Former Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship vocalist Marty Balin died on Sept. 27 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 76. Born Martyn Jerel Buchwald in San Francisco on Jan. 30, 1943, Balin's tenor voice provided hits for the '60s psychedelic band and its more mellow '70s spin-off band, the Jefferson Starship. His songwriting credits for the Airplane included "It's No Secret," "Today," "Comin' Back To Me," "Plastic Fantastic Lover," "Share a Little Joke," and "Volunteers" -- the latter sung at the iconic 1969 Woodstock festival. During their Airplane concerts, Balin and vocalist Grace Slick traded vocals in battles that became increasingly feverish, giving the band a volatile sound. After the Jefferson Airplane unofficially retired in 1972, Slick and Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner formed the Jefferson Starship in 1974, and Balin tentatively rejoined the band in 1975. The group's big breakthrough came with Red Octopus, their first No. 1 LP, which hit the top position several times during that year and sold four million copies, helped by Balin's ballad "Miracles" which was a No. 3 single. The band was more popular than ever, but in Slick's opinion the music had become bland and corporate, and her rivalry with Balin had not diminished. 
Their followup LP, 1976's Spitfire, became their first platinum album. After another platinum album, Earth, both Balin and Slick left. Kantner then left that band and formed the simply named Starship, which enjoyed even greater commercial success. In 1981, Balin released a solo LP of MOR love songs and in 1981 he had a hit single with "Hearts," which went to No. 8. In 1989, Kanter, Slick, Balin, and original Jefferson Airplane members Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen revived the early Jefferson Airplane lineup, and released the eponymous LP Jefferson Airplane, although it only reached the No. 85 position. The Jefferson Starship was then reformed by Kantner in 1991, and Balin rejoined that group the following year. It toured as "Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation" in the early '90s to positive reviews. Balin's wife, Susan Joy, was by his side when he died. In a statement released on Sept. 28, his family said: "Marty's fans describe him as having had a substantial impact for the better of the world: 'One of the greatest voices of all time, a writer of songs that will never fade, and founder of the quintessential San Francisco band of the sixties.' His music is known for being the soundtrack to all of life's monumental moments." - CNN/The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock, 9/28/18.
The Nile Rodgers-fronted group Chic released It's About Time, its first album in over 25 years, on Sept. 28. Rodgers says that It's About Time, which features contributions from the likes of Elton John, Lady Gaga, Hailee Steinfeld, Stefflon Don, Emeli Sande and Craig David, "is the most self-indulgent album I've ever done in my life." "I don't normally make records like this because I don't have the power to say 'this is how it's gonna go and I'm gonna tell this really big story.' So now that I do, I can do it my way and this is happening my way exactly," says the 66-years old Rodgers. "And I just hope people get it and like it and understand it. It's a geeky record, and a very idealistic record." Rodgers notes that It's About Time is the first album in a two-part collection of new Chic music, with the second part tentatively due in February 2019. - Billboard, 9/28/18...... 
The official website of the upcoming Elton John movie Rocketman shared the first official photo from the movie on Sept. 28. Welsh actor Taron Egerton, who portrays Sir Elton in the movie, is shown dressed in a gold bomber jacket and blue, red and gold winged boots. He is also seen sporting some glittery sunglasses and John's red hair. "TaronEgerton stars in #Rocketman, an epic musical fantasy about the uncensored human story of Sir Elton John's breakthrough years. Experience it in theatres Summer 2019. pic.twitter.com/fwMMoGxSnb," reads a tweet on the site. Rocketman, first announced in 2011, is billed as a "larger than life movie musical spectacle that tells the story of a child prodigy turned music legend." Dexter Fletcher, who worked on the Eddie The Eagle biopic with Tom Egerton, will be directing. John will serve as an executive producer on the project and is planning to "re-record many of his iconic hits to parallel the emotional beats of the film." In other Elton-related news, the singer has just added 25 more North American dates to his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour, in September, October and November of 2019. John kicked off the tour on Sept. 8 in Allentown, Pa. On the tour, fans will get a unique glimpse into the personal meaning behind many of the Rocket Man's hits, with never-before-seen photos and videos displayed throughout the show to commemorate his 50-year career. The tour is currently scheduled to wrap on Nov. 16, 2019, in Long Island, N.Y. - NME/Billboard, 9/28/18...... The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has overturned a 2016 jury verdict that found that Led Zeppelin did not steal any original music from "Taurus," an obscure 1968 instrumental by the Los Angeles band Spirit. "Taurus" was written by the late Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe, better known as Randy California, whose trust brought the copyright infringement lawsuit. A trustee for Wolfe's estate claims Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant was inspired to write "Stairway to Heaven" after hearing Spirit perform "Taurus" while the bands toured together in 1968 and 1969, and that Wolfe never got any credit. The jury in the 2016 trial found that the two songs were not substantially similar, and supported the defendants' claim that Wolfe was a songwriter for hire who did not have a copyright claim, and that the opening of "Stairway" -- a descending chromatic four-chord progression -- is a common musical convention that did not deserve copyright protection. Now the federal appeals court panel that overturned the 2016 ruling held that parts of the jury instructions in that trial were erroneous and prejudicial, and that the first trial abused its discretion by not allowing recordings of "Taurus" to be played during the proceedings. Meanwhile, Led Zeppelin continues the celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2018 with the release of a new 50th Anniversary Interviews album, which is currently available for streaming on Spotify.com. The release is comprised of 34 new interview clips from the band's surviving members, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones who reflect on their career, as well as specific songs and albums. The band has also digitally released their recent Record Store Day single, which featured unreleased versions of both "Rock And Roll" and "Friends." - NBCNews.com/New Musical Express, 9/28/18...... Rod Stewart's 30th studio album, Blood Red Roses, hit stores on Sept. 28, and unlike his contemporaries Elton John, Bob Seger and Paul Simon, the 73-year-old Stewart says that he's "not even thinking" about retiring from live performing. "We have a concert in Budapest next week, and it can't come around quick enough. I'm anxious. I love it," Stewart told Billboard. "Elton, he's doing 300 shows and he'll still do the odd show here and there. All good things must end. Not for me, not yet. I'm not even thinking about it," he added. Rod says he's also started work on his next album, and "it will be totally different from the last three." - Billboard, 9/27/18...... 
Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, the Beatles announced on Sept. 24 that they are releasing new versions of The Beatles (White Album) on Nov. 9 -- adding new 2018 mixes and a wealth of unreleased demos from the vaults to celebrate the original two-disc album's 50th anniversary of release in November, 1968. The mixes for the new packages were done by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell. The packages include a 3 CD edition, a 6 CD + Blu-ray deluxe edition, and a 4-LP vinyl edition. The Beatles, which was the first to be released on the Beatles' Apple label, was issued in stereo and mono in the U.K., but only stereo in the U.S., and had long been seen as the first glimpses of the Beatles as solo artists. - Billboard, 9/24/18...... In a short video posted on publisher Puffin Books' YouTube account on Sept. 27, Paul McCartney announced that he has written his first illustrated children's book, titled Hey Grandude. The book follows the adventures of a magical man named Grandude and his four grandchildren, who he calls "Chillers." McCartney says he originally got the idea for the book after one of his eight grandchildren began to refer to him as "Grandude," and the nickname stuck. "I wanted to write it for grandparents everywhere, so it gives them something to read to the grandkids at bedtime," he said. Hey Grandude, illustrated by Kathryn Durst, will be published by Puffin Books in Sept. 2019. Although the famous former Beatle co-wrote the 2005 children's book High in the Clouds with Philip Ardagh, Hey Grandude will be his first solo literary venture. - Billboard, 9/27/18...... Prince was posthumously awarded an honorary degree by the University of Minnesota on Sept. 26 to recognize his influence on music and his role in shaping his hometown of Minneapolis. A special ceremony on the campus featuring Prince music performed by the university's School of Music was held to award the degree. The university had been preparing to present it to Prince himself before his death in 2016. - AP, 9/26/18...... Barbara Streisand released her first song since 2005, "Don't Lie to Me," on Sept. 27. Inspired by the Donald Trump administration and today's political climate, its chorus says "How do you sleep and the world keeps turning? All that we built has come undone." The 76-year-old singer said she initially aimed to include "very subtle" references to Trump, but confessed "I just went ballistic" in writing the lyrics. "I just can't stand what's going on," Streisand says. "His assault on our democracy, our institutions, our founders -- I think we're in a fight... We're in a war for the soul of America," she added. "Don't Lie to Me," along with other politically-themed songs including "Imagine" and "What the World Needs Now," will be featured on Streisand's new 11-track album, Walls, which drops Nov. 2. - DailyMail.co.uk, 9/27/18...... The Eagles announced on Sept. 26 they'll release a new Legacy box set on Nov. 2 that will include all seven of the band's studio albums, three live albums, and a compilation of singles and B-sides. The 12-disc set also includes their Hell Freezes Over and Farewell Melbourne concert videos on DVD and Blu-ray, respectively. Another box set, a 15-LP vinyl package, will also be released including everything but the concert videos from the CD set. Both box sets -- which include a hard-cover book of photos, memorabilia and artwork too -- are set for release Nov. 2 via Rhino Entertainment, with the CD set available for $179.98 and the vinyl set for $349.98. Meanwhile, the Eagles are in the midst of a 2019 tour with co-founder Don Henley and longtime members Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit joined by country star Vince Gill and Glenn Frey's son Deacon Frey. It will wrap on Dec. 7 in Honolulu. The band has also announced a massive 2019 world tour that's set to kick off on May 26 in Antwerp, Belgium before heading across Europe. It will include six stops in the UK in June. - Billboard/NME, 9/26/18...... The 33rd FarmAid benefit concert was held on Sept. 22 in Hartford, Conn. Neil Young, one of the co-founders of the annual show, spoke about supporting family farms and independent small businesses between songs. "When you see a farmer's market, just stop and go in and get to know them and buy something. Buy something good. Don't buy the shit you get at Safeway. Buy something that's really safe. All the crap you get in these big stores is not good. It's got a lot of chemicals in it and it kills the earth," Young said. Young, a self-described Libertarian, said that he's "been called a lot of things by this dickhead in the White House, but I am a Canadian, and I love America. There's nothing here that needs to be made 'great again." Young founded Farm Aid in 1985 with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp. - Billboard, 9/25/18...... 
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason returned to London's Roundhouse venue on Sept. 24 for a gig with his new band Saucerful of Secrets, over a half century since he first played there with Pink Floyd. Mason's group kicked off the set with "Interstellar Overdrive" and "Astronomy Domine," both from the band's 1967 debut The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Mason said that his new live project Saucerful of Secrets, named after Pink Floyd's 1968 album, was born after he had "finally given up waiting for that phone call from Roger [Waters] or David [Gilmour]," adding that he was "thrilled to be back at The Roundhouse." Other highlights included a searing "Lucifer Sam" and the visceral white noise rush of "Set The Controls For The Heart of the Sun," while early singles "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne" were reborn with a fresh intensity and power. Pink Floyd famously opened the venue on Oct. 15, 1966, performing alongside The Soft Machine at an "All Night Rave" to launch the underground newspaper International Times. It was attended by a who's who of countercultere '60s London, including Paul McCartney, Marianne Faithfull and Blow Up director Michelangelo Antonioni. Acid-laced sugar cubes were said to have been handed out at the door. - Billboard, 9/25/18...... Former Deep Purple bassist/singer Glenn Hughes will kick off his "Glenn Hughes Performs Classic Deep Purple Live" tour of Ireland and the UK on Sept. 29 in Belfast. It will be the first time ever that Hughes performs Deep Purple material in Ireland. After a Sept. 30 show in Dublin, Hughes then will continue on to the UK on Oct. 2 in Bristol with special guest Laurence Jones. Hughes' eleven-date tour will also visit Leamington (10/3), Southampton (10/5), Cardiff (10/6), Leeds (10/9), Newcastle (10/10), Glasgow (10/12) and Manchester (10/13) before wrapping at London's Electric Ballroom on Oct. 15. - Noble PR, 9/27/18...... The estate of late teen idol and country/rock singer Rick Nelson filed a class action lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment on Sept. 25 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging the label violates contractual agreements with its artists by assessing an intercompany charge on international streaming revenue that deprives artists of accurate royalties from foreign sales. The suit alleges that Sony underreports revenue generated by artists abroad by adding a charge on revenues collected by region-specific subsidiaries such as Sony Music UK and Sony Music Australia. The lawsuit asks the court for a jury trial with hopes to compel Sony to remove the intercompany charge for international sales and include 100 percent of income in the accounting. Nelson signed with CBS/Epic in 1976, four years after his last big hit -- the country rock classic "Garden Party." A year after signing with Epic he released Intakes, which sold poorly. A followup for the label was recorded in 1978, though the tracks were shelved until after his death in 1985. - Billboard, 9/26/18...... Adam Cohen, the son and producer of late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Leonard Cohen, revealed on Sept. 28 that he's working to complete some of his dad's unfinished songs for a new album to be released sometime in 2019. "I was tasked with finishing a few more songs of his that we started together on the last album, so his voice is literally still in my life," Adam said in an interview with CBC q's Tom Power. "To make a long story short, I believe that there are some really beautiful new songs of Leonard Cohen that no one's heard that are at some point going to come out," he added. Adam Cohen will also be releasing The Flame, a book of Leonard Cohen's unpublished poems, on Oct. 2. Leonard Cohen passed away in 2016 at the age of 82. - Billboard, 9/28/18...... 
