The Hollywood community is in shock over the news of the untimely death of revered actor/director/activist Rob Reiner, who with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead on Nov. 14 at their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Authorities are investigating the deaths of Reiner, 78, and Michele, 70, as "apparent homicides" and have arrested one of the couple's three children, 32-year-old Nick Reiner, as a suspect and who is being held without bail. According to witnesses, Rob and Nick, who had a history of addiction problems and temporary homelessness, were arguing the previous evening at a Christmas party thrown by Conan O'Brien, causing the Reiners to leave the party early. Their fatally stabbed bodies were discovered at home the next day by their daughter, Romy Reiner. The son of late comedy giant Carl Reiner, Rob went on to become one, himself, as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation with movies such as The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally... and This Is Spinal Tap. Born in the Bronx on Mar. 6, 1947, Rob quickly set out to follow his father into entertainment. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles film school and, in the 1960s, began appearing in small parts in various television shows, including The Andy Griffith Show. After starting out as a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Reiner's breakthrough came when he was, at age 23, cast in producer Norman Lear's All in the Family as Archie Bunker's liberal son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic. On All in the Family, Reiner served as a pivotal foil to Carroll O'Connor's bigoted, conservative Archie Bunker. Reiner was five times nominated for an Emmy for his performance on the show, winning in 1974 and 1978. In Lear, Reiner also found a mentor. He called him "a second father." But by the 1980s, Reiner struck out on his own as a feature film director, churning out some of the most beloved films of that, or any, era. His first film, the largely improvised 1984 cult classic This Is Spinal Tap, remains the definitive "mockumentary." 
After the 1985 John Cusack-starred summer comedy, The Sure Thing, Reiner made Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987) and When Harry Met Sally... (1989), a four-year stretch that resulted in a trio of American classics, all of them among the most often quoted movies of the 20th century (it was Reiner's mother who delivered the immortal quip "I'll have what she's having" in When Harry Met Sally..., as Meg Ryan faked an orgasm during a date with Billy Crystal). For the next four decades, Reiner, a warm and gregarious presence on screen and an outspoken liberal advocate off it, remained a constant fixture in Hollywood. The production company he co-founded, Castle Rock Entertainment, launched an enviable string of hits, including TV's Seinfeld and the acclaimed prison drama The Shawshank Redemption. By the turn of the century, its success rate had fallen considerably, but Reiner revived it earlier this decade. This fall, Reiner and Castle Rock released the long-in-coming sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. All the while, Reiner was one of the film industry's most passionate Democratic activists, regularly hosting fundraisers and campaigning for liberal issues. He was co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which challenged in court California's ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8. He also chaired the campaign for Prop 10, a California initiative to fund early childhood development services with a tax on tobacco products. Reiner was also a critic of Pres. Donald Trump, who posted a typical hostile reaction to the iconic liberal's death which has drawn criticism from both sides of the political aisle. By the late '90s, Reiner's films (1996's Ghosts of Mississippi, 2007's The Bucket List) no longer had the same success rate. But he remained a frequent actor, often memorably enlivening films like Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). In 2023, he directed the documentary Albert Brooks: Defending My Life. In an interview earlier in 2025 with Seth Rogen, Reiner suggested everything in his career boiled down to one thing. "All I've ever done is say, 'Is this something that is an extension of me?' For 'Stand by Me,' I didn't know if it was going to be successful or not. 
All I thought was, 'I like this because I know what it feels like." The sudden deaths of Reiner and his wife are being moured by high-profile figures from the worlds of entertainment and politics, including Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Elijah Wood, James Woods, John Cusack, Kevin Nealon, Eric Idle, Kamala Harris and Paul McCartney, who made an appearance in Reiner's final film, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, which was released in September this year. Alongside a photo from the film's shoot, Sir Paul wrote on Instagram: "What a tragedy the death of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, is. It is so shocking in many ways but for me especially so, because over the last year I had been working with him. He directed me in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. He was such an upbeat, lovable man. Life can be so unfair and this tragedy proves it." He continued: "His father, Carl Reiner, was a great humourist before him and Rob followed in his dad's footsteps doing a terrific job making many great films. I will always have fond memories of Rob and the idea that he and his wife will no longer be in the world with us is heartbreaking. Thanks for all the humour, Rob. Rest in Peace. Love Paul." - AP/NME, 12/15/25.
After the release of a deluxe 50th anniversary edition of their chart-topping 1975 album Wish You Were Here on Dec. 12, Pink Floyd are on course to take the Christmas UK Number 1 album in 2025. Dropping on digital platforms and available on 3LP, 2CD, Blu-ray and box set formats, the release includes six previously unreleased alternate versions and demos, presenting Floyd's eighth studio album in a brand-new way. In 1979, Pink Floyd scored the UK Official Christmas Number 1 single with "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2." - New Musical Express, 12/15/25...... On Dec. 15 Cliff Richard revealed he is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, and has described the screening process is "absolutely ridiculous." Sir Cliff, 85, said the cancer was discovered when he had a check-up ahead of a recent tour, but that it had been caught early and had not spread. "I was going to Australia and to New Zealand, and the promoter said, 'Well, we need your insurance, so you need to be checked up for something'. They found that I had prostate cancer," the "Devil Woman" hitmaker said during an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain. "But the good fortune was that it was not very old, and the other thing is that it had not metastasised. It hadn't moved, nothing into bones or anything like that. And the cancer's gone at the moment," he added. Sir Cliff said he wants to work with King Charles to improve cancer screening for men across the country, after the King spoke recently about his own cancer treatment and stressed the importance of routine checks to catch cancer at an early stage. Richard went on to describe the current lack of a national screening programme in England was "absolutely ridiculous." "We all deserve to have the same ability to have a test and then start the treatments really early," he said. "It seems to me -- I've only been for one year now in touch with cancer, but every time I've talked with anybody, this has come up, and so I think our government must listen to us." - NME, 12/15/25...... 
