Columbia Records has announced the release of a soundtrack album to accompany the new highly anticipated Quentin Tarantino movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood featuring such classic rock and pop acts as Neil Diamond, The Bob Seger System, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Deep Purple, Simon & Garfunkel and Paul Revere & The Raiders. The 76-minute Once Upon a Time in Hollywood soundtrack, personally curated by Tarantino himself, also includes vintage radio advertisements between some songs to create a true ambience of late 1960's Los Angeles, where the film is set. The film, starring Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie, follows the tale of a TV star and his stunt double as they work their way through the industry. In addition to CD, the album will also be available on vinyl and digitally across all platforms on the movie's day of release, July 26. - Billboard, 7/25/19...... Blondie has added the catchy Lil Nas X tune "Old Town Road" to their own set list. The smash hit, featuring Billie Ray Cyrus, is currently at its 16th week atop the Billboard Hot 100, tying the record for the most time at No. 1 in the chart's six-decade history. Blondie's Debbie Harry can be seen giving the song a sultry female rock vocal twist in a newly posted YouTube video. Blondie is currently in the midst of a co-headlining tour with Elvis Costello and the Imposters. - Billboard, 7/24/19...... 
As ZZ Top prepares to celebrate their 50th anniversary as a band with a North American tour in August, the band shared a trailer for the upcoming ZZ Top documentary, That Little Ol' Band from Texas, on July 25. It features snippets of interviews from ZZ members Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and Dusty Hill, including actor Billy Bob Thornton saying: "They're unique, they're eccentric. When you would see them onstage, it was like seeing Bugs Bunny in person." That Little Ol' Band from Texas, which will have its world premiere on Aug. 13 at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood before hitting select theaters this fall, also includes never-before-seen footage and a performance at the oldest dance hall in Texas that was shot for the documentary. - Billboard, 7/25/19...... Refusing to throw in the towel after multiple setbacks, organizers of the Woodstock 50 concert have now relocated the festival to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbus, Maryland, some 350 miles south of the latest planned venue in Vernon, N.Y., but none of the artists from the original line up have been confirmed to perform at the new venue and organizers have released all the artists from their contracts. John Fogerty, whose Creedence Clearwater Revival played at the legendary 1969 Woodstock, and rap superstar Jay-Z had already reportedly pulled out of the Aug. 16-18 festival before reps for the festival including Michael Lang emailed the bands' talent agents and informed them that they would not try to enforce performance contracts for the event. Woodstock 50 organizers are now trying to book new artists for a possible event at Maryland's Merriweather Post Pavilion. "We made a deal quickly contingent on [Lang] putting a show together and dealing with the fact that we have a show booked on one of those dates," says Merriweather venue operator Seth Hurwitz. "So now I'm just a venue waiting to see if the promoter with the hold is going to confirm." John Fogerty has announced he will perform at a competing Woodstock anniversary festival at Woodstock's original site in Bethel, N.Y., on the same weekend in a smaller anniversary event not connected to Woodstock 50. The rock legend had appeared in March alongside Lang to announce that he and Jay-Z, Dead & Company and the Killers would perform at Woodstock 50. - Billboard/AP, 7/26/19...... Bette Midler has come under for one of her latest tweets in which she shared a photo from one of Pres. Donald Trump's recent rallies which included a handful of African-American men in the background, with the singer/actress adding in the caption: "Look, there are African American men in this shot! How much did he pay them to be 'blackground'? (sic)." The post didn't sit well in the Twitterverse, with many fans calling out Midler for being "racist" and "really sick" for suggesting black Trump supporters couldn't make their own political choices. "She thinks black men cannot think for themselves but are willing to be bribed," wrote one user, while another tweeted, "She is the definition of a racist." The feud between Trump, 72, and frequent Trump critic Midler, 73, heated up earlier this year when the president labelled the star a "washed up psycho" after she apologized for a previous statement she had erroneously attributed to Trump. - WENN/Canoe.com, 7/26/19...... While John Travolta is one of the most recognized actors in the industry today, the Saturday Night Fever star will take an opposite tack when he plays an obsessed fan in the upcoming Fred Durst-directed film, The Fanatic. In a just released trailer, Travolta is shown in the role of Moose, a mega-fan of action star Hunter Dunbar, played by Devon Sawa. On his hunt to get an autograph, Moose finds the star's address from a paparazzi photographer. After Hunter warns Moose to never come to his house again, Travolta's character rages into a series of terrifying stalker behavior, including breaking into Hunter's house and tying him to the bed. The Fanatic hits theaters in the U.S. on Aug. 30. - Billboard, 7/25/19...... The estate of Prince has shared a video for a new posthumous Prince release called "Holly Rock." The uptempo, synth-heavy jam was originally recorded at Los Angeles' Sunset Sound studios in April 1985, the same week Prince recorded his 1986 No. 1 hit "Kiss." Prince originally had given Sheila E. sole writing and producer credit, but the rock/funk icon actually co-wrote the song with her and produced the track himself. Originally recorded for the soundtrack to the 1985 film Krush Groove, "Holly Rock" has not appeared on a Prince-related album until the recently released Originals. This is the first time the song has been made available digitally. - Billboard, 7/25/19...... 
Elton John hosted his inaugural "Midsummer Night's Dream Party" on July 24 in Antibes, France, with his husband David Furnish to raise funds for the Elton John Aids Foundation. Sir Elton said he's traditionally thrown a party during Wimbledon week at his home in Windsor, but was on tour this year, so decided to move the fete to France. "We thought a lot of people we know are here on holiday and it would be nice to invite our local friends. It's always great to mix things up and surprise people," he said. Also on hand was Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who took to the stage to play the band's hits "Something Just Like This," "Yellow" and "Viva la Vida" in a relaxed set before joining John for duets of Elton's own "Rocketman" and "I'm Still Standing." John Lennon's son Julian Lennon was also among the celebrities present, and it was Julian's first time seeing John perform live, despite the fact the two are neighbors on the Cote d'Azur. "We have a lot of the same friends and we bump into each other, but I'm busy, he's busy," Lennon said. "I don't know why but it's just never happened so far," he added. But the two have also discussed the idea of a musical collaboration. "We have talked about it so maybe that will happen this year," Julian said. In an auction fundraiser, guests paid $90,000 for tickets to John's annual Oscar party, and Elton himself bid $280,000 on a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II to add to his art collection. The evening overall raised $6.1 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which is earmarked for testing and treatment programs in Kenya. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/25/19...... In a new interview on his official website, Paul McCartney has hinted that he may release an album of outtakes in the future after amassing "millions" of them during studio recordings. Sir Paul described the outtakes as a "treasure trove" of material taken from various ab-libbed sound checks and rehearsals. "Thankfully our stuff is captured because these days you can record just about anything that moves!," Macca noted. "It's a little treasure trove. And one day we will have to put together an album, or something, with a selection of these songs that we've gathered. Because they are from all around the world!" - New Musical Express, 7/24/19...... The Rolling Stones have unveiled a limited-edition line of merchandise intended to coincide with the second half of the band's "No Filter" world tour. Robbie Owens-Russo, global vp creative director of the Universal Music Group's Bravado, worked alongside creative director Sarah Andelman and also designed the installation for the collection, which is centered around two giant pieces with the Stones' tongue-and-lip motifs, one in the colors of the American flag. "The tongue is almost like the Nike of the music industry," says Owens-Russo. "It is this iconic thing that doesn't even need the word Rolling Stones next to it." Indeed, the original John Pasche design has resonated far and wide since 1969, when it was created for the band. The items, which just hit shelves at Bergdorf Goodman's in New York, coincide with the band's New Jersey dates in early August. The collection will next travel to Los Angeles, where it will be available at Maxfield during the band's August stops at the Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara and the Rosebowl in Pasadena; then it will head to Miami, where the tour wraps on Aug. 31. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/24/19...... In other Rolling Stones news, Mick Jagger is set to make his silver screen comeback in The Burnt Orange Heresy, a new art heist thriller by Italian director Giuseppe Capotondi, that will premiere at the upcoming Venice Film Festival. An adaptation of American novelist Charles Willeford's book of the same title, the film stars Jagger opposite Donald Sutherland, Claes Bang and Elizabeth Debicki. Jagger plays Joseph Cassidy, a wealthy art collector who recruits a couple (Bang and Debicki) to steal a piece of artwork from a famous artist (Sutherland). Described as an "erotic neo-noir thriller," the movie will close out the 11-day Venice Film Festival on Sept. 7. It was filmed prior to Jagger's heart operation in April, when he underwent a heart valve replacement surgery after doctors told him he could not perform, forcing the postponement of the band's North American tour. - NME, 7/23/19...... 
