Posted by Administrator on April 26th, 2024
Def Leppard will release a 40th anniversary edition of their classic 1983 set Pyromania on Apr. 26. With ace producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange back in the studio after 1981's High 'n' Dry, the band crafted a technically sophisticated album of hard chugging yet melodic songs that catapulted them onto radio waves and stages usually reserved for pop stars. "The obvious observations for those two records is that High 'n' Dry sounds like a band playing live and Pyromania sounds like a band in the studio -- a la Pink Floyd, a la the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper -- that sat down to craft some songs," says Def Lep frontman Joe Elliott. Bassist Rick Savage adds: "What we really set out to do was create this a wall of sound. High 'n' Dry was very much in your face and very aggressive. It was our first album with Mutt and he got us ultra-focused in creating a rock song. With Pyromania, we wanted to take a lot of elements of that but develop the harmonies, banks of vocals, banks of guitars, just everything very multitracked and very orchestral." Pyromania's blockbuster success eventually included a diamond RIAA certification for over 10 million units shipped, and paved the way for the pop-metal crossover of bands like Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses and Poison. In 2022, the still-active band from working-class Sheffield, England, became only the third group to notch a top 10 album on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart in every decade since the '80s. - Billboard, 4/26/24...... 
During the Apr. 21 episode of the long-running talent competition series American Idol, host Ryan Seacrest and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Lionel Richie revealed which artists will constitute the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2024. Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne, Cher, Kool & the Gang, Dave Matthews Band, Mary J. Blige and A Tribe Called Quest are all entering the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year in the performers category. Three guitar-slinging blues trailblazers will be inducted in the musical influence category: the late Alexis Korner, one of the founding fathers of British blues; John Mayall, the 90-year-old blues-rock legend whose outfit John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers fostered some of the biggest names in rock history; and "Big Mama" Thornton, an R&B pioneer whose big personality, guitar tone and brash vocals helped shape early rock n' roll. Four more artists make it into the Rock Hall in the musical excellence category: Jimmy Buffett, the standard bearer of laid-back, good-time rock until his death in Sept. 2023; MC5, the political firebrand proto-punk outfit; elegant, sophisticated pop hitmaker Dionne Warwick; and Motown Sound songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield. Suzanne de Passe, a former Motown exec who brought the Jackson 5 to Berry Gordy and oversaw numerous music-related TV specials, will be given the Ahmet Ertegun Award. Those nominated but passed over this year include Mariah Carey, Eric B. & Rakim, Jane's Addiction, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Sinead O'Connor and Sade. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's 2024 ceremony will stream live on Disney+ on Oct. 19 from Cleveland, be available on Hulu the following day, and air in edited form on ABC at a later date. - Billboard, 4/21/24...... Reacting to his RRHOF induction, Peter Frampton said, "I think I'm a little bit in shock, and speechless. I never expected this. People always said, 'You should be in.' I said, 'Eh, what is to be,' y'know? So mixed emotions, because it's something that I just never expected, whereas other people did for me. (laughs) It's wonderful." Frampton, who's been battling a degenerative inclusion body myositis (IBM) disorder during the past six or so years, is particularly stoked that he also finished second in the fan vote with 528,000 -- second only to the Dave Matthews Band. "You never quite know how you are regarded," Frampton explained. "I don't think about that; I just do my thing. But ending up in the number two position blew me away, actually. It's an honor people regard me in this way. I'm just honored and blown way." "I think it means more to me now than perhaps 20 years ago," Foreigner principal Mick Jones said. "I've had a great career, and this is like the whipped cream and cherry on top. It's something I will savor over the years. It's a great honor to be included amongst all these great artists that have been inducted over the years," added the 79-year-old Jones, who revealed his battle with Parkinson's disease earlier this year. Ozzy Osbourne, who is preparing for his his second RRHOF induction -- this time as a solo artist -- says this induction to Sabbath's "feels different, because my solo career, it's been a much larger part of my overall music career as a whole." And after finishing fourth in the fan vote with more than 480,000 votes, he says it "feels more special, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels that way." - Billboard, 4/21/24...... 
The Eagles have flown back onto the charts with their new best-of collection, To the Limit: The Essential Collection. The thoughtfully curated 2-disc collection gathers 51 songs from the band's studio albums and live recordings released between 1972 and 2020, including such fan favorites as "Desperado," "Victim of Love" and "In the City." To the Limit sold 7,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Apr. 18, with physical sales comprising 6,500 of the album's first-week sales (5,000 on CD and 1,500 on vinyl) while digital download sales comprise 500. Elsewhere on the Billboard Hot 200 chart, former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler is back with One Deep River, his first new entry since 2018. Knopfler's latest studio effort bows at No. 7 with 8,000 copies sold, and is his first entry on the list since his last studio album Down the Road Wherever debuted and peaked at No. 6 on the Dec. 1, 2018-dated list. - Billboard, 4/25/24...... The Rolling Stones have announced the support acts for their 2024 "Hackney Diamonds"' US tour, which gets underway in Houston on Apr. 28. The tour will see Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood perform in 16 cities across North America and Canada. For the Houston show, Gary Clark Jr. will serve as the opening act, with Ghost Hounds opening for the Stones in Atlanta on June 7, Cleveland on June 15 and lastly Vancouver on July 5. KALEO will open the Philadelphia date on June 11. After Stones' Jazz Fest performance in New Orleans on May 2, they will be joined by both Electric Mud and Carin León in Glendale, Ariz., on May 7. The Pretty Reckless will join Jagger and co. in Las Vegas on May 11, while it will be Joe Bonamassa in Seattle on May 15. The band will close out the first month on road with Lawrence in East Rutherford, N.J., at MetLife Stadium for the second show date on May 26, as well as The Red Clay Strays in Foxboro, Mass., on May 30. Additionally, Tyler Childers will open in Orlando on June 3, Widespread Panic in Denver on June 20, Bettye LaVette in Chicago for night one at Soldier Field on June 27 and Lainey Wilson on night two on June 30. The Stones will close out the series of dates in California with The War and Treaty opening the first night in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium on July 10 and The Linda Lindas on the second on July 13, followed by The Beaches in Santa Clara for the final stop on July 17. To celebrate the tour, the Stones have dropped a merch collection on Amazon.com comprised of T-shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops and more.- New Musical Express, 4/25/24...... In other touring news, Aerosmith is ready to come together this fall and winter for what could be the last time for the rescheduled dates of their "Peace Out" farewell tour. The band originally had to cancel tour dates when frontman Steven Tyler announced a vocal chord injury, but starting Sept. 2024 until Feb. 2025, the Boston-based rockers will head back on the road and travel to cities across North America. Select dates will also include special guests like The Black Crowes and Teddy Swims. Originally, the tour was slated to begin Sept. 3, 2023, and go on for more than 40 concerts. The tour will kick off on Sept. 20 in Pittsburgh and play 40 concerts before wrapping in Buffalo, N.Y. on Feb. 26, 2025. - Billboard, 4/23/24...... Independent music publisher Primary Wave has acquired the music publishing catalog of Kiwi musician Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House fame. Songs included in the deal are the classics "Better Be Home Soon," "Weather With You" and "Don't Dream It's Over." Through the partnership, Primary Wave Music will also represent Finn's solo material. "I look forward to seeing Primary Wave's plan for the ongoing care of my songs. I am confident they see the body of my work as music that matters," says Finn in a statement. "This deal has been a good while in the making and feels right." The New Zealand-born and based Finn co-founded Split Enz, an alternative rock outfit that landed hit after hit in Australia and New Zealand, prior to their dissolution in 1984. From its embers, Finn formed Crowded House. A U.S. breakthrough happened in Apr. 1987 when "Don't Dream It's Over," recorded by the classic lineup of Finn (singer, songwriter, guitar), Nick Seymour (bass) and the late drummer Paul Hester, peaked at No. 2 in the U.S. The song made a mighty comeback in 2023, thanks to a sync to an episode of the rebooted detective classic Magnum P.I. "Don't Dream It's Over" powered to No. 1 on Billboard's Top TV Songs chart. - Billboard, 4/25/24...... 
