Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on March 22nd, 2022

Paul McCartney was among the numerous celebrities paying homage to St. Patrick's Day on Mar. 17, reminiscing on a long-ago trip to Ireland in a Twitter post. "Here's to Ireland and St. Paddy - Paul," the former Beatle wrote, with a pic taken by his late first wife Linda McCartney. Other '70s personalities celebrating the Irish holiday included "Wonder Woman" Lynda Carter and the proudly green guy himself, Kermit the Frog. - Billboard, 3/17/22...... Def Leppard has just shared the lead single "Kick" from its upcoming 12th studio album Diamond Star Halos on YouTube. The stadium-ready track hears frontman Joe Elliott sing on the chorus: "I don't wanna kick kick/ Kick your habit/ 'Cos you never quit quit/ I gotta have it/ I don't wanna kick kick/ Kick your habit/ 'Cos you never quit quit/ I gotta have it." Def Leppard has also launched a countdown teaser website in preparation for the album's announcement, which was set up to mimic a psychic hotline. Each band member were given a dedicated panel where fans were able to click to hear brief individual psychic predictions with an option to also sign up for the Def Leppard mailing list. The band's co-headlining tour with Mötley Cruë begins in Atlanta on June 16. - NME, 3/17/22...... New Wave icons Devo have announced they'll be donating their licensing revenue from their song catalog for the entire month of April to organizations that are helping support the Ukrainian people and refugees. "Vladimir Putin's rape of a sovereign nation, Ukraine, whose citizens are committed to democratic rule of law should not and cannot stand in the 21st Century," said Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale in a statement. "To help the victims of Putin's unprovoked war, Devo will be donating these revenues from the licenses of our song catalog throughout the month of April. We invite our rights holder partners in masters and publishing matters to join us in doing the same. Further we encourage all successful recording artists to do something similar to help make this gesture reach critical mass," they added. Devo says the money will be earmarked for Music Saves UA and World Central Kitchen. The Ohio-based band has made it a priority to support political and social causes in addition to "using music and performance art as commentary on conformity, emotional repression and dehumanization." - The Hollywood Reporter, 3/21/22...... Meanwhile, a forthcoming fundraising event dubbed "Concert For Ukraine" has been set for Mar. 29 at the UK's Resorts World Arena Birmingham and boast headliners including Nile Rodgers and Chic, Ed Sheeran, Snow Patrol, Manic Street Preachers, Tom Odell, Becky Hill and The Kingdom Choir. The two-hour benefit show will air live on ITV in aid of the Disasters Emergency Committee's (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. "In times of trouble you can always count on great musical artists to come together to help bring focus on what really matters," Nile Rodgers said in a statement. "At this moment in time nothing is more important than showing the people affected by conflict in Ukraine that we stand with them, that we are family," he added. - New Musical Express, 3/22/22...... In more Ukraine-related news, a Ukranian punk band called Beton has reworked The Clash's famous "London Calling," turning it into "Kyiv Calling" to highlight events in Ukraine and raise funds for a resistance movement. The three-piece band -- comprising an architect, orthopedist and businessman -- recorded their reworded take on the 1979 Clash hit in a studio in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. The trio hopes it helps raise funds for the non-military operations of the Free Ukraine Resistance Movement (FURM), a publicist for FURM said, adding the Clash have agreed to donate all royalties raised to the movement's communications department. "Kyiv calling to the whole world ...Come out of neutrality, you boys and girls," read the new lyrics. The song is accompanied by a video of the band with clips of battle damage in Ukraine. Beton lead singer Andriy Zholob says the Clash "were one of our inspirations we fell in love with punk rock and music in general, there is no snobbery or pretentiousness to the music, they had something to say and voiced their opinions against human anger." - Reuters, 3/19/22...... The producers of the new Michael Jackson-themed Broadway musical "MJ" announced on Mar. 22 they're going to be moonwalking the splashy show across the U.S. next year beginning with a residency at Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre on July 15, 2023. "We are thrilled by the Broadway response to 'MJ,' and that we are already deep in preparations to bring this exhilarating show to Chicago and across the United States," "MJ" producer Lia Vollack in a statement. "Chicago is a premier theater and music destination, and we are excited to be able to begin this journey in one of the Nederlander Organization's most beautiful venues," she added. Hitting 16 additional cities over two years after the Chicago