Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on July 15th, 2024

On July 15 Bob Dylan announced he'll kick off a UK tour in Bournemouth on Nov. 1. Other November gigs, including a trio of shows at London's historic Royal Albert Hall on Nov. 12, 13 and 14, include Liverpool (11/3), Edinburgh (11/5, 6), Nottingham (11/8), and Wolverhampton (11/9, 10). The 2024 UK leg of his "Rough and Rowdy Ways" tour is in partnership with Yondr -- which will prohibit the use of video cameras and mobile phones at the shows, making the shows even more unique. Dylan's previous UK dates in 2022 were also "non-phone events." In June, the rock icon kicked off the "Outlaw Music Festival Tour" in the States with a typically unpredictable setlist of '50s blues and country covers and deep cuts. He recently announced Bob Dylan and The Band - The 1974 Live Recordings, an extensive new box set featuring previously unreleased live performances and newly-mixed recordings. - New Musical Express, 7/15/24...... Frank Zappa's canon of music features no shortage of eclectic material, but perhaps his most accessible release, 1974's Apostrophe ('), will receive a super-deluxe edition for its 50th anniversary this fall. Along with the original nine tracks, which includes classics like "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" and "Cosmic Debris," the re-release will include bonus live material from Zappa's performances in Colorado and Ohio, new mixes, and more details from the album's recording in a 52-page booklet featuring brand-new archival photos of the cover's photographer, Sam Emerson. Fans will also receive a compilation of liner notes and essays written by British music journalist Simon Prentis and expert Zappa archivist Joe Travers. Speaking about the re-release, Travers said: "With Apostrophe ('), Zappa continued to carve out his own genre in music, while celebrating ten years in the business. Nobody sounded like Frank Zappa. This album, and specifically 'Don't Eat The Yellow Snow' brought that unique wonderful sound to the masses in a way that nobody, including Frank, would expect." Winter noted: "I'd also say this album is probably the most accessible album of Frank's. It's the one that most people who grew up in my era in the '70s, either they or their older brother and sister had the 'Apostrophe (') poster hanging up on the wall of their basement. In the pot smoking den this was this face staring out at you, this is the face most of us remember growing up and identify with the classic Zappa era." The 'Apostrophe (') re-release is due Sept. 13. - NME, 7/14/24...... Speaking of anniversary releases, former Genesis frontman and '80s solo superstar Phil Collins announced on Instagram on July 12 that a 30th anniversary vinyl box set of his 1993 album Both Sides will drop on Sept. 20 via Rhino Records. The Both Sides (All the Sides) lavish box set comes with five vinyl records - two of which are the original album remastered at half-speed by Abbey Road Studios' Miles Showell, and three feature demos, B-sides and live recordings from that era. Some of the rarities included are recordings from Collins' 1994 MTV Unplugged set, which has yet to be issued officially as a live album, along with B-sides like "Don't Call Me Ashley," "Rad Dudeski" and "For a Friend." Both Sides is notable in Collins' discography for having been self-produced and recorded by him at The Farm, the now-defunct recording studio owned by his band Genesis. Collins performed all instruments on the record. The release also includes newly written liner notes by journalist Michael Hann. "Time has magnified its virtues, and perspective has amplified its truths. Both Sides' may not have been the monster hit its predecessors were, but it might be the most important record in the Phil Collins discography," writes Hann in a liner notes excerpt shared by Rhino Records. Alongside the announcement of Both Sides (All the Sides) is the reveal of an expanded edition of Collins's 1995 EP Live From the Board: Official Bootleg, a limited-edition 10" vinyl due for release later this year on Record Store Day's Black Friday edition. - NME, 7/13/24...... Performing a headline slot at London's BST Hyde Park fest on July 12, Stevie Nicks brought out a surprise guest in the form of contemporary pop star Harry Styles for an emotional tribute of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" in tribute to the late Christine McVie. The pair first duetted by singing "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," which they previously performed together during Nicks' 2019 Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame Induction. They went on to perform "Landslide" as a tribute to McVie, who died in 2022 aged 79. Before their duet, Nicks made a speech about McVie, with Styles holding her hand throughout. "Christine was Harry's girl, she was my girl, she was your girl," Nicks began. "She loved all of us, today was her birthday. It's taken me all this time to try and be able to deal with this situation. One thing my mom used to say to me when I was little was when I was hurt, she'd go 'Stevie when you're hurt you always run to the stage. That's what I've been doing ever since Chris passed away, is running to the stage. The only people that have been able to help me to get over this has been all of you." Fan shot footage of the performances can be viewed on YouTube. Nicks has also announced rescheduled dates for UK shows in Manchester and Glasgow. It's been confirmed that Nicks' Manchester Co-op Live concert will take place on July 16, and the Glasgow OVO Hydro gig on July 24. Just hours before Nicks was due to perform at Glasgow's OVO Hydro, it was announced that both the Glasgow and Manchester dates were being pushed back because of a leg injury. Meanwhile, founding Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood has said he would like to see a "healing" between