Former Pink Floyd guitarist-vocalist David Gilmour has announced Luck and Strange, his first solo album in nine years. Gilmour released the LP's first single, "The Piper's Call," on Apr. 25 on BBC Radio 2's Breakfast Show, with the track's accompanying music video will be released the following day. Luck and Strange, recorded over five months in Brighton and London, is set for release on Sept. 6. Gilmour's wife, author-lyricist Polly Sampson, previously documented Gilmour's studio visits and shared the photos on her personal Instagram. The album's title track also features the late Pink Floyd keyboard player Richard Wright and was recorded in 2007 at a jam in a barn at Gilmour's house. Other contributions for the LP emerged from the live streams that Gilmour and family performed to a global audience during the global pandemic. His daughter Romany Gilmour sings, plays the harp and appears on lead vocals on "Between Two Points" and his son Gabriel Gilmour also provides backing vocals. - NME, 4/24/24...... In other Pink Floyd-related news, the band's Dark Side of the Moon track "The Great Gig in the Sky" will be at the heart of a new immersive exhibition. Brainstorms: A Great Gig in the Sky will take over Frameless in London on Friday and Saturday evenings in June, which brings to life the results of a research project from Brainstorms, a joint venture between San Francisco-based creative studio Pollen Music Group and Richard Wright Music Limited. It brings to life the results of the Brainstorms research project that took place last autumn. To create the visuals, 125 people had their brain activity recorded while listening to the Dark Side of the Moon track in immersive sound Dolby Atmos. The EEG readings of brain activity, which will be showcased within the experience, were captured at Dolby by the neuroscience experts within the Pollen Music Group team and reflect the participant's excitement, interest, relaxation and stress felt whilst listening to the track. Participants will then be able to see their brain activity visualised into stunning large-scale cloud formations, projected into Frameless' re-imagined "Cloud" Gallery. Each participant will also receive a personalised memento based on their individual brain's reaction to the piece. - Music-News.com, 4/26/24...... Paul McCartney & Wings have announced they'll release their 1974 live studio album One Hand Clapping for the first time this summer. The album was recorded back in Aug. 1974, while the band were enjoying their long run on the U.S. and U.K. charts with Band on the Run. One Hand Clapping was recorded when McCartney and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for the recording of a documentary and possible live studio album. Filmed across four days and directed by David Litchfield, the album was never officially released despite overwhelming demand, although various bootleg versions emerged over the years. Set to drop on June 14, the upcoming version of the LP marks the first time in 50 years that it has received an official release. "One Hand Clapping showcased Wings' new line-up, fresh off their return from Nashville where they recorded the classic single 'Junior's Farm'," reads a press release. "Following the sudden departure of Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough the previous year on the eve of recording the Wings masterpiece 'Band on the Run', Paul, Linda and Denny Laine were now joined by guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton." The band was joined in the studio by orchestral arranger Del Newman and saxophonist Howie Casey -- both of whom had previously played with McCartney, and would go on to join the Wings touring band. The album opens with an instrumental jam, which would soon become the One Hand Clapping theme song, and features live-in-studio renditions of hits "Live and Let Die," "Band on the Run," "Jet," "My Love," "Hi, Hi, Hi," "Junior's Farm," and Macca's much loved solo song "Maybe I'm Amazed." One Hand Clapping will be released in multiple formats including an online exclusive 2LP + 7" package. This features an exclusive vinyl single of previously unreleased solo performances recorded on the final day of the sessions in the backyard of Abbey Road Studios. - NME, 4/23/24...... 
Deep Purple have shared details of a new studio album titled =1, set for release later in 2024. =1 marks the classic rockers' first full-length release since 2021, when they dropped the covers album Turning To Crime, and first LP of original material since 2020 with Whoosh! It also comes after Deep Purple members shared hints at a new announcement across cities in Europe over recent days. Fans first began to speculate that new material was on the way after mysterious equations and depictions of multiverses appeared in London, Paris and Berlin, making nods to the album's title. According to a press release, the title of the upcoming 23rd studio album "symbolises the idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one." The first single of the album will arrive on Apr. 30, and the full album will drop on July 19 via earMUSIC. The band are currently fronted by the legendary Ian Gillan, alongside bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice and keyboardist Don Airey. =1 will also mark Deep Purple's first album with guitarist Simon McBride, who joined the line-up after longtime member Steve Morse left due to personal circumstances. The news of a new album arrives just weeks after Deep Purple announced details of a new arena tour, set to take place across the UK later this year. Called the "One More Time" tour, the dates comprise five shows across the country -- kicking off with an opening night in Birmingham on Nov. 4, before continuing two days later with a show at London's O2 arena on Nov. 6. A gig at the First Direct Arena in Leeds is scheduled for Nov. 7, and the tour wraps up with slots at Manchester's AO arena and Glasgow's OVO Hydro -- set for Nov. 9 and 10 respectively. - NME, 4/24/24...... Stevie Nicks has announced the first wave of special guests for her forthcoming show at London's BST Hyde Park. The Fleetwood Mac legend is due to play a solo headline set at the concert series on July 12. It comes as part of her 2024 UK and Ireland tour, which kicks off in Dublin on July 3 and also visits Glasgow on July 6 and Manchester on July 9. Brandi Carlile will be supporting Nicks at Hyde Park this summer, and also on the bill are Anna Calvi and Paris Paloma, with "many more" acts still to be announced. Nicks last performed at BST Hyde Park back in 2017 when she opened for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. This year's edition will also host headline performances from the likes of SZA, Kings Of Leon, Kylie Minogue, Shania Twain, Stray Kids and Robbie Williams. - NME, 4/23/24...... 
10cc's Graham Gouldman has announced a new solo album that includes collaborations with Sir Brian May, Sir Ringo Starr, Hank Marvin and Albert Lee. Gouldman will release his sixth solo LP, I Have Notes, via British independent record label Lojinx on July 5. As well as the four above named legends, Graham is also joined on the record by Nashville-based singer/songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman, who has previously worked with the likes of Bette Midler, Trisha Yearwood and Neil Diamond. The two artists co-wrote "We're Alive," the first single from the record, which also features guitarist Gordon Kennedy -- who has played with Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton and Garth Brooks. Queen guitarist May, 76, joins the 77-year-old Graham on literal space-ballad "Floating In Heaven," while Beatles legend Ringo, 83, adds his talent to "Couldn't Love You More" which is inspired by The Fab Four. I Have Notes will be released on vinyl LP, CD and digital on July 5. Gouldman's work with 10cc continues to endure in the build up to next year's 50th anniversary of the band's iconic album The Original Soundtrack. 10cc recently completed a UK wide tour, which included a sold out Royal Albert Hall show, and they've also announced a further Autumn UK tour; and announced their first major US tour in over three decades. - Music-News.com, 4/22/24...... Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. is caught up in an ugly legal battle pitting his son against a former business advisor and romantic partner -- a lawsuit he says is a "craven, desperate, and disgusting attempt" to "shake down" his family. In a filing on Apr. 22 in Los Angeles court, attorneys for Gordy demanded that he be dismissed from the case, arguing that the legendary record executive had been unfairly dragged into the litigation to distract from "wanton acts of embezzlement" committed by his son's accuser. "Extortion though illegal and highly unethical is a powerful weapon," wrote Gordy's lawyers Christopher Frost and John D. Maatta. "Nowhere is that more true than here." Gordy founded Motown in 1959, paving the way for the influential soul music sound that came to bear the same name. He eventually signed The Supremes, Marvin Gaye,The Temptations and Stevie Wonder and many others to the label, before selling it off to MCA in 1988. His strongly-worded response ame amid a back-and-forth legal dispute between his son, Kennedy Gordy (better known by his stage name Rockwell), and Anita Hawker Thompson, who previously served as the CEO of Kennedy's company, Rockwell Entertainment Enterprises. Kennedy's company sued Thompson in 2023, claiming that he suffers from "psychological impairments" and that Thompson had abused her power over him to steal $1.7 million in royalty payments that had been paid to the company. Thompson responded by filing her own scathing countersuit, accusing Kennedy of subjecting her to "physical, sexual, and psychological abuse" during a years-long romantic relationship. In it, she also named the elder Gordy as a defendant, claiming he knew about his son's abusive conduct and "tried to cover it up." - Billboard, 4/23/24...... Terry Carter, the actor best known for his roles in Battlestar Galactica and McCloud, died on Apr. 25 at the age of 95. Born John Everett DeCoste in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Dec. 16, 1928, the actor would proceed to have a prolific career. He became one of the first Black actors as a regular on a TV sitcom series, The Phil Silvers Show. He appeared in 92 episodes as Private Sugarman from 1955-1959. Two years later, he appeared in the film adaptation of the Mildred Savage novel Parrish. Then, in 1965, he portrayed the only Black G.I. in the World War II series Combat! The series ran from 1962 to 1967, with 152 episodes. Mr. Carter starred in several feature films, including the 1970 TV movie Company of Killers and the Blaxploitation classic Foxy Brown, alongside Pam Grier. Throughout the decade, he also starred as Sgt. Joe Broadhurst, the sidekick to Dennis Weaver's Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud on McCloud. The series ran from 1970 to 1977. The next two years, he starred as Colonel Tigh in 21 episodes of Battlestar Galactica. In addition to starring in both film and television roles, Mr. Carter also formed his own production company in 1975. He focused his attention on educational documentaries, and by the following decade, he began creating documentaries for the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts and PBS. - People, 4/23/24...... 