shows, the musical will also include a previously revealed two-week engagement at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, from Sept. 26-Oct. 8, 2023. "MJ" features most of the late King of Pop's and the Jackson 5's big hits, including "ABC," "Bad, "Billie Jean, "Off the Wall, "Thriller," "I'll Be There" and "Black or White." The stage bio is framed around a fictional MTV film crew that has gotten access to capture Jackson's 1992 Dangerous tour prep. The star melts back in time to explain his career and approach, showing a perfectionist edge. Written by Lynn Nottage and directed/choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, the musical has been approved by the Jackson estate. - Billboard, 3/22/22...... Dolly Parton announced on Mar. 21 that she and actress/producer Reese Witherspoon along with author James Patterson will produce a film adaptation of Run, Rose, Run, the new novel penned by Parton and Patterson. Parton is also set to star in the project, which will be produced by Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Productions. Run, Rose, Run, which was published on Mar. 7 and debuted at the No. 1 spot on The New York Times bestseller list, is about a young woman who heads to Nashville to pursue her music-making dreams. The synopsis for the book adds: "The source of her heart-wrenching songs is a brutal secret she has tried desperately to hide, but the past she has fled is reaching out to control her future -- and it may destroy everything she has worked for." "Growing up in Nashville, I've loved Dolly since the moment I heard her magical voice and saw her luminous personality shine onstage," Witherspoon said in a statement. In other Dolly news, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released a statement on Mar. 17 indicating that the country star is still on the nomination ballot for induction into the Cleveland-based hall and museum despite Parton saying she was bowing out of her nomination because she felt she hadn't "earned that right." "In addition to her incredible talent as an artist, her humility is another reason Dolly is a beloved icon by millions of fans around the world," the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation said in its own statement. It added that "Rock & Roll has had deep roots in Rhythm & Blues and Country music. It is not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture. Dolly Parton's music impacted a generation of young fans and influenced countless artists that followed." "We are in awe of Dolly's brilliant talent and pioneering spirit and are proud to have nominated her for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the statement concluded. Meanwhile, Parton participated in the SXSW Festival in Austin, Tex., on Mar. 19, performing all her hits. - The Hollywood Reporter, 3/21/22...... Willie Nelson has announced his Outlaw Music Festival Tour will return to the road this summer with a star-studded lineup that will include Willie Nelson & Family, ZZ Top, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Gov't Mule, Brothers Osborne, Zach Bryan and Steve Earle & The Dukes, among others. "The Outlaw Music Festival Tour has always been about family and friends coming together for a great day of music and fun, and with the amazing group of artists joining us, this year promises to be our most special Outlaw Tour to date. I just can't wait to get back on the road again," Nelson said via a statement. Nelson launched the festival in 2016 in Scranton, Pa. That soldout show developed into a full-fledged touring franchise that has since welcomed artists including Robert Plant, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Eric Church, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow and more. Meanwhile, Willie recently paid tribute to his late sister and regular musical collaborator Bobbie Nelson at the 2022 Luck Reunion Festival, held on his family ranch in the Hill Country of Texas7. Nelson many years ago turned a former Western movie set on his land into the make-believe town of Luck, Tex. -- which has been a music festival site for the past decade. After a two-year break during the pandemic, the Luck Reunion, a music, food and crafts festival, returned on Mar. 17. After a potluck dinner, the event concluded with Nelson's first public performance since the death of his sister Bobbie, his lifelong friend and piano player, who died Mar. 10 at the age of 91. Although Willie didn't speak onstage about the loss, he performed in front of a dark-blue backdrop and a projection reading: "In Loving Memory of Bobbie Nelson 1931-2022," above an image of her trademark white cowboy hat. - Billboard, 3/21/22...... Paul Simon is reportedly shopping his master recording royalties from his work with Simon & Garfunkel, one year after selling his song catalog to Sony Music Publishing. The master royalties include the five Simon & Garfunkel studio albums that the duo recorded for Columbia/Sony starting in 1964 through the landmark duo's 1970 Grammy-winning LP Bridge Over Troubled Water. The entire catalog has sold more than 100 million records, according