Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on March 27th, 2021

In episode seven of the new Renagades vs. Home Life Spotify podcast with former Pres. Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen revealed he had to cut back on the amount of time he spent on the road after becoming a father, because his absence proved to be "poison" to his home life. "You are the chauffeur! You are the short order cook in the morning," he told Obama, adding: "And the thing is, you've got to be in the place in your life where you love it." Springsteen, who shares three kids with his wife, E Street Band member Patti Scialfa, admitted it took him some time to find the right balance between his life as a rock star and as a husband and dad, and his role at home couldn't have been more different than when he was on tour: "You get up when you want to. You go in the studio when you want to. You put your record out when you want to." But he realized he couldn't continue living that way once they had sons Evan and Sam, and daughter Jessica, who are now all grown up. "You can say, 'I'm going to go away for three days, I'm going to go away for three months'," he explained. "But if you know, 'When I go away for three months, it's bad when I come back... When I go away for three days, it's OK when I come back,' I better start going away for three days!" "All we knew was that when we passed a certain point, it wasn't good for our relationship," he shared of how he and Scialfa eventually settled on the ideal touring schedule to suit their family, but added "we slowly figured all this out together." Episode seven of Renegades: Road vs. Home Life debuts on Spotify.com on Mar. 29. - Music-News.com, 3/27/21...... '60s and '70s pop star B.J. Thomas, who topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in 1970 with "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", has revealed he has been given a stage four lung cancer diagnosis. According to Deadline.com, the 78-year-old Thomas has confirmed via representatives that he is currently receiving treatment in a Texas health care facility. "I just wanted to take this unique opportunity to share my gratitude to Gloria, my wonderful wife and my rock for over 53 years, my family, friends, and fans," he said in a statement issued through his publicist. "I'm so blessed to have had the opportunity to record and perform beautiful songs in pop, country, and gospel music, and to share those wonderful songs and memories around the world with millions of you. I ask all of you for your prayers during this time and that my music can live on with you." His 1969 recording of "Raindrops," written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the hit film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, went on to win an Oscar for Best Original Song. It spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1970, and was nominated for a Grammy the same year. In addition to "Raindrops," he had a slew of other hits, starting with his cover of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" in 1966, "Hooked on a Feeling" in 1968, "I Just Can't Help Believing" in 1970, "Rock and Roll Lullaby"' in 1972 and "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" in 1975. Between 1977 and 1981, the Born Again singer, who struggled with substance abuse problems for many years, won a Grammy Award each consecutive year, including for his album Home Where I Belong and recordings of hymns like "Amazing Grace." His voice can be heard in classic movies and TV shows such as Forrest Gump and Spider-Man 2 to Family Guy, and as recent as 2020's Mrs. America. - NME, 3/24/21...... The new Tina Turner documentary Tina from Oscar-winning documentary directors Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin premieres on cable channel HBO at 8:00 p.m. ET on Mar. 27 and will stream on HBO Max. Linsday says one touchy subject during his interviews with the rock/soul legend was the emotional and physical abuse she suffered while married to her ex-husband Ike Turner. "She doesn't like doing press because she always feels people are asking her the same thing," Lindsay told Billboard. "But she'll talk about it. She's very aware there are consequences of that, and she would rather not do it because of the consequences. We went to go meet Tina the first time and we didn't ask her a single question about Ike. And yet if there was a recording of that conversation, the amount of times she brought him up is revealing. It's still obviously on her mind. I just think she would rather not be triggered into talking about it all the time," he added. Meanwhile, HBO has teamed with NTS Radio four a five hour/six part multimedia virtual experience dubbed "Tina Turner: Rulebreaker." It will celebrate Turner's influential musical career and pay homage to her energetic on-stage presence and trailblazing power as a Black woman in the rock genre beginning on Mar. 26. - Billboard, 3/25/21...... A previously unreleased recording by late The Clash frontman Joe Strummer has been released for a new version of the song's music video as part of Joe Strummer's Assembly, a posthumous compilation of his career-best work. The 15-track best-of album was released on Mar. 26 includes Clash rarities