Posted by Administrator on February 10th, 2025
After announcing his first U.S. tour dates for 2025 at the end of January, Bob Dylan has unveiled a much lengthier list of dates for the next seven months for his ongoing "Rough and Rowdy Ways" tour, which also include a number of shows as part of the 2025 installment of the "Outlaw Music Festival" tour, where he will play alongside Willie Nelson, Billy Strings and others. Dylan's tour will kick off on Mar. 25 in Tulsa, Okla., also visiting Little Rock, Ark. (3/26), Springfield, Mo. (3/28), Witchita, Kan. (3/29) and Topeka, Kan. (3/30). April will see the folk rock icon play 15 shows in mostly medium-sized cities, with approximately half that amount in May, June, July, August and September as part of the Outlaw Music Festival. The tour will wrap on Sept. 19 in East Troy, Wisc. - New Musical Express, 2/9/25...... 
As part of the huge wave of releases for Record Store Day on Apr. 12, previously unreleased performances from John Lennon's post-Beatles final full-length solo concerts will be released on vinyl as Power To The People - Live At The One To One Concert, New York City, 1972. The special 180-gram yellow vinyl will feature performances by John and Yoko Ono' Plastic Ono Band, backed by the NYC group Elephant's Memory, from their pair of "One to One" benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City. John and Yoko played a matinee and evening performance to a total of 40,000 people on Aug. 30, 1972, to benefit children with special needs, and raised a whopping $1.5 million, with some of the money raised going to the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, N.Y., which was infamous for its poor conditions. The historical event, two years after the dissolution of the Beatles, also saw performances by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack. Produced by the couple's son, Sean Ono Lennon, the four tracks have been remixed and re-engineered from the original multi-track tapes by Paul Hicks and Sam Gannon. They include the previously unreleased performances of "Well Well Well," "Cold Turkey" and Yoko's "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking For A Hand In The Snow)," while "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" has been newly remixed. The release is limited to just 5500 copies worldwide, and more info can be found on recordstoreday.com. Meanwhile, the One To One concerts are explored in great detail in the forthcoming film, One to One: John & Yoko. Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, Marley), the documentary is an expansive look at the 18 months John and Yoko spent living in Greenwich Village in the early 1970s and delivers never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of John's only full length, post-Beatles concert. The film will air on HBO in the US and will be available to stream on Max in late 2025. - Music-News.com, 2/7/25...... Celebrated Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie has had her appointment to one Canada's highest honors -- The Order of Canada -- terminated by the country's Governor General following an investigation into Indigenous ancestry. Sainte-Marie had claimed she believed she was born on the Piapot First Nation reserve in Saskatchewan and had been adopted by the Santamaria family that raised her in Wakefield, Mass., attributing her adoption to the "Sixties Scoop," a period in the 1960s when many Indigenous babies were taken from their parents and adopted by white families. In the fall of 2023, however, a CBC Fifth Estate investigation cast doubt on her claims of Indigenous ancestry. The investigation produced a birth certificate for Sainte-Marie which lists her presumed adoptive parents as her birth parents. It also features interviews with Sainte-Marie's family members calling her claim to Indigenous identity "an elaborate fabrication," and contextualizes Sainte-Marie's career within a phenomenon of high-profile public figures who have fabricated Indigenous identity. As a young adult, Sainte-Marie was adopted by Emile Piapot and Clara Starblanket Piapot of the Piapot First Nation in Saskatchewan in accordance with Cree law and customs. Sainte-Marie issued a statement around the investigation. "For a long time, I tried to discover information about my background," she wrote. "Through that research what became clear, and what I've always been honest about, is that I don't know where I'm from or who my birth parents were, and I will never know." In a follow-up statement, she affirmed her truth. "I have never lied about my identity," Sainte-Marie said, adding that the investigation included "mistakes and omissions." In her six-decade career, Sainte-Marie has won an Oscar and a Golden Globe (both for co-writing "Up Where We Belong" from An Officer and a Gentleman), the Polaris Music Prize, seven Juno Awards (including four in categories honoring aboriginal or indigenous music), and the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, in addition to her appointment to the Order of Canada. She was first appointed to the Order in 1997, and in 2019 was made a Companion of the Order, the highest level within the Order. The 83-year-old artist also had a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 with "Mister Can't You See." - Billboard, 2/10/25...... 
David Johansen, the co-founder and frontman of the iconic '70s punk band The New York Dolls, has revealed that he is battling a brain tumor and stage four cancer. The news came via a Sweet Relief Fund in his name seeking to raise money for the singer's ongoing care in which his daughter, Leah Hennessey, revealed the extent of her 75-year-old father's health issues. "Five years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we discovered that David's cancer had progressed and he had a brain tumor," Leah wrote. "There have been complications ever since. He's never made his diagnosis public, as he and my mother Mara are generally very private people, but we feel compelled to share this now, due to the increasingly severe financial burden our family is facing." She noted that in a further blow, the singer known for his outrageous, high-energy stage persona, fell down a flight of stairs after Thanksgiving and broke his back in two places. Following a week-long hospital stay and a successful surgery, Leah said her dad has been bedridden and incapacitated since then and "due to the trauma, David's illness has progressed exponentially and my mother is caring for him around the clock." The family said that their most immediate needs are for full-time nursing, physical therapy and funding for day-to-day vital living expenses, aimed at helping Johansen regain "some mobility and independence." Donations to Johansen can be made via the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund at sweetrelief.org. Johansen has long been a beloved figure on the New York scene, beginning with his time as the lead singer and provocateur of the gender-bending New York Dolls. That band -- which also featured guitarists Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain, bassist Arthur Kane and drummer Jerry Nolan -- emerged from the fertile underground New York rock scene in the early 1970s, releasing a pair of albums in 1973 and 1974 that helped set the template for the punk revolution and, later, inspired the lipstick and Aqua Net late 1980s hair metal scene. In addition to the occasional reunion with the Dolls over the years, Johansen also hosted a freewheeling Sirius satellite radio show, David Johansen's Mansion of Fun and acted in projects including the HBO series Oz and the movies Scrooged, Let It Ride, Freejack, Mr. Nanny and others. He was also the subject of the 2020 Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi-directed Showtime documentary feature Personality Crisis: One Night Only, which told the singer's life story and chronicled one of his freewheeling shows at New York's Café Carlyle. - Billboard, 2/10/25...... On Feb. 7 the estate of Prince and Netflix announced a new "mutual agreement" and the cancellation of a long-awaited documentary on the late musical legend. The estate took to social media to announce its new partnership with Netflix, which will allow the estate to "develop and produce a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince's archive." The statement also confirmed the cancellation of Ezra Edelman's planned Prince documentary for Netflix, which had been in development for over four years. Edelman -- best known for his work on the O.J.: Made In America documentary -- had been working on the film for the past four years after he replaced Ava DuVernay and was given extensive access to Prince's archives. In July 2024, however, it was reported that Edelman's product had been blocked and "dead in the water" after multiple disputes with Prince's estate. The late artist's estate claimed a first cut of the Netflix film was filled with "dramatic" factual inaccuracies and "sensationalised" renderings of certain events from his life, according to Variety. The deal for the documentary also called for a six-hour series but Edelman reportedly delivered nine hours, which is said to be a violation of the agreement. Prince died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, and as he had no will, his six heirs were left to inherit equal parts in his estate. It also sparked a long legal battle over how the estate would be managed going forward. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2024. - NME, 2/7/25...... 
