The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was once again conducted in person on the evening of Oct. 30 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Oh., after turning its 2020 ceremony into a virtual affair due to Covid that was broadcast on cable channel HBO. The latest star-studded 270-minute show managed to give all concerned their due, while observing reasonable Covid protocols. Inducting his good friend Dave Grohl and his band Foo Fighters, Paul McCartney drew some parallels between his career and FF founder and leader Grohl's, pointing out that both followed the breakups of their respective bands (The Beatles and Nirvana) by recording albums on their own. After recalling how he "heard some music and I fell into rock & roll," McCartney said: "So when that happened, and I fell into rock & roll, I joined a group. My group was the Beatles. Like I say, the world changed. Dave did a similar kind of thing. He joined a group, Nirvana." Later, McCartney added: "We had a great time with our groups, but eventually tragedy happened and my group broke up. Same happened with Dave. His group broke up under tragic circumstances. So the question is, what do you do now? We both were presented with that question. In my case, I said, 'Well, I'll make an album where I play all the instruments myself.' So I did that. Dave's group broke up, what's he do? He makes an album where he plays all the instruments himself. Do you think this guy's stalking me?" The other Foo Fighters were clearly a bit star-struck getting their props from McCartney, with most thanking him during their brief speeches. Later on the ceremony came to an abrupt conclusion when Foo Fighters were joined by Macca for a rendition of The Beatles' "Get Back" (a planned, presumably all-star finale, had been scripted and rehearsed but was cut, ostensibly due to time). Footage of the jam can be viewed on Twitter.com. 
Elsewhere, pop queen Taylor Swift kicked off the Carole King induction with an ethereal version of the King/Goffin 1961 tune and Shirelles hit "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," while Jennifer Hudson, showed off some of her Aretha Franklin chops from the recent Respect film, delivering a powerful "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." And after giving a nod to her late first husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin, King herself performed her classic "You've Got a Friend," backed by longtime collaborators Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar and Russell Kunkel and their new band, the Immediate Family. Soul legend Tina Turner was saluted by Urban and H.E.R. with "It's Only Love," Mickey Guyton on "What's Love Got to Do With It," and Christina Aguilera on the rollicking "Nutbush City Limits." The "In Memoriam" section paid homage to the recently deceased Don Everly with a rendition of the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do is Dream" led by Brandi Carlile. While Todd Rundgren snubbed the ceremony by performing in the southern part of Ohio, in Cincinnati (with a pair of Cleveland shows the following weekend), he was given a warm induction by Patti Smith and a generous tribute video. '70s hitmaker Billy Preston was honored with an Award for Music Excellence primarily for his prolific work as a sideman (including piano on The Beatles' "Get Back"). The 2021 Rock Hall inductions were filmed by HBO and will be aired on the premium cable channel starting Nov. 20. - Billboard, 10/31/21...... Electronic-music pioneers Kraftwerk announced on Nov. 1 they'll kick off a 2022 North American tour on May 27 in St. Louis, Mo. Some of the shows will be make up dates for the German ensemble's 2020 tour, which was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Kraftwerk says their upcoming tour will feature a number of 3-D visuals and performance pieces, part of their legacy of "Gesamtkunstwerk" -- which translates to "a total work of art" in German. Kraftwerk's tour announcement comes after it was among the acts inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as an Early Influence, on Oct. 30. - Billboard, 11/1/21...... Bette Midler threw her annual "Hulaween Party" in Manhattan on Oct. 29, with the 2021 theme of "Boogie Frights." Keeping true to the Studio 54 vibes of the night, disco legend Gloria Gaynor performed a set for the star-studded crowd, which included a cover of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" (a No. 1 hit for Roberta Flack in 1973) and, of course, her own No. 1 smash "I Will Survive." Founded by Midler in 1995, the event benefits the New York Restoration Project, which works to plant trees and restore and renovate parks and gardens, helping to provide open, green spaces for some of New York City's most densely populated areas, which often lack municipal support. Midler herself was unable to attend this year's Hulaween Party, due to her commitment to the much anticipated forthcoming film Hocus Pocus 2, a sequel to the first Hocus Pocus which also starred Midler. - Billboard, 11/1/21...... The Beatles have unveiled a new advent calendar for the 2021 holiday season. Beatles fans will find nods to the legendary moptops both in and outside the themed advent calendar, which comes from the UK brand Hero Collector. The whole package -- comprised of an outer box, four inner boxes and 24 gift boxes -- might be hard to throw away thanks to its rainbow pop-art images of all four Beatles. Although Hero Collector is keeping most of the gifts "under wraps," they have confirmed a few: a Yellow Submarine-shaped tea infuser, a set of coasters decorated with the Beatles' 45 sleeve art, and a Beatles Christmas tree ornament. Plus, these gifts boast collectible-level quality (no cheap chocolate to be found). The Beatles advent calendar, priced at $129.95, can be preordered now at EagleMoss.com. - Billboard, 11/1/21...... In other Beatles-related news, country superstar Willie Nelson has shared an emotive cover of George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" on YouTube. The cover was debuted on SirusXM's The Beatles Channel and is the second single taken from Nelson's upcoming new album The Willie Nelson Family, which arrives on Nov. 19. For the album, Nelson revisits songs from his back catalogue and also covers songs written by Harrison, Hank Williams, A.P. Carter and Kris Kristofferson -- among others. - New Musical Express, 10/30/21...... 
