Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 14th, 2022

One of the most head turning objects to be featured at the 2022 San Diego Comic Con in July was a giant inflatable caricature of Ozzy Osbourne that measured 25 feet (or 7.62 metres) tall, and was designed by acclaimed comic artist Todd McFarlane. Now the ultra-sized Ozzy is being "toured" around the U.S. to promote the shock-rocker's forthcoming studio album, Patient Number 9. It's already made a few stops on the "tour" -- during which fans will be able to pose with "Ozzy" and its accompanying 'Patient Number 9' ambulance van -- having appeared on Venice, Calif. Boardwalk, the rooftop of Gold Diggers in Los Angeles, along the Las Vegas strip, and the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. The inflatable will continue "touring" until Sept. 9, when Patient Number 9 is set for release. At the end of the run, the inflatable itself will be given away to a fan. It can be viewed in a post by Osbourne on Instagram. Ahead of the LP's release, Ozzy has shared two of its singles: the guest-filled title track, which arrived in June, and "Degradation Rules" in July. - New Musical Express, 8/12/22...... As the Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis Presley biopic Elvis became a summer box office hit and has become the third-highest grossing music biopic since the 1970s, the director of the Emmy-winning 1968 Presley "comeback" TV special has announced he's producing a documentary about the experience. Steve Binder says his Elvis & Steve: The Making of the '68 Comeback Special will delve into the behind-the-scenes drama that seemed to loom over almost every frame of the NBC program that catapulted Presley back into people's homes and hearts. Binder, the head of Rodan Productions, has begun pre-production on the documentary that's due in 2023 and celebrates the 55th anniversary of the show. "I'm truly the only one who can tell the behind-the-scenes story of how it came to be... because I'm the only one who was actually there for all that happened," says Binder, 89. Binder, who has also directed films on such iconic pop/rock musicians as Diana Ross, Olivia Newton-John and Petula Clark, has chronicled much of the '68 Elvis comeback special stories in his 2018 coffee table book Elvis '68 Comeback: The Story Behind the Special. The book was re-issued in 2021 with an introduction by Luhrmann. Binder, who served as a creative consultant on Elvis, is portrayed in Luhrmann's movie by Australian actor Dacre Montgomery, and the scenes about the special are considered some of the film's most riveting. The TV special, which featured the King of Rock & Roll performing in a variety of styles and settings and birthed the acoustic "unplugged" concept, drew a now unimaginable 42% of the viewing audience when it aired on Dec. 3, 1968. - Billboard, 8/12/22...... In other Presley-related news, the 2022 Elvis soundtrack has vaulted back onto Billboard Top Album Sales chart for the week ending Aug. 13, as the set's CD release on July 29 prompts its re-entry at No. 9 -- its first week in the top 10. The multi-artist soundtrack, led by Elvis Presley, spent one previous week on the list, dated July 9 (at No. 35), following its initial release via digital retailers. In the tracking week ending Aug. 4, the soundtrack sold 8,000 copies (up 1,466%), with 7,500 of that sum on CD. (The remaining 500 were digital album purchases.) On the Top Album Sales chart, the soundtrack -- billed as by "Elvis Presley & Various Artists" -- gives Presley his sixth top 10 on the chart since it launched in 1991. Elvis also returns to No. 1 on the Soundtracks chart for a second nonconsecutive week. It opened atop the list dated July 9. - Billboard, 8/9/22...... A state-of-the-art BTR2 (British Tape Recorder 2) recording console in London's Abbey Road Studios used by such legendary bands as The Beatles and Pink Floyd is going up for sale at music and pop culture auction house Gotta Have Rock & Roll. From 1957 until the mid 1970's, countless iconic albums were made on this same recording console including Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, "the White Album," and Abbey Road from just The Beatles alone. Other albums recorded using it include John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Upgraded in 1970 for the best recording quality money could buy, the console was bought in 1980 from the Abbey Road Studios itself during their "Sale of the Century," before it was sold again at Sotheby's in 1988 to the world renowned Hard Rock Café. The current owner bought it from Hard Rock and is the one selling it today. Its auction listing, which can be viewed on www.gottahaverockandroll.com, also includes two images from Abbey Road Studios: one with a pensive John Lennon in front of the BTR2 and another with George Harrison and Ringo Starr celebrating with cake and champagne right in front of the BTR2. Equipment from Abbey Road Studios is very rarely brought up for public sale, and only a few pieces have made it into the hands of collectors. - Music-News.com, 8/11/22...... Lawyers representing Bob Dylan are demanding punishment for the attorneys who filed a 2021 lawsuit on behalf of an unnamed woman who claimed the iconic rock star abused her multiple times at Manhattan's Chelsea Hotel in April and May 1965. The woman said he provided her with drugs and alcohol and "exploited his status as part of a plan to "sexually molest her." But rock historians and Dylan experts quickly cast doubt on the allegations, saying Dylan was likely away from New York City during most of the time in question. Lawyers for Dylan are demanding "real consequences" for attorneys Daniel Isaacs and Peter Gleason over their "systematic discovery violations" while handling the case. "Mr. Isaacs and Mr. Gleason should not have brought this action -- accusing defendant of a heinous crime -- if they did not