Nile Rodgers and Chic were among the headliners at the 2022 New York City Parks Foundation dinner and concert benefit at SummerStage in Central Park on Sept 29. The band performed Chic's Hot 100 No. 1 "Le Freak," Daft Punk,'s "Get Lucky" (co-written by Rodgers) and wrapped up with "Good Times," featuring a small interlude of the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" (which is built on Chic's "Good Times"). Rodgers, who brought a "DiscOasis" disco roller rink to Central Park this summer after a successful run in Los Angeles, said that the festivities have "been truly amazing." "I wish I could spend more time skating, but I've been touring so much this year," Rodgers said after the event. The event, which also featured a set by Sheryl Crow who performed her hit singles "If It Makes You Happy" and "All I Wanna Do," honored CBS News senior cultural correspondent Anthony Mason with the SummerStage Icon Award and the NYC Green Relief & Recovery Fund with the People & Parks Award. CPF raised $1.3 million in donations, making it their most successful benefit to date, according to a press release. - Billboard, 9/30/22...... 
Bruce Springsteen announced on YouTube on Sept. 29 that he'll be releasing an album of classic R&B/soul covers on Nov. 11 called Only the Strong Survive. Springsteen explained that shortly after recording Letter To You with the E Street Band during the Covid-19 lockdown, he went into his home studio to record music he hadn't written, but wanted to record. The result is a 15-song album of songs by the likes of Jerry Butler, Dobie Gray, The Commodores, Jimmy Ruffin, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Four Tops, The Walker Brothers, The Temptations and more. He's joined on two tracks by Sam & Dave vocalist Sam Moore, as well as the E Street Horns and backing vocalists Soozie Tyrell, Lisa Lowell, Michelle Moore, Curtis King Jr., Dennis Collins and Fonzi Thornton. The project was recorded at Springsteen's Thrill Hill Recording in New Jersey and produced by Ron Aniello, engineered by Rob Lebret and executive produced by the singer's longtime manager, Jon Landau. "This was something I hadn't done since the Seeger Sessions," he said of the format of the new project while nodding to his Grammy-winning 2006 album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, a collection of folk songs made famous by Pete Seeger that was the Boss' first-ever collection of tracks he didn't write. Springsteen has shared one of the album's tracks, a soaring cover of Frank Wilson's "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)," on YouTube, and the album cover can be viewed on his Instagram page. In other Springsteen news, the New Jersey rocker was the special guest at The Killers' second Madison Square Garden show on Oct. 1. During Brandon Flowers and co.'s second of two dates at MSG, Springsteen came on stage to perform the pair's 2021 collaboration "Dustland" as well as his hits "Badlands" and "Born To Run," joined by his saxophonist bandmate Jake Clemons. "That's a hell of a band," Springsteen told Flowers of his admiration of The Killers and their live show in 2020. "Recently when I caught you, it may have been Glastonbury, the band was so good. You guys have developed such an incredible live show. Really something to be proud of." The three-song cameo can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard/NME, 9/29/22...... The first, unreleased take of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" from their 1966 album Revolver is being featured on the new special deluxe edition of Revolver and has been shared on YouTube ahead of the deluxe edition's Oct. 28 release. "John [Lennon's] ethereal vocals (fed from his mic through a rotating Leslie speaker), and innovative tape loops -- including Paul [McCartney] saying "ah, ah, ah, ah', which when sped up produced a sound similar to a seagull's screech -- converge with Ringo [Starr's] thunderous drum pattern, George [Harrison's] tamboura drone, and a backwards guitar solo," a press release explains of the recording. Revolver is the latest Beatles album to be re-released as a remixed and expanded deluxe box set following Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' in 2017, "The White Album" (2018), Abbey Road (2019) and Let It Be (2021). - New Musical Express, 9/30/22...... Neil Young and his frequent backing band Crazy Horse have shared a new single, "Love Earth," on YouTube from their 15th joint project, World Record, which is due on Nov. 18. The 10-song LP was produced by Rick Rubin at his Shangri-La studios in Malibu, the same studio used by Young to record his 2016 set, Peace Trail. On World Record, Young provides vocals across the album's tracklist alongside instrumentation from Crazy Horse, all of which was recorded live and mixed to analogue tape by Rubin. "Love Earth" sees Young muse on earth's beauty, likening blue skies and crystal waters to a fanciful romance. "We lived by the sun and had it all", Young sings, "We were living in a dream." World Record is Young and Crazy Horse's follow-up to Barn, their 2021 14th joint album. The record featured the single "Heading West" and was the basis of a making-of documentary directed by Young's partner, actress Daryl Hannah. - New Musical Express, 9/30/22...... Queen drummer Roger Taylor released a live set, The Outsider Tour Live, on Sept. 30. The release features 22 tracks from various locations on Taylor's 2021 tour, including material from Taylor's 2021 album Outsider as well as Queen favorites and other covers, such as Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll," David Bowie's "Heroes" and Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti," with Queen's Brian May making a guest appearance on the latter, as well as Queen's "A Kind of Magic." "The whole tour was really conceived to be fun," Taylor says. "It's not a big, ambitious stadium thing or anything like that. It was a smaller, intimate tour, and I just enjoyed being there, at the front again, which I hadn't done in a long time. And I have such a great band, it was a joy. I enjoyed every show. I looked forward to every show, and hopefully that comes over on this recording," he adds. Taylor says that he "doesn't have any solo ideas at the moment." "I think Queen will tour again, and I would hope we might tour North America -- but I think not for a year. I think we deserve a little time off now. Brian and I both really enjoy what we're doing these days. We don't do anything we don't feel like doing, but thankfully we're still able to do it -- when we want." - Billboard, 9/29/22...... 
