Warner Bros. Pictures announced on Aug. 19 that it has acquired the release rights to the Bruce Springsteen documentary Western Stars. The studio will release Western Stars, which is also the musician's directoral debut, in U.S. theaters this fall, following its world premiere at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival. The documentary, which was co-directed by Thom Zimny, features archival footage and personal narration, as well as the New Jersey rocker performing all 13 songs on Western Stars, his first studio album in five years and on which he is backed by a band and a full orchestra in his historic nearly 100-year-old barn. The first official trailer for the film was released on Aug. 19. The Western Stars doc is slated for an October 2019 release, though an exact date has yet to be announced. It comes on the heels of another Springsteen-centric Warner Bros. film, Blinded by the Light, which hit theaters Aug. 16. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/19/19...... 
After Tony-nominated producer Matthew Weaver, who made his mark on Broadway with the "Rock of Ages" musical, acquired the stage rights to adapt Soul Train into a musical back in 2014, the production is eyeing an official 2021 debut in celebration of the iconic '70s TV dance show's 50th anniversary. The "Soul Train" musical will tell the personal story of late host Don Cornelius through more than 20 classic dance songs from the era as he crafts the famed show. Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of The Roots, who is a four-time Grammy winner and author of Soul Train: The Music, Dance, and Style of a Generation, has signed on as an executive producer. Cornelius' son Tony Cornelius, CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker and Live Nation Urban president Shawn Gee will also executive produce the musical. Since its debut in 1971, Soul Train featured performances by R&B, pop, soul and hip-hop artists, in addition to occasional funk, jazz, disco and gospel performers, introducing new dance moves and styles on a weekly basis. The final episode was broadcast in 2006. In 2016, BET Networks acquired the Soul Train brand and is home to the annual Soul Train Awards, which honor the best in urban music and entertainment. BET also airs the period drama American Soul, based on the rise of Soul Train. The scripted original has been picked up for a second season by the network. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/20/19...... The U.S. Department of Justice has sided with Led Zeppelin in a long-running copyright feud surrounding their iconic hit "Stairway To Heaven." The DOJ filed an amicus brief on Aug. 15 which supports the classic rock icons' claim that they didn't steal the "guitar line and melody" from an instrumental track called "Taurus" originally penned by late Spirit guitarist Randy California and which appeared on Spirit's 1968 debut album. The case was reopened when a San Francisco court subsequently ruled that an earlier trial should have heard the two songs, instead of having a jury making their ruling based on the musical score or sheet music which showed chords and scale. In its brief, the DOJ says that the initial trial judge was correct when he ruled that only the song's sheet music was subject to copyright protection, as the song itself was written before a 1972 law which protected sound recordings. They added that the contentious sections of the song are only worthy of protection if they sound identical. Earlier in August, Led Zeppelin's position was supported by such acts as Korn, Tool, Judas Priest, Linkin Park when they signed a brief in support of Led Zep. The case is scheduled to be re-heard in late September in San Francisco. - New Musical Express, 8/17/19...... 
David Bowie's son Duncan Jones has posted to Twitter the first photo of actor Johnny Flynn transformed into David Bowie for the upcoming Bowie biopic Stardust. In the first photo from production, Flynn is seen evoking a young Bowie as he sits in a diner while smoking a cigarette. As well as sporting shoulder-length blonde locks, Flynn wears a purple turtleneck jumper and black fedora. Stardust, announced earlier in 2019, sees Flynn portray Bowie as he heads to America in 1971 with struggling publicist Ron Oberman (Marc Maron), "only to be met with a world not yet ready for him." The trip reportedly inspired the creation of his famous Ziggy Stardust persona. Although Stardust is due in 2021, Jones and the rest of Bowie's family have distanced themselves entirely from the production. "Pretty certain nobody has been granted music rights for ANY biopic I would know," Jones previously posted on Twitter. "I'm not saying this movie is not happening. I honestly wouldn't know. I'm saying that as it stands, this movie won't have any of dad's music in it, & I can't imagine that changing. If you want to see a biopic without his music or the family's blessing, that's up to the audience," he added. An official release date for Stardust has not yet been announced. - New Musical Express, 8/20/19...... Paul Simon is supporting the efforts of environmentalists trying to reinvigorate a forest on the Hawaiian island of Maui by planting a tree during a ceremony on Aug. 16. According to a local paper, Simon visited Auwahi Forest Restoration Project with volunteers who are trying to revive plant life in the area and helped plant a lama tree, participating in chants with the group after a helicopter tour that he called "awe-inspiring" and "life-changing." Simon inserted the plant and a scroll into a hole before refilling the soil and speaking with group members. "To even sit with you guys and be in the same community is such a privilege," said Simon, a part-time resident of Maui. Simon also performed two environmental benefit concerts at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center earlier in the week that drew more than 8,000 attendees. He announced he plans to donate the proceeds to the Auwahi project and the Hawaii environmental group Kuaaina Ulu Auamo. - AP, 8/19/19...... Carlos Santana is among eight music acts just named to the inaugural Ambassadors Council for the House of Blues Music Forward Foundation, a nonprofit arm of the live entertainment/restaurant chain. The MFF offers free vocational training in the music industry to young people living in diverse and underserved communities. Each of the Ambassadors, which also includes Khalid, Benny Blanco, Martina McBride and the rock band Umphrey's McGee, will contribute to the cause by mentoring aspiring artists, speaking at educational workshops, donating funds from ticket sales and providing exclusive memorabilia for auction, among other things. - Billboard, 8/20/19...... 