Queen's Brian May has gifted Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi with a version of his homemade left-handed Red Special guitar. May's original Red Special was assembled from scratch in the early 1960s by May with his father Harold, as he was unable to afford a major brand. Built with mahogany from an old fireplace mantle and an oak fingerboard with mother-of-pearl buttons, it remained May's primary guitar on stage throughout Queen's success in the '70s and '80s and became synonymous with the band's sound. Now in an Instagram post on Dec. 9, Iommi revealed that May has presented him with a customized left-handed replica of the model. Alongside photos of himself playing the instrument, Iommi wrote: "Huge thanks to my best friend @brianmayforreal and master builder Andrew Guyton @guyton_guitars for this incredible left-handed Red Special replica. Andrew personally delivered it last week - a true gift from Brian, two years in the making. Christmas came early!" Guyton added: "It's built with the exact vintage construction of Brian May's original Red Special, but shaped to match Tony's iconic Jaydee Old Boy neck. Features a built-in treble booster and authentic vintage-style pots and pickups to replicate the classic tone." Earlier in 2025, May teamed up with Gibson to launch a new limited-edition 12-string acoustic guitar, the Brian May SJ-200. Only 100 were made available, with a design including AAA rosewood back and sides, a AAA Sitka spruce top and a two-piece AAA maple neck. Meanwhile, May's wife Anita Dobson has revealed the possible future of Queen after her 78-year-old husband suffered a "minor stroke" in September which initially left him without any control over one of his arms, and which he has since regained control of. "They will do little bits and bobs, but they won't do those big tours," Dobson told The Mirror paper. May recently told Rolling Stone, "I don't think we're done. And I don't think we're going to say a final farewell tour. Because it never is, is it?," and Queen drummer Roger Taylor has also suggested they weren't done touring yet. Queen has recently been in the studio with their current frontman, Adam Lambert. In other Queen news, Part 2 of the Freddie Mercury video mini series celebrating the 40th anniversary vinyl rerelease of his 1985 solo album Mr. Bad Guy has revealed how Freddie's emotions dictated his approach to songwriting and from where he drew his inspiration. Freddie reveals that "the actual structure of the melody comes easy to meet's the lyrical content I find hard." He continues: "I like to write a nice little tune, but the lyrical content is difficult, I have to work on that part of it," he furthers, before candidly admitting "I'm not a poet and I hate writing lyrics anyway. I wish somebody else could do it." Mischievously, he adds, "I wish I had a Bernie Taupin, but I'm not like that. I like to do it all myself, I'm a greedy bitch." - NME/Music-News.com, 12/14/25...... 
In an Instagram post on Dec. 12, Paul Simon announced details of an "A Quiet Celebration" UK and European tour, set to kick off in 2026. The new dates come as an extension to the tour that the iconic singer-songwriter aunched in the US earlier in summer 2025 -- his comeback after seven years of being retired. The tour kicks off with three nights at the Congress Centre in Prague on Apr. 9, 10 and 12, before continuing with two stops in Berlin on Apr. 15 and 16 and two stops in Copenhagen on Apr. 18 and 19. From there, Simon will play three nights in Amsterdam (Apr. 22, 24, 25) and three nights in Brussels (Apr. 27, 28, 30). In May, Simon will make two back-to-back appearances at the Grand Rex in Paris on May 3 and 4, before kicking off the UK and Ireland dates. These include a show at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena, followed by two gigs in Glasgow on May 9 and 10. Two nights are lined up for London's Royal Albert Hall on May 13 and 14, before the tour wraps up in Dublin shortly after on May 20. Each night will open with a full rendition of his 33-minute, Grammy-nominated composition, "Seven Psalms," which he released in 2023, and followed by an assortment of classics and rarities. - NME, 12/12/25...... During a recent appearance on the CNN program The Story Is With Elex Michaelson, Sammy Hagar said his Las Vegas residency is "a dream come true for an elderly rock star." Hagar, 78, debuted his "The Best Of All Worlds" show in the spring at the Park MGM resort and now he's bringing the production back to Sin City for two more runs in 2026 -- and he's confessed he loves playing in Vegas because he gets to enjoy the fun of touring without all the travel. "It's the packing up and moving into hotels, travel, travel, travel, running around. You get to the show late. Some days you don't even have time to have a good meal," he told host Elex Michaelson. "But with the residency, you get a good night's sleep. They give you the best rooms on the planet. Great food - Vegas has got the best restaurants in the world; they're all in Las Vegas now. And it's just so much easier..." He added: "To me, it's a dream come true. It's extending my touring life. Otherwise, I don't know if I'd go on tour again and do a major tour. I mean, I could go out and do a few shows here and there. But anyway, Vegas, yes. Residency. Thank you." "The Best Of All Worlds" returns to Dolby Live at the Park MGM for 11 performances between Mar. 11-21 before the show returns for another stint from Sept. 18-Sept. 26. Hagar's band features his former Van Halen bassist bandmate Michael Anthony as well as guitarist Joe Satriani, drummer Kenny Aronoff and Rai Thistlethwayte. - Music-News.com, 12/15/25...... Smokey Robinson has claimed that one of his rape accusers broke into his storage unit, video footage of which her lawyer has said could be an "AI fabrication." In March, four women claimed that the 85-year-old Motown icon committed sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence and created a hostile work environment during their time working as housekeepers between 2007 to April 2024. These original claims saw both Smokey and his wife Frances sued for a total of $50 million in damages, and through his lawyer, Christopher Frost, Robinson denied all claims as "vile," "false" and "an ugly method of trying to extract money." Now, one of the women who is suing the singer for sexual assault has denied she is the one allegedly caught on "blurry" footage video raiding Robinson's southern California storage unit. Robinson and Frances have accused the woman, identified in court filings as "Jane Doe 4," of accessing their unit