Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on June 13th, 2014

Radio and television personality Casey Kasem died on June 15 in a California after battling Lewy Body disease, a form of dementia. He was 82. Born Kemal Amin Kasem in Detroit, Mich. on Apr. 27, 1932, the wholesome-voiced Mr. Kasem began his career in nearby Flint before becoming an announcer on Armed Forces Radio Korea Network in 1952. Upon his return, he went on to work at radio stations in California, Ohio and New York before launching "American Top 40" in July 1970, hosting that show until 1988, and then a revived version from 1998 until 2004, when Ryan Seacrest took over. From 1988 until 1998, Mr. Kasem hosted a show called "Casey's Top 40," ending the program with "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars." "I just didn't want to say goodbye. Every station I was at, I never said goodbye," he later explained to the New York Times of his famous sign-off. "I don't know why." In addition to his career as a disc jockey, Mr. Kasem also had a colorful TV career, which included doing the voice for Shaggy on Scooby-Doo as well as voice-overs for many commercials. A devout vegan, Mr. Kasem supported animal rights and environmental causes, as well as political organizations that spoke to him. Originally of Lebanese origin, he felt it was important to improve Arab-Jewish relations. In recent years, his health declined and in 2013, his daughter Kerri said he was suffering from dementia. Around that time, his three oldest children and brother launched a claim that his wife Jean was not letting them see their father. A court denied a petition his daughter Julie launched to take care of her father in October 2013, but in May 2014 Kerri was granted conservatorship amid a battle with Kasem's second wife, her stepmother, Jean. - ABC News, 6/15/14.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame honored Kinks frontman Ray Davies, '60s pop legend Donovan, and '70s Philly soul greats Gamble & Huff during its 45th annual induction ceremony in New York on June 12. Davies was unable to attend due to the recent death of his sister Joyce, but he delivered a gracious speech via video, noting the "ups and downs" of his career -- "as anyone who's seen a Kinks concert can attest" -- and thanked "my friend Jon Bon Jovi," who'd just given a warm and very funny induction speech. Bon Jovi also performed a medley of Kinks hits, including "Celluloid Heroes," "You Really Got Me," "Low Budget" and "All Day and All of the Night," and noted that Davies' compositions are songs "which people can relate to, whether they're a factory worker in Birmingham or a teenager in New Jersey." Rising singer Miguel paid tribute to Philadelphia International founders Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, whose more than 3,500 songs over 50 years include the Supremes' "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' "If You Don't Know Me By Now," The O'Jays' "For the Love of Money" and the song Miguel performed, Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones." Donovan performed "Catch the Wind" as a duet with Rosanne Cash (who sang stunningly) before being joined by the house band for his first hit, the psychedelic classic "Sunshine Superman." Also honored during the ceremony were former 10cc member Graham Gouldman, who also penned several hits for such '60s groups as the Hollies and Herman's Hermits, and "Suspicious Minds" songwriter Jim Weatherley. Speaking of the Kinks, Ray Davies has told London's Sunday Times that he has recently met with his brother Dave Davies about a potential Kinks reunion. "I met Dave only last week to talk about getting together again. We've also spoken a few times on the phone and emailed," Ray said. Dave Davies confirmed the face-to-face contact on Facebook on June 8, posting, "Ray & Dave Davies have started meeting about a potential The Kinks reunion, but we're not quite there yet." The Kinks last performed together in 1996. - Billboard/Rollling Stone, 6/13/14.

Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson is pushing back at detractors who have been putting out bad vibes about his current recording project. According to a recent Rolling Stone article that Wilson re-published on his official website, his new LP will feature contributions from such artists as Lana Del Rey, Frank Ocean, Kacey Musgraves, and actress/singer Zooey Deschanel. "This project blows my mind," Wilson is quoted as saying. "I had no idea we could pull this off!" But not all of Wilson's fans are impressed by the idea, and the revered producer/songwriter has responded on his Facebook page: "To my fans: it kind of bums me out to see some of the negativity here about the album I've been working so hard on. In my life in music, I've been told too many times not to f--- with the formula, but as an artist it's my job to do that -- and I think I've earned that right. I'm really proud of these new songs and to hear these great artists sing on them just blows me away. I love what we've done. I would think that after making music for more than fifty years, my fans would understand that I'll always do what's in my heart -- and I think that's why you are my fans. So let's just wait until the album comes out because I think you just might dig it as much as I do." It is unclear whether all or some of those recordings will see the light of day, and Wilson has yet to announce a release date. - Billboard, 6/11/14.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' upcoming new Reprise Records album, Hypnotic Eye, is now available for pre-order at itTunes and www.TomPetty.com. All those who pre-order the album in any format from either of these outlets or are a member of the band's Highway Companions Club, will receive downloads of five tracks from the album in advance of the July 29 release date. Three of those tracks will be delivered immediately beginning today with one more to follow on both June 24 and July 15. The initial advance tracks include "American Dream Plan B," which is currently streaming on Soundcloud and at RollingStone.com, and "U Get Me High," which was sent to radio stations on June 10. It's the band's first album since 2010's Mojo, which was their first in eight years. Petty and the Heartbreakers' 2014 tour behind the new LP gets underway on Aug. 3 at Viejas Arena in San Diego, and includes stops at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco (8/9) as well as dates at Boston's Fenway Park (8/20), New York's Madison Square Garden (10/10), Anaheim's Honda Center (10/7) and L.A.'s The Forum (10/10). Every ticket on the tour includes a free download of Hypnotic Eye, which has been described as "maximum rock & roll" and "a decisive return to the concise '60s-rock classicism of his first great New Wave era albums." - The Hollywood Reporter, 10/10/14.

