Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on March 2nd, 2022

The Feb. 27 season opener of the durable talent series American Idol included a contestant with a famous showbiz heritage -- the granddaughter of late Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. Detroit resident Grace Franklin, 15, gave it her best shot on the show, hitting a soulful but imperfect version of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly." After some prompting from celebrity coach Katy Perry, the high school student performed another number, her version of her famous grandmom's "Ain't No Way." Not content just to live in the shadow of the Queen of Soul, Grace says she's keen to make her own moves in music. "I am my own artist and I have my own voice," she said. When it came time to voting, Luke Bryan had his reservations, and gave a "no." It was a "yes" from Perry, who enthused that the teen has "stardust" on her. The final vote was a tough-love "no" from Lionel Richie, who pointed out the shy contestant simply "wasn't ready." "The best thing for you in life is to take a shot at going backwards," Richie said. The entire performance has been shared on YouTube. - Billboard, 2/28/22...... As the rest of the world watches in horror and disgust at Vladimir Putin's continuing invasion of Ukraine which began in late February, several '70s and '80s musicians have taken to social media to criticize the actions of the longtime Russian Federation president. As the conflict entered its seventh day on Mar. 1, former Pink Floyd guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour posted a message on Twitter urging Russian soldiers to cease carrying out Putin's orders while mentioning his Ukranian daughter-in-law. "Russian soldiers, stop killing your brothers. There will be no winners in this war. My daughter-in-law is Ukrainian and my grand-daughters want to visit and know their beautiful country. Stop this before it is all destroyed. Putin must go," Gilmour wrote. In his post, Gilmour included "In Any Tongue," a song from his 2015 solo album Rattle That Lock which features lyrics written by Gilmour's wife, novelist Polly Sampson, and carries a strong anti-war message, describing the deaths of young soldiers in conflict. "How was I to feel it when a gun was in my hands / And I'd waited for so long," Gilmour sings on the track. "How was I to see straight in the dust and blinding sun / Just a pair of boots on the ground." Posting on Instagram, Elton John expressed that he's "heartbroken" over the "nightmare" the people of Ukraine are currently living through. "For over 20 years, the Elton John AIDS Foundation has supported some of the most vulnerable people in Ukraine with access to HIV services and care, as part of our commitment to communities across Eastern Europe and Central Asia," Sir Elton wrote. "We are heartbroken and appalled to see this conflict unfold and our hearts are with the people of Ukraine who do not deserve to live through this nightmare. During these devastating times, we stand for an end to the violence and suffering in Ukraine so that life-saving services and humanitarian aid can reach those desperately in need," he added, completing his post with an image of Ukraine's blue and yellow flag as a show of support for those affected by the attacks. Fleetwood Mac frontlady Stevie Nicks has also come out strongly against Putin's unprovoked invasion, comparing Russia's head of state to infamous German dictator Adolf Hitler. "This is Hitler coming back to haunt us. In one evening, until now, an entire sovereign country has been full-on invaded... How dare he," Nicks wrote in a lengthy statement, adding that she has "been crying ever since" she discovered an Ukrainian acquaintance of hers was trying to flee the country following Russia's invasion. "My heart is broken for our new friend and for the people of Ukraine - I am so, so sorry," Nicks added, also sharing a photo of the "beautiful" hand-painted box she received from her Ukranian friend. Meanwhile, Dee Snider of the '80s metal band Twisted Sister says he "absolutely approves" of the Ukranians using the Twisted Sister classic "We're Not Gonna Take It" as a rallying cry as they fight off the latest Russian hostilities against Ukraine. "I absolutely approve of Ukrainians using 'We're Not Gonna Take It' as their battlecry," Snider tweeted. "My grandfather was Ukrainian, before it was swallowed up by the USSR after WW2. This can't happen to these people again! #F---RUSSIA," he added. Donations to help the Ukranians affected by the conflict can be made at RedCross.org.uk. The invasion has resulted in nearly 200 deaths so far, including civilians, three of whom were children, according to Ukraine's health minister. - New Musical Express/Music-News.com, 3/2/22...... Dolly Parton has announced she will livestream her first ever appearance at the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival on Mar. 18, when she and best-selling author James Patterson will appear at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater to discuss