Mike Pinder, the last surviving original member of the veteran psychedelic prog rock band The Moody Blues, died on Apr. 24 at his home in Northern California of undisclosed causes. He was 82. Moody Blues bassist John Lodge shared a statement from Pinder's family on Facebook, in which they wrote, "Michael Thomas Pinder died on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024 at his home in Northern California, surrounded by his devoted family. Michael's family would like to share with his trusted friends and caring fans that he passed peacefully. His final days were filled with music, encircled by the love of his family. Michael lived his life with a childlike wonder, walking a deeply introspective path which fused the mind and the heart." It continued, "He created his music and the message he shared with the world from this spiritually grounded place; as he always said, 'Keep your head above the clouds, but keep your feet on the ground.' His authentic essence lifted up everyone who came into contact with him. His lyrics, philosophy, and vision of humanity and our place in the cosmos will touch generations to come." Born in Erdington, Birmingham England on Dec. 27, 1941, Pinder co-founded the group in May 1964 with multi-instrumentalist/singer Ray Thomas, singer/guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist/singer Clint Warwick. Laine and Warwick left the band in 1966 after the release of 1965's debut album, The Magnificent Moodies, and were replaced by guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist Lodge. Pinder and Laine co-wrote all the original songs on Moodies, which included the band's wistful, R&B influenced breakthrough single, "Go Now." The new lineup released one of the landmark early prog rock albums, Days of Future Passed, in 1967, on which Pinder made his recorded debut playing the mellotron, a keyboard that used prerecorded three-track tapes to reproduced a variety of orchestral instrumental sounds and special effects. "The Mellotron enabled me to create my own variations of string movements. I could play any instrument that I wanted to hear in the music. If I heard strings, I could play them with the Mellotron. If I heard cello, brass, trumpets or piano, I could play them," Pinder told Rolling Stone in an oral history of the album's enduring hit single, "Nights in White Satin." Pinder took lead vocals on the majestic, symphonic opening instrumental, "The Day Begins," and is credited with writing "Dawn: Dawn Is a Feeling" and the "Sunset" portion of the trippy "Evening" suite. 
The album also featured what would become the group's signature mind-trip single, "Nights in White Satin," which rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart when it was re-released in 1972. Pinder's experimentation with the then-new mellotron helped it become a staple of prog and psychedelic recordings by groups including Yes, Genesis and King Crimson. His explorations continued on the Moody's 1968 album In Search of the Lost Chord, another concept LP which explored the concepts of inner exploration and discovery. He contributed vocals to the propulsive single "Ride My See-Saw" and is the credited songwriter on the mind-tripping psychedelic journey through the universe "The Best Way to Travel." The group's 1972 LP, Seventh Sojourn, found Pinder blazing a trail with another new instrument, the Chamberlin, another electro-mechanical keyboard that also used a tape-like device that would later be featured on recordings by Stevie Wonder, James Taylor and Edgar Winter. Pinder released his debut solo album, The Promise, on the band's label, Threshold, in 1976, followed by a second one, Among the Stars, in 1994 and 1995's A Planet With One Mind. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Moody Blues, although was the only member of the band who did not give a speech while on stage. Before his passing, Pinder the was the last living member of the original lineup following the death of bassist Warwick in 2004, singer/flautist Thomas in 2018, drummer Edge in 2021 and guitarist Laine in 2023. "Mike your music will last forever. Rest in peace on your travels to heaven," Lodge wrote on X. - Billboard, 4/25/24.
Heart has announced they'll reunite this spring and fall for a world tour and a new song. Heart guitarist/singer Nancy Wilson describes the tour as "the full-on rocker size" and she's been getting in shape for the tour. "I've been strengthening. I've got my trainer," she says. "You go one day at a time and you strengthen one workout session at a time. It's a lot of work, but it's the only job I know how to do." In addition to the band's classic hits like "Magic Man," "Crazy on You" and "Alone," Heart will be featuring some tracks from of their solo albums -- like Nancy's "Love Mistake" and sister Ann Wilson's "Miss One and Only" -- along with a new song called "Roll the Dice." "I like to say we have really good problems because the problem we have is to choose between a bunch of different, really cool songs that people love already," says Nancy. The tour, Heart's first in five years, kicked off on Apr. 20 in Greenville, S.C., then will visit cities including Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Detroit, as well as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Col. International dates include stops in London, Oslo, Berlin, Stockholm, Montreal and Glasgow. Their "Royal Flush Tour" will have Cheap Trick as the opening act for many stops, but Def Leppard and Journey will headline for three stadium dates in Cleveland, Toronto and Boston this summer. "The shows can be so elating and so transcendent, and the electric energy is unbelievable. So that's what we're here for," says Nancy. "We've built this train. We've got the wheels on and we're putting it on the track, and we'll see how fast things thing can go -- and how far it can go." - AP, 4/19/24...... 
Taylor Swift's new album The Tortured Poets Department has become the toast of the current pop scene since its release early on Apr. 19, and the album contains shoutouts to two important '70s female "tortured poets" -- Stevie Nicks and Patti Smith. Nicks penned a poem dedicated to Swift, as printed inside the CD casings of the 16-track record. "He was in love with her/ Or at least she thought so," it reads. "She was broken hearted/ Maybe he was too/ Neither of them knew." "He really can't answer her," the text, dated Sept. 13, continues. "He's afraid of her/ He's hiding from her/ And he knows -- that he's hurting her/ She tells the truth/ She writes about it/ She's an informer/ He's an x-lover/ There's nothing there for her/ She's already gone." Nicks dedicated the poem, "For T -- and me." Her contribution, which can be read in full on X, comes after Swift gave Nicks a shoutout on the closing track of Tortured Poets -- "Clara Bow." "You look like Stevie Nicks in '75, the hair and lips," the pop superstar sings on the finale. "The crowd goes wild at her fingertips/ Half moonshin5, a full eclipse." Meanwhile, Patti Smith has responded to Swift's insertion of her name into the title track of Tortured Poets. In the song, Swift makes reference to Smith and the poet Dylan Thomas in the lyric: "I laughed in your face and said, 'You're not Dylan Thomas, I'm not Patti Smith / This ain't the Chelsea Hotel / We're modern idiots.'" It is thought that the title track refers to Taylor's short-lived relationship with The 1975's Matty Healy and her comment about Smith and Dylan refers to the 1975 frontman and herself in the sense that the pair should not take themselves so seriously and they are just "modern idiots." Now, Smith has had her say on her name being dropped in the song in an Instagram post featuring a photo of her reading Thomas. "This is saying I was moved to be mentioned in the company of the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Thank you Taylor." Nicks and Smith are two of several celebrities namechecked on the new album, including Kim Kardashian, Charlie Puth and Lucy Dacus. Swift will resume her career-spanning "Eras Tour" in Europe in May before heading to the UK and Ireland in June. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 4/19/24...... German electro-pop pioneers Kraftwerk will be among the headliners at the 2024 installment of the Montreux Jazz Festival, set for Switzerland's Lake Geneva shoreline between July 5-20. The 58th edition of the prestigious Swiss event will also feature the likes of Sting, Alice Cooper, Duran Duran, Lenny Kravitz, Smashing Pumpkins, Soft Cell, PJ Harvey and more on its Lake Stage. The Casino Stage program, meanwhile, "blurs the lines between jazz, afrobeats, pop and rap," with such artists as Dionne Warwick, Andre 3000, Paloma Faith, Brittany Howard and Loreen. Additionally, former Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason will bring his "Saucerful Of Secrets" project which focuses on the band's founding years -- from 1967 to 1972 -- to the Casino Stage on July 13. The full lineup can be viewed on the festival's X page, and more info can be found at www.montreuxjazzfestival.com/en/. - NME, 4/18/24...... New tracks from David Bowie, Brian Eno, Aurora and London Grammar have been shared to promote Earth Day on Apr. 22. Launched by The Museum for the United Nations, the project is called Sounds Right, and is developed to both spark a global conversation about the value of nature and galvanise people to take meaningful action to protect our planet. It sees "Mother Nature" recognized as an official artist with her own profile on major streaming platforms -- where music lovers can listen to the eclectic mix of sounds from the natural world, including ocean waves, wind, rainstorms and birdsong. Bowie and Eno's track "Get Real" is one of the songs featured -- now remixed by the latter to incorporate the harsh cries of hyenas, rooks and wild pigs. Eno explained the remix in a post on Instagram: "In the nature remix of 'Get Real', a track I co-wrote with David Bowie 30 years ago, the animals are invading the song -- it's like it has sprung leaks everywhere and these animals are coming in through every window and crack between the doors. They're sort of threatening -- suddenly Nature has crept into the art." The full playlist can be checked out on Spotify.com. - NME, 4/18/24...... 