his former bandmates Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. In a new interview with the UK music mag Mojo, Fleetwood said: "It's no secret, it's no tittle-tattle that there is a brick wall there emotionally. Stevie's able to speak clearly about how she feels and doesn't feel, as does Lindsey. But I'll say, personally, I would love to see a healing between them -- and that doesn't have to take the shape of a tour, necessarily." Buckingham and Nicks, then romantic partners, joined FM on New Year's Eve 1974 after they'd performed in a duo called Buckingham Nicks. Both were mainstays in the lineup until 1987, when Buckingham left, before Nicks' departure in 1990. They both rejoined in 1997, before Buckingham was fired in 2018. - NME, 7/13/24...... As Billy Joel prepares to wrap up his record-setting decade-long residency at Madison Square Garden on July 25, the Piano Man sat down for an interview with the Today show's Willie Geist for an interview on July 14. "Well, I'm kind of sad that it's ending," Joel says of the series that has sold more than 1.6 million tickets to date. "You know, 10 years in Madison Square Garden is beyond my dreams as a musician. We were the house band for 10 years at the Garden, which I think is the best performance venue in the world." Now, to be clear, Joel says that the end of the run doesn't mean he'll never play MSG again, just that this seemingly unbeatable record string of shows is reaching its natural end. Plus, Joel says, 150 feels like a "good round number" to bow out on. When he kicked the residency off more than a decade ago, Joel told Geist he never imagined it would last this long, assuming there would be a peak and then a slow eventual decline. "But that hasn't happened, they're buying more tickets recently than they were at the beginning," he says of the sold-out shows, noting that he could have easily kept going, but that after a decade he felt like it was "all right already" and although he's had some second thoughts about ending the residency, "I didn't want to outstay my welcome." Joel -- who released his first new pop song in 17 years, "Turn the Lights Back On" in February, played a stadium gig in Denver on July 12, and he's set to play other stadium dates in the UK, Cleveland, St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Antonio and Las Vegas that will keep him busy through November. - Billboard, 7/12/24...... Speaking to the streaming channel AXS TV, Queen's Brian May opened up about his late bandmate Freddie Mercury's last days and remembered how he "never ever saw him cry" in his final days. "We'd always said that if one of us goes, that's it. So Roger [Taylor] and I both went out kind of grieving to the max and saying it's over, we don't even want to talk about it for quite a long time," May revealed. He then went on to speak about Freddie and what he was like during his final days. "We made the last album, the Made In Heaven album with the tracks that Freddie had left us to play with and it became a real labour of love because he left some lovely little bits and pieces. He was very undramatic about it," May shared, adding: "I never ever saw him cry or go you know self-pity. He never did that, he was like 'Let's just do it, let's keep doing stuff'. Freddy was always inspiring. If he was here now, we'd be doing what we always do I'm sure." May also discussed Adam Lambert's role within the current incarnation of the band and added that the singer always provides a fresh view on things and is not afraid to be vocal about things they should try. "The songs are not fossils, they're alive and evolving with Adam which is great. Sometimes he blows my mind," May said. Meanwhile the official Queen tribute band Queen Extravaganza, with full backing from May and Taylor, have announced that they are set to embark on a 25-date UK and Ireland tour in 2025 in salute to the 50th anniversary of Queen's signature song, "Bohemian Rhapsody." - NME, 7/15/24...... In an interview with Headbanger News, ex-Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg reflected on filling in for his dad, E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg, during Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's concert in Barcelona, Spain on June 22. "For Bruce to basically say, like, 'All right, it's Saturday night in Barcelona. We're gonna use a shot of that energy' that I brought to the song 'Radio Nowhere', that was a true honor," Jay said. "I hadn't played with them in 15 years. But that's my family; it doesn't get more family than that. And I truly love everybody on that tour - I get to watch my dad and his friends become superheroes up there. And that's just an amazing opportunity," he added. While his father was the bandleader on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien in 2009, Jay filled in on several dates on Springsteen's "Working On A Dream" tour. He's currently the drummer for the band Suicidal Tendencies. - NME, 7/11/24...... Veteran music producer Glen Ballard, who has worked with the likes of Aerosmith, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Alanis Morrissette, Annie Lennox, Dave Matthews Band and Wilson Phillips, became the 2,374th recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 11 with a little help from the members of Wilson Phillips, whose self-titled 1990 debut album produced by and co-written with Ballard went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide and cemented the friendship between the producer and the trio. Wilson Phillips' Carnie Wilson who called Ballard "the most humble human being I've ever met" and the "fourth member" of Wilson Phillips, gave a little history lesson, taking the audience back to the trio and Ballard sitting in a his studio in Encino, Calif., "eating our chopped salads and pasta from Emilio's five days a week for two years," while they crafted the album. "You understood our need