Bruce Springsteen has posted a thoughtful essay on the late Australian concert promoter Bruce Gudinski on Twitter and dedicated a song to his good friend who died on Mar. 1 at his home in Melbourne. Springsteen dedicated his song "I'll See You In My Dreams" from his 2020 No. 1 album Letter To You to the powerhouse Mushroom Group chief whose passing sent shockwaves not only through the Australian music community but also around the globe. Opening with the graphic "In Memory of Michael Gudinski," the post features a video of the Boss singing the lyrics "The road is long and seeming without end/ The days go on, I remember you my friend/ And though you're gone And my heart's been emptied it seems I'll see you in my dream." "I've toured the world for the last fifty years and never met a better promoter," Springsteen writes in the message, later adding "he will be remembered by artists, including this one, from all over the world every time they set foot on Australian soil." - Billboard, 3/3/21...... 
Capitol Records/UMC and John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono Lennon have announced a deluxe 50th anniversary edition of John and his Plastic Ono Band's 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band will be released on Apr. 16. The 6-CD/2-Blu ray deluxe set, dubbed John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - The Ultimate Collection, will feature rare demos, rehearsals, outtakes, jams and studio conversations as well as 87 never-before-heard recordings. Furthermore, the full live recording session of Ono's 1970 companion LP, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band, is also included, presenting the songs in their full, unedited lengths and speed for the first time. A special "unboxing video" for the box set, which was personally overseen by Yoko, has also been shared on YouTube. Originally released in Dec. 1970, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was recorded shortly after the demise of the Beatles. It was co-produced by John and Phil Spector, and Lennon once described it as "the best thing I've ever done." The album featured Ringo Starr on drums and Klaus Voormann on bass and included the songs "Working Class Hero," "Isolation," "God" and opening track "Mother," with a new "ultimate mix" of the latter song also shared on YouTube. - NME, 3/5/21...... As The Who prepare to release a super deluxe edition box set of their 1967 album The Who Sell Out on Apr. 23, frontman Roger Daltrey has reflected on how the LP was recorded in what was a "very vulnerable" time for him. "I was on probation [with The Who] and having to be a very good boy, because I'd had a row with Keith Moon and been thrown out of the band," Daltrey tells the UK's Uncut mag. "We'd just come back from Hawaii, from touring with Herman's Hermits and being in each other's laps for three months on the road. The good things was that the ego problems were starting to disappear and we were all starting to get on again," he added. The 77-year-old singer also says he has "fond memories" of making the album's legendary artwork, which features all four members posing with various products. "I didn't give a f*** what they wanted me to do. I just thought that getting into a bath of Heinz Baked Beans would make a great cover," Daltry recalled. "The only problem was they were f****** freezing, so someone had to stick an electric figre round the back. But they put it so close to the tin bath that the bloody things started to cook!" Daltrey also opened up about the special relationship he has with bandmate Pete Townshend and how he is hesitant to "overanalyze" it. "I can't put my finger on why the chemistry works between me and Pete. I think too much analyzing has the potential to destroy it. But I've never had a brother, and if anyone was going to be considered my brother it would have to be him," he said. - Music-News.com, 3/7/21...... In a new interview with Total Guitar magazine, Queen guitarist Brian May says he regrets losing a cassette of all the band's guitar solos that was made by late frontman Freddie Mercury. "One day Freddie had a big smile on his face when I came into the studio and he popped a cassette into the player and said, 'Listen to this, darling. This is going to surprise you.' And what he'd done was spend the whole morning putting together all the guitar solos that he could find in the work that we'd done, and he'd strung them all together," May said, calling the tape "quite amazing." He says one of his biggest regrets is that now he can't track the cassette down. "I never throw anything away. I'm a bit of a hoarder. So it ought to be somewhere. But Freddie was very proud of the stuff that I'd done and that we'd done together," May said. Queen will head out on their rescheduled UK tour in 2022. - NME, 3/4/21...... 
