Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on May 11th, 2022

Elvis Costello, Patti Smith and Mavis Staples were among the artists christening the new Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla., on May 5-7. Staples presented an invite-only performance on May 5, while Costello and Smith played public concerts on May 6 and 7, respectively. Two of the most memorable exhibits at the 29,000-square-foot museum and archives are multimedia installations dedicated to Dylan's songs "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Jokerman." At the first, visitors can see the notebooks with Dylan's original lyrics, as well as how he has changed lines of the 1975 song as he's performed it over the years. The second lets viewers trace key lyrics through 10 drafts of the 1984 "Jokerman," plus see a video of the musician playing a furious version with a punk band that year on Late Night with David Letterman. Together, they offer a view of Dylan as both a meticulous pen-and-paper songwriter and an improvising performer who keeps finding new meaning in his compositions onstage. In the entryway of the Dylan Center is an iron gate made by the artist himself, who is said to be otherwise uninvolved in the project and didn't attend a preview weekend. "We always wanted this to be very interactive," says Steven Jenkins, the Dylan Center's director. "We don't want this to be a dusty archive, but to bring it to life." Meanwhile, Bob Dylan's share of the rights from his superstar 1980s group The Traveling Wilburys has been purchased by the talent management company Primary Wave, the company announced on May 11. Under the deal, Primary Wave now owns Dylan's share of the master and neighboring rights royalties from the group's two studio albums and 2007 box set. Comprised of Dylan and fellow superstars George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, the group was founded when they gathered to record a B-side single with Harrison in 1988. They went on to record two full-length LPs: the three-times platinum Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 and the platinum-selling Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3. The group earned an Album of the Year nomination at the 1990 Grammys for Vol. 1, won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for the same album and received vast critical acclaim, but by the late '90s, their records faded out of print, creating a scarcity that continued until the release of their 2007 box set The Traveling Wilburys Collection. The release created a massive Wilburys resurgence, with the set reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and being certified gold by the RIAA. This is Primary Wave's first investment in the catalog of Dylan, whose entire song catalog sold to Universal Music Publishing Group in Dec. 2020 for a price estimated at between $375-400 million. - Billboard, 5/9/22...... As LGBTQ+ Pride Month approaches in June, Elton John is ready to celebrate the season with a headlining performance at the "Can't Cancel Pride 2022: Proud AND Together" fundraising concert at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles and remotely from around the US. Sir Elton, Sam Smith, Katy Perry, Lizzo, Anitta, Dove Cameron, Betty Who, Kim Petras and others are set to appear at the June 14 event, which will be hosted by social media star JoJo Siwa. Along with performing at the fundraiser, John will also be receiving the first-ever Impact Award from P&G and iHeartRadio, honoring the pop/rock legend's continued humanitarian work through the Elton John AIDS Foundation. "Can't Cancel Pride 2022" will stream live on iHeartRadio's TikTok, YouTube, Facebook pages, iHeartRadio's PrideRadio.com and Revry on June 14 at 8 p.m. ET. The one-hour event will later be available on-demand until June 30. Proceeds from the event are set to go to organizations with "a track record of positive impact and support for LGBTQ people, including groups such as GLAAD, SAGE, The Trevor Project, the National Black Justice Coalition, CenterLink, and OutRight Action International. - Billboard, 5/11/22...... A new David Bowie tribute show called "Bowie: Oddity To Mars" will be held soon in the UK's largest planetarium at the National Space Centre, with four shows slated to go down later in May. The show will feature a live performance from the five-piece tribute band David Live -- named for Bowie's 1974 live album -- alongside projections of footage provided by NASA, and an additional visual element developed by the Space Centre's own in-house team. The show itself will celebrate the same stretch of Bowie's career that the Apollo program ran for, beginning with his 1969 self-titled LP and ending with The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022. The show will take place in the Space Centre's Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium -- the largest of its ilk in the UK -- on May 20 and 21. Two shows will be held on each evening, with tickets on sale now from the Space Centre's website. - New Musical Express, 5/10/22...... Diana Ross leads a roster of artists appearing on the soundtrack of the new Jack