Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on July 14th, 2025

Speaking to the UK paper The Daily Express, The Beach Boys' Mike Love revealed that he and the late Brian Wilson sang together in the weeks before Wilson's death on June 11 at age 82. "I was able to visit Brian three weeks before he passed. What Brian wanted me to do was to sing for him," Love said. Brian asked me to sing 'Fun, Fun, Fun', so I sang that. Then he said: 'Sing 'Surfin' USA!'', so I sang 'Surfin' USA' to him. I sang 'I Get Around' for Brian, too. We even harmonised on a song called 'Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring'. That was a song by The Four Freshmen, a group which was a huge influence on The Beach Boys' harmonies." Soon after Wilson's passing, Love posted on Instagram that "Our journey together was filled with moments of brilliance, heartbreak, laughter, complexity and most of all, LOVE. Like all families, we had our ups and downs. But through it all, we never stopped loving each other, and I never stopped being in awe of what he could do when he sat at a piano or his spontaneity in the studio." - New Musical Express, 7/12/25...... After King Crimson guitarist Jakko Jakszyk told Goldmine magazine earlier in July that the English prog-rock icons were working on a new studio album, King Crimson manager David Singleton has taken to social media to urge fans not to get too excited about the prospect. "It was an amazing thing to have done, and in a way, part of it's still happening," said Jakszyk, who joined the veteran band in 2013. Jakszyk went on to say the band has "been doing it piecemeal," and with "a view to it coming out in some format at some point. But who knows when?" Now Singleton says "there is indeed the seed of a new recording [but] whether it is an album, whether it sees the light of day, whether it is something else is unknown. As is the outcome of any creative process." King Crimson was initially formed in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Greg Lake, Michael Giles, and Peter Sinfiel, with the band releasing their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, the following year. Initially disbanding in 1974 after seven albums, further reunions would take place throughout the '80s and '90s, with the group's most recent record, The Power to Believe, arriving in 2003. Co-founder McDonald passed away in Feb. 2022, and the group's songwriter, lyricist and synth player Peter Sinfield died in Dec. 2024. The group was hit with another death when ex-percussionist Jamie Muir passed in February. It was assumed King Crimson was over after their last tour in 2021, and 79-year-old Fripp -- the only continuous member from the original lineup -- told Rolling Stone in 2022 that future tours from the band would only take place "if I knew for certainty that King Crimson touring was the only way to prevent World War III." Jakszyk also teased the release of his and Fripp's album, The Scarcity Of Miracles. "Plus, there's also an album I made with Robert before I joined Crimson called The Scarcity Of Miracles. There's a version of it that's about to come out with loads and loads of extra stuff." - Billboard/Music-News.com, 7/14/25...... Neil Young took to the stage at the BST Hyde Park festival in London on July 11 and wowed the audience with a setlist of his timeless classics. Accompanied by the raw energy of his new band the Chrome Hearts, Young effortlessly worked through 18 songs, treating the sold-out crowd to hits spanning his lengthy career. Fan favorites like "Cowgirl in the Sand," "Be the Rain," "Southern Man," and "The Needle and the Damage Done" resonated through the venue, offering a taste of every era of Young's beloved discography. "Thank you, folks, I really appreciate you being here," Young shared with the adoring audience, with a "Love Earth" symbol emblazoned behind him -- a nod to his 2022 collaboration with Crazy Horse. Classics such as "Cinnamon Girl," "After The Gold Rush," and "Name of Love" showcased Young's subtle sentiment and powerful rock prowess. The magical "Harvest Moon" perfectly coincided with the setting sun, creating a truly cinematic moment. Young concluded his set with a two-song encore featuring the anthemic "Throw Your Hatred Down" and "Rocking in the Free World," leaving the crowd chanting along. After Stevie Wonder performed a headlining set on July 12, the festival ended abruptly on a dour note on July 13 after the event's final live show was canceled when headliner Jeff Lynne of Jeff Lynne's ELO was forced to withdraw due to medical reasons. The previous day, organizers announced that "Jeff Lynne is heartbroken to report that he will not be able to perform at tomorrow's BST Hyde Park show." Posting on their website bst-hydepark.com, they added that "Jeff has been battling a systemic infection and is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule. The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff's mind today -- and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time." The whole July 13 concert, which was also to include performances by Steve Winwood and the Doobie Brothers as well as Lynne, was cancelled. The decision came days after Lynne, 77, axed a concert in Manchester UK shortly before he was scheduled to come out on stage. Lynne had appeared on stage in Birmingham in a hometown send-off a week ago, but was unable to play his guitar owing to a broken wrist, suffered during a taxi crash in London. - Music-News.com, 7/12/25...... On July 10 Paul McCartney announced he's heading back out on the road for his first North American swing since 2022. Titled "Got Back 2025," the 19-date trek is slated to