Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 18th, 2026

A previously unheard David Bowie demo titled "Today" has been shared on YouTube, taken from the upcoming David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings album. The release comes as a series of early Bowie songs from 1965 are to be released on a new album featuring a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page. Set to arrive on Sept. 18 via Parlophone, the songs were recorded before the singer -- real name Davie Jones -- went on to adopt the David Bowie moniker. They were all made alongside legendary producer Shel Talmy, who was responsible for hits from The Who and The Kinks. The album will also include 10 previously unheard tracks, as well as musical contributions from The Yardbirds and Nicky Hopkins (The Rolling Stones, The Beatles). - NME, 8/14/26...... Roxy Music has announced on Instagram that an expanded reissue of their 1973 sophomore effort For Your Pleasure is set for release on Nov. 6. With unheard studio recordings, songwriting sketches, rehearsals, outtakes, live sessions and rare unseen performances, the 2026 edition of For Your Pleasure takes listeners back to its creation, and the central question of how to tackle the daunting second album. "It was a good pressure. Realising, now there's an audience to write for. An intelligent audience," Roxy frontman Bryan Ferry reflected. "I felt a responsibility for the work that I hadn't for the first album, certainly with regard to the lyrics. "There was a hunger in the whole band to do more: a very strong urge to get back into a recording studio and make a better record than the first one. Nick de Ville had a cottage in Derbyshire, and offered to let me have it for a few days. So I went up there with the sole purpose of writing songs." "Grey Lagoons (1971 demo)," a track on the new reissue, has been shared on Spotify.com. That demo that formed part of the homemade tape that first brought Roxy Music to the attention of the music press. The 2026 edition of For Your Pleasure will be available in a variety of formats including 2LP Black vinyl, and in Blue Pearl Vinyl as a D2C Exclusive, 2CD, Digital, Blu-Ray, Dolby ATMOS, and as a 3CD+1DVD Super Deluxe Edition. The 2CD Deluxe Edition includes the original album, plus AIR Studios outtakes, singles and BBC sessions, presented in a hardcover digibook with a new essay and unseen images, while the 2LP Vinyl edition features the original album, plus AIR Studios outtakes in a gatefold sleeve. - NME, 8/13/26...... On Aug. 14, Carly Simon released her new studio LP Comes in Waves, her first album of original material since 2008's This Kind of Love. In July, Simon announced she had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and treated for skin cancer. "It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly," she said in a statement. "Parkinson's is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable. Some days I'm so tired I can't get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself." But she says recording new music has been a salve. "Working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape. It gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room. It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life." Simon wrote five of the songs by herself, penning the remaining with numbers of collaborators, including her son Ben Taylor, who also helped produce the set. - Billboard, 8/17/26...... The Four Seasons legend Frankie Valli has responded to his brother's recent claims that 92-year-old Frankie will be retiring soon. Earlier in August Bobby Valli took to Facebook to announce his brother "will soon retire." Alongside a photograph of them together that was taken in 2025, he posted in part: "My brother Frankie whom I am so proud of and love him dearly [has] had a magnificent career in music... He has millions of fans you love him dearly." After listing his brother's achievements over the years, Bobby added: "He will now retire." But Frankie has now denied his brother's claims, writing on his own Instagram page: "In spite of what you might have heard, I am not retired." Bobby then put out another statement on Facebook saying: "I apologize, I was misinformed. I was under the impression my brother Frankie was retiring. Hoping for him to have a speedy recovery to continue his illustrious career!" Frankie was set to continue his farewell, "The Last Encores Tour," which began in 2023, until November of this year. But in a statement earlier this year, he said: "I'm so sorry to disappoint the folks who have purchased tickets to my shows, but I have decided to take the rest of the year off from touring to focus on my health. I'm looking forward to getting healthy and seeing you all again soon," he added. "Thank you for all your good wishes." Vallie's break from performing comes two years after he issued a statement addressing concerns over his health and well-being, sparked by footage that appeared to show him lip-syncing while displaying difficulty keeping up with the music. - NME, 