Posted by Administrator on June 24th, 2025
Neil Young kicked off his headlining set at the UK's Glastonbury Festival on June 28 with an acoustic rendition of "Sugar Mountain," before he was joined by his backing band The Chrome Hearts for a Crazy Horse number, "Be The Rain." After a brief introduction, Young and the band dove into a trio of rock classics: "Cinnamon Girl," "Fuckin' Up" and "Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)." He then slowed things down with a pair of acoustic songs "The Needle and the Damage Done" and his 1992 hit "Harvest Moon." Young and the band also treated the audience to a number of lengthy tunes in full, such as the 10-minute-plus cuts "Sun Green" and"'Love and Only Love." He also broke out the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young track "Name Of Love"' before ending his set with the Harvest hit "Old Man" and 1991's "Rockin' In The Free World" and "Throw Your Hatred Down" as encores. Although the BBC had announced it was going to livestreaming Young's Glasto set, they ultimately left it off their coverage plans after the folk icon banned their coverage. "At the artist's request, we won't be livestreaming Neil Young's set. Our plans, including those for our TV highlights shows and on-demand coverage, continue to be finalised right up to and during the festival," a spokesperson for the BBC said. The announcement came after Young threatened to pull out of Glastonbury earlier this year due to BBC's involvement as he bemoaned how the festival had fallen "under corporate control." In related news, Paul McCartney was spotted at the side of the stage during Irish rock band Inhaler's set on the festival's "The Other Stage" on June 27. Sir Paul's brief cameo can be viewed on X. McCartney himself headlined Glastonbury back in 2022. - New Musical Express, 6/29/25...... 
Speaking of Paul McCartney, the Beatles legend has named three of his favorite albums of all time. Responding to a message in an ongoing segment on his website, "You Know The Answer," Macca's responded to a fan named Alex, who wrote: "My partner and I have recently been discussing the albums and songs that have soundtracked our lives. Are there any albums that take you back to certain periods in your life? And does performing your own music evoke similar memories?" In his considered response, McCartney listed records by The Band, The Beach Boys and Neil Young as ones that have stuck with him. "My favourite albums by other people tend to be: 'Music from Big Pink' by The Band, 'Pet Sounds' by the Beach Boys, and 'Harvest' by Neil Young," he said. "They are the three classics that I love to listen to, and they all remind me of certain times in my life. When I perform my own songs, the great thing is that they often bring back memories of recording them. That can often entail memories of John and George in the studio - sweet memories!" Following the death of Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson earlier this month, McCartney shared a moving tribute sharing his strong admiration for the late singer on Instagram. "I loved him, and was privileged to be around his bright shining light for a little while," he wrote in part. Meanwhile, Ozzy Osbourne has said he'd be "honored" to collaborate with McCartney during a new episode of his SiriusXM radio show Ozzy Speaks. When co-host Billy Morrison asked him who he'd like do a duet with, Osbourne immediately responded with "Paul McCartney." However the metal icon then expressed some hesitation: "I would be honored but I couldn't," perhaps because during a previous attempt to duet with the musician, Ozzy said McCartney said he "couldn't improve on the bassline that was there." "I said, 'Are you kidding? You could piss on the record and I'd make it my life'." - NME, 6/27/25...... Paul Simon canceled two concerts in the last weekend of June scheduled for the Academy of Music in Philadelphia in order to undergo a "minor medical procedure." "Regretfully, Paul Simon must cancel two shows tonight June 28 and tomorrow night June 29 -- at Philadelphia's Academy of Music," read the statement on Simon's Instagram account. "Paul has been struggling with chronic and intense back pain. Today it became unmanageable and demands immediate attention. Unfortunately we have to cancel these shows at this time, as we don't have the ability to reschedule them. We are hopeful after this minor surgical procedure which has been scheduled in the next few days, Paul will be able to complete the tour as well as look into returning to make up these dates," the statement continued. Though Simon, 83, had indicated his tour back in 2018 was a farewell tour -- at the time, he'd said he was suffering from significant hearing loss -- in Feb. 2025, he announced a spring/summer tour after making an appearance on the televised SNL50 celebration. His 2025 tour, which made it to New York City just before Philadelphia, began in April and has dates scheduled through early August. It is scheduled to make stops in Long Beach, Calif.,, on July 7, followed by stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver and Seattle. - Billboard, 6/28/25...... Late The Grateful Dead member Phil Lesh's son Grahame Lesh has announced he'll be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the GD with a "Heart of the Town" concert series co-organized by the San Francisco Giants, Peter Shapiro's Relix GD fanzine, and Jonathan Shank's Terrapin Station Entertainment. The Heart of the Town will take place from July 31 to Aug. 2 at Pier 48 in San Francisco. Performing alongside Lesh are more than 20 artists in the Dead's orbit, including brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith from the group Dawes, Black Crowes contributor Jackie and American jazz keyboard player and composer John Medeski. Other contributing artists include Melvin Seals, Eric Krasno, Karina Rykman, Tommy Hamilton, Karl Denson, Neal Francis, Duane Betts and Jake Peavy. The series will open July 31 show with doors at 7 p.m. and showtime at 8 p.m. Shows on Aug. 1 and 2 will follow larger concerts by Dead & Company at Golden Gate Park, serving as an unofficial after-party with doors opening at 10 p.m. and showtime at 11 p.m. - Billboard, 6/26/25...... Bob Dylan performed his classic '60s track "The Times They Are A-Changin'" for the first time since 2010 during his set in Franklin, Tenn., on June 25 as part of the "Outlaw Music Festival 2025 10th Anniversary Tour" alongside Willie Nelson. After opening the set with his 1979 track "Gotta Serve Somebody," the 84-year-old Dylan then went into "The Times They Are A-Changin'," offering a slow rendition on which he played piano and harmonica while accompanied by his band. It's not the only rarely-played hit the folk/rock legend has brought out on the tour, however. When the tour began, he played "Mr. Tambourine Man" for the first time in 15 years, while "All Along The Watchtower," which he hasn't played much in the last decade, has made frequent appearances on the tour. Dylan's latest "The Time They Are A-Changin'" live performance can be streamed on X. - NME, 6/27/25...... The cause of death of Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson on June 11 at age 82 has been revealed. According to the death certificate obtained by TMZ.com, the musician's immediate cause of death was listed as respiratory arrest, with sepsis and cystitis also listed as contributing causes. According to Advanced Cardiac Life Support training, respiratory arrest is when a person stops breathing -- which often happens at the same time as cardiac arrest -- but still has a pulse. The death certificate also notes that the musician had several other significant conditions: neurodegenerative disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic respiratory failure and chronic kidney disease. His date of death was also confirmed to be June 11. Meanwhile, the Beach Boys have returned to the Billboard Hot 200 album chart for the first time in over a decade after Wilson's passing. The group's greatest hits set Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys jumped 52-14 on the June 28-dated chart. The album also made its debut on Billboard's Top Streaming Albums chart, bowing at No. 20. Sounds of Summer was released in 2003 and initially debuted and peaked at No. 16 on the June 28, 2003-dated chart. The Beach Boys were last in the Top 40 of the Hot 200 chart in 2012 when the then-new studio album That's Why God Made the Radio debuted and peaked at No. 3 and spent four nonconsecutive weeks inside the top 40. In total, The Beach Boys have placed 56 albums on the Hot 200, with 22 of them reaching the top 40. - Billboard, 6/26/25...... AC/DC have plugged in additional stadium dates for Australia's "Power"-hungry fans. Just hours after tickets went on sale for the legendary rock band's 2025 stadium tour on June 26, promoter TEG Van Egmond announced second dates in Melbourne (11/16), Sydney (11/25) and Brisbane (12/18). The "Power Up Tour" now spans eight dates in Oz, kicking off Nov. 12 in Melbourne and wrapping Dec. 18 in Brisbane, marking AC/DC's first full national tour of Australia in nearly a decade. The band will play shows in each of the country's five major cities -- Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane -- with support from Australian punk outfit Amyl and the Sniffers. AC/DC last visited Australian shores during the band's 2015 "Rock or Bust" tour, which saw over 520,000 tickets sold across 11 dates, including shows in Auckland and Wellington. - Billboard, 6/26/25...... 
