Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on September 13th, 2020

John Fogerty has taken to Facebook to question why Pres. Donald Trump would want to use the classic Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son" during a recent campaign rally on Sept. 10 in Freeland, Mich. In a video posted on Sept. 11, Fogerty, 75, says he wrote the song in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War to express his frustration about wealthy people using their power and influence to avoid being drafted. "It's a song I could've written now, so I find it confusing, I would say, that the president has chosen to use my song for his political rallies, when in fact it seems like he is probably the 'Fortunate Son,'" said Fogerty, who was drafted and served in the military. Fogerty also recited the opening lines from the song in reference to Pres. Trump using federal troops in early June to clear protestors at Washington, D.C.'s Lafayette Park for a photo-op at St. John's Church. "That's exactly what happened recently in Lafayette Park when the president decided to take a walk across the park," Fogerty said. "He cleared out the area using federal troops so that he could stand in front of St. John's church with a Bible." - Billboard, 9/12/20...... Bruce Springsteen made a surprise release of a heartbreaking rocker titled "Letter to You" on YouTube on Sept. 10 which will be the title track to his upcoming 12-song album with the E Street Band. Hitting stores on Oct. 23, Letter to You is described in a press release as a "rock album fueled by the band's heart-stopping, house-rocking signature sound." "I love the emotional nature of Letter To You," Springsteen said in the statement. "And I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we've never done before, and with no overdubs. We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I've ever had." The album, recorded in Springsteen's home studio, includes nine songs recently written by the musicians and three new versions of previously unreleased tracks from the 1970s: "Janey Needs a Shooter," "If I Was the Priest" and and "Song for Orphans." It will be the follow-up to his July release of a live 1999 Streets of Philadelphia album and 2019's solo album/movie Western Stars. - Billboard, 9/10/20...... The estate of Jimi Hendrix and Legacy Recordings announced on Sept. 10 that a new Hendrix documentary titled Music, Money, Madness... Jimi Hendrix In Maui and an accompanying live album called Jimi Hendrix - Live in Maui is being prepared for release. Jimi Hendrix in Maui will spotlight the Hendrix and his band the Jimi Hendrix Experience's famous visit to the Hawaiian city in 1970, and the ill-fated Rainbow Bridge film about the visit. As Hendrix was working on the follow-up to his Electric Ladyland LP and building his Electric Lady Studios in New York City's Greenwich Village, the completion of the recording facility proved to be quite expensive, so Hendrix's controversial manager Michael Jeffery procured a $500,000 advance from Warner Bros. to fund the remaining construction, and to finance the Rainbow Bridge film in exchange for rights to its soundtrack. However, the shoot began diminishing to an unorganized assemblage of hippie life, and when Jeffrey grew concerned that his investment was in jeopardy, he became desperate to feature Hendrix in the film. The Experience were already booked to perform a concert in Honolulu at the H.I.C. Arena on Aug. 1, 1970 and Wein came up with a plan to film a free "color/sound vibratory experiment" on the lower slope of the dormant Haleakala volcano. A few hundred Maui locals gathered for a successful performance, and Hendrix soon returned to New York and his work at Electric Lady Studios before he tragically died in London on Sept. 18, 1970. Jeffery prepared Rainbow Bridge and its accompanying soundtrack to follow up to acclaimed posthumous The Cry of Love. The film was a commercial flop as moviegoers were under the impression they were going to see a Jimi Hendrix concert film, but only 17 minutes of heavily edited Hendrix concert footage was used in the final cut. The Music, Money, Madness... Jimi Hendrix In Maui Blu-ray will include the full documentary as well as bonus features featuring all of the existing 16mm color film shot of the two performances that afternoon mixed in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound. - Billboard, 9/10/20...... Robert Plant says one of his fondest memories from his recent tour with Willie Nelson was watching the 87-year-old country music icon giving away free weed from his touring bus. "We were invited to play with Willie Nelson a couple of months ago and he was travelling through his tour with his big bus giving away weed to everybody," Plant, 72, said in an interview with the "Digging Deep" podcast. "The most cherished moment of my career was staying up for a couple of days. Not going home, just going to the next place. Finding that I was in transit forever," he added. Asked how Willie goes about giving weed to other bands, the former Led Zeppelin frontman said: "He just gives it away. It's a truckload from here to the... mirrorball and beyond. Free. With doors to go in, get your little hit and go out the other side." - Music-News.com, 9/13/20...... Joni Mitchell has announced a new series of archival releases from across her 50+ year career that will feature 29 songs that have never been released with the legendary singer/songwriter's vocal. The first edition, Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963 -- 1967) will drop on Oct. 30 and feature recordings prior to the release of Joni's 1968 debut album, Song to a Seagull. It will be a five-disc set containing over six hours of unreleased material, and come with 40-page liner notes, comprised of Mitchell's conversations with former Rolling Stone journalist Cameron Crowe discussing the archives. Crowe has interviewed Mitchell throughout her career, and will purportedly continue to contribute to subsequent entries into the series. Ahead of Archives Vol. 1's release, the first known recording by Mitchell as a 19-year-old performing a cover of the Animals' hit "House of the Rising Son" has been shared on YouTube. Joni performed the song at the Saskatoon radio station CFQC AM. Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963 -- 1967) is now available to pre-order on Mitchell's official website in a variety of editions. - NME, 9/11/20...... The Rolling Stones officially opened their first flagship shop at 9 Carnaby Street in Soho in central London on Sept. 9. The shop stocks a wide range of Stones records and memorabilia, including "an exclusive mix of collections and collaborations for fans of all ages" and a bespoke T-shirt customization station. Inside the shop, fans will find many of the band's lyrics daubed on the glass floor, while the fitting rooms are adorned with the artwork from several of the band's iconic albums including Exile on Main Street (1972) and Some Girls (1978). While the band acknowledges that, given the current social distancing climate, it's " bold time to launch a permanent retail space in London," they still hope that RS No.9 Carnaby Street will "provide a major long-term boost to music tourism in London." "We are confident this exciting project that our friends at Bravado have created will be an unrivalled experience for everyone to come to London and enjoy," their statement added. In addition to the opening of the physical retail outlent, the band also has an online version that has gone live at the same time. Meanwhile, the Stones have broken a UK chart record and beaten rising singer Declan McKenna to the Number One spot on the UK charts. The band was in a tight race for the top with McKenna's new album Zeros after their 1973 album Goats Head Soup was reissued on Sept. 4. Goats Head Soup rise to the top of the charts means the band has now set a new record as the first band in UK chart history to hit the top of the charts with an album across six different decades. They are also now tied with Elvis Presley and Robbie Williams for most Number One albums, with only the Beatles having achieved more with 15. - NME, 9/11/20...... Speaking of Elvis, the new Baz Luhrmann-directed Presley biopic will soon resume filming in Australia after production was halted back in March after star Tom Hanks, who portrays Presley's manager Col. Tom Parker in the film, and his wife Rita Wilson both tested positive for coronavirus. Production on Elvis is now set to resume in Queensland, Australia on Sept. 23. In a statement, Luhrmann (Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby) confirmed his excitement about returning to work on the movie. "We're back to, as Elvis liked to say, "taking care of business!," the filmmaker said. "It is a real privilege in this unprecedented global moment that Tom Hanks has been able to return to Australia to join Austin Butler (who plays Elvis in the film) and all of our extraordinary cast and crew to commence production on Elvis.," he added. - NME, 9/10/20...... Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Joan Jett stopped by CBS' The Late Late Show with James Corden on Sept. 10 to perform a cover of the T. Rex classic "Jeepster." Jett's reworking of the song, which was also featured on the recent Marc Bolan/T. Rex tribute album AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs Of Marc Bolan And T-Rex, can be viewed on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 9/12/20...... Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley hailed US Pres. Donald Trump as "the strongest leader that we've got" in a new interview on Cassius Morris' radio show in support of his forthcoming new covers album, Origins Vol. 2. "I don"t think politics and rock 'n' roll mix - in my opinion," said Frehley when one of his covers, Cream's 1967 track "Politician," came up in conversation. "And I try to stay away from [politics] as much as I can. I mean, once in a while, I'll make a crack. I will say I'm a Trump supporter. All the politicians have had skeletons in the closet. But I think Trump is the strongest leader that we've got on the table," he added. Frehley's comments, which can be viewed on YouTube, come after KISS frontman Paul Stanley hit out at the president in August for suggesting his opponents may rig November"s election to secure victory. - NME, 9/10/20...... Elton John will feature on a song on the cartoon band Gorillaz' upcoming album Song Machine, Season One: Strange Times. John features on the track "The Pink Phantom" with rapper 6LACK. Posting on Instagram, Elton said: "I am so excited to be a part of @gorillaz Song Machine Season One. The Pink Phantom, coming soon..." The album, also featuring contributions from St. Vincent and Beck, hits stores on Oct. 23. - Music-News.com, 9/10/20...... Pop sensation Miley Cyrus said during a recent appearance on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon that she reached out to one of her biggest musical heroes, Stevie Nicks, to ask permission to sample Nicks' 1981 solo hit "Edge of Seventeen" in her new single "Midnight Sky," and received a lot more than she bargained for with the rock icon's reply. "I sent her the song and I said, 'I have an alternate melody, if you don't want me to kind of like pay tribute to you and your greatness and how much you've inspired me,'" Cyrus recalled, adding that Nicks responded: "You can borrow from me anytime." Cyrus has previously saluted Nicks and Fleetwood Mac at the 2018 MusiCares' Person of the Year ceremony, where she performed a cover of their classic hit "Landslide." - Music-News.com, 9/12/20...... A previously unreleased Tom Petty song called "Confusion Wheel" has been shared on Spotify and other