Posted by Administrator on November 27th, 2024
The Eagles announced their remaining 2024 and upcoming 2025 shows at Las Vegas' Sphere in an Instagram post on Nov. 26. Demand to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers has surpassed that of the amount of dates, which has led the rock band to extend its Sphere stay for a sixth time -- especially after the rave night-one review of their debut Sept. 20 performance. After most recently adding four new dates, the Eagles residency will now go until mid Apr. 2025, giving fans even more chances to see the band perform. The Eagles currently have 20 shows scheduled from Dec. 6 through Apr. 12. They took over from Dead & Company, who brought their never-ending road trip to the venue from May through August, who took over from Phish's four-show residency in late April. U2 kicked off the Sphere's concert shows in Sept. 2023, doing 40 shows through early Mar. 2024. The 18,000-seat immersive venue has drawn rave reviews for its 160,000-square-foot wraparound 16K LED screen and seat-shaking array of more than 1,500 speakers. - Billboard, 11/26/24...... 
In a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Sammy Hagar says he wants to try to make peace with Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen after their nearly two-decade long estrangement. "It's on my bucket list that I will not take this to my grave, and I don't want Al taking it to his grave," Hagar says. "I've put the olive branch out there many times, and I just put it out again to (Van Halen manager) Irving Azoff." Hagar famously replaced VH's original singer David Lee Roth in 1985 after the latter left the group to pursue a solo career. Along with Eddie Van Halen on guitar, brother Alex on drums and Michael Anthony on bass, they recorded four platinum records before Hagar left the band in 1996, replaced by Gary Cherone. He reunited with the band for a 2004 tour, but their fractious relationship continued offstage leading Hagar to exit the band once again. Roth returned to the lineup in 2007 and they embarked on three world tours over the next eight years, making one record along the way -- 2012's A Different Kind of Truth. Hagar's comments come after the recent release of Alex's memoir Brothers, which deals with the early years of VH but doesn't include any mention of Sammy's time with the band. "Why he left me out, I would like to hear him explain that someday, because I don't get it completely," Hagar said. "I know that he's bitter about some things, whatever that is It's like, 'If you don't want that era, that even gives me more justification to say I own it then,' because no one else can do it, and he can't do it even without me," he added. But Hagar credited Alex for focusing on his brotherly bond with Eddie, who died of throat cancer in Oct. 2020, and said that maybe his era with the band will be covered off in a sequel. "I understand he probably couldn't have done the whole era in one book. It would've been the Bible, the dictionary, so maybe he's got plans for a Volume 2. Who knows?" - Canoe.com, 11/25/24...... Interviewed by the U.K. paper The Sun at London's Lyceum Theatre on Nov. 25, Cher said that her next album will be her last ever. "This is probably my last album that I'm gonna do," the 78-year-old singer said. "I'm really excited. They are great songs and I'm just really excited that I'm doing it. I'm really excited to be doing anything now." She joked, "I'm older than dirt now, OK? I'm the oldest person I meet in almost every room unless I'm in an old folks' home. I don't care if you're 50. I'd give anything to be 60 again. I was a f---ing hottie!" Reflecting further on her age, she continued, "It's weird too because I know I'm older, but I don't know how to feel it. I don't know how to feel any different than the way I've always felt. I like hanging with younger people, not just men. I like young people because a lot of my friends don't want to have that much fun. They can just go off and be old fogies." Cher's career began in 1964 as part of the hitmaking duo Sonny and Cher with her late ex-husband Sonny Bono. Her most recent original album, Closer to the Truth, was released in 2013 -- while an album of ABBA covers, titled Dancing Queen was unleashed in 2018. She released her first Christmas album in 2023. One of the revelations in Cher's new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, is that the name on her birth certificate was wrong. Cher explained that when her mother, Georgia Holt, gave birth to her in 1946, a nurse visited her room and asked what she planned to name her baby. "My mother replied, 'Well, Lana Turner's my favourite actress and her little girl's called Cheryl. My mother's name is Lynda, so how about Cherilyn?'" When the Grammy winner decided to change her legal name to Cher in the late 1970s, she dug out her birth certificate. "I was shocked to discover that I was officially registered as Cheryl," Cher wrote in her memoir, "and asked my mother, 'Do you even know my real name, Mom?'" Her mum, who gave birth to her at age 19, responded, "Let me look at that!" before adding, "I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break." - Music-News.com, 11/26/24...... 
The UK's legendary Glastonbury Festival announced on X/Twitter on Nov. 26 that Rod Stewart will perform at next year's Sunday teatime Legends slot, which often draws some of the biggest crowds of the entire weekend. Stewart, 79, previously appeared at the festival as a headliner in 2002, joining Coldplay and Stereophonics as bill-toppers that year. Speaking about the booking, Stewart said he was "proud, ready and more than able to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury." The Sunday Legends slot is one of the most coveted in the festival's history, with the likes of Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Lionel Richie, Kylie Minogue, Diana Ross and Shania Twain taking on the Legends slot since its first edition in 1970. 2025's edition will mark the final event to take place at Worthy Farm before the traditional fallow year in 2026, which sees the landowner Michael Eavis and his family allow the grounds to recover every four years. The festival will return again in 2027. - Billboard, 11/26/24...... In an interview that aired on Good Morning America's Robin Roberts on Nov. 25, Elton John revealed that an eye infection he suffered this summer has turned into the loss of vision in his right eye, which is impacting his ability to create. John, 77, told Roberts that "it's been a while" since he's worked on new music, something he's been unable to figure out because of his poor eyesight. "I unfortunately lost my eye sight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the South of France," said John in the interview during which his eyes were somewhat obscured by a pair of green framed eyeglasses with a yellow tint to on the lenses. "It's been four months now since I haven't been able to see. And my left eye is not the greatest." Roberts flew to England to talk to Sir Elton about his new doc, Never Too Late, noting that at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year he teased a new album, a project whose future is now up in the air due to his poor vision. "There's hope and encouragement that it will be okay," John said. "But I'm kind of stuck in the moment, because I can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording I don't know. Because I can't see a lyric, for start." John said he's working on getting his eyesight back, but the infection has "floored" him for the moment because he can't see, or watch anything. When Roberts suggested that, after all his health struggles, John is "still standing" -- as he sang on his 1983 hit "I'm Still Standing" -- the singer had to agree. "Exactly. I'm so lucky. I'm the luckiest man in the world," he said. John has been open in the past about his various health struggles, including hearing loss, knee and hip replacement surgery, as well as prostate cancer and a the implantation of a pacemaker to treat an irregular heartbeat. He recently told Rolling Stone: "I don't have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix," in reeling off his many surgeries. "I don't have a prostate. I don't have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee. In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip." Never Too Late, which Elton says is titled after a new song he's recorded that was written by his friend Brandi Carlisle, will begin streaming on Disney+ on Dec. 13. The full interview can be viewed on the Good Morning America website. - Billboard, 11/25/24...... 