their upcoming novel collaboration Run, Rose, Run, which drops on Mar. 7. Moderating the panel will be actress Connie Britton, known for her work on the television shows Nashville and Friday Night Lights. Afterward, Parton will offer a live performance of songs from her new Run, Rose, Run album, as well as a few of her hit songs. The event will be streamed live for free via a "Dollyverse" audience-centric Web3 experience by Eluvio, which will also power the "Dollyverse"'s NFT sales. "There's almost nothing more important to me than connecting with my fans. And I'm almost always up for trying something new and different," Parton said in a statement. "I'd say releasing NFTs at my first ever appearance at SXSW, with James Patterson by my side, definitely counts as new and different!," she added. - Billboard, 3/1/22...... David Crosby expounded on his recent decision to remove his music from music streaming services such as Spotify.com in a new interview with Stereogum.com, and the reason he gave was largely due to streaming royalties. "I don't like Spotify. I don't like any of the streamers, because they don't pay us properly. Their proportion is wrong. They're making billions with a 'b' and they're paying out pennies with a 'p'," Crosby said. "That's not OK. It's not OK in that it took away half my income, and it's not OK in that, especially, it makes it impossibly difficult for young people to make it in the business. It doesn't pay them anything. It's wrong," he says. Crosby said it felt "shitty" offering such advice but in the current streaming climate he felt there was little other advice he could give: "You know how shitty it is for me to say that? You know how much I don't want to say that? Some bright-eyed young kid who has talent.... I don't want to say that to them, and it is the truth. I don't hold out any hope for it at all." But Crosby said he still intends to make new music with his son James Crosby "because we love making records and because we think music is a lifting force...I think these are really hard times, and people need the lift. I'm making music because music makes things better and it makes people happier. That's good enough for me. If I don't get paid, I don't get paid." "It's OK for now. I'm going to run out of money in a couple of years and then I'll have to sell my house," he says. "That's just how that is. I can't do shit about it. I can't play live anymore. I'm 80 years old and I'm very fragile health-wise. I can't change the marketplace. [The streaming giants are] making the money and they're not going to change that. They're not going to suddenly develop a sense of moral responsibility. They're scummy people," he adds. - NME, 3/1/22...... Universal Music Group announced on Feb. 28 that they've acquired the entire catalog of their longtime roster artist Neil Diamond as the culmination of a decades-long relationship between the artist and UMG. UMG's deal includes Diamond's entire song and master recordings, also covering the rights to record and release any future music by Diamond (should he return to the studio), and to the rights of the recordings of 110 unreleased tracks, an unreleased album and long archival videos of Diamond. UMG declined to state the price of the deal. Diamond and UMG began their relationship back in 1968 when he was signed to the Uni/MCA label until 1972 -- a heyday which saw the release of such enduring hits as "Sweet Caroline," "Solitary Man" and "Song Sung Blue." In 2013, the singer/songwriter entered a recording agreement and licensing deal for his non-MCA recordings through Capitol Music Group and Universal Music Enterprises, and the new deal sees the union of all of his music -- compositions and recordings -- under the UMG umbrella. "After nearly a decade in business with UMG, I am thankful for the trust and respect that we have built together, and I feel confident in the knowledge that Lucian, Jody, Bruce, Michelle and the global team at UMG, will continue to represent my catalogue, and future releases with the same passion and integrity that have always fueled my career," Diamond said in a statement. Diamond's indelible impact on popular music will soon be immortalized in the premiere of the biographical "The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise," which premieres at Boston's Emerson Colonial Theatre on June 21 before heading to the Broadway stage. His many awards include a Grammy, a Golden Globe, Kennedy Center Honors, an induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and more. In 2018, he announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinsons' Disease. In the deal, Diamond was represented by Gene Saloman of Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc. and by his manager Katie Diamond. - Billboard, 2/28/22...... Mick Jagger and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson have announced they're teaming up to produce a four-part documentary on one of their biggest influences -- "Godfather of Soul" James Brown. In a press release, Jagger described Brown as "a brilliant performer who