Barbra Streisand has recorded a new song, "Love Will Survive," for the upcoming Sky/Peacock original series The Tattooist of Auschwitz. The track recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra was composed by two-time Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer in collaboration with Emmy-nominee Kara Talve and Grammy-winning producer/songwriter Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey); the song's lyrics were penned by Grammy and Golden Globe nominee Charlie Midnight; Afanasieff and Peter Asher produced the track. "Because of the rise in antisemitism around the world today, I wanted to sing 'Love Will Survive' in the context of this series, as a way of remembering the six-million souls who were lost less than 80 years ago," Streisand said in a statement. "And also to say that even in the darkest of times, the power of love can triumph and endure." The song, Streisand's first-ever recording for a TV series, will be released by Columbia Records on Apr.25, a week before the series launches globally on streaming on May 2. Zimmer also composed the original score for the six-part limited series starring Harvey Keitel, Melanie Lynskey, Jonah Hauer-King, Anna Prchniak and Jonas Nay. It tells the story of a Slovakian Jewish man, Lali (Hauer-King), who in 1942 was deported to the Nazi death camp where more than one million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. The series will be available beginning May 2 on Sky Atlantic and the NOW streaming service in the UK and Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as Peacock in the U.S. and Stan in Australia. - Billboard, 4/17/24...... The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla., has announced the recipients of its inaugural Bob Dylan Center songwriter fellowship. Tega Ethan, a 25-year-old singer-songwriter from Nigeria, and Taylor Zickfoose, a 28-year-old native of Washington state, were selected by global panel of leading artists and songwriters, including Juliette Armanet, Patty Griffin, John Mellencamp, Carla Morrison and Nas, and reviewed by executives at BDC in Tulsa, Okla. and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). Each fellowship includes a $40,000 project stipend, public engagement and presentation opportunities, dedicated time in the Bob Dylan Archive to study the legendary artist's creative process, roundtrip airfare to Tulsa and accommodations, mentorship from the music publishing giant's songwriters and executives, recording time, and more. Nearly 600 works were submitted from around the world, organizers say, based on the criteria that applicants were 18 years or older and unsigned to a publishing agreement of any kind at the time of the Fellowship start date, May, 1, 2024. Announced last August, the fellowship is to be awarded each year to two standout talents, through an initiative that identifies, mentors and develops rising talent, doing so with the resources of the BDC. - Billboard, 4/17/24...... In a new interview with Mark Goodman and Alan Light on the Sound Up! podcast, The Who's Pete Townshend appears to put a dampener on any hopes for a Who farewell tour, saying that he was being "sarcastic" when he hinted at the idea. Initially, it seemed that the band were planning a farewell tour to end their touring days with a bang, with Townshend stating in March that The Who have one "final" thing left to do before they call it quits. "It feels to me like there's a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die," he said. "I don't get much of a buzz from performing with The Who. If I'm really honest, I've been touring for the money. My idea of an ordinary lifestyle is pretty elevated." However, when asked about the prospect by hosts Goodman and Light, Townshend replied: "I'm not doing a farewell tour. I think I was being sarcastic about it." He also elaborated on how he has "felt old" for the majority of his time with the band, going on to give one song from his 1982 solo album All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes in particular as an example. "When I was 34, I wrote the song 'Slit Skirts,' and I think the line is 'I'm 34 years old and I'm still wandering in a haze. I felt old at 34." Townshend's comments about the band coming to an end also follow on from comments made by Who frontman Roger Daltrey in March, when he reflected on turning 80, saying that "he has to be realistic" and is "on the way out." Daltrey recently announced a new "semi-acoustic" solo tour of North America, which will take place across nine dates in June. - NME, 4/17/24...... 
Director Peter Jackson, who helmed the Beatles' The Beatles: Get Back documentary series in 2021, has announced that director Michael Lindsay-Hogg's legendary 1970 documentary Let It Be will be available for the first time in more than 50 years when it airs exclusively on the Disney+ streaming channel beginning May 8. According to a press release, the film -- recorded during the midst of the group's breakup -- "now takes its rightful place in the band's history... Once viewed through a darker lens, the film is now brought to light through its restoration and in the context of revelations brought forth" in Jackson's Emmy-winning 2021 docuseries. The restored Let It Be features footage that appeared Get Back, taking viewers into the studio and onto the Apple Corps London rooftop in Jan. 1969 for what would be the quartet's final live performance. It also features the band in the studio writing and recording their Let It Be album. In the wake of the rapturous appreciation for Jackson's series, and with Lindsay-Hogg's support, Apple Corps asked Jackson's Park Road Post Production team to restore Let It Be from the original 16mm negative, a process that also included the remastering of the film's sound using the same MAL de-mix technology that was employed on Get Back. Though Let It Be premiered in movie theaters in 1970 and was released on home video formats in the early 1980s, it has never been officially issued on DVD, blu-ray or streaming. The new Let It Be released was teased on Apr. 15 in a post on the Beatles' Instagram page with the cryptic message: "There will be an answer." - Billboard, 4/16/24...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr has announced an autumn 2024 tour of North America with his All-Starr Band that will kick off in Omaha, Neb. on Sept. 12 and wrap at New York City's Radio City Music Hall on Sept. 25. The autumn tour is in addition to the previously announced spring/summer tour which sees the All Starr Band on the road for 12 shows including Las Vegas and Mexico City. The current incarnation of the All-Starr Band, in addition to Sir Ringo, includes Steve Lukather, Edgar Winter, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart and Gregg Bissonette. Starr, 83, released a 4-song EP, Crooked Boy, on Apr. 12. - Music-News.com, 4/19/24...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Neil Young revealed that he has uncovered the "lost verses" from the 1975 song "Cortez The Killer," and that he's considering playing them during his upcoming tour with Crazy Horse. Young reportedly recently hosted a Zoom session with a handful of fans who are subscribed to his official website. During this call, the artist revealed that he had recently found "the other verses" from "Cortez The Killer" that were either cut from the song, or lost due to technical difficulties while recording the track. He also teased performing them, though nothing is set in stone just yet: "Just a couple of days ago, I found the other verses. Just the lyrics we may have those lost lyrics in the show, which will be fun for me." In February, Crazy Horse announced their upcoming album FU##IN' UP, which will contain songs from the band's 50 year career, freshly recorded for 2024. The album will have its initial release on Record Store Day (Apr. 20); it will arrive in all formats on Apr. 26. The pair, who last reunited for a Hyde Park BST festival date in London in 2014, will tour North America between Apr. 24 and May 23. Young and Crazy Horse released their last music collaboration in 2021, with Barn. - NME, 4/16/24...... Legendary comedienne Carol Burnett will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 49th Annual Gracie Awards Gala on May 21 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. The award recognizes a woman whose work in media honors the legacy of Gracie Allen, a pioneering force in the industry and the award's namesake. The awards are presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF). "Carol Burnett is a true icon of television and entertainment, whose impact spans decades and resonates with audiences of all ages," Becky Brooks, president of the AWMF, said in a statement. "Her groundbreaking work on The Carol Burnett Show set a standard for excellence in comedy and storytelling." Burnett won her seventh competitive Emmy Award in January for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love. The two-hour NBC special featured such pals as Julie Andrews and Cher and a performance by Katy Perry of "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together," the theme song to The Carol Burnett Show. In 1985, Burnett became just the second woman (after Lucille Ball) to be inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Her many other honorary awards include the Kennedy Center Honors (2003), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2005), the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (2013), and the life achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild (2015). In 2019, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association created The Carol Burnett Award which is an honorary Golden Globe to celebrate outstanding contributions to television. Burnett was the first recipient. Burnett co-stars in the new series Palm Royal for Apple TV, which premiered Mar.20. The cast includes Kristin Wiig, Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Ricky Martin and Josh Lucas. - Billboard, 4/16/24...... It was revealed on Apr. 15 that the Class of 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees will be announced live coast-to-coast during a Rock Hall-themed episode of American Idol on Apr. 21. The inductees will be announced by American Idol host Ryan Seacrest along with judge (and 2022 Rock Hall inductee) Lionel Richie. The episode will air 8-10:01 p.m. ET and 5-7:01 p.m. PT on ABC, with a repeat scheduled for 8-10:01 p.m. PT on the West Coast. In that same episode, Gene Simmons will serve as a guest mentor for the top 14 Idol contenders. Simmons was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2014 as a member of KISS. - Billboard, 4/15/24...... 