David Crosby and US entertainment exec Irving Azoff's newly-launched venture Iconic Artists Group released a joint announcement on Mar. 3 saying the two parties are partnering on a wide-ranging deal to monetize Crosby's music in the digital era. Under the agreement, Iconic Artists has purchased the publishing and recorded music rights to California singer/songwriter's catalog, which includes his solo work as well as his output as a member of The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and the later Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The deal which was reached for an undisclosed sum also includes Crosby's songs as a duo with Graham Nash. "I've known David as a friend and have admired him as a great artist since our earliest days at Geffen Roberts Management shortly after I moved to Los Angeles," Azoff noted adding that Crosby is "truly one of music's most prolific songwriters and artists and I'm honored he has made Iconic the steward of his timeless musical legacy." In December, Crosby first alluded to the upcoming sale of his music rights, putting the blame on low fees from streaming services. "I can't work... and streaming stole my record money... I have a family and a mortgage and I have to take care of them so it's my only option... I'm sure the others feel the same," he said on Twitter. Crosby follows the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and other artists who recently sold the rights to their music catalogs. - Billboard/NME, 3/3/21...... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced the date and venue of is 2021 induction ceremony date, which will see the induction from a diverse field of nominees that includes Mary J. Blige, Kate Bush, Devo, Foo Fighters, The Go-Go's, Iron Maiden, Jay-Z, Chaka Khan, Carole King, Fela Kuti, LL Cool J, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, Todd Rundgren, Tina Turner and Dionne Warwick. The 36th annual celebration of inductees will take place in Cleveland on Oct. 30, 2021, at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (formerly the Quicken Loans Arena) for the first time. A $185 million refurbishment of the arena has recently been completed and the RRHOF said in a press release that the venue will provide "health and safety and offers increased space and flexibility to host the Induction Ceremony in Cleveland as part of a multi-year partnership." In 2020, the RRHOF ceremony was postponed from May to November with a virtual event at Cleveland's Public Hall that was broadcast on cable channel HBO due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the past three decades, the ceremony has bounced back and forth between New York and the site of the museum in Cleveland. - Billboard, 3/2/21...... Phil Collins' ex-wife Orianne Cevey is hoping to strike it rich once more by auctioning off another bundle of her former hubby's possessions, including one of his music awards. Cevey banked over $2.1 million (£1.5 million) at Kodner Galleries in Florida in early February, with Phil's gold records and other accolades fetching $22,000 (£15,750). Now, she is selling off another of his honors, a gold record awarded for his 2002 album, Testify. The award was given a maximum value of $1,000 (£700) by auctioneers at Kodner Galleries, but had already surpassed that figure shortly after the sale went live on Mar. 3. Cevey is also offloading a variety of designer purses, shoes, watches, and jewelry, including a Tiffany & Co. engagement ring, which a representative insists is "not her wedding ring" from Collins. The whole sale is expected to bring in more than $1 million (£716,000) for Cevey, with a portion of proceeds donated to her charity, the Never Give Up Foundation, to benefit people with spinal cord injuries. Collins and Cevey were previously married for nine years until 2008, but reconciled in 2015, until parting ways again in early 2020. She went on to marry businessman Thomas Bates, but became embroiled in bitter legal proceedings with Collins after he sued to evict the new couple from his Miami, Fla. mansion. The divorcées eventually reached a partial settlement for Cevey and Bates to vacate the home in January. - PageSix.com/Music-News.com, 3/4/21...... 
Alice Cooper has pushed back on his fellow shock-rocker Gene Simmons' recent claim that rock music is "dead." "Rock is dead. And that's because new bands haven't taken the time to create glamour, excitement and epic stuff," Simmons told Gulf News in February. "I mean, Foo Fighters is a terrific band, but that's a 20-year-old band. So you can go back to 1958 until 1988. That's 30 years. During that time, we had Elvis [Presley], The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, on and on." Simmons went on to suggest that popular bands exist, but that doesn't mean they're "iconic and legacy and for all-time." Speaking to New Musical Express, Cooper says he feels a new generation of rock stars are currently preparing for greatness in their own homes. "Gene Simmons -- I would like him to do my taxes because he's a businessman and that's valid, but I guarantee you right now that in London somewhere, in garages, they're learning Aerosmith and Guns 'N' Roses," Alice said. "There's a bunch of 18-year-kids in there with guitars and drums and they're learning hard rock. It's the same with the United States: there's all these young bands that want to resurge that whole area of hard rock." Discussing the state of rock music at large, Cooper said the genre is "where it should be right now." "We're not at the Grammys; we're not in the mainstream. Rock'n'roll is outside looking in right now, and that gives us that outlaw attitude," Cooper said. He also praised the longevity of the genre and claimed it will still exist "some thirty or forty years from now." Meanwhile in another interviews with Classic Rock magazine, Cooper noted that his longtime producer Bob Ezrin is the only other person that understands the Alice Cooper character, and "even when I'm doing albums with other producers, I run the songs past Bob." Cooper released his latest album, Detroit Stories, on Feb. 26. - NME, 3/3/21...... Dolly Parton has finally received the Covid-19 vaccine that she helped to fund, getting a jab of the Moderna vaccine and then singing a customized version of one of her most famous hits, "Jolene." "Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I'm begging of you, please don't hesitate. Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, because once you're dead, then that's a bit too late," the 75-year-old country/pop icon warbled during the procedure on Mar. 3. Dolly was previously praised for helping to fund the Moderna vaccine after she donated $1m (£716,000) to Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Addressing fans before receiving the jab in a video which has been posted on YouTube, Parton said: "I'm so excited. I've been waiting a while. I'm old enough to get it and I'm smart enough to get it. I'm trying to be funny now, but I'm dead serious about the vaccine. I think we all want to get back to normal, whatever that is. And that would be a great shot in the arm, wouldn't it, if we could get back to that?" - NME, 3/3/21...... 