without permission in November and stealing multiple boxes in a burglary supposedly caught on video. During a hearing on Dec. 11, the Robinsons' lawyer told a judge that Frances had looked over footage, identified the culprit as Jane Doe 4, filed a police report, and was now seeking an emergency restraining order. "It's blurry, like security tapes are, but it's clear to Mrs Robinson who it was," Frost said during a hearing. "You have to know the code, and you have to have a key to the lock. The only person who had that code and that key was Jane Doe 4." Her lawyer denied the claim, saying: "Our client has flatly denied any sort of involvement with this alleged burglary," and added that Frost was yet to produce the video. "It's completely and patently false." Los Angeles County Judge Kevin C. Brazile declined to issue a restraining order against the woman and the case continues. - NME, 12/12/25...... As the sole surviving The Monkees member Micky Dolenz prepares to hit the road in 2026 marking six decades of the iconic '60 pop group, he says he doesn't want to dwell on being the last surviving member following the death of Mike Nesmith aged 78 in 2021. "I feel it's time to take off the black armband and just celebrate the whole Monkees project," Dolenz told Billboard. "The show's not gonna be a memorial. It's not going to be heavily tributed. I'm just gonna sing the songs and tell the stories." Micky revealed the show -- currently set to run from February to November 2026 -- will include "videos from the original episodes" of The Monkees TV series, as some people still don't understand the band's formation and journey. He said: "I'll be focusing more on the chronology and on the TV show, using videos from the original episodes. I still have people ask, 'So what was it like when the group got the TV show?' I'm like, 'Omigod, have you ever heard of a thing called Wikipedia?' [laugh]. There's still a lot of people who are surprised when I explain how it came to be, that it was a musical comedy sitcom on NBC with us cast in it, not a band in the traditional sense." Dolenz added that "Even at the time, frankly, people didn't get it because it was the first time anything like that had happened. It's happened many times since -- Glee, for instance. They create the act and then have the acts go out. I want people to understand how the Monkees came about, so I'll be focusing on that, as well as the songs." - Billboard, 12/11/25...... 
Actor Anthony Geary, an eight-time Daytime Emmy winner who joined the cast of the long running soap opera General Hospital in 1978, died on Dec. 14 from complications following a scheduled operation. He was 78. Geary joined General Hospital for what was supposed to be a 13-week run, but audiences loved his pairing with Genie Francis' Laura so much that producers kept him on. The wedding episode between the two characters drew in 30 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode in soap opera history. "In the beginning Luke Spencer was a complete bastard," Geary told People in 1980 of his character's introduction which found Luke raping Laura. "He was a cheap little punk who managed a disco and was a doper runner for the Mafia. He was a real killer." But Luke changed as he and Laura fell in love. The fictional couple split in 2001, and moved on with other relationships. "If you look at the way it started, it was sort of fated to end badly," he told ABC News in 2015. Following his retirement from General Hospital in 2015, Geary's character was killed off in 2022 after 44 years, as Luke's widow Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliott), told his former flame Laura, that Spencer was killed in a cable car "accident" in Austria. The role earned Geary a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama. In a statement shared to Instagram, General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini said the "entire General Hospital family is heartbroken" over the news. "Tony was a brilliant actor and set the bar that we continue to strive for," Valentini wrote. "His legacy, and that of Luke Spencer's, will live on through the generations of GH cast members who have followed in his footsteps. We send our sincerest sympathies to his husband, Claudio, family, and friends. May he rest in peace." Rocker and former General Hospital cast member Rick Springfield also offered a fond tribute to his friend. "He was already a big star when I came on the show [and] when my star started to rise, Tony never gave me any trouble with it or anything. He was always just really a sweet guy... You think of soaps, you think of Tony as one of the first. He had a great life... But it's always sad when someone leaves before their time," he said. - Canoe.com, 12/15/25...... It has been revealed that Joseph Byrd, the composer and leader of the trailblazing '60s psychedelic rock band The United States Of America, passed away suddenly on Nov. 2 at his home in Medford, Ore. He was 87 and no cause of death has been provided. Mr. Byrd was the central architect of the highly influential group, who were formed in Los Angeles in 1967 and were credited with incorporating electronics, musique concrète and experimentation into psych rock. Their sole album, which was self-titled and released in 1968, made use of early synthesisers and tape manipulation and is representative of the West Coast anti-commercial counterculture movement. It has been referenced by the likes of Stereolab, Julian Cope and Broadcast as a key influence and is remembered for pushing the boundaries of rock music, predicting later developments in experimental composition. Born on Dec. 19, 1937 in Louisville, Ky., Mr. Byrd studied with the avant-garde composers John Cage and LaMonte Young. His first live performance was at Yoko Ono's New York loft and he was part of Cage's Fluxus movement of radical live performances. He founded The United States of America with his then-girlfriend Dorothy Moskowitz after relocating from New York to Los Angeles, but they broke up after one record. Mr. Byrd recorded another influential record The American Metaphysical Circus in 1969 under the name Joe Byrd And The Field Hippies, and later became a professor of American music at Cal-State Fullerton. Among his work in later life was the creation of the robot sounds in the 1972 sci-fi classic Silent Running, which were largely credited for inspiring the Star Wars character R2-D2, and he also scored feature films from arthouse directors including Agnes Varda and Robert Altman. He is survived by his daughter Clarissa, two grandsons and his brother. - NME, 12/13/25...... 