Former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, who has had stints in Them Crooked Vultures and performed with the likes of Seasick Steve and Butthole Surfers, is set to make his live return with a new band called Sons of Chipotle. Jones will be playing piano and electronics, with Finnish musician Anssi Karttunen on cello and electronics. "It is incredibly rare to find two of the finest musicians in the world performing in such an intimate setting for what will be a series of remarkable concerts," wrote Jones on his website. "Both musicians are known to be curious minds, always ready to learn and to discover. When they improvise, borders disappear, they are free to migrate beyond prejudices, across continents. They'll be joined by guest musicians Otomo Yoshihide of Ground Zero and Jim O'Rourke of Sonic Youth. They'll be making their debut with a series of gigs in Japan in early September, beginning with the Pit Inn in Shinjuku on Sept. 3 and 5. - NME, 7/24/19...... On July 22 Alice Cooper announced he'll release a six-song EP drawn from recent sessions with his longtime producer Bob Ezrin called Breadcrumbs. It will feature covers of Bob Seger's "East Side Story," the MC5's "Sister Anne," Suzi Quatro's "Your Mama Won't Like Me" and Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels' "Devil With a Blue Dress On," plus a rework of "Detroit City" from 2003's The Eyes of Alice Cooper album titled "Detroit City 2020," and a new song co-written with MC5's Wayne Kramer, "Go Man Go." Cooper says he started recording the songs, which pay homage to his Motor City hometown, in Detroit during March and continued in Los Angeles. The EP will be released digitally and on limited 10-inch vinyl. No release date or title have been announced for Cooper's next full-length album, which will be the follow-up to his 2017 set Paranormal, but Alice says that he and Ezrin have finished seven songs so far and will be doing more during August after he wraps up a summer North American tour with Halestorm and Motionless In White. Meanwhile, Cooper also released another album, Rise, in June, with the Hollywood Vampires, his all-star band with Johnny Depp and Aerosmith's Joe Perry. - Billboard, 7/22/19...... On July 23 Bruce Springsteen announced that a companion film to his recent hit album Western Stars will premiere in September. Springsteen revealed earlier in July that a Western Stars movie, directed by Thom Zimny and Springsteen himself, is on the way. Speaking to SiriusXM's Dave Marsh and Jim Rotolo on July 10, Springsteen said that the film consisted mostly of a live performance of the album. "We made a film of the 'Western Stars' album, where I play the record from start to finish along with some other things," he said. "We knew we weren't going to tour, so I was looking for a way to get some of the music live to the audience." The Western Stars film will receive its world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 5-15. "The incomparable Bruce Springsteen performs his critically acclaimed latest album and muses on life, rock, and the American dream, in this intimate and personal concert film co-directed by Thom Zimny and Springsteen himself," a premise for the 83-minute film states. The exact premiere date has yet to be confirmed. - New Musical Express, 7/23/19......Queen hit The Forum in Los Angeles on July 19 and 20 for two nights on its "The Rhapsody Tour," their first since the release of the Oscar-winning Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Alongside original members Brian May and Roger Taylor, current Queen frontman Adam Lambert delivered a 30-song set on the opening night with a dramatic flair all his own while still taking time to celebrate Mercury's legacy. After a hearty intro including "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Killer Queen," Lambert took a moment to address the "pink elephant in the room," as he put it. "I am not Freddie Mercury. I f---ing know, because there will only be one Freddie Mercury. There's no replacing him," Lambert said. "All I'm here to do tonight is celebrate Freddie and carry the torch for Freddie. And I hope I'm making him proud." The crowd cheered their approval, and Lambert launched into "Don't Stop Me Now" with immense energy. "Bohemian Rhapsody" was an obvious high point before a "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions" encore, with both Lambert and May sporting ridiculous outfits (an all-silver get up and an iridescent space-suit, respectively). As the iconic music video played in the background, the entire audience rocked out with the band until the song's dramatic finish. 
Meanwhile, Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" video has officially surpassed one billion views on YouTube. Originally released in promotion of the band's single in 1975, it is the first pre-1990s music video to reach that milestone on the streaming platform, according to YouTube. To celebrate, the band released a newly remastered HD version of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" video on its YouTube channel on July 22. In partnership with YouTube Music, Universal Music Group and Hollywood Records, Queen is also launching its "You Are the Champions" project, which gives fans the opportunity to take part in three new user-generated videos. - Billboard, 7/21/19...... In related news, a new video for David Bowie's iconic "Space Oddity" premiered at a NASA event at the Kennedy Center in Washington on July 20 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. The event also marked the golden anniversary of the song that chronicles the outer space adventures of star-crossed astronaut "Major Tom." The stunning visual directed by Tim Pope mixes footage of a red-haired Bowie performing the song at his 50th birthday concert at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1997 along with footage shot by Edouard Lock for the backdrop screen on the singer's 1990 "Sound & Vision" tour. The accompanying audio is a new mix of the song created by Bowie's longtime producer, Tony Visconti. The new audio mix was released on July 12 as part of a 50th anniversary double 7" box set. - Billboard, 7/22/19...... In a new interview with Variety, Sylvester Stallone says he's "furious" that he has such a small financial stake in the Rocky film franchise. While negotiating the contract for the original 1976 Rocky, which he wrote and starred in, Stallone says he lost out on equity in the entire franchise, which would have made him a part-owner of all features in the series. "I have zero ownership of Rocky," he says. "Every word, every syllable, every grammatical error (in the contract) was all my fault. It was shocking that it never came to be, but I was told, 'Hey, you got paid, so what are you complaining about?' I was furious." Stallone said he's never been able to forgive himself for the lack of business savvy and naivete he had at the start of his career, but he adds, "You don't want to ruffle the feathers of the golden goose." His remarks have been met with criticism by some of his Rocky colleagues, with one anonymous associate telling Variety that Stallone has earned tens of millions in profit from his work in franchise installments as writer, star and producer over the years. "He made money from every angle, and still does, so I don't know what he's complaining about," his colleague stated. The original Rocky film cost roughly $1 million to make and has grossed global net profits of $225 million to date. - WENN/Canoe.com, 7/24/19...... Art Neville, a member of one of New Orleans' storied musical families, The Neville Brothers, and a founding member of the groundbreaking funk band The Meters, died on July 22 at his home in New Orleans. He was 81. His cause of death was not immediately available but Mr. Neville had battled a number of health issues including complications from back surgery. Mr. Neville was the voice of the iconic Carnival season anthem "Mardi Gras Mambo," which he recorded at 17 in 1954 with the group The Hawketts at a local radio station. After returning from a stint in the Navy, he recorded a number of songs that became late 1950s and '60s R&B classics, including "Cha Dooky Do" and "All These Things." Born Arthur Lanon Neville on Dec. 17, 1937, in New Orleans, La., Mr. Neville founded his family's eponymous band in 1976 with three of his brothers, Aaron, Cyril and late sibling Charles Neville, who died in 2018. Over the course of five-plus decades, the Neville family became the north star of the New Orleans funk scene, spinning off a series of related family bands and shepherding a long list of future funk stalwarts into the mainstream, including bassist George Porter Jr., drummer Joseph "Zihaboo" Modeliste, and guitarist Leo Nocentelli. In 1968, Art, Aaron and Cyril joined four New Orleans musicians to form The Meters, an American funk band often cited by other bands as a musical influence. Mr. Neville, known as "Poppa Funk," announced his retirement from music in December 2018, thanking fans for "all the wonderful years of support and for letting us share our music with the world." - AP/Billboard, 7/22/19...... 