Disney have announced the replacement of its famous Aerosmith-themed Rock 'N' Rollercoaster in its Hollywood Studios park in Florida, ostensibly after the Boston-based rockers announced earlier in 2024 that their touring days have come to an end after frontman Steven Tyler seriously injured his voice during a gig. The ride is described on the website as featuring three inversions, two rollover loops, and one corkscrew. It also has a peaking speed of just shy of 60mph. Named the Rock 'N' Rollercoaster, the attraction has had Aerosmith as the face of the ride for over two decades, while the band's biggest hits including "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)," "Walk This Way," "Back In The Saddle" and "Sweet Emotion" play from the speakers. Now, it has been confirmed that Tyler and co. will be replaced on the ride, and The Muppets will now be the main attraction. Similarly, The Muppets released a rock-inspired series on Disney+ last year called The Muppets Mayhem, which included appearances from huge names like Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee and actor Danny Trejo. In a statement from Disney, a spokesperson said "The Muppets will be taking over Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, teaming up with some of music's biggest stars for a rockin' music festival!" The Rock 'N' Rollercoaster opened in July 1999, and a second version opened at the Walt Disney Studios Park in France in 2002. The latter was ultimately re-designed with an Avengers theme. An official closing date for the Aerosmith-inspired Rock 'N' Rollercoaster has not been shared yet. A promo video for the current Rock 'N' Rollercoaster can be viewed on YouTube. - New Musical Express, 11/25/24...... A new Beatles documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi, Beatles '64, is set to premiere on the Disney+ streaming channel on Nov. 29. Its subject is a familiar one: the Fab Four's arrival in the United States on Feb. 7, 1964, and the cultural maelstrom that followed. "Visually they are a nightmare: tight, dandified, Edwardian-Beatnik suits and great pudding bowls of hair," Newsweek sneered in a contemporaneous cover story quoted at length onscreen. "Musically they are a near-disaster: guitars and drums slamming out a merciless beat that does away with secondary rhythms, harmony, and melody." But while most accounts of the Beatles' U.S. invasion treat the boys themselves as conquering heroes, Beatles '64 does something a little different. It turns a refreshing and revealing lens on the band's first stateside fans as well -- the vast majority of them teenage girls, a group all too easily dismissed at the time. "These young women discovered something that nobody else knew," director Tedeschi (who previously edited Scorsese's Rolling Thunder Revue and George Harrison: Living in the Material World documentaries), tells Yahoo Entertainment. "And it turned out to be true." To capture that bigger, broader picture, Tedeschi raided the archives of the Maysles Brothers, the revolutionary fly-on-the-wall documentarians who followed the Beatles for their entire two-week initial visit, unearthing 17 minutes of never-before-seen footage in the process. All of the Maysles' material was then restored to crystalline 4K by director Peter Jackson's Park Road Post studio in New Zealand. Meanwhile, the Beatles' iconic Ed Sullivan Show appearances and raucous first U.S. concert at the Washington (D.C.) Coliseum were demixed and remixed using the same AI-assisted innovations as their other recent releases. And a handful of hardcore fans were asked to reflect on their youthful obsession, 60 years after the fact. The result is a triumph of technology and storytelling -- our clearest view yet into what Beatlemania looked like, sounded like and, most importantly, felt like for those who lived it. - Yahoo! Entertainment, 11/26/24...... In other Beatles-related news, Sean Ono Lennon has revealed to People magazine that he started making music in order to "fill the void" left by the death of his father, John Lennon. "I never played music because I was good at it," Sean explained. "I lost my father and I didn't know how to fill that void. Learning how to play his songs on guitar was a way to process the loss with an activity that made me feel connected to him," added Sean, who was born in 1975 to John and the artist Yoko Ono, and was only five years old when his father was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in 1980. "When you've lost a parent, things like that motivate you- because you're trying to find them. Making music always made me feel like I was getting to know him better." Sean has released a number of solo records, including this year's Asterisms, and in recent years has become a sought-after producer for alternative bands including Fat White Family, Temples and The Lemon Twigs. Sean has also recently been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for the reissue of his father's 1973 album Mind Games, for which Sean oversaw new "meditation" mixes. "The whole album is about my mum," Sean explained in the new interview. "My dad declared to the world that 'John and Yoko' were one word. I think he always had his heart set on her. He was so in love with her. They had a legendary love and I think that this album is infused with that love. You can hear it." - NME, 11/23/24...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, a guitar played by George Harrison in the early days of the Beatles has sold at auction for $1.27 million (£1.01million). The Resonet Futurama guitar was purchased by Harrison at a music store in Liverpool in 1959 and he went on to play it at at least 324 Beatles shows. The Nashville auction house Julien's had listed the expected price between $600,000 and $800,000, but the eventual price tag makes the instrument the most expensive guitar owned by Harrison ever to be sold at auction. The item was sold as part of an auction titled "Played, Worn & Torn II' that ran on Nov. 20-21. Other lots from music history were also donated by the likes of The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Nirvana and Prnce. - NME, 11/23/24...... Jon Davison, the current vocalist for prog-rock legends Yes, has addressed the accusations made in a lawsuit by former bandmate Riz Story, calling them "blatant lies." Story sued the band earlier in November claiming the band stole parts of his song "Reunion" from his 2014 film A Winter Rose for their own track "Dare To Know" (available for streaming on YouTube). Story alleged that the melody was first conceived of when he and Davison were in a band with late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins back in the '90s. He also claimed they were founding members of a band called Anyone. While Davison has confirmed that they were in a band with Hawkins, they were not founding members of Anyone. Instead, they were in a band called Blash Meth, and he left before it became Anyone years later. "Any suggestion that I might have heard this generic melody when we were younger, let alone thought it was worthy of Yes, is utterly absurd," he wrote. "As anyone who studies the Yes albums will know meticulous care is taken on every song to correctly credit the songwriters. On The Quest, I have credits on 6 of 11 songs, hardly the "nearly every other song" that is incorrectly stated in their claim to try and support their fiction," he added. Davison implied that Story filed the lawsuit because he felt rejected after "hoping to work with Yes, and, I'm sorry to say, failing." He also argued that the melody isn't original. In other Yes news, former keyboardist Rick Wakeman has been playing his final solo tour in the United States, stating when it was announced that it is time "to call it a day." - NME, 11/22/24...... 