Co-founding The Allman Brothers Band singer-guitarist Dickey Betts passed away on the morning of Apr. 18 following a battle with cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 80. "It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that the Betts family announce the peaceful passing of Forrest Richard 'Dickey' Betts (December 12, 1943 -- April 18, 2024) at the age of 80 years old," his family announced on his Instagram account. "The legendary performer, songwriter, bandleader and family patriarch was at his home in Osprey, Florida, surrounded by his family. Dickey was larger than life, and his loss will be felt worldwide. At this difficult time, the family asks for prayers and respect for their privacy in the coming days. More information will be forthcoming at the appropriate time," they added. Born Forrest Richard Betts in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 12, 1943, Betts grew up listening to bluegrass and country music as a child and played in a number of rock band in his home state before being tapped to join the Allmans. An integral part of the Allman's swampy, rambling Southern rock sound, Betts joined brothers Gregg and Duane Allman in 1969 in the group the siblings formed after splitting up their earlier band, the Allman Joys. Taking his place alongside drummers Butch Trucks, and Jaimoe and bassist Berry Oakley -- Betts had played with Oakley in the band the Second Coming -- Betts provided lead guitar as well as initially sharing vocals with Duane and Oakley before Gregg Allman stepped up to be the lead singer and primary songwriter. Though he did not have a songwriting credit on the band's 1969 self-titled debut album -- which featured a mix of blues covers and Allman originals such as "Black Hearted Woman," "It's Not My Cross to Bear" and the furious blues guitar workout "Whipping Post" -- he did land a few songwriting nods on their 1970s follow-up, Idlewild South. Along with his buoyant, album-opening acoustic jam "Revival" Betts contributed a song that would become one of the band's signature extended jam showpieces, the explosive, jazz-influenced seven-minute workout "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed." On the band's next album, the iconic 1971 live album At Fillmore East, fans who had not yet caught the group's exploratory, expansive live show yet were treated to a nearly 13-minute version of "Reed" that showcased the jazz and Western swing influences Betts brought to the table. And, in keeping with their growing reputation as one of the most experimental, unpredictable American rock bands, that long walk was accompanied on side four by a furious, 22-minute "Whipping Post." On 1972's hybrid studio-live album Eat a Peach, Betts penned and sang what would be the Allman's only top 10 Billboard Hot 100 single, the AM radio staple "Ramblin' Man," which rose to No. 2 on the chart. Betts would also contribute lead and slide guitar as well as the a handful of lead vocals on the 1975 album Win, Lose or Draw. 
During his stint in the group the unpredictable, mustachioed Betts -- who famously inspired the wildman character Russell played by Billy Crudup in director Cameron Crowe's rock-themed film Almost Famous -- released a series of solo albums, beginning with 1974's jazz and country/bluegrass-influenced Highway Call, followed by 1977's Dickey Betts & Great Southern (featuring a songwriting collab on "Bougainvillea" with actor Don Johnson) and, in 1979, Atlanta's Burning Down, during the group's first hiatus. The Allmans came back in 1979 for the album Enlightened Rogues, but things went south again quickly and they called it quits once more in 1982. Betts continued to play shows and tour until 1989, when the group once again reformed with a new slide guitarist from Betts' band, Warren Haynes. Three more Allman albums were released in the early 1990s, though Betts was not always on stage with the group when they toured later in the decade and he played his final show with the band in May 2000 at the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta, after which he was fired for what the band dubbed "creative differences." Betts filed suit against his former bandmates over his sacking and never performed with them again, though he continued to tour with his own band for several years before retiring from music in 2017. Betts suffered a mild stroke in Aug. 2018 after a brief return to the road in 2018 with a band that included his son, Duane. In Dec. 2023, Betts attended an 80th birthday concert in his honor by the Allman Betts Family Revival Band. The Allman Brothers also posted a statement to their website mourning the death of their former bandmate, writing in part, "His extraordinary guitar playing alongside guitarist Duane Allman created a unique dual guitar signature sound that became the signature sound of the genre known as Southern Rock. He was passionate in life, be it music, songwriting, fishing, hunting, boating, golf, karate or boxing. Dickey was all in on and excelled at anything that caught his attention." - Billboard, 4/18/24.
In related news, '70s disco queen Gloria Gaynor has shared a clip on 
ABBA member Bjorn Ulvaeus has told the Financial Times newspaper that the quartet's forthcoming "comeback tracks" were actually recorded back in 2018. "We recorded them quite some time ago, actually one-and-a-half years ago," Ulvaeus says. Ulvaeus, 74, partnered with a new software program called "Session," which registers contributions to recordings in real time and as a result, it can be used to resolve issues relating to music rights. However, Ulvaeus says "Session" wasn't used for recording the upcoming ABBA songs "because it wasn't quite ready." In February, the group announced they were "aiming" for a September 2020 release for their first new tracks in 35 years. In a clip shared by fan site ABBA Talk, ABBA's Benny Andersson was asked what has happened to the songs that have been promised for such a long time. In his native Swedish, he replied: "They're coming. They're coming this year. I'm guessing after the summer. But I can only guess, because I'm not really sure. But I would think so." Asked if they will be out in 2020, he added: "One shouldn't promise anything but if I were to decide myself, it would be September... I can't make that decision alone. But that's what we're aiming for." - Music-News.com, 3/15/20...... Sales and streams of Talking Heads music have seen a bump after the band's former frontman David Byrne performed on the Feb. 29 episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live. In all, the band's songs drew 5.7 million U.S. on-demand streams in the tracking week ending Mar. 5, a boost of 36%, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Additionally, Talking Heads earned 6,000 equivalent album units, a boost of 50%, with 2,000 of those via album sales. And on the digital download side, it racked up 7,000 song downloads, up 245%. Leading the way on a song level with 2,000 downloads was "Once in a Lifetime," which Byrne performed on SNL while promoting his "American Utopia" show, which after a multi-city tour also enjoyed a Broadway run that will continue this fall. "Psycho Killer" also saw gains, though its rise also came concurrent with its appearance in a trailer for Amazon Video's new series Hunters. With 1,000 downloads, the song debuted at No. 21 on Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales. - Billboard, 3/13/20...... A builder in the U.K. could be about to secure a £2,000 payday after finding the sketches Paul McCartney commissioned for his "psychedelic" piano in a dumpster. Oldham resident Andy Clyne, 54, says he was leading a team at a mill near Manchester in 1999 when he noticed the papers had been thrown out with other waste. After taking them out of the skip, Andy stored the papers in his loft for 20 years before recently deciding to get them valued. The sketches of the Sir Paul's "psychedelic" piano, which was designed in 1967 and he still plays in concert to this day, will now go under the hammer at Omega Auctions on Mar. 24, where they are expected to reach £2,000. "I've had them for 20-odd years. You put things away and forget about them and then something triggers your mind," Clyne said. "I haven't planned what I'll do with the money yet but I was surprised about the value... I Googled 'Paul McCartney's piano' and when I looked at the drawing it was very similar." Meanwhile, a sidewalk performer in London says McCartney tipped her guitar case while she was performing in the city on Mar. 11. Charlotte Campbell says she was performing outside Charing Cross station in the center of the capital when the Beatles legend approached her and tossed some coins her way. "I was absolutely speechless," Campbell told the Evening Standard, when Sir Paul approached her, but she nevertheless managed to thank Macca as he walked away. "When he looked up it was Paul McCartney, like actually Paul McCartney and I was so shocked because I am such a huge fan of the Beatles," Campbell says. "They are such an inspiration I think to any musician ever -- the Beatles are the ultimate -- and to see Paul McCartney and for him to be putting money in my guitar case I was so speechless." - New Musical Express, 3/16/20...... 