inspired me from the beginning," while QuestLove, leader of The Roots, said that Brown "is significant not only to understand his immense musical impact, which inspires us and other artists to this day, but also for the deep and lasting impression he has had on American culture." James Brown: Say It Loud is expected to premiere on the A&E Network sometime in 2023. - Billboard, 2/26/22...... Billy Joel paid tribute to late Procul Harum leader Gary Brooker during his recent show at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 26 with a moving rendition of Procul Harum's 1967 hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale." Featured on the US version of the English band's self-titled debut album, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is one of the most commercially successful singles in history, having sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. It's a song that Joel has praised frequently, and covered on numerous occasions throughout his career, including a snippet during a Cincinnati concert in 2021 and a solo take during a Town Hall Q&A and concert with Howard Stern in 2014. In further tribute, The Piano Man the followed the song with one of his own compositions, "Only The Good Die Young." Joel's performance of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" can be viewed on YouTube or Twitter. Joel also offered his condolences about Brooker's passing on Feb. 19 at the age of 76 with a Feb. 22 Twitter post. - NME, 2/27/22...... Bonnie Raitt will release her 18th studio album, Just Like That, on Apr. 22, and the 72-year-old three-time Grammy winner says she's positively buzzing with excitement at the opportunity to tour the new LP with guests Lucinda Williams and Mavis Staples. Raitt recently came off three weeks in a Sausalito, Calif., studio with her band, prepping to tour her 18th studio album, and says "it was like I was 8 years old every morning: 'What am I going to wear today?!'" For Raitt -- a die-hard road warrior who consistently fills theaters around the world - spending the past couple of years in Covid lockdown and not even being in the same room with her longtime crew were "just crushing." "Night would come, and I'd go, 'That's it? That's as cool as it's going to get today?'," she says. Raitt has long been open about her past struggle with alcoholism, and her sobriety since age 37 informs another of her personal directives: how to stay not only active, but vibrant, 50 years into a music career. "All of us who are still out on the road, we didn't used to warm up. Now we warm up our voices. We stopped trashing ourselves in our 30s, just about," she explains. "You can't keep up this pace if you don't do yoga or hike or get some exercise. You have to get enough sleep. You have to keep people who are drains out of your circuitry and your life. Getting sober "made a huge difference in how easy it is to be out on the road," she continues. "But it's a pleasure taking care of myself." Raitt produced the new album herself and, as usual, it's studded with her hand-picked roster of songwriters (ranging from Al Anderson to her late friend Frederick "Toots" Hibbert of Toots & The Maytals), but also includes four originals by Raitt herself, the haunting title track among them. "More and more, the songs I've written lately are very personal, she says. "I could farm it out to somebody more adept than I, but it's nice to write on assignment. I don't care if they're not on everybody's best-of list: They're on mine." Raitt says that when she is done touring Just Like That, she'll take a little break, and then the job will go on: time to think about the next record. "I mean, my dad toured till he was 86! Raitt exclaims as if anything else would be plain lazy. "Look at Tony Bennett. Look at [Rolling Stones] Mick and Keith. I don't feel any urgency to finish. I feel like I'm pretty well understood, and I've felt understood this whole time." - Billboard, 2/25/22...... On Feb. 24 Paul McCartney shared a new Wordle-style teaser on his Twitter feed, prompting renewed speculation that he may soon be announcing his headline slot at England's Glastonbury 2022 festival. The Beatle had been set to headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in 2020 with Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, but that edition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that the Glastonbury fest is back on in '22, speculation about who will join Billie Eilish at the top of the bill reignited on Feb. 24 after McCartney shared a "Wordle-style" teaser on Twitter. The tweet appears to hint that McCartney will be headlining Glastonbury 2022 via the inclusion of the numbers "25/6," which could mean June 25 (Saturday of this year's event). The Wordle teaser also features six green tiles which could spell out "GLASTO." McCartney has previous form when it comes to this type of hint, having previously shared a composite image of Philip Glass, Emma Stone and Chuck Berry ahead of the announcement that he'd been booked to headline Glastonbury in 2020. So far, only