to sing harmony, our blend. We heard and spoke the same language." Ballard has also had a number of theatrical successes, including "Back to the Future," which is running on Broadway and London's West End. Tony winner Roger Bart, who plays Doc Brown in the Broadway version, also feted Ballard, praising his collaborative spirit. - Billboard, 7/11/24...... After suffering a stroke during the first week of July, The Zombies' principal Rod Argent has announced he is retiring from touring effective immediately. According to a press release from the band's managers, the 79-year-old Zombies keyboardist is currently recovering at home after an overnight hospital stay, with doctors advising several months of rest and recuperation. Argent reportedly had spent a weekend in London with his wife Cathy to celebrate their 52nd wedding anniversary as well as his birthday before his hospitalization. All upcoming performances on The Zombies' schedule have now been canceled, including the band's two festival shows in the U.K. slated for later in July. A fall 2024 U.S. tour had also been in the works prior to his stroke. "He was already preparing to wind down his live performance schedule after health scares on recent tours," the announcement read. "However, the stroke was an unmistakable warning sign that the risks are too great." Though he will no longer be performing with the English rock trailblazers, who got their start in the early 1960s, Argent plans to continue writing and recording with bandmates Colin Blunstone, Tom Toomey, Sren Koch and Steve Rodford. According to the press release, Rod's "already been back at his piano for some much-needed "'Bach therapy.'" Argent had previously stepped away from The Zombies in 1975 in order to focus on his family and being a songwriter, but agreed to temporarily fill in for a few shows in 1999 -- something that turned into 25 more years of touring and recording with the band. The group has had two albums chart on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart -- 1965's self-titled release and 1969's Odessey & Oracle -- as well as five Hot 100 pop hits over the course of its career, including "Hold Your Head Up" from his band's 1972 LP All Together Now. - Billboard, 7/11/24...... Mick Jagger got a sneak preview of the reception that might await Justin Trudeau at the ballot box in 2025 when he mentioned the Canadian prime minister during a Rolling Stones show in Vancouver on July 5. Jagger, 80, got the crowd at B.C. Place riled up when he said he's a fan of Canada's deeply unpopular Liberal leader. "We love your Mr. Trudeau. I mean, his family's always been such big fans of our band," Jagger quipped, making a nod to the prime minister's mother, who partied with the Stones back in the late 1970s after she had split from Justin's father, Pierre Trudeau. After a brief pause, Jagger knew he was losing the room but quickly recovered, pivoting to Canada's national men's soccer team, who had recently advanced to the semifinals of the Copa America. "By the way, congratulations to the Canadian soccer team getting to the semifinals!" the vocalist yelled as jeers turned to applause. In the days since the remark, fan-captured clips of the moment have gone viral on X and Instagram, raking up hundreds of thousands of views. "(Jagger) hasn't been paying attention," one person remarked, with another adding, "Mick Jagger has no clue how unpopular Justin Trudeau is." Meanwhile, others praised the Stones singer for being able to get the audience back on his side so quickly. Margaret Trudeau's association with the Stones dates back nearly 50 years and made headlines when the band played a club show in Toronto and the wife of then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was spotted stepping out with the band. "We played dice until about five in the morning, in my hotel suite," Margaret said of the encounter. "Smoked some dope, talked. It was a good night, and it was my new world. But no one knew I was separated from my husband yet, and it brought a huge scandal." - Canoe.com, 7/10/24...... A month ahead of his formal induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Peter Frampton will help honor an International Tennis Hall of Famer when the guitar god joins the party at the 2024 City Parks Foundation Dinner & Concert Benefit. At the SummerStage venue in Manhattan's Central Park on Sept. 26, the City Parks Foundation (CPF) will jointly honor John McEnroe and Patrick McEnroe with the City Parks Foundation Icon Award. Also performing will be John McEnroe's wife, "The Warrior" singer Patty Smyth. Tickets for the concert and dinner benefit event are available on City Parks Foundation's site. CPF presents free arts and cultural programs in NYC parks throughout the year and helps make the city's green spaces accessible for all people. - Billboard, 7/10/24...... Fitness guru Richard Simmons, whose flamboyant, relentlessly positive persona helped him build a multi-faceted fitness empire included at least 12 books, 10 CDs and 22 DVDs, including five volumes of his signature Sweatin' to the Oldies, died on July 13 at his home in the Hollywood Hills. His death, which appears to be from natural causes, came one day after his 76th birthday. Simmons had a platinum album in 1982 with Reach, which rode the Billboard Hot 200 for 40 weeks. The album consisted of Simmons singing motivational songs such as "What Are You Waiting For?," "You Can Do It," "Wake Up," "Reach" and "Live It." Simmons' colorful personality made him a natural for television, where he achieved his greatest fame. From 1980-84, he headlined his own daytime talk show The Richard Simmons Show, focusing on personal health, fitness, exercise, and healthy cooking. He also made frequent appearances as himself on General Hospital and many other programs. He was also a frequent guest of late-night television and radio talk shows, such as David