Founding Chicago trumpeter Lee Loughnane says his legendary band focuses on "just about 25 songs that really work all the time, every night" and that deep cuts, while adored by some fans, and new songs don't always connect with audiences. Interviewed on Billboard's "Behind the Setlist" podcast, Loughnane said that Chicago has "tried to [play deep cuts] because we want to go back and play that stuff because it was fun to play, fun to write, fun to record, but if it doesn't work live, you end up pulling it anyway." "You know, you have fun a few times, but if the only one having fun is the band, that's problematic. And you go back to what they want to hear: what put you on the map, you know. That's what people want to hear. In fact, I feel the same way when I go to see a band. I want to hear what put them there," Loughnane added. He was joined on the podcast by Peter Pardini, director of the new documentary about Chicago weathering the Covid-19 pandemic, The Last Band on Stage, and the 2016 documentary Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago. Loughnane says "If This is Goodbye," from Chicago's 2022 album Born For This Moment, which peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, is the lone new song in the band's recent concerts. "If the next song becomes a hit, we'll put that in as well. You put too many new songs in [and] you get the old 'going to the popcorn stand or bathroom' stuff," Loughnane quipped. - Billboard, 9/30/22...... Billy Joel has been announced as the latest headliner of the UK's BST Hyde Park festival in 2023 on the BST Instagram page. The summer series of gigs will return to Hyde Park in central London in July, with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band already announced on the line-up. Joel will headline the BST series on July 7, in what will be his only European live appearance of the year. A line-up of special supporting guests for the show is set to be announced soon. Meanwhile, Joel's 1990 live film Live at Yankee Stadium will be screened in cinemas on Oct. 5 and 9 to celebrate the Piano Man's 50 years in music. "Billy Joel's legendary 1990 concert at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx stands as one of the greatest concert films of all time," a synopsis for the film reads. "Shot in 16mm colour film, the original concert has now been meticulously re-mixed and re-edited. The newly edited version includes a never-before-released performance of 'Uptown Girl', along with interviews from Billy and behind-the-scenes footage from the event's production. The set list consists of re-edited versions of songs from the original film including 'Piano Man', 'We Didn't Start The Fire', 'New York State Of Mind', 'Shout' and more, all performed from 'The House That Ruth Built'," the synopsis adds. - NME, 9/29/22...... Parlophone Records has announced David Bowie's fourth studio album, Hunky Dory, will be released as a deluxe reissue on Nov. 25 that will include unreleased home demos, live recordings and other rarities from that era. The 4-CD box set, dubbed A Divine Symmetry: An alternative journey through Hunky Dory, will feature 48 previously unreleased tracks and demos taken from the 12 months leading up to the release of Hunky Dory in 1971. The first CD of the collection contains home and hotel room demos of songs that would end up on Hunky Dory, along with unreleased songs like "King Of The City," "Right On Mother," "How Lucky You Are (Miss Peculiar)" and "Tired Of My Life." Other discs include Bowie's 1971 John Peel Live session, BBC radio recordings, live cuts, the 'BOWPROMO' EP, B-sides, alternate versions of Hunky Dory tracks and more. Coinciding with the reissue's announcement, Parlophone have shared Bowie's previously unreleased rendition of the Hunky Dory album track "Kooks," taken from BBC's Sounds of the 70s with Bob Harris radio show, on YouTube. Additionally, the deluxe reissue contains a 100-page hardcover book with exclusive photos and memorabilia, as well as a 60-page replica of Bowie's notes from that era, such as handwritten lyrics, costume drawings, and other notes. - NME, 9/29/22...... Cher was among the participants in Paris Fashion Week when the 76-year-old diva made a walk during the finale on Sept. 28. Though she's an Oscar-, Golden Globe-, Grammy- and BBMA-winning actress and singer, hitting the catwalk for the star-studded charity event was a mind-blower for Cher, who posted the latter emoji following her appearance on Twitter: "JUST HAD BEST TIME, ON STAGE& FELT GREAT!! SHOW WAS PROBABLY BEST FASHION SHOW "EVER!!,'" she tweeted. "MODELS WERE BEAUTY FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE. CLOTHES 2 DIE 4..OLIVIER 2 DIE 4!! STAGE WAS CALLING ME cher& ..oh cher& .come Home& .I HEAR YOU." Cher trod the boards all smiles -- to screams from the crowds -- in a marbled spandex bodysuit, plunging neck, platform wedges and the house's famed peaked shoulders. Some 10,000 tickets were made available for the general public provided they made a charity donation. - AP, 9/29/22...... 
The Ronald Isley/Beyoncé/Isley Brothers collaboration "Make Me Say It Again Girl, has climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay chart for the week dated Oct. 1. "Girl" returns The Isleys' to the No. 1 rank on Adult R&B Airplay for the first time in more than two decades, since "Contagious" ruled for two weeks in 2001. They additionally led the list, which began in 1993, once more, with another two-week champ, "Tears," in 1997. The Isley Brothers, whose first Billboard chart appearance came in 1959 with "Shout - Part 1," are currently comprised of Ronald and Ernie Isley, though the lineup has changed many times since its first iteration. After a breakup the late 1980s, the group reformed in 1991 as "The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley." "Make Me Say It Again Girl" reworks The Isley Brothers' 1975 hit "Make Me Say It Again Girl Pts 1 & 2," which they followed with 39 more Hot 100 hits, through 2003. On the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the legends landed 71 career hits, with 27 of those reaching the top 10, and six achieving the No. 1 rank. - Billboard, 9/29/22...... As was expected, Phil Collins and his Genesis bandmates have sold a portion of their songs' assets to Concord Music Group, including the publishing rights and master recordings for much of Genesis' music. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal was valued at more than $300 million and will also include master recordings of songs from throughout Collins' solo career, such as "In the Air Tonight," "You'll Be In My Heart" and "Against All Odds," and his popular covers of "A Groovy Kind Of Love" and "You Can't Hurry Love." Genesis recordings within the package will likely include hits such as "Invisible Touch," "That's All," "Land Of Confusion" and "Follow You, Follow Me," The deal also includes material that Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford released with his group, Mike & the Mechanics. Speaking to WSJ, Concord president Bob Valentine said they were aiming to bring Collins and Genesis' back catalogue to a younger generation of listeners. "In the world we live in today with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, all these things that drive consumption of older music, there are definitely ways for us as a record company to bring some of this music back to life," he said. - NME, 9/30/22...... Hot contemporary artist Ed Sheeran will enter his third set of court proceedings over his songwriting, with the musician set to face a jury trial following a suit from a stakeholder in the estate of Marvin Gaye's co-writer. On Sept. 29, Judge Louis Stanton, a senior district judge for the Southern District of New York, ruled that "a work may be copyrightable even though it is entirely a compilation of unprotectable elements." The suit came from Structured Asset Sales, a company that owns a stake in the copyrights of the estate of Ed Townsend -- a co-writer on "Let's Get It On." It was originally filed back in 2016, with a decision regarding jury involvement coming in 2019. Sheeran's lawyers argued that the elements from "Let's Get It On" perceived to be present in "Thinking Out Loud" weren't substantial enough to warrant a copyright breach. The news that Sheeran must face court again comes just months after a case revolving around his song "Shape Of You" was determined in his favor. In that suit, Sheeran and his two "Shape Of You" co-writers -- Johnny McDaid and Steve McCutcheon -- were accused of plagiarising part of "Oh Why," a song by Sami Switch. A court date is yet to be set for the new suit, but it will take place in a Manhattan federal courthouse. - NME, 9/30/22...... As Roxy Music are currently midway through a 50th Anniversary US tour and prepare to kick off a UK leg at the Glasgow OVO Hydro on Oct. 10, band co-founder Phil Manzanera says "I don't know why I'm surprised, but it's been going incredibly well." "You can see there's a resonance in people's faces, so it's a communal experience that really is terrific fun to do," Manzanera told New Musical Express. "We're incredibly lucky to be doing this." The guitarist also commented on the difficulty of condensing all eight of Roxy's studio albums into a 105-minutes setlist: "You can only play a maximum of 20 songs before people start losing the will to live. Then you have to look at the difference between the first Roxy album and [1982 album] Avalon. How Roxy went from one style to another is another conversation, but there's a great expression in Spanish that means: 'A journey without any destination.' That was Roxy's thing, and you have to balance all of that in the show." Roxy Music recently released The Best of Roxy Music on vinyl for the first time, and their UK tour will wrap at London's O2 Arena on Oct. 14. - NME, 9/28/22...... 
