Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on January 1st, 2025

When the Grammy Awards' Recording Academy nominated The Beatles for two awards -- Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance -- for their "final" single "Now and Then," fans of the band were pleased. However only the two surviving Beatles -- Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr -- will be eligible to receive a Grammy because due to Recording Academy rules the two deceased Beatles -- John Lennon and George Harrison -- have each been dead for more than five years and cannot meet the test for "new recordings" -- "material that has been recorded within five years of the release date." There is precedent for this. Nat "King" Cole was not nominated when daughter Natalie Cole won Record of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Performance in 1992 for their studio-created duet "Unforgettable." He had died in 1965. Furthermore, Lennon was not included the last time the Fab Four were nominated, 28 years ago, for Best Pop Performance and Best Music Video, short-form, both for "Free as a Bird," and Best Music Video, long-form for The Beatles Anthology. McCartney co-produced "Now and Then" with Giles Martin, the son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin. Both McCartney and Giles Martin are nominated for Record of the Year as producers of the single, as are eight engineer/mixers and a mastering engineer -- but not John and George. If "Now and Then" wins Record of the Year, McCartney will complete his sweep of the Big Four awards, though it will have taken him longer to do so than any other act in Grammy history. He won Best New Artist in 1965 (with The Beatles), Song of the Year in 1967 for "Michelle" (in tandem with Lennon) and album of the year in 1968 for The Beatles' landmark Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The winners of the 68th Grammy Awards are set to be revealed at a ceremony on Feb. 2, 2025 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. - Billboard, 12/31/24...... Former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar has labeled VH drummer Alex Van Halen's oversight of the "Van Hagar" era in his recent memoir Brothers as "blasphemy." Hagar, who fronted VH from 1985 to 1996, and again from 2003 to 2005, criticized Alex for effectively stopping the VH story after the departure of vocalist David Lee Roth, and overlooking not only Hagar's time as vocalist, but the temporary lineup featuring Gary Cherone, and their ultimate reunion with Roth. Sharing a photo of himself and guitarist Eddie Van Halen from 1991 on Instagram, Hagar began responding to comments on the post, including one who opined that "most purists believe VH ended with DLR." "It could have [ended], my friend, but instead we went on to sell over 50 million records for [a] No. 1 album [then] sold out every building and stadium in the world for a whole decade," Hagar responded. "That never happened again." VH experienced some of their biggest successes with their album 1984, which featured the No. 1 single "Jump," and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and become their highest charting release of the Roth era. The follow-up, 1986's 5150, was their first released with Hagar on vocals, and was the first of four consecutive No. 1 albums released with Hagar at the helm. Continuing his response, Hagar contended that Alex was doing both the band and his late brother a disservice by leaving the era out of the memoir. "Alex is not doing his brother's musical legacy justice by not acknowledging all the No. 1 albums and some great music Eddie and I wrote together -- not Alex -- but Eddie and I wrote together," Hagar continued. "To not acknowledge [those] 10 years of music is blasphemy to his brother's musicianship, songwriting and legacy." However, Hagar recently told Rolling Stone that he still hopes that he and his former bandmate are able to make peace at some point. "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?" said Hagar. "I want to be friends, though. I don't want to play in a band with Al. I'm not asking for that. I can see that he's not capable of doing that. If he was, I'd be happy to play with him, but it's not what I'm looking for. I just want to friends again." - Billboard, 12/31/24...... Elvis Presley's The Classic Christmas Album has topped Billboard Top Rock Albums for the first time, rising two places to No. 1 on the Jan. 4, 2025-dated survey. In the week ending Dec. 26, the set earned 40,000 equivalent album units, a jump of 59%, according to Luminate. The Classic Christmas Album was released in 2012 and features 17 holiday-themed hits from Presley's catalog, including "Blue Christmas" and "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)." "Blue Christmas" was the album's top performer in streaming last week. It ranks at No. 2 on Rock Steaming Songs with 27.1 million official U.S. streams (up 61%). "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" also appears on the tally, at No. 11 (8.1 million, up 43%). The collection, which previously reached a No. 2 best on Top Rock Albums over the 2020 holiday season, is Presley's second No. 1 on the chart, which began in 2006, after Elvis Presley Forever led for a week in 2015. That album accompanied a "forever" postage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service that year. "Blue Christmas" was the set's top radio track, with 9 million in audience (up 33%). Meanwhile, Elton John has scored his 60th Billboard Top 40 hit with his 2021 collaboration with Ed Sheeran, "Merry Christmas." The holiday song rose four places to No. 38, marking its first week in the chart's top 40 -- and John's milestone 60th top 40 hit and Sheeran's likewise landmark 25th. The collab, which Sheeran and John co-wrote, was released in 2021 and first peaked at No. 42 a year later. Presley is currently at No. 4 on the list of artists with the most Top 100 hits, behind Drake, Taylor Swift and Lil Wayne, while John is tied with Beyoncé in ninth place with 60 each. - Billboard, 12/31/24...... The Doobie Brothers shared details of a new album in 2025 in a Facebook post on Dec. 30. "It's hard to believe another year just shot by like a rocket!" the band wrote in