Carl Carlton, the Detroit-bred R&B/soul star best known for his 1981 funk hit "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)," died on Dec. 14 at age 72. Carlton, who reportedly suffered a stroke six years ago, was born in the Motor City on May 21, 1953 and began performing at a young age under the name "Little Carl" Carlton. By 1964 he'd released his first singles for Lando Records, "I Think of How I Love Her" and "I Love True Love," scoring local hits the next year with the songs "So What" and "Don't You Need a Boy Like Me." After gaining attention with the first few songs, in 1968, Carlton signed to Back Beat Records, relocating to Houston to be closer to label founder Don Robey to release "Competition Ain't Nothing," which topped out at No. 36 on the R&B chart and quickly became a beloved hit on the U.K.'s Northern Soul scene. Already a budding singing star, Carlton graduated from Detroit's Murray Wight High School in 1970 and scored his first national hit in 1971 with "I Can Feel It." After Robey sold his label to ABC Records, the latter released a compilation of Carlton's early singles, You Can't Stop a Man in Love. Carlton finally broke through in 1974 with his biggest hit, a cover of Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love," a dreamy, yearning disco-tinged soul burner that became his highest-charting, most enduring hit, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in Nov. 1974. The singer bounced around to a few labels in the late 1970s, landing at 20th Century Records in the early 1980s and releasing his most well-known hit, the lascivious, Leon Haywood-penned R&B jam "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)," which earned Carlton a 1982 Grammy nomination for best R&B vocal performance, male. The song peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in Oct. 1981 and No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. The singer's son, Carlton Hudgens II, reported the news on his Facebook page on Dec. 14, writing, "RIP Dad, Legend Carl Carlton singer of 'She's a Bad Mama Jama.' Long hard fight in life and you will be missed." - Billboard, 12/15/25.
It was June 7, 1975, when Elton John achieved a chart feat no one had ever done before: he entered the Billboard Hot 200 album chart at No. 1 with his ninth studio set, 
The earliest known live recordings of Sly & the Family Stone are set to be issued on a new album, almost 60 years after they were first committed to tape. Dubbed 
Barry Manilow became an honorary Ph.D. during his Detroit tour stop at Little Caesars Arena on June 3 when six cap-and-gowned faculty members from Chicago's VanderCook College of Music (the only U.S. school that specializes in teaching music educators) presented him with an honorary Doctor of Music Education. The honorary degree, according to VanderCook President Kimberly Farris, recognized "your enduring dedication to music education," which, she added, "resonates deeply with our mission." The degree specifically saluted the Manilow Music Project, which he says has spent $10 million during the past 15 years providing musical instruments to schools and honoring music educators. "My mother always wanted me to be a doctor," Manilow quipped on stage. "She would be so proud!" On June 3, Manilow presented a $10,000 grant to a teacher from Detroit's Cass Technical High School. Donning his own cap and gown and accepting the degree, Manilow explained that "the VanderCook College stands for everything I believe in. Their commitment to music teachers and my passion for getting playable instruments for young people go hand in hand. That's why it really speaks to me." He gave special thanks to his drummer, Yolandus "YL" Douglas, for spearheading the honor. The show was part of the 81-year-old Manilow's continuing The Last Concerts series he's playing in "these cities that have been so supportive" during his 52-year recording career. Prior to the Detroit stop Manilow siad that the endeavor has put him in a reflective space. "It's like, 'What? Am I the only one left?'" he says. "It's Billy Joel, and Elton (John) is not well and Rod (Stewart) and Neil (Diamond). Diana Ross is still in great shape I think. There must be only a handful of people in my world that are still there. I'm still healthy. I'm strong and I've still got my voice and my energy. The night I can't hit the F natural on 'Even Now,' that's the night I throw in the towel. But I can still do it." Manilow says he hopes to release a new album, his first since Night Songs II in 2020, sometime in 2025. "This'll probably be my last album," he notes, adding that, "I've been working on it for a long time -- for so long that the style of music has changed." [Laughs] "I had to go back and redo (the songs) so they sounded a little more contemporary. I had to take all the strings out, all the background vocals out 'cause they don't do that anymore. They don't use strings and background vocals and all that. Even I heard that it sounded dated, so we had to go back and redo it." He resumes his "lifetime" residency at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino on June 12. - Billboard, 6/4/25...... Authorities have made an arrest in the theft of two irreplaceable instruments owned by members of Heart that were stolen from a venue in New Jersey in the last weekend of May. Atlantic City, N.J. police say surveillance video initially led them to a 57-year-old Pleasantville man. He was later seen on video walking through various parts of the city, trying to sell the instruments, and he eventually sold one while the other remains unaccounted for, police said, declining further comment. The man has been charged with burglary and theft. Heart was set to kick off their "An Evening With Heart" tour at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City on May 31, and its gear had been set up there the day prior to the show. Among the items stolen were a custom-built, purple sparkle baritone Telecaster guitar with a hand-painted headstock made for band member Nancy Wilson, and a vintage 1966 Gibson EM-50 mandolin that band member Paul Moak has played for over 25 years. "These instruments are more than just tools of our trade... they're extensions of our musical souls," Nancy Wilson said in a statement issued by the group that also offered a reward for information leading to their return. "We're heartbroken, and we're asking for their safe return... no questions asked. Their value to us is immeasurable," she added. - AP, 6/5/25...... Jimmy Buffett's widow and former business manager are seeking to remove each other from administration of the late singer-songwriter's estate, launching dueling court actions that each accuse the other of hostility and mismanagement of a trust holding $275 million worth of assets. Jane Buffett, Jimmy's wife of 46 years, became the sole beneficiary of a marital