Blondie announced on Sept. 24 that they'll be playing two nights in Cuba next March as part of a four-day cultural exchange program. Blondie will play two concerts during their March 14-18 visit in Havana, which will also feature Cuban musicians Alain Perez, David Torrens and Sintesis. The program, in which fans can also come along, will also include visits to Cuban museums and cultural institutions, studios and galleries and photography and architecture tours. Pricing for the trip, which includes a hotel reservation, ranges from $2,700 to $5,600. Blondie drummer Clem Burke says the band has been experimenting with Caribbean sounds for years on songs like, "Rapture" and "The Tide Is High" and they've always loved Cuban music. - AP, 9/24/18...... Ventura County, Calif. detectives were called to the Malibu mansion of Cher on Sept. 27 to execute a search warrant a man related to a recent drug overdose that occurred in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The man is reportedly 23-year-old Donovan Ruiz, who is Cher's assistant's son. Ruiz was reportedly arrested for a felony for supplying narcotics to someone who died. Cher was not home during the incident, as she is in the midst of her international tour. Her next show is scheduled for Brisbane, Australia on Sept. 28. Meanwhile, during a recent appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Cher revealed that she would like to collaborate with Adele and Pink, but "not Madonna." Cher has expressed her disdain for Madonna since the 1990s, saying that while she respected Madonna's music and business-savvy approach to the industry, she found her to be "mean," "spoiled" and "a bitch." - Billboard, 9/27/18...... Appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Sept. 27, former Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson was asked about her brief love triangle with Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley. "Billy and I were living together in Central Park West, we were friendly. I think he was dating Christie at the time, just starting to. I got ousted," Macpherson said. Host Andy Cohen also questioned Elle over the rumour that Joel's 1983 song "Uptown Girl" was about her. But the blonde beauty insisted that the hit tune was inspired by a variety of women. "I think it's (about) all the uptown girls, put it that way. I don't need to take any ownership over that. He liked tall girls," the 54-year-old Macpherson mused. Joel and his second wife Brinkley were married from 1985 until 1994, with the pop star currently wed to his fourth wife, Alexis Roderick. - WENN/Canoe.com, 9/28/18...... 
Actor/comic Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison on Sept. 25 for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004. Cosby, 81, was sentenced to "total confinement" by Judge Steven O'Neill, five months after his conviction in the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. Ahead of the sentencing, O'Neill ruled that Cosby is a "sexually violent predator." The classification means that Cosby must undergo monthly counseling for the rest of his life and report quarterly to authorities. His name will appear on a sex-offender registry sent to neighbors, schools and victims. Cosby, who was once known as "America's Dad" for his role as Dr. Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, was facing anywhere from probation to 10 years in prison after being convicted in April. His lawyers had asked for house arrest, saying 81-year-old Cosby -- who is legally blind -- is too old and helpless to do time in prison. Prosecutors asked for five to 10 years behind bars, saying the TV icon could still be a threat to women. Cosby's publicist, Andrew Wyatt, denounced the outcome in a statement outside court, calling it "the most racist and sexist trial in the history of the United States." Cosby became the first black actor to star in a primetime TV show, I Spy, in 1965. He remained a Hollywood A-lister for much of the next half-century. - AP, 9/25/18...... Film producer Gary Kurtz, one of the major forces in the creation of the Star Wars movies, has passed away at age 78 from cancer. Kurtz was a hands-on producer for 1977's Star Wars, shepherding George Lucas' pet project from Flash Gordon-knockoff to problematic production to unprecedented sci-fi phenomenon. The film went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all-time, and set the pace for many of the studio blockbusters that followed. Kurtz was also involved to a greater extent in the follow up, 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, serving as both producer and second unit director under director Irvin Kershner in the absence of Lucas, who was busy building up his Lucasfilm empire. Kurtz and Lucas first partnered on 1973's seminal teen comedy American Graffiti, which revolutionized the use of music and cross-cutting of stories in film, and helped launch the acting careers of Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard and Harrison Ford. Kurtz also produced Monte Hellman's 1971 cult classic racing movie Two-Lane Blacktop, starring singer James Taylor. - ComingSoon.net, 9/25/18...... Actress Laurie Mitchell, who portrayed the villainess who faces off against Zsa Zsa Gabor on the planet Venus in the campy 1958 sci-fi classic Queen of Outer Space, died on Sept. 20 of natural causes at a long-term care facility in Perris, Calif. She was 90. Ms. Mitchell played a man-hating queen whose face is hidden by a glittery mask in Queen of Outer Space, which became a fan favorite at film festivals, and she participated in autograph shows for the movie for the rest of her life. Ms. Mitchell also worked alongside Marilyn Monroe as a member of Sweet Sue's band in Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot, (1959), which, she once said was "the most thrilling experience of my show business career." - The Hollywood Reporter, 9/24/18.
