Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 12th, 2014

Robin Williams, a beloved actor and comedian known for his manic improvisational skills in the TV series Mork & Mindy as well as Oscar-winning dramatic roles in movies, died of an apparent suicide due to asphyxia on Aug. 11 in his home in Marin County, Calif. He was 63. Marin County deputies responded to an emergency call from Williams' home in Tiburon, Calif., at 11:55 a.m., reporting "a male adult had been located unconscious and not breathing," the release from the sheriff said, and Williams was pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m. Born in Chicago on July 21, 1951, Williams studied theater at Juilliard School before taking his stand up act to nightclubs. He was cast as Mork, an alien visitor to Earth, for a 1974 episode of television's Happy Days, which led to a spin-off show Mork & Mindy, which showcased his usual comic improvisation talents. After that series ended in 1982, Williams became an in demand movie actor in both comedic and dramatic roles that had a total box office gross of over $3 billion, including The World According to Garp, Mrs. Doubtfire, Cadillac Man, The Final Cut, The Fisher King, Moscow on the Hudson, Man of the Year, Good Morning Vietnam, One Hour Photo, Patch Adams, Dead Poet's Society, Insomnia, The Birdcage and 1997's Good Will Hunting, a film that earned him a best supporting actor Oscar. He also won two Emmys, four Golden Globes, and five Grammys. He most recently starred in the CBS sitcom The Crazy Ones, and was reportedly considering participating in a sequel to Mrs. Doubtfire, and was in post-production on several other projects. Williams, who battled drug and alcohol abuse for 20 years, made at least two trips to rehab for drug treatment, including a visit this summer, and he underwent heart surgery in March 2009. He had reportedly recently been battling severe depression and had a relapse of substance abuse, was last seen alive at his home, where he lived with his wife Susan, at about 10 a.m. on Aug. 11, the sheriff's statement said. "An investigation into the cause, manner and circumstances of the death is currently underway by the Investigations and Coroner Divisions of the Sheriff's Office," the sheriff's statement said. "Coroner Division suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made." Williams married his third wife, graphic designer Susan Schneider, in a Napa Valley, Calif., ceremony in Oct. 2011. "This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken," Schneider said in a statement. "On behalf of Robin's family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief. As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin's death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions." - CNN, 8/11/14.

A forthcoming first-person shooter game called Destiny will feature a full score and theme song from Paul McCartney, the New York Times reported on Aug. 10. Destiny, described as being in the vein of the game Halo, is a futuristic, dystopian game where Earth's final survivors are forced to fight off invading aliens (on Earth and Mars) who seek to conquer mankind for good. Sir Paul's score is reportedly "widely varied, with lush orchestral and choral sections and eerie, atmospheric passages, to fast paced, heavily percussive sections and high-adrenaline string, brass and electronic figures." McCartney collaborated on the project with ex-Bungie house composer Marty ODonnell and Mike Salvatori, and Macca broke the news back in July 2012 via Twitter: "I'm really excited to be working on writing music with @bungie, the studio that made Halo," he posted. 70 minutes of the score, which was recorded with a 120-piece ensemble at London's Abbey Road Studios with director Giles Martin, have been circulating the Internet via a beta version of the game, according to the report. The fully-orchestrated theme song will drop Sept. 9, the same day as the game. McCartney has been composing full-length scores and orchestral music since 1990 and similar games (like the Halo series) have earned plaudits for their symphonic approach. In other Beatles-related news, officials in London are considering installing a "lollipop lady" (crossing guard) at the famous crossing outside Abbey Road studios in St. John's Wood over saftey fears. The Westminster City Council says thousands of people who visit the "zebra" crossing who try to take photos in the middle of the road are raising safety concerns, and that residents have complained of an increase in traffic as tourists take photos on the crossing, especially in the summer season. Councillors have also raised concerns about buses carrying tourists causing traffic congestion by double-parking or parking on yellow lines. A Westminster City Council spokeswoman said it is discussing options to manage the busy traffic flow, including the possibility of employing a lollipop lady or man. The crossing was made famous after the Beatles traversed it for Ian Macmillan's iconic cover shot for the 1969 Abbey Road record. - Billboard/The BBC, 8/11/14.

A night-long concert honoring the music and legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd will be held on Nov. 12 at Atlanta's Fox Theatre, the venue where the Southern Rock icons recorded their live double-album, One More From The Road, in 1976 during the height of their fame to help save the hall from demolition. Producer Don Was will serve as music director for One More For The Fans! -- Celebrating The Songs & Music of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the show will feature performances from Lynyrd Skynyrd themselves along with several of their famous fellow musicians, including Gregg Allman, Charlie Daniels, Peter Frampton, Warren Haynes, Trace Adkins, Alabama, John Hiatt, Cheap Trick and Donnie Van Zant, among others. Surprise guests and additional performers are also forthcoming. "Lynyrd Skynyrd's music has had a profound and unmistakable influence on artists and fans all over the world," Don Was said in a statement. One More For The Fans! will be filmed and recorded for "multi-platform distribution," according to a press release. Tickets for the event go on sale to the public on Aug. 18 at www.foxtheatre.org. - Billboard, 8/11/14.

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top recently recorded several songs of new music with EDM producer David Guetta in Ibiza, which Gibbons says he expects to surface in same shape for form in the near future. "It's a far cry from what people might expect -- 'Gibbons and electronic stuff?'" Gibbons notes. "But a lot of people have overlooked the fact that one of the things that made (ZZ Top's) Eliminator so interesting was the opportunity to go into that experimental side of things and fool around with the coolest new toys that could be found in the recording studio. I'm always fascinated by that, so my time in Spain was very fruitful." Gibbons says he's also planning to begin work on ZZ Top's next album with Rick Rubin, who produced the band's 2012 LP La Futura, once again at the helm. "There were 11 tracks released on La Futura that were pulled from a total of 22 -- actually we did 27 tracks and out of those 27 it got boiled down to a favorite 22, which was a big pile of stuff," Gibbons says. "So there's probably another CD's worth of pretty righteous stuff. It's very tasty. There's some juicy cuts waiting to be heard. I'm just waiting on a call from Rick that he's ready," Gibbons says. ZZ Top is celebrating its 45th year as a band in 2014 and released a new complation, The Very Baddest of ZZ Top, in July. It hits the road with Jeff Beck on Aug. 8 for one of the most anticipated double bills of the summer, after canceling the first six shows due to bassist Dusty Hill's kidney stone surgery. Gibbons and Beck have been friends since the original Jeff Beck Group came to America in 1968, and he says the two bond over things like cars and hot rods more than music. ZZ Top and Beck will play 27 shows through mid-September, then stay on the road after the tour with Beck ends, with shows booked into early November so far. - Billboard, 8/8/14.