Showtime Networks in the US and Sky in the UK have released a trailer for SPECTOR, a four-part docuseries diving into the story behind late music producer and convicted murderer Phil Spector. First announced in August, the four-part series will predominantly focus on Spector's involvement in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, of which he was convicted in 2009. The series will feature archival footage of Spector himself -- a voiceover in the trailer sees him argue that he "had nothing to do with [Clarkson's] death" -- as well as newly recorded interviews with figures close to both him and Clarkson. "He did not like to be alone -- he had abandonment issues," one voice in the trailer said of Spector's personality, while another claimed that "Phil Spector enjoyed bringing people to his home and locking them inside." An official synopsis for SPECTOR -- directed by Sheena M. Joyce and Don Argott -- claims that "through the lens of this notorious crime and the hysterical media circus that followed, this major four-part documentary series peels back the layers to tell the story both of Clarkson and the man who was convicted of her murder." The series will premiere on Nov. 4, airing on Showtime in the US and Sky in the UK. Both companies collaborated on its production. Spector died last January at age 81, having contracted Covid-19 while serving his prison sentence. - NME, 9/28/22...... A 2003 Ferrari Modena sports car originally purchased by Eric Clapton was set to be auctioned on Oct. 2. CBE and OBE-appointed and multiple Grammy winner Clapton, whose passion for Ferraris is well documented, added the new 360 Modena to his ever-growing collection in 2003. The car, one of only 352 RHD manual Modenas ever built, has lived a pampered life and is reportedly in outstanding condition, with a comprehensive Ferrari service history and a touch over 20,000 miles on its stylish clock. "Even without taking into account this Modena's original owner, the car is in exceptionally good condition and quite rare in its own right," says Car & Classic Head of Editorial Chris Pollitt. "Add the 'Slowhand' touch, and you really have the automotive equivalent of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to which Clapton was famously inducted not once, but three times," he adds. Clapton's 2003 Ferrari Modena joins a series of celebrity-owned vehicles auctioned by Car & Classic, the latest one of which was Elton John's Continental R, which sold in August. - Music-News.com, 10/1/22.
The Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Sept. 27 was stolen by rising singer Pink who performed a rousing cover of Queen's 1976 hit "Somebody To Love" with Queen's very own Brian May and Roger Taylor. With the late Hawkins' former band Foo Fighters also contributing, Pink also performed the Foos' "The Pretender" and duetted with Heart's Nancy Wilson on "Barracuda." Wilson also performed a moving new track she wrote in memory of Hawkins, "Amigo Amiga," which is named after the pet names the close friends gave each other. "Hate why we were there -- but I love that we were all together," Pink posted on Instagram after her set. Joan Jett, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Alanis Morissette and Miley Cyrus were also among the star-studded bill. Hawkins, generally viewed as among the greatest drummers of all time, tragically died on March 25 at age 50 as his band was on tour in Columbia. He previously received a European tribute on Sept. 3 at London's Wembley Stadium with Paul McCartney, Rush and Queen among those paying tribute. - Music-News.com, 9/28/22...... 
A package of publishing and recording rights to the works of Genesis and Phil Collins are reportedly in the final deal stages, but the buyer is not yet known. Previously, Billboard reported that a package of Collins' rights had been shopped for upwards of $200 million, according to sources. That package, sources say, has now morphed into a bigger deal that also includes all of the publishing for Genesis and possibly even the Genesis spin-off band Mike + the Mechanics, as well as their master recordings rights. Billboard estimates that the overall package, after deduction production and distribution costs, averaged about $12.4 million annually in master recording revenue over the last three years and about $5.5 million in annual publishing revenue. The Phil Collins music assets are said to generate more than twice the activity of the Genesis catalog, with an estimated valuation of about $235 million, based on almost $4 million in estimated publishing royalties and $8.5 million in master recording revenue from his solo catalog. Most of the publishing for all three recording acts appear to be administered by Concord. The master recording catalogs of Collins, Genesis and most of the Mike + the Mechanics are mainly at the Warner Music Group and regardless of who buys the deal, those records will probably stay there for the foreseeable future, sources say. - Billboard, 9/28/22...... Elton John was surprised by Pres. Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House on Sept. 23 with a National Humanities Medal, with Pres. Biden praising the pop/rock icon's activism, the power of his music and his all-around goodness. "Seamus Heaney once wrote, and I quote, 'Once in a lifetime, the longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme," Pres. Biden said. "Throughout his incredible career, Sir Elton John has been that tidal wave, a tidal wave to help people rise up and make hope and history rhyme." The night, in fact, was called "A Night When Hope and History Rhyme," a reference to the poem Biden quoted by Ireland's Heaney. John then kicked off the show with "Your Song," his breakthrough 1971 hit. At the end of the show, Biden surprised John with the National Humanities Medal, for his songbook and his long legacy of advocacy. Tearing up, Sir Elton said he was "flabbergasted and humbled." The 2,000-person guest list included teachers, nurses, frontline workers and LGBTQ+ advocates, plus former first lady Laura Bush, civil rights advocate Ruby Bridges, education activist Malala Yousafzai and Jeanne White-Ginder, an AIDS activist and mother of Ryan White, who died from AIDS-related complications in 1990. It was John's first White House gig for the 75-year-old John since he performed with Stevie Wonder at a state dinner in 1998 honoring British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The following evening, Elton played the Washington Nationals Park as part of final "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour. - AP, 9/24/22...... In other Elton-related news, his new "Hold Me Closer" collab with Britney Spears has recently jumped from No. 12 to No. 10) on Billboard's Adult Pop Airplay chart for the week of Oct. 1. It is Elton's third Adult Pop Airplay top 10, and second this year, following his "Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)," with Dua Lipa, which led for a week in March. John and Spears also dropped an official accompanying music for "Hold Me Closer" on Sept. 27. While John and Spears do not appear in the clip, the Tanu Muino-directed video features a number of dancers portraying emotional and heartfelt choreography against the vibrant, colorful backdrop of Mexico City. Upon release, the "Rocket Man" singer shared a snippet of the video to his Instagram, writing in the caption, "Check out the stunning dance video for 'Hold Me Closer', shot in Mexico City by the award-winning director @tanumuino beautifully capturing an immeasurable feeling of intimacy so missing from the world through the turmoil and chaos of recent times." The video has also been shared on YouTube. - Billboard, 9/28/22...... 
Bette Midler, who has long been lauded by the LGBTQ community as a gay icon, was asked by the New York Post's Page Six column whether or not she needed the new film Hocus Pocus 2 to shore up her status as a gay icon. "No!" she told the publication. "This is worldwide, this is global, girl! Get a grip!," the 76-year-old actress said. Midler's advocacy for queer rights throughout her career, in addition to her acting and singing, has made her a heroine in the gay/lesbian community, however she faced significant backlash in July 2022 after publishing a tweet that many users deemed transphobic, in which she used language often employed by trans-exclusionary radical feminists (otherwise known as TERFs) to advocate for women's rights. "WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name," she wrote at the time. "They don't call us 'women' anymore; they call us 'birthing people' or "menstruators,' and even 'people with vaginas'! Don't let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!," she added. In a subsequent tweet, Midler defended her comments saying that there was "no intention of anything exclusionary or transphobic" in what she wrote. Also starring Midler's original 1993 Hocus Pocus co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, Hocus Pocus 2 premieres on Sept. 30 exclusively on the Disney+ streaming channel. - Billboard, 9/28/22...... Pink Floyd's Animals - 2018 Remix has re-entered Billboard's Album Sales Chart at No. 3 with 20,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 22, according to Luminate (up from 500 copies sold in the previous week). It's the biggest sales week for any Pink Floyd album since 2014 and the 1977 Animals album's highest rank on the 31-year-old chart. Animals also re-enters at No. 1 on the Catalog Albums chart (its first week at No. 1 and the act's fifth leader on the 31-year-old list). The five-song, 42-minute album was reissued in a new mix on CD, vinyl, Blu-ray, SACD and digital download configurations ranging in price from $12.99 to $29.98. All versions of the album, old and new, are combined for tracking and charting purposes. A deluxe box set edition of Animals is due out on Oct. 7. The Animals reissue was meant to be released a few years ago, but was delayed due to a dispute over the package's then-planned liner notes -- which were ultimately not included in the finished product. Of Animals' 20,000 copies sold in the week after its June 30 reissue, physical sales comprise 19,000 (8,500 on vinyl; 6,000 on CD; and 4,500 on other physical formats) and digital downloads comprise 1,000. The 20,000 sum marks Pink Floyd's best sales week for any album since its final studio album, The Endless River, sold 29,000 copies in its seventh week of release, in the week ending Dec. 28, 2014. - Billboard, 9/27/22...... In other Pink Floyd-related news, the Polish city of Krakow canceled gigs by Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters on Sept. 26 because of his sympathetic stance toward Russia in its war against Ukraine. Local councilman Lukasz Wantuch said the city owns the arena where two of Waters' concerts had been scheduled for April before being canceled. Wantuch said the city would not tolerate them being used for an artist "spreading ideas objectionable to most people in Poland." He added Waters was free to perform in a private venue if he wishes. "He doesn't realize the truth," Wantuch told The Associated Press. "He doesn"t understand what is going on in Ukraine." Wantuch, who has been on 27 humanitarian missions to Ukraine since the war began, spearheaded a symbolic resolution to declare Waters "persona non grata" in this city. A vote is scheduled to take place. Wantuch invited Waters in an open Facebook post on Sept. 26 to join him on a visit to Ukraine to see for himself the extent of devastation caused by Russian attacks. In his own Facebook post on Sept. 26, Waters accused Wantuch of a "draconian censoring of my work." Waters, who left Pink Floyd in 1985 and has largely maintained his distance from his former bandmates since then, has blamed both NATO and Ukraine for the widely condemned war instigated by Russia. He wrote an open letter to Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska earlier in September in which he blamed "extreme nationalists" in Ukraine for having "set your country on the path to this disastrous war." He also criticized the West for supplying Ukraine with weapons, blaming the United States in particular. Waters has also shared an open letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin, urging him to commit to a ceasefire and diplomatic settlement to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Waters is currently underway with the North American leg of his "This Is Not A Drill" tour, with back-to-back shows in LA scheduled for Sept. 27 and 28. The tour will continue until mid-October, when Waters and his band play two shows in Mexico City. - Billboard, 9/26/22...... 
