Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 24th, 2021

Legendary Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died at age 80 on Aug. 24, it was confirmed by his London publicist in a statement provided to the media and reposted on the Stones' Twitter page. He was 80. "It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family," the statement reads, adding that Charlie was "a cherished husband, father and grandfather" and "one of the greatest drummers of his generation." The statement continued: "We kindly request that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends is respected at this difficult time. The cause of death of Watts, who was previously treated for throat cancer in 2004, has not yet been announced. Born on June 2, 1941 in Islington, England, Watts grew up in the Wembley area of northwest London and attended Harrow School of Art. He worked as an ad agency designer while drumming part time in the London blues bands Blues Inc. (led by Alexis Korner) and then Blues By Six, which made less demands on his time, before finally being persuaded by Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Keith Richards to replace drummer Tony Chapman in the Rolling Stones. After auditioning and hiring bassist Bill Wyman, the quintet went out on the club circuit with a repertoire of Chuck Berry/Bo Diddley material and some of the wildest R&B material yet heard in London, and the band became among the first British groups to crack the American market. Watts made his first appearance with the Stones in Jan. 1963 at the Flamingo club in London's Soho. Even then Watts, a cautious man, refused to give up his day job and it was not until the summer of that year -- after the Stones had signed to Decca Records -- that he turned fully professional. Watts, who played drums on all of the Stones' 30 albums and on every tour, has said his first and most enduring passion was jazz -- and when he wasn't touring with the Stones he enjoyed gigging with his own jazz combo, appreciating the low-key informality in stark contrast to the extravagance that surrounded a Stones tour. Watts left the hell-raising that defined the Rolling Stones in the 1960s and '70s to the other members, but provided the heartbeat of the band, and with Wyman was considered one of rock's greatest rhythm sections. Away from the Rolling Stones, Watts found the time to play jazz with several groups including a 32-piece band, the Charlie Watts Orchestra, as well as to work with pianist Ian Stewart in the band Rocket 88 during the 1980s. In the 1990s, the Charlie Watts Quintet released several albums, including a tribute to jazz great Charlie Parker. Watts married Shirley Ann Shepherd in 1964 and they remained together until his death -- the first regular member of the band to pass away since Jones in 1969. Members of the band showed their support for Charlie on Aug. 4 after he pulled out of their upcoming "No Filter" US tour to "rest and recuperate" following an unspecified emergency medical procedure. Watts joked following the announcement that he would miss the imminent dates that "for once my timing has been a little off." Bandmates had expected Watts to rejoin the band, with Jagger tweeting "We really look forward to welcoming Charlie back as soon as he is fully recovered" and that their "friend Steve Jordan" would be filling in for Watts for the time being. Tributes have started to pour in for Watts, including Paul McCartney who posted a tribute video on Twitter. In the clip he gives his condolences, saying the he was aware that Watts was unwell but "didn't know he was this ill." He then goes on to say: "Charlie was a rock and a fantastic drummer -- steady as a rock." McCartney's fellow ex-Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr added on Twitter: "God bless Charlie Watts we're going to miss you man peace and love to the family Ringo." The Kinks' Dave Davies wrote that he was "in total shock, Charlie Watts was a lovely guy... He will be sorely missed. Deepest sympathy to his wife, the band and all his family and friends," while Elton John posted it's a "very sad day": "Charlie Watts was the ultimate drummer. The most stylish of men, and such brilliant company. My deepest condolences to Shirley, Seraphina and Charlotte," he added." Other musicians posting tributes include Pete Townshend, Nile Rogers, Brian Wilson, Debbie Harry and Liam Gallagher. - New Musical Express/Canoe.com, 8/24/21.