As '70s TV icon Valerie Harper continues to struggle with cancer, her devoted husband of 32 years, actor Tony Cacciotti (The Longest Yard), says he refuses to put her in hospice care. On July 23, Cacciotti wrote an emotional Facebook message about his wife's health and their current situation. "I have been told by doctors to put Val in Hospice care and I can't (because of our 40 years of shared commitment to each other) and I won't because of the amazing good deeds she has graced us with while she's been here on earth," he wrote. Harper, best known for her award-winning role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and her starring spinoff series Rhoda, was diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis in 2013, four years after she beat lung cancer. At the time, doctors predicted she only had three months to live. "We will continue going forward as long as the powers above allow us, I will do my very best in making Val as comfortable as possible," wrote Cacciotti. "There are two special ANGELS on this planet masquerading as humans who live and work together, that have made it possible to have all of Val's needs taken care of." Harper, 79, has continued to receive chemotherapy treatments throughout her years-long health battle. "For those of you who have been in this position, you will totally understand that 'it's hard letting go.' So as long as I'm able and capable, I'll be where I belong right beside her," continued Cacciotti. "Many, many thanks for your outpouring of kindness and support." Cacciotti and Harper's good friend Deanna started a GoFundMe for the Valerie actress in mid-July and raised over $66,100. The page, however, has since been shut down, as members of the entertainment industry have stepped in to help pay for Harper's medical expenses. - RadarOnline.com/Canoe.com, 7/24/19......Bob Frank, the Memphis folk singer-songwriter who developed a cult following after his 1972 self-titled debut album, has died at the age of 75. "LITA is incredibly bummed to hear that Bob Frank passed away yesterday," tweeted record label Light In The Attic. "In 2014 we reissued Bob's 1972 album and loved working with him. He took elements of Dylan, Johnny Cash, Ian Tyson and filtered it through a pot-smoked haze infused with Bob's friend, Jim Dickinson. RIP, Bob." Frank was a Vietnam veteran who moved to Nashville and became a songwriter for the Tree music publishing company after the war. His debut album, originally released by Vanguard Records, received positive reviews but wasn't a commercial success; it eventually became a rare collector's item before being reissued decades later. In 2001, he reemerged after decades away from music with a series of new albums on his own label, Bowstring Records. His most recent album, Dancing In Dallas, was released in 2018. - Billboard, 7/22/19...... Actor David Hedison, best known for his starring role in the popular 1960s adventure series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, died on July 18 in Los Angeles. He was 92. Mr. Hedison also appeared in Off Broadway productions by Clifford Odets and in the original version of the 1958 horror sci-fi classic The Fly with Vincent Price. He also starred in the spy TV series Five Fingers, and over the next few years had roles in Perry Mason, The Saint and the feature film The Greatest Story Ever Told. Though many other TV roles in such series as Dynasty, The Colbys, Fantasy Island and soap operas as Another World and The Young and the Restless would follow, it was his performance as the heroic, handsome Capt. Lee B. Crane in producer Irwin Allen's submarine-set 1964-68 Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea that secured his place in the collective memory of the Baby Boomer generation. "He was adored by so many, all of whom benefitted from his warm and generous heart," said his family in a statement. "Our dad brought joy and humor wherever he went and did so with great style." - Deadline.com, 7/22/19...... Dutch film actor Rutger Hauer, who specialized in menacing roles, including a memorable turn as a murderous android in Blade Runner opposite Harrison Ford, died on July 19 at his home in the Netherlands. He was 75. Hauer's roles included a terrorist in Nighthawks with Sylvester Stallone, Cardinal Roark in Sin City and playing an evil corporate executive in Batman Begins. He was in the big-budget 1985 fantasy Ladyhawke, portrayed a menacing hitchhiker who's picked up by a murderer in the Mojave Desert in The Hitcher and won a supporting-actor Golden Globe award in 1988 for Escape from Sobibor. Early in his career, Hauer spent five years with a small troupe bringing theater to rural Holland. He made his film debut in the saucy Turkish Delight, nominated for an Oscar as best foreign language film of 1973. Gene Simmons, the KISS bassist who starred opposite Hauer in Wanted: Dead or Alive, described his former co-star as "always a gentleman, kind and compassionate."- AP, 7/24/19.
Rod Stewart has voiced his support for "my mate" A$AP Rocky following the Harlem rapper's recent arrest and incarceration in Sweden. Rocky, along with two members of his entourage, were arrested in Stockholm on July 2 ollowing a performance at the Smash music festival, will apparently be held for two weeks as Swedish authorities investigate the case. It's since been claimed that Rocky has been held in "inhumane conditions" while in prison, with the case prompting an outpouring of support from artists including Tyga and Tyler, the Creator. Rocky has also now received a message of support from Stewart, who said he was "dismayed" at Rocky's alleged "mistreatment at the hands of Swedish police." "I'm dismayed at the reports of mistreatment of my mate @asvpxrocky at the hands of Swedish police. Let's have #JusticeForRocky!," Stewart posted on Twitter on July 17. Stewart and Rocky first met after Rocky sampled Stewart's vocals from "In a Broken Dream," which he recorded with the band Python Lee Jackson in the early 1970s. The sample was used on Rocky's 2015 album At. Long. Last. ASAP, and Stewart received a feature credit on the track "Everyday" as a result. - New Musical Express, 7/17/19..... 
Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers says the band has been recording in the studio with producer John Shanks, who has worked with the likes of Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow and the Goo Goo Dolls, for a 5-song EP that the Doobies plan to release sometime in 2020. "We got these done and everybody's pretty excited about them," Johnston told Billboard. "It's rock n' roll, basically. There's one that's kind of a ballad, but the rest of them are rock, with a little modern edge to it. It's totally different from anything we've ever done before... things I've never tried before vocally, musically. Everything is kind of different from what you expect to hear from normal Doobies, but it's still recognizable. It's a cross-matching of the two things -- (Shanks') input, which is strong, and ours," he added. The band has yet to give the new EP a name or set a release date, however it would be the group's first studio release since 2014's collaborative Southbound album and its first set of original material since 2010's World Gone Crazy. Meanwhile, the Doobies are on the road with Santana this summer, then mount a solo tour in the fall. It will include a stop at the Masonic Auditorium in the band's native San Francisco on Sept. 12 where it will perform their classic LP's Toulouse Street and The Captain and Me in their entirety, as it did in 2018 at New York's Beacon Theatre. - Billboard, 7/18/19...... A new wide-ranging exhibit of 150 rare Bruce Springsteen items will go on display at the Monmouth County Historical Association in Freehold, N.J. on Sept. 29. According to a press release, the "Springsteen: His Hometown" exhibit will provide a "comprehensive look of how Monmouth County, NJ has been thematically woven into Bruce Springsteen's music and art throughout his career." Items include the original color poster from Springsteen's Freehold-bred first band, The Castiles, a personal scrapbook made by the singer's mother, as well as her 1943 high school yearbook and the 1801 document signed by the Revolutionary War patriot and direct ancestor John Springsteen. Springsteen was born in Freehold, and the unveiling of the show will coincide with the city's centennial celebration. The pieces in the exhibit will come from both the Monmouth County Historical Association and the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University. Proceeds from the exhibit will benefit the Monmouth County Historical Association. - Billboard, 7/17/19...... A new, previously unreleased version of the Freddie Mercury song "Time Waits For No One" will be released on July 26. The single, which has been produced by Mercury's long-time friend Dave Clark of the 60's band The Dave Clark Five, was originally shared online in June and is described as showing Mercury "at his most compelling... a completely stripped-down performance, accompanied by just a piano [and] showcasing one of music s most beloved and show-stopping voices." "Time Waits For No One" is a previously unreleased version of "Time," which was recorded in 1986 for Mercury s concept album and musical of the same name. The single will be available on a vinyl picture disc and CD. - New Musical Express, 7/19/19...... 
