Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 19th, 2021

Billy Joel was joined by Goo Goo Dolls' John Rzeznik at an Aug. 14 Buffalo show at the Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park to a crowd of vaccinated fans. "Welcome to my hometown," Rzeznik told Joel before the duo ran through a thunderous rendition of the Goo Goo's 1998 hit "Iris," with Joel playing piano and Rzeznik on acoustic guitar. Footage of the performance can be viewed on YouTube. - NME, 8/16/21...... Seventies artists Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Carlos Santana, Elvis Costello, Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, Journey and Earth, Wind & Fire are among the co-headliners of the "WE LOVE NYC: The Homecoming Concert" set for Aug. 21. The concert will be aired live on cable channel CNN beginning at 5:00 p.m. EDT. - CNN...... If you think you've heard every weird Michael Jackson story imagineable, hang on to your hat. A self-described medium named Kathleen Roberts is claiming to be married to the ghost of the King of Pop, and that his ghost "clairvoyantly" proposed to her with a pink engagement ring. Roberts, an American who also claims she is the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe, told the Daily Star paper that Jackson uses her body through possession -- "or channelling, if you refer to it professionally," she said -- in order to live a happy marriage to her. He sings, dances and eats food via Roberts' body, and "stays in me all the time." "He comes to the restroom with me and calls these special bonding moments 'toiletries'. He loves cookies. He cusses a lot more to I'd expect him to... He talks to me a lot, which is not what I expected from the shy man I saw on TV all of those years I was a fan," Roberts said. She added that she believes Jackson chose her because of her apparent resemblance to the late Hollywood icon Monroe. "I feel special that he chose me for a wife (though not on paper) we treat our relationship as though we are married. We have our ups and downs but Michael, the truth is, I just can't stop loving you," she said. Roberts also noted that she and Michael, who died in 2009 aged 50, haven't yet consummated their marriage. "He doesn't like being touched back. He scares me with spider visions and dead corpse visions if I kiss him or try to initiate romance physically," said Roberts. "He is very bossy and points things out like flaws and mistakes I make. I assume he got that from his father, so I try to overlook that because I love him and I am not perfect either," she added. - New Musical Express, 8/19/21...... George Harrison has notched his first No. 1 album on Billboard's 15-year-old Top Rock Albums chart as a solo artist with the 50th anniversary reissue of his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. The release moved 32,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 12, according to MRC Data. All Things Must Pass has also re-entered the all-genre Billboard Hot 200 chart at No. 7, its first appearance within the chart's top 10 since March 1971. It reached No. 1 on the Hot 200 on Jan. 2, 1971, and ruled the ranking for seven weeks. Meanwhile, the cover art for All Things Must Pass has been recreated in the form of a large gnome installation at Duke Of York Square in Chelsea, London, as part of the celebration of the album's 50th birthday. Harrison's widow Olivia and son Dhani Harrison have contributed to a new mini-documentary, which has been shared on YouTube, that documents the process of how they brought the cover to life with floral artist Ruth Davis. "We knew we wanted to recreate the album cover, but we also loved the idea of having some naughty gnomes roaming about London," Davis explained in the clip. "It was almost a bit like a treasure hunt -- so one will be at Abbey Road, which will lead people to the main one." She added that the aim of the project was "to recreate the story in a really fun but poignant way." Dhani, meanwhile, reflected on his late father's "connection with nature" and fondness for gardening. Upon the finished product being unveiled towards the end of the clip, Olivia described the piece as "the most joyous thing I've ever seen," adding that George would be "over the moon." The giant gnome installation is on display to the public at Duke Of York Square until Aug. 20. - Billboard/NME, 8/18/21...... With the success of her latest album Release Me 2, Barbra Streisand has made Billboard chart history by becoming the first woman with top 20-charting albums on the Billboard Hot 200 in every decade from the '60s through the '20s. Release Me 2, a rarities compilation that includes archival recordings from Streisand's vault including duets with the likes of Willie Nelson, Barry Gibb and even Kermit the Frog, debuted at No. 15 on the Hot 200 for the week dated Aug. 21, making the singing legend the only woman with new top 20 -- or even top 40 -- albums in every decade from the 1960s through the 2020s. Release Me 2 dropped via Columbia/Legacy on Aug. 6 and launched with 22,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 12, according to MRC Data. It's the sequel to her 2012 album Release Me, which debuted and peaked at No. 7. The only other act with a new top 20, or top 40, set in the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s, '10s and '20s is Bob Dylan, who most recently visited the region with the No. 2-peaking Rough and Rowdy Ways on the July 4, 2020-dated chart. Streisand, who is also the woman with the most No. 1 albums on the Billboard Hot 200 (11), made her debut on the same chart 58 years ago on the Aug. 17, 1963-dated chart, when The Barbra Streisand Album bowed at No. 17. It later peaked at No. 9 on the Nov. 8, 1963-dated chart. Meanwhile, Streisand says she isn't a fan of the latest version of A Star Is Born starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper because she thought the 2018 musical romantic drama was too similar to her 1976 version that co-starred her and Kris Kristofferson. "At first, when I heard it was going to be done again, it was supposed to be Will Smith and Beyoncé, and I thought, 'That's interesting. Really make it different again -- different kind of music, integrated actors.' I thought that was a great idea," she said in the new interview with The Project. "So I was surprised when I saw how alike it was to the version that I did in 1976.... I can't argue with success, but I don't care so much about success as I do originality," she added. - Billboard, 8/18/21...... Foreigner dropped a video on Aug. 18 urging Americans to get vaccinated amid the latest Covid-19 Delta variant surge. The 5:31 video, which is available on YouTube and features current Foreigner lead singer Kelly Hansen and Nashvillian M.D. Alex Jahangir, coincided with Foreigner's Aug. 18 show at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium and features some very pertinent questions about what it's going to take to get the country out of the once-again raging pandemic. In the clip, Hansen notes he understands that getting vaccinated against the highly transmissible virus is a personal choice, but hopes the information provided by Dr. Jahangir might help persuade the unvaxxed. In a press release, Foreigner said they "were proud to be part of the Ad Council & COVID Collaborative's Vaccine Education Initiative, 'It's Up to You.' As a band, we want to continue bringing our music live to all our friends and fans across the country, but we want to do it safely... Let's all stay healthy! Hope to see you rockin' down the road!" - Billboard, 8/18/21...... Saying that "my soul tells me it would be wrong to risk having anyone die," Neil Young has pulled out of the 2021 edition of the Farm Aid concert set for Sept. 25 in Connecticut. Young, who is a co-founder and board member of Farm Aid, was set to play the festival alongside Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price, Sturgill Simpson and others, but in a recent post on his Neil Young Archives site says "I find myself wondering whether Farmaid will be safe for everyone with the Covid pandemic surging... I don't want to let anybody down, but still can't shake the feeling that it might not be safe for everyone." Young continued: "My soul tells me it would be wrong to risk having anyone die because they wanted to hear music and be with friends. While I respect Willie, John and Dave's decisions to stick with it and play, I am not of the same mind. It is a tough call." The September gig would have been the singer-songwriter's first public performance since the 2019 edition of Farm Aid in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, in June Young provided an on his upcoming new album with Crazy Horse saying that "the Horse is back in the barn, shaking off the rust" and that he and the band already have five songs "ready for the next album." - NME, 8/19/21...... An unnamed woman who identifies herself only by the initials "J.C." has accused Bob Dylan of sexually abusing her in 1965 when she was just 12 years old, according to a lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court on Aug. 13. "J.C." claims that Dylan abused her over a six-week period in April and May 1965 by providing her with drugs and alcohol and threatening physical violence, "leaving her emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day." She says Dylan facilitated the abuse by establishing an "emotional connection" and grooming her using his status as a hugely-famous musician. The complaint includes few specifics of the alleged abuse, but claims it resulted in economic losses, including medical costs related to his conduct -- some of which she alleges occurred in his apartment at the Hotel Chelsea, where rock legend famously wrote lyrics for his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. "J.C." is suing Dylan for assault and battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress and seeking compensatory, punitive and exemplary damages. A spokesperson for Dylan categorically denied the accusations, saying "the 56-year-old claim is untrue and will be vigorously defended." Filed by attorneys Daniel Isaacs and Peter Gleason, the suit was made possible by the 2019 New York's Child Victims Act, which suspended NY's ordinary statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims for a two-year period that ended on Aug. 14 -- just a day after the Dylan complaint was filed. Isaacs said the complaint "speaks for itself" and declined to comment on why his client was mounting the allegations so many years later. A British Bob Dylan biographer, Clinton Heylin, says the allegations made against Dylan are "not possible" due to the claimant's timeline of events. Heylin, the author of a new Dylan biography called The Double Life of Bob Dylan: A Restless, Hungry Feeling, 1941-1966, says that Dylan was touring England during that time, and was in Los Angeles for two of those weeks, plus a day or two at Woodstock. "The tour was 10 days, but Bob flew into London on April 26 and arrived back in New York on June 3," Heylin says. "If Dylan was in New York in