In January, Queen announced a new 50-week YouTube series, Queen: The Greatest Live, which promises "rare archive live footage, contemporary performances and behind-the-scenes interviews from across Queen's five decades." Queen has now released the sixth installment of the series, which celebrates their live performances of "Now I'm Here," a song from their 1974 set Sheer Heart Attack. "Now I'm Here" is Queen's most-played song live and has become their traditional set opener. The episode features four live performances of the song -- two classic clips with Freddie Mercury from the London Rainbow '74 and London Hammersmith '75 plus Queen and Adam Lambert performances from Summer Sonic, Tokyo in 2014 and most recently, from the band's 2022 "Rhapsody Over London" show. "We released ['Now I'm Here'] [as a single] after 'Killer Queen'," Mercury said in an interview at the time. "And it's just a total contrast. It was just to show people we can still do rock 'n' roll, we haven't forgotten our rock 'n' roll roots. I enjoyed doing that on stage." The Greatest Live was put together by longtime band associate Simon Lupton, who produced the band's previous YouTube series, Queen: The Greatest, and also worked on several Queen documentaries. So far, episodes of the series have focused on the band's rehearsal process and how they open their shows. - New Musical Express, 2/25/23...... 
Graham Nash announced on Feb. 22 that he'll release his first studio album in seven years, titled Now, on May 19 that will serve as the follow-up to his 2016 album, This Path Tonight. Nash, 81, says he believes Now is "the most personal [album] I have ever made.... At this point in my life, that's something to say." The 13-track record was produced by Nash and his touring keyboardist Todd Caldwell. Nash has released the initial single, "Right Now," to YouTube. He'll embark on his "Sixty Years of Songs and Stories" tour on Apr. 12 with a two-night stand at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, Penn., and will play multiple nights in most cities, including a five-night run at Chicago's legendary Old Town School of Folk Music at the end of April and three nights at the New York City Winery in mid-May before winding down with two gigs at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, Calif., on July 15 and 16. - Billboard, 2/22/23...... Rod Stewart visited his local NHS hospital in Harlow, Essex, on Feb. 24 and paid for a day's worth of MRI scans to help reduce the waiting lists. Sir Rod says he wanted to prove that he wasn't "all mouth and no trousers" amid his recent comments about the state of the UK's National Health Service. Stewart also said he wanted to pay for scans elsewhere in the UK. According to Princess Alexandra Hospital's chief operating officer, Stephanie Lawton, Stewart's donation cut their waiting list for MRI scans by 10%. In total, 20 patients were able to receive their scans that day thanks to Rod's help. Lawton added: "Rod's a local resident, we're his local hospital, we're really delighted to be working with him and his team for the benefit of patients and doing everything we can to reduce the waiting lists." Stewart called into a Sky News phone-in in January where he decried the state of the NHS, criticizing the "ridiculous" waiting lists which are currently some of the longest on record. It was during this conversation that he pledged to pay for scans to help cut the waiting lists. Stewart was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019 but was clear now "simply because I caught it early," stressing the importance of early diagnosis for successful treatment. During the phone-in, he said that despite being a long-time Conservative voter, the current government "should stand down and give the Labour Party a go" in a bid to solve the crisis. In other Stewart-related news, Rod's eldest son Sean Stewart reportedly married his girlfriend Jody Weintraub in Las Vegas earlier in February. According to the source, the 42-year-old Sean proposed to Jody during a Las Vegas trip on Valentine's Day, and the pair immediately went to the courthouse to tie the knot that same evening, and that Sean called his parents Rod and Alana Stewart, who divorced in 1984, on the way to the courthouse. The source revealed Sean, a songwriter, musician, model and the owner of clothing company Dirty Weekend, has known the TV producer, daughter of late producer Jerry Weintraub, since their high school years. The couple are reportedly planning to host a traditional wedding in Marbella, Spain this summer. - NME/Music-News.com, 2/25/23...... In related news, KISS co-founder Gene Simmons' daughter Sophie Simmons has married her longtime partner James Henderson. The couple tied the knot officially at a courthouse in Los Angeles on Feb. 17 before exchanging vows in front of around 50 family and friends in an intimate ceremony at a house in Malibu, Calif., owned by the bride's mother Shannon Tweed-Simmons on Feb. 22. "We couldn't be prouder of our daughter," Gene and model/actress Shannon said in a joint statement. "James is a solid young man, and Sophie can do anything she puts her mind to. We wish them a lifetime of love and happiness. If they are even half as happy as we are, they will last long." A picture of the happy newlyweds has been shared on Instagram. - Bang Showbiz, 2/24/23...... 
Concurrent with the recent re-release of the 1973 concert documentary Wattstax and in conjunction with Black History Month, Stax Records and Craft Recordings issued a series of new releases stemming from the famous 1972 benefit concert on Feb. 24. Comprising the three new releases are the 12-CD box set Soul'd Out: The Complete Wattstax Collection, which includes the complete 1972 concert at L.A.'s Memorial Coliseum and 31 previously unreleased tracks; Wattstax: The Complete Concert, which in addition to the concert also boasts all of the event's speeches and stage banter, including MC Rev. Jesse Jackson's well-known "I Am Somebody" speech; and reissues of the two original soundtrack albums on vinyl: Wattstax: The Living Word and The Living Word: Wattstax 2. Featuring performances by such Stax Records luminaries as Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, The Bar-Kays, Carla Thomas, The Emotions and Rufus Thomas, the Wattstax concert has "emerged as a symbol of the African American community's resilience and strength" according to former Stax owner/chairman Al Bell. - Billboard, 2/24/23...... It's been 60 years since the Beatles and Rolling Stones skyrocketed to international fame and reinvented the idea of rock and roll in their own unique styles. And while the two iconic bands have always remained cordial, there is one thing they've never done: collaborate in the studio. But that streak looks to end on the Rolling Stones' upcoming studio album. On Feb. 23, a rep for the Stones confirmed to Billboard in an email that Paul McCartney is "playing bass on a song" on the Mick Jagger-fronted group's upcoming album, after CNN first reported the story earlier. However, the rep threw cold water on a previous story in Variety from an anonymous source that Paul's fellow surviving Beatles mate Ringo Starr would be participating in the project. "Ringo isn't appearing," the rep said. The Stones have reportedly been wrapping work on the LP in Los Angeles with Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt (Ozzy Osbourne, Justin Bieber); the as yet untitled collection will be the veteran English band's first new studio album of new songs since 2005's A Bigger Bang. In addition to McCartney, the album is likely to feature drumming from the group's late sticks man Charlie Watts, who died in 2021 at 80. Longtime group friend and touring drummer Steve Jordan told the L.A. Times that Watts had recorded his drum parts for a handful of songs before his passing. Neither the Stones or McCartney have commented as yet on the new collaboration. The debate about rock supremacy and friendly rivalry between the two legendary bands continues to this day, with McCartney telling Howard Stern in a 2020 interview that, "The Stones are a fantastic group, I go to see them every time they come out because they're a great, great band and Mick can really do it, the singing and the moves, and Keith [Richards] and now Ronnie [Wood] and Charlie. They're great.... but I'm with you: The Beatles are better." Jagger responded a week later in an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe that, "[Paul's] a sweetheart. There's obviously no competition. He's a sweetheart." Jagger noted that the Stones have continued to tour consistently into their sixth decade, while the Beatles quit the road in 1966. - Billboard, 2/23/23...... In other Rolling Stones news, the band's new concert album, GRRR Live!, has debuted at No. 7 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart dated Feb. 25. The new live effort was recorded on Dec. 15, 2012, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, as part of the group's 50th anniversary trek, dubbed the "50 & Counting Tour." The show was originally broadcast live as a pay-per-view event titled One More Shot, but was not released in a home video or audio format until its GRRR Live! bow on Feb. 10. For its album release, the show was re-edited and remixed. The album features a robust lineup of guest stars including The Black Keys, Gary Clark Jr., Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Bruce Springsteen and former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor. - Billboard, 2/23/23...... Elton John's "Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour" has brought in another $40.9 million during the first month of 2023, which breaks and extends his record atop the Billboard Boxscore concert industry report. The ticket sales secured Elton's seventh week at No. 1 on the Top Tours chart overall, and third in the last four months. Beyond extending his record for time atop the ranking, notably, January's Oceania leg of John's sprawling farewell tour pushed the entire run's gross to $817.9 million -- making it the highest grossing tour of all time. It surpasses Ed Sheeran's "The Divide Tour" ($776.4 million), which set the previous high mark in 2019, and U2's "The 360 Tour" ($736.4 million), which had held the title since 2011. - Billboard, 2/23/23...... 