The city of Seattle finally broke ground on the long-planned Jimi Hendrix Park in the city's Central District on Aug. 7 to honor its hometown guitar hero. The park's organizers, the Jimi Hendrix Park Foundation, envision the park as being a place where people of different backgrounds will find the motivation to explore music and art, while celebrating Seattle's cultural heritage, experiencing community pride and appreciating the programming of the museum next door. The bulk of the construction will take place in 2015. The evolution of the two-and-a-half acre park is being split into two phases: The Jimi Hendrix Park Foundation has named the first "Little Wing," after the singer's 1967 song, and will include the construction of an entrance and stairway at the park's southeast corner, as well as paved pathways, a timeline of Hendrix's life and a butterfly garden, among other features. The second phase, which is currently unnamed and now the subject of a fundraising campaign, will include a central shelter, performance space and a "shadow wave wall," which will cast silhouette images of the guitarist. When the foundation announced the park's concept in December 2011, it was initially supposed to open in November of the following year to coincide with what would have been Hendrix's 70th birthday. The foundation, along with the group Friends of Jimi Hendrix Park, raised more than $1 million in addition to the $500,000 that it received from the Seattle Parks and Green Levy Opportunity Fund Grant. Earlier in 2014, the United States Postal Service honored Hendrix's cultural importance by releasing a "Jimi Hendrix Forever" stamp sporting his visage. - Rolling Stone, 8/7/14.

A former housekeeper of Michael Jackson's has told the New York Post that the "Thriller" singer lived in deplorable conditions inside Neverland Ranch during the time she was in his employ and that he was the "dirtiest, most unsanitary person in Hollywood." "Michael sometimes ran around where the animals were, and he'd track...poop throughout the house and think nothing of it," said the woman, identified only as "Maid No. 1." "Then, if you said something, he'd threaten to make doo-doo snowballs and throw it at you." She also claimed that Jackson disregarded sanitation and urinated in front of her the day after his 1993 Oprah Winfrey interview. "He literally peed on the floor of the entryway, right where you saw Oprah walk in," she told The Post. "It was surreal. He just stood there, unzipped his trousers and watered the floor." The woman was one of five maids who spoke to The Post anonymously about the conditions at the property, which they claim became worse following accusations of sexual abuse against Jackson by Jordan Chandler in 1993. On Aug. 4, lawyers for 36-year-old James Safechuck, who is alleging that Jackson abused him when he was 10 after the pair were working on a Pepsi commercial together, filed claims against Jackson's estate. Jackson lived in the sprawling property in Santa Barbara County, Calif., from 1988 until his death in 2009. It was recently announced that Neverland is being put up for sale. - The New York Post, 8/11/14.

The Journey and Steve Miller Band co-headlining tour is the top summertime trek in the U.S., according to Billboard's Hot Tours list. The veteran rock bands joined forces in mid-May to co-headline an 11-week tour, playing primarily at outdoor amphitheaters. With a handful of arenas and a fair date added to the mix, the bands stopped in 39 cities during the run that featured Tower of Power as opening act. Journey and SMB launched their tour on May 15 at Sleep Train Amphitheatre in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista. Among the 39 dates on the itinerary, the top grosser was the second show of the run, the May 16 performance at L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl. The highest attendance was logged at White River Amphitheatre in the Seattle metropolitan area. Overall box office revenue from the tour topped $29 million from more than half a million sold tickets. - Billboard, 8/7/14....... Elton John and his longtime friend, tennis star Billie Jean King, will host a tennis match at Royal Albert Hall in London on Dec. 7 to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. John and King will coach teams that feature former No. 1-ranked Kim Clijsters and John McEnroe and Britain's Tim Henman and 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki. John says the match is being presented on behalf of "an AIDS-free future" and "access to lifesaving treatment to more people living with HIV in Africa." King says it's the first time her "World Team Tennis Smash Hits" event will have a "global presence" and she's pleased to bring "this wonderful evening of tennis to a new audience." The Smash Hits program, which has raised $12 million since 1993, will be held on the final night of a Masters tennis tournament. - AP, 8/8/14...... Billy Joel will be among the celebrities featured in an upcoming "baby boomers" documentary for PBS about the post-World War II generation. PBS announced on Aug. 7 that American Masters: The Boomer List will air Sept. 23 on member stations. The 90-minute production, directed by filmmaker-photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, will include 19 notable public figures, including Joel, Maria Shriver, Samuel L. Jackson, Rosie O'Donnell, Tommy Hilfiger and Steve Wozniak. Their years of birth represent each of the years commonly associated with the baby boom era, 1946-64. An accompanying photo book will be released and an exhibit, "The Boomer List: Photographs by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders," will run at the Newseum from Sept. 26 through June 2015. - AP, 8/7/14...... Robert Plant and his backing band the Sensational Space Shifters have announced a seven-date fall tour of the U.S. and Canada that will kick off Sept. 25 in Port Chester, N.Y. The tour will also visit Brooklyn, N.Y. for two dates (9/27, 28) as well as Toronto (9/30), Chicago (10/2), Denver (10/4) and Los Angeles (10/7). Presale tickets, which go on sale Aug. 15 at www.citiprivatepass.com/#, include a copy of Plant's new record, Lulllaby and... The Ceaseless Roar, which drops Sept. 9. - Billboard, 8/7/14...... Seventies musicians Mick Jagger, Sting, Cliff Richard, Bryan Ferry, David Gilmour and Andrew Lloyd-Webber are among the dozens of celebrities and public figures in Britain who have signed a petition appealing to Scottish voters to vote to stay in the United Kingdom in a referendum in September. The letter tells Scottish voters taking part in the Sept. 18 referendum that the undersigned "want to let you know how very much we value our bonds of citizenship with you, and to express our hope that you will vote to renew them." A spokesman for Yes Scotland, a pro-independence group, released a statement saying "it's great to know that Scotland has so many friends and admirers, and we know they will all continue to be our friends and admirers after we vote Yes on September 18." - AP/Billboard, 8/7/14....... Grateful Dead co-founding guitarist Bob Weir has cancelled all scheduled concerts by his band RatDog for 2014 and January 2015. "Circumstances have necessitated that all scheduled tour dates for Bob Weir & RatDog are being cancelled," reads a posted on ratdog.org on Aug. 10, however Weir didn't offer more details. Weir also is canceling a September performance at the Lockn' Festival with Furthur, the band he formed with fellow Grateful Dead member Phil Lesh. Weir, 66, fell onstage at a concert last year. Lesh told the crowd that Weir had been suffering from a strained shoulder. - Associated Press, 8/12/14....... Henry Stone, a fixture on the '70s disco scene who was instrumental in the careers of K.C. & the Sunshine Band, Ray Charles and James Brown, died of natural causes on Aug. 7 at a Miami-area hospital. He was 93. Mr. Stone was a co-founder of the Miami-based disco label TK Records, and when that label went bankrupt in 1981, he produced an off-beat hit in 1990 with the novelty act 2 Live Jews and its album, As Kosher As They Wanna Be, a parody of 2 Live Crew that featured Stone's actor, songwriter-producer son, Joseph Stone. - AP, 8/10/14...... James Shigeta, a prolific and pioneering Asian-American actor whose 50-year career includes the movies Die Hard and Flower Drum Song, died in his sleep in Los Angeles on July 28, his agent said. He was 81. Mr. Shigeta was well-known for co-starring with Bruce Willis in 1988's Die Hard, in which he played the executive Joseph Takagi. His work stretches across TV and film, and he is considered one of the first Asian-American actors to rise to prominence. He also made appearances in series such as Perry Mason, The Love Boat, Hawaii Five-O, Fantasy Island and Little House on the Prairie. - CNN

