Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on December 8th, 2023

Billy Joel announced on Dec. 8 he'll be performing a huge gig in Cardiff, Wales on Aug. 9, 2024 -- his only show in the UK and Europe set for 2024. The show will see the Piano Man take to the stage at Cardiff's Principality Stadium and feature opening support from Chris Isaak. It will mark Joel's first gig in the UK since his slot at the 2023 edition of the BST Hyde Park concert series in London, which was also headlined by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Guns N' Roses, Lana Del Rey and others. Tickets for Joel's Cardiff show go on sale on Dec. 15 at Ticketmaster-UK. Joel's last U.S. show of 2023 will be a special New Year's Eve concert on Dec. 31 at the UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., his first show back on his native Long Island since 2018. He has also confirmed that the final show ongoing 9-year residency at Madison Square Garden will take place on July 25, 2024, his 150th appearance at the prestigious NYC venue. - New Musical Express, 12/8/23...... Tom Petty's 1989 Full Moon Fever album was a career highlight of the late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rocker. One of its deep cuts, "Love Is a Long Road," is up over 8,000 in streams following its inclusion in the recently released trailer for the highly anticipated upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI, which set viewership records in its first 24 hours of release on YouTube. Petty's first LP recorded without usual backing band the Heartbreakers, Full Moon Fever was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA in the U.S., and spawned the massive radio and MTV hits "Free Fallin'," "I Won't Back Down" and "Runnin' Down a Dream." In 1989, "Love Is a Long Road" made it to No. 7 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, despite never being released as an A-side in the U.S. - Billboard, 12/7/23...... On Dec. 7, Def Leppard and Journey took to Instagram to announce a massive co-headining "Summer Stadium Tour 2024" which will see the bands perform in 23 different cities, beginning with Saint Louis' Busch Stadium on July 6, continuing through cities including Atlanta (7/13), Detroit (7/18), Nashville (7/20), Pittsburgh (7/27), Boston (8/5), New York (8/7), Minneapolis (8/19) and San Francisco (8/28) before concluding on Sept. 8 at Denver's Coors Field. The bands will have opening support from Steve Miller Band, Cheap Trick and Heart at different dates on the tour. The Summer Stadium tour follows Def Leppard's lengthy co-headlining world tour with Motley Crüe, which took place between February and August 2023. - NME, 12/8/23...... The audio from Michael Jackson's first ever studio session in 1967 is set to be released as a limited-edition package. The recording was made 56 years ago, when Michael was aged just nine and entered One-derful Studios in Chicago for the very first time with his brothers in The Jackson Five. In the session -- which took place on July 13, 1967 -- The Jackson Five produced a song titled "Big Boy," and it has been confirmed that this was the first time that the late King of Pop's voice was put on tape. The song is now getting shared in a digital format for the first time, and will be available as part of a limited-edition release. Available on Dec. 7, the packages are shared in collaboration with the song's owner, Recordpool, and Swedish blockchain-based music and royalty marketplace Anotherblock. "Big Boy" comes in two formats -- the "open edition" and the more expensive "limited edition. The former is available for $25 (£19.85) and includes the track, named "Big Boy (One-derful Version)." It is accessible through Anotherblock's player, and also comes with images of master tape and agreements, downloadable song stems, and a digital vinyl B-side including "Michael the Lover" and "My Girl" along with their stems. More information can be found at https://anotherblock.io, and a portion of the sale revenue will go to the non-profit Legacy Foundation. "Big Boy" can also be streamed on YouTube. - NME, 12/6/23...... A 50th anniversary edition of Paul McCartney & Wings' acclaimed 1973 LP Band on the Run has been announced that will be available in a range of formats, including a set of "Underdubbed" mixes. These new unreleased rough mixes were made by Geoff Emerick and Pete Swettenham at AIR Studios on Oct. 14, 1973. "This is Band on the Run in a way you've never heard before," McCartney says of the new remixes. "When you are making a song and putting on additional parts, like an extra guitar, that's an overdub. Well, this version of the album is the opposite, underdubbed." The Band On The Run reissue will be available in vinyl, CD, digital and Dolby ATMOS formats. McCartney formed Wings in 1971, with himself and his wife Linda McCartney as the two permanent members. Band On The Run was Wings' third album, and went on to win multiple Grammy Awards and topped the charts in several countries including the UK. McCartney has been playing tracks from Band On The Run such as "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five" and "Jet" on his current tour. He is now playing the South American leg of his international "Got Back" tour until Dec. 16, where he will finish in Rio de Janeiro. - NME, 12/4/23...... A new clip from the forthcoming Bob Marley biopic Bob Marley: One Love has been shared on YouTube. In the clip, Marley's son Ziggy Marley gives actor Kingsley Ben-Adir the stamp of approval for his portrayal of his father. "In the audition, I saw Kingsley, who plays my father. He was the one who kept my attention," Ziggy says in the video shared by Paramount Pictures. "Kingsley did a great job in an artful way, not trying to mimic my father. To be true to who Bob