streaming services ahead of the release of a new deluxe box set edition of Petty's 1994 solo album Wildflowers. Petty recorded "Confusion Wheel" in 1994 during the sessions for Wildflowers, and follows the release of three other unreleased songs from the same sessions earlier in 2020: "There Goes Angela (Dream Away)", "You Don"t Know How It Feels" and "Wildflowers." Set for release on Oct. 16, Wildflowers and All the Rest will also feature a 15-track disc comprised purely of home recordings. Many of these were precursors to tracks that ended up on Wildflowers, including "A Higher Place" "To Find A Friend" and "Wake Up Time." - NME, 9/11/20...... German electro-pop pioneers Kraftwerk have announced that Parlophone Records will be reissuing their 2009-released 12345678 remasters catalogue on colour vinyl for the first time this fall. Set for limited release on Oct. 9, each remaster in the 2009 catalogue will be made available as an individual and limited-edition heavyweight LP -- most of which have never been pressed on coloured vinyl before. The UK LPs to be reissued include are Autobahn, Radio-Activity, Trans Europe Express, The Man-Machine, Computer World, Techno Pop, The Mix and Tour De France. Six German Kraftwerk LPs -- five of which are the German language versions, with the other being "Radio-Activt" (which features German song titles on the artwork but the same audio as the UK pressing) -- are also being reissued. - NME, 9/8/20...... Ronald "Khalis" Bell, a founding member of Kool & The Gang who produced some of the group's biggest hits including "Celebration" and "Jungle Boogie," died of as yet undisclosed causes at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Sept. 9. He was 68. Born on Nov. 1, 1951, Bell formed a band in 1964 initially called the Jazziacs, with his brother Robert "Kool" Bell and friends Spike Mickens, Dennis Thomas, Ricky Westfield, George Brown and Charles Smith. They settled on the name Kool & The Gang in 1969. Ronald Bell was a driving force behind the band's distinct blend of funk, soul and R&B, and was co-writer for much of their material, including the classic hits "Celebration," "Jungle Boogie," "Cherish," "Summer Madness" and "Open Sesame." In 1979, Bell and Kool & The Gang achieved international success with their disco crossover smash "Ladies Night," with the group going on to rack up seven Top 10 and 18 Top 40 singles in the UK alone. Bell is survived by his wife Tian Sinclair Bell who was at his side when he passed, 10 children, grandchildren, two brothers including Robert "Kool" Bell, and a sister. - NME, 9/10/20...... Toots and the Maytals leader Toots Hibbert has died from complications of the coronavirus at age 77, the band confirmed on Sept. 12. "It is with the heaviest of hearts to announce that Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert passed away peacefully tonight, surrounded by his family at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica," the band posted to Twitter. "The family and management would like to thank the medical teams and professionals for their care and diligence, and ask that you respect their privacy during their time of grief," the statement added. Hibbert grew up singing in church, and formed the Maytals in the 1960s. He was a contemporary of his Island Records labelmate Bob Marley, and would go on to appear on stage with the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Earlier in September, Hibbert was hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus. Tributes pouring in online following the news of his death include those from Ziggy Marley, who wrote: "He was a father figure to me his spirit is w/us his music fills us w/his energy i will never forget him," as well as Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Willie Nelson, Debbie Harry, The Who and Echo & the Bunnymen. - NME, 9/12/20...... Actor Kevin Dobson who starred as Telly Savalas' eager young partner Bobby Crocker on the '70s series Kojak and as Michele Lee's husband, Mack MacKenzie, on Knots Landing, died on Sept. 6 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 77. The curly-haired Dobson burst to stardom in 1973 with his turn as Crocker opposite Savalas on the CBS crime show Kojak, working on the New York-set series for five seasons before it was canceled. He then returned for the 1990 TV movie, Kojak: It's Always Something, his character having graduated to assistant district attorney. Dobson appeared on such TV shows as The Mod Squad, Emergency!, Ironside and Police Story before auditioning three times for Kojak. He also starred on the shortlived 1981-82 CBS series Shannon and on the Canadian series F/X: The Series in 1996-97. Dobson joined CBS' Knots Landing at the start of its fourth season as federal prosecutor/detective MacKenzie, who eventually elopes with Lee's Karen Fairgate. He remained with the primetime soap opera until the end of the 14th season in May 1993. He also worked on the daytime soaps Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful and One Life to Live. On the big screen, he appeared in the 1976 war movie Midway opposite Henry Fonda and played Barbra Streisand's husband in All Night Long (1981). A veteran and former military policeman, Dobson was a onetime chairman of the nonprofit organization United Veterans Council of San Joaquin County, which announced his death on Facebook. - The Hollywood Reporter, 9/7/20...... English actress Dame Diana Rigg, best known as the indomitable Mrs. Peel in the 1961 cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, died on Sept. 10 following a short battle with cancer. She was 82. Dame Diana, who had a long career both in film and on stage, died peacefully at home with her family, her agent confirmed. Her daughter, Tipping the Velvet actress Rachael Stirling, said she died of cancer that was diagnosed in March. Born in Doncaster