Creedence Clearwater Revival's performance at the 1969 Woodstock festival has been glaringly absent from all music and video documents about the legendary festival including the Oscar-winning documentary in 1970, but now the band plans to correct that with the upcoming Creedence Clearwater Revival - Live at Woodstock release, which hits stores on Aug. 2. "We weren't in the movie on purpose," CCR frontman John Fogerty says. "Nobody really understood what the movie would be. The track they wanted to use was 'Bad Moon Rising'; I just didn't feel it was our best work. At that point in time Creedence was the No. 1 band in the world. I felt like, 'Why go backwards?'" But Fogerty says he changed his position over time. "Maybe around the late '80s I began to think that, historically, it is what it is. It doesn't matter if it's well done or not well done, it became more a fact of history. Therefore nobody was hurt by it. It was just history." Three CCR tracks -- "Green River," "Bad Moon Rising" and "I Put a Spell On You" -- first appeared on the 2009 box set Woodstock 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm and are reprised on the recent June 2019 release Woodstock Back to the Garden -- 50th Anniversary Experience. CCR's Live at Woodstock features the group's entire 11-song set, including lengthy rendition of "Keep on Chooglin'" and "Suzie Q" along with its signature tune, "Proud Mary," of which it has shared a YouTube video. "I thought we played good, and in some cases I thought we played great (at Woodstock)," recalls bassist Stu Cook, whose Creedence Clearwater Revisited with drummer Doug Clifford is in the midst of a farewell tour. "Just like any show it has its highs and lows from a performer's point of view, most of which the audience has no clue about. I thought we played a journeyman's set that had some real high points. It's a shame we weren't in the film, but that was not my decision. It wasn't really supported by the other guys in the band." Fogerty adds that the festival is "a remarkable event to look back on now -- fondly, of course," while Cook says he feels "the event was about the audience and not the artists... the bands were almost the Muzak of a mysterious event that happened." - Billboard, 7/18/19...... Four years after forming, the Grateful Dead spinoff band Dead & Company have topped the Billboard Hot Tours chart with their summer tour grossing $40.9 million and selling 486,917 tickets for their biggest tour yet. The band's June 14-15 engagement at Chicago's Wrigley Field grossed $7.1 million and sold 72,851 tickets, improving on their 2017 performance at the same venue when it grossed $6.4 million. The tour featured a fair mix of amphitheaters and stadiums, playing six stadium shows and 13 dates in amphitheaters. Meanwhile, Billy Joel was No. 5 in the Hot Tours recap, grossing $6,575,093, while Paul McCartney's tour grossed $4,915,772, good for the No. 7 spot. Veteran acts are also discovering farewell tours can be very lucrative. Elton John has the highest-grossing tour at the 2019 midyear mark, according to Billboard Boxscore, so far the most successful in a wave of farewell outings from such acts as Paul Simon, Slayer, KISS, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bob Seger. - Billboard, 7/18/19...... 
A new Foreigner concert documentary entitled Double Vision: Then and Now premiered on the digital cable channels AT&T AUDIENCE Network (Channel 239), DIRECTV Ultra 4k (104 and 105), AT&T U-verse (1114) on July 19, and is curently streaming on DIRECTV NOW and the DIRECTV App. The film, whose trailer is currently being shared on YouTube, documents the classic rockers' two nights at the Soaring Eagle Casino Resort in Mount Pleasant, Mich., on Oct. 6 and 7, 2017, when four members of the original band -- founder Mick Jones, frontman Lou Gramm, multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald and drummer Dennis Elliott) along with second bassist Rick Wills -- performed together for the first time since the early '80s, as part of the group's 40th anniversary celebration. In conjunction with Foreigner's current lineup, the troupe played a five-song mini-set, then joined its successors for a two-song encore. The reunion has been repeated a few times since and will happen again four more times this October. Mick Jones says the documentary has "been a little while in the making, but the production of it, obviously, and a lot of paints went into it." "I'm very happy with the result," he says. "I think it captures the vibe of when the two lineups played together. We had a lot of fun. I think we captured that, and it's nice for it to be documented in this way." Jones added that he'd "like I'd like to put some new Foreigner material out, definitely." "I'm not sure about doing an album these days, but we'll see. (Lou Gramm) and I have been working on ProTools in the hotel rooms and stuff like that. So it's cooking." - Billboard, 7/18/19...... Iggy Pop announced on July 18 that he will release Free, the follow-up to his 2016 album Post Pop Depression, on Sept. 6 via Loma Vista Recordings. In a press release, Pop described Free as having "virtually nothing in common sonically with its predecessor -- or with any other Iggy Pop album." A collaboration with jazz trumpeter Leron Thomas, Pop says Free is "uniquely somber and contemplative... in which other artists speak for me, but I lend my voice." Pop has also shared the eerie title track for the new 10-track release on YouTube. - Billboard, 7/18/19...... The Doors have announced they will release a special 50th anniversary edition of their 1969 album The Soft Parade. The 3-disc special edition, which is set for release on Oct. 18, will also include 12 never-before-released songs as well as some "stripped down" versions of some of the album's classic tracks. The Soft Parade entered the Top 10 upon its release, and features the hit single "Touch Me." The album split listeners on release thanks to the varied brass and string arrangements on the tracks. Now, the special edition will strip-back some of these tracks, including "Touch Me," "Tell All The People," "Wishful Sinful," "Runnin' Blue," and "Who Scared You" so listeners can hear them in a simpler form. - NME, 7/19/19...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Dave Davies of the Kinks says he and brother Ray Davies have been digging for songs for possible inclusion for the upcoming 50th anniversary of the band's 1969 album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), which is due in October. "Some we recorded but never used," Dave said of things they found in the archive. "Others don't have finished vocals or they need other embellishments." "The songs are really just in demo form now," he continued, noting that he and Ray are recording some new songs while also finishing and re-recording the old ones. "But good demos. Ray is still dissecting various other material we might use. The intention is to get the work out, but it's not a done deal." - Billboard, 7/17/19...... 
On July 18 '70s pop/soul hitmakers Earth, Wind & Fire became the first R&B group in history to receive the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, and just the fourth group overall to receive this acknowledgement, following three rock groups: The Who in 2008, Led Zeppelin in 2012, and the Eagles in 2016. The Kennedy Center Honors tend to go to individuals. As a result, they have generally chosen to honor lead singers and/or principal songwriters from groups, rather than the groups themselves. Maurice White, the lead songwriter for EWF, died in 2016. The Kennedy Center Honors program doesn't give posthumous awards, which led to them recognizing the group. Maurice's brother Verdine White, the group's longtime bassist, said he was proud of how their songs have become part of the soundtrack of American music. "We're part of the culture. We're part of people's lives," he said. "The music makes people happy. When you come to a show you leave happier than when you came." This year's other honorees include Linda Ronstadt (who in 2019 released her first ever live album Live in Hollywood), classical conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, actress Sally Field and Sesame Street, the first TV show to be honored. The recipients will be honored during a gala 42nd annual ceremony on Dec. 7. The event will be taped for broadcast on PBS on Dec. 15. For the third straight year, the attendance of Pres. Donald Trump seems likely to be a subject of speculation in advance of the event. Pres. Trump has skipped the past two celebrations. The first time, multiple recipients threatened to boycott the event if he attended. The Kennedy Center's president, Deborah Rutter, said it was too early to tell whether Trump or first lady Melania Trump would attend. "They are always invited," she said. "He is the president of the United States of America, and it would be good to have these extraordinary individuals acknowledged by the president." - Billboard/AP, 7/18/19...... Paul McCartney has signed on to write his first ever stage musical, an adaptation of the classic 1946 movie It's a Wonderful Life. The ex-Beatle is collaborating with "Billy Elliot" playwright Lee Hall, who also wrote the screenplay for the Elton John biopic Rocketman, as well as Broadway producer Bill Kenwright. Sir Paul said he'd never considered writing a musical, but after meeting Kenwright and Hall three years ago, "I found myself thinking this could be interesting and fun." Lee Hall said McCartney's "wit, emotional honesty and melodic brilliance brings a whole new depth and breadth to the classic tale." Producers say they are aiming for a 2020 launch for the show. Its dates and venue have not been released. - AP, 7/17/19...... AC/DC has returned to social media after a prolonged silence to mark the upcoming 40th anniversary of their classic 1979 album Highway to Hell. AC/DC's Facebook account had been inactive ever since announcing the death of founding member Malcolm Young on Nov. 18, 2017. Now the band has posted an emotional tribute to Young on its Facebook page. "With enormous dedication and commitment he was the driving force behind the band," the band posted on July 15. The band also announced they would be celebrating the 40th anniversary of Highway to Hell throughout July. A similar clip was also posted to their Twitter account on July 16, their first post since they paid tribute to Chuck Berry following his death in March 2017. The new posts will only fuel fan speculation that the Aussie rockers are reconvening to record a follow-up to their last LP, 2014's Rock or Bust. - New Musical Express, 7/17/19...... 