Fans of Elvis Presley made their annual pilgrimage to the late King of Rock & Roll's grave at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn., during the third week of August to participate in a vigil commemorating his death 42 years ago. The vigil was the cornerstone of Elvis Week, as silent mourners filed slowly past his resting place and the graves of his parents and grandmother in the Meditation Garden a Graceland. The vigil started on the evening of Aug. 15 and runs throughout the night into Aug. 16. Presley died on Aug. 16, 1977, and his Graceland attraction draws about 500,000 visitors annually. On Aug. 9, RCA/Legacy released Live 1969, an 11-disc set featuring 11 full shows from his sold-out run at Las Vegas's International Hotel that year. - AP, 8/16/19...... In other Elvis news, the streaming platform Netflix has added Presley to its roster of animated series. On Aug. 16, it announced it has ordered an adult animated show called Agent King, which imagines Elvis trading his white jumpsuit for a jet pack as he's inducted into a secret government spy program to help battle dark forces that threaten the country he loves -- all while holding down his day job as the most famous rock 'n' roll star on the planet. Agent King comes from Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures TV and Authentic Brands Group. Presley's ex-wife Priscilla Presley and John Eddie will serve as co-creators and executive producers, and Archer veteran Mike Arnold will write and produce. "From the time Elvis was a young boy he always dreamed of being the superhero fighting crime and saving the world!" said Priscilla Presley, who was married to Elvis from 1967-73. "Agent King lets him do just that. My co-creator John Eddie and I are so excited to be working with Netflix and Sony Animation on this amazing project and getting the chance to show the world an Elvis they haven't seen before." - Billboard, 8/16/19...... Neil Young announced on his Archives website on Aug. 17 that "Rainbow of Colors," the first single from his upcoming album with Crazy Horse, will be released later in August. "Rainbow of Colors" will be featured on Colorado, Young's first new record with Crazy Horse since 2012's Psychedelic Pill. In the post, Young revealed that Colorado will arrive in October and feature "10 new songs ranging from around 3 minutes to over 13 minutes." Besides CD and digital versions of the record, there will also be a double vinyl release comprising three sides of music and a 7" exclusive single not on the album. Earlier in August, Young announced he was postponing all tour plans for the rest of the year to focus on a whopping 15 film projects including a documentary on the making of Colorado. - New Musical Express, 8/19/19...... Original Woodstock veteran Arlo Guthrie delivered a rendition of the iconic Bob Dylan anthem "The Times They Are a-Changin'" at the original site of the 1969 Woodstock festival on Aug. 15 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. Guthrie played an evening set atop the famous hill near the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, but said he also wanted to play at least one song near where the 1969 stage was located. Picking up a guitar, he sang the Dylan classic for a group of reporters gathered on the grass under the wilting afternoon sun. The Bethel Woods Center hosted a series of Woodstock events from Aug. 15 through Aug. 18, with concerts also by festival veterans like Carlos Santana and John Fogerty. "[Woodstock] was a great time," Guthrie told reporters, his long white hair flowing from a straw hat. "For me, the Woodstock festival was a celebratory end of an era. It was not the beginning of anything. It was the end of something, and it was an end of a very turbulent time that was also very wonderful." - AP, 8/16/19...... 
Elton John is defending Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle over their use of private jets, confirming on Aug. 20 that he personally shelled out for a private flight so the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could "maintain a high level of much-needed protection." Elton defended the pair against what he called "relentless and untrue assassinations on their character," after the couple faced intense criticism in the British tabloids for reportedly travelling on four private jets in 11 days, despite being outspoken advocates on environmental issues. Posting on Twitter, John said he ensured the flight was carbon neutral by making an "appropriate contribution" to a carbon footprint fund. "I am deeply distressed by today's distorted and malicious account in the press surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's private stay at my home in Nice last week," he wrote. "Prince Harry's mother, Diana Princess Of Wales was one of my dearest friends. I feel a profound sense of obligation to protect Harry and his family from the unnecessary press intrusion that contributed to Diana's untimely death," he added. Prince Harry has been vocal about the effects of environmental damage, writing on Instagram in July: "Only now are we starting to notice and understand the damage that we've been causing. With nearly 7.7 billion people inhabiting this Earth, every choice, every footprint, every action makes a difference." - New Musical Express, 8/20/19...... Motown legend Smokey Robinson participated in a "Soul Music Riff-Off" with Late Late Show host James Corden on the Aug. 14 episode of the CBS late night talk show. The segment opened with Corden sitting alone at his desk. He told the audience that he had recently watched Showtime's upcoming documentary Hitsville: The Making of Motown, which he praised. Corden then shared his controversial opinion that new soul music is better than the original stuff. "I'm talking Usher, Bruno Mars, Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill," Corden said. "I feel like new soul has a better sound." Smokey Robinson then walked onstage to challenge Corden's view. "I heard you've been telling people that modern soul music is better than classic soul music," said Robinson. "Classic soul music is my thing, man." Robinson soon challenged Corden to a classic soul vs. modern soul riff-off, with Corden performing Bruno Mars' "Finesse." Following the host's number, Robinson sang The Temptations' "Get Ready." The riff-off concluded with the two singing "My Girl" with the audience joining the singer, host and an a capella group. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/15/19...... The Grateful Dead spinoff band Dead and Company have added a new string of fall tour dates on the East Coast, which will bring the legendary jam band to New York and Virginia in late October and November. The trek will kick off on Halloween (Oct. 31) with the first of two nights at Madison Square Garden in New York, followed by a Nov. 1 Madison Square Garden gig and then two nights at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va., on Nov. 8 and 9. Dead and Company is made up of Grateful Dead veterans guitarist/singer Bob Weir, drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, along with guitarist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and singer/guitarist John Mayer. - Billboard, 8/15/19...... 