to Sony, and include such hits as "The Sound of Silence," "Mrs. Robinson," "America," "Homeward Bound" and "The Boxer." Simon's current recorded music contract is with Sony Music Entertainment. Since 2010, Sony has also controlled the masters of the solo albums he recorded for Warner Brothers. A source says Simon's new deal does not include Art Garfunkel's share of Simon & Garfunkel's master recording royalties. It is estimated that the S&G catalog brings in around $8.3 million a year. A number of private-equity backed independent publishing companies have expressed interest in acquiring the passive income stream of Simon's S&G recorded royalties and one source says the deal has not yet closed. - Billboard, 3/18/22...... On Mar. 20 Neil Young announced the fourth installment in his "Official Release Series" anthology, comprising three classic albums from the 1980s -- one of his own, and two collaborative efforts -- as well as a rare EP that was only ever sold in Australia and Japan. Official Release Series Volume 4 is set for release on Apr. 29 via Reprise. In addition to Young's 1980 solo album Hawks & Doves, the box set includes his fifth album with Crazy Horse (1981's Reactor) and his debut effort with The Bluenotes (1988's This Note's For You). The set also includes the rarely heard EP "Eldorado," and two never before released songs -- "Heavy Love" and "Cocaine Eyes." Young has shared a high-quality stream of "Cocaine Eyes" on YouTube in announcing the new set. - Billboard, 3/20/22...... In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine's "Music Now" podcast, Keith Richards spoke out about Eric Clapton's well-publicized skepticism about Covid-19 safety measures. "I just want to get rid of this damn thing, and the only way I can see is everybody does as doctor says," Richards said. "I love Eric dearly. I've known him since forever and we've had ups and downs. This Covid thing, it's split people up and it made people sometimes go awry for awhile, you know?," he added. Elsewhere in the podcast interview, Richards confirmed that the Rolling Stones' current touring drummer, Steve Jordan, will be on hand to help the rock legends finish their forthcoming new album. "We do have a lot of stuff of Charlie Watts still in the can," the guitarist said of the longtime Stones drummer who died on Aug. 24, 2021 at age 80. "We were halfway through making an album when he died. Of course, if we want to carry on recording, we're gonna need drums, and it's gonna be Steve Jordan," Richards added. Longtime friend of the band and collaborator Jordan began filling in for an ailing Watts on last year's "No Filter" tour and will be behind the kit for the group's summer European tour as well." Richards also revealed that the Stones got a personal note from Paul McCartney after their old pal made headlines in 2021 when he referred to the Stones as a "blues cover band" in a New Yorker magazine profile. "I got a note from Paul about that, saying 'I was taken totally out of context'," Richards explained. "He said, 'That's what I thought when I first heard them.' Paul and I know each other pretty well, and when I first read it. I said, there's been a lot of deleting and editing going on here. And the next day I got a message from Paul saying, 'If you've read this shit, it's all out of context, believe me, boys.' Paul's a great guy, man. I mean, Jesus Christ, look at the songs he's written," he added. The Stones recently announced a run of 14 European summer shows in 2022 to celebrate their 60th anniversary. - NME, 3/19/22...... The inductees into the Blues Hall of Fame of 2022 were announced on Mar. 17 and include Johnnie Taylor, whose biggest hit, the trendy "Disco Lady", spent four weeks at No. 1 in 1976 and became the first single to be certified platinum by the RIAA. Other inductees include Otis Blackwell, who wrote such Elvis Presley classics as "Don't Be Cruel," "All Shook Up," and "Return to Sender," Little Willie John (who recorded the first version of "Fever"), Bo Diddley's eponymous 1958 album, and singles by B.B. King ("Rock Me Baby") and Bobby "Blue" Bland ("Farther Up the Road"). The Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held this year in conjunction with the Blues Music Awards and International Blues Challenge week, will occur on May 4 at the Halloran Centre in Memphis. - Billboard, 3/17/22...... Steely Dan's Donald Fagen has apologized for "any distress caused" to singer/songwriter Aimee Mann and her fans after Mann claimed she was kicked off Steely Dan's 2022 tour for being female. In Mann's post, she shared a comic strip she drew, in which she reveals that she "just found out she was removed from the tour." "No one is entirely sure why, but it seems they thought their audience wouldn't like a female singer-songwriter?" she wrote. "As it happens, Steely Dan is the one band that I 100% love, with no reservations, so it really sucks. But you know what? People are allowed to not like you, for whatever reason," she adds. "Well, first of all, the idea that I would make any decision based on the gender of a performer is ridiculous," Fagen said