their year-end wrap-up. "We're currently celebrating almost 56 years together as a band. 55 years since we released our very first self titled album The Doobie Brothers. It's been a long winding road since those early days but we're still working together, doing our best to remain creative, and looking forward to bringing our music to you folks out there again next year." They went on to write: "We have 10 new songs sung by Tom [Johnston], Michael [McDonald], and Pat [Simmons]. The three of us wrote songs and collaborated together. We had a lot of fun recording it and we feel very proud of the results. John McFee added his incredible musical talents as well. Once more we turned to the amazing John Shanks who produced, wrote, and played on the tracks with us. Fortunately we're back working with our friends at Warner Brothers/Rhino Records on this release. We'll probably debut a song soon after the first of the year and the full album will follow sometime in the Spring/Summer." The most notable takeaway from the band's update is the return of McDonald on an album of original music. Joining the band ahead of their Takin' It to the Streets LP in 1975, McDonald remained lead vocalist of the band until their 1982, overseeing some of their most popular releases, including 1978's Minute by Minute -- their only album to top the Billboard Hot 200. The last studio album of original material he recorded with the Doobies was 1980's One Step Closer, though he would feature on one song from 2010's World Gone Crazy, and feature on the band's 2014 covers/collaboration album Southbound. While McDonald rejoined the band as a full-time member in 2019, he was ultimately absent from their 2021 album, Liberté. - Billboard, 12/30/24...... Actress Monica Barbaro, who portrays Joan Baez in the new Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, has revealed that Baez was "not fussed" about her portrayal in the film. "I struggled with this feeling of just so much gratitude for everything she's done and for being willing to speak to me and how much I admire her -- I tried to let that get out of the way and just have a conversation, but that's hard," Barbaro said in an interview with the UK paper The Guardian. Barbaro continued, sharing the research she did in preparation for the role: "Having studied her voice so closely -- her speaking voice, every interview in the 60s -- and then hearing Joan's voice now in her 80s, in real time, speaking to me, was an incredibly emotional experience: really cool and kind of mind-blowing." She added that Baez "was really not fussed" about her portrayal in the film. "I think I was more concerned on her behalf than she was for herself. I was sort of saying: you deserve your own biopic! So many biopics with different chapters of your life! And she said: 'I'm just sitting in my back yard watching the birds.' You know: I lived it, I did it." Starring Timothée Chalamet in the main role, A Complete Unknown premiered in US theaters on Christmas Day and will have its UK premiere on Jan. 17. - New Musical Express, 12/30/24...... In related news, the producer of A Complete Unkown has revealed he's attached for a new biopic on Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett and is in talks with "Mama Cass" Elliot's estate for a new film about the late The Mamas and the Papas singer. Peter Jaysen owns the company, Veritas Entertainment, that was involved in securing the rights to Dylan's musical archive and life story for A Complete Unknown. In an appearance on the podcast The Town With Matthew Belloni, he revealed that more big-name projects were in motion. "Due to our involvement with Bob [Dylan] doing A Complete Unknown, we've been fortunate enough that right now we're working on, with Wash Westmoreland, the great writer-director, a Syd Barrett movie, one of the founders of Pink Floyd," he confirmed. "We have had multiple Zooms with the estate of Mama Cass Elliot and met with her daughter, Owen, and are close to acquiring the rights to her book, My Mama Cass." Jaysen didn't mention release dates for either biopic nor give any timelines for their production. Barrett founded Pink Floyd in 1965 as their frontman and principal songwriter before leaving in 1968 over issues with his drug use and mental health. He spent the rest of his life out of the spotlight in Cambridge until he passed away in 2006. Meanwhile, Elliot, better known as Mama Cass, rose to fame as a member of The Mamas and the Papas in the 1960s. She died in 1974 at the age of 32. - NME, 12/27/24...... In a newly released fan capture of former Deep Purple members Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale participating in a Q&A event in Sydney, Australia on Oct. 3, Hughes revealed that his experience attending the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony of his former band Deep Purple was "f--king uncomfortable." "There was no, 'How are you tonight?' None of that," he said of his cold treatment by the other DP inductees -- Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Ian Paice. "There was no family vibe, there was no hugging, there was no handshaking, there was no, 'How're you doing, pal?' None of that. And it was f--king uncomfortable. Let me tell you, it was uncomfortable." Hughes continued, saying that at the end of the event, he wanted to congratulate Gillan with a hug, but Gillan had put his arm out "'cause he did not want me to get near him." Hughes added that the incident "really upset me to the point of tears." "So I grabbed him and said to him, 'Oh shit.' I can't tell you what I said, but I thought it was very f--king stupid to do it on live TV where you have to show resentment or whatever you wanna call it. I was really upset. It didn't make me angry. It really hurt my feelings. Why did he do that? I don't know." Hughes added: "I've had my fair share of crappy, weird things happen. I wasn't the nicest guy when I was drunk. But to do that to a family member whilst I was thanking and congratulating him on his award He didn't wanna know it, didn't wanna fucking know. That was really rude." In 2024, Deep Purple embarked on their "=1 More Time" tour in support of their latest album =1, which included a performance at Montreux Jazz Festival. - NME, 