Jimmy Buffett has postponed or canceled his remaining 2022 tour dates as he recovers from unspecified medical issues. "Due to health issues and a brief hospitalization, Jimmy will need to refrain from touring for the rest of the year," reads a missive posted on his Instagram page. "On doctor"s orders, he must take this time to recuperate and heal. Jimmy looks forward to getting back on stage next year." Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band's Oct. 8 show at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena has been rescheduled for March 3, while the Oct. 15 show at the same venue has moved to March 11. A new 2023 date for the Oct. 22 show at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego will be announced shortly, while the Oct. 10 date at Salt Lake City"s Vivint Arena and Oct. 12 show at Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho, will not be rescheduled. Tickets will be refunded for the canceled shows. Buffett, who turned 76 on Dec. 25, 2021, returned to the road in May following a 14-month pandemic pause on his "Life on the Flipside" tour, named after his 2020 album that debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. His last show was Aug. 13 in Mansfield, Mass. - Billboard, 9/27/22...... Alternative fave Beck premiered a spot-on cover of Neil Young's 1972 track "Old Man" on Sept. 25 to promote the upcoming NFL game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 2. And, in classic Neil fashion, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Young took the opportunity to double-down on his stance about using his music to promote products. While Young did not specifically mention Beck's take on his 1972 Harvest song, an Instagram post on Sept. 26 from the rock icon's Neil Young Archives feed featured a screen-grab from the video for Neil's 1988 anti-product placement track "This Note's For You," in which he's holding up a beer bottle with a label that reads: "Sponsored by Nobody." Beck's take in an NFL commercial that aired on Sept. 25 (and shared on Twitter) to hype the Oct. 2 prime-time game was notable for the song's line "Old man, take a look at my life/ 24 and there's so much more," which, it's worth noting, was the age both Buccaneers' quarterback Tom Brady and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes were when they won their first Super Bowls. The preview of the song -- which was released in full digitally on Sept. 26 on YouTube -- featured footage of Mahomes and Brady in action. - Billboard, 9/27/22...... Bruce Springsteen and his wife and bandmate, Patti Scialfa, are set to perform at the inaugural Albie Awards at the New York Public Library on Sept. 29. Pop sensation Dua Lipa is set to present the Justice for Survivors Award, alongside Nadia Murad, to iAct, an organization that supports survivors of genocide in refugee camps. George and Amal Clooney, co-founders of The Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), and Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, will host the Albie Awards, which are named after Justice Albie Sachs, who played a key role in ending apartheid in South Africa. Meanwhile, Springsteen is set to release new music on Sept. 29, according to a new teaser posted to Twitter on Sept. 28. The Boss shared a video of a radio tuning to different stations. At each stop, a recording of a Springsteen cover of an old soul classic plays, before the radio is tuned once again. Among the covers performed by the singer are Tyrone Davis' "If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time" and The Commodores' "Night Shift." The teaser comes after Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner let slip earlier in September that The Boss is releasing a new album before the end of 2022. Whether the teaser is related to the new album, and if the album is an entire soul covers record, will be revealed on Sept. 29 at 10:00 am ET (3:00 pm BST). Springsteen has previously announced he'll launch a world tour in 2023 with his E Street Band, his first with the full band since 2017. The extensive world tour kicks off in the US between Feb. 1 and Apr. 14 before heading to Europe for a run that includes two shows at London"s Hyde Park. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 9/26/22...... Willie Nelson's Farm Aid has revealed plans for "a major farmer mobilization' in Washington, D.C., in March 2023 in advance of the latest annual Farm Aid benefit concert for family farmers in Raleigh, N.C., on Sept. 24. Farm Aid co-founder and board member John Mellencamp, participating in the Sept. 24 press conference, recalled when "[Willie Nelson] and I made the effort" to testify before a Congressional subcommittee in the 1980s on behalf of family farmers. And he left convinced that "the government ... doesn't care about you, doesn't care about anything but greed. So it's going to take good people like you," Mellencamp told the audience of farmers and activists at the pre-concert event. "I'm going to come to Washington, D.C., because politics today in the United States has gotten so far out of hand. We'll get a school bus and we'll all go down together." The mobilization plan results from discussions among "a coalition of 35 farm, food, climate [and] social justice organizations that are actively working on this," said Foley, citing Farm Aid's alliance with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. - Billboard, 9/24/22...... 
The Grateful Dead spinoff band Dead & Company have confirmed their plans to formally disband in the near future, and on Sept. 23 revealed that a farewell tour will be announced in the coming months. "As we put the finishing touches on booking venues, and understanding that word travels fast, we wanted to be the first to let you know that Dead & Company will be hitting the road next summer for what will be our final tour," band member John Mayer said in a statement shared with their "final tour" poster on Instagram. "Stay tuned for a full list of dates for what will surely be an exciting, celebratory, and heartfelt last run of shows." In his own post, Dead veteran Bob Weir wrote on Twitter: "Well it looks like that's it for this outfit; but don"t worry we will all be out there in one form or another until we drop." Though cities and dates are yet to be announced, the poster assures fans that "more information [is] coming soon," and reveals that the tour will take place over the summer of 2023. Word of Dead & Company"s disbanding first emerged earlier in 2022, when in April, Rolling Stone speculated that their North American tour for summer '22 would be their last. The article cited "sources close to Dead & Company" as their point of reference, as well as recent health issues for band member Bill Kreutzmann. Weir, however, was quick to deny the rumours, tweeting that the band's plans to break up were "news to me." In addition to Mayer, Weir and Kreutzmann, Dead & Company is also comprised of Mickey Hart, Oteil Burbridge and jeff Chimenti. - NME, 9/24/22...... Barbra Streisand has announced she'll release a newly remixed edition of her legendary 1962 Greenwich Village nightclub Set Live at the Bon Soir. Barbra Streisand -- Live at the Bon Soir is due out on Nov. 4 after being previewed on Sept. 23 with a live take on the 1953 Arthur Hamilton-penned torch song "Cry Me a River," first made famous by Julie London's version in 1955, then later released as the first single from Streisand's 1963 self-titled debut album. According to a release, the new mixes were supervised by Streisand and Grammy-winning engineer Jochem van der Saag, who culled it from tapes of her sets at the club on Nov. 4, 5, and 6, 1962. The recordings -- originally intended to comprise the singer's Columbia Records debut -- were shelved in favor of 1963's The Barbra Streisand Album, which contained studio versions of 11 of the songs from the star"s nightclub set. The live collection with 24 newly mixed tracks from the original masters, was produced by Streisand, Martin Erlichman and Jay Landers and will feature song-by-song descriptions of each song. It will be released as a 180-gram 2LP set and SACD, with the CD version packaged in a lavish hardcover book with a 32-page booklet with historical notes, photos and a message from Streisand; the vinyl set from Impex Records will come with a 12-page booklet. It will be Streisand's first release since her 2021 rarities album Release Me 2. - Billboard, 9/23/22...... 