and re-mastered tracks, along with a live performance of "Rudie Can't Fail" from Strummer and his backing band The Mescaleros at London's Brixton Academy on Nov. 24, 2001. A video of that performance has been shared on YouTube. Strummer, who died in 2002, fronted The Clash from 1976 until their disbandment in 1986. He then went on to perform as a solo artist and with The Mescaleros. Assembly is being released on George Harrison's Dark Horse Records, which is now run by the late Beatle's son Dhani Harrison and manager David Zonshine. - New Musical Express, 3/27/21...... Neil Young has released a new live album and concert film, Young Shakespeare, recorded at the Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, Connecticut on Jan. 22, 1971, one of the earliest recorded gigs of his career. Filmed by a German TV crew who never released the footage but kept it in their vaults for 50 years, only snippets of the show have been circulated amongst fans before, with Young saying he felt the gig was "superior" to his performance three days later at Toronto's Massey Hall. "A more calm performance, without the celebratory atmosphere of Massey Hall, captured live on 16mm film," Young wrote on his Neil Young Archives website in 2020. "'Young Shakespeare' is a very special event. To my fans, I say this is the best ever. 'Young Shakespeare' is the performance of that era. Personal and emotional, for me, it defines that time," he noted. In a trailer which has been shared on YouTube, Young can bee seen performing clips of songs including "Cowgirl In The Sand," "A Man Needs A Maid" and "Down By The River." Young Shakespeare is now available on all major streaming platforms and available to purchase in physical formats, including a deluxe box set edition. The DVD is available exclusively from Young's own store. - NME, 3/26/21...... In a new interview by the Los Angeles Times, Mick Fleetwood said he desires a Fleetwood Mac reunion and "everyone who's ever played in Fleetwood Mac would be welcome." Asked who he thinks will be a part of Fleetwood Mac when the band next tours, the drummer said: "I hope the whole fucking lot of them! I'm not done. And if I can get [Fleetwood Mac bassist] John McVie off his boat, he's not done either!" He added: "My English pipe dream, sitting on top of a mushroom, would be that everyone who's ever played in Fleetwood Mac would be welcome. That's what would drive me, because this is all about a collective." Fleetwood's statement comes after an interview a few days earlier when he revealed that he has reconciled with former bandmate Lindsey Buckingham -- and would like to think a reunion could happen. Meanwhile, Buckingham has performed a reworked rendition of Fleetwood Mac's "Never Going Back Again" on Fender's new American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster guitar. Buckingham, who was ousted from the band in Jan. 2018 -- appeared in the first episode of an all-new series by the famous guitar brand called Re-Creation showcasing the instrument. Lindsey showed off the impressive stringed instrument -- which boasts a larger body shape, a Tim Shaw-designed Humbucking Pickup, and four new acoustic voicings -- by performing a version of the hit he penned for their seminal 1977 LP Rumours and famously composed in the wake of the breakup of his relationship with frontwoman Stevie Nicks. The performance can be viewed on Fender's official YouTube channel. - NME/Music-News.com, 3/26/21...... The Village People have spoken out about their recent Grammy Hall Of Fame induction, claiming the Recording Academy doesn't pay enough attention to classic artists. The '70s disco stars' classic anthem "Y.M.C.A." was among 28 songs and albums inducted into the Hall in Dec. 2020, however frontman Victor Willis (who wears the police uniform), told TMZ.com he is unhappy with the Academy's nod to the band. Willis was seemingly upset with the lack of fanfare the inductees receive, with no mention during the annual telecast and no proper induction ceremony. He says the Village People have told Grammy Interim president Harvey Mason that they're declining the induction because the Hall is "lacking" and "not taken seriously by the recording academy." "The Grammys should show respect for classic artists who built the recording business," he said, adding that the Village People are also unlikely to submit their new album which is due later in 2021 for contention at the next Grammys. - NME, 3/25/21...... Speaking of classic anthems, Queen have become the first ever UK band to have a song certified "diamond," reaching the 10 million in U.S. sales or streaming equivalents milestone compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for their iconic 1975 hit "Bohemian Rhapsody." Reflecting on the achievement in a statement, Queen guitarist Brian May said: "This is incredible news. At times like this I have to pinch myself to be sure it's real. All those wild dreams we had -- this is beyond any of them. Huge thanks to all who have believed in us over the years." Queen drummer Roger Taylor added: "It's a wonderful and gratifying thought to know the song has reached out and connected with so many people!" "Bohemian Rhapsody" spent nine weeks at the top of the UK charts upon its release in 1975, and a further five upon Freddie Mercury's death in 1991. In the US, it climbed to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in early 1976 and remained on the chart for 17 weeks. A Queen biopic named after the song, starring Rami Malek as the late frontman Mercury, has made nearly $1 billion (£760 million) worldwide since its release in Oct. 2018. Queen, who perform live with Adam Lambert on vocals, are set to head out on a "Rhapsody Tour" across the UK in 2022. - NME, 3/25/21...... Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne is giving his fellow New Yorkers the chance to rave again after helping to curated a socially distanced dance club. Byrne has joined forces with Broadway set designer Christine Jones and choreographer Steven Hoggett to launch SOCIAL!, a new experimental club at the Park Avenue Armory. 100 attendees will be invited to the venue's Wade Thompson Drill Hall at a time to enjoy their own dance moves, or to take in a spoken choreography voiceover from Byrne himself. The event, which was specially commissioned for the Armory's new launched Social Distance Hall, also features a playlist that has been personally curated by Byrne himself, Jones and Hoggett, and mixed by DJ Natasha Diggs. Byrne invited his "Utopian" fans to check out the announcement by Park Avenue Armory by retweeting their post on his American Utopia Twitter page on Mar. 24. - NME, 3/26/21...... The UK paper The Sun is reporting that the Sex Pistols are "over once and for all" after reportedly becoming locked in a fresh lawsuit over royalties. According to the story, guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook have launched a lawsuit against former bandmates John Lydon [aka Johnny Rotten] and Glen Matlock for breach of contract, as the pair believe they are owed money. The former bandmates are now no longer on speaking terms and will only communicate through their lawyers, and according to a source "The guys have always had a pretty fiery relationship, but sadly things are at an all-time low now." "None of them are speaking -- only through lawyers -- and each reckons the other is to blame for various things over the decades," the source said. "As with most rows, money is the major factor here -- Steve and Paul believe they have been denied royalties dating back years, whereas Glen and John think, if anything, they're owed more money. They could counter-sue if needs be. There were chats about a reunion a while ago -- but this is now off the table. The Sex Pistols are over once and for all," the source added. While the reunion seemingly isn't forthcoming, the iconic band's story is soon set to be immortalized on the small screen in director Danny Boyle's upcoming biopic about the punk rock legends. - NME, 3/25/21...... Fans of late soul/pop icon Prince will be able to mark the fifth anniversary of his death with a visit to the suburban Minnesota compound the singer-songwriter called home where Prince's ashes will be on display again. "We celebrate his life and legacy every day at Paisley Park, a place that Prince wanted to share with the world," Paisley Park Executive Director Alan Seiffert said in a statement. "So, on this day especially, we acknowledge the incredible force and inspiration Prince is in people's lives and open up our doors for them to pay their respects." A custom-made ceramic urn containing Prince's remains was originally located in the middle of the atrium when the 65,000-square-foot studio in Chanhassen first opened to the public in Oct. 2016. But at the request of the singer's family, Prince's ashes were eventually removed entirely from public view. The free event will take place on Apr. 21 and will accommodate 1,400 people. Prince passed away on Apr. 21, 2016, of a fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park estate. - WENN/Canoe.com, 3/24/21...... Meat Loaf announced on Mar. 22 he is launching a new reality competition series called I'd Do Anything For Love... But I Won't Do That. The show is based on the Texas rocker's 1993 hit single of the same name, which appeared on his sixth studio album Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell. According to Deadline.com, the relationship-based program is being produced by Nobody's Hero -- the production company of Christopher Potts and Jonty Nash, who are two of the people behind Netflix's Nailed It!. Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, will serve as an executive producer on the project. The musician previously dabbled in the world of reality TV when he appeared as a contestant on the US version of The Apprentice in 2011. - NME, 3/22/21...... A suit once worn by David Bowie is expected to reach between £10,000-£15,000 when it is auctioned in March. The two-piece suit was worn by the rock legend on a single night out at historic New Romantic hang-out The Blitz Club, and was claimed by legendary promoter Steve Strange after it became left in London club's cloak room. Bowie left the Issey Miyake-designed suit behind after noticing several cigarette burns on it, and changed into a fresh outfit. It eventually made its way into the hands of musician Jayce Lewis, who is auctioning the suit. Specialist Stephen Ferguson at Auction Antiques said: "Unusual