Speaking of Australia, one of the country's most famous daughters, Olivia Newton-John, has a new documentary about her life and career in development. On June 24, Deadline.com published a press released reporting that Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Nicole Newnham is working on a project about the late Hollywood singing legend for Netflix. The film will chronicle ONJ's childhood in England and Australia as well as her early pursuit of a career in the music industry. In addition, the documentary will explore her rise to fame alongside John Travolta in the iconic 1978 musical film, Grease. "In her own words, through vivid archival and via reminiscences from close friends and collaborators, we'll follow Olivia's journey as the world falls madly in love with her and she ascends to the height of fame, only to be confronted by challenges of epic proportions," a summary reads. "By discovering how to stay true to her beliefs, Olivia changed our culture for the better, bending it towards kindness, inclusivity, and love." Newton-John died at the age of 73 in 2022 following a battle with breast cancer. The film will be produced by R.J. Cutler, whose last project was a documentary about Martha Stewart for Netflix. - Music-News.com, 6/25/25...... Forget about all that recent "farewell" talk from Foreigner -- the band's upcoming change of singing guard, from Kelly Hansen to Luis Maldanado, may well make for a more productive Foreigner, according to bassist Jeff Pilson. "There's just a lot of forward movement, and the band is incredibly excited," Pilson, who's been with Foreigner since 2004 (and was also part of Dokken), says. "What started off as being a farewell tour now ended up being Kelly's last tour and (the band) moving forward." Back in 2022 Kelly Hansen positioned himself as the primary driver behind Foreigner's Historic Farewell Tour, which began the following year. "This catalog of songs, it's extremely challenging for a rock tenor vocalist like myself to sing," he explained at the time. "I never thought in a million years I'd be singing these songs in the (original) keys at this age (then 61), and I don't know how much longer I can do that at the level I need toIf I'm not doing it for real, I shouldn't be doing it." Foreigner's farewell tour got under way during the summer of 2023 and has been extended a couple of times since, due to demand -- bolstered by the band's long-awaited induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Oct. 2024. The lead vocalist change may also open the door for fans to hear more music for Foreigner in the near future. The group has recorded two Spanish-language tracks sung by Maldonado, who was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, including a duet version of their classic "I Want to Know What Love Is" with Joy Huerta of the Latin Grammy-winning duo Jesse & Joy. Pilson says more of those are planned. Pilson adds he's also sifting through additional unreleased and in-progress recordings, and hopes some brand new material will be recorded as well. Original Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm has indicated he's definitely on board to contribute in whatever manner he can. And Pilson adds that Foreigner founder/guitarist Mick Jones -- who had to retire from touring due to Parkinson's Disease -- remains "really supportive" of Foreigner continuing and releasing new music. - Billboard, 6/25/25...... Stevie Nicks has announced eight additional dates for her upcoming North American tour later this year. In April, the former Fleetwood Macsinger and songwriter confirmed that she would be playing across the US and Canada with an original run of nine dates in August and October. Now, the tour has been extended, with a show at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Aug 8 now set to kick off the string of dates. Extra shows have also been added in Hollywood, Fla. (9/3) and Detroit (9/7), as well as Portland (10/1), Sacramento (10/4), Atlantic City (10/18), Charlotte (10/21 and Hartford (10/25). A press release at the time of the original announcement indicated that "Nicks will continue to enchant audiences with her unmistakable voice, poetic lyrics and transcendent live performances" at the gigs. She had been due to play some shows with Billy Joel this summer, but the "Piano Man" singer has been forced to cancel all of his upcoming tour dates following a diagnosis with the brain disorder normal pressure hydrocephalus. - NME, 6/23/25...... Eddie Van Halen's musician son Wolfgang Van Halen has announced his withdrawal from the upcoming Black Sabbath farewell concert over tour commitments. Speaking to WRIF Detroit recently, Wolfgang explained of the situation: "I, unfortunately, had to back out because the Creed tour starts the day after, and I wouldn't be able to pull it off -- unfortunately. I'm very excited to watch it, but I unfortunately had to back out." The farewell Sabbath concert, dubbed "Back To The Beginning," is set for July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, UK. - NME, 6/26/25...... 
Longtime E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt has revealed he's being forced to sit out several upcoming shows with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band as he recovers from emergency surgery. Van Zandt shared the news via X on June 23, revealing that what initially felt like food poisoning turned out to be appendicitis. He was treated in San Sebastin, Spain, following a show in the city and praised the medical team for their swift care. Springsteen and the E Street Band are in the midst of a European stadium run, with the next stop scheduled for Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on June 27, followed by back-to-back dates at Milan's San Siro Stadium on June 30 and July 3. "I'm hoping to get back on stage for at least one of the shows in Milan," Van Zandt added. "Thank you all for all the good vibes. See you soon." Van Zandt last performed onstage with Springsteen in San Sebastin on June 24. No formal announcement has been made regarding a fill-in, though the band has adjusted their lineup in the past to accommodate health-related absences. - Billboard, 6/24/25...... Typographer Jim Parkinson, the artist behind Rolling Stone magazine's iconic logo, died on June 27 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's Disease. He was 83. The San Francisco Bay Area native attended California College of Arts and Crafts, where he graduated in 1963, and worked as an artist at Hallmark Cards, where he moved from "drawing rabbits" to the lettering department, where he honed his craft. In 1971, he was hired to create lettering and drawings for Rolling Stone, which was headquartered in San Francisco at the time. Mr. Parkinson was enlisted to redesign its logo in 1977, in time for the magazine's 10th anniversary. A few years later, he brought new life to the design with the now-iconic elongated tail on the "R." That rework became the longest-running version of the logo, lasting until 2018. (He was also behind a flatter version that ran from 2018 through 2022.) He went on to design logos for dozens of other publications, including Esquire, Variety, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times, and logos for bands including Credence Clearwater, Kansas and the Doobie Brothers. Mr. Parkinson died in Oakland and is survived by his wife and book artist Dorothy Yule. A memorial for him is also expected in the fall. - Billboard,...... Bill Moyers, the former White House press secretary who became one of television's most honored journalists, died on June 26 in a New York City hospital. He was 91. Mr. Moyers' son William said his father died at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York after a "long illness." On the day Pres. John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Mr. Moyers was in Austin helping with the presidential trip. He flew back to Washington on Air Force One with newly sworn-in Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson, for whom he held various jobs over the ensuing years, including press secretary. In 1967, Mr. Moyers became publisher of Long Island-based Newsday and concentrated on adding news analyses, investigative pieces and lively features. His next venture was in public television and he won critical acclaim for Bill Moyers Journal, and interview series. He was chief correspondent of CBS Reports from 1976 to 1978, went back to PBS for three years, and then was senior news analyst for CBS from 1981 to 1986. His projects in the 21st century included Now, a weekly PBS public affairs program; a new edition of Bill Moyers Journal and a podcast covering racism, voting rights and the rise of Donald Trump, among other subjects. Over the years, the Hugo, Okla., native was showered with numerous honors, including more than 30 Emmys, 11 George Foster Peabody awards, three George Polks and, twice, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Gold Baton Award for career excellence in broadcast journalism. In 1995, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Mr. Moyers married Judith Davidson, a college classmate, in 1954, and they raised three children, among them the author Suzanne Moyers and author-TV producer William Cope Moyers. Judith eventually became her husband's partner, creative collaborator and president of the production company they founded in 1986. - AP, 6/26/25...... 
Composer/conductor Lalo Schifrin, who composed the unforgettable instrumental theme from Mission: Impossible among countless other iconic series and movies, died on June 26 at age 93. Born Boris Claudio Schifrin on June 21, 1932, Mr. Schifrin was a second-generation musical talent. His father was the concert master for the Buenos Aires Philharmonic for more than three decades. The younger Schifrin began playing piano at the tender age 5. When he was about 16, his classmates turned him to jazz records, and he was hooked for life. He studied music and law for four years at the University of Buenos Aires, and received a scholarship to the Paris Conservatory of Music in 1952. In 1956, Mr. Schifrin returned to Buenos Aires, formed his own jazz band and became active writing music for TV and radio programs.Mr. Schifrin arrived in New York City in 1958, and reconnected with early mentor Dizzy Gillespie in 1960, and worked on Gillespie's hit album, Gillespiana, which brought both musicians Grammy nominations. Mr. Schifrin received 19 Grammy nominations spanning 40 years (1962-2002) and multiple genres (both jazz and pop) and skillsets (composition, arrangement and performance), and won four Grammys. He received four Primetime Emmy nominations -- three for Mission: Impossible and one for his music for David Wolper's The Making of the President 1964. He received six Oscar nominations, five for scores (Cool Hand Luke, The Fox, Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror and The Sting II) and one for a song, "People Alone" from The Competition (1980), which he co-wrote with lyricist Will Jennings. For all he accomplished, Mr. Schifrin's Mission: Impossible theme is unquestionably his greatest hit. His music for that drama series, which aired on CBS from 1966-73, brought him two Grammy Awards, three Primetime Emmy nominations and high placements on the Billboard charts. The theme reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in Jan. 1968. It won a Grammy for best instrumental theme in 1968 and was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017. Mr. Schifrin also wrote the pitch-perfect theme song for Mannix (also produced by Geller), which helped that Mike Connors P.I. series stay on the air for eight years (one year longer than M:I). His other TV themes include The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Medical Center, Starsky & Hutch, T.H.E. Cat and Petrocelli. His other film scores, not already named, include The Cincinnati Kid, Bullitt, Enter the Dragon and all three Rush Hour films. He is survived by his wife, Donna; sons Will, a TV writer (The Fairly OddParents), and Ryan, a writer-director (Abominable); a daughter, Frances; and four grandchildren. - Billboard, 2/26/25...... Walter Scott Jr., whose buttery vocals alongside his identical twin Wallace Scott were the hallmarks behind hitmaking R&B group The Whispers, died on June 26 in Northridge, Calif., after a six-month battle with cancer. He was 81. The Los Angeles-based quintet is best known for its spate of R&B hits in the '80s such as its first No. 1 with dance anthem "And the Beat Goes On," followed by the sensual ballad "Lady," the up-tempo groove "It's a Love Thing" and the group's second No. 1 with another dance track "Rock Steady," which also reached No. 7 on the Hot 100. All told, The Whispers charted 15 top 10 R&B hits, beginning in 1970 with the group's No. 6 breakthrough ballad "Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong." The quintet also counts eight top 10 R&B albums in its catalog including two No. 1s: The Whispers and Love Is Where You Find It. Recording for various labels including Soul Clock, Janus and Soul Train, The Whispers began to hit its stride in 1978 after signing with Dick Griffey's Solar Records, scoring No. 10 on the R&B chart with "(Let's Go) All the Way" followed by the top 15 "(Olivia) Lost and Turned Out." A year later came "And the Beat Goes On." In addition to their elegant vocals and scintillating harmonies, the group was heralded as well for its smooth dance routines onstage, making The Whispers a concert draw well into the 2000s. The Whispers were inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2014. Mr. Scott is survived by his wife, Jan, two sons, three grandchildren and brother Wallace. - Billboard, 6/27/25...... 
