Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on November 27th, 2022

Bruce Springsteen has debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts for the eighth time with his latest effort, Only the Strong Survive. In the Nov. 26-dated rankings, Strong moved 40,000 equivalent album units and Springsteen is now tied with John Mayer for the most Top Rock & Alternative Albums rulers on that chart, which began in 2006 (his hefty history on Billboard's charts dates to 1975.) Two songs from Strong appear on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart: "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" enters at No. 16, and "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" previously made the list at No. 24 on Oct. 15, before the album was released. - Billboard, 11/23/22...... During their '70s and '80s heyday, mainstream rock stars Journey produced some of the sweetest rock sounds of the era, however the relationships between band members has been tumultuous to say the least. In 2020, Journey guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan 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 ended in 2021 with an "amicable settlement that saw Smith and Valory depart the band. In September, former lead singer Steve Perry took legal action to stop Schon and Cain from registering federal trademarks on the names of many of the band's biggest hits, including "Anyway You Want It" and "Wheel In The Sky." Perry, who left Journey in 1998, says his ex-mates cannot unilaterally use the song names because the trio signed a partnership agreement requiring unanimous consent in the suit, which remains pending. Now, Neal Schon is suing Jonathan Cain over allegations that he's blocking access to "critical financial records." In a lawsuit filed in October in California state court, Schon accused Cain -- the only other core band member remaining from Journey's heyday -- of refusing to give him access to records from an American Express account, through which he claims that "millions in Journey funds have flowed." As 50/50 co-owners of the band's corporate entity, Schon says each of them has a right to inspect all financial records, but claims that Cain has "improperly restricted and blocked him from seeing the Amex records for months." "This action is brought to turn the lights on, so to speak, and obtain critical financial information Schon has been trying to obtain but has been denied," his lawyers wrote in an Oct. 31 complaint. "Schon has tried to avoid legal action, repeatedly requesting that Cain grant him access to the AMEX account [but] Cain has not been forthcoming and cooperative, making this action necessary." In a response statement, Cain called Schon's accusations "malicious lies" and said the lawsuit had "absolutely no merit." Cain said his bandmate had always had access to the Journey credit card, but had become angered when limits were placed on his spending. "Neal has been under tremendous financial pressure as a result of his excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle, which led to him running up enormous personal charges on the band's credit card account," Cain wrote in the statement. "When efforts were made to limit his use of the card to legitimate band expenses, Neal unfortunately decided to attack me rather than trying to get his reckless spending under control." "Schon's complaint is the classic example of desperate people doing desperate things," Cain's attorney Alan Gutman said. "It's very unfortunate that Neal -- and Neal alone -- has created such difficulties for himself and his family through his profligate spending." - Billboard, 11/21/22...... Elton John and Britney Spears' "Hold Me Closer" has climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Pop Airplay chart. His previous team-up modernizing his catalog, "Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)" with Dua Lipa, also ruled this chart for a week this March. The Adult Pop Airplay chart reflects weekly plays, as monitored by Luminate, on reporting adult Top 40 stations. The collab previously topped the Digital Song Sales, Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs, Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales and Dance/Mix Show Airplay charts. Meanwhile, Sir Elton, his husband David Furnish and children Zachary (11) and Elijah (9) helped unveil the Saks Fifth Avenue holiday display on Nov. 22 at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. A police barricade stopped traffic on (the rather busy) Fifth Avenue at 49th Street in Manhattan while a grand piano was wheeled into the middle of Fifth Avenue around 7:00 p.m. EST as onlookers -- who were expecting a holiday display reveal but not a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer -- marveled. After some introductory remarks from Saks CEO Marc J. Metrick, who announced that Saks was giving a $1 million donation to the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Rocket Fund, Sir Elton took his rightful place behind the ivories. After the performance, Elton