BMG and Dark Horse Records have reached an agreement to bring George Harrison's solo recorded works to BMG. It marks the first time that Harrison's recorded and publishing works are under the same roof, and comes just in time for what would have been the late Beatle's 80th birthday on Feb. 25. BMG entered into a global deal last year with the George Harrison Estate to administer the 200-song plus Harrisongs catalog, which includes all of Harrison's work written with the Beatles, the Traveling Wilburys and his solo career. Harrison died in 2001. "This is a banner day for BMG, bringing together for the first time the song and recorded rights of one of the greatest musicians in popular music history under one roof," said BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch in a statement. "Only BMG can do this. We look forward to working with the George Harrison Estate and Dark Horse Records to promote George's peerless music to generations old and new." To commemorate his Feb. 25 birthday, Dark Horse and BMG have released Harrison's entire catalog in Dolby Atmos surround sound exclusively on Apple Music. The catalog partnership is the latest move in the relationship between BMG and Dark Horse, which began in 2020 to revive the label Harrison launched in 1974. George's son Dhani Harrison runs Dark Horse with David Zonshine. In 2022, Dark Horse signed a new licensing agreement with the Leon Russell estate for 16 albums by the late singer/songwriter and Harrison friend, as well as with Joe Strummer's estate to administer The Clash co-founder's music publishing. BMG has been working with Dhani since 2014. - Billboard, 2/21/23...... Britain's Victoria & Albert Museum announced on Feb. 23 that it has acquired David Bowie's archive of more than 80,000 items as a gift from the late musician's estate. The trove of costumes, musical instruments, letters, lyrics, photos and more will be opened to the public at a new arts center dedicated to the chameleonlike pop icon. The David Bowie Center for the Study of Performing Arts is due to open in 2025 as part of V&A East Storehouse, an offshoot of the U.K.'s national museum of art, design and performance that is being built in east London's Olympic Park. The V&A said the center will let fans and researchers gain insights into the creative process of Bowie, who died in 2016 at the age of 69. Some of the items in the archive formed part of "David Bowie Is," a multimedia exhibition that toured the world after a sold-out run at the V&A in London in 2013. Some items are iconic, such as a multicolored quilted jumpsuit designed by Freddie Burretti for Bowie's alien rock star creation Ziggy Stardust, Kansai Yamamoto's futuristic creations for the Aladdin Sane tour in 1973 or the Union Jack coat designed by Bowie and Alexander McQueen for the cover of 1997's Earthling album. Others are more personal, including letters, handwritten lyrics for songs including the anthem "Heroes," and notebooks that Bowie kept throughout his life. The archives also contain more than 70,000 photographs, slides and images. Bowie's official reps shared the announcement in a post on Instagram. - AP, 2/23/23...... After rock journalist Stuart Maconie wrote a new piece for The New Statesman titled "The War Within Pink Floyd" in which he referenced Roger Waters' current project of supervising the re-recording the iconic 1973 Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon and claimed that "parts of this will involve him removing, as quote in Spain's El Pais newspaper, David Gilmour's 'horrible guitar solos'," Waters has criticized what he calls the "grubby little" article and says that he "loves Dave Gilmour's guitar solos." In a Facebook post Waters took exception to the quote, calling the story "the usual, shit stirring, ill informed nonsense" and criticizing what he called the "unearned condescending authority" of the piece. He wrote: "There is a crappy article in The New Statesman, written, if you can call it writing, by a chap called Stuart Maconie. It's the usual, shit stirring, ill informed nonsense." He went on to say that "Dave's solos on [several Pink Floyd] albums, constitute a collection of some of the very best guitar solos in the history of Rock and Roll. So, Stuart Maconie, you little prick, next time, please check your copy with the subjects of your grubby little piece, before you go to print." Alongside the new re-recording of Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd will also release a 50th anniversary reissue of the album on Mar. 24, which includes a live recording of the band's 1974 Wembley Stadium gig, and a stand-alone CD of the Wembley gig only. - NME, 2/21/23...... 
Barbra Striesand -- an 8-time Grammy, 5-time Emmy, and 2-time Oscar winner -- will add another honor to her awards shelf in April when she receives an honor named for one of ther heroes: late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsberg. "I am deeply honored to receive this award named after one of the iconic and pathbreaking Justices ever to serve on the Supreme Court," Streisand wrote in a tweet announcing that she will be the recipient of the 2023 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award at the Library of Congress on Apr. 22. According to the Washington Post, Ginsburg was huge fan of Streisand's and that late in her life when she invited her friend philanthropist Julie Opperman to her chambers to discuss establishing an award in her name for women striving to change society in positive ways, Babs's name quickly came up. "She wanted to honor women of great passion and achievement," Opperman told the paper about the Mar. 2019 conversation that came 18 months before Ginsburg's death. "She wanted it to be women in the RBG tradition. I'm pleased to say Barbra Streisand was among them." In a statement to the Post, Streisand, 80, said that "women everywhere have benefited from the brilliance and courage of the Hon. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg... She is an inspiration to us all. She devoted her life to advancing equality and justice, and the world is a better place for it." In a tweet announcing her award, she said: " I am so deeply honored to receive an award in the name of such an extraordinary woman, American hero and an icon to the world." Streisand is the fourth recipient of the award, joining arts patron Agnes Gund, fashion designer Diane von Furstenburg and the late Queen Elizabeth II. The singer/actress/director is being recognized for her "advocacy of a variety of causes, including voting rights, climate change research and racial and gender equality," the paper reported, additionally citing Streisand's establishment of the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. - Billboard, 2/23/23...... Tom Whitlock, the lyricist behind the Top Gun hits "Take My Breath Away" and "Danger Zone," died at a memory care facility in Tennessee on Feb. 18 after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 68. Whitlock's "Take My Breath Away" and "Danger Zone" were written in collaboration with Italian '70s disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder. The pair forged a relationship after Whitlock repaired the composer's Ferrari, and they entered a working relationship shortly after. "Danger Zone," performed by Kenny Loggins, was the first single from the Top Gun soundtrack to be released. The track -- which was featured in the movie's opening scene -- peaked at No. 2 and spent 21 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. "Take My Breath Away," performed by Berlin, topped the Hot 100 following the soundtrack's release; the track also spent a total of 21 weeks on the all-genre tally. "Take My Breath Away" won two major awards in 1987: the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Whitlock also worked alongside Moroder for the Beverly Hills Cop II, Rambo III, As Tears Go By and Let It Ride movie soundtracks. The pair additionally co-wrote "Hand in Hand," the theme song for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and "To Be Number One," the theme song for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. His songs have been covered by the likes of Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Teddy Pendergrass, Bonnie Tyler and many more. He is survived by his sister, former wife and daughter. - Billboard, 2/24/23...... R&B singer Chuck Jackson, former vocalist for The Del-Vikings and singer of Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard's "Any Day Now," passed away on Feb. 16 in Atlanta at age 85. Mr. Jackson's singing career started in 1957, when he became a member of The Del-Vikings; he sang lead on the group's track "Willette." His tenure with the group concluded in 1959, and he was soon discovered by Luther Dixon while opening for Jackie Wilson at the Apollo Theater in New York City. After signing a deal with Scepter Records imprint Wand Records, Mr. Jackson co-wrote his first single, "I Don't Want to Cry," with Dixon, and recorded the track in November of 1960. The song became the R&B singer's first hit, but it wasn't until Jackson's 1962 recording of "Any Day Now," written by Bacharach and Hilliard, that he saw widespread acclaim. "Any Day Now" became a signature hit for him, and his subsequent success earned him a contract with Motown Records. Other '60s hits for the star included "Tell Him I'm Not Home," "Beg Me," "If I Didn't Love You" and "Since I Don't Have You." Ronnie Milsap covered Jackson's "Any Day Now," while Jackson's "I Keep Forgettin'" was covered by Michael McDonald as well as David Bowie. The late R&B singer recorded over 20 albums throughout his career -- one of his final LP's, 1997's I'll Never Get Over You, featured "If I Let Myself Go," a collaboration with Dionne Warwick. "Another heartache has come my way," Warwick said in a statement. "Chuck Jackson has made his transition. He was my label mate on Scepter Records and was like a big brother to me. I'll truly miss his daily calls checking on me and his wonderful voice. Rest in heavenly peace my dear friend." - Billboard, 2/21/23...... 