Bobby Sherman, one of the top teen heartthrobs of late 1960s and early '70s, died after a battle with kidney cancer on June 24. He was 81. "It is with the heaviest heart that I share the passing of my beloved husband, Bobby Sherman," his wife, Brigitte Poublon, announced alongside actor John Stamos in an Instagram post. "Bobby left this world holding my hand -- just as he held up our life with love, courage and unwavering grace through all 29 beautiful years of marriage," Poublon added. "I was his Cinderella, and he was my prince charming. Even in his final days, he stayed strong for me. That's who Bobby was -- brave, gentle and full of light." Mr. Sherman was a teen idol just before, and briefly concurrent with, Donny Osmond and the late David Cassidy. But there was a difference: Mr. Sherman was 26 in 1969 when "Little Woman" became his first smash hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 3. By comparison, Cassidy was 20 in 1970 when The Partridge Family topped the Hot 100 with "I Think I Love You." Osmond was just 13 in 1971 when The Osmonds topped the Hot 100 with "One Bad Apple." Being older than his rivals may have shortened Sherman's run at the top. His entire Hot 100 career, from first hit to last, spanned just two and one-half years. Mr. Sherman first rose to fame playing youngest brother Jeremy Bolt on the TV series Here Come the Brides, which aired on ABC from 1968 to 1970. One of his brothers was played by David Soul, who also went on to become a pop hitmaker. Soul topped the Hot 100 in 1977 with the ballad "Don't Give Up on Us." He died in Jan. 2024 at age 80. Here Comes the Brides had a zesty theme song, "Seattle," but even with two singers in the cast, it was Perry Como who had a top 40 hit on Hot 100 with the song in the spring of 1969. But Como's No. 38 hit was nothing compared to the enormous success Sherman had with both singles and albums from 1969-71 on Metromedia Records. Sherman's first smash, "Little Woman" reached No. 3 for two weeks in Oct. 1969 -- while The Archies' "Sugar, Sugar" was in its third and fourth weeks at No. 1. These hits proved that bubblegum could do big business. Mr. Sherman followed "Little Woman" with three more top 10 hits in 1969-70 -- "La La La (If I Had You)," "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "Julie, Do Ya Love Me." All four of these hits were certified gold by the RIAA. Mr. Sherman also had three top 20 albums on the Hot 200 -- Bobby Sherman, Here Comes Bobby and With Love, Bobby. All three of these albums were likewise certified gold. Born Robert Cabot Sherman Jr. on July 22, 1943, in Santa Monica, Calif., Mr. Sherman grew up in Van Nuys, Calif., with his sister Darlene. (Future songwriting legend Diane Warren also grew up in Van Nuys.) 
He first recorded for Starcrest Records in 1962, and was a regular on Shindig!, the pop music TV show which aired on ABC from 1964-66. Mr. Sherman made one-off appearances in such series as Honey West, The Monkees and The Partridge Family, the latter appearance serving as a "back-door pilot" for his own ABC series Getting Together. But his chart fortunes cooled over the summer of 1971. When the fall season began in September, ABC did not include Getting Together in its highly successful Friday night lineup, which consisted of The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Room 222, The Odd Couple and Love, American Style. Instead, ABC slotted it to compete against the CBS juggernaut All In The Family on Saturday nights, when it was clobbered in the ratings by TV's top hit of the 1970s, and it was cancelled after 14 episodes. In 1974, Mr. Sherman guest-starred on an episode of the Jack Webb series Emergency!, which eventually led to a second career -- as a paramedic. He volunteered with the Los Angeles Police Department, working with paramedics and giving CPR and first aid classes. For more than a decade he served as a medical training officer at the Los Angeles Police Academy. Mr. Sherman also became a reserve deputy sheriff in 1999 with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department in California, continuing his CPR and emergency training of new deputy hires. He retired from the sheriff's department in 2010. Mr. Sherman appeared on TV periodically through the 1970s and into the mid-1980s, usually on such popular but decidedly middle-brow fare as The Love Boat, Fantasy Island and Murder, She Wrote. In 1997, he played himself on an episode of one of TV's classiest comedies, Frasier. In 1998, he appeared in The Teen Idol Tour with former members of Herman's Hermits and The Monkees. Mr. Sherman's first wife was Patti Carnel; the couple had two sons. Mr. Sherman married Brigitte Poublon in July 2010 in Las Vegas. Mr. Sherman and his second wife co-founded the Brigitte & Bobby Sherman Children's (BBSC) Foundation. Its mission is to provide students in Ghana with an education and music program, and to provide tools to pursue higher education. Poublon announced Mr. Sherman's stage 4 cancer diagnosis on Facebook on Mar. 25, writing: "As many of you know, Bobby has been retired for some time and is no longer able to participate in cameos, sign autographs, or make appearances. It is with a heavy heart that we share Bobby has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. During this challenging time, we kindly ask for your understanding and respect for our privacy." - Billboard, 6/24/25.
In celebration of 18 years of marriage, Rod Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster revisited three memorable locations in June. The legendary singer and the former model began dating in 1999. They became engaged in Paris in 2005, and married in a medieval monastery in Portofino, Italy, nearly two decades ago. After their wedding on 16 June 2007, the couple enjoyed their honeymoon on the Lady Ann Magee yacht, which was moored in Portofino. Ringing in their anniversary, the pair revisited these memorable locations with a journey on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Giving an insight into their holiday, Lancaster shared a photo of herself and Stewart in front of the train. She captioned her Instagram post: "Entering a bygone era @vsoetrain from Paris where we got engaged, to Portofino where we got married 18 years ago. It's totally magical Sir Rod Stewart xxxx." Stewart and Lancaster have two sons, Alastair, 19, and Aidan, 14, together, and Stewart has six other children from previous wives. His upcoming compilation album, Ultimate Hits, is out on 27 June. - Music-News.com, 6/20/25...... 
