: "Yeah I don't really think that's up for him to decide," giving hope to fans that a future tour could still happen yet. - NME, 7/20/20.
Speaking of Paul McCartney, the former Beatle has released new EP featuring a remastered version of his 1997 song "Beautiful Night" with Ringo Starr. Currently available for streaming on 
In a video shot in June and has since gone viral, Billy Joel is seen stopping in front of an unloved upright piano on a sidewalk in Huntington, Long Island, to play an impromptu version of Shelton Brooks' 1917 ragtime tune "Darktown Strutters' Ball." Wearing a black jacket and pants and sporting a motorcycle helmet, the Piano Man opines, "Not bad, the action is good... Just needs tuning, and the finish is beat. It's a perfectly good piano." Joel then said, "It's a shame to throw it out" before suggesting "someone should donate it to St. Vincent de Paul." He also checked out the pedals and the finish on the keys and again praises the action on the piano. According to Newsday, Joel was on a motorcycle ride when he spotted the instrument and felt compelled to stop and give it a try. The video can be viewed on 
Sneaker manufacturer Nike has just unveiled a new line of trainers inspired by the Grateful Dead, replete with a pouch on the inside of the tongue for storing weed. The shoes, dubbed "Nike SB Dunk Low Grateful Dead," were inspired by the legendary San Francisco band's iconic bears, first seen on the back cover of the 1973 GD live album History of the Grateful Dead, Volume 1 (Bear's Choice). The shoes sport a faux-fur and suede exterior, and an image of the bear on the tongue, with a pouch on the inside of the tongue for storing weed. Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux notes: "As the band's benefactor, Bear was an incredibly huge part of the Grateful Dead's ability to become who they were. They were talented musicians, but they would not have had the financial freedom to forgo jobs, move to Los Angeles and practice for 14 hours a day. The band wouldn't become what it is today without Bear's innovations and contributions. The shoes come in three different colors and cost $110 (£87). The orange version will be available beginning July 18 via FTC Skateshop, with the green and yellow versions arriving July 24 via Nike's app 
American pop singer/songwriter Emitt Rhodes, known for his contributions to power pop and psychedelic pop in the 1970s and 1980s, has died at age 70, according to his reps and collaborators. Rhodes, a former member of such bands as Palace Guard and The Merry Go Round before going on to release five solo records including his classic 
The original handwritten lyrics of the Don McLean song 
Tina Turner is returning from retirement by teaming up with Norwegian producer Kygo on a remix of her iconic track "What's Love Got To Do With It?." Kygo shared a picture of himself and the 80-year-old rock/soul icon on his 
In a new interview with Hawaii Public Radio, Alice Cooper discussed the Black Lives Matter movement and police reform, saying that he believes that police in America who are racist need to be "weeded out." Discussing the violent protests of the 1960s and civil rights marches, Cooper said: "Well, isn't it amazing that that was 50, 60 years ago, or something like that, and we're still dealing with the same problem? You would have thought that that solved the problem. But there's always that five percent of people that are racist." He continued: "To be honest with you, I know a lot of cops. I don't know one racist cop. But I guarantee you that five percent of the police force in every city have got a racial problem.... You don't have a full police department of racists in there; you have maybe a small percentage, and those are the guys that need to be weeded out. I can't see why we don't spend the money on getting a committee in every city to weed out the bad guys." Meanwhile, the Coop is teaming up with the Arizona-based dairy company Danzeisen Dairy to release his own chocolate milk bottle. The news first became public earlier in July in an 