Beloved New Orleans session man Huey "Piano" Smith, who backed Little Richard, Lloyd Price and other early rock stars and with his own group made the party favorites "Don't You Just Know It" and "Rockin' Pneumonia and Boogie Woogie Flu," died in his sleep Feb. 13 at his home in Baton Rouge, La. He was 89. A New Orleans native who performed nationwide but always returned to Louisiana, Mr. Smith was one of the last survivors of an extraordinary scene of musicians and songwriters who helped make New Orleans a fundamental influence on rock 'n' roll. He was just 15 when he began playing professionally and in his 20s helped out on numerous '50s hits, including Price's "Where You At?," Earl King's "Those Lonely Lonely Nights" and Smiley Lewis' "I Hear You Knocking." Little Richard, Fats Domino and David Bartholomew were among the many other artists he worked with. In 1957, he formed Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns and reached the top 10 with "Rockin' Pneumonia," a mid-tempo stomp which featured the vocals of John Marchin and Mr. Smith's buoyant keyboard playing, and the equally rowdy and good-natured "Don't You Just Know It." The Clowns also were known for "We Like Birdland," "Well I'll Be John Brown" and "High Blood Pressure." One Mr. Smith production became a major hit and rock standard, for another performer. Mr. Smith and his group wrote, arranged and recorded "Sea Cruise," but Ace Records thought the song would have more success with a white singer -- as Mr. Smith learned bluntly from local record distributor Joe Caronna -- and replaced the Clowns' vocals with those of Frankie Ford, whose version became a million seller. Artists covering "Sea Cruise" and other Mr. Smith songs included John Fogerty, the Beach Boys, Aerosmith and Jerry Garcia. In 2005, Ford would deny "stealing" the song, alleging that he had written the words. "Huey sorta went through a period and 'forgot' a lot of things," Ford told Offbeat Magazine. Mr. Smith's popularity faded after the Beatles arrived and by 1980 he had quit the business, settled in Baton Rouge with his wife, Margrette, and become a Jehovah's Witness. Like many rock musicians from the '50s, he fought to be paid and credited for "Sea Cruise" and other hits and spent decades in legal battles and financial trouble. Local musicians, meanwhile, continued to cite him as an inspiration. In 2000, Mr. Smith received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and he was honored a year later by the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame. Admirers would cite him as one of the most vital performers not to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife, 10 children, 18 grandchildren and 47 great grandchildren. - AP, 2/20/23.
English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, creator of scores for blockbuster musicals such as "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Cats," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Evita," has written the anthem for the upcoming coronation of King Charles III. Webber's new composition includes words adapted from Psalm 98 and encourages singers to make a "joyful noise." "I hope my anthem reflects this joyful occasion," Webber said in a statement distributed by Buckingham Palace. The work is one of a dozen new pieces Charles commissioned for the grand occasion taking place May 6 at Westminster Abbey, and is scored specifically for the abbey's choir and organ. Meanwhile, Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar" collaborator Tim Rice has been named the 2023 recipient of the Johnny Mercer Award at the 52nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner, set for June 15 in New York City. Rice is the first songwriter primarily known for his work in theater to receive this award since Stephen Sondheim in 1999, and the fifth songwriter or songwriting team from the U.K. to receive the honor, following Jule Styne (1993), Phil Collins (2010), Elton John & Bernie Taupin (2013) and Van Morrison (2015). The Mercer Award, the SHOF's highest honor, is reserved for a songwriter or songwriting team who has already been inducted in a prior year and whose body of work upholds the standards set by Johnny Mercer, a four-time Oscar-winner. Inductees at this year's SHOF Induction and Awards Dinner include Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne, Glen Ballard, Gloria Estefan, Snoop Dogg, Sade Adu, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose. - Billboard, 2/18/23...... 