Universal Music Group announced on Aug. 23 it has signed a new global alliance with Aerosmith that span's the legendary classic rockers' recorded music, merchandise and assorted audio-video projects. Under the deal, UMG will become the home of the band's entire recorded music catalog ahead of their 50th anniversary in 2022. UMG will also release Aerosmith's future music projects and work with the band to develop, produce and distribute new film, TV and other A/V content projects celebrating their history and cultural impact, details of which will be announced soon. Also, UMG will be given access to the band's "Vindaloo Vaults" and the personal archives of band members Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer and Brad Whitford, who will help curate their collections. Material from these archives will be utilized in future releases to provide fans access to never-before-seen-and-heard music, photos, video footage, artwork, journals, set lists and memorabilia. Aerosmith released some of their most successful albums through UMG's Geffen Records in the '80s and '90s, including 1987's 5x platinum Permanent Vacation,1989's Pump and 1993's Get a Grip (both 7x platinum). However, the majority of their albums were released by Sony's Columbia Records, including such multi-platinum sellers as their 1973 self-titled debut, 1974's Get Your Wings, 1975's Toys in the Attic, 1976's Rocks, 1977's Draw the Line and 1997's Nine Lives. Under this new deal, that lucrative catalog is now wholly controlled by UMG. - Billboard, 8/23/21...... Inclement weather in the form of an approaching thunderstorm brought on by Hurricane Henri forced the "We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert" in New York's Central Park to be canceled halfway through its planned five hours, and also during Barry Manilow's set as the Brooklyn-born crooner gleefully sang his hit "Can't Smile Without You." After leaving the stage as a concerned voice over the loudspeaker urged the thousands of attendees to exit the premises over safety concerns, Manilow hopped on the phone with CNN's Anderson Cooper to give his reaction to the sudden cancellation. "When I was in the wings, I saw it start to drizzle but I had no idea it was going this far," the 78-year-old "Mandy" singer told Cooper before serenading the TV personality with a snippet of his 1981 hit "I Made It Through the Rain." "Maybe one of these days we can do this again and it won't rain," added Manilow, who also shared a video clip of the downpour on Instagram. A video of Manilow reacting to his interrupted performance can also be viewed on the CNN.com website. The all-star Homecoming Concert launched earlier in the day with performances by Journey, Carlos Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others, before being called off. Other artists in the lineup scheduled to perform after Manilow included Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, The Killers and Elvis Costello. - Billboard, 8/22/21...... Speaking of canceled concerts, the surging Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on an already-struggling industry with near-daily announcements of concert cancellations and postponements. On Aug. 20, Grammy-winning prog rocker Alan Parsons announced that his fall U.S. tour would be postponed due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. "This has been a very difficult and devastating decision -- we were so thrilled to be returning to the stage for the first time in over a year and a half," Parsons said in a statement. "The world could use more music right now, however, it just isn't safe yet for us to come together indoors for events like concerts," he added. Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks announced Aug. 10 that she will no longer tour for the rest of 2021 due to rising Covid-19 cases across the U.S. Nicks 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). Lynyrd Skynyrd was forced to pull out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame concert set for Aug. 9 after guitarist Rickey Medlocke tested positive for Covid. The band also suspended shows in Jackson, Mississippi; Atlanta; and Cullman, Alabama, with the Aug. 13 show in Atlanta rescheduled for Oct. 23. Acts who announced in the spring they were rescheduling their 2021 tours for next year, even before the extremely contagious "Delta variant" surge occurred, include Roger Waters and Aerosmith. - Billboard, 8/20/21...... A new Motörhead tribute album dubbed Löve Me Förever: A Tribute to Motörhead has been announced for release on a new in-house label, Psycho Waxx, created by the founders of Psycho Las Vegas Festival. The album will be recorded by the artists who are billed on the 2021 line-up of Psycho Festival, which took place on the third weekend of August. Sixteen hard rocking outfits have been lined up to record songs by the Birmingham rock greats at National Southeastern Recording in downtown Vegas. The tribute release is set to drop in the summer of 2022, the first on Psycho Waxx, whose