Antonoff-produced movie Minions: The Rise of Gru. Ross, Tame Impala, St. Vincent, H.E.R., Bleachers, Phoebe Bridgers and others cover such '70s artists as Lipps, Inc., The Carpenters, John Lennon, Sly and the Family Stone and Simon & Garfunkel in the latest installment of the Minions film franchise. A poster of the all the artists and songs involved can be viewed on Instagram, and The Minions: The Rise of Gru soundtrack will be released on July 1, the same date of the movie's theater-only release. - Billboard, 5/10/22...... '70s artists Hall & Oates and John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival will be among the headliners of the inaugural edition of the All In Music & Arts Festival on Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-4) in Indianapolis, Indiana. Also featuring Cage the Elephant and Portugal, the event will take place at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on what producers promised will be an "intimate capacity footprint" for a show that will also feature sets from The Four Tops, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs and Trampled by Turtles. In addition to premium local food and beverages, a beer garden with local craft brews and signature cocktails, organizers boast that the State Fairgrounds will feature easy access and parking and ample, clean permanent restroom facilities for all attendees. The festival will also offer a limited number of camping spots with water, power and sewer available at the permanent camping facilities on the State Fairgrounds available on a first-come, first-serve basis. - Billboard, 5/10/22...... A new documentary on Australian TV about late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott has been released and can be streamed on YouTube. The latest episode of the ABC documentary series Australian Story sees Scott's family and friends "provide fresh insights into his vulnerabilities and state of mind" before his tragic death aged 33 in 1980. The episode features the first ever interview with Scott's younger brother Derek Scott, along with insights from Jimmy Barnes, John Brewster of The Angels and Johnny Young of Young Talent Time. Brian Johnson, Scott's successor as lead singer of AC/DC, also provides an introduction to the 37-minute documentary. "Tonight's programme is about one of rock music's most iconic figures, my predecessor in the band, the late great Bon Scott," Johnson said. "There's a lot been written about the colourful life and the tragic death of Bon, and tonight we're going to hear from Bon's family for the first time in 40 years and others who haven't spoken publicly in decades." In 2021, on what would have been Scott's 75th birthday, his family launched a website featuring stories and tributes from renowned rock stars.- NME, 5/9/22...... The Taco Bell fast food franchise has announced it will be bringing back a long-lost item to its menu -- Mexican Pizza -- and to promote it is sponsoring an entire musical about it with none other than country music queen Dolly Parton. Taco Bell shared the news on its official Instagram feed on May 9, posting a photo of the mock playbill with the caption, "The ultimate encore. #MexicanPizzaTheMusical premiering live on TikTok 5/2". At the same time, Parton confirmed her involvement by showing off the top-secret script for the TikTok musical in her own post. "I'm making #MexicanPizzaTheMusical with @TacoBell #tacobellpartner," she wrote, adding, "Based on the true story of the internet losing its mind on its front cover." "Mexican Pizza: The Musical" premieres on TikTok on May 26. Meanwhile, in March it was announced Parton is also set to star in and produce a big screen adaptation of Run, Rose, Run, the 2022 novel she co-wrote with James Patterson. - Billboard, 5/9/22...... Speaking of musicals, the Michael Jackson jukebox musical "MJ" has received 10 Tony nominations as the 2022 Tony nods were announced on May 9. Among the nominations "MJ" has received are for Best Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Myles Frost), Best Direction of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Choreography, Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Best Costume Design of a Musical, Best Lighting Design of a Musical and Best Sound Design of a Musical. "Girl from the North Country," which features a score of classic Bob Dylan songs, was also nominated in the Best Musical category, along with Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical (Jeannette Bayardelle), Best Direction of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Orchestrations and Best Sound Design of a Musical. The 75th Annual Tony Awards, hosted by recent Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, will broadcast live coast to coast from Radio City Music Hall in New York on June 12, from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. ET/5:00 to 8:00 p.m., PT on CBS, and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+. - Billboard, 5/9/22...... In a new interview with People magazine, The Who's Pete Townshend reflects on the 1978 death of original Who drummer Keith Moon, saying he "tried everything" to keep