Alice Brock, whose Massachusetts-based eatery helped inspire Arlo Guthrie's deadpan Thanksgiving standard, "Alice's Restaurant Massacree," has died at age 83. Her death, just a week before Thanksgiving, was announced on Nov. 22 by Guthrie on the Facebook page of his own Rising Son Records. Guthrie wrote that she died in Provincetown, Mass., her residence for some 40 years, and referred to her being in failing health. Other details were not immediately available. "This coming Thanksgiving will be the first without her," Guthrie wrote. "Alice and I spoke by phone a couple of weeks ago, and she sounded like her old self. We joked around and had a couple of good laughs even though we knew we'd never have another chance to talk together." Born Alice May Pelkey in New York City, Brock was a lifelong rebel who was a member of Students for a Democratic Society among other organizations. In the early 1960s, she dropped out of Sarah Lawrence College, moved to Greenwich Village and married Ray Brock, a woodworker who encouraged her to leave New York and resettle in Massachusetts. Guthrie, son of the celebrated folk musician Woody Guthrie, first met Brock around 1962 when he was attending the Stockbridge School in Massachusetts and she was the librarian. They became friends and stayed in touch after he left school, when he would stay with her and her husband at the converted Stockbridge church that became the Brocks' main residence. On Thanksgiving Day, 1965, a simple chore led to Guthrie's arrest, his eventual avoidance of military service during the Vietnam War and a song that has endured as a protest classic and holiday favorite. Guthrie and his friend, Richard Robbins, were helping the Brocks throw out trash, but ended up tossing it down a hill because they couldn't find an open dumpster. Police charged them with illegal dumping, briefly jailed them and fined them $50, a seemingly minor offense with major repercussions. By 1966, Alice Brock was running The Back Room restaurant in Stockbridge, Guthrie was a rising star and his breakout song was an 18-minute talking blues that recounted his arrest and how it made him ineligible for the draft. The chorus was a tribute to Alice -- whose restaurant, Guthrie pointed out, was not actually called Alice's Restaurant -- that countless fans have since memorized: "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant/ You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant/ Walk right in it's around the back/ Just a half a mile from the railroad track/ You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant." Guthrie assumed his song was too long to catch on commercially, but it soon became a radio perennial and part of the popular culture. Alice's Restaurant was the title of his million-selling debut album, and the basis of a movie and cookbook of the same name. Alice Brock would write a memoir, My Life as a Restaurant, and collaborate with Guthrie on a children's book, Mooses Come Walking. At the time of her death, they had been discussing an exhibit dedicated to her at her former Stockton home, now the Guthrie Center, which serves free dinners every Thanksgiving. Brock ran three different restaurants at various times, although she would later acknowledge she initially didn't care much for cooking or for business. She would also cite her professional life as a cause of her marriage breaking up, while disputing rumors that she had been unfaithful to her husband. Her honor was immortalized by Guthrie, who late in "Alice's Restaurant" advised: "You can get anything you want" at Alice's Restaurant, "excepting Alice." - Billboard, 11/23/24...... 
Chuck Woolery, the affable, smooth-talking host of such game shows as Wheel of Fortune, Love Connection and Scrabble who later became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about COVID-19, died on Nov. 24 at his home in Texas. He was 83. Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Mr. Woolery served in the U.S. Navy before attending college. He played double bass in a folk trio, then formed the psychedelic rock duo The Avant-Garde in 1967 while working as a truck driver to support himself as a musician. Mr. Woolery began his TV career at a show that has become a mainstay. Although most associated with Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Wheel of Fortune debuted Jan. 6, 1975, on NBC with Mr. Woolery welcoming contestants and the audience. Mr. Woolery, then 33, was trying to make it in Nashville as a singer. In 1983, Mr. Woolery began an 11-year run as host of TV's Love Connection, for which he coined the phrase, "We'll be back in two minutes and two seconds," a two-fingered signature dubbed the "2 and 2." In 1984, he hosted TV's Scrabble, simultaneously hosting two game shows on TV until 1990. Other career highlights included hosting the shows Lingo, Greed and The Chuck Woolery Show, as well as hosting the short-lived syndicated revival of The Dating Game from 1998 to 2000 and an ill-fated 1991 talk show. In 1992, he played himself in two episodes of TV's "Melrose Place." Mr. Woolery became the subject of the Game Show Network's first attempt at a reality show, Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned, which premiered in 2003. It shared the title of the pop song in 1968 by Mr. Woolery and his rock group, The Avant-Garde. It lasted six episode and was panned by critics. Mr. Woolery, with his matinee idol looks, coiffed hair and ease with witty banter, was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978. His death was announced by his podcast co-host and friend Mark Young. "Chuck was a dear friend and brother and a tremendous man of faith, life will not be the same without him," Young wrote. In addition to his wife, Mr. Woolery is survived by his sons Michael and Sean and his daughter Melissa, Young said. - AP, 11/24/24.
The widow of guitar great Jeff Beck has decided to put her late husband's guitar collection up for auction in January. Beck's widow Sandra said it was a "massive wrench" to let the guitars go, but added, "I know Jeff wanted for me to share this love. After some hard thinking I decided they need to be shared, played and loved again." Valued at an estimated $1.3 million (£1 million), the 90 guitar collection includes an oxblood Gibson Les Paul that Beck played throughout the 1970s and features on the cover of his 1975 album Blow By Blow. That item alone is expected to fetch between $440,000 (£350,000) and $630,000 (£500,000). Other items include a 1954 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster and a white Stratocaster that Beck played for 16 years. Amelia Walker, head of Private and Iconic Collections at Christie's, described the guitars as "really beautiful" and said "These are things that he used. They've got the indents of his fingernails on the fret boards." Beck replaced Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds in 1965, before forming his own Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and others, and going on to have a long and successful solo career. He died suddenly at the age of 78 in January 2023, after contracting bacterial meningitis. - Music-News.com, 11/18/24...... 