On Feb. 5 it was revealed that the most iconic lineup of Black Sabbath -- frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward -- will play live together for the first time in two decades on July 5 at Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham, UK. The news of the final live show, dubbed "Back To The Beginning," was announced at the home of Aston Villa by Iommi and Sharon Osbourne, the manager and wife of the iconic Sabbath frontman Ozzy, as well as on X/Twitter. All profits will go to the charities Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice -- a Children's Hospice supported by Aston Villa. Fans immediately took to X/Twitter to express their excitement about the long-awaited reunion. One said: "I will be doing anything to get this ticket. Sabbath and Ozzy have raised me since a teen. They are my soundtrack to this day. And the foundation of most of the music I ever listen to. God bless all 4 of you." Other acts on the bill include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax and Mastodon, and special appearances from Billy Corgan, Duff McKagan and Slash of Guns, among many more. Black Sabbath played the final show of their last farewell tour back in 2017, wrapping up the stint at Birmingham's arena. However, in May 2024 Osbourne said that he was somewhat disappointed that the last date they played didn't include Bill Ward. The drummer had parted ways with the metal legends in 2012, due to what he claimed was an "unreasonable contract." Ozzy also addressed his declining health and shared that he might have to "accept the fact" that a live comeback would potentially not be possible due to issues such as his battle with Parkinson's disease and recovery from multiple surgeries. Speaking to the BBC, Osbourne's wife and manager Sharon explained that the show was a chance for Osbourne to end a career which has been affected in recent years by numerous cancellations and health issues. "He's doing great. He's doing really great," she said. "He's so excited about this, about being with the guys again and all his friends. It's exciting for everyone. Ozzy didn't have a chance to say goodbye to his friends, to his fans, and he feels there's no been no full stop. This is his full stop." The news of the final Sabbath show comes as the 76-year-old Osbourne revealed he can no longer walk during his SiriusXM program Ozzy's Boneyard "I have made it to 2025. I can't walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all my complaining, I'm still alive," he said. "I may be moaning that I can't walk, but I look down the road, and there's people that didn't do half as much as me and didn't make it." NME/Billboard/Music-News.com, 2/5/25...... The new Led Zeppelin documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin premiered in IMAX theaters in the UK on Feb. 7. In May 2019, Becoming Led Zeppelin was announced via an excitable press release featuring quotes from each member. After that: radio silence -- except for news of a 7-inch vinyl "Immigrant Song" single that was confirmed in Oct. 2020 but abruptly cancelled without explanation a day before it was due out. On top of that, neither Robert Plant, Jimmy Page nor John Paul Jones attended the film's premiere events in Los Angeles and London earlier in 2025. Director/co-writer Bernard MacMahon says the involvement of the surviving Zeppelin members was "a miracle" and there's no way of telling whether the film could precipitate a potential band reunion. "That's the exciting thing about Zeppelin. There's no way of telling what's gonna happen or what's gonna go on. There's nothing predictable about them -- and that's what makes them interesting." The official trailer for Becoming Led Zeppelin has been shared on YouTube. - NME, 2/7/25...... Rod Stewart revealed on Feb. 9 that his friend and old Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood will be joining him during his prestigious Sunday afternoon Legends slot performance at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival this summer. "Rod is really excited about his big Worthy Farm gig and wanted to give a nod to the beginning of his career, so thought it would be fitting to bring out Ronnie," a source close to Sir Rod told the UK paper The Sun's Bizarre column. "He knows the pair of them together will be a huge crowd pleaser," the source added. Stewart, 80, previously declared that he is "proud, ready and more than able to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury" next summer. He wrote on Instagram: "I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that I'll be playing Glastonbury Festival 2025! After all these years, I'm proud and ready and more than able to take the stage again to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury in June. I'll see you there!" Rod will become the first artist to have headlined Glastonbury and later been given the Legends slot after he previously topped the bill at the festival in 2002 alongside Coldplay and Stereophonics. Fans in America can catch Stewart at Atlantic City's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Feb. 23. - Music-News.com, 2/9/25...... 
The UK's Royal Mail announced on Feb. 6 that they will celebrate Australia's AC/DC with an official series of 12 special Royal Mail stamps. The stamps will mark the 50th anniversary of the band's debut album High Voltage and will depict the group in live performances in venues around the world. There will be 12 stamps in total, with four of them featuring the covers of four of the band's classic albums - High Voltage, Highway To Hell, Back In Black and Power Up. That band line-up will also be presented in a miniature sheet together. David Gold, director of external affairs and policy at Royal Mail, said: "AC/DC is one of the most successful rock bands in the world. Over the past half century, they have recorded some of the best-known rock anthems and have given us 'Back In Black' -- the biggest-selling rock album of all time. These stamps capture a sample of their electrifying live performances, along with some of their most iconic album covers, and celebrate their significant contribution to the world of rock music." AC/DC become the eighth artist to be honoured with their own dedicated Royal Mail stamp range, following on from The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden, Spice Girls and The Who. The AC/DC stamps can be viewed and pre-orderd at shop.royalmail.com/acdc. AC/DC recently announced a new European tour for 2025, consisting of 12 dates across 10 countries. Kicking off in Prague on June 26, it runs through to Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium on Aug. 21, their first Scottish show in a decade. - NME, 2/6/25...... The heirs of two former member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience say Sony owes them millions, and now their lawsuit is headed to trial after a UK court rejected Sony's appeal. The estates of bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell say they own a share of the rights to three albums created by the trio's JHE, and they've been battling in court with Sony and Experience Hendrix LLC for more than three years to prove it. In a ruling on Feb. 6, the U.K.'s Court of Appeal upheld a decision issued in 2024 that said the dispute must be decided at trial, rejecting Sony's request to overturn that ruling and dismiss the case: "In my judgment the judge was correct," Lord Justice Richard Arnold wrote in the new ruling. In a statement celebrating that ruling, a rep for Redding and Mitchell's heirs say that their case is now scheduled to proceed to trial in December -- more than four years after they first sued. "Noel and Mitch first issued their complaint in November 2021 and after the latest delaying tactic of Sony to deny them justice the case now moves to a full trial," said Edward Adams, a director for the heirs. "We retain our faith in the justice system that they and [Experience Hendrix] will be finally held fully to account at that time." A spokesperson for Sony did not immediately return a request for comment on the ruling. - Billboard, 2/6/25...... Neil Young announced on his website on Feb. 5 that he's eying an April release for his debut album with his new band The Chrome Hearts. The Chrome Hearts, as Young himself describes, "reconfigures musicians he has worked with before," with guitarist Micah Nelson, bassist Corey McCormick, drummer Anthony Logerfo, and organist Spooner Oldham comprising the lineup. While Nelson, McCormick, and Logerfo have performed with Young as members of Promise of the Real, Oldham has worked with Young for decades, appearing on records such as 1978's Comes a Time and 1992's Harvest Moon. Young added that the record is now in the mastering stage for vinyl, CD, and digital copies that are expected to be released in only a couple of months. "I am very happy and relieved to have ths [sic] done in the short time it took," he explained. "The album art has been completed and handed in with Jenice Heo. I am working on the lyric sheets now, hoping to hand-write the words and get them in, in time. It is a happy feeling I have today, knowing I have made an album I think people will enjoy. I hope it's out in April. That would be pretty fast," he added. Young and The Chrome Hearts will also be performing at England's Glastonbury Festival in June. - Billboard, 2/5/25...... 