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on August 7th, 2014

Founding Village People member Victor Willis is lashing out at controversial comedian and TV personality Joan Rivers after she used a racial stereotype to describe Justin Bieber's odd fashion sense. On her show Fashion Police on Aug. 1, Rivers was criticizing Bieber for wearing a colourful Alexander McQueen sweater and baggy, black leather pants with a matching leather skirt (complete with a black hat and a chunky gold chain) for a trip to a Whole Foods supermarket in California, when she said: "That little b---h just gets on my nerves" before addressing the 20-year-old hitmaker directly: "You are not a big black thug, you are just like your shoes -- ordinary and completely white." Rivers' fellow panellists, including singer/TV personality Kelly Osbourne, laughed off the remark, but Victor Willis claims the crass funnywoman should be taken to task for her "racist" comment. Willis, who portrayed the traffic cop in the band, took to his Twitter account and Facebook page on Aug. 3, where he shared the offending clip and urged fans to condemn the veteran comic. "What Joan Rivers Said Is No Laughing Matter! It's Racist! And She Has A History Of This. Time To Shut Her Down! What Say You?," he wrote. In July, Rivers made headlines when she angrily walked out of a CNN interview with host Fredricka Whitfield, saying, "I really am going, because all you've done is negative." Rivers was on to promote her latest book, Diary of a Mad Diva, when Whitfield pressed the comedian on whether she thinks her own humor is mean and questioned her decision to wear a fur coat on her book cover. The incident came a day after Rivers said that she thought President Obama was already our first gay president and that Michelle was "a trans." - WENN.com, 8/5/14.

Kiss's Gene Simmons has declared he's "on the side of Donald Sterling" in the controversy over the former L.A. Clippers owner's infamous racist rant to his girlfriend over the phone, which she recorded and released to the public. In an interview for The Wall Street Journal for the new AMC series 4th and Loud -- about the Kiss-branded Arena Football League team L.A. Kiss -- Simmons was asked if he had followed the Sterling incident. "I'm on the side of Don Sterling," he replied, before his position was even asked. Although he admits that Sterling is "heinous," he opines that he should have been let off with a fine, since the rant occurred in private. Simmons goes on to insinuate that all people make racist rants or off-color jokes in private: "Because you say an off color joke or make a racist rant privately, that causes you to lose a job -- nobody would have a job!" Simmons also linked a loss of privacy to Sterling's fate: "I'm on the side of free speech in the privacy of your own home or privacy of the situation. Big brother has finally crawled in bed with us." In an ironic twist, Simmons claimed earlier in the interview that he supported changing the name of NFLs Washington Redskins, which many people feel is a racist nick. Donald Sterling's rant also prompted Victor Willis of the Village People to demand the L.A. Clippers quit playing the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." during their games as long as Sterling remained the owner. - Billboard, 8/5/14.

In an explosive article in Mojo magazine, singer Marianne Faithfull claims that her ex-boyfriend, aristocrat Jean de Breiteuil, of supplying the drugs that killed The Doors legend Jim Morrison. Morrison is alleged to have died of a heroin overdose in Paris, France in 1971, but as no autopsy was performed, the exact cause of his death is still disputed. Faithfull claims she knew something terrible was about to happen the day Morrison died and chose to stay away from the apartment that the singer/poet shared with his partner Pamela Courson when de Breiteuil was planning a final visit. "I could intuitively feel trouble. I thought, 'I'll take a few (sedative) Tuinal and I won't be there. And he went to see Jim Morrison and killed him," she told Mojo. But Faithfull insists the drug overdose was an accident: "The smack (heroin) was too strong? Yeah. And he died. And I didn't know anything about this. Anyway, everybody connected to the death of this poor guy is dead now. Except me." Courson was found dead in her Hollywood apartment on Apr. 25, the victim of a suspected heroin overdose. - WENN.com, 8/6/14.

English actress Gabrielle Drake, the sister of cult folk artist Nick Drake, has announced the first authorized Nick Drake biography will be published this autumn. Gabrielle has compiled and edited Nick Drake: Remembered For A While, which will feature handwritten lyrics, letters from Drake to his parents and words from his string arranger Robert Kirby and his producer Joe Boyd. A deluxe edition of the book will come complete with a 10" vinyl record featuring five previously unreleased recordings from a "lost" 1969 BBC John Peel session, comprising alternative versions of "Time Of No Reply," "River Man," "Three Hours," "Bryter Layter" and "Cello Song." Meanwhile, six previously unheard Nick Drake recordings have been removed from auction following a dispute over their ownership. The tapes were described as being in "pristine" condition and were recorded in 1968, before the 1969 release of the iconic folk singer's 1969 debut album Five Leaves Left. The recordings were put up for auction by his friend, singer Beverley Martyn, who was married to the late John Martyn. However, lawyers representing the late singer's estate and his record company have questioned Martyn's ownership and the sale has been postponed. "I looked after them for 38 years, treasured them," said Martyn, stating that she believes she is the rightful owner of the tapes. "I know the person who made the tape and they are happy for me to have it. The Drake family even offered to buy it off me eight years ago for 2,000." Drake died of a drug overdose on Nov. 25, 1974. - New Musical Express, 8/6/14.

Neil Young is urging fans to boycott non-organic cotton, vowing to phase the material out of his tour merchandise in favor of 100% organic cotton immediately. Young, a co-founder of the Farm-Aid benefit concert and veteran activist who has championed environmental and social causes over the years, made the plea with a post on his official website on Aug. 1. "Friends, on my last tour of Europe, I started to give our music loving (sic) audience free organic cotton t-shirts as a way to show that we appreciate you," he writes in a statement on the homepage. "I'm hoping that when you wear your PROTECT/EARTH t-shirt, you will vow to PROTECT EARTH & to take a stand for EARTH in the ways that you can," he posted. - Billboard...... Actress Marilyn Burns, who became a cult movie superstar after starring in the 1974 horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was found dead in her Houston, Tex., home on Aug. 5. She was 65. Burns made her film debut in director Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud while she was still attending the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated with a drama degree in 1971. However, it was her role as the sole survivor and heroine Sally Hardesty in the Tobe Hooper-directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre that made her a cult superstar. She also made subsequent cameos in the 1994 and 2013 reboots of the popular franchise. Burns also starred in 1977's Eaten Alive opposite Robert Englund and the 1976 Emmy-nominated miniseries Helter Skelter, about the real-life trial of Charles Manson. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the official cause of her death, according to her representative. - WENN.com..... The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland has been criticized for removing the ashes of DJ Alan Freed, who is credited with coining the term "Rock 'n' Roll." Executive Director of the museum Greg Harris says the ashes were moved from their current location because the RRHOF "is moving away from exhibiting remains since ashes don't help tell a story" and that "museum community colleagues across the country agree." Harris says that Freed's ashes will still be "very prominent" in the Hall Of Fame, and pointed out that the museum's radio studio is named for him, "and there are many touch points in the Hall that relate to Freed." But Lance Freed, Alan Freed's son, said he believed that the entire exhibit dedicated to his father was being removed. Freed's ashes were moved to a new location reportedly to make way for a new exhibit featuring Beyonce's costumes. "Rock 'n' roll isn't just about yesterday," said Harris of the new additions. "It continues to evolve, and we continue to embrace it and refine our operations." - New Musical Express...... A James Brown tribute concert has been set for Aug. 13 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in conjunction with the new Mick Jagger co-produced Brown biopic Get on Up, which hit screens in the U.S. on Aug. 1. Several former members of Brown's band, including Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley, Danny Ray, Clyde Stubblefield, Jab'o Starks and Mousey Thompson, have been confirmed to participate. The concert was organized by jazz bassist and huge Brown fan Christian McBride, who worked with Brown in 2006 on a big band concert at the Hollywood Bowl. - Billboard