Letterman's late night talk shows on NBC and CBS as well as The Howard Stern Show, where those hosts knew just how far they could tease Simmons without crossing the line into cruelty. Simmons, dressed in his signature Dolphin shorts and sparkly tank-tops, always seemed to be in on the joke. Born on July 12, 1948, in New Orleans, Simmons grew up in the French Quarter, where, he noted in his biography, "lard was a food group and dessert mandatory." He struggled with his weight from an early age. He reportedly weighed 268 pounds when he graduated high school. Upon moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, Simmons developed an interest in fitness. He opened an exercise studio, the Anatomy Asylum, later renamed Slimmons. His interest in fitness helped him lose more than 100 pounds. In 2010, he proudly announced that he had kept that weight off for 42 years. Simmons didn't make any major public appearances after 2014. In February 2017, the podcast Missing Richard Simmons launched, investigating why Simmons left public life so suddenly. In Aug. 2022, in response to continued rumors and a TMZ documentary, What Really Happened to Richard Simmons, Simmons issued a statement to the New York Post that he "is happy, healthy, and living the life he has chosen to live." In March 2024, Simmons revealed that he had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, located underneath his right eye. That same month, he issued a statement clarifying that he is not dying, after a cryptic Facebook post he had written drew public concern. "I am & dying," Simmons had written on Facebook. "Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to enjoy your life to the fullest every single day. Get up in the morning and look at the sky & count your blessings and enjoy." Earlier in 2024, actor Pauly Shore portrayed Simmons in a short film called The Court Jester, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival. In promoting the movie, Shore teased the production of a larger biopic on the fitness icon. Simmons, however, made it clear that he was not on board with the film. "You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore," Simmons wrote in a post. "I have never given my permission for this movie. So don't believe everything you read." - Billboard, 7/14/24...... Shelley Duvall, the saucer-eyed, rail-thin waif who starred in seven films directed by her mentor, Robert Altman, and avoided the ax wielded by an unhinged Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror classic The Shining, died in her sleep of complications from diabetes at her home in Blanco, Tex., on July 11. She was 75. "My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she's free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley," said Dan Gilroy, her life partner since 1989. Born Shelley Alexis Duvall in Fort Worth on July 7, 1949, Duvall was discovered by Altman staff members while attending junior college in her hometown of Houston and talked into taking a screen test. She then made her onscreen debut as teenage seductress and Astrodome tour guide Suzanne Davis in Brewster McCloud (1970). A decade later, Duvall sang and starred opposite Robin Williams as the iconic comic-strip character Olive Oyl, the strong-willed damsel in distress, in Altman's live-action adaptation of Popeye. In between, the childlike star collaborated with Altman as a mail-order bride in McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971); as the woman who has a Mississippi romance with bank robber Keith Carradine in Thieves Like Us (1974); as the groupie L.A. Joan, fond of hot pants and platform shoes, inNashville (1975); as the wife of President Grover Cleveland in Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976); and as Millie Lamoureaux, a fantasizing attendant at a Palm Springs health spa for the elderly, in 3 Women (1977). Memorable every time she showed up onscreen, Duvall also portrayed a spacy rock journalist in Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977); appeared as Pansy in funny scenes with Michael Palin in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits (1981); and played Steve Martin's supportive pal Dixie in Roxanne (1987). Before she fled Hollywood for her native Texas in the mid-1990s, Duvall had a thriving career as a versatile, one-of-a-kind actress and head of her own production company, Think Entertainment, which created star-studded, innovative children's programming for cable television that netted her two Emmy Award nominations. Roger Ebert wrote in 1980 that Duvall "looks and sounds like almost nobody else -- and has possibly played more really different kinds of characters than almost any other young actress of the 1970s". In Nov. 2016, a disheveled Duvall appeared on an episode of the syndicated talk show Dr. Phil and revealed that she was suffering from mental illness. "I am very sick. I need help," she said. Survivors include her brothers, Scott, Stewart and Shane. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/11/24...... Dave Loggins, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter best known for his 1974 hit "Please Come to Boston," died on July 10 at Alive Hospice in Nashville of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 76 years old. Loggins, born in Shady Valley, Tenn., and raised in Bristol, Tenn., moved to Nashville where he became one of the most prolific songwriters of his generation. He crafted five decades' worth of hit songs for a long list of artists, including Three Dog Night, Joan Baez, Toby Keith, Johnny Cash, Wynonna Judd, Smokey Robinson, Ray Charles, Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker, Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson. Born on Nov. 10, 1947 in Mountain City, Tenn., Loggins, a cousin of pop star Kenny Loggins, achieved fame with "Please Come to Boston," which topped Billboard's Easy Listening chart and reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. The song earned him a Grammy nomination for best pop male vocal performance, marking the first of his four Grammy nods. In 1986, Loggins made history by winning a CMA Award for vocal duo of the year with Anne Murray for their duet "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do," making him the only artist to receive the award without being signed to a major label. One of Loggins' most enduring contributions to music is "Augusta," the theme song for the Augusta Masters Golf Tournament that debuted in 1982, with the Nashville Tennessean hailing it as "the longest-running sports theme in history." Loggins, who was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1995, is survived by his three sons, Quinn, Kyle, and Dylan, and his grandson, Braxton. In accordance with his wishes, there will be no funeral. - Billboard, 7/12/24...... Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the sex therapist, talk show host and author, died peacefully at her home in New York City on July 12 surrounded by her loving family, just over a month after celebrating her 96th birthday. "It is with immense personal sorrow that I announce the passing of the iconic Dr. Ruth K Westheimer at the age of 96, whose 'Minister of Communications' I've been since 1981," her publicist said in a statement to ABC News. For decades, the witty, diminutive Ms. Westheimer -- popularly known as Dr. Ruth -- was one of America's most trusted and popular voices on the topic of sex. She rose to fame in the early 1980s with her radio show "Sexually Speaking," a live show where she answered call-in questions from listeners. Her popularity and expertise soon spread to television, books and even board games. She hosted several TV shows throughout the 1980s -- The Dr. Ruth Show, Ask Dr. Ruth and The All New Dr. Ruth Show. She also became a staple on game shows like Hollywood Squares and late-night talk programs including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman. She was also the author of dozens of best-selling books including Dr. Ruth's Guide to Good Sex, Dr. Ruth's Guide for Married Lovers and her autobiography All in a Lifetime. The beloved German-American therapist was born Karola Ruth Siegel in the village of Wiesenfeld, now Karlstadt am Main, Germany, in 1928. The only child of Orthodox Jewish parents, she was sent by her family to a Swiss orphanage to escape the Nazis. She later learned her parents died in the Holocaust. After World War II, Ms. Westheimer immigrated to British-controlled Palestine where she trained as a member of the Haganah, a Jewish militia fighting for Israeli independence. She later moved to Paris and New York, where she earned a master's degree in sociology from the New School and a doctorate in education from Columbia University. She trained as a sex therapist at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. In 1967, she married fellow Holocaust survivor Manfred "Fred" Westheimer after two previous marriages. She worked for Planned Parenthood, as a college professor and in private practice before launching her media career. Despite her fame, Ms. Westheimer remained in the same Manhattan apartment for 50 years, raising her two children. "Life itself has been the greatest gift, she once told ABC News. "Hitler is dead and my grandchildren are alive and I'm very successful," she said. Ms. Westheimer is survived by her children, Joel and Miriam, and four grandchildren. - ABC News, 7/13/24.

A wildfire that started in the hills and mountains of Santa Barbara County, Calif. in the first week of July is threatening homes and businesses including the former estate of Michael Jackson, which was known as Neverland Ranch. According to CAL FIRE, the Lake Fire has burned more than 18,000 acres since it began on July 5 and is less than ten percent contained. The blaze is mostly burning in rural areas around the Los Padres National Forest, but a significant drive to the south or west could force flames into more populated communities. A record-breaking heat wave across the West, coupled with increasingly dry conditions, has fueled the growth of several major fires. "A heat wave this intense, this long, has not been experienced in this region in 20 years," National Weather Service meteorologists said. Jackson bought the 2,600-acre property in 1987 and renamed the estate "Neverland Ranch" after the fictional "Neverland" in the Peter Pan fairy tale. The property once housed amusement park rides, a petting zoo and other entertainment, but it is unclear what the current owners plan to do with the multi-million-dollar property. Investigators have also not determined what sparked the blaze and have not ruled out human causes. - FOX9 News, 7/8/24...... On July 9 Columbia/Legacy Recordings announced a mammoth 27-disc, 431-track live box set of Bob Dylan's shows with The Band will be released on Sept. 20. Bob Dylan and The Band - The 1974 Live Recordings will include 417 unreleased performances, with fans already getting a sneak peek via a never-released version of "Forever Young" recorded in Seattle on Feb. 9, 1974. The set's release is timed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dylan's return to touring that year, after he retired from the road following a 1966 motorcycle accident. The 40-city North American outing was Dylan's first tour in eight years and it resulted in the live double album Before the Flood. Barnstorming across North America while playing 30 shows in 42 days -- sometimes performing two sets per day -- the Dylan/The Band tour kicked off in Chicago on Jan. 3, 1974. The group performed many songs for the first time on the tour, including such beloved tracks as "All Along the Watchtower," "Forever Young" and "Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine)" as well as such rarities including "Ballad of Hollis Brown," "Song to Woody" and "Nobody 