Paul McCartney announced on June 9 that he is rescheduling several U.S. tour dates on his "Out There" tour as he continues to recover from a virus he received treatment for in May. The Beatles' legend says stops scheduled for mid-June will be postponed to October. "I'm sorry, but it's going to be a few more weeks before we get rocking in America again," McCartney said in a statement. "I'm feeling great, but taking my docs' advice to take it easy for just a few more days. Look forward to seeing you all soon." McCartney was supposed to kick off the U.S. leg of his tour on June 7, but instead his first show will be July 5 in Albany, N.Y. Sir Paul, who will celebrate his 72nd birthday on June 18, says he's taking his doctor's advice and will take more time to rest. In late May, he cancelled his "Out There Japan Tour 2014" because of his illness and hospitalization in Tokyo. At the time, his rep said, "He will make a complete recovery and has been ordered to take a few days rest." U.S. tickets for the seven original June dates will be honored at the new dates. The 19-date tour, which will also hit such major markets as Pittsburgh, Chicago, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, New Orleans, Dallas, Atlanta, Nashville, and Jacksonville, wraps up Oct. 28 in Louisville. Paul's postponed tour dates has also left promoters scrambling to adjust their schedules. Meanwhile in other McCartney news, a new Macca biography by Q magazine contributing editor Tom Doyle titled Man on the Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s claims McCartney once threatened to kick his wife Linda McCartney out of his '70s band Wings and that he was "depressed, heavy-drinking" and "self-sedated with marijuana" following the Beatles' breakup in 1970. - Billboard, 6/9/10.

The Allman Brothers Band has announced the upcoming reissue of its classic 1971 live album At Fillmore East will be expanded into a six-disc box set, The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings, and 15 previously unreleased performances. The ABB originally compiled the album from four sets recorded over a weekend in March 1971, and the new box set also includes a complete performance recorded at the venue that June. For that performance, promoter Bill Graham handpicked them to headline the Fillmore East's final night. Featuring liner notes by "Allmanologist" John Lynskey, The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings will drop July 29. The release comes months before the Allman Brothers play what could be their final concerts at New York City's Beacon Theatre in October. Meanwhile, a documentary of a 1972 Grateful Dead concert at Bremen, Germany's Beat Club will get theatrical screenings across the U.S. on July 17 as part of the annual "Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies." The screening will feature a complete live studio performance with remastered audio. In addition to performances of a shorter version of the Dead's European tour song selection, the film will include all the in-studio banter that took place the day it was filmed. In related news, another icon of '60s psychedelia, the Jefferson Airplane, are preparing for an expansive merchandising campaign based on the band's "free your head" image, just in time for their 50th anniversary. The deal is expected to launch in 2015 based on two platforms: more affordable products, including "buttons, incense, stickers, decals and metal jewelry" and higher-end items such as "handbags, scarves, T-shirts, tops, sleepwear and other accessories, home dcor, stationery/paper goods, collectibles, gifts and novelty and publishing." Jefferson Airplane's manager, Bill Thompson, who owns the band's rights along with lead singer Grace Slick, also claims to be "in conversations" with Sony Music about potential re-releases of the band's LPs. - Rollling Stone, 6/11/14.

Neil Young became the victim of a Twitter porn hack over the second weekend in June, with his social networking account taken over by pornographic tweets and NSFW images. John Hamm, the CEO of Young's PonoMusic company, says that Young's account is now back in the control of the singer's management and has been restored with all pornographic tweets deleted. On June 7 a message from the account read: "Please disregard my last few tweets. This account was hacked, but it has now been resolved and taken care of." In May, Young released a surprise covers album, A Letter Home, on Jack White's Third Man Records featuring covers of tracks by such artists as Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Everly Brothers and more. Young recorded the album in a refurbished 1947 Voice-o-Graph vinyl recording booth at the Third Man shop in Nashville, Tenn. Young is scheduled to play two U.K. dates in July: London's Hyde Park on July 12 and the Liverpool Echo Arena on July 13 with his band Crazy Horse. - New Musical Express, 6/9/14.