on July 20, 1938, Ms. Rigg trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1959, and the British beauty has been described as an actress who "swept all before her." In 1969, the Yorkshire-born actress became only the second Bond girl to marry 007 in the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and more recently starred as the cutthroat matriarch Lady Olenna Tyrell in HBO's Game of Thrones. In 2019, Ms. Rigg, who was made a dame in 1994 for services to drama, revealed that she "suffered a #MeToo moment" early in her career at the hands of a "powerful" film director. Speaking on the UK program Newsnight, the actress said she welcomed the rise of the #MeToo movement, following her own experience as a young actress and revealed she felt like a "lone voice" after she discovered she was being paid less than her male co-stars. Her film roles also included 2006 romantic drama The Painted Veil and Andy Serkis' 2017 romance Breathe, and she also played a role in Edgar Wright's upcoming feature Last Night In Soho, which is scheduled for release on Apr. 23, 2021. Posting on Twitter, Wright said it was "beyond a thrill to work with her on her final film." Ms. Rigg was a regular recipient of award nominations for her work both on stage and on screen. In 1994 she won the "Best Actress in a Play" Tony for "Medea," while she was Golden Globe nominated for The Hospital in 1972, won an Emmy for Rebecca in 1997, a BAFTA TV award in 1990, and received several Olivier award nominations. She was married twice, to the Israeli painter Menachem Gueffen from 1973-1976, and to theater producer Archibald Stirling 1982-1990. With the latter she had a daughter, Rachael Stirling, the two-time Olivier Award nominated actress. - DailyMailUK/Deadline.com, 9/10/20.

Billy Joel announced on Sept. 4 that he is pushing his postponed Madison Square Garden monthly shows to start again in the fall of 2021. Joel had initially postponed his spring MSG residency dates to start in the fall of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, however with the pandemic still making indoor concerts impossible the Piano Man has pushed the dates 14 months into the future. The first postponed gig, Mar. 19, 2020, which was initially moved to Sept. 26, 2020, will now take place Nov. 5, 2021; while the Apr. 2020 gig is now Dec. 20, 2021; the May 2020 concert arrives on Jan. 14, 2022; other 2022 dates will be Mar. 24 and Apr. 8. "Tickets for the original show dates and initial rescheduled show dates will be valid for the corresponding new rescheduled dates in 2021 and 2022," Joel's site says. "Ticketholders can request a refund over the next 30 days, beginning today, if they cannot commit to the new rescheduled show date." It's unclear whether Joel plans on resuming his MSG residency prior to November 2021 with new dates, or if those rescheduled dates mark the return of his monthly MSG gigs. - Rolling Stone, 9/5/20...... The Animals' lurid No. 1 1964 hit "House of the Rising Sun" might have been a curious selection for Pres. Donald Trump to play over the loudspeakers as he arrived at an airport in Wilmington, N.C., for a rally on Sept. 2, but former Animals frontman Eric Burdon says he didn't appreciate his former band's signature song being used without his permission nonetheless. "Even though nobody asked my permission, I wasn't surprised to learn that #Trump #864511320 used #Houseof theRisingSun for his rally the other day," Burdon captioned a photo of himself on Twitter wearing a black face mask with the word "vote" printed across the mouth. "A tale of sin and misery set in a brothel suits him so perfectly!," the one time Eric Burdon and War frontman explained. "Far more appropriate for this time in our history might be." Burdon also made his support for the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket apparent, adding "This is my answer #vote #saveourdemocracy #bidenharris2020." Burdon follows the likes of Tom Petty's estate, Neil Young, Steven Tyler, R.E.M., Rihanna and Guns N' Roses in calling out the president for using their songs without permission. - Billboard, 9/7/20...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the Rolling Stones say they have no plans to retire anytime soon and are planning a huge gig to celebrate their 60th anniversary in 2022. "You might call it a habit. I mean, that's what we do," guitarist Keith Richards told the magazine. "And also there's that thing between us, like, 'Who's going to be first to get off the bus?' You have to be kicked off or drop off, right? So it's like that. I really can't imagine doing anything else... I hope we're all there, man. It's something to look forward to," he added. The Stones, who were forced to axe their most recent tour due to the Covid-19 pandemic, say they hope to return to touring in the future. "Even though we might have sold tickets, we might not be able to play to them all at once [due to social distancing measures]," frontman Mick Jagger said, adding "I don't know when we're gonna get together at the moment. We don't know when we're going to get together and record. It's got to be in safe circumstances and all that stuff." Richards says he's staying safe at his home in Connecticut during the pandemic, revealing that he even wears a mask to bed. "Oh yeah, I'm a masked man. I mean, it's what you have to do. I wear mine in bed," he said. The Stones are promoting the recent release of an expanded edition of their 1973 LP, Goats Head Soup. - Music-News.com, 9/6/20...... A new live set from prog-rock icons Yes, The Royal Affair Tour: Live from Las Vegas, will drop Oct. 30. Recorded July 26, 2019 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, the set is billed as "an unforgettable and historic night of British rock" and mixes the band's own classics such as "I've Seen All Good People" and "Roundabout" with their famous covers