Eilish, Diana Ross (who is playing the "Legends' slot) and Little Simz have been officially announced for this year's festival, with the complete line-up to be announced in April. - New Musical Express, 2/24/22...... David Byrne, appearing recently on Zane Lowe's Apple Music 1 podcast, says he's ready to put his acclaimed "American Utopia" show to a close. "Well, we are going to put an end to it. We've been extended it until April 3rd this year, and that's where we're going to end," the former Talking Heads frontman said. "Yeah, I've been doing it for a number of years now, and we had, of course, this huge interruption. But I feel like, okay. Before that, we toured a version of it, and so I feel like, yes, maybe I've done this enough. And it's time for me to move on and try something else that might succeed and might fail with new material and see where that leads," he added. As for his next projects, Byrne says he's "working on an immersive theatre project that has science experiments and experiences as a kind of basis." He continued: "It's not real. It's not a music show. It's not a music thing. That'll happen in August and September. So I've got a little while to prepare for that. And then I think before that and after that, I think I'll probably start working on new music and see where that goes. And again, just like you said, I'll probably write some things, report some things. Do that and then maybe ask people, what do you think? Is it any good or should I scrap it all and start again?" - Music-News.com, 2/28/22...... Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates has shared a stripped-back cover of Eurythmics' 1983 track "Here Comes The Rain Again" on YouTube as the singer/songwriter prepares to head out on his irst US solo tour in a decade this April. To coincide with the tour, he's releasing a 30-track retrospective of his solo career called BeforeAfter that is compiled of songs from his five solo albums. The collection also includes six previously unreleased performances from his Live From Daryl's House series. Included is his cover of "Here Comes The Rain Again," actually sees him joined by Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart, who along with his Eurythmics partner Annie Lennox was a producer and partial co-writer for Hall's 1986 solo effort Three Hearts In The Happy Ending Machine. BeforeAfter will drop Apr. 1 via Legacy Recordings, with his tour kicking off the same evening in Chicago, also visiting Nashville, Tenn. (4/3), Atlanta (4/5), Northfield, Oh. (4/7), Philadelphia (4/9), Boston (4/11) and New York's Carnegie Hall on Apr. 14 before wrapping in National Harbor, Md. on Apr. 16. - NME, 2/26/22...... Nicky Tesco, a founding member of the late '70s UK punk band The Members, died on Feb. 26. He was 66. The news was confirmed in a post on Tesco's Facebook page, which simply said that Tesco had "left the building." Tesco formed The Members in 1976 alongside Gary Baker (guitar), Steve Morley (bass guitar) and Clive Parker (drums), and the band underwent a number of line-up changes across his career. Their debut album, At The Chelsea Nightclub, came out in 1979 and featured their biggest hits, "Sounds Of The Suburbs" and "Solitary Confinement." Tesco departed the band in 1983 before going on to launch a successful acting career, appearing in movies such as Cha Cha Cha (1989) and Amar Akbar & Tony (2015), as well as composing music for films. The Members reunited without Tesco in 2008, and have steadily released new albums across the last decade. Their most recent album, Bedsitland, came out in 2021. "The Members were a brilliant group with fantastic observational, witty songs. Their singer Nicky Tesco was a fantastic frontman and in later years a great presence on social media. RIP Nicky Tesco," tweeted rock journalist David Quantick. - NME, 2/28/22...... Ernie Andrews, a jazz and blues singing legend who began performing in the '40s and continued entertaining until well into the 21st century, died in a Conroe, Tex. hospital on Feb. 21 after suffering a broken hip from a fall at home. He was 94. Born on Christmas Day in 1927 in Philadelphia, Mr. Andrews began singing in the Baptist church and continued to do so when his family moved to Los Angeles in his teenage years. After winning an amateur show in L.A., he caught the attention of songwriter Joe Greene, who brought him into the studio to record his first hit record, "Soothe Me," in 1945 at the age of 17. One of the best-selling records of the year, it would go on to sell 300,000 copies. Capable of conjuring the grit of the blues, the swing attitude of the big band era and the ache of '60s soul, Mr. Andrews performed with everyone from saxophonist Cannonball Adderley to Wrecking Crew drummer Frank Capp to jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell over the course of his lengthy career, which saw him tour everywhere from Australia to Europe to South America. Mr. Andrews is survived by four children, 12 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. His wife of 52 years, Dolores, died in 1997. - Billboard, 2/25/22.