Rolling Stone is reporting that Patti Smith will celebrate the 80th birthday of Bob Dylan on May 22 -- two days before the iconic rocker's milestone birthday -- with a special outdoor performance during the Kaatsbaan Cultural Park festival to be held at a 153-acre campus in Tivoli, N.Y. across the last two weekends in May (20-23 and 27-30). Smith will perform "original songs and poetry as well as works by Dylan" to a limited, socially distanced audience alongside her longtime bandmate, Tony Shanahan. Kaatsbaan members are able to purchase pre-sale tickets now, and a general sale begins on Mar. 8 with digital tickets following on May 1. - Rolling Stone, 3/2/21...... Principal photography has begun in London on Pistol, the six-episode FX limited series about the legendary Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones. Based on Jones' memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, the series is executive produced and directed by Danny Boyle and stars Toby Wallace (Babyteeth, Acute Misfortune) as Jones, Anson Boon (Crawl, 1917, Blackbird) as John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon, Louis Partridge (Enola Homes, Medici) as Sid Vicious and Jacob Slater as Paul Cook. Produced by FX Productions, the series is slated to air in 2022 on FX on Hulu. - Music-News.com, 3/3/21...... Bhaskar Menon, the former boss of EMI and Capitol Records who worked with the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and David Bowie, among others, died at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Mar. 4 of as yet undisclosed causes. He was 86. Mr. Menon was the founding chairman of EMI Music Worldwide who worked at the label for 34 years, and also ran Capitol Records for a time. Recruited to EMI in 1956 directly after graduating from Oxford University, Mr. Menon went on to join the label's Indian division, Gramophone Company of India, in 1957, before eventually being named chairman in 1969. That same year, he was hired as the head of EMI International, before taking over at Capitol in 1971. Tributes to Mr. Menon, who is widely credited with breaking Pink Floyd in the US, included one from Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grainge, who wrote on Twitter: "Determined to achieve excellence, Bhaskar Menon built EMI into a music powerhouse and one of our most iconic, global institutions. Music and the world have lost a special one. Our hearts go out to his loved ones." In Pink Floyd's 2003 documentary The Making of the Dark Side of the Moon, the band's drummer Nick Mason credited Mr. Menon with a huge portion of the album's overwhelming success. "The story in America was a disaster, in that we really hadn't sold records," Mason said of the band's success prior to that album. "And so they brought in a man called Bhaskar Menon who was absolutely terrific. He decided he was going to make this work, and make the American company sell [Dark Side of the Moon]. And he did." - NME, 3/7/21.
Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale says he and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page may release a 30th anniversary edition of their 1993 collaboration Coverdale-Page that could include unreleased material. "I was talking to Jimmy about maybe doing something," says the former Deep Purple singer, who's been quarantining at home in Lake Tahoe. Although Coverdale-Page debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and became a platinum seller, there was always a sense that it didn't live up to its potential, without a follow-up or extensive touring. Coverdale blames that on shifts within the label, Geffen Records. "Geffen was going through a transition," he recalls. "We did very well with it, but it was a great disappointment that the new faces of Geffen weren't behind it more." Coverdale adds there are "four, I think, unreleased songs and studio jams" from the sessions, and that he "documented the whole making of the album on video." Coverdale predicts some new material from the pair might be possible as well. "Maybe we can try to write on FaceTime or Zoom or something. I have a couple of ideas I may throw to (Page) to see what he can make of them," Coverdale says. - Billboard, 3/1/21...... 
Queen has launched their first-ever official mobile rhythm game, "Queen: Rock Tour," which allows fans to play along to their favorite songs on Android and iOS devices and play along with the entire band by tapping the tiles in time to the rhythm. While fully immersed in the Queen universe, players can progress and score points by playing guitar, drums, bass or singing vocals as Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor or John Deacon along to such iconic Queen hits as "Bohemian Rhapsody," "We Will Rock You," "Radio Ga Ga," "I Want to Break Free" and "We Are The Champions," and 15 others, while rocking stages at 10 historic concert venues around the world. High scores in the game can unlock more than 40 official and classic costumes, trivia and exclusive images from the official Queen archives. "We devoted enormous attention to the details of Queen's history, authenticity and artistry to craft a fitting tribute to one of the most significant bands in rock history," notes Cedric Ratajczak, creative director at mobile gaming director Gamesloft who created the mobile experience with Universal Music Group and Hollywood Records. A trailer for "Queen: Rock Tour" has been shared on YouTube. - Billboard, 3/1/21...... In other Queen-related news, Brian May has told Gardeners' World Magazine that he believes his gardening hobby has helped to keep him in a positive frame of mind over recent months as he recovers from the heart attack and stomach haemorrhage he suffered in 2020. "I thought I'd got sciatica after some tree pruning and heavy lifting, but I think I actually got COVID-19 on tour in the Far East, just ahead of the pandemic reaching the UK," May said. "I then had a heart attack and the medication for that gave me a stomach haemorrhage, which was the closest I've come to death." May said although he considers himself to be a "naturally depressive person," getting outside and in his garden has helped him in the past year. "It's central to life... I'm conscious that I'm so lucky to have greenery around me -- without it I think my brain would explode. It helps me balance," he said. - Music-News.com, 2/27/21...... It appears founding Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood has had a change of heart about his former bandmate Lindsey Buckingham after the guitarist/vocalist was fired by the band in 2018. The pair are apparently on good terms after they started talking following the death of Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green. "I've really enjoyed being re-connected with Lindsey, which has been gracious and open," Fleetwood said in a new interview with Rolling Stone. "And both of us have been beautifully honest about who we are and how we got to where we were." Asked whether or not Buckingham would rejoin Fleetwood Mac for a hypothetical farewell tour, Fleetwood responded: "Strange things can happen. I look at Fleetwood Mac as a huge family. Everyone plays an important role in our history, even someone like [early '70s] guitarist Bob Welch, who was huge and sometimes gets forgotten. Lindsey's position in Fleetwood Mac will, for obvious reasons, never been forgotten, as it should never be forgotten." Fleetwood went on to say that he'd "love to think that all of us could be healed, and also respect the people who are in the band, Neil Finn and Michael Campbell," referring to the former Crowded House and Tom Petty's Heartbreakers musicians who were hired as Buckingham's replacements. Until now Fleetwood has been adamant that Buckingham would never be allowed to rejoin the band, even maintaining his stance as recently as 2020. - NME, 3/1/21...... 
