Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on December 16th, 2025

The Hollywood community is in shock over the news of the untimely death of revered actor/director/activist Rob Reiner, who with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead on Nov. 14 at their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Authorities are investigating the deaths of Reiner, 78, and Michele, 70, as "apparent homicides" and have arrested one of the couple's three children, 32-year-old Nick Reiner, as a suspect and who is being held without bail. According to witnesses, Rob and Nick, who had a history of addiction problems and temporary homelessness, were arguing the previous evening at a Christmas party thrown by Conan O'Brien, causing the Reiners to leave the party early. Their fatally stabbed bodies were discovered at home the next day by their daughter, Romy Reiner. The son of late comedy giant Carl Reiner, Rob went on to become one, himself, as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation with movies such as The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally... and This Is Spinal Tap. Born in the Bronx on Mar. 6, 1947, Rob quickly set out to follow his father into entertainment. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles film school and, in the 1960s, began appearing in small parts in various television shows, including The Andy Griffith Show. After starting out as a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Reiner's breakthrough came when he was, at age 23, cast in producer Norman Lear's All in the Family as Archie Bunker's liberal son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic. On All in the Family, Reiner served as a pivotal foil to Carroll O'Connor's bigoted, conservative Archie Bunker. Reiner was five times nominated for an Emmy for his performance on the show, winning in 1974 and 1978. In Lear, Reiner also found a mentor. He called him "a second father." But by the 1980s, Reiner struck out on his own as a feature film director, churning out some of the most beloved films of that, or any, era. His first film, the largely improvised 1984 cult classic This Is Spinal Tap, remains the definitive "mockumentary." After the 1985 John Cusack-starred summer comedy, The Sure Thing, Reiner made Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987) and When Harry Met Sally... (1989), a four-year stretch that resulted in a trio of American classics, all of them among the most often quoted movies of the 20th century (it was Reiner's mother who delivered the immortal quip "I'll have what she's having" in When Harry Met Sally..., as Meg Ryan faked an orgasm during a date with Billy Crystal). For the next four decades, Reiner, a warm and gregarious presence on screen and an outspoken liberal advocate off it, remained a constant fixture in Hollywood. The production company he co-founded, Castle Rock Entertainment, launched an enviable string of hits, including TV's Seinfeld and the acclaimed prison drama The Shawshank Redemption. By the turn of the century, its success rate had fallen considerably, but Reiner revived it earlier this decade. This fall, Reiner and Castle Rock released the long-in-coming sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. All the while, Reiner was one of the film industry's most passionate Democratic activists, regularly hosting fundraisers and campaigning for liberal issues. He was co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which challenged in court California's ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8. He also chaired the campaign for Prop 10, a California initiative to fund early childhood development services with a tax on tobacco products. Reiner was also a critic of Pres. Donald Trump, who posted a typical hostile reaction to the iconic liberal's death which has drawn criticism from both sides of the political aisle. By the late '90s, Reiner's films (1996's Ghosts of Mississippi, 2007's The Bucket List) no longer had the same success rate. But he remained a frequent actor, often memorably enlivening films like Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). In 2023, he directed the documentary Albert Brooks: Defending My Life. In an interview earlier in 2025 with Seth Rogen, Reiner suggested everything in his career boiled down to one thing. "All I've ever done is say, 'Is this something that is an extension of me?' For 'Stand by Me,' I didn't know if it was going to be successful or not. All I thought was, 'I like this because I know what it feels like." The sudden deaths of Reiner and his wife are being moured by high-profile figures from the worlds of entertainment and politics, including Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Elijah Wood, James Woods, John Cusack, Kevin Nealon, Eric Idle, Kamala Harris and Paul McCartney, who made an appearance in Reiner's final film, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, which was released in September this year. Alongside a photo from the film's shoot, Sir Paul wrote on Instagram: "What a tragedy the death of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, is. It is so shocking in many ways but for me especially so, because over the last year I had been working with him. He directed me in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. He was such an upbeat, lovable man. Life can be so unfair and this tragedy proves it." He continued: "His father, Carl Reiner, was a great humourist before him and Rob followed in his dad's footsteps doing a terrific job making many great films. I will always have fond memories of Rob and the idea that he and his wife will no longer be in the world with us is heartbreaking. Thanks for all the humour, Rob. Rest in Peace. Love Paul." - AP/NME, 12/15/25.