Revered rock guitarist/songwriter Dick Wagner, a former member of Alice Cooper's and Lou Reed's touring bands who also recorded with such rock acts as Kiss and Aerosmith, died on July 30 of respiratory failure in a Scottsdale, Ariz., hospital. He was 71. The Iowa-born, Detroit area-raised Wagner was a self-taught guitarist who was asked to back Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison on one-off gigs in the Sixties, and by the end of the decade he had rose to prominence as the frontman for the rock group the Frost and, after moving to New York City in the early Seventies, as a member of Ursa Major. The latter group, whose original group featured keyboardist Billy Joel, recorded with Alice Cooper producer Bob Ezrin, who recognized Wagner's talent and brought him in to play additional guitar on their School's Out, Billion Dollar Babies and Muscle of Love LPs. Wagner and fellow guitarist Steve Hunter played on Lou Reed's acclaimed 1973 album Berlin, and later that year, the duo backed Reed on the tour that was featured on the live albums Rock 'n' Roll Animal and Lou Reed Live. Wagner and Hunter went on to play on Cooper's Ezrin-produced first solo album, Welcome to My Nightmare. It was on that album that Wagner also made a name for himself as a songwriter, co-writing the hits "Welcome to My Nightmare," "Department of Youth" and "Only Women Bleed," among others. On subsequent Seventies Cooper records, Wagner helped write the hits "I Never Cry," "You and Me" and "How You Gonna See Me Now" and toured with the singer. Wagner occasionally played on Cooper records in the Eighties and Nineties, and he even made an appearance on Cooper's most recent record, 2011's Welcome 2 My Nightmare, co-writing one song and playing lead guitar on another. Outside of his work with Cooper and Reed, Wagner released an Ezrin-produced solo album, Richard Wagner, in 1978. He also played guitar -- often uncredited -- on records by Aerosmith (a solo on "Train Kept A-Rollin'"), Kiss (acoustic guitar on "Beth"), Peter Gabriel ("Here Comes the Flood") and Air Supply ("Just as I Am.") Wagner was felled by a near-fatal heart attack in 2007, spending two weeks in a coma and awakening with a paralyzed left arm. He battled other health issues but managed to recover both physically and creatively, releasing a new album, Full Meltdown, in 2009, performing again onstage in the Detroit area in 2011, and publishing his memoir, Not Only Women Bleed: Vignettes From the Heart of a Rock Musician, in 2012. Wagner played his final show on June 29 in Owosso, Mich., and in mid-July had undergone a cardiac procedure. "Even though we know it's inevitable, we never expect to suddenly lose close friends and collaborators," Cooper said in a statement. "Dick Wagner and I shared as many laughs as we did hit records. He was one of a kind. He is irreplaceable. His brand of playing and writing is not seen anymore, and there are very few people that I enjoyed working with as much as I enjoyed working with Dick Wagner. A lot of my radio success in my solo career had to do with my relationship with Dick Wagner...so to hear of Dick's passing comes as a sudden shock and an enormous loss for me, rock & roll and to his family," he added. Wagner is survived by two sons and a daughter, and a memorial is planned in Michigan. - Rolling Stone/Billboard, 7/30/14.

Linda Ronstadt was honored with a prestigious National Medal of Arts by Pres. Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House on July 28. "I had a little crush on her back in the day," Pres. Obama revealed as he hung the medal around the 11-time Grammy-winning singer's neck. The honor was a particularly special moment for the 68-year-old Ronstadt, who didn't make it to her induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April since Parkinson's disease limits her ability to travel. A military aide brought her into the East Room by wheelchair, but she walked to the stage to receive her award as a citation was read honoring her "one-of-a-kind voice" that paved the way for generations of women artists. Eleven other recipients were awarded the 2013 National Medal of Arts, as America's highest award given to artists and their patrons, including DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg and Dominican-American writer Julia Alvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies. - AP, 7/29/14.

Eric Clapton's new album The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale is on course to become the iconic guitarist/singer's 14th Billboard Top 5 album, with a forecast of 50,000 copies sold for the week ending Aug. 3. The Breeze was released on July 29 on Clapton's own Bushbranch label, through Surfdog Records, and is distributed by Warner Music's independent distribution arm, Alternative Distribution Alliance. One of the guests on Clapton's new LP, Tom Petty, is set to debut in the No. 1 slot of the Billboard Hot 200 with his own new release, Hypnotic Eye. With around 100,000 copies sold, Hypnotic Eye will mark Petty and his Heartbreakers' first ever chart-topping LP since they debuted on the Hot 200 37 years ago. Though Petty has claimed 21 charting albums on the Billboard 200 -- with 11 of them hitting the top 10 -- he's never visited the top slot. Hypnotic Eye was released on July 29 through Reprise/Warner Bros. Records. Until now, his highest-charting effort was a pair of No. 2 albums: 2010's Mojo debuted and peaked at No. 2, while 1979's Damn the Torpedoes spent seven weeks in the runner-up slot in early 1980, becoming stuck behind Pink Floyd's The Wall. - Billboard, 8/1/14.

The family of Michael Jackson is reportedly "disappointed and saddened" following reports in late July that Jackson's Neverland Ranch has been put up for sale. Forbes magazine reported that the Colony Capital group, whose owner Tom Barrack has been managing partner of the property since 2007, have decided to place the property on the market after debts involved in the outlandish home of the late pop star reached $50 million. While "Bubbles" the chimp, the amusement rides, and zoo animals are long gone, the Peter Pan-inspired tudor house and sprawling, 2,600-acre property that make up Neverland are still in tact, and have been restored and readied for potential sale. Although Colony Capital has yet to announce an asking price, a nearby 8-bedroom ranch covering "only" 250 acres is on the market for over $21 million. The Jackson Estate is reportedly not happy with the decision, with an unnamed representative telling Forbes that they are "frustrated, bitterly disappointed, and saddened that it has come to this... Sadly, Michael lost control of Neverland during his life as a result of advice from a former manager." Jackson purchased Neverland in 1988 for $19.5 million and turned into a fantasy home complete with carnival rides and other over-the-top features. He lived there for nearly two decades until he essentially abandoned it in the wake of his 2005 acquittal on charges he molested children at the ranch. Neverland became the setting of several infamous pop culture events, including the 1991 wedding of Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky, as well as Jackson's 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey, which was seen by 90 million viewers. Colony Capital took control after purchasing a $23.5 million note on the ranch in 2008, during a financially challenging period for Jackson. He died in a Los Angeles mansion he was renting a year later, on June 25, 2009, of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication. In other Jackson-related news, the producer of a new Queen album featuring vocals by Freddie Mercury and Jackson has been confirmed. William Orbit announced the news in a tweet which said: "Am definitely working with QUEEN. Amazing songs. Thats all Im saying for now. Watch this space." - William Orbit (@WilliamOrbit) July 29, 2014. Orbit, who has produced Blur, Madonna and Britney Spears, previously announced in July 2013 that he was producing a duet between Mercury and Michael Jackson, which is likely to feature on the new Queen album. Mercury and Jackson recorded three unreleased songs during the sessions for Jackson's classic 1982 album Thriller. The three songs were subsequently re-recorded, but not as Jackson/Mercury duets. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 8/1/14.