items with a famous history are always the best and as a lifelong Bowie fan, this piece ticks all the boxes, as it will with other Bowie fans." - NME, 3/23/21...... Elton John has recruited rising singer Dua Lipa and actor Neil Patrick Harris to help celebrate the 2021 Oscars with a livestreamed pre-party special. John has been hosting his annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards event for the last 29 years, but with ongoing COVID concerns, he has decided to mark the run-up to Hollywood's big show on Apr. 25 with a virtual countdown bash. Harris will co-host the one-hour party with Elton and his husband, producer David Furnish, while Dua will be among the performers, with others set to be announced in the coming weeks. "This year, we are bringing our Oscar Party into people's homes for the first time virtually for an unforgettable evening with David, myself, our dear friend Neil Patrick Harris, and the incredible Dua Lipa plus many fabulous surprise names," Elton said in a statement. The event will stream at four different times to line up with each region's Oscars broadcast, with North America's taking place live at 7:00 pm EDT on Apr. 25 -- just before the awards take place in Los Angeles. - Music-News.com, 3/23/21...... The ashes of late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister were placed in bullets and given to his closest friends, it has been revealed by Riki Rachtman, former host of the MTV show Headbangers Ball. Sharing his Lemmy-engraved bullet on Twitter and Instagram on Mar. 22, Rachtman wrote: "Before his death #Lemmy asked for his ashes to be put in some bullets & handed out to his closest friends. Today, I received a bullet & was literally brought to tears." In the wake of Rachtman's post, another photo of a Lemmy bullet shared last year by former tennis star Pat Cash is also being re-shared. - NME, 3/23/21...... Hollywood Vampires -- the "supergroup" comprised of Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp -- have announced they have scrapped their summer European tour due to Covid-19 concerns. The band had previously rescheduled dates to August and September, but because of safety concerns surrounding the pandemic, the tour has now been cancelled. "We are beyond disappointed to announce that the Hollywood Vampires must cancel our rescheduled UK/European tour this Summer," the band said in a statement. "We kept trying to make it happen, but unfortunately due to the uncertainty of Covid-19 travel restrictions, it is just not possible... Thank you for understanding, and we WILL be back rocking with you once the world returns to normal!," they added. When the tour was first announced, Cooper promised the shows would have "something for everyone" and insisted the group was a serious rock band not "just some novelty." - Music-News.com, 3/23/21...... Controversial conservative rocker Ted Nugent has responded to allegations of racism, denying the claims and calling himself "the anti-racist." Nugent's remarks came after it was recently revealed that he lost a sponsor for his TV show Spirit Of The Wild due to allegations of racism made against him. Saying he "paid homage and reverence to the black heroes of music" for his entire life in a Facebook Live video, Nugent added: "Everybody who pays attention -- not the ones who call me a racist, but the people who are actually honest and pay attention know that I have paid homage and reverence to the black heroes of music all my life, which means I'm the anti-racist. So if you find somebody who calls Ted Nugent a racist, you are looking at a subhuman piece of shit who lives a lie." He added: "I'm a living, walking, breathing passionate music lover that was in the eye of the music storm at the most important time in the history of music, coming right out of the electrification of the guitar by Les Paul. And how Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and The Ventures and Duane Eddy and Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley took that black music, and we celebrated it in song." Nugent, a vocal supporter of former US Pres. Donald Trump, has attracted severe criticism over his alleged racist views over the years, calling then-Pres. Barack Obama a "subhuman mongrel" in 2014 before apologizing for the comment. - NME, 3/22/21...... In related news, Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne has announced she won't be returning to her US daytime talk show The Talk when it resumes production in April, following an on-air controversy and allegations of racism. The outspoken Brit has decided to quit The Talk panel after coming under fire for her defense of newsman pal Piers Morgan's verbal attack on Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex on the Mar. 10 episode of the series. During the segment, co-host Sheryl Underwood attempted to suggest Morgan's comments about the royal's tabloid torment, made on Good Morning Britain, were racist, but Osbourne became upset, claiming the outburst inferred that the rock matriarch was a racist for stating Morgan was paid to have an opinion. "I feel like I'm about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend who many people think is racist, so that makes me a racist," Osbourne grumbled, although