mid-April, it was for no more than a day or two. Woodstock was where he spent most of his time when not touring." Heylin adds that if Dylan was in New York City, the singer "invariably stayed at his manager's apartment in Gramercy, not the Chelsea." - Billboard/NME, 8/16/21...... An acoustic guitar owned by Keith Richards that he once shot in frustration after an argument with his Rolling Stones bandmate Ronnie Wood has gone up for auction. Richards reportedly blew a hole in the Gibson 1952 SJ Southern Jumbo Sunburst Acoustic Guitar in 1995 after a row with Wood as the band was relaxing in a Memphis hotel room after a show. According to the memoirs of Ronnie's ex-wife Jo Wood, Richards became so incensed after walking in the room to find Wood jamming on the guitar that he decided to shoot a hole in it. An official listing statement claims: "Richards asked where Wood got the guitar from, and Wood said he borrowed it from Mick Jagger. "Richards was so mad that they took his guitar that he grabbed it, sandwiched it between two pillows, took out a gun and shot it. The guitar not only still has the hole, but also has remnants from one of the foam pillows used to silence it." Despite the hole, New Jersey auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll has received an opening bid of $150,000 for the unique piece of rock history and estimates that the guitar will bring in $250,000. The listing adds: "Richards owned and frequently played this acoustic guitar on stage during the Rolling Stones' 1995 Totally Stripped tour. - NME, 8/18/21...... A collection of classic cars, known as the "Silver Surfers," belonging to the late Rush drummer-lyricist Neil Peart, sold for $3.9 million during an auction conducted by Gooding & Company at the Pebble Beach Auctions on Aug. 13-14. The auction of Peart's seven cars saw the top sale of the collection go to his 1970 Lamborghini Miura P400 S, which sold for a whopping $1.32 million after being predicted to sell for more than $1 million. Only one car from the collection, an 1964 Aston Martin DB5, did not reach its reserve price (estimated beforehand to reach between $650,000-$725,000) and failed to sell. Peart, who died on Jan. 7, 2020 after bravely battling brain cancer for three and a half years, said previously he named his cars his "Silver Surfers" for the feeling he had while driving them on the California coast. "The title 'Silver Surfers' for my collection of cars occurred to me while driving the DB5 up and down the Pacific Ocean," he once explained. "Because it felt right to me, I guess -- the idea that I was just one of the wave riders." - Canoe.com, 8/18/21...... On Aug. 16 KISS officially announced the details of their second Las Vegas residency on Twitter after recently confirming they would be taking to the stage at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Resort & Casino from late December until February. KISS will perform at the Zappos on Dec. 29 and 31, 2021, and across January 1, 19, 21, 22, 26, 28, 29, and February 2, 4, 5 in 2022. It will mark the band's second residency in Vegas, having embarked on a nine-date run at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel And Casino in 2014. That stint was released as the Kiss Rocks Vegas concert film in 2016. Meanwhile, KISS has dropped David Lee Roth as the support act for the U.S. leg of their farewell tour, saying the former Van Halen frontman is "past his prime." Roth opened for Gene Simmons and Co. on the February and March, 2020 North American dates on their "End Of The Road" trek, but Simmons has confirmed he won't be back when the tour resumes on Aug. 18 in Mansfield, Mass. "It bears noting that during Dave's heyday, nobody did what he did," Simmons told Rolling Stone. "He was the ultimate frontman... He took being a frontman way beyond anything. And then, I don't know what happened to him... something. And you get modern-day Dave. I prefer to remember Elvis Presley in his prime. Sneering lips, back in Memphis, you know, doing all that. I don't want to think of bloated naked Elvis on the bathroom floor." Simmons is not the only rock star who has taken aim at Diamond Dave in recent months. Sammy Hagar, who replaced Roth in Van Halen, claimed his voice "hasn't aged well" in an explosive interview. "I can't imagine how he feels when he looks at some of them old videos, the way he was dancing and moving, and the way he was singing live sometimes," Hagar said. "I don't know how he feels about all that, but I don't think he cares... He's all show." In still more KISS news, Paul Stanley has revealed in a new post on Twitter that Joni Mitchell owns a KISS-branded pinball machine. "I spent a few minutes last night catching up with Joni Mitchell at a restaurant," Stanley posted. "I'm always in awe of her artistic journeys & spirit. Even through the devastation of an aneurysm she shines. Joni reminded me that she has a KISS pinball machine. What an incredible woman. Love her," he added. - NME/WENN/Canoe.com, 8/17/21...... Elton John surprised a crowd at the La Gurite Beach restaurant in Cannes, France on Aug. 14 with an impromptu performance of "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)," his new collaboration with Dua Lipa that was released a day earlier. John got behind the restaurant's decks where a DJ cued up the track and let the Rocket Man sing along. "During lockdown I made this single and it came out yesterday with Dua Lipa," Elton told diners. "I want you all to dance on the table and wave your hands." "Cold Heart LIVE performance," John wrote