intend to responsibly litigate it," wrote Dylan's lead attorney Orin Snyder in an Aug. 4 letter to the judge. "It is more than appropriate to hold them accountable." It's unclear how much money Dylan's lawyers are seeking, and one common form of so-called sanctions would be forcing Isaacs and Gleason to repay the money Dylan spent litigating the case -- potentially tens of thousands of dollars when top-flight law firms are hired. On July 8, the federal judge overseeing the case ordered a formal briefing on whether sanctions are necessary. The permanently dropped her case on July 28, a day after Dylan's attorneys accused her of destroying key evidence and "irretrievably compromising the integrity of the case." - Billboard, 8/11/22...... The Grateful Dead's new live set Dave's Picks, Volume 43: San Francisco, 11/2/69 - Dallas, 12/26/69 has debuted at No. 4 on Billboard's Top Album Sales with 28,000 sold -- the largest sales week for the band in over 25 years. Dave's Picks is the GD's continuing live archival release series, named for the group's archivist, David Lemieux, that has been going strong since its first release in 2012. Releases in the series are issued exclusively on CD and in limited quantities. On the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, Dave's Picks, Vol. 43 debuted at No. 11 -- the group's highest debut ever and second-highest charting album overall. The only album from the legendary San Francisco rockers to go higher on the list was 1987's In the Dark, which peaked at No. 6 on the Aug. 22, 1987-dated chart. Dave's Picks, Vol. 43 also marks GD's 53rd top 40-charting album on the Billboard Hot 200. The band continues to have the most top 40 albums among groups since the chart began regularly publishing on a weekly basis in March of 1956, with only albums from solo acts Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Barbra Streisand ranking higher. - Billboard, 8/9/22...... Officials in Australia have announced that state memorial services will be held for two of the country's most recognized female singers who recently passed away -- Olivia Newton-John and The Seekers' vocalist Judith Durham. Australian Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the plans for Newton-John on Aug. 11, just three days after she died at the age of 73 after a decades-long battle with cancer. "I'm so pleased that Olivia Newtown John's family have accepted our offer of a State Memorial Service," Andrews posted on social media. "We're working with Olivia's family on the details, but it will be more of a concert than a funeral fitting for a Victorian who lived such a rich and generous life," he added. Earlier, Andrews confirmed that Newton-John's niece, Tottie Goldsmith, the actor and former singer with pop group The Chantoozies, had accepted his offer of a state service on behalf of the family. "This would be much more of a concert than a funeral... [she] was a very special person and to take her cancer journey and to turn that into more research, better treatment, better care and this focus on wellness, is such an amazing legacy," he told reporters. On Aug. 7, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews posted on Twitter that, after speaking with Judith Durham's family, they accepted the offer of a state funeral to "honor the life and contribution of a true icon of Australian music." Following her passing on Aug. 5 after suffering complications from a long-standing lung condition, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led tributes, describing the 79-year-old as "a national treasure and an Australian icon" and a singer who "gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists." - Billboard, 8/11/22...... On Aug. 10 Michael Jackson's estate and Sony Music announced they have reached a settlement to end a years-long lawsuit that claimed they violated false advertising laws by releasing a posthumous album featuring songs sung by "a Jackson impersonator." After pulling the disputed tracks (from the 2010 album Michael) off streaming platforms in July, the two parties said that both they and the plaintiffs had agreed to formally end the lawsuit. The deal came as the two sides were awaiting a decision by the California Supreme Court, which heard arguments on the case in May. Regardless of how the CSC may rule, the parties to the lawsuit mutually decided to end the litigation, which would have potentially included additional appeals and a lengthy trial court process, Sony and the estate said in a joint statement, adding that removing the songs was "the simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all." Vera Serova, the woman who filed the lawsuit over the Michael tracks, confirmed that the case had been "amicably resolved" but declined to comment further. Neither side provided any details on the terms of the agreement, including whether any money exchanged hands or what would happen to the disputed songs in the future. As soon as Michael was released a year after his death, fans and even some family members questioned whether three of its tracks -- "Monster, "Keep Your Head Up" and "Breaking News" -- were actually sung by the King of Pop himself. The songs were produced and recorded by Jackson's friend Eddie Cascio, who made assurances that it was Jackson behind the microphone. That controversy turned into a lawsuit in 2014 when the estate and Sony were hit with a proposed class action claiming they had violated California state consumer protection laws by labeling the songs as "Michael Jackson tracks" when they had really been performed by someone else. Following the notice of the settlement, it's unclear whether or not the California Supreme Court court will still rule on Serova's case against Sony and the estate. - Billboard, 8/10/22...... The Isley Brothers are taking their 60-plus-year career to the next phase with a more sultry and sensuous revamp of "Make Me