she subsequently apologized for the exchange the next day on Twitter. Sharon came under further attack as former The Talk co-hosts Holly Robinson Peete and Leah Remini accused her of using racially-insensitive and homophobic language behind the scenes of the show -- allegations she blasted as a "setup." Network bosses at CBS put The Talk on hiatus days later, as they launched an investigation into the whole drama, and now they have announced Osbourne has chosen to exit the program after 11 seasons. The Talk is set to return to the air on Apr. 12. - WENN/Canoe.com, 3/26/21...... Emmy-winning screen and stage actress Jessica Walter, best known for her work as the stalker in Clint Eastwood's 1972 thriller Play Misty for Me, and for the TV series Arrested Development and Archer, passed away in her sleep on Mar. 24 in New York City. She was 80. Confirming the sad news of Walter's death, her daughter, Brooke Bowman, said in a statement: "It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of my beloved mom, Jessica. A working actor for over six decades, her greatest pleasure was bringing joy to others through her storytelling both on screen and off." Ms. Walter won an Emmy for playing the title role in 1970s detective series Amy Prentiss, portrayed Lucille Bluth in the cult TV hit Arrested Development, and also voiced the role of Malory Archer in animated series Archer. Away from the screen, she served as the Screen Actors Guild's second national vice president. She began her career on Broadway in productions like "Advise and Consent," "A Severed Head," "Anything Goes", and "Photo Finish," moving into TV in the early 1960s and landed regular roles in hits like For The People, The F.B.I., Bare Essence, Three's A Crowd, Dinosaurs, and a recurring role in the 1979-85 CBS medical drama Trapper John, M.D. Her final credit came this year, on an episode of ABC comedy American Housewife. Ms. Walter was twice married, the first time to Ross Bowman from 1966 until their divorce in 1978. She married Leibman, who died in 2019, in 1983. She is survived by a daughter, Brooke Bowman, a television executive. - Variety/WENN-Canoe.com, 3/26/21...... Veteran actor George Segal, known for his everyman quality, often playing an unlucky-in-love professional or writer who gets in over his head in such films as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Bye Bye Braverman, A Touch of Class, The Hot Rock, The Owl and the Pussycat, and Fun With Dick and Jane, passed away due to complications from bypass surgery on Mar. 23. He was 87. "The family is devastated to announce that this morning George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery," his wife Sonia Segal said in a statement the same day. Charming and witty, Mr. Segal excelled in both dramatic and comedic roles, most recently playing laid-back widower Albert "Pops" Solomon on the comedy series The Goldbergs. Born in Great Neck, Long Island in New York on Feb. 13, 1934, Mr. Segal studied at the Actor's Studio and appeared on Broadway in shows including "Gideon" and "Rattle of a Simple Man." After being signed by Columbia Pictures, he had his first film role in The Young Doctors. After several television appearances, he won his first major film role in Stanley Kramer's Ship of Fools, playing an artist in the star-studded ensemble drama. In 1965, he played a scheming, wily American corporal in a World War II prisoner-of-war camp in King Rat. Two years later he earned an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actor in director Mike Nichols' harrowing, marital drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. "Elizabeth and Richard were the king and queen of the world at that moment and there was a lot of buzz about it," Mr. Segal told TheDailyBeast.com in 2016. "For me, there was a great satisfaction of being involved with it." But it was in comedies that Mr. Segal cemented his star status in a string of films in the 1970s with A-list directors and co-stars such as Glenda Jackson, who won an Oscar for her performance in A Touch of Class. He also starred in several acclaimed films for television, including Of Mice and Men, Death of a Salesman and The Desperate Hours. Also on the small screen, he had recurring roles on Just Shoot Me!, Murphy's Law and Take Five. Mr. Segal also enjoyed playing the ukulele and the banjo, making an album of banjo music and performing on TV talk shows. "Today we lost a legend," Adam F. Goldberg, who created the The Goldbergs TV series that was based on his own life, posted on Twitter on Mar. 23. - Reuters/Variety, 3/23/21.