After the release of a deluxe 50th anniversary edition of their chart-topping 1975 album Wish You Were Here on Dec. 12, Pink Floyd are on course to take the Christmas UK Number 1 album in 2025. Dropping on digital platforms and available on 3LP, 2CD, Blu-ray and box set formats, the release includes six previously unreleased alternate versions and demos, presenting Floyd's eighth studio album in a brand-new way. In 1979, Pink Floyd scored the UK Official Christmas Number 1 single with "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2." - New Musical Express, 12/15/25...... On Dec. 15 Cliff Richard revealed he is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, and has described the screening process is "absolutely ridiculous." Sir Cliff, 85, said the cancer was discovered when he had a check-up ahead of a recent tour, but that it had been caught early and had not spread. "I was going to Australia and to New Zealand, and the promoter said, 'Well, we need your insurance, so you need to be checked up for something'. They found that I had prostate cancer," the "Devil Woman" hitmaker said during an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain. "But the good fortune was that it was not very old, and the other thing is that it had not metastasised. It hadn't moved, nothing into bones or anything like that. And the cancer's gone at the moment," he added. Sir Cliff said he wants to work with King Charles to improve cancer screening for men across the country, after the King spoke recently about his own cancer treatment and stressed the importance of routine checks to catch cancer at an early stage. Richard went on to describe the current lack of a national screening programme in England was "absolutely ridiculous." "We all deserve to have the same ability to have a test and then start the treatments really early," he said. "It seems to me -- I've only been for one year now in touch with cancer, but every time I've talked with anybody, this has come up, and so I think our government must listen to us." - NME, 12/15/25...... Queen's Brian May has gifted Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi with a version of his homemade left-handed Red Special guitar. May's original Red Special was assembled from scratch in the early 1960s by May with his father Harold, as he was unable to afford a major brand. Built with mahogany from an old fireplace mantle and an oak fingerboard with mother-of-pearl buttons, it remained May's primary guitar on stage throughout Queen's success in the '70s and '80s and became synonymous with the band's sound. Now in an Instagram post on Dec. 9, Iommi revealed that May has presented him with a customized left-handed replica of the model. Alongside photos of himself playing the instrument, Iommi wrote: "Huge thanks to my best friend @brianmayforreal and master builder Andrew Guyton @guyton_guitars for this incredible left-handed Red Special replica. Andrew personally delivered it last week - a true gift from Brian, two years in the making. Christmas came early!" Guyton added: "It's built with the exact vintage construction of Brian May's original Red Special, but shaped to match Tony's iconic Jaydee Old Boy neck. Features a built-in treble booster and authentic vintage-style pots and pickups to replicate the classic tone." Earlier in 2025, May teamed up with Gibson to launch a new limited-edition 12-string acoustic guitar, the Brian May SJ-200. Only 100 were made available, with a design including AAA rosewood back and sides, a AAA Sitka spruce top and a two-piece AAA maple neck. Meanwhile, May's wife Anita Dobson has revealed the possible future of Queen after her 78-year-old husband suffered a "minor stroke" in September which initially left him without any control over one of his arms, and which he has since regained control of. "They will do little bits and bobs, but they won't do those big tours," Dobson told The Mirror paper. May recently told Rolling Stone, "I don't think we're done. And I don't think we're going to say a final farewell tour. Because it never is, is it?," and Queen drummer Roger Taylor has also suggested they weren't done touring yet. Queen has recently been in the studio with their current frontman, Adam Lambert. In other Queen news, Part 2 of the Freddie Mercury video mini series celebrating the 40th anniversary vinyl rerelease of his 1985 solo album Mr. Bad Guy has revealed how Freddie's emotions dictated his approach to songwriting and from where he drew his inspiration. Freddie reveals that "the actual structure of the melody comes easy to meet's the lyrical content I find hard." He continues: "I like to write a nice little tune, but the lyrical content is difficult, I have to work on that part of it," he furthers, before candidly admitting "I'm not a poet and I hate writing lyrics anyway. I wish somebody else could do it." Mischievously, he adds, "I wish I had a Bernie Taupin, but I'm not like that. I like to do it all myself, I'm a greedy bitch." - NME/Music-News.com, 12/14/25...... In an Instagram post on Dec. 12, Paul Simon announced details of an "A Quiet Celebration" UK and European tour, set to kick off in 2026. The new dates come as an extension to the tour that the iconic singer-songwriter aunched in the US earlier in summer 2025 -- his comeback after seven years of being retired. The tour kicks off with three nights at the Congress Centre in Prague on Apr. 9, 10 and 12, before continuing with two stops in Berlin on Apr. 15 and 16 and two stops in Copenhagen on Apr. 18 and 19. From there, Simon will play three nights in Amsterdam (Apr. 22, 24, 25) and three nights in Brussels (Apr. 27, 28, 30). In May, Simon will make two back-to-back appearances at the Grand Rex in Paris on May 3 and 4, before kicking off the UK and Ireland dates. These include a show