of songs by the likes of Simon & Garfunkel ("America"), Richie Havens ("No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed") and John Lennon ("Imagine"). In a press release Yes guitarist Steve Howe said: "Having the opportunity to bring together the band members in the development of a well-refined set of songs that captures the band's true potential is simply an honour for me." Yes's 2019 Royal Affair tour united Yes with fellow prog acts Asia, Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy and John Lodge of the Moody Blues. Howe, Palmer and Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes pulled double duty every night by performing in their own bands along with Asia, the prog-rock supergroup they founded in 1982. - Rolling Stone, 9/2/20...... Pattie LaBelle released a new digital EP on Sept. 4 featuring an unreleased track produced by the Brooklyn production unit Full Force, "Ain't Nuthin' But a Feelin." The track was recorded during LaBelle's studio sessions for her 1989 LP Be Yourself, and the EP features both the radio edit and extended versions of the unearthed title track, as well as the "Cleaning House Mix" and "The Ozone Layer Mix" by DJ Geenius. LaBelle has shared several mixes of "Ain't Nuthin' But a Feelin'" on Spotify.com. - Rolling Stone, 9/3/20...... Rhino Records has announced a box set of late Americana singer/songwriter John Prine's first seven albums will be released this fall. Crooked Piece of Time collects Prine's albums recorded between 1971 and 1980 and hits stores on Oct. 23. - Rolling Stone, 9/3/20...... The latest installment in Bob Marley's Legacy series, which celebrates 2020 being what would have been the late reggae legend's 75th birthday, spotlights his influence on surfing and skateboarding. The latest episode, "Ride Natty Ride," sees a number of Jamaicans discuss how they started surfing and skateboarding, as well as the reggae icon's musical ties to the pastimes. The episode, which has been shared on YouTube, features interviews with Shama "Superman" Beckford, Ivah Wilmot, and skateboarders Froggboss WellRaggedy and Kaya Wheeler. "Ride Natty Ride" is one of 12 episodes that will explore Marley's impact on music and pop culture. - New Musical Express, 9/6/20...... To commemorate its 50th anniversary, David Bowie's third studio album The Man Who Sold the World is set to be reissued on Nov. 5 via Parlophone Records with new artwork and a new title, Metrobolist. The Man Who Sold the World was released by Bowie in 1970 and includes the title track, "All The Madmen" and "Running Gun Blues." Bowie initially wanted to release the album under the name Metrobolist as a tribute to the 1927 film of the same name by Fritz Lang. However, Mercury Records changed the name of the record at the last minute without seeking Bowie's approval first. Metrobolist has been re-mixed by Bowie's longtime producer Tony Visconti. - NME, 9/4/20...... Rob Halford of Judas Priest has revealed during a new interview with Darren Paltrowitz in his podcast Paltrocast that he's currently working on a blues album. Halford says the album will be recorded with the same team he collaborated with for his 2019 Christmas LP Celestial, including his brother Nigel Halford and the son of bassist Ian Hill. "I've been working on this blues album with my brother and my nephew and friends that I worked with together on the Celestial album," Halford says. "We had such a great time, and they're so talented. And that blues thing has never left me -- it's just part of rock and roll." Meanwhile, the metal icon will release his autobiography, Confess, on Sept. 29 via Hachette Books. - NME, 9/6/20...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Ozzy Osbourne says he's ruled out any further shows with his former band Black Sabbath. "Not for me. It's done," Osbourne said when asked about a reunion, however he admits he regrets not getting to play one last time with Sabbath drummer Bill Ward. "The only thing I do regret is not doing the last farewell show in Birmingham with Bill Ward. I felt really bad about that. It would have been so nice. I don't know what the circumstances behind it were, but it would have been nice. I've talked to him a few times, but I don't have any of the slightest interest in [doing another gig]," Ozzy said. Ward was set to reunite with Sabbath in 2015, but opted out of the reunion over what he called an "unsignable" contract. - Music-News.com, 9/7/20...... Publisher Omnibus Books has announced a new John Lennon biography, John Lennon 1980: The Last Days In The Life, will be released on Sept. 15 and delve into what it describes as the "powerful, life affirming story" of the Beatles legend's comeback in 1980 after five years of self-imposed retirement. The book is authored by music historian Kenneth Womack, who says the book is "the result of my effort to tell the story of John's final year as a recording artist in the context of his life and not, pointedly, in terms of how he died." "The former Beatle's last episode of greatness is an inspirational story unto itself -- and I am proud to give it the treatment and fullness it deserves," Womack added. - Music-News.com, 9/5/20...... Elton John has told the UK's The Guardian newspaper that late T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan was "a great role model" as he was developing his stage persona. "He was the perfect pop star," says Elton, who can been seen banging away at the piano in a vintage video of T. Rex performing their hit "Bang a Gong (Get It On)". "His songs were great, his records rocked, he had attitude, he had performing skills, he looked fabulous, he dressed the part," says Elton, adding "I thought: 'This guy doesn't give a f***, he's just being who he is and he's loving every single minute of it.' And that had a great effect on me." Earlier in 2020, Elton teamed up with U2 on a cover