in a statement on Mar. 17. "That's something that would never even occur to me. There was a communication problem on our end. I was misinformed as to how firm the commitment was to any particular opening act. And, although I have the greatest respect for Aimee as a writer and performer, I thought it might not be the best matchup in terms of musical style," he added. "But I can't pass the buck," the statement continued. "I'll take the blame for the screwup. I apologize for any distress this has caused Aimee and her fans. In the past, Steely Dan has shared the stage with a number of female performers including Rickie Lee Jones and the late Phoebe Snow. Mann has yet to reply to Fagen's statement. - Billboard, 3/17/22...... Heart has long cited Led Zeppelin as one of their strongest influences, and now Heart frontwoman Ann Wilson has revealed she once approached the English heavy metal legends to audition to be part of the band after Robert Plant announced he wouldn't be part of the band any more after the one-off Led Zepp reunion concert in London in 2007. Despite Plant not wanting to take part in a full scale reunion after that show, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones held some sessions where they jammed with potential new vocalists including Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler in 2008. Wilson recently told "Planet Rocks" that she also "threw her hat in the ring" at the time but heard nothing back. "(Led) Zeppelin always was a boy's club," Wilson said. "I know that because there was a minute when the rumour was that they were auditioning singers and I just threw my hat in the ring. I went, 'I'm here!' and it was crickets (silence). But anyway, who would want to hire somebody that could sing just like Plant? I don't think that's what they were into, you know? I don't think they want it to be a caricature of Led Zeppelin," she added. Despite that four years later, she performed "Stairway To Heaven" in front of Plant, Page and Jones and received a standing ovation from them at the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2021, she also shared live covers of Zeppelin's "Going To California" and "Black Dog," which were both filmed at Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in New Hampshire. Wilson will release her new solo album, Fierce Bliss, on Apr. 29. - NME, 3/18/22...... Barbara Morrison, a legendary L.A. jazz and blues singer, passed away of as yet undisclosed causes on Mar. 16. She was 72. Born in a suburb of Detroit in 1949, Morrison moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s at the age of 21 and went on to perform alongside such legendary musicians as Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Etta James, Nancy Wilson and Dr. John. She also released solo albums during her six-decade career, including I Know How to Do It (1996) and Visit Me (1999). In addition to being a staple Southland jazz clubs, Morrison also performed at numerous jazz music festivals around the world, as well as New York's Carnegie Hall. Morrison also opened the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center in Leimert Park in 2009 and also served as an associate professor of jazz studies at UCLA. The university recently launched the Barbara Morrison Scholarship for Jazz. In early March, a GoFundMe was launched for Morrison after she was admitted to the hospital with cardiovascular disease. The page helped raise more than $13,000. She is survived by a brother and two sisters. - Billboard, 3/20/22.

The Rolling Stones announced on Mar. 14 they'll be kicking off their "Sixty Tour," an anniversary celebration of their sixth decade of rocking, in June. The 14-city European tour is slated to kick off at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain on June 1, then visit such cities as Munich (6/5), Liverpool (6/9), Amsterdam (6/13), London (6/25), Vienna (7/15) and Paris (7/19), until they wrap on July 31 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Liverpool show, at the port city's FC, Anfield Stadium, will be the Stone's first time playing in the city in more than 50 years. The swing will also see them performing for two night at London's Hyde Park as part of the massive American Express presents BST Hyde Park festival. And it wouldn't be a Stones tour if Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood didn't unveil a new "Sixty" tongue logo (shared on Twitter) to go along with the outing, created by award-winning British designer Mark Norton. According to the press release, the Concerts West-produced show promises "a massive stage, cutting edge lighting and state of the art video design." The tour will be the band's first shows in their native UK since the death of beloved drummer Charlie Watts last summer, with replacement Steve Jordan filling in. The Euro swing comes on the heels of the Stones' highest-grossing US "No Filter" stadium tour, which featured sales of more than half a million tickets in the fall of 2021. Meanwhile, Keith Richards recently said in an interview on CBS This Morning (shared on YouTube) that the band has no plans to sell their