focus will be exclusive live albums and studio records. - NME, 8/21/21...... The Rolling Stones announced on Twitter on Aug. 19 that a 40th anniversary reissue of their 1981 album Tattoo You will arrive on Oct. 22 featuring a number of previously unreleased tracks. The newly remastered and expanded 4-CD reissue will include nine extra songs as part of a Lost & Found: Rarities disc, recorded during the same era as the original 11-track album. Also available on five vinyl LP's, the 40th anniversary edition will also come with Still Life: Wembley Stadium 1982, a 26-track live album from the band's London show in June 1981 on the band's "Tattoo You" tour. For more modest budgets, paired down 2-CD and 2-LP vinyl editions will also be released the same day. - NME, 8/19/21...... On Aug. 23 Paul McCartney revealed the names of the 154 songs that are featured in his forthcoming career-spanning biography, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present. First announced in February for a Nov. 2 release, the book recount the iconic musician's life through his earliest boyhood compositions, songs by the Beatles, Wings and from his lengthy solo career. Arranged alphabetically to provide a kaleidoscopic rather than chronological account, The Lyrics establishes definitive texts of the songs' lyrics for the first time and describes the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what Paul thinks of them now. Co-authored with Pulitzer Prize winning writer Paul Muldoon, the book will also be presented with previously unseen drafts, letters and pictures from the musician's personal archive. An official trailer for The Lyrics has been made available on YouTube. What's more, Macca has also teamed up with the British Library, which will host a free display, entitled "Paul McCartney: The Lyrics," between Nov. 5, 2021, and Mar. 12, 2022. Spanning his storied six-decade career, the exhibit will feature previously unseen lyrics from his personal archive from his time in the Beatles, Wings and his solo career. - New Musical Express, 8/23/21...... In other McCartney-related news, a new study claims one in three meat-eaters who follow the "Meat Free Monday" (MFM) program for five years and beyond turn vegetarian. Research by the UK's Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) and MFM has found that more than 30% of those who engaged with the programme for five years or more stopped eating meat, with 20% of those who engaged for three to five-years. The MFM campaign, which was founded by McCartney and his daughters Mary and Stella McCartney in 2009, encourages people to eat a plant-based diet once a week. The idea is to help reduce their meat consumption in order to slow climate change, conserve precious natural resources and improve their health. - NME, 8/23/21...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, an official trailer for Under the Volcano, the new documentary about legendary Beatles producer George Martin's Air Studios in Montserrat, has been shared on YouTube. The untold story of the magical recording studio, which operated from 1979 to 1989, is presented through archival and fresh interviews. The new Universal Pictures documentary is available now on Amazon, Apple TV and YouTube -- as well as on demand via all major cable carriers -- for either $5.99 or $6.99. The studio on the isolated island paradise in Montserrat is responsible for birthing such classic albums as Paul McCartney's Tug of War, Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms, The Police's Synchronicity, and Jimmy Buffett's Volcano. The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels was the last album recorded at Montserrat in 1989. Later that year, Hurricane Hugo hit, leaving 11,000 of the 12,000 people on the island without their homes, according to the documentary. Then, in 1995, a volcano erupted, leaving the island looking like a nuclear winter. "You bring something out of nothing and it always goes back to nothing again," Martin says in the film. But as the documentary attests, the music and stories remain. - Billboard, 8/20/21...... Neil Young announced on Twitter on Aug. 21 he'll be releasing Carnegie Hall 1970, the first release in his upcoming "official bootleg" series, this fall. Carnegie Hall 1970 was recorded on original analogue multitrack from an early Young show on Dec. 4, 1970, and it was the first time the Canadian folk rocker had ever performed at the legendary venue. Young performed two shows at Carnegie Hall, one on the 4th and another at midnight the next morning. Bootleggers were unable to capture this first show, which according to Young was "by far, a much superior show." The show's setlist covers one of the most revered eras of Young's