Legendary actress Ruby Dee, an Oscar-nominated thespian whose career in film and on stage spanned four decades, died on June 11 at her home in New Rochelle, N.Y. She was 91. In the course of her accomplished career, Ms. Dee collected acclaim and awards including an Emmy and a Grammy. Ms. Dee also won an Obie Award in 1971 for her portrayal of Lena in Athol Fugard's Boseman and Lena (1970) and a Drama Desk Award for Wedding Band (1974). She had an impressive stage career, including a highly praised performance in "Purlie Victorious" (1963). Also on stage, Ms. Dee was notable as the proud working-mother Ruth in "A Raisin in the Sun" (1961). In 1988, she starred with Denzel Washington and Paul Winfield in "Checkmates" on Broadway and was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame. Along with her late husband, Ossie Davis, Ms. Dee was honored with the Screen Actors Guild's Life Achievement Award in 2001. In related news, Detroit music producer Don Davis who went on to helm one of America's biggest black-owned banks, died on June 12 at age 75. He leaves behind a litany of hits -- including work with his cousin Johnnie Taylor on the No. 1 '70s smash "Disco Lady" and Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. on their hit "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)." In 1981, he took over the struggling First Independence Bank, eventually rebuilding it to more than $200 million in assets and the 12th-biggest African-American owned bank in the U.S. - The Hollywood Reporter, 6/12/14.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on June 8th, 2014

The newly released Led Zeppelin reissue series, which hit stores on June 3, is poised to re-enter the Billboard Hot 200 album chart when the latest one is announced on June 11. 1968's Led Zeppelin, 1969's Led Zeppelin II and 1970's Led Zeppelin III could each sell around 25,000 in the week ending June 8 according to industry forecasters, and should re-enter the chart within the Top 15, with a chance at hitting the Top 10. If the three LPs hit the Top 15 concurrently, they'll be the first act to do so since Whitney Houston scored four shortly after her death in March 2012. In the UK, the reissues are on course to make the Top 10 on the isles' Official Album Chart. Led Zeppelin debuted at No. 1 there, while II and III bowed at No. 7 and No. 6, respectively. Meanwhile in other Led Zep news, Robert Plant has responded to Jimmy Page's comments that he was "fed up" with the singer holding back a LZ reunion, telling reporters at a press conference he thought the guitarist needed to "have a good rest." "I think he needs to go to sleep and have a good rest, and think again. We have a great history together and like all brothers, we have these moments where we don't speak on the same page but that's life," Plant told The National. In an interview with The New York Times, Page accused Plant of "playing games" with potential LZ reunions. "I'm fed up with it, to be honest with you. I don't sing, so I can't do much about it. It just looks so unlikely, doesn't it?," said Page, who has been in favor of a reunion tour. Plant is currently on tour with his band The Inspirational Space Shifters recently announced that he's just finished recording his first solo LP since 2010's Band of Joy. - Billboard/New Musical Express/Rolling Stone, 6/6/14.

Kiss is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its eponymous debut album with a new retrospective called Kiss 40. The 40-track collection debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart for the week ending June 1, selling 7,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Kiss 40 is the 35th charted album for the recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honorees on the Billboard chart, marking the third-highest total among American bands, trailing only the Grateful Dead with 60 and the Beach Boys with 48. Kiss 40 includes one track from each of the act's "major album" releases, in addition to live cuts and one previously unreleased demo recording. Of Kiss' 34 previously charted albums, all but four are represented on Kiss 40, and with good reason: the four absent titles are all hits compilations or box sets. Exactly forty years ago, Kiss was in the middle of its maiden chart run with its self-titled debut album, which was released to retail on Feb. 18, 1974. Kiss's 2014 North American tour with Def Leppard begins June 23 in West Valley City, Utah, and wraps Aug. 31 in Houston. In other Kiss-related news, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has signed on to co-produce a new series for the Lifetime cable channel titled Ugly Models. The show is about a U.K. modeling agency that works with "character models with unique and unusual looks," as it makes its way into the U.S. market. The show will document how the business adapts to a different market. Simmons is also partnering with his bandmate Paul Stanley for a new AMC reality series about the arena football team they own, the L.A. Kiss. The show, which is titled 4th and Loud and is set to premiere in the summer, will focus on the players, coaches and, of course, its rock-star owners, as well as Kiss manager Doc McGhee. - Billboard/Rolling Stone, 6/6/14.

