Cher has gone viral online after seemingly confusing Luther Vandross with Kendrick Lamar at the 2026 Grammy Awards at L.A.'s Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 1. After being presented with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy by host Trevor Noah, Cher was asked to stick around to announce the Record of the Year category, and handed her an envelope, to which the 79-year-old "Believe" singer confessed that she was told the winner would be "on the prompter." Cher then opened the envelope and read out "Luther" and then said "Vandross" -- seemingly referring to R&B icon Luther Vandross, who died at the age of 54 in 2005. "Oh, the Grammy goes to Luther Vandross... Oh...no... Kendrick Lamar!" she said. Yet, Cher -- who has revealed he struggled with dyslexia as a child -- quickly realized her error and announced the correct winners -- Kendrick Lamar and SZA for their 2024 song "Luther," a track that contains a sample of Vandross and Cheryl Lynn's 1982 track "If This World Were Mine." On Feb. 2, Grammy Awards executive producer Ben Winston spoke with Rolling Stone's Music Now podcast, and shared Cher wasn't upset by the snafu. "I do think that is like, some of the things that you want from great music awards shows," Winston said. "I think if that happened at the Oscars, it'd be like, '[gasps] Oh my goodness! It was a disaster! "But on our show, I loved it. If I could go back in time, I'd want that to happen again. 'Cause she's happy with it. She had a great time! So I just thought it was a really lovely moment. And you want a bit of anarchy, and you don't know what's going to happen. Everything is so rehearsed these days." - Music-News.com/Billboard, 2/3/26...... 
In other Grammy-related news, Sharon Osbourne is calling the 2026 show's tribute to her late husband Ozzy Osbourne "a moment carved into musical history." "Last night was bigger than a performance," Sharon posted on Instagram on Feb. 2. "It was a moment carved into musical history. Reminding everyone that rock isn't nostalgia -- it's alive, evolving, and still the heartbeat of music." Her praise was for a performance during the In Memoriam section of the Grammys in which Post Malone and Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash led a group that also included Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, GNR bassist Duff McKagan and producer Andrew Watt , who was behind the boards for Osbourne's final two studio albums, 2020's Ordinary Man and 2022's Patient Number 9. The band thundered through the 1970 Black Sabbath anti-war song "War Pigs," and Sharon re-posted a shot from the performance that included footage of her getting emotional alongside the couple's adult children Jack and Kelly Osbourne. Sharon was also honored for her monumental impact on the music industry at Billboard's Power 100 event over the Grammys weekend, receiving the Visionary Award. Meanwhile, Sharon has revealed that she is "seriously thinking" about running for mayor of Birmingham, the UK home city of Ozzy, in a brief interview with Billboard while on the red carpet for this year's Grammys. Sharon was told by host Leila Cobo that she was getting praise for how well she spoke at one of the Grammy-related events ahead of the Feb. 1 ceremony. In response, Sharon thanked the host for her compliment and suggested that the skill may come in handy soon as she is "seriously thinking about running for mayor of Birmingham." Due to the quick pace of the interview, there was little time for Sharon to expand on why she wanted to run, or how far along she was into looking at the process. Sharon has previously said that she was thinking of getting involved in politics in Birmingham after learning that someone with a terrorism conviction was allegedly seeking a seat on Birmingham's City Council. "This has nothing to do with racism. I think I'm gonna move to Birmingham and put my name down for the ballot to be on the council. I'm serious," she said. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 2/3/26...... David Byrne has added fresh UK and Ireland shows to his "Who Is The Sky?" world tour. The former Talking Heads frontman will now be heading to Dublin (June 7), (July 18), Edinburgh (July 21), and Cardiff (July 26) alongside his already announced headline slot at Latitude Festival in Suffolk on July 24. Byrne toured Australia and New Zealand in January and is set for his first UK and European leg in 2026 across February and March, before heading to North America in the spring -- including slots at both Coachella Festival weekends. His European shows include a mix of headline gigs and festival slots, with the musician set to appear at the likes of Open'er Festival in Poland (July 1) and Bilbao BBK Live in Spain. Byrne is touring behind his his first solo album in over six years, also titled Who Is The Sky?. - NME, 2/3/26...... In other UK touring news, Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Charlie Sexton have added more UK and European dates to their "Radio Soul!: The Early Songs of Elvis Costello" tour in June and July. Due to demand, eight dates have been added to bring the total to 13, including a new show at London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on June 20 and others in cities including Brighton, Stockholm, Hamburg and Oslo. Costello first announced a five-date tour in December, taking in Birmingham, London, Portsmouth, Newcastle and the TW Classic festival in Werchter, Belgium. He's joined by his band The Imposters, as well as guitarist Sexton, best known for his time in Bob Dylan's band. Sexton joined Costello for the 2021 "Hello Again" tour and has continued to hit the road with him in the time since. Two of The Imposters, keyboardist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas, were members of his band The Attractions, which formed in 1977. As the tour's name suggests, the shows will see Costello concentrate on playing material from his earlier discography, including the 1977 debut album My Aim Is True and the 1986 record Blood & Chocolate, as well as other surprises. - NME, 2/3/26...... 