on Instagram, although the clip is no longer visible on his Story. "Thought I'd surprise the people at La Gurite beach restaurant with a performance of the new track," he added. Footage of the performance can be watched on YouTube. The original track seamlessly blends together some of John's past releases, including "Sacrifice," "Kiss The Bride" and "Rocket Man." It is the singer and PNAU's second collaboration following the 2012 album Good Morning To The Night, which also sampled some of the icon's older tracks. - NME, 8/15/21...... Aerosmith's Joe Perry says his band once considered replacing co-founding vocalist Steven Tyler with Sammy Hagar, a.k.a. "The Red Rocker." In an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Perry said the incident took place around a decade ago, when Tyler was appearing as a judge on American Idol among a number of other non-Aerosmith activities, moves which led Perry to believe the singer was distancing himself from the band. He went on to say that Hagar came close to accepting the role, before Tyler ended up continuing to sing with the band. "It was really another one of those times, you don't keep a band together without a lot of bumps," Perry said. "But anyway, over the years, everybody has to bust out and do what they want. And I remember Steven doing that TV show, I thought that was great. I just knew he had to do something like that, and doing that solo record that he did. So the band wasn't that tight, there was talk and there were so many people involved -- lawyers, different managers. I thought Steven wants maybe to take four years off, do what he wants to do. And so the whole looking around for another lead singer thing, just as soon as that happened, that raised its head," he added. Meanwhile, Aerosmith's Brad Whitford has said he's not sure Aerosmith's upcoming UK and European tour will go ahead because of visa issues relating to Brexit. The band's European tour was originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but was pushed back to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was later rescheduled again and is now set to take place in 2022. - NME, 8/15/21.

A special one-off screening of David Byrne's American Utopia concert film is scheduled for Sept. 15 in US cinemas. Director Spike Lee's acclaimed film will also feature a new introduction from Byrne along with a presentation of a never-before-seen conversation between Byrne and Lee. American Utopia, whose official trailer can be viewed on YouTube, is a concert film documenting Byrne's Broadway show of the same name. Meanwhile, a new stage version of "American Utopia" has been confirmed to return to Broadway in 2021 after an initial 17-week return schedule was postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis. The production, which is based on Byrne's 2018 album of the same name, will this time see a longer, 6-month run in New York City's theatre district, moving from The Hudson to the larger St. James Theatre on 44th St. The former Talking Heads frontman and solo artist is joined by an 11-piece mobile ensemble playing songs from Byrne's 2018 American Utopia album as well as other tracks from his solo catalog and Talking Heads material. - New Musical Express, 8/14/21...... The Eagles' current record company Rhino Entertainment has licensed the iconic L.A. rockers' first six albums to the audiophile label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab that will release each of them as 2-disc 45rpm box sets for $125. The band's first, self-titled album drops on Aug. 15, followed by Desperado on Sept. 15 and then later On the Border, One of These Nights, Hotel California, and The Long Run. "We are incredibly honored to be doing these Eagles records," says Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab vp Josh Bizar. The label, which has the approval of the band as well as Rhino, is working with Eagles catalog curator Richard F. W. Davis. As far as the price, which is typical for Mobile Fidelity's "Ultradisc One-Step" products, "people will pay more for a quality product," Bizar says. The label generally presses limited amounts of records -- the first two Eagles releases are limited to 7,500 copies each -- which tend to sell out. Over the past decade, as vinyl grew into a substantial business, MFSL has been selling reissues on vinyl and audiophile SACDs - mostly of classic rock acts like Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Dire Straits, and others. More info on the releases can be found on the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab website. - Billboard, 8/13/21...... Ringo Starr took to Twitter on Aug. 14 to announce the upcoming release of a new EP, called Change the World. As with Sir Ringo's March-released Zoom In EP, the new songs were recorded at his Roccabella West studio, with the famous drummer revealing he's invited some "new friends" to be involved with the new EP's release. "I've been saying I only want to release EPs at this point and this is the next one," Starr said. "What a blessing it's been during this year to have a studio here at home and be able to collaborate with so many great musicians, some I've worked with before and some new friends," he added. The EP's lead off track, "Let's Change the World," can be streamed on YouTube and was written by Toto members Joseph Williams and Steve Lukather, who also perform on the track. Starr also worked on the new EP with hitmaker Linda Perry for the first time, who wrote and performs on "Coming Undone," also featuring Trombone Shorty. Another