On '70s cuts like "Wild Horses," "Dead Flowers" and "Far Away Eyes," the Rolling Stones showed their affinity for American country music. Now some of country music's top artists are returning the love with a 14-track set titled Stoned Cold Country, which hits stores via BMG on Mar. 17. Featuring Eric Church ("Gimme Shelter"), Brothers Osborne ("It's Only Rock and Roll"), Little Big Town ("Wild Horses"), Zac Brown Band ("Paint It Black"), Brooks & Dunn ("Honky Tonk Women") and Ashley McBride ("Satisfaction"), among others, the set is an often-raucous salute to what many consider the world's greatest rock band on the group's 60th anniversary. Lainey Wilson's slow-burning "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was released on Feb. 17, following the January release of Elvie Shane's ominous "Sympathy for the Devil." A number of tribute albums by country artists have become best sellers, including 1994's Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, which the RIAA has certified triple platinum, and Lionel Richie's Tuskegee, a 2012 platinum set that paired the "All Night Long" singer with top country artists remaking his biggest hits. - Billboard, 2/16/23...... On Feb. 17 Neil Young and members of his backing band Crazy Horse announced a new album, All Roads Lead Home, will drop on Mar. 31 via Reprise, not under the name Neil Young & Crazy Horse but the moniker Molina, Talbot, Lofgren and Young. The quartet -- Young, Ralph Molina, Billy Talbot and Nils Lofgren -- all contributed new songs to album, which began life as a Covid-19 pandemic project for the members of Crazy Horse. Young was brought on board later, his sole writing credit being a live solo version of "Song Of The Seasons," from the 2021 Crazy Horse album Barn, which came together concurrently with this project. MTL&Y have also shared the first taste of the album, the Lofgren-written song "You Will Never Know," on YouTube. In Nov. 2022, Young and Crazy Horse released their World Record LP, and a few months prior, released Toast, a scrapped album that was recorded back in 2021. - New Musical Express, 2/17/23...... Country star George Strait made a surprise appearance at the Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band concert in Austin, Tex., on Feb. 16. Before Springsteen and the band launched into their 27-song set, Country Music Hall of Famer Strait strolled on stage to welcome Springsteen to Austin. The two superstars hugged, and The Boss stepped back as Strait made his introduction. "Austin, Texas, it's my honor tonight to introduce to you a band that really needs no introduction, right?" Strait said, eliciting applause from the crowd. "Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band!" As the attendees cheered, Strait and Springsteen embraced again, and Strait then waved to the crowd and exited the stage. Fan captured footage of the introduction can be viewed on Instagram. Earlier on the tour during a show at the State Farm Arena on Feb. 3 in Atlanta, Springsteen accidentally struck his guitar tech in the head during a show this month after the rocker launched his instrument into the air. Springsteen tossed his guitar to assistant Kevin Buell -- a routine move during his shows -- but slipped through the tech's fingers and struck him on the head. In a video posted to YouTube, Buell can be seen stumbling to the ground on stage before The Boss walks over to check on his crew member, who appeared to be mostly unharmed as Springsteen walks away with a smile. In still more tour news, Springsteen performed 'If I Was The Priest' for the first time in 51 years on Feb. 14 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Tex. "I wrote this song. I was 22, 15 years ago, and I still don't have a clue what the f--- it's about," Bruce joked with crowd. The last known live performance was May 2, 1972, at New York's Gaslight Au Go Go nightclub. Springsteen recently added 18 new cities to the mostly sold out trek, including stops in Chicago, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Toronto and San Francisco. The tour launched Feb. 1 with a show in Tampa, Fla., which marked Springsteen and the E Street Band's first North American show in seven years. - Billboard, 2/17/23...... Blondie drummer Clem Burke has confirmed his legendary New Wave band will be playing the 2023 Glastonbury Festival. Although the festival has not yet confirmed their appearance, Burke has said Blondie will be coming to Worthy Farm this summer. In an interview with Foxy Radio, he noted that the band will be in the UK to open for Iggy Pop as part of his "Dog Day Afternoon" concert in London's Crystal Palace Park on July 1. Burke then went on to talk about Blondie's other summer plans. "We're also doing Isle of Wight Festival and some other festivals... I guess the full list of artists to be playing Glastonbury hasn't really been announced yet... but we are going to be playing Glastonbury, so maybe you've got an exclusive there." Blondie lasted performed at Glastonbury in 2014, where they played the Other Stage. They previously played on the Pyramid Stage in 1999. Until now, the only act who had been announced for the iconic festival was Elton John, who will be closing out proceedings on the Pyramid Stage on June 25 in what will be his last ever UK show. The first wave of artists is traditionally announced around March. - NME, 2/17/23...... Appearing on NBC's Today show on Feb. 17, Olivia Newton-John's daughter Chloe Lattanzi revealed the sweet last words she ever heard the Grease sensation say to her before the star lost the ability to speak. "The last words she could say to me was, 'My sunshine," Lattanzi told Today host Hoda Kotb in her first TV interview since Newton-John's Aug. 8, 2022 death. "And right before she lost her ability to speak, she was making jokes." "I love my mom more than anything," continued Lattanzi, whom Newton-John shared with ex-husband Matt Lattanzi. "She's my mama, you know? She's not Olivia Newton-John to me, but I'm so glad that she was Olivia Newton-John for so many people." Olivia had been open about her breast cancer diagnosis and treatments during her lifetime. Following her death, her family asked that donations be made in her honor to her cancer research foundation, the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund. Before her passing, the Newton-John recorded a duet of "Jolene" with the song's original singer, Dolly Parton. It was released posthumously on the same day as Lattanzi's Today interview, and can be streamed on YouTube. - Billboard, 2/17/23...... Bonnie Raitt's Grammy-winning track "Just Like That" has reached multiple Billboard charts for the first time, debuting on multiple lists dated Feb. 18, after winning the 2022 Song of the Year award on Feb. 5. The song has even reached No. 1 on one of the surveys, bowing atop Rock Digital Song Sales with 9,000 downloads sold in the Feb. 3-9 tracking week, a 9,947% increase over a negligible amount the previous period, according to Luminate. It's Raitt's first No. 1 on the chart, which began in 2010. Previously, she reached a No. 3 best in 2020 via her co-bill with John Prine, "Angel From Montgomery," following Prine's death. "Just Like That" also debuted at No. 6 on the all-format Digital Song Sales ranking, her first top 10. Elsewhere, the track is No. 26 on the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and Raitt's album of the same name has returned to the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart at No. 46 with 7,000 equivalent album units earned, up 1,121%. It premiered at No. 6 in May 2022. The self-written "That" won song of the year honors at the 65th Grammy Awards, marking Raitt's second big-four category victory, after Nick of Time took Album of the Year honors in 1990. - Billboard, 2/16/23...... 
As she reached her milestone 90th birthday on Feb. 18, Yoko Ono has launched a "wish tree" website -- WishTreeForYokoOno.com -- where people all over the world can post their wishes online and (in association with One Tree Planted) plant real trees in Yoko's honor. Yoko first came up with the idea of "Wish Trees" in 1996 and since its inception, Yoko has collected nearly two million wishes from more than 200 physical installations of the Wish Tree in over 35 countries. Meanwhile, a new documentary is set to revisit the one week in 1972 when Yoko and John Lennon co-hosted The Mike Douglas Show. Titled Daytime Revolution, the doc was authorized by Ono's son Sean Ono Lennon, and will include archival footage from each of the five episodes co-hosted by the famous couple in 1972. Directed by Erik Nelson, the film features interviews with surviving guests who were interviewed by John and Yoko on the show, as well as behind-the-scenes stories of the pair's week-long stint. Across their five-episode run on the show, Lennon and Ono discussed then-controversial topics like environmental conservation and police brutality, and interviewed activists like Black Panther chairman Bobby Seale, lecturer and attorney Ralph Nader, and pioneering rock & roller Chuck Berry. A release date for Daytime Revolution has not yet been announced. It will follow a string of Lennon-focussed documentaries to be released in recent years, including Lennon's Last Weekend in 2020 and the re-release of 24 Hours: The World Of John And Yoko in 2021. In still more Lennon-related news, the Beatles legend's former home inspired Judas Priest's 1980 classic "Living After Midnight," according to Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton. Speaking to Guitar Player magazine, Tipton recalled how the song came about while the band were working on their iconic LP British Steel at Tittenhurst Park, where the old residence of Lennon is situated in Berkshire, England. "We'd been out at the pub, and when we got back quite late, I started working on some ideas in the living room, but the noise woke Rob [Halford]. His bedroom was right above. He came down and said he couldn't get the riff out of his head, so I asked him to sing some lyrics right there on the spot and he came up with, 'Living after midnight, loving till the dawn.' That was how we used to live our life back in those days." He continued: "I should mention that it was very surreal sitting in the living room with John Lennon's white piano there -- the one he played 'Imagine' on in the video for that song." - NME/Music-News.com, 2/16/23...... Also recently interviewed by Guitar Player is Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who when asked if he's as much of a perfectionist about the music business side as he is with the music itself, he replied: "God, no! But that perfectionism applied to everything, to be honest." When asked if his bandmates -- including Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and the late John Bonham -- ever found him difficult to work with, the 79-year-old rocker admitted he never got that impression from them. "I don't know if anyone thought I was," Page said. "You're always trying to strive to be better and better and better. That's all there is to it. And sometimes, whatever you've done isn't good enough. Do better, do better. But, you know, that's my own thing. And I haven't changed. That's how I am." Meanwhile, Jimmy previously admitted he doesn't think Led Zeppelin would exist today because of the immediacy of the online world: "We used to throw songs into the live set that we hadn't recorded yet, just for fun. We did that with 'Immigrant Song' at Bath Festival in 1970, and nobody had heard anything like it. You don't have that freedom now because it would be posted online immediately. It was a fun time as a creative musician, a fun time to be in a band." Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980 when drummer Bonham passed away but they have reunited for special one-off performances, most recently in 2007. - Music-News.com, 2/11/23...... 