Say It Again Girl" with current R&B sensation Beyoncé. Beyoncé intertwines her sexy, silky voice with Ronald Isley's ageless, supple tenor on the new track, which premiered worldwide on Aug. 9 on iHeartRadio. The song follows the 2021 release of The Isley Brothers' "Friends & Family" with Snoop Dogg, and also doubles as the title of the siblings' new album. Hinting only that "there are many more guest features" to come, Ronald and Ernie Isley say the Make Me the album will arrive in September via indie label RI Top Ten. - Billboard, 8/10/22...... Blondie have released a rediscovered home recording of a 1978 song called "Mr Sightseer" and shared it on Spotify.com. "Mr Sightseer," which had previouslly never made it out of the band's bedroom, has now been newly mastered by Michael Graves for Blondie's first ever authorized and in-depth box set archive, Blondie: Against the Odds 1974-1982. "At the time of recording in 1978, the addition of the TEAC TCA-43 four track reel-to-reel to [guitarist] Chris Stein and [singer] Debbie Harry's home allowed the duo to chase every idea to its logistical or inconsequential conclusion," according to a press release. Reflecting on it, Harry joked: "The lyric is not good at all. The song's not too bad. It's just a little simplistic. It didn't ever get really developed or finished." "Mr Sightseer" serves as the B-side to the box set's other recently rediscovered rarity, Blondie's cover of The Doors' "Moonlight Drive." In July, Blondie shared a previously unheard demo version of "Go Through It," formerly known as "I Love You Honey, Give Me A Beer," a song that was released on the band's fifth album Autoamerican (1980). - NME, 8/9/22...... It has been revealed the new Elton John and Britney Spears collaboration "Hold Me Closer" is produced by Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt, who earned a 2021 Grammy in the producer of the year, non-classical category. The two pop stars' collab was first rumored to be a duet of Elton's famous "Tiny Dancer," but when John confirmed the team-up with Spears on Aug. 8 in an Instagram post, he revealed that the song's title is actually "Hold Me Closer," a lyric from the singer/songwriter's 1972 classic. The song's release date has yet to be announced. Watt previously worked with Elton on six songs from the Rocket Man's 2021 collaboration album The Lockdown Sessions, including a new version of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" with Miley Cyrus, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo and Chad Smith. Although it will be Watt's first time working with Spears, his resumé includes producing credits for the likes of Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. - Billboard, 8/8/22...... In other Elton-related news, his husband David Furnish says the two are looking at Elton appearing in the virtual reality (VR) sphere "closely but carefully." "That's going to be a big new market for music discovery," Furnish told Music Week magazine. "Elton's been a bit like an avatar his entire life, throwing things on and off, changing and moving forward," he added. Elton's team are already successful at introducing his music to younger generations, with more than 50% of his back catalog consumed by those aged 18 to 35, and a virtual Elton would be part of a five-year plan to bring the "I'm Still Standing" hitmaker's music to future generations. John, 75, has announced he's retiring from live performing when his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour wraps in July 2023. - Music-News.com, 8/10/22...... On Aug. 9 Tom Waits announced that his twin 2002 albums, Alice and Blood Money, will be reissued on vinyl. The albums -- which this year celebrate their 20-year-anniversary -- will be pressed on translucent blue and red vinyl respectively, with the reissues expected to hit record stores and Waits' merch website on Oct. 7. Both reissues are currently available for pre-order via Waits' webstore. Coinciding with the announcement, Waits has also shared a pair of live recordings on YouTube from each of the upcoming reissues: "All the World Is Green" from Blood Money and "Fish and Bird" from Alice. - NME, 8/9/22...... Bill Pitman a revered guitarist and bassist known for his work as part of the iconic 1960s Wrecking Crew session musicians in Los Angeles, died at his home in La Quinta, Calif., on Aug. 11. He was 102 years old. No cause of death was revealed, but Mr. Pitman recently fractured his spine after a fall. As a member of the Wrecking Crew, the Belleville, N.J.-born musician played on albums by Sam Cooke, Nancy Sinatra, The Monkees, James Brown and the Beach Boys. He also played on some of history's most popular songs, including Frank Sinatra's "Strangers In The Night," Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were" and The Ronettes' "Be My Baby." - Billboard, 8/12/22...... Canadian punk legend Gord Lewis of the band Teenage Head was allegedly murdered by his 41-year-old son Jonathan Lewis on Aug. 7 after several news outlets got "a number of emails" about a dead person from someone named Jonathan Lewis stating that his father was dead. According to CTV News, the elder Lewis, 65, founding guitarist for the Hamilton, Ont. band popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was found dead in his Hamilton home. Police were reportedly not able to initially identify Lewis because of the level of decomposition of his body, ruling that the rocker had "injuries consistent with foul play and the case was deemed a homicide"; according to CBC, police believe the body may have been in the apartment the father and son shared for several days. Teenage Head posted on their official Facebook page on Aug. 8 that "We are heartbroken and still trying to process the loss of our friend, bandmate and brother Gord Lewis Our hearts are with his family and all that knew and loved him. Gord was a force and an