After wrapping up their current U.S. tour with a pair of November shows at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, The Eagles have announced they'll take flight once again for five stadium shows in Europe in the summer of 2022. The five-show swing is slated to kick off on June 17 at the Gelredome in Arnhem, Netherlands, then visit Liverpool's Anfield Stadium (6/20), Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium (6/22) and Dublin's Aviva Stadium (6/24), before wrapping at London's Hyde Park on June 26. At the London gig they'll share a bill with former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and bluegrass star Alison Krauss as part of the BST Hyde Park series. The Eagles also recently announced they'll release their first six albums as two-disc 45rpm box sets for $125 on the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab audiophile label. The band's first, self-titled album came out in August, and was followed in September by versions of Desperado, with future titles including On the Border, One of These Nights, Hotel California and The Long Run. - Billboard, 10/29/21...... Just two weeks after KISS's long-time guitar tech Fran Stueberdied from complications of Covid-19, the shock rockers have cancelled their upcoming months-long run of shows at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. KISS had been booked to play 12 shows at the theater, starting in the last week of 2021 and extending into Feb. 2022, for what was said to be Kiss' final Vegas residency. Concert promoter Live Nation did not disclose the reasons for the cancellation, and the Zappos venue only posted on their Twitter page that "Unfortunately, KISS cancelled their residency." Members of KISS -- including principals Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley -- and their crew have tested positive for Covid in recent weeks and months. KISS issued a statement on Nov. 2 denying allegations that slack Covid protocols on their tour contributed to the death of Stueber. KISS said their protocols "met, but most often exceeded, federal, state, and local guidelines." "Ultimately this is still a global pandemic and there is simply no foolproof way to tour without some element of risk," the band said. The glam rockers are currently on their "End of the Road Tour," billed as their final trek ever, which kicked off in Jan.2019 and then had to reschedule dozens of 2020 dates due to the pandemic. Further dates were postponed due to illness within the camp. The Las Vegas residency was meant to cap off KISS's U.S. leg, though international dates are booked through July 2022. Meanwhile, KISS has performed their songs "She's So European" and "We Are One" live for the first time on Oct. 31 during their annual "Kiss Kruise X," which kicked off two days earlier. The performances have been shared on YouTube. - Billboard/NME, 11/1/21...... In other Shock Rock news, Alice Cooper announced on Instagram on Nov. 1 that he'll launch a US tour on Jan. 28 in Cincinnati in support of his 2021 album, Detroit Stories. The 9-date jaunt also includes stops in Toledo, Oh. (1/29), Wabash, In. (1/31), Louisville (2/3), Cherokee, NC (2/4), Savannah, Ga. (2/5), Clearwater, Fla. (2/7) and Orlando (2/7) before wrapping on the "Monsters of Rock Cruise" on Valentine's Day. Departing from Miami, Fla., the five day full ship charter cruise will depart on Feb. 9 from Miami and wrap with Cooper's headlining show. - NME, 11/2/21...... Neil Young and his backing band Crazy Horse have shared a brand new track, "Heading West," from their upcoming album Barn on YouTube. "Heading West" is a nostalgic look back at Young's childhood and his move from Ontario to Winnipeg after his parents got divorced. "What a great ride with the Horse on this one!" Young recently said of the track on the Neil Young Archives site. "[Guitar tech] Larry Cragg had my guitar sounding so alive... My mom and I travelled across the country together, heading west. She was on her way back home to start over. I was on my way there with her. Here's a song about me and my mom and those 'growing up' times. It's so great to remember her this way!" Barn, the follow-up to 2019's Colorado, will drop on Dec. 10. - NME, 10/30/21...... 
In a new interview with Billy Morrison's Sirius XM show, Ozzy Osbourne said the last operation on his neck "f---ed me up" and said he fears going under the knife for neck surgery for the second time. After undergoing his first neck surgery in 2019, Ozzy said he "was in agony beyond anything I ever experienced before in my life." While recovering from a bout of pneumonia, Osbourne man suffered a fall at his Los Angeles home in Jan. 2019 that caused him to "re-injure his back and neck and shoulders," dislodging metal rods that had been put in his body, his wife Sharon Osbourne said at the time. Ozzy went on to recall meeting his new surgeon. "When I saw this guy he said, 'The first guy didn't do a very good job.' He is not telling me that he can put me back to normal, which is no excuse. He says he can do this and that and do my neck. The way it is now I ain't very encouraged. What if it gets worse?" Osbourne added. Discussing his feelings around the upcoming surgery, he added: "You know what, even top guys make mistakes. And I am a bit gun shy after the first one. I am just hoping and praying that I can at least do a f---ing show." Meanwhile, Ozzy has released the animated music video for his duet with the late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister. In September, Osbourne revealed that he'd made a new version of his 1991 solo song "Hellraiser" featuring Lemmy's vocals alongside his as part of a tribute to the late rock star. The track appears on the upgraded 30th anniversary digital release of No More Tears, which was released on Sept. 17. The animated video has been shared on YouTube. Kilmister, who died in 2015, co-wrote Hellraiser with Osbourne for No More Tears before his band Motörhead recorded their own version of the song in 1992. - NME, 10/31/21...... Elton John has charted his first UK No. 1 album in almost a decade with his new LP, The Lockdown Sessions. Dropping on Oct. 22, The Lockdown Sessions debuted at the top spot U.K.'s Official Albums Chart, shifting 31,000 chart sales, 84 per cent of which were made up of physical sales. His other previous 7 UK Number Ones include: Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player (1973), Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), Caribou (1974), Elton John's Greatest Hits (1974), Sleeping With The Past' (1989), The Very Best Of (1990), and Good Morning To The Night (2012). The achievement comes after Elton's "Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)" duet with Dua Lipa topped the UK Singles Chart earlier in October. Meanwhile, Sir Elton has given an update about the hip injury that caused him to postpone his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour" in September. In a new interview with British TV host Lorraine Kelly on her ITV chat show (shared on YouTube), John said that he remains in pain with restricted movement in his hip joint, which means that he currently cannot maneuvre himself in and out of a car. He explained to Kelly why he was forced to postpone the remaining dates on the UK and European legs of his tour, which had also been rescheduled previously. "I wouldn't be 100 per cent fit -- I wouldn't be 100 per cent confident because I'm in pain most of the time," he said of trying to perform when not fully recovered. "The decision had to be made because I wouldn't want to go on stage and give less than 100 per cent. I don't know, with a year and a half of touring, how long my hip would last -- it probably wouldn't." But he added that he will "make it up" his fans when he'll "be in much better form" after recovering from his injury. Also, during an appearance on NBC's The Tonight Show on Oct. 27 to promote The Lockdown Sessions, Elton remembered his friendship with John Lennon, calling it a highlight "of my life and my career." The Tonight Show interview can be viewed on YouTube. - NME, 10/29/21...... David Byrne brought his "American Utopia" show to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Nov. 1, performing the Talking Heads number "I Zimbra" and showing host Stephen Colbert some dance moves. Byrne resumed performances of his hit music-theatre spectacle in September, and had his Broadway troupe in tow for a performance of the 1979's "Fear Of Music" on the popular US talk show. lso sat down with Colbert for a chat, which he ended by teaching the host some of his distinctive dance moves. "This one's called polish the plates! You can see where that's coming from! There's another one -- anybody can do this -- stop the traffic!" Byrne is seen demonstrating to Colbert in a clip shared on YouTube. Byrne, who fronted Talking Heads from 1975-1991, debuted American Utopia on Broadway in New York City in Oct. 2019. It has since returned and is currently showing at St. James Theater. - Billboard, 11/2/21...... The Rolling Stones have commemorated the 40th anniversary of their classic track "Start Me Up," joining forces with tech company Boston Dynamics to have their robot dogs recreate their "Start Me Up" music video. The new clip, which has been shared on YouTube, shows a group of the company's canine-inspired Spot robots mimicking the dance moves from the Stones' original video, using their forward claws (or "heads") to "sing" along with the lyrics. It's accompanied by a remastered version of the Stones' own "Start Me Up" video -- directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and first aired in 1981 - allowing viewers to see just how accurately these mechanical mutts have mastered Mick Jagger & co's iconic swagger. - NME, 10/31/21...... 