In related news, a piano used by members of Fleetwood Mac to compose classic songs such as "Sara" and "Songbird," before later being played by Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and more, is headed to auction. The Grand Hamilton piano is being offered for sale by English singer/songwriter Robbie Patton, who first came across the instrument when beginning a lifelong friendship with Stevie Nicks in 1975. "One day, I'm in the house of Stevie and she has two pianos, one of them was this black Grand Hamilton Piano where she wrote most of her songs on," Patton explained. "She wrote everything on the piano, she really cherished it as her own." Some of the songs composed on the piano include "Songbird" from the band's 1977 classic Rumours, and "Sara," which peaked at No. 7 on the hit parade upon its release as the second single from 1979's Tusk. The piano hit the road that same year, with Patton serving as opening act for the band on their tour. Christine McVie reportedly used the piano on stage between 1982 and 1983 in support of their Mirage album before it returned to Nicks' home. The lead single from that album was "Hold Me," which was co-written by McVie and Patton and peaked at No. 4. Patton requested the instrument as payment, where it came into his possession and found some famous players in the process. "I used to work for all the big musicians, Elton John, for four and a half years," he explained. "John Reid managed Elton John and then Queen. Freddie Mercury even came by for a recording session and used the piano. Elton John used the piano. The people who have touched this piano are crazy!" Though it has since been refurbished and lacquered, the listing states that the keys have never changed. It also comes with a letter of authenticity signed by Patton, Nicks, and the late McVie in 2015. Bidding on the piano, conducted by GottaHaveRockAndRoll.com, is open until Dec. 16, with a minimum bid of $50,000. Only a handful of bids are expected, it seems, with an estimated sale range of between $100,000 and $200,000. - Billboard, 11/22/24...... In other Fleetwood Mac news, Apple Original Films has unveiled plans for a new definitive and fully authorized documentary chronicling the legendary band. Promising to "delve into Fleetwood Mac's meteoric rise and the personal and professional dynamics that shaped their legacy," surviving band members will, for the first time, narrate their own extraordinary story, supported by exclusive interviews, archival footage, and unseen material, including tributes to the late Christine McVie. The documentary, which is yet to be titled, is being directed by five-time Academy Award nominee Frank Marshall, and joins Apple Original Films' prestigious catalog of projects, including the Academy Award-winning CODA and the Emmy-winning STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie. - Billboard, 11/19/24...... In more auction news, Olivia Newton-John's iconic leather Grease jacket is being auctioned for a good cause by Julien's in conjunction with Turner Classic Movie's A Week of Hollywood Legends program. The event, which will take place from Dec. 10 to Dec. 13 at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and online at Julien's Auctions' website, will feature an auction of more than 400 pieces of the legendary Grammy winner's iconic wardrobe, instruments, fine art, jewelry, memorabilia, personal mementos and more. A standout piece from the auction is the beloved leather jacket that Newton-John wore as Sandy Olsson in the final scene of the 1978 classic film, Grease. Other treasures up for bidding include her "Summer Nights," "Physical" and "Have You Never Been Mellow" gold record awards, and her1974 American Music Award for favorite country female vocalist. A portion of the auction proceeds will benefit the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, that was founded by Newton-John and her husband, John Easterling. The independent charity sponsors global research into plant medicine treatments for cancer. Newton-John died in Aug. 2022 at the age of 73 after a decades-long battle with breast cancer. A preview of A Week of Hollywood Legends can be viewed on YouTube. The auction event comes just weeks after an exhibition of Newton-John's collection opens at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Nov. 22. - Billboard, 11/20/24...... In a new interview with the U.K.'s The Sunday Times, Pete Townshend revealed that he has "suicidal" thoughts when he wakes up every morning. "When I first wake up I'm suicidal, actually suicidal," he said about what he describes as "chemical depression." The Who guitarist spoke about choosing to wake up between 2am and 5am each day to help with his mindset, explaining: "I'm still in the state that I was the day before." Townshend added he has "a couple of cups of tea" and "two digestive biscuits," which he says is "apparently equal to 17 sugar lumps, and I feel happy." Townshend sought help from a professional therapist as a younger man, but did not find it to be useful for him, but he does find value in keeping journals. "If I start my journals before I have my cup of tea, I'll paint a very bleak picture of my life. Despite the fact that I have everything that I want and everything that I need. And I have had a really extraordinary life." - NME, 11/18/24...... 
Bob Dylan has responded to a woman who claimed to be one of his past backing dancers after she posted that she was told not to make eye contact with the legendary singer/songwriter. After Dylan shared his thoughts on Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds after watching their recent concert in Paris in a tweet on his official X/Twitter account, a woman by the name of Cheryl Henry responded: "My Joy was taken away after rehearsing as one of the Backup dancers for your set on the Grammys in NYC 1991. We all had to walk single file to exit thru the backstage area, past the dressing rooms where you were standing wearing a hooded black robe, kinda like the boxers used to wear & you said to me as I passed you 'Now don't you go cutting that long red hair of yours before tomorrow night," began her tweet. She continued: "By the time I reached the exit door at Radio City, I had been told not to return. Nadine (who was running things) had told us all before NOT to make eye contact with you! I guess I snuck a peek as I passed you! I had a letter with me also from an old friend of yours Katherine Perry who knew you in your West Village days. It wasn't meant to be Gemini Man," referring to Dylan's zodiac sign. Dylan then responded to her post on Nov. 20: "Saw your reply. Just want you to know I've never told anybody not to make eye contact with me. That is just ridiculous. And the next time you see me please look straight into my eyes." Meanwhile, first reactions to the new Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown have praised titular star Timotheé Chalamet for delivering "the performance of the year." Chalamet stars alongside Edward Norton (Pete Seeger) and Elle Fanning (Sylvie Russo, a fictionalised version of Dylan's first New York girlfriend Suze Rotolo, who died in 2011) in the film which is based on Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, And The Night That Split The Sixties. Film critic Scott Menzel wrote: "Timotheé Chalamet delivers the performance of the year in A Complete Unknown. A true tour-de-force where Chalamet is never seen. Chalamet's performance is not just about the voice and look but rather all of the little nuances and mannerisms that he perfectly brings to his life in his portrayal of Bob Dylan. Great supporting performances too from Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez and Edward Norton as Pete Seeger." Other critics praising Chalemet and his co-stars include Clayton Davis of Variety and The Playlist's Gregory Ellwood. Directed by James Mangold and exec-produced by Dylan, A Complete Unknown charts Dylan's controversial switch from acoustic to electric guitar in the mid-'60s and will be released in US cinemas on Dec. 25, with a UK release to follow on Jan. 17. - New Musical Express, 11/21/24...... A live Chicago release, Chicago & Friends - Live at 55, hits stores on Nov. 22 and captures the iconic band's epic 31-song performance filmed over two nights before 10,000 fans at Ocean Casino Resort in celebration of their 55th birthday party in Atlantic City, N.J. in 2023. At both shows the current incarnation of the band was joined by guest vocalists (Chris Daughtry, Robin Thicke, Judith Hill, VoicePlay) and guitarists (Steve Vai, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram) as well as pedal steel virtuoso Robert Randolph. The brassy group's five and a half decades of hits are well-represented, and there's no question the additional personnel injected a little more octane into the shows. Live at 55 was directed by Brian Lockwood and produced by Academy Award winner Barry Summers. It was screened in North American movie theaters during April. The shows celebrated the anniversary of Chicago's debut Chicago Transit Authority album (the group changed its name shortly thereafter), which turned 55 on April 28 of this year. Chicago trumpeter Lee Loughnane says new Chicago music may be coming soon: "There's always music going on. We all write. We're all still creative. We can always do an album; it's just a matter of the circumstance and the timing and all the other aspects of putting an album together. But the ability is always there." - Billboard, 11/21/24...... The Elton John documentary Elton John: Never Too Late is among the 169 features that are vying for nominations in the best documentary feature film category for the 2025 Oscars. Members of the Academy Awards' documentary branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. The shortlist of 15 films will be announced on Dec. 17, and a complete list of eligible films can be viewed at Oscars.org. Meanwhile, a new Broadway musical featuring music by John and lyrics by Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears will be closing on Dec. 8, after just 29 regular performances from its premiere on Nov. 14. "Tammy Faye: The Musical," about the scandal-plagued 1970s-80s televangelist/singer Tammy Faye Bakker, scored decent reviews in its premiere run in London in 2022, but was plagued by poor reviews in New York, where it failed to find an audience. Sir Elton reacted to the news on social media by congratulating the cast and crew for their "extraordinary hard work and talent... it's been a true honour to collaborate with you all." John composed the music for one of Broadway's most enduring modern hits, "The Lion King," as well as for the Tony- and Grammy-winning "Aida," "Billy Elliot: the Musical," "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Lestat," with the latter also having a brief run on Broadway, closing after 33 preview and 39 performances in 2006. - Billboard, 11/21/24...... In a new interview with CBS Mornings, Paul Simon spoke to reporter Anthony Mason about his journey with hearing loss and his search for ways to manage it. In 2023, Simon explained to British paper The Times that he began to experience hearing loss in his left ear while recording his 2023 song cycle, Seven Psalms. "Quite suddenly, I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it," he explained. "So everything became more difficult." Simon admitted to Mason that "it was incredibly frustrating." "I was very angry at first that this had happened," noting his greatest fear is the possibility or no longer writing or composing. "I guess what I'm most apprehensive about would be if I can't hear well enough to really enjoy the act of making music," he added. Though Simon wrapped up his final tour in 2018, he's still making sporadic appearances here and there. Most recently, he performed a surprise set at New York City's Irish Arts Centre, and weeks prior, he performed for The SoHo Sessions as part of a fundraiser for the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss. "I'm going through my repertoire and reducing a lot of the choices that I make to acoustic versions. It's all much quieter," he explained. "It's not 'You Can Call Me Al.' That's gone. I can't do that one." But Simon said that his desire to create hasn't been affected despite his ability to perfectly hear the fruits of his labor. "You know Matisse, when he was suffering at the end of his life, when he was in bed, he envisioned all these cut-outs and had a great creative period," he noted. "So I don't think creativity stops with disability. So far, I haven't experienced that. And I hope not to." - Billboard, 11/20/24...... 
The audiobook version of Cher's new memoir Cher: The Memoir, Part One, which dropped on Nov. 19, is available for a limited time to Amazon.com customers for only 99 cents. For a limited time, eligible Amazon customers can join Audible for only 99 cents per month for the first three months. The Audible membership will renew at $14.95/month after the promo ends but you can cancel anytime. In her new memoir, Cher talks love, motherhood, loss and triumph -- from her earliest childhood memories to her marriage and divorce from Sonny Bono and forging her own path as a solo artist. The book also details Cher's relationship with rocker Gregg Allman, motherhood and her bout for independence. The audiobook is read in part by Cher and narrated by Tony Award-winning actress Stephanie J. who starred in The Cher Show. Cher and Brooks alternate between chapters creating a "unique audiobook treatment" to immerse listeners into her life story. Other juicy tidbits include her revelation that Bono once "seriously thought" about killing her. Cher also claims in the book that John Lennon once stripped off his clothes during a drunken night at the Playboy Mansion in 1974. The "Believe" hitmaker recalled having dinner at a restaurant in Los Angeles with the Beatle and his friend, singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, and asking the pair if they wanted to visit Hugh Hefner's famed mansion for its Sunday movie night. According to Cher, Lennon was "dying" to see the property so she drove them to the mansion, at which point she realised her companions were "drunker than I'd thought." Cher, a regular guest at the Playboy Mansion, led Lennon and Nilsson to the swimming pool's Grotto -- where they stripped naked. "Giggling and falling over each other, John and Harry followed me out into the grounds. Sitting them down inside the infamous Grotto -- it was like a huge cave that one end of the swimming pool went into -- I went to find a drink and when I came back they were standing in the middle of the Grotto naked but still in the water, thank God," she wrote in the book, which has been serialized by The Daily Mail. When the pop legend told the pair they were not a "pretty" sight, they threatened to leave the water. "I was trying not to laugh, but it was impossible not to as they threatened to wander around the mansion naked. It took me ages to get them back in their clothes. It was like herding drunks," Cher continued. She noted that while the mansion was "notorious for drunken orgies," the Sunday movie nights were more relaxed events featuring cocktails, dinner and the latest films. Meanwhile, Cher and Bono's widow, Mary Bono, are currently in a dispute over the royalties to some of the duo's biggest songs, including "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On," six years after conflict first arose when Bono's copyright grants became eligible for termination. At the time, Mary intervened to invoke the right, and was then sued by Cher in 2021 for $1 million (£792,000), with Cher saying she was left blindsided by Mary's attempt to claim her half of Sonny's composition royalties. In May 2023, a judge ruled that Cher's divorce agreement with her ex-husband would overrule Mary's bid to claim his profits, but in a court hearing on Nov. 18, Mary's lawyer argued that Cher's right to collect half of the composition royalties for the two aforementioned hits ended over two years ago, on July 1, 2022. - Billboard/NME, 11/19/24...... German electro-pop legends Kraftwerk will be among the headiners at the 2025 Coachella festival, which returns to Indio, Calif., over two weekends this April 13-15 and 20-22. As always, the bill is heavy on electronic artists -- of the roughly 150 artists on the bill, a third are dance/electronic acts. Other headliners include Green Day, Lady Gaga and Post Malone, with a special set from Travis Scott. Kraftwerk is set to perform on Apr. 13 and 20. - Billboard, 11/20/24...... Stevie Wonder has announced he'll be bringing his "Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart" concert to Los Angeles on Dec. 14. His upcoming performance at the city's Crypto.com Arena will also be part of the celebration marking the legendary Motown artist's 25th House Full of Toys holiday benefit. Borrowing its name in part from Wonder's current single, "Can We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart," the initial 11-date tour launched Oct. 8 in Pittsburgh and wrapped on Nov. 2 in Chicago. Its nine other stops included New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Greensboro, N.C. and Grand Rapids, Mich. And as Wonder noted at the onset of the tour's initial run, he "will be offering a designated number of complimentary tickets to those in our communities who are already working tirelessly to fix our nation's broken heart." Tickets go on sale Nov. 22, and more info can be found on the Crypto.com Arena website. - Billboard, 11/19/24......Headlining the Corona Capital Festival in Mexico City on Nov. 17, Paul McCartney invited guitarist Jack White and singer-songwriter St. Vincent on stage to jam some Beatles songs. Macca treated fans in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Stadium to a 29-song set covering the breadth of his career. For "Get Back," Sir Paul invited St. Vincent to the stage, with Annie Clark lending searing guitar solos to a spirited performance of the 1969 track, before exchanging kisses with McCartney. St. Vincent made a second appearance for the show's epic finale, a rendition of "The End," which also saw Jack White adding his distinctive serrated guitar tone to the mix. Fan-captured footage of the performance can be viewed on YouTube. McCartney's performance was the grand finale of his tour in the region. In his fourth performance on Mexican stages -- and his first time at the famous festival in Mexico City -- the star achieved the feat of gathering the largest number of attendees the Corona Capital has seen in its 14-year history, according to promoter Ocesa, with nearly 82,000 people. - NMI, 11/18/24...... Ringo Starr has shared the new track "Thankful" featuring Alison Krauss, the latest single from his upcoming country album Look Up, on YouTube. "I love this track," Starr said in a statement. "I wrote it with my producer and engineer Bruce Sugar, and I feel we put an LA country sound to it. For the lyrics, I always like to focus on the positive, and for this song in particular, about what we can be thankful for. I hope it brings you some joy and peace and love." Starr previously shared the album's lead single "Time On My Hands." Comprised of 11 songs, Starr wrote the album alongside T Bone Burnett, Billy Swan and Bruce Sugar, and it marks his first full album in the country style in over 50 years and first LP since 2019. Starr is set to showcase the album in Nashville with a headline show at the Ryman Auditorium on Jan. 14 and 15. - NME, 11/18/24...... 
Ozzy Osbourne has unveiled a T-shirt he designed in support of a campaign seeking to ban trophy hunting -- a hobby he calls "totally crazy." A video clip published on YouTube on Nov. 18 by Ban Trophy Hunting UK shows Osbourne and his wife Sharon decked out in his custom-made t-shirts, which read "Ozzy says 'No trophy hunting!'." "You've got to be barking to kill an innocent animal and then take photos of yourself laughing about it," the former Black Sabbath frontman said in a statement. "We've all got to do our bit. I like to design things so I've done a t-shirt for the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting. The government said it would ban hunting trophies, so get on with it! Tell your MP you want it banned right now! Get yourself an Ozzy t-shirt for Christmas and help save the animals!" Sharon added that they hope "everyone buys this t-shirt and help raise funds to fight these awful people." Right-wing musician and avid hunter Ted Nugent reacted to Ozzy's video by posting his own video of himself with signed skulls of animals he's killed. - NME, 11/19/24...... Sammy Hagar took to Instagram on Nov. 18 to announce a Las Vegas residency, after $1 million of his and Guy Fieri's tequila was hijacked in a heist in Texas 11 days earlier. The residency will feature his Best Of Both Worlds band, which is comprised of guitarist Joe Satriani, bassist Michael Anthony, and drummer Kenny Aronoff. The string of dates is made up of nine nights at the Dolby Live at Park MGM. The musician will take over the venue on Apr. 30 2025 followed by May 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, and 17. "I'm so looking forward to this residency and being able to stay in one place so we can get the sound and production completely dialed in," Hagar said in a press release. "It also allows the band to experiment with the setlist every night -- that's why it's going to be exclusive to Las Vegas." As a celebration of the residency, Hagar and Anthony will perform during the halftime show of the upcoming Las Vegas Raiders game against the Denver Broncos on Nov. 24th at Allegiant Stadium. The announcement of Hagar's Vegas residency comes after Hagar and Guy Fieri's joint tequila business -- Santo Tequila -- experienced a hijack with thieves stealing two trucks with roughly $1 million of merchandise in Texas during the weekend of Nov. 9. According to Fox News, a representative of Hagar shared that the trucks were stolen in Laredo after crossing the boarder into the US. A total of 4,040 cases of tequila (24,240 bottles) were stolen. The representative added that the robbery appeared to be an "organized crime effort where the trucks were illegally double brokered to different carriers who transferred the product to their trucks." - NME, 11/18/24...... Sting will be among the headliners at the Cherrytree Music 20th Anniversary Concert, planned for Jan. 25 at the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Net proceeds will go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The record label, management firm and music publisher, established in 2005 by Grammy-award songwriter/musician/producer, music executive and artist manager Martin Kierszenbaum, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Kierszenbaum was nominated for two Grammy awards for his writing, performance and production work on Lady Gaga's The Fame album and his writing, playing and production on Sting and rapper Shaggy's expectation-defying collaboration, 44/876. - Billboard, 11/19/24...... 