The U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine is heading to America for its annual Classic Rock Awards for the first time ever this fall when it will hold the event at the Avalon nightclub in Hollywood on Nov. 4. The gala will include the annual Classic Rock Living Legend Award -- previously won by Jimmy Page, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Rush, Iggy Pop, Jeff Beck and Lemmy Kilmister -- along with a selection of other categories, many of them determined by a public vote. The characteristically star-studded show will also include live performances, celebrity presenters and, for attendees, VIP amenities. "We thought this was the 10th anniversary we should take this thing to the second home of rock 'n' roll," Classic Rock editor Sian Llewellyn told Billboard magazine. "We want to take this globally now, and the Americans love rock as much if not moreseo than the Brits." The Classic Rock Awards have been held at venues in London, including the famed Roundhouse. For the past two years the show has been televised via Britain's Sky Arts. A broadcast deal for this year's ceremony is currently being negotiated. Meanwhile in other award show news, Kris Kristofferson stunned the PEN Awards on June 2 in Boston when he gave an impromptu performance of "Me and Bobby McGee." The country outlaw legend and fellow singer/songwriter Randy Newman were honored at PEN's Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Awards by such artists as Elvis Costello, Roseanne Cash and Lyle Lovett. - Billboard/Rolling Stone, 6/6/14.

Ringo Starr says he's "probably two-thirds through" completing the follow-up to his last album Ringo 2012, and hopes to release it in February 2015. "Usually I make the record in January, February, March and mix it in April," Ringo recently told Billboard. "But because of all that Beatles stuff I sort of got behind because of the rehearsals and the fun and the joy. I was in L.A. until the first of April and I was trying to finish the record and just said, 'Ah, I've got too much to do.'" Starr says he has plans to work on it during July and August, when he's back in L.A. after the first leg of his latest All-Starr Band tour, which kicked off June 6 in Rama, Ont., and wraps on July 19 at L.A.'s Greek Theatre. Ringo has been working on the new set with Toto guitarist and current All-Starr Band member Steve Lukather, along with Peter Frampton, Richard Marx, Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard and Nashville songwriter Gary Nicholson. "It's all my pals, really. We just get together," Starr notes, adding that the results are "sounding incredible." It's a mixed bag, as my records always ware. We have the reggae track and we have the rock track and that's how it is. It's pop, rock, reggae." Starr is also taking the production reins on his own this time after working with Bruce Sugar on Ringo 2012 and 2010's Y Not. 2014 also marks the 25th anniversary of the first All-Starr Band tour, though Starr says he's not surprised the concept has had staying power. "I think it's a great show to come and see," he says. "I always say it's like a jukebox, y'know? Every song's a hit. I put it together, and it's gone on." In other Fab Four news, a collection of John Lennon doodles, poems and short stories from two humorous books Lennon produced in the 1960s fetched huge prices at a Sotheby auction on June 4. A nine-page manuscript parody of Sherlock Holmes titled "The Singularge Experience of Miss Anne Duffield," was the top lot in the sale, bringing $209,000 although it had been estimated to sell for only $50,000 to $70,000. The material was created for the two critically acclaimed books of short stories and poems Lennon published during the height of Beatlemania, In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works, published in 1964 and 1965, respectively. A cartoon of a boy with six birds that appeared in A Spaniard in the Works sold for $27,500 in the auction. The drawing was used 30 years later as the cover for the Beatles' single "Free as a Bird." The cartoon had a pre-sale estimate of $12,000 to $15,000. - Billboard/AP, 6/5/14.

The Eagles' Don Henley has made a fresh attack on Frank Ocean for alleged "song theft" regarding the Odd Future member's 2011 track "American Wedding," which saw him singing new lyrics over "Hotel California." Two years after the Eagles threatened to sue Ocean, Henley has accused Ocean of being "arrogant" over the matter in a new interview with the Sydney, Australia Daily Telegraph. "Mr. Ocean doesn't seem to understand US copyright law," Henley told the paper. "Anyone who knows anything should know you cannot take a master track of a recording and write another song over the top of it. You just can't do that. You can call it a tribute or whatever you want to call it, but it's against the law. That's a problem with some of the younger generation, they don't understand the concept of intellectual property and copyright," he added. In the future, Henley suggests younger artists be more like Michael Buble, who did a "totally legal cover" of the Eagles' "Heartache Tonight" in 2009. "You can record anyone's song you like -- it's called [buying] a compulsory licence," he said. "You don't just go and do it." Ocean previously insisted that he was "paying homage" to Henley on his track "American Wedding" and didn't deserve to be sued. Writing online he said: "Ain't this guy rich as f---? Why sue the new guy? I didn't make a dime off that song. I released it for free. If anything I'm paying homage," he posted. - Billboard, 6/4/14.

'70s pop star Gary Glitter was charged -- again -- with eight counts of sexual offenses involving teenage girls by English authorities on June 6. The charges relate to two women who were aged between 12 and 14 at the time of the alleged offenses between 1977 and 1980. The former pop star -- whose real name is Paul Gadd -- is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 19. Glitter, 70, was arrested in October 2012 -- the first in a series of arrests under the "Operation Yewtree" national investigation that was launched in the wake of a child abuse scandal surrounding late BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile. The Crown Prosecution Service said no further action would be taken over five allegations made by two other people. Glitter is best known -- musically, at least -- for his "Rock And Roll (Part 2)," long popular at sporting events for its catchy, easily scannable "chorus" that consists of yelling "Hey!." For years, numerous other sports teams have used the song as part of their celebration. - AP, 6/5/14.