Barry Gibb has given an update on the long-awaited Bee Gees biopic, which will follow the recent HBO documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart. Gibb recently told the Daily Star paper's "Wired" column that a brothers Gibb biopic "could be about two years away." "You shall see how I saw the world through my eyes, and there are a lot of things that nobody ever knew about," Gibb, 74, said of the biopic. "It is a million moments, you know -- a million moments that change your life in one day." Gibb also has an autobiography in the works with his son Ashley, 43, and teased that the tome contains content not suitable for the screen. "There are things in the book that could never be in the film," Gibb said. The biopic and book news comes after it was previously reported that Bradley Cooper was approached by producers over the possibility of playing Barry, the eldest of the Gibb brothers, who enjoyed global chart-topping success with younger brothers Robin and Maurice Gibb, in an upcoming flick. The as yet untitled film is to follow the group from the time they arrived in London from Australia and had their first number one hit with "Massachusetts" in 1967. The Bee Gees unravelled in subsequent years with substances, pills and booze involved, before Barry led a revival in the 1970s when the trio embraced a disco sound. Barry is the last surviving member of the group, as Maurice died in 2003 and Robin passed away in 2012. A director for the biopic has yet to be named, but it will be produced by Graham King, who worked on the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and be distributed by Paramount Pictures, which has purchased the rights to use the Bee Gees' classic songs and also was involved in Bohemian Rhapsody as well as the Elton John biopic Rocketman. It is also being scripted by Bohemian Rhapsody writer Anthony McCarten. - Music-News.com, 3/1/21...... Alice Cooper says he "never noticed that streak" in Marilyn Manson, who in February was been accused of sexual abuse, grooming and manipulation by his ex-girlfriend actress Evan Rachel Wood and four other women. "It's funny about Marilyn, in that I know Marilyn -- when we toured together we got along very well," said Cooper, who co-headlined a US tour with Manson in 2013. "I never noticed that streak in him, if it's there. I always believe in the word, allegations are still allegations," Cooper added, comparing them to similar unproven allegations of domestic violence against his close friend and Hollywood Vampires bandmate Johnny Depp. "I know the guy -- I'm with the guy on tour all the time," Cooper said of Depp. "He's one of the most gentle, harmless people I've ever met." Since Wood's statement, more women have come forward with allegations about Manson, including actor Bianca Allaine, who said the FBI are involved with her case. Manson has always denied the claims, saying that all of his "intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners." In the wake of the allegations, Manson has been dropped by his record label and manager, and been axed from his TV projects and will no longer appear in American Gods or the Creepshow anthology. - New Musical Express, 3/2/21...... In related news, folk singer Peter Yarrow of the legendary '60s trio Peter, Paul and Mary was accused in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Feb. 24 of raping an underage girl in a Manhattan hotel room back in 1969. The suit, which was brought under the Child Victims Act, says before the alleged rape, Yarrow met his accuser, who was a fan of his music, several times at his band's performances. She eventually ran away from her Minnesota home and met Yarrow at a Lower East Side hotel, where he allegedly raped her, the suit claims. Yarrow, 82, has a past criminal conviction of "taking indecent liberties" with a 14-year-old girl in a Washington, DC, hotel room in 1970. Peter, Paul and Mary scored twelve Top 40 hits from 1962 through 1969, including the No. 1 "Leaving on a Jet Plane" in Nov. 1969. - New York Post, 2/25/21...... 
Sting has launched an interactive website as a visual companion piece to his new studio album Duets, which drops on Mar. 19. The site, at duets.sting.com, expands on every detail behind each track with photo-visual content and new video commentary from Sting. Fans across the globe can view the content in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish and Japanese, and the former Police frontman's musical journey is documented from 1992 to now. "My Funny Valentine," the first single from Duets featuring Herbie Hancock, is set for release on Mar. 11. Other highlights of the 17-track Duets include "It's Probably Me" with Eric Clapton, "Whenever I Say Your Name" with Mary J. Blige, "We'll Be Together" with Annie Lennox, and "Fragile" with Julio Iglesias. - Music-News.com, 3/2/21...... KISS will be among the headliners of the UK's 2022 Download Festival, organizers announced on Mar. 1. The event at Donington Park had been scheduled to take place from June 4-6, but those dates unfortunately fall a few weeks before large-scale outdoors events are provisionally allowed once more, according to England's planned roadmap out of coronavirus lockdown. Now, it's been confirmed that Download will return from June 10-12 2022, with KISS and Biffy Clyro both returning for headline sets after they were originally set to play this year. However, System Of A Down will no longer play and have been replaced by Iron Maiden. The announcement comes after the UK government outlined plans for England to gradually exit lockdown by the end of June. - NME, 3/1/21...... "Chained Uptight," an explosive soul/rock mashup of Van Halen's "Unchained" and Stevie Wonder's "Uptight," has been shared on YouTube by a user named Bill McClintock. The mashup, which features Wonder singing over the top of the chugging Van Halen riff, can be streamed on YouTube. "Unchained" initially appeared on Van Halen's fourth studio album, Fair Warning in 1981, while "Uptight" first appeared on "Little Stevie" Wonder's 1966 album Up-Tight. In other Van Halen-related news, in February Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen performed his debut solo single "Distance" in tribute to his late father Eddie Van Halen. The track is set to appear on Wolfgang's debut album, which will be released under the name Mammoth WVH. "Distance" has since risen to No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart dated Feb. 27. - NME/Billboard, 2/27/21...... 