'Cept You." Dylan, 83, is currently on the road as part of his "Never Ending Tour," with his next show slated for July 29 at the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, Calif. - Billboard, 7/9/24...... An Ohio woman is claiming she was scammed out of over $122,000 by someone impersonating former Journey frontman Steve Perry. The 75-year-old woman told police she had been exchanging Facebook messages with someone claiming to be Perry since January, and the impersonator said he had a "business opportunity" and "needed a woman in his life." Over the next few months, the woman and scammer corresponded by text and WhatsApp messages, and the victim sent thousands of dollars to who she thought was the former frontman. She says she sent $72,000 via bank wire transfers to "various persons in various different states, designated by 'Perry'," and sent an additional $50,000 in gift cards to the Perry imposter. When the scammer asked for photos of her IDs and "became more demanding", the woman realized that she was perhaps being conned. After the pair went their "separate ways," the woman reported the impersonator to the police. The police told her to file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. The case is still being investigated by the Westlake Police Department as of July 10. Meanwhile, the real Steve Perry recently told Rolling Stone that he has signed to a new record label and is contemplating a return to music. "I'm very excited about it, and I'll have an opportunity very soon to work with these very, very musically creative people," he told the magazine. Journey, with their new lead singer, will be launching a 50th anniversary UK and Ireland arena tour on Oct. 30 in Cardiff. They'll hit nine other major cities in the UK and Ireland before wrapping on Nov. 17 at London's O2 Arena. In 2022, the arena rock band released Freedom, their first full-length LP in over a decade. - New Musical Express, 7/10/24...... A Queen tribute band personally curated by co-founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor is set to embark on a UK and Ireland tour in 2025. Announced on X on July 10, the "Queen Extravaganza" tour will see them visit 25 venues during 2025, beginning at the Liverpool Empire on Jan. 28, and mark the 50th anniversary of their seminal song "Bohemian Rhapsody" from their classic 1975 A Night at the Opera album. "We hand-pick the most incredible musicians for Queen Extravaganza -- and they do a fantastic job honouring our songs. It's a great show, designed to celebrate the legacy of Queen for fans of all ages," Roger Taylor said in a statement, while May added that "QuEx is something unique -- not just a tribute band, but an extension of the Queen family, whose dedication to excellence is now legendary. The Queen Extravaganza Will Rock You!" - NME, 7/10/24...... Patti LaBelle, 80, is celebrating 65 years in the entertainment industry with an "8065" US tour representing her Grammy-winning music career that began in the early '60s as frontwoman for Patti Labelle & the Bluebelles, which evolved into the innovative trio LaBelle in the '70s with Nona Hendryx and the late Sarah Dash before LaBelle embarked on a solo career. On a recent date at the Hollywood Bowl, her soaring vocals especially took center stage on the ballad "If Only You Knew" -- eliciting a standing ovation -- and on show closer "Lady Marmalade." For the latter, she chose several males from the audience to join her onstage and try their hand at singing the hit themselves, which met with audience cheers and laughter. Her nearly 90-minute performance also included classics such as "Love, Need and Want You," "On My Own" (her duet with Michael McDonald) and "You Are My Friend." Upcoming stops on LaBelle's 8065 junket include Sacramento (7/20), Phoenix (8/11) and Memphis (9/12). In between, she's still busy with her successful food company, Patti's Good Life, which recently added a new pancake and waffle mix to its menu. She's also planning to introduce her own Patti LaBelle Wines. Patti says she has no plans to retire anytime soon. "How do you spell it? [laughs]. That's not in my book," she says. - Billboard, 7/8/24...... On July 7 Stevie Nicks's team posted a message on X saying the Fleetwood Mac star was forced to postpone her July 8 show in Glasgow and her July 9 show in Manchester, UK, after sustaining a leg injury. Nicks did confirm that her BST Hyde Park show in London on July 12 is still scheduled to go ahead, but said she would have to move the two preceding gigs as she requires a "minor surgical procedure." Her team advised all ticket holders for Glasgow and Manchester to "hold on to their tickets" as rescheduled dates would be announced soon. Nicks had completed one show in Dublin on her current UK and European tour. After the Hyde Park show, during which she will pay tribute to her late Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie and her "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" collaborator Tom Petty, she has remaining dates scheduled for Antwerp on July 16 and Amsterdam on July 19. In June, Nicks also had to cancel a US show in Hershey, Penn. due to an "illness in the band." Meanwhile, toymaker Mattel announced on Instagram on July 8 that it has restocked its hugely popular Stevie Nicks Barbie doll. "The encore you've been waiting for... The legendary @StevieNicks Barbie doll is back by popular demand with a limited re-release! Don't miss your chance to join in on the music," the company revealed on Instagram, which Nicks reposted to her account. Nicks announced the initial Barbie release in 2023 during her concert at New York's Madison Square Garden. The doll was first released in Nov. 2023 and sold out almost immediately. Channeling the heyday of Fleetwood Mac, the Stevie Nicks Barbie is outfitted in a flowing black dress inspired by her outfit on the album cover for the band's 1977 LP Rumours. The