him alive until Moon eventually overdosed on Heminevrin, a drug used to treat and prevent symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. He was 32 years old. "I tried everything," Townshend said. "I tried giving him money, I tried starving him of money. I tried sending him into rehab. I tried sending him to a guru weirdo, voodoo doctors." He continued: "I was obsessed with trying to keep Keith alive. It was quite clear that he was on a downward slide, and there was very little I could do. He was a very complicated character." Earlier in 2022, it was reported that the long-awaited biopic about Moon is set to begin shooting this summer. The new film project, which is provisionally called The Real Me after the Quadrophenia song, will be executive produced by Townshend and Who frontman Roger Daltrey. - NME, 5/6/22...... In related news, Queen guitarist Brian May has said he found it "weird and traumatizing" after hearing the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury's vocals after Mercury's death from AIDS in Nov. 1991 at age 45. Speaking to Elis James and John Robins on BBC Radio 5 Live's How Do You Cope podcast, he shared: "It was very weird. It was traumatising in itself. I spent hours and days and weeks working on little bits of Freddie's vocals. Listening to Freddie the whole day and the whole night. I'd have moments thinking, 'This is great... this sounds great Fre... Oh, you're not here.'" May, 74, also said he had to step away from the band's 1995 Made in Heaven project every so often to "recover" from the grief he was hit with. He continued: "It was quite difficult. You'd have to go away from it sometimes and recover and come back. But I felt this immense pride and joy in squeezing the last drops out of what Freddie left us." Despite the emotional ordeal of finishing the record, Brian says it's actually his favourite of their 15 studio albums. He said: "I still love that album. I think it's my favourite Queen album." May also revealed that, unlike many Queen fans, he tends to hide away on the anniversary of Mercury's death: "People do a lot of, sort of celebrating on the day of Freddie's death, but I don't want to and I don't feel I can. I'll celebrate his birthday, or the day we first got together, but the day of losing him will never be something I can put straight in my head. There was just nothing good about it." - Music-News.com, 5/11/22...... As the classic 1972 Rolling Stones LP Exile on Main St. turns 50 years old on May 12, several musicians have weighed in on the importance of the album that has been hailed as "the Rolling Stones' sprawling masterpiece." "It was obviously produced by people who took a lot of illegal substances," says Martin Fry of the British pop band ABC. He added: "It's my favourite Stones album, such a bizarre and funky record with so much diversity, from 'Tumbling Dice' to the almost gospel of 'I Just Want to See His Face'. There's a carefree magic unburdened by their status as world's biggest rock band. It's not particularly commercial, but it's elegant and beautiful. Mick Jagger's lyrics are fantastic." Grammy-nominated singer Valerie June added in the piece published in the UK paper The Guardian that she feels Exile is still relevant in the context of today's drug abuse in America. She said: "As someone raised in the African American south, the gospel and blues influences are so rich for me. I love the slow build of 'Shine a Light' and the bass. The song's about Brian Jones but also about drug addiction. To me, 50 years later, it speaks to today's opioid crisis in America and shines a light for them." Jones died aged 27 in 1969 when he drowned in a swimming pool after years of drug abuse. - Music-News.com, 5/10/22...... Former Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert has released a new book, Back to the Prairie: A Home Remade, A Life Rediscovered, in which she opens up about her decision to trade the Hollywood spotlight for a tranquil life with her husband of nine years, actor Timothy Busfield, at their rustic cottage in New York's Catskill Mountains. "I was always trying too hard to fit the mold that someone else wanted," says Gilbert, now nearly 50 years after her first days as "Half Pint" to Michael Landon's TV "Pa." "I'm finally happy in my own skin. I'm so grateful and relieved and so much happier." - People, 5/16/22...... Dennis Waterman, a stage and screen actor best known for The Sweeney and Minder, and for the song "I Could Be So Good For You," died on May 7 in a hospital in Spain of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 74. Born in 1948 in London, Waterman began his screen career as a child in 1960 in the drama Night Train for Inverness. In 1962 at the age of 14, he took the role of William Brown in the BBC TV series William, which was based on the Just William books by Richmal Crompton. In 1974, he began playing the character of Deputy Sergeant George Carter in Ian Kennedy Martin's action crime series The Sweeney. He later took the role of former boxer and bodyguard Terry McCann in Leon Griffiths' Minder, and, also sung its theme song "I Could Be So Good For You," which