Barring the intervention of some kind of miracle, it appears there will be no Woodstock 50 concert at the Vernon Downs racetrack and casino in upstate New York in August 2019 after the Vernon town council voted unanimously on July 16 to uphold its permit application denial. Organizers released a statement after the decision, thanking everyone who supported them in recent weeks as it pushed to have the anniversary event moved to the upstate race track. "Woodstock 50 is disappointed that the Town of Vernon has passed up the opportunity to hold the historic 50th Anniversary Festival by denying our robust and thoughtful proposal," the statement said. "We regret that those in Vernon who supported Woodstock have been deprived of the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be part of the rebirth of a cultural peace movement that changed the world in 1969 and is what the world needs now. We want to thank the artists who stood by us. We are grateful for the support of Vernon Downs and its generous owner Jeffrey Gural." Also after the decision, Virgin Produced, who has been advising with the Woodstock 50 team, "officially concluded its consulting role with respect to the company and the proposed festival," according to a statement from Virgin Produced's publicist. The Woodstock 50 event had been originally planned for Aug. 16 to 18 at Watkins Glen International racetrack, but those plans also fell through. An estimated 65,000 people were expected to attend. - PageSix.com, 7/17/19...... A California judge has told the parties in the Michael Jackson estate/HBO lawsuit to deliver a briefing on whether a bid to force HBO to settle the case in arbitration violates the First Amendment. Jackson's estate filed suit against HBO in February, days before the Leaving Neverland documentary, which detailed allegations from Wade Robson and James Safechuck, premiered on HBO. The estate claims the film is a violation of a non-disparagement clause in a 1992 contract that once gave HBO the right to air a first-ever televised concert after the release of Jackson's album Dangerous, however instead of a judge determining that issue the estate to compel arbitration pursuant to that same contract. Once that happens, an arbitrator would look at the contract and the documentary and settle the dispute. In his decision on July 19, U.S. District Court Judge George H. Wu said, "While the Court agrees that attempting to enforce an arbitration agreement in a contract that includes a non-disparagement clause through the filing of a lawsuit does not initially suggest the presence of state action, the initiation of the litigation itself can trigger First Amendment concerns." A hearing to consider those concerns is now set for Sept. 16. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/19/19...... Meanwhile, Prince's estate has won a $7 million judgement against a record label it claims is bootlegging the star's music. Court documents reveal that the estate sued Eye Records in Aug. 2018, claiming it was a "bootleg label dedicated to Prince," for allegedly releasing 18 Prince compilations since his death. These included live performances and unreleased tracks, and were allegedly released without the sufficient rights. The label used the online store newlovesigne.com to sell the music, according to the lawsuit. Prince's estate had requested $2 million per trademark violation, but they have now been awarded $7 million. - TMZ.com/NME, 6/20/19.
Three years after playing his final Bridge School Benefit concert in 2016, Neil Young has announced he'll be headlining a new charity show called the Harvest Moon Benefit concert on Sept. 14 at the Painted Turtle Camp, about an hour north of Los Angeles. Performances by Young, Father John Misty and Norah Jones will be set against the backdrop of the Los Angeles National Forest, with fans siting on a grassy hillside just a stones throw from the picturesque Lake Hughes. Harvest Moon will also raise money for the Painted Turtle, a non-profit providing children living with serious medical conditions a traditional camp experience, free of charge. From 1986-2016, Young's Bridge School Benefit concert series at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Calif., hosted more than 100 artists annually, including Paul McCartney, Elton John and Metallica to provide free education to children with severe speech and physical impediments. More info can be found at the HarvestMoonGathering.com website. - Billboard, 7/16/19...... In other Neil Young news, Young and his fellow iconic folk/rock superstar Bob Dylan 
Paul McCartney got by with a little help from his friend Ringo Starr on the final night of his "Freshen Up" US tour in at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 13 when the former Beatle 
After an intense search that included such high profile names as Harry Styles and Ansel Elgort, the producers of an upcoming Elvis Presley biopic have selected Austin Butler (TV's The Carrie Diaries and Arrow) to portray the King of Rock & Roll in the new project from Warner Bros. The movie, to be directed by Baz Luhrmann (Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby), is described as focusing on Elvis's rise and zenith, with a major aspect being his relationship with Col. Tom Parker. Tom Hanks is set to play Parker, the manager who controlled every aspect of Elvis' life. Luhrmann is also co-producing the feature with wife Catherine Martin. The two have been developing the project since the director wrapped up The Great Gatsby. "I knew I couldn't make this film if the casting wasn't absolutely right, and we searched thoroughly for an actor with the ability to evoke the singular natural movement and vocal qualities of this peerless star, but also the inner vulnerability of the artist," said Luhrmann in a statement. "Throughout the casting process, it was an honor for me to encounter such a vast array of talent. I had heard about Austin Butler from his stand-out role opposite Denzel Washington in 'The Iceman Cometh' on Broadway, and through a journey of extensive screen testing and music and performance workshops, I knew unequivocally that I had found someone who could embody the spirit of one of the world's most iconic musical figures." Austin Butler will also be seen in this summer's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood from director Quentin Tarantino. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/15/19...... Jerry Lawson, the original lead singer of the a cappella group The Persuasions, died on July 10 "after a long illness" at a hospice in Phoenix. He was 75 years old. Lawson co-founded the group in Brooklyn in 1962. Six years later, they signed a record deal with Frank Zappa's Straight Records label and released their debut album Acapella in 1970. They released 24 more albums before Lawson left in 2002, although a further three records featuring his voice were released after his departure. Lawson released his first and only solo album Just A Mortal Man in 2015. After quitting The Persuasions, he had moved to Arizona and begun working with disabled adults. A documentary about Lawson was already in the works before his death and is expected to be released later in 2019. Rod Stewart is among those who have paid tribute to the late singer. "After working together at the Hurricane Katrina Benefit Concert, I admired the undeniable depth in Jerry's big voice," he said in a statement. "A true soul singer." - New Musical Express, 7/12/19.
On July 10 former Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters announced a new Us + Them concert film which will be screened in select cinemas in the UK on Oct. 2 and Oct. 6. Waters wrapped his mammoth tour in Dec. 2018, performing for over two million people across 150 shows which spanned 18 months. The Us + Them film is co-directed by Waters and Sean Evans, who directed Waters' 2014 film Roger Waters: The Wall. Us + Them is comprised of footage from the four nights Waters and his band played at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome in June 2018, the film will also showcase the "state-of-the-art visual production and breath-taking sound" from the tour. - New Musical Express, 7/10/19...... Stage times for Bob Dylan and Neil Young's headlining sets at the Hyde Park Festival in London were announced on July 11. Young will be taking the main Great Oak stage on July 12 at 6 p.m. GMT, while Dylan will follow at 8:30 p.m. GMT. 65,000 people are expected to attend the mammoth event, which will also feature performances from the Doors, Sam Fender, Cat Power and Laura Marling Meanwhile, Young treated fans to a rare performance of his 1974 track "On the Beach" during a concert in Antwerp, Belgium on July 9. It was the first time Young had performed the track live in over 16 years, and the first time since the '70s that he performed it while backed by a full band. He also played a series of some of his biggest hits during the gig, including "Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)" and "Rockin' In The Free World" alongside the likes of "Mansion On The Hill" and "F---in' Up." - New Musical Express, 7/11/19...... Aerosmith was featured in the History Channel series American Pickers on July 8 as hosts Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz spotted the band's old tour van, a 1964 International Harvester Metro, on a property in Massachusetts. In the episode, Wolfe and Fritz drive the van to Las Vegas to show the legendary rock band their former travelling haunt. "I have some of my fondest memories in this van," Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer said in the episode, which is now available to watch online. Aerosmith are currently in the midst of their "Deuces Are Wild" residency in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry said in a new interview with Consequence of Sound that Aerosmith will be recording a new album "when the time is right." "I had just finished working on my last solo album [before the new Hollywood Vampires album], so I had been in the studio for the three or four months before we started on the Vampires record," Perry said. "So I was already rolling in the studio. It doesn't take much to get me going -- I love to record. So, when the time is right, Aerosmith will come around to do another record." Perry also weighed in on Aerosmith's Vegas residency. "We started talking about [the residency] a year ago, so it was a big production. So far, it seems to be working. I'm pretty surprised, if you wanna know the truth." - Billboard, 7/9/19...... Willie Nelson announced on July 9 his 34th annual Farm Aid benefit concert will be staged on Sept. 21 at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. Bonnie Raitt, Margo Price and Tanya Tucker will be headlining along Willie and his fellow Farm Aid co-founders, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. LiveNation.com will place tickets for Farm Aid 2019 on sale at 10 a.m. CT on July 12. A limited number of pre-sale tickets will be available at 10 a.m. CT on July 10 at FarmAid.org/festival. Farm Aid, the longest-running concert for a cause, was first staged by Nelson and his fellow musicians at a time when a wave of foreclosures were pushing family farmers off their land. Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised $53 million for programs to benefit family farmers and to support a family farm-centered food system in the U.S. - Billboard, 7/9/19...... 