Steel guitar great Weldon Myrick, a legendary instrumentalist who played on records by such iconic singers as Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, passed away on June 2 following a stroke. He was 76. Myrick's work was a vital part of classic country hits such as Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles," George Strait's "Lets Fall To Pieces Together," and Alan Jackson's "Chattahoochee," as well as most of Connie Smith's 1960s RCA Victor releases. The Texas-born Myrick took up steel guitar at an early age and moved to Nashville in 1963. He started working with Grand Ole Opry star Bill Anderson, who helped secure a recording contract for Connie Smith with RCA. Smith recorded the No. 1 country hit "Once a Day," the first of many of her hits that Myrick's steel work graced. In related news, Bernard "Doc" Neeson, the frontman of hitmaking Australian rock group The Angels (also known as Angel City and The Angels from Angel City), died on June 4 after a battle with brain cancer. He was 67. At its peak, the Angels was the quintessential Aussie pub-rock band; a group blessed with an arsenal of explosive songs and -- with Neeson at the mic -- one of the most charismatic singers in the rock business. - Billboard, 6/6/14.

The Allman Brothers Band has announced it will return to New York's Beacon Theater for six shows in October, and those shows could be their final concerts, at least in the current incarnation. Oct. 21, 22, 24 and 25 will be make up dates from this year's "March Madness" run that were postponed by Gregg Allman's bout of pneumonia. Two more concerts have been added for Oct. 27 and 28. "That's the way for this incarnation of the band to go out, one final, short Beacon run," ABB guitarist Derek Trucks recently told Billboard. "I think that's appropriate for this version of the group. I think we've done most of our best work there (at the Beacon)," he added. Trucks and fellow guitarist Warren Haynes announced earlier in 2014 they would be leaving the group after a 14-year tenure, making this the longest-running lineup in the Allmans' 45-year history. Before the Beacon run, the band has summer concert shows set for the Mountain Jam Festival in Hunter Mountain, N.Y., on June 8; the Peach Fest in Scranton, Penn., on Aug. 14-17; and the Lockn' Music Fest in Arrinton, Va., on Sept. 7. In other ABB news, Gregg Allman is now also being sued by a hairstylist on the troubled Midnight Rider biopic film who claims to have suffered a fractured arm and post-traumatic stress as a result of the freight train accident that threatens to derail the entire production. Joyce Gilliard has filed the lawsuit in Savannah against the producers of Midnight Rider, director Randall Miller, and Allman, just shortly after the family of camera assistant Sarah Jones filed a wrongful death suit against the production after a train struck Jones on Feb. 20 in Wayne County, Ga. while she prepared for a camera shot. Six other people were hurt in the incident, including Gilliard. "The pressure from the train was so strong it pulled me off what I was holding onto and it snapped my arm. I immediately grabbed my arm and wrapped it up with a piece of the prop, which was a sheet," Gilliard said in May in a conference call, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Gregg Allman has asked for production on the movie to be shut down. - Billboard/Rolling Stone, 6/2/14.

Seminal prog-rockers King Crimson have announced they will reunite for three New York CIty shows in September, at the Best Buy Theatre on Sept. 18, 19 and 20. The new lineup features original Crimson mastermind Robert Fripp reuniting with bassist Tony Levin and drummer-percussionist veterans Pat Mastelotto and Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree). The trio will be joined by eclectic drummer Bill Rieflin (R.E.M., Nine Inch Nails), guitarist-vocalist Jakko Jakszyk and woodwind legend Mel Collins. The latter two musicians collaborated with Fripp on the 2011 LPA Scarcity of Miracles, and Collins played on numerous early Crimson albums (including 1974's iconic Red). Fripp says the he and the other musicians plan o rehearse in England before shifting to the U.S. in August or September 2014. "There is a plan to include the UK in the tour dates," he said, "but it depends on a number of circumstances. Right now the primary geographical focus is the United States." The new King Crimson dates come as somewhat of a surprise given that Fripp more or less announced his retirement in a 2012 profile with The Financial Times, saying, "My life as a professional musician is a joyless exercise in futility." - Rolling Stone, 6/2/14.

Producers of a planned 51-city "Jesus Christ Superstar" arena tour that was scheduled to start at New Orleans' Lakefront Arena on June 9 abruptly announced on May 30 that the tour has been cancelled due to low ticket sales. The star-studded "Jesus Christ Superstar Arena Spectacular Tour" was to have included in its cast Brandon Boyd of Incubus, John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) of the Sex Pistols, JC Chasez of 'N Sync, and Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child. The trek was to be presented by JCS co-writer Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group and event producer S2BN Entertainment, which is run by veteran Rolling Stones promoter Michael Cohl. Although a notice on the tour's official website stated no explanation, Cohl told Rolling Stone magazine that "In the end it just did not make business sense to continue, and we didnt want the cast to endure playing to disappointing audiences." Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera has seen numerous stage productions since its debut in 1970. In 1971, the show's concept album topped the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. - Billboard, 5/30/14.