inspiration to many. You were taken from us far too soon." Lewis' younger brother Brian told CTV that Gord and his wife were recently "involved in the situation between Jonathan and Gord," noting that "there have always been concerns with the health" of both men and that "things did exacerbate in recents weeks and months." Police were reportedly planning to conduct an autopsy in the coming days and said they were not seeking any additional suspects, believing the homicide was an "isolated incident." - Billboard, 8/11/22...... David McCullough, the Pulitzer prize-winning author whose lovingly crafted narratives on subjects ranging from New York's Brooklyn Bridge to American presidents John Adams and Harry Truman made him among the most popular and influential historians of his time, died on Aug. 7 at his home in Hingham, Mass. He was 89. A joyous and tireless student of the past, Mr. McCullough dedicated himself to sharing his own passion for history with the general public. His fascination with architecture and construction inspired his early works on the Panama Canal and the Brooklyn Bridge, while his admiration for leaders whom he believed were good men drew him to Adams and Truman. In his 70s and 80s, he indulged his affection for Paris with the 2011 release The Greater Journey and for aviation with a best-seller on Orville and Wilbur Wright that came out in 2015. Beyond his books, the distinctive, white-haired Mr. McCullough may have had the most recognizable presence of any historian, his fatherly baritone known to fans of PBS's The American Experience and Ken Burns's epic The Civil War documentary. "Hamilton" author Ron Chernow once called Mr. McCullough "both the name and the voice of American history." "David McCullough was a national treasure," Simon & Schuster chief executive Jonathan Karp said in a statement. "His books brought history to life for millions of readers. Through his biographies, he dramatically illustrated the most ennobling parts of the American character." Mr. McCullough received the National Book Award for The Path Between the Seas, about the building of the Panama Canal; and for Mornings on Horseback, a biography of Theodore Roosevelt; and Pulitzers for Truman, in 1992, and for John Adams in 2002. He died less than two months after his beloved wife, Rosalee. - AP, 8/8/22.

John Travolta, ABBA, Elton John and Dionne Warwick are but a few of the stars who have mourned the Aug. 8 death of beloved pop songstress Olivia Newton-John on social media. Travolta took to Instagram on Aug. 8 to post a heartfelt tribute to his Grease co-star and close friend: "My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better," he sweetly wrote alongside a throwback photo of the iconic actress. "Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!" Travolta went on to praise Olivia for being "a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer." Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 at the age of 43, and it returned in 2013. In May 2019, she revealed that the disease had spread to her back. ABBA's female contingent of Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (aka Frida) both paid their respects to Olivia in a post on the Swedish group's official social media pages. "Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer," the Aug. 9 message read. The pair crossed paths with the late star in 1974 when both she and ABBA competed in that year's Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton. Elton John also expressed his condolences to Olivia's family and loved ones on Instagram. "The saddest of news to wake up to. Olivia was a beautiful and courageous woman, who I never heard complain about her illness. A beautiful voice and a warm and loving friend. I will miss her so much," the Rocket Man wrote. Newton-John's fellow Grammy-winning pop songstress Dionne Warwick posted to Twitter on Aug. 8 that "Another angelic voice has been added to the Heavenly Choir." "Not only was Olivia a dear friend, but one of the nicest people I had the pleasure of recording and performing with. I will most definitely miss her. She now Rests in the Arms of the Heavenly Father," she added. Other celebrities remembering Olivia on social media included Brian Wilson, George Takei, Leann Rimes and Anne Murray. - Billboard/New Musical Express/Music-News.com, 8/9/22...... Such Motown icons as Smokey Robinson, Otis Williams and Martha Reeves helped Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. celebrate the completion of the expansion of the Motown Museum at the famed "Hitsville, U.S.A." building at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit on Aug. 8. Robinson, Williams, Reeves and other Motown luminaries helped Gordy celebrate the completion of the first two phases of the museum's expansion, as well as the grand opening of Hitsville NEXT, an educational programming and creative hub, and the newly established Rocket Plaza. "Kids who aren't even born yet will be aware of Motown," Robinson told The Associated Press during an interview ahead of the event held near the entrance to the museum. "Some of their parents weren't even born when we started this. But it's a wonderful thing." The festivities included comments from Robinson and Williams, an original founding member of The Temptations who gifted microphones to the museum from his personal collection. Three nearby Motown-era buildings next to the Hitsville location have been transformed into Hitsville NEXT, which will be home to camps, workshops, master classes and community events. It represents the first phase of the museum's expansion. Phase two is Rocket Plaza, an outdoor plaza that will serve as a community gathering place and a welcome destination for museum visitors. 