Def Leppard debuted its new 12-show residency at Planet Hollywood's Zappos Theater in Las Vegas on Aug. 14. Frontman Joe Elliott, who was performing his first gig since turning 60, said that "legacy artists and great music doesn't have an age on it anymore, it's like fine wine, it doesn't matter." "And these songs are now appealing to young kids," he added, noting that he consistently gets commentary on his Planet Rock radio show from teenage fans who have discovered Def Leppard by raiding their parents' record collections. Indeed, the Aug. 14 show was attended by a multi-gen audience, which ranged from teens to seniors, who rocked through the band's almost two-hour long set. It was filled with big moments, including two songs that the band has never played before in concert: "Let Me Be the One" from 2002's X album and "We Belong" from 2015's Def Leppard; as well as "Have You Ever Been," which they hadn't played in 25 years. "We dug deep into our catalog and we're going back [as recent as] the latest album," Elliott says. "And songs from High 'n' Dry that we don't play on a regular basis, songs from Pyromania that we haven't played in decades, and a couple of songs we've never played at all," he added. In addition to Elliott, Def Leppard's current lineup includes one-handed drummer Rick Allen and guitarists Phil Collen, Rick Savage and Vivian Campbell. - Billboard, 8/15/19...... Judas Priest's Glenn Tipton has thanked fans and his bandmates for helping to raise $150,000 for his Parkinson's disease foundation. Fans have purchased special T-shirts to support the cause, which Tipton launched in 2018 after announcing he had been battling the condition for a decade. "I'd like to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who bought The Glenn Tipton Parkinson's Foundation charity t-shirts throughout the various tour legs," Tipton wrote on Twitter. "I'd also like to thank [Judas Priest members] Rob, Ian, Richie, Scott and Andy -- the donations are building up nicely and that wouldn't have been possible without all the hard work from the guys in the band and the crew who went onstage every night and helped raise money for a great cause." Tipton says all proceeds from the foundation will benefit a pioneering new treatment called MR-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy, which helps Parkinson's sufferers control their tremors. - WENN/Canoe.com, 8/16/19...... During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Aug. 16, Happy Days star Henry Winkler recalled how he once saved a suicidal teenager with a phone call. Winkler says he was shooting an episode of Happy Days when an Illinois state trooper asked him to help talk an aspiring actor down from a high-rise ledge he was planning to jump from. "The phone rings and they say, 'Henry, it's a call for you,'" Winkler recalled. "I walked over to the phone and the man said 'I'm sorry to bother you. I have a 17-year-old kid on the ledge. And he is threatening to jump off and he will only talk to you.' I don't know where I got the nerve to take the phone and start talking to this kid. I said, 'OK, what is your name. OK, John, how old are you? You're 17, you're on the ledge, why do you want to jump?' 'I wanna be an actor.'" Thinking quickly, Winkler asked the desperate teen to will him his record collection, prompting the 17 year old to step off the ledge. "(I said), 'If you get off the ledge, let's talk about acting I was 27 when I got the Fonz, John. I think you've got 10 good years to keep trying. How 'bout that? Will you do that? OK. Can I get back to rehearsing? Thank you.'" Winkler said he knows the teen survived -- because he never got his record collection. - WENN/Canoe.com, 8/16/19...... 
In tribute to the one year anniversary of the death of Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin on Aug. 16, 2018, the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation has created The Aretha Franklin Fund for Neuroendocrine Cancer Research, with the blessing of the family. "We wanted to create this fund so that those who wanted to honor Aretha's memory have a way to support the research," foundation CEO Gellerman said. Franklin, who was 76 years old, had pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer, which starts in the pancreas but is far different and much slower developing than the more common, aggressive type of pancreatic cancer known as adenocarcinoma. Franklin's kind is exceedingly rare: Neuroendocrine cancers comprise about 7% of cancers originating in the pancreas, according to the NTRF. Two of her doctors said the singing legend handled the diagnosis and treatment with grace -- and the grit to keep performing for years with a rare type of cancer. "As a person, she was extremely kind, she was respectful, she was funny -- she treated people like me and my team members as her friends," said Dr. Manisha Shah of Ohio State University. "There is no phone call that would end without her asking about us. Most of the time she would ask about us first. ... It's because who she was: She was really down-to-earth." Dr. Philip Agop Philip, a professor at Karmanos and Wayne State University, recalled how Aretha wanted to continue her life as normally -- and positively -- as possible. "She was full speed -- she wasn't even complaining," said Philip, who first saw Franklin in early 2011 and was her doctor of record at the time of her death. "That was different than what I expected... She never showed signs that she was close to thinking that she may give up... until the end, close to the end." - AP, 8/15/19...... Richard Gillis, a singer, songwriter and composer who worked for director Sam Peckinpah on the Western The Ballad of Cable Hogue, died on July 31 in Thousand Oaks, Calif., as a result of complications from a fall at his home in Toluca Lake. He was 80. For The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), which featured an original score by Jerry Goldsmith, Mr. Gillis wrote music and/or lyrics for such songs as "Butterfly Mornings," "Tomorrow Is the Song I Sing" and "Wait for Me, Sunrise," performed by actors Stella Stevens and Jason Robards (both lip-synced in the Arizona-set, turn-of-the-century movie) and Mr. Gillis himself. Mr. Gillis also composed music, sang or acted in other films including Schlock (1973), directed by John Landis; A Boy and His Dog (1975); The Bees (1978); Demonoid (1980); and Pretty Woman (1990) and Frankie and Johnny (1991), both helmed by Garry Marshall. He also worked as an art director, set designer, prop master, etc. - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/15/19.