Donny Osmond is set to share the stage with a younger version of himself from 1972 "thanks to some mind-blowing AI and CGI technology." The Osmonds star, 67, has shared introduced his new "co-star" for the remaining dates of his solo residency at Harrah's Las Vegas -- an avatar of 14-year-old teenage heartthrob Donny. In an Instagram video introducing "AI Donny," he said: "I have a new co-star at my Las Vegas residency, and we are going to be making history together. Can you imagine sharing the stage with your 14-year-old-self? Well, it's happening, thanks to some mind-blowing AI and CGI technology, I'm going to be talking and singing with Donny Osmond, you know the one from 1972." Donny is then joined by the avatar and asks him: "What does it feel like to sing with yourself 50 years in the future?" The young Donny said it was like performing with his "grandpa." To which, the real Donny replied: "You're my grandson, Daxton Osmond." At a click of the fingers, Donny and Daxton's faces interchanged. The "Puppy Love" hitmaker started his residency at Harrah's in Las Vegas back in 2021 and it will wrap in June. Speaking about the rise in the use of AI (artificial intelligence), Donny previously told Fox News Digital: "AI is a tool, not a substitute. So, I love the prospects of AI. I love what it can do for me as a producer, as an artist -- as a tool. And that's it." - Music-News.com, 2/7/25...... Guitarist Mike Ratledge, a co-founder of the British psych-rock band Soft Machine, died on Feb. 5. He was 81. The news of his passing was shared by his former Soft Machine bandmate John Etheridge, who explained that the death was related to a recent illness. "Incredibly sad news that my great friend and Soft Machine legend passed away two hours ago after a brief illness," he wrote. "Mike was the backbone of Soft Machine in the early years and a man with an absolutely incisive mind -- a marvellous composer and keyboardist. A real renaissance man -- so talented, cultured, charming -- and a wonderful companion. We used to meet every few weeks for over 40 yrs -- a treat for me. What a loss to all of us and his sisters and wonderful girlfriend Elena, who were with him at the end." Mr. Ratledge was born in Kent in 1943 and began his time in the music industry as a teenager when he Daevid Allen and joined his band the Daevid Allen Trio. As well as that, he grew up learning piano and clarinet and went on to get a degree in psychology and philosophy from Oxford's University College. He formed Soft Machine with Allen, Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers in 1966, and although the members would shift over the years, he remained the longest-serving member. He left the group in 1976. The band would make a name for themselves through their psych-pop, progressive sound and blend of jazz fusion. Alongside his work with Soft Machine, Mr. Ratledge also took on work as a composer and producer, working on various projects on television and in the theatre. He also famously joined forces with composer Karl Jenkins for his Adiemus: Songs Of Sanctuary album, and continued to work with Jenkins in the following years. - NME, 2/6/25.
A year-long celebration of the legacy of Bob Marley will kick off Feb. 6 with an "Uprising Bob Marley Tribute Concert" livestream from the Marley family's Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica. In memory of what would have been the 80th birthday of the reggae icon, the concert features a slew of popular and new Jamaican entertainers, including Mortimer, Bugle, Kumar Fyah, Naomi Cowan, Quan Dajai, Kelly Shane, and Alexx A-Game, several of whom were featured in the 2024 Bob Marley: One Love movie. Other highlights featured in the livestream will be a countdown of the best live performances from past birthdays, stand-alone performances paying tribute, a showcase of the ongoing impact of his charitable Bob Marley Foundation organization, and more. The livestream happens on Feb. 6 from 3:00 pm ET-7:00 pm ET on Tuff Gong TV's official YouTube channel. Additional festivities include the premiere episode of Bob Marley & I on Tuff Gong TV's livestream, with more episodes being showcased throughout the year. Additional information on MARLEY 80 events will be revealed soon. One-quarter of all reggae music listened to in the US is Bob Marley's, and his Bob Marley's Legend compilation was recently re-certified 18x platinum by the RIAA. Legendis the fourteenth-biggest-selling album of all time and the third-biggest-selling Greatest Hits package in United States history. - Music-News.com, 2/5/25...... 
On Feb. 5 Elton John and Brandi Carlile announced details of a new collaborative album called Who Believes In Angels? that is set to drop on Apr. 4 via Island EMI. According to a press release, the album was started in Los Angeles back in Oct. 2023 and came together in less than three weeks. As for the sound, it is set to "draw comparisons with some of Elton's very finest works [as] ballads co-exist with raw rock and roll, pop songs and country-hued Americana rub shoulders with synth-heavy psychedelia." The album sees the artists join forces with long-time collaborators Andrew Watt -- who produced the record -- and John's longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. Other contributors include Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith, Pino Palladino (Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan and David Gilmour) and Josh Klinghoffer (Pearl Jam, Beck). The album will also feature the 2025 Oscar-nominated song "Never Too Late," which was created especially for the Disney+ Elton documentary of the same name. The title track of Who Believes in Angels? and a making-of film can be viewed on YouTube. John and Carlile have also confirmed a special one-off concert showcasing the album at The London Palladium on on Mar. 26. Elton's last album was 2021's The Lockdown Sessions, and his last album of original material was 2016's Wonderful Crazy Night. - New Musical Express, 2/5/25...... MTV has announced a new feature-length Eric Clapton special of Clapton's 1992 MTV Unplugged performance. An all-new extended, remixed and remastered edition of the iconic session, Eric Clapton Unplugged - Over 30 Years Later, will be available to stream globally on Paramount+ beginning Feb. 12. It will also include exclusive content of the legendary guitarist/singer discussing the inspiration behind specific songs and performances with the crew just before he took the stage at Bray Studios in Windsor, Berkshire for the show, seamlessly integrated with the performance footage. A subsequently released live album of the session, Eric Clapton: Unplugged, sold over 26million copies and would also go on to become the best-selling live album of all time. The new 90-minute Over 30 Years Later film premiered in select UK and US cinemas in January, and its official trailer can be streamed on YouTube. Meanwhile, Clapton is readying to head out on the road in the UK this May, in support of his 22nd and latest album Meanwhile. He'll play three headline shows at the historic Royal Albert Hall in London, and perform at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. The forthcoming dates are set to be Clapton's only UK gigs of 2025. His stop in Nottingham will mark his first visit to the city since 2008. - NME, 2/5/25...... On Feb. 5 heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath announced details of their final-ever live show, set for July 5 in Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham, England. During a press conference in Villa Park, Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne's wife/manager Sharon Osbourne said the show has been dubbed "Black Sabbath - Back To The Beginning" and in addition to Ozzy and Iommi will feature the other two members of the band's classic lineup, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward, with the quartet playing together fir the first time in two decades. "It's my time to go 'Back To The Beginning' time for me to give back to the place where I was born," Ozzy said in a statement. "How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever." Alongside Black Sabbath reuniting, the gig will play host to performances from dozens more icons of the genre, including sets from Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, as well as the likes of Pantera, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Alice In Chains, Halestorm and recent Grammy Award-winners Gojira. Profits from the show will go to the following charities: Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice, a Children's Hospice supported by Villa Park and Aston Villa. - Billboard, 2/5/25...... 