Elton John has reportedly been left "shaken" after his private jet experienced a harrowing emergency landing at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, UK on Feb. 22. According to sources, the jet was flying over southern Ireland at 10,000 ft., on its way from the UK to New York for a show that evening at Madison Square Garden, when it was forced to land. The plane took off around 10:00 am UK time, but suffered hydraulic issues an hour into its journey and was forced to turn back, eventually landing at Hampshire's Farnborough Airport, but then experienced severe weather conditions. "The jet was being buffeted and couldn't land. It was horrible to see," an eyewitness said. "The terrible weather and epic gusts made it almost impossible to land. Two attempts to touch down failed. The aircraft's nose was far too vertical. The plane was descending and was halfway along the runway when it gave up trying to hit the tarmac. It soared back in the air," the witness added. After word went around that Sir Elton was in difficulty, a crowd gathered around and saw the plane come around again for a second attempt to land, when the storm was doing its worst. "It was a horrible thing to see, and you wouldn't have swapped places with Elton on that small plane for anything. I bet he said a few prayers of thanks," the witness said. Another source said that Elton was "shaken" but eventually made it to New York and played the show as planned. John resumed his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour in New Orleans in January after multiple delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. - New Musical Express, 2/23/22...... Former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones has re-recorded the band's 1971 version of "When the Levee Breaks," with assistance from 17 musicians from around the world. An intercontinental performance that can be viewed on YouTube, the video sees Jones joined by Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins, as well as husband-and-wife duo Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi of the Tedeschi Trucks Band. The version also features Smi vocalist Elle Mrj Eira, Mihirangi, Congo musician Mermans Mosengo and Nigerian percussionist Sikiru Adepoju. The new rendition of the Led Zeppelin "IV" track was recorded as part of global music non-profit Playing for Change's Song Around the World initiative. All money raised through the song will benefit organisations like Conservation International, American Rivers, WWF, Reverb and the Playing for Change Foundation. The Blues standard "When the Levee Breaks" was first recorded by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929, reflecting on the upheaval that followed the Great Mississippi Flood two years prior. Zeppelin's version closes out their fourth album, 1971's Led Zeppelin "IV". "It seems that little has changed since 1927, or even 2005 with Katrina," Jones says of the song. "It's still a really powerful track, both musically and lyrically." - NME, 2/22/22...... KISS will be among the headliners at the Aftershock Festival 2022, set for Oct. 6-9 at Discovery Park in Sacramento, Calif. Billing itself as "the West Coast's BIGGEST rock festival" which has enjoyed sellouts for five consecutive years, the event will expand to four full days in 2022 after expanding to three and a half days in 2021. Other headliners will include Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance, Judas Priest, Papa Roach, Rob Zombie, Evanescence and Stone Temple Pilots, among others. The full lineup can be seen on the festival's Twitter post of Feb. 23. Meanwhile, KISS has also been confirmed for the UK's Download Festival in June, along with Iron Maiden and Biffy Clyro. KISS' Gene Simmons previously admitted he can't wait to take to the Download stage this summer for the 2022 edition: "I've said it before, Download Festival audiences are the best. They are up for whatever is thrown at them." - Billboard/Music-News.com, 2/23/22...... The heirs of late Jimi Hendrix Experience members Noel Redding and Mitch Michell filed a motion in a New York federal court on Feb. 22 to dismiss a legal battle with the Jimi Hendrix estate, calling it a "blatant" effort to litigate the dispute in the wrong country." Redding and Mitchell's heirs are demanding the case must be resolved in the UK rather than New York, claiming the other side is trying to "circumvent" English courts to win a "sympathetic" judge. In a New York lawsuit, Hendrix's estate said Redding and Mitchell signed away any rights shortly after the legendary rocker died in 1970. In a British lawsuit, the bandmates' heirs said those deals were flawed and that they're owed millions in royalties. "Plaintiffs are merely trying to win the race to the courthouse because they apparently believe this court will be more sympathetic to their claim than the English court before which it is now pending," the Redding and Mitchell heirs contend in their motion. "Such blatant forum shopping is not entitled to any deference," they added. The judge is expected to rule on the motion in March. - Billboard, 2/23/22...... Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry has announced on his Twitter account that Roxy Music will be reissuing all eight of their studio albums on vinyl across 2022. "Announcing Roxy Music 50th anniversary LP reissues! Released in pairs throughout the year, half-speed cut at Abbey Road, revised artwork with lyrics and deluxe gloss finish. 'Roxy Music' and 'For Your Pleasure' out 1 April 2022," the tweet reads. The reissue series will begin on Apr. 1 when the band reissue their self-titled debut album (which turns 50 this year) and its follow-up, For Your Pleasure. All eight of the albums have been newly remastered at half speed by Miles Showell at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. The reissues will also see the albums given fresh, revised versions of their artwork and laminated finishes. The albums will be reissued in pairs throughout 2022. - NME, 2/23/22...... A notebook containing Paul McCartney's handwritten lyrics for the Beatles' classic "Hey Jude" has been donated to Beatles museum in Liverpool by British actress Davinia Taylor, best known as a former member of the cast of the British soap opera Hollyoaks. Taylor was given the special pad for her 21st birthday by her millionaire dad Alan Murphy, who Taylor says purchased the notebook in a Sotheby's auction for "something crazy like £100,000." "Sotheby's had an auction, dad was at home, a few bottles of wine in and started bidding against an American. He won. He said, 'It's not going to America, it's staying in Liverpool," Taylor says. In addition to the "Hey Jude" lyrics, the notebook also contains doodles and poetry by all four band memebers, including John Lennon, George Harrison and Sir Ringo Starr, along with snippets of lyrics from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and other tracks. The pad -- which was compiled from 1967 to 1968 -- is now on display at The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool. Taylor admitted she was "over the moon" to have donated the item, and the museum has insured it for £1 million. - Music-News.com, 2/24/22...... The Who's annual Teenage Cancer Trust gigs at London's Royal Albert Hall are returning in 2022, following a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "Live music has been hit hard by the pandemic and it has been particularly frustrating for me that we haven't been able to get artists on stage to raise money for this vitally important cause," says Who frontman Roger Daltrey. "But we haven't given up. The Who will be back on stage this year at the hall alongside some wonderful talent. After the last two unbelievably difficult years, young people with cancer deserve everything we can do for them," he added. In addition to The Who's performance on Mar. 25, the 2022 roster includes Yungblud (3/23), Madness (3/24), Don Broco (3/25), and Liam Gallagher (3/26), with Ed Sheeran closing out the series on Mar. 27. The first Teenage Cancer Trust gigs were presented in 2000, and over the years, the likes of Oasis, Sir Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys and Muse have played the charity gig. - Music-News.com, 2/22/22...... The Velvet Underground co-founding member John Cale has announced that he'll be heading to the UK this summer for his first full run of tour dates in the country in almost a decade. "TOUR News! Hello UK I'm heading your way in July! My first extended run of UK dates in several year," Cale announced on his Twitter page. The Welsh musician's tour will begin in Liverpool at the Royal Philharmonic Hall on July 15, before visiting Whitley Bay (7/18), York (7/19), Bexhill (7/21), Cambridge (7/23) and the London Palladium (7/24), before closing out the run at Birmingham Town Hall on July 25. Cale last toured the UK in 2012 on his "Shifty Adventures In Nookie Wood" European tour. - NME, 2/24/22...... In a new interview with Stereogum.com, David Crosby expanded on his recent decision to remove his music from the Spotify.com streaming platform. The ex-Crosby, Stills & Nash member also made it clear that he takes issue with all streaming services -- not just Spotify, with which controversial radio show host Joe Rogan has a lucrative content deal. "Here's how I feel about it. I think Joe Rogan is... eh, not real impressive. But I think he has a right to spew his garbage. He has a right to do it. I think Spotify has a right to put him up there," Crosby said. "I absolutely will fight for their right to do that. I have a right to not be associated with it. I told a friend this morning, 'Listen man, if I was selling my records in a marketplace, I don't want to be selling them next to some spoiled meat.' That's why I don't want to be on the same platform as Joe Rogan. He's calling people the n-word all the time. He's talking about women as if they're a mouth and a pair of tits. He doesn't really represent me at all, so I don't want to be there with him." Additionally, Crosby indicated that the Rogan controversy was the last straw in terms of him personally eschewing digital streaming services like Spotify. "I don't want to be in there. I don't like 'em and their quality's lousy and their payscale's lousy and I don't want anything to do with them... I'm not trying censor him or you. That's of course the first thing that all his fans said: 'This is censorship! You used to be a hippie!'