The years long legal feud between Linda Cummings Ramone, the widow of Johnny Ramone and the late Joey Ramone's brother Mickey Leigh (real name Mitchel Hyman) over the Ramones' legacy has finally reached a resolution. According to a Feb. 2 court filing from music manager Dave Frey, a former board member of Ramones Productions Inc. (RPI), a settlement in an estate dispute has been reached with Hyman, who was previously the other 50% owner of RPI, transferring his share to Linda Ramone per a binding term sheet agreement dated Nov. 18, 2025. Linda Ramone now owns 100% of the shares of RPI and has free rein to fully control RPI. Joey Ramone (born Jeffrey Hyman) and Johnny Ramone (John Cummings), who were not actual brothers, both died in the early 2000s. A 2005 shareholder agreement split the Ramones' legacy exactly 50-50 between each family, an arrangement that spurred years of bitter infighting between Cummings-Ramone and Leigh. - Billboard, 2/3/26...... As The Guess Who frontman Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman recently returned to the stage for the first time in decades, the other half of the band, Guess Who founding drummer Garry Peterson and founding bassist James Kale, has launched a new lawsuit. In a new complaint against performing rights management firm BMI, Peterson and Kale claim they suffered millions of dollars in losses when lead singer/songwriter Cummings terminated his entire performing rights agreement with BMI. Cummings owns the publishing rights to the band's biggest hits, including "American Woman," "These Eyes," and "No Time." He reportedly took the step of yanking The Guess Who's songs from the BMI licensing catalogue covering concert venues because he wanted to stop Peterson and Kale staging what he called "fake bullshit shows" using a different singer and guitarist. In the lawsuit, Peterson and Kale claim they had spent months planning a US tour when they were told by BMI that Cummings had terminated his affiliation agreement "effective immediately." Peterson and Kale cancelled their shows as a result. Peterson and Kale now contend that BMI misinterpreted the termination's effective date. They argue the agreement almost certainly remained in effect during a notice period that had not yet expired, meaning their concerts did not need to be cancelled. "It's not just Garry Peterson and Jim Kale who suffered," said the plaintiffs' lawyer, in an interview with Rolling Stone. "In some cases, the venues had no time to find substitute acts and went dark. Some promoters lost a lot of money promoting the shows. What happened doesn't make sense. With most contracts, particularly commercial contracts, you have to give notice." Cummings and Bachman launched their "Takin' It Back" GW reunion tour with a show in Ontario on Jan. 31. - Music-News.com, 2/3/26....... Deep Purple have announced a special live show in the UK for 2026. The band will play a hometown gig at the famed Royal Albert Hall venue in London on Nov. 25, which will see them reconnect with one of the most significant venues in their storied history. In 1969, Deep Purple became the first rock band to premiere a full classical composition with an orchestra at the historic venue -- a landmark moment in British music. The "Smoke On The Water" group's forthcoming return to the Royal Albert Hall is billed as a "one night only" event, following a concert at London's Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith the previous evening, Nov. 24. Per a press release, the new date will be "a full-throttle Deep Purple rock show, showcasing a band that remains creatively unstoppable, musically fearless, and utterly commanding on stage." "In the grandeur of the Royal Albert Hall, the band will once again prove why they remain one of rock's most compelling live forces, making this event an essential moment for fans old and new alike," it adds. Before heading to the capital, Deep Purple are set to take to the stage at Newcastle's Utilita Arena (Nov. 18), Glasgow's OVO Hydro (Nov. 19), Birmingham's BP Pulse Arena (Nov. 21) and Manchester's AO Arena (Nov. 22). Deep Purple will also tour across Europe in the coming year, and play shows in Japan, Indonesia and Mexico. The band released their latest studio album, =11, in the summer of 2024. That year, they played a gig at London's O2 as part of their UK and European tour. Their most recent live performance took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in Nov. 2025. Deep Purple are currently fronted by singer Ian Gillan, alongside bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice, keyboardist Don Airey and guitarist Simon McBride. =1 marked the band's first album with McBride, who joined the line-up after longtime member Steve Morse left due to personal circumstances. Late last year, Gillan revealed that he was losing his eyesight and said retirement was "not far off." - NME, 2/3/26...... 
In a new interview with the UK paper Daily Mail, Queen's Brian May has said his band is ruling out a tour in the US anytime soon as America has become a "dangerous place." Queen last hit the road in North America in 2023, as part of their ambitious "Rhapsody Tour" with Adam Lambert. However, May now says that "America is a dangerous place at the moment, so you have to take that into account." Reflecting on how the US had changed since Queen first visited in their early days, May continued: "It's very sad because I feel like Queen grew up in America and we love it, but it's not what it was. Everyone is thinking twice about going there at the moment." The guitarist's comments come amid a troubling period in the US under the administration of Pres. Donald Trump. Many artists and figures from the entertainment world have spoken out recently, as protests continue against the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE agents, in particular, have triggered outrage across the States. ICE has described its highly controversial actions in Minnesota as "the largest mass deportation operation in American history." Celebrities who have condemned ICE and Pres. Trump include Neil Young, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Green Day, Moby, Duran Duran, Dave Matthews, Stranger Things star Joe Keery and Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal. - NME, 1/30/26...... In related news, Bruce Springsteen's anti-ICE song "Streets of Minneapolis" has made a No. 1 sales debut on Billboard Digital Song Sales chart dated Feb. 7. The song, which can be streamed on YouTube, was the highest-selling song in the US in the week ending Jan. 29, even with it being available for just two days of the tracking period. "Streets of Minneapolis," released on Jan. 28, sold 16,000 downloads, according to Luminate. It marks Springsteen's first No. 1 on the all-format Digital Song Sales survey, which began in 2004 following the proliferation of paid downloads on the internet. In fact, it's his first track to reach the ranking's top 20, exceeding the No. 22 peak of Mark Knopfler's Guitar Heroes' "Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)," for which he joined its all-star cast, in 2024. Springsteen wrote and recorded the anti-ICE (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) song following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January amid Operation Metro Surge, during which undocumented immigrants have been targeted and apprehended by ICE. Springsteen first performed the song live in Minneapolis Jan. 30 during the Tom Morello-helmed Defend Minnesota benefit concert (the performance can be viewed on X/Twitter). Thanks to its sales plus streams and early radio airplay, "Streets of Minneapolis" also bows at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. In addition to its sales, the song drew 678,000 official U.S. streams and 175,000 in airplay audience in that two-day span. Meanwhile across the pond, The Boss is currently on course to break into the UK Top 20 for the first time in nearly three decades with his stoic new protest song. According to the Official Chart: First Look, which provides an early glimpse of chart activity based on preliminary sales and streaming reports, Springsteen's latest offering is currently sitting at No. 16. If the track maintains its momentum through the Feb. 6 final tally, it will mark a historic milestone for the legendary musician. Springsteen has not graced the UK Top 20 since 1997, when "Secret Garden" captured the nation's attention. - Billboard/NME, 2/2/26...... In more Billboard chart action, Barry Manilow has extended his history on the Adult Contemporary chart dated Feb. 7, with his latest single, the poignant "Once Before I Go," entering the chart at No. 30, up 23% to 94,000 in audience via plays on 25 stations Jan. 23-29, according to Luminate. The song extends the legendary crooner's AC chart history to more than half a century -- 51 years and three months -- since he first appeared on the list dated Nov. 7, 1974, with his breakout ballad "Mandy". The classic ballad also marked his first ranking on any Billboard chart. Manilow boasts 28 AC top 10s, among 53 total entries. Until recently, he last reached the chart with his cover of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which hit No. 14 in Dec. 2023. Acclaimed songwriters Peter Allen and Dean Pitchford co-penned "Once Before I Go," which Allen (who died in 1992) recorded in 1983 -- and sent to No. 26 on AC that October. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Demonte Posey co-produced Manilow's version. Manilow, 82, has shows scheduled between Feb. 27 and April 29, having recently announced six new dates. "Once Before I Go" can be streamed on YouTube. - Billboard, 1/30/26...... 