Cheap Trick will be among the headliners at the upcoming Pure Imagination Fest on May 17 in Prescott, Ariz. Other headliners include Grammy-nominated artist Matisyahu, and Grammy winning hip-hop group Arrested Development. Also on the bill is the 80s ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk outfit English Beat, as well as Gone Gone Beyond, Kelsey Waldon, Ponderosa Grove, Bird and Byron, Kids In America, Pijama Piyama and Dutch Holly. Since its debut in 2022, the female-founded and curated Pure Imagination Fest has become a standout experience, seamlessly merging music, nature, and culture with an eco-conscious ethos in the traditional lands of several Native American tribes. "Pure Imagination is about more than just music," event founder Candace Devine says. "It's about creating an unforgettable experience where people can connect, be inspired, and celebrate the power of art in one of the most beautiful places in the world." The event's 2024 promo video can be viewed on YouTube, and tickets are on sale now at www.pureimaginationfestival.com. - Billboard, 2/4/25...... Van Morrison has announced he'll launch a brief UK headline tour at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham on Mar. 18, then visiting Birmingham's Symphony Hall (Mar. 19), the New Theatre Oxford (23) and The Subscription Rooms in Stroud (24). The forthcoming tour is described as a "unique opportunity to experience Van Morrison live" in intimate, "specially selected venues." The Celtic crooner had previously announced two homecoming shows at Whitla Hall in Belfast on Feb. 21 and 22, as well as European headline gigs in Antwerp, Brussels and The Hague. Morrison is supporting his latest album, 2024's New Arrangements And Duets, comprised of unreleased material the Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer had in his catalogue. The collection boasts collaborations with the likes of Willie Nelson, Joss Stone, Curtis Stigers and Kurt Elling. Morrison last performed live in the UK in Sept. 2024, and played a show at London's historic Royal Albert Hall last summer. - NME, 2/5/25...... On Feb. 4 The Doobie Brothers shared details on Instagram of a new 2025 UK and Ireland summer tour that kicks off on July 11 in Glasgow, also visiting London's BST Hyde Park on July 13 (opening for Jeff Lynne's ELO), Manchester (July 15), Birmingham (July 17) and London's The O2 (July 19) before wrapping at 3Arena in Dublin on July 21. The Doobies are touring behind their forthcoming studio effort, Walk This Road, set for June 6. It sees the band feature the reunited line-up of Tom Johnson, Patrick Simmons, Michael McDonald and John McFee, and will be their first LP since 2021's Libert. That band is scheduled to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame later in 2025. They were first inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, and then added to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004. Speaking of Jeff Lynne's ELO, support acts for the band's headlining London BST Hyde Park set on July 13 have been confirmed. In addition to the Doobie Brothers, Steve Winwood and Dhani Harrison will also be opening for Lynne and his band. Winwood is expected to break out songs from his time with bands like Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith, and Harrison is expected to play selections from his famous dad George Harrison's catalogue, alond with songs from his two albums IN///PARALLEL and INNERSTANDING. In other Jeff Lynne news, ELO has also shared news of more farewell shows, taking place across the rest of the UK later in 2025. Two dates were confirmed, with the first being held on July 5 at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, and the second at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on July 9. - NME, 2/4/25...... 
The Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 2 featured a star-studded tribute performance recognizing producer/composer/instrumentalist Quincy Jones's varied musical achievements throughout the decades. The performance was introduced by actor Will Smith, who acknowledged his career would not be what it is without Jones, who produced Smith's debut acting gig TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The musical portion of the tribute to Jones began with legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock playing Jones' classic '60s instrumental "Killer Joe." Hancock was then joined by vocal powerhouse Cynthia Erivo for a show-stopping performance of "Fly Me to the Moon," which became a signature song for Frank Sinatra with Jones arranging his performance. The duo were then replaced by country star Lainey Wilson for a rollicking performance of Jones' '90s rave-up "Let the Good Times Roll." After that, Hancock was welcomed back to the keys, along with all-time great Stevie Wonder on harmonica for a rendition of Jones' version of jazz staple "Bluesette." Wonder then capped the tribute by introducing (and leading the crowd in a singalong of) "We Are the World," the all-star USA for Africa charity single that Jones produced 40 years earlier in 1985. Jones is one of the most decorated figures in the history of the Grammys, winning 28 awards over the course of his generation-spanning career -- including two album of the year wins for Micheal Jackson's Thriller (1984) and his own Back on the Block (1991). Also during the Grammys, The Rolling Stones picked up a Best Rock Album award for their 2024 album Hackney Diamonds. Accepting the trophy on the Stones' behalf, Andrew Watt, producer of Hackney Diamonds, said: "Talked to Mick [Jagger] yesterday and he just wanted to say a big thank you to the Academy from the entire band. The legendary Frankie Valli of The Four Seasons was also honored with a Special Merit Award by the Recording Academy on Feb. 1. Valli made note of how long it took the Recording Academy to get around to him. Valli has never won a Grammy, on his own or in the Four Seasons, which landed their first three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962-63. "This has been an incredible evening," he said. "I don't know what took so long, but that's the way it goes." - Billboard, 2/2/25...... As he attended the Janie's Fund Grammys viewing party in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood opened up to US Weekly about his former bandmates Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham "I always have a fantasy that [Stevie] and Lindsay would pal up a bit more and just say everything's OK for them both. But we've had such an incredible career," Fleetwood told the magazine. This is not the first time Fleetwood has opened up about wanting Nicks and Buckingham to be friendlier. In 2024, he spoke to Mojo and shared: "It's no secret, it's no tittle-tattle that there is a brick wall there emotionally. Stevie's able to speak clearly about how she feels and doesn't feel, as does Lindsey. But I'll say, personally, I would love to see a healing between them -- and that doesn't have to take the shape of a tour, necessarily." In 2024, Buckingham shared that he would rejoin the Fleetwood Mac line-up "in a heartbeat," and Nicks has said there's "no reason" for the band to get together after the passing of Christine McVie. It was announced in 2024 that a "fully authorised," "definitive" Fleetwood Mac documentary to chronicle the history of the legendary band is in the works. - NME, 2/4/25...... 