doll also wears a replica of Nicks' signature golden moon necklace along with black knee-high boots and carries a tambourine with red and black ribbons. The Stevie Nicks Barbie doll retails for $55 and is currently sold out at Mattel and Target. The doll is available for resale on sites such as Amazon and Walmart. - NME/Billboard, 7/7/24...... On July 5 Prince's former business advisors won a key ruling in their ongoing legal battle with several of the pop legend's heirs over the management of his estate. In her decision, a Delaware judge ruled that advisors L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer Jr. could not be ousted as managers of Prince Legacy LLC, a company created to operate half of Prince's lucrative estate. Four of Prince's family members, led by his sister Sharon Nelson, had argued they could amend the LLC agreement to remove McMillan and Spicer from their leadership positions, but the judge ruled that such efforts were clearly invalid under the terms of the agreement. "The LLC agreement is unambiguous and [McMillan and Spicer]'s interpretation is the only reasonable one," Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick wrote in the decision. Ruling that Prince's heirs had vested the two advisors with "broad and exclusive management authority," the judge said Nelson could not now amend the agreement simply because she "came to regret this decision." An attorney for Sharon Nelson and the other defendants have yet to comment on the ruling. Prince had no will when he died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, leaving six heirs to inherit equal shares in his valuable estate and sparking a long legal battle in Minnesota probate court over how the estate would be managed in the future. - Billboard, 7/8/24....... On Dec. 4, 1971, Deep Purple were in Montreux, Switzerland to record their latest album, which would go on to be 1972's Machine Head, using the Rolling Stones' mobile recording studio to start on the record. However, the band were forced out of their hotel rooms at Montreux Jazz Festival's Casino venue during a Frank Zappa concert by the smoke, and the apocalyptic scenes they saw inspired one of the most iconic tracks in rock history, "Smoke on the Water." On July 8, the band returned for their 58th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival for their 10th show in Montreux, but this time, they performed on the festival's brand-new Lake Stage -- constructed in a breathtaking setting on the surface of Lake -- opened with the scintillating track "Highway Star," with its long, classically inspired guitar and organ solos. The set moved to explore other classics including "Space Truckin," "Anya" and "Into the Fire," plus others from their forthcoming album, =1. As the iconic riff of "Smoke on the Water" was heard, the curtain at the back of the stage was lifted, fittingly revealing a glistening Lake Geneva cloaked in smoke. Midway through, frontman Ian Gillan instructed the crowd to take over singing duties on the hook, to which the 5,000-capacity crowd eagerly obliged, getting louder and louder with each rendition until the jolt of guitars and drums came crashing in. Earlier in the festival, the band hosted an exclusive Q&A panel where they discussed their memories of the 1971 fire and shared the unheard stories behind their most famous track. Bassist Roger Glover, speaking about the Casino fire: "It burned all afternoon, all evening, all through the night. We went and looked at it the next morning and there it was, gone. It was a frightening thing. The following morning, I was in my room alone and I woke up with those words on my lips, and I said them out to an empty room. And then I kind of really woke up and I said 'what did I just say? Smoke on the Water?' No idea what it meant. I mentioned it to Ian [Gillan] and he said, 'Yeah, sounds like a drug song, we better not do that.'" On recording the 'Smoke on the Water' riff in Montreux: "Our roadies were keeping the doors shut because the police were trying to get in to stop us because we were keeping the entire town of Montreux awake. Deep Purple will kick off a 20-city tour of the US and UK behind =1 on Aug. 14 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. Hitting such markets as Tampa (8/16), Fort Worth (8/19), Cincinnati (8/21), Atlantic City (8/31), and Saratoga Springs (9/4), the band will wrap with a show at London's O2 Arena on Nov. 6. The band has also shared its latest single, "Lazy Sod," on YouTube. - Music-News.com, 7/9/24...... A new Brian Eno documentary, Eno, will play in Picturehouse Cinemas across the UK beginning on July 12, with a different version of the film emerging on screen each day. For the past 50 years, Eno has been at the forefront of musical creativity, technology, and artistic innovation. The hugely influential British musician, producer, activist, visual artist and self-described "sonic landscaper" began his career as an original member of the legendary Roxy Music in the early 1970s. Eno has since released over 40 solo and collaboration records, and pioneered the genre of ambient music with his 1978 album Ambient 1: Music for Airports. As a producer, he's helped define and reinvent the sound of some of the most important artists in music, including David Bowie, U2, Talking Heads, Coldplay and dozens of others. He also composed what may be the most heard piece of music in the world: the startup sound for Microsoft Windows. Eno is a UK/US co-production directed by Gary Hustwit. Hustwit's collaboration with Eno began in 2017, when Eno created an original score for Hustwit's film Rams, about the German designer Dieter Rams. "I think of Eno as an art film about creativity, with the output of Brian's 50-year career as its raw material. What I'm trying to do is to create a cinematic experience that's as innovative as Brian's approach to music and art," Hustwit said. - Music-News.com, 