In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Billy Joel revealed that he "is planning a potential collaboration with a major pop star," who turns out to be Pink. Joel told the paper that he and Pink had recently gotten together and thrown around some ideas. He wasn't sure what would come of it but said he'd "had a good time." Joel, 67, has famously not released a new album since 1993's River Of Dreams, and has shared only two non-instrumental songs in the past 24 years: "All My Life," a 2007 Valentine's ballad for his third ex-wife, and "Christmas In Fallujah," a charity collaboration with his daughter's ex-boyfriend Cass Dillon the same year. Joel spoke to the Los Angeles Times ahead of his first concert ever at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium on May 13. - Billboard, 5/5/17...... Barbra Streisand gave a shout out to two special guests, former president Bill Clinton and his wife and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during her May 6 concert at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, her hometown. The Funny Girl noted she performed at Pres. Clinton's inauguration and then went on to list his accomplishments, including lowering taxes for some and raising taxes on the rich. "And speaking of taxes, he showed us his tax returns," Streisand said, a dig at Pres. Donald Trump, who has refused to release his. She also introduced Hillary as "the winner of our country's popular vote." Referring to Hillary's recent appearance at a women's forum, Streisand said it "makes us yearn for what could have been, what should have been.... I was thrilled to hear yourself describe yourself as an activist citizen and part of the resistance." The 75-year-old singer called for a bridging of the political divide before breaking into "Happy Days Are Here Again," and hinted that her "mini-tour," which consists of this and another concert in the New York City area, could be her last. "You know -- other things to do," she said. - AP, 5/7/17...... Paul McCartney has topped the London Sunday Times' survey of the U.K.'s richest musicians for 2017. Sir Paul took the top spot with £780 million ($1 billion) with his wife Nancy Shevell, while impresario Andrew Lloyd-Webber, U2, Elton John, Mick Jagger and his Rolling Stones bandmate Keith Richards completed the top 5. Other '70s musicians making the list include Ringo Starr, Sting, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Tom Jones, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and Brian May. - Billboard, 5/4/17...... 
Blondie released its 11th album, 
Patti LaBelle has just released 
The famous "Wolf" guitar played by late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia will go under the auctioneer's hammer on May 31 at Brooklyn Bowl, a bowling alley, restaurant and venue for music shows. The sale is being conducted by Guernsey's auction house, who note Wolf first appeared in a 1973 New York performance the Dead gave for the Hells Angels. Wolf is currently owned by devoted Deadhead Daniel Pritzker, a philanthropist, musician and film director who bought it in 2002 at Guernsey's for $790,000. It has been estimated that Wolf's price tag could exceed $1 million this time. The proceeds from the sale will go to the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center. - AP, 5/5/17...... Cher will be the recipient of the ICON Award at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, which will take place on May 21 and be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 8:00 p.m. EDT. During her appearance, Cher will sing her biggest hit, "Believe," which marks her first awards show performance in over 15 years. "I'm honored to receive the 2017 Billboard Music Awards ICON Award and take the stage to celebrate my love of music with my fans," Cher said in a statement. "Seeing so many powerful artists -- especially female artists emerge and take their place in history through the years has been incredible. I'm honored to be amongst the previous ICON Award winners and to celebrate this milestone achievement by performing 'Believe' on the show." Previous ICON award recipients include Celine Dion, Prince, Jennifer Lopez, Stevie Wonder and Neil Diamond. - Billboard, 5/4/17...... Former stars of the '70s sitcom 
The Eagles have filed a trademark infringement suit against the U.S.-based owners of a small hotel in Todos Santos, Mexico, which originally went by the name of one of the band's most famous songs and its most successful album, 1976's 
Speaking of the Who, frontman Roger Daltrey recently told New Musical Express that "we don't know if we'll ever play again after the current tour." "People at our age have been popping their clogs [over the last year] so let's just get real here, where we are in our lives," Daltrey said. "We're doing remarkably well for where we are but we just don't know. If we get through this year, we're gonna need some time off. We'll re-think it after that. Obviously as a singer I've got to keep working if I want to keep singing because that's how voices work. If I stop singing now for a year, it'll be all over." The Who will become the first rock band to play Caesars Palace in Las Vegas when they begin a six-night residency on July 29 that runs through Aug. 11. - New Musical Express, 4/28/17...... Bruce Springsteen was interviewed by one of his most famous and passionate fans, actor Tom Hanks, during the Tribeca Talks series at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival on Apr. 28 in New York City. Springsteen and Hanks first worked together on the 1993 film Philadelphia, which was directed by Jonathan Demme, who passed away just two days earlier. "God bless Jonathan Demme," Hanks said before beginning the hour-long conversation. "We just lost him." Springsteen added, "He was such an inspirational guy. No Jonathan Demme, no Philadelphia, no 'Streets of Philadelphia.'" The Boss also told stories behind some of his biggest hits, and, of course, why he is so proud to call New Jersey home: "When I made my first record, they were trying to tie me to New York, and I felt like I wasn't really a New York artist. I wandered down the boardwalk and picked out the postcard "Greetings From Asbury Park," and it was Jersey all the way ever since." The following evening, Barbra Streisand chatted with director Robert Rodriguez at Tribeca Talks, reflecting on her acting career and her struggles as a director of her own films. "[The criticism] of Yentl must have hurt me more than I thought because I didn't want to direct for years after that," she said. On Apr. 26, Streisand told WNYC public radio that she believes sexism played a role in Hillary Clinton's 2016 election loss: "Power and woman has always been suspect. Strong women have always been suspect in this country." Streisand is currently touring behind her latest album, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, and has two concerts lined up for May. - Billboard, 4/28/17...... 