reached No. 3 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart in 1980. Three years later, he teamed up with the late George Cole for "What Are We Gonna Get 'Er Indoors," a novelty song based on their characters in Minder. The single peaked at No. 21 in the U.K. Subsequent screen credits include BBC1 comedy series On the Up and Stay Lucky and The Knock for ITV. More recently, he starred as Gerry Standing in the police procedural New Tricks. Waterman released three albums during his career, including Downwind of Angels in 1976 and So Good For You in 1980. The actor is survived by his wife Pam and children Hannah, who is an actress; and Julia Waterman. - The Hollywood Reporter, 5/9/22...... The 1998-2006 Fox sitcom That '70s Show is getting a spinoff in the form of That '90s Show. Most of That '70s Show's actors, including Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Topher Grace, Laura Prepon and Wilmer Valderrama, will be putting in an appearance in the new Netflix series which takes place in 1995 and focuses on the daughter of Eric (Grace) and Donna (Prepon). The new series is executive-produced by The '70s Show's Red and Kitty (Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp), who will also star That '90s Show. - People, 5/16/22...... Debuting on the Paramount+ streaming channel on Apr. 28, The Offer is a behind-the-scenes saga of how the iconic 1972 movie The Godfather was made. The 10-part series takes a fairly nuts-and-bolts, men-in-suits approach to how the pulpy bestseller by Mario Puzo was transformed into a true epic by director Francis Ford Coppola. It's told mostly from the perspective of producer Albert S. Ruddy (played with swaggering confidence by Miles Teller), who would win the Oscar for Godfather but at that point was best known as the co-creator of Hogan's Heroes. - TV Guide, 5/9/22...... Country star Mickey Gilley, whose namesake Texas honky-tonk inspired the 1980 film Urban Cowboy and a nationwide wave of Western-themed nightspots, died on May 7 in Branson, Mo., after a recent bout of failing health. He was 86. He passed peacefully with his family and close friends by his side," according to a statement from Mickey Gilley Associates. Mr. Gilley -- cousin of rock 'n' roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis -- opened Gilley's, "the world's largest honky tonk," in Pasadena, Tex., in the early 1970s. By mid-decade, he was a successful club owner and had enjoyed his first commercial success with "Room Full of Roses." He began turning out country hits regularly, including "Window Up Above," "She's Pulling Me Back Again" and the honky-tonk anthem "Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time." Overall, he had 39 Top 10 country hits and 17 No. 1 songs. He received six Academy of Country Music Awards, and also worked on occasion as an actor, with appearances on Murder She Wrote, The Fall Guy, Fantasy Island and The Dukes of Hazzard. A Natchez, Miss., native, Mr. Gilley grew up poor, learning boogie-woogie piano in Ferriday, La., alongside Lewis and fellow cousin Jimmy Swaggart, the future evangelist. Like Lewis, he would sneak into the windows of Louisiana clubs to listen to rhythm and blues. He moved to Houston to work construction but played the local club scene at night and recorded and toured for years before catching on in the '70s. "I thank John Travolta every night before bed for keeping my career alive," Mr. Gilley told the AP in 2002. "It's impossible to tell you how grateful I am for my involvement with Urban Cowboy. That film had a huge impact on my career, and still does." The soundtrack included such hits as Johnny Lee's "Lookin' for Love," Boz Scaggs' "Look What You've Done for Me" and Mr. Gilley's version of "Stand by Me." The movie turned the Pasadena club into an overnight tourist draw and popularized pearl snap shirts, longneck beers, the steel guitar and mechanical bulls across the country. But the club shut down in 1989 after Mr. Gilley and his business partner Sherwood Cryer feuded over how to run the place. A fire destroyed it soon after. An upscale version of the old Gilley's nightclub opened in Dallas in 2003. In recent years, Mr. Gilley moved to Branson and had suffered health problems. He underwent brain surgery in Aug. 2008 after specialists diagnosed hydrocephalus, a condition characterized by an increase in fluid in the cranium. Mr. Gilley had been suffering from short-term memory loss, and credited the surgery with halting the onset of dementia. He underwent more surgery in 2009 after he fell off a step, forcing him to cancel scheduled performances in Branson. In 2018, he sustained a fractured ankle and fractured right shoulder in an automobile accident. "If I had one wish in life, I would wish for more time," Mr. Gilley told the AP in 2001 as he celebrated his 65th birthday. Not that he'd do anything differently. "I am doing exactly what I want to do. I play golf, fly my airplane and perform at my theater in Branson, Missouri. I love doing my show for the people," he said. Mr. Gilley was married three times, most recently to Cindy Loeb Gilley. He had four children, three with his first wife, Geraldine Garrett, and one with his second, Vivian McDonald. - The Associated Press, 5/7/22.