trust holding the bulk of the "Margaritaville" hitmaker's assets upon his death in Sept. 2023 at the age of 76. Her June 2 Florida court filing says these assets, including real estate and a 20% stake in his successful island-themed hospitality company Margaritaville, are worth roughly $275 million. Jane was made a co-trustee of the marital trust alongside Rick Mozenter, an accountant at the business management firm Gelfand Rennert & Feldman. But that relationship has since soured, and both Jane and Mozenter are now pursuing court actions seeking to remove the other from their roles administering the estate. Jane and Mozenter are both seeking to ax each other from the marital trust's administration and appoint a new co-trustee. Mozenter has also asked the court to remove Jane as the personal representative of Jimmy's estate. - Billboard, 6/4/25...... During a talk at the SXSW London event on June 4, ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus revealed he's working on a new musical using artificial intelligence. "Right now I'm writing a musical, assisted by AI," Ulvaeus said, noting that he's about three-quarters of the way through the creative process on the unnamed project, the follow-up to the hugely successful pop quartet's avatar stage show, Voyage. "It's fantastic. It is such a great tool," Ulvaeus raved of AI, noting it helped him to navigate through some creative dead-ends, particularly with lyrics. "It is like having another songwriter in the room with a huge reference frame. It is really an extension of your mind. You have access to things that you didn't think of before," he said. The AI project, whose ultimate form has not yet been announced, is part of Ulvaeus' ongoing partnership with Pophouse Entertainment, the company behind the ABBA Voyage production. The Voyage virtual residency opened in London in May 2022 and is slated to run through Jan. 2026. Though Ulvaeus is happy to use AI in the creative process, he is also adamant about fighting for artists' rights in the rapidly evolving digital age. "These AI models wouldn't exist without the songs that we wrote," he said. - Billboard, 6/4/25...... 
In a new interview with People magazine, former The Monkees member Mickey Dolenz revealed he was almost cast in the 1970s/early '80s sitcom 
After the 1978 10cc hit "Dreadlock Holiday" was adapted by English cricket fans as their unofficial anthem at cricket matches, 10cc founding member Graham Gouldman has finally attended his first cricket match. The song, which famously included the linke "I don't like cricket - I love it," was also named as a personal favourite by ex-England cricketer Phil Tufnell, who previously told Gouldman that it was part of the "soundtrack to my cricket career." Now, 47 years since the song was first released, the 79-year-old Gouldman has gone to a cricket match for the first time, and shared his verdict on the event, which saw England beat the West Indies at The Oval, with the BBC. "After today's experience I can say 'I don't like cricket, I absolutely love it'," Gouldman said. "I've had a really lovely day really, enjoyed it great atmosphere, great people. I just had a wonderful time." When asked if he would consider writing another cricket-related song now he has seen his first game, Gouldman said: "When you have had a nice experience like this I'm sure somewhere, at some point, something will crop up in a song." Gouldman has previously said the song, which can be heard on 
Superstar pop queen Taylor Swift has often cited music legend Carole King as one of her major influences. Now, King has reacted to Swift's recent reclamation of her music empire by buying back the master recordings for her first six albums. King, 83, celebrated Swift's music rights victory by reposting the announcement via Instagram Stories, and added an encouraging note to Taylor: "You continue to inspire!" Introducing the Tapestry songstress at her 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Swift shared: "I was raised by two of her biggest fans, who taught me the basic truths of life as they saw it: That you should treat people the way you want to be treated; that you must believe you can achieve whatever you want to in life; and that Carole King is the greatest songwriter of all time." - Music-News.com, 6/2/25...... On June 1 Rod Stewart called off his planned residency show at the Colosseum in Las Vegas, just hours before he was set to take the stage. Citing an unspecified illness Stewart, 80, pulled out of the show around 6 p.m. local time, with less than four hours to go, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I am sorry to inform you that I'm not feeling well and my show tonight at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is being rescheduled to June 10," Stewart posted on Instagram. After taking home the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 American Music Awards in May, Stewart returned to the Colosseum for a trio of shows on May 29, 31 and June 1 before pulling out of the June 2 gig. He is next slated to take the stage in Las Vegas on June 5, followed by shows on the 7th and 8th. After that, Stewart is scheduled to hit the road for a summer tour that will include amphitheater shows in California and Nevada before jumping over to his native England for a Legends slot performance on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival on June 29. It was recently announced that his old Faces bandmate, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, and Faces drummer Kenney Jones, will reunite with him at the show. After returning to North America in July, Stewart will criss-cross the U.S. and Canada before resuming the residency on Sept. 24. - Billboard, 6/2/25...... Ozzy Osbourne has announced he'll be attending the Birmingham Comic Con in his UK hometown on July 12 and 13, just days after he performs his last ever concert with Black Sabbath in Birmingham. Ozzy will be joined by Osbourne clan members Sharon, Jack and Kelly Osbourne who starred alongside the metal legend in four seasons of the MTV hit The Osbournes. Ozzy's health issues have continued to make headlines in the lead-up to Black Sabbath's final gig at Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5. He has undergone multiple surgeries and battled Parkinson's disease in recent years, leading to fears about his fitness to perform. Meanwhile, Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has admitted that he is having "nightmares" and "palpitations" ahead of the band's historic last live performance, dubbed the "Back To The Beginning" concert. The other two members of Sabbath's most iconic line-up, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward, will also be participating, along with several other iconic hard rock acts including Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. - NME, 6/2/25...... 