publishing, in contrast to several other veteran acts. "Mick and I have not spoken about it on a serious level. I don't know if we're ready to sell our catalog. We might drag it out a bit, put some more stuff in it. The only thing about selling your catalogue... it's a sign of getting old," he said. - Billboard, 3/14/22...... Def Leppard has announced the English hard rock quintet's 12th studio album -- and first in seven years -- will drop on May 27 ahead of its "Stadium Tour" with openers Mötley Cruë, Poison and Joan Jett. Diamond Star Halos takes its title from the lyrics of T. Rex's "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" while the first single, "Kick," also nods unapologetically to that 1972 boogie anthem, with the rest of the album drawing from the band members' early influences as well. "We were all really influenced by an era that was somewhere between 1971 and 1974, where you were just learning and a sponge for all the stuff you were watching on Top of the Pops," DL co-founder and bassist Rick Savage notes. "And the way we're presenting the songs, it's not just the rock of that era. It's the other people like Elton John and Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd even the Eagles. There's flavors of that flooding all the way through the album," he adds. "[The album] was joyful to do," says frontman Joe Elliott. "At any one time there were possibly four songs getting worked on at once. And everybody was at home, so you didn't have to work on it constantly or be sitting around waiting to do your bit if we were all in the studio together or something. You could get on with doing other stuff," he adds. Diamond Star Halos and the tour -- along with the band's appearance in the new Netflix film The Bank of Dave later in 2022 -- also coincides with the 45th anniversary of Def Leppard's formation in Sheffield, England, as well as the 35th anniversary of the Hysteria album. But Elliott says the band has "made a pact we're not going to indulge in anything Hysteria until it gets to 40... I don't think we expected to get as far as 1983." Elliott is confident Def Leppard will be around for a while. "Now that we've reached 45," he says, "I don't have any problems thinking, 'Oh, OK, we might as well start planning for 50. And then 55. And then 60.' Who knows! The world is our oyster, isn't it?" The band's 36-date tour kicks off June 16 in Atlanta and wraps up Sept. 9 in Las Vegas. - Billboard, 3/17/22...... Although Dionne Warwick was among the nominations list for the Class of 22 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the pop songstress says she "doesn't give a damn" about being inducted and has called on the Cleveland-based hall and museum to change its ceremony to "The Music Hall of Fame." Asked during an appearance on the Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen podcast if she cares about being inducted this year after she made the nominations list, she replied: "No, I don't! I'm not a rock and roller. I've been interviewed on this subject many times. The Rock Roll Hall of Fame as I grew to know it many, many years ago was specifically for rock and roll acts." Warwick's interview came shortly after country superstar Dolly Parton recalled her nomination, opting out of the race to be inducted because she doesn't feel she's "earned that right," but hopes to make a rock 'n' roll album in the future. Posting on Instagram on Mar. 14, Dolly said, "Even though I am extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I don't feel that I have earned that right. I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out. I do hope that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will understand and be willing to consider me again - if I'm ever worthy. This has, however, inspired me to put out a hopefully great rock 'n' roll album at some point in the future, which I have always wanted to do!" To that end, veteran rock producer Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Pixies, PJ Harvey, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant) reached out to Parton on Twitter, offering to produce the "great rock 'n' roll" album she said she wants to make. "Dolly Parton do you like analog recording," Albini posted. Meanwhile Parton, who recently released her first novel Run, Rose, Run co-written with best-selling author James Patterson, has told the BBC she could consider selling her back catalog of songs as some of her peers like Neil Diamond, Sting, Bob Dylan, ZZ Top, Tina Turner and Stevie Nicks have done in recent months and years. "I would not be above doing that," the 76-year-old singer says. "All I would do then is to take that money and do whatever for my family or other businesses. Then I would start a whole new publishing company, start over in a few years, sell that too if I wanted to. Never say never, as they say." - Music-News.com/Billboard, 3/16/22...... The estate of Prince has spent months quietly fighting a trademark infringement battle against an Ohio winery that sells a brand of "Purple Rain" wine. Now, the winemaker has trotted out a bold new argument: That the famously