Actor/producer/director and counterculture icon Peter Fonda, best known for his role in the seminal 1969 road movie Easy Rider, died on Aug. 16 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 79, and his official cause of death was listed as respiratory failure due to lung cancer. Born on Feb. 23, 1939, in New York City, Fonda was the son of acting legend Henry Fonda and the younger brother of Jane Fonda. He was drawn to acting while still a boy, and was only 10 years old when his mother died of suicide in a mental hospital. He scored his first success playing the lead in a school production of "Harvey" as a student at the University of Omaha and made his Broadway debut in 1961 in "Blood Sweat and Stanley Poole." At first he played nondescript "squares" in such films as Tammy and the Doctor and The Victors (both 1963) and Lilith and The Young Lovers (both 1964). In 1966, he began cultivating a motorbike-riding "hippie" rebel image in The Wild Angels, followed the next year by the psychedelic The Trip, which was directed by Roger Corman and written by Jack Nicholson. This culminated in the phenomenally successful Easy Rider, in which he also produced and co-wrote with Dennis Hopper and author Terry Southern, in 1969. The movie, directed by Hopper, shook up the Hollywood establishment, reaped more than $41 million at the box office with a budget of less than $400,000, and earned Fonda and his co-writers a best screenplay Oscar nomination. In his 1998 autobiography, Don't Tell Dad: A Memoir, Fonda said that he got the idea for Easy Rider while staring at a poster for The Wild Angels: "It would be about the Duke and Jeffrey Hunter looking for Natalie Wood. I would be the Duke and (Dennis) Hopper would be my Ward Bond; America would be our Natalie Wood." In 1971, Fonda directed his first film, The Hired Hand, a lyrical western in which he also starred. But the astonishing career that some predicted for Fonda in the wake of Easy Rider never came to pass, and he developed a reputation for being "difficult and drug-addled" on-set. Later films include The Last Movie also in 1971, which was directed by his Easy Rider co-star Dennis Hopper, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974), Race With the Devil (1975), the Westworld sequel Futureworld (1976), Outlaw Blues (1977), and 1979's Wanda Nevada which he also directed and co-starred Henry Fonda and a young Brooke Shields. 
In 1994, his career was rejuvenated when he was cast in John Carpenter's $50 million Escape From L.A. and given the third screen credit (before Cliff Robertson as the president). Total redemption came in 1997 when he played the lead in Victor Nunez's critically acclaimed indie Ulee's Gold, playing a Florida beekeeper who must tangle with some criminals to protect his family. Fonda received an Oscar nomination for best actor, and a classy profile in the New York Times. But the Oscar eluded him (it went to Jack Nicholson for a much showier performance in As Good as It Gets). More recently, Fonda played Mephistopheles in the Nicolas Cage vehicle Ghost Rider and a biker once again in the John Travolta-Tim Allen comedy Wild Hogs. He also had a supporting role as a bounty hunter in the 2007 remake 3:10 to Yuma, and reunited with Cage in the 2015 Louisiana political drama The Runner, in which Fonda played the younger actor's father. Fonda's family confirmed his passing in a statement that stated the actor passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. "While we mourn the loss of this sweet and gracious man, we also wish for all to celebrate his indomitable spirit and love of life. In honor of Peter, please raise a glass to freedom," the Fonda family said. Jane Fonda also released a separate statement, calling Peter "my sweet-hearted baby brother" and "the talker of the family." "I have had beautiful alone time with him these last days. He went out laughing," she wrote. In addition to his actress daughter Bridget Fonda and her husband, film composer Danny Elfman, survivors include Fonda's third wife Margaret (Parky) DeVogelaere, whom he married in 2011; and son Justin, a cameraman, from his marriage to first wife Susan Brewer (as is Bridget). - Variety/CBS.com, 8/16/19.
The generation-defining 1969 Woodstock festival will be commemorated in the third weekend of August as up to 100,000 fans are expected to flock to the original site in Bethel Woods, N.Y., for a 50th anniversary celebration featuring such acts as John Fogerty, Ringo Starr and Carlos Santana. Original Woodstock veteran Arlo Guthrie is set to perform on Aug. 15 before an outdoor screening of the Woodstock documentary. Organizers hope avoid the overcrowding and chaos that occurred 50 years ago by requiring event tickets and travel passes to drive to the site about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of New York City. Fans interested in visiting Woodstock without tickets or travel passes will still be able to do over the anniversary weekend, however their time at the location will be limited. A free shuttle bus service will take passengers to the site where they will have a maximum of 30 minutes to spend there before they are required to leave. The 1969 festival was held on a dairy farm in Bethel, upstate New York, which is now maintained by the Bethel Woods Centre for the Arts. The not-for-profit Bethel Woods center bought up the hillside and surrounding land in the late '90s, and constructed a Woodstock-and-'60s-themed museum which sits atop the fenced-in field. An outdoor amphitheater is located over the hill where Santana and Fogerty will play on separate nights. An estimated 400,000 people showed up for the event on Aug. 15-18, 1969. A competing 50th anniversary Woodstock concert promoted by original Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang was canceled in late July after months of setbacks, funding issues, artist defections and permitting issues. Meanwhile, Philadelphia radio station WXPN has announced plans to broadcast the full 1969 Woodstock festival exactly 50 years after it happened, over four days. At exactly 5:07 EDT on Aug. 15, WXPN, which airs on 88.5 FM public radio, will run through the entire original recording of 1969's Woodstock, featuring every performance, set breaks and stage announcements, from Richie Havens' opening acoustic set to Jimi Hendrix's blistering festival closer. "Woodstock -- As It Happened -- 50 Years On" is being dubbed a "full authentic musical account" of the classic festival, which featured the likes of Hendrix, The Who, The Grateful Dead, Joe Cocker and Janis Joplin. - AP/New Musical Express, 8/15/19...... Iggy Pop released a 
A wide-ranging 40th anniversary exhibit showcasing The Clash's landmark 1979 third album 
A new documentary defending Michael Jackson, Chase the Truth, was released the third week in August. The counter documentary, which features testimony from Jackson's former bodyguard Matt Fiddes and actor Mark Lester is an answer to the controversial 2018 documentary Leaving Neverland in which Wade Robson and James Safechuck claimed the King of Pop sexually abused them when they were children. "Acquitted in life, back on trial after death," reads the synopsis. "Michael Jackson: Chase The Truth takes an investigative look into the legal battles of the global superstar. Close friends, former staff and researchers paint an intimate portrait of Jackson's complicated world and put allegations of sexual abuse under the microscope." A 