Actress Kelly Preston, who appeared in the films Jerry Maguire, Twins and Mischief and was the wife of Saturday Night Fever star John Travolta, died on July 13 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57. Travolta, who had been married to Preston for 29 years, confirmed her death on his Instagram account. "It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer," Travolta wrote. "She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many. ...I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive me in advance if you don't hear from us for a while. All my love, JT," he added. Born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, she changed her name to Kelly Preston before securing her first film role in the 1985 romcom Mischief, then appeared in another teen comedy, Secret Admirer. She went on to appear in SpaceCamp and then Twins with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. In Jerry Maguire, she played Tom Cruise's fiancee Avery Bishop, then co-starred opposite Kevin Costner in For Love of the Game. Travolta and Preston met on the set of the 1987 movie The Experts. The duo would later marry in Paris in 1991. Preston has said in interviews that she had a premonition when she saw the poster for Grease at age 16 that she would marry Travolta. In the 2000s, Preston appeared on TV in Medium and Fat Actress and in films including What a Girl Wants, Sky High and Casino Jack. Her final film role was as mobster's wife Victoria Gotti alongside Travolta as John Gotti in Gotti. The actress and philanthropist is survived by her husband and two children. Her son Jett died in 2009. - Variety.com, 7/13/20...... Benjamin Keough, the son of Lisa Marie Presley and grandson of Elvis Presley, died on July 12 in Calabasas, Calif., from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in what has been officially ruled a suicide. He was 27. Keough also was the brother of actress Riley Keough and son of musician Danny Keough. (Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough divorced in 1994.) His maternal grandmother is Priscilla Presley. Lisa Marie, according to her rep, is "completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated" over the death of her son, "but trying to stay strong for her 11-year-old twins and her oldest daughter, Riley. She adored that boy. He was the love of her life." In 2013, Lisa Marie told the Huffington Post that she was letting Benjamin do "his own thing." "He's doing his own thing right now. I'm going to let him decide when he wants to go out and do what he wants to do," she said. In 2012, Keough and his siblings all were featured in the video for Lisa Marie's "duet" with Elvis of his 1954 song "I Love You Because" through archival footage. Lisa Marie also posted a family photo in June 2019 with all her children, which include his twin sisters Finley and Harper Lockwood (whose father is Lisa Marie's ex-husband Michael Lockwood) with the caption: "Mama Lion with cubs." Benjamin at one point tried to follow in his famous grandfather's footsteps, reportedly signing a $5 million record deal with Universal in 2009 to record up to five albums. However, the label denied at the time that any such deal had been struck. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/12/20...... 
Folk singer and songwriter Judy Dyble, known for her work with the UK band Fairport Convention, died on the morning of July 12 after suffering from a long-term illness. She was 71. "It is with great sadness that we announce that English singer-songwriter Judy Dyble passed away on 12th July 2020 following a long illness borne with great courage," a press release said. "We wish to express our deepest sympathies to Judy's family, friends and many associates from her musical career at this time. Judy's family would like to thank her fans for their messages and good wishes on social media over the last few weeks, but at this time ask that they avoid contacting them for now as they would just like some quiet time," the release continued. Rising to prominence in the 1960s, most notably as a founding member of Fairport Convention and vocalist with cult band Trader Horne, Dyble largely withdrew from the music scene in the early 1970s to concentrate on her family before being invited back to perform with Fairport Convention in 1997 for the 30th anniversary reunion at Cropredy. In 2017, she contributed to "The Ivy Gate," a song on the progressive rock band Big Big Train's tenth studio album Grimspound. She went on to form a close working relationship with Big Big Train's multi-instrumentalist frontman David Longdon and the pair were scheduled to release an album, Between a Breath and a Breath, on Sept. 25. Prog-rock greats King Crimson were among those paying tribute to Dyble on Twitter, along with the band Hand of Glory who described her as "just instantly one of the loveliest people you could ever meet, and managed to achieve the near impossible in making records in recent years that were at least as good as her old ones... She'll be missed." - New Musical Express, 7/12/20.
Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon Osbourne, and their son Jack Osbourne will launch a new 8-part paranormal series on cable TV's Travel Channel on Aug. 2. The series, entitled The Osbournes Want to Believe, will find Jack trying to make believers out of his parents, who are, of course, natural skeptics. According to a press release, each hour-long episode will find Jack screening clips of unexplainable events, from Bigfoot and UFO sightings to poltergeists, creepy dolls and other unexplainable phenomenon to his mom and dad. "My parents have always lived on the edge, even when it comes to believing in the supernatural... My biggest challenge may be keeping their comments family friendly. It will be a classic Osbourne gathering!," Jack said in a statement. Ozzy and Sharon will check out Jack's videos and critique them and the series premiere promises to include "their outrageously funny reactions" including "Ozzy's historical digressions on Greeks, Romans and the berserkers and a copious amount of swearing." Meanwhile, possibly taking a cue from rapper Kayne West, Ozzy has just launched a new merchandise line featuring the slogan "Ozzy for President." Osbourne's presidential merch will include t-shirts, buttons, hoodies and bumper stickers. Captioning a link to the merch on 
The Rolling Stones announced on July 9 they're reissuing their classic 1973 No. 1 album Goats Head Soup as 
Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, insiders say 87-year-old Yoko Ono is "slowing down" after she was last spotted in Jan. 2019 at a women's march in a wheelchair and has not been spotted in public since. In 2017, Yoko was presented with a Centennial Song Award by the National Music Publishers Association and was pushed onstage in a wheelchair by her son Sean Lennon, shocking some who didn't realize the formidable avant-garde artist was incapacitated. She began her short acceptance speech by "addressing the elephant in the room. While it's not clear what "illness" she was referring to, Ono is reportedly still ailing, and requires round-the-clock care and rarely leaves her sprawling apartment in The Dakota, a source close to her staff recently told The New York Post. Ono, who has reported assets of $700 million, recently donated $50,000 to the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, which during the coronavirus pandemic has provided thousands of meals to out-of-work and needy residents in her Upper West Side neighborhood. - The New York Post, 7/4/20...... Bruce Springsteen has made a surprise release of a live Streets of Philadelphia album recorded on Sept. 25, 1999, at Philly's First Union Center. The longtime fan favorite bootleg, featuring his classic E Street Band lineup, has never been officially available before. The 22-song show, newly mixed from multitrack masters, opens with "Incident on 57th Street" and "The Ties That Bind," and includes such favorites as "Prove it All Night," "Atlantic City," "Point Blank," "Badlands" and "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" and encores of "Jungleland," "Born to Run," "Thunder Road" and "Land of Hope and Dreams." The album's title comes from the song Springsteen wrote for the 1993 Tom Hanks/Denzel Washington AIDS drama Philadelphia. Streets of Philadelphia can be streamed on 
The family of reggae legend Bob Marley have reimagined Marley's iconic song "One Love" to raise money for Unicef's coronavirus fund. Originally recorded in 1977 by Marley and his band The Wailers, the new take on "One Love" sees vocals from Marley's son Stephen, daughter Cedella and grandson Skip. The song, which has been shared on 
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz said it "would be nice" if his iconic New Wave band reunited. Frantz, speaking about his new biopic Remain in Love, said he hasn't seen Talking Heads frontman David Byrne since a 2003 meeting at a restaurant on New York's Lower East Side, and wasn't invited to see Byrne's "American Utopia" stage show on Broadway, which ran across 2019. Frantz said Byrne told him that evening that he would "think about" a reunion, but three days later he received a blunt email from Byrne saying, "I will never reunite with the Talking Heads. Please don't bring this up again." Frantz admits that he would like to reunite with the band, though, saying: "It would be nice if it could happen because unlike many of our contemporaries, we're all still alive." Talking Heads broke up in 1991, and have only played together once since, for their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. In late 2019, fans believed that a potential Talking Heads reunion was finally in the works, after the band appeared to launch an official Instagram account. The account hasn't shared a single post, and isn't verified as of yet. - New Musical Express, 7/7/20...... British photographer Fiona Adams, who took several memorable snaps of the Beatles including the iconic pic of the Fab Four jumping off a Brick Wall on London's Euston Road which adorned the cover of their 1963 "Twist and Show" UK EP, has died at the age of 84. Ms. Adams, who graduated from the Ealing College of Art and Technology in 1952, also went on to photograph some of the Sixties' other defining icons too -- including Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. In 2009 the National Portrait Gallery featured her Sixties work, in their exhibition "Beatles to Bowie: The 60s Exposed." She was hailed as "an unsung heroine of the decade now retired and living in the Channel Islands." Her death follows that of fellow Beatles collaborator/photographer Astrid Kirchherr earlier in 2020. - NME, 7/10/20...... Legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone, who is best known for scoring The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, has died in Rome following complications from a fall. He was 91. Mr. Morricone, who scored more than 500 films, is widely regarded as one of cinema's greatest composers and won a long-overdue Oscar for his work on Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight in 2015. He also received nominations for Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven (1978), Roland Joffe's The Mission (1986), Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987), Barry Levinson's Bugsy (1991) and Giuseppe Tornatore's Malena (2000). But it was Mr. Morricone's collaboration with director Sergio Leone on the "Dollars" spaghetti Western trilogy featuring Clint Eastwood that arguably spawned his best known work -- the iconic theme to The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Affectionally known as "The Maestro," Mr. Morricone was handed an honorary Oscar by astwood in 2007, with the Academy hailing his "magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music." - New Musical Express, 7/6/20.