teetotaling rock star would never have endorsed a bottle of alcohol. Based just outside Youngstown, Oh., L'uva Bella Winery has sold wines under the label "Purple Rain" since 2016. In 2019, the company successfully registered the name as a federal trademark at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. According to its website, "a Purple Rain rosé is coming soon." But in 2021, the Prince estate filed a legal action seeking to invalidate that trademark registration, arguing that L'uva Bella's use of the name was misleading. The estate said that when consumers see the name "Purple Rain -- the title of his beloved 1984 rock musical and his sixth studio album -- they would instantly (but incorrectly) think that Prince had been involved in the wine." Five months later, the estate moved for a final victory in January. It demanded an immediate ruling cancelling the winemaker's trademark, arguing that the two words point "uniquely and unmistakably to Prince" and according to a survey it commissioned, "65% of consumers identify the phrase with Prince." In February, L'uva Bella fired back, accusing the estate of trying to ram the case to conclusion without allowing for proper exchange of evidence, and demanded that it be allowed take depositions and collect other information before the case moves forward. L'uva Bella says in a filing that Prince "regularly eschewed the use of alcohol and forbade his band members from drinking while on tour. His disdain for alcohol and drugs was publicly very well known -- so much indeed that anyone having a rudimentary knowledge of Prince knows that fact." In their latest filing, the winery maintains that Prince "was a teetotaler who despised alcohol... The fans of Prince, knowledgeable about his beliefs and views, would never associate an alcohol containing product with the artist." A ruling will be issued in the months ahead. In other Prince-related news, an unreleased album under the late funk-rocker's short-lived feminine alter-ego Camille is set to be released by former White Stripes frontman Jack White's Third Man Records. The self-titled album was scrapped after test pressings of the finished album were produced, but now Third Man co-founder Ben Blackwell says his label is "finally going to put it out," and that Third Man has also got the green light from Prince's estate. "Prince's people agreed - almost too easy," Blackwell says. Although all of the songs on the 8-track Camille have been released in some capacity, they never have in the same package and have often been tough to find online. - Billboard, 3/16/22...... On Mar. 15 ZZ Top announced the release of a new live album as well as a summer North American tour -- its first since the 2021 death of co-founding bassist Dusty Hill. Raw, set to be released on July 22 via Shelter Records/BMG, is an 11-track LP recorded for the trio's 2019 Netflix documentary, That Little Ol' Band From Texas (which can be previewed on YouTube). The Sam Dunn-directed film sees ZZ Top's original line-up -- Hill, guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard -- perform an intimate career-spanning set at the historic Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Tex. "It was, in a very real way, a return to our roots," Gibbons and Beard reveal in the album's liner notes. "Just us and the music, no audience of thousands, no concession stands, no parking lot social hour, no phalanx of tour busses. Just us and the music. We knew right then it was a very special circumstance, all of us in the same place at the same time and what a time it most certainly was!" Gibbons and Beard also add: "'The Dust' may have left the building but he's still very much with us." The band also announced that they'll embark on a North American tour this summer dubbed "The Raw Whisky Tour," a 25-city trek of mostly middle-sized markets including opener Niagra Falls, Ont. (5/6), Tuscon, Ariz. (6/17), Spokane, Wash. (6/9), Colorado Springs, Co. (6/19), Oklahoma City, Ok. (6/25), Little Rock, Ark. (6/26), Toledo, Oh. (7/1), Boston (7/22) and Watertown, N.Y. (7/23) before taking several weeks off until a final gig in Beaver Dam, Ky. on Aug. 27. The complete itinerary can be seen on Instagram. - New Musical Express, 3/15/22...... Singer/songwriter Aimee Mann is claiming she's been dropped as a support act for Steely Dan's upcoming 2022 tour, sharing the news via a hand-drawn comic strip that she posted to her official Instagram page on Mar. 17, and subsequently to her Twitter feed. The sketch depicts the former Til Tuesday member performing onstage. "I was supposed to open for Steely Dan this summer," she captioned the first scene. "I just found out that they took me off the bill." Mann continued: "No-one is entirely sure why, but it seems they thought their audience wouldn't like a female singer-songwriter? As it happens, Steely Dan is the one band that I 100% love, with no reservations, so it really sucks. But you know what? People are allowed to not like you, for whatever reason." She concluded the strip, with a final thought bubble reading "Good luck to all bands" emerging from Mann's