was, how he speaks, how he acts, how he sees the world, I think Kingsley is bringing that human element. Not just the legend or the artist, but the human side, the emotional side." According to the official synopsis, One Love "celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity" and tells the tale of the singer-songwriter "overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music." Produced in partnership with the Marley family and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, One Love hits theaters on Jan. 12, 2024. - Billboard, 12/5/23...... Sixty-five years after its 1958 release, pop singing legend Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" has finally hits the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The Christmas classic, which rose to No. 2 each of the last four holiday seasons but was previously unable to unseat Mariah Carey's equally beloved "All I Want for Christmas Is You," rose all the way to the top of the Hot 100 on the chart dated Dec. 9 -- marking Lee's third career No. 1, after "I'm Sorry" and "I Want to Be Wanted" both reached pole position in 1960. It comes after a major promotional push from both Lee and her UMG Nashville label, including a new music video, a new holiday EP, and a whole lot of new Brenda Lee TikTok videos, all timed to the song's 65th birthday celebration this year. Lee, whose indomitable spirit and powerful voice, even as a child, earned her the nickname "Little Miss Dynamite," recorded "Rockin'" when she was just 13. Now, at age 78, she's watching as the song, promoted by major label UMG Nashville, has reached the pinnacle of Billboard's all-genre chart. In the process, the song has become only the third holiday song to reach No. 1 ever on the Hot 100. "I like that God has given me that favor that I can stand aside and look and know that it wasn't just me; that it's a conglomerate of a lot of people that made the song what it is," Lee says. I'm happy for everybody here that's worked so hard to make this happen because in today's world, everything moves so fast and furious. But I'm telling you this: My label has come to bat," she added. Produced by Owen Bradley, "Rockin'" was initially released in 1958, though the song's initial chart impact was modest, reaching an original peak of No. 14 in Dec. 1960. Between Dec. 2019 and last year, the song would spend nine weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100, behind only Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Johnny Marks, the songwriter behind other holiday classics including "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "A Holly Jolly Christmas," also wrote "Rockin'," with Lee in mind for the song. "He was such a gentle soul," Lee recalls of the late songwriter, who died in 1985. "He was Jewish and didn't even believe in Christmas, and all that would come out of him was Christmas music. In 1990, "Rockin'" became a favorite holiday song for a new generation when it was featured in the Macaulay Culkin film Home Alone. Lee marked the 65th anniversary of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by filming the song's first official video, featuring cameos from Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood. It can be viewed on YouTube. - Billboard, 12/5/23...... Rush bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee has released two new songs which were recorded during the sessions of his 2000 solo album, My Favourite Headache. Lee released the recordings on Dec. 5 through Elektra Records under the title The Lost Demos, and the tracks -- "Gone" and "I Am You Are" -- grant fans a deeper look into the writing sessions of Lee's only solo album so far. "I loved the songs when they were written and in some ways they feel as fresh and perhaps more relevant all these years later," said Lee in a press release about the new tracks, which were given fresh mixes by Rush's longtime producer and engineer, David Bottrill. "Gone" and "I Am You Are" have also been shared on YouTube. Meanwhile, Lee has a new TV show, Are Bass Players Human Too?, streaming on Paramount+. The show came about when Toronto filmmaker Sam Dunn approached him about doing some kind of documentary resulting from Lee's 2018 Beautiful Big Book of Bass in which he interviewed other bassists like Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and the Rolling Stones' Bill Wyman. Lee, who does everything from landscaping to fishing with Primus' Les Claypool to making preserves and flying with Nirvana's Krist Novoselic, said he isn't sure if there will be more episodes yet but he enjoyed the experience. "We had to go through a combination of people I wanted and people that were available and also people that were up for letting me invade their lives for three days," said Lee. "If I had been asked as a bass player to let some other bass player into my house, (starts chuckling) I'm not so sure I would have said yes." - NME/Canoe.com, 12/6/23...... Cher announced on Dec. 5 she'll be joining the "Jingle Ball Party" event in NYC. The legendary singer is joining the lineup for the iHeartRadio Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 8. She will join previously announced performers Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, OneRepublic, Sabrina Carpenter, Jelly Roll, Big Time Rush, Doechii, Pentatonix and David Kushner. Meanwhile, the singer said that she is "close with all" of her ex-boyfriends during an appearance on the Dec. 6 episode of the Table Manners podcast. During the program, Cher was asked to name co-stars who she would invite to her last supper. he name-dropped Meryl Streep, Nicolas Cage, Sam Elliott and Val Kilmer, who she dated in the '80s. After co-host Jessie Ware expressed her admiration for Cher inviting exes to the table, the 77-year-old replied, "I'm close with all of them. I have a feeling that you have to like someone a lot before you go to bed with them because if you don't, then when you break up, then there's nothing, you can never be friends because you weren't friends before." Cher was previously married to musicians Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman. Her famous ex-boyfriends also include Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, Gene Simmons and Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, among others. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 12/5/23...... Nile Rodgers & CHIC will be among the performers during the 2023 Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve special, set to air live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. EST on Dec. 31. In his 19th year as host, Ryan Seacrest will lead the traditional countdown to midnight alongside global superstar Rita Ora live from Times Square. Also joining this year's broadcast is Emmy-winning TV personality Jeannie Mai, who will co-host the Hollywood portion of the broadcast in the Pacific time zone. In 2022, the countdown -- which has been the top-rated NYE programming special for more than 30 years -- attracted 13.8 million total viewers. ABC and Dick Clark Productions recently extended their agreement for the annual special for another five years. The show, which will now air on the network through Jan. 1, 2029, was created in 1972 by Dick Clark, who conceived it as a younger-skewing competitor to veteran bandleader Guy Lombardo's long-running New Year's Eve broadcasts on CBS. The special first aired on Dec. 31, 1972. Its first two editions were broadcast by NBC, and hosted by Three Dog Night and George Carlin, respectively, with Clark anchoring coverage from Times Square. The show moved to ABC in 1974, and Clark took over as host. In Dec. 2004, Clark suffered a stroke. Due to lingering speech impediments from the stroke, Clark ceded hosting duties to Seacrest the following year, but he continued to make limited appearances on the show until his death in Apr. 2012 at age 82. - Billboard, 12/7/23...... Blondie will be among the headliners of the Cruel World Festival 2024, set for Brookside at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on May 11, 2024. Also on the bill are Duran Duran, Simple Minds, Placebo, Soft Cell, Adam Ant, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Gary Numan and Ministry, among others. Last year's edition was headlined by Siouxie Sioux and Iggy Pop. Sioux' set was thwarted by severe weather, which halted the festival during sets by Pop and The Human League. - NME, 12/5/23...... During the encore of their last ever show on Dec. 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York, KISS made a surprise announcement that the band will live on as digital avatars. "KISS Army, your love, your power, has made us immortal!," vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley said in a video revealing the digital characters as the virtual band launched into a performance of "God Gave Rock and Roll to You." "The new KISS era stars now!" After the concert, part of the KISS' "End of the Road" farewell tour, the quartet shared a two-minute video on YouTube teasing their next chapter. "The future is so exciting," Simmons says amid behind-the-scenes snippets of the band wearing motion capture suits to develop their high-tech avatars. He pointed out that the forthcoming digital band will be able accomplish things the original members couldn't dream of doing. "We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we've never dreamed of before," the bassist said. "The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he's ever done before." Stanley adds, "We can live on eternally." KISS' avatars were created by George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, in partnership with Sweden's Pophouse Entertainment Group. The companies recently collaborated on the ABBA Voyage show in London, a virtual concert performed by the Swedish pop group. "KISS could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That's what you could do with this," Pophouse CEO told the AP. - NME, 12/3/23...... New biographies of two of the '70s most intriguing musicians are available for the holiday season. Karen Carpenter was remembered as much for the anorexia that led to her death as for her crystalline voice. The singer gets her due as an artist to be reckoned with in Lucy O'Brien's immersive biograpy Lead Sister. Singer-songwriter Nick Drake left a trove of breathtakingly lovely songs when he died at 26 in 1974. Richard Morton Jack's exhaustively researched bio Nick Drake: The Life celebrates their power and brings him to life. - People, 12/11/23...... Myles Goodwyn, frontman of Canadian rock band April Wine, has died at the age of 75. News of his death was confirmed by his publicist, who hailed Goodwyn's "distinctive and immediately recognizable" voice and prolific songwriting. No cause of death has been announced. April Wine was formed in 1969, with its original line-up consisting of Goodwyn, brothers David and Ritchie Henman and their cousin Jim. They moved to Montreal and released their self-titled debut album in 1971 before following it up with On Record the next year, which became their commercial breakthrough and featured a successful cover of Hot Chocolate's "You Could Have Been A Lady." It took April Wine slightly longer to crack the US market, but they did so with 1979's Harder Faster and then scored their biggest hit in 1981 with "Just Between You And Me," which was taken from the album The Nature Of The Beast. By the middle of the '80s, the band's fortunes were waning and they parted ways in 1985. Goodwyn released a solo album in 1988 but the band later reformed