The 40th anniversary of the historic 1985 Live Aid benefit concert will be commemorated with radio and TV specials in the UK and US. On July 13, the UK's Greatest Hits Radio will re-broadcast the legendary 1985 benefit concert in its entirety in a 10-hour special by British radio veteran Simon Mayo. Titled Live Aid Relived, the program will feature performances by David Bowie, Paul McCartney, The Who, U2 and Queen, whose iconic 21-minute Live Aid set is widely regarded as one of the greatest live performances of all time, among others. The broadcast will run from noon local time, and include commentary from other Live Aid performers like Spandau Ballet frontman Martin Kemp and cast members from the upcoming Live Aid musical "Just For One Day." The special will close with the final episode of Live Aid: 40 Years On, a documentary series featuring interviews with Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof, Midge Ure, Queen's Roger Taylor and Brian May, and promoter Harvey Goldsmith. Originally broadcast to 1.9 billion people across 150 countries, Live Aid was a global benefit event staged at London's Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia's JFK Stadium to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. The concert raised over 114 million but has also since faced criticism regarding perceptions of African nations and aid distribution. Geldof, co-founder of the Band Aid Charitable Trust and the man behind the original concert, said the re-broadcast serves as a reminder of music's enduring power. "Thank you Greatest Hits Radio for hopefully letting people know that they are not powerless in the face of human monstrosity," Geldof said. "What better time than now to know and understand the power of music and what it can achieve." Meanwhile in the US, the CNN special Live Aid: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On the World is a four-part series that tells the story of how Geldof and U2's Bono inspired the largest global music events in history. It features interviews with several Live Aid principals and global leaders of the time, along with rare archival footage of performances and backstage. It premieres on the network on July 13 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. - New Musical Express/CNN, 6/23/25...... In related news, The Who's Pete Townshend has offered a ringing endorsement of the above mentioned Live Aid musical, "Just For One Day - The Live Aid Musical," currently being staged at London's Shaftesbury Theatre. Townshend even admitted he loves "the show more than I did the gig," a high compliment for the theatrical retelling of the iconic 1985 concert. Adding to the buzz, the musical's original cast recording has just released its latest single, a surprising rendition of The Who's classic "Pinball Wizard" sung by an actor portraying Live Aid promoter Harvey Goldsmith. The Just For One Day - The Live Aid Musical (Original Cast Recording) is set to drop on July 18 in the US on vinyl and MP3. - Music-News.com, 6/21/25...... As Paul McCartney turned 83 years old on June 18, the Beatles icon shared a message on social media thanking fans for helping him "celebrate this special day." In her own birthday tribute to Paul, Barbra Streisand posted a photo of herself and Paul sitting in a recording studio with the caption "To Paul... Happy Birthday. Hope you're celebrating with a little help from your friends... including me. xo Barbra," referring to the 1967 Beatles hit, "With a Little Help from My Friends." Streisand, 83, also shared the image via Instagram Stories with the song as the soundtrack. The pair recently collaborated on a cover of the Macca-penned "My Valentine" for her upcoming duets album, The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two, which drops on June 27. Accordingly, Paul gushed over the recording session in a blog post shared in May. "(It was) nerve-wracking. Nail-biting! I did the session with her in L.A. and I was pretty terrified. I think the session was about three hours, you know, a normal kind of session, and it was produced by my friend Peter Asher," he explained. "But it started off with a big 40-piece orchestra on the Sony lot, which is one of the old Hollywood film studios; it's very impressive. And we were on The Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage, so no pressure there!" - Music-News.com, 6/19/25...... 
On June 23 AC/DC announced they're planning a long-awaited stadium tour of their native Australia for November and December of 2025, marking their first national run since 2015. The rockers' Power Up tour will kick off Nov. 12 at Melbourne Cricket Ground and includes stops in Sydney (11/21), Adelaide (11/30), Perth (12/4) and Brisbane (12/14), with tickets going on sale via TEG Van Egmond. The tour follows AC/DC's massive European and North American legs earlier in 2025, and continues the band's celebration of their 2020 studio album Power Up, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. The release became AC/DC's third No. 1 album in the U.S., joining 2008's Black Ice and 1981's For Those About to Rock (We Salute You). It also marked their 26th charting album on the Billboard 200, and 10th top 10 overall. The Australian shows will feature support from Amyl and the Sniffers, who frontwoman Amy Taylor called the "highlight of my literal life" when announcing the news on social media. AC/DC's current lineup features guitarist Angus Young, vocalist Brian Johnson, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and bassist Chris Chaney. - Billboard, 6/23/25...... The Jacksons announced on June 19 they're preparing to release their first album since the death of their beloved older brother and band member Tito Jackson, who passed away in Sept. 2024 at the age of 70 after suffering a fatal heart attack. The legendary family pop group, which is now comprised of original Jackson 5/Jacksons members Jackie Jackson and Marlon Jackson, have continued the family band and will share their first studio project since 1989's 2300 Jackson Street "soon." Jackie told the UK paper Daily Star: "We got a new album coming up soon, as The Jacksons. I can't talk a lot about it but it's the brothers, and it's gonna be great." In the meantime, fans can catch The Jacksons at Audley End House and Gardens in Essex, UK, on July 19, as part of the Heritage Live Festivals series. Jackie said of the huge outdoor gig: "Fans should bring their dancing shoes. "We'll be doing all our hit songs." - Music-News.com, 6/19/25...... Neil Young kicked off his summer European tour with his band Chrome Hearts at the Dalhalla open-air theatre in Rättvik, Sweden, on June 18 when they wheeled out such classics as "Like A Hurricane," "Cinnamon Girl," "The Needle and the Damage Done" and "Harvest Moon," with fans in attendance saying the setlist was "wonderfully left field." The show kicked off with a solo from Young, an acoustic version of "Sugar Mountain" that gave way to "'Be The Rain" once the rest of the band joined him. The track comes from Young's 2003 rock opera Greendale, and hasn't had a live outing since 2014. Young's run of dates will see the Canadian musician make his way across Europe with stops in Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, along with a headlining set at the UK's Glastonbury Festival in June, followed by a headline slot at BST Hyde Park in July. In August, they'll head over to the US for a 15-date run across the country starting with a gig on August 8 at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, and will make further stops in Richmond, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto, New York, Chicago, Denver, Vancouver and more before wrapping up on September 15 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. A clip of his Rättvik performance of "The Needle and the Damage Done" can be viewed on YouTube. - NME, 6/21/25...... 
In one of the most unlikely musical pairings imaginable, 80's "hair band" Mötley Crüe has recruited country music legend Dolly Parton for a duet version of the Crüe's classic single "Home Sweet Home." Parton joins in on the chorus of the 1985 power ballad, and takes the lead on the second verse. The reimagined "Home Sweet Home," released June 20 and available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and more, will be featured on From the Beginning, an upcoming Mötley Crüe singles collection spanning four decades of music to be released on vinyl via BMG on Sept. 12 -- the date that also kicks off the group's 10-show residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas, which runs through Oct. 3. The band has also shared a "Dolly Crue" music video for "Home Sweet Home" paying homage to the original visual on YouTube. In a joint statement about the collaboration with Parton, the band writes, "'Home Sweet Home' was first released in 1985 as a single from our Theatre of Pain album. For an icon like Dolly Parton to sing on a song that has not only meant so much to us but to all the fans through the years, is a career high that means a lot to us." Meanwhile, Dolly Parton has just announced a six-concert run at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The mini-residency, titled "Dolly: Live in Las Vegas," runs from 4 to 13 December and coincides with the busy National Finals Rodeo. "To say I'm excited would be an understatement," said Parton, who hasn't toured regularly in nearly a decade, in a statement. "I haven't worked Vegas in years, and I've always loved singing there. I'm looking so forward to the shows in The Colosseum at Caesars, and I hope you are as well. See you there." - Billboard/Music-News.com, 6/20/25...... Although prolific recording bassist Carol Kaye was set to receive the Musical Excellence Awards at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony later in 2025, the retired 90-year-old musician says she's "turning down" her induction. In a post on Instagram, Kaye revealed that she wouldn't be attending this year's ceremony. "I am declining the [Rock & Roll Hall of Fame] awards show" she wrote, adding that she was "turning it down because it wasn't something that reflects the work that Studio Musicians do and did in the golden era of the 1960s Recording Hits." She continued that she took issue with the "Wrecking Crew" label that she was associated with, a loose collective of studio musicians in the 60s and 70s who would play on countless Top 40 hits of the time. "You are always part of a TEAM, not a solo artist at all," she continued in her post. "There were always 350-400 Studio Musicians (AFM Local 47 Hollywood) working in the busy 1960s, and called that ONLY," she continued. "Since 1930s, I was never a 'wrecker' at all that's a terrible insulting name." This year's Rock Hall inductees were revealed in April, with Joe Cocker, Bad Company, Warren Zevon, Cyndi Lauper and The White Stripes amongst the names being honored this year. - NME, 6/19/25...... Headlining the Isle Of Wight Festival on June 20, Sting performed a set filled with hits from his acclaimed catalog and longstanding career, including The Police hits "Message In A Bottle" and "Roxanne," along with his latest solo single "I Wrote Your Name Upon My Heart." The performance marked Sting's first live performance on the island since his 2008 reunion show with The Police, and was part of his ongoing Sting 3.0 World Tour which showcases selections from his vast catalog through the lens of a tight three-piece combo. In January, Sting announced that he was pulling out of his next few public engagements as he recovered from a temporary throat infection. On June 1, he played a rescheduled show in Phoenix. After a special joint performance with Billy Joel at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium on Feb. 8, he embarked on a run of Latin American shows. - Music-News.com, 6/21/25...... 