The Who have announced that they're releasing a super deluxe edition box set version of their 1967 album The Who Sell Out. Due on Apr. 23 via UMC/Polydor, the massive 7-disc reissue will feature 112 tracks in total, including 46 that have never been released. The release will also contains an 80-page color book full of rare photos, memorabilia, track by track annotation and new liner notes by Pete Townshend, along with replica posters, inserts and newsletters from the year of the record's release. The album will also be available as a double LP deluxe stereo vinyl version, featuring the original album as well as highlights from the box set; a double LP mono version on coloured vinyl; double CD edition; and digitally. A full tracklist can be viewed on the Who's official website. Ahead of the box set, a three-track EP of Townshend's previously unreleased demos has been released on all streaming services. The EP features a new remix of "Pictures Of Lily," which can be heard on YouTube, "Kids! Do You Want Kids?" and "Odorono." Meanwhile in other Who news, singer Roger Daltrey has told the UK's Uncut magazine that it's doubtful that the Who will make another album because it "costs too much money." Daltrey says he and Townshend are proud of how well-received their 2019 LP WHO was but they made a loss on the record and there was tension between the two of them, so they are reluctant to do it again. "Will there be another Who album? I don't know," Daltrey said. He continued: "There's no record market any more. Everybody talks about streaming, but have you seen what artists get from that? It's a joke. It was great to have an album out there, something that the fans liked, and I was really proud of it. But far too much money was spent making it. It went out of control completely and ended up costing me money. I can't go on doing that." Also talking to Uncut, Pete Townshend said he's been working on new music during the pandemic and "wants to make another" record after lockdown if it makes financial sense. "There's pages and pages of draft lyrics," he said, adding: "If the moment comes, I'll go in and start." - NME/Music-News.com, 2/27/21...... Ringo Starr will be the subject of a new virtual exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles beginning on Mar. 4. Starr will be celebrated through new and archival interviews, as well as a virtual version of the 2013 exhibit "Peace & Love." That exhibition was the first to be dedicated to Starr and profiled his whole life, from his childhood in Liverpool, through his pre-Beatles bands, joining the Fab Four and beyond. The digital display will feature images of items from "Peace & Love," including rare and never-before-seen photos, documents and personal letters, alongside other artefacts. On Mar. 4, the Grammy Museum will share an interview with Starr from 2010 as part of its Live From the Vault series. It will be followed by a new interview with the museum's founding executive director Bob Santelli on March 18. During the latter, Ringo will talk about his forthcoming EP Zoom In, as well as the new book Ringo Rocks: 30 Years Of The All Starrs 1989-2019. The virtual exhibition and interviews will be premiered on the Grammy Museum's "COLLECTION:live" streaming service and will be presented in partnership with Iron Mountain Entertainment Services. - NME, 2/26/21...... 
Legendary reggae singer and percussionist Bunny Wailer, who performed in the '70s and '80s reggae band The Wailers alongside reggae icon Bob Marley, passed away in hospital on Mar. 2 after having suffered a stroke in 2020. He was 73. Throughout his lengthy career, in which he contributed to such classic reggae tracks such as "Simmer Down" and "Stir It Up" and to such acclaimed Wailers albums as Catch a Fire, the Kingston-born musician won three Grammys and has also been honored with Jamaica's Order Of Merit, which he was awarded in 2017. Wailer's passing was confirmed by his manager Maxine Stowe, as well as Jamaica's Culture Minister, Olivia Grange. In a statement, Grange said: "At the request of the family, I announce with deepest sadness, the passing of patriarch, brother, friend and Jamaican music icon, the great Bunny Wailer. Bunny Wailer, whose given name is Neville O'Riley Livingstone, passed away at 9am today at Andrew's Memorial Hospital in Kingston. We mourn the passing of this outstanding singer, songwriter and percussionist and celebrate his life and many accomplishments... We remember with great pride how Bunny, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, took Reggae music to the four corners of the earth. Today, the last surviving Wailer has passed. His son Abijah said to me this morning that 'Bunny Wailer cannot die, he has transitioned'. What Bunny Wailer has done for Reggae, as one of the pioneers and standard-bearers of our country's music, lives on. Let us hold dear Bunny's music, his memory and his family." Bob Marley died on May 11, 1981, in Miami, Fla., after being diagnosed with brain, lung and liver cancer eight months earlier. - Music-News.com, 3/2/21.