career, with stripped-down versions of "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," "Down By The River," "Helpless" and "Sugar Mountain," plus the title track of the After The Goldrush album, which was released only nine weeks prior to the Carnegie Hall show. Young also performed the songs "Bad Fog Of Loneliness," "Old Man" and "See The Sky About To Rain" before they were recorded and released. The 2-disc release is set to drop on Oct. 1, and five more releases from Young's official bootleg series are planned for release in 2022. - NME, 8/21/21...... Neil Young's one-time song subject, Johnny Rotten (aka John Lydon), has lost a court battle in the UK to stop the Sex Pistols' music from being used in an upcoming FX TV drama series about the legendary British punk group. Former Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones had both given permission for the band's songs to feature in the forthcoming biopic Pistol, based on a memoir by Jones, but Lydon tried to block it. Lydon, 65, argued that he along with the group's other founders have the right to veto how their music is exploited, but he was sued by Cook and Jones, who cited a "Band Member Agreement" (BMA) signed by all parties in 1998 that says licensing decisions can be taken on a majority-vote basis. Their claim was supported by the band's original bassist Glen Matlock and the estate of Sid Vicious, who replaced Matlock in 1977. On Aug. 23, a ruling by Judge Sir Anthony Mann in the High Court of Justice found that the terms of the BMA stood and the claimants (Cook and Jones) "were entitled to invoke the majority voting rules" in relation to the use of Sex Pistols' material. The judge also noted that Lydon had "actually signed away his power to control the use of music rights" referring to historic deals he had previously signed with publishing and music companies Warner Chappell Music and BMG. In a joint statement, Cook and Jones welcomed the court ruling, which follows a week-long hearing in London, saying it "brings clarity to our decision-making" and upholds the band members' agreement on collective decision-making. "It has not been a pleasant experience," said the musicians, "but we believe it was necessary to allow us to move forward and hopefully work together in the future with better relations." Lydon, who gave evidence in the trial, likening the 1998 band member agreement to "becoming a prisoner of a hostile majority" and "some kind of slave labor," has yet to respond. Pistol, directed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle, is a 6-part series produced by Disney and due to be broadcast in 2022. - Billboard, 8/23/21...... Former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth has responded to negative comments about his current performing abilities by KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Simmons confirmed that Roth would no longer be supporting KISS on their farewell tour... "But it bears noting that during Dave's heyday, nobody did what he did." Simmons went on to say that Roth, who opened for KISS on their February and March, 2020 North American dates on their "End Of The Road" trek, was "past his prime." "I don't know what happened to him... something. And you get modern-day Dave," Simmons added. Taking to Instagram on Aug. 20, Roth shared a black-and-white image of a child flipping the bird. A message on the black-and-white photo, which he shared 18 times on his profile, reads: "Roth to Simmons:". - NME, 8/21/21...... A New York man in his 40s fell to his death at a concert by the Grateful Dead spinoff band Dead & Company at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, on Aug. 20. Police said the man plunged somewhere between 30 and 50 feet during the show's intermission around 9:00 p.m., while trying to do a flip on a balcony during the intermission of the band's show. Shocked witnesses said the man was possibly under the influence and landed head first on the concrete, and was taken to New York's Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Dead & Company is comprised of former members of the Grateful Dead, along with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti. They kicked off a 31-date tour in mid-August. - NME, 8/21/21...... In a recent interview with MOJO magazine, Robert Plant admitted while he doesn't think Led Zeppelin will ever get back together, he finds it "charming" that people still care enough to ask. "Talking to me somewhere along the line, everything goes back to the biggest thing that ever happened to me," Plant said. "From your angle, you have to see it like that, but there ain't nothing really there about from speculation. We're 41 years into it now. It's a very charming question, and it comes