for the 1993 album Attitude. Their last album together was 2006's Roughly Speaking. Goodwyn was hospitalised for months in 2007 after suffering internal bleeding caused by long-term alcoholism. He later went to rehab when he had recovered. April Wine continued touring until last year when Goodwyn retired, saying: "Touring has been very difficult in recent years because of my diabetes and my health comes first, so unfortunately, my touring days are officially over." Goodwyn also wrote two books, the memoir Just Between You and Me, and a novel, Elvis and Tiger. Earlier in 2023 he was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is survived by wife Kim Goodwyn and their two children, plus another child from a previous marriage. - NME, 12/4/23...... English rock musician Denny Laine, a co-founding former member of The Moody Blues and a member of the Paul McCartney-led '70s band Wings, died on Dec. 5 of a bacterial infection that followed a serious bout of Covid-19. He was 79. Laine's wife Elizabeth Hines posted the announcement on Instagram, stating that her husband had passed away due to Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD). "My darling husband passed away peacefully early this morning," she began. "He and I both believed he would overcome his health setbacks and return to the rehabilitation center and eventually home. Unfortunately, his lung disease, Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), is unpredictable and aggressive; each infection weakened and damaged his lungs. He fought everyday. He was so strong and brave, never complained. All he wanted was to be home with me and his pet kitty, Charley, playing his gypsy guitar." Hines said Laine was "so very thankful" for the love and support he had received during his "health crisis." "It was my absolute honor and privilege to not only be his wife, but to care for him during his illness and vulnerability," she added. Born on Oct. 29, 1944 in Birmingham, Laine played in his first band The Diplomats (which featured ELO drummer Bev Bevans). From there, he would go on to found The Moody Blues in 1964 with singer Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas and drummer Graeme Edge, who died in 2021 aged 80. He sang on the band's cover of "Go Now," which would eventually top the UK charts and solidify their success. From there, Laine formed the Electric String Band, and would also play with Ginger Baker's Air Force. But it was a call from Paul McCartney that would see Laine join Wings, becoming a constant member of the band. It was he, Paul and his wife Linda that would go on to make their most celebrated album, Band on the Run, in 1973. Wings officially wrapped by the 1980s, but Laine and McCartney stayed in touch, with Laine playing on Macca's Tug of War (1982) and Pipes of Peace (1983), in addition to co-writing the "Ebony and Ivory" B-side, "Rainclouds." After learning of Laine's death, Paul McCartney took to Instagram to mourn the loss: "I have many fond memories of my time with Denny: from the early days when The Beatles toured with the Moody Blues," he wrote alongside a throwback picture of Laine. "Our two bands had a lot of respect for each other and a lot of fun together. Denny joined Wings at the outset. He was an outstanding vocalist and guitar player. His most famous performance is probably 'Go Now' an old Bessie Banks song which he would sing brilliantly. He and I wrote some songs together the most successful being 'Mull of Kintyre' which was a big hit in the Seventies. We had drifted apart but in recent years managed to re-establish our friendship and share memories of our times together." He continued, "Denny was a great talent with a fine sense of humour and was always ready to help other people. He will be missed by all his fans and remembered with great fondness by his friends. I send my condolences and best wishes to his wife, Elizabeth and family. Peace and love Denny. It was a pleasure to know you. We are all going to miss you." Laine is survived by his widow Hines and his five children. - NME, 12/5/23...... Norman Lear, the legendary TV writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television with such shows as All in the Family, The Jeffersons and Maude, propelling political and social turmoil into the once-insulated world of TV sitcoms, died in his sleep on the evening of Dec. 5 surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles. He was 101 years old. A liberal activist with an eye for mainstream entertainment, Mr. Lear fashioned bold and controversial comedies that were embraced by viewers who had to watch the evening news to find out what was going on in the world. His shows helped define prime time comedy in the 1970s, launched the careers of Rob Reiner and Valerie Bertinelli and made middle-aged superstars of Carroll O'Connor, Bea Arthur and Redd Foxx. Mr. Lear "took television away from dopey wives and dumb fathers, from the pimps, hookers, hustlers, private eyes, junkies, cowboys and rustlers that constituted television chaos, and in their place he put the American people," the late Paddy Chayefsky, a leading writer of television's early "golden age," once said. Mr. Lear's work transformed television at a time when old-fashioned programs such as Here's Lucy, Ironside and Gunsmoke still dominated. CBS, Mr. Lear's primary network, would soon enact its "rural purge" and cancel such standbys as The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres. The groundbreaking sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show, about a single career woman in Minneapolis, debuted on CBS in Sept. 1970, just months before All in the Family started. But ABC passed on All in the Family twice and CBS ran a disclaimer when it finally aired the show: "The program you are about to