The beleaguered Woodstock 50 festival co-organized by original Woodstock promoter Michael Lang could be about to make its last stand as they appeal a denial by an inspector in Vernon, N.Y. of their application to stage the festival. On July 11, organizers refiled their application for a temporary event permit after city officials denied the permit without comment or opportunity, other than saying it was "incomplete and filed too late." According to one source, local laws in Vernon say the application needed to be filed 120 days before the start of the event, which would mean it was due on Apr. 18 when Woodstock 50 was still a sketchy idea but still had its original financial backers, a venue in Watkins Glen New York and Superfly as a producer. Lang has been instructed by the team now trying to pull off the event to stop making statements to the press and city officials. Vernon Downs is the second location Woodstock 50 has tried to secure as a venue. Its original venue, Watkins Glen International, rescinded the event's permit application on June 10 with less than 70 days to go. That followed a number of setbacks for the festival, which started in late April when its investor Dentsu pulled out from the festival and then Lang and Peck lost a string of court hearings aimed at retaining the financer's promised funds. - Billboard, 7/10/19...... David Crosby's new biopic, David Crosby: Remember My Name' Is a Bittersweet, hits theaters on July 19, but don't expect to see new footage of Crosby's closest collaborators in the film. All of Crosby's Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmates appear in individual archival audio and video footage to comment on him. As of 2000, Neil Young wants nothing to do with him because of a misunderstanding gone awry. Graham Nash matter-of-factly tells Paul Shaffer in a 2018 interview that his 40-year friendship with Crosby is over for good, and Stephen Stills is never heard from. Crosby reveals with palpable twinges of hurt that none of his former bandmates want to talk to him, and the feelings will never change. "Music is the only thing I have to offer," Crosby says in the documentary. He's bothered by the present, haunted by the past. He doesn't have an answer as to why he made it to old age and many of his contemporaries did not. "Time is the final currency," he muses. "How do you spend it?" So Crosby continues to grind it out on the road with backup musicians half his age, tweets like a millennial and recently completed a new album. Cocaine has been replaced by prescription medication that he must take in nondescript hotel rooms. End or no, you have to admire that Crosby's still determined to teach the children well. - Billboard, 7/10/19...... Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson recreated their A Star Is Born magic at the British Summer Time Hyde Park festival on July 7 in London when they duetted on their 1976 tear-jerker 
The Mattel toy company announced on July 11 that their iconic Barbie doll will honor David Bowie's legacy with a new collectible 
Jackson Browne has teamed up with Leslie Mendelson for a new song called "A Human Touch" that appears in the end credits of 5B, a new documentary about the San Francisco General Hospital AIDS ward during the early '80s and how nurses and doctors there learned how to best treat patients during the burgeoning epidemic. Browne says "A Human Touch" was "an assignment offered to me that I didn't want to take." But now he says he's glad he did. "It was an interesting thing to collaborate on a subject like this," explains Browne, who first met with Mendelson and her regular collaborator Steve McEwan last December. "In very few cases and very few times have I gotten into a discussion with anybody about a line and what it's supposed to mean. Some of these songs can be indistinct in their meaning. We really got into every line and nearly every word in depth to make sure it was what we wanted to say and convey in the song, because (5B) is such a human movie and really shows the courage and humanity of these nurses and the hospital staff and the population of people who were just suddenly struck by this epidemic and were devastated by it." Meanwhile, a new "A Human Touch" video has been released that intersperses scenes from the movie with Browne and Mendelson performing the song in Santa Fe, N.M., while Browne was visiting one of his sons and his family there. Browne, who's back on the road in August including three dates at the Venetian in Las Vegas, says he's hoping to write more with Mendelson and McEwan in the future. - Billboard, 7/9/19...... The very first managment contract signed by the Beatles on Jan. 24, 1962, has sold for $347,875 at a Sotheby's auction benefitting the Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation. The document was signed by principal members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and original drummer Pete Best for the services of manager Brian Epstein. The contract guaranteed Epstein -- who died of a drug overdose in Aug. 1967 -- a 10% fee that would rise to 15% if the band's income exceeded $150 a week; McCartney had negotiated the fee down from 20%. "This contract was a transformative document not only for The Beatles, but also for the 1960s and popular culture of the time," said Sotheby's Books and Manuscripts specialist Gabriel Heaton. In other Beatles-related news, five of the Fab Four's songs have re-entered the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart for the week ending July 13 following the theatrical release of the Beatles-themed movie Yesterday, which premiered on June 28 and features many of the band's iconic tracks. The songs include "Here Comes the Sun," "Let It Be," "Hey Jude" and "Come Together." Yesterday actor Himesh Patel version of "Yesterday" from the film has also bowed on the chart at No. 37. - Billboard, 7/10/19...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Paul McCartney's fashion designer daughter Stella McCartney has drawn directly on the Beatles' musical messages of peace, love and understanding for her fall 2019 menswear and pre-fall 2019 womenswear collections. On July 8, Stella released an 85-piece "All Together Now" collection of apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Her website refers to the collection as "a fun, uplifting and hopeful statement of unity at a time when it feels more important than ever." The line, ranging from $295 to $6,840, features the film s psychedelic graphics including yellow submarines and Lucy (in the sky with diamonds, natch) as well as song lyrics such as "All You Need Is Love" on a sweater and "All Together Now" embroidered on a jean jacket. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/9/19...... 
Steve Miller has shared an alternate version of his 1977 hit "Swingtown" as he prepares to release his upcoming rarities box set 
During a concert at London's BST Festival on July 6, Stevie Wonder took a moment to reveal that he's taking a break from performing to undergo a kidney transplant this September. "I'm all good, I'm all good, all good, I have a donor and it's all good," the Motown legend assured fans after informing them of the upcoming surgery. "I want you to know, I came here to give you my love and thank you for your love. You ain't got to hear no rumors. I told you what's up. I am good. I love you and God bless you." Wonder, 69, said he'll be performing three more shows before going on hiatus to receive the procedure. - Billboard, 7/6/19...... Rock & roll pioneer Dave Bartholomew was laid to rest at a New Orleans funeral on July 8 after passing away at age 100 on June 23 at a suburban New Orleans hospital. Along with Fats Domino, Bartholomew co-wrote and produced such Domino classics as "Ain't That a Shame," "I'm Walkin'" and "Let the Four Winds Blow." Bartholomew was a trumpet player since childhood and a bandleader and arranger before World War II. He befriended Domino in the late 1940s and they collaborated on dozens of hits that captured Domino s good-natured appeal, made him one of rock s earliest stars and made New Orleans a popular music center. - AP, 7/8/19...... James Henke, the first curator at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, died on July 8 after a long battle with dementia. He was 65. Henke joined the Rock Hall before the groundbreaking on the repository of musical treasures designed by famed architect I.M. Pei had even taken place, following a 16-year run at Rolling Stone magazine, where he was credited with helping to write landmark stories on everyone from U2 -- penning the first major profile of the group in the U.S. before the release of their 1981 debut, Boy -- to Bruce Springsteen and The Clash. "Jim was a friend for many years and I owe him for his stewardship of the Rolling Stone music section for many years and then taking the responsibility of helping to found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner said in a statement. "He will be missed by all of us." - Billboard, 7/9/19...... Legendary actor Rip Torn passed away on July 9 at his home in Lakeville, Conn. He was 88. Mr. Torn won an Emmy for his portrayal of the deliciously devious producer Artie on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show and is also known for his work on Broadway, being a Tony-nominated actor who appeared on the Great White Way ten times. He is survived by his wife Amy Wright, their daughter Katie Torn, and his daughter with former wife and actress Geraldine Page, Angelica Page. - JustJared.com, 7/9/19...... Robert Rackstraw, the lead suspect in the notorious 1971 DB Cooper 
In a new interview with Billboard, The Who's Roger Daltrey says he expects that age will claim his voice in the next few years. "Obviously within the next five years I think my voice will go. Age will get it in the end." But, Datrey adds, "It's still there at the moment," and says he plans on getting the most out of with the time he has left. In June, Daltrey released a live album from his tour performing the Who's iconic rock opera Tommy with symphony orchestras, after releasing his first new solo album (As Long As I Have You) in 26 years in 2018 and publishing a memoir (Thanks a Lot, Mr. Kibblewhite). As the iconic 1969 Woodstock festival approaches its 50th anniversary, Daltrey also reminisced about the Who's performance. "Once we got to 'See Me, Feel Me' it was sunrise and the sun just peeked itself over the horizon," he recalls. "You couldn't have planned it better. It was just magical." Daltrey also talked about the Who's new studio album, which has no title or release date yet. "It's turning out really much better than I ever thought it could be," he says. He reports there are nine tracks "that are absolutely fabulous," some of which will also be orchestrated, and he expects the group to add one or two more songs before it's finished. The Who's summer "Moving On!" tour schedule includes a huge show at London's Wembley Stadium on July 6, backed by a symphony orchestra and with special guests Kaiser Chiefs, Eddie Vedder, Imelda May and Connor Selby. The show comes only a day after Pete Townshend confirmed the death of the band's long-term guitar technician, Alan Rogan. Townshend described Rogan as "my guitar tech, friend, saviour and good buddy... (he) was an essential and hugely respected member of the Who crew for many years and will be sorely missed." Rogan, who also did guitar maintenance for Aerosmith, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards, has been described as "the greatest guitar tech of all time." - Billboard/NME, 7/3/19...... An official in Oneida County, N.Y., where the Woodstock 50 festival is scheduled to be held on Aug. 16-18 released a statement on July 2 saying hosting the festival "could pose a significant challenge." County Executive Anthony Picente says preparing for the health and safety of residents and concert goers with the event just over a month away will be challenging. "With the event just a little over a month away, we have been asked to prepare in just days what has failed to get done in over a year of negotiations and preparations at the previous location," Picente noted. "With such a short time frame, the logistical hurdles to ensure the public health and safety of the concertgoers and the surrounding community could pose a significant challenge. In light of the hundreds of thousands that turned out for the original 1969 festival our first and foremost concern is for the safety and welfare of Oneida County residents," he added. The Woodstock 50 festival has faced a series of setbacks, including the losses of a financial partner, a production company and original site, Watkins Glen International. A mass gathering permit application for the Vernon Downs harness track and casino in Vernon, N.Y., was recently filed after operators of the original festival site pulled out in June. - AP, 7/2/19...... 