The latest trailer for Universal's upcoming James Brown biopic has arrived online. The clip begins with the following voiceover from star Chadwick Boseman: "Want to get to know me? I'll tell you. Dad in the army. Mama left. No one else helped me." Brown's concise bio is accompanied by images of his childhood, including him banging on pots and pans, his time in prison and him performing onstage. The trailer features other glimpses of Brown's success, including him visiting the White House and sporting a fur coat while standing in front of a private plane. The "Godfather of Soul" also meets manager Ben Bart (Dan Aykroyd), who's shown saying Brown, "blew the roof off of that place," and he also meets the mother who abandoned him, played by Viola Davis. The clip ends with Brown and Aykroyd watching a man try to dance the mashed potato while a confused-looking Brown says, "What the hell are you doing? That ain't nobody's mashed potato." The film, directed by The Help director Tate Taylor, hits theaters August 1. Meanwhile in other Soul news, Aretha Franklin, former president George H.W. Bush, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg were honored with honorary degrees from Harvard University during 2014 commencement ceremonies on May 29. The 72-year-old Franklin, who received an honorary doctor of the arts, accompanied herself on piano to perform the national anthem. - Billboard/AP, 5/29/14.

Singer/songwriter/actor Kris Kristofferson will play Pres. Andrew Jackson in an 8-hour miniseries called Rising to be broadcast on the A+E network. Rising, which will premiere in 2015, will detail the Texas Revolution against Mexico and the rise of the legendary Texas Rangers, the oldest law enforcement group in North America. "For me, Kris was an obvious choice," said poducer and co-writer Leslie Grief of ThinkFactory Media. "There aren't too many actors that are able to embody this character and the stature, strength and liberty to play the part." Kristofferson won a Golden Globe for his role in 1976's A Star Is Born opposite Barbra Streisand. His credits other include the Blade trilogy, Billy the Kid, Fast Food Nation and Dolphin Tale, among others. Also included in the cast of Rising will be Brendan Fraser, Ray Liotta and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. - The Hollywood Repoerter, 5/30/14.

Bruce Springsteen joined the Rolling Stones onstage during a May 29 concert in Lisbon, Portugal for a rendition of "Tumbling Dice." The two legendary acts previously performed the song together in Springsteen's home ground of New Jersey in 2012 during another Rolling Stones gig, the band's 50th anniversary celebration in Newark. Even when Springsteen isn't joining Jagger for live collaboration, his E Street Band gigs occasionally feature some Stones covers: "The Last Time," "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" have popped up in Springsteen's setlists, and during a 1984/85 tour, the E Street Band covered "Street Fighting Man" on a nightly basis. The Stones tour will now visit a host of European cities, including a headline set at Roskilde Festival in Denmark on July 3. The band resumed their world tour on May 26 at Oslo's Telenor Arena, after suspending some dates in March in Australia and New Zealand following the death of Mick Jagger's girlfriend L'Wren Scott, who committed suicide in her apartment in New York. - Rolling Stone, 5/30/14.

Beloved American actress Ann B. Davis, best known as housekeeper Alice Nelson on the iconic '70s series The Brady Bunch, passed away on June 1 at University Hospital in San Antonio, Tex., after suffering a fall in her nearby home. She was 88. Born Ann Bradford Davis in 1926, in Schenectady, N.Y., and raised in Erie, Penn., Ms. Davis said she took to using her middle initial because "just plain Ann Davis goes by pretty fast." She began her entertainment career at age 6 when she and her twin sister, Harriet, earned $2 with their puppet show. She attended the University of Michigan where she first majored in premed and graduated in 1948 with a degree in theater. She joined a repertory theater in Erie, Penn., and got her big break while doing a cabaret act in Los Angeles, singing and telling jokes. Ms. Davis became a regular as a razor-tongued secretary on The Bob Cummings Show (also known as Love That Bob) in Jan. 1955, which brought her supporting actress Emmy Awards in 1958 and 1959. After that series ended in 1959, she appeared in such movies as A Man Called Peter, Lover Come Back and All Hands on Deck, playing summer stock during layoffs and touring with the USO to entertain U.S. troops in Korea and elsewhere. In 1965-66 she played a gym teacher at an exclusive girls' school in The John Forsythe Show, before her best known role in The Brady Bunch came along in 1969. "I did a couple of pilots that didn't sell, a few movies and one year of nightclub work, which I hated. Then I did the pilot of The Brady Bunch and never had to do another nightclub," she told the AP in a 1993 interview. Ms. Davis' face occupied the center square during the show's opening credits. Her love interest was Sam the Butcher, played by Allan Melvin. In her blue and white maid's uniform, Ms. Davis' character, Alice Nelson, was constantly cleaning up messes large and small, and she was a mainstay of stability for the family in the 1969-1974 sitcom. Ms. Davis became a born again Christian in 1993. "It happens to Episcopalians. Sometimes it doesn't hit you till you're 47 years old," she once said. She took a long sabbatical from the theater, largely limiting her performances to Brady Bunch specials and TV commercials, and returned to the theater in 1993, joining the touring cast of "Crazy for You," a musical featuring the songs of George and Ira Gershwin. Ms. Davis never married, saying she never found a man who was more interesting than her career. "By the time I started to get interested (in finding someone), all the good ones were taken," she told the Chicago Sun-Times. Bill Frey, a retired Episcopal bishop and a longtime friend of Ms. Davis, said she suffered a fall on May 31 at her San Antonio home. Frey said Davis had lived with him and his wife, Barbara, since 1976. Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady on The Brady Bunch, said in a statement that Ms. Davis "made me a better person... How blessed I am to have had her in my life. She will be forever missed." "I'm shocked and saddened! I've lost a wonderful friend and colleague," Brady Bunch matriarch Florence Henderson said in a statement, and Eve Plumb, who played Jan Brady on the series, called Ms. Davis "an amazing lady." "She was great to work with, and I have wonderful memories of our scenes together on The Brady Bunch," Plumb said in a statement. "She was kind and generous to all of us on set." - AP, 6/2/14.