8/17/26...... Founding Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore joined his old bandmates recently at a concert in Wantagh, N.Y. for a rendition of the group's 1972 classic song, "Smoke On The Water," and says the reunion could be the "last time" the bandmates ever see each other. Interviewed about the gig by Guitar Player magazine, Blackmore said: "It was very moving because I went on very quickly and had to play immediately. I couldn't warm up, but I wasn't there to be playing correct notes." "I was there to see old friends I hadn't seen in 40 years and we're all getting older. I think we realised it could be the last time we see each other, maybe," he added. Earlier in the conversation, Blackmore explained: "I woke up one morning thinking, the day before their show [thinking], 'You know it would be good for the fans if I just got up for one song, probably 'Smoke' and just show that were not at each other's throats and don't hate each other'." He then spoke further about the "very emotional" reunion with his fellow classic members Ian Gillan, Ian Paice and Roger Glover, admitting that it was "tricky." "I didn't play anything too technical, as I felt I should stick to the rudiments of being simple," Blackmore continued. "I still lost my place at one point, but it's not why I was there. I was there to heal any wounds - but there weren't any wounds. Everyone was like, we were in the army, all along the Western front and we were all getting together again. Very emotional moment." The concert also saw the first performance Blackmore shared with Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey in 44 years, following the latter's exit from Rainbow in 1982. Blackmore discussed his past clashes with Gillan that led to his departure from Deep Purple in 1993, too. "We're two alpha guys," he explained. "I'm used to running a band, and I think he's used to running a band. So we clashed in the old days. But all that changed." Deep Purple are currently out on a North American tour in support of their latest album, Splat!, which was released in July. They'll play a huge show at London's Royal Albert Hall in November as part of their upcoming UK and European leg. In 2025, Ian Gillan revealed he was losing his eyesight and said that retirement was "not far off." "It's one of those things. I've only got 30 per cent vision," he explained. - New Musical Express, 8/18/26...... Dolly Parton has apologized for missing the opening of a new attraction at her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., on Aug. 14 due to her ongoing struggle with unspecified health issues. Dollywood president Eugene Naughton shared a personal video from the 80-year-old country legend welcoming the first riders of the park's newest roller coaster in which she apologized for not being there with them. "Well, hey Eugene. I'm right here Well, kind of. Sorta," Parton said in the whimsical clip in which she sprouted colorful butterfly wings and seemed to be interacting with Naughton in real time. "I'm still in Nashville, and I'm sorry about that. I was supposed to be there in person like I planned." Dolly noted that she's already shared with fans that she's had some recent "health issues" and that sometimes she gets "a little dizzy" and dehydrated, which might explain why her doctors advised her against making the 200-mile trek to the park for the opening of the new attraction. "My Nashville doctor has kinda clipped my wings, saying, 'You ain't traveling this week.' So I guess, if your doctor tells you, 'you ain't traveling this week,' you ain't traveling this week," she laughed. She energetically encouraged Naughton to tell the assembled fans all about the new ride, told them to have fun and promised that she would see them "down the road." Parton has largely been out of the public eye since announcing the postponement of her Las Vegas residency in September due to a "few" undisclosed medical procedures. She made a rare in-person appearance in March to deliver the keynote address marking the 41st anniversary of Dollywood on this year's opening day. - Billboard, 8/18/26...... Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan and Harris Dickinson -- the four actors lined up to portray The Beatles in the upcoming four-part Beatles biopic series, The Beatles -- A Four-Film Cinematic Event -- recently recreated the Fab Four's iconic Abbey Road cover shoot. In footage posted by fans on Instagram of what appears to be the film's recreation of the iconic cover, you can see John Lennon (Dickinson), Paul McCartney (Mescal), George Harrison (Quinn) and Ringo Starr (Keoghan), taking that stroll and then headed back across the street for another take. The four-part project, with each film focusing on a particular member, is slated to release in Apr. 2028. So far, director Sam Mendes has not revealed any of the plot points for the ambitious project that will be the first-ever movie to be granted the rights to the Beatles' discography. The real Beatles originally walked across the road outside the EMI Studios in London on the street that helped name their eleventh studio album -- and the last one they recorded together, though Let It Be was released afterward -- on Aug. 8, 1969. - Billboard, 8/17/26...... Legendary pop songwriter Jimmy Webb is celebrating turing 80 on Aug. 15 by announcing a new album, Yours For the Taking: The Found Songs of Jimmy Webb, due out Oct. 23 on Sun Records. As the title indicates, "it's pretty much overlooked or unrecorded, neglected in a way, music that my wife [album executive producer Laura Savini Webb] and some of the younger people around me really inspired me to go back and finish," Webb -- who penned the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits "MacArthur Park," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston" and "Up, Up and Away," among many other classics -- told Billboard via Zoom from Long Island. "And my children say, 'Y'know, dad, you wrote this. This is great. This could've been a hit.' So the basis of this album is rebirth, recycling that youthful energy and not letting (the songs) just molder away in the attic but to go back and flip those pancakes again and see what we can come up with. It's very invigorating. Very inspiring. Just 'cause I'm 80 doesn't mean I've lost that fire, y'know? I may be 80 on the outside, but I'm always 18 on the inside." The three-time Grammy winner says "Winter Clothes" -- which is presented on the album via the demo as well as a "polished up" new recording with Graham Nash guesting -- dates back to the early '70s, and was written with Frank Sinatra in mind. "Mr. Sinatra thought he might record it, but he thought I needed to work on it," says Webb, who still refers to Ol' Blue Eyes formally "because he might be listening." "When Mr. Sinatra says, 'Y'know, kid, this is pretty good, but I think it needs some work,' you listen to him. He was telling me some really important stuff. I never really took that song back to him, but I never gave up on the idea. I thought it was a pretty good song, so when we decided to do this (album), it felt like it was time to bring it back out." Webb will take the new songs and the rest of his body of work back on the road in November, with tour dates in New York City (Nov. 1), Boston (Nov. 7) and Roslyn, N.Y. (Nov. 21). His official 80th birthday celebration, meanwhile, takes place Feb. 4 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center in California. - Billboard, 8/14/26...... Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris has been placed in a medically induced coma following what his family has described as a critical medical emergency earlier this month. Paris, 58, was hospitalized on Aug. 6, shortly before the group was due to perform with Lionel Richie at the Chase Center in San Francisco. The show was postponed minutes before it was scheduled to begin, with the band citing "a medical emergency involving a member of our band." The SFFD confirmed that crews responded to a report of a cardiac incident at the venue and transported one person to a hospital in critical condition, though the family has not publicly confirmed the nature of Paris' condition. A GoFundMe campaign established to support Paris and his family has raised nearly $70,000 toward a $75,000 goal, with several of his bandmates among the donors. EW&F resumed their tour two days after the postponed show, with former member Sonny Emory filling in on drums. The San Francisco concert has been rescheduled for Sept. 26. Paris joined the band in 2001, playing on studio albums including 2003's The Promise and 2005's Illumination, and has also worked with artists including Patti LaBelle and Sheila E. The band is currently the subject of a Questlove-directed documentary that premiered in June. - Billboard, 8/16/26...... '70s pop singer/songwriter Stephen Bishop has unveiled a new song he recorded for his 1976 debut album, Careless. The album included the now Yacht Rock classic, the swaying "On & On," which peaked at No. 11 on the hit parade, as well as its breezy predecessor "Save It for a Rainy Day," which reached No. 22. Bishop is releasing a 50th anniversary edition of Careless which can be ordered on StephenBishopMerch.com. The 50th-anniversary limited vinyl edition of Careless with two additional previously unreleased songs and a 20-page booklet was released on Aug. 14. Of Careless, which featured Eric Clapton, Art Garfunkel, Andrew Gold and Chaka Khan, and its ongoing popularity (Keith Urban just covered it on his new Yacht Rock album), Bishop says, "It's hard to believe 50 years have gone by. Music was different then -- you brought an album home, put it on the turntable, and listened from beginning to end. I'm thankful Careless has been part of so many people's lives, and it's been wonderful seeing new generations discover it. People of all ages still come up to me and tell me how these songs have stayed with them through different chapters of their lives. Even many of my friends and fellow musicians have shared what the album has meant to them over the years. That's incredibly humbling, and it's an honor I'll never take for granted." The album served as fans' musical introduction to