A 2017 commercial featuring Cher and rapper Future singing together has become a viral sensation on TikTok. Available on 
Good news for ZZ Top fans: drummer Frank Beard has returned to the band following a health-inspired leave of absence. Two months ago, the band announced Beard would be temporarily sitting out the band's shows due to unspecified "health issues." Beard's return was announced via a statement from the group's management, noting that the drummer will return to his rightful place behind the kit this weekend, and will "see the tour through to its completion in October." "We're happy that Frank is back with [bassist] Elwood [Francis] and yours truly, BFG," vocalist/guitarist Billy Gibbons explained. "We missed him and are looking forward to turning it up and rocking out with him as has been the case for the last few hundred or so decades. His complete recovery is cause for celebration and that's just what we intend to do on an open-ended basis. Welcome back, pardner!" Beard himself was far more concise, simply telling fans, "It's good to be back. See you out there." The 75-year-old drummer's leave of absence was announced on March 15, with a social media post from the group explaining that Beard had "temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus in the near term." Though no specifics were revealed at the time, ZZ Top's recent statement has detailed that Beard was suffering from foot and ankle issues which have since been resolved. During Beard's time away from the band, "longtime tech member, percussionist and drummer" John Douglas stepped in. Douglas had previously served as Beard's replacement during a Paris performance in Oct. 2002 when he underwent an emergency appendectomy. ZZ Top returned to the stage on June 1 to resume the North American leg of their ongoing Elevation tour, which currently features 51 dates between June and October. - Billboard, 5/29/25...... Marcie Jones, lead singer of the '60s/'70s Australian pop band Marcie & The Cookies, passed away on May 31, just days after publicly revealing a leukemia diagnosis. She was 79. The beloved vocalist first rose to fame in the late 1960s as the powerhouse lead singer of Marcie & The Cookies, an all-female vocal group that helped break ground in Australia's male-dominated music scene. After her time with the Cookies, Jones launched a solo career that included a string of singles and her debut album, That Girl Jones, across the 1970s. "It's with great sadness to let you all know that my beautiful mother-in-law, Marcie Jones, passed away yesterday evening," her daughter-in-law Asta wrote in a Facebook tribute. "I feel numb inside. Marc, never again will there be our little outbursts of song and dance. You made me laugh so hard and always gave me great advice," she added. "You were a legend, an icon, and you will always be remembered. You always said that we were so alike in many ways, and that's why I know you will always be my guiding light. I will miss you so much. I love you. Until we meet again to sing another song." Throughout her decades-long career, Jones performed across Asia, Europe and the U.K., and shared the stage with legends including The Monkees, Cliff Richard, Tom Jones and The Seekers. Her 2008 memoir Runs In The Blood described her as "an unsung Australian music legend" who "may not have received the accolades of some of her more recognised peers, but has remained stoic in her determination to perform, write and be a mother to her two boys." The Herald Sun newspaper reported that just five days earlier, on May 27, Jones had revealed her leukemia diagnosis on social media. "Sorry to start the day with rotten news," she wrote. "I am in hospital with leukemia, starting treatment soon. We are all feeling very scared but I'll fight as hard as I can." - Billboard, 6/3/25...... Alf Clausen, the Emmy-winning composer whose music provided essential accompaniment for the animated antics of The Simpsons for 27 years and served as musical director on several TV variety shows including 
Loretta Swit, the actress and animal activist forever known for her pioneering distaff turn as the disciplined Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the acclaimed CBS sitcom 
It appears that France will have a street named after David Bowie before the late rock legend's own home country of the UK. On Jan. 8 -- what would have been Bowie's 77th birthday -- a new road near Austerlitz train station in Paris will be named after Bowie, rather than a pre-existing one that has been renamed. According to Paris Mayor Jorme Coumet, the idea for the "rue David Bowie" emerged as the "Space Oddity" singer had "a strong link with the city of lights." Bowie's ties to France not only include his countless shows across the country, but also his time recording music at the legendary Miraval studio -- which is now owned by actor Brad Pitt. An inauguration party is also set to be held at Salle des Fetes that same day to celebrate the launch, and a variety of photographs and paintings related to the singer will be showcased at the Galerie Athna until Jan. 14. While the UK does not yet have a street named after the late music legend, his birthplace of Brixton does have a famous mural of the singer, painted by Australian artist James Cochran. Bowie died in 2016, following a cancer diagnosis. - New Musical Express, 1/5/24...... On Jan. 4 Billy Joel announced several dates at stadiums across the U.S. in 2024, with Stevie Nicks and Sting opening for him on select different dates. The Piano Man will play Tampa, Fla. (2/24), Arlington, Tex. (3/9), San Diego (4/13), Seattle (5/24), Chicago (6/21), Denver (7/12), and St. Louis (9/27). On Aug. 9, he'll play a UK date in Cardiff, Wales. Sting will open for Joel on the Tampa, San Diego and St. Louis dates, while Nicks -- who toured with Billy in 2023 as part of their "Two Icons One Night" outing -- will be the opener for the Arlington and Chicago shows. The gigs will come amid Joel's historic sold-out run at NYC's Madison Square Garden, where he will fire up his keys on Jan. 11, Feb. 9, March 28, April 26, May 9, June 8 and July 25, marking the end of a decade-long, 150-show run. - Billboard, 1/5/24...... Dionne Warwick is denying involvement in a campaign fundraiser for 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. "This is absolutely ridiculous. If you are going to lie on my name, at least lie about something cool," Warwick posted on 