Alice Cooper announced on Aug. 13 he'll launch a tour of Australia's five biggest cities in February 2020, beginning on Feb. 8 at Perth's RAC Arena. Other stops down under include Adelaide (2/11), Melbourne (2/14), Sydney (2/15) and Brisbane (2/18). Cooper's "Ol' Black Eyes Is Back" tour is currently in progress across North America, after which he'll begin a six-week tour of the U.K. and Europe, before returning to the United States for further dates in November. The "entirely new production" according to Alice incorporates a setting inside his Nightmare Castle, and features FrankenAlice, the new Billion Dollar Baby, and a setlist which includes many of his classic hits, deep album tracks, and new music. Meanwhile, The Coop continues to record and perform in his supergroup side project Hollywood Vampires, and will release a mini-album on vinyl, 
During his performance at the Outside Lands festival at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on Aug. 11, Paul Simon surprised fans by inviting Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead onstage for a duet of Simon's "The Boxer." In 1967, Simon recalled, he was in SF and seeking out the Grateful Dead with the intent of inviting them to perform at the Monterrey Pop Festival. "I knocked on the door of the house, and Bob Weir opened the door," he said. "We've been friends ever since, but actually, this is our first duet." Although Simon no longer tours -- he wrapped his final tour in his native Queens, N.Y. back in September -- he hopped on the Outside Lands bill, and offered to donate his profits from the festival to the San Francisco Parks Alliance and nonprofit greening organization Friends of the Urban Forest. Simon's performance also included such hits as "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes" and "You Can Call Me Al," along with such deep album tracks as "That Was Your Mother (Zydeco)" and "Obvious Child." He rounded out the set with "Still Crazy After All These Years," the Weir-featuring rendition of "The Boxer" and "American Tune," and Simon held Weir's hand before the rest of the band joined them for a bow center stage. - Billboard, 8/12/19...... As their co-headlining tour hit the Detroit area on Aug. 11, Santana and the Doobie Brothers joined forces to treat fans with a rendition of Bob Marley & the Wailers' "Exodus" -- because, Carlos Santana told the crowd, "we smoked some different kind of weed. Is it legal here yet?" (It is). The 17 total musicians combined for a long, heavily improvised take on the tune that worked in a bit of Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up," while Santana tossed solos to Doobies guitarists Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons, keyboardist Bill Payne and saxophonist Marc Russo. Santana also used the occasion to pay tribute to the late Aretha Franklin in her home town as the first anniversary of her death approaches on Aug. 16. Before "Black Magic Woman" he the told the Motor City crowd that Franklin is "our queen that ascended into another dimension. She's still here with us -- she just changed her zip code." Pointing out that England has its queen, he concluded that Franklin is "my queen, that's your queen." - Billboard, 8/12/19.
In other Beatles-related news, the group's Apple Corps Ltd. along with their record label Capitol/Ume announced on Aug. 8 that the 50th anniversary release date of the band's 1969 swansong LP 
Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance at the premiere of the new Springsteen-themed movie Blinded By the Light on Aug. 8 at the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, N.J. The Boss was flanked on the red carpet by his wife, Patti Scialfa, and the film's director, Gurinder Chanda and her family. He reportedly posed for photos, but didn't take questions. In the theater, he jammed on a handful of his classics including "Sherry Darling." Blinded by the Light, which tells the story of a British-Pakistani teenager in Margaret Thatcher's England who falls in love with Springsteen's music, will be in wide release across the U.S. on Aug. 16, and was released in the U.K. on Aug. 9. The 
'70s star John Travolta is featured in a video for the new single by American rapper Pitbull titled 
Wayne Newton is being sued by a Las Vegas woman who claims a pet monkey bit and injured her daughter during a visit to Newton's former mansion, Casa de Shenandoah, in 2017. Jocelyne Urena filed a civil negligence complaint in Nevada state court on Aug. 7, seeking at least $15,000 in damages on behalf of her daughter, Genevieve. The suit alleges the monkey attacked Genevieve without provocation during a visit to Newton's lavish 40-acre property southeast of the Las Vegas Strip where Newton lived with his family for more than 40 years before moving to another home in 2013. The Newtons sold the compound featuring several homes, gardens, pools, and exotic animals in 2010 to investors under the name CSD LLC who opened a tourist attraction and museum. The company also is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Newton's wife, Kathleen McCrone Newton, said that a family business entity broke ties with Casa de Shenandoah in July 2017, three months before the lawsuit alleges the girl was injured. "We are not a party and have no idea what happened in October 2017," she said. - AP, 8/8/19...... Nicky Wonder, longtime guitarist for Brian Wilson and one of the founding members of the Wondermints, has died, aged 59. Born Nick Walusko on May 22, 1960, Wonder formed the Wondermints with another admirer of Wilson's work, Darian Sahanaja, in 1992. The band released five albums, including their self-titled debut album in 1995, and their final LP, 2009's Kaleidoscopin': Exploring Prisms of the Past. "Today is a sad sad day," Brian Wilson wrote in a statement posted to his website on Aug. 7. "It is with my deepest regret to tell you that our beloved Nicky Wonder passed away last night in his sleep. We are in a state of shock as you can imagine. But we are going to honor him with tonight's show." Wilson finished his statement by adding: "Our hearts go out to his wife Susan and his entire family, friends and fans. We love you Nicky." - New Musical Express, 8/8/19...... Henri Belolo, a co-creator of the Village People, died on Aug. 3 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 82. The French music producer helped shape disco music, penning hits for the Village People that were featured in several films, Broadway, commercials, and more. Born in Casablanca, Morocco in 1936, Mr. Belolo worked as a DJ/producer and moved to the U.S. in 1973, where he met fellow Moroccan producer Jacques Morali. He and Morali teamed up to produce the Ritchie Family's "Brazil" in 1975, which soon grew to be a hit and led the partnership between the two producers to carry on into the next decade. Together, they shaped the world of disco, hitting up night clubs and eventually forming the six-member group, Village People, in 1978. The group was wildly progressive, embracing gay culture with fantasy characters, costumes, and a free-spirited approach to music. The characters included a construction worker, police officer, cowboy, Indian, biker and soldier. Mr. Belolo became a strong ally for his partner Morali, who was gay and passed away from AIDs complications in 1991. "We extend our deepest sympathies to Henri's family... Henri will live on in our hearts and minds forever," Scorpio Music, the French record label founded by Mr. Belolo, said in a statement. A private funeral for Mr. Belolo was already held in France and a public memorial service will be announced soon. - Billboard, 8/7/19.