at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena, followed by two gigs in Glasgow on May 9 and 10. Two nights are lined up for London's Royal Albert Hall on May 13 and 14, before the tour wraps up in Dublin shortly after on May 20. Each night will open with a full rendition of his 33-minute, Grammy-nominated composition, "Seven Psalms," which he released in 2023, and followed by an assortment of classics and rarities. - NME, 12/12/25...... During a recent appearance on the CNN program The Story Is With Elex Michaelson, Sammy Hagar said his Las Vegas residency is "a dream come true for an elderly rock star." Hagar, 78, debuted his "The Best Of All Worlds" show in the spring at the Park MGM resort and now he's bringing the production back to Sin City for two more runs in 2026 -- and he's confessed he loves playing in Vegas because he gets to enjoy the fun of touring without all the travel. "It's the packing up and moving into hotels, travel, travel, travel, running around. You get to the show late. Some days you don't even have time to have a good meal," he told host Elex Michaelson. "But with the residency, you get a good night's sleep. They give you the best rooms on the planet. Great food - Vegas has got the best restaurants in the world; they're all in Las Vegas now. And it's just so much easier..." He added: "To me, it's a dream come true. It's extending my touring life. Otherwise, I don't know if I'd go on tour again and do a major tour. I mean, I could go out and do a few shows here and there. But anyway, Vegas, yes. Residency. Thank you." "The Best Of All Worlds" returns to Dolby Live at the Park MGM for 11 performances between Mar. 11-21 before the show returns for another stint from Sept. 18-Sept. 26. Hagar's band features his former Van Halen bassist bandmate Michael Anthony as well as guitarist Joe Satriani, drummer Kenny Aronoff and Rai Thistlethwayte. - Music-News.com, 12/15/25...... Smokey Robinson has claimed that one of his rape accusers broke into his storage unit, video footage of which her lawyer has said could be an "AI fabrication." In March, four women claimed that the 85-year-old Motown icon committed sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence and created a hostile work environment during their time working as housekeepers between 2007 to April 2024. These original claims saw both Smokey and his wife Frances sued for a total of $50 million in damages, and through his lawyer, Christopher Frost, Robinson denied all claims as "vile," "false" and "an ugly method of trying to extract money." Now, one of the women who is suing the singer for sexual assault has denied she is the one allegedly caught on "blurry" footage video raiding Robinson's southern California storage unit. Robinson and Frances have accused the woman, identified in court filings as "Jane Doe 4," of accessing their unit without permission in November and stealing multiple boxes in a burglary supposedly caught on video. During a hearing on Dec. 11, the Robinsons' lawyer told a judge that Frances had looked over footage, identified the culprit as Jane Doe 4, filed a police report, and was now seeking an emergency restraining order. "It's blurry, like security tapes are, but it's clear to Mrs Robinson who it was," Frost said during a hearing. "You have to know the code, and you have to have a key to the lock. The only person who had that code and that key was Jane Doe 4." Her lawyer denied the claim, saying: "Our client has flatly denied any sort of involvement with this alleged burglary," and added that Frost was yet to produce the video. "It's completely and patently false." Los Angeles County Judge Kevin C. Brazile declined to issue a restraining order against the woman and the case continues. - NME, 12/12/25...... As the sole surviving The Monkees member Micky Dolenz prepares to hit the road in 2026 marking six decades of the iconic '60 pop group, he says he doesn't want to dwell on being the last surviving member following the death of Mike Nesmith aged 78 in 2021. "I feel it's time to take off the black armband and just celebrate the whole Monkees project," Dolenz told Billboard. "The show's not gonna be a memorial. It's not going to be heavily tributed. I'm just gonna sing the songs and tell the stories." Micky revealed the show -- currently set to run from February to November 2026 -- will include "videos from the original episodes" of The Monkees TV series, as some people still don't understand the band's formation and journey. He said: "I'll be focusing more on the chronology and on the TV show, using videos from the original episodes. I still have people ask, 'So what was it like when the group got the TV show?' I'm like, 'Omigod, have you ever heard of a thing called Wikipedia?' [laugh]. There's still a lot of people who are surprised when I explain how it came to be, that it was a musical comedy sitcom on NBC with us cast in it, not a band in the traditional sense." Dolenz added that "Even at the time, frankly, people didn't get it because it was the first time anything like that had happened. It's happened many times since -- Glee, for instance. They create the act and then have the acts go out. I want people to understand how the Monkees came about, so I'll be focusing on that, as well as the songs." - Billboard, 12/11/25...... Actor Anthony Geary, an eight-time Daytime Emmy winner who joined the cast of the long running soap opera General Hospital in 1978, died on Dec. 14 from complications following a scheduled operation. He was 78. Geary joined General Hospital for what was supposed to be a 13-week run, but audiences loved his pairing with Genie Francis' Laura so much that producers kept him on. The wedding episode between the two characters drew in 30 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode in soap opera history. "In the beginning Luke Spencer was a complete bastard," Geary told People in 1980 of his character's introduction which found Luke raping Laura. "He was a cheap little punk who managed a disco and was a doper runner for the Mafia. He was a real killer." But Luke changed as he and Laura fell in love. The fictional couple split in 2001, and moved on with other relationships. "If you look at the way it started, it was sort of fated to end badly," he told ABC News in 2015. Following his retirement from General Hospital in 2015, Geary's character was killed off in 2022 after 44 years, as Luke's widow Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliott), told his former flame Laura, that Spencer was killed in a cable car "accident" in Austria. The role earned Geary a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama. In a statement shared to Instagram, General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini said the "entire General Hospital family is heartbroken" over the news. "Tony was a brilliant actor and set the bar that we continue to strive for," Valentini wrote. "His legacy, and that of Luke Spencer's, will live on through the generations of GH cast members who have followed in his footsteps. We send our sincerest sympathies to his husband, Claudio, family, and friends. May he rest in peace." Rocker and former General Hospital cast member Rick Springfield also offered a fond tribute to his friend. "He was already a big star when I came on the show [and] when my star started to rise, Tony never gave me any trouble with it or anything. He was always just really a sweet guy... You think of soaps, you think of Tony as one of the first. He had a great life... But it's always sad when someone leaves before their time," he said. - Canoe.com, 12/15/25...... It has been revealed that Joseph Byrd, the composer and leader of the trailblazing '60s psychedelic rock band The United States Of America, passed away suddenly on Nov. 2 at his home in Medford, Ore. He was 87 and no cause of death has been provided. Mr. Byrd was the central architect of the highly influential group, who were formed in Los Angeles in 1967 and were credited with incorporating electronics, musique concrète and experimentation into psych rock. Their sole album, which was self-titled and released in 1968, made use of early synthesisers and tape manipulation and is representative of the West Coast anti-commercial counterculture movement. It has been referenced by the likes of Stereolab, Julian Cope and Broadcast as a key influence and is remembered for pushing the boundaries of rock music, predicting later developments in experimental composition. Born on Dec. 19, 1937 in Louisville, Ky., Mr. Byrd studied with the avant-garde composers John Cage and LaMonte Young. His first live performance was at Yoko Ono's New York loft and he was part of Cage's Fluxus movement of radical live performances. He founded The United States of America with his then-girlfriend Dorothy Moskowitz after relocating from New York to Los Angeles, but they broke up after one record. Mr. Byrd recorded another influential record The American Metaphysical Circus in 1969 under the name Joe Byrd And The Field Hippies, and later became a professor of American music at Cal-State Fullerton. Among his work in later life was the creation of the robot sounds in the 1972 sci-fi classic Silent Running, which were largely credited for inspiring the Star Wars character R2-D2, and he also scored feature films from arthouse directors including Agnes Varda and Robert Altman. He is survived by his daughter Clarissa, two grandsons and his brother. - NME, 12/13/25...... Carl Carlton, the Detroit-bred R&B/soul star best known for his 1981 funk hit "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)," died on Dec. 14 at age 72. Carlton, who reportedly suffered a stroke six years ago, was born in the Motor City on May 21, 1953 and began performing at a young age under the name "Little Carl" Carlton. By 1964 he'd released his first singles for Lando Records, "I Think of How I Love Her" and "I Love True Love," scoring local hits the next year with the songs "So What" and "Don't You Need a Boy Like Me." After gaining attention with the first few songs, in 1968, Carlton signed to Back Beat Records, relocating to Houston to be closer to label founder Don Robey to release "Competition Ain't Nothing," which topped out at No. 36 on the R&B chart and quickly became a beloved hit on the U.K.'s Northern Soul scene. Already a budding singing star, Carlton graduated from Detroit's Murray Wight High School in 1970 and scored his first national hit in 1971 with "I Can Feel It." After Robey sold his label to ABC Records, the latter released a compilation of Carlton's early singles, You Can't Stop a Man in Love. Carlton finally broke through in 1974 with his biggest hit, a cover of Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love," a dreamy, yearning disco-tinged soul burner that became his highest-charting, most enduring hit, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in Nov. 1974. The singer bounced around to a few labels in the late 1970s, landing at 20th Century Records in the early 1980s and releasing his most well-known hit, the lascivious, Leon Haywood-penned R&B jam "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)," which earned Carlton a 1982 Grammy nomination for best R&B vocal performance, male. The song peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in Oct. 1981 and No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. The singer's son, Carlton Hudgens II, reported the news on his Facebook page on Dec. 14, writing, "RIP Dad, Legend Carl Carlton singer of 'She's a Bad Mama Jama.' Long hard fight in life and you will be missed." - Billboard, 12/15/25.