highlight is Ringo's take on the 1955 Rock 'n' Roll classic "Rock Around the Clock," which features guitarist Joe Walsh. Though Starr has released 20 solo studio albums in his career, Change the World is only his third EP, the first being 1995's 4-Starr Collection. Change the World will drop on Sept. 24 in CD, vinyl, cassette and digital formats. - NME, 8/14/21...... In other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney has shared a video on YouTube unveiling how the ultra-trippy film clip for his track "Find My Way" came to life. The colorful, disco-inspired clip, which has also been shared on YouTube, was released in July and features a digitally de-aged McCartney (played by Jordan Johnson) dancing down the halls of a hotel before being teleported to a variety of other locations. "In the same way the track has these seamless transitions from one section to the next, we wanted to do the same thing visually," director Andrew Donaho said in the making-of video. "So we created this oner... It's not a oner, it's a handful of takes stitched together, but it has the feeling of a neverending shot," he added. Upon the original film clip's release, Hyperreal Digital's CEO Remington Scott said: "The technology to de-age talent and have them perform in creative environments like this is now fully-realised, even with one of the most recognised faces in the world." Featuring alternative star Beck, "Find My Way" serves as the opening track to McCartney's most recent album, McCartney III Imagined, itself a reworking of 2020's McCartney III. The album's digital version was released back in April, with its physical edition released in July. - NME, 8/13/21...... In other Fab Four-related news, a new documentary titled Rock & Roll Revival will feature rare footage of John Lennon playing a 1969 solo concert, just days before he left the Beatles. Lennon performed at the Toronto Rock & Roll Revival in Canada, with a hastily assembled Plastic Ono Band which featured his wife Yoko Ono, guitarist Eric Clapton, Yes drummer Alan White and bassist Klaus Voorman. The one-day event, held at the University of Toronto, was the brainchild of young music fan John Brower, who also managed to sign up The Doors and Alice Cooper, as well as such classic rock 'n' rollers as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley and Gene Vincent. Lennon reportedly had cold feet about his performance and tried to cancel, leaving organizers unsure whether to yank the entire gathering because of poor ticket sales. But once reports reached Toronto that John and Yoko were safely in flight and on their way, fans raced to snap up the remaining tickets -- and the festival went ahead. Rock & Roll Revival will be directed by Ron Chapman and produced by Pennebaker Hegedus Films and Screen Siren Pictures bosses, among others. The 90-minute documentary is expected to hit the film festival circuit in the spring of 2022. - WENN/Canoe.com, 8/11/21...... London's world-famous Abbey Road Studios where the likes of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Kanye West, Adele and Ed Sheeran laid down some of their most iconic tracks is running an open house event until Aug. 15 as part of its 90th birthday celebrations. "Abbey Road: Open House" gives visitors the opportunity to explore all three of the original recording rooms made famous by the above mentioned artists, and visitors will be able to access the control rooms and the famous Studio Two Echo Chamber, which have existed since 1931. - NME, 8/10/21...... Elton John and fellow Brit Lipa have joined forces on a new mashup called "Cold Heart," which has been expertly created by Pnau, the Australian electronic music outfit of Peter Mayes and brothers Nick and Sam Littlemore. The new cut has a slinky vibe, introduced into the mix by Pnau, and features a nuggety bassline and house beat. Over the top, John performs lyrics from his 1989 single "Sacrifice" and Lipa drops in with lines from Elton's signature song from 1972, "Rocket Man." The video for "Cold Heart" can be streamed on YouTube. Meanwhile, Elton has been namechecked in K-pop phenomenons BTS's latest Billboard Hot 100 single, "Permission to Dance. The love spread late in early August, when BTS member RM shared a snippet of himself lip-syncing to the song on Twitter, and tagging Elton's Twitter handle. The Rocket Man himself responded by laying down his own vocals. "When the nights get colder, And the rhythms got you falling behind," he sings in a post shared on Twitter, before thanking RM and ARMY. "Permission to Dance" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July. - Billboard, 8/13/21...... A third release of the Grateful Dead's long running "Dave's Picks" series has hit No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart dated Aug. 14. Dave's Picks, Volume 39 debuts at No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums tally with 22,000 equivalent album units, all from album sales, according to MRC Data. The album was recorded at the band's Apr. 26, 1983, concert at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. GD's three No. 1's on Top Rock Albums, which began in 2006, are all from the Dave's Picks series. Volume 32 (also recorded at The Spectrum, on March 24, 1973) led in Nov. 2019, followed by Volume 34 (recorded at Miami's Jai-Alai Fronton on June 23, 1974) in May 2020. - Billboard, 8/13/21...... Prince's new archival studio album Welcome 2 America has debuted on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart dated Aug. 14 in the No. 4 position, garnering the late funk/rock legend his 20th Top 10 album. With the bow, Prince is now among only a dozen artists (led by the Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand and the Beatles) to reach the milestone since the chart began in 1956. Welcome 2 America was recorded in 2010 but not released until this July 30. It marks his first newly-released album to reach the Billboard Hot 200's Top 10 since his death on Apr. 21, 2016, at age 57. Welcome 2 America marks Prince's first debut in the Hot 200's Top 10 since 2014 and his highest entrance since 2009, when Lotus Flow3r/MPLSound/Elix3r debuted at its No. 2 peak. - Billboard, 8/13/21...... Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang Van Halen opened up about his dad's October 2020 death on Instagram on Aug. 12. Wolfgang admitted that he is still trying to come to terms with the passing of his beloved father. "I've had so many dreams lately where Pop and I are just doing normal things and then I realise it's a dream, stop whatever I'm doing and hug him for as long as I can until I wake up," he wrote." I miss the f--- out of him. I can't believe he's not here anymore. Still doesn't feel real. I'm doing my best, Pop (sic)," he added. It comes after the musician said back in June that if it wasn't for the coronavirus pandemic then his late father could have received more treatment and still might be alive. "In the summer of 2020, instead of standing outside the window of his father's house to say hello, and instead of sitting by a hospital bed as he slips away, they are on the road together, one last time," he told the Washington Post. "The way we figured it, if I were to open for Van Halen, he would come out and play a solo for a song. That would have been the end-all dream. I will forever loathe COVID and how it was handled because they stole that moment from me," he added. The bassist is currently supporting Guns N' Roses on their US summer tour. - NME, 8/13/21...... Earth, Wind & Fire have teamed up with acclaimed producer Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and singer-songwriter Lucky Dave for a new version of the EW&F hit "You Want My Love" to mark its 45th anniversary. The tune blends the music of the Grammy-winning troupe with contemporary stars and will be released on Aug. 20. "You Want My Love" was released on the album Gratitude in 1975 and would earn a Grammy nomination for Best Arrangement For Voices two years later. "I am super hyped about this all-star collaboration -- Earth, Wind & Fire, Lucky Daye, and Kenny 'Babyface' Edmonds producing. It was an honour to join forces with these two superstars, and I truly believe we've created a winner all the way," said EW&F member Philip Bailey. EW&F are also set to perform the track on stage in New York City for the "WE LOVE NYC: The Homecoming Concert" on Aug. 21 to celebrate the Big Apple's reopening as the coronavirus pandemic subsides. The concert will be aired live on cable channel CNN. EW&F will launch a fall concert tour of the US on Sept. 16 in San Antonio, Tex., that wraps on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas. - Music-News.com, 8/14/21...... Stevie Wonder and Commonwill perform together for the seventh Stand Up to Cancer telethon, with Anthony Anderson, Sofia Vergara and husband-and-wife Ken Jeong and Tran Ho as hosts. The Aug. 21 hourlong special, which raises money for cancer research, is held every other year and will also be co-headlined by Brittany Howard. It will be carried simultaneously and commercial-free on 60-plus U.S. and Canadian broadcast, cable and streaming outlets, including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. Families who have been affected by the disease, including that of an 11-year-old boy with leukemia, will share their stories. Since its founding in 2008, Stand Up to Cancer said it has raised more than $600 million for research that has contributed to federal approvals for nine new cancer therapies and 258 clinical trials. - AP, 8/12/21...... Several classic tracks by ZZ Top have climbed Billboard's Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart after the July 28 death of longtime bassist Dusty Hill. 1974's "La Grange," one of the band's signature songs, ascends 2-1 on the chart with 1,600 sold in the July 30-Aug. 5 tracking period, according to MRC Data, becoming ZZ Top's first leader on the list. A week earlier, the song sold 1,300, up 252%. 1983's "Sharp Dressed Man" (No. 2; 1,600 sold), 1975's "Tush" (No. 5; 1,100) and 1983's "Gimme All Your Lovin' " (No. 6; 1,100) also climb Hard Rock Digital Song Sales. The four tracks additionally appear on Rock Digital Song Sales, led by "La Grange" at No. 6. Meanwhile, the Texas trio's "Rough Boy" gained by 2,423% in U.S. lyric usages/searches following Hill's passing (as reflected on the Aug. 7 U.S. chart), followed by "Tush" at No. 4, up 1,847%, according to LyricFind.com. Hill died July 28 at age 72, with the cause not yet announced. He had recently bowed out of ZZ Top's current tour to pursue physical therapy for chronic bursitis. - Billboard, 8/12/21...... Iggy Pop has been named the face of high-end electric scooter company Unagi Electric Scooters. The company's inaugural ad campaign features the Godfather of Punk extolling the virtues of the zipping around on two carbon-emission-free wheels. "Unagi... I'd steal one... if I could," Pop says in his instantly recognizable baritone in a slick 30-second spot shot, which can be viewed on YouTube, at the rocker's Miami home cued to his band The Stooges' "Down on the