In a new interview with the U.K. music publication Uncut, Robert Plant says he is "disappointed and baffled" by his former Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page and his attempts to fuel the Led Zep reunion rumor mill. "I feel for the guy," Plant says. "He knows he's got the headlines if he wants them. But I don't know what he's trying to do. So I feel slightly disappointed and baffled." Plant even mentions a failed attempt at collaborating with Page in an acoustic format. "A couple of years ago, I said, 'If you've got anything acoustic, let me know. I'll give it a whirl. It was hands across the water. He just walked away. But we couldn't do anything proper. The weight of expectation is too great." Led Zeppelin's last show was a one-off performance on December 10th, 2007 honoring late Atlantic Records executive Ahmet Ertegun at London's O2 Arena. Ever since, Page has publicly expressed interest in pursuing a full tour, and Led Zep'sexpansive remastering/reissuing campaignhas brought the conversation back into national headlines. In May, Page told The New York Times that he was ready to hit the stage with Zeppelin once more -- but blamed the lack of progress on a disinterested Plant. "I was told last year that Robert Plant said he is doing nothing in 2014, and what do the other two guys think? Well, he knows what the other guys think. Everyone would love to play more concerts for the band. He's just playing games, and 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?" The following month Plant fired back at Page in a press conference, saying,"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." Meanwhile, the LZ camp has revealed it will be reissuing two more albums in the fall. The reissue of the group's untitled fourth album -- known as Led Zeppelin IV or ZOSO -- will include alternate versions of every track on that monster-selling (300 million sold worldwide) album from 1971. A reissue of 1973's Houses of the Holy includes alternate versions of nearly every track on that 1973 album, except "D'yer Mak'er." Jimmy Page personally oversaw the remastering of each album. The reissues come as single album editions, deluxe editions and as a super deluxe box set, which includes CDs, LPs, a digital download and an 80-page book with previously unseen photos from the group's heyday. Both releases drop Oct. 28. - Rolling Stone/Billboard, 7/30/14.

Legendary rock producer and recording artist Brian Eno has written a strongly-worded letter about the current conflict between Israel and Palestine. In a post published on former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne's website, Eno says he "can't keep quiet any more" about the conflict and describes a picture he saw on the news that day of a Palestinian man carrying his four year old son's remains in a plastic bag. He goes onto express his dismay that America refused to support a proposed UN resolution to set up an international inquiry into accusations that Israeli actions could amount to war crimes. "What is going on in America?" Eno writes. "I know from my own experience how slanted your news is, and how little you get to hear about the other side of this story. But -- for Christ's sake! -- it's not that hard to find out. Why does America continue its blind support of this one-sided exercise in ethnic cleansing? WHY?" Eno then details a 2013 trip he took to Israel, where he witnessed the tensions first hand. He then goes onto describe what he calls the Israeli "settler militias" who have the "notion that they had an inviolable (God-given!) right to the land, and that 'Arab' equates with 'vermin' -- straightforward old-school racism delivered with the same arrogant, shameless swagger that the good ole boys of Louisiana used to affect. That is the culture our taxes are defending. It's like sending money to the Klan." David Byrne, who collaborated with Eno on such albums as My Life in the Bush of Ghosts in 1981 and Everything That Happens Will Happen Today in 2008, also included a note explaining why he decided to put Eno's passionate letter online. "I received this email last Friday morning from my friend, Brian Eno," Byrne writes. "I shared it with my office and we all felt a great responsibility to publish Brian's heavy, worthy note." - New Musical Express, 7/31/14.

Gov. Mark Dayton of Minnesota proclaimed Aug. 2 as "Paul McCartney Day" as the ex-Beatle is scheduled to perform a sold-out show at Target Field in Minneapolis that evening. Gov. Dayton says the state is recognizing McCartney for his musical career spanning nearly six decades. The proclamation also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first -- and only -- Beatles concert in Minnesota in 1964. McCartney performed with the Beatles at the old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington in 1965. His most recent Twin Cities appearance was in 2005 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. - AP...... Dwina Gibb, the widow of late Bee Gees legend Robin Gibb, and their son R.J. Gibb are releasing the best of sessions that Robin Gibb recorded a few years before cancer took his life in May 2012. Entitled 50 St. Catherine's Drive, an album named for the singer's birthplace in the Isle of Man, the album will also include a few demos recorded as late as July 2011. - Rolling Stone...... A second Northwest Indian tribe has canceled a scheduled Ted Nugent show at its casino, three days after Idaho's Coeur D'Alene Tribe canceled Nugent's Aug. 4 show over his "racist and hate-filled remarks." Now the Puyallup Tribe announced on July 31 that it's canceling Nugent's concerts scheduled for Aug. 2 and 3 at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash. Puyallup spokesman John Weymer says the tribe had been getting a lot of pressure from critics of the ultraconservative musician, who is known for advocating hunting and gun rights. - AP...... A David Bowie documentary about the touring art exhibition "David Bowie Is," which premiered at London's Victoria and Albert Museum last year, will run in more than 100 movie theaters in the United States on Sept. 23. That same day, the exhibition itself -- which consists of photos, costumes and other items from the David Bowie Archive -- will open at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art and will remain on view until Jan. 4. - Rolling Stone...... An online campaign to get Ozzy Osbourne knighted has attracted over 21,000 signatures. The campaign, being organised by 65-year-old fan Helen Maidiotis, states that the Black Sabbath frontman deserves the honour for his "significant contribution to the music industry." When asked about the campaign in a recent interview, Osbourne said: "I've heard about that. Getting knighted? I can't imagine anything better. And my wife [Sharon] would become a Lady, which would be pretty cool." - New Musical Express

Manny Roth, a colorful nightclub owner in Greenwich Village whose Cafe Wha? and its basement level stage was a rite of passage in the 1960s for the likes of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen and many others, died of natural causes at his home in Ojai, Calif., on July 25. He was 94. Founded in the late 1950s, The Cafe Wha? was a former stable that Mr. Roth personally helped renovate, laying down the new floor and bringing in some friends to help decorate. The look was such a mish-mash that Mr. Roth named the club Cafe Wha? It was a true starter club, with low pay for the performers, no liquor and little space. But Mr. Roth's stage was an essential first stop for young performers looking for a chance, or even a place to stay. Dylan showed up in early 1961, not yet 20 years old and fresh from his native Minnesota. "He was just a kid," Roth later recalled, noting how he announced from the stage that Dylan needed a room for the night. "The first time I heard Dylan get up on an open mic, I'm thinking to myself, 'This kid doesn't have a prayer. He can't sing, can't play and certainly doesn't have any stage presence.'" Manny Roth left Cafe Wha? in the early '70s amid financial problems and over the past 40 years worked in various businesses, whether opening a restaurant in Woodstock or helping to run the West End Gate in uptown Manhattan. Cafe Wha? was back in the headlines in early 2012 when a reunited Van Halen chose Roth's former business to launch an upcoming tour. Manny Roth was among the guests as David Lee Roth bowed to the club he visited as a boy. - AP...... Dick Smith, known as the "Godfather of Makeup" and renowned for his realistic transformations in films like The Godfather and Amadeus, died on July 31 at age 92. The makeup artist transformed an aging Marlon Brando into Don Corleone and F. Murray Abraham into a wizened Antonio Salieri -- garnering an Academy Award for his work in the latter film alongside Paul LeBlanc. In 2012, Mr. Smith received an honorary Governor's Academy Award for his contribution to the field, which was presented by his protege Rick Baker. Earlier in 2014, he received the Makeup Artists Lifetime Achievement Award at the Makeup Artists and Hair Stylist Guild Awards. Mr. Smith discovered his passion for makeup while studying at Yale University, teaching himself the techniques that would shape his career after discovering a guide for theatrical makeup at a local bookstore. Mr. Smith was also responsible for realizing Linda Blair's harrowing possession in The Exorcist. His other notable projects included Taxi Driver, The Godfather: Part II, The Deer Hunter, Little Big Man, Scanners, Marathon Man and Death Becomes Her. - Variety