Michael Jackson's name has surfaced in recently unsealed court documents tied to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein -- though Jackson was not accused of any wrongdoing in the documents. On Jan. 3, the files were unsealed as part of the 2015 lawsuit victim Virginia Giuffre filed against Ghislaine Maxwell, the now deceased financier's girlfriend, who was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse underage victims. Maxwell is serving a 20 year prison sentence. According to the documents, Jackson's name comes up during the deposition of a witness, which took place May 18, 2016. Epstein accuser Giuffre, when questioned by her lawyer, says that she "met Michael Jackson" when asked if she ever met anybody famous when she was with Epstein. "At his house in Palm Beach. At Jeffrey's house in Palm Beach." McCawley also asked whether the witness had given Jackson a massage, which she denied doing, and for a second time later in the deposition. Epstein, 66, died by apparent suicide in Aug. 2019. He was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York while awaiting trial. He had been charged with sexually abusing multiple underage girls. - Billboard, 1/4/24...... During a recent stay at Scotland's famous Gleneagles Hotel, Rod Stewart gave its stave a tip of £10,000, as well as some advice on how he thinks they should spend it. Stewart was staying at Gleneagles to celebrate Hogmanay (the last day of the year) with his wife Penny Lancaster and their two sons, and caught staff working over the festive period off-guard by offering them the generous tip. Given to them in thanks for working over the holidays, he reportedly suggested they should use the amount to make a bet that Scotland will win the Euros this summer. "I've been lucky enough to stay in some of the top hotels in the world and the service at Gleneagles is second to none," he reportedly said. "The staff do a terrific job at a very hectic time of the year and deserve every penny. It's Scottish hospitality at its very best. I advised the boys and girls at Gleneagles to invest the money wisely," he added. "Stick the lot on Scotland to win the Euros." Stewart also posted a photo of his stay at Gleneages -- which became famous for hosting the first international match between American and British professional golfers -- on his 
Co-founding former KISS member Ace Frehley has told Guitar World magazine that his forthcoming album, 
David Leland, a writer, director and actor who worked with George Harrison, Paul McCartney and the Travelling Wilburys over his five-decade career, passed away on Christmas Eve surrounded by his family, according to a press release. He was 82. Initially trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama and later moving into stage management and direction at the Crucible Theatre, Mr. Leland collaborated with British actors including Michael Palin and Terry Jones early in their careers, as well as an as-yet-undiscovered Victoria Wood, who wrote her first play, "Talent," for him to direct. He also gave Pierce Brosnan his first opportunity to act on stage in the British premiere of Tennessee Williams' "The Red Devil Battery Sign," which Mr. Leland directed. Mr. Leland was a close friend of George Harrison's and worked with him on several occasions, directing several Traveling Wilburys videos including "Handle With Care" and the 1988 film Checking Out, on which Harrison served as a producer. His other music video work included Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" (which also featured Harrison and Ringo Starr), and McCartney's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man." He also directed the documentary 
Actor-singer David Soul, who rose to fame as Sergeant Kenneth Richard "Hutch" Hutchinson in the 1970s TV detective series 
Elton John has shared the favorite songs on his Christmas listening list for 2023 as part of a Christmas edition of his Rocket Hour show on Apple Music. The 17 songs on the list include his own 1973 festive hit "Step Into Christmas" along with seasonal songs and covers by Elvis Presley ("Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me"), Greg Lake ("I Believe in Father Christmas"), James Brown ("Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto"), The Ronettes ("I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus") and the Pretenders ("2000 Miles"). John took to his 
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Chaka Khan says she "will not do another tour" because "I got this rich-ass life." Khan, who charted 10 Top 40 Billboard hits from 1974 to 1983 as part of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan including the No. 3 "Tell Me Something Good," said that she wasn't planning on completely retiring from performing live, but intends on stopping touring because she now had more going on in her life than just music. "Some people, that's all they have, you know? I got this rich-ass life. I've got great-grandchildren I want to get to know better. So I will not do another tour. I'll do dates, but it won't look like a tour. They'll be far enough apart that I can have time to sleep in between." When asked if she'd ever retire entirely, the 70-year-old said: "Well, I might do that three or four times, like other bitches do." Khan added that as far as her legacy goes, she doesn't really care about that but would hope some of her material has some longevity. "I just hope that the art form doesn't get so screwed up with stupid shit -- kids today think that every instrument can be played on a keyboard," she said. "Instruments have to be introduced once again to these kids." Khan recently teamed up with Bombay Bicycle Club for the track "Tekken 2," which frontman Jack Steadman said he initially felt "embarrassed" about recording at an upmarket sound studio near Chaka's home but she was "really down to earth.... I immediately felt relaxed." She is next scheduled to perform in Los Angeles in January and she has several shows lined up in the U.K. in June and July. - NME, 12/28/23...... Micky