Patti Smith spoke to the UK paper The Guardian about climate change in a new interview ahead of her headline performance at Cop26 (the United Nations Climate Change Conference) in Glasgow on Oct. 31. Smith recalled meeting the Dalai Lama when the late Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys asked the spiritual leader: "What's the number-one thing that young people can do to make a better world?" Smith recalled how the Dalai Lama replied: "Look after the environment." She continued: "I thought it was so beautiful. That was his number-one preoccupation. Not to free Tibet, but to take in hand a global concern that was going to affect us all, on a scale we haven't seen before. I think the climate movement is the most important thing on the planet right now. It permeates everything. Civil rights, human rights, women's rights... We just have to fight for what is right." Smith played Glasgow's Theatre Royal with an organization called "Pathways to Paris" -- founded in the lead up to Cop21 in Paris by her daughter Jesse Paris Smith and musician Rebecca Foon. The group brings musicians, performers, artists and activists together to encourage action on climate change. - NME, 10/30/21...... Robin McNamara, a star of the '60s counterculture musical "Hair" and singer and co-writer of the 1970 hit "Lay a Little Lovin' on Me," died of undisclosed causes on Oct. 21, his family confirmed on Oct. 28. He was 74. "This gentlest of gentle souls was predeceased by his loving wife, Suzie, who departed the earthly plane on May 16, 2018," the family's statement read. "Robin and Suzie are now reunited for all eternity. Robin will be greatly missed, for his talent but especially for his kind and loving spirit," it added. McNamara was best known for his run as Claude in wild and wooly Broadway hit "Hair" from 1967-1971, replacing the original actor, James Rado, who penned the musical's book and lyrics. He scored his only solo hit, the sunny pop ditty "Lay a Little Lovin' on Me," in 1970; the track, co-written with Jeff Barry and Jim Cretecos, ran up to No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Born in Newton, Mass. on May 5, 1947, McNamara performed in high school rock bands before moving to New York in the late 1960s. After his run in "Hair" began, he was signed to composer/producer Jeff Barry's Steed label, which released "Lay a Little." A second single, "Got to Believe in Love," featuring some other "Hair "cast members on backing vocals, hit No. 80 on the Hot 100. - Billboard, 10/28/21.
In an Oct. 28 interview with the UK paper The Guardian, ABBA's Benny Andersson revealed that the group plans on retiring after their new studio album Voyage hits stores on Nov. 5. "I never said myself that ABBA was never going to happen again," said Andersson, referring to an interview he gave back in 1982 on a British TV show. "But I can tell you now: this is it. This is it. It's got to be, y'know," he added. Also participating in the interview, ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus reflected on the reception to them in their home country of Sweden in the 1970s. "There was this progressive movement in music and we were the enemies. Personally I didn't pay attention to all that -- it didn't mean shit to me, even if they hated us. Because we got so much response from the whole world. Right from the start, we had contemporary colleagues, musicians, who liked what we were doing," Ulvaeus explained. ABBA's Voyage LP, their first in 40 years, comes ahead of a series of "revolutionary ABBA Voyage" concerts in London in 2022, with "digital" versions of the pop quartet taking to the stage at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in May 2022 alongside a 10-piece live band. - New Musical Express, 10/28/21...... 
It has been revealed that an upcoming BBC documentary on late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, The Final Act, will feature new interviews with the band's members discussing the final chapter of Mercury's life. The Final Act will feature chats with Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor (bassist John Deacon retired from music in 1997) as well as Mercury's sister Kashmira Bulsara, friends Anita Dobson and David Wigg and Mercury's personal assistant Peter Freestone. In addition to depicting the final chapter of the flamboyant rock singer's life, it will tackle the run-up to Queen's all-star tribute concert to their frontman at London's Wembley Stadium in Apr. 1992. Some of the featured guests from that show, including Roger Daltrey of the Who, Extreme singer Gary Cherone, Paul Young and Def Leppard's Joe Elliott, as well as promoter Harvey Goldsmith, are also interviewed. The BBC Two film will drop in November, 30 years after Mercury died of complications from AIDS in Nov. 1991, and also feature others impacted by HIV/AIDS, including medical practitioners, survivors and human rights campaigners. - Billboard/Variety, 10/28/21...... In other Queen-related news, Brian May made a surprise appearance during a solo Roger Taylor concert in London on Oct. 22. May took the stage at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, where was Taylor wrapping up a 14-date UK headline tour, to jam on a cover of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti." "It's my brother from another mother!," Taylor then told the crowd, making way for a rapturous applause for the guitarist. The pair then played a special rendition of Queen's "A Kind Of Magic' together. A clip of the pair's performance has been shared on YouTube. Meanwhile, Roger Taylor recently revealed that Brian May had started working on a new Queen song but then "suddenly lost interest." "We started it in Nashville when we were all quite tired," the drummer explained. "We couldn't decide on a title and the lyric felt a little too negative for Queen, maybe. But it was pretty damn good, and I hope it comes to light," he added. - New Musical Express, 10/23/21...... Sony Music Publishing has inked a deal with the estate of late Allman Brothers Band co-founder Gregg Allman to administer the musician's portion of his catalog worldwide. The new admin deal will see the majority of Allman's work, including many of the songs from the ABB as well as his solo career, united under the care of Sony Music Publishing, which has repped a portion of his catalog for many years. "These songs have been the soundtrack of people's good times and the medicine for their bad times for decades, and we know Sony's team can maximize the reach and potential of this enduring catalog," Allman's son Devon Allman said in a statement. - Billboard, 10/28/21...... Elvis Costello announced on Oct. 27 that his upcoming album with his longtime backing band The Imposters will be called The Boy Named If and will be released on Jan. 14. The 13-track collection, described in a press release as "urgent, immediate songs with bright melodies, guitar solos that sting and a quick step to the rhythm," was previewed with a new track from the LP, the churning, organ-driven rocker, "Magnificent Hurt." "The full title of this record is The Boy Named If (And Other Children's Stories)," Costello said in a statement. "IF, is a nickname for your imaginary friend; your secret self, the one who knows everything you deny, the one you blame for the shattered crockery and the hearts you break, even your own. You can hear more about this Boy in a song of the same name. [The songs] take us from the last days of a bewildered boyhood to that mortifying moment when you are told to stop acting like a child - which for most men (and perhaps a few gals too) can be any time in the next fifty years," Costello said, adding that the lyrics harken back to a more innocent period of life," he noted. Costello's most recent projects include the studio album Hey Clockface, the French language EP La Face de Pendule Coucou, and a funky bilingual Spanish version of his classic 1978 album with The Attractions, This Year's Model. - Billboard, 10/27/21...... 