The first trailer for the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, dropped on Feb. 2 for the new movie that tracks the late King of Pop's growth from child singer to international superstar. "You're confident. You're strong. You're beautiful. You're the greatest of all time," we hear star Jaafar Jackson -- MJ's real-life nephew -- say in a confident pump-up speech to himself at the top of the two-minute preview. Director Antoine Fuqua (Stans, Bullet Train) then zooms out from the period just before Jackson's solo career went meteoric to footage of MJ at his moon-walking, stadium sell-out peak, with the singer's kin effortlessly pulling off the tricky dance moves and Jackson's signature vocal yelps. Fuqua then rewinds all the way back to the beginning, with imperious family patriarch Joe Jackson (Colman Domingo), explaining how things are, and are going to be, to his musically talented family around their Gary, In., dining room table. "Let me tell you somethin'," Joe Jackson says as MJ's 1979 "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" solo hit bubbles up and we see the singer and his brothers in the Jackson Five refining their soon-to-be-chart-topping act. "In this life, you're either a winner or a loser. Y'all want to work in a steel mill like me for the rest of your days?" The $155 million film, two years in the making and originally slated for an Oct. 2025 release, is due out in the US on Apr. 24. The trailer can be watched on YouTube. - Billboard, 2/2/26...... In other rock biopic news, Meryl Streep will play Joni Mitchell in a forthcoming biopic directed by Oscar-winner Cameron Crowe, according to an announcement made by record exec Clive Davis. Streep, a multi-time Oscar winner, has been rumoured to be in contention for the role in the film, which has been in development for some time. However, Rolling Stone has reported that Davis confirmed the casting at his pre-Grammy awards party on Jan. 31 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. Further details about the film have been scarce, although there have been reports that Anya Taylor-Joy had been cast as a younger version of the singer. Crowe, who directed iconic music drama Almost Famous, shared in 2023 that the project was in motion and hoped to be released by the end of 2025, which did not come to pass. About the movie, he told Ultimate Classic Rock: "It's Joni's life, not through anybody else's prism. It's through her prism. It's the characters who impacted her life that you know and a lot that you don't know. And the music is so cinematic." As for the singer herself, Mitchell famously shut down a proposed biopic of her life starring Taylor Swift in 2014, saying she "squelched" the project and that she "didn't know her music." - NME, 2/3/26...... On Jan. 29 Beatles fans got the first look at the Fab Four's look in director Sam Mendes' upcoming four-part Beatles biopic series when The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts -- an arts school co-founded in 1996 by Paul McCartney and British entrepreneur Mark Featherstone-Witty -- rolled out postcards featuring photos of the actors playing each member of the group as part of a promotional stunt in conjunction with Sony Pictures UK. As part of a "postcard hunt" the Institute informed students on Friday (Jan. 30) that it had hidden 20 more of the cards that morning with 20 more to be tucked around by lunchtime, asking them to tag the school and movie studio if they find them. "Another huge thanks to Sony for providing these exclusive, hand-numbered postcards. It's been such an honour to bring the Beatles back home," read the caption to an Instagram post from the school featuring the images. "Paul, George and John all studied in the buildings that now make up LIPA, while Sir Paul remains our Lead Patron." In the previews, Paul Mescal is seen as a mop-topped McCartney, dressed in a classic early look in a suit and bowl haircut. Joseph Quinn's George Harrison is a late-period take, with the Stranger Things actor sporting long hair and a bushy beard, while Harris Dickinson's mid-period John Lennon sports his iconic round glasses, shaggy, shoulder-length hair and a jeans jacket. Meanwhile, Barry Keoghan's Ringo Starr sports a busy mustache, grown-out shag and a polka dot shit accented by a paisley tie. The Beatles -- A Four-Film Cinematic Event, is slated to hit theaters on Apr. 7, 2028, with each Beatle getting their own solo film that will tell the story of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band from their perspective. The first images can be viewed on Sony Pictures' X/Twitter page. - Billboard, 1/30/26...... 
The home security company Ring is aiming to reunite lost dogs with families in a new ad for the upcoming Super Bowl game on Feb. 7 soundtracked by a No. 1 '70s hit ballad, Harry Nilsson's "Without You". "I can't live, if living is without you" is a sentiment Nilsson sang about in the early '70s that many heartbroken pet owners have experienced after a beloved animal dies or goes missing, but Ring is hoping to shorten the length of that pain in the latter scenario. In the emotional commercial that dropped on YouTube on Feb. 2, Ring acknowledges the special bond between pets -- in this case, dogs -- and their families, and how its free "Search Party" feature can help bring lost furry friends home. "Pets are family, but every year, 10 million go missing, and the way we look for them hasn't changed in years -- until now," Ring founder Jamie Siminoff says in the emotional spot. "With Search Party from Ring, one post to the Ring app starts outdoor cameras in the area, looking for a match." In addition to clips of a little girl excitedly greeting her new puppy Milo, to her heartbreak as she puts up missing fliers alongside her dad, to her joy as her beloved pup returns home, the commercial is soundtracked by one of the most recognizable heartbreak ballads of the 1970s: Nilsson's aforementioned cover of Badfinger's "Without You," featuring the heartrending chorus, "Can't live if living is without you/ I can't live, I can't give anymore." Nilsson's version of "Without You" -- which has also been covered by Air Supply, Mariah Carey and others -- peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in Feb. 1972, and retained the top spot for four weeks. In a blog post, Ring also said that the Search Party feature would be available to non-Ring owners through its Neighbors app to help bring lost animals home as quickly as possible. To further its goal, Ring has also announced that it's committing $1 million to equip shelters around the US with Ring cameras to not only reunite families and their missing pets, but also cut down on the time lost pets spend in shelters. - Billboard, 2/2/26...... The upcoming UK Record Store Day 2026 will include the release of an early Fleetwood Mac collection among several other special releases to benefit the RSD's charity partner War Child. Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green-era 1971 compilation The Original Fleetwood Mac will be among the series of titles that will be available to buy at participating shops on the day, with other titles including music from The Cure and Primal Scream. One of every copy sold of the records below will be donated to the charity, which works to protect, educate and support the mental health of children affected by war -- and it comes at a time of conflicts in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria and beyond. Other RSD 2026 releases announced so far include two David Bowie releases - a Hallo Spaceboy remixes EP and a half-speed LP of excerpts from 1.OUTSIDE. - NME, 2/2/26...... William "Billy Bass" Nelson, the founding bassist for the George Clinton-led funk acid rock collective Parliament-Funkadelic, died on Jan. 31 of undisclosed causes. He was 75. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Nelson, born William Nelson Jr. on Jan. 28, 1951 in Plainfield, N.J., got his break in music when, as a teenager, he became friendly with Clinton, who was then working in a Jersey barber shop he co-owned, the Silk Palace. While he started out sweeping the floors and dancing for customers according to his official bio on Clinton's site, Nelson parlayed that friendship into a spot in Clinton's doo-wop group, the Parliaments, who charted a handful of singles in the late 1960s, including their breakthrough 1967, the snappy soul jam "(I Wanna) Testify," which rose to No. 3 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 20 on the Hot 100 pop chart. While his steady, thumping bass was a mainstay on Funkadelic's first three albums -- a style that would later serve as one of the foundational bedrocks of rapper/producer Dr. Dre's "G-funk" sound -- Nelson also provided backing vocals and managed to slip into the lead singer spot for at least one track on all three of Funkadelic's first releases. You can hear his vocals on the joyous 8-minute funk burner "Good Old Music" on the band's debut, as well as "Friday Night, August 14th" and the chaotic "I Wanna Know If it's Good For You?" on Free Your Mind. In 1994, Nelson rejoined P-Funk (which were then known as the P-Funk All-Stars, though Clinton was the only remaining original member) and he was among 16 of the group's members inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in 1997. - Billboard, 2/3/26...... 