After The Kinks announced the upcoming release of a 60th anniversary Kinks compilation with a with a two-part anthology called The Journey, Twitter apparently flagged the band's name as "sensitive content." That sent Kinks guitarist Dave Davies down a Twitterhole, unleashing a flurry of tweets in which he told "chief Twit, Elon Musk", that he's "tired of waiting" for him to get it right. "Dear @elonmusk would @twiiter please stop putting warnings on everything from 'the Kinks'. We are just trying to promote our Kinks music," Davies tweeted on Feb. 15. The tweet linked to a previous one in which Davies invited fans to check out the band's TikTok promo for the set, which featured a message at the bottom that read, "We put a warning on this Tweet because it might have sensitive content." A short time later, Davies gave Musk a bit of a lesson on his group's background, tweeting, "The Kinks are a brand name. We have been called the Kinks since 1963." When another user told Davies that Twitter had apparently reviewed the matter and removed the sensitive content warning, apologizing for helping them "catch that mistake," Davies was not impressed. "That's impossible," he tweeted. "The word robot should be banned. We got robots running our lives. At least I'm a Kink and not a f-in robot." He also had a bit of fun in the end, responding to a fan's plea to Musk to "Give the People What They Want!" -- a play on the title of the band's 1981 album -- quipping, "give the people what Elon Musk wants." The Twit Snit came just hours after the Kinks announced the Mar. 24 release of The Journey - Part 1, a 2/CD, 2/LP collection that will kick off a two-year celebration of their 60th anniversary. - Billboard, 2/16/23...... Guitarist Frankie Sullivan of the classic rock band Survivor is slamming 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley for revving up the crowd at her Charleston, S.C., White House bid rally with the classic Survivor underdog fight anthem, "Eye of the Tiger" (footage of the event can be viewed on Twitter). "Stop using my f-----g song!," the 1982 No. 1 hit's co-writer says about his reaction to finding out about the latest politician's attempt to co-opt the track he wrote for Sylvester Stallone's classic underdog film, Rocky III. Haley, 51, who has leaned into her story of being a woman and person of color -- she is the child of Indian immigrants -- and who rose to the governor's office in South Carolina is the first member of the GOP to officially announce a bid to take on twice-impeached Donald Trump. "I don't care who it is, I don't think it's appropriate, especially with 'Tiger,' since it's such a special song... I have no idea why any politician would play that as a walk on," says Sullivan. In 2016, Republican Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign had to pay a $25,000 settlement over claims it used "Eye of the Tiger" at a rally with Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who made headlines for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Sullivan says he is really protective of the song, but unlike the suit he filed against the former Arkansas Governor, he's not currently planning to launch a legal fight with Haley. - Billboard, 2/15/23...... A new scientific study has declared The Beach Boys's 1966 track "Good Vibrations" as the "happiest song of all time." Musicologist Dr. Michael Bonshor claims that "Good Vibrations"' joyful nature is down to the fact that it ticks all the boxes of his formula, including being written in 137 BPM, in a major key with a short intro and bright tones, and it contains four beats in every bar. "Previous studies have found songs are perceived as happy if they are in a major key, with a sweet spot of approximately 137 beats per minute," Dr. Bonshor says. "We like '7th chords' as they add interest -- regular chords use three notes, whereas 'seventh chords' add an extra note which provides a sense of musical 'tension' and 'relief'." He added: "Alongside this, cheery songs usually have a strong 1-2-1-2 beat to them, so that you can dance along -- and a short introduction means the song kicks off with a bang straight away, and there's not a long build up. We like high volume when it comes to how our happy songs are made, with notes played in a bright and bouncy way by instruments such as trumpets or electric guitars, instead of mellower instruments. Finally, a repetitive rhythm or guitar riff that people can latch onto and becomes memorable is the cherry on the cake." The track -- which was at the time of its production the most expensive single ever recorded because of its complex soundscapes and new formula -- was written by group members Brian Wilson and Mike Love and is often considered to be one of the most important compositions and recordings of the entire rock era after it became an overnight success and topped the charts in several countries around the globe upon its initial release. - Music-News.com, 2/17/23...... 
Former The Police frontman Sting will become an Academy Fellow, the highest honor The Ivors Academy bestows, at the 2023 Ivors, which will be presented at Grosvenor House in London on May 18. Sting is the 23rd Fellow that the Academy has inducted in its 79-year history. He follows such songwriting greats as Sir Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Joan Armatrading and the 2022 winner, Peter Gabriel. "Of all the awards in the world of music, The Ivors are for me, the most prestigious," Sting said in a statement. "Songwriting is a skilled craft and The Ivors Academy are its guild. So, I am delighted and honoured to be offered this Fellowship of the Academy, joining and acknowledging this extraordinary group of fellow songwriters, and all of those who went before us." - Billboard, 2/15/23...... It was disclosed by The Carter Cener on Feb. 18 that former Pres. Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the US, will begin receiving hospice care at his home in Georgia. "After a series of short hospital stays, former US President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention. He has the full support of his family and his medical team," the statement said. Jason Carter, a onetime Democratic state senator in Georgia and the former president's grandson, said he visited with his grandparents on Feb. 17 and that "they are at peace and -- as always -- their home is full of love." Pres. Carter, who turned 98 last year, became the oldest living US president in history after the passing of former Pres. George H.W. Bush, who died in late 2018 at 94. Pres. Carter has kept a low public profile in recent years due to the coronavirus pandemic but has continued to speak out about risks to democracy around the world, a longtime cause of his. Pres. Carter beat brain cancer in 2015 but faced a series of health scares in 2019, and consequentially underwent surgery to remove pressure on his brain. His health woes forced him to give up his decadeslong tradition of teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Ga. - CNN, 2/18/23...... Gerald Fried, the Oscar-nominated, oboe-playing composer who created iconic gladiatorial fight music for the original Star Trek series and collaborated with Quincy Jones to win an Emmy for their theme to the landmark miniseries Roots, died on Feb. 17 of pneumonia at St. Vincent's Hospital in Bridgeport, Conn., his wife said. He was 95. After meeting director Stanley Kubrick on a baseball field in the Bronx in the early 1950s, Mr. Fried wound up scoring the acclaimed filmmaker's first four features: Fear and Desire (1953), Killer's Kiss (1955), The Killing (1956) and Paths of Glory (1957). Mr. Fried also supplied the music for several cult Roger Corman classics from 1958 through 1971, and his work can be heard in such classic TV series as Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space, Mission: Impossible, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Emergency!, Flamingo Road and Dynasty. Mr. Fried first worked on NBC's Star Trek midway through the first season on the Dec. 1966 episode "Shore Leave," but he really made his mark on the second-season opener, "Amok Time." His relentless "The Ritual/Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah" score dramatizes a memorable "fight to the death" on the planet Vulcan between Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy). More recently, Mr. Fried taught at UCLA and played the oboe with the Santa Fe Great Big Jazz Band and Santa Fe Community Orchestra. He is survived by his wife, Anita Hall, four children and six grandchildren. - The Hollywood Reporter, 2/18/23...... Beloved comedian Richard Belzer, a stand-up legend and actor who played Det. John Munch on Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: SVU and eight other shows, died on Feb. 19 at his home in Bozouls in southwest France. He was 78. Belzer made his film debut in the hilarious The Groove Tube (1974), warmed up audiences in the early days of Saturday Night Live and famously was once put to sleep by Hulk Hogan. Det. John Munch made his first appearance in 1993 on the first episode of Homicide and his last in 2016 on Law & Order: SVU. In between those two NBC dramas, the Bridgeport, Conn. native played the detective on eight other series, and his hold on the character lasted longer than James Arness' on Gunsmoke and Kelsey Grammer's on Cheers and Frasier. Belzer also played an MC -- basically himself -- in Fame (1980) and Scarface (1983) and had bit parts in Author! Author! (1982), Night Shift (1982), Flicks (1983), America (1986), Fletch Lives (1989), The Big Picture (1989), The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), Get on the Bus (1996) and The Man in the Moon (1999). He also had a recurring role on the 1990s series The Flash, played Inspector Henderson on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and did cameos in music videos for Pat Benatar and Mike + the Mechanics. He is survived by his third wife, actress Harlee McBride, and two stepdaughters. - The Hollywood Reporter, 2/19/23...... 