Motown legend Smokey Robinson recently traveled to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., to entertain its young patients. In a heartwarming new video, posted on 
Irish-born and English-reared singer Gilbert O'Sullivan of 
Meanwhile, as the 50th anniversary of the death of Jones came on July 3, Jones' daughter Barbara Marion told the UK's Sky News she thinks her father could have been murdered. Describing his death as a "bit of a mystery, Marion said: "I think he was murdered and I think the police did not investigate it the way they should have. I would love to have them reopen [the case] and to get some answers." In 1969, a coroner recorded the death of the co-founding Stones member, who was found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool at Cotchford Farm in East Sussex, as a result of "misadventure." In March of this year, Sussex Police said: "From time to time over the past 49 years Sussex Police have also received messages or reports from journalists and other individuals about the death. Each is considered on its individual merits and reviewed wherever appropriate. No such report has been received since 2010 and no new evidence has emerged to suggest that the coroner's original verdict of 'death by misadventure' was incorrect. The case has not been reopened and there are no plans for that to happen." - New Musical Express, 7/5/19...... A copyright court case over Ed Sheeran allegedly copying Marvin Gaye's iconic 1973 single 
As a Linda McCartney photo retrospective exhibition prepares to open in Glasgow later this summer, Paul McCartney remembered his first wife during an interview with the BBC on July 5. "Both my mum and Linda died of breast cancer. We had no idea what my mum had died of because no-one talked about it. She just died." Sir Paul continued: "The worse thing about that was everyone was very stoic, everyone kept a stiff upper lip and then one evening you'd hear my dad crying in the next room. It was tragic because we'd never heard him cry. It was a quiet private kind of grief." Macca said he "cried for about a year, on and off." "You expect to see them walk in, this person you love, because you are so used to them," he said. "I cried a lot. It was almost embarrassing except it seemed the only thing to do." Paul also spoke of Linda's photography: "When she came to Britain and we got to together the greatest thing about it was we both wanted to be free. We did what we wanted and she took pictures of it all." Linda McCartney died after a battle with breast cancer on Apr. 17, 1998, at age 56. - New Musical Express, 7/5/19...... Comic Arte Johnson, best known for the hilarous characters he created for the 1960 comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, died on July 3 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of heart failure following a three-year battle with bladder and prostate cancer, his family announced. He was 90. The 5-foot-4 Mr. Johnson, a master of ad libs, double-talk and dialects who once said he was content to be a "second banana," cracked up Laugh-In audiences with his portrayal of Wolfgang, a former German storm trooper who muttered "Verry interesting" to the most cracked proposals (or, "Verry interesting -- but stupid"). Mr. Johnson said he got the idea for the character while watching Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan battle the Nazis in the 1942 movie Desperate Journey. Mr. Johnson had a repertoire of more than 60 comic characters, including Piotr Rosmenko, an Eastern European song-and-dance man; Rabbi Shankar, an addled Indian guru; and a man in a yellow raincoat who could not help falling off his tricycle. Mr. Johnson came to Los Angeles in 1955 as a singer and appeared on such shows as Make Room for Daddy, Sally, The Twilight Zone, The Red Skelton Hour, The Andy Griffith Show and McHale's Navy and in the films Miracle in the Rain (1956), The Subterraneans (1960), The Third Day (1965) -- as a neurotic killer -- and The President's Analyst (1967). His versatile vocal creations led to work in scores of commercials over the years. Producer George Schlatter was impressed with his humorous characterizations and impersonations and asked Johnson to try out for Laugh-In, which debuted in September 1968. In the 1970s for NBC, Johnson headlined his own special, Verry Interesting; starred in the telefilm Call Holme, a comedy mystery that utilized his propensity for disguises and accents; and served as master of ceremonies for the quiz show Knockout. In 1968, Johnson married a German woman, Gisela, and picked up a love of needlepoint from her. She survives him, as does his brother. Donations in his name can be made to Actors & Others for Animals. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/3/19...... 
It has been revealed that Mad magazine, the irreverent and highly influential satirical comic that gave the world Alfred E. Neuman, will effectively cease publication some time later in 2019, after 67 years in existence. According to sources, Mad will no longer be sold on newsstands after the August issue, and will only be available through comic book shops as well as mailed to subscribers. After the September issue, there will no longer be new content save for the end-of-year specials. Beginning with the October issue, the magazine will only feature previously published content -- classic and best-of nostalgic fare -- from its massive vault of material from the past 67 years. DC, however, will continue to publish Mad books and special collections. The venerable humor magazine was founded in 1952 by a group of editors led by Harvey Kurtzman. Although it began as a comic book, bimonthly issues were published and became the norm for the satirical content. Mad, with it's always memorable covers featuring the gap-toothed Alfred E. Neuman, has been highly influential for successive generations of comedians, artists, writers and performers. The news of Mad's closure has already led to reaction on social media, with a host of comedy heavyweights sharing their sorrow, how the mag influenced them and their favorite bits over the years. "I am profoundly sad to hear that after 67 years, Mad Magazine is ceasing publication," tweeted pop music satirist Weird Al Yankovic. "I can't begin to describe the impact it had on me as a young kid it's pretty much the reason I turned out weird. Goodbye to one of the all-time greatest American institutions. #ThanksMAD." DC Entertainment, the publishers of Mad, declined to comment. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/3/19...... Auto industry legend Lee Iacocca, best remembered as the man who was the driving force behind the Ford Mustang and as Chrysler CEO who managed to save the company from near-certain destruction in the early 1980s, died on July 2 at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, Calif. He was 94. Mr. Iacocca also was likely the only auto executive to have a best-selling autobiography, and was the driving force behind the modern rebirth of the minivan while at Chrysler. He had his share of controversy as well, getting fired from his position as president of Ford as the result of the fallout from the Ford Pinto's exploding fuel tank scandal, the risks of which Ford (and Iacocca) were aware of before the car went to market. Outside of the automotive business, Mr. Iacocca was appointed by Pres. Ronald Reagan to head the foundation to raise funds for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty, and founded the Olivio company, which makes olive oil-derived food products and donates all the profits to diabetes research. He also appeared on an episode of Miami Vice, as a park commissioner. - Jalopnik.com, 7/2/19.