To celebrate the May 13 release of their live double CD set Live at the El Mocambo, the Rolling Stones have shared two more previously unheard songs off the album on YouTube. "Tumbling Dice" and "Hot Stuff" feature on the live album recorded in Mar. 1977 during the band's secret concerts at the 300-capacity Toronto club El Mocambo. The 23-track album will also be available on 4xLP Black Vinyl, 4xLP Neon Vinyl and digitally. The Stones are also celebrating their 60th anniversary in their native UK in 2022 with a special BBC docuseries and radio programme featuring exclusive interviews with the band members. The four-part series My Life As A Rolling Stone will air on on BBC Two and iPlayer this summer, with each one-hour episode dedicated to the legendary rock band's four members: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and the late Charlie Watts. Also featuring across the episodes will be the likes of Rod Stewart, Steven Tyler, Tina Turner and Chrissie Hynde. - New Musical Express, 5/6/22...... On May 4 the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced which of this this year's nominees will be inducted into their Class of 2022. Rock hitmakers Pat Benatar and her collaborator husband Neil Giraldo, new wave chart-toppers Duran Duran, hip-hop heavyweight Eminem, synth-pop duo Eurythmics, country legend Dolly Parton, R&B hitmaker Lionel Richie and pop singer-songwriter Carly Simon will be inducted at the 2022 ceremony set for Nov. 5 in Los Angeles. Additionally, heavy metal fixtures Judas Priest and songwriting/production powerhouse duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are also joining the Rock Hall with the "award for musical excellence" (which was originally titled the "sidemen" category when it debuted). Judas Priest is the second band to receive the award for musical excellence; the E Street Band was the first. Under the "early influence award" category, the "King of Calypso" Harry Belafonte and folk and blues legend Elizabeth Cotten are joining the RRHOF. Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine and Sylvia Robinson are the recipients of this year's Ahmet Ertegun Award. Parton's induction comes after she turned down her nomination for induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March. "Even though I'm 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," the country/pop superstar said on social media during the voting period. "I really do not want votes split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out." She later shared in an interview with NPR that she would "accept gracefully." Now that she's officially in, Dolly is doing just what she said she would. "I am honored and humbled by the fact that I have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Of course I will accept gracefully," she said in a statement shared to her social media accounts. "Thanks to everyone that voted for me and to everyone at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I will continue to work hard and try to live up to the honor. Love, Dolly." Artists are eligible for RRHOF nomination 25 years after their first commercial recording came out. Of the 2022 class, Eminem, Duran Duran, Richie, Simon and Parton see induction after appearing on the ballot just once. This is also Eminem's first year of eligibility; 2022 marked the second nomination for Eurythmics and Benatar. The 37th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place on Nov. 5 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, with a radio simulcast on SiriusXM's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame radio channel. The event will also air a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max. - Billboard, 5/4/22...... A federal appeals court ruled on May 4 that the heirs of songwriter Hugo Peretti, who penned the iconic 1961 Elvis Presley song "Can't Help Falling In Love," aren't allowed to win back control of the rights to the song from Authentic Brands Group, a major brand management company that also owns the rights to Elvis's name and likeness. In a complex decision that recounted decades of history, the appeals court ruled that a key 1983 agreement had, crucially, only sold away Peretti's heirs' future right to renew the copyright -- and not the songwriter's actual existing rights to the song. Since the termination right only applies to deals signed by creators themselves, the court said, the provision did not apply to the deal that sold away "Can't Help." "Congress made a deliberate choice not to provide for termination rights in the situation at hand," U.S. Circuit Judge Gerard Lynch wrote for the appeals court. "Perhaps the Peretti family could have negotiated a better deal in 1983. But the statute does not give the Perettis the right to do so now," he added. Presley's chart-topping 1961 recording was later covered by Bob Dylan and many others, including country singer Kacey Musgraves who is set to release a new cover of the track for the upcoming Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis biopic due