Actress Stella Stevens, a top starlet of the 1960s who brought sweet sexiness to such films as The Nutty Professor, Too Late Blues and The Ballad of Cable Hogue, died on Feb. 17 in Los Angeles, according to her son, actor-producer-director Andrew Stevens. She was 84. Shining brightest in light comedies, the blond, blue-eyed bombshell appeared as a shy beauty contestant from Montana in Vincente Minnelli's The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963), portrayed a headstrong nun in Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows! (1968) opposite Rosalind Russell and frolicked with the fun-loving Dean Martin in two films: the Matt Helm spy spoof The Silencers (1966) and How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968). She also starred opposite Elvis Presley in Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962), a movie she said she detested. Her signature role, however, came in The Nutty Professor (1963), produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis as the nice but nerdy Julius F. Kelp, a college chemistry professor who invents a potent cocktail that transforms him into swinging ladies' man Buddy Love. Her character, the coed Stella Purdy, finds herself attracted to Love but also sees something in Kelp. "I am basically a comedienne, I always have been," Ms. Stevens said in a 1992 interview. A lot of the serious dramatic roles I've played, I've thought to myself, 'Oh God, they were dreary.' I like the pacing of comedy, the excitement of it." Stevens, though, did stand out in dramas. She convinced jazzman Bobby Darin to abandon his idealistic dreams in director John Cassavetes' Too Late Blues (1961) and played prostitutes with hearts of gold in Rage (1966) and Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), respectively. In the classic disaster film The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Ms. Stevens endured a damp, grueling shoot as Ernest Borgnine's determined ex-streetwalker wife, performing many of her own stunts. Ms. Stevens, who appeared three times in Playboy magazine, had an explicit love scene with Jim Brown in Slaughter (1972) and fought a fierce battle with Tamara Dobson in Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975). On television, Ms. Stevens starred as Lute-Mae Sanders, the owner of a bordello, on the 1980-82 NBC primetime soap Flamingo Road, and then played a hooker named Beverly Hills in the horror film Mom (1991). She also had stints on the soap operas Santa Barbara (as Robin Mattson's meddlesome mother) and General Hospital. She did manage to direct her son in The Ranch (1989), and he directed her in The Terror Within II (1992). Born Estelle Caro Eggleston, an only child, on Oct. 1, 1938, in Yazoo City, Miss., Miss Stevens and her family moved to Memphis, Tenn., when she was 4, and she spent a great deal of time in the movie theater behind their home. She married a classmate, Herman Stephens, at age 15, had her son when she was 16 and got divorced at 17. A department store model, Ms. Stevens appeared in a production of "Bus Stop" while attending Memphis State and got a great review in the local newspaper. Dick Powell directed her in a screen test, and she signed with 20th Century Fox, making $250 a week. She was supposed to portray Jean Harlow in a biopic, but the movie did not get made until years later. Ms. Stevens made her film debut as a chorus girl in Say One for Me (1959) -- sharing the Golden Globe for most promising female newcomer with Tuesday Weld, Angie Dickinson and Janet Munro -- and then attracted attention as Playboy's Playmate of the Month for January 1960. In addition to her son, who said she "had been in hospice for quite some time with Stage 7 Alzheimer's," she is survived by her grandchildren, Amelia, Aubrey and Samuel. - The Hollywood Reporter, 2/17/23.
Raquel Welch, the almond-eyed sex symbol who turned a doeskin bikini into one of the most iconic cinematic images of the 1960s, died on Feb. 15 at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness, according to her family. She was 82. Ms. Welch's strikingly photogenic features and voluptuous figure catapulted her to international stardom in her second film after signing with 20th Century Fox in 1965, One Million Years B.C. (1966). Although her biggest line of dialogue in the prehistoric drama was, "Me, Loana... You, Tumak," the film, which was not a hit, made Ms. Welch a star. The advance poster -- with Ms. Welch in the animal-skin two-piece -- became the linchpin of the entire marketing campaign ("Mankind's first bikini," boasted one tagline), and Time magazine once listed her cavewoman costume in its list of "Top Ten Bikinis in Pop Culture." Born Jo Raquel Tejada in Chicago on Sept. 5, 1940, Ms. Welch's dad was a Bolivian aeronautical engineer and her mom a seamstress whose ancestry dated to John Quincy Adams. While in high school, she won first prize in a local beauty contest -- "Miss Photogenic" -- which launched a string of pageant triumphs. She soon was crowned Miss La Jolla, Miss San Diego and finally, Maid of California. She also won a scholarship to San Diego State University, where she studied drama for a time, and against her father's wishes, married her high school sweetheart, James Welch. Soon after, she landed a job as a local TV weather girl, and left the gig soon after giving birth her son, Damon, at age 19. Within a few more years, though, her marriage fell apart, and she took her kids to Los Angeles in 1963 where she arrived in L.A. in 1963 with no car, no connections and $200 in her pocket. Within a year, she was landing roles in Elvis Presley movies (1964's Roustabout) and small parts on TV shows like Bewitched and McHale's Navy. At one point, she nearly was Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island and a "Bond Girl" in Thunderball. Her first film for Fox was Fantastic Voyage, an ensemble sci-fi thriller about a team of doctors shrunken to microscopic size and injected into the body of an ailing scientist. The movie did respectable box office -- and won Oscars for visual effects and art direction -- and Welch's performance was well-received (even if she spent much of the picture paddling through hemoglobin in a tight, white scuba suit). After One Million Years B.C., she starred in a series of international productions and projects for Fox, including Lady In Cement with Frank Sinatra and Bandolero! with James Stewart; in 100 Rifles she and Jim Brown broke taboos with an interracial love scene. 