In a remarkable coincidence, two Bee Gees drummers have died just four days apart. The death of Dennis Bryon, who played on some of the platinum-selling sibling trio's biggest hits, at age 75 was confirmed by former Bee Gees member Blue Weaver on Facebook on Nov. 14. "I am lost for words at the moment Dennis has passed away. Kayte, Dennis's wife has just called me and asked if I would let all friends and fans know. This was such a shock," he wrote in the update. "Dennis has been my friend, since we were in our first band together age 15. His great drumming will always Stay Alive," Weaver wrote. The two also worked together in the UK bands Amen Corner and Fair Weather. Born in Cardiff, Wales in 1949, Byron began drumming as a teenager and went on to join the Gibb brothers in 1973 -- just as they made their transition into disco. He famously contributed to hits including "Night Fever," "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive" and "You Should Be Dancing, and and continued recording with the band through the rest of the decade, with his final recorded efforts with the Gibbs appearing on 1979's Spirits Have Flown, which spawned yet more No. 1 hits in "Tragedy", "Too Much Heaven" and "Love You Inside Out." Bryon has the distinction of being the only drummer in pop history -- besides the Beatles' Ringo Starr -- to have five songs in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously. After leaving the Bee Gees, Bryon moved to Nashville and began a long career as a session musician, performing and recording with Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Edmunds and, more recently, The Italian Bee Gees. He released a memoir, You Should Be Dancing, in 2015. Bryon took over the drum seat from Colin "Smiley" Petersen, who died on Nov. 18 at the age of 78. Petersen joined the English-Australian band formed by brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb in 1966, playing on a string of early hits that cemented the trio's vocal prowess, including "To Love Somebody," "I Started a Joke" and "Holiday." He first contributed to the band's 1966 album Spicks and Specks, before playing on all four of their LPs released under Polydor/Atco. Petersen's final album with the Bee Gees was Cucumber Castle in 1970, after which he eventually left the group following disagreements with manager Robert Stigwood. He subsequently formed the band Humpy Bong with singer-songwriter Jonathan Kelly and Tim Staffell, which broke up shortly after. He then went on to start a management company in 1969 with his wife Joanne Newfield. The couple have two sons, Jaime and Ben. Petersen performed shows with the band as recently as Nov. 16 in Queensland, Australia. Following the deaths of Maurice Gibb in 2003 at 53 and twin Robin in 2012 at age 62, eldest sibling Barry, 78, is the last surviving member of the Bee Gees. - NME/Billboard, 11/20/24.
As an 
In a new interview with Kate Thornton's Greatest Hits Radio podcast on Nov. 15, Elton John opened up about his children's relationship with his fame, saying they are "not interested in being in the limelight." The Rocket Man and his husband David Furnish have two sons, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, 13, and Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John, 11, both born via surrogacy. Explaining how his parenting style is different from that of his own parents, he added: "When the kids were born I didn't want them to have any fear. I grew up in the 1950s and everything was 'children should be seen and not heard.' I was treading on eggshells everywhere and I didn't ever want my children to feel like that." Elton continued: "They're not interested in being in the limelight. In fact Zachary, our eldest, didn't really want to be filmed at all, he doesn't like it, but we explained the situation to him and he agreed to be filmed at the Dodgers Stadium." John was referring to the filming of Never Too Late, the new Disney+ documentary that followed him as he prepared for his final North American stadium show at the Los Angeles stadium in Nov. 2022. "At the end of the day what matters most? My career and my success or my family and I've got it in perspective now - my family matters most," John said. "I'm lucky enough to have had the career I've had and still have but now it's being able to enjoy that part of my life and really focus on the important things." The film has a limited theatrical release in the UK and US on Nov. 15, before its premiere on Disney+ on Dec. 13. The doc "pulls back the curtain" on Elton's life, featuring "never-before-seen concert footage of him over the past 50 years, as well as hand-written journals and present-day footage of him and his family." It received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Also on Nov. 15, a song of the same name that was written specifically for the film was released and shared on 
A new documentary shows Elvis Presley like he's never been seen before. Netflix's Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis (streaming now) explores the significance of the rock and roll legend's Singer Presents....ELVIS, commonly called the "'68 Comeback Special," that aired on NBC on Dec. 3, 1968, when he was at a major crossroads in his career. Through its use of rarely seen rehearsal footage, the doc shows just how much unease Elvis had about this moment' "People would think, 'How could he be nervous? He's Elvis Presley," the singer's ex-wife Priscilla Presley says. "[But] he was very nervous." Though Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, tried to get him to do a family-friendly Christmas special, Elvis insisted on a return to his rock roots. The special went on to become the highest-rated show of the year for NBC. Elvis dedicated himself to live performances from then on, and he played hundreds more concerts before his death at age 42 in 1977. With the documentary, Priscilla says, "I really want the kids of this generation to know why he was the King of Rock and Roll." Meanwhile, Elvis Evolution, a new Presley immersive experience that's using AI to bring back the King, is set to debut in London in May. The show will use archival material and cutting-edge technology to bring Presley's musical journey to life. - People, 11/25/24...... After first announcing their farewell tour over two years ago, The B-52s are still going strong, announcing an additional run of dates for their ongoing Las Vegas residency on Nov. 12. Announced alongside the completion of their current residency, the New Wave vets will return to The Venetian Resort in Vegas next year, performing five shows across Apr. 11, 12, 16, 18, and 19. The trio, comprised of Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson and Fred Schneider, initially announced shows at The Venetian back in 2022 when they revealed their ongoing farewell tour. That run of dates included three shows at the venue in Oct. 2022, though additional shows were announced for May, and Aug. and Sept. 2023. The group wrapped up their latest residency on Nov. 13, having played another handful of shows in April. Known for their pioneering status in the new wave genre and unique aesthetic, the group's lineup has revolved around the quartet of Schneider, Pierson, Wilson and Keith Strickland. Founding guitarist Ricky Wilson died from an AIDS-related illness in 1985. Strickland, meanwhile, has not been part of the touring ensemble since 2013. - Billboard, 11/12/24...... Some of John Lydon's (aka Johnny Rotten) handwritten lyrics to Sex Pistols songs are set to be auctioned through RR Auctions. In 1977, Lydon penned the lyrics to two Sex Pistol hits, "Holidays In The Sun" and "Submission," on a single sheet of paper when putting together the band's one and only album 
Rod Stewart is threatening to sell his luxury Italian sports cars due to a long-running battle over potholes in his native UK. "I am extremely fortunate and eternally grateful to be the owner of these five beautiful hybrid sports cars, which, in my opinion, are true 'works of art'," posted "Hot Rod," who lives in Harlow, Essex, on his 