... I still am. I still have the exact same set of values. I just don't want to be associated with that guy." He added that he does "not envision going back" to the platform. - NME, 2/21/22...... Gary Brooker the lead singer/pianist/composer of the English rock band Procol Harum, died "peacefully" at home on Feb. 19 after a battle with cancer, according to a post on Procol Harum's Facebook page on Feb. 22. He was 76. The post included a link to a full statement about Brooker on the band's website. The statement described Brooker as "a brightly shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry," adding that he "exhibited and developed a highly individual talent." "His first single with Procol Harum, 1967's 'A Whiter Shade of Pale', is widely regarded as defining the 'summer of love', yet it could scarcely have been more different from the characteristic records of that era," the post reads. "Gary's voice and piano were the single defining constant of Procol's 50-year international concert career. Without any stage antics or other gimmicks he was invariably the most watchable musician in the show," it added. Brooker founded Procol Harum alongside friend and member Keith Reid, who served as a lyricist for the group. The band is well known for "A Whiter Shade of Pale," which was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Singles category in 2018. The track notably sold a total of 10 million copies worldwide, spent six weeks atop the U.K. charts, and reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. In 1972, Procol Harum scored a Top 5 album with their gold certified concert LP Live With the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra which featured the U.S. No. 16 hit "Conquistador." Brooker was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen Elizabeth's Birthday Honors on June 14, 2003. He is survived by his wife, Franky, whom he married in 1968. The band concluded its Facebook statement: "Our thoughts must be with her, their families and friends at this extremely sad time." Brooker was paid tribute on Twitter by such celebrities as Stevie Van Zandt, Bonnie Tyler, Martin Knight, Mike Scott and Richard Lewis. Procol Harum most recently released Novum -- the band's 13th studio album -- in 2017. It was the group's first set after a 14 year hiatus, after releasing 2003's The Well's on Fire. - Billboard/NME, 2/22/22...... Actress Sally Kellerman, who was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in director Robert Altman's 1970 film M*A*S*H, died on Feb. 24 in Woodland Hills, Calif. She was 84. The willowy blonde actress with the characteristically throaty voice appeared in two Altman films in 1970; the other was the more experimental Brewster McCloud, in which she starred with Bud Cort and Michael Murphy. In this film, which did not have a conventional narrative, Ms. Kellerman played Louise, the mother of the bewinged Cort character, Brewster. She starred next opposite Alan Arkin in the Gene Saks-directed Neil Simon effort Last of the Red Hot Lovers, then with James Caan in the goofy 1973 road movie Slither (as a witch, no less). She was among the starry cast of the musical version of Lost Horizon. Born in Long Beach, Calif., Ms. Kellerman made her feature debut in 1957's Reform School Girls and next appeared on the bigscreen in 1962's Hands of a Stranger, 1965's The Third Day and The Lollipop Cover. Her first high-profile film was 1968's The Boston Stranger, starring Tony Curtis and Henry Fonda, in which she had a supporting role as a victim of the strangler who survives his attack but does not remember anything about him. She also had a supporting role in the 1969 film The April Fools as the wife of Jack Lemmon, who has an affair with Catherine Deneuve, before breaking out the next year in M*A*S*H the next year. The actress worked mostly in television during the 1960s, appearing on such series as Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, My Three Sons, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, I Spy, That Girl, Hawaii Five-O and Mannix. She was also a singer, who signed a recording contract with Verve Records when she 18, though her first album, Roll With the Feelin', was not recorded until 1972. Her second album, Sally, was released in 2009. The actress also contributed songs to the soundtracks for Brewster McCloud, Lost Horizon, Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins and Boris and Natasha: The Movie, among others. Her memoir, Read My Lips: Stories of a Hollywood Life, was published in 2013. Ms. Kellerman was married to TV writer-director Rick Edelstein for two years in the early 1970s. She married writer-producer Jonathan D. Krane in 1980 and he died in 2016. - Reuters, 2/24/22.