see is All in the Family. It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter we hope to show, in a mature fashion, just how absurd they are." By the end of 1971, All In the Family was No. 1 in the ratings and Archie Bunker was a pop culture fixture, with Pres. Richard Nixon among his fans. Some of his putdowns became catchphrases. He called his son-in-law "Meathead" and his wife "Dingbat," and would snap at anyone who dared occupy his faded orange-yellow wing chair. It was the centerpiece of the Bunkers' rowhouse in Queens, and eventually went on display in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. All in the Family, based on the British sitcom, Til Death Us Do Part, was the No. 1-rated series for an unprecedented five years in a row and earned four Emmy Awards as best comedy series, finally eclipsed by five-time winner Frasier in 1998. Born in New Haven, Conn. on July 27, 1922, Mr. Lear dropped out of Emerson College 1942 to enlist in the Air Force and flew 52 combat missions in Europe as a turret gunner, earning a Decorated Air Medal. After World War II, he worked in public relations. Mr. Lear began writing in the early 1950s on shows including The Colgate Comedy Hour and for such comedians as Martha Raye and George Gobel. In 1959, he and Bud Yorkin founded Tandem Productions, which produced films including "Come Blow Your Horn," "Start the Revolution Without Me" and "Divorce American Style." Mr. Lear also directed the 1971 satire Cold Turkey, starring Dick Van Dyke about a small town that takes on a tobacco company's offer of $25 million to quit smoking for 30 days. In his later years, Mr. Lear joined with Warren Buffett and James E. Burke to establish The Business Enterprise Trust, honoring businesses that take a long-term view of their effect on the country. He also founded the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication, exploring entertainment, commerce and society and also spent time at his home in Vermont. In 2014, he published the memoir Even This I Get to Experience. Tributes poured in on social media after Mr. Lear's death: "I loved Norman Lear with all my heart. He was my second father. Sending my love to Lyn and the whole Lear family," Rob Reiner wrote on X/Twitter. "More than anyone before him, Norman used situation comedy to shine a light on prejudice, intolerance, and inequality. He created families that mirrored ours," Jimmy Kimmel said. - AP, 12/6/23.

Rare and long-lost photos, contact sheets & original negatives of rock music legends including Paul and Linda McCartney, John Lennon, Joan Baez, The Supremes, The Carpenters, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Cliff and more are up for auction through Dec. 10 at entertainment.ha.com. Bidding is open on the Heritage Auction sale, which also features a treasure-trove of rare and some previously unseen images of music legends including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Donovan, Marianne Faithful, Tim Buckley and others shot by renowned music photographer and photojournalist Shepard Sherbell. Some of the items include the original negatives. The auction closes Dec. 10, 2023. All items come with a certificate of authenticity (COA) from Heritage Auctions. - M4G Media, 12/5/23...... The Beatles are back at No. 1 on a Billboard airplay chart for the first time in over 50 years as their "final song" "Now and Then" jumped from the second to the top spot on the Adult Alternative Airplay tally dated Dec. 9. It's the band's first No. 1 on that particular survey, which began in 1996. The Beatles previously peaked at No. 11 on that chart with "Free as a Bird" that same year. The last time the group notched a No. 1 on a Billboard radio chart was 1970, when "Let It Be" (the Fab Four's sole other airplay leader) ruled Adult Contemporary for four weeks beginning that April. However the Beatles can boast their share of chart-toppers elsewhere, including a record 20 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Billed as the Beatles' final song, "Now and Then" was recorded as a demo in 1977 by John Lennon and finished at last by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, among others, after multiple attempts via new technology to extract Lennon's vocals from the original demo, along with guitar parts from George Harrison. It's included on the reissues of the group's 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 compilations, initially released in 1973 and re-released Nov. 10. - Billboard, 12/1/23...... In other Beatles-related news, a new documentary series about the Dec. 8, 1980 assassination of John Lennon has a claim that Lennon's murderer Mark David Chapman apologized to his group after shooting Lennon dead outside of his New York City apartment block. According to a witness interviewed for the Apple TV+ docuseries, which begins streaming on Dec. 6, Chapman "actually apologized to us... He said: 'Gee I'm sorry I ruined your night'." The witness responded: "You gotta be kidding me, you just ruined your whole life." First announced in October, John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial examines the pre-meditated crime by the troubled Chapman and its aftermath, and its producers were "granted extensive Freedom of Information Act requests from the New York City Police Department, the Board of Parole and the District Attorney's office." It also features interviews with Lennon's friends and Chapman's defense lawyers, psychiatrists, detectives and prosecutors. It also makes use of previously unseen photos from the scene of the crime. The three-part series is narrated by actor Kiefer Sutherland. Its trailer has been shared on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 11/29/23...... Cher has topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary radio airplay chart for the week of Dec. 9 with "DJ Play a Christmas Song" from her new holiday collection Christmas. The carol is the 29th holiday No. 1 on the AC chart since 2000, around the time that most stations in the format began playing seasonal songs heavily, or 24/7, between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year. "DJ Play a Christmas Song" also makes history for Cher, as it's her first AC No. 1 since "If I Could Turn Back Time," which led for a week in Sept. 1989. She ends the longest break between No. 1s in the chart's 62-year history: 34 years and two weeks. She surpasses Elton John, who went 23 years, 11 months and one week between "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" in 1997-98 and his own latest holiday hit, "Merry Christmas" with Ed Sheeran two Yuletide seasons ago. Christmas, meanwhile, has jingled in at No. 1 on the Nov. 4-dated Top Holiday Albums chart. After a festive performance at the recent Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Cher delivered another dazzling performance with Darlene Love during the Christmas in Rockefeller Center tree-lighting special at Radio City Music Hall on Nov. 29. Cher started with another performance of "DJ Play a Christmas Song," then joined forces with longtime friend Darlene Love to sing Love's signature holiday hit "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," of which they recorded a duet version for the new Christmas album. Cher and Love's performance can be viewed on X/Twitter. In still more Cher news, the singer says she's finding it "very hard to cast" actors in a biopic about her life. During an appearance on the Dec. 1 episode of The Graham Norton Show, the 77-year-old music icon revealed that she is having a hard time creating her biopic. "It is the hardest thing," Cher said of the project. "I have lived too long and done so much, it is very hard to cast, and we haven't even finished the script." The "Believe" hitmaker noted that she will be providing her own music for the film. "I will do all the music myself because I don't like imitation," she told the host. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 12/1/23...... The Rolling Stones announced on X/Twitter on Nov. 30 that they're releasing a live deluxe edition of their new Hackney Diamonds studio album. The live version will feature seven songs recorded live at the band's surprise show at New York's intimate Racket club on Oct. 19 as part of the launch for their 24th studio album. The brief set memorably featured such classics as "Shattered," "Tumbling Dice" and "Jumping Jack Flash," as well as the live debut of the soul blues burner "Sweet Sounds of Heaven," complete with a cameo from the track's guest, Lady Gaga. The double-disc set -- which will ship on Jan. 19 -- will also spotlight the Hackney tracks "Angry," "Whole Wide World" and "Bite My Head Off." The group has also just released a lyric video for the latter song on YouTube, which features additional vocals from Paul McCartney. Meanwhile, Stones principals Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have landed 2024 Grammy nods for a version of their rock classic "Paint It Black" which appears in the Netflix series Wednesday. Jagger and Richards arranged the classical-shaded treatment of "Paint It Black," hich was recorded for a memorable cello scene in the first episode of Wednesday. Jagger and Richards are now listed alongside Esin Aydingoz, Chris Bacon and Alana Da Fonseca, who had been listed as the arrangers of the track when the Grammy nominations for best arrangement, instrumental or a cappella were announced on Nov. 10. Wednesday, which debuted on Netflix in Nov. 2022, has also aired cello renditions of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" and Dua Lipa's "Physical." - Billboard, 12/1/23...... Roger Waters' son Harry Waters has revealed that his father fired him from playing in his band, and he is now planning on playing his dad's music in a Pink Floyd tribute band instead. Interviewed by Rolling Stone, Harry claimed that it was in late 2016 that the ex-Floyd bassist let him know that he would no longer be required to play keyboards in his dad's touring band. "I was fired, it was pretty miserable," Harry said. "I think he just wanted a change of blood, something new, something fresh. I'm not sure of his exact reasoning, but everyone except two people got fired. But the other guys that got the sack weren't his son, so it was doubly hurtful for me." Harry had been part of his dad's band for 14 years, but was dropped ahead of the "Us + Them" tour. Nevertheless, Harry has continued to play the material that he is so familiar with, recently completing a tour with Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, covering the Pink Floyd album Animals in its entirety. Now, Harry says he's accepted an offer to play three shows with Floyd tribute act Brit Floyd, alongside one of the band's former background singers Durga McBroom and a former saxophonist Scott Page. "I've never met any of them, but I'll just turn up and play," he said. "I've been playing this music for 30 years or so. I think we'll be OK without rehearsal. I think we all know the material pretty well." - NME, 12/1/23...... The Nashville judge overseeing the bitter lawsuit between Hall & Oates sided with Daryl Hall on Nov. 3, ruling that John Oates temporarily cannot sell his share of the band's joint venture to Primary Wave until a private arbitrator hears the case. Hours after attorneys for the two singers squared off in court, Chancellor Russell Perkins agreed to extend an existing restraining order that's been blocking Oates from selling his share of their joint venture to industry heavyweight Primary Wave. Without such an order in place, Perkins ruled that Hall