Chuck Negron, a founding member and lead vocalist of Three Dog Night, died at his home in Studio City, Calif., on Feb. 2. He was 83. Mr. Negron died surrounded by family, according to a statement shared with Billboard. No immediate cause of death was announced, though the singer had been living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for decades and had recently battled heart failure. Born Charles Negron II on June 8, 1942, Mr. Negron grew up in the Bronx, where he sang in doo-wop groups before earning a basketball scholarship that brought him to Los Angeles. In 1967, he joined Danny Hutton and the late Cory Wells to form Three Dog Night, a vocal trio built around harmony-driven arrangements and carefully selected songs from outside writers -- a strategy that helped make the group one of the most commercially successful acts of the late 1960s and early '70s. Negron's unmistakable lead vocals powered many of the band's biggest hits, including "Joy to the World," "Mama Told Me Not To Come," "One," "Easy to Be Hard," "Old Fashioned Love Song" and "The Show Must Go On." Between 1969 and 1975, the trio scored three No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the era's most dominant radio acts. As the band's success escalated rapidly, Mr. Negron struggled with addiction, a battle that contributed to internal fractures and the group's eventual breakup at the height of its popularity. His addiction led to severe personal and financial hardship, including a period of homelessness in Los Angeles. After multiple rehabilitation attempts, he became sober in 1991. He later documented his experiences in the 1999 memoir Three Dog Nightmare, an unflinching account of fame, addiction and recovery. In the years that followed, Mr. Negron released seven solo albums between 1995 and 2017 and became an outspoken advocate for addiction recovery, frequently sharing his story to support others facing similar struggles. Despite long-term health challenges, Mr. Negron continued touring for many years, developing methods to preserve his voice while managing COPD. He remained proud of his vocal ability until his final performances, stepping away from touring during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the risks posed by his condition. Mr. Negron is survived by his wife, Ami Albea Negron; his children Shaunti Negron Levick, Berry Oakley, Charles Negron III, Charlotte Negron and Annabelle Negron; nine grandchildren; and several extended family members. He was predeceased by his parents and his twin sister, Nancy Negron Dean. In 2025, Mr. Negron and fellow Three Dog Night founder Danny Hutton reunited after decades of estrangement to reconcile. - Billboard, 2/3/26...... Actor Demond Wilson, best known for portraying Lamont Sanford on the hit 1972-1977 NBC sitcom Sanford and Son, died on Jan. 29 in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 79. Wilson's son, Demond Wilson Jr., told TMZ.com his father died at home from complications with cancer, but did not disclose what type of cancer his dad had. "I loved him. He was a great man," Demond Jr. told the outlet. Born Grady Demond Wilson on Oct. 13, 1946 in Valdosta, Ga., Wilson grew up in New York City, making his Broadway debut as a child, before joining the US Army and serving in Vietnam, where he was wounded. Upon his return to the states, Wilson appeared in some Broadway and off-Broadway shows before moving to Hollywood. Following his appearance in a 1971 episode of CBS's All in the Family, Wilson won the titular role of Lamont Sanford in Sanford and Son, opposite Redd Foxx's patriarch Fred G. Sanford. The beloved sitcom, adapted by Norman Lear from the British series Steptoe and Son, ran for six seasons on NBC from 1972 to '77. The actor then went on to star as Raymond Ellis in the short-lived 1978 CBS sitcom Baby I'm Back!, playing a compulsive gambler trying to win back his family. He also played Oscar Madison in ABC's The New Odd Couple (1982-'83). His TV credits also include episodes of Mission: Impossible, The Love Boat and Girlfriends, and he appeared in films like Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), The Organization (1971), Full Moon High (1981) and Hammerlock (2000). Wilson, who was also a Christian evangelist and ordained minister, married model Cicely Johnston in 1974, and they shared six children and multiple grandchildren. - Variety, 1/31/26...... 
Prolific actress Catherine O'Hara, known for her roles in Home Alone, Schitt's Creek and Best in Show, died on Jan. 30 following a brief illness. She was 71. Over a career that spanned more than 50 years, O'Hara left an indelible impression on audiences with her searing wit, subtle eccentricity and fearless pursuit of a good laugh. Born on Mar. 4, 1954, in Toronto, O'Hara's career in Hollywood began with the Canadian sketch comedy series Second City Television. That show earned the beloved actress her first PrimeTime Emmy Award, an accolade that she'd again win in 2020 for her performance in Schitt's Creek. O'Hara's first credited Hollywood movie is 1980's Nothing Personal, she then went on to star in 1980's Double Negative and 1983's Rock & Rule before playing the memorable role of Gail in Martin Scorsese's After Hours, which was released in 1985. Her stardom continued to rise after playing Delia Deetz in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, released in 1988. Just two years later, she starred as Kevin McCallister's mom, Kate McCallister, in Home Alone. She reprised this role again in the sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Following that, O'Hara voiced Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas and appeared in movies such as 1994's Wyatt Earp, 1996's Waiting for Huffman, 1997's Pippi Longstocking, 2000's Best in Show, and 2004's Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, among many other titles. Her career had a major renaissance in her 60s when she starred as Moira Rose in the popular Schitt's Creek sitcom alongside Eugene Levy, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy. She recently played Patty Leigh in the first season of Seth Rogen's Hollywood sendup The Studio, and Gail Lynden in Season 2 of HBO's zombie apocalypse drama The Last of Us, both of which earned her 2025 Emmy nominations. Additionally, O'Hara reprised her Delia Deetz character in the Beetlejuice sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and voiced a character in the award-winning The Wild Robot movie released in 2024. "Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more," her Home Alone costar Macaulay Culkin poignantly posted after her death. "I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you. But I had so much more to say." - ComingSoon.net, 1/31/26.
Paul McCartney's forthcoming Wings documentary Man On The Run is set to be screened in cinemas worldwide for one night only on Feb. 17, ahead of its official release on Feb. 27 on Prime Video via Amazon MGM Studios. In addition to the film, each theatrical screening will include a bonus conversation between McCartney and director Morgan Neville. Tickets can be purchased at www.manontherun.film. According to a press release, the documentary captures Sir Paul's "transformative decade in the wake of The Beatles' break-up and the rise of his new band Wings. "Through stunning archival footage, Linda McCartney's exceptional photographs, interviews with Paul, Linda, Mary and Stella McCartney, a number of Wings band members, Sean Ono Lennon, Mick Jagger, Chrissie Hynde, and more, the film examines this time through a uniquely vulnerable lens." Earlier in January, an official trailer for the film was shared which showed McCartney detailing his feelings following his split from The Beatles in 1970, remarking: "I fell very depressed, but I was very lucky, because I had Linda." The trailer also shows the journey of Wings from their rocky start with debut album Wild Life to their acclaimed third album, Band On The Run. Intimate behind-the-scenes footage of Wings touring, along with other rare, unreleased footage and music, will be featured in the documentary. - NME, 1/28/26...... 