In her first concert at New York's Madison Square Garden since 2006, Barbra Streisand took aim at Pres. Donald Trump durng her Aug. 3 show at the famed venue with a revamped version of the Steven Sonheim-composed song "Send In the Clowns." Her lyrics called on the president to release his hidden tax returns and questioned his deal-making skill, wrapping with a final verse that labeled him a "fraudulent twit" and stopped just short of saying he's "full of shit" (she let the audience shout out the final word -- "I can't say it," she insisted). "Some people say I talk too much about politics. Well, I'm a New Yorker and we have big mouths," the diva said. Streisand also gave a shout out to former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both in attendance. "Over the last 50 years, one president has balanced the budget and left us with a surplus," she noted of the former. Of the latter, she said, "Needless to say, three years ago I was greatly hoping to sing at your inauguration." In her first encore, she covered a much less divisive offering, the 1965 Jackie DeShannon hit "What the World Needs Now Is Love," which is also featured on her latest album of covers, Walls. Lauding the crowd for singing along in tune, she also marveled at the beauty of MSG lighting up with waving lights from hundreds of cell phones in the air. - Billboard, 8/4/19...... An ultra-rare Prince album named 
Ringo Starr kicked off his latest All-Starr Band tour on Aug. 1 at Caesars Windsor on the south shore of the Detroit River. It was Ringo's 15th outing with his band since launching his first ASB tour on July 23, 1989. The 2019 lineup includes guitarist Steve Lukather and keyboardist Gregg Rolie, who shined on hits by their former bands, Toto and Santana, respectively. Colin Hay and Hamish Stuart also were given a showcase with hits from their former bands, Men at Work and Average White Band. Ringo kept the peace signs flashing and a smile on his face as he ran through the Beatles's cover of Carl Perkins' "Matchbox" and his first solo hit, "It Don't Come Easy." "Yellow Submarine" was its usual singalong favorite, while "Photograph," "Act Naturally" and "With a Little Help From My Friends" sent the crowd home on a high note. "I never sit and think, 'Oh, man, we'll be doing this in 30 years...' It's not a thought you have," Ringo told Billboard prior to the show. "But it's still going and it's still popular and I'm still having fun and I love playing, so I've got all the reasons I need to do it year after year. It worked 30 years ago, and it's still working today," he added. The ASB will tour throughout August and wrap on Sept. 1 the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Starr's fall will be busy as well. He'll be publishing a third photo book, Another Day in the Life, and he'll be finishing up his next album, the follow up to 2017's Give More Love, with guest appearances by Joe Walsh and Paul McCartney. - Billboard, 8/2/19...... The Rolling Stones' "No Filter Tour" hit MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 1 for the 10th stop on the rescheduled tour after Mick Jagger's recovery from heart surgery earlier in 2019. Jagger, 76, seemed no worse for the wear as he pranced, peacocked and gesticulated with as much flair as he's brought to any show in recent memory. The setlist included a marathon "Midnight Rambler" with effortlessly nasty guitar licks from Keith Richards and a stripped-down section of country-tinged classics like "Sweet Virginia" and "Dead Flowers." The evening's "by request" song (one of four that fans could vote for online) turned out to be the psych-pop gem "She's a Rainbow," a song that SetList.fm says the band has only played 18 times in concert. Jagger quipped that the song was chosen "because it's been in loads of commercials lately -- that's how it works!" - Billboard, 8/2/19...... Neil Young made a surprise announcement on his Neil Young Archives website on July 31 that he will postpone a planned 2019 tour with his backing band Crazy Horse in support of their upcoming album Colorado so he can work on a whopping 15 career-spanning film projects. A post titled "Archives Film Projects Take Precedent" announced that Young "will be devoting the rest of this year to Shakey Pictures projects that deserve our focused attention to complete and deliver at their highest level... bringing you all of the footage Shakey Pictures has collected through the years is a pleasure to us. We are combing through and completing." The full list of films was not made available, and none of the projects has received an official release date yet, though Archives teased that they will be screened at the Hearse Theater on the Archives site. The projects include seven Crazy Horse-related documentaries and eight solo-focused films. Young is still expected to perform on Sept. 14 at the "Harvest Moon -- A Gathering" benefit show in Lake Hughes, Calif. and at Farm Aid in East Troy, Wisc. on Sept. 21. - Billboard, 8/2/19...... Warner Bros. has given an Oct. 1, 2021, release date to the untitled Elvis Presley biopic directed by Baz Lurhrmann. The studio says the drama will "delve into [the] complex dynamic between Elvis (played by Austin Butler) and Col. Tom Parker (played by Tom Hanks) from Presley's rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and the loss of innocence in America." - The Hollywood Reporter, 8/2/19...... 
Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders says he's "just really grateful" that he and his former band are prominently featured in the new Quentin Tarantino movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. "I'm, obviously, extremely honored that he would include three of our songs," says Lindsay, who once roomed with music producer Terry Melcher in the same house where actress Sharon Tate, her unborn child, and four other adults would be slain at the residence on Aug. 9, 1969 by members of the Charles Manson cult. "I'm a big fan of Tarantino's. It's a good feeling and I've been getting a lot of calls about it." The Raiders' "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon," as well as "Hungry" and "Good Thing," are included in Tarantino's film, which blends fact and fiction about the era, with the latter song grimly tied to the tragedy of the Manson murders. "We wrote 'Good Thing' under the beam where the rope was apparently thrown over Sharon and Jay [Sebring]'s necks.... that was the last place that I could ever think something bad could have happened," he said. Lindsay remembered that after the murders, "everybody was locking their doors, hiring bodyguards and getting guard dogs. It just changed the atmosphere overnight." Lindsay also reflected on the sad time when his band's namesake, with whom he had a falling out with in 1975, passed away in 2014. "When I heard Paul had gotten a brain tumor I reassessed our relationship," says Lindsay, who revealed last fall that he had a pacemaker installed. "I called him and said, 'Let's sit down and have a beer or a cup of coffee,' but it never came together. I wanted to talk about how great it was that our dreams became much more magnified than we ever thought they could be and celebrate our luck." - Billboard, 8/1/19...... An excerpt from Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry's upcoming memoir 
The classic 1976 sci-fi film 
Legendary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker, best known for directing films on such rock stars as Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, David Bowie as well as the concert film Montery Pop, died on Aug. 1 of natural causes. He was 94. In 1965, Mr. Pennebaker joined Dylan on his final acoustic tour in England, filming the much celebrated documentary Don't Look Back. Released in 1967, the film is often considered one of the greatest music documentaries of the past 60 years, as well as an early example of cinema verit filmmaking. Mr. Pennebaker also filmed Bowie for his final concert with the Spiders From Mars at the London Hammersmith Odeon, 1973's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. Born Donn Alan Pennebaker on July 15, 1925, he had his start as a filmmaker in 1953 when he filmed his first short Daybreak Express, which offered a vivid look into the daily routine of commuters in New York City. He was later nominated for an Oscar for his work on The War Room, a documentary that chronicled the minds behind Pres. Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. In 2013, Mr. Pennebaker received a Lifetime Achievement Oscar for his filmography of over 65+ years. - New Musical Express, 8/4/19.
Prog-rockers Yes, who just wrapped up their summer "Royal Affair Tour," will release a concert album, 
'70s artists Don Henley of the Eagles and Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire are among a group of artists banding together to form the Music Artists Coalition (MAC), a new organization established to advocate for and protect artists' rights. "Artists decide their musical fate every time they write a song or step on stage. Their true fate -- the ability to protect their music -- is being decided by others... bureaucrats, government legislators, and the powerful digital gatekeepers," longtime artists' rights advocate Don Henley said in a statement. "We are forming the Music Artists Coalition to ensure that there is an organization whose sole mission is to protect the rights of music artists -- performers and songwriters." A main goal of the coalition will be to educate and give artists, songwriters and other creators a voice in the many issues that determine how they are compensated in the complex digital landscape. Also onboard are Dave Matthews, Meghan Trainor and a number of high level artists managers including Irving Azoff, Coran Capshaw and John Silva. - Billboard, 7/29/19...... Elton John, whose struggles with addiction were laid out extensively in his recent biopic Rocketman, took to Twitter on July 29 to celebrate 29 years of sobriety, a battle he began back in 1990. "29 years ago today, I was a broken man," Elton's tweet begins. "I finally summoned up the courage to say 3 words that would change my life: 'I need help.' Thank you to all the selfless people who have helped me on my journey through sobriety. I am eternally grateful," he added. In June, Elton was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest civilian award. French President Emmanuel Macron called the superstar a "melodic genius", and praised his efforts at representing the LGBT+ community. - NME, 7/29/19...... A new documentary on the original Woodstock festival, Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation, will debut on many PBS stations across the country on Aug. 6 as part of the network's American Experience series. Joel Rosenman, one of the producers of the 1969 festival, called the event a "lesson in community" during a screening of the new Barack Goodman-directed documentary during the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on July 30, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. "Adversity itself is not what gets in the way of community," Rosenman said. "In fact, from Barack's film I saw clearly that adversity can create a community." Rosenman said he isn't involved in a planned 50th anniversary concert, other than licensing the use of the Woodstock name. Meanwhile, if Woodstock 50 actually takes place fans will now be able to attend the event free of charge, according to reports. According to TMZ.com, all the artists booked for the event have been released from their contract, and organizer Michael Lang will be giving tickets away for free. Attendees will be encouraged to donate to their favorite charities, but a vast majority of tickets will be available free of charge. Instructions on how to obtain tickets will reportedly be announced soon. On July 26, it was revealed that Jay-Z and John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival had both pulled out of Woodstock 50, with the Raconteurs, Miley Cyrus and Santana also canceling their appearances. Woodstock 50 organizers are now trying to book new artists for a possible event at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Although the Woodstock 50 event may be bust, on July 30 a U.S. District Judge ruled that the Woodstock music festival name's can be licensed to create a marijuana brand marking the 50th anniversary of the famed gathering. Judge Paul Gardephe rejected a claim that the deal would infringe on the name of another company, Woodstock Roots. Woodstock Ventures, which produced the 1969 Woodstock festival, and Woodstock Roots sued each other in 2018, with Woodstock Ventures arguing recreational marijuana falls within its "natural zone of expansion" under federal trademark law. It is working on a deal with a major marijuana dispensary. - AP/Billboard/NME, 7/31/19...... 