of "Bang a Gong" for a new Bolan/T. Rex tribute album Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex. John says Bolan also had an influence on those that came after himself, including the late Prince who passed away in 2016. "When I met Prince, I thought he was like Marc: ethereal, very androgynous," Elton said. - Music-News.com, 9/5/20...... Bruce Williamson, best known as one of the former frontmen of the legendary soul group The Temptations, died on Sept. 6 at his home in Las Vegas after battling the coronavirus. He was 49. Born on Sept. 28, 1970, in Compton, California, Williamson joined The Tempts in 2006 and performed with the group until 2015, singing lead on their albums Back To The Front and Still Here. Williamson was also a member of the group when former Pres. George W. Bush invited them to perform at the White House for a celebration of Black History Month in Feb. 2008. Williamson's son Bruce paid tribute to his father on Facebook: "There's no words in the world that can express how I feel right now. I love you Daddy thank you for being awesome thank you for being loving thank you for being Who You Are I pray to God and we will meet again. I love you Daddy. R.I.H KING WILLIAMSON." - New Musical Express, 9/7/20.

Elton John has come in at #14 on Forbes magazine's annual "Celebrity 100: The World's Highest Paid Celebrities" list, with $82.5 million in pretax earnings from June 2019 through May 2020 before deducting fees for managers, lawyers and agents. Other '70s artists making the list include the Rolling Stones at #32 with $59 million, the Eagles at #75 with $41 million, Paul McCartney at #91 with $37 million, and KISS at #95 with $36.5 million. Nailing down the top spot on the list was Kylie Jenner with a whopping $560 million, followed by Kayne West ($170 million), Roger Federer ($106.3 million), Cristiano Ronaldo ($105 million), and Lionel Messi ($104 million). Figures are based on information from Nielsen Music/MRC Data, Pollstar, IMDB, NPD BookScan and ComScore as well as interviews with industry experts and many of the stars themselves. - dlisted.com, 9/1/20...... A pink feather boa famously worn by Jimi Hendrix during his legendary performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in California in 1967 is expected to bring up to £15,000 when it's auction during the second week of September. Following the show and his return to London, Hendrix gave the fashion accessory to photographer Karl Ferris, who says he is now selling the boa to mark the 50th anniversary of Hendrix's death on Sept. 18, 1970 at the age of 27. "Jimi called it his 'Magic Boa' because it brought him much luck and as he wore it on [the cover for his debut album] Are You Experienced and at his best ever concert, Monterey Pop," Ferris said. "As a tribute to the great man I thought it would be the right time to offer the 'Magic Boa' along with a selection of the photographs of Jimi I took back in 1967," he added. The boa will be on the auction block in the UK at Merseyside's Omega Auctions on Sept. 8 as part of their music memorabilia sale, with the full catalogue and other info available at www.omegaauctions.co.uk. In August, Hendrix's Japanese sunburst electric guitar that he used in the early 1960s sold for more than £160,000 at auction. - New Musical Express, 9/2/20...... David Byrne is apologizing for what he describes as a "major mistake in judgement" for making himself up in blackface in a 1984 promo piece for the Talking Heads' concert film Stop Making Sense. Posting to Twitter in a series of tweets, Byrne said: "Recently a journalist pointed out something I did in a promo video skit in 1984 for the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. In the piece I appear as a number of different characters interviewing myself, and some of the characters portrayed are people of color. I'd just about forgotten about this skit and I'm grateful that it has been brought to my attention. To watch myself in the various characters, including black and brown face, I acknowledge it was a major mistake in judgement that showed a lack of real understanding. It's like looking in a mirror and seeing someone else -- you're not, or were not, the person you thought you were. (sic)" Byrne added: "We have huge blind spots about ourselves -- well, I certainly do. I'd like to think I am beyond making mistakes like this, but clearly at the time I was not. Like I say at the end of our Broadway show American Utopia "I need to change too".. and I believe I have changed since then." Ending the thread of tweets by addressing his fans, the 68-year-old singer wrote: "One hopes that folks have the grace and understanding to allow that someone like me, anyone really, can grow and change, and that the past can be examined with honesty and accountability." - Music-News.com, 9/3/20...... Also taking to Twitter in early September is Cher, who is slamming the people behind Britney Spears' controversial conservatorship. Accusing them of treating her fellow pop superstar like a "cash cow," Cher questioned if those in charge of her money actually want her to be well. "She worked hard, was the golden goose, made lots of $$, got sick, now she's the CASH COW. Does anyone who's making (money) off her being sick want her well?," the 74-year-old Cher asked, ending her post with three duck emojis and a question: "Is it a duck?" Following a court hearing in the first week of September, Spears' legal arrangement with her family was formally extended into 2021 after first being ordered back in 2008 when Spears suffered a headline-grabbing meltdown. This is not the first time Cher has questioned the conservatorship -- in January,she wondered why Britney is allowed to work when she is considered legally unfit to run her own finances. "Why is a woman being worked if it's known she's not well enough to care for herself?" she asked. The conservatorship has also proved unpopular among Spears' legion of fans, who have taken to social media with the "Free Britney" campaign, demanding the legal arrangement be scrapped. - Music-News.com, 8/31/20...... In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh has shared his experience with coronavirus, saying he nearly died from the disease. Mothersbaugh, 70, said he contracted the virus earlier this summer and spent 10 days on a ventilator in hospital in Los Angeles in June, initially believing his symptoms were from exhaustion, until his temperature registered at 103F. "A nurse came over the next morning and said, 'You should be in ICU'. 