12/30/24...... Neil Young has dug into his archives again for the latest addition to his "Fireside Sessions," pulling out "Pardon My Heart" for its first performance in over 50 years. The live rendition was shared to his Neil Young Archives website as part of his "Fireside Sessions" series, which in late December resulted in a rare performance of the track "Silver and Gold" on Dec. 25. Now, the second entry in the series has gone even deeper, resulting in an exceedingly-rare version of "Pardon My Heart." Originally released on Neil Young & Crazy Horse's Zuma album in Nov. 1975, the track had only ever been played twice previously, and not at all since its official release. Its debut performance took place at the Bottom Line in New York on May 16, 1974, when Young performed a surprirse set following a Ry Cooder show. Appearing as the penultimate song of the set, Young prefaced its debut by describing it as "a love song I learned recently." "I wrote it too," he added. "This is a love song. It's one of the saddest love songs I've ever heard." Just three months later, the track received its final live appearance when it was performed during Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's reunion tour in New York on Aug. 15. "Pardon My Heart" was penned by Young about the disolution of his relationship with Carrie Snodgress, who also inspired much of his Homegrown album. Despite being recorded throughout 1974 and 1975, Homegrown did not see a release until 2020. Though it currently remains to be seen whether more Fireside Sessions performances will arrive, Young also used his first entry in the series to announce that he would be releasing a new album titled Talking to the Trees, which will be accompanied by a North American and European tour with his new band, the Chrome Hearts. - Billboard, 12/29/24...... The former Morrison Hotel, immortalized by The Doors and their 1970 album of the same name, was significantly damaged by a fire that erupted in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 26. The four-story building, which has been vacant more than a decade, burned for nearly two hours before more than 100 firefighters brought the flames under control, according to the L.A. Fire Department. The Morrison Hotel was featured on the cover of The Doors' fifth album. Celebrated L.A.-based music photographer Henry Diltz made the image in 1969 and said years later that it took a little trickery to pull it off. A hotel clerk told the band they weren't allowed to take photos inside, but when the clerk stepped away, the group ran into the lobby and Diltz quickly got the photo looking through the window, with legendary frontman Jim Morrison in the middle. "It was a great old wooden building with many small rooms upstairs where transients and drinkers could sleep it off on a cot for $2.50 a night!" Diltz says. "I think the beautiful front window with "Morrison Hotel" in red letters was the best part of it! So did The Doors!" The album was viewed as a comeback to their roots for the band, coming on the heels of Morrison's on-stage arrest at a Miami concert that saw him convicted of indecent exposure and profanity. Los Angeles firefighters who first arrived at the blaze found heavy flames on the building's top floor. Several people who were in the building escaped without injuries, including three people rescued by firefighters from the third floor, according to the department. The building's roof collapsed, leaving its structural integrity in doubt, the department said. The building in recent years had been used as a training site for firefighters. Morrison and The Doors would release one final album, L.A. Woman, before he was found dead in a Paris bathtub on July 3, 1971. - Billboard, 12/28/24...... Marvin Gaye III, the eldest son of legendary singer Marvin Gaye, is being accused of assault, battery, false imprisonment and more in a new lawsuit. According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, the accuser, referred to as Jane Doe, claims she was called to Gaye's home in Jan. 2023 to mediate an argument between him and his then-wife Wendy. She states that her intention was to assist in "diffusing the situation," but events "escalated into a series of violent and threatening acts" perpetrated by Gaye including physical assault, verbal threats of death and the retrieval of a firearm. In court documents, the accuser claims that Gaye physically attacked her, pointed a gun at her and Wendy, and threatened to kill them. Gaye is further accused of orchestrating "acts of intimidation," including tampering with her vehicle by cutting the brakes, and arranging for his associates to surveil her home. As a direct result of Gaye's alleged conduct, the woman claims in court paperwork that she has suffered severe emotional distress including anxiety, depression, panic attacks, insomnia and weight loss. She is asking the court for an undisclosed amount of damages. Gaye denied the accusations to Us Weekly: "No way did that happen. It's all bullshit. I wouldn't do that. These are false claims." - Music-News.com, 12/31/24...... Legendary BBC Radio 2 broadcaster Johnnie Walker died on New Year's Eve at the age of 79, just two months after drawing his 58-year career to a close. The news was confirmed live on air on the station on Dec. 31 by his friend and colleague Bob Harris, who had taken over Walker's Sounds Of The 70s show after his recent retirement. Walker had the lung condition pulmonary fibrosis and stepped down from his shows, which also included The Rock Show on Radio 2, at the end of October. Walker's wife Tiggy said she "couldn't be more proud" of her husband for "how he kept broadcasting almost to the end and with what dignity and grace he coped with his debilitating lung disease." "He remained his charming, humorous self to the end, what a strong amazing man. It has been a rollercoaster ride from start to finish," she said. "And if I may say -- what a day to go. He'll be celebrating New Year's Eve with a stash of great musicians in heaven. One year on from his last live show. God bless that extraordinary husband of mine who is now in a place of peace." Walker was born on Mar. 30, 1945 and started his radio career in 1966 on pirate station