As The Commodores celebrate their 50th (actually 52nd) anniversary in 2019, the group says what it wants most is to make some new music. William "Wak" King, the sole founding member left in the lineup, says he is working on some fresh Commodores tracks. "It's very exciting right now. Everybody's kinda pumped," King says. "It's taken awhile to get everybody in the frame of mind to get back in the studio, but we've been cutting four tracks and we want to get them completed and figure out what to do with them." King blames the long gap between Commodores' releases -- its last album, No Tricks, came out during 1993 -- on the success the group has on the road. "We've been working a bunch lately within the last number of years," he explains. "And when everyone comes back home again they're tired and they just want to rest and not see each other for a while. And just when you're getting a little comfortable you get a phone call that we need to push the tour dates up a bit and get back on the road. We've had to make time to get in the studio." King has a wish list of producers he'd like to work with, including Usher, and he's open to the idea of letting them guide what the new material will sound like. While he's planning the future, King and Commodores veterans Walter "Clyde" Orange (since 1972) and James Dean "J.D." Nicholas (since 1984) stay on the road celebrating the group's august past. Founded at Tuskegee University, the group signed with Motown during 1972 and opened for the Jackson 5, and along the way scored four platinum albums, a Grammy Award and 10 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 along with a Vocal Group Hall of Fame induction. Tuskegee, whose Commodore Museum housed the group's former rehearsal and recording studio, held a Commodores Day back in March, when the trio also received the keys to the city of Montgomery, Ala. - Billboard, 7/29/19...... German electronic pop pioneers Kraftwerk have won a long-running legal battle over their song "Metal On Metal." The 20-year case surrounds the sampling of the track, which appears on their 1997 album Trans Europe Express, by hip-hop producers Moses Pelham and Martin Haas in a 1999 Sabrina Setlur track, "Nur Mir (Only Me)." On July 30, the European Court of Justice ruled that any sample taken from an existing recording cannot be used without the permission of the original producer. Kraftwerk's Ralf Htter and Florian Schneider-Esleben are credited as producers on "Metal On Metal." - New Musical Express, 7/30/19...... Fresh evidence on Brian Jones' murder will be presented in a new Netflix documentary on the death of founding Rolling Stones guitarist called Who Killed Christopher Robin? Jones died 50 years ago, when he was found dead in the swimming pool of his home at Cotchford Farm in Sussex. Now, Jones' manager Tom Keylock has claimed the guitarist was "out of his mind" on the night of his death on July 3, 1969. Keylock makes the claim in a previously-unseen interview which will be shown in a new Netflix documentary about the conspiracy theories surrounding Jones' death. Keylock was interviewed by investigative journalist Terry Rawlings, whose book Who Killed Christopher Robin? is the basis for the Netflix documentary. Its title is a reference to Cotchford Farm having been the inspiration for author AA Milne when he created the Winnie The Pooh character. Rawlings interviewed Keylock in 2009, but his interview has remained unseen until now. Jones' death was reopened by Sussex Police in 2009, following further fresh evidence from investigative journalist Scott Jones. But the 2009 report concluded that Jones' death would not be reopened. Sussex Police said: "There is no new evidence to suggest that the coroner's original verdict of 'death by misadventure' is incorrect." Netflix has not yet announced a transmission date for Who Killed Christopher Robin? - NME, 7/29/19...... 
Journey has added four December shows on Dec. 27, 28, 30 and 31 to its previously announced nine October shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. "We don't usually play a New Year's Eve show," keyboardist Jonathan Cain told Billboard. "How quick the [other] shows sold sealed the idea and this year it made sense for all of us." Cain and founding Journey members Neal Schon and Ross Valory will be joined by newer Journey members Arnel Pineda and Steve Smith for their first ever residency at the legendary Caesars Palace venue. Journey's 2018 co-headlining tour with Def Leppard was the band's most successful, landing them in the top 10 year-end touring chart with more than 1 million tickets sold, and Cain says the band is "looking forward to getting back out there... We built a really good machine that travels well, and has lasted." - Billboard, 7/29/19...... Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley has reportedly inked a million-dollar deal to pen a book which will include "shocking" revelations about her late ex, Michael Jackson. Presley, 51, was married to Jackson from 1994 to 1996, and is said to be ready to tell all about her life with the King of Pop in a bombshell tome which she has reportedly sold to Gallery Books for a sum of between $3-4 million. "(The book) promises shocking revelations about Michael Jackson and a completely new understanding of (Lisa's father) Elvis," according to a source quoted in The New York Post. Lisa Marie has never commented on the continuing rumors of child abuse by Jackson, and it is unclear if she plans on doing so in the book, however she is likely to also touch on her other marriages to Danny Keough, Nicolas Cage and Michael Lockwood, as well as her former addiction to painkillers. - WENN/Canoe.com, 7/31/19.