A cryptic message on the official website of Robert Plant has led Led Zeppelin fans to believe that the heavy metal icons could be on the verge of a reunion show or possibly a tour. "Any time now" currently sits on Plant's site, and while the message cold be interpreted as the completion of Plant's album with his side project the Sensational Space Shifter, a well-placed source has disclosed that Plant has agreed to reform Led Zeppelin with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones for Desert Trip Festival, which takes place in Indio, Calif., in October. It has also been noted that Led Zep will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2018, with Plant possibly keen to mark the milestone with a special performance -- or tour -- later this year and into 2018. Led Zeppelin last performed together in Dec. 2007, when they played at London's The O2 as part of the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert. - New Musical Express, 5/3/17...... Guitarist Craig Chaquico, a founding member of Jefferson Starship, filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco on Apr. 27 against his former bandmates to block them from using the band's name for upcoming performances and merchandise. Chaquico says the band's members agreed to retire the Jefferson Starship moniker in 1985 after founding member Paul Kantner left the group, and claims the group has been using the Jefferson Starship name without permission, and has used his image to promote shows through early 2018. Chaquico maintains he allowed Kantner to use the Jefferson Starship name for several years, but that right ended when Kantner died in 2016, according to the suit. Chaquico, who was discovered by Kantner, performed with Jefferson Airplane, the precursor of Jefferson Starship, a few times before it disbanded in 1972. Several of the band's members formed Jefferson Starship in 1974, but it broke up a decade later. Chaquico and other members then formed a new group, Starship, which recorded the hits "We Built This City" and "Sara." "This case is about tarnishing the legacy of the original Jefferson Starship band," Chaquico said in a statement. - AP, 4/27/17...... Iggy Pop was awarded France's highest cultural honour, a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, by the French gevernment during a ceremony on Apr. 25 in Miami, Fla., conducted by French Consul General Clement Leclerc. In an accompanying post on Pop's Instagram page, the caption explained: "Iggy has been awarded this distinction for his contribution to the arts in France and throughout the world. It was a very special day." Pop, who recently turned 70, has previously sung in French on his 2009 album Prliminaires as well as on his follow-up LP Aprs, which was released in 2012. - NME, 4/26/17...... 
Cheap Trick has shared "Long Time Coming," the first single from its upcoming album 
Peter Frampton appeared on Washington D.C.'s Capitol Hill on Apr. 26 to lobby Congress on ASCAP's "Stand With Songwriters' Advocacy Day." "For all the streaming companies that played 'Baby I Love Your Way' -- some 56 million times -- I got $3,000," an incredulous Frampton told legislators about his hit single from the 1976 smash album 
On May 19, Frank Zappa's son Dweezil Zappa issued a multi-thousand-word rebuttal to his brother Ahmet Zappa's recent open letter to him on Facebook. In what he characterized as "a tedious undertaking," Dweezil countered Ahmet's assertions that he was uncommunicative and intransigent and that he created a false impression of the family's disagreements by giving an "incomplete, misleading story" to The New York Times, in an article published in April that quoted both brothers. The Zappa siblings -- Dweezil, Ahmet, Moon Zappa and Diva Zappa (but particularly Ahmet and Dweezil, who recorded two albums together) -- have been battling each other over the rights to Frank's vast catalog of songs since their mother, Gail Zappa, died in 2015. After Gail died in October, control of the trust passed to the two youngest Zappa siblings, Ahmet and Diva, who serve as the estate's trustees. Dweezil and Moon remain beneficiaries of the estate. Dweezil has complained that "although my father was Frank Zappa, I am not allowed to use the name on its own." Ahmet has countered that he "isn't standing in the way of Dweezil playing the music... He would just have to be in accordance with the family trust." - Billboard, 5/19/16...... The Rolling Stones have announced they're hooking up with St. Tropez-based men's swimwear manufacturer Vilebrequin for a collection of men's trunks to go on sale in June. Using a slew of images from the band's iconic discography -- created by artists including Andy Warhol, Robert Frank and David Bailey -- the swimwear includes the signature Moorea ($280), flat-waisted Merise ($295), and black T-shirt ($135) with the band's iconic tongue and lips logo. "The Rolling Stones' style has always been colorful, unconventional and fresh, all with an allure that is very inspiring for us," says Vilebrequin CEO Roland Herlory. - Billboard, 5/20/16...... Joe Jackson, the 87-year-old father of Michael Jackson and his siblings, was hospitalized on May 13 after becoming weak during a routine checkup with his doctor, but son Jermaine Jackson says his dad is doing much better now. "He's just tired, -- he's 87 -- and we're just trying to hold onto him as long as we can... My father's very strong. He's up there telling jokes. He's doing fine." - TMZ.com, 5/18/16...... 
A new Iggy Pop and the Stooges documentary titled Gimme Danger premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France on May 19. Named after a song from one of Iggy and the Stooges most iconic albums, 
Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has announced plans to turn the 15th century story of Joan of Arc's life into an off-Broadway musical. Posting on his official website, Byrne said: "Everyone certainly knows how it ends, which I like. Why has this story endured over centuries and been made into so many plays and movies? Because it's about someone -- a nobody, a teenage girl -- who inspired others to act, to overthrow their oppressors and take charge of their lives." Byrne says he's already written the music for the show, which is yet to be given an official title, and it's set to premiere in the spring of 2017 at New York City's Public Theater. Byrne previously produced the 2013 musical "Here Lives Love," a stage adaptation of an album he did with Fatboy Slim. - Billboard, 5/20/16...... On May 17, an attorney for the plaintiff in the upcoming 
A remastered collection of 16 of Lou Reed's albums the late musician recorded for RCA Records and the RCA-distributed label Arista is due Oct. 7 in the U.S. 
Legendary 60 Minutes correspondent Morely Safer, an Emmy-winning newsman who was one of the first reporters to convey the brutality of the Vietnam War to America's TV viewers, died on May 18. He was 84. Born in Toronto, Mr. Safer began his career as a newspaper reporter in Canada and England. He moved into broadcast journalism as a producer and correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. He first became a correspondent for CBS News in 1964, based in the London bureau. In 1965, he opened the CBS News bureau in Saigon, serving two tours in the Vietnam war. In 1967, he became CBS News' London bureau chief, covering Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He also returned to Vietnam to provide continuing coverage of the war. The airing of one of his reports on the CBS News with Walter Cronkite in which he accompanyied U.S. Marines on a military action into a complex of villages called Cam Ne was one of the first to document the unsettling details of Vietnam for U.S. audiences, marking a turning point in public opinion of the war. Mr. Safer was called a communist for undermining the war effort, and Pres. Lyndon Johnson's administration attempted to discredit him and the network. Mr. Safer joined 60 Minutes as a correspondent in Dec. 1970, following in the footsteps of Harry Reasoner. He remained with the program for the rest of his career, more than 40 years. Later in his career, Mr. Safer also appeared on TV shows and in films about journalism, playing himself on a 2003 episode of Murphy Brown, and in the 1990s, he provided narration to documentaries on PBS, including episodes of The American Experience and American Masters. Mr. Safer won his first News and Documentary Emmy in 1979 for "Teddy Kollek's Jerusalem," a profile of the mayor of Jerusalem. Mr. Safer, the 12-time winner of News and Documentary Emmys, including a lifetime achievement award in 2003, had announced his retirement just the previous week. He is survived by his wife, the former Jane Fearer, and a daughter. - AP, 5/19/16...... Actor Alan Young, who gamely played straight man to a talking horse for five years in the classic '60s sitcom Mr. Ed, died on May 19 at the Motion Picture and Television Home in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 96. On the series, which ran from 1961-66 on CBS, Mr. Young played architect Wilbur Post, who was married to Carol (played by Connie Hines, who died in 2009) and kept a horse, Mr. Ed, in their suburban stable. Mr. Ed, voiced by Allan "Rocky" Lane, would speak only to Wilbur, but given Mr. Ed's rather outlandish personality and the superbly mild affect of Young's Wilbur, just who owned whom could occasionally be a matter of debate. Mr. Young also voiced Scrooge McDuck and numerous other animated characters, as well as guesting on dozens of TV shows. - Variety, 5/19/16.