Dolenz, the sole surviving member of The Monkees, has told Record Collector magazine that he doesn't remember having any control over The Monkees' musical output in the mid-1960s, nor does he remember wanting much. Dolenz, 78, admitted some of his bandmates -- which included Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Davy Jones -- were frustrated over the lack of input they were allowed into their careers, he was happy to just do what was asked of him. "They put everything together. I don't remember having any control, nor do I remember wanting much," Dolenz told the magazine. "I mean, that was the big bugbear especially for Nesmith. I can only speak for myself. I was cast into this as a singer, a guitar player -- they made me the drummer. We had no control over the song selection, the musicians, who was going to sing what. Who knows why they made the choices they did? We had very little, if any control over the first two albums." He continued: "Nez managed to write and play on a couple of things. Sometimes after 12 hours of filming, I would do a couple of lead vocals at night. I don't remember having any control over the artwork, the liner notes, the sequencing, the song selection, nothing. Having said that, I'm very, very proud of those first two albums. I put an enormous amount of that material in my shows because they were the big hits." Despite their frustrations, Micky said the group loved to play live. "Nez used to say, when we hit the stage live playing this music, that it was like Pinocchio becoming a real little boy and it was," Dolenz explained. "There's a wonderful CD out, 'Monkees Live in 67' that was not recorded to be an album. Somebody found the tape and it's really raw. We were a garage band. But funnily enough, that's what 'The Monkees' was about -- the TV show was about a garage band, before the term even existed." - Music-News.com, 12/27/23...... Jazz pianist/vocalist/composer Leslie "Les" McCann, the musician credited for discovering a young Roberta Flack and whose own works have been sampled by countless hip-hop artists, died on Dec. 29 at the age of 88. A self-taught pianist, Mr. McCann was an innovator in the soul jazz style, fusing jazz with funk, soul and world rhythms. He mastered all instruments before him, and enjoyed an unusual breakthrough, by winning a Navy talent contest, opening the door to an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. An early hit came with "The Shampoo," the 1963 instrumental cut with his trio for Pacific Jazz Records. Later he would enjoy a fruitful relationship with Atlantic Records, releasing a dozen albums on the label from the late-'60s through to the mid-'70s. Swiss Movement, his album featuring frequent collaborator, saxophonist and labelmate Eddie Harris, and trumpeter Benny Bailey, earned a Grammy nomination for best jazz performance -- small group or soloist with small group, and included the protest song, "Compared to What," which Mr. McCann and Co. performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1969. Another career highlight came 1971, when he appeared with a cast of famous artists, including Wilson Pickett, The Staple Singers, Santana and Ike & Tina Turner, for an historic 14-hour concert in Accra, Ghana. The event was captured for the concert film Soul To Soul. After a stroke in the 1990s slowed his musical output, the Lexington, Ky. native channeled his energies into painting and photography, and he recovered for a string of music releases, including Pump It Up from 2002. "Les McCann was one of jazz music's most gifted and influential artists," Warner Music Group exec Kevin Gore said in a statement. "While we deeply mourn his passing, his music will live on in the hearts of millions of music fans across the globe." - Billboard, 1/2/24...... 
Shecky Greene, the legendary Las Vegas comedian who became the consummate Vegas lounge headliner and who was revered by his peers and live audiences as one of the greatest standup acts of his generation, died on Dec. 31 of natural causes at his home in Las Vegas. He was 97 years old. Those who saw Mr. Greene in his decades of comedy dominance on the Vegas Strip in the 1950s, '60s and '70s said that with a mic in his hand he could roam a room and work a crowd like no other, abandoning written jokes for the shared thrill of improv. "I've never had an act," Mr. Greene told the Las Vegas Sun in 2009. "I make it up as I go along." With a body like a linebacker's, a wit as quick as lightning and a voice that suggested he could've been a lounge singer instead of a lounge comic, Mr. Greene in the course of a night would plow through dozens of impressions, do extended riffs at audience members' tables and turn musical standards into parody songs on the spot. He made appearances in films including 1967's Tony Rome with Frank Sinatra, 1981's History of the World Part I with Mel Brooks, and 1984's Splash with Tom Hanks, and showed-up on network sitcoms including Laverne & Shirley and Mad About You, and was a constant guest on talk and variety shows. He did his first show in Las Vegas in 1953, and places like the Riviera and the Tropicana became his regular haunts for the next 30 years. Mr. Greene could also fill Carnegie Hall, and guest-hosted both Johnny Carson's Tonight Show and The Merv Griffin Show. He grappled with addictions to both drinking and gambling -- neither ideal for a man who spent most of his time in Las Vegas -- and also struggled with what were later diagnosed as severe depression and panic attacks, both of which made it increasingly difficult to perform as he got older. Mr. Greene moved to Palm Springs in an attempt at retirement in his late 70s in 2004, but the stage still had appeal, and he returned for a stint in Las Vegas at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino in 2009. Returning to a city now dominated by the likes of Celine Dion and Cirque du Soleil, Mr. Greene found he could stroll through casinos anonymously. "I'm a legend," he told the Sun in 2009, "but nobody knows me in Vegas anymore." Mr. Greene was married to nightclub dancer Nalani Kele from 1972 to 1982, and is survived by his wife of 41 years, Marie Musso, daughter of jazz saxophonist Vido Musso. - Billboard, 12/31/23.