'this plaza is the new front porch to Motown, said Robin Terry, Motown Museum chairwoman and CEO. Berry Gordy launched Motown in 1959. His late sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, founded the museum in the former Hitsville headquarters in 1985. In addition to Robinson and The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye and many others recorded hits there before Motown moved to California in 1972. Footage from the ceremony, which included a performance of the Tempts classic "My Girl" performed by the cast of the musical "Ain't Too Proud," has been shared on Instagram. - Billboard, 8/9/22...... Ozzy Osbourne reunited with his former Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi in a surprise appearance before 30,000 fans at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony on Aug. 8. Osbourne -- as well as bassist Adam Wakeman and drummer Tommy Clufetos -- joined guitarist Iommi in the same city that Sabbath was founded, Alexander Stadium in Birmingham UK. The show was planned as a celebration of the West Midlands' musical heritage, and Ozzy proudly shouted out: "Birmingham forever!" The 73-year-old rocker added: "I love you, Birmingham -- it's good to be back!" Osbourne later took to Instagram to share a clip of the performance and wrote: "What a way to bring it all to an end! Thank you, Birmingham. Thank you, thank you, thank you." Black Sabbath also shared footage of the performance on Twitter. It was the first joint performance by Osbourne and Iommi since Feb. 4, 2017, after the final night of Sabbath's 'the End" tour. Ozzy, who has been recovering from a major operation at home in Los Angeles and wasn't expected to be part of the Commonwealth Games festivities, last performed on stage in 2019 when he joined Post Malone for a rendition of their 'take What You Want" collaboration at the American Music Awards. Meanwhile, Ozzy recently revealed he was delighted to hear the 1970 Black Sabbath classic "Paranoid" played at the end of the games on Aug. 1. He captioned a clip of the TV coverage on Instagram: 'this was played at the end of today's #CommonwealthGames. I really wish I could have been there with you all. Just amazing for Birmingham!" - Music-News.com, 8/8/22...... Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has declared Aug. 9 "Dolly Parton Day" in the Buckeye State, posting on Twitter on Aug. 8 that he and his fellow Buckeyes "are excited to welcome @DollyParton and @dollyslibrary to Ohio tomorrow to celebrate the success of @ImaginationOhio!." To celebrate, Parton will travel to Columbus for the First Annual First Lady's Luncheon, hosted by Ohio's first lady Fran DeWine. Parton fans can watch a livestream of the event on the Imagination Library's website. In the proclamation, Gov. DeWine the country icon's philanthropy, including her Imagination Library and instilling "a love of reading among the children of Sevier County, Tennessee, where she grew up, as well as her programs availability "in all 88 counties of Ohio." Gov. DeWine's Imagination Library was launched in 2019, and in July 2022, transitioned to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Ohio. By the end of 2021, more than 300,000 children in Ohio had been enrolled in the Imagination Library, which accounts for 43% of eligible kids statewide. Parton founded her Imagination Library in 1995, and the program provides a free book each month to children from birth to age 5. The full program offers each child 60 books. To date, Parton's Imagination Library has seen over 2 million children registered with the program worldwide, and more than 186 million total books gifted. - Billboard, 8/9/22...... Pink Floyd founding member Roger Waters took time out from his "This Is Not a Drill" solo tour on Aug. 6 to sit down with CNN's Michael Smerconish for an interview in which Waters shared his controversial views on the origins of the war in Ukraine, Pres. Biden and China's saber-rattling over Taiwan. Telling Smerconish that anyone who comes to his show is well aware of his politics -- and, as the video before his show states, can "f--k off to the bar if they're not up for his message" -- Waters defended the opening sequence in which a video counts Pres. Biden as a "war criminal & just getting started." According to Waters, Biden is, "fueling the fire in the Ukraine, for a start.... That is a huge crime. Why won't the United States of America encourage [Volodymyr] Zelensky, [Ukraine's] president, to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war?" he said, as Smerconish pointed out that Waters was blaming the country that was invaded, not the invaders. That caused Waters to double-down as he added, "this war is basically about the action and reaction of NATO pushing right up to the Russian border, which they promised they wouldn't do when [Mikhail] Gorbachev negotiated the withdrawal of the USSR from the whole of Eastern Europe." The pair then got into a heated discussion about the U.S. entry into WWII, with Smerconish reminding the rock singer that America was seen by most of the world as a liberator. The entire Waters/Smerconish interview can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 8/8/22...... Billboard is reporting that Julien's auction house will soon offer up memorabilia owned by late country/pop music star Kenny Rogers. The three-day auction, set for Oct. 21-23 at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills and online at julienslive.com, will include numerous items from Rogers' home in Sandy Springs, Ga. A public exhibition of the Rogers memorabilia will be held at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills on Oct. 17-21. The items up for auction include a framed group of signed soloist lead sheets from the charity single "We Are the World," with signatures from artists Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and more. Other items include signed portraits of Jackson as well as actress/comedian Lucille Ball. Additionally, there is a collection of celebrity letters and documents that includes messages from U.S. presidents, including George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Other celebrity letters include those from Gene Autry, Engelbert Humperdinck, Barry Manilow and Chris Stapleton. Rogers died on March 20, 2020, at the age of 81. - Billboard, 8/8/22...... Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" has returned to the Billboard charts dated Aug. 6 after her viral live surprise performance of the song at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, R.I., July 24. "Both Sides Now" re-enters the LyricFind U.S. and LyricFind Global charts at No. 1, marking the song's first time ruling both lists, which began in 2015. According to LyricFind, "Now" saw boosts of 1,276% in lyric searches and usages in the U.S. and 1,266% globally following the live performance. Renewed attention in the song propels it onto Digital Song Sales for the first time at No. 20. In the July 22-28 tracking week, it earned 3,200 downloads, according to Luminate. Those downloads allow it to appear at No. 4 on Rock Digital Song Sales as well. It also accrued 386,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, up 86% from 207,000 the previous period (July 15-21). In all, Mitchell's catalog accumulated 2.3 million official U.S. on-demand streams from July 22-28, up 90% from 1.2 million July 15-21. - Billboard, 8/5/22...... It has been revealed that a new Elton John and Britney Spears collaboration called "Hold Me Closer" has been produced by Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt. The collab was first rumored to be a duet of Elton's famous 1972 hit "Tiny Dancer," but when Elton confirmed the team-up with Spears on Aug. 8 in an Instagram post, he revealed that the song's title is actually "Hold Me Closer," a lyric from the singer/songwriter's 1972 classic. "Hold Me Closer"'s release date has yet to be announced. While the song is the first John/Spears collaboration, Elton previously worked with Watt on six tracks from John's 2021 collaboration album The Lockdown Sessions. Most recently, Watt produced Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder's 2022 solo album, Earthling, which was released in Feb. 2022. In 2019, Watt won songwriter of the year alongside Ali Tamposi at the BMI Pop Awards. "Hold Me Closer" will mark Britney Spears' first new music since her 2016 studio album Glory. The pop queen has expressed a desire to record more music, but has at least temporarily retired from live performing. - Billboard, 8/8/22...... A concert promoter is suing the Miami-area beach resort owned by one of former president Donald Trump's companies over allegations that the Trump International Beach Resort backed out of a Classic Rock event after months of promises to host it. In a lawsuit filed on Aug. 5 in Ohio federal court, 4U Promotions Inc. says that 18001 Holdings LLC -- the entity that owns the Trump resort -- "is liable for fraud and other wrongdoing after it allegedly reneged on a deal to host the Decades of Rock & Roll Cruise Reunion this coming October." Trump International, according to the suit, made the promise to hold the event "knowing it was false," 4U Promotions maintains, or with such an "utter disregard and recklessness for the truth that the resort essentially should have known it was not being honest." "The Trump Resort made a clear and unambiguous promise to 4UP," the company wrote, adding "4UP relied on the promise of the Trump Resort." 4U Promotions operates a cruise service called "Decades of Rock & Roll," featuring several bands playing classic rock from the 1950s to the 1970s, including an Eagles cover band and an Elton John tribute act called Remember When Rock Was Young. With its trademark cruises still postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company's lawsuit says its marketing director Penny Greene approached Trump International sales director Maria Daniel Espina in February about hosting the stationary "Reunion" event in Miami from Oct. 6 to Oct. 10, but the formal contract still had not been received by the company by late July even thought 4U had started taking deposits. According to its website, the Decades of Rock & Roll Cruise Reunion has since been rebooked at the Marriott Pompano Beach Resort Hotel & Spa, about an hour north of the original location in Miami. - Billboard, 8/8/22...... ABBA has announced it will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its smash ABBA Gold hits collection on Sept. 23 via UMC/Polydor. The special editions will come as a 2LP gold-colored vinyl package, as well as a 2LP picture disc and a gold cassette version. One of the best-selling greatest hits albums of all time, the 19-track collection was originally released on Sept. 21, 1992, and has since sold more than 30 million copies. - Billboard, 8/8/22...... The scathing 1971 letter written by John Lennon to his former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney is being put up for auction. The 1971 typewritten letter with additional hand-written remarks was penned by Lennon in response to an interview McCartney did with Melody Maker, where the latter shared his thoughts on John and wife Yoko Ono, the dissolution of the Beatles' business partnership and more. Lennon addresses the letter with a sarcastic, "Dear Paul, Linda et al the wee McCartney's," before delving into his furious response. "We give you money for your bits of Apple," he wrote of their business relationship. "We give you more money in the form of royalties, which legally belong to Apple. (I know we're Apple, but on the other hand, we're not.)" John also defends his beloved hit "Imagine," writing, 'so you think 'Imagine' ain't political, it's 'working class here' with sugar on it for conservatives like yourself!! You obviously didn't dig the words. Imagine!" The letter also includes digs at McCartney's expense in addition to defense of Lennon's relationship with