In a recent interview with the UK's The Daily Express, Suzi Quatro insisted that she was "never a sex, drugs and rock and roll girl" at the height of her 70's fame. Quatro, 75, came to global prominence in the 1970s with hits like "Devil Gate Drive," "48 Crash" and "Stumblin'," but admitted as she gears up for another tour that she always knew that she was going into a "profession" above all else. "I'm celebrating 62 years in the business next year," Quatro said. "It's a big tour across the UK- an entertaining two-hour rock and roll show with all the hits and a few surprises. I play the piano, drums and a seven-minute bass solo... I take you on a journey through my life." She continued: "I'm the rehearsal queen. I rehearse as if it was a live show, running around. If I'm not working, then I make sure I'm going to the gym. It means on stage, I still have that energy. I've partied, had the odd room wreck but I was never a sex, drugs and rock and roll girl. I was brought up in a musical family. My dad told me aged 15, 'Suzi, you've found what you want to do in life. This is a profession. If there's 10 people or 10,000 in the audience, everyone's paid to see you, and you owe them'. That's been embedded in me." Meanwhile, Quatro admitted that she will "take to [her] grave" that she attained the sort of fame when she did at a time when it was all a male-dominated indisutry, and insisted that she did it all without "stripping off" for her audience: I'll take to my grave that I was the first female rock musician to have worldwide success. There are many more female musicians today, but they tend to be too influenced by male opinion. I wore a jumpsuit, but I showed no flesh. You don't have to strip off to be sexy." - Music-News.com, 6/22/25...... Cher and the late Gregg Allman's son Elijah Blue Allman has reportedly been discharged from hospital after being treated for a drug overdose. Earlier in June, the celebrity gossip site TMZ.com reported that the musician, 48, had been rushed to a hospital in Southern California after emergency services responded to a call about a man "behaving erratically." A spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (SBCSD) later shared that "deputies located drugs inside the home" and an investigation was ongoing. On June 22, insiders confirmed to TMZ that Elijah had returned to his property near Joshua Tree and "continues to recover." - Music-News.com, 6/23/25...... R&B singer-musician-producer Cavin Yarbrough, half of the duo Yarbrough & Peoples, passed away on June 19 owing to complications from heart disease. He was 72. Yarbrough & Peoples are best known for their crossover dance/funk hit "Don't Stop the Music." Released in 1980, the song spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in 1981 and also reached No. 19 on the Hot 100 singles chart. The RIAA gold-certified single was featured on the pair's also gold-certified debut album, The Two of Us, which topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for two weeks and rose to No. 16 on the Hot 200 albums chart. The duo went on to score another Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs with "Don't Waste Your Time" in 1984. Its engaging mix of R&B, soul, funk, pop and dance -- graced by its smooth and spirited vocals -- also sparked three additional top 10s on the chart during the pair's '80s heyday: "Heartbeats," "Guilty" and "I Wouldn't Lie." Born in Dallas, Yarbrough was a classically trained pianist who first met fellow Dallas native Peoples as youngsters taking piano lessons. The pair's friendship and creative bond later led to establishing their own band. It was Charlie Wilson of The Gap Band who discovered Yarbrough & Peoples, bringing them to the attention of Lonnie Simmons, who signed them to his Los Angeles-based label, Total Experience Records. "He was the love of my life, my protector. Now he's my guardian angel," Yarbrough's wife and longtime music partner, Alisa Peoples, said in a statement. - Billboard, 6/22/25...... 
Legendary rock guitarist Mick Ralphs, the co-founding guitarist of Bad Company and Mott the Hoople, has died at age 81. The musician's Bad Company bandmates announced his death on their official social media account on June 23, and a cause of death was not shared. Born on May 31, 1944 in Hereford, England, Mr. Ralphs formed a group called Silence in the late Sixties with Verden Allen, Overend Watts and Dale Griffin. They got a record contract in early 1969 and went to London with vocalist Stan Tippens to record under producer Guy Stevens, who renamed the band Mott the Hoople after a 1967 novel by Willard Manus. Tippens was replaced by Ian Hunter a few months later, and the group recorded its eponymous debut album in Aug. 1969. Mott became a big live attraction in England, even though its records sold relatively poorly. After the release of its 1972 album Brain Capers, the band was ready to disband when David Bowie stepped in to give it a focused glam-rock image and a breakthrough single in the form of "All The Young Dudes." Bowie produced Mott's album of the same name, and "All The Young Dudes" earned them a top British single later in 1972, with the song reaching No. 37 in the US. In 1973, the band released its masterpiece, the self-produced Mott, with the British hit singles "Honaloochie Boogie" and "All the Way from Memphis." Despite its success, the band began to fall apart; Allen left because the band rarely recorded his songs, and Mr. Ralphs quit because he was upset over Allen's departure and that one of his songs, "Can't Get Enough," was beyond the singing range of either himself or Hunter. 
The song would become a Top 5 US hit the next year for Mr. Ralphs' next band, Bad Company. Formed with former Free members Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke and former King Crimson member Boz Burrell, the band recorded its self-titled debut album in only ten days with a minimum of overdubs in Ronnie Lane's mobile studio. Led by its first single "Can't Get Enough," the album went to No. 1 worldwide and sold over four million copies. Bad Company went on to sell over 12 million albums worldwide, with their second and third albums, Straight Shooter and Run With the Pack, also going platinum. The group disbanded in 1982, with Rodgers releasing a solo album and then forming The Firm with ex-Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. In a statement shared alongside the news of Mr. Ralphs' passing, Paul Rodgers celebrated the life of his friend. "Our Mick has passed, my heart just hit the ground. He has left us with exceptional songs and memories," Rodgers wrote. "He was my friend, my songwriting partner, an amazing and versatile guitarist who had the greatest sense of humour. Our last conversation a few days ago we shared a laugh but it won't be our last. There are many memories of Mick that will create laughter." Drummer Simon Kirke shared his own tribute to the band's post, calling Ralph "a dear friend, a wonderful songwriter, and an exceptional guitarist," and simply adding, "We will miss him deeply." The news of Mr. Ralphs' death comes just two months after Bad Company was announced as one of the inductees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2025, which the band called a "fitting tribute to the band's enduring influence" in their memorial post for the guitarist. The band will be formally inducted to the Hall of Fame on Nov. 8. - Billboard/The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock, 6/23/25.
In related news, Carole King has released an updated version of "One Small Voice," a song she first released more than three decades ago in support of the recent Women's March on Washington, D.C., in protest of Pres. Trump. In an essay on HuffingtonPost.com, King said: "It will take the strength and persistence of many small voices to overcome the lies of the loudest voice with our message of truth, dignity, and decency." "One Small Voice" tells the story of the Hans Christian Anderson classic "The Emperor's Clothes," and includes the lyrics "One small voice speaking with the values/ we were taught as children." King participated in her own women's march the same day in her small hometown of Stanely, Idaho. - Billboard, 1/26/17...... The Jacksons have announced they'll play a one-off UK show on June 18 at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, on June 18 as part of the venue's Nocturne concert series. The current Jacksons lineup is comprised of four founding members -- Jermain, Tito, Jackie and Marlon Jackson -- and the show will be the group's only UK headline performance in 2017. Kool and the Gang will be the opening act. - New Musical Express, 1/30/17...... In related news, Michael Jackson's 18-year-old daughter Paris Jackson will make her acting debut in 2017 on Fox's drama series Star, the network announced on Jan. 30. Star is set in the music industry and features Queen Latifah as a surrogate mom to aspiring young singers. A date for the episode with Paris Jackson wasn't announced. - AP, 1/30/17...... It is rumored that Prince's music will be widely released to streaming services by Grammy Night on Feb. 12 after a series of purple ads bearing the Spotify logo -- and only the Spotify logo -- appeared in New York's Union Square subway station on Jan. 30. While much of Prince's post-Warner Music catalog remains in varying degrees of legal limbo, the Warner catalog, as well as his music publishing, are reportedly on solid footing to be streamed in the near future. Reps for Spotify, Apple Music, Warner Music and the Prince estate have not confirmed the rumor. - Billboard, 1/30/17...... "Star Dust," a spellbinding David Bowie-inspired modern ballet, made its debut in New York at the Joyce Theater on Jan. 25 after debuting in Detroit in 2016. The production pairs familiar Bowie songs such as "Space Oddity" and "Rock N' Roll Suicide with modern dance. The program also includes the troupe of around 15 dancers in the Complexions Contemporary Ballet performing to "Changes," "Life on Mars?," "1984," "Modern Love" and "Young Americans," with an encore of "Let's Dance. The show is scheduled run through Feb. 5, 2017. - Billboard, 1/26/17...... 