joined his family in a seated section of the crowd to watch the lights show. The window extravaganza included a fitting nod to John via a several rocket ships on pistons while seasonally shaded lights tripped the light fantastic on the building's façade. A medley of Sir Elton's hits accompanied the display, which found John and Furnish bobbing their heads to "Step Into Christmas" and "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)." - Billboard, 11/23/22...... Cher has acknowledged that her relationship with 36-year-old music exec Alexander Edwards "looks strange on paper" after confirming the budding romance on social media earlier in November. On Nov. 23 the 76-year-old diva topless picture of Edwards on Twitter. Besides the snap, in which Alexander simply wears boxer shorts, she wrote, "A.E. Hanging Ot (Out)." When a few users responded with criticism of their 40-year age difference, she replied, "We're Happy" and "We're Grown ups." She then noted that their relationship looks odd on the surface, tweeting, "On paper This Looks strange (Even 2 ME) A.E Says (love) Doesn't Know Math." When asked for Alexander's best qualities, she responded, "He's Kind ,Smart, Hilarious...& We (kiss) Like Teenagers." Cher also shared that Alexander pursued her and she was "skittish" at first. "He's 36 & In End He Came after me, Till we met in the middle. He's Consistent one, I'm The Skittish one. We love each other.... LADIES NEVER GIVE UP," she wrote. Celebrity gossip site TMZ.com recently reported that Cher and Alexander met at Rick Owens' show at Paris Fashion Week in September, and the "Believe" hitmaker seemingly confirmed it by telling a user: "PARIS WAS MAGIC." Cher was previously married to Sonny Bono from 1964 to 1975 and Gregg Allman from 1975 to 1979, while Alexander previously dated model Amber Rose. The pair share a three-year-old son named Slash. - Music-News.com, 11/24/22...... David Bowie's movie director son Duncan Jones is among the latest celebrities to share his frustration at former Pres. Donald Trump for playing unauthorized music at campaign events. On Nov. 15, Trump announced he's running for president in 2024 at the Mar-a-Lago hotel in Florida, where his exit music from the stage was 'Heroes' by Bowie -- a track he'd previously used during his first bid for the White House back in 2016. After Twitter users highlighted the track's use to Jones, he Tweeted: "We've been though this before. He used the same track 6 years ago. Ive been told there is little we can do about it [sic]." In another response, the Moon director Tweeted: "Pretty sure he's just doing that now to wind me up." - NME, 11/21/22...... Bonnie Raitt has been announced as a headliner for the U.K.'s 2023 Black Deer Festival, which returns to Eridge Park, Kent, South East England, between June 16 and 18. "I'm really looking forward to coming to Black Deer Festival. I hear it's a real home away from home for American musicians. See you next summer!," the 73-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member said in a statement. Also on the bill will be Nathaniel Rateliff, Lucinda Williams and Allison Russell. The concert will be Raitt's only U.K. festival appearance of 2023. Meanwhile, the L.A.-based pop duo Sparks have announced a pair of London headline concerts for 2023. Comprising brothers Ron and Russell Mael, Sparks are due to play at the historic Royal Albert Hall on May 29 and 30, 2023. "Since we first started playing music, the Royal Albert Hall has been the pinnacle of British music venues for us and a place we've always aspired to play, said Sparks in a statement. "These shows are a dream come true!" Sparks recently revealed that they were in the studio at work on a new album, the follow up to their 2020 LP A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip and the band's soundtrack record to the 2021 film Annette. - Music-News.com/New Musical Express, 11/23/22...... Former Commodores member and '80s superstar Lionel Richie was honored with the Billboard Icon Award at the 2022 American Music Awards on Nov. 20 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Richie's 1983 No. 1 hit "All Night Long (All Night)" kicked off the tribute video, which featured Smokey Robinson, Ne-Yo, Katy Perry and Shania Twain showering him with praise and celebrating his legacy. "Clearly, a higher power chose Lionel Richie as a vessel," Ne-Yo said in the clip, with his fellow American Idol judge chiming in by saying, "It's almost like his hands are his magic wands and he's like, 'OK.'" The 17-time AMA winner eventually appeared on the stage and extended his gratitude to his children, his manager and his girlfriend Lisa Parigi "who is actually more of the adult in the room because she has to deal with me." Richie, 72, spent the remainder of his time on stage talking to the "young superstars": "Take this opportunity. That light is on you. Inspire. God bless you all. Thank you very much," he said. After Richie took home the award, Stevie Wonder and Charlie Puthpaid a lengthy tribute to the superstar. Appearing