Favorite Seventies Artists In The News

Posted by Administrator on July 28th, 2014

Jimmy Buffett's new online streaming channel Margaritaville TV has netted about 10,000 viewers for each of its seven broadcasts since it began earlier in 2014. The feedback from that has been unbelievable," says Buffett, whose channel offers select Buffett concerts live. "There was one element of my inner circle that thought we'd be cannibalizing ourselves by going on television. But I played my instincts, and I haven't had one person say they'll watch it instead of going to the show...they do both," he says. "They watch the (online) shows and get charged up to go see it in person. And there are other people that can't get to a show that absolutely love the fact we're doing it. My friends in Bora Bora now can punch (the shows) up on the screen and watch it while they're having dinner. It makes it a Parrothead world now, not just a nation," Buffett adds. The singer/songwriter also predicts that other programming, including special events and archived shows that weren't presented live, will be part of Margaritaville's offerings, and it may also serve as a vehicle for releasing new music. Buffett's last album, Songs From St. Elsewhere, came out in August 2013, and he says that since then he's been "playing around with some new songs," including one called "We Need to Care a Little Less," which he says is "about over-thinking, over-reacting to everything." Writing, he adds, is "a natural process. I'm not stopping writing," but he isn't sure if a conventional album will be the result. "For me, an album has just been adding something; if you like this music you can add it to the collection," he explains. "I'm not out there trying to win hits or chase Grammys or shit like that. I'm just trying to stay in the game at our level, so we're looking to find the best system for the next batch of new music." In addition to his online TV venture, Buffett is also keeping busy with his new line of wine, Auter deRose, whose purpose, he cracks, is "to get women in our bigger bars to stop drinking white zinfandel and drink a better wine." - Billboard, 7/25/14.

Stevie Nicks has confirmed she will be releasing her new CD, 24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault, on Oct. 7 via Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Dave Stewart, Waddy Wachtel and Nicks, the new album was recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles, and is the follow-up to Nicks' 2011 LP In Your Dreams. Most of these songs were written between 1969 and 1987," Nicks says. "One was written in 1994 and one in 1995. I included them because they seemed to belong to this special group. Each song is a lifetime. Each song has a soul. Each song has a purpose. Each song is a love story. They represent my life behind the scenes, the secrets, the broken hearts, the broken-hearted and the survivors. These songs are the memories... the 24-karat gold rings in the blue box. These songs are for you." A deluxe photobook CD album will be available for fans, which includes two bonus tracks plus 48 pages of exclusive photos from Nicks' personal collection. Fans can pre-order the new album beginning Aug. 5, and on that date Nicks will begin previewing snippets of 24 Karat Gold on her new official Instagram account, "stevienicksofficial." The multi-Grammy winning singer is scheduled to embark on a new tour with Fleetwood Mac, the On With the Show Tour, beginning Sept. 30 in Minneapolis with recently returned bandmate Christine McVie. "It's so exciting to have Christine back after so many years. We can't wait to get on the road together," stated Nicks. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/24/14.

Neil Young has launched a new Kickstarter.com campaign that is devoted to saving the rainforest, teaming up with the environmental group Rainforest Connection to help them raise much-needed funds. "[This] is a technology that's a connection between the rainforest and you," says Young. "This technology enables the forest to talk to the world. When the forest is threatened, the forest can speak and you can hear it." Young sent out a letter to supporters of his Pono Music campaign, which he also fully funded through Kickstarter, asking them to contribute, and he appears in a video on behalf of Rainforest Connection. "Neil's involvement makes perfect sense," says Topher White, the physicist and engineer beyond Rainforest Connection. "Throughout his life, he has always been a passionate crusader for indigenous rights, and in recent years, has worked tirelessly in combating climate change. These are both issues that we directly address with the Rainforest Connection technology." If Rainforest Connection reaches their fundraising goals, they will be able to help the Temb indigenous people of Brazil fight black market illegal logging operations. They also hope to place their system in trees all across Indonesia. The central idea behind Rainforest Connection is as simple as it is brilliant: Old cellphones are retrofitted with a solar-powered energy source and placed in trees around the rainforest. When they pick up the sound of chainsaws, animals in distress or gunshots, they alert authorities in real time. "Current detection systems rely on satellites which show rainforest destruction days or weeks too late," says a note on the group's Kickstarter page. "Our system provides the world's first real-time logging/poaching detection system. We can pinpoint deforestation activity the moment it begins, while simultaneously streaming the data openly and immediately to anyone around the world." In other Neil Young news, the singer-songwriter has announced the 2014 edition of the Farm Aid benefit concert will take place Sept. 13 in the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh, N.C. It features performances by Young, Farm Aid president and co-founder Willie Nelson, and fellow board members John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. Local artists will also perform. Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised more than $45 million through the festival to help family farmers keep their land and publicize locally grown food. Tickets for the concert go on sale in August and prices range from $49 to $175. - Rolling Stone/AP, 7/28/14.

The new musical from former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and his recent collaborator Fatboy Slim is set to begin a U.K. run at London's Dorfman Theatre at the National Theatre on Sept. 30. "Here Lies Love" is based on the pair's double album of the same name, which was released in 2010 and documents the life of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines. The show recently opened its new commercial run at New York's Public Theater, after initially opening in April 2013. The 22-track double Here Lies Love featured a host of guest vocalists, including Florence And The Machine's Florence Welch, Santigold and Tori Amos. "The story I am interested in is about asking what drives a powerful person, what makes them tick? How do they make and then remake themselves?" Byrne explained in an introduction to the 100-page book which came along with the record. Byrne is also a member of the newly formed Content Creators Coalition, a group of musicians, authors and other creators seeking better terms for online use of their works -- for some thoughts on the state of artists' rights. "I think that artists in general can be given more agency regarding what happens to their work," Byrne recently told Billboard. "I don't own my own old recordings, a similar situation to many artists, so I have no say whether they are licensed to YouTube, Spotify, Beats, Apple, you name it, and for what percentage and for how long. If that's where music consumption is going, much of it is completely out of my control. I do at least control the publishing (which not every artist does) so that gives me a foot in the door: other kinds of licensing -- films, TV, etc. -- are up to me." - Billboard, 7/25/14.