As Minneapolis and other locations in America are struggling with the controversial arrest and deportation tactics of the US immigration agency ICE under Pres. Donald Trump's administration, Neil Young has declared he is done with the "fascist Trump regime" -- and all the companies he claims are financially backing it. On Jan. 29, the Canadian-American singer-songwriter took to his Neil Young Archives site to post a fiery essay in which he lambasted several companies for their financial support of the president and his administration, namely Verizon, T-Mobile and Apple. "One idea I have to keep [my flip phone] is just to change services and drop Verizon service like a cold fish. It's the money I give Verizon for my service that's doing the damage! Not my old phone I bought years ago," he began his post, lamenting at his phone company's Trump ties. "What can I do? I'm checking with our office to see if I can get a T-Mobile flip phone. T-Mobile is not a supporter of the Trump fascist regime. But wait. T-Mobile donated to Trump's ballroom, which has gone from $200 million to $400 million, suddenly. Where is that money going? There is no accounting. So T-Mobile is apparently out." Young's most recent post follows comments he made earlier in January when he penned a letter reiterating his distaste for ICE and Trump, and in Oct. 2025 he announced he would be pulling his music from Amazon, citing Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos' Trump ties. Meanwhile, on Jan. 27 Young updated his site with a post announcing that he will be gifting his entire music catalog to the people of Greenland for free. Pres. Trump said at a White House meeting earlier in January that he "may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland", which is a self-governing territory controlled by Denmark. "I'm honoured to give a free year's access to neilyoungarchives.com to all of our friends in Greenland," Young began. "I hope my music and music films will ease some of the unwarranted stress and threats you are experiencing from our unpopular and hopefully temporary government. It is my sincere wish for you to be able to enjoy all of my music in your beautiful Greenland home, in its highest quality. This is an offer of Peace and Love." Greenland citizens can sign up to a free subscription for Young's music archive at neilyoungarchives.com/Greenland. - Billboard, 1/29/26...... In related news, Bruce Springsteen has dropped a searing anti-ICE protest song called "Streets of Minneapolis," a callback to the Boss's Oscar and Grammy-winning 1994 soundtrack anthem "Streets of Philadelphia" from director Jonathan Demme's 1993 AIDS drama Philadelphia. In the tradition of one of his icons, folk legend Woody Guthrie, the song's lyrics plainly and powerfully tell the story of the pitched battles being fought on the streets of the city as citizens stand up and push back on the sometimes violent immigration raids being carried out by the Trump administration. Specifically, he pays tribute to the violent actions by border and ICE agents that so far this month have resulted in the killings of two American citizens: 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good and 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti. Springsteen dedicated the song to the people of Minneapolis, as well as "our innocent immigrant neighbors," and to the memories of Good and Pretti. "Against smoke and rubber bullets/ By the dawn's early light/ Citizens stood for justice/ Their voices ringing through the night," he sings over chiming guitars and a steady drum beat. "And there were bloody footprints/ Where mercy should have stood/ And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets/ Alex Pretti and Renee Good." The song is also a callback to one of the Boss' most intense protest anthems, 2001's "American Skin (41 Shots)," his passionate response to the 1999 NYPD killing of unarmed Amadou Diallo. The song ends with Springsteen lamenting the trampling of rights by officers eager to question or deport anyone with Black or brown skin, while amplifying the frequently shouted cries of "ICE out now" heard at protests around the nation over the past few months. "Streets of Minneapolis" can be streamed on YouTube, along with a powerful lyric video released by the musician the following day featuring footage of the ongoing protests against the agency's immigration enforcement operations in the city. Meanwhile, the movie Philadelpia is among the annual roster of 25 recent additions to the National Film Registry. Also making the list was the 1983 box-office hit The Big Chill, which had a soundtrack brimming with Motown classics, and the 2008 documentary The Wrecking Crew, about the West Coast studio musicians who played on countless hit records in the 1960s. The Library of Congress announced its latest additions to the National Film Registry on Jan. 29. The films were selected because of their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance. The latest 25 selections bring the number of titles in the registry to 925. - Billboard, 1/28/26...... 
Deceased Seventies artists Ozzy Osbourne and Roberta Flack are among the musicians set to be honored at the 2026 Grammy Awards. In honor of late heavy metal pioneer and Black Sabbath frontman Osbourne, Post Malone will join forces with Guns N' Roses members Slash and Duff McKagan, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith for a performance. They will also be joined on stage by renowned producer Andrew WattThey will also be joined on stage by renowned producer Andrew Watt, who worked with the Prince Of Darkness on his last two solo albums: 2020's Ordinary Man and 2022's Patient Number 9. Osbourne died in his family home in Buckinghamshire following a heart attack last July, aged 76. Lauryn Hill will take to the stage to honor R&B/jazz star Flack, who died in Feb. 2025 after battling ALS for the past few years. The Recording Academy announced that there will be special tribute performances held for the late artists, which also include neo-soul icon D'Angelo, during the ceremony. Lifetime Achievement awards will be presented to Carlos Santana and Elton John's lyricist Bernie Taupin will also be honored with the Trustees Award. The 68th annual Grammys are set for Feb. 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET and run until 11:30 p.m. ET. Those without cable subscriptions can watch through services like YouTubeTV and FuboTV. - New Musical Express, 1/29/26...... In other Ozzy Osbourne-related news, Ozzy's widow Sharon Osbourne revealed in a recent interview that she is considering bringing OzzFest back, and it could return as soon as 2027. Speaking to Billboard, Sharon said that she had been "talking to [concert promoter] Live Nation" about having the live music event return. "It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people," she said. "We really started metal festivals in this country. It was [replicated but] never done with the spirit of what ours was, because ours was a place for new talent. It was like summer camp for kids," she added. Sharon went on to say that while nothing had been set in stone yet, the festival could be launching as soon as 2027. However, the event would now be centering on multiple different music genres, rather than just rock and metal. Ozzy and Sharon began the hard rock and metal festival 30 years ago, with its inaugural edition taking place in Oct. 1996 and spanning two days. The following year it expanded into a full-blown tour rather than a one-time event, and then continued annually almost every year up until 2018 (although it reverted to a single-day event from 2008). - NME, 1/29/26...... 