'I said, 'That's ridiculous'. She replied that she'd been a nurse for three decades: 'You need an ambulance right now'." Mark said he went from not feeling very good on a Tuesday to being in an ambulance on the way to hospital on Saturday: "It was terrifying." He also recalled suffering from vivid delusions: "I felt blood from being hit. I was handcuffed to a parking deck downtown. I had this whole elaborate story of how these kids sold me to an ambulance company that then got some sort of payment for delivering Covid patients to their ICUs. I totally believed it." Speaking of the world's response to the coronavirus, he said: "Everything's become more devolved than I would have imagined possible. For anybody that's doubting whether the coronavirus and Covid-19 is real, it's really real." It was reported in the last week of August that Mothersbaugh had been one of a number of neighbors to complain about parties held by TikTok stars at the Sway House in Hollywood as he attempts to recover from the disease. - NME, 8/31/20...... While the coronavirus pandemic has been a disastrous event for the live music industry, it's proven to be a boon to the sales of physical music. Online music marketplace Discogs says global sales on its platform in the first half of 2020 have increased dramatically during lockdown, with vinyl, CD and cassette sales seeing a surge. Discogs reports physical sales on their marketplace rose 29.69% -- 4,228,270 orders -- between January and June of 2020, compared to the same period last year. A dramatic spike in sales can be seen from April, shortly after the coronavirus pandemic forced many record stores to shut their physical shopfronts. The most substantial year-over-year improvement came via vinyl record sales, which increased 33.72% with over 5.8 million units sold. CD and cassette sales weren't far behind, demonstrating a 31.03% (1.6 million units sold) and 30.52% (over 137,000 units) increase respectively. Vinyl sales accounted for over 75% of transactions on the Discogs platform in the first half of the year. Overall, more than 7.6 million pieces of physical music were sold by independent sellers around the world throughout the first six months of the year -- an overall 33.83 per cent increase over the same period last year. - NME, 9/1/20...... As Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones continue their press availability to promote the new expanded edition of the 1973 Stones studio album Goats Head Soup, Jagger told the London Sunday Times on Aug. 30 that he initially thought the three previously unreleased band tracks that will feature on the reissue were "terrible." Jagger said when Universal Music Group execs first told him they had discovered the tracks in the band's archives, he admitted he was against the idea. "They said, "We've found these three tracks'. I said, "They're all terrible.' That's always my initial reaction, 'They're all useless!' I mean, actually, I always liked the songs, but they weren't finished." Jagger says he eventually changed his mind when he realized the group could iron out the imperfections and bring the tracks up to scratch. "Sonically they still sound like they were recorded then, even if they weren't perfect. You can make them sound a little better than they did. But I think these three songs are all up there with the rest of the songs on this record," he said. The tracks, including "Criss Cross," "All the Rage" and the Jimmy Page-featuring "Scarlet," were initially recorded during sessions for Goats Head Soup, but never featured on the full release. - NME, 9/1/20...... Employees of Elvis Presley's Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tenn., arrived at work on Sept. 1 to find messages supporting Black Lives Matter and defunding the police scrawled across a stone wall outside the mansion. The graffiti also featured references to Breonna Taylor and the phrases "No Justice, No Peace," "Defund MPD" and "F--k Trump." Also tagged with similar messages was Levitt Shell in nearby Overton Park where Presley performed his first paid concert in July 1954. A local paper reported that officials at Levitt Shell have filed a police report, noting that because of the pandemic, the venue run by a nonprofit organization has been shuttered and is looking at a $700,000 shortfall this year. Tennessee Rep. London Lamar tweeted a theory that the vandalism to Graceland and Levitt Shell was not done by Black Lives Matter activists, but by "individuals trying to make this movement look bad." A spokesperson for Graceland has yet to comment on the incident. - Billboard, 9/2/20...... Bette Midler heads a cast of five Americans who team up at a safe distance to star in the new HBO series Coastal Elites. The Paul Rudinick-penned, Jay Roach-directed satire is about a teacher (Midler), an activist, an actor, a nurse, and a meditation guru who are scattered across the country during our politicized pandemic. Issa Rae, Dan Levy, Kaitylin Dever, and Sarah Paulson also star as different people with different goals, all with the same hope to survive these trying, traumatic times. Coastal Elites premieres on HBO on Sept. 12 at 8:00 p.m. EDT. - Entertainment Weekly, 9/20...... In an