Bishop, who went on to continue his successful solo career, including recording the 1982 top 30 hit "It Might Be You," the theme from Tootsie, which received an Oscar nomination for best original song for songwriters Dave Grusin, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman. Bishop himself was then nominated for a best original song Oscar three years later for writing "Separate Lives," performed by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin from the movie White Nights. Bishop will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Careless at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on Oct. 9. - Billboard, 8/13/26...... The venerable music marketer Columbia House has announced on its website that the company would stop receiving orders after Sept. 15. Columbia House was launched by Columbia Records back in 1955. The service was designed to help music lovers in rural or suburban areas who did not have convenient access to a local music store. Customers could order records by mail and have them delivered straight to the proverbial front door. Membership often came with promo discounts -- if the subscriber promised to purchase a minimum number of regular-priced records within the first year, not including the cost of shipping and handling. Getting out from under the weight of membership was no small task, either. Still, the company was a major player on the music scene for decades. By the mid-90s, Columbia had more than 16 million members, accounting for more than 15% of CD sales in the United States. In the end however, the digital age began a slow and steady decline for the company with the rise of file sharing services like Napster and LimeWire. After a series of ownership changes, Columbia House filed for bankruptcy in 2015. After they stopped selling music to Americans in 2015 and Canadians in 2010, the company focused primarily on DVD and Blu-ray sales, but that section of the marketplace soon dried up with the advent of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV. xisting memberships and outstanding purchases will be honored as the business winds down. On the main page, the company is currently selling DVDs and books. - Toronto Sun, 8/18/26...... Dave Marsh, one of the most influential music writers of his generation and a passionate activist for health care, social justice and freedom of expression, died on Aug. 14. He was 72. The cause of his death has not been reported but he had been in declining health in recent years. Born in Pontiac, Mich., in 1950, Marsh grew up immersed in the sounds of Detroit -- Motown, R&B, and rock 'n' roll -- inspiring a lifelong belief in the power of music. He was among the first editors of Creem magazine when it launched in 1969. He also wrote extensively for Rolling Stone and other publications and authored more than two dozen books on artists including Elvis Presley, The Who and Bruce Springsteen. His 1979 biography, Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story, became a New York Times bestseller. In 1993, Marsh shared a Grammy for best album notes for Aretha Franklin's Queen of Soul. He also co-founded the newsletter Rap & Rock Confidential and, in 2004, joined SiriusXM, hosting Kick Out the for 19 years, along with Live from E Street Nation and Live from the Land of Hope and Dreams. He was married to Barbara Carr, longtime co-manager of Springsteen. Following the death of their daughter, Kristen Ann Carr, in 1993 at age 21 of sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, Marsh co-founded and served as a trustee of the The Kristen Ann Carr Fund to advance sarcoma research and support families affected by cancer. "Here on E Street, the irreplaceable loss of Dave Marsh has us heartbroken," Springsteen wrote in a statement shared on Instagram on Aug. 15. "My great friend Dave, with his straight out of Detroit attitude, was a true Rock 'n' Roll lifer. He was soulful, intelligent, heartfelt, opinionated, bruising and often fantastically argumentative. Watching Jon Landau and Dave drive each other crazy over some arcane piece of music would make my day. He wrote the first book about me, Born To Run, and Dave always had my back. He deeply believed in what I was trying to accomplish and his lifetime of support meant the world to me." In 2021, a host of authors, activists and artists -- including Springsteen, Tom Morello, Pete Townshend, Nona Hendryx, Dion DiMucci, Jackson Browne and Steven Van Zandt -- took part in online sessions billed as "Land of Hope and Dreams: A Celebration of Dave Marsh's Work and Vision." He was predeceased by his daughters Kristen Ann Carr and Sasha Carr, and is survived by his wife, Barbara Carr. - Billboard, 8/15/26.