Street" that dropped on Aug. 12. Dressed in a black skinny jeans and a leather motorcycle jacket with no shirt, the 74 year-old ageless wonder walks around his house unfolding the scooter as he runs his hand along it and flicks on the headlight while the words "tough," "timeless" and "road ready" flash on the screen -- words that could easily apply to both. "Maybe they should re-name it Un-Iggy," he says at the end of the clip. In another promotional short also shared on YouTube, Pop says, "Unagi, experience euphoria without the psychedelics." - Billboard, 8/12/21...... Fourteen years after their Grammy-winning collaboration Raising Sand, Led Zeppelin icon Robert Plant and country singer Alison Krauss have announced a sequel, Raise the Roof, which is out Nov. 19. Like the 2007 effort, the new set will be released via Rounder Records. Also like its predecessor, it will consist of covers made famous by acts such as Merle Haggard, the Everly Brothers and Allen Toussaint. The one original on the set is co-written by Plant and returning producer T Bone Burnett. The first track, which was released on Aug. 12 and shared on Spotify.com, is "Can't Let Go," originally recorded by Lucinda Williams. Like the other songs on the album, the swampy, surf-influenced "Can't Let Go" features a driving beat. "We wanted it to move," Krauss said of the album in a statement. "We brought other people in, other personalities within the band, and coming back together again in the studio brought a new intimacy to the harmonies." Added Plant: "You hear something and you go, 'Man, listen to that song, we got to sing that song!' It's a vacation, really -- the perfect place to go that you least expected to find." Raising Sand swept the Grammys in early 2009, nabbing several awards including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and both Best Pop and Country Collaboration with Vocals. Plant and Krauss are also planning a 2022 tour behind the new LP. - Billboard, 8/12/21...... Dolly Parton has teamed up with best-selling author James Patterson for her first novel. Parton announced on Twitter on Aug. 11 that the book, Run Rose Run, is "a new thriller about a young singer/songwriter on the rise and on the run... and determined to do whatever it takes to survive!" Run Rose Run will be published by Little, Brown and Company on Mar. 7, 2022, and a companion album of the same title will be released simultaneously, featuring 12 original songs inspired by the book that Parton wrote, performed and produced. The Run Rose Run LP will be released on Parton's Butterfly Records in partnership with another to-be-determined label. - Billboard, 8/11/21...... Gene Simmons has confirmed rumours that KISS will be returning to Las Vegas for another residency this winter. The hard rock vets will perform at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Resort & Casino from Dec. 27 until February, according to Simmons. It will mark the second time the band have taken up residence in the city. KISS's 9-date run in 2014 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel And Casino was released as the Kiss Rocks Vegas concert film two years later. Simmons added that the residency will take place in between legs of the band's mammoth "farewell" world tour "The End Of The Road." They're currently set to take a break after a Dec. 4 gig in Townsville, Australia, before resuming on Apr. 20 in Santiago, Chile. - NME, 8/12/21...... Stevie Nicks announced on Aug. 10 that she will no longer tour for the rest of 2021 due to rising Covid-19 cases across the U.S. Nicks revealed she canceled her live performances this year in a short note on her Twitter account. She was previously slated to perform at the Jazz Aspen Festival in Colorado and BottleRock Napa Valley in California over Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-5) and both weekends of Austin City Limits in Texas (Oct. 1-3 and Oct. 8-10). She was also on the lineup for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in Louisiana (Oct. 8-17), which announced on Aug. 8 it was canceling its 2021 event. "These are challenging times with challenging decisions that have to be made," Nicks posted. "I want everyone to be safe and healthy and the rising Covid cases should be of concern to all of us. While I'm vaccinated, at my age, I am still being extremely cautious and for that reason have decided to skip the 5 performances I had planned for 2021," the 73-year-old performer wrote. "Because singing and performing have been my whole life, my primary goal is to keep healthy so I can continue singing for the next decade or longer. I'm devastated and I know the fans are disappointed, but we will look towards a brighter 2022," she added. - Billboard, 8/10/21...... Dionne Warwick has been announced as the first-ever headliner for Dogepalooza, an entire festival dedicated to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin backed by billionaire Elon Musk. Described on its website as "an authentic, community-driven" event that organizers aim to launch in "multiple cities and countries around the globe," the inaugural event is set to take place on Oct. 9 at the Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Tex. "I'm so looking forward to [being] a part of this meaningful festival, which supports so many vital causes," Warwick said in a press release. Tickets to the all-ages event are on sale now from its website Dogepalooza.com. - NME, 8/13/21...... Record company mogul Walter Yetnikoff, the kingpin of CBS Records from 1975 to 1990 who is credited for