Bruce Springsteen will be among the headliners for the 2012 edition of the annual John Henry's Friends Benefit concert at The Town Hall in New York on Dec. 13. Put together by country artist Steve Earle and City Winery, the event benefits educational programs for children and adults. The event, which will also feature performances from Earle and his band The Dukes, Rosanne Cash, The Mastersons, Willie Nile and Matt Savage, is named after Earle's son, John Henry, who is a student at The Keswell School, an educational program for children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Meanwhile, Springsteen stopped by the CBS late night talk show The Late Show on Oct. 25 to chat about several of his new projects, which include a new deluxe release of his legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts, and a performance of one of his classic 1980 song, "The River." "I think there's a great generation coming up who will be interested in protecting American democracy," he explained to host Stephen Colbert, "and things like the fundamental right to vote, all of which has been a sort of endangered species at the moment." The legendary rock icon also recalled the story of jumping the fence at Elvis Presley's house to see if the King was home (he wasn't), and showed off the actual Fender Telecaster that he slings on the cover art for 1975's Born to Run. Springsteen's Late Show interview can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 10/27/21...... Joining the likes of recent TikTok presence artists The Beatles and ABBA, Led Zeppelin officially dove into the popular viral video social media platform on Oct. 26 with the launch of their official TikTok page. The iconic classic rockers announced their presence with an eight-second snippet of the remastered version of their 1970 Led Zeppelin III track "Immigrant Song." In addition to the "Immigrant" bit and the band's logo, the hashtag #Rocktober accompanied Zep's first TikTok post. Led Zeppelin is offering TikTok members their iconic live and studio recordings and other video content, as well as their graphics and artwork. Led Zep's full discography of 100-plus live and studio-recorded songs can now be used by TikTokers to make original videos. The band has been notorious for taking their time in joining the digital music fray, famously holding out until offering their music on Apple's iTunes in 2007. Becoming Led Zeppelin, the first authorized documentary about the heavy metal pioneers, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September. - Billboard, 10/26/21...... Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett is said to have first crossed paths with future Floyd guitarist David Gilmour at a pub named The Crown in Cambridge in the late 1950s. Now called The Flying Pig pub, the building is now facing demolition asd part of ongoing redevelopment plans by the city, and an appeal has been launched to save the pub. Developer Pace Limited was initially granted permission to tear the building down, but following an outcry from locals, however, it later revised its plans in a bid to keep parts of the pub, though these were ultimately rejected. Back in June, the Flying Pig's managers Matt and Justine Hatfield, who have lived above the Hills Road pub for the last 24 years, said they had been given six months to vacate the property. After being given notice to vacate the premises by Oct. 27, and appeal has been issued to the government's Planning Inspectorate, with a final decision expected to be made in 2022. "A successful appeal will protect and preserve the Flying Pig," said Pace Limited. "The [rejected] plans would have seen the Flying Pig preserved and enhanced with greater accessibility so that everyone in Cambridge and further afield could visit this popular free house, and live music venue," it added. - NME, 10/27/21...... n other Pink Floyd-related news, the designer of the cover of the group's iconic 1979 double LP The Wall has opened up on his work on the band's legendary 1979 rock opera. "I had to create all the characters -- the wives, the mother, the teacher and all these semi-cartoon figures -- very quickly because the album was coming out," designer Gerald Scarfe told the UK's Uncut magazine. "The band were in the South of France and I kept flying down to meet them. I actually designed the album cover on Roger's kitchen table. The live show was incredibly ambitious, with my original illustrations turned into inflatable puppets. Then we did the film, which was tough and very difficult," he added. Scarfe -- whose book The Art of Pink Floyd: The Wall is set to drop on Nov. 11 -- admitted that despite the challenges, the project was "fascinating." "As a virtual artist 'The Wall' was fascinating for me because there was so much to dig into and explore," Scarfe noted. "All the images were out of my head. Roger was the originator, but my drawings were my translations of his visions. He had his own views, but he accepted what I did. It was a strange marriage really, but we became very close friends," he added. - Music-News.com, 10/23/21...... 
The Congressional delegation of the state of Minnesota introduced a resolution to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to Prince on Oct. 25, citing pop superstar's "indelible mark on Minnesota and American culture." "The world is a whole lot cooler because Prince was in it -- he touched our hearts, opened our minds, and made us want to dance," Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) said in a statement. "With this legislation, we honor his memory and contributions as a composer, performer, and music innovator. Purple reigns in Minnesota today and every day because of him," she added. The resolution for Prince is led by Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat who represents Minneapolis in the House of Representatives. Rep. Omar said that Prince "He showed that it was OK to be a short, Black kid from Minneapolis and still change the world. He not only changed the arc of music history; he put Minneapolis on the map." The bill also puts into the Congressional record the glyph that Prince used instead of his name for a time that the musician called himself "The Love Symbol." Under the rules, Congressional Gold Medals require the support of at least two-thirds of the members of both the Senate and House of Representatives before they can be signed into law by the president. The Prince legislation will be introduced in the House and Senate. Prince, whose hits include "Little Red Corvette," "3 Let's Go Crazy" and "When Doves Cry," died Apr.21, 2016, of an accidental fentanyl overdose at age 57 at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minn. - AP, 10/25/26...... The Beatles' former No. 1 album Let It Be has surged back onto the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart for the week ending Oct. 30, re-entering at No. 5 following its deluxe special edition reissue on Oct. 15. Let It Be first spent four weeks atop the same chart, from June 13 through July 4, 1970), and is one of a record 19 Billboard No. 1 albums for the group. For its special edition which arrived on Oct. 15, the album was reintroduced in a variety of expanded formats and editions, including many with previously unreleased tracks. All versions of the album, old and new, are combined for tracking and charting purposes. Let It Be earned 55,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 21 (up 3,899%), according to MRC Data. Of that sum, album sales comprise 48,000 (up 11,570%; making it the top-selling album of the week), SEA units comprise 6,000 (up 589%; equaling 8.34 million on-demand streams of the set's tracks) and TEA units comprise 1,000 (up 1,180%). The album was last on the Billboard 200 dated Dec. 4, 2010, when it ranked at No. 120. It was in the top 10 on the Aug. 8, 1970 chart, when it placed at No. 4. The deluxe Let It Be reissue precedes the arrival of director Peter Jackson's upcoming documentary series The Beatles: Get Back. The three episodes will premiere, respectively, on Nov. 25, 26 and 27 exclusively on Disney+. - Billboard, 10/25/21...... In other Beatles-related news, Paul McCartney's new book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present has been nominated for the 2021 Waterstones Book Of The Year award. The book, which was announced earlier in 2021 and is due for release on Nov. 2, will recount the musician's life through his earliest boyhood compositions, songs by The Beatles, Wings and from his lengthy solo career. The Book Of TheYear winner will be announced on Dec. 21. Meanwhile, Sir Paul has told Reader's Digest that he has stopped signing autographs, calling the process "a bit strange." "It always struck me as a bit strange. Here, can I write your name down on the back of this till receipt please?' Why? We both know who I am," he said. Paul added that he doesn't particularly understand the idea of taking "selfies" with fans, and that he'd much rather have a conversation with them. "What you've usually got is a ropey photo with a poor backdrop and me looking a bit miserable," he said. "Let's chat, let's exchange stories." - NME, 10/28/21...... 