A new Tom Petty documentary, Somewhere You Feel Free, debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Tex., on Mar. 18. Directed by Mary Wharton, the documentary features an unearthed trove of 16mm studio footage from 1994's Wildflowers recording sessions and new interviews with Petty's daughter (and documentary executive producer) Adria Petty, Wildflowers co-producer Rick Rubin, and Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Steve Ferrone of Petty's band the Heartbreakers. Among the revelations in the rock doc are Petty's favorite album of his was Wildflowers and he decided to make it a solo LP "because I wanted to be free of the democratic process." Another interesting tidbit is "Mary Jane's Last Dance," one of his most enduring hits, was recorded while on a short break from the Wildflowers sessions, in a separate studio as one of two tracks to fill out a contract with his former label, MCA Records, and his final LP for them, 1993's Greatest Hits. - Billboard, 3/18/21...... In a new interview with USA Today, KISS vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley said he doesn't "really see a reason" for KISS to deliver any new music before they finally call it a day when their current "End Of The Road" farewell tour comes to a close. "I don't really see a reason for it, to be quite honest," Stanley said. "For the most part, when classic bands put out new albums, they're looked at and listened to and thrown away because they don't have the gravitas, they don't have the age that comes with something being a time capsule or being attached to a certain period of your life." Stanley continued: "I'm not alone in that. When you see any classic bands on TV or if there's a concert video, turn off the sound and I'll tell you every time they're playing a new song because the audience sits down. So it's odd to me that people always want you to do a new album, but then they go, 'That's great. Now play your hits.' So honestly, at this point, there isn't a real reward in it. There's much more of a reward in changing lanes -- I'm still going forward." Instead of new KISS music, Stanley says he's busy on recording the debut album from his Soul Station side project. The last KISS album was 2012's Monster. In other KISS-related news, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has taken to Twitter again to blast people who are skeptical of wearing face masks amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. "You must stop at a red light, and you must put on your seatbelt, and you can't drive over the speed limit. Your rights stop if you effect others. So why should you have a say in not wearing a mask in public?," Simmons posted on his Twitter account on Mar. 20. A few hours later, he made a comparison with why surgeons wear masks in operating rooms, saying, "Why is it ALL surgeons, without exception... anywhere in the world, wear masks during surgery!!! Do you think they do that for political reasons, or could it be you are delusional and are hanging out with losers?". While many users agreed with Simmons' sentiments, others argued that his comparison was moot, saying, "I'm not sure that being required to wear a mask in a sterile environment is the same as wearing one in public" and "this is a bad argument." In Dec. 2020, Simmons appealed to everyone to wear a face mask, sharing a photo of KISS donning masks ahead of a virtual concert. "Wear your masks. Even if it's only as a courtesy. If you yawn, or sneeze, you don't think twice about covering your mouth. Do the rest of us a favor! Mask Up!... Besides, it looks cool," he said. Paul Stanley also urged the wearing of masks in July: "Don't listen to conspiracy theorists or graduates of The Internet University Of Medicine," he posted to Twitter. - New Musical Express, 3/20/21...... As the new Aretha Franklin biopic Genius debuts on Mar. 21 on the National Geographic cable channel, the Queen of Soul's family has spoken out against the series, saying they "do not support it." Franklin's granddaughter Grace recently posted on TikTok about the show, which stars Cynthia Erivo as the late soul singer, and her family's feelings on it. "As the immediate family, we feel that it's important to be involved with any biopic of my grandma's life, as it's hard to get any accurate depiction of anyone's life without speaking to the ones closest to them," Grace said. Grace's father -- and Franklin's son -- Kecalf has also spoken to Rolling Stone about Genius, who said any communication between the family and National Geographic ended when his cousin Sabrina Garrett-Owens stepped down as the representative of Franklin's personal estate. Kecalf said the Franklin family's lawyers reached out to NatGeo to "see the film and say what we like and what we didn't like about it" but they responded that it was "too late, production had already wrapped up and that they didn't want to work with us." He added that the family's issues with Genius were not related to money. "This is about common, decent respect for our family. If I was to do a movie on your family, I would try and speak with you, your sons, daughters, grandchildren and people like that. And we just never felt like we got a shot to speak to them freely from my heart about our family member," he said. A spokesperson for NatGeo said in a statement that both parties had the same goal -- "to honour and celebrate the life and legacy of Aretha Franklin" and they "worked with many people who knew Ms. Franklin -- from Clive Davis to members of her family's estate -- to make sure we told her story in an honest and authentic way." Meanwhile, another Aretha biopic with Jennifer Hudson in the lead role, Respect, is currently set to premiere in the US on Aug. 13, 2021, after being delayed several times due to the coronavirus pandemic. - NME, 3/21/21...... In other soul music news, expanded digital editions of The Jacksons' last three studio albums