Swinging Radio England before moving to the legendary Radio Caroline. He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1969 and helmed the lunchtime show from 1971, where he promoted emerging artists such as Lou Reed, Steve Harley and Steely Dan. After a stint on US radio, he presented shows on BBC Radio 5 Live and GLR before joining Radio 2 in 1997, where he presented Drive from 1998 to 2006. He had presented Sounds Of The 70s since 2009 and The Rock Show since 2018 before bowing out of both programmes in late October to tend to his poor health. His final words on his final show were: "Walk into the future with our heads held high, and happiness in our hearts." The BBC's director general Tim Davie has paid tribute to Walker, describing him as a "pop radio pioneer and champion of great music," while Radio 2 boss Helen Thomas added: "Everyone at Radio 2 is heartbroken about the passing of Johnnie, a much loved broadcasting legend." The BBC have said that a collection of programmes showcasing Walker's life and career will be available on BBC Sounds shortly. - NME, 12/31/24...... Actress Linda Lavin, star of the long-running CBS sitcom Alice and a Tony winner for Neil Simon's play "Broadway Bound," died on Dec. 29. She was 87. A representative for Ms. Lavin confirmed the actress died unexpectedly due to complications from lung cancer that had been recently discovered. As recently as Dec. 4 Ms. Lavin attended the premiere of Netflix's dark comedy series No Good Deed at the streamer's Tudum Theater in Hollywood. Ms. Lavin established herself as a beloved character actor with her decade-long stint on Alice, the CBS comedy series adapted from Martin Scorsese's 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, with Ellen Burstyn in the title role. The series, which ran from 1976-85, starred Ms. Lavin as Alice Hyatt, a widow with a young son (played by Philip McKeon) who starts life again in Arizona, where she works at Mel's Diner (whose eponymous owner was played by Vic Tayback), alongside fellow waitresses Flo (Polly Holliday) and Vera (Beth Howland). Ms. Lavin was Emmy nominated for her work on the series in 1979, and won the Golden Globe for actress in a comedy or music for Alice in 1979 and 1980 and was nommed again in 1981. Alice was a top-30 show throughout its first eight seasons, finishing the 1979-80 season at No. 4, before finally dropping off in its last season. The series subsequently appeared in syndication. In 2015 she appeared in the comedy The Intern, starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, and also kept busy with roles on such series as Netflix's No Good Deedand CBS' Elsbeth as well as the CBS comedy 9JKL. Other TV credits include appearances in B Positive, Being the Ricardos, Madame Secretary, Mom, The Good Wife, The Sopranos, Room 104 and more. Though Lavin made appearances on television after Alice, she was actually more of a stage actress and was Tony-nominated six times for roles in "Last of the Red Hot Lovers," "Broadway Bound," "The Diary of Anne Frank," "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife," "Collected Stories" and "The Lyons." Born in Portland, Maine, Ms. Lavin first took the stage at the age of 5. She graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1959 with a degree in theater. The actress made her Broadway debut in 1962 in the Harold Prince-directed musical comedy "A Family Affair," followed by "The Riot Act" the next year. She made her television debut in a 1963 episode of The Doctors and Nurses and appeared in a 1969 segment of CBS Playhouse called "Sadbird." There were a few TV movies and guest appearances on Rhoda and Harry O before she did a one-season run from 1975-76 on ABC's hit police comedy Barney Miller as Det. Janice Wentworth. After starting Alice in 1976 she continued guested on other shows, including Phyllis and Family. Ms. Lavin was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2011. She was thrice married, the first time to actor Ron Liebman from 1969-81, the second time to actor Kip Niven from 1982-92. She is survived by her third husband, actor-drummer Bakunas. - Variety, 12/30/24...... Jimmy Carter, the Georgia peanut farmer who won the presidency in 1976 in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100. The longest-lived American president, Pres. Carter died more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Ga., where he and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who preceded him in death in Nov. 2023 at age 96, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. "Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia," the center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world, Pres. Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation's highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. "My faith demands -- this is not optional -- my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference," he once said. A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon's disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. Pres. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women's rights and America's global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential center where Pres. Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet his electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in Apr. 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn't long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 -- losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox -- and then immediately focused on the next campaign. In 1970, he ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman he mocked as "Cufflinks Carl." Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Mr. Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Mr. Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. A self-declared "born-again Christian," Pres. Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he "had looked on many women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times." The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced -- including NBC's new Saturday Night Live show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. He campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he'd "kick his ass," but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with "make America great again" appeals and asking voters whether they were "better off than you were four years ago." The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his "malaise" speech, although he didn't use that word. He declared the nation was suffering "a crisis of confidence." By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. At 56, Pres. Carter returned to Georgia with "no idea what I would do with the rest of my life," and eventually founded The Carter Center. Among the center's many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee's 2002 Peace Prize cited his "untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. "I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything," hetold the AP in 2021. "But it's turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years." Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. "I'm perfectly at ease with whatever comes," he said in 2015. "I've had a wonderful life. I've had thousands of friends, I've had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence." "When I look at Jimmy Carter, I see a man not only for our times, but for all times," Pres. Joe Biden said in a tribute on X. "A man who embodied the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away. And while we may never see his likes again, we would all do well to try to be a little more like Jimmy Carter." Pres. Biden has declared Jan. 9 a national day of mourning for the late president, who will be honored with a state funeral in Washington, D.C. before being buried in his native Plains, Ga. - AP/Billboard, 12/29/24.

REO Speedwagon played their final gigs under the REO Speedwagon moniker with gigs on Dec. 20 and 21 at Las Vegas' Venetian Theatre. At the Dec. 21 show, frontman Kevin Cronin said during a parting speech (shared on YouTube): "The REO Speedwagon name is being retired tonight. But the music, the spirit, the songs of REO Speedwagon will live on with this band and with me under the name Kevin Cronin. We hope you join us on that adventure." The band split their 19-song set into two portions: the first half saw them perform their 1980 No. 1 LP Hi Infidelity in full, while the second half saw them play an assortment of career hits. Cronin has announced will make his solo debut in January, and hopes to continue on with REO's current touring roster -- which includes Matt Bissonette, Dave Amato, Bryan Hitt and Derek Hilland -- albeit under a different name. Cronin has also suggested that he can see a case in which longtime REO bassist Bruce Hall joins the bands for select shows here and there, but doesn't consider Hall's return as a full-time member "as an option." In September, the announced that though "heartbroken" to do so, they will cease touring at the end of 2024, bringing an end to the popular Midwestern rock band due to "irreconcilable differences" between Cronin and Hall. - NME,12/23/24...... Gene Simmons of KISS announced on X on Dec. 24 that he'll hit the road with his Gene Simmons Band in the spring of 2025, with the tour kicking off at the Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park, Calif. on Apr. 5. After five dates in Florida cities from Apr. 25-30, the tour will resume in Beaver Dam, Ky., on May 3, then move northeast with gigs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario before hitting Nashville, Ind., on May 20 and wrap with three Texas dates in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston on May 22, 23 and 24, respectively. KISS, meanwhile, are working on their upcoming avatar show, which band co-founder Paul Stanley has described as "Cirque Du Soleil meets Star Wars and a KISS concert." The production is being overseen by the company behind ABBA's Voyage show, in which the Swedish pop quartet were represented by holographic virtual avatars on stage. - NME, 12/24/24...... Speaking to podcast host Leona Graham on her Leona Graham Podcast, Queen's Brian May discussed such topics as potential new Queen music and how he "still get chills up the spine" when he hears classic tracks by Buddy Holly. "I think Roger (Taylor) and I both put stuff down from time to time," May said when asked about talk of new Queen music. "We do. And sometimes we get together and go, what you got? You know? So that kind of stuff happens and maybe there will be a point where we where we actually make the decision to do it." May said there's a "feeling of almost rebirth" because "selling (their copyrights) out to Sony.... means is they own the copyrights in all the past, but we will own the copyrights in the future. So in a way that's a kind of invitation to create something. And I think we may be able to rise to that challenge in some way." Reflecting on his biggest musical inspirations, May said most of all it was Holly and his band The Crickets: "I was just blown away, I still am, I still get chills up the spine when I hear like 'Maybe Baby'. It was so breathtakingly new, but also had this haunting beauty with those harmonies. And I've done my own versions of some of those songs, but they're always there inside me. Buddy Holly had a very short career. He had like two and a half years of of being a rock star. But the melodies he delivered during that time and the whole vibe of this rock music was, to me, immortal. And it's definitely still part of what I do." The full B side and first 3 episodes of The Leona Graham Podcast are now available to stream now free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. - Music-News.com, 12/24/24...... Speaking of new music, Paul McCartney has revealed that one of his 2025 New Year's resolutions is to finish an album. The former Beatles, who has just wrapped his 2024 "Got Back" tour, published a Q and A on his official website, answering end-of-year questions from fans. Topics ranged from his plans for the holiday season and what he is most grateful for. One fan asked McCartney if he has any New Year's resolutions for 2025. "Here's one: finish an album!," he responded. "I've been working on a lot of songs, and have had to put it to the side because of the tour. So, I'm hoping to get back into that and finish up a lot of these songs. So, how's