Lyle Waggoner, best known as a member of Carol Burnett's comedic troupe in 
The Who's Roger Daltrey issued a statement on Mar. 12 announcing the band would be postponing their upcoming UK tour dates following the global outbreak of coronavirus. "After serious consideration, it is with much regret that The Who have postponed their U.K. tour, due to start next Monday March 16 in Manchester at the Manchester Arena and finishing at Wembley SSE Arena on April 8," Daltrey wrote. "The dates will be rescheduled for later in the year. All tickets will be honoured. The fans safety is paramount and given the developing coronavirus concerns, the band felt that they had no option but to postpone the shows as a precaution," he added. Daltrey's bandmate Pete Townshend added that the Who "haven't reached this decision easily, but given the concerns about public gatherings, we couldn't go ahead." The band also said it will be canceling its Mar. 28 charity gig and London's Royal Albert Hall which benefits the Teenage Cancer Trust, with plans to reschedule that show also. A total of 11 shows will be affected by the postponement of the tour, which had been slated to kick off on Mar. 16 at The Arena in Manchester and wrap on Apr. 8 at Wembley Stadium in London. Meanwhile, Queen + Adam Lambert announced on Mar. 7 that they've been forced to reschedule a May 20 concert at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, following a government decree to cancel all indoor events over 5,000 capacity until May 31 in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. Queen said they are "currently working with the promoter to try to reschedule the date" and urged fans to "please keep hold of your tickets, which would be valid for the new date." Although several major rock acts are postponing their concerts in the near future, organizers of the UK's Reading & Leeds Festival announced on Mar. 12 that their festival, set for Aug. 28-30, is still going ahead despite of the coronavirus outbreak. In a statement, they said that they're "closely monitoring official guidance from the World Health Organisation, Public Health England, UK Government, local public health authorities and are working with event promoters and organisers as information evolves." California's Coachella and Stagecoach festivals recently announced their festivals have officially been postponed as state officials take drastic measures to contain the coronavirus, delaying their festivals until mid and late October, respectively. The outbreak has also affected two of Hollywood's most beloved actors personally, as Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson posted on Instagram on Mar. 11 that they have been diagnosed with coronavirus. The couple apparently contracted the disease in Australia, where Hanks is currently filming director Baz Luhrmann's as yet titled Elvis Presley biopic. Hanks said he and Wilson "will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?" - New Musical Express/Music-News.com/The Hollywood Reporter, 3/12/20...... In related news, disco legend Gloria Gaynor is (literally) taking virus prevention measures into her own hands to inspire TikTok users to efficiently wash their hands (scrubbing with soap and water for 20 seconds). Fittingly, Gaynor is using her 1979 hit, 
The Allman Brothers Band staged a 50th anniversary reunion concert at Madison Square Garden on March 10. Billed as "The Brothers: Celebrating 50 Years of The Allman Brothers Band," the show featured the five surviving members of the ABB's last and longest lasting lineup, which played together from 2000 until their final show, at New York's Beacon Theater, on Oct. 28, 2014: guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, bassist Oteil Burbridge, percussionist Marc Quinones and drummer Jaimoe, the only founding member on stage. (Dickey Betts is the only other survivor; he has not played with the band since 2000 and was not in New York.) The 4+-hour, 2 set gig had the band playing with urgency, intensity and creativity, with the absence of late ABB members Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks filled by Duane Trucks, Butch's nephew and Derek's brother; organist Reese Wynans; and pianist Chuck Leavell. They started the night with the first two songs on the Allman Brothers' 1969 debut, "Don't Want You No More" and "It's Not My Cross to Bear." Coming back for the encores, Jaimoe took the microphone and said a few words of thanks, before they closed out with "Midnight Rider" and "Whipping Post." A packed arena enjoyed the show, despite many attendees questioning their choice to attend due to the specter of the caronavirus threat, and word of a flood of cheap tickets online. - Billboard, 3/11/20...... Disney executive chairman Bob Iger announced on Mar. 11 that Disney has acquired the worldwide rights to director Peter Jackson's upcoming Beatles documentary, The Beatles: Get Back. The film, which takes a look back at the recording of the band's penultimate album 
The Boomtown Rats of "I Don't Like Mondays" fame have announced they will release 
Founding The Guess Who members Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman have announced they're reuniting for a summer 2020 tour for 24 dates, beginning on June 13 in Huber Heights, Oh. The tour will then play six Midwest U.S. dates before heading north of the border on June 11 in Windsor, Ontario, for the rest of the tour, finishing Aug. 8 in Grand Forks, B.C. The June 27 show in the Guess Who's hometown of Winnipeg will be part of historical celebrations for both the city and the province of Manitoba. will also be releasing The Bachman-Cummings Collection in June via Sony Music Entertainment, a seven-disc box set that features the Guess Who albums Bachman played on as well as subsequent material by Bachman and Cummings. The tour comes alongside the 55th anniversary of the Guess Who's first hit single, a cover of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over," and the 50th anniversary of the iconic 
Veteran actor Max Von Sydow, the tall, tragic-faced Swedish actor whose name was virtually synonymous with the films of Ingmar Bergman, died on Mar. 8 at the age of 90. Mr. Von Sydow, who became Bergman's symbol for the modern man in such films as The Passion of Anna and Shame after making his Bergman debut as the errant knight in The Seventh Seal, also had an unusually prolific career in Hollywood and international films. He made his American debut in the role of Jesus Christ in George Stevens' turgid 1965 epic The Greatest Story Ever Told and went on to make strong impressions with audiences in such films as The Exorcist, Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters, David Lynch's Dune, Three Days of the Condor, Hawaii, Conan the Barbarian and Awakenings. Mr. Von Sydow worked for other Scandinavian directors as well, drawing an Oscar nomination for his role in Bille August's Pelle the Conqueror and starring in Jan Troell's acclaimed two-part epic The Emigrants and The New Land. Most recently, the actor starred in Game of Thrones as the Three-Eyed Raven. He also appeared in Kursk: The Last Mission (2018) and Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2017). In 2014 he was cast in J.J. Abrams' continuation of the Star Wars saga, Episode VII -- The Force Awakens as Lor San Tekka. In 1990, he was nominated for an Emmy in 1990 for his role in the HBO thriller Red King, White Knight. Mr. Von Sydow was married twice, to actress Kerstin Olin in 1951 and to French filmmaker Catherine Brelet in 1997. He is survived by Brelet; his two sons by Olin, Claes and Henrik (who appeared with the actor in the film Hawaii); and two sons, Cedric and Yvan, by Brelet. - Variety.com, 3/9/20.