Fleetwood Mac's 1988 greatest hits album has reached even greater heights after a new expanded reissue reached the top 10 on Billboard's 35-year-old Top Album Sales chart for the first time. Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits re-entered the Aug. 15-dated chart at No. 10, besting its previous high of No. 13 (set in 2016), after the album was bolstered with seven additional hits and issued digitally and on multiple physical formats. The standard version of Greatest Hits remains a 16-song edition, and the new deluxe edition adds seven further hits. The deluxe set was released via digital download services and streamers on June 10, and physical formats followed on July 31. The deluxe package bowed across six double-vinyl variants and a two-CD offering. In the tracking week ending Aug. 6, Greatest Hits sold nearly 6,000 copies in the United States, according to Luminate -- a gain of 286% as compared to its sales in the previous week. - Billboard, 8/11/26...... On Aug. 12 Rod Stewart cancelled the remaining dates on his North American farewell tour after undergoing a routine coronary stent procedure. Stewart, 81, had been scheduled to perform at Ohio's Riverbend Music Center on Aug. 9, but cancelled the show at the last minute, stating in a press release that it was due to an "unforeseen but minor medical procedure." The 1994 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee than went on to cancel his remaining tour dates after the procedure. He was set to perform at Morton Amphitheater in Kansas City, Mo. on Aug. 15), Las Vegas on Aug. 18 for a performance at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, followed by gigs in Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, plus a run of shows in Mexico (Sept. 9-13). In a statement issued to Rolling Stone, Stewart's reps said he was "doing well" and that "on the advice of his doctors, he will take the next four weeks to recuperate and regain full fitness before returning to the stage. Unfortunately, this means he will be unable to continue his current tour dates." In his own message posted to Instagram on Aug. 11, Stewart assured fans that he was "already feeling better and very much on the mend." He said that while he was "deeply disappointed to miss these shows," he looked forward to returning to playing live in the future. After touring with the Jeff Beck Group, Faces and as a solo artist for over 60 years. Stewart has most recently been on the road with his "One Last Time" trek since 2024. - Billboard, 8/12/26...... A lawsuit brought by four siblings who claimed they were abused by Michael Jackson has been tossed out of court, with the judge ruling that under the clear terms of a 2019 settlement between the family and the Jackson estate, all related disputes must be handled in confidential arbitration. "Although the allegations are horrific, the court is without discretion to do aught but enforce the language of the arbitration clause," wrote federal judge Herrn D. Vera on Aug. 12. Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo Cascio grew up with Jackson and once referred to themselves as his "second family." While previously staunch defenders of the King of Pop against pedophilia claims, the family members alleged in a February lawsuit that Jackson raped and molested them as children over the course of more than a decade. The Jackson estate strongly denies these claims, which the Cascios first raised in 2019 after the release of the explosive HBO documentary Leaving Neverland. The four siblings, along with their fifth brother Frank, claimed privately at the time that this documentary "deprogrammed" them. The estate paid them a $3.5 million settlement without admitting any wrongdoing. The Cascios now say that settlement is void and unenforceable because they were coerced into signing it. Judge Vera ruled that those arguments, "while serious," clearly do not belong in a public courtroom under the terms of the settlement. "While plaintiffs are fully within their rights to raise questions about unconscionability, those challenges must be presented later before an arbitrator," wrote the judge. Jackson, who died in 2009, was never convicted or held legally liable for any accusation of child sex abuse during his lifetime; he settled a civil claim in 1994 without admitting any wrongdoing, and he was acquitted at a criminal trial in 2005. Two other former young acquaintances of Jackson's, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, continue to litigate civil abuse claims against the estate. - Billboard, 8/12/26...... Rock's most famous combination lead guitarist and astrophysicist has shared his advice on how best to view the solar eclipse in northern Europe on Aug. 12. Brian May, who is qualified astrophysicist after achieving a PHD degree in 2007, gave regular updates about the celestial phenomenon on his Instagram page and shared advice on how best to view it. In one particular post, he showed a partial eclipse, and also warned against "looking straight at the Sun" and not going "anywhere near a telescope or binoculars pointed at the Sun." He also suggested "making a small pin hole in a sheet of cardboard," and "practice projecting an image of the Sun through this hole on to a piece of white card." In another post he shows himself in Spain preparing for the eclipse, saying he is hopeful of seeing a total eclipse but fears "there may be clouds in the way." Speaking to BBC Newsnight about the event May