launch at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, CA on Sept. 29, then visit Las Vegas (10/4), Albuquerque (10/7), (10/11), Des Moines (10/14), Minneapolis (10/17), Tulsa (10/22), New Orleans (10/29), Atlanta (11/2, 3), Nashville (11/6), Columbus (11/8), Pittsburgh (11/11), Buffalo (11/14), Montreal (11/17) and Hamilton, Ontario (11/21) before winding down with a two-night stand at the United Center in Chicago on Nov. 24-25. The tour is the indefatigable former Beatle's follow-up to his run of three surprise shows at the intimate Bowery Ballroom in New York in early February, and close-out performance of an Abbey Road medley at the SNL50: The Anniversary Special just days later. While a number of the stops are in cities the singer has played before, a few will be first-time visits, including Albuquerque and the Palm Springs kick-off. Tickets are set to go on sale on July 18. Sir Paul first launched his Got Back run of shows in 2022 with 16 sold-out U.S. gigs, followed by an international edition the next year and 20 more concerts in South America, Mexico, the U.K. and Europe in 2024. Meanwhile, Macca has discussed his creative approach to music in a new interview with BBC Radio 3's Sound Sources host Elizabeth Alker. "You can do something apparently very strange with a piece of music and then you listen to it, and you go 'Oh I really like that'. It's like abstract art I mean, not everything we see is clear and figurative," he said. "Sometimes when you're asleep or you rub your eye, you see an abstract. So, your mind knows about it. We know about this stuff. So, it was the same with music." The full program can be streamed at the BBC.co.uk site. - Billboard/Music-News.com, 7/10/25...... In more touring news, Bob Dylan has announced a string of UK and Ireland dates for his ongoing "Rough And Rowdy Ways" tour for November. The latest batch of dates will see Dylan playing Brighton (11/7), Swansea (11/9, 10, 11, 13), Coventry (11/14), Leeds (11/14), Glasgow (11/16, 17), Belfast (11/19, 20), and Killarney (11/23, 24) before wrapping at Dublin's 3Arena on Nov. 25. The "Rough And Rowdy Ways" tour sprung from the folk-rock icon's 2020 studio album of the same name and has been running since Nov. 2021. The 10th leg of the tour ran across North America in March and April this year and saw him dipping into his back catalog, including the first performance of "The Times They Are A-Changin'" in 15 years. - NME, 7/10/25...... Jackson Browne, Patti Austin and Seth MacFarlane will be among the musicians and celebrities feting legendary lyricist Alan Bergman on his 100th birthday on Sept. 11 at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Calif. Bergman and his late wife Marilyn, who died in 20022 at age 93, are probably best-known for writing exquisite ballads such as "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," "Pieces of Dreams" and "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?," but they couldn't be typecast. They also wrote witty and zesty theme songs for such TV series as Maude, Good Times and Alice. The Bergmans won three Academy Awards, including best original song for "The Windmills of Your Mind" from The Thomas Crown Affair and "The Way We Were" from the movie of the same name, and three Grammy Awards, including song of the year for "The Way We Were." Barbra Streisand, who took "The Way We Were" to the top of the US pop chart in 1974, will be making a video appearance during the event. Streisand previously paid tribute to the Bergmans on her Grammy-nominated 2011 album What Matters Most - Barbra Streisand Sings the Lyrics of Alan & Marilyn Bergman. The event will serve as a benefit for the Jazz Bakery, of which Bergman is a founding board member. The nonprofit listening room is one of the most respected jazz spaces in Los Angeles. - Billboard, 7/10/25...... Two months after announcing the upcoming publication of a long-awaited memoir, Yusuf/Cat Stevens has announced the release of a "definitive" greatest hits collection. On The Road To Findout: Greatest Hits, due Sep. 5 on Cat-O-Log Records in partnership with Universal Music Recordings, will be the music icon's first-ever career-spanning collection of his emotive and moving songs from his nearly 60-year recording career, spanning from 1967's Matthew & Son through his 2023 King Of A Land LP. The new release will also include a 24-page booklet containing all the lyrics and never-before-seen reflections on the music by Yusuf himself. "I'm pleased that, at last, a collection of recordings includes some important songs I wrote after my evolvement, 'Take The World Apart' and 'Heaven / Where True Love Goes' for instance, reflecting the peace and happiness which has since changed my life," he said in a press release. "It's really humbling to think about how many souls have been traversing this journey with me." The singer recently performed at the BST Hyde Park festival in London on July 11, as a special guest to Neil Young. Meanwhile, his memoir that was first announced in May, Cat On The Road To Findout, is set for release in the UK on Sep. 18 and in the US on Oct. 7. Yusuf will embark on a rare UK concert and book tour to promote the new album and memoir, his first UK tour in nine years. The seven-show tour begins on Sep. 6 at Cambridge's Corn Exchange and concludes on Sep. 22 at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall. - Music-News.com, 7/10/25...... Days after performing the final show of Black Sabbath in Birmingham, UK on July 5, Ozzy Osbourne has announced his new memoir, Last Rites, described by publisher Grand Centra/Hachette as the "shocking, bitterly hilarious, never-before-told story of Osbourne's