Rod Stewart confirmed on Feb. 13 that he'll play a six-date UK tour at various castles and football stadiums, and is now "impatiently awaiting" the summer to arrive. Sir Rod, 78, says he cannot wait to be "dancing under the stars" in the coming months when he hits the road again to visit the likes of Edinburgh Castle on July 6 and Northampton's Cinch Stadium on June 28. "My favourite memories have been summer nights with a beer or two alongside the best fans in the world," Stewart said in a statement. "I'm impatiently awaiting this summer playing at a variety of special venues -- football, cricket and rugby stadiums, estates and castles! We'll all be dancing under the stars." Kicking off his UK run at Plymouth's Home Park Stadium on June 24, Stewart will also be visiting Durham's Seat Unique Riverside on June 30, Bristol's Badminton Estate, Worcester Park on July 2 and Hull's Sewell Group Craven Park on July 4 in addition to the Northampton and Edinburgh dates. The Edinburgh show will be the first time the rocker has played at the city's historic castle in 13 years (his father was also born in the city). - Music-News.com, 2/13/23...... Almost two weeks after kicking off his first tour with the E Street Band in six years on Feb. 1, Bruce Springsteen was forced to perform without three of his E Street bandmates during his gig in Dallas on Feb. 10 after two of them -- guitarist Steven Van Zandt and violinist/singer Soozie Tyrel -- tested positive for Covid-19, and his wife/singer Patti Scialfa absent from the stage for undisclosed reasons. "We got a few members missing tonight -- Stevie Van Zandt -- COVID, Soozie Tyrell -- COVID, Patti Scialfa... But goddammit, we're gonna give Dallas the best show they've ever seen," the Boss told the crowd at the top of the show before promptly launching into 1980's "Out in the Street" (fan shot footage of the explanation can be viewed on 
In a new interview with Guitar Player magazine, former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' member Mike Campbell says he's "still processing" and grieving for his late friend and band leader, who died in 2017 aged 66. Asked if it was "bittersweet" for him to hear the songs on the band's Live at the Fillmore 1997 compilation when he was preparing it for release in 2022, the 73-year-old Campbell responded: "Of course it is, 'cause Tom's gone and that's kind of a hard thing for me to deal with, to sit there and listen to stuff and hear his voice. It touches on some grief that I'm still processing. But I'm a big boy." Campbell, who co-wrote some of the Heartbreakers' biggest hits with Petty including "Refugee," "Here Comes My Girl," "You Got Lucky," and "Runnin' Down a Dream," added however that "I can deal with it." "There's a lot of material and it's important, I think, because some of the young people have maybe never heard the old catalogue, so when they're re-issued there's a chance for that stuff to be re-experienced." Campbell also revealed there are a handful of tracks that have never been released in the band's archive -- but not enough for an album. "There's a few extra tracks here and there. A lot of them have already come out. But, no, there's no mystical album that's sitting on the floor. There's the live stuff, like I mentioned before. Those are the main things that have never been heard," he said. Campbell has previously said he's thankful he had the opportunity to really "connect" with Tom on their final tour together. "In the hospital, lying in the bed, I talked to him a little bit. He couldn't communicate, but maybe he heard me, I don't know. It's hard to put into words but I had an opportunity on the plane a couple of times towards the end of the last tour to connect, to say all the things I really wanted to say to him. We were able to touch base, to identify our bond and our friendship in a very powerful way. I feel fortunate to have had those moments with him, not knowing what was going to unfold." - Music-News.com, 2/12/23...... Speaking to the London Sunday Times, former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon has opened up about caring for Nora, his wife of 44-years since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease five years ago. In January, the Public Image Ltd singer revealed that he would be vying to represent Ireland with his band at the 2023 Eurovision song contest with new song "Hawaii," which has been shared on 
Elvis Costello kicked off his 10-night series at New York's Gramercy Theatre on Feb. 9 by paying tribute to his friend and collaborater Burt Bacharach a day after the beloved pop composer passed away at 94 due to natural causes. "It's been a tough day," Costello told the sold-out crowd about the loss of his musical compatriot before covering three of Bacharach's most beloved hits. "You know, a really great man left us yesterday," Costello said. "And people say, when somebody reaches a great age, they say, 'well, it was a good ending,'... it's never time to say goodbye to somebody if you love 'em. And I'm not ashamed to say I did love this man. And for everything he gave me, Mr. Burt Bacharach." Costello then went on to perform a gentle, acoustic cover "Baby It's You" -- which he said he learned after hearing the Beatles' 1963 cover -- as well as one of Bacharach and lyricist Hal David's indelible collaborations with Dionne Warwick, "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and a tender, solo piano take on the 1961 The Drifters song "Please Stay." Video of the performances has been uploaded to 
Burt Bacharach, one of the most accomplished pop music composers of the 20th century, died on Feb. 8 at home in Los Angeles of natural causes, his publicist Tina Brausam said the following day. He was 94. The musical maestro behind 52 top 40 hits including 
He collaborated with Elvis Costello on a version of "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" on the soundtrack to the 1999 Powers sequel, The Spy Who Shagged Me (also appearing in the film) and, in 2002, he was featured in the credit roll of the third Powers film, which also had a remake of "Alfie" as "Austin," sung by the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs. Born Burt Freeman Bacharach in Kansas City, Mo. on May 12, 1928, Mr. Bacharach attended Montreal's McGill University, where he earned a B.A. in music in 1948. He was drafted into the Army during the Korean War and was shipped off to Germany, where he met singer Vic Damone and toured the First Army area as a"concert pianist. After the service, he moved to New York and played in clubs. He met Hal David while both were working in the legendary songwriting mecca the Brill Building. He published his autobiography, Anyone Who Had a Heart, in 2013. Far from retiring in his advanced age, the eight-time Grammy winner performed at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival in the UK, played with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra in March 2016 and was slated to perform for an intimate audience at the June 2016 Caudwell Children Butterfly Ball fundraiser in London. His 2016 tour schedule included a variety of other high-profile gigs, including stops at Vienna's Jazz Fest Wien, the Monte Carlo Sporting Summer Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival and the Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival in the Dutch Antilles in September. He is survived by his adopted son, Christopher, as well as two children with his fourth wife, Jane Hansen, Oliver and daughter Raleigh. Reacting to his death Dionne Warwick said Mr. Bacharach's passing was like losing family to her: "...we laughed a lot and had our run ins, but always found a way to let each other know our family, like roots, were the most important part of our relationship. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family, letting them know he is now peacefully resting and I too will miss him." Also paying tribute to the musician were Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson ("a hero of mine and very influential on my work") and Mr. Bacharach's wife from 1982-91 and fellow songwriter, Carole Bayer Sager ("A great man, a great composer, In the end a loving friend"). - Billboard, 2/9/23.