A trailer for the upcoming Brian Wilson documentary Long Promised Road has been shared on YouTube. Exploring the sprawling career of the famed Beach Boys frontman and surf-rock pioneer, Long Promised Road will also feature one-on-one chats between Wilson and Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine, as well as appearances from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Linda Perry, Nick Jonas, Taylor Hawkins and Don Was, plus Wilson's fellow BB member Al Jardine. Directed by Brent Wilson (who is unrelated to Brian), the film will drop on Nov. 19 with a simultaneous release in cinemas and on-demand. Long Promised Road coincides with Wilson's forthcoming solo album At My Piano, also set for release on Nov. 19. His 11th solo studio album, it will feature stripped-back reimaginings of classic tracks from Wilson's expansive discography, including new versions of "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "In My Room," "Don't Worry Baby," "California Girls," "Surf's Up," "Good Vibrations" and "God Only Knows." Meanwhile, Wilson has told Mojo magazine that the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as his favorite ever album, and that the two '60s bands have always had a close bond. "Obviously, I love The Beatles and we have always had a mutual love and respect for each other. They say that (Sgt. Pepper) was birthed from hearing Pet Sounds... I don't know... but I just love that album," Wilson said. The 79-year-old pop legend was also queried on which musician -- beside himself -- he has wanted to be, and he admitted it was a tough one to answer. "That's a hard question... I'd have to put Elton John at the top of that list because of his voice and he is great on piano. I admire him as a person too," Wilson said. Wilson added that he's "been wanting to make a rock 'n' roll album for years and years. I have some ideas, so hopefully I'll be able to do that one next." "My favorite rock 'n' roll band to listen to are The Rolling Stones. They are always my go-to rock 'n' roll band. I love them so much." - NME/Music-News.com, 10/27/21...... After a plea deal between Rod Stewart, his son Sean Stewart, and Florida prosecutors fell through on Oct. 22, the pair are again scheduled to stand trial on charges they battered a security guard during a New Year's Eve bash nearly two years ago. Neither Stewart, 76, nor Sean, 41, were present when Judge August Bonavita announced that a hearing in which a deal was expected to be finalized had been canceled. The pair are now scheduled to stand trial on misdemeanor battery charges on Jan. 25. This marks at least the second time a deal has fallen through in the case, which has also been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Stewarts face a maximum penalty of a year in jail, although such a lengthy term would be unlikely. Meanwhile, Sir Rod has announced dates for the upcoming UK leg of his world tour in support of his upcoming 31st studio album, The Tears of Hercules. The arena run kicks off in Nottingham on Nov. 16, before heading to London, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, and wrapping in Newcastle on Dec. 22. Stewart recently confessed that The Tears of Hercules is all about love and sex. He recently unveiled its lead single, "One More Time," which he says is about wanting to bed a former flame after a breakup. "The story behind the song is you know when you break up with somebody and the sex was amazing and you just want to do it one more time? That's what the song is about. It's happened to all of us I'm sure," he said. The Tears of Hercules will drop in the US on Nov. 12. - AP/Music-News.com, 10/25/21...... Elton John has told England's New Musical Express that his ongoing "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour is "something I wanna finish." "I'm looking forward to doing it and going out on the high that we were on -- we were an express train that hit the buffers. At the moment I finish supposedly in 2023, in the summer, by which time I'll be 76 -- and that's it, baby," Sir Elton said. "I can't wait to do it and have a great time, and I can't wait to finish and say, 'No more -- I've had enough'," he added. John's already-rescheduled farewell shows had been set to take place from the end of September through to December, with UK dates including gigs in London, Manchester and Birmingham. He then confirmed in September that he was forced to reschedule his remaining 2021 tour dates to 2023, after he "fell awkwardly on a hard surface and have been in considerable pain and discomfort in my hip ever since." During the same interview Elton also criticized the UK government, saying they "didn't make any provisions" for art when securing a Brexit deal, calling it "so f---ing disgusting." "[The current situation] is OK for Ed Sheeran and me, or The Rolling Stones -- people that can actually afford to do this stuff. But for younger artists, it's a crushing thing. We're still trying to solve this problem; it's a slow process because the Government is a slow process," Elton said. "The Government didn't make any provisions whatsoever for the arts during Brexit. They're more interested in fucking fishing! Now, don't get me wrong -- fishing is very important, but it brings in £1.4 billion a year and the entertainment industry brings in £111billion," he added. - NME, 10/27/21...... Bluegrass banjoist/singer Sonny Osborne, best known as a member of the group The Osborne Brothers who had a 1967 US hit with "Rocky Top", passed away on Oct. 24 at age of 84. Mr. Osborne's death was first announced on the website Bluegrass Today, where he was a columnist. With his older brother Bobby Osborne, who sang and played the mandolin, the bluegrass legends were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, won a CMA Award and helped popularize and modernize the genre. "Rocky Top," written by the veteran Country music songwriting couple Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, was released in 1967, but they had no idea how big the song would become. "Rocky Top" went on to become an anthem for the University of Tennessee-Knoxville football team, regularly played by its Pride of the Southland Marching Band whenever UT scores a touchdown, and became one of the official state songs of Tennessee. "At one time we would open the show with it and then play it again at the end," Mr. Osborne told The Tennessean newspaper in 2017. "It was phenomenal, that song. We went to Japan, Sweden, Germany -- you'd go anywhere and they'd know 'Rocky Top.' It put our name out in front. And it stayed there a long time," he added. Mr. Osborne has also been credited as an innovator in the genre, using double banjos and six-string banjos onstage and in recordings. The Osborne Brothers also pushed boundaries, using electric guitars and drums, playing on college campuses and even the White House. Other songs they were known for include "Ruby Are You Mad" and "Tennessee Hound Dog." - AP, 10/25/21...... 