Ono. "Wanna put your photo on the label like uncool John and Yoko, do ya? (Ain't ya got no shame). If we're not cool, WHAT DOES THAT MAKE YOU," he wrote, adding later about his love for Yoko, "I thought you'd have understood BY NOW, that I'm JOHNANDYOKO." Gotta Have Rock and Roll, the auction house offering the letter which can be viewed on its website, is accepting bids through Aug. 19. The highest bid is currently set at $22,000. - Billboard, 8/5/22...... That 70s Show star Ashton Kutcher says he is "lucky to be alive" after enduring a "super rare form of vasculitis," which "knocked him out" for a year a couple of years ago. In a forthcoming episode of National Geographic's Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge series, the 44-year-old actor explained: "Like two years ago, I had this weird, super rare form of vasculitis, that like knocked out my vision, it knocked out my hearing, it knocked out like all my equilibrium. It took me a year to build it all back up." The condition -- which involves an inflammation of blood vessels, which hinders the body's blood flow that can lead to organ and tissue damage -- gave Ashton a new zest for life. He told Grylls: "You don't really appreciate it until it's gone. Until you go, 'I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to see again, I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to hear again, I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to walk again.'" After Bear lauded Ashton's "strength through adversity," Kutcher -- who has seven-year-old daughter Wyatt and five-year-old son Dmitri with his wife Mila Kunis, 37 -- admitted he was "lucky to be alive" and detailed how his experience gave him a new view on his life, making it more "fun" after he become more open with his "problems." Ashton told Bear: "the minute you start seeing your obstacles as things that are made for you, to give you what you need, then life starts to get fun, right? You start surfing on top of your problems instead of living underneath them." Following reports of his medical condition, the actor took to Twitter on Aug. 9 to reassure fans that he's "all good." He tweeted to his 17.1 million followers, "I fully recovered," adding that he's gearing up to take part in the New York City marathon in Nov. 2022. - Bang Showbiz, 8/9/22...... Judith Durham, the lead singer of the '60s Australian pop group The Seekers, died on Aug. 5 in Alfred Hospital in Melbourne after suffering complications from a long-standing lung disease, Universal Music Australia and Musicoast said in a statement the following day. She was 79. Durham made her first recording at 19 and rose to fame after joining The Seekers in 1963. The group of four became the first Australian band to achieve major chart and sales success in the U.K. and the U.S., eventually selling 50 million records. International hits included "The Carnival is Over," "I'll Never Find Another You," "A World of Our Own" and "Georgy Girl." Durham embarked on a solo career in 1968 but recorded with The Seekers again in the 1990s. Tributes flowed for the beloved singer, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese describing Durham as "a national treasure and an Australian icon." "A national treasure and an Australian icon, Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists," Albanese wrote on Twitter. "Her kindness will be missed by many, the anthems she gave to our nation will never be forgotten," he added. Victoria premier Daniel Andrews announed on Aug. 7 that Durham's family has accepted the offer of a state funeral to "honor the life and contribution of a true icon of Australian music." - AP, 8/6/22...... Sam Gooden, one of the original members of the Chicago soul group The Impressions and a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, died on Aug. 4 in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tenn. He was 87. The Impressions formed in the 1950s after Mr. Gooden and brothers Richard and Arthur Brooks met Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler in Chicago. Butler sang baritone lead on their breakthrough record in 1958, the classic ballad "For Your Precious Love," although many of their hits featured Mayfield's tenor, with Mr. Gooden singing bass behind him. The Impressions remained a top group in the 1960s, known for their gospel-styled harmonies and socially conscious songs. The group scored 39 Billboard Hot 100 hits (including three top 10s), 18 entries on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and six No. 1s and 20 top 10s on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Mayfield helped write many of their hits, including the widely covered "People Get Ready" (No. 14 on the Hot 100), along with "Gypsy Woman" (No. 20), "Keep on Pushing" (No. 10), "We're a Winner" (No. 14) and their highest-charting Hot 100 hit "It's All Right" (No. 4). "Keep on Pushing" was nominated for best rhythm & blues recording at the seventh annual Grammy Awards in 1965 -- the group's lone nomination. The Impressions were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Seven years later, "People Get Ready" was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Mayfield left the group in 1970 for a solo career, although he continued to write and help produce for The Impressions. Mr. Gooden and fellow Chattanoogan Fred Cash continued to sing as The Impressions along with other lead singers, including Leroy Hutson. They toured until 2018. - Billboard, 8/5/22...... Award-winning composer, lyricist and songwriter Leslie Bricusse passed away on Aug. 4. He was 90 years old. Among his many other achievements, Mr. Bricusse collaborated with composer John Williams writing lyrics for songs featured in such hit films as Superman, Home Alone and Hook, among others. With his longtime collaborator, singer/composer Anthony Newley, Mr. Bricusse also wrote the score for the 1972 film Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which featured song "The Candy Man" sung by actor Aubrey Woods and later covered by Sammy Davis Jr. for a No. 1 U.S. hit in July 1972. Mr. Bricusse and Newley reportedly wrote the song in a day, over the telephone, because the two men were on different continents. - AP, 8/4/22...... Bert Fields, the renowned powerhouse Hollywood lawyer whose clients included Edward G. Robinson, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Tom Cruise, Warren Beatty, The Beatles and a host of other luminaries, studios and talent agencies, died on Aug. 7 at his Malibu home. He was 93. "For forty years, we were graced with Bert's brilliance, decency and charm, said Bob Baradaran, managing partner of his Mr. Fields' law firm, Greenberg Glusker. "Bert was a beloved colleague, friend and mentor who trained a generation of outstanding lawyers. We were blessed to know and work with such a truly remarkable lawyer and human being," he added. During his six-decade career Mr. Fields also represented the likes of David Geffen, James Cameron, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Jackson, Mike Nichols, Jerry Bruckheimer, Joel Silver and Madonna; companies such as DreamWorks SKG, MGM, United Artists, The Weinstein Co. and Sony Music; and famed authors including Mario Puzo, James Clavell, Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler and Richard Bach. He is survived by his second wife, internationally known art consultant Barbara Guggenheim, his son John, and two grandchildren. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/8/22...... Legendary Motown songwriter/producer Lamont Dozier, the middle name of the celebrated Holland-Dozier-Holland team that wrote and produced "You Can't Hurry Love," "Heat Wave" and dozens of other hits and helped make Motown an essential record company of the 1960s and beyond, died on Aug. 9. He was 81. In Motown's historic, self-defined rise to the "sound of Young America," Holland-Dozier-Holland stood out even compared to such gifted peers as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Barrett Strong. Over a four-year period, 1963-67, Mr. Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland crafted more than 25 top 10 songs and mastered the blend of pop and rhythm and blues that allowed the Detroit label, and founder Berry Gordy, to defy boundaries between Black and white music and rival the Beatles on the airwaves. For The Four Tops, they wrote "Baby I Need Your Loving" and "Reach Out (I'll Be There)"; for Martha and the Vandellas they wrote "Heat Wave" and "Jimmy Mack"; for Marvin Gaye "Baby Don't You Do It" and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)"; for Diana Ross and the Supremes 10 No. 1 songs, among them "Where Did Our Love Go," 'stop! In the Name of Love" and "You Can't Hurry Love." The music lived on through countless soundtracks, samplings and radio airings, in cover versions by the likes of the Rolling Stones, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor and many others and in generations of songwriters and musicians influenced by the Motown sound. H-D-H were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years later. On his own, Mr. Dozier had a top 20 hit with "Trying to Hold on to My Woman," helped produce Aretha Franklin's Sweet Passion album and collaborated with Eric Clapton and Simply Red's Mick Hucknall among others. His biggest success was co-writing Phil Collins' chart-topping "Two Hearts," from the 1988 movie Buster, a mid-tempo, Motown-style ballad that won a Grammy and Golden Globe and received an Oscar nomination. Like so many Motown artists, Mr. Dozier was born in Detroit and raised in a family of singers and musicians. He sang in the choir of his Baptist church and his love for words was affirmed by a grade school teacher who, he recalled, liked one of his poems so much she kept it on the blackboard for a month. By the late 1950s, he was a professional singer and eventually signed with Motown, where he first worked with Brian Holland, and then Eddie Holland, who wrote most of the lyrics. Mr. Dozier's death was confirmed by Paul Lambert, who helped produce the stage musical "The First Wives Club" that H-D-H wrote for. He did not have additional details.- AP, 8/9/22...... Actor Roger E. Mosley, who portrayed Theodore "T.C." Calvin, the helicopter pilot and buddy of Tom Selleck's character on all eight seasons of the original Magnum, P.I., died on Aug. 7. He was 83. Mr. Mosley died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of injuries incurred in a car accident in Lynwood, Calif., thee days earlier, his daughter, Ch-a, said. On the big screen, Mr. Mosley was at his most memorable as blues and folk singer Huddie Ledbetter ("The Midnight Special") in the period piece Leadbelly (1976), directed by Gordon Parks. In his review, Roger Ebert wrote that Mr. Mosley played the part "with great strength" and called the film "one of the best biographies of a musician I've ever seen." Mr. Mosley also was a standout in "blaxploitation" films, playing the angry brother of the fresh-out-of-prison Goldie (Max Julien) in the classic The Mack (1973) and starring in Hit Man (1972), Sweet Jesus, Preacherman (1973) and Darktown Strutters (1975). And in The Greatest (1977), Mosley -- a sturdy 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds in his prime -- portrayed Sonny Liston and got whupped by Muhammad Ali. His other big screen credits include McQ with John Wayne (1974), The River Niger with James Earl Jones (1976), and Semi-Tough with Burt Reynolds (1977). Post-Magnum, he starred opposite Nell Carter on the CBS sitcom You Take the Kids, as Coach Ricketts on ABC's Hangin' With Mr. Cooper and as Milt Johnson on Showtime's Rude Awakening. Survivors include his wife, Antoinette ("Toni"), son Brandonn, and grandsons Austin and Rahsan. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/7/22.