Shel Talmy, the pioneering American producer behind the hits of '60s "British Invasion" bands including The Who and The Kinks, died at his Los Angeles home on Nov. 13 from complications due to a stroke, according to his friend, songwriter and archivist Alec Palao. He was 87. An instrumental figure in the British Invasion, Mr. Talmy helped shape British rock's sound in the 60s. Having moved from Chicago to London in 1962, he got his start in the music industry in the late fifties at Decca Records. He started working with The Kinks two years later, and produced their landmark hit, "You Really Got Me," and played a significant role in The Who's early career, having signed them to his production company and produced "My Generation" and "I Can't Explain." Elsewhere, he worked on David Bowie's early singles and produced for The Easybeats, Manfred Mann, Chad & Jeremy, Pentangle and more. In his later years, Mr. Talmy took to sharing tales of "swinging London" with fans on Facebook, and also prepared a written statement before his death that was shared posthumously: "Preferably [read] with 'You Really Got Me', 'My Generation', 'Friday On My Mind' or your choice of favourite ST production cranked in the background.... Hi to all, and many thanks to all of you who have been reading my rock stories for all this time, it has been greatly appreciated," it read. "Please note, that if you're reading this now, this is my final vignette, as I am no longer residing on this plane of existence, and have "moved on", to wherever that may be." Wrapping up the post, Mr. Talmy wrote that he "had a good run," but was "delighted" to have been told he had a "legacy that will last even longer." In the post's final line, he joked: "I look forward to meeting some of you in the future who are reading this, but LOL, don't hurry to get here, I'm not going anywhere!" Kinks guitarist Dave Davies has led tributes to Mr. Talmy, writing on 
The estate of Jerry Garcia has partnered with an AI voice company to bring the late Grateful Dead guitarist, singer and songwriter's AI-recreated voice to its Iconic Listening Experience on the ElevenReader app. Now, Deadheads using the app can hear Garcia's voice read out audiobooks, e-books, articles, poetry, fan stories, PDFs and more in 32 different languages. In addition to the ElevenReader, Garcia's voice model will also be used in various upcoming projects associated with the Jerry Garcia Foundation. This could include narrated documentaries, audio art exhibits and more. Garcia is the latest in a string of partnerships between ElevenLabs and the estates of famous celebrities. Already, the AI voice company has rolled out voice models for Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds and Sir Laurence Olivier to its Iconic Listening Experience. According to a company spokesperson, ElevenLabs worked "in close collaboration with the Jerry Garcia Estate to ensure that the reproduction of Garcia's voice was as authentic and true to his legacy as possible." - Billboard, 11/11/24...... Bruce Springsteen opened his first post-election concert in Toronto on Nov. 6 with a rousing performance of "Long Walk Home." "This is a fighting prayer for my country," Springsteen told the crowd at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto as he and the E Street Band launched into the 2007 song "Long Walk Home" from 2007's 
David Gilmour brought the first of five nonconsecutive shows in November to New York's Madison Square Garden on Nov. 9. Prior to the show beginning in earnest, Gilmour's bassist Guy Pratt (also a member of Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets band) came out to politely but firmly urge the audience to stay "present" throughout the show and avoid the urge to watch the entire thing through the screen of a cell phone -- and more importantly, keep your phone's flashlight off ("David hates that"). The songs from 
Robert Plant has starred in a new commercial for Italy's Trenitalia rail service and its Frecciarossa high-speed trains. The new ad, which has been shared on 
Sting has said he had doubts about appearing on as a mega mentor for Gwen Stefani and Snoop Dogg's teams on NBC's singing competition series The Voice on Nov. 11. "I was reticent, to be honest," Sting says. "The premise of the show is frightening to me, this sort of competition. I think art and music aren't really competitions. If you win the U.S. Open, you are the best player at that particular time. But singing is different. Everybody's voice is unique." But the former The Police frontman says he found the experience rewarding. "It was very nourishing to see a small piece advice that you're given and then their next run through, they put that into action and the whole thing is raised," he says. Sting, a former schoolteacher, adds he found the contestants needed very little instruction. "I'm still a student of music, but I've been doing it for a long time, so I can give them a tiny hint," he says, "but the standard of singing is so high, there's nothing you can say. They know how to sing. There's little bits of presentation or posture or the way that you present yourself I can probably help, but technically, they're great singers." As far as the best advice he ever got from a mentor came from his dad and he clearly took it to heart. "He said go to sea. See the world. Make something of yourself," he says. "Basically, take a risk." On Nov. 12, Sting's stripped-down "Sting 3.0" tour starts a five-date run in Los Angeles. The outing wraps in Sweden in July. Meanwhile, Sting has revealed his thoughts on the legacy of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" following the numerous allegations against Sean "Diddy" Combs. In 1997, Diddy sampled The Police's 1983 chart-topping song for his own release, "I'll Be Missing You." Now that Diddy is facing charges for sex trafficking, racketeering and transporting for prostitution, Sting has shared his thoughts on the disgraced rapper's sample. In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sting replied when asked if he thought the Police hit had been polluted by Diddy's cover: "No. I mean, I don't know what went on [with Diddy]. But it doesn't taint the song at all for me. It's still my song." In 2023, Diddy said that he was forced to pay Sting £4,020 ($5,000) each day for the rest of his life for the sample. However, he quickly backtracked the comment, saying he was "was joking! It's called being facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time! He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for 'Missing You.' He probably makes more than $5K a day from one of the biggest songs in history." Diddy was first arrested in September, and was charged with sex trafficking, transporting for prostitution and more. He was denied bail after offering a $50 million bond and was reportedly placed on suicide watch as he awaits trial in a Brooklyn, NY jail. The artist has since appealed against the bail denial. His trial date is scheduled for May 5, 2025. - Billboard/NME, 11/8/24...... Quincy Jones was laid to rest in a private ceremony in Los Angeles on Nov. 10, a week after his death in the Bel Air section of L.A. on Nov. 3 at age 91. The family of the 28-time Grammy-winning producer, arranger and composer said in a statement to The Associated Press that the "intimate ceremony included Mr. Jones' seven children, his brother, two sisters, and immediate family members." The family did not reveal the cemetery where the ceremony took place, and added that they remain "enormously grateful for the outpouring of condolences and tributes from his friends and fans from around the world." A larger, more public memorial is also being planned. Tributes to the music giant after his death came from some of the biggest figures in media and politics. Saturday Night Live, which he once hosted, paid tribute to him a night before his service with a memorial photo in a quiet moment of the show. In lieu of flowers, Jones' family asks for donations to JazzFoundation.org. - Billboard, 11/11/24.