Also at the Janie's Fund Grammy Viewing Party at the Hollywood Paladium, former Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler made his first return to the stage since Aerosmith's announcement that they were retiring from touring. Performing with Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt, Tyler's six-song set featured a rendition of Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic", Extreme's "More Than Words" with Mick Fleetwood, and "Dream On" with Lainey Wilson. Joined by Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton and the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson for performances of "Sweet Emotion," and "Walk This Way," the high-profile set closed out with a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker." The performance was only Tyler's second time appearing on stage since his vocal injury. In May 2024 -- months before Aerosmith announced their retirement from touring -- Tyler performed "Mama Kin" with the Black Crowes in London. At the time, the Black Crowes were planning to resume their role as the opening act for Aerosmith's then-postponed "Peace Out" tour later in the year. While performing in Elmont, NY on Sept. 9 of that year, Tyler fractured his larynx, necessitating the postponement of shows on their "Peace Out" tour. Ultimately, these shows were canceled entirely when the band announced their retirement from touring in Aug. 2024. It's currently unclear whether Tyler's return to the live stage could result in anything more in the future, though Hamilton did speak to Boston's WBUR in January to give an update on the possibility of one-off Aerosmith appearances down the line. "Steven's healing process is going really, really well, but it goes at its own pace," Hamilton told the station. "Maybe Aerosmith will do something in the future, but it's a big if and the last thing I want to be doing is to try and push Steven in that direction. If we do anything in the future, it would come from him." - Billboard, 2/3/25...... AC/DC announced on Instagram on Feb. 3 that they're bringing their "PWR UP" tour back to Europe this summer with a 12-date run of shows as part of their ongoing global tour. The new shows will kick off on June 26 at LetHany Airport in Prague, Czech Republic, and touch down in stadiums in Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Estonia, Sweden, Norway and France before winding down at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium on Aug. 21. The new European dates join the Aussie headbangers' first planned U.S. tour in nine years. That run is slated to hit 13 stadiums across the nation from April 10 through May 28. The shows will kick off on April 10 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN, before moving on to Arlington, TX, Pasadena (CA), Vancouver, Las Vegas, Detroit, Foxborough (MA), Pittsburgh, Landover (MD), Tampa, Nashville and Chicago before winding down on May 28 at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland. - Billboard, 2/3/25...... A special vinyl edition of David Bowie's 2003 concert album Ready, Set, Go! set for release on Record Store Day (Apr. 12) via Parlophone Records. The limited edition double vinyl LP is a live recording of Bowie's Sept. 8, 2003 interactive satellite event which took place at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, London. The event aired in 86 theatres across 26 countries and featured a Q&A segment with Bowie himself. The one-off concert saw the rock icon perform his album Reality in its entirety for the first time ever. - NME, 1/31/25...... Paul McCartney has paid tribute to the late "beautiful, sweet" UK singer Marianne Faithfull who passed away in London on Jan. 30 at age 78. The following day Sir Paul took to his official Instagram account o share a black and white photo of him alongside Faithfull, writing. "What sad news that Marianne Faithfull has passed away." He continued: "She came into my life in the Sixties and was a beautiful, sweet 17 year old who radiated innocent joy. Then through the years I was lucky enough to run into her and to become a life-long friend. It's very sad to think that I won't be meeting her again but my memories of our encounters over the years will always bring me joy. May god bless you Marianne and guide you in the next steps of your journey - Paul." Faithfull was a key figure in the 'Swinging London' arts and music scene in the '60s, becoming one of the leading female artists during the British Invasion era. She is remembered for hits including 'As Tears Go By' and for her roles on stage and screen, and also for her four-year relationship with The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. - NME, 1/31/25...... Speaking of The Rolling Stones, the band has reportedly scrapped plans for a 2025 UK and European tour citing complications with venues and travel. According to various reports from outlets including London's The Times, the iconic group opted against a return to touring later in 2025 following a proposed multi-million pound stop at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium being rejected, amid other shows across Europe. The outlets state that the band's remaining members, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, were presented with multiple-date options for shows in 2025, but these were soon dismissed due to complications around suitable venues, travel and pre-existing commitments. These reportedly included visits to Paris, Barcelona, Rome and four gigs at the aforementioned Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. - NME, 1/31/25...... An auction featuring items once belonging to the late Leonard Cohen is set to take place on February 28 in Los Angeles via Julien's Auction. The lot is comprised of 164 items, with the majority of them coming from the collections of Cohen's longtime friend Aviva Layton and romantic and creative partner Anjani Thomas. Among the items in the collection set to go under the hammer are various typed and handwritten works by Cohen including lyrics, letters, poems, postcards and manuscripts. Those items are expected to be bought for prices within the low thousands. One of the more impressive pieces that is included in the lot is one of the legendary musician's personal notebooks from 2007 which features 76 pages of notes, poems, and drafts of lyrics. The notebook is expected to sell within the $8,000-$12,000 range. An announcement of the auction has been shared on Julien's Instagram page. - NME, 1/31/25...... 
Joni Mitchell made a rare live appearance at the LA FireAid benefit show at the Kia Forum on Jan. 30. At the event to provide financial support for the victims of the recent devastating Los Angeles wildfires, one of the most memorable moments came as the 81-year-old iconic singer-songwriter took to the stage for a moving rendition of her hit "Both Sides Now" from her 1969 album Clouds. The singer remained seated on a gold throne as she broke out the track, and was joined by Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, as well as Lucius, Taylor MacKall, Blake Mills, and Abe Rounds. Footage of the performance can be viewed on X and YouTube. The appearance of Mitchell comes after the legendary artist has only made a select few live performances in recent years. The most recent of which was a set called the "Joni Jam" -- her first headline show in Los Angeles in 24 years, where she broke out rarities that had not been played live in decades. Before then, she delivered a moving set at the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony, which led to a standing ovation from the audience. - NME, 1/31/25...... Brian Murphy, the UK actor and comedian best known for his role in the 1970s British sitcoms Man About the House and George and Mildred, passed away at his home in Kent on Feb. 2. He was 92. Born on the Isle of Wight in 1932, Mr. Murphy's acting career began in the 1950s when he became a member of the pioneering Theatre Workshop. Founded by Joan Littlewood and her partner Gerry Raffles, it was dedicated to modernising theatre and reaching working-class audiences. Mr. Murphy performed in many Shakespeare productions directed by Littlewood, and acted in her only feature film, the kitchen sink comedy Sparrows Can't Sing. Mr. Murphy was best known for his role in Man About the House, an ITV sitcom exploring the dynamics of one man and two women sharing a flat together in the 1970's, which later became the inspiration for a hit American spin-off, Three's Company. He went on to star in the spin-off George and Mildred, in which Mr. Murphy played a henpecked George Roper opposite fellow Theatre Workshop actress Yootha Joyce as his wife. He is survived by his wife, Hi-de-Hi! actress Linda Regan, and his two sons. - BBC.com, 2/5/25.