Bruce Springsteen pleaded guilty to one of the three charges related to his November arrest at Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook, N.J. According to his attorney Mitchell Ansell of the Ansell, Grimm & Aaron law firm, the musician "voluntarily plead[ed] guilty to a violation of consuming an alcoholic beverage in a closed area, agreeing to a fine of $500." Ansell added that the charges of driving under the influence and reckless driving were dropped because the prosecutor was "unable to provide the necessary evidence." Ansell said his client was "pleased with the outcome of today's court appearance," also noting that Springsteen had no previous criminal record. When news of Springsteen's arrest broke on Feb. 10, a spokesperson for the National Park Service said he was "cooperative throughout the process." According to New Jersey's Asbury Park Press paper, Springsteen's blood alcohol content at the time of his arrest was .02, a quarter of the legal limit of .08. A court filing noted that Springsteen had told an officer that he did two shots in 20 minutes, and declined to take a breath test, and it was also reported that the officer wrote in the report that he saw Springsteen take a shot of tequila before getting on his motorcycle. News of the arrest caused Jeep to pause their new ad featuring the New Jersey rocker, which aired during the Super Bowl on Feb. 7. "As we stated previously, we paused the commercial until the facts were established. Now, that the matter has been resolved, we are unpausing the film," Jeep said in a statement. Meanwhile, the first two installments of an 8-part podcast conversation between The Boss and Pres. Barack Obama were shared on 
On Feb. 24 Paul McCartney announced a career-spanning biography titled 
Turner's occasional collaborator Mick Jagger has narrated an emotional tribute to London's Royal Albert Hall to celebrate the iconic venue's 50th birthday. The short film, which can be viewed on 
80's pop rocker Rick Springfield, who first hit the US charts in Sept. 1972 with the No. 14 "Speak to the Sky," has reflected on his 1981 breakthrough LP, Working Class Dog, on the 40th anniversary of its release, Feb. 24. Springfield tells Billboard he only has "all good feelings" about the album and he "had great times recording it" in the wee hours of the morning at the same studio where Tom Petty had been recording earlier. Springfield says he hopes to reissue the album, which he produced with Bill Drescher and Keith Olsen, to include demos of the songs that didn't make it onto the finished set, which shot to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart and spawned three Top 20 hits including the No. 1 "Jessie's Girl." Though the coronavirus pandemic has pushed back a 40th anniversary tour Springfield had planned for Working Class Dog, he says he plans to play the album in its entirety when he's able to return to the road and has been relearning the tracks. "When I first started, they were the only songs that I had so I played everything," he says. "But I haven't played the whole record since '81." - Billboard, 2/24/21...... British husband and wife blues rock duo When Rivers Meet released their new single "Walking on the Wire" on Feb. 26. "Walking On The Wire" is the third single taken from their debut album We Fly Free and follows hot on the heels of their previous singles "Battleground" and "Did I Break The Law." The new single is by a music video filmed in the Essex countryside utilizing stunning aerial drone footage. In Nov. 2020, the band released their debut album We Fly Free which attracted rave reviews from Classic Rock and several other music mags. "When Rivers Meet are heavy enough to get your attention and quirky enough to hold it, with songs that kick at you, but leave a boot-print on your heart," Classic Rock wrote. A music video trailer for "Walking On The Wire" can be viewed on 
In an interview with Good Morning Britain on Feb. 19, Elton John's husband David Furnish said Sir Elton has embarked on a fitness and diet regime to help him shed the pounds during the Covid-19 lockdown. "(Elton) has embarked on a fitness regime and a diet, he's been losing weight, he's been looking after himself really, really well," Furnish told host Richard Arnold. "We've been really busy, happy and fulfilled and also, more important than anything, spending more time together as a family and loving it," he added. Furnish also detailed how the time has drawn the couple closer together. "We work together at home, we produce his radio show, we get on really well, we just enjoy each other's company and we're happy as a family. I want my kids to go back to school," Furnish shared. Asked if their children have experienced any negativity for having two dads, Furnish explained: "We've been very fortunate within their school and within their community everybody's been really warm, really welcoming to us, treated us the same as any other family, so they've not witnessed any of that." John recently appeared in a UK public service ad filmed at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital encouraging people to get the Covid-19 vaccine. - Music-News.com, 2/20/21...... In related news, KISS member Paul Stanley has revealed he just got his second Covid-19 shot in a 
American musician and journalist Questlove has announced he's working on the follow-up to his acclaimed recent directorial debut, Summer of Soul, and it will be a documentary about musician/producer Sly Stone. Questlove says his as-yet-untitled rockdoc will capture the rise of Sly as a forerunner of funk as the vocalist of Sly and the Family Stone to his legacy as a fashion icon. "It goes beyond saying that Sly's creative legacy is in my DNA... it's a Black musician's blueprint. To be given the honor [sic] to explore his history and legacy is beyond a dream for me," Questlove told Consequence of Sound. Questlove's Summer of Soul documentary chronicled the events of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which welcomed the likes of Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and The Staple Singers for a musical celebration of African-American culture. It recently won this year's Grand Jury prize at Sundance Film Festival, and is set to premiere on Hulu later in 2021. - New Musical Express, 2/20/21...... Clothing manufacturer Happy Socks has just unveiled a new David Bowie sock collection that includes two limited-edition designs based on iconic moments in the late rock star's career. The Silver Lining socks -- matte black wrapped in silver foil --- are based on the silver zebra outfit that Bowie wore on his 1976 Station to Station album. According to Happy Socks, the Ziggy Special is inspired by the Japanese concept Basara, which is "characterized by colorful attention-grabbing garments." The collection launched on Feb. 16 and will be sold on the Happy Socks website and its retail stores as well as some other retail outlets. Images from the collection can be viewed on the 
The Beach Boys have announced they've sold the rights to their intellectual property to music industry veteran Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group. The amount Azoff has paid in the deal has not yet been made public, but in return, he now owns the group's master recordings, the rights to the Beach Boys' name, their likenesses, a share of their publishing rights and all memorabilia. As part of the deal, the band will still own an interest in their assets, but Iconic Artists has the power in their business decisions. "The Beach Boys, in a sense, are not just a band. They're a lifestyle. They're a consumer brand. And they've never really exploited that," Iconic Artists CEO Oliver Chastan told Rolling Stone. Chastan added that Iconic was keen to explore technological avenues. "That includes VR, AR, 3D, CGI, natural language processing, et cetera," he said. He also suggested the band could be digitally replicated and de-aged, like the actors in Martin Scorsese's 2020 film, The Irishman. In recent months, the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham have all sold off the rights to their back catalogues. - NME, 2/18/21...... Dolly Parton has nixed plans to erect a statue of her outside the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville because she doesn't think it's a good idea for right now. Tennessee House of Representatives member John Mark Windle first proposed the statue plan in January, and the measure passed in the Naming & Designating Committee. It was headed to the State Government Committee for further approval when Parton herself put the brakes on the idea. In a statement on Feb. 18, Parton said although she was "honored and humbled by their intention... given all that is going on in the world, I don't think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time." "I hope, though, that somewhere down the road, several years from now or perhaps after I'm gone, if you still feel I deserve it, then I'm certain I will stand proud in our great State Capitol as a grateful Tennessean," she continued, adding: "In the meantime I'll continue to try to do good work to make this great state proud." Windle wanted to honor Dolly with a statue to mark her 75th birthday and all the singer's contributions to her home state, including the Imagination Library, theme park Dollywood, and a recent $1 million (£720,000) donation to Vanderbilt University's COVID-19 research that assisted in the development of the Moderna vaccine. - Music-News.com, 2/19/21...... 