out in June. - Billboard, 5/5/22...... A museum honoring Bob Dylan will hold its grand opening in Tulsa, Okla., on May 7 with such celebrities as Elvis Costello, Patti Smith and Mavis Staples attending, but not the famous rock bard himself. The Bob Dylan Center will offer an immersive film experience, performance space, a studio where visitors can play producer and "mix" different elements of instrumentation in Dylan's songs. A curated tour is also being offered where people can take a musical journey through the stages of the Nobel laureate's career. The archive has more than 100,000 items, with many accessed only by scholars through an appointment. Museum creators said they wanted to build an experience both for casual visitors who might not know much of Dylan's work and for the truly fanatical. Dylan designed and built a 16-foot high metal sculpture that will be displayed at the entrance to the museum, but otherwise, he had nothing to do with the museum's design. While the center's subject and namesake has an open invitation to come anytime, his absence seems perfectly in character, said Steven Jenkins, the center's director. "I don't want to put words in his mouth," Jenkins said. "I can only guess at his reasoning. Maybe he would find it embarrassing." Oddly, Dylan was just in Tulsa three weeks ago for a date on his concert tour, sandwiched in between Oklahoma City and Little Rock. He didn't ask for a look around. Dylan, due to turn 81 on May 24, is still performing onstage in a show devoted primarily to his most recent material, which includes "Murder Most Foul," a nearly 17-minute rumination on the Kennedy assassination and celebrity. The Bob Dylan Center will be open to the public on May 10. - AP, 5/6/22...... In other Dylan-related news, a new music video for the singer/songwriter's classic 1965 track "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was released on May 6 to celebrate his 60 years as a Columbia Records recording artist. The arrival of the "Subterranean Homesick Blues 2022" video on YouTube is accompanied by the launch of a new Dylan60 microsite, which is housing the clip along with an interactive Augmented Reality (AR) lens filter. The new video pays homage to original iconic video for his 1965 track, which formed the opening sequence of director D.A. Pennebaker's Don't Look Back documentary. Inspired by the handwritten cue cards that Dylan reels off in the original clip, a host of famous names and creative figures have now contributed a set of new visuals for this updated remake. The likes of Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Noel Fielding, Jim Jarmusch, John Squire, Bobby Gillespie and Julian House, among others, have all visually reinterpreted or redesigned a cue card for "Subterranean Homesick Blues 2022." Dylan fans can also experience the aforementioned AR lens filter on Instagram and Snapchat, allowing users to try on a virtual pair of Dylan's Ray-Ban sunglasses while a select 10-second loop, "Subterranean Homesick Blues 2022," plays in the lenses. - New Musical Express, 5/6/22...... In a new interview with New Musical Express about her new first-ever acoustic album, Changeup, Joan Jett shrugged off Ted Nugent's potshot at her earlier in 2022 that she should not be included in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Rock Guitarists. "Is that his implication? That he should be on the list instead of me?," Jett asked dryly. "Well, that's just typical -- it's what I've dealt with my whole life, being written off. Ted Nugent has to live with being Ted Nugent. He has to be in that body, so that's punishment enough." Jett, who has never been one to pull punches, then dug up the infamous story about Nugent allegedly dodging the Vietnam War draft by loading up on junk food so he would have a load in his pants in an attempt to fail the physical. "He's not a tough guy. He plays tough guy, but this is the guy who s-t his pants - literally - so he didn't have to go in the Army," Jett said of the infamous story Nugent told High Times magazine in 1977 about his attempt to get a "4-F" designation" to avoid serving his country. Nugent denied the story in a 2018 interview with Spotify's Joe Rogan, in which he claimed he made the whole story up to mess with the magazine. The myth-debunking site Snopes.com dug around and reportedly found out that Ted was, indeed given an "unfit for service" 4-F designation for unspecified reasons after obtaining two student deferments. "So this is the tough guy who's running around America, stirring things up against each other," Jett added about Nugent. - Billboard, 5/4/22...... Reliably liberal outspoken divas Cher and Bette Midler are among the many music artists reacting on social media on May 3 after a majority draft opinion to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court was leaked by Politico.com, indicating an end to women's rights to seek safe, legal abortions in the United States. "REPUBLICANS MAY HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN THEIR WISH AFTER 49 YEARS," Cher tweeted in all caps, later on adding "DEATH DUE 2 BACK ALLY ABORTION." "If they strike down