The Doobie Brothers announced on Instagram on Sept. 22 that their longtime drummer John Hartman has died at age 72. "Today we are thinking of John Hartman, or Little John to us," read a social statement from the group. "John was a wild spirit, great drummer, and showman during his time in the Doobies. He was also a close friend for many years and an intricate part of the band personality! We send our condolences to all his loved ones at this difficult time." Hartman moved to Northern California to join what was planned as a Moby Grape reunion with that band's leader, Skip Spence, in 1969 that never materialized, according to a band bio. But after Spence introduced him to future bandmate singer/guitarist Tom Johnston, the pair started playing gigs in Bay Area bars, adding in singer/finger-picking guitarist Pat Simmons to the lineup. The band's 1971 Warner Bros. debut featured original bass player Dave Shogren, who split before the Doobies recorded their 1972 follow-up, Toulouse Street. The latter finally got them on the charts thanks to the easy-rocking hits "Listen to the Music" and "Jesus is Just Alright/Rockin' Down the Highway." By 1972, the Doobies had added new bassist Tiran Porter as well as second drummer Michael Hossack, initiating what would become their signature double-percussionist sound. Hartman left the group in 1979 before the release of the band's ninth album, 1980's One Step Closer. He returned 10 years later and played on 1989's Cycles and 1991's Brotherhood before leaving again in 1992. The beloved drummer was on hand in 2020 when the Doobies were inducting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. No additional information was made available on exactly when Hartman passed or his cause of death. - Billboard, 9/23/22...... Pharoah Sanders, a legendary tenor saxophonist who performed alongside John Coltrane in the mid-1960s, died on Sept. 24. He was 81. "We are devastated to share that Pharoah Sanders has passed away," his record label Luaka Bop wrote on Twitter. "He died peacefully surrounded by loving family and friends in Los Angeles earlier this morning. Always and forever the most beautiful human being, may he rest in peace." Born in Little Rock, Ark., on Oct. 13, 1940, Mr. Sanders -- whose real name was Ferrell Sanders -- moved to the Bay Area in the late 1950s before relocating to New York City, where he met fellow jazz artist Sun Ra, who encouraged him to take the name Pharoah. He eventually made a name for himself while performing alongside fellow jazz luminaries like Don Cherry and Billy Higgins. In 1965, Mr. Sanders joined Coltrane's group on tenor saxophone. During that time, Coltrane released several avant-garde masterpieces, including his 1966 album, Ascension. Mr. Sanders played with Coltrane until the jazz icon's death in 1967. After Coltrane's passing, Mr. Sanders briefly performed with his widow, Alice Coltrane, before forging his own path as a key figure in the spiritual jazz scene. Over the next two decades, Mr. Sanders continued releasing music as both a leader and sideman, working with fellow jazz acts including McCoy Tyner, Sonny Sharrock, Idris Muhammad and Leon Thomas. After a lengthy hiatus from the recording studio, Mr. Sanders returned in 2021 with the critically-acclaimed album Promises, which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. - Billboard, 9/24/22...... 
Actress Louise Fletcher, who won an Academy Award for her role in the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, died in her sleep on Sept. 23 surrounded by family at her home in Montdurausse, France. She was 88. Andrew Bick, her son, told The Hollywood Reporter that she died of natural causes. She had survived two bouts with breast cancer. The actress won the Academy Award for Best Leading Actress in 1976 for her portrayal of ruthless nurse Mildred Ratched in Milos Forman's screen adaptation of Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name. The movie also won awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Leading Actor and Best Screenplay. In her acceptance speech that night, Ms. Fletcher used American Sign Language to thank her deaf parents and thanked audiences for hating her. Her portrayal of the character in the film was so memorable, streaming platform Netflix made a series called Ratched in 2020, which tells the origin story of the nurse-turned-villain. Born Estelle Louise Fletcher on July 22, 1934, she was the second of four children. She married producer Jerry Bick in the early 1960s and had two sons, John and Andrew. Ms. Fletcher divorced Bick in 1977 and is survived by her sons, according to the AP. - Reuters, 9/24/22...... Star Wars composer John Williams are among the latest Hollywood industry members to receive an honorary knighthood from Britain's late Queen Elizabeth II. The honor grants Williams, along with former Disney CEO Bob Iger, with the title of KBE, which is more formally known as Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Sept. 7 at the age of 96, Iger and Williams are just two among a larger 2022 class of approved honorary British awards. Williams was honored for his services to film music. The KBE honor is typically given to non-Britons who have made important contributions to the relations between Britain and their own country. - The Hollywood Reporter, 9/24/22.