early draft of the 1966 Beatles' classic "In My Life," John Lennon referred to the Abbey Cinema in Liverpool as one of the song's "places I'll remember all my life." "In the circle of the Abbey, I have seen some happy hours," John wrote, before deciding to scratch that line for the final version. Now that same cinema frequently visited by John and his fellow Beatle George Harrison in their youth is under threat of being rebuilt by the UK supermarket chain Lidl, which says they are "considering all options for the site, which include the potential for a new building of high quality design and that their preference was 'to erect purpose-built food stores' -- but added that they have 'preserved original structures in the past'. Fans concerned about the venue's Beatles heritage have submitted an application for the Abbey Cinema, which hasn't shown a film since 1979, to be listed to Historic England for its preservation. A petition calling for the preservation has attracted over 2500 signatures, while a "Save the Abbey" Twitter account has been set up to support the appeal as well. - New Musical Express, 8/30/20...... Director Spike Lee has shared a new version of the video for Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us" on YouTube to mark what would have been the pop superstar's 62nd birthday on Aug. 29. Lee was behind the camera for the two original videos for the track -- one shot in Brazil and another set in a prison. The new visuals for the HIStory: Past, Present and Future track incorporate footage from 2020's Black Lives Matter protests from locations around the world, including Rio De Janeiro, Helsinki, Atlanta, Cape Town, and more. In between those scenes, it shows clips from the original videos. In a statement, Lee said: "Great protest songs can't get old, stale or non-relevant because the struggle still continues. That's why THEY DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT US is the anthem during this chaotic, pandemic world we are all living in. To celebrate Michael Jackson's born day, we have made the THEY DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT US 2020 short film to continue the struggle for equality for all. That's the truth, Ruth. Be safe." - NME, 8/29/20...... Veteran pop music composer Burt Bacharach, who recently released five-track EP called Blue Umbrella with Nashville singer/songwriter Daniel Tashian, says recording new music during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a "lifesaver" for him. Bacharach, 92, admits getting to work with Tashian felt like "therapy" for him during as he isolated at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., with his wife Jane Hansen. "In these times it's like a lifesaver, while being terrified at what's happening outside. It's a form of therapy," Bacharach told the Texarkana Gazette. Speaking to the same paper, Tashian said: "They say when the student is ready, the teacher appears. It's a great thrill. There is a whole world of sound in his head that is so pleasing to be able to collaborate with." Although the two Grammy-winning musicians finished the EP before lockdown started, the duo continued to work on more songs, including one track titled "Quiet Place," as the coronavirus disease spread across the US. - Music-News.com, 9/2/20...... The A&E cable network will debut a new installment in their venerable Biography series focusing on Ozzy Osbourne on Sept. 7 at 9:00 p.m. EDT. Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne references a cat which has, you know, nine lives. Which is an animal the Prince of Darkness has not bitten the head off of. - Entertainment Weekly, 9/20...... Former Major League Baseball pitcher Tom Seaver, a baseball legend who became a pop culture icon after helping the New York Mets win the team's first World Series in 1969, died peacefully in his sleep on Aug. 31 of complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19. He was 75. Known as "Tom Terrific," Seaver won 311 games and had a 2.86 earned-run average over a 20-year major league career that spanned from 1967-1986. Seaver, a 1992 inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame, was also a three-time Cy Young Award winner and 12-time all-star player. He also played for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. "I am deeply saddened by the death of Tom Seaver, one of the greatest pitchers of all-time," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "Tom was a gentleman who represented the best of our National Pastime. He was synonymous with the New York Mets and their unforgettable 1969 season. After their improbable World Series Championship, Tom became a household name to baseball fans -- a responsibility he carried out with distinction throughout his life. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my condolences to Tom's family, his admirers throughout our game, Mets fans, and the many people he touched." Lewy body dementia is the same life-changing disease that devasted Robin Williams before the comedian/actor committed suicide. - CNN, 9/3/20...... Ian Mitchell, a bassist for the Scottish '70s pop band the Bay City Rollers, has died of as yet undisclosed causes at age 62. The group confirmed Mitchell's passing via a statement posted on their official Facebook page: "We are deeply saddened by the news of Ian Mitchell's death. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Wendy, their family and friends. Rest In Peace, Ian." Mitchell replaced bassist Alan Longmuir in 1976 when he was just 17, and was the first non-Scottish member of the group. With Mitchell on bass, the group released their album Dedication and reached No. 12 in the US charts with their cover of Dusty Springfield's hit "I Only Want To Be With You." Mitchell was later replaced by Pat McGlynn, before Longmuir, who died in 2018, made his eventual return in 1978. - NME, 9/2/20.