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on May 29th, 2014

Canadian musician and businessman Tim Bachman, one of the founding members of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was charged with several sexual offenses by Canadian authorities on May 28, including sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching, following an investigation into incidents that took place two decades ago. Bachman is currently free under the provision he must avoid contact with anyone under the age of 16, and also has been ordered to stay away from public parks, schoolyards, swimming pools and other areas where minors are present. In 2013, an unidentified woman claimed Bachman had groped her while she was living with him as a foster child, however he was found not guilty of the charges in that case. Bachman co-founded BTO with his brothers Robbie and Randy Bachman, along with vocalist Fred Turner, in 1973, and played on their first two albums, the gold-selling Bachman-Turner Overdrive and the platinum follow-up, Bachman-Turner Overdrive II. He left the band in 1979, and played with the group again between 1983 and 1986. He was not included in the members of Bachman-Turner Overdrive inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in early 2014, though his replacement, Blair Thornton, was. After turning his back on music in the early 1990s, Bachman became a real estate agent in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada. Leading up to the charges, authorities in Abbotsford had been investigating incidents related to Bachman that took place in the 1990s. The alleged victim's name will not be released due to a court order. - WENN.com/Rolling Stone, 5/28/14.

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry sang publicly for the first time in 19 years when he joined the alt-rock band Eels for a few songs during the second encore of the band's second encore in St. Paul, Minn., on May 25. Perry surprised fans when he took to the stage to sing the Eels song, "It's a Motherf---er," then resurrected two classic Journey songs, "Open Arms" and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin,'" before leaving the stage. Although the 64-year-old Perry's vocals have grown gruffer and scratchier with age, one reviewer noted his pipes still packed the same potent arena-ready punch they did back in the day. After a successful side solo career which included the double-platinum LP Street Talk (with its No. 3 hit "Oh Sherrie") while still in Journey, Perry recorded his last album with Journey, Trial By Fire, in 1996. In a 2013 interview, Perry revealed that he was writing "for the first time in three years," and said his tenure in Journey was "a magical time for music and to be in the music business" but he "got burned and had to leave." He also left the band partly due to medical issues, including a bad hip that's since been replaced, arthritis and having two melanoma removal surgeries, as well as mourning the passing of his girlfriend Kellie Nash, who died of breast cancer in 2012. Perry is also reportedly working on a new record with Aaron Bruno of the band Awolnation. In related news, former Genesis singer/drummer Phil Collins finally returned to the stage on May 22 when he sang two classic rock songs -- his iconic solo hit "In the Air Tonight" and the Genesis MTV staple "Land of Confusion" -- with young musician-students in Florida at the Miami Country Day School. It was a rare public appearance for Collins, who recorded his last album of original material, Testify, in 2002 and since then has seemed to be more comfortable out of the spotlight. "I've kind of put that side of my life on hold mainly because I feel like I've earned this opportunity to do nothing," he told Rolling Stone magazine in 2012. "And I have young children, so I don't feel the drive to go out there and compete... I can't be what I used to be. I can't play like I used to. And I don't want to go out there and do it half-assedly," he added. Collins has been gradually re-entering the public eye over the past year, and early in 2014 told a Florida reporter that he'd begun writing material with chart-topping pop star Adele."I've just started to work with Adele," he said. "I wasn't actually too aware I live in a cave, but she's achieved an incredible amount. I really love her voice. I love some of this stuff she's done, too." It is unclear if this material was intended for an Adele project or a Collins project (if either), and no further info about the collaboration has been announced. - Rolling Stone, 5/27/14.