Ozzy Osbourne is currently enjoying his strongest album opening of his six-decade career in music. Osbourne's critically acclaimed new set 
As the new David Bowie film Moonage Daydream is released exclusively in IMAX on Sept. 16 and hits U.K. cinemas on Sept. 23, the late rock legend was honoured with a stone on London's Music Walk of Fame on Camden High Street on Sept. 22. "Enjoyed being at Camden Town today for the unveiling of the David Bowie 'music walk of fame'," reads a post on the DavidBowiePinUp 
Stevie Nicks is set to release a new song on Sept. 23 -- a cover of the Stephen Stills-penned Buffalo Springfield hit "For What It's Worth." "I am so excited to release my new song this Friday," Nicks wrote in a handwritten letter posted to 
Former Journey frontman Steve Perry is taking legal action to stop his former bandmates from owning merchandise trademarks on the names of many of the band's biggest hits. In a petition filed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Sept. 11, Perry asked the agency to invalidate 20 trademark registrations held by a company called Freedom JN LLC an entity that he says is controlled by former bandmates Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon. The disputed trademarks include "Anyway You Want It," "Wheel In The Sky, "Open Arms" and the titles of many of the band's other most successful songs. They cover the use of the names on T-shirts, hoodies and other forms of apparel, making it easier for the band to sue someone selling those items. Perry, who left Journey in 1998, says Cain and Schon were not allowed to unilaterally register trademarks for the song names because the trio signed a partnership agreement requiring unanimous consent for any use of the tracks, for merchandise or anything else. By applying to register the names, Perry says Cain and Schon committed "fraud on the trademark office, supplying the agency with inaccurate information about the true ownership rights. He also says that the use of the names as trademarks will "falsely suggest that he's connected to the products. "Perry was lead singer for all 20 songs when each was first released and through to the height [their] success and popularity," Perry's petition reads. "Their respective titles have become uniquely and unmistakably associated with and point to petitioner Perry." The case isn't the first trademark battle among Journey members. In 2020, Schon and Cain filed a lawsuit against former drummer Steven Smith and former bassist Ross Valory, accusing them of engaging in an "attempted corporate coup d'tat to improperly use the Journey band name." That case settled amicably with Smith and Valory departing the band. In July, Journey released a new album, 
Vancouver BC, Canada's Rio Theatre is facing a backlash over its screening of controversial 1972 X-rated film Deep Throat. The one-time screening on Sept. 14 is part of the film's 50th anniversary celebration and includes a panel discussion afterwards. But it has drawn outrage and criticism from people who say the Rio should not be celebrating a film that depicts what the female lead, Linda Lovelace, herself had called rape. "We want to offer a counter-narrative to the fact that it's a celebration," said Karla Gjini, a member of Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter, which plans to protest outside the Commercial Drive theatre before the screening. Lovelace, whose real name was Linda Boreman and died in a Denver car accident in 2002 at age 53, had testified before a U.S. Senate committee investigating the pornography industry, saying: "Virtually every time someone watches that movie, they're watching me being raped." Her autobiography Ordeal also detailed the abuse she experienced behind the scenes of the film by her ex-husband Chuck Traynor, who she says forced her into appearing in porn films, including Deep Throat. "To frame it as a celebration is not the message we want to be sending to women," said Gjini. Corinne Lea, owner of the Rio, is standing behind the screening, despite receiving death threats and threats of violence, calling the film "historically significant." "It was the first porn film that focused on having a narrative, and it also focused on the female satisfying her own sexual pleasure." Lovelace had made many contradictory statements, said Lea, including saying filming the movie was a liberating and positive experience. Looking into the whole of Lovelace's statements, "it's not a black-and-white response." Despite the controversy surrounding the main actor, the film isn't the Linda Lovelace show, Lea added. "This is a film that was significant in the history of sex and pornography in film and we are all adults and we should be able to look at controversial things and discuss them calmly," she said. Lea said she organized the moderated panel in order to have a "safe space" to discuss the film afterwards. The panel includes the Damianos, local sex work activists Velvet Steele and Susan Davis, and film studies expert Dr. Tom Waugh. - Canoe.com, 9/15/22.
In late 1980, Creedence Clearwater Revival's record label Fantasy released The Royal Albert Hall Concert, the first official live album by the original quarted lineup that purported to be a document of its historic Apr. 14, 1970 gig at the celebrated British venue. The problem was, the disc in question turned out to be from CCR's New Year's Eve concert that same year in Oakland, Calif. The album was retitled The Concert, and the Royal Albert Hall show remained the province of bootleggers. Until now. On Sept. 16, Craft Recordings released 
Meanwhile, Springsteen friend and former Rolling Stone magazine cofounder Jann S. Wenner has let it slip that the Boss has a new album in the pipeline during an interview with the magazine for Wenner's new book 
Gene Simmons of KISS has told Goldmine magazine that he doesn't have "friends" and prefers his own company. Simmons says his closest kinship is with his longtime bandmate Paul Stanley, and they only get together when they have band things to do. "How do I say this without sounding inhuman?," Simmons said. "I don't have friends. Yeah, if friends means, 'Gee, I don't know what I'm going to do this afternoon. Hey, you want to come over and hang out?' I'm more interested in what I want to do, and I don't want to pretend that I'm interested in what you want to do because I am not," he added. KISS are on their "End of the Road" farewell tour, with founding members Simmons and Stanley now joined by Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, who replaced Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, respectively. - Music-News.com, 9/17/22...... In a new interview with People, Ozzy Osbourne said his bouts with health emergencies over recent years isn't going to stop him from performing for fans. "It's where I belong," he said. "The relationship I have with my audience is the biggest love affair of my life." Between surgeries to treat a staph infection in 2018, the reveal of his Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 2019, a pneumonia battle that was followed by a fall at home in 2020 as well as a major neck surgery in June and a positive Covid-19 diagnosis this year, Ozzy has been dealing with continuous health issues. "That's the only thing that reminds me I'm getting older: things going wrong and not working anymore," he told the magazine. "But I still feel young at heart." Osbourne however added he's not going to "retire" any time soon. "I am determined to get back on stage even if I have to be nailed to a board and wheeled on," he said. "Survival is my legacy." Meanwhile, the Blizzard of Ozz has shared his entire seven-minute halftime performance at the Sept. 8 Rams and Bills NFL season opener available on 
Two songs by '70s acts included in the hit AMC series Beter Call Saul have made it onto Billboard's Top TV Songs chart for August 2022. Looking Glass's 1972 No. 1 hit 
After seeing two videos of an elephant in India named Jeymalyatha being beaten by handlers, Paul McCartney has teamed up with the animal rights organization PETA India to send a letter to the Indian government requesting help for the animal. "I have considered India a spiritual place ever since I travelled there in the 1960s. I was impressed by India's cultural love for animals," Sir Paul wrote in the letter. "I know India reveres elephants, its national heritage animal, but cruelty to animals happens everywhere, even in India. What reflects on a country's values is how that cruelty is addressed. I trust you agree that Jeymalyatha has suffered more than enough, and that she deserves to spend the rest of her time on this Earth away from her abusive trainers, rehabilitating, and with others of her kind," the letter added. McCartney, who has a long history of promoting a vegan lifestyle and advocating for animal safety, and PETA are urging officials to move the elephant to a reputable rescue center immediately. PETA India also submitted a veterinary inspection report to Indian officials, pointing out that Jeymalyatha's current handler used pliers on her skin right in front of inspectors. - Billboard, 9/13/22...... Veteran pop songstress Dionne Warwick is calling out Hollywood A-Lister Leonardo DiCaprio for his alleged "relationship rule" about refusing to date women under the age of 25. Speculation that The Wolf of Wall Street actor dumps women when they reach the "ripe old age" of 25 began to circulate online earlier in September after it was reported that Leo had split from actress Camila Morrone, who turned 25 in June, following a four-year relationship. While Leo remains tight-lipped about his personal life, Warwick took to Twitter on Sept. 13 to offer the Hollywood hunk some advice. "I just heard about Leonardo DiCaprio's 25-year rule. His loss. You don't know what you're missing," the 81-year-old "Heartbreaker" singer wrote. Previously, Leonardo has had high-profile relationships with the likes of Gisele Bündchen, Bar Refaeli and Toni Garrn, though he has most recently been linked to 27-year-old model Gigi Hadid. DiCaprio, 47, has not yet responded to the rumours. Meanwhile, Warwick fans can catch the singer's show at the E Center - Edgewater Hotel in Laughlin, Nev., on Sept. 25, and UK fans in London, Cardiff, Hull, Nottingham, Glasgow and Manchester can catch the Grammy-winner on tour from Oct. 19 through Nov. 2. - Music-News.com, 9/13/22...... On July 27, iconic television producer Norman Lear turned 100 and, no retirement in sight, he's slowing down only long enough to host Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter, a two-hour special premiering on ABC on Sept. 22 at 9/8c celebrating his life and career. Details are secret as to who will be showing up, but expect tributes to his sitcom hits -- such as 