Southern rock/country music legend Charlie Daniels, who worked his way up to platinum album sales through heavy touring with an eclectic repertoire that touched on several genres including boogie, bluegrass, country, blues, hard rock and even a bit of Tex-Mex, died at a hospital in Hermitage, Tenn., on the morning of July 6 from hemorrhagic stroke, his publicist confirmed. He was 83. Born on Oct. 28, 1936, in Wilmington, NC, Daniels was the son of a lumberman and began his professional career at 21 when he formed the Jaguars. From the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, he played in Southern bars and roadhouses, and in 1964 he co-penned "It Hurts Me" with friend Bob Johnston, a B-side for Elvis Presley on his double-sided Top 30 hit "Kissin' Cousins." In 1967, he disbanded the Jaguars and settled in Nashville , where he became an in demand studio musician playing guitar, fiddle, bass, and banjo on albums for such major rock acts as Bob Dylan (on his Nashville Skyline album), Ringo Starr (on 
In 1979, he scored a multi-million selling breakthrough with Million Mile Reflections, which yieled his No. 3 hit, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and earned him a Grammy for Best Country Vocal. The increasing political edge of his music was demonstrated with the 1980 No. 11 hit "In America," and in 1982 his version of Dan Daley's "Still in Saigon" concerned the traumas of a Vietnam vet. In 1993, he switched to Liberty Nashville Records, with another patriotic anthem in the title cut of America, I Believe in You. In 1994, he recorded his first gospel LP for Sparrow Records, The Door, which featured a songwriting collaboration between himself and Steven Curtis Chapman. Although his edgy, early music which celebrated pot smoking and poking fun at rednecks raised eyebrows in Nashville, he softened some verses in the 1990s and in 2008 joined the epitome of Nashville's music establishment, the Grand Ole Opry, and eight years later was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Daniels had suffered what was described as a mild stroke in Jan. 2010 and had a heart pacemaker implanted in 2013 but continued to perform. In 2017 he published his memoir, Never Look at the Empty Seats, and followed up in 2018 with Let's All Make the Day Count: The Everyday Wisdom of Charlie Daniels. In March, despite the coronavirus pandemic putting many events on hold, Daniels confirmed the lineup for a 2020 Volunteer Jam concert on Sept. 15, naming performers such as Trace Adkins, Justin Moore, The Marshall Tucker Band and Charley Pride, among others. Accolades to Daniels on Twitter from several country acts include Brad Paisley, who posted "A tale of hard work, musical discovery, and faith, Charlie Daniels's journey has been one of a kind. Equal parts rebel rouser and apostle, it's no small coincidence he launched his career by beating the Devil with a fiddle in hand. I love this man, the things he stands for, and his music. What a story." Daniels is survived by his wife Hazel, who he married in 1964, and son Charlie Jr. - Billboard/The Daily Mail UK/Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock, 7/6/20.