Singer Jay Black of the American '60s pop group Jay and the Americans died on Oct. 22 from complications associated with pneumonia and a battle with dementia. He was 82. The Brooklyn-born Mr. Black, whose real name was David Blatt, joined Jay and the Americans in the 1960s, taking over for their original singer Jay Traynor. Known his distinct croon and longstanding vocal range, Mr. Black became known as "The Voice" and recorded a series of hits with the group, including "Come a Little Bit Closer" (which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, in 1964), "Cara Mia" (No. 4, in 1965), and "This Magic Moment" (No. 6, in 1969). Jay and the Americans also had the distinction of being the opening act for The Beatles at their very first U.S. concert in 1964, in Washington, D.C. After disbanding in 1973, Mr. Black moved forward with his career as a solo artist. He also enjoyed a short stint as an actor, with a supporting role in the Frank Sinatra's Contract on Cherry Street in 1977, portraying the character of Tommy Sindardos in the made-for-television film distributed by NBC. He also often performed as a solo artist in the tri-state area and in Florida, and held an annual gig at New York's Westbury Music Fair, a theater on Long Island. Mr. Black's son, Jason Blatt, shared a post to the band's official Facebook page confirming his father's passing. "He was the source of so much joy and happiness for so many with his legendary voice and humor, touching so many lives around the world," the post read. He is survived by four children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. - Billboard, 10/23/21...... Comedian Mort Sahl one of the very first 1950s stand-up comics to specialize in political satire, died at his home near San Francisco on Oct. 26. He was 94. Widely considered the father of modern political satire, Mr. Sahl was credited with influencing comedians such as George Carlin, Woody Allen and Jonathan Winters. He was also a friend of another comedy mold-breaker, Lenny Bruce, although his act did not include profanity as Bruce's did. Born in Montreal on May 11, 1927, Morton Lyon Sahl grew up in Los Angeles, graduating from the University of Southern California, and moving to the San Francisco area in the early 1950s to try comedy. He lived in his car part of the time before building a following at San Francisco's legendary hungry i nightclub and then going on the road. By 1960, he had become so popular that Time magazine, which called him "Will Rogers with fangs," put him on its cover -- the first time a comedian had ever been so honored. Mr. Sahl described himself to the New York Times in 2004 as "a populist, a Puritan, a dreamer and a disturber." He would ask his audiences: "Is there any group I haven't offended yet?" and he spared neither Republican nor Democrat. Mr. Sahl partially rebounded in the 1970s as non-traditional comedians such as Carlin and Richard Pryor broke through. In 1988, he had a one-man off-Broadway show titled "Mort Sahl's America." Even in his 90s, Mr. Sahl performed weekly at a theatre near his Mill Valley, Calif., home, with the shows being livestreamed on the internet. He had been a close friend of Robin Williams, who lived nearby, before the comic actor's suicide in 2014. - Reuters, 10/26/21.
Speaking of Paul McCartney, the Beatles legend's new career-spanning biography, 
Variety magazine revealed on Oct. 21 that the epic rock 'n' roll love story of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne is being turned into a brand-new feature film from Sony Pictures. Polygram Entertainment is co-producing the as yet unnamed project, which reportedly will take on a biopic format that will follow the couple's nearly 40 years of marriage that fans got a peek of while starring on their MTV hit show The Osbournes from 2002-2005. Oscar-nominated screenwriter Lee Hall (Cats, Rocketman, Billy Elliot) is penning the project, with Sharon and children Jack and Aime Osbourne producing the film under their label Osbourne Media alongside Michele Anthony and David Blackman from Polygram Entertainment. Jack Osbourne most recently executive-produced The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne, which premiered on the A+E network in 2020. Following the announcement, Sharon and Ozzy posted the news to their respective Instagram accounts. "And so it begins..... @sonypictures," Sharon captioned her 
ABBA has shared a third song from their forthcoming Nov. 5 studio LP release 
Oscar-winning composer, lyricist, and songwriter Leslie Bricusse, best known for his work on two James Bond theme songs and the signature tune of 1971 film 
Neil Young announced on his Neil Young Archives website on Oct. 13 that he and his long-running power trio Crazy Horse are prepping a follow-up to their last collaboration, 2019's Colorado. Named Barn, the new album will be out Dec. 10 and according to Young "is very special." "It rocks. It rolls... I wish it was out now. It's got songs that are part of these times," Young wrote. Subscribers of the Archives site are getting a sneak preview of the of the opening track, "Song of the Seasons," which Young notes was recorded "high in the Rockies" on June 21 using the Le Mobile Recording Studio. Young added that the six-minute acoustic ballad "Seasons" is the oldest song on the record, written in Oct. 2020 it has more of a Young solo album vibe than the typical meandering, noisy Crazy Horse electric jam. Kicking off the 10-track LP, "Seasons" features Young on guitar, harmonica and vocals, Nils Lofgren on accordion and vocals, Billy Talbot on bass/vocals and Ralph Molina on drums/vocals, with lyrics that include: "Lookin' through this clear vinyl window/ At the city and its lights/ Masked people walkin' everywhere/ It's humanity in my sights." Young first hinted at Barn in June, when he posted that "we are so happy to be back in the barn, a barn built to replicate the 1850s barn that had collapsed in exactly the same place, high in the mountains of Colorado!" The singer/songwriter has been absent from touring during 2021 after referring to concerts as "super-spreader events" in the midst of the summer Delta variant surge. - Billboard, 10/14/21...... The Beatles officially joined the popular TikTok social platform on Oct. 16 allowing TikTok creators for the first time to soundtrack their videos with 36 of the Fab Four's most popular songs, including 12 from the upcoming The Beatles: Get Back film including "Get Back, "I've Got A Feeling" and "I Me Mine." Other Beatles tunes on 
On Oct. 18 it was announced that the 2021 Soul Train Awards ceremony will be taped at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem on Nov. 20, marking the first time the show has been based in New York in its 34-year history. The show has aired from venues in the Los Angeles area (1987-2007), Atlanta (2009-11) and Las Vegas (2012-19); the 2020 show was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2021 show will salute the 50th anniversary of Soul Train television program, which debuted on Oct. 2, 1971, with host Don Cornelius. When the final episode aired in 2006, it was recognized as the longest running first-run, nationally syndicated program in American television history. The awards show, which launched in 1987, recognizes the best in soul, R&B and hip hop. "Don Cornelius' brilliant vision created a revolutionary show that became a cornerstone in American culture," said BET exec Connie Orlando in a statement that honored the show's iconic late host, who helmed the program from its founding until 1993. "Fifty years later, the Soul Train Awards continues to amplify his powerful message of love, peace and soul to a global audience. We are honored to be a part of the Soul Train legacy and partner with the national treasure that is the Apollo to celebrate Black excellence and culture," she added. Cornelius died by suicide in 2012 at age 75, but Soul Train's legacy lives on. BET acquired the brand in 2016. The 2021 Soul Train Awards premieres on Nov. 28 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on the BET and BET Her cable channels. - Billboard, 10/18/21...... Paul Simon celebrated his 80th birthday on Oct. 13 by announcing the release of a new audiobook. 