A Broadway adaptation of the hit book and movie The Devil Wears Prada will feature music scored by Elton John and be written by legendary playwright Paul Rudnick. "Re-imagining The Devil Wears Prada for the musical theater is super exciting," Elton John said in a statement. "I'm a huge fan of both the book and the feature film, and a huge aficionado of the fashion world. I can't wait to sink my musical teeth into this hunk of popular culture." The Devil Wears Prada follows new graduate and aspiring journalist Andrea, as she tries to make her way working for an iconic fashion magazine under a cutthroat boss while maintaining her iconoclast identity. The blockbuster movie starred Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt. - Billboard, 1/26/17...... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced on Jan. 27 that Neil Young will be inducting his frequent collaborator Pearl Jam into the Cleveland-based hall and museum during the 2017 RRHOF ceremony in New York on Apr. 7. Young and Pearl Jam memorably joined forces to play Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" at MTV's Video Music Awards in 1993, and Pearl Jam regularly covers the song on tour. Presenters for the other inductees, which include ELO, Journey, Tupac Shakur and Nile Rodgers, have yet to be announced. - AP, 1/27/17...... The headliners for the 2017 New Orleans Jazz Fest set for the Crescent City on Apr. 28-30 and May 4-7 will include Stevie Wonder, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Maroon 5 and Dave Matthews, organizers announced on Jan. 27. Also included in the more than 500 bands that will be performing are Kings of Leon, Alabama Shakes, Widespread Panic and Pitbull. - AP, 1/27/17...... Blondie have been added to the 2016 British Summer Time line-up, with the New York-based quartet supporting Phil Collins at the London show in Hyde Park on June 30. Also performing the same day will be Mike and the Mechanics and Starsailor. "The reaction from the British public has been overwhelming," said Phil Collins previously about the headline date. "I can't wait to play Hyde Park and see everyone there. I will be playing all of the songs that people love." - NME, 1/30/17...... Bob Dylan will be among the headliners and the fan-curated Firefly Festival this summer, which is set for Dover, Delaware on June 15-18. Weezer, Mars, The Shins and Kesha are also on the bill for the festival, which bills itself as the first to be "curated" by fans. - NME, 1/27/17...... Willie Nelson cancelled two shows at The Venetian resort in Las Vegas on Jan. 28 and 29 due to a "bad cold," according to his publicist. Nelson is still scheduled to play the remaining three shows, on Feb. 1, 3 and 4. The canceled shows have not been rescheduled. - AP, 1/26/17...... In a new interview with the London Times, Ozzy Osboure denied that he is a sex addict, despite a statement from a representative for Black Sabbath in 2016 that Osbourne was undergoing "intense therapy" for sex addiction. "I'm in a f---ing rock band, aren't I? There have always been groupies," Ozzy said. "I just got caught, didn't I? I don't think I'm a f---ing sex addict." The statement from Black Sabbath's rep was released following intense media speculation over Osbourne's 33-year marriage to Sharon Osbourne when the pair separated in May 2016. However, Osbourne later said that their marriage was "back on track again." - New Musical Express, 1/30/17...... 
Aerosmith is promising some "surprises" for their upcoming final tour of the U.K. and Europe, after first announcing it in 2016 by saying it would be "one of the greatest rock n' roll shows ever seen." Guitarist Brad Whitford says the band would "like to do some more deep cuts" on their "Aerovederci Tour" and "we'll see how that goes, it's very hard to get everybody to agree on certain things. We've basically done the hit-parade our whole career, and there's a lot of really great deep tracks that have been neglected. It would be nice to bring some of that stuff out. I think people would appreciate that." The 17-city tour commences on May 17 in Tel Aviv, Israel, also hitting Moscow, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. It also includes a headline performance at the Download Festival in Donington, UK, on June 11. - NME, 1/30/17...... TV legend Mary Tyler Moore was laid to rest on Jan. 29 after a small, private ceremony in Connecticut, according to the local paper Connecticut Post. Ms. Moore, a resident of Greenwich, Conn., was buried at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield at around 11 a.m., and her service was attended by approximately 50 of her closest friends and family members. The only celebrity in the crowd was Bernadette Peters, her co-star in the 1990 TV movie The Last Best Year. Ms. Moore's gravesite is surrounded by 12 empty plots that the family reportedly purchased at $2,000 a pop to ensure her privacy. Outside the cemetery, a small tribute to Ms. Moore in the form of three homemade signs proclaiming "We Love You," "Mary!!!," and "Rest in Peace, Mary" hung on the main gate, along with a picture of the actress smiling. Ms. Moore passed away on Jan. 25 at age 80 after dealing with a series of health issues, including diabetes. - PageSix.com, 1/30/17...... Officials in Los Angeles say they have positively identified the man who raped and killed Karen Klaas, the ex-wife of Righteous Brothers singer Bill Medley in 1976. Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said on Jan. 30) that investigators blame Kenneth Eugene Troyer for the slaying. Karen Klaas was strangled with her pantyhose in her home in Jan. 1976 as she returned to her home in Hermosa Beach, and the 32-year-old died a few years later. McDonnell says investigators used a controversial DNA testing technique that allows investigators to search databases to identify likely relatives of suspects who may have committed the crime. A forensic sample collected at the crime scene found a familial match to identify a close male relative of Troyer's. - AP, 1/30/17...... Geoff Nicholls, a longtime keyboardist for Black Sabbath who joined the band in 1979 after the firing of Ozzy Osbourne, died on Jan. 28 following a battle with lung cancer. He was 68. Nicholls first appeared on Black Sabbath's 1980 album, Heaven and Hell, and five years later he was named an official member of the group. After appearing on nine Sabbath albums and touring regularly with the band, he left in 1996, after Osbourne returned. "I'm so saddened to hear the loss of one of my dearest and closest friends Geoff Nicholls," Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi wrote on Facebook on Jan. 28. "I will miss him dearly and he will live in my heart until we meet again. Rest in peace my dear friend." - Billboard, 1/28/17...... 
John Hurt, a legendary actor perhaps best known for his role in the 1978 film 
Great Britain's Royal Mail announced on Jan. 25 it will be commemorating David Bowie with a limited-edition run of 10 postage stamps featuring covers of Bowie's albums and images from his tours. The stamps will feature art from such landmark albums as Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane, Heroes, Let's Dance, Earthling and Bowie's final work, 2016's Blackstar, as well as four of his tours. Royal Mail will issue the stamps on Mar. 14, and pre-orders are being accepted. Royal Mail previously has honored the Beatles in 2010 and Pink Floyd in 2015. - Billboard, 1/26/17...... In other Bowie news, Sting stunned a "Celebrating David Bowie" concert at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on Jan. 24 by making a surprise appearance to perform two songs from Bowie's Blackstar -- the title track toward the end of the 3-hour, 25 minute show, and "Lazarus," as one of the 4-song encores. The show featured a massive band comprised largely of alumni of Bowie's touring units, with celebrity lead vocalists including Perry Farrell, Bush's Gavin Rossdale and Def Leppard's Joe Elliott. The concert was part of a very limited five-city international Bowie tribute mini-tour. - Billboard, 1/25/17...... Queen with guest vocalist Adam Lambert have announced a 25-city arena summer tour of North America that will get underway on June 23 in Phoenix, Ariz. June dates also include Las Vegas (6/24), Los Angeles (6/26) and San Jose, Calif. (6/29). Major cities in July include Seattle (7/1), Denver (7/6), Chicago (7/13), Montreal (7/17), Detroit (7/20), Boston (7/25), Brooklyn (7/28), Philadelphia (7/30), and Washington D.C. (7/31), before three final dates in August -- Nashville, Tenn. (8/2), Dallas (8/4) and Houston (8/5). Tickets for the tour go on sale Feb. 3. - Billboard, 1/26/17...... A planned Janis Joplin biopic starring 5-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams has been scrapped, according to director Jean-Marc Valle. Valle, who also directed Dallas Buyers Club, says he's committed instead to the upcoming HBO series Big Little Lies. The movie, to have been called Get It While You Can, is not to be confused with another Joplin biopic starring Michelle Williams that is currently in production. That movie, Janis, is based on the biography Love, Janis by Joplin's sister, Laura Joplin, and uses Joplin's letters to family and friends to tell her story. Janis Joplin died in 1970 at the age of 27 from a heroin overdose after releasing only three albums; a posthumously released album, Pearl, was released just months after her death and featured one of her last hits, "Me and Bobby McGee." - Billboard, 1/25/17...... Fleetwood Mac announced on Jan. 25 that they will reissue their 1987 album Tango In the Night in a 
Rod Stewart announced on Jan. 23 that he'll kick off a summer tour of mostly smaller cities in America with opener Cyndi Lauper on July 6 in Hollywood, Fla. Visiting such markets as Tampa, Tuscaloosa, Camden, Bangor, Wantagh, Bristow and Rochester, the tour also visits Cincinnati on Aug. 4 and Dallas on Aug. 11 before wrapping on Aug. 12 in Houston. Stewart released his last album, Another Country, in 2015, and is currently in the studio recording. Sir Rod was also present at the Scottish Cup Draw football match on Jan. 22, where he reportedly had a blast plucking a series of numbered balls out of a bin and participated in the time-honored tradition of setting up the match-ups for the fifth round of the tournament. - Billboard, 1/23/17...... Neil Diamond has announced a 50-song, three-disc career retrospective, 
Country/pop crossover singer Crystal Gayle was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Jan. 21, nearly 50 years after she first walked onto the stage to perform as a teenager. The honor was performed by Gayle's sister, country legend and longtime Opry member Loretta Lynn, at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Gayle is best known for her 1977 hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue," which is noted on her official website as the song that "opened the world's eyes to Crystal Gayle." - AP, 1/21/17...... UK rockers Status Quo have announced a series of new tour dates following the December death of Status Quo singer/guitarist Rick Parfitt. Surviving members Francis Rossi, Andrew Bown, John 'Rhino' Edwards, Leon Cave and Richie Malone will perform four shows in support of their recent album Aquostic II: That's A Fact!, including a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall. Other dates include Inverness (6/20), York (6/21) and Norwich (6/25). Status Quo has released over 100 singles -- many of which were penned by Parfitt -- and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide. - NME, 1/23/17...... Two of Prince's relatives who are likely to receive a share of the late rock icon's multimillion-dollar estate have accused the estate's special entertainment advisers of mismanaging an October Prince tribute concert and holding on to profits the estate was guaranteed to receive. Veteran entertainment attorneys L. Londell McMillan and Charles Koppelman have been employed by the estate as experts to help monetize Prince's entertainment assets, and have entered a number of licensing agreements on behalf of the estate. At a recent hearing, the judge said the estate would likely be dived between the six people listed on the initial filing with the court: sister Tyka Nelson and half-siblings Sharon Nelson, Norrine Nelson, John Nelson, Omarr Baker, and Alfred Jackson. The Official Prince Tribute-A Celebration of Life and Music concert was held on Oct. 13, 2016 in St. Paul, Minn. - Billboard, 1/26/17...... Bassist Pete Overend Watts, a founding member of Mott the Hoople, passed away on Jan. 22 after a battle with cancer. He was 69. Born in Yardley, Birmingham on May 13, 1947, Watts met drummer Dale Griffin at Ross Grammar School, and the pair played in local bands before moving to London in 1969 where, having formed a band called The Shakedown Sound, they came to the attention of producer Guy Stevens, who also auditioned and appointed Ian Hunter as their lead singer. Renamed Mott the Hoople, the band was a popular glam-rock group in the early '70s, with hits including "All the Way from Memphis," "Roll Away the Stone" and "All the Young Dudes." After Mott the Hoople disbanded in 1974, Watts went on to form the bands Mott and British Lions. "Overend was a warm, funny, intelligent, talented and hugely charismatic person who always had an entertaining story to tell," Mott the Hoople keyboardist Verden Allen posted on Facebook. "There are no words to explain how much he will be missed, and by so many that he was an inspiration to." - New Musical Express, 1/23/17...... 