The children of famous pop crooner Bing Crosby made a rare public appearance together on July 23 to discuss the upcoming PBS American Masters episode, Bing Crosby Rediscovered, and reminisced about the time their dad made a surprise duet with David Bowie on Crosby's 1977 Christmas television special. Harry, Mary and Nathaniel Crosby, now all in their 50's, were on set when Bowie arrived to tape his appearance. The mash-up between the cardigan-clad singer known for "White Christmas" and the glam-rocker who was in his Ziggy Stardust phase required some last-minute reworking of "The Little Drummer Boy." The result was a new melody and lyrics called "Peace on Earth." The duet remains a holiday staple and a curiosity. Bowie was 30 and Crosby was 73 at the time. Crosby died of a heart attack a month after the taping in September 1977. The Crosbys said the experience left an indelible impression on them. "The doors opened and David walked in with his wife," Mary Crosby said. "They were both wearing full-length mink coats, they have matching full makeup and their hair was bright red. We were thinking, 'Oh my god.'" Nathaniel Crosby added, "It almost didn't happen. I think the producers told him to take the lipstick off and take the earring out. It was just incredible to see the contrast." "They sat at the piano and David was a little nervous," Mary Crosby recalled. "Dad realized David was this amazing musician, and David realized Dad was an amazing musician. You could see them both collectively relax and then magic was made." Bing Crosby Rediscovered will air Dec. 2 on PBS stations across the US. In other Bowie news, actress Susan Sarandon has revealed she used to date the famous rocker and calls her former lover "extraordinary." "He's worth idolising. He's extraordinary," Sarandon told The Daily Beast website. "That was a really interesting period. I wasn't supposed to have kids, and I'm the oldest of nine and had mothered all of them, so I wasn't ever in a mode to where I was looking to settle down and raise a family, so that definitely changes the gene pool you're dipping into. But Bowie's just a really interesting person, and so bright. He's a talent, and a painter, and he's great." Bowie recently confirmed that he is working on new music, saying it will be released "soon." - AP/New Musical Express, 7/23/14.

The final Cadillac purchased by Elvis Presley is among 72 items being auctioned in August at Presley's Graceland mansion in Memphis during the annual celebration known as "Elvis Week." Among the items being auctioned, all from third-party collectors, are a 1976 Cadillac Seville that Graceland says is the last one Presley purchased for his personal use; Presley's signature on a library card; Presley's copy of the original script for his first movie, Love Me Tender; a 1969 Las Vegas show agreement; a 1975 Martin D-28 guitar; and a gemstone, diamond and gold lion mask pendant and chain worn by Presley when he met President Richard Nixon at the White House. More information about the auction is available at Graceland.com/auction. - AP...... Ozzy Osbourne will release a compilation of his greatest hits as a solo artist dubbed Memoirs of a Madman on Oct. 6 via Epic/Legacy Recordings. The album will feature 17 of the Osbourne's solo singles and be available in single CD format, a two-LP set and a two-LP picture disc set. There will also be an accompanying DVD with the release, featuring classic music videos, unreleased live performances and interviews. Osbourne is currently touring the world with Black Sabbath, with the band playing in London's Hyde Park in July as part of the British Summertime Festival. - New Musical Express...... Ted Nugent is firing back at those who called for his planned Aug. 4 concert at Idaho's Coueur D'Alene Casino to be canceled over his "racist views," saying his vehement support of the Second Amendment is behind the cancellation, not his alleged racism. "They literally have an army assigned to destroy Ted Nugent," Nugent told Radio.com. "To call me a racist is a clear act of desperation. Because everybody knows I'm not a racist! My [former] bass player Johnny Gunnel happens to be a black guy. My [former] bass player Marco Mendoza was born in Mexico! Are you kiddin' me? I pay tribute to Martin Luther King in my songs, I've always said my music is a direct result of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, and all the black musical heroes of my life." While the casino didn't cite any specific racist views, Nugent referred to President Obama as a "subhuman mongrel" earlier this year, later apologizing for the comments. - Billboard...... The Who vocalist Roger Daltrey and several of his UK pals are backing plans to launch an international model railway museum in Ashford, Kent. "We're trying to start a model railway museum down in Ashford, me and a few pals down in Kent," he told Radio 2's Chris Evans. "Britain forgets that we invented the railway and it conquered the world. The railway was the first thing to open up the world in a big way for trade. We invented it, and we should be proud of that. The model making side of it, it's enormous." Daltrey said he was a big miniature train hobbyist and that "I hate watching the TV because there's nothing on and I like listening to the radio... The great thing about model railways is you can be doing a bit of woodwork, a bit of painting, a bit of this, a bit of that, and having fun with your mates and you can listen to the radio." The Who recently announced details of their 50th anniversary tour and confirmed that they are starting to think about retirement. "This is the beginning of the long goodbye," Daltrey said. - New Musical Express...... Singer, songwriter and film composer Randy Newman has signed an administration agreement for North America with Downtown Music Publishing. Downtown's agreement covers Newman's catalog from 1977's Little Criminals forward, including such hit singles as "Short People" (Little Criminals), "The Blues" and "I Love L.A." (both from Trouble in Paradise), and "It's Money that Matters" (Land of Dreams). "The Randy Newman songbook transcends generations and inspired countless songwriters, artists and composers," said Downtown Music president Justin Kalifowitz. "We are truly honored to represent this timeless catalog and welcome such a beloved songwriter to the Downtown roster." Newman is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the winner of two Academy Awards, three Emmys, six Grammys, an Ivor Novello, and most recently, a PEN New England Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award. - The Hollywood Reporter

Paul McCartney's continuing Archive reissue series will add two albums from his Wings days this fall. The group's 1975 LP Venus and Mars, and the following year's Wings at the Speed of Sound, will will be available on Sept. 23 as remastered deluxe 2-disc editions with a wealth of bonus material. One CD will contain the original album and a second with demos and unreleased tracks. A three-disc edition will also include a hardback book alongside unpublished photographs, new interviews with McCartney, track-by-track info and a bonus DVD containing footage from the time of each release. The albums will also be available as gatefold vinyl releases and as deluxe digital releases, in Mastered for iTunes and high-res formats. McCartney personally supervised the production of both reissues, the remastering for which was done at Abbey Road Studios by the same team that remastered the Beatles' discography. McCartney began his Archive collection in 2010 and has so far won two Grammy Awards for the releases, taking home Best Historical Album for Band on the Run in 2012 and Best Boxed for Special Edition Package for Wings Over America earlier in 2014. In other Beatles-related news, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono is among several musicians who have signed up as "virtual teachers" at an online girls school which is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter. The School Of Doodle calls itself a "peer-to-peer, self-directed learning lab dedicated to activating girls imaginations through entertainment, education and community." Ono and such artists as Pussy Riot, Courtney Love and Kim Gordon have all contributed "doodles" to the project, which will be part of Kickstarter pledgders' reward packages. - Rolling Stone/New Musical Express, 7/28/14.

A Washington state musician who conned several investors out of $600,000 after claiming such classic rock icons as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and REM were involved in his project has been sentenced to jail. Singer-songwriter Kasey Anderson ran several schemes to fraud backers out of their money, including claiming that he was working on a compilation album that would raise money for the legal funds of the so-called "West Memphis Three," a trio of teenagers convicted of murder in 1994 but later released from prison. Anderson told potential investors the likes of Springsteen, Petty, REM and more were all involved with the record. He also conned people into funding his own album, falsifying paperwork that said it had already sold thousands of copies and earnt $1.4 million in royalties. The musician has now been sentenced to four years in prison by a court in Tacoma and ordered to pay back the money he stole. Anderson claims he suffers from mental illness and wrote a letter to the court explaining his actions. "I lied to myself and others, and believing those lies, I told myself consistently that whatever was going on with me I could fix it on my own. I convinced myself that it was normal," he allegedly wrote. - New Musical Express, 7/27/14.