As his new memoir 
Cher filed a lawsuit against the widow of her deceased first husband Sonny Bono in Los Angeles federal court on Oct. 13, alleging that she is withholding royalties generated from Sonny & Cher hits. Cher alleges that Bono's fourth wife and former Republican congresswoman Mary Bono is illegally withholding royalties from such big hits as "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On." Cher claims that she and her second husband Bono agreed to split revenue from their joint songs after they divorced in 1975, and her legal team is charging that Mary "has undone" Cher's ownership of those rights and royalties in recent years. She is seeking at least $1 million (£729,000) in damages. The Oscar-winning singer/actress married Sonny Bono in 1964 and they found fame in the mid-1960s as the performing duo Sonny & Cher, with music hits and popular variety TV shows The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Show. Following their professional split in 1977, they enjoyed success on their own -- Cher as a solo singer and movie star and Sonny as a politician. He was serving as a Republican congressman when he died in a skiing accident in 1998 and was succeeded by Mary. Neither Cher nor Mary has publicly commented on the legal action. - Music-News.com, 10/14/21...... Elton John has set a new UK charts record with his latest single, "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)." The track, which also features Dua Lipa, is taken from John's upcoming new collaborations album 
Ronnie Tutt, a touring and recording drummer for Elvis Presley from 1969 through Presley's death in 1977, died of as yet undisclosed causes on Oct. 16. He was 83. The Dallas-born Mr. Tutt was an original member of Presley's TCB Band, which was formed in 1969, and his daughter Terie Tutt confirmed her father's death in a Facebook post on Oct. 17, saying he had died at home surrounded by family. "It's with deep sadness that my family and I share the loss of our beloved dad," Terie wrote. "The Legendary Drummer, Ronnie Tutt, 'has left the building'," she added. On Oct. 16, Elvis Presley Enterprises also paid tribute to the late drummer on the official Graceland website and a post on 
A preview of a new Paul McCartney interview with the BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life series reveals that Sir Paul has decided to set the record straight on who was behind the decision to split up the Beatles. "I didn't instigate the split. That was our Johnny," Macca said of John Lennon in a preview of his upcoming interview shared on The Guardian's website. "John walked into a room one day and said I am leaving The Beatles. Is that instigating the split, or not?" He also added, "This was my band, this was my job, this was my life, so I wanted it to continue." Further speaking on what he described as "the most difficult period" of his life, McCartney explained that following Lennon's decision, he and remaining members Ringo Starr and George Harrison were "left to pick up the pieces," and confusion surrounding their breakup arose because their manager Allen Klein advised them to keep quiet while business deals were concluded. "So for a few months we had to pretend," McCartney says. "It was weird because we all knew it was the end of the Beatles but we couldn't just walk away." Paul added that he "let the cat out of the bag" after being "fed up of hiding it." "Around about that time we were having little meetings and it was horrible. It was the opposite of what we were. We were musicians, not meeting people," he said. McCartney sued the Beatles in 1970 but he explains he did so as a means to avoid Klein's control. "I had to fight, and the only way I could fight was in suing the other Beatles, because they were going with Klein. And they thanked me for it years later," he said. The interview is scheduled to air in full on BBC Radio 4 on Oct. 23. Meanwhile, in a new interview with The New Yorker, McCartney said he feels the Beatles' main '60s rival The Rolling Stones were mainly "a blues cover band." "I'm not sure I should say it, but they're a blues cover band, that's sort of what the Stones are. I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs," Paul said. In Apr. 2020, McCartney told Sirius XM host Howard Stern that "When [the Stones] are writing stuff, it has to do with the blues. [The Beatles] had a little more influences." "There's a lot of differences, and I love the Stones, but I'm with you. The Beatles were better," Paul said. Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Ringo Starr has opened up about a bizarre reunion offer made to the Beatles in 1973, which they turned down. Starr is featured an Oct. 11 profile of Paul McCartney talking about the band turning down "a fortune" to reunite for a concert, which proposed an opening act of a man wrestling a shark. "We called each other and said no," Ringo said. "We were taking our own roads now." The McCartney profile had focused on the upcoming three-part Beatles documentary The Beatles: Get Back from director Peter Jackson which is due in November. - The Hollywood Reporter/New Musical Express, 10/10/21...... The estate of David Bowie has announced it plans to release a posthumous Bowie album to mark what would have been the late music legend's 75th birthday on Jan. 8, 2022. According to papers filed by the Bowie's estate Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company, there are various music releases in the pipeline, as well as collectors' books, artwork, clothing, footwear, ceramics and glassware. What's more, a new logo with Bowie's iconic lighting bolt and "Bowie 75" was submitted for trademarking and copyright approval. "David's 75th birthday would have been a big deal, and the estate want to mark it," a source told the UK paper The Sun. "There is still a huge appetite for more material, recordings and all things Bowie. It's a perfect time to release some. Obviously they want to be careful to keep to stuff they feel David would have approved of," the source added. Just recently, it was announced that Bowie's lost 2001 album Toy will be released on Nov. 26 as part of a 
The Doors' surviving guitarist Robby Krieger says that time gone by, and having lots of time on his hands due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has allowed him to finally finish his first ever memoir. Due from publisher Little, Brown on Oct. 12, 
In a new interview with GuitarWorld magazine, James Taylor said that his "arrogance of youth" helped him audition in front of Paul McCartney and George Harrison for a spot on the roster of their newly formed Apple Records in the late 1960s. "I had some kind of competence and the arrogance of youth, without which nobody would ever do anything, because you'd hedge your bets," Taylor recalled. "There's a stage in our development where you're allowed to do impossible things, which is why the military looks to people about that age. You can talk people into doing things that if you were asked when you were 35, you'd say, 'No thanks, I'll pass on that.' I also knew that it was somehow good. It worked for me, and I was a music connoisseur. I thought, 'This stuff could go somewhere. I want somebody to hear this.' I've had that feeling a few times, at different points in my life," he said. Taylor also explained what it felt like to release his 1968 debut self-titled album on the Beatles' label. "It was just otherworldly, because I was a huge Beatles fan. And they were at the very height of their powers. They just kept going, kept growing. So, to be in London, the first person signed to their label in 1968, was really like catching the big wave. It was unbelievable," he said. Meanwhile, Taylor is set to embark on a UK tour in 2022. He released his 20th studio album, American Standard, in Feb. 2020, with the album going on to win Best Tradition Pop Vocal Album at the Grammys. - NME, 10/11/21...... Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have shared a new single titled "High and Lonesome" on 