this amendment, what is to stop them from striking down others that conservatives don't agree with?," Bette Midler asked in the first of her two tweets. "#SCOTUS has revealed itself to be just another political tool, as the three new unabashedly biased conservatives plus the old push the court to undermine women's rights. Shameful. They will never recover from this; it's right up there with #DredScott and #PlessyVFerguson," she added in a second tweet. E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt tweeted that "For 40 years I've been telling the progressive intelligencia to stop using the word abortion. Because it's never been the issue. The issue is FUNDAMENTAL WOMEN'S EQUAL RIGHTS! Using the word abortion creates and demands the equal passion of anti-abortion. And now it's too late." Lynda "Wonder Woman" Carter simply offered three words of encouragement: "Never give up." - Billboard, 5/3/22...... Stevie Wonder has received countless awards for both his music and his work in advancing social justice, but the one he is set to get from the Legal Defense Fund on May 10 is especially meaningful. The Motown icon is set to receive the inaugural Icon Award at the 34th National Equal Justice Awards Dinner on May 10 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation's first civil and human rights law organization and was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, who in 1967 became the first Black associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. LDF's signature event is an opportunity to recognize and honor leaders in law, the arts, business, and philanthropy who have demonstrated a commitment to the promotion of racial justice and equality. The evening will also serve as an opportunity to celebrate the civil rights work that has been accomplished by LDF over the past year. This year's theme will be "Truth Is Power," and the evening will feature video messages from former first lady Michelle Obama and civil rights activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. In addition, the Dance Theater of Harlem will present two performances. Meanwhile in other Stevie Wonder-related news, Elton John has closed his music video for his new single "Finish Line" with a vintage clip of a much younger Elton performing for a cheering crowd alongside a much younger Stevie Wonder. More clips of John and Wonder laughing, talking and performing are interspersed in the video, which has been shared on YouTube, between feel-good snippets that look like they were taken straight from your dad's old video camera. "Finish Line" is a standout track from John's 2021 album The Lockdown Sessions, which in addition to Wonder also features contributions from Stevie Nicks, Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, Brandi Carlile and Eddie Vedder, among others. - Billboard, 5/2/22...... In 1977 The Sex Pistols made their definitive statement during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee celebrations with the incendiary single "God Save The Queen." Dropped by their record label A&M in the midst of controversy after just 6 days, the label destroyed 25,000 copies of "God Save The Queen," making the handful of copies remaining, ultra rare collectibles. Now, as the country prepares for another royal Jubilee, the single is back. Just 1,977 copies of the re-released A&M version, in honor of the original 1977 release date, will be available. The Sex Pistols then signed to Virgin and officially released the single, which was banned by the BBC and reached Number 1 on the UK's NME chart, but appeared at N. on the Official UK Singles chart, leading to accusations that the song was purposely kept off the top spot. For the only time in chart history, the track was listed as a blank, to avoid offence to the establishment. Virgin Records will celebrate this with 4,000 copies of their label's re-release made available for sale to fans. Both versions recreate original artwork, with the A&M edition featuring its generic company sleeve and pressed on silver/platinum vinyl. The Virgin single has the absolutely iconic Sex Pistols artwork designed by Jamie Reid. - Music-News.com, 5/3/22...... It has been revealed that Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne and the couple's youngest daughter Kelly Osbourne have tested positive for Covid-19 days after Ozzy was diagnosed with the disease. Sharon appeared virtually on her brand-new U.K. show The Talk on May 2 and told host Jeremy Kyle that the virus has spread throughout her household as she gave an update on Ozzy's health. "He's doing much better thank you. His temperature is now back to normal, his coughing has stopped. He's doing much better," she said. "But I've got some news to share. My daughter Kelly has it, I have it, and the entire household has it now." When Jeremy asked if Ozzy will now look after her, she laughed and replied, "Maybe, we'll see. I feel OK actually." Sharon will remotely appear on The Talk, which airs every weekday night, until she is able to return to London. - Music-News.com, 5/3/22...... Van Morrison has released a new track titled "Dangerous" which appears to reference the