The U.S. Library of Congress announced on July 22 that Billy Joel will be the 2014 recipient of its annual Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Calling the New York Piano Man "a storyteller of the highest order," Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said on the bureau's website that the 65-year old performer will be awarded the prize in November in Washington, D.C., during a week that will also include a series of events, complete with an honoree's luncheon and musical performances. Joel, a six-time Grammy winner and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriter's Hall of Fame, issued a statement saying that George Gershwin, the award's namesake, "has been a personal inspiration to me throughout my career...And the Library's decision to include me among those songwriters who have been past recipients is a milestone for me." According to the Library of Congress' website, the Gershwin Prize "honors a living musical artists lifetime achievement in promoting the genre of song as a vehicle of cultural understanding; entertaining and informing audiences; and inspiring new generations." Joel's upcoming concerts include shows in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, then one concert each month in New York's Madison Square Garden from August to December. - Billboard, 7/22/14.

The legendary George Harrison is most often associated with the Beatles, but now an infestation of beetles has killed the George Harison Memorial Tree, which was planed in Los Angeles' Griffith Park in 2004 in tribute to the music icon. The pine tree was originally put in the park three years after Harrison's death in 2001 because the musician had spent his final days in L.A. and was an avid gardener. A small plaque at the base of the tree read, "In memory of a great humanitarian who touched the world as an artist, a musician and a gardener." The plaque also quotes Harrison himself: "For the forests to be green, each tree must be green." The tree reportedly had grown to more than 10 feet tall before the beetle infestation took over. Tom LaBonge, a member of the L.A. City Council, says the tree will be replanted soon. - Billboard, 7/21/14.

Multi-instrumentalist Edgar Winter, the brother of recently deceased Johnny Winter, announced on July 23 that he will pay tribute to his sibling on his upcoming 17-date tour, which gets underway on July 31 in Clarkston, Mich., and wraps on Aug. 24 in Snoqualmie, Wash. In a statement, the "Frankenstein" rocker expressed admiration for Johnny, who he describes as "my greatest musical hero," and remorse for his passing. "My wife, Monique, and I are shocked at the suddenness of Johnny's passing, especially since I was so looking forward with such joy and anticipation to seeing him again and playing together," Edgar posted on Facebook. "I know his body is departing this physical realm, but his presence, his music, and his spirit are undiminished, and alive as ever in my heart." Edgar says he is reprogramming his upcoming Rock 'n' Blues Fest tour to serve as a tribute to Johnny. On each date of the tour, the Edgar Winter Band, Vanilla Fudge, Rare Earth member Peter Rivera and Savoy Brown's Kim Simmonds intend to play songs that fans associate with Johnny. Rick Derringer, whose "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" Winter recorded with Derringer on his Johnny Winter And album in 1970, will appear as a special guest on the tour's final two nights. The final album by Johnny, who died at age 70 on July 16, will feature the Texas blues guitarist playing with the likes of Eric Clapton, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Aerosmith's Joe Perry, among others. - Vintage Vinyl News/Rolling Stone, 7/23/14.

Tom Petty says his new album Hypnotic Eye will include songs what he perceives as "the unchecked greed of the one percent" and the Catholic Church sex scandals. "Very few people know how to handle power and once they just become completely immoral, they're dangerous people," Petty told Billboard. "That attitude is what, to me, wipes out the middle class." Petty also spoke about "Playing Dumb," a song he wrote a song about the victims of the Catholic clergy that will be included as a bonus track on the album's vinyl release. "If I was in a club, and I found out that there had been generations of people abusing children, and then that club was covering that up, I would quit the club. And I wouldn't give them any more money," he maintained. Hypnotic Eye, which is due for release on July 29, will be a return the sound of Petty's early work, according to longtime Petty guitarist and collaborator Mike Campbell, who also co-produced the new LP. "I knew I wanted to do a rock & roll record," Petty told Rolling Stone earlier in 2014. "We hadn't made a straight hard-rockin' record, from beginning to end, in a long time." Petty and his Heartbreakers will be hitting the road later this year for a North American tour. Every ticket purchased includes a copy of Hypnotic Eye. - Billboard, 7/21/14.

Appearing on NBC's Today show on July 18, Mick Jagger opened up about the March 2014 suicide of his longtime girlfriend L'Wren Scott. "I'm doing OK. It's difficult. Very hard year, but I got back into it by working on touring with the Stones in Europe and doing other things, including doing this great movie," said the Rolling Stones frontman, adding that he "appreciates the support I've received from friends and family." Jagger is promoting Universal's upcoming James Brown biopic Get on Up, which he is co-producing with Brian Grazer. Jagger was joined in the interview with Grazer, director Tate Taylor and the movie's stars, including Chadwick Boseman, Octavia Spencer and Dan Aykroyd. Jagger noted that Brown was a big influence on him, and explained that he particularly loved how "Soul Brother No. 1" interacted with the audience: "the way he charmed them, the way he told them what to do, the way he gave them his emotions and encouraged them to give back." Dan Aykroyd also praised Brown's skill as a businessman. "He understood all aspects, the full range of what it took to be a superstar and how to exploit it for his friends and himself and his family," he said. Brian Grazer revealed that Chadwick Boseman, who had a breakthrough role as Jackie Robinson in last year's 42, landed the role as Brown once they saw he could dance. "Our minds were blown," the veteran producer said. Get On Up gets its world premiere in Brown's hometown of Augusta, Ga., on July 24. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/19/14.

A Native American tribe called the Coeur d'Alene announced on July 21 that an Aug. 4 concert by Ted Nugent at its casino in the northwest Idaho city of Worley has been cancelled because of the rocker's "racist and hate-filled remarks." The tribe says it booked Nugent without realizing he espoused "racist attitudes and views," but didn't detail which of Nugent's specific views it opposes. Nugent, an outspoken advocate of conservative causes, in the past has referred to President Barack Obama as a "subhuman mongrel." He later apologized "for using the street fight terminology of subhuman mongrel," but maintained that Pres. Obama was a "liar" violating the Constitution. - AP, 7/21/14....... A hotel inspired by the life of Bob Dylan opened for business in June in the upstate New York village of Woodstock. The Hotel Dylan, located just a few miles from where the singer used to record on Route 28, is at the center of a new complex designed by owner Paul Covello and architects Cortney and Robert Novogratz. The hotel is described as having "bohemian sophistication," also featuring rooms named in tribute to musicians other than Dylan who are associated with the area and the Woodstock festival, including 'The Jimi,' 'The Roadies,' 'The Van' and 'The Hippie Chick'. Every room in the hotel has its own turntable and records. Plans for a gastropub are also in the pipeline, where Covello says there will be a music venue for "intimate, unplugged concerts." - No Depression/New Musical Express, 7/21/14.

Crooner Paul Anka has become the latest performer to cancel a concert in Israel due to the current hostilities in the Middle East. "Due to the current situation in the Middle East, Paul Anka and the local promoters will be postponing his upcoming concerts scheduled for July 24 and 26, 2014," a rep for Anka said in a statement, adding that Anka's camp is trying to find a solution to reschedule the dates. "We ask all current ticket holders to keep their tickets and await that announcement. Mr. Anka assures you that once the local situation is resolved, he will be there with the latest version of his fantastic performance." The concerts would have been Anka's third time to the holy land since his November 2009 inaugural visit. His popularity in Israel had local promoters announce last month a second concert to be added, both scheduled for July 24 and 26. While Neil Young & Crazy Horse and The Brian Jonestown Massacre canceled their shows in Israel, both originally supposed to take place in mid-July, Anka's announcement clarified his shows are postponed and will be rescheduled in the near future. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/18/14.