A memorial plaque to Eddie Van Halen is scheduled to be unveiled during a ceremony in his hometown of Pasadena, Calif. on Oct. 11 to remember the musician one year after his passing. Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo and fellow council members will attend the unveiling close to the city's Convention Center, which is next to the Civic Auditorium. Van Halen, 65, died from throat cancer on Oct. 6, 2020. The event will not be open to the public due to the city's coronavirus restrictions that are still in place. The tribute was spearheaded by two Pasadena residents, Randa Schmalfeld and Julie Kimura, who set up a GoFundMe page earlier in 2021 to set up a permanent memorial. The pair raised almost $7000 for the tribute. - NME, 10/9/21...... Paddy Moloney, the founder and leader of the traditional Irish music group The Chieftains, died on Oct. 12 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 83. "It is with great sadness to hear of the passing of my very good friend and colleague, Paddy Maloney," renowned flautist James Galway posted on Twitter, alongside a photo of the two artists laughing together. "A man with a vision and passion on bringing traditional Irish music to the masses for which we are forever indebted to. Such wonderful memories for which I shall always cherish." Under Moloney's guidance, The Chieftains charted on a multitude of Billboard charts, including Classical Albums, and even topping the Top Latin Albums chart for several weeks in 2010 with San Patricio, a tribute to the San Patricios, the ill-fated battalion of mostly Irish soldiers who abandoned the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48 and crossed the border to fight alongside the Mexicans. Their last studio recording was 2012's Voice of Ages, which came out on Concord in the U.S. Commemorating the group's 50th anniversary, the album found them collaborating with a number of contemporary artists, including Bon Iver and The Decemberists. Their last show was an early St. Patrick's Day celebration in Philadelphia in 2020 before the pandemic led to them canceling the rest of their tour. - Billboard, 10/12/21...... Beverly Noga, a music publicist who helped guide the careers of such artists as Sonny & Cher, Cream, the Bee Gees and The Chambers Brothers, died on Oct. 8 of cancer at her home in Los Angeles, a family spokesperson said. She was 87. Ms. Noga and Bobbi Cowan, niece of legendary publicist Warren Cowan, founded Contemporary Public Relations in 1964. Their clients also included The Turtles, Three Dog Night, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Joe Cocker and Blind Faith. When the office closed, Noga and Willie Chambers of The Chambers Brothers formed Hebewillen Enterprises and Hebewillen Publishing, running both until her death. Ms. Noga's mother discovered and managed Johnny Mathis, and as the singer's career took off, he and her family moved into a home on Sunset Boulevard and Elm Drive in Beverly Hills. Ms. Noga became an integral part of her mom's management team in its California and New York offices, and their Beverly Hills home became a place to host celebrities from the worlds of music and film. - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/11/12.
Deep Purple have announced what will be their 22nd studio album -- and their first covers album ever -- will be released on Nov. 26. Dubbed 
The Who's Pete Townshend announced on 
KISS have confirmed that their current "End of the Road" farewell tour will very likely end after next year. KISS are currently in the middle of the lengthy tour, which was originally slated to end on July 17, but now KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley says the tour is likely to take much longer to complete. "I believe strongly by the beginning of 2023 we will be finished," Stanley told UltimateClassicRock.com, adding that the band will end their tour in New York. "It seems only natural to be in New York. That is where the band started, and that was really the background for the band getting together and writing these songs and played loft parties and played clubs starting with an audience of probably 10 people. It seems we should go full circle." Stanley also said this would definitely be the band's last ever tour. "The fact is that, physically, it's incredibly demanding to do what we do," Stanley explained. "Look, we played [recently] in Austin, an outdoor show, 100 percent humidity. We're running around for two-plus hours, not only with guitars, but I've got 30-plus pounds of gear on. There's a point where you go, 'You know what? This is more challenge than I want.' And I only want to do it as long as I can do it smiling... It has nothing to do with personalities in the band or tensions or a difference of opinion or musicality. It's purely practical. You can play beat the clock, but ultimately the clock wins," he added. - NME, 10/6/21...... Handwritten lyrics to the Bruce Springsteen songs "Thunder Road," "For You" and "Night" along with two harmonicas used by the musician are set to go under the hammer at auction during a Bonhams auction on Oct. 28. The harmonicas were used on the original recordings of "Thunder Road" and "Johnny 99," and like the lyrics, have been in the hands of a private collector who acquired them from Mike Batlan, who worked for Springsteen as a musical instrument technician from 1973 to 1985. More info about the auction and how to bid can be found on the 
Ringo Starr is part of a massive, all-star group of the world's greatest drummers who've gathered for a cover of the Beatles' Come Together" for a good cause. The effort, part of WhyHunger's "Drum Together" campaign, brought together 100 of the world's elite drummers including Max Weinberg (Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band), Stewart Copeland (the Police), Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge), Steve Gadd (Steely Dan) and sessions legend Jim Keltner (who helped organize the campaign) to raise funds to build a "just, hunger-free" world. The funds raised by the recording will support WhyHunger's mission to end global hunger by "tackling its root causes and investing in grassroots solutions to advance the human right to nutritious food for all," according to a statement. The project was conceptualized and produced by Tony Award-winner Brian Resnick (Hadestown) and legendary drummer/educator Dom Famularo, with the latter saying, "When it comes to impactful compositions, 'Come Together' is at the top of the list. It was the perfect song to galvanize this community for such a critical cause." A jazzy, 10-minute video for the effort has been shared on 
A live cover of Bob Dylan's classic "Don't Think Twice It's All Right" by late country music legend Johnny Cash has been released for the very first time. Taken from the upcoming posthumous Johnny Cash live LP