Leo Sayer has announced plans for what will be his final full UK tour, confirming a major 23-date run for autumn 2026. The "When I Need You" singer, who turns 78 this year, says he's not retiring from live work altogether but is ready to scale back the heavy touring schedule that has defined his five-decade career. "I love performing for my fans and look forward to doing so for many more years, but this will be the last time I play so many dates across the country," Sayer said in a statment, adding that while he still feels "fit as ever," he doesn't expect to take on another nationwide run of the UK of this magnitude as he approaches 80. The ambitious itinerary, which kicks off on Oct. 7 in Bexhill-on-Sea, will see Sayer return to theatres and concert halls across England, Scotland and Wales, including stops at Birmingham Town Hall (Oct. 11) and the London Palladium (Oct. 27) before wrapping at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on Nov. 6. Sayer, known for such hits as "Thunder In My Heart," "Moonlighting," "One Man Band," "More Than I Can Say," "Have You Ever Been in Love," "The Show Must Go On", and the transatlantic No.1's "When I Need You" and "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing," is promising a high-energy, hit-packed show for what will be his last major UK tour. - Music-News.com, 1/28/26...... Ronnie Wood has been confirmed to be among the supporting acts at Eric Clapton's upcoming Sandringham UK this summer. The Rolling Stones guitarist and former Faces and Jeff Beck Group member will be playing a rare solo show at the huge outdoor event, and also joining Clapton on the bill is Andy Fairweather Low, who rose to prominence as the lead singer in Amen Corner in the '60s -- a group best known for hit songs including "Bend Me Shape Me," "Hello Suzy," and "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice." The upcoming gig follows on the heels of Slowhand heading out on a headline tour of the US in 2025 behind his latest album Meanwhile. His 22nd studio album, the set featured appearances from the late Jeff Beck along with Van Morrison, Bradley Walker, Judith Hill, Daniel Santiago and Simon Climie. - NME, 1/29/26...... 
Legendary Jamaican musician Lowell "Sly" Dunbar, one-half of the prolific reggae songwriting/producing duo Sly & Robbie, reportedly died at his home in Kingston, Jamaica on Jan. 26. He was 73. Working with longtime partner bassist Robbie Shakespeare (who died in 2021), Dunbar was one half of the dynamic duo that provided the thrumming backbeat to reggae classics from the likes of Black Uhuru, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Bunny Wailer, Gregory Isaacs and countless others. Born Lowell Fillmore Dunbar on May 10, 1952 in Kingston, Jamaica, Dunbar got his start playing in a group called the Yardbrooms at age 15, before moving on to the group Skin Flesh and Bones and his first recording session with Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Upsetters' on the 1969 single "Night Doctor." That same year he also played on Dave and Ansel Collins' Double Barrel album, with the title track hitting the top of the U.K. singles chart. His life and career would change forever when he met Shakespeare in 1972, with the pair who shared similar musical sensibilities ranging from homegrown Jamaican riddims to Motown and soul music developing a close relationship with Tosh, with whom they recorded five albums. Sly and Robbie appeared on late great Tosh's beloved 1977 LP Equal Rights, as well as 1978's Bush Doctor and 1983's Mama Africa, which became Tosh's highest-charting album in the U.S. when it hit No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. The hard-working pair -- who are believed to have appeared on more than 200,000 tracks, including remixes and songs that sampled their work -- also had a long and fruitful working relationship with rock icon Dennis Brown, performing on more than a dozen albums by the "Money In My Pocket" singer and serving time in the Revolutionaries, the house band at Jamaica's legendary Channel One studio. Known as the Riddim Twins, the duo developed a number of signature grooves over their four-plus decade career, including the "rockers" rhythm, which helped them inject some energy into the popular 1970s and 80s "one drop" reggae rhythm. Working with Shakespeare, Dunbar carved a wide path through music, performing on a trio of Bob Dylan albums in the 1980s, as well as playing on albums by Joan Armatrading, Jackson Browne, The Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, Grace Jones, Yoko Ono, Sinead O'Connor and Carly Simon, among many others. "As one half of Sly & Robbie, Sly helped shape the sound of reggae and Jamaican music for generations," read a statement from his family posted on TMZ.com. "His extraordinary talent, innovation, and lasting contributions will never be forgotten. Sly's music, spirit, and legacy touched people around the world, and we are deeply grateful for the love and support during this difficult time." - Billboard, 1/26/26.
Alice Cooper took to 
Cher once sang she wanted to "turn back time," and now the superstar diva has filmed a hilarious new commercial for Uber Eats in Australia in which a mysterious time machine is delivered to the singer's doorstep just as she's listening to her own 1989 smash "If I Could Turn Back Time." Cher immediately knows where she wants to go -- "Take me back to the '80s," she tells the device -- but instead of the 20th century, she ends up in the 1680s. When she arrives in the middle of a colonial settlement, it's hard to say who's more confused -- Cher or the locals, who take note of her futuristic appearance and accuse her of being a witch. "I'm not a witch -- I'm an icon!" she says in futile protest, with the villagers proceeding to burn her at the stake. In a statement about the project, Cher said, "I get approached to do commercials all the time -- but the creativity and hilarity that Uber Eats presented appealed to me right away. I am really proud of the final product. I sincerely hope Uber will get me back my boots." Cher's time travel commercial can be viewed on 
The Sex Pistols have announced a US tour with singer Frank Carter. The iconoclastic "God Save the Queen'" rockers haven't performed in America at all since 2008 and last toured there in 2003 but guitarist Steve Jones has confirmed he, bassist Glen Matlock and drummer Paul Cook are excited to be heading out on the road with their new singer, though he refused to share any specific details. Jones says "...no one knows where we're going to be playing... I don't wanna put my foot in it! I'm excited. I know the dates, so I know it's gonna be good." The Sex Pistols reformed in 2024 for a UK tour with Gallows frontman Carter as vocalist in place of John Lydon and Jones revealed Carter was the only singer they tried working with. "Frank was the first singer we [tried], because me, Cookie and Glen wanted to play. It just worked straight away," Jones said. The group have also recently announced an Australian tour, and will perform at London's Royal Albert Hall in late March as part of the charity concert series in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The shows, taking place from Mar. 24-29, will also feature performances by The Who on Mar. 27 and Mar. 30. The Sex Pistols featuring Carter will perform on Mar. 24. - Music-News.com, 1/28/25...... Two of David Bowie's closest former collaborators have announced they are reuniting for a 16-city "Berlin Trilogy" tour of the UK and Europe in 2025. The D.A.M. Trilogy, made up of drummer Dennis Davis, guitarist Carlos Alomar and bassist George Murray, worked regularly with Bowie during his Berlin period in the late 1970s. Now, they'll reunite in a 16-date tour which will honour both Bowie's legacy and Davis', who died in 2016. The band, which will include additional new members, will play hits from across the late singer's Berlin album trilogy: Low, "Heroes" and Lodger. Coined the "Back To Berlin" tour, the string of shows will kick off in the city on Nov. 7, before they head to Oslo, Malmo, Paris, London and more. They'll wrap up on Dec. 1 with a final performance in Dublin. Alomar, who recorded with Bowie across 11 albums, including Young Americans, the Berlin Trilogy and, most recently, 2003's Reality, says: "Where other bands have toured Bowie's songs extensively since his passing, these songs haven't been performed the way they were meant to be. Until now. The Spiders from Mars are well known, but the D.A.M. Trio remains rock and roll's best-kept secret. It's time to honour our legacy, including Dennis's." Elsewhere, Bowie lieutenants Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey have announced a 2025 UK tour dubbed "A Celebration Of David Bowie." - NME, 1/27/25...... Queen guitarist Brian May's actress wife Anita Dobson has revealed that her husband is a huge 