The Rolling Stones returned to the road on May 26 with a high-energy, two-hour-plus show in Oslo, Norway, their first gig since the band interrupted their 2014 would tour due to the suicide of Mick Jagger's girlfriend, fashion designer L'Wren Scott. Playing to a sold-out crowd of 23,000, Jagger did not mention the death of Scott, but proved himself proficient in Norwegian-language between-song patter. The band played numbers from their vast catalog of hits, including a rendition of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" featuring a local youth choir, and ended their set with fireworks. The Stones interrupted their tour in March and later rescheduled all their Australia and New Zealand tour dates upon news that Scott-- Jagger's companion since 2001 -- had committed suicide. - AP, 5/27/14.

A block on New York City's Upper West side has been renamed in honor of jazz legend Miles Davis on May 26, what would have been his 88th birthday. A stretch of 77th street between Riverside and West End, where Davis composed some of jazz's greatest works in an apartment building at 312 West 77th Street, was renamed "Miles Davis Way" and the scene of an unveiling ceremony which drew hundreds of jazz fans. The campaign to rename the street was led by Shirley Zafirau, a former neighbor of Davis who still lives on the block. According to Zafirau, Davis often hung out on the stoop outside his apartment, greeting those who passed by and even leading jam sessions. "He interacted with the community on the street," Zafirau told The New York Times. "He really liked being there." Thanks to Zafirau's efforts, outgoing New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a bill renaming the street into law last December. Davis, whose 1970 album Bitches Brew was chosen as the 94th greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone in 2003, will also be the subject of an upcoming biopic starring Don Cheadle as the music icon. Davis died in 1991 at the age of 65. - Billboard, 5/27/14.

In an interview with BBC Wales on May 23, Queen guitarist Brian May revealed his iconic rock band would be releasing a new collection of music later in 2014 that will include previously unreleased songs sung by Freddie Mercury. "We found a few more tracks with Freddie singing and all of us playing and they are quite beautiful. It is a compilation but will have this material that nobody in the world has ever heard...I think people will really enjoy it," May said, adding it will probably be released before the end of the year under the title Queen Forever. "It is quite emotional," May continued. "It is the big, big ballads and the big, big epic sound. It wouldn't have been if we hadnt have done this restoration job. We had to start from scratch because we only had scraps. But knowing how it would have happened if we had finished it, I can sit there and make it happen with modern technology." Earlier in May, Queen announced it will hit the road for its first full North American tour in nearly a decade, with Adam Lambert taking on the late Mercury's vocal chores. The tour starts June 19 in Chicago and ends July 28 in Toronto before heading down under for an Australian leg. - Billboard, 5/26/14.

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ordered sanctions against the attorney preparing to sue Led Zeppelin for "Stairway to Heaven," claiming that lawyer Francis Malofiy behaved "in a flagrantly unprofessional and offensive manner" over the course of a different case which concerned a songwriter named Dan Marino who claimed that he had created the basic melody, chord progressions and tempo for the Usher song "Bad Girl." Malofiy has claimed that Led Zeppelin stole the intro for their 1971 song "Stairway to Heaven" from Spirit's 1968 track "Taurus," and says that he will file a copyright infringement lawsuit and seek an injunction to block the release of the Led Zeppelin IV reissue. The recent sanctions against the attorney could distract from that pursuit, however. "Whether Malofiy should be removed from practice is a question properly answered in another forum," wrote Judge Paul Diamond, who is presiding over the Marino/Usher case. In other Zeppelin-related news, Eagles member Don Henley has responded to former LZ vocalist Robert Plant's recent comments in Rolling Stone magazine about the Eagles' reasons for reuniting. In an interview with the New Zealand Herald, Henley denied that the reunion had anything to do with boredom and offered a stinging conjecture regarding Plant's reluctance to tour with Led Zeppelin. "Do you know why the Eagles said they'd reunite when 'hell freezes over,' but they did it anyway and keep touring?" Plant said in the interview. "It's not because they were paid a fortune. It's not about the money. It's because they're bored. I'm not bored." Asked whether Plant's assessment was correct, Henley said, "No, I am never bored. The truth is, we enjoy doing it. It is hard work, especially for gentlemen of our age but the fact is it's a fantastic job and it's a wonderful way to make a living and see the world and get to travel and we take our kids with us." Henley went on to deliver a back-handed compliment to the LZ singer. "I really wish [Led Zeppelin] would get back together because they were one of the greatest bands of all time," he began, promisingly. "I think maybe Robert is worried about hitting those notes. He may not be able to unbutton his shirt any more." Meanwhile, a new video for a previously-unheard version of the Zepp classic "Whole Lotta Love" from the upcoming reissue series has just been released. It comprises footage from several live performances of the song. - Rolling Stone, 5/24/14.