7/10/24...... Longtime Oak Ridge Boys member Joe Bonsall died on July 9 in Hendersonville, Tenn. from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the group announced on its website, Instagram and other social media accounts. He was 76. The tenor singer had announced his retirement from touring at the beginning of 2024. In 1973, Bonsall left his position with gospel group The Keystones to join The Oak Ridge Boys. The ORB, in which Bonsall teamed with Duane Allen, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban, first found success as a gospel group. They segued into country music in 1977 with "Y'All Come Back Saloon," their first of 34 top 10 hits on Billboard's Top Country Songs chart. The quartet landed 17 No. 1 hits on that chart, the third-highest total among duos and groups after Alabama (33) and Brooks & Dunn (20). Two of the ORB's country chart-toppers became top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart -- "Elvira" (No. 5 in 1981) and "Bobbie Sue" (No. 12 in 1982). The ORB won five Grammys. The first four were in gospel categories; the fifth in country, for "Elvira." That platinum-selling smash won best country performance by a duo or group with vocal. The group also won two CMA awards -- vocal group of the year in 1978 and single of the year in 1981 for "Elvira." As a 50-year member of the The Oak Ridge Boys, Bonsall was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Hall of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame, the latter in 2015. Bonsall's final show with the Oaks was on Dec. 17, 2023. In January, he revealed that he had battled the slow onset of a neuromuscular disorder for more than four years. "I am now at a point where walking is impossible, so I have basically retired from the road. It has just gotten too difficult," he said in a statement. "It has been a great 50 years, and I am thankful to all the Oak Ridge Boys band crew and staff for the constant love and support shown to me through it all. I will never forget, and for those of you who have been constantly holding me up in prayer, I thank you and ask for you to keep on praying." "This has been a week of sadness with the loss of my son, Rusty Golden, and now the loss of our brother and our partner of over 50 years, Joe Bonsall," William Lee Golden said in a statement. "Thankfully we have the memories made and the songs that we've sang together to get us through. It gives me comfort to know that Joe and Rusty are together again. Our prayers are with his family." - Billboard, 7/9/24...... Scottish folk rock musician Joe Egan, who co-founded and co-fronted the Scottish band Stealers Wheel with Gerry Rafferty, died on July 6. He was 77. The news was confirmed on the Facebook page of the late Rafferty, who died in 2011. Rafferty's daughter Martha, who runs the official page, shared a series of images of Rafferty and Egan together alongside her message. "Very sad news that the other half of Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon," Martha posted on July 7. Born on Oct. 18, 1946 in Renfrewshire, Scotland, Egan played in various smaller British bands, such as The Sensors and The Maverix, and worked as a session musician, before forming Stealers Wheel with Rafferty in 1972. Stealers Wheel was best known for their 1973 debut single, "Stuck In The Middle With You," from its eponymous debut LP, which reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. Its initial chart success was amplified decades later when it featured in a pivotal scene in director Quentin Tarantino's 1992 film Reservoir Dogs. After charting another US Top 40 single in 1974, "Star" (No. 29), Stealers Wheel disbanded in 1975, with Egan and Raffety both going on to pursue solo ventures. Egan released his debut album, Out of Nowhere, in 1979, which was followed by Map in 1981. Tributes to the late musician poured in after news of his death spread, including posts from his fellow musicians and friends Thomas Walsh, Martin Heron and Marco Rossi. - NME, 7/8/24...... Mary Martin, a veteran manager and A&R exec who guided the careers of Van Morrison, Vince Gill and others, died on July 4. She was 85. Ms. Martin was known as a fierce artist champion and musical connector, and became an influential A&R rep at labels including RCA, Warner Bros. and Mercury Records starting in the 1970s. Born on June 15, 1939, Ms. Martin, a Toronto native, studied briefly at the University of British Columbia before moving to New York in the 1960s and working as an executive assistant to Albert Grossman, a manager for Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Todd Rundgren and Peter, Paul and Mary. After returning to Toronto, Ms. Martin got involved with the folk music scene and became aware of the band The Hawks, which included members Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko. The group would later become known as The Band, and Ms. Martin is credited with connecting the group with Dylan in the mid-1960s. She went on to become an artist manager for artists including Leonard Cohen, who would later release songs including "Suzanne" and "Sisters of Mercy." She began managing Morrison just as he released such seminal albums as Astral Weeks, Moondance and Tupelo Honey. Throughout much of the 1970s, Ms. Martin worked as an influential A&R executive for Warner Bros. Records, signing and developing the careers of artists including Emmylou Harris and Leon Redbone. Ms. Martin was also a survivor of sexual assault and became a strong advocate for justice for fellow survivors. In 2007, she was given a lifetime achievement award by the Nashville music industry group SOURCE and celebrated with the Americana Music Association's Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009, she was honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as part of the Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum. - Billboard, 7/5/24.