Butch Trucks, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band who played drums alongside Jai "Jaimoe" Johnny Johanson throughout the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' 46-year on-and-off history, died on Jan. 24 in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was 69. Born Claude Hudson Trucks in Jacksonville, Fla., Trucks first played in local bands and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, as well as in ensembles at Florida State University, where he studied. In a 2016 interview, Trucks said he "was a good drummer and didn't know it" when the late Duane Allman approached him to be in the band in 1968. "I was about to head back to school and get a degree in math and teach... when Duane knocked on my door with Jaimoe, and then the Allman Brothers happened," Trucks recalled. "Duane decided he wanted two drummers -- he told Jaimoe, 'If James Brown can have two drummers, so can I!' -- and Jaimoe kept telling me, 'Butch is your guy. Butch is the guy!'" Trucks is the uncle of Derek Trucks, who also played drums in a later incarnation of the ABB, and another nephew, Duane Trucks, is a member of Widespread Panic and Hard Working Americans. Trucks becomes the third member of the original Allmans to pass away: Duane Allman died after a 1971 motorcycle crash at the age of 24, and bassist Berry Oakley was killed in a similar accident at the same age less than 13 months later. Trucks and the other ABB members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He is survived by his wife, Melinda, their four children and four grandchildren. "I'm heartbroken. I've lost another brother and it hurts beyond words. Butch and I knew each other since we were teenagers and we were bandmates for over 45 years," bandmate Gregg Allman said in a statement. "He was a great man and a great drummer and I'm going to miss him forever. Rest In Peace Brother Butch." - Billboard, 1/25/17...... Folk-rock singer-songwriter Maggie Roche, a member of the sister vocal trio The Roches, has died of cancer, according to an online statement posted by her sister Suzzy Roche on Jan. 21. She was 65. The Park Ridge, N.J. sisters caught the eye of Paul Simon while touring in the '70s, and Simon recruited them as backup singers for his hit 1973 album, There Goes Rhymin' Simon. The Roches released their debut album in 1975, also playing Greenwich Village folk venues, and in 1979 released their well-received album 
Parlophone Records UK has announced David Bowie's seminal first six albums from 1969-73 will be getting a vinyl re-release on Feb. 26. Space Oddity, The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups will all be reissued on heavyweight 180g vinyl. Bowie's Bowie at the Beeb box set compilation of recordings from various BBC Radio stations from 1968-1972 will also be released on that day. All the albums have been remastered. Meanwhile, Newsweek is reporting that a treasure trove of new music the legendary artist created will be released in stages beginning in 2017. According to an unnamed source "close to the late artist, there's "a long list of unscheduled musical releases that Bowie planned before he died," which have been "divided into eras," the first of which will hit stores before the end of 2017. Also, a cast album for Bowie's off-Broadway musical "Lazarus" is also in production. The musical, which featured 18 of the artist's biggest hits, closed on Jan. 20 after its two-month run at the New York Theatre Workshop. Meanwhile Labyrinth, director Jim Henson's 1986 fantasy film starring Bowie, is getting a reboot with a script by Nicole Perlman, the co-writer of the hit film Guardians of the Galaxy. Labyrinth told of a teenager, played by Jennifer Connelly in one of her first roles, who has to navigate a fantastical maze in order to save her young brother, kidnapped by a goblin king (Bowie). It is unclear whether the new film, which is being produced by Columbia/TriStar, will be a reimagining of the story or a sequel. Despite the film's popularity in recent years, it was a box-office disappointment at the time of its release and led to Henson's exit from film directing. It was only in the intervening years that the film gained a strong cult following. In other Bowie-related news, his producing partner Tony Visconti will be the opening keynote speaker at this year's 30th annual South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW). The 2016 SXSW Music Festival runs March 15-20 and is expected to showcase 2,000 acts ranging from across all the genres. Visconti's keynote address will take place March 16. Finally, Bowie's son Duncan Jones thanked fans on Twitter on Jan. 23 for their support following his father's death earlier in January. "Hi all. Just wanted to thank you for the incredibly kind words & thoughts. I'll be easing my way back into Twitter- pic.twitter.com/n0ytOiESWb," Jones posted. Jones is the director of the films Moon and Source Code. - Billboard/The Hollywood Reporter/New Musical Express, 1/27/16...... Actor Joseph Fiennes has been cast to play Michael Jackson in a new one-off, half hour British TV comedy, chronicling a fabled road trip that the King of Pop took with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. 
The unbelievable story is based on a 2011 Vanity Fair article that alleged the three entertainment icons rented a car and fled New York westward following the attacks. Unable to fly, they were hoping to make it home to California and made it as far as Ohio while gorging on junk food in the car, before catching a plane the rest of the way. Taylor's former assistant has claimed the legendary actress never joined Brando and Jackson on the trip, and Fiennes, who has been the subject of controversy over his controversial casting as an African-American, insists that the project is only intended to be lighthearted. "It's a light comedy look. It's not in any way malicious. It's actually endearing," he told Entertainment Tonight. Fiennes is a white British actor best known for his role in 1998's Shakespeare in Love, as well as more recent roles in Hercules and American Horror Story. - Billboard/Vulture.com, 1/26/16...... In other Michael Jackson news, it appears the crazy Internet conspiracy theory that the King of Pop provided uncredited musical contributions to the 1994 Sega video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is true. The gist of the convoluted story is that former Sega exec Roger Hector, who worked on Sonic 3, has confirmed in a recent Huffington Post article that Jackson reached out to Sega in the early '90s to express his admiration for the new Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Sega, which released several titles of Jackson's Moonwalker video game, invited him to visit their office. Jackson was provided with a demo of the game and invited to compose music for it. "He took it from there and started making music," Hector said. After receiving music from Jackson's team for Sonic 3, Hector recalled, "I was really impressed with how much of a signature Michael Jackson sound there was in this, and yet, it was all new." Sega, however, still denies Jackson had any involvement on Sonic 3. Meanwhile, producer John Branca, who's also the co-executor of Jackson's estate, has hinted that more Michael Jackson movies could be on the way. "I'd like to see a movie about the History album and tour," says Branca. "It was his last tour, and his most underappreciated album. Michael was out of favor in the U.S. at the time. But if you listen to it start to finish, it's one of the greatest albums of all time." Branca also says a movie about Jackson's blockbuster 1982 album Thriller is also "definitely a candidate, and that he's planning Halloween-themed events around the album in 2017, its 35th anniversary. But until then, fans will have to be content with the new Spike Lee-directed Showtime documentary Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown to Off the Wall, which premiered on Jan. 24 at the Sundance Film Festival and hits Showtime on Feb. 5. "This (film) shows the story of Michael resurrecting the Jacksons and making his first solo album -- and we all know what happened after that," Branca says. - Billboard, 1/26/16...... 