Film director Jean-Luc Godard, the godfather of France's New Wave cinema who pushed cinematic boundaries and inspired iconoclastic directors decades after his 1960s heyday, died at his home in Switzerland on Sept. 13 aged 91, his family and producers said. Mr. Godard was among the world's most acclaimed directors, known for such classics as Breathless and Contempt, which broke with convention and helped kickstart a new way of filmmaking, with handheld camera work, jump cuts and existential dialog. The French daily Liberation, which first reported the news, said Mr. Godard chose to end his life through assisted suicide, a practice allowed under Swiss law, citing a person close to the family as saying that "it was his decision and it was important to him that people know about it." Quentin Tarantino, director of 1990s cult films Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, is among a more recent generation of filmmakers who took up the mantle of the boundary-bending tradition initiated by Mr. Godard and his Paris Left Bank cohorts, which included Francois Truffaut and Eric Rohmer. Earlier came Martin Scorsese in 1976 with Taxi Driver, the disturbing neon-lit psychological thriller of a Vietnam veteran turned cabbie who steers through the streets all night with a growing obsession for the need to clean up seedy New York City. "Jean-Luc Godard, the most iconoclastic filmmaker of the New Wave, had invented a resolutely modern, intensely free art. We are losing a national treasure, a look of genius," French Pres. Emmanuel Macron 
"I'm glad she's at rest and she deserves it. She worked bloody hard. I send my love to her family and her loved ones, and she will be missed. But her spirit lives on. And we'll celebrate her life tonight with music," Elton added, before playing his 1975 hit "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me." Paul McCartney, saying memories had come "flooding back" following the Queen's passing, told social media followers that he was "privileged to have been alive during the whole of Queen Elizabeth II's reign." Sir Paul, 80, went on to recall the memories he has of the Queen, including winning an essay competition with a piece about the monarchy at 10 years old and watching Elizabeth's coronation on a black-and-white television in 1953. Looking back I am honoured and amazed to see that I met Her Majesty eight or nine times and each time she impressed me with her great sense of humour combined with great dignity," he wrote. "The Beatles got the MBE on 26th October 1965. I remember us being taken aside and shown what the correct protocol was. We were told how to approach Her Majesty and not to talk to her unless she talks to us. For four Liverpool lads, it was, 'Wow, hey man.'" After recounting his other experiences with the Queen, Macca concluded his post: "God bless you. You will be missed." Yoko Ono, posting on 
Ozzy Osbourne fans are infuriated that the metal icon's first live performance in nearly four years during half-time of the L.A. Rams and Buffalo Bills NFL season opener on Sept. 8 was only shown for a few seconds on NBC. Osbourne performed a multi-song medley, joined by Post Malone and Travis Scott, that included their collaborative track "Take What You Want," however broadcaster Maria Taylor introduced Ozzy's performance and the screen cut to him half-way through a performance of the title track from his new album 
Newly unsealed documents from the FBI show Aretha Franklin was tracked by the agency several times throughout her career, primarily in the late '60s and early '70s, for her connection to the Civil Rights Movement as the "Queen of Soul" used her musical influence to advocate for racial equality in America. The documents -- which total 270 pages and also feature information regarding death threats to the singer and copyright infringement cases -- highlight Franklin's many performances at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which Dr. Martin Luther King was president. The shows for the SCLC took place in Atlanta and Memphis between 1967 and 1968 and were labeled as "communist infiltration" events and "a summary of the racial situation in Atlanta, GA" by the FBI. The FBI was concerned that Franklin's performances at the events "would provide emotional spark which could ignite racial disturbance [in] this area," due to members of the group that "have supported the militant black power concept." Other events Franklin was investigated for included a scheduled Black Panther Party performance, which the singer ultimately skipped due to timing issues but was nonetheless included in the documents. "Bobby Seale, Chairman of the Black Panther Party, has directed the Los Angeles Black Panther Party to initiate plans for a major rally culminating in free food distribution to the poor black people in Los Angeles," it reads. "Source also advised that Gwen Goodloe wanted to contact Negro singing stars Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack to possibly assist in the event." Elsewhere in the documents, the FBI saw a link between Franklin and the "quasi-military group" Black Liberation Army after reportedly finding her address in BLA's organization documents. Due to insufficient evidence, the FBI concluded that Franklin's association with the BLA could not be determined. Franklin died in 2018 at age 76. - Billboard, 9/9/22...... For the third summer in six years, the Rolling Stones have embarked on a 14-show tour throughout Europe, and topped the $100 million mark yet again. In celebration of the band's sprawling six-decade career, their new tour -- officially billed as The Rolling Stones -- SIXTY" doubled its namesake, grossing $120.8 million from 712,000 tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. Overall, the brief tour averaged $8.6 million and 51,000 tickets per show. That makes it the Stones' most fruitful European tour ever, clipping the 2017 and 2018 legs of the "No Filter Tour," which averaged $8.6 million ($8.568 million, to be exact) and $8.4 million, respectively. In total grosses, it lags behind the 2003 European leg of the Licks Tour, which earned $129.7 million in a far more expansive run of 46 dates. - NME, 9/9/22...... Roxy Music are rumored to be playing the legends slot at the UK's Glastonbury festival in 2023. Bryan Ferry and co recently reunited for a 50th anniversary tour in September, their first in 11 years, and it's now been claimed the glam rock legends are being eyed for the Sunday tea-time slot at the world-famous music festival in Somerset, England, next summer. "I'm hearing that Roxy Music will do the Legends Slot at next year's Glastonbury. Like all rumours, it might be wrong but I don't think it is," reads a post on the official Glastonbury Twitter page. Roxy Music will play three shows in Philadelphia on Sept. 16, before visiting such major markets as Boston (9/18), Chicago (9/20), Dallas (9/24), San Francisco (9/27) and the L.A. suburb of Inglewood (9/29). They'll then return to the UK for shows in Glasgow (10/10), Manchester (10/12) and London (10/14). - Music-News.com, 9/12/22...... In July, Manhattan prosecutors indicted three men for trying to profit from handwritten notes for the 1976 Hotel California album that were allegedly stolen from Eagles drummer and singer Don Henley. Glenn Horowitz, 66, Craig Inciardi, 58, and Edward Kosinski, 59, were charged with conspiracy over their efforts to resell and hide the origin of the stolen notes, which also include other iconic Eagles songs and are worth more than $1 million. At the time, the three vowed to "fight these unjustified charges vigorously." On Sept. 7, the trio did exactly that -- filing motions to dismiss the case that cited a litany of faults with the charges against them. Chief among them: That the alleged "thief," a journalist named Ed Sanders who obtained them in the 1970s, has never been charged with a crime and says he did nothing wrong. "Mr. Sanders had been asked by the rock group the Eagles to write their official biography," wrote Horowitz's lawyer Jonathan Bach. "He traveled with the band and obtained possession of voluminous materials, including handwritten drafts of Eagles' lyrics. The Indictment nowhere alleges that Mr. Sanders stole or improperly obtained any materials." Lawyers for Kosinski cited a 2019 interview between Sanders and prosecutors, in which an investigator repeatedly told the now-elderly author that he "did nothing wrong" and agreed that he had not stolen the notes. "If the People's view is that Mr. Sanders is not a thief, the court should dismiss the Indictment in its entirety," wrote Kosinski's lawyer Antonia Apps, before pointedly explaining that a crucial element of criminally possessing stolen property is that "the property being possessed was in fact stolen." A spokesman for the Manhattan DA's office did not immediately return a request for comment. - Billboard, 9/8/22...... 