Rod Stewart and his 39-year-old son Sean Stewart are due to appear in a Palm Beach court on Feb. 5 after the pair were involved in a New Year's Eve scuffle at the The Breakers hotel. According to court records, a security guard named Jessie Dixon told police officers that Stewart's group was at the check-in table for a private party that they weren't authorized to attend. When the group became unruly and began causing a scene, Dixon said he put his hand on the younger Stewart's chest and told him to back up and make space, which prompted Sean Stewart to shove him backwards and go "nose to nose" with him, the report said. Rod, 74, then allegedly punched Dixon in his "left rib cage area" with a closed fist. Sean told investigators he became agitated when they were not able to attend the event "due to Dixon's interaction with him and his family." After viewing security footage, police determined the Stewarts were the "primary aggressors," and Dixon signed an affidavit saying that he wanted to press charges against the pair, who were both charged with simple battery and issued notices to appear in court on Feb. 5. Meanwhile, Rod Stewart announced on Jan. 7 that he'll launch a North American summer tour with openers Cheap Trick on July 1 in Cuyahoga Falls, Oh. The 21-city tour will visit mostly mid-size markets including Clarkston, Mich. (7/25), Hershey, Pa. (8/1), Wantagh, N.Y. (8/14), Columbia, Md. (8/15), and Maryland Heights, Mo. (9/2) before wrapping Tinley Park, Il. on Sept. 5. Stewart became the oldest solo male artist to top the U.K. pop charts in December with his latest album, 
In an interview with the U.K.'s Daily Mail on Jan. 3, Meat Loaf claimed that 17-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg has been "brainwashed" into believing in climate change. Meat Loaf said "I feel for Greta" and that she's been "brainwashed into thinking that there is climate change and there isn't... She hasn't done anything wrong but she's been forced into thinking that what she is saying is true." Thunberg, who has become an icon in the global environmental movement and inspired a number of protests and strikes, responded to the musician's words on Twitter on Jan. 7: "It's not about Meatloaf. It's not about me. It's not about what some people call me. It's not about left or right," she tweeted. "It's all about scientific facts. And that we're not aware of the situation. Unless we start to focus everything on this, our targets will soon be out of reach." Meat Loaf's interview also included his thoughts on his self-proclaimed "sex god" status, back surgeries, and his favorite TV shows. In 2019, he made headlines when he fell offstage during a speaking event and broke his collarbone. He has previously claimed that his health issues that resulted in him collapsing on stage at another event mean that he may never sing again. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 1/7/20...... Speaking of Greta Thunberg, Patti Smith penned an environmentally conscious poem for the young activist's 17th birthday on Jan. 3. Smith posted Thunberg's photo on her Instagram page and broke up the poem's stanzas within the caption: "This is/ Greta Thunberg, turning/ seventeen today, asking/ for no accolade, no gifts,/ save we not be neutral./ The Earth knows its kind,/ just as all deities, just as/ animals and the healing/ spring. Happy birthday/ to Greta, who stood today,/ as every Friday, refusing/ to be neutral," the punk poetess posted. The last three lines refer to Thunberg's weekly routine of heading to the front of the Swedish parliament building on Fridays with her "Skolstrejk fr klimatet" sign (which translates to "School strike for the climate") to demand action toward the global climate change crisis. - Billboard, 1/3/20...... The surviving members of the Allman Brothers Band announced on Jan. 3 that they'll be celebrating the ABB 50th anniversary with a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 10. The concert will reunite drummer Jaimoe Johanson, guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, bassist Oteil Burbridge and percussionist Marc Quinones under the name The Brothers. Also appearing will be "special guest" Chuck Leavell on keyboards. It will be the first performance of the ABB since Gregg Allman died following a battle with liver cancer in 2017 and the suicide of ABB drummer Butch Trucks. Founding guitarist Dickey Betts will not be at the show, having had a falling out with the band years ago. - Billboard, 1/3/20...... R&B/Funk legends The Isley Brothers have been confirmed as headliners for the 2020 Playboy Jazz Festival, set for L.A.'s Holywood Bowl on June 6 and 7. In addition to brothers Ronald and Ernie Isley, the lineup will include St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science and Musiq Soulchild among several other artists, according to organizers the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. The full talent lineup for the 42nd annual PJF will be announced on Feb. 18, along with the complete schedule for the Hollywood Bowl's summer 2020 season. Actor/comedian George Lopez will mark his eighth anniversary as festival host. - Billboard, 1/7/20...... 
Elton John and his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin were honored with a best original song Golden Globe award during the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 5, 2020 in Beverly Hills, Calif. The duo took BOS trophies home for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again," the new song they contributed to Rocketman, the kaleidoscopic musical biopic about Sir Elton's life. Incredibly, John noted it was the first award he and Taupin have won as a duo. "It's the first time I won an award with him. Ever," John said while accepting the award. "We never won a Grammy, we never did anything together except for this and I'm so happy, thank you very much." Taupin then added: "[The song] deals with our relationship... and a 52-year-old marriage... which doesn't happen very much in this town," he said, visibly moved. Elton, a five-time Grammy winner, did not win any of them with Taupin, who has been nominated twice, but has no wins. Since 6 of the last 10 Globe winners for best original song went on to win the Oscar, as did 7 of the last 10 Globe winners for best original score, John and Taupin could be considered as front-runners for the coveted Oscar. If John and Taupin's win for BOS was a mild surprise (facing competition from Beyoncé and Taylor Swift), Taron Egerton's win as Best Actor for a Musical or Comedy for portraying John in Rocketman was a flat-out shock, beating out heavily favored comeback king Eddie Murphy in Dolemite Is My Name. His award was well-earned however, as Egerton supplied his own vocals in the biopic, while 2019 Golden Globe winner Rami Malek did a lip-synced performance of Freddie Mercury in 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody. Egerton thanked Elton for allowing him the honor of portraying him onscreen. "To Elton John -- thank you for the music, for living a life less ordinary and for being my friend," he said. - Billboard, 1/5/20...... In an apparent attempt to avoid new EU copyright laws which went into effect on Jan. 1, a collection of about 130 rare and unpublished Rolling Stones recordings were published to the YouTube account 69RSTRAX shortly before the new year, then mysteriously removed within hours. Offering no immediate clue as to the identity of the publisher, a YouTube-mandated email address for 69RSTRAX directs business enquiries to ABKCO, a music publishing company that owns the rights to a substantial number of early Rolling Stones recordings. According to Variety, the publishing of the tracks might have been an attempt to avoid EU copyright laws and keep them out of the public domain on the 50th anniversary of their creation. Sound recordings are protected for 50 years after they are published, and can be extended to 70 years as long as they are "lawfully communicated to the public" within the first 50 years. Previously, some publishers, faced with similar issues, have released collections of recordings, such as the Beatles' 2013 album Bootleg Recordings 1963, and a limited-run Bob Dylan compilation album literally published as The Copyright Extension Collection, Volume 1. The Stones tracks included several near-complete 1969 concerts and multiple alternate studio versions of songs from the albums Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers, many of which have been available for decades on bootlegs -- along with many that have not. Variety note that while the brief release of the Stones recordings could extend their copyright, they are not sure whether a post on YouTube constitutes a publication as defined by European Union law. The 20-year extension to the 50-year copyright period was passed in Sept. 2011 by the Council of the European Union, which at the time claimed that the change was designed to benefit artists and songwriters. However, a number of artists decried the council's decision, noting that the extension would instead benefit record companies -- who in most cases retained ownership of sound recordings in the original record contracts -- rather than the musicians who wrote and performed them. - New Musical Express/Billboard, 1/3/20...... 