on the stage at a set of dueling pianos, the pair engaged in what Puth referred to onstage as a "musical tennis match of Lionel Richie copyrights" -- essentially, ping-ponging off each other, performing hits from Richie's vast catalog. The two went back and forth between such hits and "Three Times A Lady" and "Easy" for a while, before eventually landing on one of the biggest hits from Richie's pen, "We Are The World" with Michael Jackson. Much like that original celebrity-packed jam, the stage filled with stars, including Robinson, Ari Lennox, Muni Long, Melissa Etheridge, Jimmie Allen, Yola and more. As everyone belted the lyrics out, Richie couldn't help but rush up onto the stage to perform with the group. - Billboard, 11/20/22...... Among the revelations contained in a collection of 42 handwritten love letters by a teenage Bob Dylan was the iconic U.S. singer/songwriter almost decided to call himself "Little Willie." Dylan -- real name Robert Allen Zimmerman -- considered a variety of other potential stage names including "Elston," as revealed in the letters written to his early flame (and fellow history class student) Barbara Hewitt between 1957 and 1959 and recently sold at auction in Boston for $670,000 (£563,000) in a bid won by Livraria Lello, a Portuguese bookshop. Hewitt died in 2020, with the 150 pages of letters left to be discovered by her daughter. In one letter Bob invited Hewitt to a Buddy Holly concert, shortly before the singer's death. He also drew an invented band with text that read: "'Little' Willie, lead singer of the Night Gales." Later letters also revealed the end of the relationship, when Dylan asked Hewitt to return the photographs he gave to her. - NME, 11/21/22...... Cliff Richard dropped a new Christmas single, "Heart of Christmas," on Nov. 24, one day before the release of his latest Yuletide collection, Christmas With Cliff. As well as festive covers such as "Joy To The World," "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Sleigh Ride," the "Devil Woman" hitmaker has recorded brand new original tracks, also including "First Christmas" and "Six Days After Christmas (Happy New Year)." In a statement, Sir Cliff said that he has "always loved being in recording studios ever since Studio 2, Abbey Road, in 1958," but Christmas With Cliff was ironically recorded 4,427 miles away from Abbey Road in Criteria Studios in sunny Miami, Fla. "This album is not just mine -- it belongs to all of us involved in creating it, and I hope that we add a little something special to your Christmas season," Richard explained. His previous Christmas LP's including Cliff at Christmas in 2003 and Together With Cliff Richard in 1991. Richard has had four UK Christmas No. 1 singles, two as a solo artist with "Mistletoe and Wine" and "Saviour's Day." - Music-News.com, 11/20/22...... Some doctors are now making the claim that iconic '70s martial arts star Bruce Lee died from drinking too much water, almost 50 years after Lee died at age 32 in the summer of 1973 in Hong Kong. An autopsy from the time showed the Enter the Dragon star had been killed by brain swelling, which medics blamed on him taking a painkiller. Researchers have now reviewed the evidence and concluded Lee is more likely to have died from hyponatraemia. A team of experts wrote in the Clinical Kidney Journal: "In other words, we propose that the kidney's inability to excrete excess water killed Bruce Lee. We hypothesize that Bruce Lee died from a specific form of kidney dysfunction: the inability to excrete enough water to maintain water homeostasis, which is mainly a tubular function. This may lead to hyponatraemia, cerebral oedema (brain swelling) and death within hours if excess water intake is not matched by water excretion in urine, which is in line with the timeline of Lee's demise... ironically, Lee made famous the quote, 'Be water, my friend', but excess water appears to have ultimately killed him." The study claimed Lee had multiple risk factors for hyponatraemia, including drinking high quantities of liquid and using cannabis, which increases thirst. Hyponatremia means sodium level in blood, which people need for fluid balance, is abnormally low. The imbalance causes cells in the body to swell, including those in the brain. Lee's death has been surrounded for decades by conspiracy theories that include he may have been assassinated by Chinese gangsters, poisoned by a jealous lover or was the victim of a curse. Lee's wife Linda Lee, 77, revealed the kung-fu expert had a fluid-based diet of carrot and apple juice before his death. Lee has been reported to have frequently used cannabis and in one letter described himself as "stoned as hell." Lee collapsed in May 1973, with a doctor diagnosing him with cerebral oedema and the martial artist admitted that he had eaten Nepalese hash before the incident. - Bang Showbiz, 11/21/22...... Wilko Johnson, the longtime guitarist for British blues rockers Dr. Feelgood, died at his home in England on Nov. 21. He was 75. Johnson (born John Wilkinson) was born in 1947 and