Nearly 50 years after her breakthrough role as Bond Girl Solitaire opposite Roger Moore's 007 in 1973's 
Bruce Springsteen has been confirmed as the headliner for the 16th annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 7. The benefit -- which supports the Bob Woodruff Foundation's mission to "find, fund, shape, and accelerate equitable solutions that help the veteran and military community thrive" -- will also feature The Lumineers, comedian Jon Stewart, Amber Iman, Hasan Minhaj and Jeff Ross, among others. "After an incredible in-person return last year, we are thrilled to welcome everyone back for another night of laughter, healing, and appreciation of our nation's heroic veterans, featuring some of the funniest comics and most talented musicians on the planet," said its founder, journalist Bob Woodruff. Though the line-up for the event has shifted with every year it takes place, Springsteen has been the sole constant act, performing at each and every one. At last year's event, the Boss played a handful of acoustic tracks and, as always, cracked a few jokes. In 2020, when the event went virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he performed remotely from an empty New Jersey bar. - New Musical Express, 9/8/22...... The new Elton John/Britney Spears collaboration "Hold Me Closer" has debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart -- one spot higher than Elton and Dua Lipa and PNAU's massive hit collab "Cold Heart" ever climbed in its long chart run. "Hold Me Closer" also has strong sales and streaming numbers and a robust start at radio. The song borrows lyrics and melodies from Sir Elton's past hits "Tiny Dancer" and "The One," and represents the first new music we've heard from pop queen Britney since her mid-to-late '10s heyday. Not surprisingly, "Hold Me Closer" has inspired some listeners to revisit, or discover, classic songs on which "Hold Me Closer" draws inspiration from on streaming platforms. Following the release of the new collab, Elton's "Tiny Dancer," which serves as the basis of the "Hold Me Closer" chorus, rose 10.4% in weekly U.S. official on-demand audio streams during the week ending Sept. 1, while "The One," which makes up its verses, was up 19.22%, according to Luminate. And while "Hold Me Closer may reanimate John's older material, the new single is already a bigger chart hit -- blasting in at No. 6 on the Hot 100 and surpassing the chart peaks of not only "Cold Heart (No. 7), but also "The One (No. 9) and "Tiny Dancer (No. 41). Meanwhile, John has announced he plans on taking a mini "hiatus" from music after his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour wraps on July 8, 2023, in Stockholm, Sweden. And while he won't rule out collaborating with other artists, the 75-year-old music legend says he has no plans to release any new music in 2023 and is planning to take a little break from the studio "to figure out" what he wants to do. However the Rocket Man reassured fans that he will never give up music because it's so "incredibly healing." Speaking on The Hits Radio Breakfast Show with Fleur East, he said of future collaborations after his latest "Hold Me Closer" collab with Britney Spears: "I'm open to anything but I've got to finish my tour and I probably won't release anything next year but who knows! I may get an offer from somebody, you never know... I might do something on someone else's record but not on mine." In the meantime, John has some musicals on the way, having penned the music for "The Devil Wears Prada" stage adaptation and "Tammy Faye" with Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears. On Sept. 7, Elton played the first of two back-to-back stadium shows at Toronto's Rogers Centre, calling Canada his "second home" given he's married to Torontonian David Furnish and their two sons have Canadian passports. It was the 247th show of his massive farewell tour. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 9/7/22...... 
The Beatles picked up five awards at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sept. 3. The Peter Jackson-directed documentary The Beatles: Get Back was honored in the categories of Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera), and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera). Meanwhile, the Beatles have confirmed in a 
"Bowie On The Blockchain," a new David Bowie digital art project approved by the late artist's estate, is set to launch on Sept. 13 on OpenSea. The project is being billed as "a first-of-its-kind multiple artist NFT sale" that will bring together the work of nine non-fungible token (NFT) artists. The venture is a partnership between the Bowie estate, the NFT marketplace OpenSea, and Andrew D. Keller and Joaquin Acrich's Web3 company We Love The Arts. Each artist, including Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova, has created "their own unique takes paying homage to David Bowie and his influence across their artistic and personal identities," according to a press release. One hundred per cent of the profits from the sale that will go to the Bowie estate will be donated to the humanitarian organization CARE, where Bowie's widow Iman serves as its Global Advocate. - NME, 9/6/22...... Meanwhile, Bowie's sometime producer Brian Eno has shared his latest song, "We Let It In," on 
Unseen Led Zeppelin from the band's legendary LA Forum show in 1970 has been made available for the first time. The "Whole Lotta Love" rockers' performance at the iconic venue on Sept. 4, 1970 has gone down as one of their most famous shows, and the Live on Blueberry Hill LP is regarded as one of the first rock bootlegs. Until now, footage from the show hadn't been seen but fan Eddie Vincent has finally shared seven minutes of his recording on YouTube after 52 years. In an introduction to his video, Eddie -- who snuck a Kodak Brownie 8mm camera into the venue to capture some material -- said: "When my friends and I got to the Forum, I tucked it under my jacket. "There weren't any problems at the door back in those days. The seats were excellent, first row behind the stage. We were behind John Bonham's gong, so you couldn't really see him much, but the sound was great." Although the fan kept the camera -- which could only film for 30 seconds at a time -- off for most of the gig, he did get snippets of a number of songs, including "Whole Lotta Love," "Thank You" and "What Is And What Should Never Be." Eddie added: "During the acoustic set, John ducked behind the gong to grab a cigarette and very graciously acknowledged our slavish praise. He even posed twice for my still camera, and both times the flash failed to go off. Those pictures came out worthless, unfortunately. But a few others, along with that 8 mm film, survived." Eddie recently found his old footage and sent it to another Zeppelin fan, John Waters, who put it with audio from Live on Blueberry Hill and uploaded it to YouTube. He told Classic Rock magazine: "The music needs to be out there. I know a lot of collectors and traders that don't give their stuff away, and that's a shame to me. Music's to be shared, and today you need it to get away from the crazy world. And if this film brings a lot of people happiness, hey, we did a good job." - Music-News.com, 9/7/22...... AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson has announced his autobiography, The Lives of Brian, will be published by Penguin Books in the UK on Oct. 13, with a US release following on Oct. 25. Initially announced in Apr. 2021, Johnson's book has been billed as a "riotous, lovable memoir packed with outrageous stories." "I've had some long nights and some great nights, bad days and a lot of good ones," Johnson said in a statement on 
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, died on Sept. 8 after 70 years on the throne. She was 96. The palace announced she "died peacefully" at Balmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland, where members of the royal family had rushed to her side after her health took a turn for the worse. A link to the almost-vanished generation that fought World War II, Elizabeth II was born Apr. 21, 1926, and the only monarch most Britons have ever known. Her 73-year-old son Prince Charles automatically became king upon her death and will be known as King Charles III, his office announced. Charles' second wife, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla Bowles,, will be known as the Queen Consort. The BBC played the national anthem, "God Save the Queen," over a portrait of her in full regalia as her death was announced, and the flag over Buckingham Palace was lowered to half-staff as the second Elizabethan age came to a close. The impact of her loss will be huge and unpredictable, both for the nation and for the monarchy, an institution she helped stabilize and modernize across decades of huge social change and family scandals. In a statement, Charles called the death of his mother "a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family," adding: "I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world." World leaders, including British Prime Minister Liz Truss, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Indian Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi, extended condolences and paid tribute to the queen. Truss, appointed by the queen just 48 hours earlier, pronounced the country "devastated" and called Elizabeth "the rock on which modern Britain was built." The queen became less visible in her final years as age and frailty curtailed many public appearances. But she remained firmly in control of the monarchy and at the center of national life as Britain celebrated her Platinum Jubilee with days of parties and pageants in June 2022. The same month she became the second longest-reigning monarch in history, behind 17th-century French King Louis XIV, who took the throne at age 4. On Sept. 6, she presided at a ceremony at Balmoral Castle to accept the resignation of Boris Johnson as prime minister and appoint Truss as his successor. Following the death of his mother, Prince Charles will become the oldest person to take the British throne. Funeral plans for the queen have yet to be announced. - AP, 9/8/22.