Bonnie Raitt scored a surprise Song of the Year Grammy win at the 65th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 5. Few Grammy watchers expected Raitt to take home the award -- perhaps least of all Raitt herself, as judged by her heavily memed surprised reaction to the announcement -- for the devastating, self-penned title track to her 2022 album Just Like That. "Just Like That" was easily the least commercially visible of the 10 tracks nominated, the other nine of which were all top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. (Raitt has not reached the Hot 100 since 1995.) Boosted by curious listeners, the song absolutely blasted off on streaming services following its victory, spiking from just over 10,000 daily official on-demand U.S. streams two days before the Grammys (Feb. 3) to a whopping 697,000 the Monday after (Feb. 6), according to Luminate. And it isn't the first time a big Grammy moment has given Raitt a major sales boost: after her mid-career breakthrough set Nick of Time took home album of the year at the 1990 awards, it took off on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart -- eventually topping the survey for three weeks that Apr. 1990, and starting a commercial renaissance for the veteran blues-rocker that lasted through the first half of the 1990s. Meanwhile, Raitt, Mick Fleetwood and Sheryl Crow paid tribute to late Fleetwood Mac member Christine McVie during the Grammys with a stunning performance of the McVie-penned Fleetwood Mac tune "Songbird." "Songbird" was one of three performances included during the In Memoriam section at the 2023 Grammys. Though never released as a single, "Songbird" is still one of McVie's best-known compositions for its inclusion on the classic Grammy-winning 1977 Rumours album. Mick Fleetwood recently told the Los Angeles Times that he still plans to perform with his band, but "not as Fleetwood Mac" after "the loss of Chris." "I'd say we're done, but then we've all said that before. It's sort of unthinkable right now," he said. - Billboard, 2/8/23...... In other Grammys news, Ozzy Osbourne reacted to winning two 2023 Grammy awards -- for Best Rock Album ("Patient Number 9') and Best Metal Performance ("Degradation Rules" feat. Tony Iommi) -- during the Grammys on Feb. 5 in the exact way you'd expect from heavy metal's legendarily salty king of darkness. "I'm one lucky m-----f-----," Ozzy was quoted on Loudwire's 
Also during the Grammys, Stevie Wonder paid tribute to Motown Records icons Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy with a rollicking, Motown-inspired medley. Kicking it off with The Temptations' "The Way You Do the Things You Do," Wonder grooved his way through a slick performance of the classic track while backed up by a full four-man ensemble singing backing vocals. The legend then decided that the best way to pay tribute to Robinson was to let him get on stage and sing it himself. Performing his iconic single "Tears of a Clown," Robinson got the crowd to its feet as he duetted alongside Wonder to his soulful hit. To close out his tour of Motown, Wonder invited country superstar Chris Stapleton to the stage for a duet to Wonder's own funk-driven 1972 anthem "Higher Ground." The day before the Grammys, Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson were honored with the Recording Academy's Special Merit Award at the Wilshire Ebell Theater on Feb. 4. Nancy Wilson, who received a lifetime achievement award along with her absent sister Ann Wilson, recalled that when they formed Heart in 1974, they wanted to be The Beatles. "Not to be married to them, or to be the girlfriend of one of them, but to be The Beatles." - Billboard, 2/5/23...... ABKCO Films launched the new Rolling Stones mini-documentary series The Rolling Stones Chronicles on Feb. 9. Co-produced by BBC Motion Gallery and ABKCO, the series consists of six documentary shorts, each featuring a different '60s-era hit song by the Stones as its soundtrack. The music is combined with thematically relevant interview clips from the band and contemporaneous historical figures, interspersed with historical documentary footage of related world events. Each episode will be released one week apart, every Thursday between Feb. 9 and Mar. 16, starting with Episode 1 - The Last Time. That episode, which explains the influence of early rock and roll and Chicago blues on the band, has been shared on 
The running bitter feud between former Pink Floyd bandmates Roger Waters and David Gilmour has been reignited after Gilmour's wife, songwriter Polly Samson, issued a scathing rebuke of the former Floyd bassist-lyricist-singer in a tweet accusing him of antisemitism and misogyny, among other things. "Sadly @rogerwaters you are antisemitic to your rotten core," Samson 
Peter Gabriel has released new song "The Court (Dark-Side Mix)" to coincide with February 2023's full moon. According to a press release, the track was written and produced by Gabriel, and features contributions from Brian Eno as well as backing vocals from his daughter, Melanie Gabriel. "I had this idea for 'the court will rise' chorus, so it became a free-form, impressionistic lyric that connected to justice, but there's a sense of urgency there," said the former Genesis singer about the track. "The Court (Dark-Side Mix)" is the second single to be taken from Gabriel's upcoming album i/o. "The Court (Dark-Side Mix)" can be heard on 
Seventies glam-rocker Gary Glitter was freed from a UK prison on Feb. 3 after serving half of a 16-year prison sentence for sexually abusing three young girls in the 1970s. Glitter, now 79 and whose real name is Paul Gadd, was freed from a prison in Dorset, in southwest England. It is common for offenders in the U.K. to be freed halfway through their sentences and then be placed on probation. "Sex offenders like Paul Gadd are closely monitored by the police and Probation Service and face some of the strictest license conditions, including being fitted with a GPS tag," the U.K. Ministry of Justice said in a statement. "If the offender breaches these conditions at any point, they can go back behind bars." Glitter was found guilty of one count of attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13, and arrested in Oct. 2012 under Operation Yewtree, the national investigation launched in the wake of the child abuse scandal surrounding the late BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile. At the time of sentencing in 2015, Judge Alistair McCreath said he could find "no real evidence that" Gadd had atoned for his crimes and described Gadd's abuse of a girl under 10 as "appalling." "It is difficult to overstate the depravity of this dreadful behaviour," McCreath said. Glitter is best known for the hit "Rock & Roll (Part 2)," released in 1972, and had three U.K. number ones, including I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am!)." His fall from grace occurred decades later, after he admitted possessing thousands of images that showed child sex abuse and was jailed for four months in 1999. After being freed he went abroad, and in 2002 was expelled from Cambodia amid reports of sex crime allegations. In Mar. 2006 he was convicted of sexually abusing two young girls in neighbouring Vietnam and spent two-and-a-half years in jail. - Billboard, 2/4/23...... Motown Records icons Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy were honored as MusiCares Persons of the Year during the 32nd annual MusiCares benefit gala at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 03. Standing ovations for dynamic performances from a lineup of current/past Grammy nominees that included Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, John Legend, Dionne Warwick, Sheryl Crow, Chloe x Halle and Jimmie Allen, among others, were plentiful. Early on The Temptations took over the stage with their signature dance routines and a rousing medley of several classics: "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "I Can't Get Next to You" and "My Girl." Their performance drew the first of the evening's multiple standing ovations from a star-studded audience that included Elton John, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul, Tom Hanks, Gayle King, Nile Rodgers and Richie Sambora, among others. Also lighting up the stage were performances by former Motown acts The Four Tops ("Baby I Need Your Loving," "It's the Same Old Song," "Reach Out [I'll Be There]," "I Can't Help Myself [Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch]"), The Isley Brothers ("This Old Heart of Mine"), Richie and Wonder. Before segueing into fan fave "Easy," Richie noted, "I don't know which means more... To be part of the Motown family or having Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson as my very dear friends." Wonder soloed on an early Miracles song co-produced by Robinson and Gordy, "I'll Try Something New." Then he teamed with the band for a reggae-vibed take on a hit song he co-wrote with Robinson, "The Tears of a Clown." The most emotional moment arrived when Robinson walked onstage to pay tribute to his longtime mentor and best friend Gordy. "He took me under his wing ... I love you man; you are so precious," Robinson ended his speech. The spry, 93-old Gordy -- who could be seen dancing to "Get Ready" as all the performers returned for the finale, said simply, "I'm happy to be here with my best friend." As the charity arm of The Recording Academy, MusiCares' annual benefit gala salutes musicians for their artistic achievements in music and dedication to philanthropy. Proceeds from the gala, which included a silent auction of various music memorabilia and other items, will provide essential support for MusicCares as it provides music professionals with health and human services across a spectrum of needs. In related news, Stevie Wonder is set to perform at the 2023 Grammys on Feb. 5 in a spot that will feature two other famous artists -- Smokey Robinson and in a spot that will feature two other famous artists -- Smokey Robinson and Chris Stapleton. The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will air live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will be hosted for the third year in a row by Emmy-winning comedian Trevor Noah. The show will be broadcast live on Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. - Billboard, 2/4/23...... 
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their first tour in six years with a marathon 28-song set in Tampa, Fla. on Feb. 1. Opening with "No Surrender," The Boss and his band ran through some of their greatest hits alongside newer material from their 2020 album Letter To You over the course of almost three hours. The set included a seven-song encore where they wheeled out tracks including "Born To Run," "Rosalita," "Dancing In The Dark" and "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" before Springsteen gave an acoustic solo performance of "I'll See You In My Dreams." Fan shot footage of the gig has been shared on 
Streams and sales of Linda Ronstadt's "Long, Long Time" have skyrocketed after the heartbreaking 1970 ballad was featured multiple times in the acclaimed third episode of the HBO series Last of Us. "Long, Long Time", which served as the singer's breakout solo hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when it reached No. 25 in Oct. 1970, is showcased multiple times in the episode (also titled "Long, Long Time"). It appears first in renditions by actors Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman, when they find the sheet music with an old piano owned by Offerman's character, then as Ronstadt's original version at the end of the episode, when the show's main characters (played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey) find a cassette with the song in a car formerly belonging to Offerman's character. - Billboard, 2/2/23...... In more chart news, music by late folk-rock legend David Crosby have vaulted to the top of Billboard's Americana/Folk Albums survey (dated Feb. 4) among other moves for his catalog. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's