Bette Midler has apologized to the residents of West Virginia after the longtime liberal diva took to 
Queen guitarist Brian May took to 
Rod Stewart and his son Sean Stewart have resolved an assault case stemming from a New Year's Eve 2019 altercation with a security guard at an exclusive Florida hotel. Court records released on Dec. 17 show that the Stewarts entered guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges of simple battery. The plea agreement, dated and signed Dec. 13, means that Stewart, 76, and 41-year-old Sean won't have to appear in court and formal adjudication of the charge was withheld. There will be no trial and neither will do any jail time or be required to pay fines and won't be placed on probation, according to Stewart's attorney Guy Fronstin. "No one was injured in the incident and a jury did not find Sir Rod Stewart guilty of the accusation," Fronstin said in a statement. "Instead, Sir Rod Stewart decided to enter a plea to avoid the inconvenience and unnecessary burden on the court and the public that a high profile proceeding would cause," Fronstin added. The Stewarts were accused of a physical altercation with security guard Jessie Dixon at the luxury Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach on Dec. 31, 2019. The dispute involved Dixon's refusal to allow them into a private New Year's Eve party at the hotel. Dixon said in court papers that Rod Stewart punched him in the rib cage with a closed fist and that Sean Stewart shoved him. A spokesperson for Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg, whose office prosecuted the case, said in an email that Dixon agreed with the outcome of the case. - Billboard, 12/18/21...... Stevie Wonder held his annual House Full of Toys Benefit in Los Angeles on Dec. 18. In addition to marking the charity benefit's 23rd anniversary, the holiday concert also celebrated its return after a three-year break owing to Wonder's successful kidney transplant in 2019, followed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Rocking a stylish black suit, Wonder stood before a sold-out audience at the Microsoft Theater and thanked those who attended. "A lot has happened in the world, my world and your own worlds. But the blessing is that we are all here to give to those less fortunate," said the 71-year-old Motown legend. Concert-goers were asked to bring an unwrapped toy or "unwrapped gift of joy," which were placed in bins outside the theater on behalf of Wonder's nonprofit We Are You Foundation. After briefly reminiscing about his mother's crying over learning her son's blindness when he was a youngster and recalling his career start at Motown ("Berry Gordy said, 'We've got to work on that voice -- but the harmonica playing is good'"), Wonder spent the next two-and-a-half hours delving into his deep catalog of hits, ripping through roof-raising audience singalongs to "Master Blaster (Jammin')," "Higher Ground" and "Don't You Worry Bout a Thing." Near the show's end, Wonder acknowledged the audience's latest in a string of standing ovations throughout the evening, saying, "I live to love you & all of my life." - Billboard, 12/19/21...... Don McLean announced on Dec. 19 that he'll launch an ambitious 68-city 2022 world tour celebrating 50 years of his iconic hit 
BMG Music and the American global investment company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) announced on Dec. 21 they've acquired all of ZZ Top's publishing catalog and recorded music royalties in a deal that has an estimated $55 million valuation. In a joint statement, the two companies noted that since its formation in 1971 ZZ Top has sold over 50 million albums worldwide, earning one diamond album, and two multi-platinum albums along the way. The Texas trio's album catalog has averaged close to 300,000 album consumption units a year, according to MRC Data, and though the announcement doesn't disclose the acquisition price, the Wall Street Journal estimates the band's recorded masters catalog has averaged annually about $4.481 million in revenue over the last four years. Meanwhile, Billboard estimates that the band's publishing, which includes rock staples like "Legs" and "La Grange," comes out to about $1.262 million annually and the band's share of that is about $950,000. BMG has served as co-publisher and administrator publishing catalog for the band, which was the subject of the 2019 documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas. ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and has received three Grammy nominations, one of its founding members, bassist Dusty Hill, dying earlier in 2021 at the age of 72. - Billboard, 12/21/21...... Dolly Parton has added three new Guinness World Records awards to her already epic 2021. After contributing to the funding of the coronavirus vaccine, being included on the Time 100 and People of the Year honors, raising $700,000 for Tennessee flood relief, and dropping a new fragrance, Parton now holds the high-water mark for most decades on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart by a female artist (seven) and most No. 1 hits on that chart by a female artist (25) as well as breaking her own existing record for the most hits on the that chart by a female artist with a mind-blowing 109 hits. "Well, I feel like a bird that wants to fly away," Parton said in a Guinness video on 
Wanda Young, a member of the 1960s Motown group The Marvelettes who sang lead on such hits asd "I'll Keep Holding On" and "Don't Mess With Bill," died on Dec. 16. She was 78. "We are so saddened by the news of Wanda Young of the Marvelettes passing," the Motown Records official Twitter account wrote on Dec. 17. "What an impact she has had on the world of Classic Motown and the lives of so many. Her legacy will continue to live on," the statement added. Born in Inkster, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, Young joined The Marvelettes in 1961 after being brought in by her high school classmates Gladys Horton and Georgia Dobbins. Young served as a replacement for Dobbins, who left the group to take care of her ill mother and because her father didn't want her involved in the music industry. Her passing follows the death of Marvelettes co-founder Horton, who died in 2011 at the age of 66, and sang lead on several of the group's hits, including the Dec. 1961 Billboard No. 1 "Please Mr. Postman." Dobbins, a co-writer of the track, died in Sept. 2020. Young, who also performed under the name Wanda Rogers, can be heard singing backup vocals on "Postman," as well as other Marvelettes classics like "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789." Young went on to marry The Miracles singer Bobby Rogers in 1963, taking on his last name. By the mid-'60s, she was singing lead vocals on Marvelettes songs "I'll Keep Holding On, "Don't Mess With Bill, "My Baby Must Be a Magician" and "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game." The Marvelettes officially split following the release of their Smokey Robinson-produced 1970 album, Return of the Marvelettes, which was originally planned as a solo release for Young. Soon after, she mostly stepped away from the music industry, but performed alongside a semi-reunited Marvelettes in 1989, according to Rolling Stone. - Billboard, 12/18/21.