raised on Canvey Island, a bleak industrial oil town in England's River Thames estuary. He worked as a schoolteacher before forming the long-running group with some hometown friends who'd been performing as The Pigboy Charlie Band. After changing their name -- inspired by a beloved Johnny Kidd and the Pirates cover of a Piano Red blues standard -- Dr. Feelgood began playing gigs in 1971, earning early praise for Johnson's distinctive choppy, chugging fingerpicking guitar sound and singer Lee Brilleaux's growly vocals on such favorites as "Roxette," "Back in the Night" and covers of blues standards "Bonie Moronie" and Willie Dixon's "You'll Be Mine." Though they bristled at the term "pub rock, the band were known for their raucous, energetic performances, best captured on their UK No. 1 live album 1976's Stupidity. The group -- whose albums were a mix of covers and blues standards along with originals largely written by Johnson during his tenure -- has released more than a dozen albums to date; Johnson only appeared on their first three studio efforts and Stupidity, before splitting from the group in 1977 amid reported conflicts with singer Brilleaux. Johnson went on to form the bands the Solid Senders, as well as the Wilko Johnson Band, before briefly joining Ian Dury and the Blockheads in 1980. He continued to perform and record with his eponymous band through the 2000s, releasing more a dozen albums and EPs, while also occasionally taking on acting roles. Between his signature slashing style and thousand-yard stare on stage, Johnson is credited with influencing a generation of performers in British punk and post-punk bands (Sex Pistols, Gang of Four, The Jam, The Clash) who sometimes mimicked his bug-eyed look and quirky style on stage. Among those paying tribute were Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, who Tweeted: "I'm sad to hear today of the passing of Wilko Johnson, the Dr Feelgood guitarist and singer/songwriter. I saw Wilko perform at Koko in Camden in May 2013 and the atmosphere was electric. This show was originally billed as his farewell tour, but, thankfully, he continued performing and thrilling crowds until recently. I really admired him and we'll all miss him. RIP Wilko." Johnson continued playing shows until just weeks before his passing and at press time no cause of death had been revealed. - Billboard, 11/23/22...... Charles Koppelman, former music executive and Martha Stewart chairman, died on Nov. 25 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 82. Mr. Koppelman began his career in entertainment as a member of musical trio The Ivy Three, which had a top 10 hit in 1960 called "Yogi." Shortly after, the singer and his bandmate, Don Rubin, joined Aldon Music's songwriting staff alongside Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. From there, they went on to form Koppelman and Rubin Associates, an entertainment company that signed The Lovin' Spoonful the same year it opened. When Commonwealth United purchased the company in 1968, the two business partners stayed on to run it, before Koppelman moved on to CBS Records where he held multiple positions. While there, Mr. Koppelman signed acts like Billy Joel, Dave Mason, Janis Ian, Journey and Phoebe Snow. In 1989, Mr. Koppelman and Bandier create a partnership with EMI Music Worldwide and begin their own label, SBK Records. One year later, they landed their first platinum album with Technotronic's Pump Up the Jam. They went on to sign talent like Jesus Jones, Wilson Phillips, Waterfront and Vanilla Ice, to name a few. Mr. Koppelman remained in the music business for quite a few years before becoming the chairman of Steve Madden in 2000, leading the company while its founder served jail time for securities fraud. In 2005, He moved on to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, where he also served as chairman. He's survived by his son Brian, daughter Jenny Koppelman Hutt and his wife, Gerri Kyhill Koppelman. - The Hollywood Reporter, 11/26/22...... Singer-actor Irene Cara, an Oscar, Golden Globe and two-time Grammy winning singer-actress, has died at her home in Florida. She was 63 and the exact date of her death was not disclosed. Cara is best known for starring in and singing the title song from the 1980 hit movie Fame and then belted out the era-defining hit "Flashdance & What a Feeling" from 1983's Flashdance. Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, announced the news on social media, writing that a cause of death was "currently unknown." During her career, Cara had three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 -- "Fame," "Flashdance & What a Feeling" and "Breakdance." "Flashdance & What A Feeling" spent six consecutive weeks at No. 1. The exuberant track also led the Dance Club Songs chart for three weeks and hit No. 2 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 4 on Adult Contemporary. Cara, who was behind some of the most joyful, high-energy pop anthems of the early '80s, first came to prominence among the young actors playing performing arts high school students in Alan Parker's Fame, with co-stars including Debbie Allen and Paul McCrane. Cara played Coco Hernandez, a striving dancer who endures all manner of deprivations, including a creepy nude photo shoot. Three years later, she and the songwriting team of Flashdance -- music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Cara -- was accepting the Oscar for best original song for "Flashdance & What a Feeling." The movie starred Jennifer Beals as a steel-town girl who dances in a bar at night and hopes to attend a prestigious dance conservatory. It also included Michael Sembello's hit song "Maniac," featuring Beals' character leaping, spinning, stomping her feet and the slow-burning theme song. "There aren't enough words to express my love and my gratitude, Cara told the Oscar crowd in her thanks. "And last but not least, a very special gentlemen who I guess started it all for me many years ago. To Alan Parker, wherever you may be tonight, I thank him. "Flashdance & What a Feeling" and "Maniac" both received Grammy nominations for record of the year. The Flashdance soundtrack received an album of the year nod. Cara won two Grammys that year -- best pop vocal performance, female and best album of original score written for a motion picture or a television special as one of many songwriters who contributed to the album. The New York-born Cara began her career on Broadway, with small parts in short-lived shows, although a musical called "The Me Nobody Knows" ran over 300 performances. She toured in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" as Mary Magdalene in the mid-1990s and a tour of the musical Flashdance toured 2012-14 with her songs. She also created the all-female band Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel and put out a double CD with the single "How Can I Make You Luv Me." Her movie credits include Sparkle and D.C. Cab. - Billboard, 11/26/22...... Geoff Wonfor, a Grammy-winning British filmmaker who directed the Beatles' acclaimed Anthology documentary series and worked on the 1980s music program "The Tube" as well as several projects with Paul McCartney, died on Nov. 22 in his home city of Newcastle. He was 73. Prominent in British entertainment since the 1980s, when he directed a handful of episodes of The Tube, Wonfor also made a documentary about Shanghai Surprise, a feature film produced by George Harrison and starring Madonna and Sean Penn. His work with Harrison would unexpectedly lead to the biggest undertaking of his career. Released in the mid-1990s, The Beatles Anthology was an authorized, multimedia project that included an eight-part documentary, three double albums and a coffee table book. Wonfor spent 4 1/2 years on the film, which combined archival footage with new interviews with the then-three surviving Beatles (McCartney, Harrison and Ringo Starr). Wonfor's challenges included weaving in commentary from John Lennon, who had been murdered in 1980. Wonfor also directed the McCartney videos "In the World Tonight" and "Young Boy" and a McCartney concert video from the Cavern Club, the Liverpool venue where the Beatles played many of their early shows. He was on hand, too, for a Beatles "reunion" from the 1990s -- a video of "Real Love," a song left unfinished by Lennon that the remaining Beatles completed and recorded. His other credits included Band Aid 20, a documentary about the anniversary re-recording of the British charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and "Sunday for Sammy," a tribute to the late British actor Sammy Johnson. - Billboard, 11/23/22.

As she participated at the Rock Academy, a music school in Woodstock, N.Y., on Nov. 20, actress Vera Farmiga covered the Black Sabbath track "War Pigs," and seemed to address it to "f---ing war pig" Vladimir Putin. Farmiga, whose Sabbath cover can be viewed on Instagram, introduced the song by saying it is about "the carnage of war and the greed of politicians," before alluding to the Russian strongman Putin as a "f---ing war pig." Farmiga, the daughter of Ukranian immigrants who considers herself "100% Ukranian American," has been outspoken about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and captioned her cover of "War Pigs" with heart emojis as well as an emoji of the Ukrainian flag. The Conjuring and Hawkeye actor has done several major metal covers at the Rock Academy in 2022, singing Iron Maiden's "The Trooper" in September. In addition to being a semi-professional folk dancer, she is also a classically trained pianist. - New Musical Express, 11/21/22...... Elton John completed the final U.S. show of his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour on Nov. 20 at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium, the last of three at the venue that saw the Rocket Man team up with Dua Lipa, Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile. The three-hour, 24-song concert saw John team up with Lipa for their No. 1 collaboration "Cold Heart" (https://youtu.be/bETLPEBL4Ck), while Dee joined him for "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (https://youtu.be/9z9kz8y8SS0) and Carlile on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" (https://youtu.be/89Fihb-shRU). With VIP's Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Taron Egerton and Jude Law in the audience, the gig also featured some of Elton's greated hits including "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues," "Tiny Dancer," "Candle In The Wind," "Rocket Man" and "I'm Still Standing." John wrapped the performance with "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" (https://youtu.be/5BqheN5M6iI) and the tour's namesake, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (https://youtu.be/6g1N6J_VKBU). The show was broadcast live on the Disney+ channel, and is also available to stream on the platform. The previous evening, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced a $1 million donation to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The team's principal owner, Mark Walter, and Dodgers co-owner Billie Jean King presented a symbolic giant check at the show. John thanked the team for its generosity and called Dodger Stadium "an iconic venue which has meant so much to me and my career." The superstar made his 1970 U.S. debut at a local nightclub, the Troubadour, and surged to stardom, famously appearing at Dodger Stadium in sequined Dodgers uniforms in 1975. John's tour restarts in Europe at the 3Arena in Dublin on Mar. 28, 2023. While Elton may be winding down his live performances, John's husband David Furnish says the musician follows the U.S. and U.K. pop charts closely for the records he charts, and "you know, you're gonna see more. Like, he's not going to stop." - NME/Billboard, 11/21/22...... Following the ticket chaos of Taylor Swift's The Eras tour in early November, the conversation has shifted to Ticketmaster's monopoly in the business and their out-of-control "dynamic pricing" model. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Bruce Springsteen weighed in on the struggle between balancing affordable tickets and making enough money for his band. "What I do is a very simple thing. I tell my guys, 'Go out and see what everybody else is doing. Let's charge a little less.' That's generally the directions," he shared. "They go out and set it up. For the past 49 years or however long we've been playing, we've pretty much been out there under market value. I've enjoyed that. It's been great for the fans." However when Springsteen and his E Street Band's 2023 tour tickets went on sale a few months back, some ended up costing thousands of dollars. The Boss followed up by nothing that "ticket buying has gotten very confusing, not just for the fans, but for the artists also," and that "most of our tickets are totally affordable." He then concluded by noting, "We have those tickets that are going to go for that [higher] price somewhere anyway. The ticket broker or someone is going to be taking that money. I'm going, 'Hey, why shouldn't that money go to the guys that are going to be up there sweating three hours a night for it?' It created an opportunity for that to occur. And so at that point, we went for it. I know it was unpopular with some fans. But if there's any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back." - Billboard, 11/18/22...... Freddie Mercury: The Final Act, a two-hour documentary about Queen frontman Freddie Mercury's last years and a 1992 tribute concert in his honor, will be presented on World AIDS Day (Dec. 1) on The CW network at 8:00 p.m. Eastern/7:00 p.m. Central. - TV Guide, 11/21/22...... On Nov. 19 Sony Music announced the upcoming release of a dark version of Roger Waters' 1979 Pink Floyd track, "Comfortably Numb." "Comfortably Numb 2022" was recorded during Waters "This Is Not A Drill" North American tour and was produced by Waters and Gus Seyffert. Waters commented: "During Lockdown I made a demo of a new version of 'Comfortably Numb' as an opener for our new show This Is Not A Drill. I pitched it a whole step down, in A Minor, to make it darker and arranged it with no solos, except over the outro chord sequence, where there is a heartrendingly beautiful female vocal solo from Shanay Johnson, one of our new singers." The song was made available on all streaming platforms on Nov. 18. Waters' "This Is Not A Drill" will tour Europe in 2023 with 40 shows across 14 European countries, starting in Lisbon on 17 Mar. 2023 at the Altice Arena. - Music-News.com, 11/20/22...... A collection of touching and sometimes prescient personal letters written by a young Bob Dylan to a high school girlfriend has been sold at auction to a renowned Portuguese bookshop for nearly $670,000. The Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal, which bills itself as "the World's Most Beautiful Bookshop," says it plans to keep the archive of 42 handwritten letters totaling 150 pages complete and available for Dylan fans and scholars to study, auctioneer RR Auction said in a statement on Nov. 18. Dylan, a native of Hibbing, Minn., wrote the letters to