Eric Clapton says his new album, I Still Do, was initially conceived "as an homage to a family member, an old auntie who passed away a couple of years ago." "She used to say that she (had) liked me as a little boy, 'and I still do.' But that ended up just being the title," says Clapton, who at age 71 admits that "a lot of pals around my age seem to be kicking off." Reflecting on the recent deaths of such rock stars as Glenn Frey, Maurice White, Paul Kantner and his fellow British legend, David Bowie, Clapton revealed he didn't know Bowie well -- "I only met him a few times, and we never worked together." Clapton says his version of the wistful standard "I'll Be Seeing You" on I Still Do was recorded to "say goodbye to all these people." The album has Clapton reuniting with renowed producer Glyn Johns, who teamed with him on the 1977 classic Slowhand. Clapton reunited with Johns -- also noted for his work with the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the Who -- when they "met up a couple of years ago and realized that all this time had gone by," Clapton recalls. "We were having dinner and I said, 'We should do something again.'" For his part, Glyn Johns says, "my principle was to capture him playing (guitar) live as much as possible. Eric is probably the most inspirational player I've worked with. He's a very emotive player -- it goes straight from his heart to his fingers. His brain doesn't get in the way. And he's playing and singing as well as he ever did. In my view, actually, he's really developed as a singer." Clapton, who doesn't tour much these days, said he has had "some health issues going on in this year, some trouble with my hands and back," but he tries to stay fit, "to get away from sugar and wheat and preservatives. ...I suppose the way it works for me is that I try to keep my side of the street as clean as possible. I have a will, I stay current. And I try to pay a little attention to the legacy I'm leaving, you know?" - USA Today, 5/15/16...... Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone of the legendary '60s British Invasion band the Zombies performed an intimate show at New York City's Rough Trade venue on May 12. Best known for such hits as "Tell Her No," "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season," the latter from their acclaimed 1968 album Odessey And Oracle, the Zombies performed a tidy 30-minute set featuring their trademark electric pianos and harmonies. Argent and Blunstone also made room for a pair of recent cuts, "Edge Of The Rainbow" and "Moving On," both of which appeared on their 2015 album Still Got That Hunger. - Billboard, 5/12/16...... Thousands of CD and vinyl copies of the indie rock band Car Seat Headrest's new album Teens of Denial have been recalled after an unauthorized sample of the Ric Ocasek-penned the Cars song "Just What I Needed." According to a statement issued by the label, Matador Records, a license for the song in question, "Just What I Wanted/Not Just What I Needed," had been negotiated "in good faith months ago, only to be told last week that the publisher involved was not authorized to complete the license in the United States, and that Ric Ocasek preferred that his work not be included in the song." Ocasek, who has also served as a record producer and worked in major label A&R teams, has yet to comment on the matter. An updated version of the song has been cut to replace the original, and is now called "Not What I Needed," and physical copies of the album will be available in July. - Billboard, 5/13/16...... 
An actor who is set to appear in the 2017 Showtime reboot of the famous David Lynch-directed TV series Twin Peaks says that David Bowie was slated to appear in the new Twin Peaks before his untimely Jan. 2016 death. Henry Goaz, who will appear as Deputy Andy Brennan in the new show, says Bowie was set to make a cameo as Agent Phillip Jeffries, who he portrayed in the 1992 Twin Peaks film spinoff Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. An air date for the reboot, which will feature a massive cast of 217 actors including original stars Kyle MacLachlan and Sherilynn Fenn, has not been announced. - Billboard, 5/13/16...... In other Bowie news, the late singer's son, filmmaker Duncan Jones, said on May 11 that his late father influenced his film work. "My dad was obviously prolific in music, but he also acted and I think I had the most fun when we were on film sets... I think I got the (directing) bug back then," said Jones, who is best known for his films Moon and Source Code. "Because the musical gene did not express itself in the way one might have hoped, my main hobby with my dad was shooting little one-stop animations and I just always carried that interest in film," added Jones, whose latest directorial project is Warcraft, a cinematic adaptation of video game franchise World Of Warcraft. Warcraft stars Travis Fimmel and Dominic Cooper and is set to open on June 3 in the UK and on June 10 in North America. - New Musical Express, 5/13/16...... The final recording by late country music great Merle Haggard, "Kern River Blues," premiered on Willie Nelson's SiriusXM's Willie's Roadhouse channel, and was later made available to download on merlehaggard.com/music.html and iTunes. Penned by Haggard and featuring his son Ben Haggard on electric guitar, "Kern River Blues" is about the singer's memories of leaving Bakersfield in the late '70s, according to a post on Haggard's website. The track was recorded Feb. 9 at the singer's Hag Studios as he was battling with the pneumonia that would ultimately take his life on Apr. 6 at the age of 79. Haggard's family say they decided to release the song as a way of thanking everyone" for their "tremendous outpouring of love and prayers" for the artist, and that 10% of all gross proceeds from its sale will be donated to homeless charities. - Billboard, 5/12/16...... 