in all languages! but the conversation doesn't really go now, because that spaceship has [departed]," he added. Plant co-founded Led Zeppelin in 1968 alongside Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and late drummer John Bonham, and they split in 1980 after Bonham's tragic death before later reuniting in 1985, 1998, 1995 and 2007. Plant recently announced a sequel to his 2007 collaboration with Alison Krauss, Raising Sand, will be called Raise the Roof and be released on Nov. 19. "It's obvious that [Raising Sand] is so different, and also has its own huge power and intensity - and good-will, that's the key. It's the thing that carries joy, and that's what makes it tenable," Plant said. "Pro-rota, with the amount of time I've got left, however long that is, every day is like 10 days for all I know, so I can't waste, I can't tarry, with anything that isn't the proper ticket. Otherwise, I shouldn't be doing it at all... There's no going back, no going forward, it's just, 'This is it, today!' that's such a relief for me, and for Alison, too," he added. - Music-News.com, 8/21/21...... Speaking of sequels to successful collaborations, Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas have reunited on record for the first time in 22 years on a song titled "Move," which has been shared on YouTube. The duo's first collaboration was their 1999 smash hit "Smooth," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for 12 weeks and bagged the pair three Grammys: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Now, Santana and Thomas, along with American Authors, have come together once again for "Move," the first single from Santana's forthcoming album, Blessings And Miracles, which is due on Oct. 16. "'Move' came about was very much like how 'Smooth' happened. It was like divine intelligence behind the scenes," Santana said in a statement. "I just knew I had to record it with Rob." He continued: "The song is about awakening your molecules. Ignite and activate yourself -- you know, move. When Rob and I work together, we have a sound that's splendiferous." - NME, 8/19/21...... In a new interview with Sorted magazine, Alice Cooper says his 2021 album Detroit Stories "was always meant to be reflective and respectful to that era and the people who shared it." The era Alice is referring to was the guitar and metal music that came his hometown of Detroit in the early 1970s. "It was a special time and I've found that the older I become, the more I think about the past," he added. Cooper, 73, also stressed that he is only looking to the future and that "sentimentality" in music should be confined to the chords. "I think sentimentality in music should begin and end in the chords. You can't bring back the past and you shouldn't want to. Talk about it, sing about it, but live in the present!," he noted. Cooper is set to kick off a fall tour on Sept. 18 in Atlantic City's Ovation Hall at Ocean Resort Casino, wrapping on Oct. 11 at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa, Fla. - Music-News.com, 8/21/21...... Queen's Roger Taylor has just released "We're All Just Trying To Get By," the first single from his forthcoming new studio album, Outsider. The song, which features KT Tunstall, is the first taste of the Queen drummer's first new album in eight years. Taylor says the song was written during "the dark depths of lockdown" but looks at the positives of being human and our need to survive. "I tried to highlight the great things in life. It's the simplest statement really. It's what every life force on Earth is doing: just trying to get by and proliferate and exist," Taylor says. "That's all we are trying to do, from plants to animals to humans, trying to survive. For all our troubles and everything, every sort of life is all just trying to get by. Also, of course, we are in the middle of a bloody pandemic... I mean, even the coronavirus is just trying to get by too!," he adds. Outsider will drop on Oct. 1 on CD, vinyl, cassette, and digital download formats. Taylor is set to play cuts from his new record alongside Queen classics on a 14-date UK tour this autumn. The tour kicks off on Oct. 2 at Newcastle's O2 Academy before wrapping up at London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on October 22. - NME, 8/19/21...... Don Everly, half of the legendary Rock & Roll duo The Everly Brothers, died at his home in Nashville on Aug. 22 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 84. "Don lived by what he felt in his heart," read a statement given to The Los Angeles Times. "Don expressed his appreciation for the ability to live his dreams... with his soulmate and wife, Adela, and sharing the music that made him an Everly Brother," the statement