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have rescheduled their postponed Madison Square Garden concert, which was cancelled on Jan. 24 due to a blizzard in New York City, to March 28. Tickets to the original show will be honored on the new night. Springsteen's camp has also announced that his The River Tour is extending its U.S. run with 14 new shows, and the band will play May 19 in Portugal as the headlining act on the first night of "Rock in Rio Lisboa." The new dates will begin with a third and final show at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena March 19, and will extend through Denver, Dallas, and Detroit with two final shows at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on April 23 and 25. The River Tour, Springsteen's first in two years, follows the release of his 1980 The River deluxe reissue 
Brian Wilson has announced he'll be launching an ambitious Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary World Tour on Mar. 26 at Auckland, Australia's Civic Theatre. More than 70 dates are confirmed so far in countries also including Japan, the UK, Spain, Israel and Portugal, with additional shows being added. Wilson, joined by former bandmates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, will also be playing the seminal 1966 album in its entirety in U.S. cities coast-to-coast on the tour beginning on June 14 in Burlington, Vermont, wrapping on Oct. 14 in Lake Tahoe, California. "It's really been a trip to sit here and think about releasing Pet Sounds 50 years ago," the 73-year-old Beach Boys mastermind said in a statement. "I love performing this album with my band and look forward to playing it for fans all across the world," he added. - Billboard, 1/25/16...... Iggy Pop has announced he'll be headlining London's Royal Albert Hall on May 18 with new bandmates, drummer Josh Homme (Arctic Monkeys) and Matt Helders (Queens of the Stone Age). On the same day, Pop will release his new album, Post Pop Depression, which he recorded in secret in 2015. Pop released the first track from the album, "Gardenia," earlier in January. - New Musical Express, 1/27/16...... Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the worldwide rights (excluding France and Germany) to a new documentary on Frank Zappa, Eat That Question -- Frank Zappa In His Own Words. Directed by Thorsten Schutte, the film zooms in on the iconoclastic composer-musician entirely through rare archival footage from his three-decade career and includes clips of rare TV interviews and international performances. "I'm delighted and I'm thrilled that Sony Pictures Classics believes in the film and I feel we're in very good hands," said Schutte, whose film premiered on Jan. 25 at the Sundance Film Festival. "The news of the acquisition is really the cherry on the cake of our world premiere at Sundance," he added. - The Hollywood Reporter, 1/23/16...... 
Olivia Newton-John, who played Sandy in the 
Actor Abe Vigoda, best known for his roles as mobster Tessio in 
Police in Maine arrested Don McLean on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge at his Camden home on Jan. 18, and court records show she then filed a handwritten request for protection that claims her 70-year-old husband's rage was "unfathomably deep and scary." In the request, she said McLean's abuse often left her bruised, and that she feared for her life when she called 911 earlier in the week. "Don terrorized me for four hours, until the 911 call that I think might have saved my life," she wrote. On Jan. 21, McLean issued a statement saying his marriage is experiencing a "very painful breakdown," that he is "not a villain," and that it is an emotional time for his family. "I may never recover from this but I will try and hope to continue to entertain you all as I always have," McLean said. The singer/songwriter was released from the Knox County Jail on a $10,000 bail the same day and is due in court Feb. 22. McLean's attorney, Walter McKee, said his client will plead not guilty when the case returns to court, and that McLean "vigorously denies" his wife's allegations. McLean, who grew up in Port Chester, N.Y., and has resided in the wealthy coastal Maine town of Camden for years, is best known for his chart-topping 1972 song 
Other musicians are remembering Glenn Frey, including Jimmy Buffett, who described the Eagles co-founder as "a friend, professional, inspiration, and sometimes a handful." Buffett, who was asked to induct the Eagles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, says after he first met Frey in August of 1975 when his band was invited to open for the Eagles, "Glenn and I went on to become close friends, songwriting collaborators, and neighbors in Aspen. He and Don [Henley] were instrumental in getting Irving Azoff to become my manager, and eventually open for the Eagles on the Hotel California tour of America, which was the rocket ship we rode to eventually becoming a headliner." Meanwhile, even one of Frey's most well-known antagonists, former Eagles member Don Felder, is offering praise for his ex-bandmate. "Glenn's passing was so unexpected and has left me with a very heavy heart filled with sorrow," said Felder in a statement. "He was so young and still full of amazing genius. He was an extremely talented songwriter, arranger, leader, singer, guitarist, you name it and Glenn could do it and create 'MAGIC' on the spot. His visions and insights into songs and lyrics have become legendary and will echo throughout time on this earth for decades to come." Eagles manager Irving Azoff provided additional details of Frey's Jan. 18 passing on the following day, saying his death was caused partly be medications. In an interview with TheWrap.com, Azoff said that the "complications of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Acute Ulcerative Colitis and Pneumonia" that were announced on the Eagles' website were "side effects from all the meds." "Glenn died from complications of ulcer and colitis after being treated with drugs for his rheumatoid arthritis which he had for over 15 years," said Azoff. "I can't believe he's gone... I can't believe everything we accomplished. It was a staggering body of work and just an amazing run. I don't think there will ever be another American band as successful." Also paying tribute to Frey are his "Take It Easy" co-writer Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen. On Jan. 19, Browne played "Take It Easy" during a show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida, his first concert following Frey's death the previous day at the age of 67. Springsteen also performed an acoustic version of the breezy song with just a guitar at the beginning of his encores during a concert at Chicago's United Center on Jan. 19. - Billboard, 1/20/16...... Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has received permission from Simon & Garfunkel to use one of their songs in what has been described as one of the most effective campaign commercials so far -- a 
The late David Bowie has earned his first No. 1 Billboard Hot 200 album chart debut with his new album 
ABBA members Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad made a rare group appearance for the Jan. 20 opening of an ABBA-inspired restaurant, Stockholm's Mamma Mia! The Party. The legendary Europop foursome arrived and left separately and declined to be photographed together on the red carpet, according to reports. Though the Swedes did stand beside one another on the stage -- a momentous occasion which was captured on camera. "We are here to party," Ulvaeus told reporters. ABBA, who split in 1982 and haven't performed together since 1986, purportedly once turned down a $1 billion offer for a comeback tour. - Billboard, 1/21/16...... Elton John has confirmed that he's working with Lady Gaga on music for Gaga's next album. "I've heard two songs, which are killer. They're just great songs," Sir Elton said during an interview on Jan. 19 on the U.K.'s Beats 1 program. The show's host, Zane Lowe, also Tweeted that John said he'd be "writing with Gaga tomorrow." Meanwhile, Elton has released a new video for "Blue Wonderful" from his new studio album, 
Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne has announced that his band has opted not to record a final album to go along with the band's upcoming The End tour, but they will have a final piece of product to offer fans. Osbourne and Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler say the group has prepared an eight-track CD that will be sold only at shows featuring four unreleased tracks from sessions for 2013's Grammy Award-winning 
Drummer Dale Griffin, a former member of the British glam-rock outfit Mott the Hoople, passed away in his sleep on Jan. 17 after having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease a decade ago. He was 67. Griffin was a founding member of the group that released eight albums over their five-and-a-half years as a band. Mott the Hoople are best known for their hit "All The Young Dudes," which was penned by David Bowie. The band were on the verge of splitting in 1972 when Bowie wrote "All The Young Dudes" for them, after originally offering them "Sufragette City." "All The Young Dudes" became a hit and spurred the band on to create more hits with "Honaloochie Boogie," "All The Way From Memphis" and "Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" all following. Mott The Hoople split in 1974 after completing a European tour. Griffin continued playing alongside bassist Pete Overend Watts and Morgan Fisher under the name Mott in 1976. The original band reunited in 2009 for their 40th anniversary but Griffin was unable to perform with the group due to ill-health, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at the age of 58. Griffin later worked as a producer for BBC live music sessions by bands including Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins and Pulp. - New Musical Express, 1/19/16...... Mic Gillette, a talented trumpet and trombone player and founding member of the Oakland, Calif., soul-R&B powerhouse Tower of Power, died unexpectedly on Jan. 16. He was 64. Gillette was a key component of Tower of Power's legendary horn section, which is routinely ranked among the best of its kind over the last 50 years. He also touched many in his East Bay neighborhood with his tireless involvement with and support for middle and high school music programs. The acclaimed brass player, who performed on both trumpet and trombone, was prominently featured on the band's best-known recordings, including such hits as "You're Still a Young Man," "So Very Hard to Go" and "What Is Hip?" He remained with Tower of Power until the mid-1980s, when he decided to trade in the touring life to spend more time with his family. He rejoined the seminal Oakland act from 2009 to 2011. "Mic was without a doubt the greatest brass player I've ever known," Tower of Power band leader Emilio Castillo said on the band's website. "Our sincere condolences go out to his wife, Julia, and his daughter, Megan, and their entire family." - 1/19/16.