about that? My New Year's resolution is to finish a new album! How about that for a teaser?" His last solo album was 2020's McCartney III, the long-awaited follow-up to 1970's McCartney and 1980's McCartney II While Sir Paul has no more scheduled shows for 2025, he ended his final London show on Dec. 19 by bringing out former bandmate Ringo Starr and saying "See you next time." - NME, 12/23/24...... After the acclaimed new Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unkown debuted in the US on Christmas Day, the BBC4 is preparing fans for its UK premiere on Jan. 17 by unveiling plans to run a series of programmes that will dive into the career of the musician beginning Jan. 10 at 10:20pm GMT with a broadcast of the 2005 Dylan documentary Bob Dylan: No Direction Home. Afterwards, BBC4 will air Bob Dylan: Shadow Kingdom, a live concert film shot in California in 2021, while Dylan's "Never Ending Tour" was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Timotheé Chalamet-starred A Complete Unknown charts the music great's transition from acoustic folk idol to electric rock star in the mid-'60s. 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). The film s based on Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, And The Night That Split The Sixties. Meanwhile, clothing giant Levi Strauss & Co. has announced a new clothing line inspired by Chalamet's depiction of Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Levi's has launched "Levi's Vintage Clothing x A Complete Unknown," a collection that includes a jacket and a pair of jeans that are directly inspired by Chalamet's look in the film, which itself was closely modelled on original outfits donned by Dylan in the '60s. Among the options are a yellow tan, 100% leather jacket for $1200 (£955), which comes with sheet music for "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," a replica cue card from the "Subterranean Homesick Blues"' video, special costume lining notes and a still photo of Chalamet wearing the same jacket. Also available are a $495 (£395) pair of jeans with a D-shaped buckle belt and sheet music for "Girl From The North Country" and a liner note quoting Dylan: "I'll let you be in my dreams / If I can be in yours." Levi's announced the clothing line in an Instagram post on Dec. 22. - NME, 12/23/24...... On Dec. 20 former Fleetwood Mac member Lindsey Buckingham was granted a permanent restraining order by a judge in Los Angeles against an alleged female stalker who showed up at his house. During the hearing Buckingham, 75, testified as part of his plea for protection against a 53-year-old woman named Michelle. The court previously granted the rockstar a temporary restraining order but now Buckingham was awarded a full five-years of protection. Buckingham showed the judge the picture that Michelle left at his house when she showed up, and he also played an "unmarked audio clip" as evidence. The judge determined Buckingham had presented enough evidence to warrant a permanent order and ordered Michelle, who did not appear for the hearing despite being served with notice, to stay 100 yards away from Lindsey, his wife Kristen Buckingham and his son William Buckingham. The woman was also ordered to not contact, harass or threaten Buckingham in any manner. The restraining order will expire in Dec. 2029. In his petition for the restraining order, Buckingham accused accused Michelle of harassing his family since 2021 and claimed she accused him of being his father, which he said was not true. He said it all started when Michelle found his wife's business cell phone number. He said Michelle started calling Kristen, "sometimes, leaving long drawn-out messages that included the claim that she was my child and threats to kill me and my family." He said, "She also blamed me for facial deformities she apparently suffered as a child and demanded money." "I do not know [Michelle] and I am not her father," he told the court. The "Trouble" singer said police instructed Michelle to stop contacting Lindsey and his family in 2022. He said he believed it all stopped so he decided not to take any legal action, but then Michelle reappeared in 2024 when she showed up to his house to leave a collage of photos of her face with his face. He said two weeks later after Michelle made false reports to the police about his son being in danger in the house, police showed up at his home and conducted a search for 20 minutes, "leaving me outside in the cold handcuffed... and shaken" until they realized it was a false report. The court granted the petition in full at the hearing. - InTouchWeekly.com, 12/23/24...... On Dec. 25 Neil Young shared an Instagram video of him performing the title track of his 2000 album Silver and Gold for the first time in almost two decades. Written in 1981, "Silver and Gold" has rarely been performed live, and the last time the Canadian-born folk/rock legend sang it before a live audience was 2007. Interviewed in 2000, Young said he "tried [the song] several ways... I think, a total of 11 times with different people in all kinds of different configurations." He went on to say: "And we got 'em all, none of them are worth listening to. But this one here finally just got back to the roots of it and just sat down with my guitar and played it and said, 'That's it.' Because I love the song and I feel the song now and it means something to me now." In the video Young is shown playing guitar and softly singing while sitting by a fire. As it cuts off at the end, he can be heard saying: "Is that our first fireside session?" - New Musical Express, 12/26/24...... A cover of the Grateful Dead song "Ripple" by rising country music singer-songwriter and actor Sturgill Simpson during the GD's Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in Washington on Dec. 8 has been shared on YouTube. The GD were among the honorees in Pres. Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' final Kennedy Center Honors hosting. Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart and Bob Weir were in attendance at the ceremony, while bassist and co-founding member Phil Lesh, who died in October at age 84, was represented by his son Grahame. Former frontman Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995, was represented by daughter Trixie Garcia. During the ceremony, Simpson performed a cover "Ripple," though footage of the performance hadn't been shared until Dec. 22, when the ceremony was broadcast to public. Elsewhere during the ceremony, Pres. Biden said of the band: "In the San Francisco Bay at an inflexion point in history, the Grateful Dead have long since transcended 1960s counterculture." He went on to say: "Look, there's still a lot of Deadheads around," before pointing at himself, and adding: "No two performances even the same, but their spirit and joy is enduring. Tonight we honour Bobby, Bill and Mickey." The band's current touring ensemble, Dead & Co., has announced it will reprise its wildly successful "Dead Forever" residency at Las Vegas' Sphere in 2025 in celebration of its 60th anniversary. - NME, 12/23/24...... Classic rock fans can finally watch the 2024 Rock & Roll Induction Ceremony that went down in October on ABC on Jan. 1 at 8:00 p.m./9:00 central. The long-overlooked Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Kool & the Gang, A Tribe Called Quest, Mary J. Blige and Dave Matthews Band were all inducted. Matthews said of the honored musicans: "We are swimming in deep water here." But the best moments, of course, revolved around the musical performances, of which there were many. Highlights include Cher and Dua Lipa belting out "Believe"; Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, Chad Smith, Slash and Sammy Hagar banding together to salute Foreigner; Jennifer Hudson crooning alongside Dionne Warwick; and Dave Matthews Band "Burning Down the House" with a Talking Heads tribute at the end of the night. - TV Guide, 12/30/24...... Legendary Philly soul group The Stylistics have announced their first new album in nearly two decades, with the likes of Shania Twain, KISS's Gene Simmons, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood, The Darkness' Justin Hawkins and the Tower of Power Rhythm Section all set to feature. Now, 56 years after their original formation and a full 17 years since their last full-length album That Same Way, the vocal group have announced a brand new album, Falling In Love With My Girl. Dropping on Feb. 21, the LP will be previewed by its lead single "Yes, I Will," a song co-written and co-performed by Twain, which will be available on Feb. 14. Stylistics singer Airrion Love has spoken about working alongside Twain on the track: "I fell in love with Shania Twain the first time I heard 'You're Still the One' -- a great song that I still love. When we heard there might be a chance to do something with her we said, "Hell yeah!" Twain said of the track, "It's a special song that came together on one special day at my home where I was hanging out with some friends and musicians. So I think it turned out great and I'm just really excited to share it with the whole world." The Stylistics recently completed a UK tour and are set to play a handful of shows in the US in January. - NME, 12/22/24...... Hard rock icons Alice Cooper and Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford have released "My Christmas List," a kid-friendly holiday song. The wholesome song is a collaboration with the charity Rock For Children, and is set to benefit Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Centers organisation, a non-profit that provides teenagers with after-school training in sound engineering, staging, lighting and video production. "My Christmas List," which can be streamed on YouTube, involves the singers telling Santa Claus of the things on their Christmas list, including a "rock balloon that can fly to the moon" and a "12-string can I can play in a band," while they also let Santa know to enjoy his trademark milk and cookies. In a spoken word section, Cooper suggests other things a child could ask for, telling them: "Seriously kid, always remember to never stop dreaming of the impossible, and believe in the magic of your imagination." A boy replies: "Thanks, Mr. Cooper! If I don't end up with those things from my list, then what I want for Christmas is this," as he holds up a scroll with the words "kindness and love" written on it. The track first appeared on the Rock For Children compilation Solid Rock Revival, released on Aug. 30.E arlier in December, meanwhile, Judas Priest announced two new UK headline shows in July as part of their 2025 European tour, including a co-headline show with Cooper. In May, Cooper is set to play the inaugural edition of Boardwalk Rock Festival in Ocean City, Maryland, alongside headliners Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Nickelback and Shinedown. - NME, 12/20/24...... Alfa Anderson, the singer on some of Chic's biggest hits, has died aged 78. Anderson's bandmate Nile Rodgers confirmed the news on Dec. 17 via Instagram. No cause of death has been given. Though initially she was studying to become a teacher, the Augusta, Ga.-born Anderson began recording background vocals for the likes of Dionne Warwick and Roy Buchanan, as well as on the Quincy Jones-produced 1978 soundtrack for The Wiz. During her time working on the film's soundtrack in 1977, she met Luther Vandross, who encouraged her to audition for Chic. At the time the band were recording their debut self-titled album, which Anderson wound up singing backing vocals on. Following the departure of Norma Jean Wright in 1978, she went on to become the group's lead vocalist. She then began to feature prominently on Chic's music, including their biggest albums: 1978's C'est Chic and 1979's Risque. Her voice can be heard on some of their most recognizable hits, including "Le Freak," "Good Times" and "My Forbidden Lover." Chic dissolved in 1983, and Anderson went on to become a frequent guest on Soul Train and the UK's Top of the Pops. She also sang on Chic-produced albums like Sister Sledge's We Are Family and Diana, by Diana Ross, and reunited with Vandross to tour internationally in the mid-1980s. The next two decades saw her appear on albums by Bryan Adams, Mick Jagger, Teddy Pendergrass, Jennifer Holliday, Billy Squier, Sheena Easton and Bryan Ferry, among others. n 2015, she reunited with Chic to serve as one of the lead vocalists on "I'll Be There," their