Barbara Ann Hewitt between 1957 and 1959 when he was still known as Bob Zimmerman. They provide an insight into a period of his life of which not much is known. Remarkably, in some of the letters Dylan writes about changing his name and hoping to sell a million records. Decades later, the now 81-year-old Dylan and 2016 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature has sold about 125 million records. The young Dylan also expresses his affection for Hewitt, invites her to a Buddy Holly concert, includes little fragments of poetry, and talks about the sorts of things that generations of high school students have been concerned about, such as cars, clothes and music. Barbara Hewitt's daughter found the letters after her mother died in 2020. The original envelopes addressed in Dylan's handwriting were sent to the Hewitt family's new home in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of New Brighton. Several other items of Dylan memorabilia were also sold at the auction, including an archive of 24 "Poems Without Titles" written when he attened the Univ. of Minnesota ($250,000), and one of the earliest known signed photographs of Dylan that went for more than $24,000. Meanwhile, publisher Simon & Schuster have conceded that "hand-signed" copies of Dylan's new book, The Philosophy Of Modern Song, were in fact manufactured with an auto-pen system (which uses a machine to automatically reproduce a person's signature). The signed copies of the book -- of which there were 900 -- were sold through S&S's website at $599 (£505). Many fans became suspicious of the alleged personally signed books and started sharing photos of their copies on forums, where it became clear that every copy sported a virtually identical signature. "They are autopenned. Fraudulent. Printed by a machine, not hand signed," one book buyer tweeted on Nov. 19. S&S initially refused to honor requests for refunds, assuring buyers that the signatures were legitimate and validated by a "letter of authenticity," however they pivoted their stance on Nov. 20, telling buyers directly that they would be refunded. The publisher later made a public statement on social media, writing: "To those who purchased The Philosophy Of Modern Song limited edition, we want to apologize. As it turns out, the limited edition books do contain Bob's original signature, but in a penned replica form. We are addressing this immediately by providing each purchaser with an immediate refund." One artist who took issue with the new book for another reason is Chris Frantz, drummer for Talking Heads. Frantz told Dylan to "suck a dick" in a Facebook post in response to what he perceived as a slight against his band, in an essay about Elvis Costello and the Attractions, a band that Dylan proclaims in the book to be "a better band than any of their contemporaries. Light years better." "I think it's a very good book - despite that one chapter," Frantz said. In still more Dylan news, the artist has announced the 17th volume of his long-running Bootleg Series will focus on his 1997 album Time Out Of Mind, in celebration of its 25th anniversary. Set to arrive on Jan. 27, Fragments - Time Out Of Mind Sessions (1996-1997) will feature a remixed version of Dylan's 30th studio album, plus unreleased recordings such as outtakes, demos, alternate versions and live cuts. It will be available physically in both a five-CD and 10-LP format. To coincide with the announcement, Dylan has shared an unreleased outtake of album track "Love Sick" on YouTube. - Billboard/NME, 11/19/22...... Days after the estate of Isaac Hayes threatened legal action against former Pres. Donald Trump for using the Hayes-composed song "Hold On, I'm Coming," which was made famous by R&B duo Sam & Dave, during his Nov. 15 campaign launch, the estate of Tom Petty has filed a cease and desist letter over unsuccessful Arizona gubenatorial candidate Kari Lake's use of "I Won't Back Down" following her defeat in the U.S. midterm elections. Lake, a Trump-endorsed Republican, lost the race to become Arizona governor in the US midterm elections on Nov. 8, but has spent much time since the result was announced talking about the "broken election system" and sharing reports that many votes weren't counted. Trump has echoed those claims, saying that "there were a lot of broken voting machines" in Arizona. On Nov. 16, Lake shared a series of campaign highlights set to Petty's iconic 1989 track "I Won't Back Down," seemingly suggesting she was going to contest the election results. However, the following day the late artist's estate released a statement on Twitter that said: "The Tom Petty estate and our partners were shocked to find out that Tom's song 'I Won't Back Down' was stolen and used without permission or a license to promote Kari Lake's failed campaign. This is illegal. We are exploring all of our legal options to stop this unauthorised use and to prohibit future misappropriations of Tom's beloved anthem. Thank you to all of the fans who brought this to our attention and who help us protect his