head. Later, Mann's record label SuperEgo tweeted to remind fans that the musician would be embarking on her own headline tour this spring in support of her 2021 studio album, Queens Of The Summer Hotel. Steely Dan is set to hit the road on May 20 with openers Snarky Puppy, who Mann was scheduled to join at the gigs. Both support acts were announced in February after Steve Winwood cancelled. - NME, 3/17/22...... Interviewed on the latest version of the BBC Radio 4's podcast Desert Island Discs, Robert Plant opened up about his former band Led Zeppelin's reputation for "unbridled rock'n'roll hedonism." "The whole deal was sometimes very tough to be a part of. I think the intensity of what we were experiencing and the lack of structure was very difficult. We were flexing one way or the other and I found a lot of it quite tough," Plant said. "I can't get my head around it now, I'm so far away from [it]. You can read bits and pieces media-wise but it was so far removed from what it was. The best thing to do was imagine that a lot of it was an incredible exaggeration and most importantly we were able to go home and get new perspective and grow up," he added. - NME, 3/15/22...... Hall & Oates frontman Daryl Hall has confirmed a long-standing rumor that he was once asked to replace David Lee Roth in Van Halen after original vocalist Roth left the band. Hall was interviewed on New York radio station Q104.3 to promote an upcoming solo tour with Todd Rundgren and a new solo archival album entitled BeforeAfter when he was asked by Q104.3 DJ Jim Kerr if the rumor was true. Hall laughed at the question, before clarifying the situation between himself and Van Halen. "I knew those guys really well," he said. "We actually shared some... crew and things like that. David [Lee Roth] had just left the band, and Eddie [Van Halen] asked me, 'Do you wanna join Van Halen, man?'" "He was half-joking, but I think he was serious. I really do believe he was serious, and I took it seriously. I said, 'Man, I think not. I think I've got my own shit going on.'" The full interview can be heard on YouTube. Roth famously and acrimoniously left VH following their sixth album 1984 to pursue a solo career. He would not return until 2007, when he would reunite with the band and record one final album (2012's A Different Kind of Truth) prior to Eddie's passing in 2020. The role that was offered to Hall ultimately went to Sammy Hagar, who fronted the band for four albums and 11 years prior to quitting in 1996. Hagar went on to form the supergroup Chickenfoot, with former VH bassist Michael Anthony, in 2008. Meanwhile, Eddie's ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli is speaking out on the long-held belief among some fans that she broke up the original iteration of Van Halen. During a recent stop on the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast, Bertinelli, 61, opened up on what life was like in the early days of the band after she married late guitar great Eddie Van Halen. The celebrity chef spoke about how there was "cocaine everywhere" after the pair married in 1981. But the Hot in Cleveland star also addressed how Van Halen fans blamed her after Sammy Hagar replaced original frontman David Lee Roth when he bolted from the band to pursue a solo career in 1985. "Well, I have been accused of that, even though Yoko (Ono) didn't break up the Beatles, and I certainly didn't break up Van Halen," Bertinelli told Lowe. But she did reveal that she didn't get along with Roth and admitted that to this day she doesn't know what led to their strained relationship. "I got along great with Al (Van Halen) and with Mike (Anthony). It was someone else... I don't know why didn't like me, but what are you going to do?" she said. "I was always nice to him. I honestly don't know." Bertinelli told Lowe that she hopes to someday get closure with Roth, who returned to Van Halen in 2007. "One day I'd like to sit down with him and go, 'Dude, what did I do? Honestly, I've always been a fan of yours. I think you're a brilliant frontman, I think you're a brilliant songwriter, I love your lyrics. Why don't you like me? What did I do?'" - NME/Canoe.com, 3/15/22...... Pop sensation Adele drew criticism from some of her most loyal fans earlier in the year when she postponed her "Weekends with Adele" Las Vegas residency at the last moment, blaming "production issues." Now Don McLean has joined the fray, accusing the "Rolling In the Deep" hitmaker of having no consideration for her fans, who forked out on tickets and booked flights and hotels to attend one of her shows only to be told by Adele in a video one day before the run was due to kick off at Caesar's Palace's Colosseum in January that the shows would be delayed. "They are all very rich and very spoiled and they don't really care about the audience. They think the audience should kiss their ass and that is the opposite to how I feel," McLean said on the Greatest Music of All Time podcast on Mar. 16. "I feel honoured to play for people. I know they are spending money and taking time out of their lives. But I come from a different time. Guys like The Beach Boys worked really hard and so does Paul McCartney," the 76-year-old "American Pie" singer added. Adele recently promised fans the delayed shows will take place before the end of 2022, and admitted it needs to happen this year because she has "plans" for next year -- possibly a new baby with her fiancée Rich Paul. - Music-News.com, 3/16/22...... A benefit show held in support of war-torn Ukraine took place in New York on Mar. 10, with Patti Smith, Gogol Bordello, The Hold Steady's Craig Finn, Suzanne Vega and more in attendance. Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz, who was born in Ukraine, co-hosted the benefit at NYC's City Winery, to raise funds for financial and humanitarian relief in the country. In total, $130,000 was raised, with proceeds going to Come Back Alive, a foundation that provides support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Care.org. Among the funds raised, there was a $50,000 donation by Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon to Doctors Without Borders. Yoko and Sean were invited but couldn't attend on the night. Videos from the benefit can be seen on Smith's Instagram account. - NME, 3/14/22...... Diana Ross has been confirmed as a headliner at the upcoming Live at Longleat series in Wiltshire, England on July 1. The show at the wildlife park is part of the Motown legend's "Thank U Tour" dates in the UK in support of her 2021 album Thank You -- which featured the former Supremes star's first original material since 1999's Every Day Is a New Day. Sir Tom Jones, Simply Red, Michael Ball and Alfie Boe and Tears For Fears were previously confirmed for Longleat. Sir Tom will play the series on June 23, followed by Simply Red on June 24, Ball and Boe on June 28, and Tears For Fears on July 2. It was recently reported that Glastonbury festival organizers are planning to expand the Pyramid Stage this year just for Ross due to the expected popularity. - Music-News.com, 3/15/22...... Oscar-winning actor William Hurt, who became a top leading man in the 1980s in such films as Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Big Chill and Body Heat, died on Mar. 13 of natural causes. He was 71. "It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes," his son Will said in a statement. Hurt was nominated for four Oscars over the course of his long career, scoring two best actor nominations for Broadcast News and Children of a Lesser God and a supporting actor nod for less than 10 minutes of screen time in A History of Violence. He was one of the most heralded performers of the 1980s, becoming something of a cerebral sex symbol and a reluctant, albeit bankable, movie star. Hurt later transitioned into character roles in the 1990s and successfully alternated between big screen projects and television, scoring Emmy nominations for his work as a whistleblower in Damages and his portrayal of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in Too Big to Fail. More recently, he became well known to a younger generation of movie lovers with his portrayal of the no-nonsense General Thaddeus Ross in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. He later reprised the role in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Black Widow. He also appeared in the TV mini-series version of Dune, in Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence and in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. Hurt was married to the actress Mary Beth Hurt from 1971 to 1982 and was married to Heidi Henderson from 1989 to 1991. - Variety, 3/13/22...... Actress Laurel Goodwin, who made her movie debut at age 19 opposite Elvis Presley in the 1962 feature Girls! Girls! Girls! and four years later played a crew member in the original, failed Star Trek pilot starring Jeffery Hunter, died Feb. 25. She was 79. Born in Wichita, Kan., and relocating to California with her family during World War II, Goodwin studied drama at San Francisco State University and was soon signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures. She debuted in Girls! Girls! Girls! as one of two potential love interests for Presley's character (the other was portrayed by Stella Stevens). The following year, Goodwin played a daughter of Jackie Gleason's railroad executive in the comedy Papa's Delicate Condition. Over the next decade, she would appear in numerous TV series, including The Virginian, Get Smart!, The Beverly Hillbillies, Mannix and The Dain Curse. She played Yeoman J.M. Colt in "The Cage," the unaired 1965 pilot for Star Trek that starred Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike. The pilot was rejected by NBC, though some scenes were recycled for a 1966 two-part episode ("The Menagerie") after William Shatner had replaced Hunter as the Enterprise captain. ("The Cage" subsequently was released in various home entertainment formats.) Goodwin, along with her husband, producer Walter Wood, produced the 1983 Burt Reynolds-Loni Anderson NASCAR comedy Stroker Ace. She is survived by her sister, Maureen Scott, who announced the death. A cause was not disclosed. - Deadline.com, 3/7/22.