first single in nearly 25 years. That same year, Chic's "Le Freak" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and, three years later, was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. - NME, 12/22/24...... Actor Michael Cole, who died Dec. 10 at 84, was a high school dropout who reportedly slept under Hollywood freeways before his big break as Pete Cochran, part of ABC's hip undercover series The Mod Squad (1968-73), alongside Peggy Lipton and Clarence Williams III. Cole initially turned down the role that made him a star because, as he once told legendary producer Aaron Spelling, "I'm not going to take part of a guy who finks on his friends." He relented after realizing their job was to take down the adults exploiting kids. Befitting his character, Mr. Cole embraced the '60s hippie movement: "Isn't it interesting that a society would want to outcast somebody who wants to advocate love?" All three Mod Squad members reprised their roles in 1979's TV movie, The Return of the Mod Squad. - TV Guide, 12/30/24...... Richard Perry, one of the great record producers of the 1970s and '80s whose greatest hits include the likes of No. 1 singles "Without You" by Nilsson and "Your So Vain" by Carly Simon, died on Dec. 24 of cardiac arrest in a Los Angeles hospital, according to his friend Daphna Kastner. He was 82. Mr. Perry produced more than 30 top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including Barbra Streisand's dynamic version of Laura Nyro's "Stoney End," in which one the legendary star dove into contemporary pop music for the first time; and a long string of hits by The Pointer Sisters, including the exhilarating "I'm So Excited" and "Jump (for My Love)." Other hits that have the unmistakable immaculate, powerful and precise Perry stamp include Leo Sayer's "When I Need You" (also a No. 1 on the Hot 100) and Burton Cummings' stately "Stand Tall" (a top 10 hit on the Hot 100 in 1977). Mr. Perry also received back-to-back Grammy nods for producer of the year, non-classical in 1977 and 1978. He had a 42-year span of top 10 albums on the Billboard Hot 200. He first made the top 10 in July 1968 with a very unlikely project, an album by pop-culture phenomenon Tiny Tim. He produced back-to-back No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 by two different artists -- Ringo Starr ("Photograph" and "You're Sixteen" in 1973-74) and Sayer ("You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and "When I Need You, both in 1977)." The Starr smashes were historic -- the first and only time that a former Beatle had back-to-back singles that reached No. 1 on the Hot 100. Although very much a pop producer, Mr. Perry's music touched other genres, too. He produced Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson's "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1984 and won single of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards and was nominated in that category at the Country Music Association Awards. Mr. Perry also had No. 1 hits on the R&B and dance charts. He was born Richard Van Perry in Brooklyn, New York, on June 18, 1942, to Mack and Sylvia Perry, who manufactured and sold musical instruments and also served as music teachers. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1964 with a degree in music and theater, Mr. Perry returned to New York. He formed his own independent record production company, Cloud Nine Productions, in June 1965. In March 1967, he moved to Los Angeles. His first album production job was Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band's debut, Safe as Milk, which he co-produced with Bob Krasnow. The album was released in June 1967. That November, Perry was hired by Warner Bros. Records as a staff producer. His first assignment was recording Tiny Tim, who had become a novelty sensation on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, the runaway No. 1 show on TV. The ukelele-playing falsetto singer's debut album, God Bless Tiny Tim, rose to No. 7 on the Billboard 200, boosted by a remake of the 1920s novelty tune "Tip-Toe Thru' the Tulips With Me," which became a top 20 hit on the Hot 100. Mr. Perry also recorded albums with legendary stars Fats Domino (Fats Is Back) and Ella Fitzgerald (Ella), both of which cracked the Billboard 200. Mr. Perry left Warner Bros. in 1970 and almost immediately became one of the most in-demand producers in pop. In 1973, Mr. Perry produced Starr's album Ringo. John Lennon wrote the opening track, "I'm the Greatest," which constituted the closest thing to a Beatles reunion in the decade between the band's breakup in 1970 and Lennon's death in 1980. Starr, Lennon and George Harrison all played on the track (along with Billy Preston and Klaus Voormann). Paul McCartney wasn't involved in the track, but he and Linda McCartney contributed another song, "Six O'Clock," which they appeared on. The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, kept out the top spot by Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. In Jan. 1974, Rolling Stone named Mr. Perry "Producer of the Year" for 1973 in its Rolling Stone Music Awards "for his work with Carly Simon (with session drop-in Mick Jagger) and with Starr (with visitors Lennon, Harrison and McCartney)." In 1978, Mr. Perry played a record producer in American Hot Wax, a film about DJ Alan Freed. (In 1955, at age 12, Mr. Perry had been a regular at Freed's live shows at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater.) Mr. Perry and Carly Simon reunited in 2004 for the standards collection Moonlight Serenade, which reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and received a Grammy nod for best traditional pop vocal album. His last album project to make the top 10 was Rod Stewart's "Fly Me to The Moon" from The Great American Songbook, Vol. 5 in Nov. 2010. In Apr. 2020, he published his memoir, Cloud Nine: Memoirs of a Record Producer. His death was mourned by Rod Stewart and Barbra Streisand, among others, on Instagram. He is survived by his younger brothers Roger, Fred and Andrew. His marriages to Linda Goldner and Rebecca Broussard ended in divorce. Mr. Perry was in a relationship with actress and activist Jane Fonda from 2009 to 2017. - Billboard, 12/25/24.