Alice Cooper has announced that he and the surviving members of the original Alice Cooper band -- guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith -- are working together again on new music for the shock rocker's next album. "Neal Smith and Mike Bruce and I wrote five songs in Phoenix," Cooper said on May 11. "Dennis wrote four or five songs in Connecticut. You never know what's going to make it on an album, but I think we've got a lot of stuff that has a good chance of being there." Members of Cooper's current band are also contributing songs for the set, which has led to a welcome plethora of material. "I don't care where a song comes from; If it fits the idea, what the album's going to be, then we go with it," Cooper says. "We'll see which ones make the album." Cooper and his band formed in Phoenix in the mid-'60s and recorded seven albums together, starting out with Frank Zappa's Straight Records label, then moving to Warner Bros. for a string of hit albums and singles. The group broke up acrimoniously after 1973's Muscle of Love, with Bruce, Dunaway and Smith going on to form the short-lived Billion Dollar Babies band. Cooper, who is currently touring with his own band as well as with his side project the Hollywood Vampires, says there's no timetable when his next album will come out. - Billboard, 5/12/16...... The Rolling Stones have commented on the upcoming three-day Desert Trip concert extravaganza, which is set for Oct. 7-9 at the site of the Coachella festival in Indio, Calif., and will feature such acts as the Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Roger Waters and the Who. On the Friday night, it's going to be us and Bob Dylan, so there will be masses of musicians, actually masses of guests of all the musicians, and it's a fun time for everyone," Mick Jagger told Rolling Stone magazine on May 12. "How many trips can you take to the desert, man? The line-up is just amazing," added Keith Richards. "I can't believe we're all going to be stuck in this little town together. I mean, never have we ever all in the same place at the same time." Richards continued to say that he would love to work with Dylan: "I'd work with Bob any[where]. I'd work with Bob in hell or heaven. I love him." The pricey tickets for the festival, which is aimed at an older, more affluent audience, went on sale on May 11, and reportedly sold out in just three hours. 70,000 three-day tickets for each of the festival's two weekends are believed to have been sold, 140,000 tickets in total, although the promoters have yet to confirm the reports. - NME, 5/13/16...... In other festival news, Ozzy Osbourne and the band Slipknot are joining forces for a festival set for Sept. 24 and 25 at the San Manuel Amphitheater and Festival Grounds in San Bernardino, Calif. "Ozzfest Meets Knotfest" will feature more than 40 acts, with Ozzy's Black Sabbath headlining the Sept. 24 show, their last ever show in California. "We are here to create havoc and history. Let the madness begin," Osbourne said during a press conference in Hollywood on May 11. - NME, 5/12/16...... 
Barbra Streisand's longtime manager Marty Erlichman announced on May 16 that the legendary diva will embark on a 9 city North American tour in late summer behind her forthcoming studio album, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. Streisand, who hasn't toured since her 2012 "Back To Brooklyn" jaunt, launches the tour on Aug. 2 at L.A.'s Staples Center, followed by dates in San Jose (8/4), Las Vegas (8/6), Chicago (8/9), her hometown of Brooklyn (8/11, 13), Boston (8/16), Washington, D.C. (8/18) and Philadelphia (8/20) before wrapping in Toronto on Aug. 23. Streisand's 35th studio album, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway sees the singer pairing with some of Hollywood's biggest stars to sing Broadway classics. The LP will be released after the tour is completed, but before the end of 2016, and those who purchase tickets online will receive a free CD copy of the album. Her last album, 2014's Partners, was another duets LP that rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. - Billboard, 5/16/16...... Journey has filed a lawsuit against the electronics company Monster Products after the company realized it couldn't pay Journey's $500,000 fee to perform at a company gathering. According to their attorney Howard King, Journey was booked in Oct. 2015 and cancelled only a month later once the company realised they couldn't afford to pay their hefty fee. Journey is suing the company to get their fee, as well as pre-judgment interest and the costs of the lawsuit. - New Musical Express, 5/15/16...... The alternative rock band Train, best known for their hit "Drops of Jupiter," has announced plans to cover Led Zeppelin's 1969 album Led Zeppelin II in its entirety for their next LP release. "They are so hard to record, especially when you are trying to get as close a version as you can to the original," says Train's Pat Monohan. "The mixes, the time that they put in, it's crazy how great they were as a band." - NME, 5/13/16...... Dionne Warwick told reporters at a Cannes Film Festival party on May 12 that Lady Gaga will be playing her "musical nemesis" Cilla Black in an upcoming biopic about Warwick titled Dionne. After Lady Gaga's film reps initially releaesed a statement saying that Gaga "is not attached and will not appear in this project," Warwick said it was "just a question of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing," and though Gaga's music reps knew about the deal, her film reps did not. Dionne is set to begin production later in 2016. - The Hollywood Reporter, 5/13/16...... The Fox TV network has announced it will produce a new drama based on the classic 1973 horror film The Exorcist. In the remake, two priests (Ben Daniels, Alfonso Herrera) try to solve a case of demonic possession. The series, which will air on Friday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT in Fox's fall 2016 schedule, will also star Geena Davis. - USA Today, 5/16/16...... 
Tony Barrow, the longtime Beatles press officer who is credited with coining the term "Fab Four," died on May 14 at his home in Morecambe, England. He had turned 80 just three days prior. Mr. Barrow served as the Beatles' publicist during the legendary band's heyday, from 1962-1968, and worked with a string of Hall of Fame acts through his career. Mr. Barrow was born in the Liverpool suburb of Crosby in 1936, and joined the team at Decca Records as a teenager, writing liner notes for the label and contributing record reviews to the Liverpool Echo. In the early '60s, he was approaced by Beatles manager Brian Epstein to help lift the profile of the then-unsigned band. With Mr. Barrow's help, the band scored an audition for the Decca label, which famously passed on signing the future global superstars. But Brian Epstein recognized Mr. Barrow's talents and he hired the talented young writer away, reportedly with the offer of twice the salary he was earning with Decca. Mr. Barrow also wrote features for the fanzine Beatles Monthly, often using a pseudonym or attributed to members of the band, and he penned the liner notes for the first three Beatles albums. He also drew the cartoon featured in the sleeve notes for Magical Mystery Tour. After leaving the Beatles' employ in 1968 (a year after Epstein's death), Mr. Barrow established his own PR firm, where he worked with the likes of the Kinks, the Monkees and the Jackson Five. Mr. Barrow, who survived by his wife, Corrine, and their two sons, also authored a few books on his time with the Beatles, including Meet the Beatles and the memoir John, Paul, George, Ringo & Me - The Real Beatles Story. Posting on Twitter on May 15, Paul McCartney described Mr. Barrow as " a lovely guy who helped us in the early years of The Beatles. He was super professional, but always ready for a laugh... He will be missed but remembered by many of us." - Billboard, 5/15/16...... In other Beatles news, Paul McCartney and Elton John were among those paying their respects to late Beatles producer Sir George Martin at a memorial service in London on May 11. Over 600 mourners attended the service for Martin, dubbed the "fifth Beatle," at St. Martin In The Fields church in Trafalgar Square. McCartney delivered a eulogy praising Martin's impact on the Beatles' music, and James Bay and comedians Alexander Armstrong and Bernard Cribbins performed at the memorial. - New Musical Express, 5/12/16.