might face the "irreparable harm" of the sale being finalized before he is able to prove his claim that the deal violates the terms of their partnership deal. "If the transfer goes forward before the arbitrator has an opportunity to consider and rule upon plaintiffs' application for interim injunctive relief in the arbitration, then it could, as a practical matter, render much of the relief Plaintiffs are seeking in the arbitration ineffectual," Perkins wrote. The new restraining order bars Oates from completing his sale to Primary Wave until Feb. 2024 or until an arbitrator can decide whether to impose a similar restraining order -- whichever comes first. - Billboard, 11/30/23...... In a testament to the enduring popularity of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop's 1983 hit "Beat It" is the latest music video to reach one billion views on YouTube. The streaming giant announced on Nov. 29 that "Beat It" is Jackson's third music video to enter the Billion Views Club, following the Moonwalk-featuring "Billie Jean" and 1996's "They Don't Care About Us." For the period of Nov. 17-23, MJ ranked at #58 on YouTube's U.S. Top Artists chart and at #96 on their Global Top Artists chart. Nearly 15 years removed from his tragic passing, Jackson continues to earn new chart achievements off the strength of his timeless catalog. Earlier in November, Jackson's accidental Halloween anthem "Thriller" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 21, marking the sixth consecutive year that the song has reappeared on Billboard's marquee singles chart. During its original chart run, the track reached No. 4. - Billboard, 11/29/23...... Mick Fleetwood has paid tribute to his late Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie on the one year anniversary of her death, while the Irish family band The Corrs have covered McVie's composition "Songbird" in her memory. In a post on X/Twitter, Fleetwood wrote: "Dear Chris, a year ago today you flew away, and memories come flooding back. Too many to mention! I miss you.. Fleetwood Mac misses you & along with so many that loved your music. Always love, Mick Fleetwood." Meanwhile, The Corrs shared a rendition of "Songbird," one of McVie's best known contributions to Fleetwood Mac's discography, on X/Twitter. The keyboardist and vocalist died last November, aged 79, after suffering an ischemic stroke. She had also been diagnosed with "metastatic malignancy of unknown primary origin," meaning cancer cells had been detected in her body. - NME, 11/30/23...... During a pre-show soundcheck and Q&A session for KISS's Indianapolis gig on Nov. 25, the band's Paul Stanley opened up about the illness that forced the band to cancel three recent shows. In the interview, which has been shared on YouTube, Stanley revealed the extent of just how serious his condition was. "I've done shows with cracked ribs, I've done shows with a 102 [degree] fever," said Stanley. "I was wondering if it was my time." Three shows on KISS's "End Of The Road World Tour" had to be pulled after Stanley came down with the flu. They resumed the tour at the weekend in Indianapolis once he had fully recovered. Stanley announced the cancellation on X/Twitter, posting a photo of himself attached to an IV drip. "I've done everything possible to get onstage and be a part of the incredible 2 1/2 hour celebration we planned but this flu has made it impossible. I along with Gene, Tommy and Eric couldn't be more disappointed and send our deepest apologies." KISS are due to bow out with a performance at Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec. 2. - NME, 11/28/23...... Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits are among the rock royalty paying tribute to Shane MacGowan, after the charismatic and controversial lead singer of the Celtic punk band The Pogues died at age 65 on Nov. 30, following ill-health and a recent hospital stay after being diagnosed with encephalitis. The singer also had well-documented problems with drugs and alcohol. "Over here on E Street, we are heartbroken over the death of Shane MacGowan," Springsteen posted on Instagram the following day. "Shane was one of my all-time favorite writers," he continued. "The passion and deep intensity of his music and lyrics is unmatched by all but the very best in the rock and roll canon." The Boss also shared memories of his last time seeing the acclaimed singer in Dublin back in May, where he surprised MacGowan ahead of his headline shows in the city. "I was fortunate to spend a little time with Shane and his lovely wife Victoria the last time we were in Dublin," he wrote. "He was very ill, but still beautifully present in his heart and spirit. His music is timeless and eternal. I don't know about the rest of us, but they'll be singing Shane's songs 100 years from now." Meanwhile, Tom Waits has made a rare public comment by paying his own tribute to the life and work of MacGowan. Writing on X/Twitter, Waits and his wife and co-writer Kathleen Brennan wrote: "Ah, the blessings of the cursed. Shane MacGowan's torrid and mighty voice is mud and roses punched out with swaggering stagger, ancient longing that is blasted all to hell. A Bard's bard, may he cast his spell upon us all forevermore." The couple added: "Let him go boys, let him go down in the mud where the rivers all run dry," quoting from The Pogues' song "If I Should Fall From Grace With God." "Love and condolences to Pogues, Victoria, family and all who loved Shane, Tom and Kathleen," they concluded. - NME, 12/2/23...... A judge overseeing the estate of Aretha Franklin has awarded real estate to the late Queen of Soul's sons, citing a handwritten will from 2014 that was found between couch cushions. The decision on Nov. 27 came four months after a Detroit-area jury said