added. Born on Feb. 1, 1937 in Kentucky, Don and brother Phil Everly were the sons of Ike Everly, a coal miner turned musician. After discovering the melodic harmonies of his two sons, the family started making music together. They started a radio show in the 1940s which gained them much attention and after the success of the show, Ike took his two sons to Nashville where the brothers eventually signed a record deal. The brothers officially formed The Everly Brothers in 1957 and the duo were quickly famed for their soaring harmonies. The pair released their self-titled album in 1957 before signing with Warner Bros. Records in 1960. They went on to achieve 15 Top 10 hits from 1957 to 1962 such as "Bye Bye Love," "All I Have to Do is Dream," "Cathy's Clown," "Bird Dog," "When Will I Be l Loved," and "Problems," which have been covered numerous times by artists they influenced. The duo released a total of 21 studio albums in addition to numerous live and compilation albums, while Don Everly released several solo records including Sunset Towers and Brother Jukebox. The Everly Brothers were inducted into the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 alongside Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, while Don Everly was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019. Phil Everly died of pulmonary disease in 2014 at the age of 74. Don Everly is survived by his mother, Margaret; his wife Adela; his son, Edan, and his daughters Venetia, Stacy and Erin. Among those paying tribute to the late musician were Jerry Lee Lewis (who now becomes the sole surviving member of the inaugural Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class), and Beatles legend Ringo Starr. "The Everly Brothers are integral to the fabric of American music. With my friend Don's passing, I am reflective... reflective on a life full of wonderful friends, spectacular music and fond memories," said the 84-year-old Lewis. Ringo Starr, 81, tweeted: "God bless Don and Phil the Everly brothers we loved them peace and love." - The Hollywood Reporter/Music-News.com, 8/22/21...... Country singer/songwriter Tom T. Hall, best known for penning hits including Jeannie C. Riley's massive 1968 pop/country crossover smash "Harper Valley P.T.A.", as well as his own crossover hit "I Love," died on Aug. 20. He was 85. Nicknamed "The Storyteller, Mr. Hall, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019, was renowned for his songs' rich narratives, vivid descriptions and homespun observations. Born May 25, 1936, in Olive Hill, Ky., Mr. Hall had joined his first bluegrass band, The Kentucky Travelers, by the time he was a teenager, also working as a DJ before joining the Army in 1957. When he returned to Virginia following his military service, he impressed Nashville publisher Jimmy Key, and Key placed Mr. Hall's "D.J. for a Day" with Jimmy C. Newman, who earned a Hot Country Songs top 10 hit with it in 1963-64. Mr. Hall moved to Nashville on New Year's Day 1964 from Virginia, with a publishing deal in hand. He earned his first No. 1 as a songwriter in 1965 when "Hello Vietnam," recorded by Johnny Wright, topped the Hot Country Songs chart. Cuts by dozens of artists followed, including by Johnny Cash, Bobby Bare, Loretta Lynn,Waylon Jennings and, more recently, Alan Jackson's Hot Country Songs No. 1 "Little Bitty" in 1996. Mercury Records Nashville signed Mr. Hall to his own recording contract, though he doubted being an artist was his strength. He was wrong, and fans and radio gravitated toward his conversational delivery. As an artist, Mr. Hall amassed 50 songs on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, including seven No. 1 hits: "A Week in Country Jail, "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died," "(Old Dogs-Children And) Watermelon Wine," "I Love, "Country Is, "I Care" and "Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet)." Mr. Hall landed seven top 10 albums on the Top Country Albums chart, including reaching No. 1 on that chart with "The Rhymer and Other Five and Dimers" in June 1973. He received seven CMA Awards nominations over the course of his career, including five in 1973 alone, though he never took home an award. He was nominated that year for entertainer, male vocalist and album, single and song of the year. He garnered six Grammy nods, including song of the year (1968) for writing "Harper Valley, P.T.A.," but he won his only Grammy in an unlikely category: Best Album Notes for writing the liner notes for his 1972 album Tom T. Hall's Greatest Hits. Mr. Hall's beloved wife of 50 years, Dixie -- a songwriter herself, whom he met at the BMI Country Awards in 1964 -- died in 2015. He is survived by his son, Dean. - Billboard, 8/20/21.