As anticipated, a California appeals court on Jan. 3 restored two lawsuits accusing Michael Jackson of child sexual abuse, after the state's statute of limitations on the crime was extended. The lawsuits were filed by Wade Robson in 2013 and James Safechuck in 2014, but were dismissed on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired for both men. California law required such cases to be filed before the accuser's 26th birthday. However, in October 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new state law giving those who claim they were sexually abused as children until age 40 to file suit, effective Jan 1. In November, three judges from the 2nd District Court of Appeal said in a tentative ruling that in light of the new law, Safechuck and Robson's suits ought to be reconsidered. Now, the California judges have made that ruling official. While the new ruling does not address the truth of their allegations, it does give them the green light to proceed with their lawsuits against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, who they argue are liable for the alleged abuse. Howard Weitzman, attorney for the Estate of Michael Jackson, said that "The Court of Appeal specifically did not address the truth of these false allegations, and we are confident that both lawsuits will be dismissed and that Michael Jackson will be vindicated once again." - Billboard, 1/3/20...... The Grateful Dead spin-off band Dead & Company paid tribute to the band's legacy with a career-spanning New Year's Eve show at Chase Center in San Francisco on Dec. 31. Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton, the most iconic Deadhead, appeared as a seven-foot tall Father Time in a wizard-white beard, a resplendent crown of roses, to ring in the new year and decade. Dead & Co. band member John Mayer took photos as if he were a fan, and not the band's lead guitarist, tasked with the impossible role of reanimating the spirit of Jerry Garcia. Then a few thousand rainbow-colored balloons descended from the rafters to the floral strains of the GD classic "Sugar Magnolia." Three hours, three sets and 24 songs strong, it was encored with a rendition of the band's biggest pop hit, "Touch of Grey." It was the final show of a four-night "Fun Run" mini-tour by the band that included two stellar performances the previous week at The Forum in Los Angeles. In line with the band's storied tradition, the trip remained "long and strange." - Billboard, 1/2/2020.
The Washington Post has published an article by writer Nancy French who says she was given David Lee Roth's old phone number when she and her new husband moved from Tennessee to New York City in the 1980s, and began to receive sultry phone calls from several women asking to "speak to David." French said she would hand the phone to her husband who insisted it was a wrong number and hang up, but the calls caused her to question her marriage. "Maybe our relationship was all a ruse. I'd heard stories of people getting married only to realize their spouse had a double life," she wrote. Thankfully, Roth's agent finally called and cleared the confusion. "Apparently, [Roth] had changed his number right before we moved to Manhattan but still gave out his old number to women he met but wanted to let down easily," French wrote. "Later that year, he appeared on MTV with Van Halen. When rumors of them getting back together started flying, our phone rang with congratulations and invitations to exclusive parties." - Billboard, 12/30/19...... Vinyl album releases by Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, the Beatles, Queen and classic rock artists on a Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack have helped the vinyl LP format to top sales of 1 million in a single week for the first time in the Nielsen Music era. In the week ending Dec. 26, 2019, a whopping 1.243 million vinyl albums were sold. Vinyl albums were once the dominant format for album purchases in the U.S., up until the early 1980s. After that, cassettes took hold until the early 1990s, when the CD format flourished and become the leading format for album purchases. Of the top 10 single biggest weeks for the vinyl album format in the Nielsen Music era, five occurred in 2019, three in 2018, one in 2017 and one in 2015. It's expected that 2019 will mark yet another big year for vinyl, once the 2019 Nielsen Music tracking year closes on Jan. 2, 2020. - Billboard, 12/30/19...... In a new interview with the U.K. music mag Mojo, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood recalled how his fellow Stones guitarist Keith Richards branded him a "weakling" after he attempted to ditch alcohol and drugs for the first time. Wood, who has been sober for a decade, said RIchards was dismissive of his efforts when he first attempted to get clean in 2005. "I do remember going on stage clean for the first time, it was at this club in Canada for the start of a tour (in August 2005)," Wood noted. "I was like this, ([terrified], and Mick [Jagger] whispered, 'It's alright, you can do it, don't worry.' But Wood said Richards was "trying to make out I was the weakling" by going "rehab's for quitters!" "But it takes a lot of strength to do this if indeed I'm gonna be able to do it at all because there's no guarantees," Wood said. Wood added that during a 2009 intervention when he began to relapse, "they took my counsellor away and got me so annoyed... You sometimes wonder if they want you to go out and drink again... It's big money for them." "So I left rehab and did it for myself I felt I knew what to do... Fellowship. I did 90 meetings in 90 days and I did the same again. Didn't need the rehab place -- I did it through the meetings." - New Musical Express, 1/31/19...... Officials in the U.K. apologized on Dec. 28 for mistakenly publishing the home addresses of more than 1,000 people who received special honors including pop singers Elton John and Olivia Newton-John, along with several Oscar-winning film directors, senior politicians and diplomats, popular athletes and people in sensitive defense roles. The addresses were published online for about an hour on the evening of Dec. 27 when the Cabinet Office posted the recipients of New Year's Honors, including knighthoods. "The information was removed as soon as possible," the Cabinet Office said in a statement. "We apologize to all those affected and are looking into how this happened." Officials said the individuals will be contacted about the error. The Information Commissioner's Office said it was investigating "in response to reports of a data breach involving the Cabinet Office and the New Year's Honors list." It can impose fines for privacy violations. Britain's Cabinet Office publishes a list of the people receiving honors for merit, service or bravery twice a year: shortly before New Year's Eve and on the Saturday in June when Queen Elizabeth II's birthday is officially observed. - AP, 12/28/19...... Actress Teri Garr, star of such blockbuster films as Young Frankenstein and Tootsie, is reportedly "fine" after being hospitalized on Dec. 30 for a "medical emergency." Garr, 75, was taken to a local medical center by ambulance, but her rep says the situation was much more minor than first implied, and said Garr had actually been suffering from dehydration, which led to confusion. "Teri is fine. She had some confusion which it turns out was caused by dehydration. To be cautious they are keeping her overnight and she'll be home tomorrow," the rep said. Garr has suffered health issues for years and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999. She also suffered a brain aneurysm in late 2006, but recovered and returned to acting until she retired in 2011. - WENN/Canoe.com, 12/31/19...... 
British songwriter and comedian Neil Innes, who collaborated with the Monty Python comedy troupe and co-founded the Beatles parody band The Rutles, died unexpectedly of natural causes on Dec. 29. He was 75. Innes wrote several original songs for Monty Python's sketch-comedy TV show, Monty Python's Flying Circus, as well as 1975's classic movie, 
West Coast jazz trumpeter Jack Sheldon, best known for playing "The Shadow of Your Smile" in the 1965 Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton drama The Sandpiper, serving as Merv Griffin's TV talk show sidekick, and voicing characters on the children's series Schoolhouse Rock!, died on Dec. 27, according to this longtime manager, Dianne Jimenez. He was 88. Mr. Sheldon's haunting version of "The Shadow of Your Smile," written by Johnny Mandel and Paul Francis Webster, won the Grammy Award for song of the year and the Academy Award for best original song. Mr. Sheldon was also seen or heard in several other films including The Long Goodbye (1973), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Save the Tiger (1973), Mommie Dearest (1981), Mr. Saturday Night (1992), Arachnophobia (1990) and For the Boys (1991). On Merv Griffin's long-running TV talk show that began in 1962, the fun-loving Mr. Sheldon enjoyed rich comic banter with the host, a big band singer himself. Griffin's favorite song was "The Shadow of Your Smile," and Mr. Sheldon performed it at Griffin's funeral in 2007. The Jacksonville, Fla., native also provided the voice for the Conjunction Conductor and performed as proposed legislation in the memorable piece "I'm Just a Bill" on the Saturday morning kids educational series Schoolhouse Rock!, which premiered on ABC in 1973. He parodied "I'm Just a Bill" as an "Amendment to Be" on a 1996 episode of The Simpsons and reprised his roles as the bill and the conductor on episodes of Family Guy in 2000 and 2001. In the late 1950s, Mr. Sheldon toured with orchestras led by Stan Kenton and Benny Goodman and backed such famous singers as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. An inventive player, he also headed his own 17-piece orchestra. His TV credits include The Cara Williams Show, Run Buddy Run and The Girl With Something Extra. He was the subject of a 2008 documentary, Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon, in which he detailed his battle with alcohol and substance abuse. He then made a resounding recovery from a stroke suffered in 2011 that robbed him of the use of his right arm. "I like the music to swing," he told the Los Angeles Times in 1987, "and I like to make people feel it, feel happy and sad, everything. If the music makes me smile and happy, then maybe the people will feel it, too." - The Hollywood Reporter, 12/31/19.