the document was a valid will under Michigan law, despite scribbles and many hard-to-read passages. Franklin had signed it and put a smiley face in the letter "A." The papers will override a handwritten will from 2010 that was found at Franklin's suburban Detroit home around the same time in 2019, the judge said. One of her sons, Kecalf Franklin, will get that property, which was valued at $1.1 million in 2018, but is now worth more. A lawyer described it as the "crown jewel" before trial last July. Another son, Ted White II, who had favored the 2010 will, was given a house in Detroit, though it was sold by the estate for $300,000 before the dueling wills had emerged. "Teddy is requesting the sale proceeds," Charles McKelvie, an attorney for Kecalf Franklin, said on Nov. 28. Judge Jennifer Callaghan awarded a third son, Edward Franklin, another property under the 2014 will. Franklin had four homes when she died of pancreatic cancer in 2018. The discovery of the two handwritten wills months after her death led to a dispute between the sons over what their mother wanted to do with her real estate and other assets. One of the properties, worth more than $1 million, will likely be sold and the proceeds shared by four sons. The judge said the 2014 will didn't clearly state who should get it. "This was a significant step forward. We've narrowed the remaining issues," McKelvie said of the estate saga. There's still a dispute over how to handle Aretha Franklin's music assets, though the will appears to indicate that the sons would share any income. A status conference with the judge is set for January. - Billboard, 11/28/23...... Despite being often compared, Van Morrison has insisted that he and Bob Dylan are "worlds apart" in a new interview with Vintage Rock magazine. Morrison, 78, insists what they do because the 82-year-old Dylan is a "songwriter who sings" and he is a singer first. "Well, I'm just nothing like Bob Dylan, so I guess what I was trying to say was, like, I'm coming from the place that I'm a singer first. I'm a singer. Right? And I write songs. So Bob Dylan and I are, like, worlds apart. What he does and what I do, you know, it's nowhere near." He continued: "I am a singer who writes songs, so I was comparing myself more to the singer who writes songs, rather than a songwriter who sings." Morrison's latest project is the covers album Accentuate the Positive, and he insists he is only motivated to do things that inspire him, not what other people want him to do. I can do it, you know?" - Music-News.com, 12/1/23...... What is being touted as the "Holy Grail" of Elvis Presley jewelry -- the King of Rock & Roll's iconic and famous "Lion Claw" necklace -- is being auctioned on the GottaHaveRockandRoll.com site through Dec. 15. Originally displayed at the Elvis Presley Museum in Memphis, the relic was later given to Jimmy Velvet, who was once described as "The Godfather of memorabilia" by Rolling Stone magazine. Velvet has even described the Elvis Lion Claw as "the most iconic piece of Elvis Presley Jewelry ever worn by Elvis Presley." The amount of pictures that Elvis can be seen wearing this necklace is mind boggling, he wore it throughout his daily life, on and off stage. Elvis can be seen wearing the necklace on Lisa Marie Presley's birthday, with girlfriend Linda Thompson, and most importantly, he can be seen wearing the necklace when he met boxing heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali both times. Debatably the most iconic photograph ever of Presley, he can be seen wearing this exact Lion Claw Necklace. He also wore the necklace many times in concerts, with over 30 shows Elvis can be seen wearing the same necklace. Bidding for the item ends on Dec. 15. - Music-News.com, 11/29/23...... Henry Kissinger, a diplomatic powerhouse of the second half of the twentieth century whose roles as a national security adviser and secretary of state under two presidents left an indelible mark on U.S. foreign policy and earned him a controversial Nobel Peace Prize, died on Nov. 29 at age 100. During the 1970s in the midst of the Cold War, Mr. Kissinger had a hand in many of the epoch-changing global events of the decade while serving as national security adviser and secretary of state under Republican Pres. Richard Nixon. The German-born Jewish refugee's efforts led to the U.S. diplomatic opening with China, landmark U.S.-Soviet arms control talks, expanded ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam. Mr. Kissinger's reign as the prime architect of U.S. foreign policy waned with Nixon's resignation in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal. Still, he continued to be a diplomatic force as secretary of state under Nixon's successor, Pres. Gerald Ford, and to offer strong opinions throughout the rest of his life. While many hailed Mr. Kissinger for his brilliance and broad experience, others branded him a war criminal for his support for anti-communist dictatorships, especially in Latin America. In his latter years, his travels were circumscribed by efforts by other nations to arrest or question him about past U.S. foreign policy. Mr. Kissinger had been active past his centenary, attending meetings in the White House, publishing a book on leadership styles, and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea. In July 2023 he made a surprise visit to Beijing to meet Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping. Mr. Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut, according to a statement from his geopolitical consulting firm, Kissinger Associates Inc. No mention was made of the circumstances. It said he would be interred at a private family service, to be followed at a later date by a public memorial service in New York City. - Reuters, 11/30/23.