Rising singer Arielle's new album features a new guitar designed by Brian May of Queen exclusively for Arielle. "This is the very first guitar that Brian May guitars has ever offered that is not based on my original Red Special," says Brian May about the guitar, the BMG Arielle. "Designed by, and named after Arielle, it's a new dimension. To understand why this guitar was irresistible to me, you have to hold her in your hands. The guitar is light, smooth and agile. She sings like a bird," May added. Arielle is described as "a 21st century classic rock artist who recorded half of the new album in digital, and the other half in tape, to try and capture the impact the music of the 60's and 70's had on her." Arielle has premiered the music video on her 
As Todd Rundgren kicks off his "Clearly Human Virtual Tour" on Feb. 14, the pop star and studio wizard says he doesn't care as to whether his third time being nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be a charm. "It's no secret that I don't care about it," Rundgren told Billboard during a break from rehearsals in Chicago, where the tour concerts will be emanating from. "It doesn't matter how many times they nominate me. It's not gonna make me care." Rundgren says the RRHOF is an "industry invention" and that "true halls of fame are for retirees and dead people, because your legacy has been established... I'm too busy working to worry about my legacy -- and plan to continue working until whenever." Todd adds that he finds the makeup of the nominee list and inductee classes veering too far from what he considers appropriate. "I'm a big Dionne Warwick fan, but name me one Dionne Warwick rock 'n' roll song," he explains. "While I'm aware of Fela Kuti, I can't name a single musician who's ever cited him as a principal influence." His chief complaint, however, stems from how he feels his own fans were "duped" when he was first nominated during 2019. "They run this scam called the fan pool... but most fans don't realize that their votes count for absolutely nothing," Rundgren said. The top five nominees from the fan votes are turned into one additional ballot that's counted in addition to the 1,000-plus by artists and music industry professionals. "So the first time I got nominated all my fans, who all these years have been like, 'Geez, you've got to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!," they all stepped up and bumped me up to No. 3 in the fan pool -- by a pretty wide margin. And then when the actual inductees were 1, 2, 4, 5, 6... they essentially hosed my fans. So that made me angry, and I had to tell them that it was pointless casting votes, 'cause it really doesn't count for anything." Tickets for Rundgren's virtual concerts start at $35 via nocapshows.com. Meanwhile, the artist has also been releasing singles from his next album, Space Force -- a collaborative set similar to 2017's White Knight -- with the full set expected to be released some time later in 2021. - Billboard, 2/12/21...... Speaking of Dionne Warwick, a new TV series based on the pop songstress's life is reportedly in the works with rising singer Teyana Taylor in the title role. Warwick revealed to Entertainment Weekly magazine that the project is "in the works," adding that Taylor may also direct. "Teyana is certainly a talented young lady with whom I've had the pleasure of interfacing," said Warwick, who also noted that Taylor is "very excited about the prospect of being involved and she's also going to be very, very much involved in directing it and putting together parts and parcel of how we see this going." Warwick first teased the project via Twitter in December, asking fans if they'd "really watch" a series about her life, adding: "This is a case for @netflix. Please don't ask who I would cast to play me as it would obviously be @TEYANATAYLOR. - Music-News.com, 2/11/21...... 