A scene from the 1970s 
Marianne Faithfull, the beloved British singer, songwriter, actress and iconic figure of the 1960s, died on Jan. 30 of as yet undisclosed causes. She was 78 years old. "It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull," a statement shared to BBC reads. "Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed." Born in the Hampstead area of North London on Dec. 29, 1946, Faithfull was the daughter of an Austrian aristocrat and a British intelligence officer. Starting a career as a folk singer in the early '60s, she made the acquaintance of Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham, who introduced her to the band's circle, and offered her "As Tears Go By," a composition co-penned by the band's Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The sparse, acoustic ballad hit the top 10 in the U.K. in 1964, and also crossed over in the US to the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, peaking at No. 22. She followed up "As Tears Go By" with several other hits in the UK and US, including "Come and Stay With Me," "This Little Bird" and "Summer Nights," and soon became a British tabloid fixture, particularly after she began an affair with Jagger in 1966, ultimately leaving her first husband John Dunbar to live wth him. Early the next year, she made headlines for being at the scene of a drug bust at Richards' house, dressed only in a fur rug at the time of the arrest. Although her hits would dry up by the late 1960s, she continued to be a pop/rock presence, singing backing vocals on The Beatles' No. 2 hit "Yellow Submarine" and co-writing the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers classic drug ballad "Sister Morphine." However, her drug addiction ended up consuming much of what should have been her prime years, particularly after she split with Jagger in 1970 and lost custody of her son Nicholas (with first husband Dunbar). After 1967's Love in a Mist album -- her last on Decca Records -- she would not release another album until 1976. She made her first and most resounding comeback in 1979, with the new wave and disco-influenced Broken English album. By then her voice had transformed into something lower and more weathered with her drug usage, and the set drew rave reviews for its modern sounds and brittle energy. Substance abuse sapped the momentum the Grammy-nominated set earned Faithfull's career, until a 1987 reinvention as a jazz and blues singer on her Strange Weather set. In the 1990s she was a high-profile guest on Roger Waters' live tour in 1990, and as a featured vocalist on Metallica's 1997 single "The Memory Remains." 
She experienced another critical resurgence in the early 21st century with 2002's Kissin Time LP -- including songs written by popular alt-rock figures Beck, Blur and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins -- and released further albums of originals and covers for the next two decades, most recently with 2018's Negative Capability, her highest-charting set on the U.K. albums chart since 1965, and 2021's She Walks in Beauty alongside Australian composer Warren Ellis. Outside of her recording career, Faithfull also had a successful run as an actress, appearing in theatrical roles on the stage, in television and in film. She holds the distinction of being the first person to ever say the "f word" in a mainstream movie, doing so in the 1967 Michael Winner film I'll Never Forget What's'isname, and had small 21st century rules in the hit British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (as God), and in the Sofia Coppola-directed biopic Marie Antoinette (as Empress Maria Theresa). For her starring role in 2007's Irina Palm, as a 60-year-old widow who becomes a sex worker out of necessity, she was nominated for a European Film Award for best actress. The star also endures as one of the defining popular figures of '60s Swinging London, iconic for her voice and her fashion, and for being a muse to many of the musicians in her orbit, primarily of course the Rolling Stones. She was ranked 25th in VH1's 1999 list of the Greatest Women of Rock and Roll, and in 2009, she was named icon of the year at the U.K.-based Q Awards. " I'm glad you can hear the experience in my voice," she told Time Out New York in 2016. "I should think so, after 50 years." Faithfull's passing prompted several tributes on social media, including Jagger ("...She was so much part of my life for so long. She was a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer and a great actress. She will always be remembered"), Richards ("My heartfelt condolences to Marianne's family! I'm so sad and will miss her!! Love, Keith"), and Ronnie Wood ("Marianne will be dearly missed. Bless her xx"). - Billboard, 1/30/25.
After the British government expressed support for a policy that would allow tech companies to use creators' works to train AI models unless creators specifically opt out, Paul McCartney says the proposed AI copyright law could "rip off" artists. In an interview with the BBC set to air on Jan. 26, Sir Paul warned that the proposal could "rip off" artists and lead to a "loss of creativity." "You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don't own it, and they don't have anything to do with it. And anyone who wants can just rip it off," McCartney, 82, said. "The truth is, the money's going somewhere Somebody's getting paid, so why shouldn't it be the guy who sat down and wrote 'Yesterday'?" In late 2024 the UK government, currently controlled by the Labour Party, launched a consultation to explore how copyright law can "enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training" while also ensuring "AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content." But McCartney maintains that it's the government's job to protect the people. "So you know, if you're putting through a bill, make sure you protect the creative thinkers, the creative artists, or you're not going to have them," he said in the interview. The Beatles' final song, "Now and Then," released in 2023, utilized a form of AI called "stem separation" to help surviving members McCartney and Ringo Starr clean up a 60-year-old, low-fidelity demo recorded by John Lennon, making it suitable for a finished master recording. In early 2024, around 200 musicians signed an open letter directed at tech companies, digital service providers and AI developers. The letter criticized irresponsible AI practices, calling it an "assault on human creativity" that "must be stopped." - Billboard, 1/25/25...... In other Beatles-related news, a new documentary focusing on a pivotal 18-month period in the lives of John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono will be released exclusively in IMAX on April 11. One to One: John & Yoko, directed by Kevin Macdonald, will then make it's streaming debut later in 2025 on the Max platform. The core of the film will focus on John and Yoko's "One to One Concerts," a two-show charity event for children with special needs that took place at Madison Square Garden in Aug. 1972. The concert featured the only full-length performances by Lennon following the Beatles' split two years earlier. The benefit shows also featured performances by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Sha Na Na and Roberta Flack, among others. One to One made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2024 and will be featured this month at the Sundance Film Festival. A high-energy one-minute trailer for the doc, available for streaming on 