will drop on Apr. 30, Epic Records and Sony's Legacy Recordings has announced. The three LP's, 1980's Triumph, 1984's Victory and 1989's 2300 Jackson Street, will be reissued with bonus tracks. On Mar. 21, a new remix of their song "Can You Feel It" featuring spoken word recordings from the late Martin Luther King's acclaimed "The Drum Major Instinct" speech at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta in 1968 was released. It also features excerpts from former Pres. Barack Obama's first inauguration speech. On Mar. 26, a 2-LP 12" vinyl edition of The Jacksons Live! from their 1981 North American "Triumph Tour" will be released. In February, extended editions of 1977's The Jacksons LP, 1977's Goin' Places and 1978's Destiny were released. The Jacksons last toured in 2019, when Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon Jackson embarked on a World Tour. - Music-News.com, 3/19/21...... In an interview in the new Reader's Digest, former Police frontman Sting said he regrets reuniting with the Police in 2007, labeling it "an exercise in nostalgia." Bassist/vocalist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stuart Copeland reunited in 2007, 19 years after they split, and then embarked on a global tour the year after. Sting said the reunion didn't leave him feeling the way he hoped it would. "At the time I labelled the tour an exercise in nostalgia. That was simply how I felt and is still how I feel today," he said. "I think it's OK to be honest about your feelings and that was the way it went for me. That's not a slight on the people I was with or the way things panned out, it's just how I saw it by the end, and let s be honest, that's not how I wanted to remember it. If I thought that would be the emotion I'd be leaving with, I wouldn't have done it in the first place," he added. Meanwhile, Sting, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, and Sleater-Kinney are among the special guests who will feature on the upcoming new series of Audible's Words + Music. - NME, 3/21/21...... Nathan Apodaca, the man who went viral in 2020 for miming along to Fleetwood Mac while drinking Ocean Spray on a skateboard, is selling the original video as a non-fungible token (NFT). Apodaca's TikTok video caught the attention of millions last September, including Fleetwood Mac themselves, with bandmembers even re-creating the skater's ode to "Dreams." The feel-good video also secured him a virtual spot at Pres. Joe Biden's inauguration in January. On Mar. 19, Apodaca put his 23-second clip on auction as an NFT with a reported starting bid of $500,000 (£358,437), according to TMZ.com. They added that Apodaca sees giving someone else ownership as a way to spread his success around, since he has made lucrative gains from it. The video, however, will not include the original audio snippet of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" because he does not own the copyright. The viral star reportedly plans to use the money earned from the auction to buy his parents a house and open an event center in his hometown of Idaho Falls. - NME, 3/18/21...... In a new interview with Cleveland.com, former Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler announced that he is working on his autobiography. Butler says he's halfway through writing the book, in order to give his grandchildren a look back at his illustrious career. "I started out because when my parents died, I always wished I'd asked them a lot more things than I knew about," Butler said. "I don't really know much about my mum and dad, 'cause they were always just there. So, I started writing a memoir for my grandkids to read, and that's been fun going through stuff -- old times and growing up in Birmingham, and all that. I'm right in the middle of doing that at the moment." Meanwhile, former Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne is under attack from another former co-host of her talk show The Talk as she battles back from an awkward stand-off on the daytime show and racism allegations. A day after Leah Remini told the New York Post she heard Sharon call a former Asian-American sidekick "slanty eyes" and "wonton," actress Holly Robinson Peete has blasted Sharon for the way she handled the controversy. Peete took to social media and wrote: "If your only response to a disgusting allegation of racist behavior is to tell 'little people' to 'f--- off' you're clearly not holding yourself accountable." Sharon shocked many with a denial statement on Mar. 17, when she repeated the word "wonton" twice and told her critics to "f--- off." Osbourne's war of words began on an episode of The Talk in the third week of March, when she was challenged over comments she made during the live show defending her longtime friend Piers Morgan following his controversial take on Prince Harry and Megan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey. An exchange between Osbourne and co-host Sheryl Underwood became heated when the comedian suggested Morgan's comments were racist. CBS network bosses put The Talk on hold while they investigate the incident and Osbourne is considering whether she will return to the show when it re-airs the following week. - NME/WENN-Canoe.com, 3/18/21...... During a Zoom Q&A session on Mar. 18 to promote his new EP Zoom In, Ringo Starr criticized the original Beatles documentary Let It Be for being "too miserable." Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg oversaw the film which documented the Fab Four during recording sessions for their 12th studio album and drew particular attention to heated exchanges between Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Starr said he was delighted that Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson took over 56 hours of footage from that era and made it into the forthcoming The Beatles: Get Back documentary. "I didn't feel any joy in the original documentary, it was all focused on one moment which went down between two of the lads [McCartney and Harrison]," said Starr. "The rooftop concert [unannounced Beatles gig from the Apple Corps rooftop in 1969] was also only about seven to eight minutes long. With Peter's [documentary] it's 43 minutes long [laughs]. It's about the music and a lot of joy." Ringo continued: "I had several talks with Peter about how I felt. I thought it was miserable. I said, 'There was lots of laughter, I was there, we were laughing, we were having fun. We were playing and doing what we do'. So Peter kept coming into LA with his iPad and he'd show me sections. He said, 'Look what I've found here' and he showed us laughing and having fun as a band. There was a lot of joy in making those records, those tracks so I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the whole thing. Even if you saw that little trailer that came out late last year, it's full of fun." The Beatles: Get Back is due on Aug. 27, after the original release date was moved due to the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Starr's new EP "Zoom In" was released on Mar. 19. The five track EP was recorded at Starr's home studio between April and October in 2020, featuring contributions from McCartney, Dave Grohl, Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, Chris Stapleton and Corinne Bailey Rae. - NME, 3/18/21...... In other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney has announced his second children's picture book, Grandude's Green Submarine, will be released on Sept. 2 and continue the adventure of his best-selling 2019 Hey Grandude. Grandude's Green Submarine will continue the adventure of the eponymous grandfather and his grandchildren as they set off on a quest to find their music-loving grandmother, Nandude. McCartney previously explained that the lead character's name is taken directly from the nickname that his grandchildren are known to call him. 'I'm really happy with how Hey Grandude! was received as this was a very personal story for me, celebrating Grandudes everywhere and their relationships and adventures with their grandchildren," he said. "I love that it has become a book read to grandkids at bedtime all around the world. I always said if people liked the first book and there was an appetite for more I would write some further adventures for Grandude -- so he's back and this time with his special invention, Grandude's green submarine!," he added. - NME, 3/18/21...... Director Edgar Wright's new documentary on the '70s L.A. pop-rock duo Sparks will be released in US and Canadian cinemas later in 2021. The Sparks Brothers will investigate the careers of brothers Ron and Russell Mael over five decades, complete with an archive of TV and concert clips. A string of musical guests were interviewed for the documentary, including Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, Alex Kaprano of Franz Ferdinand, and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Sparks Brothers premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier in 2021. Now, Edgar Wright has confirmed on Instagram that the film will arrive in North American theaters on June 18, with international release dates to be announced later. An official clip of the documentary has also been shared on YouTube. Sparks' combination of witty lyrics with ever-changing pop styles on such albums as 1975's Propaganda has long perplexed and fascinated critics and audiences. - NME, 3/21/21...... Responding to a fan question sent into Metal Hammer, Alice Cooper has revealed his theatrical rock shows were a major inspiration for David Bowie, who once told the rocker it was what his own band "should be doing." "David used to come to the show when he was a mime artist, he was Davy Jones back then. I remember at one of our 'Welcome To My Nightmare' shows, he brought his band the Spiders From Mars and he was saying, 'This is what we should be doing.' But he never did it the way we did it," Cooper recalled. "Bowie and I talked all the time, we'd compliment each other," he added. "There was a whole thing about Bowie and Lou Reed talking about my androgynous thing being fake and they were right -- of course, it's fake. It's a dark vaudeville show and I play a character. Lou and David knew me and knew I couldn't be more down-the-middle American but I just happened to tap into this character and the image -- I knew how to make that character scary, sexy, revolting and funny at the same time!" he said. Cooper said he never saw Bowie as competition but instead "encouraged" him. - NME, 3/18/21.