legacy every day." In another statement (via Rolling Stone) Petty's ex-wife Jane said "Tom Petty would not ever let Kari Lake, an election denier, use his great anthem 'I Won't' Back Down' to not concede a legitimate election." By Nov. 18 Petty's publisher Wixen Music Publishing had sent a cease and desist notice to Lake, saying that any further uses of the track could result in fines of up to $150,000. "Using this song to promote your warped values is not only illegal as outlined above, but an insult to Tom's memory, his lyrics and music, and the tens of millions of fans who cherish his legacy," the letter stated. Back in 2020, Petty's estate filed a similar cease and desist letter over Donald Trump's use of "I Won't Back Down." - NME, 11/20/22...... Rising singer Pink paid tribute to Olivia Newton John at the American Music Awards on Nov. 20 with a performance of Olivia's hit "Hopelessly Devoted To You." Pink covered the 1978 hit from Grease while a montage of images of Newton John, who died from breast cancer in August at the age of 73, played behind her. The performance, which was met with a standing ovation, can be viewed on Pink's Tik Tok page. Pink was introduced by Melissa Etheridge, who paid her own tribute to Newton John. "You stood in awe of her welcoming beauty, and you basked in the feeling that she was connecting to you alone. But when she opened her mouth to sing you knew instantly, you'd have to share her with the world, Etheridge said. "As her tens of millions of fans will attest, to hear her sing -- whether live at a theatre or up on the silver screen -- was to feel the power of art to transform the feelings we all have of love, of elation, and disappointment into something sublime." Newton John won 10 AMAs throughout her career, including for the Grease soundtrack in 1978. - NME, 11/21/22...... Actor John Aniston, best known for his longtime portrayal of the merciless Greek crime boss Victor Kiraiakis on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, died on Nov 11. He was 89. Jennifer Aniston, his only child with his first wife, late actress Nancy Dow, announced the news on Instagram. "I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens with peace -- and without pain," she wrote. Born Yiannis Anastasakis on July 24, 1933, on the Greek island of Crete, Mr. Aniston immigrated to the U.S. in 1935, attended Penn State University, and served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy. Moving to New York in 1959, he performed off-Broadway before landing on Days (playing a doctor) in 1970, eventually leaving to work on two other soaps, CBS's Love of Life and then CBS/NBC's Search for Tomorrow. He returned to Days in July 1985 in the role of Kiriakis and received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2017. The actor -- who is also survived by his second wife, Love of Life costar Sherry Rooney, and their son Alexander -- will be honored with a Days tribute episode on Dec. 26. - People, 11/28/22...... Actor Robert Clary, who played Cpl. Louis Lebeau in the classic sitcom Hogan's Heroes, died on Nov. 17 of natural causes at his home in the Los Angeles area. He was 98. After surviving real German concentration camps as a youth, Mr. Clary went on to star on the hit 1960s sitcom set in a German prisoner-of-war camp. Hogan's Heroes, in which Allied soldiers in a POW camp bested their clownish German army captors with espionage schemes, played the war strictly for laughs during its 1965-71 run. The 5-foot-1 Mr. Clary sported a beret and a sardonic smile as Cpl. Louis LeBeau. Mr. Clary was the last surviving original star of the sitcom that included Bob Crane, Richard Dawson, Larry Hovis and Ivan Dixon as the prisoners. Werner Klemperer and John Banner, who played their captors, both were European Jews who fled Nazi persecution before the war. Mr. Clary was born Robert Widerman in Paris in March 1926, the youngest of 14 children in the Jewish family. He was 16 when he and most of his family were taken by the Nazis. Mr. Clary began his career as a nightclub singer and appeared on stage in musicals including "Irma La Douce" and "Cabaret." After Hogan's Heroes, Mr. Clary's TV work included the soap operas The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful. Mr. Clary remained publicly silent about his wartime experience until 1980 when, he said, he was provoked to speak out by those who denied or diminished the orchestrated effort by Nazi Germany to exterminate Jews. A documentary about Mr. Clary's childhood and years of horror at Nazi hands, Robert Clary, A5714: A Memoir of Liberation, was released in 1985. The forearms of concentration camp prisoners were tattooed with identification numbers, with A5714 to be Mr. Clary's lifelong mark. Retired from acting, Mr. Clary remained busy with his family, friends and his painting. His memoir, From the Holocaust to Hogan's Heroes: The Autobiography of Robert Clary, was published in 2001. Mr. Clary married Natalie Cantor, the daughter of singer-actor Eddie Cantor, in 1965. She died in 1997. - AP, 11/17/22.