descent into hell." The follow-up to Ozzy's 2009 memoir I Am Ozzy, Last Rites will cover the various health crises the 76-year-old metal god has endured over the past few years, including the Parkinson's diagnosis that contributed to him announcing his retirement from touring. "At the age of sixty-nine, Ozzy Osbourne was on a triumphant farewell tour, playing to sold-out arenas and rave reviews all around the world. Then disaster," reads the presser announcing the book. "In a matter of just a few weeks, he went from being hospitalized with a finger infection to having to abandon his tour -- and all public life -- as he faced near-total paralysis from the neck down." But in his own signature no-nonsense style, Osbourne was defiant about his desire to keep rocking, despite his challenges. "Look, if it ends tomorrow, I can't complain," Ozzy notes in the release. "I've been all around the world. Seen a lot of things. I've done good and I've done bad. But right now, I'm not ready to go anywhere." In addition to the book, Osbourne has announced that he's auctioning off a handful of abstract paintings he created with chimpanzees to benefit the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Florida that helps rescue chimpanzees from animal testing labs and zoos. "I've never sold my paintings. But these abstract collaborations I did with ape artists from @SaveTheChimps are now available at Omega Auctions to raise funds for the sanctuary," he wrote in an Instagram post in which he posed -- holding a banana, naturally -- with some of the colorful canvases. "Each signed painting is named for one of my songs, and there are only five, so bid now for your favorite! Auction closes July 17." Fans can bid on the canvases at bid.omegaauctions.co.uk, and check out his Last Rites book tralier on YouTube. - Billboard, 7/11/25...... Speaking of Ozzy and Black Sabbath's final gig, it has been reported that the "Back To The Beginning" farewell show has "raised a ton of money" for charity. Musician Tom Morello, the show's music director, wrote on Instagram on July 8 that "more than $190 million will be donated to houses and hospitals for children... We raised a ton of money for a great cause and so many great musicians & bands & fans all over the world paid tribute to the ALL TIME greats." However, a spokesperson from concert promoter LiveNation has said: "Reported charity figures around Back To The Beginning are not a true reflection and are indeed false. Ozzy and [event co-organizer] Sharon [Osbourne] in due course will announce correct figures." - NME, 7/9/25...... The final years of David Bowie's career are set to be showcased in a huge new box set, I Can't Give Everything Away (2002-2016). The release, set for Sept. 12, will include faithfully reproduced versions of the original albums where possible, with the CDs gold-plated as opposed to the usual silver. A vinyl box set contains the same content as the CD set, and will be pressed on audiophile 180g vinyl. Created alongside Bowie's co-producer Tony Visconti, the set is named after the closing track of Blackstar, Bowie's final studio album. Released only days before he died in 2016, the record had hinted at the star's ill health prior to his passing, and has long since been a subject of fascination for fans convinced it served as his official farewell, with many claiming that its lyrics can be interpreted as the singer tackling his own mortality. The new box set is the sixth in a reissue series which has so far included: Five Years (1969-1973), Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976), A New Career in a New Town (1977-1982), Loving The Alien (1983-1988) and Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001). The latest instalment consists of 12 CDs, 18 vinyl records and a digital download and streaming format. There's also an accompanying book for the physical box sets, featuring previously unpublished notes, drawings and handwritten lyrics by Bowie. The announcement of the new box set can be viewed on X. - NME, 7/9/25...... '70s novelty hitmaker Ray Stevens is reportedly recovering after undergoing a miniminally invasive heart surgery operation on July 7. On July 4, the "Everything Is Beautiful" singer complained of chest pains and was admitted to a Nashville-area hospital, where it was determined that he had suffered a mild heart attack. While in recovery, his performances at his West Nashville CabaRay Showroom have been canceled through July. Stevens, 86, a two-time Grammy winner, Stevens is known for both comedic songs such as "The Streak" and the "The Mississippi Squirrel Revival," but also touching songs such as the pop-country classic "Everything Is Beautiful," which won a Grammy for male pop vocal performance in 1971. "The Streak" was nominated for Country Music Association Awards for single of the year and song of the year in 1974. Stevens was inducted as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019. During his more than six decades in the spotlight, the talented musician has held roles as singer, songwriter, producer, music publisher, session musician, television star and real estate developer. He previously ran an entertainment venue in Branson, Mo. from 1981 to 1993, and in 2018, he launched the CabaRay entertainment venue in Nashville. Additionally, his shows at CabaRay have been aired on public television stations. He is also a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame, the Music City Walk of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. In March, he released his latest album Say Whut?, which included songs such as "Everybody's On The Telephone" and "The More You Cry." - Billboard, 7/8/25.