An anxiously awaited Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Michael's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role, has been delayed due to a recently-revealed, decades-old legal agreement barring any portrayal of the family of one of his abuse accuser. Lionsgate Films announced in Nov. 2024 that the film is being pushed back from an April 2025 release to October 2025 with no further explanation at the time, however now it has been revealed by Puck.com that the filmmakers were forced to scrap key portions of the movie because they would potentially violate a legal contract reached with the family of Jordan Chandler, a then-13-year-old boy who accused the superstar singer of molestation in the 1990s. In the agreement, Jackson's team reportedly promised not to dramatize the Chandlers in any capacity, however the script reportedly portrays Jackson as a "naive victim of the money-grubbing Chandlers" and features a scene of the boy's father "threatening to leverage his son's accusations to 'destroy' his ex-wife and Jackson's career." Jackson's estate is reportedly funding the necessary re-shoots to the movie, and the filmmakers will seek Lionsgate's approval for a revised script and shooting strategy as soon as possible. Lionsgate is reportedly "hopeful" about the October release date and producer Graham King says he is "confident that his team can fix the movie." The Jackson estate has always vehemently denied all claims of child molestation by Michael, pointing out that the singer was acquitted in a 2005 criminal trial and arguing that his accusers are simply seeking monetary gain from an artist who cannot defend himself because defamation law does not extend to dead individuals. - Billboard, 1/24/25...... Meanwhile, the superstar singer credited with helping to discover Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 has announced details of a "Symphonic Celebration" UK tour. Diana Ross announced on Jan. 24 that she'll embark on a seven-date arena tour of the UK on June 22 at Birmingham's BP Pulse Live arena. The tour continues the following night with a stop at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, before heading to the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on June 25. The "Touch Me In the Morning" singer will then visit Manchester (26/6), Leeds (28/6), and Liverpool (30/6) before wrapping at The O2 in London on July 2. The Hall Orchestra will be accompanying the singer on the Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool shows, while the Royal Scottish National Orchestra will perform in Glasgow and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra will take to the stage with Ross in London. - New Musical Express, 1/24/25...... The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame wants a federal judge to toss out a copyright lawsuit over an image of Eddie Van Halen, arguing that it made legal fair use of the image by using it as part of a museum exhibit designed to "educate the public about the history of rock and roll music." The lawsuit, filed in 2024, claims the Rock Hall never paid to license photographer Neil Zlozower's image -- a black-and-white photo of late-'70s Van Halen in the recording studio -- before blowing it up into an eight-foot-tall display in the Cleveland museum. But in a motion to dismiss the case filed on Jan. 21, the Rock Hall says it didn't need to. Attorneys for the museum say the offending exhibit was protected by "fair use," a rule that allows copyrighted works to be reused legally in many contexts, including education and commentary. Zlozower filed his case in October, claiming the Hall made an "exact copy of a critical portion of plaintiff's original image" for the exhibit, which he claimed "did not include any photo credit or mentions as to the source of the image." - Billboard, 1/22/25...... 
The first trailer for the eagerly anticipated new Sly Stone documentary, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), dropped on Jan. 22 on 
Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler's sixth annual "Jam for Janie" Grammy Awards viewing party has been set for Feb. 2 at the Hollywood Paladium. Hosted by Grammy-winning comedian Tiffany Haddish, the evening features a powerhouse lineup of performers, including Tyler's fellow Aerosmith members Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton along with Billy Idol, Joan Jett and Linda Perry, among others. A special highlight will be a reunion performance by members of Aerosmith, who played their final show in Sept. 2023 before announcing they were disbanding. The event supports Janie's Fund, the rocker's nonprofit aiding young women and girls who have survived abuse, and expands its philanthropic reach this year to benefit the L.A. Fire Department Foundation and the Widows, Orphans, and Disabled Firefighter's Fund. The event will welcome more than 100 firefighters who have been at the forefront of combating the California wildfires, to celebrate the major night in music. The event is named after Aerosmith's 1989 hit "Janie's Got a Gun," which peaked at No. 4 on the hit parade and won the band their first Grammy for Best Rock Performance. Tickets and sponsorship details are available at JaniesFund.org. - Billboard, 1/23/25...... '70s artists Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rod Stewart, Sting, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks are among the performance line-up for the upcoming FireAid benefit concert. The event was first announced earlier this month in support of the victims of the devastating early January Los Angeles wildfires and will take place on Jan. 30 concurrently at the Intuit Dome and the KIA Forum. Other major artists confirmed for the event include Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rod Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day. The full lineup can be viewed on 
A previously unreleased Tina Turner song, "Hot For You Baby," will appear on the the upcoming 
Garth Hudson, The Band's virtuoso keyboardist and all-around musician who drew from a unique palette of sounds and styles to add a conversational touch to such rock standards as "Up on Cripple Creek," "The Weight" and "Rag Mama Rag," has died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of Jan. 21 at a nursing home in Woodstock, N.Y. He was 87. A rustic figure with an expansive forehead and sprawling beard, Mr. Hudson was a classically trained performer and self-educated Greek chorus who spoke through piano, synthesizers, horns and his favoured Lowrey organ. No matter the song, Mr. Hudson summoned just the right feeling or shading, whether the tipsy clavinet and wah-wah pedal on "Up on Cripple Creek," the galloping piano on "Rag Mama Rag" or the melancholy saxophone on "It Makes No Difference." The only non-singer among the five The Band musicians celebrated for their camaraderie, texture and versatility, Mr. Hudson mostly loomed in the background, but he did have one showcase: "Chest Fever," a Robbie Robertson composition for which he devised an introductory organ solo ("The Genetic Method"), an eclectic sampling of moods and melodies that segued into the song's hard rock riff. Formed in the early 1960s as a backing group for rocker Ronnie Hawkins, The Band was originally called The Hawks and featured the Arkansas-born Levon Helm and four Canadians recruited by Helm and Hawkins: Mr. Hudson, Robertson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel. The Band mastered their craft through years of performing as unknowns -- first behind Hawkins, then as Levon and the Hawks, then as the unsuspecting targets of outrage after hooking up with Bob Dylan in the mid-1960s. All joined Dylan on his historic tours of 1965-66 (Helm departed midway), when he broke with his folk past and teamed with The Band for some of the most stirring and stormiest music of the time, enraging some old Dylan admirers but attracting many new ones. The group would rename itself The Band in part because so many people around Dylan simply referred to his backing musicians as "the band." Mr. Hudson played briefly with the English band The Call; appeared with various latter incarnations of The Band, usually featuring Mr. Hudson, Danko, and Helm; assisted on solo albums by Robertson and Danko; and joined Danko and Helm for a performance of Pink Floyd's The Wall at the Berlin Wall. Other session work included records by Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen and Emmylou Harris. The son of musicians, Mr. Hudson was born in Windsor, Ont., in 1937 and received formal training at an early age. He was performing on stage and writing before he was even a teenager, although by his early 20s he had soured on classical music and was playing in a rock band, The Capers. Mr. Hudson also organized his own projects, although his first solo effort, The Sea to the North, came out on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In 2005, he formed a 12-piece band called The Best!, with his wife on vocals. "Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of The Band" was a 2010 tribute featuring Neil Young, Bruce Cockburn and other Canadian musicians. Mr. Hudson was the eldest and last surviving member of The Band: Robertson, the band's guitarist and lead songwriter, died in 2023 after a long illness. Keyboardist-drummer Manuel killed himself in 1986, bassist Danko died in his sleep in 1999, and drummer Helm died of cancer in 2012. The Band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. - AP, 1/22/25.