Pink Floyd delivered its legion of fans a surprise Christmas gift on Dec. 16 by releasing to streaming services a dozen live albums documenting some of their gigs from the early '70s. Added to the services with no prior announcement, the 12 LPs span the prog-rock icons' years of 1970 to 1972, covering the period in which the band released Atom Heart Mother (1970), Meddle (1971), and Obscured By Clouds (1972). The earliest recording, titled They Came In Peace, features performances from Leeds University on Feb. 28, 1970 and Washington University on Nov. 16, 1971, which features seven tracks and totals one hour 34 minutes in length. That concert, like the other 11 albums, can be streamed on 
A new documentary on The Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson will hit UK cinemas on Jan. 21, 2022, and ahead of the band's celebration of its milestone 60th anniversary. Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road is described as a a "rare and personal music documentary that explores the life and career of legendary songwriter Brian Wilson, through a literal and metaphorical road trip exploring Brian's hometown." The documentary presents a new original Brian Wilson song and incorporates several of his famous tracks including "God Only Know," "Good Vibrations" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice." The film features over 36 of the artist's most iconic hits, rare tracks, never-before-heard demos, and offers intimate access to his personal home movies and photo albums. Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine accompanies Brian throughout on his tour and gives special access to Brian and his band as they play at The Hollywood Bowl in L.A, The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and the Odeon in London. - Music-news.com, 12/17/21...... An all-star cast of celebrities from the worlds of music, TV, film and comedy have joined forces to honor George Harrison in the first-ever official music video for his 1970 song, "My Sweet Lord." Over 40 musicians, actors, comedian, directors, artists and other creatives make cameos in the Lance Bangs-directed clip, ranging from Harrison's friends and former Beatles band mate Ringo Starr and Traveling Wilburys bandmate Jeff Lynne to actors Mark Hamill, Darren Criss, Jon Hamm and Rosanna Arquette. Originally released on Nov. 23, 1970, in the US, the track featured on the late Beatle's third studio album, All Things Must Pass. The new video version boasts a fresh 2020 mix by Paul Hicks, released this past August on the 50th anniversary edition of All Things Must Pass. The new official video for "My Sweet Lord" has been shared on 
The Kinks' guitarist/vocalist Dave Davies announced on 
Ken Kragen, best known for organizing the iconic 1985 "We Are The World" humanitarian project which spawned the hit single of the same name, died on Dec. 14 of natural causes at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles. He was 85. Mr. Kragen also produced TV's The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the 1960s and managed the careers of Kenny Rogers and other top-notch entertainers including Lionel Richie, the Bee Gees, Olivia Newton-John, Burt Reynolds, The Smothers Brothers and Trisha Yearwood, among others. In 1985, after receiving a call from Harry Belafonte, Mr. Kragen was instrumental in rounding up the talent -- including Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Cyndi Lauper, Richie and Rogers -- that appeared on the fund-raising single and album "We Are the World," and he brought in Quincy Jones to produce the music. The project raised an estimated $64 million for poverty relief in Africa and the U.S. A year later, Mr. Kragen returned to organize "Hands Across America," a human chain that stretched across the U.S. and involved 6.5 million people. That raised millions to help the hungry and the homeless as well. He said that one of his proudest achievements was receiving the United Nations' Peace Medal in 1985 for the creation of "We Are the World"; he was one of only a handful of private citizens to receive the honor. Mr. Kragen was born on Nov. 24, 1936, in Alameda, Calif," and attended UC Berkeley before graduating from Harvard Business School. He joined The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour as a production coordinator in 1967, then served as executive producer during the controversial show's third and final season in 1968-69. He first met Rogers when his band, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, played on the show, and soon became his manager. Mr. Kragen also wrote the 1994 best-selling book, Life Is a Contact Sport: Ten Great Career Strategies That Work, and with Jones, he produced a portion of the 1992 presidential inauguration for Bill Clinton. Mr. Kragen received two Emmy nominations, two MTV Awards, an American Music Award and a Manager of the Year Award from the Conference of Personal Managers and was the only person elected president of both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music. He is survived by his sister, Robin; nieces and nephews; and brothers-in-law David and Mark and their families. A life tribute is being planned. - The Hollywood Reporter, 12/15/21...... Skeletal remains found nearly 40 years ago have been identified as those of a guitarist who once played with the R&B group The O'Jays and also co-wrote a few of their songs, investigators announced on Dec. 14. Authorities used DNA and genealogical research to identify the remains of Frank "Frankie" Little Jr., which were found in a garbage bag in a wooded area behind a business in Twinsburg in 1982, said Summit County Medical Examiner Lisa Kohler. Little's death has now been ruled a homicide, but who killed him remains unknown, she said. Little, who was born in Cleveland in 1943, played with the The O'Jays in the mid-1960s. He was not a founding member of the group that began in Canton, Ohio, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. He served in the U.S. Army for two years, including in the Vietnam War, but not much was known about his disappearance, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Walter Williams, one of the original members of The O'Jays, said Little wrote songs with Eddie Levert, another one of the band's founders, according to Twinsburg detective Eric Hendershott, who helped revive the investigation into the remains. "Part of the mystery is over with, but we have no idea how he got there, how he disappeared or where he lived toward the end of his life," Hendershott said. - Billboard, 12/14/21...... 
Grammy-winning R&B singer Joe Simon, whose hits included 1969's "The Chokin' Kind" and 1972's "Power of Love," died on Dec. 13 his longtime hometown near Chicago. He was 85. Born on Sept. 2, 1943 in Simmesport, La., Mr. Simon hated picking cotton and moved to Los Angeles to make it as a singer, spending his early years there homeless and living in a chicken coop. With nothing to do at night, he wrote 20 to 30 songs daily and developed his voice to the point that a label owner paid him $1,100 to record four songs written by others. He brought in local musicians including future funk greats Sly Stone and Larry Graham to play on 1964's "My Adorable One," which became Mr. Simon's breakthrough hit. His career then moved quickly, as he landed three No. 1's and 14 Top 10's on what is now called Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and a Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male Grammy for "The Chokin' Kind." He collaborated with Philly Sound hitmakers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff for 1971's "Drowning In the Sea of Love," then created the theme to the 1973 "blaxploitation" flick Cleopatra Jones. Mr. Simon was known as "The Mouth of the South," and compared to Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and, perhaps most aptly, Jackie Wilson. "He had a very different and distinct voice," says his grandson, David Simon, a professional basketball player who toured with Simon toward the end of his R&B career in the '80s. "You can definitely pick his voice out of any crowd." Early in his touring career, Mr. Simon played New York's Apollo Theatre, where an employee told him he wouldn't amount to anything. "I went from the cotton field to the chicken coop to a superstar of rhythm and blues -- you can't tell me I ain't gonna be nothin'," Mr. Simon said in his 2016 documentary, Looking Back with Joe Simon. - Billboard, 12/14/21.
As Todd Rundgren kicks off his "Clearly Human Virtual Tour" on Feb. 14, the pop star and studio wizard says he doesn't care as to whether his third time being nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be a charm. "It's no secret that I don't care about it," Rundgren told Billboard during a break from rehearsals in Chicago, where the tour concerts will be emanating from. "It doesn't matter how many times they nominate me. It's not gonna make me care." Rundgren says the RRHOF is an "industry invention" and that "true halls of fame are for retirees and dead people, because your legacy has been established... I'm too busy working to worry about my legacy -- and plan to continue working until whenever." Todd adds that he finds the makeup of the nominee list and inductee classes veering too far from what he considers appropriate. "I'm a big Dionne Warwick fan, but name me one Dionne Warwick rock 'n' roll song," he explains. "While I'm aware of Fela Kuti, I can't name a single musician who's ever cited him as a principal influence." His chief complaint, however, stems from how he feels his own fans were "duped" when he was first nominated during 2019. "They run this scam called the fan pool... but most fans don't realize that their votes count for absolutely nothing," Rundgren said. The top five nominees from the fan votes are turned into one additional ballot that's counted in addition to the 1,000-plus by artists and music industry professionals. "So the first time I got nominated all my fans, who all these years have been like, 'Geez, you've got to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!," they all stepped up and bumped me up to No. 3 in the fan pool -- by a pretty wide margin. And then when the actual inductees were 1, 2, 4, 5, 6... they essentially hosed my fans. So that made me angry, and I had to tell them that it was pointless casting votes, 'cause it really doesn't count for anything." Tickets for Rundgren's virtual concerts start at $35 via nocapshows.com. Meanwhile, the artist has also been releasing singles from his next album, Space Force -- a collaborative set similar to 2017's White Knight -- with the full set expected to be released some time later in 2021. - Billboard, 2/12/21...... Speaking of Dionne Warwick, a new TV series based on the pop songstress's life is reportedly in the works with rising singer Teyana Taylor in the title role. Warwick revealed to Entertainment Weekly magazine that the project is "in the works," adding that Taylor may also direct. "Teyana is certainly a talented young lady with whom I've had the pleasure of interfacing," said Warwick, who also noted that Taylor is "very excited about the prospect of being involved and she's also going to be very, very much involved in directing it and putting together parts and parcel of how we see this going." Warwick first teased the project via Twitter in December, asking fans if they'd "really watch" a series about her life, adding: "This is a case for @netflix. Please don't ask who I would cast to play me as it would obviously be @TEYANATAYLOR. - Music-News.com, 2/11/21...... 