Singer/songwriter/producer/musician/arranger Maurice White, the co-creator of the hugely popular '70s and '80s group Earth, Wind & Fire, died of natural causes on the morning of Feb. 4, according to a post on EWF's Twitter feed. He was 74. "Our brother Maurice White passed peacefully in his sleep this morning. The light is he, shining on you and me. pic.twitter.com/ppWTHKUyG6," the band posted. White, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in the early '90s, had stopped touring with the band around 1994. Born in Memphis on Dec. 19, 1941, White moved to Chicago in the early '60s and was hired as a session drummer for Chess Records. Following a post-Chess stint as a member of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, White became a member of the Capitol-signed band Salty Peppers with friends Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead. Relocating to Los Angeles, he established the nine-member first incarnation of Earth, Wind & Fire in 1971 with himself, Flemons, Whitehead and White's bass-playing brother Verdine White, among others. Under contract to Warner Bros., the band released two albums. By 1973, a remodeled Earth, Wind & Fire -- including the White siblings, vocalists Philip Bailey and Jessica Cleaves, drummer Ralph Johnson and keyboardist Larry Dunn -- was signed to Columbia Records. From that period through the early '80s, the band was a permanent fixture on both the R&B and pop charts. Earth, Wind & Fire, whose moniker was chosen from the elements in White's astrological sign, Sagitatarius, became known for its game-changing fusion of R&B/soul, pop, jazz, funk, disco, rock, Latin and African rhythms, and are hailed as one of the most successful bands of the 20th Century. 
Scoring its first top five R&B single in 1974 with "Mighty Mighty," the band scored its first R&B/pop crossover hit a year later with 
A line of cannabis products commemorating what would have been the 71st birthday of reggae legend Bob Marley's 71st birthday on Feb. 6 are slated to be launched on that day in conjunction with Marley's estate and New York based Privateer Holdings. "Marley Natural" Product Manager Tahira Rehmatullah says his team has "visited hundreds of farms around the world, learning all about growing processes and different strains, trying to find the best quality cannabis there is," and that "our goal is to work with all local farmers in every jurisdiction where we are offering cannabis." Some states in the US have a decriminalization policy in effect, where marijuana is sold through state controlled "dispensaries," however current regulations require that marijuana can only be distributed in areas where it is grown. Marley's son Stephen Marley, who will be performing at a launch party for Marley Natural, says "if my father was here physically, he would be up front advocating for this plant, so we are very proud to put our Marley Natural brand out there." - NME, 2/5/16...... He was famously known as "The Man in Black," and now country music legend Johnny Cash now has a species of black tarantula spiders named in his honor. After biologists discovered 14 new types of U.S. tarantuals, a black arachnid has been dubbed 
A new musical based on the songs of Jimmy Buffett will make its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in California on May 16, 2017, producers announced on Feb. 4. The show will combine the singer/songwriters laid-back blend of rock and country tunes with an original story by writers Greg Garcia and Mike O'Malley. It's described as "the story of a part-time singer, part-time bartender, and fulltime good ol' boy named Tully who suddenly finds himself in uncharted territory -- falling in love with a beautiful, career-minded tourist." Buffet and producer Frank Marshall -- the producer of such films as Back to the Future and Raiders of the Lost Ark -- teamed up to create Parrothead Productions, which helped produce such Broadway shows as "Big Fish" and "Doctor Zhivago." - Billboard, 2/4/16...... Elton John surprised train commuters at a London rail station on Feb. 4 with an impromptu performance of his classic 1971 track "Tiny Dancer." The Rocket Man gave the performance at St Pancras station in central London as he promotes his new album 
Punk legends the Ramones will mark the 40th anniversary of their 
The Hollywood Vampires, the new "super group" comprised of Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, Duff Mackagan and Johnny Depp, is set to pay tribute to late rock stars Lemmy Kilmister and David Bowie during the 58th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 15. Lady Gag a has also been confirmed to sing a medley of David Bowie songs on the night. The 2016 Grammys will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. - NME, 2/4/16...... The Jefferson Starship said on Feb. 3 that it intends to continue touring after the death of its co-founder, guitarist/singer Paul Kantner, on Jan. 28 at age 74. According to a report on Jambands.com, the band have decided to carry on with their tour, which started in January and is due to finish Apr. 14 in Stockholm, Sweden. The band's current lineup includes David Freiberg of fellow San Francisco psychedelic rockers Quicksilver Messenger Service, along with Donny Baldwin, Slick Aguilar, Chris Smith, Cathy Richardson and Jude Gold. - Billboard, 2/3/16...... Comedian Bob Elliott, half of the hilarious radio and TV comedy team Bob and Ray, died at his home in Cundy's Harbor, Maine, on Feb. 3 at the age of 92. After a stint on a local Boston radio station and then on NBC radio, the low-key Mr. Elliott and his more-boisterous comedy partner Ray Goulding hosted The Bob and Ray Show on TV from 1951-53. The duo were known for their low-key humor and took turns serving as the straight man while often mocking their medium. Bob and Ray later recorded comedy albums and appeared often on The Tonight Show and The Ed Sullivan Show. On Broadway starting in 1970, they starred in "The Two and Only," where they did comedy sketches, and were seen on the big screen in Cold Turkey (1971), directed by Norman Lear, and, playing brothers, in Arthur Hiller's Author! Author! (1982). After Goulding died in 1990, Mr. Elliott appeared as a castmember on Garrison Keillor's American Radio Company of the Air and showed up in the Bill Murray comedy Quick Change (1990). He also played the father of his real-life son, actor Chris Elliott, on the 1990-92 Fox series Get a Life. Survivors also include his grandchildren (and Chris' daughters) Abby Elliott, also a former Saturday Night Live cast member, and actress Bridey Elliott (Fort Tilden). - Billboard, 2/3/16.