Irish musician's ongoing feud with Robin Swann, the Northern Ireland Minister Of Health. In Nov. 2021, Swann filed a defamation lawsuit against Morrison over comments he had made regarding Covid-19 earlier in 2021. During a pre-show dinner event in Belfast in June, Morrison branded Swann "very dangerous" in a response to Swann criticizing him for his anti-lockdown stance in a 2020 op-ed, in which he said Morrison's words "will give great comfort to the conspiracy theorists." On Apr. 29 Morrison released "Dangerous," the third single from his upcoming 43rd studio album What's It Gonna Take?, which is due to arrive on May 20 via Exile Productions/Virgin. The almost 8-minute number includes the lines: "Somebody said I was dangerous/ I said something bad, it must have been good." Later, Morrison tells this listener that he "was just looking for the evidence" and asks for "proof." The single is available for streaming on YouTube. - NME, 5/2/22...... ABBA have previewed their upcoming "ABBA Voyage" shows by sharing a series of amazingly realistic official images of the pop quartet. After sharing a dazzling first trailer for the production late in 2021, the foursome have now revealed four new photos -- one for each "digital" member of the band: Agnetha Flatskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The upcoming "Voyage" gigs will see the so-called "ABBAtars" performing alongside a 10-piece live band at a new purpose-built 3,000-capacity venue called ABBA Arena. "ABBA Voyage" kicks off on May 27 at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. ABBA returned with their first album in 40 years, Voyage, in Nov. 21. The LP went platinum within the first month of its release, while ABBA also received their first-ever Grammy nomination; their single "I Still Have Faith In You" was up for the UK's "Record Of The Year" prize. Additionally, the long-awaited album reached Number One in the UK and became the fastest-selling vinyl of the century. Bjorn Ulvaeus recently told London's Sunday Times that he expected other musicians to be watching the "Voyage" show closely. "Lots of artists are going to be studying us, definitely," he said. "I won't name names, but I can think of a few." - NME, 5/4/22...... Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters joined forces with the contemporary female singing duo Lucius during the latter's gig at New York's Beacon Theatre on May 4 for a performance the Floyd classic "Mother" from The Wall. The duo, made up of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, have previously toured with Waters, who was formerly the bassist/vocalist in Pink Floyd. The Lucius/Waters acoustic performance of "Mother" has been shared on YouTube. - NME, 5/6/22...... A new documentary about Brian Eno is in the works by director Gary Hustwit, who has previously worked on films about Mavis Staples (Mavis!) and Wilco (I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco). Hustwit's official website now features a page for a documentary called Eno, which is described as "the definitive career-spanning, multi-platform documentary about visionary musician and artist Brian Eno." Hustwit says he was given access to hundreds of hours of previously unseen footage and unreleased music from Eno's archive to make the doc, which will be released in multiple versions and "will employ groundbreaking generative technology in its creation and exhibition." The film will, according to the website, "offer a deep dive into subjects that Eno has been notably passionate about, such as sustainability, social equity, and the future of civilisation, while centring above all on the nature of creativity." - NME, 5/2/22...... Ric Parnell, the drummer best known for playing in the heavy metal parody band Spinal Tap, died on Apr. 30. He was 70 years old. While Parnell became well-known for playing Mick Shrimpton, the doomed drummer of the fictional hard-rock act who happens to, well, literally explode onstage during the film, he brought bona fide musicianship to the role as the drummer for prog-rock group Atomic Rooster from 1970 to 1973, followed by stints with Italian bands Tritons and Ibis, short-lived pop-rock group Stars, and Italian/British jazz fusion act Nova. At one point, Journey frontman Steve Perry purportedly offered Parnell a spot in the lineup of his platinum-selling hard rock band, but he turned down the opportunity to focus on working with his own studio band, Zoo Drive. Prior to his big break in the This Is Spinal Tap film, he was also credited on Toni Basil's 1981 debut album Word of Mouth. Though the LP peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart upon its release, Parcell's work behind the drum kit included the famous, cheerleader-ready boom-clap drumbeat of the Hot 100 Singles chart No. 1 hit "Mickey." Parnell played on Spinal Tap's 1984 self-titled debut as well as their 1992 sophomore effort Break Like the Wind. His other credits included 1985's 3 Ships by Jon Anderson of Yes. "Ric Parnell, our drummer in This is Spinal Tap, passed away today. No one ever rocked harder," Spinal Tap member Harry Shearer posted on Twitter. - Billboard, 5/2/22.