guiding the careers of such megastars as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan and Billy Joel, died on Aug. 8. He would have turned 88 years old on Aug. 11. Brash, colorful and self-aggrandizing, with very public addictions to alcohol, cocaine and extramarital affairs, Mr. Yetnikoff ushered CBS into selling to Japanese electronics giant Sony in 1987 and was, depending on whose story you believe, the catalyst for breaking MTV's color line with Michael Jackson's video "Billie Jean." He was a workaholic, chain-smoking while working two phones simultaneously, and charmed stars with his humor and intellect: He once impressed Mick Jagger at a Paris wine bar by calculating the Value Added Tax in France on a napkin. "Bruce [Springsteen] and I worked with Walter during his entire CBS/Sony tenure," said Jon Landau, Springsteen's longtime manager. "We couldn't have had a greater or more effective champion." Born in Brooklyn to a hospital-painter father and a bookkeeper mother, Mr. Yetnikoff attended Brooklyn College and worked as a garbage collector and a deliveryman to pay for his books. He attended Columbia Law, which led to his first job as a lawyer, with the firm Rosenman and Colin, where he befriended Harvard-trained attorney Clive Davis. When Davis joined CBS' legal department, he brought in Mr. Yetnikoff as a junior lawyer, "learning the complex contractual lessons of the music business," as he wrote in his memoir. Mr. Yetnikoff is survived by his wife Lynda Kady Yetnikoff, and sons Michael and Daniel. When CBS president Goddard Lieberson departed the label in 1975, CBS made Yetnikoff president and CEO. "The appointment went to my head, went to my dick, and over a period of years turned me into a madman," Yetnikoff once wrote. "The more powerful I became, the greater my rewards, the deeper my lunacy." In 1996, Yetnikoff formed Velvel Records -- named after an old nickname given to him by his grandmother -- with a musically diverse roster and an eye towards independent operations, but the label failed to find its footing and sold to Koch Entertainment in 1999. He also focused on getting clean and sober, first with transcendental meditation, then via 12-step programs, which prompted him to work on making amends. "When he got sober, he was as passionate, generous , funny and kind as when he wasn't sober, it was a remarkable recovery. He was the same guy with the bad stuff gone," CBS Records Nashville executive Mary Ann McCready said. "He was just a beautiful person on the other side of it. I really believe that with all my heart." Mr. Yetnikoff is survived by his wife Lynda Kady Yetnikoff, and sons Michael and Daniel. - Billboard, 8/10/21...... Folk singer/songwriter Nanci Griffith, best known for the classic hit "From a Distance," died on Aug. 13 of as yet unspecified causes, according to her managment. She was 68. "It was Nanci's wish that no further formal statement or press release happen for a week following her passing," Gold Mountain Entertainment added in a statement. Griffith, who came of age in the mid-70s folk scene in and around Austin, Tex., was renowned for classics such as "Love At The Five And Dime" and "Outbound Plane." She was also known for her recording of "From A Distance," from her 1987 album Lone Star State Of Mind, which went on to become a popular Bette Midler cover. Griffith's fellow folk-rock icon Don McLean was one of the first to pay tribute to the late singer describing her as "a lovely person." "I worked with her on a TV special we did for PBS TV and on that show, we sang two duets. They were 'And I Love You So' and 'Raining In My Heart'. I never heard anyone sing harmony in a more beautiful way. We should have done an album together. At this taping in Austin, Texas she brought her father to see it. I really loved her spirit it was warm and loving and I'm really sorry to hear she has gone," he added. Griffith's work became increasingly political with age, openly criticizing former Pres. George W. Bush and supporting former Pres. Barack Obama. Griffith described her 2012 record Intersection as "a protest album." It was her last album before she retired in 2013. - NME, 8/13/21...... Actor Alex Cord, best known for co-starring with Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine in the 1980s attack-helicopter series Airwolf, died on the morning of Aug. 9 at his home in Valley View, Tex. He was 88. Mr. Cord had been working in films and TV for more than 20 years before he landed his signature role as the mysterious, eyepatch-sporting Archangel on Airwolf. The CBS drama debuted in 1984 -- the year all three broadcast networks bowed helicopter dramas following the theatrical success of Blue Thunder. While that would be Cord's signature role, he had scores of others -- ranging from guest slots on such classic series as Route 66, Night Gallery, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Police Story and The Six Million Dollar Man to a lead role in the short-lived 1978 NBC primetime soap W.E.B. He also was a regular on Cassie & Company, Angie Dickinson's follow-up series to Police Story. The Long Island, N.Y., native also appeared in films, starring alongside Ann-Margret, Mike Connors, Bing Crosby and others in 1966's Stagecoach. Other film roles included Synanon, The Last Grenade The Brotherhood, Stiletto and The Dead Are Alive! Mr. Cord continued to work onscreen throughout the 1980s and '90s, guesting on such hit dramas as Murder, She Wrote, Simon & Simon, Jake and the Fatman and Walker, Texas Ranger. - Deadline.com, 8/10/21.