On July 1, a new biographical Broadway musical telling the life story of Neil Diamond was announced by producers Ken Davenport and Bob Gaudio. The as yet untitled musical, directed by Michael Mayer, will consist of the veteran singer's greatest hits and is based on a book by writer Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody, The Theory of Everything). The musical will follow Diamond's journey throughout his life, from poor kid in Brooklyn to one of the greatest showmen in rock 'n' roll history. In a statement, Diamond said he's "always loved Broadway." "The inspiration for many of my early songs came from shows like 'West Side Story', 'My Fair Lady' and 'Fiddler on the Roof', so it seems only fitting to bring my songs to The Great White Way. I'm honored and excited to be working with this great team," he noted. Additional details will be announced soon. - Billboard, 7/1/19...... As the new Cameron Crowe-produced David Crosby documentary David Crosby: Remember My Name prepares to hit U.S. theaters on July 19, Crosby says he hopes the film will serve as "an apology" to fans for the mistakes he's made throughout his life. "It's a very difficult film for me, playing a flawed human being, highly imperfect -- sometimes an asshole," Crosby says. "Lots of mistakes. If you are trying to look at me as a whole picture, you can't leave that stuff out, because otherwise it's like cooking the meat and no salt." Crosby and Crowe have known each other since 1974, when then writer Crowe interviewed the rock superstar for a Rolling Stone magazine profile. Like most "Croz"'s friends and close observers, Crowe says he held little hope for a long run for the musician. "I ran into him probably four or five times between '78 and '93, where I really thought it would be the last time," Crowe says. "He felt a bit like an empty shell. I would see him at one of those [local school] events and he gave you this look like, 'Travel safely, my friend.' You go, oh, shoot, kiss it goodbye. Then a year later, he's back." The 95-minute picture debuted to a strong reception at the Sundance Film Festival earlier in 2019 and was quickly picked up by Sony Pictures Classics for release. - Billboard, 7/1/19...... A GoFundMe campaign has been launched by fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd to erect two Mississippi Blues Trail markers to commemorate the 1977 plane crash that killed three members of the legendary Southern rock band, their road managers and two pilots. According to a local paper, the markers will be unveiled in October, 42 years after the tragic accident -- one near the crash site in Gillsburg and the other at Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in McComb, where survivors were treated. Mississippian Skynyrd fan Mike Rounsaville, who is organizing the campaign, says his GoFundMe page has already reached $10,000 in donations. The Florida-based band is touring Europe and the U.S. in 2019. - AP, 6/29/19...... In related news, Yusuf/Cat Stevens is among the musicians participating in a crowdfunding campaign to help restore and preserve late singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone's childhood home in Tryon, N.C. The clapboard pier and beam house, which has been designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, helped inspire some of Simone's most powerful work, including the songs "Mississippi Goddam" and "Four Women." The National Trust is also taking the Simone crowdfunding campaign on the road, bringing it to the 25th annual Essence Festival in New Orleans (July 5-7). - Billboard, 7/1/19...... Bette Midler reacted to Pres. Donald Trump's recent tweet calling the singer a "washed-up psycho" on June 4 during a performance before a raucous crowd at the Javits Center in New York during her headlining set at New York's World Pride main event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riot. Midler joked that she was surprised she was even invited after Trump's harsh lambasting on Twitter. "Just two weeks ago, I was a washed-up psycho," she quipped. "Happily, I have recovered completely, and there's something that I learned from my president's lunatic attack," she added, before dropping into her beloved hit "Friends." "I am not alone," Midler sang. "When he tweets me and derides me/ As he sits there on the throne/ At one thirty in the f---ing morning/ What is he doing?... he had just had dinner with the queen. He doesn't drink, but of course he is 73, so I'm sure he had to pee all night long. There he is sitting on the throne, got nothing better to do but call me a 'washed-up psycho.'" In June, Midler tweeted an apology for a previous statement she had erroneously attributed to Trump. "I apologize; this quote turns out to be a fake from way back in '15-16. Don't know how I missed it, but it sounds SO much like him that I believed it was true!" the singer-actress wrote. - Billboard, 7/1/19...... 
Meanwhile, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are blasting Pres. Trump's use of Ozzy's solo hit "Crazy Train" in a Twitter post about the recent Democratic presidential debate on June 27. Trump tweeted a doctored video that marries Osbourne's 1980 single with footage of a technical glitch that occurred at last night's Democratic primary debate in an effort to mock the participants. The video culminates with footage of Trump on a stage before ending with a plug for Trump's 2020 campaign. "Based on this morning's unauthorized use of Ozzy Osbourne's 'Crazy Train,' we are sending notice to the Trump campaign (or any other campaigns) that they are forbidden from using any of Ozzy Osbourne's music in political ads or in any political campaigns," said Sharon -- who notably appeared on Season 9 of Trump's NBC series The Celebrity Apprentice -- in a statement on behalf of her husband. "Ozzy's music cannot be used for any means without approvals. In the meantime, I have a suggestion for Mr. Trump -- perhaps he should reach out to some of his musician friends. Maybe Kayne West ('Gold Digger'), Kid Rock ('I Am the Bullgod') or Ted Nugent ('Stranglehold') will allow use of their music." Previously, such major rock stars as Queen, Neil Young, Aerosmith and R.E.M. have protested the president's use of their songs at Trump events. - Billboard, 6/27/19...... In other Black Sabbath-related news, the band's Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler admitted that they "don't listen to modern heavy metal" during the opening of a new Black Sabbath exhibition in their hometown of Birmingham, UK on June 26. "I don't particularly [listen to modern metal," said Butler. "The Beatles, The Stones and The Kinks, that's my kind of music." "I tend to listen to the more older stuff really. More the classic stuff than the newer stuff because I relate to that more," Iommi added. The "Home Of Metal: Black Sabbath at 50" exhibition, will celebrate how the West Midlands band pioneered heavy metal before it spread across the globe. While Sabbath played their last gig in 2017, Ozzy Osbourne recently admitted he's hoping for one last gig with ousted drummer Bill Ward. - New Musical Express, 6/27/19...... In other Heavy Metal news, the University of Newcastle in Australia has just announced a scholarship for a PhD student to study "Heavy Metal Geographies." The scholarship is worth $27,596AUD (£15,256), and would allow the successful applicant to research "the social geography of heavy metal culture." For the metal degree, the course description reads: "While unique scenes have evolved across the globe, the bulk of Heavy Metal's bands have originated within countries in the northern latitudes. "Australia is uniquely positioned within this global evolution, owing to its historical connection to the United Kingdom and shared cultural affinities with its colonial originator. While remote from the geographical heart of Heavy Metal culture, Australia has developed its own unique and passionate approach, producing a number of high profile bands." - NME, 6/27/19...... During his second show in Las Vegas on his "Freshen Up Tour" on June 28, Paul McCartney brought out another famous rocker, Steven Tyler, to scream through what is probably the fiercest rocker in the Beatles' canon, "Helter Skelter." Tyler -- who's back in Vegas for his "Deuces Are Wild" residency with Aerosmith -- spent his night off enjoying the music of Macca. Before he hopped onstage to belt out "Helter Skelter" with McCartney, Tyler broadcast his joy to his followers through his 
The Beach Boys singer Mike Love announced on June 28 that he'll be releasing a new solo album on July 19 entitled 
On June 24, Eagles member Joe Walsh revealed in a mysterious post on his Instagram account that he and AC/DC singer Brian Johnson have been doing some recording in the studio. Walsh posted a photo of the pair together, along with a caption reading: "Great day making music today with my old pal Brian in London. We nailed it! Love ya man!" Walsh didn't give any further details about the collaboration, but it follows the pair making an impromptu song for Johnson's TV series A Life On The Road, in which the singer discusses the careers of several musicians, including Walsh. In their episode, Walsh talked about his career in the Eagles and his early band the James Gang. It has been speculated that the pair will record a studio version of their song from A Life On The Road, and that they have since been writing new music together. - New Musical Express, 6/27/19...... The Allman Brothers Band spinoff group the Allman Betts Band released their debut album,