Alice Cooper has joined the list of rock stars who have rolled up their sleeves for the Covid-19 vaccine. The Coop visited the Abrazo West Campus hospital in Goodyear, Ariz., a suburb of his hometown of Phoenix, on Feb. 11 for his vaccination, after being admitted to the hospital several weeks ago with a case of Covid. In a video message, Alice admitted he and his wife Sheryl have recovered from the novel coronavirus, but they're now covered against another bout. "We're out here getting vaccinated," he says. "We've already had COVID but we got vaccinated anyways... if you haven't been vaccinated come on out." During his visit to the hospital, Cooper signed autographs and thanked the volunteers and hospital staff for their good work, AZ Central reports. Meanwhile, in an interview with Britain's The Independent Cooper says the shock rock schtick that propelled him to fame wouldn't work today because modern audiences are "shockproof." "You could cut off your arm and eat it on stage and it wouldn't matter... The audience is shockproof," Alice says of how his act would go down in 2021. Alice will release his latest album, 
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Fleetwood Mac have announced details of a new deluxe edition of their classic 1980 live album Fleetwood Mac Live, which is comprised of live recordings that were largely made during a number of the band's live shows between 1979 and 1980. Rhino Records will re-release Fleetwood Mac Live in a 14-track "super deluxe" format on Apr. 9. The album is set to be presented in a new 
Chick Corea, a legendary Grammy-winning jazz fusion musician who played in Miles Davis' band, passed away on Feb. 9 after suffering from "a rare form of cancer which was only discovered very recently." He was 79. Born in Massachusetts in 1941, Corea joined Davis' band in the late 1960s and contributed to a number of his albums, including A Tribute To Jack Johnson, On The Corner, In A Silent Way and 
Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt, the self-described "smut peddler" who used his pornography empire and flair for the outrageous to push the limits of free speech and good taste, died on Feb. 10. He was 78. Flynt, suffering from a variety of health problems since a 1978 assassination attempt that left him a paraplegic, died "from the recent onset of a sudden illness," according to Minda Gowen, spokeswoman for Larry Flynt Publications, which runs the adult entertainment business he founded. Celebrated by some as a free-speech provocateur and reviled by others as a profiteer of sexual exploitation and misogyny, Flynt was renowned for taunting critics with such outlandish stunts as appearing in court wearing a diaper made from an American flag. In the most famous of numerous legal battles in which he was embroiled, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a landmark ruling in favor of Flynt in a libel lawsuit brought against him by evangelist Jerry Falwell. Flynt had published a fake ad in Hustler which depicted Falwell saying his first sexual encounter had been with his mother in an outhouse. Falwell sued for $50 million and won a lower-court ruling, but in 1988 the Supreme Court held that the ad was a parody and protected by the First Amendment. In his heyday, Flynt lived a lifestyle that could have made Caligula blush. He wrote in his autobiography that his first sexual experience was with a chicken and told of having sex every four or five hours during a workday. Flynt was convicted in 1977 in Cincinnati on obscenity and organized crime charges, but the verdict was overturned. After he was paralyzed from the waist down in 1978 after being shot by a white supremacist named Joseph Paul Franklin who upset by Hustler's photographs of interracial sex, Flynt had penile implant surgery so he could continue to have sex. Flynt created a business with an estimated turnover of $150 million at one point. As Hustler's circulation slipped, he stayed ahead of trends by investing in adult-oriented television channels, a casino, film distribution and merchandise. Flynt said he never objected to being labeled a smut peddler as long as he was considered a First Amendment crusader, too. "Just because I publish pornography does not mean that I am not concerned about the social ills that all of us are," he once told an interviewer. Flynt's life was the basis of the 1996 movie 
The 
Former Crosby, Stills and Nash member David Crosby has found himself in the midst of another controversy after he called rising singer Phoebe Bridgers' 
Queen + Adam Lambert have rescheduled their forthcoming UK tour yet again and added new dates. Queen had been scheduled to kick off a huge UK and European tour in summer 2020, but the trek was rescheduled to May-July 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The dates have now been rescheduled to 2022 kicking off with two shows at the AO Arena Manchester on May 30 and 31. They have also added two extra UK shows at The SSE Hydro, Glasgow on June 2 and 3. "Under continuing Europe-wide Covid restrictions there's no possible way the tour can go ahead as planned for this year," the band said in a statement on Feb. 10. "The prospect of again not being able to look forward to performingand getting to experience those wonderful audiences is just heartbreaking," they added. All previously purchased tickets continue to be valid for the corresponding rescheduled shows. The band's new 16-date tour will commence May 30, 2022 with the first of two nights in Manchester, then play Glasgow on June 2 and 3, London's O2 on June 5, 6, 8 and 9, Birmingham on June 11 and 12, then return to London's O2 for dates on June 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20 and 21. In other Queen news, guitarist Brian May says the band is considering releasing a recording of one of their first gigs at Imperial College London after he recently heard a recording he didn't know existed. "We're debating what to do with it. A few years ago we'd have felt very protective and thought, 'Nobody should hear this because we're very rough'," May said, adding "But now, in the position that we are in our lives, we feel forgiving. We're not ashamed of where we were at that time. It was us against the world." May noted he is reluctant to release the recording because he feels protective over late frontman Freddie Mercury and the fact the singer's voice wasn't as powerful as it was in his prime. "But strangely, if he were alive and sitting here at this moment, he'd probably be the same as me, 'Oh darling, we were kids'," May explained. - NME/Music-News.com, 2/10/21...... Elton John and veteran actor Michael Caine have teamed up to star in a new UK commercial for the government's NHS to help persuade people to get their Covid-19 vaccination. In the 90-second clip which can be viewed on 
Mary Wilson, a co-founder of the iconic '60s Motown girl group The Supremes, died suddenly at her home in Henderson, Nev., on Feb. 8. She was 76. Her death was confirmed by her longtime publicist Jay Schwartz, who did not elaborate on a cause. Wilson was among the original members of The Supremes alongside Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Barbara Martin when they assumed the Supremes name in 1961 after forming in Detroit as The Primettes in 1959. After signing with Motown Records on Jan. 21, 1961, The Supremes went on to become one of the biggest-selling groups of all time, releasing such hit songs as "You Can t Hurry Love," "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me." Wilson remained with the group, who became a trio following Martin's departure in 1962, until their split in 1977. In a statement, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. said that he was "extremely shocked and saddened to hear of Wilson's death." In a post on its