said: "It's kind of a life changing experience, to see at total eclipse of the Sun every time." "This is only 1 minute 40 seconds or so," he went on before adding: "I just wanna use my eyes and ears, every sense to absorb what I'm really taking part in. "It's a unique experience because you feel that you know where you are in space. It's the only time that happens, You're looking in towards the centre of our solar system, the Sun and you can never do this any other time, you can see the little family of planets around you and see the odd star around you... Suddenly you realise you're on this ball of rock and it kind of feels like you could fall off, it's an amazing feeling." Elsewhere, May has insisted "we actually don't need AI" after using the tech to recreate an iconic Queen album cover. May took to Instagram to share a version of the artwork for the classic 1980 Queen record 'The Game', which he used Meta AI to create. The original cover sees all four members of Queen standing side-by-side in matching leather jackets, and is rendered unrecognizable in the AI version May shared. May captioned the picture of the shoddy cover: "I just had to share this with you guys. I asked Meta AI to show me what the cover of THE GAME album looked like. This is what it gave me ! Good job, eh? So this is the kind of intelligence that will soon be ruling the world ??! Well, great. Maybe this is the time to realise WE ACTUALLY DON'T NEED AI !!" May then said that he was "now very serious," adding: "I believe the price we are about to pay for this 'inevitable' development is way too high. We must not allow these hideous Data Centres to be built in the UK. They will destroy our beautiful country, like they are already destroying beautiful America." Addressing UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, May signed off his post by writing: "Dear Andy -- you must stop it now. Before it's too late." - New Musical Express, 8/12/26...... After recently abruptly cancelling an Aug. 5 gig at the Hollywood Bowl due to "unforeseen personal matters," ZZ Top says it will continue with its "The Big One" summer U.S. tour with a replacement drummer after longtime drummer Frank Beard has temporarily left the road for undisclosed reasons. A spokesman for the band says that the outing will continue with founding vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons and late co-founder bassist Dusty Hill's longtime guitar tech, Elwood Francis, who was tapped to join the group following Hill's death at 72 in 2021. Beard, 77, has been behind the kit for the group for more than 55 years and experienced a series of health issues over the past few years. In Mar. 2025, the group announced that he had "temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus in the near term." At the time, longtime drum tech John Douglas stepped up, just as he had in Oct. 2022 when Beard was forced to miss a Paris show due to an emergency appendectomy. Beard has played on all of the group's records from 1971's First Album through their most recent LP, 2012's La Futura. "The Big One" tour is slated to continue to 13 states in the western US and New England, with the final U.S. date taking place in Port Wentworth, Ga. on Oct. 9 before the band moves on to gigs in Mexico and South America in November. - Billboard, 8/11/26...... Rush guitarist Geddy Lee has shared a surreal moment from the start of Rush's "Fifty Something" tour, describing an encounter that left him questioning whether the band's late drummer Neil Peart was somehow in the ether nearby. When asked whether he has felt Peart's presence during the run, Lee laughed at the "spooky question" before revealing a story from the tour's opening night in Los Angeles. He explained to Toronto's Q107 radio station that he was texting bandmate Alex Lifeson from his hotel room when he noticed something unusual on the floor outside his door. The tour's promotional poster features two birds on a wire, with one flying away -- and the creature in front of him looked uncannily similar. "My door to my room was open a crack, and I don't know if you've seen the posters [for Rush's Fifty Something tour] that have two birds on a wire and the one bird is flying away. I looked in front of me, on the floor, and there was a bird on the floor that looked just like that bird in the poster. I was kind of shocked. And, you know, I love birds, so I approached it, and it flew by me and flew into my bedroom and sat on the edge of my bed. And when I approached it, it was like it was looking at me, and then it flew out the door. So, I quickly ran to the computer and was texting Al this crazy story that had just happened." Lee stressed that he's not someone who believes in "mumbo jumbo," but admitted the timing and symbolism made the moment feel "remarkable." - Music-News.com, 8/11/26...... Iconic U.K. New Wave rocker Elvis Costello has announced he will play a solo acoustic show at Canada's Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Nov. 21 as a fundraiser for the Owen Hart Foundation. This will be the second time the foundation has hosted