Alice Cooper has joined the list of rock stars who have rolled up their sleeves for the Covid-19 vaccine. The Coop visited the Abrazo West Campus hospital in Goodyear, Ariz., a suburb of his hometown of Phoenix, on Feb. 11 for his vaccination, after being admitted to the hospital several weeks ago with a case of Covid. In a video message, Alice admitted he and his wife Sheryl have recovered from the novel coronavirus, but they're now covered against another bout. "We're out here getting vaccinated," he says. "We've already had COVID but we got vaccinated anyways... if you haven't been vaccinated come on out." During his visit to the hospital, Cooper signed autographs and thanked the volunteers and hospital staff for their good work, AZ Central reports. Meanwhile, in an interview with Britain's The Independent Cooper says the shock rock schtick that propelled him to fame wouldn't work today because modern audiences are "shockproof." "You could cut off your arm and eat it on stage and it wouldn't matter... The audience is shockproof," Alice says of how his act would go down in 2021. Alice will release his latest album, 
The Who announced on 
Fleetwood Mac have announced details of a new deluxe edition of their classic 1980 live album Fleetwood Mac Live, which is comprised of live recordings that were largely made during a number of the band's live shows between 1979 and 1980. Rhino Records will re-release Fleetwood Mac Live in a 14-track "super deluxe" format on Apr. 9. The album is set to be presented in a new 
Chick Corea, a legendary Grammy-winning jazz fusion musician who played in Miles Davis' band, passed away on Feb. 9 after suffering from "a rare form of cancer which was only discovered very recently." He was 79. Born in Massachusetts in 1941, Corea joined Davis' band in the late 1960s and contributed to a number of his albums, including A Tribute To Jack Johnson, On The Corner, In A Silent Way and 
Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt, the self-described "smut peddler" who used his pornography empire and flair for the outrageous to push the limits of free speech and good taste, died on Feb. 10. He was 78. Flynt, suffering from a variety of health problems since a 1978 assassination attempt that left him a paraplegic, died "from the recent onset of a sudden illness," according to Minda Gowen, spokeswoman for Larry Flynt Publications, which runs the adult entertainment business he founded. Celebrated by some as a free-speech provocateur and reviled by others as a profiteer of sexual exploitation and misogyny, Flynt was renowned for taunting critics with such outlandish stunts as appearing in court wearing a diaper made from an American flag. In the most famous of numerous legal battles in which he was embroiled, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a landmark ruling in favor of Flynt in a libel lawsuit brought against him by evangelist Jerry Falwell. Flynt had published a fake ad in Hustler which depicted Falwell saying his first sexual encounter had been with his mother in an outhouse. Falwell sued for $50 million and won a lower-court ruling, but in 1988 the Supreme Court held that the ad was a parody and protected by the First Amendment. In his heyday, Flynt lived a lifestyle that could have made Caligula blush. He wrote in his autobiography that his first sexual experience was with a chicken and told of having sex every four or five hours during a workday. Flynt was convicted in 1977 in Cincinnati on obscenity and organized crime charges, but the verdict was overturned. After he was paralyzed from the waist down in 1978 after being shot by a white supremacist named Joseph Paul Franklin who upset by Hustler's photographs of interracial sex, Flynt had penile implant surgery so he could continue to have sex. Flynt created a business with an estimated turnover of $150 million at one point. As Hustler's circulation slipped, he stayed ahead of trends by investing in adult-oriented television channels, a casino, film distribution and merchandise. Flynt said he never objected to being labeled a smut peddler as long as he was considered a First Amendment crusader, too. "Just because I publish pornography does not mean that I am not concerned about the social ills that all of us are," he once told an interviewer. Flynt's life was the basis of the 1996 movie 
The 
Former Crosby, Stills and Nash member David Crosby has found himself in the midst of another controversy after he called rising singer Phoebe Bridgers' 
Queen + Adam Lambert have rescheduled their forthcoming UK tour yet again and added new dates. Queen had been scheduled to kick off a huge UK and European tour in summer 2020, but the trek was rescheduled to May-July 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The dates have now been rescheduled to 2022 kicking off with two shows at the AO Arena Manchester on May 30 and 31. They have also added two extra UK shows at The SSE Hydro, Glasgow on June 2 and 3. "Under continuing Europe-wide Covid restrictions there's no possible way the tour can go ahead as planned for this year," the band said in a statement on Feb. 10. "The prospect of again not being able to look forward to performingand getting to experience those wonderful audiences is just heartbreaking," they added. All previously purchased tickets continue to be valid for the corresponding rescheduled shows. The band's new 16-date tour will commence May 30, 2022 with the first of two nights in Manchester, then play Glasgow on June 2 and 3, London's O2 on June 5, 6, 8 and 9, Birmingham on June 11 and 12, then return to London's O2 for dates on June 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20 and 21. In other Queen news, guitarist Brian May says the band is considering releasing a recording of one of their first gigs at Imperial College London after he recently heard a recording he didn't know existed. "We're debating what to do with it. A few years ago we'd have felt very protective and thought, 'Nobody should hear this because we're very rough'," May said, adding "But now, in the position that we are in our lives, we feel forgiving. We're not ashamed of where we were at that time. It was us against the world." May noted he is reluctant to release the recording because he feels protective over late frontman Freddie Mercury and the fact the singer's voice wasn't as powerful as it was in his prime. "But strangely, if he were alive and sitting here at this moment, he'd probably be the same as me, 'Oh darling, we were kids'," May explained. - NME/Music-News.com, 2/10/21...... Elton John and veteran actor Michael Caine have teamed up to star in a new UK commercial for the government's NHS to help persuade people to get their Covid-19 vaccination. In the 90-second clip which can be viewed on 
Mary Wilson, a co-founder of the iconic '60s Motown girl group The Supremes, died suddenly at her home in Henderson, Nev., on Feb. 8. She was 76. Her death was confirmed by her longtime publicist Jay Schwartz, who did not elaborate on a cause. Wilson was among the original members of The Supremes alongside Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Barbara Martin when they assumed the Supremes name in 1961 after forming in Detroit as The Primettes in 1959. After signing with Motown Records on Jan. 21, 1961, The Supremes went on to become one of the biggest-selling groups of all time, releasing such hit songs as "You Can t Hurry Love," "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me." Wilson remained with the group, who became a trio following Martin's departure in 1962, until their split in 1977. In a statement, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. said that he was "extremely shocked and saddened to hear of Wilson's death." In a post on its