Costello, an iconic and influential performer who released his first album, My Aim is True, in 1977 and quickly emerged as one of the most literate and eclectic songwriters of the punk/New Wave movement. The concert will mark The Owen Hart Foundation's 27th anniversary and will also feature a celebrity online auction to raise additional funds. Named after late Calgary wrestler Owen Hart, who died at the age of 34 in 1999, the foundation was founded by his wife Martha Hart. Funds are raised for education, affordable housing and international aid for vulnerable people. Past concerts have featured Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Martin, Bob Newhart, Sarah McLachlan and Martin Short. In October, Costello will release an ironically named 49th anniversary My Aim Is True box set, featuring a remastered version of the album and 52 never-before-heard demos. - Canoe.com, 8/12/26...... After years of turning down interviews for other people's books, The Brady Bunch actress Eve Plumb is releasing her own memoir, Happiness Included: Jan Brady and Beyond, on Apr. 28. Plumb says the book's title started as a promise stamped on a product. Back when she and her husband were building their company, a branding conversation led her to a single line of copy. "Put a smile on your face," she recalled telling him, and that little tagline eventually grew into "happiness included." The phrase stuck. "I've just always loved that phrase," she shared, and "it just seemed very fitting for the book." It also happened to sum up her life so far. Plumb is passionate about her home goods line, PlumbGoods, and its companion coffee brand, aptly called Happiness Included Coffee. She co-owns both with her husband Ken Pace. "All the coffees are named after different types of terriers," she explained, with each blend built around a little mascot and a personality of its own. She was inspired by her fondness for Scottie and terrier imagery from the 1930's and 1940's when designing the terrier design for the logo and packaging. Another cool thing about their coffee brand is that they give a whopping 50 percent of all their net profits to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Eve and Ken also have a one-eyed terrier mix that they rescued from A New Leash on Life. People had been asking the actress for her Brady memories for years, hoping to include them in their books. But she says she realized that if she was going to share those stories, they belonged in a book of her own, and now turned out to be the perfect time for her to share them. "I think you know when things are right," she reflected, describing how a project can sit in the back of your mind for years before it finally feels ready. Plumb, a recovering breast cancer victim, says she only decided to include her experiences with breast cancer in the book after a dinner with friends that included Christopher Knight, her former co-star who played Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch. Sitting around a table at the Smoke House in the San Fernando Valley, Plumb floated the idea of leaviing the diagnosis out, and the people who love her wouldn't hear of it. "You have to," they told her. She's glad she listened. "It's been so long and I'm so removed from it that it's easier to talk about." "You don't push yourself forward. You don't brag about yourself," she said of the old-fashioned values she grew up with, which made writing a memoir a genuine step outside her comfort zone. - Y! Entertainment, 8/8/26...... Ben Jones, the actor-turned-politician best known for playing Cooter Davenport on the 1979-1985 CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard, died on Aug. 9 from a heart attack, according to his wife Alma Viator. He was 84. Viator announced her husband's death in a Facebook post that afternoon with a photo of Mr. Jones holding his dog. "I lost the love of my life today. Ben passed from a massive heart attack," she wrote. "He was home resting in his favorite chair waiting for the raves to come on and whoop the Yankees. Ben had the most amazing, rich, full life. He loved and was loved by so many. He will be missed. I loved him so much." In The Dukes of Hazzard, Mr. Jones played Cooter Davenport, the Hazzard County mechanic and an honorary member of the Duke clan. Appearing in 142 episodes, he starred alongside Tom Wopat, John Schneider, Catherine Bach, Denver Pyle, Sorrell Brooke and Waylon Jennings. Dukes star Wopat paid tribute to Mr. Jones on social media. He wrote in an Instagram post, "'The Dukes of Hazzard' lost another integral part of their cast today. Ben Jones was a fine friend and a fierce advocate of all the best things we can offer in the entertainment business. He will be sorely missed... Denver Pyle frequently said to Ben, 'I'm not your Uncle Jesse!' But I feel like we lost a Duke cousin today." In 1988, Mr. Jones ran for Congress in Georgia's Fourth Congressional District and won by 20 points. He was reelected in 1990. Four years later, redistricting took his seat, and he lost his next race against Newt Gingrich. - Variety, 8/10/26.